Badass Crew: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
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A [[Badass Family]], even if they're not related. This will turn up a lot when discussing the [[Superhero]] Team, [[The Squad]], and the [[Five-Man Band]]. And a fair number of Sci-fi shows set aboard a ship, since normally, even the baddest hero can't run a whole [[Cool Ship]] on his own. This isn't a requirement though.
Some general conventions that apply to almost all
* They must include at least three people for obvious reasons. Two [[
* A Crew typically has a recurring and more-or-less permanent roster; you can reasonably expect to see the same members over and over. Which is why this [[Trope]] is a fixture of TV shows, comics, and other media which is made of recurring installments. You see this less in movie series, since they're often built around a central character who may have different supporters in each movie, i.e. ''[[Die Hard]]'' or ''[[James Bond (film)|James Bond]]''. This is probably because it's easier to sign one actor for a film rather than three or five.
* Most heroes have some sort of support or backup, but in a
* There's usually one person who acts as the leader of the bunch.
* Their combined badassery is indispensable on the front lines, in actual combat. In their day-to-day applications, however, it can lead to some ''very sticky'' situations. For this very reason, they often have to watch what they say around each other, particularly with regards to lower-level antagonists that don't directly affect the other crew members.
* Most important: the crew must have a certain loyalty toward one another. Like a family. If one of them is hurt/kidnapped/killed the others will bring holy hell on those responsible, even if it means violating orders. For this reason, all
Since, unlike a [[Badass Family]], none of the members were born into the Crew (though some of them might be blood relatives), some writers will use the story of the
The members of the Crew may not have even liked each other at first or even been outright enemies, but they come together and join forces because a) none of them can defeat the [[Big Bad]] and his plot without total cooperation, b) they worked out their differences, c) they see the [[
The
Also see [[Misfit Mobilization Moment]], which is often an origin for the
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* ''[[Outlaw Star]]'' had the Badass [[Five-Man Band]] consisting of [[Badass Longcoat]] wearing Gene Starwind, his partner Jim Hawking, [[Robot Girl]] Melfina, [[Catgirl]] Aisha [[Clan Clan]], and [[Everything's Better with Samurai|assassin]] Twilight Suzuka.
* The Lagoon Company of ''[[Black Lagoon]]'', oh ho ho, borrowing the charisma of Cowboy Bebop with a bickering crew of badasses who start off as rather typical, but unleash wave after wave of terror on their opponents with each episode. And Balalaika's ''Vysotniki''. As described by Benny in their first announced appearance: "They have enough talent to fight and win World War III."
* ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]''. That show is guided by the [[Rule of Cool]], and that includes the
* ''[[Naruto]]'''s Team 8, Team Gai, and especially Team 10 all remain a close-knit family. Asuma even mentions this, in a flashback, when he gives all the members of his team earrings as a symbol of sticking together. And ''every single member'' of the Konoha 12 has their [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|CMOA]], even Ino, and especially Sakura, Shikamaru, and [[The Messiah|Naruto]] himself.
* Colonel Mustang's crew from [[Fullmetal Alchemist]]. They're so badass that {{spoiler|when they made their move on the Promised Day, a platoon of five soldiers engaged with Central's forces without killing anybody; 60 injuries, no deaths.}}
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** 00 Gundam (Celestial Being, Choubou, Overflags, A-LAWS, Innovades)
* All versions of the [[Getter Robo|Getter Team]] are like this, but special mention goes to the Go team. Go, Sho/Kei and Gai get along MUCH better than Ryoma, Hayato and Musashi/Benkei.
* [[Gravion]] has the Gran Knights, who are [[Badass]] (in their own ways) in an out of titular mecha. The sequel bring us the Gran Troopers, who are the same, so much so that the leader of the first
* ''[[One Piece]]''.
** One [[Image Song]] even mentions that the Straw Hats aren't related, but are still [[True Companions|like a family]].
** The Whitebeard Pirates fit the criteria, even if they don't get as much focus as the Straw Hat Pirates.
** Shanks' crew.
** And lots and lots of other crews too, in fact the Straw Hats usually fight another
* [[The Squad|Riot Force 6]] of ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS]]''. Even the [[White Mage]] of the group is [[Action Girl|someone]] [[The Beast Master|you]] [[Summon Magic|don't]] [[Our Dragons Are Different|want]] [[Berserk Button|to]] [[Beware the Nice Ones|mess]] [[Person of Mass Destruction|with]].
