History Main / WhatWouldXDo

* ''WebAnimation/MinilifeTV'': In "Chris and Ian Shamelessly Promote Themselves", when Conan asks Zach (dressed as Ian) to play the trumpet on his show, Zach wonders what Ian would do in this situation, and Ian's voice in Zach's head tells him to go for it. However, this backfires as he proves [[DreadfulMusician he's not as good at playing the trumpet as Ian is]].

* Gaara wonders in Chapter 465, "What would Manga/{{Naruto}} do?" with regards to Sasuke; he has a desire to save him due to their being similar, but his duties as a Kage compel him to bring Sasuke to justice.

* In ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'', the egotistical Sky Lynx suggests that others say this about ''him''. "Before you do anything, think, 'Is this what Sky Lynx would do in my position?', and you will not go far wrong."

* ''VideoGame/{{Deltarune}}'': In chapter 2, Susie, while [[spoiler:riding on a Ferris Wheel with Noelle]], muses that Kris always seems to know what to do and wonders what they would be doing in her place. A dialogue box briefly comes up with the options "Point and hearts come out" (Kris's generic ACT animation) and [[RunningGag "Eat moss"]]. No matter which option is selected, it's at this point that it occurs to Susie that maybe Kris doesn't ''always'' know what to do.

* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', Ukitake goes to tell Byakuya of the news that Rukia(Byakuya's adopted sister and Ukitake's subordinate)'s execution date has been pushed up, but Byakuya doesn't seem to care, [[KickTheDog callously telling Ukitake that it shouldn't make a difference if Ukitake loses another subordinate]]. Ukitake then thinks about Kaien, and what he would have done, wondering if he would have attacked Byakuya in a fit of rage. Ukitake knows that a single person wouldn't be able to get a stay of execution for Rukia, but suspects that Kaien would have tried anyway, if he hadn't resorted to more extreme measures to save Rukia.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* Many alleged journalists covering Apple claim that whatever the company is doing is not what Creator/SteveJobs would have done. This is especially baseless because Steve Jobs not only groomed his successors specifically for their current positions but also [[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-25/apple-s-jobs-told-successor-cook-not-to-ask-what-would-steve-do-tech.html specifically instructed them not to waste time wondering what he would do]].
** Part of this is to specifically avoid the problems that Creator/{{Disney}} had after Creator/WaltDisney's death. His successors got caught in the trap of 'What Would Walt Do?' and the company stagnated for almost 20 years. It was on the verge of being bought and broken up for parts when Michael Eisner, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Frank Wells were brought in to lead the company, bringing about the [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation Disney Renaissance]].

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''Series/{{Suits}}'' frequently features Mike asking "what would Harvey do?"

Compare JesusWasWayCool and RealMenLoveJesus for people who specifically admire [[UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} the Man himself]]. See also DontDoAnythingIWouldntDo and YouRemindMeOfX.

* A [[RunningGag recurring theme]] in ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' Book 11: ''Massively Parallel''. Each part of the book has someone ask the same question: "What would Schlock do [now]?" [[HilarityEnsues Even Schlock himself]] [[https://www.schlockmercenary.com/2009-04-25 gets in on the action.]]

--> '''Nick:''' ''(panicking)'' What would Schlock do?!\\

'''Schlock:''' ''This.'' ''([[ItMakesSenseInContext grabs a broken wall and smashes someone with it]])''

* ''Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion'' gives us this trope with a side of [[spoiler:CloningBlues]].

* A spot for ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGhostCoastToCoast'' had SG in line to renew his superhero license and his talk show host license. As he ponders which of the two separate lines to get into first, he wonders "What would Burt Ward do?"

''[an hour later...]''\\

* While it's debatable whether he was being serious or not, ComicBook/TheQuestion once asked himself, "[[MythologyGag What would]] [[Comicbook/{{Watchmen}} Rorschach]] do?" (Kill anyone who annoyed him, duh.) There ''is'' an issue where the Question decides to take the Rorschach approach to crime fighting. He concludes that the Rorschach approach ''sucks.''

* An issue of ''Magazine/MadMagazine'' that was dedicated to riffing on ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' for "[[SarcasmMode being the most original cartoon on television]]" and featuring them drawn in the style of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', showed that the studio where Family Guy is written has "What would Bart do?" signs prominently displayed everywhere.

* ''WebAnimation/TurnaboutStorm'': [[Franchise/AceAttorney Phoenix]] gets summoned to and is asked to take a case in [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Equestria]]. At one point he wonders what would his FriendlyRival, [[TheStoic Miles]] [[ClosetGeek Edgeworth]], do in his place. Let's just say that [[ImagineSpot the mental image]] of "Gleefully riding and playing with the ponies through the land" isn't exactly the kind of mental support he was looking for.
* Another example from a ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fanfic: In ''Fanfic/{{Flutterspy}}'', Fluttershy is trapped in a theater's storage room with evil ninja Yellow Viper. She imagines how the rest of the Mane Six would react, and realizes that most of their solutions wouldn't work for her. Desperate, she uses Pinkie Pie's method--dressing up in the old costumes and [[ScoobyDooHoax pretending to be a hostile ghost]]--because it's CrazyEnoughToWork. However, Yellow Viper is [[NoSell not convinced]], and Fluttershy has to fight her way out.
* In ''Fanfic/{{Marionettes}}'', Trixie is fighting Masquerade and asks herself what Twilight Sparkle would do. She ultimately decides she can't imitate Twilight as she lacks Twilight's smarts and level of power. She instead sticks to her own talents of illusions and trickery, which works.
* ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries'':
** Episode 38 has Jean-Claude Magnum, who is a member of the "Church"-whose-name-shall-not-be-typed who tries to kidnap Mai after she beats him in a card game. This ends with Mai dangling from a flagpole with Magnum crying "She's going to fall to her untimely death! What would L. Ron Hubbard do?"
** Much earlier Yugi asks Mokuba what his brother would say about him stealing things. He has to amend this to what he would ay "if he wasn't a complete douchebag" after Mokuba imagines that Seto would tell him to steal something from Joey too.
** In a vision given to him by the Millennium Rod, [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext Kaiba receives advice from the Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past from the Future]], ending with "Ask yourself: What would Christian Bale do?" Kaiba points out that this was proceeded by a story of how Christian Bale was betrayed and murdered by his robot wife.
--->'''Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past from the Future:''' Yes. ''(points to Kaiba)'' Don't do that. I dunno man, you should probably summon your Blue Eyes or something.\\
'''Kaiba:''' Man, I really need to cut down on the drugs.

