Unfazed Everyman: Difference between revisions

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{{trope}}
[[File:arthur_dent_on_the_orther_side_3864arthur dent on the orther side 3864.jpg|link=The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy|frame|Another day, another robot. [[Spot of Tea|Tea, anyone?]]]]
 
{{quote|''"No, I'm very ordinary... but, some very strange things have happened to me. You could say I'm more differed from than differing."''|'''Arthur Dent''', ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy/The Restaurant At The End of The Universe|The Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy]]''.}}
|'''Arthur Dent''', ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy/The Restaurant At The End of The Universe|The Restaurant At The End of The Universe]]''.}}
 
{{quote|''"The only thing he (Arthur Dent) could think was that they were obviously going to die, and if he wanted anything other than the obvious to happen he was going to have to do something other than the obvious. Here he felt he was on familiar territory"''|''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]''}}
|''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]''}}
 
A specific type of [[Token Human]], The Unfazed Everyman is an [[Muggle|ordinary human]] with no special powers, who happens to hang around with aliens, [[Time Travel|time travellers]], espers or wizards, and assorted other weirdos. Unlike [[Innocent Bystander|most of]] [[Muggles|their kind]] for whom such oddbods are [[Invisible to Normals|invisible]], Unfazed Everymen have a great capacity to cope with and ''accept'' the incomprehensible wackiness that surrounds them; in many cases with a wise and rational demeanor.
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If they are a protagonist, they tend to be Muggle Weight on the [[Super Weight]] scale. If they join a team, they are [[The Team Normal]].
 
See also [[Weirdness Magnet]], [[The Watson]]. <ref> (Coincidentally, [[Martin Freeman]] has played both [[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy|Arthur Dent]] and [[Sherlock|John Watson]]).</ref> Compare [[Did We Just Have Tea with Cthulhu?]].
{{examples}}
 
{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* Kyon from ''[[Haruhi Suzumiya]]''. He does have one thing that sets him apart from everyone else: {{spoiler|[[Trust Password|He's John Smith]]}}. This fact puts him in [[Badass Normal]] territory, because it allows him to control Haruhi, Yuki's boss, and almost anyone who knows of Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody. It also explains why Haruhi gravitated towards him: {{spoiler|he's the reason she came to North High to begin with (she just doesn't know it yet)}}.
* ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'''s Asakura; she's one of the first girls to discover Negi's magical abilities, yet never gained any sort of magic or kung fu abilities of her own until recently, and even then, it was an emergency situation. Despite that, she was still able to be more or less self-sufficient when she was forced to fend for herself in the Magic World.
** Jonny [[Boss Subtitles|"Blazing Rumbling Trucker"]] Raidein is one in the Magic World arc, being nearly the only non-empowered person in the crew. He helps out Ala Alba purely because he's friends with some of the girls, and takes the whole "saving the world" thing in stride.
* ''[[Bobobo-Bo Bo-bobo]]'': Despite the extreme, glass-shattering reactions to her companions' antics most of the time, [[Bobobobo Bobobo|Beauty]] has no issue with staying with Bo-bobo and his downright insane group of rebel fighters; in fact, she embraces her life with them with joy. {{spoiler|The end of the sequel manga has her mention that she rejoined Bo-bobo for another adventure, [[Damsel in Distress|despite the danger]], because she had grown to love his insane, comedic lifestyle.}}
* Nenene Sumiregawa and Drake Anderson from ''[[Read or Die]]''.
** Drake's a [[Badass Normal]], something of a Batman to Yomiko's Superman. Nenene is the Unfazed Everyman.
* Kaede from [[Ninin ga Shinobuden]]. She apparently spends a good chunk of her free time hanging around a ninja mansion despite being an [[Ordinary High School Student]].
* Ataru Moroboshi of ''[[Urusei Yatsura]]''. Though, this might be subverted as time goes on, as he seems to gain an inhuman level of super-speed (whether running away from trouble or running after a woman) and a comic invulnerability that would make Daffy Duck proud.
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* [[Only Sane Man]] Furuichi from ''[[Beelzebub]]'' eventually becomes one, and gets [[Mistaken for Badass]] as a result.
* Oz from ''[[Pandora Hearts]]'' takes pride in his ability to accept the oddities he encounters and adapt to them. Keep in mind, this manga is one big [[Alice Allusion]] [[Mind Screw]], so having that kind of adaptability deserves some applause.
 
