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| 3 | %% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks! |
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| 6 | %% Image removed per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1307582104042120100 |
| 7 | %% Please start a new thread if you'd like to suggest an image. |
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| 9 | |
| 10 | ->''"Yes, we resemble beasts. Yes, we are savage. Neither of those things makes us stupid. That often comes as a surprise to Humans. Invariably it is the last thing that ever surprises them."'' |
| 11 | -->-- '''Beastlord Grakkle''', translated from the Beast Tongue, ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasyRoleplay: Old World Bestiary -- A Compendium of Creatures Fair and Foul'' |
| 12 | |
| 13 | So you're watching your favorite high school drama. In comes the cheerleader, as bubbly, bright, and ditzy as ever. Everything about her, from her ValleyGirl vernacular to her superficial interests and appearance, tells you that this is the classic mold of TheDitz. |
| 14 | |
| 15 | That is until the episode goes on. |
| 16 | |
| 17 | This young woman is revealed to be a straight-A honors student. She is a master when it comes to hacking computers, or has a wealth of talent in [[WrenchWench dealing with mechanical things]]. Her knowledge of things both vast and obscure makes the viewer do a double take in their perception of her. There's a sort of cognitive dissonance that goes on, juxtaposing the character's appearance against their actual intellectual ability. This character makes you say "Huh... you're [[TitleDrop Smarter Than You Look]]". |
| 18 | |
| 19 | This character is not simply the GeniusDitz or the IdiotSavant, for those characters are sharply skilled in a single area while remarkably hindered in others. The Smarter Than You Look character has true vast and all-encompassing intelligence. They just ''look'' stupid, through mannerisms, vernacular, or visible appearance, while actually being quite smart. The key to being Smarter Than You Look is the distinct and clear appearance of stupidity. |
| 20 | |
| 21 | This is '''not''' to be confused with ObfuscatingStupidity, where a character consciously plays dumb either to avoid responsibility or for some other reason. This trope has no intention of appearing to be unintelligent; they simply can't help the appearance of stupidity they have. |
| 22 | |
| 23 | The BunnyEarsLawyer can overlap with this, but the difference is in the appearance of the character. The Bunny Ears Lawyer appears strange, but it doesn't take away from his intelligence. He is typically known to be a genius. The Smarter Than You Look appears stupid, and this appearance conflicts with their actual intelligence. A genius professor who always wears a wizard's hat to class and only answers to "Merlin" is a Bunny Ears Lawyer; one who can't read and has poor pronunciation skills would be a Smarter Than You Look. |
| 24 | |
| 25 | Sometimes, the appearance of stupidity or ditziness is compounded by the presence of UnfortunateImplications, particularly racial or gender-related stereotypes (this can be particularly true for those who are Pretty Smart For a Hottie, where beauty can belie a character's knowledge). |
| 26 | |
| 27 | To an extent, this trope is subjective based on what the viewer (or the rest of the cast) views as unintelligent. In many cases, though, the character is consciously designed to have this appearance, to teach the audience AnAesop of never judging a book by its cover. Sometimes as tropes evolve the subversion can actually become the rule; for instance, many modern viewers have grown to ''expect'' a character like the ValleyGirl mentioned at the start to fall under this (because the "surprise" has been used so often) and are thus themselves surprised when the character turns out to be genuinely ditzy. |
| 28 | |
| 29 | TheSmartGuy may start out as this, or he may stay as this. The AbsentMindedProfessor is often a subtrope of this. If the character is (or seems to be) from the DeepSouth, you've got a SouthernFriedGenius. If the character is assumed to be stupid because he looks like DumbMuscle, he's a GeniusBruiser or TemperateBerserker. (This may be compounded by the character having a case of FaceOfAThug.) If someone tries to manipulate someone who's this under the assumption that they're stupid, it's also a case of UnderestimatingIntelligence. This trope is to intellect as the OldMaster is to strength, or as the KillerRabbit is to danger/terror. It's also a very close relative of DitzyGenius, but differs in that the DitzyGenius actually is pretty stupid/inept/{{Cloudcuckoolander}}ish sometimes, whereas the Smarter Than You Look character just has a ditzy personality. |
| 30 | |
| 31 | DumberThanTheyLook is the complete opposite. |
| 32 | |
| 33 | [[noreallife]] |
| 34 | |
| 35 | ---- |
| 36 | !!Examples |
| 37 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 38 | [[folder:Anime and Manga]] |
| 39 | * ''Manga/AfterGod'': Despite being mentally immature, Orokapi knows how to intimidate people and easily picks on what others are planning. |
| 40 | * Despite being somewhat of a cheerful [[TheDitz ditz]], Mira of ''Manga/AsteroidInLove'' is genuinely very knowledgeable about astronomy, especially as the series goes on, enough that she gets accepted into the very competitive Shining Star Challenge. Yuu comments on this during the thirty-third chapter, when she [[GeniusDitz goes on for several in-universe minutes on the fundamentals of asteroid discovery]]. Since she always has a ditzy image around her, Yuu is so thrown off balance that the latter says Mira's being "sneaky". |
| 41 | * Gauche Adlai from ''Manga/BlackClover''. He may be a thuggish siscon most of the time, but according to the Volume 9 Questions Brigade, he's the smartest Black Bull, and the Guidebook rates his Cleverness as a 5/5. He rapidly comes up with a new magic theory in the midst of battle to develop a new spell that duplicates others. |
| 42 | * ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': |
| 43 | ** Orihime Inoue may be a {{Cloudcuckoolander}}, but she also gets the third-highest grades in her class. She's also perceptive enough to notice that Ichigo, whom she's only met recently through their mutual friend Tatsuki, [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness isn't acting like himself]] on the days leading up to the anniversary of his mother's death, something that took Tatsuki a while to notice. |
| 44 | ** Ichigo himself generally comes off as a delinquent, but he's quite studious and gets surprisingly good grades for having to skip school to save the world now and again, with an early chapter having him mention that the teachers are willing to cut him some slack for looking like a delinquent so long as he gets good grades. In the DistantEpilogue, he's taken over the Kurosaki Clinic ''and'' has a job as a translator. |
| 45 | * In ''Manga/BloomIntoYou'', Manaka Yoshida, one of [[ThoseTwoGuys Touko and Sayaka's two recurring friends]], is [[GenkiGirl a rather cheerful and energetic person]] who comes off as ditzy comic relief. A bonus feature included in the seventh volume lists the student cast's grades, and Manaka has the fourth highest grades, after [[TheAce Touko, Sayaka]], and [[BrainyBrunette Maki]]. The comments attached to her stats note that "[[LampshadeHanging Everyone's always shocked by her grades.]]" |
| 46 | * Plain and socially awkward Machiya from ''Manga/DeadTube'' can tell when fairly convincing footage and photos have been manipulated by just looking at them; this dooms an entire group of people who have been pretending to be his friends to have him killed later. Machiya keeps being his awkward self, but is always quick to revert any situation when someone he tried his hardest to trust turns out to be some manipulative person who is out for his neck. |
| 47 | * Taichi Yagami from ''Manga/DigimonVTamer01'' is a happy-go-lucky eleven-year-old boy who happens to be good at geometry and somewhat versed in biology. |
| 48 | %%** Zeromaru. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample) |
| 49 | * ''Anime/DragonBallZ'': All incarnations of Majin Buu display this at one point or another, and it leads to the biggest blunders anybody opposing them makes in assuming that they're ''entirely'' stupid: |
| 50 | ** Fat Buu is always aware that Babidi needs him, and plays along until he gets tired of it and easily outwits his "master". That is also the moment the watchers realize that his stunts that could have got Babidi killed by "accident" were actually [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident him deliberately trying to off Babidi while pretending they were accidents]], as he hadn't yet figured out how to prevent him from casting the sealing spell. |
| 51 | ** Super Buu is probably the best example, as he [[ObfuscatingStupidity deliberately acts like a simple-minded thug]] to get others to get overconfident with him, even managing to fake his fight with Gotenks as serious when in reality he's waiting for Gohan. Funnily enough, his plan to wait for Gohan, goad Goten and Trunks to fuse again and absorb Gotenks (for his power) and Piccolo (for his intellect) shows that he not only has a thirst for power, but also intelligence. |
| 52 | ** Even Kid Buu, who seems to just be acting on primal instinct, gets in on this, as he quickly realizes that Goku won't throw the Spirit Bomb since Vegeta is in harm's way, and parks himself right on top of the fallen prince to render Goku unable to move as he'd drop the Spirit Bomb, but also unable to throw it, leaving him at Buu's (lack of) mercy. |
| 53 | * Gaoh of ''Manga/Eyeshield21'' comes very close to being the monster version of this trope. Only the quarterbacks, Hiruma and Kid, notice that he might be a 7-foot raving dinosaur that can lift a car with ease, but he'll never, ever break the rules of football. His strategy is to break the enemy quarterback's arm, and if the quarterback doesn't have the ball, they'd get a severe penalty. Thus, he'll come to a screeching halt, even if he's tongue distance away from the quarterback, if they manage to throw the ball away at the last second. |
| 54 | * Akira from ''Manga/FamilyComplex'' has doe eyes and a laidback demeanour that makes him look rather slow, especially when compared to his more charismatic older brother. When he starts attending his older brother's alma meter, Harumi's former school mates immediately judge him as plain and slow. However, he turns out to be [[TheAce very intelligent, athletic and is good at managing people]], and by the time he shows up in the SequelSeries, ''Manga/PrincessPrincess'', he's one of the most respected students of the school, with even the seniors referring to him as Sakamoto-''sama''. |
| 55 | * ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'': 2nd Lt. Heymans Breda looks like a [[DumbMuscle big dumb grunt]], but he's actually pretty bright. Our first glimpse of him comes as he's gloating about [[SmartPeoplePlayChess winning at]] TabletopGame/{{shogi}} for the 47th time in a row. The end of the flashback chapters about the war note why Mustang took on the subordinates he did. Breda's in the group because he's smarter than he looks. |
| 56 | * In ''Manga/HunterXHunter'', the Genei Ryodan are ''all'' {{Genius Bruiser}}s. Even the two [[TheBrute brutes]] [[TheJuggernaut Uvogin]] and [[FrankensteinsMonster Franklin]], who both look like {{Dumb Muscle}}s, are very smart and have broad knowledge. One of them has even occasionally outsmarted the EvilGenius Sharnark. TheDitz Shizuku is also a GeniusDitz. |
| 57 | * ''Anime/KiraKiraPreCureALaMode'': When strong and loud rocker girl Aoi Tategami reveals that her grades in school are among the top in her class, Ichika is surprised and says "I thought you were bad at school like me!" |
| 58 | * Nanase-sensei of ''Literature/LoveChunibyoAndOtherDelusions'' is a bit of a SenseiChan, but Yuuta notes that she can be quite cunning, as shown when she plays along with [[MsImagination Rikka]]'s delusions while the latter submits her club formation form for her "[[StartMyOwn Far Eastern Magical Nap Association]]". |
| 59 | * Alibaba from ''Manga/MagiLabyrinthOfMagic'' seems to be just a [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold typical greedy]] [[{{Deuteragonist}} shounen protagonist]], but he is able to read and use complicated sword techniques, things that a common person wouldn't be able to do. He also tends to think and plan before taking action. |
