Crouching Moron Hidden Badass - Television Tropes & Idioms

"Alright. You've had your fun. And if you don't clear out now... there'll be real trouble. I mean it."'
- Dustin Hoffman, Straw Dogs

Demyx: Oh, we do too have hearts! Don't be mad...
Donald: You can't trick us!
Demyx: Silence, traitor.
-Kingdom Hearts II

At first glance, he's The Fool. She's The Ditz. And no, it's not Obfuscating Stupidity - they're really like that.

Most of the time.

If you push the right button at the right time, things will suddenly change. The goofy smile disappears. Their eyes start glowing. An aura of energy surrounds them. Little pieces of rock start floating up from the ground. Alternately, they may simply display a sudden leap in speed, strength, martial skill and weapon use.

After the dust settles, however, they're right back to smiling goofily, tripping over their own feet, and just generally acting like the Plucky Comic Relief - while their teammates are rubbing their eyes, and trying to figure out what just happened. Often, the character doesn't actually know himself.

Basically, the individual has access to superpowers of some sort - could be psionics, could be Functional Magic or Applied Phlebotinum, could be Nanomachines - and they either don't know they have the power, or don't know how to control it.

Common triggers include a friend or loved one in danger (see Mama Bear), a Million To One Chance scenario, or just a "worthy cause." Sometimes, just getting 'em really, really pissed off will do the trick - although their easy-going personalities make that a rare occurrence.

The main point, however, is not the powers, but the radical change in personality that comes with them. The character may ordinarily be harmless, maybe even a Technical Pacifist, but when in Bad Ass mode, there's no mercy.

Sometimes, this can end up as a full-blown Superpowered Evil Side or Jekyll And Hyde scenario, if the Bad Ass side refuses to revert. In those cases, it might turn out that the individual was once aware of his powers and abilities, but somehow 'sealed' them - consciously or otherwise - because he knew that With Great Power Comes Great Insanity.

In most other cases, the character will gradually learn to control his power - although he'll usually still need to Freak Out a bit to use his full power - and may evolve into an Idiot Hero, or more rarely, a straight-up Messiah.

In a few cases, things will go bad. The Bad Ass powers are required too often, and they gradually take their toll on a previously cheerful individual. Usually results in an Emo or, in the case of females, an Emotionless Girl. Invariably results in her friends wondering if Saving The World was really worth the price.

Compare with Heroic Resolve, Beware The Nice Ones, Lets Get Dangerous.

Examples:

