Eccentric Mentor: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

{{quote|''"Is he -- a bit mad?" asked Harry uncertainly.''

 

 

When pushed, the Eccentric Mentor easily demonstrates how they have earned their status. Those who underestimated them are [[Let's Get Dangerous|suddenly confronted with heroic badassery]], [[Sherlock Holmes]]-level insight, [[Determinator|moral fortitude in the face of death]], and/or simply [[Xanatos Roulette|being a step ahead of everyone else]]. Due to their age, wisdom, and conviction, they fear death far less than a loss of integrity.

Combines aspects of [[Cool Old Guy]], [[The Obi-Wan]], [[Old Master]] (sometimes), [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass]], [[Bunny Ears Lawyer]], often [[Cloudcuckoolander]], and [[Zen Survivor]] into one cranky, tough old biscuit. They may fill any of a number of mentor roles, such as [[Trickster Mentor]] or [[Reasonable Authority Figure]], related to their personality and their role in the story. As such, no matter how much power they have, they want the heroes to solve the problem...

 

 

Compare with [[The Wonka]].

{{examples}}

== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==

* Shinigami-sama of ''[[Soul Eater]]'' hides his frightening power and appearance behind a cartoonish mask, goofy antics, and childish speech. This is so he doesn't frighten the students at his [[Extranormal Institute]]. About halfway through the series, it's revealed that he can't leave the city because he bonded his soul to it in order to keep the Kishin [[Sealed Evil in a Can|sealed in its can]], which is why he needs others to go do the heroing for him. {{spoiler|Not that being unable to leave the city ultimately [[Humongous Mecha|slows him down much]].}}

** Shinigami is far more knowledgeable about the history of the current conflict than he lets on, having been previously involved in every known side of it (witches, the Gorgons, Asura and his fellow Eldritch Abominations). He's genuinely nice, but his staff and students are right to be genuinely wary of him at times.

* Dean Konoemon of ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]''.

** Jack Rakan is also kind of like this, although he's much more [[Boisterous Bruiser|over the top]] than other examples.

* Makarov from ''[[Fairy Tail]]''. He even plays almost the same role as the former [[Trope Namer]] - master of a wizard guild while Dumbledore of ''[[Harry Potter (novel)|Harry Potter]]'' is headmaster of a wizard school - and they're both the strongest good mages (Makarov might be weaker than Gildarts or Laxus, but he is damn close) of their respective universes.

* Clow Reed from ''[[Cardcaptor Sakura]]''. Don't let his cheerful, laid-back nature fool you. He's quite the [[Badass]] wizard!

* Hikaru Tsurugi from ''[[Key the Metal Idol]]'' serves as an especially eccentric deconstruction of the trope.

 

* Grunnel the Thinker, to a point, in ''[[With Strings Attached]]''. He's a jolly guy who latches onto the four because they're interesting. At first he seems a bit goofy, with quite a sadistic sense of humor, but the four realize quickly that he's extremely intelligent and well-educated. He ends up helping them a lot when magic starts to pour out of the sky on them. He also teaches them about Baravadan society, and they teach him about Earth in return. Subverted in that {{spoiler|he backstabs them in Ehndris in order to get control of both Paul and the third piece of the Vasyn}}.

 

* Master Oogway in ''[[Kung Fu Panda]]''. He may seem an old senile turtle, but {{spoiler|he is blindingly fast when necessary with a ''[[Touch of Death|multiple nerve strike pattern]]'' guaranteed to take anyone down... and of course his selection of Po the Panda for the Dragon Warrior was on the money. Also, he ''invented Kung-Fu''. }}

* Rafiki in Disney's ''[[The Lion King]]'' always seems a bit insane, but has all the answers.

* Merlin, in ''[[The Sword in the Stone]]''

** The [[Wizard Duel]]. [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass|Crouching moron, hidden bad-ass]] indeed.

* Uncle Herbert in ''The Big Brawl''

* Dumbledore during the fifth movie. He is confronted by the Minister Of Magic and about three Aurors. He knocks all of them out and disappears in a blaze of light. As Kingsley puts it, "Dumbledore's got style."

* Yoda's appearance in ''[[Star Wars]]: [[The Empire Strikes Back]]''. He also teases Obi-Wan a bit in ''Attack of the Clones'', but he was younger (and teaching the younglings) at the time.

** This trope was actually one of the early concepts for the Obi-Wan himself (even after Sir Alec Guinness had already been chosen for the role).

* Jetfire in ''[[Transformers (film)|Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen]]''.

* Fin Raziel, in ''[[Willow]],'' is of the rare female subtype.

* Merlin in the 1981 film ''Excalibur'' comes across this way.

* The owner/operator of ''The Circus of Doctor Lao'' mostly plays the part of the stereotypical Chinese man (complete with Engrish), and occasionally reveals himself to be a powerful and wise being.

 

== [[Literature]] ==

* ''[[Harry Potter (novel)|Harry Potter]]'': Albus Percival Wulfric ''Brian'' Dumbledore, former [[Trope Namer]].

** Also from the fifth book, the scene where Dolores Umbridge and her cronies confront Dumbledore in his office and then try to arrest him.

