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== Advertising ==
* [[The Most Interesting Man in The World (Advertising)|The Most Interesting Man in Thethe World]] from the Dos Equis beer commercials. For more of his exploits, see the other commercials [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U18VkI0uDxE here].
* [[The Man Your Man Could Smell Like (Advertising)|The Man Your Man Could Smell Like]] from the 2010 Old Spice commercials. [[Memetic Mutation|He's on a horse]].
* The bearded guy from the Heineken commercial.[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLgetLmlggA\]
 
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* Teresa from ''[[Claymore]]'' is the woman every ace in this trope aspires to be. She's a demon hunter, ranked at the top of her class, the most beautiful woman in her organization by far, and virtually unbeatable even in a group of her best subordinates. For example, after breaking the rules of [[Nebulous Evil Organization|the Organization]] by killing a group of bandits that were threatening to kill a child traveling with her, she is sentenced to death by beheading. In a flash of light, her comrades appear to have sliced right through her, only to find all five of them wounded and bleeding from her lightning quick counterattack. It doesn't even appear as though she'd even drawn her sword at all.
** As if they didn't learn the last time, they attempt to bring her to justice ''again'' by recruiting members of the top ten ranked warriors in [[Nebulous Evil Organization|the Organization]] to seek her out and kill her. After having exhausted their capacity of demonic power, only Priscilla, the second ranked warrior puts up even a decent fight. Even after she pushes herself beyond her limit, Teresa evens the score by using only 10% of her power (a rare occurrence, considering she generally fights without using any power at all) and aptly defeating her. {{spoiler|Her death at the hands of one of the most powerful beings in the series is clearly shown to be only possible through a very cheap sucker punch after she had let her guard down.}}
* Judai of ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! GX]]'': [[Playing Withwith a Trope|played with]], [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]], and [[Deconstruction|deconstructed]] every which way in Season 3 when he begins to feel that he's not a real hero [[True Art Is Angsty|without anything to burden him]] and success always coming too easily for him. As the [[Big Bad]] convinces him, [[Broken Ace|his greatest weakness is that he has no weakness]].
** Also deconstructed with Ryou, who is the top student at the academy in Season One and has never lost a match (the only time he loses on-screen is when he forfeits to save his brother). When he goes to the Pro Leagues in Season Two, he suffers his first loss and has his confidence completely shattered, going into a losing streak that drives a [[Freak-Out]] and eventually a [[Face Heel Turn]].
* Kamina from ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]'' invokes this trope and intentionally cultivates this sort of image when in public to inspire Simon and the rest of his allies, even though he's far more restrained in private and admits he's as dependent on Simon as Simon is on him. [[The Worf Effect]] aside it works out fairly well for him, all things considered, {{spoiler|until his untimely death}}.
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** George Glenn, in the backstory, was [[The Ace]] [[Up to Eleven]]. He was a Nobel Prize winner, a star athlete, an [[Ace Pilot]], a literal rocket scientist, and the creator of the space colonies. Shortly after becoming a celebrity he revealed to the world that he was a [[Designer Babies|Designer Baby]] and released the means by which others could be like him; 40 years later he was assassinated.
** Speaking of Char Clones (although not strictly in the Gundam multiverse), [[Magnificent Bastard|Lelouch]] and [[Boring Invincible Hero|Suzaku]] come across to each other as this. Lelouch constantly felt cheated each time the mysterious white [[Mini-Mecha|Knightmare]] showed up to ruin his plans with over-the-top acrobatics, whilst Suzaku felt that Zero was dirty terrorist who stole the "[[The Empire|Good Guys']]" thunder. It only got worse when they discovered each others' identities.
* [[Nabeshin]] when he appears in ''[[Excel Saga (Animeanime)|Excel Saga]]'' by merit of being [[Parody Sue|a parody of a Marty Stu]]. He is essentially a living [[Deus Ex Machina]].
* Goku of ''[[DragonballDragon Ball]]'', most definitely. He also happens to be somewhat [[Genre Savvy]] (about this at least) in the Cell and Buu Sagas in that he wanted to avoid having the other Z Soldiers rely on him too much, knowing the [[Crutch Character|drawbacks of it]].
* Gary in ''[[Pokémon]]'' at the start of the series. He'd show up in a convertible (complete with cheerleaders) every so often and completely degrade Ash with just how better than him he was.
** Gary Oak is so much of a badass that he has collected [[[[Broke the Rating Scale]] ten badges [http://www.halolz.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/halolz-dot-com-pokemontvshow-garyfuckingoak-motivational.jpg from Kanto], where [[Memetic Mutation|there are only 8 gyms]].
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** In the end, he's really more of a [[Broken Ace]]: He wasn't quite as powerful as we thought, had ''severe'' daddy issues, was a bit too [[Hot-Blooded]] for his own good, and generally had problems of wondering if he was supposed to even exist.
* Kei Takishima from ''[[Special A]]'' is consistently ranked #1 in the school, filthy rich, handsome, and athletic to the point that it borders on [[Charles Atlas Superpower]]. About the only thing he can't do is get Hikari to realize that he likes her.
* Similar to Kei is Takumi Usui of ''[[Kaichou wa Maid Sama-sama]]'' who excels at anything he does, whether it be athletics, cooking, academics, music, or anything else you can think of. Misaki thinks he's a space alien. It's probably true.
* Tsubasa Ohzora from ''[[Captain Tsubasa]]'' constantly walks the thin line between The Ace and [[Boring Invincible Hero]] (and [[The Minnesota Fats]], within the story). His Ace qualities are slightly downplayed in ''World Youth Cup'' and ''Road to 2002'', but not ''that'' much.
* Keigo "Ore-sama" Atobe from ''[[The Prince of Tennis]]'' is pretty much the incarnation of this trope.
