Chaotic Good: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

 

 

 

* Type 1 are those who are more Chaotic than Good. They value freedom, and feel that they and others should be free to pursue their own desires- it just so happens that what they desire is to do good. They do not see doing good as a "duty" and may actively resent any attempts to compel them to do good even if the stakes are high, but will probably end up doing them anyway, justifying their actions by saying that this is what they ''want'' to do anyway. They are also the Type most likely to get annoyed by being called "[[The Hero]]" or something similar in context, though in practice this is often a [[Suspiciously Specific Denial]]. This is also the type most likely to be a [[Lovable Rogue]] who commits crimes for their own gain, but balance it out with [[Never Hurt an Innocent]] and doing lots of good elsewhere in their lives.

* Type 2 are those who are more Good than Chaotic. They desire to do good, but also feel that they have a ''responsibility'' to do good, and view freedom as a secondary (but still important) concern- essentially, they feel that being good is the price of being free, and they are more likely than Type 1 to use the law to achieve a good end. They are not opposed to the Lawful system and may even accept it as necesary or even good, but they will rarely if ever let it get in the way of doing what they feel is right, sometimes making them a herioc example of [[The Unfettered]]. However, this means they risk trampling on the rights and freedom of others and may push them into [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]] territory if they are not careful.

 

Unfortunately, characters of this alignment are the most likely good characters to be opposed by the [[Hero Antagonist]].

 

 

* [[Riding Into the Sunset]] - They just abandon authority altogether.

* Shift in Alignment - They just fail to reconcile their philosophy and their practical reality, try to reach too far with one campaign or another, and slide in alignment, either admitting the use of law and order, and sliding to [[Neutral Good]], or [[Jumping Off the Slippery Slope]] to [[Chaotic Neutral]] or [[Chaotic Evil]].

 

 

 

 

* Even though there are some situations where they can't always use this method, [[Lawful Good]] characters believe the best way is to have a specific, strict code of conduct, whether self-imposed or codified as a law. Their first impulse when making a moral decision is to refer back to this code; those with externally imposed systems (codes of laws, hierarchies, etc.) will try to work within the system when those systems go wrong. Depending on whether they are more Lawful or more Good, they will either refuse to break the code even though it would hurt someone, or else break it only very reluctantly, and only when it would hurt someone if they kept their code. [[Lawful Good]] characters have to be very good at [[Taking a Third Option]].

* [[Neutral Good]] characters are indifferent to [[Order Versus Chaos]], and their only interest is in doing good. They will use whatever means will promote the most good, whether that means tearing down a code of laws, following a code of laws, creating an orderly society, causing the breakdown of harmful kinds of order, or staying away from society altogether. Their only goal is to do good, full stop.

 

 

* [[Cloudcuckoolander]] - Those who aren't outright [[Chaotic Neutral]]

* If they are the protagonist, a [[Cowboy Cop]] or a [[Military Maverick]]. Otherwise, they might be [[Chaotic Neutral]].

* [[Conspiracy Theorist]], when they're a hero.

* Most heroic [[The Unfettered|Unfettered]]

* [[Lovable Rogue]]: if they are not [[Chaotic Neutral]]

* Many heroic [[The Berserker|berserkers]].

 

 

 

{{examples}}

 

 

== Anime and Manga ==

* [[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann|Kamina]], '[[The Messiah|big]] [[Crazy Awesome|time.]]''

** Simon cares only about doing what he sees as the right thing. Rules set by anyone else? He cheerfully ignores them. This includes rules ''of physics''. Really the only rule he's sure to obey is the [[Rule of Cool]].

* Ichigo from ''[[Bleach]]''. As he states when Rukia tries to pull a [[Threshold Guardians|threshold guardian]] event on him, he'll save innocents because ''he wants to'' and not out of some sense of moral obligation. She learns just how much this is true when he tears up the social structure of an entire afterlife just to save her, ''even though she told him not to''.

** Urahara Kisuke also fits this [[Trope]], which is unsurprising, as he's the closest thing Ichigo has to a mentor.

** Kaien Shiba, the former lieutenant of Squad 13 who is often compared to Ichigo, has a similar view on the law and morality, as Ukitake suggests that he'd put himself at risk and break the law to save Rukia. Renji, who is also quite similar to Ichigo, is willing to break the rules to stop Rukia's execution.

** [[Mask Power|The Vizard]] also fit this [[Trope]]. {{spoiler|Their reason for coming to Karakura town isn't because they particularly care about the people there, or the great cosmic battle between good and evil - they just want to get revenge on Aizen. Who just so happens to be the evil side of the equuation.}}

* Goku and the Z warriors from ''[[Dragonball Z]]'' fall under this alignment due to the fact that while they fight to protect the Earth, they follow their own rules on how to do it.

* The [[Irresponsible Captain Tylor]] is this, being benevolent and good-natured but not particularly inclined to following rules... of any sort. He is irresponsible, after all.