''[clip of Yamcha dying]''\\

''[uses [[BlindedByTheLight Solar Flare]]]''

* In the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' novel ''Sarek'', Peter Kirk is kidnapped by the Klingon Ambassador, who had a grudge against his uncle Jim Kirk. While locked up, Peter tries to think of what his famous uncle would do in this situation. The notion he comes up with (And dismisses scornfully) is to seduce his jailer, the ambassador's niece. Amusingly, he eventually ends up doing this for totally different reasons, and this ''does'' help him escape.
* ''Literature/DonQuixote'': Parodied when Don Quixote invokes AchillesInHisTent in the Sierra Morena, he asks himself What would two [[KnightInShiningArmor Knights in Shining Armor]] do? The catch is that being a deconstruction, Don Quixote must choose between the KnightInShiningArmor played straight (Amadis [[{{Wangst}} cries and prays for days]] because his lady Oriana doesnt want to see him anymore) and the KnightInShiningArmor deconstruction ([[UnstoppableRage Roland went mad]] [[OmnicidalManiac and killed humans, animals and plants]] when he discovered princess Angelica slept with Medoro).

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'':
** In one episode, an inept wannabe ghost hunter says "What would [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Buffy]] do?"
** Later Sam motivates a reluctant hacker to go through a dangerous mission by asking her what [[Literature/HarryPotter Hermione]] would do.
** After he becomes TheSoulless Donatello Redfield resolves moral dilemmas by asking "What would Series/MisterRogers do?"

* In one of the breather episodes of ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'', Gabrielle is thrown into a prison cell by Joxer to protect her from Joxer's evil brother Jet. Gabrielle tries to think of a way out and asks herself "What would Xena do?" She then suddenly has a revelation, picks up a round plate, and tosses the round plate at the cell door Xena-style...only for the plate to ricochet off the prison cell door and hit Gabrielle square in the face, knocking her out.
* [[Series/{{Heroes}} "I don't know. What would Bennet do?"]]
* [[Series/{{Glee}} "What does your bracelet say?" "WWMD." "What would Madonna do. Outstanding."]]
* In the episode "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II" of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', Guinan points out to Riker that he can't follow his natural inclination to think like Picard. Indeed, since Picard has been assimilated by the Borg, the Borg could easily repel any plan that Picard could devise.

--> '''Dwight''': "Whenever I'm about to do something, I think, 'Would an idiot do that?', and if they would, I do not do that thing..."

-->'''Turk''': You are John Damn Dorian, so ask youself, "What would John Damn Dorian do?" W.W.J.D.D.D.?
-->'''Surgery patient''': Too many "D"s.
-->'''Turk''': ''Why are you still awake?''
* In ''Series/{{Community}}'' episode [[Recap/CommunityS1E12ComparativeReligion Comparative Religion]] Jeff eventually asks himself "What would Shirley do?" when confronting Mike. He initially reasons that she'd seek a peaceful resolution. However, when Mike throws this peaceful approach back in his face, he receives confirmation of what Shirley would ''actually'' do from the source herself:
-->'''Shirley:''' Jeffrey, ''kick his ass''!
** Earlier in the same episode, Shirley hands out bracelets with the letters WWBJD ("What Would Baby Jesus Do?") to the whole group.
-->'''Annie:''' WWBJD?
-->'''Pierce:''' If this stands for "What Would Music/BillyJoel Do?", I'll tell you right now; he'd write another crappy song.
* ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'':
-->'''Music/QueenLatifah as Gwen Ifill''': How will you solve the financial crisis by being a maverick?\\
'''Creator/TinaFey as UsefulNotes/SarahPalin''': You know, we're gonna take every aspect of the crisis and look at it and then we're gonna ask ourselves, "What would a maverick do in this situation?" And then, you know, we'll do that!
* In ventriloquist Creator/JeffDunham's Creator/ComedyCentral special ''Spark of Insanity'', he and his GrumpyOldMan puppet Walter talk for a couple minutes about an argument Walter had with his wife.
--> '''Walter:''' I thought to myself, "What would Jesus do?" So I tried to turn her into a fish. ''({{beat}})'' Begone, ''Sataaaan!'' Hello, [[SomewhereAMammalogistIsCrying Shamu]].
* ''Series/{{Oz}}''. A corrupt prison guard coerces one of the born-again Christian inmates into committing arson. "Now is not the time to ask, what would Jesus do."
* When Brian Potter is stuck on his stairlift in a powercut in ''Series/PhoenixNights'', he asks himself 'What would ThoraHird do?'
* ''Series/PersonOfInterest''. Harold Finch is trying to educate Sameen Shaw, the latest member of their RagtagBunchOfMisfits, on how Team Machine do things.
-->'''Finch:''' I urge you to consider what Mr. Reese would do.
-->'''Shaw:''' [[PerpetualFrowner Brood?]]
* In a parody of WWJD an episode of ''Series/{{Lucifer}}'' is called "What Would Lucifer Do?"
* ''Series/TheGoodPlace'' occasionally plays this as a joke.
** In "Team Cockroach", Chidi is discomfited by them talking about him like he isn't there.
--->'''Eleanor:''' Because that's what Chidi would do. That's what Chidi would do for me or for any of us.\\
'''Chidi:''' It's what I ''am'' doing.\\
'''Eleanor:''' I know.\\
'''Chidi:''' It's just you're talking about me like I'm not here or something and that just makes me feel weird.
** In "The Burrito", when trying to philosophically wrestle her way out of a moral dilemma, Eleanor asks herself "what would Franchise/{{Superman}} do", and "what would Music/{{Rihanna}}" do.
* ''Series/JaneTheVirgin'' parodies this with Magda's vaguely Slavic/Eastern European accent when she asks herself "What would real Petra do", which the [[FunWithSubtitles chyrons]] type out as "V.V.R.P.D."[[note]]"[[FunetikAksent Vat Vould Real Petra Do]]"[[/note]].
* PlayedForLaughs on ''Series/GilmoreGirls,'' when Lorelai has a bout of insomnia and is explaining to Rory her uncharacteristic decision to cook breakfast.
-->'''Lorelai''': I mean, how would I pass the time until my one and only offspring, the fruit of my loins…
-->'''Rory''': Too early.
-->'''Lorelai:''' … loin-fruit that she is, straggled out of bed to grace me with her presence? But then I asked myself, "WWTBFCD?", and it came to me in a flash: I'm gonna make waffles!
-->'''Rory:''' "What would the Barefoot Contessa do?".
-->'''Lorelai:''' Exactly.
-->'''Rory:''' Barefoot's one word.
-->'''Lorelai:''' Shut up, loin-fruit.