{{quote|"Well, it's just that you seem to be labouring under the delusion that I am going to come quietly. I am afraid I am not going to come quietly at all, Cornelius. I have absolutely no intention of being sent to Azkaban Prison. I could break out, of course, but what a waste of time. And frankly, I can think of a whole host of things I would rather be doing."}}

** When one of the aurors reaches for his wand, Dumbledore ''laughs at him''.

{{quote|"Don't be silly Dawlish. I'm sure you are an excellent auror, but if you attempt to ''bring me in'' by force, I'll have to hurt you."}}

** Think about how Dumbledore progresses throughout the book. We go from "Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! and Tweak!" to the most powerful wizard in the history of the Wizarding World to a broken man who is grief-stricken over the loss of his {{spoiler|sister, Ariana, whom he may have killed (and considers himself to blame regardless of whether his curse was the one that killed her)}}.

{{quote|"At that moment, Harry fully understood for the first time why people said Dumbledore was the only wizard Voldemort had ever feared. The look upon Dumbledore's faces as he stared down at the unconscious form of Mad-Eye Moody was more terrible than Harry could have ever imagined. There was no benign smile upon Dumbledore's face, no twinkle in the eyes behind the spectacles. There was cold fury in every line of the ancient face; a sense of power radiated from Dumbledore as though he were giving off burning heat."}}

* Dallben from Lloyd Alexander's ''[[The Chronicles of Prydain]]''

* Noish-pa, Vlad Taltos's grandfather, sometimes fits this trope in the ''[[Dragaera]]'' novels, albeit with the comic relief coming less from his own remarks than from [[Deadpan Snarker|Vlad's reactions]] ''to'' them.

* Shiro from ''[[The Dresden Files]]'' novels. He may act a little senile at times, but he's actually a seriously [[Badass]] paladin and one of the only people in history to take on Nicodemus in a sword fight and ''win''. {{spoiler|Too bad he's [[Too Cool to Live]].}}

** Though he's not as... easygoing and jovial as the trope specifies, though Arthur Langtry is the oldest and most powerful wizard alive, and the head of the White Council, with the title of 'Merlin', he seems to be generally underestimated, and perceived as a figurehead. Until he shows off the strength and depth of his power by doing such things as, oh - holding off {{spoiler|[[Eldritch Abominations|Outsiders]] ''with a single ward''}} and turning chaos into order by {{spoiler|broadcasting a mental map (with voiceover) to the entire council, whilst attempting to contain an omnilethal nasty with ''the sheer force of his will''.}} 'not [gained his position] by collecting bottle caps' indeed.

* Coriakin from ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia]]'', who is believed by Dufflepuds to be evil, but turns out to be a wise magician with a sense of humor. [[Does Not Like Shoes|Always walking barefoot]] is among his idiosyncrasies.

{{quote|"Good Morning!" said Bilbo, and he meant it. But Gandalf looked at him from

under long bushy eyebrows that stuck out further than the brim of his shady hat.

*** The latter lampshades his status as an [[Expy]] in his first appearance: he starts to call himself Fizban, but then corrects himself.

**** Zifnab is very different from Fizban in at least one major way, though- Fizban is {{spoiler|a god}} using [[Obfuscating Stupidity]], whereas Zifnab is genuinely insane with only occasional moments of lucidity. He's still incredibly powerful, but it takes some serious effort (usually from his dragon) to get him to reveal important information rather than, say, going off on a [[Cloudcuckoolander|long rambling monologue]] about how he's really [[James Bond]]. Or [[The Wonderful Wizard of Oz|Dorothy Gale]].

** Remember Rule One: [[Old Master|Never act incautiously when confronting a little old bald wrinkly smiling man]]. (And, of course, Rule Nineteen: Never forget Rule One)

** Also from the Discworld, a [[Rare Female Example]]: Nanny Ogg.

* ''[[The Once and Future King]]'' version of Merlin, aided by his... [[Merlin Sickness|unique situation]].

* Most [[Star Wars Expanded Universe]] books featuring Yoda make him entirely serious, but ''Yoda: [[Dark Rendezvous]]'' portrays him as very ''odd'' when things aren't too serious. The kind of character that you could see fighting with R2 over a flashlight in [[The Empire Strikes Back]].

* Master Wu of ''[[The Gone-Away World]]'' is an [[Old Master]] (and {{spoiler|founder of a secret society of kung fu mimes}}) who runs a martial arts school that the protagonist trains at. He teaches moves with names like "Walk Like Elvis", gets into arguments about the location of the moon, and cheerfully admits to making up ancient wisdom on the spot.

* Julian Morrow, the Classics professor in ''[[The Secret History]]''. He accepts no payment, practically has his own building on campus, and the few students he accepts must take nearly all their classes with him. Later becomes a [[Broken Pedestal]].

* Grandpa Smedry in the ''[[Alcatraz Series]]''.

 

* The Doctor from ''[[Doctor Who]]'' often resembles this kind of character.

** In particular, David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor embodies this trope to a tee. The Family of Blood sought to steal his immortality, and thought he was a doddering pathetic man. [[Fate Worse Than Death|BIG.]] [[And I Must Scream|MISTAKE.]]

