Complexity Addiction: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

A character (usually the villain) comes up with a ridiculously elaborate plot that is so meticulously planned out that [[Tempting Fate|it can't possibly fail...]]

[[Spanner in the Works|But it will.]] [[Mundane Solution|So why didn't they come up with a simpler plan?]]

 

 

Maybe [[You're Insane!|they're insane]]. Maybe they're [[Ax Crazy]]. Maybe they're bored. Maybe they view it as being artistic. Maybe simple plans [[It Amused Me|aren't as amusing]] or [[For the Evulz|as evil]] or are [[Victory Is Boring|just too boring]] for them. Maybe they consider their enemies [[Worthy Opponent|worthy opponents]] and that only an equally worthy plan should be used to defeat them. Maybe they [[Hand Wave|don't even know]] the reason. [[Rule of Funny|It's Funny]], or [[Rule of Drama|it's Dramatic]], or [[Rule of Cool|it's Cool]]; that's all that matters.

 

{{examples}}

* Aizen from ''[[Bleach]]'' has a bad case of this, but ends up subverting it. During the Soul Society arc, he had a very complicated plan to obtain the [[MacGuffin]]. When that (inevitably) failed, he simply walked up and took it. Why he didn't do that in the first place? Addictions are a strong force to be reckoned with.

** He didn't know he could do that in the first place. He only learnt of it afterwards, when he went off to study Kisuke's research, possibly for days, because he realised that Ichigo might actually be able to save Rukia. He did, but if he hadn't the plan would have worked, and as far as he knew when he set it in motion it was the only way. The possibility that Urahara might have another way of retrieving the Hyugoku may or may not have occured to him anyway, but since he already ''knew'' one way to make it work, he didn't see the point in looking for another that might not even exist.

* Madara {{spoiler|or whoever he really is}} from ''[[Naruto]]'' also seems to have a pretty bad case. He can become intangible at will, warp people into a pocket dimension, and can teleport himself (or others) wherever he likes, but when it's time to capture the protagonist, he'd much rather delegate the task to less capable subordinates or start a ninja war than simply use his own powers to easily capture the protagonist when he's asleep or off-guard.

 

* Justified for [[Batman|the Joker]], who creates these elaborate plots to see if they'll ever kill his nemesis, but they never work. He wants to kill his enemy with a '''bang''', not a simple gunshot (even though he ''has'' resorted to a gun before).

** Harley Quinn once even asked him out right, "[[Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?]]" (and may be the [[Trope Namer]] for the trope).

* In ''[[Superman]]'s Pal Jimmy Olsen'' #30, Superman adopts Jimmy as his son for a 30-day trial. During this period, they visit the Fortress of Solitude, where Superman shows Jimmy his murial of a solar system he created, in which the inhabitants named various parts after him (such as "Superman's asteroid", "Superman's planet", ect.). After that, Superman leaves Jimmy be while he checks his "electronic oracle". The oracle predicts that on the day the trial adoption expires, "Superman will destroy his own son!" Now, Superman has two options; A) tell Jimmy the bad news and revoke the adoption to protect him, or B) consider that the oracle has problems with homonyms and conclude that it may be referring to the sun in the aforementioned solar system. What Superman decides on is Option C) resort to [[Super Dickery]] and treat Jimmy like crap without explaining why until Jimmy backs out of the trial.

 

* In the Tim Conway/Don Knotts movie ''The Private Eyes'', a witness to the Morley murder calls the title characters to Morley Manor, then arranges for every single person in the Manor other than the killer to appear to be murdered, in order to trick the murderer into confessing in front of two police officers. Why he couldn't just go to the police and ''tell'' them who the murderer was never got brought up. {{spoiler|Of course, Lord Morley never could get ''anything'' right.}}

* ''[[Austin Powers]]'' spoofs this trope as it commonly appears in spy films. [[Big Bad|Dr. Evil]] is notorious for making his plans to kill the titular character exceedingly complicated, such as in the first movie where he ties Austin and Vanessa to a pole suspended over a pool of water with mutated, enraged sea bass ready to eat them, in a secluded room with the door closed and one easily defeatable guard stationed there. [[Genre Savvy|Dr. Evil's son, Scott]], is [[Lampshade Hanging|usually the one who calls him out]] on these things and [[Stating the Simple Solution|states much easier ways]] to kill Austin.

* The [[James Bond (film)|James Bond]] villains are bad enough [[Bond Villain Stupidity|to name a whole separate trope]] - for instance, instead of simply killing Bond they [[Dr. No|beat him up and leave him in a somewhat easily escapable cell]], [[Live and Let Die (film)|leave him in the middle of an alligator farm]], and of course, [[Blofeld Ploy|shoot a mook that failed them instead]].

