History Main / TheFettered

* ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'': For a villainous example, Characters/DoctorDoom, in at least some portrayals (Doom has been written by ''everyone'' at one point or another, and [[DependingOnTheWriter all of them have different opinions on him]]). He wants to TakeOverTheWorld. Well, fine, so do a lot of villains. However, the NobleDemon interpretation of Doom wants to TakeOverTheWorld ''without'' going against his principles, which aren't ''exactly'' heroic but do have positive aspects: always repay a debt; always keep [[ExactWords the letter of your word]] (some versions also value the spirit); [[VillainousValour never exhibit cowardice]] (to the point of giving enemies weakened by another's actions time to recover); [[{{Determinator}} never back down]]; [[{{Revenge}} never accept an insult]]; [[{{Pride}} never humble yourself before another]]; [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething protect the people under your rule]]. The NobleDemon version of Doom will never explicitly break these, although he doesn't seem to mind bending them a bit (for example, when put in Spider-Man's debt, he "repays" it by ''not'' killing Spidey for insulting him thirty seconds later).

* The eponymous character of ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog''. He has two rules, live life to the fullest and freest and have fun doing it. He will never ignore a plea for help and always acts on his personal feelings to the very end. When confronted with a villain who wishes to use dark magic to preserve her land eternally, Sonic confronts her and tells her that a world that goes on forever is meaningless and that all things have to end eventually but to be happy with the time we have left rather than despair at the inevitable.

* Rorschach of ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' fame represents a dark fulfillment of this archetype while exploring some of its weaknesses. [[spoiler:His moral code prescribes protecting the innocent while ruthlessly punishing the guilty, and to him, the line between the two is crystal clear, symbolized by his black-and-white mask. But problems and cognitive dissonance arise when he proves willing to dismiss wrongdoing committed by those he respects and rationalize crimes against those he does not. In the end, when Rorschach finds himself faced with a dilemma that can't be solved just by appealing to his principles, he breaks down]].

* Despite being [[NominalHero as nominal a hero]] as you can get, ''Series/{{Dexter}}'' still qualifies as the Fettered, at least initially, due to his strict adherence to the Code of Harry, of which the two most important rules are "don't get caught" and "never kill an innocent". He becomes increasingly lax about the Code as the series goes on, however.

* In ''Anime/CodeGeass'' Suzaku is the fettered counterpart to Lelouch. [[spoiler: In Season 2, he gets his "lawful or good" moment when he backs out from torturing Kallen with the Refrain drug]]. It ultimately gets deconstructed as the show progresses and it's revealed [[spoiler:his morality is mostly fueled by his guilt for killing his father when he was a child.]]

-->-- '''Peter Parker''', ''ComicBook/EarthX''

* ''ComicBook/XMen'': Professor X is this and he wants to spread his view to every other mutant on the planet. Humans may despise, mock and scorn mutantkind... but they are never to be harmed. The powers that mutants are given make them the SuperiorSpecies, but not the superior man and a balanced world where all are accepted equally is his ideal vision. ComicBook/{{Magneto}}, on the other hand, [[WellIntentionedExtremist says something a bit different]]. One of Xavier's greatest proteges used to agree more with Xavier, but as time has gone by, he's agreed far more with Magneto. Cyclops is no supremacist, but he is hell-bent on protecting mutantkind and is more than willing to use force to do it.

* ''ComicBook/XMen'': Professor X is this and he wants to spread his view to every other mutant on the planet. Humans may despise, mock and scorn mutantkind... but they are never to be harmed. The powers that mutants are given make them the SuperiorSpecies, but not the superior man and a balanced world where all are accepted equally is his ideal vision. ComicBook/{{Magneto}}, on the other hand, [[WellIntentionedExtremist says something a bit different]]...

