History Determinator / ComicBooks

** Stephanie Brown ([[spoiler: {{Batgirl}} IV]]), in spades. Her [[AbusiveParents dad]] was the third-rate villain the Cluemaster, her mother ''was'' an addict, she took up crime-fighting to get back at her father, and she basically spent the next several years being strongly discouraged and occasionally tolerated by [[MasterOfTheMixedMessage Batman]]. Then he made her Robin, then he fired her, and then she was tortured half to death. So she faked her death which added to Tim Drake's [[DeusAngstMachina angst]], [[spoiler: but later came back to Gotham City, safe and sound, and eventually wound up as the current Batgirl. She is currently kicking ass under the full approval of Batman.]]

(Spoiler alert:[[spoiler: turns out they can take them]].)

** Stephanie Brown ([[spoiler: {{Batgirl}} V]]), in spades. Her [[AbusiveParents dad]] was the third-rate villain the Cluemaster, her mother ''was'' an addict, she took up crime-fighting to get back at her father, and she basically spent the next several years being strongly discouraged and occasionally tolerated by [[MasterOfTheMixedMessage Batman]]. Then he made her Robin, then he fired her, and then she was tortured half to death. So she faked her death which added to Tim Drake's [[DeusAngstMachina angst]], [[spoiler: but later came back to Gotham City, safe and sound, and eventually wound up as the current Batgirl. She is currently kicking ass under the full approval of Batman.]]
** {{Nightwing}} has the nasty habit of not letting his wounds heal. [[BattleButler Alfred]] once told Oracle he would understand if she had to pump him full of tranquillizers to keep him still.
* {{Comicbook/Superman}}. In Emperor Joker, Batman is broken by having himself killed, night after night after night. Only Superman's selfless offer to take those memories (thanks to Mxyzptlk and {{the Spectre}}) enables him to go on. Superman is also seen in the John Byrne reboot boosting a group of Green Lanterns' rings. He beat Doomsday after the JLA had been crushed, the story frequently describing him as never giving up.
** Superman's Determinator status is best encapsulated in the following quote from "What's So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way?", in which he handily defeats a cynical NinetiesAntihero and declares that "Dreams save us. Dreams lift us up and transform us. And on my soul I swear… until my dream of a world where dignity, honor and justice becomes the reality we all share… I’ll ''never'' stop fighting. Ever.”

* ''ComicBook/TheMask'': Walter. He never stops, and appears to be the only being on the planet the mask Just. Can. Not. Kill. (and not for lack of trying, either)

* Basically every main character in ''SinCity'': Hartigan, Marv, Dwight, Wallace...Some of the predicaments that these characters find themselves in are flabbergasting, yet they never show more than the slightest notion of fear in their endeavors.
** The very first Sin City yarn is a prime example of this trope. A HookerWithAHeartOfGold named Goldie was killed, and Marv survived multiple injuries (he had to get himself bandaged up at least twice), including gunshots, being hit by a car and being hit in the head with a sledgehammer, to avenge her death because she slept with him (and [[spoiler: took his virginity ]]), even though in all likelihood she was just using him for protection and felt nothing for him ([[spoiler:though her twin sister Wendy, Marv's companion, did come to care for him]]). [[spoiler: Even when he's on Death Row and they execute him at the electric chair, it takes two tries to finish him. ]]

* ''{{Captain America}}'' defeats superpowered opponents with both his incredible fighting skills...and the fact that he just won't quit!

** For one of the best examples, check out Amazing Spider-Man 229-230, where Spidey tries to stop the Juggernaut.
** Or for that matter Amazing Spider-man 270, where Spider-Man actually * stops* Firelord, leaving the full roster of active Avengers that were riding in as the cavalry to stand around with their mouths agape. When Captain America is impressed, you are officially impressive.

** There's also an issue where Spider-Man is trapped under a huge machine under piles of concrete in an underwater now-destroyed base that belonged to Dr. Octopus. The weight is truly above his super-human strength but still manages to escape it and proceed to the surface. Why? Because he had just recovered the only radioactive phlebotinum that could save Aunt May. Oh, and he did it after taking a beating and breaking an arm, to.

** Also the very first Spider-Man Annual which introduced the Sinister Six where Spider-Man lost his powers and then still went to face the six most dangerous villains he had ever fought one after another because it was his responsibility. [[spoiler:He got his powers back after the first fight.]]

* The ''GreenLantern Corps'' is full of Determinators, with Hal Jordan being a big one. Seeing as their rings are fueled by will power, this is probably a given.