* ''[[Ranma ½]]'' has characters that swing all over the [[Character Alignment]] scale, with only a few who can truly be said to fit into a definitive alignment.

** Ryoga Hibiki, [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|Ranma's]] primary [[The Rival|rival]], is seen by many as either fitting somewhere in-between this category and [[Neutral Good]], or at the very least making heavy inroads in the direction after having started out more [[Chaotic Neutral]], and his good traits are especially admireable considering that his upbringing and current existence have been [[Word of God|stated and shown outright]] to have been far more traumatic than [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|Ranma's]]: with [[It Runs in The Family|his entire family]] afflicted by the same [[No Sense of Direction|directional curse]], he [[Parental Abandonment|seldom saw them at all]], and spends most of his time trying to survive isolated in the wilderness, with the relatively recent [[Sarcasm Mode|bonus]] of [[Nightmare Fuel|getting hunted by predators who want to eat him when he ends up becoming a little pig]]. Dedicated, [[The Stoic|stoic]], compassionate, sensitive, chivalrous, polite, and heroic, he is usually willing to lend a hand to those in need... but is also brooding, rather obsessive, lead mostly by emotions rather than logic, and not above the use of deception. However, contrary to some [[Fanon]] he is shown as more gracious, less petty, and not nearly as much of a insensitive conceited braggart as [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|Ranma]] himself. On the other hand, although nicer than [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|Ranma]] in general behaviour, [[What the Hell, Hero?|he can be more ruthless]], and he is quite vengeful when first introduced to the series, though this is behavior that he grows out of. Despite the very legitimate bad blood he has with [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|Ranma]] (as the latter caused his curse), he [[Big Damn Heroes|appeared out of nowhere to save him]] when [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|Ranma]] was being ganged up on by his other rivals in the [[Brought Down to Normal|Hiryu Shoten Ha arc]], and attempted to help him regain his strength, which was but the first of many similar events. He has rescued [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|Ranma]] from drowning (first Taro story), from being eaten alive by the considerably more powerful Saffron, and from a finishing strike by the (technically less powerful but) considerably more dangerous Herb, leapt into a collapsing mountain to recover the item to help [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|Ranma]], who is stuck in female form (Musk Dynasty arc), convinced [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|Ranma]] into helping [[Tsundere|Akane]] save a boy who [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|Ranma]] believed had "stolen her heart" by declaring his own willingness to do so (Ryugenzawa arc), and faced off against the [[Orochi]], a malevolent oni and a giant, psychotically destructive bird with [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|Ranma]] (Ryugenzawa and Legendary Phoenix arcs) despite the genuine risk of death due to his water-triggered curse. In the anime, he tried to prevent Shampoo from successfully using a [[Love Potion]] on [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|Ranma]] because it would make [[Tsundere|Akane]] unhappy (admittedly, he locked up when she pointed out that non-interference would [[Pair the Spares|leave him with Akane]] and they then escaped while he was locked up in indecision, but at least he ''tried''), and in both canons he has otherwise displayed a genuinely well-intended capacity for nobility and heroism. Though he and [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|Ranma]] fight, [[The Rival|Ryoga]] does respect [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|Ranma's]] skills sincerely and is determined to win in a fair match between two equal warriors. He wanted to give up on a secret tattoo that made him superhumanly skilled and powerful because it made fighting boring/unchallenging/any sense of victory feel meaningless (that was even worse than how ridiculous it looked), and in an anime [[Filler]] story refused to let Genma tell him of a secret weakness of [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|Ranma's]] that would ensure he won the fight in every subsequent match, being disgusted when he learned what it [[Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?|was]]. Basically, he and [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|Ranma]] turn into somewhat antagonistic brothers who both enjoy having the other to compete against, and [[The Rival|Ryoga]] seems to turn sad whenever the difference turns too great between them in any direction.

** It is arguable, and [[Broken Base|views are split]] regarding whether [[Tsundere|Akane Tendo]], might average as this, given that she is generally [[Neutral Good]], but has frequently [[What the Hell, Hero?|misaimed]] explosions of [[Jerkass|"righteous fury"]] and is not above using deception and manipulating people to get what she wants that make her come off as more [[Chaotic Neutral]].

** [[Unlucky Childhood Friend|Ukyo Kuonji's]] [[Alternative Character Interpretation|anime counterpart]] is kinder and less ruthless, manipulative, paranoid, stingy, irritable, and underhanded, and is here quite likely to fall into this category.

** Soun Tendo, unlike his old friend Genma Saotome, generally means well, is a member of the neighbourhood council, charitable to strangers, kind to children, incredibly protective of his daughters, and extremely loyal to his dead wife, but is so bungling, short-sighted, and easily freaked out that he invariably causes as many problems as he solves. On the other hand, some would argue him more as a [[True Neutral]] or [[Chaotic Neutral]] because of his selfishness and fanatical devotion to the wedding of [[Tsundere|Akane]] to [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|Ranma]], which he takes to the extent of being willing to knock them unconscious and have them married while they're out cold.

