Token Good Teammate: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
{{quote|'''[[Physical God|Sarda]]:''' You are ''all'' [[Villain Protagonist|evil monsters]] who need to die for the good of ''everybody'' else.
'''[[Omnicidal Maniac|Black Mage]]:''' Wait, even ''[[Dumb Is Good|Fighter]]?''
'''Sarda:''' ''Except'' Fighter.
'''Fighter:''' Yay!
'''Sarda:''' [[Guilt
'''Black Mage:''' ''(as Fighter pouts)'' [[With Friends Like These...|Yay]]!
|''[[8-Bit Theater]]''}}
A [[Token Evil Teammate]] is someone in the team whose lesser principles stick out like a sore thumb. A Token Good Teammate is someone whose greater principles do the same. A typical example might be a [[Justified Criminal]] forced to [[Going Native|go native]] among real criminals, perhaps because of deliberate persecution or simple error by [[The Government]].
Despite his high moral standards, he need not be [[The Heart]] for the party, as he may not be interfering with their questionable activities. Though he can be, reminding the others (or ''teaching them'' for the first time) that there is more at stake than money, power or [[Revenge|personal vendettas]]. Alternately, he may be someone who simply holds himself aloof from the "debauchery" of other party members. In extreme examples, he may become [[The Scrappy]] [[In
He will likely have struggles between loyalty to the [[True Companions]] and his conscience, creating inner conflict and conflict with his teammates, but sometimes a
If both he and the [[Token Evil Teammate]] are in the same party (and you ''know'' authors won't want to miss the chance) there will be at least one huge display of verbal fireworks per episode, lots of almost (and actual) [[Let's You and Him Fight|Lets You And Him Fights]], and perhaps an eventual [[Vitriolic Best Buds]].
Alternatively, though, a
Compare [[Token Wholesome]]. Related to the [[Fish Out of Water]], the [[Only Sane Man]], and [[The Heart]]. See also [[The Messiah]]. For the types of 'good guy amongst evil villains', see also [[Anti-Villain]] ([[Sliding Scale of Anti-Villains|especially Type IV]]) and [[Noble Demon]].
{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
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* ''[[Code Geass]]:'' Euphie and Suzaku are this for Britannia in season one; in season two, it's {{spoiler|Nunnally.}}
* ''[[Keroro Gunsou]]'': Dororo is less interested in taking over Earth and more interested in [[Green Aesop|protecting its environment]]. Far more obvious in the manga, and [[Lampshade Hanging|pointed out]] several times.
* Seras Victoria, [[Friendly Neighborhood Vampire]], is the only character on [[Hellsing]] with a fully functional moral compass.
** ''Anderson'' plays this role for the Vatican side- he may love fighting monsters, including [[Friendly Neighborhood Vampire|Seras]], but he does stick to his sense of right and wrong even as his faction reaches new lows- {{spoiler|culminating in his destruction of Maxwell's anti-zombie shelter when he realizes the latter has gone [[Complete Monster|entirely around the bend]].}}
* Starrk and Harribel of the Espada in ''[[Bleach]]'' could count. While for the most part, the Espada's members are arrogant, violent, and thoroughly evil followers of [[Big Bad|Aizen]], Starrk and Harribel are both [[Martial Pacifist
** Starrk ends up being a [[Deconstructed Trope|deconstruction]] as his fight with Shunsui shows that even though he was a noble person, he was still fighting on the wrong side. {{spoiler|And Shunsui kills him for it.}}
** Also, {{spoiler|Riruka Dokugamine, the only one in Xcution who doesn't want Ichigo's powers that Ginjou promised to share with the other members and tries to reject it. It helps that she actually ''befriended'' Ichigo and Orihime genuinely.}}
* Dieci of the [[Quirky Miniboss Squad|Numbers Cyborgs]] in ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
* Kurama in an early arc of ''[[Yu Yu Hakusho]]''. Not surprisingly, he does a [[Heel Face Turn]], but unexpectedly, so does Hiei (who then becomes the [[Token Evil Teammate]] for the good guys.)
