All The Tropes

Conan the Barbarian: Difference between revisions

Page Discussion

Conan the Barbarian (view source)

Revision as of 12:16, 8 January 2014

67 bytes added ,  10 years ago
m
Mass update links
VisualWikitext
m (remove unneccessary quote box template)
m (Mass update links)
Line 10:
Conan is strong, courageous and [[Chivalrous Pervert|oddly respectful]] of women. He is not an [[Dumb Muscle|idiot]], but neither is he of a scholastic disposition -- he is mostly practical and naturally cunning, though he is also knowledgable, able to speak, read and write a dozen languages, and even puzzle out ancient scripts in one story. He is a defining example of the type of barbarian who has the principles of a snake.
 
It is possible to see him as a [[Marty Stu]] in the sense of being an idealised version of the author. He reflects Howard's [[Author Appeal|preferences]] and [[Values Dissonance|prejudices]]; black people are poorly portrayed most of the time, Conan likes women with "skin as white as alabaster" and "a supple waist". And snakes, Howard must have been [[Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?|scared of snakes]], huge [[Reptiles Are Abhorrent|"loathsome serpents"]] turn up [[Scaled Up|continually]], although this could also have to do with his friendship with [[HP Lovecraft|H. P. Lovecraft]] (the original Conan stories are actually a [[Canon Welding|peripheral part]] of the [[Cthulhu Mythos]].) Yet in ''Beyond the Black River'', Howard included a character that was explicitly stated in one of his letters to be an [[Author Avatar]], and he was shown to be inferior to Conan in many ways.
 
Two Conan movies were made in the eighties: the first, ''Conan the Barbarian'' put [[Nietzsche Wannabe|Nietzschean (Wannabe) philosophy]] together with rubber snakes and an epic tale of revenge. While [[In Name Only|it wasn't very accurate]] to the original Howard stories, hewing more to [[Broad Strokes|Oliver Stone's ideas]] filtered through [[Crack Pairing|John Milius' direction]] regarding both plot and themes, it has become a [[Cult Classic]] on its own merits. Its [[Crowning Music of Awesome|awesome music]], epic feel, and interesting plot helped launch [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]]'s acting career. The second movie, ''Conan the Destroyer'', took a more [[Lighter and Fluffier|comical and lighthearted tone]], wasn't as successful and got a critical negative reception. Plans for at least another movie fell through. There were rumors in the early 2000s about a new movie were Arnie would have reprised the role as an aged Conan, now king of Aquilonia, but all plans were scrapped when he entered politics.
Line 64:
Their ranks include [[The Wheel of Time|Robert Jordan]] and [[Harry Turtledove]], but the most significant of them was the [[Show Runner]]-of-sorts back in the day, [[L Sprague De Camp (Creator)|L Sprague De Camp]] (1907-2000). He wrote several pastiches with the frequent collaboration of another author, Lin Carter (1930-1988). Both were prolific fantasy and SF authors in their own right, but they are perhaps most associated with Conan today.
 
Besides writing pastiches, De Camp edited Howard's stories, which often meant [[Retool|retooling the text altogether.]] De Camp and/or Carter also produced full versions of stories Howard left unfinished, and reworked some of Howard's unrelated fiction [[Dolled -Up Installment|to make them Conan tales.]] The De Camp-supervised books featured pastiche stories together with Howard's edited originals until finally they ran out of the latter, in which case the books became complete pastiches.
 
The Conan books published by Lancer Books and Ace Books from 1966-1977 are among those supervised by De Camp, and they are perhaps most famous for their cover art by [[Frank Frazetta]].
Line 227:
** ''Conan the Barbarian'' vol. 3 (ongoing, planned for 2012).
 
Just as some of Howard's non-Conan stories were [[Dolled -Up Installment|reworked for inclusion in the Conan books]], the character of [[Red Sonja]] was created for Marvel loosely based on two of Howard's other characters from his historical fiction - Red Sonya of Rogatino and Dark Agnes, both [[Action Girl|Action Girls]] from the 16th century.
