Reality Ensues/Surprisingly Realistic Outcome cleanup

Assessments look good, I think the Fear example qualifies

From Buffy the Vampire Slayer S4E20 "The Yoko Factor"

• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Angel comes back to apologize to Buffy for his actions in "Sanctuary" because while both of their viewpoints regarding Faith were legitimate, he went too far in exiling her from Los Angeles. Not to mention Buffy pointed out that, in her view, Angel chose Faith over her, which was very not cool considering what Faith did to both of them. He gets in a fight with her new boyfriend over their mutual jealousy, which Buffy has to break up as she threatens to put them both in the hospital. Even though Buffy accepts his apology when they finally talk about what happened, she also shuts down any attempts of reconciliation. They're too different now.
  • The fight itself. While Riley is a soldier running on drugs to make him peak human with weapons and some combat experience, Angel is a centuries-plus vampire whose martial prowess is legendary to both good and evil alike, has vampire superhuman strength, and has much, MUCH more experience in combat and fighting evil. While Riley is able to use his weapons to his advantage and (for a human) is able to do pretty well for himself, he is completely out of his league and the moment Angel starts taking the fight seriously, Riley is utterly decimated.

Not sure about the first one but the second is definitely too fantastical.

Angel didn't come to "reconcile" with Buffy in the sense of them having any kind of relationship going forward. He just felt their argument shouldn't have ended so harshly and wanted to apologise for his side of it. Meanwhile, she needed to accept the validity of his side of the argument (which she'd refused to before). So, they both get what they want and part on neutral terms (instead of hostile ones), having both accepted each other's point of view as valid.

That's not surprising (Angel got his point across in his show and Buffy got her point across in her show, which is exactly what we'd expect from the two shows). Conclusion? Status Quo Is God — they're not together, will not be together, and will maintain their lifestyles in their separate geographic locations accepting the choices and beliefs of the other.

That's all it was about — getting peaceful closure for both of them. I really don't think SRO applies here, it was just tying off the loose ends of a storyline and establishing that they're not going to keep barging into each other's show.

This entry from The Hypnotists just got deleted due to the kind of hereditary mind control hypnotism in these books being seen as too divorced from actual realistic outcomes. I feel that at least the first and third points might be salgable though.

• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
  • One member of the Sandman's Guild, Ivan, is an ex-salesman who hypnotized customers into buying TVs they didn't want or need. But since hypnotism is generally temporary, the customers kept returning the unwanted TVs soon after buying them, which cost Ivan his job.
  • Jax's father is a Muggle Born of Mages with no hypnotic powers, unlike his ancestors, and he is terrified of being around anyone with hypnosis (although it's stronger with memories of his parents than with his son). Spending every day around people who can control your thoughts without you remembering it may have its perks at times, but it can lead to Paranoia Fuel about whether anything you do that remotely pleases a hypnotist is done under your own free will or not.
  • Jax spends the middle portion of the series Un Personing himself to go into hiding from Dr. Mako. Once he's finally able to return to his old life, all the missing records mean that he lacks the necessary seventh grade exams to enter eighth grade, forcing him to hypnotize his principal to get around that.

Potential edits with changes in bold.

• One member of the Sandman's Guild, Ivan, is an ex-salesman who hypnotized customers into buying TVs they didn't want or need. But, like many salespeople who somehow trick or manipulate people into buying things they don't want or need, he couldn't control whether they'd take advantage of the refund option after noticing that the purchase was unsuitable, with all the returns costing Ivan his job.
• Jax spends the middle portion of the series Un Personing himself to go into hiding from Dr. Mako. Once he's finally able to return to his old life, all the missing records he erased of his time as a student make it difficult for him to proof that he took the necessary seventh exams to enter eighth grade.

The more you explain those examples, the less they qualify. They come off as simply plot point b following plot point a.

It sounds logical and realistic enough, but hardly surprising in either case.

The surprising part would come from how in some works of fiction, people don't get refunds for stuff they're tricked into purchasing, or are able to just settle back to normal after getting rid of evidence of their past existence.

That still has to be set up though, or indicated in some way. Because in just as many works of fiction, people would do those things.

Scamming or stealing from people is usually considered an antagonistic act, so the victims regaining their money or otherwise being compensated is expected unless the work is deliberately going for a Bittersweet Ending or Downer Ending, or the bad guy is intended to be a Karma Houdini.

Having to go into hiding is an obstacle for the hero to overcome, so it causing issues is also the expected outcome. And "the hero has to go into hiding, but returns to public life with no issue once the threat is dealt with" sounds too specific to have any expected Acceptable Breaks from Reality.

Plus, there's the obvious issue of realism, since in real life, someone has to willingly let themselves be hypnotized for it to have any effect. So the fact that the people didn't just decide "I don't want to be hypnotized" and No-Sell it just like that means that it's not actually a realistic outcome.

