History Characters / TeamFortress2TheSoldier

-->''"MAGGOTS!"''

The Soldier is an absolutely insane army man-wannabe who talks like a cross between Creator/GeorgeCScott in ''Film/{{Patton}}'' and Creator/RLeeErmey in ''Film/FullMetalJacket'', bringing PatrioticFervor to up and through the roof and hating everything that is un-American. He wanted to "do his bit" in World War II, but was rejected from ''every'' service in the American military after being found [[Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus too mentally unstable even for national service]] -- so he self-financed a one-man rampage across Europe with the intention to kill "Nazis" and "Communists", and not stopping until 1949 when someone managed to track him down in Poland and convince him that the war had ended. [[http://www.tf2.com/classes.php?class=soldier Meet the Soldier!]]\\

The Soldier is an Offense character whose selling point is his versatility. With a considerable amount of health (200HP), 80% base speed alleviated by his ability to RocketJump with his powerful rocket launcher (making him the most mobile character in-game), and good explosive damage thanks to the aforementioned rocket launcher, the Soldier will find a place in every team and thrives in the thick of battle. The Soldier's rocket launcher allows him to harass at long range and makes him deadly at mid-range. At close range, however, he can rely on a trusty shotgun, which he can then switch with a parachute, several backpacks to buff himself and his team, or boots that can either lessen rocket jump damage or increase his control in the air (with a GoombaStomp as a bonus). [[ShovelStrike His default melee weapon is a shovel]] but it can be switched out to deal more damage at low health, increase speed at low health, buff ally movement speed, or crit when rocket jumping.\\

%%* BookDumb: The ''only'' things Jane Doe is good at are war and killing. Many of his battle tactics defy all logic. To be fair, he ''does'' have brain damage...

* CarpetOfVirility: The cover of "Blood in the Water" shows him wearing a spy catsuit partly zipped open in the front, and he has a pretty hairy chest.

* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Whatever's in Soldier's head would probably not be reciprocated by too many people. For instance, [[MemeticBadass his historical accounts are rather off from what you should know]], though other background material in ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' frequently states odd history such as that as well. He also keeps severed heads of his enemies to line up and act DrillSergeantNasty to.

-->"I am fully within my legal rights as your old roommate to kill your stupid ''new'' roommate! (...) I was sad, you were happy! So I [[spoiler:killed Tom Jones]]. (...) [[HoYay The heart makes its own rules, Merasmus."]]

* EmbarrassingFirstName: Mister Jane. That's right, [[ComicallyMissingThePoint not "Captain Jane" or "Corporal Jane" or even "Private Jane". Just MISTER Jane]].

** While Soldier might be a crazed, warmongering maniac who blows up anyone he considers to be his enemy, it's implied that even ''he'' is disturbed by some of the ways Pyro kills his enemies, notably when they smash a bear's head in with an axe in "A Cold Day in Hell".
* EyeObscuringHat: Has a helmet as his default headwear, and it is tilted in a way that hides his eyes.[[labelnote:*]]Humorously, those familiar with the construction of the WWII American [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1_helmet#Construction M1 Helmet]], after which Soldier's helmet is based, will realize this is a sign that Soldier's helmet is missing its support webbing or the webbing is not properly secured.[[/labelnote]] Engineer even [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] the trope when dominating a Soldier.

* FullFrontalAssault: Getting naked and covering himself in honey is apparently his preferred method of close-quarters combat.

* SerialKiller: His backstory and some comments here and there paint the picture that Soldiers self-funded trip to Europe and his Nazi killing spree was probably him roaming the countryside to massacre rural civilians he thought were soldiers. Even after finding out the war was over in the middle of his campaign and deep into his career as a mercenary decades later he's not bothered or probably even completely aware of his mistake.
--> ''(Post-Match Victory Bragging)'' One time I killed a man in Germany. After the war! He was asking for directions. I am more proud of ''this!''

''Soldier holds "Lieutenant Bites" in his arms, scratching his head affectionately. The raccoon growls and digs its teeth into his arm. Several large, bloody gashes are already seeping out from the sleeve of his uniform. Merasmus stares on in shock.''

* AxCrazy: Even compared to the insanity of the other Mercenaries, Soldier is particularly into killing things. It's implied that his deranged bloodlust was the main reason he got turned down by every branch of the American military.

"Oh hello, [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Gundorf! Where's Blasbo Babbins? Oh there he is! Everyone's here! Labalos, Gimpy,]] [[WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs Dumpy]], [[ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}} Snoopy...]]um... Man, I wish Merasmus was around to see this magical turn of events!"\\

* BadassBandolier: Including two semi-cosmetic frag grenades. You can only use one of them in a suicidal explosion if you've got the Equalizer or Escape Plan equipped.

-->"War is hell! My kind of hell!"

--->'''Spy:''' This... is a bucket. (presents bucket full of "dying wishes")\\

'''Soldier:''' [[LittleNo No...]]\\

'''Spy:''' ''*sigh*'' Does it say you want the buc-?\\

* CreepySouvenir: Has a collection of severed heads taken from the BLU team (which he [[CompanionCube treats like his recruits]] in his ''Meet the Team'' video), and in the comics, his idea of an engagement present to Zhanna is a necklace of severed ears. Luckily for him, she's [[StrangeMindsThinkAlike as crazy as him]].

