Spanner in the Works: Difference between revisions

(Note for Americans reading this: "Spanner" is the Queen's English word for what you Yanks call a "wrench." "Throwing a monkey wrench into it" would be the synonymous American phrase.)

 

 

{{examples}}

* Mugen from ''[[Samurai Champloo]]'' is a prime example. In the first episode, Mugen dispatches a horde of mooks and then approaches their boss, who then explains to Mugen how he is the son of the town's corrupt governor. Any attempts to harm the son of an important official will be a death sentence. He then confidently asks Mugen if he got all that. Mugen responds with, "Not a word," and then attacks him.

** Mugen also manages to thwart a hostage situation simply because he was only interested in getting his kicks fighting and couldn't care less about the hostages.

* ''[[Mazinger Z]]'', ''[[Great Mazinger]]'', and ''[[Mazinkaiser]]'' would be so much more different had [[Joke Character|Boss]] not interfered with the baddies plans. To clarify:

** In ''[[Mazinger Z]]'', thanks to [[Memetic Mutation|Brocken]] [[Crowning Moment of Funny|Ball]], Koji is able to rescue the kidnapped civilians. Not to mention the fact that in the same series, he saved Koji's life several times, gaining Koji's respect in the process. And in the ''Mazinger-Z versus Great General of Darkness'', as a squad of Mykene Warrior Monsters are trashing Mazinger-Z he suddenly interfered. He only deterred them for several seconds, but those seconds were all that {{spoiler|Tetsuya needed to intervene with Great Mazinger and save Kouji's life. And because Kouji did not die, he could help to save the world in ''[[Great Mazinger]]'' and ''[[UFO Robo Grendizer]]''.}}

* Three of the 12 Sisters in ''[[Coyote Ragtime Show]]'', [[Day of the Week Name|Oct, Nove, and Diesse]], accidentally sent an enemy ship flying into a bomb capable of an [[Earthshattering Kaboom]]... {{spoiler|and nothing happens, revealing the bomb above the planet Graceland to be a fake. Spannered further by the militants who act on this information, who are unaware that the fake bomb was a distraction to keep people from finding the real bomb, which is ''already'' on the planet and was moments away from being disarmed before they killed the people negotiating for it.}}

* ''[[Katekyo Hitman Reborn]]'' has a mid-level mechanic incidentally named Spanner that performs a [[Heel Face Turn]] along with {{spoiler|Irie}} in an effort to take down the Future Arc's [[Big Bad]] Byakuran using his technical knowledge of the base and Millefiore. It would have slightly more effective if Byakuran wasn't an ultimate [[The Chessmaster|Chessmaster]] and the in-series King of [[Xanatos Speed Chess]] forcing the epic battles, struggles and hardships just for his own amusement.

** In the Assault of Marineford Arc, {{spoiler|Little Oars, Jr.}} caused the Marines strategy for fighting Whitebeard to backfire when his body blocked a piece of a huge siege wall they were trying to activate from rising.

** Buggy also qualifies in that same arc. His desire to grandstand and show off to a world audience led him to capture a video den-den mushi, meaning that the World Government didn't have total control over what information was getting out of Marineford when they started slaughtering the pirates mercilessly with the Pacifistas, or when Blackbeard betrayed the World Government, indelibly humiliating them in the process.

* ''[[Dennou Coil]]'' protagonist Yasako is revealed to be this in the final episode. {{spoiler|When Yasako was about seven years old, she stumbled into a hidden Space being used to help a girl her age, later known as Isako, cope with the death of her older brother. Yasako encounters a simulation of this brother and her affection towards him sparks Isako's insecurities and fears of losing him, resulting in the creation of Miss Michiko, which is the cause for many problems throughout the series}}.

* Akiyama sees Nao Kanzaki as this in regards to the ''[[Liar Game]].'' The Liar Game's producers break even by collecting on the players' debts, and profits when the winning contestants forfeit half of their winnings to [[Opt Out]] of the game. Nao, however, has consistently been using her winnings to pay off other players' debts while increasing her own as a result. Akiyama believes that Nao has the potential to completely bankrupt the Liar Game by doing this since by the end, her personal debt will have gotten so high actually ''collecting'' would be impossible.

* Senoo Kaori in ''[[Saki (manga)|Saki]]'' does this to Mako in the same way as the poker and billiards examples listed in Real Life. Mako's playstyle is based entirely on having watched experienced players all her life. Kaori is a complete beginner. The result is that because Kaori has no idea what she's actually doing, Mako found it impossible to read her discards and ended up losing to her.

* The military high command in ''[[Strike Witches]]'' were running a conspiracy to {{spoiler|abolish the Strike Witches in favor of their own methods}}. Their plan was all in place and ready to go until Yoshika {{spoiler|attempted peaceful contact with a Neuroi}}. Since the high command's {{spoiler|methods involved illegal use of Neuroi technology}}, Yoshika's actions forced them to act prematurely and [[Revealing Coverup|made the other Witches realize they were hiding something.]]

