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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|''Note to self: berating the invincible alien warlord is '''unwise'''.''
|'''[[The Spoony Experiment]]'''}}
The heroes are facing the villain, and appear to have some sort of power over it. Perhaps they've locked it up, or it's not as terrifying as they thought, or maybe it's lost all its powers. At any rate, one of the heroes starts to taunt it, confident in their success... only for the villain to obliterate the hero in response. The villain can also just say something that stops the hero's taunting. At best, the hero merely stops taunting the villain. At worst the hero, their associates and/or a large amount of people are horribly killed or suffer a [[Fate Worse Than Death]]. ▼
▲{{quote|''Note to self: berating the invincible alien warlord is '''unwise'''.''|'''[[The Spoony Experiment (Web Video)|The Spoony Experiment]]'''}}
Also see [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?]] for the title's inspiration. To not be confused with [[Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?]] which is more about distraction, or [[Bullying a Dragon]]; which differs in that the entity is choosing not to splatter you and [[Mugging the Monster]] (where the unfortunate [[Jerkass]] has no idea what they're getting into). For now. And, please remember: Cthulhu is
▲The heroes are facing the villain, and appear to have some sort of power over it. Perhaps they've locked it up, or it's not as terrifying as they thought, or maybe it's lost all its powers. At any rate, one of the heroes starts to taunt it, confident in their success.
▲Also see [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?]] for the title's inspiration. To not be confused with [[Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?]] which is more about distraction, or [[Bullying a Dragon]]; which differs in that the entity is choosing not to splatter you and [[Mugging the Monster]] (where the unfortunate [[Jerkass]] has no idea what they're getting into). For now. And, please remember: Cthulhu is NOT [[Do Not Taunt Happy Fun Ball|Happy Fun Ball]]. Liable to [[Threat Backfire]], for obvious reasons.
{{examples}}
* [[Dragonball Z]]: Do ''not'' piss off
▲== Anime & Manga ==
▲* Do ''not'' piss off [[Dragonball Z|Buu]]. Chi-Chi did this, and was turned into an egg and ''crushed'' in front of her family, friends, and her youngest child, Goten!
* In ''[[Elfen Lied]]'', Bando mocks Lucy, {{spoiler|technically Nyu at the time}}, despite knowing the [[Super-Powered Evil Side|potential powers]] she has - although he is an [[Psycho for Hire|arrogant bastard]] [[Sociopathic Hero|not too far from the Diclonii]]. {{spoiler|She breaks both arms and gouges out his eyes}}.
* [[Physical God|Belldandy]] from ''[[Ah!
** In the manga she instead tossed him through a wall, with a tornado.
* [[Fullmetal Alchemist
* In ''[[Pokémon:
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* Jubilee of the [[
* In ''[[The Sandman]]'', the angel
* [[Superman]] foe Mongul (the first one) met his end this way. When the demon lord Neron appeared before a gathering of villains and [[Deal
==
* Invoked in ''[[Shinji and
▲* Jubilee of the [[X Men|X-Men]] once thought it was a good idea to taunt a pack of hungry dinosaurs from the safety of the far side of a forcefield wall. Then the flying dinosaur riders turned up...
▲* In ''[[The Sandman]]'', the angel Remiel -- who along with Duma has been given the unpleasant task of watching over Hell since Lucifer quit -- visits Lucifer's bar and asks him to take back Hell. Lucifer laughs in his face and proceeds to mock Remiel for his cowardice. Remiel then ''spits on Lucifer's face'' in a fit of pique. [[Tranquil Fury|Lucifer calmly wipes off the spittle]], then just as calmly reminds Remiel that Lucifer was once the leader of Heaven's army and that he gave up none of his power when he gave up Hell and his wings. If Lucifer wished it, Remiel would cease to exist right on the spot. Taking the warning to heart, Remiel beats a hasty retreat.
* In one chapter of the ''[[My Little Pony:
▲* [[Superman]] foe Mongul (the first one) met his end this way. When the demon lord Neron appeared before a gathering of villains and [[Deal With the Devil|offered them power in exchange for their souls]], Mongul arrogantly refused. Neron killed him on the spot.
* Invoked in ''[[Drunkard's Walk|Drunkard's Walk II: Robot's Rules of Order]]'', when protagonist Doug Sangnoir overhears a roleplaying group in a diner:
{{quote|"Excuse me!" A large woman with long dark hair sharply berated her companions. [[Punctuated! For! Emphasis!|"DON'T! TAUNT! GODS!"]]}}
== [[Film]] ==▼
▲* Invoked in ''[[Shinji and Warhammer 40 K (Fanfic)|Shinji and Warhammer 40 K]]'', in a mental note from Shinji to Unit 01.
