Big Good: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
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Whereas the [[Big Bad]] is considered the ultimate evil to be defeated, the Big Good is the cornerstone of any heroic organization. This character is explicitly stated to be a counterpart to combat the forces of evil, likely calling all the shots in the organization and is normally the highest ranking or the absolute most powerful. Since [[The Hero]] is usually, but [[Anti-Hero|not]] [[Villain Protagonist|always]] synonymous with the protagonist, the Big Good does not always fill that role, as it is usually more dramatic for the protagonist to work upwards from the bottom. In fact, it may even be stated (at least in the beginning) that [[The Hero]] is expendable whereas this character is not. The Big Good is simply the most valuable member of the heroic movement in a given work, whether in terms of rank, function or wisdom. If not [[The Hero]], then they will most definitely be [[Mentor Archetype|the mentor]] to craft [[The Hero]] into being the weapon they need him to be.
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At the beginning of a series, expect the [[Big Bad]] to be much more worried about this character than about [[The Hero]]. In fact, [[The Hero]] may not even register on any antagonist's radar while all of them will be out to off the Big Good.
To illustrate, in the [[Five-Bad Band]], [[The Dragon]] is far more often the [[Rival]] or [[Worthy Opponent]] to [[The Hero]] than the [[Big Bad]] is. If that is the case the counterpart of the [[Big Bad]] would be the
Do note that this trope is about a character ''role'' and as such there are multiple [[Heroic Archetype
* [[The Captain]]
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* It's difficult to decide which lead from ''[[Legend of the Galactic Heroes]]'' better qualifies. While Reinhard continuously rises through the ranks and spends most of the series pretty much being the driving force of the Empire, he is much more morally flawed compared to Yang, who never attempts to rise past the rank of Admiral.
* Kamina, and later on (to a [[Took a Level In Badass|greater]] extent) Simon, from ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]''.
** Kittan fills Kamina's role while Simon is having his [[Heroic BSOD]], and continues to be a secondary
* Alex Row from ''[[Last Exile]]''.
* L from ''[[Death Note]]'' - a more uncommon [[Anti-Hero|Anti Heroic]] example.
* The Elder from ''[[Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple]]''. Almost certainly the strongest character in the series, it's fortunate that he's on the side of good.
** Lampshaded at one point when Sakaki, the tough-guy karate master, says he's going to capture Kushinada, the female jiujitsu master, and bring her to the Elder as a trophy. Kenichi has to remind himself that Sakaki is the good guy and Kushinada is evil.
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** Berah Ronah aka [[Mobile Suit Gundam F91|Cecily Fairchild]] in ''[[Crossbone Gundam]]''.
* Integra Hellsing from ''[[Hellsing]]''.
* Captain Bravo from ''[[Busou Renkin]]''. Then the second half of the series introduced a ''Bigger'' Good Guy who was ''his'' captain. He even makes the bigger part somewhat
* King Kai from ''[[Dragonball Z]]'s'' run. He's a mentor to Goku, one of the [[Physical God
** Supreme Kai as well, though apparently [[The Gods Must Be Lazy|anything that doesn't threaten the entire universe is beneath his notice]].
* Koutarou Taiga from ''[[GaoGaiGar]]''. (Not actually more powerful, but [[The Hero]] is a super-advanced cyborg and Taiga is a [[Badass Normal]] who can fight off the enemy boss with a golf club.)
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* The Queen in ''[[Futari wa Pretty Cure]]''.
** Couppe-sama and Granny Kaoruko{{spoiler|/Cure Flower}} jointly hold this position in ''[[Heartcatch Pretty Cure]]''.
* In the manga and second anime of ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'', against [[Big Bad|Father]], the role of
** At the same time [[Manipulative Bastard|Lieutenant General Grumman]] and [[Four-Star Badass|Major General Armstrong]].
* Pope Benedict in ''[[The Legend of Koizumi]]'', who leads the world's [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?|Mahjong-based]] defense against the [[Stupid Jetpack Hitler|Fourth]] [[Those Wacky Nazis|Reich]], who live on the moon and shoot meteors at major cities. [[It's Personal]] for him for some reason, probably due to his having grown up in the third one.
