History Main / DeceasedParentsAreTheBest

** ''Franchise/TheLittleMermaid'': Ariel's mom, seen in [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaidIIIArielsBeginning the third film]]. In contrast, she has a [[DatingWhatDaddyHates strained relationship]] with her father, [[KnightTemplarParent Triton]].

** There is a slight twist with James though. Making him a bully in high school was a brilliant move. It's a flaw that strikes a nerve the frequently nerd-identified fans and fleshes James out a bit so that he's no longer the perfect but flat dead father, particularly from Harry's perspective, as he himself has been a victim of bullying. For many fans though, it struck too much of a nerve, and they can't get past James and Sirius's bullying past. It doesn't help that we never get to see James grow as a person, and the idea that someone can ''grow out of'' being a bully is not widely seen in media.
*** It does not help that there are hints that James did not completely grow out of it and continued to at least bully Snape while hiding it from Lily, with Sirius and Lupin mentioning that Snape was a "special case" and how "James didn't take Snape on dates with her and jinx him in front of her ..." That said, they also inform Harry that Snape never missed an opportunity to attack James either, possibly suggesting that James' bullying had led to a more equal if toxic rivalry between the two once James supposedly TookALevelInKindness. Of course, given that none of these developments are shown and only exposited by people like Sirius, Lupin, and Snape, [[UnreliableNarrator none of whom are unbiased observers]], readers can only speculate as to what James was like after "growing out of it."

* ''Manga/ACruelGodReigns'': Jeremy's dead father seemed like a pretty cool, incredibly sweet guy. Too bad he's dead, or it would have saved Jeremy from his {{Trauma Conga Line}}.

* Creator/StanLee, co-creator of Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}, loved this trope:

* Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}'s father was a good, honest man, who pushed his son to be the best man he could be. Since the elder Murdock was a boxer, he encouraged Matt to study as hard as he could and get a good education, not being uneducated and forced to fight for a living like himself. In addition to being the superhero Daredevil, Matt became one of New York City's most respected and honest defense lawyers. And of course, his dad was killed by the mob before he got to see it happen.

* ''Fanfic/TheJoyOfBattle'', a ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' fanfic, subverts this trope with Joy's mother. The first chapter sets up the typical DeceasedParentsAreTheBest scenario with a side character mentioning Joy's mother favorably. Several chapters later, when Sorrow channel's her mother's spirit, Joy makes it obvious that she does not like her mother (living or dead!). Much later in the story, we learn why.

* On ''Series/{{The 100}}'', Clarke's father was a loving parent who believed the people of the Ark deserved to know what the Council was deciding about their fate. The Council executed him shortly before the series began, and they arrested Clarke because she was trying to follow in his footsteps.

** Though VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII does break the cycle first (numerically), it's not until its release on the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS that the story gets fleshed out in this way. In III, each of the main characters were orphans, but were raised by kind and loving people: Luneth and Arc are raised by the elder of Ur. Refia is raised by the blacksmith of Kazus, and Ingus is raised as a soldier under the King in Castle Sasune.

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'':

* [[{{Deuteragonist}} Clementine's]] parents from ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDead'' seemed like caring, good people, and their daughter remembers them fondly. Clem's hat is a gift from her dad, and she wears it throughout all seasons. [[spoiler:They're dead before the game starts. They went on a trip to Atlanta, and left Clem with a babysitter in their family home in Georgia. [[PlayerCharacter Lee]] can find a message on their answering machine of Clem's mother, Diana, crying and reassuring her daughter that her parents love her, as the ZombieApocalypse unfolds in the background.]]

