Punch Clock Hero: Difference between revisions
Rescuing 2 sources and tagging 0 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.8.7
m (Mass update links) |
(Rescuing 2 sources and tagging 0 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.8.7) |
||
| (18 intermediate revisions by 10 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|''"I didn't kill that Yoma to save you; I killed it because it's my job."''|'''Teresa''', ''[[Claymore]]''}}
Line 6:
In many works of fiction, the hero will have to stand up to a large number of villains who [[Anti-Villain|aren't really especially bad people]]; they're simply [[Punch Clock Villain|doing their jobs]]. The same, naturally, applies to heroes.
The [[Punch Clock Hero]] isn't fighting for peace, revenge, or because it's the right thing to do. He's only going against the [[Big Bad]] because he has to. In some cases, he [[Because Destiny Says So|is destined to do so]] but [[Refusal of the Call|refused the call]], only to find out that [[You Can't Fight Fate]]. In other cases, he gets involved only because he has bills to pay.
This is usually what happens when a hero is [[True Neutral]]. Compare [[Heroic Neutral]], where the heroic character wants to be left alone and only allies with a group (usually the heroes) when their isolation is threatened by an outside source. If the culture becomes toxic, the heroic character can become a [[Punch Clock Villain]].
Line 15:
{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
Line 25 ⟶ 24:
** Near more so than L - while L will say that he is hunting Kira because of "justice", Near is doing it just because [[Laser Guided Tykebomb|he is the one who do it]].
** If you consider the spinoff canon, then technically, L's doing it because he's bored, not for justice.
* The ''[[Claymore
* [[Mahou Sensei Negima|Jack Rakan]] claims this. It's quite possibly true as well, since he doesn't seem to actually ''care'' about good and evil, he just does his own thing, which happens to be extorting people for lots of money for his help with their problems. Plus, fighting is fun!
* [[Bleach]]'s Ichigo claims to be like this, only caring about protecting the people close to him. His track record, however, suggests otherwise. He never walks away from someone in need, and he usually considers it his duty to do whatever he can to stop the bad guys, shown in the Hueco Mundo arc where he wants to stop Aizen even after rescuing Orihime.
Line 39 ⟶ 38:
* The comic book ''Capes'' (a spinoff of ''[[Invincible]]'') is about a company of mostly punch-clock superheroes.
* The Marvel character the Sentry, intended to be a [[Deconstruction]] of [[Superman]]. He's so dispassionate that he responds to natural disasters by having a computer calculate who he rescues instead of deciding it himself. He explains that he can't decide who to save himself because he values everyone.
{{quote|
** To drive the point further one way to beat him is by hacking into said computer to tell him everything that's going on.
*** The Sentry's case is made even more complicated by the fact that, for every life he saves or every bit of good he does, [[Enemy Within|bad things tend to happen]].
Line 53 ⟶ 52:
* Done in ''[[Damage Control]]'' with the superheroes who work for the company, usually as cleanup crew. Members include Speedball (as an intern in his civilian identity), Hercules (community service), Goliath, Monstro, and Visioneer.
* [[Luke Cage]] and Iron Fist, [[Heroes For Hire]]! Cage is so dedicated to his job that he once shook down Dr. Doom himself for just $200 owed to him. Throughout the various other incarnations of the team, the dynamic has shifted a little now and then - to the point that in the latest version, "for hire" means "available to do a favor for Misty Knight".
* ''[[PS238]]'' has all the sorts - some metahumans work alone, some in teams, some own business, and some work for enterprises such as [http://ps238.nodwick.com/comic/05052010/ Heroix].
* Paladin (who mostly appears in [[Spider-Man]] titles) often seems to be [[Only In It For The Money]] ; at least, he's a mercenary who sides with the good guys more often than not, but never for free. Spidey has, at times, seen him as selfish and shallow, but in Paladin's eyes, he's just trying to earn a living.
* In ''Young Captain Adventure'' from the short-lived ''[[Penthouse Comix]]'', this is true for most heroes, who are often more concerned with merchandising their names and images than actual heroics. The protagonist (one of the few trying to be a traditional hero) even sarcastically tells Herricane "Don't you have an infomercial to tape?" when she shows up to criticize him in the first issue.