* Chao Lingshen in ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]''. Mentally, she's a genius inventor, engineer, and studies robotics, medicine, bio-engineering and quantum physics at university level. In talents, she's an expert at Chinese cooking. Financially, she's a wealthy entrepreneur thanks to these cooking abilities and her business management skills. Athletically, she's a specialist in Shaolin Kung Fu. {{spoiler|Supernaturally, she's a [[Playing Withwith Fire|fire-using]], device-based [[Time Master]]}}. She also happens to be fifteen years of age and the most intelligent student in the school (this school happens to hold over 30'000 residents).
** She may act like an ace but she is also a {{spoiler|time-traveling, possibly [[Sufficiently Advanced Alien]] relative of the Main Character whose true objective seems to change a Future ''Bad end''. a scheme which seemly has joined a [[Gambit Pileup]] with the current arc}} she might be an almost [[Fixer Sue]] or at least trying to be one.
** Jack Rakan could probably also count. He's obscenely powerful, capable of beating down the [[Quirky Miniboss Squad]] in [[One-Winged Angel|their most powerful forms]] without taking a scratch. He can do pretty much anything (like reading minds, for some reason), and spends most of his fights goofing off because only about a dozen beings can seriously threaten him.
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* Just about every American football team in ''[[Eyeshield 21]]'' has an ace, with Sena being the ace running back for Deimon. More prominent to this trope, however, is Riku of the Seibu Wild Gunmen, who taught Sena how to run properly.
** Two more examples who fit this trope are Shin and the villainous version, {{[[[Jerkass]] Agon}}. Agon especially, since he has {{spoiler|God-Speed Impulse, which allows him to react faster than anyone, can catch up with Sena (at his average pace) after being passed by, and also pretty much stole the [[Signature Move|Devilbat Ghost]] after only seeing it}}. It is cemented by the fact that he's allowed to pretty much do whatever he wants by his school.
* ''[[Kaze to Ki no Uta (Manga)|Kaze to Ki no Uta]]'': Serge is smart, athletic, good looking and, among other things, a musical prodigy and an excellent equestrian.
* Cowboy Andy in the "Cowboy Funk" episode on ''[[Cowboy Bebop (Anime)|Cowboy Bebop]]''. [[Chewing the Scenery|Scenery-chewing]], [[Cloudcuckoolander|completely-off-his-rocker]], the only person in the whole series to have a personal [[Leitmotif]] that plays whenever he appears (and breaks the fourth wall, [[Painting the Fourth Wall|considering all the other characters hear it too]]), and is [[Good Old Fisticuffs|able to stand up to Spike in a fistfight]].
* ''[[Baccano (Light Novel)|Baccano]]'''s Claire Stanfield is a deconstruction. On the surface, he's brilliant, handsome, [[Charles Atlas Superpower|ridiculously athletic]], talented and generally so awesome at what he does that one must wonder if the universe revolves around him... Which is exactly the conclusion ''he's'' [[Insufferable Genius|jumped to]]. This is not the sort of world-view you want someone whose many talents [[Ax Crazy|include murder to have]].
* ''[[Future GPX Cyber Formula (Anime)|Future GPX Cyber Formula]]'' has Shinjyo, Randoll, and Osamu. Shinjyo is a 2-time European F-3 champion, Randoll is incredibly rich and excels at every sport and endeavor he could get his hands on and Osamu had an excellent record in F-3.
* Kasuka Heiwajima from ''[[Durarara]]'' is ridiculously pretty, brilliant, talented in just about everything (his list of hobbies is [[The Long List]]), filthy rich, extremely popular, and [[Always Someone Better|just about everything that can possibly make his brother Shizuo look horribly inadequate in comparison]] (Shizuo himself ''adores'' him, but it ''is'' killing his self-esteem - he doesn't even like having their names mentioned in the same sentence because he thinks [[Insult to Rocks|it's insulting to his brother]]).
* Keith Goodman, aka "Sky High", from ''[[Tiger and Bunny]]''. A ridiculously handsome, humble, [[Adorkable]], [[Camp]] and [[Nice Guy|well-meaning]] [[The Cape|Cape]] with the title of "King of Heroes": he is the number one hero on Sternbild's HeroTV and is just as nice on-camera as off it. When an escaping criminal ends up being rescued by [[The Hero|Kotetsu]] in episode 1, the criminal starts resisting and complaining because he would rather be rescued by Sky High.
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* ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' has Kaworu as a nice subversion. He synchronizes at a [[Over Nine Thousand|higher level than any other pilot]] and is probably the only sane person. He's also a [[Humanoid Abomination]] sent here to [[Apocalypse Maiden|destroy humanity]]. He chooses not to, though. [[It Got Worse|That gives humanity another thirty minutes.]]
* ''[[Rosario to Vampire]]'' has Inner Moka. Not only is she one of the most [[Badass]] characters in the series (which is [[World of Badass|saying something]]), but she's also very intelligent and analytical, her only flaws being her [[Lethal Chef|complete inability to cook]] and her [[Tsundere|aggressive, withdrawn personality]].
* Several characters in ''[[Ben -To]]'', but especially "The Wizard," legendary master of [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?|violent discount microwaveable dinner acquisition]].
* All of the Generation of Miracles from ''[[Kuroko no Basuke (Manga)|Kuroko no Basuke]]'' are this for their respective high school teams, but special mention goes to Aomine, who was considered [[The Ace]] of the Generation of Miracles.
* Nago (the [[She Cleans Up Nicely|cleaned up one]], [[Inexplicably Identical Individuals|mind you]]) is Yanagin's [[Rival]], who outdid Yanagin in academics, [[Action Girl|karate]], and [[Big Eater|ramen eating]].
