Big Good: Difference between revisions

 

<!-- %%Picture choosen on Image Pickin' http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1324762680022160100 Please do not change without discussing first. -->

 

[[Authority Equals Asskicking]] is in full force most of the time, with the Big Good usually starting off several orders of magnitude more powerful than [[The Hero]]. The character may even be servant to [[The Man Behind the Man|a greater good]] just like his or her evil counterpart is servant to a greater evil. Unlike the [[Big Bad]], however, the Big Good ''can'' be taken down rather early- to show [[The Worf Effect|just how powerful the enemy has gotten]] by that point or [[My Death Is Only the Beginning|as part of a greater plan.]] One of the more common ways this is done is to have the two Bigs confront each other directly, with the Big Good coming up short. For extra pathos, the [[Big Bad]] was [[The Paragon Always Rebels|once their second in command.]] Expect [[The Hero]] or some other member of the [[True Companions]] to take up the mantle by time the [[Grand Finale]] comes round.

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.

 

 

Do note that this trope is about a character ''role'' and as such there are multiple [[Heroic Archetype|Heroic Archetypes]] that can fulfill this role, including but not limited to:

 

At its most general, the Big Good title simply refers to '''the leader of the largest group opposing the [[Big Bad]]'''. Keep this in mind when suggesting examples.

 

== Anime & Manga ==

** Kittan fills Kamina's role while Simon is having his [[Heroic BSOD]], and continues to be a secondary [[Big Good]] while Simon has the helm.

* Alex Row from ''[[Last Exile]]''.

* 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.

* Koutarou Taiga from ''[[Gao Gai Gar]]''. (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.)

* Lord Mallory from ''[[Full Metal Panic]]''.

* [[Physical God|Primus]] serves this role in ''[[Transformers]] [[Transformers Armada (Anime)|Unicron Trilogy]].

* Hakuoro of ''[[Utawarerumono]]''. He was both [[The Hero]] and emperor of his country, which under his leadership went around smiting bad guys.

** [[Black and Gray Morality|Kinda]][[Reasonable Authority Figure|sorta.]] Still better than the other side, though.

** Depends on who you ask, but this seems to be shared equally among four contenders: Yamamoto is the [[Big Bad]]'s equal in power, Kisuke Urahara is the [[Big Bad]]'s equal in intellect, Shinji Hirako somewhat combines the two as the most direct threat to the [[Big Bad]] personally, and {{spoiler|Isshin Kurosaki}} is able to take on the [[Big Bad]] in one-on-one combat.

* 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 [[Big Good]] is split between Colonel Roy Mustang and {{spoiler|Van Hohenheim}}, the two filling the roles of [[Supporting Leader]] and [[The Messiah]] respectively. While {{spoiler|Hohenheim}} is the only one that can match the Big Bad's sheer power, Mustang's efforts [[The Strategist|coordinating the Amestris military]] can't be ignored.

** At the same time [[Manipulative Bastard|Lieutenant General Grumman]] and [[Four Star Badass|Major General Armstrong]].

* ''[[Soul Eater]]'''s Big Good is Death, ironically. He's the head of the school that trains the heroes, gives them their missions and is the only one capable of going head to head with the Big Bad. Also, he's the one the villains are worried about; the heroes themselves are a much lower priority.

* In more recent chapters of ''[[One Piece (Manga)|One Piece]]'', Silvers Rayleigh seems to operate in this capacity, being likely the strongest and most traveled ally of the Straw Hats, and taking on a mentor/trainer role for [[The Hero|Luffy]]. Rayleigh was merely a [[Retired Badass]] despite being powerful enough to hold this role all along, until Luffy's determination (and similarity to Rayleigh's old captain, Gold Roger) impressed him enough to get him to come out of retirement.

* Ceiphied aka the Flare Dragon of ''[[Slayers]]''. Fought the [[Big Bad]] Shabranigdu to a draw (of sorts) 5,000 years ago, thus saving the world from being a rather [[Crapsack World|gloomy place]]. He also perished in the deed, but his released essence gave birth to a whole hierarchy of lesser dragonlords who still keep the Mazoku (demons) in check.

* The [[Power Trio|Three Dark Lords]] of ''[[Rosario to Vampire]]'', or at least the two who are still alive, seem to fill this role.

** Erza still has the capability to become this in the future. She's arguably stronger than [[Idiot Hero|Natsu]] and definitely more levelheaded. The main thing holding her back is her age (which is never actually given, but she's somewhere in her late teens or early twenties).

