History Main / DidYouJustScamCthulhu

** [[spoiler:Rather subverted, as in the Mythos of the Universe in question, Humans are considered EQUAL in threat and relative power level to the Angels in question. Since Humans ARE Cthulhu then it's not that surprisingly they can scam the Angels. Afterall, Humans can be seen as an Angel of Knowledge...]]

[[caption-width:360:I am Tzeentch, Lord of Change, Changer of the Ways, Master of Destinies. No mere mortal can... what is that pawn doing there?!]]

* The Title Image can be attributed to a plausibly exploitable rule in Warhammer40K that may be interpreted so that a certain Creed ''can hide heavy equipment in ridiculously implausible locations'' due to his Tactical Genius. Such as heavy tanks behind a light post. Or heavy infantry in ''the enemy leader's bathroom''.

* ''{{Gargoyles}}:'' [[XanatosPlannedThisIndex Xanatos]] (of course) did that to [[TricksterGod Puck]], when he chose Owen Burnett, instead of a wish, forcing Puck to play human for the rest of Xanatos' life. [[hottip:*: Not that Puck/Owen has any problem with this.]]

* Mai of ''AvatarTheLastAirbender is the first person -- possibly ''ever'' -- to fool the [[MagnificentBastard Magnificent]] [[ManipulativeBastard Manipulative Bitch]] Azula (enough to [[spoiler:send her into a VillainousBreakdown]]) because EvilCannotComprehendGood.

* In LordOfTheRings: Sauron the [[TheChessmaster chess GRANDmaster]] of Middle Earth was outwitted by the XanatosGambit directing him away from Frodo. It helped that EvilCannotComprehendGood.

* ''{{Gargoyles}}:'' [[XanatosPlannedThisIndex Xanatos]] (of course) did that to [[TricksterGod Puck]], when he chose Owen Burnett, instead of a wish, forcing Puck to play human for the rest of Xanatos' life.
** Of course, Puck himself seems impressed that Xanatos chose Owen instead of, say, immortality, and overall is quite content with his lot. It's also worth noting that he offered Xanatos the option of choosing Owen deliberately, more to see what he would do than anything else. And it's said explicitly that Puck only stays because he was impressed and amused by the choice.
*** Puck pretty much shot himself in the foot with that one; why did he think a MagnificentBastard like Xanatos would even consider taking a wish from a LiteralGenie when he could have an AlmightyJanitor as his [[HappinessInSlavery 100% loyal servant]] for ''life''?
*** Puck seems to enjoy a chance to try PlayingAgainstType as Owen. As he said himself: "The Puck has played many roles, but never before the StraightMan."
**** This troper always got the impression that Puck wanted Xanatos to choose Owen. That way, Puck wouldn't be required to return to Avalon for Oberon's Gathering and could remain in the mortal world doing what he did best...causing mischief. He didn't seem terribly broken up when Oberon and Titania exile him from Avalon, after all.
**** Well, if Xanatos becomes immortal without the help of Puck, he gets Owen eternally.
* I believe the defeat of the Robot Devil in {{Futurama}} should be considered partly this, and partly DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu.
* In {{Metalocalypse}}, the boys encounter the Devil (well, the Blues Devil) and sell their souls to him for Blues talent. Except they negotiate it all the way down to little more than a $5 Hot Topic giftcard.
* "You wanted to be a genie, and you got it... and everything that goes with it. Phenomenal cosmic powers. Itty-bitty living space."

* In ''{{Homestuck}}'', Terezi [[spoiler: pulls this on the supernatural Doc Scratch in order to bait him into enacting her revenge on Vriska]]. Nobody out-manipulates Terezi. She is simply the best there is.

* John Constantine from ''{{Hellblazer}}'' is a master of this trope. In what's possibly his CrowningMomentOfAwesome, he sells his soul to the three most powerful demons in Hell at once, which would force them into a war with each other, leaving them no choice but to cure his terminal lung cancer and keep him alive. And then he [[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu flips them off]].
** Why don't they just kill him, and keep him trapped for having the insolence to try and play them against each other?
*** Because by the laws of Hell, ''someone'' has to claim him, and since each of the Fallen has a claim to his soul, just giving it up to one of the other would be a sign of weakness. And if they actually went to war with each other over it, Heaven would take advantage of the chaos and invade. Mind you, this whole thing backfires when the First of the Fallen just decides to kill his fellow rulers and come after Constantine...

[[caption-width:360:I am Tzeentch, Lord of Change, Changer of the Ways, Master of Destinies. No [[MaryTzu mere mortal]] can... what is that pawn doing there?!]]

* In {{Fables}}, Jack Horner played poker with the Devil during the Revolutionary War. He cheated and won, keeping his soul and winning the Devil's BagOfHolding.

