History Main / OhCrapFakeout

When this trope applies to villains, it often ends up being the subversion for a VillainousBreakdown. When a hero does it, on the other hand, it can frequently be a way to deliver an effective ShutUpHannibal. From the reader's point of view, this can be used to invoke a HopeSpot, giving a false impression a fight finally is coming to its end. Often combined with OminousAdversarialAmusement, when the fake panic ends with the person {{Corpsing}} InUniverse.

When the tables finally do get turned on the character who did the fakeout, count on this character to have a very ''genuine'' OhCrap moment.

Of course, when the tables finally do get turned on the character who did the fakeout, count on this character to have a very ''genuine'' OhCrap moment.

* When the ''Film/GhostRider'' attempts to use the Penance Stare on [[BigBad Blackheart,]] Blackheart starts to scream only to chuckle instead. As TheSoulless, the Penance Stare is useless on him. [[spoiler: [[DidntThinkThisThrough Until the climax where he absorbs a crapton of evil souls and in so doing makes himself ''extra vulnerable'' to the Penance Stare.]]]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* In ''Series/TheVampireDiaries'', when being first confronted by [[TheBaroness Katherine,]] [[CuteWitch Bonnie]] tries to defend herself with the [[MindRape mind attack]] she typically uses to keep [[TokenEvilTeammate Damon]] in check. Katherine initially pretends to be affected, only to quickly reveal [[StrongerWithAge she is old enough, and as such powerful enough to resist it.]]
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': After realizing that the [[RestrainingBolt inhibitor chip]] that prevented Spike from attacking humans didn't register Buffy [[CameBackWrong as fully human,]] Spike attacked Buffy and briefly pretended to be under the chip's influence.
-->'''Spike''': The pain! The pain ''[{{Beat}}]'' is gone!
[[/folder]]

* ''Film/Batman1989''. Vicki Vale tosses a pitcher of ice water at The Joker, who starts screaming in pain, even tossing an ''[[Film/TheWizardOfOz I'm melting!]]'' in - but then he turns around and says, "BOO!" and laughs, with his skin-colored makeup now partially washed away by the water to reveal his bleached actual skin underneath for effect to boot.

* ''WebVideo/WaluigiVsSmashBrosBattleRap'':
** In part 2, after killing a good majority of Smash characters. [[BloodKnight Waluigi]] is seemingly incapacitated by [[spoiler: Falco]] and then restrained by [[spoiler: Peach and Daisy]], who drag him to a chopping block where he'll be [[OffWithHisHead executed]] by [[spoiler: Chrom]] Waluigi just seems to [[FaceDeathWithDignity quietly accept his fate]] as all the remaining characters are calling for his death. Then, just as he's abut to be killed, he gets up and rips his shirt off [[TakingYouWithMe revealing five Bomb-Ombs and seemingly kills himself, taking the rest of the characters with him.]]
** Implied in part 3. [[NoOneCouldSurviveThat Waluigi somehow survived his suicide attempt]] in part 2, and managed to finish off the remaining Smash characters... [[spoiler: Only for all the characters he's killed to [[RespawnOnTheSpot respawn]]]] By this point, he's covered in blood and certainly worn out, so you probably imagine his reaction to this. So, imagine his surprise when [[spoiler: Mario]] actually '''invites''' him to take part in Smash Bros.

->''"No... It can't be... [Beat] Ahahahahah! Is that what you wanted me to say? Hahahaha! [[AllAccordingToPlan All is proceeding as planned!]] Muahahahaha!"''

* ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'': Fubiki gets the upper hand in his duel with Yusuke. Yusuke rather pitifully begs Fubiki not to finish him off, until revealing that most of the duel Fubiki experienced was a mere illusion or dream. The duel rewinds to a certain point and then Yusuke defeats him with ease.

[[folder:Live-Action Film]]

->''"No...It can't be...[Beat] Ahahahahah! Is that what you wanted me to say? Hahahaha! [[AllAccordingToPlan All is proceeding as planned!]] Muahahahaha!"''