* Aang from ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' definitely is this. He is the Master of All Four Elements, with near God-Like powers at times, and he could do whatever he wants. However, his own personal adherence to the sanctity of life means that he refuses to kill deliberately -- he won't even kill Fire Lord Ozai, a man who was willing to commit complete genocide of an entire people. [[spoiler: In the end, he is about to kill him, and would have, if he had not stopped himself. Instead, his purity of spirit allowed him to bend Ozai's spirit and destroy his bending]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'', The Flash is shown to be this. With the Speed Force, he's casually able to alter reality, alter time, and vibrate through solid matter, ''including'' [[CruelAndUnusualDeath vibrating his fingers through a person's skull to kill them]]. However doing this could outright destroy the world, so he holds himself back and typically limits himself to [[SuperSpeed excessive speed]] unless [[GodzillaThreshold there's just no other way]]. In ''The Great Brain Robbery'', Lex Luthor in Flash's body and [[TheUnfettered without such concerns]] is easily able to use this power to lay waste to the Watchtower and be a match for ''the entire Justice League''.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': Rainbow Dash proves herself to be fettered in the episode "Wonderbolts Academy". Her flying abilities are such that she can simultaneously break the sound barrier and visible spectrum, and she's always out to prove that she's the best flyer and athlete in Equestria, but she absolutely refuses to do so in such a way that risks causing harm to other ponies -- even at the expense of her dreams. This is the result of CharacterDevelopment in many ways. In the early seasons, she drifted closer to the unfettered; though good-aligned she laughed off the concept of limits and was disdainful of any authority over her. "Wonderbolts Academy" indicated a turning point for her, and since then she's made an effort to live up to the more OfficerAndAGentleman ideals of the Equestria military.
* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' has Obi-Wan make reference to this trope in his rebuttal to [[spoiler: Darth Maul]]'s attempt to BreakThemByTalking.

* After [[MyGreatestFailure Uncle Ben]], Franchise/SpiderMan's entire philosophy has revolved around using his powers to take full [[ComesGreatResponsibility responsibility]] for the safety of New York. Sometimes to an [[SamaritanSyndrome almost unhealthy]] extreme.

* ''Fanfic/{{Cain}}'': Arguably, Katsuki is a dark and twisted example of this despite his escalating villainous behavior being more fitting for TheUnfettered, as he lacks self-awareness, is narcissistically dependent on the praise given to him by others, firmly assured of his self-righteousness, and the cowardice he displays, whenever he feels like trouble, is about to come to him. Due to a combination of his upbringing in a twisted hero culture cultivated in his Elementary and Middle School, the number of privileges he gains for his talents and Quirk, and the ongoing systematic discrimination of Quirkless people in Hero Society, Katsuki believes that a great hero is simply someone being the strongest guy around who can beat up pretty much anyone they don't like and villains are nothing more than weak losers who can only win by "cheating", and that Quirkless people can't be heroes as it's "against the natural order". As a result, this rigid belief of what makes a hero cultivates an extreme combination of MoralMyopia and InsaneTrollLogic that causes Katsuki to use ''any'' method (no matter how heinous, cowardly, degrading, contradictory, and villainous it is) to sabotage Izuku, who he [[DoubleThink somehow sees as both]] an inherent, incompetent subhuman ''and'' an evil, competent manipulator, and keep the latter from becoming a hero. In that same order, he's also thoroughly convinced that he's being heroic and, again, double-thinking of Izuku [[LaserGuidedKarma deserving it for the]] [[LaserGuidedKarma villain]] [[LaserGuidedKarma he is]] ''and'' [[CruelToBeKind for his own good]], and the extreme cognitive dissonance he suffers when All Might (and later his parents upon finding out) constantly tells him that what he's doing ''isn't being heroic at all'' and the consequences of his escalating misdeeds eventually falling onto him. Unsurprisingly, [[spoiler:in the end, Katsuki's so-called "[[SarcasmMode principles]]" are [[LaserGuidedKarma rewarded]] with a shattered life and reputation, hero opportunities permanently revoked, and HatedByAll except for his parents, and even then, his relationship with them has been strained severely. The worst parts? He never learned a ''single'' thing and remains unrepentant of his actions since he's "[[MightMakesRight the best and therefore, in the right]]"...along with a new window of opportunity for revenge coming from an anonymous person known as "[=handsofthemaster=]".]]