Western Animation

Jack-Jack (not a moron, but a baby) from The Incredibles demonstrates a startling array of powers (which, by most reckonings, are probably more Bad Ass than those of the rest of the cast) when threatened by the Big Bad, Syndrome.
- Or the babysitter. In the fairly amusing short packaged with the DVD of The Incredibles, Jack Jack Attack, Jack-Jack reduces the babysitter to a stress-overloaded wreck by coming out with anti-gravity powers, teleportation, the ability to shoot eye beams, and Human-Torch-esque flame powers.
  - Since the whole The Incredibles seems to be a Homage to The Fantastic Four, he might be a sly reference to the fifth Fantastic: Franklin.
Maggie from The Simpsons has her moments, too.
Droopy falls under this in several of his animated shorts. Repeatedly humiliated by his adversary, he never reacts... until it looks like he's about to lose "The Dame." Then he responds, in the same monotone as always, "You know what? That makes me mad," and can suddenly fling his enemy across the room with ease...
Ron from Kim Possible seems useless much of the time. His primary contribution to most missions appears to be serving as a distraction, and even after he's exposed to the Mystical Monkey Power, he admits that his skill at monkey kung fu "comes and goes." But when necessary (i.e. when Kim is busy, incapacitated, or not present), Ron displays extraordinary skill in both martial arts and general resourcefulness - he even does a Chunky Updraft in one episode.
Darkwing Duck. The change from incompetence to determination was usually signified by the Catch Phrase "Let's Get Dangerous!"
Iroh of Avatar The Last Airbender. He's a genial and faintly bumbling old man who enjoys tea (a little too much), board games, silly jokes, and the finer things in life (like perfume). Behind this all, however, is a mind like a steel trap, a Firebending talent superior to everyone's save possibly his brother's, and a military history that saw him come closer than anyone before him in history to conquering the great city of Ba Sing Se and led to his being nicknamed "Dragon of the West". Even when it looks like he's out, he's not. And when he finally unleashes his full might, he blows open the great wall of Ba Sing Se alone, with ONE fireblast. Sure, he was comet-boosted, but considering that he did alone what thousands of soldiers or a freaking huge drill couldn't do...
- Although Aang was always a master Airbender and is approaching that level with the other elements, the contrast between his usually happy-go-lucky self and the Glowing Eyes Of Doom Unstoppable Rage of his Avatar State fits this trope's definition perfectly, especially early on. In the second season, the realization of how scary he is in the Avatar State contributes to the lessening of his carefree nature.
- Ty Lee also is an example of this trope. She's ridiculously ditzy ex-circus performer, but also an extremely capable fighter.
Inspector Gadget, of all people, occasionally demonstrated this. When Penny and Brain were in real danger from Dr. Claw's traps in one or two episodes, the normally Too Dumb To Live Inspector would skilfully use his gadgets to save them.
On South Park, Pip becomes a super dodge ball player after being repeatedly insulted.
Captain Fanzone of Transformers Animated is often portrayed as the bumbling, technologically inept Comic Relief -- although he's hardly Plucky. However... when it comes down to it, he shows remarkable resourcefulness and fairly good combat skills -- in the episode "Survival of the Fittest", he manages to knock a monster twice his size to the floor with one punch.
Dean Venture snaps and beats the crap out of Dermot, a kid twice his size, after Dermot insults Triana.
Odd Della Robia in Code Lyoko is often shown to be an impatient slacker, far more interested in his various dates and lunch then studying for classes or saving the world. His crappy grades and his many, many failed plans showcase just how stupid he appears to be, and he isn't faking this: He is pretty dumb. However, his slacker attitude hides his rather impressive abilities, both physical and mental. He has no "powers" on Lyoko, but he doesn't need them to do well. Beyond that, he is the one member of the Hero Secret Service who most quickly grasps exactly how to use the Supercomputer, although he rarely gets a chance to show that skill off.
Brittany Taylor in Daria is ditzy, airheaded, shallow, dimwitted and basically incapable of doing anyrhing right. It's probably not unfair to presume that inside her skull there are a handful of neurons that swim around aimlessly in the otherwise empty void, never coming across each other. And yet, if she is put in a combat situation, she suddenly becomes a gifted tactician and charismatic infantry commander.

