History Main / BigBrotherinstinct

* Jay Briscoe had this reaction after [[Wrestling/TheWorldsGreatestTagTeam Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team]] used an [[PoisonIsEvil ether soaked rag]] to defeat Mark Briscoe in [[NoHoldsBarredContest a fight without honor]]. Wrestling/{{ROH}} match maker Wrestling/NigelMcGuinness was able to put off Jay's vengeance but wasn't able to stop it because he could not get the {{obvious rules patch}} he wanted enforced.

* The Hardy brothers, Matt and Jeff. Matt as the older brother, both in story lines and RealLife, often plays this role (when he's not this, he instead is the {{Jerkass}}).
* A group of GLOW villains [[InvokedTrope kidnapped Little Fiji]] to lure her older sister Mountain Fiji out of the arena to ensure Mountain Fiji wouldn't get [[TheAce another victory]]. Little Fiji's opening rap even refers to giving her sister a call if she's in trouble.
* Punk is clearly fond of those he considers his little sisters, in {{Kayfabe}} and in RealLife. During his Chicago Street Fight with Wrestling/ChrisJericho, his opponent proceeded to taunt his little sister who was sitting ringside. She promptly slapped him in the face. When Chris tried to go after her, Punk pretty much lost it and beat the ''shit'' of Jericho, including putting him through the SpanishAnnouncersTable with a flying elbow.

%% Image removed per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1423939329067514100&page=1

[[quoteright:350:[[Disney/BrotherBear https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kenai_and_koda_2_3.jpg]]]]

!!Examples:

Compare MamaBear, PapaWolf, FamilyMan, ExtremelyProtectiveChild, and PromotionToParent. Compare/Contrast BigBrotherBully. While the two may seem mutually exclusive at first glance, they frequently overlap in both fiction and reality: the same sibling who makes their little sister's life a constant parade of pranks may have a IfYouEverDoAnythingToHurtHer conversation with her new boyfriend. Also, contrast with DisappointingOlderSibling when the character either lacks the Big Brother Instinct or is completely ineffectual at protecting the younger sibling.

* Stevie Ray is also a real life example. During his podcast, ''Stand Up For Greatness'', he revealed that when he heard that Wrestling/MikeAwesome had hurt his younger brother Wrestling/BookerT in a match, he confronted him. Stevie made it very clear that if Awesome had admitted that he intentionally hurt Booker, he would've kicked his ass.

Compare MamaBear, PapaWolf, FamilyMan and PromotionToParent. Compare/Contrast BigBrotherBully. While the two may seem mutually exclusive at first glance, they frequently overlap in both fiction and reality: the same sibling who makes their little sister's life a constant parade of pranks may have a IfYouEverDoAnythingToHurtHer conversation with her new boyfriend. Also, contrast with DisappointingOlderSibling when the character either lacks the Big Brother Instinct or is completely ineffectual at protecting the younger sibling.