| 60 | * Shiro Kabuto from ''Anime/MazingerZ'' and its sequel ''Anime/GreatMazinger''. He does not come across like very smart, and in fact during his first few appearances, his acts make him look like TooDumbToLive (for starters, while Koji is horrified by the [[{{Mook}} Iron Mask]], especially after killing it, all Shiro says is that Koji is so cool for killing him). Later on in the series, he's shown to be more mature than his older brother, proves that he is knowledgeable about things the teenagers around him are completely ignorant of, learns to pilot the Pilder in a relatively short time ([[FallingIntoTheCockpit bonus points since unlike Koji, he has practically zero experience in piloting the Pilder]], while Koji mentions that the control is similar to his motorbike), and pulls a BigDamnHeroes several times, which really says something. Of course, he ''is'' a member of the Kabuto family; his grandfather and his father were excellent scientists, and even his IdiotHero brother can be very clever when he uses his brains, so you can tell it's in the blood. |
| 61 | * ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'': |
| 62 | ** [[HavingABlast Katsuki Bakugo]] is a [[SmugSuper smug]], [[HairTriggerTemper temperamental]], [[SirSwearsALot foul-mouthed]] [[{{Jerkass}} grade-A asshole]] who at first glance looks like the guy who skips class for fun and beats up nerds for looking at him funny. He's actually a GeniusBruiser who has the third best grades in his class (higher than [[NerdActionHero Midoriya]] and [[TheAce Todoroki]]) and is only behind the class representatives themselves, all due to the fact that he [[ToBeAMaster wants to be the greatest hero ever]] and refuses to let himself half-ass his work. Although his temper sometimes gets the better of him (especially in the early arcs), anyone who judges him to be your average LeeroyJenkins is going to pay. |
| 63 | ** Present Mic, Yuuei's teacher/DJ/pro-hero, is one of these. He's the LifeOfTheParty who just can't sit still and shut up, but he's a teacher for a ''reason'' and there's actually a keen intellect behind the silly, exuberant behavior. [[spoiler:He's the first one to cotton on to the probability of there being a [[TheMole traitor]] at Yuuei.]] |
| 64 | ** Tomura Shigaraki comes off as a temperamental and impulsive PsychopathicManChild at first glance, but he has a score of 5/5 in Intelligence. He uses his intelligence to notice some of the weaknesses of Aizawa's PowerNullifier Quirk, as well as to [[spoiler:steal Overhaul's Quirk-destroying bullets and exact revenge on him]]. |
| 65 | ** Minoru Mineta is a cry-baby pessimist who can barely seem to focus on anything but girls. It's to the point that even the rest of his class thinks he's just a worthless pervert. But as Recovery Girl points out when he manages to trick Midnight during his final exam, he's a hell of a lot more clever than he let's on and is actually in the upper half of the class in terms of intelligence. |
| 66 | * ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': |
| 67 | ** Ino Yamanaka appears to be the outgoing, bubbly rival and has tendencies of a DumbBlonde. However, [[AllThereInTheManual in the first]] ''[[AllThereInTheManual Naruto]]'' [[AllThereInTheManual databook]], it is revealed that Ino has the best overall grades in the Academy. |
| 68 | ** Deidara has all the subtility and grace of a MadBomber and appears not very bright. His tactical skills are nothing to scoff at and [[AllThereInTheManual the]] ''[[AllThereInTheManual Naruto]]'' [[AllThereInTheManual databook]] rates him a 4.5/5 for intelligence, making him smarter than geniuses like Sasuke and Neji. |
| 69 | * ''Manga/PenguinBrothers'': Koshiba has long, bleached hair and multiple piercings, making him look like a troublemaker/delinquent. To Hina's shock and mortification, he's an academic genius who has the nation's highest scores on exams. |
| 70 | * Many, many characters from ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf''. The most notable is Shampoo, whose good looks, [[YouNoTakeCandle poor Japanese]] ([[EloquentInMyNativeTongue in Chinese she's actually eloquent to the point of being archaic]]), and tendency to [[ThereWasADoor bust through walls]] makes her look like a BrainlessBeauty who just happens to have SuperStrength -- she's actually a [[ManipulativeBitch manipulative]] NoNonsenseNemesis with great intelligence and Ranma's equal in terms of technique (as Akane learns the hard way when she challenges her and [[LaserGuidedAmnesia gets her memory wiped]] through a rather complicated move), who just happens to stay in a land whose language she doesn't speak well and [[BlueAndOrangeMorality doesn't understand why one should take the long way when they can break through walls]]. |
| 71 | * Hayato Gokudera from ''Manga/Reborn2004'' looks and acts like a delinquent (he is in fact a mafioso), but he reaches high score grades easily and he's TheSmartGuy of Tsuna's guardians. |
| 72 | * In ''Literature/RollOverAndDie'', it is easy to dismiss Milkit due to her being a slave with no education, but she quickly proves to be quite adept at learning after Flum gives her some lessons in reading and writing. |
| 73 | * ''Manga/SailorMoon'' has two examples: |
| 74 | ** Minako Aino is a lazy teenager [[BookDumb with poor grades]] whose only notable quality seem to be her athletic skills (Artemis said so when he first saw her). As the series goes on, it becomes clear that she's ''extremely'' intelligent, as shown by [[RenaissanceMan the immense array of skills she has picked up off page and the ones she picks up on page with extreme ease]], and can do anything, and that her poor grades are a combination of [[BrilliantButLazy her finding school boring]] and, when it comes to English, being ''too good'' (it's heavily implied that she spent a large part of her childhood abroad and learned English there -- and thus is unable to get good scores in a system that favors rote memorization). |
| 75 | ** Usagi Tsukino, being an {{Expy}} of Minako, is a ditz and gets grades just as poor as her (in the manga at the start of the Dream Arc, Minako even jokes that she's happy to go at the same school as her because otherwise she'd feel lonely -- without a failing student ally), to the point where many are actually surprised that she passed the high school entrance exams. She's actually fairly intelligent outside of school, and even there there's the fact that she ''got'' into a fairly high-level school. |
| 76 | * Pretty much any apparently stupid Saint in ''Manga/SaintSeiya''. [[JustifiedTrope There's a fairly good reason]]: with [[TrainingFromHell the infernal training they went through]], [[HadToBeSharp they had to become strong]] ''[[HadToBeSharp and]]'' [[HadToBeSharp smart to survive]]. |
| 77 | * Kanon in ''Manga/ServantXService''. Despite her being the show's TokenMiniMoe, her cute looks belie a smart, perceptive mind. She can fix her father's stuffed bunny avatar rather easily, having spent her childhood watching her mother do it, and also instantly deduces from Touko's statements that her brother and Chihaya are dating. |
| 78 | * In ''Manga/TegamiBachiLetterBee'', Connor Kluff, Lag's fellow Letter Bee, doesn't seem particularly bright at first glance, due to coming off as laid-back and obsessed with food, but there are moments when he's more insightful than he lets on. In the Honey Waters arc, he notices that the so-called Spirit Amber that Sarah is using is not the genuine article, because it doesn't emit the same sparks that the real thing does when firing a Shindan. During the race against the Letter Pigeons in the anime, he waits until the road workers take a lunch break so he can go past them on the more direct route to the goal. His patience and intelligence allows his team to regain the lead from the Letter Pigeons. |
| 79 | * Between his large, muscular build, extreme bloodlust, and [[CoveredWithScars collection of scars]] (including [[GoodScarsEvilScars a pair of slightly disfiguring scars on his face]]), Thorgil from ''Manga/VinlandSaga'' looks like your average DumbMuscle thug. It can be a serious mistake to make that assumption, however, because in addition to his strengths and talents in battle Thorgil possesses a vicious cunning that allows him to see through [[spoiler:Canute's]] plot against his family. He's also a capable tactician on the battlefield, and when put into a blatantly unwinnable battle he correctly sees the one possible weakness he can exploit to defeat his enemy and executes his plan brilliantly, coming within a second of pulling off a DecapitationStrike. |
| 80 | [[/folder]] |
| 81 | |
| 82 | [[folder:Asian Animation]] |
| 83 | * Careless S. from ''Animation/HappyHeroes'' is well-known to be very forgetful and makes a lot of hiccups based on this, but he's quite skilled in the art of making and using weapons and can still be strong in a fight... as long as he remembers to load the right kind of ammo into his weapon, assuming he even remembers the ammo at all. |
| 84 | [[/folder]] |
| 85 | |
| 86 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 87 | * Franchise/TheDCU: |
| 88 | ** [[Characters/BatmanBane Bane]] at first glance, with his hulking strength and luchador mask, may appear to simply be TheBrute. In reality, he is an extraordinarily intelligent individual thanks to his photographic memory and sheer dedication to self improvement. He is a master of several martial arts and sciences as well as a brilliant strategist with excellent deduction skills. He is arguably Batman's most dangerous enemy on a purely physical level for this combination of [[GeniusBruiser raw strength and cunning]], with their [[ComicBook/{{Knightfall}} first encounter]] ending with him both deducing his identity through simple observation as well as breaking his back. In addition, he is seen by [[Characters/BatmanRasAlGhul Ra's al Ghul]] as both a WorthyOpponent and one of the only men on Earth worthy of potentially replacing him. |
| 89 | ** A frequent realization made by both his friends and his enemies is that [[Characters/SuperManConnerKent the Conner Kent]] ComicBook/{{Superboy}} is actually surprisingly observant and cunning, in spite of his highly immature exterior. More than once, his LetsGetDangerous moments are heralded by him dropping his trash talk, going completely serious, then surprising an opponent with creativity and decent tactics. |
| 90 | ** Harley Quinn is one of the biggest {{Perky Female Minion}}s in fiction, and is usually portrayed as [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} a ditzy oddball]] in whatever criminal antics she gets in, so it's easy to forget the big fact in her backstory that she was a graduated psychologist (or psychiatrist, DependingOnTheWriter) before she became a supervillain. How intelligent and capable she is as one varies between continuity (usually based around whether her ditziness [[GeniusDitz is genuine]] or [[ObfuscatingStupidity some kind of put-on]]), but it's almost a RunningGag between writers across all media to periodically remind the audience that [[HiddenDepths she has a PhD and at least some expertise on dealing with mental health]], [[PsychopathicManchild even if her own is in serious question]]. |
| 91 | ** ComicBook/PowerGirl often has people assume that she is a BrainlessBeauty. Not only is she a computer expert and businesswoman, but she is also very cunning in battle when she needs to be. This is a lesson the Ultra-Humanite learns the hard way when she foils his plan and escapes his trap despite having her strength and EyeBeams neutralized. |
| 92 | %%** ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'': Dream Girl in the original and Post-Infinite-Crisis versions. Like many story elements in the Legion, this was based on a throwaway reference from MediaNotes/{{the Silver Age|of Comic Books}}: she changed Light Lass's powers using Naltorian Science. She's the smartest Legionnaire after ComicBook/{{Brainiac}} 5, Franchise/{{Superman}}, and ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}, at least if you believe the RPG, and is one of the few who have been able to use Brainiac 5's force shield belt. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; missing the "Than You Look" part; why wouldn't you expect her to be smart?) |
| 93 | * Franchise/MarvelUniverse: When you think of smart members of the ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'', Reed Richards is normally one's first and only thought. However it is easy to forget that The Thing, Ben Grimm, also went to the same school as Reed ''and'' Doctor Doom, and to be a test pilot and astronaut as he was you require two masters degrees or a [=PhD=] minimum. He can often translate what Reed is saying in techno-babble and can create tech just as easily. All this despite looking like a brutish rock monster. This is something that is often missed by writers, but ironically not [[Film/FantasticFour2015 the first Fox-produced films]]. |
