History Main / GuileHero

The Guile Hero combines elements of TheChessmaster, TheTrickster and The ManipulativeBastard without having to be all of these. A Guile Hero isn't necessarily The Chessmaster: the Guile Hero is simply a hero who uses wit, charm, and skill to mislead and set up the bad guys, whereas The Chessmaster is often devoted to grander schemes and more likely to use ChessMotifs. A Manipulative Bastard tends to be more personal and controlling in his manipulations. A Guile Hero need not be a master manipulator; "guile" can mean "shrewdness" instead of "deceit". As for The Trickster, a Guile Hero is just as likely to be TheStoic or a [[StopHavingFunGuys "Stop Having Fun" Guy]] as the [[ItAmusedMe fun-loving and mischevious]] trickster. The Chain of Deals is just as valid a tool for these characters as ThePlan, and a Guile Hero may very well be a grown-up HighSchoolHustler.

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': Kisuke Urahara is a PowerTrio all by himself. He manipulates both the villains and the protagonists to ensure the protagonists can defeat the villains, telling the protagonists only what he feels they need to know and sometimes only just enough to get them into trouble. He's a firm believer in the school of hard knocks, believing the best martial training is [[SinkOrSwimMentor real battle experience]]. However, he's also a former {{shinigami}} captain and therefore when he has to fight he willingly becomes a full-blown ActionHero. Most of his machinations, aid and fighting tactics occur in the form of scientific knowledge and invention, as he's actually primarily a ScienceHero. There's a reason why he's a LivingLegend in-universe.

* In ''Manga/Brave10'', Yukimura is intelligent and is very good at taking in the bigger picture, and using that knowledge to manipulate people into doing what he wants without ever having to fight himself.

* ByronicHero Lelouch Lamperouge from ''Anime/CodeGeass'' in the AntiHero interpretation of his character. He prefers to play politics to sideline his opponents most of the time. For instance, at one point after losing his most important fighter and being attacked by the two most powerful armies in that universe - the Chinese and the Brittanian - he [[EngineeredPublicConfession manipulates the Eunuch Generals into announcing their evil plans to their entire country]], inciting riots and cutting off their Brittanian support. This plan went very smoothly because he managed to steal it from a third opponent without that third opponent ever telling something about it, who had no choice but to support Lelouch after this fight. Using politics he sidelined one bad empire, destroyed a second one and got the support of the third one.
* The heroine Anime/CuteyHoney does this in her original incarnation and 90's OVA's. While other adaptations turn her into an [[IdiotHero idiot heroine]], her first manga series portrayed her as a very clever woman, WiseBeyondTheirYears that used several tactics including charm, manipulation, distraction and lies to advance her investigations and go straight to the source of the evil. Unlike the most [[MagicalGirlWarrior magical girl warriors]] that this manga inspired, she didn't resorted into ass kicking immediately, favoring detective work, stealth and the simple solution. But, of course, when the time for fight does come, she becomes unbeatable. And similar to the way she manipulates to achieve her goals, during fights she is never ashamed of using whatever type of [[CombatPragmatism dirty tricks]] she feels necessary.

** Near, who is L's successor as the Heroic [[TheChessmaster Chessmaster]]. He makes a lot of inspiring speeches (when his assistants moan about how well Kira, Mello and the mafia seem to be doing), but some that are clearly insincere.

** Piccolo is very wise and strategic in battle. Manipulating the likes of Freeza, Cell and Majin Buu when it seems they have the upper hand against him. He ''is'' considered TheStrategist among the Z-Fighters for a reason.
** Vegito also counts. Hell, him manipulating Super Buu and frustrating him into acting desperately was ''the main plan'' to saving his sons, friend and the whole universe.

* Kyon from ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' eventually becomes this. He achieves some truely impressive feats on this front as well, such as [[spoiler: blackmailing the Data Integration Thought Entity to keep it from taking Yuki away by threatening that he can convince Haruhi to use her RealityWarper powers to do all kinds of horrible things with only a single phrase.]]

* Kurapica from ''Manga/HunterXHunter''. He successfully convinces eleven of the most dangerous criminals in the world that any deviation from his directives, namely any harm done to his friends they hold hostage, will result in the immediate death of their leader Chrollo (whom Kurapica has captured.) During the course of their hostage exchange itself he successfully de-powers Chrollo and separates him from his followers for the foreseeable future. And he ensures that if the Ryodan's negotiator reveals any personal information she learned during their negotiation, she will die, removing a significant threat his future plans as well as one of the more stable members of the Ryodan even if she doesn't uphold the deal. Keep in mind that up until this point the Ryodan has successfully curb-stomped their way through all obstacles, and Kurapica himself is only capable of restraining one of them at a time. And he managed to get ahold of Chrollo in the first place by simply turning off the lights.
* Toru from ''Manga/IrisZero'' lacks the eye powers of his peers. Instead, he is able to construct situations and use his friends abilities to achieve a noble goal.

* Sun from ''Literature/TheLegendOfSunKnight''. Having low physical endurance and strength, and sword skills that are "not very good," as well as having been trained to hide his magic talent, Sun can't openly muscle his way through most challenges. He still fights openly with spells when he doubts he'll be recognized, but his preferred tactics are to manipulate others into doing what he wants, something which is helped by the appearance he maintains as an attractive figurehead. Those who know his true nature consider his friend Judge to be the one who maintains the church from the front, while saying Sun's place is to sneak around and mess with things behind the scenes.

* [[SilkHidingSteel Lacus Clyne]] of ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSeed Gundam SEED]]'' and ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSeedDestiny Gundam SEED Destiny]]'' combines this with AllLovingHero in order to set herself up as a political and ideological counterpoint to first [[GeneralRipper Patrick Zala]], and Murata Azrael, and later [[DarkMessiah Gilbert Durandal]]. Playing on [[IdolSinger her own fame]], and that of her martyred father Siegel Clyne, she talks people into switching sides, steals a battleship, launches a propaganda campaign that undermines both sides of the war and ultimately gathers an army that's able to take them down and end the fighting. She also funnels her money into a private [[HumongousMecha Mobile Suit]] factory, so that when the next war breaks out, her side has up-to-date technology.