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* Occurs with (intentionally invoked) UnfortunateImplications in ''ComicBook/AmericanBornChinese'': When the Chinese boy Jin starts to date his classmate Amelia Harris, an Anglo friend strongly urges Jin to stop, saying he wants her to "make good choices."
* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'': [[Characters/{{Nightwing}} Dick Grayson's]] relationship with everyone he knows, him being on both ends. Be they a [[ComicBook/TeenTitans Titan]], [[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica Leaguer]] or [[Characters/{{Batman}} one of the Batfamily]], Dick will make sure to get you messed up for harming them. Be they a Titan, Leaguer, or Bat, ''they'' will make sure to get you messed up for harming ''him''. As Jason Todd found out, even if you're his brother, you do NOT hurt one of the other brothers.
** Special mention to his relationship with [[ComicBook/RobinSeries Tim Drake]], the third Robin and Dick's adopted little brother. One issue had Tim believed to have been killed by the Joker when a mass Arkham escape was in progress. Nightwing then beats the Joker to death with his bare hands, it didn't help that the Joker decided to bring up how he had also killed Jason Todd (the first of Nightwing's adopted little brothers). The Joker was just lucky Batman was around to revive him.
** And a second one to Dick's relationship with Batman's biological son [[Characters/{{Robin}} Damian Wayne]], who eventually softens up to Dick, though he probably wouldn't say it out loud.
** ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} tends to be a female version of this whenever she acquires a female tagalong who's too old for this to be considered MamaBear.
** [[ComicBook/{{Batwoman}} Kate Kane]] was this to her twin sister Beth, whose personality was meeker than Kate's. On one occassion Kate even beat up an older boy who was bullying her.
* In ''ComicBook/MegaRoboBros'', whenever Freddy is threatened, Alez will immediately rush to his defense.
* ''ComicBook/TheMightyThor'': Thor treated Loki this way in early flashbacks to their childhood; however, it only aggravated Loki's already raging inferiority complex, putting him on the path to villainy.
** However, after Loki accidentally brought about the near-total destruction of Asgard, was killed in a last-ditch heroic sacrifice to save what was left (that may have been part of ThePlan) and reincarnated as a kid with only his childhood memories, he appreciates this protection a lot, since the only reason most people in Asgard haven't killed him yet is because they know Thor would go on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge on them and the city if Loki is harmed.
*** Kid Loki seems to be similarly protective of Thor. During the ''Comicbook/FearItself'' event, he engages in dark dealings and [[spoiler:agrees to restore the Ragnarok Cycle]] all to save Thor from being killed by The Serpent.
** Thor has always been like this towards Loki even when the latter was a villain. For better or for worse, Thor sees Loki as his responsibility. Thor will always foil Loki's evil plots and step in to save him from worse threats.
* ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW'':
** In the first arc (Issues 1-4), Rarity and Applejack (normally VitriolicBestBuds) are willing to go off by themselves to rescue their respective little sisters, when it seems that Twilight's overthinking will slow everything down.
*** Also, Rainbow Dash is fiercely protective of Scootaloo, even though (continuity-wise) the arc is set ''before'' their official bonding episode.
** Celestia shows this towards Luna on a few occasions. It may be a small thing, like shielding her temporarily defeated little sister in the second arc (Issues 5-8) – or [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome a full-on-power]] [[TakingYouWithMe suicidal attack]] on her mirror-world EvilCounterpart, who hurt both versions of Luna (due to unexpected {{synchronization}} between the two worlds), in the seventh arc (Issues 17-20). She's only stopped by a magical barrier conjured up by Mirror!King Sombra.
* ComicBook/{{Quicksilver}} is protective to the point of jealousy when it comes to his sister the ComicBook/ScarletWitch. This is [[{{Twincest}} taken further]] in ComicBook/UltimateMarvel.
** Apparently, it runs in the family, with [[ComicBook/YoungAvengers the next Maximoff witch, Wiccan]] being protected by his twin, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Speed]]. Unlike Ultimate ComicBook/{{Quicksilver}} and ComicBook/ScarletWitch, however, there's been no {{Twincest}}.
* It's complicated, but both Franchise/{{Superman}} and ''Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}'' are this to each other (Supergirl is technically at least fifteen years older, but due to suspended animation shenanigans, Superman is a grown man while she's still a teenager).
** In the ''ComicBook/RedDaughterOfKrypton'' arc, Superman was NOT amused when he found out what his cousin had became a [[TheBerserker Red Lantern]], and both [[BadassArmy Green and Red Lanterns]] were frightened of what he would do should he blame them. Later on, when one of Supergirl's enemies mentioned that he would go after her cousin after defeating her, she pounced on him and beat him.
** In ''Comicbook/WarWorld'' Superman is trying to find Supergirl, who has gone missing. When Comicbook/TheSpectre -literally God's Wrath's embodiment- gets in his way, Superman tries to ''punch'' him. Superman is not prone to listen to reason if Kara is in danger.
** In ''Comicbook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton'', Superman is very overprotective of his long-lost, new-fond young cousin. Very, very overprotective and short-tempered. ''Darkseid'' found out the hard way.
** In ''ComicBook/SupergirlCosmicAdventuresInThe8thGrade'', Superman is protective from his cousin... and Comicbook/LexLuthor from Lena. Say whatever you want about Lex, but he cares for his little sister.
--->'''Lex:''' Lena is my sister, alien... I'm going to save her.
** Say what you will about Bizarro, but in ''ComicBook/{{Bizarrogirl}}'' , he intended to flee because he wanted to protect his young cousin at all costs.
* In a ''ComicBook/StarWarsTales'' series, mercenary Darca Nyl comes across a mentally handicapped GIANT of a man and his petite sister fleeing from pursuers. One night, while camping, the girl is set upon by a huge and vicious predator. Darca knows that he can't reach them in time to save her, when the man leaps at the beast with a large rock in his hands. Several minutes later, [[ExtremeMeleeRevenge the creature has long since stopped moving and he keeps smashing at it with the rock]].
* In ''ComicBook/{{Switch|2015}}'', Mary, the protagonist, explains that she once saw a boy getting bullied but left pretending she hadn't seen anything. In contrast, when a giant monsters throws a van against her little brother, she rushes to get him out of the way and gets crushed instead (though the [[ClingyMacGuffin Witchblade]] heals her injuries).
* ''ComicBook/XMen'':
** Has this with Wolverine being a BigBrotherMentor to the younger heroines, including Kitty Pryde, Jubilee, and his OppositeSexClone Comicbook/{{X 23}}.
** Gender and age-inverted with X-23 herself, who in ''Wolverines'' #1 is shown to have become highly protective of her older "brother" Comicbook/{{Daken}} [[spoiler:after his healing factor was shut down at the end of ''The Logan Legacy'' by Siphon, and tells him to stay back while she deals with any members of the Wrecking Crew they come across]].
*** Still gender-inverted, but otherwise played straight between Laura and the Sisters — four clones of her created by Alchemax Genetics — in ''All-New Wolverine''. She goes through great lengths to protect and help them, nearly loses her cool when she thinks Comicbook/{{Taskmaster}} killed them, and is visibly upset when Comicbook/DoctorStrange admits he can't help her cure the girls despite her assurances she would get them through it.
** Anyone who messes with ComicBook/{{Nightcrawler}}’s stepsister ComicBook/{{Rogue}} is in for a TeleportSpam. On the flip-side Rogue cares deeply for her adoptive blue brother and once carried him in her arms to save him falling off a waterfall.
** ComicBook/{{Gambit}}’s first canon appearance was looking after [[FountainOfYouth Kid Storm]] and same as Wolverine he explicitly cares for Jubilee and X-23.
** Though they can find it hard to get along, ComicBook/{{Cyclops}} still tends to treat Havok this way, insisting on carrying his coma-ridden brother into the X-Mansion despite the presence of a wheelchair and being so protective and interfering that they're mistaken for a couple in an issue of X-Factor.