This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Sci Vo: Oh yeah, I meant to ask if I'd remembered Wesley's arc correctly when I edited that bit. I added the part about the character himself deciding to become more badass and not being very good at it at first. Was that right?
Shire Nomad: He was trying to be a badass as early as his first appearance on Angel (as opposed to on Buffy), but realized he sucked at it, backed off, and developed at a more natural rate for a couple seasons. Then came mid-season three, in which, as he put it, "I had my throat cut and all my friends abandoned me." From then on he ditched the glasses, grew stubble, quit with any nancy-boy mannerisms he had left, formed his own demon-fighting team, and started sleeping with Lilah just to make his new status clear, all in the span of a few episodes.
thatother1dude: I don't remember Zuko ever taking on the whole Gaang single-handedly in season 1 (that's not to say Katara doesn't count but it's just not that extreme of an example) she also only won with an advantage of it being night time against an opponent that just went through some pretty bad stuff getting there, and lost as soon as she lost the power from the moon
Wiki: Actually, that thing was talking about Azula, not Zuko. Either way, let's just leave it as it is now. Think we all can agree that entire scenerio has been fully analyzed thanks a whole mess of Wild Mass Guessing.
thatother1dude: speaking of Avatar. After watching "Sokka's Master" I've come to the conclusion that it really wasn't one. It emphasized how he wasn't so much mastering swordsmanship as much as taking a crash course in using a sword (he's already in good shape and knows how to use a bunch of other weapons) and applying his pre-existent resourcefulness to fighting. As his teacher noted it wasn't his skill, definitely no his skill.
Charred Knight: The trope doesn't meen you become a master of something it means you become more of a badass, it just usually happens when a person masters something. Also Sokka is now a competent swordman and he has a sword made with the help of a master blacksmith that is made of meteorite.
Raiko: A quick question. In the main discussion, someone referred to Buggy the Clown having done some serious level-grinding in Badass. Does anyone know where I can find an image of this event? I rather like Buggy's ability, so, naturally, I'd want to see how he's become able to use it.
KJMackley: I took out a handful of examples because while would technically be taking a level in badass (like Spider Man), examples would fall into Let's Get Dangerous!, Super Hero Origin and Depending on the Writer (Mace Windu is a badass in the movies too, Clone Wars just took it Up To Eleven). This trope is where a character has no appreciative combat abilities to contribute to the group, but eventually becomes a tough badass. It's Character Development over "used to be weak, then became awesome."
Incompleteness There also seem to be a few origin stories in there but I think most of them can overlap, except where the origin story is only a flashback.
Captain Crawdad: I removed these:
- Tyrion Lannister of A Song Of Ice And Fire has done this at least twice, first when he rallied a hugely demoralised army to ride against Stannis ("They say I'm half a man. What does that make the lot of you?") and again when he escapes from death row, killing two of the people most responsible for him being there as he leaves.
- Arya seems to be in the process of taking a level in badass, but what the end result will be we don't yet know.
- Sansa might be learning how to be badass from Littlefinger, but again, we don't know how it will end up.
because none of them are good examples. Tyrion had already proved bravery on the battlefield before the described scene. In the second example, he is broken out of gaol by others, and he murders two people who are unable to defend themselves. None of this qualifies as Bad Ass; it's more Moral Event Horizon territory. Arya and Sansa might level up, but they haven't yet.
mgcady
Is there something for Taking a Level in Smart?
KJMackley: With the creation of Adaptational Badass, I removed any examples that boil down to "In this version they were 'so-so' but in the 90's Continuity Reboot they were awesome."
