History Main / NotSoHarmless

!!Examples

* Wolfen Crest: High school gonks [[http://www.onemanga.com/Wolf_Guy_-_Wolfen_Crest/4/05/ Kurota]] and his [[http://www.onemanga.com/Wolf_Guy_-_Wolfen_Crest/9/07/ twin brother]] are chronic bedwetters who happen to look like if John Lennon in his younger years made sweet love to a buck-toothed weasel. They are also members of one of the most powerful and brutal gangs in the city, and they didn't earn it through any connections. Both brothers were born without pubic hair and an inability to masturbate due to phimosis, making them possible targets of ridicule and teasing among the school once their secrets were exposed. However, they confronted the bullying as soon as it started by targeting the boy who acted like the boss of the class and the girl who jeered them most by severing their genitals and slicing off their noses. Since then no one dared speak or make fun of the brothers' condition ever again.

*** [[spoiler: Subverted in that he's clearly not more powerful than Starrk and is getting his ass handed to him left and right. In other words, he really is So Harmless.]]
*** [[spoiler: And then [[DoubleSubversion subverted again]] when he reveals that his power is fuelled by anger, so kicking his ass actually makes him ''worse'' in the long run. Whether this DoubleSubversion will pay off remains to be seen, but [[ZigZaggingTrope in the incredibly likely event that it doesn't...]]]]

** Starrk just turned this trope UpToEleven. With his release he gains [[GunsAkimbo dual pistols]] and an EyepatchOfPower, and starts making Kyoraku run for his life.
*** Not wanting to be outdone, the normally easygoing Kyoraku makes some use of this trope himself by [[spoiler: releasing his Zanpakuto and utterly owning Starrk. With children's games.]]

* Speaking of ''MegaMan'', [[Game/MegaMan Dr. Wily]] falls under this. In ''Mega Man and Bass'', one of his creations, King, ''chopped Protoman in half''. In ''9'', he managed to con the world into thinking Dr. Light was after world domination, getting the good doctor arrested. And in ''10'', [[spoiler: if not for Roll, he would've won]]. And this is just in the Classic series. In the ''X'' series, he is responsible for TheVirus that causes much of the conflict. Plus, it's hinted that [[BackFromTheDead he may still be alive]]...

Compare FromNobodyToNightmare and BewareTheSillyOnes. Contrast VillainDecay. When applied to minor heroes instead of minor villains, it's [=~Let's Get Dangerous~=]. See also TeamRocketWins.

* You could say that humans ''in general'' fall into this category. We're fleshy meatbags of 90 percent water [[YouFailScienceForever (70! 70 percent!!),]] have relatively few physical defenses of any kind, are particuarly vulnerable in childhood, and a hardier alien race might look at us and go "Huh? THAT'S the dominant species on the planet?" We are also highly intelligent beings capable of surviving incredibly harsh conditions, and killing millions of people in a matter of moments given the right tools.

* You could say that humans ''in general'' fall into this category. We're fleshy meatbags of 90 percent water, have relatively few physical defenses of any kind, are particuarly vulnerable in childhood, and a hardier alien race might look at us and go "Huh? THAT'S the dominant species on the planet?" We are also highly intelligent beings capable of surviving incredibly harsh conditions, and killing millions of people in a matter of moments given the right tools.

*** Don't forget Bowser in Paper Mario. Although he's extremely dumb (he'll believe Peach is she tells him Mario hates healing items), he possess the Star Road which basically makes him a good, and he's actually manage to defeat Mario at the start of the game.

* ''{{Comicbook/Batman}}'' #251: After twenty years of campy, oversized set pieces and pies in the face and bloodless bank robberies, TheJoker goes after some of his old henchmen who ratted him out. Audiences are expecting sneezing powder or filling their house with balloons, as Joker hands the first henchman a cigar, he thinks of how "classic Joker" it is. The old exploding cigar. Except the explosive in this one is nitroglycerin, and when the henchman lights it, waiting for a little "pop", it blows up his head and most of the room. Joker's back.

** The characters, fans, and writers in seasons 3 through 6, kept forgetting that Spike was a soulless demon, and had to be reminded about it every once in a while.

*** Let's not leave out Yoshi, from the second PaperMario. Long story short: Mario has just been [[{{CurbstompBattle}} pounded]] in an arena match against enemies who are so tough ''they cannot be hurt by any means you have at your disposal.'' After recovering from the fight, the egg that's been following Mario around hatches, to reveal a baby Yoshi, who proceeds to tell Mario that they need to head back in to the arena so he, the Yoshi, can smack them silly. ''And then he does.'' Keep in mind that this Yoshi is around ''ten minutes old'' at that point. Then again, [[{{BadassFamily}} most Yoshis seem to come out of the egg kicking ass.]]

* For most of ''{{Tales of Symphonia}}'', ChosenOne Colette is a {{Dojikko}}, PluckyGirl, and FriendToAllLivingThings, who ApologizesALot. All of this makes it easy to forget that her angelic transformation makes her physically one of the strongest characters in the game, able to lift [[TheBigGuy a tall, heavily-muscled man]] with one hand, and declare "Oh, he's lighter than I thought!"

* ''YetAnotherFantasyGamerComic'' usually portrays Lewie the Lich as a HarmlessVillain. When called upon, however, he points out an important fact about lichs: no matter how silly they seem, you only get to be one by being ''very'' powerful.