** [[Extreme Doormat|Konatsu]] probably belongs here. He is extremely loyal and naive, with some heroic qualities, despite being mistreated as a slave throughout his life. He does however have a ninja heritage and used to be willing to set traps and ambushes, but didn't naturally have any killing instinct in a fight, being too nice to want to gravely hurt anyone (except possibly the people who used to torture him).

* Since the world of [[Ghost in the Shell]] really has [[Crapsack World|no place for chaotic good characters]] it comes as a major suprise in the middle of season 2 of [[Stand Alone Complex]] that {{spoiler|the apparent [[Big Bad]] Hideo Kuze}} turns out to be one.

* Edward Elric from ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]''. He gleefully delights in breaking the rules and defies authority when he feels like it, but he also constantly goes out of his way to help people.

** Creating even more conflict when he actually has to obey orders due to his job.

*** Ed's mentor Izumi Curtis is also Chaotic Good, with even more of the former than Ed. She {{spoiler|rightly}} distrusts the {{spoiler|[[Lawful Evil]]}} Amestrian government. Get a [[Lawful Evil]] [[General Ripper]] telling her [[We Can Rule Together]], and she will tell them to shove it.

* This describes Onizuka-sensei of ''[[Great Teacher Onizuka]]'' ''perfectly''. He may be stupid, selfish, greedy, a shameless [[Chivalrous Pervert]] and '''the''' furthest thing from being a mature, responsible teacher, but he'd do anything for his students.

* Dr. Kuroo Hazama, aka ''[[Black Jack]]'', shows an almost gleeful disdain for the law, preferring to toss it aside for his own brand of poetic justice - usually involving the extortion of a large conglomerate for the sake of a single patient.

* Ryoji Kaji of [[Neon Genesis Evangelion]].

* ''[[Gundam]]'':

** Judau Ashta from ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ|Gundam ZZ]]'' starts out as either this or [[Chaotic Neutral]], and definitely ends as this, since his main concern is stopping the war and protecting his friends.

** [[Mobile Suit Gundam F91|Kincaid]] [[Crossbone Gundam|Nau]], the [[Ace Pilot]] for the resistance group Crossbone Vanguard, opposing Jupiter Empire in an attempt to save Earth.

** Duo Maxwell from ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam Wing|Gundam Wing]]'' fits this. Starting off as [[True Neutral]], Heero Yuy also becomes this after a great ammount of [[Character Development]].

*** [[Hero Antagonist|Zechs Marquise]] might fit this as well, though the rival to Heero Yuy. While having done several questionable acts such as working for Treize Kushrenada (both wish to show the world the horror of war, though) and joining the White Fang Revolution to destroy Earth, his main motive was to fight for he and his sister Relena's ruined homeland and to fight for the oppressed colonists. In Endless Waltz, he rejoins the fight to assist his former rival Heero in suppressing Dekim Barton's rebellion against his sister.

** [[Mobile Suit Gundam 00|Setsuna F. Seiei]] is this in season 1, but he seems to be leaning on [[Neutral Good]] during season 2. Being a member of Kataron, Lyle Dylandy, {{spoiler|the second Lockon Stratos,}} is this initially, but {{spoiler|due to him being a [[Double Agent]],}} he can be classified as a Type 4 [[True Neutral]]. {{spoiler|But after the final battle, he [[Becoming the Mask|left Kataron and permanently joins Celestial Being]] and became [[Neutral Good]].}}

* Yuu Isami from ''[[Brain Powerd]]'', a renegade Reclaimer who wants to stop his former peers from causing [[The End of the World as We Know It]] for their misguided ideals. At first an [[Ineffectual Loner]] who goes by his own rules, he maintains a similar attitude for most of the series. Has possibly shifted towards [[Neutral Good]] near the end.

** Mikoto Minagi fits this alignment most of the time, too. Though she's quite naive, having lived a sheltered life before going to school at Fuuka, she's [[Love You and Everybody|quick to make friends]] and is fiercely protective of them...[[Ho Yay|especially Mai]]. Her childlike nature also comes with a general distrust of authority, and an unfortunate susceptibility to [[Brainwashed and Crazy|mind control]].

** In ''[[Mai-Otome]]'', Shizuru lives and breathes this trope, outright encouraging the students to break the rules and follow their hearts...and incidentally flirting with almost every single one of them.

** His son Negi attempts to be [[Lawful Good]], though his actions often veer way to the chaotic end of the scale depending on the situation.

** Also Koutarou Inugami, Negi's [[Hot-Blooded]] [[Bromantic Foil]].

* [[Code Geass|Kallen Kouzuki]], as a [[Hot-Blooded]] freedom fighter to the end, embodies this.

** Lelouch is this or [[Neutral Good]] when not pressured. Otherwise he descends down to [[Chaotic Selfish]] if not [[Neutral Evil]].

* [[Inuyasha]], as part of being a textbook [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]]. Having been outcast from society his entire life, the guy honestly does not give a shit about rules or social expectations, but that doesn't keep him from being an ultimate decent person.

