Just Like Robin Hood: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

In essence, a thief or other kind of criminal, usually of the [[Gentleman Thief|gentleman kind]], who target people who [[Pay Evil Unto Evil|probably deserve it]] in order to help the downtrodden. [[Robin Hood]], is, of course, the [[Trope Namer]] [[Did Not Do the Research|and in his original stories not a strong example]], robbing from the government and returning what was unrighteously taxed.

Can also be used more generally to describe a mysterious or eccentric character who is unmistakably a foe of tyranny and a (usually superficial) friend to ordinary folk, especially if large doses of [[Think Nothing of It]] are present.

 

 

{{examples}}

* There was a cat burglar in an early episode of [[Fullmetal Alchemist (anime)|the 2003 anime version]] of ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist (manga)|Fullmetal Alchemist]]'' that claimed she did this.

* ''[[Kaitou Saint Tail]]'' did a variation of this, but was ''very'' careful to only steal already stolen items, and return them to the people they were stolen from.

* In ''[[Solty Rei]]'', Rose Anderson and her brothers steal to provide medicine and other essential supplies to the cities 'unregisted' people, who legally cannot buy anything.

 

* Felicia Hardy/Black Cat from ''[[Spider-Man]]'' has had periods like this.

** As did Selena Kyle/Catwoman of ''[[Batman]]''.

* Railroad Bill from ''[[Jonah Hex]]'', who would rob trains and then redistribute the money he stole to those who had been forced of their land by the railroad companies.

 

 

* In the second Disney ''[[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]]'' movie, Al is shown robbing Abis Mal in order to spread the gold and jewels he stole among the people.

** Al also gives a pair of kids the bread at the beginning of the original movie.

** And in the series this is a what takes up a good portion of his spare time.

* From the quote above, Robin Hood and his Merry Men appear in ''[[Shrek]]''. After a big musical number explaining his motives, it's clear he sees Shrek as a monster, and intends to cut the ogre's heart out in an attempt to impress Princess Fiona. She is not impressed and promptly begin to kick all their asses with Matrix-esque ease. This trope is subverted in that Robin is something of a jerk who is implied to keep at least a percentage of the money he steals.

* The hackers in ''[[Sneakers]]'' did this back in the 60s. The ending implies that Robert Redford's character has returned to his old ways.

* Happens in ''[[Ghost (film)|Ghost]]'', when Sam donates the stolen money to charity.

* The remake of ''[[Fun with Dick and Jane]]'' focuses largely on a plot by the eponyma to steal a corrupt CEO's savings (which he had in turn swindled from his own employees), and eventually set up a pension plan with the money.

* In ''[[Tension At Table Rock]]'' the hero is a former outlaw infamous for killing his partner who was famous for being just like Robin Hood, even though in actuality the dead man only gave away a small proportion of his proceeds and when one of his robberies got someone killed, he would murder some innocent bystander and claim that was member of his gang who broke the rules by killing someone.

* The titular ''[[Iron Monkey]]'' robs from the very corrupt city governor and gives it directly to the poor in need, or he buys medicine to give to the poor. He's a bit more specific in his giving than many Robin Hood types.

* The movie ''[[In Time]]'' has an interesting example: instead of the main characters stealing ''money'' from the rich, they steal ''time,'' which is basically currency in their world. {{spoiler|They steal a million years, to be exact, and procede to disseminate it through the slums, [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|thus causing epidemic inflation and collapsing the economic infrastructure of their entire society]].}} To be fair, that was their goal in the first place.

* In ''[[Lajja]]'' Bhulwa is a thief who lives out in the woods with a band of followers, just like Robin Hood.

 

* The ''[[Illuminatus]]!'' trilogy romanticized John Dillinger to be like this (no clue as to whether this is [[Truth in Television]] in this case, though).

** It is [[Truth in Television]] to the extent that people at the time felt the same way about him in many cases. It was during the Depression, after all, so robbing a bank basically ''did'' mean "stealing from the rich."

