Linking to a past Trope Repair Shop thread that dealt with this page: Lots of Square Hole Round Trope examples.
, started by OmegaKross on Nov 15th 2010 at 5:15:56 PM
The Five Bad Band page says there are sometimes vilianus Lancers (Distinct from being The Dragon)
Edited by MithrandirOlorin
Can we get rid of the Knights of the Round Table Lancelot/Kay piece? It really varies according to the era, place of origin, and the individual story. If we can't agree on which character fulfills the role, it's not all that great of a Trope Codifier.
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I'm pretty sure that Kay is Arthur's Lancer no matter what era we're in. He's everything that the king ISN'T, but he's still his most loyal, although sour and snarky, follower.
Lancelot is more like Sixth Ranger, no matter how you look at him.
Edited by 62.68.146.141
Lancelot doesn't seem to fit Sixth Ranger - by all accounts he was part of the Arthurian circle from the get-go. Sixth Ranger is a trope about people joining late in a team.
Most data I can find support the assertion that Kay is in a sense The Lancer, by the way.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
He DID joined them later. Both in-story and out of it, actually.
Gang started with guys like Kay, Bedivere, Gawayne. Heck, even sir Balin was there before he appeared. Lancy joined much later - at the very least, after King married the Guinevere, and was presented with a Round Table.
Not saying of him being Canon Immigrant in later retellings of the legend, with no mention in earlier stories whatsoever.
Edited by 62.68.146.141
Ah, then I got bad information. I'll pass that on.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Quatic
Weren't Gilgamesh and Enkidu the very first example of The Hero and The Lancer?
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First recorded, probably yes.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
People have mentioned allot of Leia isn't really an example of The Chick and so her being the page image isn't appropriate. But really I think she's closer to being a straight example of The Chick then Han Solo is of The Lancer. I think some nerds can't take that the Five-Man Band doesn't apply to Star Wars at all.
Han and Luke aren't even on screen together for most of the trilogy. It's Leia he has all the banter with.
The prequel tirlogy has better Lancer examples. Obi-Won in episodes I and III and Anakin in episode II.
No Wrestling examples. Perhaps it doesn't usually come to people's minds, but there are definitely Lancers in wrestling History.
Savage, Brutus the Barber Beefcake and the Warrior had all basically been The Lancer to Hulk Hogan.
Can someone qualify as The Lancer only if it's a Five-Man Band? Or can it apply to other Heroic Partnerships? where it's just the 2 of them or perhaps within a Power Trio.
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The Lancer can happen outside a Five-Man Band; a power trio or heroic partnership of some kind can have one too.
That was the amazing part. Things just keep going.
I've removed Applejack from the list. Friendship is Magic hasn't used the five-man band structure much since the pilot, but even then it was Rainbow Dash that was set up as the Lancer, while Applejack was a steady, reliable Big Guy.
The key here is that the Lancer's style *conflicts* with the hero. RD is aggressive, impulsive, mouthy, and physical, while Twilight Sparkle is cautious, responsible, intellectual, and meticulous. RD is also the one who wants to be a big shot. Applejack is traditional rather than intellectual, but is cautious, responsible, and hardworking. Her style more or less meshes with Twilight's, and while the two aren't super close, AJ's perfectly willing to defer to Twilight's judgement and Twilight knows she can rely on AJ.
Put another way, if TS is a blue oni, RD is a red oni, but AJ is another blue oni.
Just a quick question; where does the name "Lancer" come from? Is it a character?
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The funny thing is, my understanding was that the trope/character type was named for the character in Mospeda/Robotech - the "backup" hero, who's more worldly and cynical and reserved than the earnest, naive, hot-blooded young-male-viewer-surrogate capital-H Hero. Thus, Lancer vis Scott Bernard, Han Solo vis Luke Skywalker... the sort also known as the Cool Guy.
Edited by StClair
So, can villains have Lancers as well? As in, have a Dragon or a BigBadDuumvirate situation where the partner acts as the Big Bad's opposite number?
Edited by ArcVaranus Hide / Show Replies
I would guess no technically, since The Lancer is defined in relation to the hero.
Metaphorically? Maybe- I can't think of any examples, though. Usually the the Big Bad and The Dragon have a lot more in common than The Hero and The Lancer.
See you in the discussion pages.
Yeah, but the Dragon is usually seen as a subordinate to the Big Bad. I'm thinking of a character who's at an equal level to the main villain, but isn't the one who takes the lead in their evil schemes.
I suppose the situation would be rare, since you don't see a lot of fictional examples of villains trusting each other like a hero would trust his lancer, least of all in the case of Big Bads.
Let Me Get This Straight...: It doesn't matter how loyal he is to The Hero or his cause, the key thing is that The Lancer is directly on the team (as opposed to an aloof Sixth Ranger) and the opposite ogre to The Hero. Right?
Edited by DonaldthePotholer Ketchum's corollary to Clarke's Third Law: Any sufficiently advanced tactic is indistinguishable from blind luck. Hide / Show Replies
Should a female lancer be called "lancette"?
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