Characters.Star Wars The First Order

• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: They took out the New Republic's leadership and main fleet in an opening decapitation strike, then conquered the entire galaxy in a matter of weeks, achieving a complete military victory. Problem is, Palpatine created the Empire from within the Republic (by orchestrating a civil war with the Separatists, so the galaxy would want to give up freedom for security), while the First Order tried to impose a new Empire on the galaxy from without. Palpatine also simply had to turn the Republic's galactic-scale wartime military into the Empire's military. In contrast, the First Order was a disproportionately well-armed hermit state on the fringe of the galaxy. The result is that they bit off more than they could chew and too fast: by the final movie, one year after Starkiller Base, their forces are spread thin across the galaxy, which is filled with planetary governments who fear them when their ships are in orbit, but would turn on them as soon as they shift forces elsewhere. They're spread so thin that the Resistance, which had been reduced to a single ship of their key leadership, managed to reconstitute itself in a single year while the First Order was too busy trying to hold on to what they had taken. Fortunately for them, Palpatine anticipated that would happen and had a fleet of Xyston-class Star Destroyers, armed with Sith Troopers, TIE Daggers, and AAL-2100/9.5 atmospheric assault landers ready to reinforce the First Order at a moment's notice.

I believe misuse as not a characterization trope and fails to prove a/the unrealistic outcome audiences expected. Correct?

• Spider-Man:
  • Superior Spider Man:
    • Thanks to a combination of his own ruthlessness and inability to comprehend just how powerful his new body is, Otto beating up his enemies tends to be a lot nastier than what Peter usually does when he isn't holding back. This results in stuff like him knocking out the Black Cat's tooth and taking off the Scorpion's jaw with a punch. Happens too frequently to be surprising
    • The Black Cat has been a Karma Houdini for most of her history, having avoided prison due to her relationship with Spider-Man. When Otto in Spider-Man's body catches her in the midst of a heist, he beats her up and leaves her for the police, as he has no relationship with her and has no reason to go easy on her. This results in the Black Cat, who already has a history of being petty and vengeful towards Spider-Man over imagined slights, pulling a Face–Heel Turn. Character reaction and too fantastical
  • The Amazing Spider-Man (Nick Spencer):
    • While in Peter's body, Otto wrote a thesis ripped from one he wrote in his original identity. When it is discovered that the two papers are the same, Peter finds himself accused of plagiarism. Since revealing the truth will reveal his identity as Spider-Man, he's labeled a fraud, fired from the Daily Bugle because of the scandal and scorned by Aunt May. Too fantastical
    • The Life Foundation sank millions of dollars into preparing for a global catastrophe. As a result, they went bankrupt some time ago. Focusing too much on the future and not enough on the present has a habit of backfiring on you. Not surprising
    • Due to screwing over the other members of the Sinister Several, they want nothing to do with Boomerang and he's now so incredibly lonely he made LMDs of them to keep him company. Turns out constantly stabbing others in the back leaves one short on friends. Chronic Backstabbing Disorder deconstruction
    • Just because someone turns away from one kind of villainy doesn't mean they're always on the side of angels. Spidey learns this the hard way when Black Cat, despite abandoning her "Queenpin" schtick, shows that she is still very much a thief. Character reaction
    • While Jonah is trying to be supportive to Spider-Man ever since Peter revealed his secret identity to him, Jonah is still a man who is a bit wrapped up in himself. When Peter tries to get him to refuse the award Fisk wants to give him and stop saying Peter supports Fisk, Jonah refuses because this is his time to shine. Joanh's relationship with Robbie has also soured because Robbie is no longer listening to his advice on matters regarding the Daily Bugle. Character reaction
    • Several years of accusing Spider-Man of being a menace comes back to haunt Jonah when he's confronted by the son of Frederick "Big Boss" Foswell who has become radicalized into seeing Spider-Man as a villain who framed his father and wants Jonah to kill the Web-Slinger. Character reaction
    • Due to the rise of New Media and the lack of sensationalism that J. Jonah Jameson provided coupled with Peter being discredited, the Daily Bugle is falling under hard times. Plot happens
    • This also bites Jolly Jonah in the ass as his sensationalism towards Spider-Man being removed means he's losing listeners and his spot on the radio show. Plot happens
    • Between his obnoxious personality and frequent backstabbing, Boomerang has made a lot of enemies within the supervillain community. This is best exemplified when the Syndicate, most of whom are people he has crossed at some point, come after him. Not an outcome
    • Teaming up with someone you barely know how to fight alongside with will result in you most likely losing. Spider-Man and Boomerang are overwhelmed by the Syndicate who actually trained together. Worse, one of Boomerang's weapons accidentally puts Spider-Man to sleep allowing the Syndicate to kidnap Boomerang for Kingpin. Plot happens
    • Boomerang has a long history of backstabbing and betraying everyone he knows. Yet despite this, Peter decides to try and help him turn his life around, giving Boomerang the help that others gave him. Unfortunately, Boomerang proves to be unworthy of this trust, as it turns out he was playing Peter the entire time he knew him, specifically searching him out as a roommate just to get in touch with Spider-Man to help him in his scheme to steal the Life Stone Tablet for Fisk. Character reaction