* [[Colonel Badass|Hannibal Smith]] from ''[[The A-Team]]'' often [[Invoked Trope|Invokes]] this trope if/when he meets clients and/or confronts the weekly bad guys in disguise in an episode.

 

* At [[Disney Theme Parks]], Dreamfinder from ''Journey Into Imagination'' hovered between this and [[The Obi-Wan]] before he was removed from the ride.

 

== [[Video Games]] ==

* An obvious reference to Dumbledore, Gammel Dore from ''[[Grim Grimoire]]''.

** Only not as eccentric as the original.

* Guildmaster Wigglytuff, in the ''[[Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explorers]]'' games is a lovable [[Cloudcuckoolander]] who has an obession with [[Trademark Favorite Food|Perfect Apples]]...who is completely immune to the poisonous gas attack of [[Magnificent Bastard|Team Skull]] and can ''make the earth tremble with his voice alone when angry or sad''.

* Erasmus, the [[Hurricane of Puns|pun loving]] archmage from the ''[[Quest for Glory]]'' series of games. He has a rat familiar who is actually a pretty powerful magic user in his own right. Erasmus is a rare male wizard of great power in the QFG setting, where the most powerful magic users tend to be women (for example, [[Friend to All Living Things|Erana]], [[Femme Fatale|Katrina]], [[The High Queen|Aziza]], [[Mentor Archetype|Kreesha]] etc).

* Flemeth from [[Dragon Age]] is an odd blend of this trope and [[Retired Monster]]. If even half the stories you hear about her are true, she skipped over the [[Moral Event Horizon]] centuries before the story even began. However, she despite her vast power and alleged ruthlessness, she never actually ''does'' anything openly antagonistic, and has actually helped the protagonists on several occasions (including saving them from what would have otherwise been certain death). She often speaks in riddles and seems to enjoy playing up her crazy-old-woman-who-lives-in-a-swamp persona.

* Asura's [[Old Master]] Augus from ''[[Asura's Wrath]]'' is one of the most powerful warriors in the setting, and his strength is said to be on par with Deus'. He's also a crazy [[The Hedonist|hedonist]] who has no goal in life beyond enjoying the pleasures it offers: [[Dirty Old Man|carnal knowledge of beautiful women]], [[The Alcoholic|fine wines]], [[Big Eater|good food]], [[Blood Knight|and the sheer joy of battle.]]

 

* Master Surya from ''[[The Beast Legion]]''. [http://www.thebeastlegion.com/issue-03-page-04the-masters-wake-up-call/ This page] explains it all.

* The Dullahan, Jack Jerripher from Grave Academy.

** Also, Mr. Raven for the non-[[Muggles]] that are not under Mr. Verres' care. Though, Raven seems to be a bit more stern that your typical Dumbledore, but he does make it up in [[Large Ham|overtheatrics]].

** And for a more literal sense, we have [[Aerith and Bob|Jerry.]] Self-proclaimed [[Fat Bastard]], [[Cool Old Guy|(though of the jolly sort, not the jumpy sort,)]] has had more than a few weird ideas about what to do with his time, and looks strangely like [[Santa Claus]]. However, he's also a 200 year-old Immortal with ludicrous amounts of power simply by ''being'' that old, sage wisdom for Susan, Grace, and Sarah, and powered the [[Hyperspace Mallet]] ability that, evidently, ''every female on the planet had access too.'' Granted, he's in the process of dying so he can be reborn properly, but he's also sworn himself to repay the debt Immortals owe Susan, making him a weird case. Did we mention he's a master of [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?|Serenity-Inducing Fluffy Animal Attack?]]

 

== [[Web Original]] ==

* In ''[[The Gamers Alliance]]'', Harrad is a wise mage but he's also obsessed with building the perfect candy machine and often does weird things which his students simply can't fathom. Despite his quirks he's very good at reaching and magic (except finishing the candy machine [[Running Gag|which keeps malfunctioning no matter how much he improves and tweaks the design]]).

 

== [[Western Animation]] ==

* Grampa Smith from ''[[Monster Buster Club]]''. A senile old alien in disguise as a senile old human, he probably knows more about the "monsters" the kids encounter than anyone else, but is far too concerned with the upkeep of his garden to do anything other than offer hints, info, and advice.

* [[Inexplicably Awesome|Miss Frizzle]] in ''[[The Magic School Bus]]'' is a bit young, but otherwise fits this trope quite well.

* Rafiki from ''[[The Lion King]]''.

 

== [[Real Life]] ==

* [[Richard Feynman]]. Aficionado of the bongos (not to mention [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKTSaezB4p8 mad songs about orange juice]), player of epic practical jokes, irreverent, completely unconcerned with the mores and manners of polite society, and the inventor of branches of particle physics you would never understand if you studied for several lifetimes. He's also the guy who demonstrated the fatal flaw in the O-ring design that led to the Challenger disaster. He also chose to do so [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qAi_9quzUY in the most humiliating way possible] to ensure that the press would drag those responsible over the coals.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Mentors]]

[[Category:Archetypal Character]]

[[Category:Elders]]