Invincible Hero: Difference between revisions

 

Behind this is usually the idea that the hero is "[[The Ace|just that good]]". Plus, he's the hero; good guys ''never'' lose! Doesn't matter [[Training from Hell|how hard]] [[The Determinator]] trains, the hero is always [[Hard Work Hardly Works|two steps ahead]]. This is especially common in [[Season Fluidity|episodic series]] where the [[Monster of the Week]] is a regular occurrence ([[Lowered Monster Difficulty]] when the hero comes to fight it), or in fighting series (whether kung fu, [[Mons]], or card games) where the protagonist is on a quest [[To Be a Master]]. If taken to extremes, this trope turns into [[God Mode Sue]].

 

Compare with [[Immortal Hero]], where the heroes can and often do lose, but hardly ever die, the less suspenseful [[Showy Invincible Hero]], that would be this except that it focuses on the [[Rule of Cool]], and the [[Comically Invincible Hero]] or [[The Ace]], which follows [[Rule of Funny]]. See also [[Invincible Villain]], their [[Evil Counterpart]]. The [[Hero Protagonist]] is especially at risk to this. If hero has his invincibility granted to him by any specific object of his possession, that object is a [[God Mode Item]]. In that case [[Rule of Drama]] indicates that he will lose it in some way, sometimes to an opponent, and have to regain it right before being defeated at last once.

Compare [[Invincible Incompetent]], where the hero is still usually untouchable, but more due to [[The Fool|dumb luck]] and [[Laser-Guided Karma]] than any real competence of their own.

 

 

Contrast [[Kryptonite Factor]] and [[Good Flaws, Bad Flaws]], the main ways to make an '''Invincible Hero''' more... [[Perfectly Cromulent Word|vincible?]]

*** Also prominent early in JLA's run where Superman briefly muses that he isn't sure if he lives up to his legend. Pages later he restores the Moon's orbit by giving it magnetic poles. Later still, while he's battling the archangel Azmodel:

{{quote|[[The Flash]] (Wally): This is the man who said he couldn't live up to his legend . . . he's wrestling an angel.}}

{{quote|'''Asmodel:''' "Yield!"

'''Superman:''' "'''NEVER!'''" }}

* [[Batman]] likewise has no trouble catching crooks; it's the justice system's fault for [[Cardboard Prison|not being able to keep them behind bars]]. Also, while he suffers several personal losses, he rarely loses battles. What? He's [[Crazy Prepared]] and a master of the [[Batman Gambit]]!

** He lost pretty often [[Flanderization|in the old days]]. In fact, almost ''every episode'' of the 1960s ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]'' show had a cliffhanger in the middle where Batman was captured and had to escape a villain's deathtrap.

* [[Tintin]] in the eponymous comic series. Hergé, the author, was so aware of this trope that he grew uninterested in his lead character and began focusing more on sidekick Captain Haddock halfway through the series.

* Subverted ''hard'' with [[Les Legendaires|the Legendaries]]; despite the fact they have the reputation of being invincible heroes, they actually appear as [[Cool Loser|goofy and clumsy most of the time]], having trouble with quotidian tasks such as protecting a potion from an mere thief, only to [[Let's Get Dangerous|reveal]] [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass|how badass they truly are]] when a ''real'' threat shows up. Even then, they are usually over-powered by said real threat and have to earn their victory, especially during the [[God of Evil|Anathos]] [[Darker and Edgier|Cycle]].

 

== [[Fan Works]] ==

** Rose Potter from ''[[The Girl Who Lived]]'' is this. Who cares about all the truths about love, family, friendship, and sacrifice learned over five years of suffering, when "Harry" now has magical druidess powers that make him ten times more powerful than Voldemort could ever be? Critics have noted that Rose has to be handed an [[Idiot Ball]] not to [[Curb Stomp Battle|just finish off the bad guys outright]].

