The Lancer: Difference between revisions

 

Powers and skills common to '''The Lancer''' include:

* Just as [[Heroes Prefer Swords]], '''The Lancer''' is often [[The Archer]], [[The Gunslinger]], or a literal [[Blade on a Stick|Lancer]], relying on firepower and distance. If everyone is a ranged fighter then expect '''The Lancer''' to explicitly be the best shot, or an [[Ace Pilot]].

* If [[The Hero]] and '''The Lancer''' have [[Elemental Powers]], they will be [[Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors|complementary]]. If [[The Hero]] uses [[Playing with Fire|fire]], '''The Lancer''' will probably use [[An Ice Person|ice]], [[Shock and Awe|electricity]] or [[Making a Splash|water]].

 

{{examples}}

* ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]'': Jet Black, although he's ostensibly the leader of the Bebop crew, is The Lancer to Spike Spiegel's Hero.

* ''[[Mazinger Z]]'': Sayaka was The Lancer and [[Love Interest]] from [[The Hero]] Kouji Kabuto. Given that Kouji was an carefree, impulsive, [[Hot-Blooded]] [[Idiot Hero]], she was [[The Reliable One]] type, and both of them formed a [[Battle Couple]].

* In ''[[Saint Beast]]'', Luca is very much the lancer. He is quiet, strong, [[The Confidant|always has good advice]], and stands by [[The Hero]] no matter what. Moreover, his powers of [[Dark Is Not Evil|darkness]] contrast [[The Hero]]'s powers of light. Amusingly, his [[Love Interest]] is [[The Chick]].

 

* [[Batman]] fills this role in most incarnations of the ''[[Justice League of America]]''. The darker interpretations fall into the [[The Rival|Rival]]/[[Anti-Hero|AntiHeroic]] version of this trope, with [[Superman]] as [[The Hero]].

** [[Nightwing]] is an example of how the Lancer's traits depend on who [[The Hero]] is: when he fills this role for Batman, his empathy, idealism, and approachability are played up as a contrast to Bruce.

* In ''[[Runaways]]'' Nico was originally this to Alex {{spoiler|before the latter's betrayal and death}}. These days [[The Smart Guy|Gert]], [[Sixth Ranger|Victor]], and [[Badass Normal|Chase]] have all been known to alternate the role amongst themselves.

 

* Chaos from the ''[[Tamers Forever Series]]''.

* Ciara to Link in ''[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7831829/1/Looming_Darkness Looming Darkness.]''

 

* Pictured above: Han Solo in ''[[Star Wars]]''. "[[Combat Pragmatist|Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid]]."

* Timon from [[The Lion King]]. To a quite hilarious extent.

* In ''[[Inception]]'', Arthur is Mal's right-hand man throughout the film and takes the role of "Point-man" during the heist.

 

* In ''[[Chung Kuo]]'', Karr is the Lancer to the European T'ang Lord.

* Ron from the ''[[Harry Potter]]'' books fits the definition perfectly.

* [[Tom Clancy]]: In more than a few books, mainly ''Rainbow Six'' and ''The Bear and the Dragon'', Ding Chavez is this to [[Badass Army|Team]] [[Fluffy the Terrible|Rainbow's]] official [[Colonel Badass|leader]], [[Badass|John]] [[One-Man Army|Clark]], in practice, although he's not actually Clark's immediate subordinate.

 

* Sheldon on ''[[The Big Bang Theory]]''

* On the British series ''Hotel Babylon'', the concierge Tony is a seasoned pro at the hotel business and very well-respected among his colleagues. When a general manager strays, he's usually one of the first to stand up for the good of the hotel or its staff and let a manager know he's going in the wrong direction.

* Owen from ''[[Torchwood]]'' falls under this fairly well, at least in series 1. Owen is The Lancer to Gwen while Jack is away. When Jack returns, Gwen becomes his Lancer.

* Deputy Jo Lupo to Jack Carter in ''[[Eureka]]''.

** Other Sentai Lancers are well known for being either Boone Companion (Zyuranger's Mammoth Ranger), Rival (Hurricaneger's Kabuto Reiger, whom himself leads the main team's rival group), or the member who swipes [[The Hero]]'s chances at leadership (White Kakuranger, Black Megaranger and Pink Timeranger).

* ''[[Power Rangers]]'', naturally, follows suit. [[Power Rangers Time Force|Wes and Jen]] were a slight twist on the concept - they were [[The Hero]] and The Lancer respectively, but Jen was still the official team leader, even after Wes came into his own as a Ranger. Then there's [[Power Rangers SPD|Sky]], [[Power Rangers RPM|Dillon]]...

* Tony Dinozzo in ''[[NCIS]]'' is The Lancer to Gibbs' leadership, though according to Ducky, Gibbs used to be much like Tony.

* Hawk is this to Buck Rogers in the second season of ''[[Buck Rogers in the 25th Century]]''.