▲{{quote| "Machine spirit. Why are we taunting the Angel?"}}
▲* In one chapter of the ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'' fanfic ''[[Progress (Fanfic)|Progress]]'', Princess Luna, the immortal god-queen of the moon, is tormented with her fear of baseballs by Angel Bunny. In the next chapter, Luna starts to overcome said fear with a little help from Fluttershy and Applebloom, and proceeds to terrify Angel into submission when he tries it again (mainly because he broke her glasses).
▲== Film ==
* In ''[[Star Wars]] [[A New Hope]]'', Admiral Motti feels the need to mock Darth Vader (and the Force), who, it must be said, is a telekinetic, [[Laser Blade|lightsaber-packing]], 7-foot-tall armored hulk of a man who has no qualms about killing people. Just to make a point, Vader gives the first ever demonstration of what the Force is capable of by using it to casually strangle the admiral from across the room, stopping only after Tarkin made him.
* ''Swimming To Cambodia'':
{{quote|
* ''[[Stuart Little]] 2'' has something sort of like this. After being told that Margolo isn't going anywhere, Stuart replies, "Yes she is!" and fires an arrow at Falcon. This pisses him off to the extreme, and he almost manages to kill Stuart.
* In the remake of ''[[Clash of the Titans]]'' the human characters do this a lot. Their plan is apparently to render the gods mortal by ceasing to worship them. They appear to have overlooked the fact that they're still invincible teleporting superbeings, who don't take kindly to humanity's rather laughable attempts to fight them.
* ''[[Blazing Saddles]]'' taught us to not shoot Mongo, it just makes him mad.
== [[Literature]] ==▼
* As expected, the [[Cthulhu Mythos]] has used this trope. [[Irony|However, Lovecraft doesn't involve Cthulhu, or any of the Great Old Ones directly]]. Instead, it's used with the ''Great Ones'', weak gods of the Dreamlands that can be tricked by smart mortals. However, the Great Ones are protected by the Other Gods, who wreak retribution on those who would disturb their wards.
▲== Literature ==
** [[Brian Lumley]]'s "The House of Cthulhu" focuses on some barbarians who go to R'lyeh. Their leader dismisses the legend of a star-spawned abomination as a myth to scare away the weak, and believes the "tomb" to hold vast treasures. [[Curb Stomp Battle|He's wrong]].
▲* As expected, the [[Cthulhu Mythos]] has used this trope. [[Irony|However, Lovecraft doesn't involve Cthulhu, or any of the Great Old Ones directly]]. Instead, it's used with the ''Great Ones'', weak gods of the Dreamlands that can be tricked by smart mortals. However, the Great Ones are protected by the Other Gods, who wreak retribution on those who would disturb their wards.
* ''[[Discworld]]'':
▲** [[Brian Lumley]]'s "The House of Cthulhu" focuses on some barbarians who go to R'lyeh. Their leader dismisses the legend of a star-spawned abomination as a myth to scare away the weak, and believes the "tomb" to hold vast treasures. [[Curb Stomp Battle|He's wrong]].
*
** ''[[
* Hysterically done to Bilbo Baggins in ''[[The Hobbit]]''. Bilbo makes this mistake when talking to Smaug. While Smaug can't see him since he's invisible, he can smell Bilbo, as well as hear him breathing, so he's got a good rough idea of where the little hobbit is. Smaug also has [[Breath Weapon|fire breath]]. Bilbo gets somewhat burned for taunting the dragon, and in a rare example of this trope where the ''person'' who did the taunting figures out it's a bad idea, is prompted into saying ''"Never laugh at live dragons, Bilbo you fool!"''
* In ''[[
** A film version had Odysseus taunt Poseidon himself after the destruction of Troy, claiming humans no longer needed gods. After finally having enough of being fate's bitch, Odysseus asked Poseidon what he wanted. Poseidon replied that he merely wanted to show Odysseus that humans will always need gods.
* In the [[Dragaera|Khaavren romances]], Morrolan e'Drien sets off to kill the [[Physical God]] Tri'na'gore for various reasons, including that god's followers sacking his adopted home town while he was away. After slaughtering a village full of Tri'na'gore worshipers, Morrolan decides to relieve himself on the god's altar, causing him to manifest so quickly and angrily Morrolan barely has time to button up his pants. {{spoiler|[[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|This was a bad idea on Tri'na'gore's part]].}}
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** After a certain point in the series, Harry ''himself'' could be considered Cthulhu...