->'''Buffy''': Harmony has minions?!\\
'''Xander''': And Ruffles have ridges. Buffy, there's actually a more serious side to this.\\
'''Buffy''': God, I hope so.
--> ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer''

!!Examples:

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* [[spoiler:Fuku-chan]] in ''MermaidMelodyPichiPichiPitch'', also a ManBehindTheMan. To add insult to injury, he's the SmallAnnoyingCreature.

** In the first Slayers, a Mazoku named Tiiba almost kills the group when they try to discover Rezo's legacy, the tablet needed to awaken the Demon Beast Zanaffar. When they first encounter him, he's a pudgy, comical, dwarf-sized humanoid rooster in a dapper little waistcoat. The group describe him as: "A chicken" (Lina and Zelgadis), "A chicken from every angle" (Amelia) and "Quite possibly the chickenest looking chicken I've ever seen" (Gourry). Even Sylphiel couldn't bring herself to describe him as anything other than a chicken.

** ''Killer Bee''. "Hey, this rap-loving dude can't be that dangero--''holy shit'' did he cut [[spoiler:Sasuke]] open?!" [[spoiler:Furthermore he managed to make kid look like a complete idiot. [[{{CrowningMoment/Naruto}} In front of the whole Akatsuki as well.]]]]
** Everyone and their grandmother weren't expecting much (at least physically) out of [[HandicappedBadass one-armed, one-eyed]] Danzo in ''Naruto'', until he [[spoiler:revealed his Sharingan]] and then--did he just use that guy's ''head'' as a '''sword-holster'''!?

** Buggy and Mr. 3 found out this the hard way that Impel Down's Vice-Warden Hannyabal is NotSoHarmless despite not having a Devil Fruit or the reputation of his fearsome boss, Warden Magellan. The funny thing is he was going to ''allow'' them to get past him so his boss will get in trouble, but they had to go ahead with their [[strike:suicidal]] [[strike:idiotic]] [[strike:somewhat predictable]] otherwise ingenious plan of taking him out, only to face an asskicking for it.

* In ''MahouSenseiNegima'', Kurt Godel manages to pull this off in the space of a single chapter. He's introduced as ManipulativeBastard and ConsummateLiar with a lot of political power, but he has to be accompanied by a massive number of bodyguards because he's so frail. Then [[spoiler: he kicks Negi's ass with [[ImplausibleFencingPowers one attack]], even though Negi is ''made of lightning''. Turns out that he's a master swordsman, and travelled with Ala Rubra in his youth. Oops.]]
* In Bakugan we have Rabeeder. She's a Hybrid Bakugan and servent of Naga. Compared to the other gate keepers, she and her sister are quite ditzy and silly and seems like a pushover when the heroes first meet her, challenging the heroes to... a race? In fact she's pretty much harmless and even hits on the main character. Total joke, right? Nope. When Rabeeder arrives on earth, Alice, while inexperienced at fighting on her own, volunteers to go after her under the impression that she is weak and with a little help seems to be doing fine. But then Rabeeder overhears that her sister had been defeated. Believing her sister to be KIA, she goes on a [[UnstoppableRage ''total rampage'']] where she flings around the [[TheDragon up-until-that-point's main and secondary antagonists' Bakugan]] like rag dolls and is totally unstoppable. She is only stopped by a lucky break when she discovers her sister isn't dead. The two reunite and Rabeeder calms down.

* In SonicX Eggman alternated between being higly competant and totally [[VillainDecay not competent at all]], so much so that it came as a quite surprise for some when he talked [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Dark Sonic]] out of a RoaringRampageOfRevenge, while his even more harmless robot buddies ''held off'' a Metarex leader.

[[folder: ComicBooks]]
* Jigsaw in ''ThePunisher'' comics, though it took him several tries to actually reach serious villain status - indeed, what finally pushed him over the top was the ability to survive meeting the Punisher that many times.

---> '''[[spoiler: Riddler]]''': I used to be a somebody in this town. Now, everybody has a gimmick. I was going to show them all. And I did."
* The Marvel ''{{GI Joe}}'' comic ignored the cartoon's [[WallBanger Cobra-La]] origin of Cobra Commander, with writer Larry Hama instead characterizing him as an ex-hippie used car salesman who wants to {{Take Over The World}}. Initially, the character never strayed very far from the cartoon's {{General Failure}} persona, though he eventually evolved into a {{Villain Ball}}, and even a halfway-competent {{Big Bad}}, costing the Joes billions of dollars in equipment and an entire squad of team members(though this was actually due to [[PoorCommunicationKills lieutenants misunderstanding his orders]]). The character's final turn into a full {{Villain}} occurred in issue #131(December 1992) when, [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption after numerous tries]], Cobra located and attacked the Joe team's {{Elaborate Underground Base}}. After readying the second wave of the attack, the following conversation takes place.
-->'''Viper''': "This is too easy, Commander. Something has to go wrong."
-->'''Cobra Commander''': "I won't stand for negativity in the ranks." * shoots Viper* "You wait and see. Well, it's too late for you, but the rest of you, you just wait and see."

* Though he wasn't completely harmless before, Doctor Destiny was always a traditional silver age villain, using dream powers to mess with gravity and create chaos while not really killing anyone. Cut to [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel The 24 Hours story in Sandman #6]].

* {{Comicbook/Batman}} #251: After twenty years of campy, oversized set pieces and pies in the face and bloodless bank robberies, TheJoker goes after some of his old henchmen who ratted him out. Audiences are expecting sneezing powder or filling their house with balloons, as Joker hands the first henchman a cigar, he thinks of how "classic Joker" it is. The old exploding cigar. Except the explosive in this one is nitroglycerin, and when the henchman lights it, waiting for a little "pop", it blows up his head and most of the room. Joker's back.

