...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!
Tricking the Shapeshifter
- 291 statements
- 55 feature instances
- 32 referencing feature instances
| Tricking the Shapeshifter | type |
FeatureClass | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter | label |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter | page |
TrickingTheShapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter | comment |
A.k.a. Bet You Can't Make Yourself Really Small... (a.k.a. Bet You Can't Fit in This Bottle, a.k.a. Let's See You Turn into a Mouse...) When two shapeshifters square off, they have a Shapeshifter Showdown. But what happens if an evil shapeshifter or Reality Warper faces off against a mere mortal? Easy: the mortal just needs to trick the villain into turning into something he can defeat, or to enter a container in which it can be trapped! This is usually done by appealing to the shapeshifter's ego, either through flattery or through dismissive skepticism: "Wow! What an impressive lion you are — I bet you make a gorgeous cat! Ooh... what about a mouse? Can you do that?" or "Pshaw! You expect me to believe that a djinni your size came out of that tiny bottle? Ha! I'll believe it when I see it!" This could be how the Evil got Sealed in the Can. Lately, some shapeshifters have started becoming aware of this ("Did you honestly think I would fall for that old chestnut?"), but it is still played straight as often as it is subverted. Compare with Assimilation Backfire. |
|
| Tricking the Shapeshifter | fetched |
2024-03-14T23:32:06Z | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter | parsed |
2024-03-14T23:32:06Z | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter | processingComment |
Dropped link to BigEater: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter | processingComment |
Dropped link to DaddysGirl: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter | processingComment |
Dropped link to FanWank: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter | processingComment |
Dropped link to GenreSavvy: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter | processingComment |
Dropped link to HoistByHisOwnPetard: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter | processingComment |
Dropped link to HollywoodJehovahsWitness: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter | processingComment |
Dropped link to JackassGenie: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter | processingComment |
Dropped link to MonsterClown: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter | processingComment |
Dropped link to PersonalityPowers: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter | isPartOf |
DBTropes | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_100d4e39 | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_100d4e39 | comment |
Aladdin: The Series: Used straight in the episode "Sands of Fate". Genie needs to stop a caravan from proceeding. Aladdin who is at that time a guardian of said caravan (long story) offers him to settle the matter by tossing a coin. Aladdin then makes it so that the coin falls into a bottle and the helpful simpleton Genie volunteers to retrieve it. It turns out that even a freed Genie cannot escape from a sealed bottle. Go figure. There's also the time in "My Fair Aladdin" when Mechanicles trapped Genie in a bottle by simply asking him if he could remove the model ship that was inside. |
|
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_100d4e39 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_100d4e39 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Aladdin: The Series | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_100d4e39 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_1015579b | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_1015579b | comment |
An accidental example occurs in The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo. When Scooby faces the ghost wizard Maldor with a magic scepter, he turns himself into a fly to hide from him. Maldor turns himself into a frog to catch Scooby. A frog that is small enough to be trapped in the Chest of Demons. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_1015579b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_1015579b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_1015579b | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_154582d2 | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_154582d2 | comment |
The Thrilling Adventure Hour: In the Beyond Belief episode "Wishing Hell", Nightmares the Clown's attempts to frighten Sadie Doyle fall short because she finds clowns, even Monster Clowns, hilarious. He decides to show her his true form, that of a giant spider. Frank exclaims that Sadie is deathly afraid of spiders, only for Sadie to correct him and point out giant spiders don't scare her, only regular teeny tiny spiders due to how they can creep up on one when they're going through their liquor cabinet, innocently trying to collect a bottle. She pleads with Nightmares not to turn into a teeny tiny spider lest she actually become afraid. Nightmares does exactly that and promptly gets stomped on by Frank. The Beyond Belief episode "When Cthulu Cthalls", Frank and Sadie are up against a pair of Hollywood Jehovah's Witness peddling a particularly old god. When said old god makes an appearance, it has a loss of confidence due to its age. Sadie convinces it to possess a nearby lamp, which she then turns off and unplugs. |
|
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_154582d2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_154582d2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Thrilling Adventure Hour (Podcast) | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_154582d2 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_1a12bbee | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_1a12bbee | comment |
In his first appearance, Thor made him touch helium, so he turned into helium and floated helplessly into space, though that raises the question of why he doesn't turn into the oxygen, nitrogen, and CO2 in the air already. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_1a12bbee | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_1a12bbee | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Mighty Thor (Comic Book) | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_1a12bbee | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_23f89880 | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_23f89880 | comment |