* In ''[[Arisa (Manga)|Arisa]]'', the titular character is seen as this. {{spoiler|She turns out to be a [[Broken Ace]]}}.
* Ranma Saotome of ''[[Ranma One Half]]'' is always the best at whatever fighting style, non-violent or semi-violent, feminine or masculine competition his opponents challenge him to. From coordinated team ice skating to the Tea Ceremony. All women want him, all men envy him (and sometimes want ''her'').
* Akisame Koetsuji of ''[[Kenichi: theThe Mightiest Disciple]]'' is generally known as one of the greatest jujutsu masters in the world, but is also a talented sculptor, calligrapher, philosopher, medical practicioner, Go player... and pretty much everything else he puts his mind to. Quoth Kenichi: "Is there a single thing this guy can't do!?"
** Answer: Be brave enough to take on [[Badass Grandpa|the Elder]] in combat, apparently; in one instance when Koetsuji is arguing with the other Ryozanpakou masters about which of them could beat the others in a fight, the Elder comes on the scene and asks to be involved in the discussion. ''[[Crowning Moment of Funny|The other masters immediately change the subject]]''.
* [[Badass Longcoat|Itachi]] [[Always Someone Better|Uchiha]] of ''[[Naruto]]'' was heavily implied to be one before the whole [[Broken Ace|murdering his entire clan]] thing. {{spoiler|Upon his resurrection, he seems to be [[Incredibly Lame Pun|dead set]] on reclaiming the title, as the first things he did were break free from the [[People Puppets|Edo Tensei]], [[Big Damn Heroes|rescue]] [[The Hero|Naruto]] and [[Made of Iron|Killer Bee]] from [[Hero-Killer|the previously unbeatable]][[Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds|Nagato]] and successfully come up with a [[The Chessmaster|plan]] to defeat him.}}
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== Fan Works ==
* Sara Nelson-Shimazu from the ''[[Lyrical Nanoha]]'' [[Fanfic]] series called the ''[[Deva Series (Fanfic)|Deva Series]]''. Although now a [[Posthumous Character]] and thus subjected to pre-emptive [[Deus Exit Machina]], in the backstory she was said to have sealed two Lost Logia on par with the canonical Book of Darkness by herself - remember how much trouble the Book of Darkness gave the canon characters - as well as being a highly accomplished mage who invented the eponymous system of magic, which has spells of both destruction and utility far beyond anything existing systems had to offer.
* Alexend from the French Pokémon Fanfic/Parody "Pokémon D/P: Plus qu'un jeu" (Pokémon Diamond/Pearl: More Than A game). Seemingly invincible, uses a sword rather than fight with his Pokémon, although he sometimes does so; always appears to help the main character, Zeronos (not related to Zeronos from [[Kamen Rider Den -O]] except his name which was taken from there, it's his ACTUAL NAME), when he's facing an opponent too strong for him, such as Drakness, or simply to destroy something too stupid for him to deal with normally (such as facing the Teletubbies in a Pokémon fight, Alexend just jumped in and killed them all in one slash of his sword before the fight even started, stating that it wouldn't have been funny to fight them anyway.). He have a tendency to show up (and go away when he's done) in an unnecessary cool looking fashion (includes [[Dramatic Wind]], sparkles, lens flares and whatnot when he's in a good mood, but he his more likely to just pop up in a breeze of wind behind Zeronos and disappear the same way). Can be considered as a mix between [[Sidekick Ex Machina]], [[Hypercompetent Sidekick]] and a bit of [[Parody Sue]].
* Zorro (not ''[[One Piece|that]]'' Zorro) from ''[[Latias Journey (Fanfic)|Latias Journey]]''. [[Steven Ulysses Perhero|Berry Stoo and Mariah Susanson]] might also count, but are more a case of [[Parody Sue|Parody Sues]].
* Likewise, Auron from the sequel, [[Brave New World (Fanficfanfic)|Brave New World]].
* The Hunter in ''[[With Strings Attached (Fanfic)|With Strings Attached]]''. At least, Jeft is desperately trying to show the four that he's the Ace and they're feeble jerks. Unfortunately for him, the four {{spoiler|force [[Character Development]] upon him, and he turns into quite a decent guy}}.
* From ''[[Turnabout Storm (Fanfic)|Turnabout Storm]]'', ''[[Ace Attorney]]'' and ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'' crossover, there's the [[Posthumous Character|murder victim]] [[Original Character|Ace Swift]], an Equestrian pegasus athlete known for winning every event he's ever compited in (which lead to rumors of him cheating and using dubious methods to do so).
* {{spoiler|Mobius}} in ''[[Ace Combat the Equestrian War (Fanfic)|Ace Combat: The Equestrian War]]'', though it's justified, since he's a ponified version of the [[Player Character]] from {{spoiler|[[Ace Combat 04 Shattered Skies]]}}.
** The griffins have Black Star and Red Cyclone, though the latter is more of a [[Broken Ace]].
 
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* Tom Cruise, who played the paradigm [[Ace Pilot]] in ''[[Top Gun]]'' made his early career playing a string of Aces : Ace Football Player in ''[[All The Right Moves]]'', Ace Bartender in ''[[Cocktail]]'', Ace pool player in ''[[The Color of Money]]'', and Ace race car driver in ''[[Days Of Thunder]]''.
* Captain Amazing from ''[[Mystery Men]]'' is a subversion. He ''seems'' like [[The Ace]] for his first two scenes in the movie, then turns out to be a [[Feet of Clay|panicky, self-serving dolt]].
* Clark Devlin in the movie ''[[The Tuxedo (Film)|The Tuxedo]]''.
