Lovable Rogue: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

A person who breaks the law, for their own personal profit, but is nice enough and charming enough to allow the audience to root for them, especially if they don't kill anyone. It helps that none of their victims are anyone we know or that they've [[Asshole Victim|made sure the audience knew they were jerks]], which makes it [[Pay Evil Unto Evil|"okay" to steal from them]].

 

 

Their loyalties are often played with, particularly if they show up [[Come with Me If You Want to Live|to rescue the hero]]. If they end up being the star of the show, expect a straight-arrow [[Supporting Protagonist]] to be the [[Audience Surrogate|audience viewpoint]] character. Complicating matters further is the fact that this person is usually chased by a [[Sympathetic Inspector Antagonist]].

 

See also [[Gentleman Thief]], [[Karmic Thief]], [[Justified Criminal]], [[Sympathetic Criminal]], and [[Just Like Robin Hood]].

{{examples}}

 

* ''[[Lupin III]]'', from the anime of same name. A bit less so in the manga.

* Androids 17 and 18 of ''[[Dragonball Z]]''—in the main timeline, at least. In Trunk's timeline, they're sociopathic killers.

* Most of the principal cast of ''[[Baccano!]]'', especially Isaac and Miria.

* In ''[[Fushigi Yuugi]]'', the rough and brash thief Tasuki's first appearance consists of kidnapping the heroine Miaka, unleashing [[Goddamned Bats|ghost wolves]] against the heroes who try to stop him, and later faking his own death to avoid joining the heroes. However, he later shows up to [[Kill It with Fire|save the heroes]] from zombies and becomes completely dedicated to their cause, to the point of nearly making a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] on Miaka's behalf.

** Plus, the actual ''thieving'' of Tasuki's thief gang is easy to ignore, since they border on being [[The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything]] anyway (except when they briefly serve as [[The Cavalry]] later in the series, which makes their thieving ''even easier'' to ignore).

* Dark in ''[[D.N.Angel]]'' most definitely fits this trope!

* Miroku from ''[[Inuyasha]]'' has no qualms about lying, drinking, womanizing, conning and stealing, being determined to enjoy life to its fullest, but he later shows that he's also loyal, wise, and is ready to help and protect others even with his own life.

* Nami from ''[[One Piece]]'' is this at the beginning of the series, and still has bits and pieces of this personality as the story progresses.

 

* ''[[Hellblazer]]'': John Constantine sometimes qualifies—if you're watching from a distance. If you're ''personally'' acquainted with him, you'd be more inclined to say that he is a prick, since sometimes his only goal is taking care of his own interests, and he can exploit others ruthlessly. But most of the time he's saving the world, which makes him an [[Anti-Hero]]. A [[Sliding Scale of Anti-Heroes|type IV]] at that, with a bit of a [[Jerkass Facade]].

* The snarky outcast drow rogue Downer, the protagonist of the comics ''Downer: Wandering Monster'' and ''Downer: Fool's Errand'' by Kyle Stanley Hunter (formerly published in DUNGEON Magazine). A down on his luck "proven loser" who survives by his wit, quick tongue, quick blade and quick reflexes (and mainly by running the hell away when outnumbered, unless he's sufficiently pissed off that he decides to indulge his inner [[Badass]] and take on a whole bunch of enemies by himself). Although he considers himself an "evil bastard" who puts his own survival first and claims he's "always prepared to be screwed over by his friends", Downer has demonstrated [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|amazing loyalty to friends]] and guild mates on several occasions, and he always pays back his debts. Downer's brother Aristide claims Downer is a "jerk", but then, Aristide is more of a typical drow (read: selfish and cruel) and his viewpoint is questionable. By the end of ''Fool's Errand'', Downer's status has been firmly updated to [[Anti-Hero]].

* Jack from ''[[Fables]]'' and its spin-off ''Jack of Fables'' is literally the embodiment of this trope.

* The Black Fox, a [[Gentleman Thief]] foe of [[Spider-Man (Comic Book)|Spider-Man]], has this vibe going for him. So much so that Spider-Man actually lets him escape from their first few encounters because he just can't bring himself to send the Fox to jail.