 
== Comic Books ==
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* Janine Melnitz from ''[[Ghostbusters]]''. She is surrounded by men who hunt ghosts, half of whom are mad scientists. She even has a ghost in a cage close to where she works that the busters keep as a "pet". Not once has she ever batted an eye at any of this.
** Winston Zeddmore was this in the first film, casually commenting "As long as there's a steady paycheck in it, I'll believe anything you say."
* The Love Interest from ''[[RedRED (film)]]''. Sarah is kidnapped, drugged, shot at, almost blown up, and kidnapped again. She is surrounded by old and young spies, assassins and government agents who are fighting over her life all the time. What does she say when she is confronted with the death sentence or life in prison if she is caught? {{spoiler|"Awesome."}} And when she finally is?{{spoiler|That her boyfriend will kick the interrogators ass.}} The movie is full of lines like this from her.
** There's a strong indication that Sarah is taking to life with the spies [[Like a Fish Takes to Water]].
* Kolya Gerasimov ([[Alexei Fomkin]]) in Soviet [[Sci Fi]] classic ''[[Guest From the Future]]'' is an [[Ordinary High School Student]] who one day accidentally winds up 100 years in the future. He does pretty well, given how confused he is.
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* In his time, Agent Phil Coulson of the [[Marvel Cinematic Universe]] meets a [[Super Soldier]], a guy in [[Powered Armor]], a [[Norse Mythology|Norse god]], and a [[Hulking Out|green rage monster]] while still remaining a slightly jaded [[Deadpan Snarker]].
** Though he's a bit less blase about the [[Super Soldier]].
 
