History ObfuscatingStupidity / WesternAnimation

** Harleen Quinzel may seem to be just another dumb blonde, but before she embarked on a life of crime, she was a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum. The few times she's not speaking "in character", she speaks with what is arguably a refined English accent, suggesting that she came from "good breeding". Among other things she's done that suggest that she's smarter than your average bear, she has gone toe to toe with Mercy, Lex Luthor's highly trained bodyguard/personal assassin, in hand-to-hand combat on repeated occasions, eventually coming out ahead (well, Quinn was able to walk away, even in handcuffs, Mercy wound up in a hospital bed). She also, upon seeing that Joker was really depressed on one occasion, came up with a plan to capture Batman, and then go that extra mile and actually successfully execute it so effectively that Batman's only way out was to exploit [[MadLove Harley's]] and [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou the Joker's]] psychological issues. Harley ''does'' still have her eccentricities though, and it can be hard to deduce just how smart (or dumb, or ''insane'') she really is. She summed it up best herself:

** Batman/Bruce Wayne does this whenever he encounters his enemies out of costume. His act is so successful that when Hugo Strange discovers his secret and tries to tell some of his other enemies, they dismiss the idea as absurd. As an old man in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'', he was not above pretending to be a bit senile.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Detentionaire}}'', [[spoiler:Steve]] pretends to be bad at math so that Greta, who he has a crush on, will tutor him.

%%* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': Episode 138 suggests that while Stumpy is actually quite stupid, he may not be ''as'' stupid as he normally behaves.

* Downplayed, then [[spoiler: DoubleSubverted [[DidYouJustScamCthulhu after formulating a plan]] [[MagnificentBastard to trick Bill]]]] with Grunkle Stan of ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls''. He's not particularly intelligent at first appearance, ultimately just playing on the gullibility of a town that virtually any outsider can outsmart, but he is obfuscating his awareness of the town's weirdness, and the viewers are more than aware of this thanks to the ''first'' episode's ending implying that he has some dangerous secrets of his own. However, the rest of the characters don't know this, and he's presented as being totally clueless to the various supernatural occurrences happening around him throughout Season 1, even when he personally experiences them. He ''admits'' it was a deliberate act by Season 2, explaining that he hoped his obfuscating stupidity would deter the kids from investigating the town's strangeness themselves, but even then, the other characters remain in the dark about his secret project and how much he actually knows until "Not What He Seems".

* Downplayed with Grunkle Stan of ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls''. He's not particularly intelligent, but he is obfuscating his awareness of the town's weirdness, and the viewers are more than aware of this thanks to the first episode's ending implying that he has some dangerous secrets of his own. However, the rest of the characters don't know this, and he's presented as being totally clueless to the various supernatural occurrences happening around him throughout Season 1, even when he personally experiences them. He ''admits'' it was a deliberate act by Season 2, explaining that he hoped his obfuscating stupidity would deter the kids from investigating the town's strangeness themselves, but even then, the other characters remain in the dark about his secret project and how much he actually knows until "Not What He Seems".

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Dragons Race To The Edge}}'', It is revealed at the end of the fifth season that [[spoiler:Trader Johann]] had been [[EvilAllAlong evil all along]]. In all previous appearances, he plays the role of a simpleton and a [[TheFool fool]] who doesn't seem to be able to shut up once he gets going. No one ever takes him seriously, even when he does things that would be seen as malicious had anyone else been the one to do it. The idea that he could be a [[DiabolicalMastermind mastermind]] and a [[TheChessmaster chessmaster]] is inconceivable. It's only after he reveals himself to [[Characters/HowToTrainYourDragonFilmsHiccupHorrendousHaddockIII Hiccup]] that the Dragon Riders are able to connect the dots.

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'': Every member of the Flash family (with the possible exception of Jay). Yes, they're a bunch of happy-go-lucky jokesters, but they are also extremely intelligent when it comes to science. Which is to be expected, given that they got their powers from a science experiment. This is taken up to eleven with Impulse[[spoiler:, who acts like a little kid in a candy store for his entire introductory episode, after which TheStinger reveals that it's all an act he uses to hide the fact that he comes from a BadFuture]].

* In the Disney cartoon ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong'', there is Spud ([[ThemeNaming an apt name]], considering his displayed personality). Spud has the personality of your [[TheDitz average idiot]] (and sometimes [[BookDumb worse]]), but once, when tricked into doing an aptitude test, he gets a perfect score and is sent to a school for geniuses, where he also is far smarter than any of ''those'' people too. Spud explains that he does so because he doesn't want the pressure of having to perform to live up to the expectations others might have toward a young genius. Heck, his genius was foreshadowed by the fact that he went out of his way to invent a "Stacey Tracker" in the first episode of Season 2. He'd rather enjoy life as an easy-going goof.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'':
** In "I'm With Stupid," [=SpongeBob=] fakes being stupid in an effort to make Patrick look good in front of his parents. Sadly, [[BelievingTheirOwnLies Patrick ends up taking it too seriously and ends up believing SpongeBob really is stupid]].
** Combined with the StereotypeReactionGag in "Squirrel Jokes", where Sandy, normally [[TheSmartGuy one of the most intelligent]] and [[OnlySaneMan level-headed]] characters on the show, gets back at Spongebob telling a bunch of jokes about how dumb squirrels are by actually acting dumb, culminating in acting like she doesn't even know he needs water in her house.
** Plankton had been throwing card games with Mr. Krabs for 15 years to get him to drop his guard so he could eventually defeat him and force the latter to wager [=SpongeBob=] as an employee in the game.

** Sugar in ''Pahkitew Island'' is a {{downplayed|trope}} example. While she is legitimately {{ditz}}y, she is a lot more conniving and sinister than what her oafish behavior and HalfWittedHillbilly accent would suggest; this behavior stems from her pageant days.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': Episode 138 suggests that while Stumpy is actually quite stupid, he may not be ''as'' stupid as he normally behaves.

** "[[Recap/StarTrekLowerDecksS2E06TheSpyHumongous The Spy Humongous]]": Played with. On the one hand, the Pakleds act like they don't know who can negotiate peace, but have actually been giving Freeman the run-around while their spy tries to steal Starfleet secrets. On the other hand, he is actually a moron and is easily tricked into giving up their plan when Freeman realizes what's going on.

* ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks'': In "[[Recap/StarTrekLowerDecksS1E07MuchAdoAboutBoimler Much Ado About Boimler]]", Mariner deliberately downplays her competence in front of her old academy friend Captain Ramsey because she knows Ramsey is considering giving her a senior command post on another ship. When Ramsey calls her out on this, Mariner admits that although she has the knowledge and skills to be a high-ranking Starfleet officer, she's not emotionally ready for that yet.

* ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks'': In "Much Ado About Boimler", Mariner deliberately downplays her competence in front of her old academy friend Captain Ramsey because she knows Ramsey is considering giving her a senior command post on another ship. When Ramsey calls her out on this, Mariner admits that although she has the knowledge and skills to be a high-ranking Starfleet officer, she's not emotionally ready for that yet.

* [[spoiler:Navy]] from ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' does this in order to get her ship back [[spoiler: and to mess with Steven, Peridot, and Lapis.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama World Tour:'' Sierra is smarter than she lets on. As part of her being a extremely devoted LoonyFan, she knows the show's rules back and forward, and is extremely GenreSavvy; the most stand-out form of this is that she pretends to become [[AlphaBitch Heather's]] latest pawn while secretly planning [[HoistByHisOwnPetard to turn it on her]].

* ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'': Implied sometimes with [[AsianAirhead Numbuh Three]].