 

* Lampshaded in the ''[[Death Note]]'' fic ''[[A Cure for Love]]'' when L indirectly calls Light one... [[It Makes Sense in Context|to his face.]] [[Sympathetic Criminal|Mello and Matt]] better qualify.

 

* Definitely [[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]], at least the [[Disney Animated Canon|Disney version]].

* Timon, from ''[[The Lion King]]''.

* ''[[Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas]]'' has Sinbad leading a troop of non-murderous pirates. They're just so awesome they don't need to kill. Except that one bit in the first scene where they did... but eh.

* Flynn Rider from ''[[Tangled]]'' certainly counts; he's dashing, funny and experiences the most [[Character Development]].

* Han Solo from ''[[Star Wars]]''.

** The EU generally has him [[Badass Decay|becoming less roguish]].

** [[The Thrawn Trilogy|Talon Karrde]] has been said by his creator to be based off of what Han Solo might have become in the years since the films, if he hadn't fallen for Leia. Karrde developed from there—it's hard to imagine ''Solo'' running a large and well-organized smuggling/information brokering group—but the basic idea is the same. He's [[Not in This For Your Revolution]], he has no love for the Empire but doesn't see the profit or point in open resistance, and he does have a sense of honor.

*** The audiobook version of ''Heir to the Empire'' even felt the need to give him a Spanish accent.

{{quote|'''Cdre Norrington''': "You are without a doubt, the ''worst'' pirate I've ever heard of."

'''Cpt J. Sparrow''': "But you ''have'' heard of me."

* after [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|the Captain's escape]]*

'''Cdre Norrington''': "So it would seem." }}

* The Dread Pirate Roberts from ''[[The Princess Bride (film)|The Princess Bride]]''.

* Cpt. Louis Renault of ''[[Casablanca]]'', although he [[Heel Face Turn|turns honest]] at the end.

* Bob, the title character of ''[[The Good Thief]]''. Even the cop who's after him has a soft spot for the guy.

* The Man With No Name, as played by [[Clint Eastwood]] in [[Sergio Leone]]'s ''[[Dollars Trilogy]]'', is a con-man, a thief and a murderer, but dammit, he's just so cool with that poncho of his.

* Rick O'Connell in ''[[The Mummy Trilogy]]''. The fact that he started as a soldier in the [[Legion of Lost Souls|French Foreign Legion]], until his unit was wiped out, only adds to his rogue status.

* Frank Skeffington, the [[Sleazy Politician|crooked big-city machine politician]], is undoubtedly one of these in the movie version of ''[[The Last Hurrah]]''; he is ferociously loyal and would never desert a friend, and if he sometimes uses money or offices to secure political favors, he only does it to help out his constituents. He is slightly more overtly sympathetic in the film than in the book (see "Literature" section below).

* Abu in ''[[The Thief of Bagdad]]''.

* Eames in ''[[Inception]]''.

* Danny Ocean & Friends of ''Ocean's Eleven''. They're all charismatic in their own way, and everyone hates [[Asshole Victim]] Terry Benedict anyway.

* "Professor" Harold Hill, of [[The Music Man]], is this, with a heavy emphasis on the Lovable part (since he's also [[The Charmer]]).

* Private Hook in ''[[Zulu]]''. Note [[Did Not Do the Research]] here; the historical Private Hook was no malingerer, not in any way a disciplinary problem, and fought even more bravely in the battle than the film portrays him as doing. His surviving relatives walked out of the premiere when they saw how he'd been portrayed.

 

* [[Tom Sawyer]] commits petty misdemeanor after petty misdemeanor but generally gets a pass because he's such a charming little rascal.

** Although some of the stuff he does in ''[[The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn]]'' crosses the line from "petty" to "[[What the Hell, Hero?]]"

* [[Discworld]]:

** Moist von Lipwig is one of these turned [[Boxed Crook]]. There's a bit of [[Deconstruction]] on the idea that he's only conned big businesses and people who deserved it, and never hurt anyone. Mr Pump reckons that, if you add up the amount of harm he's done, it's equivalent to killing 2.338 people, and this really gets brought home when it turns out {{spoiler|his girlfriend lost her job when he defrauded the bank she worked for}}.

* George Cooper, King of Thieves, from the ''[[Tortall Universe|Tortall]]'' books. His title is actually "The Rogue", and he basically runs the thieves' organization throughout the kingdom.

