Knight in Sour Armor: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

The world is filled with idealists who believe in [[Lawful Good|truth, justice and all that stuff]] and devote their lives to fighting for it. [[Wide-Eyed Idealist|And then the world keeps letting them down.]] For them, [[Being Good Sucks]]. But rather than giving up on their goals, they replace their [[Knight in Shining Armor|shiny armor]] with a full plate of [[Deadpan Snarker|pure]] [[Gallows Humor|cynicism]]. These characters realize they live in a [[Crapsack World|dark, cruel and brutal world]] and choose to fight not because they believe they will truly make a difference, but because it's [[Neutral Good|the right]] [[Chaotic Good|thing to do]]. And they hate themselves for it.

 

 

 

 

Generally, these characters fit one of two personality types. Members of the first type are former [[Wide-Eyed Idealist|Wide Eyed Idealists]] who have come to [[Jade-Colored Glasses|accept]] that their world is on the low end of the [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism]], but who still find something beautiful in their former ideals that they want to hold on to. Those of the second type are born cynics, who would make natural [[Jerkass]] [[Anti-Hero|antiheroes]], but who nevertheless have devoted themselves to a code of honor or fair play. In either case, these people tend to have gone through (often painful) [[Character Development]] in their past, meaning that they are normally older than the average hero.

 

These characters show up often in [[Film Noir]] and in [[Low Fantasy]]. Law enforcement is a particularly attractive career, but the '''Knight in Sour Armor''' will usually hold back from becoming a [[Cowboy Cop]]. Very frequently, they end up as [[The Obi-Wan]], a [[Grumpy Bear]] with [[Jade-Colored Glasses]], [[The Last DJ]], or a [[Cool Old Guy]] if they last long enough. As teammates, they are often the [[Sour Supporter]]. They also frequently end up as [[Hero Antagonist]]s and extreme [[The Woobie|Woobies.]] This is often the final state of [[The Atoner]] post [[Heel Face Turn]]. Despite their cynicism, they behave like [[The Anti-Nihilist]]. Compare the [[Iron Woobie]], who takes the [[Being Good Sucks|troubles of a good alignment]] with far less complaint, and the [[Noble Demon]], who will [[Card-Carrying Villain|proudly declare himself evil]], but still finds himself doing good. Converted [[Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids]] or [[Good Is Old-Fashioned]] believers may well find themselves becoming this [[Trope]] if the heroes can pull them round. Compare [[Jerkass Woobie]], a character who spits in the face of the [[Character Alignment|alignment]] chart. Compare [[The Snark Knight]] for the [[Non-Action Guy]] variant.

 

== Anime and Manga ==

* Guts of ''[[Berserk]]'' behaves like a stereotypical mercenary the first few times you see him, but actually he cares for the people around him at heart.

** This changes ''drastically'', however, after {{spoiler|The Eclipse}}. He turns from a Knight in Sour Armor into a full-fledged [[Byronic Hero]], but returns to his original status later in the series.

* Lelouch Lamperouge in ''[[Code Geass]]''. He could have shut out the horrors of the world, but his sense of justice wouldn't let him; in fact, when [[Fate Worse Than Death|forced into a normal life and robbed of his motivation for rebelling]], he [[Can't Stay Normal|still found himself dissatisfied and quickly returned to being Zero]]. Of course, when he starts actually taking the steps necessary to battle a [[World Half Empty]], he falls into the [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|well-intentioned extremism]].

* Edward Elric from ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]''.

** Mustang even more so. He basically IS this trope, along with Hawkeye, Hughes and the rest of his group.

* Fakir in ''[[Princess Tutu]]'', but only after he gets a grip on his - perfectly understandable - fear.

* Being a former assassin, the titular character from ''[[Rurouni Kenshin]]'' has a very cynical view of the world. However, he'll seize any opportunity to [[Obfuscating Stupidity|fool around]] and will help [[Wide-Eyed Idealist|Wide Eyed Idealists]] whenever he can.

** Should be added that Duo is emotionally the oldest of the Gundam pilots, having had neither training nor shelter, and avoids all forms of idealism, militarism, and even nihilism in favor of a highly pragmatic but strict personal code. He's basically a cynic surrounded by various stripes of romantic. This is often but far from always an advantage.

** In line with this trope, Duo doesn't take things terribly seriously on one hand, but regularly risks his life for other people or the world on the other.