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== Comicbooks ==
* [[Superman]] is traditionally the chairman (and often acknowledged as the most powerful member) of the Justice League, and even when not acting in his capacity as a Leaguer most other heroes tend to defer to his authority and judgment if only out of respect. Sometimes generalized to the "Big Three" where Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman collectively comprise the
** Explicitly shown in the ''Trinity'' maxi-series, to the point where the three literally become gods.
** In any story involving the entire Bat Family, Batman will be this even more so than Superman. [[The Man Behind the Man|Alfred Pennyworth]] [[Battle Butler|is a kind of this]] even more than Batman.
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* John Connor in ''[[The Terminator]]'' films is fated to be one of these, and in ''[[Terminator Salvation]]'' he consequently is.
* Raiden from the ''[[Mortal Kombat (film)|Mortal Kombat]]'' movies, which most people agreed was a great use of [[Pragmatic Adaptation]]. The character in the games was not quite top-tier despite being a [[Physical God]].
** Regardless, he is usually the one calling the shots for the heroes. In the first game he was in it for himself and personal glory but after realizing the kinds of evil were threatening Earthrealm, he takes up the mantle of
* The White Queen from the Disney and [[Tim Burton]] version of ''[[Alice in Wonderland (film)|Alice in Wonderland]]''
* Odin is portrayed this way in the new ''[[Thor (film)|Thor]]'' film. Most of the film is about Thor proving himself worthy to succeed him as king of Asgard.
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** Until the third book, Vin seems to have taken up his mantle.
* Mentor of Arisia, in the [[Lensman]] series.
* The ''[[His Dark Materials]]'' trilogy has an interesting subversion: Because he is the leader of the forces opposing the [[Big Bad]], Lord Asriel could be said to fill this role, despite being pretty firmly an [[Anti-Villain]]. Of course, because the other leaders are not so morally questionable (as far as we know), all of them could more easily be said to be the ''collective''
** Xaphania, perhaps?
*** If only she was still around instead of suffering [[A Fate Worse Than Death]] for her original rebellion against the Authority.
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* Princess Ozma and Glinda the Good Witch both qualify for this in the [[Land of Oz|Oz books]].
* First Lord Gaius Sextus from the ''[[Codex Alera]]'', though he's also a [[Magnificent Bastard]] perfectly willing to [[Shoot the Dog]] for a good cause. {{spoiler|After he dies, [[The Hero|Tavi]] and Aquitainus Attis, formerly a borderline ''[[Big Bad]]'', split the role. When Attis dies, Tavi takes it completely}}.
** Of course, if you asked [[Our Elves Are Better|the Marat]], they'd say their chieftain Doroga was the
*** But if you asked Doroga or Varg personally, they'd probably say it was Tavi.
* Boron, from the ''[[Guardians of Ga'Hoole]]'' books fits trope quite well, being King of Ga'hoole and therefore leader of the Guardians, though the some of other senior Guardians (like Boron's wife, Barran, or Ezylryb) also fit the trope more of less quite well. though the traits of a Big Good in these characters are shown to be somewhat more definitive and pronounced in the film adaptation.
* In the ''[[John Carter of Mars]]'' books, Tardos Mors, the ruler of
* Christopher Robin is this to the animals in ''[[Winnie the Pooh]]''. Not that there are any [[Big Bad
* Ardneh in the ''Empire of the East'' trilogy by Fred Saberhagen. So much so that the [[La Résistance|good guys]], or some of them at least, worship him as a god, even though he denies being one.
* Allanon in the first ''[[The Sword of Shannara]]'' and its many sequels. Just because you're the
* D'ol Falla from the [[Green-Sky Trilogy]] becomes this after making up her mind to [[The Atoner|atone]] for her actions while leading the [[Knight Templar|Geets-Kel]].
* Firestar in every ''[[Warrior Cats]]'' arc after the first.<ref>and excluding the fifth, which will be a prequel</ref>
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* Subverted in ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', where Giles is nominally this but in practice tends to defer to Buffy.