** Sasuke Uchiha showed characteristics of this type, when he was still a member of the Hidden Leaf. An example was the Chuunin Exam in the Forest of Death: He noticed shadow clones with ease, mostly because he analyzed the behaviour of his teammates.

* When Carol Reed from ''Manga/OukeNoMonshou'' is exploring some Egyptian ruins, she's the victim of a curse and ends up thrown into AncientEgypt. Luckily for Carol she is a CuteBookworm who's more or less familiar with old Egyptian culture, thus she uses said knowledge as well as her quick wits to protect herself and survive while helping out those who need her. She basically does what the aforementioned Yuri Suzuki pulled on the Hitite Empire, but decades before Yuri was born.

** Virgo Shaka also is an ActionHero (as a Gold Saint), a CombatPragmatist ''and'' [[PsychicPowers a powerful psychic]]. The combination of all of these traits makes him an terrifying opponent.

* Shoryuu from ''The Twelve Kingdoms'' has some elements of this and ActionHero. While he's a very badass fighter, it's his manipulation talent and his ObfuscatingStupidity abits that helps him the most.

* ''Anime/VisionOfEscaflowne'': Prince Dryden Fassa can't fight as well as Allen or Van, doesn't have medical knowledge like Millerna, and lacks Hitomi's PsychicPowers. Instead he has his riches, his generous heart and a ''very'' sharp mind. In his two first episodes, in fact, he verbally owns Allen with his BrutalHonesty ''and'' [[spoiler: quickly ropes the ''extremely'' reclusive celestial beings that built Escaflowne into fixing it, thus saving Van's life after a particularly hard fight that almost killed him.]]

** Following in Batman's footsteps, Tim Drake (ComicBook/{{Robin|Series}} III, ComicBook/RedRobin) adopts this facet for crime fighting, managing on one occasion to convince a superpowered life draining baddie he had no chance against in a fight that he was immune to his powers while horrifying him, causing him to surrender.

* ''ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}}'': John Constantine is a talented sorcerer, his power is of the mile wide but inch deep bent, and he can't dish out anywhere near the force that his magical peers like Zatanna and Dr. Fate can, but he doesn't need to. Between his silver tongue and his ability to manipulate and improvise, he'll make you beat yourself faster than the other two could beat you into the ground.

** The Man of Steel is no slouch with guile. He will often resort to outsmart his opponent when his brawn doesn't do him any good. This is most apparent against Mr. Mxyzptlk, as Supes has to trick him into saying his last name backwards because he is a nigh-omnipotnent RealityWarper. Many Silver Age stories were less about Superman fighting bad guys, but either using his powers in creative ways to resolve a problem or coming up with bizarre plans. So, ''[[ComicBook/WhoTookTheSuperOutOfSuperman Superman will let an enemy believe he's been successfully gaslighted]]'', or ''[[ComicBook/TheGreatPhantomPeril he'll fly off to make them believe he's afraid]]'', or ''[[ComicBook/WarWorld he'll turn himself into bait to overload a weapons system]]''.
** At the start of her career, ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} had to act as Superman's secret weapon. In order to do good deeds, help people and punish criminals and bullies without being seen, Kara constantly came up with new and creative ways to use her powers, and became very good at tricking and outthink opponents she couldn't simply overpower. She's capable of ''[[ComicBook/RedDaughterOfKrypton pretending she's killed herself to get rid of a parasitic lifeform]]'' and ''[[ComicBook/TheUnknownSupergirl building a shrinking ray to defeat a monster so massive it doesn't even notice her attempts to fight it physically]]''.

* The ComicBook/BlackWidow is often depicted as this in her solo adventures. As a trained espionage agent, Natasha's craftiness is her greatest weapon and she often has to outsmart her enemies as well as out fight them.

* FanFic/{{Cenotaph}} features this as a central component of Taylor's personality and strategy. First: as a solo operator with a power best suited to obsevation and spying, she lacks most tricks to end a fight decisively. Second: a great many capes posses abilities that can level city blocks. [[EnemyCivilWar Third: Many of her enemies don't like each other.]] She takes advantage of the situation.

* The most dangerous thing about a [[PlayerCharacter Host]] of each version of the ''{{Roleplay/Communication}}'' Quest they are in isn't the [[SuperPowerLottery ever growing list of powers they obtain as time goes on]], but the fact that they have a entity [[TheOmniscient that has knowledge of what had happened, what is happening, and what will happen]] inside side their heads, and more importantly, each Host is able to exploit and use said knowledge to make sure people and events alike very much lean into their favor.

* Raonar Aeducan in ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6072033/1/Dragon_Age_The_Crown_of_Thorns Dragon Age: The Crown of Thorns ]]'' [[AlternateUniverseFic qualifies]] as this and a [[TheWisePrince Wise Prince]], being the second son of the Dwarven King. He is a manipulator and schemer that constantly uses his wit to turn even the most dangerous plots against him, his family or his friends in his favor. This becomes apparent early on, when the events of the Dwarven Noble Origin are fundamentally changed, although things still somehow manage to get more and more difficult for everyone involved as the story progresses.

* ''Manga/{{Evangelion 303}}'': Gendo and Fuyutsuki –especially the latter- spend most their time negotiating with politicians and bureaucrats in Washington. They find it very tiresome and distressing.

** [[spoiler:Gendo Ikari]] is accustomed to play powerful, influential people against each other. And in chapter 11 he proved that his skills are unmatched in that area. He was confronting a bunch of politicians planning to extradite him or execute him on the spot, and he drove them mad. He compared it with fishing with dynamite.
** Deconstructed with Misato. She is Nerv’s Sub-commander now, and she hates it. Every day she has to deal with politicians, army officers, civil servants and mass media, assist pointless meetings, staying late in work, oversee Tokyo-3’s rebuilding… and because it she missed what was happening to her wards. She is sick of the feeling of being loaded with all troubles of the world, of being unable to relax in her own home and of having her children physically and mentally wrecked.

* The four do their damnedest to be Guile Heroes in ''Fanfic/WithStringsAttached'', since they're [[ActualPacifist Actual Pacifists]] with a huge amount of power who don't want to use it on anyone--at least, not lethally. In the Fourth Movement, their string of ploys to rescue one another and win back the Vasyn are things of legend.

