History Main / StatingtheSimpleSolution

** The Unstoppable Airman Higgs is more used to their ways, [[RantInducingSlight but even he has his breaking point]], as amply demonstrated [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20150930#.ViSfqSsp9XE here]] when Gil's pining over Agatha gets too overwrought.

* ComicBook/{{Deadshot}}'s proposed solution to pretty much every ComicBook/SuicideSquad mission. Even when it [[ShootTheHostage isn't an assassination.]] The Wall usually relegates it to "plan B".

* There were plans for the ''ComicBook/XMen'' crossover ''ComicBook/FatalAttractionsMarvelComics'' to include a major battle between ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} and [[Characters/MarvelComicsMagneto Magneto]]. Creator/PeterDavid jokingly commented, "Adamantium's metal, right? If I were Magneto, I'd just rip Wolverine's skeleton out and be done with him" - which the writers and editors promptly decided to have him do. David later said that offhand comment was the biggest influence he'd ever had on the X-Men.
* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':

** ''ComicBook/TheKillersOfKrypton'': When the Omega Men are storming into the Citadel, Harry Hokum plans to let them "find" and "rescue" several clones posing as their captive comrades. Then he will let them flee back to their base, and when they are feeling safe, he will activate his moles, and while the Omega Men are busy fighting them, he will send out an army of ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} clones to destroy the rebels and their base. One of his minions suggests that, since they are on board a starship loaded with nukes and the rebels are all gathered in one extremely vulnerable spot, they could just... nuke them? Nonetheless, Hokum retorts they will follow through with his perfect plan.

* Subverted in the [[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica JLA]] story ''New Year's Evil'': Prometheus has rendered Franchise/GreenLantern helpless and muses that he could just shoot him if he chose to--then proceeds to do just that. (GL survives.)

* During the overly {{Anvilicious}} Franchise/{{Batman}} story ''The Seduction of the Gun,'' [[ComicBook/Robin1993 Tim Drake]] is incredibly annoyed to learn that the high school he's infiltrated, where supposedly over 95% of the school population brings a gun to school, only turns on the metal detectors at the doors on Wednesday mornings. Despite the fact that figuring out what's wrong with the school board and having the metal detectors actually used would have solved most of the plot, this is never brought up again.

* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Vol 1]]: During their brief allegiance, Torcha gets more and more frustrated with Inventa's ComplexityAddiction, repeatedly asking why they don't just kill Wonder Woman and the other Amazons while they have them at their mercy. In the end, Torcha turns on Inventa, but by then it's too late and Wonder Woman knocks her out almost instantly.
* In the final issue of the comic adaptation of ''[[WesternAnimation/COPS1988 C.O.P.S.]]'', the C.O.P.S. have no hard evidence of Big Boss' criminal activities but do have a large stack of unpaid parking tickets from his gang. So they come up with a BatmanGambit in which the whole team shows up at his office to take him to task for the tickets in the hopes that Big Boss will do something blatantly criminal to stop them so they can arrest him. When the crooks see the police arrive, they discuss what they should do about them. Big Boss' idiot nephew Berserko suggests they ''pay the tickets'' and ask the police to leave since they no longer have any reason to be there. He is glared into silence by the rest of the gang, which then tries to drive the C.O.P.S. off with brute force, which results in the police grounds to arrest them for owning illegal weaponry and attacking the police.

* In a comemorative ''ComicBook/MonicasGang'' story, Monica and Jimmy Five go to an island where, according to an internet legend, they would have access to tons of comic books if they handed over three artefacts found in the sea. When they complete the tasks and arrive there, however, they meet a bookstore owner that explaines that he got stranded in the island and used his computer to create that legend, with the three required artefacts actually being pieces he needed to make a ship so he could escape ([[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers plus a popsicle he liked]]). When Monica and Jimmy Five point out that, since the bookstore owner had a working computer and access to the internet, he could have simply called the competent authorities and asked for a rescue instead, he yells at them to stop pointing out flaws in his plan.