* Subverted in ''[[Spy Kids]] 3-D: Game Over''. An overly heroic super messiah comes in at the last minute, gives a rousing speech on how everyone should work together to win the game and singlehandedly bursts through the giant gates. He is instantly shot in the chest and loses all of his 99 lives. Made even funnier by the fact that he's played by Elijah Wood, and instead of having an actual name, he's simply known as "The Guy."
* Nicholas Angel in ''[[Hot Fuzz]]'' could be a [[Deconstruction]] of this. With how good and dedicated he is to his job, he has no room for any other part of his life. His improbably good abilities also get him shunted off to the country because he's ''making everyone else look bad''. This backfires on the Met, because when they want him back he won't go.
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* Jim Goose dominates the first half of the movie ''[[Mad Max]]''. He has a great time even Just Before the Fall.
* In ''[[Our Man Flint]]'', Derek Flint is a ludicrously competent [[Captain Ersatz]] of [[James Bond]], with all of the latter's traits turned [[Up to Eleven]]. The Government tries to give him a code book? No need, he's designed a better one. They try to get him a plane? He'll fly his own, thanks anyway. Training? He's a master fencer, martial artist, ''and'' dancer. He can meditate so deeply that it passes for death, and wake up with no ill effects. He can speak Italian so fluently that it fools natives. He does complicated surgery with a letter opener. He can tell you ''what city a Bouillabaisse was made in'' just from tasting it once. The whole movie is like this.
* Darkly inverted in Captain Sternn of ''[[Heavy Metal (Animationanimation)|Heavy Metal]]''. Outwardly he looks to be the typical Ace, with the heroic clothes, the swagger, the lantern jaw, etc., but we soon discover he's really a despicable character despite his outward charms.
* David Hasslhoff's character from ''[[Click]]''.
* Dr. Glickenstein from ''[[Igor]]''.
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* John Galt of ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]'', complete with [[Author Filibuster|one of the longest monologues ever written]].
* ''Sisterhood'' series by [[Fern Michaels]]: Henry "Hank" Jellicoe is introduced in ''Game Over'' as this. He is in charge of Global Securities, an organization that is like the Vigilantes, but it spans the entire world. It has network even greater than Charles Martin's, and indeed Charles looks up to the man like no one else does. However, the books ''Cross Roads'' and ''Deja Vu'' reveal that Henry is actually a [[Broken Ace]].
* Jeff Raven of [[Anne McCaffrey]]'s ''[[Tower and The Hive (Literature)|Tower and The Hive]]'' series: A "Wild Talent"<ref>A human with [[Psychic Powers]] and no formal training</ref> from a boondocks colony no one had ever heard of until aliens attacked it. He first shows up - as [[The Faceless|a mental presence]] in the middle of ''The Rowan''. By the end of the book, not only are he and the title character a couple (with a child), he's on the fast track to take over as head of Federated Teleport & Telepath - a position The Rowan had been considered for.
* In ''[[The Princess Bride]]'', Westley tracks down men on a secret mission and climbs a mountain with his bare hands before easily defeating a master swordsman at fencing, a giant at hand-to-hand combat, and a clever thief at a mind game. Later, through his skills and cunning he and Buttercup become the first people ever to survive the Fire Swamp, and even in a physically weakened state after having been revived from the dead, he helps two other men storm a castle surrounded by sixty armed guards, all before [[To the Pain|bluffing his way]] out of a swordfight with a man dead-set on killing him, which the man had done once before.
* [[Jeeves and Wooster (Literaturenovel)|Jeeves]] spends ninety percent of his time [[The Jeeves|pressing Bertie Wooster's shirts]] and [[Cloudcuckoolander's Minder|solving his problems for him]], yet somehow manages to be ''highly'' popular and sought-after, know everything about what's going on, and have a more active social life even than his master.
* Asher in ''[[Someone Else's War (Literature)|Someone Elses War]]'' is pretty much a walking, talking encyclopedia when it comes to exactly two topics: survival, and useless trivia.
 
 
== Live Action TV ==
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXYfnWRp1Q0 "Ace" Rimmer] ([[Phrase Catcher|what a guy!]]) in ''[[Red Dwarf (TV)|Red Dwarf]]'', the [[Trope Namer]]. Interestingly, when the regular Rimmer {{spoiler|decides to become the [[Legacy Character|new Ace Rimmer]], it appears that he will intentionally avoid acting in the same way the Ace he met did}} because he found Ace to be an annoying prat.
* Played with in ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' in the episode "Superstar". Jonathan appears to be this, and turns out to be using a spell that made him so perfect. Played somewhat straight with Riley on his return episode in season 6.
* 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 ''[[Black AdderBlackadder]]'' is so much of an Ace that on his first appearance, ''he gets his own version of the [[Theme Song]].''
{{quote| Lord Flashheart, Lord Flashheart, I wish you were the star.<br />
Lord Flashheart, Lord Flashheart, you're sexier by far. }}
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** Plus, that was his debut. Once he's more set into the series, he starts getting less badass.
* On ''[[Cheers]]'' Sam Malone had an unseen older brother who was [[The Ace]].
* ''[[Frasier]]'' episode "The Perfect Guy" features Dr. Clint Weber (played by [[The Rocketeer (Filmfilm)|Billy Campbell]]), an outrageously good-looking (even Frasier's father is stunned) Oxford-certified M.D. (who put himself through med school working as a ''sous chef'', leaving him an expert cook), polyglot (speaking at least English, French and Korean), pilot, squash champion, and generally charming individual. After an episode of slowly giving in to envy after a series of increasingly unlikely upstagings, Frasier gleefully discovers the man can't sing.
* [[Kamen Rider Kabuto|Souji Tendou]] is a particularly grating version of this, [[Up to Eleven|cranked to 11]]. And he's ''the protagonist''. You end up rooting for the bad guys very, very quickly.