** Also Rosto the Piper in the ''Beka'' books; it looks like {{spoiler|he might be an ancestor of George's}}, so it all makes sense.

* Crowley from ''[[Good Omens]]''.

* Colonel Blood from George Macdonald Fraser's wonderfully troperiffic ''[[The Pyrates]].''

* The Phouka in ''[[War for the Oaks]]'' qualifies; his idea of buying things is paying for them with soon-disappearing fairy gold. But being a member of [[The Fair Folk]], he probably can't really help it.

* Silk from ''[[The Belgariad]];'' popular enough that he was the only non-sorcerer member of the party (aside from the Love Interest Ce'Nedra) to star in both ''The Belgariad'' and its sequel, ''The Mallorean''.

* Han "Cuffs" Alister from ''[[The Seven Realms Series]]'' is this.

 

* Bret Maverick, from the aptly named western ''[[Maverick (TV series)|Maverick]]''. Most often Bret is forced to break the law by escaping jail for crimes he's framed of, or commits crimes as part of schemes and cons to outwit those they have wronged him, (stolen his winnings), or his loved ones.

* Del Boy from ''[[Only Fools and Horses]]''.

* Monkey from ''[[Monkey]]''.

* Arthur Daley from ''[[Minder]]'', from season 8 and onwards.

** Hogan might also qualify, given how much of a [[Manipulative Bastard]] he is.

* Autolycus, the King of Thieves from ''[[Hercules: The Legendary Journeys]]'' and ''[[Xena: Warrior Princess]]''.

* Captain Malcolm Reynolds from ''[[Firefly]]'' and ''Serenity''.

** Jayne fits the type, even if it's only the audience that finds him lovable. He's like Mal, but without the (semi-)moral compass. Or the smarts ... though he ''does'' look cunning in that hat.

*** ST:TNG also had a supporting character named Vash, a female version of this trope who romanced Picard for a short time. For bonus irony points, Q {{spoiler|casts her as Maid Marion in a Robin Hood fantasy.}}

* Hellooo, he's Captain Jack Harkness of ''[[Torchwood]]'' fame, pleased to make your acquaintance.

** River Song is a rare female example of this trope. She's a time-travelling archaeologist, {{spoiler|convicted murderer, thief}} and still saves the world every now and then with the Doctor.

* Sawyer from ''[[Lost]]'', a highly popular character despite being a conman and murderer.

** Also later Peggy Armstrong, who began as an Unlovable Rogue but was subsequently softened. In between there was Vernon Scripps, who is often considered this, but stayed on the right side of the law.

* Jack and Stan from ''[[On the Buses]]''. Not criminals, just terminally lazy.

* Jack ([[Bruce Campbell]]) from ''[[Jack of All Trades (TV series)|Jack of All Trades]]''.

* Neal, the main character of ''[[White Collar]]'' personifies this trope.

* All of the members of ''[[The A-Team]]'' are this since the bad guys are so one-dimensionally horrible, but Face probably fits here the most since he's the slick and charming [[Handsome Lech|ladies' man]] (and [[Con Man]]). The team also fits as a group of [[Sliding Scale of Anti-Heroes|Type II Anti-Heroes]].

* Darien Fawkes in ''[[The Invisible Man (TV series)|The Invisible Man]]''. He's a notorious thief who only got caught last time because he tried to revive an old man he thought was having a heart attack (instead, he got [[No Good Deed Goes Unpunished|convicted for attempted rape]]). His brother, an accomplished scientist, gets him out of prison to be the guinea pig for a top-secret project. After Darien gets the [[Applied Phlebotinum|quicksilver]] gland, he can now become invisible at will. A dream come true for a thief. However, he needs regular injections of a counteragent that prevents him from going insane from quicksilver overdose, a deliberate flaw in the gland. Despite now working for a secret government agency, Darien still has plenty of roguish qualities, who loves to use his new ability to sneak into places he shouldn't (like spy on a guard and a nurse getting it on). However, in the series finale, the flaw in the gland is finally fixed, allowing him to be free from the Agency. The first thing he does is rob a place, only to leave the money on the sidewalk when he realizes he's not the same guy anymore.