* [[http://www.newsbiscuit.com/2010/03/19/international-super-villain-defends-prompt-murder-of-british-agent-%E2%80%98007%E2%80%99/ This page]] has Blofeld defending himself for doing just that.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}''

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'', villain Syndrome has just launched his personal rocket towards the city to begin his campaign of facing a threatening enemy, his latest model Omnidroid, [[EngineeredHeroics that only he can dispatch]]. Bob and Helen Parr are at a loss at first of how to get back in time to stop him; Dash points out a standby rocket ready and prepped in another launch bay. Helen points out that [[TheSmartGuy she]] doesn't know how to pilot a rocket; Violet just says to use the previous launch's coordinates. Finally, when they're mulling over how to work the computer consoles for the launch, [[spoiler:Mirage offers her assistance.]]

** In the [[https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/2013-05-12 strip for 2013-05-12]], [[Characters/SupermanLexLuthor Lex Luthor]] explains a complicated plan to use physics to make Franchise/{{Superman}} explode himself. Then he proposes a physics solution for killing Franchise/{{Batman}} as well: [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim kinetic energy and a bullet]].

** When reviewing the UsefulNotes/GameCom he talks about its internet capabilities and explains how it required a wired connection to a modem since this was the days before wifi. So, you ''could'' buy the Game.com, plug it into your modem, and navigate through it's tiny text-only touch screen, but since you don't own a modem with internet for no reason and can't leave the house with it anyways...

--> '''Dan:''' Which is definitely the main internet problem with that movie. That would be more effective, really. You've already laser-targeted your thing. That was a big issue people had with it.

** A comic-based episode had Joker poring over a variety of odd tortures to inflict on Batman; he flies into a rage after Harley Quinn matter-of-factly offers to [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim just shoot him]]. Irony bites Harley in the ass after her own dramatic death trap nearly succeeds until Joker [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou becomes angry at her for upstaging him]] and busts in to stop her. Even more ironic, the Joker then goes to shoot the restrained Batman anyway after he gets Harley out of the picture, as it's just too rare an opportunity to turn down. By this point, of course, Batman has freed himself. And then, Batman reveals that [[BatmanGambit he knew that Joker wouldn't hesitate to stop anyone else killing him]], meaning this whole thing was AllAccordingToPlan.

* When [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker The Joker]] obtains godlike power in the "Emperor Joker" episode of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'', ComicBook/HarleyQuinn suggests that, now that he's got Batman where he wants him, he should take his mask off and find out who he is. Note that he actually kills Batman. Repeatedly.

** This is actually the cause of the overarching MythArc. [[spoiler:When Stan tried to burn the journal the Author had given to him rather than go through a DangerousDeviceDisposalDebacle, he didn't want his research destroyed and flipped out, resulting in a skirmish that got the scientist sucked into the portal for thirty years]].

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' episode "Fallen Arches" presents a heroic example. The girls run up against the Ministry of Pain, an elderly team of arch-criminals who have recently come out of retirement. Despite Bubbles and Buttercup pointing out that they ''easily'' take them, Blossom refuses to let them fight the Ministry of Pain on the grounds that they have to "respect their elders," and instead decides to talk the Ministry's equally elderly archenemies, [[OldSuperhero Captain Righteous and Lefty]], out of retirement to do the job for them. The end result: all five old men end up hospitalized, and the local news outright states that [[NiceJobBreakingItHero the entire mess could have been avoided]] [[LampshadeHanging if the Powerpuff Girls had just stepped in and stopped the Ministry of Pain in the first place]].

** Knowing Cartman's [[InstantAIJustAddWater trapper keeper]] will take over the world, Bill Cosby Robot aims to just kill Cartman before it can. Stan and Kyle are okay with this since [[TheFriendNobodyLikes they don't like Cartman]], but [[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove Bill Cosby Robot starts to develop compassion]], and instead suggests they go talk to Cartman's mother.
** In "Grey Dawn", [[ItMakesSenseInContext after the AARP take over the town and put most of the non- senior citizens in a prison camp, the boys realize that shutting down Country Kitchen Buffet will leave the senior citizens powerless.]] Cartman comes up with an elaborate plan where the boys will sneak into town at night and strap explosives to Kyle while he goes inside the restaurant and destroy it. Stan then points out that they could just lock the store from the inside so they can't get in. Cartman admits they could do just that but still keeps trying to push the idea of using Kyle with a bomb.