* Tsuna and his guardians, Xanxus and the Varia Squad from ''[[Katekyo Hitman Reborn]]''.
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* Askeladd's Crew in ''[[Vinland Saga]]'', composed of [[The Berserker]], a [[Genius Bruiser]] [[Magnificent Bastard]], a teenage [[Determinator]], a [[Scarily Competent Tracker]] and [[Those Two Guys]]. There's close to a hundred men in his crew, the number fluctuates, but those are the ones that stand out.
* [[Berserk|The Band of the Hawk.]]
* Jacuzzi and Nice's gang from ''[[Baccano!]]!'' is a group of [[Street Urchin
* Onime no Kyo and his Shiseiten in ''[[Samurai Deeper Kyo]]''
* The Kurogane House from ''[[Shin Mazinger Shougeki! Z-hen]]'', a group of former Yakuza members who were saved from the verge of death by their current leader, Tsubasa.
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* [[Mahou Sensei Negima]]
** Ala Rubra, which had at least two members who are essentially ''invincible'' and a number of other members who aren't quite invincible, but still incredibly [[Badass]].
** Negi's group, Ala Alba, is well on it's way to this, as almost all the girls are drifting in an [[Action Girl]] direction. If one chooses to focus on the primary combatants (Negi, Kotaro, Setsuna, Kaede, and Asuna) it essentially ''is'' a
* Section Nine from ''[[Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex]]''.
* ''[[Bleach]]'': the main heroes are two shinigami, one with a sword that would make [[Final Fantasy VII|Cloud Strife]] tremble in fear, one with a sword that could {{spoiler|freeze a Fraccion solid}}. One Quincy, who not only fires light arrows but has {{spoiler|a freaking [[Star Wars|lightsaber]]}}. Two humans, one of whom can {{spoiler|defy divine law by rejecting reality}}.
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* The [[Young Avengers]], they all are pretty close friends and they are indeed badass(they aren't "Avengers" for nothing).
* The band of fugitives in ''Negation''. They want to escape the Negation-verse and get back home, and everyone's after them, so they're forced to rely on each other to survive. Over time, motivations and agendas change...
* The [[Blackhawk
* ''[[X-Force]]''. Especially ''The Uncanny'' X-Force.
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* The crew of ''Serenity'' from ''[[Firefly]]'' In the movie alone, each member shows just how badass he/she can be... although Book's [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] happens off screen...
* The crew of the Enterprise in ''[[Star Trek (film)|Star Trek]]'' most definitely qualifies. Even {{spoiler|150 year old Spock Prime}} and [[Team Dad]] Captain Pike get [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|Crowning Moments of Awesome]]. The movie was essentially an [[Origin Story]] of how the original Trek Badass Crew came to be.
* Andy's toys from ''[[Toy Story]]''. Toys can't be [[Badass]], you say?? Kidnap or threaten one of them, they'll show you just how incorrect you are. In the first ''[[Toy Story]]'', [[Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold|the Mutant Toys]] are the
{{quote|'''[[Butt Monkey|Mr. Potato Head]]:''' Prepare to meet... ''Mr. Angry Eyes!''}}
* Even though it's mostly about Sharpe and his [[The Lancer|Lancer]]-sidekick Sergeant Harper, the riflemen of the 95th (and to some extent, the entire South Essex Regiment) definatly quialifies. Memorable scenes include Hagman dual wielding a pair of rifles, private Perkins saving Sharpe's life and anything including Captain Frederickson ("A musket ball broke my jaw. I have false teeth. The sawbone stuck on the smile for free, sir. He also stuck on my hair. Hair belongs to a horse, sir.")
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** Any X-Wing squadron captained by Wedge Antilles. Specifically, the ''[[X Wing Series]]''' Rogue Squadron, and ''especially'' [[Crazy Awesome|Wraith Squadron]]. The four pilots of {{color|red|Red}} Flight, while a much smaller crew, all know each other from before and are quite awesome.