** Also subverted in that the Watchers Council seems to see themselves as this and is indeed traditionally in charge of the Slayer's fight against evil (a tradition Buffy never follows), but they also use [[I Did What I Had to Do|cruel methods]] like torture and [[Secret Test of Character|rendering Slayers defenseless before locking them up with a vampire]]. A further subversion, emphasized in ''Angel'', is that the celestial Powers That Be share similar [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]] flaws as the Watcher Council.
*** The presence of a greater
**** Unseasonably? They're in California. It's outright said that this is the first snowfall in Sunnydale history.
* Jacob from ''[[Lost]]''. Somewhat subverted in that he's a very "hands-off" kind of
* [[Batman (TV series)|Batman]] in the live action series is basically this for Gotham, owing to an extremely cordial relationship with the police and citizens, who hold him in awe. One episode in which he went missing lampshaded this, as Commissioner Gordon and Chief O'Hara were basically paralyzed, reeling in horror at the prospect of actually having to try ''solving a case themselves''.
* The ''[[Super Sentai]]'' franchise as a whole has AkaRed. He's the closest thing to a [[Physical God]] Ranger. Though originally an [[Original Generation]] character for ''[[Gou Gou Sentai Boukenger|Boukenger]] vs Super Sentai'', his role in ''[[Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger|Gokaiger]]'' has him expanded into this.
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== Religion ==
* [[The Bible|Yahweh]], obviously. Same goes for His son, Jesus. Actually something of a subversion in that while He ''is'' undoubtedly the universal
** In the old pre-exilic Israelite religion, El was the King of the universe and head of the Divine Council. YHWH was his firstborn and most beloved son who by far outranked and superceded the others in every respect.
** Depending on your interpretation of His place in the universe, it could be said that He isn't the
* Hinduism has a plethora of these. Vishnu on a cosmic scale, some of his avatars like Rama on the wordly scale, and Indra of the early Rig Veda. Yudhishtir is another one.
** Interestingly, the different sects of Hinduism are basically distinguished by who they believe is the cosmic
* Many, though not certainly not all, religions with a deity or deities view them as
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* The Unconquered Sun of ''[[Exalted]]'' was created to be an ultimate hero-type being in order to give the Cosmic Principle of Villainy, the Dragon's Shadow (eventually the Ebon Dragon) something to compare himself against and therefore the ability to actually do stuff.
* [[Warhammer 40000|The Emperor of Mankind]] (almost) died for our sins and remains humanity's only defense against being snuffed out like a candle in a hurricane. Of course, as he's a near-corpse on a chair that eats humans, whose only real input on the Imperium is psychic landing lights through the warp, whether he's the actual "leader" as opposed to the figurehead whose will is interpreted by legions of bureaucrats and spread around the galaxy as literal gospel (as well as whether the Imperium itself is not the "Big Bad" itself) can be debated. Except in the presence of the [[Commissar]].
* The leaders of the three POV organisations (Boris Ivanov for the [[The Men in Black|Institute]], Buran for [[Private Military Contractors|DEFENDER]], and Akela for [[Mad Scientist|Utopists]]) in [[Age of Aquarius]]. [[The Archmage|Semyon Nikolaev]] may count as the overall
** Note that this is a universe where gods and even [[God]] definitely exist and are active. No, they are not any kind of
== Videogames ==
* They tend to vary in ''[[Super Robot Wars]]'', but whoever the canonical big goods of various series usually are will defer to one (though there can be more) major
* [[Fantasia|Yen Sid]], as of the more recent games in the ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'' series. [[Final Fantasy VIII|Leon / Squall]] leads most of the supporting cast, but Yen Sid is the guy ''King Mickey'' goes to for advice. He's currently {{spoiler|co-ordinating the effort to rescue those suffering and prepare for Xehanort's reincarnation.}}
* The various leaders of the three home nations in ''[[Final Fantasy XI]]'', as well as the Archduke of Jeuno. {{spoiler|He actually pulls double duty, as all the problems with the Shadow Lord in the present are because of him and his brother}}.
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** Though most of Spira would say that it were the Maesters of Yevon.