-->'''Pearl:''' Steven, why didn't you just replicate Ranger Guy?!\\

** In the episode "Now We're Only Calling Apart", [[spoiler: after the huge spoiler:"Rose Quartz is Pink Diamond" bombshell has been dropped, and after Pearl explained how her Diamond [[HeelFaceTurn fell in love with Earth and wanted to save the planet]], an angry Sapphire asks her why Pink didn't stop the colonization herself without sparking the Rebellion. Pearl tells her that Pink ''[[WhamLine tried]]'' and, at one point [[AintTooProudToBeg even begged in knees the Diamonds to spare Earth]], but they ignored her, misinterpreted her wish by building the Human Zoo, or threatened her to seize the colony from her and finish it themselves while keeping her as a leader in name only. So Pink, having enough of having her pleas rejected, had no choice but to become Rose Quartz and start the Gem War.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheZetaProject'', which is ''also'' part of the DCAU, actually went out of its way to explain why they didn't shoot Zeta. Apparently the writers were aware this trope was being overused, so the first episode of the series proper has Bennett explaining two things: firstly, he's a very expensive robot assassin they cannot afford to rebuild, and secondly, he's an assassin and too much violence could trigger violence in retaliation. The possibility of bystanders being hit by stray bullets is addressed later on, as is the general concept of civilian death and crossfire damage. It is also mentioned they want to bring him back as intact as possible to find out what terrorist group was able to change his programming (being unaware/unwilling to realize Zeta himself [[HeelFaceTurn forsook being an assassin upon realizing he was ordered to kill an inoocent man]]).

* [[Creator/PennAndTeller Penn Jillette]] has stated that the Greatest E-mail he ever sent from a text-to-impact ratio was when he was one of the few who proofread UsefulNotes/RichardDawkins' ''The God Delusion'' before publication. He came to a part of the manuscript when Dawkins quoted an American hater of his calling him "a cheese eater!", and Dawkins then spent two-and-a-half page trying to deconstruct how being a cheese eater could be a bad thing, where cheese was manufactured in America and if there was some correlation with that area and atheism. Penn's immediate realisation and comment?

* The NSA scandal in 2013 has made many {{Conspiracy Theorist}}s believe that the government can spy on anyone at any time through the internet. Those who state the simple solution that debunks this - it's rather easy to unplug the computer - are often scorned.

* In ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/12805206/chapters/29228961 Harry Potter and the Lack of Lamb Sauce]]'', Arjuna, a Hindu girl in the Magic Chef competition at Hogwarts, cheats to avoid cooking beef [[AgainstMyReligion as this would violate her religion, given the cow's sacred role in it]]; Ramsey is furious and asks why she didn't just tell him this as he would have been willing to rearrange the ingredients to accommodate her. She is disqualified and her reputation tanks badly.

** In the episode "Now We're Only Calling Apart", after the huge "Rose Quartz is Pink Diamond" bombshell has been dropped, and after Pearl explained how her Diamond [[HeelFaceTurn fell in love with Earth and wanted to save the planet]], an angry Sapphire asks her why Pink didn't stop the colonization herself without sparking the Rebellion. Pearl tells her that Pink ''[[WhamLine tried]]'' and, at one point [[AintTooProudToBeg even begged in knees the Diamonds to spare Earth]], but they ignored her, misinterpreted her wish by building the Human Zoo, or threatened her to seize the colony from her and finish it themselves while keeping her as a leader in name only. So Pink, having enough of having her pleas rejected, had no choice but to become Rose Quartz and start the Gem War.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'' ChristmasEpisode, [[VillainProtagonist Zim]] [[BadSanta poses as Santa]] and throws [[HeroAntagonist Dib]] in "Jingle Jail." He breaks out easily, as the bars tyurn out to be made of candy cane. Then, when he's captured again:

** In "Door to Door", the skool holds a fundraiser to buy new desks. Dib points out that they could have just bought desks with the money they spent on candy bars and prizes for the fundraiser, only for Miss Bitters to dismiss it.