** The four stormtroopers in [[Survivors Quest]], Unit Aurek-Seven of the 501st. Cloud, Grappler, Watchman, and Shadow. They are ''unspeakably'' [[Badass]].
** Delta Squad probably takes the cake for the most
* The [[Animorphs]] from the series of the same name, a crew of [[Badass]] shapeshifters.
* [[Lord of the Rings|The Fellowship Of The Ring]] is at least as [[Badass]] in the books as in the film.
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* The Gibbs' Team in ''[[NCIS]]''
* The Grissom team from ''[[CSI]]''. The teams of [[CSI: NY]] and [[CSI: Miami]] in as well.
* The Metro-Dade Vice Squad of ''[[Miami Vice]]''. Believe it or not, Crockett and Tubbs were not the only [[
* The entire crew of ''[[Leverage]]''. Each with their own specialties, each one the most [[Badass]] at that particular art. And also an awesome example of [[True Companions]].
* The ''[[Cold Case]]'' crew.
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* The outlaws from ''[[Robin of Sherwood]]''. [[The Load|Except Much]]...
* The outlaws from ''[[Robin Hood (TV series)|Robin Hood]]''. [[Damsel Scrappy|Except Kate]]...
* [[Magnificent Bastard]] Mario Santos and his crew from the Argentine TV show [[Los Simuladores]]. They even made The FBI their [[Unwitting Pawn
* The team from "Soldier of Fortune", essentially the A-Team for grown-ups done by Jerry Bruckheimer. The team was headed up by ex-Delta Force major Matt Shepherd and contained ex-Marine Scout/Sniper Benny Ray Riddle (played by former Ranger Tim Abell), ex-CIA officer Margo Vincent, fomer SAS Staff Sargeant and electronics/EOD specialist CJ Yates with Jason "Chance" Walker (ex-USAF SOAR)as the pilot. The team was run by a spooky government-type called Xavier Trout, himself an ex-military type, when he/the US government needed deniable ops done.
* The [[Justice League of America]] in ''[[Smallville]]''. You've got [[The Flash|The Fastest Man Alive]], Victor Stone, a [[Hollywood Cyborg]] with both [[Super Strength]] and [[Hollywood Hacking]] abilities ([[Genius Bruiser]] much?), [[Aquaman]], who manages to be pretty [[Badass]] despite the whole [[What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?]] situation, and [[Black Canary]] an [[Action Girl]] with [[Make Me Wanna Shout]] abilities. All headed up by [[Green Arrow]], the biggest [[Badass Normal]] in the whole show. And that's when [[Superman]] and the [[Martian Manhunter]] aren't helping them.
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== Tabletop RPG ==
* Most ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]'' adventuring parties. Groups of (traditionally four) people who depends their lives on each other, [[An Adventurer Is You|fill specific roles]], fight violent monsters, and generally perform superhuman feats of heroics (or villainy, as the case may be). Upon reaching a certain level of power, dying doesn't become so much a worry for these people as an ''inconvenience''.
* By the same token, any group of soldiers in [[Warhammer 40000]] must be a
* The crew of the ''Weatherlight'' in ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]''. (With the possible exception of [[Our Goblins Are Wickeder|Squee]].)
* By necessity, any crew of 'Runners in ''[[Shadowrun]]'' will usually end up becoming this once they survive their first few 'runs together.
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== Video Games ==
* Every ''[[Persona (video game)|Persona]]'' game stars one, with the Persona 4 version being a very notable example. The Demon Tamers led by the hero of [[Devil Survivor]] are also worthy of mention.
* By the end of ''[[Princess Waltz]]'', [[Badass Normal]] Arata Fukamori is leading a
* In ''[[Utawarerumono]]'', every single retainer of [[The Protagonist|Hakuoro]] is an utter badass. So much so that {{spoiler|when he returns to his original form as a stupidly powerful [[Physical God]] and begs them to destroy his insane side forever, they proceed to punch out the equivalent of Cthulhu meets Godzilla to honor his final commands as their commander.}}
* ''[[Halo]]'''s [[Super Soldier|Spartan-II]]'s. Members see their fellow Spartans as their only family (they were recruited at the age of 6 and trained together ever since). Possible slight subversion in that they are not a small group - there are over thirty of them, and every one is a certified [[Badass]].
