Deus Ex Machina

Deus ex machina (literally "god from a/the machine") originates from Greek theatre, when a god was brought on the stage by a mechanical device. The term is commonly used to refer to an improbable contrivance in a story characterized by a sudden unexpected solution to a seemingly intractable problem. Neoclassical literary criticism, from Corneille and John Dennis on, took it as a given that one mark of a bad play was the sudden invocation of extraordinary circumstance. Thus, the term "deus ex machina" has come to mean any inferior plot device that expeditiously solves the conflict of a narrative.
== Meaning ==
In fiction writing, the phrase has been extended to refer to a sudden and unexpected resolution to a seemingly intractable problem in a plotline, or what might be called an "Oh, by the way..." ending. A deus ex machina is generally undesirable in writing and often implies a lack of skill on the part of the author because it does not pay due regard to the story's internal logic and is often so unlikely that it challenges suspension of disbelief, allowing the author to conclude the story with an unlikely, though more palatable, ending.
== Usage ==
Deus ex machina is often used in BZPower comics as a comedic vice, often to annoy readers or other authors. For multi-author comic series where the storyline is not taken very seriously, the use of the device is often humorous.
In the comic series Found, the Octopus Baby Entity was obsessed with this device.
In Project Klinkerpoop, Dokuma uses a Deus Ex Machina button to bring the cast back to Comic 1.
Category:Comic Meta
Category:Genres