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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|
|'''Xander''', ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''}}
A Non-Action Guy is a male who is ''not'' heavily endowed with a certain quality that's expected of males in shows; usually courage or combat ability. He's usually a [[Sidekick]]; often to the [[Action Girl]] (or [[Action Girlfriend]]), or sometimes to an entire [[Five-Man Band]]. Expect him to need [[
The Non-Action Guy seems much more likely [[Double Standard|to be played for comedy]] than the traditional female version of [[The Chick]] as while women are not expected to kick butt ([[Action Girl|and thus those that]] ''[[Action Girl|do]]'' [[Action Girl|are exceptional]]) men often are and so a Non Action Guy's lack of ability is written as something to laugh at.
Often he'll either [[Took a Level
The preponderance of this can vary from fandom to fandom, though the fans might have a point depending on how the character's written. Trying to [[Took a Level
Expect [[Fix Fic
{{examples}}
== Anime & Manga ==
* Arguably, Reki from ''[[
* Yuuno Scrya from ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha (
** It's possible that Yuuno remains a Non Action Guy because his one demonstrated offensive ability, forcing someone to teleport off the field against their will, offers so many [[Portal Cut|unpleasant]] [[Tele Frag|possibilities]] that neither he nor the series creators want to go there.
* Negi Springfield of ''[[
** The resident Non Action Guy of the manga is probably Chamo, who doesn't really do anything combat related other than occasionally acting as [[The Strategist]]. Although this is probably because [[Talking Animal|he's an ermine]], so his lack of combat ability isn't really his fault.
** Interestingly, [[Meta Guy|Chisame]] also fits this, despite being female, especially when compared to [[Action Girl|most of the other girls in the cast.]] Eventually she [[Magic Contract Romance|forms a Pactio with Negi]], gaining [[Magical Girl]] [[Technopath|hacker powers]], [[The Worf Barrage|which fail to have any effect nine times out of ten]].
* Rock of ''[[
* Yuichi Tate from ''[[
** Less apparent in the manga, where he's still largely useless but at least ''tries'', and his presence is in fact necessary for Mai and Natsuki to access their full powers.
** He tries in the anime, he just ends up realising quite quickly that there's very little a normal person can do to help in those sorts of situations and decides to take himself out of the game to {{spoiler|take care of Shiho, whom he thinks got hurt because he left her alone while he ran off to try to play hero.}} Also, while the method of his involvement in the finale is arguably a bit stereotypically manly, he wasn't trying to play hero there. {{spoiler|He just decided he cared enough about Mai to be willing to put himself on the line to help her out a little.}} Anime Tate only gets to be cool when he's not trying to be.
* Ruby from the ''[[
* In ''[[
* Sakai Yuji during the first season of ''[[
** He gets increasingly [[Took a Level
* Sports manga examples: Taro Misaki from ''[[
** Another one is Syuuichirou Oishi, the gentle Seigaku sub-captain from [[The Prince of Tennis]]. Putting other people's well-being before his own actually causes more than a bit of trouble, both physical {{spoiler|(as he gets his arm injured right before the Hyotuei matches and such an injury has repercusions later)}} and mental {{spoiler|(not only he has quite the breakdown in the Jyousei arc of the anime, but he later gives up his spot in the regulars to Tezuka (manga) or Echizen (anime), thinking he's a burden when he's not)}}. This makes him look less skilled and strong than he really is, and as a result he's unfairly ignored in fandom and only featured in fanwork regarding his partner, [[Bunny Ears Lawyer|Eiji Kikumaru]] {{spoiler|even when Eiji has him in such high regards that, after he loses Oishi, he swears to not have * any* other doubles partner than him.}}
* In ''[[
* Tsukune from ''[[Rosario
* Raki from ''[[
** With his first re-appearance after the time-skip in the latest manga chapter, this is hopefully a thing in the past. He now seems capable of taking down yoma singlehandedly, and all fans are now praying to the Character Development Gods that he has [[Took a Level
* In ''[[
* In ''[[
** Eventually he becomes quite a bit stronger and ''less'' of a coward, but he still relies on his tricks and gadgets.
* Light Yagami from ''[[
* Lelouch Lamperouge from ''[[
** Rivalz Cardemonde also counts, as he's present in all the Ashford scenes, but never does anything relevant, although as a genuine [[Ordinary High School Student]] (as opposed to the multiple characters who only pretended to be), he may just never have any opportunities to show off.