Attack of the Mutant has a shape-shifting villain from a comic book actually be real. Early on, we're told that if the villain turns into liquid, he can't change back. A kid claims to be a superhero who can only be killed by acid, so the villain turns into acid, and thus is another Chekhov's Gun fired. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_23f89880 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_23f89880 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Attack of the Mutant | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_23f89880 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_24a0346c | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_24a0346c | comment |
In The Great Mission to Save Princess Peach!, Peach convinces Bowser to entertain her by demonstrating his shapeshifting powers. Her last request is for him to turn into a teddy bear, and when he complies, she stuffs him in a small chest. Then Bowser morphs out of the chest and back to normal, subverting whatever plan she had in mind. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_24a0346c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_24a0346c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Great Mission to Save Princess Peach! | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_24a0346c | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_251e67c5 | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_251e67c5 | comment |
In an issue of Justice League of America, Batman uses this tactic against the all-powerful Metron. Metron prides himself on his knowledge and has never been a human, so Batman convinces him to take on a flesh-and-blood form to see what it's like. Then Batman punches him in the face, drugs him, and steals his Mobius Chair. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_251e67c5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_251e67c5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Justice League of America (Comic Book) | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_251e67c5 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_2a8943c0 | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_2a8943c0 | comment |
Miraculous Ladybug: Animan's power is shapeshifting into any animal he wants. Cat Noir figures they can trick him into shifting into something small and trap him in a cookie box at the Dupain-Chengs' bakery, but Ladybug points out that it won't prevent him from shapeshifting into something bigger and breaking out. They do use the box to catch him (he'd taken the form of a ladybug, nice choice), but then lure him into a bus after he shifts into larger forms. Then he shifts into a T. rex, and any thoughts of caging him again are abandoned. Chameleon's power allows her to become anyone she kisses. Ladybug tricks her into kissing a clam, which she immediately transforms into. Since Chameleon has to kiss someone to change forms, she's trapped in the form of a clam and getting her akuma is as simple as having a waiter pry it open. |
|
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_2a8943c0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_2a8943c0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Miraculous Ladybug | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_2a8943c0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_2db3d13e | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_2db3d13e | comment |
In Alfred J. Kwak, this is played straight and subverted with the Evil Spirit of Darkness. The spirit was defeated hundreds of years ago by a traveler who tricked him into going back into his bottle and then sealed him shut. When Alfred tries the same thing later on it almost works, but the spirit then remembers the details of how he was resealed again and stops halfway through. Alfred only succeeds when he realizes that the Evil Spirit can be hurt by light, and forces him back in. |
|
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_2db3d13e | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_2db3d13e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Alfred J. Kwak | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_2db3d13e | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_38fa34eb | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_38fa34eb | comment |
Wonder Woman goaded The Queen of Fables into turning into a dragon, then quickly buried axes in her eyes. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_38fa34eb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_38fa34eb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Wonder Woman (Comic Book) | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_38fa34eb | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_39c5ea8a | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_39c5ea8a | comment |
Puss In Boots from Puss in Boots tricks the ogre into turning into a mouse, which Puss eats. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_39c5ea8a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_39c5ea8a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Puss in Boots | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_39c5ea8a | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_3b34143f | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_3b34143f | comment |
This is one fundamental strategy for dealing with a boggart in Harry Potter. As it automatically assumes the shape of your greatest fear, tackling it in a group may cause it to try and combine two different fears - and end up with something less scary than either. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_3b34143f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_3b34143f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Harry Potter | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_3b34143f | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_3f445492 | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_3f445492 | comment |
"The Fisherman and the Djinni" from One Thousand and One Nights (better known as Arabian Nights): The fisherman feigns skepticism to trick the djinni into returning to its bottle, which he promptly stoppers. Possibly the Ur-example of this trope. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_3f445492 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_3f445492 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Arabian Nights | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_3f445492 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_431f1290 | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_431f1290 | comment |
Katy Meets the Aliens has its animal heroes trick the shapeshifting Alien X into turning into a balloon so they can pop him with a pin. It takes him out of action long enough for them to free his prisoners, but he eventually reforms into a horrific monstrosity. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_431f1290 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_431f1290 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Katy La Oruga | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_431f1290 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_45a29545 | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_45a29545 | comment |
