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The McCoy: Difference between revisions
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{{quote|''"By God, [[The Kirk|Jim]]! You can't seriously be considering this! [[Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right|Screw the]] [[Alien Non-Interference Clause|Prime Directive]], [[No Time to Explain|there's no time for debate!]] We have to act now to [[Save the Princess|rescue the]] [[High Priestess]]; [["Friend or Idol?" Decision|forget]] the [[MacGuffin]] and think about doing what's'' right!}}
{{quote|''"What's that, [[The Spock|Spock]]? '[[Straw Vulcan|Logic]]?' If we listened to your cold reasoning, you'd have us look for that stupid [[Cosmic Keystone]] while innocent people suffer! [[Emotions vs. Stoicism|The greater good]]? Better in the long run? [[
[[The McCoy]] is part of a [[Freudian Trio]] along with [[The Kirk]] and [[The Spock]]. Where the former is rational and [[Take a Third Option|intuitive]], and the latter is [[The Stoic|cold]] and logical, [[The McCoy]] is [[Hot-Blooded|emotional]] and [[The Heart|humanistic]]. He cares about others deeply; for him doing the right thing is not a question of convenience or moral relativity, but about the concrete reality ''right now''. Which is to say, someone like [[The Kirk]] cares about saving people; the McCoy cares about making things ''right''. This often leads the heroes into hot water as this concern for others blinds him to complications in the [[Moral Dilemma]] of the week and leads him to advocate (or take it upon himself to do) "the right thing", regardless of how disastrous it would be in the short or long run. In [[Sigmund Freud|Freudian]] psychology, this character represents the concept of [[The Id]].
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* [[The Captain|Murrue Ramius]] from ''[[Gundam Seed]]'' is a more reasonable McCoy in a command position, with a [[Sergeant Rock]] as her Deputy Captain, and [[The Kirk]] as an [[Ace Pilot]] and both of their primary advisor.
* Kallen and Suzaku from ''[[Code Geass]]'' fill this role for their respective sides.
* This personality archetype is, with a few exceptions in certain characters (namely Usopp and Robin, and then only occasionally for either), a prerequisite for joining the [[One Piece|Straw Hat Pirates]]. It also seems to be the default personality for the majority of the characters aligned with good, period.
* Similarly to the above, many characters in [[Bleach]] are compassionate honor-before-reason-or-logic types. The Gotei 13 can actually be split up evenly based on how they reacted in the Rescuing Rukia saga: those who sided with Ichigo and co. are this, while those who fought against them in the end (counting out instances like Kyouraku fighting Chad before he sympathized with their goals) are [[The Spock|Spocks]], except for Kurotsuchi and Kenpachi, who are just loose cannons in this regard.
* In ''[[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]]'', Sayaka and Madoka are the [[The McCoy|McCoys]] to Homura and Kyuubey's [[The Spock|Spocks]]. In this way, it almost seems to [[Take a Third Option]] when it comes to the [[Emotions vs. Stoicism]] debate: Sayaka lives by her emotions and ends up paying for it {{spoiler|in every possible universe becoming a Witch in the main timeline}}, Madoka {{spoiler|ends up rewriting the universe into a happier place through the [[Power of Love]]}}, Homura is by far the most competent [[Magical Girl]] outside Madoka and none of the latter's achievements would have been possible without her, while Kyuubey has an arguable point in the goal he's working towards, but {{spoiler|does so in an inarguably cruel and heartless way}}. In other words? Neither is specifically better than the other, and in fact both may be necessary, depending on the situation.
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* According to co-writer Roberto Orci, the 2009 [[Star Trek]] film maintains this [[Trope]], but swaps [[The Captain|Kirk]] and [[The Medic|McCoy]]:
{{quote|"[[The Medic|McCoy]] in a way represents for us, or represented for us, the extremes of [[The Captain|Kirk]] and [[The Spock|Spock]]. If [[The Spock|Spock]] is [[Straw Vulcan|extreme logic]], ... extreme science, and [[The Captain|Kirk]] is [[Strawman Emotional|extreme emotion]] and intuition, here you have a very colorful doctor, essentially a very humanistic scientist. So he, in a way, is literally and figuratively a representation of two extremes that often served as [[The Kirk|the glue that held the]] [[Freudian Trio|trio]] together."}}
** Though it comes off in a very similar manner to the show, and is very well played.
* [[Star Wars|Anakin Skywalker]] shows elements of this [[Trope]] in the [[Prequel]] Trilogy. Especially since this was the reason he turned to [[The Dark Side]].
