“ | I can’t get it out of my head, I f**king dream of it 7 years... Everyday I have this... Sometimes I wake up, and I don’t know where I am... I don’t talk to anybody, sometimes a day... sometimes a week. | „ |
~ John Rambo on how the Vietnam war destroyed him |
“ | That's right, a Toon. We were investigating a robbery at the First National Bank of Toontown. Back in those days, me and Teddy liked working Toontown, thought it was a lot of laughs. Anyway, this guy got away with a zillion simoleons. We trailed him to a little dive down on Yukster Street. We went in. Only he got the drop on us, literally. Dropped a piano on us from fifteen stories. Broke my arm, Teddy never made it. I never did find out who that guy was. All I remember was him standing over me laughing, with those burning red eyes, and that high, squeaky voice. He disappeared into Toontown after that. | „ |
~ Eddie Valiant to Roger Rabbit about his brother's death |
“ | I lost... I lost Gwen, my, um, she was my MJ. I couldn't save her. I'm never gonna be able to forgive myself for that. But I carried on - tried to, tried to keep going, tried to be the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man because I know that's what she would have wanted. But, at some point I just, I stopped pulling my punches. I got rageful. I got bitter. I just don't want you to end up like... like me. | „ |
~ Webbverse Spider-Man to MCU Spider-Man |
Tragic Heroes are part of a longstanding literary concept; these are characters who suffered a tragedy in their lives that propelled a fatal flaw (like pride, for example) that will doom them to fail during life threatening situations, in search of their goals.
Due to their experiences and situation, they are often not in full control of their actions/emotions and hence the reader/viewer can sympathize with them due to them not being alone by choice, but rather by them being (for the most part) a victim of circumstances, despite their best efforts or noble intentions. In a common breeder, these tragedies and misfortunes can also cause these heroes to lose everyone they love and/or have every dream unfulfilled and broken is the most realistic way to turn anyone into a nervous wreck. In fact, they suffer from many parts including:
- Heroes who wrongfully lost loved ones, shaping them into who they are today (e.g. Batman, Spider-Man, Aang, Harry Potter, Tanjiro Kamado, Anakin Skywalker, Kratos, Iroh, Scarlet Witch, Jonathan Joestar, and Barry Allen).
- Heroes who were bullied, abused, and/or outcasted by society but overcame it to become heroes (e.g. Zuko, Amity Blight, Shoto Todoroki, Eleven, Naruto Uzumaki, Izuku Midoriya, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Po, Rocket Raccoon, Denji, and Megamind).
- Heroes who struggled to control their actions as a result of being brainwashed, manipulated, and/or exposed to something that brought out their darker qualities (e.g. Hulk, Winter Soldier, Sensei Garmadon, Zane, Nezuko Kamado, Simon Petrikov, Clone Troopers, Armin Arlert and Henry Creel).
These characters are not to be confused with byronics, who are charismatic characters with strong passions and beliefs, yet are nonetheless deeply flawed individuals and don’t always have a tragic past like these would but they are very similar in comparison.
Note: Heroes who suffer from deep-rooted insecurities or have had something bad happen to them that they didn't deserve don't automatically fall under this if they never had a tragic backstory that shaped them in some way. They should go under the Insecure and/or Scapegoat categories instead (e.g. Katsuki Bakugo, Winnie the Pooh, Gumball Watterson, and Steve Harrington). Also DO NOT add characters that have genuine tragedies but have corrupting qualities and a very heinous side that invalidates it or do heinous and evil actions out of something that upset them in a way that is too petty to qualify as being truly tragic (e.g. Peter Griffin, Mr. Krabs, Eric Cartman, Plankton, Pythor P. Chumsworth, Chloe Bourgeois)
All items (10286)
- A (Alphabet Lore)
- A.C. Eos
- A.R.O.N.A
- A2
- AA2153
- AAARRRGGHH!!!
