The Face: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

A typical [[Five-Man Band]] has [[The Lancer]] contrasting [[The Hero]] and [[The Big Guy]] contrasting [[The Smart Guy]] but the fifth role is more variable. This person is the [[The Face]] of the team and they are the one you want doing the talking. This is the super trope for the characters that could fit in that role.

== Anime & Manga ==

* ''[[Witch Hunter Robin]]'': Chief Inspector Shintarō Kosaka represents the STNJ to other organizatons and passes on the office's reports to the parent organization SOLOMON. He has a lot of friends in the police department and all he has to do is call one of them to get info on suspects.

* ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha As]]'' sets up contrasts between Shamal and her fellow Belkan knights: the most feminine, the one who can't cook, the [[Team Mom]]. She's also [[Mission Control]] because her magic is focused on communication and teleportation.

== Comic ==

* ''[[The Black Cauldron]]'': Eliowny, as a princess, contrasts the guys of the group and talks reason into the big headed [[The Hero]].

* ''[[Ghostbusters]]'': Janine is the receptionist for the four man organization; a notably interpersonal role. One scene in the first movie has her trying to convince a customer of their professionalism.

* ''[[Mystery Men]]'' has three versions:

== Literature ==

* ''[[Haruhi Suzumiya]]'': Haruhi herself. Always out to promote the SOS Brigade and Kyon notes that she 'knows how to get answers' peacefully from the apartment keeper during the investigation of Asakura's disaperance. Though in practice the trope is inverted as she either steams rolls people with blackmail or [[Genki Girl|her personality.]] If she's not outright ignoring them.

** Asakura herself is a very nice and helpful [[Class Representative]] when she's not, you know, being a [[Knife Nut]].

* Sir Dinadin from [[Camelot]]'s Round Table. He doesn't like fighting and thinks [[Courtly Love]] is a waste of time. The other things he's noted for is [[Plucky Comic Relief|good humor]] and being more sociable than his fellows: he's the only one that can recognize all of them by their face in addition to their shield crest. This ability is naturally helpful for knights who otherwise might not recognize their own king.

* Dolores Umbridge exploited this trope in [[Harry Potter (Franchise)/Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix|Harry Potter]] She doesn't want Hogwarts students trained in offensive magic so she fills the Defense Against the Dark Arts class with lessons like 'negiotation' and 'non-retaliation' on the premise that these skills are just as important for future Auror teams as curses and counter-curses.

** Note that while this might not sound like a bad idea, the fact that she is imposing these restrictions while a wizarding civil war is brewing in the background (plus the fact that she is personally a [[Complete Monster]] for various reasons,) make it clear that, in this case, being [[The Face]] is less useful than knowing how to defend yourself from homicidal lunatics.

== [[Live Action TV]] ==

* ''[[Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog]]'': Deirdre is the only female of five knights, and also the only one to regularly do more than fight. When making alliances who is the local head man going to listen to: The thief, the druid apprentice, the princes from the Land of Never-Heard-Of-It, or the local princess?

** Also Jayne, but in a different way. His official job title on the ship is "Public Relations" and considering the ''Serenity's'' relations with the public this usually means hurting people.

** It was his idea to find enemies of the Goa'uld and created [[My Card|a box containing information about Earth and SG-1 to give to such aliens if they found them.]]

** Jack references this trope by calling Daniel SG-1's 'Voice' and cueing him when he should do his thing: "Daniel, you're up."

* ''[[The Big Bang Theory]]'': Besides being the only female lead, Penny is the only one of the five who is not a socially incompetent nerd.

* ''[[Power Rangers Mystic Force]]'' subverts this trope with Xander, who thinks of himself as [[The Charmer]]. "Plan Xander" never works and the Rangers have to bust out the weapons.

** Madison has more success but doesn't feel any better about it.

* Sophie, the grifter from ''[[Leverage]]''. She stands out as the stable and emotionally competent one of the group (though she does have her own issues), and her job goes beyond manipulation and grifting. She's usually the one next to Nate talking to the clients, and she's the one reassuring them, not just asking for the facts. When she leaves, each member of the team separately calls her for advice, either on how to deal with the con, or on personal issues.

{{quote| "We trust Nate to run the con. We trust you to keep us safe."}}

== Tabletop Games ==

* In ''[[Legend of the Five Rings]]'' Courtiers are explicitly designed to play this role, as even though most [[P Cs]] should have basic social skills to survive Rokugan's complicated system of etiquette and conversation, it helps to have someone who can recruit allies and deal with gossip and slander. In a pinch, Air Shugenjas and more politically oriented Magistrates and Bushi (particularly from the Scorpion or Crane Clans) can fill this role.

* In ''[[Warhammer 40000]]'', a group of Tau will often have [[Fantastic Caste System|a member of their diplomat caste]] around that can do all the talking when they have to meet with members of another species.

** The [[Proud Warrior Race Guy|Clans']] merchant caste generally plays this role for the Clans who are willing to deal with the Inner Sphere. Merchants still see the Spheroids as destructive primitives but are able put this aside and hide their feelings during negotiations, unlike the other castes (''especially'' the [[Smug Super|warriors]]), to score a good deal.

* ''[[Super Smash Bros]]'': in The Subspace Emissary Peach makes herself useful by breaking up fights and turning potential enemies into friends, mysteriously producing tea, in contrast with the Action Girls Samus and Sheik.

* Emil from ''[[Nie R]]'', who is also [[The Heart]] and a [[Tagalong Kid]], does what he can to keep an upbeat attitude and help his friends get along.

== [[Web Comics]] ==

== [[Western Animation]] ==

*** [[Knight in Shining Armor|Silverbolt]] is another example. He stands out in the group by being a wolf/eagle chimera and he's even social with his enemies. One of them even [[Heel Face Turn|Heel Face Turned]] because of his social chivalry.

* ''[[Captain Planet]]'': Ma-Ti is [[Just for Pun|the heart variety]] because no matter where they go he is instantly liked and can communicate to animals, knowing how they feel and asking for their help. Kawami however is usually the one ending group conflicts while Ma-Ti found where conflict was outside of the group.

** Applejack appears to be this for the Apple Family in Ponyville. Mostly due to Big Macintosh's quiet demeanor.