* Even after [[TookALevelInBadass taking a level in badass]] in ''[[http://www.tthfanfic.org/Story-28404/DianeCastle+Xendra.htm Xendra]]'', Xander still has to fight more with his wits than his brawn since even as the titular Xendra (A teenaged Xena), he's only slightly better than the average vampire fledgling. As a result, he pulls stunts like tricking a pair of zombies into fighting a trio of demons, firebombing a vampire nest during the day, and pretending to be an ancient vampire with a fetish for ColdBloodedTorture to interrogate a minion..

** ''Fanfic/CorrinReacts'': Corrin is a straightforward version of this as one of the very few unambiguously heroic members of the Antic Order. Flora, Felicia and Kana all express similar traits themselves.

* [[Manga/MyHeroAcademia Midoriya Izuku]] of ''Fanfic/YesterdayUponTheStair'', having spent his life helping ghosts to move on, which often involves talking them down from violence, has become skilled at remaining calm while manipulating people who could very easily kill him. [[spoiler: This backfires, as it leads to his kidapping, due to Shigaraki genuinely liking him. Doesn't stop the boy from pulling off a BatmanGambit ''while'' in captivity, managing to play the ArchEnemy of his mentor like a complete chump.]]

* Hiccup from ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon'' could be the flag bearer of this trope. The whole point of his character is that he contrasts the other, burly Vikings by his brains and lack of brawn. He demonstrates this by making a snare-throwing device to compensate his lack of physical prowess, observation skills in noting how the dragon he downs acts and slowly develops a relationship with the powerful dragon, [[spoiler:develops an artificial tailfin for the dragon to allow him to fly once again]], and trying to end the hatred his people have for dragons by finding the root cause of their raids on the island. After a large set back, he exclaims to Astrid, who is the strongest and smartest of his classmates, and who didn't even give him the time of day before:

* [[TheHeart Sally]] from ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas'' uses her brain to get out of tight spots. {{Justified|Trope}} as being a rag doll doesn't lend you much strength. She uses her ability to pull herself together to escape her tower room from her creator by falling out and then reattatching her body. She manipulates her creator many times to escape by drugging him, even once when he rightfully suspects she placed something in his sou and he insists she try it first. She "accidentally" drops the spoon and takes a hidden one with slots in it from her sock to "drink" it. She trusts her gut in realizing that Jack's attempt to take over Christmas will end badly. And in the lead up to the climax, [[spoiler:uses her separating body parts to both distract Oogie Boogie by showing some leg from a vent and her hands descend to untie Santa Claus. It was only because Oogie realized it was a trick and overpowered her did she fail]].

** In his introduction, Nick shows his commerce skills in buying one jumbo pop ice cream, which is larger than as his whole body, melting it, using his-size Popsicle sticks to create dozens of tiny Popcicles, selling them to some lemmings, reselling the now discarded red wood to a mouse construction unit. With the costs of $20-$30 from the popsicle, smaller sticks, and gas, he nets over $300 on a single day. And he does it ''daily.''
** During her training, Judy discovered the harsh landscapes and buildings designed for larger animals makes things like climbing a wall that is over 10 times her height impossible. However, she realizes her natural agility allows her to climb the wall by using other cadets as platforms to jump off of. Her instructor is very impressed, and by doing other similar tactics Judy graduates at the top of her class. She later blackmails Nick into helping her by noting with all that money he makes, he doesn't file any taxes on his income, and records the whole conversation. Nick's partner laughs his tail off and agrees she schooled Nick good.

* Bone, of ''Film/BloodAndBone'' appears to be an action hero at fist but is really using his guile so in the end it really [[SubvertedTrope does not matter if he wins the battles at the climax]].

* Shy, the protagonist of ''Film/ByHookOrByCrook'', scams people, robs a vending machine, and hotwires several cars in his quest to get rich and help out his friends.
* John [=McClane=] from ''Film/DieHard'' may be considered an ActionHero at first sight, but he doubles as this. He kills one man, gains a radio, a machine gun, and a whole LOT of information about the guys he's fighting. Uses the radio to call for help, uses the machine gun and the next guy he kills to get police attention, and spoon feeds them everything he found out.

* ''Film/HotelRwanda'': Paul Rusesebangena is definitely this. He manipulates genocidal merchants into supplying his guests, corrupt generals into beating up TheMole, bribes genicidaires into sparing his friends and family and even saves the Hotel from destruction by phoning the owner, who in turn telephones the French who supply the bad guys with arms. TruthInTelevision.

** Nick Fury ; he constantly lies and manipulates everyone around him, and he's good enough at it that even when they don't like working with him, they still end up helping him in the way he wants them to. In fact, if it wasn't for him, [[spoiler: in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'' [[BigBad Hydra]] would have successfully eradicated S.H.I.E.L.D. and launched [[KillThemAll Project Insight]].]] Although his tendencies to do this were deconstructed, as it showed that no one really trusted him and sometimes they outright refused to follow his plan... except that he also anticipates this and counteracts accordingly to adapt to their behavior, or at least offers a [[TheExtremistWasRIght reasonable explanation]]. ''He is just that good''.

* ''Film/TheShawshankRedemption'': Andy Dufresne. Upon discovering the deteriorating condition of the wall of his cell, he [[spoiler:slowly (as in over the course of twenty years) carves an escape tunnel through it]]. Meanwhile, he works his way into the trust of the Warden, who is under the mistaken assumption that ''he'' is the ChessMaster. Twenty years later, Andy [[spoiler:escapes from the prison, taking a new identity -- that he happened to create for the purposes of laundering the Warden's embezzled money, thus making himself a millionaire -- and having the Warden and sadistic guard both arrested]]...all without mentioning a single word of his plan to anyone...not even his best friend. Andy is like the heroic version of [[Film/TheUsualSuspects Keyzer Soze]], and gives us one of the most satisfying endings in film history.

** In ''Film/TheHungerGamesCatchingFire'' Peeta drives his manipulative skill [[UpToEleven up to 11]] by [[spoiler: pretending that Katniss is pregant with his child]].

