History SpannerInTheWorks / MarvelUniverse

-->'''Kid Loki:''' "My plan only succeeded because of the stubbornness of goats."

** ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'': The Deadpool arc has the titular mouthy Merc being hired to kidnap the X-Men, fly them to Genoshia, and hunt them on TV. Things hit a bump when Spidey winds up brought along for the ride due to poor timing, which throws Genoshia's whole strategy out of whack. Deadpool himself sums up partway in that the hunt isn't going well because Spidey is the only thing they didn't plan for.
-->'''Professor X:''' I'd like to thank you, Mister Parker. Things might have turned out very different if you hadn't been there to balance the odds in our favor.
** ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'': ComicBook/{{Cyclops}} in the arc "Return of the King". Let us recap the situation so far. Magneto has regained his memories and is going on a rampage across the world with his acolytes while he waits for Forge to get his Doomsday Weapon ready. All the X-Men are either captured, killed, or on the run and still have no idea where Magneto's base is. It looks like all hope is lost, when Cyclops, who everyone thought was killed by Wolverine a few issues ago, is taken into Magneto's base as an injured mutant in need of healing. After recovering Cyke busts his way out and clues the other X-Men in on where the base is. All of this leads to a truly epic smackdown against Magneto and saving the world.

* ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'' #52: The Grim Reaper traps the Avengers in a [[FauxDeath death-like state]] with plans to finish them off permanently, until he is surprised and defeated by the newest Avenger; Comicbook/BlackPanther.
* Before that, the Mad Thinker has nearly defeated the Avengers when Hercules shows up, the Thinker lampshading he could never have calculated the arrival of a legendary demi-god into his schemes.
* In the ''ComicBook/CivilWarII'' one-shot, ''The Accused'', [[ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} Matt Murdock]] is made the prosecutor for the trial of [[spoiler:ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}}, who ended up killing [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk Bruce Banner]].]] However, he notices something wrong with how fast the trial is being pushed and, in his Daredevil persona, discovers [[spoiler:a conspiracy to use the trial to push a second SuperRegistrationAct]]. In the end, [[spoiler:Matt is able to get Hawkeye proven innocent to prevent this from happening.]]
* ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} is frequently seen as such a rogue element that the guy who can copy someone's fighting style completely (ComicBook/{{Taskmaster}}) was still surprised by him.
** In Comicbook/CableAndDeadpool #50 (the final issue of the series) the Savage Land mutate Brainchild is countering the moves of every other hero in their attack on his base, but none of his predictions of where Deadpool is are accurate; turns out DP took the "{{Franchise/Super Mario|Bros}} strategy" and went through the sewer pipes.
* In a strange way this is the [[PlanetOfHats hat]] of ''Comicbook/FantasticFour'' villain the Mad Thinker - he creates ''amazingly'' complex, unassailable plans at the drop of a hat, accounting for every possible action of his opponents. But, every time, there is some random variable (what he calls the "x-factor") that doesn't take into account and buggers up his calculations. ''ComicBook/MarvelAdventures Franchise/SpiderMan'' once established that the Thinker hates Spider-Man because his precognitive SpiderSense makes him the one person on Earth who can effortlessly derail the Thinker's schemes without even deliberately ''trying.''
* A short story placed during the ''ComicBook/CivilWar2006'' has the Thinker putting a LampshadeHanging on how often this "x-factor" (which more often than not is the "human" factor -- as in, he cannot completely foresee how people will react) has come to bite him in the ass and warning Reed Richards that his complicated hyper-mathematics which show that the Super-Human Registration Act is the right thing to do cannot show what will people do if pressed. True to the Thinker's prediction, Reed's StrawVulcan WellIntentionedExtremist act ends up hurting his relationship with his wife Sue, who goes turncoat and becomes an important member of Captain America's Resistance, and even after the Pro-Registration side wins and Reed manages to successfully beg Sue to return, their relationship remains severely strained for a very long time. Other stories written much later showcased that in most alternate universes where the SHRA ''didn't'' ended up becoming the colossal shit-storm that Universe 616 had to endure, it was because Reed Richards did all the work ''by himself'' -- turns out "too many cooks spoil the broth" can also apply to Illuminati conspiracies.
* Also happens to the one-off villain known as the Destroyer in the first [[Comicbook/FantasticFour Human Torch]] solo adventure in ''Strange Tales''. He uses the local newspaper to challenge the hero and successfully lures him into a trap –- then he notices that there are also some curious teenagers around, and runs away in fear for his secret identity.
* ''Comicbook/TheIncredibleHulk'': The Hulk once witnessed a gigantic extraterrestrial energy beast materializing. Not knowing how to react, and being himself, he attempted to smash it and temporarily drove it away, thus preventing a properly equipped professional hunter from taking it down.
* ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'' often sees villains' perfect plans ripped to shreds by BadassNormal Chase Stein, who claims to be street smart but as a fellow teammate inquired, "What street? {{Series/Sesame|Street}}?"
* An early ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' issue has [[MasterOfIllusion Mysterio]] convincing Spider-Man that he's going insane, and then posing as a therapist who offers to help our web-headed hero. Of course, Mysterio then sets up ''more'' illusions to make Spidey think he's hallucinating again. Spidey's about to have a complete nervous breakdown when J. Jonah Jameson and Flash Thompson, who had both heard about the therapy session and wanted to support Mysterio and Spider-Man (respectively) wander into the house. When ''they'' start seeing and reacting to the same "hallucinations", Spider-Man realizes that he's being conned, and swiftly defeats Mysterio. It's later {{lampshade|Hanging}}d when Jameson realizes that Mysterio was on the verge of making Spider-Man reveal his SecretIdentity, and that ''[[HoistByHisOwnPetard his own arrival torpedoed the whole plan]]''. After that, Jameson is the one who seems like he needs therapy.
* Somberly discussed in the aftermath of ComicBook/FearItself. Kid Loki [[TheChessmaster perfectly pulled off a plan to manipulate a slew of people]] and [[EnemyMine ensure Thor destroyed the Serpent]]. But in private, he reveals that a seemingly accounted-for moment of the plan - an anticipated threat being countered with Thor's goats - was a complete accident on his part. He'd moved them somewhere else completely and they wandered back to their pen in defiance of his instructions. And if they hadn't, he would've been killed by the threat, and the entire rest of the plan would've crashed down.
--->"My plan only succeeded because of the stubbornness of goats."
* The Deadpool arc of ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'' has the titular mouthy Merc being hired to kidnap the X-Men, fly them to Genoshia, and hunt them on TV. Things hit a bump when Spidey winds up brought along for the ride due to poor timing, which throws Genoshia's whole strategy out of whack. Deadpool himself sums up partway in that the hunt isn't going well because Spidey is the only thing they didn't plan for.

