History BullyingADragon / LiveActionTV

** In "I’m Gonna Get You, Kenan", [[TooDumbToLive Kel]] taunts the Jackhammer (a wanted ''killer'') by repeatedly unlocking his prison door. He nearly gets strangled to death because of it.

** In "I’m Gonna Get You, Kenan", [[TooDumbToLive Kel]] taunts the Jackhammer by repeatedly unlocking his prison door. He nearly gets strangled to death because of it.

--> '''Kel''': "Hey, everybody! Look what these keys do! Oh, look Mr. Jack-a-Hamma, the door's open! Oh, it's closed. Oh, wait, it's open. Oh, closed! Hey, wanna come out? ''(Kel laughs as he shuts the door a few more times)''

* ''Series/VeronicaMars'' demonstrates over and over that a) she's very helpful to have on your side when you're in trouble and b) she can and will mess you up if she feels like it. Doesn't matter; everyone at Neptune High continues to mock her and treat her as a scorned outcast. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in season three when Veronica asks Dick how after all he's seen her do, he still doesn't fear her. The guy she goes to after Dick tries to get tough with her but runs after her to give her what she wants. The third guy stands tough. On a date that night, his credit card is declined and the tires are stolen off his car, then he walks into his unlit dorm room to find [[ChairReveal Veronic waiting for him with a taser]].

* In ''Series/TheTwilightZone'' episode "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS3E88TheLastRitesOfJeffMyrtlebank The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank]]", a dead man revives in the middle of his funeral, which leads the townspeople to believe that his corpse was possessed by a demon. As the episode progresses, these people decide to attempt to force the young man out of town. He gets them to back down by invoking this very trope by stating that if he really is a demon, then they would have more sense to treat him nicely because he could really mess up their lives if he decided to.

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': In early episodes it was known to all that at the very least Buffy had burned down the gym at her previous high school, yet people like Cordelia and Harmony picked on her anyway.
* On ''Series/{{Chuck}}'', this happens more often than not with Casey in a comedic sense, like when he's filled his daily quotient of stupidity from the Buy Morons, but every so often this trope come into play on a serious issue. In "Chuck vs. Operation Awesome", an old oriental woman is bitching at Chuck about the Buy More's lack of customer service, while Chuck is just concerned with wanting to tell someone outside the loop about his being a spy, worrying for Devon's safety (since he's been kidnapped), and his feelings toward Sarah. He finally snaps, flashes on how to speak Korean, and yells at the woman in her native tongue to more-or-less [[PunctuatedForEmphasis Shut the Fuck Up]], surprising everyone around him, including Jeff, Lester, and more importantly Sarah, because he's always been so pacifistic. It's made even more apparent when Chuck Intersect-kicks Lester for trying to mess with him, Bruce Lee-style only moments after telling off the Korean lady, which drops everyone's jaws even further.

** According to Dorium the black market dealer in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E7AGoodManGoesToWar "A Good Man Goes to War"]], this is what the bad guys are doing by trying to pull one over on the Doctor. Dorium even all but says they are bullying a dragon — specifically he tells them they've pricked a beast but haven't been smart enough to run away from it afterward.
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS37E1TheWomanWhoFellToEarth "The Woman Who Fell to Earth"]]: A drunk man sees a tall, imposing creature in armour who doesn't look like he came from Earth, assumes he's a guy in a costume, and ridicules him while throwing food at him. Predictably, he is killed.

* ''Series/FrontierCircus'': In "The Inheritance", a group of cowhands decide to pick a fight with a judo master. Who had already wiped the floor with them earlier in the episode.
* ''Series/{{Glee}}'''s Santana Lopez -- a tallish, bitchy but light cheerleader who can hold her own in CatFight against most girls in the school - picks a fight with Lauren Zizes over her developing relationship with Puck. Unfortunately for Santana, Lauren is the Ohio state champion in greco-roman wrestling, and a big, confident girl with a bad attitude to boot. Calling the resultant fight a CurbstompBattle is possibly longer than the actual fight.

* In season 3 of ''Series/HeroCorp'', you have the bad guy who's chasing Stève, Stan and Burt for having escaped his [[FightClubbing fighting ring]]. Sure, they're [[SuperZeroes the most inept superheroes]] around, but still, he's trying to get the drop on a guy who can shoot acid, and another who can shoot fire, with just a gun. [[spoiler:[[ForegoneConclusion He gets burned]].]]

