Tranquil Fury: Difference between revisions

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''This is different'' from [[The Quiet One]] and [[The Stoic]]. The character in the grip of Tranquil Fury isn't necessarily an emotional cripple, and in day to day life they may be perfectly normal and happy. What ''defines'' Tranquil Fury is the tendency to become [[Let's Get Dangerous|deadly serious]] when it gets deadly serious.

 

 

 

Contrast: [[Berserker Tears]], [[Unstoppable Rage]]. Compare ''and'' contrast [[Dissonant Serenity]]. These characters often use [[Creepy Monotone]], [[Death Glare]], and [[Slasher Smile]].

 

== Anime and Manga ==

* ''[[One Piece (Manga)|One Piece]]'':

** Monkey D. Luffy is a master of this, especially in the original Japanese. There are few times when Luffy will go in screaming and rip roaring mad, though to look at him you'd suppose otherwise. His most angry, serious look tends to be blank eyes.

** It could be argued that Afro is in a constant state of quiet rage for the entire series.

* [[The Stoic|Jin]] of ''[[Samurai Champloo]]'' is nearly the personification of this.

** Though as the original Hitokiri Battousai he was more of a "kill off my emotion for efficiency" [[Empathic Weapon|empathic killer]].

** And again in the Kyoto Arc. During the fight with Chou "Sword Hunter" Sawagejou, Chou makes as if to impale an infant on his sword, in an effort to break Kenshin's concentration. It works. Sort of. Kenshin does indeed lose his focus, but instead of forgetting about Chou's special attack, {{spoiler|Kenshin instead forgets that he doesn't want Chou's cervical vertebrae to part ways. He was only saved by the fact that the new sword was, unbeknownst to everyone, a sakabatou. Even then, the sheer force of the blow might have Darth Mauled him anyway(and would certainly have snapped his spine), if not for the BFS wrapped around his torso like a bandage}}

* In ''[[Saiyuki]]'', [[Stepford Smiler]] Hakkai is very good at this, able to carry on polite conversations as he is engaged in battle. But his {{spoiler|past life}} Tenpou in the ''Gaiden'' manga raises this to a very creepy new level, politely saying "excuse me" before he calmly punches his superior's lights out, and {{spoiler|in the battle where he sacrifices his life}}, engages in all manner of meaningless prattle that is totally unrelated to the battle at hand.

** ''"[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG6FhVX6I5M I hear you, Luna. I am not afraid anymore.]"''

* ''[[Hunter X Hunter]]'' has done this with a number of characters, but most recently and perhaps most extremely, {{spoiler|Gon. Ever since his mentor Kaito was savaged by the Chimera Ants, Gon's been getting progressively more scary quiet, to the point that people will recoil from him when he's ''just sitting there''. After finding out Kaito is [[Killed Off for Real]], Gon has apparently [http://www.onemanga.com/Hunter_X_Hunter/306/06/ aged ten years and unlocked incredible power].}}

* [[Big Eater|Diamond]] of ''[[Pokémon Special]]''. Whenever he finds himself with less than savory characters, he will simply state that he doesn't approve of what they're doing before fighting. What really stands out though, is when he tells Pearl that he has his own mind and refuses to be bossed around without ever raising his voice.

** After Pain {{spoiler|destroyed the village}}, he came on the receiving end of [[Super Mode|Sage Mode]] Naruto's [[Tranquil Fury]]. By the time he managed to get control of the battle again, Naruto had destroyed ''five'' of his bodies. Pain only triggered his [[Unstoppable Rage]] ''later'', when he nearly killed {{spoiler|Hinata}}.

** One way or another, it seems Zabuza is Kakashi's [[Berserk Button]]. In the most recent manga arc {{spoiler|Zabuza and Haku's resurrected bodies were taken over}} to fight in the war and their {{spoiler|minds blanked out for greater efficiency}}. This disrespect to their friendship and sacrifice is the final straw...

{{quote| "Look, it takes a lot to get me worked up, but this time my boiling point's as low as it's ever been. The Copy Ninja Kakashi, the man who copied one thousand techniques… is about to go on a rampage!"}}

::: [[Offscreen Moment of Awesome|We're not shown the ensuing fight,]] but it wipes out the <ref>Seven Ninja Swordsmen</ref>.

* Though his signature reaction to most serious situations is [[Unstoppable Rage]], Guts from ''[[Berserk (Manga)|Berserk]]'' often starts out with Tranquil Fury. Before he [[Impaled With Extreme Prejudice|confronts]] the man who {{spoiler|tortured and mutilated Griffith for a year}}, Guts [http://www.mangakong.com/manga/Berserk/048.058/139 gives an expression that is on the same level of creepiness] as his signature [[Slasher Smile]], just to show how dangerously enraged he is inside.