Occurs in a second season episode of The Secret Saturdays when Zak and Fisk encounter a large predator cryptid that can shapeshift to adapt to its environment (becoming serpentine to move through swamps, growing armor to crash through trees, etc.). Zak is finally able to capture the beast by tricking it into chasing him into a swimming pool. The cryptid shifts into an aquatic-based form as Zak climbs out the other side and Fisk closes the pool's top. Since the creature could only adapt to its present environment, it couldn't alter its body to try to escape and was effectively trapped. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_45a29545 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_45a29545 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Secret Saturdays | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_45a29545 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_4dd54482 | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_4dd54482 | comment |
Ben 10: Alien Force: Vilgax finally succeeds in stealing the Omnitrix but can't get it to work for him. Ben volunteers to show him if he releases his friends. Ben uses this opportunity to set the Omnitrix to turn Vilgax into Goop, a giant amorphous blob of gel, and steals the anti-gravity device the alien needs to maintain its shape, reducing Vilgax to a puddle. Ben then just plucks the Omnitrix off his melted form. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_4dd54482 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_4dd54482 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Ben 10: Alien Force | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_4dd54482 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_4e849071 | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_4e849071 | comment |
Alluded to in the Fun and Fancy Free short "Mickey and the Beanstalk". Mickey very nearly talks Willie the Giant into turning into a housefly; unfortunately, Willie insists on changing into a pink bunny instead, upon which he notices Mickey, Donald, and Goofy going for the giant flyswatter. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_4e849071 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_4e849071 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Fun and Fancy Free | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_4e849071 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_4f89d248 | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_4f89d248 | comment |
In Pokémon GO, Zorua disguises itself as a copy of the player's Buddy Pokémon. An exact copy, which means they will copy shininess, Best Buddy ribbons, and species or forms that don't spawn in the wild in a given location, making it trivial to spot them. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_4f89d248 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_4f89d248 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Pokémon GO (Video Game) | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_4f89d248 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_526d4c5c | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_526d4c5c | comment |
The same tactics are used to trick a verbal shapeshifter in Knights of the Old Republic, enabling you to use his voice mimicry to break a voice lock. Whether said shapeshifter is tricked or just doesn't care is up to discussion. Paraphrasing: "...the morality chip most droids are believed to possess forbids me from mimicking a human voice." | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_526d4c5c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_526d4c5c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Knights of the Old Republic (Video Game) | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_526d4c5c | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_5999b1ec | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_5999b1ec | comment |
Xanth: While not a shapeshifter itself, Com-Pewter can summon anything to serve it. The heroes escape its chamber by verbally expressing fear that it will summon a female egret — in other words, an egress. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_5999b1ec | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_5999b1ec | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Xanth | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_5999b1ec | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_5d908c85 | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_5d908c85 | comment |
In an episode of Archie's Weird Mysteries, Archie is able to trap a recently freed evil genie by challenging him to get all of the ketchup out of a glass bottle as proof of his power. The genie shrinks down to go inside the bottle and pushes out all of the ketchup just in time for Archie to close the cap on him. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_5d908c85 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_5d908c85 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Archie's Weird Mysteries | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_5d908c85 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_62126ef1 | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_62126ef1 | comment |
The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes: The Absorbing Man touches Thor's hammer Mjölnir and converts himself into metal that can harm a god. Thor, however, points out that he can control Mjölnir, and can therefore control Absorbing Man, whom he uses as a human-sized hammer for the rest of the fight. Counting against Absorbing Man, even in the comics, is the fact that he's dumb as bricks. He doesn't even need to be tricked into turning into something the heroes might have an advantage against. Still from this cartoon: |
|
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_62126ef1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_62126ef1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes! | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_62126ef1 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_62570927 | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_62570927 | comment |
