History Main / OverclockingAttack

* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': Kirk made a career out of this.
** Also, as nearly done in "The Menagerie", hand phasers can be set to overload and cause a huge explosion. This is a deliberate feature.

* ''VideoGame/FZero'': Black Shadow's doomsday device is overloaded by driving around it in circles. The resulting explosion can be seen from a view of the galaxy.

* In the ''ComicBook/XMen'' ''ComicBook/CivilWar'' storyline: While [[MindControl Mind Controlled]], [[EyeBeams Cyclops ]] hits [[EnergyAbsorption Bishop]] with more energy than he can actually absorb. Bishop is able to vent it in time, with enough interest to blow the limb off a [[HumongousMecha Sentinel]]. They later (when Cyclops is no longer mind controlled) use the combination intentionally to [[BatteringRam break down a bunker door]] before it [[SelfDestructMechanism explodes]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/APupNamedScoobyDoo'' episode title "The Computer Walks Among Us", Velma use this strategy to deal with her robot, the Dinkley 2000, which follows everything command until it gone crazy. The robot catches the gang off guard and grabs Freddie, Daphne, and Shaggy, and devours them, before moving in on Velma. After asking Scooby something, she gets an idea to stop the robot. She and Scooby ask the robot to do several chores at once until it overloads. Freddie, Daphne, and Shaggy then emerge from the robot unharmed. Velma explains that Scooby reminded her that the robot was designed to follow every command.

** Also, in the special episode "The Lost Episode," Beast Boy taunts the [[ThePowerOfRock guitar-shredding]] villain Punk Rocket into overloading his guitar amps by turning the volume [[UpToEleven up to ten]].

* Stuxnet computer worm [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuxnet#Natanz_nuclear_facilities attacked and incapacitated Iranian uranium enrichment plants]] by raising and lowering the speed of the centrifuges, causing them to spin erratically until they sustained critical physical damage.

* Stuxnet computer worm [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuxnet#Natanz_nuclear_facilities attacked Iranian uranium enrichment plants]] by raising and lowering the speed of the centrifuges, causing physical damage.

* In TabletopGame/YuGiOh, there is a Spell Card called [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Limiter_Removal Limiter Removal.]] The card doubles the attack of machine monsters but with the drawback of destroying them at the end of the turn.

* In the VideoGame/Skylanders book series ''Mask of Power'', the final book has [[BigBad Kaos]] finish building the [[MacGuffinTitle titular doomsday mask]], only to be defeated when the skylanders tricks his ego into trying to use ''all'' of their powers at the same time, something that should never be attempted, mask of power or no mask of power. Kaos attempts this challenge, and the resulting explosion destroys the mask and immobilises Kaos.

** Goku defeats the light-eating monster Yakon in the same way, feeding him with energy until he explodes. His use in this case is fully justified because Goku is far stronger than his opponent, and can output more energy than Yakon can handle. This also means that Goku could have defeated him using more conventional methods if he desired; he was partly toying with his enemy.

* In ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda3'', [[spoiler: Po defeats Kai by firing his chi, which manifests into a dragon, at him. Kai is at first pleased, but soon realizes that the chi is too much for him to handle and promptly explodes]].

* During the climax of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'', the heroes discover that the source of BigBad [[spoiler:Wesker]]'s [[GodMode insane powers]] is [[spoiler:[[VirusMisnomer a virus]]]]. They also discover that [[spoiler:the virus is unstable and must be injected regularly in precise doses]], so their grand plan to defeat him amounts to overclocking ''him'' by [[spoiler:injecting him with copious amounts of it]]. [[spoiler:It doesn't do anything but make him angry]]. [[spoiler:It also hideously disfigures him. If he [[JokerImmunity somehow survived]], the next time we see him he'll be a crispy mass of tentacles with CoolShades.]]

** Goku defeats the light-eating monster Yakon in the same way, feeding him with energy until he explodes.

* In ''WesternAnimation/APupNamedScoobyDoo''' ep "The Computer Walks Among Us", Velma use this strategy to deal with her robot, the Dinkley 2000, which follows everything command but gone crazy. The robot catches the gang off guard and grabs Freddie, Daphne, and Shaggy, and devours them, before moving in on Velma. After asking Scooby something, she gets an idea to stop the robot. She and Scooby ask the robot to do several chores at once until it overloads. Freddie, Daphne, and Shaggy then emerge from the robot unharmed. Velma explains that Scooby reminded her that the robot was designed to follow every command.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{A Pup Named Scooby-Doo}}'' ep "The Computer Walks Among Us", Velma use this strategy to deal with her robot, the Dinkley 2000, which follows everything command but gone crazy. The robot catches the gang off guard and grabs Freddie, Daphne, and Shaggy, and devours them, before moving in on Velma. After asking Scooby something, she gets an idea to stop the robot. She and Scooby ask the robot to do several chores at once until it overloads. Freddie, Daphne, and Shaggy then emerge from the robot unharmed. Velma explains that Scooby reminded her that the robot was designed to follow every command.

* ''WesternAnimation/SonicTheHedgehogSatAM'': Sonic has been known to do this from time to time.

* The second ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'' movie, ''Our War Game'', has Izzy stopping Diaboromon on the Internet by redirecting a huge stream of email to the villain's address, causing it to slow down till it's frozen, allowing Omnimon to take him out. Clogging a connection by sending massive amounts of data through it is at least a very realistic approach.
** Also counts as a ChekhovsGun since the same thing was happening to the heroes, who would have been able to beat Diaboromon from the beginning if millions of kids hadn't been constantly emailing them and clogging the bandwidth.

** One NonSerialMovie has a giant metallic energy-absorbing star as the evil Applied Phlebotinum device. Goku defeats this by overloading it with his own Super Saiyan energy, which causes it to explode in a chain reaction.

* ''WesternAnimation/SonicSatAM'': Sonic has been known to do this from time to time.

* In ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda3'', Po defeats Kai by firing his chi, which manifests into a dragon, at him. Kai is at first pleased, but soon realizes that the chi is too much for him to handle and promptly explodes.

[[folder:Film]]

* In Series/{{Andromeda}}, the High Guard's Force Lances can be set to overload and used as a grenade. This is a built-in feature.

* In the ''Comicbook/XMen'' ''Comicbook/CivilWar'' storyline: While [[MindControl Mind Controlled]], [[EyeBeams Cyclops ]] hits [[EnergyAbsorption Bishop]] with more energy than he can actually absorb. Bishop is able to vent it in time, with enough interest to blow the limb off a [[HumongousMecha Sentinel]]. They later (when Cyclops is no longer mind controlled) use the combination intentionally to [[BatteringRam break down a bunker door]] before it [[SelfDestructMechanism explodes]].
[[/folder]

* In the ''Comicbook/XMen'' ''Comicbook/CivilWar'' storyline: While [[MindControl Mind Controlled]], [[EyeBeams Cyclops ]] hits [[EnergyAbsorbtion Bishop]] with more energy than he can actually absorb. Bishop is able to vent it in time, with enough interest to blow the limb off a [[HumongousMecha Sentinel]]. They later (when Cyclops is no longer mind controlled) use the combination intentionally to [[BatteringRam break down a bunker door]] before it [[SelfDestructMechanism explodes]].