    • In issue #10, Spider-Man reveals his identity to the Black Cat, restoring her memories of their past relationship. However, six issues later we see that this has taken quite a toll on the Black Cat's mind; she keeps getting flashbacks to her and Peter's previous relationship which causes her no end of stress. Turns out that removing someone's memories and the restoring them doesn't come without consequences. Character reaction and too fantastical
    • The Black Cat deciding to go legit didn't leave her without enemies; Hammerhead, her partner-in-crime when she was the Queenpin, sells her out to Taskmaster and Black Ant as revenge for abandoning him. Plot happens
    • In Ends of the Earth, Silver Sable seemingly drowns as Otto Octavius's underwater base collapses with her still in it. However, she returns much later. Issue #33 reveals that Silver sustained severe, life-threatening injuries from the base's destruction that left her bed-ridden and the Silver Sable we saw after Ends of the Earth was actually an android avatar she used to hide her true condition. Turns out that Made of Iron only does so much and surviving an underwater base crashing down on you doesn't leave you unscathed. Too fantastical
• Marvel hero NFL Superpro's bulletproof costume was built by a brilliant inventor/sports memorabilia collector, who designed it to be the safest and most durable football uniform ever built. When Superpro asks him why every player doesn't have one, the inventor explains that the superstrong materials needed to make it cost millions of dollars, making it totally impractical for mass production. Not an outcome
• During Warren Ellis' Ultimate Fantastic Four run, the team travels to Denmark to capture Doctor Doom and turn him over to the U.S. military. The story ends with the Danish military not only protecting Doom, but then forcibly ejecting both the Fantastic Four and the American soldiers from their country. Governments don't respond well to foreign groups barging onto their property to take an affluent citizen. Valid?
  • Mainstream Fantastic Four Doom is protected by a similar case of reality, only he's even better protected since he's the ruler of Latveria. Being in charge of a major, first-world country means that he can cover-up or get away with his attacks on the Fantastic Four pretty easily. Most governments aren't willing to start a war with someone just because they keep harassing four people. That said, this example flouts and ignores international law so much it starts to go in the other direction... Not realistic. It explicitly states it flouts and ignores international law.
• Thunderbolts:
  • In an early issue, the heroes have to stop a plane from crashing into New York City. When MACH-I suggests that Meteorite use her super strength to catch it, she retorts by saying that all grabbing onto the fuselage will do is cause the plane to rip itself apart, since it has far too much weight and momentum to suddenly change direction without shattering. Not an outcome
  • In issue #25, the Thunderbolts infiltrate the Masters of Evil's lair to stop them from using a weather control machine to extort a trillion-dollar ransom from the governments of the world. Realizing the T-Bolts are hopelessly outnumbered, Hawkeye has Moonstone pretend to defect in order to gain the trust of the Crimson Cowl, the leader of the Masters. However, when Moonstone shows up and offers to join the Masters, the Crimson Cowl immediately orders her to be restrained and imprisoned until the ransom has been paid. She goes on to say that even if Moonstone's defection is legitimate and not a ruse, that's something that can be sorted out after the current scheme has succeeded, as it makes no sense to just allow a suspicious new recruit to join the group right in the middle of a critical operation. Character reaction
• In The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Nancy instantly sees through Chipmunk Hunk and Koi Boi's Paper Thin Disguises, and recognizes them as her classmates, Tomas and Ken. When Squirrel Girl expresses shock, Nancy asks how she could possibly have fallen for the ruse when all the boys use to hide their identities are Domino Masks. Plus, when your roomie is obsessed with squirrels and then you meet a female superhero who calls herself "Squirrel Girl?" It's easy to make the connection. Valid
• The original 1990s War Machine series has Rhodey deal with murky, volatile situations that the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. can't get involved with due to the political ramifications. After shooting a heinous African dictator in the first arc, War Machine spends the ensuing issues being hounded by the press and the United Nations for violating international law. The incident also serves to widen the rift between Rhodey and Iron Man, who is disgusted by his former best friend's violent and reckless actions. The series also deals with the realities of owning an advanced piece of technology like the War Machine armor. It costs a fortune just to maintain the suit and restock its weaponry, and when it gets damaged, the machinery's complexity means that Rhodey has no way to repair it on his own. A billionaire inventor like Tony Stark can easily solve problems like these, but Rhodey is just a normal guy without a genius IQ or impossibly deep pockets. Plot happens, character reaction and too fantastical with War Machine's armor
• The Marvels Project presents the Golden Age era of some of Marvel's superheroes, from the viewpoint of the Angel, one of first heroes to be introduced back when Marvel was called Timely. He chronicles the beginnings both of his own costumed identity and others such as Captain America, Namor and the original Human Torch from the point of view both of a civilian witness and a costumed vigilante. One of the other heroes who makes his appearance around this time is the Phantom Bullet. Shortly after he is introduced, the Angel witnesses a couple of police officers finding the Phantom Bullet shot dead and left to die in the garbage. He notes that costumed vigilantes get no consideration from police and are at best a nuisance to them. Another hero to get this treatment is veteran detective the Ferret, who gets unceremoniously stabbed to death while investigating a mystery connected to the main plotline. Irrelevant

