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{{quote|''"I am writing a list of tragic character flaws on my dollar bills with a felt pen. I am thinking of the people in my universe and distilling for each of these people the one flaw in their character that will be their downfall--the flaw that will be their undoing. What I write are not sins; I write tragedies."''|'''Tyler Johnson''', ''Shampoo Planet''}}
[[Heroes]] have a Fatal Flaw which they wrestle with on a consistent basis. This may open them up for specific conflicts later -- when a protagonist's fatal flaw is encountered through the course of a plot, the audience's reaction is very tense. [[
In classic literature, a Fatal Flaw is often what prevents a [[Tragic Hero]] from succeeding, or serves as the cause of their [[Tragic Mistake]]. It is usually some sort of character deficiency listed below or, in conventional television, an addiction of some sort. In modern television, the Fatal Flaw is more likely to lead to a [[Very Special Episode]].
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== Anime ==
* Whether it be a raging inferiority complex, self-endangering recklessness, an Oedipus complex, alcoholism, bizarre neo-mystic delusions, or a complete disregard for one's own life, pretty much ''everybody'' in ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' had at least one of these. Quite a few have more then one.
* Light Yagami of ''[[
* Lelouch of ''[[Code Geass]]'' does things without considering their negative consequences, keeps too many secrets, and doesn't trust people. His counterpart Suzaku has a large lack of self-worth and is [[Wide
** However, Suzaku is unable to see that the people he sucks up to due to his lack of self-worth and desperate desire to be a Britannian are everything that he does not want and he is doing everything he claims he is against on a daily basis.
** {{spoiler|Shirley's}} attraction to Lelouch gets her killed when she confronts Rolo. Even though, she doesn't remember him, she trusts him because Lelouch seems to trust him.
* In ''[[Chrono Crusade]]'', Chrono's [[Our Demons Are Different|demonic instincts]] and [[Failure Knight|need to protect others]] (particularly Rosette) sometimes combine to give him a very, very [[Unstoppable Rage|dangerous temper]]. Since Chrono's powers [[Cast From Hit Points|drain Rosette's lifespan]] due to [[Deal
* Death the Kid from ''[[Soul Eater]]'' has his [[Super OCD|raging OCD]] and self-esteem issues; the presence or lack of symmetry in his surroundings (or remembering that he may have forgotten to symmetrically fold his toilet paper roll this morning) can take him out of a battle in a heartbeat.
** In one case, Liz actually uses this against him to avoid getting into a battle in the first place, as the factory containing the Clown scared her, (and with good reason). She does something similar earlier, when taking note of Free's ball and chain to provoke Kid to attack the werewolf.
** The Salvage arc suggests that potentially each of the Great Old Ones has one of these which would make Beat Them By Compulsion a valid tactic against Physical Gods.
* The main characters of ''[[D
* ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! GX]]'': Juudai's stubbornness, being headstrong, irresponsible, impulsive, and impatience are cute and endearing for two and a half seasons. Then all of those combine and (he thinks) gets four to five of his best friends killed.
* From ''[[Durarara]]'', Shizuo's severe anger issues and Kida's inability to face [[My Greatest Failure|his guilt head on.]] Not only does this put him in a position where he avoids his girlfriend Saki {{spoiler|they make up at the end of the anime series}} but by not facing this head on, {{spoiler|he repeats his whole guilt trip with his best friend Mikado by dropping out of school and leaving Ikebukuro. And Mikado didn't take this well...}}
* ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]'': Kamina's impatience, Simon's lack of faith in himself. (Of course, Simon beat his fatal flaw senseless about halfway along and went on to use its limp form as a club, but that's not important right now.)
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* [[Evil Matriarch|Precia Testarossa]]'s [[Heel Realization]] in ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]] [[The Movie]] 1st'': "I never notice things before it's too late."
* The characters in ''[[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]]'' had their downfall brought by their respective [[Fatal Flaw]]. Sayaka's is [[Pride]], Mami's is Loneliness, Madoka's is Self''less''ness, and Homura's is Ambition. And QB is thwarted thanks to his Lack of Emotion.
** Kyouko however, only died ''after'' she set aside her Selfishness. [[Death
* In ''[[Tiger and Bunny]]'', Kotetsu has a noted tendency to [[Cannot Spit It Out|keep personal struggles to himself]], even when those personal issues don't just affect him. This starts really coming down hard on him in the second half of the series {{spoiler|when he can't work up the nerve to tell Barnaby he's retiring, or [[De-Power|the reasons]] behind it, and Barnaby takes it as a sign that he doesn't trust him}}.