** In one episode, Steven has lost a toy that's really important to him. [[CreepyChild Onion]] has an identical one[[note]](it's actually just Steven's, which Onion stole)[[/note]], so Steven trades him a magical MatterReplicator for it. Onion then uses the replicator [[EnfantTerrible to wreck the town]].

* In Franchise/TheDCU, the third ComicBook/BlueBeetle has a race of evil aliens called the Reach as villains, led by the Negotiator. The first thing said by the Negotiator's [[TheDragon Dragon]] is "Why don't we just kill him?" to which the Negotiator replies, "No. Not without study." (The Beetle is ''meant'' to be a Reach Infiltrator, and the Negotiator's position is that need to know why he isn't in case it happens again.)

* In Franchise/TheDCU, the third ComicBook/BlueBeetle has a race of evil aliens called the Reach as villains, led by the Negotiator. The first thing said by the Negotiator's [[TheDragon Dragon]] is "Why don't we just kill him?" to which the Negotiator replies, "No. Not without study."

* Characters/{{Deadshot}}'s proposed solution to pretty much every ComicBook/SuicideSquad mission. Even when it [[ShootTheHostage isn't an assassination.]] The Wall usually relegates it to "plan B".

** After being warned from the future that in three years, two androids built by Dr. Gero will murder all of them, Bulma does this when she suggests simply finding out where Dr. Gero is and killing him before he activates the androids. She's promptly shot down because Goku and Vegeta [[BloodKnight like the sound of the challenge]] these androids will bring. Krillin also tells her in secret that it's best to give former villains Piccolo and (especially) Vegeta a mutual enemy. Goku also suggests that since Dr. Gero hasn't built the androids yet, it would be tantamount to killing an innocent person, which he doesn't want to do (of course, he's forgetting that Gero was the lead scientist of the [[ArmiesAreEvil Red Ribbon Army]], and so most of their tech was probably built by him). Vegeta, meanwhile, says that even by the time they found Dr. Gero, it would be too late.

* In [[https://moringmark.tumblr.com/post/672185031021740032 this]] WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse fancomic, Raine explains to Eda that in order for the Day of Unity to work, all heads of the Witches Covens need to present. So they need to take out Darius and Eberwolf even at the cost of their own lives. Eda points out that they're head of the Bard Coven as as such they just don't need to show up for the Day of Unity. Raine realizes she's got a point and doesn't show.

** At the end of the first season, when Kirito and Asuna learn ''why'' Kayaba imprisoned ten thousand people inside a lethal video game - [[spoiler: he created a ''glitch'' that killed players when their avatars died and claimed IMeantToDoThat because he hadn't slept in 500 hours]] - Asuna asks why he didn't try to blame hackers impersonating him instead of continuing the charade for two years, given he had no motive.

'''Chris: '''[[WhatAnIdiot Then why didn't you just run inside the mansion and lock us out to get eaten by all those cerberuses??"]]

** For added security against hackers using webcams to spy on people, many webcams come with manual shutters or physical switches to disconnect them. And if you don't have those, you can just put a piece of tape over the lens, like former FBI director James Comey admitted to doing. It doesn't matter how good a hacker is if there's something physically blocking their view so that can't see through the camera.

* Used in ''Film/PumaMan''; the BigBad uses MindControl to make the hero jump to his death, instead of going with his {{mooks}}' more practical suggestion of just having one of them shoot him, to make it look like death from natural causes. Which would have all been great had it not been for the fact that Vadhino tells us at one point that thanks to the mask, Kobras has total control over the police. So... why did it have to look like an accident again?

[[folder: Theatre]]

* In the ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'' ChristmasEpisode, [[VillainProtagoonist Zim]] [[BadSanta poses as Santa]] and throws [[HeroAntagonist Dib]] in "Jingle Jail." He breaks out easily, as the bars tyurn out to be made of candy cane. Then, when he's captured again:

-->'''Pearl:''' Steven, why didn't you just replicated Ranger Guy?!\\