Loners Are Freaks: Difference between revisions

Line 2:

{{quote|''"Man is by nature a social animal; an individual who is unsocial naturally and not accidentally is either beneath our notice or more than human. (...) Anyone who (...) does not partake of society is either [[Complete Monster|a beast]] or [[A God Am I|a god]]."''|'''[[Aristotle (Creator)|Aristotle]]''', '''''Politics'''''}}

Friends are great. Which is why having friends is often what separates the hero from the villain. An inevitable side-effect of [[The Power of Friendship]] is [[Friendless Background|if you don't have friends]], there's something wrong with you. Similarly, if a writer is going to create a sympathetic [[Anti Hero]], they often choose to make the character a brooding loner. Although there are many other ways to make a flawed character--[[Pride]], addiction, and lust are all sympathetic, epic flaws. No, no, instead, writers opt for just plain asocial.

Friends are great. Which is why having friends is often what separates the hero from the villain. An inevitable side-effect of [[The Power of Friendship]] is [[Friendless Background|if you don't have friends]], there's something wrong with you. Similarly, if a writer is going to create a sympathetic [[Anti-Hero]], they often choose to make the character a brooding loner. Although there are many other ways to make a flawed character--[[Pride]], addiction, and lust are all sympathetic, epic flaws. No, no, instead, writers opt for just plain asocial.

In fiction, introversion usually includes a raft of other problems: [[Lack of Empathy|apathy]], [[~~Its~~ All About Me|arrogance, selfishness,]] mental instability, inhumanity, or plain old evil. Loners will be shown as insulting others by implying, through their refusal to socialize, that others are not worthy of their presence. [[Family Unfriendly Aesop|Right]]? This perception stems from the belief that being a loner is not a natural thing. There is something "wrong" with them.

In fiction, introversion usually includes a raft of other problems: [[Lack of Empathy|apathy]], [[It's All About Me|arrogance, selfishness,]] mental instability, inhumanity, or plain old evil. Loners will be shown as insulting others by implying, through their refusal to socialize, that others are not worthy of their presence. [[Family-Unfriendly Aesop|Right]]? This perception stems from the belief that being a loner is not a natural thing. There is something "wrong" with them.

There's also the association with [[The Sociopath|serial killers]] who tend to be loners. In Japan, [[Hikikomori]] are seen as either [[NEET|NEETs]] gone over the edge, or lazy students cutting class rather than victims of a nearly-[[Social Darwinist]] society defined by [[Ambition Is Evil|ambition]] and fear of shame. [[There Are No Therapists|Rather than reaching out for help, the family is expected to isolate the weirdo from society and deal with the problem themselves]]. When fiction still doesn't remember the difference between being a loner by choice or being driven to it, this is the attitude at work.

Line 23:

Compare [[The Complainer Is Always Wrong]] and perhaps [[Intelligence Equals Isolation]]. Contrast [[You Are Not Alone]]. See also [[No Social Skills]].

== Anime and Manga ==

Line 57:

** Though it could be argue that he never considered anyone his "friend."

** The closest things he has to friends are Tenma and his own sister Nina, the people whose lives he made hell and whom he tries to mindrape into killing him over the course of the series.

* While the heroes of ''[[Jo ~~Jos~~ Bizarre Adventure (Manga)|Jo Jos Bizarre Adventure]]'' slowly gather friends over the course of their bizarre adventures, the [[Big Bad]] of the series, Dio Brando, ''also'' has an ever-expanding group of friends/minions who are extremely loyal to him. It's even noted by Joseph that this is part of the reason why he's so dangerous (besides the [[Our Vampires Are Different|vampire powers]] and [[Time Stands Still|time-stopping]]).

* While the heroes of ''[[Jo Jo's Bizarre Adventure (Manga)|Jo Jos Bizarre Adventure]]'' slowly gather friends over the course of their bizarre adventures, the [[Big Bad]] of the series, Dio Brando, ''also'' has an ever-expanding group of friends/minions who are extremely loyal to him. It's even noted by Joseph that this is part of the reason why he's so dangerous (besides the [[Our Vampires Are Different|vampire powers]] and [[Time Stands Still|time-stopping]]).