** When the Administrator offers to kill the RED Demoman in exchange for new weapons in the WAR! comic, Soldier immediately refuses on account of their friendship, even when she plays a fake video of Demo claiming he's a bad friend. He only ends up going along with the deal when the fake Demo calls him a civilian.
** While Soldier might be a crazed, warmongering maniac who blows up anyone he considers to be his enemy, it's implied that even ''he'' is disturbed by some of the ways Pyro kills his enemies, notably when he smashes a bear's head in with an axe in "A Cold Day in Hell".

* TheFriendNobodyLikes: While the Pyro is merely feared by its team, Soldier is disliked by his peers for the way his sheer stubbornness and ignorance always seem to cause problems.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Somehow he went from being rejected by every branch of the military, having no training, and being unable to locate Poland on a map to [[OneManArmy personally killing over 6000 people during and after WW2]].
** Mann Co always hires the lowest bidder. Soldier once offered to pay to build the Decoy map and unlike characters like Demoman who lives in a mansion or Medic who is always spending money on animal organs, is generally on the cusp of being homeless.

* GlobalIgnorance: One of his domination lines involving Sniper has him mixing up New Zealand and Australia. (Sniper ''is'' from New Zealand, but Soldier didn't know at the time.)
* GratuitousSpanish: "Hasta la vista! Feliz Navidad! Hasta gaspacho!" [[labelnote:note]]Spanish for "Goodbye! Merry Christmas! Until vegetable soup!".[[/labelnote]]

-->'''"MAGGOTS!"''

->''"And from that day forward, any time a bunch of animals are together in one place, it's called a zoo!... unless it's a farm!"''

->"And from that day forward, any time a bunch of animals are together in one place, it's called a zoo!... unless it's a farm!"

* SkillGateCharacter: While truly mastering Soldier takes months of practice and effort, learning his basics is far from difficult. Soldier's above-average health pool lets him make more mistakes without as much punishment, aiming at the ground with the Rocket launcher gives some leniency to precision shooting, and his [[JackOfAllStats flexibility as a class]] makes him excel in many situations. What makes him a Skill Gate Character is that a new player can do well in a low-level match, but anyone who hasn't learned how to RocketJump as mentioned before will get utterly decimated in high-level play, where a successful rocket jump rollout is crucial to the start of the round.

and since Demoman mostly relies on his projectile weapons and otherwise lacks any other utility-based melee options, it can be worth it keeping the Pain Train in your pocket if the bullet vulnerability is worth risking.

* BoringButPractical: The Shotgun, which most Soldiers forgo in favor of the utility or passive buffs that his other, non-weapon secondaries give. Carrying a Shotgun around lets the player easily finish off weakened enemies, allows for a Plan B when an enemy ambushes them while they're out of loaded rockets, and won't {{Crippling Overspecializ|ation}}e them out of dealing with Scouts and Pyros efficiently.
* BookDumb: The ''only'' things Jane Doe is good at are war and killing. [[RocketJump Many]] [[StatusBuff of]] [[CriticalStatusBuff his]] [[GoombaStomp battle]] [[ActionBomb tactics]] [[CrazyEnoughToWork defy all logic]]. To be fair, he ''does'' have brain damage...

* AxCrazy: Even compared to the insanity of the other Mercenaries, Soldier is particularly into killing things.

* CloudCuckooLander: Whatever's in Soldier's head would probably not be reciprocated by too many people. For instance, [[MemeticBadass his historical accounts are rather off from what you should know]], though other background material in ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' frequently states odd history such as that as well. He also keeps severed heads of his enemies to line up and act DrillSergeantNasty to.

* PowerfulPick: The once-dreaded Equalizer is this. It was unusually powerful because it granted damage and speed buffs as the Soldier's health was lower. To balance it, the Equalizer's effect was split into it and another pick named the Escape Plan, which kept the speed buff.

* TeamPet: In the Fourth Annual Halloween Special, he adopts a ton of raccoons. Wild ones that bite him and subsist on rancid sour cream he stole from his former roommate's house, but oh well.
** A couple of these raccoons are cosmetics for the Soldier. Lieutenant Bites, who bites onto the Soldier's ammo pouch, and Semi-tame Trapper's Hat, a raccoon which [[HeadPet clings to his head.]]

** As seen in "A Cold Day in Hell", he has apparently been naked and covered in honey many times before.

* CatchPhrase: "HUTTAH!", which he always shouts before breaking someone's neck. Judging by the ''Meet The Soldier'' short in which he utters it while charging a point, it is pronounced "Hutt-ah", with emphasis on the "a".

* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: In ''Ring of Fired'', he complains to Miss Pauling, "Pyro cut off my hand!" apparently in the same tone of voice a kindergartener would use to complain about a classmate tugging on her pigtail.

->Voiced by: Rick May (2007-2020)[=/=]Creator/NolanNorth[[note]]For at least one line in ''Expiration Date''.[[/note]] (English), Vicent Gil (Spanish), Creator/PatrickBethune (French), Alexander Novikov (Russian)

* SerialKiller: His backstory and some comments here and there paint the picture that Soldiers self-funded trip to Europe and his Nazi killing spree was probably him roaming the countryside to massacre rural civilians he thought were soldiers. Even decades after finding out the war was over in the middle of his campaign, he’s not particularly bothered or probably even aware of his mistake.

* NeckSnap: Practically his SignatureMove in the comics, always accompanied by a yell of "HUTTAH!"