Anime

Yuri in Kyou Kara Maou acts this way whenever his Demon King side gets activated, and although he won't kill his enemies he usually succeeds in scaring the crap out of them.
A wild variation may well be Luche Len-Len from Bastard!!, a sweet but somewhat dim child who can be "unlocked" and turned into the insanely super-powerful evil wizard Dark Schneider.
Carrot Glace of Sorcerer Hunters is a scruffy, scrawny, lazy, largely single-minded Lovable Sex Maniac...who just happens to be not only basically immune to magic, but absorbs it to power his Involuntary Shapeshifting into various monster forms.
Kenshin Himura of Rurouni Kenshin fame; usually very easy-going, he reverts to a deadly (though Technical Pacifist) swordsman when lives are in danger. And if he's pushed even further than that, he loses all hint of Technical Pacifism and goes into full-on murderous "Battousai" mode.
- This change, unlike many series where a transformation usually comes as a surprise to those who witness it, is understood by the other characters from the start, since he was a legendary and merciless assassin 15 years ago.
- He's not The Fool, it's Obfuscating Stupidity. Most of the time.
Vash the Stampede from Trigun is a glowing example of this, although there are hints that the rest of the time is just Obfuscating Stupidity.
Many of the benevolent main characters from Dragonball Z, including Goku, Gohan, etc. have displayed this trait (though they are not technically bumbling).
- This usually happens when a villain kicks a few too many dogs, if not worse.
When Naruto is fighting Zabuza's apprentice, Haku, Sasuke ends up getting beaten. As soon as his Friend's life is threatened, Naruto's Inner Fox Emerges and the Previously Useless Naruto Kicks Haku's Ass.
Pokemon variant: in earlier seasons, Togepi is generally considered an immature, coddled infant by Misty. Sometimes, however, when it looks like Team Rocket might succeed, it uses Metronome (a move that generates a random attack). Said random attack always blows the bad guys away. No one knows that Togepi does it. Similarly, Misty's Psyduck is often seen as absolutely useless until something sets off its headache and its incredible psychic powers come into play, rendering the normally useless Pokemon nigh unbeatable.
Abel Nightroad (Crusnik 02) from Trinity Blood may be a perfect example of this trope. It's hard to tell if its just an act or not.
Judai of Yu-Gi-Oh GX is one of those few cases where "things went bad."
The early anime and manga of Yu-Gi-Oh! were all about this trope. Yugi is a meek and withdrawn boy with a tendency to let himself be a doormat. Then somebody crosses the line with him and the pharaoh takes over, demanding retribution and using his games as a means to judge the guilty and inflict horrible mind-shattering torment upon them, if he didn't just kill them outright. Then it's Yugi again, with a gap in his memory and no idea of what the heck just happened.
- This is more of a Superpowered Evil Side, as it's an entirely different person(ality), who seems to have the power to shove Yugi aside (and gets pissed a lot faster than Yugi does). However Yugi does learn to 'control' him.
Wolfgang Grimmer from Monster is a very laid back and friendly journalist, who under pressure or menace snaps into a berserker-like state that he calls "The Magnificent Steiner", after a Hulk-like show he watched when he was a kid. Turns out that he was a victim of a combination of psychological experiments and brutal spy training during his childhood, and he is a bit of a Stepford Smiler about that.
Kid Muscle from Ultimate Muscle, a champion wrestler trapped in the body of an abject coward. He's also The Ditz, which doesn't help.
Amano Ginji of Get Backers is normally childish and goofy, and even when fighting can usually enjoy himself... unless the fight becomes a true challenge. Then he goes into "Raitei" mode, and proceeds to show everyone just how he got to be the leader of the most powerful street gang in the Limitless Fortress, and why people nicknamed "Beastmaster" and "The Prince of Battle Terror" would take orders from him.
Rushuna Tendou in Grenadier has a very ditzy, playful personality while being the best marksman in the known world. And did I mention all the Fanservice she's the source of?
Train Heartnet of Black Cat is a fairly easygoing bounty hunter who just wants to eat and have fun... and escape his former life as one of the thirteen deadliest warriors in the world. Much of the action comes from those who want Train to return to his old life.
The Ditz/Cloudcuckoolander Dita proves to be this when she breaks out her Determinator qualities in the first season finale of Vandread.
Hatsuharu Sohma of Fruits Basket is a pretty friendly and low-key guy. Annoy him, and he becomes "Black Haru," who's a little sadistic and more than a little belligerent. Do something to well-and-truly enrage him... good luck.
Toboe from Wolf's Rain is usually timid and retiring. That's not surprising as he's the youngest wolf of his pack and has also suffered some traumatic experiences. When the other wolves are attacked by a giant walrus he freezes in terror - and then suddenly leaps into frenzied action, actually managing to kill the damn thing despite being a fraction of its size. Later on he attacks Big Bad Lord Darcia with the same ferocity, despite the fact that Toboe is already dying from a bullet wound to the chest.
Having lived through death in his youth due to an accident, Tohno Shiki of Tsukihime appreciates life in general and tries to enjoy it as much as possible. That said, when threatened, he instinctively draws on his Nanaya abilities, which when combined with his Eyes, can turn him into a formidable opponent. He also demonstrates Heroic Resolve quite often, especially in Melty Blood.
- For that matter, a lot of people in Tsukihime show this: Arc speaks and acts like a spoiled child, spends more time smiling and cheering than anything else, and is generally a really pleasant girl to be around (if you don't mind getting into trouble)... but when faced with Apostles she reveals her true nature as the single most badass vampire in the world. Ciel is more the Obfuscating Stupidity type, but it's still significantly upsetting how one can be a pleasant, curry-obsessed high school student by day and a ruthless Church Assassin by night.
Jacuzzi Splot of Baccano! is usually a crybaby coward who avoids any sort of confrontation. However, when his foes push him too far, he demonstrates immense courage and skill with firearms. Known for having single-handedly ravaged several mafia speakeasies and gambling houses in one day while crying the whole time. He says that the reason he cries all the time is that when it is time to kick ass, he doesn't waste time crying and being afraid.