** A more direct example is Part 4 [[Big Bad]] Yoshikage Kira.

* Sagara Sousuke from ''[[Full Metal Panic]]'' ''specifically'' tries not to get too attached to people, mainly because he wants to maintain his business-like, cold way of following orders. Unfortunately for him, people just seem to be [[Magnetic Hero|so attracted to him]] that, even if he doesn't want to, he constantly ends up with groups of [[True Companions]]. [[Stalker With a Crush|Gauron]] becomes rather angry when he finds out that Sousuke is constantly surrounded by friends, and actually [[Hannibal Lecture|lectures]] Sousuke about how being a loner is a ''good thing'' that makes him strong and unique. Funniest part about it is that Gauron himself kept two [[Wife Husbandry|very loyal girls]] by his side, making it more likely that his grand speech had more [[Green Eyed Monster|shallow reasons]].

* Sagara Sousuke from ''[[Full Metal Panic]]'' ''specifically'' tries not to get too attached to people, mainly because he wants to maintain his business-like, cold way of following orders. Unfortunately for him, people just seem to be [[Magnetic Hero|so attracted to him]] that, even if he doesn't want to, he constantly ends up with groups of [[True Companions]]. [[Stalker With a Crush|Gauron]] becomes rather angry when he finds out that Sousuke is constantly surrounded by friends, and actually [[Hannibal Lecture|lectures]] Sousuke about how being a loner is a ''good thing'' that makes him strong and unique. Funniest part about it is that Gauron himself kept two [[Wife Husbandry|very loyal girls]] by his side, making it more likely that his grand speech had more [[Green-Eyed Monster|shallow reasons]].

* Pretty much the entire plot of ''[[Welcome to The NHK]]'' is how the protagonist Satou attempts to get over his social anxiety and connect with people after he realizes how unhappy he is as a loner.

* Averted in ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'', oddly enough. The hero himself is [[The Messiah|a very kind person]], but is also formal and uses Keigo with almost everyone. He tends to be rather distant otherwise. As it's an aversion and not a subversion, he's a loner but has no pathological case of avoiding people, he just doesn't socialize.

Line 115:

* [[Solomon Kane]] is the poster child for this trope, spending almost every story tramping around [[Darkest Africa]] all alone except for the [[Witch Doctor]] N'Longa, who he sees very infrequently, and various other characters whose main function, generally speaking, is to die violently.

* [[Chronicles of Thomas Covenant|Thomas Covenant]] - [[Stephen R Donaldson]]'s entry for least likeable main character. Something of a [[Jerkass]] hero.

* Roland Deschain, the protagonist of [[Stephen King]]'s magnum opus ''[[The Dark Tower]]'', suffers from this trope: he has been alone for so long in his quest to reach the titular Dark Tower that it is his only reason for living. In the first book he goes so far as to [[Anti Hero|let a twelve-year-old boy he rescued and bonded with to fall to his death]], just to because his nemesis said it was the only way he'd ever allow himself to be caught. Roland's character softens into something a great deal more sympathetic after he forms a traveling party that helps him in his quest -- which includes what amounts to a resurrected version of that kid, who'd have to be insane to follow Roland again under any other circumstances.

* Roland Deschain, the protagonist of [[Stephen King]]'s magnum opus ''[[The Dark Tower]]'', suffers from this trope: he has been alone for so long in his quest to reach the titular Dark Tower that it is his only reason for living. In the first book he goes so far as to [[Anti-Hero|let a twelve-year-old boy he rescued and bonded with to fall to his death]], just to because his nemesis said it was the only way he'd ever allow himself to be caught. Roland's character softens into something a great deal more sympathetic after he forms a traveling party that helps him in his quest -- which includes what amounts to a resurrected version of that kid, who'd have to be insane to follow Roland again under any other circumstances.

** Not exactly. {{spoiler|The Dark Tower is the nexus of all existence. Saving it at the price of a thousand lives would be a bargain.}}

*** But remember, Roland's goal is not to save the Dark Tower, but to reach it. He goes out of his way to save it because if it falls he could never reach it. {{spoiler|If given the hypothetical choice of saving but never being able to get there, or reaching and climbing to the top at the cost of its destruction along with all of reality, he'd choose the second option.}}

Line 122:

** The young Severus Snape is also depicted as a loner, unpopular and often bullied, further tying him to Harry and Voldemort as one of JK Rowling's three "abandoned boys."

*** Verging into WMG territory, but the difference between the boys is what Rowling seems to be emphasising, as if deliberately building on this trope. Voldemort not only is a loner, but actively shuns friendship, and is thus the most messed up and evil. Harry reaches out, has friends, and even in the moments when the school turns against him, he still has a full blown group of [[True Companions]] to help him, thus making him well adjusted and pretty close to normal. Snape falls halfway, desperately seeking friendship from his Death Eater pals, who aren't really friends, and accidentally estranging his only real friend. Thus he ends up suspended halfway between evil and true good.