*** She was 19 about the time of her introduction - [http://www.mangareader.net/135-7145-1/fairy-tail/chapter-30.html as seen here]. Half a year has passed by since then, but it is unknown if she has turned 20.

** Of course, Lelouch suffers from not being all that big, as ''[[Authority Equals Asskicking]]'' is not in effect, despite a common front-lines presence... At least, not for him.

* There are a few examples in ''[[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]]'', though none of them are without their twists (or spoilers):

** Then, in the latter half of the [[Grand Finale]]... {{spoiler|[[From a Certain Point of View]], we have [[The Messiah|Madoka]] herself. This one is... [[Mind Screw|complicated.]] On the one hand, she's almost certainly the greatest positive force in the universe at this point, being quite literally the hope that allows magical girls to escape the [[Fate Worse Than Death|horrible fate]] of becoming [[Eldritch Abomination|witches.]] On the other hand, since she's [[Ascended to A Higher Plane of Existence]] (we did mean ''literally'' [[Abstract Apotheosis]]) and is only remembered as an actual entity by at most two people, it's debatable whether she can qualify for a trope which usually applies to... well, people.}}

** And, finally, again in the latter half of the [[Grand Finale]], we have {{spoiler|''[[Sufficiently Advanced Aliens|Kyubey]]'', of all people. Ironically enough, given [[Big Bad|his earlier status]] in the series and [[Faux Affably Evil|his true nature]], he's probably the straightest example here, now that the system dictates that it's more profitable for him to work in the magical girls' favour rather than [[Manipulative Bastard|manipulating]] them.}}

** [[Spider Man]] fufills this at points, if Steve is the [[The Messiah|Soul]] of the Marvel Universe then Parker is definately the [[Incorruptible Pure Pureness|Heart]]. He manages to unite even the most cynical of heroes and [[Moral Event Horizon|loathesome]] villians together or brings out the best in them with his optimism and true everyman nature.

* Jolt was the Big Good to Baron Zemo's Big Bad in the first few years of Thunderbolts. In some ways Hawkeye was the Big Good after he joined.

* Trevor Bruttenholm, director of the BPI in the ''[[Hellboy (Comic Book)|Hellboy]]'' comics.

* Admiral Gar Stazi for the Galactic Alliance Remnant in ''[[Star Wars Legacy]]''.

* 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]].

* 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.

* Dumbledore in ''[[Harry Potter (Literature)|Harry Potter]]''.

** Subverted in that while everyone ''else'' thinks the Big Good is Dumbledore, ''Dumbledore'' thinks the Big Good is Harry, and even mentions that he himself is expendable. Also subverted in that while he is the leader of Good against all Evil, he himself takes some reaaally questionable methods every now and then. All for the Greater Good and justifiable, but he isn't a white dove. Then again, the leader should never be.

*** In the practical sense, however, {{spoiler|Moody and, after ''he'' dies, Kingsley}}, seem to be Dumbledore's designated successors.

** Off-screen, {{spoiler|Neville}} is this for Hogwarts during ''Deathly Hallows'': it's implied by the way he talked that he stood up and took a lot of crap so the other students wouldn't have to, he was the only leader of the DA to remain at school for the entire year, and during the Second Battle of Hogwarts, he was explicitly shown leading an attempt to ''kill Death Eaters en masse'' using Mandrakes.

** Godric Gryffindor himself is described this way, being a man of honor and courage, a champion duelist, and an enlightened fighter against the discrimination of Muggle-borns, and the model to follow for not just Gryffindors, but any of the ouright good guys.

* Gandalf in ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''; after the Ring and Sauron are gone, Aragorn takes over to lead Middle-earth into the Fourth Age.

* Aslan in the ''[[Narnia]]'' books. Naturally, given [[Crystal Dragon Jesus|just what he is]].

* Most of the Atreides rulers in the ''[[Dune]]'' novels, outside of their origin stories.

** Until the third book, Vin seems to have taken up his mantle.

* Mentor of Arisia, in the [[Lensman]] series.

** Xaphania, perhaps?

*** If only she was still around instead of suffering [[A Fate Worse Than Death]] for her original rebellion against the Authority.