** John Stewart also deserves a special mention. His willpower is so great it overloaded his ring. In one issue he tried to re-create an entire planet and would have succeeded if his ring hadn't crapped out on him do to overloading.

* {{Red}} has Paul Moses, although this is more because despite the fact that he's an old man and retired, several teams of professional killers sent after him and an entire building full of soldiers he has to fight through do not deter him in the slightest. They send wave after wave of men at him and he slaughters all of them without so much as a scratch.

* During the "In The Beginning" arc of ''ThePunisher'', a psychotic Mafia enforcer named Pitsy quickly becomes the subject of Frank Castle's ire. After the Punisher bashes his head and injures his eye in an earlier fight, Pitsy sneaks into Castle's armory and continues their battle. Castle beats him, stabs him and gouges his eye, all the while Pitsy is screaming vulgarities and continuing to attack. Castle finally throws the gangster out a window, where he lands on and is impaled by a wrought-iron fence. [[spoiler:Later, when Castle is engaging other gangsters outside, he is shocked to see Pitsy still alive, walking with a portion of the fence still impaled through his body and still madly desiring to kill Castle. The Punisher shoots him the face with a shotgun, but the gangster still manages to walk a few more steps after that before falling. Castle tries to convince himself these last few steps were just a reflex from a dying body.]]

** John Stewart also deserves a special mention. His willpower is so great that his ring cannot handle it all. In one issue he tried to re-create and entire planet and would have succeeded if his ring hadn't crapped out on him do to overloading.

* Rorschach from ''{{Watchmen}}'':

* Wolverine of ''Comicbook/{{x-Men}}'': Healing factor + PowerCreepPowerSeep + REALLY BAD TEMPER = Pants-wettingly tenacious.

** There's also an issue where Spider-Man is trapped under a huge machine under piles of concrete in an underwater now-destroyed base that belonged to Dr. Octopus. The weight is truly above his super-human strength but still manages to scape it and proceed to the surface. Why? Because he had just recovered the only radioactive phlebotinum that could save Aunt May. Oh, and he did it after taking a beating and braking an arm, to.

--->'''Green Goblin:''' No. No! I kill your true love, you fall in love with someone else. I destroy your life and you build another! Why won't you fall down and die?!

** In ''Spider-man: The Other'', thanks to some mystical Spider-virus, Spider-man is at his deathbed. Weakened, he still does his best to take on Morlun, who promptly proceeds to beat the ever-living daylight out of the guy. He leaves, and Spider-man is rushed to the hospital, with his face so bad that his own wife couldn't recognize him. Morlun shows up, and when his wife defends him he promptly breaks her arm [[spoiler:and comments on how he might eat her as a snack before he moves onto the main course: Spider-man. Spider-man, bruised beaten and barely conscious, overhears this, and promptly gets out of his deathbed, beats Morlun into the ground, and stabs him through the heart. ]] You do not mess with Spider-man's family.
** In ''Ultimate Spider-man'', the Clone Saga. [[spoiler:[[CrowningMomentofHeartwarming He convinces Nick Fury, the guy whose job it is to prepare for the least likely scenarios imaginable, that he will not go insane, and that he will in fact grow up to be the greatest hero of all time.]]]]

** Also the very first Spider-Man Annual which introduced the Sinister 6 where Spider-Man lost his powers and then still went to face the 6 most dangerous villains he had ever fought one after another because it was his responsibility. [[spoiler:He got his powers back after the first fight.]]

** Alan Scott, while not a member of the Corps , ''[[http://comiccoverage.typepad.com/comic_coverage/2007/05/the_highlight_r_1.html wrote the book on willpower!]]''

** In "The Death of [[spoiler: Spider-Man]]" story line, Spidey not only saves Captain Fucking America from a sniper's bullet [[spoiler: by taking the bullet for Cap]], he also manages to find the strength to fight off the Sinister Six [[spoiler: make that "Five"...]], defeating them all. [[Spoiler: Yes, Peter ultimately succumbs to his gunshot wounds, but that's the mother of all Spider-Man {{Determinator}} moments, if you ask me.]]

* TheMask: Walter. He never stops, and appears to be the only being on the planet the mask Just. Can. Not. Kill. (and not for lack of trying, either)

** There's also an issue where Spider-Man is trapped under a huge machine under piles of concrete in an underwater now-destroyed base that belonged to Dr. Octopus. The weight is truly above his super-human strength but still manages to scape it and proceed to the surface. Why? Because he had just recovered the only radioactive phlebotinum that could save Ant May. Oh, and he did it after taking a beating and braking an arm, to.