* [[Incredibly Lame Pun|Lutin]], from ''[[The Legend of Dick and Dom]]'', is introduced in the opening credit voiceover as the heroes' thieving servant. Saves the quest several times with heists, capers and jailbreaks, as well as routinely sabotaging opponents and lifting small items; she's a classic cheeky, sarcastic rogue .

 

 

 

 

 

 

** There's an even better chance they won't be, but will pretend they are.

* The [[Planet of Hats|hat]] of the [[Talislanta|Sarista]].

 

* The rogue Autolycus in Shakespeare's ''[[The Winter's Tale|The Winters Tale]]''.

* The Engineer from ''[[Miss Saigon]]''.

* [[Bertolt Brecht]] [[Deconstructed Trope|deconstructs]] this trope in ''[[The Threepenny Opera]]''.

 

* Locke the [[Insistent Terminology|treasure hunter]], from ''[[Final Fantasy VI]]'' is pretty much the definition of this trope, though he drifts into being less of a rogue and more of a hero as the game progresses.

* Practically 25% of the world's population in ''[[Skies of Arcadia]]'' is made up of these. Naturally, this includes all the playable characters.

* Balthier from ''[[Final Fantasy XII]]''. Considering how much ''Final Fantasy XII'' seems to be inspired by ''[[Star Wars]]'', he's almost certainly inspired by Han Solo.

** And as a helicopter.

* Jansen Friedh from ''[[Lost Odyssey]]'' plays this one almost perfectly, with a healthy dose of [[Comic Relief]]. [[Obfuscating Stupidity]] too. And a little bit of [[Butt Monkey]]. He's one of the best characters in the game.

* The two characters in ''[[Ace Attorney]]'' who get a [[Karma Houdini]] fall under this category. For {{spoiler|[[Phantom Thief]] Ron De Lite it's because he's so darn adorable}} and for {{spoiler|Shelly de Killer it's because he's such a classy assassin.}}

** And Kay Faraday, even though she doesn't technically steal anything.

* Rei and Teepo from ''[[Breath of Fire III]]'', respectively an [[Deadpan Snarker]] [[Classy Cat Burglar]] and a [[Hot-Blooded]] [[Badass Adorable]] mugger.

* Heather, from ''[[Fire Emblem Tellius|Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn]]'' is a thief who steals more for her sick mother than herself. She also steals money by charming men, however, despite <s>being [[Ambiguously Gay]]</s> flirting with every female she engages in conversation with.

*** Although Heather was truly gay while Legault wasn't and was more or less messing with people.

** Matthew qualifies as well. Come to think of it, this is a recurring trend in the [[Fire Emblem]] series.

** Also Julian, from Shadow Dragon, though that's more brought on by the [[Incorruptible Pure Pureness]] of Lena.

* Zidane Tribal from ''[[Final Fantasy IX]]''.

** The rest of Tantalus probably qualifies too.

* Milanor the Silver Wolf from ''[[Yggdra Union]]'' is the leader of a loosely-knit group of vagabonds, but he also helps the eponymous princess form [[La Résistance|a counter-imperial rebellion]].

* Nathan Drake's interactions with his crew in the ''[[Uncharted]]'' series makes him an lovable and entertaining rogue.

* ''[[Assassin's Creed]]'': Ezio Auditore da Firenze, before he received some hefty [[Character Development]].

* Imoen, {{spoiler|[[Big Brother Instinct|your own little sister]]}}, from the ''[[Baldur's Gate]]'' series definitely qualifies, though she dual-classes into a [[Squishy Wizard]] in the sequel. Her merciless torture at the hands of Jon Irenicus is a vicious [[Player Punch]] and one of the main reason for you to hate Irenicus' guts.

** Yoshimo also works ''hard'' to project this image, although there are [[Foreshadowing|moments]] where it's a little off. From all indications he was 100% this trope prior to {{spoiler|selling his life and soul to Irenicus}}.

* Tomi Undergallows from ''[[Neverwinter Nights]]'' is probably the most entertaining henchman for his sense of humor and his [[Unreliable Narrator|questionably accurate tales of working for evil monstrous humanoids and stealing the hearts of women twice his size]]. Deekin from the expansion packs also counts because, well, he's a kobold bard. A [[Exclusively Evil|nonevil]] kobold bard who speaks in the third person and sings about doom. How can you not love that? "AAAAHH! Deekin...heart..."

