Essential Madness: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|The moment their arms spun freely in our air, they were doomed -- for Man has earned his right to hold this planet against all comers, by virtue of occasionally producing someone totally batshit insane.|Rollover Text, "[http://xkcd.com/556/ Alternative Energy Solution]," ''[[~~Xkcd (Webcomic)|~~Xkcd]]''}}

{{quote|The moment their arms spun freely in our air, they were doomed -- for Man has earned his right to hold this planet against all comers, by virtue of occasionally producing someone totally batshit insane.|Rollover Text, "[http://xkcd.com/556/ Alternative Energy Solution]," ''[[Xkcd]]''}}

This is when the clinically insane person turns out to be [[The Only One]] who has the right stuff to stop the Omnicidal Aliens, [[Cosmic Horror]] or [[Big Bad]]. It could be his bent perceptions allow him to see things "normal" people can't. Or maybe the bad thing that happened was so completely [[Windmill Crusader|out of the realm of possibility]] that [[Crazy Prepared|only the total nut job prepared for it]]. Keep in mind, what separates this from [[Sociopathic Hero]] or other crazies is that this character's madness is '''essential to the task'''. If he was not crazy, he could not do it.

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This guy put the Crazy in front of [[Crazy Prepared|Prepared]] and [[Crazy Awesome|Awesome]], but don't confuse him with an [[Ignored Expert]] or [[The Worm Guy]], who are not actually insane, just misunderstood. Not to be mistaken for his padded-cellmate the [[Sociopathic Hero]], who is a hero ''in spite'' of his anti-social tendencies, not because of them.

When the whole human race is composed of Heroic Madmen, it's [[Humanity Is Insane]]. Compare [[The Cuckoolander Was Right]] and [[Power Born of Madness]], although this trope doesn't necessarily involve superpowers. See also [[Blessed ~~With~~ Suck]].

When the whole human race is composed of Heroic Madmen, it's [[Humanity Is Insane]]. Compare [[The Cuckoolander Was Right]] and [[Power Born of Madness]], although this trope doesn't necessarily involve superpowers. See also [[Blessed with Suck]].

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== [[Comics]] ==

* [[Something Person|Crazyman]] from [[Continuity Comics]], whose power is [[Exactly What It Says On the Tin|being crazy]]. "Crazyman" is recruited by a secret service as the "Plan B" to dangerous "unwinnable" situations. Danny is to the secret service as ''[[Monk]]'' is to the San Francisco Police Department, and comes up with solutions no sane man would come up with. If [[James Bond]] were insane, he'd be Crazyman.

* [[Something Person|Crazyman]] from [[Continuity Comics]], whose power is [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|being crazy]]. "Crazyman" is recruited by a secret service as the "Plan B" to dangerous "unwinnable" situations. Danny is to the secret service as ''[[Monk]]'' is to the San Francisco Police Department, and comes up with solutions no sane man would come up with. If [[James Bond]] were insane, he'd be Crazyman.

== [[Film]] ==

* [[Samuel L Jackson|Romulus]] in ''The Caveman's Valentine''. "I have brain typhoons." But he was [[Cassandra Truth|the only one]] willing to believe ([[Defective Detective|and try to prove]]) that [[The Cloud Cuckoolander Was Right|the murdered guy was murdered]].

* [[Samuel L. Jackson|Romulus]] in ''The Caveman's Valentine''. "I have brain typhoons." But he was [[Cassandra Truth|the only one]] willing to believe ([[Defective Detective|and try to prove]]) that [[The Cloud Cuckoolander Was Right|the murdered guy was murdered]].

== [[Literature]] ==

* ''[[Redwall]]'' - In High Rhulain, The hare Major Cuthbert went insane after his daughter was killed by vermin. He ended up killing a sea monster single handedly.

* In Larry Niven's ''[[Known Space|Madness Has Its Place]]'', Jack Strather's megalomania and paranoid schizophrenia make him one of the few men left on Earth with the cojones to actually resist the invading Kzinti.

* ''[[Blindsight]]'': The main character's severe autism means he's the only one able to [[Awesome By Analysis|objectively synthesize]] all of the information and determine just what the deal is with the [[Starfish Alien|Starfish Aliens]] they discover. Of course he's also unable to bond with other people or empathize with them, so...[[Blessed ~~With~~ Suck|downer]].

* ''[[Blindsight]]'': The main character's severe autism means he's the only one able to [[Awesome By Analysis|objectively synthesize]] all of the information and determine just what the deal is with the [[Starfish Alien|Starfish Aliens]] they discover. Of course he's also unable to bond with other people or empathize with them, so...[[Blessed with Suck|downer]].

* In C.S. Friedman's ''[[This Alien Shore]]'', the Guerans (a mutant race descended from humanity) are all insane, which makes them the only ones who can pilot ships [[Faster-Than-Light Travel|through hyperspace]]. In addition, the heroine's multiple personality disorder grants her a secret power that could alter the balance of power throughout known space.

* [[~~Jack Vance (Creator)|~~Jack Vance]]: One of his short stories (''The Men Return'' to be exact) featured a world where causality had basically gone out the window. One character was barely surviving, trying to find patterns where there were none. The ones who were crazy before The Event on the other hand were basically gods.

* [[Jack Vance]]: One of his short stories (''The Men Return'' to be exact) featured a world where causality had basically gone out the window. One character was barely surviving, trying to find patterns where there were none. The ones who were crazy before The Event on the other hand were basically gods.

== [[Live Action TV]] ==

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== [[Web Comics]] ==

* ''[[~~Xkcd (Webcomic)|~~Xkcd]]'': [http://xkcd.com/556/ Don Quixote to the rescue!]

* ''[[Xkcd]]'': [http://xkcd.com/556/ Don Quixote to the rescue!]

== [[Video Games]] ==

* [[Portal (~~Video Game~~)|Portal]]: Schizophrenic Doug Rattman was completely right in suspecting the operating system was [[AI Is a Crapshoot|out to kill everyone]] and so was the only survivor of the lab incident.

* [[Portal (series)|Portal]]: Schizophrenic Doug Rattman was completely right in suspecting the operating system was [[AI Is a Crapshoot|out to kill everyone]] and so was the only survivor of the lab incident.