History FaceOfAThug / Literature

* In ''Literature/InfiniteJest'', the massive Don Gately is normally a shy, decent fellow who'd prefer to live a quiet life. His addictions, though, lead him to be employed as muscle for a local gangster. His understanding boss reserves Don for jobs that don't require much in the way of sadism, either letting his gigantic presence do the intimidation for him, or using him to efficiently wipe the floor with somebody whose multiple chances have run out.

* Simon from ''Literature/{{Durarara}}'' is a friendly, peaceful and intelligent sushi tout. He is ''also'' a seven-foot-tall ScaryBlackMan that tends to scare off passers-by with his mere presence. Interestingly enough, the [[HairTriggerTemper really]] [[SuperStrength dangerous]] [[UnstoppableRage guy]] in the show, Shizuo, is a slim blond {{bishonen}}, and so unfortunate people sometimes [[UnderestimatingBadassery underestimate him]] and are crushed by flying vending machines.

* ''Literature/CradleSeries'': Lindon, one of the nicest people in a world of assholes where MoralMyopia and MightMakesRight is the order of the day, is big, broad-shouldered, with a rough face that always looks like he's scowling. This has gotten him in trouble a ''lot''. Despite being unfailingly polite to everyone he meets, people just think he's mocking them and jump straight to violence. Unfortunately for him, the problem only gets worse as he ascends through the hierarchy of [[SupernaturalMartialArts sacred artists]] and collects one PowerUpgradingDeformation after another through a combination of desperation, pragmatism, and bad luck. By the later books, he's practically a HumanoidAbomination in appearance, and has serious difficulty convincing strangers not to attack him or (more often) run away in terror.
* ''Literature/ADealWithADemon:'' In ''The Dragon's Bride'', Sol looks like a fearsome, brutish dragon man monster but is actually a rather caring husband, family man and king to his people.
* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' has Captain - later Commander - Sam Vimes, who grew up on the streets, had an extremely limited education (which he is very conscious of), and was part of a gang before joining the Watch. He generally looks rumpled, badly shaven, bad-tempered, and badly in need of a drink (which he can't have, as former alcoholic). He is usually drawn by official artists as looking either like an older Creator/ClintEastwood or Creator/PetePostlethwaite, and one character notes that he has hands like a bag of walnuts. During a time-travelling incident, a young [[spoiler: Havelock Vetinari]] - a notably good reader of people - explicitly refers to him as a thug who thinks with his muscles... then adds in astonishment that ''at every single moment'' he's overruling them.

** "Cujo" Hendricks, chief enforcer to mob boss John Marcone, looks like a brute who beats people up for money, and does... but only because [[PunchClockVillain that's his job]]; he's naturally inclined more to talking things out. Left to his own devices he's much happier reading up for his [[GeniusBruiser philosophy degree]].

* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'': Frodo decides to trust [[KingIncognito Strider]] in spite of his appearance, saying that an agent of the Enemy would "look fairer, and feel fouler" — something of an InformedAttribute, because every servant of Sauron that we ''do'' meet throughout the story looks hideously monstrous.
* T.H. White's ''Literature/TheOnceAndFutureKing'' depicts Lancelot as this, being described as deformed and simian. You'd expect him to be some kind of craven monster or a victim of AdaptationalVillainy, but he's actually every bit as noblehearted as your traditional Lancelot. As far as he's concerned, life dealt him a crappy hand and he's going to make the most of it.
* Lucas Davenport from John Sandford's ''Prey'' novels has a scar across his face from a rogue fish hook accident and, later, a tracheotamy scar on his neck. While being a well-known cop and the main character of a long-running detective novel series, pretty much everyone agrees that he looks like a thug or tough guy. Of course, that often works to his personal advantage.
* In ''Literature/TheRecordOfUnusualCreatures'', Y'zaks has a thug-like face. This combined with a exceptionally strong physique makes everyone in the southern suburb (where the cast lives) terrified when they first meet him, to the point of cashiers would automatically opening the cash register when he walks into a store, assuming he is a robber. A few veterans even formed a neighborhood watch to keep an eye on him. This gets even worse when he is walking along with his daughter Y'lizabet, as the police assumed he is a child kidnapper. Of course once everyone gets to know him they figure out that he is a very kind person, and he often helps out his neighbors.