** Asumu Ushiromiya died before the story began, but it's clear she was an extremely loving and nurturing mother to Battler alongside being a good wife to Rudolf. In fact, Asumu's death was the reason why Battler severed ties with the Ushiromiyas and went to live with his maternal grandparents, as he felt offended by Rudolf marrying Kyrie so quickly after Asumu's death. [[spoiler:Even though Battler learns Asumu's not his biological mother (Kyrie is, thanks to a switch Rudolf pulled when his and Asumu's child was stillborn), he still considers Asumu to be his mom first and foremost. It's also greatly implied Asumu suspected the truth about Battler but didn't let it affect how much she loved Battler. ''Last Note of the Golden Witch'' even brings Asumu back briefly as the witch Piece, proposing a hypothetical world where Asumu's influence would've prevented all the tragedies had she not died when she did. Even her attempt to hurt Ange as misdirect anger at Kyrie isn't enough to turn Battler against her, with Asumu/Piece even ''apologizing'' because she got to know Ange and Ange considering Asumu an aunt.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'''s mother, Rose Quartz, is depicted as a beautiful, loving woman who was a superb leader. Though to be fair, his living father is a [[GoodParents Good Parent]] too (even if he is "kind of a mess" in every other facet of his life). This is gradually deconstructed as the series goes on: while Rose was a fundamentally good person, she used to be condescending towards humans (viewing them as how most people would view a cute pet) and it took her relationship with Greg for her to develop proper respect and empathy for them. Rose is also revealed to have lied to her friends about Bismuth and Pink Diamond's true fates. Additionally, Rose is also shown to have actually been naive, foolish, and childish as [[spoiler: Pink Diamond]], which she never really grew out of until her relationship with Greg. Not to mention that the Crystal Gems are shown to be greatly affected by her passing even years after the fact (not helped by the fact that [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld they've been alive for millennia]]) and Steven is saddened by the fact that he'll never know his mother the way Connie knows hers.

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* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS5E137Number12LooksJustLikeYou Number 12 Looks Just Like You]]", Marilyn Cuberle deeply loved her father Jack, who [[DrivenToSuicide committed suicide five years earlier]], and bases her decision not to undergo the Transformation on what he taught her about individuality and inner beauty.

* ''Fanfic/TheParliamentOfHeroes'': Rose Worth/Wilson, in contrast to her still living, [[AbusiveParent abusive father Slade, has nothing but nice things to say about her late mother, Lillian Worth. When thinking about her travels with Lillian across the Indochinese Peninsula before moving to New York, she recollects those times happily. She's also a major RelativeButton for Rose when Slade says her name due to his role in her death.

* More often PlayedForLaughs than straight, although there was a couple of those moments, was Del Boy's and Rodney's mum in ''Series/OnlyFoolsAndHorses''. She is often spoken of in hushed reverenced tones as if she was the Virgin Mary...the truth of course is that she was a less than perfect parent but she always did the best she could for her kids.

* Given a {{Reconstruction}} in ''Series/{{Resurrection}}.'' Maggie's mother, Barbara, died apparently trying to save her nephew, Jacob, from a river. When Jacob [[BackFromTheDead returns]], he explains that no, actually ''he'' was trying to save ''her''--and it also comes out that Barbara was cheating on Maggie's father. This naturally [[BrokenPedestal breaks]] Maggie's view of her mother, and she initially rejects Barbara when she also returns from the dead. However, Maggie later concedes that her view of Barbara was overly idealized, and she wants to get to know that real version now that she has a chance. [[spoiler:Pity it doesn't last long]].

** [[spoiler:''Disgaea 2'''s Adell too.]]
* Averted very well in the first two VideoGame/{{MOTHER}} games, where the main character's parents are not only loving and supportive but remain alive and well. ''VideoGame/Mother3'', being the DarkerAndEdgier game, [[spoiler:kills Lucas's mother, Hinawa through a jarring case of DroppedABridgeOnHim. Not only was Hinawa a great mother, but Flint, the father, falls into a pit of grief-driven insanity and becomes neglectful and distant towards Lucas after her death.]]
* In ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' games, no PlayerCharacter ever has a full set of parents by the end of the game. Most of them start with a pair of dead parents, and only two characters (Edge of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' and Hope of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'') even starts the game with two living parents (the former's parents are killed in front of him, the latter loses one almost immediately). And several who do start with one surviving parent lose said parent by the end. In fact, it's not until the [[spoiler: sixth]] game that you even see a parent survive [[spoiler: and even that one is crazy and doesn't recognize his son]].

* Hugh's parents in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade'' were apparently very kind, but died before the story starts, leaving him to a HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood and insecurity issues courtesy of his grandmother, who ended up raising him.
* Mars' parents in ''VideoGame/ShiningWisdom'' are both dead. His father died after succumbing to poison inflicted upon in him a battle with a dragon...while his mother is rarely mentioned.
* According to the supplemental material of ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2,'' the Heavy's father died in a prison riot in a gulag, the Demoman's father died of circumstances which were not described (he probably blew himself up), and the Sniper's (elderly) parents died sometime in between the events of ''Meet the Director'' and ''Blood in the Water.'' The Scout is also wholly convinced that his father died, but there seems to be a lot of evidence pointing towards his father being the Spy.
-->'''Scout:''' ''So your dad's dead, huh?''\\
'''Heavy:''' ''Yes.''\\
'''Scout:''' ''[[DisappearedDad Yeah, mine disappeared.]]''\\
'''Heavy:''' ''[[InvisibilityCloak Yes. Your father disappears often.]]''

