Conveniently an Orphan: Difference between revisions
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{{quote|'''Refia:''' I am thankful to Father for taking care of an orphan like me for all these years, but...this is something I have to do.
'''Luneth:''' Wait...you're an orphan, too?
'''Refia:''' "Too"? You mean--
'''Arc:''' I'm one, too!
'''Ingus:''' Wait a minute...I, too, have no parents...
|''[[Final Fantasy III]] DS''}}
All people come with a past, a family, friends, a heritage, in other words: Every person has roots!
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Conveniently, these heroes can answer the [[Call to Adventure]] because they don't have other responsibilities. This lack of older responsibilities is also exactly what allows the heroes to take on the new responsibilities that come from being hero.
Often used as character backgrounds in tabletop adventures: Such a character's background often consists of "My parents were killed by (insert [[
Handily prevents the sadistic [[Game Master]] from exploiting [[The Load|'weak links']] that can get [[
Oddly enough, family outside of parents is never mentioned. Apparently [[World of No Grandparents|no one ever has grandparents]] or cousins, although having an uncle (and sometimes aunt) as surrogate parents is a common mythological motif. Siblings seem to only show up for plot-based
The hero's orphaning is also a nice triggering point for the hero's journey. This part of the Hero's backstory is often covered in a [[Flash Back]]. If the orphaning happens at the very beginning of the story, instead of in the background, it's usually covered by [[Doomed Hometown]].
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Not to be confused with [[Self-Made Orphan]].
{{
== Anime and Manga ==▼
* ''[[Combattler V]]'': Hyoma Aoi, the captain of Combattler team, lived in an orphanage after his parents' deaths. Seeing someone killing the parents of a child -or even an animal cub- is one of his [[Berserk Button
▲== Anime ==
▲* ''[[Combattler V]]'': Hyoma Aoi, the captain of Combattler team, lived in an orphanage after his parents' deaths. Seeing someone killing the parents of a child -or even an animal cub- is one of his [[Berserk Button|Berserk Buttons]]. His [[Love Interest]], Chizuru Nanbara not only was an orphan girl but also her only grandfather died shortly after the beginning of the series.
* ''[[Cutey Honey]]'': Honey Kisaragi lost her father early on the series. His death triggered her war against the terrorist group named Panther Claw.
* ''[[Daimos]]'': Kazuya lost her parents before the start of the series. Erika's father died shortly before Kazuya's father, and THAT is what starts off the history.
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* ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'': Asuka and Shinji have been selected as the second and third children to pilot Evas ''because'' their mothers are dead. {{spoiler|Their souls were used in the creation of Eva-01 and Eva-02.}} Shinji's father couldn't care any less about his son as a person (given what Gendo told in End Of Evangelion {{spoiler|before dying,}} YMMV on this), while Asuka's father, almost immediately after her mother's death, married the woman with whom he was having an affair. It shouldn't surprise anyone that Rei [[Artificial Human|doesn't have any parents at all]]. Also Misato's father was killed with the entire rest of the Antarctic expedition, and Ritsuko's mother killed herself {{spoiler|after Gendo got her into his bed to exploit her}}.
** Kaji also discovers that Shinji's school is a front for the powers that be, and that ''all'' of Shinji's classmates are potential Children candidates, meaning many of them may be orphans as well. It's suggested for two side characters, and canonically stated for one, that their parents are dead as well.
*
* ''[[Sorcerer Stabber Orphen|Orphen]]''.
* Pretty much applies to most of the main characters in ''[[Chrono Crusade]]'':
** Rosette and Joshua's parents died in a ship wreck when they were young children, and after that they spent most of their life in an
** Azmaria's parents either abandoned her because of her powers, or were killed during the war, depending on which version you're following.
