History Main / TerroristsWithoutACause

* The Ten Rings terrorist organization in the ''Film/IronMan'' films have no discernible cause beyond conquest and power. [[spoiler:It's eventually revealed that they're an ancient international organization ruled by the mysterious Mandarin, not that his own motivations are particularly clear]]. That said, the Afghan cell that kidnapped Tony Stark in the [[Film/IronMan1 first film]] [[spoiler:was actually hired by Obadiah Stane to kill him as part of an exchange for money and weapons; they decided instead to keep Tony alive and make him build weapons for them because Stane wasn't paying them enough]].

* Le Papillion/Hawkmoth from ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' seems like this at first- his usual tactic is "turn random person into MonsterOfTheWeek, order them to capture heroes' [[TransformationTrinket Miraculouses]], hope they succeed, curse when they inevitably fail". You might wonder what he wants to use the Miraculous for, and it's not until the very end of the first season that the audience find out: [[spoiler: He wants to use them to bring his wife BackFromTheDead.]] [[DoubleSubverted However]] by the Season 5 premiere [[MotiveDecay he's so driven to achieve victory the way he wants to]] (and the way he wants to is by defeating Ladybug and Cat Noir) that [[spoiler:he lets go a perfect chance to save his wife through TimeTravel]] just to keep trying to defeat them. [[spoiler:This is an act of StupidEvil so overt that his assistant Natalie, who up until that point was his most loyal follower, gets so ticked off that [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere she quits]]]].

* Marcus Cole and his gang in ''Film/Derailed2002''. After siezing the train, Cole even announces to the hostages that he has no political or religious agenda.

* TB in ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' Teddy Bomber episode ''has'' a reason that's very important to him for bombing tall buildings, and he keeps trying to explain it, but every last time he tries, he's [[TheUnReveal interrupted]].

* Creator/MegCabot's ''Literature/AllAmericanGirl'' begins with a botched presidential assassination, but deliberately avoids political commentary in favor of examining the life of the bystander who thwarted the attack. The solution? The assassin was obsessed with a supermodel, and convinced himself that killing the president would impress her (likely based on John Hinckley's motive for shooting Reagan).

* The villains in ''Film/{{Next}}'' are terrorists. Just terrorists. They seem to be a bunch of French-speaking Eurotrash led by a guy that looks like Gavrilo Princip. The best we can figure, they were trying to liberate Quebec from California and have it form a part of a new Greater Serbia. Or maybe it was just the ''ennui.''

* In the ''WesternAnimation/ActionMan2000'' series Asazi is described as a "Terrorist for hire" until she became TheDarkChick for the Council Of D.O.O.M.

* ''VideoGame/RedOCean'', a little-known FPS who's as mediocre as it's obscure, have the player battling a generic-as-hell terrorist syndicate called the United Arms after uncovering their UnderwaterBase, besides sabotaging their superweapons in three boss battles. The ExcusePlot is as loose as it could get in this one.

* ''VideoGame/RedOCean'', a little-known FPS who's as mediocre as it's obscure, have the player battling a generic-as-hell, unnamed terrorist syndicate after uncovering their UnderwaterBase, besides sabotaging their superweapons in three boss battles. The ExcusePlot is as loose as it could get in this one.

* Americon Initiative in ''Series/{{Revenge}}'', the organization behind the downing of Flight 197, initially appear to be this. However, it is later revealed in the Season 2 finale that [[spoiler: they are merely a front for a group of wealthy businessmen seeking to profit from the aftermaths of disasters.]]

Not only is this done in order to not insult anybody's religion or politics (or earn the ire of people with a known tendency to blow up people they don't like). In many cases, a cause is [[LawOfConservationOfDetail simply irrelevant to the plot]], the terrorists are only there to give the macho ActionHero something to punch/shoot at without a second thought or consequences. Moreover, any cause, if presented, runs the risk of [[StrawmanHasAPoint actually making sense]] ([[MisaimedFandom if only]] [[DracoInLeatherPants to some people]]), maybe [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality even more sense]] than the hero's animalistic urge to kill with extreme prejudice.

* The 1940s ''WesternAnimation/{{Superman}}'' episode "Destruction, Inc.", while otherwise one of the series' better efforts, never gets around to explaining ''why'' they're wreaking havoc at the factory.

Not only is this done in order to not insult anybody's religion or politics (or earn the ire of people with a known tendency to blow up people they don't like). In many cases, a cause is [[LawOfConservationOfDetail simply irrelevant to the plot]], the terrorists are only there to give the macho ActionHero something to punch/shoot at without a second thought or consequences. Moreover, any cause, if presented, runs the risk of [[StrawmanHasAPoint actually making sense]] ([[MisguidedFandom if only]] [[DracoInLeatherPants to some people]]), maybe [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality even more sense]] than the hero's animalistic urge to kill with extreme prejudice.

Not only is this done in order to not insult anybody's religion or politics (or earn the ire of people with a known tendency to blow up people they don't like). In many cases, a cause is [[LawOfConservationOfDetail simply irrelevant to the plot]], the terrorists are only there to give the macho ActionHero something to punch/shoot at without a second thought or consequences. Moreover, any cause, if presented, runs the risk of [[StrawmanHasAPoint actually making sense]] ([[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation if only]] [[DracoInLeatherPants to some people]]), maybe [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality even more sense]] than the hero's animalistic urge to kill with extreme prejudice.