* Mr White of ''[[Reservoir Dogs]]'', in comparison to the cold and logical Mr Pink and the psychopathic Mr Blonde. He tells the dying Mr Orange his name and defends him all through the movie from accusations that Orange is a rat, based purely on the fact that he likes the guy.
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* In ''[[The Brothers Karamazov]]'', the brothers form a [[Freudian Trio]]: Alyosha as an idealistic [[The Kirk|Kirk]], Ivan as the cold, rational [[The Spock|Spock]], and Dmitri is the emotional [[The McCoy|McCoy]].
* Marianne Dashwood in ''[[Sense and Sensibility (novel)|Sense and Sensibility]]'', in contrast to her sister [[The Spock|Elinor]]. Possibly the [[Trope Maker]], considering this is one of the first known intentional uses of it (Austen intended the sisters' [[Emotions Versus Stoicism]] to be a metaphor for [[Romanticism Versus Enlightenment]]). Also notable as one of the few cases where [[The McCoy]] is wrong and has to learn to be more reserved, rather than the other way around.
* In the ''[[Harry Potter]]'' books, Harry, Ron and Hermione start out as [[The Kirk]], [[The McCoy]] and [[The Spock]] respectively. Throughout the course of the novels, they all grow out of and beyond these labels, often switching around (Hermione's dedication to house-elf liberty is very McCoy-ish, for example) or not quite fitting any of them.
* Ned Land from ''[[Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea]]'' is an emotional harpooner who isn't excited about going around the world on the ''Nautilus'' and simply wants to return to civilization, in contrast to Aronnax's [[The Kirk|Kirk]] and Conseil's [[The Spock|Spock]].
* In the ''[[Star Trek]]'' novel ''[[Star Trek: Vulcans Forge]]'' Rabin(an earlier friend of [[The Spock|Spock's]]) is like this, though more [[Beware the Nice Ones|friendly]] and less crotchety then ...Mmm...the real [[The McCoy|McCoy]].
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* The [[Trope Namer|trope is named for]] [[The Medic|Doctor Leonard H. "Bones" McCoy]]. He not only stressed humanism, [[Strawman Emotional|he was all but dominated by his emotions]], to the point that he seemed to find ''no'' value in logic whatsoever, even in situations where it would fit... um, logically. There are many ''[[Star Trek TOS|Star Trek: The Original Series]]'' episodes wherein, had they listened to [[The McCoy|the Doctor]] instead of Spock, the ''[[Cool Starship|Enterprise]]'' would be a cloud of space dust. In fairness, that came with his position and area of responsibility, as well as his Hippocratic oath, and is why he was in charge of running the medical division and not the ship; but he often served as [[The Kirk|Kirk's]] [[The Conscience|conscience]].
** There's a clear ideological bent this way in Starfleet medical school in general -- an inclination to take "first do no harm" as far as the [[Alien Non-Interference Clause|Prime Directive]] allows it; this may be because subsequent series are a [[Generation Xerox]] of the first. (Starfleet members from [[Deep South|the American South]] are also frequently like this.) Examples include [[Star Trek: The Next Generation|Dr. Crusher]], who quite often would ignore rational ordeals and run into the battleground to try and save someone, and the more obnoxious Dr. Pulaski, [[The McCoy|McCoy's]] [[Distaff Counterpart]]. They definitely take an oath like the Hippocratic one, perhaps a modern modification of the oath like [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/doctors/oath_modern.html this one], or perhaps something unique to the Federation.
*** ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine|Deep Space Nine]]'' had Kira Nerys, while Odo was usually the more logical one.
*** ''[[Star Trek: Voyager|Voyager]]'' used [[The Captain|Captain Janeway]] in this role, while Tuvok and Chakotay would ''try'' to balance ''her'' out with logic.
**** Tom Paris also had his McCoy moments.
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** Although Doctor Smith was closer to [[The Spock]] with his self-serving interests, he had quite a few [[Pet the Dog]] moments of humanistic behaviour himself.
* ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'': Willow and [[The Heart|Xander]] alternated -- and often tag-teamed -- as the [[The McCoy|McCoys]] of the Scoobie Gang, wanting to do what they thought was right, no matter how stupid or reckless it was, and occasionally put [[The Spock|Giles]] down for trying to stay rational in emotional situations, calling him heartless.
** When Willow was kidnapped, the Scoobies (especially Oz) were [[The McCoy]], Giles was [[The Kirk]] and Wesley was [[The Spock]].