** Satella's parents were killed by a demon when she was a child. Her sister was also kidnapped by the
* In ''[[Slayers]]'', Zelgadis and Gourry both have no parents (Zelgadis' great-grandfather [[Affably Evil|Rezo]] killed his, and Gourry's were killed during a [[Big Screwed-Up Family|family feud]]), and Sylphiel, Filia, Pokota, Amelia, and {{spoiler|Naga}} only have one parent each (a father, actually); in Sylphiel's case, she falls under this trope when her father is [[Killed Off for Real]] in the third [[Light Novel]]/late first season of the anime in a [[No Kill Like Overkill|townwide explosion]]. Ironically, the main protagonist's ([[Red Headed Heroine|Lina]]) parents are both alive and well.
** And the status of the parents of Lina's later allies in the novels (Luke and Milina) is unknown.
* 80% of all characters in ''[[G Gundam]]'' are orphans, major and minor characters, and a few of them have only one parent. The rest are undetermined. For many of them, this plays a role in why they became Gundam Fighters.
* Almost everyone in ''[[Saint Seiya:
* Hayate of ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'', which allowed her to raise a family of [[Ridiculously-Human Robots|sentient alien programs]] on her own [[Wise Beyond Their Years|since the age of nine]] and, as mentioned in the [[Comic Book Adaptation|supplementary comics]], move to Mid-childa before she even graduated from high school. Like most orphans, she does have an "[[Honorary Uncle|uncle]]" who was a friend of her father's taking care of her, although it's only financially {{spoiler|and it turns out that he never knew her father, and believes that because she is an orphan, few will have to mourn her once she's sealed away with the Book of Darkness}}.
* Most of the Strawhat crew in ''[[
** For a while, it seemed that Luffy was a victim of this trope as well, his lack of parentage explained with a throwaway remark that "that kid has no parents" in the first chapter. Years later, we learned that Luffy was actually raised by his grandfather, and that his dad, at least, is alive (he's just the most wanted man in the world, which can make it tough to raise a kid.)
* Simon of ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]'' lost his parents in an earthquake before the start of the series, so when his [[Blood Brothers|blood brother]] Kamina decides they're going to the surface, he doesn't have anything holding him back. In a twist, Gimmy and Darry are chosen to go to the surface explicitly because they don't have family who will mourn their departure.
* Nearly all of the members of the ''[[Science Ninja Team Gatchaman
* Sousuke Sagara of ''[[Full Metal Panic!]]'' being rendered an orphan helps justify why he can keep risking his life with no regard for consequences. Although his mother dying for his sake and her dramatic [[Last Words]] telling him he must "live," "never give up," and "fight!" does have the other purpose of making him the [[Crazy Survivalist]] he is today, it mainly seems to serve as a plot device to allow the readers to realize he simply has no one waiting for him.
* At one point in ''[[Hellsing]]'', during the [[Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene|Quiet Drama Scene]], while discussing Seras' progress Alucard asks Walter how they covered up her death and how her family is taking it. When Walter replies that she has none and is an orphan, Alucard sardonically replies "Of ''course'' she is". However, since Seras was already an adult by the time she died, the circumstances and consequences of her parents' deaths turns out to be a major part of her character and the series veering into [[Crapsack World]] territory and running on [[Black and Grey Morality]], it's a justified trope.
* Son Goku of ''[[
* ''[[Kimba the White Lion]]'': Played straight with [[Love Interest|Lyra]] who is able to play and go on adventures with Kimba, but the trope is [[Deconstructed Trope|deconstructed]] with Kimba due to his [["Well Done, Son" Guy]] relationship he has with his father who [[Death
* In ''[[Pokémon Special]]'', Red is the only Dex Holder to have no family even alluded to, leaving him free to travel the world where ever and whenever he wants.
* ''[[Gunslinger Girl]]''. Done plausibly as the Social Welfare Agency only selects girls for its secret killer cyborg program who don't have extended families who'll be concerned about them. As a victim of child sex trafficking, Triela's background is unknown even to the Agency. Henrietta's entire family was murdered and Angelica's parents are in prison. Petra's family are too poor to travel from Russian to see their
* In ''[[Berserk]]'', all of the main cast have [[Parental Abandonment]] issues, but Griffith is the only one who has absolutely no mention of any sort of guardianship in his early life, making it quite convenient for him to up and decide that he was going to become a king someday and to get there, he needed to start a ragtag bunch of misfit mercenaries.