*** The de-fanging of Batman's villains began some years before, mostly due to a general shift in tone brought on by Dick Sprang's cartoonier style and the typically crazy plot twists of the late Golden Age. As Mark Waid notes in the afterward to ''The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told'', by the mid-40s the Joker was far less likely to kill. As a trade-off, the stories tended to be much more clever and colorful.
** The ''Joker's Asylum II: Harley Quinn'' oneshot. Rival mobsters, cops and so on know that Harley is a fairly harmless character, whose WeaponOfChoice is a big comedy mallet. But they're standing between her and Mr J on ''Valentine's Day'', which means she's not kidding around any more.

* Harmony from ''{{Buffy}}'' is typically dumb and incompetent, until she kills a Slayer with her own stake on national television ''and'' convinces the public that vampires are the good guys and Slayers are the bad guys, sending the US Military after them.
* The Intelligencia from FallOfTheHulks. The team is made of MODOK, Leader, Wizard, Red Ghost and Mad Thinker. Togther they have have become a pretty deadly force.

[[folder: Film]]
* Subverted then lampshaded in MIB. When Jay is being tested and they hit the firing range, [[spoiler:he ignores the military examples shooting all the alien targets and fires one shot. Once asked why Muffy had to die, Jay completely dismantled the aliens as doing harmless activities and notes the books on advanced physics, books ''way'' too advanced for a kid her age, finishing that she's there to cause some trouble]]. Genre Savvy as that was, Jay still underestimated such issues as birthing aliens and the Noisy Cricket, but the biggest example of NotSoHarmless was [[spoiler:the coroner finishing off the BigBad Bug]].

* ''BatmanBegins'' gives the Scarecrow this treatment. Prior to this movie, he was best known as the go-to incompetent villain on ''BatmanTheAnimatedSeries''. In the movie, he's introduced as a skinny and unintimidating psychologist with big pretty eyes. And then he goes all NightmareFuel [[NightmareFuelUnleaded Unleaded]] on us (literally) and sets Batman on fire.
** The version of the Scarecrow in B:TAS is rather unthreatening in appearance, but gets his usual thing on, spreading fear and such. He isn't considered especially threatening until he starts sadistically removing people's fears, causing citywide chaos and panic.
** In the comics, Scarecrow gets his Not So Harmless upgrade in the "Absolute Terror" arc, where he terrorizes the whole of Gotham to the point it almost destroys itself in fear ''without using an fear gas''. He simply uses psychology, and a few well-placed murders, to show the city that, if he wanted to, he could [[NightmareFuelUnleaded ''kill anyone of them, no matter where they are'']]
** His image problem was remedied in ''The New Batman Adventures'', apparently as a cross between Herbert West, Judge Doom and a corpse cut down from the gallows. Yeesh. He ended up literally making Batman live his worst nightmare after that, though at that point he'd been recognized as a pretty significant threat.
*** ''TheDarkKnight'' does it again with the Joker. Not that the Joker was ''never'' a serious threat, but he never really stood out in this troper's eyes, and the animated versions, with the exception of the rare "Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker" type stories, made it seem he was there via GrandfatherClause: ''Every'' villain seemed deeper, more interesting, and more effective, but it's Batman, so like it or not, you gotta have Joker. Then ''this'' Joker comes out, and is so, ''so'' very deadly, {{Badass}}, unpredictable, and downright ''[[NightmareFuel scary]]'' in every single scene he was in. His ''constant'' ChaoticEvil moments, the way he seemed to be able to get to ''anyone,'' and even the ''lack of backstory,'' (which, when combined with his clown makeup being just that instead of FreakLabAccident disfigurement, make it seem that instead of having been created by an OriginStory... this Joker is everything he is because he ''decided to be.'' He just ''is.'') This troper is officially eating his words about wishing they'd use one of the "better" villains for this movie instead of just the obligatory Joker appearance.
**** He may have never stood out to your eyes because you never got to see his slow spiral down from his original version to the toned down goofy twit that he ended up being in the '60s. Originally, the Joker's origin was completely unknown, he was a total psychopath, serial killer and mass murderer who would machine-gun innocents to alleviate boredom. [[NightmareFuel And those were his better attributes.]]
*** This comes into play within the story itself - the Gotham mob and even the police are ''completely'' underestimating the Joker early in the film, only to discover the hard way that he's really NotSoHarmless.
*** Batman ''himself'' gravelly miscalculated the Joker's influence in the beginning. To paraphrase:[[spoiler: "[bringing down] One man, versus the city's organized crime? He can wait."]]
** The Penguin, as well. In his first venture as the Penguin, he attempts to muscle his way into a mobster's inner circle. When the boss starts laughing at him (because, seriously, he's a goofy looking guy and goes by "the Penguin") the Penguin kills him in cold blood and takes control of the group.
** This arguably applies to nearly ALL of the members of Batman's RoguesGallery, at least on first impression. The foppish Riddler, the aforementioned Penguin, the Ventriloquist and Scarface, and even the Joker look more ridiculous and goofy than scary at first...at first. Then they start coming up with deadly {{Xanatos Gambit}}s, reveal frightening skills and/or powers, and rack up ridiculous body counts. Even minor villain the Condiment King, who uses condiment based weaponry, was noted by Robin to be able to ''blind and choke'' people with his spicy weapons. Also see Polka Dot Man, a villain so lame Batman claimed he was ''stuck in traffic'' rather than admit fighting him. And kills people with polka dots. Somehow.