* The end of the first arc of the ''[[To Aru Kagaku no Railgun (Manga)|To Aru Kagaku no Railgun]]'' anime has Mikoto, a [[Tsundere]] with [[Shock and Awe]] powers [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4HfgsWZZtk going Tranquil Fury on the AIM Burst]. You can pick your jaw off the floor now.

* [[X Wing Series|Wedge Antilles]], in an arc where he confronts the man who [[You Killed My Father|killed his parents]] when he was younger, naturally [http://asylums.insanejournal.com/scans_daily/1020778.html flashes back to their deaths]. When they were in the midst of their [[Heroic Sacrifice]] he was almost uncontrollable, understandably, but later he's scary calm. It slips a little, but he was still cold. Outside of the flashback and having to deal with the man, he's rigidly polite... until the guy has him locked up and [http://img372.imageshack.us/img372/1069/blz05dt3.jpg goads] him.

** The novels mention a few times that the Wedge in starfighter combat is very unlike the usual Wedge - much, much more focused. It may not just be in combat, but when he has a purpose in mind and can't let himself fail - Iella remarks on this. One of his pilots, Wes Janson, is a snarky prankster, but similarly becomes extremely focused and controlled in combat.

** Or death, if it just happens to be a What If universe. {{spoiler|Oh and if it wasn't for a [[Retcon]] Spider-man would've committed his first real murder.}}

* V of ''[[V for Vendetta]]'' serves his vengeance cold, not once raising his voice to his targets (unless you count Madam Justice). His kills are usually done quietly and made to look like unrelated accidents, but by the time we see him in the comic, he's elevated killing to high theater. Sometimes he slaughters men while reciting Shakespeare or Bible verses, sometimes he abducts them and puts on little plays, or manipulates an [[Innocent Bystander]] into doing the killing for him, and in the "Vertigo" episode simply stands motionless in complete silence and compels his victim to kill himself. The fact that at all times he's wearing a mask with the most cheerful smile imaginable makes him all the more terrifying to those who wronged him.

* In [[Mission Impossible]], Ethan Hunt does this when {{spoiler|he realizes that, not only is his team dead, his boss thinks he's the mole}}.

{{quote| '''Kittridge:''' Ethan, I understand you're upset...<br />

* In ''[[The Princess Bride (Film)|The Princess Bride]]'':

{{quote| '''Inigo:''' [[Hello]]. [[My Name Is Inigo Montoya]]. [[You Killed My Father]]. [[Prepare to Die]].}}

** In the actual book, it is explained that this is what [[The Chessmaster|Vizzini]] becomes like when he gets mad: he speaks in a very soft voice, with a very calm face, and scares the ''hell'' out of Inigo and Fezzik. Of course, in the movie, he just gets higher and higher pitched.

* William Wallace in ''[[Braveheart]]'' after his wife is killed. His expression is virtually blank from the moment he rides into the village to the moment he cuts the murderer's throat.

* In ''[[Aguirre the Wrath of God (Film)|Aguirre the Wrath of God]]'', when Aguirre makes his final monologue proclaiming eternal vengeance on any who would disobey him, to a raft of corpses and monkeys no less, he speaks with in a low, sedate voice. This was [[Enforced Method Acting]] on the part of Werner Herzog. Klaus Kinski wanted to do the scene in a rage, but Herzog intentionally infuriated him off-camera until he was so exhausted that he performed the scene in what appears to be tranquil fury.

** Which is shown by the fact that he is casually strolling ''ahead of a newly activated laser beam.'' That's faster-than-light strolling.

* The assassin named T, from the Singaporean movie ''One Last Dance'', has this as his signature style. It is shown mainly in the confrontation with his former partner-in-crime, as well as the ensuing revenge on {{spoiler|the men who raped his friend's sister.}}

* Would-be presidential assassin Mitch Leary in [[In the Line of Fire]].

* The protagonist of [[I Saw the Devil]] may qualify, as he gets on a revenge fest, looking very calm and cold most of the time. His fury goes on during the WHOLE. MOVIE.

*** Her reaction when she finds some of her captured subordinates who have been brutally raped and beaten over and over and over, in ''The Honor of the Queen''. She calmly walks out of the room, finds the CO of the base that allowed it to happen, and is only barely prevented from calmly blowing his brains out when a marine in power armor physically interposes himself, while begging her to not do it. She doesn't actually lower the gun, however, until a man representing the local authorities promises the man will be executed by the courts.

** Havenite leader Eloise Pritchart is manages to remain calm, if frustrated, while negotiations with Manticore spiral downward during ''War of Honor''. Arnold Giancola, {{spoiler|who's been manipulating diplomatic correspondence}} realizes too late that he went too far and Eloise's outward calm actually hid the fact that she was pissed off enough to order a resumption of hostilities.