| 94 | %%** Gankes helps [[Characters/MarvelComicsMilesMorales Miles Morales]] by checking some stuff related to his most recent mission in internet. What the hell, Ganke? Are you checking black market stuff with the school's internet? Of course not! He set up a network of his own! (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; missing the "Than You Look" part) |
| 95 | * Bunnie Rabbot from ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'' can be an example of this. With her [[SouthernBelle thick country accent]] and naïve optimistic attitude, you'd never expect her to be so technologically skilled and resourceful. Granted, she's never really shown to have vastly diverse intellect, so she may fall somewhere between this trope and the GeniusDitz. |
| 96 | * Happens multiple times in ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'', although some cases (such as Rodimus) are more ObfuscatingStupidity: |
| 97 | ** Swerve, the MotorMouth bartender who spends his time playing pranks and making puns, is a trained metallurgist -- which, given that Cybertronians are ''made of metal'', makes him both an engineer and a medical professional. It's mentioned that during the Great War he treated some of his own wounds, [[spoiler:unfortunately including the one that full Autobot doctors would have recognised as containing a "bullet" of top-secret data from a deep-cover spy]]. |
| 98 | ** Tailgate consistently comes across as naive and childish, and it turns out that prior to his trip on the Lost Light, he only had two weeks of living experience. He also manages to recall the entire text of the Tyrest Accord ''verbatim'', while ''dying'', in order to save the rest of the crew. |
| 99 | ** Whirl is a DeathSeeker and BloodKnight who has, underneath all of that, the delicate touch of an engineer even with his claw hands (a legacy of his life as a watchmaker); at one point he manages to perform the Cybertronian equivalent of open-heart surgery, in a janitor's closet. He also exhibits remarkable insight into the psychologies of the people around him, ''and'' manages to figure out how Cyclonus can cure Tailgate's cybercrosis. |
| 100 | ** Spinister looks and acts like a dangerous lunatic and does things like sort random items into "goodies" or "baddies" based on punch sounds. He's a brilliant surgeon. |
| 101 | [[/folder]] |
| 102 | |
| 103 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 104 | * ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'': |
| 105 | ** Carol isn't generally assumed to be precisely stupid, but a lot of her peers see a teenager with blonde hair, blue eyes, and curves, and [[BrainlessBeauty don't think beyond that]]. Even those who do just think that she's a hot-tempered young woman -- a talented athlete, but not much more. She's actually acutely insightful and a very canny strategist, identified as such by the Winter Soldier and Dracula themselves. The former identifies her as the primary threat when she's surrounded by three [[PersonOfMassDestruction Persons of Mass Destruction]] and a LightningBruiser and "merely" boosted to SuperSoldier strength. The latter is actually genuinely impressed by an off-the-cuff escape plan from one of his traps, and accords her a degree of VillainRespect as a result. [[spoiler:It makes sense, since Carol is the great-granddaughter of GeniusBruiser Steve Rogers.]] |
| 106 | ** Harry, meanwhile, is also not thought to be stupid, but HotBlooded and [[DidntThinkThisThrough impulsive]]. As Jean-Paul notes in the sequel, it is very easy to forget that he's actually got a very sharp deductive mind -- he figures out that Jean-Paul is protecting someone important (Clark), and then who that is, simply based on rough location (Kansas) and working out ''why'' he wouldn't say something (though as he admits, the fact that Clark looks startlingly like him helps). He's also an increasingly skilled manipulator, and after a brutal reality check early in the sequel, a [[XanatosSpeedChess highly accomplished and unconventionally flexible tactician]]. |
| 107 | * In the ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'' fanfic ''Fanfic/CourtneysCrusadeForRedemption'', Lindsay, of all people, who's pretty much the definition of BrainlessBeauty in canon. In this fic, she actually shows a lot of insight at times, giving good advice to the other Heroic Hamsters and, generally speaking, helping them to do better than in canon. |
| 108 | * In ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3730477/1/Hogwarts-is-a-Strange-Place-Raising-Harry-Book-2 Hogwarts is a Strange Place]]'', Hermione initially dismisses Harry as unintelligent because of his rural speech pattern and dress due to having spent most of his childhood on a farm in Iowa, yet he loves books and is well-read enough to quote poetry to her. His explanation of it is, "There's just too damn much work ta be done on a farm to waste time in front of a TV. Most folks I know would rather read a book than let some piece of gadgetry do their thinkin' for them." |
| 109 | * In ''Fanfic/NeitherABirdNorAPlaneItsDeku'', Izuku is described by the Villain in Mt. Fuji as "someone who exhibits no signs of culture and refinement". Despite this, Izuku is worldly enough to recognize obscure pieces of opera music like "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a79nSbmy69U The Cunning Little Vixen]]" by ear, know slang words used around the world like [[WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond "schway"]], and commit entire backstories to memory. |
| 110 | * Misty's Psyduck, in contrast to his scatterbrained canon self, is this in ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines'', picking up things like his trainer having a crush on Ash. [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass He's also a much better battler than he looks at first glance]], intentionally hitting his head to trigger his stronger attacks. |
| 111 | ** The Rookie Crusher looks like an unpleasant overweight man, but he is a clever trainer who's been crushing rookies at the Indigo League for twenty years without losing to a single rookie before Ash defeated him. He's also the only person to cotton on to the idea that Ash isn't an InstantExpert prodigy trainer without any context that Ash might be a [[PeggySue time traveler]]. While everyone else thinks he's a SoreLoser, Ash and Pikachu are well aware he's not wrong and admit it to themselves. |
| 112 | * In the ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'' story ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10203524/1/Our-Miss-Brooks-The-Reunion-Assembly The Reunion Assembly]]'', honour student Brains Snodgrass bears a remarkable resemblance to his dimwitted grandfather, Stretch Snodgrass. Walter Denton, Stretch Snodgrass's best friend, considers Brains to be "spooky" -- an unnaturally intelligent duplicate of Stretch as a teenager. |
| 113 | * While generally applicable to [[Fanfic/TheInfiniteLoops loopers]] due to the sheer time scale available to them, both Yang Xiao Long and Sun Wukong of ''Fanfic/TheRWBYLoops'' deserve special mention. While they outwardly portray themselves as fun-loving [[BrainlessBeauty brainless beauties]], both of them are quick to pick up on emotional distress, have had philosophical ponderings on the nature of looping and personality, and have taken full grasp of the chance to improve their skills -- notably, Yang is a fully capable ''surgeon''. |
| 114 | * ''Fanfic/MariaCampbellOfTheAstralClocktower'': Katarina is generally dismissed as an airhead at best, albeit a nice one. But the truth is she just doesn't pay attention to things that she doesn't think are important (such as schoolwork and people being attracted to her). She actually planned out most of her life from when she was eight in order to avert a number of potential doom scenarios, including diligently learning farming and training with the sword. She also knows everything about everyone she meets, [[NiceToTheWaiter including the servants]], and greets everyone by name. Part of the problem is that she's [[NextLifeAsAFictionalCharacter reincarnated in a world she remembers as a game]], so she's approaching everything from a very strange angle that no one else can understand. She's the first one to notice that Anne is sleeping with [[spoiler:Alice, Maria's mother]], and uses that fact without revealing it to everyone when someone's life needs to be saved. |
| 115 | * ''Fanfic/FateBlackAvalon'': Morgan is surprised when Shirou catches on rather quickly that something strange is going on with her. She mentally notes that she should have known better; he tends to get hyper-focused on a goal, but this ''is'' a boy whose primary ability is AwesomenessByAnalysis. He is good at noticing small details and putting them together quickly. |
| 116 | |
| 117 | [[/folder]] |
| 118 | |
| 119 | [[folder:Film]] |
| 120 | %% * Mr. Trout in ''WesternAnimation/TheBoxtrolls'', played for laughs. |
| 121 | * ''Film/FreeGuy'': For all intents and purposes, the BigBad, Antwan Hovachelik just seems like (and mostly is) a BadBoss idiot who relies on IP and focus groups to run his company. However, [[spoiler:he also has the technical skill to hide ''Life Itself'' past the horizon and make it a MinusWorld, and certainly is smart enough to understand how ''Life Itself'' can interfere in his game to lie to Millie and Keys about it. Keys claims he didn't realize Antwan [[LampshadeHanging could be smart enough]] to be that diabolical.]] |
| 122 | * ''Film/TheHudsuckerProxy'': Norville Barnes, who keeps showing people a picture of a circle and saying, "you know, for kids!" Turns out he thought up the hula hoop. When the BigBad is choosing a proxy (i.e. patsy), he interviews Norville because he doesn't look too smart. Turns out, he is a college grad voted Most Likely to Succeed. He is pretty dense and [[PhraseCatcher "a bit of an imbecile"]], but it stems more from his guilelessness and small-town naivete than actual stupidity. |
| 123 | * ''Franchise/TheIncredibles'': Bob's HeroicBuild, LanternJawOfJustice, and SuperStrength are stereotypical of DumbMuscle, but in reality he's anything but. As Mr. Incredible, he demonstrates a quick wit and tactical acumen, at work he learns the loopholes in Insuricare's bureaucracy to help his clients, and at home he learns the concepts of "new math" in a single night so he can teach it to his son (though he's not happy about it). He also adapts rapidly when fighting the Omnidroid (v9 and v10), finding ways to penetrate its armor and put it down for good. |
| 124 | * Multiple characters say this about Officer Bud White in the film version of ''[[Film/LAConfidential1997 L.A. Confidential]]''. Everyone sees Bud as a hulking, violent, low brow cop on a self appointed mission to [[WifeBeaterBeater beat the hell out of everyone who abuses women]], and both the protagonists and antagonists write him off as DumbMuscle. Even Bud doesn't have confidence in his brain power and abilities to do detective work. However, once he starts actually investigating things, he proves himself to be a first rate detective, as he begins unravelling schemes and finding vital clues in no time, frequently beating Ed Exley, who's supposed to be the brains of the operation for the protagonists, to the key points. |
| 125 | * ''Film/LegallyBlonde'': The main character, Elle Woods, ultimately proves to be this -- she still maintains some of her ditzy qualities (such as printing a résumé on scented paper), but she ends up becoming a highly self-sufficient and skilled lawyer. Overall, she shows remarkable intelligence (especially in the first sequel), one example being how she's able to get accepted into Harvard Law School (which is consistently ranked as being one of the top ten law schools in America) with just one point shy of a perfect score on her LSAT-exam on her ''first try''. Her {{Jerkass}} ex-boyfriend, who also went to HLS, had to retake the exam just to get in. |
| 126 | * ''Film/MeMyselfAndIrene'': The triplets are a great example. They have all the vernacular and visible qualities of gangster-wannabes (because they grew up watching stand-up comedy from guys like Creator/RichardPryor), but are all complete geniuses (because their [[ChocolateBaby real father]], it turns out, wasn't bluffing about being in MENSA). |
| 127 | [[/folder]] |
| 128 | |
| 129 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 130 | * Rachel from ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' may count. She's a major shopping enthusiast, blonde, beautiful... and a straight-A student who also happens to be a BloodKnight. TheDitz and BloodKnight aspects of her personality are even [[LiteralSplitPersonality split]] at one point. |
| 131 | * ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': |
| 132 | ** Keith from ''Literature/TheAmazingMauriceAndHisEducatedRodents'' is a stupid-''looking'' kid. He is not stupid, and he doesn't appreciate Maurice assuming that he is. |
