History Main / BoringInsult

* ''Manga/GushingOverMagicalGirls'': When Magia Baiser and Lord Enorme fight the first time, Enorme gives a rant about how she is destined to rule and that [[TheSocialDarwinist the strong take everything from the weak]]. Baiser stops paying attention halfway through and starts chanting "Boring" in her head. When Baiser wins, she mocks Enorme for [[UnskilledButStrong fighting with no style or creativity except for smashing things]] despite essentially having an ImaginationBasedSuperpower.

** The Cassandra Cain version of ComicBook/{{Batgirl}}, when fighting ComicBook/TheJoker, suddenly walks away saying, "Bored. You're boring." This infuriates him so much that he's thrown off-guard and she is able to subdue him.

* In ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'', when Bui begins his fight with Hiei by doing nothing but summoning axes, swinging, and throwing them, Hiei says he is boring. Bui then proves him wrong by unleashing his BattleAura.

** In the ''ComicBoo/BatmanVsTheIncredibleHulk'' crossover, the [[RealityWarper Shaper of Worlds]] gives Joker some of his power, allowing Joker to re-shape the world with his imagination. Batman soon accuses Joker of being uncreative, to which Joker begins re-shaping the world in more chaotic ways, eventually straining his mind to the breaking point.

-->'''Bond''': You break into the Bank of England via computer, then transfer the money electronically, seconds before you set off the [=GoldenEye=], which erases any record of the transactions. Ingenious.\\

'''Bond''': But it still boils down to petty theft. In the end, you're just a bank robber. Nothing more than a common thief.
-->'''Janus:''' You always did have a small mind, James. It's not just erasing bank records. It's everything on every computer in Greater London: tax records, the stock market, credit ratings, land registries, criminal records. In 16 minutes and 43-no, 42 seconds, the United Kingdom will reenter the Stone Age.
-->'''Bond:''' A worldwide financial meltdown.

** This is pretty obviously what Joker is thinking (and occasionally indirectly saying), during the interrogation scene in ''Film/TheDarkKnight''. First he practically rolls his eyes when he thinks Gordon is going to do an old fashioned GoodCopBadCop routine, then he criticizes Batman's lackluster attempts at [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique physical coercion]], and finally he winds up laughing in Batman's face after goading Bats into losing his temper. By the end he's outright cackling while taunting Batman about how all of Batman's physical strength and determination is utterly powerless to get Joker to reveal the locations of Harvey Dent and Rachel. (Joker only reveals said locations because that's part of his plan anyway.) Along the way he also chides Batman for trying to think/talk like a cop, which he definitely considers both boring and not Batman's true nature.

* ComicBook/TheJoker has been tripped up by this insult repeatedly: he [[DependingOnTheWriter usually]] likes to think of himself as unpredictable, chaotic, and something of an artistic genius, so pointing out that his evil plans actually tend towards being repetitive, uncreative and samey is something of a BerserkButton for him.
** The Cassandra Cain version of ComicBook/{{Batgirl}}, when fighting ComicBook/TheJoker, suddenly walks away saying, "Bored. You're boring." This infuriates him so much that he's thrown off-guard and she is able to subdue him.
** In the ''ComicBoo/BatmanVsTheIncredibleHulk'' crossover, the [[RealityWarper Shaper of Worlds]] gives Joker some of his power, allowing Joker to re-shape the world with his imagination. Batman soon accuses Joker of being uncreative, to which Joker begins re-shaping the world in more chaotic ways, eventually straining his mind to the breaking point.
** Joker was once kidnapped and tied to a chair by a self-proclaimed sadist who started punching him in the face repeatedly. Joker was not impressed and mocked the man's lack of creativity, especially when the beating made his face numb and the man couldn't think of what to do next.
** The Joker tried to use it on Batman in the one-off DarkerAndEdgier comic ''ComicBook/{{Joker}}''. When the two finally meet in the climax of the comic, the Joker goes on a rambling lecture where he talks about Batman's lack of style and how trite Joker find Batman's whole TerrorHero schtick.
--->'''Joker:''' Uhh, God you disgust me. You have no charm at all, just... obviousness. Dumb, dull. Disappointing. Obvious. Shame on you. Obvious... and everybody knows. You wear your shame like a badge, because you don't have the balls to actually pin one on. Yes, just look at you. Desperate to be feared, you want to be perceived as a monster, dressed in black.
** ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyondReturnOfTheJoker'': Happens at the climax. After the Joker reveals himself, Bruce radios Terry with specific instructions ''not'' to respond to the clown's gloating, as it's just what he wants. This is the proviso Batman used during the animated series whenever he fought Joker. Terry instead realizes that [[YouFightLikeACow he likes to talk, too]] and mocks the Joker over his obsession with Batman, ending in a very mocking, condescending laugh that [[VillainousBreakdown puts Joker over the edge]].
--->'''Joker:''' Funny guy...\\
'''Terry:''' Can't say the same for you.\\
'''Joker:''' [''loses all joviality''] Impudent brat! Who do you think you're talking to?!\\
'''Terry:''' Not a comedian, I'll tell you that!
*** In a flashback scene, the Joker does this to Batman after revealing that he knows that Batman is really Bruce Wayne:
--->''I must admit, it's sadly anti-climactic. Behind all the sturm and batarangs, you're just a little boy in a playsuit, crying for mommy and daddy! It'd be funny if it weren't so pathetic... Oh, what the heck, I'll laugh anyway! [[LaughingMad HAHAHAHAHA]]!''
*** Terry even gives an IronicEcho to the above:
--->''You make me laugh, but only 'cause I think you're kind of pathetic.''