* ''Franchise/DragonAge'':
** ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'': Played straight for the Cousland Warden, as only PC whose parents are both alive at the prologue and ''have'' to die by the end, which gives their deaths [[YouKilledMyFather that much more pathos]]. Also for the City Elf Warden, whose mother was killed some time before the game's start and is clearly revered by the PC and family alike. Largely averted for the other origins though, as their parents can be anywhere from present to [[DisappearedDad disappeared]] to dead, but aren't given much detail.
** Similarly, in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' the memory of Hawke's father Malcolm is all but worshiped by the family. [[spoiler:Mother Leandra is also depicted as extremely [[GoodParents loving]], which makes her murder that much more tragic too.]]
* ''VideoGame/OctopathTravelerII'': Agnea's late mother Cuani Bristarni was a world superstar, and her success makes Agnea want to follow her mother's example, despite her father's disapproval. [[spoiler: Cuani also personally trained Dolcinaea, Agnea's antagonist-turned-friend, in Sai when Dolcinaea was young.]]

** Likewise, it's practically hammered home what a loving father [[spoiler: Byrne Faraday]] is during the course of investigating his murder. No wonder [[spoiler: his daughter Kay]] [[TakeUpMySword wanted to carry on his work.]]

** ''VisualNovel/DesireAndDecorum'': Clara is sent to live with her father, whom she never knew, after her mother dies. She frequently thinks of her mother watching over her. [[spoiler:Her father is glad to meet her and truly loves her, but he dies of yellow fever midway through the first book]].

* Part of the reason Ange hates her aunt Eva so much in ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'' is because she doesn't think anyone could ever replace her parents (no to mention the fact that she suspects Eva was the one who killed them). [[spoiler:This is subverted to Hell and back in episode 7, where [[AwfulTruth it turns out]] Eva ''did'' kill them, but in what was more or less self-defense, since it turns out that Kyrie and Rudolf were in fact the real murderers and would have killed her otherwise. Needless to say, Ange [[HeroicBSOD doesn't take]] [[GoMadFromTheRevelation it well]].]]
** Asumu Ushiromiya died before the story began, but it's clear she was an extremely loving and nurturing mother to Battler alongside being a good wife to Rudolf. In fact, Asumu's death was the reason why Battler severed ties with the Ushiromiyas and went to live with his maternal grandparents, as he felt offended by Rudolf marrying Kyrie so quickly after Asumu's death. [[spoiler:Even though Battler learns Asumu's not his biological mother (Kyrie is, thanks to a switch Rudolf pulled when his and Asumu's child was stillborn), he still considers Asumu to be his mom first and foremost. It's also greatly implied Asumu suspected the truth about Battler but didn't let it affect how much she loved Battler. ''Last Note of the Golden Witch'' even brings Asumu back briefly as the witch Piece, proposing a hypothetical world where Asumu's influence would've prevented all the tragedies had she not died when she did. Even her attempt to hurt Ange as misdirect anger at Kyrie isn't enough to turn Battler against her, with Asumu/Piece even ''apologizing'' because she got to know Ange and Ange considering Asumu an aunt.]]
* In ''VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo'', the parents range from being uninvolved in their children's lives (Hisao's parents, Rin's parents) to outright abandoning them ([[spoiler:Lilly's parents]]) or being AbusiveParents ([[spoiler:Shizune's father]]), with the exception of Emi's mother. The deceased parents are considerably better; Emi speaks fondly of her deceased father, and Hanako's mother [[spoiler:[[MamaBear shielded Hanako with her body]] during the house fire, [[HeroicSacrifice saving her daughter's life at the cost of her own]].]]

* ''WebAnimation/EpithetErased'': [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-Zagged]]. Molly has nothing of fond memories of her mother compared to her (understandably) less than savory opinion on her father and sister, but WordOfGod mentions that Calliope would have taken losing Martin as badly as he did losing her. Eventually, Molly acknowledges her mother's flaws in ''Literature/EpithetErasedPrisonOfPlastic'' while talking to her friend Rick Shades; she reveals that her mother was a workaholic that rarely smiled, while her father could not take anything seriously. Molly realizes that both her parents would have been bad as single parents, and it's only together at the Blyndeff family was able to be happy under two broken support beams".

