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[[quoteright:350:[[Film/TheMatrix https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/just_toying_with_them.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"Do you mind? I just [[EnlightenmentSuperpowers achieved enlightenment]] today, I'd rather not do anything violent."]]

->'''Vegeta:''' Freak! Are you not taking this seriously?!\\
'''Perfect Cell:''' Should I be? I'm sorry, I thought we were still warming up.
-->-- ''Anime/DragonBallZKai''

This is when a more powerful character, likely villainous, decides to give a weaker character a "chance" to beat them somehow (not necessarily in combat) by setting limitations on themselves or holding back. They could agree to play a game with arbitrary rules, or they could hold back in battle to keep it entertaining. One thing's for sure, though: They have no intention of actually leveling the playing field and playing fair. They just think they can beat the other character [[WithMyHandsTied with their hands tied behind their back]]. If it turns out they can't, or they get bored, they'll stop trying and just use more force.

It's a hard situation for the weaker character, who is pretty much at the other's mercy, but it can be a lot better than if the stronger character was going at full strength. The stronger character may get so arrogant the weaker actually has a chance of beating them before they realize it. Even though they're prepared to cheat, the rules may turn against them anyway. If they're holding back in a fight while the other is trying seriously, they might end up not being so much stronger after all due to the difference in effort. Or they might be distracted while a third party foils their plans right behind their back.

If the stronger character plays weak and reveals they're applying this trope only some time into the confrontation, it's a case of some form of IAmNotLeftHanded. But they might just be clearly the more powerful one from the start (or somewhat ambiguously but not hiding it) with the weaker party having no chance but to play along anyway.

The stronger character's motivation is most likely their own amusement, as in ItAmusedMe or even ForTheEvulz, but it's not impossible for there to be some more rational end (eg. if the stronger character is a TricksterMentor).

The role of the more powerful character is well suited for a powerful RealityWarper, as "He snapped his fingers and won" would be a boring plot, but such powers give endless opportunities for toying with others.

SuperTrope to ExcuseMeWhileIMultitask, CombatUninterruptus, and INeedYouStronger. For obvious reasons, tends to be a DavidVersusGoliath situation. Other tropes that may come up include HeroicSecondWind and NearVillainVictory. Compare WillfullyWeak, ComplexityAddiction, EvilGloating, MyDefenseNeedNotProtectMeForever, and CherryTapping, which all resemble this in different ways. A NoNonsenseNemesis will ''not'' be caught doing this. In a fight, CurbStompBattle is likely what would happen if the stronger character didn't hold back... and it might anyway. A MercyLead will be a form of this trope if it's intended to make no difference.

----
!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* ''Anime/DragonBallZ'':
** Standard practice for most villains (and some heroes) when their power significantly eclipses that of their opponent. This often leads to their undoing, but not always.
** Goku as a kid enjoyed toying with his opponents, but unlike the examples above including his adult self, there was no real malice behind it. To him, fighting was one big game and it's no fun if he just curb-stomps everyone. He even referred to it as playing. He also tends to toy around because his full strength can easily kill most people. He knows, however, when to become serious, especially if he is mad. This can be seen most in his fight with Ninja Murasaki. Goku could have easily beaten the guy in minutes, but played with him, actually playing hide-and-seek and racing. Murasaki is so weak compared to Goku that it doesn't matter anyway and was one-shotted once Goku got serious.
** When mad, Goku will toy with his opponents to show them just how out-matched they are. During the final leg of the Frieza fight, Goku stalked, belittled, and played mind games with Frieza, knowing that he was too weak to challenge him anymore. He also toyed with Nappa, just as he did with his friends before killing them. It also served a secondary purpose of making Nappa mad and therefore predictable. He also toyed with Fat Buu, but that was because he didn't want to beat him, wanting Trunks and Goten to do it.
** Vegeta toyed with Goku during their first battle and almost got away with it since he was much stronger. Then Goku used his Kaioken X3, beat Vegeta up, and he didn't want to play anymore.
** Frieza pretty much lived this trope. After going through many fights against the heroes and reaching his final form, he reveals to Goku he's only been using a fraction of his total power (''1%'' in the dub) and proceeds to start using one third. This is more than enough to beat Goku silly, and at one point he briefly decides to give Goku a fighting chance [[WithMyHandsTied by not using his hands]]. Once Goku goes [[SuperMode Super Saiyan]], however, Frieza stops playing around and convinces Goku to allow him to fight at full power. Unfortunately for him, his chance at victory has already flown out the window.
*** Goku even [[LampshadeHanging points out to Frieza why he's going to end up losing]]: having done nothing but toy with weaker opponents for nearly his entire life, when he actually goes all-out to fight Super Saiyan Goku, he's got little-to-no practice fighting an equal or superior opponent, and has such terrible endurance (especially by this point) that after only a short time at full power, he starts getting rapidly weaker.
** Vegeta toying with Semi-Perfect Cell. Wouldn't have been a problem had he not [[NiceJobBreakingItHero allowed Cell to reach his perfect form]] so he'd be ''more challenging'', though. Once Cell became perfect, he returned the favor to Vegeta.
** Perfect Cell vs. Trunks. Trunks uses the beefed-up Ultra Super Saiyan form to lay a decent beatdown on Cell, only for Cell to reveal the MightyGlacier weakness of the technique and dodge every subsequent attack.
** Gohan toying with Perfect Cell, which cost his father his life. In this case, Gohan is utterly consumed by the rage that triggered his Super Saiyan 2 transformation. While he could kill Cell with ease and knows it, he wants the monster to ''suffer'' first and thus draws it out. Which gives Cell time to [[TakingYouWithMe self-destruct]], which would've destroyed the Earth if not for Goku's HeroicSacrifice of teleporting both himself and Cell off-planet.
** Gotenks not taking his fight with Super Buu seriously. This is an example of someone ''without'' a power advantage playing the trope. His inability to take the fight seriously and the fact that all of his attacks were [[AwesomeButImpractical designed more for flashiness than effectiveness]] meant that Gotenks was at a severe disadvantage even when (after transforming to Super Saiyan 3) he was able to match Super Buu in raw power.
** Super Gotenks Buu toying with Gohan, which was one of the more foolproof cases and was only foiled by convenient timing.
** Vegetto toying with Super Gohan Buu. This was actually [[BatmanGambit part of his strategy]] rather than an act of arrogance, though. Vegetto was utterly dominating Buu ''even in base form'' and could've killed him at any time, but was deliberately giving Buu openings to absorb him so that he could free the other absorbed victims from the inside.
** Beerus vs Goku. Beerus is still holding back massively. The entire fight with SSG Goku was just Beerus having some fun.
* ''Manga/FairyTail'': The first battle between Fairy Tail and [[WorldsStrongestMan Acnologia]] is this. After he casually beats down Makarov's Giant Form and nearly all of Fairy Tail's aces throwing everything they have at him successfully knocks him into the ocean, Gildarts (''the'' strongest member of the guild bar none) quite frankly tells everyone that this is exactly what Acnologia's doing. He then drops the bombshell that Acnologia hasn't even shown off ''half'' the power he used against Gildarts himself (a battle [[CurbStompBattle that ended in almost an instant and tore way most of his side]]), and everyone barely has time to process this before Acnologia emerges from the water with no signs of damage and proceeds to fire off an island-destroying BreathWeapon [[spoiler:they only survive thanks the usage of Fairy Sphere]].
* ''Manga/DragonQuestTheAdventureOfDai'': Series BigBad Vearn makes a habit of this, attributed to him being an immortal SorcerousOverlord who thinks on such vast timeframes that he's often left searching for ways to amuse himself while waiting around for the next stage of his plan to be complete.