* Michael in ''[[The Guardians]]'' series is the Doyen of the [[Our Angels Are Different|Guardians]]. He's their leader and it's his job to recruit new Guardians, enforce the Rules and facilitate the [[Brought Down to Normal|Fall]] or [[Ascend to A Higher Plane of Existence|Ascension]] of retiring Guardians. He was also the first Guardian ever changed.

* Luke Skywalker in the [[Star Wars Expanded Universe]], most notably the novels. According to George Lucas' [[Word of God]] Anakin had the potential to become far more powerful than Emperor Palpatine, but due to his injuries on Mustafar had difficulty realizing that potential during his lifetime. Luke inherits that power and realizes it to the point where he becomes the most powerful Force User who has ever lived in the entire Star Wars canon. Luke has countless feats to his name but some that stand out include: Walking directly on top of a lava flow in order to impress an apprentice, during the Yuuzhan Vong War took on over a hundred enemy troops who individually could take on hundreds of Republic soldiers and cut them down with such alarming speed that fellow Jedi could only see Luke's after-image, manipulating the gravity of a black hole and moving it so as to prevent it from destroying the Galactic Republic's forces and sends it back to the enemies who cast it, and perhaps most impressive of all defeating a resurrected Emperor Palpatine in single combat by cutting off his hand which is especially notable as Palpatine is considered the most powerful Sith user and one of the greatest lightsaber duelists who ever lived. By the time Luke is in his prime it becomes easily understood why Luke became the Grand Master of the New Jedi Order, one even more powerful and wise than Yoda ever was.

* In ''[[The Man Who Was Thursday]]'', there's the "man in the dark room" who made the protagonists policemen, though he doesn't seem to play much of an active role in the story; it's more that his very existence is a source of inspiration and hope for them. He may or may not also be {{spoiler|God -- and he is certainly also Sunday, who the protagonists thought was the [[Big Bad]] but who was really doing it all for their own good}}. It's kind of complicated.

** He implicitly denies being {{spoiler|God}}, but he is pretty clearly of a higher order than all the other characters.

** It's a bit of a disservice to say Ben Sisko was the embodiment of good. He was an accessory to two murders of Garak's, tricked the Romulans into the Dominion War which resulted in numerous Romulan deaths and he poisoned the atmosphere of a Maquis planet to spite Michael Eddington. All of that may be justifiable...but it wasn't "good".

* Subverted in ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', where Giles is nominally this but in practice tends to defer to Buffy.

*** The presence of a greater [[Big Good]] is implied in the Season 3 episode where the [[Final Boss Preview|First Evil]] was introduced, Angel is [[Driven to Suicide]] by the First Evil reminding him of every innocent life he's destroyed when evil. He attempts to commit suicide-by-sunrise, but fails because it suddenly clouds over and starts snowing just before the sun comes up. [[Law of Conservation of Detail|When they spent the entire episode complaining about the unseasonably warm and sunny weather they were getting that Christmas.]] <ref> Of course, some [[Wild Mass Guessing|Fanon theories]] on the cause of this include [[Santa Claus]] being the Big Good.</ref>

**** Unseasonably? They're in California. It's outright said that this is the first snowfall in Sunnydale history.

* 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 (TV)|Gokaiger]]'' has him expanded into this.

* President David Palmer (Senator in the first season) in the early years of ''[[Twenty Four|24]]''. As the President of the United States, he's the guy coordianting all the efforts to stop whatever bad thing is going on, while [[The Hero|Jack Bauer]] is the one in the trenches actually fighting the terrorists and stopping the nuke/virus/nerve gas/whatever. The relationship of complete and absolute trust that exists between him and Bauer is what makes David Palmer the straightest and most iconic example of this trope in the show: while other Presidents show up in later years, they're usually more of an [[Obstructive Bureaucrat]] (if not an outright [[President Evil]]).

 

 

== Music ==

 

 

** Depending on your interpretation of His place in the universe, it could be said that He isn't the [[Big Good]], because He is greater ''than even that''. He is the Big ''Everything'', because ''nothing'' is beyond His vision or power, with Evil just being another tool in his toolbox.

* 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.

* Many, though not certainly not all, religions with a deity or deities view them as this -- although some of the polytheistic ones have some as big goods, others as [[Big Bad|big bads]], and others as bystanders, of course.

 

* Statesman in ''[[City of Heroes]]'', [[Alternate Company Equivalent]] of [[Superman]], is the main signature character of the game, and avatar of the original lead developer Jack Emmert.

