History Determinator / WesternAnimation

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{DuckTales}}'', El Captain was so determined to get the Treasure of the Golden Suns he managed to live [[Really700YearsOld four hundred years]] just because of that.

** in the 19th episode of Season 2 "Emperor Stark" Purple had managed to use his mind control powers on Tony to build him a satellite to amplify said powers, and we learn that IRON MAN WAS STILL FIGHTRING HIM MONTHS LATER WHILE PURPLE MAN WAS RIGHT NEXT TO HIM. Cap may have written the frist book on [[HeroicWillpower Heroic Willpower]] but Tony write the sequal to it.

** A DamselInDistress is ChainedToARail? He scoops her off the track and hand her to the next station master.

* ''Disney/TheBraveEngineer'' features [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casey_Jones Casey Jones]] going through the gauntlet while delivering the mail:

* Captain Clown from the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "[[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE34TheLaughingFish The Laughing Fish]]", who takes a ridiculous amount of crowbar shots to the head. [[spoiler: Being a robot helps with that.]]

* Captain Clown from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', who takes a ridiculous amount of crowbar shots to the head. [[spoiler: Being a robot helps with that.]]

* Many characters in ''WestrnAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'', but especially Captain America and Ms Marvel. As far as they're both concerned, this is humanity's [[PlanetOfHats hat]], and the Kree and the Skrulls definitely understood this after they were through with them.

* Otto Rocket's defining character trait in ''WesternAnimation/RocketPower''. It doesn't matter if he loses, get exhausted, bail on an impossible trick, or even ''has a broken leg''. When it comes to extreme sports, he will never back down from a challenge and will continue playing until he prevails. [[UnsportsmanlikeGloating And when he does, don't expect a friendly gesture from him]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaIsland'':

** Kyle is this frequently, almost always in an attempt to thwart [[{{Jerkass}} Cartman's]] latest scheme.
** Cartman may be a gigantic prick, but when he wants something he'll go to almost ridiculous lengths to get it.
** Butters in "Super Fun Time". Even when Cartman is made his partner for the day, even when he's dragged to a arcade, even when [[Film/DieHard German thieves hold everyone hostage]], even when a grenade blow up behind him and Cartman, ''nothing'' will stop making him hold the fatty's hand and get back onto the bus.
--> '''Butters:''' "Teacher, my partner is ''back on the bus''."

** Sideshow Bob should be the poster boy for this trope. His entire reason for living is to kill Bart. And he goes to extreme lengths to do so, and consequently ruins his own life, repeatedly.

->'''Rainbow Dash:''' Today I learned what the most important quality ''really'' is; a certain kind of spirit; a stick-to-it-iveness. A never-give-up, can-do attitude that's the mark of a ''real'' winner! And this tortoise has it!
->'''Twilight Sparkle:''' Tenacity!
-->-''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''

%%* The eponymous character of ''{{Kiwi}}''.

** Doofenshmirz also qualify.

** Butters in "Super Fun Time".

* Plankton of ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants''.
** Spongebob may be a pushover most of the time, but nothing will stop him doing his duty for the Krusty Krab, whether it's delivering a pizza or saving his boss from execution.

** Series' [[TheHero Hero]] Lion-O also has this quality, though to a more benificent end. In "The Duelist and the Drifter," after suffering defeat in a duel with a predatory MasterSwordsman, Lion-O heads to a forge and stubbornly insists that he'll ''make'' a sword that can withstand a rematch, no matter how many attempts it takes, despite having no training in swordsmithery. A {{retired|Badass}} swordmaker is so amused by Lion-O's determination that he [[LampshadeHanging hangs a lampshade]] on it, and offers to lend a hand.

* Pearl, from ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' is a big advocate of practice and determined study. Even in the very first episode, her advice to Steven with regards to summoning his weapon is to focus on hard work and dedication. Later on, we find out that a lot of the things we associate with Pearl, such as her skills in sword fighting and engineering, [[spoiler: are skills that Pearls are not intended to possess, and which she has only mastered because of her own interest and refusal to give up.]] While she has mellowed a bit in the actual episodes due to her self-esteem issues, pretty much every flashback shows her as nothing short of a assassin badass cutting through gems twice to three times her size (who are later revealed to be [[spoiler: Quartzes, a kind of gem ''designed'' to be strong warriors]]) and even [[GeniusBruiser Garnet]] had been horribly scared of her at one point and never stopped respecting her and her skills.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Underdog}}'' was like this. Not only did ''he'' never give up, even when a situation looked hopeless, he did his best to encourage anyone else who was thinking of doing so. His motto in such situations was, [[RhymesOnADime "If at first you fail your need, try again till you succeed."]] And it always worked.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'', [[BigBad Nox]] is so much of a WellIntentionedExtremist, he's been [[LivingOnBorrowedTime artificially]] extending his lifespan for ''centuries'' in order to continue pursuing his goals. [[spoiler:Rather darkly, when [[DespairEventHorizon the cause for his determination is extinguished]], he [[DrivenToSuicide kills himself]] almost immediately.]]
* Zig from ''WesternAnimation/ZigAndSharko'' never gives up on trying to catch Marina the Mermaid. Even with Sharko protecting her.

* Wile E. Coyote, Sylvester, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, and Marvin The Martian of ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes''.
** No mention of Daffy? He'll do whatever it takes to upstage his rival. Like in ''WesternAnimation/TheStuporSalesman'': the crook can slam the door in his face, threaten to slug him, and so on and so forth, but he is not leaving until he makes a sale.

