Cool Old Guy: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

{{quote|''"Anyway, I'm not a cliché,

''I hardly own any ties.

''I may be old but at least I'm not

 

 

He usually [[Badass Normal|won't have any special powers]] but that's only to marginally keep him from intruding on the other's limelight. He usually either has a dated and dramatic but lovable personality or is a complete no-nonsense hardass, depending on how the other characters act.

 

{{examples}}

* Joseph Joestar from Part 3 of ''[[JoJo's Bizarre Adventure]]''. Not only does he [[Badass Grandpa|fight vampires and telekinetic bad guys]] alongside the younger heroes, but he collects comic books and has a wickedly awesome sense of humor; the latter two are especially put into play in the finale chapter. {{spoiler|After being killed by [[Big Bad|Dio]] and having his blood drained, Joseph is brought back to life with a blood transfusion from Dio's remains. He pretends to be possessed by the vengeful spirit of Dio as a prank on Jotaro, and barely saves his skin from his angry grandson by stating his personal interests. Namely, that he collects comic books, that he knows Bo Derek starred in Tarzan, and that [[Weird Al]] sang "Eat It". Jotaro relents, because [[Something Only They Would Say|"only he would know such stupid things"]]}}

* Dr. Juzo Kabuto from ''[[Mazinger Z]]''. When Dr. Hell sicced an army of [[Humongous Mecha]] on him and his colleagues, he managed escaping alive. Afterwards he spent several years building the titular [[Humongous Mecha]], an eighteen-meter-tall [[One-Man Army]] robot. When one of the henchmnen of Hell blew up his mansion, he got half-buried under several metal rafts, but in spite of he was moribund and trapped in an underground basement, he managed surviving several hours until his grandsons showed up and he could hand Mazinger over to the eldest ([[The Hero|Kouji Kabuto]]). Also, he {{spoiler|saved his son's life by turning him into a cyborg after he nearly got killed cause a lab experiment gone wrong.}} And in the manga and [[Shin Mazinger Shougeki! Z-hen]] he overlaps this with [[Crazy Awesome]].

* Jet from ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]'' (although almost all of the main characters are hardened ultra-cool characters).

{{quote|'''Jet:''' Wait a minute! First of all, I'm [[Younger Than They Look|not old enough to be your father]], all right? Why, if anything, I would be your boyfriend...<ref>Jet's 36, and the girl he's having the current conversation with is around 16.</ref> No, wait, that would be bad, wouldn't it? [[Face Palm|Open foot]], [[Digging Yourself Deeper|insert mouth.]] I mean, I'd be more like your older brother...}}

* Dr. Reichwein from ''[[Monster (manga)|Monster]]''.

* Bear from ''[[.hack|.hack//SIGN]]'' was an older man comfortably pals with a teenage girl, Mimiru, through their shared love of virtual reality online gaming.

* Watari, acting as L's assistant, proxy and [[Battle Butler]] in ''[[Death Note]]''.

* Genkai from ''[[Yu Yu Hakusho]]'', although she is female, follows this trope better than [[Cool Old Lady]]. Oh, and also discounting the fact some of the teenage-appearing cast is [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old]].

* The highly skilled but aged and wearily bitter Shimada Kambei of ''[[Samurai 7]]''. Quite possibly the reason Kirara surprisingly fell for him. Alas, his hardass nature solidifies when he coldly rejects her feelings before she can even get them out.

* Master Asia from ''[[G Gundam]]''.

** Even more so than Lief, there's the [[Ensemble Darkhorse|ever so popular]] [[Magnificent Bastard]] Askeladd and [[Ax Crazy]] Thorkell.

* Gil Graham of ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]''. A kindly old English gent who also happens to be one of the most experienced and powerful mages under the [[The Federation|Space-Time Administration Bureau's]] employ. {{spoiler|Though he turned out to be a [[Treacherous Advisor]] who [[Sealed Evil in a Can|was very reluctantly planning to seal the Book of Darkness together with Hayate]] once the book turns [[Omnicidal Maniac]]}}, the cast didn't blame him too much for it considering the complicated circumstances.

** Since it starts its characters around ten and takes them up to a prematurely-aged forty-something, yeah. {{spoiler|Later-appearing Kenji is pretty good with this, especially considering his scruffy chin,}} but last-stage Shogun wins. A lot.

* ''[[Full Metal Panic!]]'' has Andrey Kalinin, who admittedly plays mostly a support role, but is still a tough old soldier who still has some fight in him, made especially obvious during the Behemoth arc.

** Gauron could be considered this. His [[Ax Crazy]], nutty ways and apparent [[No One Could Survive That|immortality]] have made certain parts of the fandom feel that he's completely awesome.

* The old guy from ''[[Gantz]]''.

* ''[[Tenchi Muyo!]]'': Katsuhito Masaki/Yosho is a [[Badass Mustache|mustached old man who can still kick ass.]] In the original OVA, he's actually physically younger than he appears, but in the Tenchi Universe and Tenchi in Tokyo series, he's genuinely old and a straighter example of the trope. Nobuyuki Masaki is this at times too.

* ''[[Legend of the Galactic Heroes]]'' has Fleet Admirals Merkatz and Bucock from the Empire and Alliance respectively.

