Wild Card: Difference between revisions

 

 

The '''Wild Card''' is so used to swinging between teams that they have no default 'good' or 'evil' [[Character Alignment]] or even a 'home team'. Not [[Chaotic Neutral]], because even they generally care more. [[Chaotic Neutral]] also usually tends to imply being on ''someone's'' team, but being capricious, perhaps criminal, and having a limited attention span. This trope, on the other hand, truly isn't interested in consistently remaining with either side, and will very often simply want both to leave him alone. He can be the sort of person who will stay out of things entirely, until someone else (usually the hero or a sympathetic character) asks him for help.

 

* [[Heel Face Revolving Door]] - "It's all about being on the team closest to my personal goal."

* [[Selfish Good, Selfish Evil]] - "It's all about me and what I want and need."

* Self-Preservation: [[Dirty Coward]]/[[Lovable Coward]]. "I'm not in it for my reputation. Or yours. If push comes to shove, I'm going to save my own hide."

* [[Manipulative Bastard]] - "Sure, I'm on a team right now. That's because that team has the [[Applied Phlebotinum]], [[Plot Coupon]], [[MacGuffin]], or other doohickey I need. As soon as they let me get my hands on it, I'll be selling it to the highest bidder. Even if it's the team I just stole it from."

* [[The Chessmaster]] - "Why shouldn't I manipulate both teams at once if it'll help me get what I want?!"

* [[Becoming the Mask]] - "Although it doesn't necessarily last forever, my unsteady moral compass often gets in the way of what I'm trying to do, especially when I'm trying to stick it to the good guys."

* [[Redemption Equals Death]] - "My redemption is never to turn 'good' (what does that mean to someone like me, anyway?) But as soon as I become steady, reliable, and predictable, I'm usually gone."

 

Particularly Wild [[Wild Cards]] tend to fall under [[For the Lulz]].

 

== Anime and Manga ==

* Impmon from ''[[Digimon Tamers]]'' ranges from an arrogant and selfish loner, to helpful and fun-loving (if a bit begrudgingly), to a depressed wreck, to a [[Complete Monster]] to [[The Atoner]].

 

 

* [[Wolverine]] in many of his comic portrayals proves to be something of a [[Chaotic Good]] Wild Card - while usually on the side of [[X-Men|the good guys]], he's violent, dangerous, unreliable and extremely intelligent. While he may not swing fully from Villain to Hero and back again, like many Wild Cards enjoy doing, his comic incarnation especially has a high number of team affiliations, and he has frequently worked on his own.

** This was far more explicit in the [[Ultimate Universe]]. Wolverine started off as a cold-blooded assassin working for Magneto. Then he did a [[Heel Face Turn]] in order to [[Heroes Want Redheads|sleep with Jean Grey]]. Then when she dumped him, he responded by trying to murder her new boyfriend, Cyclops (by dropping him off a cliff. He broke a bunch of bones and spent a month lying in a pit eating bugs). Then he was given one last chance to rejoin the team (after having the crap blasted out of him by Cyclops), and has stayed good since. {{spoiler|Except that then his time-traveling future self turned up and apparently murdered Xavier.}}

* In ''[[Secret Wars]]'', [[Reality Warper|the Beyonder]] transports a group of superheroes and a group of supervillains to "Battleworld" and expects the two groups to battle each other to aid his study of what it is to be human. It doesn't precisely work out: [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|Magneto]] is grouped with heroes, despite still being a villain at the time, due to his [[Anti-Villain]] nature. The other heroes obviously aren't thrilled and he goes off to do his own thing before finally signing on with them. [[Psychopathic Manchild|The Lizard]] is too savage to understand the concept of "sides" and ends up most loyal to the Wasp for having treated him when he was injured, and [[Physical God|Galactus]] just ignores all the other combatants and spends the entire series working out a way to take on the Beyonder himself.

 

* In ''[[Kyon: Big Damn Hero]]'', Fujiwara. He's almost as bad as the aforementioned [[Mahou Sensei Negima|Godel.]]

 

== Film ==

** [[Stone Cold Steve Austin]]. Never trust a rattlesnake.

** [[Chris Jericho]] makes a career out of doing this.

** During his TNA days, [[Christian]] Cage settled into this role after the dissolution of the Christian Coalition, and his major storyline was about him trying to rebuild his burned bridges with the [[face]]s on the roster, in order to combat his allies who had now joined the Angle Alliance. The fact that he was still pretty much a cocky asshole [[Heel]] in characterization really hurt his efforts.

** [[Ric Flair]], whose exceptional skill at both grappling and cutting promos, and his ability to carry even the most pathetic "wrestlers" to four-star affairs while remaining the Dirtiest Player In The Game throughout, made him almost impossible to boo even as he started to push sixty.

 

 

* Most of the main characters in ''[[Darken]]'' to a greater or lesser extent, but especially Jill.

* Bun-bun from ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' is one of these through and through. He tends to fall on the good guys' side more often than not lately, though that's largely because the other characters have gotten better at making sure it's in Bun-bun's best interest to keep them alive.

* Played around with in Vriska from ''[[Homestuck]]''. On the one hand, she was responsible for setting a [[Cycle of Revenge]] into place and keeping it going. On the other hand, she also agreed to end it, and showed some signs of genuine remorse. On the other hand, when she entered the veil she set in motion the events that lead to {{spoiler|Jack Noir being prototyped by Bec, which [[Unwinnable By Mistake|doomed the kids' session.]]}} On the other hand, she claimed she was only doing it to make John stronger, and that she intended to try to face {{spoiler|Bec Noir}} herself. On the [[Rule of Three|other hand]], she then proceeded to {{spoiler|kill Tavros}} for pretty much no reason. On the other hand, she seems genuinely regretful of that, and has been talking more and more to John lately, who seems to be steering her down the right path. All in all Vriska's Wild Card days seem mostly over, though it's not out of the question she'll revert back to her old ways...

** Later in the story, it's stated that the Bard class is considered a Wild Card class as it's role is to have a major influence in how the game progresses in either a positive or potentially devastating way. In the case of {{spoiler|Gamzee, he was at least partially responsible for the Trolls' victory against the Black King.}}

 

== Web Original ==