* One episode of ''Series/ICarly'' had a newcomer bully who liked to pick on Sam. Sam didn't retaliate [[NoGuyWantsAnAmazon as she wanted a boy she liked to see her as normal]]. However, near the end, when the trio are at their local hangout waiting for said boy, the bully arrives and starts hassling the three. Said bully finally goes too far when she pushes Carly (who was keeping Sam back), who promptly orders Sam to "rip her head off!" Sam gladly goes to town on her.

'''Ryan:''' That's what you get, Charlie! You get forkstabbed!\\

* Whether plaintiff or defendant, insulting ''Series/JudgeJudy'' isn't very smart if you want her to take your side. In fact you have to be very lucky if you don't get kicked out, or immediately lose the trial.

** ''Series/KamenRiderGaim'': Taunting a short tempered [[SocialDarwinist leader]] of the team Baron that can take on monsters from another world sounds like a good idea? And especially when he doesn't deserve it? What the hell is wrong with you people?!

* In ''Series/LastResort'' Julian Serat is a ([[SmallNameBigEgo very]]) small time warlord of an island. When a nuclear submarine and a team of Navy [=SEALs=] arrive on the island, he decides they're disrespecting him and starts making threats. James King, one of the [=SEALs=], is displeased, and lists [[BadassBoast the order he will kill Serat and his men, where he will shoot each of them, and how many bullets he will use to do so]]. Serat backs off, but continues to harass them. It's made clear over the course of the series that the crew of the submarine haven't killed Serat because they can't fight his men on the island and the various Navies off the island. King, who isn't with the submarine crew, apparently hasn't killed Serat yet because he doesn't particularly feel like it.
* ''Series/MadamSecretary'': "Standoff" has a grandstanding Texas governor refuse to hand over a Mexican drugrunner and CopKiller who was kidnapped from a Mexican jail by a Texan militia, using the whole thing as a big political show. Secretary of State [=McCord=] has the Mexican government issue an arrest warrant for the ''governor'', and then threatens to add on about half a dozen federal charges up to and including conspiracy, which would ''royally'' screw his presidential hopes. Governor Lockwood just about sets a land speed record backpedaling.

* In ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'''s [[Creator/{{Syfy}} Sci Fi Channel]] seasons, Pearl Forrester kept Bobo (an ape man who considered ripping lions apart a hoot) and Observer (a quasi-omnipotent RealityWarper) -- two people who could easily end her if they wanted -- through sheer force of will. The fact that neither man is particularly bright and [[RuleOfFunny it's funny]] helps.
* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'': In "Iced", gang member Cesar is held for questioning. After being released, he decides to use his fake position as go-between for his gang's leader to order retaliation against a ''federal law enforcement agency''. If he hadn't been killed by his gang for murdering their leader, attacking NCIS would have resulted in major retaliation.
* On ''Series/NightCourt'', Dan Fielding is a [[{{Jerkass}} big jerk]] who tends to insult everyone (even people who have the authority to fire him, which has happened a couple of times) and one frequent target of his insults was Bull Shannon, the 6'8" baliff who in one episode proved strong enough to crush a bowling ball in his bare hands. Fortunately for Dan, Bull [[GentleGiant was usually a nice guy]], but if you ''did'' make him angry, it wasn't going to end well...

** In ''Series/PowerRangersJungleFury'', there was a scene that was either actual time travel or AllJustADream where Carnasaur takes Jarrod/Dai Shi back to Jarrod as a child being bullied. Young Jarrod was already proficient in Kung Fu, but did not fight back due to his training. Carnasaur changed the past scene so that he DID fight back and mopped the floor with the gang.

** Magnusson knows Mary was an assassin from the CIA, and seems convinced John is the only important person in ''two'' lives. Sherlock's life and Mary's, to be exact. He is still convinced that he can make John do what he wants if he doesn't want information on his wife to be released (which could get ''him'' killed as well), and also is pretty convinced that if he owns Sherlock, he owns Mycroft, and, if he owns Mary... he owns John, though it's doubtful he knew John was ''a soldier'' in the British Army, and [[NightmareFuel/{{Sherlock}} has him thrown in a bonfire!]] Needless to say, ''it doesn't end well for him''. At all.

** In the episode "Profit and Loss", Gul Toran decides to manipulate Garak into doing his dirty work for him (killing the dissident fugitives that are on the station, an act Garak disapproves of) by dangling the carrot of ending Garak's exile in front of him. Once Garak has coralled the dissidents (and Quark who was helping them), Toran intervenes intending to take the sole credit and mocks Garak with the news that Garak's exile will never end and certainly not with any trivial act such as this. Considering Garak was one of the highest ranked agents of the Obsidian Order prior to his exile, which made him one of the most powerful and dangerous men in the whole of Cardassia (and Toran ''knew'' this), Toran's attempt to manipulate and then betray Garak was the most foolish, suicidal act of his life. Not only does Garak promptly kill Toran for his audacity, but he then helps the dissidents secure their escape and freedom from Cardassia.

