History Main / LogicalLatecomer

* ''WesternAnimation/MiloMurphysLaw'' actually begins with one -- while everyone else who [[ThePollyanna Milo]] knows has long ago accepted that he's BornUnlucky and TheJinx, the first episode has him meet [[OnlySaneMan Zack]], who just moved to town and thus serves as the show's AudienceSurrogate. A later episode also gives this role to Zack's father, the only person who doesn't initially believe in the Murphy men's HereditaryCurse.
* This was the concept of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E23HomersEnemy Homer's Enemy]]". Frank Grimes is an ordinary guy who gets a job at the nuclear plant and is confounded that Homer is TooDumbToLive and that everyone else simply accepts it. He is, however, a DeconstructedCharacterArchetype because of two details: 1) He becomes so angry about this fact that he becomes obsessed with proving how stupid Homer is and it results in him losing his mind and [[spoiler:getting himself killed]] and 2) what gives him the "logical" perspective is not really (WordOfGod notwithstanding) being "a real person", but having suffered such a hard-core life-long barrage of the DiabolusExMachina that he's as absurdist a character as any ''Simpsons'' regular, only aiming for angst rather than laughs.

** "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS4E8GemHarvest Gem Harvest]]": Steven meets Greg's cousin Andy [=DeMayo=], who hasn't seen him in years and doesn't know about the Gems or Steven's adventures with them. Andy is baffled by the Gems' powers, and reacts with fear, concern, and AngerBornOfWorry when [[spoiler:he hastily tries to leave the family dinner in his biplane and Steven ''flies after him with Lapis's help, only to '''nearly fall into the ocean'''''.]] Interestingly (and hilariously), he actually [[FantasticallyIndifferent seems to immediately accept the fact that the Gems are extraterrestrial beings]]... but he's super mad because they're not legally American citizens and his family has been letting them live with them. And yes, an "illegal alien" pun is indeed used in the episode.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' ministry "Islands", several isolated remnants of human colonies are discovered, one of which is governed by [[spoiler:Finn's biological mother]], Minerva, who is the last of the "Helper" caste that managed to survive a lethal plague by uploading her dying body into a computer network. She wants Finn to also upload so she can protect him from danger forever, but Finn tries to convince her that the outside world isn't so bad by showing her his memories. Her response to his many adventures in Ooo is... mixed.

* ''Manga/OnePiece'': Several members and allies of the [[BunnyEarsLawyer Straw Hat Pirates]] have been this at different points of the manga, as they discovered what a gang of lunatics they're dealing with:
** Princess Nefertari Vivi had all sorts of trouble dealing with the pirate crew that [[TheGoodChancellor Igaram]] had hired as her bodyguards, constantly dealing with their massive egos, habit of picking fights with each other for the pettiest of reasons, and [[TheAllegedBoss the captain's]] [[IdiotHero amazing stupidity]]. However, by the end of the Alabasta arc, when it was time for her to say goodbye to them, she had already gotten used to all that. Instead, at the party celebrating the fall of [[ArcVillain Crocodile]], it was the Alabasta [[PraetorianGuard royal guards]] who briefly played this role for her, utterly confused for why was the princess so amused by the ruffian behaviour of these pirates.

Being new to a group or setting helps the latecomer notice that everyone else isn't operating with a full deck.

As the SixthRanger or rookie member, this character has likely been absent from all the mental leaps, decisions, and odd adventures that everyone else has undergone. Because of that, none of them can SpotTheThread or notice that there's something incredibly strange about the whole picture. But this character does, and won't hesitate to question why their new companions behave the way they do.

* ''Videogame/DevilMayCry5'': Only being introduced one game prior, Nero has no idea who [[spoiler:Vergil is and why Dante is so keen on fighting him by himself. He's eventually told that Vergil is Dante's twin brother and [[LukeIAmYourFather Nero's father]], which only makes Nero more conflicted because he's suddenly gone from having no family to having a father and an uncle that want to kill each other. As such, he declares the entire SiblingRivalry between the two a stupid waste of time and unlocks [[SuperMode Devil Trigger]] just to make them back down and settle things once and for all.]]

* ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' has this role shift from character to character, with the newest member of the [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits generally taking the role until they find their niche in the cast. At first, it was Frank "Doc" [=DuFresne=]. Then it shifted to Agent Washington when he arrived, followed by Agent Carolina, then the leaders of the Chorus forces, then Dylan Andrews... the role is in flux but each time results in a different brand of comedy.

