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Defied Trope

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Arcee is certainly not doing that kind of Technology Porn, thank you very much.

Ira Kane: (pointing at one of the aliens) Snag it and put it in the bucket.
Harry Block: Uh-uh. I've seen this movie; the black dude dies first. You snag it.
— Evolution

A Defied Trope happens when a character knows, In-Universe, that a trope is about to happen, either due to being Genre Savvy or because someone is trying to invoke it, and then actively attempts to avert it, subvert it, or invert it. They might succeed or they might fail. The point is that the character is attempting to avoid a straight run of the trope, in-universe

Compare Reality Ensues (which this may sometimes lead to). Contrast Invoked Trope, Exploited Trope, Discussed Trope.

Not to be confused with a simple Subverted Trope, not prompted by any characters.

Examples

    open/close all folders 

     Anime and Manga  
  • Contrasting the invoked Bodyguard Crush in Kaze no Stigma, Kazuma goes out of his way to keep Ayano at a distance and offend her as much as possible so she doesn't get attached to him either. It doesn't really work.
  • Johan Liebert from Monster defies the trope of being Obviously Evil, and on the surface, he seems like a really nice guy.
  • The second season of Princess Tutu is all about the characters defying the roles assigned to them by the writer of the story.
  • At the end of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann A God Am I is deliberately shot down by the potential god-figure himself, who in response to his potential use of power and leadership simply states that he is "just Simon the Digger." And if that trope had not been defied, the Bad Ending from the beginning of the show would have happened.
  • In the second Tiger & Bunny drama CD, Karina assures Barnaby that she has no intention of letting their animosity towards each other become Belligerent Sexual Tension. So far she's proven successful: not only is any attraction between them still absent, they're now competing with each other for Kotetsu's attention.
    Karina: You know those situations where people hate each other's guts at first, but then developing feeling for each other?
    Barnaby: Yeah?
    Karina: That's not going to happen. I'll rip down those Event Flags myself if I have to.
  • Judai of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX says he realizes it's pointless to give a Kirk Summation to Yubel.
    • Also, when Asuka is encouraged to become an Idol Singer, she actively refuses to become one.
  • Rei Kiriyama from 3-gatsu no Lion defies both attempts by his adopted sister Kyoko to manipulate him into losing his professional shogi matches on purpose.
  • Kagome Higurashi from InuYasha openly defies Unrequited Tragic Maiden and Love Makes You Evil. When she's told repeatedly by The Baby that her feelings for Inuyasha are completely one-sided and she's selfish for even thinking he can love her back, that he'll never love her like he loved Kikyou and that she must pull a Face–Heel Turn, she ultimately tells him that yes, she is jealous of Kikyou and she is aware that Kikyou will always be important to Inuyasha... but that said circumstances do NOT invalidate HER own feelings, and no one has right to tell her otherwise. And then she rejects the Baby's FHT offer.
  • In the Magic Knight Rayearth II anime, Ferio busts into Fuu's in-progress escape from Fahren's ship, being her Love Interest and all. When she starts casting a spell to assist as though she's half of a Battle Couple, Ferio stops her—he wants to do a Rescue Romance instead.
  • In the 'Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth'' manga, Gumshoe defies Treachery Cover Up, when it turns out that the murderer, Police Chief Chase Clink killed someone to prevent a secret that would seemingly do harm to the police department's credibility from coming to light, although unbeknownst to the killer, it actually would not have been relevant. Gumshoe says that even though he knows how people will react, the public needs to learn the truth.
  • In one of The King of Fighters manga, Kyo Kusanagi defies Smooch of Victory when he stops his just-released-from-a-Death Trap girlfriend Yuki from kissing him, because he believes that it's his fault she was kidnapped and emotionally broken.
  • Girls und Panzer
    • Kay defies Curb-Stomp Battle in the match between Saunders and Oarai. She chooses not to come at them with all their tanks despite outnumbering them two to one, because she believes it would be unfair, after hearing that one of her subordinates was eavesdropping on Oarai's radio transmissions without her knowledge or approval.
    • In "Motto Love Love Sakusen Desu", Dreaming of a White Christmas gets defied; because Oarai and all other schools are on ships, they can go anywhere for the colder months. As such, they end up just off the coast of Australia, where it's warm enough to wear bikinis and swimwear, much to Saori's chagrin, as she thinks a white Christmas is more romantic.
  • GaoGaiGar defies Destructive Savior early on by introducing the Dividing Driver as early as Episode 3. It creates a safe battlefield in any area by shifting the rest of the matter out of the way temporarily.