** And Barnaby has his own flaw; the hell-bent obsession with revenge that made him an [[Ineffectual Loner]] who has rejected any close personal relationships for the past ''20 years''.
* According to Shura of [[
* [[School Rumble]]
** Harima is so [[Love Makes You Stupid|committed to making Tenma happy]] that he's willing to deprive himself of happiness.
** Eri is a [[Clingy Jealous Girl]]. A ''hint'' of Harima getting paired with a girl sends her into a quiet rage which almost messed up her friendships with Mikoto and Tenma, and in the manga {{spoiler|almost gets Tenma killed}}.
* Future Trunks from ''[[
** Vegeta himself allows his stubborn pride and arrogance to get the better of him several times.
** Goku has one that rears its head on occassion: His love for a challenging battle. He projects this desire onto Gohan, who lacks said love, leading to Goku's death. Even after that, he still held back in his fight with Majin Vegeta so it would be more enjoyable, releasing Buu.
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== Fan Fiction ==
* In the ''[[.hack]]'' fanfiction [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4036084/1/ .hack//G.U.: The Staircase to Nowhere], each of the Epitaph users has one physical/mental flaw that can spell the end for them in the Goddess Morganna's war; Haseo has his photophobia (his sensitivity to light), Atoli's fear of being alone, Endrance's weak lungs, and Kuhn's color blindness.
* In the [[Glee]] fanfic ''[[Hunting the Unicorn (Fanfic)|Hunting the Unicorn]]'', Blaine's [[Wide
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* Hubris is a common tragic flaw in mythology and classical literature. One of the more famous examples is Odysseus, who is forced to undergo a 10-year voyage home after angering Poseidon with his arrogance.
* ''[[The Pillars of the Earth]]'': Not a hero, but William is absolutely terrified of a [[Fire and Brimstone Hell]]. It's a flaw because others use it to exploit him and make him do their bidding.
* In ''[[Percy Jackson
* In ''[[
** In the Backup Novella a "[[Femme Fatal|client]]" deliberately plays the part of damsel in distress complete with kidnapped child to get Harry's help as part of her plan, Thomas steps in without Harry knowing to save him.
* [[Harry Potter|Voldemort]]'s [[Fatal Flaw]] is [[Pride]]. It's not so much petty, plain-old narcissism and arrogance than it is outright full-blown megalomania. He's the smartest and most powerful wizard in the world and he knows it, so he tends to go out of his way to add a flair of grandeur and grace to his plans while attempting to achieve his objectives in the way he thinks will be more terrifying. For example, he challenges Harry to a duel in the graveyard sheerly for amusement, when the most pragmatic option would be to simply give the ''Avada Kedavra'' right there and then when Harry was tied up and couldn't escape. Thus, he doesn't realise that other people could learn about his Horcruxes, or find them, and he certainly doesn't realise that attempting to kill the boy destined to defeat you may result in that boy being actually able to defeat you. And thus, Harry Potter was given the weapons to destroy Voldemort.
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** Severus Snape hangs on to the past to the point that he makes seemingly irrational choices simply because of some event or another that happened a long time ago.
** When he was young, [[The Dumbledore|Dumbledore]] had a whopping case of [[Pride]], {{spoiler|planning to create a "new world" with [[Those Wacky Nazis|Grindlewald]] in which wizards would rule over muggles.}} He snapped out of it {{spoiler|with the death of his sister}} and spent more than a century deliberately avoiding powerful positions because he didn't trust himself (Headmaster of Hogwarts not being that powerful a job, apparently).
* Heathcliff of ''[[Wuthering Heights (
** I don't think it's that he refuses to see that everything is Cathy's fault, (he gives quite a brutal [["The Reason You Suck" Speech]] to her even as she's dying), so much as his obsession over her is so strong he can't break it even when he knows it's making things worse for everybody (including himself).
* Ahab's self-destructive quest against [[Moby Dick]].
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== Live Action TV ==
* ''[[Homicide: Life On the Street]]'' - Frank Pembleton's self-righteousness and moral absolutism drive everyone away from him, and eventually {{spoiler|force him to turn in Tim Bayliss, the closest thing he has to friend.}}
** Same goes for [[
* ''[[Breaking Bad]]'' - Walter White's pride causes him to start cooking meth instead of accepting charity in the first place, and continues to get him into escalating trouble from there.
* In ''[[CSI]]'':
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** Ray's struggle to avoid giving into the violent tendencies he feared he'd got from his father.
* In ''[[Cheers]]'', Sam Malone's former drinking problem.