* According to WordOfGod, this was the reason that the ComicBook/ScarletSpider's debut battle was against ComicBook/{{Venom}}. Venom was one of Franchise/SpiderMan's most dangerous and insane foes, but during this period of time, Spider-man had entered a non-aggression pact with him, where the two would basically leave each other alone. Peter at this time was married and Venom was well aware of his true identity, so Peter was partly motivated by a desire to protect his family. Despite this, some writers felt that this was ''horribly out of character'' for Peter Parker, and [[ArmedWithCanon expressed their feelings through Scarlet Spider]], who is [[WhatTheHellHero very pissed off]] that Peter made this deal.
* Superboy and Supergirl were this for the original ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes; as people from the present day, they understandably didn't know much of anything about life in the 30th century, nor what kind of crazy adventures the Legion got up to. This made them {{Audience Surrogate}}s who could ask relevant WorldBuilding questions, allowing the comic to avoid constant AsYouKnow moments.

* This was the concept of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "Homer's Enemy". Frank Grimes is an ordinary guy who gets a job at the nuclear plant and is confounded that Homer is TooDumbToLive and that everyone else simply accepts it. He is, however, a DeconstructedCharacterArchetype because of two details: 1) He becomes so angry about this fact that he becomes obsessed with proving how stupid Homer is and it results in him losing his mind and [[spoiler:getting himself killed]] and 2) what gives him the "logical" perspective is not really (WordOfGod notwithstanding) being "a real person", but having suffered such a hard-core life-long barrage of the DiabolusExMachina that he's as absurdist a character as any ''Simpsons'' regular, only aiming for angst rather than laughs.

[[folder:Fanfiction]]

[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]
* In ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'', Captain America (who spent [[RipVanWinkle several decades]] in [[HumanPopsicle suspended animation]]) is the only person in SHIELD to see something wrong with the organization's plan to launch a fleet of super-accurate, nigh-unstoppable aerial gunships to patrol the world and enforce peace at gunpoint. [[spoiler:It turns out that he's completely right, because HYDRA has been running SHIELD for decades at that point, and once those ships are in the air, they will wipe out the millions of people worldwide who could ever possibly pose a threat, effectively letting them TakeOverTheWorld in one fell swoop.]] Cap spent about 65 years being frozen, reinforcing the trope more since he is missing generations of angst that have led to SHIELD deciding on this course of action.

[[folder:Webcomics]]

** Minor example in [[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E7DropBeatDad “Drop Beat Dad”]] from Greg’s old music manager Marty when he visits Beach City. Most locals are entirely used to Steven being a SuperStrongChild, whereas Marty reacts in total surprise when he sees him easily lift a crate full of stage equipment that would normally take two fully grown roadies to carry.
** [[Recap/StevenUniverseS4E8GemHarvest "Gem Harvest"]]: Steven meets Greg's cousin Andy [=DeMayo=], who hasn't seen him in years and doesn't know about the Gems or Steven's adventures with them. Andy is baffled by the Gems' powers, and reacts with fear, concern, and AngerBornOfWorry when [[spoiler:he hastily tries to leave the family dinner in his biplane and Steven ''flies after him with Lapis's help, only to '''nearly fall into the ocean'''''.]] Interestingly (and hilariously), he actually [[FantasticallyIndifferent seems to immediately accept the fact that the Gems are extraterrestrial beings]]... but he's super mad because they're not legally American citizens and his family has been letting them live with them. And yes, an "illegal alien" pun is indeed used in the episode.

[[folder:Fan Works]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'': Robin's boyfriend Kevin is a therapist and finds it difficult to keep in all his professional feelings about how insane the main cast are. In one episode, he explodes and diagnoses everyone with mental health issues on the spot.

--> '''Damien Darhk:''' Okay, new guy question — is that a joke plan or a real plan?