** Or you root for Kagami, who has to struggle through a long period fighting monsters with nothing but normal weapons until he finally gets a [[Transformation Trinket]] to call his own.
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* ''[[The Middleman]]'''s main character of the same name. A [[Gosh Dang It to Heck]] type who very rarely curses, drinks only milk, walks in and out of [[Wretched Hive|wretched hives of scum and villainy]] with barely a scratch, and can be an annoyingly perfect [[Badass Normal]]. Luckily, he's an excellent Middleman and mentor to his partner, [[Action Girl|Wendy]] [[Badass Normal|Watson]], and his Ace-ness just provides amusing fodder when he ''isn't'' quite so perfect.
* Hilariously averted in ''[[Black Books]]''. One of Bernard's friends tries to extoll his virtues to a girl. "You! What did you say to Kate? She thinks I'm the Renaissance! She'll think I've lied. I have to go along with all this 'reclusive genius' stuff. She's going to be very upset when she finds out I'm a reclusive wanker!"
* Tom Paris in [[Star Trek: Voyager]]; designed a warp engine that went to infinite speed, picks locks, leads commando teams, is an ace pilot, and he's the field medic.
** Add in holodeck programmer/writer and 20th century historian.
* "Rod" McKay from [[Stargate Atlantis|"McKay & Mrs. Miller"]] is basically an imitation Ace Rimmer; he's Rodney McKay from an [[Alternate Universe]] and charms everyone on Atlantis (save Rodney himself) while saving the day.
** It's subverted at the end when everyone says they prefer Rodney because Rod was overbearing and too nice.
* An episode of ''[[China Beach]]'' features a hot-shot colonel who comes in with a mustache and sunglasses, talks [[The Rambo]] out of his self-pity, goes swiming and kills a shark for dinner, becomes the grand-prize in a sex-lottery among all of the women, and then flies out on a helicopter heroically (and stupidly) standing on the skid, while a poem is spoken about how great he is. (Oh did I mention, this show was a ''chick-flick'' program?)
* In the ''[[Community (TV)|Community]]'' episode Beginner Pottery, Rich is introduced as an Ace in the pottery class that Jeff, Abed and Annie take. Rich's inherent brilliance at pottery and life in general (he is also a doctor and just does the class to relax) ends up getting Jeff so mad that he performs "the hilarious guy on guy" variant of [[Ghost (Filmfilm)|ghosting]] on Rich and then leaves the class.
* Groo from ''[[Angel]]'' falls into this category to some extent
* Captain Jack Harkness, in his early ''[[Doctor Who]]'' appearances.
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== Video Games ==
* Saxton Hale from ''[[Team Fortress 2 (Video Game)|Team Fortress 2]]''.
* Zack Fair in the ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]''-verse, especially in ''[[Crisis Core]]''. He's everything Cloud wants to be -- upbeat, popular with everyone, cheerful and fun-loving, [[Jumped At the Call]] and never came down, actually a member of SOLDIER, etc. He did nearly everything Cloud's famous for and did it first, up to and including riding on the top of trains, fighting rogue SOLDIERs and arguably did a better job of all of it. He's the first to meet Aerith by falling into her flower bed, as Cloud does years later. Almost everyone Zack encounters likes him, or at least they don't hate him even though he works for Shinra -- this includes Cissnei, Tseng, Sephiroth, Yuffie, Tifa, etc. The only time Zack really fails at a critical moment is in trying to stop Sephiroth during the Nibelheim Incident -- unfortunately, Zack's efforts are [[Doomed Byby Canon]]. And even though he eventually loses to Sephiroth, Zack manages to put up a darn good fight. Zack is the sort of guy who's just [[Too Good for This Sinful Earth]]. His death is a [[Foregone Conclusion]], but he naturally dies in an epically heroic way, still every inch a Hero and every ounce an Ace.
** Even death doesn't stop Zack, because he {{spoiler|appears to Cloud just as Sephiroth is charging for the kill and manages to give Cloud a time-stopped heroic pep talk from beyond the grave, inspiring Cloud to find the strength not only to fight on, but to win decisively in a single attack}}.
** Zack's position as [[The Ace]] is lampshaded in episode 8 of ''[[Before Crisis]]'', when Zack first shows up and works with the player character Turk. The title of that episode is "A Light That Penetrates Through the Darkness" or "A Light Even Darkness Can't Penetrate". Guess who they're referring to.
** It even gets a bit meta; Zack is one of, if not THE most popular characters of the FFVII compilation. Possibly the entire franchise.
* ''[[Final Fantasy VIII]]'' gives us a straight example, Squall Leonhart, who is also the main protagonist. At one point, he [[Rookie Red Ranger|is given command of Balamb Garden, despite being a new graduate]], [[Gameplay and Story Segregation|regardless of your current SeeD rank]]. You're also given missions like abducting heads of state. Yes, typical stuff a newbie who just graduated does. And we should mention that your party includes [[Cool Big Sis|your former teacher]].
* Tidus the "Blitz Ace" in [[Final Fantasy X (Video Game)|Final Fantasy X]]. Yuna also fits this role quite well in ''[[Final Fantasy X 2 (Video Game)|Final Fantasy X 2]]'' as well, as demonstrated through her [[Chronic Hero Syndrome]].
** Tidus is only really [[The Ace]] in Blitzball; he's an [[Idiot Hero]] for a lot of the game.
* 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]].
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* 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.