* The main character Anargrin of ''Literature/TheAngaranChronicles'' is this. The best example of him doing this is in the short story ''[[https://www.wattpad.com/story/70424204-the-angaran-chronicles-an-ulterior-motive/ An Ulterior Motive]]'' [[spoiler: where he uses a infected with lycanthropy Emilia to lead a pack of werewolves to attack a Church of Jaroai convoy which is travelling to destroy a village they've deemed heretical. Both the werewolves and priests and the soldiers accompanying them, almost wipe each other out before Anargrin steps in and finishes off the three remaining werewolves himself. Effectively stopping the attack on the village and making sure the werewolves are gone for good.]]

** Cassie as well. Many, many times throughout the series, she uses her innate understanding of people for the good of the team, if not necessarily for the good of herself, or the person. Her main victim of her manipulations was Visser Three (mainly because the Visser was an evil ego-driven son of a bitch). She also (reluctantly) used her understanding of people to [[spoiler: trap a traitor of the group in the body of a rat]]. BewareTheNiceOnes, indeed.

*** "Literature/SearchByTheFoundation": Arkady demonstrates, from the very first chapter, an astute ability to deduce from behaviour and to manipulate adults through dramatics and lies. She obtains the voice-to-text printer by wheedling her father, she bluffs Anthor twice in a row, and convinces both of them not to be skulking around obviously trying to hide a secret. Her only flaw in manipulating is the way she [[GenreSavvy wants to use storytelling rules and expectations]].
** "Literature/MotherEarth": Luiz Moreno represents the Pacific Project for the audience, acting as [[OneWorldOrder Earth's Ambassador]] to Aurora at first, until they dismiss him because Earth illegally arrested Ernest Keilin. He's promoted to Secretary without Portfolio and goes on air with Mr Keilin to answer questions and announce that Earth's government has recently captured five smugglers from the Outer Worlds. He ends the story as Earth's President ''pro tem'', [[{{Exposition}} explaining to Mr Keilin his machinations up until this point]], and to announce that Mr Keilin will be elected President of the next version of Earth's government.

* The title characters of the ''Literature/AubreyMaturin'' series have absolutely no problems lying as much as they can without breaking the law and provoking internation incidents. Aubrey himself will lie like a rug in his personal life, and Maturin is a full time spy.

* Silk, a.k.a. Prince Kheldar a.k.a. The Guide a.k.a. The Rat a.k.a. Radek of Boktor a.k.a. Ambar of Kotu from the ''[[Literature/TheBelgariad Belgariad]]'' and ''Malloreon''. There isn't a chapter he's in where he doesn't make some witty comment, scam the crap out of someone, pull off some incredible stunt or show a depth of character, knowledge or experience that's downright amazing.

* In ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'' Jerin is one of those whenever heroism is necessary. In the first chapter he gets his sister to feed the baby by claiming that his younger brother (who she says should do it) is occupied with making butter, a task she dislikes even more. He later uses his intellect against the villains, too.

** This is the result of CharacterDevelopment over the series. In the first few books he was just an OccultDetective, and much more inclined to fight than outmaneuver his opponents. It wasn't until his failure to plan (and deal with his feelings better) led to [[MyGreatestFailure His Greatest Failure]] in ''Grave Peril'' that he started thinking and asking questions first.

* Mahlia of ''Literature/TheDrownedCities'' is a little bit better educated and a whole lot smarter than most of the people around her, including the [[ChildSoldiers soldier boys]] who more or less destroyed her home. Through a combination of wits, planning, and talking very fast she manages to screw over the United Patriotic Front a time or two, earning herself the hatred of [[ColonelKilgore Lieutenant Sayle]] and the [[WorthyOpponent respect]] of [[ShellShockedVeteran Sergeant Ocho]]. Not bad for a one handed girl.
* ''Literature/DragonBones'' has Ward, who survived to adulthood by [[ObfuscatingStupidity pretending to have severe brain damage]] after his father nearly killed him in a particularly violent beating. He can use a sword, too, and does so frequently, but he's also a good actor, and uses this talent whenever he faces a situation where brute force is not enough. Among other things, he is good at pretending to be obsessed with reclaiming castle Hurog, to the point of being happy to work together with the people who tortured his brother if they can give him his birthright back. He actually does want the castle very much, it's his home and the magic there calls for him, but he wouldn't kill his relatives over it.

* Poison, the heroine of the [[Literature/TheHauntingOfAlaizabelCray Chris Wooding]] book of the same name, would count as this, as she uses strategy, trickery and intellect to fight rather than brute force. This is also true for many other characters in the story, including villains.

* ''Literature/HonorHarrington'', the RecycledInSpace counterpart to Hornblower, is very straightforward. She can be deceptive militarily, but isn't a very good liar otherwise.

* Peeta Mellark from ''Literature/TheHungerGames.'' He's the NonActionGuy to Katniss's ActionGirl, but knows how to manipulate the Capitol audience and knows the right lies to use (like when he claims [[spoiler: that Katniss is pregnant]]). He also figures out [[spoiler: the setup of the the Quarter Quell, interpreting Wiress's {{Cloudcuckoolander}} message in CatchingFire]]
** [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Haymitch Abernarthy]] also counts. Whether or not he is still capable of the physical badassery from his younger days is debatable, but damn if he isn't able to [[ManipulativeBastard work a crowd and play the system to protect Peeta and Katniss]]. It is implied that he had this skill during his run in the games as well.

* George Smiley, in the novels of Creator/JohnLeCarre. He's one of the most respected spies in British intelligence, despite being (by all appearances) nothing more than a pudgy, bespectacled British office worker with an unfaithful wife. In his entire career, the guy hardly ever leaves his desk in London, and undertakes almost no truly dangerous field missions. But despite all of that, he has the analytical mind necessary to piece together disparate clues to deduce Mother Russia's most intimate secrets from half a world away. His weapon is information, and he wields it like a broadsword.

* In ''[[Literature/NobodysGirl Nobody's Girl]]'' (and its anime adaptation, ''Anime/TheStoryOfPerrine''), the titular Perrine is an 13-year-old AllLovingHero at first, but must turn herself into this in the second part of the story. Under the fake name "Aurelie", she becomes the near-blind millionaire Vulfran Pandavoine's [[NumberTwo guide, interpreter and secretary]]... but she realises that her weary and sad GrumpyOldMan of a boss is surrounded by ambitious and greedy {{smug snake}}s (like his nephews/potential heirs Casimir and Theodore, each young man's scheming mothers, and the executive Talouel). From then one Perrine evolves into a pre-teen version of the trope to fend these selfish people off, protect Vulfran's interests, and avert becoming anyone's pawn in the upcoming SuccessionCrisis. [[spoiler: And all the time, she must also hide her identity as none other than ''Vulfran's granddaughter and the rightful heiress'', since letting such a huge secret leak would put her in '''even more danger'''.]]