- Aang (Avatar)
- Aang (Netflix)
- Aanya
- Aaron (The Little Drummer Boy)
- Aaron Cash (Arkhamverse)
- Aaron Dingle
- Aaron Herres
- Aaron Hotchner
- Aaron Pittman
- Aatami Korpi
- Aayla Secura
- Abbie Mills
- Abby (Let Me In)
- Abby Anderson
- Abby Griffin
- Abby Mills
- Abby Schmidt
- Abe (Oddworld)
- Abed Nadir
- Abel Nightroad
- Abi Franklin
- Abigail Jones
- Abigail Lincoln
- Abigail Roberts
- Abigail Stone
- Abigail Walker
- Abraham Erskine
- Abraham Ford
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- Abraham Simpson
- Abraham Tower
- Abraham Van Helsing (Bram Stoker)
- Acacia
- Accelerator
- Ace (DC League of Super-Pets)
- Ace (Doctor Who)
- Ace Operatives
- Ace the Bat-Hound
- Ace Yu
- Acht
- Acid
- Ada & Eva
- Adaline Pratt
- Adalman
- Adam "Kane" Marcus
- Adam (The Hollow)
- Adam (theology)
- Adam (Waxworks)
- Adam Barlow
- Adam Clay (The Beekeeper)
- Adam Davenport
- Adam Francis
- Adam Goldberg
- Adam Heffner
- Adam Jensen
- Adam Kent
- Adam Milligan
- Adam Murray
- Adam Newman
- Adam Park
- Adam Stanheight
- Adam Strange
- Adam Warlock (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
- Adam Warlock (Marvel)
- Add (Elsword)
- Adelaide Wilson
- Adelheid Bernstein
- Adelina Fortnight
- Admiral Bobbery
- Admiral Dane
- Adon
- Adonis (The Kingdom of Ruin)
- Adonis Johnson Creed
- Adorabat
- Adrian Monk
- Adriana Penn (Daybreak)
- Adu Du
- Aegon V Targaryen
- Aelita Schaeffer
- Aerie
- Aerith Gainsborough
- Afro Samurai
- Ageha Yoshina
- Agent 47
- Agent 8
- Agent Bishop (TMNT 2003)
- Agent G
- Agent J
- Agent Kallus
- Agent Kramer
- Agent Olive
- Agnes Brown
- Agnes Jurati
- Agnese Sanctis
- Agni
- Agnès Oblige
- Agâh Beyoglu
- Ahlbi Ur'gaid
- Ahri
- Ahsoka Tano
- Ai (VRAINS)
- Ai Hoshino
- Ai Kamiyo
- Ai Mie
- Ai Ohto
- Ai Otori
- Aichi Sendou
- Aiden Caldwell
- Aiden Pearce
- Aigis
- Aila Jyrkiäinen
- Aina
- Aina Sahalin
- Air Bud
- Aira Blanc Neige Galdinius
- Airazor (Transformers Reboot Films)
- Aisha (Winx Club)
- Aisha Clanclan
- Aisling
- Aja Tarron
- Ajak (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
- Ajax (Genshin Impact)
- Ajay Ghale
- Akama
- Akame (Akame ga Kill!)
- Akane Awakusu
- Akane Hiyama
- Akane Nishino
- Akane Owari
- Akane Tsunemori
- Akari (Hello? Hell...o?)
- Akari Akaza
- Akari Watanabe
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- Akatsuki (Log Horizon)
- Akeno Himejima
- Akeno Misaki
- Aki Hayakawa
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- Aki Ross
- Akiha Tohno
- Akihiko Sanada
- Akihiro Altland
- Akihisa Yoshii
- Akiho Senomiya
- Akiho Shinomoto
- Akiko Yosano
- Akima Kunimoto
- Akio Fudo
- Akira Mado
- Akira Miyamoto
- Akira Nishikiyama
- Akira Renbokoji
- Akira Tachibana
- Akira Tadokoro
- Akira Tendou
- Akito Hayama
- Akito Hyuga
- Akito Sohma
- Akiyu
- Akiyuki Takehara
- Akiza Izinski
- Ako Shirabe
- Akua Aino
- Akuma
- Al Bundy
- Aladar
- Aladdin (2019)
- Aladdin (Disney)
- Aladdin (Magi)
- Alador Blight
- Alain (Kamen Rider Ghost)
- Alakshmi Verma
- Alan Harper
- Alan Keane
- Alan Parrish
- Alan Partridge
- Alan Schaefer
- Alan Wake
- Alantutorial
- Alastor (Shakugan no Shana)
- Alastor Moody