 
Line 242:
* ''[http://www.mobygames.com/game/conan-hall-of-volta Conan: Hall of Volta]'' (1984). A platformer with puzzle elements for [[Apple II]], [[Atari 8 Bit Computers|Atari]] and [[Commodore 64]].
* ''[http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/conan-the-cimmerian Conan: The Cimmerian]'' (1991) an RPG with side-scrolling action game elements for MS-DOS.
* The infamous ''Conan: Mysteries of Time'' (1991) for [[NES]] (in reality [[Dolled -Up Installment]] based on ''[http://www.mobygames.com/game/myth-history-in-the-making Myth: History in the Making]'', which was considered a classic on Commodore 64 and [[ZX Spectrum]], although the NES version was [[Porting Disaster|entirely different story]]).
* ''Conan'' (2004), also known as ''Conan: The Dark Axe''. An action-adventure game for the Xbox, [[Game Cube]], [[Play Station]] 2, and Microsoft Windows that was released only in Europe.
* ''Conan'' (2007), for the [[Play Station 3]] and [[Xbox 360]]. More or less a ''[[God of War (Video Game)|God of War]]'' clone, based on elements from Howard's stories.
Line 252:
 
== A-G ==
* [[Abdicate the Throne]]: In "The Scarlet Citadel", Conan is [[Buy Them Off|offered freedom and gold]] if he will do this. Conan, in characteristic fashion, tells the villains who captured him to [[Screw the Money, I Have Rules|go to hell]].
* [[Absurdly Sharp Blade]]: Conan's swords can cut through nearly anything. Hardly a fight scene goes by that doesn't have the Cimmerian casually hewing off limbs and heads, plunging a sword through chainmail like wet paper or rotten fruit or some other metaphor for softness, and occasionally bisecting still-helmeted skulls and whole torsos. In "The People Of The Black Circle," he chops through a ''door'' with his sword. And yet it's still always described as "razor-sharp".
** It's worth noting here the awesome physical power that Conan was able to put ''behind'' his sword work.
Line 292:
** The end of ''Conan of the Islands'', being more than 60 years old he headed his ship for Mayapan (America).
* [[Animated Armor]] - Conan once fought one of these guys, realising he was screwed as even though he could chop the arm and the head of the armor off, the thing could still attack. Thankfully the Wench of the Week shone some light into the priest controlling it, following which it collapsed like a sack of potatoes.
* [[Anti -Hero]]: Conan varies from [[Sliding Scale of Anti -Heroes|Type III to Type V]]
** At worst, he's a thief, a reaver, a slayer... and pretty much everything else you can think of where there's an opportunity for violence, wenches and loot. Including piracy, assassination, mercenary work and becoming warrior-king of the richest country on the continent. At best, then? The archetype of a [[Chaotic Good]] hero. He never kills anyone who doesn't deserve it or isn't trying to kill him, keeps his word, and goes out of his way to help the weak and helpless - ''if'' they're hot women. He even states this bluntly in "The Vale of Lost Women." Once he does become king he becomes pretty much the best one Aquilonia has ever had. However, he can be seen less as Type V and more as [[Sliding Scale of Anti -Heroes|Type IV]] with occasional dips into [[Sliding Scale of Anti -Heroes|Type III.]] The movie Conan is more solidly a Type III while the Marvel Comics version was mostly [[Sliding Scale of Anti -Heroes|Type II]] with dips into III. [[Dark Horse Comics|Dark Horse]]'s version is more back to the original IV.
** In ''Hour of the Dragon'', he is aghast at the thought of what his foes will do to his kingdom, and resists the temptation to return to adventure because he needs to save his kingdom.
* [[Artifact of Doom]] - In ''The Hour of the Dragon'', the Heart of Ahriman. Even one of the evil conspirators tries to get it from the [[Evil Sorcerer]].
