Foil: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

{{quote|''I’ll be your foil, Laertes. In mine ignorance

''Your skill shall, like a star i' th' darkest night,

 

 

Sidekicks often serve as foils to the hero by being something the hero himself is not (a calm and pragmatic sidekick when the hero is hotheaded, for example). In the classic good-guy versus bad guy scenario, both the hero and villain can each be considered the other's foil, in that each acts to show how the other behaves in certain situations.

If you're feeling a little poetic and look around at your surroundings enough, you'll probably discover that this trope is a bit of [[Truth in Television]].

 

 

'''Common Foils'''

* [[Cowardly Sidekick]]

* [[Deliberately Bad Example]]

* [[Elves Versus Dwarves]]

* [[Evil Counterpart]]

* [[Outlaw Couple]]

* [[Plucky Comic Relief]]

* [[Psycho Sidekick]]

* [[Rebellious Rebel]]

* [[Straight Man and Wise Guy]]

* [[Straw Loser]]

* [[Talker and Doer]]

* [[Talking Appliance Sidekick]]

* [[Token Good Teammate]]

* [[Tomboy and Girly Girl]]

* [[Vitriolic Best Buds]] (The Type 1 variant, where the one picks on the other and the other doesn't notice)

* [[Worthy Opponent]]

** ''[[Digimon Tamers]]'' had Rika, who served as a foil to both the bleeding heart Takato and the [[Technical Pacifist|pacifist]] Henry.

** Takuya and Kouji's relationship in ''[[Digimon Frontier]]'' is very similar to Tai and Matt's in [[Digimon Adventure|Adventure]].

* ''[[Monster (manga)|Monster]]'' has several of the side characters with [[A Day in the Limelight]] subplot blatantly mirror the protagonist's quest in some way. The village doctor is what Tenma could have become had he married Eva. Richard Braun is what Tenma would have become if he had {{spoiler|shot Johan}} without any question to his past. Milan Kolash is the Tenma who goes through with the {{spoiler|murder}}. Johan also has foils in the form of Nina and Dieter.

** Nina especially as she is Johan's twin sister, only where he's a [[Complete Monster]] of the highest order, [[Sibling Yin-Yang|she's compassionate and very kind.]]

* Most of the pairs in ''[[The World God Only Knows]]'' seem to be designed to be foils of one kind or another. Tenri is passive and shy while Diana is pushy and proactive. {{spoiler|Vulcan highlights Tsukiyo's cool elegance and emotional reserve}}, while on the devil side of things you can make similar comparisons between Haqua and Yukie, Elsie and Keima and possibly even Nora and Ryou. (And between Elsie and Haqua, for that matter.)

* ''[[School Rumble]]''

** Harima is a hoodlum who wears shades while Hanai is the [[Class Representative]] who wears glasses.

* Tsugawa and Kudo in ''[[Japan Inc]]''. Tsugawa is your typical ruthless manager, Kudo is the social guy who thinks about the employees.

** Interesting example comes from [[The Authority]] - while they are a big subversion of common superhero tropes, during [[Warren Ellis]]' era all their enemies were [[Card-Carrying Villain|very typical and schematical]].

** Kherubins and Deamonites in Wild C.A.T.S., at similar level to the Kree and Skull example.

** [[Iron Man]] and Mandarin: Being opposites on the Tech vs Magic scale.

** The [[Incredible Hulk]] and The Leader. Also Hulk and Thunderbolt Ross.

** [[The Mighty Thor]] and Loki - again, one is [[Flying Brick]], the other is trickster.

** [[Silver Surfer]] and Mephisto. One is pretty much the personification of the devil, and hates the other just because he's so damn ''good''.

* In Jeremiah, by Hermann: The protagonist's partner, Kurdy Malloy, is much more cynical, streetwise and childish than he is. Jeremiah is no fool by any means, and he is an action guy, but he is much nobler and more romantic than his friend, and puts more trust in others.

* Corto Maltese, by Hugo Pratt: he does not have a permanent "sidekick", but many times he has adventure partners who are much crazier and more violent than him: Rasputin, an Ethiopian warrior, A Chinese Assassin girl. He also has had partners who are more of the "professor" type, which turns him into the guy who leads the action.