* ''Fanfic/{{Cain}}'': Arguably, Katsuki is a dark and twisted example of this despite his escalating villainous behavior being more fitting for TheUnfettered, as he lacks self-awareness, is narcissistically dependent on the praise given to him by others, firmly assured of his self-righteousness, and the cowardice he displays, whenever he feels like trouble, is about to come to him. Due to a combination of his upbringing in a twisted hero culture cultivated in his Elementary and Middle School, the number of privileges he gains for his talents and Quirk, and the ongoing systematic discrimination of Quirkless people in Hero Society, Katsuki believes that a great hero is simply someone being the strongest guy around who can beat up pretty much anyone they don't like and villains are nothing more than weak losers who can only win by "cheating", and that Quirkless people can't be heroes as it's "against the natural order". As a result, this rigid belief of what makes a hero cultivates an extreme combination of MoralMyopia and InsaneTrollLogic that causes Katsuki to use ''any'' method (no matter how heinous, cowardly, degrading, contradictory, and villainous it is) to sabotage Izuku, who he [[DoubleThink somehow sees as both]] an inherent, incompetent subhuman ''and'' an evil, competent manipulator, and keep the latter from becoming a hero. In that same order, he's also thoroughly convinced that he's being heroic and, again, double-thinking of Izuku [[BlamingTheVictim deserving]] it and [[CruelToBeKind for his own good]], and the extreme cognitive dissonance he suffers when All Might (and later his parents upon finding out) constantly tells him that what he's doing ''isn't being heroic at all'' and the consequences of his escalating misdeeds eventually falling onto him. Unsurprisingly, [[spoiler:in the end, Katsuki's so-called "[[SarcasmMode principles]]" are [[LaserGuidedKarma rewarded]] with a shattered life and reputation, hero opportunities permanently revoked, and HatedByAll except for his parents, and even then, his relationship with them has been strained severely. The worst parts? He never learned a ''single'' thing and remains unrepentant of his actions since he's "[[MightMakesRight the best and therefore, in the right]]"...along with a new window of opportunity for revenge coming from an anonymous person known as "[=handsofthemaster=]".]]

It's common for a Fettered character to be a [[ByTheBookCop police officer]], [[ThePaladin paladin]], [[OldSoldier soldier]], or other law enforcement/martial profession focused on bringing peace and justice to the world, but they can just as easily be a [[ActualPacifist pacifist whose code forbids them from fighting]]. The latter will have a ''[[ReluctantWarrior hell]]'' of a time with this. In {{ensembles}}, they are often TheHero who rallies their allies with the strength of their conviction and vision. One thing all fettered characters share is that they can often motivate others by virtue of their ideals. In fact, the MessianicArchetype is almost always The Fettered. Choice and freedom are an important aspect of a Fettered character; while they freely choose to adhere to a code, the temptation to desert it is always present, but [[PowerOfTrust placing their trust]] in these ideals serves to give them and others strength to stand firm.

** The superhero Panacea, [[spoiler:Marquis' daughter]], has strict rules about how she'll use her powers, for [[BodyHorror what turn out to be very good reasons]]. Her power is essentially the ability to change and manipulate living matter however she pleases with a touch... and she uses it exclusively for healing wounds. She also swore that she would NEVER use this power to alter someone's brain, as she feels that altering someone's mind or personality was fundamentally wrong. [[spoiler:She is ultimately forced to break that taboo to heal her adoptive father's brain damage. While successful in this, the fact that she did so serves only to break her spirit in turn and send her down a self-destructive path.]]

** The superhero Panacea, [[spoiler:Marquis' daughter]], has strict rules about how she'll use her powers, for [[BodyHorror what turn out to be very good reasons]].

*** Don't forget the Guarding Dark, his own personal subconscious protector of everyone from Sam Vimes, which not only keeps Vime's own dark side in check but which [[spoiler: contained and defeated The Summoning Dark, a millions of years old spirit of vengeance which tried to use and use up Sam to avenge the murder of the dwarf which summoned it.]]