Line 303:
"Yes, civilized customs that won't let you do as you wish. You'll marry some withered old king of the plains, and I can go my way with only the memory of a few kisses snatched from your lips. Ha!"'' }}
** In "Shadows in the Moonlight" Olivia was [[Made a Slave]] for refusing this.
* [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking]]: Thulsa Doom tells Conan in the movie, "You broke into my house, stole my property, murdered my servants, and my pets. And that is what grieves me the most! You killed my snake."
** Somewhat understandable. His cult provided him with fabulous wealth and readily available servants, but raising a snake to be that friggin' huge must be hard.
* [[Atop a Mountain of Corpses]]: "The Scarlet Citadel" and "A Witch Shall Be Born" in particular, the most famous visual example being [[Frank Frazetta]]'s iconic illustration for Conan the Adventurer.
Line 342:
* [[Barbarian Tribe]]: The Picts in the "screaming hide covered" variety, while the Cimmerians, Æsir and Vanir are closer to the [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]] type.
* [[Bar Brawl]]
* [[Beam Me Up, Scotty]]:
** The term "Conan the Barbarian" never occurs in the original Howard stories. Instead Conan tends to be called "Conan the Cimmerian", "Conan of Cimmeria", etc. However, "Conan the Barbarian" was in use at least as far back as 1954 (as a book title) and probably earlier. And of course, one of the Marvel Comics series and the first movie use it.
** While the Age of Conan is called the "Hyborian Age" in the stories, [http://tinyurl.com/cimmerian-contra-hyboria his world is not called "Hyboria"] contrary to official merchandise.
Line 379:
** The canon as a whole could be considered [[Broad Strokes]], given various attempts to reconcile it, with or without the pseudocanonical works.
* [[Broke Episode]]: Often. Conan likes [[Money Sink|the good life]], and when he actually has cash will spend money like water. One novel starts with Conan having gambled away almost literally everything he owns at dice. He ponders gambling with his sword (the only thing he has left besides the clothes on his back), then decides not to... after all, it's what he'll use to go out and get more money!
* [[Burn, Baby, Burn]]/[[Viking Funeral]]: Belit in "Queen of the Black Coast" and Valeria in the movies.
* [[Burn the Witch]]
* [[But for Me It Was Tuesday]]: In the movie Thulsa Doom does not remember plundering Conan's village and selling him and the other children into slavery.
Line 401:
* [[Clingy MacGuffin]]
* [[Clothing Damage]]
* [[Cold -Blooded Torture]]
* [[Cold Flames]]
* [[Combat Pragmatist]]: While he [[Heroes Prefer Swords|often uses swords]], Conan may also use pretty much whatever else is at hand. This includes other weapons like [[An Axe to Grind|axes,]] [[Blade On a Stick|spears]], daggers, [[The Archer|bows and arrows]] (though he only learns archery after leaving Cimmeria), and [[Improvised Weapon|improvised ones]] - like a stool in "Rogues in the House". He can also fight dirty, as when he gouges someone's eyes out in "The God in the Bowl".
Line 423:
* [[Crystal Prison]]
* [[Cthulhu Mythos]]: The Howard version is set there. No, really.
** [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|According to Howard, anything in the Cthulhu mythos can be beaten to death barehanded.]]
** [[Run or Die|Except when your only choice is RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!!!]] Conan himself does it in "Pool of the Black One" and "Shadows in the Moonlight."
* [[Cunning Linguist]]: Conan can speak several languages. In addition to Cimmerian, he also knows how to speak Aquilonian, Stygian, Zamoran, Kushite, Kothic, Nemedian, Vendhyan, Hyrkanian, and several more.
Line 434:
* [[Den of Iniquity]]: Thulsa Doom's orgy chamber
* [[Determinator]]: Even [[HP Lovecraft|Lovecraftian monsters]] have learnt at their own cost that no one escapes Conan's wrath if they mess with a girl who is the object of his love.
* [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?]]: Happens occasionally in the literature, given the author's friendship with [[HP Lovecraft]]; happens frequently in media adaptations.