* An amazing subversion comes in the plot of a ''[[Touhou Project]]'' doujin Koamakyou by [http://touhou.wikia.com/wiki/Tohonifun Tohonifun]. The protagonist for the games is shown fighting through the bosses of one of the games brutally; violently impaling the first to the ground, angrily mocking the second's attempts to fight, simply ignoring the third, and fighting the fourth and fifth at the same time. {{spoiler|At the end of the battle with the fourth and fifth, the fifth stabs her in the back, ignoring the rules of the games... and the protagonist turns around completely unharmed. Turns out, she's pissed off because she completely personifies this trope: as the lead of the series, she can't lose. Ever. In anything. In a world where the best way to pass time is the joy of fighting, and you can never conceivably lose a battle...}}

* This is to be expected in most ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]'' crossovers, being that most of the inhabitants of that universe [[Badass Army|are]] [[Eldritch Abomination|as]] [[Psychic Powers|they]] [[Grey and Gray Morality|are]]. One exemplar of this is ''[[God of Death]]'' which puts a [[Space Marine]] on [[World of Warcraft|Azeroth]], [[Curb Stomp Battle|with predictable results]]. Few fanfics can handle this well enough so that it won't be one-sided, like ''[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3678670/1/Chains_of_the_Kindred Chains of the Kindred]'' which crosses W40k with ''[[Halo]]''.

* The ''[[Firefly]]'' fanfic ''[[Forward]]'' deliberately [[Averted Trope|averts this]] with River. The author has stated that he dislikes fanfics that turn River into a solve-everything "easy button" who casually defeats most enemies, and instead portrays River as a [[Fragile Speedster]] and [[Glass Cannon]] who has managed to get badly beaten when taking on overwhelming odds. One fight actually ended with River getting shot, her back wrenched, and a leg broken.

** In ''[[Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice]]'', Mao wants to defeat the overlord. He's been studying tropes, so he figures his best bet is to become a hero, since heroes never lose.

* ''[[Valkyria Chronicles]]'': Welkin is never wrong about anything, ever (even if he's being [[Cloudcuckoolander|loopy about it]]) , and because losing him constitutes a game over in every mission, he never retreats or dies. He's also usually in the Edelweiss, which is expensive to activate and has very limited movement, and so for many missions it's easier and more efficient to have him sit pretty in the tank and have your squad do the dirty work.

* Ever use a [[Game Genie]] code for infinite lives, infinite health, or anything else that will ensure that the "Game Over" screen never appears? Nice for kids, but older players may prefer a little challenge and suspense.

** A lot of games include [[God Mode]] cheat codes anyway nowadays, but they do things like disable the ability to get achievements or turn off scoring or only become available after beating the game normally or something similar. Sometimes this can be ''more'' fun than playing the game the way you're "supposed" to, especially in Sandbox-style games. (''[[Crackdown]]'' is one that comes to mind. "[[God Mode]]" involves being invincible, opening up all weapons, being able to spawn any vehicle or enemy, etc, and is a hell of a lot of fun.)

* Refer to the [[Game Breaker]] list. Some heroes that aren't invincible on their own can be made that way with some creativity.

* ''[[Planescape: Torment]]'' inverts the trope with The Nameless One and his overarching goal - to find out how and why he became immortal. It also averts the trope by [[Nonstandard Game Over|ending your adventure]] if you do things you can't regenerate from - like [[Taken for Granite|annoying a Medusa]].

* The ''[[Mucha Lucha]]'' episode "Doomien" has Rikochet and Buena Girl as a tag-team who always seems to win, to the point that no one is actually rooting for them in the tag-team matches.

* The eponymous character of ''[[Kim Possible]]''.

* ''[[Phineas and Ferb]]'' has Captain Implausible, a superhero on a [[Show Within a Show|show within the show]]. The whole premise of his show is he's impossible to beat.

** That about sums up Phineas and Ferb's whole situation. When you have to build your own super-intelligent AI and program it to trap you repeatedly in order to have a little fun, and then you defeat it effortlessly, well, it's difficult for us to ''ever'' feel afraid for you. (Accordingly, if there's any tension in ''Phineas and Ferb'', it's nearly always emotional tension, such as Phineas being angry at Perry in [[The Movie]].) Candace is in [[Failure Is the Only Option|the opposite situation]].

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Bad Writing Index]]

[[Category:Sturgeon's Tropes]]