* ComicBook/{{Cyclops}} in the ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'' arc "Return of the King". Let us recap the situation so far. Magneto has regained his memories and is going on a rampage across the world with his acolytes while he waits for Forge to get his Doomsday Weapon ready. All the X-Men are either captured, killed, or on the run and still have no idea where Magneto's base is. It looks like all hope is lost, when Cyclops, who everyone thought was killed by Wolverine a few issues ago, is taken into Magneto's base as an injured mutant in need of healing. After recovering Cyke busts his way out and clues the other X-Men in on where the base is. All of this leads to a truly epic smackdown against Magneto and saving the world.
* ''ComicBook/XFactor'':

* ''ComicBook/XMenRed2022:'' The events of ''ComicBook/JudgmentDay'' manage to be a big spanner to Brand's own plans, with Uranos's attack on Mars being the big one. [[spoiler:His killing Abigail means she has to use Krakoa's resurrection protocols, allowing Cable and Whiz Kid to snoop and find out what she'd been doing. Meanwhile, a smaller, secondary part of her plan is ruined elsewhere because she'd fed a NASA representative bad information, hoping to drive a wedge in Earth-Mars relations, but the disaster manages to let him make a bond with the Arakko inhabitants instead.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'': In "Masters of Evil," Baron Zemo is thwarted because he didn't realize Comicbook/BlackPanther and Comicbook/{{Hawkeye}} had joined the Avengers, and thus failed to take their presence into account when coming up with his plan to destroy the team.

* A short story placed during the ''ComicBook/CivilWar'' has the Thinker putting a LampshadeHanging on how often this "x-factor" (which more often than not is the "human" factor -- as in, he cannot completely foresee how people will react) has come to bite him in the ass and warning Reed Richards that his complicated hyper-mathematics which show that the Super-Human Registration Act is the right thing to do cannot show what will people do if pressed. True to the Thinker's prediction, Reed's StrawVulcan WellIntentionedExtremist act ends up hurting his relationship with his wife Sue, who goes turncoat and becomes an important member of Captain America's Resistance, and even after the Pro-Registration side wins and Reed manages to successfully beg Sue to return, their relationship remains severely strained for a very long time. Other stories written much later showcased that in most alternate universes where the SHRA ''didn't'' ended up becoming the colossal shit-storm that Universe 616 had to endure, it was because Reed Richards did all the work ''by himself'' -- turns out "too many cooks spoil the broth" can also apply to Illuminati conspiracies.

* The [[Comicbook/IncredibleHulk Hulk]] once witnessed a gigantic extraterrestrial energy beast materializing. Not knowing how to react, and being himself, he attempted to smash it and temporarily drove it away, thus preventing a properly equipped professional hunter from taking it down.