* Ciel Phantomhive's parents are dead in ''[[Black Butler]]''. This not allows him to go on missions from the Queen, in the past his father's job, but Ciel also gets to be an earl and a [[Grade School CEO]]. He has other relatives though, but the other inhabitants of the Phantomhive Manor have no known family at all.
== Comic Books ==
* [[Golden Age]] and [[Silver Age]] [[Superman]] is orphaned by both his biological ''and'' adoptive parents. Other versions have Martha and sometimes Jonathan alive as well.
* [[Iron Man]]
* [[Batman]]
* [[Spider
** Also more than a few members of the supporting cast have lost one (Mary Jane, Harry Osborn, John Jameson) or both (Betty Brant, Gwen Stacy) parents.
* The debut issue of ''[[Incredible Hulk
** Much later, we learn that Bruce is also an orphan. Bruce's mother was killed by his father when he was a child, and Bruce (accidentally?) killed his father shortly before the explosion that made him the Hulk.
* Several mutant characters from Marvel's X-Books are orphans; sometimes by abandonment, sometimes by death, by murder, or by parents becoming a demon bear...
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* The Plutonian of ''[[Irredeemable]]'' is yet another convenient superhero orphan. The series actually deconstructs this Trope, examining the effect it can really have on a little boy with super-powers.
** The Plutonian was also abandoned by his subsequent foster parents, after he accidentally crippled their biological son. They even devoted themselves to ''never speak again'' just so he wouldn't pick up their voices by superhearing.
* [[
* [[Tintin
== Film ==
* In [[Idiocracy]], Joe is chosen for the freezing experiment partially because he is orphaned, so nobody would come ask questions if something went wrong with the experiment. {{spoiler|It does.}}
* [[James Bond]] is an orphan.
** Used as a (possible) plot point; he was chosen ''because'' he's an orphan, so family is not a factor upon training/traveling, nor will it be leverage should he be captured.
* A great many of the main characters in ''[[Star Wars]]'' are orphans. Han Solo and Anakin Skywalker are both orphans. Both Luke and Leia are orphaned - twice. Every Jedi raised back the Clone Wars era (and a long time before that as well), save Anakin and a few others I may have forgotten, was taken from their parents when they were still an infant and brought to the Temple.
* {{spoiler|Flynn Rider}} has this trope as part of his backstory in ''[[
* The two aliens of ''[[Megamind]]'' are both orphans in the extreme, given that their entire home planets have been destroyed. This allows them to experience two very different childhoods upon arriving on Earth.
* An extreme number of Disney characters have missing or killed parents. The characters where both parents are absent are: [[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]], [[Lilo and Stitch|Lilo and Nani]], [[Snow White and
* Subverted in ''[[Ordinary People]]'' (the novel more than the film, though it's mentioned in both). Calvin, the father, grew up in an orphanage in Detroit. While he lives a very stable life as a successful tax lawyer with a wife and children, he's haunted by his past and admits to feelings of rootlessness when he talks to his son's psychiatrist.
== Literature ==
* ''[[
▲* ''[[The Lord of the Rings (Literature)|The Lord of the Rings]]'': Frodo Baggins was orphaned at twelve, but was raised in his family's home by said extended family; when he turned 21 (adult-ish but not yet legally adult for hobbits) he was adopted by and went to live with his 'uncle' Bilbo (who, of course, conveniently leaves).
** Bilbo himself, though not an orphan, manages to avoid marriage, and thus has no family ties holding him back when he goes on his adventure.
* [[Oliver Twist]] is an orphan.
* Molly Moon from the Molly Moon books, as well as most of her friends.
* Kinsey Millhone loves being an orphan (was raised by her aunt).