* ''[[Tiger and Bunny]]'''s Blue Rose ''hates'' being a corporate sponsored superhero. [[Triple Shifter|She gets little time for herself and her interests]], has to wear an [[Stripperiffic|impractically sexy costume]] in dangerous situations, spout catchphrases she doesn't like, act like an oversexed dominatrix for ratings, and gets chewed out by her boss and sponsors if she doesn't manage this in addition to scoring points for capturing criminals—who really don't care about the saving lives part so much as they care about their public image. So why does she keep at it?

{{quote|'''Blue Rose:''' I want to save people in trouble. Isn't that enough of a reason? }}

** {{spoiler|In the finale, Madoka. She sacrifices all semblance of her own identity to change the Magical Girl system. She creates a new world where suffering runs just as rampant as ever, acknowledging good cannot exist without evil. And why? Because, by God, Magical Girls deserve to die happily anyway, and she's willing to become the embodiment of hope itself in such a despair-filled world.}}

** [[Deconstructed Trope|Deconstructed]], however, with Sayaka Miki. After learning {{spoiler|the first}} [[Awful Truth]] of becoming a [[Magical Girl]] and having a heart-to-heart with Kyouko who tells her that she is better off battling witches for her own rewards than to protect others, she still chooses to continue to stay a hero. However, {{spoiler|when her [[Locked Out of the Loop]] friend Hitomi admits to having also been in love with Kyosuke and gives her a day to admit her feelings, which she can't due to the nature of the truth}}, her ideals begin to gradually shift more and more until {{spoiler|she becomes a [[Tragic Monster|witch]] [[Despair Event Horizon|herself]].}}

 

== Comic Books ==

* The [[Doom Patrol]] are made of this trope.

* [[Sin City|John Hartigan]] is probably the last good cop in [[Wretched Hive|Basin City]], up until his forced retirement. He doesn't have much to show for it. Except the knowledge that he did the right thing, and a friend who stays by his side no matter what.

* The [[Marvel Universe|universe]] (particularly the [[Ultimate Marvel|Ultimate universe]]) loves to kick [[Spider-Man]] in the nuts when he's down, and he's quick to point out that [[No Good Deed Goes Unpunished]], but Lord bless him, he keeps on keeping on.

** This [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WoJV4NLxqg End Credit song of the film Spider Man 2] gives out such a point well.

* [[DC Comics]]' Hans von Hammer, the ''[[Enemy Ace]]'', retains his "Knights of the Sky" view of air combat (refusing to, for example, shoot down an opponent who is out of ammunition) despite how much [[War Is Hell|the realities of war]] challenge his ideals.

* Matt Murdock in ''[[Daredevil]]'' definitely counts. He's put through through the emotional ringer a dozen times over and his life always seems to get worse when You think it can't possibly decline further. Its so bad the poor guy can barely muster the energy to brood. Despite this, he struggles on and serves as a true hero of New York.

 

{{quote|'''Leonardo:''' "You're one of us now, Breech, and we're a family full of good people."

'''Breech:''' "You don't pay much attention when I fight, do you?" }}

{{quote|'''Gandolfini:''' "Naruto-sama doesn't know it, not many dare to call him that to his face but his actions on missions has earned him the moniker ''[[The Dreaded|Black Paladin]]'' among the wider mage population because of his actions. He always fights what for what is right regardless of the rules and protocol, hence the ''[[Paladin]]'', but his methods and results are rather... [[Mind Rape|disturbing]] and he usually dresses completely in dark colours, hence the ''[[Black Knight|Black]]''."}}

 

* Ezylryb {{spoiler|(Lyze of Kiel)}} of ''[[Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole]]'' may be a legendary warrior, but he takes no pleasure in it whatsoever, as he demonstrates by displaying his slashed face and blind eye.

{{quote|'''Ezylryb:''' [[Every Scar Has a Story|This is what it actually looks like when you've fought in battle.]] It's not glorious, it's not beautiful, it's not even heroic. It's merely doing what's right and doing it again and again, even if someday you look like this.}}

* [[Shrek]] is crude, hot-tempered and cynical, but nearly always manages to do the right thing, especially for people (and donkeys) that have proven they're able to see past the idea of "big, stupid, ugly ogres."