*** To be perfectly clear: Snape is a [[Sliding Scale of Anti Heroes|Type 3]] [[Anti Hero]].

*** To be perfectly clear: Snape is a [[Sliding Scale of Anti-Heroes|Type 3]] [[Anti-Hero]].

** This all rears its head again in the last book with Dumbledore being revealed to be a true loner himself. While adored by the entire wizarding populace, Albus never seemed ''particularly'' close to anyone- the most fondness we see him express over the series is for his old flame Grindlewald and for Harry. Part of this is explained because his genius made him feel isolated, but by the last book, it becomes very clear he just didn't trust anyone with all of his secrets, preferring to kill Voldemort with a [[Xanatos Roulette]]. While Dumbledore is adored by all, most of the time, his intense quirkiness can lead to him being seen as a freak, as throughout ''The Deathly Hallows,'' Harry grows increasingly disillusioned as it sinks in how little Albus trusted him.

*** JK Rowling says on Pottermore that Albus Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall were quite close, bonding over similarities in their childhoods. Albus and Aberforth Dumbledore were also reported to be relatively close before everything went wrong.

Line 145:

* Boo Radley, of ''[[To Kill a Mockingbird]]'', is seen as this by the rest of the town. He is a [[Misunderstood Loner With a Heart of Gold]] -- a kind and caring, if not shy person who just happens to have been a recluse.

* [[Sherlock Holmes]], arguably embodies the loner trope, with the exception of Dr. John Watson.

* [[~~Frankensteins Monster|~~Frankenstein's Monster]]. Obviously.

* [[Frankenstein's Monster]]. Obviously.

** In fact, an [[Alternate Character Interpretation]] is that ''Victor'' Frankenstein is the villain and the "monster" his victim. The monster himself points out that Victor created him and then immediately abandoned him, never allowing him to know love or affection. It poses a sort of chicken-or-egg question: is the monster a loner because he's a freak or is he a freak because he's a loner?

* In [[Gene Stratton Porter]]'s ''[[Freckles (Literature)|Freckles]]'', Mrs. Duncan worries about Freckles's solitude, appeased only by his friendliness with animals.

Line 228:

== Video Games ==

* The protagonists of so many video games, especially older ones (i.e. before the dawn of multiplayer), are fully portrayed as [[Loners Are Freaks]]...but this is also played as being a ''good thing'', because no normal person, or even average soldier, could...

** ...fight a [[One Man Army|one-man war]] against [[The Legions of Hell|Hell's armies]], eventually killing the big bad daddy of all demons, whose death throes destroy ''Hell itself''. (''[[Doom]]'')

** ...fight a [[One-Man Army|one-man war]] against [[The Legions of Hell|Hell's armies]], eventually killing the big bad daddy of all demons, whose death throes destroy ''Hell itself''. (''[[Doom]]'')

** ...single-handedly face the seemingly inexhaustible resources of a [[Mega Corp|globe-spanning corporate hegemony]], with only a rag-tag group of ill-equipped, ungrateful [[La Résistance|Rebels]] backing you up on occasion. (''[[Crusader (Video Game)|Crusader]]'')

** ...save the world from a cyborg-mutant overlord and his plans to turn humanity into a peaceful [[Hive Mind]] of long-lived, super-intelligent beings...that would then be unable to procreate, resulting in inevitable extinction within a matter of centuries. (''[[Fallout]]'', which placed a lot less emphasis on the party than ''Fallout 2'')

*** ...mop the floor with the remnants of the American government, blowing up their main base, {{spoiler|Logic-bombing the freaking president}}, racking up a surreal kill count and casually blowing up cities with nuke launchers, either becoming the new Messiah or Satan's offspring. And above all, he is even named 'The Lone Wanderer' (''Fallout 3'')

**** [[Fallout 3|The Lone Wanderer]] and the [[Fallout New Vegas|Courier]] are, infact, the most [[Incredibly Lame Pun|lonesome]] of the Fallout protagonists. They are allowed a maximum head cap of 1 human and 1 [[Non Human Sidekick|non-human]] per "party". As opposed to the older games, which allowed you a reasonable 5 man team. Heck, depending on how you play, you may end up wandering the lonely wastes with naught but your [[My Master Right or Wrong|faithful]] [[Loyal Animal Companion|hound]] as your only company. Or with absolutely no company at all.