** Zeon's over-reliance on Mobile Armors

** Ghiren firing a superweapon too early just to kill his own father.

 

== Comic Books ==

* [[Batman]], or rather Bruce Wayne, was this to the Court of Owls. {{spoiler|For centuries they have used entertainment venues like Haley's Circus to recruit youths and brainwash them into their loyal elite Talons. They had planned to do the same to [[Nightwing|Dick Grayson]] (a descendant of one of their most successful Talons), but the deaths of Dick's parents and his immediate adoption by Bruce Wayne afterwards placed him out of their reach.}}

* Margaret from [[Yoko Tsuno]]'s story ''The pray and the shadow''. {{spoiler|Forced by her boss to be his adoptive daughter Cecilia's [[Body Double]] involved in a cruel [[Xanatos Gambit]] to get said daughter killed and inherit her wealth, Margaret is shit scared of continuing in the plot, and she secretly contacts Yoko to both help save Cecilia and free herself from her evil boss...}}

 

== Fan Works ==

* The ''[[Pony POV Series]]'' has one that's notable for the exceptionally long time required for the spanner to actually get into the villain's works. {{spoiler|Back in the G3 Universe, which was facing [[The End of the World as We Know It]] (actually a [[Shoot the Dog]] to avert a Class Z Apocalypse) at the time, Pinkie Pie's best friend Minty just bled to death after their fight with Luna, leaving behind her "spirit" (or at least a piece of herself). Strife, Discord's sister and Spirit of Natural Selection, is fighting the survivors of the doomed world (in order to give them at least the chance to fight for their survival, something she believes is the right of all living things) and sent Heartless-like spirits of "erased" ponies after them. One of these calls into the canyon where Pinkie and Minty's fight took place, wounded in battle. Pinkie, in a split second choice, fuses the piece of Minty with the shadow, which turns out to be that of the G1 Twilight. The result? ''[[The Hero|Twilight Sparkle!]]''}}

* In the ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' fanfic ''[[RE-TAKE]]'', SEELE finds all their plans foiled by something they could never have anticipated {{spoiler|Shinji be aided by [[It Makes Sense in Context|Ghost-Asuka and "God"]] which allows him to destroy the Mass Production Evas during the fan-fic's take the events of "End".}}

 

== Film ==

** Anakin Skywalker's destroying the Trade Federation's droid control station in the first prequel was a massive stroke of luck. To the extent that not even ''he'' realized what was happening. He just hid in an unmanned Naboo fighter and stuff happened.

* The scheming husband in ''[[Dial M for Murder]]'' is undone because he underestimates the intelligence of Swann/Lesgate, the thug he hired to kill his wife. Swann puts the key right back after using it, rather than keeping it, as his employer expected.

* ''[[Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (film)|Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street]]'': Sweeney Todd would have killed Judge Turpin and ended the movie right there and then in the middle had Anthony, who had recently talked to Sweeney about his plan to elope with Johanna in order to get her away from Turpin, not busted into his shop ''with the judge right there in the room'' in order to inform Sweeney that he has found Johanna and that she has agreed to the plan. Needless to say, this ends up blowing both the aforementioned plan and Sweeney's attempt to kill Turpin straight to hell.

* All throughout ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean]]: Curse of the Black Pearl'', Jack repeatedly plots for the most favorable outcome (for himself), but stubborn fool Will Turner and arrogant [[Jerkass]] Captain Barbossa assume they know best how to get things done, and nearly screw themselves out of their goals frequently. If Barbossa had wanted to cut Elizabeth's throat instead of her hand, Will would've been too late to save her on his own, and if Will had died like he should've when Barbossa ordered the Interceptor scuttled with Will trapped below, Barbossa would never have gotten Will's blood to pay Bill Turner's debt. Near the end of the film before the climactic battle, Jack has everybody where he wants them, but because Barbossa and Norrington don't trust him at all, his plans almost fall apart.

* In the 1932 sci-fi mystery film ''[[Doctor X]]'' the [[Mad Scientist]] [[Serial Killer]] manages to not only {{spoiler|trick the other characters into believing he is innocent}} but also {{spoiler|manipulates them into physically restraining themselves so he can slaughter them at his leisure}}. Unfortunately he forgot about the [[Plucky Comic Relief]] [[Intrepid Reporter]], {{spoiler|who manages to dispatch him in a terrified and bumbling fashion at the last minute}}.

* In [[The Caper]] film ''[[The Killing (film)|The Killing]]'', a band of criminals pull off an elaborate robbery of a racetrack. Even though the {{spoiler|most of the criminals kill each other off fighting amongst themselves}}, the [[Anti-Hero]] and his [[Love Interest]] manage to {{spoiler|escape to the airport and prepare to board a plane out of the country with all the loot}}. However, all their plans are foiled when {{spoiler|a dog runs out in front of the luggage train, causing it to crash and spill the loot all over the runway for all to see}}.