** [[The Old Convict|Chatter Telephone]] and [[Sad Clown|Chuckles the Clown]]; {{spoiler|the former had been stuck at Sunnyside for years but used his knowledge of the place to (try to) help the other toys escape, and the latter saw some of Lotso's [[Kick the Dog|rather despicable]] actions firsthand, and told Woody about this to warn him of Lotso's true nature.}}

* [[Humphrey Bogart]] as Rick Blaine in ''[[Casablanca]]'', as archetypal [[Film Noir]] [[Private Detective]] [[Philip Marlowe]] in ''[[The Big Sleep (film)|The Big Sleep]]'', and as [[Dashiell Hammett|Sam Spade]] in ''[[The Maltese Falcon]]''.

* When you think about it, isn't this the sort of role [[John Wayne]] often plays? He is usually a [[Boisterous Bruiser]] as well but he is often this.

* Walt Kowalski from ''[[Gran Torino]]''

* Fire Chief O'Halloran from ''[[The Towering Inferno]]'' is clearly sick and tired of saving [[Too Dumb to Live|stupid people]] from the consequences of their own [[Idiot Plot|idiotic mistakes]], but he still keeps [[Big Damn Heroes|charging into burning buildings to rescue them]].

 

== Literature ==

* Atticus Finch of ''[[To Kill a Mockingbird]]'' is utterly {{spoiler|and correctly}} convinced that, because of [[Deep South|Maycomb County]]'s inherent racism, Tom Robinson cannot escape being convicted for a crime he didn't commit. Atticus still does everything in his power to get Tom acquitted, and treats it as the most important case of his entire career despite the reaction from the people of Maycomb County.

 

* Marcus Cole of ''[[Babylon 5]]'' has one of the [[Tall, Dark and Snarky|darkest wit]] of any characters on the show, knows his way around the station's criminal underworld, and yet acts like a knight of the round table.

** Also Micheal Garibaldi, a jaded cop who joins Sheridan's extremely idealistic rebellion unhesitatingly.

**** By the end of the series Ivanova

* Most people involved with the government in ''[[24]]'' seem to believe this. Despite their constant sacrifices to save America, even Redshirt agents seem to realize that their victories are Pyrrhic at best, and rarely make attempts to mask how jaded they are.

** It's possible lawyer Romo Lampkin is also this way, as he has the cynicism of the disillusioned idealist. We never get to hear why he hated Lee's grandfather, a famous criminal defense attorney, so it's difficult to say.

*** Said grandfather was revealed in ''Caprica'' to have gotten through law school funded by the Tauron mafia and in the very first episode bribes a judge to get off mobsters, among other things. He apparently got a lot better, but there were probably lots of reasons to dislike him.

* Almost every single good cop in ''[[The Wire]]'' knows that their objective is ultimately a futile effort, and that the city of Baltimore is in far more disarray than they could possibly hope to rectify. However, this sure as hell doesn't stop them from trying.

* Colby from ''[[Survivor]]'', who said the game he first played in 2000 was outdated and gone, being one of the few players (other than Coach and Rupert) who was [[Honor Before Reason]].

** While it is repeatedly stated that he only cares about the puzzle, there are some moments of ambiguity, in which House [[Suspiciously Specific Denial|always comes up with an excuse.]]

** Or maybe he just thinks the world is a horrible place and want people to keep living in it.

* After being on ''[[Degrassi]]'' enough seasons you either end up here or [[Jade-Colored Glasses]], just a fact of life for teenagers. Best examples for this side of things would be Spinner, Darcy, Jimmy, Marco, Sav, Clare, Alli, and Jenna. The series is abundant with drama and cruelty for them, but they still believe no matter how the world sucks... it's what they have and it's worth it to not give up. But the world unquestionably sucks, they are all more than clear there.

 

** Bizarrely, however, most of the stories with Thor, and certainly all those focused on him as opposed to the Aesir at large, tend to be far more upbeat, and he tends to win ultimately, after much fun is made at his expense.

*** Protector of Midgard and Friend of Men. He is The Good Guy in Norse mythology, fighting giants to protect both Aesir and Humans.

** I thought they killed him for fomenting dissent against the government?

*** [[Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters|See, Rome had this thing about potential centers of rebellion, and the local community leaders had this thing about having their piety colorfully insulted by extremely popular people who had shown themselves willing to throw violent tantrums in civic centers.]]

 

== Tabletop Games ==

** [[Gaunt's Ghosts|Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt]] is perhaps the most prominent example, a genuinely selfless, courageous, and noble hero who is becoming deeply bitter and cynical towards the Imperial Guard command structure. Major Elim Rawne of the same series quite arguably worked his way into this trope from the other direction-he started as a ruthlessly cynical, self-serving bastard, and remains a ruthlessly cynical bastard-but one with a very tarnished and deeply hidden heart of gold.

