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{{trope}}
{{quote|The moment their arms spun freely in our air, they were doomed -- for Man has earned his right to hold this planet against all comers, by virtue of occasionally producing someone totally batshit insane.|Rollover Text, "[http://xkcd.com/556/ Alternative Energy Solution]," ''[[
This is when the clinically insane person turns out to be [[The Only One]] who has the right stuff to stop the Omnicidal Aliens, [[Cosmic Horror]] or [[Big Bad]]. It could be his bent perceptions allow him to see things "normal" people can't. Or maybe the bad thing that happened was so completely [[Windmill Crusader|out of the realm of possibility]] that [[Crazy Prepared|only the total nut job prepared for it]]. Keep in mind, what separates this from [[Sociopathic Hero]] or other crazies is that this character's madness is '''essential to the task'''. If he was not crazy, he could not do it.
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This guy put the Crazy in front of [[Crazy Prepared|Prepared]] and [[Crazy Awesome|Awesome]], but don't confuse him with an [[Ignored Expert]] or [[The Worm Guy]], who are not actually insane, just misunderstood. Not to be mistaken for his padded-cellmate the [[Sociopathic Hero]], who is a hero ''in spite'' of his anti-social tendencies, not because of them.
When the whole human race is composed of Heroic Madmen, it's [[Humanity Is Insane]]. Compare [[The Cuckoolander Was Right]] and [[Power Born of Madness]], although this trope doesn't necessarily involve superpowers. See also [[Blessed
{{examples}}
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== [[Comics]] ==
* [[Something Person|Crazyman]] from [[Continuity Comics]], whose power is [[Exactly What It Says
== [[Film]] ==
* [[Samuel L. Jackson|Romulus]] in ''The Caveman's Valentine''. "I have brain typhoons." But he was [[Cassandra Truth|the only one]] willing to believe ([[Defective Detective|and try to prove]]) that [[The Cloud Cuckoolander Was Right|the murdered guy was murdered]].
== [[Literature]] ==
* ''[[Redwall]]'' - In High Rhulain, The hare Major Cuthbert went insane after his daughter was killed by vermin. He ended up killing a sea monster single handedly.
* In Larry Niven's ''[[Known Space|Madness Has Its Place]]'', Jack Strather's megalomania and paranoid schizophrenia make him one of the few men left on Earth with the cojones to actually resist the invading Kzinti.
* ''[[Blindsight]]'': The main character's severe autism means he's the only one able to [[Awesome By Analysis|objectively synthesize]] all of the information and determine just what the deal is with the [[Starfish Alien|Starfish Aliens]] they discover. Of course he's also unable to bond with other people or empathize with them, so...[[Blessed
* In C.S. Friedman's ''[[This Alien Shore]]'', the Guerans (a mutant race descended from humanity) are all insane, which makes them the only ones who can pilot ships [[Faster-Than-Light Travel|through hyperspace]]. In addition, the heroine's multiple personality disorder grants her a secret power that could alter the balance of power throughout known space.
* [[
== [[Live Action TV]] ==
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== [[Web Comics]] ==
* ''[[
== [[Video Games]] ==
* [[Portal (
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