Sobriquet: Difference between revisions

* Every [[Action Girl|Pandora]] in ''[[Freezing]]'' has a badass nickname, most notably The Untouchable Queen and The Monster of West Genetics.

* In ''[[Ghost in the Shell]]'', Maj. Motoko Kusanagi is always referred to as "the Major" over 2 seasons and a movie, her first name is used about five times, and her surname appears about as often, although it appears in writing a few more times. In the manga, it's used about as often. It's common among fans to just refer to her as the Major. Some fans forget her real name, because it's so obscure. Oh, and it might not be her real name at all; in the manga, when the narrator introduces her, it is as "a woman calling herself Major Motoko Kusanagi (an obvious alias)". Additionally, while "Motoko" is a rare female name, "Kusanagi" is a mythological sword; an equivalent English name would be Brittany ''Excalibur''. If you still believe that's the [[Cyborg]] super-agent's real name, I've got a bridge to sell you. [[Recycled in Space|On Mars]].

** What's interesting to note is that despite the chromatic similarities, Char's canonical fighting style, at least in the original series, is actually the polar opposite of Richthofen's. While The Red Baron was an average pilot at best whose real talent was his superior marksmanship and knack for picking targets who wouldn't see him coming, The Red Comet used a combination of high-speed, in-your-face assaults and enough acrobatic skill to avoid taking hits in what would otherwise be suicidal maneuvers. In truth, his style is probably closer to Manfred's brother Lothar, who, while not as famous, garnered a reputation as one of the most aggressive, reckless pilots of WWI.

*** A somewhat more historically accurate homage would be Char's ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam AGE]]'' counterpart, Zehart Galette, another red-clad ace whose piloting style is somewhat less flashy and more calculated (by the standards of an action series, at any rate), complete with a psychotic, [[Blood Knight]] brother/wingman.

* ''[[Lyrical Nanoha|Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'' earns the title "Ace of Aces" to her military peers mid-way through the series. And let's not forget her [[Fan Nickname]] "White Devil"...

** Subaru eventually gains her own nickname in the post-StrikerS [[Time Skip]]: Silver Ace.

* Evangeline A.K. Mcdowell of ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' has many of these including ''Maga Nosferatu'', ''Feared Queen of the Night'', and ''Apostle of Destruction''. Her least favorite is "Kitty".

** Jack Rakan has his own collection of nicknames: "The Thousand Blades", "The Man Who Cannot Die", "The Immortal Fool", [[Overly Long Name|"That Damn Guy Who You Can Stab With Swords All You Like And It Won't Do A Thing, Dammit!"]]

* ''[[Mazinger Z]]'': the machine itself is more than once called "The Invincible Tower of Black Iron". Mazinkaiser carries on the tradition of being called the "Demon God of Justice".

* [[Metal Armor Dragonar]]'s [[Char Clone]], Maiyo Plato is known as the 'Blue Eagle of Giganos'.

** {{spoiler|1=The Bloody Habanero/Red Hot-blooded Habanero and The Orange Hokage for Kushina Uzumaki and Naruto Uzumaki, respectively.}}

* In the ''[[One Piece]]'' universe, it seems like everyone with a high bounty acquires such an epithet. Luffy's is "Straw Hat", while his crew mates each get one: "Pirate Hunter" Zoro, "Cat Burglar" Nami, "Devil Child" Nico Robin, "King of the Snipers" Sogeking, "Black Leg" Sanji, "Cyborg" Franky, and "Dead Bones" Brook. (Poor Chopper gets stuck with "The Cotton Candy Lover.") Then you get "Fire Fist" Ace, "Supersonic" Van Auger, "Grim Reaper" Doc Q, and the list goes on...

 

== Tabletop Games ==

** Let's not forget the humble (but numerous) [[Redshirt Army|Imperial Guard]]. Guardsmen are notoriously [[Cannon Fodder|expendable]], but some have survived long enough to get a reputation. Case in point, the only regiment from planet Tanith narrowly escaped the obliteration of their homeworld, and they're still kind of pissed. Their official designation is the Tanith 1st - generally followed by a defiant chorus of "First and Only!" They also get tagged as [[Gaunt's Ghosts|Gaunts Ghosts]], thanks to their commander's rare appreciation for stealth (and survival). Mention Tanith and you get blank looks, but even [[Smug Super|Space Marines]] have heard of Gaunt's Ghosts.

** Lest we forget, Gaunt's Ghosts aren't the only Imperial Guardsmen of note. There's also Colonel "Iron Hand" Straken, [[Game Breaker]] and named after his adamantium hand. And Gunnery Sergeant "Stonetooth" Harker, so named due to his rumored habit of chewing glass instead of tobacco.

** And then Flandre Scarlet, the Sister of the Devil. Who would probably have gotten an even more terrifying title if she was not [[Madwoman in the Attic|kept in her basement at all times]], since she pretty much [[Person of Mass Destruction|accidentally blows up anyone she sets her eyes on]]. ''Shoot the Bullet'' refers to her by the title of ''"Diabolic Wave"''.

** All the characters have a title that appears on the screen alongside their name when they are introduced.

* The Red Cyclone, [[Street Fighter|Zangief]]. Later on, we'd get the [[Double Agent]] Crimson Viper.