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* ''Franchise/AceAttorney'':
** Lana Skye from ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'' comes across as an [[AloofBigBrother Aloof Big Sister]] to Ema, but as it turns out, [[spoiler: she's been acting as a reluctant accomplice to Gant for years, all to protect Ema from the AwfulTruth: that she accidentally killed Neil Marshall during the SL-9 Incident]]. However, [[spoiler: Gant actually staged the scene to frame Ema and killed Neil himself, all so he could [[InvokedTrope manipulate Lana's protective instincts]] and blackmail her into forging evidence for him whenever he saw fit.]]
** In ''Justice For All'', the third trial reveals that [[spoiler:Acro had this for his little brother, Bat, which was how he ended up confined to a wheelchair. When he saw Bat getting his head chewed on by a lion, he ran in to save him and was attacked as a result.]]
** In ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney'', Apollo shows signs of having this for Trucy. When she's grabbed by a threatening intruder in the courtroom during case 4-2, he follows after and, when he finds her alright, he cries and shouts how he's going to press charges on whoever did it (he's not too happy to find out [[spoiler:Trucy faked the kidnapping herself]]). He is also shown accompanying her to various places, even if he himself isn't very interested (like Klavier's band concert). Bonus points for TheReveal that [[spoiler:he really ''is'' Trucy's big brother!]]
** [[spoiler: Simon Blackquill]] to Athena in ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies'', to the point where [[spoiler: he'll confess to a murder he didn't commit just because he believes she did it]].
** Miles Edgeworth, despite being a serious character who doesn't show much emotion, softens up considerably around young women, especially gifted teenagers like Ema Skye who may blunder at times but are clearly serious about their work. This is probably because his own little sister, Franziska von Karma, is too proud to let him be the big brother.
* ''VisualNovel/{{Clannad}}'': A female-female example. Harass Ryou, and her twin sister Kyou will [[ThrowTheBookAtThem throw a huge book straight to your face]] and kick you while dazed.
** Youhei Sunohara is the series' ButtMonkey most of the time, but mess with his sister Mei and he'll do an OffScreenTeleportation to kick your ass.
** Tomoya also seems to have this going for him, despite not having any siblings. Whenever Mei calls him Onii-chan, he becomes overly excited and is willing to do whatever she wishes from him.
* In ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', ''Heaven's Feel'' route, Shirou states that he wants to save Ilya just because the "older brother protects his younger sister". [[spoiler:In the route's end, Ilya herself does a HeroicSacrifice to save Shirou, who actually is her ''[[OlderThanTheyLook younger]]'' [[OlderThanTheyLook brother]].]]
-->'''Ilya''': "You said an older brother protects his younger sister, right?... [[spoiler:[[MeaningfulEcho Yeah. I'm the older sister. So I have to protect my younger brother.]]]]"
* Yuuya towards Sakuya in ''VisualNovel/HatofulBoyfriend''. [[RoyalBrat Sakuya]] claims that [[HandsomeLech Yuuya]] has never once acted like a brother to him, but [[HiddenDepths this couldn't be further from the truth]] as [[spoiler:not only does Yuuya [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifice his life]] to save Sakuya's in the Bad Boys Love route, but he reveals that he kept Sakuya's egg from being thrown away on his cruel stepfather's orders and ''killed'' his stepfather's own offspring so that Sakuya could take its place and live a life of luxury]]. For that matter, the [[spoiler: sacrifice]] was done [[http://lexlee20.tumblr.com/post/28547184435/an-odd-thought-about-the-infirmary-confrontation with no thought at all]] for his own self-preservation. [[spoiler: [[http://lexlee20.tumblr.com/post/31322537844/fanon-overanalysis-of-damus-yuuya-sketch-wrt He turned his back]] on the attacker]] to focus completely on protecting Sakuya.
** Just in general Yuuya seems to have this instinct for a lot of characters, even an older teacher at some point. He'll [[TakingTheBullet take the bullet]] or patiently talk someone through things and let go of one of his hard-kept secrets to help them. Yuuya wants to protect and help lots of people, it's just that Sakuya takes priority. Some fans call him "everybirdie's senpai" for this reason.
* ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'': Satoshi was like this toward Satoko before his disappearance [[spoiler:to the point of murdering their abusive aunt ''brutally'', even though he was usually calm and gentle, since he was under the influence of Hinamizawa Syndrome]]. A year later, Keiichi and Shion take up the position [[spoiler:with Keiichi taking it in the [[MurderIsTheBestSolution completely wrong direction]] while Shion plays it straight, but only after screwing up. Big Time]]. Satoko actually starts calling them "Nii-Nii" and "Nee-Nee".
** In one of the [=PS2=] arcs, implied to be the way that Minagoroshi-hen could have gone, [[spoiler:Shion goes exactly the same way as Keiichi]].
* In ''VisualNovel/LittleBusters'', Riki begins to feel this way towards [[CuteClumsyGirl Komari]] in her route [[spoiler:when she confides that she feels sad that she keeps seeing a non-existent older brother in her dreams. Later, it's revealed that he did exist and felt this way towards her, too, in spades.]] On the flip side, Komari also tries to be a big sister towards [[NotGoodWithPeople Rin]] and [[TokenMiniMoe Kud]], though it doesn't always work out – in the test of courage, if you take both Kud and Komari, the two keep switching roles with one always scared and the other trying to act cool and comfort them.
** Rin, Riki, and Kyousuke all play with the trope a bit. Kyousuke definitely dotes on Rin, but he also worries that she is too dependent on him. Rin herself is open about her lack of respect for him, almost always calling him by his first name and refusing outright to call him [[UsefulNotes/JapaneseSiblingTerminology 'oniisan' or 'oniichan']], but it's also clear that she deeply relies on and admires him. On the other hand, Riki has an admiration for him so strong it borders on the romantic...to the extent that in one scene Kyousuke admits that he thinks both Rin and Riki are cute and Riki worries that Kyousuke 'only' sees him as a little brother. However, like for Rin, Kyousuke is implied to also be worried that Riki relies on him too much, [[spoiler:and in Rin's route he seems to be trying to challenge Riki into standing up to him and facing him as an equal.]] However, ironically, when he tries to break their dependence on him he does it in a way that seems to cement his position as the authority, assuming he knows what's best for them and manipulating them against their wishes.
* In the ''VisualNovel/SchoolDays'' sequel of sorts ''Summer Days'', Kotonoha's reaction to seeing her younger sister Kokoro [[spoiler: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oeed4HqVLtQ in very... compromising situation]] with her prospect boyfriend Makoto]] is grabbing a golf club and hitting the culprit upside the head. [[spoiler: Too bad Kokoro intercedes in Makoto's favor.]]
** She manages to play it ''much'' straighter in ''Summer Days'': when she finds out that Kokoro [[spoiler: has been sexually abused by both Makoto and his friend Kyouichi]], she... [[spoiler:grabs her father's katana, murders both Makoto and Kyouichi, and sets the building where this took place on fire before getting to safety with poor Kokoro.]]
* In ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'', Battler behaves this way both towards his younger sister Ange and to his little cousin Maria. He bonds with Maria early on in most of the arcs despite not having seen her in six years, and is very protective of Ange. After Ange [[spoiler: reveals her identity to him and performs a HeroicSacrifice]], Battler snaps out of his funk and goes up several levels in badass and sets his mind back on track to defeating Beatrice and making it back home to her.
* Snake of ''VisualNovel/NineHoursNinePersonsNineDoors'' spends the entirety of the game being the cool, aloof, DeadpanSnarker of the group, but when [[spoiler: Ace [[WouldYouLikeToHearHowTheyDied tells him how he killed his little sister Clover,]] all that composure goes out the door, and he grabs Ace, even after taking six gunshots to the chest, [[TakingYouWithMe so that he can keep him inside an incinerator, killing them both.]]]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* Arthur from ''[[Webcomic/TheAdventuresofWiglafAndMordred Wiglaf and Mordred]]'' has got a bad case of this for his little brother Mordred -- so much so it tends to get in the way of his evil villainy. His staff often enjoy pointing out the brother complex he claims doesn't exist.
* Sam from ''Webcomic/BittersweetCandyBowl'', as well as his brother Jordan, both towards their younger sister Lucy.
