History Main / SociallyAwkwardHero

* Again, arguably TruthInTelevision. People will be ''much'' more afraid of the way their peers will judge them for, say, taking a cab home after leaving a party drunk, than of the ''life-threatening danger'' of driving their own cars home in that state. Back in the Old Days, a man would rather risk life and limb in a duel with horribly random pistols when challenged, rather than face the ''public shame'' and the ''reputation'' for cowardice, weakness and unmanliness that would come from doing the sensible thing, i.e. telling the challenger to go screw themselves and simply refusing the challenge.

* In ''{{Videogame/Borderlands 2}}'', [[TheCaptain Roland]] has a penchant for the heroic speech and is a good enough leader to have a formidable [[LaResistance army]] under his command. However, he tends to come off as somewhat socially awkward and emotionally distant when communicating on a more personal level.
** Especially apparent in the ECHO logs detailing his interactions with his ActionGirl LoveInterest Lilith.[[note]]The whole "emotionally distant" thing is mostly just him trying to be professional, what with him always calling the player "soldier". Him being awkward around Lilith is probably just him uncomfortable about their break-up brought on by him wanting things to remain professional.[[/note]]
** ''VideoGame/Borderlands3'': ''Tannis'' turns out to be a Socially Awkward super-heroine as she becomes a non-playable Vault Hunter [[spoiler:with eldritch superpowers]], but devolves into further antisocial behavior. Her Action Skill implies that she managed to form an odd friendship with one of the most powerful beings in the Borderlands universe, [[spoiler:Angel, quite possibly by connecting through a shared taste in objectophilia, as Angel decided that Tannis would take her Siren power after she died]], but she's still the insane chair-dating insufferable genius you know and love.

* Kaede from the ''Sonohana'' series is her girlfriend Sara's princely protector, even to the point of having been an active BullyHunter as a little girl. She also has crippling social anxiety that causes any public attention or praise to be nearly unbearable to her; only her love for Sara can get her to charge in and defend her.
** It took her until near the end of the second game to remember her childhood with Sara, implying that she acquired that anxiety after Sara's earlier departure.

* Arthur in the beginning of the ''{{Theatre/Camelot}}'' musical, there's even [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6blsCGdDI4 a song about it]]!

* ''Literature/{{Sharpe}}'': This is one of his defining characteristics.

* ''ComicBook/ScottPilgrim'' is this in spades. Yes, he is the best fighter in the province, having fought against people with supernatural abilities, robots or whatever you may throw at him, all while being a somewhat confident, cheerful and amicable person. Whenever Stephen Stills [[OnceAnEpisode has a nervous breakdown]] or Kim begins acting surlier than usual, Scott is there to keep the band together as TheHeart of the group. But put it on talking of his past, or about relationships, or even the future, and his awkwardness gets over the mark, with stutters, avoiding themes and acting like a shy kid. He's maturing out of this, of course. [[spoiler: He's a bit of an UnreliableNarrator, but it's not difficult to see when he is hiding details or such.]]
** Beyond Scott, most of his friends also have their own problems. Kim Pine is somewhat misanthropic and grouchy toward her approach in life, becoming irritable, but she also hides insecurity on her appearance. Steven Stills is a neurotic individual who tends to panick during band competitions and has an unhealthy habit of getting into a bad relationship with the same girl, Julie Powers. . Ramona Flowers has her insecurity regarding her situations.

* Marv from ''ComicBook/SinCity'' is a [[AntiHero Socially Awkward Anti-Hero]]. Ignoring his [[SociopathicHero violent tendencies]], even in his more civilized moods, he is socially inept, particularly when it comes to women -- and being ugly as sin didn't really help his case either. This is why [[UnexpectedVirgin he was a virgin until late in life.]]

* ''Manga/DragonBall'''s Goku is an example as well due to being RaisedByWolves and ObliviousToLove (Chi Chi pretty much had to pound it into him or else he might had remained single his entire life). Note however that Goku in no way ''knows'' that he is socially awkward, is never in the slightest anxious about social situations, and is in fact very extroverted and friendly.

* Miu from ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'' fits this trope prior to meeting Kenichi. She does well at school, has good skills in housework, and for the longest time is the best fighter in the series of her own age group, but due to her intense training and her social awkwardness (she instinctively throws Kenichi in their first meeting when the latter was approaching behind her while running towards school), she's never had any friends.
** Kenichi himself fits this trope somewhat too, as his only real "friend" prior to the start of the series is a ManipulativeBastard who will suck up to whoever's the strongest at the time, whether its one of the bullies, or later Kenichi himself.

* Izuku Midoriya, the protagonist of ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'', has no problems with running up to serial murderers, Yakuza members, and supervillains to punch them in the face if it means saving a life. Place him into any kind of remotely [[CannotTalkToWomen romantic situation]] and he turns into a gibbering puddle.
** Later on in the story, Tamaki Amajiki is introduced. He can use his Quirk extremely well and fight villains like an actual Pro. But for being one of U.A. High's Big Three, he's also a blatant ShrinkingViolet who spends most of his social interactions hiding in a CornerOfWoe.