* Manta Oyamada from ''[[
* Makubex from ''[[
* Kyon in ''[[
* Ouri in ''[[
* Roderich/Austria from ''[[
** Feliciano/North Italy. His whole character seems to be based on this trope.
* Kabuto from ''[[
* Chiba Mamoru/Tuxedo Kamen from ''[[
** ONLY in the anime, though. In the manga he had an actual attack and awesome mind
* Nijima of ''[[Kenichi:
* Futaba Kudo from ''[[
* Gau from ''[[
* ''[[Monster (
* Cruz from ''[[
* Mikiya Kokuto from ''[[
** Considering how dangerous investigations can be in his line of work, he gets a decent amount of action trying to get away from danger.
* Yuuen from ''[[
* Kyohei from ''[[
* Teruharu Kousukegawa from ''[[
* Several in ''[[
* [[Those Two Guys|Bucky and Pauly Cracker]] from ''[[
== Comics ==
* ''[[The Tick (animation)]]'s'' [[Sidekick]], Arthur, is a pudgy accountant in a moth-suit that he barely knows how to work. His battle cry is "Not in the face! Not in the face!"
* Marvel Comics had a villain who fit this trope: Sidewinder, especially after he'd founded the Serpent Society. He acted as the group's [[Mission Control]], setting up deals, deciding who would go on which assignments, etc. He still managed to give the superhero community fits, because he'd also habitually teleport his teammates out of jail. A perk which is the biggest reason for villains to join the Serpent Society.
* Yorick Brown from ''[[Y:
* In ''[[Legion of Super-Heroes (
* Fone Bone from ''[[Bone]]''
== Fan Works ==
* Ringo in ''[[
** Actually, in a sense all four are
* In the fanfiction [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3442555/1/Street_Sharks_Redux ''Street Sharks: Redux''], Bends is painfully aware of how useless he is in combat.
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* Rick Moranis' character Louis in the movie ''[[Ghostbusters]]'' fills this role for the Ghostbuster team. Even when he tries to be a Ghostbuster himself he is a goof.
* Rick Moranis' character Billy Fish in ''[[Streets of Fire]]'', on the other hand, at least has bowling-ball-sized testicles to make up for the fact that in action situations he's utterly useless.
* Abe Sapien is mostly the geeky backup to the burly [[Hellboy (
* The character ''[[WALL-E]]'' certainly qualifies, especially in comparison to trigger-happy EVE. A [[Determinator]] who saves humanity from its own indolence, sure, but non-action regardless.
* Every single Racer in ''[[Speed Racer]]'' is a capable hand-to-hand combatant. Except for Sparky, who's... not.
* Lenny Nero in ''[[Strange Days]]'' is a classic example of this ''as a protagonist!'' He spends much of the action in the movie getting saved by Mace. This is made a little strange when it's revealed that he's a former cop.
* "Sir Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-as-Sir-Lancelot, who had nearly fought the Dragon of Angnor, who had nearly stood up to the vicious Chicken of Bristol, and who had personally wet himself at the Battle of Badon Hill" from ''[[Monty Python and
* Harry in ''[[Condorman]]'' is the titular hero's friend and a [[CIA]] [[Desk Jockey]] who is really not all that well suited for the dramatic [[Cloak and Dagger]] world of spying that the [[Wrong Genre Savvy]] Woody ''thinks'' they're in. He manages to pull off a few rescues nonetheless.
* In ''[[Blade|Blade 2]]'', Blade's new sidekick Scud is a noncombatant. When confronted by Reapers, Scud retreats into his van and nearly has a heart attack. In contrast, Whistler ambushes a den of vampires with a gatling gun in the first film and guns down a few SWAT guys in the third.