* It would be unwise of you to mess with [[Webcomic/{{Catena}} Bear's]] younger sister Patches.
* Declan towards Violet in ''Webcomic/{{Chrysalis}}'', even though they aren't related by blood.
* Jamie from '' Webcomic/{{Distillum}}'' has heaps of it towards Rob.
* ''Webcomic/DNATheWebcomic'': Sirius is very protective of Orion and the other kids. When Jay kicks Orion to get him out of the mud, which (Rigel had just been trying to drown Orion in), he bites Jay in the leg and looks like he is about to kill him with his powers before Orion stops him. In Segment: Mud, he goes berserk when he sees that Rigel made Lukas cry.
* ''Webcomic/DominicDeegan'' tends to act this way toward his cheerful, overly optimistic little brother Gregory. Was kind of justified when the comic started because Gregory was infected with a necromantic taint that was slowly killing him, but it was removed early on and now he's perfectly healthy while Dominic is missing a leg.
** Played with between Dominic, Gregory, and their older brother Jacob. Jacob spends significant amount of time and parts of major plot-lines trying to maim his little brothers for his own advantage, though he claims there's no emotion involved and it's just part a convenient part of his plans rather than malicious. And yet, he immediately does far, far worse to those who hurt them first.
* ''Webcomic/DumbingOfAge'': Sarah is a cranky, tactless misanthrope who would mostly prefer everyone else just leave her alone so she can study...[[http://www.dumbingofage.com/2011/comic/book-1/06-yesterday-was-thursday/sisters-2/ except where her roommate Joyce is concerned.]]
* We're introduced to Elon of ''Webcomic/EarsForElves'' when he's searching for his younger sister [[GenkiGirl Myari]] after she's run off into the dangerous forest. He gives her a severe talking-to, but has her best interests at heart.
* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'': Elliot's ChronicHeroSyndrome appears to have given him a Big Brother Instinct with respect to Ellen despite the fact that his "little sister" is actually his HalfIdenticalTwin / OppositeSexClone.
** Occasionally Elliot has this towards Tedd, like [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2008-06-13 here]] and [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2003-04-29 here.]]
** Grace's brothers also have some of this in them, though they don't show it nearly as much as Elliot does towards Ellen. Even though Damien scared them shitless, [[spoiler:Hedge]] tried to subvert the orders concerning her as much as he could without being killed.
** Ellen has shown she's just as willing to stand up for Elliot when he's threatened/hurt as viceversa. In her [[AlternateUniverse other life]], this trope is more or less how she befriended [[ShrinkingViolet Tedd]].
*** Ellen has more of this that gave Elliot ChronicHeroSyndrome. She's ''very'' uninhibited and shows [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2002-09-25 extreme]] [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2004-04-12 protectiveness]] [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2008-01-08 toward]] [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2011-02-28 everyone]] [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2011-09-14 close]] to her.
* In ''Webcomic/FrankieAndStein'', [[FrankensteinsMonster Frankie]] and [[FrankensteinsMonster Adam]] seem to have this relationship. They haven't really known each other that long, but Adam is very concerned for her, and her current crisis.
* Jae Gu of ''Webcomic/GirlsOfTheWild'' has been [[PromotionToParent raising his siblings]] since their [[DisappearedDad father's death]] and [[MissingMom mother's abandonment]] of them. Needless to say, harming them is his one and only BerserkButton. When they got sick suddenly, he carried them barefoot to the hospital, leaving footprints of blood by the time he gets there. After finding out they had gotten food poisoning off of tainted sushi someone gave them on purpose, he walked, feet still bleeding, all the way to the person's school and attempted to beat them down with a ''chair'' for what they did.
* Clark from ''Webcomic/GoldCoinComics'' really shows this side when Tonya, his sister, [[http://www.goldcoincomics.com/?id=127 runs into trouble]]...
* Kat in ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'' once punched a {{psychopomp}} just because these guys made Annie very sad. Later she hates Annie's DisappearedDad, for the same reason.
* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'': Equius is extremely protective of his [[MoralityPet moirail]], Nepeta. In fact, this is the first thing that shows us that maybe he's not that bad a guy.
** Also, the thought of his twin sister dying is one of the few things that manages to unnerve [[spoiler:[[TheStoic Dave]].]]
** Similarly, John did not take it well when he found out that [[spoiler: Davesprite had broken up with his sister Jade]].
** Finally, although Bro Srider is shown to be an absolutely crappy parent to Dave, he does [[spoiler: slice a meteor in half and give up his rocket board to get Dave safely into the game, and later dies trying to save the kids' session]].
* In ''Webcomic/{{Lackadaisy}}'', Viktor is violently protective of [[TheFlapper Ivy]]. To the extent that every boyfriend she wrangles is pounded to the point of a full body cast. This is particularly noticeable when you contrast it with how he reacts to others, which usually tops off at Vague Irritation at best.
** Rocky, for all his personality quirks and questionable morality, has a bit of this for his younger cousin Calvin, better known as Freckle (who he was raised with and who he more or less treats like his younger brother). It's implied that [[spoiler: Freckle got into some kind of trouble when he was younger, probably due to his [[TheBerserker habit of occasionally going berserk]], and that Rocky took the blame for it, which is further implied to be the reason Rocky got kicked out of his Aunt Nina's house, so that Freckle could go on to live a semi-normal life. Hints to this incident can be seen in the following pages (look ''real'' close at the dialogue):]]
*** http://lackadaisycats.com/comic.php?comicid=22
*** http://lackadaisycats.com/comic.php?comicid=58
*** And ''especially'' http://lackadaisycats.com/comic.php?comicid=128
* In ''Webcomic/{{MYth}}'', [[spoiler:Hades is a heartbreaking example. He destroyed the bond he had with his little brother Zeus in an attempt to make him strong enough to be king of gods.]]
* [[Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick Roy]] develops this for [[SpoonyBard Elan]], though it ([[TheLoad understandably]]) [[CharacterDevelopment takes a while]], and he still denies it.
** Roy actually did have a little brother, (key word here being ''did''), and Elan has a living [[EvilTwin twin brother]] but has been shown explicitly thinking of Roy as his brother instead.
** Roy has a literal little sister, for whom he feels the same protective need (despite crazy [[LawfulGood morality]] [[TrueNeutral differences]]). Proof? He went to rescue her from villains, knowing fully well that it was a trap all along.
** [[BadassPreacher Redcloak]] kicks some ass via this trope in his [[StartOfDarkness Trope Namer Origin Story]].
* [[MakingASplash Larima]] of ''Webcomic/{{Pacificators}}'' fame ''thinks'' she's protecting her younger sister [[BlowYouAway Taffe]], but, really, it's the other way around. (Oh, and it annoys Taffe.)
** Later chapters shows that Larima really ''is'' a protective big sister; Taffe just doesn't realize it, because much of Larima's actions take place behind Taffe's back.
* ''Webcomic/PixieAndBrutus'': [[HeroicDog Brutus]] takes his role as [[CuteKitten Pixie's]] "new big brother" very seriously. If anything could possibly hurt or upset her, he's on-guard against it.
* ''Webcomic/{{Polandball}}'' comics give the US one of these for Canada. ISIS threatening the US? Barely worth acknowledging. ISIS threatening Canada? [[http://i.imgur.com/PliFTjE.png Reason enough to beat ISIS to death in seconds]].
* In ''Webcomic/{{Sakana}}'', it's Taros personal BerserkButton whenever someone threatens or talks bad about his little brother Jiro, and is always there to care for him and cheer him up when he has a problem.
* Vinnie, the werewolf from ''Webcomic/{{Skins}}''. He looks out for the irresponsible happy-go-lucky vampire, Rabbit and acts as a kind of substitute big brother. He's known Rabbit since they were orphaned in the last occult war.
* Most of the cast, but particularly Jason, behaves this way toward their younger friend Anna in ''Webcomic/SomethingPositive''.
* In ''Webcomic/StickyDillyBuns'', Dillon and Jerzy briefly go into what Dillon later calls "mother hen mode" when Andy presents a rather disconcerting gift to Ruby during a dinner date.