* The Auditors of Reality of ''{{Discworld}}'' might count. While they are ObstructiveBureaucrat {{Eldritch Abomination}}s, much of the time, they are presented as pretty ridiculous and played for laughs. However, when they get a plan into action to cause TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, they don't seem so funny anymore.
* [[spoiler:Pettigrew / Wormtail]] from ''HarryPotter''. All accounts of his past portray him as a simpering incompetent little coward who hid in the shadow of more powerful friends. While this is mostly true, he's far from harmless. [[spoiler: When he's revealed to be the one who really betrayed the Potters it's also shown that he killed about a dozen people to cover his escape]]. He also managed to overpower a Ministry official (admittedly a somewhat scatterbrained one) that happened to know information that Voldemort could use. Then he [[spoiler: killed Cedric on Voldemort's orders]]. He may be the least competent of Voldemort's Death Eaters, but he's still a Death Eater to the core. And EVERYONE seems to forget he became an Animagus at 15, sure he had a ton of help, but isn't that a slight hint he might be more powerful that expected?
** What about [[spoiler: Crabbe]]? A boy who spent the better part of the series being nothing more than [[spoiler: Draco's]] lackey, only to prove himself to be the most dangerous of the trio in Deathly Hallows.
*** Hardly. He may have known how to summon Fiendfyre, but he didn't know how to control it or stop it, leaving him to be HoistByHisOwnPetard.

* [[ThePillarsOfTheEarth Yeah, see that idiot, envious kid named William Hamleigh?]] Got made a fool of, butt of a lot of marriage jokes, and he lusts after a girl he'll never...[[MoralEventHorizon OH SHIT DID HE JUST RAPE ALIENA!]] He gets worse from that.

[[folder:LiveActionTV]]

** When Harmony shows up in Season 5 with her own pack of vampires, the heroes can't take her seriously. Unfortunately, in the midst of taunting her, Dawn invites her into her house, and we are reminded that while Harmony may be incompetent, she is still a vampire.

* Trakeena of ''PowerRangersLostGalaxy''. Becoming NotSoHarmless was what her whole character is about. At first, she's Big Bad Scorpius' spoiled daughter, and spends most of the time whining or backstabbing the villains who do know what they're doing in order to rise in the ranks. Eventually, she leaves, eventually meets up with an old ally of her dad's, and gets some combat training. The real fun begins when TheStarscream, Deviot, arranges Scorpius' death (oh, a lot of backstabbing going on in ''Lost Galaxy'') and succeeds. Trakeena returns to take his place... and the new, badder Trakeena is worse than her dad ever was. She starts out as a competent and more proactive Big Bad, and gets more and more driven (and insane) until finally reaching unimaginable heights of evil. The final arc is something that wouldn't fly in a kids show (or any show short of ''TwentyFour'', for that matter) this side of 9/11.

* The Daleks of ''DoctorWho'' are a meta-example. While the characters rarely reacted with anything but terror, their numerous appearances over the original series' [[LongRunner twenty-six year run]] heavily diluted any fear to be had from the motorised pepper pots. Thus the new series episode "Dalek" was written with the sole intention of showing a new generation that the Daleks were NotSoHarmless, with a single imprisoned, crippled, powerless Dalek killing hundreds of people effortlessly.
--->'''The Doctor:''' What's the nearest town?
--->'''Van Statten:''' Salt Lake City.
--->'''The Doctor:''' Population?
--->'''Van Statten:''' 1 million.
--->'''The Doctor:''' All dead.

* The Ferengi on ''StarTrek'' are an interesting example, since they were originally created to be a serious threat. When this fizzled, they were retooled into a sort of ComicRelief... but every so often, an episode will be released that reminds the viewer that the Ferengi are NotSoHarmless after all.

* One episode of ''{{Numb3rs}}'' had a pair of polite bank robbers. They walked in, requested the money, said thank you, and walked out. They were even polite enough to hold doors open for people. Really harmless robbers with a cutesy nickname, or so people thought until Charlie predicted their target and Don and a team tried to arrest them. That was when they demonstrated that not having needed to call for backup is not the same as not having backup or not having needed to use violence is not the same as being unwilling to use violence. Turned out they were ex-special forces working to a deeper plan and perfectly happy to use assault rifles, car bombs, and expertly knife a janitor that got in the way?just hadn?t needed to before.

* ''[[StargateSG1 Stargate SG-1]]'''s Lucian Alliance gained a reputation as being a bumbling band of smugglers whose M.O. roughly came down to spreading evil space corn throughout the galaxy. When they made their reappearance in ''StargateUniverse'', they did so replacing the goofball routine with a new 'ruthless band of badasses' one.

* Voltaire's ''When You're Evil'' is a cheerful showtune with a singer who's cartoonishly pure Evil-with-an-E.
-->I'm the fly in your soup
-->I'm the pebble in your shoe
-->I'm the pea beneath your bed
-->I'm a bump on every head
It takes about three verses to realize that he's serious.
-->...Lord Beelzebub
-->Has never seen a soldier quite like me
-->Not only does his job, but does it happily.
-->..
-->I'm a dagger in your back
-->An extra turn upon the rack
-->I'm the quivering of your heart
-->A stabbing pain, a sudden start.