 
== Literature ==
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** {{spoiler|And then she jumps over to [[Badass Normal]] with a mail-order death ray.}}
* Richard Mayhew in ''[[Neverwhere]]''
* [[Older Than Radio]] example: Lemuel Gulliver from ''[[Gulliver's Travels|Gullivers Travels]]''.
** Though he does eventually crack and end up a broken misanthrope after being rejected by the passionless horse-people in book four, who he [[Unreliable Narrator|looks up to despite their coldness and talk of genocide]].
* Bella Swan of the ''[[Twilight (novel)|Twilight]]'' saga. She figured out that Edward wasn't human and then decided that "It doesn't matter". Much to the [[Memetic Mutation|chagrin]] of Edward himself. Since she was [[Mary Sue|born with a special shield on her mind]], that is not revealed till the end and is implied allows her to cope with weird stuff , Edward Lampshades often enough how her reactions are not human, she might just be [[The Everyman]].
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** A case could also be made for Karrin Murphy. Her life was fine and dandy until she tried choking a literal troll to death, and met Harry. You could also make an argument that it's a [[Deconstruction]], as she nearly gets killed several times before Harry realizes that she ''needs'' to get clued into the supernatural if she's going to survive.
* Lyra Volfrieds from ''[[Black Dogs]]''. Starts out as an unathletic bookworm, wide-eyed and surprised at everything from dog soldiers to lesbians.
* Rincewind the "Wizzard" (from ''[[Discworld]])'' is the perfect example. He is such a bad wizard that if he died, the per capita magical capacity of the Disc would go up. Despite his ineptitude, he has been to hell, heaven, Earth, the dawn of ages, the court of the fabulously rich and good-natured serif Creosote of Klatch, the court of the fabulously rich and [[Obliviously Evil]] emperor of Agatea, the the abode of an [[Eldritch Abomination]], Dungeon Dimensions (from which the latter originally came), Death's Domain, and outer space, and not necessarily in that order.<ref>chronologically or otherwise</ref>. This is not a full list, and he was scared to death at all of these times.
** Although it is worth keeping in mind that he ''is'' a wizard, and can still, for example, see Octarine (he does not know the time of his death, but that is because his timeline is so screwed up that even ''Death'' doesn't know, rather than any incompetence or tendence towards muggledom).
* Newton Pulsifer from ''[[Good Omens]]'' is a wages clerk turned witch-finder out of desperation for some excitement in his life. He eventually [[Be Careful What You Wish For|gets entangled in all matter of supernatural weirdness]], up to and including [[The End of the World as We Know It]].
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* David Wong and John Cheese from [[John Dies at the End]] are Unfazed Everymen who {{spoiler|come into contact with all kinds of weird shit because of the soy sauce and}} eventually become unaffected and [[Genre Savvy]].
* George Dorn from the ''[[Illuminatus]]''-trilogy definately qualifies: he gets recruited to the League of Dynamic Discord implicitly due to this quality, and promptly sent to deal with the International Crime Syndicate for a job vital to the safety of the human race after being member only for a day or two, and only getting a brief explanation for the goals and history of the organization. Though it's not directly stated, it's implied that Hagbard Celine does this because he wants a person who's mostly free even from the Discordian preconceptions to be his representative. In fact most people in the Discordian organizations are like this when they first join.
* Kamele Waitley from the later ''[[Liaden Universe]]'' books by Sharon Lee &and Steve Miller, who over the course of knowing Professor Jen Sar Kiladi goes from being a naive, cloistered ivory-tower academic (''Fledgling'', ''Saltation'') to {{spoiler|setting out to "rescue" Kiladi from Clan Korval but ending up rescuing ''herself'' from the machinations of the Department of the Interior instead}} (''Ghost Ship'', ''Dragon Ship'').
 
 
== Live Action TV ==
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* Marilyn in ''[[The Munsters]]''
* John Crichton in ''[[Farscape]]'', initially, though after a few years of being the universe's punching bag, he becomes [[Badass Normal]] on the grounds that whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger. He may qualify as an evolved Unfazed Everyman after {{spoiler|the Ancients unlock the wormhole knowledge in his brain. Though not Genre Savviness, wormhole technology is apparently the most powerful tool available to the the major characters.}} By the end of the miniseries, he creates {{spoiler|an exponentially expanding wormhole capable of destroying the entire Universe.}}
* Penny in ''[[The Big Bang Theory]]'' is the [[Unfazed Everyman]] of the cast, as she is surrounded by [[Genre Savvy]] geeks and spends a lot of time being confused about what's going on.
* Xander in ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''
** Oz also had the potential for this before going all wolfie. Note his reaction to discovering the existence of the supernatural (though he did pretty much react like that to everything...).
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* Wendy from ''[[The Middleman]]'' was hired for her cynical, snarky attitude and matter-of-fact reactions to things like the eyeball monster.
 
== Video Games ==
* Sigint in ''[[Metal Gear Solid]] 3: Snake Eater'', the [[Only Sane Man]] in a team of [[Bunny Ears Lawyer|weirdos]] supporting a [[Badass]] soldier fighting even ''weirder'' enemies.
* Johnny Cage is this for the first story mode chapter of ''[[Mortal Kombat 9]]'', by way of being the most relatively normal kombatant.
* The player character, of all people, in ''[[Knights of the Old Republic]]'' is simply a random Republic soldier who just happened to be one of the few survivors of the Endar Spire in the first chapter, and seems to cope rather well with Mandalorians, war heroes, Wookies, Jedi, and Sith. Somewhat subverted due to [[Tomato Surprise|later events]], though.
* Derek Badger, unflappable [[Oop North|Yorkshireman]] and protagonist of [[Yahtzee Croshaw]]'s ''[[Poacher]]''. Not even a tumble down the proverbial rabbit hole into a world of spirits and monsters can shake him.
* Dudley from [[Street Fighter]] plays the role in [[Street Fighter X Tekken]]. Elena shows up on his dorrstep and tells him that a tree in Dudley's garden has told her about a great danger, so they must go to the South Pole and stop it. Dudley's reaction? It's all right, he'll help her in her quest, as long as he's back home in time for his next boxing match.
 