* Music/TheAxisOfAwesome wrote a song called "What Would Jesus Do?" making fun of this trope - it points out that most people CAN'T do whatever it is that Jesus would do.

'''Coach:''' ''[sigh]'' Look. Let your guard down for a minute and we all pay the price.

* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'':
** Durkon is left to reflect "What would Thor do?" when alone and energy-drained. [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0073.html What Thor would do]] isn't generally applicable to mortals. [[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0170.html One time]], when he gets the chance, he does get himself a giant gold tankard filled with beer -- with he letters "WWTD?" on the side. In the coloring book Rich put out, one of the answers to the puzzles is Thor's answer: [[spoiler:I don't know what I would do either.]]
** Also, when [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Elan's]] in a tight spot, he sometimes asks himself, "What Would [[TheHero Roy]] Do?". [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0388.html The first time this comes up]], it's PlayedForLaughs (of course), but [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0598.html later]] it's used more seriously; Elan has to be TheHero while Roy is [[spoiler:dead]], but he [[TheDitz doesn't have Roy's Wisdom]].
%% Needs context * Parodied in [[http://home.att.net/~miller.daniel.r/comic204.htm#title this]] episode of ''Webcomic/KidRadd''.
* In the webcomic ''WebComic/{{Marilith}}'', the eponymous assassin's favorite tee shirt has the slogan W.W.C.Y.F.D, or "What Would Chow Yun Fat Do?". It's often hard to read, being distorted by her [[{{Fanservice}} giant breasts]].

* A recurring joke in one ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' storyline has various characters asking "[[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20090404.html What]] [[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20090411.html Would]] [[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20090418.html Schlock]] [[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20090425.html Do]][[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20090722.html ?]]". And the final payoff (probably), [[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2010-11-10 here]].
* The webcomic ''WebComic/NothingNiceToSay'' parodied the obsession HardcorePunk fans have with Henry Rollins with a t-shirt saying "What would Henry Rollins do?".

* In ''Webcomic/TheWhiteboard'', [[http://www.the-whiteboard.com/autotwb1115.html Daryl asks himself what Doc would do]] when on the field. However, given Daryl isn't a rather large polar bear who runs a paintball shop, the possible answers don't do him much good.

* In ''{{Webcomic/Rhapsodies}}'', Michelle tries to comfort a grumpy Nancy, by asking [[http://rhapsodies.wpmorse.com/comic/rhapsodies-date-183/ what would Billie Holiday do?...]] She is not amused when Nancy replies sarcastically by bringing up Holiday's heroin addiction.
* Fiona from ''Webcomic/BrunoTheBandit'' wears a WWBDODIP bracelet for guidence in tricky situations. It stands for "What Would Bruno Do? (Only Do It Properly)".
* ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids'': The ''Attack of the Clones'' example falls a little flat on its face when Obi-Wan tries it here, since Padmé is played by [[LeeroyJenkins Jim]]. Obi-Wan's player admits that it was a bad example.

* WTFWSLJDMF, or What Would Creator/SamuelLJackson Do?
* There's a Website/LiveJournal user icon that asks [[Franchise/StarWars WWR2D2D?]]

* The Daily Victim gives us [[http://archive.gamespy.com/dailyvictim/index.asp?id=331 What would Solid Snake do?]]
* ''Blog/TheComicsCurmudgeon'''s merch includes "[[http://joshreads.com/?p=4528 What Would Margo Do?]]" wristbands.
* [[http://roodiedoodie.wordpress.com/2008/11/06/ninjas-wwcd/ What Would Chuck Do?]] (it's rather obvious)
* Fred "Slacktivist" Clark's ''Literature/LeftBehind'' takedowns is built around a similar construction applied to the character of Rayford Steele. Given that Captain Steele can most politely be described as a {{Jerkass}}, the advice he gives is, of course, [[http://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2013/08/09/nra-what-would-rayford-do-do-the-opposite/ "What Would Rayford Do? (Do the opposite)"]].

--> '''Lester:''' When times get tough and I don't know what to do, I think to myself... what would [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Link]] do?

%% ZCE * What would [[Franchise/ScoobyDoo Scooby do]]?
* In the "Jesus vs Santa" short, the prototype of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', the children ask "What would Brian Boitano do?" and fail to come up with an answer. In the [[WesternAnimation/SouthParkBiggerLongerAndUncut feature film]], they [[MythologyGag sing a song about the subject]], listing the feats of Brian Boitano, which lie on the absurd level of a MemeticBadass. Also for Brian Boitano, he now has a show on Food Network called "What Would Brian Boitano Make?". It's exactly what it says on the tin.
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', Homer is fleeing a duel with a southern colonel. He wonders "What would Zorro do?" and pictures the swashbuckler [[CombatPragmatist being shot by the colonel]] a la Franchise/IndianaJones. Cue Homer's anguished cry, "Zorro!!!"
** In "Barting Over", Homer had a bracelet that said "WWJD", but when Lisa told him what it meant, Homer complained he thought it meant "What Would [[Literature/{{Pinocchio}} Geppetto]] Do?".
** Rod and Todd's film choices are influenced by the [[MoralGuardians church movie guide]] "What Would Jesus View?"
** In "Dumbbell Indemnity", Homer imagines what Marge would say about getting involved with Moe's car insurance scam:
--->'''Marge:''' Homer, I ''insist'' you steal that car!
*** In another episode, Moe tries to convince Homer to give him money. Homer imagines what Marge would say, giving us an ImagineSpot of Moe ''dressed as'' Marge, encouraging him to give Moe the money. Then the real Marge enters the bubble and asks what's going on, causing Marge-Moe to hurriedly pull the bubble closed.
** In "Wedding For Disaster", when the top church minister comes to Springfield, Moe sells buttons and other trinkets with suggestive, (sac)religious messages like "Who Would Jesus Do". Yeah, he's uncouth like that.
** In "Hungry Hungry Homer", when Homer exposes the Springfield Isotopes' owner's plot to move the team out of Springfield, the owner sics Duffman on him. Homer tells Duffman that this is his chance to do the right thing and fight for the little guys. Duffman feels conflicted and asks himself "What would Jesus do?" A second later Duffman beats the crap out of the Isotopes' owner.