** Normally [[PlayingWithFire Fire magic]] is divided into the increasingly-powerful tiers of ''Mera'', ''Merami'' and ''Merazoma'',[[note]]Usually "Frizz", "Frizzle" and "Kafrizz" in videogame localisations, though [[InconsistentDub names are occasionally swapped around]][[/note]] but Vearn displays fire magic [[SimplifiedSpellcasting without an incantation]] which far surpasses what even ''Merazoma'' should be capable of, creating enormous maelstroms of fire that utterly disintegrate his foes. After Popp tries and fails to counter Vearn's spell with one of his own, we get this exchange:
--->'''Popp:''' "Impossible! We both cast Merazoma, how can his be so much stronger than mine?" \\
'''Vearn:''' "Merazoma, you say? That now was not Merazoma. It was ''Mera''." \\
[...] \\
'''Vearn:''' "Enough. As much as I enjoy watching the flailing of the weak, this has stretched on for far too long. I should not have humoured you to the point where you imagined you actually had a chance at victory. As recompense... I shall make your deaths painless." ''(flames writhe and howl about his hand, forming into the shape of a demonic phoenix)'' "'''''This''''' is my Merazoma."
** In their second encounter with Vearn, Popp realises that Vearn's Heaven-Earth-Hell Stance (a technique which allows him to use a mountain-splitting chop, an invincible AttackReflector ''and'' Merazoma at the same time) is purely a CounterAttack which can only be used while standing still, and that Vearn could easily kill them with normal attacks if he weren't so busy trying to show off the technique he's spent centuries creating. So he plays to Vearn's ego and brags that he's come up with a way to defeat his so-called perfect guard, which annoys Vearn enough to ensure that [[BossArenaIdiocy he stays in his stance rather than get bored again and decide to finish them off]].
** Vearn also does this multiple times on a strategic level, such as revealing that he has far more powerful forces waiting to reinforce him from the Demon World; he only recruited local monsters because [[TheChessmaster he's a lover of chess and finds war more enjoyable when he needs to use his brain rather than steamroll everything]]. And then at last in the FinalBattle, just as Vearn has lost his advantage and his defeat by Dai seems certain, he makes an awkward sigh and reveals that ''all'' of his actions throughout the series have been a case of this, calmly asking Dai to just stop. [[spoiler:His entire military campaign was just a cover to dot the human world with giant [[FantasticNuke Black Cores]] which [[YouAreTooLate are all about to explode at the same time]], and he had planned to [[MercyKill kill Dai before he found out in order to let his greatest rival experience a glorious death rather than the anguish of losing his loved ones]]]].
* ''Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren'' (though each of these relies on interpretation of things not made explicit):
** Near the beginning, the Remnants of Sephiroth attack Cloud while he's motorcycling near what's left of Midgar. Loz and Yazoo on their own motorcycles together with a group of summoned monsters called Shadow Creepers give him more trouble than he can handle. The battle ends with Yazoo shooting Cloud right between the eyes but only hitting his goggles, possibly just to show he could have killed him right then, and Kadaj calling off the Shadow Creepers just when they're all about pounce on Cloud at the same time. It isn't until later in the movie that Cloud regains the strength to be a match for the Remnants. At this point, they're toying with him.
** Loz gets into a fight with Tifa in the church, which he seems to regard as good sport. She beats him up with relative ease and he seems to be defeated. Then he gets up again and, no longer wanting to play, takes her out with one move using FlashStep.
** This is also a likely way of interpreting the final battle between Cloud and Sephiroth. Sephiroth, whose motivation at this point is largely payback [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII for being defeated previously]], drives Cloud to his highest limits without even so much as getting winded himself and then tries to finish him off after some suitable [[EvilGloating gloating]].
* ''Manga/HunterXHunter'': On the way to the 4th phase of the Hunter Exam, Netero challenges Gon and Killua to steal a basketball from him. It's soon apparent that he's Just Toying With Them. Gon turns this into a game of his own - he wants to see if he can force Netero to use ''his other arm'' to keep the ball away from him, eventually succeeding and considering it a personal victory. Killua doesn't take it nearly as well, and later ''kills two people for bumping into him'' to vent his frustration.0
* In ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders'', Death XIII fights like this, sadistically reveling in [[AntagonistAbilities his opponents' helplessness in their dreams]]. [[JustifiedTrope Completely justified]] since [[spoiler:he's the stand of [[EnfantTerrible the eleven-month-old]] Mannish Boy]].
* This is how the very first fight between Gojo and Sukuna plays out in Manga/JujutsuKaisen.
* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'': Ranma holds off Akane's attacks with one hand while reading a manga with the other.
* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
** Kakashi holds off Naruto's hits with one hand while reading a book. The reason why he was doing this is because he was being a StealthMentor to Team 7 and it was actually a SecretTestOfCharacter. They were never supposed to get the bells off him directly: They were supposed to work as a team and try to.
** [[spoiler:The real Madara Uchiha]] did this with the ''five Kage'', aka, what are supposed to be the five strongest shinobi in the world.
* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
** Mihawk does this to Zoro during their sword duel, opting to use his dagger instead, lamenting it's the smallest blade he has. Interestingly, he'd actually made his point by more or less, defeating him with it, but he admired Zoro's sheer FightingSpirit so much, he decided he was worthy of the [[{{BFS}} Kokutou Yoru]], and quickly defeated him with it.
** Later on, Crocodile does the same to Luffy, standing by idly for a couple of minutes while Luffy futilely tries to hurt him. Croc eventually does win (easily), but unfortunately for him, Luffy survives and manages to defeat Croc during a later rematch.
** Enel does the same thing with the Shandai Warrior Kamakiri. He gives Kamakiri five minutes to attack as much as he wants, but since Enel ate a lightning Logia fruit, none of his attacks have any effect on Enel whatsoever, and it actually hurts Kamakiri to attack him. Once the five minutes are up, Enel easily dispatches Kamakiri in one attack.
** Miss Doublefinger could have easily scored a victory against the under-skilled Nami, but by toying with her, Nami got the opportunity to learn how to use her Clima Tact and then quickly turned the tide.
** In the Enies Lobby Arc, the [=CP9=] agents decide to play a game with the Straw Hat Pirates. Fukuro tells them that each of them holds a key, and one of these keys will unlock Robin's Seastone handcuffs. The only way to get the right key for certain is to defeat all of them and collect all five keys. The only reasons they're even giving them this sliver of hope is because they're giving buying time for Spandam to take Robin beyond their reach and that [[UnderestimatingBadassery they don't believe these rookie pirates could even defeat one of them, never mind all of them.]] To everyone's shock, the Straw Hats manage to collect all five keys and give [=CP9=] their first total loss.
** Kaido is so NighInvulnerable and a BloodKnight to boot that he very rarely takes his opponents seriously. Granted, when you can tank a free fall from 30K meters without any harm, you can afford to be reckless. His standard MO in battle is to just let his enemies attack him fruitlessly before responding.
* ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'': Young Toguro, the antagonist of the second season (the Dark Tournament), feigned defeat the first time he met Yusuke in order for his employer to win a bet. However, he later went back and gave Yusuke a demonstration of his real power by demolishing a building. He plays this trope by explicitly telling others what percent of his power he's using. The only exception is during his final fight with Yusuke when he revealed he'd only been using 85% of his power instead of 100%
* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', Barragan Louisenbairn of the Espada did this with Suì-Fēng, Marechiyo Ōmaeda, and eventually, Hachigen Ushōda. He is a TimeMaster that can dilate time around himself so that an opponent's incoming attack slows down, allowing him to counter accordingly. Since he controls [[RapidAging senescence]], anything he touches ages to the point of decay. He demonstrates this by ''[[NoIAmBehindYou suddenly appearing]]'' next to Suì-Fēng (without her even noticing at first, to her shock) and taps her left shoulder, causing the shoulder's bones to become so brittle that they broke immediately. After he uses his [[OneWingedAngel Resurrección]], he becomes a WalkingWasteland that gains the ability to release [[DeadlyGas Respira, a fatal miasma that instantly rots anything it touches]]. Even in this transformed state, he ''still'' toys around with his opponents. Ultimately, he ends up getting killed (by Respira, to boot!), because he was so ridiculously arrogant. Fittingly enough, his zanpakutō is named "Arrogante".