Anyone have anything to add?

Star Wars – The First Order: The example deals with galactic conquest, which is obviously out of the real of real life, so cut.

Marvel Comics examples: none of the examples (except the potential valid ones) sound valid. Cut them.

• Hawkeye:
  • In the final issue of the original 1983 Hawkeye limited series, Crossfire attempts to kill Clint with his own bow and Trick Arrow, only for this to (literally) backfire when Cross finds himself unable to properly pull back the bowstring. Despite Clint's reputation as the weakest Avenger, it actually takes strength and consistent practice to properly use a bow with any sort of effectiveness. Valid
  • The very first issue of the Fraction/Aja run opens with this. Clint falls from a great height and manages to catch himself with a grappling arrow... but still suffers some pretty severe injuries and ends up in the hospital for six weeks. Valid
    • Similarly, throughout the series Clint is constantly covered in bandages and injuries from his fights, and while a Badass Normal with experience fighting the likes of Ultron and Loki, he often ends up being taken down by mooks when they Zerg Rush him. Of course, it doesn't really matter how badass you are; being hit hurts and you can't always rely on Mook Chivalry. Not an outcome
  • Also, while Clint is definitely badass and capable, it's shown there are certain situations where he's simply outclassed at best, or useless at worst. One issue has him knocked out during a fight with A.I.M., and when he wakes up, he discovers that his teammates Spider-Man and Wolverine have already won the battle without him. An issue set during Hurricane Sandy also mentions that the Avengers sent him home during the storm, as being able to shoot an arrow isn't exactly a useful skill in this situation. Not an outcome
  • In another issue, Kate tapes up and gags Madame Masque and steals her costume. It's shown that she needs to use padding and a wig to complete the disguise, since her body type doesn't really resemble Masque's. Valid
    • The incident with Madame Masque, minor as it was at the time, leads to her becoming Kate's Arch-Enemy and devoting all her time and resources to destroying her as slowly and painfully as possible. Most superhero stories would ignore the fallout of such a minor confrontation, but this one goes to great lengths to show why pissing off a deeply disturbed individual like a costumed supervillain is probably not a good idea. Character reaction
  • That same story shows the risk of breaking into a room through the window. All of those glass shards lying around hurt. Valid
  • Another issue has Kate having to swim across a flooded street. She dives underwater with her eyes open expecting to be able to see semi-normally like people do in movies. Unfortunately for Kate, movies do that for audience benefit and she quickly realizes her mistake when all she sees is vague blurs and gets bad eye strain. Upon exiting the water she lampshades this trope. Valid
  • More Kate Surprisingly Realistic Outcomes: When Kate moves to the West Coast, she ends up going against Masque's personal mooks, all by herself. Kate is a seasoned Avenger having worked with the Young Avengers and the main Avengers, and trains regularly with Clint. She's also a rather short, slimly built young woman who generally either fights enemies alongside a team or at least with Clint by her side. Just like Clint, she doesn't escape many fights without a lot of bruises and is quick to succumb to Zerg Rush tactics. Valid
  • In an old Avengers Spotlight story, Clint went up against a local gang. He laughed them off as a threat, but his cop friend informed him that street punks can be just as dangerous as any costumed baddie, since unlike supervillains, gangbangers don't make a habit of announcing their crimes beforehand or taking on opponents one-on-one. Clint finds out this is all too true when the gangbangers lure him into an ambush and riddle him with bullets, which later leads to him adopting an armored costume. This incident provides another Surprisingly Realistic Outcome example: Badass Normal or no, all the skills and training in the world won't help you against a hail of gunfire. Not surprising given what the cop friend said.
  • In the first issue of the Kate Bishop Spin-Off by Kelly Thompson, Kate arrests a cyber-stalker who has been endlessly harassing a lesbian classmate he's in love with. Kate drops the guy off at the local police precinct in the following issue, only to be told that the cops can't take action since his online comments, while disgusting and creepy, aren't actually threats. When she then says she caught the guy trying to take photos of the girl in real life, the detective informs her that it'd be very hard to actually prove that in court. The detective also says that technically, the stalker is the one who has the right to press charges, since as a private investigator (and an unlicensed one at that), Kate had no legal authority to assault or detain him. Plot happens

I would cut that bit about "Hawkeye being the weakest Avenger."

That's mostly a meme from the MCU. Comics Hawkeye is way higher on the tier of Avengers characters.

Found a few entries on The Flash (2023) that I think should probably go:

Also, this quote on the subpage also runs into the same problem as the above entries:

So, should these all be cut?

Yeah, cut them.

Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill:

• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
  • Mukohda ate a lot of food from his Online Supermarket to give himself Status Buffs. However, moving so suddenly after eating so much food caused him to have a stomach ache. Sounds like it's just a regular gag. However, Mukohda does have some Big Eater familiars, so the viewer might forget that eating a huge meal can have drawbacks.
  • Fel's method of getting Mukohda to train his magic is through combat, by throwing him into a fight with some goblins. As someone who, until very recently, had lived in modern-day Japan, this traumatised the mild-mannered Mukohda enough that he outright refused to fight more goblins the next time he saw them. Character reaction
  • While it may be an RPG Mechanics 'Verse, guilds aren't RPG Mechanics shops that can infinitely buy every item. On more than one occasion, the guilds regretfully tell Mukohda that they can't buy the mountains of rare, dead monsters Fel and Sui keep saddling him with, because they literally don't have enough money to buy such valuable materials. This is just realism, rather than surprisingly realistic, since it happens multiple times.
  • After escaping the Rayseer Kingdom, the three Heroes become adventurers, but they struggle with the combat and logistic aspects of their occupation especially at the beginning since they are all teenagers without any actual and practical experiences to draw upon, regardless of their powerful abilities. Not realistic, since they're magical warriors fighting against monsters, which isn't something that happens in real life.

