Graceful Loser: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
{{quote|''Tenchi, same name as the sword. Tenchi can't be copied. Very clever, Tsunami...You've won, boy.''|'''Kagato''', ''[[Tenchi Muyo!
The heroes have struggled long and hard, but they have finally beaten everything that the [[Big Bad]] can throw at them. They have clearly defeated him. The villain, rather than trying to [[Prisoner of Zenda Exit|escape]] or [[Taking You
This is not a trick to catch the heroes off guard: the villain really chooses to lay down his sword. He might one day return to fight the heroes, but that is definitely another day. Might occur in the case of an [[Affably Evil]] or [[Harmless Villain]], or a [[Magnificent Bastard]]. Only seen if there is limited (or even no) actual hatred between the villain and the heroes, and especially if there is even a sort of camaraderie between them, or perhaps both were trying to [[Rousseau Was Right|do the right thing]]. Only, [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|the villain]] was simply [[Utopia Justifies the Means|misguided]]. Needless to say, the [[Worthy Opponent]] (especially in more idealistic and heroic works) is almost guaranteed to do this. [[Defeat Means Friendship|It might even cause them to join your side.]]
Can happen more often in series where there is a [[Cardboard Prison]] involved. A villain who happens to [[Know When to Fold'Em]] just may do this. Can also happen when he chooses to [[Face Death
Contrast [[Unsportsmanlike Gloating]], [[I Surrender, Suckers]].
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== Anime and Manga ==
* When [[Big Bad|Raoh]] of ''[[
{{quote| '''Raoh:''' Come, let me see the face of the man who has defeated Raoh... You are magnificent, my little brother.<br />
'''Kenshiro:''' Big brother... }}
* Not a series-ending example, but during Shannon and Chris' confrontation in episode 4 of ''[[
* Chao of ''[[
** Earlier in the story, once Kaede beat Kotaro, he just stood around promising he wouldn't run or pull a cheap trick.
* Non-action anime example: In ''[[
** Context for those who haven't seen the series: Tomoyo and Nagisa are in love with the same guy, but by this point it's become incredibly obvious that Nagisa's the one he's interested in.
* Trieze does this at the end of ''[[
* ''Many'' character in ''[[
** The big exception of this trope is [[Sociopathic Hero]] Ryo Mashiba, who complains and yells after losing against Ippo.
* Special Operative Okonogi becomes this in the Festival Music chapter of ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro
* {{spoiler|Charlotte and Edorad}} in ''[[
* Subverted in Trinidad's past, in ''[[
* Kagato in ''[[Tenchi Muyo!
* In ''[[
* In ''[[Pokémon (
* Rigardo in ''[[
* Early in ''[[
== Comic Books ==
* Would often happen to [[
** At the end of [[
** And then there's Humpty Dumpty, who doesn't even resist arrest. In fact, he even helps Batgirl with her dislocated arm.
* [[The Sandman (Comic Book)|Dream]] of the Endless.
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*** Brute and Glob (ultimately they knew their efforts were futile anyways)
*** A surprising number of the people Death picks up.
* Caesar is a graceful loser in most ''[[
** In one of the movies, he admits defeat, surrenders his empire and ''retires in the countryside with Cleopatra''.
*** "You are gods, and one cannot fight gods."
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== Film ==
* The [[Big Bad]] of ''[[
** Also {{spoiler|O-Ren Ishii}}, who first apologizes to her killer for not taking her seriously, and when given the last blow she muses with admiration about how the weapon that {{spoiler|scalps her}} is ''truly a Hattori Hanzou katana''.
* The Baroness of ''[[The Sound of Music]]'' warmheartedly wishes Maria, her rival for the hand of Captain Von Trapp, happiness with the Captain when it becomes clear where his affection lies.
* Similarly, the unfaithful wife in ''[[
* The big wrestler in ''[[Fearless (
** Well, after refusing to admit defeat and trying to fight on for a while. But after he was saved from the [[No OSHA Compliance|spikes]] he composed himself and acted more graciously.
** Also, (and potentially a better example) Japanese swordsman and Karate expert Nakamura. He recognizes that Huo could have killed him with Huo's final blow but deliberately held back rather than do so. Between that and Nakamura's suspicions that foul play had occurred, he stops the referee from proclaiming him the victor over Huo, forfeits, and leads the audience in cheering on Huo.
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* Tony Wendice in ''[[Dial M for Murder]]''. After a brief moment of shock when his [[Batman Gambit]] is undone, he calmly congratulates everyone and pours them some wine.
* Teddy KGB at the end of ''[[Rounders]]''. Mike Mc Dermott just won a huge poker hand against him. After a brief angry rant, he calls his goons off and grudgingly admits that he was defeated fair and square.
* When the [[Knight Templar|Operative]] in ''[[
** He does say that his superiors are [[Understatement|less than pleased]] with this outcome and that he may just be their next target. Mal just shrugs and says he doesn't care. After all, the Operative has killed many of his friends (including children) just to smoke him out.