->''"No...It can't be...[Beat] Ahahahahah! Is that what you wanted me to say? Hahahaha! All is proceeding as planned! Muahahahaha!"''

-->'''Szayelaporro''': But I crushed all of your organs and tendons! So why?!? Why won't you die?!!

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[[AC:Literature]]

[[AC:Live-Action TV]]

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[[AC:Wrestling]]

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[[AC:WesternAnimation]]

* In an early moment of the fight between Renji and [[MadScientist Szayelaporro Granz]] in ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', Granz briefly pretends to be overwhelmed by Renji's attacks, only to flatly deadpan, "Just kidding," and easily counter them.

->''"No...It can't be...[Beat]Ahahahahah! Is that what you wanted me to say? Hahahaha! All is proceeding as planned! Muahahahaha!"''

** Cell from ''Anime/DragonBallZ''; after getting hit by Vegeta's Final Flash, he starts apparently panicking and cowering over his wounds. Vegeta laughs at him... and then Cell reminds him he has a HealingFactor. However, before the Final Flash hit, Cell ''did'' genuinely [[OhCrap panic]] when he realized at the last second that it wasn't going to be some attack he'd simply NoSell, and even admits the blast would have been a OneHitKill if it hit square-on.
** Frieza does this in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' when one of Sidra's goons uses Sidra's God of Destruction power to seal him. It fails horribly, Frieza says "just kidding" and quickly turns the tables.

* ''Manga/{{Eyeshield 21}}'': The Fall Tournament re-match between the Devil Bats and the White Knights features a long string of scenes with the team's respective quarterbacks [[TheChessmaster Tamaki and Hiruma]] being shocked by the other team's play... then going "Is that what you expected me to say?" and [[GambitPileUp revealing a countermeasure]].

** Part 4 has a more classic example during the fight between Josuke and Red Hot Chilli Pepper. At one point, Josuke manages to trap Chilli Pepper in a tire, blocking his ShockAndAwe powers. Chilli Pepper's user immediately starts panicking like he was losing power... then immediately admits he was just kidding and just pierces through the tire, revealing it was too thin to actually contain his power. [[spoiler:This, however, backfires: Josuke actually knew he could pierce the tire and was expecting him to do so. By piercing it, Chilli Pepper is propelled into the water by the pressure. The water promptly shorts Chilli Pepper out.]]

* In an early moment of the fight between Renji and [[MadScientist Szayelaporro Granz]] in ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', Granz briefly pretends to be overwhelmed by Renji's attacks, only to flatly deadpan "Just kidding", and easily counter them.
** Later in the fight, Mayuri joins in, and what does he do? He stands and watches, only for Szayelaporro to use his power to crush Mayuri's organs and tendons... or so it seems. Mayuri gets up as if nothing happened, decides to belittle everyone present, before informing everyone that he replaced all his organs and tendons with dummies.

** When the Gotei 13 Captains and the Visored all team up to fight Aizen, their combined abilities seem to be overwhelming him. This culminates with Shinji reversing Aizen's perceptions of front and back, allowing Hitsugaya to slip past his defenses and impale him. The normally-unflappable villain reacts with a look of shock...but then it's revealed that Aizen had used his powers of illusion to covertly switch places with poor Momo, who was the ''actual'' victim of the heroes' attack.

** During a fight between [[TheHero Ryuko]] and [[TheDragon Nui Harime]], Ryuko manages to grab Nui and stab her in the chest. Nui starts agonizingly coughing blood... then returns to smiling with a "just kidding!". Cue her [[BeatStillMyHeart ripping her own heart out]] to reveal [[spoiler:she is, [[EvilCounterpart like Ryuko]], [[HalfHumanHybrid a Life Fiber-human hybrid]].]]
** Later subverted when Ryuko [[spoiler:cuts Nui's arms off]]. Nui fakes shock, before revealing [[spoiler:her HealingFactor will cause her arms to grow back]]... only to find out Ryuko [[spoiler:managed to nullify said Healing Factor when the arms just ''die'']], and watch in horror as she [[spoiler:steps on the severed arms and absorbs them into Senketsu]]. Cue a ''very'' genuine VillainousBreakdown.