* [[Harry Potter]] is an orphan, raised by his aunt and uncle. [[
* ''[[Warhammer
** Commissiars are required to be orphans. As a consequence:
*** [[Sandy Mitchell]]'s [[Ciaphas Cain]]. Amberly Vail notes that he gives out little information about his past, and that about his parents contradicts known facts.
*** [[Dan Abnett]]'s Ibram Gaunt of ''[[
** Ragnor Blackmane, of William King's ''[[Space Wolf]]'' novels, is orphaned in the opening of the first. A major motivation for him is desire for [[Revenge]] on a fellow Space Marine who had been part of the opposing force.
* You would not believe how many characters in the [[Star Wars Expanded Universe]] are orphaned. [[X Wing Series|Wedge Antilles]] lost both his parents when he was around twelve, Tycho Celchu was a pilot for the Empire whose entire family was on Alderaan, Corran Horn lost his mother to a speeder accident and his father to a criminal. Most of these characters are adults, and the loss of their parents spurred them to join the Rebellion. While her parents aren't dead, Mara Jade was taken from them at an early age and never looked back.
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** His ''mother'' left before he was born.
*** Lampshaded/mentioned in Unseen Academicals when only people with a note from their mother are excused from playing football. Rincewind asks the Arch-Chancellor for permission to go ask his mother for such a note. "I thought you said you didn't have a mother." [beat] "Permission to go find her, Arch-Chancellor?"
* Simon from ''[[Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn
* In the Replica series, Nancy Candler is an orphan with no living relatives, making it easy for her to pass off an adopted genetically altered clone as her biological daughter without anyone raising eyebrows.
* The title character in ''[[James and
* [[Moses in
** Actually, Moses biological parents weren't only alive when they cast him off, his mom wound up becoming his nurse, so they raised him too.
* [[Doc Savage]] lost his father in his very first adventure, The Man of Bronze, and his mother had died at some point prior to that. Which begs the question, if you're full grown when your parents die, are you still an orphan?
* In [[A Song of Ice and Fire]], Yoren deliberately invokes this, telling {{spoiler|Arya}} to claim to be an orphan, since no one will give an orphan taking the Black a second glance.
* Per [[Word of God]], virtually everyone in the web-novel ''[[
* Harry Dresden, from the Dresden Files. His mother died shortly after he was born, and his father died when he was around 7. Then, later on, while living with Justin Du Morne he's orphaned again when {{spoiler|he kills Justin}}.
* ''Sisterhood'' series by [[Fern Michaels]]: Okay, Nikki Quinn's parents are dead. Kathryn Lucas's parents are dead. Isabelle Flanders's parents are dead (maybe). Yoko Akia's mother is dead and her father is a [[Complete Monster]]. Abner Tookus's parents are dead (maybe). There's certainly a lot of orphan characters to go around!
* ''[[The
* Subverted in [[
== Live Action TV ==
* [[Bones]] - Dr. Brennan's emotional interface may be glitchy, but any one she deals with who comments on her inability to sympathize gets slammed when they find out she lost her parents at a young age, conveniently explaining why she might come off disturbed but assuring everyone that she understands.
* [[Doctor Who]] companions in the classic series are often orphans - sometimes with [[Death
** Now the Doctor himself is basically orphaned after the [[Death
** Amy Pond has an aunt, but is essentially a orphan. {{spoiler|At least up until "The Big Bang", when it turns out her parents got [[Ret-Gone|erased from time]], and the Doctor uses the [[Reset Button]] to bring them back.}}
* [[Revenge (TV series)|Revenge]] is centered around this trope. Amanda/Emily's whole purpose is to avenge her father, who was framed for aiding terrorists and later died; her mother passed away when she was a small child.
== Tabletop Games ==
* This is about as frequent as [[You All Meet in An Inn]] in this medium. In any given party, someone probably has this as his or her backstory.
* Demotivational posters refer to parents as "DM Hostages".