* Technicaly count, Shiba Hiroshi in the sequel [[Kotetsushin Jeeg]]. While he is a cyborg and still looks like a normal adult, the sequel takes place 50 years after the original, and his girlfriend already has a grand-daughter as a reference of his age. His age doesnt affect his Badassery though.

* Grandpa Tanaka in [[Yandere Kanojo]]. He [[Smoking Is Cool|smokes]], drinks, speaks informally, and it's implied he sleeps around with younger women (though not too young - when asked to charm a high school girl he was highly reluctant to do so). He's also good natured and friendly to just about everybody, and dispenses useful advice often. His grandson who lives with him, protagonist and [[The Stoic|arch-stoic]] Manabu, has a huge inferiority complex about it though.

 

== Comic Books ==

** While not the [[Trope Namer]], Garrick is referred to as "One cool old man." By Jack Knight in JSA #2.

** Wildcat slept with [[Wonder Woman]]'s mom. That is all.

* ''[[Elf Quest]]'' has a few examples.

** Savah, mother of Memory, is a wise and practical grandmother-figure to the younger Sun Folk and Wolfriders (also very hot).

** Likewise, after some initial misunderstandings have been cleared up, Lord Voll of the Gliders, who is even older, endears himself to the Wolfriders in much the same way. {{spoiler|Unfortunately the trolls kill him.}}

** Then there's Ekuar, the wizened old rock-shaper, who retains his charm and wit despite having survived centuries of mistreatment by the trolls.

* [[X-Men|Charles Francis Xavier]].

** [[Wolverine]], whose healing factor slows down his aging immensely. He was born in the ''late 1800s'' but has looked like he's in his mid-to-late 30s since his introduction.

* [[Douwe Dabbert]].

* [[Asterix|Getafix the Druid]], maker of the magic potion, speaker of Gothic, one of the calmest and most sensible inhabitants of the village, and [[Badass Grandpa]] with [[Magnificent Bastard]] tendencies. No wonder the Romans are after him.

 

== Film ==

{{quote|"I couldn't do the running. I was eighty! I said to [[George Lucas]], I can do the swordfighting, but I can't run!"}}

* [[Rodney Dangerfield]] in ''[[Caddyshack]]''.

** [[The Hunt for Red October|Marko Ramius]] crushes his political officer's windpipe in one blow, falsifies his orders and burns the real ones, takes a nuclear ballistic missile sub to defect to the U.S., and evades detection by the entire Soviet Northern Fleet before blowing up a much more maneuverable Soviet Alfa-class attack submarine with its own torpedo and an American sub as a distraction. And he does all this successfully, ''[[Magnificent Bastard|without his own crew ever suspecting him]]''.

* Practically all of the ''Enterprise'' crew in ''[[Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country|Star Trek VI the Undiscovered Country]]''.

** Alfred Pennyworth, who like his comic book self is something of a [[Battle Butler]].

* Walt Kowalski from ''[[Gran Torino]]''. "Get off my lawn" never sounded so badass.

* Any character played by [[Jackie Chan]] in the later part of his career. The guy still does ALL his own stunts and appears exclusively in films with high kicking action sequences.

* Splinter, at the very end of the ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (film)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' movie.

* Kevin Flynn in [[Tron: Legacy]]. (Castor even says "He shut the whole room down just by walking into it!" Or something to that effect.) Doesn't hurt that he's actually God in that world.

* In the first [[Tron]] film, Walter Gibbs and his digital counterpart Dumont fall into this territory. Gibbs was the guy who founded Encom, but was more interested in [[For Science!|scientific development]] than money. He ''invented'' the laser that got it all started. He was also the only person on-screen who dared to tear [[Corrupt Corporate Executive|Dillinger]] a new one to his face over the way things were run. His counterpart, Dumont, was the one who allowed Tron to get in contact with Alan via his tower and download the upgrade that eventually destroyed Master Control. [[The Dragon|Sark's]] forces eventually catch him, and he's remarkably snarky and sarcastic to them, even in the face of certain de-rez.

{{quote|'''Loki''': There is no man like me.

'''Old Guy''': [[Adolf Hitler|There are always men like you]]. }}

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWSvo0eMK7E Sam The Lion] in ''[[The Last Picture Show]]''.

* [[Secondhand Lions|Hub McCann.]] So, so much.

* Preston Whitmore from ''[[Atlantis: The Lost Empire|Atlantis the Lost Empire]]''.

** Sentinel Prime initially appears to be this to the other Autobots and their human allies, until he [[Face Heel Turn|shows his true colors]].

* The Wiseman/ {{spoiler|Bus Driver}} from ''[[Sucker Punch]]''.

 

== Literature ==

** To clarify on the hobbits. According to the birth dates given on family trees and so forth in the appendixes: At the start of the Quest, Samewise is 39, Merry's 37, and Pippin's 29. Still in his tweens, which is apparently the equivalent of the teens in a human, since thirty-three is coming-of-age for hobbits. This is going by the year of 1419 S.R. as the year the quest began.

** Hobbits also [[Word of God|were thought specifically by Tolkien]] to retain childish appearance (and somewhat childish and carefree way of thinking) for most part of their lives. Peter Jackson's film played this accurately - Bilbo Baggins still has the language and mannerisms of a young lad despite being over 100 years old and near the end of his lifespan.

