Karakterek

Question 1

Nyájasan Gonosz

Answer 1

A villain who is also a Nice Guy.

Gonosz karakterek, akik személységébe tartozik némi nyájasság. Olykor megsimogatják a kutyát, v. kedvessen elteázgatnak, csevegnek a hőssel h. változtassa meg a nézőpontját, de ettől még úgyanúgy ragaszkodnak gonosz terveikhez.

Pl. Hans Gruber,Dr. Hannibal Lecter,Don Vito Corleone , Petyr Baelish

Question 2

Gyászoló Antagonista

Answer 2

A hős halála útána ellenségére bizar gyász űl rá. Néha csak a vesztesség hatása, máskor úgy érzi , hogy elvesztette méltó ellenfelét v. tényleg szimpátiát, tiszteletet érez. Ált. a hős valahogy visszatér, és minden visszaöken a régi rendbe.
Pl. QSD Misilt stb.

Question 3

A God Am I

Answer 3

Isten téveszme.

A karakter vmi miatt emberfeletti hatalomra tesz szert, és istenné nyilvánitja magát.
Lehet h. beszédet tart arról h. ő mindenki, közönséges halandók felett áll, lehet h. azt mondja h. a jó és rossz fölé emelkedett.
Ált. büszkesség viszi bukásba.
Pl. Caligula(Én, Cl.),
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AGodAmI

Question 4

Ős Ellenség

Answer 4

The Hero’s most notable enemy.
Az ősellenség, lehet Főgonosz, Big Bad, The Dragon, The Rival, Evil Counterpart, Harmless Villain.
Nem feltétlen ő a legokosabb, veszélyesebb stb. gazember, de ő a legemlékezetesebb, akivel a hősnek személyes ügye van. Néha egy alternativa, akivé a hős válhatott volna.

Question 5

Beauty Equals Goodness

Answer 5

Beauty = Good, Ugliness = Bad.
If a character is beautiful, then that character is a good person, either publicly or secretly. If a character is good, then that character will either be beautiful or be treated as beautiful.

Or to put it another way, every hero worth his salt must be physically attractive, or at the very least, better-looking than half of other people his or her age. This standard is more relaxed for side characters who can be truly ordinary-looking or even literal aliens, but expect the lead character to be pleasing to look at, even if he is the alien.

It almost goes without saying that this is very old; an attempt was even made in the 19th Century to quantify this attitude into the “science” of physiognomy, which posited a direct correlation between appearance and moral character.

This trope’s influence is felt on many others:

In older works, may be a factor in Make Up Is Evil: only an evil character would have no natural beauty and so have to resort to paint.
Ugly Guy, Hot Wife both subverts this and plays it painfully straight—unattractive men are shown to be good husband material, yet it still works on the assumption that because the wife is hot, that he was lucky in love even if nothing else is known about her.
Gorgeous Gorgon may play this trope straight or just plain play with it depending on the gorgon.
Always Lawful Good races will almost always play this straight, sometimes to the point of inhuman beauty.
The Beautiful Elite usually plays it straight, but may not apply it if they are so beautiful that they don't seem human.
Red Right Hand, where a specific ugly or inhuman feature marks a character as evil.
Adaptational Heroism usually goes hand-in-hand with Adaptational Attractiveness.
Historical Hero Upgrade often leads to Historical Beauty Update as well. 

The failed subversion of Suetiful All Along is common.

For animals and more nonhuman characters, see What Measure Is a Non-Cute?.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BeautyEqualsGoodness

Question 6

Badass Family

Answer 6

You have your Badasses, your Little Miss Badasses, your Badass Grandpas, and your Badass whatevers, etc.

But then there is the Badass Family. Awesomeness seems to be either inherited, instilled at an early age, or both. There is at least one Wall of Weapons somewhere in the household. Nearly every member of the family could kick ungodly amounts of ass. They may be Super Heroes or Badass Normals in a Super Family Team. Even the cute little 5-year-old child could do things that would net most professional soldiers a Medal Of Honor or similar medal—and s/he does this kind of stuff daily. But the real magic of this family? Their indestructibility as a team. As strong as any member may be individually, when fighting together, their strengths balance their weaknesses and they support each other to the bitter end - and meanwhile will remind each other to pick up the groceries.

Needless to say, take on this family, or threaten one of its members, at your own peril—and don’t be surprised when you lose badly to them.

On account of their (usually) unspoken reliance on The Power of Love, the Badass Family tends to be good guys, though maybe more Chaotic than Lawful. The matriarch is likely to be an Action Mom. Even if she’s not, she’ll surely be a Mama Bear. Any kids they might have will be in distinct age groups - only one baby, or one “kid”, or one teenager, unless there’s a twin, in which case watch out. Harming the children of a Badass Family is generally a VERY bad idea.

Compare: The Family That Slays Together.

A Badass Family minus the family equals the Badass Crew. A Badass Family minus the children is a Battle Couple. A Badass Family plus superpowers is a Super Family Team. A Badass Family that stays badass over many years through descendants is called a Heroic Lineage. Some Master Apprentice Chains can also be depicted like this.

Question 7

Animal Motifs

Answer 7

The use of an animal/animals to underline a theme or make a statement about a character.

Humans have always been fascinated by animals. Love them or hate them, they usually provoke a strong reaction in people, from the Jerkass who turns to mush when confronted by a playful puppy to the tough guy who freaks out when he encounters something slithery. Most mythologies feature animals in starring roles; some belief systems feature animals as guides, oracles, or totems representing certain qualities or certain people. So of course animals are going to turn up as symbols in popular media.

This animal isn’t around to be petted or kicked, or to assist in taking over the world… well, it might be, but only as a side job. The real purpose of these animals is that of most motifs: they’re there to underline a theme, or make a statement about a certain character. They might not even be physically present at all. The “animal” might be the name of a football team, a charm on a bracelet, or an ornament on the mantelpiece.

Animals are used to depict characters more often than they describe themes. Even in the real world, describing a person by comparing them to an animal is a good way to convey your opinion of them: phrases such as “lion-hearted,” “eagle-eyed,” or “doity rat” are popular to the point of cliché. Therefore, many Animal Motifs are also Characterization Tropes. The wimp who spends his time watching the tigers at the zoo will most likely be stronger than you think. As for the girl doodling big black spiders with suspicious red hourglasses on their underbellies… well, think twice before accepting her invitation to “coffee.”

Animals, like flowers, are a motif that tends to be gendered. Men are usually compared to animals that are clearly predatory: wolves, lions, and bears, for example. Women generally get the cute and fluffy animals as motifs, such as bunnies and suchlike. However, women have historically had a strong association with the cat which, while cuddly and furry, is also a predator. Cats are therefore a common motif for female characters, but one aspect of the feline mystique will most likely be emphasized over the others — the woman will either be a predator, a seductress, or a sweet little kitten. (Lionesses are especially popular for Action Girls: they look very different from male lions, and most people know it’s lionesses who do the hunting, so a lioness motif conveniently emphasizes both femininity and ferocity.) Women are also frequently associated with foxes, also a predatory animal, although it is the fox’s attractive nature or reputation as a trickster that is being invoked. A woman represented by a large, predatory animal is twice as dangerous as her male counterparts - after all, women are traditionally characterized as pretty and helpless, not aggressive and scary.

In the world of fiction, someone who doesn’t like animals at all is either a nasty piece of work or obsessively clean and germ-phobic. “Animal hater” is quite a strong term though, so to dilute the “hard-heartedness” of this character, expect to see one particular animal that they just can’t resist.

Question 8

Adipose Rex

Answer 8

Fat royalty.

A very popular image in fictional works is to portray a King as tremendously fat. At a minimum, kings are considered corpulent, though more extreme examples will depict them as morbidly obese. This stems from the popular impression that a king spends his days sitting on his throne, feasting on the spoils from his taxation of the masses, or simply warming it while doing nothing. Depictions of monarchs and aristocrats as overweight usually meant to convey that they’re either hedonistic Fat Bastards who grow fat on the work of the oppressed lower classes, or benign-but-weak rulers who are helpless when their kingdoms are threatened. It’s not all bad, though— many a friendly ruler is depicted as Big Fun.

Given that getting enough to eat has been a problem for much of humanity’s history, it is a logical consequence of being the one in charge, and owning most of the wealth and land.

Usually this will be averted in the case of “heroic” kings; obesity is most often when the king is corrupt, a peripheral force for good, or a relaxed neutral arbiter.

Obviously, fat monarchs other than the traditional European model (sultans, emperors, etc.) also qualify for this trope.

This trope can sometimes be applied to queens, but it tends to happen less frequently. Whether this is because mocking women as fat is considered unseemly or due to the relative scarcity of fictional queens in general is left to the reader. A notable exception is the Insect Queen; if she’s an egg-layer for the species, then the queen will probably be depicted as overweight to convey this aspect.

In actuality, the trope is universal in neither fiction nor reality. In Real Life, monarchs vary as widely in body shape as everyone else, so it stands to reason that some would fall under this trope.

This trope was probably popularized by Henry VIII, who was infamously morbidly obese in later life. This is also from the “jolly fatman” etymology, as the rich are often depicted as fat. The rich can buy more food, so they can eat more. Also, before the advent of cheap fast food, being fat was considered high fashion- as a scarce necessity food was worth more than gold or diamonds, and having a fat wife proved that you are wealthy enough to stuff her with food. Therefore, if you’re the king, you must be tremendously fat.

Name comes from both a pun on Oedipus Rex and adipose tissue (or “fat”, as it is known to the layman).

Often related to Villainous Glutton and Fat Bastard. Also see Large And In Charge if they possess Stout Strength. Commonly overlapped with Too Important to Walk.

Contrast Royals Who Actually Do Something, Modest Royalty. Has nothing to do (other than the etymology) with the Adipose aliens from Doctor Who.

Question 9

Afraid of Blood

Answer 9

In Real Life, hemophobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by — well — extreme fear of blood. Treatments exist, but the condition tends to be lifelong and is usually caused by childhood trauma.

In fiction, being Afraid of Blood is much the same, though the symptoms tend to run a rather more colorful gamut from mere extreme discomfort or nausea to falling unconscious on the spot to awakening superpowered evil sides. Note that there is some scientific basis to this: physical reactions uncommon in most other phobias have been recorded in cases of fear of blood.

In the past, this trope was mostly associated with females, in both fiction and real life, which is why most Damsels in Distress share this condition (good thing there’s No Periods, Period). In the present, this trope is usually Played for Laughs (or — with equal effort — for tragedy) by giving it to someone in a medical profession or other position where they’re likely to see a lot of blood. If the character is justified in being afraid of blood, perhaps they fear The Power of Blood.