     Comic Books  
  • Watchmen has Ozymandias deliver a typical Breaking Speech to the heroes 35 minutes after he'd already completed his Evil Plan. He's not a moron.
    • He also had made sure he drew the heroes all the way down to Antarctica- his Evil Plan goes down in New York- even before doing that. There is Crazy-Prepared, and then there is this.
  • Black Orchid begins with a villain defying Bond Villain Stupidity after catching the title character operating undercover in his organization: instead of monologuing about his plans or putting her in a death trap, he just shoots her in the head. (He doesn't know that she can regenerate.)
  • At the end of volume 2 of Empowered the eponymous superheroine saves the life of a criminal who's holding her hostage, because he's still a human being with a wife and a daughter.
  • In MAD, the Ventriloquist Priest defies What You Are in the Dark by using ventriloquism to make it seem as though the statues of saints are talking about the people who don't give money, scaring them into donating. Similarly, in "A Mad Look At," a priest videotapes the collection and the parishioners, sweating profusely, start giving more generously.

    Fan Works 

    Film - Animated 
  • In The Incredibles, superhero costume designer Edna Mode doesn't incorporate capes into the costumes she designs, and lists several Cape Snag incidents why. This turns out to be a Chekhov's Gun with a villain. This has long been addressed in actual comics (for one, capes are easily detachable), and the real reason for "no capes" is that the animators didn't want to deal with cape physics and animation over the course of a film.
  • In Aladdin, the Genie refuses to revive the dead, in defiance of Came Back Wrong.
  • In Frozen, Olaf longs to one day experience summer, setting himself up for a Death by Irony. When Elsa stops the Endless Winter she created, she gives Olaf his own snow cloud so he wouldn't melt in the heat.
  • At the end of Wreck-It Ralph, Ralph is about to make a Heroic Sacrifice to save Vanellope, but she drives her kart to catch him just after he set off Chekhov's Volcano, but before he would be killed by it.

    Film - Live-Action 

    Literature 

     Live Action TV 
  • Mixing this up a bit with Memetic Badass, there's an LJ icon with Spy Daddy from Alias that reads, "I am five steps ahead of you. I kill you in step four."
  • In the first episode of Season 5, Buffy stabs Dracula again when he tries to resurrect, and then reminds him she's still there when he tries again.
    • Then in the last episode of Season 5, Giles tries to invoke The Needs of the Many in making the case that it may come to a point where killing Buffy's not-really-sister Dawn is the only way to save the world (failure of which would lead to Dawn's death regardless, as well as everyone else's). Buffy defies the trope, forcing its aversion, by threatening that she would kill anyone who attempted to kill Dawn.
    • Much earlier, in Season 5, Faith expects Willow to try to appeal to her better nature and get her to pull a Heel–Face Turn, clearly intending to pull a Redemption Rejection. She's taken aback when Willow instead gives her a "The Reason You Suck" Speech, telling her point-blank that it's too late for her and she's now nothing but "a big, selfish, worthless waste."
  • Daredevil defies We Have to Get the Bullet Out. Matt brings up to Claire when asking for help in patching up Vladimir's bullet wound. Claire tells him this is what he should do if he wants to kill the guy.
  • Doctor Who, "Utopia":
    The Master: Now then, Doctor! Ooh! New voice! ... Anyway, why don't we stop and have a nice little chat where I tell you all my plans and you can work out a way to stop me — I don't think!
  • Hannah Montana: Miley is Genre Savvy enough to check for feet under the stalls before talking about her Secret Identity with Lilly in the ladies' room.
  • Firefly
    • After being defeated, The Dragon declares We Will Meet Again. Mal promptly kicks him into an engine intake.
    • When Mal and Wash are captured by Niska, Zoe goes to rescue them, but Niska is in the mood for a Sadistic Choice. Which is promptly short-circuited when Zoe, before Niska can even finish his offer, immediately chooses Wash.
    • When Mal fought Niska's new Dragon, Zoe tells the crew to stand back because This Is Something He's Got to Do Himself. Mal, who's very badly injured and exhausted (and even died during torture at one point), knowing what poor shape he's in and how much he's struggling, immediately yells that it really isn't, allowing the gang to open fire on his opponent, taking him down and saving Mal's life.
    • When Mal and Zoe are being held for questioning by local authorities, Jayne makes a bid for power, knowing the rest of the gang don't really have the ability to control him without Mal and Zoe there. However, prior to his take-over bid, he was ranting about leaving those idiots behind instead of rescuing them while Simon was patching up his injuries. Guessing that Jayne was serious about taking over, that no-one would be able to control him and that he wouldn't want to rescue Mal and Zoe, Simon pre-empts Jayne's Appeal to Force moment by secretly injecting him with a general anaesthetic instead of a painkiller. When Jayne attempts to take control of ship, he keels over unconscious instead. The rest of the crew (including Mal and Zoe when they learn what happened) are immensely relieved by Simon's foresight.
  • The X-Files: In the Myth Arc episode "Tunguska", Mulder travels to Russia and takes Russian American Alex Krycek with him, defying Language Barrier. Never mind that Krycek is his nemesis and Chew Toy (especially in this episode). He's a former FBI agent who collaborated with the shady secret government organization, but his language skills proved quite useful. He later ratted Mulder out since Krycek had connections to every shady organization on the show.
  • The Vicar of Dibley: When David proposes to Geraldine she ultimately decides to turn him down, saying just because they're the Only Sane People in the village doesn't mean they should get married.
  • In A Different World, Whitley loved wearing furs, and when some tried to turn it from Pretty in Mink to Fur and Loathing, she would just throw it back at them, pointing out that many of their complaints were invalid or hypocritical (although once in a while it didn't work).
  • On the season 1 finale of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Big Bad cyborg John Garrett gets rebuilt and seems prepared for a season 2 comeback, when Phil Coulson promptly shoots him with a BFG.