** As a matter of fact, Capcom bothered to give such an epithet to all the characters of the license in the ''Street Fighter World Warrior Encyclopedia''. Ryu and Ken, for instance, are respectively the "Eternal Seeker" and the "Fire of the Rising Dragon", while Crimson Viper is labeled as "Miss Perfect".

* In ''[[Soul Nomad and The World Eaters]]'', {{spoiler|Revya}} in the Demon Path gets called the "Devourlord".

* ''[[Luminous Arc]]'' has Sir Heath, "The Cleansing Flame."

** Of course, given that these titles are randomly generating, you're just as likely to end up as "Urist the Raisin of Shrinking".

* In the ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' series, Shadow is referred to, by himself and others, as the "Ultimate Lifeform"

* Georg Prime from the ''[[Suikoden]]'' series has people across two continents calling him "Deathblow" like it's his first name, and you better believe that he can live up to it.

* In ''[[Dirge of Cerberus|Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus]]'', all of the Tsviets have a title of some sort. They are: Azul the Cerulean, Shelke the Transparent, Rosso the Crimson, Nero the Sable, and their leader, Weiss the Immaculate.

** The Great Gonzales (Mario): The Merciless Executioner (first run), The Superstar Sequel (second run)

** The Goomba Bros.: The Hoppin' Hardheads (first run), The Meteorite Hardheads (second run)

* ''[[Fate Nuovo Guerra]]'', owing to Servants being legendary heroes, features several, such as "Dragon King" for [[King Arthur|Uther Pendragon]], "Cunning [[Odyssey|Odysseus]]", "Godlike [[The Iliad|Achilles]]", "El Cid Campeador", for well, [[Nickname Basis|El Cid]], "Scourge of God" for Attila the Hun, etc.

* In ''[[The Salvation War]]'', Humanity is kicking demon butt so thoroughly that the Lords of Hell start calling them "The Lords of War."

 

 

== Western Animation ==

* ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'':

*** This is probably twofold; in the Fire Nation {{spoiler|any Firebender who slays a dragon is given the title of dragon}}. His also being known as "Dragon" among the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe would be because of his formidable combat prowess and [[Breath Weapon]] (the Fire Nation might have a lot of dragons, but Iroh is ''The'' Dragon).

** Combustion Man, or his other name, Sparky Sparky Boom Man (we never learn his real name).

* Another German example: Erwin "The Desert Fox" Rommel. In fact this trope could just as easily have been called The Desert Fox, [[Magnificent Bastard|if Rommel didn't already have a trope named after him.]] Rommel's son Manfred said that he was glad of the compliment because he knew the British had learned to appreciate foxes from hunting them. But he would have liked lion even more then fox.

* Vlad Dracula was also known as Vlad Tepes, Tepes meaning "[[The Butcher|Impaler]]" cause, [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|well, that is what he did]]. The Turks were very frightened of him, [[Dead Guy on Display|and mounted his head on the walls of Istanbul, to assure people that he was really dead.]] Consider the fact this man basically saw the Turks invading his land, turned to the Turkish prisoners and said 'Well, they aren't doing anything', and created a forest of roughly 30,000 impaled Turkish soldiers.

* From the American West was John Johnson, also known as Liver Eatin' Johnson, also known as the Dapiek Absaroka, meaning the Crow-Killer, note: the Crow as in the Tribe of Indians, not the Corvid.

* Billy the Kid, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Calamity Jane (double-trope breaker: a female ''and'' a "good guy"), or her "partner in crime," lawman "Wild Bill" Hickok, John Henry "Doc" Holliday and of course entertainer "Buffalo Bill" Cody.

** [[wikipedia:Aethelred the Unready|Æthelred the Unready.]] Not because he lacked preparation, but because he lacked advisors ('unready' meaning 'not counselled'. Ironic, because his name Æthelred meant "well advised")

** Another fun one is Roric Ring-Slinger. The origin of his name depends on who you ask: allies said it was because of his generosity in handing out gold rings to his men; enemies said it was because of an incident where he was the judge of a boat-race, and when he tried to throw the prize (a ring) from his ship to the winner, he fell short by a good thirty feet, and the racers gave him the nickname as an insult. Incidentally, he was the father of four famous Vikings: Ivar the Bonelsss (the brains of the four, born with no bones in his legs), Iron-Sides (strongest and biggest), Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye (an extra-badass warrior with a peculiar pattern on one of his irises), and White-Shirt (who had a really clean shirt.)

* Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, was known as ''the Iron Duke'', One of many 'Iron' titles popular at the time

** Which, while badass, may be a subversion in context. To quote [[Wikipedia|The Other Wiki]]: "An opponent of parliamentary reform, he was given the epithet the "Iron Duke" because of the iron shutters he had fixed to his windows to stop the pro-reform mob from breaking them."

* Ian Thorpe a.k.a. "Thorpedo".

* Brazilian soccer player Givanildo Vieira de Souza got the nickname "[[The Incredible Hulk|Hulk]]" during his playing times in Japan. He embraced said nickname and wears it on the back of his shirt.

* In [[Boxing]]:

** [[Muhammad Ali]]: The Greatest