* ''[[Clue (film)|Clue]]'': Mr. Boddy tries to get one of his six blackmail victims to kill his butler Wadsworth to prevent him from reporting him to the police; instead, one of them kills Boddy. One of the film's three endings however, revealed an even bigger [[Batman Gambit]]: {{spoiler|Wadsworth was really Mr Boddy all along, getting the six to kill his butler in his place and the rest of his informants so there would be no evidence against him.}} This one is ruined by {{spoiler|the FBI sending a plant in place of Mr. Green, who kills Wadsworth/Boddy in the end.}}

* The terrorists from ''[[Vantage Point]]'' might have gotten away with it, had it not been for a ''little girl''.

{{quote|'''Pike''': Here's what I think of your best laid plans!

* [[The Adjustment Bureau]] tries to contain this kind of incidents. But they are not above random chance and unexpected behavior.

* Gina in ''[[Unknown (2011 film)|Unknown]]''. Despite just being his cab driver, she saves Dr. Harris' life at the beginning of the movie and twice afterwards, {{spoiler|killing [[Mooks]] and the [[Big Bad]] in the process,}} which also allows Harris to stop the plan of the [[Big Bad]].

* In ''[[A Few Good Men]]'', it becomes apparent the that the Department of the Navy very much wants the case of ''United States v. Dawson & Downey'' to be quietly resolved by a [[Plea Bargain]] so as to prevent incident from causing too much embarssment to the Marine Corps. This plan is undone by the dual spanners of Galloway and Dawson; Galloway, not because she is dumb, but be because she is clever enough to sense the somthing in not right and thus goads Kaffee in doing his due dilligence for once instead of rushing to a [[Plea Bargain]], Dawson, for being too hardcore of a jarhead to willingly accept a dishonorable discharge because it would make thing easier for him, and telling Kaffee to take his plea bargain and shove it.

* In ''[[The Atomic Brain]]'', as shown on the TV series ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'', in spades. The main plot for the villain Miss Marsh was for her to have her brain swapped with the prettiest girl of three chosen. That gets ruined when the homeliest of the three, who had her brain swapped with the cat's, [[Eye Scream|gouges her eye out]]. Miss Marsh's companion tries to double-cross her, killing her and letting the remaining girl take her money, but Marsh kills him. The scientist, Dr. Otto Frank, pulls one by placing Miss Marsh's brain with the cat's, revealing that he wanted to keep her locked away in the cat so he could use her money to continue his research on reviving the dead. Miss March responds by locking him in the revival chamber and setting the dial to "Frag the entire house".

 

== Literature ==

* A [[The Ditz|ditzy]] cultist hands the newborn Antichrist off to the wrong unsuspecting parents in the beginning of ''[[Good Omens]]'', thus setting off a plan that {{spoiler|derails Armageddon itself.}}

** Of course, this may have all been a bigger {{spoiler|[[Gambit Roulette]] planned out by [[The Powers That Be]].}}

** Supposedly, Gandalf knew that the Ring would ultimately corrupt Frodo, especially since it would be the most powerful within the Cracks of Doom, and that another Spanner like Gollum would have to occur for the plan to work.

* In [[Isaac Asimov]]'s ''Forward the [[Foundation]]'' amidst the chaos surrounding high-level plots and counter-plots, Galactic Emperor Cleon I {{spoiler|is assassinated by a totally insignificant palace minion, because he (Cleon) was insisting on promoting said peon, against the peon's fervent wishes, from "gardener" to "chief gardener"}}.

* Gunner First Class Ferik Jurgen, assistant to [[Ciaphas Cain]], turns out to be the one who most often saves the day, with his combination of being a "blank" who nullifies psychic powers and the fact that he carries [[BFG|a really, really big gun.]]

* The ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' book ''A Feast For Crows'' has Lysa. And Jaime. And Robb. And Allerie. And Roose. And so on and so forth. Westeros is so awash in spanners it's a wonder that it's ever experienced peace. But of course, as anyone who's finished ''Dance with Dragons'' knows, {{spoiler|Varys is the motherfucking ''king'' of all spanners.}}

** Joffrey can also be a spanner at times: While for the most part he's fairly predictable, his cruelty and insanity occasionally lead him to do things that no one would expect, such as {{spoiler|ordering Ned Stark's execution, despite his mother and Varys and Grand Maester Pycelle all telling him to led Stark join the Night's Watch instead}}. And let's not forget that even before he became king, he was the one who {{spoiler|sent an assassin to murder the comatose Bran, just because he'd heard a passing comment by his father about how the boy would be better off dead}}.

* ''The Repairer of Reputations'', one of the short stories in ''[[The King in Yellow]]'', has the evil scheme being foiled by {{spoiler|the title character getting his throat torn out by his own [[Right-Hand-Cat]].}} Then again, [[Through the Eyes of Madness|since most people involved were insane]], the plan might not have worked anyway.

