Follow TV Tropes

Following

Misused: Incorruptible Pure Pureness

Go To

To-do list:

  • Incorruptible Pure Pureness was renamed to to The Incorruptible and redefined to refer to characters who are portrayed in-universe as untemptable/incorruptible. Sandbox.The Incorruptible can be used for the rewrite.
  • Clean up examples by removing examples that do not refer to characters who are portrayed in-universe as untemptable/incorruptible.
    • Clean up on-page examples.
    • Remove wicks that do not fit the revised definition and move wicks that do fit the revised definition to The Incorruptible.

    Original post 

OP credits go to Zerukin

The Problem: Incorruptible Pure Pureness is supposed to be the heroic inverse of Complete Monster (which I should point out is YMMV) as it lists characters who are heavily admirable and are completely devoid of corrupting qualities.

The issue is that this makes it where a majority of the examples are essentially opinion based (again much like Complete Monster) as most examples don't necessarily acknowledge the characters as pure in-universe. Not only that, but some leave out details of the characters claimed as examples that would prove they don't count as those details show that they do have corrupting qualities that they don't subvert or break free from.

Not only that, but some of the examples are of characters that have moral agency issues that render it difficult or impossible to determine right from wrong.

Wick Check: I found out somebody already made an empty wick check sandbox. I messaged them with no response after a few days, so I have put my findings there.

  • 9 examples I looked at so far could very well count.
  • 8 examples claim them to be pure in-universe, but the characters themselves either don't demonstrate it or have blatant corrupting qualities.
  • 7 examples detail characters that have blatant corrupting qualities that the description either fails to take note of or blatantly states.
  • 2 examples are of a character with moral agency issues.
  • 2 examples are player influenced, which means that these character could be corruptible if influenced by the player.
  • 1 example features many of the above issues.
  • 1 example is a possibly inverted in-universe example.
  • 3 examples have details that have nothing to do with purity.
  • 22 examples have little to no context.

Total so far:

  • 9 potentially correct examples.
  • 8 in-universe examples.
  • 37 incorrect examples.
  • 1 example that just baffles me.

Given how many are incorrect compared to correct (especially with how a majority of them having no context behind them), this is not a good look. Even the in-universe ones, while claiming the characters to be incorruptible, demonstrate them with corrupting qualities showing that they are corruptible despite the series claiming otherwise.

Analysis: The trope does honestly come off as opinion based as even the examples that are potentially correct can still be considered YMMV. Meanwhile the examples that claim the characters to be pure in-universe while still having them demonstrate otherwise could be on a trope dedicated to in-universe examples.

Possible Solution: Split this trope into two tropes. Have one trope specifically for in-universe examples of a character proclaimed to be incorruptible pure of heart to have that serve as the opposite of You Monster!, and have a YMMV trope that functions similar to Complete Monster by having people make Effort Posts to determine if a character truly counts as pure of heart. We could even have the ymmv version be called Pure of Heart as Incorruptible Pure Pureness is honestly a bit of a mouthful of a tongue twister anyway... Of course, if people prefer, we could also do a title crowner. I do have some other title ideas that I can share (some I am in favor of, some not so much).

Wick check:

Incorruptible Pure Pureness is about admirable characters pure of heart who aim for admirable deeds.

A little more than 50 wicks have been checked.

Wicks: 55/50


    open/close all folders 

    Potentially accurate 
  • Papyrus of VideoGame.Undertale is always cheerful, upstanding, and refuses to give in to bitterness or despair. Even being killed on a No Mercy run doesn't stop him from believing the idea that even the worst people might still have a bit of goodness inside them somewhere.
  • Franchise.Kirby: While he does tend to be quite an Idiot Hero of a Cloud Cuckoo Lander, Kirby is revealed to be this in Kirby Mass Attack. Reason? He has the Heroic Heart, which resembles a star, that got separated from his main body when Kirby was split into ten and almost wiped out of existence by Necrodeus. Even after he was split, his heroic heart remains, and offers for itself and the ten Kirbys to fight Necrodeus together.
    • It's notable that even in a mirror world where every good character has their morality flipped, Kirby's counterpart is still on the side of good and only attacks you because he thinks you're an evil invader.
  • WesternAnimation.Samurai Jack isn't pure; several times it's shown he has a serious rage problem, lashing out at his surroundings when things get exceptionally bad. His sword, though, was forged by the gods out of pure righteousness and cannot harm the innocent when in the hands of evil. It's so aligned with good that it abandons Jack for fifty years when he gives in to his rage and doesn't return until he's mastered his anger and regained his good side. Given how he manages to subvert his corrupting quality, this one can very well be accurate.
  • Series.Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger has Hakuya Ryouga, whose character is defined by his inability to hate anyone, no matter what. A monster-of-the-week weapon that showed Yukito visions of his emotionally abusive father didn't affect Ryouga at all. His opposite number is Abarekiller, who terrorizes people because he thinks it's more exciting than being a good guy...but this just means Ryouga can prove his All-Loving Hero cred beyond doubt.
  • WesternAnimation.Wander Over Yonder: Wander. As an eternal optimist who sees the good in everyone, Wander will stop at nothing to help even the cruelest of villains find their way onto the path of good. However, he is unable to reform Lord Hater, and by a bigger expense, Lord Dominator.
  • WesternAnimation.All Dogs Go To Heaven 2: Charlie Barkin's best friend, Itchy Itchiford the dachshund, displays this trope in the sequel to Don Bluth's classic All Dogs Go To Heaven. It begins in Heaven, with Annabelle, the whippet angel, telling Charlie to retrieve Gabriel's horn (which has been stolen by Carface). The horn has landed in San Francisco, and gives off a heavenly tone that is audible only to angels. Knowing that Charlie is apt to make mischief, Annabelle sends Itchy with him. Itchy reminds his friend that they have to find Gabriel's horn, "and then it's straight back to Heaven". Charlie, however, has his heart set on Sasha La Fleur, an attractive Irish setter. She can't sense the presence of him or of Itchy, because they're angels, but Carface offers a "solution" to this; he introduces them to his friend Red (who appears to them as an elderly fortune teller bloodhound, but is actually a human-sized cat demon who seeks to steal Gabriel's horn for himself), who provides each of them with a collar that will render them flesh and blood, but only until sunset the next day. Red has also given such a collar to Carface (in exchange for his soul, it is later revealed; Carface misinterprets this as "sole", the bottom of a shoe). Itchy constantly reminds Charlie about retrieving Gabriel's horn, but Charlie constantly tries to impress Sasha. He and she help convince David, an 8-year-old runaway boy, to return home. David explains to them that he's having problems with his stepmom ("She wants me to call her 'Mom', but she's not"). She and David's father are going to have a baby soon. David agrees that he will return home if Charlie goes with him, and Charlie promises. Charlie succeeds in winning Sasha's love—but just as this happens, the collars vanish, and he and Itchy are once again "insubstantial", as Red put it. Charlie then goes back to Red for a new collar. Red agrees to this—after Charlie has offered him Gabriel's horn in exchange. Red then reveals his fiendish feline form to Charlie and Itchy. Charlie then brings Red the horn, and Red plays it and all of the angel dogs are drawn out of Heaven into the island prison Alcatraz. As Charlie, Itchy, and Sasha are about to take David home by rowboat, they see what Red is doing, and Itchy says that they have to do something. Charlie realizes that it's his own fault, and that he's the one who has to do something. Red then turns himself into a 40-foot-tall giant cat demon, and just as he's about to destroy Charlie, Red is stopped by Itchy, Sasha, and David, who have chained him by his tail to a water pipe. Red soon breaks free, and as he's caught Charlie, Sasha, and David, Itchy lunges at him and takes the horn (which Red has been wearing as a ring). Even though Itchy could easily play the horn himself, he distracts Red and manages to give Charlie the horn. Later, Charlie plays it, and all of the angel dogs are released from Alcatraz back into Heaven, and Red and Carface are drawn back into "the other place". The situation would have been resolved much more quickly if Annabelle had sent Itchy to San Francisco alone. Charlie admits that he couldn't have done it without Itchy. This one could possibly work, but it most certainly needs to be condensed as this detail is so big that it feels like it would be more of an effort post than an example writeup.
  • Jun Kazama from the Franchise.Tekken series. It may be such an incredible level of purity that even becoming Unknown hasn't eliminated it. When she returns in Tekken 8, she still radiates with purity that she still sees the potential to redeem her lover, Kazuya Mishima, who in the meantime has racked up even more atrocities that most people would just see him as Beyond Redemption; such thought does not ruin her pure intention to save. While initially lacking context, the addition of Tekken 8 makes it where she might qualify.
  • WesternAnimation.A Bugs Life: Flik remains completely loyal to his colony and his desire to help and protect it. The only time he gives up is when he and the "warriors" are sent away by Atta, but he gets back on his feet.
  • VisualNovel.Akai Ito: Yumei-san. She never take Kei's blood without the latter's consent, she never snaps, she never gets angry at Kei even though her current state is, at least marginally, Kei's fault, she stands vigilant as an Ohashira-sama for about ten lonely years, she saves Kei all the time, etc etc and so on. She stands in stark contrast to another vampirism-capable ghost, Nozomi.
    • In fact, Yumei's theme song was later made into an Image Song (with vocal!), which nicely sums Kei's story in Akai Ito.

