History Main / Idiosyncrazy

'''id-i-o-syn-cra-sy'''
:''a characteristic, habit, mannerism, or the like, that is peculiar to an individual.''

'''cra-zy'''
:''mentally deranged; demented; insane.''

** TheJoker, DependingOnTheWriter, may only commit crimes based on the theme of jokes or pranks. Alternatively, the crime itself must be "funny" (albeit according to the Joker's own highly warped sense of humor).

** The Black and White Bandit (real name [[StevenUlyssesPerhero Roscoe Chiara]]), a MadArtist who became obsessed with black and white after going colorblind. He's got a SkunkStripe in his black hair, he has a Dalmatian named Domino, steals things like antique chess sets, etc.

* [[TheFlash Flash]] villain Rainbow Raider, a failed artist who became obsessed with ''colors'' as a result of his colorblindness.

* Though [[TheMiddleman the Middleman]] thinks the Palindrome (Ivan Avi) is like this, it turns out to be a subversion: he only left the mirrors behind because he thought he was a good artist.

* The Box Ghost and boxes from ''DannyPhantom''. At one point, he even steals Pandora's Box.

* KimPossible has fought her share of {{Idiosyncrazy}} villains: Duff Killigan, the homicidal golfer; Frugal Lucre, the world's cheapest criminal; and so on.
* Spoofed in ''{{Futurama}}'', "Less Than Hero", with the Zookeeper, who uses trained animals for all his crimes.

* Parodied on ''DrawnTogether'' when Captain Hero convinces Xander to pose as a supervillain for him to defeat. The persona they come up with? Two Hands.

* ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'': Sho Minamimoto is obsessed with math and algebraic functions to the point where he uses them in his hints for each day's mission, but when you actually fight him... he kicks you. Over and over and over. No math except the ability to use it to create Taboo Noise, and [[spoiler:cast [[ShoutOut Level ''i'' Flare]] by reciting pi to a hundred digits.]]

*** Already something of a subversion in that his crimes rarely have anything to do with sandwiches beyond his own theme and gadgets, which is of course {{Lampshaded}} in an early episode featuring him.

* The ''{{Paperinik}}'' villain the Inquinator makes you happy that GarthEnnis never will write Disney comics: he is a ''musophile'', obsessed with dirt, filth and garbage, and his crimes are invariably ''littering and vandalism'' taken to a WhatDoYouMeanItsNotAwesome degree. His first shown planned big heist was raining black ink down on the White House...

* ''TheWorldEndsWithYou'': Sho Minamimoto is obsessed with math and algebraic functions to the point where he uses them in his hints for each day's mission, but when you actually fight him... he kicks you. Over and over and over. No math except the ability to use it to create Taboo Noise, and [[spoiler:cast [[ShoutOut Level ''i'' Flare]] by reciting pi to a hundred digits.]]

** Joe Coyne (pictured above) was a failure as a criminal. Not only was he regularly caught by the police ("coppers"), his crimes only netted him pennies. Thus, to get back at "coppers and pennies," he launched a career as the Penny Plunderer. A career that Batman ended on his very first outing, but Joe's theme outlived him; he (not, as is often assumed, Two-Face) provided the giant penny that [[SuperTrophySuperRack became a fixture of the Batcave]].

[[caption-width-right:350:Joe Coyne demonstrates the rationality and levelheaded demeanor typical of this trope as he begins his career as the Penny Plunderer.]]

''"I used to be somebody in this town...now everybody's got a gimmick."''\\

** TheButcher, whose attacks all involve calling forth some type of meat
** [[BuffySpeak Chuck the Evil Sandwich-Making Guy]], who uses a condiment gun (alsoparodied in that he, tired with the same old routine, tried to become the "Handsome Panther").

* Most of the villains on ''CoolMcCool'' fit this mould.

Compare BeatItByCompulsion. See also CallingCard, CriminalMindGames, TheGimmick. Frequently coincides with StevenUlyssesPerhero.

You know this type of {{supervillain}}: the kind that can only commit a crime a certain way. Sure, there are those that leave a [[CallingCard calling card]], but this goes beyond that. They fixate on one idea, one ''thing'' that they will continue to use over and over, which eventually becomes their entire philosophy. Everything becomes about this ''thing''.

In real life, this is called [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monomania monomania]], an obsessive fixation on one idea or thing or person. It's much more common in {{superhero}} fiction, where villains often only have one gimmick to establish their identity.

Compare BeatItByCompulsion. See also CallingCard, CriminalMindGames, TheGimmick.

