The Fighting Narcissist: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''Handsome fighters never lose battles.''|'''Vega''', ''[[Street Fighter]]''}}

 

 

The Fighting Narcissist is a common character type in action series, especially common in martial arts media. He is a formidable fighter who happens to be handsome, extremely so, and takes pride in that fact to the point of [[Seven Deadly Sins|capital sin]]. To him (and it's almost always ''him'', not ''her'') there is no one more beautiful or talented than himself, and to him both concepts are synonymous. He doesn't just happen to be both beautiful and talented, he's beautiful ''because'' he's talented, and vice versa.

Another particular characteristic of a Fighting Narcissist is his attitude towards sexuality. By his definition, any other person is inferior to him, so he [[Asexuality|is often not actively sexually interested in anyone else.]] While often effeminate, he is rarely actively interested in men, although he might become obsessed with another fighter who's actually beautiful and talented as well. On the other side of the spectrum, his attitude towards women is almost universally, irredeemably bad. A Fighting Narcissist tends to abuse women and finds much amusement in it. If he actually considers a woman attractive, [[Stalker with a Crush|it is to the point of obsession]], and this relationship can lead to massive amounts of [[Foe Yay]]. The bottom line is that a Fighting Narcissist generally does not deign anyone to be worthy of his desire, and any desire he might have for someone is ALWAYS unhealthy.

 

 

While he can be ambitious and seek power, the main reason a Fighting Narcissist actually fights is self-gratification. He does not fight to prove himself, because he has nothing to prove: in his mind he's already perfect. He does not seek a challenge, because such petty behavior is beneath him. More often than not, he fights out of boredom and bloodlust: [[For the Evulz|he enjoys fighting and enjoys causing pain, period.]] Although rarely needing to work, he will often be a gangster, [[Professional Killer|contract killer]] or bodyguard; basically, professions that expose him to violence. He might also go into [[Complete Monster]] territory and be a [[Serial Killer]] who uses fighting as an excuse to commit murder.

 

Related to [[Beauty Is Bad]]. Contrast [[Arrogant Kung Fu Guy]], who, while also condescending of others and a powerful fighter, is not obsessed with his looks nor inherently evil and [[Gorgeous George]], whose obsessions lead to [[Ambiguously Gay|ambiguity]] more than arrogance and is friendly with the females to heighten the ambiguity. Spiritual brother to the [[Smug Super]]. Often a successful blow to the face will be a [[Berserk Button]]. The Fighting Narcissist also parallels the [[Combat Sadomasochist]] in terms of the [[Seven Deadly Sins]]: where the Narcissist has Vanity/[[Pride]] as a staple, the Sadomasochist is into Lust.

 

* ''[[Bleach]]'': Yumichika Ayasegawa, one of the ''very'' rare heroic examples because he may be a subversion. He certainly insists on presenting himself as such a person, but the reality is [[Hidden Depths|more complicated]]: his fight with [[Evil Counterpart|Charlotte Cuuhlhourne]] reveals he's actually sacrificing his real self for the sake of his squad's philosophy due to his belief that [[Undying Loyalty]] is much more important than his own desires. Charlotte is used to lampshade this by genuinely being what Yumichika is pretending to be...but looks-wise, he's a mix of [[The Brute]] and [[Magical Girl]]. When they fight, [[Hilarity Ensues]], followed by [[Mood Whiplash]] to [[The Reveal|reveal]] the truth about Yumichika.

** In the Invasion arc, the anime decides to play this trope straight for Yumichika by changing his [[Hidden Depths]] to something that's even more narcissistic than his public image. The first time Yumichika meets {{spoiler|his [[Evil Twin|clone]],}} he's struck by the terrible dilemma of not being able to fight - because he can't {{spoiler|bring himself to attack [[Say It with Hearts|'such a beautiful me']].}} On the other hand, {{spoiler|his clone}} has no such qualms about the fight because he thinks {{spoiler|the real Yumichika would look even more [[Blood Lust|beautiful covered in blood]]...}}which is taking narcissism to the point of {{spoiler|both sadism and masochism.}}

* ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' has Dark Kingdom General Zoisite, although he prefers to fight dirty, employing trickery and deceit.

 

* Mister X, assassin and enemy of [[Wolverine]].

** Mister X may be more of an example of an evil [[Arrogant Kung Fu Guy]], since he displays a great deal of bloodlust and desire to prove that he's the greatest fighter in the world, but little to no overt concern about his appearance.

 

* [[The Dragon|General Esteem]] from ''[[Ponies Make War]]'', who's widely recognized as the greatest [[Master Swordsman|bladecaster]] in the world, and whose price for serving [[Big Bad|Titan]] was eternal youth. And to really sell the point, the first scene to focus on him shows how much time he spends on getting his appearance just right.

 

* Col. William Tavington from ''[[The Patriot]]'' certainly seems to qualify.

 

* In the Travis McGee novel ''[[The Grim Reaper|The Green Ripper]]'', Travis mentions one of his opponents always seems to be a bit too much "posing for the non-existent camera". It's just about [[Pride|this guy's only flaw]], as he is a really good combat fighter.

* Lestat de Lioncourt from ''[[Interview with the Vampire]]''.

* China Sorrows from ''[[Skulduggery Pleasant]]''.