    Stated In-universe, but not shown to be Pure 
  • VideoGame.Kingdom Hearts I: The Princesses of Heart (Alice, Jasmine, Snow White, Belle, Cinderella, Aurora, and Kairi) are, by definition, seven maidens of Incorruptible Pure Pureness. There is no darkness in their hearts whatsoever, which gives them strange powers and makes them a Cosmic Keystone when assembled. In later games, the new Organization XIII considers using Rapunzel, Elsa, and Anna as new Princesses of Heart. While this could count as an in-universe example, they don't exactly do anything to really show their purity within the franchise.
  • Madeline Goodlaw, the paladin from Webcomic.Rusty And Co is so pure that a spell designed to give the evil inside her physical form results in an "Anti-Madeline" that is two inches tall. Good as an in-universe example, but doesn't detail her admirability.
  • Manga.One Piece: Monkey D. Luffy is possibly a deconstruction. He doesn’t see himself as a hero (and adamantly states he isn’t one), and yet, despite often being self-serving and reckless, Luffy is still innocent and carefree, with no ill intentions at all. He never actually does anything out of malice either because of his moral values or his naïveté. He is also unable to feel temptation or lust as Hancock's beauty has no effect on him; also in Cross Epoch Luffy is shown being able to ride the Flying Nimbus meaning he is truly pure of heart. Good details for an in-universe example, but the fact he can be self-serving and reckless doesn't exactly come off as pure.
  • Played for laughs in a story in ComicBook.Judge Dredd, where the titular Judge is kidnapped by a fiend-worshipping cult who need to sacrifice a pure soul. An incredulous Dredd asks why they would target him for the role, as he's well aware that he's a brutal enforcer for a neo-fascist authoritarian regime and an all-around asshole besides. They reply that his absolute dedication to enforcing the law fairly and aversion to corruption marks him as "an acceptable substitute", given the Crapsack World they live in. Good as an in-universe example, but blatantly admits that Judge Dredd is not pure.
  • Fanfic.SAPR: Literally the case of Ruby Rose. She is explicitly described as being so pure of heart that telepathic communication with her wipes away negative feelings in people. Sunset herself describes the inside of Ruby's soul like a vast warm white light. A good in-universe example, but does the Ruby perform anything to demonstrate such purity?
  • Film.Scooby Doo, according to the live-action movie. It is for this specific reason the daemons go after him. While he's a dog, he has the sentience of a human, and the same ability to make good and bad choices — but the worst choice he makes is being a bit of a glutton (getting snarly when his friends are threatened doesn't count). A good in-universe example, but his gluttony is too blatant of a corrupting factor for him to actually be pure.
  • Film.Barbarella cannot be consumed by the Mathmos because of her innocence. Could be an in-universe example. Does she do anything admirable enough to be considered pure though?
  • WesternAnimation.Adventure Time: It's eventually revealed that Finn Mertens is pure good since he is the Reincarnation of the Blue Catalyst Comet, which incarnated as a butterfly, a symbol of rebirth. His goodness extends to the point that he tries to beat his purity into others. This is noticeable in the episode "Goliad": when the golem that Princess Bubblegum created turns evil, what does she do to stop it? Make a new one with Finn's DNA instead of her own. The original tries to invoke We Can Rule Together, but because of the pureness, it refuses and sacrifices itself to stop the other. On another occasion, the Lich uses Finn's innocence against him to open up a portal to the multiverse by a means Finn thought would prevent it. Throughout the series, he also has helped countless characters. Despite his Blood Knight tendencies and Hot-Blooded moments, Finn is still a purely good person deep down. Good In-universe example, but his Blood Knight and Hot-Blooded moments are still too corrupting of qualities along with having moments of recklessness.

    Misuse: General goodness goodies and whatnot 
  • Funny.Dragon Ball Z Abridged: Bulma gets a particularly special one this time: while the boys were busy fighting the doubles of Freeza, Cooler, Slug and Turles to no avail, Bulma was taking samples of the pollution brought to the Earth by the machines; deducing it to be pure Naughtiness, she derives an antidote using samples of Baby Trunks' blood, then dispenses it in capsules to destroy the machines from the inside out, rendering the doubles vulnerable to complete destruction. Then she flew off to go after African drug lords. All in all, a nice way to send off Bulma, along with Hiromi Tsuru. Trunks is a baby and thus hasn't developed an actual moral agency.
  • WesternAnimation.Kim Possible: Miss Go; justified because she is the exact opposite of Shego via a Mirror Morality Machine. Miss Go is Shego turned good thanks to a Mirror Morality Machine, meaning she has moral agency issues.

