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Monumental Theft: Difference between revisions
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{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==▼
▲== Anime and Manga ==
* ''[[Lupin III]]'' occasionally pulls this off. Sometimes, if the items he's trying to steal alone aren't oddball, the method he uses to grab them are.
** For an example, he steals cash by inserting it in the Christ the Redeemer statue just to ''remove the whole damn statue with a skycrane, bitch-slapping two helicopters with the statue in the process'' and fail because of a large crack on the bottom of the statue leaking said money.
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** And a satellite full of money
** The latter three he did ''[[Serial Escalation|in the same damn movie]]''
** One notable aversion was in ''[[The Castle of
* Kaitou Kid, from ''[[Magic Kaito]]'', has accomplished a few as well, since he's an [[Expy]] of Lupin III's famous ancestor, [[Arsène Lupin]].
** And is from arguably the same universe, depending on how [[Canon]] you consider the ''Lupin III vs [[Detective Conan]]'' [[Crossover]] TV special)
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** [[Cloudcuckoolander|But the centipede]]! [[Sadly Mythtaken|Said to be the god of gold mining in countries of the Orient]], [[Large Ham|there's no way stealing from the cave it crawled in front of could fail to work]]! [[You Fail History Forever|Since nobody has ever stolen gold from the earth itself]], [[You Fail Logic Forever|that just means]] [[Refuge in Audacity|it should be that much more amazing]] [[Logical Fallacies|when they]] ''[[Logical Fallacies|do]]'' [[Logical Fallacies|pull off the heist]]!
== [[Comic Books]] ==▼
* ''Le Chevalier Noir'' (The Black Knight) in [[Don Rosa
▲== Comic Books ==
▲* ''Le Chevalier Noir'' (The Black Knight) in [[Don Rosa|Don Rosa's]] Scrooge McDuck stories is a [[Gentleman Thief]] who might pull one off, now and then. At one point, he steals a whole viking ship, whilst ''completely naked''. Even he recognized the impossibility of swiping Scrooge's whole fortune, though, so he planned to disintegrate it instead. Scrooge doesn't find him as honorable as he claims to be, however, because he pulls off such heists [[Pride|to boost his ego]], even calling the press beforehand and telling them where to be to cover the story.
* The Brotherhood of Evil Henchmen, in the ''[[Nodwick]]'' comic, attempted to become a whole society of Monumental Thieves dedicated to the service of others. They abducted Nodwick, whose henchman "special power" is the ability to haul titanic weights around like other people would their luggage, and tried to get him to reveal the secrets of his amazing cargo-hauling strength. As their own "power" is the discovery and acquisition of small and rare items (magical artifacts, abnormal brains, etc.) for their masters, they hoped to make themselves even more powerful by being able to haul off whole arcane libraries instead of a single magic tome, or sealed buildings full of forbidden artifacts instead of having to break in just for the magic sword. They finally gave up when Nodwick proved to be too much trouble to keep contained for interrogation, and realized that someone's more likely to notice a whole building gone missing long before a book.
* In one [[The Golden Age of Comic Books|Golden Age]] [[Justice Society of America]] story in [[The DCU]], the Injustice Society held a competition amongst its members to see who could steal the most impressive patriotic item. Targets included Old Ironsides (which is, at least, mobile), the Liberty Bell, Plymouth Rock, the Freedom Train and the Washington Monument! They then stole a stadium full of people to judge the winner.
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** He once ''copyrighted the alphabet'', so that people had to *pay* him for writing! While not strictly a theft, it still falls under the heading of "how do you even do that?"
== [[Film]] ==▼
▲== Film ==
* In ''[[Despicable Me]]'', {{spoiler|Vector}} manages to steal a pyramid of Giza and replace it with a giant pyramid-shaped balloon. Not to be outdone, for most of the movie, Gru concocts a plan to steal ''the moon''. (Admittedly after shrinking it to the size of a basketball.)
* Another phenomenal movie thief would be [[Fat Bastard]] in ''[[Austin Powers]]: The Spy Who Shagged Me''. He poses as a guard, sneaks up to the cryogenic tube in which Austin's naked body is frozen and employs a giant syringe to literally steal Austin's sexual energy (or "mojo"), which here is depicted in the material world as an icky red substance that looks a bit like melted licorice. Following this theft, Austin (in 1999) is in bed with a woman and suddenly discovers that - for the first time in his life - he is unable to make love.
* The plot of ''[[Men in Black (film)|Men in Black]]'' hinges on an entire ''galaxy'' being held hostage by extraterrestrial terrorists. {{spoiler|(Of course, since it's a microcosmic galaxy only about the size of a marble, this is not as difficult as one might think.)}}
== [[Literature]] ==
* ''[[Discworld]]'':
** Jonathan Teatime from ''[[
** Conina from ''[[Sourcery]]'' fits, having stolen treasure that had been swallowed for safekeeping
*** Must be harry-deterry
** Fred Colon justifies hanging around various Ankh-Morpork landmarks rather than going on an actual beat by the fact that he is guarding them against such grandiose thieves.
