Berserk Button/Web Comics

When a nice, normal character suddenly goes into a rage, you've hit his Berserk Button.

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• In this Meme the main character wants to show he's the better man by not beating up a guy, but the moment he mentions his name is a female name, he immediately beats the guy up.
• In this strip from El Goonish Shive, we see Nanase push her own Berserk Button.
  • In the same webcomic, Big Bad Damien is seen to snap whenever someone suggests he was artificially created instead of summoned to fulfill a prophecy. Everyone has one, see for example, Tedd's reaction when he found out Damien physically beat Grace. Seen here. Grace's is realizing she let people get killed; Sarah's is threatening Elliot. Diane really dislikes lecherous types nagging her "puppy", could you tell? Sensing a pattern here?

commentary: Did you know that the perceived misappropriation of religious symbols and icons can really cheese people off?

• • Justin has one in regards to his ex-girlfriend who accidentally outed him as gay and then went Stalker with a Crush on him.
  • Chaos generally refuses to interfere with anything, both because she's not allowed to and because its more fun that way. When someone hurt her son though, not only did she do everything in her power to get him killed, but she then decided to destroy the world and remake it into something her son would be more comfortable with. She hasn't quite managed that yet, but her son is quite justifiably freaking out.
• In Supernormal Step, Derry, as a Mood Swinger, gets angry at the mere mention of Henderson Security, but he loses it completely when Fiona mentions that the Hendersons made her an offer, and he gets even angrier when Hall rescues her.
• In Fanboys Lemmy goes into a berserker rage (complete with Glowing Eyes of Doom) whenever someone says that "Nintendo is kiddy"; his roommate Paul has used this as a |Manchurian Candidate-style trigger on more than one occasion.
• In Exterminatus Now, Lothar - who's pretty damn Badass to begin with - goes into berserk mode when his hat is destroyed. Trying to take his coffee away from him gets a similar reaction from Eastwood.
• Don't ever call Buck Godot "butterball". The crew for X-tel Shipping... really shouldn't have.
  • In fact, don't EVER make fat jokes at his expense!
• Everyday Heroes has Violet Klein (aka "Shrinking Violent") who is sensitive about the size of her nose. If anyone bumps into it, she undergoes a transformation parodying The Incredible Hulk only in reverse. She shrinks down from 7'2" to 2'7" and goes violent until someone can bring her candy to binge on. This returns her to her normal state but is dangerous, because she's diabetic and could die from the sugar rush.
  • Carrie is a sweet, kind, and loving soul ... until you diss her all-time favorite band.
  • Tell Uma to watch where she's going ... Stupid freakin' cow ...
• The Jaegers of Girl Genius are all very, very fond of their hats (a common Jaeger remark is "Hey, nice hat!") and, apparently, take it badly if the hat is mistreated. When Agatha knocks off Maxim's hat (because he was being rude) he's very much about to flip out... except Agatha is currently in her mad-girl mindset and promptly puts him in his place.
  • When Lars was killed, Agatha flipped out, and if you know she's a girl who can build a Humongous Mecha in her sleep, you'll understand why this is bad.
  • Gil has a button of his own. If you value your face, don't underestimate him.
  • Gil also seems fond of both Agatha and not getting shot.
  • And Airman Higgs does not LIKE seeing Zeetha stabbed through the torso. Do something like that, and you'll find out why they call him "The Unstoppable Higgs."
• When around Fighter of Eight Bit Theater, even if you're a teammate, under no circumstances are you to threaten or even imply that you will, either through action or inaction, bring harm to Black Mage. That would be wrong. Kind of chainsaw wrong.
• Piro from Megatokyo is a nice, kind, unconfident, and timid American gamer. He can barely handle teenage girls, and has difficulty expressing himself. So go ahead; make the mistake of messing with his friend Largo. No, seriously. I dare you.
• Referred to in the Narbonic fanfic "A Brief Moment of Culture":

There are some things you can't say to people around here without having them come completely unglued. With Helen, it's, "Well, it looks like those fools at the institute were right after all!" All it takes with Dave is, "Bad news, all they had left was menthol." And Mell? Well... "Your weapons are useless against it!"