** Even cousin Ivan, ButtMonkey that he may be, can be a distressingly effective example of TheCharmer when he needs to. It should be remembered that Ivan is ''[[ObfuscatingStupidity willingly]]'' a Butt Monkey, in order not to attract too much political attention on him. He's third (or fourth, after ''Mirror Dance'') in line for the throne, after all

** Sinclair had his moments too, such as the resolution to "By Any Means Necessary". And then there was Ivanova's solution to the Drazi [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority Green-Purple conflict]] which was wreaking havok on the station.

** Many characters (particularly Rothstein, Jimmy, Margaret, Meyer Lansky and Chalky) would actually fit this trope quite well, but all of them (with the exception of Margaret and arguably Jimmy) are less scrupulous than Nucky, and none of them are as clever, and both Jimmy and Chalky have actiony moments. The Commodore is more of an out and out MagnificentBastard.

** Irving Braxiatel, from the [[Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse ExpandedUniverse]] might just be the embodiment of this trope. In his very first appearance in ''Theatre Of War'' he was able to out-manipulate [[ManipulativeBastard the Seventh]] [[TheChessmaster Doctor]]. Throughout his appearances in the Franchise/BerniceSummerfield series his reputation of using people as tools became legendary (to the point where, when someone asks if he isn't being too manipulative, he concludes that they haven't been introduced). It's been suggested several times that he engineered the entirety of events in the Bernice Summerfield series; for example, when his collection was occupied by a group of Fascists called [[PuttingOnTheReich The Fifth Axis]], something which should be impossible because, as a Time Lord, he knew that that sector of space was never occupied, he suspected that it might be a future version of himself which had engineered the whole situation and almost killed himself in a temporal paradox [[spoiler: (luckily, it turned out to be the Daleks, not him, who were behind it)]]. So devious was he that he became a full blown MagnificentBastard in later seasons ([[SealedEvilInACan although it may not have been]] [[SealedInAPersonShapedCan entirely his fault]]). He's reformed now ([[MindScrew sort of]]). Of course, none of this should be surprising considering that he's the Doctor's [[spoiler: older brother]].

%%* In ''Series/{{Farscape}}'', Rygel, Noranti and John Crichton are all good examples of this trope.

** Tyrion Lannister is first and foremost, though his antiheroic traits cause him to straddle the line of {{magnificent bastard}}ry. Nonetheless, he's one of the more heroic characters in the show, and definitely fights best with his mind, with an incredible ability to charm, manipulate, bluff, and talk his way out of a bad situation. For example: laying the groundwork for Bronn to champion him a full episode before he even knew there'd be a trial by combat. He's also able to talk his way from a situation where he's likely to be murdered by hill tribesmen to getting said hill tribesmen to serve as his bodyguards.
** Robb Stark, once he begins [[SupportingLeader resisting the Lannisters]], is forced to fight this way. He's massively outnumbered, and is forced to fight with masterful tactics. Fortunately, he is one of the best tacticians and strategists Westeros has ever seen, and he wins battle after battle (moving him into YoungConqueror territory, as well).

** Despite his rough, OldSoldier appearance, Davos Seaworth uses charisma, honesty, and diplomacy to bring allies to the cause of his king, such as when he brings Salladhor Saan into Stannis' service and then when he convinces the all-powerful Iron Bank of Braavos (an institution he formerly tried to rob and who have neither forgotten nor forgiven) into backing Stannis on pure nerve and implacable logic. He used to be a smuggler, an occupation that requires you to avoiding fighting as much as possible, and has only once drawn his sword. His experience helps compensate for Stannis' complete lack of charisma.

** For 6 seasons, Sansa Stark was held hostage by various powerful enemies who helped kill her family, under the constant threat of death or torture, without any hope of rescue or even comfort. Then she's rescued, and uses her bitter experience to become an infinitely more ruthless schemer and politician than her brother, the noble King in the North.
* ''Series/{{Gotham}}'': Though he is sometimes easily manipulated in the first two seasons because of his youth and the fact that he went through significant trauma, [[Characters/BatmanTheCharacter Bruce Wayne]] becomes better and better at using his knowledge of his enemies to outsmart them as the series goes on. Jim Gordon is sometimes written this way too, depending on the season. [[TheSmartGuy Lucius Fox,]] even though he [[NonActionGuy isn't usually in a position to directly confront the villains of the show]], also sometimes takes on this role when the GCPD has to deal with [[ComicBook/TheRiddler the Riddler]], because Riddler considers Lucius to be a {{worthy opponent}}.
* Methos from ''Series/{{Highlander}}''. An immortal at least 5,000 years old not because he's the greatest fighter, but because he is a clever, slippery and ManipulativeBastard who will do almost anything to survive.

** Younger brother Dewey evolves into this. Not as strong as Reese or clever as Malcolm, he starts as the put-upon punching bag but learns how to work the arrogant, short tempered and frequently distracted nature of the show's cast to his advantage.

* Henry from ''Series/OnceUponATime'' started the series at all of ten years old, but employs all kinds of tricks (stolen credit cards, the LivingLieDetector ability he appears to have inherited from Emma, taking advantage of his adopted mother's absences) in order to try and fight off the curse he's realized is affecting the town. Since that town is populated by exiled FairyTale characters, he also employs near-weaponized levels of GenreSavvy to spin things his direction (though he wound up being WrongGenreSavvy when [[spoiler: Peter Pan]] showed up). It tends to run in the family. His paternal grandfather is [[spoiler: the first-rate MagnificentBastard Rumplestitskin, but he has the moral compass of his ''maternal'' grandfather, PrinceCharming.]]

** Even when he is acting goofy, there is some level of this. His goofy demeanor and tendency to show-off means alot of criminals, especially those who pride themselves on their cleverness, underestimate him only to get hoodwinked and caught.

