Reminder of Duty

General Wade Eiling: I'll waste you and billion like you before I let any power rival America's. It's my duty.
Shining Knight: You don't know what the word means.
General Wade Eiling: You can't win.
Shining Knight: I'll die as befits a knight. Defending the weak.

— Justice League Unlimited, "Patriot Act"

From the knights of old to whatever services will exist in the far future, structures of command are almost as old as the human race.

And with those groups comes a sense of duty and responsibility, either to the group or to higher ideals.

A trope applicable to both heroic commanders and villainous ones, when someone under their command is conflicted between their duties and their own personal desires, the commander will step in to remind them of their duties. Perhaps they will invoke Honor Before Reason. Or maybe it will be the exact opposite when they have to go with a rational choice rather than their own personal honor.

This is not an exclusively military trope, either. There are many kinds of duty. A politician, for example, has a duty to the ideals of their nation, to their constituents, and to the laws. A person may have a duty to their family. Someone may have a duty to themselves, to maintain their health and well-being.

Whatever it is that they have duty and obligation to, someone will come along and remind them of that.

Compare with What the Hell, Hero?. May overlap with Corrective Lecture.

Examples:

Anime and Manga

• In Claymore, when Cassandra is devoured by Priscilla (who then uses her powers against the good guys), the reborn Theresa calls out to Cassandra, pointing out that, unlike Priscilla, both of them have held the title of the World's Best Warrior at different times and reminding her of the pride that comes with being the number one of her generation. This riles Cassandra up enough for her to break out of Priscilla's mutated body (severely weakening it) and to face Theresa as a human for The Last Dance.
• In Great Teacher Onizuka, Onizuka gives a "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Vice-Principal Uchiyamada when Onizuka and Noboru have been rushing to save one of his students from dying, and Uchiyamada has been hampering them every step of the way, babbling about how his job is the most important thing. Onizuka's speech sparks Uchiyamada's Heel Realization and return to the ideals that made him become a teacher in the first place.
• Gundam:
  • In Mobile Suit Gundam, an exhausted and emotionally weary Amuro demands to know why he has to keep piloting even though he's done more than his fair share of fighting. Bright slaps him and reminds him that since he's the one with the most experience actually piloting the Gundam, they don't have much choice but to keep sending him out. Bright even snarls that if he were able, he'd pilot the Gundam himself. ^note  Demonstrating Bright's point, when the vastly less-experienced Sayla takes the Gundam out without permission it's very nearly destroyed by Ranba Ral and his experienced subordinates.
  • In Mobile Fighter G Gundam, during one of their confrontations, Domon demands to know why his martial arts master Master Asia is aiding the Devil Gundam, since as King of Heart and member of the Shuffle Alliance Master Asia is supposed to be a defender of Earth. Master Asia retorts that he is defending the Earth: having passed his Despair Event Horizon ^note  For all his power and skill, he realised that Earth is still a wrecked wasteland due to the Gundam Fight despite all the Shuffle Alliance's efforts, he's come to the conclusion that in order for Earth to heal, humanity has to go.
• INVADERS of the ROKUJYOUMA!?: In the very first episode, Ruth has to intervene and stop Princess Theia from using a Wave-Motion Gun on the eponymous apartment, reminding her that her mission from her mother was to get the inhabitants of the apartment to swear allegiance to her, not vaporize them, and that she'd have the record for fastest failure in the empire if she went through with it.
• Transformers:
  • In an episode of Transformers: Super-God Masterforce, Ginrai and Lightfoot are trapped in an undersea volcano that's about to erupt. Lightfoot prepares to self-destruct in order to open a path for Ginrai to escape, pointing out that as Ginrai is their commander and most powerful warrior, he has to escape if the Autobots are to have any chance of stopping the Decepticons. Ginrai retorts that Lightfoot is right... Ginrai is the commander and he thereby orders Lightfoot to stop trying to sacrifice himself.
  • Transformers Victory: In the final few episodes, the Autobots are preparing for an all-or-nothing attack on Deathsaurus' Planet Destroying Fortress. Star Saber's adopted human son Jan prepares to join the attack, much to Star Saber's understandable reluctance. Jan sways him by pointing out that not only have they just learned that the Fortress's defenses were never configured to detect organic life, as Star Saber's son Jan is an Autobot too and his homeworld of Earth is in danger. It's absolutely his duty to risk his life alongside the others. ^note  As it turns out, Jan successfully disables the Fortress by sacrificing his home-made mech the Illumina II, a fact Star Saber uses to taunt Deathsaurus during their final confrontation.
  • Beast Wars II: Lio Convoy confronts his "son" Lio Junior and points out that as leader of the Maximals currently fighting the Predacons on planet Gaea, his duty as supreme commander comes first and duty as a father a distant second. He then asks Lio Junior what he wants to do: fight at his side as his son, or as a fellow Maximal who loves peace. If it's the former, Lio Convoy has no use for him. If it's the latter, then Lio Junior must learn to obey Lio Convoy's orders. Junior chooses the second and begins referring to Lio Convoy as "commander" instead of "Papa".