* In ''[[
** The same could be said about Soichiro Yagami
* The Four Star Dragon in the last arc of [[
* Mikiya Kokutou from ''[[Kara no Kyoukai:]]'' is a really decent guy and a devout Zen Buddhist. The people he hangs around with are... neutral at best. He comments on how he'll just have to share the karma of Shiki's sins to be with her. Miraculously, he does this without sounding like a jackass.
* In ''[[One Piece]]'', all of the Seven Warlords of the Sea took their position for entirely selfish and often incredibly amoral reasons, save for Jimbei who wants to protect the fishmen and merpeople of his home island (who are second class citizens the world over) {{spoiler|and Kuma, was a double agent working for the Revolutionaries.}}
** And earlier, we have Hachi who was the least cruel out of Arlong's pirates. {{spoiler|He would in fact become an ally to the Straw Hats later.}}
* [[Emotionless Girl|Maria]] of ''[[Eyeshield
** [[Nice Guy]] Panther of the Pentagram, where he plays alongside showboat Bud Walker, [[Dumb Muscle]] Tatanka, [[Jerk Jock]] Clifford, and the thoroughly monstrous [[The Juggernaut|Mr. Don]].
* Jugo from ''[[Naruto]]'' qualifies as this [[Jekyll and Hyde|most of the time.]] While his [[Super-Powered Evil Side]] has allegedly caused a massive amount of destruction in the past, Jugo's dominant personality is a calm, level-headed and non-violent man who [[I Just Want to Be Normal|would rather not have the incredible superpowers that drive him insane from time to time.]] He acts as the
* In ''[[Haruhi Suzumiya]]'', {{spoiler|Sasaki}} turns out to be the only decent person in the [[Evil Counterpart|Anti-SOS Brigade]]. {{spoiler|She even joins up with Kyon to stop her nominal teammates.}}
** That is, until {{spoiler|[[Well-Intentioned Extremist|Kyouko]]}} pulls a [[Heel Face Turn]].
* ''[[Daphne in
** Before Maia joined, Shizuka might count since she doesn't cause the same damage as the above. However, she never has a problem with what they do either.
* ''[[
* In an excellent example of having both a
* To some degree [[Token Human|Togusa]] in [[Ghost in
* As revealed eventually in the latter stages of ''[[Brave 10]]'', [[Hattori Hanzo]]'s group seemingly consist of people who are only in for simple megalomania and conquering the world. The only exception is {{spoiler|Anastasia, just fresh [[Face Heel Turn|after betraying the Braves]], as her motive of serving Hanzo was only [[Not in This For Your Revolution|to reclaim her family heirloom that Hanzo held]]. Despite being a Type V [[Anti-Hero]] herself.}}
* Though everyone from the Sabertooth guild in ''[[Fairy Tail]]'' is cocky, Rogue is the only one to actually voice his distaste at how they humiliated and expelled one of their members over a single loss. It's an incredibly stark contrast with his close companion Sting's amusement over the poor girl's weakness.
== Comic Books ==
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* Jim Gordon in most ''[[Batman]]'' comics and shows has that effect. He seems to purify the air around him. Look at Harvey Bullock, a [[Corrupt Cop]] that becomes basically Gordon's Lancer.
* Piffany in ''[[Nodwick]]''. While Nodwick [[Word of God|is also good-aligned]], he is too subservient to have much effect on the group's actions. Piffany is [[Failed a Spot Check|oblivious to Yeagar and Artax's more questionable actions]], or sometimes [[Selective Obliviousness|willing to rationalize]]. Ironically, she's also Yeagar and Arthax's [[Morality Pet]], and the two would probably be even ''more'' reprehensible if she wasn't a party member, however ineffectual she is at stopping what they do try with her around. {{spoiler|One plotline concerns a [[Bad Future]] without Piffany, where Yeagar and Arthax become [[The Dragon]] and [[The Evil Genius]] under an evil god without her around.}}
* Sandman of [[Spider
* [[Dark Avengers|Victoria Hand]]. Out of everyone on the team, she's the one person who ''isn't'' a homicidal maniac. So much that when {{spoiler|[[Captain America (comics)]] is appointed to Osborn/Stark/Fury's old position he makes her his New Avengers liason}}
* Jolt of ''The [[Thunderbolts]]''. She was an actual hero (technically a hero wannabe) among the [[Villain
** In a later incarnation of the team composed mainly of unrepentant criminals, the good teammate was Songbird. In the version of the group after ''that'', Norman Osborn's private black ops task force, the good teammate was Paladin, though he wasn't so much "good" as "not bad." Eventually the Headsman, Ant-Man, and the Ghost joined
* Lucas Lee of the Evil Exes in ''[[Scott Pilgrim]]'' is not a [[Jerkass]] like much of the other Exes. He turns out to actually be a decent guy who is genuinely friendly to Scott. However, Scott still has to defeat him to free Ramona from the Evil Exes' control.
