Knight in Sour Armor: Difference between revisions

This is the inverse of the worldview of most [[Well -Intentioned Extremist|Well Intentioned Extremists]], especially those who believe that [[Utopia Justifies the Means]]. Extremists or [[Knight Templar|Knights Templar]] may ''believe'' themselves to be this, but their actions are far too extreme. A Knight In Sour Armor believes in the rules and breaks them only when absolutely necessary, which is very rarely; not surprisingly, many have taken a [[Heroic Vow]] related to this behavior. Often has a personal set of rule, trimmed down to those that really ''matter'' in order to minimize conflicts and distractions. Contributes to the Knight's gruff tendencies, since politeness tends to appear a lot further down the priority list than feeding orphans and so on.

Generally, these characters fit one of two personality types. Members of the first type are former [[Wide Eyed Idealist|Wide Eyed Idealists]] who have come to [[Jade -Colored Glasses|accept]] that their world is on the low end of the [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism]], but who still find something beautiful in their former ideals that they want to hold on to. Those of the second type are born cynics, who would make natural [[Jerkass]] [[Anti -Hero|antiheroes]], but who nevertheless have devoted themselves to a code of honor or fair play. In either case, these people tend to have gone through (often painful) [[Character Development]] in their past, meaning that they are normally older than the average hero.

Either way, however, the effect is basically the same: you have a [[Knight in Shining Armor]] wearing [[Jade -Colored Glasses]]; the difference between the first and second types is which comes first.

These characters show up often in [[Film Noir]] and in [[Low Fantasy]]. Law enforcement is a particularly attractive career, but the [[Knight in Sour Armor]] will usually hold back from becoming a [[Cowboy Cop]]. Very frequently, they end up as [[The Obi -Wan]], a [[Grumpy Bear]] with [[Jade -Colored Glasses]], [[The Last DJ]], or a [[Cool Old Guy]] if they last long enough. As teammates, they are often the [[Sour Supporter]]. They also frequently end up as [[Hero Antagonist|Hero Antagonists]] and extreme [[The Woobie|Woobies.]] This is often the final state of [[The Atoner]] post [[Heel Face Turn]]. Despite their cynicism, they behave like [[The Anti Nihilist]]. Compare the [[Iron Woobie]], who takes the [[Being Good Sucks|troubles of a good alignment]] with far less complaint, and the [[Noble Demon]], who will [[Card -Carrying Villain|proudly declare himself evil]], but still finds himself doing good. Converted [[Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids]] or [[Good Is Old -Fashioned]] believers may well find themselves becoming this [[Trope]] if the heroes can pull them round. Compare [[Jerkass Woobie]], a character who spits in the face of the [[Character Alignment|alignment]] chart. Compare [[The Snark Knight]] for the [[Non -Action Guy]] variant.

{{examples|Examples:}}

* Lelouch Lamperouge in ''[[Code Geass]]''. He could have shut out the horrors of the world, but his sense of justice wouldn't let him; in fact, when [[Fate Worse Than Death|forced into a normal life and robbed of his motivation for rebelling]], he [[Can't Stay Normal|still found himself dissatisfied and quickly returned to being Zero]]. Of course, when he starts actually taking the steps necessary to battle a [[World Half Empty]], he falls into the [[Well -Intentioned Extremist|well-intentioned extremism]].

** As well as Saito Hajime, Kenshin's [[Anti -Hero]] counterpart. Vicious verging on sadistic, believes Kenshin's optimism to be dangerously deluded, yet utterly, utterly relentless in [[Knight Templar|punishing the wicked]] and doing what is right for his country for all that.

** ''Batman Begins''' depiction of Gordon borrows a lot, including his fitting this trope, from ''[[Batman: Year One]]''.

* Caphriel, angel and [[Love Martyr]], from the ''[[Good Omens (Literature)|Good Omens]]'' [[Dark Fic]] ''[[The Sacred and The Profane (Fanfic)|The Sacred and The Profane]]:'' it's his job to love and protect the world and the people in it. It all keeps letting him down over and over again ([[Who Wants to Live Forever?|across millennia]]), [[Determinator|but he can't]] ''[[Determinator|afford]]'' [[Determinator|to give up.]]

* Ezylryb {{spoiler|(Lyze of Kiel)}} of ''[[Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of ga Hoole]]'' may be a legendary warrior, but he takes no pleasure in it whatsoever, as he demonstrates by displaying his slashed face and blind eye.

* The hero of ''[[Dragonheart]]'' turns from [[Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids]] into this by the stories end.