 

** This kind of thing is parodied in ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' in the story "Torg Potter and the Giblets with Fiber". Millard Stoop (a parody of Voldemort) originally planned to curse the infant Torg Potter with a combination of curses that would make it into something small and forgetful that would constantly pee itself and spread the common cold to others. Yes, he was going to do this to a ''baby''. Also, the plot of the whole chapter is an elaborate [[Batman Gambit]] just like in the original (''Goblet of Fire'') to obtain some of Torg's blood... which ''starts'' with obtaining some of Torg's blood in order to enter him into the Try-Gizzard Tournament.

* This seems to be the generally accepted MO for the Yendi in novels set in ''[[Dragaera]]''.

* In "The Miller's Tale" from ''[[The Canterbury Tales]]'', a young woman and a young man are in love, but the woman is married to an old man. She and the young man, instead of just meeting up during the day in a secluded spot, decide to trick the woman's husband into thinking there's a flood coming, sit on the roof in tin tubs, scare the husband into closing his eyes/passing out for the entire night, then go into the house for a little love-making. Yes, this trope is [[Older Than Steam]].

 

* Many of the killers on ''[[Monk]]'' and ''[[Psych]]'' fit this trope. Many come up with very elaborate schemes to kill the people they want dead. And although the end result is a mystery that leaves many of the cops stumped and the main detectives boggled for a few minutes, there were too many places for something to go wrong, which will ultimately lead to the clue that indicts them.

{{quote|"First you tried to make him fail a drug test, then you tried to trade him off to other teams, and when those didn't work you tried to kill him...I guess just injuring him would have been what, too Tonya Harding-ish for you?"}}

** One episode of ''[[Monk]]'' had the killer in a coma for a year while the thing happened. How did he do it? With a bomb that was stuck to the bottom of the mailbox with a special type of glue that would hold out for a year, meaning it would be delivered in a year, after which it would go off when it finally got into the deliveree's hands. The possibility of it being delivered to the wrong address, of the victim moving, or of the bomb detonating too early or not at all don't seem to occur to the murderer.

* The Master in ''[[Doctor Who]]'', especially the Anthony Ainley incarnation. As the Rani once summed him up:

{{quote|"He'd get dizzy if he tried to walk in a straight line!"}}

** One possible justification for this is that actually ''required'' the deaths The Beast caused to bring her forth, and that Jasmine lacked full control in the early days. This would also explain why "Cordelia" had a nightmare (which the audience saw her having, inside her own head) about a monstrous unknown demon - that ''works for her'' and she told to show up.

** Although unlike most of the other characters here, he is [[Manipulative Bastard|sufficiently skilled]] that his plans usually work. This is helped by his [[Badass Crew|extremely skilled associates]].

** In a Season Four episode, Hardison proves himself vulnerable to this, failing to complete a con because the marks began to suspect that the rigamarole was too extensive. Nate explains that he's able to be addicted to complexity because he begins from Plan G, the "ugly plan" that'll probably end up working even when everything else doesn't and that the other Plans help advancing.

** The entire episode "The Playbook" is the explanation of ''one long scam'' on Barney's part to pick up a woman he had not even met yet when it started. It involves, a scuba suit, website design, the Empire State building, seducing two other women along the way (one of whom he knew was a plant trying to scam ''him''), at least two false identities, and feigned emotional vulnerability.

 

 

* ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]'': Tzeentch, being essentially a god of [[Magnificent Bastard]]s, acts almost exclusively through [[Gambit Roulette]]s, even when a more straightforward solution might be possible. Many of his plans appear to be in direct conflict with each other, and it's been suggested that he doesn't actually ''have'' an ultimate goal.

** In fact, a popular fan theory is that Tzeentch has a ''literal'' complexity addiction. If he ever wins, that is to say becomes the utterly dominant Chaos power and overruns reality, then there will be no more schemes for him to enact. Which will mean he ceases to exist at the very instant of his victory. That's why so many of his goals are in opposition to each other - he cannot afford to ever actually win, but nor can he cease trying to.

*** Well, Tzeentch ''is'' the god of ambition. Actually winning, and thus having nothing more to strive for, would if anything be more devastating than [[Failure Is the Only Option]].

 

* Cleopatra from ''[[Antony and Cleopatra]]'', she can't simply say something straight to your face or ask you for something, she'll make sure to manipulate your emotions and thoughts to get what she wants, even when it's completely unnecessary or even counterproductive.