** Downplayed with Dave's [[FamilyRelationshipSwitcheroo brother/father]], who raised him in a HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood but meant well and laments being unable to properly raise children [[spoiler: in an AlternateUniverse]]. Averted with Vriska and Gamzee's [[PerplexingPlurals lusus]], who were respectively [[AbusiveParents abusive]] and [[ParentalAbandonment abandoning]].

* Cog from ''Webcomic/{{Clockwork}}'' has nothing but good things to say about his late father and his life's work of helping people. On the other hand, [[spoiler: Alexander, who came to him for treatment and was turned away,]] has a decidedly less noble image of the man.
--> '''Cog:''' What the hell do you know!? My dad ''loved'' helping people!\\
[[spoiler:'''Alexander:''']] ''No.'' He loved [[spoiler:having a talent no one else did--]] deciding who ''deserved'' his help, and who ''did not''.
* ''{{Webcomic/Phantomarine}}'': Phaedra clearly misses her father.
** [[spoiler: Vanna is shown as a kind maternal figure before she is spirited away. Even after death, she makes sure that Pavel has a store of medicine and a way to find help.]]
* In ''Webcomic/TheWitchsThrone'', Agni's mom dies off-screen, in-between the prologue and the first chapter. [[GoodParents And she was really nice too.]]
* ''Webcomic/StandStillStaySilent'': The comic has a WholeEpisodeFlashback to the events that lead to a local outbreak of ThePlague that only Onni, Tuuri and Lalli survived. During it, Onni, Tuuri and Lalli's parents, who were among the dead, get a handful of panels of characterization during which they display absolutely no negative traits. Lalli's mother is shown to be a loving mother, Lalli's father is shown to be a loving son to his mother (who's the character getting ADayInTheLimelight during the flashback). As for Onni and Tuuri's parents, the fact that they let Onni bring Tuuri and the family's luggage to their house before joining the gathering during which the entire rest of the village got infected was a big factor in making Onni and Tuuri's SerendipitousSurvival possible; staying in the house for a little longer than they were expected to is what ultimately kept them from being infected before someone realized ThePlague was being spread at the gathering.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Disenchantment}},'' [[RebelliousPrincess Bean]] has a troubled relationship with her father, is largely indifferent to her stepmother, but clearly misses her mother, [[TheHighQueen Dagmar]], who died when she was a toddler. [[spoiler:{{Subverted}} because Dagmar [[TakenForGranite isn't actually dead]], and [[EvilMatriarch isn't very nice]] when she reenters Bean's life]].

* Zigzagged on ''WesternAnimation/VoltronLegendaryDefender''. Allura's parents died when [[EarthShatteringKaboom Altea was destroyed]] and she retains untainted memories of them. Additionally, Keith is implied to have been very close to his now-deceased father. However, all of the living parents on the show (except for [[spoiler: Haggar]], [[BaseBreakingCharacter depending on who you ask]]) are also GoodParents.

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* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'':
** Trisha was portrayed as being a wonderful, loving mother; so much so that her children decide they're going to [[BackFromTheDead bring her back to life]]. [[CameBackWrong Big mistake.]] Its particularly noteworthy when she's compared to Ed and Al's father, [[DisappearedDad Hoenheim]], who's still alive but [[ParentalAbandonment not a particularly great parent]], [[ParentsAsPeople well-meaning though he may be]].
** Not to mention Winry's parents, [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished killed by an Ishvalan refugee they were nursing back to health]], or in the [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003 2003 anime]] [[spoiler:Roy Mustang (though he was told to and ''deeply'' traumatized afterwards)]].

* ''Manga/FruitsBasket'':
** Kyoko Honda, Tohru's mother, was an amazing person who imparted her wisdom and desire to help both others and her daughter Tohru, causing her memory to live on with her. She dies in a car accident shortly before the series begins.
** Tohru's dad, Katsuya. Apparently he was such an understanding sort that he fell in love with Kyoko while she was still a delinquent, got her to see that she could be better than everyone thought, and married her despite objections from his family. In fact, a good deal of the wisdom and attitude that Tohru's mother imparted to her comes from the faith she learned from Katsuya. [[spoiler:Although Tohru herself suggests that she felt some resentment toward her father for her mother's suicidal behavior after he died.]]
** Kyo's mother is more or less an exception. She [[MyBelovedSmother basically kept him locked up in the house all day]], and Kyo suspects she was ashamed of him. This doesn't stop his biological father from holding [[spoiler:her suicide]] against him. Kyo himself is more or less HappilyAdopted.
*** Kyo's mother is a unique issue because it was basically ''because'' of his father's emotional and verbal abuse towards his mother that she mistreated him and then [[spoiler:committed suicide.]]