** He was more of an antagonistic [[Jerkass]] in the film adaptation, however.
==
* Suishoku in ''[[
* Linda in the ''[[
* [[Pirates of the Caribbean|Comodore]] [[The Rival|James]] [[The Lancer|Norrington]] in the main cast of the [[Mega Crossover]] [[Fanfic|fan]][[Web Comic|comic]] ''[[Roommates 2007
== Film ==
* ''[[
* In ''[[Mr. Smith Goes to Washington]]'', Jefferson Smith is pretty much the nicest, greatest guy in the world, and everyone around him sucks. But by being around him, they start to get better. The secretary, whose name escapes me, the Corrupt Senator from Smith's home state, they all basically see the light.
* The Amish family in ''[[Saving Sarah Cain]]'' are this in public school. In their case they make venial compromises that understandably irritates Big Sis Lyddie (who is THEIR "
* In ''[[The Gamers]] 2'', the GM sends along a paladin in order to keep in check the group's more sociopathic members. All it does is have them find more creative ways to be sociopaths.
* Jim Caviezel's character in ''[[The Thin Red Line]]'', Witt, is so noble and idealistic that he comes across as jarring to the other soldiers around him.
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* Loial the Ogier in The [[Wheel of Time]] series. Most of the 'good guys' are just as likely to act in their own self-interest as help their friends and allies, even when cooperation is vital. Loial sometimes finds himself caught between these squabbles, but he cares deeply for all of his friends and is typically much more willing to risk his neck for them than they are for each other.
* David Balfour in ''[[Kidnapped
* Turin spends some time among outlaws in ''Lay of the Children of Hurin.''
* Wintrow in [[Robin Hobb]]'s ''The Liveship Traders'' trilogy tries hard to be this, but is mostly ridiculed (or worse) for his high moral standards. Amber manages better with her views on slavery, violence and the treatment of Paragon.
* The hero in ''Mickey Blue Eyes.''
* Otto in ''Otto of the Silver Hand''. In his case he is a Woobie version of this.
* Prince Edward is among London Beggers in ''[[The Prince and
* The Geste brothers in ''[[Beau Geste]]''. They are Gentleman-rankers among rather ruffianly Foreign Legionaires and some of this is class difference. However they do, to some degree try to be the
* Patrius in the [[Farsala Trilogy]], though one could argue that it's only really noticeable when he is contrasted with his commander, Garren, who is a [[Complete Monster]].
* Though she only appears briefly in one scene in the original novel, Bree Tanner is this for Victoria's newborn army in the Twilight series. The film adaptation expands her role significantly and especially emphasizes this aspect of her character.
** Although her actions in her novella make this a case of YMMV. Arguably Freaky Fred is closer in that story, seeing as he's the only newborn who actively refrains from the fighting between newborns and defends Bree from them.
* Rana Sanga is the Token Good general of the Malwa empire in [[Belisarius Series]], being a noble and brave Rajput [[Warrior Prince]].
* Thomas Raith qualifies as the token good member of his family in the early [[The Dresden Files|Harry Dresden books]], as the only Raith with anything resembling morals. Then he leaves the family.
* Subverted with great gusto in The Blending series by Sharon Green. The team of [[Psycho Rangers]] set up in contrast to the main characters appears to have a token good member and [[Only Sane Man]] in the person of their [[The Empath|Spirit]] wielder... until he reveals he's been using his power to control the other members of their team and is probably the ''most'' evil of the five - not to mention the most ambitious - just a lot smarter and less obvious about it.