• The Punisher:
  • The Punisher: Welcome Back, Frank:
    • There's a subplot about a trio of vigilantes who are similar to the Punisher, but with a more realistic slant. Elite is a racist (and borderline Nazi) who primarily kills minority criminals and thinks that people of color are a drain on society. The Holy is a raving lunatic and serial killer who provides a vague justification for his crimes by claiming that he's doing "God's work" and punishing the wicked. Mr. Payback is probably the most likable of the trio, but he's also an idiot without any real military training or combat experience, and as a result, one of his rampages results in an innocent woman getting killed in the crossfire. The message seems to be that real world vigilantes are not as noble or improbably accurate as the Punisher, and that real vigilantism doesn't attract the smartest or most morally upstanding people. Deconstruction
    • In the same story, the previously mentioned "vigilantes" decided to join forces to continue their war on "evil" and get the Punisher to lead them. However, the three all have their own views on who is evil. Elite wants to Kill the Poor, Mr. Payback wants to Eat the Rich, and the Holy wants to Leave No Survivors. This leads to Elite and Payback arguing and threatening each other since both are exactly what the other one hates, leaving the Holy as the Only Sane Man of the group. Another issue is that by themselves, they don't know how to develop a crimefighting group and spend most of the time arguing and getting nothing done. On top of that, they think the Punisher is just going to join their group and lead it, ignoring the possibility that he wants nothing to do with them and that he would much rather want them dead. Plot happens
  • The Punisher MAX:
    • A big emphasis is placed throughout the series on how the Punisher's success rate is at least partly owing to the fact that a majority of those he targets are just low-level hoods and street thugs. Intimidating to the average joe, but completely out of their depth when it comes to actual combat. So in The Slavers, where he attempts to attack what he later realizes are a group of Bosnian war veterans who do know what they're doing, he quickly realizes he's made a mistake and is forced to retreat. Valid?
    • The final run shows us exactly what kind of a toll a 30+ year war on the criminal underworld can have on your mind and body. It makes you old, slow, arthritic, unable to shrug off injuries that would barely faze you years before, and that much more prone to slipping up. And the more you slip up, the less intimidating you are to the criminal underworld you hunt. Deconstruction
    • A more (darkly) humorous example occurs later on during Bullseye's introduction, where he threatens to kill a man with a toothpick. He flicks it at the guy's forehead... and it bounces right off. Too implausible.
      Bullseye: Don't be an idiot. I can't kill you with a toothpick. [Pulls out a gun] But I can with this.
  • Garth Ennis' Punisher: War Zone mini-series features Tim, the son of the above-mentioned Elite, as the main antagonist. During an attempt to snipe the Punisher from a tree, the boy misses and promptly gets two of his fingers shot off, forcing him to make a hasty retreat. Tim later says that people like Bruce Willis make shrugging off non-fatal gunshot wounds look easy, when in reality, getting shot often causes debilitating pain that makes it difficult to do much of anything, much less continue fighting. Valid
    • Tim's entire arc could also be seen as a the more realistic take on the From Nobody to Nightmare trope. Tim is out for vengeance against The Hero and uses his wealth and resources to come up with an elaborate plan to destroy him. However, thanks to his inexperience, he continually makes stupid mistakes, and the Punisher is eventually able to figure out his identity and track him down fairly easily, since a vengeful relative is going to be the prime suspect in a case like this. After all this, the story ends with the Punisher surprising Tim in his home and casually murdering him without much fanfare. No dramatic final showdown or epic last stand with a grandiose speech. Just Tim having an Oh, Crap! reaction and Punisher shooting him in the face. Plot happens
    • The same mini-series has a scene where Lieutenant Molly von Richthofen is trapped in a house full of Mafia goons. She bursts into the room where the goons are gathered and points her gun at them, giving a Badass Boast and saying they're all under arrest. Smash Cut to Molly's funeral, where the priest says there wasn't much left of her to bury after she was killed in the ensuing hail of gunfire. Thankfully, this turns out to be a Daydream Surprise, and Molly decides to hide rather than confront the goons directly. Not realistic because it was a Daydream Surprise
  • A mini-series, The Punisher's Arsenal, although being mostly about the Technology and Gun Porn of the many weapons Frank Castle uses during his war on crime, still showcases some small but very important details: in order to maintain his skills sharp, Castle uses a lot of time for training and goes through a lot of rounds in order to familiarize with said weapons' performance when shooting. Also, Dual Wielding isn't easy: he trains a lot, tries to use a lesser-powered gun on his off hand whenever he can, and he makes mention that several Real Life guns are designed with right-handed shooters in mind, and wielding them left-handed means that he has to withstand hot brass flying right into his face. Also, a couple of Cool Guns he exhibits he mentions he will ditch afterward, because they are literally Too Awesome to Use — they had very short production runs or were highly customized right out of the factory, and thus are highly traceable. Too obtuse
  • In the first storyline of the 2000 run of Marvel Knights, the Punisher took on Ulik the Rock Troll. Even Frank's most powerful weapons could do little more than annoy Ulik. When you're fighting someone who regularly goes toe-to-toe with The Mighty Thor, you've got to do a lot better than some fancy guns. The Punisher only survives the battle due to Daredevil bringing Ulik the magical artifact he had been seeking. Too fantastical
  • On that same train of thought, in the 2012 version of Punisher: War Zone, when being hunted by the aforementioned Thor, the Punisher tries to evade him by first blowing him up with a rocket-propelled grenade, and then by leading him into the camp of the Indonesian smugglers that Punisher is currently fighting. The first simply annoys Thor, and the second delays him for all of maybe two seconds. When Punisher defiantly tries to pull an emergency pistol on Thor, the Asgardian Physical God simply lays Punisher out with a single punch. Too fantastical
  • During his short-lived stint as the new War Machine, Frank quickly found himself at odds with the Avengers. It was pointed out that while the Punisher evades capture by flying under the radar and mostly killing (relatively) small time criminals like gangsters and drug lords, assassinating a foreign leader while wearing the armor of a well-known Avenger was the sort of thing that the heroes of the Marvel Universe just couldn't ignore any longer. Add to it that the Avenger in question was Carol Danvers' (at the time) deceased boyfriend, and it's no wonder that things went south for Frank real quick. Not an outcome
  • Also, keeping the War Machine armor up and running proves to be a challenge for Frank, who, unlike Tony Stark, is neither a genius nor impossibly rich. And unlike James Rhodes, he isn't best friends with an impossibly rich genius either. When the suit gets damaged, Frank has no idea how to fix it, and ends up having to force a scientist he'd taken hostage to make the necessary repairs. He later has to kidnap an A.I.M. tech in order to remove tracking nanites that had been uploaded into the suit by Hawkeye. Too fantastical and plot happens
  • An issue of What If? shows how ineffective Frank would be in the Marvel Universe. When he's tricked into killing Spider-Man, Frank discovers that while the police were willing to turn a blind eye to him wiping out mobsters, killing a superhero makes the Punisher Public Enemy #1. Also, Frank finds himself being hunted by just about every costumed hero in New York, openly saying he's "out of my league and over my head" with his guns useless against the Thing and Luke Cage, outmatched by Captain America and barely able to escape Daredevil and the Human Torch. Too implausible