* ''Literature/TheSunneInSplendour'': Richard of Gloucester, the future UsefulNote/RichardIII, is this early in the book. He takes honor and loyalty very seriously, standing by his more pragmatic older brother UsefulNotes/EdwardIV when it would benefit him not to and yet questioning Edward when he does less than honorable things or works with less honorable counselors. Even when he ruthlessly seizes the throne after Edward's early death, he does so by acting as a RulesLawyer. It's when he starts to let go of some of his idealism that things start to go very badly for him.

* ''Literature/TheSunneInSplendour'': Richard of Gloucester, the future Richard III, is this early in the book. He takes honor and loyalty very seriously, standing by his more pragmatic older brother Edward IV when it would benefit him not to and yet questioning Edward when he does less than honorable things or works with less honorable counselors. Even when he ruthlessly seizes the throne after Edward's early death, he does so by acting as a RulesLawyer. It's when he starts to let go of some of his idealism that things start to go very badly for him.

* The Jedi in ''Franchise/StarWars''. Their entire philosophy centers around protecting others and advancing their own mastery of the Force one step at a time. Their opposite, the Sith, embrace TheDarkSide, i.e. the desire for more power, without regard for others. Therefore, the Sith often [[EvilCannotComprehendGood can't understand how the "Jedi weaklings" can be a match for them]] and refuse to accept that [[EmotionsVsStoicism mental discipline is an effective counter to unrestricted power]].

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Max Weber's social actions delineate "Rational" and "Instrumental" actions. The Fettered and TheUnfettered are people defined exclusively by, respectively, Instrumental and Rational actions.
* First World militaries are this. They voluntarily follow UsefulNotes/TheLawsAndCustomsOfWar and punish those who break them. Even the worst CurbStompBattle is nothing compared to what they could do to someplace if the gloves were ''fully'' off. Even if a "First World" military can ignore the masses, they can't ignore each other. It's one thing to be [[TheEmpire total assholes]] to some obscure "Third World" people, but once your fellow First-Worlders get a sense that you're willing to do the same to everyone, expect your erstwhile allies to gang up on you.
** A big point of First World militaries being The Fettered is it also encourages this behavior from those on the other side of the fence. Enemy soldiers who know they will be treated humanely after capture have an incentive to surrender or know when they're beaten and are thus less likely to fight to the death, knowing medical personnel will treat ''anyone'' regardless of allegiance encourages them to leave said personnel alone, and knowing that soldiers won't commit atrocities like harming civilians and will limit collateral damage is a ''very'' effective Counter-Insurgency tactic as it makes the civilians welcoming and trusting of the foreign military forces and even willing to support them if local military or insurgencies ''are'' committing atrocities.
** A particularly noble example were conscientious objectors in the Vietnam War. They suffered horrible casualties flying medical evacuations and serving as medical personnel. They entered war zones without a weapon to defend themselves with.
* Anyone with a conscience. We don't think about this much in daily life until we encounter [[TheUnfettered someone who doesn't.]] You'll learn quite quickly why being TheUnfettered is not usually a good thing. Meetings between parties with severe ValuesDissonance usually end with one side viewing themselves as this trope and the other as [[TheUnfettered the opposite]] or vice versa, which often results in conflict.
* The U.S. Constitution was designed with this in mind by dividing government into sections and establishing roadblocks to prevent any one group or individual from seizing too much power. This is the entire concept behind representative democracy and constitutional monarchy, to keep the government answerable to the people. While democracy is at times messy and inefficient, many countries have found the hard way that the alternative, having a single strong ruler, [[UsefulNotes/OliverCromwell presents]] [[UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte other]] [[UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler problems]].
* Civilization only ''exists'' because most people are the Fettered.
* Human muscles are this. Under most circumstances, we cannot use more than about 50% of our muscles' strength. The reason is, if we could, our muscles could literally tear our ligaments and otherwise severely damage our body. In emergencies, our brain can bypass this limit, but still with a risk of severe injury.
* Most positions in a modern society that award authority also come with strict codes to govern that authority. People in the First World find corruption amongst the following classes of people so contemptible (and a great source for drama) because they expect those who take these roles to become the Fettered. In a more corrupt society...not so much.
** A "good cop" is a classic example of this trope.
** The Hippocratic Oath and medical ethics demand a great deal from medical professionals.
*** A special mention of the CombatMedic: if captured, he or she is entitled to continue working as a medic for the prisoners. He or she is obliged by the laws and customs of war to care for ''enemy'' wounded, even if he or she is a prisoner. He or she is obliged ethically to treat all wounded according to their priority, regardless of their allegiance. Their vehicles and persons are protected under those same rules only if used strictly for medical care and if they are clearly labeled with a red and white [[ShootTheMedicFirst bullseye]]...cross, crescent, lion[[note]]discontinued in 1980[[/note]] or crystal (diamond). Finally, they may only carry small arms.
** Lawyers actually have a lot of ethical and legal rules they must follow, all lawyer jokes aside.
** Clergy, politicians, and government officials, to include military professionals.
** Academic and educational officials and professionals, such as teachers, professors, and deans.
** Emergency services workers of all stripes.
** Maybe not quite as noble, but it's vital to ProfessionalWrestling too. Wrestling/HulkHogan in one interview admitted he was somewhat scared when he faced Wrestling/AndreTheGiant because... well, if Andre didn't follow the match booking (with Andre losing), what the hell could the Hulkster do about it?
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* Many characters in ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist'' are this, especially Roy Mustang, who is haunted by the genocide he performed in a war years before the story began. He and those who serve under him are determined to do everything in their power to create a better country so nothing like that will ever happen again.
** In the manga and ''Brotherhood,'' Roy Mustang definitely proves his fetters; when placed in a situation where he can either help the villains achieve their goals and save a comrade's life, or deny them and let his friend die. Though Roy knows that the decision will haunt and hurt him for years, if not his whole life, chooses the greater good over his friend... as she herself wanted. [[spoiler:Thanks to the intervention of other parties, her life is saved and the baddies force Roy to help them through VillainOverride]].