** In the second movie, ''Anime/ClockworkIslandAdventure'', Usopp pulls a fake-out on [[{{Fartillery}} Skunk One]], visibly panicking until the {{Gasshole}} can't abort his attack run, then dropping the act and shooting him with a ''Flame Star'' at point-blank range.

** Arkana faces Yugi in a duel where the loser will get their legs cut off with a buzz saw. When Arkana loses, he first starts panicking when the buzz saw approaches, then reveals he was kidding because he was carrying the key to the shackles holding him in place all along. It becomes an OhCrap for real when Marik [[YouHaveFailedMe punishes him for losing]] by first paralyzing him, then making him unable to see or feel the key. He would have died if Yugi didn't decide to save him.

* In ''Series/TheVampireDiaries'', when being first confronted with [[TheBaroness Katherine]], [[CuteWitch Bonnie]] tries to defend herself with the [[MindRape Mind attack]] she typically uses to keep [[TokenEvilTeammate Damon]] in check. Katherine initially pretends to be affected, only to quickly reveal [[StrongerWithAge she is old enough, and as such powerful enough to resist it]].
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': After realizing that the [[RestrainingBolt inhibitor chip]] that prevented Spike from attacking humans didn't register Buffy [[CameBackWrong as fully human]], Spike attacked Buffy and briefly pretended to be under the chip's influence.

* In ''Film/VanHelsing'', Dracula screams when Van Helsing exposed him to a cross as it causes burns... [[CrossMeltingAura on the cross]]. Then he nonchalantly calms himself.
* In ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan'', when Spider-Man faces a criminal for the first time, the thug freaks out and tries to scare him away with a knife. Spider-Man cowers, saying small knives are his one weakness... then promptly and effortlessly webs the thug to the wall.

* When the ''Film/GhostRider'' attempts to use the Penance Stare on [[BigBad Blackheart]], Blackheart starts to scream only to chuckle instead. As TheSoulless, the Penance Stare is useless on him. [[spoiler:Until the climax where he absorbs a crapton of evil souls and in so doing makes himself ''extra vulnerable'' to the Penance Stare]].

** In one ending, the boss fight with [[spoiler:Photoshop Flowey]] has them undergoing a VillainousBreakdown when you've seemingly defeated them, then suddenly [[spoiler: reloading to an earlier save]], mocking the protagonist for falling for it. Unfortunately for them, [[spoiler:the souls he's enslaved rally against him shortly afterwards, and he has a genuine OhCrap moment and breakdown.]]

->''"No... It can't be... [Beat] Ahahahahah! Is that what you wanted me to say? Hahahaha! All is proceeding as planned! Muahahahaha!"''

--->"I can't believe it! (''beat, evil grin'') I can't believe you're all so ''stupid''!"

** Cell from ''Anime/DragonBallZ''; after getting hit by Vegeta's Final Flash, he starts apparently panicking and cowering over his wounds. Vegeta laughs at him... and then Cell reminds him he has a HealingFactor. However, before the Final Flash hit, Cell ''did'' genuinely [[OhCrap panic]] when he realized at the last second that it wasn't going to be some attack he'd simply NoSell, and even admits the blast would have killed him in one shot if it hit square-on.

** Cell from ''Anime/DragonBallZ''; after getting hit by Vegeta's Final Flash, he starts apparently panicking and cowering over his wounds. Vegeta laughs at him... and then Cell reminds him he has a HealingFactor. However, Cell ''did'' genuinely [[OhCrap panic]] when the Final Flash was about to hit, realizing too late it wasn't going to be some attack he'd simply NoSell.

** Cell from ''Anime/DragonBallZ''; after getting hit by Vegeta's Final Flash, he starts apparently panicking and cowering over his wounds. Vegeta laughs at him... and then Cell reminds him he has a HealingFactor.

* Downplayed version in ''Discworld/NightWatch'' where, when fighting an equally skilled (and much younger) opponent, Vimes glances behind the other guy and tries to stop his face going into "oh crap" mode. The other guy uses the opening to close for the victory and then gets clobbered by Vimes who was completely faking the reaction.

