The Ace: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

The Ace is someone who is ridiculously good at what they do, whatever that happens to be, and everyone knows it. People look up to him, envy him, are in awe of him. He has a reputation for [[We Do the Impossible|doing the impossible]], and may be [[Shrouded in Myth]], as people are unable to separate his real accomplishments from unfounded rumors.

** In ''Super Robot Wars Alpha 3'', ''[[Macross 7]]'' is included, and Max is mostly used as the pilot of the Battle 7. And he still dodges attacks and shoots down enemies with the best of them.

* It's hard to decide if ''[[Great Teacher Onizuka]]'' is an example of [[The Ace]] or a [[Marty Stu]] but damn, he's cool. Though it's balanced out by his moments of [[The Fool|sheer idiocy]]:

'''Student''': Sell the brain first! You never use it! }}

** Onizuka is also a rare example of an Ace that's also a bona fide [[Butt Monkey]].

* ''[[Discworld]]'''s Carrot Ironfoundersson. So much so that it was played for full shock effect when in ''The Fifth Elephant'' he challenged the [[Big Bad]] to a fair fight (a very foolish move in itself) and promptly got his ass handed to him. He got to [[The Ace|Ace]] his way out of danger again by the end, though.

* [http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Tycho_Celchu Tycho Celchu], an [[Ace Pilot]] of the ''[[X Wing Series]]''. He's a fairly major character, but never the main one, which is just as well since he could very easily become a [[Canon Sue]], at least in the novels - in the comics he's one pilot out of twelve and mostly distinguishable because of his origin, his original hairtrigger temper, and his romance with Winter. He's an ''insanely'' good pilot, as a Force-Sensitive protagonist [http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Quote:Tycho_Celchu#I.2C_Jedi finds] - so good that flying against him is apparently the hardest thing Corran has ''ever'' done, and he'd fought a Sith Lord not that long before - and gets a lot of praise from the people on his side, to the point where everyone on his side who doesn't think he's a double agent loves him. He's also a bit of a [[The Woobie|woobie]] in-universe and [[Ensemble Darkhorse|very, very popular]] out of it. This exchange, taken entirely out of context:

'''Celchu''': "Restraining myself so you could keep up with me left me plenty of time for intellectual pursuits. I also composed a symphony and drafted a plan to bring peace to the galaxy." }}

* While on the subject of ''[[Star Wars]]'', [[Jedi Academy Trilogy|Kyp Durron]] averts [[The Ace]], at least in ''I, Jedi''. Yes, he grew up in a penal colony, where he was a slave. Yes, he is extremely powerful as a Jedi, rivaling Luke in raw talent alone. Then things go downhill: he gets possessed by the spirit of Exar Kun and goes on an anti-Empire rampage, killing his brother and twenty-five million innocents with the help of a superweapon. At the end of it, Luke lets him rejoin the Jedi after he breaks free, which causes Mara Jade and "Kieran Halcyon" to resign as Jedi students.

* A character ''named'' Ace appeared in ''[[Gap]]''. Prior to his appearance, it was mentioned that he must be a hell of a guy to have earned the name, but was revealed to be just a normal person.

* Lord Flashheart (WOOF!) in ''[[Blackadder]]'' is so much of an Ace that on his first appearance, ''he gets his own version of the [[Theme Song]].''

Lord Flashheart, Lord Flashheart, you're sexier by far. }}

** Also: "Hurrah! It's the Scarlet Pimpernel!"

== Theatre ==

* Electra the Electric Engine in ''[[Starlight Express]]'', who shows up in the railyard and promptly outdoes even the local [[Jerk Jock]] Greaseball. His [[Praetorian Guard|component/assistant cars]] sum make it very obvious that he's the best around:

* Joey Percival of George Bernard Shaw's ''Misalliance'' is a daring, intelligent, handsome pilot who shows up in Act 2 to <s>steal</s> [[All Women Are Lustful|be pursued by]] another man's fiancee and generally outshine most of the rest of the cast, although arguably he himself is outshone by the even more daring Lena <s>Shc</s> <s>Sch</s> <s>Szcz</s> [[The Unpronounceable|the Polish Lady]].