== Web Comics ==
* John Egbert of ''[[Homestuck]]'' is this, especially later on - even {{spoiler|creating himself, his friends and all of their parents/guardians through [[Timey-Wimey Ball|weird time shit]]}} doesn't seem to get to him that much. He's also an Unfazed Everyman in terms of powers - compared to [[Strange Girl]] Jade, [[Time Travel|Time Traveller]]ler Dave, and [[Black Magician Girl]] Rose, he's got nothing but the clothes on his back and [[Drop the Hammer|a pretty cool hammer.]] {{spoiler|And the [[Blow You Away|windy]] [[Badass Abnormal|thing]].}}
** Although now he has {{spoiler|become one of Earth's four [[Physical God|Gods]] }}, without even knowing what he was getting into.
* Moloch VonZinzer of ''[[Girl Genius]]'' is an ordinary mechanic and soldier fallen on hard times, who against his best wishes, keeps getting caught up with [[Mad Scientist|Mad Scientists]]s of all flavors, to quote "I've been around way too many sparks!" Even when he ''tries'' to stay out of the way ("I'm nobody's happy helper, got it?!"), he's clearly minion material, as he immediately accepts the job of carrying the Sparky heroine's tools and (unwillingly) following her through death traps.
** Although sparks have a natural, almost supernatural charisma that makes anyone not [[Badass Normal]] into a willing (or in Moloch's case, unwilling) helper. Especially with Agatha, who is one of the most powerful sparks in the series.
** Airman Higgs is another one - a common soldier being hauled along after a group of very important people and managing to maintain ''some'' degree of detachment. He may actually beis a subversion, though, as ithe isturns stronglyout impliedto thatbe he[[Badass is something ''Abnormal|more'' than an ordinary human. He is]] (''incredibly'' durable, superhumanly strong, personally familiar with Castle Heterodyne), and was implied to be {{spoiler|may(and eitherthen beindeed connectedrevealed toas) thea JagersJäger orwithout actuallyobvious ''be'' one.changes}}.
* Sarah in ''[[El Goonish Shive]]''. She [httphttps://www.egscomics.com/?date=2010-04-30 wants] to be in her friends' league], though.
{{quote|'''Sarah''': [httphttps://www.egscomics.com/?date{{=}}2002-03-20 Thanks], but i'm really not that cool. I just have some experience with this sort of thing...}}
** Justin could also qualify. In fact, a lot of humor during his early appearances was how he reacted to the weirdness around him.
** Then again, the recent story comics have Justin as more of a [[Ordinary High School Student]] who has just been revealed as a [[Badass]].
** Elliot is very, very far from an average guy, but it's thanks to his [[Mad Scientist]] friend and Moperville in general he isn't surprised by anything. [https://www.egscomics.com/?id=1732 Even when he should].
* ''[[Digger]]'', of the Ursula Vernon webcomic of the same name, is an anthropomorphic wombat who manages to be an [[Unfazed Everyman]]. The rest of the characters are ''just that weird''.
{{quote|'''Tedd''': In retrospect, that griffin was probably noteworthy.
'''Elliot''': She was just asking for directions!}}
*** And ''he'' is bewildered at how unflappable his parents are. Which became a [[Running Gag]]. Though there ''were'' hints (such as [https://www.egscomics.com/comic/2010-03-15 Operation Swedekea] and later [https://www.egscomics.com/comic/sister3-303 organizing a search & rescue party] when Ellen gone missing) that they [[Hidden Depths|got some "above their pay grade" skills]] (for that matter, Ellen and presumably Elliot aren't sure what exactly Mr. Dunkel's job is). Their son have [https://www.egscomics.com/?date=2002-06-18 turned into a girl]... Sigh. He [https://www.egscomics.com/?date=2003-02-06 brings home] his "[[Opposite Sex Clone|twin sister]]" out of nowhere... "We always wanted a second kid!" She ''[https://www.egscomics.com/?date=2010-03-10 turns into a cat]''... Elliot yells, but their parents only ask "Can you turn back?" "Yes." Cool, nice trick! Elliot confesses he's the new local superhero... Oh, [https://www.egscomics.com/?date=2010-12-10 they have something to say about ''that''], they do!
{{quote|'''Mr. Dunkel''': ...if you're going to be out late fighting evil, you need to call home first!
'''Ms. Dunkel''': That's right. It affects our ability to plan supper and alibis. }}
** Diane tries to pretend she doesn't care, but fails. Also, hilariously averted with Charlotte the "[https://www.egscomics.com/comic/2013-06-06 aficionado of spooky things]". Who wasn't particularly bothered by whether a ghost of lycanthrope she investigated and sent Ellen and Nanase after may or may not be real, but [https://www.egscomics.com/comic/2015-06-08 when actually witnessing magic] —
{{quote|'''Charlotte''': It's really difficult to focus with you [[Remote Body|as a fairy]]. All I can think is "Why am I looking at my phone? There's a ''fairy'' in my apartment!"}}
* ''[[Digger]]'', of the Ursula Vernon webcomic of the same name, is an anthropomorphic wombat who manages to be an [[Unfazed Everyman]]. The rest of the characters are ''just that weird''.
** In fact, this is practically Digger's racial superpower. Wombats are so sensible and tied to realism rather than faith or magic that they gain a mild immunity from divine/magical/prophetic dealings.
* Torg and Zoe from ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' play this role most of the time. True, Torg ''does'' have a magic sword, and Zoe's got the cursed tattoo that occasionally turns her into a camel. But compared to the [[Mad Scientist|Mad Scientists]]s, witches, [[Alien|Aliens]]s, and [[Talking Animal|Talking Animals]]s they hang out with, they're downright mundane (though Torg does occasionally enter [[Badass Normal]] territory).
* Bob Smithson in ''[[The Inexplicable Adventures of Bob]]''." has been an [[Unfazed Everyman]] since the beginning, and has gradually been turning into an Evolved Unfazed Everyman as he becomes more and more capable.
* Susan (Susie) Bell in ''[[I Was Kidnapped by Lesbian Pirates from Outer Space]]'', though {{spoiler|it is revealed that she is a lesbian, despite not being the princess or having antennae.}}
* Saya and Jason from ''[[Emergency Exit]]''. And even then, Saya {{spoiler|has a toy laser gun that shoots people}}, and Jason {{spoiler|grew up in a circus--which is more handy in combat than you might think.}}
* Sam of ''[[Sam and Fuzzy]]''. The poor sap is basically a walking [[Weirdness Magnet]].
{{quote|'''Sam''': I was once like you...I had no idea there was an entire world of weird stuff out there. But then, bit by bit, my life got caught up in it. Soon, just dealing with it was practically a full time job!
'''Devahi''': What did you do?
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* Ben in ''[[Templar, Arizona]]''
* Red from '''[[Girls in Space]]''' is a normal human, traveling the universe, surrounded by aliens.
* ''[[Questionable Content|Marten]]'': Marten and his friends seem to be [[Weirdness Magnet|Weirdness Magnets]]s getting involved with anything from mating vacuuming robots, to government agents looking to take away [[Robot Buddy|Pintsize]], to a Vespa riding vigilante and a parallel world coffee shop. And that's not counting the [[Willing Suspension of Disbelief|accepted breaks from the world as we know it]] such as talking small robots. Robots who stick around them [https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=4064 suffer] a [https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=4075 similar] increase in weird incidents.
* Dave in ''[[Narbonic]]''. {{spoiler|At least until he goes mad at the end.}}
* ''[[What's New with Phil and Dixie]]'' had fun with [https://web.archive.org/web/20150427062909/http://www.airshipentertainment.com/growfcomic.php?date=20070902 roleplayers] being so [https://web.archive.org/web/20150428205622/http://www.airshipentertainment.com/growfcomic.php?date=20070909 jaded] one would merely turn into an [[Ascended Fanboy]] if something weird really happens.
{{quote|'''A gamer''': (to a big frog alien from whom everyone else flees in panic) Have a nice trip?}}
 
