Flash Sense of Humour?

[Alibear]

While making a joke about Germans this morning I had an idea for a scenario.

 

What would happen if someone "kidnapped" the worlds sense of humour? I'm talking Foxbat, obviously.

 

What could he get for it? An island, cash, what?

 

What he want for its safe return to humanity?

 

How did he get it in the 1st place?

 

What would be the effect on the world if no-one could laugh, ever again? Yes even at Aglars hairstyle! Would the world go insane? Would comedians be out of business?

 

Would anybody care?

 

How do I go about implementing it in a scenario? I was thinking of making it a sub plot in a scenario and then the Heroes would have to investigate it, perhaps.

 

 

Anyway I'm still at the ideas stage at the moment, so fire away with your thoughts.

[death tribble]

Different countries have different senses of humour so it might be easier for him to steal America's sense of humour rather than say Sweden's.

 

One of the things on funniest jokes in the world came across the fact that a joke everyone else thought was funny just blanked the Swedes. But tell them this one about a hunter and they went into hysterics. Although no-one else thought it funny.

 

So a Swedish scientist develops a device to steal hunour and gives it to Foxbat.

[Blue]

"And now it's time for Foxbat and Fandom!"

 

The chirpy opening music starts and everyone begins to roll their eyes, yet still there's something strangely compelling about the hypnotic theme song and so all turn to face the television. From the screen, Pauly Shore, Carrot Top and Martin Laurence play three crazy mismatched half-brothers forced to live in the same mansion in order to inherit millions from their dead grandfather, played by the reanimated corpse of George Burns. It's the most un-funny thing ever put on television and instantly robs the sense of humor from anyone drawn in by the hypnotic song.

 

Seventeen hours later, unable to laugh at anything, people are becoming uptight, even angry! Plus they've got that horrible theme song in their head. ("Hey We're Brothers/Wacky like no others"). What's more, because of dreaded theme song it keeps drawing in new viewers. FOX picks it up for the full season and begins to air it seven nights a week, like "who wants to be a millionaire". Soon the world is trapped in a humorless void.

 

The world is nearing a state of rage. Foxbat makes his demands: He wants a house made out of pure gold, the execution of Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, an shrubbery, the actors from Gilligan's island to act out each episode in his living room (live), and one trillion packets of mustard (which appear to be for another plot he is hatching).

 

While the authorities have no problem with executing Lopez/Afflec, they cannot deplete the world's mustard supply down to dangerously low levels. So they put out the call: Responding to the cause is the only team that could escape the diabolical plan, The Special Olympians! Six of the ten members are clinically deaf and therefore resistant to the lure of the TV theme song and the shows humor robbing capabilities.

 

Now aren't you sorry you asked?

[Supreme]

Originally posted by death tribble

Different countries have different senses of humour so it might be easier for him to steal America's sense of humour rather than say Sweden's.

 

One of the things on funniest jokes in the world came across the fact that a joke everyone else thought was funny just blanked the Swedes. But tell them this one about a hunter and they went into hysterics. Although no-one else thought it funny.

 

So a Swedish scientist develops a device to steal hunour and gives it to Foxbat.

Though a good point, Foxbat's ability to "steal" the collective sense of humor is not dependant on the similarity of humorous styles. What Foxbat is essentially doing is making it impossible to laugh or enjoy humor. That's something elemental to all humans.

 

How this could be accomplished technologically -- or even pseudo-technologically, which so often suffices for characters like Foxbat -- elludes me. Maybe there was some way that he could rig some kind of telepathy machine that suppressed that part of everyone's consciousness. Or he could go the route of some kind of supernatural spell.

 

Anyway, one of the effects of this that I see is a lot of violence breaking out. The single largest effect of laughing is the release of tension. So all 6,000,000,000 people on Earth will get edgier and edgier. Eventually, someone's going to start swinging.

[McCoy]

And now the complication, is C.L.O.W.N. going to stand idily by while this is going on? Or if they perceive negotiations have stalled (Foxbat is not moving on his demand for the Gilligan's Island cast, and the authorities cannot produce them due to the minor technicality that three of them are dead) will they mount a frontal assault on Foxbat's HQ? Might the PC's have to protect Foxbat in order to defeat him later?

 

Or reverse that, might the PC's assault on Foxbat be resisted by C.L.O.W.N. out of fear that the world's sense of humor might be damaged in the melee?

[Blue]

Actually, it's CLOWN technology that might save the day. They have been secretly devloping the HUMOR BOMB for decacdes (Bomb as in "explosion", not bomb as in "Boo, you aren't funny!").

 

The heroes may be required to infiltrate CLOWN headquarters and get the technology. They can strongarm and risk losing the info in the ensuing melee of cream pies and squirting flowers, or they can disguise themselves and infiltrate the organization wearing big floppy shoes. They can escape using the CLOWN car (Which holds 4 normal people or 164 Clowns).

 

With the HUMOR BOMB they can reverse the effects of Foxbat's Unfunny Technology, and put the FOXbat broadcast system out of business.

 

Of course, I'm sure there are other angles to pursue...

 

And Don't forget the aftermath of the HUMOR BOMB and what the heroes will have to contend with. Namely, billions of people rolling on the ground and laughing in agony until they fall unconscious. That, and the unfortunate few who laugh so hard they wet themselves; Eww. The whole world could end up smelling like New York City.

[Cosmic Man]

Check out Callahans Crosstime Saloon game for the PC. Humor saves our entire UNIVERSE!

[RevHooligan]

Foxbat would need Mike Myers help, since he's the least funny human being on the planet.

[Crimson Arrow]

This could be done like the "Tower of Babel" storyline from JLA. Foxbat (or whoever), creates a machine which prevents the operation of the part of the brain dealing with humour.

 

Supreme is spot on about the effects of an inability to laugh. It could actually prove quite dangerous. Perhaps even Foxbat himself realises the enormity of what he's done (and he misses not being able to laugh at old Warner Brothers cartoons), but can't switch the machine off, for some reason. It could be that some other agency is responsible (one that hates organic life?)

 

Of course, the scenario would have to be called "No Laughing Matter".

[Alibear]

Good Stuff. I'm sure that Foxbat would insist on Personal immunity to allow him and only him to laugh.

 

I wonder if Mechanon or Dr. D. could really be behind this nefarious plot? I can imagine that the lid would really blow quite quickly after the start of this plot.

 

Perhaps Foxbat himself would ask for help from the assembled heroes?

 

Perhaps the PCs might notice that Foxbat was the only one laughing?