* ''Series/{{Suits}}'' often features people who really should know better than to try taking on Pearson Hardman. Usually it ends with Harvey or Mike calmly explaining just how badly they're about to be steam-rolled. Season two starts with Mike calmly reciting Trevor's Social Security Number he had read as a child. He then warns that Trevor may have thought he was safe from Mike in the past, but now that they're no longer friends, he should really just back off.

** She herself is shocked when ''Bill'' does this, claiming that, as someone twice his age, she can kick his ass without breaking a sweat (not that vampires sweat). She proceeds to [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomp]] him... before Bill reveals that he was just keeping her busy, so that she doesn't notice a squad of well-armed men entering the house, whose fully-automatic guns are loaded with wooden bullets.

** Damon himself can't seem to get into his head that Katherine is stronger and nastier then him, capable of using most of the town as weapons, and can enter his and his love interest's home anytime she wants. A lot of Damon and Stefan's conversations in the second season include Stefan reminding him to 1) stop letting her manipulate him, and 2) stop trying to make her angry.

* ''Series/VeronicaMars'' demonstrates over and over that a) she's very helpful to have on your side when you're in trouble and b) she can and will mess you up if she feels like it. Doesn't matter; everyone at Neptune High continues to mock her and treat her as a scorned outcast. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in season three when Veronica asks Dick how after all he's seen her do, he still doesn't fear her. The guy she goes to after Dick tries to get tough with her, but runs after her to give her what she wants. The third guy stands tough. On a date that night, his credit card is declined and the tires are stolen off his car, then he walks into his unlit dorm room to find [[ChairReveal Veronic waiting for him with a taser]].

* In the first episode of ''Series/{{Wolfblood}}'', Rhydian loses control and violently attacks Jimmy, demonstrating extreme strength and the willingness to use it. This doesn't stop Jimmy and his friends spending most of the series teasing Rhydian, taunting him, framing him for crimes and, at one point, blackmailing him.

-->'''Wonder Woman:''' You weren't really planning on leaving were you? ''Closes the door'' I didn't think so.
-->'''Dunfield's [[{{Mooks}} thug]]:''' ''Pulls a gun and shoots at her to no effect''
-->'''Wonder Woman:''' ''Steps forward visibly annoyed'' [[CurbStompBattle In under 2 minutes, she beats, rounds up, and captures the entire gang.]]

** Clark Kent was often bullied on despite that fact that even without powers, he is still very buff and capable of punching people out.

* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': The episode "Scorpion" features the Borg attempting to assimilate species 8472. Unfortunately for them, 8472 obliterates fifteen Borg cubes in self-defence, prompting the Borg to seek assistance from the USS ''Voyager''.

* In the third series of ''Series/{{Blackadder}}'', two foppish actors learn about this trope the hard way. They spend the better part of the episode insulting the title character, and then a misunderstanding leads Baldrick to believe they're traitorous anarchists. Blackadder investigates, immediately realizes what's going on, and [[DisproportionateRetribution confirms Baldrick's suspicions.]]

* In ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 MST3K'''s [[Creator/{{Syfy}} Sci Fi Channel]] seasons, Pearl Forrester kept Bobo (an ape man who considered ripping lions apart a hoot) and Observer (a quasi-omnipotent RealityWarper) -- two people who could easily end her if they wanted -- through sheer force of will. The fact that neither man is particularly bright and [[RuleOfFunny it's funny]] helps.

* ''Series/Daredevil2015'': This is something Karen Page has a particularly bad habit of doing.
** In ''Series/ThePunisher2017'', she outright provokes and insults Lewis Wilson into gunning for her after he's already established himself as a dangerous domestic terrorist who referred to her directly by name in a manifesto. It's lampshaded by Frank, who calls it a terrible idea it was to provoke such a dangerous man into a response.
** In season 3 of ''Daredevil'', she confronts Fisk with the actual hope that she'll make him angry enough to snap and try to kill her, and be put back in prison for it. She does so by taunting him with the details of how she killed James Wesley, a plan that almost certainly would've gotten her killed if Foggy hadn't shown up in time. Not only does Karen's plan not work, but Fisk orders Dex to kill her, and in Dex's attempts to do so, several other innocent people (including Father Lantom) get killed.