Contrast Hemoerotic. Compare Afraid of Needles and Afraid of Doctors. The super trope is Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?

Question 10

Agent Peacock

Answer 10

Effeminate Pretty Boy is actually pretty badass.

These male characters are badass nancy boys. They’re often campy, vain and in many cases pretty, but they’re also incredibly effective at what they do, and quite powerful. They may have combat skills, seduction ability that rivals James Bond’s, or simply be Chessmasters skilled in manipulating others. They can be gay or straight, good or evil, played for laughs or played seriously, but they’re all dominant personalities who tend to get their way. They also tend to be romantically successful, attracting admirers, and often getting the girl (or boy, as the case may be).

Unlike the Real Men Wear Pink trope, these characters are not macho with one or two girly interests, they’re all around girly characters, who are also tougher, cooler, and more surrounded by ladies than any normal person could ever hope to be (to some extent because they’re girly). These characters are rarely regimented military types, usually filling more the loveable (or in some cases detestable) rogue type, though occasionally one is seen in the role of military leader of some sort. Decadence is also a big part of this trope, as they’re usually more FABULOUS than simply “feminine”.

Some ways in which girly-ness can make a character more badass:

In some cases effeminacy is a tactic for these characters, a way to unsettle and intimidate their enemies, by the logic that "if he can still be badass and confident in his masculinity in that dress, his balls must be the size of watermelons and made of steel." They're still inherently effeminate characters, but they've realized that it throws people, and so use it to their advantage.
It can also be seen as a sexual tactic, as in some universes acting girly seems to attract women (and in certain shows everyone else) in droves. This is possibly a case of truth in television as women seem to have an easier time trusting girly men, and thus girly men often use this as a tactic to get laid.
Their pretty looks and girly behaviour are an indicator of their prowess- they go through the exact same trials as the scarred, unshaven, macho-looking tough guys, and do it without messing their hair or breaking a nail.
On a related note some characters use their femininity to maintain an element of surprise. (E.g., "No one suspects the flamingly camp hairdresser of being a super soldier")
Sometimes girly knowledge is also a part of the badassitude. (E.g., "Mrs. Busby did it because her shade of lipstick was on the napkin that was found with the victim, it's called passion plum, I very nearly borrowed it for the ball the other day") 

Compare: Sissy Villain, Real Men Wear Pink, In Touch with His Feminine Side, Wholesome Crossdresser, Creepy Crossdresser, Gay Bravado (straight men using homoerotic comments to reinforce their heterosexuality), Camp Straight, Camp Gay, Even the Guys Want Him, The Fighting Narcissist, Girly Bruiser, Kicking Ass in All Her Finery (Distaff Counterpart).

Note: An Agent Peacock is considered Badass, even though you wouldn’t expect it at first. A Sissy Villain emphasizes his viciousness through feminine behaviour. Both tropes can overlap, especially when Agent Peacock is evil.

Question 11

Ascended Fanboy

Answer 11

Promoted Fanboy, In-Universe: a fan of the heroes becomes part of their group.

Some fans are a cut above the regular otaku. For most, it is as simple as being hired to work in the industry that deals with the media you love, but in fiction, it can take a whole new meaning. The Ascended Fanboy is that lucky one-in-a-million with a hobby based on something imaginary which does not stay imaginary—it turns into reality, and he becomes a part of it himself.

A variation is where it is imaginary to us but not in the context of the world, such as a mecha fan, in a world full of mecha, getting to pilot one.

For those lucky few, they receive the Call to Adventure, and ask: “How high?” Naturally, it is never so easy or glamorous as they thought it would be, but they’ve got the right stuff, and a whole lot of Beginner’s Luck to last them until it comes out. As a side effect, they’re usually Genre Savvy, sometimes to the point of excess. Of course you know, he could be wrong.

Often a former The Team Wannabe. Subtrope of Audience Surrogate. Compare The Knights Who Say Squee. Contrast with Loony Fan. See also I Know Mortal Kombat, which often results in this.

Note: This trope is for in-universe examples. For the Real Life counterpart, see Promoted Fanboy.

This has nothing to do with that kind of ascension, at least unless the fan really likes Daniel Jackson.

Question 12

Authority Equals Asskicking

Answer 12

The higher in a hierarchy, the higher the fighting skill.

The higher a character is in his hierarchy, the better he is in a fight. This goes double for non-protagonists.

In the real world, soldiers are usually promoted for their leadership and management skills, not for their fighting prowess. If anything, senior ranking soldiers tend to be worse at fighting than the rank-and-file, because they are generally older, and they do not train as much because they are not expected to actually engage in combat. There are exceptions, but they usually don’t put themselves In Harm’s Way.

And yet, in many works of fiction, especially video games, the opposite is true. The higher someone’s rank, the deadlier he is in personal combat. A sergeant can kick a grunt’s ass. A captain can kick a sergeant’s ass. A general can kick everybody’s ass. The “boss fight” at the climax of a game will often be against the literal boss of the enemy army.

Common examples of this trope include General Ripper, Colonel Badass, the Diabolical Mastermind, the Corrupt Corporate Executive, The Evil Emperor, The Evil Prince and President Evil. Among the good guys, the Rebellious Princess benefits from this one enough to be a competent mage despite her sheltered life, and President Action can bring a whole new meaning to “political armtwisting.” The Mad Scientist is more likely to go One-Winged Angel, but he can still invoke this trope if he’s got a large enough cadre of mutants, henchmen, and/or combat robots at his disposal. The Evil Overlord will always take advantage of this, sometimes via Kingpin in His Gym. It is almost always the way of things with supernormal creatures like Demon Lords and Archdevils.

In video games with named and Palette Swap enemies, this trope sometimes results in the player fighting squadrons consisting entirely of generals near the end of the game, with no lower-ranked units in sight.

The Almighty Janitor is an inversion, who is far more powerful than his lowly rank would imply. The Desk Jockey is a different inversion, who has been promoted out of the field into authority. Compare You Can Barely Stand. See also Large And In Charge, Izchak’s Wrath, Royals Who Actually Do Something, and Fixed Relative Strength. Sometimes a sister trope to Risking The King.

Not to be confused with Asskicking Equals Authority, which happens when the strongest fighter is the guy in charge because he is the strongest fighter. Of course, the two can overlap.

Question 13

Ancestral Weapon

Answer 13

A weapon of some history and/or which was passed down several generations (or a single generation) before reaching the hero.

The hero receives a weapon that once was carried by his father or a more distant ancestor. Nine times out of ten this is either a sword or a gun, depending on the setting.

If the person who has it has a choice about who to give to, or even whether, may also fall under It Was a Gift.

If people want the hero to not Turn Out Like His Father, they will try to keep the weapon from him. Whether they surrender, or he gets it behind their back, he will metaphorically as well as literally take up the ancestral weapon.

If Magic, may flat out not work for someone not of the Heroic Lineage.

May overlap with Older Is Better when the weapon is older and more powerful than modern weapons, as well as with Legendary Weapon. When the weapon did not belong to a blood relative but to a predecessor, see Take Up My Sword.

Question 14

Badass

Answer 14

Rule of Cool and Crowning Moment of Awesome in character form.

To put it simply, a Badass is Rule of Cool personified.

In more detail, Badass is an adjective used to describe a character who gets away with outright insane stunts (defusing a bomb with their teeth, conning a mob boss, getting into a firefight with the entire army, etc.) that would be very hard to pull off in Real Life, or would get the person trying it killed several times over. A badass is a fantasy figure whom the audience roots for precisely because of how prone they are to awesome moments, to the point where they may stretch or break the Willing Suspension of Disbelief. Of course, Willing Suspension of Disbelief may still be maintained depending on the mechanics of the universe.

It’s notable that fans are more likely to tolerate a violent maniac of a “hero” than a befuddled, cowardly Classical Antihero and attempts to parody or deconstruct this trope often give the intended target a Misaimed Fandom — no matter how crazy the character gets (a good example being Rorschach from Watchmen). Fans will sometimes just ignore the character’s flaws and instead focus on how badass they are or use the character’s badassery to trivialize these flaws. This has led to a new trope: the Sociopathic Hero. Writers beware: Make a character too badass and either GodModeSue or Jerk Sue will stride Out of the Inferno of your work.

When Epic Fail combines with an attempt at being trope In-Universe, the result is usually a very simple way to invoke Leeroy Jenkins and/or Too Dumb to Live. For a child-friendly version of the badass whose badassery is somewhat diminished by the limitations of the work, see Badbutt.

For a not so complete list of badasses from both fiction and history, see Badass of the Week.

This trope is not what you say to a Stubborn Mule.

Sub-Super Tropes:

Badass In Charge: Pretty much speaks for itself.
Harbinger of Asskicking: The sign of Badassery is upon us.
Hidden Badass: They're badass, you just don't notice it at first glance.
Submissive Badass: When a badass is a follower, not a leader, but don't make the mistake that they can't break your face as a result.

Question 15

Badass Family

Answer 15

You have your Badasses, your Little Miss Badasses, your Badass Grandpas, and your Badass whatevers, etc.

But then there is the Badass Family. Awesomeness seems to be either inherited, instilled at an early age, or both. There is at least one Wall of Weapons somewhere in the household. Nearly every member of the family could kick ungodly amounts of ass. They may be Super Heroes or Badass Normals in a Super Family Team. Even the cute little 5-year-old child could do things that would net most professional soldiers a Medal Of Honor or similar medal—and s/he does this kind of stuff daily. But the real magic of this family? Their indestructibility as a team. As strong as any member may be individually, when fighting together, their strengths balance their weaknesses and they support each other to the bitter end - and meanwhile will remind each other to pick up the groceries.

Needless to say, take on this family, or threaten one of its members, at your own peril—and don’t be surprised when you lose badly to them.

On account of their (usually) unspoken reliance on The Power of Love, the Badass Family tends to be good guys, though maybe more Chaotic than Lawful. The matriarch is likely to be an Action Mom. Even if she’s not, she’ll surely be a Mama Bear. Any kids they might have will be in distinct age groups - only one baby, or one “kid”, or one teenager, unless there’s a twin, in which case watch out. Harming the children of a Badass Family is generally a VERY bad idea.

Compare: The Family That Slays Together.

A Badass Family minus the family equals the Badass Crew. A Badass Family minus the children is a Battle Couple. A Badass Family plus superpowers is a Super Family Team. A Badass Family that stays badass over many years through descendants is called a Heroic Lineage. Some Master Apprentice Chains can also be depicted like this.

