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[[File:NoSmiles.jpg|link=Three Panel Soul|frame| Matt of ''[http://threepanelsoul.com/2008/04/07/on-growth/ 3 Panel Soul]'' knows how to stay young.]]
{{quote|''"...How wasteful... Such emotions are but mere illusions. And, like all illusions, they fade over time until death banishes them forever. That is why I have abandoned all emotions as useless sentimentality."''
|'''Cyrus'''|''[[Pokémon Diamond and Pearl]]''}}
He can be in the middle of a gunfight, his best friend's bachelor party, or a helpless witness to the death of everyone and everything he holds dear... and he'll show all the emotional reaction of a victim of a Botox overdose. Though the silent warrior has roots stretching back to [[The Drifter]] in Westerns and farther back, '''The Stoic''' differentiates himself in that he's not quiet out of contemplation or introversion, but because he's so tough that he doesn't ''need'' to emote (or so the writer would like you to [[Ineffectual Loner|think]]).
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'''The Stoic''' is not necessarily [[The Quiet One]]. While '''The Stoic''' may be low key and quiet, more often than not he's just as talkative as anyone else. Another difference is that while [[The Quiet One]] does feel and display emotion (albeit less vocally and regularly, but makes up for it with deeper pathos), '''The Stoic''' is so utterly devoid of any semblance of human emotion that he borders on being a true [[Tin Man]] or [[The Spock]]. Whether he has emotion or not varies, but he will invariably refuse to ever show it.
They can be [[Heroes]], antagonists or [[Anti-Hero
Masculine pronouns are used throughout this trope because quiet women tend to be the creepy [[Emotionless Girl]]. Notice, however, that although Emotionless Girls can seem to be easily confused with Stoic Girls, it's actually very easy to tell the difference: an Emotionless Girl usually seems to give a creepy, otherworldly feel, while a Stoic Girl radiates a massive aura of badassness. In either case, female stoics often wind up being [[Stoic Woobie|woobies]].
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* [[Stoic Woobie]]
* [[Sugar and Ice Personality]]
* [[Warrior Poet]]: His Stoicism will affect his poetry but not keep him from writing it or reading it. Likely he will have rather stern tastes like some parts of Kipling or Virgil or perhaps some Saxon or Viking poets.
'''Minor characters and antagonists of this type include:'''
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** At times, Ichigo's father also appears to be one who uses [[Obfuscating Stupidity]].
** About the only time Ishida ever smiles is when he's trying to reassure someone (usually Orihime) or when he's about to reveal his status as Snark Knight extraordinaire.
* ''[[One Piece]]'':
** Nico Robin
** Zoro as well, though he tends to have more outbursts than Robin.
** Admiral Kizaru is this, in stark contrast to his colleage Sakazuki, who is notorious for his uncontrollable temper. No matter what happens or how dangerous a situation may be, Kizaru ''never'' gets angry or loses his composure, ''ever''. Rather ironic, seeing as his Devil Fruit is one that lets him control and manipulate light.
** Notorious swordsman Dracule Mihawk is always dead serious about everything. He almost never smiles and has been shown laughing a grand total of - twice.
* Rasen of ''[[Flame of Recca]]'' is an extreme case. Ridiculously pale complexion, an expression as vacant and empty as that of a corpse, and literally incapable of speech, so much that he requires telepathy to communicate with others when his deathly stare is insufficient.
* Jo from ''[[Burst Angel
* Jin of ''[[Samurai Champloo]]'' seems to be the incarnate of The Stoic.
* Kambei Shimada from ''[[Samurai 7]]'', "He has the eyes of a dead man." according to a Nobuseri. Kyuzo even more so.
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* Rukawa Kaede from ''[[Slam Dunk]]''.
* Trowa Barton from ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam Wing|Gundam Wing]]''. After losing his family in the war, Trowa was on his own until about age four and didn't even know how to talk until other humans found him. Even a decade later, he seems surprised whem something affects him emotionally (as seen when he cries after [[If You're So Evil Eat This Kitten|being ordered to destroy his friend Duo's Gundam]].