* [[House (TV series)|House]]'s vicodin addiction, irritability, and inability to have a healthy relationship.
* In ''The John Larroquette Show'', John Hemingway's (recovering) alcoholism.
* ''[[
* ''[[Law and Order]]'': Most characters from the franchise have one of these that occasionally clouds their ability to do their job ethically and fairly or discredits their testimony once in court. Briscoe had drinking problems, Logan was a hothead who'd occasionally [[Rabid Cop|rough up suspects]], Curtis couldn't curb his infidelity, and so on.
* Most of the cast of ''What Its Like Being Alone'', including Armie, who only has one limb left, Aldous the [[Emo Teen]], Princess Lucy, who would be the [[Alpha Bitch]] if she weren't fiendishly ugly, Sammie the alcoholic [[Fish Person]], Charlie, who is always on fire, Seymour, who doesn't have a mouth, and other unfortunates. They're also all orphans.
* ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'': Pretty much every character on the show has a fatal flaw (drug addiction, insecurity, tendency to explode, [[Good Thing You Can Heal|carelessness]].
* ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'': Dean for Sam, Sam for Dean and both of them for John while he was still alive. Ah, the joys of being a [[Thicker Than Water|clingy]], [[Dysfunctional Family|screwed-up family]] filled with [[Martyr Without a Cause|martyrs]].
** Both brothers have no sense of self-worth thanks to [[Parental Neglect|Dad]], who refuses to show any affection or let anyone help him, preferring to keep his sons completely in the dark. Not the greatest planner with [[Crusading Widower|vengeance on his mind]], this works out badly.
** Dean's self-loathing. His struggle to hold his broken family together, along with his sluttiness, death-wish, general bone-headedness, and feeling that he's only valuable as a "blunt instrument", all seem to stem from efforts to ''do'' enough that he feels worthwhile.
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* Many of the characters in ''[[ER]]'' have one at some point or another. Examples include Abby's alcoholism, and Carter's painkiller addiction.
* On ''[[American Gothic]]'', Dr. Crower's fatal flaw would quite obviously have to be his struggle with alcoholism (and [[Backstory|the tragic event which resulted from it]]). Gail's, apparently, is [[Evil Is Sexy|sex]].
* In ''[[
* Nate's alcoholism in ''[[Leverage]]'', which has gotten the team into trouble in at least one episode. Although, {{spoiler|the way the new season looks, he might be on his way to beating that.}}
* In [[The Chosen]] Rebbe Saunder's near-fatal flaw was fear that his son would be unworthy. It is overcome because Danny loves his father enough to endure the harsh training that his father thinks he needs.
* In the 1998 ''[[Merlin (
* ''[[The Wire]]'', most of the characters are flawed in their own way, but the most obvious example, would be Jimmy Mcnulty. Ironically, his whoring and drinking don't affect his work but rather his personal life to the point where he becomes a burden to those around him.
** He can't be a good detective and a good person at the same time. Eventually, that leads to him doing wrong things in order to make the right case, which doesn't end well.
* Wesley from ''[[
== Tabletop Games ==
* In the system called ''House of the Blooded'', the characters are all nobility, seemingly built for high drama and Mary/Marty Sue-ism. Each character has six characteristics, each based off of one of the major families, and there is no rolling involved. You have four points for one characteristic, three for two others, two for two more... and the sixth characteristic gets a ''zero'', meaning you can never use it. A zero in Strength means you are too physically weak to force open a sticky door, for example, thus ensuring that ''all'' characters have an inbuilt [[Fatal Flaw]] that cannot be legally circumvented.
* In ''[[
* This trope is present (and ''of course'' taken [[Up to Eleven]]) in ''[[
** The Solars, Lunars, Dragon-Blooded and Sidereals all get various versions of the Great Curse, a psychological affliction thrown at them by the Primordials for besting them in war. The Solars and Lunars enter a brief psychotic period called a [[Limit Break]] (ranging from berserker rage to uncontrolled crying at the suffering of the world to becoming cold and uncaring about the suffering of others), the Dragon-Blooded get a lighter version of the same, and the Sidereals [[A Simple Plan|can't seem to make any of their big plans work right]].
** The Abyssals, on the other hand, get Resonance. If, for some reason, they decide they don't want to go along with their masters' goals of [[Omnicidal Maniac|feeding all Creation into the mouth of Oblivion]] and resume something approaching a mortal life, their Resonance will build until it erupts and risks destroying any emotional connections they've managed to make with the world of the living.