Question 16

Archer Archetype

Answer 16

A skilled, analytical ranged combatant who doesn’t let emotions get in his or her way.

The Archer is a skilled bowman. They’re generally independent and used to working alone. This tends to make them practical, a little haughty or arrogant and not the best at following orders especially from those they don’t respect. The archer is generally stealthy and graceful and tends to fight at a distance. As a result, they’re often portrayed as vulnerable up close unless they switch to a different weapon for close combat.

The archer is most likely to be found in a wild setting and can share traits with the Cold Sniper, most notably an analytical and calculating nature. This archetype tends to be depicted as having a more slender build despite the great upper-body strength required to draw a powerful bow without mechanical assistance. The character is likely to also be The Chick, a Nature Hero, a Forest Ranger, and/or an Elf. This also has the benefit of keeping the delicate female safely out of the bone-crunching melee.

The Pinned to the Wall trope is a common enough tactic by this archetype in comics. Most notably, Hawkeye and Green Arrow.

For bows used in modern or scifi settings, see The Straight and Arrow Path. If the Archer Archetype has Improbable Aiming Skills, he may also be able to do a multishot. For added irony, check out No Arc in Archery. See also Annoying Arrows. May evoke comparisons to Robin Hood.

Question 17

Asshole Victim

Answer 17

When an author has a corpse-shaped hole in the story, and decides to fill it with a character the audience won’t mourn.
Bad person dies in a bad way. Because he was bad, no one cares.

You watch enough mystery shows or read enough mystery stories, and you notice a certain trend: Frequently, the homicide victim is an asshole.

For example, the victim will have been someone who enjoyed crushing people for the fun of it, or who ripped off at least a dozen people, and possibly more, or who was a criminal himself, etc.

The frequent impression left is that “the victim had it coming”.

There are several possible reasons for having an Asshole Victim:

It's not as depressing; given that, for these shows to work, there must be a Victim of the Week, an Asshole Victim brings up less of the "Tonight, someone will be killed for your entertainment" Fridge Logic.
It's one of the few ways to have a Sympathetic Murderer. Writers may make the victim an asshole in this case either just to have a sympathetic murderer; or, if the show is a Courtroom Drama, to make it harder to convict the killer as the jury sympathizes. Alternately, the story being told is a Start of Darkness, and most of the corpses at the top of that slippery slope need to be assholes in order to avoid Jumping Off the Slippery Slope (which amounts to an alternate reason to need a Sympathetic Murderer).
In a mystery show, it maximizes the possible suspects, as just about everyone involved would have a potential motive to kill this guy. Usually the line, "Well, I certainly hated X, but I didn't kill him" will be used repeatedly, and perhaps the extreme variation "Yeah, I wanted to kill X, but somebody beat me to it." In a few really extreme cases, suspects may even add "I'd kill X now if I could, but it's a moot point." In rare cases, a suspect admits that "I wished X was dead" before the victim actually died, and now therefore feels indirectly responsible for it.
The Villain needs a Fallguy. Murdering a known Asshole, and then lying low for a while, will make the Asshole look responsible for any crimes that have stopped since his death. 

Also shows up in Horror and Suspense films, for much the same reasons (Everyone Is a Suspect frequently gets replaced by a Clear My Name). However, it will generally not apply to victims of The Scourge of God, except sometimes when said scourge is a Poetic Serial Killer. Criminals in Colliding Criminal Conspiracies generally are this.

Every detective show has a variation of this exchange at least once or twice in its running: The detective asks, “Do you know of anyone who might’ve wanted X dead?” The other person snorts and replies, “Who didn’t want X dead?” or “Half the city wanted X dead, and the other half didn’t know him.” or “People would’ve lined up for a chance to kill X.” A common variation once the detectives have a suspect: “Sure I wanted X dead - but I didn’t kill him!” or “I’m glad X is dead, but I didn’t do it!”

Nearly every soap opera on the air has employed this trope for one of their “whodunit” murder mysteries.

At a minimum, they will have kicked the dog and may be well beyond the Moral Event Horizon, especially in less subtle productions. Pay Evil unto Evil is when the perpetrator gets away with it because the Asshole Victim deserved it. Indeed, this trope is very common in Criminal Procedurals with Villain Protagonists, who are rooted for because the guys they go after are usually even worse than them; as well as in many Revenge stories, in which they have usually done some very grievous wrong to our Anti-Hero and usually engage in other nastiness on the side, ensuring that no one sheds any tears when they get their comeuppance.

Sometimes the memorial services for these victims will be… interesting to watch. Occasionally the writers will get some comedy out of Never Speak Ill of the Dead, if everyone knows the victim was a jerk but no one wants to say so.

A similar concept unites this trope to the Final Girl. She survives because she’s the only one without sin or character flaws. She doesn’t drink, do drugs, have sex outside of wedlock. She’s nice and polite. Everyone else in the movie has such a flaw, making it okay for the monster to kill them.

For dog kickers who kick an asshole (not necessarily fatally), it’s Kick the Son of a Bitch. Can also be an invoked Take That, Scrappy! moment. See also Disposable Fiancé, which is similar in several respects. When the victim was as asshole for things they did in the process of trying to survive, it’s Death by Pragmatism. Alas, Poor Villain is the direct opposite of this trope. A less lethal version is Very Punchable Man, a character who’s there to be a jerk so that someone else can look good when they defend themselves.

In accordance with the “Just-world hypothesis,” people may perceive any victim as an Asshole Victim just to keep their belief that people get what they deserve intact. Then again, whilst the vast majority of homicide victims are not assholes, it presumably follows that assholes are more likely to be murdered than non-assholes, because antagonizing people capable of murder is a good way to get…well, murdered! Of course, that isn’t to say they deserved it.

'’Naturally, this trope can lead to the Unfortunate Implication that it’s okay to kill someone just because you do not like them.

Not to be confused with people whose posteriors get violated. Sometimes overlaps with Death by Racism.

Question 18

Awakening the Sleeping Giant

Answer 18

Everyone knows about the Big Good and the Big Bad, but what about the Even Bigger Neutral?
Someone attacks a supremely powerful neutral force, and they end up paying the price.

In most conflicts, there are a variety of neutral parties. From the Precursors to the Retired Badass to the King in the Mountain to the Hidden Elf Village, they always exist, and there’s usually one that can kick the shit out of both the other sides at the same time, using only a kitchen whisk and a sheet of tissue paper. But don’t bother asking them for help, because they will refuse to get involved.

That is, unless someone does something stupid or evil enough to repulse them. Whether it was the heroes or the villains, anyone who steps over some inexcusable line will invite their wrath, and this isn’t the regular Neutral No Longer give-the-other-side-some-reinforcements wrath … this is “we have an army of Cthulhu clones” wrath. Expect an Oh, Crap! from the receiving end if and when the former neutrals start whipping out the doomsday weapons. On the other hand, for the beleaguered side not subject to the proverbial giant’s wrath, this is a moment of celebration as they gain a powerful ally and they will fight alone no more.

There are two key points to look for before and after this trope comes into play.

Before: There is an established conflict, of any sort, between any number of parties, with a prominent neutral party that wishes to remain uninvolved.
After: When the neutral party enters the conflict, it drastically alters the balance of power. 

A Sub-Trope of Neutral No Longer and related to Heroic Neutral. May serve as a Deus ex Machina and/or Story-Breaker Power (and/or Game Breaker, if the work is a game) if the giant was an All-Powerful Bystander. Compare Default To Good. If the entity is an individual, then they won the Superpower Lottery, and it’s likely they are a Martial Pacifist. Compare Sealed Good in a Can, if the “sleeping” is in the character of an involuntary confinement and someone breaks the prison. If the neutral party is actually smaller than the two fighting powers, but still enough to alter the balance of power greatly, this overlaps with Kingmaker Scenario.

Question 19

Expy

Answer 19

This character was deliberately crafted to be very similar to another character in a different work.

Short for “exported character”, an expy is a character from one series who is unambiguously and deliberately based on a character in another, older series. A few minor traits — such as age and name — may change, but there’s no doubt that they are almost one and the same. Often seen in different works by the same writer(s) or production team.

This can simply be the tendency of writers to prefer certain characterizations for important characters (or knowing which ones are most marketable/popular), or the influence of the design process. On the other hand, it may just be a bad attempt to try to revive a character who the writer liked, but nobody else did and had to get rid of it. When by a different author, it may be a homage to the original creator and/or character. In the negative sense, an expy can be seen as just a bloated, gimmicky version of a perfectly serviceable past character. In a positive sense, it can refer to an “upgrade” of a two-dimensional or otherwise limited character to one more appreciably complex.

Keep in mind that not all expies are lazy half-assed rip-offs. Some characters such as Yogi Bear and Mickey Mouse are obvious clones of Art Carney and Felix the Cat respectively but they are some of the most acclaimed cartoon characters of all time because they are generally likable and unique.

Theory: any Characters as Device trope, if taken to the extreme, can result in the character appearing to be a mere expy of the Trope Codifiers for that trope. Especially if the character is Flanderized to the point of having few defining characteristics outside of the trope they represent. See Fountain of Expies.

Most often seen in animation and video games, where it’s much easier to make a newer character resemble an older one. Occasionally happens when characters from different stories end up sharing voice actors, making or even forcing their personalities to look even more similar, which often leads to jokes based on the voice actor’s former role.

When the character appears in the same show as the previous character, he’s often a Suspiciously Similar Substitute.

The key difference between this and Captain Ersatz is that an expy, while deliberately based on some other character, is still their own person, while Captain Ersatz is obviously the same character but with the Serial Numbers Filed Off. Please keep this distinction in mind before adding an example here. Also note that a fictional counterpart to a real-life person would not be an expy. When a character strongly resembles a real person, rather than a fictional character, that’s No Celebrities Were Harmed. A quick glance around TV Tropes will reveal just how often these mistakes are made on this very wiki.

Remember that an Expy must be a clearly deliberate reference on the part of the author; superficial or random coincidental similarities (even very striking ones) do not qualify, so if you aren’t certain, they probably are not an Expy. Because many character archetypes and tropes that compose characters are universal, it is easy for readers to fall into thinking that a particular character in the same general archetype resembles someone from their favorite show or novel, especially when Small Reference Pools lead readers to overestimate the cultural impact of their favorite characters.