** Vetinari. About as old as Vimes (if not older). Not only a political mastermind skilled at manipulating people to act in his favour but a former assassin of incredible skill.

** Ridcully, especially when he has a crossbow in his hand.

*** One of his predecessors, Galder Weatherwax was almost as good, but lost it, after going against fate by trying to capture Rincewind.

** Also Reg Shoe, I mean he's not much older than Vimes, but he's 30 years '''dead''' (dies at the end of Night Watch).

** Various other Zombies and Vampires would fit if 'cool' could be used to describe them.

** Alberto Malich, the Wizard who started UU. 87 years old when he blew himself into Death's Domain, and it's been almost 2,000 years since.

* Zedd in the ''[[Sword of Truth]]'' saga.

** Though Nathan is even older and in most cases even cooler. Someone who can serve as estrogen brigade bait (in-universe, anyway) at nearly ''a thousand years old'', be one of the only existing prophets in the world, and be such a powerful wizard and (implied) swordsman to boot definitely deserves a mention here.

* Woodrow Lowe, age 108, from James Thayer's ''Man of the Century.''

* Great-uncle Ebbitt from ''[[The Seventh Tower]]'' combines this with [[Crazy Awesome]].

* The Mariner from the ''[[Keys to the Kingdom]]''. He has a magical harpoon so powerful it hurts others just to use it (he calls [[Empathic Weapon|his 'friend']]), and [[Rule of Cool|a ship that can sail through suns]].

* About ninety percent of persons in the ''[[Honor Harrington]]'' series. Honor herself is ''65'' in the most recent stories. [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old|Yes prolong makes everyone seem younger.]] But prolong has been around only about 2 generations so there are few people over 120 yet.

* In [[Aaron Allston]]'s ''Galatea in 2D'', C. J. teaches them all guns. [[Real Men Wear Pink|He also does all cooking.]]

* ''[[The Railway Series]]'': Edward, Toby, Skarloey, Rheneas, Duke. All of them but Toby were built in the nineteenth century, and all are still in active service. Skarloey and Rheneas would currently be 146 years old. Also applies to Sir Topham Hatt I and Sir Topham Hatt II during certain parts of the series' timeline. Out-of-universe, applies to the original author, the late Rev. Wilbert Awdry, and his son Christopher Awdry who is the current author.

* [[A Tale of Two Cities]]: Mr. Lorry. He is a 75 years old businessman, his business include being a banker, hostage negotiatior, and help refugees to flee the country.

 

== Live Action TV ==

** Then there's Teal'c - ninety-eight years old at the start of the series , ''one hundred and fifty-seven'' by series' end. Time travel was involved.

*** Of course, among the Jaffa, 98 is about the equivalent of, at most, 40 (Teal'c's son was a young adolescent in Season 1) thanks to the life-extending powers of the symbiote.

* [[The Equalizer]]: Robert McCall may be ~50 years old, but he knows kung fu (or something) and can handle any gun. Plus, he is a very cool-tempered Brit.

* The Doctor, on ''[[Doctor Who]]''. Especially his first incarnation, who was created precisely with this trope in mind. William Hartnell doesn't take lip from anyone, young man! Hmmm hmmm! But let's also remember the character is [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old|very very old]], even when he doesn't show it physically.

* Albert (Robert Vaughn) in ''[[Hustle]]''.

* Both James Whittaker III on Hustle and Archie Leach on Leverage, both played by Richard Chamberlain.

** Until Serenity, in which {{spoiler|he's forced to shoot down the Alliance ship destroying his colony before he dies from his injuries.}}

*** That wasn't very Christian of him.

*** Speaking of ''Shindig'', ''Sir'' Warwick Harrow.

* John Locke from ''[[Lost]]''. Subverted when we discover just how pathetic and needy the guy is, though he's definitely starting to [[Character Development|work]] back up to a traditional Cool Old Guy.

* [[Star Trek: The Next Generation|Jean-Luc Picard]] showed enough combat and survival skill in his 60s that he could easily have been a one-man commando unit.

* Raiden, from ''[[Mortal Kombat: Conquest|Mortal Kombat Conquest]]''. His characterization was based on that of the movie's Raiden, which explains a lot.

* Cowley from ''[[The Professionals]]''.

* Regent Correon from ''[[Spellbinder]].'' The oldest and toughest of the Spellbinders, over the course of the series he manages to survive a trip through the Wasteland, takes command of the fanatically anti-Spellbinder [[La Résistance|Marauders]], and trumps [[Big Bad|Ashka's]] plans for world domination with just a video camera and some very loyal decoys.

* Gibbs, [[In the Blood|his father]], [[Badass Israeli|Eli]] [[Abusive Parent|David]], Ducky, and Tony's father in ''[[NCIS]]''.

* Lester Freamon of [[The Wire]]. One of the smartest characters in the entire show and probably the most effective cop. Cool Lester Smooth.

* In the 1998 ''[[Merlin (TV miniseries)|Merlin]]'' series, the titular wizard gradually becomes one of these as the film progresses, and can be seen telling his story to the younger generations in the present. Also of note is the Mountain King, an ancient [[Time Abyss]] voiced by James Earl Jones who casually talks about the dawn of time. "If I can remember ''that'', it means that I'm an ''old'' man!"