== Film ==
Line 62 ⟶ 64:
* In ''House II: The Second Story'', John Ratzenberger cameos as Bill, an "electrician and adventurer" who carries a sword in his toolbox.
* In ''[[Mystery Men]]'', Captain Amazing is definitely this, what with the corporate sponsorship and all.
* For the exact same reason that they are [[Punch Clock Villain
*
{{quote|
== Literature ==
* The Roman Army in [[Belisarius Series]].
* Rincewind in the ''[[Discworld]]'' books, on the rare occasion where he has to do something to save the day. He just does it because he knows he will be dragged into it anyway.
** Or more often, because it's going to kill/maim him and he's unable to run away.
Line 73 ⟶ 75:
** In ''The Last Hero'', he even volunteers for a dangerous mission to save the world with the explanation that he'll probably stumble or be dragged into it anyway, and this way saves him the hassle. He still doesn't want to go, though. His companions agree with him, then put him on the mission.
* Arguably, [[Sherlock Holmes]]. As a consulting detective, he took clients based mostly on his subjective interest in the case or the challenge of the mystery and rarely because of any moral judgment. Holmes rarely executed justice himself, reserving that for the local authorities, and in a few cases let the antagonist off scot-free once the mystery was solved.
** The literary Holmes very much cares about justice and even went after Moriarty of his own accord at least partly because of his "horror at his crimes". On the rare occassions he lets the criminal go he usually has some sympathy with the or doesn't regard them as being particular bad or dangerous; when he and Watson witness the murder of blackmailer Charles Milverton by the wife of one of his victims, he refuses to help the police because he regarded Milverton as an [[Asshole Victim]].
* Commissar [[Ciaphas Cain]] repeatedly pulls some truly heroic stunts despite being, well, [[Fake Ultimate Hero|himself]], not because he ''wants'' to do it, but because he ''has''. Either he doesn't want to [[Slave to PR|ruin his reputation]] and lose all the perks it gives him, or he has learned in a hard way that meeting the danger is actually ''safer'', or he might simply [[Unreliable Narrator|not give a credit where it is due]]. His editor, Inquisitor Amberley Vail, certainly leans to the third option.
* Travis McGee takes on new cases when he needs the money, and spends the rest of his time taking his retirement "in installments."
Line 79 ⟶ 81:
** However sometimes they manage to subvert it by working with evil on common goals. One minor example was about how a light mage was able to cure a group of children from letal illness with help of a werewolf. First, a werewolf chose three children and bit them (making them werewolves and curing them in prosess), then a light mage cured all other children with magic. They both got away with it because balance between dark and light stayed unchanged.
* [[The Dresden Files|Harry Dresden]] pretends to be this, but puts himself in harms way a little too often for it to be credible. His friends call him out on it several times, and he even lampshades it at one point.
{{quote|
'''Thomas:'''
'''Harry:'''
* The new Doctor Shade in "Cold Snap" by [[Kim Newman]] seriously resents the fact he's a [[Legacy Character]], and that his dad's weird friends want him to save the world.
* ''[[Good Omens]]'' has Aziraphale, an actual angel, of all things. While he truly believes in Good, he's not much for the flaming sword of vengeance (he gave his away, anyway) or the smiting of the unrighteous, and he's shown to have decidedly unangelic traits, such as materialism (he is incredibly possessive of his books) and going on drinking binges with his best friend. In fact, his [[Heterosexual Life Partner|best]] [[Odd Couple|friend]] is also his eternal and sworn
* The Nameless Bard from the [[Forgotten Realms]] ''Finder's Stone Trilogy''. He initially falls in with the heroes by default in order to (a) escape from the villains who were holding him prisoner, (b) revenge himself on said villains, and (c) rescue {{spoiler|his creation/daughter}} Alias. More generally, he doesn't mind helping people in need so long as it doesn't put him to great inconvenience, especially if furthers his real goals (fame and artistic immortality). But he is ultimately an amoral and highly narcissistic person who cares very little about matters of good versus evil. The heroes tend to forget this, given what a tremendous asset he is when he puts his mind to helping them. This is especially true for his erstwhile apprentice Olive, who idolizes him most of the time, only to be brutally reminded of his true nature whenever he decides that his own interests take priority over doing the right thing. He doesn't make a purely morally-based decision until the very end of the trilogy, {{spoiler|when he chooses to risk his own life to destroy the evil god Moander}}.