* [[Did We Just Have Tea With Cthulhu?|Did You Just Free Cthulhu From Lifelong Torture And Help Him Enact His Revenge]]: ''The Tower of the Elephant''. Probably the only story ever where the [[Eldritch Abomination]] is also [[The Woobie]] and surprisingly good natured.
* [[Distinguishing Mark]]: In "A Witch Shall Be Born", the [[Evil Twin]] villain has a crescent-moon birthmark on her chest.
* [[Distressed Damsel]]: Many. [[Flanderization]], however, has put a scantily-clad buxom maiden at Conan's feet being menaced by someone or something on ''every'' cover, bar none, regardless of story content. She could be an [[Action Girl]] in the story, she might be a background characters who never meets Conan face to face, but on the cover it's always [[Strictly Formula]]: 1.) [[Furry Loincloth|Loincloth]], 2.) monster and/or ravening horde of savages, 3.) hot half-naked chick sprawled between Conan's legs [[Touch of the Monster|looking terrified]] at <nowiki>#2</nowiki>.
Line 451:
* [[Doomed Hometown]]: In the first film.
* [[Doomy Dooms of Doom]]: Thulsa Doom (film). Contemplate this on the Tree Of Woe.
* [[The Dragon]]: [[Co -Dragons|Rexor and Thorgrim]] to Thulsa Doom in the first movie, Bombaata to Queen Taramis in the second movie.
* [[Dreaming of Times Gone By]]: In "Queen of the Black Coast", "Shadows In the Moonlight" and "The Devil in Iron."
* [[Driven to Suicide]]
Line 462:
* [[Enemy Mine]]
* [[Even Evil Has Standards]]: Toth-Amon wishes to create an evil empire of sorcery for the glory of father Set, but he'll never let loose the Snake People again on the world.
* [[EverybodysEverybody's Dead, Dave]]: By the end of ''Red Nails'', {{spoiler|Conan and Valeria are the only two people still alive in the whole city}}.
* [[Everybody Hates Hades]]: Set is seen at his worst and confused/merged with Apep.
* [[EverythingsEverything's Better With Princesses]]
* [[EverythingsEverything's Sparkly With Jewelry]]
* [[Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor]]
* [[Evil Sorcerer]]: Thulsa Doom (in the movie), Xaltotun, Thoth-Amon, Thugra Khotan, and others. Conan's made a career out of killing [[Sorcerous Overlord|Sorcerous Overlords]](excepting Thoth-Amon, though, since they never even met in the original stories).
* [[Evolutionary Levels]]: In Howard's essay ''The Hyborian Age'' evolution is fast and fluctuating. Several peoples "[[Hollywood Evolution|regress to apedom]]" and back to humanity, including the Cimmerians, Conan's people. [[EverythingsEverything's Better With Monkeys|Ape-men]] are at least as common antagonists as snakes in his stories.
* [[Exact Eaves DroppingEavesdropping]]
* [[Exact Words]]
* [[Executive Meddling]]: Conan The Destroyer had a lot of the violence turned down to give it a PG rating. Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway, who wrote the original script, were ticked off at how Universal had watered down their script, they went to Marvel and produced the graphic novel ''Conan: The Horn of Azoth'', which was their script in comic-book form (ironically, the movie had had a [[Comic Book Adaptation]] shortly after its release), [[Same Face, Different Name|but with a few name changes to avoid legal difficulty]]
* [[The Exile]]
* [[Expanded Universe]]: Under other authors, Conan's personal history has expanded to the point where he must have lived just over four hundred years to account for all his adventures.
Line 487:
* [[Feathered Fiend]]
* [[Finger in The Mail]]: In "Rogues in the House", Murilo is given a recognizable ear as a hint.
* [[Five -Bad Band]]: In the 2011 film we have:
** [[Big Bad]]: Khalar Zym
** [[The Dragon]]: Zym's daughter Marique
Line 493:
** [[The Brute]]: Lucius and Ukafa.
** [[The Dark Chick]]: Cheren the archer, and Remo the scout.
* [[Five -Man Band]]: In "Conan the Destroyer" we have:
** [[The Hero]]: Conan
** [[The Lancer]]: Zula
Line 505:
{{quote| '''Doom:''' And that is what grieves me the most. You killed my snake! Thorgrim is beside himself with grief. He raised that snake from when it was born. (Thorgrim [[Dull Surprise|glowers]])}}
* [[Forging Scene]]: The film ''[[Conan the Barbarian]]'' starts with the forging of the Father's Sword.