Compare to Bleached Underpants, Alternate Company Equivalent, Name’s the Same, Roman à Clef, Counterpart Comparison, Similar Squad, Same Story, Different Names, Suspiciously Similar Song, Distaff Counterpart, Surprisingly-Similar Stories, Evil Counterpart. Not to be confused with XP, nor XP.

Contrast In Name Only, Transplanted Character Fic.

For specific characters that tend to inspire expies, see Fountain of Expies.

Question 20

Four-Star Badass

Answer 20

The Four-Star Badass is a badass in a military hierarchy that also happens to be a general or flag officer.

The Colonel Badass page explains that a Colonel is usually more badass than a General because although a General has the higher rank (and may even be a certifiable badass himself) they’re usually relegated to desk duty and administrative tasks. This is also the reason why The Captain will always be the star of the show even if they don’t have the same clout as a Commodore or Admiral.

However, some fiction writers don’t subscribe to this notion. They believe that in order to have reached a four-star rank you had to have done some serious asskicking once upon a time. While some writers feel Badassery is a muscle that grows weak with disuse, the writers who subscribe to this trope feel it’s more like riding a bike; you never forget how to do it. Even after years of sitting behind a desk, filing reports, cashing fat checks, and being saluted by everybody.

The important characteristic of Four-Star Badass is the BADASS. It’s not enough for them to be The Brigadier or a Benevolent Boss (although they tend to share some of the same characteristics, like never saying “We Have Reserves” and being A Father To Their Men). They have to actually do something to earn the title. This usually involves rolling up their sleeves, ditching the desk (heh), and mixing it up.

This is a man who will fight alongside his men while co-ordinating the campaign, and is not afraid of getting his own hands dirty in general terms. They will often have been non-commissioned officers for quite some time before being made a General, and as a result of that, fieldwork comes naturally and is more instinctive for them than others. As one on one fighters, they will generally also be superb, with an unusually strong, generalised knowledge of tactics.

This happens in a number of ways:

The Four-Star Badass is the star - The Hero of the story also happens to be a General or Admiral, ensuring that they have to get involved in the story's conflicts and adventures.
Awesome Moment of Crowning, Business As Usual - The Captain or Colonel Badass gets promoted. But they're The Hero so they continue to be badass.
The Future Badass route - If its a Speculative Fiction series, we may get an episode glimpse in which a protagonist, usually The Captain, is promoted, probably Twenty Minutes into the Future.
Ten Minute Promotion - They're promoted for a moment, but events (or themselves) conspire to demote them right back into a position where they're back in the field.
Da Chief To The Rescue - The Cowboy Cop or Military Maverick has gotten themselves in a real jam. Da Chief takes it upon themselves to personally get involved in order to rescue their subordinate. They might say something like "Sure X is a loose cannon, but dammit, they're MY loose cannon and I'm gonna get them."
Your Base Is Under Attack, Commander - Enemy troops assault or infiltrate headquarters in a surprise attack, giving the commander an opportunity to shine on his home turf. May or may not involve a Last Stand atop a pile of enemy corpses. 

Many examples of this trope will probably turn out to be Badass Grandpas and Grandmas, and sometimes Cool Old Guys and Cool Old Ladies. Often a contemporary of the Old Soldier.

While the Four-star thing is in the title, this applies to any character holding any level of General or Admiral rank, including Commodores.

Contrast General Rippernote and General Failure. May have a Chest of Medals.

Please no Real Life examples. With thousands of years of recorded history, there are enough of them to crash the entire wiki. Given the fact that being Badass is a requirement, every general in history, excepting those in militaries where money or family connections are considered more important than ability, is an example.

Question 21

The Everyman

Answer 21

His personality is your interpretation.

A character who is mostly a blank slate stand in for the audience, made to be empathetic to all. They won’t be exceptional; in fact, they will be decidedly average. If you try to pin down the character traits of any one of them, you’ll probably come up blank. They are usually popular by association, in that they tend to interact and be friends with a large group of more interesting supporting characters.

The Everyman has no distinct personality, except what is defined by others’ interactions with them. One gets the distinct feeling that if people weren’t trying to kill them / wacky circumstances didn’t happen to them / the fate of the world didn’t fall into their laps / their wacky neighbors weren’t around, The Everyman would be the most boring person in the world.

If a leader, then they’re a Standardized Leader. The videogame version of this is a Heroic Mime in terms of plot, Jack of All Stats in terms of ability, and a Featureless Protagonist when taken to its extreme.

In Dom Coms, the father is often an everyman, struggling just to maintain sanity in his family and keep it together through the zany schemes set up by the wife or kids.

Not every character created with the intention of being The Everyman stays that way. If the writers think Viewers Are Morons, then this character can quickly devolve into a Loser Archetype, with the idea that this is how the average person acts. At this point, the character’s message sort of devolves into telling viewers “This Loser Is You”.

Despite the name, everymen aren’t Always Male but they usually are because Most Writers Are Male.

Often an Audience Surrogate. If so, you may expect them to be:

A default character for the audience to latch on to, as a sufficient blank slate that the audience will know we are "expected" to identify with said character; and love will come later. This can be useful in an unfamiliar setting; compare The Watson. As the story develops, this type of Everyman may devolve into an inoffensive Foil or Supporting Protagonist. The audience may find them harmlessly uninteresting, and latch onto the action hero, Ensemble Dark Horse, or villain instead.
An empty vessel for the audience's hopes, dreams and aspirations. (Not to be confused with an Escapist Character who already possesses what the audience craves.) These are the sort of Everyman characters where each audience member is willing to imagine themselves in the character's shoes, with no apparent contradiction. This may lead to some complication (or crowning moment) when the author forces them to undergo some course of action that the audience, having already invested in the character, would not (at first) imagine themselves taking. 

See also Normal People and The Generic Guy. Ridiculously Average Guy is when this is taken to an extreme. Drop the Everyman into a fantasy setting and have him still act like everything is hunky-dory and you get the Unfazed Everyman. A character who starts out like this but later becomes a hero (or a villain) better fits the Unlikely Hero or From Nobody to Nightmare Tropes.

No relation to the popular Slender Man series EverymanHYBRID.

Question 22

Decoy Protagonist

Answer 22

The story begins with someone who’s not the actual protagonist, who will appear later.

So you’ve got your hero. He practically has a giant neon sign over his head that says he’s a hero. It might be subtle, but it’s fairly obvious you’ve found the guy who’ll save the day, get the girl, and live a long and hap— what the? Did he just get bitten in half by a mutant T. Rex?

Some books, films, or games like to mix things up and throw viewers for a loop by revealing that the Standardized Leader isn’t The Hero. This can be very dramatic; there are few more effective ways to showcase Anyone Can Die than taking out the apparent protagonist. It can also be used comedically, revealing that the guy who thinks he’s the protagonist is just a glorified bit player. Sometimes the Decoy Protagonist will turn out to be the antagonist.

Intro-Only Point of View frequently is used to emphasize his importance before The Reveal.

What happens next is the guy we perceive of as The Lancer, Side Kick, or even a fringe loner takes center stage as the real protagonist (maybe even Hero). Usually they reveal a much greater level of personal integrity and strength of will than previously thought, despite their Dark and Troubled Past.

Note that this does not necessarily involve the death of the initial protagonist, although that is often how this trope expresses itself. If the target actually dies, they’re often a Sacrificial Lion. If the character actually was The Hero, see Take Up My Sword. Also see Dead Star Walking.

In video games, this can overlap with And Now for Someone Completely Different; compare First-Person Peripheral Narrator, where the narrator is obviously not the protagonist. For the villainous version of this trope, see Disc One Final Boss.

Contrast Passing the Torch, Red Herring Shirt, Disc One Final Boss, The Unchosen One, Supporting Leader, Non-Protagonist Resolver.

Not to be confused with Supporting Protagonist, which is simply that the focus is on another character than the hero, or Fake Ultimate Hero, who doesn’t appear to be the protagonist.

Question 23

The Good Chancellor

Answer 23

As the Evil Chancellor is plotting to control the kingdom by usurping power, the Good Chancellor serves his kingdom or nation with utmost fervour. He follows the King’s orders to the letter if the king is noble, and he tries to mitigate the suffering of his people if the king’s intentions are of the bad kind. Rarely would he be seen actively opposing the King’s actions, since as a Lawful Good person, he must not let ideas like rebellion or jealousy get in the way of running the kingdom in the king’s name. This often does not sit well with some rebels, who see him as a moderate who must lose his head for being a supposed Yes-Man to the king they want on a pike.

When meeting the heroes, he, not the king, is usually the true person who has information about the situation at hand. The king may know of the secrets, but the Chancellor knows the best answer for them.

In terms of the ranks of Authority Tropes, the tropes that are equal are The Caligula, Evil Chancellor, Standard Royal Court and Deadly Decadent Court. The next step down is The Brigadier. The next steps up are The Evil Prince, Prince Charming, Prince Charmless, Warrior Prince, The Wise Prince, and all Princess Tropes.

Question 24

The Good King

Answer 24

The Good King is honorable, virtuous, wise and understanding. He cares about his subjects no matter how seemingly unimportant they are and puts their well-being above his own. He governs the land fairly, is a Royal Who Actually Does Something and is often very modest about his rank and position. He also tends to be soft spoken, but when a Good King raises his voice, you’d better listen. Remember, good does not always equal soft.

If the work takes place during a war expect this king to be on the front lines and always putting The Men First. When it comes to the actual battle The Good King tends to lead the charge and is normally skilled and efficient in combat.

Above all else, a Good King cares about his kingdom and his people and will sacrifice himself to protect them, even if that means putting Honor Before Reason.

Any work where the king has been killed by an Evil Prince, The Caligula, Evil Uncle or Evil Chancellor will normally portray the deceased king as this, to serve as a contrast to the current evil regime. After The Good King dies, he will almost inevitably be followed by a Sketchy Successor.

Like The High Queen, the Good King runs the risk of being a Mary Sue if his writers are not careful. Because of this the Good King will rarely be the main character but may serve as The Mentor to the protagonist. If the protagonist is one of his children expect his Papa Wolf tendencies to come into play.

May be Happily Married to The High Queen thus a Ruling Couple. When a Prince Charming or Wise Prince grows up, he tends to become this.

See also, Hobbes Was Right.

In terms of the ranks of Authority Tropes, the tropes that are equal are The High Queen, God Save Us from the Queen!, The Woman Wearing the Queenly Mask, She Is the King, Iron Lady, and President Evil. The next steps down are The Evil Prince, Prince Charming, Prince Charmless, Warrior Prince, The Wise Prince, and all Princess Tropes. The next step up is The Emperor. See also Benevolent Mage Ruler if the king is also a spellcaster.