Edited by CelestialDraco on Aug 30th 2023 at 8:32:23 AM

• She-Hulk:
  • The Sensational She-Hulk:
    • In issue #4, Jen's house staff quit working for her due to the danger she attracts as a superhero. Character reaction
    • Issue #6 has Razorback and Taryn O'Connel resorting to hi-jacking a government space rocket to find Ulysses Solomon Archer. When She-Hulk asks why they didn't just ask the Avengers or the Fantastic Four to help take them into space, Taryn responds that she did try getting in touch with them but they have people screening their calls and they didn't believe Taryn's request was serious since they'd gotten a number of crackpots calling them before. Taryn also points out that Jen herself likely would not have believed them if she weren't standing in front of them. Not an outcome
    • From the same issue as the above, Taryn learns that Ulysses and Mary McGrill, her main rival for Ulysses's affections, have gotten married and are expecting a baby. Since Taryn refused to join Ulysses and Mary when they went out into space, there were no obstacles to him and Mary settling down and starting a family. Plot happens
    • When She-Hulk returns from outer space, she finds her house in a mess since her staff quit four issues ago and no one has been cleaning the place or watering the plants while she was gone. Plot happens
    • Jennifer's status as a superhero on the side ends up being used against her when she saves some people from a falling crane in issue #10. The defense attorney on a case she is prosecuting argues that Jen's heroic deeds could prejudice the jury in favor of the prosecution and motions for a mistrial to be declared. Tower ends up having to take Jen off the case and warns Jen that her legal opponents could use such tactics on her in future. This results in She-Hulk quitting her job as the D.A's office to open up her own legal practice. Plot happens
    • In issue #19, Purple Hayes, a Batman Expy, tries to help an old woman being harassed by two thugs. Despite her martial arts training, the men are able to fight her off due to being larger and stronger than her. Valid
    • Time and gravity have taken it's toll on Weezi's body as she is no longer capable of most of the feats she pulled off during her days as the Blonde Phantom. Character aging
    • In issue #28, it is revealed that She-Hulk's work as both a superhero and a lawyer have caused her to forget to file her quarterly reports for the year and she owes "enough money to buy a brand new BMW" to the IRS. Plot happens
    • Weezi's youth is restored by the Mole Man's mystical diamond liquid but without regular exercise and superhero activity to keep her in shape, she puts on the weight she had previously gained. Too fantastical
    • Weezi and Jen both pass out from lack of air while She-Hulk's Flying Car, which has been recalled by Al the Alien, is transporting them through space. Jen stays conscious longer than Weezi due to stronger lungs but as she says, "lungs can't breathe nothing". Too fantastical
  • She-Hulk (2004):
    • Just as Blake Hightower warned her in The Sensational She-Hulk, Jen's superhero actions do get used against her. Jen is able to win a case against a CEO who poisoned people through careless storage of materials. However, Jen's opponents are able to get the case declared a mistrial by arguing that since Jen had also saved the world that day with the Avengers, the jury was prejudiced in favor of her. This, combined with some other antics like Jen leaving the courtroom while cases are in session and breaking the photocopying machine result in her being fired. Too implausible
    • Jen convinces Hercules to pay the amount of money he is being sued for by the villain Constrictor. This opens the door for other villains to bring litigation against superheroes. This causes a bit of tension between Jen and a few other superheroes such as the Thing who is being sued by a villain that is represented by Jen's firm. Character reaction
    • This gets used against the Champion of the Universe by Jen. Since she gets exponentially more powerful as She-Hulk, Jen deduces that any strength she gains in human form is increased when she enters her gamma form. When she puts herself through a tough training regimen in human form, her She-Hulk form becomes even more powerful. Too fantastical
    • A story in the Peter David issues has Jen dealing with an alien who murders a woman and takes her husband hostage. Jazinda, She-Hulk's Skrull companion, kills the alien. However, with no evidence that his wife was killed by aliens, the husband is still arrested for her murder as he is the only suspect the police can find. Valid

Edited by CelestialDraco on Sep 11th 2023 at 12:21:40 PM

Consensus?