* Topher Grace's character in [[Predators]] is introduced this way. In a team of professional and criminal badasses, he is an unassuming doctor with no particular combat or survival skills. The badasses spend most of the movie protecting him or at least trying to keep him from getting them all killed, {{spoiler|until the end, when he reveals his true nature as a murderous psychopath}}.
* Declan, Beck's bush-pilot sidekick in [[The Rundown]], eschews any direct involvement in the action, blaming a "dodgy knee" which presumably would inhibit his mobility in combat. Still, he is not without courage- unable to fight, he walks to the edge of Hatcher's compound [[Everything's Louder
* Mr Ping of [[Kung Fu Panda]]. He has no kung fu skills whatsoever, and devotes almost all his time to manning his noodle store.
* Matt Farrell in ''[[Die Hard
== Literature ==
* ''[[
* ''[[Neuromancer]]'': Henry Case is a [[The Cracker|console cowboy]] of [[Cyberspace]]. His job usually requires him to sit comfortably at homebase and monitor his [[Action Girlfriend]] while she handles all the wetworks.
* Ron Weasley... of all the characters in the ''[[Harry Potter]]'' series, he always seems to be the one so friggin' out of his league it's not even funny.
** Neville Longbottom is an even better example of this, particularly with him "becoming" a man in the final book when the "worthier" dominant males (Harry and Ron) have vacated the position.
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** A more straight example is Nijel the Destroyer, son of Harebut the Provision Merchant. He wants to become a barbarian hero (by reading books), but has some... problems. He promptly fall in love with [[Action Girl|Conina]], who's the daughter of Cohen the Barbarian and has [[Lamarck Was Right|inherited her mother's looks and her father's urge to kill]]. She really wants to become a hairdresser.
** Moist von Lipwig is another protagonist example; he's not at all comfortable with fighting, preferring [[Con Man|trickery]] and [[Master of Disguise|disguise]] instead.
* Every single [[The Hobbit (novel)|Hobbit]] almost without exceptions. Of course Hobbits have [[Hidden Depths]] and the book can be mildly Anvilicious about that sort of thing, though fortunately the author's skill keeps it in control.
* Foaly in the ''[[
** Artemis is far better suited to orchestrating everything from behind [[Battle Butler|Butler]] and letting his more athletic companions do the dirty work, but as often as not circumstance forces him to at least try to do something physical anyway. It seems like he resolves anew to start getting fit at least [[Once an Episode|once a book]], but it never quite happens.
** This is subverted by {{spoiler|Artemis's [[Split Personality]] Orion whose shooting skills (something that Artemis doesn't have) disabled a controlled Holly.}}
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** And Commodore Baz Jesek, while Miles's nominal second-in-command for several books, starts the series as a deserter. Honour regained, he's never seen in a combat setting again, being more gifted at engineering and organising and supporting the more action-y types - such as his wife.
* Elend Venture of [[Mistborn]] is this in the first two books, perhaps most powerfully illustrated when he rushes off, armed only with a [[Simple Staff|duelling cane]] to rescue his girlfried, [[Action Girl|Vin]]. ''She'' winds up saving ''him'' (though the [[Broken Bird|cynical]] Vin ''was'' very touched that he actually cared enough about her to risk his own life). {{spoiler|Elend takes level in Badass in the third book, and though he never eclipses Vin he establishes himself as more solidly on her level}}.
** Spook from the same series is pretty tough by normal standards, having grown up on some very nasty streets, but he's only a Tineye (translation, he has [[Super Senses]] but is otherwise baseline human) in a setting where most of the really important people are superhuman badasses and/or have said badasses working for them. Consequently, he knows better than to get mixed up in the action {{spoiler|until he too takes a level in badass in the third book}}.
** Sazed subverts this. He insists that he's no a warrior but is perfectly capable of holding his own against for more powerful characters {{spoiler|such as Marsh, whom he comes within seconds of defeating during their only fight}}.