* Chiba Mamoru from ''Manga/{{Sailor Moon}}''.
** Mamoru's parents died in a car accident, causing him to lose childhood memories. The accident caused him to remember his past as Prince Endymion.
* [[spoiler:Subverted]] in ''Anime/CodeGeass''. [[spoiler:Lelouch practically worshiped his late mother, only to learn that 1) she's not really dead, and 2) she's pretty much identical to his much-despised father, and they both engineered the horrible events of Lelouch and Nunnally's lives in hopes of toughening them up. And they considered those two their favorites.]]
** Gets worse in the novelizations, which contain a FlashBack scene where [[spoiler:Bismarck sees Marianne interacting with her kids and notices, to his shock, that there's absolutely no love in her face or demeanor - to her they're just objects.]]
* Negi's father and mother in ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' is a DisappearedParentsAreTheBest variation, since they're not confirmed dead, only MIA ([[spoiler:At least, Nagi is. Arika...[[WhateverHappenedToTheMouse not so sure]]]]). Yes, he's never actually met either of them, but given [[GovernmentConspiracy all]] [[ClearMyName the]] [[FakingTheDead crap]] they had to go through, they did a damn good job getting Negi the best ([[GiveHimANormalLife and safest]]) childhood that they could.
* [[spoiler:Subverted]] in ''Anime/OblivionIslandHarukaAndTheMagicMirror''. The movie starts with a flashback showing Haruka's mother shortly before she died, and Haruka ends up in the titular Oblivion Island partially due to a series of events related to the strained relations between her and her workaholic father. However, at the end of the movie, the mirror reveals that [[spoiler: while her mother obviously loved her, her father was more openly affectionate and spent even more time with her when she was little, implying that he works so much in order to support her, not because he's oblivious like she assumed]].
* Probably the most normal, stable adult in ''Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'' was Haruhi's dead lawyer mom. The more benign of the other adults are WholesomeCrossdresser {{Cloudcuckoolander}}s.
* Zigzagged in ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
** Naruto's parents died the day he was born, though they did love him [[spoiler: and even protect him from beyond the grave.]] Still, he's an emotional basket case, though not as bad as [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds Pain]], [[JerkassWoobie Sasuke]] or [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness Gaara (though in Gaara's case becoming an orphan was merciful, since his father kept trying to kill him).]]
** Subverted like hell in ''Anime/NarutoTheMovieRoadToNinja''. Sakura, after getting embarrassed by her parents in front of her friends and being lectured at for breaking her house's rules, wishes that she doesn't have parents who are so pushy. Then she and Naruto enter an alternate universe where their fates are switched: Naruto has living, albeit normal, parents, while Sakura's parents are heroes who died defending the village from Kurama. For a couple of days, Sakura embraces her status as an orphaned celebrity, as she can do anything and everything without parental supervision, while the village cares for her because she's the heroes' daughter. But she soon learns that being a young orphan means that you will always return to an empty home everyday, with nobody to greet you, which not only sucks but is ''depressing'' after a while. Sakura thus comes to an epiphany: no matter how pushy or controlling, having living parents who can look after your well-being is miles better than having saintly, deceased GoodParents who can't.
* ''Manga/KimbaTheWhiteLion'': Kimba's father was killed trying to rescue his pregnant wife from hunters, and during her time with Kimba, his mother taught him his father's ideals. When she was killed off, Kimba aimed at becoming a benevolent ruler of his father's jungle for the honor and pride of his family.
* Possibly subverted or played straight in ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion''. Shinji has very loving memories of his mom, Yui, and her death affects him well into his teenagers years. Gendo, the living parent, wound up abandoning Shinji after his wife died and didn't see him for years until he was needed to pilot Unit 01 (although it's often implied, if not outright stated, that getting away from Shinji was the only way Gendo could cope with Yui's death). But on the other hand... [[spoiler: there are hints Yui wasn't as innocent and sweet as she seemed. She might have known beforehand about being absorbed into Unit 01, and brought her four-year-old son to watch it happen anyway. Like her husband, she seems to have a bit of TheChessmaster vibe to her, but it's unclear how heartless she really was/is.]]