Marvel Universe: This is one of the few ways to defeat the Absorbing Man, who can duplicate most superhuman powers and just about any material substance (though he nearly always needs physical contact) — get him to turn into something inconvenient or that is more than his powers can handle. In his first appearance, Thor made him touch helium, so he turned into helium and floated helplessly into space, though that raises the question of why he doesn't turn into the oxygen, nitrogen, and CO2 in the air already. Transforming can't be subconscious, or he'd always be made of the same stuff as his Magic Pants, or indeed the air. But it would be in-character for him to deliberately transform to anything he touches unexpectedly, as a defense mechanism against a possible attack. After all, all these attacks inconvenience him but he recovers eventually, whereas if he touched acid and didn't transform, he'd just die like a human. However, the numerous times he's defeated by getting him to absorb something he doesn't want to and isn't an active threat demonstrates that he does not have full control over his powers. This can lead to Hoist by His Own Petard when the Absorbing Man overestimates what he can handle. One fight with the Hulk led to him trying to absorb the power of the very Earth itself, only to explode when the Earth's power proved too much for him to absorb. He recovered. Eventually. Another time, the Absorbing Man fought the Hulk and made the mistake of breaking glass over him, and accidentally took on a shard's properties when it fell on him. All the Hulk had to do then is throw one punch and he shattered his enemy. Also, he shouldn't go up against guys who know chemistry. Spider-Man once got him to absorb one thing, then sprang his trap: dumping a ton of something that reacts explosively with what the Absorbing Man had become. Kaboom. (He recovered. Eventually.) In one particularly humiliating defeat, She-Hulk beat him when he attacked her in an aquarium in the Mall of America by simply waiting until he realized he was ankle-deep in water and turned into it, causing him to flow down a nearby drain into the sewer. |
|
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_62570927 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_62570927 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Marvel Universe (Franchise) | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_62570927 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_699c1e80 | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_699c1e80 | comment |
In one particularly humiliating defeat, She-Hulk beat him when he attacked her in an aquarium in the Mall of America by simply waiting until he realized he was ankle-deep in water and turned into it, causing him to flow down a nearby drain into the sewer. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_699c1e80 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_699c1e80 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| She-Hulk (Comic Book) | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_699c1e80 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_73d7930f | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_73d7930f | comment |
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Lampshaded in the episode "Shadowplay". A little girl tells the real shapechanger Odo an old fairy story about a hero named the Great Minra who tricked an evil changeling into turning himself into a loaf of bread. To her surprise Odo gets to the end first ("The Great Minra gobbled him up"), and when she asks how he knew Odo wearily points out that the fictional changeling wasn't very smart. And when the girl asks Odo to turn a loaf of bread, he asks; "Why? So you can gobble me up? I don't think so." Further subverted in one novel to series where Odo warns off a Cardassian with a tale about how he voluntarily transformed himself into some food the certain alien liked, allowed himself to be eaten, and then expanded in the alien's stomach, ripping him apart. (It's implied that Odo's lying about having actually done that, but the fact that he could do that is terrifying enough). |
|
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_73d7930f | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_73d7930f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Star Trek: Deep Space Nine | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_73d7930f | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_76885dcf | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_76885dcf | comment |
In the Are You Afraid of the Dark? episode "The Tale of the Fire Ghost", the ghost is defeated when one of the kids claims that he's terrified of fire and begs him not to turn into its fire form. The ghost promptly does so...activating the sprinkler system. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_76885dcf | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_76885dcf | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Are You Afraid of the Dark? | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_76885dcf | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_7ff3216c | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_7ff3216c | comment |
In the Garfield and Friends retelling of Puss in Boots, Garfield manages to trick the ogre resident of a nearby castle into turning into a roach, which he then squishes with his high-tops. Unfortunately, at the end of the cartoon, it's revealed the ogre survived, forcing Garfield to put his high-tops to use in running for his life. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_7ff3216c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_7ff3216c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Garfield and Friends | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_7ff3216c | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_8962c09d | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_8962c09d | comment |
The final battle in King's Quest V has King Graham engage in a shapeshifting duel with the evil sorcerer Mordack. After his first three forms are countered, Mordack gets mad and transforms into a raging fire... which is when that raincloud spell Graham just learned comes in real handy. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_8962c09d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_8962c09d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| KingsQuestV | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_8962c09d | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_8dfd1fb6 | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_8dfd1fb6 | comment |
In Darken, this is how a possessing spirit came to be trapped in the gem in Komiyan's sword Blackshard. It's had a very long time to find the weak points in its prison. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_8dfd1fb6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_8dfd1fb6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Darken (Webcomic) | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_8dfd1fb6 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_90c73dda | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_90c73dda | comment |
Animorphs: The team defeats David by using an elaborate version of this ruse: they trick him into turning into a mouse to enter a miniature labyrinth with Rachel (by pretending that the MacGuffin he tried to blackmail out of them is there). Rachel escapes the labyrinth, David stays locked inside until he enters Shapeshifter Mode Lock since he wouldn't be able to demorph without being squished like a pancake. And as part of that, they tricked him into thinking he tricked them into turning into cockroaches, which he then trapped in a bottle. |