    Theme Parks 
  • Walt Disney built Walt Disney World with the intent of avoiding the Gone Horribly Right scenario Disneyland fell victim to: his company purchased large tracts of cheap land in a quiet but economically viable part of Florida, keeping the project a secret to avoid a burst of land speculation. This was ultimately successful: they acquired enough space for four different theme parks, two water parks, and numerous other attractions.

     Video Games  
  • Left 4 Dead has one of the guys who write the the saferoom graffiti proclaim that "WE ARE THE REAL MONSTERS". The guy underneath him says "No, that's the zombies".
  • Evil Dead: Hail to the King was a straight up Resident Evil clone with an Evil Dead look, including the puzzles (though, thankfully, most were much less obtuse and nonsensical than RE). However, in the latter part of the game, Ash, in a cutscene, reads the plaque on a door. After noting the overly complicated puzzle mechanism required to open it, and just shoots the door open with his boomstick in the game's Crowning Moment of Funny.
  • In Freedom Fighters, you can prevent soviet reinforcements from coming in by blowing up the bridges their armored transport cars cross, and blowing up the helipads supplying assault and transport helicopters.
  • Dragon Age II presents this in the guise of one of the final Take a Third Option choices. A player actively seeking to achieve some sort of compromise between two factions is rewarded with a rather large "boom".
  • In Portal 2, the Final Boss defies Boss Arena Idiocy by studying the recordings of how you defeated the previous boss and deliberately setting up the arena to avoid those same mistakes. The trope is then zig zagged by having the boss make a new set of glaringly obvious mistakes.
    Wheatley: "I took the liberty of watching the tapes of you killing her, and I am not going to make the same mistakes. Four-part plan is this: One, no portal surfaces. Two, start the neurotoxin immediately. Three, bomb-proof shields for me, leading directly into number four: bombs, for throwing at you. You know what, this plan is so good that I'm going to give you a sporting chance and turn off the neurotoxin. I'm joking, of course. Goodbye."
    • And taken further at the end: "PART FIVE! BOOBY TRAP THE STALEMATE BUTTON!"
    • Unfortunately for Wheatley, he failed to defy the final Crowning Moment of Awesome trope: Chell opening a portal right under him, with the other side on the surface of the moon.
  • Belle defies a Sadistic Choice in Kingdom Hearts II. Xaldin kidnaps her and takes the rose that can lift Beast's curse, forcing Beast to choose which he'll give back. Although Beast chooses for Belle to be safe, she elbows Xaldin, saving herself and the rose.
  • In Baldur's Gate II, the player can ask Irenicus to explain his plans and motivations. He flatly replies, "No, you warrant no villain's exposition from me."
  • Link: The Faces of Evil and Motivational Kiss: "How about a kiss, for luck?" "You've got to be kidding me."
  • XCOM: Enemy Unknown often defies the Take Cover trope, especially on higher difficulty levels: explosives can destroy most cover. Bunch of aliens/troopers cluttered behind cover? Throw a grenade at them and have your buddies shoot them. Then, the MEC Trooper has an ability specifically designed to destroy cover.
  • In Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, there is a scene in which Ike is given a choice to either play Rousing Speech straight or defy it (it doesn't affect the game at all outside the scene). If you choose to defy it, Mist is annoyed by how boring it is, but Ike says he's perfectly happy being boring.
  • Edge Master from the Soul Series defies the practice of naming weapons. His philosophy is that it is the soul that makes the warrior, not the weapon. A weapon is a tool, nothing more.