 

* ''[[Werewolf: The Apocalypse]]'' has a tribe originally made up of Lancers: The Shadowlords. In former times, their task was to act as the Beta of packs and [[I Did What I Had to Do|did what the Alpha]] [[Shoot the Dog|couldn't be seen to do]]. Unfortunately, more and more of them feel that the Silverfangs [[The Starscream|are no longer up to the task of leading...]]

 

* Every Toa team in ''[[Bionicle]]'' has one of these, usually a Toa of [[An Ice Person|Ice]] to balance out the Toa of [[Playing with Fire|Fire]] leader. The most prominent example would be Kopaka, who has a [[Red Oni, Blue Oni]] dynamic with Tahu.

** And to continue the tradition, Stormer is this to Furno in [[Hero Factory]].

 

* Gaz from ''[[Call of Duty]] 4: [[Modern Warfare]]'' has elements of this, playing as the Lancer to Captain Price.

** Predictably, his [[Expy]] in [[Modern Warfare]] 2, Ghost, is this to Captain MacTavish.

* [[Fear Effect]]. Royce Glas is in this position, and is the opposite of Hana on a number of things.

 

* ''Orestes'': Pylades acts in this capacity to his friend Orestes, in Euripides' play.

* ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'': Mercutio is Romeo's right-hand man and best friend. He even goes so far as {{spoiler|fighting and losing a duel in his name.}}

* ''[[Hamlet]]'': Horatio.

 

* Humorously enough, the author of ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20130614191012/http://www.drunkduck.com/Cwens_Quest/ Cwen's Quest]'' was unaware of this particular trope when he named his character Riddly Lancer. Fits the bill too, well actually only up to the third sentence of the description that is... but Cwen is definitely the leader between the two characters.

* Haley "It's frustrating how Lawful you people are sometimes" Starshine in ''[[Order of the Stick]]''.

* Guenevere in ''[[Arthur, King of Time and Space]]''. Not Lancelot, who is Arthur's right-hand man but doesn't really act as a foil, whereas [http://arthurkingoftimeandspace.com/0117.htm Guenevere's outspokenness contrasts neatly with the more easy-going Arthur].

 

* Wyn from the web fiction serial ''[[Dimension Heroes]]''.

 

* ''[[Exo Squad]]'': Alec DeLeon more often than not was The Lancer to squad leader JT Marsh, though Marsala sometimes filled that role as well, depending on the mission at hand. Marsh himself could be considered the lancer to Admiral Winfield, who was the Captain.

* Ironically, although being the title character, ''[[Sonic Sat AM|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' was actually his team's Lancer. However, his deeds may also make him the Hero, next to Princess Sally.

* Jake the dog is this to his [[Heterosexual Life Partners|best friend]] Finn in ''[[Adventure Time]]''.

 

 

* Kobe Bryant to Shaquille O'Neal from their generation of the LA Lakers. The seasoned Shaq was [[The Big Guy]] and the captain, while the rambunctious Kobe was the rookie. Their relationship was frequently punctuated by fueds played out in the press. Now that Shaq retired, Kobe's become the face of the Lakers, with Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum sharing the role of The Lancer.

* When they were both on the Chicago Bulls, Scottie Pippen was seen as a lancer for [[Micheal Jordan]], who was practically [[The Messiah]] of basketball.

* Tim Duncan to Tony Parker in the San Antonio Spurs.

* In Irish [[Rugby Union]], Brian O'Driscoll was [[The Leader]] from 2003 to 2012, captaining the national team, with Paul O'Connell serving as the Lancer. [[Blue Oni]] O'Driscoll was the focal point of the team's backs, a smaller, skillful player who scored tries and lead by example, while vice-captain O'Connell was a [[Red Oni]], the [[Made of Iron]], [[Determinator]] leader of the forwards, and a frequent giver of [[Cluster F-Bomb]] [[Rousing Speech]]es. In addition to their personal contrasts in playing and leadership styles, O'Driscoll played for eastern province of Leinster, while O'Connell played for their bitter rivals Munster in the south, with each being considered the central figure in their team.

* Michael Vick to Donovan McNabb in the Philadelphia Eagles. McNabb was the calm, collected quarterback leader with a passion for the sport, while Vick was the "bad-boy" second-in-command who was in legal troubles, especially with the dog-fighting.

* Shuuichi Ikeda to Toru Furuya; they voiced for the main antagonist and the main protagonist of ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam]]'' respectively.

* [[wikipedia:Michael Wittmann|Michael Wittmann]], one of the most successful armored commanders of all time, had [[wikipedia:Balthasar Woll|Bobby Woll]] as his gunner. They were so in tune that, eventually, all Wittmann had to do was give Woll a direction where enemy tanks could be found and let Woll do the rest. Luckily for Woll, he wasn't with Wittmann when the latter's [[In the Back|luck ran out]] in August, 1944.