History Main / LordErrorProne

** He was eventually permanently disbarred for his increasingly inane actions. Among other things, it turns out you probably shouldn't include gay porn in a deposition.

** Now let us be fair. What about his triumphant carpet bombing of Eden 7, or his victory over the pacifists of the Gandhi nebula? He competently dealt with them that's for sure.
*** Not to mention his [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_fJSsuBIks glorious victory over the killbots!]]
**** He ''does'' win every single battle he partakes in. He just does it with massive casualties and expense, and hogs all the glory.
**** He lost Earth to the Decapodians after literally giving a [[HughMann poorly-disguised Decapodian spy]] the defense codes. Earth was retaken ''after''.

* [[WellExcuseMePrincess Princess]] [[GenkiGirl L'Arachel]] [[WhiteMagicianGirl of Rausten]], from ''Videogame/FireEmblem 8'', combines this with GenkiGirl and WellExcuseMePrincess. Unlike others, she ''does'' [[TookALevelInBadass learn how to fight properly]] and gets better. [[spoiler: Her parents were Lord Error-Prone types too -- and died because of that when she was a child, according to her supports with Eirika.]]
** [[spoiler: Actually, they were legitimately good rulers since they went out saving people from monsters, and other people spoke quite highly of them.]]

** In his defense Rust is at least honourable (as he sees honour). At one point Vimes thinks Rust might have gotten up to something but then discounts it because he may look down on you but he wouldn't stoop to a level below him. Lord Rust may be a stuck up, arrogant elitist, but he wouldn't stab you in the back or cheat.
** As far as anyone who a) lives in Ankh-Morpork, b) has ever had any kind of contact with Vetinari, or c) takes any kind of role in government is concerned, that's only further proof of idiocy.

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' has the incredibly annoying psychic Don Kanonji, whose ego knows no bounds. A television personality rather than any actual nobility, he turns out in his first appearance to be just enough not a fake that he's been turning ghosts into hollows industriously, thinking he's exorcising them. He can do a ki blast the size of a marshmallow.
** Since upgraded to the size of a watermelon, but given he tried to use it on the fourth level version of [[BigBad ''Aizen'']] this has almost the effect of having shrunk.
** Did actually extend the lifespans of some minor characters recently (in connection with that watermelon) for a couple of minutes. Was the first installment in a couple of layers of increasingly powerful cavalry. Still deeply annoying.

** [[WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}} Zapp? Is that you?]]

** And he just got sanctioned by the Florida Supreme Court for his increasingly inane actions. Among other things, it turns out you probably shouldn't include gay porn in a deposition.
*** Not to mention his permanent disbarment and a slot in Florida law school textbooks as a shining example of how to self-destruct one's career.
** [[MemeticMutation Jack Thompson is disbarred! HOW DISBARRED IS HE?!]]

* Tyler Dawn in ''[[{{webcomic/morphe}} morphE]]''.

* Prince Rhun from LloydAlexander's Literature/PrydainChronicles series. Though not overly proud, he is certainly foolish and bumbling enough for two, and a WideEyedIdealist to boot. Taran loathes him at first, not least because he is a potential husband for Princess Eilonwy.

** It's also clear that Loghain would've done anything to get rid of the Grey Wardens, whom he believed were Orlesian spies (Loghain [[GeneralRipper sees Orlesians everywhere]]). He ''planned'' to sacrifice them to the Darkspawn. He just didn't think Cailan would be stupid enough to join them. Does anyone wants his son-in-law to be a GloryHound?