* ''LightNovel/{{Katanagatari}}'' exaggerates this trope with Ginkaku Uneri: The desert has invaded all his land. His castle is ruined; he is the only one left when Shichika ask him why he fights, he sincerely answers that he doesn’t know. Even so, he’s willing to die defending his sword only because he must defend something.

* [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]] by M.M. in ''Series/TheBoys''. He was TheReliableOne with a strict moral code, but said code ends up serving as a massive roadblock to the team's success in Season 3. [[BigBad Homelander]]'s psychotic issues and, you know, ''[[SupermanSubstitute being indestructible]]'' forces [[WellIntentionedExtremist Butcher]] to start [[EmpoweredBadassNormal considering dangerous & illegal means]] to take the Supe down because ''there is no legitimate way left to reign him in''. Marvin's fetters prevent him from following Butcher, and they end up getting further tested when Butcher recruits [[ArcVillain Soldier Boy]] to help take down Homelander, both because Soldier Boy appears to be a violent murderer and, more importantly, ''[[TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive he killed MM's family]]''. This ends up forcing him into TenMinuteRetirement.
* ''Series/{{Buffy|the Vampire Slayer}}'' tries to stop Willow's RoaringRampageOfRevenge against the Trio, as they are human criminals who should be judged by human laws. No doubt she had in mind her previous experience with Faith, who believed that being the Slayer meant she was above the law.