 

* ''[[Bionicle]]'': Makuta's original plan failed. So he came with something even more complicated. Some of his allies seriously complain about the over complexity, wanting to simply use brute force instead.

 

* The Lich King in ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' has a truly epic case of this. He comes up with a plan to {{spoiler|transform your player into one of his 10/25 (depending on dungeon mode) greatest generals by allowing you to train up by killing off any number of already competent servants, including his 10 most powerful minions you can only kill when outnumbering them at least 9 to 1, then slaughter your way up to his inner sanctum and nearly kill him, before he kills you and raises you as undead.}} Alternatively, his plan could have gone something like this: Lord Marrowgar....okay I made you too big to ever leave the room, stay where you are. Drakuru, who I didn't kill like an idiot, send out your super-trolls. Deathwhisper rally the cultists! Saurfang lead the troops! Putridus release your plagues! Unleash the Darkfallen! The other 8 billion of you...Charge! I mean seriously, you idiots are still ''killing each other'' even though the sole reason you're here is to fight a guy who ''reanimates the dead''.

** This turns out to be explained by {{spoiler|what remains of Arthas' humanity deliberately holding him back. If the Scourge were left to their own devices (possibly still under the control of Ner'zhul) then they would wipe out the living. Possibly the ridiculous plan is a way to justify his [[Orcus on His Throne|inaction]]. No, I'm not holding back. My plan just relies on bringing me to the brink of destruction.}}

** Any feature, intended or not, someone will find a way to weaponize. Ignite artifacts to make incendiary booby-traps? Making drawbridge catapults to fire captive goblins at the next raiding party? Wait, let's drive a few dwarves berserk so they'll have to be slain and come back as violently vengeful ghosts, which we can turn against our enemies! Or setting up an elaborate gate and lever system to keep both Noble politics interesting and the population of [[Oh Crap|Carp]] well fed?

*** How about we start messing with the game files? Like increasing the body temperature of the common cat to create a trap based on cats breeding to a critical mass and the ensuring temperature rise wiping whole sections of the fortress of life/flammable material? How about making elephants breed faster with a higher body temperature and making that cat nuke into a medieval ICBM? Even better lets use strengthened doors and an invasion from Hell to flush the fortress of pesky kobold thieves?

* In ''Superman'' for the Nintendo 64, Lex Luthor captures Superman and puts him into a virtual reality environment, challenging him with tasks such as [[Pass Through the Rings|flying through rings]]. Given the quality of the game, he may have been going for a [[Fate Worse Than Death]] angle here.

* Heroic example: [[Professor Layton]], in the series named after him, when given responsibility over something, will want to do it in a time-consuming and convoluted way. This is most notable in the hamster he has to get into shape for ''Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box'', where Layton collects seemingly random junk to put in the critter's cage. Layton also likes to explain things to [[The Watson|Luke]] in the most confusing way possible. It's a good thing Luke is almost as good at deciphering messages as Layton.

* ''[[F.E.A.R.]]'' has an example of an aversion in the NPC AI. The AI in the game was universally praised for being intelligent and tactical - it seemed capable of flanking the player and otherwise taking advantage of poor positions. In reality however all the AI knew how to do was move from cover to cover to avoid getting shot at by the player. It was the design and layout of the levels that created the illusion that they were attempting something intelligent.

 

* ''[[The Order of the Stick]]'':

** Nale has this as modus operandi, to the point where all his plans are regularly described as "needlessly complicated" by other characters. [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0255.html Case in point.] Apparently, he [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0725.html inherited this from his mother] (although she didn't rear him). Even his class (multiclass Fighter/Thief/Sorcerer specializing in enchantment spells) is pretty much the same as a Bard (his twin brother Elan's class) but more complicated.

** Xykon is the opposite of this trope, having a [[When All You Have Is a Hammer|simplicity addiction]]. He sees no point in creating elaborate plans or strategies when he can simply bombard an enemy with high level spells, or a target with [[Zerg Rush|thousands upon thousands of Hobgoblin soldiers]].

** Heck, you don't even have to ask! They're so obsessed with building or improving new and crazy machines just to make them more complex, some even work in their [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040405 sleep]

* ''[[Homestuck]]'': Vriska loves to brag about her many "irons in the fire", but she doesn't appear to care if any of these schemes actually ''conflict''; as long as she's got another pie to stick a finger in, she's as happy as a clam that's never heard of chowder.

* ''[[Wondermark]]'' page [http://wondermark.com/539/ #539; In which Circumstances must be Conquered].