* Inspector Sledge Hammer from the cop drama spoof ''SledgeHammer'', who resorts to [[CrossesTheLineTwice over-the-top brutal methods]] for the smallest of crimes (like tying a speeder to the hood of his car as an ornament), and using lethal force at the drop of a hat while at the same time having the common sense of a slightly moldy fairy cake. There's the time he blew up an entire building with a rocket launcher to get the sniper on the roof (though at least he asked whether it'd been evacuated first), and the incident that provoked this exchange:

** It's also clear that Loghain would've done anything to get rid of the Grey Wardens, whom he believed were Orlesian spies (Loghain sees Orlesians everywhere). He ''planned'' to sacrifice them to the Darkspawn. He just didn't think Cailan would be stupid enough to join them. Does anyone wants his son-in-law to be a GloryHound?

* Conrad Verner, Shepard's [[LoonyFan number one fan]], from ''Videogame/MassEffect''. In the first game, he attempts to convince Shepard to make him a member of the Spectres, an elite space peacekeeping group. ([[CaptainObvious It doesn't work.]]) If Shepard manages to convince him that it would be a bad idea, he gets it and backs off...[[IgnoredEpiphany until the second game]], where you find him at a bar on Illium, wearing a replica of Shepard's default armor in an attempt to be [[IJustWantToBeBadass "truly extreme."]] ([[CaptainObvious It still doesn't work.]]) If Shepard doesn't manage to get him to stop in either game, he ends up getting himself killed. The way in which he fits this trope is perhaps best exemplified in this exchange:

* Every "heroic" character played by WesternAnimation/Daffy Duck: Robin Hood Daffy; Dripalong Daffy; Stupor Duck; Doorlock Holmes; Duck Twacy; WesternAnimation/TheScarletPumpernickel; Sgt. Joe Monday; Boston Quackie; and, most famously, DuckDodgers. Many of these feature Porky Pig as a HypercompetentSidekick.

!!Examples

[[folder:Film]]
* Sir Didymus from ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'' is one of the sympathetic variety.
* In ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'', there's a scene where Lancelot charges a castle to rescue a trapped princess (or so he thinks -- the person in question is neither trapped [[DudeLooksLikeALady nor a princess]]). To the blares of triumphant music, he heroically storms through its halls and towers, cutting down the "princess'" foul captors... or, more accurately, the hapless members of the castle's staff and wedding guests who happen to be nearby. He even takes a detour into the courtyard to slaughter ''the dancers''. And even after he understands the real situation and befriends the king, he almost does it a ''second'' time before being stopped.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* General George Armstrong Custer. Earned a record number of demerits during his time at military academy, won several Civil War engagements at great cost to his men (his only tactic was to charge), was court-martialed for going absent from his command and having deserters shot without trial, accused a close friend of President Grant of corruption without a scrap of evidence, and was regarded, by himself and others, as a great Indian fighter despite evidence to the contrary. He inspired fierce loyalty from some, and equally fierce loathing from others and still causes arguments today. Then there was that other [[LastStand thing...]]

* Every "heroic" character played by [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Daffy Duck]]: Robin Hood Daffy; Dripalong Daffy; Stupor Duck; Doorlock Holmes; Duck Twacy; TheScarletPumpernickel; Sgt. Joe Monday; Boston Quackie; and, most famously, DuckDodgers. Many of these feature Porky Pig as a HypercompetentSidekick.

He's Lord Error-Prone - a KnightInShiningArmor or KnightTemplar whose ineptitude and lack of common sense makes him more of a nuisance rather than a real threat to whatever he is fighting against. Which is probably good, given his [[LawfulStupid fanatical mindset.]]

