History Main / ArbitrarySkepticism

* ''Fanfic/ImNobody'': [[spoiler:Della Duck]] calls out the Citadel Council on dismissing the existence of the Reapers as a ply when they openly admit that [[Franchise/KingdomHearts the Heartless]] are real during her TheReasonYouSuckSpeech. In an earlier conversation when Shepard calls them out on the same thing, the Council admitted tha they ''would'' have dismissed the Heartless as tampered footage of not for all the eye-witnesses that saw the attack.

* ''LightNovel/InvadersOfTheRokujyouma'': Ghosts? Aliens? Underground civilizations? Sure, why not? But a magical girl? Clearly she's a deluded cosplayer. This is partially because Yurika is inexperienced and botches her magical powers the first few times she tries to demonstrate them to the group. Koutarou admits that he does not want to believe her because he wanted a fellow normal person in the group. When she finally manages to demonstrate her powers, everyone thinks that she only acquired her powers recently and still will not believe that she always was a magical girl.

** Krosp tries to invoke it on the former Heterodyne Senechal Carson von Mekkhan in Mechanicsburg later on only to be told off that a talking bipedal cat isn't the strangest thing in town. After all, the Heterodynes are a family of incredibly strong [[ScienceRelatedMemeticDisorder Sparks]] that routinely do things that ''[[MadScientist other Sparks]]'' [[UpToEleven have trouble believing]].

* Played with in ''Anime/MarginalNumber4'''s [[SomethingCompletelyDifferent "Re: 24 Hours"]] (a [[ShowWithinAShow mystery drama]] the [[IdolSinger characters]] star in, presented as episode 8 of the anime). Yukito (Atom) is a cop whose partner/mentor was killed. He meets a young man (Rui) at the partner's grave who claims to be that partner, kept from the afterlife for 24 hours to help Yukito solve the case. Yukito gives arbitrary skepticism, but ends up believing him. [[spoiler: He shouldn't have - the young man isn't a ghost, he's the partner's nephew, pretending to be his uncle's ghost in order to catch the real killer - Yukito himself.]]

* ''Fanfic/TheDesertStorm'': Despite being able to verify that Ben is a future version of Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Jedi Council still dismisses his claim that the Sith are alive. Ben is initially frustrated but admits to himself that in a similar situation he'd be equally skeptical. This attitude is called out by [[spoiler: Quinlan]] when he gets a number of Ben's memories, bluntly telling Mace Windu that the problem isn't so much the Sith but that the Jedi refuse to listen. Around that point, partly thanks to the evidence of the Kenobi Report, their attitude shifts to "we don't believe it" to "we need proof to convince everybody else."

** ''ComicBook/JSAClassified'': In the "Nightfall" arc Mid-Nite, who regularly fights the plant zombie named [[Characters/GreenLantern1941 Solomon Grundy]] alongside the ComicBook/{{JSA}} and lives in a world where there's at least one actual vampire acting as a hero, refuses to believe that the fanged serial killer with no heat signature whose been running around biting people and draining their blood could possibly be a vampire. In the end it seems that Mid-Night was acually right.
* Pugsley from ''ComicBook/BeastsOfBurden'' is always the first to dismiss any talk supernatural phenomena as superstitious nonsense, no matter how much weird stuff he sees (like witch-cats in "The Unfamiliar" or a ghost in "Stray").

** When Spider-Man first joins ComicBook/TheAvengers as a reserve, he helps the team fight a break-out at [[CardboardPrison Project Pegasus]]. At one point, ComicBook/CaptainAmerica mentions the [[MagmaMan Lava Men]]. Spidey laughs it off, stating matter-of-factly he does not believe in Lava Men. This is despite the fact that, not only is he a superhuman joining a team of gods, mutants, super soldiers, and androids, not only is he fighting equally inhuman villains at the time, but one of his own rogues resembles Lava Men a great deal: The Molten Man.

** Edgeworth also dismisses spirit mediums in general, despite the fact that Maya and Pearl have channeled Mia's spirit in court before his very eyes. It's implied that he doesn't see her because he doesn't ''want'' to believe. It doesn't help that he's got a grudge against the practice thanks to the DL-6 case, where Misty Fey's channeling of his father resulted in an innocent man sent to prison.

