Cynical Mentor: Difference between revisions

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'''Claude Rains:''' ''Well, I'm not much of a "people person," but I can't let you kill 'em all. You seemed pretty sure about that pending apocalypse of yours.''|''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]''}}

A cousin to the [[Trickster Mentor]] and the [[Sink or Swim Mentor]], the '''Cynical Mentor''' doesn't really care whether [[The Hero]] succeeds or fails, and he/she often believes it will be the latter. Unlike the [[Sink or Swim Mentor]], there ''will'' be training, and it's usually [[Training ~~From~~ Hell]]. This particular brand of mentor uses his cynicism to anger the hero and get him to fight back/harder for what he wants and/or believes in. This mentor helps the hero very, ''very'' grudgingly (most likely because he/she was bored and/or had nothing better to do). never gives encouragement or compliments, except maybe right before the hero's final test/battle, and even then it might be a longshot.

A cousin to the [[Trickster Mentor]] and the [[Sink or Swim Mentor]], the '''Cynical Mentor''' doesn't really care whether [[The Hero]] succeeds or fails, and he/she often believes it will be the latter. Unlike the [[Sink or Swim Mentor]], there ''will'' be training, and it's usually [[Training from Hell]]. This particular brand of mentor uses his cynicism to anger the hero and get him to fight back/harder for what he wants and/or believes in. This mentor helps the hero very, ''very'' grudgingly (most likely because he/she was bored and/or had nothing better to do). never gives encouragement or compliments, except maybe right before the hero's final test/battle, and even then it might be a longshot.

There's a fair to good chance that said mentor either is a [[Knight in Sour Armor]] or [[Retired Badass]].

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== Anime and Manga ==

* Evangeline from ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'', to a frightening degree. [[Training ~~From~~ Hell]] aside (of which there is much), one of her major lessons for the main lead is that no act in this world can be completely good like he [[Wide-Eyed Idealist|thinks/hopes]], and that being evil comes naturally as a part of living. She also treats him like crap.

* Evangeline from ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'', to a frightening degree. [[Training from Hell]] aside (of which there is much), one of her major lessons for the main lead is that no act in this world can be completely good like he [[Wide-Eyed Idealist|thinks/hopes]], and that being evil comes naturally as a part of living. She also treats him like crap.

** Of course, she turns out to be partially right in that during Mahorafest {{spoiler|Negi admits that he can't really justify fighting Chao, and that he might just be the bad guy this time around}}. Despite this, Eva still seems to be sliding into [[Anti-Villain]] territory, and has to [[Noble Demon|convince herself that she's still evil]], which Negi isn't buying. Seems like Negi and Eva are starting to rub off on each other.

* [[Rurouni Kenshin|Seijuuro Hiko]]. Oh, so much.

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== Live Action TV ==

* Claude Rains, the [[Invisibility|invisible hobo]] on ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'', as mentioned above. He appears to despise Peter and uses their "training sessions" as chances to beat the crap out of him. He also has several other quotes about the general unreliability and undesirable qualities of humanity, and he [[Training ~~From~~ Hell|pushed Peter Petrelli off a 30-story building]].

* Claude Rains, the [[Invisibility|invisible hobo]] on ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'', as mentioned above. He appears to despise Peter and uses their "training sessions" as chances to beat the crap out of him. He also has several other quotes about the general unreliability and undesirable qualities of humanity, and he [[Training from Hell|pushed Peter Petrelli off a 30-story building]].

* [[Knight in Sour Armor|Dr. Cox]] to J.D. in ''[[Scrubs]]''. He is J.D. guide of sorts, but he is completely sarcastic and seems to detest J.D..

** {{spoiler|1=[[Subverted Trope|It's an act.]] He really respects J.D. but he never says anything because of [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|who he is]]. He also knows J.D. will get emotional on him and getting a hug from a puppy in a man's body is the last thing he wants.}}

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== Web Comics ==

* On a ''good day'', Master Fei of ''[[How I Killed Your Master]]'' is one of these. Mostly, he's a [[Jerkass]], but he has recently taken to giving Wong some [[Training ~~From~~ Hell]].

* On a ''good day'', Master Fei of ''[[How I Killed Your Master]]'' is one of these. Mostly, he's a [[Jerkass]], but he has recently taken to giving Wong some [[Training from Hell]].

* Javanshin in [[Overlord of Ravenfell]] is a sarcastic bastard that has his doubts as to whether Razin can actually become a competent Overlord, a fact he often decides to point out.

== Western Animation ==

* Master Shi-Fu in ''[[Kung Fu Panda]]''. He does ''not'' think that Po is the Dragon Warrior and doesn't want him at the Academy, but he puts up with him, tricking Po for a while with [[Training ~~From~~ Hell]]. Then, he finally starts training him correctly using food as the target, and even then it seems a bit cruel. But that's when he (like [[Rocky (film)|Mick]]) gets upgraded to [[Cool Old Guy]].

* Master Shi-Fu in ''[[Kung Fu Panda]]''. He does ''not'' think that Po is the Dragon Warrior and doesn't want him at the Academy, but he puts up with him, tricking Po for a while with [[Training from Hell]]. Then, he finally starts training him correctly using food as the target, and even then it seems a bit cruel. But that's when he (like [[Rocky (film)|Mick]]) gets upgraded to [[Cool Old Guy]].

* Azmuth of the ''[[Ben 10]]'' franchise is openly ''very'' displeased that his [[Chosen One]] [[Missed the Call]] and only grudgingly allows his incredibly powerful invention to remain with a kid/teenager. Just because he knows the Omnitrix is best off with Ben doesn't mean he has to like it.

* Phil from ''[[Hercules (~~Disney~~ film)|Hercules]]'' starts out as this.

* Phil from ''[[Hercules (1997 film)||Hercules]]'' starts out as this.

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[[Category:Cynicism Tropes]]

[[Category:The Cynic]]

[[Category:~~Cynical Mentor~~]]

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