The Soulless: Difference between revisions

When people use the phrase "soulless monster," they usually mean the person they're referring to [[Kick the Dog|isn't acting]] like a (decent) human being, not that they actually lack a soul and are a monster.<ref>* (well, a literal as opposed to a [[Complete Monster|figurative one, anyway]])</ref>. In fiction, some characters really ''are'' soulless, and often act like monsters because of it.

When a character loses their [[Our Souls Are Different|Soul]], they normally become a listless [[Empty Shell]] or transform into [[The Heartless]]; the'''The Soulless''', however, are active, rational, and still recognizably human in [[Glamour Failure|almost]] [[The Mirror Shows Your True Self|every sense]]. They just lack a soul. The Soulless is motivated by one thing only: getting a soul. Any old soul will do, but frequently they want their own soul back for sentimental reasons. Much like a type 2 case of [[Came Back Wrong]], problems arise because the character is no longer bound by ethical (and sometimes ''natural'') laws and demonstrates a disturbing [[Lack of Empathy]] (and sometimes a lack of survival instincts). A [[Nice Guy]] will [[Beware the Nice Ones|break fingers]], [[The Cutie]] will just ''[[Break the Cutie|break]],'' and even the [[Friend to All Living Things]] will rampage through a petting zoo if it brings them closer to their goal. While a soulless character doesn't necessarily become a [[Serial Killer|soulless killing machine]], [[Sanity Meter|sanity]] and [[Karma Meter|humanity]] don't fare very well without one. Even if both of these traits are independent of the soul and don't suffer in its absence, most Soulless characters have a change in worldview that does erode their good nature.

* Also from DC Comics is Sebastian Faust, the son of sorcerous bad guy Felix Faust. His dad bartered away his own soul for power, but when he needed more and the demon wouldn't renegotiate the first deal, he sold ''Sebastian's'' soul. He seems to get along fine without it, though he did feel relieved to get it back during a [[Crisis Crossover]] -- only—only to [[Failure Is the Only Option|have to lose it]] in order to set things right.

{{quote| '''Liu Kang:''' All those souls and you still don't have one of your own. I pity you, sorcerer.}}

** Making this a rather spectacular subversion of the stereotypical [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]] Orcs.

*** They aren't particularly more goodhearted, and they still are roped into serving the first [[Big Bad]]. Also, [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]] Orcs are a subversion by the current point, thanks to every fantasy writer trying to be "original."

* Subverted in "The Fisherman and his Soul" by [[Oscar Wilde]], in which a young fisherman is magically separated from his soul, which takes on human guise and travels around without him -- andhim—and the fisherman is largely unaffected, while the ''soul'' becomes a typical "soulless" monster-in-human-form. It's explained that this is because the fisherman still has a loving heart, while the soul is both literally and metaphorically [[Heartless]].

* The protagonist of ''[[The Parasol Protectorate|Soulless]]'' by Gail Carriger was born without a soul, but she does not find her condition troublesome. She studies philosophy to compensate for her natural lack of morals, and uses reason instead of spirituality to be a good person. Souls in this universe are a quantifiable possession -- thosepossession—those who have large amounts, such as artists and musicians, are more likely to survive the transition into werewolf or vampire, while those who have none at all, such as the protagonist, can actually neutralize others' powers when in physical contact with them.

* Lord Voldemort from [[Harry Potter]], to an extent. Because of all the [[Soul Jar|Horcruxes]] he made, very little of his actual soul remains inside his body, which seems to have been largely responsible for the sociopathic but self-controlled Tom Riddle's degeneration into the [[Ax Crazy]] Voldemort.

** It's worth noting that people who are ''actually'' soulless, as opposed to mostly soulless, are basically empty husks in the [[Harry Potter]] verse, with no memories, personality, or consciousness.

* In ''[[The Dresden Files]]'', most intelligent beings do not have souls. This includes both the Red and Black Court vampires, as well as the Fae. This doesn't automatically make them evil...but it does make then inhuman and apparently coincides with a lack of true free will. In this setting, faeries can be [[Mind Control|compelled]] more easily than humans and it's not illegal to do so, and they are more bound by their nature than humans (creatures of habit, in other words) and unable to change it the way humans can reinvent themselves. The White Court 'vampires', on the other hand, appear to be basically a kind of human being, and they most certainly ''do'' have souls, and apparently free will (though this is somewhat limited by the fact that they share said soul with an unintelligent but very hungry demon). Angels ([[Fallen Angel|Fallen]] or otherwise), invert this trope- they're ''all'' soul, with bodies being temporary and incidental to their being (though Fallen sometimes possess humans).

* Explored in ''[[Warbreaker]]'' because of how the magic system, Awakening, is powered by Breaths, a form of mystical energy everyone possesses and is considered analogous to the soul in-universe (though per [[Word of God]], a Breath seems more like ''part'' of a soul). Everyone is born with one breath, but they can be given away- someone who holds a lot has various innate supernatural abilities, and using Awakening requires a pretty large supply. To the Austrist religion, a Drab (someone with no Breaths) is conisdered to have suffered [[A Fate Worse Tha Death]], while to the state religion of Hallandren, it's seen as no big deal. [[Word of God]] puts it somewhere in between- a Drab's humanity is still intact in all meaningful ways he or she retains identity, memory, personality, and such, but they ''are'' more irritable, more prone to sickness, and have duller senses.

== [[Live -Action TV]] ==

** Angel himselfis canusually becomethe oneexception, his soul having been returned to him as the result of thesea ifcurse, causing him to realize the repercussions of the atrocities he had committed and remain in anguish over them forever. He himself can lose it again if certain conditions of his curse are met (Perfect Happiness). When his human soul departs, the demon is able to take over again and really enjoys being let off the chain in a [[Complete Monster]] kind of way. As the series progressed, he actually fit this trope less well because they started playing up [[Split Personality| the duality of Angel and Angelus as seperateseparate consciousnesses]], (with Angelus trapped within Angel as long as a soul was in place).