When Mic Sounders XIII of Gao Gai Gar was initially introduced, he was a childish, goofy robot who looked like the bastard child of a walkie-talkie and a Speak'n'Spell. However, he had an alternate mode - a rocker who could kick ass and energize teammates with the power of music. This mode was locked to ensure that the AI wouldn't abuse its power, but came out on its own to protect Mic's friends (and in particular, the sister of the man his AI was based on). Later on, Mic could change between modes at will.
Ranma ½'s Ryoga Hibiki and Kazuma Kuwabara of Yu Yu Hakusho are the same variant: When going up against the series protagonist, they're basically treated as buttmonkeys. But give them another opponent, and they can unleash a stunning amount of whoopass.
Look at Takashi Kawamura from The Prince Of Tennis. Dorky, polite, softspoken, shy... But say the same after he grabs his racket and enters the court. You'll have an extremely fearsome opponent whose physical strength borders on Unstoppable Rage.
Probably the biggest Crouching Moron Hidden Badass ever, Tsuna Sawada of Katekyo Hitman Reborn. He kicks ultimate ass when in Dying Will Mode.
- Given the series' comedy origins, a lot of the characters have an element of this, especially Takeshi Yamamoto and Ryohei Sasagawa.
Hohenheim from Full Metal Alchemist, although it might partly be a case of Obfuscating Stupidity. You can abuse him all you want if you're a certain Edward Elric, but just don't touch his kids, okay? In the anime, he also has a very shady past involving mass murders and the quest for immortality.
- Aside from Hawkeye, Mustang's unit appears to be comprised almost entirely of either idiots or wusses. At least until the chips are down, especially in the manga. Then they demonstrate just why a man looking to change the country would have hand picked them for his central unit and closest bodyguards.
Nyu/Lucy in Elfen Lied has this in the form of a Split Personality, triggered through trauma or imminent danger. Nyu is cute, affectionate, and utterly harmless - but Lucy hates all of humanity and cuts people in half with her mind.
Teressa Testarossa, a Genius Ditz teenage commander from Full Metal Panic, despite usually being clumsy and tripping over her own feet, when her subordinates are put in danger, can even recapture a submarine from a freak terrorist group. Also, her claims about not be able to use guns, turn out to be false at these moments.
Shinji Ikari from Neon Genesis Evangelion has an unique ability to go berserk in his Humongous Mecha when having received enough mental pain. He transforms then into an enemy-killing war machine, famous all over the universe. When taken out from his mecha, he is usually just a sobbing wreckage of a man.
Orihime from Bleach is usually a Cloudcuckoolander and unaggressive, but when someone she cares about is seriously threatened and no one else can do the job she uses her powers to scarily strong effect.
The Rockman Zero manga, in a complete change from the actual games, makes Zero a character of this sort. In his normal state, he's a coward with no memory of his past as a hero. Hit the right trigger, however, and the legendary hero returns, with his signature helmet and insane combat prowess. The manga actually calls this version Rockman Zero - which is just the name of the game series, not the character.
Shiro from Deadman Wonderland initially appears to be an unpowered albino Starfire... until she's cornered by a bunch of dangerous guards in a watchtower. The tower explodes, and she rends the guards into many small parts.
Shinkuro from Kure-nai. For 11 episodes he leaves the viewer wondering how on Earth he could have possibly been trained by a family of ex-assassins, who even gave him a sword-like blade placed into his arm; he was tough, but showed no real fighting skill. Then comes the finale, where he suddenly uses insane skills to obliterate the enemy, afterwards revealing that he had never even used his trained abilities because he "regretted having the weapon placed inside him too much." After taking out one of the big bads in under a second with it. Which was awesome.
Martian Successor Nadesico has Yurika Misumaru who is, ninety percent of the time, a hopelessly naive, ditzy Love Freak with some serious denial issues. Put her at the command of a battleship however, and she's a fleet-destroying tactical mastermind...sometimes. Then there's her boyfriend, who's pretty much Shinji (above) except on the appropriate medication.
Nathan Mahler from Blood Plus seems like a putz at first. He spends the vast majority of his time flirting with his comrades and doesn't seem overly concerned about anything (plus, the fact that he dresses like a fashionatta and talks in a stereotypically homosexual voice doesn't help). Then, out of nowhere, he pulls out his scary voice, which can shatter glass and stop twelve foot bat monsters in their tracks. From then on he proceeds to establish himself as one of the show's most formidable bad guys (to the point where even The Dragon / The Man Behind The Man is afraid of him).
The main character of Hades Project Zeorymer, Masato, is mostly just an angsty teenage boy, who's still trying to wrap his head around how he went from being an Ordinary High School Student to piloting a Humongous Mecha. He doesn't want to hurt anybody, not even his enemies - after all, they're still people - and he DEFINITELY doesn't want any innocent bystanders getting hurt. However, when he's actually attacked... he starts grinning like a loon, wielding his mecha like it's an extension of his body, trouncing the opposition without mercy, ignoring 'Collateral Damage' completely, and just generally enjoying being the pilot of a walking WMD.
Miku: Masato, we have to lead them towards the forest! Too many civilians are getting hurt!
Masato: To hell with them! Let THEM worry about the civvies and trip themselves up!
Highly similar to Takashi Kawamura from The Prince Of Tennis, is Ippo Makunouchi from Hajime no Ippo. Generally, he's a shy, awkward, overly-polite mama's boy... but once he steps into the boxing-ring, he becomes an intense and unstoppable fighter with a Dynamite Punch that can shatter bones, and an invincible stamina that allows him to keep coming back no matter how many times he's knocked down. It's not uncommon for people who've seen him in the ring, to completely fail to recognize him outside of it. Several times, this has worked to his advantage, since any opponent who've met him outside the ring is bound to underestimate the level of brutality he can unleash inside of it.
Goku from Saiyuki can turn from kid who only thinks about food and fighting to a rampaging, unstoppable demon when his limiter is broken. Usually breaks if Sanzo is in trouble. Basically, he's Ginji Amano but Really Seven Hundred Years Old.