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': This was the role of Professor Fansworth's clone, Cubert, in his first appearance. Having been [[ReallyWasBornYesterday literally born yesterday]], he was there to point out the show's many scientific inaccuracies and logical inconsistencies. This aspect was abandoned in later appearances, when Cubert came to embrace the show's nonsense.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' episode "Gem Harvest", Steven meets Greg's cousin, Andy [=DeMayo=], who hasn't seen him in years and doesn't know about the Gems or Steven's adventures with them. Andy is baffled by the Gems' powers, and reacts with fear, concern, and AngerBornOfWorry when [[spoiler:he hastily tries to leave the family dinner in his biplane and Steven ''flies after him with Lapis's help, only to '''nearly fall into the ocean'''''.]] Interestingly (and hilariously), he actually [[FantasticallyIndifferent seems to immediately accept the fact that the Gems are extraterrestrial beings]]... but he's super mad because they're not legally American citizens and his family has been letting them live with them. And yes, an "illegal alien" pun is indeed used in the episode.
** Minor example in “Drop Beat Dad” from Greg’s old music manager Marty when he visits Beach City. Most locals are entirely used to Steven being a SuperStrongChild, whereas Marty reacts in total surprise when he sees him easily lift a crate full of stage equipment that would normally take two fully grown roadies to carry.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' ministry "Islands", several isolated remnants of human colonies are discovered, one of which is governed by [[spoiler:Finn's biological mother]], Minerva, who is the last of the "Helper" caste that managed to survive a lethal plague by uploading her dying body into a computer network. She wants Finn to also upload so she can protect him from danger forever, but Finn tries to convince her that the outside world isn't so bad by showing her his memories. Her response to his many adventures in Ooo is... mixed.
-->'''Minerva:''' Your world seems so chaotic. Your ruler [[AnthropomorphicFood is a piece of gum]], [[FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire your friend's a vampire]], you dated [[ElementalEmbodiment a bit of]] [[PlayingWithFire fire]] -- your life is constantly in danger!
* ''WesternAnimation/MiloMurphysLaw'' actually begins with one -- while everyone else who [[ThePollyanna Milo]] knows has long ago accepted that he's BornUnlucky and TheJinx, the first episode has him meet [[OnlySaneMan Zack]], who just moved to town and thus serves as the show's AudienceSurrogate. A later episode also gives this role to Zack's father, the only person who doesn't initially believe in the Murphy men's HereditaryCurse.

Compare and contrast NaiveNewcomer, with the main difference tending to be that another character will at least ''attempt'' to give the newcomer some explanation as to why things are the way they are, while the latecomer's questions and concerns are usually ignored or downplayed. Both are equally likely to serve as an AudienceSurrogate, however, with the latecomer most often taking the role during the later installments of a work to alleviate ContinuityLockout.

Compare and contrast NaiveNewcomer, with the difference tending to be that another character will at least ''attempt'' to give the newcomer some explanation as to why things are the way they are, while the latecomer's questions and concerns are usually ignored or downplayed. Both are equally likely to serve as an AudienceSurrogate, however, with the latecomer naturally taking the role during the later installments of a work to alleviate ContinuityLockout.

As the SixthRanger or overall rookie member, this character has likely been absent from all the mental leaps and decisions that your predecessors all took. Because of that, none of them can SpotTheThread or notice that there's something incredibly wrong about the whole picture. But this character does, and won't hesitate to question why their new companions behave the way they do.

Such a character may also become an AudienceSurrogate, especially in later installments, to alleviate ContinuityLockout. Compare and contrast NaiveNewcomer, with the difference tending to be that another character will at least ''attempt'' to give the newcomer some explanation as to why things are the way they are, while the latecomer's questions and concerns are usually ignored or downplayed.

Being the SixthRanger, NaiveNewcomer, or rookie member means that you're likely absent from all the mental leaps and decisions that your predecessors all took. Because of that, none of them can SpotTheThread or notice that there's something incredibly wrong about the whole picture.

Such a character may also become an AudienceSurrogate, especially in later installments, to alleviate ContinuityLockout. Compare and contrast NaiveNewcomer.

--> '''Damien Darhk:''' Darhk: Okay, new guy question — is that a joke plan or a real plan?

* ''Videogmae/DevilMayCry5'': Only being introduced one game prior, Nero has no idea who [[spoiler:Vergil is and why Dante is so keen on fighting him by himself. He's eventually told that Vergil is Dante's twin brother and [[LukeIAmYourFather Nero's father]], which only makes Nero more conflicted because he's suddenly gone from having no family to having a father and an uncle that want to kill each other. As such, he declares the entire SiblingRivalry between the two a stupid waste of time and unlocks [[SuperMode Devil Trigger]] just to make them back down and settle things once and for all.]]

--> '''Jim:''' [[YouCanSeeThatRight Claire, you saw that ri-]]\\
'''Claire:''' I have eyes Jim.

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' has this role shift from character to character, with the newest member of the [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits generally taking the role until they find their niche in the cast. At first, it was Frank "Doc" [=DuFresne=]. Then it shifted to Agent Washington when he arrived, followed by Agent Carolina, then the leaders of the Chorus forces, then Dylan Andrews... the role is in flux but each time results in a different brand of comedy.
[[/folder]]

* In ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'', Captain America (who spent [[RipVanWinkle several decades]] in SuspendedAnimation) is the only person in SHIELD to see something wrong with the organization's plan to launch a fleet of super-accurate, nigh-unstoppable aerial gunships to patrol the world and enforce peace at gunpoint. [[spoiler:It turns out that he's completely right, because HYDRA has been running SHIELD for decades at that point, and once those ships are in the air, they will wipe out the millions of people worldwide who could ever possibly pose a threat, effectively letting them TakeOverTheWorld in one fell swoop.]] Cap spent about 65 years being frozen, reinforcing the trope more since he is missing generations of angst that have led to SHIELD deciding on this course of action.