* Averted in the ''Manga/FairyTail'' / ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' crossover ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9849648/3/The-Lion-The-Witch-and-The-Fairy-s-Tail The Lion, The Witch, and The Fairy's Tail]]''. In contrast to the [[Literature/TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe book]] where the other Pensive siblings don't believe their sister Lucy about a portal in the wardrobe, the other Fairy Tail wizards believe Lucy Heartfilia when she says that an [[CallARabbitASmeerp Anima]] exists in her new wardrobe and took her to Narnia. This is because the guild has experience with other worlds like Edolas, and they are more concerned about the consequences of getting involved with Narnia and if the Anima can be used by those on the other side.

* ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom'', in which Indy encounters magical artifacts, [[{{Prequel}} comes before]] ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'', in which Indy at one point dismisses all superstition involving the Ark of the Covenant. After all he has gone through, you'd think Indy would at least be a bit more open-minded in ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull''. Despite previously encountering magic rocks, a Nazi-killing golden box, a healing cup and an Atlantean god-making machine, he still sneers at the prospect of [[CrystalSkull telepathic skulls]], calling it a "bedtime story", just as he did with the Holy Grail. He also dismissively tells Mutt that the Akator legend is "just a story", even though he'd surely have realized by then that in the Indiana Jones universe [[AllMythsAreTrue nothing is ever "just a story"]].

* [[Franchise/TheDCU DC Universe]]:
** Bruce Wayne (Franchise/{{Batman}}) and the late Ted Knight (ComicBook/{{Starman}}) claim to be atheists, and Ted has explicitly stated that he doesn't believe in anything supernatural. This is despite having both of them having had regular interactions with magicians, clairvoyants, angels, demons and Greek gods. This could be a question of definition -- sure, there are [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien powerful beings with abilities we don't understand]], but [[FlatEarthAtheist that doesn't necessarily make them actually supernatural or divine]].
** Mr. Terrific (Michael Holt) actually makes this very argument when justifying ''his'' atheism; he points out that the Justice League has encountered a great many nigh-omnipotent beings who ''haven't'' claimed to be gods, so he sees no particular reason to believe those who do. This became especially hilarious when he would encounter his dead wife and child (their deaths having led to his atheism) in the afterlife and later actually meet God. As Ragman points out, there are explicitly souls (Ragman's powers coming from them). Mr. Terrific promptly {{Handwave}}s this with a comment about energy. To a man who ''is literally wearing a suit made of corrupted souls''. In later years, several characters have started pointing out that his denial of God is getting petty and ridiculous.

* In ''ComicStrip/BloomCounty'', Oliver Wendell Jones lives around talking animals (one of which is a [[MixAndMatchCritter basselope]]), has witnessed more than one AlienInvasion, is friends with someone who has a [[ThingsThatGoBumpInTheNight closet of living anxieties]], and is himself a ChildProdigy who has created clones out of a chemistry set and a teleporting machine. But astrology? He calls is "pseudo-science bibble-babble". (The strips where he doubted its authenticity were a TakeThat towards the Reagan White House after it was leaked that the First Lady was consulting astrologers.)

* In ''Fanfic/AvengerOfSteel'', Matt Murdock refuses to believe in Stick's story of how dragons once walked the earth thousands of years before. Stick points out Matt is standing next to [[Franchise/{{Superman}} an alien]], [[Series/JessicaJones2015 a private eye with super strength]] and [[ComicBook/BlackWidow a trained assassin]] who works with [[ComicBook/{{Thor}} the Norse God of Thunder]], [[ComicBook/TheHulk a scientist who turns into a giant green monster]], [[ComicBook/CaptainAmerica a World War II supersoldier who had been frozen in ice]] and [[ComicBook/IronMan a billionaire who designs super suits of armor]] "but dragons is where you draw the line?"

* [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Ritsuko]] in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8296097/1/Shinji-s-Nightmare Shinji's Nightmare]]'' refuses to believe in magic, despite working on giant biological robots that are piloted by children who fight aliens/angels and one of said pilots has been turned into an [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic alicorn]]. She continues to insist there's a rational explanation for Shinji [[PhysicalGod sleeping on clouds, entering dreams, telekinesis, and ability to survive in space without air then walk off reentry]].

** This tradition is continued in expanded media. In ''VideoGame/IndianaJonesAndTheEmperorsTomb'', Indy describes the Macguffin as "a mythological artifact, like Excalibur or the Holy Grail", both of which are treasures that canonically he would later discover himself.

* ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom'', in which Indy encounters magical artifacts, [[{{Prequel}} comes before]] ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'', in which Indy at one point dismisses all superstition involving the Ark of the Covenant. After all he has gone through, you'd think Indiana Jones would at least be a bit more open-minded in ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull''. Despite previously encountering magic rocks, a Nazi-killing golden box, a healing cup and an Atlantean god-making machine, he still sneers at the prospect of [[CrystalSkull telepathic skulls]], calling it a "bedtime story", just as he did with the Holy Grail. He also dismissively tells Mutt that the Akator legend is "just a story", even though he'd surely have realized by then that in the Indiana Jones universe [[AllMythsAreTrue nothing is ever "just a story"]].

* ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom'', in which Indy encounters magical artifacts, [[{{Prequel}} comes before]] ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'', in which Indy at one point dismisses all superstition involving the Ark of the Covenant. After all he has gone through, you'd think Indiana Jones would at least be a bit more open-minded in ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull''. Despite previously encountering healing rocks, Nazi-killing golden boxes, life-saving cups and an Atlantean god-making machine, he still sneers at the prospect of [[CrystalSkull magical telepathic skulls]].

** A particularly arbitrary example is Batman's second post-Crisis encounter with Bat-Mite. In the first encounter, he understandably assumes his momentary glimpse of the being is his imagination. In his second, a Franchise/{{Superman}} team-up, he concludes Bat-Mite is a creation of Mr. Mxyzptlk. In other words, it's perfectly acceptable for eccentric, [[RealityWarper reality-warping]], extradimensional imps to ''exist'', [[BystanderSyndrome just as long as they're Clark's problem and not his]].

'''Dr. Light:''' ''"Human? That seems unlikely—-"''

** In one three-comic story arc, ComicBook/{{Robin|Series}} is contacted by what appears to be a version of Alfred from a BadFuture where someone in the Bat-Family has devastated Gotham. Robin is unable to convince Batman that it actually happened, because, quoth the Bat, "Time travel is scientifically impossible." Even though Batman himself works with time travelers in the Justice League and has traveled through time dozens of times himself. Then it turns out that [[SecretTestOfCharacter it was a test]] to see if Robin was prepared to accept the idea of Batman going rogue and be able to deal with it on his own, so Batman was just saying that to avoid helping Robin.

** A pre-ComicBook/{{Crisis|on Infinite Earths}} Superman story actually featured a group of people who refused to believe that Superman was really an alien. It turned out that these people were in fact ''aliens'' themselves, but, being stranded on Earth seemingly forever, [[ZanyScheme opted to erase their own memories]] so they could live normal lives among humans. Their skepticism was a side effect of the brainwashing. In the end Superman helps them return to space. Not only didn't they believe that Superman was an alien, they claimed that there was no such thing as space travel and all reports of missions that had been flown were hoaxes.
** In ''ComicBook/AdventureComics'' #396, ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} the titular heroine declares magic to be "superstitious nonsense", despite dealing with magical creatures on a daily basis, and magic being one of the few things that can hurt her.

** Goofy, who is usually the most naive and gullible individual in the Disney pantheon, turns into a very persistent skeptic every time he gets a visit from [[WitchSpecies old-style witch]] named Hazel. No matter how many fantastic tricks Hazel does for him, he absolutely refuses to believe that she is a real witch who can do real magic. Goofy also steadfastly refused to believe that Eega Beeva (a human from the far future who looks rather like a sensory homunculus) was real when him and Mickey first encountered him, until Eega demonstrated his realness by punching Goofy in the face.

* ''Fanfic/OSMUFanfictionFriction'': The Odd Squad Mobile Unit deals with all sorts of oddities on the daily as part of their job, but when they visit Todd's Home for Villains[[{{Tradesnark}}™]] and see him talking to his (named) shoes, they draw the line and are quick to leave.

* ''[[Fanfic/AradsStardust Stardust]]'':

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLuu2h3Q9Qc A UK advertisement for Muller yoghurt has two women talking about a new Greek-style yoghurt that's fat-free. One of the women then states that 'fat-free' is a myth, and it is then revealed that two women are centaurs.

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanVsTheTeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'': When the turtles first meet Batman, Leonardo mentions that he'd heard rumors of a giant bat that lived in Gotham and fought crime, but had dismissed them as being ridiculous. Dispite, you know, being a giant turtle who fights crime.

Sometimes it makes sense -- after all, [[IfJesusThenAliens just because aliens exist, it doesn't follow that something unrelated does as well]] -- but the viewer is often left wondering how a character who has seen ghosts and vampires can feel so comfortable in immediately dismissing the possibility of, say, unicorns. It's not Arbitrary Skepticism if the character came to their conclusion through research and thought, and has a plausible explanation of ''why'' unicorns can't exist, or why this specific instance seems unlikely (for instance, PsychicPowers might exist, but ''this'' psychic [[PhonyPsychic seems to be faking it]]).