From VideoGame.Armored Core VI Fires Of Rubicon

• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
  • When the Corporations pull an Enemy Mine against both the PCA fleet and the Ice Worm terrorizing operations, Balam decision to fight the Ice Worm ends up costing them dearly. As soon as the alliance wraps up, Balam exhausts itself trying to rush ahead to the Alpha Watchtower, while Arquebus takes the opportunity to steal PCA's technology after defeating their fleet, giving them the technological edge that allows them to mobilize a much stronger force that eclipses Balam's. Regardless of the story route taken, Balam winds up being pushed off Rubicon-3 altogether, leaving the Arquebus Corporation with a sole monopoly on the planet. Plot Happens
  • However, just because Arquebus manages to seize control of the whole planet and gain a monopoly of the Coral does not mean the Forever War ends. Arquebus is now the sole opponent for nearly every faction on Rubicon-3 now — including the RLF, which will fight to the very last man if need be, and Arquebus's Smug Snake tendencies and Chronic Backstabbing Disorder leaves them with very few allies to give them breathing room to capitalize on their newfound monopoly... especially in the "Fires of Raven" route where C4-621 ignites the Coral, wiping it from existence alongside most of their Corporation's assets in the process, which renders their clever strategies All for Nothing. And that's to say nothing of the "Alea Iacta Est" route, where ALLMIND goes on a massive Mook Horror Show by hijacking all of the stolen PCA technology and turning it against them. Doesn't explain why this defies normal conventions, if at all

Again, any opinions on mine?

Are these examples of SRO?

Null: When Yang gets stabbed in the hand, she finds she cannot use it anymore. In other stories, she would be able to power through the injury, but here the tendons have been cut, rendering her hand literally useless. There may be a "surprising" issue with this entry, given how dark it is anyway, plus Yang permanently loses her entire arm in canon, so alternative ways of serious hand/arm injury in fanfic isn't really surprising for her specifically. It's rather common in fanfic for this show. Elsewhere on the fanfic page, entries indicate that the fight involved Semblances... the character who destroys her hand goes all out and has a nullification power that disables everyone else's abilities, and Yang especially struggles to fight without her power. So, this might be too fantastical. However, I'm going by other entries on the fanfic page, rather than my own knowledge. So, if anyone's familiar with the fanfic, perhaps they could comment?

Fixing RWBY: Raven uses Weiss' weapon as a spit for a turkey she's cooking. When Weiss takes it back, she tries to look tough by taking a bite of the turkey... and promptly burns her mouth because it's still hot. This occurs as one among a litany of incidents designed to humiliate Weiss, so it doesn't fit the surprising criteria. The situation between Weiss and the bandits also continues on in other episodes, so there's no outcome here, either. Unlike the other entry, I am familiar with this fanfic.

Red vs. Blue: Washington is an established Made of Iron Determinator, continuously bouncing back from injuries that would leave anyone else a blubbering shell of a person. Indeed, he seems to start recovering from being shot in the throat at the end of Season 15. However, Season 16 reveals severe brain damage due to his brain losing oxygen for one minute, leaving him as a Mood-Swinger with short-term amnesia. At the end of Season 15, the framing is that Wash is recovering, as the entry says. So, that's the "outcome". When Season 16 started airing, it was revealed that Wash actually suffered severe brain damage... but this is the trigger for the plot. So, it's not an outcome, it's a plot trigger.

Edited by Wyldchyld on Sep 6th 2023 at 12:43:37 PM

So someone added a bunch of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends examples.

• Happens surprisingly often in Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, even as entire episode premises:
  • In "The Big Lablooksi", Mac decides to take bowling lessons from Bowling Paul, a self-proclaimed "bowling-guru". But Paul gives him advice that is far too abstract and metaphorical, and doesn’t focus on basics such as stance, dexterity, and concentration. As a result, Mac throws his ball way off course on his first attempt after taking these lessons, and only manages to get a strike and win through dumb luck.
  • In "Frankie My Dear", Bloo, Mac, and Chris dressed up as Orlando Bloo in a Totem Pole Trench to sabotage Frankie's date and stop Dylan from having Frankie to himself. The entire episode strives to deconstruct this trope hilariously by showing how difficult pulling off a Totem Pole Trench would really be. Orlando Bloo nearly falls over several times since three of them are piggy-backing, it's nearly impossible for Orlando to eat because Mac is the arms and the trenchcoat obstructs his vision, resulting in him flailing looking for a fork and even then results in him trying to pick up steak with a spoon. When he finally grabs the fork, Mac's arms are too short to reach Bloo's mouth forcing him to chew an entire steak. Frankie kicks the legs (Chris) over and over, but since Bloo isn't aware of this, he keeps talking casually rather than react how a person would.
  • In "The Sweet Stench of Success", Kip Skip admits on live television that his deodorant brand is designed to make people smell worse instead of better, he's arrested for false advertising.
  • In "Setting a President", Mr. Herriman has trouble working as a grocery store cashier after losing his job as house president. Many administrators often find themselves struggling with ground level or menial jobs. Of course, Fridge Logic comes in given that he looked for every job BUT an administrator, which he was quite skilled at.
  • In "Emancipation Complication", Little Lincoln turned out to be a scam artist in a The Farmer and the Viper type of plot, selling the imaginary friends to be used as mascots and planning on turning the home into a casino. The only reason he was stopped is Madame Foster tricked the bodyguard (who always got Little Lincoln back off of whoever captured him) and instead of signing it over, chewed on the pen-based imaginary friend to get him to cooperate in confessing his crimes and getting the friends back one by one.

