Failure Hero/Playing With

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Basic Trope: A hero who never wins, thus neuters any tension that involves him.

  • Straight: Bob never wins any fights he's in so the fans no longer care about them.
  • Exaggerated:
    • Bob's fights manages to put all who watch to sleep, as they wonder just how long before he gets his eventual asskicking.
    • Anti-Sue
  • Justified: Fans can only invest their time in watching Bob Taking Levels In Bad Ass before it becomes pointless.
  • Inverted: Invincible Hero.
  • Subverted: Bob still loses in every fight he's in, but fans, who still find Hope Spots still watch to see if he can finally win.
  • Doubly Subverted: ...Only to find that these so-called Hope Spots only lead to disappointment.
  • Parodied: Bob's fights are so boring even his opponent falls asleep.
  • Deconstructed: Bob's is seen so much as an ineffective fighter by fans to the point where he's seen as The Load, bordering on being The Scrappy due to his uselessness.
  • Reconstructed: But fans come to respect him for, despite how predictable his fights are, trying to fight against opponents who he has no chance of winning.
  • Zig Zagged: Bob's fights start off as usual (getting his ass kicked), but Hope Spot after Hope Spot brings up the possibility that it may go different this time, only for it to be business as usual.
  • Averted: Bob is actually a decent fighter with his fair share of wins and losses.
  • Enforced: The writers do their best to make Bob's losing battle as least interesting as possible.
  • Lampshaded: "Why does he even bother fighting, he's just going to get his ass kicked!"
  • Invoked: "There is no way I can win. I'm not even gonna try."
  • Defied: Not only does Bob train everyday to avoid losing, but he adds a few flashy moves to his style, just to keep people interested.
  • Discussed: "Why do you let Bob fight, you know he's just gonna get his ass kicked!"
  • Conversed: "Why do you even bother? You just get your ass kicked every time!"
  • Plotted A Perfectly Good Waste: Bob constantly loses every fight he's in to the point where he's seen as useless and not a threat in order for his enemies to lower their guard around him. Giving him the perfect opportunity to go all out on his enemies at their most vulnerable.

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