Basic Trope: A hero who is morally upright and not flawed.
- Straight: Bob is a hero who has the typical traits of a perfect hero - he is kind and compassionate, fights with honor, keeps his promises, and serves as a role model for citizens.
- Exaggerated: Bob is so much of a perfect hero because it is impossible for him to fall into corruption and he loves everyone, even his worst enemies.
- Downplayed:
- Bob has a couple of flaws, but not to the level of an Anti-Hero. However, he's still far and away the most heroic character in his world.
- Bob will occasionally play dirty in extreme situations where he has to save innocent lives, but otherwise behaves honorably.
- Justified:
- Bob lives in a Crapsack World, and if he became an Anti-Hero, he would be no better than the villains he fights.
- Bob was raised with certain values that he internalized, believes that while the world has its problems, it can become better.
- Inverted:
- Subverted: It seems that Bob is a pure hero until it's found out that he's been engaging in anti-heroic behavior.
- Double Subverted: He was being mind-controlled by the villain in an elaborate plot to discredit him. Bob is absolutely horrified by what he did under the influence and vows to never use those methods again.
- Parodied: Bob is a pure hero because he never takes a single sip of liquor or beer.
- Zig Zagged: Bob may strive to be as good of a hero as he can be, but he is far from perfect, having occasional moments where he dips into anti-heroic or even villainous acts which he often regrets.
- Averted: Bob is just a morally average hero - neither a pure-hearted hero nor an deeply flawed hero.
- Enforced: "I'm tired of these flawed, repugnant, Anti Heroes. Let's create a hero - a REAL hero."
- Lampshaded:
- "Look out, Emperor Evulz! The true hero is here!"
- "Never go full hero. It never ends well in this world."
- Invoked: Bob's mentor, Charlie teaches him valuable moral lessons about good and evil and helps him overcome his Fatal Flaws to ensure he is fully prepared to perform his heroic duties.
- Exploited: Because Bob is a virtuous and incorruptible force of good does not mean he is without limits. Emperor Evulz pulls a Batman Gambit on Bob by deliberately attacking his nearby friends and/or bystanders, knowing fully well that his morals will force him to take the brunt of his attacks for them and wear him down as a result.
- Defied: "Meh! Just because I'm a hero doesn't mean I don't have to follow some crappy standards."
- Discussed: "Man, it seems as if Bob follows all of the ideals of heroism, I think he is someone all should strive for." "Right but could this be abused by anyone of un-pure heart?"
- Conversed: "Bob is the only reason why the Moral Guardians aren't seeking to cancel Troperville."
- Deconstructed:
- Just because Bob is an ideal hero doesn't mean his mission is going to be any easier. The world has become crapsack and idealism has been thrown out of the window. Bob tries to stay true to the traditions of a hero, but this results in heavy consequence. Now Bob realizes that doing good is such a horrible experience.
- Due to an In-Universe case of Values Dissonance, an ideal hero of time period A and culture A is not the same as an ideal hero of time period B and culture B. So when Bob travels to the other culture, he becomes a Fish out of Water and clashes with the locals over their ideas of heroism.
- Bob is able to operate as an Ideal Hero because he has Super-Strength, Super-Toughness, and other Required Secondary Powers handed to him on a silver platter. Bob may be able to redeem a thug who keeps shooting at him in vain, but any average Joe who is as compassionate as Bob, as honorable as Bob, and as determined as Bob, would be dead if they were put in the same situation, right after the thug pulls the trigger. After all, ideals are worthless without the power to back them up.
- Reconstructed:
- Bob, overcoming the difficulty of being the hero, becomes a Knight in Sour Armor.
- This strengthens his resolve, which causes him to achieve his ideals, which further results in him becoming a truly wise and ideal hero.
- Bob trains people how to defend themselves and turns them into Charles Atlas Superpower Badass Normals, allowing them to fight for their own ideals with their own power. They may not be as innately powerful as Bob, but they're no longer helpless without him.
Back to Ideal Hero