| 133 | ** Samuel Vimes doesn't consider ''himself'' very bright, and he looks the part of a DirtyCop ([[ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules which he isn't]]) from the WrongSideOfTheTracks (which he is). While not especially educated (and, as one character observes, sensitive about it), his {{Street Smart}}s, eclectic and surprisingly extensive knowledge base, and thorough understanding of human nature make him a dangerously cunning opponent. |
| 134 | * ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': |
| 135 | ** Harry Dresden is a tall, dorky PopCulturedBadass who usually speaks quietly, never meets anyone's eyes for too long, and wears some strange jewellery. However, when danger looms, it turns out that he's as much badass as he is pop-cultured, his voice rises to a BaritoneOfStrength, that height gives him an edge in a hand-to-hand fight, and that jewellery has some pretty useful magical functions. Oh, and while he seems (mostly to himself) to be a bit slow, his ex-girlfriend (a top-quality journalist and eventually skilled guerrilla fighter/espionage agent) points out that he's only slow in the short term and figures everything out eventually -- this includes the plans of high-end schemers like Mab. This difference between behaviour and capacity is even lampshaded by one of his friends, who plays this trope pretty straight herself: |
| 136 | ** Karrin Murphy may be a hair over five feet and resemble a cheerleader/someone's favourite aunt, but she's also a master hand-to-hand combatant, markswoman, and strategist. |
| 137 | ** Ebenezer [=McCoy=] is a stubborn, crotchety old farmer who drives an ancient truck with a gunrack containing a rifle, a shotgun, and an old wooden stick. He speaks with a thick Kentucky drawl and dresses in suspenders and flannel. However, he's also Harry's mentor [[spoiler: and grandfather]], a centuries-old wizard (the stick in his gunrack being a staff carved in intricate ruins), and shortly after his first appearance he gets elected to the Senior Council, making him one of the seven most powerful and respected wizards alive. He's also fluent in at least a few languages including Latin. [[spoiler:He's also revealed to be the Blackstaff, the only person in the world deemed responsible enough to freely break the Laws of Magic and acts as the White Council's hitman.]] |
| 138 | * Count Glossu Rabban, "[[TheBrute the Beast]]" of ''Franchise/{{Dune}}'''s House Harkonnen, is a dumb brute, but there are several points in [[Literature/{{Dune}} the original novel]] where he suggests or asks things that implies that he's not ''as'' dumb as he looks. Among other things, he's one of only a few characters to both realize that the Fremen are dangerous and suspect that there might be more of them around than is commonly known. |
| 139 | * ''Literature/HarryPotter'': |
| 140 | ** Rita Skeeter is an ImmoralJournalist who seems more annoying than threatening, [[spoiler: but she was able to successfully become an Animagus, which requires significant skill in Transfiguration and Potions, and can result in permanent half-animal mutations if done incorrectly. She can turn into a beetle in order to spy on her targets and write slander about them]]. |
| 141 | ** Peter Petigrew was painted as a poorly-skilled wizard, much like Neville Longbottom, who needed to rely on his friends to scrape by in school. However, he becomes an Animagus with help from his friends and keeps the disguise for twelve years [[spoiler:(as Scabbers, Ron's pet rat), he creates a blast strong enough to blow apart a busy street and kill twelve Muggles in the process]], casts a fully-functional Killing Curse with Voldemort's wand, can cast non-verbal magic, and brews at least two incredibly difficult Dark potions to keep Voldemort alive and help him regain his body, respectively. In general, he actually seems to be a pretty skilled wizard despite his reputation. James and Sirius, despite seeing him as a friend, tend to look down on him and belittle his slow-wittedness, which became [[TheDogBitesBack part of the reason]] Peter [[spoiler:sold out James and Lily to Voldemort. His moment of triumph against Sirius by framing him had shades of WhosLaughingNow, with Sirius realizing too late that Peter is smarter than he gave him credit for]]. |
| 142 | ** Because House-Elves [[HappinessInSlavery tend to be subservient to their masters]], many wizards and witches tend to see them as gullible and easy to manipulate (including Hermione, [[CondescendingCompassion who sees them as “brainwashed and uneducated” to like being subservient]]), but the fifth book shows that this isn’t true. The House-Elves working at Hogwarts easily see through Hermione’s attempt to trick them into freeing themselves, [[spoiler:and Kreacher manages to use ExactWords by deliberately interpreting Sirius’ GetOut command as an order to “get out of Grimmauld Place”, allowing him to conspire with the Death Eaters]]. |
| 143 | * ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'': |
| 144 | ** Despite his craziness, tendency towards accidentally stabbing himself in the foot, and ego the size of a small country, Iskaral Pust is actually quite bright and, at times, surprisingly effective. A High Priest of Shadow ''is'' a big deal -- and he's outwitted his fair share of god-like Ascendants like the ancient Ryllandaras. |
| 145 | ** After listening to Udinaas for a while, Fear Sengar has to reevaluate his opinion of the former, [[TheNondescript nondescript]] slave as just capable of menial work. When he tells Udinaas he should've been a king and not a slave based on his intelligence and vision, Udinaas just curses him for his trouble. |
| 146 | * ''Literature/MythAdventures'' has more than a few characters along the way: |
| 147 | ** Guido looks like dumb muscle. He has a degree in business, even if he had to take Economics 101 three times. He just prefers hands-on kneecapping to the cruelty of slowly sucking out someone's life in a business environment. |
| 148 | ** Nunzio is Guido's bookend-matching cousin. He's taught kindergarten, requiring a four-year degree in many dimensions, and was an animal trainer at one point. [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Gleep]] considers him slightly more intelligent then most of Skeeve's friends. This opinion occurs ''after'' Nunzio gets Gleep -- a ''baby dragon'' -- to "sit" by stopping him cold in full run with his hand on his nose. |
| 149 | ** Chumley hails from Trollia, is huge with different-sized eyes, and can troll-speak with the best of them. He's also a vegetarian and speaks in a refined manner and accent in private. He can discuss learnedly on many of the subjects that come up through the books, and tell what damage his sister is doing in a bar fight just by the resultant sounds. |
| 150 | * ''Literature/ThePerfectRun'': Adam the Ogre is a Psycho cannibal who just wants to see the world burn. But he is also intelligent, forward-thinking, and good at reading what motivates people. This makes him almost more dangerous than all the people who can personally create apocalypses, because he's good at manipulating powerful people and finding dangerous technology. |
| 151 | * Siegfried from ''[[Literature/TalesOfTheFiveHundredKingdoms The Sleeping Beauty]]'' looks like your standard muscle-for-brains BarbarianHero, but he's smart enough to excel at the EngagementChallenge tournament with his outside-the-box thinking and to figure out some of the intrigues and secret identities involved. |
| 152 | * ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'': Adolin is much sharper than his foppish pretty boy warrior prince appearance would suggest. Every suspicion he has in the books is founded to some degree. [[spoiler:Sadeas ''is'' plotting against them. Amaram's reputation ''is'' too good to be true. And there ''is'' something unusual about Kaladin.]] |
| 153 | [[/folder]] |
| 154 | |
| 155 | [[folder:Live Action TV]] |
| 156 | * ''Series/BetterOffTed'': Phil Myman somewhat fits this, in that he is often bumbling and emotionally off, sometimes coming off as a bit slow, despite being a head scientist and a described genius. |
| 157 | * ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': |
| 158 | ** Cordelia Chase, though at least part of it is ObfuscatingStupidity to stay popular. As she says, "I test well [...] What? I'm not allowed to have layers?" She drops the obfuscating part and becomes a full example in ''Series/{{Angel}}''. |
| 159 | ** Buffy herself is not only in the same AP classes as Willow, despite filling most of the ValleyGirl stereotype to a tee, as well as the impact that slaying has on her schoolwork. However, she's a highly capable tactician, strategist, and, when not cracking under pressure or depression (a.k.a. part of Season 6 and part of Season 7), leader. More to the point, she gets 1430 on her [=SATs=] on what is presumed to be a possible 1600. That puts her in the 97th percentile nationwide. |
| 160 | ** Xander, despite being a self-proclaimed slacker, was in those same AP classes, tested well enough to stay in them, and became a highly competent carpenter and builder, ending up as site foreman at a construction company by his early 20s -- a position usually held by people much older. |
| 161 | ** Anya is strange and has NoSocialSkills thanks to being ReallySevenHundredYearsOld (she was a demon for most of a thousand years). She's also a competent swordswoman and magic user, and [[BunnyEarsLawyer an exceptionally competent businesswoman]]. |
| 162 | * In Series 5 of ''Series/DoctorWho'', Rory Williams initially looks like the dim, dreary sort-of boyfriend Amy will happily ditch to go travelling with the Doctor. Then you realize that, while the whole of Leadworth is outside taking photos of the sun apparently going out, Rory -- the nurse -- is paying attention to the coma patient out walking his dog, and taking photos of ''that''. That's right, Mickey Smith 2.0 just identified Prisoner Zero all on his own with no help from the Doctor, and did the one thing that would let the Doctor give the Atraxi all the information they needed to catch it. There's a ''reason'' the Doctor beams at Rory like he's just got a new crush at the end of their first conversation. Rory's first time venturing into the TARDIS also has him completely non-fazed with it being BiggerOnTheInside, explaining that he's read up on all the latest scientific theories since they last met. |
| 163 | * Jayne Cobb from ''Series/{{Firefly}}''. He's a hard-edged, rough-hewn, semi-literate thug, but he's actually pretty skilled in areas that matter to him: fighting, tracking, planning crimes and interrogation. |
| 164 | -->'''Dobson:''' Okay, I can see you're not as dumb as you look.\ |
| 165 | '''Jayne:''' I wish I could say the same, Larry, but this is just disappointin'. |
| 166 | * ''Series/{{Glee}}'': Quinn might be expected to be the dumb, beautiful, bitchy head cheerleader, but it turns out that she only fulfills three quarters of this. She seems pretty intelligent for most of the series (except, y'know, the whole {{teen pregnancy}} thing) and is mentioned at one point as a straight-A student. Her boyfriend, stereotypical non-JerkJock Finn, is correspondingly dumb. Early on in season 3, which is considered to be the height of her [[IdiotBall stupidity decision making-wise]], it is revealed that she was on the honor roll with a straight 4.0 GPA during her teen pregnancy, and that she's been accepted ''early'' into [[IvyLeagueForEveryone Yale]], despite the fact that she by this point has a history of playing truant. She's also been known to use a varied and polysyllabic vocabulary, and she has given some insightful, wise, eloquent advice to Rachel/Santana/Mercedes. |
| 167 | * ''Series/Intelligence2014'' has a really good perception example. Gabriel doesn't want a handler, so he's basically harassing Riley Neal through her digital footprint to get her to go away. He mentions her low SAT scores and she says defensively that she doesn't do well on tests and he sort of brushes off that answer. In that same episode, she corrects his digital interface Mandarin and A) proves (through simple logic and deduction) to his boss, Lillian Strand, that Strand does actually believe the same things as Gabriel [[spoiler:(his wife was an undercover agent who seems to have turned on her country and died. Gabriel believes that she's alive and loyal)]] and B) actually sort of talks Strand into taking action to help Gabriel when she was previously telling him to forget about the issue. Two things Gabriel hadn't managed to do himself even though he had all of the facts of the situation and Riley didn't. |