    Misuse: Demonstrates Corrupting Factors 
  • Depending on the Writer, Franchise.Batman also counts as a not exactly nice example. The Dark Knight has the Joker enjoying this fact, as the truly incorruptible Batman provides him an eternal opponent. While there are examples of a pure good Batman, the fact this states that Batman is a case of Good Is Not Nice blatantly contradicts the idea that Batman in the comics is pure.
    • Batman is sometimes depicted as being more incorruptible than Superman. The difference between them seems to be that Superman doesn't want to cross the line, where Batman does but simply can't bring himself to do it. Thus, Superman is good out of a desire to be good, while Batman is good because he is unable to be anything else, which makes him the incorruptible one. So he wants to do bad but can't? That sounds like a case of moral agency issues than actually being pure.
  • Manga.Dragon Ball: Future Trunks is another example, which is amazing in itself, since Trunks' parents are Bulma and Vegeta, two of the most selfish people in the whole series. Though considering Trunks was raised in the Bad Future where humanity's survival was the most important thing to him, becoming a polite selfless heroic Nice Guy was unavoidable. Present Trunks who had none of the aforementioned experience grew up to be a Spoiled Brat who's almost The Scrappy by comparison. This neglects the important detail of how he needlessly and violently slashed Frieza to pieces and mercilessly killed King Cold. Even if Frieza is a Complete Monster and Cold attempted to kill him, this level of brutality shows he does not count.
    • On that note, The trope is listed on character pages with the statement of this being the reason they can ride the nimbus cloud. While that works as an in-universe example, it doesn't give further context how they are pure.
  • Pit and Dark Pit from VideoGame.Kid Icarus Uprising have shown themselves to be this. The best example is the Mirror of Truth, which is supposed to reflect the dark side of someone who looks into it. Pandora tricked Pit into breaking it and creating Dark Pit, but Dark Pit ends up being neutral at worst. However, the game implies that Dark Pit is just as pure or more pure-hearted than Pit, as shown in the Chaos Kin arc. Viridi says that the Chaos Kin only feeds on the purest of souls and the Chaos Kin idol states that Dark Pit was needed to be revived. Hades also says that Pittoo's soul is different from the rest of the souls he could eat. In other words, Pit's darkness is also pure, which says something about his character. While Pit can definitely count, Dark Pit has WAY too many jerk moments to actually be pure.
  • Daisy of Bittersweet Candy Bowl is perceived this way, especially by Paulo, but she isn't quite as incorruptible as it might seem, though she is very chipper and generally chipper and happy. Though in her dreams... It outright states she isn't incorruptible.
  • Manga.Akame Ga Kill: Tatsumi is the only member of Night Raid who respects others. He has faith that the team can save the Capital of the country from corruption, but unlike his teammates, he has an optimistic hope for a brighter tomorrow and sees good within his fellow assassins, encouraging them to grow into kinder people. It's also one of the reasons why many female assassins develop an interest in him. Even if Tatsumi is the nicest member of his team of assassins, he is still an assassin which is too corrupting.
  • GoodIsNotNice.Other Media: Warhammer 40,000: The Adepta Sororitas are described as "shining examples of all that is good about humanity" by numerous Games Workshop sources. Even what are unequivocally the nicest of the Sisters, the Sisters Hospitaller who are beloved across the Imperium as saints for their tireless (and almost always selfless) medical work, will gladly torture a heretic for information and then kill them in a very painful way. If they are willing and happy to torture and kill somebody, no matter how much of a heretic they are, that is definitely a corrupting quality.
  • WesternAnimation.The Ghost And Molly Mc Gee: Molly's cheerfulness and optimism is so strong, she isn't scared of Scratch and cannot be cursed by him, thus she curses him instead. Though subverted in "The (Un)natural" where Scratch manages to convince her that cheating at softball is okay if it helps the Lemmings and the town and she struggles with it throughout the episode before finally refusing to keep cheating. She weaponizes this in the season 1 finale to save Scratch, Geoff, and the other ghosts in the Flow of Failed Phantoms on top of turning the Chairman into a robe full of flowers. While Molly is very optimistic to the point that her ghost form effectively radiates good (Hm... that could be a good name for a trope actually), she has also shown to have plenty of jerkass moments that prove she isn't pure, including her sabotage of Andrea's filming (even if it was originally her film, Molly motivating Scratch to terrorize everybody was cruel), trying to force Libby to have her idea of a bat mitzvah, and has plenty of moments she is willing to cheat. The show is still ongoing there, so there is at least possibility of her possibly shedding these corrupting qualities in the future.

    Misuse: Misc. 
  • In VideoGame.The Binding Of Isaac, tears will turn bloody after damage goes over a certain value. With Sacred Heart, tears will stay white and holy no matter how, as long as Isaac shoots tears. It will also negate the aesthetic effect of many powerups. This has nothing to do with a character being incorruptible.
  • A completely Paragon Commander Shepard from Franchise.Mass Effect falls square in this category. Of course, being the greatest soldier in the galaxy, s/he will end up with a body count few can rival, but his/her pureness can be high enough to convince heavily indoctrinated individuals to commit suicide instead of fighting him/her. Twice. S/He also has quite the effect on various mob bosses: one of them can go from ruthless to respectable leader of a space station, while another can be convinced to turn to charity work instead. However, to truly fit the trope, the player must refrain from using any Renegade Interrupt. That's right, even the blade-breaking one. Morality is player influenced, meaning that if Paragon can count here, renegade would count as Complete Monster, which it doesn't due to the aforementioned reason.
  • Franchise.Dragon Age: It depends on player choices; but the Warden, Hawke, and the Inquisitor can all be played this way in the games. If the morality is player influenced, then can the character really count as incorruptible?
  • Oddly enough, of all people Norrin Radd, aka the Silver Surfer, often has this trait. Despite being the herald of a world-eating Eldritch Abomination. One of the reasons they call him Space Surfer Jesus. The main description doesn't provide any details on why Silver Surfer is pure. Meanwhile, the problem with the included quote below is that having a will not kill code is pretty bog standard when it comes to heroes.
    Silver Surfer: I will not kill.
    Galactus: Yet you serve Galactus once more.
    Silver Surfer: I will not kill.
  • For many of her music video clips, Music.Taylor Swift would often wear a white dress signifying this trope. But times change. And how does wearing a white dress signify this trope? Also the fact it says times change? While there is a little bit of context, it still doesn't make sense as what context there is indicates that it isn't incorruptible.
  • AffablyEvil.Web Animation: If the Emperor Had a Text-to-Speech Device: Curiously inverted with the Star Child when he's visiting the Dark Eldar: he plays the trope completely straight except that he's good rather than evil. Since it's emphasised that he's a being of compassion and Incorruptible Pure Pureness, his affability is presumably genuine — but he's also perfectly aware it's literally killing the Dark Eldar, who are fuelled by suffering. It's presumably an example of Good Is Not Soft against irredeemably evil opponents, except that if it's genuine, he also genuinely regards them as his friends, so it seems also like a case of Double Think. Besides, they're almost okay with dying because Good Feels Good even when it's killing you. Many things wrong with this. To start, he sounds like he is a major case of Good Is Not Nice as he is knowingly killing the Dark Eldar with kindness and being perfectly fine with it. Not to mention, the fact he is supposed to be nothing but the emperor's goodness indicates moral agency issues as he is Made of Good.
  • VillainProtagonist.Western Animation: A weird in-universe example mixed with Deliberate Values Dissonance in an episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender, the Play Within A Show "The Boy In The Iceberg" stars actors playing the Gaang as protagonists, with Ozai as the main antagonist. As all the characters are exaggerated parodies of the "real" people, the play version of Aang is a Wide-Eyed Idealist with Incorruptible Pure Pureness, whereas Ozai is a flamboyant Card-Carrying Villain; however, at the end of the play, when Ozai brutally kills Aang, the audience gives it a standing ovation. Although the viewers know that Aang is The Hero and Ozai is a monster, due to a century of propaganda and cultural conditioning, as far as the Fire Nation rank and file is concerned, Aang is the play's Villain Protagonist, despite not actually committing any evil acts onstage. This one just confuses me. While Aang himself could potentially count, the version of him in this play is supposed to be a villain protagonist from the perspective of the in-universe audience. As such, this would make the play Aang be considered an inverted in-universe example as they were meant to be seen as a villain by the in-universe audience.