* Yoona used to be this to her twin brother in ''Webcomic/WelcomeToRoom305''. She was tall tomboy who would beat up boys who would bully her sensitive brother. As adults she is a BigSisterBully though.
* Aiden in ''Webcomic/WintersInLavelle'' has this towards his little sister, Kari. It's even been [[WordOfGod said by Keshii]] that the main reason why he dislikes Ashton is because he can tell that Ashton has a thing for his sister.
* ''WebComic/StandStillStaySilent'':
** Onni has this towards his younger sister Tuuri and his younger cousin Lalli, who for all intents and purposes might as well be second younger sibling to him. He later gets dragged into visiting a strange dreamspace location by budding mage Reynir. When the location turns out to not be as deserted as they thought, Onni's first reflex is to protect Reynir from whatever threat the place's resident may represent.
** Emil has this towards Lalli, despite Lalli actually having more field experience than him at just about the same age. There are two factors explaining it. One is that Lalli has an AmbiguousDisorder that makes people who don't know him that well assume he is less able to take care of himself in a dangerous situation than he actually is. Second, Emil doesn't believe in magic and thinks the "mage" on Lalli's resume is just a fancy title. The end result is that if Lalli exposes himself to the giant monster attacking their night train in just the clothes in which he's been sleeping, Emil's thoughts are less "the train guards could probably use his assistance" and more "I need to get him out of here before he gets himself killed".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Robert "Bobby" Kennedy had a raging overprotective ''little'' brother instinct towards his big brother [[UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy John]]. Apparently, his fury could scare the shit out of anybody if they tangled with John. Especially if it was LBJ ([[UsefulNotes/LyndonJohnson Lyndon B. Johnson]]).
** LBJ was no slouch, either. He was a master at cajoling Congress into doing whatever he wanted because, damn it, he was LBJ. The fact that Bobby could match him and actually make him back down is pretty amazing.
* Especially during their early years together, actor Creator/DeanMartin was very protective of his partner Creator/JerryLewis, who was barely out of his teens, had a troubled upbringing marked by neglect, ''and'' had dropped out of high school at the start of junior year due to anti-Semitism. One night in an Atlantic City bar, some mobster's mook demanded to know of Martin why he had teamed up with "that fucking kike"[[note]]"kike" is a rather ugly anti-Semitic slur[[/note]]; Martin's answer was to grab hold of the mook and slam him across the bar straight into a shelf of glasses.
* James [=McNeil=], age 17, saw his autistic ten-year-old brother climbing to the top of a 120-foot electrical tower. Though fearful of heights he climbed after him and held him in place until a rescue crew arrived. The story is described in the November 1997 ''Reader's Digest''.
* [[http://news.aol.com/article/9-year-old-malik-medford-foils/759223 Nine-year-old Malik Medford rescued his brothers from a car thief.]]
* Another inversion, an 8-year-old boy [[http://rt.com/Top_News/2009-02-06/Boy_who_died_saving_sister_from_rapist_awarded.html was killed after wounding a burglar who was attempting to rape his older sister]].
* In 2002 Christopher Vince, aged 12, [[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2369463.stm died after pushing his 16-year-old brother Ben out of the way of a falling branch]].
* In an [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments example]] of big ''sister'' instinct, [[http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/42228006/ns/today-today_people/?fb_ref=story_header&fb_source=profile_oneline a nine-year-old girl risked her life to push her five-year-old sister out of the way of an oncoming truck.]]
* [[http://news.yahoo.com/video/honolulukitv-18211460/11-year-old-hero-attacks-kidnapping-suspect-protects-his-younger-sister-27404186.html This 11-year-old]] protected his younger sister from a carjacker.
* Members of a fraternity are supposed to develop this, as the house is set up for a ''big brother'' to look after a ''little brother'' (pledge).
* A 12-year-old Florida boy saved his four siblings from a [[http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/15/11718000-my-hero-12-year-old-florida-boy-saves-4-siblings-from-burning-house?lite&ocid=todmsnbc11 fire.]]
* On an unreleased ''Series/ChappellesShow,'' "Charlie Murphy True Hollywood Story," the older brother of comedian Creator/EddieMurphy tells how he had to be let go as head of security for Eddie's entourage because he got carried away with beating up anybody within earshot who would talk smack about his little brother. He went so far as to physically threaten a man paralyzed below the neck who [[DisabilityAsAnExcuseForJerkassery wouldn't stop loudly cussing]] out Eddie in a restaurant!
* A rather heartwarming example on the British clip show ''You've Been Framed'' (heartwarming for the show anyway). A little girl of about seven is decorating a Christmas tree with her toddler brother. The tree starts to fall over, and realizing that it's going to land smack on top of her brother, the girl pulls it towards her so that it lands on her instead, with her brother only getting hit by the mostly harmless branches.
** The show also has an example of Little Sister Instinct. Two kids walk up a driveway on Halloween, and a plastic skeleton pops out of a fake grave. The elder brother cries and runs from it, terrified. His little sister looks between him and the fake skeleton before walking up to it and repeatedly punching it until it breaks.
* True story of a young man, upon being released from prison and returning home, heard about his little sister being harassed in high school by a jock whom she'd turned down for a date. Ex-con immediately goes to a place where he heard said jock liked to hang out, and beats him bloody in front of all his friends. Bones are broken. Ex-con walks away from a jock who is sprawled face down on the pavement, making one final comment over his shoulder. "Don't mess with my baby sister. I don't give a fuck about going ''back'' to jail."
* MMA Example: The students of Cesar Gracie, namely Nick and Nathan Diaz, Gilbert Melendez and Jake Shields, are very protective of each other. To sum up:
** Nick threw in the towel after Nate took a vicious head kick against Josh Thompson, to try and get the referee to stop Thompson from inflicting punishment.
** Nate threatened to quit the UFC after Gilbert Melendez was in a contract dispute, out of solidarity.
** The Diaz brothers and Melendez fighting with Jason Mayhem Miller after he interrupted Jake Shields. Notable because Melendez and Nate Diaz are two full divisions lower than Mayhem, and Nate wasn't even a Strikeforce fighter, and could have been kicked out of the UFC for it.
* Creator/ColinFarrell [[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/17/colin-farrell-gay-bullies_n_6699832.html?utm_hp_ref=tw has a Little Brother Instinct towards his older, gay brother.]]
* In the few chronicles that survive from the period, William Adelin, the only son and heir of King Henry I of England, is described as having died during the White Ship disaster because he was trying to save his illegitimate half-sister Maud from drowning. He apparently rushed out of the dinghy he and his friends were lowering out of the wreck, trying to find her. [[TearJerker He never did.]]
* A tragic example: After TheVoice Constestant Christina Grimmie was shot and killed at a concert, [[http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/marcus-grimmie-christina-grimmies-brother-hailed-hero-tackling/story?id=39784180 her brother charged the shooter and brought him down.]] Many left in the venue hailed him for saving their lives.
* Music/KanyeWest learned this when he dissed Music/TaylorSwift by claiming he made her famous when he rudely interrupted her accepting her award, regardless of her talent. Taylor's younger brother [[https://www.instagram.com/p/BBqnIZbjqPV/?taken-by=austinkingsleyswift Austin posted a video on his Instagram]] of him whistling the theme to ''Film/TheBridgeOnTheRiverKwai'' while throwing out the Kanye brand shoes from his closet.
* When Creator/GavinFree first started living in the United States after being hired into Creator/RoosterTeeth, he ended up living with Rooster Teeth and Creator/AchievementHunter co-creator Geoff Ramsay, where he essentially became part of the family, especially being a surrogate big brother to Geoff's daughter Millie. When Gavin found out that Millie's old dentist had been arrested for pedophilia[[note]]Millie was not involved in it at all - her mother Griffin was around at all times[[/note]], Gavin's first question was [[ImpliedDeathThreat "Is he dead yet?"]]
[[/folder]]