* Many characters in ''WestrnAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'', but especially Captain America and Ms Marvel. As far as they're both concerned, this is humanity's [[PlanetOfHats hat]], and the Kree and the Skrulls definitely understood this after they were through with them.
--> (''To Vision'') '''Captain America:''' You think I'm fighting for me, to save my own life? That's why you'll never win. I'm not fighting for me. I'm fighting for them! And that's something you'll never understand, machine! It's the very thing that makes us human.
--> (''To Skrulls'') '''Captain America:''' There's more to human beings than our bodies and minds— something you'll never understand. Our spirit! We never surrender! We never give up!
* Riley from ''WestrnAnimation/TheBoondocks''. He's not a very good fighter, but he's able to take a lot of punishment before going down.
* The Exterminator from ''WesternAnimation/TheItsyBitsySpider'' never gives up on trying to get the spider.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'': Tenzin (must run in the family, considering Katara's his mother); it took the combined might of the Red Lotus (four of the most powerful Benders in the world) to defeat him in Season 3, and even then he refused to stay down.
-->'''Tenzin:''' "As long as I'm breathing, it's never over."
* "The Busasaurus" episode of ''TheMagicSchoolBus'' showed Arnold's Determinator side.
-->'''Phoebe:''' C'mon, Arnold, let him go. It's just an egg.
-->'''Arnold:''' But it's Dr. Skeledon's egg. And it's up to ''me'' to get it back to her!
** This episode also ended with Arnold fighting off a ''T.Rex'' to protect the class ''and'' get the egg back.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** Apu Nahasapeemapetillion thinks that the town of Springfield should hire more police officers. In one episode, he mentions that he'd been shot by armed robbers 8 times already this year. As a result, he almost missed work. ''Almost''.
** When Bart was playing hooky, he destroyed a wooden bridge to stop Principal Skinner from following him. Skinner simply walks into the river, momentarily emerging at the other side.
--->'''Bart:''' Oh my god. He's like some sort of... [[GiverOfLameNames non...giving-up...school guy]]!
** In fact, both Homer, Bart, and especially Lisa exhibit this trait when they're passionate about something they care about or have their hearts set on something they believe in, while Marge exhibits these traits for the sake of her own motherly propaganda, usually acting as a foil for her husband and children, by interfering with their interests or trying to outlaw something that they happen to love.
** Sideshow Bob should be the poster boy for this trope. His entire reason for living is to kill Bart. And he goes to extreme lengths to do so, and consequently ruins his own life, repeatedly.
* In ''[[WesternAnimation/{{Thundercats 2011}} [=ThunderCats (2011)=]]]''

* No matter how many times [[WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain the Brain's]] plan for world domination fails, he just gets right back up and prepares for tomorrow night.

* Grunkle Stan from ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'', despite having always been treated as the less intelligent [[spoiler: twin]], spent thirty years working day and night to understand the science underpinning [[spoiler: his brother Ford's]] work, including studying physics for what was almost certainly the first time, considering that Stan [[spoiler: was kicked out of the family home before completing high school]], and attempting to rebuild the [[spoiler: inter-dimensional portal]] with only a third of the instructions.
** [[spoiler: Ford]], too, worked 'twice as hard' at university, and made his way through college and his phD 'three years ahead of schedule'.
* Pearl, from ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' is a big advocate of practice and determined study. Even in the very first episode, her advice to Steven with regards to summoning his weapon is to focus on hard work and dedication. Later on, we find out that a lot of the things we associate with Pearl, such as her skills in sword fighting and engineering, [[spoiler: are skills that Pearls are not intended to possess, and which she has only mastered because of her own interest and refusal to give up.]] While she has mellowed a bit in the actual episodes due to her self-esteem issues, pretty much every flashback shows her as nothing short of a assassin badass cutting through gems twice to three times her size (who are later revealed to be [[spoiler: Quartzes, a kind of gem ''designed'' to be strong warriors]]) and even [[GeniusBruiser Garnet]] had been horribly scared of her at one point and never stopped respecting her and her skills.

* Captain Clown from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', who takes a ridiculous amount of crowbar shots to the head.

** Then there's Wonder Woman in the adaption of ''ComicBook/ForTheManWhoHasEverything''. She absolutely gets the shit beat out of her by Mongul for almost the entire episode and refuses to stay down even though each hit she takes brings her closer and closer to death. She shows that you CAN be on the receiving end of a total CurbStompBattle and still look {{Badass}}.

* Pearl, from ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' is a big advocate of practice and determined study. Even in the very first episode, her advice to Steven with regards to summoning his weapon is to focus on hard work and dedication. Later on, we find out that a lot of the things we associate with Pearl, such as her skills in sword fighting and engineering, [[spoiler: are skills that Pearls are not intended to possess, and which she has only mastered because of her own interest and refusal to give up.]] While she has mellowed a bit in the actual episodes due to her self-esteem issues, especially pretty much every flashback show her as nothing short of a assassin badass that even [[GeniusBruiser Garnet]] had been horribly scared of at one point.

* Pearl, from ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' is a big advocate of practice and determined study. Even in the very first episode, her advice to Steven with regards to summoning his weapon is to focus on hard work and dedication. Later on, we find out that a lot of the things we associate with Pearl, such as her skills in sword fighting and engineering, [[spoiler: are skills that Pearls are not intended to possess, and which she has only mastered because of her own interest and refusal to give up.]]

** Finn's unwavering moral code is what makes him such an awesome character. No matter how often he is criticized for it, or how many times its challenged, he is freaking intent on doing the right thing [[spoiler: even if its the wrong thing by accident]].

* Red Hood, of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' suffered the same chemical bath as the Joker. However, he didn't crack, and he kept this up throughout his career, repeatedly battling whole teams of villains with nothing but throwing knives and grit. His response to electroshock torture? "Ahaha, it tickles!"

* ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'': Brainy has been given {{Offhand Backhand}}s whenever he tries to be near Helga since the age of three… He now has nine, [[RunningGag and he still does it]].