| 168 | * ''Series/{{Leverage}}'': Eliot, as TheBigGuy, is often not seen as useful for his intelligence. However, he is also a ChefOfIron and learns quite a lot from his various girlfriends. It is even a MadLibsCatchPhrase: "I've dated a lot of [insert useful profession]". He's also occasionally taken over for Nate. His intelligence is even lampshaded by Nate, when Maggie mentions that he's smarter than he seems in "[[Recap/LeverageS02E12TheZanzibarMarketplaceJob The Zanzibar Marketplace Job]]" and Nate says that it's kind of the point. It comes all the way back around with Sterling. |
| 169 | -->'''Sterling:''' Your friends' lives hang in the balance and you're going to take your cues off a punch-up artist instead of me? |
| 170 | * ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'': On the surface, Tamar comes across as the stereotypical dumb bully who taunts the main characters just because, but he has enough HiddenDepths to prove he is fairly smart. He is charismatic enough to make the people listen to his speech against Miriel and act as an AgentProvocateur for Pharazôn, and when Halbrand suddenly offers drinks for everyone, he notices is all an act for Halbrand to steal his guild crest. |
| 171 | * Patty the Daytime Hooker from ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'' can speak multiple languages and got 1500 points on her UsefulNotes/SATs. |
| 172 | * ''Series/TheOtherKingdom'': Brendoni is a troll in both terms of the word, and naturally he's a goofball and has got a handful of traits that you'd expect from a DumbMuscle such as constantly making a mess wherever he goes, and not understanding basic math. However, he's proven that he can be quite crafty and intelligent when the time calls for it. Aside from being a master prankster, he's skilled with crafting troll potions, knows a lot about plant life and a good ecosystem, knows a bit of Chinese, [[SupremeChef is an incredible chef]], is able to catch onto Hailey's plans to make Tristan jealous, and knows how to craft a believable lie. He may be a jokester, a troublemaker and a slob, but he's far from an idiot. |
| 173 | --> '''Brendoni:''' (''after speaking and translating Chinese'') What? There's more to me than just outrageousness. |
| 174 | * Lister from ''Series/RedDwarf'' often demonstrates that he's actually a great deal smarter than Rimmer, but their personalities and dress sense would indicate otherwise. The only reason Lister is a lower rank than Rimmer is because he's perfectly happy being a BrilliantButLazy slob. |
| 175 | * ''Series/SchittsCreek'' has KindlyVet Ted Mullens, who is ridiculously good-looking, affable, and makes a lot of silly animal puns. However, he's also a graduate of veterinary school, runs a thriving practice, and is awarded a prestigious research fellowship in the Galapagos Islands. |
| 176 | * ''Series/ScreamQueens2015'': |
| 177 | ** Jennifer tends to be dismissed because of her candle obsession, but she's smart enough to have the political situation in the sorority pegged down to the last detail and can be a cunning enemy when provoked. Also, when Grace and Zayday set up a sleepover so they can play "Truth or Dare" to find out if any of them know anything about the Red Devil, she's the only one to question why someone wouldn't just lie after picking "Truth". |
| 178 | ** Chad James is a [[TooDumbToLive complete and utter moron]]... academically, at least. When it comes to actually solving the murders he's the closest to solving the mystery by himself besides Grace and correctly deduces that [[spoiler:Boone wasn't murdered]] as well as how [[spoiler:there are at least two murderers]] when both [[spoiler:Caulfield and Sam]] are murdered in a situation where it would be impossible [[spoiler:for one person to perform the killing]]. He's also the elected leader of the Dickie Dollar Scholars because he's the smartest member (which really should tell you how stupid most of them are). |
| 179 | * ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': Junk dealer Bobby Singer lives in his salvage yard, always sports a trucker hat, speaks in a folksy drawl, and likes to drink. He's also highly knowledgeable about ancient lore and is the Winchester brothers' mentor and go-to source for deep research. Bobby owns an extensive rare book library, speaks multiple languages fluently, and can read cuneiform. |
| 180 | * Bubbles of ''Series/TrailerParkBoys'' looks like a "googly-eyed bastard" and doesn't come off as particularly bright at first glance, given that he lives in a shed and doesn't have a job. When the Bible Pimp comes to visit, he assumes that Bubbles is either mentally deficient or just plain stupid. Ray retorts that Bubbles is the sharpest guy in the park, proven when Bubbles' distrust of the Bible Pimp is right on the money. |
| 181 | [[/folder]] |
| 182 | |
| 183 | [[folder:Manhua]] |
| 184 | * The prince in ''Manhua/GoddessCreationSystem'' looks like a selfish, whimsical buffoon, but he's actually quite astute, and even much of his seemingly stupid behavior actually does make sense: When he saves Xiaxi from drowning he expects her to throw herself into his arms and sleep with him like some storybook nonsense, but only because he assumed it was a fake drowning and no more than an attempt to seduce the crown prince. He's just happy to play along until it turns out she isn't interested, at which point she actually begins, of all things, to teach him mathematics and responsibility. |
| 185 | [[/folder]] |
| 186 | |
| 187 | [[folder:Radio]] |
| 188 | * Creator/HowardStern: Despite having plenty of toilet humor and naked women on his show, Stern is a graduate from Boston University and is well-versed in current events. |
| 189 | [[/folder]] |
| 190 | |
| 191 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 192 | * The [[OurOrcsAreDifferent Orks]] of ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' look at the first glance like a barbarian horde who have very little grasp on anything beyond hitting things, using rikety weaponry and vehicles just as prone to malfunctioning as they are to functioning, but underneath that exterior they have a ''brutal'' society where MightMakesRight, an economy based entirely around teeth (which they produce at a steady rate, and if you need more, just punch another ork's face in and take his) and their science, while crude, still allows them to do things like strapping engines and weapons to a meteor and using it as a functioning spaceship - even if their preferred tactic is RammingAlwaysWorks, it works. |
| 193 | --> '''Solar Admiral Spire:''' "From long experience have I learnt that underestimating the greenskins is a fast route to the grave" |
| 194 | [[/folder]] |
| 195 | |
| 196 | [[folder:Theatre]] |
| 197 | * ''Theatre/BeMoreChill'': Christine is scatterbrained, socially awkward, and prone to rambling on and on about things that excite her. However, as the show goes on, we find that she's extremely introspective, empathetic, and [[OnlySaneMan has a good deal more common sense than most of her classmates]]. It's implied that her [[AttentionDeficitOohShiny ADD]], combined with her genuine cluelessness on social matters, is part of what makes her come off as a bit of a ditz. [[TruthInTelevision But, of course, ADD has nothing to do with intelligence or lack thereof.]] |
| 198 | * In Noah Smith's stage version of ''Theatre/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde'', the prostitute Cybel is intelligent, literate, and philosophical, to the surprise of the other characters who meet her. |
| 199 | [[/folder]] |
| 200 | |
| 201 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 202 | * "John Doe" of ''VideoGame/BatmanTheTelltaleSeries'' is childish, playful, spiteful, and irreverent to any serious consequences. At the same time, in true [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker Joker]] fashion, he's a GadgeteerGenius, can plan and manipulate people on the fly, and [[spoiler:easily deduces both Lady Arkham and ''Batman's'' true identities from very disparate clues]]. He's also much [[StrongerThanTheyLook stronger than he looks]], and Bruce even gravely warns Catwoman at one point to ''not'' underestimate him for even a second. |
| 203 | * Although he seems like a big fat musclehead with a very stereotypical lower-class British football hooligan accent, Attikus from ''VideoGame/{{Battleborn}}'' is actually way smarter than he looks thanks to the side effects of the Hedronic Collector grafted on his right arm. In fact, he's way smarter than the few Thralls who appear to have some inkling of intelligence. |
| 204 | * ''[[PlayerCharacter You]]'' will find yourself on the receiving end of this [[DudeWhereIsMyRespect quite often]] In Creator/{{Bethesda}} games such as ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' and ''Franchise/{{Fallout}}'' series. No matter how much of a genius your character is, a lot of [=NPCs=] tend to treat you as if you were a complete moron and using the trope by name is the closest you'll get to them complimenting you. |
| 205 | ** One instance happens in ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' where an NPC alludes to their former superior as acting like [[Literature/MobyDick Captain Ahab]] and you can play an Intelligence Option and make the full analogy to it in that the individual will eventually get killed by their white whale. |
| 206 | --->'''Defender Morgan:''' Huh? And here I thought we had the only remaining copy of that... |
| 207 | * Makoto Nanaya of ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' gives the appearance of a bubbly and scatterbrained [[LittleBitBeastly squirrel beastkin]] with more exposed skin than working intellect... until a flashback in Noel's story mode reveals that she, a mere commoner among individuals of more prestigious families, was attending the NOL Military Academy entirely on scholarship. Were that the extent, she wouldn't qualify, but an ivory tower environment like a classroom is a poor place for her to apply her immense {{street smart}}s, yet work in the Intelligence Division under Captain Hazama [[spoiler:and as a DoubleAgent slash TheMole for Sector Seven]] is. ''[[VideoGame/BlazBlueContinuumShift Continuum Shift]]'' in general, especially [[labelnote:Slight Hope]] (Makoto's Story mode)[[/labelnote]], is a demonstration of her prowess as an Intelligence officer -- put short, had Makoto known that [[spoiler:she had fallen into a timeline where Noel never existed]] and [[spoiler:her activities in ''Slight Hope'' were interfering with his plans]], Hazama would be treating her as something ''much worse'' than [[spoiler:a mere SpannerInTheWorks]]. |
| 208 | * ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'': |
| 209 | ** ''VideoGame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness'': |
| 210 | *** Flonne is a [[TheDitz ditzy]] LoveFreak {{Otaku}} angel, but she's shown to be more with it than you'd suspect (Laharl even says so at one point). In fact, she has the highest base intelligence stat out of the main trio.[[note]]The ''Disgaea'' franchise is big on GameplayAndStoryIntegration[[/note]] |
| 211 | *** Laharl is a bratty, selfish, violent demon, but has been prone to making cool-headed judgement. When he issues out a challenge for the title of Overlord, the Prinny commentary on the DS version shows surprise at Laharl's skill at calligraphy... because it didn't know Laharl could spell. |
| 212 | ** The hot-blooded fist fighter Adell from ''VideoGame/Disgaea2CursedMemories''. When a Geomaster presents a nightmarish geopuzzle to the group (essentially a large multicolored checkerboard with symbols tying effects into each other), one of the other party members comments that their opponent has attacked Adell's weak spot: his inability to think. Adell takes one good look at the puzzle and (correctly) announces that taking out the red geosymbol will unravel the whole thing. When the others express stunned disbelief, he points out that he only prefers to take things on with brute strength because it's usually faster. |
| 213 | * In ''VideoGame/EarthBound1994'', Apple Kid comes off as a bit of a slob, so you may assume that investing in his inventions is a waste of money. It turns out that you'll need his help to finish the game, from removing pencil and eraser-shaped barriers to traveling to the past. |
| 214 | * In ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'', Frankenstein's Monster, one of the game's summonable Berserkers, despite largely expressing herself in moans and head shakes, is actually completely capable of speaking in full sentences and sharp-witted enough to shut down her creator with a few choice words, realize from the very start that Ishtar is up to something, and manipulate Archer of Shinjuku, [[spoiler:''[[DiabolicalMastermind James Moriarty]]'']], by appealing to him as a MoralityPet into giving her a serious upgrade, promoting her to the Saber class. It's just that thinking exhausts her, and being as obsessed as she is with conserving energy, she rarely uses her brain to its full potential. |