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== Video Games ==
* A ''[[Parental Abandonment|really]]'' common occurrence in ''[[Final Fantasy]]'':
** Cloud from ''[[
*** And Aerith (though she was raised by Elmyra for fifteen years), Tifa, Marlene (raised by Barret), Red XIII...
** In ''[[
** Most of the main characters are orphans in ''[[
** ''[[
** ''[[
** ''[[
** Zidane in ''[[
** In ''[[
** ''[[
** Both Vaan and Penelo from ''[[
*** Ditto with [[Ascended Extra
** Lightning, Serah, and Snow in ''[[
*** Though this is totally averted with the [[Big Bad]]. {{spoiler|It's unclear if, as a [[Mechanical Lifeform]], it really has parents, but the game is fond of related symbolism in regards to it, and at the very least it was abandoned by the gods who created it. Unlike the heroes, it took the [[Orphan's Ordeal|trauma]] of this situation rather badly. [[Suicidal Cosmic Temper Tantrum|very badly]] actually.}} Unfortunately the heroes never [[Not So Different|discuss this]].
** Rafa and Malak in ''[[
* [[Follow the Leader|Similarly]], Dart from ''[[Legend of Dragoon]]'', in addition to the [[Doomed Hometown]] at the beginning of the game.
* [[Metroid|Samus Aran]] was orphaned and raised by Chozo, who have since [[Ascend to
* ''[[Disgaea]]'': Larharl and Etna are orphans. {{spoiler|At least, Laharl ''thinks'' he's one.}}
* As is Cornet, the main character of ''[[
* ''[[
* ''[[Phantom Brave]]'': Marona and Ash become orphans in the introduction.
* ''[[Soul Nomad and The World Eaters]]'': Revya and Danette are orphans.
* ''[[
** She definitely counts in ''[[The Legend of Zelda:
* ''[[Fire Emblem]]'' viciously delights in killing off family. It's gotten to the point that if a character has a parent/sibling/uncle that loves them, nine out of ten times they're dead before the game is up, if not killed before it. {{spoiler|Lyn's parents were both killed by bandits, Hector's parents and brother die of disease, Eliwood's dad is killed by Nergal, Raven's parents committed suicide when their house was attacked, Lucius's father was killed and his mother died of sickness, Serra's parents abandoned her, Erk's are absent, both Jaffar and Nino have dead parents, Lowen probably takes the cake though, having lost first his parents, then his grandparents in fairly quick succession.}}
** You missed the worst part of Nino's family situation: {{spoiler|Her adopted family are all bosses late in the game. The worst part of it is, they're not bad guys at all, and some of the conversations if you force Nino to attack them are pretty heart wrenching. Worse still, their dead bodies are reanimated in the last level, which means she has to kill them TWICE.}}
*** What about the other part? {{spoiler|When she faces off against Sonia, the woman she thought of as her mother her entire life and who she only wanted to please, the bitch is quite happy to tell Nino how she slaughtered the girl's real parents for their knowledge on dragons and Nino's real mother died shielding her. Oh, and the only reason Sonia didn't kill Nino as well is because she figured Nino might be useful later.}}
* In ''[[Tales of Vesperia]]'', just about everyone in your entire party is an orphan. With most of them, all we get is either the parent left or the parent died, or both, no further explanation. We only find out how one parent died, although it's implied (very ''very'' subtly) that several of the mothers died in childbirth. In all honesty, it feels a little ridiculous at times.
* ''[[
* In [[Baten Kaitos]], Kalas has no parents, although he makes mention to being raised by his grandfather, and to having a brother. {{spoiler|He's an [[Artificial Human]], and his grandfather actually created him.}}
** The prequel, surprisingly, averts this: Sagi's implied to be the only biological child of the woman who runs his town's orphanage, and Milly's dad is {{spoiler|one of the villains}}. Also played with: One of the boss fights culminates in YOU orphaning one of the original game's party members.