* As might be expected from her philosophical outlook, [[Ayn Rand]] considered [[Robin Hood]] deeply evil, and created an "inverse Robin" in [[Atlas Shrugged|Ragnar Danneskjold]] who pirated relief shipments to various failing socialist states and gave it back to those who had earned it. Ragnar explicitly states that his motivation is to erase the false idea of Robin Hood.

* The outlaws in ''[[The Last Unicorn (novel)|The Last Unicorn]]'' aspire to this, but later one of them admits that they actually rob the poor (who can't fight back) to pay off the rich (who therefore tolerate their presence).

* The title character in ''The Tale of Hong Gildong''.

* Parodied by Cohen the Barbarian in [[Discworld]], who robs from the rich "because the poor haven't got any money." (Although since his men nearly always spend their money, it does typically end up in the hands of the poor, provided one considers taverns and brothels "the poor.")

 

* Mentioned in ''[[Blackadder]]'', where a notorious highwayman is described as being ''half-way'' to being the new Robin Hood - he steals from the rich, but hasn't gotten around to giving to the poor yet.

** Then there's that one time that he met the ''actual'' Robin Hood, and promptly got him shot by his own merry men for being an insufferable git that doesn't pay them anything for their work.

** In the first season, the [[Carnival of Killers|band of the six most evil men in England]] that Prince Edmund assembles seem like [[Evil Counterpart|evil counterparts]] of Robin and co. One of them, Three-fingered Pete, is an archer who dresses like Robin (and is introduced killing a competitor in an archery contest who might actually be Robin). The lecherous Friar Bellows is an obvious counterpart to Tuck, and the murderous dwarf Jack Large is used to allude to Little John. It's also worth noting that one of the members is a Guy de Glastonbury (shades of Guy of Guisbourne) and Prince Edmond himself smacks of the traditional portrayal of King John.

* The ''[[Hustle]]'' crew occasionally do this - they usually rob from the rich (and corrupt) and keep it for themselves, but they'll occasionally give some or all of a particular take to charity and they usually try to make sure that the decent or honest they encounter come out better off for helping them. There's at least two or three examples of this in the most recent series.

** They steal from the rich and corrupt... [[Chew Toy|and Eddie]].

* This is the entire premise of ''[[Leverage]]'', with the addition that they generally give their take to the specific people that their rich targets got their money from in the first place.

** Often, their clients aren't even looking for money, but revenge, or some other compensation. In these cases, they use the payout to bankroll their operation.

* ''[[Pushing Daisies]]'' had a whole episode devoted to the investigation of a rash of thefts of this nature. Of the two leads, Chuck is sympathetic to the perpetrator, Ned is not. {{spoiler|The events of the episode eventually show Ned as the correct one}}.

* In ''[[Firefly]]'', Jayne Cobb is portrayed as one of these by the people of the mud-farming slave town of Canton. Emphasis on [[Accidental Hero|"portrayed."]]

* Omar Little of ''[[The Wire]]'' generally just steals from drug dealers, but he's been seen on more than one occasion giving money to poor kids. Additionally, Stringer tells Avon at one point that his 'Robin Hood' style is why he's so untouchable, despite the sizable bounty on his head; he's known to share his take of the drugs with addicts in the areas he settles in, so they won't pass on his whereabouts to the Barksdales.

* Turned around in an episode of ''[[Remember WENN]]'': Betty tells Scott that he is like Robin Hood -- "You're doing a good thing, but somehow you're a criminal anyway."

* April and Andy were not quite like Robin Hood in an episode of ''[[Parks and Recreation]]'':

* On an episode of ''[[Family Ties]]'', Andy dresses up as Robin Hood and erroneously describes him as "robbing the poor to give to the rich". His parents say that's not Robin Hood, that's [[Ronald Reagan]].

* In one episode of ''[[Covington Cross]]'', Eleanor runs away with a bandit who describes himself like this. When she finds out how small a percentage he actually gives to the poor, she goes back to her father in disgust.

* Subverted in ''[[The Practice]]'' with this exchange:

'''Alan''': I kept it. Thus the half-Robin Hood }}

* This gem from ''[[Cop Rock]]'':

''He's the hero of the neighbourhood'' }}

 

* The song ''John Wesley Harding'' by [[Bob Dylan]] depicts the 19th century gunslinger as a "friend to the poor". His name was actually spelled Hardin (without the G), by the way, and he wasn't much of a friend to anyone (He once shot a man for snoring.)