** If a fight is too easy, Kenpachi will tend to call it boring, like when he and Byakuya easily defeat Yammy or when he kills Giriko with one slash.
** After Tsukishima uses his powers to read Byakuya's past and memorize all his techniques, he repeatedly pulls the NonchalantDodge on Byakuya's attacks and calls him boring. Byakuya had to pull an IndyPloy to defeat him.

%% Image removed per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1460234131077118400
%% Please start a new thread if you'd like to suggest a new image.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* In the climax of the ''ComicBook/DaredevilGuardianDevil'' storyline, ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} gets a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech about how totally unoriginal and copying of other villain's classic schemes [[spoiler:Mysterio]]'s EvilPlan is. [[spoiler:It drives Mysterio to commit suicide, snarking that he has one more villain to copy: [[ComicBook/KravensLastHunt Kraven]].]]
* This is at the heart of TheReasonYouSuckSpeech that [[MagnificentBastard Stillwell]] gives the Homelander in ''ComicBook/TheBoys''. Stillwell states that for all the Homelander's tremendous powers and abilities (Homelander being [[SupermanSubstitute an analogue of Superman]]), he's never taken a single action that wasn't petty or juvenile, that focused on anything larger than satisfying a passing whim or desire, or really required more than a moment of thought. Homelander's latest stunt, to TakeOverTheWorld with his fellow supers, is really just yet another example of that, and Stillwell is actually much more focused on the massive headache he has than the man who can casually reduce him to a smear on the floor. Remarkably enough this lecture ''saves Stillwell's life'', since it makes Homelander decide that rather than killing Stillwell then and there (which is what Homelander came to do in the first place), he's going to leave Stillwell alive long enough to make him eat those words first.
-->'''Stillwell:''' Why? Because I'm not impressed by you? Think about it. This is par for the course with you. When have you ever done anything remotely interesting or original? What have you thought of to do that the lowest speck of this pointless species couldn't, were they granted your level of power? And what next, destroy another airliner? Dismember more families, that kind of thing? A spoiled child's personal Auschwitz. [[EvilIsPetty It's so petty it's actually quite embarrassing]]. I'm just glad I won't be alive to see it...

[[folder:Films — Animated]]

* Bruce gets to deliver a similar BreakingSpeech to ComicBook/TheRiddler in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanHush'', accusing his supervillain name of being on the nose. The Riddler [[InferioritySuperiorityComplex did not like that, for some reason]].
--> '''Bruce:''' You tell riddles a ''fifth-grader'' could solve, you call yourself the Riddler. The sheer lack of imagination is staggering.

[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]

* ''Film/GoldenEye'': Subverted when Bond faces Janus towards the end, Boris just smirks and Janus points Bond fails to understand the ''real'' plan.