* Tatewaki Kuno from ''RanmaOneHalf'' comes from wealthy [[KendoTeamCaptain samurai]] stock, and speaks in flowery poetic text. He is always easily defeated by most of the other characters, but is always supremely confident and arrogant. He is too stupid to notice that Ranma is a GenderBender, and not two separate people. He's actually seen him transform right in front of him numerous times.
* Shuutaro Mendo from ''UruseiYatsura'', possibly Kuno's literary ancestor, is much the same. He's incredibly wealthy, carries a sword everywhere he goes, and generally acts the cool sophisticate, an act for which the local girls fawn over him in adoration. Scratch the gloss, however, and he's really no better than LoveableSexManiac Ataru Moroboshi himself. In fact, he's debateably worse, given that he's utterly afraid of the dark, claustrophobic, and a DirtyCoward, while Ataru is capable of [[{{Determinator}} insane acts of bravery and determination]].
* Leo from ''ScrappedPrincess''.
* An episode of the ''VideoGame/{{Kirby}}'' [[KirbyOfTheStars anime]] features a guest character who is pretty much an {{Expy}} of (and ShoutOut to) Literature/DonQuixote, replacing chivalric novels with comic books and cartoons. He ends up being treated sympathetically, especially because he's a senile old man whose delusions are pretty much his will to live. And then he helps Kirby fight a windmill monster.
* America in AxisPowersHetalia is always loudly declaring that he's "The Hero" but in reality he's rather clueless and he only annoys the other countries. In fanfiction, this tralslates to him being anything from a hopeless idiot obsessed with superheroes to a genuinely well-intentioned but incompetent idealist.

* At MutekiKanbanMusume, ShopKeeper Akihiko JumpedAtTheCall to find Toshiyuki [[CannotTellFictionFromReality believing himself the Red Ranger and his friends part of a]] Sentai Show, but he fails for asking the description of Toshiyuki, lost many time asking to other children for him, and when he believes to find him, he attacks an AngryGuardDog that seems to menace the child (that dog never wanted to attack the child and {{CurbStompBattle}}s Akihiko). Also, the dog [[spoiler: really is Toshiyuki]].

* This is a regular trope for [[GrooTheWanderer Groo]], usually when he finds a new cause to "champion".

* In ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'', there's a scene where Lancelot charges a castle to rescue a trapped princess (or so he thinks - the person in question is neither trapped [[DudeLooksLikeALady nor a princess]]). To the blares of triumphant music, he heroically storms through its halls and towers, cutting down the "princess'" foul captors... or, more accurately, the hapless members of the castle's staff and wedding guests who happen to be nearby. He even takes a detour into the courtyard to slaughter ''the dancers''. And even after he understands the real situation and befriends the king, he almost does it a ''second'' time before being stopped.

** The first Buzz was also like this for a good part of ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory''- it's even [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in 2 when an exasperated Buzz, faced with his other self's antics, mutters to himself "Tell me I wasn't this deluded..."

* ''Literature/DonQuixote'' is the UrExample here, and most of the windmill-jousting and chivalry-claiming that comes after is derivative - the rest is a ShoutOut.

* Eyck of Denesle, the paladin/knight errant from one of A. Sapkowski's TheWitcher stories.

** This is nothing new either - in ''Discworld/NightWatch'', the only difference between Rust 30 years ago and Rust now is a mustache. And Sybil tells Sam (from experience, presumably) that describing him as an "inbred streak of piss" is perfectly accurate, and that to comply with Fred Colon's suggestion about what to do with the badge, Rust would need a hammer.
** In his defence Rust is at least honourable (as he sees honour). At one point Vimes thinks Rust might have gotten up to something but then discounts it because he may look down on you but he wouldn't stoop to a level below him. Lord Rust may be a stuck up, arrogant elitist, but he wouldn't stab you in the back or cheat.

** [[spoiler:They [[TheMole were right]].]]
*** [[spoiler: Sort of right. Fans believed him to be one of the Forsaken (magic users high on the SortingAlgorithmOfEvil), but it turned out that he was just a {{mook}} that was doing his damnedest to screw up Rand's plans.]]

* Prince Rhun from LloydAlexander's ''PrydainChronicles'' series is a protagonist example of this. Though not overly proud, he is certainly foolish and bumbling enough for two, and a WideEyedIdealist to boot. Taran loathes him at first, not least because he is a potential husband for Princess Eilonwy.

