History HonorBeforeReason / WesternAnimation

* In the episode "Full Moon" of ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'', Arnold witnesses Harold, Sid, and Stinky mooning Principal Wartz, and is then given a ''[[DisrproportionateRetribution MONTH]]'' of detention simply because he didn't tell Wartz who the kids were. Arnold refused to lie because he's not a liar, and didn't tell Wartz who the kids were because he's not a rat. After all the [[SadistShow torture conga line]] he is given, knowing that Arnold is just ''that'' stubborn, it makes him come off as a total idiot.

*** And when Homer and Burn's son stage his fake kidnapping in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E4BurnsBabyBurns Burns Baby Burns]]", Marge sentences them to go out and clear everything up ''immediately'', despite Homer's protests that [[DumbassHasAPoint it's broad daylight and there are cops everywhere]].

*** "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E3HomerTheHeretic Homer the Heretic]]" showcases her devotion to Christianity by making sure her family goes to church ''every'' sunday, even during a ''blizzard'', with ''polar bears roaming the streets''.
*** When she becomes a realtor in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS9E9RealtyBites Realty Bites]]" she also shows qualms about selling flawed houses to potential customers, even if the flaws are small or tolerable, to the point of ''discouraging'' them from buying them. (This is in stark contrast to her coworkers, who go on [[ShadyRealEstateAgent the complete opposite direction]]).

*** In "All's Fair In Oven War", Lisa calls out Marge for [[BrokenPedestal sabotaging other food entries in a baking contest]] and tells her to tell the truth... despite the fact that [[DoubleStandard she herself witnessed how all of the other contestants were]] [[AffablyEvil blatantly trying to sabotage her mother's food throught the whole contest beforehand]] [[{{Jerkass}} because they found it a threat to their food]] (even to the point of making her cry and forcing her to start cooking from the start all over again and almost getting disqualified for running out of time). Yes, Marge crossed the line, but the contestants [[LaserGuidedKarma had it coming for the way they treated her]].

** In one episode, the town tricks Lisa. She had cheated on a test (no, really) and her ill-gotten A got the school in a position to be granted government funds. When Comptroller Atkins showed up at a public conference to deliver the check, Lisa confessed and Comptroller Atkins decided due to her honesty to let them keep the money anyway. After she leaves, it's revealed to the viewers that, knowing Lisa would have confessed, the entire town had an imposter disguised as Comptroller Atkins to lure Lisa away and, when the real Comptroller Atkins showed up, they used a false Lisa to trick him.
** On one occasion, Lisa is offered a free ride at the college of her choice if she loses the spelling bee so a cute kid with a lisp can win. Lisa struggles with this, then snaps and tells the entire audience about the fix before immediately misspelling the word she was given. If she'd just tried her best without making a dramatic announcement about it, she'd have lost honestly and still gotten a free education.
** Though in a surprisingly rare case it's averted in "Lisa the Iconoclast", where she ultimately decides not to ruin the town's image of their founder, Jedediah Springfield, by revealing that he was actually a ruthless pirate, because doing so would destroy the hopes and dreams of countless generations of citizens past, present and future that have been built on that lie.
** In one occasion, Bart faked being kidnapped (because he went to a rap concert that he was forbidden to go to and things got complicated), which eventually led to Milhouse's deadbeat father Kirk getting arrested and thrown in jail by mistake. Lisa is the '''only''' person that wants to find out the truth (because everybody benefited from it, including her father and Chief Wiggum -- and even Kirk, who is such a StrawLoser that he sees living behind bars as a marked improvement) and when she decides to investigate on her own the only person willing to help her is Principal Skinner (who made it perfectly clear that he is helping her only because he wants to make Bart suffer).

* Finn from ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' occasionally falls into this. He nearly has a nervous breakdown in "Memories of Boom-Boom Mountain" trying to make everyone happy because he made a vow to always help someone in trouble, and in "Videomakers" he insists on [[DigitalPiracyIsEvil obeying the FBI warnings]] on all their pre-Mushroom War video tapes, even though the FBI was destroyed in said war.