| 215 | * ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' has Rikku. Despite having a somewhat naive bubbliness, being a bit clumsy, and overall having many mannerisms of TheDitz, she is a [[WrenchWench crack mechanic]], skilled chemist, and master thief; talented with computers and machinery; and shows significant emotional and intellectual depth. |
| 216 | * Comes up a lot with the HornyVikings in ''VideoGame/ForHonor'', mirroring how real-life Vikings were actually a highly advanced civilization for the era despite pop culture's habit of depicting them as dumb unintelligent brutes: |
| 217 | ** Both [[BigBad Apollyon]] and [[DarkActionGirl Mercy]] note that the Warborn make use of rather ingenious technology for simple raiders. They have impressive feats of engineering including a mountainside elevator, grappling hook launchers, and advanced siege weapons. |
| 218 | ** Apollyon also notes that the Warborn have an elaborate network of alliances and friendships between clans despite being such a violent society, and a vast trade and farming network that moves food to safe winter storehouses during the freezing months. She attacks the final Warborn fortress with a gigantic battering ram that takes a fortnight to construct because she wants to capture the fort ''immediately''; if it took any longer than a day then the entire Blackstone Legion would be overwhelmed and crushed by hordes of viking warriors sailing down the rivers to reinforce their brethren. |
| 219 | ** In multiplayer maps, the ones that often have the most sophisticated-looking siege engines or defensive layouts are the Viking-themed ones. High Fort is a massive castle built in Valkenheim that rivals any of the ones the Legion or Dawn Empire built in their heyday. |
| 220 | * ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'': Trevor is a filthy, drug-addled lunatic who lives in a crappy trailer, but he's also a surprisingly intelligent and clever guy. For example, when he tagged along with two friends going to a drug deal, he quickly became suspicious when the seller gave the sample himself instead of letting them take one and demanded another sample from the ''other'' side of the brick. Sure enough, it turned out the seller was trying to scam them. |
| 221 | * ''VideoGame/HeroesOfTheSeasons'': Despite everyone treating King Frinch as an unintelligent meatshield, he's at least perceptive enough to see through Matria's disguise as Vyena, since he knows the real Vyena celebrates Christmas. |
| 222 | * Aloy from ''VideoGame/HorizonZeroDawn'' is a brave and beautiful huntress who also happens to be a GeniusBruiser. At one point in the story she is able to impress a scholar by deducing that the world is round because that is the shape of the shadow the Earth leaves on the Moon during an eclipse. [[spoiler:She inherited her intelligence from her "mother"/clone source, the long-dead scientist and mastermind behind the Zero Dawn Project, Dr. Elisabet Sobeck.]] |
| 223 | * Nugget from ''VideoGame/{{Kindergarten|2017}}'' is a {{Cloudcuckoolander}} who looks the part, with FishEyes and a bit of drool coming out of his mouth. However, he's one of the characters who can read and write (which is more impressive than it sounds, given that he and his classmates are kindergarteners), and he knows how to make poison and control its potency. |
| 224 | %%* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel'', Beryl is possibly this. In Chapter 3, when you get the results on the midterm exams, you find that she has placed ''fifth''. That's out of 99 students in the entire school, just behind the noble Patrick Hyarms and two places above the maximum placing that you can get for Rean. True, when you're prepping for the exams, she does claim to not need to study because she can use her mystical abilities to know exactly what material is going to be on the exams, but who knows how true this actually is. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample; why wouldn't you expect her to be intelligent?) |
| 225 | * One would be forgiven for being surprised that Tsuruno Yui from ''VideoGame/MagiaRecordPuellaMagiMadokaMagicaSideStory'' isn't that intelligent. [[TheHero Iroha]] was caught off guard by the revelation she was the top of her class, and the girl repeatedly showed it isn't just her being book smart throughout the game with several showings of deductive reasoning, good planning, and people reading. It's just ''very'' easy to not expect intelligence from a girl who spends most of her time [[MotorMouth speaking really fast]], shouting loudly that she is the [[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica mightiest magical girl]], and otherwise being a GenkiGirl. [[spoiler: The fact that a lot of that enthusiasm is a front for her own worries about her family isn't apparent at first glance after all.]] |
| 226 | * ''Franchise/MassEffect'': |
| 227 | ** Urdnot Wrex is a large, slow-speaking [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Krogan]] who is less [[ProudWarriorRace his people's]] stereotypical BloodKnight and far more a WarriorPoet. |
| 228 | ** ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' has Grunt from the same species, who, despite essentially being a newborn test-tube baby, is very articulate. Even his name, "Grunt", is chosen by him because the other words he knows are hollow to him and mean things that he doesn't feel. And when he's not killing big things, he enjoys listening to Creator/ErnestHemingway. His favorites seem to be ''Literature/ForWhomTheBellTolls'' (which is a notoriously graphic rendition of the UsefulNotes/SpanishCivilWar) and ''Literature/TheOldManAndTheSea'' (which is an old fisherman fighting off sharks). He's gotten barely a tenth into ''Literature/TheSunAlsoRises'', and outright deleted ''Literature/AFarewellToArms''. |
| 229 | ** In ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' it turns out that ''[[ButtMonkey Conrad Verner]]'', of all people, is a doctor of dark energy physics and xenoarcheology. |
| 230 | * While Marco Rossi from ''VideoGame/MetalSlug'' may look like your typical ActionHero, [[AllThereInTheManual supplementary lore]] reveals him to be a surprisingly skilled computer hacker who creates computer viruses for fun. This side of him gets particular attention in ''VideoGame/MetalSlugAttack'', where one of his creations, an ArtificialIntelligence named MS-Alice, appears. |
| 231 | * Mauga of ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'' has the hallmarks of a comic relief DumbMuscle villain, being ridiculously strong and [[BloodKnight always eager to fight]] to [[LeeroyJenkins an extremely reckless fault]], but it turns out he's much more cunning and forward-thinking than those around him believe. The cinematic short "A Great Day" sees him brought on a stealth mission to extract blueprints for a power core from a felled enemy warship, proving everything he can to be a liability: [[SoMuchForStealth opening fire on anything that moves]] (including ''a seagull'' perched on a satellite dish), ditching his comrades to fend for themselves as he goes guns blazing, and [[StuffBlowingUp leaving enough carnage that the destruction of the ship could be seen from space]], but it turns out it's all with purpose: he decided to simply brute-force his way into claiming ''the actual'' power core itself, sinking the ship to bury any evidence, and it's strongly implied that he purposefully destroyed the ship's satellite dish before entering to block out any outgoing distress signals. [[TheCracker Sombra]] starts off [[TeethClenchedTeamwork very justifiably annoyed by Mauga and his antics]], but after seeing what he accomplished, she can't help but develop a bit more respect for him. |
| 232 | * ''VideoGame/PrayerOfTheFaithless'': Despite looking like a delinquent and having a brutish fighting style, Aeyr is surprisingly perceptive. When he visits Luke's house to gather information, he realizes that the place is so unkempt that Luke is most likely about to skip town to flee persecution for being an Infused. |
| 233 | * ''VideoGame/Prototype2'' features James Heller, a Marine who can rip the turrets off tanks and finds every opportunity to slip in a curse in every sentence. However, he definitely has a sense of humor (if a little dark), has a keen knowledge of tactics, and the collective knowledge of several doctors all contained within his mind. |
| 234 | * ''VideoGame/SlimeRancher'' has [=BOb=], a "character" who consists of nothing more than a bunch of [[ComMons Pink Slimes]] stacked on top of each other [[TotemPoleTrench in a fedora and trenchcoat]]. The fact that they're intelligent enough to do this, use the Range Exchange, and order chickens over it (albeit in ''horrible'' grammar and spelling) already reveals that [[ItCanThink They Can Think]], but [=BOb=] takes it a step forward by being a colleague of Viktor (and it's implied that he created the Chicken Cloner) and apparently being smart enough to [[BreakingTheFourthWall write his own loading screen flavor text]], again, to [[OneTrackMindedHunger ask the player for chickens]]. |
| 235 | * ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'': |
| 236 | ** The Heavy Weapons Guy may look and sound like a big lumbering oaf who loves nothing but his Heavy Weapons, but in the Russian translation, [[EloquentInMyNativeTongue he actually comes off as quite intelligent]], and he has a surprising depth to his character in ''VideoGame/PokerNightAtTheInventory'' too. He even has a [=PhD=] in Russian Literature. This is even hinted at in [[WebAnimation/TeamFortress2 his "Meet The..." trailer]]: his "400,000 dollars to fire this weapon for twelve seconds" line speaks of some [[GoodWithNumbers serious math skills]]. |
| 237 | ** The Scout is a [[BrattyHalfPint loud-mouthed egotistical punk]], but some of his dialogue hints at some brains behind the bragging: taunts towards the Medic and Demoman reference the Hippocratic Oath and depth perception, respectively, and the Halloween update also had him reference [[Creator/HPLovecraft Lovecraftian literature]] while trash-talking Merasmus. |
| 238 | ** Even Soldier, who is [[{{cloudcuckoolander}} so divorced from reality]] that he probably owes it alimony, is knowledgeable enough to constantly reference well-known pieces of literature such as ''Literature/AllQuietOnTheWesternFront'' and ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' in spite of him being implied to have NeverLearnedToRead and being a {{malaproper}} who can't string together the correct syllables to say "Bilbo Baggins". He also demonstrates at least a passing familiarity with concepts such as mythology, archaeological time periods, and other national cultures, even if he's completely within the grip of PatrioticFervor. |
| 239 | * Ox in ''VideoGame/VisionsAndVoices''. He's a generic farmer who talks in a country accent and is the party's MightyGlacier, yet if you talk to him you'll find that he's actually very intelligent and loves books. Perceptive players will notice right off the bat that his secondary stat is even the game's spellcasting stat, to further reinforce this. |
| 240 | * In ''VideoGame/TheWitcher2AssassinsOfKings'', Letho of Gulet is a massively muscled Witcher described as a "mountain of meat" that is generally seen as another brute. However, he proves to be legitimately cunning and capable of competent schemes that outplay various other characters. Assuming he survives to be in [[VideoGame/TheWitcher3WildHunt the third game]], Geralt once again gets embroiled in another one of his schemes (though this time he's just trying to survive). |
| 241 | [[/folder]] |
| 242 | |
| 243 | [[folder:Visual Novels]] |
| 244 | * Masque in ''VisualNovel/FleuretBlanc'' at first appears to be taciturn DumbMuscle, but his text messages reveal that he is actually quite well-spoken when he has to be, and he is also skilled at investigation. [[spoiler:He also has an academic interest in masks and cultural history, probably enough to catapult him into full GeniusBruiser territory.]] |
| 245 | * ''VisualNovel/TheFruitOfGrisaia'': Despite her own assumptions, Makina is not stupid. She actually has a photographic memory, and it's hinted that she could potentially be an outright genius. |
| 246 | * Komari from ''VisualNovel/LittleBusters'' doesn't have much common sense, is almost ridiculously [[WideEyedIdealist idealistic]], and can be rather childish in her love for things like fairy tales and picture books, but she's also a very good student who regularly gets high grades. |
| 247 | * Tojiko in ''VisualNovel/TheShell'' looks pretty dumb and is rather easy to tease, but she actually gets good grades and is a publishing author. |
