Battle Butler: Difference between revisions

A household or personal servant who acts as a "combat effective" despite their official position having nothing to do with combat.

 

 

Will very likely be a [[Submissive Badass]]. If they come from a ''[[Badass Family|long line]]'' of Battle Butlers serving that family, they're in a [[Legacy of Service]].

{{quote|'''Wayne:''' Do I want to know how you found this out -- and should I be concerned about any jealous husbands?

'''Alfred:''' You insult me, sir. Her husband was out of town. }}

* The not-very-useful British comic hero Red Star Robinson only really cut it as a hero because of his robot bodyguard Mr. Syrius Thrice who was much more powerful. Thrice was dressed as a gentleman's gentleman and had proper Jeeves/Crichton manners but had powers Batman would envy.

* Manute from ''[[Sin City]]'' fills this role for Ava Lord in "A Dame to Kill For" and for mob boss Wallenquist in "The Big Fat Kill."

* Peabody from ''[[Zot]]''

* Bryan Hand from ''[[Ms. Tree]]''. Mr Hand was officially employed Mike, Jr.'s tutor. However, Mr Hand is also a former SAS trooper and ex-mercenary. Michael hired him because he could double as Mike, Jr.'s bodyguard; a function he performed frequently throughout the series.

 

== Fan Works ==

* Alfred in ''[[The Darker Knight]]'' certainly fits this trope.

 

* Common in [[James Bond]] films.

** Oddjob in ''[[Goldfinger]]''. He's a dutiful butler, and he kills people. Lots of them. [[Improbable Weapon User|With his hat]].

* Cadbury from ''[[Richie Rich (comics)|Richie Rich]]''. When the villains send an assassin to make it look like he committed suicide, Cadbury ends up making quick work of the assassin and breaks out of prison.

* Inverted in the ''Pink Panter'' films by Cato, Clousseau's manservant. An expert in martial arts, Cato spends nearly all his time launching sneak attacks on his master, in order to keep him prepared for a real attack.

 

== Literature ==

* Thomas hires one to protect Kate in ''[[Sorcery and Cecelia|The Grand Tour]]''. Unforunately he's rubbish as a butler, but he's an excellent bodyguard.

 

* Deneb from ''[[Kamen Rider|Kamen Rider Den-O]]'', who's a comedic foil/caretaker to his broody partner and master, Yuto Sakurai.

** You forgot to mention ''why'' he's a combat butler. Which is, of course, being able to shoot bullets from his fingers.

* Higgins, Robin Master's Major Domo in [[Magnum, P.I.]] is a former sergeant in the British Army with a complex and colorful past (though not as complex and colorful as his father's past!). However he may no qualify since {{spoiler|there is a very good chance that he is the real Robin Master}}.

* Hermann in the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' serial ''[[Doctor Who/Recap/S17/E02 City of Death|City of Death]]'': "What a wonderful butler, he's so violent!"

 

== Professional Wrestling ==

** DiBiase's son recently went through the process of trying to recruit such a lackey, he even lampshades it by calling the position "his Virgil". After R-Truth and John Morrison turned him down, he eventually found his man... Virgil. Though their relationship only lasted a couple of months before Virgil got canned.

* And, of course, later in the [[WWF]], Triple H had Chyna, who was the rare female example that was ''not'' in [[Mad Love]]. (At least, in front of the camera...)

 

== Tabletop Games ==

* [[PvP]] has Butler the butler, a [[Jeeves and Wooster|Jeeves]] style character who moonlights as LOLBAT a memetic [[Batman]] style superhero.

* Cello from [[Fruit Incest]] doesn't do much battling, but despite being the butler he was still the [[Portal (series)|Companion Cube's]] right hand man and later became the leader of his division.

 

== Web Original ==

* Kosviel from ''[[Fate Nuovo Guerra]]'' has her Servant, Attila the Hun, who for some reason does household chores. She also has a straighter Battle Butler in her [[Captain Obvious|butler]] Klaus.

* Mister Joshua, the "personal secretary" of [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]] Lexington Cargill, from the ''[[Global Guardians PBEM Universe]]''. He fetches coffee, he retrieves information, he carries briefcases, and occasionally he beats up or kills those he is directed to beat up or kill.

 

== Western Animation ==

* Though he usually functions as a [[Yes-Man]] towards the series' villain Hordak, the character Imp in ''[[She-Ra: Princess of Power|She Ra Princess of Power]]'' also displays tendencies to function as a battle butler, most notably in the episode "Of Shadows and Skulls" wherein he attempted to force the other members of the Horde to oust Skeletor from Hordak's position. Also of note is the fact that he and Hordak tend to share a closer relationship than Hordak displays towards any of his other minions, a relationship that seems on par with the one he held for Adora and is hinted he held for Skeletor before the betrayal of the latter.

* While not technically a butler, Hammerheads driver in Spectacular Spider-man didn't have any problem's busting out a gun and opening fire on super powered people that went up against her boss, or using car-fu to fight off Rhino. She is one of the coolest characters in the show and doesn't even have a name.

 

== Real Life ==

 

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[[Category:Always Male]]

[[Category:Servant Tropes]]

[[Category:Characters As Device]]

[[Category:Stock Characters]]

[[Category:Alliterative Trope Titles]]

[[Category:Badass Servant]]