* ''Series/{{Scandal}}'': Olivia personifies this trope. In the pilot episode when she wants Amanda to leave town, all it takes is a two minute conversation in which Olivia describes every way she can ruin Amanda's life.

* And of course the precursor, James T. Kirk of ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' is the first guile hero. Sure he'd throw fists and judo chops when required, but his greatest skill was his ability at subterfuge. From lying about his ship's capability multiple times, to disguising himself as the enemy or pretending to know things he had no way of knowing just to throw his opponent off. Kirk owed much of his success to his enemies inability to tell if somebody is lying.
* The "under the radar" winner archetype from ''Series/{{Survivor}}'', who lets their SmugSnake accomplices do the major strategizing and take the heat for it, while banking on a superior social game to win the jury over in the end. Subverted with Natalie White from "Samoa", who was not pure dead weight strategy-wise (the Erik Cardona blindside) and [[XanatosSpeedChess adopted]] a less aggressive approach for pragmatic reasons, having wisely deducted that a female power-player would be nothing more than a walking target in that particular environment, instead just letting her SmugSnake partner dig his own grave.

* Queen Esther from ''Literature/TheBible'' managed to save thousands of innocent Jews from being slain by a SmugSnake's orders almost singlehandedly, using her incredible beauty, her charm, her quick wits, her PluckyGirl nature and her uncle Mordecai's wise counseling to work her way into King Xerxes's favor.

** Jacob straddles the line between this and MagnificentBastard. While he is generally considered a good guy and the father of the Hebrew people, he was also a crafty con man who managed to trick his eldest brother Esau out of his birthright and father's blessing, and after that went sour, he and his uncle Laban took [[GambitPileup turns conning each other]], with Jacob coming out ahead in the end.

*** A little explanation on the Augean Stables example above. Hercules was ordered by the Gods to serve his jealous cousin Eurystheus. Eurystheus, already having failed to kill him decided to humiliate him instead and ordered him to clean the Augean Stables. King Augeas had not cleaned them in 30 years. Hercules first surveys the area and notices the two rivers. He then went to King Augeas promising to clean the stables in a day, if Augeas would give him a tenth of his cattle. Augeas thinking that it was impossible and that he'd be getting a free days labor out of him agreed. Hercules brings his own sons in to watch Augeas swear an oath, and then diverts to rivers to pass through the stables. Cleaning them out. Augeas is forced to give up his cattle. Hercules walks away not getting his hands dirty, rich and having [[OutGambitted played]] two kings. However, this backfired on Hercules. Whether it was because the ''rivers'' (and by extension their river gods) technically did the work or because Hercules took payment from Augeas for the deed, this Labour was considered invalid. This is why Hercules ended up doing Twelve Labours instead of just ten.

* Per Gynt from Norwegian folklore qualifies as one of these. Most of the sticky situations he gets in he resolves by outsmarting the baddie. In one example, he convinces a hungry troll not to eat him by challenging him to a contest of feats of strength. In the rock crushing contest, Per squeezes the piece of cheese in his pocket, impressing the troll by squeezing "the water from a stone." In a rock throwing contest, Per grabs a bird out of a nearby bush and gives it a hurl. Needless to say, he was not eaten.

** He next is shown on in the GladiatorGames fighting a faster enemy with effective short-range weapons while he is slower, using a new 'Mech among other things, and armed mostly with long range weapons with a minimum range. He wins by unexpectedly firing some of his weapons ahead of his enemy, tricking him into pulling up short and right into Justin's sights.
** Justin next fights in a battle where his machine is slower and has less armor and long range firepower, and he is riding a 'Mech known to have unreliable weapons… so he tricks his foe into closing into close range, having ''equipped a very-short-range {{BFG}}'' beforehand that visually resembles the unreliable weapon. He annihilates his enemy's 'Mech in two shots.

** Outside of combat, Justin's story involves perhaps one of the biggest and most complicated scam operations in the history of the Inner Sphere--through a combination of exile, injury, and disgrace, he comes into the employ of the mortal enemy of his former liege lord. For several years he plays the role of a quisling, helping said enemy, Chancellor Maximillian Liao, make small but noticeable advances against Hanse Davion, his former lord. It all comes together at the end of the entire ploy, where the advantages Liao thought he had gained proved to be vulnerabilities instead, essentially getting Liao forces steamrolled in a very short, very one sided war where all of Liao's weaknesses were set up by Justin's advice and machinations to Chancellor Liao… as he was in fact still loyal to Hanse Davion, and taking this entire mission ''on orders'' from Davion.

* In ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'', Inquisitors blur the line between this and MagnificentBastard. The best, most loyal Inquisitors are this-- though they are willing to sacrifice millions, that's their [[TimeForPlanB plan b]]. The difference between what makes a good inquisitor and what makes a bad inquisitor is the bad ones make sacrificing millions their plan A. Mind you, 40k does follow AuthorityEqualsAsskicking, and Inquisitors are THE authority in the Imperium so they aren't pushovers in a fight. In practice they tend towards ActionHero too, or at the very least have someone to do that for them.

* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' has Hawke, who can be played this way if you often choose the humorous or charming options in dialogue. He/she can manipulate and schmooze with people to his/her advantage, and is presented as being [[ObfuscatingStupidity a lot more intelligent than he/she initially seems.]]

* This is the predominant hero in Creator/{{Sierra}}'s games from the 80s, including ''VideoGame/SpaceQuest'', ''VideoGame/KingsQuest'', ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry'' and numerous one shots. Very few of them had fighting options, requiring the protagonist - and player - to use his head.

** On top of being a ColonelBadass and ActionHero, Heidern can play the role of Guile Hero pretty well when it's needed. He gets his first try in KOF 99 and 2000, when he and the Ikari Warriors are tasked with investigating NESTS through the KOF tournament, and he does this again in XIII cia organizing and leading an Investigation Team (with Seth, Blue Mary, Ramon and Vanessa as its members), to check on the mysterious circumstances surrounding Those Of The Past -- and this is ''alongside'' always sending out the Ikari Warriors into the battlefield itself as well. [[spoiler: Too bad Ash is just as guile-ful and manages to perform his plan even ''with Heidern and Co. around''.]]

* Lillet Blan in ''VideoGame/GrimGrimoire'' out foxes the devil in a display of cunning that even impresses her demon teacher.