* In [[
** Isaac's father and Jenna's parents and brother are killed off right in the intro. Then it quickly turns out that the brother survived and seems to be an enemy. Then in the second game, {{spoiler|it turns out the trope is completely subverted: the parents and Isaac's dad also survived and were made hostages, and saving them is a big motivator to the quest. So the kids are not actually orphans... then [[Self-Made Orphan|they accidentally almost kill their own parents themselves]] near the end of the game.}} Poor Isaac's mother has to almost force her son to keep going on his quest and is a source of worry, as she falls gravely ill in his absence.
** Ivan is an orphan and his adoptive father is kidnapped as you meet him, but the trope is toyed with: you're told that you can't do anything about it and you should just leave the father behind, but Ivan worries a lot, and you get an optional sidequest to free his father and ease his mind; and in the second game {{spoiler|Ivan's mysterious parentage is a plot point}}.
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** Mia would be a straight example, having simply no mentioned family at all... but she is the one character who is sad to leave (she says farewell to her two young apprentices) and it's more a case of "conveniently rid of her town-healer duties".
** And Garet is a complete aversion: he's the only cast member who has a large, living and functional family, but they all encourage him to save the world and fatherless Isaac gets more angst; then in the ''epilogue cutscene'' of the second game {{spoiler|Garet comes home, finds the town destroyed, and thinks for a moment that they all died}}.
** The first four heroes of ''[[Golden Sun: Dark Dawn]]'' all have at least one parent still alive and caring for
* In the ''[[Metal Gear]] Solid'' games, the circumstances which led to Otacon being an orphan are a significant aspect of his [[The Woobie|woobie status]].
* Averted to a certain degree for some of the Origins in ''[[Dragon Age]]: Origins''. The character does have relatives, and not all of them die in the prologue. For practical purposes, it still amounts to the same, though.
** Played straight with some of your companions (Leliana, Zevran, etc.), and in Alistair's case, it's even a plot point.
** Also parodied in the elven Alienage, where the number of "orphans" is directly proportional to the amount of money you're giving the beggars.
{{quote|
* [[Multiple Choice Past|Two of the three options]] in ''[[
* Implied to be the case with the eponymous characters of the ''[[Jak and Daxter]]'' series. They get flung forward in time in the sequel, and don't have any problem staying around. The orphan thing is explored/confirmed for [[The Hero|Jak]], but is still only an implication for Daxter, though [[Fanon|no one is saying otherwise]].
* Ratchet of ''[[Ratchet and Clank]]'' believes he is the only Lombax left in the universe. Although {{spoiler|this is proven wrong when Alister Azimuth, another Lombax, appears}} in ''[[Ratchet and Clank]]'' Future: A Crack in Time, Ratchet is forced to {{spoiler|kill Azimuth at the end, leaving him alone once again}}.
* Of the eight human protagonists of ''[[
** The tone of the game may help. ''Persona 3'' is darker than ''Persona 4'' and most of the time, the abandoment is ether a direct or indirect result of the Krijo group's expermentation on the Shadows, with the other two members having parents that made it personally preferable to live in the dorm.
* In ''[[
* [[Deconstructed Trope|Deconstructed]] with a vengence in ''[[Drakengard]]''.
== Web Comics ==
* The protagonist in Holiday Wars is one, which can be seen [https://web.archive.org/web/20141007082220/http://www.holiday-wars.com/blog/2010/07/26/episode-11/ in this episode.]▼
* Characters from [https://web.archive.org/web/20171212154432/http://www.goldcoincomics.com/ Gold Coin Comics], such as Lance and Theo.▼
▲* The protagonist in Holiday Wars is one, which can be seen [http://www.holiday-wars.com/blog/2010/07/26/episode-11/ in this episode.]
* "Onion Kid" alias "Rex" alias {{spoiler|"Sarda"}} from ''[[8-Bit Theater
▲* Characters from [http://www.goldcoincomics.com Gold Coin Comics], such as Lance and Theo.
* Hanna of [[Hanna Is Not a
▲* "Onion Kid" alias "Rex" alias {{spoiler|"Sarda"}} from ''[[8-Bit Theater (Webcomic)|Eight Bit Theater]]'' was orphaned so often, that he's stopped looking for foster parents or even an orphanage who'd still take him in. This trauma is actually the cause for pretty much everything that happened in the comic to begin with, thanks to a [[Stable Time Loop]].