 
== Western Animation ==
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* This is how Stan manages to cope living in ''[[South Park]]''. The entire town is a [[Weirdness Magnet]] and his father is pehaps the most insane in a town of people with multiple personalities, illiterates, [[Knight Templar Parent]], the son of the devil, a [[Depraved Bisexual]] teacher and Eric Cartman. Despite all this, he usually watches on unfazed by what is happening this week other than to [[Face Palm|hold the bridge of his nose]].
* Ben and Gwen Tennyson in the original ''[[Ben 10]]'', pilot episode. In fact they only freak out for a couple minutes, as Ben had turned into a living candle and had accidentally started a forest fire. After Grandpa Max explained that Ben was an alien they calmed down quickly.
** Julie Yamamoto in ''[[Ben 10: Alien Force|Ben 10 Alien Force]]'', while she only finds out in the last 5-105–10 minutes of the episode she found out in. She had caught Ben in his Jet-ray mode and when questioned she said she thought it was "cool". And then she gets a pet that doubles as a [[Cool Ship]].
* In ''[[The Fairly Odd ParentsOddParents]]'', the [[Poorly-Disguised Pilot]] for Crash Nebula reveals the eponymous hero was like this once: the only human in an intergalactic school. Of course, once he gets the powerful space suit he begins to get less so.
* Mark from ''[[Ugly Americans]]'' could probably out-Unfaze Everyman Arthur Dent.
* ''[[Jimmy Two-Shoes]]'' has the eponymous character in this role.
* Sokka from ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' is this being the only non-bender in the group (before [[Action Girl|Suki]] joined mid-season 3) and actually coped quite well thanks to meat and sarcasm.
 
