Magnetic Hero: Difference between revisions

# ''Save their life.'' Simple: save someone's life, or buy their freedom, and [[I Owe You My Life|they'll be your slave forever!]]

Often at the center of a [[Character-Magnetic Team]]. Contrast with [[The Dulcinea Effect]], which usually involves the hero falling victim to a similar phenomenon at the hands of a member of the opposite sex, and [[Hitchhiker Heroes]]. A female [['''Magnetic Hero]]''' who leads male characters with [[The Dulcinea Effect]] is a [[Jeanne D 'Archetype]]. On a larger scale, the usual subject of [[A Protagonist Shall Lead Them]].

Contrast [[Socially Awkward Hero]]. Not to be confused with a Hero who has [[Selective Magnetism|magnetic powers]].

{{quote| It's not some kind of special power, but he has the ability to make allies of everyone he meets. And that is the most fearsome power on these high seas!}}

{{quote| '''Teana''': (to Erio and Caro) You don't have to become friends with everyone like the Stars' front attacker.}}

* Sagara Sousuke from ''[[Full Metal Panic|Full Metal Panic!]]''. He ''actively'' tries to discourage people from becoming his friend, and is generally ''very'' [[Married to the Job|business-like]] and unfriendly, disliking chit chat. Yet somehow, he always manages to attract a bunch of people to him. And all of them ''really'' like him (many times, to the point of being willing to die for him). Even his ''enemies'' are [[Foe Yay|attracted to him]]. In the novels, as Lemon puts it, "even though he is so expressionless, he's oddly charming."

* Tsuna from ''[[Katekyo Hitman Reborn]]'', anyone? He's quickly building up a gigantic [[Unwanted Harem|harem]] of [[Ho Yay|incredibly loyal underlings]] (99% of which are [[Mr. Fanservice|male]]) whose main purpose in life is apparently to protect him. And most of his enemies / rivals, after [[Defeat Means Friendship|being defeated by him]], become... ''very'' friendly and affectionate towards him. In a creepy way though, since they're normally rather [[Ax Crazy]].<br /><br />One of the more... interesting examples is Spanner's sudden decision to switch sides and become a part of Tsuna's family. This decision was reached after the two spent a long, undisclosed amount of time alone together. With Tsuna naked, unconscious, and handcuffed to [[Memetic Molester|Spanner's]] bed. You figure out the reason and method of how Tsuna unwittingly managed to convince him to join.

** Of course, it doesn't hurt that most of his group (which tend to be female) find him attractive [[Chick Magnet|the usual way]].

* Tenma in ''[[Monster (manga)|Monster]]''.

* Touma from ''[[ToA AruCertain Majutsu noMagical Index]]'' even if they don't fight alongside him all the time, many people would rally to his cause, something that a magic cabal took note of and {{spoiler|tried to have someone use magic to pose as someone in the group to assasinateassassinate him and split it up}} even though there is no real group. Others he's beaten take new paths in life.

* Jacuzzi Splot from ''[[Baccano!]]'' has a natural ability to draw people towards him, unconsciously forming his own street gang largely off of this tendency. The [[Light Novels]] point out that this has less to do with any extraordinary amount of charisma so much as he gives people the impression [[Moe|that he'd be helpless on his own and is in constant need of coddling]].

{{quote| He wasn't especially charismatic, but he had a strange way of gathering people about him — or, to be more specific, it was like they gravitated to him. His appeal didn't spring from any sort of trustiness, but instead from the feeling that, if left to his own devices, he'd probably end up walking off a cliff somehow. He evoked a strange sort of protective instinct in people.}}

* Light from ''[[Death Note]]'' is a Magnetic [[Villain Protagonist|Villain]]:

** Give the Shinigami an apple – Ryuk

** Beat them up (and get kicked in the face) - his "[[Friendly Enemy|friendship]]" with L {{spoiler|while it lasted}}.

** Kill their enemy - Misa

** Save their life - {{spoiler|his promise to save Misa eventually wins Rem's loyalty.}}

** Beat up their enemy along with them – {{spoiler|the conclusion of the Yotsuba arc he has won the trust and loyalty of the Kira taskforce.}}

** Tell them your quest - Mikami and Takada

* [[Captain America (comics)]] is so well-respected by the superhero community that they usually follow his lead whether he's their official leader or not. This is because he's both [[Badass Normal|incredibly competent despite not having superpowers]] and because they trust him to [[The Cape (trope)|always be true to the right ideals]]. It comes to a point that when he fails them, the whole community gets demoralized (ex. in [[Marvel Civil War]].)

** Batman even said it's one of the reasons he's proudest of Dick--unlikeDick—unlike Bats, he can gain and keep allies.

* In [[Rurouni Kenshin]] and [[Star Wars]] crossover [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4031223/1/Shadows_in_Starlight ShadowsinShadows in Starlight] by [[Vathara]] Kenshin has an ability to easily form [[Psychic Link|force-bonds]], which means he can inspire [[Undying Loyalty]] and quickly make friends. {{spoiler|It’s one of the reasons his former employers fear him so much and will do anything to either eliminate or have him under their control.}}

* In [[Star Wars]] [[Fanfic]] [http://vadersmask.homestead.com/ladyvader.html By the Grace of Lady Vader] Padme inspires [[Undying Loyalty|fanatic loyalty]] in her subjects and wins allies for her case with astonishing ease. This later leads her to {{spoiler|become a new Empress, when Palpatine is overthrown.}} It is deconstructed, when she goes down the [[Sanity Slippage]] and her fanatic subjects lose their moral compass.

* In ''[[Gods of This New World]]'' a ''[[Death Note]]'' fic Light is a Magnetic [[Villain Protagonist|Villain]]. He already had the loyalty of Misa (killed the guy that murdered her parents), but he also wins over the allegedly neutral Ryuk (give the Shinigami an apple), his [[Arch Enemy]] L (because [[Defeat Means Friendship]]), and later {{spoiler|Near, L's successor}}.

* ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean]]'' series -- Thisseries—This seems to sum up Captain Jack Sparrow's recruiting technique.

* [[King Arthur]] in most of his incarnations in film, but most notably John Boorman's ''[[Excalibur (film)|Excalibur]]''. If you're fighting a fully-armed knight, get the better of him, and demand he swear faith to you with your sword at his neck, you generally ''don't'' ask him to knight you ''and hand over your [[Infinity+1 Sword]] to him'' when he objects to giving you his allegiance because you're a squire and thus he outranks you. On the other hand, if you're the knight in question you generally don't use said sword to knight said squire when he ''kneels before you to accept your knighting and then kiss his hand in fealty'' ... unless the squire, of course, is a [[Magnetic Hero]].

* The 1982 ''[[Conan the Barbarian]]'' film. Conan releases Subotai from chains in exchange for his companionship. The two of them meet Valeria while robbing a temple of [[Big Bad|Thulsa Doom]]. Conan later runs into [[Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"|the wizard]] on his journey to assassinate Thulsa Doom. The sequel, ''Conan the Destroyer'', relies more on [[Avengers Assemble]], but Zula's recruitment is an example of this trope.

* [[Tortall Universe]]: {{spoiler|Lady Knight}} Keladry of Mindelan. Seriously. This [[Badass Normal]] girl makes friends with EVERYONE (except the bad guys) and those that don't befriend her at least respect her (save the bad guys). Kids, Commonfolk, pages, birds...Kel will never be one of those hereos that fights alone in dark places, because while she may not be a Wild Mage or have the Gift, she's got the superpower of building one of the most loyal band of [[True Companions]] in a few hundred pages. They won't ''let'' her go off and do anything stupid without them.

*** Speaking of, Corporal NobbesNobbs is probably an inversion. He's so horrible, he's fascinating, and people are drawn to him just to see what he might do next.