* In ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', when they find the trailer of ''Film/ThePassionOfTheChrist 2: Crucify This'' (a mix of Film/ThePassionOfTheChrist and Film/RushHour) in the house of Mel Gibson, we see that Jesus' car license plate is WWID ([[spoiler: [[DontExplainTheJoke What Would I Do]]]]).
** Given the potential mashup with another well-known parody, it could just as easily be [[spoiler:What Would I Drive]].

* In "Call of the Primitives", an episode of the original ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'' cartoon, famed Autobot Sky Lynx once said, "Now remember, before you do anything, think, 'Is this what Sky Lynx would do in my position?', and you will not go far wrong." Sound advice.
* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012'' has Donnie infiltrating a Kraang base while separated from the others. At one point he gets past a door by using one of the Kraang's robot bodies on a scanner. The others eventually come to the same door with the robot body still there and they ask themselves "What would Donnie do?" Cut to them using the body as a battering ram instead. When that fails to work, Mikey cries out "Donnie's idea was terrible!"

%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1642946744030895800
%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.

[[quoteright:267:[[Webcomic/TheWhiteboard https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/what_would_doc_do.png]]]]

* ''Anime/MyOtome'':
** Arika, quoting her grandmother.
** In ''Sifr'', Shirow, who is strongly implied to be [[GenerationXerox Arika's father]], does the same thing for his grandmother.
* Himawari from ''Anime/{{Himawari}}'', quoting Denzou from her favorite TV show.
* Tohru from ''Manga/FruitsBasket'', quoting her mother

* In ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'', many decisions are influenced by what the characters believe Kamina would do in that situation.
** Admittedly, the first time this happened, the conclusion was "blunder into an incredibly obvious trap".
* Gaara wonders in Chapter 465, "What would Manga/{{Naruto}} do?" with regards to Sasuke; he has a desire to save him due to their being similar, but his duties as a Kage compel him to bring Sasuke to justice.
* Julian in ''Literature/LegendOfTheGalacticHeroes'' would often think of how Yang Wen-li, his guardian and role model, would solve the problems he was facing at the moment after [[spoiler: he took over command in the wake of Yang's death.]]
* Hikaru in ''Manga/HikaruNoGo'' would think about how [[SpiritAdvisor Sai]] would play in his situation when he did not have a good move.
* Throughout the anime of ''Manga/{{Trigun}}'', Wolfwood watches Vash work through every situation in an idealistic cloud, naively trusting people he shouldn't and avoiding lethal attacks in gunfights, nearly getting killed consistently yet always solving the problem with a minimum of bloodshed. Near the end, facing his own deadly situation, Wolfwood decides to try this method of doing things. [[spoiler: He gets killed]].

* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', Ukitake goes to tell Byakuya of the news that Rukia(Byakuya's adopted sister and Ukitake's subordinate)'s execution date has been pushed up, but Byakuya doesn't seem to care, [[KickTheDog callously telling Ukitake that it shouldn't make a difference if Ukitake loses another subordinate]]. Ukitake then thinks about Kaien, and what he would have done, wondering if he would have attacked Byakuya in a fit of rage. Ukitake knows that a single person wouldn't be able to get a stay of execution for Rukia, but suspects that Kaien would have tried anyway, if he hadn't resorted to more extreme measures to save Rukia.
* ''Anime/GhostInTheShellSAC2045''. In "NET PEOPLE", Purin Ezaki is confronting a hacker who starts getting uppity and demands to see her warrant. Purin wonders how Mr. Batou would handle this situation...then [[CowboyCop punches the hacker in the face.]]

--> "I tried to turn her into a fish"
* When Creator/DanielTosh was dealing with a rude person talking on the cell phone in a movie theatre, he looked at his WWJD bracelet. [[spoiler: So he set him on fire and sent him to Hell.]]

* In [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6183372/1/What-Would-Sue-Sylvester-Do this]] ''Series/{{Glee}}'' fanfic, Kurt walks into the choir room only to find that Mr. Schue and a few of the glee club members have been taken hostage by a crazy kid, with a gun, who intends to play RussianRoulette with them. Kurt asks himself, "What would [[MemeticBadass Sue Sylvester]] do?", and then proceeds to snark and manipulate the kid into giving up the gun.
* In ''Fanfic/NotQuiteHeroes'', Shego is at a loss to track down Dr. Drakken after he gets kidnapped. She kidnaps Ron, and when Kim shows up to rescue him she asks her to explain how she found him.
* ''Fanfic/TheRedDragonsSaber'': One of the reasons why Artoria Pendragon decides to help Issei Hyoudou is she knows Shirou Emiya would do it if he were in this situation.
* ''Fanfic/TheDimensionalDrifter'': During a conversation with Johan, Judai suggest doing exactly what Austin O'Brien would do if he found himself in a similar situation[[labelnote:Explanation]]Find himself trapped in another dimension and find out there's a secret war going on[[/labelnote]]. Johan promptly shuts it down because [[Anime/YuGiOhGX last time O'Brien found himself in a situation like that]], be fought Judai's SuperpoweredEvilSide by himself and lost.

* From ''WesternAnimation/TheBossBaby:'' "In every situation, I ask myself WWSCBFBBD: 'What Would Super Colossal Big Fat Boss Baby Do?'"
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheCroods,'' when Grug needs to get back to his family, he asks himself "What would Guy do? What would Guy do?" Then he starts asking himself, "What would I do?"

* Film/{{Maverick}} always quotes his Pappy. [[spoiler: His Pappy calls him out at the end for the fact he didn't say half the stuff Maverick says he did.]]
* In ''Film/JohnsonFamilyVacation'', the tituar family is on a road trip; when Dorothy calls out husband Nate for picking up an erratic hitchhiker, he says simply "Baby, what would Jesus do?"
* Captain Jack Sparrow in ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd'' advises whelpish William Turner to think like him, Jack, in order to manipulate people and get his way. William does so to increasing degrees. Later, when Jack is in over his head, he mutters to himself, "Think like the whelp."
-->'''William:''' I told myself, "Think like Jack."\\
'''Jack:''' And ''this'' is what you came up with? ''[throwing corpses tied to barrels overboard to act as a breadcrumb trail]''
* A similar thing happens in the 1997 remake of ''Film/ThatDarnCat''. In order to rescue Patti, Kelso must follow DC's nightly route; hence, he must think like DC.

* One of the taglines for ''Film/HaroldAndKumarEscapeFromGuantanamoBay'' is "What would [[Creator/NeilPatrickHarris NPH]] do?"