• • Naturally, Artie doesn't tell us what, if anything, is his own Berserk Button. After all, he is superintelligent.
• Oasis from Sluggy Freelance has two of these. Identify yourself as a HeretiCorp employee or the object of Torg's love, and she will kill you painfully. The first is the result of extensive brainwashing, but the second is pure jealousy.
  • Bun Bun the mini-lop can be set off just by being. Period. However, if you really want to make him go so far as to take over a spy organization just to hunt you across half the world so that he can kill you, just mess with his Baywatch tapes. His button was probably pushed and then broken off about the time he was born.
• In The Last Days of Foxhound, whilst Raven's Not Compensating for Anything, claiming he is will often earn you a one way ticket to a world of pain...
• Order of the Stick: "YOU BROKE MY SWORD!"
  • Also trying to match Xykon in arcane power and getting sort of close. This irritates him so much that... he stops goofing around and will roflstomp you, even taking advice from subordinates in order to make sure you die.
  • Causing Xykon to lose his phylactery will make him furious, to the point of dropping all acts of politeness and trying to outright kill you.
  • And Vaarsuvius. Normally bored and apathetic, but threaten his/her family and he/she will brutally and gleefully slaughter you then revive your HEAD and use it as the focus of a spell that wipes out YOU, ANYONE RELATED TO YOU, AND ANYONE RELATED TO THEM. "This -- and no less -- is the price for threatening my family. Disintegrate."
    • S/he was recently given a (much) more mild example. Do not call him/her a Warlock unless you want a quickened lightning bolt to the face.
  • Don't screw with Mr. Scruffy while Belkar is nearby.
    • Also, don't call him short. Really. We mean it. Seriously. If it's "make fun of Belkar's height" vs. "the worst thing Genghis Khan can think of," go with Genghis Khan. We really aren't kidding.
  • Don't hurt Hinjo's dog either.
    • "A PEEVE IS NOT A TYPE OF DOG!"
  • "TALKY MAN BROKE THOG'S TUSK!
  • So Malack, how's the family?
• Several CRFH characters have Berserk Buttons, but the most dangerous is Marsha's. She will try to kill any of her ex-boyfriends on sight—and God help her current boyfriend if she gets it in her head that he's cheating.
• Friendly Hostility: "Fox" Maharassa, when still a minor character in Boy Meets Boy, was demonstrated to react violently to being called by his actual name ("Kailen").

"The last guy who used the K-name was stripped naked, tied to a chair, and whipped-creamed..."
"I've been through worse."
"... then he was wheeled into a Jennifer Lopez concert."