** Comissar [[Ciaphas Cain]], '''HERO OF THE IMPERIUM''', projects this at times... because his reputation (and possibly he) would be shot if anyone knew [[Dirty Coward|how he actually is]]. Of course, we only have his word for that. The author himself has stated [[Shrug of God|that he doesn't know]] whether Cain is the [[Dirty Coward]] he presents himself as, or [[Unreliable Narrator|doesn't give himself enough credit.]] Its clear that in the very least he is not the type of commissar to shoot his men for very little reason and from what we see in Last Stand that he wants to prepare his proteges for the galaxy at large as best he can. In general its clear he at least is a decent person.

** The Paladin class itself flirts with being an example of this, especially in a setting where the government is harsh or totalitarian. It's pointed out in the ''Book of Exalted Deeds'' that when faced with a choice between Law and Good, a true Paladin will always choose the latter (the Paladin's code in the book has a loophole about "Legitimate" authority for this reason).

** ''Complete Scoundrel'' brings you the Grey Guard [[Prestige Class]]. Paladins who tend to fall early and often for breaking their code in the pursuit of genuine Good (not making the job quick and easy) are sometimes approached by the knightly equivalent of the CIA. The abilities they pick up take the 'goodness and light' of the Paladin and turn it into 'goodness and Bad Cop interrogations'.

** As the [[Ravenloft]] setting is bound to eat your average [[Knight in Shining Armor]] for breakfast, it's home to quite a few of these instead, striving to hold back the darkness. The game-setting's knights of the Circle function more like vigilantes or undercover operatives, keeping their heroic deeds under the darklords' radar.

** Most clerics of Ilmater in [[Forgotten Realms]]. It's sort of clear that this will not be about sparkles and singing birdies when one subscribes to follow a god of endurance and suffering, who teaches that one needs to suffer to achieve one's goal and whose dogma mainly revolves around taking the heat for innocents.

 

== Theater ==

* ''[[Wicked (theatre)|Wicked]]'': Why, Miss Elphaba... you and this trope [[Arc Words|deserve each other]].

* In ''[[Man of La Mancha]],'' Don Quixote ''might'' be this; he has a skewed perception of the world as a beautiful, marvelous place when it clearly isn't, but he indicates that, even when he ''knows'' the world is a dire mess that has little hope of elevation, he will fight on. When he converts {{spoiler|Dulcinea}} to his cause, she becomes a full fledged Knight in Sour Armor.

 

== Toys ==

 

== Video Games ==

* Cole MacGrath from ''[[Infamous (video game series)|In Famous]]''. If you finish the game with good karma, he ends up as Empire City's savior, but the final scene has him musing about his isolation {{spoiler|(given that his girlfriend is dead and his best friend's betrayed him)}} and wondering how long it will be before the city turns against him. Unfortunately for him, he ''knows'' that there's something big and powerful coming, and he's the only one that can stop it. He's ''not'' happy about it at all.

* Hash from ''[[Live a Live]]''. After defeating the demon king, he was heralded as a hero, but the very nature of human beings continued to disgust him much to the extent that he faked his death and hid out in a cabin in the mountains, only being convinced to help Oersted save humanity again because despite his hatred, he knows that it's the right thing to do. {{spoiler|When he dies, he asks Oersted to believe in his friends and not become bitter like he did. Unfortunately, Oersted's own adventure eventually pushed far beyond merely being bitter.}}

* Marshal Leigh Johnson of ''[[Red Dead Redemption]]'' is a bitterly jaded old man who nonetheless remains [[Lawful Good]] throughout the game (though by the epilogue he moves as far away from Armadillo for his retirement). John Marston has similar tendencies when he decides to help out people (mostly Bonnie and Luisa).

** [[Cool Old Guy|Landon Ricketts also qualifies.]] And Jack in the epilogue.

* [[Your Mileage May Vary]] given the interpretation you prefer, but Garrett from ''[[Thief]]'' fits this quite a lot. He's a completely unrepentant criminal who acts as though he has nothing but contempt for others, his surroundings, and the whole corrupt, depraved pit that is the City and the world he lives in - ''most'' of the time. But there are hints that Garrett cares more than he'd ever want to or admit when he witnesses cruelty against almost anybody, especially the poor and already down-trodden, and even people who've tried in the past to kill him. (Possibly because it's a really, really long list.)