Do you guys think these qualify?

• An issue from the Chip Zdarsky run of The Invaders (Marvel Comics) ends with Bucky getting shot point blank in back of the head. It's later revealed that even though the gun was only loaded with blanks, it was still close enough to knock him unconscious and give him a concussion. There's a reason why you're never supposed to point a gun at someone in real life, even with blanks. Even if they're less lethal than standard bullets, blanks have resulted in real deaths due to unsafe handling, such as the infamous death of actor Jon-Erik Hexum back in The '80s. Valid
• The Ultimates:
  • One issue has Batman Parody Nighthawk break his ankle trying to pull off a Dynamic Entry by jumping off a building to attack some mooks. The same issue deconstructs the concept of a Ragtag Bunch of Misfits by showing how badly a group of people (The Defenders), inexperienced at superheroing with the exception of one, perform during their first outing as superheroes. First part sounds valid
  • In Ultimate Avengers, the Nerd Hulk challenges a vampire named Anthony to a fight. Anthony agrees, and Nerd Hulk decapitates him with one punch. Hulk has Super-Strength and doesn't have any reason to hold back against a vampire so... Character reaction and too fantastical
  • The same arc has the introduction of the new Daredevil. After Matt Murdock is killed during the events of Ultimatum, Stick lucks out and finds a young boy named Ray Connor, who has gained similar Super-Senses after being blinded in an accident. He trains Ray and makes him the new Daredevil, only for Ray to end up overwhelmed and bitten by a swarm of vampires during one of his first superhero outings. A Kid Hero is still just that, a kid, so tossing them into the thick of battle probably isn't the best idea. Too fantastical and Deconstruction
• The "World Engine" story arc Warren Ellis did for The Mighty Thor revolves around a mushroom-addicted college professor named Price, who aims to create a new race of humans by tricking Yggdrasil into thinking that the Earth has been destroyed during Ragnarok. The new humans are eventually hatched...and immediately die, because Yggdrasil had specifically created them to survive in an environment created from the charred remains of Earth, an environment that for obvious reasons, doesn't actually exist. the Enchantress points out that if he weren't high on psychedelic mushrooms, Price probably would've noticed this glaring flaw in his plan. The resolution was actually foreshadowed and Lampshaded earlier in the issue, with Price telling Enchantress that exciting, dramatic climaxes don't often happen in real life. Too fantastical
• During the first arc of Ms. Marvel (2014), Kamala brags about fighting crime in the classic, "politically incorrect" (her words) costume that Carol Danvers used to wear before she became Captain Marvel. She quickly finds out that despite looking cool, heels are not practical to run or fight in, and that Carol's sexy leotard gives epic wedgies. Carol had Required Secondary Powers like flight that dealt with the impracticality of the costume for her and even then she ended up ditching it after a while. Kamala doesn't have those. She switches to a new, more practical suit a short time later. Cool, but Inefficient
  • After recurring villain and Hydra hipster Chuck Worthy gets himself installed as mayor of Jersey by his connections in the City Council despite losing the election, the rightful mayor files an appeal to the Third Circuit Court, which rules in her favor and kicks him out. Unsure
  • While super-villainy is cathartic, it isn't a very practical use of a young man's time. When Josh's family learns that he's Discord, they freak out and cast him out for their own safety. He finds himself living on the streets, stewing in resentment more and more each day. Character reaction and plot happens
• There are several instances in Powerless:
  • The prototype Iron Man is much more in line with real-world modern military technology, as it lacks the ability to fly or fire repulsor blasts. It also apparently isn't powered by an arc reactor, meaning it'd likely have a much shorter battery life before shutting down. Too implausible
  • Instead of giving Peter Parker incredible superhuman abilities, the radioactive spider bite simply made him sick and disfigured one of his arms. Not surprising. The comic series is titled "Powerless".
  • The accident that blinded Matt Murdock didn't leave him with Super-Senses to compensate, and he actually stumbles when he first shows up, something that would never happen to the mainline universe version of the character. During his final confrontation with the Kingpin's goons, Matt is easily overpowered and beaten to a pulp, before Fisk himself steps in and finishes him off. Not surprising. The comic series is titled "Powerless".
• Runaways:
  • At one point, the Runaways have to fight a supervillain barely a week after they last caught him because they stupidly left him tied to a lamppost with a note for the police after the first battle. The guy easily got away the second the Runaways left. This is why most heroes like Spider-Man directly hand over villains to police or at least make sure they're securely trapped before leaving. Valid
  • Their confrontation with The Punisher has this on both sides. At the end of the day they still are just teenagers and get easy intimidated by Frank's reputation, so they just try to flee. But once he has them cornered, Molly takes him down with a single punch, because at the end of the day he is still only human and she has Super-Strength. Too fantastical
• The saga of the ill-fated Freedom Ring:
  • When he first faces the Abomination, Arch-Enemy of the Hulk, Freedom Ring manages to land a few decent blows, before the villain ends the battle with a single punch. It's later stated that were it not for his Reality Warper abilities, Freedom Ring would never have been able to walk again. Not an outcome
  • According to Robert Kirkman, this was the entire point of the character. Unlike the vast majority of teenage superheroes, who tend to get a handle on their powers relatively quickly, Freedom Ring continually messes up, gets his ass kicked, and then dies. Not an outcome