** Snake from the same series is superficially The Ace, a legendary [[One-Man Army]] who's saved the world on multiple occasions and capable of wooing any woman ([[Ho Yay|or man]]) he encounters, but the player, those close to him and Snake himself know that the truth is far less flattering. (It turns out that {{spoiler|much of Naked Snake/Big Boss' accomplishments are fabrications created by Zero}}, while Solid Snake is {{spoiler|an imperfect -- and rapidly aging -- clone of Big Boss}}. He may have saved the world, but it's revealed that in doing so, {{spoiler|he's been an unwitting part of a not-so-[[Ancient Conspiracy]]'s feud with Big Boss, then Revolver Ocelot}}.)
* Captain Falcon in ''[[F -Zero]]''.
* At first, Shadow appears to be this to [[Sonic the Hedgehog|Sonic]], but it's subverted pretty quickly.
* Drake Redcrest from ''[[Chibi -Robo!]]''. Or at least he's a toy based on an ace from a [[Show Within a Show|show within the game]].
* ''[[Duke Nukem]]'' is the quintessential Ace, mixed with a bit of [[Jerkass]] for good measure. He publishes a book titled ''Why I'm So Great'', collects his own memorabilia, and, while saving the world from aliens, is more concerned with the aliens [[Mars Needs Women|stealing Earth's nubile women]] than Earth itself, and has a virtually endless collection of one-liners.
* ''[[Devil May Cry]]'''s flagship [[Badass]], Dante. Mostly in DMC3 and DMC4. In the first few minutes of DMC3, he [[Made of Iron|takes scythe blades through the arm, leg and chest]]. He casually rips the blade from his chest without flinching, then proceeds to kick the crap out of a bunch of Mooks using only a bunch of billiard balls and a gun. [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|While munching on pizza]]. Almost always has a one-liner ready for the situation at hand, while also succeeding in not being a heartless [[Sociopathic Hero]] too.
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** Though he is the villain, Vergil could be considered this way too. The Daniel Southworth-voiced, blue-clad, [[Katanas Are Just Better|katana-wielding]] [[Aloof Big Brother|Aloof]] [[Evil Twin]] beats Dante most of the time and has more fans than his brother.
** Dante is more of an Ace in ''DMC4''. Every time he shows up he upstages Nero in some way and spends half the game killing the villains that Nero couldn't kill.
* Maniac from ''[[Wing Commander (Videovideo Gamegame)|Wing Commander]]'' straddles the line between actually being The Ace and [[Small Name, Big Ego|merely pretending to be]]--he starts as a reckless nutcase with a superiority complex, but eventually becomes every bit as formidable as he thinks he is, with ''two thousand confirmed kills'' by the start of ''Wing Commander Prophecy''.
* Prince Peasley in ''[[Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga (Video Game)|Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga]]''. [[Twinkle Smile|Whenever he smiles, the entire screen flashes white]]. [[Ho Yay|Luigi swoons over him]].
* Pierce in ''[[Battalion Wars]] 2''. He even {{spoiler|pulls off }}''{{spoiler|three}}'' {{spoiler|[[Big Damn Heroes]] moments in a single mission--the last one, no less}}.
* In most of the ''[[Fallout]]'' series, you can take the special trait "Mysterious Stranger," which lets the player be occasionally and spontaneously aided by a man in a coat and fedora, armed with a six-shooter, who shows up, shoots everyone who has any intent of hurting the player, and then leaves. It's rare that it happens, but his overwhelming badassery makes up for it.
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* By reading his CV, it is clear Santino from ''[[Tales of Monkey Island]]'' was every bit the ace... [[Dem Bones|Just too bad that by the time you meet him, he's been dead for decades]]. None of his crew-members seem to have realized this, however, as they still think he's awesome.
* Subverted by ''[[Blaz Blue]]'''s Bang Shishigami -- he's got the attitude of [[The Ace]] down pat, what with his over-the-top theatrics, constant attempts at taking the centre stage of every scene he's in, [[Cloudcuckoolander]] traits, [[Leitmotif]] (he's also got a second one, complete with vocals by [[JAM Project]], for his [[Super Mode]]), [[Hot-Blooded]]-ness and dedication towards being a true 'Hero of Justice'. He's also the resident [[Joke Character]] who, though not in any way lacking in competence, is still only a human in a cast consisting of [[One-Man Army|Super]] [[Person of Mass Destruction|Humans]], [[Eldritch Abomination|various]] [[Vampire|Monsters]], [[Little Bit Beastly|Beast]][[Catgirl|kins]], [[Robot Girl|Robot Girls]], a [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|Samurai Ghost Robot Time Traveler]] and people possessing [[Artifact of Doom|Artifacts of Doom]], making him horribly [[Wrong Genre Savvy]] and making everybody else [[Played for Laughs|treat him like a joke]].
* Deconstructed in ''[[Fire Emblem the Sacred Stones (Video Game)|Fire Emblem the Sacred Stones]]''. Ephraim starts off so damn amazing he's a borderline [[God Mode Sue]]. However, when he gets back to Renais, {{spoiler|Seth tells him that the citizens are not cheering for his return. They're only happy because Orson's reign of terror is over.}} Ephraim takes this as the sign that his [[Leeroy Jenkins]] tendencies haven't been great for his people and begins to mature from then on.
** [[Fire Emblem Tellius]] has a few of them. Ike qualifies in his Radiant Dawn incarnation, the Black Knight is busy {{spoiler|being the best general for both Daein and Begnion ''at the same time,''}} and Bastian seems to be a man of many talents.
* The protagonist of ''[[Radiant Historia]]'' is this; he was able to learn an invisibility spell after seeing an enemy use it ''once''. From the perspective of the non-time travelers, its even more ridiculous. "We need a one-of-a-kind magic item protected by the most powerful army in the world!" "Oh, I have that right here in my pocket." Of course, he had to jump between two different timelines a few dozen times to get it, but they don't see that.