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* Lisa is becoming this on ''[[V-2009]]'', which is very bad news considering her mother is the [[Big Bad]]
** [[Reverse Mole|Joshua]] is probably a more clear-cut example of this, {{spoiler|at least until the season 1 finale}}.
* While every character on
** Also Billy, although he may have been lucky to get shot dead shortly before something that might have really tested his morality.
* ''[[
** Gai Ikari, Gokai Silver, is another one, as he's an [[Ascended Fanboy]] of [[Super Sentai]] who wants the Gokaigers to do things like help children who've tripped and give encouraging messages to their fans. Notably, when he's imagining what he wants the team to be like, Ahim's the only one who actually still acts like herself. In a surprise, not only the Gokaigers think his imagination is ridiculous, [[Even Evil Has Standards|even Ahim thinks his version of herself isn't exactly cool]] (though in the most polite way possible of saying it)
** Don Doggoier AKA Doc, is another one, though still fits a little more than Ahim since his main draw is that he's a [[Reluctant Warrior]], thus less bloodthirsty than the rest. This does comes with a price, though, he's the designated [[Butt Monkey]], so much that in Gai's [[Imagine Spot]] above, Don is nonexistant and had his place taken by Gai.
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== Table Top Games ==
* A not uncommon position given the high popularity of [[Chaotic Evil|supposedly]] [[Chaotic Neutral]] characters among [[Munchkin
** The [[Always Lawful Good]] [[Knight in Shining Armor|Paladin]] in the former editions of [[Dungeons
* In ''[[Magic:
== Video Games ==
* In many D&D games, such as ''[[Icewind Dale]]'' or ''[[Temple of Elemental Evil]]'', having a paladin in your party can prevent you from having normal dialogue choices, instead getting [[Lawful Stupid|sanctimonious tirade]] that ironically prevents a peaceful resolution.
** ''[[
*** Throne of Bhaal has Balthazar, a [[Lawful Good]] monk who has teamed up with the bad guys to accomplish the goal of destroying what he sees as a great evil. Interestingly, the group itself is a part of that evil and he plans to see the entirety of it
** In [[Planescape: Torment]], Morte the flying talking skull is only good-aligned character in your neutral-aligned party. You may also become good, but it'll require some time.
* Flonne in ''[[Disgaea]]''. Originally joins to understand demons and teach them about love.
* [[Legacy of Kain]] : Janos Audron for the vampires. While Kain, Raziel, and Vorador aren't ''technically'' evil (they're better than [[The Chessmaster|Moebius]] and the [[Knight Templar|Sarafan]] at any rate), they're all kind of assholeish in their own way. Janos is the only vamp who's not morally ambiguous and slippery/enjoys messing Raziel around.
* William is the Super Ego among the [[Sibling Team|McCall brothers']] [[Power Trio]] in ''[[Call of Juarez]]: Bound in Blood''.
* [[Final Fantasy X
** To a lesser extent, [[Final Fantasy XII
* [[Final Fantasy VII
* [[Kingdom Hearts|Roxas]] to [[Standard Evil Organization Squad|OrganizationXIII]]. Unlike the other 12, he isn't activly malicious.
* In the end of ''[[
* In [[Knights of the Old Republic]], if you go dark-side by the end of the game Zaalbar will be the only person on your team who bears any resemblance to a good alignment, and he'll attack you if you take him onto the Star Forge.
* Both Rei and Shuu/Shew becomes this in ''[[Fist of the North Star|Hokuto Musou]]'' Dream Mode, on basis that the antagonist is the Nanto side, and they're both Nanto practicioners. In the real story, they would've been Kenshiro's greatest allies.
