History Main / ThreatBackfire

--->'''Han:''' [[BondOneLiner Yes, I bet you have.]] (''shoots Greedo under the table'')

--->'''Dr. Weaver:''' You don't want to eat me. I'm a very important person on my planet. Like a queen, a goddess even. There are those who worship me. I'm not saying this to impress you, I'm just warning you it could start a war!
--->'''"Edgar":'''[[hottip:*:the bug who has taken Edgar's form]] War? Good! That means more food for my family. All 78 million of them! That's a lot of mouths to feed, your highness!

--> Doc Ock: [entering the carriage] He's MINE!
--> Train Passenger: You want to get to him, you gotta go through me!
--> [All the other passengers take up his claim and surround Spider-Man]
--> Doc Ock: Very well...

--> Han Solo: Even I get boarded sometimes. Do you think I had a choice?
--> Greedo: You can tell that to Jabba. He may only take your ship.
--> Han Solo: Over my dead body!
--> Greedo: That's the idea... I've been looking forward to this for a long time.

---> '''Han:''' [[BondOneLiner Yes, I bet you have.]] ''*shoots Greedo under the table*''

-->Seraph: I need to speak with him.
-->Club Hel bouncer: The only way you're getting through that door is over my big, dead ass.
-->Seraph: So be it. *asskicking ensues*

* In ''Tales of MonkeyIsland'', [=McGillicutty=] captures the mermaid ruler and threatens that s/he'll "be sleeping with the fishes" if s/he doesn't tell him how to get the [[MacGuffin Summoning Artifacts]]. S/He responds that that's where s/he sleeps anyway.

* In ''Tales of MonkeyIsland'', Mcgillicutty captures the mermaid ruler and threatens that she'll "be sleeping with the fishes" if she doesn't tell him how to get the MacGuffin. She responds that that's where she sleeps anyway.

* [[HappyGilmore Shooter McGavin]] gets nailed this way multiple times.
-->'''McGavin:''' I eat pieces of shit like you for breakfast.

-->'''McGavin:''' {{Beat}} ...no.

-->'''McGavin:''' Yea, and Grizzly Adams had a beard.

-->'''McGavin:''' [[Beat]] ...no.

# The person being threatened is ''not'' being funny, just very LiteralMinded or socio-linguistically tone-deaf. TheUnfunny will often give this kind of response, as will characters who were RaisedByWolves. May also be caused by or overlap with BluntMetaphorsTrauma. Depending on the size and menacingness of the threatened, this one can also be a case of DoNotTauntCthulhu.

* In {{Neverwhere}}, [[UnluckyEveryDude Richard]] tells Croup and Vandemar that if they want Door, they'll have to kill him first. Vandemar is (quite unironically) delighted: "Thanks!"

-->'''ManchesterBlack''': So long as a heart beats in my chest I'll come after you, you poncy twit! If you think this is over, you're living in a bloody dreamworld!

# Not infrequently sighted subversion: the person making the threat is exploiting the fact that it will be taken in ExactWords terms, and is actually BriarPatching. Of course, this one can backfire too (see the {{Futurama}} example)

* Subverted in the first episode of ''{{Futurama}}'', Fry is upset at the fact he's been assigned the job of "delivery boy";

* The KGB once tried to blackmail the French consul, by threatening to expose him with pictures of him having sex with other men. His response ? "Go ahead, I don't care. Everybody knows I'm gay."

A character threatens another with something that not only fails to scare them, but in fact they would consider it a favor. For example, saying "I'll Kill You!" to the DeathSeeker, or describing the tortures you could use to the person who is TooKinkyToTorture, or telling someone "IHaveYourWife" to be met with the response that YouCanKeepHer.

# The person being threatened is ''not'' being funny, just very literal-minded or socio-linguistically tone-deaf. TheUnfunny will often give this kind of response, as will characters who were RaisedByWolves. May also be caused by or overlap with BluntMetaphorsTrauma. Depending on the size and menacingness of the threatened, this one can also be a case of DoNotTauntCthulhu.

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-->''[[UnderestimatingBadassery Brainiac]]'' ''[[LetsGetDangerous takes a hit from the opposite direction.]]'' ''[[RapidFireFisticuffs And then another hit. And another hit. And another and another and another...]]'' ''[[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass Flash]]'' ''[[BewareTheNiceOnes had ran]]'' [[BewareTheNiceOnes all]] ''[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome the way around the world, hitting Brainthor each time. Thereby extracting Brainiac from Luthor molecule]]'' [[CrowningMomentofAwesome by]] ''[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome molecule!]]''

* In ''BatmanBegins'', Lucious Fox to accounant Reese, who is threatening to expose Bruce Wayne as Batman: "Let me get this straight: You think that your client, one of the wealthiest, most powerful men in the world, is secretly a vigilante who spends his nights beating criminals to a pulp with his bare hands. And your plan is to blackmail this person? Good luck."

--->'''"Edgar":'''[[hottip:*:the bug who has taken Edgar's form]] War? Good! That means more food for my family. All 78 million of them! That's a lot of mouths to feed, Highness!

* In ''FairyTail', during Laxus arc, Evergreen retorts that if Erza didn't release her, she'll turn all of Erza's nakama who is being petrified into dust. Erza response: [[spoiler:put Evergreen into ''many'' sword point, deciding that if Evergreen dare to do that, she'll died anyway.]] The most awesome part: [[spoiler:Erza is actually counter-bluffing it.]]