--> '''[[WhoWouldWantToWatchUs Actor Zuko]]''': HONOOORR!!

* Played with in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes''. Baron Zemo agreeds to help the heroes, but only if they promise to let him go. He demands this promise to be made by Captain America, as he knows he's the only one in the group who will not turn back on his word. Unfortunately for Zemo, [[spoiler:the current Captain is secretly a Skrull in disguise, and he has no qualms about lying]].

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}''

* Played straight and then subverted during an episode of the ''WesternAnimation/IronMan'' animated series. Tony Stark agrees to get an artifact from a booby-trapped tomb if Madame Masque will release his kidnapped workers. She releases Julia Carpenter (Spiderwoman) who will send the Iron Man armor but keeps the other workers captive. Julia says that she will send down the armor "and a lot more", but Tony stops her because he has given his word. The trope is subverted almost immediately afterward. Once, Iron Man has entered the tomb, Julia convinces Jim Rhodes (War Machine) to attack Madame Masque and her minions anyway, arguing that the only chance the hostages have is if they attack their captors off guard.
** Taken to ridiculous extremes in an episode in which M.O.D.O.K. creates a robot clone of Iron Man. This robot is such a perfect copy that refuses to attack the real Iron Man when his back is turned, because "Iron Man would never attack someone in the back". This causes conflict with his orders to kill Iron Man, so the robot gets destroyed.

** Franchise/WonderWoman is banished by her mother from [[LadyLand Themyscira]] for bringing men to the island and breaking the law. If she hadn't worked with the HostageForMcGuffin scenario, the Amazons would [[TakenForGranite remain in stone]]. If she hadn't received help from her teammates, Hades could have taken over. ComicBook/TheFlash points out this is ridiculous since she risked her life to save everyone. When the Gods have her return in "The Balance", she says she should leave after completing the task. Hippolyta asks her to stay and when she points out her exile, her mother explains that the Gods will have to deal with her if they have a problem with that. One wonders why she didn't say this the first time other than to have a BittersweetEnding.
* In ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'', [[DarkActionGirl Shego's]] brother [[GoodisDumb Hego]] is this in the ep where it's revealed she used to be a hero. For example: His letting the enemy strike first and revealing their presence became too much for his sister, and became one of the many reasons, if not '''THE''' reason for her FaceHeelTurn.
--> '''Shego''': (Annoyed) Why do you think I left?!

--> '''Apu''': I cannot deny my roots, and I cannot keep up this charade. I only did it because I love this land where I have the freedom to say and to think and to charge whatever I want. I want to stay, but as the real me not as some yahoo from Green Bay.

** In "The Thunder-Cutter", the villains trick the samurai Hachiman into thinking the [=ThunderCats=] are evil, so he agrees to fight them. The villains offer him a lift in a vehicle, but he refuses, saying samurai do everything on their own, so he'll walk and find the [=ThunderCats=] himself. Later, he and Lion-O run into each other on a bridge above a BottomlessPit that is too narrow for them to walk around each other. Lion-O points out that since they are closer to Hachiman's side, Hachiman should be the one to back up and let him pass. He says a samurai never backs up and starts slashing the bridge to intimidate Lion-O. Angered, Lion-O starts slashing the bridge too, ignoring Nayda trying to warn them the bridge will break if they don't stop. Sure enough it does, and only Nayda's quick thinking saves them.

* [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'':

*** In [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderAvatarDay the season two episode "Avatar Day"]], Aang insists on undergoing an unfair trial by the Avatar-hating Chin Village for something he did in a former life.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats1985'' episode "The Slaves of Castle Plundarr", the mutants enslave humanoids resembling cattle. Lion-O, being Lion-O, wants to free them, and he and the elder [=ThunderCats=] do so. The mutants use "warp gas", an anger and aggression-inducing substance, to turn the freed slaves against their rescuers. Lion-O refuses to retreat, saying the Lord of the [=ThunderCats=] ''can't'' run. Cheetara tells him "pride carried too far is ''foolishness''."