*** Uther has a claim, too, despite technically being kind of the villain. Gaius is pretty morally compromised himself.

* ''[[Farscape]]'' - John Crichton becomes one of these in the alternate timeline featured in the episode "The Locket". According to Ben Browder on the DVD commentary for this episode, the Cool Old Guy effect carried over into real life when he found he could get away with a lot of things while dressed in the rather convincing aging makeup.

* The group of old soldiers and hunters in Africa led by Frederick Selous(Paul Freeman) that Indy meets and help him blow up the "Phantom Train of Doom" in ''[[The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles]]''.

* "Big" Ed Deline from ''[[Las Vegas]]'' is arguably cooler than the show's ''main character''.

** Agent Gideon: he's a cool character, he's played by [[Mandy Patinkin|a great actor]] and he's [[The Princess Bride (film)|Inigo Montoya]].

* Larry David in ''[[Curb Your Enthusiasm]]'' wears sneakers, is regarded as cool by his younger black friend Leon, had an attractive wife who was at least 20 years younger. He's regarded as not having grown up properly by most of the characters.

* Trick {{spoiler|aka the Blood King}} from ''[[Lost Girl]]''.

* Jesse Duke, [[The Dukes of Hazzard|the Duke family patriarch]], is a very no-nonsense old man, and everyone gives him proper respect. He was one of the best moonshine runners in his heyday, and he's no slouch when it comes to helping his kin get out of trouble. He's also one of the only people who can keep his nephews under control.

* ''[[The Class (TV series)|The Class]]'': Yonk Allen.

''(Blake Wellsley leaves)''

'''Castle:''' That was ''awesome!!'' }}

 

== Professional Wrestling ==

* In [[Professional Wrestling]], ''any'' wrestler in his late 40s and beyond who can still ''kick ass'' and take a beating definitely counts.

 

 

 

== Tabletop Games ==

** Any space marine, Chaos Space Marine, Necron, Eldar, or Titan princeps. A UNIVERSE of cool old guys.

*** [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old|Well, thats if you consider them "old"]]

*** For those who haven't played [[Final Fantasy Tactics]] or haven't gotten far enough in to get Orlandu/[[Spell My Name with an "S"|Orlandeau]], he has stat growth and damage numbers far beyond what most other classes will ever get in his initial class, begins with a sword that Hastes him, and [[Game Breaker|comes with all of Agrias's, Gaffgarion's, and Meliadoul's sword skills]].

** Maat from ''[[Final Fantasy XI]]'', the one NPC who WILL beat you into the ground when you first fight him. In Wings of The Goddess, you can see him hold off advancing Beastmen armies BY HIMSELF.

** Galuf from ''[[Final Fantasy V]]'' is a 60-year-old man who was one of the four Warriors of Dawn, who had sealed the [[Big Bad]] prior to the game. Not only is he a strong warrior and a king, but he's not above making fun of his younger friends and spouting horrible, wonderful puns. Not to mention the fact that he may be the only game character ever to have been able to {{spoiler|continue fighting while at '''''0 freakin' HP''''', right before a Heroic Sacrifice}}!

* ''[[Advance Wars]]'': The old series had Sensei, who is rumored to be Yellow Comets former legendary commander. The new series have Forsythe, another war hero returned from retirement.

*** "Charge into the toothy maw! For now is the time for a glorious hindspanking!"

*** "This day shall be the greatest of days, unless tomorrow is even greater!"

* Jolee Bindo in ''[[Star Wars]]: [[Knights of the Old Republic]]''. He is a very Cool Old Guy , who feigns deafness and senility but who is still a competent fighter and dispenser of sage advice.

** And he's voiced by [[Kevin Michael Richardson]].

** It is hard to be lawful good and cool at the same time, but he manages it perfectly. The fact that he is the only NPC that can use the uber-paladin sword Carsomyr is just gravy.

** His interactions with [[The Scrappy|Anomen]] (lawful neutral, thinks he's lawful good) frequently take the form of a [[Take That]] at [[Knight Templar|Knight-Templarism]] and/or [[Lawful Stupid]], the basic message being "if you're not ''awesome'', you're doing it wrong".

* Athos the Archsage from ''[[Fire Emblem]] 7''. More than 1000 years old and still quite the [[Eccentric Mentor]], aside of being one [[Eleventh-Hour Superpower|extremely]] ''[[Eleventh-Hour Superpower|powerful]]'' [[Eleventh-Hour Superpower|magic user]].

** In ''[[Fire Emblem]] 6'' and 7 Marcus might be [[The Scrappy]] among players because he's a [[Crutch Character]], but ''in game'' everyone thinks of him as one badass Cool Old Guy.

* Anduin Lothar from the ''[[Warcraft]]'' franchise. Not only was he a [[Badass Grandpa]] who led [[The Alliance]] in a world war, but he serves as a kind of [[Big Brother Mentor]] to Khadgar in ''[[Warcraft: The Last Guardian|Warcraft the Last Guardian]]'', showing much more level-headedness and wisdom than his own King.