[[folder:MythAndLegend]]
* Loki of NorseMythology. Most of the tales starring Loki cast him as a harmless trickster. He gets into amusing antics with Thor, cheats Dwarves with a PoundOfFleshTwist, helps the Norse gods swindle a giant by seducing his horse (giving birth to Sleipnir in the process), and cuts off Sif's (Thor's wife) hair as a prank. Oh, and he also fathers three of the most dangerous beings in the mythos; one becomes the ruler of (and namesake) of the underworld, one becomes a sea serpent big enough to encircle the world, and the third becomes the [[BigBadassWolf Biggest Badass Wolf]] ever. But Loki only ''really'' gets nasty when he finds out that he's destined to suffer a horrific fate at the hands of the other gods, and decides that he might as well ''earn'' it. He does so by killing Baldur and ensuring that he ''stayed'' dead. Then when Ragnarok arrives, he breaks free of his imprisonment, leads an army of the damned, and kills the bridge guardian of the gods Heimdall (though he dies as well), doing his part to seal the Norse gods' defeat.
** This could actually describe all trickster gods in mythology. Most of the time they just perform harmless and amusing pranks. Then they commit deeds of mayhem and murder that only they find funny. The worst of them are essentially [[{{Batman}} the Joker]] armed with divine powers.

[[folder:ProfessionalWrestling]]
* This was the whole basis of the recent feud between John Cena and The Miz. Cena is the top star on ''{{WWE}} Raw'', and once Miz was traded to the brand he instantly started calling him out. The feud played out for months with the idea that Cena was much more focused on his other feud with The Big Show and couldn't be bothered to care about Miz running his mouth - as things went on and Miz began to do such things as attack him and Big Show alike any time he could, Cena began to take him more and more seriously. Then [[DisContinuity their match at The Bash didn't happen, honest,]] but in a showdown on Raw Miz put up a losing effort but dominated Cena through the entire match and showed that he was just as able to hang with Cena as Big Show is. Now where is the Miz? He's a two time (and the current) US Champion and currently holds a Money in the Bank contract.

[[folder:TabletopRPG]]
* ''{{Dungeons and Dragons}}'' examples: Kobolds initially seem like first-level CannonFodder for rookie adventurers to sweep up without a fuss. In most cases, this is true. However, kobolds also have an affinity for filling their lairs with traps. In the hands of a particularly clever or vindictive GameMaster, even an encounter with a lowly band of kobolds can be turned into a nightmare with the aid of a few nasty traps. Such as the case of [[http://www.tuckerskobolds.com/ Tucker's Kobolds]].

** Greatest of all is [[http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=491801 PunPun]], the most powerful character ever

** [[ForgottenRealms Cyric]], while undeniably an evil CompleteMonster, was always considered a minor threat at best due to the fact that he's so freaking [[AxeCrazy insane]] that most of his plans fall through. Then, in 4th edition, he orchestrates the death of Helm, ''personally'' murders Mystra (possibly for [[KilledOffForReal good]] this time), ''and'' unleashes the devastating Spell Plague, all without breaking a sweat. ''Wow''.

[[folder:Theatre]]

[[folder:VideoGames]]

** This troper believes the Cactuar deserves a spot on this page. The first time you ever see one, it looks and even sounds unbearably cute and harmless. It's just a little walking cactus. In nearly all of the games though, not only do they possess insane evasion and magic defense making it extremely difficult to damage them, they also possess their infamous OneThousandNeedles attack, which ignores all defenses and can kill a character in one hit depending on HP caps. That's not even mentioning the stronger varieties that have the 10,000 needle and 100,000 needle variants. Basically, no matter how powerful your characters are, there's bound to be a cactus that can murder the hell out of them with [[OneHitKill one blow]].

* You wouldn't imagine that Glass Joe of ''PunchOut'' fame, the shining example of a WarmUpBoss, could ever put up a fight. When he returns for a rematch in the Wii game's Title Defense mode, however, he's equipped himself with a helmet that deflects all jabs, and has added a surprisingly effective fake-out punch to his arsenal. As a result, he often ends up defeating players who were able to defeat Mr. Sandman, ''the Champion and FinalBoss''.

* Combine Advisers from ''{{Half-Life}}''. Oh look, it's a giant maggot thing on life support and is barely capable of moving on its own. Sure, its a member of the ruling caste of a vast interdimensional empire, but it can't possibly - is that thing levitating? HOLY SHIT, DID THAT THING JUST LIFT ME UP WITH PSYCHIC POWERS?! OH SHIT, ITS GONNA SUCK MY BRAINS OUT AND EAT THEM!!!!

* [[{{Pokemon}} Team Galactic]]. Just another goofy Team Evil capable of only doing mainly ineffectual things like hijacking windmills, stealing honey, and trying to beat you at Pokémon matches? Sure, you might think that, until they ''bomb one of Sinnoh's Sacred Lakes'', kidnap all of the sacred sprites, and begin summoning one-to-two Pokémon capable of ''undoing the world''.

*** Although he does become comic relief in the sequel.
**** At least until he turns into the post-game optional boss and the hardest fight outside Mt. Battle.

** I almost forgot Mr. Verich at Gateon Port, the only known sea port in Orre. Usually a chipper old man, he generously provides free drinks and entertainment to all the grounded sailors in town with a perpetual smile on his face. [[spoiler:He's actually Cipher's Grand Master Greevil, and he's bribing the sailors to keep them from sailing out to his ops base on Citadark Isle.]] There's also the bodyguards that accompany him, and one of them puts Zook in his place when he collides with Jovi and threatens to tear her apart. [[spoiler:Both of them are Cipher Admins, too.]]

