Outside Man, Inside Man: Difference between revisions

Somewhere in the [[Backstory]], two male friends are making their way in the world as [[Those Two Bad Guys]], keeping up the [[Masquerade]] for the [[Ancient Conspiracy]], going to war for [[The Empire]] or doing hits for [[The Syndicate]].

 

 

This moral awakening will prompt him to announce that he's leaving and ask for his companion to come with him. The "Inside" man will refuse, and his reason why will be reflected in his role in the series:

 

Note: When listing examples, list the "Outside" man first.

{{examples}}

== Anime and Manga ==

* Spike and Vicious, ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]''

* Inversion: Knives and Vash, ''[[Trigun]]''

* Inversion: Sasuke and ''[[Naruto]]''.

* This is basically the relationship between Lelouch and Suzaku in ''[[Code Geass]]'', except that Suzaku joins [[The Empire]] ''after'' Lelouch leaves it.

* Variation: Akira Hojo and Chiaki Asami from the manga ''[[Sanctuary]]'' deliberately embrace this trope. Their plan to remake Japanese society calls for Hojo to rise to power as a [[Yakuza]], providing under-the-table funding and "moral support" to Asami's career as a politician. (They played [[Janken]] to decide who would be who.)

* Gaula and Gulen in [[Kishin Douji Zenki]].

 

== Comic Books ==

* Basically the whole plot in ''[[The Authority|The Magnificent Kevin]]'' comic books, with Kevin just being too damn scared to leave.

 

== Film ==

== Live-Action TV ==

* On ''[[Lost]]'', {{spoiler|Jacob and Smoke-Monster play out something like this after Smokey discovers the woman that raised them had actually killed their real mother}}

** To a lesser extant this also happens between Nikita and Birkhoff. They are good friends and Nikita wants him to join her in the fight against Division but Birkhoff is too scared of Percy.

 

== Tabletop Games ==

 

== Theater ==

** Also the emotions are much murkier, less clear, and more mixed with bitterness on all sides.

 

== Video Games ==

** Closer to Zack and Sephiroth. Cloud and Sephiroth really didn't have a major interaction before they began fighting. Also Angeal and Zack in Crisis Core.

* Tommy and Sam in ''Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven'' game (outside and inside, respectively).

* Brandon Heat and Harry MacDowell from ''[[Gungrave]]''.

* Somewhat inverted in ''[[Suikoden II]]'', where both the main characters essentially start out as outside men, with one slowly working their way into the system to subvert it from within. The trope follows from there, though, as there are multiple points where the outside man begs the inside man to leave the evil empire, the inside man eventually overthrows the original leader and becomes the one in charge, and the entire scenario ends with a [[Redemption Equals Death]] outcome. Well, unless you get the best ending, anyway.

 

== Webcomics ==

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Characterization Tropes]]

[[Category:Stock Characters]]

[[Category:Outside Man Inside Man]]