Conveniently an Orphan: Difference between revisions

* ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'': Asuka and Shinji have been selected as the second and third children to pilot Evas ''because'' their mothers are dead. {{spoiler|Their souls were used in the creation of Eva-01 and Eva-02.}} Shinji's father couldn't care any less about his son as a person (given what Gendo told in End Of Evangelion {{spoiler|before dying,}} YMMV on this), while Asuka's father, almost immediately after her mother's death, married the woman with whom he was having an affair. It shouldn't surprise anyone that Rei [[Artificial Human|doesn't have any parents at all]]. Also Misato's father was killed with the entire rest of the Antarctic expedition, and Ritsuko's mother killed herself {{spoiler|after Gendo got her into his bed to exploit her}}.

** Kaji also discovers that Shinji's school is a front for the powers that be, and that ''all'' of Shinji's classmates are potential Children candidates, meaning many of them may be orphans as well. It's suggested for two side characters, and canonically stated for one, that their parents are dead as well.

* ''[[Sorcerer Stabber Orphen|Orphen]]''.

* Pretty much applies to most of the main characters in ''[[Chrono Crusade]]'':

 

== Comic Books ==

* [[Golden Age]] and [[Silver Age]] [[Superman]] is orphaned by both his biological ''and'' adoptive parents. Other versions have Martha and sometimes Jonathan alive as well.

* [[Iron Man]]

 

== Film ==

* In [[Idiocracy]], Joe is chosen for the freezing experiment partially because he is orphaned, so nobody would come ask questions if something went wrong with the experiment. {{spoiler|It does.}}

* [[James Bond]] is an orphan.

 

== Literature ==

* ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'': Frodo Baggins was orphaned at twelve, but was raised in his family's home by said extended family; when he turned 21 (adult-ish but not yet legally adult for hobbits) he was adopted by and went to live with his 'uncle' Bilbo (who, of course, conveniently leaves).

** Bilbo himself, though not an orphan, manages to avoid marriage, and thus has no family ties holding him back when he goes on his adventure.

* ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'': Ford Prefect is not only an orphan but the [[Last of His Kind]], which provides a convenient explanation for why his original alien name is totally forgotten.

* Subverted in [[The Wonderful Wizard of Oz]]; Dorothy is stated to be an orphan, but lives with her foster parents in Kansas. She loves them enough that despite all the beauty of Oz and the friends she made, she is determined to go back anyway.

 

== Live Action TV ==

* [[Bones]] - Dr. Brennan's emotional interface may be glitchy, but any one she deals with who comments on her inability to sympathize gets slammed when they find out she lost her parents at a young age, conveniently explaining why she might come off disturbed but assuring everyone that she understands.

* [[Doctor Who]] companions in the classic series are often orphans - sometimes with [[Death by Origin Story]], or else have [[Parental Abandonment]]. Companions in the new series have parents. Oh man, [[My Beloved Smother|do they have parents]].

 

== Tabletop Games ==

* This is about as frequent as [[You All Meet in An Inn]] in this medium. In any given party, someone probably has this as his or her backstory.

* Demotivational posters refer to parents as "DM Hostages".

 

== Web Comics ==

* The protagonist in Holiday Wars is one, which can be seen [http://www.holiday-wars.com/blog/2010/07/26/episode-11/ in this episode.]

* Characters from [https://web.archive.org/web/20171212154432/http://www.goldcoincomics.com/ Gold Coin Comics], such as Lance and Theo.

 

== Western Animation ==

* Ronaldo from the Brazil episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]''. Conveniently as an orphan, he doesn't have parents hogging his money he gets from perfoming on ''Teleboobies'', and he assists the Simpsons in paying Homer's ransom.

* Sinedd of [[Galactik Football]] is able to run off and join The Shadows despite a large song and dance being made in the very same episode about the need for parental permission. His departure isn't justified with this trope for another 18 episodes.

** Robin's parents are dead as always, but this incarnation heavily implies that he even ditched his "father" [[Batman]] so he could move on. (And ended up gathering a bunch of friends around him instead, but no adults. The closest thing to a parent he has is [[Big Bad|Slade]] purring about what a great apprentice he could be...)

* Buck and Larry 3000 of ''[[Time Squad]]'' needed Otto from the 20th century since he knows more history than they do. Since he's an orphan with no real roots, they adopted him despite the fact that it might alter history.

 

== Real Life ==

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Parental Issues]]

[[Category:Characters]]

[[Category:Orphaned Index]]