One very common way to establish that a male (or increasingly frequently female) character is a NicePerson (even if [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold the niceness is hidden under a gruff exterior]]) is to give them an instinctive desire to be a respectable big sibling to smaller or younger characters (in more cases female than male). These other characters may be truly younger siblings, or they may be completely unrelated, or even older, but the feeling is the same: to act as their protector.

* ''Literature/DeadWest'' has a character, The Porcelain Doctor who is enforcing this trope into others. His aura, called the Devil's Veil, shows him fragile, weak, and casts a glamour to make others like him (or wanting to crush him). He cannot turn it off, which really annoys him, but is notable that Gervas, our narrator would feel the same without falling to his aura. His real big brother is more along the lines of a KnightTemplarBigBrother.

* ''Literature/DimensionHeroes'': Rob displays this trope towards his fellow Dimensional Guardians, reasoning that as leader, he's responsible for their safety.
* ''Literature/TheOtherKindOfRoommate'' has Terry showing this for Beth. It's treated as [[AmicableExes cute and protective]] before it gets controlling, and is explained as the reason they broke up.

[[quoteright:350:[[Disney/BrotherBear https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kenai_and_koda_2_3.jpg]]]] [[caption-width-right:350:[[Disney/BrotherBear Sometimes the bond between siblings isn't even limited to the same species.]]]]

