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{{trope}}

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'''Basic Trope''': A villain can't replace a superweapon he built because he had only one and didn't take notes of any kind.
* '''Straight''': After Dr. Destruction's death ray gets blown up, to make a new one he needs to go back to researching laser amplification.
* '''Exaggerated''': After Dr. Destruction's death ray gets blown up, to make a new one he needs to go back and invent a source of free energy, an antigravity device, a miniature warp drive, and a sub-atomic rearrangement machine all over again, as well as reconcile quantum mechanics with Einstein's relativity theory.
* '''Downplayed''': After Dr. Destruction's death ray gets blown up, to make a new one he needs to go back to engineering support girders and rotating bases and such.
* '''Justified''': The explosion destroyed the entire laboratory building, and Dr. Destruction was too paranoid to do off-site backups over the Internet.
* '''Inverted''': Dr. Destruction blows up the heroes' death ray, which they are unable to replace.
* '''Subverted''': After the death ray has been blown up, Dr. Destruction appears in a video call, flaunting the portable hard drive containing his backup.
* '''Double Subverted''': ...Which turns out to be corrupted.
* '''Parodied''': ???
* '''Zig Zagged''': Of the many destroyed types of superweapons, about half have turned out to be easily replaceable.
* '''Averted''': Dr. Destruction never makes a death ray or it never gets blown up.
* '''Enforced''': "We need a different cool superweapon every time Dr. Destruction appears so that he doesn't get boring."
* '''Lampshaded''': "I bet you didn't take notes this time either, right?"
* '''Invoked''': Hero to Dr. Destruction: "You have no chance at conquering the world. Our agents will simply steal your notes, and a nation state can easily manufacture more death rays than your little laboratory and do it quicker."
* '''Exploited''': Evil Co. installs hidden video cameras in Dr. Destruction's laboratory because they know he will never be able to challenge their patents on his inventions after the heroes blow up his superweapon again.
* '''Defied''': Dr. Destruction makes a solemn decision to keep careful notes and backup his data in multiple locations.
* '''Discussed''': "Eh, blowing up the death ray would only slow Dr. Destruction a little. Surely he has notes how to build another one. Do you think he is an idiot or this is a Saturday morning cartoon or something?"
* '''Conversed''': "Of course Dr. Destruction didn't keep any notes. Cartoon mad scientist never do."
* '''Deconstructed''': The story goes to great lengths to portray Dr. Destruction's tragic severe paranoia that turned his great intellect against his fellow humans as well as undermined his own accomplishments by making him too fearful to keep notes.
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