* [[Franchise Killer]]: The horrible second film, ''Conan The Destroyer'', undid all the lingering good will from John Milius' first film. It wasn't even the negative critical reception of the second movie that killed the franchise; it actually was successful at the box office, just less than the first one. This prompted the production of the ''[[Red Sonja (Film)|Red Sonja]]'' movie - now ''that'' was a big flop. Schwarzenegger called it [[Self -Deprecation|"the worst movie I've ever made"]] and may have had a hand in making him move on to other projects - when a third Conan movie was considered, he was already busy with ''[[Predator (Film)|Predator]]''.
* [[Frazetta Man]]
* [[Friend or Idol Decision]]
* [[Full Frontal Assault]]: More than once but very memorably in the non-Howard ''Sword of Skelos''. Joe Lansdale does it too, in ''Conan and the Songs of the Dead.'' Done by a subverted [[Damsel in Distress]] in ''Red Nails''. [[ItsIt's Personal|They made her angry.]]
* [[Functional Magic]]: Primarily Rules Magic, usually with the magician's power focused in a device of some kind like Thoth-amon's ring. Epimetrius may have used Theurgy in his battles with Set. Alchemy also plays a big role, espcially powders and potions extracted from the black lotus and it's varycolored siblings. Regardless, it is almost always [[Black Magic]], at least in the Howard stories. the movies have some good magicians.
* [[Galley Slave]]
Line 517:
* [[Genius Bruiser]]: In the original stories, he uses both brain and brawn to get through hardships.
* [[Genre Killer]]
* [[Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!]]
* [[Get It Over With]]
* [[Giant Spider]]: A pig-sized one in ''Tower of the Elephant'' and a bull-sized one in ''Conan and the Spider God''... along with her babies. And let's not forget the black jade beads in ''People of the Black Circle'', worn by the priestesses of Yezud when they dance for the spider god. Yar Afzal picks up such a bead, then drops dead, and Conan later takes a few minutes to figure out what happened.
Line 524:
* [[Gold and White Are Divine]]: In "Shadows In the Moonlight"
* [[Go Mad From the Revelation]]: Lots. Although, in most case it's over quickly.
* [[Good Hair, Evil Hair]]: A bit of this by courtesy of some of the Villains Conan has to face in some of his adventures.
* [[The Good King]]: Conan is one of these. He rules with the support of the outlying barons as well as the common people. During his reign he lowers taxes, institutes freedom of religion, and curbs the abuses of commoners by the nobility. When he is temporarily deposed in ''The Hour of the Dragon'' he is tempted to abandon his quest to reclaim his throne and return to the exciting life of a wandering adventurer, but he quickly decides that he can not leave his people in the hands of a tyrant.
{{quote| '''Conan:''' I found Aquilonia in the grip of a pig like you--one who traced his genealogy for a thousand years. The land was torn with the wars of the barons, and the people cried out under oppression and taxation. Today no Aquilonian noble dares maltreat the humblest of my subjects, and the taxes of the people are lighter than anywhere else in the world.}}
Line 530:
* [[Grand Finale]]: The only full-length novel, "Hour of the Dragon" seems to serve as this for the Conan cycle.
* [[Grave Robbing]]
* [[Green -Eyed Monster]]
 
 
== H-M ==
* [[Half -Human Hybrid]]
* [[Hat of Power]]: The Cobra Crown from ''Conan the Buccaneer'', which grants magic powers to its wearer.
