History Main / HeroicSpirit

* A major motif in most Super Robot mecha shows (''[[Anime/{{Zambot3}} with]]'' ''[[Anime/SpaceRunawayIdeon some]]'' ''[[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion infamous]]'' ''[[Manga/{{Bokurano}} exceptions]]''). Some examples:

*** Sound Energy from ''Anime/{{Macross 7}}''.

* Jack Rakan from ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima''. He's been known to [[strike:bend the laws of physics]] outright '''ignore''' the laws of magic just ''because''.

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'': Ash has diffidently demonstrated a strong fighting spirit as he never gives up on bringing any bad guy or anyone who mistreats Pokémon to justice. Also, Ash at times gets back up whenever he was knocked down from a Pokémon attack or something that was dangerous in order to help anyone [[HeroicWillPower closes]] to him or others for various reasons.

* The protagonist of ''Comicbook/{{Empowered}}'' has a super-suit that doesn't work properly, lmore issues than a comic-book warehouse, ends up naked, bound and gagged almost every freaking ''day,'' and is either a joke to, or suspected of really being a villain by, almost every other hero in her universe. Yet she absolutely will not ''stop.'' She is nearly a Platonic ideal of the {{Determinator}} version of this trope.

* Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} never quits... ''ever''. Even if she has been beaten, depowered, weakened, captured... by enemies that outnumber her, overpower her, or outsmart her, she will fight on until winning or dying.

* In ''FanFic/PurpleDays'', Robert Baratheon crashes a feast Joffrey's throwing, and suggests an impromptu melee. To his shock, Joff wins easily, though for the first time in his reign, this sparks him into action rather than drown him in apathy. He rises, demands a rematch, and gives the performance of a lifetime with his son. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, this, along with all the food and alcohol, exacerbates his many preexisting conditions and winds up giving him a fatal stroke later that night.]]

* In the ''{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}}'' episode "A Taste Of Freedom", Old Man Waterfall says a similar line to the Decapodian invaders. They proceed to smash him into the ground, at which point he says, "Ow, my spirit!"

* ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'' has [[spoiler: Spiderman recreate the page image. After [[BigBad the Vulture]] traps Peter under a pile of rubble, he briefly panics, but then he sees his reflecion in a puddle of water which reminds him of something [[Franchise/IronMan Tony Stark]] had told him earlier. After this Peter, is able to [[HeroicSecondWind psyche himself up enough to be able to push the rubble off of his back.]]]]

** That line of dialogue, or something very like it, appears in many of the examples that followed it, making this the UrExample for modern western media

* Both Hamman Karn and Mashymere Cello from ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ Gundam ZZ]]'' are able to block [[FrickinLaserBeams beams]] with sheer willpower, and in the case of the latter, while enduring thousands of volts of electricity.

* Although the trope should not be confused with ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'''s Heroic Spirits, the trope is quite an important part of the series. Though power and compatibility are central to who actually wins in fights, one of the central themes of the series is that a Heroic Spirit -- ''any'' Heroic Spirit, however lesser, unknown, weak, or outmatched they may seem -- got that way for a [[Badass reason]]: by definition, they are those who tried ''and succeeded'' at [[BeyondTheImpossible doing the impossible.]] You can defeat a hero, you can even kill a hero -- but you can never ''chump'' a hero, you should never, ever simply count out a hero as irrelevant.

*** [[spoiler: [[BeyondTheImpossible which]] ''[[BeyondTheImpossible still]]'' [[BeyondTheImpossible doesn't stop him showing up]] ''[[BeyondTheImpossible again]]'' for the final boss fight, now in his full-power Archer form levelling the weapon that ''originally'' slew Tiamat the first time at Beast II. In total, Gilgamesh died ''three separate times'' saving his city.]]

-->'''Spider-Man''' Afraid I... can’t do that.

* Jack Rakan from ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima''. He's been known to [[strike:bend the laws of physics]] outright '''ignore''' the laws of magic just ''[[CrazyAwesome because]]''.

*** But naturally, that doesn't stop him, because he has [[Irony too much work to be dead!]] When the player character has to go down to the Underworld for her own reasons (in part to rescue him), she finds him [[EscapedFromHell already halfway out on his own power]].

*** [[spoiler: [[BeyondTheImpossible which ''still'' doesn't stop him showing up ''again'']] for the final boss fight, now in his full-power Archer form levelling the weapon that ''originally'' slew Tiamat the first time at Beast II. In total, Gilgamesh died ''three separate times'' saving his city.]]
* Now in the fifth Lostbelt, we have the simple example of [[spoiler: Charlotte Corday, a failed assassin from the French revolution, managing to do what Assassins do best and sneak-attack ''Odysseus'', managing a MutualKill with the legendary trickster of Ancient Greece.]]