Webcomics

Zap Vexler from Zap! is a prime example. Huge Psychic Powers are usually triggered by threats towards his crush, Reona. The first example is here. Don't make fun of his hair, either. Recently revealed to suffer from Amnesiac Dissonance, with his former self being a powerful psychic out to Take Over The World.
Trace from TwoKinds is basically the same, only substituting Functional Magic for Psychic Powers. His powers mostly makes an appearance when he needs to protect Flora, his Cat Girl girlfriend. Had a full-blown Amnesiac Dissonance meets Superpowered Evil Side episode, but is currently tending towards The Messiah.
Arguably Liquid Snake of the Webcomic The Last Days Of Foxhound also applies to this trope considering it's been implied that despite his borderline idiotic behavior he is in reality a killing machine, but has a majority of his skills due to an accident caused by his overly aggressive behavior. He gets more intelligent as the comic moves closer to the events of the Shadow Moses rebellion of Metal Gear Solid.
Vashiel from Misfile is an interesting variant. He's not so much stupid as a complete innocent, to the point where he's physically incapable of lying and gets a Nosebleed if he as much as has an impure thought. However, when his brother or Ash are threatened, you're suddenly reminded that his job description reads "Avenging Angel". Also a prime example of instantly snapping back to his ordinary, chivalrous personality afterwards.
- Rumisiel, Vashiel's pot smoking brother, is also one of these. Normally a slacker to the point where his goal in life is to sit on a couch drinking beer all day, as soon as someone's life is on the line, he suddenly becomes competent and, due to limiters placed on his brother, the stronger of the two when it comes to dealing with the supernatural. And as this comic shows, it is important to remember that ALL angels in this series are ancient supernatural beings.
Gilgamesh Wulfenbach from Girl Genius is a bit of a fop, tends to stumble over his own tongue a lot when Agatha is around, and looks particularly weak compared to his father, the iron-fisted tyrant, Baron Wulfenbach. However, if Agatha needs saving, he suddenly shows another side of himself: capable of turning a hard-bitten, long-term undercover British Secret Agent into an obedient minion in a matter of seconds.
- This is an ability virtually all sparks have in the Girl Genius universe.
- Also, Gil seems pretty darn competent when Agatha isn't around, so that may just be the usual romantic awkwardness.
- Even Dupree, a hard-bitten pirate queen, underestimates Gil. In this strip, she calls Gil 'Mister Sensitive' and scoffs at the idea that he could stop her from completing her mission. Baron Wulfenbach thinks differently.
- Let's not forget that lovely moment where when everyone thought Mechanicsburg was done and he was coming out to surrender he blasted apart an entire army with a stick without anyone to so much as hold his coat.
Both Joyce and Walky from It's Walky! fall under this. Joyce in particular is ordinarily a complete innocent, with a passion for puppies, stuffed animals, and all things pink and frilly. However, if you push her just far enough... ...whoops, maybe that was a bit too far.
Big Boss: How's Joyce doing? Why has she made no progress?
Professor Doc: Big Boss, we can't afford to fix her! Do you know how many times she's saved the world's collective ass with her psychotic outbursts?
Big Boss: Three.
Professor Doc: Well, I'm holding out for five.
- Walky, meanwhile, is an excellent example that the trigger doesn't have to involve an immediate threat to yourself or your loved ones. This, for example, is what happens if you mess with his favorite snack food...
Ping from Megatokyo is a dating-sim accessory who is just a regular girl... whose way of dealing with rejection involves throwing buses at people (Largo once used this to save the city of Tokyo from a drunken, rampaging, giant turtle).
Grace from El Goonish Shive can best be described as a bubbly, naive girl, which would almost make you forget she's a genetically engineered Super Soldier who, the one time she actually got angry, proceeded to toss megalomaniac arch-villain Damien around like a rag doll, only to turn around at the last moment and ask him to forgive her.
Mega Man in Bob And George. Ordinarily he's a complete buffoon. But when he goes into battle, particularly against the Robot Masters, he becomes Badass, often coming up with clever ways to defeat them. The author even figured out a reason for this. In one of the early comics, the punchline is that Mega Man was accidentally programmed first to defeat evil robots, and second to be an idiot. He later retconned that this was the reason Mega Man was a default moron whenever there wasn't evil around, but when a bad guy shows up, he becomes an instant badass for the duration of the crisis.
Lemmy in F@nboy$. Normally he's a timid, goofy Nintendo fanatic. However, should anyone ever accuse Nintendo of being "kiddy" within his vicinity, he literally phases out into a trance and turns into a rampaging lunatic, with little to no memory of what he has done afterwards. This may also be triggered by getting hit in the head, or more precisely, accidentally hitting other things with his face.
Fighter of 8-Bit Theater is a childish dimwit who is blind to the obvious (for the most part at least) but is also a highly proficient swordmaster who can wield the Sword-Chucks (yo!) with enough proficiency to fight a six-armed demon of fire. Oh and if you're an enemy, watch yourself if you kill Black Mage...
Cool. Because friends look out for one another and we're friends, but Black Mage is my best friend. Also, I can block any attack and kill anything that bleeds. Hint.
In a couple of Ctrl Alt Del comics starring the "players" (homicidal gamers with the tendency to carry out in-game vendettas in real life), Player 3 makes an appearance. He's normally laid-back and "normal", but can turn homicidal if threatened...