| 248 | * [[TheChewToy Rosa Ushiromiya]] from ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'' has been frequently insulted and disrespected by her own family (especially by [[BigBrotherBully her older sister Eva]]) since she was a child, who pointed to her as the stupid one only because she is TheBabyOfTheBunch among the parents ([[ButtMonkey even without Rosa herself saying or actually doing something that is classifiable as stupid]]). However, it is soon shown how Rosa can be not only very intuitive, insightful, and, in certain cases, the OnlySaneWoman of the group, but also a dangerous ManipulativeBitch who would not have the slightest qualms about not only going against her siblings and their families, but also other innocent people if she can earn a profit. |
| 249 | [[/folder]] |
| 250 | |
| 251 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 252 | * The main character of ''Webcomic/BladeBunny'' acts very much like a stereotypical DumbBlond ditz. But she's a highly-skilled ninja who, on a second or third read, is clearly thinking about five steps ahead of her opponent. |
| 253 | * In order to remain active in human space, Sam Starfall in ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}'' got shoved into a cartoony-looking spacesuit to hide his EldritchAbomination features (and give him a way to breathe). This is to the detriment of the humans on Jean, who have since learned that he's a very ''intelligent'' menace to society, albeit more playful than harmful. |
| 254 | * ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'': |
| 255 | ** Vanamonde von Mekkhan. His grandfather kind of [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070822 names the trope]]. Most of the time, he is comparing flavors at the coffee shop (it's unclear whether he has an actual job there). But when the city is attacked, [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/ggmain/doublespreads/ggcoll11_092_093.html oh my]]. |
| 256 | ** Agatha admits that Tweedle is [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20130610 smarter than he looks]], but that she is too. When Violetta says that Agatha looks pretty smart already, she immediately realizes that that was what Agatha was actually going for. |
| 257 | ** Zola. She's blonde and pink, giving a great ValleyGirl impression, and, in front of Gil, is constantly a DamselInDistress. But she packed a small personal arsenal into Der Kestle, killed at least one person in cold blood as a warning, and showed herself to be a cunning, ruthless, and strong fighter. She also outwitted ''Lucrezia[[spoiler:!Other]]''! |
| 258 | * Used for a gag in ''Webcomic/GrrlPower'', where an extremely DumbBlonde-looking porn actress squees at [[https://grrlpowercomic.com/archives/comic/grrl-power-770-reactions-are-mixed/ the thought of alien hunks watching her work]]. And then gives a summary of how the substantial increase in audience will impact the industry. |
| 259 | * ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob'': |
| 260 | ** Both Jean and Voluptua have said this about Bob, AKA the world's most average man, at least in terms of SimplemindedWisdom. |
| 261 | ** The trope is even more true of the minor character [[http://bobadventures.thecomicseries.com/comics/761/ Derpwell]], a cross-eyed waiter prone to saying "Hyuk hyuk derp!" a lot who turns out to be a TVGenius who just happens to be cross-eyed and have a speech impediment. |
| 262 | * Lampshaded in ''Webcomic/NoNeedForBushido''. While the audience knew that [[RebelliousPrincess Ina's]] eccentric uncle Yukizane was a smart man (having a reputation as [[SmartPeoplePlayChess a great player of the equivalent of chess]] and a [[TheStrategist strategist]]), this gets demonstrated to the ninja Ayane when she arrives as a messenger to negotiate a matter on behalf of her ninja clan. She initially thinks Yukizane is just a fat, jolly, and rather foolish servant, only for him to troll her and immediately discern that she's not just a woman dressed like a consort, but a ninja. When the negotiations actually begin, he immediately tricks her into revealing vital information with some carefully chosen words and puts her and her clan in a ''terrible'' bargaining position, taking away all their leverage in one fell swoop. Ayane, not realizing this right away, is in the middle of ranting at him for his stupidity and mistaken assumptions when she suddenly realizes that she has been tricked into [[SayingTooMuch saying far too much]]. |
| 263 | -->'''Ayane:''' And another thing, you're- you're... not nearly as dumb as you look. |
| 264 | * ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': |
| 265 | ** A RunningGag, especially early on, is that [[GeniusBruiser Roy]] hates people assuming that he's DumbMuscle since he's the team's Fighter. He's both TheLeader and the OnlySaneMan, even if he lacks [[TheSmartGuy Vaarsuvius]]'s raw genius. He even has a MBA (Master of Battle Administration) degree. |
| 266 | ** Xykon. He's very good at planning ahead and assessing the situation just like any other respectable villain, [[BrilliantButLazy he just almost never does because he gets bored easily with that kind of plotting]]. What's more, since he's aware that people think he's stupid, [[ObfuscatingStupidity he occasionally uses that to his advantage by playing dumb before handing someone their ass on a silver platter]]. [[spoiler:He says just about as much himself when he kills Dorukan in ''[[Recap/TheOrderOfTheStickStartOfDarkness Start of Darkness]]'' after his BerserkButton is pressed]]. As Xykon himself has pointed out, there's a difference between not knowing things and just not ''caring'' about them. |
| 267 | ** Tsukiko. Don't let the GirlishPigtails or the [[MadLove crazy crush on Xykon]] fool you -- during her fight with Haley, she comes up with some pretty good ways around her evasions, and she figures out something Xykon himself is unaware of: [[spoiler:the ritual for the [[EldritchAbomination Snarl]] doesn't do what [[DragonWithAnAgenda Redcloak]] has been telling them it does]]. |
| 268 | * ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'': |
| 269 | ** Pretty much the entire company, but Tagon tops the list. He prefers to solve problems by shooting things and he surrounds himself with literally the smartest people in the galaxy (making him look stupider by comparison), but he is a tactical genius and an excellent leader. On multiple occasions he has managed to outsmart the enemy simply by using common sense when they expected him to be too stupid to rub two sticks together. |
| 270 | ** Schlock as well. He's a hyperactive AdultChild who looks like he barely evolved past pond slime, but he also has perfect memory, SuperSenses, and is strong enough to fight someone wearing PoweredArmor. He's just usually BrilliantButLazy. |
| 271 | ** Even Nick, one of the stupidest members of the company, can fall into this, especially in regards to things directly related to his job, like weapons. |
| 272 | --->'''Kathryn:''' You're faster than you look.\ |
| 273 | '''Nick:''' I'm also smarter than I look, but the Captain says that's because of a really low bar somewhere. |
| 274 | * Done in an odd way in ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'', maybe {{subverted}}, with Clem. Zoë meets up with him for the first time in years, after he supposedly dropped out of high school. He's dressed like a janitor, has a "dumb" accent, and walks around holding roadkill in his hand. It turns out that he didn't drop out of high school so much as advance much faster than everyone else and is now a professor at the local university, and the roadkill (reportedly) is for stem cell research. The possible subversion is that he's still a moron with a dumb accent who walks around holding roadkill. His intelligence is intentionally left on the level of InformedAbility. |
| 275 | * Reynir from ''Webcomic/StandStillStaySilent'': He's a stowaway who has lived a quite sheltered life by the cast's standards, which results in him being quite naïve and lacking the self-confidence to put his foot down about anything. However, when tagging along with the crew's two scholars making a technically unauthorized investigation of an abandoned fort, he's the only one who notices signs of animals avoiding the building that the two others entered a little earlier (there is a small layer of snow on the ground, and it brutally moves from being covered with overlapping tracks to completely undisturbed a few meters away from the building), and becomes hesitant to approach. Later, he manages his first functioning anti-ghost rune from switching things around from a rune used to keep sheep close to the farm he remembered seeing in his home. The ghosts for whom the rune is intended are a previously unheard of phenomenon, and Reynir has nobody actually teaching him runic magic. |
| 276 | * ''Webcomic/{{Unordinary}}'': Despite Blyke being a hothead, he's actually somewhat intelligent at times. Isen even outright admits that Blyke has good intuition. This is seen particularly when he starts to piece together [[spoiler:Joker (John)'s way of fighting, and begins to suspect something about John after seeing how muscular he is despite supposedly being a cripple]]. |
| 277 | * ''Webcomic/WeakHero'': |
| 278 | ** Wolf is quickly established as a [[AxCrazy bloodthirsty maniac]] who seems to care little for anything besides a decent fight. What's more, most of his arc is seen from the perspective of his conniving second-in-command Jared, who manipulates both Wolf and an opposing faction so that they'll end up fighting each other. However, at the very end of the arc, Wolf demonstrates a surprising keenness when he's able to pinpoint Jared as the one behind everything, based only on minor clues like Jared mentioning a detail from documents [[INeverSaidItWasPoison he shouldn't have been able to read]], and his lack of injuries when he was supposed to be in a fight. In the next season, whenever Wolf isn't overcome with bloodlust, he shows a deft understanding of what kind of person [[TheChessmaster Donald]] is, and what kind of business deals are happening between Yeongdeungpo and Mapo. |
| 279 | ** While Hugo is one of many two-bit thugs in the story, he's actually very book smart, a fact he lords over [[KnowNothingKnowItAll Wesley]] when the latter starts acting too cocky. |
| 280 | [[/folder]] |
| 281 | |
| 282 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 283 | * In a WebVideo/CalebCity video of a hero matching wits with a criminal mastermind, the "Legendary Thief" comments that the hero is "smarter than you look". Except the thief ''is'' the same performer with [[EvilSoundsDeep a deep voice]] and [[InTheHood a black hoodie]], so in what's otherwise not remarked upon, the hero mutters that that line doesn't really work here. |
| 284 | * Some of the ''WebVideo/CreamHeroes'' cats fall into this. |
| 285 | ** Lala might come across as the diva of the group with her sassy attitude and tendency to punch any cat who annoys her (including kittens, but she's shown a high amount of awareness, responding to her name and, when some other South Korean cat-tubers try to feed the gang, she tries to pass herself off as fellow white cat Coco in hope of getting extra food. |
| 286 | ** Nana initially came across as a NaiveNewcomer, not really knowing how to handle being in a new house with seven strange cats while caring for her kittens. However, it soon became apparent she's on par with DD in terms of intelligence. She learned her name very quickly, stole a bird toy so she would have something to play with while nursing and has been the only cat who has stolen food without being caught. |
| 287 | ** Lulu has shown this in more recent videos. Not only has he [[PlayingSick walked around on three legs]] to try and procure treats from Claire, the one time Claire tried to use a big basket of snacks to lure him into the bathroom, he quickly smelled a rat and made a run for it. (Although he didn't resist the treats for long.) |
| 288 | * WebVideo/SolidJJ: Hulk in "The Avengers Interview Hulk" is depicted speaking in HulkSpeak and looks like a brute as usual, but then Hulk reveals that he has [=PhD=] from being a nuclear physicist in his "[[SplitPersonality spare time]]" and even decides to sue for unfair hiring practice when rejected instead of getting angry. |
| 289 | * This is a standard warning at the beginning of all [[{{Kaiju}} Endbringer]] fights in ''Literature/{{Worm}}'': "The Endbringers may look like giant monsters, but they ''are not stupid''". They still frequently get underestimated. Leviathan and Behemoth both appear to just be giant beasts, but they're capable of strategy and tactics, using the terrain to devastating advantage, and even faking being hurt in order to draw their opponents in and lower their guards. It even applies to the Simurgh, who looks pretty smart to begin with and is notorious for brilliant long-term plans that nobody even realizes are in play. [[spoiler:It's part of their general strategy for lowering human morale: they hold back their greatest abilities and intelligence in their fights, then every time humanity looks like they might have gained a small advantage, they expose just a little bit more of their true power to invalidate humanity's tactics.]] |