* The demon-hunter Quigley in Robert Lynn Asprin's ''[[MythAdventures Another Fine Myth]]''.
* Sir Michael Sevenson from HilariBell's KnightAndRogueSeries, has moments of this. For example, in the first book he accepts a commission to rescue a DistressedDamsel who's being kept in a tower against her will... only to discover, after the lady is long gone, that she was being kept in the tower to await trial for killing her husband. Oops...
* Sooni from ''TalesOfMU'' is one of the more villainous examples.
* Prince Therandil, Cimorene's erstwhile fiance in ''[[EnchantedForestChronicles Dealing With Dragons]]'', definitely qualifies. Most notable, of course, are his bumbling attempts to "rescue" Cimorene from Kazul, but [[spoiler: his accidental release of a djinn that wants to kill them both]] is a contributing factor too.
* In Bernard Cornwell's ''{{Sharpe}}'' series, most books have some variant of these. The odds are about 50/50 that Sharpe will kill them eventually.
* {{Flashman}} has a few of these, most notably Lord Cardigan, Lord Lucan, and Lord Raglan, the men responsible for the Charge of the Light Brigade.

* Ignatius J. Reilly from ''AConfederacyOfDunces'' suits this trope down to a T, with the exception of a single character believing him to be successful. The only two characters that "believe in him" [[GenreSavvy only support him so that he'll cause a disaster]] that would be beneficial to them.

* Sulla from the ''CiaphasCain'' series isn't actually a ''bad'' soldier - she becomes one of the Imperial Guard's most famous generals later in her career, and her troops have high morale and confidence in her - but Cain sees her as this trope, because her enthusiasm clashes rather badly with his "Stay as far out of the fighting as possible" sensibilities. He never realized it, but she was actually modeling her entire approach after how she perceived ''him''.

* Group Captain Rodney Crittendon from ''HogansHeroes'', so incompetent that Hogan feels the best place for him to serve the Allied war effort is in a German prisoner of war camp. Just ''not'' Stalag 13.
* Inspector Sledge Hammer from the cop drama spoof ''SledgeHammer!'', who resorts to [[CrossesTheLineTwice over-the-top brutal methods]] for the smallest of crimes (like tying a speeder to the hood of his car as an ornament), and using lethal force at the drop of a hat while at the same time having the common sense of a slightly moldy fairy cake. There's the time he blew up an entire building with a rocket launcher to get the sniper on the roof (though at least he asked whether it'd been evacuated first), and the incident that provoked this exchange:

* Anomen from ''[[BaldursGate Baldur's Gate II]]'' - a paladin-wannabe who can't even get his class right (he is a warrior/cleric rather than an actual paladin). However, he ''can'' prove to be a capable party member, and if you do his quests right he eventually matures a bit (reflected by an in-game be a boost to his Wisdom stat and a noticeable change in his formerly insufferable personality).

** Farwil Indarys is an even more blatant example - he heads an order of knights that mainly serve to bolster his ego, and tends to give a lot of [[MundaneMadeAwesome ridiculous]] [[RousingSpeech speeches]] that invariably end with [[VideoGame/CaveStory "Huzzah!"]]. He also has the same tendency to blindly charge into enemies as the above example, though in fairness [[ArtificialStupidity that's simply how all follower NPCs are programmed to act]]. Much more irritating in that he's ''not'' considered essential (and therefore killable), but letting him die screws you out of some decent quest rewards.

* [[WellExcuseMePrincess Princess]] [[GenkiGirl L'Arachel]] [[WhiteMagicianGirl of Rausten]], from ''FireEmblem 8'', combines this with GenkiGirl and WellExcuseMePrincess. Unlike others, she ''does'' [[TookALevelInBadass learn how to fight properly]] and gets better. [[spoiler: Her parents were Lord Error-Prone types too - and died because of that when she was a child, according to her supports with Eirika.]]