Comic Books

• The Mighty Thor: Played for laughs in one story, where Thor loans a seed to a convent of nuns and one of them suggests that he stay for dinner. Her superior exhorts her to remember her vows.
  "Yes. And what were those again?"
• In Trinity (2008), after the disappearance of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman causes the DC Universe to reset into a Crapsack World, the closest family members of the three go on a quest to find them. When half of the rescue team shows reluctance to continue because they are following a nearly-forgotten connection and wonder if the world is better off without them, Supergirl (who in the reset world grew up into a Military Superhero code named "Interceptor") angrily reminds the lot of them that they have a duty to prevent the world from getting worse, even if by her own acknowledgment she doesn't like the idea of going back to being a teenager full of insecurities and angst. They all accept to continue.

Fan Works

• Huggled: An in-universe example when Twilight reads a sappy romance novel, in which the heroine Flaxen Flower dramatically declares, "Don't remind me of my duties! Sir Chisel Cleft loves me for who I am!"

Films — Animated

• Lilo & Stitch: Captain Gantu is taunting Experiment 626 while in confinement when 626 bites him on the finger. Gantu is about to shoot him with his blaster at point-blank range when another officer, who's barely as big as his foot, reminds the Captain that he's still on duty, and Gantu reluctantly backs off.

Films — Live-Action

• A Few Good Men. The tragic lesson that the two soldiers on trial must learn, even after Col. Jessop exposes that he gave the order that led to Santiago's death, as they are dishonorably discharged.
  Downey: What did we do wrong? We did nothing wrong.
  Dawson: Yeah, we did. We were supposed to fight for the people who couldn't fight for themselves. We were supposed to fight for Willie.
• The Hunt for Red October When Ramius takes the late Putin's launch key, Dr. Petrov reminds him that the reason there are two missile keys is so that no one man can arm the missiles. Ramius is able to turn it back on Petrov, however, by invoking Soviet-era paranoia, telling him, "I will do my best to forget your comments, Doctor."
• Outbreak: Several times:
  • Ford reminds Daniels of the fact that he, himself, is part of the Army that developed the disease, in an effort to keep him quiet about the weapons project. This is about duty to the group.
  • McClintock tells Ford that if he goes down, Ford will have just as much to answer for. Eventually, this no longer matters to Ford. This is about his own desires, though posed as duty to the group.
  • The White House Chief of Staff tells the people preparing to authorize the bomb strike to wipe out the infected city that if there are any voices of the objection, they belong in the room, then and there, not someone running to the press later and claiming disingenuously that they were the "sole voice of opposition" in the room. This is about duty to higher ideals.
    Chief of Staff:"Those are the citizens of Cedar Creek, go ahead take a look at them - these are not statistics ladies and gentlemen - they're flesh and blood! I want you to burn those images into your memories, because they should haunt you until the day you die!"
  • Daniels appeals to the pilots who have been assigned with the duty of delivering the bomb that will wipe out the town on the basis of duty to ideals first:
    Daniels: "If you think I'm lying, drop the bomb. If you think I'm crazy, drop the bomb, but don't drop the bomb because you're following orders!"

Literature

• The Belgariad: In Polgara the Sorceress, when one of Garion's ancestors nearly fell into a trap because he let his ego get out of control, Polgara had to remind him very firmly about his real responsibilities.
  Polgara: There are two sides to nobility, Gelane. Most people only see the fine houses, the fancy clothes, and all the bowing and scraping by lesser nobles. The other side's more important, though, and much simpler. Duty, Gelane, duty. Keep that in front of your eyes every waking moment. You are — or could be — the Rivan King. That'd involve some very complicated duties, but the way things stand right now, your only duty is to the line of succession. You perform that duty by staying alive, and there are a large number of people in the world who want to kill you before you have a son.
• The Boys from Brazil: Nazi-in-hiding Mundt drives out to the remote Swedish dam, and meets with fellow Nazi Lofquist. Mundt mentions that he has been sent to kill old men, and it sickens him. Lofquist reminds Mundt of his Oath of Loyalty as an SS officer: "Have you forgotten? 'My Honor is Loyalty.' Those words were supposed to be engraved on your soul." Upon this reminder, Mundt stands taller, and admits that his target isn't the socialist schoolteacher Lundberg; his victim is Lofquist and pushes the man off the dam to his doom.
• Watership Down, after Woundwort has failed to kill Bigwig, and it is obvious to all there that Bigwig has won the fight, Woundwort tells Vervaine to tackle Bigwig while Woundwort regains his strength. When Vervaine seems to hesitate, Woundwort reminds him that he is the most hated rabbit in the warren and that if Woundwort's authority goes, Vervaine's won't be far behind.