 

 

 

* In the ''[[Deliver Us from Evil Series]]'', [[The Captain|Inspector Patterson]] serves as a stark foil to [[Sherlock Holmes]], though the two do not even meet in the first book. The people who know these men are unsettled by the similarities (right down to nearly-identical looks), but they also see the differences. [[Good Is Not Nice|Patterson]] is basically [[Sherlock Holmes]] [[Up to Eleven]].

** Steve Rogers vs. Tony Stark: Both are tied to Howard Stark and motivated by a sense of American patriotism and to bring peace. But where Steve is idealistic, sweet-natured, well-mannered and uses his intelligence to defeat his enemies, Tony is cynical, snarkish, rude and rushes in to fight.

** Bruce Banner vs. Tony Stark: Both are genius scientists with genuine respect for each other. They both have a dark side, they are different in personality. Bruce is mild and cautious to control his id while Tony's flamboyance and irresponsbility are the tip of his self-destructive behavour.

** Loki himself has traits that resonate or clash with each of the Avengers. He's from Asgard and of royalty (Thor). He's clever and loves theatrics (Tony). He manipulates emotions (Bruce). He blatantly disregards human life and freedom (Steve). He lacks empathy (Black Widow) and disregards free will (Hawkeye).

 

 

== Literature ==

** Harry's other foil is, believe it or not, Ron, who is poor, has a loving family of six siblings, knows a lot about the wizarding world growing up in it since birth. He had a life like Harry would've if it weren't for Voldemort. Ron is also rather down-to-earth most of the time, almost never jumping to wild conclusions.

** Harry and Neville, who was nearly the [[Chosen One]] that could have been Voldemort's equal in the prophecy. Hell, name any two of the [[Loads and Loads of Characters]] in the series, and likely as not they'll be foils to each other in some way.

** Where in the world can I find this version?

* Every character in ''[[The Stranger]]'' is basically a foil for the narrator, Meursault. Not surprising, of course, since the point of the novel is to develop a particular Exitentialist philosophy.

* Rosamond serves as one to Dorothea in ''[[Middlemarch]]''.

* ''[[Quantum Gravity]]'': The worlds serve as this. Interestingly enough, all of them are foils for ''all'' the other ones:

 

== Live Action TV ==

* ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]''. Seven of Nine played this role for Captain Janeway (at least during her first year on the ship).

* [[Professional Wrestling]] example: This trope was basically the angle of the Wrestlemania XXV match between The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels. The Heartbreak Kid cast himself as the "Light" that is fated to defeat the "Darkness" embodied by the evil Deadman, and consequently end the latter's legendary winning streak.

* Daniel Jackson and Jack O'Neill often serve as foils to each other in ''[[Stargate SG-1]]''. (Idealism vs. cynicism, brains vs. brawn (although Jack is not as stupid and Daniel is not as wimpy as they'd like you to think) naivety vs. experience, etc.) This becomes less apparent over the years.

* This could just be me, but Parker and Sophie in ''[[Leverage]]'' seem to have this feel. Sophie is classy, social, and likable, but fake, while Parker is crazy, has [[No Social Skills]] and thus is off-putting, but honest (if blunt).

* ''[[The Wire]]'' loves this device. There's a lot of parallels between different characters, both those in direct contact with each other (like McNulty and Kima) and some from across different storylines entirely (like D'Angelo Barksdale and Nicky Sobotka). Most conspicuous are the duos of Herc and Carver and Bubbles and Johnny. Herc and Carver are both thuggish and brutal police officers, but Carver shows himself to be more sensitive and thoughtful over time. Johnny is Bubbles's protégé in the streets, but is much more blasé about their predicament and has an "us vs. them" mentality towards the police. Eventually, the underlying differences in both pairs lead the characters in very different directions.