* Lightning in ''[[Final Fantasy XIII]]'' is a female example. She does believe in doing what's right, but the world she lives in is so messed-up she has very little "right" to believe in and she bitterly laments her fate as a cursed l'Cie.

* Several characters in ''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]'' qualify for this. Rose of Sharon Cassidy is a [[The Ladette|hard-drinking and somewhat surly woman]] who also happens to have a strong moral code, being the one character who will specifically complain about the player's [[Karma Meter]] if it gets incredibly low. Also, there's Colonel Hsu and Chief Hanlon of the NCR, who despite being personally against the war (especially considering the fact that their commander, General Oliver is a [[Glory Hound]] and [[General Failure]]) do what they can for the sake of the soldiers.

 

* Karkat Vantas of ''[[Homestuck]]''. He'll [[No Indoor Voice|shout]], he'll whine, he'll [[Jerkass|mock his friends and foes alike]], but ultimately he'll do the right thing. [[Deadpan Snarker|Dave Strider]] as well. In addition both Karkat and Dave are literal knights.

* ''[[Schlock Mercenary]]'' has a few, including Major Murtaugh, introduced as a [[Hero Antagonist]] (it's very easy around Toughs) leading an unit of a [[By-The-Book Cop|By-The-Book Rent-A-Cop]] company, then {{spoiler|got kicked out of it (it's also fairly common around Toughs, and above average outcome of being caught between two factions of an intelligence service)}} and later re-appeared as {{spoiler|"a sullied paladin questing for redemption"}}, in the words of Karl Tagon.

** Later, [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2014-03-16 UNS General] Apala Bala-Amin, as competent as disillusioned. She ''immediately'' arranged {{spoiler|a covert scan of a strange ship}}, and when this was partially foiled, stuck them with a "cultural attache" she herself openly introduced as someone who "knows more about ship design than most shipwrights do". Fittingly, she can't stand the local [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]] - Admiral of UNS military intelligence Manyara Emm. When the latter [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2014-04-27 tried to] use her as a [[Fall Guy]], this quickly turned into an exercise in futility and [[Stealth Insult]]s.

{{quote|We welcome our friends with open arms. And if they're not friends, well... We're big and our hugs can be a little suffocating.}}

*** Her technical assistant Lieutenant<ref>when she was introduced</ref> Haley Sorlie, who started as a [[Wide-Eyed Idealist]] and [[Iron Woobie|suffered enough of letdowns and unpleasant discoveries]] that eventually when promised "many interesting things for you to see", she asked [[You Do NOT Want to Know|whether she will want to un-see any of them]]. It's interesting that Bala-Amin obviously grooms her for promotion, and seems to personally have a soft spot for her, if in "[[Tough Love]]" way - keeps telling Sorlie that she has a bright future, gives her access to information classified above her level and throws into complicated missions bound to become enormous headaches in the unlikely best case.

 

== Web Original ==

* [[Image Boards|/tg/]] discusses this and [[Knight in Shining Armor]] at length [http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/11826926/ here.] (warning: somewhat [[NSFW]]) A little before that, there was [http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/10111656/ a game report] where [http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Powder_Keg_of_Justice "Powder Keg of Justice"] concept emerged.

* Coltaine and to a lesser extent Win'Tyr of [[Dungeons and Drogans]].

 

== Western Animation ==

* Six from ''[[Generator Rex]]''. Despite looking and sounding like a unemotional [[The Men in Black]] agent, he has principles he won't compromise; Rex is in fact alive thanks to him, and he has admitted that he stopped being a mercenary [[Morality Pet|*because* of Rex]].

* In ''[[Moral Orel]]'', Reverend Rod Putty eventually becomes this, being one of the few characters not utterly blinded by hypocrisy and actually caring about the well-being of the main character.

 

== Real Life ==

* The official philosopher of this view must be Joseph de Maistre, who wrote in his ''St. Petersburg Dialogues'':

{{quote|The philosopher can even discover how permanent carnage is provided for and ordained in the grand scheme of things. But will this law stop at man? Undoubtedly not. Yet who will kill him who kills everything else? Man! It is man himself who is charged with slaughtering man.

[[Category:Characterization Tropes]]

[[Category:Cynicism Tropes]]

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

[[Category:Punk Punk]]