** The Calendar Man (real name [[MeaningfulName Julian Gregory Day]]) commits a different crime each day, but will ''re-create that crime exactly, one year later to the day.''
** The Black and White Bandit (real name [[MeaningfulName Roscoe Chiara]]), a MadArtist who became obsessed with black and white after going colorblind. He's got a SkunkStripe in his black hair, he has a Dalmatian named Domino, steals things like antique chess sets, etc.

go back and forth with this, sometimes having this and sometimes not. Two-Face with duality and the Joker with his pranks.
** Hell, most of Batman's villains are this.

* {{Batman}} villain The Riddler and riddles. It's even treated as a psychological disease at one point and he tries to stop leaving riddles, without success.

** Two-Face and The Joker go back and forth with this, sometimes having this and sometimes not. Two-Face with duality and the Joker with his pranks.

* The Film Freak only commits crimes that are re-enactments of famous movie scenes.
* The Calendar Man (real name [[MeaningfulName Julian Gregory Day]]) commits a different crime each day, but will ''re-create that crime exactly, one year later to the day.''
* The Black and White Bandit (real name [[MeaningfulName Roscoe Chiara]]), a MadArtist who became obsessed with black and white after going colorblind. He's got a SkunkStripe in his black hair, he has a Dalmatian named Domino, steals things like antique chess sets, etc.
** Compare [[TheFlash Flash]] villain Rainbow Raider, who became obsessed with ''colors'' after going colorblind, oddly enough.
* {{Superman}}'s enemy Bizarro feels compelled to do the opposite of everything normal people do. This leads to some truely strange behavior, such as building a basement on top of his house.
* The ''Paperinik'' villain the Inquinator makes you happy that GarthEnnis never will write Disney comics: he is a ''musophile'', obsessed with dirt, filth and garbage, and his crimes are invariably ''littering and vandalism'' taken to a WhatDoYouMeanItsNotAwesome degree. His first shown planned big heist was raining black ink down on the White House...

->'''Wendy:''' Who leaves a palindrome?\\
'''The Middleman:''' Typical supervillain horse feathers. Can't wait to hear this guy's monologue. "I am the Palindrome. Feel my power. Power my feel. Palindrome the am I." Peter piping weirdos.\\
-- ''TheMiddleman'', "The Palindrome Reversal Palindrome"\\
\\

-- '''[[{{Batman}} The Riddler]]''', ''Hush''

* Used in ''WordGirl''. Take as examples the Butcher (meat obsessed) and Chuck the Evil Sandwich-Making Guy (parodied in that he, tired with the same old routine, tried to become the "Handsome Panther").

* ''TheWorldEndsWithYou'': Sho Minamimoto is obsessed with math and algebraic functions to the point where he uses them in his hints for each day's mission, but when you actually fight him... he kicks you. Over and over and over. No mathexcept the ability to use it to create Taboo Noise, and [[spoiler:cast [[ShoutOut Level ''i'' Flare]] by reciting pi to a hundred digits.]]

* [[TheWorldEndsWithYou Sho Minamimoto]], evil genius and math fetishist extraordinare.
** To clarify: Minamimoto is obsessed with math and algebraic functions to the point where he uses them in his hints for each day's mission, but when you actually fight him... he kicks you. Over and over and over. No math, other than his battle quotes which vaguely qualify.
** Of course, he is technically able to use math to create Taboo Noise, and [[spoiler:cast [[ShoutOut Level ''i'' Flare]] by reciting pi to a hundred digits.]] So it doubles as a themed superpower.

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- ''TheMiddleman'', "The Palindrome Reversal Palindrome"\\

- [[{{Batman}} The Riddler]], ''Hush''

[[quoteright:330:'''Wendy:''' Who leaves a palindrome?\\

- [[{{Batman}} The Riddler]], ''Hush'']]

* TheRiddler and riddles. It's even treated as a psychological disease at one point and he tries to stop leaving riddles, without success.

* {{Two-Face}} and TheJoker go back and forth with this, sometimes having this and sometimes not. Two-Face with duality and the Joker with his pranks.

* The Riddler and riddles. It's even treated as a psychological disease at one point and he tries to stop leaving riddles, without success.

* Two-Face and the Joker go back and forth with this, sometimes having this and sometimes not. Two-Face with duality and the Joker with his pranks.

** In fact, a major plot point in the latter movies is being able to tell the real Jigsaw killer's death traps from those of a copycat using this trope; he ''always'' has to give the victim a means of freeing themselves from the death trap (as he firmly believes he's "helping" them better appreciate life by facing their sins through the game), whereas the copycats usually make the death traps inescapable.

Compare BeatItByCompulsion. See also CallingCard, CriminalMindGames.