** They become a more typical
** The player's [[The Squad|squads]] in ODST and Reach are also exemplary Badass Crews.
** Master Chief, Cortana, and Arbiter also counts as a
*** Sgt. Johnson can also be considered part of the group.
* Delta Squad from ''[[Gears of War]]''. They're often split up into pairs, but when the four of them get together, they're practically unstoppable.
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* In most [[First-Person Shooter|First Person Shooters]], the online cooperation mode has the players become this. Special mention goes to ''[[Doom]]'' and ''[[Serious Sam]]''.
* The [[Super Robot Wars Alpha|Alpha Numbers]]. You'd think a crew with ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion|Shinji Ikari]]'' in it would lose serious badass points. You'd be ''wrong''.
** In the Original Generation canon, we have smaller versions of this. The SRX/ATX Teams, The Aggressors, and they smash themselves together into a mega
** [[Super Robot Wars Z|ZEUTH]] is very badass as well, as is [[Super Robot Wars W|Warter]].
** [[Super Robot Wars Z|ZEXIS]] in Z2 has [[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann|Kamina]], [[Getter Robo|Batshit Insane Ryouma from Getter Robo Armageddon]], [[Code Geass|Zero]], [[Armored Trooper VOTOMS|Chirico]], [[Mobile Suit Gundam 00|Celestial Being]] and the list goes on and on.
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** Two words - Galm Team. Your squadron in ''Ace Combat Zero'' is exactly two man strong: a team thrown together by chance in the last ditch attempt at [[Back From the Brink]]. [[We Do the Impossible|You succeed.]] Soon enough, the [[Player Character]] becomes known as the [[Red Baron|Demon Lord]] [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|of the Round Table]] and his [[Wing Man]] is the same guy who had his right wing shot off from the hull and still landed his plane safely ''during an intense battle''.
* The Resistance Group from ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess|The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess]]''. Unlike most of the other games in the series, this one actually gives Hyrule some citizenry who are willing to do something to help themselves instead of relying solely on the efforts of the green-clad [[Chosen One]]. They even help him break into the castle toward the end.
* In the [[Updated Rerelease
* ''[[Yo-Jin-Bo]]'' has your team of six bodyguards. The starting team of wanderers Yo, Jin, Bo, and Mon-Mon could also count.
* Your crew in ''[[Neverwinter Nights]] Hordes of the Underdark'' isn't very large, but among the four (possibly five) people on the team are a part-dragon kobold, a [[The Atoner|former drow assassin]], a slightly insane [[The Legions of Hell|tiefling]], and potentially the ghost of an elf paladin. Led by whatever you feel like making the player character. And the player and two of your compatriots get to {{spoiler|beat up Mephistopheles}} in the end.
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== Western Animation ==
* The main cast of ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' eventually attains this status; by the end of the show, we have a superpowered [[Kid Hero|Kid]] [[The Messiah|Messiah]] (Aang), a powerful waterbender (Katara), the world's best earthbender and {{spoiler|''only'' metalbender}} (Toph), {{spoiler|a powerful firebender and highly skilled swordsman (Zuko)}}, and two [[Badass Normal]] warriors (Sokka and {{spoiler|Suki}}). The Order of the White Lotus probably also qualifies.
* ''[[Kung Fu Panda]]'''s Furious Five - Tigress, Monkey, Mantis, Crane and Viper- are China's top kung fu masters, and both films show you exactly ''why''. By the second film, their
* [[Metalocalypse|Dethklok]]. They may be dumb as a box of particularly dim hammers and they may fight and bitch at each other all the time, but when it really counts, they're thick as thieves (even if they don't admit it). Many of the Crowning Moments of Awesome in Metalocalypse double as Crowning Moments of Heartwarming because they're all at their most badass when they're looking out for each other.
* ''[[Transformers Cybertron]]'': The Autobots. All of them can, when it counts, crack open a can of whup-ass. Especially Optimus Prime. Four words: "[[Super Robot|Optimus Prime,]] [[Super Mode]]!"