** Really, ''anybody'' in the Honorverse who can maintain a level of Tranquil Fury is going to be about twenty times more dangerous than someone who rants, raves, and screams. Perhaps best highlighted with Manticore's Queen Elizabeth. She's an intelligent, crafty, and very effective leader. ''If'' she keeps her head. Her biggest blunders, such as failing to get into a better position to head off the High Ridge Government's excesses and resuming hostilities with Haven after peace talks were sabotaged, occurred primarily because the "famed Winton temper" was provoked.

* The Outlaw Chronicles have Robin Hood himself as being almost perpetually like this, being described by Tuck as a 'Cold-hot man' fire inside, icy control on the outside. And the results are ''terrifying''. The narrator, Alan Dale, has by Book 3 begun to become something similar, previously mentioning his wife (who has an incredible temper matched only by her courage) having described him as ruthless, without pity, and Friar Tuck as being a cold man.

* Gordon Dickson wrote a short story about this, in which the dominant powers of the galaxy recruit a Token Brigade of humans and other less-advanced species to help fight an oncoming invasion--[[You Suck|we're useless]], but we have a stake in the outcome and deserve to have our shot. Turns out said dominant powers are [[Straw Vulcan|Straw Vulcans]]--when they see how large the invasion fleet is, they prepare to surrender because their calculations indicate there's no way to win (even though surrender means the destruction of all life in the galaxy). The "less-advanced" folks pass through a state of fury and into Tranquil Fury, allowing them to use the ship's psychic weapons more effectively; it then turns out that the super-aliens never considered a berserker one-ship attack as a viable tactic. The enemies are thrown into disarray, and the defenders win the day.

** "Look at me."

* The eponymous hero of [[Andrew Vachss]]' [http://www.vachss.com/av_novels/index_theburkeseries.html Burke] novels is a master of this:

* Kim from ''[[Yes Dear]]'' did this once in one episode -- by swinging a bat and vandalizing the truck of a contractor with inefficient work performance ''while whistling to herself''.

* On ''[[Babylon 5]]'', when [[Magnificent Bastard|Alfred Bester]] learns that Captain Sheridan may have used his lover (and the mother of his child) as {{spoiler|a living weapon in the liberation of Earth}}, he drops his usual [[Deadpan Snarker]] persona completely and replaces it with blunt threats on Sheridan's life. But he never once raises his voice.

* Wash of ''[[Firefly]]'' was supposed to become deadly serious when things got serious. As the DVD commentary explains, that plan did not survive contact with Alan Tudyk. However, despite the jokey lines, Wash ''is'' usually extraordinarily calm, beyond even [[Deadpan Snarker]].

{{quote| '''Wash:''' Yeah, well, if she doesn't give us some extra flow from the engine room to offset the burn-through, this landing is gonna get pretty interesting.<br />

** Shepard's final confrontation with Kai Leng. After Shepard curb-stomps him, leaving him defeated-but-alive, s/he calmly goes back to what they were doing before the assassin showed up. Kai-Leng slowly gets back to his feet, picks up his sword, walks over and prepares to strike Shepard from behind. In a split second, Shepard turns around, {{spoiler|either dodges or breaks the sword in half with their ''bare hands'', unfurls their omniblade and [[Karmic Death|stabs him hard in the gut.]]}}

{{quote| '''Shepard''': That was for {{spoiler|Thane/Miranda/Kirrahe}}, ''you son of a bitch''.}}

* In ''[[Dragon Age II]]'', Fenris is nearly permanently in this state. One of his abilities (Veneer of Calm) even invokes this, noting that while outwardly he appears calm and emotionless, inwardly he's infuriated and deals more damage based on the amount of damage he himself has taken.

* Joshua Graham of ''[[Fallout New Vegas]]'' is a calm and patient man towards the Courier. However, this doesn't make him any less of a terrifying [[Knight Templar]] who believes in the utter obliteration of his enemies whenever possible.

* Garrett from ''[[Thief]]''. He's hardly interested in the City's various nutty goings on and has nerves of iron, but even at his most emotional he rarely so much as raises his voice. Try to assassinate him and narrowly fail? He's annoyed by the lack of style, and proceeds to comprehensively destroy the enemy's credibility. {{spoiler|Eyeball ripped ''straight out of his head''? Well, he screams at the time, but recounts the event with at best mild irritation. Robbing a ''god'' - the one who ripped his eye out? He's intrigued by the challenge. Fanatical splinter group converting homeless people into cyborg slaves, consciousness intact but tormented, without will and unable to die? "I could really learn to hate these guys."}} Threaten to destroy the entire city, and possibly more? He'll take his time to think of a nice, methodical way to crush you. Kill his friends, and all hell will break loose...but he'll remain chillingly calm throughout. And then you'll die very suddenly, [[Stealth Expert|without ever seeing him]] [[Paranoia Fuel|at all]].