Question 25

The Hero http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Franchise/StarWars

Answer 25

The main good guy in a Five-Man Band.

This guy is a hero, pure and simple. He’s almost always right, is a friend to all his teammates, and morally superior. He has a well-rounded skill set. He’s not as strong as The Big Guy, or as smart as The Smart Guy, or as sensitive and socially adept as The Chick, but he’s close. He can personally accomplish a variety of goals, but his real superpower is getting the whole diverse set of personalities to focus and pull together. He’ll always know who to ask for help, and when — and usually how.

Most often, he will be The Protagonist but there are exceptions to this rule. Just as often he will be The Leader or otherwise the shining star that holds the Ragtag Bunch of Misfits together, but there are exceptions to this as well. In a team lineup they will be front and center.

Other powers and skills common to the hero include:

In many games or settings, he'll be Jack of All Stats; a well-balanced fighter with decent power and speed, and sometimes some ability at magic.
Most of the time, he'll use a sword or sword-like weapon as his weapon of choice, even in science-fiction settings where this makes less sense than a gun.
In a fight, he will ALWAYS win (say 99.99% chance...). Even if he loses, bet your life on it that he will win the Heroic Rematch.
He will wear either Red or Blue (sometimes both), and if he's got a theme or powers expect them to be fire based. Lightning and light/holy power are also common Elemental Powers for the hero. 

Almost invariably, The Chick is in love with him (unless she’s The Hero or his sister and sometimes even then), as are any other members who happen to be women or gay or bi.

The primary romantic plot in the team will be between The Hero and The Chick, with The Lancer rounding out a triangle. (Bonus points if The Lancer is bisexual and is interested in both of them!) The Hero might also be a Chaste Hero or a Celibate Hero as an additional complication to romantic subplots.

If the Hero has too many of the “positive” qualities listed above, he may degenerate into a Marty Stu. If he’s too generic, then he’s an Every Man. They are sometimes the Only Sane Man trying to keep The Team together because they live in Dysfunction Junction.

The Hero and The Lancer usually have a special chemistry within The Team, either a Bash Brothers relationship or Red Oni, Blue Oni. They are often rivals with a strong mutual respect for each other, and are sometimes Heterosexual Life-Partners. They are likely to argue about who is The Leader, but as stated above, this role usually goes to the hero.

Traditionally, this role will not be filled by a woman unless all the other roles are already women (as is often the case in anime). If so, there might not be a Chick in the group although there might be The One Guy.

The Hero does not HAVE to be The Leader, or the most intelligent. This is usually justified by him being the youngest, most inexperienced, and/or newest member of the team. Thus, his more senior teammates may reasonably see him as the Tagalong Kid or the Sixth Ranger, even if he’s clearly the central protagonist to the audience. He may even be something of The Load if he’s a Mouthy Kid or The Fool, but don’t worry - in time, he will reveal his great potential, eventually swaying friend and foe alike to his cause. Even if he needs significant growing up to reach that point. Eventually, The Leader he may very well become.

If there’s a character cooler than the Hero, that character is generally Too Cool to Live.

See also The Ace, The Kirk, Messianic Archetype, The Chosen One, and Hero Protagonist. A superhero is, by the catch-all definition, a hero (often with superpowers) who dedicates their very life to… well, being a hero.

Note: It is important to remember that while the hero is usually also The Protagonist, they are not necessarily one and the same. Whereas the hero is defined by the character traits described above, The Protagonist is defined by their central role in the story. In Star Wars, for instance, Luke Skywalker is an archetypical example of The Hero and is more or less the Main Character of the original trilogy, but the prequel trilogy establishes the more antiheroic Anakin Skywalker as The Protagonist of the film series as a whole, even though he is a villain for more than half of the saga. See Supporting Protagonist for instances in which this is the case.

Question 26

Inspirational Martyr

Answer 26

By dying, they rally many more to their cause.

A martyr (from Greek word mártys, “witness”) is a person who is (or has) suffered persecution for their beliefs, and has inspired other people through their behaviour. The most frequent assumption in popular culture, is that the martyr has died because of their belief in their cause.

It isn’t a requirement to die, although the term “living witness” may be used instead of Martyr, in that case. Many times, the martyr’s enemies will give them one last chance to refute their belief, just before killing them. If the martyr dies reasserting their belief, the crowd is often inspired by their death. If the martyr does refute their belief, the crowd’s inspiration may be destroyed (which is why the enemy is trying this at all). If the crowd loses their inspiration, this is a subverted trope. If the crowd hears the martyr disown their beliefs, and still remains inspired by their example, it’s a Double Subversion.

Compare As Long As There Is One Man and You Cannot Kill An Idea (both are about how the cause shall stay living), Martyrdom Culture (a culture that encourages meaningful deaths), Failure Gambit (the martyr may use one of those to invoke this trope), Doomed Moral Victor (which doesn’t necessarily move people to the cause), Thanatos Gambit and My Death Is Just the Beginning (who intentionally dies to further a plan, but not necessarily involving a cause). Compare also The Paragon whose goal is the same (being an inspiration for people), but doesn’t involve suffering (at least, not as much as this trope).

Contrast Martyr Without a Cause (when their “cause”, while heroic, is rather trivial). Also contrast Heroic Sacrifice, which is any example of injury from a brave or heroic act. The Martyr may not have even been a hero themselves, but their death inspires others to become heroes.

Be wary of people who understand well the symbolism and effect of this trope - for those people, see Don’t Create a Martyr.

Do note that while martyrs do not have to die (per its definition), they often do, so expect unmarked spoilers.

Question 27

Judge, Jury, and Executioner

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ComicBook/JudgeDredd

Answer 27

The authority to punish law-breakers on the spot.

In modern legal systems, the power to render judgment is usually spread among many people: a judge decides questions of law, a jury decides questions of fact, and someone else carries out the judge and jury’s verdict—in the case of capital punishment, an executioner. It takes time and careful consideration, but proper legal procedure can be such a drag sometimes, can’t it? You have to arrest and house the perp, go through the expense of a trial… plus it means you have to get lawyers involved.

Perhaps this is why so many societies, particularly those with dystopian or evil leanings, go for the alternative: empowering a group of official agents with near-limitless authority to detain, sentence and punish offenders.

Depending on the morality of their government, these organizations may be anything from noble Jedi-like protectors who pursue only serious threats to society, to the sort of Terror Squads that make the Gestapo look like paragons of justice and who get called out to use deadly force on jaywalkers.

When a private citizen acts as Judge, Jury, and Executioner without official sanction, he’s a Vigilante Man.

Not to be confused with Judge Judy and Executioner.

Question 28

Master Swordsman http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/TheMaskOfZorro

Answer 28

A character noted for his mastery of the sword.

A character noted for his or her mastery of the sword. Might be a deadly duelist, a skillful swordsman, or just someone who is notably better at putting holes in other people. They may or may not posses Implausible Fencing Powers depending on the level of realism within the work. Their weapon of choice might be a Cool Sword, katana, rapier, BFS or something completely mundane. Some might be undefeated and renowned as the best swordsman in the world, while others might be an anonymous badass trying to stay alive.

Often a Mentor, often helping other characters Take a Level in Badass. Occasionally an Old Master. May be Badass Normal if there are superhumans to compare to.

Question 29

The Obi-Wanhttp://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Franchise/StarWars

Answer 29

A mentor character who is stronger than The Hero and gets them started on their quest.

A mentor who travels with the main character and often has some sort of magic powers or at least a brilliant mind. Even though this character is better skilled, faster and more experienced than The Protagonist, they aren’t The Hero, either because they are not The Chosen One or because they have already grown too old for the task. Their role is to introduce a new skill or sharpen the current skills of the protagonist, often hoping to pass the torch because they know their career is coming to an end. Expect him to have a very calm attitude as if he has wisdom that he will give out in his own due time.

This character will almost always die so that the protagonist can learn to stand on his own two feet. Their death will also be a great motivator as it gives the protagonists a chance for vengeance. Afterwards, they’ll usually become a Spirit Advisor, either as a literal “spirit” or in flashbacks. If they don’t die, they will stick around giving advice, but not actively adventuring (unless Gondor Calls for Aid).

The Obi-Wan can also play Mr. Exposition and as The Chooser of The One.

The Obi-Wan is an Archetypal Character. The Big Brother Mentor is a subtrope that happens when the Obi-Wan is older, but not too much older, than the protagonist. If the character is simply demoted early on in the plot, he’s only a Quickly Demoted Leader. For more information concerning “The Mentor” and other narrative archetypes, see Vladmir Propp’s theory of narrative. Compare Big Good where they tend to keep a distance on the hero’s quest and run things from the throne.

See also Old Master, Eccentric Mentor, Cool Old Guy.

Named for Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars, who bites it at the end of Act 2 in an Obi-Wan Moment, Passing the Torch to the young hero who then goes on to avenge his death.

Warning: this is a Death Trope; there be spoilers ahead.

Question 30

Proud Warrior Race Guy

Answer 30

He’s a Blood Knight because his culture/species says he should be.

A specific subtrope of Blood Knight, the Proud Warrior Race Guy seeks battle and bloodshed because his culture teaches that doing so is the greatest source of personal honor and glory. This Proud Warrior Race will often be based on one of several real world cultures who are perceived to have acted this way, such as the Samurai, Spartans, Vikings, and Mongols. They are often a Martyrdom Culture. The Proud Warrior Race Guy is almost always a hero. If evil, he will probably be the Worthy Opponent.

“Proud”, in this case, often means “Psychotically Violent”. Critiques of this position will be met with: “You do not understand”. May occasionally overlap with the Always Chaotic Evil race, though the two are usually differentiated by the Proud Warrior having a strict Code of Honor (which may include paying debts, loyalty to companions and officers, and fighting with honor), while the Chaotic Evil race has no real rules and does cowardly or underhanded things. If the Code of Honor is too alien for humans to understand, or too xenophobic to allow cooperation, then the heroes will treat the two groups as the same. The better sort of Code of Honor will enforce Would Not Shoot a Civilian, although often because civilians are dismissed as too weak and cowardly to be good fighters, and so they get passed over in the search for worthy enemies.

While most commonly seen in science fiction programs in the guise of Rubber-Forehead Aliens, the Proud Warrior Race Guy is not limited to that genre. Consider Hawk in Spenser For Hire, B.A. in The A-Team, and Tonto in The Lone Ranger or Kato in The Green Hornet. This trope currently tends to be limited to SF because applying it to human races really skirts the bounds of current racial sensitivities. You don’t see a lot of the Noble Savage anymore either, except as alien races, for the same reason.