* ''Franchise/FullmetalAlchemist'':
** In ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003'', the [[ArtificialHuman homunculus]] Envy is a complete sadist and one of the more skilled CQC combatants in the series. He tends to toy with his victims using his [[ShapeshifterGuiltTrip shapeshifting powers]] and DanceBattler moves before killing them, especially against Ed in order to humiliate him. [[spoiler:Once he actually gets riled up during their final fight, Envy {{One Hit Kill}}s Ed by impalement.]]
** Interestingly enough in ''[[Manga/FullmetalAlchemist Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood]]'', it is the exact opposite when he pushes Roy Mustang too far, by turning into Mustang's deceased best friend (who he brutally murdered) and bragging about it to Mustang's face. The end result is a long, drawn-out beatdown during which Envy realized that it was a really dumb move to tick off someone whose nom de guerre is the "Flame Alchemist." The battle was so vicious that Mustang's own allies are the only reason why Envy doesn't end up dying at Mustang's hands, is because they are terrified that if he does so he'll end up becoming the very thing they're fighting.
** Similarly, the 2003 version of Pride spends his climactic battle with Mustang basically toying around, even letting the alchemist [[KillItWithFire incinerate him]] once on purpose just to test [[GoodThingYouCanHeal the regenerative powers he's never needed to use before]] just to see if they were actually working. [[spoiler:Only the convenient delivery of Pride's AchillesHeel saves Mustang.]]
** The 2003 version of Sloth, representing the [[LazyBum Sin of Sloth]], never goes all-out on anyone either until her final appearance. Mostly she uses her water-manipulating powers to trap opponents in blobs of water and letting them asphyxiate because it's the path of least effort.
* Saitama from ''Webcomic/OnePunchMan'' does this with anyone who doesn't die immediately when fighting him [[spoiler:(which so far has only been two characters)]] since all he's really looking for is to have a good fight. He's also doing this with all of the villains who ''do'' die immediately when fighting him, but Saitama is [[ComicallyInvincibleHero so much more powerful]] that even when holding back he can't help but kill them with [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin one punch]].
* Played with in ''Literature/{{Durarara}}'', while Izaya is weaker than Shizuo, during their final fight [[spoiler:he lures Shizuo into a building under construction by having the machines used thrown down at Shizuo which does no damage in the slightest. As he makes it further in, Izaya sets a (presumably) gasoline-coated floor on fire, though once again, Shizuo is unharmed. However, Izaya reveals it was all just him messing around- in reality, the sprinkler system was rigged to spew carbon dioxide, so by the time Shizuo reached the top, he was barely conscious while Izaya threw in a match. Of course, due to Celty's interference, the explosion was nullified.]]
* Maximilian Pegasus from ''Anime/YuGiOh'' will often give his opponents a MercyLead or otherwise make them think that their strategies are working, only to use his mind-reading powers to figure out their next moves and turn them to his own advantage. The only time he stops fooling around is when Yugi and his SuperpoweredEvilSide keep switching with each other, confusing Pegasus enough to genuinely gain the upper hand.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''ComicBook/LuckyLuke'': In ''Calamity Jane'', the title character enters an arm wrestling contest with a very large man. She seems to be narrowly losing, but once she hears all the bets are in place, she beats him in an instant.
* ''ComicBook/TheInfinityGauntlet'': After getting most of the universe's heroes pissed off at him, ComicBook/{{Thanos}} turns off the omniscience the Gauntlet gives him while keeping the unlimited reality-warping power, giving the heroes a tiny chance of winning (Mephisto convinced him to do this to impress Death).
* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'':
** [[GreatGazoo Mr. Mxyzptlk]] [[TheOmnipotent can do basically anything]] [[RealityWarper at will]], so he likes to toy with Superman, usually until Superman tricks him into saying his own name backwards so that he gets sent back into his own dimension. His powers are on such a level that it's quite a horrifying thought if ''[[ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow he decided to become properly evil]]''.
** ComicBook/TheJoker gains Mxy's powers in ''ComicBook/EmperorJoker'', and [[spoiler:he is defeated because he ''can't'' stop toying with [[ArchEnemy Batman]] and just kill him]].
** In ''[[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 2008]]'' ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' story arc ''ComicBook/WayOfTheWorld'', Kara runs into Clayface. She lets the mud monster hit her for a bit before disabusing him of any notion he's a match for her (Kara freezes him solid, flies him way, WAY up, and lets him drop).
--->'''Supergirl:''' I'm sorry, but you seem confused. Just 'cuz I let you land a few easy blows-- that '''doesn't''' mean we're having a fair fight!\\
'''Clayface:''' Wh-- What are you... d-doing...?\\
'''Supergirl:''' To call you "lame" and "ever so slightly beneath me" would be the understatement of the century. But it's been a bad few weeks. A shame you just happened to be the whipping boy I was looking for.
** ''ComicBook/TwoForTheDeathOfOne'': After becoming an all-powerful sorceress, Syrene sends tongues of flames toward Satanis. Satanis channels them back to her, but Syrene dispels the fire easily and warns that she is merely testing him... for now.
--->'''Syrene:''' But, my dear, I was merely testing you... playing with you... teasing you before I dispense with you altogether!
* ''ComicBook/XMen'': This is often used in issues involving the ComicBook/{{Juggernaut|MarvelComics}}. Juggy also did this in his fights against ComicBook/SpiderMan, but luckily for the wall-crawler, those are fewer and farther between.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Strips]]
* ComicStrip/BeetleBailey is sometimes shown as such a better runner than Sarge that he can annoy him further by reading a newspaper while being chased by him.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* Downplayed and PlayedForLaughs in ''Fanfic/CalvinAndHobbesTheSeries'' -- Calvin admits to knowing what Hobbes was saying all along in an ICantHearYou sequence. [[FridgeLogic Why he would do so is never explained.]]
* ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'' has Voldemort do this a ''lot'' in the sequel.
** In chapter 2, while less powerful than Harry, he leverages his far greater skill and experience to use his friends as PeoplePuppets (and make them deliver a ReasonYouSuckSpeech solely to screw with Harry) and human shields, then pulls a dark FreakyFridayFlip on them all and banishing them across the camp, setting Death Eaters after them.
** He spends his relatively short duel with Harry Dresden in the ''Bloody Hell'' arc mocking him, right up until the exact moment when Dresden manages to hurt him with a soulfire-infused lightning bolt. Cue Voldemort, [[LetsGetDangerous injured and enraged]], almost [[IAmNotLeftHanded killing Dresden in the space of three seconds]] and only being prevented from following through by Wanda's timely arrival.
** And again, in chapter 62, he uses his influence on [[spoiler:Ron, derived through a blood sample acquired as 'Adam Black']] to nudge him and [[spoiler: Hermione]] into following Harry into the depths of the Forbidden Forest and into a haunted fortress. This is partly as a distraction while he raids the Department of Mysteries and partly, apparently, ForTheEvulz, since he actually considers sitting back with some popcorn to watch.
* ''Fanfic/FateOfTheClans'': During the first fight against [[spoiler:Cú Chulainn Alter, Jeanne]] figures out he's merely playing around. Given how skilled [[spoiler:Mikoto's]] seen him in a fight when he gets serious, he agrees with [[spoiler:Jeanne.]]