**** [[Fallout 3|The Lone Wanderer]] and the [[Fallout New Vegas|Courier]] are, infact, the most [[Incredibly Lame Pun|lonesome]] of the Fallout protagonists. They are allowed a maximum head cap of 1 human and 1 [[Non-Human Sidekick|non-human]] per "party". As opposed to the older games, which allowed you a reasonable 5 man team. Heck, depending on how you play, you may end up wandering the lonely wastes with naught but your [[My Master Right or Wrong|faithful]] [[Loyal Animal Companion|hound]] as your only company. Or with absolutely no company at all.

*** In fact, in the ''Lonesome Road'' DLC, the Courier can get a perk that makes him stronger if s/he goes off to face [[The Rival|Ulysses]] by him/herself, aptly titled [[Title Drop|Lonesome Road]].

**** Fallout loves this Trope. {{spoiler|Fallout 1 makes the PC the person who is most adept to wander the "World Outside" in the first place and he/she ends up to be cast out by his superior. In Fallout 2 PC is descendant of the original PC who must be sent out to the Big World. In Fallout 3 you are child of a person who wasn't supposed to be there anyway. In New Vegas you are a courier, who was not meant to be there in the first place.}}

Line 267:

== Web Original ==

* In the prequel comic of ''[[Doctor ~~Horribles~~ Sing Along Blog (Web Video)|Doctor Horribles Sing Along Blog]]'', Captain Hammer, [[Jerk Jock]] nemesis of the [[Villain Protagonist]], states that goths and kids that are good at science and math should be reported to the police as they are all potential supervillains.

* In the prequel comic of ''[[Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (Web Video)|Doctor Horribles Sing Along Blog]]'', Captain Hammer, [[Jerk Jock]] nemesis of the [[Villain Protagonist]], states that goths and kids that are good at science and math should be reported to the police as they are all potential supervillains.

** And, as Dr. Horrible works on his Death Ray, he also stops meeting with Penny or Moist.

* For some reason, a good portion of [[Survival of the Fittest]]'s version 4 are loners. Whether or not it is played straight, though, varies from character to character.

Line 297:

* As [[Mark Evanier]] notes in the ''[[Dungeons and Dragons (Animation)|Dungeons and Dragons]]'' piece linked above, this was a [[Broken Aesop|common Aesop]] that consultants would foist on cartoons in the 1980s. One extreme example Evanier points to in the piece: ''The Get Along Gang'', where this was the ''only'' Aesop.

* Mentioned in ''[[Daria (Animation)|Daria]]'', especially "Boxing Daria", where the title character's parents have a fight over her lack of ability to get along in pre-school. (Daria herself managed to avoid this mostly by her friendship with Jane, and to a lesser extent [[Beavis and Butthead]].)

* Played straight and subverted in the first episode of ''[[My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]''. Twilight Sparkle, the main character, is seen this way by the denizens of Canterlot, but on the other hand, the overly friendly ponies of Ponyville strike Twilight Sparkle as rather crazy.

* Played straight and subverted in the first episode of ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]''. Twilight Sparkle, the main character, is seen this way by the denizens of Canterlot, but on the other hand, the overly friendly ponies of Ponyville strike Twilight Sparkle as rather crazy.

** Loners barely even seem to exist in the show; friendship is, quite literally, one of the fundamental forces of that universe. The biggest loner so far shown is Zecora (a [[Fantasy Counterpart Culture|faux-African]] witch doctor living alone in the dark woods), and she's a very sympathetic character - the first episode featuring her is all about how she's ''not'' a freak. On the other hand, even she is not a complete loner, as she keeps friendly relations with the main characters, doesn't mind visits to her hut and sometimes helps out with celebrations in Ponyville.

* Mr Freeze from ''[[Batman ~~the~~ Animated Series (Animation)|Batman the Animated Series]]'' is another example: where Batman has Robin, who he treats as a teammate, Mr Freeze is completely ruthless when one of his henchmen gets accidentally frozen. This is also true of The Joker, and especially evident in how he treats Harley Quinn. It's subtle, but Batman isn't really a true loner. It's okay to be a loner when you cooperate with the system and have a sidekick!

* Mr Freeze from ''[[Batman: The Animated Series (Animation)|Batman the Animated Series]]'' is another example: where Batman has Robin, who he treats as a teammate, Mr Freeze is completely ruthless when one of his henchmen gets accidentally frozen. This is also true of The Joker, and especially evident in how he treats Harley Quinn. It's subtle, but Batman isn't really a true loner. It's okay to be a loner when you cooperate with the system and have a sidekick!

* ''[[Gargoyles (Animation)|Gargoyles]]'' live in a clan structure, and gargoyles within a clan are very close and protective of each other. Losing her clan and being alone for centuries is part of what drove [[Big Bad|Demona]] to go from disliking humans to actively trying to wipe out the species.