Species that are essentially aliens based on predatory animals, such as the Cat Folk often found in many Science Fiction works, are also apt to be of this type.

Interestingly enough, the best-known characters of this type in recent TV history not completely covered in makeup and prosthetics (Worf, Tyr, and Teal’c) are all black. Whether (and if so, why) this is a key component of the Proud Warrior Race Guy is an open question (see also Scary Black Man). It may be because of the Unfortunate Implications of having a warlike race of white people who believe themselves to be superior to other races.

A variation on this that has come into existence very recently is the Proud Soldier Race – a more low-key version more like the modern military rather than a warrior culture, with more focus on drilling and discipline than just strength at arms. These guys have a tendency to be more technologically advanced and more focused on expansion than conquest – they don’t see the harm in dishonorable tactics, but they’re pragmatic, not ruthless; The Proud Soldier Race Guy isn’t likely to cause any more harm than absolutely necessary to get what he wants.

Interestingly enough, when pitted in large scale fights against humans, they tend to lose. Oftentimes, they lose badly.

See also Blood Knight and Barbarian Tribe. See Warrior Poet for what happens when the Proud Warrior Race Guy becomes more developed. Often is fond of being In Harm’s Way, and is a Glory Seeker wanting to be Famed in Story. They often are of the mistaken belief that this means they have a Badass Army, but often are proven wrong. May be from a Martyrdom Culture. Frequently crossed with or has strong elements of the Noble Savage. Being a culture singularly focused on the warrior way, anyone performing non-warrior roles frequently suffer from Klingon Scientists Get No Respect.

Also compare Proud Scholar Race Guy and Proud Merchant Race for different kinds of hats a species can wear.

No Real Life Examples, Please! More often than not they can have Unfortunate Implications and tends to just boil down to “every human culture”.

Question 31

The Stoic

Answer 31

A character who shows little to no emotion.

He can be in the middle of a gunfight, his best friend’s bachelor party, or a helpless witness to the death of everyone and everything he holds dear… and he’ll show all the emotional reaction of a victim of a Botox overdose. They can be Heroes, antagonists or anti-heroes. On The Team he will contrast the Hot-Blooded. His quiet demeanor tends towards the brusque or outright rudeness, though there are a few polite Stoics. Mostly writers (ab)use it to give the impression of a lot going on inside and cultivate an air of mystery and to confuse other characters with cryptic one-liners.

The Stoic sometimes displays emotion when under extreme stress or in other highly emotional situations, but their usual repertoire consists of mild boredom, detached interest, Dull Surprise or dignified disdain. He may be a Deadpan Snarker, or have No Sense of Humor. If he ever shows true emotion, it’s likely to be explosive in its intensity or incredibly subtle and full of Emotional Torque. The tougher sort of stoic may hide it so thoroughly that only his Bad Dreams show any of it. Opposed to Frozen Face, where the emotions appear absent because they do not alter his expression, even in the highly emotional situations. A few stoics might calmly pipe up that they have feelings and opinions too, they just aren’t effusive about it.

Masculine pronouns are used throughout this trope because quiet women in fiction tend to be the Emotionless Girl or Stoic Woobies. Men who use stoicism to hide their pain are more likely to indulge in mangst. Either way, expect them to be the phlegmatic member of their group.

The Stoic is not necessarily The Quiet One. While the Stoic may be low key and quiet, more often than not he’s just as talkative as anyone else. Another difference is that while The Quiet One does feel and display emotion (albeit less vocally and regularly, and makes up for it with deeper pathos), the Stoic is so devoid of any semblance of human emotion that he borders on being a true Tin Man. Whether he has emotion or not varies, but he will invariably refuse to ever show it.

There are three types:

The Aloof Big Brother type, seen mostly in anime, chooses to act this way either as a personal philosophy or as an outgrowth of his base personality.
Some Old West, pulp, and action heroes who are Made of Iron complement physical toughness with stoicism to show mental invulnerability as well. It's cool to be blasé while kicking around Faceless Goons, delivering one liners and foiling the Evil Plan. Watch out for needles, though!
Shell-Shocked Veteran: Either before the series or during it, the character suffers a particularly nasty case of Heroic BSOD, after which the character enters a Heroic Safe Mode and never leaves. The lights are on, the computer's running, but all the games and fun stuff are offline. (Not to be confused with Heroic Safe Mode, which uses the same metaphor to describe something different.) 

This last one has real world examples in Flat affect, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Shell Shock.

The silent warrior has roots stretching back to The Drifter in Westerns and farther back. The Stoics in ancient Greece were philosophers who believed that self-control is the highest virtue, and detachment from strong emotions and passion would give them greater insight in their quest for truth. They also thought that emotional reactions to the inevitable were silly; given that We All Die Someday, what is grieving over death but a judgment that the inevitable was somehow wrong? Stoics would later be criticized for denying themselves and others any kind of earthly pleasure or silliness in life.

Characters of this type include:

    Blue Oni
    Emotionless Girl
    Dandere
    Kuudere
    Nerves of Steel
    The Quiet One
    Shell-Shocked Veteran
    Silent Bob
    The Spock
    Stoic Woobie
    Sugar and Ice Personality
    Aloof Big Brother
    Extreme Doormat
    Ineffectual Loner
    Perpetual Frowner
    Super-Stoic Shopkeeper 

Other tropes associated with stoics include:

    Emotions vs. Stoicism
    Enthusiasm vs. Stoicism
    Fantastically Indifferent
    Not So Stoic
    Meditation Powerup
    Stiff Upper Lip
    Stoic Spectacles
    Tranquil Fury 

Note: Just because the person is Stoic doesn’t mean that person is a Jerkass or pessimistic.

Contrast/Compare with Loveable Rogue, Become a Real Boy, The McCoy and Gentle Giant. On the far end of Emotions vs. Stoicism. If a person deliberately inflicts pain on himself to show it doesn’t bother him, that’s Macho Masochism.

Contrast Rage Breaking Point, Drama Queen.

Question 32

Tragic Hero

Answer 32

The hero’s Fatal Flaw ends up being his undoing.

The tragic hero is a longstanding literary concept, a character with a Fatal Flaw (like Pride, for example) who is doomed to fail in search of their Tragic Dream despite their best efforts or good intentions. This trope is rare on television, perhaps because watching someone fail once teaches a lesson, while watching them fail every Tuesday gets boring — though that didn’t stop shows like Arrested Development or the so-inappropriately-titled Good Times, no matter how hard they Yank the Dog’s Chain. It is more common in Mini Series and anime dramas, where the program’s entire run can be dedicated to one or more Story Arcs that lead to the Tragic Hero’s ultimate failure. You’ll most likely find this in the Theatre, where the trope was born and codified.

A Tragic Hero can work as an antagonist or a protagonist. As an antagonist, his goals are opposed to the protagonist’s, but the audience still feels sympathetic towards him.

By the time a Tragic Hero antagonist is defeated, the protagonist himself feels sympathetic to the Tragic Hero, and a little bad about having to capture him. It is acceptable and common to defeat a Tragic Hero antagonist by stopping him from achieving his goal, but otherwise letting him go free. Tragic Hero antagonists are rarely killed, except when death is seen by the Tragic Hero himself as an honorable end which is preferable to capture. Tragic Hero protagonists die more often than not (except for William Shakespeare’s, who all died).

The origin of the term itself is a slight case of Newer Than They Think. It’s usually attributed to Aristotle and his Poetics, but it really comes from Renaissance Italian and French commentators on Aristotle, who elaborated on his very general ideas about character through a humanistic lens (Aristotle only says that seeing a prosperous person fall is a good source of pathos, and that it’s more pathetic to see a not-entirely-bad person suffer due to a mistake than to see wholly good people suffer for reasons beyond their control). That said, Aristotle’s favorite tragedy, Oedipus the King is a good example of this trope, so the trope itself is definitely Older Than Feudalism.

Compare with Classical Anti-Hero, Protagonist Journey to Villain, Fallen Hero. Compare the Jerkass Woobie, a Jerk with a Heart of Gold whose Fatal Flaw is their mean streak. Compare Tragic Villain and Hoist by His Own Petard for the villainous counterparts. Contrast Byronic Hero, who has numerous, celebrated flaws. Contrast Karma Houdini, a villain who gets away with their evil deeds.

Question 33

Warrior Prince

Answer 33

A prince that can fight

This is where a member of royalty actually takes part in battle himself, especially as commander. This was once quite common, and examples of it can be found from time to time in the present day. It is a favourite of epic and romantic tales. A warrior prince can be a Wise Prince, bravely fighting for his kingdom; he can also be an evil conqueror. While this character always stands a high chance of being a Bad Ass it is even more likely in that second case, as the Big Bad exposing himself requires a certain level of Badassery.

Very, very common in myth and legend, going back to those Older Than Dirt.

A subtrope of Royals Who Actually Do Something. See also Authority Equals Ass Kicking, Lady of War, and the Distaff Counterpart, Badass Princess.

In terms of the ranks of Authority Tropes, the tropes that are equal are The Evil Prince, Prince Charming, Prince Charmless, The Wise Prince, and all Princess Tropes.

The next steps down are The Caligula, The Good Chancellor, Standard Royal Court and Deadly Decadent Court. The next steps up are The Good King, God Save Us from the Queen!, The High Queen, and The Woman Wearing the Queenly Mask.

Question 34

Battle Chant

Answer 34

Prior to a major engagement on the battlefield (or, in more modern settings, a sports game), The Leader or The Hero riles his troops (or team) with a stirring speech (but not always).

Suddenly, the troops (or team) burst into a chant, usually repeating the name of their glorious leader, their motto, or, if they happen to be particularly religious, their God. Alternatively, they may repeat a phrase or a single word (e.g. ‘Victory!’) over and over again, building in speed and volume as they continue to psyche themselves up for the upcoming battle.

Another variation occurs when the troops in question sing a battle chant as they march into the field of battle (or are preparing to defend themselves behind walls, forts, or other barriers), accompanied by horns, drums or bagpipes. Soldiers without musical instruments may substitute with shield bashing or shooting into the air.

Related to Battle Cry and Rousing Speech. Compare Crowd Chant, Crowd Song, Music for Courage and Sound Off.

Not to be confused with the recurring ability in the Final Fantasy games.

Question 35

Badass Grandpa

Answer 35

He’s not strong for his age. He’s just strong.