 

* Miles Edgeworth of [[Ace Attorney]] comes across as this. Handsome, rich, extremely intelligent, cultured and a living legend at his job. Subverted though, he's got a whole heap of [[Broken Ace|personal problems]] and starts as something of an [[Amoral Attorney]].

* Sanger Zonvolt from ''[[Super Robot Wars]]''. A [[Large Ham]] whose only real weakness is that his mecha's attacks all cost energy. He gains Ace status during the Earth Cradle where he takes on a [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|cyborg zombie version of himself from another dimension]] in a duel, accidentally destroys a bunker that was supposed to withstand the apocalypse, and then one hit kills a boss. Like Kamina he can say the cheesiest crap and make it look totally badass.

** Or on one memorable occasion:

** Sanger's partner, <s>Elzam von Branstein</s> Ratsel Feinschmecker fits this trope as well. Every one of his appearances is heralded by his [[Memetic Mutation|memetic]] [[Crowning Music of Awesome|theme song]], and will inevitably involve much ass-kicking, bullet-dodging, and/or [[Supreme Chef|Supreme Chefery]]. Before he took on his [[Paper-Thin Disguise]], however, he spent an entire game as a [[Broken Ace]].

* The Boss from ''[[Metal Gear Solid]] 3'', who not only managed to fight in World War II while pregnant and give birth on the battlefield, she gave ''herself'' a Cesarean section! Not to mention being the fictional {{spoiler|Mother of American Special Forces}}, and ''the'' reason behind all of the events of the Metal Gear saga.

* Ogrek the Undisciplined in ''[[Yamara]]''. Irredeemable [[Munchkin]]? [http://yamara.com/yamaraclassic/index.php?date=2005-10-13 check]. [[Chivalrous Pervert|Has a big bonus to spot ladies whom he deems "cute" even if they are hiding]]? [http://yamara.com/yamaraclassic/index.php?date=2005-07-25 check]. [[Good Scars, Evil Scars|"Heroic" scar]] and "veteran parade" uniform? Right here. Evading compromising situation ''with grace''? [http://yamara.com/yamaraclassic/index.php?date=2005-09-22 check]. Comment on having 20,000 hobgoblings as neighbours? "[http://yamara.com/yamaraclassic/index.php?date=2005-10-31 Nice, quiet professionals]". [[Crazy Prepared]] while carrying almost nothing and ''[[Forgotten Birthday|remembers her birthday]]'' no matter what's going on? [http://yamara.com/yamaraclassic/index.php?date=2005-11-10 check]. And let's not start on his ''[http://yamara.com/yamaraclassic/index.php?date=2006-01-16 other]'' wife.

** The "official" Ace is [http://www.yamara.com/yamaraclassic/index.php?date=2005-06-02 Ultima Thule]. She's "eidolon of humanity" and as such has [[RPG Mechanics Verse|all stats at the Human racial maximum]]. Since it includes Intelligence and Wisdom, she's not an adventurer (high-risk waste of time!) but a banker.

'''Fea''': --{{spoiler|Simultaneously}}. }}

* ''[[Gunnerkrigg Court]]'' has a female example -- Jones. She's both medium ''instructor'' "among other things" and embodiment of some sort of perfection which includes beauty (she's the single character consistently drawn with more details than the protagonist, just to make a point) and [[The Juggernaut|godlike toughness]] with undercurrent of deadpan "[[Seen It All]]". There is also Robox, who is the Yin to eternal [[Butt Monkey]] Boxbot's Yang. The comic has yet to say what exactly either of them do, beyond the fact that "Everybody likes Robox" and "Nobody likes Boxbot".

** And the appropriately-named ''Ace London!'' ("You got that right!") He's good, knows it, makes a big point of it, and unsurprisingly, gets on Baloo's nerves as a result of his insufferable attitude.

* Played straight in ''[[The Weekenders]]'' with minor character and Lor's crush, Thompson Oberman. Nicely lampshaded by Tino and Carver:

'''Tino''': Yeah, way to ruin the curve, Thompson. }}

* Jack Royal from ''[[Squirrel Boy]]''.