* Sheriff 'Monk' McGinn in ''[[Gangs of New York]]''. He starts out as an Irish [[Ronin]] [[Psycho for Hire|muscle for hire]] with dozens of notches on his [[Drop the Hammer|shillelagh]], and is viewed with contempt until we find out he's really this. Then he goes out with a [[Kirk Summation|rousing speech]] and puts the villain in his place, which unfortunately, Bill the Butcher [[Shut Up, Kirk|does not]] respond [[Dropped a Bridge On Him|well to]].

** There's also Tyrion Lannister, who's snarktastic and has contempt or hatred for most of those around him (because they either assume he's a Lannister and think he's untrustworthy, or see that he's ugly and short and assume he's evil), but he truly tried to do what was best for the kingdom while he was Hand. His brother Jaime is another example, sort of, although he was a bit darker than is usual for the role {{spoiler|([[Brother -Sister Incest]], anyone?)}}

* Philip Marlowe, [[Raymond Chandler]]'s main character is explicitly described by the author as a 'knight in shining armor' despite being a [[Deadpan Snarker]] [[FirstpersonFirst-Person Smartass]].

* Winston Smith in ''[[Nineteen Eighty -Four|1984]]''. He joins the Brotherhood knowing full well that he won't see any change in his lifetime and that he will be killed for it eventually. Too bad {{spoiler|the Brotherhood doesn't actually exist -- it was set up by the government as a way to entrap Thought Criminals.}}

* Marcus Cole of ''[[Babylon 5]]'' has one of the [[Tall, Dark and Snarky|darkest wit]] of any characters on the show, knows his way around the station's criminal underworld, and yet acts like a knight of the round table.

* After being on ''[[Degrassi]]'' enough seasons you either end up here or [[Jade -Colored Glasses]], just a fact of life for teenagers. Best examples for this side of things would be Spinner, Darcy, Jimmy, Marco, Sav, Clare, Alli, and Jenna. The series is abundant with drama and cruelty for them, but they still believe no matter how the world sucks... it's what they have and it's worth it to not give up. But the world unquestionably sucks, they are all more than clear there.

** Carth Onasi fits the trope as well. He's [[Knight in Shining Armor|closer to good]] on the [[Karma Meter]] than the ''Jedi'' in your party, but his [[Jade -Colored Glasses|capability to trust in the good of others]] has been [[Stealth Pun|torpedoed]] by personal tragedy. He's vocally suspicious regarding the player character and the entire situation; that suspicion eventually turns out to be eerily dead-on. The comics, set a few years before the events of the game, make it clear that {{spoiler|his entanglement with Revan}} wasn't the first time he found himself involved in a [[Jedi Truth|Jedi scheme and cover-up]].

* [[Metal Gear Solid|Solid Snake]] is arguably the best example in gaming. He's [[Deadpan Snarker|cynical]], [[Gallows Humor|jaded]], [[Shell -Shocked Veteran|world-weary]], really couldn't care less about being seen as a hero or a legend, and doesn't believe he'd make a difference to the future ("I'm not as arrogant as that."), but he continues to fight because no one else can or will.

** You yourself can play as one of these too, [[VideogameVideo Game Caring Potential|if you so choose.]] ''[[Video Game Cruelty Potential|If.]]''

* In ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' {{spoiler|Prince Zuko becomes this after his [[Heel Face Turn]] and becoming the [[Sixth Ranger]] and [[The Atoner]]. And while he's on the side of good now, he's still as grumpy and [[Emo Teen|emo]] as ever and still firmly believes that Aang's silly ideas about pacifism [[Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids|should remain in air temple preschool where they belong]]. }}

* Benson on ''[[Regular Show]]'' is the [[Grumpy Bear|grouchy]], [[High Pressure Emotion|hot-tempered]] boss who is always threatening to fire the main characters Mordecai and Rigby unless they repair the damage caused by the [[Eldritch Abomination]] [[Monster of the Week|of the Week]]. Despite this, he is portrayed to be [[Benevolent Boss|an honest, courteous, and kindhearted person]] who cares about his co-workers, [[Fire -Forged Friends|even his mischievous slacker underlings]]. This was beautifully demonstrated in the episode "Benson Be Gone" which is basically {{spoiler|him getting fired and replaced with a female boss who ends up being another Eldritch monstrosity, leading to Benson [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|returning to save the day in epic fashion]]. }}

* [[George Orwell]], who despite the [[Animal Farm|grim]][[Nineteen Eighty -Four|darkness]] of most of his works remained adamant that Democracy and Socialism were worth fighting for (and got shot through the neck doing so--in the [[Spanish Civil War]]--yet somehow survived).