** Though Rei had much more pressing matter to join the Nanto side, {{spoiler|very similar to Litchi above. His [[Morality Pet|sister Airi]] [[I Have Your Wife|got taken hostage by]] [[Evil Overlord|Thouzer]]}}
* Leo in ''[[
* In ''[[Nicktoons Unite!]]: Globs of Doom,'' the heroes and villains from various Nicktoons split up into opposite teams. [[Villain Protagonist]] [[Invader Zim|Zim]], however, [[Token Evil Teammate|goes with the heroes]], so his arch-nemesis, [[Hero Antagonist]] Dib, decides that he has to team up with the bad guys. [[Guilt
* [[Romance of the Three Kingdoms|Cao Ren]] in ''[[Dynasty Warriors]]''. In a game where Wei stores A LOT of scary looking, ambitious, jerkwad or scheming people... we got this peaceful shorty guy who just wants the chaos to end. And this is before Wei takes a swing in [[Anti-Villain]]-y since the 6th game.
** And in the 7th game, even if Wei is just merely [[Designated Villain]], one look at serene, compassionate poet/musician Cai Wenji amongst Wei would make you agree that she's another
* ''[[Soul Series|Soulcalibur IV]]'' has this fate unfortunately befall Sophitia Alexandria, turning this [[Lady of War]] into a [[Pelagian Villain
* In ''[[Warriors Orochi]]'', Himiko is mainly on the side of the forces of Orochi because Da Ji acts as a [[Cool Big Sis]] toward her. When she and Da Ji are captured by the Resistance in ''Warriors Orochi 3'', Himiko gets along better with the Resistance fighters,<ref>as unlike Da Ji, she doesn't have an ulterior motive for doing so</ref>
* Mina Tang in ''[[Alpha Protocol]]''. The only employee of the eponymous agency who seems to have any sort of conscience, and also the only one of Mike Thorton's [[Mission Control
== Web Comics ==
* ''[[
* White Mage, and possibly Fighter in ''[[8-Bit Theater
** Fighter ''is'' this Trope.
*** [http://www.nuklearpower.com/2007/03/20/episode-822-too-many-light-warriors-spoil-the-npc/ Maybe not?]
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* This is ''such'' a perfect description of Cale in ''[[Looking for Group]].''
** Though over the course of [[Character Development]] the others have become slightly more Good due to his influence and Cale has become less idealistic.
* In ''[[The Order of the Stick]]'' the [[Psycho Rangers|Linear Guild]] recruited a [[Lawful Good]] (or at least honorable [[Lawful Neutral]], considering he let Nale and crew get away with mass murder) kobold to serve as the counterpart to [[Token Evil Teammate|Belkar.]]
** [[Reluctant Monster|The Monster in the Darkness]] is this to the villains; he's a childlike, naive creature who doesn't bear anyone any malice and seems not to understand how evil [[Big Bad|Xykon]] really is.
* Artie from ''[[Narbonic]]'' normally preoccupies himself with the support of hippie-ish causes (such as world peace and the election of Dennis Kucinich), all while living with a mad scientist and her henchmen.
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** Doc. It's especially hilarious because the other members of his team consist of: a bomb, a robot's head, and an AI that's taken control (mostly) of Doc's armor.
* Yvan Viau aka Labyrinthe of the [[Academy of Superheroes|ASH]] universe is canonically the token good teammate on the Conclave of Supervillains.
* [[
== Western Animation ==
* Exaggerated completely on ''[[Jimmy Two-Shoes]]'', Where Jimmy is the Token Good for the whole city.
* Zuko's Uncle Iroh in the first season of [[
* John Canmore in ''[[
* Wonder Man is this for the Masters of Evil in ''[[The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes
* Colossus is this to Magneto's Acolytes in ''[[X
* Silverbolt in ''[[
** {{spoiler|He becomes a [[Token Evil Teammate]] after being free of Megatron's control in ''[[
* Dr. Zoidberg in "An Xmas Story" was specificly the only member of the Planet Express Crew to not be targeted by Santa Bot, [[Fan of the Underdog|and even gives him a pogo stick for a present]].
** More than that; he's apparently the only person ''on Earth'' who is not on Santa's naughty / target list.
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== Real Life ==
* [[
* John Rabe of the Nazis, who helped to establish a 'safety zone' for Chinese refuges in the Nanking massacre.
** If you want a token good Nazi though, the best example would be [[Schindler's List|Oskar Schindler:]]
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[[Category:Token Index]]
[[Category:Token Good Teammate]]
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