* In ''[[World of Warcraft]]'', Tirion Fordring. A retired man living in a hut until the player shakes him up, at which point he reforms an order of paladins, redeems an army of death knights, and leads an army to some [[Grim Up North|godforsaken corner of the world]] to bring judgment to a [[Complete Monster]] [[Physical God]] who threatens all life.

** Better still, in {{spoiler|his fight in [[Aria of Sorrow]]}}, he can use the Grand Cross and it makes PARTS OF THE CASTLE CRUMBLE, and claims to have been holding back despite {{spoiler|being [[That One Boss]] for some people, and this is only using subweapons after halfway into the fight}}. In Dawn, he is bested by Dario, some fire punk foe, but only because he can't seal his dark power. The badass part is that Julius has dealt with sealed enemies before, except he's just beaten the shit out of them before they can regenerate. That's how awesome he is.

* ''[[Pokémon Red and Blue]]'': Professor Oak. Wait, what? Well, in the ''[[Pokémon Special|Adventures/Special]]'' manga, at least - Oak actually competes in the Pokemon League, and beats Blue, and without his lab-coat, he looks surprisingly fit for someone his age. The games themselves note that Oak was a top-class trainer before switching professions, roughly around the level of the Elite Four, since he was friends with Agatha.

** With the use of a cheat device, or a branch of the Mew Glitch, you can unlock a [[Dummied Out]] battle with Professor Oak, where he has some of the most powerful Pokemon in the game, his strongest equaling Mewtwo and their levels on average being the same as the Champion's if not higher. His Pokemon? Tauros, Exeggutor, Arcanine, Gyarados, and the fully evolved starter that wasn't picked. All of them are amongst some of the most powerful Pokemon of the first generation. The guy's a straight-up [[Badass]].

** Also, several Gym leaders from the anime are cool old guys. Blaine/Katsura, Pryce/Yanagi (once he gets [[Defrosting Ice Queen|defrosted]] when {{spoiler|his long-lost Piloswine returns}}), Juan/Adan and Spenser/Ukon come to mind...

* A playable 20-40 throwing the 15-18 [[Competence Zone]] out of balance is a staple of the ''[[Tales (series)|Tales]]'' series.

** Klarth F. Lester, ''[[Tales of Phantasia|Phantasia]]''

** Malik Caesars in ''[[Tales of Graces|Graces]]''.

** ... and though ''[[Tales of Xillia|Xillia]]'' is still in development, Rowen J. Ilbert at 62 years old certainly has a chance of qualifying

* Bill from ''[[Left 4 Dead]]'', an old Vietnam war vet who constantly has a cigarette hanging from his mouth and a witty remark ready for his younger, upstart fellow survivors. One of the lines you can hear him say as you [[Zombie Apocalypse|mow down zombie after zombie]] is "I'll see peace back on Earth if I have to kill every single one of these bastards with my bare GOD DAMN hands!"

** As well as, "I was too old for this shit fifteen years ago."

** It's really too bad in the end though considering he was the one who {{spoiler|sacrificed himself for the team in what ended up being such an anti-climatic way. Thanks again, Valve.}}

* Most of the characters from ''[[Team Fortress 2]]'', with the exception of [[Bratty Half-Pint|the Scout]] and possibly [[The Faceless|the Pyro]], appear to be in the late 40's, early 50's range, making them an entire cast of [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?|Cool Old Guys]].

* Gouken from ''[[Street Fighter]]'' 4.

* ''[[Soul Calibur]]'''s Edge Master.

** Also, Voldo and Cervantes.

* Odin and Tor Anderson in ''[[Alan Wake]]'' might be crazy, but that's part of what makes them cool. The other part is that they're retired rock stars from the band Old Gods of Asgard. They still have a stage with working pyrotechnics at their farm (which is the location of a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]]), they have a ''Viking longboat'' in their barn, they changed their names to Odin and Tor, and they make their own moonshine.

** At one point, Odin comments on [[Mind Screw|the events]] in Bright Falls and their own craziness, saying "It takes crazy to know crazy!"

* Mario Auditore from ''[[Assassin's Creed II]]''. Ezio's uncle acts as [[The Obi-Wan]] and is the one who teaches him how to be an assassin and helps him throughout the entire game.

** Ezio himself can count for this by end of Brotherhood. He's 49, likely the most skilled assassin in Italy {{spoiler|and Grand Master of the Assassin Order in Rome}} in a time where the life expectancy was within the late 40s to early 50s.

*** ''Revelations'' also features Altair being the [[Memetic Badass]] we've come to know him as well into old age.

* Garth from ''[[Fable II]]'' definitely counts. the first time you see him, he's fighting against the ''frakking Commandant.'' And he's not doing to badly.

* [[Okami]] has a dojo in 3 areas, all run by the same guy, who goes by Onigiri Sensei. He barely looks like he's capable of anything at first, but [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKoPJqmO4pk holy crap what is this i dont even]

* [[Golden Sun]]'s Kraden isn't a combatant but a [[Gentleman and a Scholar]] who [[Motor Mouth|provides a great deal of]] [[Exposition Fairy|plot exposition]], but is still ridiculously popular with the fandom, to the point of being worshipped as a deity by a fan forum called the Temple of Kraden, having a [[Fanon]] Christmas-equivalent holiday named for him, and being the subject of several [[Urban Legend of Zelda|hoax cheats to unlock him as a player character]].