* We've yet to see a soulless individual on-panel in ''[[Candorville]]'', but apparently it's common practice for at least one secret faction to feed children's souls to monsters--themonsters—the resultant shells are still capable of following orders, [[Tyke Bomb|and can easily be trained as assassins]].

== [[Tabletop RPGGames]] ==

*** And as part of [[White Wolf]] being [[Magnificent Bastard|Magnificent Bastards]]s, you can't just kill a baby you know is a Fetch's and avoid the whole thing-it's just as likely, if not ''more'' so, that they actually were born with a soul, leading to a [[Creepy Child|spooky]] but otherwise normal Fetch Child...who are spooky because they [[Detect Evil|see through Glamour]], and open gates to [[Eldritch Location|the Hedge]] by just existing. Oh yeah, and [[Holy Hand Grenade|they're inherent weapons against the True Fae]], so if you meet a Fetch's son that seems to have a conscience/inkling that other people exist, by God's sake ''keep him alive''!

* Yet again from the nWOD, the Illuminated from ''[[Genius: The Transgression]]'' are described as having had their souls burnt away to nothing by the light of Inspiration within them. Some of them [[Ax Crazy|act like ]][[Complete Monster|you expect]], others act [[Eldritch Abomination|even MORE strangely]].

* The Necrons of ''[[Warhammer 4000040,000]]'' '''are''' this trope. And the worst part is, they are not even treated as the worst faction in the universe (although one of the strongest contenders for the position). The forces of chaos are the complete opposite and still manage to be at an at least equal level to the Necrons in nastiness. This being Warhammer 40000, however, raping, killing, murdering, maiming and burning your enemies does not even begin to describe the situation. Point should however be noted that Chaos, [[Complete Monster|Complete Monsters]]s incarnate, actually ''fear'' the necrons somewhat due to their soulless nature.

** The Necrons technically still have souls -- soulssouls—souls trapped in their undying metal shells. It's just that after millions of years of dormancy and poor maintenance in mechanical bodies the Necrons are little more than automated killing machines. The souls are still ''there'' but they about as important to the Necrons as a human appendix.

* Four certain someones in ''[[Baldur's Gate]] II: Shadows of Amn'' lack souls at one point, and feel "empty."

** Also, two of those are [[Complete Monster|Complete Monsters]]s (though they're pretty much stated to not have been that nice when they still had their souls, they actually managed to become worse when losing them), and one gains something similar to [[Unstoppable Rage]] due to losing it (and... other factors).

* The Darkspawn of ''[[Dragon Age]]'' are soulless monsters in every way. They are literally soulless {{spoiler|making them convenient vessels for an Archdemon to possess if it's slain}}. They also happen to be savage, vicious, {{spoiler|and rape-happy}} [[Complete Monster|Complete Monsters]]s.

* [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|The Soulless Gods]] in ''[[Lusternia]]''. The only tangible difference between they and [[Precursors|The Elder Gods]] is that by the time the ''Elders'' were made, the [[Anthropomorphic Personification]] of Creation had figured out the knack of creating souls. The net result? The Soulless are [[Cosmic Horror]] [[Omnicidal Maniac|Omnicidal Maniacs]]s who relentlessly devour the souls of all other living things in an attempt to feel less empty.

* In ''[[Dan and Mab's Furry Adventures]]'', the offspring between [[The Fair Folk|a Fae]] and any other race will always be a soulless shell called a Husk. It's alive, but devoid of any consciousness, and it always dies young. This is because the Fae population only has a set number of souls, and an old Fae has to die before a new one can be born. Husks represent one of the few limitations that the near omnipotent Fae cannot overcome no matter what: they cannot create new souls. The Fae aren't happy about this and they always try to find a way around it -- andit—and they always fail.

* Combined with [[Beast Man]] this is what the humanoid fae in [[Drowtales]] sees the goblin races as due to not having an aura. In practice they are more like [[Muggles]] without any technical advantages.

* A ''[[Cracked.com|Robert Brockway]]'s ''[http://www.cracked.com/blog/extra21-mario-lopez-has-no-soul21/ articleEXTRA! Mario Lopez has no soul!]'' portrayed Mario Lopez as this, while a drugged and drunk Cracked reporter followed him around after asking him to drop the act and just "[[Be Careful What You Wish For|be himself]]". It started with absolutely all expression leaving his face, and culminated with him breaking into an old children's hospital so he could eat feathers from the beds on which children had died.

* Bart ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|SimpsonThe Simpsons]]'': Bart Simpson sold his soul to Millhouse for $5. His breath didn't fog glass, automatic doors didn't open for him, dogs growled when he passed... No evil acts, though.

** Thoug,Though he ''did'' get desperate enough to try and take Ralph Wiggum's soul.

* Solomon Grundy from ''[[Justice League]]'' started off as a villainous, gray [[Hulk]] [[Expy]]. Then in the episode "The Terror Beyond", Grundy learned his own backstory--thatbackstory—that he was a [[Our Zombies Are Different|zombie]] and had no soul. Once he realized this, regaining his soul suddenly became Grundy's first priority.

* There was a man who got in a car accident and was unhurt, with the exception of a microscopic part of his brain touching his skull. This part of his brain got damaged, and from then on, he could feel no emotions at all, negative or positive. His rational thought, intelligence, senses, and motor skills are still unharmed (which is why he hasn't gone crazy--hecrazy—he knows [[Genre Savvy|nothing good comes of it]]), but he's now, for all intents and purposes, a [[Ridiculously Human Robot]].

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