* Used dramatically in Creator/MartinScorsese's ''Film/{{Silence}}'' where Jesuit priests are forced by Feudal Japanese authorities to apostatize or be ForcedToWatch as they torture and kill Japanese converts. [[spoiler:The Apostate Ferreira (played by Creator/LiamNeeson) tells Fr. Rodrigues the protagonist, that even Jesus would apostatize and abjure God in order to spare his flock from undergoing suffering. When Rodrigues is about to step on the Fumie, the ritual act of apostasy in the film, he hears a voice that he believes to be from Jesus himself that it's okay, he can trample on the image of Christ]].
* At one point in ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness'', Kirk is faced with the decision to either save Spock from a volcano or uphold the Prime Directive. He asks Bones what Spock would do.
-->'''Bones:''' He'd let you die.
* At a particularly tense moment in ''Film/TimeChasers'', one character asks "What would Series/{{MacGyver|1985}} do?" See ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' under parodies for their response.
* ''Film/Persuasion2022'': Wentworth admits to Anne that he often thought "What would Anne do?" during dark moments at sea.

* The 1897 novel ''In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do?'' is mentioned in Website/TheOtherWiki as the source of the modern usage of the phrase. In the novel, the pastor of a church in the railroad town of Raymond challenges his congregation to stop and think [[TitleDrop "What would Jesus do?"]] before doing anything, for a full year.
** The song of this name by Big Tent Revival was the TropeCodifier for the revival of the phrase in the 90s.
* ''Literature/GaaraHidenASandstormMirage'': Upon finding himself unable to start a conversation with Hakuto, Gaara follows one of Naruto's tactics and asks her about something as trivial as her hobbies. Amusingly enough, it works. Hakuto begins to open up to him and sees him as a gentle person.

* In Creator/StephenKing's AfterTheEnd novel ''Literature/TheStand'' survivors are guided from all over the US to a gathering spot by prophetic dreams. Along the way, one survivor, Larry, gets so used to following the signs and example of another survivor, Harold, who had passed along the route first (and come up with clever solutions to problems) that Larry later admitted that when he encountered obstacles he started wondering "What would Harold do?"

* History book ''The Mongol Art of War'' concludes with a chapter explaining how the modern military has been influenced by the Mongols. The author suggests that modern military commanders should consider WWCD, or What Would Chinggis (Khan) Do? The fact that the majority of the answers would constitute war crimes today doesn't make the advice any less applicable due to the brilliant tactics utilized by the Mongols.
* A chapter of the ''Series/DoctorWho'' Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures novel ''The Gallifrey Chronicles'', in which Trix finds herself facing an alien invasion on her own, is titled "WWDWD?"
* ''Literature/SwordOfTruth'' - Creator/TerryGoodkind has stated he wants his readers to approach real-world morality by considering what [[GodModeSue Richard]] would do. You can start [[FridgeHorror screaming now.]]
* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}''

* In the Literature/LordPeterWimsey book ''Have His Carcase'', Harriet Vane discovers a dead body and thinks: What would Lord Peter, or Robert Templeton (the detective in the books she writes) do?
* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', all the Lannister siblings have moments where they [[WellDoneSonGuy think back to their father, Tywin,]] and how he would handle the situation, usually acting accordingly. [[BloodKnight Jaime]] and [[GuileHero Tyrion]] occasionally think this way about each other as well, indicating both their closeness and how [[SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan their opposite skill sets complement each other.]]
* In the Literature/AmericanGirls book ''Felicity Saves the Day,'' the title character has to convince her father's runaway apprentice Ben to turn himself in. When her grandfather asks her how she managed it, she tells him, "I said what I thought you would say."
* Creator/RobertAHeinlein
** In ''Literature/CitizenOfTheGalaxy'', a Colonel states a couple times that when faced with a difficult situation, he thinks of his former commander and asks himself "What would [[ColonelBadass Col.]] [[CoolOldGuy Baslim]] do?"
** ''Literature/IfThisGoesOn''. Despite living in a religious dictatorship, the protagonist John Lyle doesn't ask What Would Jesus Do? but what would his more pragmatic friend Zeb do.
* [[PowerTrio Rand, Perrin, and Mat]] from ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' are all of the opinions that they [[MarsAndVenusGenderContrast will never be able to understand women]], yet each one thinks that the other two understand women perfectly. It was a common thing in the earlier books especially for one of them to end up in an awkward and/or unpleasant situation with a woman and try to figure out what the other two would do if they were there.
* When faced with the prospect of breaking up with his pregnant, loveless girlfriend or aborting their would-be child, [[Literature/ThePaleKing Lane Dean]] wonders what Jesus would do.
* Late in ''Literature/LukeSkywalkerAndTheShadowsOfMindor'', Luke draws strength from considering how Obi-Wan would act in this situation.
* Will's mantra whenever he comes to a difficult decision in ''Literature/RangersApprentice'' is asking himself, "What would Halt do?"
* In ''Literature/RedDwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers'', Rimmer, on discovering he has minus twenty minutes to prepare for his exam, asks himself, as he always does in a crisis "What would Napoleon do?"
-->Something French, he decided. Probably munch on a croissant, and decide to invade Russia. Not strictly relevant in this situation.
* ''Literature/ThePrince'': Chapter XIV: To ensure his success, a prince must choose a model that he admires and follow his actions to be like him (but obviously, dont follow his errors).
-->''But to exercise the intellect the prince should read histories, and study there the actions of illustrious men, to see how they have borne themselves in war, to examine the causes of their victories and defeat, so as to avoid the latter and imitate the former; and above all do as an illustrious man did, who took as an exemplar one who had been praised and famous before him, and whose achievements and deeds he always kept in his mind, as it is said Alexander the Great imitated Achilles, Caesar Alexander, Scipio Cyrus. And whoever reads the life of Cyrus, written by Xenophon, will recognize afterward in the life of Scipio how that imitation was his glory, and how in chastity, affability, humanity, and liberality Scipio conformed to those things which have been written of Cyrus by Xenophon.''
* In Creator/JohnHemry's ''Literature/TheLostStars'' novel ''Tarnished Knight'', Iceni, in the first space battle, thinks in frustration that Black Jack would have done something different -- then she realizes he would ''change the odds.''
* At one point in the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' saga, Harry tells Ron that what they need to do is, "... think like Hermione."

