Stupidity-Inducing Attack: Difference between revisions

In short, a weaponized [[Idiot Ball]].

 

 

This trope can take many forms. It can be temporary or permanent. It can be achieved through magic, surgery, or weaponised [[Phlebotinum-Induced Stupidity]]. It can have any number of degrees of severity, ranging from simply taking the edge off the victim's reasoning to full-on infantilisation or even reducing them to a drooling vegetable. Finally, depending on the work's tone, it can either be [[Played for Laughs]] or be a potent source of [[Nightmare Fuel]].

 

 

Contrast [[Idiot Ball]], [[Plot Induced Stupidity]], and [[Took a Level In Dumbass]], where it's the ''writer'' dumbing down their characters. Compare [[Phlebotinum-Induced Stupidity]], which is often unintentional and possibly either self-inflicted or the result of some environmental effect, as well as [[Brought Down to Normal]] or [[De-Power]], an event with a similar purpose used to strip away someone's physical or supernatural abilities.

 

{{examples}}

== Anime and Manga ==

 

 

* A medical lobotomy is used for this purpose in ''[[One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest]]'' to get rid of a particularly troublesome patient - {{spoiler|the protagonist, in fact}}.

* Likewise, the impending use of a lobotomy to achieve this end hangs over Baby Doll's head throughout most of ''[[Sucker Punch]]''. The original purpose is to make it impossible for her to give testimony about her stepfather's crimes, though, rather than to make her stop causing trouble in the institution.

{{quote|'''HAL:''' Dave. My mind is going. I can feel it. I can feel it. My mind is going. There is no question about it. I can feel it. I can feel it. I can feel it. I'm a... fraid. Good afternoon, gentlemen. I am a HAL 9000 computer...}}

* When [[Megamind]] visits the monument to Metro Man, he reminisces about old times and brings up an "Illiteracy Ray", a rather specific variant on this trope.

 

== Tabletop Games ==

** Basic D&D Immortals could perform Ability Score attacks against an opponent's Intelligence.

** The Yellow Musk Creeper reduces the Intelligence of its victims.

*** Ego Whip could cause idiocy when used against a defenseless psionic.

*** Psionic Blast could cause a Feeblemind effect on a non-psionic creature.

** And more generally, this is the general idea behind the alternate win condition of "milling." When you have no more cards in your deck, you lose. This path to victory is represented by such wonderful spells as [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Mind Funeral]].

* ''[[Champions]]''. The Drain power (and in older editions, Destruction and Transfer) can be used to lower another character's Intelligence, either temporarily or for a considerable time.

 

 

* In ''[[Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey]]'', {{spoiler|Zelenin}}'s Song is supposed to be so angelic, so beautiful, that anyone who hears it cannot help but lose all their will to fight and submit immediately to {{spoiler|her}}. Which is rather creepy in and of itself, but then the angels get the idea of ''weaponizing'' it to subdue corrupt mercenaries, brainwash ''demons'', and eventually {{spoiler|assimilate all of humanity}}.

* 4X game [[Ascendancy]] includes the Intellect Scrambler, which temporarily erases the memories of the crew of the affected ship. The in-game description claims that it can "turn an experienced crew into a bunch of bumbling rookies".

* In ''[[Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders]]'' by Lucasarts, the villainous Caponians are using a stupidity-inducing signal over the phone networks to slowly reduce the humans' intelligence, until we're stupider than them and they can finally invade. At the end of the game, mankind reclaims its brainpower and usher in a new age of enlightenment, with telepathy and dream-sharing replacing telephones and two-headed-squirrel burgers becoming a new fad.

 

== Web Comics ==

* ''[[Eerie Cuties]]'' had an epidemic of bimbofication thanks to a powerful artefact falling into the hands of a ''very'' perverted possessed doll.

* Likewise, a poorly timed "wish" in ''[[The Wotch]]'' made all non-blonde girl bimbos.

* In a ''[[Narbonic]]'' non-canon [http://www.webcomicsnation.com/shaenongarrity/narbonic/series.php?view=archive&chapter=10098 sunday strip] (actually a dream of one of the readers, that the author decided to illustrate) an enemy hits Dave with an Intelligence Extractor Ray to incapacitate him. Instead, dumb!Dave {{spoiler|reveals "a ''[[Forrest Gump]]''-like ability to observe things and turn up at the right place at the right time"}} and saves the day.

 

* Appears twice in ''[[The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog]]''. In ''Grounder the Genius'', Hacker creates a "Stupid Chip" as a decoy for the one with the Super Genius Program he stole from Robotnik. When Robotnik thinks he's recovered the Genius Chip, he ends up using the Stupid Chip on himself, with predictable results. Another episode had Robotnik inventing a Stupid Ray, which became the episode's [[MacGuffin]]: a crazed general thinks he can use it to make an army of brainwashed soldiers, and [[Honest John's Dealership|sleazy salesman Wes Weasley]] figures it will make it easier to sell people his worthless junk.

* In the ''[[Invader Zim]]'' episode "[[Nano ZIM]]", Zim attempts to use this on Dib by shrinking to microscopic size and destroying his intellect from within. "I'll just go to your brain and delete the knowlege of where you hid the master disk! And, as an added bonus, I might as well make your entire brain... [[Buffy-Speak|nn-not smart... no more]]."

* ''[[Rocky and Bullwinkle]]'' had Goof Gas in one arc. "One poof, you're a goof!" as Boris puts it.

** [[The Ditz|Doesn't work on Bullwinkle, though.]]