Badass in a Nice Suit: Difference between revisions

[[File:rsz 1inoblesse ch176 p22 1374.jpg|link=Noblesse|frame|''[[Let's Get Dangerous|"Shall we go, then?"]]'']]

 

 

A [[Badass]] or criminal character will often dress conservatively (suit and tie) to imply that he is a "professional" who knows what he is doing. Generally partakes of a toned-down version of [[Badass Longcoat]] imagery; add [[Cool Shades|Cool]]/SinisterShades to complete the look. The suit will usually be [[Sharp-Dressed Man|impeccable]].

A [[Sub-Trope]] of [[Stock Costume Traits]].

 

{{examples}}

* Mr. Chang from ''[[Black Lagoon]]''. Rock also wears suits, but that's because he's an ex-[[Salaryman]].

** Balalaika too, considering her normal wear is a red business top with a long skirt bottom.

** In the latest chapter, {{spoiler|the whole team gets snazzy suits.}} and it's all [http://www.mangafox.com/manga/katekyo_hitman_reborn/v26/c239/16.html here]!

** Well it ''is'' [[The Mafia]] after all.

* Female example: Rin in ''[[Mnemosyne]]''.

* ''[[Golgo 13]]''

 

== Comic Books ==

* Marvel's Kingpin always dresses in a white suit.

* ''[[Batman]]'''s foe The Penguin and his trademark tux and top hat.

 

== Film ==

* The heroes (and a lot of the [[Mooks]]) in [[Heroic Bloodshed]] films.

* Many of [[Quentin Tarantino|Tarantino's]] characters: most of the cast of ''[[Reservoir Dogs]]'' (at least on the day of the heist), Jules and Vincent in ''[[Pulp Fiction]]'', the Crazy 88s in ''[[Kill Bill]]''...

* Jason Statham's Frank Martin in ''[[The Transporter]]''. In the second film he even has a spare one in his car to deal with the inevitable (non-[[Fan Service]]) [[Clothing Damage]].

** Hell, the entire visual style of the film is built around this. It actually works as a plot point, too, juxtaposing the control of the main characters in the Matrix (both by machines and of themselves) with the desolation of the real world (where everyone is basically in rags).

* Nicolas Cage's character in ''Snake Eyes'' changes from his sharkskin jacket to a suit jacket as a symbol that he's stopped messing about and is serious.

* ''[[Collateral]]'': [[Professional Killer|Assassin]] Vincent wears a steel-gray suit and tie, but loses the tie as the situation grows out of his control. [[Michael Mann]] explains in the DVD Commentary that his look is designed to be as unremarkable as possible. So he's not just a Badass in a Nice Suit, but dressed to get away with murder.

* In ''[[Die Hard]]'', Hans Gruber points out that he's wearing an expensive suit from the same tailor as the one worn by the Japanese business executive.

* The ''[[Men in Black (film)|Men in Black]]''.

* Justified by the titular ''[[The Tuxedo]]'', which is in fact the ultimate spy gadget, providing its wearer with every possible skill you'd need for a spy mission, from gun assembly, to kung fu, to wicked dance moves.

* Storm Shadow from ''[[G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra]]'' dons a spiffy white suit sans tie in the Paris segment, while James McCullen though not being a fighter does have a nice dark suit.

* The entire ''[[Inception]]'' team gets into this at various stages, [[Hot Chick in a Badass Suit|including Ariadne.]] Some particularly notable ones are Cobb, Arthur, and Saito in black tie at their first meeting, the hotel dream levels, and Arthur's famous hallway fight, in which he wears a three piece suit and removes only the jacket.

* ''[[Act of Valor]]'': Invoked by [[Non-Action Guy|Senior]] [[Retired Badass|Chief]] when he interrogates Christo on his yacht.

* Pretty much the only time that Loki isn't in his Asgardian garb in ''[[The Avengers (film)|The Avengers]]'' is when he goes to a museum gala in Stuttgart, Germany, wearing a fancy tux (with [[Color-Coded Characters|green and gold]] accents, natch.) Loki then proceeds to [[Eye Scream|rip out some dude's eye]] and [[Kneel Before Zod|terrorize a crowd of civilians]].