** During the second fight it turns out he's ''still'' playing around, though not as much as before.
* ''FanFic/MegamiNoHanabira'': [[TheBrute Brother]] [[{{Sadist}} Chick]] of the Flock has been shown to do this to his opponents: Mai quickly realizes that the reason the fight lasted as long as it did at all is that he decided to torment the girls slowly rather than kill them outright. Of course, this bites Chick in the ass when it gives the girls enough time to formulate a plan to escape. He's called out on this later by one of his comrades: [[TranquilFury he calmly snaps his fellow lieutenant's]] [[{{Fingore}} finger back]], [[DisproportionateRetribution then chokeslams him onto a table and tries to strangle him to death.]]
* ''Fanfic/OniGaShikuSeries'': [[spoiler:Akatani]] makes a total joke out of Izuku in their first encounter, mostly jeering at him and dodging his attacks like nothing, before utterly curbstomping him. The only reason he doesn't kill Izuku is because [[spoiler:he was part of his plan to leave the Omi Alliance.]]
* ''Fanfic/TheSecondTry'': When the MP-[=EVAs=] show themselves to be tougher to bring down than expected, it dawns on Asuka that this is most likely the reason why she seemed to slaughter them so easily the first time around. Although Shinji considers it unlikely, this thought only serves to further fuel her RoaringRampageOfRevenge.
* In ''Fanfic/NeitherABirdNorAPlaneItsDeku'', Santa does this to [[HumanoidAbomination All For One]] every Christmas Eve while coming down to hand the Villain a lump of coal, playfully matching All For One's Quirks with an assortment of [[ImprobableWeaponUser candy and toys]]. No matter how hard he tries, All For One never manages to capture Santa, who would barely be scratched even if the former hadn't been crippled by his fight with All Might years earlier.
* ''Fanfic/GuardiansWizardsAndKungFuFighters'': [[PantheraAwesome Calisto]] gives [[ActionGirl Jade]] the toughest fight she's had since [[spoiler: becoming a [[CanisMajor shapeshifter]]]]. But despite that, she gets the impression that he's not even trying, and is deliberately holding back.
* ''Fanfic/DarthVaderHeroOfNaboo'': The [[EvilVersusEvil duel between Sidious and Plagueis]] ultimately reaches a point where Sidious realizes to his horror that his master has been tricking him with illusions the entire time, and he was never even close to winning.
* Pretty much all of Nui's fights in ''Fanfic/NaturalSelection'' are just her playing around with her opponents both for her own amusement and to remind them just how beneath her they are. Unfortunately for her, she learns the consequences of this when Sanageyama takes advantage of both her [[UnskilledButStrong lack of skill]] and the fact that she doesn't take anyone seriously, resulting in her losing an arm and being unable to reattach it.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]
* The serial-killer truck driver in ''Film/{{Duel}}'' displays this attitude towards his latest target Mann.
* In ''Film/KillBill'' O-Ren begins her duel against the Bride by holding her katana with only one hand, wielding her sheath in the other. During the fight, she tries using the sheath to distract and harass the Bride, up until the Bride cuts it in half. At that point O-Ren regards the cut sheath with a sinister smile and discards it, slowly gripping her blade with two hands, and in short order, she strikes a major blow against her opponent.
* ''Film/TheMatrix'': At the end, Neo has become The One after returning from the dead. Agent Smith furiously attacks him, but even his own SuperSpeed is no match for Neo now, who casually fights him off one-handed before going for a killing blow by destroying Smith's program.
* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
** The duel between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader in ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack''. Luke is a half-trained apprentice and Vader is an experienced Sith Lord who's killed countless Jedi in the two decades since he fell to TheDarkSide. The reason he doesn't kill Luke is because he wants him alive so [[WeCanRuleTogether he can convert him as well]]. The gap between their abilities during that time period becomes apparent when Vader's playing around allows Luke to land a glancing blow; this causes Vader to [[TurnsRed fly into a momentary rage]] and end the duel with two quick swings, maiming Luke.
** In ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'', Dooku does this to both Obi-Wan and Anakin before defeating them with ease. Unfortunately for him, this leads to him [[TookALevelInBadass drastically underestimating Anakin]] during their rematch in ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith''.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/TheBeginningAfterTheEnd'':
** The [[PhysicalGods Asuras]] are prone to doing this. Given how even [[ThoseWereOnlyTheirScouts the weakest among them]] are more than a match for the strongest mortal mages, it goes to say that the more powerful ones are able effortlessly put weaker opponents down with complete ease.
*** When Agrona manipulates the Council into convicting both Arthur and Director Goodsky of the attack on Xyrus, Kezess sends down Windsom and Aldir, his most trusted servants, to put a stop to Agrona's scheme. Aldir withstands both of the dwarven lances' [[TheWorfBarrage strongest attacks]] and neutralizes both of them, followed by him killing the Greysunders (Agrona's puppets on the Council) to release said lances from their control. Meanwhile, Windsom breaks our both Arthur and Sylvie from their wrongful imprisonment, and when Bairon attempts to stop him Windsom nonchalantly brings him to heel.
*** Speaking of Agrona, he tends to do this on a much larger scale given his penchant for long-term scheming to OutGambit his opponents. This ties in with him being a HopeCrusher, as he likes to make his opponents think they have a chance to defeat him before he reveals just how outclassed and outplanned they are. As an indication of how powerful Agrona and his forces can be, he could have easily conquered Dicathen within a week by just sending the Wraiths, but he let the war last as long as it did with only having the Scythes involved leading his mortal armies and [[spoiler:still managing to conquer the continent]]. He does the same with [[spoiler:Seris's rebellion, letting it last for a few months before crushing it just as Arthur arrived]].
*** On the other hand, Agrona's ArchEnemy Kezess is a {{Deconstruction}}. As the TopGod and the ruler of the Asuras, Kezess could easily end the DivineConflict if he wanted to. However, he holds back his power and displays of force both due to [[spoiler:his KnightTemplar tendencies making him see himself as the good guy]] and because of his pride making him underestimate his enemies. Making matters worse is that Agrona is TheUnfettered and as such has been willing to go to any extreme to get an edge over Kezess. As such, Kezess's inefficient response in dealing with Agrona has allowed the latter to get ahead of him by miles and even the playing field.
** While not an Asura himself (though [[spoiler:he becomes part-Asura much later on]]), Arthur is also known to do this to his opponents thanks to his unprecedented power for a mortal mage.
*** Upon his return from Epheotus in time for Agrona's invasion of his homeland and reuniting with Tessia, Arthur is challenged by Darvus, one of Tessia's teammates, out of sheer arrogance and pride. Arthur promptly subjects him to a CurbStompBattle as he not only dodges all of Darvus's blows but promptly incapacitates him through [[PressurePoint mana flow rupturing]].
*** His rematch with [[spoiler:Nico during the Victoriad. In their previous confrontation, Nico was barely able to beat Arthur until Cadell intervened. This time around Arthur has CameBackStrong as an aether-wielding demigod while Nico ended up being a case of VillainForgotToLevelGrind. After Nico unleashes a flurry of attacks, Arthur nonchalantly knocks out Nico in a SingleStrokeBattle that sends him flying across the arena. To add insult to injury, the blow destroyed Nico’s mana core as well]].
*** The [[spoiler:reconquest of Dicathen sees Arthur delivering a string of lopsided defeats onto the Alacryan forces all on his own (with Regis helping out every so often) while not using his full power. To the Alacryans, facing Arthur is a MookHorrorShow as they are going up against a nigh-unkillable demigod, and eventually the remainder of their forces on Dicathen get the picture and surrender to him]].
* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
** ''Literature/MenAtArms'' posits that it's actually ''preferable'' to be at the mercy of an evil person because he/she will indulge in this trope, giving their victims more time to turn the tides. [[GoodIsNotSoft Good people finish off their enemies without a word.]]
** ''Literature/TheFifthElephant'' gives a creepy example with a traditional werewolf game: Some poor soul tries to make it from out in the woods to the safety of the town. If he wins, he'll get a bunch of money, otherwise he's dinner. According to the Ankh-Morpork copper and werewolf Angua, a group of werewolves can pretty much get you anytime they want, but in the traditional version a very strong, trained man has a chance of winning -- indicating that part of the game is for the werewolves not to use their full powers. [[spoiler: Angua's brother Wolfgang has a sadistic twist on it: he holds himself back 'til the last moment, then pounces the human just before he makes it to safety.]]
* In ''Huntress'', a short story in ''Literature/TortallAndOtherLands'', the Pack is a group of sociopathic track star {{Spoiled Brat}}s who like to assemble in Central Park on full moon nights and [[HuntingTheMostDangerousGame running people down]], cutting at them with small knives until they have heart attacks or bleed out. They like to pretend they're going after {{Asshole Victim}}s, but their definition of 'asshole' is terribly broad as they're ''very'' entitled, and that they give their prey some chance of escape, though Corey immediately sees that this chance is illusory. At least one Pack member does carry a handgun for times when prey don't cooperate or are more dangerous than they seem. When Corey's Goddess appears and TheHunterBecomesTheHunted, She mockingly gives the Pack the same chance they gave Corey.
* In the ''Literature/JasonWood'' series, the BigBad explicitly says he could kill Jason any time he likes, but that would be "unamusing".
* ''Literature/MasqueradeOfTheRedDeath'': Mafia ''capo'' Don Lazzari likes to pretend he's giving the child he's planning to suck dry a MercyLead. It's really this trope, as Lazzari always kicks in all his powers as a centuries-old vampire to make sure he catches the child before they can escape.
* ''Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy'': As an immortal sadist with the most powerful magic on the planet, the [[GodEmperor Lord Ruler]]'s fight against Vin mostly consists of him swatting her around effortlessly for his own amusement. [[spoiler:This gives Vin an opportunity to spot his AchillesHeel and inflict a DeathByDepower.]]
* ''Literature/ThePrincessBride'':
** In the fight between Inigo Montoya and the Man in Black, [[MasterSwordsman Inigo]] starts fighting with his off-hand just because he can't find a decent challenge anywhere anymore. It quickly turns out that the Man in Black is good enough that Inigo has to [[IAmNotLeftHanded switch to his right hand]] to regain the advantage. [[spoiler:Then it turns out that the Man in Black was ''also'' fighting with his off-hand...]]
** The fight between the Man in Black and Fezzik starts out this way, with the Man in Black finding himself in a PunchPunchPunchUhOh situation while Fezzik basically stands there impassively. This is quickly lampshaded:
--->'''The Man in Black:''' Look, are you just fiddling around with me or what?\\
'''Fezzik:''' I just want you to feel you are doing well! I hate for people to die embarrassed.
* In the {{Novelization}} of ''Literature/RevengeOfTheSith'', [[TheDragon Count Dooku]] does this against [[StudentAndMasterTeam Anakin and Obi-Wan]], thinking that two Jedi Knights are no match for a Sith Lord. That, and ThePlan isn't to kill both of them -- just Obi-Wan, and use his death to turn Anakin to TheDarkSide. Things fall apart for him, however, when the two Jedi suddenly [[IAmNotLeftHanded switch to the lightsaber styles they're most proficient in]], and Dooku realizes [[UnderestimatingBadassery just how badly he's underestimated them]].
* {{Discussed}} in ''Literature/WatchersOfTheThrone'' when Valerian is fighting a [[spoiler:Primaris Space Marine]] for the first time. He notes that if he had the time, he would toy with his opponent more to figure out his capabilities, but as is, he has to settle for CurbStompBattle.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
** Q towards Picard in ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration''. Q was an omnipotent being who appeared periodically in TNG, starting with the first episode. He and the rest of his race (the Q Continuum) had decided the human race was dangerous and needed to be destroyed, but then some humans saved the lives of some other aliens, and the Q stopped observing and started interacting directly with humans, particularly Picard. Why didn't they just destroy the human race immediately when they decided people were too dangerous? Q doesn't stay in a very adversarial position towards Picard, but he isn't all that kind, either. In the finale he finally says that the entire season was their "trial" and that the Anomoly of the Week (which will retroactively prevent the evolution of life on Earth) is the judgement... but then he exploits his own reputation for doing this to drop hints on how to stop it disguised as taunts so the rest of the Continuum doesn't realize what he's doing.
** Q also picks a fight with Capt. Sisko of ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', provoking Sisko to punch him and knock him down. Q is basically a [[RealityWarper god]] but doesn't retaliate, only expressing amazement that [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu Sisko would actually dare to punch him]].
** ''Literature/TheQContinuum'' series of novels shows what Q-level beings can do to mortals when they aren't holding back so much. An entire empire was wiped out when the main antagonist 0 ''triggered a supernova'' out of pure spite. When the AxCrazy 0 appears on the ''Enterprise'', he easily murders a young crewman who gets in his way, and nothing the rest of the crew tries can stop him. The crew is completely helpless against this MadGod.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Sports]]
* In Horse Racing, the handicapping system means that owners want their horses to win by as small a margin as possible.
** Or more probably that bookmakers don't want everyone to simply pile on bets on the "known best" horse.
* In the old days of Japanese UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts, advantaged fighters like Wrestling/MasakatsuFunaki and Wrestling/KazushiSakuraba often toyed with their opponents instead of finishing them right away, in order to build drama and entertain the audience.
* It's believed that judoka Wrestling/MasahikoKimura played with Hélio Gracie for most of their legendary duel to give a more interesting fight. Considering how easily he finished Gracie once he decided he had to put an end to the thing, it is more than probable.
* Infuriated that opponent Ernie Terrell persisted in calling him by his former name "Cassius Clay," UsefulNotes/MuhammadAli declared before their 1967 fight that a knockout was "too good" for Terrell. After dominating the fight for the first seven rounds, Ali started taunting Terrell in the eighth, shouting "What's my name?" over and over when it became obvious that Terrell was unable to do any damage. Ali boxed Terrell for the full distance, embarrassing Terrell instead of going for the finish.[[labelnote:Note]]Defenders of both Ali and Terrell have argued that Ali was playing it safe as opposed to intentionally toying with Terrell, but the popular notion still stands.[[/labelnote]]
* Association Football teams often do this when faced with a stubborn defence, passing it around and making the opposition run after them and tire themselves out. While this can become an example of performative sadism, it is often for the practical purpose of exhausting the opposition with minimum energy expenditure, allowing the dominant team to more easily pick their opponents off as concentration starts to slip and gaps open up. The classic modern example of this is the ''tiki-taka'' style pioneered by the Barcelona and Spain sides between 2008 and 2014.
** Now, with the spread of the highly organised ''gegenpress'' (high-press, essentially closing down passing options and making players panic on the ball, popularised by Jurgen Klopp at Borussia Dortmund), it's less popular, though it is sometimes used in combination with the ''gegenpress'' - by Manchester City, managed by Pep Guardiola (who pioneered it at Barcelona), and Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool.