 

* ''The [[Evil Overlord List]]'', item #85:

{{quote|''I will not use any plan in which the final step is horribly complicated, e.g. "Align the 12 Stones of Power on the sacred altar then activate the medallion at the moment of total eclipse." Instead it will be more along the lines of "Push the button."''}}

* [http://cheezburger.com/8469477376/epic-win-pic-mouse-trap This] mousetrap.

 

* In the theatrical ''[[Recess: School's Out]]'' film, the [[Mad Scientist]] character builds a tractor beam in order to move the moon. His evil plan goes something like this:

** Ignoring the fact that the whole thing is just a really roundabout way of getting into the highest political office in the country, [[Insane Troll Logic|there are just so many things wrong with that plan that it wraps past funny and goes into tragic.]] The first step alone would have catastrophic consequences.

** TJ flat out tells the villain that removing summer won't remove summer vacation, but the [[Big Bad]] just replies, "I can try."

{{quote|'''Cecil''': At last, I'm going to succeed where my brother failed in killing Bart Simpson!

'''Bart''': By throwing me off a dam? Isn't that a little crude for a genius like you?

* In an episode of ''[[Underdog (animation)|Underdog]]'', Simon barSinister's plan to take over the city was thwarted because he couldn't reach a vital piece of equipment due to the [[Thanksgiving Day]] Parade blocking the street. Fortunately, he has a time machine. How does he use it? Option A: Go back in time to that morning, cross the street before the parade starts. Option B: Go back in time one day, tell his troops the attack is postponed until Friday, when the parade won't be blocking the street. Option C: Go back in time one week, and move the device to the other side of the street, so the parade won't be an issue. What he comes up with is Option D: Go back ''several hundred years'' and sabotage the formation of Plymouth Plantation so that [[Thanksgiving Day]] never happens, and therefore the [[Thanksgiving Day]] Parade will not exist to keep him from crossing the street. He opted to try to alter centuries of history, possibly creating a [[Butterfly Effect]] that would cause the city he wanted to conquer to never exist in the first place, just to remove a temporary ''traffic obstacle''.

* Perennial [[Hanna-Barbera]] villain [[Dick Dastardly Stops to Cheat|Dick Dastardly]] is the king of this trope. In his first appearance on ''[[Wacky Races]]'' he would always come up with elaborate plans to cheat his way to victory. Here's the kicker: he didn't need to do this at all. His car was ''several times faster than anyone else's.'' He could have won every race legitimately with ease, and in fact, each race begins with him surging to a huge lead. But he always stops in order to set up traps, which invariably end up backfiring and costing him the race. This pattern of behavior would carry on to all of his many other appearances: no matter who he's going up against, Dastardly's complexity addiction is his greatest enemy.

''(Phineas and Ferb stare at him in silence)''

'''Phineas:''' Hmm, yeahhh, I don't think so.

** Note that the reason why is generally something along the lines of "scare everyone else away so I can do what I want in the area," often involving treasure. Simply buying them off would work just as well, and would not attract people with an interest in ghosts.

* Dr. Drakken from ''[[Kim Possible]]'' suffers from this. His sidekick, [[Only Sane Woman]] Shego, lampshades this repeatedly.

{{quote|'''Word Girl:''' Doesn't that seen a little unnecessarily difficult? I mean, why not steal potato salad instead of gold? Or use the gold to buy the potato salad? Or why not just steal cheese in the first place?}}

 

* Apparently this occurs in Real Life in not necessarily evil endeavours. There is even a rule called the [[wikipedia:KISS principle|KISS Principle]]: "Keep It Simple, Stupid."

** One notable situation is any sort of technical profession such as software engineering and other types of system design. It can be amazingly easy to over-optimize or overly-design complex systems when the end user/end result would never be able to tell the difference (and there is no difference internally other than personal satisfaction).

* A common failure of military planning throughout history. If you have the option to use a sledgehammer and win, or to construct elaborate plans that will achieve the same results, you should use the sledgehammer. It's safer.

**** So we could say that their strategical overthinking resulted in their navy's... [[A Worldwide Punomenon|oversinking]].

* Most [[Conspiracy Theorist]]s refuse to state any comprehensive theory in full, since they are almost inevitably laughably complex and likely to fail. [http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=911_morons Take this summary of the most common 9/11 myths]. Please note that since that was posted, the Truthers' theories have actually gotten somewhat '''more''' complex.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Gambit Index]]

[[Category:Character Flaw Index]]

[[Category:Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?]]