    Lacking context 
  • Manga.One Piece: Other examples of this include: Coby, Vivi, Kaya, Conis, Gan Fall, Rebecca, Shirahoshi, Sabo, Tom, Queen Otohime, and Vinsmoke Sora. These are just a list of characters with no context on any of them.
  • Fraser in Series.Due South. He's a mountie, gosh darn it! What does being a mountie have to do with being pure of heart? Not to mention how there is no context anyway.
  • Manga.Angel Densetsu: Seiichiro Kitano is the scariest character to be incorruptibly pure. Zero-Context Example
  • The VideoGame.MOTHER series gives us a lot of examples, each of the protagonists; Ninten, Ness, and Lucas. EarthBound Beginnings has Ana and Queen Mary, EarthBound (1994) has Paula, and Mother 3 has Hinawa. List of characters with no context for any of them.
  • WesternAnimation.Jimmy Two Shoes. The entire show is about a guy who is The Pollyanna living in what is pretty much Hell by another name. How does this detail that they are Pure?
  • WesternAnimation.Avatar The Last Airbender: Avatar Aang aims for this. He has faltered (especially when Appa and Katara were endangered), but in the end, he achieves this. While I do feel that Aang could very well count, there isn't much in terms of context here to demonstrate this.
  • Anime.Ginga Densetsu Weed: Weed's son, Sirius, is this trope as well (perhaps even more-so). Zero Context Example
  • Anime.Wolfs Rain: Cheza is a pure character. She does not hate or do evil. Not enough context.
  • First and foremost, Hartigan in Sin City. Largely a modern form of Galahad, the Perfect Knight. And he pulls it off in Sin City of all settings. And how does he pull it off?
  • ComicBook.Suske En Wiske: Suske is so incorruptible that he is generally the blandest of all the main characters. No context and also sounds kinda complainy.
  • In FNAF Crossover All Star, Adrian Clements defeats many villains and they all try to corrupt him, but it always backfires. What does Adrian do to show he is pure?
  • Ophelia and her baby brother from the movie Film.Pans Labyrinth both represent purity. Zero-Context example
  • Pvt. Witt, the messianic protagonist of Film.The Thin Red Line. A case of Adaptational Heroism, since he is a fairly regular guy in the book. Zero-Context example
  • Informed Attribute of the title character in Film.Warrior Of The Lost World. Zero-Context example
  • Sgt. Howie in Film.The Wicker Man 1973. A pure hero. Zero-Context example
  • Kayla from Webcomic.Zoophobia. Compassionate and kind to a fault, she goes out of her way to make others feel accepted. Not enough context
  • WesternAnimation.Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Ol' Drippy is a being made of moss who commits such kindhearted acts that not even Shake's insults manage to faze him. And what are those kindhearted acts?
  • Raki from Manga.Claymore is like that. In fact, this is his only real ability, in a world where humans can not do much against the monsters. Zero Context Example
  • Galahad in Webcomic.Arthur King Of Time And Space: The example only provides a quote which is cannot count as context.
  • The whole point of Ultima IV is for the main protagonist to become this. Zero Context Example
  • WebAnimation.The Most Popular Girls In School: Amberlynn Weggers combines this with Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold. Zero Context Example
  • Literature.Justice Wing: Paragon. “I lied before. I know he’s not a freak. He’s completely not a freak, or a pocket bad guy, or harboring a secret agenda. I know that, because I opposed him, for just a moment — a terrible, horrible moment where I learned what it was to be Paragon’s opposite. He’s good through and through. He won’t ever abuse his power because he doesn’t have it in him. He won’t ever value his own life over anyone’s — even someone we find irredeemably evil. I swear to God, it’s like someone took all the power of Captain Prestige and then gave it to Mister Rogers!” –Antonym, ''The Excelsiors, Reaching Higher'' Quotes are not acceptable examples for context.

Edited by GastonRabbit on Sep 2nd 2023 at 3:36:12 AM

MacronNotes (she/her) (Captain) Relationship Status: Less than three
(she/her)
#1: Aug 21st 2023 at 9:28:29 PM

To-do list:

  • Incorruptible Pure Pureness was renamed to to The Incorruptible and redefined to refer to characters who are portrayed in-universe as untemptable/incorruptible. Sandbox.The Incorruptible can be used for the rewrite.
  • Clean up examples by removing examples that do not refer to characters who are portrayed in-universe as untemptable/incorruptible.
    • Clean up on-page examples.
    • Remove wicks that do not fit the revised definition and move wicks that do fit the revised definition to The Incorruptible.

    Original post 

OP credits go to Zerukin

The Problem: Incorruptible Pure Pureness is supposed to be the heroic inverse of Complete Monster (which I should point out is YMMV) as it lists characters who are heavily admirable and are completely devoid of corrupting qualities.

The issue is that this makes it where a majority of the examples are essentially opinion based (again much like Complete Monster) as most examples don't necessarily acknowledge the characters as pure in-universe. Not only that, but some leave out details of the characters claimed as examples that would prove they don't count as those details show that they do have corrupting qualities that they don't subvert or break free from.

Not only that, but some of the examples are of characters that have moral agency issues that render it difficult or impossible to determine right from wrong.

Wick Check: I found out somebody already made an empty wick check sandbox. I messaged them with no response after a few days, so I have put my findings there.

  • 9 examples I looked at so far could very well count.
  • 8 examples claim them to be pure in-universe, but the characters themselves either don't demonstrate it or have blatant corrupting qualities.
  • 7 examples detail characters that have blatant corrupting qualities that the description either fails to take note of or blatantly states.
  • 2 examples are of a character with moral agency issues.
  • 2 examples are player influenced, which means that these character could be corruptible if influenced by the player.
  • 1 example features many of the above issues.
  • 1 example is a possibly inverted in-universe example.
  • 3 examples have details that have nothing to do with purity.
  • 22 examples have little to no context.

Total so far:

  • 9 potentially correct examples.
  • 8 in-universe examples.
  • 37 incorrect examples.
  • 1 example that just baffles me.

Given how many are incorrect compared to correct (especially with how a majority of them having no context behind them), this is not a good look. Even the in-universe ones, while claiming the characters to be incorruptible, demonstrate them with corrupting qualities showing that they are corruptible despite the series claiming otherwise.

Analysis: The trope does honestly come off as opinion based as even the examples that are potentially correct can still be considered YMMV. Meanwhile the examples that claim the characters to be pure in-universe while still having them demonstrate otherwise could be on a trope dedicated to in-universe examples.

Possible Solution: Split this trope into two tropes. Have one trope specifically for in-universe examples of a character proclaimed to be incorruptible pure of heart to have that serve as the opposite of You Monster!, and have a YMMV trope that functions similar to Complete Monster by having people make Effort Posts to determine if a character truly counts as pure of heart. We could even have the ymmv version be called Pure of Heart as Incorruptible Pure Pureness is honestly a bit of a mouthful of a tongue twister anyway... Of course, if people prefer, we could also do a title crowner. I do have some other title ideas that I can share (some I am in favor of, some not so much).

Wick check:

Incorruptible Pure Pureness is about admirable characters pure of heart who aim for admirable deeds.

A little more than 50 wicks have been checked.