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** However, his cooking is not 'inedible', it's just so ultra-spicey you have to be ''that manly'' to eat it, and only Ace is ''that manly''. His favorite ice-cream flavor is 'Habanero'.
** Recent evidence also suggests that he has 'spiritual power' on par with a Demigod or a Seraphim. And that his former 5-mile radius of seduction has been extended to the point where girls in Korea are committing suicide to be with him. If this man isn't stopped soon, his aura will extend to Babeatron IV, and then we'll be facing an invasion of [[Green-Skinned Space Babe|Green Skinned Space Babes]]...
* ''[[Girl Genius (Webcomic)|Girl Genius]]'' has Othar Tryggvassen ([[Gentleman Adventurer]]!) who's always willing to swashbuckle and ham it up like nobody's business, and who's somehow able to survive all manner of ridiculous dangers (plummeting to his death and turning up unharmed a few pages later is his specialty). He's also dangerously insane, but since he firmly believes he's the dashing hero in a thrilling scientific romance, being insane doesn't get in the way of him playing the Ace role to the hilt. He also has a rather large amount of charisma, though for a Spark it's normal.
* 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.
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'''Joe''': Perhaps she's trying to improve herself.<br />
'''Fea''': --{{spoiler|Simultaneously}}. }}
* ''[[Gunnerkrigg Court (Webcomic)|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".
** On the other hand, it's been explicitly stated that Jones has no talent for magic, though how common that is isn't entirely clear.
** She's also not a robot.
* In ''[[City of Reality]]'', newcomer Hawk thinks that SUEPR Team Five leader Todo is this: idealistic and generous to a fault, skilled enough to defeat any challenge, and recipient of general acclaim and affection. However, as the entire story is a [[Deconstruction]] of a [[Mary Suetopia]], Todo's idealism is sorely challenged by the world outside Reality.
* Carlyle from ''[[Sam and Fuzzy]]'', a very humble form as he does not seem to want to be identified -- he is [[The Faceless]] and shows up on several points to dispense [[Koan|Koans]] to the characters (who never realize it's him); most of his heroic deeds happen off-screen and are referred to by others. The first major arc of the comic kicks off when [[Unlucky Everydude|Sam]] tries to take on one of Carlyle's assignments and ends up in a spat of trouble with the Ninja Mafia.
* Will from ''[[Fanboys (Webcomicwebcomic)|Fanboys]]''. Made sixty-thousand-plus a year in prize money from gaming tournaments, can hold his own in a fight against {{spoiler|Berserk!Lemmy}}, has ''[http://fanboys-online.com/index.php?comic=86 "hacked" a board game]'', and now he's apparently a Bond-style government agent.
* Dora of ''[[Questionable Content]]'' has serious issues with her brother Sven due to his being an Ace.
** Sven himself has serious issues with him being an Ace. He becomes a [[Broken Ace]] when he starts to realize he doesn't really have much to his personality besides picking up hot chicks, using wacky situations to get out of uncomfortable ones and writing music he hates.
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== Western Animation ==
* Aqualad is portrayed this way in his debut episode of ''[[Teen Titans (Animationanimation)|Teen Titans]]''.
* [[Kim Possible (Animation)|Kim Possible]] is a rare example of this being the ''protagonist'' herself. She's a straight-A head cheerleader who is involved in nearly every extracurricular activity, and she is quite [[Genre Savvy]] and can learn how to pilot something in just a few seconds. [[Phrase Catcher|She can do anything]], indeed.
* [[Captain Planet]] -- seriously, is there any power this guy ''doesn't'' have? If pollution weren't more prevalent than kryptonite, he'd make [[Superman]] look like [[What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?|Aqua]][[Aquaman (Comic Book)|man]].
** He ''does'' get completely incapacitated if he's as much as sprinkled with oil, though.
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* Captain California in ''[[Hero High]]'' is a subversion. Physically he fits, but he's not quite competent enough.
* Cornfed Pig from ''[[Duckman]]'' fits this to a tee. He has dozens of degrees, has worked hundreds of jobs, and is a certified expert at everything. He materializes new skills whenever it is necessary or funny, from performing surgery on the fly, constructing a working helicopter from bamboo, or performing the works of Hendrix, he can do it.
* Hello Nurse of the ''[[Animaniacs (Animation)|Animaniacs]]'' in not only the [[Trope Namer|Trope Naming]] [[Hello, Nurse!]], but also [[The Ace]]. According to the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpS3eFqhxSQ song] about her, her list of accomplishments includes winning the Tony, Nobel Prize, and Pulitzer, obtaining several P.H.Ds, playing Chopin without rehearsing, singing opera at the Met, starring as the lead role in [[King Lear]], becoming the ambassador to China, and [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|not smoking]].
** But there is one thing Hello Nurse cannot do: [[Dreadful Musician|sing]]. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7izMvoFuDM Here be evidence...]
** Or she's [[The Ditz]] given a bit of in-universe [[Memetic Mutation]]. Either way is fun.
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* Rick Thunderbolt of ''[[Oban Star-Racers]]'' is famous, gorgeous (complete with waist-length black hair and [[Cool Shades]],) beloved, one of the world's best racers - and knows it. Over the course of the show's first arc, he is crippled so he can never race again, and ends up as a mentor figure to Molly, teaching her everything he knows so that she can succeed where he did not.
* ''[[Captain Star]]'' of the eponymous series is called the "greatest hero any world has ever known", and a legendary captain and explorer with hundreds of worlds named after him. Despite being effectively exiled to a remote corner of the universe still manages to save the day on numerous occasions. On his [[Show Within a Show]], he's even more so.