 

* Lord Flashheart from ''[[Blackadder]]''.

{{quote|"Next time you all get bored of your lives, give me a call then I'll come and kill you!"}}

 

* Wrestling has always had characters of this stripe, including

** Rick "The Model" Martel, who used his signature perfume arrogance.

** "Mr. Perfect" [[Curt Hennig]]

 

* Meanwhile, there's Slaanesh's favorite champion in vanilla ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]'', Prince Sigvald the Magnificent. He wears golden armour and carries a stylish rapier rather than the customary giant spiky axe of Chaos. All his warriors carry mirrored shields so that he can admire himself at his leisure, he suffers from the 'stupidity' rule because of his tendency to sit there and preen in the middle of the battlefield...and Sigmar help you if you think that means he can't slice you up at his leisure.

 

* Flea, of ''[[Chrono Trigger]]'' fame, is a tad more [[Vain Sorceress|mystically inclined]] than the standard example but [[Dude Looks Like a Lady|he]] has a quote which embodies the whole fighting narcissist philosophy:

{{quote|"Power is beauty, and I'm deliciously strong!"}}

* Ash Crimson, from ''[[The King of Fighters]]''. {{spoiler|Subverted, it's a facade}}

* Whether or not [[Super Mario Bros.|Bowser]] is to be considered beautiful, he considers himself the epitome of physique and manliness. Hilarious self-worship moments abound in ''[[Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story]]''.

* From ''[[Mega Man Zero]]'' series we have Pegasolta Eclair. When you fight him he introduce himself as "Dr. Weil has a plan as beautiful as myself," and his death quote is "Wah! How could this happen to me!? But...my death, it's so beautiful!"

* ''[[Street Fighter]]'''s Vega/Balrog/Claw '''is''' the best example of this kind of character. Rich, sexy and evil beyond belief, he leads a double life of a nobleman by day and an assassin by night. Not to mention he joined Shadaloo because he just ''really loves'' killing people. He has a disturbing fixation on both Chun-Li and Cammy, considering Chun-Li the perfect rival in beauty and technique, and because Cammy was [[Cloning Blues|made beautiful]] by Bison himself. The only reason he returns in ''IV'' is because he's looking for {{spoiler|the data on how to create spare bodies (AKA Seths) for Bison, which would theoretically allow him to [[Immortality|live forever]]}}.

* [[Handsome Lech|Zelos]] [[Chivalrous Pervert|Wilder]] from ''[[Tales of Symphonia]]'' deserves mention. He even has a title called [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|''Narcissist'']] and various battle quotes to go with it.

{{quote|'''Zelos:''' I'm just too pretty! Seriously!}}

* Konami [[Beat'Em Up]] ''[[Violent Storm]]'' features Julius, a muscular Greek statue who declares "BEAUTY IS JUSTICE!" when he comes to life to attack you. For normal players, he's very tough, being the penultimate boss, but a [[YouTube]] video of high-level play shows that he's vulnerable to grab attacks whenever he randomly breaks into his gratuitous bodybuilding pose.

* Ghirahim from ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword|The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword]]'' spends much of the cutscene before the second battle against him commending his own beautiful body.

* Duke Tanas Oliver from ''Fire Emblem Path of Radiance'' is the most beautiful man ever and an enemy to all ugly people because they sinfully look upon him with envy. He will fight on the behalf of anyone else who meets his high standards though. Not in ways they often like but always for their own good since only he really understands beauty. Only he truly knows how to defend it.

 

 

 

* A rare heroic and female example is found in Cassidy Cain, the protagonist of ''[[Grandmaster of Theft]]''. She takes pride in her skill and beauty in battle, developing her style to be graceful and not waste any actions in addition to disliking being hit. She also admits to enjoying showing off her talents during combat and taunts others on their lack of grace as a fighter. Furthermore, she fits being a [[Combat Pragmatist]]. However, she does have a clear set of morals unlike most, generally directs this attitude towards enemies as a means to infuriate them, and she's far more focused on refining her skills if she's defeated so [[Spirited Competitor|she can overcome the person in the future.]]

 

* Azula from ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]''.

* [[Bugs Bunny]] briefly serves as mascot for a [[Gorgeous George]]-style wrestler named "Ravishing Ronald" in ''Bunny Hugged''. Ronald lasts about five seconds against his opponent, [[The Brute|"The Crusher."]]

* Neil from ''[[Class of the Titans]]'', who is literally a descendant of {{spoiler|Narcissus}}.

* Sunstreaker, from ''[[Transformers Generation 1|Transformers G1]]'', is a cross between this and [[Blood Knight]]. He's a ferocious fighter whether or not you're on his side (pretty much the only person he actively seems to like is his twin Sideswipe, and even then they bicker), and Primus help you if you scratch his paint. Oddly enough, he's one of the ''good guys''.

** Knock Out from ''[[Transformers Prime]]'' is a vain, sadistic pretty-boy of a Decepticon who once mnaged to get the drop on ''Optimus Prime''. Like Sunstreaker, he's ''very'' sensitive about his paint job, to the point of a [[Berserk Button]].

 

* While he became the [[Fat Bastard]] in old age, Herman Göring was a dashing fighter pilot in his youth and diagnosed as a narcissistic sociopath during the Nuremberg trials.

 

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