* To the general populace of ''[[Tamora Pierce]]''s [[Tortall Universe]] Baron George Cooper is this. He's a just an ex-commoner who married Alanna, Champion of the Gods, heiress to an ancient dukedom and all around badass. Of course George does have his claims to fame—like being the former King of Thieves and current Spymaster for the nation.
* Waldo Butters, M.E., in ''[[The Dresden Files]]''. He is, as Thomas insists on pointing out, kind of a coward, and when the baddies wind up targeting him in ''Dead Beat'', spends most of the book hiding from them. However, this ''is'' [[World of Badass|the Dresdenverse]], so he {{spoiler|eventually winds up saving Harry by attacking Cassius ''with his teeth''.}} He also gets non-action awesome cred for helping with the [[The Dresden Files
* Simon, in [[Mortal Instruments]], is the only main character that is {{spoiler|100% a mundane}} and is depicted as totally normal and needs rescuing from a hotel crammed with vampires. However, this is ended when he {{spoiler|kills a Greater Demon}}, and then is {{spoiler|turned into a vampire in the second book}}.
** Mind you, he does need saving again a couple of times even after that, {{spoiler|namely from dying of blood loss in Valentine's ship, and then from being killed by the normal Brooklyn vampires for being a Daylighter}}
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* Adrian [[Monk]]. As an ex-cop, he's fully capable of holding his own in physical combat, but his complicated network of phobias and neuroses make him freak out at the thought of physical ''contact'', placing him here.
* Xander of ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''. He gained in combat ability throughout the series, but was still a second-line fighter at best by the end, taking on the [[Mission Control]] role in the "Season 8" comics. Even so, he's another example where lack of combat ability is compensated by extreme testicular fortitude; his more powerful friends often worry about his near-suicidal charges against superpowered opponents.
* Lorne, from [[Angel]]. While the rest of the team fights evil, Lorne's major skill is singing.
* Daniel Jackson from ''[[Stargate SG-1]]''. Gradually became more suited for action.
** Also, most of the male scientists on ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]'' qualify. Of the three main male science-oriented
** While Zelenka doesn't see much action and clearly dislikes it, his age and nationality suggest that he probably has some background in the military. For all that most people probably wouldn't look to him in a fight, he drops a marine in "Tabula Rasa" and manages to avoid many more of them for most of the episode when forced to fall back on instinct.
* In the first season of the new ''[[Doctor Who]]'', Mickey Smith is explicitly set up as The Guy Who Doesn't Have What It Takes, in contrast to [[Action Girl]] Rose Tyler. In the second season, to justify his continued inclusion in events, it turns out that he does Have What It Takes after all.
** The Doctor himself qualifies for the trope as well, as with the exception of his third and sixth incarnations he runs ''away'' from the [[Monster of the Week]] as often as he runs toward it.
** Original series companion Harry Sullivan was conceived as an Action Guy in case an actor too old to handle action was cast as the Fourth Doctor. But when they cast Tom Baker as the Fourth, Harry ''immediately'' became this instead and was quietly dropped in Baker's second season.
{{quote|
** Rory Williams was very much this before he became The Last Centurion. He would much rather become a small town doctor than fighting aliens.
* In ''[[Dark Angel]]'', [[Action Girl]] Max had Logan Cale (Michael Weatherly) as her Non-Action Guy; in a wheelchair, partly [[Word of God|because]] it would help prevent him from being seen as [[The Chick]] in comparison to Max's superhuman strength.
* Ianto Jones in ''[[
** Ianto seems to be getting in on the action (in multiple senses of the word) more in the second season.
** Owen even mentions this at one point when he's sidelined, more or less implying that this is what Ianto actually wanted... Of course, this could just be Owen being [[Jerkass|Owen]].
* In the transition from ''[[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers]]'' to ''[[Power Rangers
** Ironically, the reverse often happens in more recent PR. Most notable is Cam of ''Ninja Storm'', although the [[Super Sentai]] version combined with Cam's wardrobe made it [[Epileptic Trees|an easy enough guess.]]
