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Karma Houdini
So is Satan just generous when people don't have a soul to sell? maybe if you do enough deeds in his name...

"It's hard to be religious when certain people are never incinerated by bolts of lightning."
Calvin, about Moe, Calvin And Hobbes

Sometimes, even Laser-Guided Karma misses its target.

The character has done a number of things that deserve a karmic comeuppance, most importantly things that caused harm to the innocent, but when the time comes for the Karmic Hammer to fall, that's not what happens. He doesn't get what he deserves. Instead, he gets away scot-free.

This is it. This is all there is to the story. The show is over. The book is finished. The author isn't going to write any more. The Word Of God has been spoken. The guy has become a Karma Houdini.

Compare Butt Monkey, for which a character ends up having many disproportionately bad things happen to them throughout the story (and may also technically qualify for this trope, as hard as that sounds). The extreme counterpart of that trope, Cosmic Plaything, can be considered this trope's polar opposite.

Contrast the aforementioned Laser-Guided Karma, for instances where the villain's comeuppance is swift and immediate.


Examples:


Call It KarmaKarmaKarma Houdini Warranty
Jerk JockScrappy IndexThe Load
High Heel Face TurnGender Dynamics IndexVillainesses Want Heroes
I Will Punish Your Friend for Your FailureEvil TropesKick the Dog
In Love with the MarkHeel Face IndexKill Me Now or Forever Stay Your Hand
Jerk with a Heart of JerkThe Jerk IndexKarmic Trickster
Villainous HarlequinSliding Scale of Antagonist VilenessVile Villain, Saccharine Show
Complete MonsterSliding Scale Of Character AppreciationSmug Snake
Justice Will PrevailMorality TropesKarma Houdini Warranty
Jumping the SharkNo Real Life Examples, Please!Kick the Dog
Just You and Me and My GUARDSVillainsKeeping The Enemy Close
Jade-Colored GlassesCynicism TropesKill the Poor
Justified TropeJustForFun/Tropes of LegendKick the Dog
Mind RapeOverdosed TropesBack from the Dead

alternative title(s): Karma Houdinis
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