• Yamara as a halfling and thief seems to be accustomed to some people's disdain, but ones who miss her multiclassing while showing it provoke her to make a point. It isn't Unstoppable Rage, but they just earned a ticket to the world of hurt, one way or another.
• In this Penny Arcade strip, Tycho flies into a rage when Gabe insists that Warhammer Fantasy Battle Online is a ripoff of World of Warcraft.
  • In an earlier strip, Tycho mocks the Star Wars Expanded Universe... and Gabe responds by shoving a book in his mouth and punching it so hard that it rips off the top half of Tycho's head.
  • In this strip, Gabe tells Tycho he's bad at sports and everything else. You won't be seeing Gabe's pelvis again anytime soon.
• In Real Life Comics, the character of Greg Dean owns a replica Master Sword, and while the author Greg Dean owns a number of swords, the Master Sword is not one of them. So don't ask. It's even mentioned in the FAQ!
• The bartender in Corner Alley 13 does not take it kindly if he's called an ogre. He's actually only half-ogre.
• In Slightly Damned, Buwaro is the most innocent person in Hell until you take away his star pendant. However we later learn that he was born with (Not So) Unstoppable Rage and the amulet suppresses it thus the trope is actually inverted.
• In The Cobra Days, the Sorrow really doesn't like it if anyone suggests that one shouldn't mourn the dead.
• Jasmine apparently has more than one. (Although, the second/third one might be leftoves of the first.)
• In Nodwick, do NOT make Piffany cry: Artax and Yeager will kill you.
• DO NOT threaten Nosfera when Grimsworth is around.
• I'M NOT ANY OTHER DOCTOR!!! I'M DOCTOR MCNINJA!
• Referenced in this Rock Paper Cynic comic.
• Loretta is actually a fairly kind person, though not unreasonably so. If you so much as scratch one of her swords, though...
• Skoll of Cry Havoc attempts to perform .45 calibure dentistry on her superior officer after he calls her a 'mutt'.
• Shiratz in UNA Frontiers really, REALLY didn't like it when his last "owner" in the late pre-Burn era was kidnapped, tortured and murdered. Said persons wound up as barely-recognizable human remains beneath his hooves.
• Apparently, it's a bad idea to bring up Monopoly to the creators of Irregular Webcomic.
• Platypus Comix wrings some Hypocritical Humor out of this concept during a comic where Mulberry Sharona (and eventually, Oprah Winfrey and her followers) go ballistic and bloodthirsty over a comedian who once called women overemotional.
• Please, whatever you do, don't give a gun to Lackadaisy's normally mild-mannered Freckle - unless, you know, you like murderous rampages or something. (He'll be pretty embarrassed about it afterwards, though.)
  • Also, Mordecai was probably planning on killing you anyway, but you just made the last moments of your life so much worse with your blatant disregard for symmetry.
• Bittersweet Candy Bowl, Don't abuse/insult a girl in front of Abbey, unless you want a face full of fists.
  • If the Confrontation chapter was any indication, Mike can be this way.
  • Don't be too flirty about Mike near Lucy.
  • This could be a bad sign.
  • Jess hates it when other people defend/are nice to Tess. For example, when Daisy tells her to back off and leave Tess alone, she bitterly barks at her to "shut the fuck up". She later punches Lucy when the latter calls her out for trying to manipulate Paulo to dump Tess. This turns out to be semi justified, as Tess ruined her life in the past.
    • Her button pressed Lucy's at a point. Don't get violent unless you want Lucy to as well.
• Homestuck: Do not fuck with the mail while the Peregrine Mendicant is around. She doesn't carry around that sword just to look cool.
  • PM also doesn't like seeing her friends killed.
  • Doc Scratch isn't too fond of getting Out-Gambitted by others.
  • Jack Noir was once forced to try on harlequin outfits by his queen. Within a matter of hours the queen's dead and he' ravaging two universes with powers just short of a god.
    • After Becquerel's self-prototyping, Jack gains all of the "devilbeast's" powers as well as his adoration and loyalty to Jade. Unfortunately for the Courtyard Droll, killing Jade with a shaving cream bomb before Jack's eyes wasn't the best thing he could have done.
  • Sollux doesn't like people trying to get inside his mind. As Clubs Deuce finds out.
  • Rose does not take kindly to John being killed again.
  • Ironically enough, Gamzee's Berserk Button seems to be the "Miracles" music video.
  • There are very few things that can make Dave lose his cool. His sister's life being in danger is one of them.
• Although used for humor, don't call Centaur Man 'Horsey Man' she will attempt to trample you to death... repeatedly.
• Mortifer: Joey Von Krause doesn't take too kindly to anyone doing anything to Kole. Especially having sex with her. Oh, and whatever you do, for the love of god, don't look under his eyepatch.
