Traumatic Toggle: Difference between revisions

If you received a super power or [[EasyTrauma-Induced Amnesia]] -- or—or [[Body Swap|changed bodies with someone else]] --— due to a [[Freak Lab Accident]], [[Lightning Can Do Anything|lightning bolt]], [[Tap on the Head|blow to the head]], or other traumatic event, experiencing the same trauma a second time will take it away or undo it, just like flipping a switch. Note that for this trope'''Traumatic Toggle''' to trigger, it has to be the ''exact same trauma'' reinflictedre-inflicted --— if there's any kind of [[Reverse the Polarity|polarity reversal]] involved with the second exposure, that's [[Now Do It Again Backwards]].

ThisObviously, is of course utter nonsense. Brainbrain damage, for instance, does not appear on odd-numbered blows and disappear with even-numbered ones, — [[It Got Worse|it just gets worse]]. But that doesnit'ts stopan someeasy hackway writersto fromrationalize using a frying pan as a cast-iron light switch for amnesia or [[Personality Swap]]s - [[Tropes Are Not Bad]], and [[Acceptable Breaks From Reality|not every writer is a brain surgeon.]]

A subtrope of the [[Reset Button]]. Compare [[Now Do It Again Backwards]]. See also [[Easy Amnesia]] and [[Trauma-Induced Amnesia]].

== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==

* In the "Am I Pretty?" storyline of ''[[Ranma ½]]'', Ranma undergoes a personality change after a blow from Akane causes him to hit his head on a rock. The rest of the cast automatically assumes a second head blow will undo the personality shift, and much of the comedy of the plot comes from repeated attempts to assault Ranma. None of them succeed, and it takes another accidental head blow to undo the change.

== [[Film - Live-Action]] ==

* In the 1982 [[Scott Baio]] vehicle ''[[Zapped!]]'', Baio's character gains [[Telekinesis]] from a lab accident; at the end of the film he suffers another similar accident, which apparently removes the powerspowers—[[The End -- or Is It?|or so everyone assumes.]]

* Happened in ''[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097253/ Déjà vu]'' (1989) with a hitman... who accidentally had his head bumped and forgot everything, so when he was reminded of his cover identity, he thought he really ''iswas'' a "professor of entomology in transit to Sumatra, to catch butterflies"... Andand then he hit his head again. And again. Eventually, when he was caught while not knowing what he is doing there, and the mark's thug tried to beat answers out of him, John starts to remember something again:

* [[Subverted]] in the [[Mel Gibson]] movie ''[[What Women Want]]''. After he tries to reenact the freak accident that gave him mind reading powers, nothing happens.

== [[Literature]] ==

== [[Western Animation]] ==

* ''[[Star Trek: The Animated Series]]'' episode "The Practical Joker": After the ''Enterprise'' passes through an energy field, the ship's computer starts pulling jokes on the crew. The computer is returned to normal when the ''Enterprise'' passes through the cloud again.