Automoderated users, Autopatrolled users, Bureaucrats, Comment administrators, Confirmed users, Forum administrators, Interface administrators, Moderators, Rollbackers, Administrators
116,430
edits
The Artful Dodger: Difference between revisions
removed cleanup template -- the trope namer has been properly identified
Looney Toons (talk | contribs) (→Literature: Added The Borribles) |
Looney Toons (talk | contribs) (removed cleanup template -- the trope namer has been properly identified) |
||
| (11 intermediate revisions by 4 users not shown) | |||
Line 7:
Usually male, but there are a few exceptions. This trope is just about the opposite of [[Truth in Television]]. (Though, Chaos Theory being what it is, something close has probably occurred at least once in human history, and probably quite a few hooligans want you to think that they are.)
{{examples}}
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* Long-term [[X-Men]] member [[Storm (Marvel Comics)|Storm]] was this as a child, making a living as a pickpocket in Cairo. After attempting to rob a well-dressed American in a wheelchair ([[Big Good|Professor Charles Xavier]]) he [[The Force Is Strong with This One| noticed her potential quickly]], and soon after, she was one of his recruits for the X-Men's second generation.
== [[Film]] ==
Line 22 ⟶ 25:
== [[Literature]] ==
*
* [[Sherlock Holmes]] had a whole gang of these, called the Baker Street Irregulars, to help him search for things or people all over the city.
* Talen in [[David Eddings]]' ''Elenium/Tamuli'' [[The Verse|'verse]] has one of these - a street-urchin with enough talents to classify as a borderline Marty Stu (eidetic memory, incredible artistic skills, unbeatable in lockpicking and pickpocketing, highly intelligent, does complicated math in his head despite having little formal education...)
* [[Discworld]]:
** Parodied in ''[[
** [[Discworld]] also has an Artful Nudger. Nobby was one of these in his childhood. When he gets sent to the past in ''Night Watch'', Vimes (and presumably, Sergeant Keel, who was Vimes' actual mentor in the original timeline) immediately hires him on as an informant when they cross paths, recognizing the utility of small cheeky street urchins (what with having known Nobby for most of their mutual lives).
* Jamal from ''[[The Drifters]]''.
* Lyra of ''[[His Dark Materials]]'' is a rare female example. Well, she just ''acts'' like this despite having a good place to stay. Later on, when she really ends up on the street in a strange city, she finds it's not so fun.
Line 37 ⟶ 41:
* Raych Seldon starts as this in the [[Foundation]] prequels.
* Gavroche in ''[[Les Misérables]].''
* Pretty much describes everyone in ''[[The Borribles]]''
== [[Live
* Nancy of the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' episode "The Empty Child" may be considered a subversion. Although she used the clever tricks to survive which are
** Adric, one of the Doctor's companions in the Classic Series, was originally intended to be an "Artful Dodger" character; Matthew Waterhouse even assumed he would have to put on a Cockney accent when auditioning for the role. However, subsequent scripts deviated from this, resulting in a character whom many fans came to regard as [[The Scrappy|one of the most annoying companions in the series]].
* Boxey on [[Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)|the new ''
* Liam in ''[[Tracy Beaker Returns]]''. Mike collects him from the police station and runs into Tracy who just published her first book followed by this discussion:
{{quote|'''Mike''': See Liam if you want to get on in life, maybe we could have a little less artful dodger and a bit more Tracy Beaker
Line 54 ⟶ 58:
* [[Classy Cat Burglar|Parker]] had this as her back story on [[Leverage]] as she had left the foster system as a teenager after spending six months in Juvie. Notable in that she managed to [[Affectionate Pickpocket|pickpocket]] one of the best thieves in the world and later became his apprentice.
* Phoebe Buffay in [[Friends]] may well have been an Artful Dodger in her teens. She had to live on the streets from the age of 14 and is unlikely to have been an instance of [[The Woobie]] judging by her character during the series. In one episode it's revealed that she once mugged a young Ross Geller.
== Real Life ==▼
* Colton Harris-Moore, more commonly known as the Barefoot Bandit. He started living in the wild at the age of seven, and would break into vacation homes; stealing blankets, food and water before disappearing into the forest for days. His first conviction for stolen property came at age 12, and by the time he was 13, he had three more. He's suspected of about 100 thefts in Washington, Idaho, and Canada, including bicycles, automobiles, LIGHT AIRCRAFT, and SPEEDBOATS. He most likely learned how to fly small planes by reading aircraft manuals and playing flight simulator computer games. He was captured in the Bahamas: he'd stolen a small plane and flown it down there, then was captured by police after they shot out his speedboat's engine during a FRIGGIN' HIGH-SPEED WATER CHASE. He is nick-named the Barefoot Bandit (or Barefoot Burglar, if you prefer) because he would [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|filch items from stores whilst barefoot]] and painted footprints on the floor to taunt police... In April 2010, 20th Century Fox bought the rights to make a movie about him.▼
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* In ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]] 4th Edition'', this is a popular build for Rogues. The artful dodger is dextrous and charismatic, and an ideal build for halflings.
==
* Gavroche of ''[[Les Misérables (theatre)|Les Misérables]]''. (His original in the novel is accompanied by too much deconstruction to count as a straight example.)
== [[Video Games]] ==
* Marco from ''[[Skies of Arcadia]]''.
* Mission Vao from ''[[Knights of the Old Republic]]''. She's very cheerful, good at picking locks and pockets, looks out for her Wookiee buddy (she's the brains, he's the brawn), an excellent scout (high stealth), and higher on the [[Karma Meter]] than the party's ''Jedi.'' And grew up in one of the filthiest [[Wretched Hive|WretchedHives]] in the galaxy despite being of an age, attractiveness level, species, and gender that would have normally railroaded her into slavery and / or prostitution.
==
* Lil' Ragamuffin in ''[[Guttersnipe]]'' is a parody of this trope, a street girl fanatically devoted to the "urchin life" and proud of her "unfancy" living situation.
* Rabble-Rouser {{spoiler|(real name Reginald)}} in ''[[RPG World]]'' counts. {{spoiler|He's actually Diane's little brother}} that was actually abandoned in South City as a baby because
== [[Western Animation]] ==
Line 77 ⟶ 78:
* Manic from ''[[Sonic Underground]]''.
* Peep from ''[[Jimmy Two-Shoes]]'', who gleefully uses his [[Sticky Fingers]] to rob Miseryville blind.
* In ''[[Thundercats (2011 series)|ThunderCats (2011)]]'',
* [[Carmen Sandiego]] learned her thieving skills at a ''very'' young age, mostly because she was an orphan raised by the staff of a school for thieves. She'd not only filch valuables this way, but use them for pranks, like swiping someone's belt and laughing as their pants fell down. Seeing as she was the ''only'' child there, she could get away with almost anything. [[Drill Sergeant Nasty|Coach Brunt]] didn't take kindly to students who tried to hurt children, and [[Wounded Gazelle Gambit| Carmen knew how to exploit that fact.]]
▲== [[Real Life]] ==
▲* [[w:Colton Harris
{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Steal This Index]]
[[Category:Youngsters]]
[[Category:Criminals]]
[[Category:Orphaned Index]]
| |||