Turn Out Like His Father: Difference between revisions

 

See also [[In the Blood]], [[Generation Xerox]], [[Follow in My Footsteps]]. Contrast [[Loser Son of Loser Dad]], [[Raise Him Right This Time]].

 

* Jackie Estacado aka ''[[The Darkness]]'' is a hitman like his father, but unlike his father, he's not an out of control psycho. This is because the [[Ancient Conspiracy|Brotherhood of Darkness]] arranged for him to be adopted by mafia boss Frankie Franchetti, who, knowing how messed up Jackie's father had been, could be counted on to raise him on the right side of the line between viciously ruthless badassery and self-destructive [[Ax Crazy|Ax Craziness]].

* [[Wanted (Comic Book)|Wanted]] reveals that Wesley's mother raised him to be a pacifistic loser because she realized that he had the potential to be the [[Complete Monster]] that his father was. [[From Nobody to Nightmare|It doesn't help]].

* Matt Murdock a.k.a. [[Daredevil]] was raised not to become a fighter like his Dad because his Dad wanted something better for him.

 

* ''[[Star Wars]]'' is probably the best-known example, and the [[Jedi Truth|efforts]] to keep Luke from being like his father (who, [[It Was His Sled|as we all know]], [[Face Heel Turn|went]] [[The Dark Side|evil]]) occupy three separate characters: Owen, Ben Kenobi, and Yoda.

** In ''Return of the Jedi'', Luke realizes that he's dangerously close to invoking this trope after he cuts off Vader's right hand and looks down at his own cybernetic hand. This prompts him to deactivate and discard his lightsaber so that he won't be tempted any further.

* ''[[The Heavenly Kid]]'' A greaser in the is killed when his car goes over a cliff in a game of "Chicken". He comes back to Earth years later to become guardian angel to his nerdy teenage son. Neither of them know that they are father and son. The son starts acting like the greaser and says his catchphrase "I got it covered." This freaks out his mom, who is afraid he's going to die just like his father.

 

* In some [[King Arthur]] tales, Percival was raised in [[The Lost Woods]] by his mother to keep him from hearing of knights. His first glimpse of a [[Knight in Shining Armor]] makes him long to be one.

* In [[Patricia C. Wrede]] and [[Caroline Stevermer]]'s ''[[Sorcery and Cecelia]]'', Cecelia's great-aunt lost her fiancé to his magical studies, and is horrified at the thought of Cecelia learning from the same wizard. (Fortunately, it was a misunderstanding. Though she is not entirely pleased about any form of study, she accepts it.)

* Achebe's ''[[Things Fall Apart]]'' features the character Okonkwo who dedicates his life to proving that he is not his lazy father. {{spoiler|It ends up being his fatal flaw.}}

* Averted, hard, in ''[[Prince Roger]]'' series, albeit in a convoluted way. Roger resembles his father, emulating him without knowing. After (well, that is debatable) learning, finally, the consequences of this.. well, first time they met he {{spoiler|decides to behead him for torturing, raping and mind raping his mother. Would have done it, if not for a timely intervention of Nimashet Despreaux.}}

* In ''[[Warrior Cats]]'', Firestar is awkward around Bramblepaw because he looks exactly like his father, Firestar's [[Big Bad|nemesis]] Tigerstar.

* In the Popol Vuh of the Kiche Maya, the mother and grandmother of Hunter and Jaguar Deer hide their father's ball gear from them, as well as the truth that their father was a ball player. A rat reveals the truth and helps the two to find said ball gear.

 

* Bobby Singer in ''[[Supernatural]]'' had a whole series of flashbacks in the episode where {{spoiler|he died}} where it eventually was revealed that he'd never been willing to have kids because he was sure he'd turn out just like [[Abusive Parents|his father]]. {{spoiler|Whom he shot. In the same place in the head where Dick Roman tagged Bobby. According to the Reaper, "you have the only genetic case of bullet-to-the-brain I've ever seen."}}

* Turned [[Up to Eleven]] in an episode of ''[[Criminal Minds]]'', where the father is a [[Serial Killer]] and rapist, the mother the one victim that escaped and killed him, and the son the one she ended being impregnated with after being raped. The son eventually discovers his parentage by himself and is fascinated by it, becoming his father's [[Jack the Ripoff]].

 

* "Coward of the County"—where the father he shouldn't emulate is the one who tells him so.

{{quote|''Promise me son not to do the things I've done''

{{quote|"And you tell me I’m just like my father -- my one button, you push it"}}

 

* Gorion in ''[[Baldur's Gate]]'' must have had this worry, though it's never quite stated outright. Being the [[Lawful Good]] foster father of the protagonist, whose real father was {{spoiler|Bhaal, a [[God of Evil]]}}, he can't have wanted them to follow in his footsteps in any sense, even though {{spoiler|the prophecies made it likely they'd either do that or just die.}}

* Played with in ''[[Knights of the Old Republic]]'', where the Jedi Council is trying to stop {{spoiler|Revan from going down the same path he took last time around}}. It isn't the character's father, but the scene is played in the exact same manner down to the Council's reluctance to {{spoiler|tell the player about Revan}}.

* In ''[[Red Dead Redemption]]'', {{spoiler|after John Marston is killed by Ross, his son Jack becomes a wandering outlaw seeking revenge; exactly the opposite of the idealistic young man he was before his father died and precisely what John hoped he ''wouldn't'' become}}.

 

* The third film in ''The Laser Collection'' series features a police detective, Randall, growing metal limbs upon discovering that his father is Dr. Octogonapus.

 

* Let's face it, every divorced woman raising a son probably feels like this every once in a while.

** Every divorced Dad with a daughter too...

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Beginning Tropes]]

[[Category:Older Than Print]]

[[Category:Son of Trope, Daughter of Index]]