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.

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

* Zelretch from the ''[[Nasuverse]]'' (''all'' of the works) is unanimously considered to be the trope incarnate by fans. [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old|When he was younger]], he beat down and killed the [[Cosmic Horror|"ultimate" being]], Crimson Moon Brunestud (and in the process ''singlehandedly'' stopping the moon from falling into the Earth), ''only because of a [[Rant-Inducing Slight|minor dispute]] he had with it''. He's also one of only five "[[Functional Magic|True Magic]]" users—his magic? ''Operation of parallel worlds'', which lets him do pretty much anything involving [[Alternate Universe|alternate universes]].

** Or until they become [[Badass]]es. Whatever comes first.

* ''[[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.

* 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.

* Marvel's short-lived ''[[Alpha Flight]]'' revival featured an elderly superhero called Centennial, a little old man in a sweater who came out of a coma thanks to ''extremely'' delayed [[Puberty Superpower]]s identical to [[Superman]]'s. He was played mostly for laughs, but when the team needed someone to give them a good kick in the pants for motivation, he was always ready to provide.

* ''[[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).

* [[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]]''.

* 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.

* 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.

** Evil/Frakken' ''Sinister'' Old Guys: {{spoiler|John}} Cavil {{spoiler|a [[wangst]]y teen with mommy issues in an old man's body, which happens to be modeled on "mommy's" old man, and also slept with "mommy"}}; Tom Zarek {{spoiler|who was probably pretty bad ''before'' the Caprica-shattering-kaboom and dared to pull a mutiny on Galactica}}

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

* Tom Croydon of ''[[Blue Heelers]]'' has his moments, but special mention has to go to Superintendent Adamson. One episode has him on a raid to flush out a group of dangerous criminals. After the police hold their ground as their car speeds towards them as they are shot at with automatic handguns and rifles, one of the cops manages to disable the vehicle with a shotgun, before a number of police from both stations swarm in. What makes this cool is one of them resists and break away from the officers only to run into Adamson (and Inspector Fawlkner, also aged in his sixties). They both flatten him, making them not only Cool Old Guys but the scene their [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]].

* ''[[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.

** Crichton's dad, Jack Crichton, played by Kent McCord of ''Adam-12'' fame, definitely fits the trope, even when he's being impersonated by an alien.

* 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''.

''(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"]]

*** "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]].

* 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]]''

** 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.

* 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.

** While we're on the subject, it would be criminal not to mention [[Ratchet and Clank Future A Crack In Time|Orvus and Azimuth]]. Both majorly cool characters, both capable of incredible things—they are, respectively, {{spoiler|former}} Senior Caretaker of The Great Clock <ref>"A marvel of science and sorcery located in the exact ''center of the universe!'' ...[[Running Gag|Give or take fifty feet.]]"</ref> and a Four-Bolt Magistrate for the Lombax Praetorian Guard ''and'' an Elder Councilman for the Center for Advanced Lombax Research.

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

 

== Web Comics ==

** 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]].

** 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.''

** In the original [[Thundercats]] Lynx-O was the resident Cool Old Guy.

 

== [[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.

* [[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.

* 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.

* [[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!

* [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]].

* Although he isn't exactly "old" quite yet, as of his recent 50th birthday, [[Bon Jovi|Jon Bon Jovi]] is on his way to becoming this trope. At 50, he's still very athletic (apparently, he still has abs), recently started up the JBJ Soul Foundation to help provide quality food and housing to poor people in his home state of New Jersey, and unlike some rockers, [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|he's still married to his first wife]], who happens to be his [[High School Sweethearts|high school sweetheart]]. Oh, and he and his band (who are also on their way to becoming CoolOldGuys) can still put on awesome concerts, and generally tickets for their tours get sold out extremely quickly.

* 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:All the Tropes Superhero Team]]

[[Category:Elders]]

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