* Gran Kiltias Anastasis from ''[[Final Fantasy XII]]'', though after {{spoiler|Judge Bergan has a bit of fun}}, the onus falls on Larsa. Larsa is wildly subverted in that in his current state, he has absolutely no power, isn't the leader of [[La Résistance]], and is a proponent of the Empire. However, there is consensus between more or less everyone that it isn't Vayne, Venat, or Doctor Cid, but Larsathat needs to be on the throne, and that only then will peace return to Ivalice.
** ''[[Final Fantasy XII]]'' has an interesting take on The
*** It's also interesting that Vayne probably considers himself The
* As Myrrah from ''[[Gears of War]]'' cements herself as the [[Big Bad]], it would seem that the Big Good of the story is Adam Fenix, Marcus' father who had apparently died some 4 years before the games. {{spoiler|Except his voice at the end of the second game credits...}}
* Every ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' expansion tends to have one. In the Burning Crusade, A'dal stood at the literal center of Outland, and occasionally players would kite monsters to him to see A'dal deal ridiculous damage. In Wrath of the Lich King the role belongs to Tirion Fordring, the leader of the Argent Crusade. In Cataclysm, we have Alexstrasza the Life-Binder, queen of the dragons and Deathwing's heroic counterpart. Also, to some extent, this applies to most of the faction leaders in the game (Thrall, Varian Wrynn, etc.)
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** {{spoiler|Nor nearly as "big" as they made themselves out to be... Not that it stops them being the most important aid the heroes get in the end.}}
* The Council trio in ''[[Mass Effect]]'', to the extent that succesfully convincing them of the existence and nature of the [[Big Bad]] would end the story early. {{spoiler|Sovereign's}} whole scheme basically revolves around avoiding a direct confrontation with the Council armada, because it'd definitely get its [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|ass kicked in a fair fight]]. That is, unless you {{spoiler|let them be killed so that [[Humanity Is Superior|humanity can take over the galaxy]]}} in the [[Anti-Hero|Renegade]] ending.
** [[Player Character|Shepard]] becomes the
** Admiral Steven Hackett from the same game as well. He's become the de facto leader of humanity and the allied galactic forces.
** Admiral (formerly Captain and/or Councilor) Anderson fills this role for the human resistance back on Earth. The three of them essentially form a Big Good Ensemble.
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** Later, Ciel takes the place of Dr. Light as this in ''[[Mega Man Zero]]'', with the former [[The Lancer|Lancer]] Zero himself now as [[The Hero]] aiding her in fulfilling their dreams for a better future.
* Merlon from ''[[Super Paper Mario]]''. He helps out Mario and his friends by constantly researching the Light Prognosticus and instructing where to go next after recovering one of the Pure Hearts.
* The Grey Wardens as a whole are the
** In ''[[Dragon Age II]]'', Viscount Dumar is this for the second act, desperately trying to keep the peace {{spoiler|which ultimately fails when the very pissed off Arishok ultimately kills him in his takeover of Kirkwall}}. In act III, Grand Cleric Elthina is the only person keeping [[Knight Templar|Knight-Commander Meredith]] and [[The Archmage|First Enchanter Orsino]] actively acting out against each other. {{spoiler|Her death at the hands of Anders leads to open war between the two.}}
* ''[[Star Wars: The Old Republic]]'' has the role split between Satele Shan, Grand Master of the Jedi order, and Janarus, Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic.
* The Master of Whispers in ''[[Guild Wars]]: Nightfall'' runs an ancient organization of informants and agents watching for the return of dark powers. He soon joins you on the front lines of the struggle as one of the game's customizable Hero NPCs. Equally good but not quite as big are Evennia, leader of the Shining Blade revolutionaries, and Kormir, nominal leader of the Sunspears after the group is shattered. {{spoiler|Though Kormir becomes ''very'' big of a good when she ascends as the Goddess of Truth.}}
** Queen Salma in the War In Kryta arc, and in ''[[Guild Wars 2]]'', Queen Jennah for humans and the imperators of each legion for the Charr. A strange case in that each of the [[Guild Wars 2]] Big Goods are [[Big Bad
* Yukari Yakumo serves this role in the ''[[Touhou]]'' series after she's introduced, being the creator and maintainer of Gensokyo. Often, she would prod [[The Hero|Reimu]] to get off [[Brilliant but Lazy|her lazy butt]] and go into action, and woe betide you if you should endanger Gensokyo to the point where [[Reality Warper|she herself would intervene]].