*** This is made more impressive due to the fact many major landmarks were designed by Bloody Stupid Johnson, and are thus rather small.
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* [[Arsène Lupin]] is arguably the first Monumental Thief of the modern era, able to plan and execute heists ''while never leaving his prison cell'' (granted, this was because he had the assistance of a well-organized gang, but it was still impressive) and pull off a number of other impossible crimes.
* The ''[[Carmen Sandiego]]'' series of game shows (''Where In The World Is...?'' and ''Where In Time Is...?'') has this, too, of course. [[That Other Wiki]] has a nifty episode list which assures that Carmen's henchmen managed to steal, among other things, the Portuguese language, the moon, Malta, the North Pole, [[The ABC]], the Bermuda Triangle, Old Faithful, Ipanema Beach, Mt. Everest, the International Date Line, the Ozone Layer, Cuba, the internet, ''tai chi'', ''{{and to top it all, [[Serial Escalation]] the frickin' Milky Way Galaxy}}''. Wrap your head around ''that''. It's worth noting that the alien henchwoman Kneemoi was responsible for most of the more bizarre thefts. Bizarre as in concepts that don't exist in any physical sense, like the International Date Line, Portuguese language, and tai chi. The human henchmen usually stuck to physical objects, even if they were buildings, geological formations, or celestial bodies. And then there was the episode of the game show where her henchmen stole the [[Funny Aneurysm Moment|World Trade Center]]... which, in retrospect, could have been for the best.▼
▲== Live Action TV ==
▲* The [[Carmen Sandiego]] series of game shows (''Where In The World Is...?'' and ''Where In Time Is...?'') has this, too, of course. [[That Other Wiki]] has a nifty episode list which assures that Carmen's henchmen managed to steal, among other things, the Portuguese language, the moon, Malta, the North Pole, [[The ABC]], the Bermuda Triangle, Old Faithful, Ipanema Beach, Mt. Everest, the International Date Line, the Ozone Layer, Cuba, the internet, ''tai chi'', ''{{and to top it all, [[Serial Escalation]] the frickin' Milky Way Galaxy}}''. Wrap your head around ''that''. It's worth noting that the alien henchwoman Kneemoi was responsible for most of the more bizarre thefts. Bizarre as in concepts that don't exist in any physical sense, like the International Date Line, Portuguese language, and tai chi. The human henchmen usually stuck to physical objects, even if they were buildings, geological formations, or celestial bodies. And then there was the episode of the game show where her henchmen stole the [[Funny Aneurysm Moment|World Trade Center]]... which, in retrospect, could have been for the best.
* ''[[Mirai Sentai Timeranger]]'' and ''[[Power Rangers Time Force]]'' start with something like this - the respective [[Big Bad]]s didn't just stage prison breakouts, they ''stole the prison''.
* One episode of ''[[Michael Bentine's Potty Time|Michael Bentines Potty Time]]'' had someone stealing Nelson's Column, the Effiel Tower and the Statue of Liberty. It turned out he had only removed them so he could have them cleaned as gifts to the respective governments.
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* In the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' episode "The Stolen Earth"..well, you can guess.
== [[Professional Wrestling]] ==▼
* A notorious [[WCW]] storyline had [[Booker T]] and his [[Evil Counterpart]] Big T fighting over who would ''gain ownership of the letter "T."'' (As [[Wrestlecrap]] sarcastically put it, the show must have been taken over by ''[[Sesame Street]]''.)▼
==
* In the [[Carmen Sandiego]] radio dramas "The Case of the Unsolved Crime" and "The Case of the Mysterious Case", this is subverted almost to the point of deconstruction. In the former, Carmen and henchman Sam O'Nella steal the Pantheon from Rome, Italy. However Carmen, punishing Sam for a past betrayal, ditches him immediately after the heist, leaving him with a thousand-ton stone monument of a white elephant. Sam unsuccessfully tries to sell the stone to be used in paper-weights before being caught. In the latter, henchman Lee Non Mi, wanting to prove herself Carmen's equal, steals Beethoven's Piano from Bonn, Germany. However, it is too old to be used as an instrument, and too hot to be sold as a historical artifact. After a long chase, Lee tries to abandon it in a New York City music school which is where the authorities (and Carmen) catch up to her.
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==▼
▲== Professional Wrestling ==
▲* A notorious [[WCW]] storyline had [[Booker T]] and his [[Evil Counterpart]] Big T fighting over who would ''gain ownership of the letter "T."'' (As [[Wrestlecrap]] sarcastically put it, the show must have been taken over by ''[[Sesame Street]]''.)
▲== Tabletop Games ==
* ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]''
** In third edition, carrying capacity scales exponentially and is easily increased since (with one exception) it doesn't help in combat. What a character can take with teleportation effects is based on on carrying capacity.