Wicks: 55/50


    open/close all folders 

    Potentially accurate 
  • Papyrus of VideoGame.Undertale is always cheerful, upstanding, and refuses to give in to bitterness or despair. Even being killed on a No Mercy run doesn't stop him from believing the idea that even the worst people might still have a bit of goodness inside them somewhere.
  • Franchise.Kirby: While he does tend to be quite an Idiot Hero of a Cloud Cuckoo Lander, Kirby is revealed to be this in Kirby Mass Attack. Reason? He has the Heroic Heart, which resembles a star, that got separated from his main body when Kirby was split into ten and almost wiped out of existence by Necrodeus. Even after he was split, his heroic heart remains, and offers for itself and the ten Kirbys to fight Necrodeus together.
    • It's notable that even in a mirror world where every good character has their morality flipped, Kirby's counterpart is still on the side of good and only attacks you because he thinks you're an evil invader.
  • WesternAnimation.Samurai Jack isn't pure; several times it's shown he has a serious rage problem, lashing out at his surroundings when things get exceptionally bad. His sword, though, was forged by the gods out of pure righteousness and cannot harm the innocent when in the hands of evil. It's so aligned with good that it abandons Jack for fifty years when he gives in to his rage and doesn't return until he's mastered his anger and regained his good side. Given how he manages to subvert his corrupting quality, this one can very well be accurate.
  • Series.Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger has Hakuya Ryouga, whose character is defined by his inability to hate anyone, no matter what. A monster-of-the-week weapon that showed Yukito visions of his emotionally abusive father didn't affect Ryouga at all. His opposite number is Abarekiller, who terrorizes people because he thinks it's more exciting than being a good guy...but this just means Ryouga can prove his All-Loving Hero cred beyond doubt.
  • WesternAnimation.Wander Over Yonder: Wander. As an eternal optimist who sees the good in everyone, Wander will stop at nothing to help even the cruelest of villains find their way onto the path of good. However, he is unable to reform Lord Hater, and by a bigger expense, Lord Dominator.
  • WesternAnimation.All Dogs Go To Heaven 2: Charlie Barkin's best friend, Itchy Itchiford the dachshund, displays this trope in the sequel to Don Bluth's classic All Dogs Go To Heaven. It begins in Heaven, with Annabelle, the whippet angel, telling Charlie to retrieve Gabriel's horn (which has been stolen by Carface). The horn has landed in San Francisco, and gives off a heavenly tone that is audible only to angels. Knowing that Charlie is apt to make mischief, Annabelle sends Itchy with him. Itchy reminds his friend that they have to find Gabriel's horn, "and then it's straight back to Heaven". Charlie, however, has his heart set on Sasha La Fleur, an attractive Irish setter. She can't sense the presence of him or of Itchy, because they're angels, but Carface offers a "solution" to this; he introduces them to his friend Red (who appears to them as an elderly fortune teller bloodhound, but is actually a human-sized cat demon who seeks to steal Gabriel's horn for himself), who provides each of them with a collar that will render them flesh and blood, but only until sunset the next day. Red has also given such a collar to Carface (in exchange for his soul, it is later revealed; Carface misinterprets this as "sole", the bottom of a shoe). Itchy constantly reminds Charlie about retrieving Gabriel's horn, but Charlie constantly tries to impress Sasha. He and she help convince David, an 8-year-old runaway boy, to return home. David explains to them that he's having problems with his stepmom ("She wants me to call her 'Mom', but she's not"). She and David's father are going to have a baby soon. David agrees that he will return home if Charlie goes with him, and Charlie promises. Charlie succeeds in winning Sasha's love—but just as this happens, the collars vanish, and he and Itchy are once again "insubstantial", as Red put it. Charlie then goes back to Red for a new collar. Red agrees to this—after Charlie has offered him Gabriel's horn in exchange. Red then reveals his fiendish feline form to Charlie and Itchy. Charlie then brings Red the horn, and Red plays it and all of the angel dogs are drawn out of Heaven into the island prison Alcatraz. As Charlie, Itchy, and Sasha are about to take David home by rowboat, they see what Red is doing, and Itchy says that they have to do something. Charlie realizes that it's his own fault, and that he's the one who has to do something. Red then turns himself into a 40-foot-tall giant cat demon, and just as he's about to destroy Charlie, Red is stopped by Itchy, Sasha, and David, who have chained him by his tail to a water pipe. Red soon breaks free, and as he's caught Charlie, Sasha, and David, Itchy lunges at him and takes the horn (which Red has been wearing as a ring). Even though Itchy could easily play the horn himself, he distracts Red and manages to give Charlie the horn. Later, Charlie plays it, and all of the angel dogs are released from Alcatraz back into Heaven, and Red and Carface are drawn back into "the other place". The situation would have been resolved much more quickly if Annabelle had sent Itchy to San Francisco alone. Charlie admits that he couldn't have done it without Itchy. This one could possibly work, but it most certainly needs to be condensed as this detail is so big that it feels like it would be more of an effort post than an example writeup.
  • Jun Kazama from the Franchise.Tekken series. It may be such an incredible level of purity that even becoming Unknown hasn't eliminated it. When she returns in Tekken 8, she still radiates with purity that she still sees the potential to redeem her lover, Kazuya Mishima, who in the meantime has racked up even more atrocities that most people would just see him as Beyond Redemption; such thought does not ruin her pure intention to save. While initially lacking context, the addition of Tekken 8 makes it where she might qualify.
  • WesternAnimation.A Bugs Life: Flik remains completely loyal to his colony and his desire to help and protect it. The only time he gives up is when he and the "warriors" are sent away by Atta, but he gets back on his feet.
  • VisualNovel.Akai Ito: Yumei-san. She never take Kei's blood without the latter's consent, she never snaps, she never gets angry at Kei even though her current state is, at least marginally, Kei's fault, she stands vigilant as an Ohashira-sama for about ten lonely years, she saves Kei all the time, etc etc and so on. She stands in stark contrast to another vampirism-capable ghost, Nozomi.
    • In fact, Yumei's theme song was later made into an Image Song (with vocal!), which nicely sums Kei's story in Akai Ito.

    Stated In-universe, but not shown to be Pure 
  • VideoGame.Kingdom Hearts I: The Princesses of Heart (Alice, Jasmine, Snow White, Belle, Cinderella, Aurora, and Kairi) are, by definition, seven maidens of Incorruptible Pure Pureness. There is no darkness in their hearts whatsoever, which gives them strange powers and makes them a Cosmic Keystone when assembled. In later games, the new Organization XIII considers using Rapunzel, Elsa, and Anna as new Princesses of Heart. While this could count as an in-universe example, they don't exactly do anything to really show their purity within the franchise.
  • Madeline Goodlaw, the paladin from Webcomic.Rusty And Co is so pure that a spell designed to give the evil inside her physical form results in an "Anti-Madeline" that is two inches tall. Good as an in-universe example, but doesn't detail her admirability.
  • Manga.One Piece: Monkey D. Luffy is possibly a deconstruction. He doesn’t see himself as a hero (and adamantly states he isn’t one), and yet, despite often being self-serving and reckless, Luffy is still innocent and carefree, with no ill intentions at all. He never actually does anything out of malice either because of his moral values or his naïveté. He is also unable to feel temptation or lust as Hancock's beauty has no effect on him; also in Cross Epoch Luffy is shown being able to ride the Flying Nimbus meaning he is truly pure of heart. Good details for an in-universe example, but the fact he can be self-serving and reckless doesn't exactly come off as pure.
  • Played for laughs in a story in ComicBook.Judge Dredd, where the titular Judge is kidnapped by a fiend-worshipping cult who need to sacrifice a pure soul. An incredulous Dredd asks why they would target him for the role, as he's well aware that he's a brutal enforcer for a neo-fascist authoritarian regime and an all-around asshole besides. They reply that his absolute dedication to enforcing the law fairly and aversion to corruption marks him as "an acceptable substitute", given the Crapsack World they live in. Good as an in-universe example, but blatantly admits that Judge Dredd is not pure.
  • Fanfic.SAPR: Literally the case of Ruby Rose. She is explicitly described as being so pure of heart that telepathic communication with her wipes away negative feelings in people. Sunset herself describes the inside of Ruby's soul like a vast warm white light. A good in-universe example, but does the Ruby perform anything to demonstrate such purity?
  • Film.Scooby Doo, according to the live-action movie. It is for this specific reason the daemons go after him. While he's a dog, he has the sentience of a human, and the same ability to make good and bad choices — but the worst choice he makes is being a bit of a glutton (getting snarly when his friends are threatened doesn't count). A good in-universe example, but his gluttony is too blatant of a corrupting factor for him to actually be pure.
  • Film.Barbarella cannot be consumed by the Mathmos because of her innocence. Could be an in-universe example. Does she do anything admirable enough to be considered pure though?
  • WesternAnimation.Adventure Time: It's eventually revealed that Finn Mertens is pure good since he is the Reincarnation of the Blue Catalyst Comet, which incarnated as a butterfly, a symbol of rebirth. His goodness extends to the point that he tries to beat his purity into others. This is noticeable in the episode "Goliad": when the golem that Princess Bubblegum created turns evil, what does she do to stop it? Make a new one with Finn's DNA instead of her own. The original tries to invoke We Can Rule Together, but because of the pureness, it refuses and sacrifices itself to stop the other. On another occasion, the Lich uses Finn's innocence against him to open up a portal to the multiverse by a means Finn thought would prevent it. Throughout the series, he also has helped countless characters. Despite his Blood Knight tendencies and Hot-Blooded moments, Finn is still a purely good person deep down. Good In-universe example, but his Blood Knight and Hot-Blooded moments are still too corrupting of qualities along with having moments of recklessness.

    Misuse: General goodness goodies and whatnot 
  • Funny.Dragon Ball Z Abridged: Bulma gets a particularly special one this time: while the boys were busy fighting the doubles of Freeza, Cooler, Slug and Turles to no avail, Bulma was taking samples of the pollution brought to the Earth by the machines; deducing it to be pure Naughtiness, she derives an antidote using samples of Baby Trunks' blood, then dispenses it in capsules to destroy the machines from the inside out, rendering the doubles vulnerable to complete destruction. Then she flew off to go after African drug lords. All in all, a nice way to send off Bulma, along with Hiromi Tsuru. Trunks is a baby and thus hasn't developed an actual moral agency.
  • WesternAnimation.Kim Possible: Miss Go; justified because she is the exact opposite of Shego via a Mirror Morality Machine. Miss Go is Shego turned good thanks to a Mirror Morality Machine, meaning she has moral agency issues.