Literature

The character of Alfred from the Death Gate cycle, written by Weis & Hickman, is an particularly over the top example of this trope. He first appears as a stumbling, clumsy butler, but in dire circumstances, at times off-screen, he is the pinnacle of his wizarding tradition and can perform miracles in magic up to and including resurrecting the dead, the right way, whereas others mages can only do so by draining the life of another being of the same race, somewhere in the multiverse. Of course, a lot of people want to get a hold of Alfred for his magical prowess. Problem is, he doesn't remember how he pulls his magic off, pulling a complete black-out, more than often enough accompanied by an undignified fainting. It eventually turns out that he originally just used Obfuscating Stupidity to avoid revealing his powers to the world - but over time, it became so in-grown that he practically forgot how to use his powers at all.
Discworld's Captain Carrot exhibits the Badass Normal version of this trope. He normally presents a goofy, honest face that assumes everyone else is equally honest... and then he'll nail a REAL bad guy to a pillar with a sword.
Discworld's Nanny Ogg is the witch version of this trope and an even better example, appearing to be purely good-natured comic relief and then unexpectedly surprising you with witchly badassery. Best shown in her confrontation with Mrs. Plinge in Maskerade. Word Of God indicates that Nanny Ogg is in fact more powerful than Granny Weatherwax - or might be, if she were willing to lose her joie de vivre.
- Speaking of Maskerade, there's also Walter Plinge, who pulls a double Homage to Michael Crawford by being a bumbling Frank Spencer clone who badasses into the suave Opera Ghost by putting a mask on.
Eddie Dean in The Dark Tower is a washed-up cynical junkie loser when he first falls into Midworld, and seemingly dependent upon the Last Gunslinger for basic survival. He reveals himself to be a talented gunfighter when provoked.
The wizard Schmendrick of The Last Unicorn is, at times, capable of awe-inspiring magic...the trouble is, he can hardly ever get it to work, and usually it doesn't do what he expected. But he gets it under control in the end.
In George Macdonald Frasier's McAuslan stories, Private McGlinchy is, in a football game, either completely useless or completely amazing, depending on factors that other characters are trying to figure out.
In Raymond Feist's Riftwar books, a gibbering, mindless beggar barely capable of feeding himself is later revealed to be the mortal shell of Macros the Black, the most powerful sorcerer in the world. His mind was not in his body, until suddenly it was imperative for Macros to be present to fight the darkness and chaos.
Alan Dean Foster's Spellsinger series has JonTom Merryweather, the spellsinger of the title. A modern human in an alternate, medieval-equivalent universe filled with Talking Animals, who is pretty much useless in a fight, at least in the first few books...except for his spellsinging, which is the ultimate wild card and capable of doing anything he can sing about. The only trouble is that 1.) he has to know the right song, 2.) sometimes nothing happens, and 3.) even he's not sure what's going to happen when he starts. It's done everything from switching the entire party's genders, to changing a wizard's apprentice into a phoenix, to summoning a god.
While he isn't sure how much this is true of the character in actual mythology, this editor remembers reading some stories of Ganesha as a kid which presented the jolly Big Eater god as equal in power to his fearsome father Shiva, capable of stopping the sun and destroying the world, but luckily too nice of a guy to do so.
The novel Armor by John Steakley follows two storylines set about five years apart, with the earlier one framed by the discovery of the powered armor used by the earlier protagonist on a distant, non-wartorn colony in a crashed escape pod. The armor's owner, Felix, is quite literally an unstoppable killing machine: in a war where no one has survived more than ten major missions, armor notwithstanding, Felix makes it through over twenty before being killed by another human soldier. Meanwhile, in the present-day, a rebellion is brewing right underneath the nose of the colony's drunken, dimwitted owner, Lewis, causing great consternation to the present-day protagonist... especially when it breaks into open war and a nearby space pirate decides to capitalize on the situation. With a military grade dreadnought. Fortunately, Lewis is Felix, lying low and enjoying life. At least, until he decides to save his colony by putting his armor back on, slaughtering an army's worth of pirates, and then takes down the dreadnought with his bare damn hands.
Two words: Neville. Longbottom.
In the books Operation: Red Jericho and Operation: Typhoon Shore, Posh Charlie has a very minor role and is known for his constant stuttering and nervousness. Put him in a combat situation and he becomes a confident soldier, immediately dropping the stutter. This may possibly be Obfuscating Stupidity due to the knowledge in the latter book that he is actually a very competent researcher.