** Mention must be made of Ziggy in ''RPM'', as he starts out a Non Action Guy and pretty much remains one throughout the season, even after he becomes Ranger Green. He's competent in a fight, but ''only'' competent, and still a bit of a coward.
* Joxer from ''[[Xena: Warrior Princess]]''.
* Det. Pembleton from ''[[Homicide: Life
* Which is about exactly the same as Lieutenant [[
* Connor from ''[[Primeval]]'' fills this role.
* Arnold Rimmer from ''[[
* Chuck Bartowksi on ''[[Chuck]]'' was this for the first two seasons until an upgrade in the Intersect in his brain at the end of Season 2 allowed him to access some serious fighting skills in an instant.
** Even before he got the Intersect 2.0, however, Chuck had already picked up some serious marksmanship ability [[I Know Mortal Kombat|thanks to years of training on]] ''[[Duck Hunt]]''.
* Will from ''[[Alias (TV series)|Alias]]''. He's not an agent like most of the men on the show. He manages to get himself in trouble trying to be tough and Sydney has to rescue him. Even though he starts to work for the CIA and makes some results, he's still only a paperpusher.
* [[The Lone Gunmen]] - all three of them (four, if you count Jimmy). None of them were anything close to action guys. What they did have was a copious amount of brainpower and bullshit.
* [[
** Except that one time where Jonathan disarmed a gun-wielding multiple murderer {{spoiler|by throwing, of all things, a playing card at his hand}}.
* Topher in ''[[Dollhouse]]'' once gets beaten up by a one-armed Non Action Girl. That pretty much sums up his physical prowess.
** Of course, he punched out that one-armed non-[[Action Girl]] earlier in the season. ([[It Makes Sense in Context|It's Less Dickish In Context]].)
*** Isn't it hilarious to find a situation where punching out a tiny one-armed female scientist makes you ''more'' masculine?
* McGee of ''[[NCIS]]'', who is only this in comparison to his more experienced, more physical teammates.
** Ducky and his autopsy gremlin, Palmer, (of-the-series) are closer to this trope. McGee, while more cerebral than DiNozzo or Ziva or Kate, could still pull the trigger or fight when necessary.
* Blair Sandburg in ''[[The Sentinel (TV series)|The Sentinel]]''.
* [[Criminal Minds|DR Spencer Reid]]. He's the only member who failed all physical FBI phisical exams, but because he's a genius with 4 [[PH Ds]], [[Photographic Memory]], and reads ''20 000'' words a ''minute''. There's a reason that any time a character is kidnapped or in danger its Reid, the writers even named those kind of episodes as "'''R'''eid '''I'''n '''P'''eril" episodes.
* Wash from ''[[
** Subverted with Shepard Book. At first glance he seems a kindly, elderly preacher, with elements of the [[Wide
* On [[Leverage]], [[The Smart Guy|Hardison]] has this role as the team's [[Playful Hacker|hacker]]. He is often paired with [[The Big Guy|Eliot]] or [[Classy Cat Burglar|Parker]]. As the series begins, he fights the wounded, though by season four he [[Took a Level
* On [[Band of Brothers]] Nixon, an intelligence officer, is this, having never fired his weapon in combat. He did however have a sniper shoot through his helmet in Holland.
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== Pro Wrestling ==
* [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWE]] wrestler Stevie Richards once spent a considerable length of time not wrestling, and instead accompanying borderline-psychotic woman wrestler Victoria to the ring for her matches and acting like a submissive, lovestruck little puppy. He also wore pink tights. Maybe he just got sick of being a [[Jobber]]....
* Back in the mid 90s, <s>Triple H</s> Hunter Hearst Helmsley was perfectly happy to hide behind his female bodybuilder bodyguard Chyna. Although he wasn't purely non-action, back then he did completely rely on her.