** In ''[[Golden Sun: Dark Dawn|Dark Dawn]]'', not only has Kraden's aging been slowed to the point of [[Immortality]] (albeit the [[Blessed with Suck|rather unfortunate]] [[Age Without Youth]] variety), but some of his [[Memetic Badass]] status has [[Ascended Meme|leaked into the universe]], with multiple characters respecting him as a [[Determinator]] who will reach his destination regardless of the traps, monsters, and labyrinths in his way (and this is accurate; he travels ''through a war zone'' to join you!).

** And another in ''Dark Dawn''; over the last thirty years, Briggs went from a youngish pirate and new father to a gray-haired oldster. He has not grown any less badass. {{spoiler|[[Tear Jerker|It doesn't last.]] }}

* The kooky mystic in ''[[Ratchet and Clank Going Commando]]''.

* Augus from ''[[Asura's Wrath]]''.

 

== Web Comics ==

* Lord Shojo from the ''[[The Order of the Stick|Order of the Stick]]''. Even Belkar thought he was cool.

** Yeah, but it was mostly because he ordered paladins to clean his cat's litterbox.

** General Tarquin, ruler of the Western Continent {{spoiler|and Elan's father}}.

* Dan McNinja, father of the titular character of ''[[The Adventures of Dr. McNinja]]''.

* Rocky's 'Grampy' from ''[http://tmi-comic.com/ Too Much Information]''. He's got a black belt in 3 different martial arts, has fought in 2 different wars, has traveled the world as an adventurer-archeologist, and taught English in inner-city schools. While the rest of the cast are stuck working their way out of a [[Love Dodecahedron]], he hits it off with [[Cool Old Lady]] and borderline [[Manipulative Bastard]] Rosa Cartman - who, other than being RIDICULOUSLY good-looking for her age, owns a multimillion-dollar corporation. While the young 'uns are still trying to figure their way out of [[Dysfunction Junction]], he hooks up with her, gets laid (on their first date, no less), and elopes with her within weeks.

* Mr. Bear from ''[[Achewood]]'', a sharp-witted old pub owner with a broad range of knowledge, who in one story arc handily beat all the younger characters in a contest to see who was the most [[Badass]].[http://achewood.com/index.php?date=06082006]

* [[Dominic Deegan|Donovan Deegan]] isn't as old as some of the other guys on this page, but he probably qualifies, considering he's the father of 3 full-grown men. And he's certainly cool, always upbeat and sociable. Plus he's an awesome swordsman who's pulled some pretty badass stunts (such as slicing his initials into one [[Jerkass|jerkass's]] pant seat). And he can play an electric guitar (which is actually a normal guitar powered by lightning magic, which is all sorts of badass).

* ''[[Tales of the Questor]]'' has the Eldest. He's apparently the old Raccoonan in the region of Freedom Downs and is a fun loving chap who apparently is one of the few, until recently, there who respects Quentyn.

* [[Mob Ties]] has Papa-san, the head of one of the few decent Yakuza clans in Tokyo. He's friendly, intelligent, devoted to his daughter, and is the first person to truly realize just how badass {{spoiler|Sidney Burns}} truly is, and is the only person man enough to actually confront him about why he is so badass in the first place. Of course, given that Papa-san was quite the badass himself in his younger days, that last part is understandable.

* Horse-Man from ''[[Unwinder's Tall Comics]]'': He's twenty-something while the main cast are high-schoolers. He's also nice enough to treat Unwinder like an equal; Horse-Man is likewise the only person that Unwinder seems to respect.

** GeneSplicer, 43 as of 2009 (that's old when you're among high school/college students) high school forensics teacher ("Who brought the maggots for the students to 'play' with? Me!"), who even has an avatar of the creepy old man from ''[[Family Guy]]'' with the legend "Forums Senior Citizen". Has a wedding ring made of meteorite iron and collects (fake) skulls. Has [http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3241285 a bookshelf full of sci-fi props], including one of those mind-eating bugs from ''[[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan|The Wrath of Khan]]'' in a tank. Makes [http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3327364 sock monsters] in his spare time, which he gives to his students as prizes. Mrs. GeneSplicer also counts, since she got him some of the skulls as a birthday present.

*** ''Possibly'' [http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3241285 HellBastard], since he mentioned a TV show that GeneSplicer also saw as a kid.

** Someone who claimed to be a [[World War II]] veteran who registered to praise Humper-Monkey (age unknown {{spoiler|and possibly 50-Foot-Ant's creation}}) during his tales of the haunted German US Army Base that was once used by Nazis where problem recruits are ditched.

** [http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3377529 Tokaii], who was a [[Chicago]] cop for a few years during [[The Sixties]]. He wasn't a [[Corrupt Cop]], but pretty much everyone else was which is why he left despite loving the job. He's also been on the some form of internet since ''1982''.

**** [[Legacy Character|Terry]] [[Passing the Torch|would like to disagree.]]

*** Batman is Batman is Batman...the Battle for the Cowl in the comics featured at least two, although Machine Gun Jason Batman was out of the running for reader acceptance. Because machine guns.

* Uncle from ''[[Jackie Chan Adventures]]'', not only is he the [[Old Master]] but he is seen kicking ass as it is needed and will bring pain to those who bring trouble, including the main protagonist.