* [[David Eddings]]'s ''[[The Elenium|Tamuli]]'' trilogy reveals that the Child-Goddess Aphrael and her priestess Sephrenia were this to a [[Man Behind the Man]] without ever realizing it until his plans were exposed.

** And in fact, main protagonist Sparhawk is essentially a ''personification'' of this trope. As the "man without destiny," no one can really divine or guess what exactly he's going to do in the future...not even the gods, who are scared shitless of him.

* Mat Cauthon in ''[[The Wheel of Time]]'' almost literally personifies this trope. He isn't stupid, but he's rarely clued into just what exactly is going on around him. Despite this he foils many schemes, especially when he's actively trying not to.

** And similar to the line mentioned in ''[[Honor Harrington]]'' above, when the White Tower's weapons master tells Galad, Gawyn, and Mat a story about history's greatest swordsman, who was only defeated once in his entire life - by [[Badass Bystander|a random farmer with a stick]].

* In ''[[Bystander (novel)||Bystander]]'' the villains run into a ''very'' severe example of this, when they have a great plan to capture Lucretica, and are foiled by two details. One, they have a ''severely'' incorrect estimation of her power level, and two: {{spoiler|Her feet don't touch the ground}}.

** Fortunately, Lucretcia's [[Weaksauce Weakness|complete inability to fight]] helps put their plans back on track. {{spoiler|almost}}.

* Fireheart in ''[[Warrior Cats]]''. He completely ruins [[Big Bad|Tigerclaw]]'s plans by running into the cave where Tigerclaw was during a battle and beating Tigerclaw up.

* In ''[[The Dresden Files]]'' novel ''Changes,'' they are able to narrow down the location of where the sacrifice will occur because even though the records for the first shipment were destroyed, the red court still had to transfer another shipment due to the fact that the previous shipment was incomplete due to minion carelessness. As such they needed to keep one copy of the records intact until after the final checkup and they kept the records in the van they needed to use to transport the goods. As such Harry is able to narrow it down and eventually find Chichen Itza, enabling him to blow the Red Court's plan sky high.

** Harry in general serves as a Spanner in the Works of many a grand villainous plan, in much the same fashion as John McClane.

* In ''The Dance of Time'', the final book of Eric Flint's [[Belisarius Series]], there is a side plot of a Malwa assassination team tasked to kill Byzantine Emperor Photius and Empress Tahmina but keeps getting foiled by unexpected changes of plans of their targets. The team follows them for thousands of miles while the plot of the rest of the novel occurs around them. At the end they {{spoiler|run across the fleeing Malwa emperor and the [[Big Bad]] (currently inhabiting the body of an eight-year old girl). They kill him and his guards and wound her which makes it possible for the good guys to finally achieve complete victory}}. They get rewarded by being sent into exile with the series' [[Manipulative Bastard]].

* In ''[[The Demon Headmaster]]'' books, Dinah manages to be both this ''and'' an [[Unwitting Pawn]] at various points. The Headmaster can easily hypnotize her, and she's very close to being his greatest asset, but she's ''just'' intelligent enough to shake it off and bugger it all up at the last minute. For the record:

* In one of Francoise Rivier and Michel Laponte's ''Jonathan Cap'' books, recurrent character and local [[Plucky Girl]] Juliette becomes this. {{spoiler|She has her appendix removed in a Parisian private clinic and notices that both her doctor and the nurse in charge of her are acting strange, notifying Jonathan's [[Kid Sidekick]]s Alex and Nico about it so they can call Jonathan and investigate.}} It turns out {{spoiler|the doctor is ''the [[Big Bad]]'' of the book, with a complex [[Plan]] involving an Arabian prince and his [[Body Double]] (the [[Big Bad]]'s "disciple"), and the nurse is his forced accomplice because he threatened to kill her if she didn't collaborate.}} The plan would've gone smoothly, {{spoiler|had the [[Big Bad]] not been pretty much forced by the circumstances to be the doctor in charge of Juliette's emergency surgery...}}

 

** In the episode ''The Pirate Planet'', after all the planning to destroy the Mentiads by both a cyborg pirate captain and a tyrannical Queen Xanxia in disguise, the Mentiads and the Doctor manage to do [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|this trope]]... literally.

** In the story "The Caves of Androzani", unusually, the Doctor's role in the story is limited to frantically attempting to get him and Peri out alive. His mere presence, however, inadvertently causes the entire messed-up Androzani society to implode. The Doctor brings down a corrupt government ''accidentally''.

* In an episode of ''[[Wallander]],'' the title character avoids a fatal bullet by tripping over a conveniently-placed rug.

* In ''[[TNA]]'', Taylor Wilde and Lauren Brooke derailed Dr. Stevie's attempts to turn Abyss into his puppet. Despite using drugs, physical abuse, and mind games to keep him in line, Dr. Stevie didn't count on Abyss falling in love with Lauren. Then, when he ordered Abyss to attack Taylor, he didn't count on her being Lauren's best friend...