** In the book ''Ghost Story'', Harry makes the mistake of {{spoiler|leaving the "el" off of the Archangel Uriel's name. Uriel}}, who's a cheerful and affable sort, very quickly tells Harry that he does '''not''' want to make that mistake again. The [[Fridge Brilliance]] behind it: {{spoiler|"Uriel" means "Light of God", with "el" being the "God" part. Who else's name meant just "light"? [[Satan|Lucifer]].}}
*** "Cthulhu's" reaction? To ask politely to not taunt him again. Also unique (particularly for Harry!) in that it was UNINTENTIONAL.
* [[
** Most translations are quite clear that this is a "gang" of ''[[Kick the Dog|children]].''
* And [[Stationery Voyagers]] takes [[
* It's generally a very, ''very'' bad idea to mock the deities of [[Greek Mythology]], even if you are also a deity or part-deity. The Greek gods could be very petty and very cruel to those who offended them.
* In ''[[Jedi Academy Trilogy|I, Jedi]]'' Corran Horn concludes that the wraith of 4 millennia dead Exar Kun can't physically touch the material world and must use [[More Than Mind Control]] to get anything done. After this he goes to Exar Kun's temple and taunts him to his face. Unfortunately Corran was ''almost'' right: Exar Kun can interact with the physical world, it's just hard and requires he be in his sanctum. As a result Corran suffers several broken bones before he is rescued.
{{Quote|'''Corran Horn:''' I checked New Republic law. Property claims are abandoned well shy of four millennia. As a result, I've filed a claim for this place, and now it's mine. I'd love to have you stick around, but your statue is right where the wife will want the entertainment center. You understand, don't you?}}
== [[Live-Action TV]] ==▼
▲== Live-Action TV ==
* The ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' episode "Fear Itself" has a subversion, where they see the Fear Demon that has been terrifying them all episode be no more than a barbie doll. Xander starts baby talking him when Giles tells him to "Don't taunt the Fear Demon.". Xander wants to know if it's a threat, but Giles assures him "No. It's just tacky."
** And in "Something Blue":
{{quote|
'''Spike''': Giles, make her stop. }}
** Buffy is attacked by a vampire on the way home from the burger joint she works at, only for him to back off as she smells awful. The vampire is in the middle of saying he'll just have to try eating her another day when a pissed-off Buffy hurls a stake into his chest.
* In season one of ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'', Mohinder has Sylar tied up and begins to taunt him. The trope name didn't need to be said for the audience to start [[What an Idiot!|saying it]].
* Subverted in the ''[[Star Trek:
* [[Star Trek:
* In ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]'', Q takes his son, q, to task for meddling with the Borg.
{{quote|
** In the same episode, q at one point seals Neelix's mouth shut. Later on, when his powers are removed temporarily, Neelix feels the need to mock and annoy an individual who may once again gain unlimited power in a week.
* ''[[Deadliest Catch]]'':
{{quote|
''(A few minutes later, a rogue wave washes over the aforementioned boat's deck)''
'''[[Mike Rowe]]''': It's not wise to taunt the Bering Sea. }}
* [[Saturday Night Live|Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball.]]
* ''[[Doctor Who]]'' does this with regards to the ''main character''. Half the universe thinks the Doctor is a [[Memetic Badass|terrifying, nigh-unstoppable demi-god]], and thus invoke this trope whenever someone sets out to deliberately provoke him.
{{quote|
** In "Dalek" a [[Mook]] feels the need to taunt the silly-looking alien.
{{quote|
*** [[Don't Explain the Joke|And that is exactly what happens.]]
** This also applies when people underestimate him. Exhibit A, the Family of Blood. They wanted immortality. [[Fate Worse Than Death|They]] [[And I Must Scream|got it]].
* Like the Doctor, this trope applies to Jack in ''[[
* ''[[
** In the final episode Cyvus Vail, {{spoiler|after killing Wesley}}, makes the dimwitted mistake of taunting ''[[Eldritch Abomination|Illyria]]'' into [[Hit Me Dammit|punching him]] as hard as she can. [[Your Head Asplode|She doesn't disappoint.]]
== Toys ==▼
* In ''[[Bionicle]]'''s ''Federation of Fear'' webserial, Carapar tries to attack their world's Cthulhu counterpart Tren Krom, only to get destroyed by one of the creature's laser eyes.▼
==
* In the first ''[[
* In ''[[
** Subsequently the base is overrun by zerg.
** In a similar type of mission in the ''Brood War'' Expansion. When the base gets overrun by Zerg, your squad will eventually come across a group of [[Giant Mook|Ultralisks]] trapped in a pen. One of the marines will say, "Well wouldya look at that! They're trapped!" And they really ''are''.