* Omi in ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'' actually pulls a FaceHeelTurn ''because of this trope.'' Omi lost his good side temporarily becoming evil. The main villain of the season then had Omi pledge loyalty to him. After he returned to normal, Omi decided to stay with the villain SOLELY to keep a promise he made when he wasn't in his right mind.

* AntiVillain Prince Zuko in ''[[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' begins the series believing he's a disgrace and only his father can restore his honor and his rightful place, but his desperation and his tendency to put his quest for redemption above all else puts him and his crew at risk. He ends the series by wanting to restore honor to the entire Fire Nation.

** Aang is unwilling to outright kill Firelord Ozai, despite everyone, including his past lives, telling him it's the only way. When he looks to the previous Air Nomad Avatar, Yangchen, for back up because of their shared religious beliefs in pacifism, she tells him that his duty is to the world not to himself, implying that he's being selfish. [[spoiler:Plot twist: [[TakeAThirdOption Lion turtle.]]]]
** In [[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderAvatarDay the season two episode "Avatar Day"]], Aang insists on undergoing an unfair trial by the Avatar-hating Chin Village for something he did in a former life.

--> '''[[WhoWouldWantToWatchUs Actor!Zuko]]''': HONOOORR!!

** Aang is unwilling to outright kill Firelord Ozai, despite everyone, including his past lives, telling him it's the only way. [[spoiler:Plot twist: [[TakeAThirdOption Lion turtle.]]]]

* AntiVillain Prince Zuko in ''[[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' begins the series believing he's a disgrace and only his father can restore his honour, with his rightful place, but his desperation and his tendency to put his quest for redemption above all else puts he and his crew at risk. He ends the series by wanting to restore honour of the entire Fire Nation. 'Kay.
--> '''[[WhoWouldWantToWatchUs Actor!Zuko]]''': Honourrrrr!

* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheClone Wars'': Maul abuses the Mandalorian code of honor to gain power. He gains control of Mandalore by challenging Pre Vizsla to a DuelToTheDeath. Pre Vizsla accepts without considering the fact that Maul is a Force user, Pre Vizsla had been previously beaten by the Force using Obi-Wan in the past, and Maul doesn't have Obi-Wan's restraint. Maul explicitly calls honor a weakness.

* Zeta from ''WesternAnimation/TheZetaProject'' is like this once he's grown a conscience and done a HeelFaceTurn against his creators. Ro notes that it would easier for him to escape the NSA's agents tailing him if he'd fight back, but his code of nonviolence is not negotiable for him. And on the odd occasions he ''will'' fight, he won't kill. Ever. The weird thing is that all of this actively goes against his programming and nature, unlike many of the examples on this page.

** Though in a surprisingly rare case it's averted in "Lisa the Iconoclast", where she ultimately decides not to ruin the town's image of their founder, Jedediah Springfield, by revealing that he was actually a ruthless pirate.

* Imp from ''WesternAnimation/SheRaPrincessOfPower'' is a coward who will avoid direct battle not to his advantage. He is also quite cognizant of the fact that his teammates fear of their mutual boss Hordak is the only thing preventing them from visiting great pain on his little body. Despite this, when Skeletor temporarily deposes Hordak, it is Imp who tries to rally the other Hordesmen to fight back... a decision that does not work out in the least for him.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Lisa turning down a fortune after finding out what Mr. Burns had turned the recycling company he and Lisa had started into. What she could've done with twelve million.
--> '''Homer, in a hospital bed after 4 simultaneous heart attacks:''' It's okay, sweetie. But we really could've used that 12,000 dollars.\\
'''Lisa''': Actually dad, 10% of 120 million dollars ''isn't'' 12,000, it's...\\

** Though in a surprisingly rare case it's averted in "Lisa the Iconoclast", where she ultimately decides not to ruin the town's image of their founder Jedediah Springfield by revealing that he was actually a ruthless pirate.

** [[VillainBall Señor Senior Senior]] is probably the worst offender of this trope, believing adhering to traditional villainy is better, which often means leaving Kim in a death trap while giving her a chance of escape. Junior often lampshades this by asking WhyDontYouJustShootHim