* [[Vigilante Man|Weiss]], the eponymous protagonists of ''[[Weiss Kreuz]]'', are a group of assassins who are willing to commit immoral murders of villains out of the law's reach in order to bring better tomorrows for the innocent lives.

* [[Trickster Mentor]] Eriol Hiiragizawa, [[Deadpan Snarker]] Spinel Sun and [[Manipulative Bitch]] Ruby Moon from ''[[Cardcaptor Sakura]]''.

* The [[Five-Man Band]] of [[Flame of Recca]]. Recca, Tokiya, Fuko, Domon and Koganei.

* Kotetsu "Wild Tiger" Kaburagi from [[Tiger and Bunny]]. He does what his conscience drives him to do and not what the public expects him to, caring little about points, fame, or what gets oblilterated in the process of his incredibly selfless acts.

** Prussia tends to be much more [[Chaotic Neutral]], but in a good day he might fit in here.

** South Italy aka Romano, too. The dude growls and whines a lot, but if you have a problem that he can help you solve, he'll deal even with [[The Mafia]] itself to help you out.

* This is the public opinion of Lelouch/Zero in ''[[Code Geass]].'' Lelouch goes out of his way to '''portray''' himself a Chaotic Good Freedom Fighter going against the tyranny of Britannia. {{spoiler|In truth, his motives and actions push him more into the [[Lawful Evil]] territory.}}

* [[Corrector Yui]], the impulsive and unpredictable "digital fairy" protecting the Com-Net.

 

== Comic Books ==

** Green Arrow's sidekicks, the past and present Speedies also fit this trope.

** The Second [[Green Arrow]], Connor Hawke, started out [[Lawful Good]]. He may have slipped down to [[Neutral Good]] as of late, though. Connor is still more or less the voice of reason at Chez Arrow, though.

* [[Wolverine]] of all spades is often portrayed this way, often defying authority to do what is good ([[Good Is Not Nice|in a not nice way]]). Heck, during the [[Civil War (Comic Book)|Civil War]], he even ''spoke out against the [[Superhuman Registration Act]]'' despite [[Take a Third Option|X-Men officially staying out of the conflict]].

** His fellow member, Remy, (a.k.a. Gambit) fits into this bill. Justified, he's a [[Lovable Rogue]] after all

* [[Fantastic Four (Comic Book)|Johnny Storm]], a.k.a. the Human Torch, fits into the bill. During his early years, he tended to be very reckless, [[Leeroy Jenkins|charging in without thinking it over]]. But he's still a good person at heart. Overtime though, he slowly lost some of his chaotic tendencies and matured. But still maintained some of these traits from time to time (especially during the Civil War).

 

 

** Also, [[Do-Anything Robot|the]] [[Talking Appliance Sidekick|MTM]] fits: he'll do most of what Calvin wants him too, though he usually doesn't jump to it.

 

* [[Mary Poppins]], in the film of the same name, is a benevolent force of chaos in her charges' too-ordered lives.

* Joe Hallenbeck, the [[Anti-Hero]] protagonist of ''The Last Boy Scout''.

* Kirk in the 2009 ''[[Star Trek (film)|Star Trek]]'' film, in contrast to Spock's [[Lawful Good]] nature. He saves the galaxy after cheating in the Kobayashi Maru test for a reason.

* Despite being either [[Lawful Good]] or [[Lawful Neutral]] in the comics, the [[Iron Man (film)|film version]] of [[Iron Man]] could fit here. He flies into a combat zone without telling anyone (almost getting himself killed by the US military in the process), deliberately {{spoiler|goes against SHIELD's advice and reveals he is Iron Man}} and, in the second film, {{spoiler|refuses to give the government access to his technology}}.

* The Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat, and the March Hare are all this in [[Tim Burton]]'s ''[[Alice in Wonderland (film)|Alice in Wonderland]]''.

* Yang Tianchun from ''[[Iron Monkey]]'' - he's basically a Chinese Robin Hood. By day, he's a doctor who makes rich people pay through the teeth while giving free service to poor people (he's the only doctor in town, so he can get away with it too). By night, he's an expert martial artist who steals from greedy government officials and beats up corrupt Shaolin Monks 4 to 1.

* [[Anger Management|Buddy Rydell]]'s therapy techniques to help Dave and [[Teach Him Anger]] include such shady activities as paying a transvestite prostitute, stopping the car in the middle of traffic, and making him confront a Buddhist.

* [[Dirty Harry]] is clearly this, despite being a police officer. He frequently breaks laws, and is remarkably blunt in his criticism of them.

** Hagbard and nearly all of the Discordian characters in the ''[[Illuminatus]]!'' Trilogy fit this alignment; the only exception being The Dealy Lama, who is [[True Neutral]].

** From Greek mythology, Prometheus, who stole fire from the gods and gave it to humanity. Basically the Greek Robin Hood.

* ''[[Conan the Barbarian]]'' was generally this, playing by his own rules and following his own conscience regardless of 'civilized' sentiments on the matter.