|
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_90c73dda | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_90c73dda | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Animorphs | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_90c73dda | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_938e19ec | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_938e19ec | comment |
Wembley gets rid of the Mean Genie this way in Fraggle Rock. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_938e19ec | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_938e19ec | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Fraggle Rock | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_938e19ec | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_9e7f8a9c | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_9e7f8a9c | comment |
The Boys: Butcher gets Malchemical to shapeshift into a cloud of gas, which he then sets on fire. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_9e7f8a9c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_9e7f8a9c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Boys (Comic Book) | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_9e7f8a9c | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_9f89a5f0 | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_9f89a5f0 | comment |
Pokémon: Kecleon changes type depending on what attack is used on it. You can use an attack, then one of a type that is strong against the previous attack's type for massive damage. In some cases, you don't even have to use more than one type. Ghost- and Dragon-Types are both weak against their own type, though Kecleon's default type is Normal, which is immune to Ghost attacks. Porygon's Conversion move works similarly, though Conversion (which turns into a type strong against the one used) is much more difficult to exploit since there's the element of chance involved. Of course, in both cases, Porygon doesn't even have to use either move, but you know, just in case... The transforming Ditto can't change forms until the battle ends, so once it transforms it's locked in that form. This means you can potentially control which Pokémon it becomes for the purposes of using a Super-Effective attack against it. In Pokémon GO, Zorua disguises itself as a copy of the player's Buddy Pokémon. An exact copy, which means they will copy shininess, Best Buddy ribbons, and species or forms that don't spawn in the wild in a given location, making it trivial to spot them. |
|
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_9f89a5f0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_9f89a5f0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Pokémon (Franchise) | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_9f89a5f0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_a698aa86 | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_a698aa86 | comment |
Ghostbusters: In Ghostbusters (1984), when Gozer demands that the Earth choose the shape of its destroyer, Ray immediately thinks of The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, assuming the character would be the one thing that could not possibly ever harm anyone. It's subverted when it turns out a 100 ft tall version of the character is actually very much capable of mass destruction. In Ghostbusters (2016), Rowan offers to take the form of whatever the women want for the final battle. Holtzmann tries very hard to take advantage of the situation and suggests a bullseye. Rowan instead becomes a gigantic version of the Ghostbusters' logo ghost, which they had thought was a safe option. |
|
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_a698aa86 | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_a698aa86 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Ghostbusters (Franchise) | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_a698aa86 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_a9ee3cc1 | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_a9ee3cc1 | comment |
The "Contains One Space Battle" story in the webcomic Goats has Jon and Phillip meeting God after Phillip argues he doesn't exist. God appears as a pirate named Larry and explains he can take many forms, such as a slightly taller pirate named Sebastian. The guys are unimpressed, and God tells them to pick a form. Phillip suggests a pork chop. God becomes a pork chop, then Phillip eats him, thus winning the argument. This is, incidentally, both a pivotal event behind the later plot-driven era of the comic and the least kosher meal ever imagined. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_a9ee3cc1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_a9ee3cc1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Goats (Webcomic) | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_a9ee3cc1 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_b4996199 | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_b4996199 | comment |
Spider-Man: During his first battle with the Sandman in The Amazing Spider-Man (Lee & Ditko), Spider-Man feints an attack with a power drill. The Sandman evades it by turning into a cloud of dust, only for Spidey to jump through him and grab an industrial vacuum cleaner, then hoover up his foe. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_b4996199 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_b4996199 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Spider-Man (Comic Book) | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_b4996199 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_b5c36a42 | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_b5c36a42 | comment |
In The Ring of the Nibelung, Loge asks Alberich to demonstrate the Tarnhelm's powers. Alberich becomes a dragon, but Loge then asks if he can become as small as a toad. Alberich becomes a toad and is caught by Loge and Wotan. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_b5c36a42 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_b5c36a42 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Ring of the Nibelung (Theatre) | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_b5c36a42 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_bb3fde3d | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_bb3fde3d | comment |
Similar to the Aladdin example, in Danny Phantom special "Reality Trip", Danny played upon evil ringmaster Freakshow's envy of ghosts so that he'd use the all-powerful Reality Gauntlet to become a ghost. This ended up making him susceptible to Danny's Fenton Thermos. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_bb3fde3d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_bb3fde3d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Danny Phantom | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_bb3fde3d | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_bcdcf629 | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_bcdcf629 | comment |