* In ''Disney/TheRescuersDownUnder'', [=McLeach=] has Cody cornered at the edge of a crocodile-infested lake. Cody warns that his mom will call the Rangers if he goes missing, and [=McLeach=] pretends to be scared for a moment before tossing Cody's backpack to the crocodiles [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident so that it seems as if Cody was eaten by them]].

When this trope applies to villains, it often ends up being the subversion for a VillainousBreakdown. When a hero does it, on the other hand, it can frequently be a way to deliver an effective ShutUpHannibal. From the reader's point of view, this can be used to invoke a HopeSpot, giving a false impression a fight finally is coming to its end. Often combined with OmninousAdversarialAmusement, when the fake panic ends with the person {{Corpsing}} InUniverse.

When this trope applies to villains, it often ends up being the subversion for a VillainousBreakdown. When a hero does it, on the other hand, it can frequently be a way to deliver an effective ShutUpHannibal. From the reader's point of view, this can be used to invoke a HopeSpot, giving a false impression a fight finally is coming to its end.

-->'''Frieza:''' ''[in the dub]'' And that...is ''acting.''

* ''Film/Batman1989''. Vicki Vale tosses a pitcher of ice water at The Joker, who starts screaming in pain, even tossing an ''[[Film/TheWizardOfOz I'm melting!]]'' in - but then turns around and says, "BOO!" and laughs.

** Frieza does this in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', when one of Sidra's goons uses Sidra's God of Destruction power to seal him. It fails horribly, Frieza says "just kidding" and quickly turns the tables.

* ''Manga/OnePiece'': Ivankov makes a habit of doing this during fight. Most notably, his EstablishingCharacterMoment involves someone coming and pointing a bazooka at him, causing him to fake panic then promptly reveal he is in no danger and literally stop the shot with a wink.

** Noah panics when Yugi attacks him directly with all three of his magician monsters, until he reveals he was kidding and blocks the attacks with a Trap Card.

* Shirou pulls one on Angelica in ''Manga/FateKaleidLinerPrismaIllya''. When he and Chloe take her on they move to attack with Triple-Linked Crane Wings, the perfect attack of heroic spirit EMIYA that cannot be defended against, knowing that Angelica's only viable response is to again fall back on Flash Air. Indeed she does and as she moves in for the kill she realizes she's lost track of Chloe at which point Shirou's look of shock changes to a knowing smirk as Chloe attacks her through the floor and gives him the opening he needs to truly land the attack and defeat her.

[[AC:Live Action]]

* In ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan'', when Spider-Man faces a criminal for the first time, the thug freaks out and tries to scare him away with a knife. Spider-Man cowers, saying small knifes are his one weakness... then promptly and effortlessly webs the thug to the wall.

** Another ending has the same character feign shock at the amount of people rallied to defeat them, then subduing them all with ease.

* Wrestling/DaizeeHaze became notorious for this tactic in Wrestling/{{Chikara}}, after she realized most the roster was [[WouldNotHitAGirl uncomfortable with wrestling, much less hitting, a woman.]]

** And of course, during Team Four Star's reenactement of the scene mentioned above, Cell (after getting hit by Vegeta's Final Flash) can't resist to troll the Prince a little before using his HealingFactor.

* This is often used by WesternAnimation/BugsBunny. A good example is "WesternAnimation/HoldTheLionPlease", where he does a hilariously over-the-top display of fear after meeting a rather goofy lion. Also seen, albeit briefly, in "WesternAnimation/OperationRabbit", when Wile E. Coyote makes his intention to eat him quite clear and Bugs dons a faux-terror expression before going back to being unimpressed.
* In ''Disney/TheRescuersDownUnder'', [=McLeach=] has Cody cornered at the edge of a crocodile infected lake. Cody warns that his mom will call the Rangers if he goes missing, and [=McLeach=] pretends to be scared for a moment before tossing Cody's backpack to the crocodiles [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident so that it seems as if Cody was eaten by them]].