 
== Video Games ==
* Sigint in ''[[Metal Gear Solid]] 3: Snake Eater'', the [[Only Sane Man]] in a team of [[Bunny Ears Lawyer|weirdos]] supporting a [[Badass]] soldier fighting even ''weirder'' enemies.
* Johnny Cage is this for the first story mode chapter of ''[[Mortal Kombat 9]]'', by way of being the most relatively normal kombatant.
* The player character, of all people, in ''[[Knights of the Old Republic]]'' is simply a random Republic soldier who just happened to be one of the few survivors of the Endar Spire in the first chapter, and seems to cope rather well with Mandalorians, war heroes, Wookies, Jedi, and Sith. Somewhat subverted due to [[Tomato Surprise|later events]], though.
* Derek Badger, unflappable [[Oop North|Yorkshireman]] and protagonist of [[Yahtzee Croshaw]]'s ''[[Poacher]]''. Not even a tumble down the proverbial rabbit hole into a world of spirits and monsters can shake him.
* Dudley from [[Street Fighter]] plays the role in [[Street Fighter X Tekken]]. Elena shows up on his dorrstep and tells him that a tree in Dudley's garden has told her about a great danger, so they must go to the South Pole and stop it. Dudley's reaction? It's all right, he'll help her in her quest, as long as he's back home in time for his next boxing match.
 
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Unfazed Everyman{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Characters As Device]]
[[Category:Normal People]]
[[Category:Urban Fantasy Tropes]]
[[Category:Unfazed Everyman]]