** Another badass in a suit from ''[[The Avengers (film)|The Avengers]]'': Agent Coulson. His suit is always impeccable, and he seemingly never loses his cool.

 

== Literature ==

* Assassins in ''[[Discworld]]''. If they don't wear black, they reason, they might as well just be thugs who kill people for money.

* Subverted in ''[[Neverwhere]]''. Croup and Vandemar are contract killers who wear suits, but the suits look like they were made by someone who had only had a suit described to them and so looked creepily off.

** Not helping matters was that the suits were on Croup and Vandemar.

* Butler from ''[[Artemis Fowl]]'' is never described as wearing anything other than a suit, as befits his professionalism, and will beat up almost anyone who threatens [[Heterosexual Life Partners|Artemis, whom he is charged with protecting]]

 

== Live Action TV ==

* The F.I.R.M. from ''[[Airwolf]]''. Especially Archangel.

* Marcus Hamilton in the last season of ''[[Angel]]'', who was more or less the Terminator with etiquette. After being told his friends were running from "a tall, well-dressed..." and then Hamilton bursting upon the scene, Angel remarked, "Wow. He really is well-dressed." The season previous, Gunn attended a fancy party, and in order to blend had to wear a suit...and then had to beat up a bunch of warrior monk-types, which he lamented would get blood on it. (It didn't, though. He's that good.)

* Brother Mouzone in ''[[The Wire]]'' is possibly the epitome of this trope. Not only does he wear an immaculate three-piece suit at all times (with a very sensibly-sized handgun underneath), but also [[Nerd Glasses]] and a [[Real Men Wear Pink|''little red bowtie'']]. But [[Badass Bookworm|do not underestimate]] his ability to ''fuck you up''.

* ''[[Dollhouse]]'': In classic MIB style, all the handlers are, in Topher's words, "security guards in very lovely suits." Boyd and Dominic look especially good when [[Kicking Ass and Taking Names]].

* Michael Westen of ''[[Burn Notice]]'', when not undercover is almost always seen with an Armani suit and his signature designer shades. [[Awesome but Impractical|Never mind that in Miami's weather that suit would probably kill him]], [[Rule of Cool|it just looks that awesome]].

* ''[[White Collar]]'' The whole show is this - considering that Peter and Neal are very rarely not in suits when in the thick of action.

* Put simply, villains from ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'' seem to ''love'' this trope. We have:

* ''[[The Thick of It]]'': Malcolm Tucker looks remarkably un-scary—even emasculated—in casual clothes. Put the man in a suit, however, and he'll chew you the ''fuck'' out.

* The Gentlemen from ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' float around ripping people's hearts out while dressed in sharp black suits.

* Barney Stinson on ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]''. Suit up!

* Zig zagged in ''[[The Sopranos]]'' ,the mobsters like to wear vulgar sportswear most of the time but they dress up according to their fancy businessmen status when the occasion requires it.

* Every male character on ''[[Boardwalk Empire]]'', in gorgeous [[The Roaring Twenties|20's-era]] three-piece suits.

* In ''[[Person of Interest]]'', pretty much all Officer Carter needs to hear in a situation is "a guy in a nice suit" to know it is Reese's doing.

* Elijah Mikaelson from ''[[The Vampire Diaries]]'' definetly qualifies.

 

== Music ==

* [[MC5]] frontman Rob Tyner, combined with [[Afro Asskicker]].

* [[Pitbull]]

 

== Professional Wrestling ==

* The Four Horsemen were always dressed to the nines when they weren't inside the ring, as they lived the life of playboy superstar athletes.

* Big Bubba Rogers, the bodyguard of [[Jim Cornette]], always wore a suit even when wrestling. He later became Big Bossman, the [[Wrestling Doesn't Pay|wrestling prison guard]].

 

== Tabletop Games ==

* Commissars and Inquisitors in ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]'' favor [[World of Ham|comparatively]] conservative suits and uniforms. The Inquisitors add [[Powered Armour]] and tote an [[Infinity+1 Sword]], while Commissars add gold epaulets and [[Commissar Cap|huge dictator caps]].

