Good Is Not Nice: Difference between revisions

'''Spike:''' I mean honestly, what kind of retard wears [[Broken Heel|heels]] like that in a dark alley? Take two steps and break your bloody ankle.

'''Woman in alley:''' ''[annoyed]'' I was just trying to get home.

 

He [[Thou Shalt Not Kill|never kills anyone if he can help it]], nor will he allow people to come to any sort of harm by ignoring them. He's always willing to go out of his way [[Incorruptible Pure Pureness|to save the town and complete strangers]]. When the call comes, [[Resigned to the Call|he will answer it, usually with very little protest.]] He will often help people in need with little promise of reward. In almost every way, he acts like an [[Ideal Hero]].

* When the [[Fantastic Four]] trespassed into Heaven {{spoiler|in a bid to resurrect Ben Grimm}}, Johnny was struck by an archangel's [[Flaming Sword]] and noted that it hurt even worse than ''[[Hellfire]]''.

* From ''[[The Avengers]]'', Sersi is, in fact, Circe from ''[[The Odyssey]]'' (Greek poets are lousy spellers, it seems) and while she is more benevolent than the story portrays her, she often uses her reputation from the story to her advantage. In one story she laughs evilly when she turns a squad of Skrull into lizards, implying she would keep them that way forever. ''Most'' of the time, such threats are bluffs.

 

== Fan Works ==

* The titular Batman from the [[Batman (film)|1989 film]] definitely qualifies.{{context}}

* The main character of [[James Bond (film)|James Bond]] has the well-known [[Catch Phrase|licence to kill]], and the [[Sociopathic Hero]] he is, he uses it whenever [[Violence Is the Only Option|appropriate]], without turning a hair.

 

== Literature ==

* Anna from ''[[Belisarius Series]]''. At first glance she is a [[Spoiled Sweet]] rich girl. But when she saw the horrors of military hospitals she devoted herself to reforming by the only means of keeping a hospital in those days-by [[Drill Sargent Nasty|fanatical discipline.]] More specifically she threatened to have her bodyguards beat up the lazy staff workers if they didn't earn their pay.

{{quote|''"I'm not saying she's not basically a nice person--" Magrat began.''

''"Hah! I am. You'd have to go a long day's journey to find someone basically nastier than Esme," said Nanny Ogg, "and this is ''me'' sayin' it. She knows exactly what she is. She was born to be good and she don't like it."''}}

** To a degree, many other ''[[Discworld]]'' witches. Miss Treason intentionally dresses up the evil witch appearance {{spoiler|even though most of it is Boffo novelty items}}, and can only really do her job because people fear her.

** There's also Sam "This is how you play [[Lawful Good]] you morons!" Vimes.

**** He also arranged things so when he dies, everything goes to hell. It makes sure he won't be assassinated, but all men are mortal, and Vetinari is a man.

* Micah E. F. Martin's [[The Canticle]] gives us [[Knight Templar|Jonathan Servitor]], a merciless inquisitor serving a [[Corrupt Church]] that's all humanity has standing between it and the ravenous legions of the dead. Needless to say, sometimes he gets his hands dirty.

* Flannery O'Connor [http://www.flanneryoconnor.org/ssfreaks.html spawned a quote] that often comes up to describe this trope; it is most commonly repeated through the form in which [http://www.amywelborn.com/walkerpercy/thantos.html Walker Percy paraphrased] it, when she wrote that, "''tenderness leads to the gas chamber''". It's a rather shocking way of pointing out that trying to be ''nice'' without first being ''good'' is a fast road to becoming a [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|very dangerous kind of person]].

** Also, Giles. Despite how he acted in the first few seasons, he's often one of the most sarcastic and foul-mouthed people on the show (never picked up on by most due to him using mostly British swears). Plus, he'll kill humans if he must, an opinion only shared by him until Season 8.

* Keisuke Nago follows this trope to the letter in ''[[Kamen Rider Kiva]]'', to the point where ''all five'' reasons listed in the opening paragraphs that a person could experience this trope apply to him. He eventually mellows out, but it takes half the series to happen.