** The Infernals get a similar variant, known as Torment. If they defy the will of their [[Our Demons Are Different|Yozi patrons]] for too long, then said patron will assume control and cause shit to go haywire. This can range from spreading a [[Hate Plague]] (Malfeas) to [[Walking Wasteland|causing the immediate vicinity to become a lifeless and spiritual wasteland]] (Cecylene).
** Even without supernatural curses or compulsions, each of the four virtues has drawbacks if you have three or more dots (and exalts have to have at least one virtue of 3+): compassionate characters have trouble making harsh decisions; temperate characters have trouble lying, cheating or going back on their word, no matter how dishonest the antagonist; valorous characters don't know how to back down from confrontation; and as for conviction, [[Knight Templar|well]]... Oh and it's perfectly possible for a character to have 3+ in two or more virtues. If they conflict, tough luck!
* [[White Wolf]] are generally pretty fond of this trope. ''[[
* The ''[[
* The Traitor Primarchs of [[
== Theater ==
* [[Older Than Feudalism]]: Pretty much all ancient Greek tragedies had a main character or characters with a ''hamartia'', which is often translated to English as "fatal flaw." It was part of the basic structure for an Ancient Greek tragedy, according to [[
* Shakespeare ''loves'' to give these to characters in his tragedies:
** Brutus is extremely honorable and expects others to be, or [[Alternate Character Interpretation|possibly]] self-centered and susceptible to flattery.
** Richard, Duke of Gloucester, a.k.a [[Magnificent Bastard|Richard III]], has a callous disregard for human life and an irrational lust for the crown.
** [[
** Lady Macbeth is overly ambitious.
** [[
** [[
** Friar Lawrence thought his [[Crazy Enough to Work]] plan would actually work.
** [[
* Shown explicitly in Arthur Miller's play ''[[
* In Miller's ''[[A View
* ''[[Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (
* In ''[[
* Though not fatal, [[My Fair Lady|Higgins']] superior attitude causes Elisa to leave him.
== Video Games ==
* In ''[[Fate/stay
** Shirou's need to [[Chronic Hero Syndrome|save everyone]] constantly causes him problems and {{spoiler|is what eventually led to him becoming Archer.}}
* ''[[Dungeon Keeper]] 2'': Turned on its head in execution, but still used perfectly straight. One of the earlier campaign missions pits you against Lord [[Theme Naming|Avaricious]] in his impenetrable fort. The elegant way to win (as opposed to a head-on slaughter) is to have your imps mine away almost all of the gold beneath his realm, enraging the man enough to lead the charge personally. [[Karmic Death|It doesn't end well.]]
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** Note that in ''Touhou'', a lot of people have the [[Fatal Flaw]] of [[Pride|overconfidence]], but the most vulgar display of it is by Tenshi, ''[[For the Evulz|who destroys the Hakurei shrine just to experience the thrill of being a]] [[Big Bad]]''. She gets what is coming to her.
* ''[[Eien no Aselia]]'': Yuuto's fatal flaw in would be his stubbornness and anger. His life to this point has been more difficult than it needed to be due to the former, and because of the latter {{spoiler|he nearly kills Kaori.}}
* In ''[[
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== Web Comics ==
* Vaarsuvius of ''[[The Order of the Stick
** He/She is working on that, though, and is limiting him/herself to low-level enhancements unless he/she needs them, as opposed to just going all out.
** There's also Redcloak, whose inability to back down from the path and plan he's chosen, despite all the senseless sacrifices, really bites him in Start of Darkness.
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== Web Original ==
* [[
== Western Animation ==
* ''[[Danny Phantom]]'': Danny has two: His [[Start of Darkness|darkness]] which manifests into him constantly abusing his powers which if he isn't careful, would result in a very, very, ''very'' [[Bad Future]]. The other is his emotions which he has a trouble time containing--the latter is often used to his advantage by some of his baddies. Unlike the first example, this is one he has yet to resolve.
* Robin of ''[[Teen Titans (
* While it is undeniably played for laughs most of the time, Omi, from ''[[
** Also demonstrated with Raimundo. Due to being singled out of a promotion and treated as inferior by Omi, again, Raimundo [[Face Heel Turn|betrayed the team]].
* In ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]],'' Iroh's bizarre [[Fatal Flaw]] is his love of tea. While normally the wisest and more sensible figure in the entire series, he makes some monumental mistakes when around the stuff. Once, when having to hide his identity as a Fire Bender, he used his bending to heat up some cold tea and nearly blew his cover. Earlier than that, when finding a plant whose leaves were either the world's most refreshing tea or pure poison, he ground it up and drank it due to temptation.
* Discord from ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
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