* Used to its fullest in the ''[[Danny Phantom (Animation)|Danny Phantom]]'' episode "Identity Crisis" where [[Starfish Character|Danny splits in two]], one of which embodies his heroic qualities. So much so that [[Large Ham]] speeches are an everyday occurrence for him, no tasks is too great or small for him to command--he can fight crime and vacuum his room with much pumped glee--his dramatic entrances are peppered with flashy backgrounds, imaginary wind dramatically blows his hair no matter where he is, and the music blasts triumphantly every time he appears on screen or does something over-the-top, including practicing appropriate superhero facial expressions.
** All of this, however, doesn't do him any good against a ghost shield, since he is Danny's ghost half and therefore cannot change back to human.
* Hunter from ''[[Road Rovers (Animation)|Road Rovers]]'' is kind of a mix of this, [[The Hero]] and [[Idiot Hero]]. Nothing bad ever happens to him and he's always [[Casual Danger Dialog|cracking jokes during missions]].
* Professor Membrane in ''[[Invader Zim (Animation)|Invader Zim]]''. Or at least he could be, if he had enough common sense to believe Dib about anything.
* A character simply known as "The Kid" from ''[[Codename Kids Next Door (Animation)|Codename: Kids Next Door]]''. And, somewhat appropriately, he's also an [[Ace Pilot]].
* In ''The [[Fantastic Mr. Fox]]'', Ash's cousin, Kristofferson, is a fox kit who seemingly can do no wrong, although he tries not to make a big deal of it. Regardless, young Ash feels belittled by him, but eventually both achieve a mutual understanding and become friends.
* ''[[Stressed Eric]]'' lives next door to the [[Meaningful Name|Perfect]] family. Ray Perfect is Eric's coworker and excels everywhere that Eric fails dismally.
* In ''[[The Venture Brothers (Animation)|The Venture Brothers]]'', Brock Samson is a [[Rated "M" for Manly]] [[God Mode Sue]], [[Played for Laughs]]. It helps that he picks up some [[Character Development|character dept]]h along the way.
** Jonas Venture Jr. also qualifies... and only gets more infuriating as the series progresses.
** Jonas Venture Sr. too, albeit posthumously. Everyone who ever knew him considered him a god among men. Even Rusty, who knows full well what a self-absorbed asshat he was, can't bring himself to break out of his father's shadow.
* Experiment 262 from ''[[Lilo and Stitch: The Series]]'' is basically a superhero compared to the other experiments. He was originally designed as a war weapon, but Jumba screwed up the formula and created a being with no capacity for evil. Jumba considers him a failure and locked him away whenever company came around. Oh, and his name actually is [[Exactly What It Says Onon the Tin|Ace]].
* [[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]] disguises himself as the completely over-the-top Prince Ali to woo Princess Jasmine, and he's introduced with a preposteously [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YM5VGfiSd3s epic song] that's one long hymn to his awesomeness.
* Brian Boitano is presented as [[The Ace]] on ''[[South Park (Animation)|South Park]]'', despite never appearing on the show. According the musical number about him in ''[[South Park Bigger Longer and Uncut]]'', he has magical fire-breath and once punched out Khublai Khan.
** He does appear in the 1995 "Spirit of Christmas" short, though only to give [[An Aesop]] speech.
* I.M. Weasel from ''[[I Am Weasel]]''. It got toned down in later seasons, but his first season incarnation is very much this and played the role of foil to the resident [[Butt Monkey]] I.R. Baboon.
* ''[[Regular Show (Animation)|Regular Show]]'' has Skips. In general, he's pretty much good at everything.
** Deconstructed in one episode, where Skips is shown to be horrendously computer-impaired.
** Also, Rigby's little brother Don fits this trope perfectly. He is a successful accountant who is a large contrast to his groundskeeper brother.
* Zapp Brannigan from ''[[Futurama (Animation)|Futurama]]'' is a subversion. Most people think he's an amazing hero, until they meet him.
* ''[[Tale Spin (Animation)|Tale Spin]]'' has at least two examples (one appearance each):
** Whistlestop Jackson, hero to millions!
** 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.
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* Jack Royal from ''[[Squirrel Boy]]''.
* Subverted by Metro Man in ''[[Megamind]]''. While otherwise fitting the trope to a tee, {{spoiler|he really doesn't want to be a hero and fakes his own death in order to retire}}.
* Jet from ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender (Animation)|Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' is portrayed like this; he's strong, he's a good leader, he sweeps Katara off her feet, and Aang doesn't even seem to notice because he thinks Jet is awesome too. Only Sokka is suspicious of him, and for good reason; they later find out that Jet is rather psychotic and was willing to kill innocent people in order to wipe out a few fire nation soldiers.
* Mei Ling in ''[[Kung Fu Panda (Animation)|Kung Fu Panda]]: Secrets of the Furious Five''. She was the top student at the martial arts academy where Crane worked as the janitor and is a [[Nice Guy|true blue friend]] who helped the underconfident bird achieve his dream to enroll in the school.
* Reggie Bullnerd in ''[[Chalk Zone]]''.
* ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants (Animation)|SpongeBob SquarePants]]'' has 3 of them. Spongebob is this compared to Squidward, as are Mr. Krabs to Plankton and Squillium to Squidward.
** Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen. He was number 1!
* Howie from ''[[Almost Naked Animals (Animation)|Almost Naked Animals]]''.
* In ''[[Bob's Burgers (Animation)|Bob's Burgers]]'', Bob grows envious of Jimmy Pesto.
* Chalky Studebaker from ''[[Doug]]''.
* [[Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy|Eddy's Brother]] was built up for ten years to be the coolest being ever. Then in [[The Movie]], we were all [[Broken Pedestal|shocked out of our wits]] when we found out what he ''[[Complete Monster|really]]'' was.
 
{{reflist}}
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Special:MobileDiff/892776"