'''Dawn:''' And [[spoiler: mom]].\\

** It's possible and easy to do, but it damages space-time -- it's like choosing not to drive a car when you're worried about your contribution to global warming. In "Earthshock," even though he could pop back in time to [[spoiler:the bridge of the doomed freighter in order to scoop up Adric and get him out of harm's way, he refuses. He has already witnessed the destruction of the freighter with Adric aboard.]] How much of this is obeying legalistic/moral "law" and how much is literal physical law (we've seen really nasty metaphysical consequences from people crossing their own personal timeline and changing their own past before in the show) is up for discussion, as the Doctor rarely makes it completely clear when he refers to not breaking the Laws of Time which aspect he's referring to. Though it's worth noting that, in "The Waters of Mars", after actively choosing to outright change something he believes cannot be changed, his personality takes a very dark turn shortly after. In a sense, we watch him start throwing off the Fetters... and EvilFeelsGood. [[spoiler:At least until he gets a very rude awakening that shocks him back to his senses, as he realises YouCantFightFate]].
*** The best example of the Doctor being this is in [[spoiler: the 10th Doctor's final HeroicSacrifice. He can either sacrifice his current incarnation and save the life of an old man trapped in a room that's about to be flooded with radiation, or he can let the old man die. The Doctor shouts and rages against the unfairness of being "rewarded" with regeneration after all the good he's done, but he never once even contemplates saving his own skin. Even when the aforementioned old man tells the Doctor not to save him, then begs him not to, then shouts and '''''screams''''' at the Doctor to walk away and save himself, the Doctor still refuses to let it happen and chooses to take his place. "Wilf -- it's my honour." And he meant every iota of BOTH of the meanings of the word "honour", both that his honour was at stake if he didn't try to save Wilf, and that he felt honoured being called on to save a dear friend as his final act in that body]].

** The Doctor outright acknowledges the fact that he has many self-imposed behavioral rules (not just time travel no-nos) in the Series 6 Episode "A Good Man Goes to War." When Kovarian assumes that "the anger of a good man is not a problem" (apparently she never heard [[FateWorseThanDeath what he did to the Family of Blood]]) he's quick to correct her.

* Dick Winters on ''Series/BandOfBrothers'', doubling as a RealLife example.

** A straight example from ''Series/DoctorWho'' is the Last Centurion, who must suppress the memories of what he has been for the sake of his own sanity and carry on as though he is just plain old [[spoiler: Rory Williams]] -- until things get really bad.

** While their specific model is very different from Shepard's, and few turians we see genuinely live up to it to the absolute (especially the BigBad of the first game, who has abandoned almost the entire thing), this is the turian ideal. Turian cultural ideas prize diligence, loyalty, valour, honesty, responsibility, and self-sacrifice to such an extent that their national anthem is called "Die for the Cause", and turian soldiers will die to the last man rather than retreat unless that retreat is absolutely necessary for the overall war effort. The big difference is that Paragon Shepard's code prizes compassion as the chief virtue and loyalty to orders and authority is only valuable so long as it supports that, while the turian code prizes absolute loyalty.

*** A special mention of the CombatMedic: if captured, he or she is entitled to continue working as a medic for the prisoners. He or she is obliged by the laws and customs of war to care for ''enemy'' wounded, even if he or she is a prisoner. He or she is obliged ethically to treat all wounded according to their priority, regardless of their allegiance. Their vehicles and persons are protected under those same rules only if used strictly for medical care and if they are clearly labeled with a red and white [[ShootTheMedicFirst bullsey-]]...cross, crescent, lion[[note]]discontinued in 1980[[/note]] or crystal (diamond). Finally, they may only carry small arms.

** Maybe not quite as noble, but it's vital to ProfessionalWrestling too. Wrestling/HulkHogan in one interview admitted he was somewhat scared when he faced Wrestling/AndreTheGiant because ... well, if Andre didn't follow the match booking (with Andre losing), what the hell could the Hulkster do about it?

* The Assassin Brotherhood from the aptly titled ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreed'' games. Every true Assassin is expected to follow their tenets, hide in plain sight, don't kill the innocent, and don't compromise the brotherhood. You'd think this stops them from doing wrong? Not exactly. By the time of Rogue, the Colonial Assassins were not just [[GoodIsNotNice condescending jerks]] but unapologetic mass murderers of thousands. Since the previous (and later titles) portray the Assassins as the "Heroes", the truth is both the Assassins and the [[TheUnfettered Templars]] are equally good and evil factions.
** InvertedTrope: There have been moments, where despite being bound to the creed, the Assassins have been more TheUnfettered depending on the individual. For example, Ezio spent most of his life, doing everything in his power to get revenge on the Templars. While the Colonial Assassins, [[LackOfEmpathy didn't even care]] that they caused the earthquake that devastated Lisbon in 1755. Clearly the creed isn't conscriptive in any manner, with the ends justifying the means.