* A particularly domineering heel will often have a non-wrestling male attendant whose job is to help them cheat and to get beaten up by the face so that [[Dirty Coward|the heel can use the distraction to flee the arena]]. Examples of this type of character include Daivari for Muhammad Hassan (although Daivari did have some wrestling skills himself), Ranjin Singh for The Great Khali (before their [[Heel Face Turn]]), and Ricardo Rodriguez for Alberto Del Rio. Sometimes, though, the attendant will be even more physically intimidating than the wrestler he serves (Ezekiel Jackson or Tyson Tomko, for example).
== Tabletop Games ==
* Danuvian men in ''[[Talislanta]]''. (The women are [[Hot Amazon
== Video Games ==
* Allen Ridgeley from the ''[[
* Otacon of the ''[[Metal Gear]] Solid'' series is about as Non-Action as possible, a [[Bunny Ears Lawyer]] of an engineer with nerd glasses thick enough to rival [[Half Life|Gordon Freeman]], but that doesn't stop him from being vital to Snake's success in all three of his appearances.
* Zexion of Organization XIII fame in the ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'' series prefers scheming over combat. Even when he finally gets to fight in RE:Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, he doesn't do much (He can't attack unless he absorbs Riku's power in the former game, and in the latter his only move is to trap Sora, Donald, and Goofy into his Book dimension, from which he can attack them completely indirectly.)
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*** In 358/2 Days, Demyx's claims tend more towards laziness than incapability, probably because he's more likely to stay not-Duskified if he keeps them thinking that he IS good for something, and it's just a matter of getting him to do it.
*** He's also apparently the greatest scout in the organization.
* Dan from ''[[
* Thomas of ''[[Suikoden III]]'' has the same Star as the previous two names' badass heroes, but if you're expecting Kung-Fu Badass... you're sorely mistaken. He's rather meek in personality and is quite terrible in combat. Fitting since he's not a fighter, but a businessman. However, he makes up for it for being [[The Determinator]].
* At one point in ''[[Breath of Fire]] 3'', you have to train a bookworm named Beyd to ''become'' an Action Guy in order to get into a lighthouse. (He has authorization, but has to prove he's stronger than his romantic rival to justify going.) If trained properly, he wins his fight... and ends up so badly battered that he just gives you the go-ahead to enter while he recuperates. (On the plus side, he gets the girl.)
* Most of the player characters in the [[Silent Hill]] series are not someone you expect to be able to [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|kill gods]] with whatever weapons they find lying around, though as the plot progresses it's clear that the ordeal causes them to [[Take a Level In Badass]]. (How well the level takes depends on which of the [[Multiple Endings]] you get.)
** Notable exceptions to this are Travis, a trucker whose [[Dark and Troubled Past]] is fairly obvious even before [[The Reveal]], and Alex, whose combat abilities are explained as having come back from the military ( {{spoiler|though even THAT comes into question, and is somewhat foreshadowed throughout the plot}}).
* [[Weasel Mascot|Daxter]] is one of these at the start of the ''[[Jak and Daxter]]'' series, but [[Character Development]] quickly [[Took a Level
* Luka from ''[[Bayonetta]]'' isn't very good at the whole "fighting" thing... he ''is'' good at escaping, though. Justified as while Bayonetta is a [[Person of Mass Destruction]] fighting [[Eldritch Abomination
* Knox, from ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines|Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines]]'' is a ghoul, and very, very aware that he cannot reasonably be expected to survive a fight against a vampire. Which is why he cons you into doing it for him.
* Henpecked Hou from ''[[Jade Empire]]'' was once a competent and respected Drunken Master... until he got tricked into marrying a woman who disapproved of drinking and fighting, and could back up her words. If you have him accompany you, he won't fight enemies, but instead throws wine bottles that allows you to use Drunken Fighting style. On the other hand, he has enough courage to follow you into any sort of danger... as long as you're there to protect him.
* Emil from ''[[Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World]]'' is the Non Action Guy who uses his [[Super-Powered Evil Side]] to fight {{spoiler|until Chapter 8.}}
* The [[The Scrappy|Adoring Fan]] in ''[[The Elder Scrolls Four|Oblivion]]''. Especially if you are playing as a female character.
* ''[[Heavy Rain]]'''s Ethan Mars. Despite that, he is willing to save his son, Shaun.