* This was the concept of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "Homer's Enemy". Frank Grimes is an ordinary guy who gets a job at the nuclear plant and is confounded that Homer is TooDumbToLive and that everyone else simply accepts it. This trope ends up being deconstructed because of the fact that he becomes so angry about this fact that he becomes obsessed with proving how stupid Homer is and it results in him losing his mind and [[spoiler:getting himself killed.]]

* This was the concept of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "Homer's Enemy". Frank Grimes is an ordinary guy who gets a job at the nuclear plant and is confounded that Homer is TooDumbToLive and that everyone else simply accepts it. He becomes obsessed with proving how stupid Homer is and it results in him losing his mind and [[spoiler:getting himself killed.]]

* ''Manga/{{Working}}'': Early on, the series follows Souta, the new part-time waiter, as he discovers one after another the various quirks of his co-workers. Said qirks no other co-worker seems to be bothered by, no other co-worker seems to bother with, no other co-worker bothered to warn him of, and no other co-worker bothered to even mention. The restaurant turns out to be a DysfunctionJunction alright. But Souta himself does make quite a contribution.
* In ''Anime/KOn'', Azusa joins the club in their second year. Her relationship with the rest of the band starts off very shaky due to this, with her pointing out how lazy and unmotivated they seem to be, and how little they seem to focus on their club activities over drinking tea and eating snacks. In their defense, those things were conveniently [[{{Flanderization}} exaggerated]] upon her introduction, with much of what they're not doing heavily implied to have been happening off screen prior to that point (otherwise Yui, for instance, wouldn't even be able to ''play'' her instrument), but it's played straight from Azusa's perspective.

* ''Comics/{{Peanuts}}'': Franklin was like this, questioning bits of weirdness that the other characters took for granted such as Snoopy's World-War One helmet and Lucy's psychiatric booth.

* In ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'', Captain America (who spent [[RipVanWinkle several decades]] in SuspendedAnimation) is the only person in SHIELD to see something wrong with the organization's plan to launch a fleet of super-accurate, nigh-unstoppable aerial gunships to patrol the world and enforce peace at gunpoint. [[spoiler:It turns out that he's completely right, because HYDRA has been running SHIELD for decades at that point, and once those ships are in the air, they will wipe out the millions of people worldwide who could ever possibly pose a threat, effectively TakingOverTheWorld in one fell swoop.]] Cap spent about 65 years being frozen, reinforcing the trope more since he is missing generations of angst that have led to SHIELD deciding on this course of action.

** This happens on a galaxy-wide scale in regards to humanity entering [[TheFederation Citadel Space]]. By the time the rest of the galaxy discovers humanity, a multi-species civilization had existed in its current form for millennia and [[PlanetOfHats and Hats had been distributed to everyone]] based on their species' traits relative to others. ([[ProudScholarRace "You're smart]] [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe and beautiful".]] [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy "You're tough]] [[HumorlessAliens and uptight."]] [[DumbMuscle "You're big]] [[KlingonScientistsGetNoRespect and stupid."]] [[ProudMerchantRace "You're weak]] [[SpaceJews and greedy."]]) This gave humans the advantage of looking at how each other species has faired with specific hats (at one point noting how FantasticRacism has completely screwed over the quarians and krogan). Humans thus react extremely bitterly to being marginalized or compartmentalized in any way. This, however, makes members of other races [[HumanityIsInsane assign "pseudo-hats"]] [[HumansAreBastards to humanity instead.]]

* According to WordOfGod, this was the reason that the ComicBook/ScarletSpider's debut battle was against ComicBook/{{Venom}}. Venom was one of Franchise/SpiderMan's most dangerous and insane foes, but during this period of time, Spider-man had entered a non-aggression pact with him, where the two would basically leave each other alone. Peter at this time was married and Venom was well aware of his true identity, so Peter was partly motivated by a desire to protect his family. Despite this, some writers felt that this was ''horribly out of character'' for Peter Parker, and [[WriterOnBoard expressed their feelings through Scarlet Spider]], who is [[WhatTheHellHero very pissed off]] that Peter made this deal.