Main Tropes Index

Troperville

Editing Help

Tools

Toys

Narrative

Genre

Media

Topical Tropes

Other Categories

Custom Search

Crouching Moron Hidden Badass
Oh, you wanna rumble? Let's go.

"If I'd known how smart the big bastard was, I'd have picked on somebody else."
Caine on Orbek, Blade Of Tyshalle

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.

The Japanese term for this is "dame elite" ("dame" meaning no good).

Compare with Heroic Resolve and Beware The Nice Ones. Lets Get Dangerous refers to a specific variant of this trope. Characters like this are Action Santa and Gentle Giant. Contrast Weak But Skilled and Mistaken For Badass. See also Crouching Scholar Hidden Badass.


Examples:

    open/close all folders 

    Films 

    Literature 

    Live Action TV 

     Manga & Anime 

    Newspaper Comics 

    Pro Wrestling 

    Puppet Shows 

    Tabletop Games 

    Theater 

    Video Games 

    Web Animation 

    Web Comics 

    Web Original 

    Western Animation 

    Real Life