* [[StreetFighter Dan Hibiki.]] He got kicked out of the dojo he was training at for his vengeful motives and thus created his own style, Saikyo (Strongest), which is anything but, yet Dan foolhardily believes himself to be Number 1 no matter how often or hard he gets his ass handed to him by the other, more competent fighters.
* This is essentially Yuan Shao's depiction in ''DynastyWarriors'', particularly at the Battle of Guan Du.

* [[JakAndDaxter Baron Praxis]] is an example of an error-prone lord who's a threat to [[NoKillLikeOverkill everyone]].
* Conrad Verner, Shepard's [[LoonyFan number one fan]], from ''MassEffect''. In the first game, he attempts to convince Shepard to make him a member of the Spectres, an elite space peacekeeping group. ([[CaptainObvious It doesn't work.]]) If Shepard manages to convince him that it would be a bad idea, he gets it and backs off...[[IgnoredEpiphany until the second game]], where you find him at a bar on Illium, wearing a replica of Shepard's default armor in an attempt to be [[IJustWantToBeBadass "truly extreme."]] ([[CaptainObvious It still doesn't work.]]) If Shepard doesn't manage to get him to stop in either game, he ends up getting himself killed. The way in which he fits this trope is perhaps best exemplified in this exchange:

** Perhaps rather worringly, while Quark does exemplify this trope in later games, [[spoiler: Quark in the first game is a cunning and psychotic henchman to the real ''BigBad'' who tricks the heroes into multiple death traps before engaging in a full out space battle. And lets not forget, in the second game he overruns an entire galaxy with deadly mutants so he could use their defeat to clear his name. He's still dumb, but seems to be purely using his hero status for fame rather than out of sincerity.]]

* Here ''DarkSouls'''s Siegmeyer of Catarina sits, [[CatchPhrase in quite a collection of pickles]]. A somewhat foolhardy knight who journeyed to the incredibly dangerous land of Lordran on a whim, you usually encounter him after he's managed to get himself into yet another jam. Though he is usually content to just stand around and not get in your way and happily rewards you for your help, it is possible for [[spoiler: him to make one mistake too many and end up Hollow.]]

* Sir Balin in ''ArthurKingOfTimeAndSpace''.

* Othar Tryggvassen - '''''GentlemanAdventurer!''''' from ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' is a textbook case -- at least in regards to the main characters. He ''is'' competent, but nowhere close to Agatha or Baron Wulfenbach, both of whom he has antagonized at one point or another.
** Add insult to injury that he seems to be more or less impervious to harm, having been hit in the head with an oversized wrench that would likely kill most people and thrown out of an airship well over the needed height for terminal velocity on two different occasions.
*** Three.

* Sir Muir in ''{{Harkovast}}'' while brave and skilled at fighting, often falls under this trope as he is very easily confused and distracted both in and out of combat.

* Happens more often than one would think in ''SurvivalOfTheFittest'', usually with a character who tries to be a hero and ends up getting either himself, someone he was trying to protect, or both of them killed. Sidney Crosby (yes, the hockey player) is the most famous example so far

* Stalwart, at [[SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy]] in the WhateleyUniverse. He even has power armor he's built himself, and a robotic horse which constantly malfunctions.
** And off the school grounds, in Boston, you have the Lamplighter -- basically a GreenLantern {{expy}} who's not really quite living in the same 21st century America as everybody else and who the city's police would probably be happier to do without but can't really do much ''about'' either.

** Likewise, the similar characters played by Plucky Duck in ''TinyToonAdventures''.

* HongKongPhooey, the "Number One Super-Guy" who can't even go into his disguise cabinet to change without incident.
* DudleyDoRight, of course.
* Subverted slightly by Lord Bravery, of ''{{Freakazoid}}'' fame, who seems to be aware that he's this sort of character, but [[StiffUpperLip plays it out the best he can anyway.]]

* InspectorGadget. Believes his own hype (and everyone else does, too), but in reality couldn't deduce his way out of a wet paper bag, or figure that the criminals surrounding him wearing the logo of his archenemy might in fact be enemies. (He gets a pass on not recognising his dog in disguise, since no-one else there can.)