* ''[[Angel]]'' has this when a sorcerer's plan to sacrifice his virgin daughter for power is thwarted when it turns out {{spoiler|she hasn't been a virgin since she was in her teens. She even dated one of his mage bodyguards, who probably ''knew'' that she had to be a virgin for the sacrifice to work, and shuffles awkwardly offscreen after she points him out.}}

* The Season 5 finale of ''[[Weeds]]'' features an unusual instance of a smart character acting as fate's tool: {{spoiler|Shane Botwin's murder of Pilar, a brilliant criminal who acted as puppeteer for Estaban, the Mexican stock exchange, and Mexican government as a whole. Essentially, Shane and his croquet mallet accomplished in a mere second what Nancy and Guillermo had failed to do in half a season, and those two burnt down an entire town without getting caught...}}

* ''[[Firefly]]'' has a rare example of this happening to ''the hero.'' In "Objects In Space", {{spoiler|River}}'s [[Batman Gambit]] to {{spoiler|lead Early onto the top of the ship where Mal can ambush him}} is almost dashed by {{spoiler|Simon trying to stop Early, [[Kansas City Shuffle|unaware that River is actually prepared to ambush Early and not simply surrendering]].}} Fortunately, {{spoiler|Simon's woeful lack of skill in combat means Early is able to beat him back in time to waltz into the trap.}}

{{quote|'''Jack O'Neill''': So what you're basically saying is you need someone dumber than you?

'''General Hammond''': I'm sorry, Thor, but we need SG-1 here.

'''Sam Carter''': I could go, sir.

* The main characters in ''[[The Good Guys]]'' are generally competent cops (yes, even [[Bunny Ears Lawyer|Dan Stark]]) who solve major crimes largely by stumbling into them while investigating something much smaller.

* Shotaro from ''[[Kamen Rider Double]]'' is this trope incarnated. He's always the last thing the villains take into account. He even becomes this {{spoiler|to his own mentor of all people, being the [[Unwitting Instigator of Doom]] that wound up killing him and forcing the first transformation of Double.}} It happens so often, {{spoiler|Shroud relies on him to be this to foil Ryubee's Gaia Impact plot. Then he [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|singlehandedly foils the plot of the near Omnipotent Utopia Dopant by walking into his base, tying him up, rescuing Wakana, and blowing the base skyhigh with the Utopia Dopant still inside.]] What makes him a Spanner in the Works here? Utopia thought it'd be Philip he had to worry about being the thorn in his side.}}

* In the first volume of ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'', there was a large and complicated plot that involved blowing up New York in order to usher one of the characters into the White House. The only thing stopping it from being a [[Gambit Roulette]] was the fact that the people responsible were basing their convoluted plot on the works of an artist who could paint the future. And it was working, hell, it almost did work. Unfortunately for them, a certain [[Future Badass]] with the power to control the Space-Time continuum didn't like the result, and traveled back five years to give a message to one of the present day characters. This guy had ''no'' idea that there was any sort of plan, he just thought it all happened naturally, but the message he delivered set off a chain of events that ended up ruining the plan at the last minute.

* ''[[Leverage]]'': In "The Gold Job" Hardison demands, and is given, the opportunity to run his own con by [[The Chessmaster|Nate]]. Hardison plans an elaborate [[Batman Gambit]] based on video game theory and it's working very well, until the people he's manipulating decide that it's not worth the effort to keep jumping through his hoops. In an ending scene Hardison receives a [[Chekhov's Gun|letter]] Nate wrote earlier in the day which outlines the three things the plan needed to succeed (which Hardison's plan made possible). Nate then explains how he plans his cons to anticipate the possibility of spanners; he starts with the crude, ugly basic plan, and then plans the elaborate, beautiful, intricate plan from there.

 

== Music ==

{{quote|So I broke into the Palace

With a sponge and a rusty spanner }}

** ...referencing a peculiar event—long forgotten by most, perhaps—though the unlikelihood of [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/9/newsid_2498000/2498731.stm Michael Fagin's misadventure] conveys this trope's inherent flavor of the unexpected. In the BBC's retrospective, we learn "[t]he Queen was only able to raise the alarm when he asked for a cigarette." In more security-conscious days, who'd imagine such a Royal [[Fish Out of Water|contretemps]] could occur at all?

 

== Tabletop Games ==

** A mediocre GM can do this to players. When the players have a good plan which bypasses the intended challenge handily or solves a challenge with minimal fuss, a good GM may let the players have their moment in the sun and save those encounter notes to recycle them with new window dressing. A mediocre GM will have the players' plans fail for increasingly implausible reasons. A poor one will have a deer in headlights look as soon as the players are [[Off the Rails]].

** Example: Give the PCs the Eye of Vecna, you get some fun people fighting over it. However, one of the PCs sacrificing the Eye of Vecna to THE GOD OF JUSTICE? Not so expected.

