Automoderated users, Autopatrolled users, Bureaucrats, Comment administrators, Confirmed users, Forum administrators, Interface administrators, Moderators, Rollbackers, Administrators
116,908
edits
Just Think of the Potential: Difference between revisions
replaced old title drop with new and boldfaced, standardized section heads and order
No edit summary |
Looney Toons (talk | contribs) (replaced old title drop with new and boldfaced, standardized section heads and order) |
||
Line 12:
* Think of the Money We Could Make!<ref>Despite this being on the list, this trope should not be confused with [[Think of the Advertisers!]] Well, not usually.</ref>
A character or characters with vision, sometimes representing a large organization, encounters a new, esoteric technology, and suddenly realizes all the Potential Applications it could be put to. The technology can come in any form- maybe a [[Mad Scientist]] just constructed a group of [[Ridiculously-Human Robots]], maybe astronauts have brought back a [[Black Box]] filled with [[Imported Alien Phlebotinum]], or maybe biologists from an [[Animal Wrongs Group]] have just discovered [[Killer Rabbit]]s in the Amazon.
Line 28:
{{examples}}
==
* In various ''[[Spider-Man (Comic Book)|Spider-Man]]'' continuities, Dr. Connors is convinced that his new invention can regrow lost limbs- but mostly it just turns people into megalomaniacal giant lizards. Often, Spidey must convince Dr. Connors his technology is too dangerous to save the day. Other times, he just beats the crap out of him.▼
** To be fair, his technology turns people into giant lizards ''with all their limbs intact''. So it does work, for a given value of work.▼
** Sounds like an extreme case of [[Yes but What Does Zataproximetacine DO]]?▼
* In ''[[Ultimate Marvel]]'', this is a huge [[Genre Blind|genre blind-spot]] for Nick Fury, who is normally quite [[The Chessmaster]]. Basically, this is the main [[Justified Trope|justification]] for [[Joker Immunity]] in ''[[Ultimate Marvel]]'' - Nick Fury wants to keep super-freaks alive so he can study them and keep the United States in the lead in the [[Genetic Engineering Is the New Nuke|superhuman arms race]].▼
* The Extremis arc of ''[[Iron Man]]'' flavours this with a little [[What the Hell, Hero?]]. Yet another government-sponsored project to create supersoldiers, the Extremis virus can be programmed to make people wholly new, nigh-invulnerable, superpowered bodies; naturally, [[Failure Is the Only Option|it also drives them insane if it doesn't kill them in the process]]. Tony Stark shuts the whole operation down... though not before he's used it on ''[[Omniscient Morality License|himself]]'', enough to heal fatal injuries he took fighting such a super soldier and turn him into a [[Technopath]]. In the aftermath, he's gleeful about his newfound efficiency, productivity and response time, and is frustrated that his friends can't see why turning himself into even ''more'' of an emotionally distant workaholic cyborg [[What Could Possibly Go Wrong?|is awesome]].▼
** That actually explains more of ''[[Civil War (Comic Book)|Civil War]]'' than it should have.▼
* In ''[[Spider-Man: Noir]]'', Dr. Otto Octavius conducts inhumane experiments on apes. Robbie Robertson is disgusted by what he sees in Octavius' lab, but Peter tells him the possibilities for humanity are endless. Robbie is adamant that Octavius' work is "the ''opposite'' of humanity."▼
== [[Film]] ==
* In ''[[Alien (franchise)|Aliens]]'', the Weyland-Yutani corporation believes the Xenomorphs to have great Military Potential, repeatedly allowing their employees to get slaughtered by Xenomorphs in their attempts to study them. Since Weyland-Yutani stands to make money off of this, they are also Thinking of All the Money They Could Make.
** It is implied, subtly in the movie and more overt in other sources, that the Xenomorphs were originally used as a biological weapon, either bred specifically for that purpose or captured somewhere, so it isn't as if Weyland-Yutani are operating without precedent. However considering the species that used them as a weapon were also driven to extinction by them, the trope is invoked even harder.
Line 46 ⟶ 55:
* ''[[Tron: Legacy]]'' : Back in 1989, Flynn was all but raving about the world inside the computer (and especially the Isos). "Our future is in there!" and talking about how the Isos would revolutionize "science, medicine, religion." Unfortunately, his [[A.I. Is a Crapshoot|administrative program]] disagreed with him, took over the Grid, trapped him, and made plans to take over the human world because we're imperfect.