* Many episodes of ''Series/TheATeam'' have some incredibly small and weedy-looking men attempting to push an angry-looking Creator/MrT around, and then actually looking surprised when they get thrown through a window. Possibly they're surprised at the [[SoftGlass lack of injury]].

* ''Series/AgentsOfShield'' has quite a few people, notably the Watchdogs, do this to Inhumans.
* Series/VeronicaMars demonstrates over and over that a) she's very helpful to have on your side when you're in trouble and b) she can and will mess you up if she feels like it. Doesn't matter; everyone at Neptune High continues to mock her and treat her as a scorned outcast. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in season three when Veronica asks Dick how after all he's seen her do, he still doesn't fear her. The guy she goes to after Dick tries to get tough with her, but runs after her to give her what she wants. The third guy stands tough. On a date that night, his credit card is declined and the tires are stolen off his car, then he walks into his unlit dorm room to find [[ChairReveal Veronic waiting for him with a taser]].
-->'''Veronica:''' Wanna find out how far I'll go?

* In the third series of ''Series/{{Blackadder}}'', two foppish actors learn about this trope the hard way. They spend the better part of the episode insulting the title character, and then a misunderstanding leads Baldrick to believe they're traitorous anarchists. Blackadder investigates, immediately realizes what's going on, and [[DisproportionateRetribution confirms Baldrick's suspicions.]]
* In Volume 5 of ''Series/{{Heroes}}'', Edgar the Knifethrower deliberately starts a feud with amnesiac arch-villain Sylar, not only despite but even ''because'' of Sylar apparently having a well-known reputation amongst the superpowered community as an unstoppable brain-stealing murder machine. Sure, Edgar is [[Franchise/StarWars Darth Maul]] and amnesiac Sylar is quite mild-mannered, but it still looks like Edgar is just asking for trouble.
* In ''Series/{{Dexter}}'', it's really not a good idea to threaten the title character, or especially his family, but most people don't know that he's a serial killer. There are the occasional exceptions, like [[spoiler:Lila, and Miguel Prado]]
* Many episodes of ''Series/TheATeam'' have some incredibly small and weedy-looking men attempting to push an angry-looking Creator/MrT around, and then actually looking surprised when they get thrown through a window. Possibly they're surprised at the [[SoftGlass lack of injury]].

