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{{trope}}
{{quote|''Evil is everywhere
''Good doesn't have a prayer!
''Good is commendable,
''Evil's dependable!
''Evil is viable!
''Good's unreliable!
''Good may be thankable,
''Evil is bankable!''
For whatever
Regardless of the circumstances, the pure good entity will be a complete and total wuss. Militant pacifist, empathic to a ridiculous degree, incapable of defending itself, and generally utterly useless till the main cast reunites it somehow with its evil, depraved and (of course) effective and proactive side.
This probably accounts for the shock and horror with which most [[Media Watchdogs]] greet heroes who are, shall we say, [[Anti-Hero|less than touchy-feely about how they deal with the villain of the week]]. "Good," after all, is supposed to be
The seeming impotence of Good in general might be because [[Good Hurts Evil|good no longer hurts evil]]. May explain why the [[Balance Between Good and Evil]] is needed because [[Villains Act, Heroes React|Evil will get things done]], while the presence of Good reins in the [[Ambition Is Evil]] to prevent harmful and destructive actions, thus ensuring that Evil's proactivity will be channeled into things of which Good approves.
In a meta sense, this trope is used because a good character that is suddenly made extremely powerful and deadly can tip the scales too heavily in the favour of good. While this might not be so bad if the writers make it so the villains work at meeting the hero at the same level, more often it makes the good side into [[Invincible Hero
Can sometimes happen when a character [[Ascend to
For when Good can actually do stuff, see [[Holy Hand Grenade]].
Compare [[Good Is Boring]], [[Redemption Demotion]], [[The Gods Must Be Lazy]], [[Boring Failure Hero]]. Frequently includes an inversion of [[Evil Cannot Comprehend Good]]. For when the impotent good is one of two or more personalities, see [[Helpless Good Side]].
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* The entire series of ''[[Othello (
* In ''[[
** ''[[
* In one ''[[
== [[
* ''[[The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen]]'''s Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde are the embodiment of this trope, in one package. Hyde even explains to the rest of the League why he has been getting stronger and stronger while Jekyll had been getting correspondingly weaker: as the embodiment of Jekyll's id, Hyde has all the drives and ambitions, leaving Jekyll with nothing.
* In ''[[Watchmen (
== [[Film]] ==
* Subverted in ''[[Evil Dead|Army Of Darkness]]''. "Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun."
** Better illustrated by the director's cut version of the line: "I ain't ''that'' good."
* Superman took one heck of a beating in ''[[Superman III]]''
* In ''[[Me Myself and Irene]],'' the whole reason Charlie's psyche creates his evil alter-ego Hank is because Charlie's too much of a nice guy to stand up for himself.
* In ''[[The Dark Crystal]]'', the wise and gentle urRu and the cruel Skeksis {{spoiler|were split from a single race of beings}}, the urRu retaining their wisdom, benevolence and purpose but lacking the will to take action, while the Skeksis retain their strength, force and willfulness but lose their wise and compassionate natures and devolve into a [[Deadly Decadent Court]].
* The basic message of many of [[Roman Polanski]]'s movies, with ''[[Chinatown]]'' being perhaps the most infamous. This was especially the case after his wife Sharon Tate's brutal murder, although it was evident as early as ''[[
* Done very subtly in ''[[The Good, the Bad
* Sheriff Ed Tom Bell in ''[[No Country for Old Men]]'' is utterly impotent in his attempts to catch Anton Chigurh.
== [[Literature]] ==
* The ''[[
* Subverted in ''[[A World Gone Mad]]''. Wally's evil half is lazy, hedonistic, and has zero impulse control, spending all his time chasing women and watching TV. Wally's good half is proactive and driven to actually solve the problem at hand (to relieve the suffering of others). The good half probably has an aversion to violence, but since Wally's a stealthy-type "sneaker" that's not really an issue anyway.
* Played with in ''Il visconte dimezzato'' by Italo Calvino. When the protagonist is split in two halves, one good and one evil, the evil side is a ruthless bastard, while the good side is kind and generous but rather ineffectual.
* ''[[The Silmarillion]]'' has this; Manwë, ruler of the universe under Illuvatar, is practically a [[Cloudcuckoolander]], while [[Big Bad|Morgoth]] is very much capable of getting things done. However, the things he gets done are seldom particularly ''useful'', and the gods wisen up by the end (and are more active in ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', even though only one of them is even named there).
* In ''[[A Wrinkle in Time|A Swiftly Tilting Planet]]'', this is somewhat averted: the "good" people are proactive, strong, and willing to face evil, at least to give it a stern talking-to. But the wicked people are tolerated in the communities because they're ''better at things'' - one woman who is racist against Indians is the best midwife in the village, and Gedder the evil sumbitch is able to teach others how to farm.
