History Main / PopCulturedBadass

'''Scott Lang:''' Die Hard? No, that's not one.

* Gary Karkofsky in ''Literature/TheRulesOfSupervillainy'' is constantly making references to everything from Star Wars to the Lord of the Rings to [[TVTropes this very wiki]]. He's also capable of killing Kaiju with his superpowers.

* Gintoki from ''Manga/{{Gintama}}'' probably one of the biggest in anime and manga as a whole, coming with at least 1 ShoutOut per episode in this already ReferenceOverdosed series, even in serious arcs. He even reads [[Magazine/ShonenJump Weekly Shounen Jump,]] the magazine it's from, and has only mentioned a few with a {{Bland Name|Product}}, but most are directly ShoutOut, if censored are mostly just one character/letter ●-ed or [[SoundEffectBleep bleeped]] out making it quite useless. This has not gone without issues, however, as both Sunrise and Shueisha pray they won't get sued anymore. He's also a HiddenBadass who's a ShellShockedVeteran with a HiddenHeartOfGold who has managed to destroy a spaceship with a bokuto as WoodenKatanasAreEvenBetter.
* Q-Feuille from ''Anime/KiddyGirlAnd'' is quite up to date to the latest shows in-universe and even admits to being an otaku, often shoting out to many popular real life hit Japanese media works. While not much else is shown in the show, she's also implied to be a big reader and has a large collection of novels in her rooms.

* ''LightNovel/NyarukoCrawlingWithLove'': Nyarko will beat the snot out of you while doing Series/KamenRider poses, quoting [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure Jotaro Kujo]], using [[Manga/RanmaOneHalf Ranma Saotome]]'s tactics, and much, '''[[ReferenceOverdosed MUCH]]''' more.
* Applies to pretty much everyone from Manga/BinboGamiGa, but especially Momiji, who tends to cosplay even while fighting.

* As revealed at the Memory Den in Goodneighbor, the Sole Survivor from ‘’VideoGame/Fallout4’’ is a consumer of pop culture both real and fictional. For real fiction when interacting with Dr. Amari they reveal they have watched ‘’Film/Frankenstein1931’’ film by quoting it. For in universe fiction when interacting with Kent Connolly they reveal they have listened to every episode of “The Silver Shroud” and can even take up the mantle of the titular character in a quest to bring peace and justice to the Commonwealth.

* As revealed at the Memory Den in Goodneighbor, the Sole Survivor from ‘’VideoGame/Fallout4’’ is a consumer of pop culture both real and fictional. For real fiction when interacting with Dr. Amari they reveal they have watched ‘’Film/Frankenstein(1931)’’ film by quoting it. For in universe fiction when interacting with Kent Connolly they reveal they have listened to every episode of “The Silver Shroud” and can even take up the mantle of the titular character in a quest to bring peace and justice to the Commonwealth.

* As revealed at the Memory Den in Goodneighbor, the Sole Survivor from “VideoGame/Fallout4” is a consumer of pop culture both real and fictional. For real fiction when interacting with Dr. Amari they reveal they have watched “Film/Frankenstein(1931)” film by quoting it. For in universe fiction when interacting with Kent Connolly they reveal they have listened to every episode of “The Silver Shroud” and can even take up the mantle of the titular character in a quest to bring peace and justice to the Commonwealth.

* Aya Brea, at least in the [[VideoGame/ParasiteEve2 second game,]] turns out to be a massive geek who enjoys referencing and making fun of video games (Squaresoft, natch) movies and literature. She also jokes at length at most of the things that can be looked at and... oh, is a supernatural FBI agent who is basically a [[OneManArmy one woman Hostage Rescue Team]] with superpowers.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'': 21 was already pop culture savvy by the first three seasons, but by Season 4, he became a pumped up pop culture badass.
** Almost ''everyone'' in the show is this, especially the Monarch.
* Beast Boy from ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' once used his pop culture knowledge of ([[ShowWithinAShow fictitious]]) television shows in order to save the day when the Titans were [[TrappedInTVLand sucked into the television]].
* When Dr. Drakken accidentally sucked everyone into television reality, [[WesternAnimation/KimPossible Ron]] was able to navigate the reality with his extensive knowledge of shows and their subsequent timeslots.
* [[IdiotHero Philip J. Fry]] from ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' frequently drops pop culture references and does incredibly badass things... all the while screaming like a little girl.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': Stumpy watches a lot of movies, and his knowledge of movies has actually helped the gang in difficult situations.
* ''WesternAnimation/TotallySpies'': Clover is a ValleyGirl superspy whose wide knowledge about pop culture is often very useful in her spy missions.