* In ''[[Exalted]]'', beings that exist outside of fate are the ultimate Spanners from the perspective of the Sidereals. Since they cannot be detected, manipulated, or predicted by fate and fate-based powers, one of these beings can derail centuries of careful planning before the Sidereals realize that anything's amiss.

* In ''[[Vampire: The Requiem]]'', the Circle of the Crone has the position of [[The Fool]], whose sole purpose is acting as this. When the Circle needs something stopped they send in [[The Fool]] and watch stuff blow up. Basically it's like "so, you're a rather spirited walking corpse, eh? Say, could you go check out what that Invictus bastard is doing downtown? Just do whatever feels natural, I'm sure it'll be a blast." Fools who survive long enough to gain some measure of respectability might make it to the rank of [[Trickster Archetype|Trickster]], for whom the purpose is basically the same except the Trickster actually has some idea of what he is doing.

 

== Theatre ==

** Cyrano: Lampshaded by himself at Act II Scene VI: Unaware of it, he destroys De Guiche plan to set an arranged marriage with Roxane and De Valvert when he manipulates De Valvert to a duel.

{{quote|'''Cyrano:''' ''(Bowing to Roxane):''

For my ill favor—but your favors fair! }}

** De Guiche: When you apply [[Fridge Logic]], you see that De Guiche was the [[Unwitting Instigator of Doom]] in his own plan to [[Arranged Marriage|bully Roxane into a marriage]] with [[The Beard|De Valvert]] at Act I Scene IV: When De Guiche makes a [[Dare to Be Badass]] to De Valvert, it’s only a small act, but it’s crucial because it sets a [[Disaster Dominoes]] scenario that ends with De Valvert being touched by Cyrano and so unable to marry Roxane. He also destroys his own plan to [[Buy Them Off]] Cyrano when he mentions that his uncle Richelieu could correct a line or two from Cyrano’s work.

 

== Video Games ==

* Ditto ''[[Dwarf Fortress]]''; the tiniest breach in your defenses (like a [https://web.archive.org/web/20100905050400/http://lparchive.org/LetsPlay/Boatmurdered/chapter1-20.html monarch butterfly flying into the main door and jamming it open]) can lead to goblins cutting a swath through your dining hall, or a fortress-wide tantrum-spiral.

* {{spoiler|General Shepherd}} didn't expect one thing in ''[[Call of Duty: Modern Warfare|Modern Warfare 2]]''. {{spoiler|SAS Captain John Price. Price firing the nuke at Washington caused Shepherd to resort to some [[Xanatos Speed Chess]] and move up his timetable for TF 141's disposal, but Price's willingness to [[Enemy Mine|co-operate with Makarov]] pushed him on to the defensive and gave him a [[Eye Scream|knife through the eye]].}}

* The Alien protagonist in ''[[Alien vs. Predator|Aliens vs. Predator 2]]''.

* In ''[[BioShock (series)]]'', both {{spoiler|Fontaine}} ''and'' Sofia Lamb end up being thoroughly screwed by the {{spoiler|Little Sisters}}. Andrew Ryan was right; the weak do not hold back the strong, the weak just {{spoiler|stab the strong in the face and neck with giant needles.}}

* ''[[F.E.A.R.|Fear 2: Project Origin]]'' has this happen to the player instead of the villain. Terry Halford comes up with a [[Applied Phlebotinum|telesthetic amplifier]] that could give the player character, Sergeant Beckett, a decent chance at [[Battle in the Center of the Mind|exploding Alma's head]], and then {{spoiler|Genevieve Aristide waltzes in, shoots any dissenting voices, and changes the amplifier's settings in an attempt to [[Sealed Evil in a Can|trap Alma]]. Note that Halford, who has a far better grasp of the math and science of the amplifier, has already stated very emphatically that Aristide's plan simply will not work and Aristide is essentially a desperate idiot trying to make reality conform to her wishes. Her pitiful attempts only make Alma stronger, at [[Mind Rape|your expense]].}}

* In ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines]]'', the player character skews the [[Gambit Pileup|very, very delicate power balance of Los Angeles]] simply by being Embraced. That's about the only time things are ''not'' going according to someone's plan, though, and is directly followed by [[Xanatos Speed Chess]] on the part of Jack, LaCroix and {{spoiler|Caine}}, rather than a [[Villainous Breakdown]] on anyone's part. {{spoiler|In the endgame, it is impossible for you to be a Spanner in the Works, because [[Xanatos Gambit|whatever you do, LaCroix is toast for one reason or another]].}}

* Speaking of Sierra, the Hero in the ''[[Quest for Glory]]'' series tends to be this at times as well, either by intent or accident. Basically all of Quest for Glory IV was a result of the teleport spell used to snatch him at the end of [[Qf GIII]] dumping him in the wrong place in Mordavia.

