Why do so many people have the idea that "badass" can only be pulled off in a physical way? Between this and Action Girl, I notice a lot of people think Non-Action Guy=can't possibly be a badass, and Action Girl=the only means by which a female character can be a badass. I'm sorry, but a Non-Action Guy can be a bona fide badass and still play the trope perfectly straight. A character who averts the Action Girl trope can still completely bypass being an Action Girl without having to sacrifice badassery or awesomeness in the process.
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What Measure Is a Non-Badass?.
A character can be protagonist-worthy without being an "action" character or a badass. Not every story needs to be about badasses. It's not a gender thing - non-action characters and non-badasses are better, in my opinion, and fiction needs more of them. Characters that solve their problems with their brains, not their fists.
I made this Idolized Julius Kingsley icon back when Akito first came out, and now that the crossover is actually happening, I don't care.
I can agree that there should be more to a character than about them being a great fighter or a masculine badass
The Milkman
I'm a bit bothered by the current image caption ("Seriously. Man. Up."). It seems to imply that the Non-Action Guy both lacks proper masculine qualities, and that the character is somehow pathetic for not being an "action guy". All in all, it feels vaguely sexist, although mostly it fails to properly complement the trope description. It's arguably better than the old caption, which seemed to equate "badass" with "hero", so I'd rather not go back to that one. Since I don't know anything about Kim Possible, I can't offer much beyond feedback, so does anyone have a better idea of what a fitting caption might be?
Also, I'm of the opinion that the paragraph going on about how fandoms see the trope should either be rewritten or axed, as it seems a bit off-topic, and the last sentence looks rather dated and Natter-encouraging.
This happened because Tim had made a mistake. Hide / Show Replies
Aye, pulled this paragraph, as it's about audience reception, which isn't really important to a trope:
The preponderance of this can vary from fandom to fandom, though the fans might have a point depending on how the character's written. Trying to masculinate him can sometimes turn the Action Girl into a Faux Action Girl if done improperly. This is especially likely if the writers attempt to combine Rescue Romance with All Up to You... again... and again... (haven't these morons ever heard of the Battle Couple?!) You can even see tropers putting little 'Actually, this is why X character is really a badass' statements below some examples, as if it's impossible to be a badass and a Non Action Guy at the same time.
For the caption, it's indeed lame - you might want to post that request here
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- In Mirai Nikki, Yukiteru spends the vast majority of his time running crying and screaming from the people determined to kill him. He occasionally fights back when cornered, but more often than not he's saved by the wrath of his psychotic stalker-girlfriend.
I'm not saying he isn't this trope, but I am beginning to question just how much it applies to him. (On a level of purely physical achievements, he's done more in the first 13 episodes than Lelouch Vi Britannia and Light Yagami have combined in their respective series*) So, wouldn't he just be a downplayed version? I'm just saying.
Edited by 69.172.221.6
From the Main Page: You can even see tropers putting little 'Actually, this is why X character is really a badass' statements below some examples, as if it's impossible to be a badass and a Non Action Guy at the same time.
Well, not that you can't be badass as a Non-Action Guy, but when the page image for this trope is Ron Stoppable cowering behind his girlfriend, it becomes a little hard to list your favorite non-action badass as being likened to that. Not that Ron isn't a badass (the guy certainly has his moments), but it ain't showing in that pic.
Also, as the main article points out, people for whatever reason think that being active is good, while being inactive is bad. Hence why so many tropers tend to see Action Girl as inherently a good thing, assuming that those who don't count as that trope are automatically the Damsel Scrappy. As if to say that unless a female character is an Action Hero, she cannot be badass. If a male character isn't an Action Hero, then he can't be a badass. Never mind the possibility of a Guile Hero using brains to pull of a bona fide Crowning Moment of Awesome!
From the Main Page: You can even see tropers putting little 'Actually, this is why X character is really a badass' statements below some examples, as if it's impossible to be a badass and a Non Action Guy at the same time.
Well, not that you can't be badass as a Non-Action Guy, but when the page image for this trope is Ron Stoppable cowering behind his girlfriend, it becomes a little hard to list your favorite non-action badass as being likened to that. Not that Ron isn't a badass (the guy certainly has his moments), but it ain't showing in that pic.
Also, as the main article points out, people for whatever reason think that being active is good, while being inactive is bad. Hence why so many tropers tend to see Action Girl as inherently a good thing, assuming that those who don't count as that trope are automatically the Damsel Scrappy. As if to say that unless a female character is an Action Hero, she cannot be badass. If a male character isn't an Action Hero, then he can't be a badass. Never mind the possibility of a Guile Hero using brains to pull of a bona fide CMOA!
I'm not sure about the MCU paragraph. I feel like however non-actiony Bruce might or might not be most of the time, there's also the fact he's the Hulk. Maybe there needs to be a bit clarifying how Superpowered Alter Ego first with this trope (mostly they're Non-Action Guys, because if they were fighters anyway their alternate wouldn't be adding much except the powers.)