* The [[Big Bad]] gives this speech to [[Hugh Grant]]'s character at the end of ''[[Extreme Measures]]'' as a justification for his inhumane experiments on the homeless. The kicker is, the discovery does indeed hold enormous potential for all of humanity ({{spoiler|they have learned how to regrow nerve cells but haven't yet learned to stop the growth}}) but the cost is what causes the protagonist to reject the notion.
▲* In various ''[[Spider-Man (Comic Book)|Spider-Man]]'' continuities, Dr. Connors is convinced that his new invention can regrow lost limbs- but mostly it just turns people into megalomaniacal giant lizards. Often, Spidey must convince Dr. Connors his technology is too dangerous to save the day. Other times, he just beats the crap out of him.
▲** To be fair, his technology turns people into giant lizards ''with all their limbs intact''. So it does work, for a given value of work.
▲** Sounds like an extreme case of [[Yes but What Does Zataproximetacine DO]]?
▲* In ''[[Ultimate Marvel]]'', this is a huge [[Genre Blind|genre blind-spot]] for Nick Fury, who is normally quite [[The Chessmaster]]. Basically, this is the main [[Justified Trope|justification]] for [[Joker Immunity]] in ''[[Ultimate Marvel]]'' - Nick Fury wants to keep super-freaks alive so he can study them and keep the United States in the lead in the [[Genetic Engineering Is the New Nuke|superhuman arms race]].
▲* The Extremis arc of ''[[Iron Man]]'' flavours this with a little [[What the Hell, Hero?]]. Yet another government-sponsored project to create supersoldiers, the Extremis virus can be programmed to make people wholly new, nigh-invulnerable, superpowered bodies; naturally, [[Failure Is the Only Option|it also drives them insane if it doesn't kill them in the process]]. Tony Stark shuts the whole operation down... though not before he's used it on ''[[Omniscient Morality License|himself]]'', enough to heal fatal injuries he took fighting such a super soldier and turn him into a [[Technopath]]. In the aftermath, he's gleeful about his newfound efficiency, productivity and response time, and is frustrated that his friends can't see why turning himself into even ''more'' of an emotionally distant workaholic cyborg [[What Could Possibly Go Wrong?|is awesome]].
▲** That actually explains more of ''[[Civil War (Comic Book)|Civil War]]'' than it should have.
▲* In ''[[Spider-Man: Noir]]'', Dr. Otto Octavius conducts inhumane experiments on apes. Robbie Robertson is disgusted by what he sees in Octavius' lab, but Peter tells him the possibilities for humanity are endless. Robbie is adamant that Octavius' work is "the ''opposite'' of humanity."
== [[Literature]] ==
Line 73:
* Even though it causes {{spoiler|the deaths of two people}} the titular character of ''[[The Chronicles of Professor Jack Baling]]'' still can’t help but see the potential applications of his disintegrator gun.
== [[Live-Action TV]] ==
* One of the all-time classic ''[[Doctor Who]]'' stories, ''The Power of the Daleks'', was built around this trope. A Dalek spaceship turns up on a colony planet and the chief scientist is amazed by the technical sophistication of it, and the Daleks themselves. [[Kill'Em All|It doesn't end well.]]
* In ''[[Jekyll]]'', the villains frequently try to convince Jackman of the potential that his unique and bizarre physiology has for the world, as well as the potential to make them all ''very'' rich.
Line 90:
* That's how some corrupt governments (mainly Earth and Centauri) in ''[[Babylon 5]]'' regard dealing with Shadows: sure, they are immensely powerful [[Social Darwinist]]s, but think of all the nifty technology/military aid! Probably subverted in that both actually get their promised cut from the [[Deal with the Devil]] before it bites them lethally in the ass.
== [[Music]] ==
* Dr. Wily tries to convince Dr. Light of this in [[The Protomen]]. He's not convinced, but turns on the machines anyway.
* Dr. Wily in [[The Megas]] also has shades of this, seeing the machines as both his tools and his 'children'.