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* The Penguin Team from ''[[The Penguins of Madagascar]]''
* ''[[Codename: Kids Next Door]]'': Sector V...on occasion
* The [[Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers|Galaxy Rangers]]. The colony worlds love 'em, the core worlds barely tolerate 'em, and they're always just this close to going rogue...but no one's going to argue the fact that Foxx and his
* [[Darkwing Duck]] and crew certainly belong here. We have Darkwing as [[Badass Normal]], Morgana as [[Black Magician Girl]], Gosalyn as [[Future Badass]], Launchpad as [[Gadgeteer Genius|Gadgeteer]] [[Genius Ditz]], and Honker as [[Tagalong Kid|Tagalong]] [[Child Prodigy]].
* The Captains in ''[[Captain Scarlet]]'', to an extent (more so in fanon).
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* Any military Special Forces unit with a roster that isn't quite large enough to qualify as a [[Badass Army]].
* [[Band of Brothers (TV series)|101st Airborne, 506th PIR, E Company.]] Applies to most units of WWII, really.
* The crew of ''[[Apollo 13]]''. Complete with [[The Captain]], Mission Commander James A. Lovell, [[Number Two]] Fred Haise, [[Ace Pilot]] Jack Swigert, and featuring the ''two'' [[Cool Ship
** Though a lot of the credit also should go to their [[Voice with an Internet Connection]], the Mission controllers who diagnosed the problem from the telemetry, figured out the rocket burns required to get the crew on a trajectory to return to Earth (using just the Aquarius' engine, since the integrity of Odyssey's could not be determined), developed kludged-together procedures to keep the crew alive, and then worked out how to power the Odyssey back up and bring the crew through re-entry on less power than was thought possible. Badass the crew was, but they were not alone in being badass.
* The Assault Team that launched a rescue mission to save over 100 hostages from from a hijacked plane at Entebbe Airport in 1976. Not surprisingly, they were part of the [[Badass Army]] known as the Isreali Defense Forces.
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A great number of Sports teams are this:
* The 1972 Miami Dolphins; who won '''''every''''' game that season, up to and including the Super Bowl.
** The 2007 New England Patriots nearly equaled the feat. But they were beaten in the Super Bowl by another
*** That team was pretty ordinary, but Strahan, Umenyiora, and Tuck - who harassed superstar quarterback Tom Brady throughout - absolutely count.
** If we're talking football, then look no further than the Pittsburgh Steelers and Oakland Raiders of the 70s. Not only did they win consistently, they faced off each other for AFC supremacy every year and had legitimate bad blood, leading to extremely physical, emotional, dirty games. The Steelers typically were the [[Designated Hero|designated good guys]], due to their classy owner, blue collar roots, and disciplined team ethic. The Raiders were always the [[Designated Villain|bad guys]], in part because of their [[Jerkass]] owner, rowdy fans, and perhaps, even rowdier players. Also note the Raiders were made up of a bunch of guys with [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast]], guys like Jack "The Assassin" Tatum, Ken "The Snake" Stabler, and Skip "Dr. Death" Thomas. Incidentally, both the Steelers and Raiders only acheived full-blown
* The University of Miami Hurricanes football team, particularly in the 1980s and 1990s. The Canes, which won five national championships and appeared at several more title games, developed a "Thug U" reputation due to its "Catholics vs. Convicts" rivalry with Notre Dame, the players appearing at a national championship pregame banquet in combat fatigues (and losing to underdogs Penn State the next night at the 1987 Fiesta Bowl), the on-field taunting by the team (which led to the NCAA adding "the Miami Rule" addressing excessive celebration), the team's alleged payments from Two Live Crew's Luke Campbell, and many of the recruited players being from urban areas (unprecedented at the time, now somewhat the norm).
* The 1990 UNLV basketball team, led by Jerry "Tark the Shark" Tarkanian. They dominated basketball, beating Duke to win the championship, while their coach defied the NCAA (he was notorious for saying "The NCAA got so mad at Kentucky they decided to give Cleveland State two more years of probation."). The next year, the UNLV team almost had an undefeated season, but lost to Duke in the Final Four.
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