* Chousokabe Motochika from ''[[Sengoku Basara]]'' is a kleptomaniac [[Pirate]] known as the "Demon of the Western Sea" who crushes peoples skulls in with a [[Anchors Away|giant anchor]]. However once you get past this he's actually a fairly honest, charming and good-hearted guy who values things like friendship and keeping promises, and overall one of the most moral characters around.

* Lara Croft from ''[[Tomb Raider]]''. While the game would prefer you to see her as an [[Adventurer Archaeologist]], in [[Real Life|the real world]] she would be called an ordinary [[Grave Robbing|grave robber]].

* And for that matter, don't forget [[Phantom Thief|Garrett]] from the ''[[Thief]]'' series.

* Rikku from ''[[Final Fantasy X]]''. Sure, she's a thief who comes from a group of people who are considered heathens, and even kidnaps Yuna at one point, but she's also a sweet, lovable [[Genki Girl]] who's always ready to brighten up the mood.

* [[Classy Cat Burglar|Kasumi Goto]] from ''[[Mass Effect 2]]'', primarily due to her [[Genki Girl|upbeat, energetic nature]] but still [[Tear Jerker|sad]] backstory.

* Sly Cooper from the ''[[Sly Cooper]]'' games definitely falls under this catagory, along with the rest of the Cooper Gang.

** Zevran and Varric also count. One of them is a charming assassin with some degree of conscience, the other is a witty information man.

* ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword]]'' introduced the Mogmas, a race of tunnel dwellers who are mostly seen plotting to steal ancient treasure from the local temples. Despite being thieves they always repay debts, and their kindness and inclination to help Link save Zelda make them very lovable.

* Raven from ''[[Tales of Vesperia]]'', who, despite being a bit of a [[Chivalrous Pervert|pervert]] and working a selfish agenda, also happens to be a genuinely good guy and the comic relief character.

* Sky from ''[[Jade Empire]]''.

 

** And back in the main party, Haley Starshine probably qualifies, even though we almost never see her actually break any laws (at least, in the strip itself).

*** At least in the 3.5 and 4th editions, even that was dropped when rogues were generalized towards "sneaky and talented one", including characters like spies or assassins with codes of honour.

** Of course we only have his word on that.

* Varden, from ''[[Inverloch]]'', is utterly lovable despite all his efforts to the contrary.

* Rocky from ''[[Lackadaisy Cats]]''. Course, it helps that he's a little... well, crazy.

{{quote|"Are you questioning my logic?"}}

* ''[[Greg (webcomic)|Greg]]'': Ted displays his rouge tendencies by sneaking onto a college campus disguised as a professor to score the digits of the female students and [http://gregcomic.com/2011/09/09/storyline-back-to-campus-part-1/ more].

* This trope is [[Invoked Trope|invoked]] in ''[[Homestuck]]'' to describe [http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=006414 the difference between the Rogue and Thief classes]:

...

 

* Rattrap from ''[[Beast Wars]]''. At one point Optimus Primal is presumed dead during the course of one night. During that time Rattrap takes it upon himself to take over his (much nicer) quarters and replace everything with his own stuff. When he is called out on it, his response is basically "Hey, come on. What do you expect?"

* Bender from ''[[Futurama]]''.

* [[Secret Identity|The Blue Spirit]] of ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'', the "lovable" part established in Season 1, with the "rogueish" part not really coming out until he committed several thefts and at least one death threat.

* ''[[Teen Titans (animation)|Teen Titans]]'' has Red X, who is not only entertainingly witty during combat, but also manages to ''completely dominate'' all five Titans at once. He also remarks that he doesn't steal for any sort of incomprehensibly psychopathic reason; he's just doing it all for the fun.

* Puck from ''[[Gargoyles]]'' most definitely qualifies. "Sunny disposition and always kind to animals" indeed.

* Jerry of ''[[Tom and Jerry]]'' was supposed to be this, but [[Your Mileage May Vary]] on the lovable part.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Hired Guns]]

[[Category:Archetypal Character]]

[[Category:Criminals]]

[[Category:Romance Novel Tropes]]

[[Category:The Utterly and Completely Definitive Guide to Cool]]

[[Category:Punk Punk]]