Transformers: Animated: In "TransWarped", Henry Masterson uses his Headmaster unit to take over Starscream's headless body and go on a rampage. Optimus Prime goads him into trying out Starscream's jet mode, saying a noob like him wouldn't be able to figure it out. Enraged, Henry tries it, but the transformation process makes the jet mode's nose cone smack him in the face and knock him out of Starscream's body. Several times, Blitzwing gets tricked into transforming into his tank mode while still in midair in jet mode, sending him plummeting to the ground. The trick is that Blitzwing's multiple vehicle modes are tied to his multiple personalities, and which personality is in charge can be influenced by his mood. |
|
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_bcdcf629 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_bcdcf629 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Transformers: Animated | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_bcdcf629 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_c43df4d8 | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_c43df4d8 | comment |
Doctor Who: "The Eleventh Hour": The Doctor is able to uncover the escaped Prisoner Zero by tricking it into attempting to disguise itself as... itself. Specifically, it's taking the form of whatever Amy Pond is thinking about. So he gets her to think about the true form of Prisoner Zero. "The Day of the Doctor": Queen Elizabeth I has been impersonated by a Zygon shapeshifter. She later turns out to be the real Elizabeth, who killed her alien copy and is now Impersonating the Evil Twin, given that the other Zygons would never believe a mere human female would overcome one of them. There's a Historical In-Joke when explaining how she did this. Brandishing a Chastity Dagger the Queen says, "I may have the body of a weak and feeble woman... but so did she!" |
|
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_c43df4d8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_c43df4d8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Doctor Who | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_c43df4d8 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_c4b82575 | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_c4b82575 | comment |
In Underworld: Awakening, Selene runs into a tunnel too narrow for Quint's Uber-Lycan form to enter, so he returns to human form and follows her. Although he is still rather powerful in his human form, it was enough of an opening for her to kill him. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_c4b82575 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_c4b82575 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Underworld (2003) | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_c4b82575 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_ce50887e | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_ce50887e | comment |
Back in Dragon Ball, when Piccolo was still a bad guy and faced off against Goku, he at one point made himself grow much larger. Goku, somewhat impressed, remarked that if only Piccolo could become ''even bigger'' he might be in trouble. Piccolo promptly did so... and Goku flew down his throat to retrieve the Sealed Good in a Can that he had previously swallowed. Thanks, Piccolo. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_ce50887e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_ce50887e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Dragon Ball (Manga) | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_ce50887e | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_d14c3aa1 | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_d14c3aa1 | comment |
In Ghostbusters (1984), when Gozer demands that the Earth choose the shape of its destroyer, Ray immediately thinks of The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, assuming the character would be the one thing that could not possibly ever harm anyone. It's subverted when it turns out a 100 ft tall version of the character is actually very much capable of mass destruction. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_d14c3aa1 | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_d14c3aa1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Ghostbusters (1984) | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_d14c3aa1 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_d14c8c60 | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_d14c8c60 | comment |
In Ghostbusters (2016), Rowan offers to take the form of whatever the women want for the final battle. Holtzmann tries very hard to take advantage of the situation and suggests a bullseye. Rowan instead becomes a gigantic version of the Ghostbusters' logo ghost, which they had thought was a safe option. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_d14c8c60 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_d14c8c60 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Ghostbusters (2016) | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_d14c8c60 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_d35a6df0 | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_d35a6df0 | comment |
Moomin (1990): The demon trapped inside a dead tree in "The Imp" is able to get out by turning to smoke and exiting through the straw he tricks Moomin's friends to place in a crack in the trunk. After Snufkin sees this happen, he pretends to believe the demon is a magician since he's too big to be able to fit in the straw and must have come from behind the tree. Offended, the demon decides to prove he's a real demon by returning back inside the tree in his smoky form, after which Snufkin removes the straw and leaves him trapped. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_d35a6df0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_d35a6df0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Moomin (1990) | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_d35a6df0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_d4f9ccf | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_d4f9ccf | comment |
Sort of used in Aladdin, where Aladdin does this to Genie to get himself out of the cave without wasting a wish. Though Genie doesn't do any shapeshifting, he does take the Schmuck Bait out of sheer ego. Later, Aladdin tricks Jafar into wishing to become a genie, which immediately causes him to be sucked into a lamp. However, Jafar does need Genie to do this, so he couldn't do it all on his own. It did, however, use up Jafar's final wish and prevent him from using his powers (which the Genie had already made quite vast with a previous wish) against Aladdin; he may have been stronger as a genie, but genies are incapable of killing anyone and are bound to the lamp that contains them. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_d4f9ccf | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_d4f9ccf | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Aladdin | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_d4f9ccf | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_d5ddd6c1 | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_d5ddd6c1 | comment |