* In the ''[[Literature/{{Nero Wolfe}} Death of a Dude]]'' Nero Wolfe's sidekick [[DeadpanSnarker Archie Goodwin]] encounters a redneck sheriff, who modelled himself basically upon Wyatt Earp, with a twist - when he confronted any problem, he asked himself "What J. Edgar Hoover would do?"
-->''The product was a personality mess that couldn't have been made any worse even by a [[HollywoodPsych trained psychoanalyst]].''
* In one of the ''Literature/CiaphasCain'' books, Cain (THE HERO OF THE IMPERIUM!) is getting an after-action report from Lieutenant Jenit Sulla, who hero-worships him and comments something along the lines of, "I just thought, 'What would the Commissar do?'" [[HeroicSelfDeprecation Cain promptly quips, "And then did the opposite, I hope."]]
* In a short story of ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles,'' when by herself, Molly makes decisions by asking, "What Would Harry Do?" The answer, naturally, is to make lots of {{Shout Out}}s and kick open doors.
* In the ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga'', a few characters attempt to get themselves out of a fix by asking, "What would Miles do?". In ''Ethan Of Athos'', Elli Quinn tries it - "Never do yourself what you can con a professional into doing for you" - and it works quite nicely for her, at least in the short term. In ''Brothers In Arms'', on the other hand, when Miles encounters a group of drunk mercenaries who have somewhat inadvertently taken over a liquor store and claimed to have rigged it with an explosive booby trap, he asks which idiot thought of that idea and is told "I tried to think what you would have done, sir." He groans internally and reflects that, drunk or not, the man is disconcertingly observant.
* When Fat Charlie of ''Literature/AnansiBoys'' starts trying to embrace his magical half-TricksterGod side, he does so by internally asking himself what would his father Anansi or his {{Polar Opposite Twin|s}} Spider do in his situation. He stops doing that as his CharacterDevelopment progresses and being more like a TricksterGod RealityWarper GuileHero starts coming more naturally to him.

* When Renn is forcefully brought to the Island at the Edge of the World by [[spoiler:her demon-possessed half-brother Naiginn]] in the seventh book of ''Literature/ChroniclesOfAncientDarkness'', she surprises herself by wondering what would [[spoiler:their late mother [[FemmeFatale Seshru]] the Viper Mage]] do. She ends up taking an example from [[spoiler:Seshru's skills at manipulation]] to deceive [[spoiler:Naiginn]] in order to escape at the right moment.

* In the first of the Dr. Watson mysteries by Robert Ryan, Watson thinks that he's got to stop being the sidekick and asking what Literature/SherlockHolmes would do, and stand on his own two feet. [[SidekickGraduationsStick He quite likes this thought.]]

* ''Series/{{Arrow}}''

--->'''Oliver:''' Thea, do you think this is what Dad would want for you?
--->'''Thea:''' Dead people don't want anything. It's one of the benefits of being dead.

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''

* In ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigationsMilesEdgeworth'', Edgeworth is able to put the final pieces of the puzzle in the last case together by thinking to himself (paraphrased) [[spoiler:'[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney That man]] who could turn around victories from the brink of defeat...what would he do?' This makes him realize that he needs to "turn around" his thinking, and thus that the blood on the Samurai Dogs pack might not be from the victim, but that it could be -- and is -- from the murderer.]]
* In ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'', some time after the second murder, the victim's best friend refuses to forgive the person who, despite not being the killer, helped cause the murder. In response, the person in question attempts {{Seppuku}} and is taken away for medical treatment. Afterward, a third party asks the victim's best friend what the victim would do in that situation.

* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', after the Battle for the Undercity, with the Horde facing war with the Alliance, Thrall wonders what his old friend Grom Hellscream would do in that situation. Varok Saurfang, who had recently lost his son, approaches Thrall and tells him that Grom would tell him to lead his people, giving him some small measure of relief.
* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'', Ramza, after killing some deserters who, while not necessarily evil, are intending to collect the bounty on his head and use it to gain a pardon, wonders what his father would have done in that situation.

* ''VideoGame/WolfensteinTheNewOrder'': [[spoiler: Provided he survived the Prologue]] Wyatt at one point will admit at times he would ask himself what [[TheHero William Joseph Blazkowicz]] would do during those fourteen years spent keeping the TheResistance going. He still does.

* ''VideoGame/NotForBroadcast'': [[spoiler:If you let Jeremy Donaldson die in Day 296, then at the end of Day 371, after Advance nuke four cities and demand that the world bend to their will, Megan Wolfe spends the last few minutes pondering on what Jeremy would do if he were alive today in a situation like this.]]

* ''WebAnimation/{{DucktaleZ}}'' has an extra cartoon after the first episode in which the AuthorAvatar acts as a director and does auditions to find someone to play the role of Scrooge [=McDuck=]. After none of the candidates work out, his assistant asks "What would Creator/GeorgeLucas do?" This gives him the idea of doind a computer-generated Scrooge (who somehow becomes an actual person) for the Oscars.

--> '''Nick:''' [''panicking''] What would Schlock do?!\\
[''Schlock [[DestructiveTeleportation teraports]] in'']\\
'''Schlock:''' ''This.'' [''[[ItMakesSenseInContext grabs a broken wall and smashes someone with it]]'']
* ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids:''
** Somewhere between a serious and not-serious example, as Grievous's dreadnought is about to crash, Pete encourages Ben and Annie to think like Jim, on the grounds that a lunatic plan in the face of certain death is when Jim shines.
--->'''Ben:''' My brain just broke!
--->'''Pete:''' That's the spirit!
** How Ben deals with General Grievous. Stuck facing imminent death, he wondered what [[TheLoonie Jim]] would do in his place. Result: Grab a gun and shoot Grievous.
** In a bit of IKnowYouKnowIKnow, Annie decides to think like Jim. And then she gets utterly confused.
--->'''Annie:''' Must stop thinking like Jim...

* In his ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' version Jaime's hero worship is directed differently, so it's "What would Batman do?" instead.
** [[spoiler:That might change after he found out about Ted. He even ends the episode by saying he tries to do the right thing, just like Ted]].

* In ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'', the egotistical Sky Lynx suggests that others say this about ''him''. "Before you do anything, think, 'Is this what Sky Lynx would do in my position?', and you will not go far wrong."

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'': Project Cadmus makes a clone of Superman called Superboy. Though Superboy idolizes Superman, he starts out loyal to Cadmus due to psychic brainwashing. When Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad get captured, Aqualad gets Superboy to shake off the brainwashing and help them by asking him, "What would Superman do?"
* As season 3 of the ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra '' enters its climax, Korra asks Zuko what Aang would do in her situation because he’s the person who was closest (his best friend) to him in her proximity. [[note]] They were in the Earth Kingdom together whereas Katara was all the way in the South Pole and Aang’s kids were in the Northern Air Temple. [[/note]] She got the idea from Zuko’s uncle, Iroh, in the Spirit World.