| 290 | [[/folder]] |
| 291 | |
| 292 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 293 | * ''WesternAnimation/TwoStupidDogs'': Downplayed with the Big Dog. He is a large sheepdog with a deep SimpletonVoice, and he ''is'' stupid, but he's surprisingly marginally smarter than the Little Dog, inverting ShorterMeansSmarter. This means that he serves as both the brains and brawn of the duo. |
| 294 | * Ed from ''WesternAnimation/BrandyAndMrWhiskers'' looks like a totally goofy otter with MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily, but when he opens his mouth, he's usually quite intelligent. |
| 295 | * Clam of ''WesternAnimation/CampLazlo'' is [[SimpletonVoice dopey-sounding and monosyllabic]] on a good day... on a bad day, he'll only mirror other characters' dialogue. Despite that, he's the GeniusBruiser of the camp who often bails his friends out with his quick thinking, strong grasp of physics, and [[StrongerThanYouLook surprising strength]]. That's not even getting into his various artistic pursuits. |
| 296 | * Skeeter from ''WesternAnimation/{{Doug}}'' (particularly in the Nickelodeon episodes) always seems to be easily confused and is, at times, rather goofy. It's later revealed, much to Doug's surprise, that he has a genius IQ. His intellect is played up more in the Disney episodes. |
| 297 | * In ''WesternAnimation/DragonsRidersOfBerk'' Dagur the Deranged is, well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin deranged]] and a BloodKnight, but he's also capable of being surprisingly sneaky and clever, which he uses to depose of Alvin as the BigBad halfway though the second season and hang onto the title thereafter. |
| 298 | * Malina of ''WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewSchool'' is a straight-A student who's also considered a "[[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Hottie-Hot-Hottie]]" by Kuzco. |
| 299 | * Stewie from ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': Simply because he's a baby, he's assumed to be unintelligent, until you find out about his plans for world domination, mastery of [[TheMultiverse multiverse]] theory, and so forth. |
| 300 | * Cave Guy, one of the many adversaries of ''WesternAnimation/{{Freakazoid}}'', looks like your basic caveman, but is actually very intelligent, articulate, and speaks with a highbrow sounding voice. In [[Recap/FreakazoidSeason1Episode1 the first episode]], he mentions that he subscribes to Magazine/TheNewYorker. |
| 301 | -->'''Steph:''' [[LampshadeHanging You're very well-spoken for a Primordial-American.]] |
| 302 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'''s Amy Wong generally comes off as a ditzy UpperClassTwit, even with shades of AsianAirhead and BrainlessBeauty sometimes. While she's introduced as an engineering student, this is rarely mentioned in early seasons. However, in the post-revival seasons, she's finished college and obtained a doctorate, and starts being portrayed more as a DitzyGenius instead of just TheDitz. |
| 303 | * ''WesternAnimation/HarleyQuinn2019'': Harley spent years as a PerkyFemaleMinion who was easily manipulated and fooled by the Joker, but Harley was a genius psychiatrist and proves to be quite clever after she finally dumps him. |
| 304 | * Vivian Porter in the ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' episode with the robot rumble. She's blonde, tanned, gorgeous, apparently ditzy, and even voiced by Creator/ShawneeSmith, a well-known ditz player... except she's the foremost robotics scientist in the world. She even made an [[RoboticSpouse artificial "boyfriend"]] created specifically to provide an alter ego because she thinks her looks will prevent people from taking her seriously. |
| 305 | * ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'': Cecil Turtle has a SimpletonVoice and DrearyHalfLiddedEyes, but he's ''also'' a shrewd ManipulativeBastard and the ''only'' character in the franchise to have a perfect record against WesternAnimation/BugsBunny. |
| 306 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'': |
| 307 | ** TheLadette jock Lynn has demonstrated moments of impressive intelligence throughout the show. For example, she has the same cunning and planning abilities as Lincoln as shown in "[[Recap/TheLoudHouseS3E10DealMEOutFriendzy Friendzy]]", when she beats him to the idea of playing the friend card to get privileges in the house. She's also smart enough to defeat all her siblings in a variety of different board games in "[[Recap/TheLoudHouseS2E19FutureTenseLynnerTakesAll Lynner Takes All]]", as well as devise strategies to win in bouts where she's theoretically outmatched (like being able to talk Lincoln into being too nervous to think straight when playing an Ace Savvy question game). Then of course, there's the time she aces mathematics when she actually puts work into it. In general, her competence at all the different sports she plays would require certain types of intelligence. All in all, it is probable that she's not as dumb as some people think. |
| 308 | ** Luan may be a silly teenage girl with a penchant for puns and clowning, but she has years of experience in [[ThePrankster pranking]], including smashing pies in the face of a mailman when she was only a year old. In fact, in "[[Recap/TheLoudHouseS3E5CitySlickersFoolMeTwice Fool Me Twice]]", when her family hires stunt doubles in an attempt to get out of being pranked for April Fool's Day, Luan is impressed, but not easily fooled by what are essentially clones that have even the slightest deviation from the original. |
| 309 | * ''WesternAnimation/MissionHill'': |
| 310 | ** Jim, Andy's best friend, doesn't seem all that smart; he's a slow-talking, monosyllabic guy who is implied on more than one occasion to be a stoner. But apparently, he's also a total computer whiz, and paid very well for it by an ad agency. Andy isn't even aware until Jim tells him. His more unintelligent traits is implied to be caused by his use of marijuana, among other things. In the unproduced "Supertool", Andy tells him to "break through the fog for once". |
| 311 | ** Andy as well. People take him for being stupid because he's a slacker, when time and time again he proves himself to be BrilliantButLazy. He's aware of the works of Creator/FranzKafka and ''correctly'' uses phrases like "Kafkaesque" in a way to parody people who misuse the term (something that even ''Kevin'' failed to grasp), correctly uses terms like "bourgeois" to insult people, quickly [[StatingTheSimpleSolution states the simple solution]] that they could simply let Ron's car get stolen or destroyed to recoup their lost money, and generally is rather quick-witted when it comes to solving problems or accomplishing tasks when he's interested enough in them. And, while it was a rather trashy party college called "Borchmore" (that had more fraternity drinking deaths than all the Ivy League schools put together, and that ''doesn't'' include hazing deaths), he ''does'' have a post-secondary education. |
| 312 | * ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': Pinkie Pie. Her happy-go-lucky GenkiGirl personality and {{cloudcuckoolander}} tendencies might make you think that she's very dim-witted and naive. However, a lot of episodes have actually painted her as intelligent, like having a PhotographicMemory of everyone's birthday. In other words, she's goofy but smart. |
| 313 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': [[Characters/TheOwlHouseLuzNoceda Luz Noceda]]. At first glance, she appears to be a frisky airhead with poor social skills, but she has actually proven herself to be quite intelligent. Not only is she an abstract thinker and planner, but she can also outsmart her enemies by evaluating their weaknesses. |
| 314 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': |
| 315 | ** Barney Gumble may be a [[TheAlcoholic drunkard]] and lazy, but he's been shown to possess exceptional talent when it comes to the arts: |
| 316 | *** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E1HomersBarbershopQuartet Homer's Barbershop Quartet]]", he's a brilliant singer. |
| 317 | *** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E18AStarIsBurns A Star Is Burns]]", he wins the Springfield Film Festival with his touching and emotional yet unfortunately titled film ''Pukeahontas'', an artsy autobiographical piece about his alcoholism. |
| 318 | *** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS10E19MomAndPopArt Mom and Pop Art]]", he draws a replica of the famous painting "Art/ASundayAfternoonOnTheIslandOfLaGrandeJatte" by Georges Seurat on a napkin. |
| 319 | ** Burns says this of the oafish Homer Simpson in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS1E3HomersOdyssey Homer's Odyssey]]": |
| 320 | --->'''Burns:''' You're smarter than you look. Or sound. Or our best tests suggest. |
| 321 | ** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E22 Curse of the Flying Hellfish]]", the big guy, named "Ox", has [[SimpletonVoice a stereotypical stupid guy voice]] and is the one who explains the concept of a {{Tontine}} to the others. |
| 322 | --->'''Burns:''' Well put, Oxford. |
| 323 | ** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E18HomerVsTheEighteenthAmendment Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment]]", Springfield passes a prohibition law, which Homer defies by bootlegging liquor to Moe's. When Marge finds out, she's horrified until she hears how intricate Homer's bootlegging operation is, and she's so impressed by how well-thought it is that she starts supporting him (and learning how much money he's making certainly doesn't hurt her opinion either). |
| 324 | ** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS13E8SweetsAndSourMarge Sweets And Sour Marge]]", Cletus, a stereotypical slack-jawed yokel, knows how to write in perfect cursive when Marge asks him to sign her petition to ban sugar in Springfield. |
| 325 | ** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS19E10EPluribusWiggum E Pluribus Wiggum]]", Homer says "A think tank, eh?", [[ImagineSpot and we see into his imagination]]... [[AntiHumor which shows a perfectly accurate portrayal of a think tank]]. |
| 326 | --->'''Homer:''' What? I'm not allowed to get one right? |
| 327 | * ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'': In "[[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS1E12TheGunganGeneral The Gungan General]]", the clones come to appreciate Jar Jar's quick thinking and ability to find ways for the group to survive, and while they still realize that his clumsiness can make him a liability, they find that they underestimated his intelligence. |
| 328 | * Padparadscha of ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' is an [[GenkiGirl excitable]], but defective [[{{Seers}} Sapphire]] who lacks the ability shared by her kin to see into the future, and is instead only able to see into the ''past''. 95% of the time, [[SuperpowerDisability this is basically a disability]] as she has a perpetual DelayedReaction to everything, [[CaptainOblivious putting her at great risk of present dangers she isn't able to react to on her own]], so it's easy to write her off as [[TheLoad an ineffectual load]]. However, [[ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman there are instances where her "past sight" comes in handy]] that demonstrates she's in fact fairly intelligent and emotionally aware -- while she isn't at the same pace as everyone else, [[SpottingTheThread she ends up noticing mistakes and suspicious behavior]] that others fail to notice, and she's socially aware enough to point out to Garnet -- while she's gushing about the Off Colors, [[ComplimentBackfire who don't understand how sincere her compliments are]] -- that [[InnocentlyInsensitive she's "going to make everyone uncomfortable."]] |
| 329 | * In ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'', after they first meet and she tries to blow him off, only for him to succeed in out-scooping her, Lois quickly learns not to underestimate Clark Kent. |
| 330 | -->'''Lois:''' I take it back. You're not the rube hayseed I took you for.\ |
| 331 | '''Clark:''' Thanks... I guess? |
| 332 | * Stated word for word in ''WesternAnimation/YinYangYo'' by Yin when Yang not only provides a good plan, he explains that he does learn things, but slacks off so less is expected of him. |
| 333 | [[/folder]] |
| 334 |
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