• Bob and George Do not speak against ice cream.
• Teh Gladiators: For Vallant, threatening Trevor (or Leeroy). For Yolanda, harming Vallant.
• Thanatos K'al Hamaad, a renegade drow from Prime of Ambition. An elf tries to kill him on sight? Understandable, old enmity runs deep... barely deserves a comment and only because it helped him to make a point. The guy with whom he's lost in an unknown area seems to hate his guts? Would be curious to guess the reason of such insistence. He is referred to as "it"? Doesn't even roll the eyes. One annoyed threat to "convince" his bird out of silly practical jokes? Announces that messing with her would be a reason enough to kill.
• Nerf Now had "Revengineer" story. She was just a level ONE!!!
• Hanna from Hanna Is Not a Boy's Name will have words with you if you mess with Gallahad.
  • As in, he will beat you up.
• Gunnerkrigg Court. Antimony is generally calm and helpful, but when people say bad things about her father she... does not take it especially well. After Sir Eglamore voiced such a notion, she set him up to look as more incompetent and violent than he is before his friends, and added some long-term hostility for good measure. Later, when Renard badmouths her father while berating her about her homework. In a fit of cold fury, she lets slip that Surma never loved him. And continues to twist the knife with a look of vicious glee on her face. Beware the Nice Ones, indeed.
  • And then Zimmy intentionally used it as a nightmare catapult while in mental contact with Annie. Judging by her face, she didn't expect the "catapult" part to be literal, though. Annie is powerful even when out cold in the infirmary.
• The Inexplicable Adventures of Bob: Galatea is hardly a model of stability on the best day, but if you value your organs, do not attack a member of her Nakama in her presence. It will not be pretty.
• Nobody touches Ginsha but the Master
• In Wapsi Square, Jin went berserk when she caught a rape-in-progress.
• In Fite!, the normally calm-to-the-point-of-bored Ricci goes completely nuts whenever anyone even mentions Lucco.
• Do NOT call Hester from Blip the H-word. She will kill you.
• Scandinavia and The World: No one messes up Sweden's seating plans!
• Thistil Mistil Kistil And Loki thought that because it's his mother's grave, descrecrating it would be all right. . . .
• In the web comic Nosfera, threatening or harming either Nosfera or Grimsworth in the other's presence is a really good way to get yourself killed.
• Sakana. If you do something to hurt Jiro or even just talk bad about him, his big brother Taro WILL hurt you.
  • Not that is hard to get Yuudai pissed off, but things will get ugly if there's ever the slightest hint Jiro is a better worker than him. Also, do not mention his scar. It's a Mark of Shame related to his Dark and Troubled Past.
  • Jiro himself isn't nearly as violent as the above two, but mess with his family, friends, or coworkers; and he'll turn stone cold and chew you out while spotting a Death Glare, as demonstrated when he kicks out Arata Tasaki for harassing Yuudai.
• In The Specialists, Do not call him Baron Crossbones to his face.
  • Hartmann, when attacked.
• In Zodiac, if you value your health, DO NOT call Taurus fat.
• Spinnerette: The titular six-armed hero hears cracks about her deodorant bill several times a month and responds with anger when they bring it up, insisting that they should be more original.
  • From the same comic, Tiger has several: being called Black Tiger, implying that his muscles were gained through steroids instead of training and protein shakes, and his blind hatred of Canadians. Though he has gotten better about the last one.
• Whatever you do, DO NOT MAKE SCARLET CRY.
• Youtuber idol334 ^[1] (aka idol) hates it when she is told to put other things on her hamburger instead of just ketchup.
  • Also, she went berserk after the scale measured her with a censored measurement.

idol3341: GRAAAH!!! I HATE YOU!! YOU SON OF #@*!!!

• • Also, whatever you do, DO NOT call idol small. Just don't. A stranger learned it the hard way when he called her small. But it was only a fantasy. In real life, idol, angered, says, "If only I had a gun..."
  • idol3341 even said that she drew this with all her fury because she was so angry about the "idiots" on the streets.

idol3341: Lately are more and more idiots in the streets and i was so angry that i draw this with all my fury XD

• • This comic also has idol's many other Berserk Buttons, such as hating the flute. Also, as idol says in one of her facts, don't come near her when she's mad.
• Cucumber Quest has Peridot and her name getting mispronounced.

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1. ↑ She has very good art and good drawing skills.