Violence Is the Only Option: Difference between revisions

For that very reason, whenever the heroes try to resolve their situation through diplomatic or other peaceful means, things will inevitably go wrong. Either it's a trick by the villains to lure the heroes into an ambush in a vulnerable position, or negotiations will break down and make violence the only option. Even if by some miracle peace is achieved, it's only because an [[Eviler Than Thou|even more evil]] threat forces both sides to [[Enemy Mine|ally against it]].

 

 

In [[Video Games]], this often becomes [[Stupidity Is the Only Option]] as the villain goes "Oh, let's try diplomacy, why don't you come to the heart of our kingdom surrounded by our armed guards and we'll talk! Be sure not to bring weapons."

Contrast [[To Win Without Fighting]], [[Talking the Monster To Death]] and [[Sheathe Your Sword]], and compare [[Sedgwick Speech]], [[RP Gs Equal Combat]].

 

 

== Anime and Manga ==

* For ''[[Lyrical Nanoha|Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'', the solution to any problem is to blast whatever-it-is in the face with powerful magic attacks. Want to bring your opponent to the light? [[Defeat Means Friendship|Trounce her and make friends!]] {{spoiler|Trapped in a [[Lotus Eater Machine]]}}? Manifest a huge beam sword and blow {{spoiler|the illusion}} away! {{spoiler|Need to save someone who's possessed by an evil book}}? Go all out and it'll work itself out. Then blow up {{spoiler|the book}}. {{spoiler|Is your adoptive daughter magically powered up, desperately confused and on a rampage}}? Eh, blast her. Your weapon [[Stun Guns|can't kill anyone anyway]]. This is actually Nanoha's way of achieving a peaceful solution: Blow the hell out of the enemy so they're in no condition to do anything ''but'' [[Warrior Therapist|talk it out]].

** To be fair, she usually asks her opponents to talk about the situation first. It's when they inevitably refuse to explain why they're running around doing bad things that she blasts them into submission and MAKES them explain themselves. Refusing to talk or listen to Nanoha is a quick path to eating a Divine Buster.

* ''[[Freezing]]'': Satellizer doesn't really care about morals or insubordination. Her response to arrogant upperclassmen and pandoras is to simply beat the crap out of them, especially if they mess with her limiter. It's explained that she has a psychological need to fight, due to some [[Broken Ace|issues]].

* Deconstructed in the first season of ''[[Gundam 00]]'' where the Celestial Being seems to embrace this trope since they realized that the endless conflicts throughout the history needs to be forcibly eradicated with '''their own weapons'''.

* ''[[The War of the Worlds]]'' (1953) film. Humans try twice to establish peaceful contact with the Martians: three men waving a white flag, and a priest carrying a Bible. They all end up the same way: reduced to dust by a Martian heat ray.

** One of the few things the film shares with the original story, as the first people to be killed by the Martians were a group of people attempting the same "peaceful contact" thing, only to receive a face full of [[Death Ray]].

** During their initial landing, the Martians massacre most of the humans present to greet them.

** When they appear before the U.S. Congress "to apologize", they wipe out everyone present.

 

* Grandly averted in [[Isaac Asimov]]'s ''[[Foundation]]'' series. Violence is the option only of the villains, who are usually incompetent, and are defeated by the non violent hero.

** Then played shockingly straight in a later story. {{spoiler|Bayta realizes who The Mule really was, and the only way to stop him was to kill a researcher before he revealed what he learned.}}

*** What's more, in retrospect for the entire series, that book's ending was almost a [[Shaggy Dog Story]]. The purposes the violence served were to keep information from the ''reader'', and to explore the puzzle of why somebody would rationally feel forced to commit the act. Given who was in the vicinity, and what they'd already have known, the act probably ''didn't'' solve anything in-universe.

 

== Live Action Television ==

** In the prequel [[Deus Ex Human Revolution (Video Game)|Deus Ex: Human Revolution]] you only have to kill four characters total, it just gets harder to resist the urge to start killing once you find out [[Villain With Good Publicity|what kind]] [[Complete Monster|of people]] the mooks are.

* Subverted in ''[[The Godfather (Video Game)|The Godfather]]'' game. While you will have to punch out or gun down a lot of enemy mobsters, as well as use violence on the owners of most of their fronts in order to "persuade" them to give the Corleones control, gaining enough Respect to talk said owners into peacefully giving up actually results in you earning more money. Bribing cops and running from them is preferable to killing them outright if you have a choice. In ending a [[Mob War]], it's easier to run to a [[Dirty Cop|FBI agent on the take]] and drop him $3000 than brave an enemy business to bomb it.

** And nobody's suggesting that the violence ''solves'' much of anything.

* The premise of ''[[Total Annihilation]]'' is a millennia-old war over a fundamental difference in philosophy, and all diplomatic alternatives have presumably been extinguished long ago.

 

* Subverted in [http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/darthsanddroids/episodes/0025.html this] ''[[Darths and Droids]]'' strip.

* ''[[Schlock Mercenary (Webcomic)|Schlock Mercenary]]'' is an interesting case, since most of the cast ''claim'' to believe it, but they usually find a solution that doesn't involve killing everyone.

{{quote| '''Massey:''' Violence can't solve everything, sergeant.<br />

 

* Minerva learns this lesson in ''[[Transformers Super God Masterforce]]''.

* In the Halloween ''[[Angry Beavers]]'' episode with the [[There Is No B In Movie|Oxnard Montalvo]], at one point Oxnard is holding off a bunch of monsters, when someone suggests they attempt to communicate. Oxnard says that he is speaking the only language the monsters can understand, namely, fisticuffs.

* Often played straight in the ''[[Justice League]]'', but especially in ''The Terror Beyond'', where Superman, Hawkgirl and Wonder Woman bust into Dr. Fate's tower, and find him performing some ritual with Aquaman and Solomon Grundy, and immediately decide to attack, while Fate and co. violently defend themselves without a word of explanation. Just a single sentence in vein "We're just trying to save the world here, so please butt out for a minute" would have avoided a lot of pain in all sides.