** Sometimes, though, it really can get downright sadistic. For instance, Liverpool's 5-0 defeat of rivals Manchester United in 2021. After racing into a 5-0 lead without much real effort, they spent the last 40 minutes of the match playing keep-ball and making United chase them, losing what little dignity they had left.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* In ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', a player in a casual tournament may ask the opponent whether they would prefer a chance to pull an interesting surprise or just a quick kill. Don't expect them to leave you more than one point of life though.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''Franchise/TouhouProject'':
** [[RealityWarper Yukari Yakumo]] is so powerful that she could win any fight instantly by snapping her fingers and literally eradicating the opponent from reality. However, she never uses her full power because she wants the fight to not be too one-sided.
** Main character Reimu Hakurei, meanwhile, has a power which literally equates to "become impossible to touch with any attack for as long as I want, while I can attack you freely". The only reason she is even ''capable'' of losing a fight is because she holds back; she declares you the victor if you manage to survive against her for thirty seconds while she's using it. Also, if anyone actually tried to kill her they might destroy Gensokyo, so the fact that she enforces a system of nonlethal duels is if anything a mercy.
** Yuugi Hoshiguma carries a shallow dish filled with sake into battle, apparently having challenged herself to battle without spilling it. Her sake [[Memes/TouhouProject not even drop!]]
** This is generally true in ''Touhou'' with the nonlethal spellcard system which allows the weak to have a fair chance of defeating the obscenely strong. This is the only way anyone can have any chance at defeating [[RealityWarper Yukari]], [[WorldsStrongestMan Yuuka]], [[NukeEm Utsuho]], [[OneHitKill Yuyuko]], [[{{Immortality}} Mokou/Kaguya]], or the rest of the Gensokyan SuperpowerLottery winners. This also means that the difficulty of beating a character can vary wildly depending on how much they even feel like fighting -- the aforementioned Yuyuko was the FinalBoss of ''Perfect Cherry Blossom'', where she was the BigBad. She returns in a later game as a stage 1 boss, where she's fighting very halfheartedly instead of giving all she has to see her plan to fruition.
** In ''Fairy Wars'', [[SmallNameBigEgo Cirno]] fights [[WaveMotionGun Marisa]] as an EX boss. Marisa holds back quite a bit, taking the occasion to try out some untested spellcards and replacing her trademark Master Sparks with "Flashlight Sparks" that only drain motivation instead of dealing any damage. Cirno eventually "wins", but emerges from the battle much worse for the wear than Marisa, though the magician has to admit [[NotSoHarmlessVillain she was a surprisingly strong opponent]].
* ''[[VideoGame/DarkForcesSaga Jedi Outcast]]'': At the end of the second level, before [[PlayerCharacter Kyle Katarn]] has regained his Force powers, the evil Jedi Desann deliberately challenges him to defeat him without them. Mostly, he'll just stand there and deflect whatever attacks the player throws at him. It's all part of a BatmanGambit to make Kyle look to regain his powers.
* ''VideoGame/BaldursGateII'':
** In a side quest, Firkraag, a powerful red dragon with a grudge against the PlayerCharacter's dead mentor Gorion, takes the guise of a human to lure the characters to his lands to perform what sounds like standard heroic mercenary work. Then he sets them to kill some paladins (through an illusion that makes each party see the other as monsters) to ruin their reputation. Once the party has fought its way down through his lair, he appears in his true form and explains that he just wanted to torture Gorion's spirit, and can't be bothered to kill the protagonist just then, unless they really insist on it, recommending that they just be on their way. He's powerful enough in a fight that this arrogance isn't entirely unwarranted.
** In the main plot, [[BigBad Irenicus]] has the PlayerCharacter and their allies at his mercy after just [[spoiler:stealing the souls of two of them]]. His pragmatic mind finds no more use for them, but when he gives them to [[TheDragon Bodhi]] to dispose of, she decides to give them a MercyLead in a convenient nearby labyrinth full of challenges and enemies before hunting them down. Or that's what she says, anyway, as she eventually shows up from the front rather than behind and explains she had no intention of keeping any deal. GameplayAndStorySegregation steps in at this point, because in game terms Bodhi would have to be completely foolish to think she is at no risk trying to stop the party (which she just re-armed herself) with the help of the handful of vampires she has with her. It becomes a moot point anyway when [[spoiler: the player character's SuperpoweredEvilSide makes its first appearance.]]
* The'Galin from ''VideoGame/AdventureQuest'' is a plot-guided HopelessBossFight for most players and a {{Superboss}} for high-end players. He is also the God of Uncreation and intentionally allows the player to futilely attack him as he toys back and inevitably defeats the player.
* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'', [[TheHeavy Ghirahim]] does this with Link in their first duel, as the former doesn't see the latter as a threat at this point and only needs someone to beat his frustrations upon. He later does this in their second fight, but less held back. By the time they reach their third duel [[spoiler:Ghirahim assumes his [[OneWingedAngel true form]] and stops holding back, but at this point, Link has [[VillainForgotToLevelGrind closed the gap]]]].
* It's sometimes thought that Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog does this with most of his enemies; for example, how else would a [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure2 humongous truck]] be able to keep up with a hedgehog who can break the sound barrier?
* ''Warcraft'' universe:
** Originally, in the background story as recounted ''VideoGame/WarcraftIITidesOfDarkness'', Aegwynn had fought and defeated "[[DemonLordsAndArchDevils the Daemonlord]] Sargeras". Later, when Sargeras was shown as a more powerful GodOfEvil, a RetCon made it so that he had only sent an avatar and held back, [[FightingAShadow pretending to be defeated]] so that he could possess Aegwynn and later his son Medivh, using the latter to attempt to destroy the world.
** Happens quite a few times in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''.
*** Most notably with the Lich King, who outright states he was just messing with you to see how strong you were. After he says this, he instantly kills the entire raid. Luckily, his good counterpart, Tirion, has the MacGuffin and uses it to save everyone.
*** The more powerful Titanic Watchers. You literally cannot kill most of them (Algalon is not killed, he just decides to leave after seeing how hard everyone fought, and send a message to the Titans that Azeroth IS worth saving) and they have powers like instantly sucking raiders into black holes.
* The fight against Gades in Parcelyte is this in ''VideoGame/LufiaCurseOfTheSinistrals''. And even then he's a hell of a WakeUpCallBoss.
* In ''VideoGame/YuGiOhCapsuleMonsterColiseum'', if Marik destroys half of your monsters when you were winning, he'll claim he was only toying with you.
* The {{final boss}} of ''VideoGame/Portal2'' says that there's no need for the [[DeadlyGas neurotoxin]], because the rest of the plan is so good. [[ILied Aperture Science robots are not known for their honesty]].
* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'': The [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening third]] and [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry4 fourth]] games have Dante's fights against Lady and Nero respectively. While Lady and Nero are trying their hardest to kill him, Dante is having fun and treating it like a game.
-->'''Dante:''' What's the matter? Why the glare?
-->'''Nero:''' You look as if you've just been playing me from the beginning...
* ''VideoGame/DragonBallFighterZ'' has this happen to Perfect Cell, who provides the page quote. The BigBad, Android 21, faces off against him twice in the first story mode - the second time she casually mentions she hadn't even been at half power the first time they fought and wasn't even trying, before [[OneHitKill one-shotting him]].
-->'''Android 21:''' I'd actually like to try this time.
* ''VideoGame/PaperMario64'' begins with a HopelessBossFight, in which you not only deal less and less damage with each successive blow, but the finishing blow deals damage equal to your ''full'' HP.
* BlindWeaponmaster Hunter from ''VideoGame/ZenoClash'' starts out his BossFight holding an arm behind his back, and is still a match for a hardened BloodKnight like Ghat. [[spoiler:The fight becomes a HopelessBossFight once Hunter stops playing around; only [[{{Golem}} Kax Teh]]'s [[BigDamnHeroes timely intervention]] saves Ghat.]]
* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'', Beatrix fights your party in a fairly normal, if somewhat challenging boss fight, before declaring "[[YouFool Ignorant fools!]] after either losing enough HP or a set period of time and uses Stock Break to reduce everyone's HPTo1. Subsequent battles play out the same way, except it being even more obvious that she's just toying with them [[spoiler:until finally she has a HeelFaceTurn and starts fighting on your side.]]
* In ''VideoGame/BugFables'', [[spoiler:the [[EldritchAbomination Dead Lander Omega]] peering from the background of the Giant's Lair seems more than big enough to simply crush the bug protagonists. Instead, it sics other, smaller Dead Landers on them just to see how they do.]]
* In ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'''s reveal trailer for [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Sephiroth]], the eponymous villain is shown utterly [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomping]] the rest of the roster in a rather casual manner, as if he feels they're NotWorthKilling. He even teases Mario by almost [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice skewering him on Masamune]], only to reveal that he's just suspending him by his overall strap. It's only when [[ArchEnemy Cloud]] shows up that Sephiroth starts taking the battle seriously, complete with going into his signature OneWingedAngel form.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* This sometimes happens in ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'' when the combatants, in spite of being thematically similar enough to be pitted against each other, are actually a highly unequal match on closer analysis -- and one of them has a personality that fits toying with the other.
** If it's done well, [[CurbStompCushion you might not notice]] until the end. For example, Dante and Bayonetta initially seem to have a very balanced match with their similar abilities... but you'll see how uneven it was when it ends with [[spoiler: both being ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice, which is something Dante easily shrugged off in his very first scene in his games, but fatal to Bayonetta.]]
** In Thanos vs. Darkseid, ''both'' combatants start by showing off their other abilities and refrain from using their OneHitKill attacks until late in the battle, at which point it's revealed which one was the one who really ''could'' afford to toy with his opponent.
** One of these fights doesn't even bother trying to hide it- that being Omni-Man vs. Homelander. [[spoiler:Nolan spends the entire fight toying with and humiliating Homelander, only getting serious once Homelander threatens to kill Mark, at which point the Viltrumite spends the final 20 seconds of the 2-minute long fight making sure Homelander dies ''[[CruelAndUnusualDeath painfully]]'' (To wit, by [[AndShowItToYou ripping out Homelander's heart]], then [[NotHyperbole making good on the vow he made when he started the fight]] by literally feeding Homelander his ripped out heart, then making him 'swallow' by crushing his head).]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance''
** In "The Stormbreaker Saga", the demon K'Z'K the Soul-Collector is in the process of conquering the medieval kingdoms of Mercia and Trent, but he's not in any hurry about it -- at least until he finds out his old enemy Torg is also there and might be able to use ''[[TomeOfEldritchLore The Book of E-Ville]]'' against him, at which point he sends an army to kill everyone.
--> "Master K'Z'K, why not just destroy them all?"\\
"Sure, my army could crush the Trents and the Mercians combined, but it's neater to watch the mortal fray around the edges. Such discontent causes more of them to grant me their souls so I can spend my time taking others!"
** In "The Bug, the Witch, and the Robot", Riff realises that K'Z'K, possessing Gwynn, is just playing with him and the other two put up a show to someone when he uses a previously deadly spell at much lower power. He's right; K'Z'K is trying to break Gwynn, who is watching the events from inside her own mind so that he can take over her fully.
** In "Oceans Unmoving", Bun-bun remarks that the only reason he hasn't killed Calix yet for getting in his way is that he kind of likes him... especially when he can [[BreakThemByTalking verbally "crush his soul"]], as he then proceeds to do while at the same time demonstrating he could physically kill him easily.
** In "A Time For Hair Raising", the characters enter a spirit world and face two {{Jackass Genie}}s, Zefolas and Fezeel. These two demons trade in souls and are virtually omnipotent in their own realm, but like to play a game of granting wishes to mortals in exchange for their souls rather than just taking them outright. They have no intention of ever ''losing'' the game, though, so they interpret the wishes however they like and ignore all that might cause them harm. Their only weakness is that they're still bound by any promise they ''do'' choose to make.
* In ''Webcomic/TheLastDaysOfFoxhound'', there's one situation where Foxhound, (the QuirkyMinibossSquad from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'') tries to save several members of Dead Cell, (the QuirkyMinibossSquad from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'') who have been captured. To start off, a pair of snipers start thinning out the guards in the compound they're attacking. One of them quickly takes out two out of three guards that are standing together, but keeps missing the last one by an inch, ''even when the guy runs inside''. When the other sniper comments on this, the first sniper comments "[[http://gigaville.com/comic.php?id=234 I'm just fucking with him]]."
* At one point in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', among an evil adventuring party, Malack points out (rather angrily, given the circumstances) that Tarquin was doing this in order to test the skills of one of the enemies he was fighting. [[EvilVirtues Tarquin apologizes and promises not to do it again.]]
* Coumadin (a Magicant temple priest) does this to Julie's group when they first fight him in ''Webcomic/OurLittleAdventure''. He does tell them he's not out to kill them before fighting, and it turns out [[spoiler: he just wanted to drop one or two of them so he could steal some of their stuff. He goes on to use the stolen gear as an offering to hire some help for the ''real'' battle.]]
* In Chapter Three ''Webcomic/CucumberQuest'', Rosemaster uses an AmplifierArtifact to go OneWingedAngel. She could squash all the heroes with only a little difficulty and allows them to attack so she can NoSell it. Then she singles out Almond -- who is normally HotBlooded and acts the part of TheHero much more than her brother, the "actual" hero -- and puts everyone else to sleep, proceeding to chase Almond and toss her around like a rag doll until the poor kid is in tears.
* ''WebComic/TowerOfGod''
** In "Hell Train: The Dallar Show", Khun and Rachel face off in one of the Tower's endless tests, where the winner is the one who catches a fish. Khun does a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech, as part of which he suggests that Rachel can try to catch the fish first since it's obvious he's going to win anyway. He's right, too, since the fish is not as harmless as it looks.
** In "Hell Train: The Hidden Floor", the virtual younger version of [[GodEmperor Jahad]] never fights anyone seriously because he's so overwhelmingly powerful. Usually he doesn't even move. Even when an opponent promises to be entertainingly powerful, he only escalates his use of power to stay a few steps ahead of his opponent.
** In "Battle Royale", White holds back while fighting Bam to draw out his full power to make his soul more delicious to eat, and to force him to do something that will break his IncorruptiblePurePureness.
* ''WebComic/KillSixBillionDemons''
** Solomon David, as befitting the Demiurge of {{Pride}} and the second-most powerful being in TheMultiverse, does this during his climactic duel at the end of ''[[TournamentArc King of Swords]]''. Since the rules of the ring is victory by submission or death or ring-out for Solomon and VictoryByFirstBlood for the challenger, he applies just enough power to show off how badly he outmatches anyone foolish enough to fight him at first, with the ones who impress him being 'allowed' to submit to him. In particular, despite knowing TheGreatestStyle, he fights exclusively by matching his opponent's fighting style(s), and demonstrating that he's better at it. [[spoiler:White Chain ends up deconstructing the whole ordeal through Solomon's use of this trope specifically, pointing out that the entire process is a farce -- Solomon isn't even fighting fair, he 'holds himself back' only in the sense that the whole match is a fixed-outcome charade that only serves to self-reinforce Solomon's own sense of superiority and ego.]] On the other hand, Solomon also seems to feel [[EvilVirtues duty-bound]] not to lose on purpose even if he might want to.
