Subverted Trope: Difference between revisions

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'''CAUTION:''' ''Read this article carefully before using it'' -- if—if you don't, you'll probably mistake it for [[Not a Subversion]].

But how could people know a trope is going to happen? Well [[Trope|tropestrope]]s live in the minds of the audience. As such, sufficiently [[Genre Savvy]] (or [[Tropes Will Ruin Your Life|Trope Savvy]]) audience members can predict a familiar trope coming based on [[Trope Telegraphing|the hints dropped by the writer]]. So when the writer decides to build on this expectation, only to reveal that the expected "trope" was a [[Red Herring]] while an entirely different situation results, you have a [['''Subverted Trope]]'''.

== Anime[[Film]] ==

== [[Live -Action TV]] ==

* In the season 2 finale of ''[[Carnivale]]'', Jonesy strikes [[Complete Monster|Varlyn Stroud]] unconscious with a log of wood. He then runs into the house that Varlyn was about to enter and rescues [[Distressed Damsel in Distress|Sophie]], leaving Varlyn ''and Varlyns handgun'' unattended right outside the door. {{spoiler|Seconds later, Josey gets shot... By Sophie.}}

{{quote| '''Nelson:''' How did you get these documents?<br />

'''Badger:''' Let's just say I have a... "mole" on the inside.<br />

''(cut to an ordinary-looking person in an office, grabbing documents off a table and sticking them into an envelope)''<br />

''(cut back)''<br />

'''Nelson:''' Huh. Y'know the way you said that I was expecting an actual mole.<br />

* [[Lemon Demon]]'s [https://web.archive.org/web/20130823155456/http://wiki.illemonati.com/Being_a_Rock_Star Being a Rock Star] handily subverts the [[Rockstar Song]] trope. It starts with some generic lyrics about rockstardom, but rapidly switches to insulting the concept in the space of a verse or two.

{{quote| '''Peter Schickele:''' The striking thing about the middle movement, the Theme with Variations, is that the variations have nothing whatsoever to do with the theme. Now, that's one of those things that everybody takes for granted, but why not? I mean... This is apparently variations on some other theme. Perhaps we'll turn that other work up someday.}}

* ''[[George the Dragon]]'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20110317074331/http://www.drunkduck.com/George_the_Dragon/index.php?p=278085 subverts] the expectations of dragon dietary preferences.

* ''[[Blur the Lines]]'' subverts [[Stuffed Into the Fridge]] when Drew receives a present that the giver implies is the head of his lover, Rick. After crying out because he thinks his lover is dead, Rick walks up behind him and says, "What? Why are you screaming?" [https://web.archive.org/web/20190821233931/http://www.blur-the-lines.com/?p=110\%5C]

* ''[[Superman the Animated Series|Superman: The Animated Series]]'' plays straight and subverts many tropes, but it is noteworthy the way it handled [[Bury Your Gays]]. Maggie Sawyer was primarily a victim of [[Hide Your Lesbians]], up until the second season episode ''Apokolips...Now!'' there had not been any hints to her orientation in the comics, but she seemed to be [[Bury Your Gays|legitimately set up for death]]. When she is attacked by Intergang she is thrown from her car in a fiery explosion and she is shown horribly burned beneath a crushing pile of rubble, noticeably ''without'' [[Eye Awaken|a blinking eye]] or [[Finger-Twitching Revival|moving fingers]]. It looks like she is [[Killed Off for Real]], especially when Dan Turpin starts calling the attackers "murderers" while screaming at them, except a later scene reveals her to be [[Not Quite Dead]]. This later scene, which revealed that she had survived and thus subverted the [[Bury Your Gays]] trope, also provided the first ever hint at her sexuality when she is visited in the hospital by a woman that the DVD commentary reveals is Toby Raines, her partner in the comics. So, Maggie not only survives the attack, which is a straight subversion of the [[Bury Your Gays]] premise, but the setup actually lead to a (partial) revelation of her sexuality, something this trope is usually invoked specifically to avoid, making it also an ''[[Inverted Trope|inversion]].''

{{quote| '''Burns:''' Books and cocoa in the same store? What's next, a talking banana?<br />

'''Smithers:''' ''(after a moment of [[Just for Pun|fruitless waiting]])'' Uh, I don't see one, sir.<br />

{{quote| '''Ranger:''' Hey, what is going on here? Who are you people? This is a lookout post. Where is Ranger Mc Fadden?<br />

'''Drunk:''' I was just happy to see so many nice people!<br />

'''Ranger:''' Quiet, you drunk. Where is Ranger McFadden?<br />

''(The camera then moves a step to the side, revealing a straight-laced ranger with glasses)''<br />

** A third example, also from "Monty Can't Buy Me Love," is when Mr. Burns, Homer et al have finally found the Loch Ness monster, who proves impossible to subdue. Finally Mr. Burns walks toward the monster with a stern look in his face. We expect an epic fight where Mr. Burns is revealed as a [[Badass Grandpa]] handing out an [[Let's Get Dangerous|unexpected ass-kicking]] -- but—but instead the scene cuts to the team's helicopter in the air, with Nessie tied up and swinging below. Mr. Burns explains to the admiring team:

{{quote| '''Burns:''' I was a little worried when he swallowed me, but ... well, [[Offscreen Moment of Awesome|you saw the rest]].}}

{{quote| '''Guy:''' Great, I've got all my [[Fall of the House of Cards|dominoes]] set up exactly how I want them, next to the good china. Now I'll just place this priceless faberge egg next to my newborn hemophiliac baby....<br />

''(Peter lands with thud outside the window, and looks in.)''<br />

[[Category:SubvertedPost TropeModern Tropes]]