** Moist Von Lipwig has traces of this as well, as evident by how he gradually rebuilds the postal service in ''[[Discworld/Going Postal (Discworld)|Going Postal]]''.

* Jim Eckert, the [[Dragon Knight]], is surprised to find a band of [[LoyalTrue Companions]] coalescing around him in ''The Dragon and the George''.

* In ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]'', Janeway does this, first getting Chakotay and the crew from his ship to join, then Neelix, then later Seven of Nine, then even later, they pick up several children who were assimilated by the Borg. Most of them return to their various homeworlds, but one remains on Voyager.

* The Doctor in ''[[Doctor Who]]''. This is how he picks up nearly all of his Companions. Also how he picks up the majority of non-companion allies. People usually start doing what he tells them within minutes of meeting him, however batshit insane he may have been acting. The trope is subverted occasionally, particularly in the disturbing episode ''[[Doctor Who/NS/Recap/S4 S30/E10 Midnight|Midnight]]''.

* Commander Shepard of ''[[Mass Effect]]'' has natural talent for influencing other people. Whether that talent is for charm or for intimidation -- andintimidation—and to what uses Shepard puts it -- isit—is up to the player. Paragon Shepard even recruited from supposedly [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]] races. <ref>Certain player actions can lead to [[Hitchhiker Heroes]] instead.</ref>

* ''[[Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops|Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops]]'' - you can recruit any soldier you come across, including the [[Big Bad]], and his bosses.

* ''[[Arcanum: ofOf Steamworks and Magick Obscura]]''. The protagonist has no problem whatsoever in recruiting people to cheerfully abandon their livelihoods and trudge along, carrying crateloads of gear into dangerous situations and swinging weapons at all manner of ungodly foes and beasts, and not even say anything when you're announcing your plans to go to the next "no-one-ever-came-back-alive" destination, such as the Vendigroth Wastes, Island of Despair, ultra-secret enclave of the dark elves, or the Void. (Those are [[Names to Run Away From]], people.) The protagonist will also usually inform the latest recruit that they're hunted by an ancient order of assassins who want them, and everyone associated with them, dead. This fails to deter anyone. I guess living in Dernholm must suck majorly if this is the preferred choice.

* Reimu and Marisa from ''[[Touhou Project]]'' are extreme examples of this trope - every game introduces about 8 new characters, and the series is a dozen games long, not even counting the [[Gaiden Game|Gaiden Games]]s leading to [[Loads and Loads of Characters|roughly a hundred characters]] (117 named characters as of this writing), and [[Defeat Means Friendship]] is practically ironbound law in Gensokyo, leading to them having massive numbers of [[Superpower Lottery]] winners to call on for allies. Although only a fraction of these characters actually wind up fighting directly alongside the heroines in any of the regular games (doujin games like ''Labyrinth of Touhou'' that have real party systems being an exception), and often are more [[The Rival|friendly rivals]] in function, the sidestories like ''Silent Sinner In Blue'' feature essentially half of Gensokyo teaming up in a massive jumble to take on the Lunarians.

* ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' - Not only does he have his main [[Power Trio]] of [[Sonic the Hedgehog/Characters/Main Trio/Characters|Team Sonic]], he has plenty of other friends and allies.