** In "Young Blood, Old Souls", [[spoiler:Lilith reveals that the reason decided to curse Eda before their fight to join the Emperor's Coven (opperating under the assumption that it would merely DePower her for a day rather than saddle her with a life changing disability) was because she asked herself what Emperor Belos would do in her situation.]]
** In "Clouds on the Horizon", [[spoiler:Amity is despairing over her feelings of helplessness over the impending [[FinalSolution Day of Unity]] and Emira attempts to cheer her up by asking her what she thinks Luz would say to her. Amity gets so wrapped up in her thoughts that she doesn't even notice Luz coming in through the window or [[LeaveTheTwoLovebirdsAlone the twins slipping out to give the two some privacy]]. Luz then makes her presence known by noting that everything she said was accurate.]]

Compare JesusWasWayCool and RealMenLoveJesus for people who specifically admire [[UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} the Man himself]]. See also DontDoAnythingIWouldntDo.

-->-- '''Sam Witwicky''' (negotiating for an A- and a car), ''Film/{{Transformers}}''

!!Example subpages:

[[index]]
* WhatWouldXDo/AnimeAndManga
* WhatWouldXDo/ComicBooks
* WhatWouldXDo/FanWorks
* [[WhatWouldXDo/AnimatedFilms Films -- Animated]]
* [[WhatWouldXDo/{{Film}} Films -- Live-Action]]
* WhatWouldXDo/{{Literature}}
* WhatWouldXDo/LiveActionTV
* WhatWouldXDo/VideoGames
* WhatWouldXDo/WebOriginal
* WhatWouldXDo/{{Webcomics}}
* WhatWouldXDo/WesternAnimation
[[/index]]

!!Other examples

[[folder:Music]]
* Music/AlanJackson's song "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere". The X here is Music/JimmyBuffett, who then joins in to sing the next refrain.
-->'''Buffett''': Funny you should ask, Al. I'd say, 'Pour me something tall and strong ...'
* Bruce Robison's song "What Would Willie Do" is both a parody of WWJD and a tribute to Music/WillieNelson. ("He loves all the people, no matter their races / Hell, he even made a hit country song with Julio Iglesias")
* Cult satire punk band The Causey Way with their album ''WWCD''. The C here stands for Causey.

[[folder:Myths & Religion]]
* Common in lay religion. Protestant Christians ask themselves what UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} would do, Catholics ask themselves what Jesus or the appropriate saint would do, Buddhists ask themselves what Buddha or the appropriate Boddhisatva would do, and so on.
** Although it was pointed out by Catholic apologist Jimmy Akin that the inverse question ("Would you want to do X in Jesus' presence?") is slightly irrelevant, as most devout Christians would want to do nothing other than fall on their knees and pray in Jesus's presence.
** The inverse question is also a bit of a moot point, as according to most orthodox Christian doctrine you're ''always'' in Jesus's presence. That's how omniscience and omnipresence work. Feel free to either rejoice or [[FridgeHorror shudder]] at the implications according to your preference.
* In Pastafarianism there's "What Would the Flying Spaghetti Monster Do" (and the less common "What Would a Pirate Do").

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* In ''Franchise/AceAttorney [[VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigationsMilesEdgeworth Investigations]]'', Edgeworth is able to put the final pieces of the puzzle in the last case together by thinking to himself (paraphrased) [[spoiler:'[[TheGhost That man]] who could turn around victories from the brink of defeat...what would he do?' This makes him realize that he needs to "turn around" his thinking, and thus that the blood on the Samurai Dogs pack might not be from the victim, but that it could be -- and is -- from the murderer.]]
* In ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'', some time after the second murder, the victim's best friend refuses to forgive the person who, despite not being the killer, helped cause the murder. In response, the person in question attempts {{Seppuku}} and is taken away for medical treatment. Afterward, a third party asks the victim's best friend what the victim would do in that situation.

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* ''WebAnimation/IfTheEmperorHadATextToSpeechDevice'' shows us Rogal Dorn's pain-love meditation room which has a W.W.T.E.O.M.D? (What Would the Emperor of Mankind Do?) poster on the wall.
* ''WebAnimation/{{DucktaleZ}}'' has an extra cartoon after the first episode in which the AuthorAvatar acts as a director and does auditions to find someone to play the role of Scrooge [=McDuck=]. After none of the candidates work out, his assistant asks "What would Creator/GeorgeLucas do?" This gives him the idea of doind a computer-generated Scrooge (who somehow becomes an actual person) for the Oscars.
* ''WebAnimation/MinilifeTV'': In "Chris and Ian Shamelessly Promote Themselves", when Conan asks Zach (disguised as Ian) to play the trumpet for the show, Zach asks himself what Ian would do. Ian tells him to go for it in his mind, which doesn't pay off since Zach is [[DreadfulMusician bad at playing the trumpet]].

[[folder:Web Videos]]
* ''WebVideo/CrossedLines'': In Episode 7, Rebel Iron, the Railway Board comes to Dawn asking her about strange behaviour they've been noticing on the railway (which pertains to Zebedee's rescue mission of Ember). During the interrogation, Dawn frantically thinks to herself "What would Cojack do?". She then immediately charges away, claiming to be getting to her shunting.
* In ''WebVideo/TenLittleRoosters'', Miles asks the question "What would [[WebAnimation/{{RWBY}} Ruby Rose]] do?" when he attempts to figure out how to survive being trapped with a killer. His answer? [[spoiler:Suit up in Lindsay's Ruby Rose costume]].

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Common in Moral Philosophy. Many thought-experiments are based on some variant of "What would TheOmniscient do?" or "What would a [[OriginalPositionFallacy totally impartial person]] choose?"
* There is a legal concept called a "reasonable person". The question "what would a reasonable person have done/felt/thought in such a situation?" can be used to analyze whether a defendant's actions were justified, whether mitigating circumstances can apply, whether someone acted recklessly or not, and so on.
* Probably common way of analyzing various conundrums among anyone with a bit of imagination. Pick your favorite idol or fictional character and ask yourself what she would do. The problem there, of course, is "What if your favorite character is ComicBook/TheJoker or TheMaster or someone?"
* There was a canonical movement involving bracelets with the shield, inviting teenagers to ask "What would Franchise/{{Superman}} do?"
* Many alleged journalists covering Apple claim that whatever the company is doing is not what Creator/SteveJobs would have done. This is especially baseless because Steve Jobs not only groomed his successors specifically for their current positions but also [[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-25/apple-s-jobs-told-successor-cook-not-to-ask-what-would-steve-do-tech.html specifically instructed them not to waste time wondering what he would do]].
** Part of this is to specifically avoid the problems that Creator/{{Disney}} had after Creator/WaltDisney's death. His successors got caught in the trap of 'What Would Walt Do?' and the company stagnated for almost 20 years. It was on the verge of being bought and broken up for parts when Michael Eisner, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Frank Wells were brought in to lead the company, bringing about the [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation Disney Renaissance]].