* Firekeeper, eponymous heroine of the ''[[Firekeeper]]'' novels is a girl who was raised by wolves. This leaves her with a very wolf-like loyalty to any she considers part of her "pack." The combination of her wolf mindset and human body, however, leave her with a chaotic nature such that she renders attempts by trained seers to divine the future wherever she is concerned nigh impossible.

* Many protagonists from [[Dean Koontz]]'s stories: they are often gun-owners, [[Properly Paranoid]], live in small groups or families, and are distrustful of big government and government institutions, seeing them as fascistic and corrupt. This often contrasts with the often [[Lawful Evil]] villains that they often battle who are obsessed with order.

* [[The Belgariad|Belgarath]]. This is, after all, someone who rewards your attempts to prevent him entering a church by teleporting you about a mile downriver, and he takes a rather relaxed approach to such things as wenching, booze, and other people's property.

** From the same author, [[The Elenium|Aphrael the Child Goddess]].

** And don't forget Silk, master thief, assassin, unscrupulously brilliant man of commerce, and spy.

* In ''[[The Dresden Files]]'', the eponymous wizard Harry Dresden falls into this trope. As of now, he is currently on the bad side of the supposedly [[Lawful Neutral]] council of wizards (who've tried to have him killed and/or framed a few times), is under a hit from most of the [[Chaotic Evil]] court of vampires and a group of fallen angels, probably would be arrested on sight if he were ever to walk into a police station- simply for having the gall to walk into a police station, and is trying to discover a super evil secret society of bad wizards that have infiltrated the aforementioned council. All after he's saved the world at least twice. Just because he finds the idea of flouting city regulations to be "aesthetically pleasing."

* Ghengiz Cohen of ''[[Discworld]]'', whose Code is more-or-less by definition the same as Conan's.

 

 

* Merlin from ''[[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]'' is fundamentally a good guy, albeit one who has an unfortunate habit of killing people who are trying to kill his friends, but he is a warlock in a kingdom where magic is banned and the crown prince's servant/protector/friend. Aside from breaking the law just by existing, if given a choice between doing what he's told or doing what he believes is right, he consistently chooses the latter.

** Also from the same series, Gwaine.

* Dr. Leonard McCoy from the original ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]'' has very little patience for rules and regulations, and people (especially [[The Spock|Spock]]) telling him what to do, but he has a strong moral compass and devotes his life to helping others.

** In the later seasons, Garak could be said to have become this alignment (although he began more as [[Chaotic Neutral]]). He would break any rule any time, even killing people as in the masterpiece "In The Pale Moonlight," but in the later seasons it was always for the benefit of the Alpha Quadrant against the [[Lawful Evil]] Dominion that he hated.

* Mal from ''[[Firefly]]'', and probably some of the other main characters. A good illustration of this is "The Train Job": he's perfectly willing to steal, but as soon as he finds out that the stolen package contains desperately needed medicine, he returns it--''and'' the money he was paid to steal it. Mal's chaotic nature is lampshaded in ''[[Serenity]]'', where Fanty and Mingo point out that he is completely unpredictable. Inara also points out this when she comments that she never has any idea "what Mal" she is dealing with, and has seen too many versions of him to truly understand him. And that's before we even consider his past (of fighting for independence against a strong centralized government) or statements like "That's what governments are for, to get in a man's way."

** River also definitely fits this alignment, even without factoring in her insanity. She actively cares about the rest of the crew and is perfectly willing to hurl herself into harm's way to save them, and is ''definitely'' not the kind of person who is bound by rules or laws.

'''River''': We meddle. People don't like to be meddled with. We tell them what to do, what to think. Don't run, don't walk. We're in their homes and in their heads and we haven't the right. We're meddlesome. }}

** Jayne Cobb definitely ''isn't'' this, but the community of Higgin's Moon in "Jaynestown" ''thinks'' he is, provoking major confusion on the part of the crew.

* Dr. Cox from ''[[Scrubs]]'' screws the rules for the sake of doing good. It got him into trouble often enough.

* Jack Bauer from ''[[24|Twenty Four]]''. Notable in that he works for a [[Lawful Neutral]] organization, but he's seen breaking CTU's rules far more often than following them.

* Most incarnations of the Doctor on ''[[Doctor Who]]'' fit here quite well, though there have been exceptions.

** Depending on the incarnation he can range from Chaotic Good to True Neutral(thinking Sylvester [[McCoy]] here.)

** Claire as well. She's one of the handful of characters to remain consistently good throughout the show (barring the evil version in one alternate future) - she doesn't tend to seek out wrongs to right like Peter or Hiro, but she won't stand on the sidelines. The Chaotic part just comes from being a teenager, and not having any consistently reliable authority figures in her life.

* Most of the sympathetic police of ''[[The Wire]]'' are portrayed as Chaotic Good for their willingness to occasionally bend or break rules to do proper police work and protect the people. The show's overall message is that "the system" is fundamentally flawed and corrupt. However, even the sympathetic characters are shown to occasionally take things too far.