** Protagonist Heero Yuy is stoic, but calling him '''The''' Stoic isn't quite right ([[Kuudere]] is more appropriate). While he thinks that emotions get you killed on the battlefield, he says they're needed the rest of the time. He exhibits a normal (if subdued) emotional range,<ref>such as [https://web.archive.org/web/20130604052130/http://aboutgundamwing.com/SC/SC06/vlcsnap-75159.jpg surprise], [https://web.archive.org/web/20130604030437/http://aboutgundamwing.com/SC/SC34/vlcsnap-81467.jpg fear], and [https://web.archive.org/web/20130604033210/http://aboutgundamwing.com/SC/SC48/vlcsnap-239993.jpg happiness]</ref> and his self-stated life philosophy is "Live by your emotions". Most of the confusion stems from English voice actor [[Mark Hildreth]] being told to play the character as stiff and robotic, combined with [[Flanderization]]; this is obviously less of a problem in the Japanese version, where [[Hikaru Midorikawa]] delivered a subdued but still emotional performance.
* "The Captain" from ''[[Hellsing]]''
* Kunimitsu Tezuka from ''[[Prince of Tennis]]''. Genichirou Sanada starts like this, but soon we see that he's [[Not So Stoic]].
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** Freya's not on their level yet, but she's probably the member of their generation who comes closest. Natsu might make a good showing, as long as Kenichi stays the hell away from him.
* Every single contractor in ''[[Darker than Black]]''. It's one of their defining characteristics. Bonus points go to Hei in particular for being an [[Anti-Hero]] with a [[Badass Longcoat]]. [[Subverted Trope|However]], most of them also seem to have one [[Berserk Button]] that [[Not So Stoic|blows the whole thing to hell]]. Kirihara is also a stoic and she isn't a contractor.
* Tabitha in ''[[
** Her tragic and somewhat sadistic back story might have something to do with it.
* Ai Enma the ''[[Hell Girl]]''. {{spoiler|Only because her emotions were sealed so she could do her job. Flashbacks show she is just a normal girl.}}
* Doumeki from ''[[
* Miharu from ''[[Nabari no Ou]]''.
** Yoite tries it, at times, too.
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* Paul von Oberstein of ''[[Legend of the Galactic Heroes]]'' is one of the best examples of this trope. He's not fazed by anything, be it a necessity to sacrifice 2 billions of people or even ''his own death''.
== Comic Books ==
* Adam Warlock of the [[Marvel Universe]], even before he became completely devoid of both good and evil.
* [[Batman]], generally.
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== Films ==
* Andy Dufresne in ''[[The Shawshank Redemption]]''.
* Subverted by John Preston in the movie ''[[Equilibrium]]''. He starts the movie literally feeling no emotion, but by the end, when he goes off the emotion-inhibiting drug, he feels the full spectrum of human emotion while having to hide it from his superiors.
* Pick any movie starring [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] shortly after he switched from body building to cinema. However, since Arnold is from Austria, this might be more because he still had to polish his English, so this is more like one of those times when [[Real Life Writes the Plot]].
* Any role [[Keanu Reeves]] has ever played (except Theodore "Ted" Logan). Come to think of it, all the
* Kevin Costner in ''[[The Bodyguard]]''.
* Tommy Lee Jones in several of his movies.
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* Bruce Banner in the [[The Incredible Hulk (film)|The Incredible Hulk]] film, for all emotion, not just anger. Because otherwise... [[Unstoppable Rage|y'know]]...
* Silent Bob is played this way in ''[[Clerks]]''. This changed when the character became more prominent in the other [[View Askewniverse]] films.
* ''[[Inglourious Basterds
* ''[[The Man Who Fell to Earth]]'' has [[Alien Among Us]] Thomas Jerome Newton, who is ''much'' more stoic than in the book. Despite him {{spoiler|slipping into alcoholism, failing his planet, letting his family die, and losing the only thing he has left to love}} he never sheds a tear; when emotions crack his facade they are most often borne of fear and/or physical pain.
* In ''[[Edge of Darkness (2010 film)|Edge of Darkness]]'', the protagonist Craven is a former Vietnam vet who can't understand why others "make such a big deal" out of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and shows little outward signs of his emotions during his [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]] aside from a brief breakdown after his daughter Elle's murder.