** The ''[[Eberron]]'' fluff article ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20210920214740/http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd
** The Thief of Legend epic destiny from fourth edition lets players be this. What else would you call someone capable of stealing the color of people's eyes, their memories of their childhood, or any intangible quality of them? Plus, once a day, you can steal any unattended object and hide it anywhere on that plane. Epic. Oh, and they steal their own soul from the forces of death on a regular basis.
* In ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'', it's possible to steal...just about anything from your opponent. Artifacts, creatures, lands, '''[[Serial Escalation|enchantments]]'''.
== [[Video Games]] ==
* [[Carmen Sandiego]], the educational entertainment character, had a penchant for stealing historical figures, famous landmarks, and even entire ''time periods'', just for the kicks of it. Sometimes she's able to steal things that aren't even material. She doesn't steal Mona Lisa, or even the Louvre. No, she'll steal the ''Mona Lisa's smile.'' She won't gank the Hope Diamond, she'll swipe its ''shine''. She won't abscond with your possessions, she'll take your past, your future, ''your soul.''
** Carmen's henchmen would also stage some... interesting heists in the games. Such as one in Where in Time that stole the Thames river. Appropriately enough, he was wearing a blue trench coat.
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* Kay Faraday from ''[[Ace Attorney Investigations]]'' ''tries'' to be a Monumental Thief, but fails at it mostly. All she manages to steal are Edgeworth's lines and poses and Gumshoe's supporting role. Her actual goal, stealing ''the truth'' is foiled by the fact that her "partner" would rather find it the traditional way.
* In ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics]]'', some games allow the thief to steal hearts, experience, and the like.
* In ''[[Kid Icarus: Uprising]]'', the [[Crazy Awesome|evil yet awesome]] (as the hero describes them) [[Space Pirates]] are stealing ''entire constellations''.
* ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtles in Time]]'' starts with a giant-sized Krang stealing the Statue of Liberty; given the plot (or what passes for it) of the game, it seems this is done as bait to lure the heroes into Shredder's trap.
** The bad guys do it again in ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge]]'', but have a different motive this time - {{spoiler| Krang intends to use the Statue of Liberty for a new robot body! He does, and the Turtles fight the Krang!Statue as the second-to-last boss. [[Anticlimax Boss| He is, by the way, a pushover]].}}
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* Thief from ''[[8-Bit
{{quote|Thief: Oh Black Mage, you and your delusions... "Thief is trying to rob us of our very souls."
Black Mage: Wait, I only '''think''' that last one out of fear of you. I've never '''said''' it out loud.
Thief: Oh, I steal souls and secrets. }}
** Earlier in the comic, Red Mage suggests that Thief should minmax by putting all his skillpoints into pick-pocketing, since it could cover all other thief skills - opening locks by pickpocketing them out of the doors and chests they're attached to, disarm traps by pickpocketing the mechanisms, and successfully lying to people by "picking the truth pocket of their minds".
* Haley Starshine from ''[[The Order of the Stick]]'' used this trope for a gag. The team needed a diamond for a spell, so she stole one. From ''herself'', in the ''past'', by [[No Fourth Wall|climbing the links on the website and stealing it from the comic on the cast page]]. Leaving a note saying "I O Me one big-ass diamond", which is still on the cast page.
*
* ''[[Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal]]'' gives us [http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2257 the pickpocket version.]
== [[Web Original]] ==▼
▲== Web Original ==
* Frenchman in ''[[Englishman]]'' has a habit of stealing landmarks from other countries and relocating them to Paris.
* ''[[Web Animation/ASDF Movies|ASDF Movies]]'':
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** "Look out! He's got a nose!"
== [[Western Animation]] ==▼
* ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'' has Snake steal the entire Kwik-E-Mart. "I'm taking this thing to Mexico!"▼
▲== Western Animation ==
▲* ''[[The Simpsons]]'' has Snake steal the entire Kwik-E-Mart. "I'm taking this thing to Mexico!"
** It ''was'' left unguarded at the time.
* A possible reference was in ''[[Futurama]]'', where a character mentions that New New York had a "super villain mayor" who stole several landmarks, such as the Sphinx and the Eiffel Tower, and put them on the beach at Coney Island.
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* In the first episode of [[Kim Possible]], Drakken steals an entire toy factory.
==
* ''[[Cracked.com]]'' has [http://www.cracked.com/article_17090_wheres-bridge-7-biggest-things-ever-stolen.html the 7 biggest things ever stolen.]
* Police in [[Jamaica]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080611153251/http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article.html?in_article_id=100140&in_page_id=2 Bridge outside Cheb, Czech Republic, discovered missing]. Fifth such bridge to disappear in East Europe in last year. Reward offered. Culprit may also be hiding other bridges from [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=9004439 New Zealand or Poland].
** It's contagious. [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/07/pennsylvania-bridge-theft_n_1001124.html A bridge also went missing] in North Beaver Township, Pennsylvania. A story just about made for [http://www.youtube.com/user/TVsCraigFerguson?blend=1&ob=5#p/c/0EE4FC52DD92F112/0/eXfYPIw_iwQ late night comedy].
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Steal This Index]]▼
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
▲[[Category:Steal This Index]]
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