** Calling Yukari a
* In ''[[Starcraft]]'' {{spoiler|it is the Overmind, of all characters. He is revealed in the sequel to have seen a vision of the future and that he orchestrated all of the events of the first game so that all of the races in the sector may have a fighting chance against the Xel'Naga when they return and that the Zerg may be free from the corruption of The Void}}
** For the Protoss its Tassadar and Zeratul.
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** The Carrington Institute develops advanced computer software, hardware, and weaponry (all of which is put to good use by their agents). They are also the creators of the "null-g" technology, which lead to the development of hovercars. As a diplomatic party, they maintain peaceful relations with the Maians.
* Shuji Ikutsuki fron [[Persona 3]], leader and founder of SEES but not a frontline fighter and Persona user. {{spoiler|Horribly subverted when it turns out he's been using S.E.E.S. to bring about the Fall.}}
* In the ''[[Neverwinter Nights]]'' series, the
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== Web Original ==
* [[Whateley Universe|Whateley Academy]]'s headmistress, Elizabeth Carson. Even the ''villains'' generally respect her.
* ''[[Fine Structure]]'': {{spoiler|Mitch Calrus, AKA Xio, is one of two [[Eldritch Abomination
* ''[[That Guy With The Glasses]]'': SANTA CHRIIIST, SANTA CHRIIIIIST!
* Subverted in the blog [http://sooniwillrule.blogspot.com/ Soon I will Rule The World], in that the Big Good, the Luchador security guard Santo Christo, is the Big Bad to the blog's villain protagonist [[Our Liches Are Different|Asmodeus Acerak]]
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* The Sorceress in ''[[He-Man and the Masters of the Universe]]''.
* Zadavia from ''[[Loonatics Unleashed]]''. Her twin brother, Optimatus, is [[Big Bad|her exact opposite]].{{spoiler|.. until his [[Heel Face Turn]] near the end of the series.}}
* In season 5 of ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2003]]'', the Ninja Tribunal occupied this
* White Knight on ''[[Generator Rex]]'' is nominally this, but his actions often paint a picture of someone little better than [[Big Bad]] Van Kleiss.
** To clarify, White Knight is, as his name implies, a borderline [[Knight Templar]], who [[Invoked Trope|invokes]] [[We Have Reserves]] to his men's faces when Rex {{spoiler|chooses to save a group of [[Red Shirt|Providence Soldiers]] over the data module they'd been sent to recover}}, and is more than willing to use [[Nuke'Em|Weapons of Mass Destruction]] in Urban areas if it means containing an E.V.O outbreak that was arguably nowhere near the [[Godzilla Threshold]].
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* [[Batman]] in ''[[Young Justice (animation)|Young Justice]]'', who may seem (and sometimes is) hard and strict on the team, but he ultimately praises them and encourages them to work together.
* Numbuh 362, or Rachel MacKenzie from ''[[Codename: Kids Next Door]]''.
** Numbuh One, in a way, being [[The Hero|the main team's personal leader]] and, despite Sector V's poor reputation, one of the most
* [[Everything's Better with Princesses|Princess Celestia]] from ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'' is ruler over the whole setting, fully embodies [[Large and In Charge]] and is implied to be massively powerful. Easily the most intelligent person in the show, the main [[Big Bad]] of the first series is only a threat because of her absence.
* Thundera's [[The Good King|King]] Claudus from ''[[Thundercats 2011|ThunderCats (2011)]]'' Though a [[Noble Bigot]] and leader of [[The Empire]], he fights the good fight against ancient evil [[Sorcerous Overlord]] Mumm-Ra, becoming the [[Sacrificial Lion]] of Mumm-Ra's invasion of his kingdom.
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