-->''Seven, [[ActionGirl Brienne]] thought again, despairing. She had no chance against seven, she knew. No chance, and no choice.''

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'': Ash has diffidently demonstrated a strong fighting spirit as he never gives up on bringing any bad guy or anyone who mistreats Pokémon to justice. Also, Ash at times gets back up whenever he was knocked down from a Pokémon attack or something that was dangerous in order to help anyone [[HeroicWillPower closes]] to him for various reasons.
** Even the companies and Pokémon also demonstrated this as well.

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'', Ash has diffidently demonstrated a strong fighting spirit as he never gives up on bringing any bad guy or anyone who mistreats Pokémon to justice. Also, Ash at times gets back up whenever he was knocked down from a Pokémon attack or something that was dangerous in order to help anyone [[HeroicWillPower closes]] to him for various reasons.

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'', Ash differently demonstrates a great fighting spirit as he never gives up on bringing any bad guy or anyone who mistreats Pokémon to justice. Also, Ash at times gets back up whenever he was knocked down from a Pokémon attack or something that was dangerous in order to help anyone [[HeroicWillPower closes]] to him for various reasons.
** Even the companies and Pokémon also demonstrated a strong heroic spirit as well.

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'', Ash differently demonstrates a great fighting spirit as he never gives up on bringing any bad guy or anyone who mistreats Pokémon to justice. Also, Ash at times gets back up whenever he was knocked down from a Pokémon attack or something that was dangerous in order to help anyone [[HeroicWillPower closes]] to him from danger.

*** ''Then'' (skipping over several scenes of similar sacrificial heroics from [[spoiler: Quetzalcoatl, Ishtar, and of course the main cast]]) he gets his own HoldTheLine moment, pitting his city walls lined with cannons shooting Broken Phantasms and his own legend against [[spoiler: Tiamat, mother of the gods and ''the Second Beast'', ''without'' his strongest weapon. The fight ''begins'' with

laughing -- as always -- about it because the one thing that he apparently needed to properly end his reign was [[InsaneTrollLogic a fatal wound]], before holding her off for a solid hour while the player character gets some much needed sleep. When she wakes up, he ''finally'' keels over dead for the second time ]]
*** [[spoiler: [[BeyondTheImpossible which ''still'' doesn't stop him showing up ''again'']] for the final boss fight, now in his full-power Archer form leveling the weapon that ''originally'' slew Tiamat the first time at the Beast II. In total, Gilgamesh died ''three separate times'' saving his city.]]
* Now in Lostbelts, we have the simple example of [[spoiler: Charlotte Corday, a failed assassin from the French revolution, managing to do what Assassins do best and sneak-attack ''Odysseus'', finally managing a MutualKill with the legendary trickster of Ancient Greece.]]

The spirit of ATrueHero is an awesome thing. Heroes can do anything if they are driven enough. They will not surrender, they will not stay down. [[InjuryTropes Broken Bones]], TheVirus, Death, they are all to be shrugged off when the chips are down. No DespairEventHorizon for them.

laughing -- as always -- about it because the one thing that he apparently needed to properly end his reign was [[InsaneTrollLogic a fatal wound]], before holding her off for ''hours'' while the player character gets some much needed sleep. When she wakes up, he ''finally'' keels over dead for the second time ]]

*** ''Then'' (skipping over several scenes of similar sacrificial heroics from [[spoiler: Quetzalcoatl, Ishtar, and of course the main cast]]) he gets his own HoldTheLine moment, pitting his city walls lined with cannons shooting Broken Phantasms and his own legend against [[spoiler: Tiamat, mother of the gods and ''the Second Beast'', ''without'' his strongest weapon. Holds her off for ''hours'', taking a fatal wound at ''some'' point in the process and laughing -- as always -- about it, because the one thing that he apparently needed to properly end his reign was [[InsaneTrollLogic a fatal wound]], before -- ''again'' -- keeling over dead for the second time ]]

** Gilgamesh himself gets a lot of flak for being a complete asshole -- and he absolutely is -- but he's not called the King of Heroes for nothing. He finally gets to show his chops as an [[Underdog]] hero in the Babylon singularity of ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'', where he finally takes his job as 'king' seriously.

*** But naturally, that doesn't stop him, because he has [[Irony too much work to be dead!]] When the player character has to go down to the Underworld for her own reasons (in part to rescue him), she finds him [[EscapedFromHell]]already halfway out on his own power]].

