History Main / TookALevelInDumbass

->'''Holmes''': That's not a clue Watson, that's your jar of jam.\\
'''New Watson''': JAM!\\
'''Old Watson''': Holmes, please....\\
'''Holmes''': New Watson likes jam. We're very happy.
-->-- "[[Webcomic/HarkAVagrant The Case Of The Two Watsons]]," [[http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=210 Kate Beaton]]

** Fighter himself could also be considered a victim of this trope. Initially, he was simply TheFool with an intense sword obsession. For the past few hundred comics, he's essentially been a total idiot.

[[AC:Asian Animation]]

[[AC:Comic Strips]]

[[AC:Fan Works]]

[[AC:Webcomics]]

!!Examples:

[[folder:Asian Animation]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Strips]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]

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[[folder:Fan Fic]]
* Twilight and her friends in ''Fanfic/MyBravePonyStarfleetMagic''. When meeting Rhymey during his visit in Equestria, they all mistake him for a crossdressing Fluttershy. Bonus points go to Rarity, who outright states she has no problem that "she" completely transformed herself with magic into a male. The remake tries to address this by making them believe that she is disguised, which manages to make them look even dumber.
* Yang has a mild case of this in ''FanFic/ReactWatchBelieveYikes''. She's generally a bit slower on the uptake compared to the others and is less book-smart than in canon.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]

* ''Franchise/{{Garfield}}'': Jon Arbuckle, Garfield's owner. He started as a perfectly ordinary young man. Come the early-2000's, and he's a total moron who finds interest in mundane activities, mistakes a sudoku for a crossword, and mistakes an upside down restaurant menu for French. It was around the same time he was [[{{Flanderization}} Flanderized]] into being the StrawLoser to Garfield.
* ''Franchise/{{Peanuts}}'': Sally Brown started out as reasonably naïve and childish before devolving into a full-on TheDitz who made hilariously inaccurate school reports.

* TookALevelInDumbass/FanFic

* TookALevelInDumbass/{{Webcomics}}

* TookALevelInDumbass/NewspaperComics

* TookALevelInDumbass/WebComics

->"This is amazing. Are all the babyfaces on this show [[GoodIsDumb completely stupid]]? I'm not even talking kind of naive, or dopey, or just even low-IQ; I mean 'dangerously-unable-to-function-on-his-own' stupid. Like, 'If you gave this guy a cup of applesauce and a spoon, [[TooDumbToLive he would probably drown]]'-stupid. Because that's what Wrestling/MickFoley and Wrestling/JeffJarrett are like on this show."
-->--'''[[WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment Noah Antwiler]]''' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c50zX2dBYHo#t=4400s on]] ''{{Wrestling/TNA}} [=iMPACT=]'' 9.23.12

->'''Caboose:''' I know where you can find O'Malley. He lived inside my helmet for a while, maybe he left an address to send his mail. We were like roommates.\\
'''Sarge:''' Sounds like he took some of the furniture when he left. And the carpet. And the drapes. And I wouldn't expect to get that deposit back, if you know what I mean.
-->-- ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'', "Episode 39"

Generally PlayedForLaughs. Sometimes used on the supporting characters to make the hero look more competent. Or sometimes, it's just that the show gets a pack of new writers and they turn the guy into a moron for kicks. It should be noted that [[TropesAreNotBad this isn't always a bad thing]]. In some cases, viewers may find the over the top idiocy more entertaining than the original concept, or that giving them some idiotic traits make them more of a RoundedCharacter.

->'''Caboose''': I know where you can find O'Malley. He lived inside my helmet for a while, maybe he left an address to send his mail. We were like roommates.
-> '''Sarge''': Sounds like he took some of the furniture when he left. And the carpet. And the drapes. And I wouldn't expect to get that deposit back, if you know what I mean.

May result in a typical IdiotHero degenerating into TooDumbToLive. Compare ForgotAboutHisPowers and TookALevelInJerkass. Contrast TookALevelInBadass and DumbassNoMore.