* On ''Series/{{Bewitched}}'', the fact that Endora was a powerful sorceress rarely dissuaded Darrin from telling her off, even though quite a lot of the curses he suffered over the show's run happened as a result. Even worse were the few times he argued with Samantha's ''father'', who even Endora was afraid of. Justified in that Darrin knew full well that Sam's family hated him (or rather, hated the idea of him, a mortal, married to Samantha) and would be just as likely to zap him if he kept his mouth shut as if he spoke his mind.
* In ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'', "The Man Trap", Spock slaps around an alien that has previously shown the ability to overpower him. It was {{justified|Trope}} in that he was trying to prove that [[ShapeShifting it wasn't who it looked like]] and was therefore willing to take the risks involved.
* In ''Series/TheTwilightZone'' episode "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS3E88TheLastRitesOfJeffMyrtlebank The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank]]", a dead man revives in the middle of his funeral, which leads the townspeople to believe that his corpse was possessed by a demon. As the episode progresses, these people decide to attempt to force the young man out of town. He gets them to back down by invoking this very trope by stating that if he really is a demon, then they would have more sense to treat him nicely because he could really mess up their lives if he decided to.
* ''Series/GossipGirl'': Surprisingly often someone tries to hurt or annoy Chuck Bass. They never learn that it's a big mistake to do so. Blair as well. And if you take on ''both of them'', [[TooDumbToLive well]]...
* ''Series/KamenRiderGaim'': Taunting a short tempered [[SocialDarwinist leader]] of the team Baron that can take on monsters from another world sounds like a good idea? And especially when he doesn't deserve it? What the hell is wrong with you people?!
* ''Series/KamenRiderBuild'': [[DumbMuscle Ryuuga Banjo]] attacks [[DragonWithAnAgenda Blood Stalk]] despite knowing full well just how outmatched he is after an earlier attempt that was even less thought out [[spoiler: and nearly got him killed]]. He still goes with it because he has people to protect and unfinished business with Stalk.
* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'':
** Clark Kent was often bullied on despite that fact that even without powers, he is still very buff and capable of punching people out.
** In the episode "Rogue", a DirtyCop who sees Clark using his powers uses that knowledge to blackmail him. Sure, Clark's ThouShaltNotKill philosophy prevents him from easily killing the guy with said powers, but he doesn't know that. All he knows is that Clark is tough enough to stop an out-of-control bus by stepping in front of it and strong enough to toss a generator across a room like a wad of paper. And yet, he keeps on provoking him and even threatening his family. [[spoiler:KarmicDeath took care of him.]]
** In "Infamous", [[MakingASplash Linda]] [[MeaningfulName Lake]] is dumb enough to try doing this to [[spoiler:Davis Bloome a.k.a. ''Doomsday''. The latter is quick to KickTheSonOfABitch.]]
* On ''Series/{{Chuck}}'', this happens more often than not with Casey in a comedic sense, like when he's filled his daily quotient of stupidity from the Buy Morons, but every so often this trope come into play on a serious issue. In "Chuck vs. Operation Awesome", an old oriental woman is bitching at Chuck about the Buy More's lack of customer service, while Chuck is just concerned with wanting to tell someone outside the loop about his being a spy, worrying for Devon's safety (since he's been kidnapped), and his feelings toward Sarah. He finally snaps, flashes on how to speak Korean, and yells at the woman in her native tongue to more-or-less [[PunctuatedForEmphasis Shut the Fuck Up]], surprising everyone around him, including Jeff, Lester, and more importantly Sarah, because he's always been so pacifistic. It's made even more apparent when Chuck Intersect-kicks Lester for trying to mess with him, Bruce Lee-style only moments after telling off the Korean lady, which drops everyone's jaws even further.
* Benjamin Lennox's first meeting with Hyde in ''Series/{{Jekyll}}'' is made of this trope. It starts off with him interrupting Hyde while he's having sex, and it just goes downhill from there... in retrospect, claiming to ''own'' the superpowered psychopath was probably a bad idea.
* ''Series/TheAddamsFamily''. Most people are just terrified, but there are some who are more antagonistic. They don't see the problem with being offensive to people who consider torture a nice activity for the whole family. Fortunately for them, the Addamses are very nice people. But then, there is their family motto... "We gladly feast on those who would subdue us."
* In ''Series/TheXFiles'' episode [[Recap/TheXFilesS05E09Schizogeny "Schizogeny"]], everyone believes that a sixteen-year-old murdered his stepfather. Some of his classmates get in his face and make fun of him for being a "psycho killer". They apparently thought there was no way this could backfire on them.
* ''Series/TrueBlood'':
** Common humans feel the need to pick on vampires, even though vampires are superhumanly powerful and like to eat people. This is particularly egregious because so many vampires are disinclined to hold back and will cheerfully rip out your throat as your reward for successfully pissing them off.
** One notable example is when a back-country sheriff deputy harasses Bill Compton for being a vampire and calls him "boy," drawing very clumsy and illogical parallels to Jim Crow.
** The Brotherhood of the Sun are religious bigots who decide that kidnapping Godric is a good idea to show the vampires that they mean business. They don't seem to think about the fact that Godric commands some very nasty and violent ''Texan'' vampires who are only kept in check because he is now a pacifist. Godric is also over two thousand years old and commands the loyalty of some really powerful vampires like Eric.
** The Vampire Queen of Louisiana tends to bully her subject vampires and order them to do things that they find distasteful. She seems to forget that some of them like Eric are actually older than her and only follow her out of feudal loyalty.
** She herself is shocked when ''Bill'' does this, claiming that, as someone twice his age, she can kick his ass without breaking a sweat (not that vampires sweat). She proceeds to [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomp]] him... before Bill reveals that he was just keeping her busy, so that she doesn't notice a squad of well-armed men entering the house, whose fully-automatic guns are loaded with wooden bullets.