*** [[spoiler: [[BeyondTheImpossible]]which ''still'' doesn't stop him showing up ''again'' for the final bos fight, now in his full-power Archer form leveling the weapon that ''originally'' slew Tiamat the first time at the Beast II.]]

* Although the trope should not be confused with ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'''s Heroic Spirits, the trope is quite an important part of the series. Though power and compatibility are central to who actually wins in fights, one of the central themes of the series is that a Heroic Spirit -- ''any'' Heroic Spirit, however lesser, unknown, weak, or outmatched they may seem -- got that way for a [[Badass reason]]: by definition, they are those who tried ''and succeeded'' at [[BeyondTheImpossible doing the impossible.]] You can defeat a hero, you can even kill a hero -- but you should never, ever simply count out a hero as irrelevant.

** From the same War: "Sasaki Kojirou", scare quotes very much required as he's actually a no-name farmer who happened to have mastered the technique Kojirou was known for in legend, filling in for a "hero" that even in legend only really existed to pump up Musashi's fame, was capable of [[HoldTheLine holding his gate]] against ''all'' comers for the entire War. Yes, that includes Herakles -- a Berserker that outmatches him in almost every statistics, comically outweighs him in depth of legend and Mystery, and possesses a defensive Noble Phantasm that ought to mean that [[BeyondTheImpossible ''Kojirou shouldn't even have been able to touch him.'']]

* Although the trope should not be confused with ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'''s Heroic Spirits, the trope is quite an important part of the series. Shirou in particular practically lives and breathes this trope, especially in the "Fate" route.
** Saber, too. And they are the BattleCouple of that route.

* The protagonist of ''Comicbook/{{Empowered}}'' has a super-suit that doesn't work properly, more issues than a comic-book warehouse, ends up naked, bound and gagged almost every freaking ''day,'' and is either a joke to, or suspected of really being a villain by, almost every other hero in her universe. Yet she absolutely will not ''stop.'' She is nearly a Platonic ideal of the {{Determinator}} version of this trope.

* This is more or less what allows members of the GreenLantern Corps to use their rings.

** ''Anime/MazingerZ'': Kouji Kabuto will keep fighting even if he is badly wounded and weakened, his weapons have been destroyed, his HumongousMecha is running out of power, he is outnumbered and the enemy is way more powerful than him. The times he has almost or fully crossed the DespairEventHorizon his mindset has been "I am going to die... Alright. I'll die fighting.". However Sayaka's HeroicSpirit is even greater because she ''knows'' she is ''always'' underpowered. She is nearly always badly beaten in battles and still keeps fighting.

** HeroicSpirit it's sometimes even the key to using what ever ''green rocks''/''applied phlebotinum'' powers the robot. Examples include:

*** ''Anime/MazingerZ'''s Mazinpower. It is hinted in the original ''Anime/MazingerZ'' series and more heavily in other ''[[Anime/CBCharaGoNagaiWorld related]]'' ''[[Manga/ShinMazingerZero series]] the "God or demon" Dr. Kabuto lecture is due to Mazinger-Z's power depends on Kouji's HeroicSpirit. If Kouji is in TheDeterminator mode and wanting to save the world, it will even move on its own to save Kouji. If Kouji has crossed the DespairEventHorizon [[spoiler:it will become a demon.]]

** There's a lot of examples of this in the 4th edition of the game. As a side effect of the efforts to give healing abilities to more classes (and avoid the [[TheMedic You gotta have a Cleric!]] problem of earlier editions), there's a lot of powers that allow characters to expend Healing Surges and regain lost HitPoints that are described as [[HeroicSpirit this trope]] at work.

* While there was much debate as to [[HeroicLineage what]] [[{{Reincarnation}} connections]] each Link in ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' series have to each other, the one thing that's outright stated is that all Links share the same HeroicSpirit.[[note]] With Hyrule Historia came the clarification that each Link is a reincarnation of Hylia's chosen hero, except when it's explicitly stated that it's the same Link or a descendant, as is the case between ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaofTime Ocarina of Time]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' Links[[/note]]. It's explicitly ''why'' he was [[TheChosenOne chosen to be the Hero]] as of ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]]''. Zelda even notes in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]'' that whatever this Link [[AmnesiacHero may have forgotten]] since waking up in the Shrine of Resurrection, he never once forgot his courage.

The spirit of a true hero is an awesome thing. Heroes can do anything if they are driven enough. They will not surrender, they will not stay down. [[InjuryTropes Broken Bones]], TheVirus, Death, they are all to be shrugged off when the chips are down. No DespairEventHorizon for them.

->''"It's not in the circuitry, is it? It's not the machine that resists you; it's me, my spirit! That's the part you can't break!"''