** Woody Guthrie applied a similar [[Historical Hero Upgrade]] in his song "Pretty Boy Floyd", patterning it after the folk song "The Ballad of Jesse James"; the latter actually includes the line "He robbed from the rich and gave to the poor".

* In ''It Ain't a Crime'' by the House of Pain, one of the lines refers to Johnny being an outlaw and thinking its fun because it's sorta like Robin Hood.

* [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]], "The Battle Of Epping Forest":

* [[Aqua]]'s song "My Oh My" is about a [[Everything's Better with Princesses|princess]] who's looking for a prince on a white horse...and finds him in a bandit outside the castle walls, but he's [[Married to the Job|too busy for love]]:

* The music video for "Say Say Say", by [[Michael Jackson]] and [[Paul McCartney]] has them scamming people with a fake "super strength elixir"... only to donate the profits to an orphanage.

* [[Eazy-E]] is ''[[Averted Trope|not]]'' like [[Robin Hood]], 'cause he wants more: steal from the rich, hang with the poor.

 

 

* Kyle in ''[[Lunar Silver Star Story Complete|Lunar: The Silver Star]]'' (and remakes) is a bandit chief who runs a [[Monster Protection Racket]]...but he's chivalrous about it. [[Double Standard|He doesn't charge women and children]]. (He charges the men double.)

** In ''[[Lunar 2 Eternal Blue Complete|Lunar 2]]'', Nall ends up leading a gang of orphaned children who may or may not rob passing travelers. The game is vague about this.

* In ''[[Skies of Arcadia]]'', all [[Sky Pirates]] attack ships, but only the Black Pirates attack unarmed ones. Blue Rogues will only fight armed ships (in practice this amounts to [[The Evil Empire]] and the aforementioned Black Pirates), and they use the loot to both keep themselves afloat and to help folks who need it. {{spoiler|Nothing is mentioned as to what they do when [[The Evil Empire]] turns over a new leaf after the game's end, but the fans have [[Fanon|plenty of opinions]] on that.}}

* Kay Faraday (self-proclaimed 'Second Yatagarasu' and [[Highly-Visible Ninja]]) in ''[[Ace Attorney|Ace Attorney Investigations]]'' refers to the Yatagarasu as a "modern-day Robin Hood". The original Yatagarasu stole documents revealing corrupt dealings and sent them on to the media to be exposed. While Kay is flamboyant and dramatic about her work, the real Yatagarasu is {{spoiler|dead, evil, and mostly concerned with finding Faraday's murderer rather than showing off. [[Collective Identity|Yes, at the same time.]] }}

* Yoshimitsu in ''[[Soul Calibur]]'' and his descendant in ''[[Tekken]]''.

* A borderline example is the "Robbin' Hood" monster from ''[[The Legend of Zelda (video game)|The Legend of Zelda]]'', in that it steals from the rich (i.e. you) and, er, drops the money on the ground.

* The Dawn Brigade from ''[[Fire Emblem]]: Radiant Dawn''. Interestingly an example that behaves like Robin Hood actually did, stealing from the tyrannical occupying government and giving to the citizens that it was taken from.

** Pahn and the Dandelion Thieves from Fire Emblem Thracia 776

* In ''[[Breath of Fire 3]]'', the current party set about to do this, stealing from a greedy village mayor and giving the money to the village. Except that they seem to be the only people in the village not to realize that the mayor is a front of a huge mafia syndication. [[Oh Crap|Oops]]. It takes only one day for the hitmen to obliterate the party and split them across the world, and the hero is forced to spend the next quarter or so of the game (failing at) running from the said hitmen.

* [[Sly Cooper]] is occasionally shown donating his purloined wealth to charitable causes such as orphanages. Considering the rich, evil sorts that he steals from, and the fact that he sends said evil rich sorts ''and their underlings'' to jail more often than not, leaving the treasure unguarded, they must donate a fair amount; the Cooper Gang pretty much lives in their van - though they do have [[Where Does He Get All Those Wonderful Toys?|some pretty wonderful toys]].

