Conveniently Empty Building: Difference between revisions

 

{{examples}}

* This happens to an entire ''city'' in ''[[Pokémon Special]]''.

** Then again, Lance does insinuate that there probably ''were'' a few people still in the city when he blew it up. Not that he cares.

{{quote|"He blew up the cargo robot! ''(beat)'' And the cargo was people!}}

* One chapter of ''[[Karakuridouji Ultimo]]'' has Hana (A little girl about 5 or 6) and Eddie/Gluttony (A huge ass robot doll) try to get Yamato, the protagonist, to call out Ultimo (his robot doll) and fight them. They do so by destroying the school Gymnasium, which, sure enough, is empty. This is a bit odd considering that at any ''other'' given point in the series, there seems to be no problem with [[Anyone Can Die|killing people off.]]

{{quote|'''Subaru''': But is it okay for members of [[The Federation|the Bureau]] to damage public facilities like this?

'''Teana''': Well, this place has long been abandoned anyway... }}

 

== [[Comic Books]] ==

* Lampshaded in ''X-Factor'' vol. 2 #32, where Val Cooper makes an offer to X-Factor to work for the US government. They refuse, leave town, and to underscore the point, Madrox blows up their abandoned building when Val and her forces arrive, giving them just enough time to get out. Let's let Dr. Cooper sum up, after she catches up with Jamie a few months later in the epilogue:

{{quote|'''Val Cooper:''' I did some checking, Madrox. You ''owned'' that building you blew up. Even got the demolition clearances. Technically you broke no laws. But you figured by making a big demonstration, you'd show your team how tough you are, and scare me off besides. Except I don't scare, Madrox. Let me put it in a way that your [[Film Noir]] mind will understand: this is going to be [[Casablanca|the start of a beautiful friendship]].}}

 

{{quote|'''Jaden''': It's a good thing Venice is apparently empty! Or that might've been kind of dangerous.}}

 

* In ''[[Fight Club]]'', {{spoiler|The Narrator is furious at Tyler Durden for the mass murder he's about to commit in Project Mayhem, by blowing up several office buildings. Tyler explains that}} the buildings that explode are all empty because of the time that they'll explode and that only his men are inside.

* In ''[[The Matrix]]'', both hotels where they meet happen to be a Conveniently Empty Building. The room they go to to answer the rotary phone also appears to be yet another one.

** Averted elsewhere, when the characters actively gun down innocent security guards, to prevent them from becoming bodies for Agents.

* In ''[[Volcano]]'', there is a finished but unoccupied condominium building conveniently located for being turned into a lava barricade. Furthermore, the building is conveniently owned by a [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]].

* In ''[[Blue Thunder]]'', a [[Misguided Missile]] from an Air Force F-16 slams into a skyscraper during an aerial battle in the early evening hours. Aside from expressions of dismay by the various police and military personnel in charge, the incident appears completely forgotten about. So... was it Conveniently Empty or is this a blatant case of [[No Endor Holocaust]]? We may never know.

* In ''[[Megamind]]'', Titan and Megamind crash through one, though the roof and down through every floor.

* In the American version of ''[[Godzilla (film)|Godzilla]]'', several [[Misguided Missile]]s end up destroying the Chrysler Building, after the titular [[Kaiju|monster]] dodges them. The military men are more annoyed at missing the creature, while the Mayor of [[Big Applesauce|New York]] is a little more concerned about a ''goddamn skyscraper being blown up''. Since New York has been evacuated just prior to Godzilla showing up, there is nobody in the building.

* In ''[[Die Hard]]'', a security guard conveniently mentions that there's nobody in the building except the folks partying on Holly's floor. Good to know John can blow up elevator shafts without taking out any unsuspecting night-shift janitors or overnight painters and repair crews.

 

* ''[[The Dresden Files]]'' is inconsistent on this trope. Some days, like in ''Blood Rites'', the building is Conveniently Empty. Other days, like ''Grave Peril'' it's packed to the gills with his enemies. Either way, if a building can be burnt to the ground without hurting innocents, odds are [[Jim Butcher]] will see to it that it ends as a burnt husk.

** The building in ''Grave Peril'' probably ''wasn't'' empty of all innocents, a fact which causes Harry significant distress. However, the humans in there were almost certainly dying or doomed without his interference anyway.

* Averted callously in ''[[Stationery Voyagers]]'', where destroyed buildings are almost ''always'' occupied by somebody. Since a lot of the villains are [[Complete Monster]] types [[A World Half Full|by design]], this shouldn't come as a surprise.

 

* ''[[Power Rangers]]'' loves this one.

** ''[[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers]]'' once commented that the giant robot-kaiju battles took place in the "abandoned warehouse district". Whether it was a warehouse district that had been abandoned due to weekly giant robot-kaiju battles, or a district that had been set aside at some point for the express purpose of being full of empty warehouses ''in case of'' giant robot-kaiju battles, is left up to the viewer.

** Naturally, both [[Power Rangers]] and the [[Super Sentai]] original have many, many, '''MANY''' instances - fewer in PR post-9/11 but they're there - of buildings being annihilated during giant robot-kaiju battles. The fact that it'd mean thousands of people were also annihilated often goes unmentioned. The otherwise-wacky [[Engine Sentai Go-onger]] was especially bad about it. Hammer monster strikes the ground, several blocks' worth of downtown buildings crumble to piles of concrete instantly, [[No Endor Holocaust|nobody seems to care]].

* The ''[[Doctor Who]]'' special "The Next Doctor" [[Subverted Trope|subverts]] this when an [[Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever|enormous Cyberman]] begins to fall, and the Doctor has to keep it from destroying the Inconveniently Occupied Buildings.

 

== [[Video Games]] ==

* Not so much conveniently empty buildings as conveniently empty starships, but in ''[[Disgaea: Hour of Darkness]]'', [[Disgaea: Hour of Darkness/Characters|Laharl]] singlehandedly annihilates an armada of 2 million ships sent to attack the Netherworld. It's all right though, because as [[Disgaea: Hour of Darkness/Characters|Etna]] notes, he just happened to allow all of the crews to escape before destroying their ships. [[Disgaea: Hour of Darkness/Characters|Flonne]], of course, sees this as further proof that he is awakening to [[The Power of Love]]. [[Disgaea: Hour of Darkness/Characters|Laharl]], for his part, makes one of his [[I Was Just Passing Through|customary excuses]] for this.

* Seemingly averted in ''[[Bangai-O]]'', of all things. Every time a building is destroyed (for the purpose of raising the high score), screams can be heard. [[Video Game Cruelty Potential|Not that anyone cares]].

 

== [[Western Animation]] ==