* ''InvaderZim'' is a villainous version of this trope. Thinks he's the most badass Irken warrior there ever was. [[TooDumbToLive Couldn't be farther from the truth]].
* Captain Wrongway Peachfuzz from ''RockyAndBullwinkle''. He's so consistently wrong that a tribe of island natives use him as a weather predictor--by [[AntiAdvice expecting the opposite of his weather predictions]].

*** Not to mention [[strike: the ever-increasingly-likely possibility of]] his permanent disbarment and a slot in Florida law school textbooks as a shining example of how to self-destruct one's career.

* General George Armstrong Custer. Earned a record number of demerits during his time at military academy, won several Civil War engagements at great cost to his men (his only tactic was to charge), was court-martialled for going absent from his command and having deserters shot without trial, accused a close friend of President Grant of corruption without a scrap of evidence, and was regarded, by himself and others, as a great Indian fighter despite evidence to the contrary. He inspired fierce loyalty from some, and equally fierce loathing from others and still causes arguments today. Then there was that other [[LastStand thing...]]

He's LordErrorProne - a KnightInShiningArmor or KnightTemplar whose ineptitude and lack of common sense makes him more of a nuisance rather than a real threat to whatever he is fighting against. Which is probably good, given his [[LawfulStupid fanatical mindset.]]

Possessing extremely poor judgment, LordErrorProne can often be seen charging against an opponent he has no chance of winning against (which, given his general clumsiness and lack of true combat skills, means almost everyone), oppressing minorities/static objects (surely servants of evil!) and punishing evildoers for such hideous crimes as jaywalking and littering. Often bizarrely GenreSavvy, but this generally [[RealityEnsues backfires]] (because ThisIsReality) -- [[RefugeeFromTVLand extreme cases]] may simply be GenreSavvy for the ''[[WrongGenreSavvy wrong genre]]''.

If LordErrorProne is meant to be a sympathetic character, he is often portrayed as a well-meaning, but [[TheDitz clueless]] WideEyedIdealist. Otherwise, he is a laughable excuse for a knight at best and a pathetic hypocrite or bully at worst.

See FailureKnight. Compare GeneralFailure, MilesGloriosus, and ModernMajorGeneral. Lord Error Prone is a knight who errs, but should not be confused with a KnightErrant.

** Lesser Extent? Phil is just as error prone as Amelia. Just with fewer redeeming periods of competence.

* Possibly subverted in ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' novels with the High Lord Weiramon, one of the most powerful nobles in his country. In battle he's forever almost getting the entire army wiped out with suicidal cavalry charges. In conversation he's forever offending all the people he's supposed to work with. And in politics he never notices that he's only getting important jobs to keep him too busy to hatch plans of his own. But his ability to consistently fail in the way that does as much damage to the cause as possible, and his near-miraculous ability to keep surviving suicidal cavalry charges unscathed (right down to his immaculately waxed beard) seem a little too neat, leading many fans to suspect that this Lord Error Prone may [[ObfuscatingStupidity actually be one of the most fiendishly cunning villains in the series]].

* [[WellExcuseMePrincess Princess]] [[GenkiGirl L'Arachel]] [[WhiteMagicianGirl of Rausten]], from ''FireEmblem 8'', combines this with GenkiGirl and WellExcuseMePrincess. Unlike others, she ''does'' [[TookALevelInBadass learn how to fight properly]] and gets better. [[spoiler: Her parents were Lord Error Prone types too - and died because of that when she was a child, according to her supports with Eirika.]]

* [[JakAndDaxter Baron Praxis]] is an example of an error prone lord who's a threat to [[NoKillLikeOverkill everyone]].

* Sir Roderick in ''WesternAnimation/{{Gawayn}}'', whose heart is undoubtedly in the right place. Now if only he knew where his brain was.