** Special mention to his relationship with[[Characters/RobinSeries Tim Drake]], the third Robin and Dick's adopted little brother. One issue had Tim believed to have been killed by the Joker when a mass Arkham escape was in progress. Nightwing then beats the Joker to death with his bare hands, it didn't help that the Joker decided to bring up how he had also killed Jason Todd (another one of Nightwing's adopted little brothers). The Joker was just lucky Batman was around to revive him.

The Big Brother Instinct serves to explain fan attraction to {{Moe}} tropes and devices can be an ''emotional'', [[PerverseSexualLust rather than sexual]], response. There seems to be something inherently comforting to an awkward male about being looked up to by a younger girl for support. Therefore, {{Moe}} can be wish fulfillment about taking a "big brother role" instead of about being a LoveInterest. Rather amusingly, it's also quite often that the trope gets inverted, and the younger sibling wants to protect the older instead. HilarityEnsues when both versions happen at the same time.

* Gender-flipped with Yang in ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', as one of her primary character traits is how protective she is towards her little sister Ruby (to the point that there's an entire ImageSong devoted to the subject). [[spoiler:When the events of Volume 3 leave her a broken mess suffering from PTSD and depression for several months, it's the realization that their father can't take care of her and go after Ruby at the same that ultimately gives her the motivation to come to terms with her trauma and begin her recovery.]]

* Gender-flipped in ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' where Yang is quick to defend Ruby against Weiss and was the first to go after Ruby when she was attacked by Grimm. There's even [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EczdC7_WxVQ an entire song]] about how she'll always be there to protect her little sister.

** Celestia shows this towards Luna on a few occasions. It may be a small thing, like shielding her temporarily defeated little sister in the second arc (Issues 5-8) – or [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome a full-on-power]] [[TakingYouWithMe suicidal attack]] on her mirror-world EvilCounterpart, who hurt both versions of Luna (due to unexpected {{synchronization}} between the two worlds), in the seventh arc (Issues 17-20). She's only stopped by a magical barrier conjured up by Mirror!King Sombra.

* In an [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming example]] of big ''sister'' instinct, [[http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/42228006/ns/today-today_people/?fb_ref=story_header&fb_source=profile_oneline a nine-year-old girl risked her life to push her five-year-old sister out of the way of an oncoming truck.]]

* ''{{Webcomic/DNA}}'': Sirius is very protective of Orion and other kids. Segment: Tooth shows the aftermath of a fight he got into protecting Orion. In heartwarming moment, he reassures Orion, who was upset that Sirius got hurt protecting him, that he doesn't care about his injuries. In Segment: Mud, he goes berserk when he sees that Rigel made Lukas cry.

** And a second one to Dick's relationship Batman's biological son [[Characters/{{Robin}} Damian Wayne]], who eventually softens up to Dick, though he probably wouldn't say it out loud.

* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'': Between ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} and (adopted) little brother [[Comicbook/RobinSeries Tim Drake]] -- one issue had Tim believed to have been killed by the Joker when a mass Arkham escape was in progress. Nightwing then beats the Joker to death with his bare hands, it didn't help that the Joker decided to bring up how he had also killed Jason Todd (another one of Nightwing's adopted little brothers). The Joker was just lucky Batman was around to revive him.

** Dick to Batman's biological son [[RoyalBrat Damian]], who eventually softens up to Dick, though he probably wouldn't say it out loud to Dick.
** Dick's relationship with everyone he knows, him being on both ends. Be they a [[ComicBook/TeenTitans Titan]], [[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica Leaguer]] or [[Characters/{{Batman}} one of the Batfamily]], Dick will make sure to get you messed up for harming them. Be they a Titan, Leaguer, or Bat, ''they'' will make sure to get you messed up for harming ''him''. As Jason Todd found out, even if you're his brother, you do NOT hurt one of the other brothers.

* ''{{WebVideo/Aaron}}'' has two brothers getting into a blazing row. When the younger one comes home drunk, the older immediately comes to his rescue.
* ''WebAnimation/BrokenSaints'': HeartwarmingOrphan Shandala, the heroine, is looked after by her adopted parents' son as if she were his own flesh and blood.

%%* Quite a few ponies in the ''Roleplay/EquestriaChronicles''.
* The web documentary ''F*** Kayfabe: Wrestling with Labels'' -– Cianan and Matt have this towards Bobby. Bobby jokes that himself and Pete both think of the other as their little brother so they decided to be twins instead. Bobby has this for Kev and even refers to him as "my little brother" in the Special Thanks at the end.
* In the ''Franchise/{{Noob}}'' webseries and comics, any enemy bothering Gaea has a decent chance of having Golgotha show up for a serious beating, regardless of her location when the bothering started. A variation in that Gaea is a DirtyCoward rather than weak and Golgotha's protectiveness is simply stemming from their history as ChildhoodFriends.
* Rob Walker will be the first to admit anything that didn't work out in a [[WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic Critic]] episode, but if you go too far and insult Doug instead, he will ''make you sorry''.
** In character terms, while The Other Guy is a BigBrotherBully when the Critic is alive/sober/lucid, he'll always show how much he cares when nobody else is around.
** They're not related but in ''WebVideo/DemoReel'', after Donnie (Doug) gets kidnapped, badass {{stoic}} Carl (Rob) tears down the forest looking after him and makes sure he's okay when he returns.

* ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' has Agent North, with such a trustworthy, older-brother instinct that he gets assigned Theta, the AI fragment composed of Alpha's innocence. He's the only one in the program qualified to take care of a ''being of pure innocence''.
** But seriously, watch seasons 9 and 10. The dude lives and breathes ''trust''.
** Blue team. Sure, Caboose is an idiot. But he's their idiot.
** Wash eventually develops it for [[spoiler:the Reds and Blues]]. In the flashback, he tried to mimic North's, but CT wasn't buying it.
*** As of Season 11, Wash especially has this in regards to [[spoiler:Caboose]], trying to keep him from getting overcome with depression after [[spoiler:Church leaves]] and, in Season 12, [[spoiler:making sure Freckles is okay after getting captured by the Feds.]]
* Gender-flipped in ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' where Yang is quick to defend Ruby against Weiss and was the first to go after Ruby when she was attacked by Grimm. There's even [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EczdC7_WxVQ an entire song]] about how she'll always be there to protect her little sister.
* Parodied in ''WebAnimation/RWBYChibi''. When Ruby can't open a jar of pickles, Sun tries to help her but also fails. Yang turns up because her "big sister sense" is tingling. She insists on opening the jar of pickles for a reluctant Ruby, who drags Sun off to a safe distance while Yang wages open warfare, complete with using weapons, on the jar.
-->'''Yang:''' You ''dared'' to make my baby sister hungry? You're going ''down'' jar!

* ''WebAnimation/DSBTInsaniT'': It may seem like Killer doesn't care for his twin sister, but he'll defend her if he finds the need to.

* Colin Farrell [[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/17/colin-farrell-gay-bullies_n_6699832.html?utm_hp_ref=tw has a Little Brother Instinct towards his older, gay brother.]]

Compare MamaBear, PapaWolf, FamilyMan and PromotionToParent. Compare/Contrast BigBrotherBully. While the two may seem mutually exclusive at first glance, they frequently overlap in both fiction and reality: the same sibling who makes their little sister's life a constant parade of pranks may have a IfYouEverDoAnythingToHurtHer conversation with her new boyfriend. Also, contrast DisappointingOlderSibling when the character either lacks the Big Brother Instinct or is completely ineffectual at protecting the younger sibling.

Compare MamaBear, PapaWolf, FamilyMan and PromotionToParent. Compare/Contrast BigBrotherBully. While the two may seem mutually exclusive at first glance, they frequently overlap in both fiction and reality: the same sibling who makes their little sister's life a constant parade of pranks may have a IfYouEverDoAnythingToHurtHer conversation with her new boyfriend.

* Angelica Schuyler from {{Theatre/Hamilton}} absolutely '''loses''' it when she finds out that her sister Eliza's husband Hamilton cheated on her and broke her heart. In a cut song called "Congratulations," she drags Hamilton for a whole two minutes. Despite showing some love to Hamilton, Angelica Schuyler will not take ''any'' of Hamilton's shit and will always put Eliza, her only remaining baby sister, before anything and anyone in the world. One of her lines in "The Reynolds Pamphlet" sums it up: