History Main / StupidityInducingAttack

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' has the Simple Beam attack, a psychic laser that [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin changes the target's Ability to Simple]]. (Use with caution; a Simple Pokémon can be a LethalJokeCharacter.)

** The Feeblemind spell takes this straight into AndIMustScream territory. If a target is hit with the spell and fails the saving throw, both their Intelligence and Charisma scores are reduced to 1. They can't talk, can't cast magic, and can't understand spoken language. The only sapient quality they retain is the ability to recognize allies and defend themselves from attack; otherwise, they're basically a feral animal. On top of that, if they aren't healed by outside magic, they can only attempt to repeat this saving throw ''once a month'' - which is going to be extremely hard given that the Intelligence save they have to make is done with a ''-5 penalty'' due to have Intelligence 1.

** The Feeblemind spell takes this straight into AndIMustScream territory. If a target is hit with the spell and fails the saving throw, both their Intelligence and Charisma scores are reduced to 1. They can't talk, can't cast magic, and can't understand spoken language. On top of that, if they aren't healed by outside magic, they can only attempt to repeat this saving throw ''once a month''.

* In ''Film/SuperMarioBros'', Koopa uses a machine to [[HollywoodEvolution de-evolve]] his opposition into mindless Goombas, later upgrading to handheld versions.

* In ''[[Anime/MobileSuitVictoryGundam Victory Gundam]]'', the [[DoomsdayDevice Angel Halo]] is designed to fire a permanent Stupidity Inducing Attack at ''the population of Earth''. Definitely ''not'' PlayedForLaughs.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries'' episode "Spike", Jumba reveals that one of his earlier experiments had quills that contained a venom which reduces anybody's intelligence to 1% of its original functionality. Strangely, it doesn't seem to affect him, but he later clarifies that it does, it's just that he's so smart that even 1% of his normal intelligence seems normal.

-->'''Fry:''' [[MyOwnGrampa I did do the nasty in the pasty]].

-->'''Fry:''' I did do the nasty in the pasty.

* In ''ComicBook/FallOfTheHulks'', the Intelligencia does it on two different levels: with a "neural anesthetizer" of their invention, they dumb down and imprison the smartest of their enemies - [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Reed Richards]], [[ComicBook/AntMan Hank Pym]], [[ComicBook/BlackPanther T'Challa]], [[Comicbook/IncredibleHulk Bruce Banner]] and Doctor Doom - effectively lobotomizing opposition.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' episode "Simpleman", the titular akuma's main power (making things "simpler") also has this application, "simplifying" the minds of whoever it hits. As a result, motorists just drive in straight lines because it's simpler than turning, the local pizza place and ice cream stand only have one kind of pizza/ice cream on the menu because it's simpler than having a variety to choose from, the pizza delivery guy rides around tossing out pizzas to everyone he sees because it's simpler than trying to figure out who did or didn't order one, and Ladybug and Cat Noir [[NearVillainVictory nearly trade away their Miraculous to Simpleman for]] ''[[NearVillainVictory candy]]''.

** Basic D&D Immortals could perform Ability Score attacks against an opponent's Intelligence.

** The spell "Ray of Idiocy", which reduces the target's Intelligence by 1d4+1, [[LethalJokeItem can be hilariously broken if you know how to use it]]. How? Well, having a 0 in any stat is debilitating; 0 Intelligence causes a coma. Now, all animals have Intelligence 2 or less, and many magical beasts aren't much brighter. Thus, this spell can one-shot anything from a housecat to the Tarrasque.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' episode "Simpleman", the titular akuma's main power (making things "simpler") also has this application, "simplifying" the minds of teenagers and adults. As a result, Ladybug and Cat Noir forget how to fight and nearly trade away their Miraculouses for ''pieces of candy''.

* One of the main subplots of ''ComicBook/IdentityCrisis'' revealed that certain members of the Justice League frequently used ComicBook/{{Zatanna}} to mind wipe villains if they ever found out things like their secret identities (or in the main story's case, to prevent Dr. Light from trying to rape the ComicBook/ElongatedMan's wife again).
* A one-shot prequel to ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueCryForJustice'' reveals that technically the villain Prometheus was subject to this trope; recognising that it would be impossible to contain the villain in conventional prisons given Prometheus's status as the AntiBatman, Batman and J'onn J'onzz arrange to trap Prometheus by reducing him to a mentally disabled state, which he only escapes after ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis'' when J'onzz is killed.

* In ''ComicBook/FallOfTheHulks'', the Intelligencia does it on two different levels: with a "neural anesthetizer" of their invention, they dumb down and imprison the smartest of their enemies - [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Reed Richards]], [[ComicBook/AntMan Hank Pym]], [[ComicBook/BlackPanther T'Challa]], [[Comicbook/IncredibleHulk Bruce Banner]] and Doctor Doom - effectively lobotomizing opposition.
* In the ''VideoGame/DragonsLair'' comics, Singe kidnaps Princess Daphne and puts her in the Bubble of Helotry, a magical orb that slowly saps the prisoner's intelligence until they turn into a giggling bimbo. Singe had previously used it on the rest of his harem. When Dirk destroys the orb, Daphne and the rest of the girls [[NoOntologicalInertia go back to normal]].

* ''WesternAnimation/Ducktales2017'': In "Double-O-Duck in You Only Crash Twice!", Black Heron creates a ray that can make creatures more intelligent. Her initial plan is to reverse it and use it on Scrooge [=McDuck=], making him "dumber than the dummies"; however, Steelbeak later [[TheStarscream uses it on her]] and plots to use it to make the entirety of Duckburg TooDumbToLive.

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Dilbert}}'' has his company initiating a merger (simply to get rid of a $20 million surplus in the budget) with "[[ObviouslyEvil Brainsuck Industries]]", a bunch of [[PaperThinDisguise poorly-disguised aliens]] with suckers in their bellies. Dilbert derails their plans by taking the Brainsuck CEO to their marketing department-- [[TakeThat the marketing guys are so dumb that the Brainsuck chief starves to death on a full stomach]], causing the aliens to flee.

* In Creator/PaulaVolsky's ''The Sorcerer's Lady,'' the great sorcerer, Lord Terrs Val Grizhni, is finally [[spoiler:defeated by his archenemy]]. The [[spoiler:archenemy]], enjoying what he thinks is his moment of triumph, opens a casket belonging to [[spoiler: Grizhni]], which releases a spell that results in him being brain-damaged, terrified, and unable to speak, for the rest of his life.
* In ''Literature/TheAmtrakWars'', Mr Snow does this to the commander of a wagon-train so he makes a tactical error by driving it into a gully where it can be ambushed. After the attack starts, he also finds it difficult to think his way out of the situation.

* In creator/PaulaVolsky's ''The Sorcerer's Lady,'' the great sorcerer, Lord Terrs Val Grizhni, is finally [[spoiler:defeated by his archenemy]]. The [[spoiler:archenemy]], enjoying what he thinks is his moment of triumph, opens a casket belonging to [[spoiler: Grizhni]], which releases a spell that results in him being brain-damaged, terrified, and unable to speak, for the rest of his life.

** Later on against Poet, he stabs a spike into Poet which injects the latter with a fluid that makes Poet think just like Poppa Rocks, and given how Poppa Rocks (Hell, just about any of the fighter on the good side) think, this doesn't really go well for Poet in regards to his techniques.

* The Stand "Jail House Lock" from ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure'' reconstructs this trope; while active, its victims can only remember three things at a time.

* Discussed in Creator/IsaacAsimov's first novel, ''Pebble in the Sky'', which revolves around an intelligence-enhancing artifact. At a point, the villain threatens to ReversePolarity and use the machine to reduce the heroes to vegetables.
* Duke Roger, in the ''Literature/SongOfTheLioness'' books, put magical dolls of various people who might suspect him under a veil to make them unable to really suspect him - as soon as they intended to do something or seriously investigate, their resolve would fail.

* In Paula Volsky's ''The Sorcerer's Lady,'' the great sorcerer, Lord Terrs Val Grizhni, is finally [[spoiler:defeated by his archenemy]]. The [[spoiler:archenemy]], enjoying what he thinks is his moment of triumph, opens a casket belonging to [[spoiler: Grizhni]], which releases a spell that results in him being brain-damaged, terrified, and unable to speak, for the rest of his life.
* In ''The Amtrak Wars'', Mr Snow does this to the commander of a wagon-train so he makes a tactical error by driving it into a gully where it can be ambushed. After the attack starts, he also finds it difficult to think his way out of the situation.

** In "Grounder the Genius", Hacker creates a "Stupid Chip" as a decoy for the one with the Super Genius Program he stole from Robotnik. When Robotnik thinks he's recovered the Genius Chip, he ends up using the Stupid Chip on himself, with predictable results.
** Another episode had Robotnik inventing a Stupid Ray, which became the episode's MacGuffin: a crazed general thinks he can use it to make an army of brainwashed soldiers, and [[HonestJohnsDealership sleazy salesman Wes Weasley]] figures it will make it easier to sell people his worthless junk.

* In ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', Glory has a [[NightmareFuel terrifying version of this]], where she basically jams her fingers into the sides of the victims head, robbing them off their sanity and intelligence and leaving them babbling and helpless. This happens to [[spoiler: Tara]], who ends up being the only one cured thanks to Willow. A side-effect of this also benefits Glory as they see Dawn in her true form, which is described as a beautiful, pure green light, and [[spoiler:Tara]] accidentally helps Glory learn Dawn is the MacGuffin because she didn't understand that vocalizing this will result in everyone dying.

* ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' DLC Old World Blues features this as a central part of its plot. The Thinks Tanks, essentially a cyborg BrainInAJar, are a group of moral-less scientist who threatened to destroy the already post apocalyptic world with their experiments. [[spoiler: One of the Think Tanks, Dr. Mobius, realizes this but fails to reform his colleges, so makes them into idiots by reprogramming their robotic parts. Their stupidity serves the dual purpose of preventing them from creating more scientific hazards and preventing them from figuring out how to disable the radar fence, a feature that prevents disembodied brains (or de-brained bodies) from leaving (the think tanks think its protects the facility). Mobius then starts to play the role of an Evil {{Mad Scientist}} just to distract them so that they don't figure out that they have been made idiots, he even convinces them (without directly messing with their minds) that his robo-scorpion army is equipped with a stupidity inducing attack. ]]

* ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'': The CASIE Aug works like this as it uses pheromones to reduce the target's logical thinking ability and directs them towards actions which will benefit you, if you convince them with the right words as well.
* The Mind Flayers in ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'' has normal attacks that reduces your Int stats and they stack. And when your Int stat reaches 0... ''you die''. Oh and did I mention that [[DemonicSpiders they can stun your party and come in packs]]?

* In ''VideoGame/EvilGenius'' some of your traps, interrogation devices and trained social minions can do it to agents of justice. It's a highly useful technique, as not only stupefied targets become docile enough to be simply escorted away from your ElaborateUndergroundBase, they will also forget any incriminating activity they've seen.

* ''Webcomic/KevinAndKell'': In one major story-arc, the [[MilkmanConspiracy Bird Conspiracy]] turns out to have an 'Intelligence Beam' with a... reverse setting. This results in one of the cast being threatened with the loss of a few dozen IQ points, and allows another (one of the denser members) to experience a bout of FlowersForAlgernonSyndrome.

** Near the end of the series Helen invents a [[spoiler:serum that shuts down the parts of the brain that make someone a mad scientist, permanently turning them into a normal person.]] She briefly considers weaponizing it, but decides to destroy it instead.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'' uses this on himself as the entire basis of one episode, when he decides to be less of a genius.

** In the episode "[=NanoZIM=]", Zim attempts to use this on Dib by shrinking to microscopic size and destroying his intellect from within. "I'll just go to your brain and delete the knowlege of where you hid the master disk! And, as an added bonus, I might as well make your entire brain... [[BuffySpeak nn-not smart... no more]]."

* In the ''WesternAnimation/SuperFriends'' episode "Around The World In 80 Riddles", The Riddler sprays Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, and Superman with his "Stupid Spray", which slowly saps its victims of their intelligence. He then leads the heroes on a riddle and booby-trap filled chase around the world, stalling for time until the spray completely takes hold. At the end, the heroes become reduced to toddler-like intelligence, but manage to grab the antidote and defeat Riddler.
* On ''WesternAnimation/{{Doug}}'', Dr. Klotzenstien drained the brains of his fellow classmates to get the answers of a pop quiz correct. He tried to drain Quailman's, but ended up with a frog's.

** The Yellow Musk Creeper reduces the Intelligence of its victims.
** The Feeblemind spell takes this straight into AndIMustScream territory. If a target is hit with the spell, both their Intelligence and Wisdom scores are reduced to 1. They can't talk, can't cast magic, and can't understand spoken language. On top of that, if they aren't healed, they can only attempt to repeat this saving throw ''once a month''.

** The Feeblemind spell massively lowers the target's Intelligence.

*** Ego Whip could cause idiocy when used against a defenseless psionic.
*** Psionic Blast could cause a Feeblemind effect on a non-psionic creature.