** Let's not forget his totally awesome [[Catch Phrase]], "One more thing!"

** And don't forget [[Transformers Film Series|Revenge of the Fallen]] Jetfire. When Scorponok erupts from the sand without warning, Jetfire simply ''stabs him in the head with his cane'', just about as quickly.

* Detective Porfiry Petrovich Rostnikov from Stuart M. Kaminsky's series set in Russia. Over fifty when the series started in the '80s, he is lame from a WWII injury involving a tank, but is a champion weightlifter. He once defeated a thug just by holding him in the air, despite all the thug's attempts to get down. (Most of what Rostnikov does isn't brawn but brain, though.)

* Master Oogway in ''[[Kung Fu Panda]]'' was quite old when he beat one of the most dangerous known martial artists. Master Shifu probably could have replicated the success 20 years later if not for his sentimental attachment to said artist.

* Wildcat in ''[[Justice League Unlimited]]'' and ''[[Batman: The Brave And The Bold|Batman the Brave And The Bold]]''. Both are [[Badass Normal]] to boot, and don't even have [[Batman]]'s level of training or gadgets- [[Good Old Fisticuffs|just boxing]].

** [[Court Mage]] Jaga is the eldest of the titular [[Catfolk|Cats]], but is fully capable of taking on a [[Walking Tank]] by his lonesome, mocking a [[Mook Lieutenant]] when held prisoner, and getting a few licks in against [[Big Bad]] and [[Sorcerous Overlord]] Mumm-Ra.

** Anet is the elder of a village of [[Forgetful Jones]] Elephant Monks. Wise and kind when focused, but constrained by a need to meditate on any decision, they seem largely useless when an invading army comes seeking a [[MacGuffin]], until Anet leads his people in [[Awakening the Sleeping Giant|routing the army]] and defeating an enemy General ''barehanded.''

 

== [[Real Life]] ==

* [[Jerry Goldsmith]].

* [[Elmer Bernstein]].

** Though really, internet memes aside, He's responsible for saving the lives of billions of people through genetic engineering of plants to feed the world. [[wikipedia:Norman Borlaug|Check out all his life work here]] [[The Other Wiki|on the Other Wiki.]] Honestly, why his life isn't taught in schools is a downright shame.

* [[Michael Caine]]

* [[George Carlin]]

* [[Winston Churchill]]: Because [[Honor Before Reason|He Never Surrenders]].

* Dick Clark. Until his stroke a few years ago, he still looked so untouched by age that he epitomized his "World's Oldest Living Teenager" nickname.

* [[Anthony Hopkins]]

* [[Jacques Cousteau]], the great aquatic explorer who seemed like the Ancient Mariner himself in his documentaries.

* [[Roger Ebert]]

* [[Steely Dan|Donald Fagen and Walter Becker]]

* [[Project Runway|Tim Gunn]]. To the point where Congress recently declared him a national treasure.

* [[Benjamin Franklin]] was this by the time of the Revolutionary War.

* [[Morgan Freeman]]. Because, you know, [[Bruce Almighty|he's God.]]

* [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1259627/Man-golden-arm-James-Harrison-saves-2million-babies-half-century-donating-rare-blood.html James Harrison], the "man with the golden arm." His unique blood donations have saved approximately 2 million babies' lives, and at 74 he's still donating a pint of blood as often as he can.

** Even if he wasn't old, when he did it, he's still LUKE FREAKIN' SKYWALKER.

* [[Werner Herzog]]. Among other achievements, his most recent documentary required him to climb around in a cave with his camera crew, someone once drove by and shot him with a BB gun and he just laughed it off.

* [[Lloyd Kaufman]], who's been making [[Troma|truly independent films]] for about forty years, and, at 65, he definitely hasn't softened.

* A 63 year old man named Fred Kemp protected himself and his wife from a robber by getting him in a rear-naked choke. http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/63-year-old-holds-off-robber-with-rear-naked-cho?urn=mma-wp5794

** Being Saruman the White AND Dracula. And no, he doesn't sparkle.

*** And he would kick Edward Cullen's arse.

* [[Ian McKellen|Sir Ian McKellen]].

* Nelson Mandela, doubles as [[Badass Grandpa]].

* [[Shigeru Miyamoto]]. It's hard to find a picture of him where he's ''not'' grinning his ass off with that youthful sparkle of creativity in his eye, and he's pushing 60.

* Paul Newman. Aside from being a beloved actor, philanthropist, and all-around great guy, he was still racing cars in his '''seventies'''.

* The late John Peel fit this trope when he got older. He never settled into a routine of playing his old favorites on another radio station; even up until the very end, he kept his Radio 1 gig of playing new, upcoming acts and making sure that if a demo tape/CD was good enough, it'd be played on his program, regardless of whether the artist was signed or unsigned.

* Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth's husband. Still grills at the age of 90, flew over 5,000 pilot hours by the time he turned 70.