* ''[[Fire Emblem]] 7'' has {{spoiler|Kishuna}} and {{spoiler|Hector}}. The first one ruins a [[Smug Snake]] magic user's trap for the heroes {{spoiler|via his [[Anti-Magic]] powers}}, the second is such a strong support for Eliwood that {{spoiler|Nergal}} has to admit that his mere presence throws his gambits around Eliwood off.

* In ''[[Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning]]'', The Fateless One is this to everyone and everything because he/she is [[Immune to Fate]]. Furthermore, since he/she was a [[Blank Slate]] with no memories upon revival it's impossible to predict just how he/she will react in any given situation. Everyone who tries to manipulate the Fateless One for their own evil plans fails miserably. {{spoiler|Even Tirnoch, the being that allowed the Fateless One to exist in the first place, underestimates what she created and pays for it with her life.}}

* The evil scheme of ''[[Pokémon Black and White]]'' goes off the rails the moment {{spoiler|Ghetsis's [[Laser Guided Tykebomb]] N discovers that [[Humans Are the Real Monsters]] ''[[Averted Trope|aren't]]'' [[Humans Are the Real Monsters|bastards]], shaking his worldview and forcing him to reevaluate his cause}}, purely by encountering the player character in the second town.

 

== Web Animation ==

* In ''[[Yu Yu Hakusho Abridged]]'':

{{quote|'''Kurama''': ''"...so I believe Hiei's superior speed would be the best choice for this fight."''

'''Kuwabara''' ''(screen-shift)'': "''Here kitty kitty!''"

'''Kurama''': ''"I stand corrected.''" }}

 

== [[Web Comics]] ==

* In the ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' story arc "[http://pics.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=010611 GOFOTRON Champion of the Universe]," Zorgon Gola has a pretty nice [[Batman Gambit|Gambit]] set up where he ''pretends'' to be an [[Omnicidal Maniac]], so that the heroes will sacrifice themselves trying to prevent a chain reaction that would destroy the universe, leaving him free to [[Galactic Conqueror|take over the Punyverse]] after their deaths. What he didn't count on was Torg, Riff, and Bun-Bun accidentally teleporting themselves into the Punyverse. They end up hijacking a vital piece of the heroes' [[Combining Mecha]] (the crotch). Without this, the heroes have no way of pulling off their [[Heroic Sacrifice]], and Zorgon Gola, along with the rest of the Punyverse, is blown up. [[Mike Nelson, Destroyer of Worlds|Oops]].

* Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon end up doing this to {{spoiler|Darth Maul}} in ''[[Darths and Droids]]''. In a clever little inversion, this whole scenario is actually made up on the spot by the DM, ''after'' the events took place in which the players apparently screwed up everything by going [[Off the Rails]]. The author suggests this technique as a way of [[Railroading|getting back at players who mess with your established scenario too much.]]

** [[Conviction by Counterfactual Clue|A simple lack of knowledge]] led him to believe (and say) that human coins were forged. A politician's [[Oh Crap]] moment led a guard to realize [[Right for the Wrong Reasons|they were indeed fakes]]—and who was behind it.

** His very decision to become a Questor—paired with the discovery of an old contract—puts his home village in peril. The contract stated that the previous Questor was to retrieve some artifacts in exchange for land on which to build a village. The problem: the old Questor failed to do so, and now that there's a new Questor, a political faction intends to use that contract to get Freeman Downs reposessed and thus out of the picture. Quentyn's decision? Retrieve those artifacts, knowing that if he dies in the attempt, the law ensures that the contract ends with him. He knows nothing about the true scheme at work, and the opposing faction has no idea what to do now.

** And then there's Squidge, who is only too happy to prove that one can ''deliberately'' be a Spanner in the Works when he ruins Rahan's prank.

** [[Idiot Hero|Elan]] seems to fit this more than Roy does. Daigo at one point wonders if he's more useful the less he knows what's going on, and Durkon [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0558.html suggests] that "He has Ignorence as a class power source." In [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0691.html 691], Roy lets him wander around the desert in the hopes that he'll stumble over something. [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0727.html WHICH HE DOES!]

{{quote|You always overthink things. The reason your plans keep failing is not because your enemies are geniuses. It's because they are idiots. A plan is only truly foolproof if you consider the fool.}}

* In ''[[Dead of Summer]]'', the [[Big Bad]]'s [[Crazy Prepared|backup plan]] to blow everyone up with a [[Time Bomb]] was thwarted because {{spoiler|Tito and Otis saved [[The Protomen|Panther]], who proceeded to disarm the bomb and save everyone.}}

* The main cast of ''[[Drowtales]]'' are [[Manipulative Bastard]]s and [[The Chessmaster|Chessmasters]] whose plans often wind up [[Gambit Pileup|crashing into each other]], but so far the biggest example of this trope is {{spoiler|Ragini, a child slave who survived the massacre at the Val'Sharess tower and was able to keep said Queen alive for a year, and then later become host to her aura and escape}}. If it weren't for her things in the story would be much, much different, and the full extent of her spanning potential is just beginning.