* Most any portrayal of a stereotypical angel. Ironic, since in [[The Bible
* Lord Vetinari claims this to Vimes in ''[[
* This is and [[Good Is Not Nice]] is what usually leads to [[Star Wars Expanded Universe|Jedi purges]]. In many eras, Jedi candidates are harvested from infancy or early childhood, cut off from and forbidden "attachments" (family, love, and any close bonds) or strong emotions, cultivated in relative isolation in temples and enclaves, and restricted from anything that challenges the prevailing dogma unless they're Master rank. This is all to make it so the product of this system never succumbs to the Dark Side. Then, they're sent out into the galaxy into the thick of galactic conflict as fighters (who can't strike unless in defense), exposing them to things that would make Audie Murphy wince, while being forbidden the comforts that even a common soldier would get (like friends, lovers, or a family to come home to)...And then The Order ''wonders'' why so many of them snap and start carving up planets?
* While it's not so much "good" as "good intentions," the [[Green
* In ''[[The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant]]'', the Creator - who created the entire universe of the Land mind you - is unable to interfere in his creation's affairs because if he did so, he would cause an instant end of the world. He only has some power over what specific human is summoned to the Land in the extremely rare cases where someone in that world decides to use a summoning ritual, but he has to come into consensus with Lord Foul about the choice. Meanwhile the evil god Lord Foul is trapped inside the universe, ruining everyone's day on a regular basis.
== [[Live
* The classic ''[[Star Trek:
* ''[[
** And both sides love Anya and try to protect her from the other one. Before they get put back together, Anya expresses an interest in trying out [[Twin Threesome Fantasy|having two Xanders…]]
* In the ''[[
{{quote|
'''High Lister/Rimmer''': "Apologies, brother. I seem to have stained thy knife with my blood. Allow me to furnish you with a fresh knife." }}
* On ''[[American Gothic]]'', no matter how hard Dr. Crower and Gail fight for Caleb's rights, and no matter how much Merlyn uses her angelic powers to protect him, Caleb is inexorably drawn into Buck's orbit and everyone seems helpless to prevent it, or even expose Buck's evil. It doesn't help that the sheriff is a [[Villain
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* ''[[Eberron]]'' enforces this by making all powerful good aligned NPCs have limited mobility. The honored ancestors of the Undying Court either cease to exist if they leave their home or physically can't, Jaela Daran, the 11 year old Flamekeeper ([[Crystal Dragon Jesus|pope]]), loses most of her power if she leaves Flamekeep (Vatican) and the max level Druid Oalian is an immobile tree. This was done so that the [[Player Character]]s are always the real heroes (unlike [[Forgotten Realms|a certain other setting...]]), but can still receive magical aid if they seek it out.
== [[Video Games]] ==
* In ''[[
* In ''[[
* ''[[Tales of Symphonia
* ''[[Black and White]]''. Good gods suck, plain and simple. They take longer to get set up and are much easier to impede. All of the useful miracles are considered evil to use, while the best you will manage with good is crappy shield miracles which an evil god can and will beat down easily.
** YMMV: Evil is quicker and easier, but patient builder God who [[Shoot the Dog|only shoots the dogs]] when there aren't other options can amass more worshippers, resources, and a larger sphere of influence over time. Plus, the evil way of playing wastes resources (especially wood) that could be reinvested in your empire.
** Made quite better in the sequel. In B&W2, 'Good' Gods rely on impressing foreign towns to join your own, whereas 'Evil' Gods use military forces to conquer other towns and defend them. Done properly (read: [[Viewers are Morons|Ones that don't use military units after being told that military is a Evil Thing]]), Good Gods are [[Barrier Warrior
* Implied in ''Star Wars: [[Knights of the Old Republic (
** You can actually [[Discussed Trope|discuss this with Carth]], who points out that Malak hasn't won ''yet'' and probably was only winning because of the foundation Revan built. It's also known that Revan was defeated, costing the Sith their competant leadership - Malak is so [[Stupid Evil]] that his tactical sense only goes as far as "burn the whole planet." Carth also remarks in the tomb of Ajunta Pal that the Dark Side's weakness is that it eventually consumes itself.
** It also factors into the backstory, especially if The Exile is arguing with Atris or one of the other lost Masters. The Jedi were busy navel-gazing while Mandalore the Indomitable was leading his people on a rampage that got as far as Duro. Had Revan ''not'' disobeyed the Council by going to war, then the whole galaxy would have either speaking ''Mando'a,'' and/or been a satellite state for the True Sith.
