Basic Trope: An answer that rebuffs a pointed question or remark.
- Straight: When Charlie gives Eric a dressing down for failing to live up to his ideals and duties, Eric simply responds: "Tell me something I don't know."
- Exaggerated: Eric responds to Charlie's tirade with a simple gesture that proves him wrong.
- Downplayed: Since Charlie's vitriol is unfair, inaccurate and easily refuted, Eric's reply, while still necessary, is less impressive.
- Justified:
- Eric is well-aware of his faults and has striven to minimize them over the course of his life.
- Charlie's words hit one of Eric's buttons.
- Inverted: Instead of responding to Charlie's points, Eric asks him if being a contentious prick to everyone makes him feel any bigger, or less alone.
- Subverted: Charlie isn't fazed by Eric's response, considering it more weak words from a loser.
- Double Subverted: However, after Charlie thinks about it, he realizes that Eric was right and apologizes.
- Parodied: Eric's response to Charlie is "No, You".
- Zig Zagged: Charlie's verbal abuse doesn't faze Eric... at first. But as he mulls it over he begins to take the criticisms in it to heart, and eventually accepts them. When Charlie tries to take Eric down a peg again, it doesn't work, and Eric speaks Charlie's words back at him in triumph.
- Averted: Eric doesn't respond to Charlie's harangue.
- Enforced: The author addresses some Fan Misconceptions about Eric by having Charlie state them and Eric explain to Charlie why they are incorrect.
- Lampshaded: Eric ends his retort with "I bet you weren't expecting pushback, huh?"
- Invoked: Charlie wants to see if Eric has enough guts to stand up for himself, and throwing a few half-truths in his direction is the best way to uncover that.
- Defied: Eric's acknowledgement of his failings are no excuse, which means Charlie's negative assessment of him still stands.
- Exploited: Charlie lives to get a rise out of people, and it worked beautifully with Eric.
- Discussed: Eric throws Charlie's points back at him one by one as part of his reply.
- Conversed: Charlie mockingly works Eric's response into his tirade.
- Implied: Eric's response isn't shown, but Charlie is awfully quiet after hearing it.
- Deconstructed: Even if the comeback has merit, Charlie has already made up his mind about Eric and won't listen. Eric could have just walked away and saved himself the trouble.
- Reconstructed: Eric believes in defending his honor, and for him, that's victory enough.
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