Combat Pragmatist/Comic Books: Difference between revisions

** Alfred Pennyworth [[Characterization Marches On|became this as the series progressed]]. I mean, come on, the guy was a freakin' former S.A.S. soldier! And he has helped Bruce solve cases, invent new tech, heal his (both personal and Bruce's) own wounds, and managed to fight off thugs that would typically be more physically fit than him, as well as carrying extremely powerful firearms, with his ''[[Bare-Fisted Monk|bare hands]]''!! Though, he wishes to remain a harmless butler.

** Being this kind of character is half the reason [[The Joker]] can threaten Batman toe-to-toe; the other half is [[Axe Crazy|his enthusiasm in combat]].

** In the video game ''Watchmen: The End Is Nigh'', you can control Rorschach in battle. He's not nearly as skilled a fighter as Nite Owl (who uses an adapted form of martial arts), but he makes up for it with absolutely devastating strikes, and freely uses weapons, such as nightsticks, bottles, ''knives'' and '''crowbars''', which Nite Owl refuses to do.

** Ozymandias fights dirty too. It's not immediately obvious, but he's perfectly willing to take advantage of any psychological weaknesses his opponent has and uses the environment for his own benefit. Of course, with ''him'', what looks like an [[Improvised Weapon]] was probably [[Crazy Prepared|specifically placed right there hours ago]].

* [[The DCU|Nightwing]], despite being a [[Technical Pacifist]], does this with acrobatic flair. He basically fights like [[Batman]] with a sense of humor: nose tweaks, groin kicks, and distractions in the form of [[Foe Yay|ass smacks]] are not outside of his domain.

* There is not a force on Earth that can get [[The Punisher]] to fight fair.

* Much of the [[G.I. Joe]] comic books involves this trope. Around issue #75, Tunnel-Rat emerges from a well, tunnel and mows down about ten Cobra soldiers from behind. An issue of ''Special Missions'' has one Joe save another by simply beating the hell out of a captured CIA prisoner for needed intelligence.

** Despite being better known to the casual fan for his ninja ways, never forget that Snake-Eyes is an Army Ranger, and is more than happy to go for the grenades or machine gun as a ninja armed with melee weapons advances.

{{quote| '''Lord Julius:''' ''That wasn't exactly fair, was it? I mean, he thought you were going to fight to the death with swords!''<br />

'''Cerebus:''' ''He is dead and Cerebus is alive... You can't get much fairer than that.'' }}

* [[Moon Knight]] is more than happy to use truncheons, knives and a spiked steel cestus in the [[Blood Knight|fight]] for justice.

** His occasional [[Belligerent Sexual Tension|partner]] Marlene Alraune's fighting style seems to be: Find the [[Improvised Weapon|sharpest object within reach]] and [[Groin Attack|aim for the groin.]]

* ''[[Nikolai Dante]]'' is frequently described as the dirtiest fighter in the empire.

* This was a plot point in one ''[[Justice League of America]]'' arc - The Crime Syndicate of Amerika is impersonating the League and actually gets into a scrape with some low-level supervillains called the Rainbow Raiders. Despite being far more powerful, and the Rainbow Raiders being pathetic enough that just one superhero is usually enough to take them out, the CSA loses miserably. Why? Simple: They've never fought anyone who didn't play by the rules. Whether it's the heroes from their world or the Justice League themselves, the CSA never faced off against somebody who fought dirty and sincerely wanted to kill them.

** Actually the CSA fought plenty of people that wanted to kill them and prevailed. The reason they were losing to Z-list villains is because of some "rule of the universe" where the CSA was destined to fail on the regular Earth just as the Justice League was destined to fail on the CSA's anti-matter Earth.

* Spider Jerusalem, outlaw journalist of [[Transmetropolitan]] infamy, isn't all that great in a stand-up fight. He is, however, very good with sucker punches, improvised weapons, psychological warfare and a bowel disruptor.

* Marv from ''[[Sin City]]'' is physically capable of handling most opponents in battle but often uses whatever he can get his hands on simply because he's that damn crazy. Case in point: using a nearby hatchet to shove into a cop's groin.

* Lusiphur, the protagonist of ''Poison Elves'', almost never fights cleanly if he can help it. He isn't above such tricks as [[I Surrender, Suckers|pretending to beg for mercy]] in order to get the jump on a superior opponent.

* In ''[[Elf Quest]]'' when the Wolfriders are attacked without warning by Guttlekraw's trolls:

{{quote| There is no fairness, no grace, no nobility in the Wolfriders' method of combat. They obey but one rule: '''survive''' by any means, no matter how cruel or bloody.