Old men are weak, right?

WRONG.

When it comes to fiction, more often than not the oldest, apparently feeblest characters are the ones to be feared the most. They kick ass, take names, and can fend off armies single-handedly.

They can be the strongest character in the entire story. The reason for this is obvious: “Experience and treachery will beat youth and enthusiasm every time.” Old men in a dangerous line of work have been doing it for a very long time, and only lived that long because they’ve been smarter and/or stronger than everyone they’ve faced. Additionally, in a Crapsack World, or when Earth Is a Battlefield, a man may well only live to be old if he is already very bad-ass to start with.

The defining characteristic of the Badass Grandpa is that, as the story begins, they already have several or max levels in Badass, and will almost always have more than anyone else, including, in many cases, the Big Bad; yet they generally opt for quiet and simple lives, sharing their wisdom with younger generations rather than directly involving themselves. After all, every generation of heroes has to grow up and fight on their own sometime, right?

Badass Grandpas hide their power level well…at least until it really matters. When the chips are down, and the heros look like they’re in need of assistance, it’s time for the Badass Grandpa to step up and throw down, proving that age has done nothing to quell their ability to take down villains literally decades their juniors.

If he’s not The Hero then there will be a reason why he can’t do the hero’s job for them:

    He's not The Chosen One
    Helping Would Be Kill Stealing
    This Is Something He's Got to Do Himself
    Take Up My Sword
    etc. 

A Bad Ass Grandpa may be The Patriarch of a Badass Family.

See also Retired Badass. Compare Cool Old Guy, Old Master, When Elders Attack, and Eccentric Mentor.

Is often The Obi-Wan on steroids. Might overlap with Good Is Not Dumb. If it’s an old woman who is the badass, it becomes Never Mess with Granny. Both of them may have grown Stronger with Age. May overlap with Badass Bystander. If it’s an evil person that ruined countless lives and still survived, see Evil Old Folks.

Question 36

Big Bad

Answer 36

The ultimate villain of the story, who’s causing the problem the heroes must solve.

The cause of all bad happenings in a story. A Big Bad could be a character with Evil Plans or it could be a situation, such as a comet heading towards the Earth. The Big Bad can (and often does) exert effect across a number of episodes, and even an entire season.

Note that Big Bad is not a catch-all trope for the biggest and ugliest villain of any given story. The Badass leader of the outlaw gang that the heroes face once or twice is not the Big Bad. The railroad tycoon who turns out to be using the gang as muscle is the Big Bad. If there is a constant Man Behind the Man story going on in order to reveal the big bad, then whoever is behind it all is the Big Bad, not every major villain in the lead-up. At other times, if a new enemy shows up to replace the previous Big Bad, then they are the Big Bads of their individual storylines.

The Big Bad may be confronted frequently, but is too powerful to finish off until the last episode of the sequence. The Big Bad may work through Evil Minions and will almost certainly have The Dragon protecting him, to keep interest up and provide something for the good guys to defeat. When you look at a season-long story or a major Story Arc and you can identify that one villain as being the one in control of everything, that is the Big Bad. In many cases, you will find that while the Big Bad may be in control, the Dragon-in-Chief would still be the greater threat.

The term “Big Bad” was popularized in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was characteristic of Buffy’s Big Bads for their identity or nature, or even the fact that they are the Big Bad at all, to remain unclear for considerable time. Occasionally, characters would even refer to themselves as “the Big Bad”, whether or not they were; this is a Big Bad Wannabe (although Spike was the character to do this most and he was part of the Big Bad Duumvirate of Season 2 along with Drusilla until Angelus showed up).

A Big Bad character is also an integral part of the Five-Bad Band dynamic. The role remains largely the same, but it should be noted that they are the Big Bad of that particular organization. They are not just the leader of a Quirky Miniboss Squad, but is a set group to counter the roles in the heroes’ Five-Man Band. Whether or not they turn out to be the Big Bad of the entire work of fiction is not set in stone (although more often than not, they will be).

If a show has a series of Big Bad jeopardies, they can function like a series of Monsters of the Week that take more than a week to finish off. If there is a Legion of Doom, you can expect the Big Bad to be involved somehow. They’re probably sorted by power, with the strongest for last, following the Sorting Algorithm of Evil.

Evil Overlord, Diabolical Mastermind, The Chessmaster, Arch-Enemy, The Man Behind the Man, and often Manipulative Bastard are specific types of villains who are liable to show up as Big Bads. If he’s a Magnificent Bastard or Hero Killer, the good guys are in big trouble. The heroic counterpart of this character is the Big Good, who will very often be the focus of this character’s attention over The Hero at the beginning of a series. If a work of fiction is conspicuously lacking a Big Bad, it may be a case of No Antagonist.

See also Big Bad Duumvirate for two (or more) Big Bads working together (or not). Sometimes a Big Bad will get his start as a servant to another villain — if that’s the case, he’s a Dragon Ascendant. If the character who fills the role of Big Bad in most meaningful ways is nominally subordinate to someone else (someone significantly less menacing by comparison), he is a Dragon-in-Chief. If the story has many Big Bads at once who don’t work together, see Big Bad Ensemble.

Note that the Big Bad of a story is not always the most powerful or oldest existing evil force. Perhaps an evil presence along the lines of an Eldritch Abomination overshadows the work’s setting, but is mainly divorced from the story’s events — that would be the Bigger Bad. The Big Bad is distinct from that by being the main obstacle that the hero must contend with, though the Big Bad might try to harness the Bigger Bad in some way as part of their plan. (Whether or not this backfires may vary.)

It is one of the most well-known tropes on the TV Tropes community, it being the only one of three tropes to have over twenty thousand wicks. This is probably because it’s incredibly common; it’s Older Than Feudalism, and it applies to almost every villain in any multi-part speculative work.

Question 37

Everything’s Better with Princesses

Answer 37

If we can have a princess in the show, we will.

You’ve turned on the latest kids’ TV program, and look, there’s a girl in a pink, floofy dress with a wand — and she’s got a tiara and sometimes a pretty cape trimmed with ermine. Whether she’s The Cutie, an Action Girl, a Magical Girl, The Leader of La Résistance, or whatever you can think of, there’s one very strong possibility: she’s royalty; specifically, a princess.

After years of exposure to the classical princess we have this interpretation that princesses have it easy. They don’t have to work (that’s their parents’ job!), they get everything they want (money and power go a long way) and, in girls’ series, they have very marketable wardrobes (blame the Ermine Cape Effect). Being a “princess” may not even affect the plot in any meaningful way, and the audience may get the sense that princessdom is just a quick way to give a female character some feeble distinction, instead of a title conferred by blood or marriage, that usually comes with its own responsibilities and gets in the way of having adventures.

Usually, if she’s got powers, she’s The Chosen One, and it’s all because of her lineage. Her sheltered life has left her ill-prepared to cope with real adversity, so don’t expect her to be much of a hero. She’ll likely be the White Magician Girl at best. This is usually true even if she grew up in a normal family to hide from her enemies — perhaps frailty is in the blood.

On the other hand, if she’s surprisingly good in a fight despite her sheltered upbringing, it might be because Authority Equals Asskicking.

Any Kingdom worth the name has a princess. If that’s the case, expect a violent conflict with her Aloof Big Brother, The Evil Prince, and/or the Evil Chancellor.

By the way do not expect princes to be given anything like the same sympathy as their sisters (more so in modern works). They are very often either outright bad or well meaning but stupid. If this princess has sisters, odds are good to see The Glorious War Of Sister Rivalry.

Note that you rarely see any minor nobles as lead female characters, nor any young queens. If she’s a royal, she’s the princess. Her sketchy genetic makeup will be avoided altogether, and you won’t see a single Habsburg chin around. Though in real life, princesses can be any age, princesses in fiction are usually children or teenagers, and are almost never older than 25, let alone middle-aged or elderly. The perfect age for an Arranged Marriage plot to kick in!

Oftentimes, she is the 100% ruler of a region. This is sometimes justified by the region in question being a principality rather than a kingdom.

Something of a Dead Horse Trope due to literally centuries of overuse, and having become firmly recognised as a Common Mary Sue Trait. Despite this, due to the Grandfather Clause, teenage girls, and how easy it is to parody, plenty of princesses will appear in the pages yet to come.

This is also why many tropes have “princess” in the name, even though a princess isn’t required (just a common example).

A Super Trope to Princess Classic, Badass Princess, Princesses Rule, Politically-Active Princess, Tomboy Princess, Rebellious Princess. If your princess doesn’t hail from a well-organized kingdom but from a faraway village, she’s The Chief’s Daughter.

Question 38

Femme Fatale

Answer 38

A sultry, highly attractive, but rather evil woman.

The typical client in a Hardboiled Detective story (French for “fatal woman,” idiomatically “woman to die for”). You know the type. Morally ambiguous, dressed all in black with legs up to here, she slinks into the PI’s office, sometimes holding a cigarette on a long, long holder, saying “Oh, Mr. Rockhammer, you’re the only one who can help me find out who killed my extremely wealthy husband.” Did she do it? Do I care? Wait, where’d that saxophone music come from? Whatever her story is, whether she did it or not, she’s definitely keeping some secrets.

The Femme Fatale is sexy and she knows it. Made famous by Film Noir and hard-boiled detective stories, the Femme Fatale manipulates and confuses The Hero with her undeniable aura of sexiness and danger. He knows that she’s walking trouble and knows much more about the bad guys than he might or she should, but damn it if he can’t resist her feminine wiles.

Unlike the virginal and sweet Damsel in Distress (or Action Girl), the Femme Fatale exploits with everything she’s got to wrap men around her finger. (In some eras, use of make-up is a tell-tale sign.) However, Status Quo Is God, so by the end of the story, the Femme Fatale must either be reformed by the hero to the side of good and lose much of her appeal in the process, or be outwitted by him to her doom.

If the Femme Fatale is vying for the hero’s romantic attentions, she will almost never win because of her illegal and low means of beating out her sweeter and purer rival, and the hero will decide that she’s not worth the trouble she causes. This remains true even if she becomes a reformed character.

What separates the Femme Fatale from The Vamp is that the Femme Fatale uses femininity and sensuality instead of upfront sexual advances. Her wiles include apparent helplessness and distress, and appeals to the man’s greed, desire for revenge, or gullibility, as well as the implication of possible romance or just sexual rewards, compared to The Vamp’s reliance on raunchy sex or the promise of it and utter amorality otherwise. Possibly as a result of this, she is more likely to be portrayed sympathetically than the average vamp.