*** Buffy herself was [[The McCoy]] more than anyone else, often thinking with her heart rather than her head, such as her reluctance to kill Angel in season 2, endangering the world as a result, her refusal to kill Dawn in season 5, endangering the world as a result, her refusal to kill Spike in season 7, endangering the world as a result... Sensing a theme here?
* [[Doctor Who]] has a tradition of this, when the companions usually act as the heart and the moral compass for the often aloof and alien Doctor. Barbara was the first companion to somewhat "humanise" the unpredictable and sometimes callous First Doctor. In the new series, Donna lived and breathed this [[Trope]], especially as the Tenth Doctor's characterisation grew darker and darker.
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* Delenn in [[Babylon 5]] is definitely a [[The McCoy|McCoy]] with her romantic and mystical outlook and her often spectacular displays of [[Honor Before Reason]]. B5 doesn't really have [[The Spock]] to balance her. Sheridan is a [[The Kirk|Kirk]] and Franklin, who is [[The Spock]] or something close, doesn't interact with Delenn enough to balance her. As B5 is something of a [[Romanticism Versus Enlightenment|romanticist]] work, that is reasonable.
* [[Power Rangers]]. In general, all the colors are this, although Reds tend to be the most McCoy-ish. (Cole, Casey, and Conner all get special mentions, though really any rookie Red counts.)
* Zhaan, Chiana, and to a lesser degree Jool served as [[The McCoy|McCoys]] most often on [[Farscape]]. John did as well sometimes (especially in the first season), although he became more [[The Kirk]] as the series went along. Aeryn and D'Argo were usually Kirks, but on occasion they delved into McCoy territory, usually when it came to their loved ones (John, Pilot, and to a certain extent her mother for Aeryn, Jothee and Chiana for D'Argo).
* "Doc" Soto in [[Alcatraz (TV series)|Alcatraz]] seems to be slipping into this role in opposition to Hauser's [[The Spock|Spock]].
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* Tidus practically embodies this [[Trope]] in [[Final Fantasy X]], frequently throwing all respect for the alien culture he finds himself washed up in to the winds in order to do what he perceives as the right thing, particularly when it involves stopping people from dying.
* The titular character from [[Sonic the Hedgehog]], in contrast to [[The Kirk|Tails]] and [[The Spock|Knuckles]].
* [[The Hero|Lloyd Irving]] in [[Tales of Symphonia]] has spades of this. While [[The Chick|Colette]] is [[The Chosen One|The Chosen]] and works hard to bring about the regeneration of the world through a set quest procedure {{spoiler|until it turns out to not be the case at all with Cruxis}}, Lloyd doesn't follow tradition and urges others, in his own [[Idiot Hero|short-sighted viewpoints]], from [[Fantastic Racism|half-elves discriminated]] to Exspheres {{spoiler|and [[Powered by a Forsaken Child|what they're used for]],}} to make their own decisions and accept/help each other along the way.
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== Western Animation ==
* Katara from ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]''. She once detained the group for three days to help a village who lived on a polluted river, even destroying the factory that polluted it.
** This being significant because they are on the way to save the world from [[A Nazi by Any Other Name|what is basically Fantasy Nazi Germany]], before [[Fantastic Nuke|Sozin's Comet arrives]] and gives the entire enemy nation [[Time Limit Boss|unstoppable and overwhelming powerups.]] So stopping for any reason is really endangering the entire planet.
* Sam in ''[[Danny Phantom]]''. She forces Vegan meals and steals frogs from being dissected in her school, displays her disguise on a [[Beauty Contest]] to bring individuality to the girls, and other humanitarian beliefs she has up her sleeves. When she's not doing that, then she makes sure Danny is going the right path.
* Mikey Blumberg from ''[[Recess]]''
== Real Life ==
* [[Winston Churchill]] was a [[The McCoy]] and [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|FDR]] was a Kirk. Whether Marshall or [[Josef Stalin|Stalin]] was [[The Spock]] depends on how you view Stalin.
** [[The Spock|Spocks]] seem to end up as a [[Number Two]] in [[Real Life]] as much as Hollywood.
* Maria Theresa often seems to come off as a [[The McCoy|McCoy]]. Like [[Winston Churchill|Churchill]] she had her [[Lady of War|ruthless side]] though. It comes with [[The Woman Wearing the Queenly Mask|the job]].
* A number of political controversies seem to be about [[Emotions vs. Stoicism|McCoyness versus Spockness]]. [[Rule of Cautious Editing Judgement|No Examples Please!]]
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