* ''[[15/Love|Fifteen Love]]'': [[High School Hustler]] Gary "Squib" Furlong and [[Dean Bitterman]] Harold Bates may spend the entire show opposing one another, but at the core of things they're ''very'' similar, being a pair of [[Manipulative Bastard]]s with flexible attitudes towards the rules, no time for stupidity, and an amazing ability to convince others to do things for them. Don't tell Squib, but Bates is ''exactly'' what he is going to look like at thirty-five.

** Also Guinevere and Morgana. At the beginning of the show Gwen was Morgana's haidmaiden and the two of them were [[Romantic Two-Girl Friendship|close friends]], only to be gradually estranged as the show went on, what with Gwen falling in love with Arthur, and Morgana falling to the [[Dark Side]]. Essentially, the higher Guinevere ascends, the lower Morgana falls.

* [[24]] had Jack Bauer and David Palmer. Both are willing to do whatever it takes to save the world even if it means resorting to questionable means but David has the added ability to mask his true personality behind a face of amiability.

{{quote|'''Jirix:''' But... aren't we all on the same side?

'''Redcloak:''' That is a complicated question ... Our alliance with Xykon is one of the most powerful tools we have, and we cannot afford to screw that up. That does NOT mean we should trust him. I know he seems funny and charming, but believe me, when you see for yourself the depths to which he'll sink, you will never sleep well again. }}

** By a similar token, [[Dumb Muscle]] / [[Psychopathic Manchild]] Thog to [[Evil Genius]] / [[Complexity Addiction|Complexity Addict]] Nale.

** Elan and Nale; polar opposites in [[Character Alignment]], both have a flair for the dramatic, similar class abilities (though Nale's [[Complexity Addiction]] means he took a more roundabout way of getting them), similar relationships with their respective love interests (who are also foils), and a tendency toward being dumb (though Nale will vehemently deny he is anything but a genius). More Recently, Elan and his father Tarquin, who are both [[Dangerously Genre Savvy]], but likewise complete opposites when it comes to alignment and intelligence.

* In ''[[Bobwhite]]'', Ivy goes to the library at Redding University (rival to Bobwhite University) and gets annoyed by three guys. Marlene and Cleo realized that these guys are [http://www.bobwhitecomics.com/?webcomic_post=20100111 the evil reverse-gender doppelgangers] of themselves (though Ivy interjects that her supposed counterpart really looks nothing like her). Which makes things kind of weird when Ivy later starts dating one of these guys (the one who's pretty much a male version of Marlene).

* In [[Walkyverse|Dumbing Of Age]] all of the roommate pairs are meant to be foils for each other, as confirmed by [[Word of God]] [http://www.dumbingofage.com/2010/blog/the-geek-girls/ here]

** The concept of moirallegiance (a friendly relationship characterised by complementing or pacifying the other member's extremes) seems to lend itself to this relationship.

*** [[Royals Who Actually Do Something|Feferi]], the highest in the caste system, is friendly and just wants to help everyone and barely manages to keep [[Royal Brat|Eridan]]'s genocidal urges in check.

** Dave is a [[Stoic]] [[Deadpan Snarker]], while Terezi [[The Hyena|laughs at everything]] and is [[Sense Freak|cheerfully weird]], and where Dave is [[Knight in Sour Armor|cynical but honest]], Terezi is a [[Magnificent Bastard]] [[Guile Hero]].

* There are three main foil types in the [[Four-Temperament Ensemble|main adventuring group]] in ''[[Our Little Adventure]]''. [[Vitriolic Best Buds|Angelika and Rocky]] are one, [[Happily Married|Julie and Lenny]] are another, and [[Sibling Yin-Yang|Julie and Angelika]] make the third.

 

 

* [[Whateley Universe]]: roommmates and teammates Chaka and Fey are definitely foils for each other. One's black while the other's white, one's hyper and the other's calm, one's human and the other one's mostly [[The Fair Folk|Sidhe]], ...

** Also, Solange is a foil to Phase, since Solange is the [[Rich Bitch]] that Phase could have easily been.

 

 

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Characters]]

[[Category:Characterization Tropes]]

[[Category:Lit Class Tropes]]

[[Category:Ensembles]]

[[Category:Index]]