*** It is played straight in [
* As any experienced player will tell you, ''[[Left 4 Dead|DON'T startle the Witch!]]''
* In ''[[
* After solving a conflict between a priestess of Umberlee and some followers of Talos, the hero of ''[[
* In ''[[Metroid Prime]]'', on one of the [[Space Pirate]] terminals you can read "Science Team reminds all personnel to refrain from antagonizing Metroids. Severe penalties will be enforced for all violations of this order." Similarly, the Chozo warn against defacing their artifacts lest the offenders "face [their] wrath, unfettered and raw." Meta-Ridley missed the memo.
** The space pirates where also warned to refrain from feeding the Metroids pet food. Do not domesticate Cthulhu?
*** No, you do not feed the Metroids pet food for the same reason you don't feed bears. They don't eat the pet food. But you still feed them.
*** Actually, it's because they can't digest solid foods. Pet snacks make them sick and (more) irritable.
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** Even better, he's one of the few characters in the game you can't provoke to attack you through dialogue. Keep threatening and insulting him all you like, he won't raise a talon.
* The ''[[Neverwinter Nights]]'' module ''A Hunt Through the Dark'' contains a dream sequence in which your character is visited by and receives new powers from Lolth. [[Hopeless Boss Fight|Talking back to Lolth is a really, really bad idea. As is talking back to Piwiewen in the opening scene]].
* In ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
** Also applies to most of the subsequent games if chickens are present. In ''[[The Legend of Zelda:
** In ''[[The Legend of Zelda:
* In one of the Extra Missions for ''[[
* In ''[[City of Heroes]]'' there are classes and powersets that include a Taunt power. Tankers are especially ''encouraged'' to taunt high-level villains... including gods.
* Yuuto lacks what might be considered proper respect for the godlike {{spoiler|Wisdom}} in ''[[Eien no Aselia]]''. As in, he insults it, berates it and ignores it whenever possible. Not that he has no respect, he's just rude in general.
* In ''[[Brutal Legend]]'', when confronting [[Big Bad|Doviculus]] Lars Halford boasts about his status as the [[Big Good]]. In return, {{spoiler|Doviculus [[Just Shoot Him|impales him with his weapon]] and [[Dangerously Genre Savvy|notes that it was easier than he thought]].}}
* ''[[The Order of the Stick
▲== Toys ==
{{quote|
▲* In ''[[Bionicle]]'''s ''Federation of Fear'' webserial, Carapar tries to attack their world's Cthulhu counterpart Tren Krom, only to get destroyed by one of the creature's laser eyes.
▲* ''[[Order of the Stick (Webcomic)|Order of the Stick]]'', Strip [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0275.html 275]
▲{{quote| '''Thor:''' How do you like that, you deicidal maniac? Huh? HUH? Now who's so big and tough? <br />
'''Loki:''' Dude, don't taunt the god-killing abomination. }}
** The ''[[The Order of the Stick
* ''[[Looking for Group]]'', also coincidentally on Page [http://www.lfgcomic.com/page/275 275].
{{quote|
'''Richard''': Seriously?
''([[Gilligan Cut]] to Gnome Guard [[Threat Backfire|sinking into a pit of lava]])''
'''Richard''': How's the magma? }}
** Tossing him into magma was ''nice''; early on, Richard animated the skeletons of his enemies while they were ''still alive''.
* ''[[
{{quote|
'''Sarda:''' Are you done belly-achin'?
'''Black Mage:''' ''No,'' actually. I ''would'' like to take a moment to note what an odd choice... [[Oh Crap|Oh, what have I done?]]
...
'''Fighter:''' What's ''crawling out'' of Black Mage's mouth?
'''Sarda:''' He's just vomiting his entire digestive tract. }}
* ''[[
{{quote|
'''Ed''': Um... Ed is not being sure if taunting ancient unspeakable evil is being the best idea... }}
** Well the worst Sweetgrass Voice has been able to do is summon his servants, so it may not actually be that bad.
* ''[[Bob and George]]'' [http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/040905c QUIT TAUNTING THE BLACK HOLE]
== [[Web Original]] ==
* [[
▲== Web Originals ==
▲* [[The Nostalgia Critic (Web Video)|The Nostalgia Critic]] used this in his ''Top 11 Disney Villains'' video.
** [[Too Dumb to Live|He apparently didn't learn his lesson,]] as he does it again to the "[[Beware the Nice Ones|Good Witch of the Woods]]" in [[Suburban Knights]].