    Web Comics 
  • A rare example of a double-defiance: this Irregular Webcomic! strip.
  • The DM of DM of the Rings will not tolerate Off the Rails when he can help it. Only twice do the players pull it off.
  • Least I Could Do does this with an old classic:
    Rayne: I fell down some stairs.
    Noel: No he didn't. I beat the shit out of him with a smile on my face.
  • The Order of the Stick:
    Elan: Will I ever see you again?
    Julio Scoundrél: Well, as an older mentor figure, the most likely scenario is that I'd return only to be randomly killed by an enemy of yours so that you can cradle my dying body while swearing revenge — so don't take it personally if I say I sincerely hope we never cross paths again.
    • Much later, Elan does end up seeing Julio again, when he desperately needs something that can blindside his very Genre Savvy father. Moreover, he convinces Julio to come specifically for the privilege of defying the trope in person.
  • Axe Cop advices the families of crime fighters to hide in the bushes outside their house with guns every night to avert And Your Little Dog, Too!.
  • In Knights of Buena Vista, Adriana's Player Character is so Min Maxed out that she can cause the apocalypse if certain conditions are met. The Game Master avoids those conditions by banning one of them from the campaign (specifically gummi worms).

    Web Original 

     Western Animation  
  • At the end of an episode of Darkwing Duck, he's forced to work with Quacker Jack, one of the regular villains, to stop a greater villain. When the greater villain is stopped, Quacker Jack asks if this is where they show the greater villain love and kindness, and he vows to mend his evil ways. Neither Quacker Jack, nor Darkwing think so. They just beat him down further.
  • The Earthworm Jim episode "Hyper Psy-Crow" almost ends with a "Here We Go Again" ending (actually called that) after a Reset Button of the episode's events. Jim won't stand for it, and just drops a cow on Psy-Crow before he can enact his scheme again.
  • Asami Sato from The Legend of Korra defies Clingy Jealous Girl and Green-Eyed Monster, as she never clings to her boyfriend Mako to spite Korra, and when she finds out about the kiss incident betwen Korra and Mako, she mostly keeps her feelings to herself. Until it's time for her to confront Mako on it, and as she does so she makes a point of not hating Korra herself.
  • My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic:
    • In "The Best Night Ever", the ponies are running away from the chaos they've caused at the Grand Galloping Gala and Rarity drops her glass slipper. Pinkie Pie lampshades the trope of The Girl Who Fits This Slipper and Rarity, who has no interest in meeting Prince Blueblood ever again, screams and crushes the slipper into shards.
    • In "Just for Sidekicks", Spike, the pets of the Mane Six and the Cutie Mark Crusaders have to hide from the Mane Six when they step into their train car. Spike's Growling Gut threatens to expose them, setting up the trope of Laser-Guided Karma for Spike, but Angel defies it by retrieving his last gem which he uses to quiet his stomach.
  • South Park:
    • Attempted, but failed in "Butt Out". Kyle wants to just confess what they did to avoid the usual antics, and it doesn't work, instead turning into an I Am Spartacus moment.
    • Done successfully in "Krazy Kripples". The main characters agree that they don't want to have any part in the episode's plot. They actually don't (letting secondary characters run the episode), and agree at the end that they're glad that they didn't get involved.
    • In "Woodland Critter Christmas", Stan tries to defy a Gilligan Cut by arguing with the narrator. He fails.
  • Raven from Teen Titans is aware of the Bad Powers, Bad People trope, and despite the fact that her powers come from her demon father she does her best to be a good gal. Jinx eventually does the same.
  • In the Ben 10: Ultimate Alien finale, Vilgax defies the Demoted to Dragon trope by faking submission to Diagon, taking advantage on him to get rid of the third member of the Big Bad Ensemble and then out-gambit his "master" by consuming him, thus remaining the final villain.

Alternative Title(s): Defied

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