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* There is a comic where a guy gets split into not two, but four parts of himself. Thus, there were two 'goods' and two 'evils'. But while one 'good' was indeed, rather wimpy, that part also had his [[Unstoppable Rage|rage]]. The other 'good' fought for [[Knight Templar|justice]], but had no sense of mercy. Of his 'evils', one was just a [[Jerk
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* [[The Disney Afternoon]] cartoon ''[[Darkwing Duck]]'' featured an episode of this: Darkwing was hit by a beam that divided him into his "positrons" and "negatrons", resulting in him dividing in two. The "good" version was treacly, cloying, and so nonviolent he refused to even step on bugs... and of course useless in the effort to round up the evil version.
** On top of that, the episode in question ''eventually'' averted this. Negatron-Darkwing gets hit with the splitter beam, which rather than splitting him again results in his evil getting even more concentrated, and suddenly he can shoot lightning bolts out of his fingers, throw cars with his mind, and cause earthquakes without even trying. It looks like he's given up on merely robbing banks and is about to destroy the city just to laugh while it burns, when in desperation Goslyn decides to zap the useless Positron-Darkwing with the splitter. What happens after that looks like stock footage from ''[[
* Inverted in ''[[
* In one episode of the ''[[Mork and Mindy]]'' animated cartoon. You know the drill.
* Partially subverted in ''[[The Ren and Stimpy Show]]''. Ren's two halves were evil and ''apathetic'', but the latter didn't accomplish anything anyway.
* Done in Disney's ''[[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]]'' series, but not with the main characters. Instead, they go to China and meet two identical twins, Zin and Zang, one evil and aggressive and the other good and meek. The twist is that neither has actual power until they merge into a dragon, and the alignment of the dragon depends on who forces the merge. When the evil one causes it, the dragon rampages and burns villages. When the good one finally grows a spine and takes control (which frightens the evil one for some reason), the dragon fixes everything.
* Played with in ''[[Johnny Bravo]]'' when the villain of a [[
* Done in an episode of ''[[Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness
* It's implied that this is the reason why Ron is a [[Bumbling Sidekick]] in ''[[Kim Possible]]''. The few times he's hit with a [[Mirror Morality Machine]], he becomes focused and dangerously competent. So competent that the [[Rogues Gallery|established bad guys]] who encounter him, respect him.
== [[Real Life]] ==
* Jainist monks in India don't wear clothes (so they can't crush insects in them), sweep the ground they're walking on (so they can't tread on bugs), and sometimes even wear a cloth before the mouth, so they can't suck in flies.
** While less extremely ascetic, some Buddhist monks are also very careful to avoid harming even the smallest creature, carrying bells to warn insects and the like of their approach.
* The Talmud teaches that without the "evil impulse", mankind would spend all of its time praying and studying God's Torah. [[Balance Between Good and Evil|Evil is therefore necessary, even good to a certain extent]], because it makes people do good things like marry, build houses, and start businesses, which are all good because God wants human beings to create things on Earth. [[It Makes Sense in Context|Err... that might make sense.]]
** [[Truth in Television|Although many ultra-Orthodox Jews do in fact spend the vast majority of their time praying and studying God's Torah rather than building houses or starting businesses.]]
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*** [[Logic Bomb|So it makes sense to say that being too good means being too evil?]]
**** ''Ahem.'' It makes sense because if humans ''stopped'' taking care of their worldly needs and having kids, the human race would disappear within a generation. If all such activity ''is'' evil, then it's a necessary evil...
* The [[The Federation|United Nations]] is almost universally recognized as an organization with [[Wide
* Though Martin Luther King and Ghandi's non-violent methods of protest certainly weren't "impotent" in the sense that they accomplished what they intended to, they did leave the protesters impotent in the sense of being unable to defend themselves from physical attack.
** Both these men would draw the distinction that "Passive Resistance" is an ACTIVE form of protest and social change. The "passive" aspect refers to the non-violent nature of the resistance. You don't just stand there and let yourself get beaten, you get back up and keep marching in protest without resorting to a violent response.
** "Everything in moderation," seems to be the simplest way to put it. Prayer is nice, but starvation isn't so nice.
** Both men also were savvy enough to consider the effect this would have on the observers of their protests. While their supporters could and did get the crap kicked out of them, this was being transmitted across the world by newspapers and, later,
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Goodness Tropes]]
[[Category:Characterization Tropes]]
▲[[Category:Trope]]
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