* Roman Bellic from ''[[Grand Theft Auto IV]]'' is the protagonist's overweight, optimistic and somewhat cowardly cousin. Niko kill people for a living, Roman runs a cab depot. He puts up with an incredible amount of abuse through the game, being beaten up, having his home and business burned down, shot, kidnapped, stuffed into a trunk, and more, mostly as mission fodder for the player. At the end of the game {{spoiler|he may or may not be killed at his wedding.}} Still, he takes it with reasonable good cheer, and having his cousin around does make him rich.
** Gay Tony in ''[[Grand Theft Auto:
* In ''[[
* ''[[Makai Kingdom]]'': Lord Zetta is very much a non-combatant, since he is trapped in the form of a book and cannot even hold a weapon, and has to rely on his servants to fight for him. When [[The Rival|Alex]], God of Destruction, challenges him to a one-on-one fight, defeat seems inevitable... until Salome, Zetta's former apprentice and lover, swoops in and tears Alex a new one.
== Web Comics ==
* ''[[
* Tedd of ''[[
* In ''[[American Barbarian]]'', [http://www.ambarb.com/?p=182 the nomadic scientists feature as this].
* In ''[[
* ''Dangerously Chloe'' starts with Teddy breaking into a museum to have a good look at a mechanical duck and... after leaving the place, he does almost nothing that would require more physical efforts than walking - except occasional running and once [[Over-the-Shoulder Carry|carrying]] a paralyzed girl (rather slim, but as tall as himself), which he is fit enough to do without being noticeably inconvenienced. Nor does "Teddy-Bear" threaten anyone in any way. He mostly [[Only Sane Man|serves as the voice of reason]], despite quite possibly being a [[Mad Scientist]].
== Web Original ==
* Tamers in ''[[Pokegirls]]'' tend to be this way, considering they're squishy humans against living weapons. A specific and intense example of the trope is Professor Toman Kross from ''Spirit of Science''.
* Dr. Shelton and Dr. Kerzach from ''[[
== Western Animation ==
* Ron Stoppable of ''[[Kim Possible]]'' fame starts out as this, though he gradually becomes better (and even saves the day in the very last battle of the [[Grand Finale]]). Most of the time, he only demonstrates his competence when Kim ''isn't'' around, so [[Overshadowed
* Jérémie Belpois of ''[[Code Lyoko]]'', who operates [[Mission Control]] while the others fight all the battles. Yet he is also the team leader, since when your enemy is an evil computer AI, the most crucial member of your team is the computer genius.
* In ''[[Lilo and Stitch]]'', in all its incarnations so far, Pleakley is a Non Action Guy whenever the action shows up.
* [[Black and Nerdy|Tucker Foley]] from ''[[Danny Phantom]]'', who rarely saves the day with his techno gizmo. The rest of the time, he's either the [[Butt Monkey]] or ungracefully ignored.
* In ''[[Storm Hawks]]'', we have [[Ensemble Darkhorse|Stork,]] who as the carrier pilot, is the one member of the team who usually won't be fighting [[Mooks]] out in the open, on flying motorcycles, or both. [[Let's Get Dangerous|Usually.]]
* While [[The Smart Guy|Numbuh Two]] of ''[[
* Professor Utonium of ''[[The Powerpuff Girls]]''. Don't worry; [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|he's a perfect dad otherwise]].
* Rattrap was forcibly turned into one in ''[[
* Fry from ''[[Futurama]]''. While he certainly has his moments ({{spoiler|only person who can defeat the Brainspawn?}}), in most stand-up fights he's cowering behind [[Action Girl|Leela]].
* Mad Mod of ''[[Teen Titans (
* Cameron of ''[[Total Drama Island|Total Drama: Revenge of the Island]]'' falls into this category. It's most prominent in "The Enchanted Frankenforest", where he teams up with [[Action Girl]] Zoey for a challenge and ends up becoming [[The Load]].
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[[Category:Characters As Device]]
[[Category:Love Interests]]
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