* Subverted in ''Manga/{{Berserk}}''. Sys, Guts' adopted mother, was the only one who loved him as a child, having picked him as a baby from underneath his deceased mother's corpse and raising him as her own. (So of course, [[DisposableWoman she's dead from the plague]] [[TimeSkip a few panels later.]]) However, while nurturing, she is also depicted as more than a bit unhinged after a miscarriage shortly before. As for his adopted father [[AbusiveParents Gambino]], [[AvertedTrope well....]]
* ''Manga/ACruelGodReigns'': Jeremy's dead father seemed like a pretty cool, incredibly sweet guy. Too bad he's dead, or it would have saved Jeremy from his {{Trauma Conga Line}}.
* ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'' loves this trope.
** Arata is shown to have been a loving and devoted father to his children, [[CainAndAbel Touka and Ayato]]. What little we know about him is taken from how his children remember him, as a father that always encouraged them and kept up a brave front for them even while struggling to keep them safe.
** Kureo Mado seems like a sadistic monster when first introduced, taking pleasure in [[KickTheDog Kicking The Dog]] and not seeming to have much in the way of redeeming qualities. It's only after he's long dead that we meet his daughter, Akira, and learn that he was a devoted Single Father that worked hard to raise her alone. Omakes feature him [[FaceOfAThug scaring]] her classmates when he showed up for Parent Day, and being accused of being a pervert when he took his teenaged daughter shopping for underwear. Another shows him proudly displaying a portrait his daughter did of him in school, which his coworkers mistake for a sketch of a suspect.
** Hinami's parents were loving and kind, doting on their only child. Both ended up killed as a result of VanHelsingHateCrimes, leaving her orphaned. Even so, people comment that it's clear how much they loved her -- that she remains such a kind and gentle girl in spite of everything is proof they surrounded her with as much love as possible.
** Kaneki's relationship with his mother is.....complicated, seeming to play it straight before subverting it. He remembers her fondly as a gentle woman that always did her best for everyone, and cooked him his favorite meal whenever she could. But when forced to confront his past, he admits that he deeply resents her for leaving him alone so often and working herself to death for the sake of [[UngratefulBastard her sister]]. He ultimately comes to accept her flaws, realizing she was simply afraid to lose the people she loved.
* Jessie's MissingMom, Miyamoto, in ''Anime/PokemonTheOriginalSeries'' is presented as sweet and cheerful, even if she is a high-tier Team Rocket member. She gave up her daughter due to her career but wanted to send money to her. Miyamoto went to capture Mew specifically because it would sell for a lot of money however she ended up getting lost in a blizzard. [[spoiler:It's implied she survived and is still searching twenty years later.]]
* Nadeshiko Kinomoto from ''Manga/CardCaptorSakura''. She has been dead for seven years at the beginning of the series, but being dead doesn't stop her from watching over and protecting and caring for her family, which includes her husband, her son, and her daughter, the show’s title heroine. She is frequently described by all who knew her as a caring and kind, if somewhat ditzy, person. And, since she was a famous model, there were a lot of photos of her, so her husband puts up a new picture of her every single day, and [[TheMourningAfter never once even]] ''[[TheMourningAfter considers]]'' [[TheMourningAfter dating anyone else or getting remarried]].

* ''Manga/FoodWars'': The final arc reveals that Soma takes ''a lot'' after his late mother Tamako. She was a LethalChef despite being the daughter of a diner's owner, yet still had a lot of fun cooking no matter how much she failed, and she was an easygoing and rather friendly person whom everyone liked, and she was very loved by her husband and son. In fact, Soma learned to cook his first dish (fried rice) from her.

* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'': Bruce Wayne, of course, practically worships the memory of his parents. His parents worked hard to give Bruce a strong sense of justice and knowledge of right and wrong, and the importance of helping those who need it (although they meant using the family fortune to improve the lives of Gotham's citizens, as some stories portray them as pacifists who would've disapproved of Bruce's methods). These lessons naturally fuelled his drive to become Batman after their deaths.
* Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}'s father was a good, honest man, who pushed his son to be the best man he could be. Since the elder Murdock was a boxer, he encouraged Matt to study as hard as he could and get a good education, not being uneducated and forced to fight for a living like himself. In addition to being the superhero Daredevil, Matt became one of New York City's most respected and honest defense lawyers. And of course, his dad was killed by the mob before he got to see it happen.
** However, this is slightly subverted. Jack Murdock loved his son, but Matt, as an adult, admits that he greatly resented his father forcing him to study instead of being allowed to play with other children. Further, when Matt got into a fight and beat up a boy who was picking on him, Jack actually slapped him, something the adult Daredevil tries to turn a blind eye to.
*** Matt Murdock's mom was also dead in the original origin, but Frank Miller later retconned it so she became a nun and Jack lied to Matt about her being dead.
* Creator/StanLee, co-creator of Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}, loved this trope, and it's especially noticeable in ComicBook/SpiderMan, where Peter Parker is three times an orphan, with his biological parents already dead at the beginning of ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 and his surrogate father, Uncle Ben, killed in that story. It was later revealed that his parents were badass secret agents for ComicBook/{{SHIELD}} who once saved ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}. Oh, and Uncle Ben apparently saw ComicBook/CaptainAmerica first-hand. Other examples from the Silver Age:

* Inverted by ComicBook/ThePunisher. He would have been a good parent. But it was his kids who died, not him.

* James-Michael's parents in ''ComicBook/OmegaTheUnknown'' were very caring despite being [[spoiler:[[RoboticReveal robots]]]].
* In the [[ComicBook/ChickTracts Jack Chick]] tract "Happy Hour," the mother dies as an indirect result of her alcoholic husband's actions. The children blame him for her death, and the girl even says that he should have died instead, but [[EasilyForgiven they forgive him and]] [[EsotericHappyEnding convince him to turn his life over to Jesus]].
* Using an existing quote, Creator/{{Herge}} quipped re. his most famous creation, Franchise/{{Tintin}}: "Not everyone is so lucky as to be born an orphan." Tintin's good friend Chang is a young orphan, and his other close friends Haddock and Calculus also have no familial attachments in-story.
* Notably averted in ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}''. Rorschach's mother's abuse is part of why he's so unstable. When he heard that she had been murdered, all he said was "Good".
* [[ComicBook/GreenArrow Roy Harper]] had three dads growing up, his biological father Roy Harper Sr., his first foster dad Raymond Begay, and his second foster dad Oliver Queen. Out of all three fathers, Raymond was largely the best and most attentive, although Roy Sr. can be forgiven because he died when Roy was three. Compared to Ollie, Raymond did his best to pay attention to Roy's needs while raising Roy to respect the traditions and legends of the Navajo community. Raymond even went as far as to get Ollie to take Roy in before Raymond died of liver cancer, knowing Ollie was Roy's hero. Unfortunately, Raymond's only shortcoming as a father was not taking to the time to learn if Ollie could be a good teacher ''and'' a good father to Roy.
* ''{{ComicBook/Maus}}'':
** Art was significantly closer to his mother Anya than his father Vladek and seems to idolize her to an almost unhealthy extent. Art took her suicide very hard, and his father (who was still trying and failing to deal with his own Holocaust-based emotional issues) was no help, and without Anya to act as a buffer between them, their relationship also deteriorated.
** Inverted with regards to Vladek's relationship with Art. Art firmly believes himself to be TheUnfavorite, and that his father prefers his idealized memories and fantasies of Richieu, the son he lost to the Holocaust, to his living, breathing, flesh-and-blood son. There is absolutely nothing in the book to indicate that Art is wrong.
* ''ComicBook/{{Hound|2014}}'': Detira is a loving mother to Setanta, kissing his forehead after she tells her brother, King Connor, that the boy is strong like his father the sun god. She dies trying to get him off Morrigan's claws when he is only a baby.

* [[https://www.fanfiction.net/u/4158483/ Princessbinas]] [[Fanfic/AdoptionNightmare loves this trope]]. All of her {{Original Character}}s are orphans.

* In ''{{Fanfic/Mutant}}'', [[MotherlyScientist Kittery Abigail]] doesn't live through the second chapter, in stark contrast to the cute, happy first chapter.
* Cori Falls's Pokémon fanfics portray Jessie's mother Miyamoto as a [[PuritySue saintly, loving, nurturing woman who died tragically before her time]], and Jessie never misses a chance to [[{{Wangst}} wax emotional about this]]. Becomes a double dose of this trope when Jessie finally finds out about her father Dorian, who's portrayed as a TragicHero.
* Zuko and Katara in ''Webcomic/HowIBecameYoursRiseOfTheAgniArmy'', [[DesignatedHero at least according to the author]].