* Speaking of Mega Man, [[Game/MegaMan Dr. Wily]] falls under this. In ''Mega Man and Bass'', one of his creations, King, ''chopped Protoman in half''. In ''9'', he managed to con the world into thinking Dr. Light was after world domination, getting the good doctor arrested. And in ''10'', [[spoiler: if not for Roll, he would've won]]. And this is just in the Classic series. In the ''X'' series, he is responsible for TheVirus that causes much of the conflict. Plus, it's hinted that [[BackFromTheDead he may still be alive]]...[[/folder]]

[[folder:WebComics]]
* The lich sorcerer Xykon from ''{{Order of the Stick}}'' is an extreme example. His humorous dialogue and status as a CardCarryingVillain along with the fact that he rarely fights directly (in anything but an instant win) lead many people to believe he was much less serious or at least genuinely malevolent than he really is. Then he's pushed into exerting himself... As Redcloak puts it: "I know he seems funny and charming, but believe me, when you see for yourself the depths to which he'll sink, you will never sleep well again."
** Qarr the imp is a definite case of playing with a trope. The first we saw of Qarr was an ominous red and black speech bubble speaking from just off panel during a CliffHanger. Fans went into a flurry of speculation about this mysterious new being, but nobody expected it to be [[SmallAnnoyingCreature a tiny imp]] with virtually no power of its own and who wasn't even all that bright. However, Qarr's attempts to convince Vaarsuvius into a DealWithTheDevil drew the attention of the IFCC, a trio of powerful evil beings bent on creating enough chaos, confusion and disorder so that they can move ahead with their own attempt to seize [[EldritchAbomination The Snarl's]] Gate. Qarr is now working with them, and as a result after starting out as something of an inversion, Qarr is now much more dangerous than he ever was in his previous position.
** And nobody has brought up The Monster In The Darkness, an unknown medium-sized creature who behaves like a young child, yet is practically invulnerable to all attacks, once accidentally knocked a paladin through a stone wall, out of a tower, and several miles away in a game of Who Can Hit the Lightest, and basically created an earthquake by stomping?
*** And please do not forget he teleported Vaarsivus and O-chul a couple kingdoms away, without the knowledge of anybody in the room (namely, The Monster itself and the aforementioned Xykon), ''just by saying "escape"''.
* The {{Walkyverse}} is full of these, including the nigh-omnipotent but unfortunately-textured KnightOfCerebus we refer to as The Cheese and the surprisingly cunning Monkey Master, a robot ape whose cannons shoot actual monkeys. The grand tamale of them all, however, has to be the Head Alien, a tiny purple guy with a flair for the over-dramatic whose preferred method of torture involves ''The Sound Of Music''. And then you find out it's his Xanatos Gambit that's driving the entire strip, and that he's a lot more competent than he seems at first. Remember all those BrainwashedAndCrazy friends you had to kill? Yeah, he set that up years in advance.
** And then there's Galasso, and ''especially'' Faz in ''Shortpacked!'', and possibly the Head Alien ''again''.
* For most of ''SluggyFreelance'', Dr. Schlock was more or less a good guy, though he would sometimes betray the good guys on account of being a coward. It never mattered much, though, since his one skill (creating inflatable technology) can be neutralized quite easily (by anything with a sharp edge). Then he actually manages a hostile takeover of Hereti Corp, one of the series' main {{Big Bad}}s, orders the assassination of several FBI agents to cover his tracks, and states, "If we're going to 'take over the world' we're going to do it ''right''."
** Also from ''Sluggy'', the Dimension of Pain, anyone? A bunch of incompetent demons, falling over themselves, scared of bunnies, and used as ''entertainment'' when they invade on Halloween, not to mention the whole ''Meanwhile, in the Dimension of Pain...'' spinoff. Then, in the ''That Which Redeems'' arc, they become serious, powerful villains. Heck, they even [[spoiler: kill a dimension's Zoe.]]
* ''EmergencyExit'': The villains seem quite harmless, more annoying than anything else. Until one of them [[spoiler:rips off Karl's face]].
* ''YetAnotherFantasyGamerComic'' usually portrays Lewie the Lich as a HarmlessVillain. When called upon, however, he points out an important fact about lichs: no matter how silly they seem, you only get to be one by being ''very'' powerful.
* Recent developments in ''LasLindas'' strongly suggest that the twin tricksters Din and Jin have a much more malicious side to them...
* In ''{{Dead of Summer}}'', Alan Stone falls under this. While not physically imposing [[spoiler: at first]], he beats the tar out of a sympathetic character, and is revealed to have SinisterSurveillance almost everywhere, which lets him know a great deal of secrets. A crossing of the MoralEventHorizon later and it's hard to remember that he seemed wimpy at first.
** [[spoiler: [[TheProtomen Doug Fetterman]]]] and his lackeys fall under this too. His two henchmen don't even get names, all three are portrayed as {{Large Ham}}s, and you figure they're no match for the good guys... [[spoiler: Then they assault Commander with a swarm of insects, fry KILROY'S brain and reformat him into a time bomb, and reveal that Panther is apparently [[HeelFaceTurn working for them]]. As Panther kills Dr. Light, [[EyeScream ripping out his eyes]]. And then you realize the extent of Fetterman's XanatosGambit]].
* ''SomethingPositive'': [[spoiler: That Crazy Blue Thing. Second comic on [[http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp01192010.shtml this page.]]]]
* Zola of GirlGenius: goes from being an IneffectualSympatheticVillain who constantly [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090727 needs to be rescued by the heroes]] to [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20100712 faking out]] the BigBad (yes, the BigBad is one of the heroes; ItMakesSenseInContext).
* {{Collar 6}} Butterfly is an extreme example of this. She went from simply being a JerkAss in her [[http://collar6.com/2009/expensive-toys-10 early appearances]] to sheer HighOctaneNightmareFuel in [[http://collar6.com/2010/collar-6-06-20-2010 this strip]].