** Most of the games require the player to develop some skills with this with the demon talk mechanic, as you really have zero hope of advancing if you do not learn to interact with demons, learning to flatter, bribe and deceive them into serving you, helping you, or just leaving you alone.

** Mia Fey combines this with StealthMentor, often delivering cryptic clues to Phoenix about the weaknesses she spots in the witnesses and prosecutors. Phoenix himself turns into one by the time of ''Apollo Justice'', pulling of a truly impressive and long running BatmanGambit.
** The PlayerCharacter, no matter the installment. You play as either a defense attorney or a prosecutor, and bring criminals to justice only with wits, rhetoric and evidence.

** Mion is easily bored by academic studying, but is a genius leader and strategist [[spoiler:(…who once led a team of about seven teenagers to victory against a crack team of trained government agents, using only a friend's well-placed traps, knowledge of the terrain, and a small modicum of martial skill)]]. Interestingly, the gaming club she formed tends to attract these kinds of people- probably because in said club, cheating and anticipating how others will play is explicitly the only way to win, because everyone else is cheating too. And since humiliating 'punishment games' are always assigned to the one who comes in last, no one wants to lose.

** Junpei, the PlayerCharacter, can influence the other characters into doing what he wants with rhetoric. The most prominent usage of his cleverness is when getting people to go through the numbered door he wants: infamously done (if the player so wishes) with Door 3[[note]]he tricks three people into opening that door (which nobody wanted to explore) with him just so he could be with his love interest[[/note]], and also the voting for the third set of numbered doors[[note]]he switches his voting paper depending on the player's choice with the other characters none the wiser (except Ace if you take Door 1)[[/note]]. What's more, Junpei tricks a murderer into confessing with bluffs in one of the endings.[[note]]Claims to be someone else so the murderer [[ReflexiveResponse slips up]] and reveals their face-blindness, followed by claiming to have stolen a key piece of evidence while the culprit was knocked out, causing them to reflexively check for it. ''And'' the killer claims they're being framed (since Junpei's main piece of evidence is a note found in a safe that provided the motive) [[ClueEvidenceAndASmokingGun but Junpei points out that eveyone's using code-names]] so the killer ''must'' be the person mentioned by name in the note. The killer [[INeverSaidItWasPoison reacted to the name before Junpei said it was them.]][[/note]]
** June, AKA Akane, [[spoiler:AKA ''the person who kidnapped all the characters including Junpei'']], looks like a harmless CloudCuckoolander with ocassional fever bursts, but [[spoiler:gets Ace to murder his three business partners just by predicting how he would act when given the chance and means to kill them and giving said stuff to him. These victims, along with Ace, nearly got her killed 9 years ago, and accomplishes all of this without getting her own hands dirty]].

* Agent Washington in ''Machinima/RedVsBlue''. Church often attempts to be one, but fails more often than not.

* Averted in''Webcomic/DominicDeegan'': The title character likes to ''think'' of himself as one of these but [[HoistByHisOwnPetard his 'clever schemes' backfire on him]] often.

* Ayla "Phase" Goodkind of the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse''. He is genuinely concerned for people and sincerely wants to help them, and at need is ready to fight toe-to-toe with demons, monsters and supervillains, but Phase is at heart a [[TheChessmaster Chessmaster]] whose preferred realm is espionage, trickery, manipulation, bribery and financial pressure. As a ''friend'' puts it: "No one else quite has that ''when I rule the world I will not permit such behavior'' attitude".

* Teddy Ruxpin from ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfTeddyRuxpin''. Much of the time, he relies on words, gambits, quick-thinking skills, outwitting his enemies and the natural effect he has on people. Generally, he leaves the science to his friend Newton Gimmick and is too nice a guy to actually hurt his enemies [[BewareTheNiceOnes unless they push things too far]].
* Gumball Watterson from ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' may not be the smartest, or the strongest, and he doesn't have any special powers like some of his classmates, but he does have a quick wit and a silver tongue that he makes frequent use of. Examples of this include tricking Principal Brown into a [[EngineeredPublicConfession Engineered Public Confession]] in "The Pact." (Until it backfires when he starts confessing a little too much.), orchestrating a happy ending for Claire in "The Others", and defeating a troll simply by annoying it in "The Sorcerer." This appears to run in the family as his sister Anais also tricks her family into getting what she wants, as seen in "The Remote" and "The Password."

* Louie Duck in ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'' is described as "sharper than the sharpies" by his Uncle Scrooge. He is able to con villians (and his own family) and is (usually) able to talk his way out of problems due to being able to "see all the angles".

* WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures: Jade in general, though she's an impulsive ActionGirl a lot of the time, has a number of these moments throughout the series, and tends to be the one who thinks of USING the magical objects they find (i.e. The Talismans) more often than not, not to mention all the ways she's found to follow Jackie.

** Jade is accidentally trapped in the Demon Netherworld and her family tries to find the last remaining portal to rescue her. When she gets captured, with Po Kong the Mountain Demon wanting to EAT her, she reveals that their brother lied to them, and that only one of them can escape. [[BatmanGambit She KNEW that they would fight over who would get to use the portal to leave]], and uses the infighting to escape through the portal before they can.

* UsefulNotes/JosipBrozTito, TheLeader of the Yugoslav partisans in UsefulNotes/WW2. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Neretva One of his ruses involved blowing up the bridge over the river Neretva to make it look like his troops would go elsewhere, but then crossing the river using an improvised bridge]]. At the beginning of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar he broke off relations with the communist East Bloc, but also refused to join NATO. [[TakeAThirdOption Instead, he became one of the most prominent members of the Non-Aligned Movement]]. He also single-handedly held the disparate and not particularly friendly ethnic groups of Yugoslavia together for nearly forty years, and somehow managed to be a beloved leader to nearly all of them. When Tito died, it quickly became clear that ''nobody'' else was up to that job, [[BalkanizeMe and it took barely more than a decade for the ethnic tensions to rise to the point of civil war that broke Yugoslavia into 7 smaller nations]].

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Pujol_Garcia Juan Pujol Garcia]]. After being turned down as an intelligence agent by the British, he decided to do the job without any government backing, getting himself hired as a Nazi spy and creating an entire army of fictional employees to feed false information back to his boss. Eventually he went to the British again, who quickly hired him after seeing what he was capable of on his own, and became even more effective.