Line 95 ⟶ 97:
* Unlike the other ''[[Star Trek]]'' crews whose mission is to "boldy go where no man has gone before", the crew of the [[Star Trek: Voyager|USS Voyager]] didn't even like each other and simply wanted to go home. They subvert this later on by becoming a true family and kicking the shit out of the bad guys they encounter, many times choosing to help the helpless rather than themselves.
* Unlike his literary counterpart, [[Sherlock|the BBC's version]] of [[Sherlock Holmes]] is very much this trope. He really doesn't give two shakes about justice or the well-being of his clients: he only cares about solving puzzles, indulging his ego and staving off boredom.
{{quote|
* Most of the cast of [[Covert Affairs]]. After a day of glamorous spying they go home to fairly normal lives.
* Fairly typical of Police Procedurals.
**Commonly subverted as well. It is not unknown on TV for characters to get personally wrapped up in their jobs to a point which would be unhealthy for the performance of professional law officers in real life.
== Video Games ==
Line 104 ⟶ 109:
* ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'''s Solid Snake fights the good fight at first because he believes in his cause. Unfortunately, with each successive [[Evil Plan]], [[Man Behind the Man]] and [[Because Destiny Says So|Because The Patriots Say So]], his cynicism grows to the point where he starts off the fourth game only just removed from this, being completely fed up with always being the tool of someone else, and only gets worse from there.
* The gist of Zero's [[Mega Man Zero/Awesome|awesome]] [[World of Cardboard Speech]]/[[Shut UP, Hannibal]] at the end of ''[[Mega Man Zero]] 4''.
{{quote|
* In ''[[Armored Core]]'', the protagonist pilot (IE you) is this since you're a mercenary.
* [[MadWorld|Jack Cayman]] doesn't give a crap about anything but his own vendettas. {{spoiler|At the end, rather than go through legal channels, he breaks his CODEC and leaves his [[Mission Control]] behind just so he can kill the [[Man Behind the Man]].}}
{{quote|
* All player characters in ''[[World of Warcraft]]''.
** In that case, this might as well apply to any MMORPG.
* Every member of Squad 7 in ''[[Valkyria Chronicles]]'' is a member of a manditory citizen militia. While some of them joined voluntarily, others were simply drafted in.
* In the world of ''[[
* ''[[Fire Emblem]]'' usually has one recruitable character per game whose only motivation is money, usually starting out as an enemy but making it perfectly clear that they'll do a [[Heel Face Turn]] in exchange for a significant amount of gold. In order, there's [[Fire Emblem Jugdral|Beowolf]], [[Fire Emblem Elibe|Hugh, Farina]], [[Fire Emblem:
** Volke won't take any job. He refuses to be hired by the [[Complete Monster]] of ''Radiant Dawn.''
** That same quote also mentions that said monster HAD hired him previously.
Line 121 ⟶ 126:
* Sterling Granger from [[In the 1st Degree]] qualifies as this. He is a prosecutor prosecuting a man charged with murder and grand theft. There are hints dropped that he has a life outside of his job and that he has at least a working relationship with Inspector Looper and at least one member of the press.
* ''[[Touhou]]'': This is largely [[Brilliant but Lazy|Reimu]]'s attitude toward her job, a [[Foil]] to [[Kleptomaniac Hero|Marisa]] who always [[Jumped At the Call]].
* In any game of [[Team Fortress 2]], your team is this while the enemy team is [[Punch Clock Villain
* Dan Danger and EVO, Heroes for Hire from ''[[Space Station Silicon Valley]]'' (pictured above). The only people able to save the world from a rogue space station, not to mention a steal for a mere 200 credz.
* Most free-choice RPG heroes do what they do for loot and XP. Good karma is just a bonus.
* You know [[Splinter Cell|Sam Fisher]] is one when he remembers that [[Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell/Funny|he forgot to do the laundry]] in the third game.