[[folder:WebOriginal]]
* The third act of ''[=~Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog~=]''.
** In this troper's opinion, Captain Hammer also counts. While by no means ''harmless'' (he possesses superhuman physical abilities) he appears to be a largely ignorant person who acts purely for self-aggrandizement, apparently unable or unwilling to actually imprison a supervillain. The end of Act Two shows he possesses a capacity for cunning and cruelty that would not have seemed readily apparent.
* Jade from {{Whateley|Universe}} could also qualify, as her only power is rather weak on its own, being "[[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway What a lame power is heart]]". She's also gained regeneration, but that's not direct damage... except she's got a {{mad scientist}} on call to make her [[WhereDoesHeGetAllThoseWonderfulToys wonderful toys]], and she is VERY clever with using her powers. Amongst other things, she shot someone in the face (Stun), has no qualms about killing enemy mooks if necessary, is known to be a MamaBear, is working directly for a CosmicHorror that exists solely to EAT COSMIC HORRORS! Oh, and she once trapped a demon in the body of an infant... Twice. (Forced it to reform itself in an infant body by threatening it... Then trapped it in that body by breast-feeding it... Regenerator milk has very strange properties.)
** Not to mention the time she was attacked by the UltraViolent Bloodwolf. She used railway spikes to nail him to a tree, and used silver to burn "I attack little girls" into his chest.
** Hekate also gets credit, along with Don Sebastaino. [[spoiler: Hekate came perilously close to making Fey into her mind-slave, and actually killed Jade, who got better. Both she and Don were revealed to be rapists, and at a much higher level of villainy. While both ended up defeated, Hekate is now working for a B-List Supervillain, the Necromancer. He's only not A-List because of how big the A-List is.]]

* /tg/'s Drew the Lich, an incompetent, [[CardCarryingVillain card-carrying villain]] [[MinionWithAnFInEvil who can't even get the "villain" part right]] (his phylactery is a Skeletor figurine). Never forget about the ''lich'' part, or [[http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/3144112/ this may happen]].

[[folder:WesternAnimation]]

** Sgt. Hatred seemed too AffablyEvil, treating Dr. Venture very cordially after being assigned as his new {{archenemy}}. Then he shot Doc in the stomach without provocation. They were rubber bullets, yeah, but that's just his way of "keeping it lively," which just makes it ''way'' worse.
*** He is also a pedophile.

* John Dee/Dr. Destiny on ''JusticeLeague'' went from sadsack prison inmate to dream-invading psychopath very quickly, though the clear impression is given that he was always that person. After he escaped from prison, Green Lantern wasn't at all concerned because Dee was "a nobody".
** Batman then reminds him the Cyclops considered Ulysses "a nobody" and lost its eye.
** The second version of Dee that you describe was probably inspired by his really, really creepy, almost squicky depiction in the first run of Neil Gaiman's ''TheSandman''. He also shows elements in this incarnation, where he starts out an atrophied, behind the times insomniac whose carjacking attempt only succeeded because the victim was being nice. Then he killed the driver (after patiently listening to her life story), recovered his ArtifactOfDoom, and drove the entire world mad.

** What about [[PluckyComicRelief The Flash]]? The character is portrayed as a joker and flirtatious lech, though is generally considered a friendly, optimistic kind of guy who can talk some of his villians into just going back to jail and helps the citizens of his city with their daily chores. He's also amongst the most powerful members of the Justice League, literally smashing Brainiac/Luthor to ''shreds'' by running around the planet to build up the momentum needed to take him down. When his body was switched with Luthor's, Lex utterly trashed the Watchtower, showing off the powers Flash didn't use. Do not piss off the Flash.

* Zigzag, the grand vizier, in ''{{The Thief and the Cobbler}}'' seemed, at first, an egotistical TedBaxter who spun RhymesOnADime. Then he stole the golden balls protecting the city, giving them to BigBad and EvilOverlord One-Eye. One-Eye is unappreciative, and has him thrown to the alligators... Zigzag ''tames'' them, going on to tell One-Eye "''One'' mistake will suffice! ''Don't treat me lightly'' '''''twice!'''''"

* [[TeenTitans Control Freak]] seems like a pretty harmless comic relief villian, and he is, but it's important to remember that he possesses a RealityWarping remote control, and that he was capable of creating traps for the Titans East that put them at a ''serious'' disadvantage.
* [[SonicTheHedgehog Ixis Naugus]] was on his way to becoming this, but {{cancellation}} [[ScrewedByTheNetwork screwed him over]]. He had only appeared in one episode, and was so dark horse that viewers had speculated that his glowing red eyes at the end of the last episode were Knuckles'.

* Even by the standards of Batman's rogues gallery, the Clock King of ''BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' looks like he should be a pushover. He's just some two-bit pencil-pusher with a bowler hat and clock-themed glasses, right? I mean, the only skill he has is punctuality. What are his chances against Batman? Pretty good, it turns out; his timing is impeccable, and he's studied the way Batman moves, so the Dark Knight can't even land a punch.
** Not to mention that his skills at timing and planning allowed the Suicide Squad (er, Task Force X) to break in the Justice League Watchtower and steal a god-made all-powerful armor.
** When the first cross-overs between the Animated Series of Batman and Superman started, Batman fought Lex and won quite effortlessly when Superman thought he couldn't handle him, and then Superman, who had absolutely dismissed The Joker as goofy-looking nobody, is then nearly defeated by the psycho (not to mention he nearly kills a Lois Lane and a few hundred other people while pinning Super down).