* ''[[Dexter]]'': Sergeant James Doakes is an anti-social [[Jerkass]] with a penchant for violence, but a damn fine cop and a good person at the end of the day.

* Jacob on ''[[Lost]]''. While he may work to good ends, he doesn't seem to care much about what happens to the people he uses along the way to achieve those ends. So much so that for much of the final season fans frequently speculated online that in the end Jacob would turn out to be the evil one and the Man In Black the good one.

* Probably any Law Enforcement, military, or espionage hero will have a little of that. The job of cops is to render [[Feuding Families|blood feud]] obsolete by subcontracting the feud to themselves. The job of soldiers is theoretically to defend the nation by violent means and practically to be used as international poker cards by violent means. The job of spies is to be a sort of [[Justified Criminal| government approved criminal]].

**Lawyers too. They are also part of the law enforcement system and are expected to be more than a bit of [[Manipulative Bastard]].

** Kendra was even more brutal. Sure, one can't hold it against her for assaulting Angel (he's a vampire, she's a Slayer, do the math, it wasn't personal) but seriously, did she ''have'' to lock him in a cage in a warehouse with a skylight, forcing him to wait it out until the sun rose? At least Buffy doesn't prolong their agony.

 

== Music ==

* Miranda of ''[[Legend of Dragoon]]''. She's the First Sacred Sister of Mille Seseau, a combination of princess, general, and priestess for the people of her country. She's also chosen as the White Silver Dragoon, the holiest and gentlest of dragoon spirits. Too bad she's a [[Tsundere|raging bitch]]. [[Character Development|She gets better]] as the game goes on, but her cynical business-first attitude puts her in stark contrast to her predecessor, [[Incorruptible Pure Pureness|Shana]].

* In ''[[Neverwinter Nights 2]]: Mask of the Betrayer'', Kaelyn the Dove is a just, noble Aasimar that tries to do good whenever she can. However, she is ''obsessed'' with destroying the [[Fate Worse Than Death|Wall of the Faithless]], and is willing to do ''anything'' to tear it down.

* ''[[Golden Sun]]'' games love this trope, the biggest example being the twist in ''The Lost Age'' that the "bad guys" we hunted down in the first game were trying to save the world. Several subplots involve other characters with good intentions but questionable methods.

* Some of the Daedra from the [[Elder Scrolls]] games ''may'' qualify as this. Daedric lords such as Azura, Meridia, and possibly Nocturnal have reputations for being less malignant and more beneficial to humans than the other lords. However, they aren't necessarily nice. Azura is described simultaneously as being cruel, but also as wise and encouraging her worshipers to love themselves as much as they love her.

** The Cage family is this; Johnny is rude, egotistical, and arrogant (although his [[Older and Wiser]] self in ''X'' and ''XI'' has mellowed a little), Sonya is overbearing and has an [[Hair-Trigger Temper|uncontrollable temper]] (though she can [[Sugar and Ice Personality|soften a little among family and friends]]) and their daughter Cassie has inherited the attitudes of both of them, plus a [[Deadpan Snarker]] attitude to boot.

* [[Boogerman]] is a super-hero dedicated to saving the environment from industrial greed and villains who maliciously pollute it; a noble goal, but the powers he uses to do so involve sneezing, belching, [[Fartillery|farting]], moving through sewers by flushing himself down toilets... Yeah, this is a case where Good is Pretty Disgusting.

 

== Web Comics ==

* Huey Freeman from ''[[The Boondocks]]''. Although he has good intentions in building a greater American society, he is quite cynical, pessimistic, cantankerous, and has been labeled—not unjustifiably—as a "domestic terrorist".

* Benson from ''[[Regular Show]]''. He may be constantly angry and constantly threatening to fire Mordecai and Rigby, but all he's really doing is his job. Plus, he's actually pretty friendly when things aren't out of hand.

 

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Knight in Shining Tropes]]

[[Category:Goodness Tropes]]

[[Category:Morality Tropes]]

[[Category:Index With a Heart of Gold]]

[[Category:No Real Life Examples, Please]]