Live Action TV

Dana Scully of The X Files is another borderline case. While she mainly portrayed the buttoned-down, intellectual non-action oriented FBI agent, in one notable episode with a VR Game coming to life and killing the players, someone had to rescue Mulder and the Lone Gunmen. Her sudden evolution into Action Girl in a Big Damn Heroes moment left Mulder and company totally speechless. Until they realized how completely cool her Rambette performance had been, like good fanboys.
Played with in Disney's The Suite Life: Apparently London Tipton is quite the athlete (notably in volleyball), but only when she's mad.
In Get Smart, Maxwell Smart may be a bumbling idiot most of the time, but when he realizes the situation is becoming make-or-break, then he buckles down and becomes nearly unstoppable.
The WWE tag team Jesse and Festus uses this as its gimmick; Festus's trigger (in both directions) is the ring bell.
R.J., Trickster Mentor of Power Rangers: Jungle Fury, seems at first to be nothing more than an overly-mellow pizza restauranteur. Then he steps out of the kitchen and reveals himself by taking down a sqaud of Mooks without breaking stride, and suddenly the guy who seemed like bumbling comic relief a few seconds ago takes on a whole new light. He barely changes at all, busting out the crazy martial arts skills while remaining as calm and carefree as ever.
River from Firefly is a Crouching Crazy Hidden Badass. Most of the time, she tends to be a Cloud Cuckoo Lander with some endearingly whimsical moments mixed in with seriously disturbing fits and a few Ax Crazy moments. But mess with her brother Simon or her friend Kaylee, and she will take you down, whether by gunning down three men with her eyes closed or orchestrating an impressive Batman Gambit. And that's even before the Big Damn Movie.
Dr. Rodney Mc Kay from Stargate Atlantis fits this trope more or less. He usually is a coward, disliked by most with lack of any social skill. However, when under pressure he falls into something like the Unstoppable Rage ,even though its not physical violence. (Except for one episode) He suddenly knows exactly what to do to get the Team out of any near-doom situation. Also, he activates the "bravery" mode, which leaves his cowardness behind. Lampshaded frequently, even Mc Kay knows it.