* [[He Will Not Cry So I Cry for Him]]: The [[Trope Namer]] comes from the first film adaptaion: Conan tenderly dresses the corpse of Valeria, the love of his life, as he prepares her funeral pyre for her journey to Valhalla. Yet for all his love, any tears that are left from his [[Men Don't Cry]] upbringing in childhood has been dried away by his twenty years of pitiless slavery. His best-friend Subotai silently sheds [[Tender Tears]] as the sorcerer asks "Why do you cry?" To which the Mongol Warrior answers: ''"He is Conan, Cimmerian. [[He Will Not Cry So I Cry for Him]]."''
Line 549:
** Could be justified by a subtle translation convention going on. "Sit here!" may have been some of the only words of Cimmerian the man knew, and he ''was'' effectively talking to a child in the body of an adult. Most other conversations occur after Conan's education, when he might actually be expected to speak the more common languages.
* [[Human Sacrifice]]: Often.
* [[I Cannot Self -Terminate]]
* [[If I Can't Have You]]
* [[I Gave My Word]]
Line 558:
* [[Inelegant Blubbering]]
* [[Informed Ability]]: Sorcerers like Xaltotun and Yah Chieng, who were powerful enough to wipe out armies with quakes and plagues fail to find a proper spell to deal with Conan himself and end up toasted.
* [[In HarmsHarm's Way]]: Conan takes over Aquilonia, gets bored ruling it and then jumps at the chance for excitement when rebels attempt to oust him from power.
* [[In Name Only]]: The first Conan movie can be viewed so, for the most part. Besides some vague similarities (e.g. Conan is a warrior-thief who becomes king someday) a few specific elements like names and Mako's narration at the start, the movie doesn't have much in common with the prior books and comics. Conan's character is fundamentally altered since he becomes what he is all due to others (e.g. enslaved as a boy and devoting his life [[You Killed My Father|to revenge]].) The Conan of the books was always master of his own fate, [[Walking the Earth]] because he felt like it.
* [[Intoxication Ensues]]: In the original movie. "Black lotus. Stygian--the best!" Cut to Conan and Subotai stumbling through the streets, giggling.
* [[Invincible Hero]]: More so in the later books. Conan rarely loses. When he does, he comes back and wins or just leaves. Howard himself seemed to be aware of Conan's sheer impressiveness might hurt the dramatic tension, since in many tales he adds a secondary protagonist to function as the dramatic foil/romantic lead, then he finds a clever way to scoot Conan out of the story for a time.
** He also tends to prevail for polar reasons: if his opponent is a skilled fighter or a soldier or something, he wins thanks to his "wild spirit and upbringing". If he's confronted by strong savages or monsters he wins because of his skills.
* [[ItsIt's a Small World After All]]
* [[Jerkass Gods]]: Crom's not particularly merciful or caring toward his worshipers, although bravado apparently amuses him.
* [[Kaleidoscope Eyes]]
Line 570:
* [[Kangaroo Court]]
* [[Klingon Promotion]]
* [[The LadysLady's Favour]]
* [[The Lancer]]: Subotai from the 1982 film adaptation. He teaches Conan how to be a thief, saves him from the Tree of Woe, and stands by him during the Battle of the Mounds.
* [[Large Ham]]: There's nobody in the movies that ''isn't'' a large ham. Despite the acting often being at odds with the very subtle direction and music, [[Narm Charm|for some reason it works]].
Line 588:
* [[Made of Iron]]: Conan often survives wounds that would kill a small army. The apotheosis of this is the crucifixion scene in "A Witch Shall Be Born".
** He actually came really close to the very end in the story ''Xuthal of the Dusk'' after defeating [[Eldritch Abomination|Thog]].
* [[Magic Is Evil]]: Except the High priest of Asura. Pelias in the original stories was on Conan's side and nevertheless managed to creep him out so badly that Conan felt no [[Fire -Forged Friends|friendship]] for him after, a circumstance so odd that Conan muses on it.
* [[Manly Tears]]: When finding his son Conn after he was kidnapped by a witch.
