Category:What the Hell, Hero?: Difference between revisions

{{IndexTrope}}

[[File:Sarda What The Hell.png|link=8-Bit Theater|frame|Except [[Token Good Teammate|Fighter]]. [[Guilt by Association Gag|He's a casualty.]]]]

When characters [[In-Universe]] call out one of the heroes for doing something clearly unheroic, if not outright heinous.

Occasionally, an author will drop some [[Black and Gray Morality|gr]][[Grey and Gray Morality|ay]] into his otherwise flawlessly good guy hero... and have others ''notice.'' This can add guilt and remorse to a character as they [[Kick the Morality Pet|feel shame for their evil actions]], and legitimately have to fight to [[Clear My Name|restore their name]], [[Must Make Amends|undo the harm]], or simply live with the guilt and shame of it. In this case, you can expect to hear some variation of "Haven't you done enough already?" More extremely, it can be the first step towards [[Anti-Hero]]-dom or a full-blown [[Face Heel Turn]]. A [[Redemption Quest]] is usually considered the most noble or morally good way to respond to this.

It shows the fans that the author knows their hero did wrong, thereby averting [[Moral Dissonance]].

The opposite of [[Protagonist-Centered Morality]]; contrast also [[Designated Hero]] and [[Hero Insurance]]. See also [[What Is Evil?]] and [[Not So Different]] for when a ''villain'' is the one pointing this out, or acting as though there's something to point out to mess with the hero. (A variation is when the villain will ''praise'' the hero, which [[Your Approval Fills Me with Shame|the hero will find profoundly humiliating]].)

Almost never applies to those [[Powers That Be]] who have an [[Omniscient Morality License]], although characters who [[Rage Against the Heavens]] might attempt it. Likewise, villains tend to be immune to this thanks to their [[It's All About Me]] attitude (or, at best, [[Moral Myopia]]), though a [[Heel Realization]] might clue them in, perhaps leading to a [[Villainous BSOD]]. (Then again, this trope doesn't really apply to [[For the Evulz|villains who aren't even]] ''[[For the Evulz|trying]]'' [[For the Evulz|to do anything decent for the world in the first place]].) Those pesky [[Trickster Mentor]]s may also find themselves on the receiving end of [[Rage Against the Mentor]].

Some video games offer dialogue trees or something similar that might allow your character to call someone out for their horrible behaviour, which can be immensely satisfying. If your character is the one being called out, it's [[What the Hell, Player?]] [[My God, What Have I Done?]] may be a self-inflicted version. Can come right off the heels of a [[Sadistic Choice]] foisted on the player in a video game. The hero may attempt to invoke [[I Did What I Had to Do]] as his justification, though this does not always succeed. Of course, those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, and one should beware of his own [[Moral Myopia]] leading to [[The Complainer Is Always Wrong]]. Results may vary against the [[Sociopathic Hero]] or [[The Unfettered]]; beware you don't get a [[Shut Up, Kirk]] or [[Hannibal Lecture]] in response.

'''Important note''': This article is ''exclusively'' about scenes where the hero is called on his morally ambiguous or directly evil actions by characters ''in the story''. '''If the [[Designated Hero]] is a [[Jerkass]] (or worse), but no one calls him on it in the series, then take your example to [[Moral Dissonance]] or [[Designated Hero]].'''

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Character Reaction Index]]

[[Category:Tropes of Legend]]

[[Category:Tragedy]]

[[Category:Dialogue]]

[[Category:Characterization Tropes]]

[[Category:Morality Tropes]]

[[Category:Older Than Dirt]]

[[Category:Blame Tropes]]

'''Category:What the Hell, Hero?'''

[[Category:Corruption Tropes]]