Pokémon: The Series actually subverts this with the Orange Islands match against Drake. His first Pokémon is Ditto, and when it's suggested to Ash to switch out Pikachu after Ditto changes into him, he says Ditto would just transform into the next one sent out. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_d5ddd6c1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_d5ddd6c1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Pokémon: The Series | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_d5ddd6c1 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_d7c4626a | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_d7c4626a | comment |
Shows up in The Sandman (1989), with Lampshade Hanging, during the sequence where Lyta is hallucinating and/or shifting between seeing the real world and the Dreaming. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_d7c4626a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_d7c4626a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Sandman (1989) (Comic Book) | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_d7c4626a | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_d8811eb6 | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_d8811eb6 | comment |
In Captain SNES: The Game Masta, Alex comes up with a (fake) plan to get rid of the personification of his hatred, which resembles Zeromus. He will get really angry, causing "Zeromus" to grow so big that he'll explode. Alex points out that the only way Zeromus can counteract this plan is if he can deliberately shrink himself. Zeromus demonstrates that he can deliberately shrink himself... by shrinking himself to be just small enough to fit into Alex's unbreakable jar. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_d8811eb6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_d8811eb6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Captain SNES: The Game Masta (Webcomic) | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_d8811eb6 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_db26eb87 | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_db26eb87 | comment |
In T.U.F.F. Puppy episode "Share-A-Lair", after it's revealed that Chameleon posed as T.U.F.F and D.O.O.M's new field agents to set them against each other, Dudley claims he doubts that Chameleon was T.U.F.F's mouse agent, stating it was too realistic for Chameleon to change into. Chameleon takes offense to this and proves it was him by turning into a mouse. Unfortunately for Chameleon, this resulted in Agent Jumbo stomping on him. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_db26eb87 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_db26eb87 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| T.U.F.F. Puppy | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_db26eb87 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_db5628d7 | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_db5628d7 | comment |
The Spiderwick Chronicles: Although not intentional, Mulgarath the ogre is defeated when he turns into a bird to get away and ends up eaten by Hogsqueal, who just happened to be hungry at the time. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_db5628d7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_db5628d7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Spiderwick Chronicles | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_db5628d7 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_e966997 | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_e966997 | comment |
In a Mighty Mouse comic book, there's a story called "The Bad Genie". The genie, a cat of course, is a Card-Carrying Villain who forces the mouse who freed him to serve him and also pushes aside some houses so he can stretch out. After brute force, Mighty Mouse tries the "bet you can't fit in your lamp again" gambit, but he's too tired to argue... | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_e966997 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_e966997 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Mighty Mouse | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_e966997 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_edaffe15 | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_edaffe15 | comment |
The Bartimaeus Trilogy: When Kitty tries to pull this on Bartimaeus, he scoffs at the idea that he would be dumb enough to fall for one of The Oldest Tricks in the Book. He notes, however, that had it worked this would be a very powerful binding charm since he would have entered of his own free will. It's implied that it's happened to him at least once in one of his footnotes in Ptolemy's Gate. Which would explain why he would know why the charm would be so powerful. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_edaffe15 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_edaffe15 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Bartimaeus Trilogy | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_edaffe15 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_ee8b478c | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_ee8b478c | comment |
In Fantaghirò, the heroine tricks the Black Witch into transforming into a crystal — which she shatters. | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_ee8b478c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_ee8b478c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Fantaghirò | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_ee8b478c | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_f91feca9 | type |
Tricking the Shapeshifter | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_f91feca9 | comment |
Parodied in Van Von Hunter when the title character faces a vampire that can switch between human and monstrous form. "A beautiful woman is so much more intimidating than a vampire." Two panels later, "They are easier to stake, though." | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_f91feca9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_f91feca9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Van Von Hunter (Webcomic) | hasFeature |
Tricking the Shapeshifter / int_f91feca9 |
The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.
Copyright of DBTropes.org wrapper 2009-2013 DFKI Knowledge Management. Imprint. - Thanks to Bakken&Baeck for hosting. Contact.
Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.