Obviously, this is not a realistic representation of how terrorism actually works. Terrorism, by its definition, is intended to further some ideology or goal. Rather than engaging in random violence, terrorists generally pick their targets based on symbolic or strategic value. Rather than wearing their evil on their sleeves, [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters terrorists generally believe they're the good guys]]. All of these things are often ignored in media, especially in [[PropagandaPiece propaganda]].

Not only is this done in order to not insult anybody's religion or politics (or earn the ire of people with a known tendency to blow up people they don't like), in many cases, a cause is [[LawOfConservationOfDetail simply irrelevant to the plot]], the macho ActionHero just needs a plausible excuse to kick/shoot at things without a second thought. Moreover, any cause, if presented, runs the risk of [[StrawmanHasAPoint actually making sense]] ([[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation if only]] [[DracoInLeatherPants to some people),]] maybe [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality even more sense]] than the hero's animalistic urge to kill with extreme prejudice.

* More like Terrorists With Flexible Causes: The ''Empty Quarter'' oneshot ''Comicbook/ThePunisher'' comic had Frank Castle and a Mossad agent crashing a meeting of every major terrorist group in the world. The purpose of the meeting: [[EvilIsOneBigHappyFamily terrorist groups with radically different agendas would basically trade targets, so the authorities wouldn't see them coming.]] This included plans for blowing up the Vatican, [[FridgeLogic with no mention of how, say, the IRA members in the room felt about that.]]

* Le Papillion/Hawkmoth from ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' seems like this at first- his usual tactic is "turn random person into MonsterOfTheWeek, order them to capture heroes' [[TransformationTrinket Miraculouses]], hope they succeed, curse when they inevitably fail". You might wonder what he wants to use the Miraculous for, and it's not until the very end of the first season that the audience find out: [[spoiler: He wants to use them to bring his wife BackFromTheDead.]] [[DoubleSubverted However]] by the Season 4 premiere [[MotiveDecay he's so driven to achieve victory the way he wants to]] (and the way he wants to is by defeating Ladybug and Cat Noir) that [[spoiler:he lets go a perfect chance to save his wife through TimeTravel]] just to keep trying to defeat them. [[spoiler:This is an act of StupidEvil so overt that his assistant Natalie, who up until that point was his most loyal follower, gets so ticked off that [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere she quits]]]].

* Le Papillion/Hawkmoth from ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' seems like this at first- his usual tactic is "turn random person into MonsterOfTheWeek, order them to capture heroes' [[TransformationTrinket Miraculouses]], hope they succeed, curse when they inevitably fail". You might wonder what he wants to use the Miraculous for, and it's not until the very end of the first season that the audience find out: [[spoiler: He wants to use them to bring his wife BackFromTheDead.]]

Not only is this done in order to not insult anybody's religion or politics (or earn the ire of people with a known tendency to blow up people they don't like), in many cases, a cause is [[LawOfConservationOfDetail simply irrelevant to the plot]], the macho ActionHero just needs a plausible excuse to kick/shoot at things without a second thought. Moreover, any cause, if presented, runs the risk of [[StrawmanHasAPoint actually making sense]] ([[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation if only]] [[DracoInLeatherPants to some people),]] maybe [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality even more sense]] than the hero's animalistic urge to KillThemAll with extreme prejudice.

* On a smaller scale, Gus Van Sant's ''Film/{{Elephant}}'' showcases a pair of [[AxesAtSchool School Shooters]] Without A Cause. Sure we are given multiple ''potential'' causes (neo-Nazism, closeted homosexuality, [[MurderSimulators violent]] [[NewMediaAreEvil videogames]], LonersAreFreaks, bad parenting, etc), but the story never quite decides to point to a ''specific'' cause for the two to take up arms and kill everybody they can inside the school (and the shooters never explain themselves). At least one critic felt that giving the shooters such a contrived "perfect storm" of reasons to be violent psycho-killers in an attempt to make the reason a RiddleForTheAges [[RealityIsUnrealistic made them much more of a caricature instead]].

** Subverted in ''Global Offensive'', where the terrorists for each map has a specific motive: TheCartel (Aztec and Inferno), scene kids rebelling against TheMan (Office), a RightwingMilitiaFanatic group (Italy), and bank robbers (Vertigo).

* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' has [[FunWithAcronyms MECH]], a cyberterrorist group whose goals aren't very clearly stated.

* ''VideoGame/CounterStrike''. Well, since it's multiplayer-only and has no plot. The terrorists have some {{backstory}}, but the fighting going on has no plot other than special forces and terrorists blasting each other. It doesn't need one. Subverted and played straight in ''Condition: Zero'' - the single-player has you completing non-plot objects [e.g.: kill five terrorists in a row within so-and-so time], but ''Deleted Scenes'' has actual stories behind it. Although, a few episodes don't explain why the terrorists got the hostages or why there's a bunch of homicidal jihadi trying to kill you.