* In ''[[Red Dead Redemption]]'', John Marston used to run with a gang that by his own account stole from the rich and gave it to whomever needed it the most. However their leader Dutch eventually came to the revelation that no matter what he did he was unable to make any meaningful change to society, which promptly drove him insane and caused the gang to split apart.

 

'''Hank''': Well, obviously. }}

 

* The short lived ''[[Spider-Man]]'' series on MTV featured a saboteur who attacked Empire State University in order to stop the administration from forcefully evicting the people whose houses they'd acquired. He's seen a a hero by pretty much everybody in the show, and Spider-Man is seen as a bad guy for being forced to hunt him down (since he's breaking the law regardless). In an interesting characterization, he is portrayed for [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|having a valid cause but extreme methods]].

* ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]''- Jet leads a group of bandits who look like like traditional "merry men" and rob from Fire Nation citizens. Somewhat uniquely, he is actually presented somewhat negatively, being a [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]] who initially has no problem with beating up a weak old man simply because he's a Fire Nation citizen.

** He is willing to flood a village to get rid of Fire Nation troops. It doesn't work, because Sokka warns the villagers in time and is backed up by the aforementioned old man, whom Sokka had tried to help.

* Karl-Bertil Jonsson in the Swedish animated short ''Karl-Bertil Jonssons julafton''. He's 14 and works part-time in a post office, and since he idolizes Robin Hood, sends rich people's Christmas gifts to poor people instead of to the addressees. This outrages his rich father (who, according to the narration, "was [[Take That|one of those people]] who believe that anyone who willingly gives something away must be a Communist") but eventually earns him the admiration of the community, at least until the end of the film.

* Thoroughly subverted on the ''[[Beetlejuice (animation)|Beetlejuice]]'' cartoon in an episode-length parody of the [[Robin Hood]] stories. Beetlejuice starts out this way, robbing the evil Sheriff of Rottingham and giving the riches to the poor...at least until he gets greedy and begins keeping all the wealth for himself. This leads the Sheriff and the poor peasants to patch up their differences and form an [[Enemy Mine]] alliance against Beetlejuice.

* Spoofed in ''[[El Tigre]]''. Grandpapi tells Manny and Frida about a legendary ''bandito'' called Ruben Hood, who stole from the rich...and just that. When Manny asks whether or not Ruben gave to the poor, Grandpapi just stares at him in [[Evil Cannot Comprehend Good|confusion.]]

* Parodied/Inverted in ''[[Flushed Away]]'', where Roddy (a rich rat) steals Rita's boat (Rita being a poor rat) after a misunderstanding, causing her younger brother to quip that it's "like Robin Hood in reverse."

 

* [[Rob Roy]] is portrayed this way in some adaptations. Dick Turpin too.

* Butch Cassidy was known for being a generous thief.

* Like many other historical outlaws, Jesse James has been depicted in this manner by ballads, dime novels and movies. It is doubtful that such a reputation is justified, however. Especially the notion of him (like so many others listed) "stealing from the rich and giving to the poor" has little to no evidence supporting it.

* A common (and possibly [[Truth in Television|accurate]]) portrayal of the legendary Slovak highwayman Juraj Jánošík.

* The Symbionese Liberation Army kidnapped heiress Patty Hearst in 1974, and demanded a ransom, in the form of a food distribution program.

** This was in the midst of several activities that didn't fit the trope as well. After two of their leaders were arrested for using cyanide-filled bullets to murder a school superintendent who had proposed an identification card system, the Symbionese Liberation Army demanded their release in exchange for Hearst's. They switched it to a food distribution demand later.

* Socialists, communists, and early anarchists take it a step further, destroy the rich and spread it among the poor.

** For most of its history socialism was what you called any one who opposed capitalism in favor of workers anything, so Bakunin was a socialist, and besides in Marxism has socialism as the stage between capitalism and communism.

* It's been suggested that the Robin Hood archetype is the result of simple good sense: In specie-currency economies, the rich normally carried large amounts of coin on their persons. So robbers would take the coin, and then spend generously in poorer areas to make themselves popular enough not to be turned in.