    Misuse: Demonstrates Corrupting Factors 
  • Depending on the Writer, Franchise.Batman also counts as a not exactly nice example. The Dark Knight has the Joker enjoying this fact, as the truly incorruptible Batman provides him an eternal opponent. While there are examples of a pure good Batman, the fact this states that Batman is a case of Good Is Not Nice blatantly contradicts the idea that Batman in the comics is pure.
    • Batman is sometimes depicted as being more incorruptible than Superman. The difference between them seems to be that Superman doesn't want to cross the line, where Batman does but simply can't bring himself to do it. Thus, Superman is good out of a desire to be good, while Batman is good because he is unable to be anything else, which makes him the incorruptible one. So he wants to do bad but can't? That sounds like a case of moral agency issues than actually being pure.
  • Manga.Dragon Ball: Future Trunks is another example, which is amazing in itself, since Trunks' parents are Bulma and Vegeta, two of the most selfish people in the whole series. Though considering Trunks was raised in the Bad Future where humanity's survival was the most important thing to him, becoming a polite selfless heroic Nice Guy was unavoidable. Present Trunks who had none of the aforementioned experience grew up to be a Spoiled Brat who's almost The Scrappy by comparison. This neglects the important detail of how he needlessly and violently slashed Frieza to pieces and mercilessly killed King Cold. Even if Frieza is a Complete Monster and Cold attempted to kill him, this level of brutality shows he does not count.
    • On that note, The trope is listed on character pages with the statement of this being the reason they can ride the nimbus cloud. While that works as an in-universe example, it doesn't give further context how they are pure.
  • Pit and Dark Pit from VideoGame.Kid Icarus Uprising have shown themselves to be this. The best example is the Mirror of Truth, which is supposed to reflect the dark side of someone who looks into it. Pandora tricked Pit into breaking it and creating Dark Pit, but Dark Pit ends up being neutral at worst. However, the game implies that Dark Pit is just as pure or more pure-hearted than Pit, as shown in the Chaos Kin arc. Viridi says that the Chaos Kin only feeds on the purest of souls and the Chaos Kin idol states that Dark Pit was needed to be revived. Hades also says that Pittoo's soul is different from the rest of the souls he could eat. In other words, Pit's darkness is also pure, which says something about his character. While Pit can definitely count, Dark Pit has WAY too many jerk moments to actually be pure.
  • Daisy of Bittersweet Candy Bowl is perceived this way, especially by Paulo, but she isn't quite as incorruptible as it might seem, though she is very chipper and generally chipper and happy. Though in her dreams... It outright states she isn't incorruptible.
  • Manga.Akame Ga Kill: Tatsumi is the only member of Night Raid who respects others. He has faith that the team can save the Capital of the country from corruption, but unlike his teammates, he has an optimistic hope for a brighter tomorrow and sees good within his fellow assassins, encouraging them to grow into kinder people. It's also one of the reasons why many female assassins develop an interest in him. Even if Tatsumi is the nicest member of his team of assassins, he is still an assassin which is too corrupting.
  • GoodIsNotNice.Other Media: Warhammer 40,000: The Adepta Sororitas are described as "shining examples of all that is good about humanity" by numerous Games Workshop sources. Even what are unequivocally the nicest of the Sisters, the Sisters Hospitaller who are beloved across the Imperium as saints for their tireless (and almost always selfless) medical work, will gladly torture a heretic for information and then kill them in a very painful way. If they are willing and happy to torture and kill somebody, no matter how much of a heretic they are, that is definitely a corrupting quality.
  • WesternAnimation.The Ghost And Molly Mc Gee: Molly's cheerfulness and optimism is so strong, she isn't scared of Scratch and cannot be cursed by him, thus she curses him instead. Though subverted in "The (Un)natural" where Scratch manages to convince her that cheating at softball is okay if it helps the Lemmings and the town and she struggles with it throughout the episode before finally refusing to keep cheating. She weaponizes this in the season 1 finale to save Scratch, Geoff, and the other ghosts in the Flow of Failed Phantoms on top of turning the Chairman into a robe full of flowers. While Molly is very optimistic to the point that her ghost form effectively radiates good (Hm... that could be a good name for a trope actually), she has also shown to have plenty of jerkass moments that prove she isn't pure, including her sabotage of Andrea's filming (even if it was originally her film, Molly motivating Scratch to terrorize everybody was cruel), trying to force Libby to have her idea of a bat mitzvah, and has plenty of moments she is willing to cheat. The show is still ongoing there, so there is at least possibility of her possibly shedding these corrupting qualities in the future.

    Misuse: Misc. 
  • In VideoGame.The Binding Of Isaac, tears will turn bloody after damage goes over a certain value. With Sacred Heart, tears will stay white and holy no matter how, as long as Isaac shoots tears. It will also negate the aesthetic effect of many powerups. This has nothing to do with a character being incorruptible.
  • A completely Paragon Commander Shepard from Franchise.Mass Effect falls square in this category. Of course, being the greatest soldier in the galaxy, s/he will end up with a body count few can rival, but his/her pureness can be high enough to convince heavily indoctrinated individuals to commit suicide instead of fighting him/her. Twice. S/He also has quite the effect on various mob bosses: one of them can go from ruthless to respectable leader of a space station, while another can be convinced to turn to charity work instead. However, to truly fit the trope, the player must refrain from using any Renegade Interrupt. That's right, even the blade-breaking one. Morality is player influenced, meaning that if Paragon can count here, renegade would count as Complete Monster, which it doesn't due to the aforementioned reason.
  • Franchise.Dragon Age: It depends on player choices; but the Warden, Hawke, and the Inquisitor can all be played this way in the games. If the morality is player influenced, then can the character really count as incorruptible?
  • Oddly enough, of all people Norrin Radd, aka the Silver Surfer, often has this trait. Despite being the herald of a world-eating Eldritch Abomination. One of the reasons they call him Space Surfer Jesus. The main description doesn't provide any details on why Silver Surfer is pure. Meanwhile, the problem with the included quote below is that having a will not kill code is pretty bog standard when it comes to heroes.
    Silver Surfer: I will not kill.
    Galactus: Yet you serve Galactus once more.
    Silver Surfer: I will not kill.
  • For many of her music video clips, Music.Taylor Swift would often wear a white dress signifying this trope. But times change. And how does wearing a white dress signify this trope? Also the fact it says times change? While there is a little bit of context, it still doesn't make sense as what context there is indicates that it isn't incorruptible.
  • AffablyEvil.Web Animation: If the Emperor Had a Text-to-Speech Device: Curiously inverted with the Star Child when he's visiting the Dark Eldar: he plays the trope completely straight except that he's good rather than evil. Since it's emphasised that he's a being of compassion and Incorruptible Pure Pureness, his affability is presumably genuine — but he's also perfectly aware it's literally killing the Dark Eldar, who are fuelled by suffering. It's presumably an example of Good Is Not Soft against irredeemably evil opponents, except that if it's genuine, he also genuinely regards them as his friends, so it seems also like a case of Double Think. Besides, they're almost okay with dying because Good Feels Good even when it's killing you. Many things wrong with this. To start, he sounds like he is a major case of Good Is Not Nice as he is knowingly killing the Dark Eldar with kindness and being perfectly fine with it. Not to mention, the fact he is supposed to be nothing but the emperor's goodness indicates moral agency issues as he is Made of Good.
  • VillainProtagonist.Western Animation: A weird in-universe example mixed with Deliberate Values Dissonance in an episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender, the Play Within A Show "The Boy In The Iceberg" stars actors playing the Gaang as protagonists, with Ozai as the main antagonist. As all the characters are exaggerated parodies of the "real" people, the play version of Aang is a Wide-Eyed Idealist with Incorruptible Pure Pureness, whereas Ozai is a flamboyant Card-Carrying Villain; however, at the end of the play, when Ozai brutally kills Aang, the audience gives it a standing ovation. Although the viewers know that Aang is The Hero and Ozai is a monster, due to a century of propaganda and cultural conditioning, as far as the Fire Nation rank and file is concerned, Aang is the play's Villain Protagonist, despite not actually committing any evil acts onstage. This one just confuses me. While Aang himself could potentially count, the version of him in this play is supposed to be a villain protagonist from the perspective of the in-universe audience. As such, this would make the play Aang be considered an inverted in-universe example as they were meant to be seen as a villain by the in-universe audience.

