Automoderated users, Autopatrolled users, Bureaucrats, Comment administrators, Confirmed users, Forum administrators, Interface administrators, Moderators, Rollbackers, Administrators
116,481
edits
But He Sounds Handsome: Difference between revisions
replace franchise link with link to work
m (cleanup categories) |
Looney Toons (talk | contribs) (replace franchise link with link to work) |
||
| (13 intermediate revisions by 6 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{trope}}
{{quote|''"After almost being killed by my cunningly clever and devilishly handsome [[Captain Obvious|twin brother]], [[Sdrawkcab Name|Nale]], I find that I am looking at everything in a different light."''
|'''Nale''' (disguised as Elan), ''[[The Order of the Stick]]''}}
Oh, hello there. Were you looking for the trope '''But He Sounds Handsome'''? Well, that's ''[[Suspiciously Specific Denial|definitely]]'' not me. [[Self-Demonstrating Article|Sounds like a pretty great idea]] for a [[Trope]] though!
If I were
Often I... I mean
The trope is frequently [[Inverted Trope|inverted]] by a character trying to deflect suspicion by ''insulting'' their other identity. What a dumb idea for a trope ''that'' is; I'm glad ''I'm'' not that trope. Or its inversion.
Hang on, he's actually telling me right now...yes? What is it? Oh, okay. He says this occasionally overlaps with the trope [[Holding Both Sides of the Conversation]], where one person pretends to be two people at once. It also applies to cases where a member of Group X in disguise defends Group X--a [[Sweet Polly Oliver]] objecting to an insult to women, for instance, or an undercover spy speaking up for his home country. At least, I'm sure that's what
What? No, those aren't ''my'' examples of
{{examples|''If only I was But He Sounds Handsome, I could show you some wonderful examples:''}}
== This isn't Advertising, I'm here in his place. ==
* The [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G0loI0Jn5M Sprint phone commercial] featuring Peyton Manning [[Paper-Thin Disguise|with a wig and fake moustache]].
{{quote|
* In one commercial for Logitech Revue, Kevin Bacon portrays [[Significant Anagram|Ivan Cobenk]], whose favorite actor is Kevin Bacon.
== Anime ''and'' Manga? That must be a spectacular folder! ==
* During an episode of ''[[Sailor Moon]]'', Moon fakes having a fight with the other senshi to lure out the villains. Naru mentions the rumour to Usagi who claims "Sailor Moon is too nice and sweet and would never have a fight with the other sailor Senshi!"
* [[Lupin III]] has occasionally done this when walking through an area in disguise while the authorities are looking for him.
* In ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia|Hetalia]]'', America comes in early and draws all the Allies and Axis on the chalkboard. When the others arrive and wonder who drew them all so badly, America feigns ignorance, but can't help "disparaging" the cute, pop art-inspired New York-style art.
* During one ''[[Ranma ½
{{quote|
'''Ryoga''': Of course! [[Comically Missing the Point|That girl was YOU]]! }}
▲== I've never seen Comics, but he sounds handsome. ==
* This was used pretty frequently in ''[[The Flash]]'', with him out of disguise saying something along the lines of "Now now, we can't all be [[The Flash]]".
** Come to think of it, pretty much every superhero uses this one at some point. [[Captain Obvious|Except the ones with no secret identity]].
* A couple of ''[[FoxTrot]]'' arcs had Jason disguised as "Iguanoman", a reptilian alien (really Jason wearing his dad's overcoat and balancing Quincy on his head) mostly to annoy Paige. Whenever she calls him Jason, he usually replies with this trope, though it did backfire once:▼
{{quote| '''"Iguanoman":''' This "Jason" must be really smart and handsome for you to keep confusing me with him.<br />▼
'''Paige:''' You look ''exactly'' alike!<br />▼
'''"Iguanoman":''' ''(loading a dart gun under his coat)'' Give me a moment to consider that answer. }}▼
* In ''[[Spider-Man (Comic Book)|Spider-Man]]'', the Chameleon played it straight in one panel and inverted it in the next when he came after Mary-Jane, disguised as Spider-Man: starting off with "He's one of the toughest foes I've ever faced" and then calling himself a "strait-jacketed loser".