* ComicBook/{{Superman}}, while his Clark Kent persona is a dead-ringer, modern writers have applied some Fringe Brilliance to explain this as just a humble mid-western farmboy trying to cope with life in the big city, creating some genuine dorky moments when interacting with women--specifically Lois Lane. DependingOnTheWriter this can even cross over into ''Captain America'' levels of DorkKnight.

** Reginald Barclay in ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' and ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' saved the Enterprise at least twice and was significantly helpful to Voyager, yet had such social difficulty that an entire episode was dedicated to Geordi trying to arrest his withdrawal into a holographic fantasyland. (To be fair, said episode was his first appearance, before he was able to develop into the character that did all those other things.)
** Geordi [=LaForge=] himself admits that he can do almost anything with the technology on the ''Enterprise'' and work miracles with alien tech, but repeatedly falls apart when he's on a date.

* ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'': Samwise Gamgee may be willing to face down any sort of danger, but is too shy to ask a girl of his dreams out and is forced into dancing with her by Frodo during Bilbo's birthday party. He overcomes his insecurity by the end.

* Aira from ''Roleplay/FenQuest'' transferred from a peaceful standing army to a highly dangerous warzone over this, on the grounds that socialization is not expected in the latter.

* ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' has [[ExtraOreDinary Rell, the Iron Maiden]], a young knight who was raised in an AcademyOfEvil to [[TykeBomb make her into the personal weapon of an]] AncientConspiracy, and has since escaped and begun a RoaringRampageOfRevenge against her abusers. She takes her crusade very seriously, but she [[NoSocialSkills her lack of social skills]] from her FriendlessBackground makes for some endearingly awkward moments, especially since she ends up being prone to crushing on several champions ([[HormoneAddledTeenager teenage hormones, perhaps?]]):

* Ever since she first moved to Trolberg, [[WesternAnimation/{{Hilda}} Hilda]] doesn't understand how to interact with kids her age. [[CharacterDevelopment Luckily, in time, she gets better]], which is why she became friends with David and Frida in episode 4.

-->-- [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZy-wcQIsRU#t=1m9s This trailer]] for ''Film/TheGuardian''.

* The page quote is from a coast-guard themed movie called ''Film/TheGuardian''.

Often a feature of the DefectiveDetective, EndearinglyDorky, and AmbiguousDisorder. Compare and contrast ThisLoserIsYou and WakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld. See also NoSocialSkills.

Often a feature of the DefectiveDetective, AmbiguousDisorder. Compare and contrast ThisLoserIsYou and WakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld. See also NoSocialSkills.

* Like his canon counterpart, Harry of ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'' at first is very much this trope, though he [[CharacterDevelopment grows out of it]], though he does stay {{Adorkable}} and a HumbleHero.

* ComicBook/{{Superman}}, while his Clark Kent persona is a dead-ringer, modern writers have applied some Fringe Brilliance to explain this as just a humble mid-western farmboy trying to cope with life in the big city, creating some genuine Adorkable moments when interacting with women--specifically Lois Lane. DependingOnTheWriter this can even cross over into ''Captain America'' levels of DorkKnight.

* ''Film/{{Transformers}}'': Ladies and Gentlemen...''Sam Witwicky''. He has a habit of putting his foot in his mouth, and [[MsFanservice the girls]] [[GiveGeeksAChance seem to dig that about him]]. [[WordOfGod The writers]] did state their inspiration for Sam's character was basically [[Franchise/BackToTheFuture Marty]] [[Creator/MichaelJFox McFly]]--on crack. Also helps that Sam is played by [[{{Adorkable}} Shia LaBeouf]].

* News anchor Creator/AndersonCooper, who can deal ArmorPiercingQuestion after Armor-Piercing Question to the biggest names in government, is ''incredibly'' awkward in real life, describing himself as the kind of person who, assuming he even ''goes'' to a party, will spend most of said party hiding in the kitchen sipping a beer while talking to one or two people at most. Yes, the badass newsman who spends [[IntrepidReporter far too much time in a bulletproof vest]] is actually a shy, {{adorkable}} geek in real life.

[[caption-width-right:347:[[ActionGirl Kicking ass]] [[Music/TheLonelyIsland like a boss.]] Dating guys like an idiot. Kim Possible, ladies and gentlemen.]]

** Gohan and Goten are also somewhat socially awkward, but in a completely different way then Goku. They're very friendly, but they're also quite shy (especially Gohan).

* Hiro Hamada in ''Disney/BigHero6'', given how he was bullied due to his intelligence and never really talked to anyone other than his brother and aunt.