* Doug Ross of ''[[ER]]'' is a possible subversion. He does whatever is best for his patients and will freely break rules to do so. But this tends to destroy not only his own life and career but his friends', too.

* Sam and Dean Winchester from ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'', especially in the first three seasons. Their objective is their job ("saving people, hunting things--family business"), and they'll go to any lengths to save people, no matter how many laws they break. In Season 4, both brothers (but especially Sam) plunge into [[Chaotic Neutral]] territory.

* Michael Scofield in ''[[Prison Break]]''. His brother's on death row, so what does he do? He robs a bank so he'll get sent to the same prison, where he can break his brother (and several other convicts) out. By the fifth season he's broken out of two prisons and into a secure facility and the feds are starting to get [[Genre Savvy]]. He does all this because he has a psychological condition that makes him focus on everyone else's problems and want to help them.

** Felix Gaeta moves towards this in his final appearances, though this is largely due to major disillusionment and bitterness over {{spoiler|the loss of his leg and the alliance with the dissident Cylons}}. His attempt to do the right thing in his mind eventually leads to disaster and {{spoiler|his death by firing-squad.}}

** Mustn't forget ''original'' Starbuck from original 1970's Galactica.

* In earlier seasons of ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'', this is Dr. Gregory House on [[Alternate Character Interpretation|a]] [[Chaotic Neutral|good]] [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|day]], and [[Character Development|more uniformly later on]], especially throughout Season 6 thus far.

* Most of the crew of ''[[Leverage]]'' except Parker who is [[Chaotic Neutral]].

* [[Veronica Mars]] only uses her skills for good, but aside from the particular season's arc, she usually only does it when she wants to or when she's being paid. Her methods fly in the face of every authority figure in her life, even the ones she respects, like her father, and often involve breaking the law.

* Lister from ''[[Red Dwarf]]''.

* Fox Mulder of ''[[The X-Files]]''. He disregards law in his pursuit of the truth, emphasized during his time under Director Kersh.

** Ditto with his allies, [[The Lone Gunmen]]. Frohike and Langley were already here. Byers was dragged down here from [[Lawful Good]]. "Yves Harlowe" wants to pretend she's [[Chaotic Neutral]], but keeps throwing her lot in with them too many times to be convincing. Jimmy rides the line between this and [[Neutral Good]], mostly because he's a classic [[Good Is Dumb]].

* In ''[[NCIS]]'', Gibbs is the epitome of this trope. He's a former marine and NCIS agent, but Tony has had to accept every one of the man's formal honors and hide them in a desk drawer just so Gibbs won't throw them away. His own personal code is apparently higher than any authority. Gibbs is a man you want on your side every time.

* [[Byronic Hero]] Cal Lightman of ''[[Lie to Me (TV series)|Lie to Me]]''.

 

== Tabletop Games ==

** Hell, the entire Space Wolf Chapter itself is Chaotic Good incarnate. They wouldn't open the [[Big Book of War|Codex Astartes]] if their lives depended on it, and pretty much tell the Inquisition to piss off after what happened on Armageddon.

** Pre-heresy Night Haunter aka [[Does This Remind You of Anything?|Konrad Curze]] might have been a borderline case of this, having spent most of his youth being an illegal vigilante on his homeworld before the arrival of the emperor, hunting down and killing corrupt officials and criminals alike. He seems to have been fully aware of his [[Face Heel Turn]] beforehand, and it is highly suggested he let himself get assassinated because of that afterwards.

** The Soul Drinkers chapter of the Space Marines. They fight for the good of the people of the Imperium, but are no longer bound by loyalty to the Imperium, convinced that the Imperium as it is couldn't be what the Emperor wanted.

** King Boranel of Breland in ''[[Eberron]]''. Courageous leader. Champion of warforged rights. Former treasure hunter. [[Boisterous Bruiser]]. [[Cool Old Guy]]. Even his ''enemies'' like him because of his desire to make the world a better place.

** Traditionally, this is the default alignment of most [[Our Elves Are Better|elves]]. Elves have a society that looks out for everyone, encourages freewheeling art and leisure activites, and fights for the freedom of others. (When they stray into the "snooty arrogant pricks" stereotype, though, they seem more [[True Neutral]].)

* Dante from ''[[Devil May Cry]]'', a [[The Gunslinger|gunslinging]] [[White-Haired Pretty Boy]] demon hunter who goes out of his way to save the world from the forces of darkness, even if it means [[Die, Chair, Die!|smashing up everything in sight]]. Oh, and he ''loves'' his pizza...with extra [[Narm|cheese]].

** Nero is probably a more explicit example in the 4th game. He has nothing but utter disdain for the hierarchy of the pseudo-[[Church Militant]] organization that he works for, and is more than willing to fight tooth and nail against it in order to save his girlfriend.

* AVALANCHE from ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]''.