A specific subtrope of {{Flanderization}} (and occasionally {{Jerkass}} also). As a series progresses, characters sometimes become more and more stupid as time goes on. Usually the reason is related to the BadassDecay phenomenon, but with the character's level of intelligence rather than his ability to kick ass, following something along the following cycle: an episode in which the characters acts like a total buffoon gets good ratings, so another one is made. It too gets good ratings. So they make another. And another. Eventually the character is so dumb that you wonder how he manages to walk across a room without injuring himself, and pretty soon everyone forgets that the character was anything other than a complete moron. For this very reason and the fact that it's easier to write comedy that involves dumb people, this trope is rather frequent in any comedy series.

%% Image and caption selected per crowner in the Image Suggestion thread: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php/ImagePickin/ImageSuggestions39
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[[quoteright:310:[[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dumbassknux.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:310:[-Knuckles the Echidna, [[VideoGame/SonicRidersZeroGravity circa 2008]]: Translator of ancient runes. vs. Knuckles the Echidna, [[WesternAnimation/SonicBoom circa 2014]]: Illiterate.-]]]

[[quoteright:350:[[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dumbassknux.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Knuckles the Echidna, [[VideoGame/SonicRidersZeroGravity circa 2008]]: Translator of ancient runes. vs. Knuckles the Echidna, [[WesternAnimation/SonicBoom circa 2014]]: Illiterate.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Knuckles the Echidna, circa 2008: Translator of ancient runes. vs. Knuckles the Echidna, circa 2014: Illiterate.]]

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%% Please start a new thread if you'd like to suggest a new image.

->'''Suzaku''': Apparently if you score negative on an IQ test, you can get a free pass out of anything!
->'''Lelouche''': You did so bad you owe points?
->'''Suzaku''': I DID BAD?!
--->-- ''Code MENT''

->'''Caboose''': I know where you can find O'Malley. [[BodySurf He lived inside my helmet for a while]], maybe he left an address to send his mail. We were like roommates.
-> '''Sarge''': Sounds like he took some of the furniture when he left. [[EscalatingPunchline And the carpet. And the drapes.]] [[{{Metaphorgotten}} And I wouldn't expect to get that deposit back, if you know what I mean.]]

* TookALevelInDumbass/{{Live-Action TV}}

Generally PlayedForLaughs. Sometimes used on the supporting characters to make the hero look more competent. It should be noted that [[TropesAreNotBad this isn't always a bad thing]]. In some cases, viewers may find the over the top idiocy of a character more entertaining than the character's original concept. Or sometimes, it's just that the show gets a pack of new writers and they turn the guy into a moron for kicks.

May result in a typical IdiotHero degenerating into TooDumbToLive. Compare TookALevelInJerkass. Contrast TookALevelInBadass and DumbassNoMore.

May result in a typical IdiotHero degenerating into TooDumbToLive. Compare TookALevelInJerkass. Contrast TookALevelInBadass and DumbassNoMore.

[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/JakeAndTheNeverlandPirates http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/whyhookwhy_4264.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Notice the complete lack of [[DamselInDistress Captured Tinker Bell]] on the right.]]

May result in a typical IdiotHero degenerating into TooDumbToLive. Contrast TookALevelInBadass and DumbassNoMore.

Compare TookALevelInJerkass.

A specific subtrope of {{Flanderization}} (and occasionally {{Jerkass}} also). As a series progresses, characters sometimes become more and more stupid as time goes on. Usually the reason is related to the BadassDecay phenomenon, but with the character's level of intelligence rather than his ability to kick ass, following something along the following cycle: an episode in which the characters acts like a total buffoon gets good ratings, so another one is made. It too gets good ratings. So they make another. And another. Eventually the character is so dumb that you wonder how he manages to walk across a room without injuring himself, and pretty soon everyone forgets that the character was anything other than a complete moron. For this very reason, this trope is rather frequent in any comedy series.