** Sigismund Dijkstra is described as looking like a sleepy, sloppy dimwit. Which is exactly how he wants it. Beneath his piggish looks, he's scarily capable as Redania's spymaster and advisor to its previous king, a farseeing ruler should there be a need to be one and can intimidate [[FourStarBadass Isengrim Faoiltiarna]] with his presence alone. He's also quite cultured, at some point mentioning that he wanted to play the title character in a production of the Witcher-verse version of Hamlet but could only get the part of a halbardier.
* ''Literature/WolfHall'': Thomas Cromwell actually ''is'' a former thug, being a brawling youth and a cutthroat mercenary as a young man. The older Cromwell wants to leave this past behind, and is a charming and erudite man who is a loving father and husband and strives to be the opposite of his own [[AbusiveParents abusive drunk of a father]]. Consequently, he's stung by a comment that he looks like a killer, and after his family sees Holbein's portrait of him, in which he looks particularly frightening, he brings up the comment to his son and is disappointed to learn that [[EveryoneKnewAlready everyone had long thought he had the face of a killer]]. However, Cromwell [[NotHelpingYourCase undermines himself]], since despite his unease with his appearance and past, he [[IResembleThatRemark frequently bullies others and uses his thuggish reputation to get results]].

* Draco wants to traverse the Forbidden Forest with Fang in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone'' because the dog looks huge and intimidating but is horrified to discover that appearances are only skin deep and the huge dog is just a lovable coward.
* ''Literature/SamTheCatDetective'': In ''The Maltese kitten'', Sam initially views Slasher as nothing more than a weathered, swaggering, hot-tempered alley cat, and Jimmy as a hulking brute. Then he sees Jimmy laugh off some damage Slasher caused to the merchandise in Jimmy's store and nuzzle the cat's cheek while Slasher looks up at him adoringly.
* Geralt from ''Franchise/TheWitcher'' is described like this in the books. He somehow manages to get all the girls anyway. On the other hand, [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys not too hard to believe]].
** Sigismund Dijkstra is described as looking like a sleepy, sloppy dimwit. Which is exactly how he wants it. Beneath his piggish looks, he's scarily capable as Redania's spymaster and advisor to its previous king, a farseeing ruler should there be a need to be one and can intimidate [[FourStarBadass Isengrim Faoiltiarna]] with his presence alone. He's also quite cultured, at some point mentioning that he wanted to play the title character in a production of the Witcher-verse version of Hamlet but could only get the part of a halbardier.
* Lucas Davenport from John Sandford's ''Prey'' novels has a scar across his face from a rogue fish hook accident and, later, a tracheotamy scar on his neck. While being a well-known cop and the main character of a long-running detective novel series, pretty much everyone agrees that he looks like a thug or tough guy. Of course, that often works to his personal advantage.

* Archmaester Marwyn from ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'':
-->''"Marwyn wore a chain of many metals around his bull’s neck. Save for that, he looked more like a dockside thug than a maester. His head was too big for his body, and the way it thrust forward from his shoulders, together with that slab of jaw, made him look as if he were about to tear off someone’s head."''

* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' has Captain - later Commander - Sam Vimes, who grew up on the streets, had an extremely limited education (which he is very conscious of), and was part of a gang before joining the Watch. He generally looks rumpled, badly shaven, bad-tempered, and badly in need of a drink (which he can't have, as former alcoholic). He is usually drawn by official artists as looking either like an older Creator/ClintEastwood or Creator/PetePostlethwaite, and one character notes that he has hands like a bag of walnuts. During a time-travelling incident, a young [[spoiler: Havelock Vetinari]] - a notably good reader of people - explicitly refers to him as a thug who thinks with his muscles... then adds in astonishment that ''at every single moment'' he's overruling them.
* PlayedWith in the character of Thomas Cromwell in ''Literature/WolfHall''. Cromwell actually ''is'' a former thug, being a brawling youth and a cutthroat mercenary as a young man. The older Cromwell wants to leave this past behind, and is a charming and erudite man who is a loving father and husband and strives to be the opposite of his own [[AbusiveParents abusive drunk of a father]]. Consequently, he's stung by a comment that he looks like a killer, and after his family sees Holbein's portrait of him, in which he looks particularly frightening, he brings up the comment to his son and is disappointed to learn that [[EveryoneKnewAlready everyone had long thought he had the face of a killer]]. However, Cromwell [[NotHelpingYourCase undermines himself]], since despite his unease with his appearance and past, he [[IResembleThatRemark frequently bullies others and uses his thuggish reputation to get results]].
* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' has 'Cujo' Hendricks, chief enforcer to mob boss John Marcone. He looks like a brute who beats people up for money, and does... but only because that's his job; he's naturally inclined more to talking things out. Left to his own devices he'd be much happier reading up for his [[GeniusBruiser philosophy degree]].
** Harry gets hit with this as well. He's tall, like professional basketball player tall, and has a long face that tends to be bruised and battered due to the unfriendly characters he encounters in the books. He also likes to wear an [[BadassLongcoat ankle-length leather duster]] in all weather. He went to a friend's family reunion at a park, and within seconds was asked to leave because he was scaring people. Later in the series, guards at a high-class function hesitate about letting him in even though he's in a tuxedo on the grounds that in him "they recognised one of their own kind, one who was taller and had better scars than they did." Other people, especially in the earlier novels, also comment that he doesn't look all that bright, which he [[ObfuscatingStupidity plays up when it suits his purposes]].
* ''Literature/TheBelgariad'''s GuileHero Silk has a remarkably untrustworthy face that draws frequent comparisons to rats. He still manages to act as one of his country's best spies and becomes a wildly successful merchant prince, but complains that if he'd had a more honest face, he would have been able to own the world. However, while Silk is a nice guy and definitely a hero his concept of morality on the subject of "things that belong to other people" is somewhat flexible, so this may not be an example of the trope in the purest sense.
* ''Literature/TheElenium'''s Sparhawk is like this, from his stern demeanor, his enormous size and strength, and the nose his childhood friend broke in their youth. It's suggested that he was no looker at the best of times, but his broken nose is said to twist his face and make him appear ugly and cruel. But, despite this, and the black enameled armor his order wears, he is one of the most noble around.

* This is the way Ian Fleming originally envisioned Literature/JamesBond. The very first chapter in ''Literature/CasinoRoyale'' describes his face while sleeping as "a taciturn mask, ironical, brutal, and cold."
** In ''Literature/TheSpyWhoLovedMe'', the viewpoint character is Vivienne Michel, a hotel employee who gets captured by thugs who plan to rape and murder her before burning the hotel down for an InsuranceFraud scam. She is saved when James Bond shows up asking for a room, but she at first assumes he is a partner to the thugs because of his looks.
** In ''Literature/OctopussyAndTheLivingDaylights'', Bond makes his first appearance in "Octopussy" standing in Major Smythe's house. Smythe immediately realizes that his crimes have been found out simply by how cold and serious Bond looks when laying eyes upon him.

* T.H. White's ''Literature/TheOnceAndFutureKing'' depicts Lancelot as this, being described as deformed and simian. You'd expect him to be some kind of craven monster or a victim of AdaptationalVillainy, but he's actually every bit as noblehearted as your traditional Lancelot. As far as he's concerned, life dealt him a crappy hand and he's going to make the most of it.
* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'': Keets Freely, a member of the Erased resistance group, is mistaken for a professional criminal the first time he meets a POV character.
* ''Literature/CradleSeries'': Lindon, one of the nicest people in a world of assholes where MoralMyopia and MightMakesRight is the order of the day, is big, broad-shouldered, with a rough face that always looks like he's scowling. This has gotten him in trouble a ''lot''. Despite being unfailingly polite to everyone he meets, people just think he's mocking them and jump straight to violence. Unfortunately for him, the problem only gets worse as he ascends through the hierarchy of [[SupernaturalMartialArts sacred artists]] and collects one PowerUpgradingDeformation after another through a combination of desperation, pragmatism, and bad luck. By the later books, he's practically a HumanoidAbomination in appearance, and has serious difficulty convincing strangers not to attack him or (more often) run away in terror.
* A rare female example in ''Literature/LoneHuntress.'' Lisa is a few inches shy of seven feet in height, has the musculature of a professional wrestler, and the GlowingEyes don't help. Underneath it all she's an EmotionalBruiser with a DarkAndTroubledPast and a [[FriendToAllChildren determination not to let other children go through what she and her siblings endured.]]