** Note: This refers to Cloud's group; which is the latest incarnation of AVALANCHE. Barret's AVALANCHE had shades of being [[Chaotic Neutral]], while the first Incarnation of AVALANCHE were most defiantly '''NOT''' this trope.

* The Assassin Order from [[Assassin's Creed]], including the main characters in each game (Altaïr, Ezio, Desmond). They believe in free of will and the right of individuality. However, their creed explicitly says that they must break the laws of men to fulfill their goals. As Ezio says:

{{quote|Ezio: There is no book or teacher to ''give'' you the answers, or show you the path. Choose your own way. Do not follow me, or anyone else.}}

** Tirion Fordring of ''Warcraft'' disregards the wishes of everyone in his society to help an orc who saved his life. In exchange his order of Paladins strips him of his powers and plan to execute him until the Orcs save him. It's only later he notices that despite breaking the law, he can still channel the light.

** [http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i212/Kerrah_photos/CHAOTICGOOD-1.jpg Eitrigg], the orc Fordring helped, chose to leave the Horde upon realising its corruption and evil years earlier. He later rejoins when, and only when, they prove their [[Heel Face Turn]] to him.

** Rider ({{spoiler|Medusa}}). She may look like a pure [[Dark Action Girl]] serving a [[Smug Snake]] like Shinji, but most of her heinous actions are from Shinji, not by herself. In truth, she really just wants {{spoiler|to protect her true Master, Sakura, and would much like to kill Shinji}}. She's still quite a sadist, though, as one finds out the hard way in some of the Bad Ends.

** It can also be argued that Shirou is this: he ''will'' fight to protect as many people as possible, regardless of anything other than the fact that someone needs saving. Cue people being pissed at him for wanting to save both friend and enemy alike with ruthless idealism.

* After being the [[Big Bad]] in the first ''[[Drakengard]]'' game and almost causing [[The End of the World as We Know It]]... Manah comes back in the second game as [[The Atoner]] and the leader of a group of [[La Résistance|resistance fighters]] against the excesses of the Knights of the Seal. While a rebel, her intentions are good (thus marking her adult self for this alignment), {{spoiler|but unfortunately, she does not realize that the gods still hold dominion over her, and are trying to make her re-enact the apocalypse of 18 years ago...}}

* Don't fuck with [[Tekken|Yoshi]][[Soul Series|mitsu]]. He's like ancient Japan Robin Hood [[Totally Radical|to THE MAX]].

* Quite a few members of the cast of ''[[Skies of Arcadia]]''; the Blue Rogues in general are a Chaotic Good lot. The alignment is probably best embodied by [[The Determinator|Vyse]], [[Fiery Redhead|Aika]], and [[Chivalrous Pervert|Gilder]].

* Viktor from the ''[[Suikoden]]'' series. He is dedicated to bringing freedom and helping the weak, but he will manipulate people to get out of paying bar tabs, set a bureaucrat's house on fire to rescue people unjustly sentenced to death, denies himself love to allow his lady to achieve her own goals and destiny, and physically assaults a clerk when told he can't see the mayor because she is in a meeting and cannot be seen without an appointment. His response? "It's the best way to deal with government workers."

* In ''[[Persona 3]]'', Junpei fits this alignment. He doesn't do his homework for school and often runs into missions on his own, without backup, but he's always got his friends' backs, and wants to change the world for the better.

* [[Mega Man Zero|Zero]]. {{spoiler|"I Never cared about justice, and I don't recall ever calling myself a hero... I have always only fought for the people I believe in. I won't hesitate... If an enemy appears in front of me, I will destroy it!"}}

* In the ''[[Street Fighter]]'' series, Ken and Sakura are carefree spirits when it comes to street fighting, living for the thrill of the fight and not actively out to hurt anyone.

* Sol Badguy from ''[[Guilty Gear]]''. He means well and is [[The Atoner|an atoner for mistakes of his past]]. But he prefers to do things alone and doesn't get along with the law very much, which causes conflict with his [[Lawful Good]] rival Ky Kiske.

* From the [[King of Fighters]] series, we have Kyo Kusanagi. Who constantly skipped school, and would fight anybody even authority figures. He also doesn't really care about following the traditions of his family in no other way except for his own. The man is a [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]] to a T, but when he shows the gold moments they truly shine through.

* ''[[Baldur's Gate]]''

** Minsc (in the second game, changed from [[Neutral Good]] in the first, and with reason).

* [[Ratchet and Clank|Ratchet]]. He may be greatest do-gooder around and saviour of [[Sci-Fi Writers Have No Sense of Scale|the entire universe, more or less]], but he's still one young and reckless adventurer. [[Rewarding Vandalism|And one hell of a vandal]], to boot.

** He falls [[True Neutral]] briefly during the course of the first game after {{spoiler|a betrayal by his idol}} disillusions him. During this part his only reason for not abandoning [[Neutral Good|Clank]] is that they happen to be going to the same places as each other.

* Sanjuro Makabe of ''[[Shogo: Mobile Armor Division]]'', despite being in the military, tends to only follow orders when they happen to be what he wants to do anyway, and puts protecting those he cares about above all else.

