Obnoxious In-Laws: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|''"Like a mother-in-law in a bad sitcom..."''~~|'''Kaname Chidori''' (regarding Commander Mardukeus), ''[[Full Metal Panic Fumoffu]]''}}~~

{{quote|''"Like a mother-in-law in a bad sitcom..."''

|'''Kaname Chidori''' (regarding Commander Mardukeus), ''[[Full Metal Panic Fumoffu]]''}}

{{quote|''"The only enemies at a wedding, Klump, are the in-laws."''~~|'''King K. Rool''', ''[[Donkey Kong Country (animation)|Donkey Kong Country]]''}}~~

{{quote|''"The only enemies at a wedding, Klump, are the in-laws."''

|'''King K. Rool''', ''[[Donkey Kong Country (animation)|Donkey Kong Country]]''}}

{{quote|''"When are you going to learn that In-Laws are your natural enemies?"''~~|'''Dan,''' [[Dan Vs.]]}}~~

{{quote|''"When are you going to learn that In-Laws are your natural enemies?"''

|'''Dan,''' [[Dan Vs.]]}}

A [[Happily Married]] couple faces various problems, but none quite like the [[Sitcom]] In-Law. A member of one of the couple's family (often the wife's) has an obvious animosity towards their relative's spouse. They hate the person their daughter/sister/son/brother is married to and aren't shy about reaffirming it. While the object of this hate always tries to be nice to them (often at the insistence of their partner/spouse), the in-laws pull out all the stops to ridicule, abuse and undermine their target, and even try to set up their relative with somebody else, in spite of being married, and their spouse still living. Most of the time, they hate the poor guy for no reason [[Why Couldn't You Be Different?|other than not being a millionaire.]] Occasionally the hate stems from a [[Disproportionate Retribution|past incident that the hero/heroine has long since made up for.]] Or it could just be some people are... [[Jerkass|just jerks.]]

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== Anime and Manga ==

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== Anime & Manga ==

* ''[[Orange Yane no Chiisana Ie]]'', where the in-laws of Natchi's ex-husband (who oppose her divorcing him and living with Shoutaro), are [[Jerkass|completely barbaric]] in how they treat her when she visits. [[Fridge Logic|Somehow they think this will result in Natchi wanting to come back and be part of their family...]]

* One story told during the [[Gossipy Hens]] episode of ''[[Paranoia Agent]]'' concerns a woman whose life is ''hell'' due to her overbearing mother-in-law. {{spoiler|When the mother-in-law uses the woman's ''birthday'' to demand rice balls, she snaps and tries to kill her -- at which point Shonen Bat intervenes and kills the mother-in-law.}}

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== ~~Comics~~ ==

== Comic Bookss ==

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* In ''[[Superman]]'', General Sam Lane did not approve of Lois marrying mild-mannered reporter, Clark Kent, feeling that he was too much of a wimp, and even threatened to not attend their wedding. In all fairness, according to Lois's sister, he's hated all of his daughters' beaus. For the record, he wasn't very fond of Superman either [[Fantastic Racism|because he didn't trust aliens.]]

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* Inverted in ''[[FoxTrot]]''. Andy herself dreads her mother's visits because the whole family absolutely adores her and she feels pushed to the sides.

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* [[Cathy]]'s in-laws are absolutely annoying.

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* In [[Superman]], General Sam Lane did not approve of Lois marrying mild-mannered reporter, Clark Kent, feeling that he was too much of a wimp, and even threatened to not attend their wedding. In all fairness, according to Lois's sister, he's hated all of his daughters' beaus. For the record, he wasn't very fond of Superman either [[Fantastic Racism|because he didn't trust aliens.]]

== Fan Works ==

* Women aren't immune to this trope either, as the title character of ''[[~~Troper Works/~~Ultimate Spider Woman|Ultimate Spider-Woman: Change with the Light]]'' will tell you. Ben Reilly's parents both hate Mary Jane Watson and are fairly open about it, especially when Andrew becomes an [[Overprotective Dad]] and outright ''threatens'' Mary Jane if she doesn't stop dating his son. When he finds out about it, Ben is not amused.

* Women aren't immune to this trope either, as the title character of ''[[Ultimate Spider Woman|Ultimate Spider-Woman: Change with the Light]]'' will tell you. Ben Reilly's parents both hate Mary Jane Watson and are fairly open about it, especially when Andrew becomes an [[Overprotective Dad]] and outright ''threatens'' Mary Jane if she doesn't stop dating his son. When he finds out about it, Ben is not amused.