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* From ''[[Tortall Universe|Trickster's Choice]]'' and ''Trickster's Queen'' by [[Tamora Pierce]], Junai makes a total of three facial expressions. Each time, ''everyone'' is shocked.
* Mildmay from Sarah Monette's series ''[[Doctrine of Labyrinths]]''. Even in an underground {{spoiler|labyrinth made by ancient worshippers of an evil goddess, he stays completely calm}}.
* Perhaps the greatest example of this trope is Hans from ''[[Journey to
* Cato from Colleen Mccullough's [[Masters of Rome]] ''wants'' to be this. [[wikipedia:Cato the Younger|The real Cato]] was a stoic philosopher who was/is famous for being [[Incorruptible Pure Pureness|incorruptible]] and [[Your Mileage May Vary|an ardent defender of Republican ideals]] during Rome's transition into an Empire. In contrast Mccullough's portrayal of him is extremely negative. He is portrayed as a fanatical stoic who single handedly leads Italy into Civil War due to his irrational hatred of Caesar and [[Status Quo Is God|rabid obsession with the mos maiorum]]. In his private life he is a deeply unhappy alcoholic who suppresses his emotions out of fear of being hurt.
* Phileas Fogg in ''[[Around the World in Eighty Days]]''.
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{{quote|'''Ziva:''' We have a situation at the safehouse.
'''Gibbs:''' Well, yeah, Ziva. What is it?
'''Ziva:''' Just a second. ''
'''Gibbs:''' Ziva? Ziva! Ziva, talk to me!
'''Ziva:''' Under control. ''
** Gibbs' only reaction is to smile slightly before he hangs up as well.
* Douglas Henshall's performance as Nick Cutter in ''[[Primeval]]'' is much more restrained in the second and third series than the first. The altercations to the timeline and revelation of {{spoiler|Stephen and Helen's affair}} could make him qualify in the [[Shell-Shocked Veteran]] category.
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''(Teal'c bursts out laughing, but stops after a few seconds when no one else laughs)'' }}
* Spock from ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'' is one of the most famous examples of the Stoic (even has his [[The Spock|own trope]]).
**[[Deep Space Nine|Worf]] glorifies Klingon culture but it comes out weird in him and slightly humanized. He is [[The Straight Man|amusingly serious]] and definitely gives duty all it's due.
* ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'': Hi there, Castiel. No, really, he has no clue how to show emotion, which isn't true for the other [[Our Angels Are Different|angels]].
* Stefan Salvatore, from ''[[The Vampire Diaries]]''.
* Captain Apollo, from
* Frank Reagan in ''[[Blue Bloods]]'' is an NYPD chief with a sense of public service that would do any Roman proud.
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
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* [http://garbagetimeallstars.blogspot.com/2009/04/many-faces-of-derrick-rose.html Derrick Rose.]
* [[Steven Seagal]]. [http://minorityblog.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/steven_seagal_expressions.jpg Here's a chart.]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20151106195315/http://rumorator.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Amber_lamps.jpg Amber Lamps.]
* Chilean President Manuel Montt was described by his own followers as "being all cool head, but no heart".
* During the [[Arab-Israeli Conflict|Yom Kippur War]] "Dado" Elazar specifically ordered that no casualties names be reported to headquarters unless it was of military importance that they be known. This was because several of the officers present had their own sons in the fighting. In this case it was almost literal Stoicism: it was the sort of order a Roman commander might have given.
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* [[Ub Iwerks]] could be a cold, distant figure in real life—as mentioned in his biography, when he learned that his ner-do-well father (who abandoned him and his mother as a teenager) had died, he coldly replied "Throw him in a ditch."
* George Washington. If he ever smiled in his entire life it has never been proven.
* The Duke of Wellington. [[No True Scotsman|But then]] [[Stiff Upper Lip|he was British.]]
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Knight in Shining Tropes]]
[[Category:Characters]]
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[[Category:Narrative Tropes]]
[[Category:Emotion Tropes]]
▲[[Category:The Stoic]]
[[Category:Introversion Tropes]]
[[Category:All the Tropes Superhero Team]]
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