 

== Video Games ==

* Niko in ''[[Grand Theft Auto IV]]''. In the later part of the game, the player can buy various high class outfits, a few of them being business suits.

* Agent 47 from the ''[[Hitman]]'' series.

* Oswald from ''[[The King of Fighters]]''.

* Mr. Burke from ''[[Fallout|Fallout 3]]''. While nearly everyone else in Megaton is a dirty, ragged-looking peasant, Burke is rather snazzy in his white suit, fedora, and tortoise-shell glasses.

* The Crimson Viper from ''[[Street Fighter]] 4'' wears a business suit with lightning generators in her sleeves and rocket boots disguised as high heels.

* In ''[[Suikoden III]]'', of all games, there is a practitioner of this trope: Amidst the medieval-fantasy armor and [[Rummage Sale Reject]]s, you will find [[Psycho for Hire|Yuber]], in a dapper, vaguely-Chinese black suit and [[Nice Hat|fedora]], [[Ax Crazy|gleefully chopping people up]].

* Nick, the con man from ''[[Left 4 Dead|Left 4 Dead 2]]'' wears what [[Unreliable Narrator|he claims to be]] a $3000 suit during the [[Zombie Apocalypse]]. Whether or not he's telling the truth, he does look snazzy.

* Almost all the mobsters in ''[[The Godfather (video game)|The Godfather]]: The Game'' wear suits with ties and [[Nice Hat|hats]]. The Cuneos and Barzinis stay in this trope despite using red and green respectively because they stand by dark shades. Your character initially doesn't have a suit, but you can buy several kinds of coats.

** There's also [[Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire|Steven]], [[Pokémon Diamond and Pearl|Darach, Lucian, Riley]] and [[Pokémon Red and Blue|Giov]][[Pokémon Gold and Silver|anni]] (the latter two having [[Nice Hat|fedoras]]), to the point they are difficult to imagine in any other style. Not to mention the waiters/waitresses and maids...

* ''[[Persona 3]]'' features the option to dress all the male characters in tuxedos.

* In ''[[Perfect Dark]]'', the [[The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard|DarkSim's]] default outfit is this.

* ''[[Guilty Gear]]'' has [[Cultured Badass|Slayer]]

* Albert Wesker in ''[[Resident Evil]]'' games ''[[Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles|The Umbrella Chronicles]]'' and ''[[Resident Evil 4|4]]''.

 

== Web Comics ==

* ''[[Homestuck]]''

** Each protagonist makes himself new clothes after acquiring enough alchemy ingredients. John gets a rather dashing teal suit, but Dave later one-ups him by making a tuxedo, complete with bowtie!

** The Midnight Crew, who live this trope with a healthy dash of noir and more than a touch of sociopathy (although in the case of [[Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain|Clubs Deuce]], the "badass" part is ... debatable).

** Same thing goes for the Felt, especially with Doc Scratch.

 

== Web Original ==

* [[Meaningful Name|Legend]] from the flash series ''[[Xin]].'' In the second half he trades the full suit coat for a waistcoat, and when it's time to get serious he tears it off and rolls up his sleeves.

* Maxwell Lombardi in V4 of ''[[Survival of the Fittest]]''. V1 villain [[Made of Iron|Jacob Starr]] also wore a suit in the early part of the game, before replacing the jacket with [[Badass Longcoat|a trenchcoat]].

 

== Western Animation ==

* General Molotov on ''[[Jimmy Two-Shoes]]'' dresses this way.

* CIA Agent Stan Smith on ''[[American Dad]]'' always wears a suit.

* Brick in ''[[Young Justice (animation)|Young Justice]]''. He is, needless to say, quite upset when the suit is ruined in battle. Do you know how much it costs to get a suit in his size?

 

== Real Life ==

**** Keep in mind that they ''were'' on strike at the time. They likely wouldn't be wearing the actual clothes they worked in, opting for regular day-wear (of that time-period).

* Most military services in formal dress uniforms.

 

{{reflist}}