* [[Mars Needs Women]]
* [[Master Swordsman]]: Played straight and subverted. Unlike in the Arnold films, the original Conan does not receive formal training in swordsmanship, being a barbarian. But he is able to defeat certified Master Swordsmen ''because'' he is a barbarian. Spelled out in the story "The Pool of the Black One":
{{quote| "Zaporavo was the veteran of a thousand fights by sea and by land. There was no man in the world more deeply and thoroughly versed than he in the lore of swordcraft. But he had never been pitted against a blade wielded by thews bred in the wild lands beyond the borders of civilization. Against his fighting-craft was matched blinding speed and strength impossible to a civilized man. Conan's manner of fighting was unorthodox, but instinctive and natural as that of a timber wolf. The intricacies of the sword were as useless against his primitive fury as a human boxer's skill against the onslaughts of a panther."}}
* [[Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane]]
* [[Memento MacGuffin]]
* [[The Men First]]
Line 601:
* [[Modest Royalty]]: As King of Aquilonia, Conan doesn't dress in the ostentation of various other kings of the land.
* [[More Than Mind Control]]: Thulsa Doom uses this on Conan's mom in the original film. He tries it on Conan too, but it doesn't work.
* [[Moses in The BullrushesBulrushes]]
* [[Murder the Hypotenuse]]
* [[Music Magic]]
Line 612:
* [[Ninja]]: The followers of Louhi are Hyperborean wearing form-fitting black suits, blank masks and wielding platinum-tipped sticks. Yeah, that's right, Finnish Ninjas.... Finnjas.
* [[Noble Savage]]: Conan himself certainly fits the bill, although other uncivilized types like the Picts are portrayed as [[Always Chaotic Evil]]. Quite forcefully ''averted'' in the original stories, however. In Howard's own words, "I have no idyllic view of barbarism - as near as I can learn it's a grim, bloody, ferocious and loveless condition. I have no patience with the depiction of the barbarian of any race as a stately, god-like child of Nature, endowed with strange wisdom and speaking in measured and sonorous phrases." Conan is simply far too busy enjoying his life of bloody adventure to bother with such high-minded nonsense.
* [[NoblewomansNoblewoman's Laugh]]: In one case, [[Mind Screw|it came]] [[Nightmare Fuel|from the lips of]] a [[Blob Monster|gelatinous, tentacled, toad headed monstrosity]].
* [[Not Quite Dead]]
* [[Obfuscating Disability]]: In "A Witch Shall Be Born", Salome tossed the head of a murdered man to a deaf beggar — who proves to be Valerius, who heard that the true queen is prisoner there.
Line 640:
* [[Precursors]]
* [[The Promise]]
* [[Protagonist -Centered Morality]]: Whenever we see Conan, he's acting honourably towards people he ''knows''. Offscreen, as a barbarian, mercenary and pirate, he has no qualms at all about pillaging peaceful villages and merchant shipping.
* [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]]
* [[Pulling Themselves Together]]: Tsotha-lanti.
Line 651:
* [[Rated M for Manly]]: But of course.
* [[Real After All]]: In ''The Frost Giant's Daughter'' and ''The Phoenix on the Sword'' there are people who initially disbelieve Conan's stories about clashes with supernatural beings. But then Conan produces physical proof of his encounter, immediately silencing the disbelievers.
* [["The Reason You Suck" Speech]]:
** Conan gives one of these to Constantius in "A Witch Shall Be Born" while the latter is hanging on a cross.
{{quote| "Seven months ago, Constantius," said Conan, "it was I who hung there, and you who sat here."<br />
Line 670:
** The first film features Conan's quest for vengeance after his family and people are slain by Thulsa Doom. Nothing of the sort happens or is even implied in Howard's texts.
** In "A Witch Shall Be Born", Conan is crucified after he realizes the [[Evil Twin]] of a queen he's serving has taken her place. He survives to lead an invasion against the impostor, while the queen is rescued by a secondary protagonist.
** In "Iron Shadows in the Moon", a fugitive Conan comes by chance upon a warlord who had recently slaughtered a mercenary band he served in (about to rape the [[Girl of the Week|Girl of the Story]]) - and, with a [[Pre -Ass -Kicking One -Liner|Pre Asskicking Monologue]], kills him in turn.