* ''Series/TheVampireDiaries'':
** Why don't people learn that annoying Damon Salvatore isn't a good idea...?
** Damon himself can't seem to get into his head that Katherine is stronger and nastier then him, capable of using most of the town as weapons, and can enter his and his love interest's home anytime she wants. A lot of Damon and Stefan's conversations in the second season include Stefan reminding him to 1) stop letting her manipulate him, and 2) stop trying to make her angry.
** Damon seems to have a major problem with this trope. He also tried to intimidate Pearl, who had a few hundred years on him and responded by gouging out his eyes, Jules, a werewolf, during the full moon, and Elijah, who's an [[TheOlderImmortal Original]] vampire and could decapitate him with one punch.
** Klaus. Anyone trying to use/play/betray Klaus or any of the other Originals has to have a death wish.
* ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger'' has an example of MuggingTheMonster that crosses into this. While shopping for wedding china with his fiance, Walker notices a man loudly harassing a woman and attacking an employee who tries to make him leave. Walker intervenes and tells the man to leave, and the man takes a swing at him. Walker effortlessly blocks it, informs the man that he's a Texas Ranger and tells him to leave again. Then the man decides ''to try to hit Walker again'', and naturally gets the crap beaten out of him, without a single piece of china being damaged.
* {{Subverted|Trope}} on ''Series/{{Angel}}''. Gwen is a young woman who can electrocute people by touching them with her bare skin. As a child, she was sent to a boarding school and is approached by a boy asking if she's "a freak." The audience braces itself... but he's not bullying her, just asking her an innocent question, and follows up with "you don't look like a freak." Unfortunately, he offers to share a toy car with her, and when she reaches out to take it, she ends up electrocuting him to death anyway.
* ''Series/{{Glee}}'''s Santana Lopez -- a tallish, bitchy but light cheerleader who can hold her own in CatFight against most girls in the school - picks a fight with Lauren Zizes over her developing relationship with Puck. Unfortunately for Santana, Lauren is the Ohio state champion in greco-roman wrestling, and a big, confident girl with a bad attitude to boot. Calling the resultant fight a CurbstompBattle is possibly longer than the actual fight.

* ''Series/{{Airwolf}}'': Don't mess with Stringfellow Hawke's friends. He will personally send you straight to hell.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** As a villain in a new-series episode learned, trying to chain up and experiment on a [[ScaryDogmaticAliens Dalek]] is a ''bad idea''. Deciding to capture and torture ''[[GuileHero the]] [[TheDreaded Doctor]]'' is an even worse one. In fact, the episode "Dalek" is a sort of TakeThat to various people who have in a sense bullied the dragon in real life by not taking the Daleks seriously. Characters continually mock the Dalek's seemingly ridiculous appearance including a plunger-like attachment and seeming inability to climb stairs and subsequently end up getting their face sucked off by said plunger or finding out that Daleks can in fact fly.
** According to Dorium the black market dealer in the episode [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E7AGoodManGoesToWar "A Good Man Goes to War"]], this is what the bad guys are doing by trying to pull one over on The Doctor. Dorium even all but says they are bullying a dragon -- specifically he tells them they've pricked a beast but haven't been smart enough to run away from it afterward.

* ''Series/{{Suits}}'' often features people who really should know better than to try taking on Pearson Hardman. Usually it ends with Harvey or Mike calmly explaining just how badly they're about to be steam-rolled. Season two starts with Mike calmly reciting Trevor's Social Security Number he had read as a child. He then warns that Trevor may have thought he was safe from Mike in the past, but now that they're no longer friends, he should really just back off.

* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': The episode "Scorpion" features the Borg attempting to assimilate species 8472. Unfortunately for them, 8472 obliterates fifteen Borg cubes in self-defense, prompting the Borg to seek assistance from the USS ''Voyager''.