* Derpy Hooves from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' is a diehard ''JustForFun/DaringDo'' fan, and has been shown cosplaying. As for the badass part? In [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie2017 the movie]] she [[spoiler:helps save Twilight from petrification, TakingTheBullet herself (She gets better)]].

* The titular gecko from the VideoGame/{{Gex}} spends all his time watching TV. Not only is the games' level full of shoutouts to various popular movies and Television shows but Gex himself cracks around references throughout the game to pop-culture.
* Belial, the player character in ''VideoGame/{{Painkiller}} Overdose'', who constantly references films and movies in his neverending series of one-liners repeated ad nauseam.
* ''VideoGame/MetalGear'':
** Solid Snake loves action movies.
** Otacon is named after an anime conention, that's how much he likes anime.
** Revolver Ocelot is a big fan of Spaghetti Western films, even wearing cowboy boots and a duster coat on the field. He's also called "Revolver" [[RevolversAreJustBetter for a reason]].
** Raiden met Rose by correcting her on which building King Kong climbed.
** Specifically averted with Naked Snake/[[spoiler:Big Boss]] however; he's constantly being told about movies by his team, with his British commanding officer Major Zero being a devout Bond fan. Snake on the other hand can only be described as naive in this field.
* ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'': Travis Touchdown, OccidentalOtaku, Assassin.
* ''VideoGame/DukeNukem'' is a living, breathing pop culture reference. Most of his [[CatchPhrase catchphrases]] are directly taken from action flicks of the 80s and 90s.
* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' (the Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC) it turns out Garrus and Legion are this. It doesn't get much play in the game, but then most of their activities are subject to [[LawOfConservationOfDetail conservation of detail]] (Garrus listens to pop and dance music while in combat, and Legion is a gamer nerd in his spare time).
** [[AcePilot Joker]] also frequently throws out pop-culture references and the occasional FandomNod. It helps he's voiced by Creator/SethGreen.
** The Citadel DLC for 3 reveals that Tali's romance lines are lifted almost entirely from her favorite movie, which she was unaware Shepard hadn't seen.
* [[GamerChick Zoey]] in ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' knows just how to handle the ZombieApocalypse because of her love for horror movies. May overlap with IKnowMortalKombat. This actually bit her in the ass in her backstory, as her mother got infected and bit her father. Based on their knowledge of zombie movies, he asked her to kill him so he wouldn't turn into a zombie and attack her too. Unfortunately, [[NotHisSled the virus didn't work like that]]; as she eventually learned, she was actually immune to the virus, and the gene for immunity is passed from fathers, meaning [[SenselessSacrifice her father wasn't actually going to turn into a zombie at all]].

* Similarly, ''VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}}'''s majority of shout-outs come from Peacock, a walking, talking, [[BreadEggsMilkSquick killing]] throwback to UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation. She looks like something out of a deranged [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Merrie Melodies]] cartoon. She's actually a small-scale RealityWarper, and her love of classic animation has her manifest the power as a gang of cartoonish cronies, and various powers based on old cartoons.
* Similarly to ''Blazblue'', the protagonist of ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'', Sol Badguy, is stated by Daisuke Ishiwatari to be a huge Music/{{Queen}} fan. [[spoiler:Funny enough, his age of [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld around 170]] would put him as being born in the 1980's, and his real name is Frederick]].

* Francis York Morgan of ''VideoGame/DeadlyPremonition.'' [[EstablishingCharacterMoment At his introduction, he's discussing the subtext of]] WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry and his theory about them living in a co-dependent, sadomasochistic relationship. And when the player drives around for long in a car, he will randomly start discussions about various [[BMovie B-Movies]], such as ''Film/AttackOfTheKillerTomatoes'', or PunkRock, during which he name-drops bands such as Music/JoyDivision, with his ImaginaryFriend Zach.
* The Boss in ''VideoGame/SaintsRowIV'' is a gigantic badass with a taste for pop music. Granted, you ''can'' listen to the Classical station, but when the in-game radio is set to something automatically, it's usually an 80s or early 90s one-hit wonder like "Opposites Attract" and the Boss will cheerfully demand their partner at that point sing along with them.

* Ness in ''VideoGame/{{Earthbound}}'' is implied to love Rock music, due to the default Favorite Thing being "Rockin'". It also becomes his most powerful attack, and the most powerful of all the playable characters.
* Lo Wang in the 2013 version of ''[[VideoGame/ShadowWarrior2013 Shadow Warrior]]'' is introduced with ''You Got the Touch'' blaring from his car stereo, and it only gets deeper from there. He drops references to video games and movies, and in his secret lair he has comic book art hanging on the walls.

* [[IdiotHero Philip J. Fry]] from ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' who frequently drops pop culture references and does incredibly badass things... all the while screaming like a little girl.