** Protege? Are you kidding? There is not a single major villain in his roster that isn't at least half again as powerful as spidey. This is what he does.

* The Kraken in ''TheUmbrellaAcademy''. Despite having the near-useless power to breathe underwater, he's one tough mother, and probably the most formidable and successful crime-fighter on the team.

* Surprisingly enough, ''{{Empowered}}'' is one if you think about it. Setting aside the fact that a sane person would have hung up the [[ClothesMakeTheSuperman hypermembrane]] a long time ago rather than put up with the constant [[NoRespectGuy humiliation]] at the hands of almost everybody, her boyfriend once had to shred said suit in order to keep her from responding to an alert concerning a local [[BigBad "Heavy Hitter"]] on the move when so sick she could barely stand (then ''he'' [[MoreExpendableThanYou answered said summons]] [[MundaneSolution with nothing more than a]] [[WhyDontYaJustShootHim sniper rifle]]).

** Colossus is the good-guy equivalent to TheJuggernaut once he gets going. He once scaled a demonically-possessed Empire State Building, which had grown to several times its normal height[[BeyondTheImpossible with his bare (steel) hands.]] Just to free his friends from the demonic influences coming from it [[IncorruptiblePurePureness (which he happened to be immune to)]].

* The titular AxCrazy HatePlague infectees in ''{{Crossed}}''. When they set their minds to committing some sort of atrocity, nothing will deter them. In ''Crossed 3D'', there's a recurring exchange (first seen when the protagonists watch a horde of Crossed topple a skyscraper with nothing more than torches and melee weapons) that goes like this: [character]: "How the hell did the Crossed manage to [improbable achievement]?" [other character]: "Tenacity."

* During the "In The Beginning" arc of ''ThePunisher'', a psychotic Mafia enforcer named Pitsy quickly becomes the subject of Frank Castle's ire. After the Punisher bashes his head and injures his eye in an earlier fight, Pitsy sneaks into Castle's armory and continues their battle. Castle beats him, stabs him and gouges his eye, all the while Pitsy is screaming vulgarities and continuing to attack. Castle finally throws the gangster out a window, where he lands on and is impaled by a wrought-iron fence. [[spoiler:Later, when Castle is engaging other gangsters outside, he is shocked to see Pitsy still alive, walking with a portion of the fence still impaled through his body and still madly desiring to kill Castle. The Punisher shoots him the face with a shotgun, but the gangster still manages to walk a few more steps after that before falling. Castle tries to convince himself these last few steps were just a reflex from a dying body.]]

* During the "In The Beginning" arc of The Punisher, a psychotic Mafia enforcer named Pitsy quickly becomes the subject of Frank Castle's ire. After the Punisher bashes his head and injures his eye in an earlier fight, Pitsy sneaks into Castle's armory and continues their battle. Castle beats him, stabs him and gouges his eye, all the while Pitsy is screaming vulgarities and continuing to attack. Castle finally throws the gangster out a window, where he lands on and is impaled by a wrought-iron fence. [[spoiler:Later, when Castle is engaging other gangsters outside, he is shocked to see Pitsy still alive, walking with a portion of the fence still impaled through his body and still madly desiring to kill Castle. The Punisher shoots him the face with a shotgun, but the gangster still manages to walk a few more steps after that before falling. Castle tries to convince himself these last few steps were just a reflex from a dying body.]]

* The Fabulous Frog-Man is a doughy young man in a frog suit that he doesn't know how to use. But when faced with a villain, no matter how horribly outmatched he may he, he'll never stop bouncing back to give it another go. CaptainAmerica lauds this irrepressible perseverance, but also notes that this can be ''very bad'', saying Frog-Man is the type that makes him fear another [[MarvelCivilWar Stamford]].

* The to be-Saint of Killers from ''{{Preacher}}'' managed to retain his mind even in death by pure hatred of the two men who he had swore vengeance on.

* This is TheHulk to a T, especially when his love ones are in danger. Regular Bruce Banner as well, he tries to save the day even when he ''can't'' turn into the Hulk. With just his Brain and his wits.

-->'''The Thing:'''Hold it! This fight ain’t over yet… not by a long shot! Ya only won on a technicality! Ya didn’t really beat me! Ya’ll never beat me! I’m just too stupid… and ugly… ta know when to quit!

* This is TheHulk to a T, especially when his love ones are in danger. Regular Bruce Banner as well, he tries to save the day even when he ''can't'' turn into the Hulk. With just his Brain and his wits.