Line #11 PlayingWith/GeneralFailure


1	'''Basic Trope''': An incompetent military commander of the highest order.
2	* '''Straight''': Gen. Millhouse of Company D is best known for never winning a battle, due to his inability to keep his secret plans secret.
3	* '''Exaggerated''':
4	** Gen. Millhouse of Company D is best known for never winning a battle, because he refuses to keep a clock; thus, he's either too early or too late to spring a surprise attack on his enemy.
5	** Gen. Millhouse of Company D ''doesn't understand the concept of winning or losing''.
6	* '''Downplayed''': Gen. Millhouse of Company D is known for being a decent general. Unfortunately, his battles are all fought against [[OvershadowedByAwesome hyper-competent foes]], who often seem to know his plan before he came up with it.
7	* '''Justified''':
8	** His placement on Company D is part of a {{plan}} of some kind.
9	** Gen. Millhouse's side suffered horrible losses previously and needed to fill gaps in its command structure, resulting in Millhouse undergoing YouAreInCommandNow. However good he was in handling small-unit tactics or even field-level strategy, high command is a whole different ballgame, one he's not up to handling.
10	** He's in a high position because of his [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections who his friends and/or family are]], not because of his skills or experience.
11	** Gen. Millhouse should have retired in 1995, now he's just a ScatterbrainedSenior.
12	** Gen. Millhouse's tactics are outdated and being a firm believer in OlderIsBetter, he refuses to keep up with the times.
13	* '''Inverted''':
14	** [[FourStarBadass Gen. Millhouse is actually the brightest general on the whole army.]]
15	** SurroundedByIdiots
16	** AlmightyJanitor
17	* '''Subverted''': Gen. Millhouse is just a CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass...
18	* '''Double Subverted''':
19	** ...with more emphasis on moron.
20	** ...who's a ModernMajorGeneral; he can [[RankScalesWithAsskicking fight better than his subordinates]] but is completely incompetent at commanding an army.
21	** (from Averted) Brightest doesn't say a lot when [[ImprobablyLowIQ Company D's IQ totals 55]].
22	** … or when the whole army's IQ is in that range.
23	* '''Parodied''':
24	** Gen. Millhouse gets high on a daily basis, frequently plots improbable strategies, and plays RussianRoulette because he thinks it's a fun game.
25	** (At security monitor) "I keep clicking on the tank, but it won't answer! I think the game's broken, man!"
26	* '''Zig Zagged''': Gen. Millhouse is a mad man one day, a bright one the next.
27	* '''Averted''': Gen. Millhouse is the brightest man on Company D, period.
28	* '''Enforced''': "Let's show them all what not to do in a war! Make one general a total dunce!"
29	* '''Lampshaded''': "I wonder how somebody that incompetent became an officer."
30	* '''Invoked''': "Don't assign Millhouse to lead this operation! That idiot might as well be working for the enemy!" Guess what they're gonna do.
31	* '''Exploited''': [[TheMole General Mohl]], who actually works for the enemy, deliberately assigns General Millhouse to the strategically important Company D just before a major attack.
32	* '''Defied''': Gen. Millhouse is stripped of his command once it's apparent how stupid he is.
33	* '''Discussed''': "What planet is that Gen. Millhouse from?!"
34	* '''Conversed''': "How did the supposedly invincible Company D end up with such an idiot commanding officer?"
35	* '''Implied''':
36	** In the strategy game ''Tropian Wars'', your first few missions as a commander have you taking over for Millhouse. As you get further into the game, the player learns strategy and only then can realize what a mess the troops were in during the first level.
37	** Gen. Millhouse is only seen in command once and that is before the Troperian Forces [[CurbStompBattle get stomped]].
38	* '''Deconstructed''': Gen. Millhouse's stupidity gets his men and everyone around him into deep trouble, and he's called out for his idiocy before he's stripped of command or court martialed.
39	* '''Reconstructed''': ...But that was actually part of ThePlan to win the war in the first place...
40	* '''Plotted A Good Waste''': Millhouse never has a significant improvement. When it seems he may be using better tactics, he ends up wasting the opportunity he made and loses yet another battle.
41	* '''Played For Laughs''': It's not that Millhouse is bad; it's that it's impossible for him to win a battle, but everything gets pinned on him, including soldiers taking breaks, defying orders, or incredibly random items like a plane suddenly crashing on an allied building.
42	* '''Played For Drama''':
43	** Gen. Millhouse [[WeHaveReserves callously throws his troops at the enemy]], resulting in mass casualties on both sides.
44	** Gen. Millhouse [[TheMole is a traitor]] who is intentionally sabotaging the war effort by being so incompetent.
45	* '''Played For Horror''': Gen. Millhouse is not a bad general and tries his best; unfortunately, the surroundings he works in are a Kafkaesque hell where [[FinaglesLaw nothing ever goes right]], and Millhouse is eventually stripped of command after one too many of his soldiers [[DiabolusExMachina die to random strokes of misfortune]] [[HeroicBSOD and he suffers a nervous breakdown]].
46	----
47	Back to GeneralFailure.

Context PlayingWith / GeneralFailure