* There is no way [[Backyard Sports|Ronny Dobbs]] would follow anyone unless the person actually needs help.

* One of the characters in ''[[Team Fortress 2]]'', the scout, can be subverted in this trope. Being a boy from south Boston according to his bio, he surely has freedom to do as his pleases and be a good kid from time to time.

* [[Kirby]] seems to [[Incredibly Lame Pun|float]] between this and [[Chaotic Neutral]], depending on the game, though most works puts him in the [[Neutral Good]] territory.

** In the first installment he asks the player to {{spoiler|commit a cold-blooded murder}} and is states that there is nothing inherently wrong in {{spoiler|killing a mass-murderer even without trial.}} Which makes him a dark incarnation of this alignment.

** Even Shepard can show signs of this if you take the Paragon path but mix in a healthy dose of renegade actions and dialouge (or as fans have nicknamed it, Paragade.) You can still play Shepard as warm and compassioante, but with a deffinate irrevrance for any kind of authority, probably best shown in the Renegade reseponse to the Turian Councillor after releasing the Rachni Queen.

* The Hunter's Guild in [[Monster Hunter]], mainly in Tri, prefer to let a village be destroyed then to send help to slay a ''The Azure Lightning'', Lagiarcus.

 

== Webcomics ==

* Riff from ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' would undoubtedly be in jail by now if his exploits weren't [[Refuge in Audacity|too bizarre for the authorities to believe]]. Even if you ignore the mass destruction of property he's been directly or indirectly responsible for, there's no way he has a license for the various guns, explosives, nuclear reactors, and reality altering equipment he tinkers around with. Hell, he's even caused (or almost caused) the end of the world more than once. Yet, when vampires, demons, or aliens start threatening the Sluggyverse, he's usually there on the front lines with a laser cannon, a bag full of grenades, and giant killer robots to fight them off.

** I would say both he and Torg are Chaotic with a side order of Good.

* Haley Starshine and Elan from ''[[The Order of the Stick|Order of the Stick]]''. The former, an [[Action Girl]] with a lot of personal complexes who, despite her greed, cares about people and wants to do the right thing. The latter... well, he's too good-hearted and with [[Cloudcuckoolander|too thin a grasp on reality]] to be anything else.

** Belkar speculates that [[Cool Old Guy|Lord Shojo]] was of this alignment, and he's probably right. For the good of Azure City he [[Obfuscating Stupidity|faked]] [[Obfuscating Insanity|senility]], broke any laws and oaths that got in his way, and lied about it all to an entire order of [[Lawful Good|paladins]] under his command, including his nephew and heir.

** Haley must have gotten it from her father, who was run out of Greysky by the Guild because of his Robin Hood thievery. He's less effective than Haley, but he's far more ambitious, and is trying to topple an [[Evil Empire]] by resistance from within.

*** As a gladiator/prisoner at that!

* [[Fiery Redhead|Kyle]] is 'usually' this in ''[[South Park]]'' given his tendency to base his position squarely on his personal sense of righteousness and serves as [[The Conscience]] for the boys and strong case of [[He Who Fights Monsters]] with [[Complete Monster|Eric]] [[Neutral Evil|Cartman]].

** Kenny, as Mysterion is definitely the Vigilante version of this trope.

{{quote|'''Wreck-Gar:''' "I am Wreck-Gar! [[Actor Allusion|I DARE to be stupid!]]"}}

{{quote|'''Prowl:''' "There's only one person I depend on. Me."}}

* A ''lot'' of classic cartoon characters, especially those from ''[[Looney Tunes]]'', are either this or [[Chaotic Neutral]].

* ''[[Johnny Test]]'' fits this easily. Dukey is more [[Neutral Good]].

* Arguably, Timmy Turner of the ''[[Fairly Oddparents]]''. One example is his using baby Poof's biological functions such as burping and breaking wind to stop Anti-Cosmo and the Pixies. The part where he has Poof break wind is especially chaotic as it resets time itself. However, considering the Earth and Fairy World were about to be destroyed, resetting the timeline is a positive use of chaos. In the movie, Abra-Castastrophe, he, also, sets off a nuclear explosion in an isolated desert to defeat [[Evil Teacher|Crocker]].

* The title character of ''[[Jimmy Two-Shoes]]'' definitely fits this mold. Considering [[Hell|the setting]], it's probably a good thing he follows his own rules.

* Whenever [[El Tigre]] is a hero ([[Heel Face Revolving Door|which he isn't always being]]), he is usually fits this [[Trope]].

* [[Idiot Hero|Finn]] from ''[[Adventure Time]]''.

{{quote|''"I'll slay anything that's evil!"''}}

* T.J. Detweiler from ''[[Recess]]'' (this goes for the other five in his gang as well, but he's the one who leads their adventures)'

* Huey from ''[[The Boondocks]]''.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Goodness Tropes]]

[[Category:Character Alignment]]

[[Category:Hedonism Tropes]]