* According to [[Fortune Teller|Rose]] in (''Super'') ''[[Street Fighter IV]]'', ''[[Street Fighter]]'' series lead Ryu is an unintentional variant of trope and mixes this with [[The Chosen One]]. [[The Force Is Strong with This One|According]] [[Because Destiny Says So|to]] [[Psychic Powers|Rose's]] [[Tarot Troubles|fortune]] [[Crystal Ball|telling]], Ryu is designated as [[Tarot Motifs|The Fool]], the only one who can possibly hope to defeat [[Big Bad|Bison]], but ''only'' when "the stars align to herald his coming". Rose would attempt to do the deed herself (and in fact, has tried at least ''three'' times beforehand), [[Late Arrival Spoiler|but seeing as]] [[Enemy Without|she's the good half of Bison's soul]], [[NoWon't SellWork On Me|her Soul Power and his Psycho Power simply stamp each other out at best]], so she can only hope to stall Bison as she [[The Obi-Wan|lends her power to Ryu's quest]] (and [[Fighting Your Friend|sometimes prevents him from preemptively facing Bison]]). Addition, Rose notes that ''anyone'' who's crossed paths with Ryu (which is practically ''everyone'', ranging from the likes of [[Street Fighter II|Chun-Li and Guile]] to [[Final Fight|Guy]] to [[Street Fighter Alpha|Sakura]]) will have their life's path altered accordingly; Ryu's [[Heterosexual Life Partners|best]] [[The Lancer|friend]] Ken will apparently play a role in the final battle and Sagat's destiny was ultimately changed when he met Ryu back [[Street Fighter (video game)|in the first World Warrior tournament]]. In a sense, Ryu's a [[Black Hole Sue]] minus the [[Mary Sue]] qualities.

* [[Up to Eleven]] for the eponymous character of the [[Rance]] series. By the time of Rance Quest (Rance VIII) and its expansion, he has three (out of four) major human countries, the largest religion in the world, the most technologically advanced city, the richest person in the world, one of the Four Holy Monster Girls, the current Demon King (though to be fair, she is still unawakened.), and the [[Our Elves Are Different|Kalar Tribe]] as his allies. If one man could unite the world, it would be him.

* "[[Mad Scientist|Sparks]]" of ''[[Girl Genius]]'' have this as an explicit power; it was described as "a strange charisma". Heterodyne Sparks are alleged to be even more charismatic than the usual, though it may be just because they avoid most of the things that tend to repulse potential minions and get monsters [[Turned Against Their Masters]].

{{quote| '''[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date{{=}}20040308 Mr. Rovainen]''': Ah -- it is part of the ''power'' of the gifted. Those around them wish to aid them. To ''serve'' them. Even when we ''know'' them to be ''monsters''. Heterodyne Sparks are alleged to be even more charismatic than the average Spark.}}

* [[Mary Sue|Chaka]] of the ''[[Whateley Universe]]'' seems to have this. She pulled Fey and Lancer along in her wake when they first met, and then helped pull Team Kimba together. Since then, she's also pulled in more boyfriends and girlfriends than any fourteen-year-old could possibly handle.<br /><br />Recently, her team-mates have begun pointing out that this is ''not'' a good thing, as far as her relationships go. Ayla does not expect it to end well, if/when Chaka's significant others all find out about each other, and has had to explicitly forbid Chaka from bringing both of them to his birthday party.

* Both Churchill and Hitler were [[Magnetic Heroes]], in the eyes of their followers. Hitler was not heroic in any other sense. They had tens of millions of followers. Both managed to array great world powers behind them on the issue of the largest war in human history, based largely on the force of their personality and oratory. Hitler was a decorated soldier in [[WW 1]], Churchill fought as a soldier/reporter in the Sudan and Boer Wars.<br /><br />Several people who met Hitler said he was magnetic. Of course, really, you should wonder about the testimony of someone who was granted an audience with Hitler. One of the chief appeals of Nazism was to give people a way to try to live fantasy in [[Real Life]] . That was one of the main points of the torchlight parades and the hocus-pocus. Thus if one is to convince factory workers that they were [[Proud Warrior Race]] guys, they need to have a [[Magnetic Hero]] just like the ones in poems did. If Hitler didn't foot the bill, the Ministry of Propaganda could easily enough pretend he did.

* Canada had Isaac Brock in the [[The War of 1812]], a savy general who was able to persuade the Aboriginal leader, Tecumseh, to join forces with him so effectively that the Native Leader stood up, patted Brock on the shoulder and proclaimed, "This is a man!"