Basic Trope: Trying to manipulate an evil device won't work out to the user's advantage.
- Straight: The Fallen Nethian Mage uses magic to make Void 4 do his bidding, only for Void 4 to retaliate back at him.
- Exaggerated: ???
- Downplayed: ????
- Justified: With laser guided karma.
- Inverted: Void 4 manipulates the Fallen Nethian Mage.
- Subverted: Void 4 has the amulet of "evil doesn't backfire," to prevent this problem.
- Double Subverted: But, he was cheap and got it from a used amulet salesman who didn't sell him the real deal.
- Parodied:
- Bob has a full selection of Evil devices, which he is testing to determine which are toys and which aren't.
- Some varieties of My Little Panzer, where evil is literally a toy. The trope still applies. Even though evil is indeed a toy, it's not to be messed with.
- Zig Zagged: Bob learned a lesson from using the evil devices, that he has to be more careful next time, but apparently as Bob never realizes with evil, you can never be careful enough.
- Averted: Bob decides not to test his fate and leave the device alone.
- Enforced: Josh, Bob mentor, knows that Bob will be attracted to use the evil devices, so he uses the less damaging ones as a test for Bob.
- Lampshaded: Bob's sidekick tells him that he really shouldn't use the Artifact of Doom, if for no other reason, then because of the name it was given.
- Invoked: A Genre Savvy Character sets up a situation where the trope can occur.
- Exploited: Instead of trying to stop Bob, the heroes simply watch from a distance knowing that getting close isn't the best idea.
- Defied: Bob adds the "Will not backfire" mod to the artifact.
- Discussed: "Now Bob, as when we go though the hallway of deadly stuff, don't touch ANYTHING, despite how cool it looks!"
- Conversed: Bob and Alice play a board game. Bob thinks if using the artifact to get ahead is worth it despite only a 1/6 chance of nothing bad happening.
- Implied: "Bob then got his has on the Artifact of Doom... Lets just say that things didn't work out too well for Bob."
- Deconstructed: Some kinds of evil have to benefit the user or evil wouldn't last too long.
- Reconstructed: But generally you will have better luck with good devices than evil ones.
- Plotted A Good Waste: Alice destroyed the artifact of doom before it gets used.
- Played For Laughs: The Artifact of doom explodes on Bob sending him flying off into the distance.
- Played For Drama: Alice tries to tell Bob that the artifact is not the correct way to satisfy his desire for revenge.
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Evil Is Not a Toy