* Beast Boy from ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' uses his pop culture knowledge of ([[ShowWithinAShow fictitious]]) television shows in order to save the day.

* Nearly ''everyone'' in ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged''. Taken UpToEleven where presumably the entire galaxy has its own versions of Earth classics so that even characters like Frieza and Nappa can make references to Franchise/{{Pokemon}} and "[[Literature/OldYeller Old]] [[RecycledInSpace Space]] [[Literature/OldYeller Yeller]]"

'''Scott Lang:''' Die Hard. No, that's not one.

** In ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', James Rhodes (War Machine) reveals himself to be a pop-culture geek as well, frequently name-dropping movies like Film/BackToTheFuture and Franchise/IndianaJones while going over plans. Specifically in this exchange during a time travel experiment:

** Peter Quill (Star-Lord) from ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' jams out to classic rock songs from the [=60s=], [=70s=] and [=80s=] while protecting the galaxy. His very first appearance has him searching for the Orb while rocking to Redbone's "Come and Get Your Love", even grabbing a lizard-like creature to use as an impromptu mic. He also says that the Orb has "a real shiny blue suitcase, Ark of the Covenant, Maltese Falcon sort of vibe" and later tells Gamora about ''Film/{{Footloose}}''.

* Gary Karkofsky in ''Literature/TheRulesOfSupervillainy'' is constantly making references to everything from Star Wars to the Lord of the Rings to [[HomePage this very wiki]]. He's also capable of killing Kaiju with his superpowers.

* Generator (Jade Sinclair) from the Literature/WhateleyUniverse, who is a Hello Kitty addict and has been known to sing J-Pop anime theme songs. In public.
** Generator has built herself a working Raising Heart (of Franchise/LyricalNanoha fame) and has a Nanoha costume in her purse of holding.
** Chaka would have to count too, since she's the team DeadpanSnarker and once beat up a CIA team while listening to Macy Gray (she was out for a jog).
** Razorback is a [[{{Berserker}} Rager]] with incredible speed and regeneration powers who looks like cross between a velociraptor and a stegosaur. He is also a talented cartoonist, and plays guitar (mostly heavy metal covers).
* Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, the WebOriginal/ProtectorsOfThePlotContinuum are protecting a pop culture universe. They need to be up on the canon; it's their job.
* Dragon of ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' is an AI who has quoted [[VideoGame/{{Portal 2}} Wheatley]] in response to an attempted LogicBomb. She's also the best [[GadgeteerGenius tinker]] in the world by virtue of her synthetic nature, can kick an enormous amount of ass in her extremely sophisticated PoweredArmor, and is the closest thing to a BigGood in the setting.
* Nearly ''everyone'' in ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged''. Taken UpToEleven where presumably the entire galaxy has its own versions of Earth classics so that even characters like Frieza and Nappa can make references to Pokemon and "Old Space Yeller"

-->'''Vegeta:''' Well if isn't Moe Howard.\\

'''Vegeta:''' Space Hulu.\\

* Alucard from ''WebVideo/HellsingUltimateAbridged'' is quite pop-cultured, enjoying himself some ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' between missions, amongst other things. There's also his speech with Alexander Anderson:
-->'''Anderson:''' You have been chosen to reveal my existence to the world! You will witness what happens here today, and you will tell of it later! ... Except you won't! 'Cause I'll have killed ya! HA HA!!\\
'''Alucard:''' [[SarcasmMode Oh, my. Brilliant speech.]] ... And unoriginal. That's totally from ''[[Film/TheBoondockSaints Boondock Saints]]''.

* CrazyAwesome Generator (Jade Sinclair) from the Literature/WhateleyUniverse, who is a Hello Kitty addict and has been known to sing J-Pop anime theme songs. In public.

** Dean Winchester is a fan of classic rock and B-grade horror movies, among other things. In "Hollywood Babylon", his movie knowledge paid off. Every episode has him [[ReferenceOverdosed make tons of references]] to pop culture including name-dropping celebrities, films, etc. "Scoobynatural" has him fanboying over the Mystery Inc. crew the whole episode due to his love of Scooby Doo. In "Changing Channels", his love of trashy television shows makes him incredibly savvy when the Trickster traps them in TV-Land, particularly whilst they're in the ''[[Series/GreysAnatomy Dr Sexy MD]]'' universe:

[[folder:Comicbooks]]

* ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' has this a lot, being a TropeOverdosed parody/{{Reconstruction}} of anime and Japanese fighting games. The most notable ones are [[BigBad Ha]][[FauxAffablyEvil z]][[{{Troll}} a]][[BadassInANiceSuit m]]a, [[LittleBitBeastly Ma]][[HotBlooded ko]][[MsFanservice to]], and [[TheDitz Tao]][[CatGirl kaka]].