* In the 'In My Eyes' stories latest chapter, Megatron outright says he'll kill {{spoiler|Sarah if she doesn't break up with Will.}}

* In the ''In My Eyes'' stories' latest{{when}} chapter, Megatron outright says he'll kill {{spoiler|Sarah if she doesn't break up with Will.}}

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== Jokes ==

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* One man once wrote a letter to his daughter's ex-boyfriend. He claims he can't sleep ever since he damaged the relationship. He claims he's writing the letter in hopes the potential son-in-law forgives and forgets. The man said that, when he saw the boy for the first time, he was surprised with the tatoos and the nose ring, but nowadays he doesn't mind that much. He also understands that riding a motorcycle in high speed and without a helmet isn't that dangerous as long as one pays attention to the other vehicles. The man also understands his reaction to the fact the boy never worked was quite inadequate and too extreme and unfair. He's quite convinced many good and able people also must live under bridges and sleeping in parks. He now also understands that the fact his daughter wants to get married at age 17 instead of attending an ivy-league college, is simply an alternative for her education, since not everything is taught at books and school. Sometimes he realizes how outdated he could be while meddling in topics of those nature and he recognizes he's wrong. He claims to have been foolish for opposing them and wished to redeem himself by giving his blessings. He even signed his letter as "your future father-in-law".

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** Then he wrote a P.S. congratulating the boy for his lottery winnings.

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== Literature ==

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* In the ''[[Discworld]]'' novels, Nanny Ogg is this towards her daughter-in-laws, but not her son-in-laws.

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* ''[[Harry Potter/Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince|Harry Potter]]'': Molly and her daughter Ginny don't approve Bill's (Molly's first-born) marriage to Fleur Delacour. In the end, when Bill's battle scars didn't make Fleur like Bill any less, Molly and (presumably) Ginny warmed up to her.

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{{quote|'''Ginny:''' I suppose I'm just going to have to accept that he really is going to marry her.

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'''Harry:''' She's alright. ''(hastily)'' Ugly, though. }}

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* [[Older Than Feudalism]]: In ''[[The Bible]]'', Rebekah is "vexed" by the wives of Esau. It seems to be mostly because they are Canaanites, and follow Canaanite traditions and customs, worshipping their gods instead of the God of Abraham.

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* ''[[Fargo]]'' has the obnoxiousness of Jerry Lundegaard's father-in-law Wade Gustafson be one of the primary ways that Jerry's [[Batman Gambit]] turns into a ''very'' dark [[Fawlty Towers Plot]].

* ''[[Guess Who]]'' features a Caucasian man dating an African-American whose father would rather have her dating a fellow African-American.

* Brought up in ''[[Addams Family]] Reunion'' by Morticia: when Gomez asks if she's noticed anything strange about his grandparents, who are visiting, her response is:

* Brought up in ''[[Addams Family Reunion]]'' by Morticia: when Gomez asks if she's noticed anything strange about his grandparents, who are visiting, her response is:

{{quote|"Now, keep in mind that for me they are still ''in-laws.'' Tradition dictates that I must ''despise'' them. Regardless of my own personal feelings in the matter."}}

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== Jokes ==

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* One man once wrote a letter to his daughter's ex-boyfriend. He claims he can't sleep ever since he damaged the relationship. He claims he's writing the letter in hopes the potential son-in-law forgives and forgets. The man said that, when he saw the boy for the first time, he was surprised with the tatoos and the nose ring, but nowadays he doesn't mind that much. He also understands that riding a motorcycle in high speed and without a helmet isn't that dangerous as long as one pays attention to the other vehicles. The man also understands his reaction to the fact the boy never worked was quite inadequate and too extreme and unfair. He's quite convinced many good and able people also must live under bridges and sleeping in parks. He now also understands that the fact his daughter wants to get married at age 17 instead of attending an ivy-league college, is simply an alternative for her education, since not everything is taught at books and school. Sometimes he realizes how outdated he could be while meddling in topics of those nature and he recognizes he's wrong. He claims to have been foolish for opposing them and wished to redeem himself by giving his blessings. He even signed his letter as "your future father-in-law".

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** Then he wrote a P.S. congratulating the boy for his lottery winnings.

⚫

== Literature ==

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* In the ''[[Discworld]]'' novels, Nanny Ogg is this towards her daughter-in-laws, but not her son-in-laws.

⚫

* ''[[Harry Potter/Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince|Harry Potter]]'': Molly and her daughter Ginny don't approve Bill's (Molly's first-born) marriage to Fleur Delacour. In the end, when Bill's battle scars didn't make Fleur like Bill any less, Molly and (presumably) Ginny warmed up to her.

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{{quote|'''Ginny:''' I suppose I'm just going to have to accept that he really is going to marry her.

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'''Harry:''' She's alright. ''(hastily)'' Ugly, though. }}

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* [[Older Than Feudalism]]: In ''[[The Bible]]'', Rebekah is "vexed" by the wives of Esau. It seems to be mostly because they are Canaanites, and follow Canaanite traditions and customs, worshipping their gods instead of the God of Abraham.

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* New Orleans R&B guy Ernie K. Doe's big hit -- "Mother-In-Law".

* [[Spike Jones]]'s "William Tell Overture" racehorse routine: "Mother-in-Law nagging in the rear!" "Aaaaah-aaaah-aaaah!!" This is clearly after Feetlebaum leaves his position [[Stealth Pun|well behind]] the rear of the pack.

== Newspaper Comics ==

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* Inverted in ''[[FoxTrot]]''. Andy herself dreads her mother's visits because the whole family absolutely adores her and she feels pushed to the sides.

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* [[Cathy]]'s in-laws are absolutely annoying.