* ''Series/SpartacusBloodAndSand''
** A loan shark makes several attempts to harass and threaten Batiatus, but Batiatus is usually flanked by one or more famous gladiators who kill on his command.
** Similarly, you don't try to extort [[spoiler:Oenomeus]].
* ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}'':
** Normally, nobody knows that Merlin is a warlock, so this would be MuggingTheMonster. However, in his alter-ego Dragoon, everyone knows that he successfully escaped imprisonment and has fought knights before. This doesn't stop the knights from surrounding him and poking him with their swords. [[CurbStompBattle He knocks out Gawaine, disarms the rest,]] [[HumiliationConga and then uses Leon, Percival, and Elyan as stairs to get on his horse.]] Unsurprisingly, the knights never speak of this again.
** A baffling example occurs in the series finale. In ''the previous episode,'' Morgana had been so scared of Merlin's power that she'd [[spoiler:trapped him in a cave without his magic. Now that he's visibly recovered his magic, is furious with her, has demonstrated dominion over actual dragons, and he's wielding a ''sword,'' she decides to stand a foot away from him, unarmed, and taunt him. That goes about as well as she deserves.]] It was somewhat justified as Morgana has been [[SanitySlippage slowly slipping into madness]] over the course of the entire series, and by that point she's far past the point of VillainousBreakdown. [[spoiler:Plus, she probably thought Merlin had brought his own sword, and not [[InfinityPlusOneSword Excalibur]], in which case she would have survived the stabbing]].
** Likewise, Nimueh has to [[BalancingDeathsBooks trade a life for Arthur's.]] Naturally, instead of killing some random person in a far-off land whom Merlin would not even know, she picks ''[[RelativeButton his mother]]'', and then, when he tries to take it back, his mentor Gaius. She manages to absorb a shot in the resultant WizardDuel, so naturally she just mocks him and sticks a fireball in his chest. [[spoiler:Cue Merlin blowing her up with lightning.]]
* In ''Series/LastResort'' Julian Serat is a ([[SmallNameBigEgo very]]) small time warlord of an island. When a nuclear submarine and a team of Navy [=SEALs=] arrive on the island, he decides they're disrespecting him and starts making threats. James King, one of the [=SEALs=], is displeased, and lists [[BadassBoast the order he will kill Serat and his men, where he will shoot each of them, and how many bullets he will use to do so]]. Serat backs off, but continues to harass them. It's made clear over the course of the series that the crew of the submarine haven't killed Serat because they can't fight his men on the island and the various Navies off the island. King, who isn't with the submarine crew, apparently hasn't killed Serat yet because he doesn't particularly feel like it.
* In the ''Series/{{Haven}}'' episode "Lockdown", an abusive husband learns that his wife has a dangerous Trouble, the ability to infect others with a dangerous toxin, and he still terrorizes her. Once she gains the courage to stand up to him, he doesn't live much longer.
* In ''[[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 MST3K]]'''s [[Creator/{{Syfy}} Sci Fi Channel]] seasons, Pearl Forrester kept Bobo (an ape man who considered ripping lions apart a hoot) and Observer (a quasi-omnipotent RealityWarper) -- two people who could easily end her if they wanted -- through sheer force of will. The fact that neither man is particularly bright and [[RuleOfFunny it's funny]] helps.
* The Winchesters are often guilty of this in ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', such as in the episode [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E19FolsomPrisonBlues "Folsom Prison Blues" (S02, Ep19)]] when Dean starts making fun of Tiny, a very large prisoner, the day after his friend died. Interesting example, as Dean was actually banking on this reaction at the time as the plan was to start a fight, so to give his brother a distraction long enough to get rid of the ghost that was killing the prisoners. As Dean is a very tough man himself, who regularly tangles with super strong monsters and demons only to come out on top, it's fair to say he probably could have killed Tiny if he needed to, this is more an example of a dragonslayer bullying the dragon.
* ''Series/SonsOfAnarchy'': It's amazing how many people seem to think that manipulating, abusing or otherwise pushing around the members and loved ones of a biker gang with enough military-grade hardware to equip a decent-sized mercenary force is a great idea.
* ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'': A frustrated Charlie sees [[CreepyTwins the newly paroled [=McPoyles=] drinking at Paddy's]]:
-->'''Charlie:''' [[SarcasmMode Hey, Liam, sorry I sent you and your brother to jail, but anytime you want to stab me]] [[TooDumbToLive would be great for me!]]\\
''[Liam stabs him]''\\
'''Ryan:''' That's what you get, Charlie! You get forkstabbed!\\
'''Charlie:''' I just got stabbed!\\
'''Mac:''' Well, whose fault is that?\\
'''Dennis:''' You had to make a scene, didn't you, Charlie.\\
'''Mac:''' You had to run your mouth in front of psychopaths.
* In the first episode of ''Series/MartialLaw'', a racist cop thinks it will be a good idea to mock and insult Sammo despite hearing that he is the top cop in Shanghai and the senior training officer in martial arts and hand-to-hand combat. Sammo politely shows him how he earned those titles.
* While this trope is common in many classic westerns, ''Series/TheRifleman'' is one that plays the trope the straightest. See that big sodbuster over there with the kid? The one that's a full head taller than everyone else in town, carries a custom rifle in one hand, and lugs multiple bags of feed over his shoulder with the other? That man is Lucas [=McCain=], a Civil War veteran reputed to the point of legend for being faster with that rifle than most men with a six-shooter. OnceAnEpisode some bandit or ne'er-do-well would try to bully this man, often by using the people of North Fork or his son Mark against him. The lucky ones lived to wish they hadn't.
* Whether plaintiff or defendant, insulting Series/JudgeJudy isn't very smart if you want her to take your side. In fact you have to be very lucky if you don't get kicked out, or immediately lose the trial.
* The entire plot arc in the second season of ''Series/OrphanBlack'' involving Helena and [[SinisterMinister Pastor Johanssen]]. It's just about possible that he doesn't know that she's a highly trained and gifted assassin with serious psychological issues, but it's not very plausible given his ties to the people who used to run her. However, whether through megalomania or utterly blinkered sexism, he continues to abuse her and bully other people in front of her throughout the season, even as she obviously becomes increasingly irritated and disgusted, and even though she makes it increasingly clear that she is only putting up with him out of her desire to get pregnant. It finally takes the revelation that [[spoiler:he inseminated his own daughter with an embryo [[ParentalIncest he fathered]]]] to provoke a [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice cathartic]] [[KillItWithFire outburst]].
* Happens quite often to Lagertha on ''Series/{{Vikings}}''. Three times men try to rape her. Each time she kills them.
* ''Series/FrontierCircus'': In "The Inheritance", a group of cowhands decide to pick a fight with a judo master. Who had already wiped the floor with them earlier in the episode.
* ''Series/MadamSecretary'': "Standoff" has a grandstanding Texas governor refuse to hand over a Mexican drugrunner and CopKiller who was kidnapped from a Mexican jail by a Texan militia, using the whole thing as a big political show. Secretary of State [=McCord=] has the Mexican government issue an arrest warrant for the ''governor'', and then threatens to add on about half a dozen federal charges up to and including conspiracy, which would ''royally'' screw his presidential hopes. Governor Lockwood just about sets a land speed record backpedaling.
* In season 3 of ''Series/HeroCorp'', you have the bad guy who's chasing Stève, Stan and Burt for having escaped his [[FightClubbing fighting ring]]. Sure, they're [[SuperZeroes the most inept superheroes]] around, but still, he's trying to get the drop on a guy who can shoot acid, and another who can shoot fire, with just a gun. [[spoiler:[[ForegoneConclusion He gets burned]].]]
* A rare heroic version occurs in the finale of ''Series/{{Flashpoint}}'' where [[spoiler: Parker]] despite being shot several times and [[spoiler: having managed to disable the last dirty bomb]], takes the time to tell the suspect that their entire plan was undone, that for all their planning, everything they'd done would have been for nothing. After all that the suspect had done in the two-part episode, their fury was wondrous to behold.
* ''Series/{{Gotham}}'' had Penguin's stepmother and stepsiblings tormenting him endlessly after the death of his father. This was despite the fact they knew he was a supposedly reformed criminal mastermind who had killed many people previously. [[spoiler: Oswald eventually snaps and kills them all in a particularly sadistic way, even for him, and they were so awful you don't even blame him.]]
* ''Series/Supergirl2015'': In the tie-in comic series, made-of-diamond villain Facet spends months trying to ruin [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} Kara]]'s life until Kara loses patience, takes her to the upper atmosphere and lets her go. Supergirl lampshades how dumb is to taunt someone who can ''fly'':
-->'''Supergirl:''' But here's the thing about messing with people who can fly when you can't... They choose how you land.
* ''Series/{{Frontier}}'': Elizabeth Carruthers decides to deliberately antagonize Samuel Grant by having his closest associate arrested after scuppering their deal with the Marquis and then rubbing in his face how pathetic he is despite knowing that this is a man who doesn't shy away from things like [[spoiler:murdering his competition. Predictably, he kills her in a frothing rage after she beats him over the head with a candle holder.]]
* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'': In the episode "Iced" the gang member Cesar is held for questioning. After being released, he decides to use his fake position as go-between for his gang's leader to order retaliation against a ''federal law enforcement agency''. If he hadn't been killed by his gang for murdering their leader, attacking NCIS would have resulted in major retaliation.