* Yojimbo in ''[[Final Fantasy X]]'' is truly a mercenary, only fighting by your side if you pay him. Meaning you have to use money from your inventory ''in battle'' simply to activate some of his moves. Having said that, paying him enough increases the chances of him using his Zambato, which can slay an enemy in a single swipe.
== Webcomics ==
* The titular character from ''[[The Non-Adventures of Wonderella]]'' is definitely one.
* Dechs, a.k.a. Shadehawk, of ''[[Antihero for Hire]]'',
** His attitude has shifted some, though. He actually used to [
* The basic premise of [http://www.webcomicsnation.com/eddurd/everydayheroes/series.php?view=single&ID=113529 Everyday Heroes]; Mr. Mighty is a nine-to-five hero, while his nemesis, Dr. Unpleasant, is a [[Punch Clock Villain]].
* As far as ''[[Nodwick]]'' heroes are concerned, [http://comic.nodwick
{{quote|
* Tagon's Toughs in ''[[Schlock Mercenary]]''
{{quote|'''Tagon''': We're hardworking, honest, and true to our word.
* Everyone in [[Gone With the Blastwave]]; inasmuch as there are any identifiable heroes, the war's been on so fuggin' long that no-one knows what's going on annymore.▼
'''Ozvegan Griz''': And sometimes you're bound by your word to kill people.
'''Tagon''': But they're almost always bad guys and we only do it for the money. }}
▲* Everyone in ''[[Gone With the Blastwave]]
* ''[[Full Frontal Nerdity]]'' PCs, unsurprisingly, [http://ffn.nodwick.com/?p=457 are like this].
{{quote|'''Nelson''': Alignment aside, we're a for-profit business, not [[Justice League]].}}
== Western Animation ==
Line 151 ⟶ 162:
* Himei, the main character of ''[[Sailor Nothing]]'', started out as an [[Ascended Fanboy|Ascended Fangirl]] who [[Jumped At the Call]], but eventually turned into a punch-clock hero as she came to hate her job of fighting evil and did it only because she had to.
* The ''[[Protectors of the Plot Continuum]]'' primarily kill [[Mary Sue|MarySues]] and fight other forms of badfic because it's their job to do so. Individual agents can retire if they want to, in theory, but most never do so.
*''Joe Zombie'' has a subversion with Ted Baxter. He was originally sent to kill Joe Rombie because of Mortogen, as he was an experimental supersoldier gone horribly right. However, he ended up sympathizing with the citizens of Stickville whom Rombie had killed. Sure enough, when Mortogen was shut down for their role in the massacre of Stickville, Baxter decided to dedicate his life to saving lives.
== Real Life ==
Line 163 ⟶ 175:
** Depends. In the US, family practitioners, internists, and pediatricians may make barely enough money to survive, especially given the debts incurred during medical school. Often these practitioners gave up far more lucrative medical specialties to be "people doctors."
** And in Britain (and Canada and numerous other places) we have the NHS.
* People from fire and other emergency services who behave heroically for strangers no better reason then tradition, discipline, and [[Honor Before Reason| refusal to embarrass their buddies]] and treat it as another career in between disasters.
* The military. Your average soldier knows nothing of the politics surrounding the conflict he/she fights in. All they know is that their CO told them to fight, so they do. Depending on which side of the fence you're on, they might also be considered a [[Punch Clock Villain]].
** This is especially true for people who join the military as a means to an end, such as [[Signed Up for the Dental|paying for college.]]
***When the military is doing disaster relief at least they can be accounted as punch clock heroes like any other EMS.
**In a sense this is a subversion. People might enlist for money. They tend to risk danger for [[Band of Brothers| their comrades]] or for their [[Honor Before Reason|self respect.]] Which is why you can find mercs who will endure a lot more then the stereotype indicates.
**One straight but rather odd example is those who fight for ''fear''. This is not just because brutal MPs are whipping them into battle(though that has been known to happen quite often)but because sometimes fighting is safer. And in any case who wants their last wound [[Honor Before Reason|in the back?]]
*In a way most of society. Our food is provided by people who grow it for pay. Our whole economy is centered around this. With the exception of volunteer jobs but even many of those do it because they are trust funders or are on the dole for some disability or other and thus get "paid" by a roundabout way.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Hired Guns]]
[[Category:
| |||