The Femme Fatale is generally villainous, and heroic exceptions, most notably, the leading ladies of Mission: Impossible or Charlie’s Angels who use their feminine wiles in an artificial context to snare the bad guy, are more Naughty Is Good. Frequently, she is a Wild Card, changing sides according to her own desires and goals; but having her go through a High Heel-Face Turn is rare.

Often the Lady in Red, and even more often the Woman in Black, but possibly dressed like everyone else so as to not be Colour-Coded for Your Convenience. The Femme Fatale is one of the female character types that can often be seen wearing Opera Gloves, especially in conjunction with her sexy evening gowns, and, during the daytime (particularly in old Film Noir movies), is often seen wearing a “fascinator” or “pillbox” hat with a partial- or full-face veil. Definitely not above using the Kiss of Distraction.

If she can fight, too, then she’s really going to be trouble.

The younger version of this is the Fille Fatale.

This item is available from the Trope Co. catalog.

Question 39

Fair Play Villain

Answer 39

Villain who prefers to give heroes a chance.

A Fair Play Villain is a villain who, when the hero is at their mercy, gives the hero a Hope Spot. If the villain traps the hero in their prison, they’ll allow them an escape chance. If they get the hero into their deadly arena, they promise to let them go if the hero can beat the monster. This type of villain suffers from Bond Villain Stupidity — he could just kill the hero now, but where’s the sport in that?

The defining characteristic of the Fair Play Villain is that this act is sincere. He’s not lying or deceiving the hero, he’s genuinely giving them a chance to win, and will probably (though not always) hold up his end of the bargain if they prevail. He might hope the hero fails, or bend the rules a bit, but ultimately he still gives the hero the opportunity to beat him.

The villain’s interest may be in proving to the hero how helpless they are by kicking them while they’re down, giving them a second chance so they can fail again. Perhaps the villain is interested in what the hero’s capabilities are, or wants to see him prove himself. The villain may be Nigh Invulnerable and believes Victory Is Boring, and finds more challenge in giving the hero a fair shot. The villain may be an Anti-Villain who wishes to best the hero in a fair contest.

Compare Why Don’t Ya Just Shoot Him?, the logical question that this trope answers. May overlap with Let’s Fight Like Gentlemen, Just Toying with Them, Hunting the Most Dangerous Game, and Mercy Lead. See also the Spirited Competitor and Worthy Opponent. Can be related to the Sadistic Choice.

Question 40

Guile Hero

Answer 40

A hero who can influence people.

“My favorite three questions are, ‘What do I want?’, ‘What do I have?’, and ‘How can I best use the latter to get the former?’”
— rationalist!Bella, Luminosity

Completing a triangle with the Action Hero and the Science Hero, the Guile Hero is a hero who operates by playing politics and manipulating the bad guys. The Guile Hero trades swords and guns (or science and technology) for charm, wit, political and/or financial acumen, and an in-depth knowledge of human nature. The Chain of Deals, along with the Social Engineering and Gambit Index tropes are all at the Guile Hero’s fingertips. Often, a Guile Hero will manipulate the other good guys and a whole bunch of innocent bystanders as part of their scheme to bring down the Big Bad, though they’ll take care to ensure the other characters aren’t truly harmed in the process (and if they fail, they’ll be very sorry). The Guile Hero is likely to be a politician or a businessman, and engage in Battles Of Wits. If he has superpowers, than he’s likely to think that Heart Is an Awesome Power. Almost always Chaotic Good.

The Guile Hero could be a good analog to the Manipulative Bastard: the Guile Hero is unambiguously a good guy with the same goals as any Action Hero or Science Hero. While some other heroes may be unhappy with being manipulated by the Guile Hero, it is made clear to the reader that this character both has a heroic goal and is not (usually) Jumping Off the Slippery Slope into becoming a Well-Intentioned Extremist.

The Guile Hero combines elements of The Chessmaster, The Trickster and The Strategist without having to be all of these. A Guile Hero isn’t necessarily The Chessmaster: the Guile Hero is simply a hero who uses wit, charm, and skill to mislead and set up the bad guys, while The Chessmaster is often devoted to grander schemes, and more likely to use Chess Motifs. A Manipulative Bastard tends to be more personal and controlling in his manipulations. A Guile Hero need not be a master manipulator; “guile” can mean “shrewdness” instead of “deceit”. As for The Trickster, a Guile Hero is just as likely to be The Stoic or a “Stop Having Fun” Guy as the fun-loving and mischevious trickster. The Chain of Deals is just as valid a tool for these characters as The Plan, and a Guile Hero may very well be a grown up High School Hustler.

In The Team, the Guile Hero is most likely to be The Face of the troupe and/or The Smart Guy though a particularly bright Leader or Lancer can also fit in. If The Chick uses her emotional influence to the extreme and combines it with quick wits and words, she can also grow into one. The Guile Hero is also frequently a Sixth Ranger, and if Sixth Ranger is also a Guile Hero they tend to be Sixth Ranger Traitor.

Compare the Young Conqueror, which is a young example of this trope taken Up to Eleven with a side of Take Over the World ambition as well. May overlap with Good Is Not Dumb. Compare Silk Hiding Steel when a Proper Lady feels like plotting. Very, very rarely will this overlap with Small Steps Hero, due to the latter being unwilling to sacrifice innocent parties—but manipulating the villains is just fine.

In some rare cases, the Guile Hero may be a character that is actually extremely more powerful than anyone else (either through magic or science and technology) and actually could easily solve everything himself. But he’s really not supposed to.

Not under any circumstances to be confused with a certain Sonic Boom-tossing airman whose theme song goes with everything.

Question 41

The High Queen

Answer 41

A competent, positive woman in position of power.

When it comes to women in positions of power with royal lineage, there are two flavors. On one hand, you have the evil, power-hungry bitches. And on the other hand, you have this trope.

A woman of wealth, power and near-impossible beauty. She always has a calm demeanor and regal bearing. Her very voice, even if it doesn’t ring with power (and it often does), still lets you know that, in some way, she’s probably better than you, even if the lady herself doesn’t look down on you at all.

Her beauty can often be so great, even simple robes look majestic on her.

Her beauty and goodness are usually to be admired passionately but from some distance. The High Queen is rarely a love interest, but the few times she is, expect a little warming up due to the charms of the hero.

A common characterization for non-evil regnant queens, princesses (the more mature ones) and goddesses (especially the non-evil/bastardy ones). May also be the polar opposite of the Rich Bitch. This is what The Ojou and Princess Classic want to be when they grow up. If she can fight, she’s a Lady of War. Sometimes we get to see glimpses — or the whole story from the POV — of The Woman Wearing the Queenly Mask. She’s also very likely to have a Lady and Knight relationship with one of her subjects at some point. For the others, she typically commands such high respect and devotion that her subjects will march to and fight at the Gates of Hell without question if she needed them to.

Like other Über-character types, The High Queen runs a risk of becoming a Mary Sue, though mostly an acceptable one at that.

The presence of a High Queen is sometimes an indication of a Matriarchy.

The Iron Lady is the non-royal version of this trope; because non-royals have to fight for their position, such characters generally combine elements of The High Queen and God Save Us from the Queen!. If she literally fights, she is a Lady of War. If her fighting is more indirect and subtle, she is Silk Hiding Steel.

In terms of the ranks of Authority Tropes, the tropes that are equal are God Save Us from the Queen!, The Woman Wearing the Queenly Mask, She Is the King, Iron Lady, The Good King and President Evil. The next steps down are The Evil Prince, Prince Charming, Prince Charmless, Warrior Prince, The Wise Prince, and all Princess Tropes. The next step up is The Emperor.

Question 42

Magnetic Hero

Answer 42

A protagonist who tends to attract friends along his journey.

“Naruto has a strange power… to bring out the best in people.”
— Kakashi, Naruto

Occasionally, you get a hero with such personal magnetism that he is capable of persuading others, usually the Badass Bystander, to join him in his quest. Of course, the new companion has no qualms about killing for, or even dying for, the hero, despite having known him only briefly and facing many people who want him dead.

This is a staple of fiction that may well be Older Than They Think. Many epics and legends chronicle the process by which a hero gathers a band of motley friends and allies of dubious background but doubtless courage and nobility. Even if the hero has no special quality compared to his subordinates, this is often his implied “power”, Heart.

There’s a few variants of this:

Beat them up. Because Defeat Means Friendship, anyone the hero beats up on the way to the supermarket will become a lifelong friend and ally.
Conversely, beat up their enemy along with them. Fire-Forged Friends are always ready to come along.
Give a kid a candy bar. Because hey, proving you're kind to cute orphans is the best way to get their Caretaker to dump them and come with you!
Save their life. Simple: save someone's life, or buy their freedom, and they'll be your slave forever!
Tell them your quest. Who knows? Maybe they too are out to put a stop to Doctor Demonica? A particularly idealistic or persuasive hero can pull this off with gusto on even the most jaded. 

Often at the center of a Character Magnetic Team. Contrast with The Dulcinea Effect, which usually involves the hero falling victim to a similar phenomenon at the hands of a member of the opposite sex, and Hitchhiker Heroes. A female Magnetic Hero who leads male characters with The Dulcinea Effect may be a Jeanne d’Archétype. On a larger scale, the usual subject of A Protagonist Shall Lead Them.

The resultant group generally turns out to be a Ragtag Bunch of Misfits. If it actually sticks around for a while, you may get True Companions or Badass Crew.

Contrast Socially-Awkward Hero.

Question 43

Posthumous Character

Answer 43

This character is dead, but still somehow part of the story.

A character dead from the start or killed very early is developed entirely via Flash Back. May make heavy use of Posthumous Narration. Averts We Hardly Knew Ye. Video Wills, Apocalyptic Log, suicide notes, and mention by other characters on what he or she was like may help.

Expect them to appear in a Happier Home Movie, which the protagonist will watch over and over until he realizes It’s All Junk.

The Afterlife may be used as a Framing Device.

The Lost Lenore is often such a character. Undead characters don’t count. The effect should be that, despite a character being, you know, DEAD, they still have as large a part in what’s going on as the rest of the characters, or at the very least results in the viewer getting to know the character surprisingly well.

Generally this character’s demise is a Plot-Triggering Death. Compare with Dead Star Walking and Dead All Along. Contrast with Forgotten Fallen Friend. See also Death by Origin Story. The Predecessor Villain is often a specific type of Posthumous Character. Bigger Bad can be a villain version of this trope, depending on how it’s used.