!!!Parodies and Subversions

[[folder:Advertising]]
* And, of course, one of the ballsiest parodies was a reasonably successful series of commercials for Subway: What Would Jared Do?
* Another Jewish variant: there are "WWJD?" T-shirts where the J stands for Jon. [[Series/TheDailyShowWithJonStewart Jon Stewart]].
* A spot for ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGhostCoastToCoast'' had SG in line to renew his superhero license and his talk show host license. As he ponders which of the two separate lines to get into first, he wonders "What would Burt Ward do?"

[[folder:Comedy]]
* Inverted by Music/MitchBenn in one show, where he describes how, after a gig, he was in the BathroomStallOfOverheardInsults, and overheard two audience members saying he "really wants to be Creator/JackBlack". And the only thing that stopped him bursting out of the cubicle, trousers around his ankles, and saying "I was doing this for [[OlderThanTheyThink ten fucking years]] before anyone had ''heard'' of Jack fucking Black!" was the thought that this was ''exactly'' what Jack Black would do.

[[folder:Comic Strips]]
* In ''ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}}'', Dogbert advises Ratbert to live by the philosophy "What would Dogbert do?"
* ''ComicStrip/FootrotFlats'':
** In a couple of strips, the Dog is trying to take care of the farm while Wal is away and whenever something goes wrong he asks himself what Wal would do.
--->'''The Dog:''' Oh no! A weta snatched a baby duckling! Wal's not here. What would he do?" '''''"YA &#^%@& WETA!!!"'''''
** Another one, involving large numbers of stinging insects, had him conclude that Wal would... hide in the outhouse with the newspaper.
--->''[[KnowWhenToFoldEm Wal's no fool]].''

[[folder:Jokes]]
* A man walks into a store selling WWJD hats for $30. He asks what WWJD stands for, and is told it means "What Would Jesus Do?" To which he answers, "Well, he certainly wouldn't have paid $30 for that hat!"

[[folder:Music]]
* According to Music/MitchBenn:
-->If you got a problem,\\
And you don't know where to turn,\\
And nobody's advice is helping you,\\
Don't run 'round like a chicken,\\
Don't fall into despair,\\
Just ask yourself:\\
What would [[Music/ElvisPresley Elvis]] do?
* Music/TheAxisOfAwesome wrote a song called "What Would Jesus Do?" making fun of this trope - it points out that most people CAN'T do whatever it is that Jesus would do.

[[folder:Myths & Religion]]
* If anyone ever asks you, [[http://biblehub.com/john/2-15.htm "What would Jesus do?"]], remind them that [[FlippingTheTable flipping over tables]] and chasing people with a whip is within the realm of possibility.

[[folder:Radio]]
* In the ''Radio/JohnFinnemoresDoubleActs'' episode "Here's What We Do", Gavin generally follows the lead of Pidge, although his gran has given him a JumpOffABridgeRebuttal on the subject. At the end of the episode Pidge does, in fact, jump of a bridge, but Gavin stands his ground and handles himself quite well, which Pidge is impressed by.
-->'''Gavin''': I just thought "What would Pidge do?"\\
'''Pidge''': ''({{Beat}})'' I jumped off the bridge.\\
'''Gavin''': Yeah, but if you ''hadn't'' done that.

[[folder:Theatre]]
* In addition to the semi-serious "What would Harry do?", ''Theatre/AVeryPotterMusical'' also has, "What would Zac Efron say at a time like this?"
-->"[[Film/HighSchoolMusical We're aaaaaaall in thiiiiiiis]] [[ThePowerOfFriendship tooooooogether!]]"

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* In the ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'' cartoon "A Dumpy Tale", Coach Z tries to insert characters called "The Dancing Brothers" into Strong Sad's story unsuccessfully. Later, when he (falsely) believes he's killed Strong Sad, he starts to panic and wonders what the Dancing Brothers would do. After thinking for a moment, he does exactly what the Dancing Brothers would do: sing a cheerful song and dance away from the scene.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Videos]]
* Appears adorably in ''WebVideo/TheAwkwardCompilation'':
--> '''Lester:''' When times get tough and I don't know what to do, I think to myself... what would [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Link]] do?
[[/folder]]

* The Chinese Cookie asks WWCS? or What would Creator/{{Confucius}} say?
* [[http://shop.cafepress.com/design/21532319 What Would]] [[Manga/DeathNote Kira]] Do?
* There was a fairly thriving [[Series/{{Firefly}} Browncoat fandom thing]] of having bracelets which said 'WWMRD' or, 'What would Malcolm Reynolds Do' (be awesome, and shoot people, mostly). Fans at [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7iE2_Vdxng Dragon-Con]] loved it when Jewel Staite gave that advice to Nathan Fillion.
* WWJD: Who wants Jack Daniels?
* At a condominium management meeting when one unit owner was droning on and on about a trivial issue of no importance to anybody but himself, the Association President leaned back in his seat and asked the ceiling "What Would [[Manga/BlackLagoon Revy]] Do?"

* Common in Moral Philosophy. Many thought-experiments are based on some variant of "What would TheOmniscient do?" or "What would a totally impartial person choose?"

* If anyone ever asks you, [[http://biblehub.com/john/2-15.htm "What would Jesus do?"]], remind them that [[FlippingTheTable flipping over tables]] and [[WhipItGood chasing people with a whip]] is within the realm of possibility.

Compare JesusWasWayCool and RealMenLoveJesus for people who specifically admire [[UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} the Man himself]].

[[folder: Radio]]

* Appears adorably in ''WebVideo/{{Awkward}}'':

* And, of course, one of the ballsiest parodies was a reasonably successful series of commercials for Subway: What Would Jared Do? (This is made even funnier by the fact that Jared is Jewish, and something of a FunnyAneurysmMoment considering his child-porn scandal.)