* Firefly in ''Fanfic/AceCombatEquestriaChronicles'' matured from a filly to an adult mare due to losing her parents, thanks to [[spoiler: Black Star]]. She always speaks with gratitude about them, but still grieves over the loss at times.
* It's revealed in the ''Fanfic/NineteenEightyThreeDoomsdayStories'' that [[spoiler:Hungary]] is this to the successor Nations now living in what's left of her land.
* In ''Fanfic/EmpathTheLuckiestSmurf'', Papa Smurf becomes the sole parent of about a hundred Smurfs because their parents have all passed away due to ThePlague. However, some of them also had the foresight to teach their children important skills that would be useful in their lives, although they never expected those skills to come in handy after such a loss of parents.
* In ''Fanfic/ChildrenOfAnElderGod'', Asuka's parents died in a lab fire when she was a little child. She remembers them fondly and misses them, as opposed to her canon self who loathes her father and wants nothing to do with him.
* In ''Fanfic/OneDayAtATimeNyame'', subverted with Jason and Bruce in the original timeline. While Jason had made peace with Bruce's faults and dearly loved and missed him long after his death, he'd be the first to tell you how terrible of a father Bruce was. The only exceptions he made to that (in which he applied NeverSpeakIllOfTheDead) were to his own children, probably because three of them [[PromotionToParent were biologically Bruce's]].
* ''[[Fanfic/PatternsOfThePast Patterns of the Past]]'': Olesya's parents are revealed to have died when she was young. Her mother died from the flu, while her father died in a horrific mining accident during the California Gold Rush. She's not too troubled over their deaths due to not knowing them very well, but Oprah has a horrified reaction to the news.
* Downplayed in ''Fanfic/TheSwordShallDevour''. Caitlyn is naturally devastated by her parents' deaths, but she doesn't place them on a high pedestal.
* ''Fanfic/TheParliamentOfHeroes'': Rose Worth/Wilson, in contrast to her still living, [[AbusiveParent abusive father Slade, has nothing but nice things to say about her late mother, Lillian Worth. When thinking about her travels with Lillian across the Indochinese Peninsula before moving to New York, she recollects those times happily. She's also a major RelativeButton for Rose when Slade says her name due to his role in her death.

* In ''WesternAnimation/BarbieInTheTwelveDancingPrincesses'', the King and his daughters clearly love each other, but he admits that he doesn't quite understand his daughters the way the late Queen was able to. The princesses all have very fond memories of their mother, love dancing in their mother's favorite pavilion, and do their best to keep birthday traditions started by their mother alive. In fact, it is the copies of their mother's favorite story given to each princess in one birthday tradition that [[spoiler: are the key to unlocking a magical land where the princesses are free to be themselves]].

* In the Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon, parents are in luck to survive into screentime at all.

* ''Film/BeautyAndTheBeast2017'' adds this for Belle and the Beast's respective mothers. Both died while they were very young and it turns out [[spoiler: Belle's died of ThePlague and she had Maurice take the infant Belle far away to avoid them being infected]]. Subverted with the Beast's father, who was a cruel abuser and turned him into the selfish prince he was at the start of the story.

* Vada's mother in ''Film/MyGirl''. Subverted in the sequel when Vada goes to her mother's old home town to do research on her for a school project [[BrokenPedestal and finds out she wasn't so perfect]].
* ''Film/JackTheGiantSlayer'': Jack's father and Isabelle's mother are both very decent people. Jack's father comforts Jack when's he frightened by a storm. Isabelle's mother encourages her to go on adventures and to be the best she can be.
* Sam's father in ''Film/ACinderellaStory'' was practically a living saint.

* ''Film/{{Interstellar}}'': Murph's adult life revolves around the abandonment/"death" of her father.
* ''Film/{{Contact}}'': After her father instilled a passion for astronomy in Ellie Arroway and passed away, her life's mission revolved around the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. This culminates with [[spoiler:Ellie meeting an alien disguised as her father.]]
* ''Film/TheHungerGames'': Katniss views her dead father more highly than she does her loving but not-quite-there mother.
* Mia's Dad in ''Film/ThePrincessDiaries'' leaves her a whole kingdom behind after he dies, and like every little girl's dream she becomes a princess.