Live-Action TV

• Chōjinki Metalder: Early in the series, when God Neros learns that Metalder survived a thrashing by his right-hand man Coolgin, Coolgin declares that he will hunt Metalder down and finish the job. God Neros replies, "Coolgin. You are my finest warrior and my greatest general. Do not offer your life up so casually."
• In Doom Patrol (2019), Hammerhead and the Secretary constantly remind Jane that her first duty is to protect Kay Challis and that this duty overrides any of Jane's other wants and needs.
• M*A*S*H: Being a show about war and a military hospital, this shows up from time to time.
  • Potter delivers a lecture to Klinger about the duty they have:
    Potter:None of us wants to be here. I don't wanna be here. Radar doesn't want to be here. The doctors, the nurses. Certainly the wounded don't want to be here. But we've got to do our best. Understand, son?
• Star Trek:
  • Star Trek: The Original Series:
    • In "Balance of Terror", at a key point in the battle after the Enterprise has just been damaged by a Romulan mine, the Romulan Commander decides pressing the fight any longer isn't worth the risk and is about to disengage. Subcommander Decius objects, reminding him, "It is our duty to crush the Praetor's enemies."
    • In "This Side of Paradise", Kirk is affected by the mind-altering spores, but while packing his belongings he sees some of his medals and snaps out of it.
  • Star Trek: The Next Generation: Picard has a knack for this, and he starts with the first episode.
    • In "Encounter At Farpoint", Picard has ordered Worf to command the saucer section and see to the safety of the civilians and non-essential officers aboard. Worf balks because, as a Klingon, he cannot tolerate the idea of running away while his Captain goes into battle.
      Picard: You are a Starfleet Officer.
    • In "The First Duty", Picard reminds Wesley of his commitment to Starfleet's ideals.
      Picard: The first duty of every Starfleet officer is to the truth, whether it's scientific truth, or historical truth, or personal truth! It is the guiding principle on which Starfleet is based, and if you can't find it within yourself to stand up and tell the truth about what happened, you don't deserve to wear that uniform.

Music

• Jesus Christ Superstar "Trial Before Pilate", the Mob invoke this: "You have a duty to keep the peace so Crucify Him. You'll be demoted! You'll be deported! Crucify Him!"

Video Games

• In Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, Eldigan - renowned in-universe as the perfect image of an idealised knight - is subjected to this in Chapter 3. After his close friend Sigurd unintentionally destabilises Eldigan's kingdom of Agustria in an attempt to rescue Eldigan from unjust imprisonment, Agustria's king Chagall orders Eldigan to ride against him to drive him out. Horrified at the thought of taking up his sword against his friend, Eldigan stalls, and Chagall's push is unsuccessful. When Chagall retreats to Eldigan's castle, he is deeply enraged and reminds Eldigan of his duties as a knight of Agustria, ordering him once again to fight Sigurd. Unable to deny his words, Eldigan finally rallies his troops and sets out.
• Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity: When Link sees hijacked Guardians closing in on his King, he starts to rush to his aid, only to stop dead in his tracks when Rhoam reminds him his current duty isn't to protect him.
  King Rhoam: You are the knight to Princess Zelda. I trust that you understand your duty. (Link grabs Zelda by the arm and forcibly evacs her).
• Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous: Irabeth Tirabade, one of the Player Character's NPC advisors, suffers a nervous breakdown as a result of the events at the Lost Chapel. One option for dealing with it is to diplomatically remind her of her duty and encourage her.

Western Animation

• Discussed in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Patriot Act", in a battle between a group of Badass Normal Heroes and a mutated General Eiling. Eiling and Sir Justin, a modern general and a knight of the days of Camelot, argue over their concept of duty. Sir Justin relays a tale to Eiling of how King Arthur had once ordered him to lay waste to an entire village. Sir Justin, knowing his King's heart couldn't be so cruel, refused the order. Eiling tells Sir Justin that makes him a lousy soldier. Sir Justin cites Eiling's response as evidence of the creeping moral decay of a thousand years, and tells him Arthur thanked him for his choice. Eiling then says it's his duty to see that no power surpasses that of his country, arguing for duty to nation. Sir Justin, firmly on the side of duty to ideals, tells Eiling he doesn't know the meaning of the word.
  • This was foreshadowed earlier in the episode in a conversation between Sir Justin and Vigilante about Sir Justin's opinion of a Dirty Harry movie.
  • Also, earlier in the episode, Eiling tells a soldier that he's not going to kill him because he knows he's simply doing his duty.
• Transformers: Prime: In "Toxicity", Bulkhead is trying to get rid of a toxic energon, aptly called "Tox-En". As Bulkhead continues his journey, he begins to feel the effects of the toxic energon and almost succumbs to its spark-sapping properties. After which, Agent Fowler tries to encourage the faltering Bulkhead to keep going.
  Fowler: "Look soldier. You know as well as I do there's the mission. And the reason why you take the mission!"
  Bulkhead: "Honor... duty..."
  Fowler: "Family. Which is why you need to do whatever it takes to finish this job and come home safely."

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