{{quote| ..."Oh, I've dreamed of such a meeting as this, while I crawled on my belly through the brambles, or lay under rocks while the ants gnawed my flesh, or crouched in the mire up to my mouth - I dreamed, but never hoped it would come to pass. Oh, gods of Hell, how I have yearned for this!"<br />
[...]<br />
Line 701:
** Arguably he himself is bought as one for [[Amazonian Beauty|the Amazon Queen]].
** Conan himself is rescued by one of these in ''The Hour of the Dragon''. Her name is Zenobia and she is a slave in the King of Nemedia's harem, although she admits that the King of Nemedia has never touched her (probably due to the fact that his harem contains dozens, if not hundreds of girls). {{spoiler|After she helps Conan escape the royal palace of Nemedia, he rewards Zenobia by marrying her and making her the queen of Aquilonia.}}
* [[Self -Made Man]]: "King by his own hand."
* [[Shrouded in Myth]]
* [[Silver Has Mystic Powers]]: And is the only thing other than fire that can hurt demons.
Line 709:
* [[Space Jews]]: The folowers of Asura, a secretive group, persecuted by the followers of [[Crystal Dragon Jesus|Mitra]] but protected by Conan because no one can prove any of the accusations against them (and who aid him in ''Hour of the Dragon'') might be this.
** Asura being ancient demigods of India, Hyborian Asura-followers would seem to be proto-Hindus. They speak of their ancestors as coming from Vendhya (India). This may be an example of [[History Marches On]]. Howard didn't know it, probably just pulled the name "Asura" from an encyclopedia; but it is now known that the historical Asura deities began as good guys who developed a bad reputation, just as the Hyborian ones did.
* [[Spin -Off]]: ''[[Red Sonja]]''.
* [[The Stoic]]: Movie Conan was this. At Valeria's [[Burn, Baby, Burn|funeral pyre]], Subotai poignantly pointed out: "He is Conan, Cimmerian. [[He Will Not Cry So I Cry for Him|He will not cry, so I cry for him]]".
** Howard's Conan, too, to a degree.
* [[A Storm Is Coming]]
Line 724:
* [[Tome of Eldritch Lore]]
* [[Too Kinky to Torture]]: Andrew J. Offut's Isparana, implied.
* [[Trick Arrow]]: Thulsa Doom in the movie fires snake-arrows - [[MST3K Mantra|arrows that are originally snakes]], are pulled out and magically made into arrows, then fired, then they turn back into snakes. [[What Do You Mean ItsIt's Not Awesome?|Fortunately, this is too awesome to be laughed at]].
* [[The Magic Goes Away]]: Pelias informed Conan that due his actions the world is entering in a new age of reason and logic and without magic.
* [[Turncoat]]
Line 749:
** Besides [[Stargate Atlantis|Jason Momoa]], the other two main contenders for the lead in the Conan reboot were [[Twilight (Literature)|Kellan Lutz]] and [[Supernatural (TV)|Jared Padalecki.]]
** Around 2001 and 2002, John Milius (the man who wrote and directed the 1982 film) wrote a script titled ''King Conan: Crown of Iron'' that was intended to be a ''true'' sequel to the original film (as opposed to ''Conan the Destroyer'', which was considered a disappointment to most fans of the original). The film entered the pre-production stages and Schwarzenegger was set to star in it. However, when Schwarzenegger was elected Governer of California in 2003 the project was put on indefinite hiatus and eventually canceled.
* [[What Happened to The Mouse?]]
* [[What Year Is This?]]
* [[Wheel of Pain]]: The film is the [[Trope Namer]].
* [[With Great Power Comes Great Insanity]]: Magic, even [[White Magic]], is a definite corruptive force in Conan's world. Use it at your peril.
Line 776:
[[Category:index]]
[[Category:Conan The Barbarian]]
[[Category:Trope]][[Category:Pages with comment tags]]
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Special:MobileDiff/482501"