* [[The Dreamland Chronicles]]: [https://web.archive.org/web/20120810050240/http://www.thedreamlandchronicles.com/the-dreamland-chronicles/chapter-05/page-284/ Felicity lightly mentions that she was orphaned.]▼
▲* Hanna of [[Hanna Is Not a Boys Name]] never mentions his family, but it's implied that he has no immediate relatives in the city.
▲* [[The Dreamland Chronicles]]: [http://www.thedreamlandchronicles.com/the-dreamland-chronicles/chapter-05/page-284/ Felicity lightly mentions that she was orphaned.]
* Jade Harley from [[Homestuck]], who was raised by her pet dog after her grandfather died. {{spoiler|Technically speaking, John is an orphan too: both his and Jade's biological parents are long dead. He is raised by his 'father', who is technically his half-brother. Oh, and his and Jade's biological parents are John's grandmother and Jade's grandfather. [[Mind Screw|Confused yet?]]}}
** And as of {{spoiler|2/19, all of the kids are orphans in both the traditional and technical sense. [[Funny Aneurysm Moment|Damn.]]}}
** Troll society is entirely like this, as the adults go off to conquer the universe while they leave the planet in the hands of the youth for the most part, leaving them to be [[Raised
** In the Alpha universe, {{spoiler|Roxy and Dirk}}. It's hinted that {{spoiler|Betty Crocker}} had their parents killed in order to get them interested in playing Sburb.
* Most of the cast in [[Dubious Company]]. Sal is the only character firmly established as having living relatives.
** The Sues were adopted by [[The Dragon|Izor]] after their family was [[Death
** [[Hypercompetent Sidekick|Gary Stu]] appears to have taken the [[Promotion to Parent|parental role]] for his brother.
** Walter, Tiren, and Elly have fond childhood memories, but appear to no longer have ties to their families. [[Homeless Hero|They]] were visibly distraught when Sal asked if they had a home.
* Pepper and Saffron from ''[[Pepper&Carrot]]''.
== Western Animation ==
* Ronaldo from the Brazil episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]''. Conveniently as an orphan, he doesn't have parents hogging his money he gets from perfoming on ''Teleboobies'', and he assists the Simpsons in paying Homer's ransom.
* Sinedd of [[Galactik Football]] is able to run off and join The Shadows despite a large song and dance being made in the very same episode about the need for parental permission. His departure isn't justified with this trope for another 18 episodes.
** Orphan or not, Sinedd was already of age, making the parental permission unnecessary for him.
* The Disney version of [[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]]. The original folklore version had a dead father but a living mother; the Disney version has neither parent until we find out in the third movie that his father only [[Disappeared Dad|disappeared.]]
** According to [[Word of God]], the Disney Aladdin was originally supposed to have a mom, who functioned as his conscience of sorts; however, it was decided that the [[An Aesop|Aesop]] would be more meaningful [[Be Yourself|if he learned it on his own]].
* Likely a requirement to be part of the ''[[Teen Titans (
** Cyborg's father is (presumably) alive. In the comics he was the one who made him a... well, [[Shaped Like Itself|Cyborg]].
** We also get to meet Beast Boy's (adoptive) parents, Elasti-Girl is pretty nice, but Mento is bit of a jerk.
** In ''[[Teen Titans Go
** Robin's parents are dead as always, but this incarnation heavily implies that he even ditched his "father" [[Batman]] so he could move on. (And ended up gathering a bunch of friends around him instead, but no adults. The closest thing to a parent he has is [[Big Bad|Slade]] purring about what a great apprentice he could be...)
* Buck and Larry 3000 of ''[[Time Squad]]'' needed Otto from the 20th century since he knows more history than they do. Since he's an orphan with no real roots, they adopted him despite the fact that it might alter history.
== Real Life ==
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Parental Issues]]
[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Orphaned Index]]
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