* The second through fourth items of the [https://web.archive.org/web/20130906005653/http://www.angelfire.com/dragon3/captainjarlot/ 1001+ Things That The Worst Party In Eberron Is Forbidden From Doing]:
{{quote|
3. Do not taunt the The Lords of Dust about their inability to capture the Crew. It really should be bad, but it's not. Still tacky.
4. Do not taunt Queen Aurala about her inability to capture the Crew. Otherwise she'll stamp her foot and pout. }}
* Taunting [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-018 SCP-018] is one of many things [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgXRmI2pSKo&list=PL0w6M6ua8wkHVSXvo1312Wb2QyQq8tWb9 Dr. Bright is not allowed to do]. He has also been known to troll [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-076 SCP-076] (challenging a Keter-class who is known to have anger management issues and a competitive nature [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-36sZD3HcI&list=PL0w6M6ua8wkHVSXvo1312Wb2QyQq8tWb9&index=4 to a game of Tic-Tac-Toe] is a ''very'' bad idea - the time he did so it took ''three weeks'' before Abel would accept a draw) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZz_cyelUys&list=PL0w6M6ua8wkHVSXvo1312Wb2QyQq8tWb9&index=7 and Dr. Clef] (who may or may not be [[The Devil]] and does not get along with Bright as it is). He is also not allowed to attempt to disprove [https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-343 SCP-343's] divinity by asking SCP-343 himself to prove it (SCP-343 claims to be [[God]], but even if he is not, he is a very powerful [[Reality Warper]]; supposedly, Bright challenged him to create paperweight that was so heavy even SCP-343 could not lift it, which if SCP-323 were truly God, would be a paradox. The Foundation still has no idea how to dispose of the giant paperweight that they wound up with as a result.)
== [[Western Animation]] ==▼
▲== Western Animation ==
* The "Slimer!" short "Don't Tease the Sleaze" is pretty much made of this. The eponymous Sleaze is locked in the [[Ghostbusters]]' containment unit. Ray cautions Slimer not to taunt it. [[Hilarity Ensues|You know what happens next]].
* The line "Flash, stop heckling the [[Super Villain]]!" was used in ''[[Justice League]]''.
* [[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons Did It]].
{{quote|
* Rolf to [[Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy|Eddy]]:
{{quote|
*''Eddy keeps doing so, chicken flips out''* }}
* '''Ed:''' DO NOT TAUNT THE CLAW!
** Of course in this case it was reversed as rather harmless Ed was taunting his insane little sister Sarah
* The trope is taken to its most depressing level in ''[[Superman:
* In ''[[Jumanji]]'' [[Recycled:
== Other Media ==▼
* "Do Not Meddle In The Affairs Of Dragons, For You Are Crunchy And Taste Good With Ketchup." is a spin on the [[
▲== Other ==
** The (possible) origin of the "Dragons" version is ''[[Bored of the Rings]]''. It has also been attributed to [[Anne McCaffrey]] <!-- (Please list others, because they are plenty.) MOD: Better yet, find the actual origination of the quote. -->▼
▲* "Do Not Meddle In The Affairs Of Dragons, For You Are Crunchy And Taste Good With Ketchup." is a spin on the [[JRR Tolkien (Creator)|JRR Tolkien]] line "Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle, and quick to anger.", which is possibly an interpretation of a quote of the even earlier [[GK Chesterton|G.K. Chesterton]]: "Do not invoke the ancient gods, for they annoy very easily."
▲** The (possible) origin of the "Dragons" version is ''[[Bored of the Rings]]''. It has also been attributed to:
*** [[Shadowrun]]: Appears as a chapter quote.
** Another version: "Do not tempt Fate; it is fickle and has poor impulse control."
** This one is quite popular on the TF bunny farm: "Meddle not in the affairs of Decepticons for you are squishy and make funny noises when violently deactivated"
* Don't mess with Coyote. He's [[Pals
** In one story he uses a bear pelt to turn himself into a bear and brutally kills and eats the hunter who killed him twice before.
** In another story, he's eaten by a giant, who taunts him that he'll starve to death in the giant's belly. Coyote proceeds to carve the giant up from the inside and dine on his guts.
== [[Real Life]] ==▼
▲== Real Life ==
* It's not wise to fool with Mother Nature.
** Or Brother Wolf, or Brother Bear, or even Sister Fox... Even many of the more "cute" wild and domestic critters can seriously mess you up or outright kill you if you mess with them. Remember: The "cute" woodland creatures survive by being able to beat up Brother Wolf... And Brother Wolf can seriously kick YOUR ass.
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Native American Mythology]]
[[Category:Dialogue]]
[[Category:Older Than Dirt]]
▲[[Category:Lovecraftian Tropes]]
[[Category:Did You Just Index Cthulhu]]
[[Category:Example
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