''Series/{{NCIS}}'': In the episode "Iced" the gang member Cesar is held for questioning. After being released, he decides to use his fake position as go-between for his gang's leader to order retaliation against a ''federal law enforcement agency''. If he hadn't been killed by his gang for murdering their leader, attacking NCIS would have resulted in major retaliation.

* On ''Series/{{Bewitched}}'', the fact that Endora was a powerful sorceress rarely dissuaded Darrin from telling her off, even though quite a lot of the curses he suffered over the show's run happened as a result. Even worse were the few times he argued with Samantha's ''father'', who even Endora was afraid of.

* ''Series/KamenRiderGaim'' Taunting a short tempered leader of the team Baron that can take on monsters from another world sounds like a good idea? And especially when he doesn´t deserve it? What the hell is wrong with you people?!

** From ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' we have Bulk and Skull, who (as [[WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall Linkara]] pointed out) regularly bullied a group of six classmates, all of whom could easily beat the crap out of them (even though they mostly seemed to pick on Billy, the weakest of the group). Luckily for them, the Rangers were far too nice to ever do anything. It is shown in [[EnsembleDarkhorse Tommy's]] introduction, though: they go to harass the new kid, only for him to pull off an impromptu demonstration of his martial arts skills (never actually touching either bully), which causes them to run away in wide-eyed terror.