** [[Inverted Trope|Back in the Stan Lee/Steve Ditko days, Peter would bash Spider-Man anytime he was asked for his opinion on him.]]
* [[Donald Duck]] does this sometimes in stories where he acts as his [[Alter Ego]] Paperinik. It goes both ways even. Paperinik will insist that Donald is a good and honest man, while Donald throws fits of rage when someone dares insult Paperinik in his presence.
* Both [[The Incredible Hercules]] and [[The Mighty Thor]] (though mostly Hercules) do a bit of this at each other's expense right before the [[Costume Copycat|Hercuthor vs. Thorcules]] fight.
{{quote|
'''"Hercules":''' And I always thought Thor stank less.
'''"Thor":''' Hey, below the belt... }}
* In a ''[[Dilbert]]'' comic, the company's lawyer demonstrates what the other side might say in court: "Liar! Why is your attorney so handsome?"▼
▲== I'm totally ''not'' Films -- Animation! ==
* In ''[[An American Tail]]: Fievel Goes West'', while using a mouse puppet Cat R. Wual describes himself to the other mice as an "enlightened, intelligent, sophisticated, charming, non-narcissistic, debonair, suave, dashing renaissance cat". The puppet dangles while he's boasting.
* ''[[Megamind]]'': while under the guise of Bernard, Megamind pretends to be fighting himself in front of Roxanne. He constantly spouts praise towards Megamind ("You're so strong and charismatic!") and finally tells Roxanne he did his best, but Megamind is just too fantastic!
** Is it possible to have [[Ho Yay]] with yourself?
*** [[Screw Yourself|Yes.]]
* ''[[A Series of Unfortunate Events]]'' [[The Movie]]: Count Olaf in disguise, "Who is this incredibly handsome Count Olaf you keep mentioning?"
* Not ''quite'' a compliment, but in ''[[The Adventures of Robin Hood (film)|The Adventures of Robin Hood]]'', when Little John asks [[King Incognito|supposed abbot]] [[Richard the Lion Heart]]: "What? Are you friendly to our good King Richard?" The "abbot" replies: "I love no man better."
* In the film ''[[Sinbad the Sailor (film)|Sinbad the Sailor]]'', when Sinbad (who is, unbeknownst to most, also Prince Ahmed of Dariabar) is told by the barber Melik that assassins are out to kill Ahmed, he replies, "Why? I understand he's a splendid fellow!"
* Going back to ''[[Spider-Man (film)|Spider-Man]]'', Peter Parker and MJ get into a conversation about Spider-Man, and it seems Peter can't help himself. Subtle enough to be passed off as Peter just trying to look like an average guy.
{{quote|
'''MJ:''' But do you think it's true, all the terrible things they say about him?
'''Peter:''' No, no. Not Spider-Man. Not a chance in the world. }}
* Inverted in ''[[The Dark Knight Saga|Batman Begins]]'', where Bruce Wayne openly makes fun of Batman while trying to develop a reputation as an idiot playboy. Continued in [[The Dark Knight]], when he questions who appointed Batman and what gives him the right to take the law into his own hands.
* Also inverted in
{{quote|
'''Harry''': No one. Bit of a tosser, really. }}
* In ''[[The Mask of Zorro]]'', Elena goes to confession to confess her recent bouts of misbehavior with Zorro. Of course, Zorro is sitting in the priest section. He prompts her that the masked man must have been "ruggedly handsome", but Elena points out that he was wearing a mask, so she doesn't know. Zorro looks deflated.
Line 71 ⟶ 61:
* Inverted in ''[[The Shop Around the Corner]]'', where [[Jimmy Stewart|Jimmy Stewart's]] character has been having a secret pen-pal romance with a co-worker he despises, only to fall in love with her. {{spoiler|He figures it out before she does and ''insults'' his alter-ego, saying that he met him earlier and found that he was overweight, a plagiarist, and [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|had a weird last name.]]}}
** Similarly done in the remake ''[[You've Got Mail]]'', where Joe doesn't pretend to know the pen pal, but tells Kathleen that's he's probably fat, ugly, married and generally unpleasant.
== Literature is over ''there'', not here. ==
Line 78 ⟶ 67:
*** Although not exactly in one piece.
* Inverted in ''The Hobgoblin's Hat'', one of [[The Moomins]] books. Said artifact transforms Moomintroll into a different being without him noticing, so when his friends wonder who he are he thinks they are just playing and plays along. Among other things, he talks badly about himself, which convinces his friends "the stranger" is up to no good.
== Live-Action TV sucks, I'm glad I'm ''not'' him... ==
* Happens in ''[[Red Dwarf]]'', even without a disguise: Holly, the ship's computer, appears on a recording Holly doesn't remember making (the crew's memories were erased). Initially, he comments, "Nice-looking bloke," and then when the recorded Holly tells them to pause the recording, he does so, because he "Knows what he's talking about, that dude."
* ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]'', "Moving Day": in the midst of moving in with Robin, the van with Ted's stuff is stolen, and the culprit calls Ted and gives him instructions on how to get them back. Of course, Ted knows exactly who it is.
{{quote|
'''Barney:''' I'm not Barney! But I hear that guy's awesome. }}
** It then gets an [[Ironic Echo]] when Ted finds the van and takes it back, with Barney and his date inside:
{{quote|
'''Barney:''' Ted? Ted, you let us out of here! Let us out of here this instant!
'''Ted:''' This isn't Ted, but I hear that guy's awesome. }}
** Barney does this again later when pretending to be his own doppleganger. He can't help but defend himself (and his blog) when being interrogated by Lily.
Line 94 ⟶ 82:
* ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'': Dean is looking for Sam, who's been kidnapped. The cop he goes to looks Sam up in her computer and mentions that Sam's brother was recently reported dead and had been wanted for murder. He replies, "Yeah, Dean was always the black sheep of the family. Handsome, though."
* Played straight on an episode of ''[[Modern Family]]'', Cam, dressed as his clown alter ego Fitzbo, encounters his nephew Luke and the following exchange occurs:
{{quote|
'''Cam:''' Well, no, I'm Fitzbo the Clown! I don't know who this "Uncle Cam" is, but he sure sounds handsome, doesn't he? }}
* In the ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' episode "Witch", almost everything Amy says about her mother becomes a retrospective example of this trope when [[Grand Theft Me|we learn that her mother took her body in order to be a cheerleader again.]]
* Done in the ''Scarlet Pimpernel'' TV series, when Percy is impersonating Chauvelin:
{{quote|
'''Gabrielle:''' That ridiculous name means nothing to me.
'''Percy:''' The man's a legend. Elusive, daring, resourceful beyond belief, a poisonous thorn in the side of the Republic...
'''Andrew:''' ...and altogether too big for his boots. }}
* In the ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' episode ''Duet'', in addition to his [[Evil Is Hammy|gloating about the atrocities performed at Gallitep]], [[Complete Monster|Gul Darhe'el]] gave glowing compliments about his file clerk, [[The Atoner|Aamin Marritza]]. {{spoiler|When it turned out it actually was Marritza, he then tried to claim what a coward he was, until the guilt over the crimes he couldn't stop overwhelmed him.}}
== Too Bad I'm Not Newspaper Comics ==
▲* A couple of ''[[FoxTrot]]'' arcs had Jason disguised as "Iguanoman", a reptilian alien (really Jason wearing his dad's overcoat and balancing Quincy on his head) mostly to annoy Paige. Whenever she calls him Jason, he usually replies with this trope, though it did backfire once:
▲{{quote|
▲'''"Iguanoman":''' ''(loading a dart gun under his coat)'' Give me a moment to consider that answer. }}
▲* In a ''[[Dilbert]]'' comic, the company's lawyer demonstrates what the other side might say in court: "Liar! Why is your attorney so handsome?"
== My twin,
* [[Triple H]] talking about his pregnant wife Stephanie, who [[Kayfabe|isn't his wife in the storyline]]: "I don't know who knocked you up but he must have a gigantic penis."
== Theater is ''such'' a great folder. ==
* Inverted in ''[[Much Ado About Nothing]]'', where Beatrice bad-mouths Benedick to himself while he's in disguise at a party (usually played as though she knows it's him all along).
* In ''[[Twelfth Night]]'', Orsino claims that no woman could possibly love as truly as he does. Viola, [[Sweet Polly Oliver|disguised as a man]] and and also hopelessly in love with him, begs to differ.
{{quote|
Our shows are more than will; for still we prove
Much in our vows, but little in our love. }}
== My other twin, Video Games, is such a drag. ==
* In the adventure game ''[[Nelly Cootalot]]: [http://www.bigbluecup.com/games.php?action=detail&id=860 Spoonbeaks Ahoy]'', the titular heroine at one point tells a society of Dignified Ladies that the pilot they'd hired to fly their poorly-built aircraft around the world wasn't coming. Later, she must disguise herself as the pilot; when the ladies tell Nelly-as-the-pilot what Nelly had said earlier, she replies "Damn that gorgeous liar!"
* The game of ''Spider-Man 2'' has this exchange between the web-slinger and Quentin Beck:
{{quote|
'''Quentin Beck:''' What about that editor at the Bugle, Jameson?
'''Spider-Man:''' J.J? He just has a knack for hiring good photographers. }}
* On the road back from completing your first major quest in ''[[Baldur's Gate]]'':
{{quote|
'''Protagonist:''' Well, I did hear about them. Supposedly real brave, and damn good looking too. }}
** Also, in ''Baldur's Gate II'', Edwin accidentally transforms himself into a woman while trying to unlock the secrets of a magical scroll. While this is initially upsetting for him, it turns out to be advantageous later on when a wizard tasked with hunting him down and killing him doesn't realize who he is and lets him go. However, the other wizard soon figures out that something's not right, tracks the party down again, and accuses the female wizard of being Edwin in disguise. The response?
{{quote|
* In ''[[Team Fortress 2]]'', if you dominate an enemy Spy while playing as a Spy yourself, your Spy may remark "I'll see you in Hell, you handsome rogue!" Keep in mind that the two Spies look identical except for their colors, so he ''is'' secretly complementing himself. Oddly enough, this happens during one of the few times you ''won't'' be disguised, since attacking will remove it.
** Subverted in the "Meet the Spy" video. When the BLU Spy is making out the RED Spy to be some sort of [[Memetic Badass|nigh-unstoppable death god]], the Soldier assumes he's actually the RED Spy in disguise and [[Ludicrous Gibs|blows his head off]]. {{spoiler|He's wrong. The RED Spy was actually disguised as the Scout, and proceeds to [[One-Hit Kill|backstab him.]]}}
*** Humorously enough, it's also inverted when {{spoiler|the RED Spy, disguised as Scout, calls spies in general "dime-a-dozen backstabbing scumbags."}}
* Used in ''[[Psychonauts]]'', when the identity of the Phantom is revealed.
{{quote|
* A variation occurs in ''[[Dragon Age 2]]''. The entire storyline is presented as [[Framing Device|Varric telling Hawke's tale after the fact]]. At one point in the game, Varric's brother Bartrand starts going on about how Varric is "stong and handsome, and so very smart". During this speech, the scene shifts to Varric telling the story, making it clear that he's started making things up {{spoiler|because he doesn't want to think about what actually happened}}.
* In ''[[Knights of the Old Republic II]]'' if you ask {{spoiler|Kreia}} about the Handmaiden's mother, Arren Kae, she will tell you "she was... said to be... a skilled warrior. Beautiful. And strong in the Force." On its own this doesn't mean anything, but by talking with a party member [[Mutually Exclusive Party Members|mutually exclusive with]] the Handmaiden (and thus something you can't do on the same playthrough you hear this line) and various other pieces of dialog throughout the game, you'll learn {{spoiler|Kreia}} shares a ''lot'' of similarities with Arren Kae, being Jedi historians who were Reven's first and last teacher and thought to have died at the destruction of Malachor V (the last being revealed about {{spoiler|Kreia by the horrified reaction of the one character who definitely knew Kae}}). While never confirmed, it's pretty obvious from the clues the two women are one and the same and {{spoiler|Kreia}}, as usual, is tooting her own horn.
== I've ''never'' met Web Comics before in my life! ==
* Happens multiple times in ''[[8-
* ''[[The Order of the Stick]]''
** The way to tell the difference between Elan and Nale-disguised-as-Elan? Nale can't help but defend himself when insulted. Also see the page quote.
Line 148 ⟶ 140:
* ''[[Narbonic]]'': Madblood is disguised as Dave, and Helen (who figured it out immediately) is messing with him by claiming she and Dave are lovers. Madblood tries to keep his cover, but he can't help saying things like, "But what of Madblood? I thought you found him dashing and brilliant!"
* In ''[[Brawl in the Family]]'': "[http://brawlinthefamily.keenspot.com/2011/04/28/329-overgrowth/ Help! The evil and handsome Wart took control...]"
== That Web Original guy has so many cool examples! ==
* In ''[[Code
{{quote|
* The Gleick scandal. [http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2012/02/global-warming-alarmists-resort-to-hoax.php][http://climateaudit.org/2012/02/25/gleick-and-americas-dumbest-criminal/] [http://fakegate.org/] In 2012 Peter H. Gleick, co-founder and President of the Pacific Institute and a member of the National Academy of Sciences, obtained documents from the Heartland Institute via [[Phish|identity fraud]], and then anonymously "leaked" them, along with made up and laughably [[Strawman Fallacy|strawman]] "Confidential Memo". Gleick insists he received it in anonymous snail-mail (though he didn't present the envelope and the paper he scanned has no folds), and ''then'' decided to go phish, but not only did some people recognize his style, the main reason why it was traced back to him so quickly is the most amusing and telltale part of said memo:
{{quote|Efforts at places such as Forbes<ref>Forbes, of course, is relevant to this issue at all only because it's rather Gleick-friendly.</ref> are especially important now that they have begun to allow high-profile climate scientists (such as Gleick) […] }}
== Western Animation is such a brilliant fellow, yes? ==
* In one episode of ''[[South Park]]'', the kids are discussing a recent TP-ing, and Cartman, one of the perpetrators, comments, "Well, I understand the people who did it weren't caught, so it looks like nobody will ever know the geniuses who masterminded that perfect crime."
** When Cartman attempts to trick Butters by pretending to be AWESOM-O the robot, Butters talks about the things Cartman does to him, which results in "AWESOM-O" commenting that Cartman sounds pretty smart.
** [[Inverted Trope|Inverted]] / [[Played With]] in "The Coon:" Cartman disparages the Coon as a "menace," but suddenly defends him when Kyle calls superheroing "faggy." Later, as the Coon, he gets defensive when Mysterion calls Cartman fat.
* ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'': When Bart was infiltrating Shelbyville and Springfield moved against them: "Curse those handsome devils!"
* In ''[[Clone High]]'', Joan of Arc tries to use this on Abe while "disguised" as John D'Arc, to get him to like her; it doesn't work.
Line 174 ⟶ 166:
[[Category:Disguise Tropes]]
[[Category:These Tropes Love to Brag]]
[[Category:Self-Demonstrating Article]]
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
| |||