* In ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'', Harry is a fan of ''Series/DoctorWho'', and often makes references to it. He also gets one of his CrazyEnoughToWork plans from ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. Astonishingly, it does actually work. Mostly.

* Gintoki from ''Manga/{{Gintama}}'' probably one of the biggest in anime and manga as a whole, coming with at least 1 ShoutOut per episode in this already ReferenceOverdosed series, even in serious arcs. He even reads [[Magazine/ShonenJump Weekly Shounen Jump,]] the magazine it's from, and has only mentioned a few with a {{Bland Name|Product}}, but most are directly ShoutOut, if censored are mostly just one character/letter ●-ed or [[SoundEffectBleep bleeped]] out making it quite useless. This has not gone without issues however as both Sunrise and Shueisha pray they won't get sued anymore. He's also a HiddenBadass who's a ShellShockedVeteran with a HiddenHeartOfGold who has managed to destroy a spaceship with a bokuto as WoodenKatanasAreEvenBetter.

'''Jotaro:''' [[CatchPhrase Good grief]]...I guess you are the real thing if you know pointless crap like that.

** Peter Quill (Star-Lord) from ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' jams out to classic rock songs from the [=60s=], [=70s=] and [=80s=] while protecting the galaxy. His very first appearance has him searching for the Orb while rocking to Redbone's "Come and Get Your Love", even grabbing a lizard-like creature to use as an impromptu mic. He also says that the Orb has "a real shiny blue suitcase, Ark of the Covenant, Maltese Falcon sort of vibe" and later tells Gamora about Footloose.

** Buffy herself would obviously be pop cultured, and mentions both ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' and ''Film/JamesBond'' in the same breath. Her OneTrueLove Series/{{Angel}} however is even more so, being a Barry Manilow fan, a Creator/DouglasAdams fan, a huge Creator/CharltonHeston fan and just like Faith owns a UsefulNotes/PlayStation.

--->'''Sam''': Yeah... [[SarcasmMode you're not a fan.]]\\
'''Dean''': It's a {{guilty pleasure}}!

--> '''Hazama'''
---> [[Film/ReturnOfTheJedi Strike me down with all of your hatred!]]
---> [[Film/TheShining HEEEEEEEEEERRRREEEEEE'SSS TERUMI!]]
---> Come on now, Carl Clover. [[ComicBook/TheJoker Why so]] [[Film/TheDarkKnight serious?]]
---> [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure DIEDIEDIEDIEDIE!]]
---> [[Franchise/MortalKombat Get over here!]]
---> [[Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei Please just die for me!]]
--> '''Makoto'''
---> [[WesternAnimation/TheTick SPOON!]]
---> [[Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar ATATATATATATATATATATATA!!]]
---> [[Anime/{{FLCL}} Those who conquer the left, conquers the world!]]
---> [[Series/PeeWeesPlayhouse Meka-leka-hi-meka-hiney-ho!]]
--> '''Taokaka'''
---> [[Film/BlazingSaddles Now please do... that voodoo... that YOU do... SOOOO WELLLLLL!]]
---> [[Franchise/SailorMoon In the name of...that round white thingy in the night sky...I shall punish you!]]
---> [[Franchise/SpiderMan My kitty senses are tingling!]] You're a bad guy, aren't you?

* Aya Brea, at least in the [[VideoGame/ParasiteEve2 second game,]] turns out to be a massive geek who enjoys referencing and making fun of video games (Squaresoft, natch) movies and literature. She also jokes at length at most of the things that can be looked at and...oh, is a supernatural FBI agent who is basically a [[OneManArmy one woman Hostage Rescue Team]] with superpowers.

-->'''Anderson''': You have been chosen to reveal my existence to the world! You will witness what happens here today, and you will tell of it later! ...Except you won't! 'Cause I'll have killed ya! HA HA!!\\
'''Alucard''': [[SarcasmMode Oh, my. Brilliant speech.]] ...And unoriginal. That's totally from ''[[Film/TheBoondockSaints Boondock Saints]]''.

* ''VideoGame/MortalKombat'' gives us Johnny Cage, an actor whose intro lines are almost always film references (when they're not trash-talking his opponents).

** Cassie Cage, his daughter in ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'' follows her father's footsteps in this regard. To the point that one of her Fatalities ends with her taking a selfie with her opponents corpse on her phone, and ''posting'' it on SocialMedia.

[[folder:Web Originals]]

* ''Literature/RiversOfLondon''

** The Faceless Man is the ruthless and powerful Big Bad. He's also a ''massive'' Tolkien nerd who actually uses Quenya in his magical booby traps.