* This is the way Ian Fleming originally envisioned James Bond. The very first chapter in ''Literature/CasinoRoyale'' describes his face while sleeping as "a taciturn mask, ironical, brutal, and cold."

* ''Series/Discworld'' has Captain - later Commander - Sam Vimes, who grew up on the streets, had an extremely limited education (which he is very conscious of), and was part of a gang before joining the Watch. He generally looks rumpled, badly shaven, bad-tempered, and badly in need of a drink (which he can't have, as former alcoholic). He is usually drawn by official artists as looking either like an older Creator/ClintEastwood or Creator/PetePostlethwaite, and one character notes that he has hands like a bag of walnuts. During a time-travelling incident, a young [[spoiler: Havelock Vetinari]] - a notably good reader of people - explicitly refers to him as a thug who thinks with his muscles... then adds in astonishment that ''at every single moment'' he's overruling them.

* ''Literature/CradleSeries'': Lindon, one of the nicest people in a world of assholes where MoralMyopia and MightMakesRight is the order of the day, is big, broad-shouldered, with a rough face that always looks like he's scowling. This has gotten him in trouble a ''lot''. Despite being unfailingly polite to everyone he meets, people just think he's mocking them and jump straight to violence. Unfortunately for him, the problem only gets worse as he ascends through the hierarchy of [[SupernaturalMartialArts sacred artists]] and collects one PowerUpgradingDeformation after another through a combination of desperation, pragmatism, and bad luck. By the later books, he's practically a HumanoidAbomination in appearance, and has serious difficulty convincing strangers not to attack him or (more often) run away in terror.

* ''Literature/CradleSeries'': Lindon, one of the nicest people in a world of assholes where MoralMyopia and MightMakesRight is the order of the day, is big, broad-shouldered, with a rough face that always looks like he's scowling. This has gotten him in trouble a ''lot''. Despite being unfailingly polite to everyone he meets, people just think he's mocking them and jump straight to violence.

* Mangiafuoco in ''Literature/TheAdventuresOfPinocchio'' is described as ugly and terrifying, but is not as bad as his appearance implies. He wanted to burn Pinocchio for (accidentally) ruining his show, but felt compassion for Pinocchio when the latter cried for his father, sparing him. Later, he spared all the puppets and gave Pinocchio five gold coins for his father.

* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'': [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/JediApprentice 1]] Keets Freely, a member of the Erased resistance group, is mistaken for a professional criminal the first time he meets a POV character.

* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'': [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/JediApprentice 1]] Keets Freely, a member of the Erased resistance group, is msitaken for a professional criminal the first time he meets a POV character.

* In ''Literature/TheSpyWhoLovedMe'', the viewpoint character is Vivienne Michel, a hotel employee who gets captured by thugs who plan to rape and murder her before burning the hotel down for an InsuranceFraud scam. She is saved when James Bond shows up asking for a room, but she at first assumes he is a partner to the thugs because of his looks.

* In ''Literature/TheIliad'' and ''Literature/TheOdyssey,'' aeveral people refer to Odysseus himself as having "the face of a brute," and recount their surprise when he turns out to be a GeniusBruiser GuileHero.

** Harry gets hit with this as well. He's tall, like professional basketball player tall, and has a long face that tends to be bruised and battered due to the unfriendly characters he encounters in the books. He also likes to wear an [[BadassLongcoat ankle-length leather duster]] in all weather. He went to a friend's family reunion at a park, and within seconds was asked to leave because he was scaring people. Other people, especially in the earlier novels, also comment that he doesn't look all that bright, which he [[ObfuscatingStupidity plays up when it suits his purposes]].