Automoderated users, Autopatrolled users, Bureaucrats, Comment administrators, Confirmed users, Moderators, Rollbackers, Administrators
214,551
edits
Looney Toons (talk | contribs) (Fixed link) |
mNo edit summary |
||
(8 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{trope}}
The character with a [[Small Name, Big Ego]] is the focus of the episode, and in the end his pretensions and facades are broken down to reveal a ''usually'' insecure and hurt
Usually, the last thing the character does at the end of the episode is [[Status Quo Is God|restore his full character]], so the viewer can go back to seeing him in the same stock way, but with an added understanding of the character's hidden depth.
{{examples
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* Asuka Langley Soryu from ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' has a [[Hair
* [[Naruto]] ''and'' Sasuke both have cases of this
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* Behind his gruff, skinflint exterior, [[Marvel]] has established that J. Jonah Jameson's hatred of ''[[Spider-Man]]'' stems from the fact that deep down, he knows Spidey '''is''' a selfless hero, and the fact that he can't compare makes him jealous.
** Notably, this close-up first happened towards the end of ''Amazing Spider-Man'' #1. I.e., he got his
*** In the storyline ''[[Spider Island]]'', JJ (like most of New York) temporarily gained spider-powers; he used them to help Spidey out in one fight, and at the end of the storyline he lights the windows of the Empire State Building in red and blue as a grudging "thank you".
** In one of his animated appearances, he argued that if Spider-Man was ''really'' a hero, he wouldn't need to hide his face with a
== [[Film]] ==
* [[Jerkass|Randal]]'s suddenly dramatic and heartfelt monologue at the climax of ''[[Clerks II]]''.
== [[Live
* Almost every episode of ''[[Home Improvement (TV series)|Home Improvement]]''.
* ''[[WKRP in Cincinnati]]'', '"Put Up Or Shut Up": Bailey convinces Jennifer to accept a date with Herb in the hope that he'll get scared and back down.
**
* This happened every once in a while with Alex on ''[[Family Ties]]''.
* Dan Fielding on ''[[Night Court]]'' got the treatment a couple times.
* Similarly Charlie on ''[[Empty Nest]]''.
* Ditto Bulldog in ''[[Frasier]]''.
* Kirk on ''[[Dear John (British series)|Dear John]]''.
* Whenever the Ferengi are featured in an episode of ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]''. Usually, Quark is the [[Small Name, Big Ego]] of the episode.
* In ''[[Scrubs]]'', Dr. Kelso's "His Story" episode was used as an opportunity to explore some of the softer sides of the character, ending with his character deciding that he was meant to be hated, and was satisfied with his place in the world.
* Several episodes of the US version of ''[[The Office]]'' have been dedicated to the fact that Michael Scott is really a sympathetic, nice guy.
** Also, he's actually a phenomenal salesman... it's just that these skills don't translate well into his managerial position.
* The earlier Sawyer-centric ''[[Lost]]'' episodes fit, before [[Character Development]] made them moot.
* Ted Baxter on ''
* The episode of ''[[Taxi]]'' in which Louie loses his job after peeking at Elaine through a hole in the lady's room.
* Happens often on ''[[The Colbert Report]]'', and usually results in the character talking himself out of it: "Snap out of it, Colber'''t'''!"
* The Sixth Doctor's run on ''[[
* Charles on [[
== [[Video Games]] ==
Line 44:
* An episode of ''[[Family Guy]]'' (where Peter gets amnesia) featured this with Quagmire, where after flirting with Lois after Peter dumps her, he gets her into bed, only for her to reveal that she likes Quagmire and feels like she can trust him. This causes him to have a played-with close-up, culminating in an [[Overly Long Gag]] of him going through increasingly painful and absurd attempts to get himself erect again.
* The ''[[Futurama]]'' episode "In-a-Gadda-da-Leela" seems to be this for Zapp, when he's shown to be kind and caring towards Leela (in his own inept way) when she's stuck under a log and it appears that they're the last two humans alive. {{spoiler|Subverted near the end, when every last good thing he's done in the episode is peeled back to be part of a charade to get back into her pants, even going as far as to show that he trapped her under the log and also managed to make an elaborate hoax of Earth's destruction}}.
* In ''[[
** Many episodes (particularly ones where the Xiaolin Dragons have strained relations) suggest that Omi fears being alone and believes that if he is perfect, he will be surrounded by adulating friends and admirers
** As shown during {{spoiler|the events leading to his betrayal}}, Rai becomes angry whenever he feels helpless or inadequate. It's straight-up stated in "Dream Stalker" that his lazy, jerk-ish attitude results from his fear of not being good enough and letting others down.
** And as early as the third episode, it's revealed that Kimiko deeply fears [[Damsel in Distress|needing others' help]] and wants to prove that [[Don't You Dare Pity Me!|she can keep up]] with the boys.
== [[Real Life]] ==
Line 54:
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Narrative Devices]]
[[Category:
|