Video Games

In Disgaea 2, Rozalin shows off a particularly fearsome variant of this. Having spent her entire, pampered life in a palace, surrounded by servants waiting on her every whim, she's a complete novice when it comes to fighting (thus giving the hero, Adell, an excellent opportunity to explain the combat-system to her...) It's up to the player how much he wants to level her, but she'll probably still only be around level 50 when you first encounter, and are soundly defeated by, a level 1200 Overlord. At which point a seal is broken, and she suddenly jumps to level 1700, learns a world-destroying special move, and kicks seven different shades of ass. Afterwards, when she snaps out of it, she's got no idea what happened.
Arado Balanga of Super Robot Wars Original Generations is exactly like this. He's normally a reckless idiot who gets shot down more than not, but if his partner Seolla (who he was trained to work as a perfect partner to) is threatened with death, he'll be there to take it and go down in flames or utterly kick ass.
Demyx from Kingdom Hearts II is the villainous embodiment of this trope. His clumsy, cowardly, scatterbrained personality was stressed so much that even Jiminy's Journal called him "a poor fighter". He isn't. It should be noted, however, that because he is a philosophical zombie, technically any personality he takes on is fabricated.
Anveena Teague from World Of Warcraft. Somewhat justified by the fact that she merely pretends to be a timid human girl. Yes...I am the Sunwell...not human...not Anveena...only great power...and so...you...you have no hold over me...and no hope against me.
Not directly game-related, but the first time this troper played Army Of Two, he was getting lost every five seconds, crashing into walls, and being a complete idiot. Except in a firefight, where he somehow would be able to mow down entire hordes without aiming.
In Metal Gear Solid 4, we are introduced once more to Johnny Sasaki, who had spent a majority of the earlier games on the toilet. This time around, however, his cowardice proves to be a hidden strength, as his fear of needles leaves him without nanomachines, making him immune to the Big Bad's trump card. Along with The Power Of Love, this leads him to develop amazing Gun Fu and sniping skills.
A less specific example would be RPG characters with a Limit Break. Your reg'lar everyday Designated Hero suddenly wipes the floor with every single one of those Goddamned Bats. The one that springs to mind is Selphie Tilmitt in Final Fantasy VIII, who is essentially a young blonde airhead, but can pull an attack that instantly defeats anything. Yes, anything. That One Boss, Armoured Slimes, Goddamned Bats, you name it, The End kills it. Suddenly Selphie doesn't seem so innocent...

Film

Two words: Doctor Horrible.
Sing, the hapless hero of Kung Fu Hustle, starts off as a complete failure of a small-time street crook. Then he double-crosses the Axe Gang, gets beaten into a bloody pile of meat...and wakes up as an indestructible kung fu god.
Miss Piggy in The Muppet Movie seems like a ditzy wannabe actress... until Kermit gets threatened, upon which she goes berserk on a pack of Doc Hopper's goons. Of course, fans of The Muppet Show would know that Piggy has a bit of a temper (and knows karate), and is quite dangerous when provoked.
Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach had the leader of the academy being kidnapped and held hostage by the Big Bad. He mistakenly thinks it's all a game being put on for the media, and when someone points out that it's not, he rather quickly frees himself without breaking a sweat.
Straw Dogs has Dustin Hoffman's character getting pushed around for most of the movie by the local thugs, getting worse when they also brutalize his wife. The film climaxes with The Siege, as they finally get straight-up violent while trying to break into his house, so he mans up and kills them all.
On a similar note, George McFly of Back to the Future spends most of the first film as a milquetoast, nerdy loner, unable to stand up to bullies or ask out a girl. However, when circumstances get really dire and the Big Bad is molesting the girl he loves, with no one else around to help, he snaps and throws a very impressive punch, defeating Biff. Afterwards, however, he remains in his Hidden Badass form.
Maxwell Smart likely fits this concept in all forms of media, but the Get Smart movie shows him as being ridiculously skilled and resourceful, an excellent marksman, and really damn lucky. Except for when it's funny for him to be an idiot.
- This troper has the perspective that Max, while skilled, is so desperate to show his talent that he tries things that are still quite above his skill level.
- Meanwhile, this troper considers it to be that he is that good, but unlike most action heroes he doesn't always get it done on the first take--rather like in real life.

Machinima

Red Vs Blue. Caboose is often shown as the Ralph Wiggum, and not really good at anything. However, he summons his inner rage which he apparently learned by having an evil AI in his mind, to kill two groups of soldiers single handedly. This becomes a stall for time though, since said soldiers infinitely respawn.
- He shows this again by carrying up a bomb that nobody else was even able to lift.

Web Original

Paul Smith of Survival Of The Fittest is usually a Chivalrous Pervert, pretty goofy and laid back - very much a comic relief character. However, from time to time, he almost seems to 'switch on' and become one hell of a lot more dangerous. And try lethally dangerous.
- Subverted with Arthur Williams, who shoves aside his shyness and fear, charging an armed lunatic in order to save a hostage, and gets shot in the face for his trouble.

Cute Bruiser

« More Than Meets The Eye »

« Badass »

« Split Personality Tropes »

Enemy Within

Main Tropes Index

Troperville

Editing

Tools