* Happens to an extent in TheSilmarillion- specifically, the story of the Downfall of Numenor, where [[MagnificentBastard Sauron]] essentially manipulates [[{{God}} Eru Iluvatar]] into destroying the Numenorean empire for him. Also subverted in that Sauron only intended for [[CouncilOfAngels the Valar]] to get involved, and the amount of power Iluvatar was packing was enough to kill Sauron as well. Of course as anyone who's read TheLordOfTheRings could tell you, Sauron came BackFromTheDead, and at any rate it's impressive to make God into your XanatosSucker in a 'verse where God is both competent and good.

* Jonouchi of ''{{Yu-Gi-Oh}}'' survives a blow from the Egyptian god Ra during the Battle City semifinals, which, given the Dark Duel he is in with Yami Malik, is enough to kill an ordinary human, and yet still stands when Ra returns to the graveyard. [[spoiler:He manages to draw and summon Gearfried, and... [[YankTheDogsChain collapses from shock]]]], ultimately making this a [[AvertedTrope half-averted trope]].

* Jonouchi of {{Yu-Gi-Oh}} survives a blow from the Egyptian god Ra during the Battle City semifinals, which, given the Dark Duel he is in with Yami Malik, is enough to kill an ordinary human, and yet still stands when Ra returns to the graveyard. [[spoiler:He manages to draw and summon Gearfried, and... [[YankTheDogsChain collapses from shock]]]], ultimately making this a [[AvertedTrope half-averted trope]].

* In ''{{Watchmen}}'', [[spoiler:Veidt]]'s master plan involves the manipulation of pretty much the entire rest of the cast, up to and including Dr. Manhattan, an energy being of unimaginable power who can normally see the future as clearly as he can see the present. This is justified, as Veidt used [[{{Handwavium}} tachyons]] to block Manhattan's sight.

* [[{{Disney/Aladdin}} Aladdin]] manages to trick his newfound genie servant into freeing him from a sealed cavern without making a wish by prodding the genie's ego, and gets away with. The second time, however, when Aladdin is drowning and couldn't reasonably wish for rescue, the genie just takes it for granted and does so.
* In the film version of ''{{Coraline}}'', the eponymous character does this to the Beldam; the demonic master of a pocket universe who needs to consume the souls of children to live. Frustrated with a boring life and uncaring parents, Coraline is enticed into the Beldam's world which appears as an ideal version of her own home and family. The kicker comes when [[spoiler:she is prevented from leaving and imprisoned when she refuses to give up her soul (by having buttons sewed onto her eyes, like all creatures in the Beldam's world) and her real parents are captured and held hostage by the Beldam to force Coraline to give in. Coraline makes a deal with the Beldam to play a game by betting she can find the souls of three previous children taken by the Beldam along with her parents. Knowing the Beldam won't concede if Coraline wins, she pretends to lose before stealing the key back to her own world and escaping with her parents to safety.]]

* In {{Preacher}}, Cassidy pulls of a clever scam, which results in [[spoiler:him getting cured of his vampirism]] and [[spoiler:God getting killed]]. Yes, [[spoiler:that means the Christian God, who is essentially the BigBad of the series]].

* ''2000 AD'': Cassandra Anderson manages to make Satan ''blow himself up'' by forcing himself into a [[LogicBomb Douglas Adams-style self-contradiction]].

* In ''{{Watchmen}}'', [[spoiler:Veidt]]'s master plan involves the manipulation of pretty much the entire rest of the cast, up to and including Dr. Manhattan, an energy being of unimaginable power who can normally see the future as clearly as he can see the present. This is justified, as Veidt used [[Handwavium tachyons]] to block Manhattan's sight.

* In ''Emperor: Joker'', Mr. Mxyzptlk decides to give TheJoker 1% of his power to see what he would do with it, but Joker tricks him into giving ''99.99%''.

* In LegendOfTheFiveRings, the big bad evil god, Fu Leng, fell to this at the hands of Naseru, who eventually became the Emperor. When Naseru and his siblings lead a BigDamnHeroes moment in an attack on Fu Leng's stronghold in the Shadowlands to prevent him from taking over the heavens, while his uber-powered brothers and sister were slaying abominations left and right, Naseru, being a courtier, walked up to Daigotsu, leader of Fu Leng's forces in the material world, and began talking to him. The resulting conversation allowed Naseru to trick Fu Leng into temporarily withdrawing his dependence on Daigotsu, which gave the other gods and dead heroes enough time to take him down and send him back to hell.

* The Title Image can be attributed to a plausibly exploitable rule in Warhammer 40k that may be interpreted so that a certain Creed ''can hide heavy equipment in ridiculously implausible locations'' due to his Tactical Genius. Such as heavy tanks behind a light post. Or heavy infantry in ''the enemy leader's bathroom''.