* {{spoiler|Wadsworth}}, in ''[[Clue (
* Johnny Lawrence in ''[[
** The remake takes this [[Up to Eleven|up a notch]]. Not only does the rival bring the hero the trophy, but he, and his entire class bow to him, much to the chagrin of their jerkass teacher.
* In ''[[A Beautiful Mind]]'', Martin Hansen has been acting as a [[Jerkass]] [[The Rival|rival]] to John Nash for most of the film's first act; however, when Nash is selected for the position at Wheeler labs instead of him, he shows up at the local bar where Nash is celebrating, and- though his ego has obviously taken a bruising- he gracefully toasts Nash's success. For the remainder of the scene, the two of them are chatting amiably.
* The Joker in ''[[
* As in the book, Cardinal Richelieu in ''[[
* [[Big Bad|Loki]] in ''[[The Avengers (
{{quote| '''Loki:''' [[Graceful Loser|If it's all the same to you,]] [[I Need a Freaking Drink|I'll have that drink now.]]}}
* Subverted in ''[[Diggstown]]'', where the hero and the villain are both con-men who have done everything in their power to rig a series of boxing matches in their favor. When the hero's fighter finally wins under blatantly shady circumstances, the villain stands up and says, "You beat me fair and square!" However, soon afterwards he begins ranting and threatening while his son tries to get him to admit defeat.
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== Literature ==
* In ''[[The
{{quote| {{spoiler|Sejanus}} looked up at last. Then, with a little effort, he shrugged, like a man who has lost a bet on a footrace or dice roll. Accepting a shattering defeat with some dignity intact he was more likable than he ever had been in the past. [...] He saluted the king. "Basileus" he said, using the archaic term for the fabled princes of the ancient world.}}
* In the Warrior trilogy set in the ''[[
** Also, the Clans will, at the point of a defeat, withdraw, even if they have the strength to stay.
* The vampire Faethor Ferenczy of the ''[[Necroscope]]'' series had ''two'' such moments: first, when suffering amidst the ruins of his burning house, he decided to accept a quick death at the hands of a rescuer- even paying him with a gold medallion- rather than fighting desperately to escape. The second moment was after his death, when he was excluded from the other souls of the dead [[Fantastic Racism|for being a vampire]], and this time, he got to explain himself:
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* [[Hand of Thrawn|Supreme Commander Pellaeon]], the head of the tiny [[Vestigial Empire|Imperial Remnant]], came to the conclusion that the Empire would only survive to rise again if he made peace with the New Republic, so he sends a trusted underling as an envoy to meet with the general he respects most. A Moff's consternation at this and someone finding a corrupt version of the Caamaas Document kick off the events of the Hand of Thrawn duology.
** His mentor, [[The Thrawn Trilogy|Grand Admiral Thrawn]], was like this as well. When one of his plans failed spectacularly and his own bodyguard assassinated him, Thrawn's last words were, [[Combat Aestheticist|"But...it was so artistically done."]]
* ''[[The Three Musketeers (
** While his scheme is defeated, at best it is a minor inconvenience to the Cardinal who is far too powerful for anything that the Musketeers do to actually harm or seriously affect him and his position. That he offers D'Artagnan a job still counts as this trope, however, as if he wished he could crush the young Musketeer without effort.
* In ''[[
* Martel, in ''[[The Elenium]]'', takes being beaten {{spoiler|(and killed)}} by Sparhawk with dignity. Sparhawk acknowledges this by bringing Sephrenia over so Martel can {{spoiler|die in the presence of those he loved most.}}
== Live Action TV ==
* When revealed for the scheming, murdering snakes they are, a very significant number of Lieutenant [[
** Columbo's often really nice to ''them'' as well. When the fairly sympathetic man who'd murdered his stepbrother because he was going to sell his beloved vineyard was caught, Columbo listened as the guy explained that the vineyard was the only place he ever felt truly happy and shared a glass of wine with him before taking him away.
** One of them even gave Columbo a portrait of himself after being caught (although he was working on it before he was arrested).
* Averted in ''[[Alias (TV series)|Alias]]''. In the middle of season 2, after the Alliance was destroyed, Arvin Sloane was revealed to have helped in the whole thing, and apparently retired to a life of luxury and anonymity with his wife. Then it turned out it was just the next step of his plan.
* A world-class example of this is seen in the [[Grand Finale]] of ''[[
** He even comes back during the next season's [[Crossover]] episode to help the Rangers take out some Orgs that he had business dealings with, in the "[[Meanwhile in
*** And he was pretty damn awesome as a good guy too.
* In the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' episode "Amy's Choice", after our heroes have worked their way through his dream trap, the Dream Lord gracefully admits defeat and accepts his end of the bargain, saving their lives and fading away. {{spoiler|It's a subversion; when he leaves them, they're still trapped in his dream trap, and this is just his way of trying to fool them.}}
* In the 1980s ''[[
* The ''[[
* In the ''[[Fantasy Island]]'' remake, one episode involved a man who wants to become the best business man by any means. Roarke slowly turns him into a remorseless demon. At the final moments, his dog returns to him and he shed a [[Tears of Remorse|single tear]], which Roarke takes and hands to his assistant, happy to lose the bet once more.