    Lacking context 
  • Manga.One Piece: Other examples of this include: Coby, Vivi, Kaya, Conis, Gan Fall, Rebecca, Shirahoshi, Sabo, Tom, Queen Otohime, and Vinsmoke Sora. These are just a list of characters with no context on any of them.
  • Fraser in Series.Due South. He's a mountie, gosh darn it! What does being a mountie have to do with being pure of heart? Not to mention how there is no context anyway.
  • Manga.Angel Densetsu: Seiichiro Kitano is the scariest character to be incorruptibly pure. Zero-Context Example
  • The VideoGame.MOTHER series gives us a lot of examples, each of the protagonists; Ninten, Ness, and Lucas. EarthBound Beginnings has Ana and Queen Mary, EarthBound (1994) has Paula, and Mother 3 has Hinawa. List of characters with no context for any of them.
  • WesternAnimation.Jimmy Two Shoes. The entire show is about a guy who is The Pollyanna living in what is pretty much Hell by another name. How does this detail that they are Pure?
  • WesternAnimation.Avatar The Last Airbender: Avatar Aang aims for this. He has faltered (especially when Appa and Katara were endangered), but in the end, he achieves this. While I do feel that Aang could very well count, there isn't much in terms of context here to demonstrate this.
  • Anime.Ginga Densetsu Weed: Weed's son, Sirius, is this trope as well (perhaps even more-so). Zero Context Example
  • Anime.Wolfs Rain: Cheza is a pure character. She does not hate or do evil. Not enough context.
  • First and foremost, Hartigan in Sin City. Largely a modern form of Galahad, the Perfect Knight. And he pulls it off in Sin City of all settings. And how does he pull it off?
  • ComicBook.Suske En Wiske: Suske is so incorruptible that he is generally the blandest of all the main characters. No context and also sounds kinda complainy.
  • In FNAF Crossover All Star, Adrian Clements defeats many villains and they all try to corrupt him, but it always backfires. What does Adrian do to show he is pure?
  • Ophelia and her baby brother from the movie Film.Pans Labyrinth both represent purity. Zero-Context example
  • Pvt. Witt, the messianic protagonist of Film.The Thin Red Line. A case of Adaptational Heroism, since he is a fairly regular guy in the book. Zero-Context example
  • Informed Attribute of the title character in Film.Warrior Of The Lost World. Zero-Context example
  • Sgt. Howie in Film.The Wicker Man 1973. A pure hero. Zero-Context example
  • Kayla from Webcomic.Zoophobia. Compassionate and kind to a fault, she goes out of her way to make others feel accepted. Not enough context
  • WesternAnimation.Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Ol' Drippy is a being made of moss who commits such kindhearted acts that not even Shake's insults manage to faze him. And what are those kindhearted acts?
  • Raki from Manga.Claymore is like that. In fact, this is his only real ability, in a world where humans can not do much against the monsters. Zero Context Example
  • Galahad in Webcomic.Arthur King Of Time And Space: The example only provides a quote which is cannot count as context.
  • The whole point of Ultima IV is for the main protagonist to become this. Zero Context Example
  • WebAnimation.The Most Popular Girls In School: Amberlynn Weggers combines this with Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold. Zero Context Example
  • Literature.Justice Wing: Paragon. “I lied before. I know he’s not a freak. He’s completely not a freak, or a pocket bad guy, or harboring a secret agenda. I know that, because I opposed him, for just a moment — a terrible, horrible moment where I learned what it was to be Paragon’s opposite. He’s good through and through. He won’t ever abuse his power because he doesn’t have it in him. He won’t ever value his own life over anyone’s — even someone we find irredeemably evil. I swear to God, it’s like someone took all the power of Captain Prestige and then gave it to Mister Rogers!” –Antonym, ''The Excelsiors, Reaching Higher'' Quotes are not acceptable examples for context.

Edited by GastonRabbit on Sep 2nd 2023 at 3:36:12 AM

Macron's notes
MacronNotes (she/her) (Captain) Relationship Status: Less than three
Zerukin Ninja Gamer Writer from Palmtree Panic Since: Dec, 2016 Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
Ninja Gamer Writer
#3: Aug 21st 2023 at 9:37:17 PM

Thanks for the ping. Funny how this gets launched the minute before I get off work. In any case I remain with my thoughts. As for names for ymmv, here is the list that I have:

Edit: so it turns out pure of heart is currently a redirect for Purity Personified.

Edited by Zerukin on Aug 21st 2023 at 9:41:49 AM

WarJay77 Big Catch, Sparkle Edition from The Void (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
Big Catch, Sparkle Edition
#4: Aug 21st 2023 at 9:42:07 PM

I'm... not sure about a YMMV split. Complete Monster has proven to be such a difficult and time consuming trope to pin down and get characters for, so I really can't imagine a heroic version of it would work in this day and age without any clear metrics or ways to determine who fits (and I really don't want an EP thread for it).

Like, I can see the issue with the examples, but they don't really point me in the direction of "actually subjective". It seems to prove that people don't know how to pin down what pure goodness is, and just try to attach it to characters who seem pure-hearted or are called out as particularly pure in-universe. That exact issue wouldn't get resolved with a YMMV move, all a YMMV move would actually do is remove one of the more clear metrics we may have to determine if an example fits (the in-universe designation) while opening the floodgates to more misuse on the basis of "well I think this character is pure".

Current Project: Incorruptible Pure Pureness
RandomTroper123 She / Her from I'll let you guess... (Not-So-Newbie) Relationship Status: [TOP SECRET]
She / Her
#5: Aug 21st 2023 at 10:25:43 PM

I like the split option since I feel whether or not a character is pure good is (or at least can be) subjective and I feel both concepts are tropeable.

That said, I'm unsure about having the YMMV trope function like Complete Monster and Magnificent Bastard partly because how much of a hassle it can cause for a character to be one or the other (let alone both). Still, assuming it is approved by the thread and regardless if it functions like MB/CM, I do like the name suggestions Zerukin gave at[up][up] sans Pure of Heart for the reason he pointed out.

Orbiting Since: Nov, 2014 Relationship Status: Giving love a bad name
#6: Aug 21st 2023 at 10:55:43 PM

I agree with Warjay, I think there are significant problems with making a YMMV version of it, and I definitely don't want it to require effort posts. The less tropes that require two full-time threads just to maintain them, the better. I'd rather just make it in-universe examples only.

amathieu13 Since: Aug, 2013
#7: Aug 21st 2023 at 10:56:05 PM

While I get the idea of making this into YMMV since it already is written to be the opposite of Complete Monster, I'm just going to say that I don't think we should be making more tropes like Complete Monster and Magnificent Bastard due to all of the issues they've been at the center of and maintenance they require and I worry that this trope will very easily become just like those.

The way I see it, I agree with WarJay and think it'd be better off tightening the definition and renaming rather than throwing all objectivity away. Focusing more on the need for characters to be treated in universe as embodiments of moral goodness who have to also be shown choosing the morally good option even when presented with other choices.

Echidna from Ontario, Canada Since: Aug, 2021 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
#8: Aug 21st 2023 at 11:04:37 PM

I was just send by this now I do not want to get too involved in it but I do feel a YMMV is needed for this honestly. The trope has been consistently abused non stop and it even has completely false info and some of the write up needs works no matter what. Hell too many of them has missing infos and almost all the entries written can be wrong sometimes.

I know it’s far fetched but it does prove the abuse is there. If we kept it this abuse that was endured will honestly keep going no matter what. However I do also see Warjay reasonings either way with argument honestly but if it’s others choice for this imo. So yeah, all I am saying is that if always keeps happening for years then it would be required and I feel it would be necessary for mandatory step.