* Blokk in ''ShadowRaiders'' - a brute-force driven dimwit who extremely quickly suffers VillainDecay and hardly seems a big deal. But then Planet Rock redeploys its main weapons somewhere else, and Blokk leads a ''hideously'' destructive attack and kills the planet's ruler in one-on-one combat. And when the small kids of the show defeat him ''again'', he finally snaps and spends the last episode on a vicious killspree that nearly ''wipes out the planet''.

* Inverted with Valmont from JackieChanAdventures. Involves a TimeyWimeyBall and complications.

[[folder:Sports]]
* In sports, the "Wounded Tiger" and "Ewing" theories both assert that a team known for one or two star players is more likely to thrive when said star(s) are not playing. The point being that opposing teams will write them off as they would a wounded tiger, not realizing that a wounded tiger fights the hardest. So when Chauncey Billups is nursing an injury, either watch out for the Denver Nuggets or prepare to be baffled and ashamed in defeat; the wounded tiger is on the prowl.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:RealLife]]

* You could say that humans ''in general'' fall into this category. We're fleshy meatbags of 90 percent water, have relatively few physical defenses of any kind, are particuarly vulnerable in childhood, and a hardier alien race might look at us and go "Huh? THAT'S the dominant species on the planet?" We are also highly intelligent beings capable of surviving incredibly harsh conditions, and killing millions of people in a matter of moments given the right tools.

----

* This was the whole basis of the recent feud between John Cena and The Miz. Cena is the top star on ''{{WWE}} Raw'', and once Miz was traded to the brand he instantly started calling him out. The feud played out for months with the idea that Cena was much more focused on his other feud with The Big Show and couldn't be bothered to care about Miz running his mouth - as things went on and Miz began to do such things as attack him and Big Show alike any time he could, Cena began to take him more and more seriously. Then [[DisContinuity their match at The Bash didn't happen, honest,]] but in a showdown on Raw Miz put up a losing effort but dominated Cena through the entire match and showed that he was just as able to hang with Cena as Big Show is.

Then along comes a life changing event (and an editorial decision), and they decide not to stand for it anymore. Some of them just...snap. Others put themselves through a TrainingFromHell. Either way the villain [[TookALevelInBadass reinvents himself from the bottom up]], into someone who is not only [[TeamRocketWins able to show the heroes exactly why they are called their enemy]], but usually even become the BigBad or the ManBehindTheMan. This is when a villain decides to become their ''own'' SortingAlgorithmOfEvil.

Then along comes a life changing event (and an editorial decision), and they decide not to stand for it anymore. Some of them just...snap. Others put themselves through a TrainingFromHell. Either way the villain [[TookALevelInBadass reinvents himself from the bottom up]], and is not only [[TeamRocketWins able to show the heroes exactly why they are called their enemy]], but usually even become the BigBad or the ManBehindTheMan. This is when a villain decides to become their ''own'' SortingAlgorithmOfEvil.

Then along comes a life changing event (and an editorial decision), and they decide not to stand for it anymore. Some of them just...snap. Others put themselves through a TrainingFromHell. Either way the villain reinvents himself from the bottom, who is not only [[TeamRocketWins able to show the heroes exactly why they are called their enemy]], but usually even become the BigBad or the ManBehindTheMan. This is when a villain decides to become their ''own'' SortingAlgorithmOfEvil.

[[TheVentureBrothers http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shot03_sm.jpg]]
[[caption-width:128:Learn to fear them before it's too late.]]

Then they start [[TeamRocketWins kicking ass all around the room]], and you're wondering how you didn't see it before. Some (i.e., most) of them even become the BigBad, or [[ManBehindTheMan were all along]]. This is when a villain decides to become their ''own'' SortingAlgorithmOfEvil.

* Though he wasn't completely harmless before, Doctor Destiny was always a traditional silver age villain, using dream powers to mess with gravity and create chaos while not really killing anyone. Cut to [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel The 24 Hours story in Sandman #5]].

Compare FromNobodyToNightmare, this trope's extreme. Contrast VillainDecay. When applied to minor heroes instead of minor villains, it's [=~Let's Get Dangerous~=]. See also TeamRocketWins.

** Another possible example from ''{{Order of the Stick}}'' is Qarr, the imp. Being a tiny winged imp, he seems more the SmallAnnoyingCreature than an actual threat. However, through the course of the Azure city refugee arc, he performs feats of impressive magic such as charming an entire host of sea trolls and summoning (and coercing) a devil several stories tall to confront the heroes. Now that he has [[spoiler: outlived his co-conspirators [[SmugSnake Kubota]] and [[DarkActionGirl Therkla]]]], it would seem Qarr is the greatest threat the refugees now face.
*** That's unlikely. Qarr's action's against the ruler of Azure were explicitly part of his contract with [[spoiler:Kubota]]. Now that he resides in the lower plane with the IFCC, he has little to no reason to go against them.
**** Not that working for what is the most potentially dangerous faction of evil spells a joyful future for us...
** And nobody has brought up The Monster In The Darkness, an unknown medium-sized creature who behaves like a young child, yet is practically invulnerable to all attacks, once accidentally threw a paladin out of a tower in a game of Who Can Hit the Lightest, and created huge cracks in the ground by stomping?