* With all the anger tropes in the game, ''[[Asura's Wrath]]'' would obviously use this at some point. His {{spoiler|[[Eleventh Hour Superpower|Mantra Form]] is basically all the anger of Asura's berserker form, concentrated into a much more powerful, more controlled form. His anger hasn't diminished in the slightest, but he no longer has any control gone.}}

{{quote| '''Batman:''' I was only here for Fries and the hostages. But now, I'm taking you down to.<br />

'''Penguin:''' Aren't you scary! ([[Evil Laugh]])<br />

* Vegeta temporarily passes through this phase in ''[[Dragon Ball Abridged (Web Video)|Dragon Ball Abridged]]'' after losing his tail and admits his own surprise at the state of mind.

{{quote| '''Vegeta''': You know, I thought I'd be angrier, what with the utter humiliation and loss of my tail, or maybe I'm just so ''unbelievably'' enraged that I've come full circle.}}

* ''[[Ink City (Roleplay)|Ink City]]'' saw [[Transformers Prime|Optimus Prime]] go into this when [[Aeon Flux|Trevor]] kidnapped [[The Secret of Kells|Aisling]]. Trevor's insistence on [[Blatant Lies|blatantly lying]] about her presence reminded him all too much of the Decepticons, causing him to very calmly and methodically tear Goodchild's compound apart.

 

'''Dinobot:''' [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|Im... pro... vise.]] }}

** And then Soundwave's [[Curb Stomp Battle]] beatdown of Airachnid in the first season finale of ''[[Transformers Prime]]''.

* In ''[[Ben 10 (Animation)|Ben 10]]'', Ben has one of these against Kevin 11 in their second battle. Kevin used Ben's powers to frame him, insults every good thing Ben's tried to do with him. Finally having enough, Ben gets serious and calm (at least as far as Ben goes) and easily beats him with Fourarms, then walks off, telling him that he's not worth finishing off. Unfortunately it backfires in this case.

* ''[[Justice League]]'' has a good example of what would happen if you push [[Superman]] too far. Many times, mind you. {{spoiler|Superman kills [[Lex Luthor]], with his heat vision. Superman talking about [[World of Cardboard Speech|World of Cardboard]].}}

'''Spectra:''' Bertrand? ''Sic 'im!''<br />

''(Bertrand turns into ninja, much posturing ensues)''<br />

* ''[[The Ren and Stimpy Show]]'': after Sven and Stimpy wreck the house with their antics in "Sven Hoek", Ren is volcanic with rage... until he begins to calmly [[To the Pain|tell them what he's going to do to them]]. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR6KjNmN2BA See for yourself.] It's borderline [[Nightmare Fuel|nightmare fuel]].

* In ''[[South Park (Animation)|South Park]]'', [[Jerk With a Heart of Jerk|Eric]] [[Complete Monster|Cartman]] had been through this three times:

** In "T.M.I.", a therapist tries to test Cartman's anger response with [[Tempting Fate|a barrage of fat jokes]]. Cartman calmly types away on his iPhone, while the doctor comes to the conclusion that the boy has no anger problems at all. Then the doctor gets a call from his wife, hysterically ranting about web chat logs with a 14-year-old girl and a police report before shooting herself. Cartman calmly but firmly replies, "I'm not fat; I'm big-boned." The therapist obsequiously cowers before Cartman for the rest of the episode.

** In the ending of "Bass To Mouth". Cartman gave laxative-laced cupcakes to the school administrators as revenge for getting thrown under a bus, which said bus effectively gave him a broken arm and leg, all while calmly saying [[Faux Affably Evil|"are you okay?"]]

{{quote| '''Harvey Dent([[Dissonant Serenity|oddly calm]]): "There's just one problem...[[Evil Sounds Deep|you're talking to the]] [[Oh Crap|wrong Harvey]]."'''}}

* In the classic ''[[Simpsons]]'' episode "Bart on the Road", Lisa just finished a [[Motor Mouth|rapid fire explanation]] of Bart's predicament to Homer, who responds with:

Homer (unnervingly calm): Yes...that's a real pickle. Would you excuse me for a moment?<br />

'''(puts on Hazmat suit helmet and [[Angrish|screams loudly and incoherently]] for several seconds, fogging the face plate)'''<br />

** "Who Shot Mr. Burns? Part 1" has Homer saying this...

{{quote| '''(lowers letter slowly, his pupils shrink in anger)'''<br />

'''(Bart and Lisa do so, Homer stands up and inhales deeply)'''<br />

Homer (Loudly) F- (The rest of it is (luckily) drowned out by a loud, harsh F-cord on a pipe organ). }}

** Fluttershy as well, [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|particularly in "Dragonshy"]]:

{{quote| ''How dare you...''}}

[[Category:Badass]]

[[Category:Tranquil Fury]]