[down][down] I know that it there is a chance it would not fix the problem. You never know if it would do good then more bad imo if it happens. I did see the same with MB but I don’t want to go off topic since I am aware the info was years ago before the thread started but this is one example that comes to mind. But all I am saying is if that’s ok with you then I guess I will not argue with you.

Edited by Echidna on Aug 21st 2023 at 2:21:58 PM

Yindee Just stoic wisdom. from New England Since: Jul, 2016
Just stoic wisdom.
WarJay77 Big Catch, Sparkle Edition from The Void (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
Big Catch, Sparkle Edition
#10: Aug 21st 2023 at 11:15:57 PM

[up][up] Which ones have wrong / missing info (aside from the ZCE pile)? And how will making this YMMV fix a problem like that?

Current Project: Incorruptible Pure Pureness
Adept (Holding A Herring) Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
#11: Aug 21st 2023 at 11:21:13 PM

As someone who never saw the point of Complete Monster's existence, I see even less of a point of having a trope that only serves to be its opposite. Just like Five Bad Band isn't automatically a tropeworthy concept just because Five-Man Band exists.

I could see a trope for someone who's so morally upright that they're immune to temptation or other corrupting influences such as The Virus or The Corruption (Immune to Corruption?), but not a trope whose definition is basically a really vague "character is really, really, good".

There's also the fact that the terms used in the trope name aren't necessarily indicative of moral character (we have Pure Is Not Good after all), and we have other, better defined tropes for characters who embodies goodness or moral character, such as Ideal Hero, All-Loving Hero, The Paragon, Made of Good, etc.

Personally, I'd just disambig, and yard any other tropeworthy ideas.

Edited by Adept on Aug 22nd 2023 at 1:22:31 AM

WarJay77 Big Catch, Sparkle Edition from The Void (Troper Knight) Relationship Status: Armed with the Power of Love
Big Catch, Sparkle Edition
#12: Aug 21st 2023 at 11:22:31 PM

I could see a trope for someone who's so morally upright that they're immune to temptation or other corrupting influences

TBH this is actually what I thought the trope was until I saw the wick check and realized that my take of the trope was way off from what everyone else thought.

Current Project: Incorruptible Pure Pureness
Adept (Holding A Herring) Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
#13: Aug 21st 2023 at 11:27:58 PM

[up]Well, if the first paragraph of the trope description is believed, that's how the trope is supposed to be defined

They are completely and utterly incorruptible. The natural bane of The Corrupter, and immune to The Corruption.

While the people around them can be tempted by power, fame, sex, money, or love, this character is immune to succumbing to temptations.

amathieu13 Since: Aug, 2013
#14: Aug 21st 2023 at 11:33:16 PM

[up][up][up]This I also agree with and the idea of being incorruptible was the point I was trying to get across in my earlier post. If there aren't enough examples like that to rework the trope, then disambig and yard

ElRise I fix my examples all the time from The Dying City (Season 2) Relationship Status: Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free
I fix my examples all the time
#15: Aug 21st 2023 at 11:54:55 PM

I'm open to all options except YMMV.

Graffiti Wall
Echidna from Ontario, Canada Since: Aug, 2021 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
#16: Aug 22nd 2023 at 12:01:41 AM

Well I do see why the YMMV thing wouldn’t be there but I am ok with all the options. If that’s what you want then I guess I will respect it unless something happened even once then the YMMV is needed.

Karxrida The Unknown from Eureka, the Forbidden Land Since: May, 2012 Relationship Status: I LOVE THIS DOCTOR!
The Unknown
#17: Aug 22nd 2023 at 1:34:41 AM

Not a fan of a YMMV version per reasons already stated.

Don't really care if we disambig, rename (throwing out Too Pure To Corrupt while I'm at it) or tighten the definition and clean up what's left, but I will say I'm in the same camp as WayJay. I was under the impression that the passage Adept brought up was pretty much the trope definition.

Edited by Karxrida on Aug 22nd 2023 at 1:39:26 AM

If a tree falls in the forest and nobody remembers it, who else will you have ice cream with?
MorganWick (Elder Troper)
#18: Aug 22nd 2023 at 1:48:41 AM

Original YKTTW. I think there was always a bit more to it than "too pure to corrupt" but it's not a good sign that from the start it was identified as one of the Common Mary Sue Traits.

Karxrida The Unknown from Eureka, the Forbidden Land Since: May, 2012 Relationship Status: I LOVE THIS DOCTOR!
The Unknown
#19: Aug 22nd 2023 at 1:52:54 AM

It says the draft was nuked, but I assume that's some weird holdover from how old the YKTTW is.

I actually think the description there isn't that bad considering the era it came from, but the trope seems like it might have been pushed out super underbaked regardless.

Edited by Karxrida on Aug 22nd 2023 at 1:53:20 AM

If a tree falls in the forest and nobody remembers it, who else will you have ice cream with?
AudioSpeaks2 He/Him (Greenhorn) Relationship Status: Oh my word! I'm gay!
He/Him
#20: Aug 22nd 2023 at 1:53:05 AM

[up] Granted, Mary Sue wasn’t Definition Only yet nor was it as contentious then. Unless I’m mistaken.

Edited by AudioSpeaks2 on Aug 22nd 2023 at 4:58:13 PM

Art Museum Curator and frequent helper of the Web Original deprecation project
GastonRabbit Sounds good on paper (he/him) from Robinson, Illinois, USA (General of TV Troops) Relationship Status: I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me
Sounds good on paper (he/him)
#21: Aug 22nd 2023 at 2:20:33 AM

I'm fine with tightening the definition and renaming, and against making this YMMV. I'd also rather not split due to the inconsistent usage the wick check picked up, but I'm against that to a lesser extent than making this YMMV.

Edited by GastonRabbit on Aug 22nd 2023 at 4:20:55 AM

Patiently awaiting the release of Paper Luigi and the Marvelous Compass.
amathieu13 Since: Aug, 2013
#22: Aug 22nd 2023 at 2:59:40 AM

Just to add more weight to the idea that this was meant to be a trope about a character who cannot be corrupted in-universe (and not some abstracted/subjective "this character is very morally good"), Only the Pure of Heart links to it directly:

Some things are just too good to let everybody get their hands on; they might be too rare, too dangerous or maybe just too evil to start dishing out all willy-nilly. However, people with pure hearts will have the chance to access things less pure-hearted people cannot

GastonRabbit Sounds good on paper (he/him) from Robinson, Illinois, USA (General of TV Troops) Relationship Status: I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me
Sounds good on paper (he/him)
#23: Aug 22nd 2023 at 3:36:04 AM

[up]I'm more strongly against splitting between objective and subjective, then. I'm still fine with tightening the description and renaming, and still against making it YMMV.

Edited by GastonRabbit on Aug 22nd 2023 at 5:37:17 AM

Patiently awaiting the release of Paper Luigi and the Marvelous Compass.
MasterN Berserk Button: misusing Berserk Button from Florida- I mean Unova Since: Aug, 2016 Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
#24: Aug 22nd 2023 at 7:14:16 AM

Maybe we could rename and add a requirement that a character is repeatedly tempted by malicious forces and always resists/rejects the temptation? I definitely do not want another proposal thread.

One of these days, all of you will accept me as your supreme overlord.
themayorofsimpleton Now a lurker. Thanks for everything. | he/him from Elsewhere (Experienced, Not Yet Jaded) Relationship Status: Abstaining
Now a lurker. Thanks for everything. | he/him
#25: Aug 22nd 2023 at 7:27:29 AM

[tdown] to a proposal thread. Only CM and MB so far have had that and had it work.

Undecided on rename vs. disambig.

TRS Queue | Works That Require Cleanup of Complaining | Troper Wall

Trope Repair Shop: Incorruptible Pure Pureness
29th Aug '23 11:55:45 PM

Crown Description:

Incorruptible Pure Pureness is being redefined as characters being portrayed in-universe as untemptable/incorruptible and renamed. What should the trope's new name be?

Total posts: 73
Top