** In the first practice fight between [[TheHero Allison]] and [[MasterSwordswoman Maya]], Allison kicks Maya off of herself, and she lands with her head down. Maya remains in that position, effortlessly balancing on her head, for a while while parrying several attacks. (With her legs. Her hands are idle the whole time.) Of course, she has also not drawn her sword at that point.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* A textbook example occurs in ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' with the supervillain zone Slaughterhouse Nine, who intend to use the city of Brockton Bay as a testing area to recruit their ninth member after the demise of Hatchet Face. They set up an elaborate set of rules and take turns testing each candidate, and Jack Slash, the leader, even agrees to give the local villains a victory condition: if half or more of their candidates remain alive by the end of the tests, then the Slaughterhouse Nine leave the town, acknowledge their defeat, and do not return for a period of three years. After several rounds, the villains realize that this strategy [[SubvertedTrope actually plays to the Nine's advantage]], because it forces people to ''defend'' against one member at a time against multiple possible targets and lets the Nine use their own infamy to prevent attacks and make it easy for them. The villains then turn the tables, attacking the Nine at every opportunity with lethal force, and by the end less than half of the Nine survive to leave the city, acknowledging their loss to [[VillainProtagonist Skitter]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* From ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': Azula to Sokka during the eclipse/invasion.
-->'''Sokka:''' Wait, I '''''know''''' you're a better fighter than this!\\
'''Azula:''' Oh, I know, I'm just wasting your time until the eclipse is over. And it looks like my Firebending is back!
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'': In "Darkseid Descending", {{ComicBook/Darkseid}} agrees to Batman's challenge to a fistfight without using his "godlike powers" because he finds the idea interesting. It doesn't make a whole lot of difference in terms of power levels, because he's still got physical abilities on par with Franchise/{{Superman}}. [[spoiler: Batman manages to keep him busy for a moment, in which time one of his allies pushes the "villain loses" button that sucks Darkseid and his army back away from Earth.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'':
** When Oberon returns and wants to wipe the Avalon clan off the island, Goliath challenges him to let them remain. Oberon's wife makes it more interesting (and to give them a fighting chance), and gets him to agree to fight with only "the strength of a child." He agrees, having been bored for some millennia. What he fails to say is that he'll have the strength of one of ''his'' children, meaning he's still leagues more powerful than four standard gargoyles.
** Also, when the Arch Mage is powered up by the Phoenix Gate, Eye of Odin, and the Grimorum, he goes into the magic version of ElectricTorture on Goliath, [[EvilGloating all while gloating]] about how he could kill Goliath with a word if he wanted to. When Goliath finally asks [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim why the arch mage doesn't just do that]], the reply is "Because I'm having too much fun."
* In ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' episode "Dreamscaperers", Mabel and Soos [[BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind enter Stan's mind]] to foil [[DreamWalker Bill Cipher]]'s plan to recover the code to the Mystery Shack deed vault for Gideon Gleeful. When they succeed, Bill - [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge seemingly enraged]] -- quite literally TurnsRed and unleashes his RealityWarper abilities against them. When Dipper's [[BigDamnHeroes timely appearance]] reveals that ''anyone'' can be a RealityWarper in the mindscape, the gang appears to turn the tables on the dream demon, but as they try to banish him once and for all... surprise surprise, Cipher counters their attempt with nary a blink of his eye. Turns out Bill is way more powerful than expected, and he only lets the group live because they might prove to be "{{i|tAmusedMe}}nteresting".
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' BigBad Amon makes a show out of tying up [[ElementalPowers bending]] members of a crime syndicate (and one of the heroes who got mixed up with them) and [[spoiler: permanently removing their powers]] in front of a huge crowd of [[AntimagicalFaction Equalist]] sympathizers. Amon actually lets the crime boss loose and offers him the chance to fight to protect himself. It's all the more impressive when Amon wins. [[CurbStompBattle Rather easily]], in fact. [[spoiler:His psychic bloodbending gives him a nigh unbeatable advantage.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
** Discord, an evilly mischievous RealityWarper who displays the power to easily destroy the main characters, challenges the ponies to play a game to regain the Elements of Harmony, the only thing capable of defeating him. During play, he approaches each of them and manipulates them into abandoning the Element each of them represents before magically hypnotizing them into a bizarro version of themselves -- if his attempt fails, he simply brainwashes his victim with brute force, and even "wins" by brainwashing one character to break the rules. The result of this is that [[spoiler:he can just hand them the Elements, so he can watch and laugh as they prove powerless, and breaks the heroines' hope entirely. Unsurprisingly, this arrogance leads to his undoing later.]]\\\
Ironically, Discord [[WhatTheHellHero implicitly criticizes]] BigGood Celestia for sealing him in stone at one point. Her [[GoodIsNotSoft decisiveness]] in dealing with her enemies brings to mind Creator/TerryPratchett's quote about how it's better to be at the mercy of an evil man, as he wants his enemies to know they have lost.
** In "The Return of Harmony", besides Discord, we also see Rainbow Dash flying in circles around her much slower aerial pursuers.
** In "The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000", the Flim Flam brothers challenge the Apple family to a contest of who can make more cider in an hour, with the winner getting to run all the cider business in town. They're so confident in their magical-mechanical means of production, which is initially going three times faster than the Apples are doing, that they casually agree to let [[TrueCompanions "honourary family members"]] help their competitors as well -- which they soon see was a mistake when they actually fall behind in speed as a result. Since in this case they were letting their competitors get an extra advantage rather than just holding back themselves, they can't just take back the advantage easily, and in trying to do so, they end up compromising the manufacturing process. Ultimately, though they win by quantity, the sacrifice of quality renders their efforts null; the result can barely be called cider at all and is unsellable.
* In ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'', the Guardian of the time passage in "Jack and the Traveling Creatures" boasts that Jack can't beat him because he's ''not'' TheChosenOne [[spoiler:not yet anyway]]. When Jack challenges him anyway, the Guardian humors him at first by drawing a sword to match Jack's. Throughout the "fight", Jack is struggling for his life while the Guardian is laughing and grinning and clearly [[BloodKnight enjoying himself]]. Until Jack deflects his own rockets back at him, [[MyFavoriteShirt ruining the Guardian's favorite suit in the process]]. The enraged Guardian stops holding back and viciously beats Jack unconscious with nothing but his bare hands. He is moments away from finishing off Jack [[spoiler:when the time portal itself shows him a vision of Jack's FutureBadass self. The Guardian spares Jack, believing that one day Jack will become strong enough to defeat him.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'': [[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS5E16TheLawless "The Lawless"]] has [[BigBad Darth Sidious]] do this to [[BigBadWannabe Darth Maul and Savage Oppress]]. He begins the battle by telekinetically slamming them into a wall, and the only reason there's a fight at all after this is because Sidious releases them. He could have simply choked or crushed them right there, or at any other point, but chooses to fight them [[BloodKnight because he feels like it]]. [[spoiler:Savage is killed shortly after Sidious separates him from Maul, and Maul only survives because Sidious needs him alive to lure out Mother Talzin.]]
* In the fourth season finale of ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', the Titans try to stop Trigon the Terrible with a desperate plan; while Robin goes into the underworld to retrieve Raven, the remaining Titans will keep Trigon attention occupied with an all-out assault. However, near the end, Trigon reveals that he's known about their scheme all along; he just considers watching them fight their EnemyWithout to be a form of mild amusement. When they win their battle, Trigon unleashes hordes of fire monsters with a gesture, forcing their retreat.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Cats do this with mice in real life, in order to teach their kittens how to hunt, and on their own because it's the safest way for the cat to kill [[http://jennifercopley.suite101.com/why-cats-play-with-their-prey-a86865 without risking injury to themselves]]. By catching and releasing their prey over and over, they wear out their prey to the point where they're too tired to fight back. Cats who missed out on this teaching from their mothers may be toying with their prey because they're not actually sure what to do with it now they've got it.
[[/folder]]
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