** And most of the other US Presidents who lived past sixty.

*** His Excellency, General and President [[George Washington]] was a [[Memetic Badass]] within his own lifetime and has continued to be ever since. He survived near-death experiences on the battlefield and rallied the troops to keep fighting for independence. Later, the inability of the first Congress to pay the troops' long-overdue salaries in the aftermath of the war created a situation where angry troops wanted to overthrow Congress and many wanted to convince Washington to lead this coup and become a military dictator, which would have crushed American freedom in its infancy. George Washington refused, and successfully convinced his troops to relent. By doing so, Washington saved the early American republic (for the second time, considering the fact that his military leadership had preserved it during the Revolution), and became the [[Cincinnatus]]. Years later, he became the first President and set another important precedent by stepping down after two terms (becoming the [[Cincinnatus]] a second time), a precedent followed by all following Presidents except FDR. The early Americans were well aware of Washington's status as "the American Cincinnatus", and one of the first veterans' associations in the United States was named the Society of the Cincinnati in recognition of this fact. This is also where the name of Cincinnati, Ohio comes from. Even Washington's archnemesis, King George III of the United Kingdom readily admitted that by giving up power, Washington would deserve the title of greatest man then-currently alive. That's right, Washington was so badass that his own archnemesis couldn't deny it.

* The late [[Mister Rogers' Neighborhood|Fred Rogers]], [[Friend to All Children]] and beloved by generations of television viewers.

* Many would agree that the late Scatman John qualifies. Not only did he have to overcome his severe speech impediment (during the height of his success, journalists commented that interviews were difficult due to his constant stuttering), he achieved global success with his numerous dance singles. Did we mention that he was releasing dance songs at the age of ''54?'' While not by any means ancient, at the time dance mixes were something almost exclusively created by the younger generation. [[Cursed with Awesome|Worth noting is said speech impediment invariably contributed to his success.]]

* [[Shigesato Itoi]]

* [[Ringo Starr]], obviously.

** [[Paul McCartney]] as well.

***** [[The Rolling Stones|Charlie Watts]] deserves special mention for making a decades-long marriage, clean living and jazz drumming look cool for 50-plus years.

* Jim Steranko. Instantly recognizable at any comic book convention in his double-breasted suits, tinted aviator glasses, and wave of silver hair, Steranko continues a lifetime of being a Cool Guy, having been an escape artist, early rock-n-roll musician, ground-breaking comics artist, and collaborator of [[Steven Spielberg|Spielberg]], [[George Lucas|Lucas]], and [[Francis Ford Coppola|Coppola]]. In a [http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/jul/21/jim-steranko-comics-jonathan-ross recent interview], he revealed that he only sleeps two hours a day and only eats one meal of raw fruits and vegetables. Interviewer Jonathan Ross asked him, "You know how mad that makes you sound?" He replied, "Yeah, I don't give a damn." Ross concludes his article by expounding, "I believe it when he tells me he still runs miles every day, pumps iron, and fornicates blissfully like a man a third his age."

* Sir [[Patrick Stewart]]

* [[George Takei]]. [[Catch Phrase|Oh Myyyy!]]

* [[Mr. T]], foo'!

*** In that case Genghis Khan gets to be on here, too, though he didn't get quite as old. ''He'' actually conquered China.

**** And his personal charisma was so high that Chinggid rulers of his bloodline were the only legitimate ones for ''centuries'' in many regions of the empire even after it broke apart, even if they were only figureheads. (Timurids had a similar if lesser value in his region later on, and Timur himself married Chinggid princesses for legitimacy.)

* [[Crowning Music of Awesome|Nobuo Uematsu.]] Singlehandedly wrote and composed ALL the [[Final Fantasy]] songs from FFI to FFX. Is also [[Autobots Rock Out|in a metal band]] called the Black Mages.

* [[Norio Wakamoto]] definitely counts amongst the Seiyuu circles.

** Buzz Aldrin in particular. One day, while walking with his daughter, he was confronted by a crazy conspiracy theorist who kept loudly and rudely claiming that the Moon landing had been faked, and called Aldrin "a coward, and a liar, and a thief." [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|Aldrin promptly responded by punching the conspiracy theorist in the face...at the age of 72.]]

*** Later, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the first lunar landing, Buzz teamed up with [[Snoop Dogg]], Quincy Jones, Talib Kweli, and Soulja Boy to create the rap single and video, "Rocket Experience." Proceeds from video and song sales went to benefit Buzz's non-profit foundation, Share Space.

{{quote|'''NASA Scientist:''' ...and Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the moon!

'''Aldrin:''' Second comes right after first!

* [[wikipedia:Loteki Supernatural Being|Ch. Loteki Supernatural Being]], better known as Kirby, won Westminster when he was 8. That's old for a dog. This was the same year he won the canine Triple Crown. However his pure canine awesome didn't stop. When he was 14 he came out of retirement to win (for the fourth time) Papillon Club of America's National Speciality Show. This made him both the oldest dog to win this title and the dog with the most wins of said title. He died two years later at 16.

* [http://a.abcnews.go.com/images/Entertainment/abc_wnn_elton_gaga_100201_wg.jpg Sir] [http://punchbowlblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/elton-john-and-eminem.jpg Elton] [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/03/laser-cats-musical_n_844110.html Hercules] [[Elton John|John]].

* The late Pope John Paul II ''definitely'' counts.

* Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington was still active in both politics and the military up until his death.

* [[John Cleese]]

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Always Male]]

[[Category:Elders]]

[[Category:The Utterly and Completely Definitive Guide to Cool]]