* Malcom Tucker from ''Film/InTheLoop'' is one of these, as he demolishes [[GeneralRipper Linton Barwick]] in his own [[ClusterFBomb inimitable]] [[CountryMatters style]].
--> '''Malcolm''': I've met a lot of psychos, but none as fucking ''boring'' as you -- I mean, you're a real boring ''fuck.'' [[SarcasmMode Oh, sorry.]] I know you don't approve of swearing, so we'll sort that out: you are a boring eff-star-star-'''CUNT.'''
* In ''Film/QuoVadis'', Petronius' suicide note to the Emperor Nero where he enjoins Nero to stop boring everyone with his bad poetry; he can continue to be a bloody tyrant, but could he please stop murdering the arts?

* In ''Film/{{Dredd}}'', when Dredd delivers his verdict over the PA system, he makes a point that Ma-Ma, the sadistic drug clan leader, is a "common criminal."

* Used against [[AlphaBitch Angela]] in ''Film/AmericanBeauty'', in reference to her earlier line, "There's nothing worse than being ordinary."
-->'''Angela:''' Well, at least I'm not ugly.\\
'''Ricky:''' ...Yes, you are. And you're boring. And you're totally ordinary. And you know it.

* At the end of the film version of Literature/AmericanPsycho, [[VillainProtagonist Patrick Bateman]] confesses several crimes to his lawyer, Harold Carnes, who [[MistakenIdentity mistakes his client for someone else]] and believes his list of [[RefugeInAudacity audacious]] killing sprees to be a hilarious joke that was otherwise undermined by the fact that the perpetrator was ''"Patrick Bateman"'', whom he views as being too much of a dorky, boring and spineless lightweight to commit murder. Adding insult to injury, Harold goes on to say that the "joke" would have been perfect had the perpetrator instead been [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter Timothy Bryce or Craig [=McDermott=]]], both of whom are part of Patrick's friend group. Patrick is visibly bothered by Harold's remark that was obliviously aimed towards him.
-->'''Harold Carnes:''' Davis, I'm not one to badmouth anyone. Your joke was amusing, but come on, man. You had one fatal flaw: Bateman is such a dork. Such a boring, spineless lightweight. Now if you said Bryce or [=McDermott=]... Otherwise, it was amusing. Now if you'll excuse me, I really must be going.
* ''Film/BirdsOfPrey2020'': Roman Sionis/Black Mask kidnaps Harley Quinn and ties her to a chair. He tries to threaten her with a ToThePain speech, but she keeps interrupting him and saying he's boring because she's heard all of them before.
* In ''Film/FreddyVsJason'', when [[DreamWeaver Freddy]] from ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet'' is finally forced to fight [[ImplacableMan Jason]] from ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' in the real world, he quickly runs down a list of Jason's weaknesses, finishing with a boring insult in true ArsonMurderAndJaywalking fashion.
-->'''Freddy Kreuger:''' You're [[MightyGlacier slow]]. You're [[DumbMuscle stupid]]. And ya got no style!

* The (real-life) critic Anthony Lane ended his review of ''Literature/HannibalRising'' by saying, about Hannibal Lecter: "He would kill me for saying it, but he's a bore."

* Creator/StephenKing dismisses Creator/EdgarAllanPoe as a boring writer in ''WebVideo/EpicRapBattlesOfHistory'', considering his stories to not be scary at all.
-->'''Poe:''' In a minitue maybe I'mma hit him, cut him into itty bitty bits and I'mma stick him in the floorboards!\\
'''King:''' [yawns] Speaking of bored, you're the worst. Dropped out of school but you can't drop a verse.

* The plot of ''VideoGame/BrainDead13'' stems from the villain, MadScientist BrainInAJar Dr. Neurosis, taking offense to the hero calling him an "average mad scientist".
* In ''VideoGame/SpiderManShatteredDimensions'', Spider-Man of 2099 essentially {{Troll}}s Doc Ock into having a VillainousBreakdown by responding to her boasts about how powerful and advanced her technology is with a disinterested "Meh".
* Rachel pulls this on [[BigBad Hazama]] in her bad ending for ''VideoGame/BlazBlueContinuumShift''. She tells him that for all his faults, [[ButtMonkey Ragna]] is still a more interesting man than he is. Hazama responds by kicking her teeth in. Much to his dismay, this doesn't get a reaction from her. [[FridgeBrilliance When you put it together, it makes sense]], Hazama fancies himself as the most awesome being ever, so if anyone else dares to think otherwise... that just pretty much hits his BerserkButton.

* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'', one of Severa's [[PreMortemOneLiner Pre-Mortem One-Liners]] is "You're boring me!"
* ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'': The krogan like to judge people on the quality of their enemies. As a result, to say someone is boring or NotWorthKilling is the most deadly insult in krogan culture there is: "I'll do the genophage the worst insult one can do to an enemy. I'll ignore it."
* In ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight'', ComicBook/TwoFace uses this trope against ComicBook/TheRiddler when they are locked in the same cell along with the other villains. However, since he suffers from a disorder that forces him to [[ConsultingMisterPuppet rely on a coin flip in order to come up with decisions]], and he's talking to a {{narcissist}} with genius intellect who enjoys [[InsufferableGenius insulting others intelligence]], this [[InsultBackfire backfires]] hilariously.
-->'''Two-Face:''' Your riddles are a cruel waste of time, just like Gotham's courts!\\
'''Riddler:''' [[SarcasmMode How nice to see you, Dent.]] Still relying on that coin to make decisions rather than faultless logic and cognitive prowess?
* In ''VideoGame/MarioPlusRabbidsKingdomBattle'', the Phantom of the Bwahpera, a boss who [[TheHeroSucksSong sings an opera that tears down Mario]], has an [[CutSong unused second act]] that taunts him about how little he and his companions hurt him, with two of the verses specifically stating that the boring plumber's blows are sleep-inducing.
-->[[TheHero Mario]], you're such a bore...\\
Your blows just make me snore!
* In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', one of Xigbar's battle quotes in the first half of the fight is him taunting Sora with "You're putting me to sleep, bucko!" if Sora goes a long time without attacking him.

* Used dead seriously in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime''. In one episode, Megatron reveals that's he's been aware of Starscream's treachery since the start, but has tolerated it as long as it was entertaining. Now that he's become predictable, Megatron [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness no longer cares to put up with it.]]

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'', Kaeloo receives a letter from someone claiming to be a fan of the show and criticizing her for being "boring". [[spoiler: She eventually gets sent into an extreme rage when she finds out that [[CatsAreMean Mr. Cat]] wrote said letter just to annoy her.]]
* In his final confrontation with The Lich on ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' Finn says this regarding the Lich and how evil and malevolent it is. Plenty of characters in the show that Finn has encountered have all sorts of back stories or reasons for why they act the way they do, the Lich is ultimately nothing but hardwired destructiveness and anti-life.
-->'''Finn:''' You're so evil it's boring. You're basic, man.
* ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'': Louise complains that one of the guests Linda invited to Louise's "surprise" slumber party is extremely boring, describing her as "red-headed wallpaper". [[spoiler: It seems to just be a defense mechanism to avoid being invited to slumber parties because of her chronic bed-wetting problem]].
--> '''Louise:''' And then there's Jessica. Bland, boring Jessica! If she were a spice, she'd be ''flour''. If she were a book, she'd be two books.

* ''Anime/YuGiOhArcV'': Jack Atlas constantly calls other duelists boring due to seeing them as too weak to be a proper challenge.

* On ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', this was the CatchPhrase of [[EvilTwin Evil Vampire Willow]], in the [[AlternateUniverse Wish!Verse]], an alternate universe where Buffy never came to Sunnydale. [[spoiler:Gets a MeaningfulEcho several seasons later when Willow [[CruelAndUnusualDeath flays Warren alive]] in revenge for the AccidentalMurder of Tara.]]

* ''LightNovel/FateZero'': Gilgamesh dismisses Tokiomi Tohsaka as boring since all he cares about is reaching [[AkashicRecords The Root]], which Gilgamesh dismisses as foolish since he only cares about material treasures and the here and now.

* The (real-life) critic Anthony Lane ended his review of ''Hannibal Rising'' by saying, about Hannibal Lecter: "He would kill me for saying it, but he's a bore."