* On ''[[The Amazing Race]]'' it's actually rare for a losing team ''not'' to be graceful in defeat, and many teams in the Final 3 are just happy having gotten to run the whole race. Though notably averted with the teams that originally appeared on [[Survivor (TV series)|another CBS Reality Show.]]
== Tabletop Games ==
* In ''[[
* In the sample adventure for [[
* [[Forgotten Realms
* In the first edition of ''[[
== Video Games ==
* ''[[
* The hero and villain of the first ''[[
** A similar case happens in the second game, furthered by the case that the hero and the villain there have pretty much zero animosity towards each other the whole game. The villain even provides the hero with both the means to say goodbye to his dead girlfriend and the key to figuring out exactly what he's planning. They also part amicably at the end.
* Admiral Gregorio, the [[Worthy Opponent]] of ''[[
* A particularly odd example occurs in ''[[
* King Bulblin from ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
* Most of the ranked assassins in ''[[
** The same goes for ''[[No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle
* Rubicante, fitting with his status as a [[Worthy Opponent]] and a [[Noble Demon]], praises you after defeating the Elemental Lords when they team up in ''[[
* The Turks from ''[[
** ...But only if you completed the Wutai sidequest. If you didn't, you don't get the choice to fight them.
*** Of course, it was a good idea to choose to fight them anyway because [[Video Game Stealing|of the equipment you could get.]]
* Harry McDowell of ''[[
{{quote| '''Harry''': ''...Is it over? Go for it, Brandon. It's your turn now.''<br />
(A single shot of Grave's [[Hand Cannon|Cerberus]] is heard.) }}
** The final boss of the second game accepts his defeat calmly, even giving the heroes an antidote for Mika's seed infection before he dies.
* {{spoiler|[[Well-Intentioned Extremist|Izanami]]}} complements ''[[
** Also, {{spoiler|Tohru Adachi}} accepts his fate of imprisonment and agrees to play by society's rules.
* ''[[
* In ''[[
* ''[[
== [[Visual Novels]] ==
* The only thing that {{spoiler|James Moriarty}} says to his killer {{spoiler|Sherlock Holmes}} in ''[[
* Assassin in ''[[Fate/stay
** And {{spoiler|Gilgamesh}}, who at least takes losing to Saber ''slightly'' better than you'd expect given [[Jerkass|his normal mode of behaviour]].
* In case 1-3 (Turnabout Samurai) of ''[[Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
** {{spoiler|Damon Gant counts as well. When he's finally taken down for the shit he's pulled, he bursts into almost childish laughter and extremely fast clapping out of madness. Afterward though he calms down, apologizes to the Judge for being unable to make their later appointment and even admits that the justice system is in good hands with Wright, Udgey and Edgeworth at the helm.}}
** {{spoiler|Manfred von Karma}} could also be considered one. When found out as the ultimate perpetrator for the current case and the DL-6 incident that led to the death of Edgeworth's father Gregory, he doesn't take it so lightly, screaming Edgeworth's name out and smashing his head on the crowd bench behind him. However, afterward he calms down, he snaps at the judge for ''not delivering the verdict fast enough.''
** {{spoiler|Acro}} would qualify. When you finally present irrefutable evidence that he was the (accidental) murderer of ringmaster Russel Berry, he simply congratulates you for seeing through him, figuring it out and calmly explains why he did what he did. He even congratulates Franziska for her part in exposing him. The last bit, though, sells it:
{{quote| {{spoiler|Acro}}: No. I'm not a victim (tears start flowing down his face, all while he keeps genuinely smiling). I'm a murderer.}}
** Completely averted, however, by the [[Big Bad]] of ''[[
== Web Comics ==
* The mad scientists in ''[[
* {{spoiler|Tsutsumu}} from ''[[
** Played with, really. He fights right up to the end, fully intending to kill the girls if he can... but he's left a pleasant surprise for the heroes if they do manage to beat him.
* In ''[[
== Western Animation ==
* In ''[[The Simpsons (
* Caesar in the ''Twelve Tasks of [[
* In ''[[
** Also, Oberon.
* In the last episode of ''[[The Transformers (
{{quote| "There will be no war today, Prime. You have earned Galvatron's respect."}}
* In ''[[
* In the ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
** When Fluttershy tells motivational worker Iron Will that she refuses to pay up for his seminar due to him saying that he guarantees 100% satisfaction or else "You don't pay", he keeps his word (though not before asking if she's even mildly satisfied) and continues his way, even considering his experience with her worth using in his next seminar.
* In an episode of ''[[
* In the ''[[
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