* A smaller version in ''[[Girl Genius]]''—British spy/Gil's man Wooster just caused {{spoiler|Dolokov's plan to corrupt/distract the Jaegergenerals while Wulfenbach forces destroy Castle Heterodyne}} to go thoroughly off the rails.

 

== Web Original ==

* In the ''[[Whateley Universe]]'', this is Jade's purpose in life. She's screwed over at least four [[plan]]s, simply by being there. See "It's Good to be the don", "Christmas Elves", "Christmas Crisis", and Ayla 7-6.

* It's extremely rare for this to not happen at least once per game in [[Comic Fury Werewolf]]. It also happens intentionally a surprising amount, considering.

 

== Western Animation ==

{{quote|''"I'm not really that stupid. I purposely sabotage Brain's plans because if he ever succeeded, the show would be over, wouldn't it?"''}}

* In the ''[[Rugrats]]'' episode "The Bank Trick, Tommy and Chuckie mistake an ATM machine at the bank for an M&M machine and think the bank is actually a candy store. They don't find any, but they do inadvertently trip a security alarm and expose two bank robbers posing as federal bank inspectors.

* Coop of ''[[Megas XLR]]'' does this constantly. Prime examples: he once destroyed a planet-eating monster by firing an EMP-missile-turned-fridge packed with Pop Rocks and Coke, and in another episode he destroys the Glorft mothership by accidentally beaming his ''slushie'' onto one of its control boards.

** Not to mention all of the times he's done it to himself and other goodguys.

* Cedric in the second season of ''[[WITCH (animation)|WITCH]]''. {{spoiler|Will had a [[Batman Gambit]] set up so that Prince Phobos could gain a hold of the power Nerissa stole and, when he would attempt to wander into Candracar, he would lose it and they would get it back. Will (nor anyone else) had expected Cedric to get tired of Phobos' crap and ''eat him''.}}

* As deranged as some of Zordrak and Urpgor's schemes to steal ''[[The Dreamstone]]'' are, some of them almost do the job were it not for Sgt Blob and his soldiers' blundering. The odd occasion Urpgor plays an active part in a mission he usually proves to be just as detrimental.

 

== Real Life ==

** And for chess players, if the neophyte makes a bizarre move during the Opening.

*** Not really, in chess it's almost impossible to beat a player who's above your level, this is because if the said neophyte makes a bizarre move during the opening it is most likely a bad move and that alone tells the good player that he's not against a strong opponent, also it's said that playing against someone who's way worst than you will dull your skills and it's highly advised to avoid doing so.

* A Canadian fraudster used a complicated scheme involving disappearing ink and forged cheques to embezzle thousands of dollars from the banks he held accounts at. It's difficult to explain briefly, but it involved him writing a cheque to transfer funds from an account he held at one branch to the account he had at another bank. The scheme depended on his cheques being cashed at the first bank on a Friday, then the ink disappearing over the weekend, and processed at the second bank on Monday, which would give him more money in his first than was deducted at his second. Unfortunately, on one occasion the fraudster had the bad luck of dealing with a rookie teller who didn't know how the cheque was supposed to be cashed, and didn't start working on it until Monday. The boss noticed the discrepancy, [[Wrongly Accused|accused the teller of writing the information wrong]], and called the police on her. The police discovered that the check had actually been written partially in disappearing ink, and the fraudster was quickly nailed.

* His Accidency, [[John Tyler]]. To explain: "He was a longtime Democratic-Republican who was elected to the Vice Presidency on the Whig ticket" (from his description page). As this makes him a [[Fun with Acronyms|Whig In Name Only]], [[Stealth Pun|one wonders about his drinking habits]].

** While people often "what if" this battle, it is pretty generally agreed that Lee did not do a very good job of commanding the battle in general, and there were far, far more problems than this one.

* [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Thomas Blood's]] plan to steal the British Crown Jewels failed only because the elderly caretaker's son came back on leave from the navy at precisely the right moment. [[Reality Is Unrealistic|Seriously.]]

* This happened to Tennessee in their 2010 college football match against LSU. UT had the game won when LSU stupidly didn't have a play ready for a third-and-goal with seconds remaining and no timeouts, resulting in a botched snap that looked to end the game. But UT trumped it with their own stupidity in a last-second personnel change that resulted in [[Fan Nickname|Two Many Volunteers]] on the field (four guys came on while three ran off, and then one of the three ran back onto the field). The illegal participation penalty forced the down to be replayed (American football games can't end on a defensive penalty), giving LSU time to settle down and organize the game-winning play. You can watch the last moments of the Dumbass Miracle [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HOwp1w_Aoc here].

** Indeed most of the founding fathers were completely against political parties, but viewed them as a necessary evil that would naturally arise despite their best efforts.

** It's interesting to note that each party plays this role to each other, but the tea party plays this role to ''both'' parties.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Characters As Device]]

[[Category:Gambit Index]]