* ''[[The Legend of Zelda the Wind Waker (Video Game)|The Legend of Zelda the Wind Waker]]'' has a clear one in the King of Hyrule, similar to the Big Good in the ''[[The Legendof Zelda CDI Games (Video Game)|The Legendof Zelda CDI Games]]''. In ''[[The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess (Video Game)|The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess]]'', it's the Twilight Princess. In some installments, Zelda would probably be the best fit.

* Yuna from ''[[Final Fantasy X (Video Game)|Final Fantasy X]]'', which is just as well, since she is almost literally [[The Messiah]].

** Though most of Spira would say that it were the Maesters of Yevon.

* The Precursors in ''[[Jak and Daxter]]'', {{spoiler|especially after it becomes clear that they're neither extinct nor merely using recordings to communicate their advice and objectives to Jak}}.

** {{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.}}

** [[Player Character|Shepard]] becomes the [[Big Good]] for humanity in ''[[Mass Effect 3 (Video Game)|Mass Effect 3]]'' as s/he tries to rally the rest of the galaxy against the [[Eldritch Abomination|Rea]][[Abusive Precursors|pers.]] In return, s/he'll need to unite the other leaders of the races into cooperating with each other.

** Admiral Steven Hackett from the same game as well. He's become the de facto leader of humanity and the allied galactic forces.

* In ''[[Dark Forces Saga (Video Game)|Jedi Outcast]]'' and ''[[Jedi Academy]]'', Luke Skywalker, as the head of the Jedi Academy (and probably the most powerful Jedi ever, by other sources).

* Queen Fay in ''[[Overlord II]]'' is the ruler of Light Magic beings and the [[Evil Overlord]]'s foil. {{spoiler|Later on however while [[Heroic Sacrifice|sacrificing her energy]] during an [[Enemy Mine]] with the Overlord she ends up being corrupted and driven mad by his dark magic, becoming the [[Fallen Hero]] Dark Fay.}}

** Later, Ciel takes the place of Dr. Light as this in ''[[Mega Man Zero (Video Game)|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 (Video Game)|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.

** Except that in this case the polity represented by both of them was actually conquered by the [[Big Bad]] - Hinjo is still an active force, but much less important now than earlier on. Though, to be fair, a large part of the defeat of their force for good was one of their own [[Knight Templar|going insane in her attempts to impose order and virtue]].

** You could make a case that the Big Good is Roy, since he seems to be the strongest currently-living Good character and the most dedicated to thwarting the Big Bad.

** If you don't, he's at least the [[Discworld (Literature)|Vetinari]], in that his rule keeps everyone from killing everyone else.

* It had seemed for awhile that Mr. Verres of ''[[El Goonish Shive (Webcomic)|El Goonish Shive]]'' was this prior to being [[Kicked Upstairs]]. It's been practically confirmed in a recent strip, where he was explicitly compared to both [[Harry Potter (Literature)|Dumbledore]] and [[Lord of the Rings|Gandalf]].

* 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]]

* [[The Messiah|The Yostwell]] of ''[[The Questport Chronicles]]'', according to legend. It disappeared after a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] millennia ago, but left behind [[MacGuffin|a relic]] with a portion of its power.

 

 

* In season 5 of ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2003 (Animation)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2003]]'', the Ninja Tribunal occupied this role--even though, as the the turtles point out, they're kind of dicks.

* White Knight on ''[[Generator Rex (Animation)|Generator Rex]]'' is nominally this, but his actions often paint a picture of someone little better than [[Big Bad]] Van Kleiss.

* [[Kid Hero|Aang]] from ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender (Animation)|Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'', along with any Avatar, it's pretty much the job description. [[Cool Old Guy|Iroh]] would also count as the most powerful good guy (next to [[The Messiah|Aang]], arguably), the wisest, and the leader of the [[The Order|Order of the White Lotus.]]

* [[Batman (Franchise)|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 (Animation)|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 respected--if not ''the'' most respected--field agent in the entire organization.

* Thundera's [[The Good King|King]] Claudus from ''[[Thundercats 2011 (Western Animation)|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.

* [[Action Girl|Amanda Carey]] from ''[[Hurricanes (Animation)|Hurricanes]]'' is arguably this since she leads the Hurricanes into most of their efforts against [[Big Bad|Stavros Garkos']] evil plots.

[[Category:Master of the Index]]

[[Category:Big Good]]