== [[New Media]] ==
* In ''[[Descendant of a Demon Lord]]'' Hanae had this attitude towards a goo that Celes considered very hazardous. Hanae didn't understand how the slime worked, didn't think she could figure it out, and didn't care. Hanae thought she could find applications for it, with parts of it acting as a [[Black Box]]. Mages are sometimes like [[Mad Scientist]]s in this setting.
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* This trope is mocked in the ''[[Mage: The Ascension]]'' supplement ''Technomancer's Toybox'', most specifically with the "X117 Death Ray (Intended for Purely Peaceful Purposes)":
{{quote|Dr. Lightwell has retreated from the world in disgust at the abuse his invention has been put to, although he was never able to explain satisfactorily just what peaceful purposes a Death Ray could be used for.}}
==
* On a related note to the music section, Dr. Light though long and hard about the potential of his last creation, [[Mega Man X]], and sealed him away in a capsule to be awoken in the future. The reasons vary between the original SNES title and the PSP remake. The original states it was to run a 30-year diagnostic to ensure X wouldn't go berserk, Dr. Light having seen [[Mega Man (video game)|such events]] [[Genre Savvy|many times.]] The remake rewrites this, as per the creator's original plan, to where X is already safe, but Dr. Light feels that humanity [[You Are Not Ready|isn't mature enough]] to handle someone like X. Dr. Light avoided this trope, now Dr. Cain on the other hand...
* In the ''[[Resident Evil]]'' universe, Umbrella Corporation saw the zombie-creating T-Virus as a potential pharmaceutical. It brings dead cells back to "life", after all. Of course, it gets out of control. Cue [[Zombie Apocalypse]].
Line 125:
** This itself is a [[Grey and Gray Morality|morally grey]] decision, as Avernus' research could potentially allow the Wardens to no longer die from the Taint in 30 years, allowing them long and productive lives, as well as becoming even ''more'' effective warriors against the Darkspawn.
== [[Web
* The US military in ''[[Fine Structure]]'' thinks this way about [[Mutant Draft Board|superheroes]].
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* This happens so much on ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' that only [[Genre Blindness]] can explain why any inventor bothers to invent anything at all.
** To be fair, they don't tell stories about the inventions that quietly make the world a better place.
* Dr. Venture on ''[[The Venture Bros]].'' is a healthy mix of this and [[For Science!]]. In the pilot he's a lot closer to this, insisting that the "Ooh Ray" only has peaceful applications even after he uses it to melt a model city (see above). In the series he's more cynical about this, knowing all too well that the military ''can'' and ''will'' find a purpose to what he makes.
** Inverted with his Walking Eye. He can't think of any applications (beyond "Walking Eye stuff") and hopes to sell it simply because it looks cool.
* Subverted (as so many things are) on ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'', as Dr. Frink admits that "Oh, well to be honest, the ray only has evil applications. You know my wife will be happy, she's hated this whole death ray thing from day one."
* In the three-part episode of ''[[Superman: The Animated Series]]'' "World's Finest," [[Batman|WayneTech]] and [[Lex Luthor|LexCorp]] have a joint contract to build unmanned exploration drones. Luthor tries to sell Wayne on this—to the point of bringing him to a room filled with modified versions outfitted for military applications.
* This is the direct cause for three of the supervillains (Dr. Viper, the Metallikats) and at least one [[Monster of the Week]] (Zed) in ''[[Swat Kats]]'' existing in the first place.
* A rather tragic example was ''[[Batman Beyond]]'' villain Shriek, originally Walter Shreeve. He was formerly the head of a firm that was acquired by Derek Powers, but his attempts to convince Powers that his sonic technology had potential for demolitions didn't impress Powers. ("Dynamite is cheaper", said Powers.) Powers suggested he turn the device into a weapon to assassinate Bruce Wayne (well, it was either that or lose his funding) and the resulting failure drove Shreeve insane, and also deaf. Ironically, what later happened cost Powers ''far'' more money than it ever could have saved him.
== [[Real Life]] ==
* Played with regarding nuclear power. It can be used for cheap energy, or to make a [[Nuke'Em|nuke]]. It was originally developed for the military applications, then they started using it for power.
** The above is actually [[wikipedia:Nuclear power#Origins|nowhere near true]]. Outside of the origins, the processes for using fissionable materials for fuel versus using them in bombs are vastly different and require tons of processing. Nuke plant != free bombs.
| |||