** '''[[JesusWasWayCool Jesus the Christ]]''. True, he was a MessianicArchetype, but he was also a master at outsmarting the Pharisés-- often using [[IronicEcho their own words]] against them. One example is the famous "cast the first stone" story; he saves a woman by putting her prosecutors in a double bind.

** ''[[Franchise/ShinMegamiTenseiPersona Persona]]'':

* UsefulNotes/JosipBrozTito, TheLeader of the Yugoslav partisans in UsefulNotes/WW2. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Neretva One of his ruses involved blowing up the bridge over the river Neretva to make it look like his troops would go elsewhere, but then crossing the river using an improvised bridge]]. At the beginning of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar he broke off relations with the communist East Bloc, but also refused to join NATO. Instead, he became one of the most prominent members of the Non-Aligned Movement. He also single-handedly held the disparate and not particularly friendly ethnic groups of Yugoslavia together for nearly forty years, and somehow managed to be a beloved leader to nearly all of them. When Tito died, it quickly became clear that ''nobody'' else was up to that job, [[BalkanizeMe and it took barely more than a decade for the ethnic tensions to rise to the point of civil war that broke Yugoslavia into 7 smaller nations]].

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' brings in Claude. The guy always prefers deceit and strategy to fair fights, constantly looks up intel on everybody around him with or without their knowledge, likes to have tricks up his sleeves to the point he considers poison-brewing a hobby, and always hides his sharp mind and keen political skills behind a laid-back attitude and endless wisecracks. It's not all positives, though: he's so well known for being underhanded that despite being unarguably the most good-natured of the three Lords who only wants peace for everyone, most people just don't trust him.

* Repossession agents often face angry people with guns, and resort to deception to find their target. Bounty hunters and fugitive hunters often face similar challenges, with the added problem that their targets are often already violent criminals and thus the prospect one more murder on the rap sheet might not be particularly daunting to the perp.

** ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'': Shallan slowly evolves into this over the course of the second book, learning how to fake various accents and lie more effectively, as well as general social lessons. She still blushes when confronted, though.
** ''Literature/{{Warbreaker}}'': [[spoiler:Vasher]] is a subversion. He's trying to be a guile hero, but he's absolutely terrible at it, as he has few social skills, no political connections or subtlety, and just plain doesn't like people. In fact, he's so bad at it that everyone (both in-universe and out) initially mistakes him for a villain. The truth is he's basically the magical equivalent of a ScienceHero. Notably, he ultimately saves the day not with any clever plans, but by [[spoiler:unleashing an unstoppable army that he helped create]].

* ''ComicBook/{{Shadowpact}}'': In their first battle, Strega easily defeats Enchantress thanks to superior power and experience. However, Enchantress knew that she was outmatched by Strega and wasn't even trying to win the fight at all. Rather, she was studying Strega's attacks to analyze her spells and figure out how to undo the barrier Strega had placed on the town.

* Koon Agero Agnis, 25th Baam and Ja Wangnan from ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod''. While one is a MagnificentBastard, the second is a sharp, but somewhat naive WideEyedIdealist and the last is a true-to-the-blood hothead.

* Alianne of Pirate's Swoop, the protagonist of the ''Literature/TortallUniverse'' series ''Literature/DaughterOfTheLioness''. Alianne of Pirates Swoop. She's a spy, chosen by a [[TheTrickster trickster god]], and she can't let her allies know her true identity. She lives entirely off her wits.

* Virgo Shaka from ''Anime/SaintSeiya'', who also is an ActionHero (as a Gold Saint), a CombatPragmatist ''and'' [[PsychicPowers a powerful psychic]]. The combination of all of these traits makes him an terrifying opponent. Also Aries Mu, Libra Dohko and Phoenix Ikki [[spoiler: who actually ''defeats'' Shaka by {{indy ploy}}ing his way around Shaka and [[OutGambitted out-gambitting]] him, which impresses Shaka quite a bit.]]

%%* In TheEighties, Creator/DCComics gave us two of what remain their best Guile Hero (and Guile Hero''[[GenderFlip ine]]''): Vril Dox and [[Comicbook/SuicideSquad Amanda Waller]].

* Franchise/{{Batman}}, especially in group settings where his companions and adversaries have superpowers that render his [[ScienceHero gadgets]] and [[ActionHero martial arts prowess]] less relevant. He's not called the World's Greatest Detective for nothing, and his habit of spinning victory from available resources have spawned the [[MemeticMutation popular belief]] that he can take down ''any'' opponent with nothing more than "ample time to prepare."

* Tony Stark, Comicbook/IronMan is a ScienceHero, but usually has to think on his feet and use his intellect for more than just designing weaponry.
%%* The Chief from ''Comicbook/DoomPatrol''.
* Comicbook/DoctorStrange, crossing over with ActionHero. He routinely deals with unimaginably powerful entities who could snap him like a twig in a straight fight, meaning he must look for and exploit their weaknesses, use his wits, and creatively [[IndyPloy play the situation as it develops]].

%%* Mason from ''Comicbook/TheInvisibles''.

* Franchise/{{Superman}} is no slouch with guile. While his life embodies BrainsEvilBrawnGood, he will often have to resort to having to outsmart his opponent when his brawn doesn't do him any good. This is most apparent against Mr. Mxyzptlk, as Supes has to trick him into saying his last name backwards because he is a nigh-omnipotnent RealityWarper.
** Many Silver Age stories were less about Superman fighting bad guys, but either using his powers in creative ways to resolve a problem or coming up with bizarre plans which lent themselves to covers known for their {{Superdickery}}.

%%* Zita from ''Webcomic/ZitaTheSpacegirl'' while she has few ActionHero moments, usually goes this route for most of the graphic novel.
* Comicbook/BlackPanther is sometimes this, depending on the writer. The epitome was Christopher Priest's run where he was running schemes against multiple opponents simultaneously. While he was more than capable of fighting in person, more often than not regardless of who beat who in the physical fight, T'Challa had already won in strategic terms.

* Queen Esther from Literature/TheBible managed to save thousands of innocent Jews from being slain by a SmugSnake's orders almost singlehandedly, using her incredible beauty, her charm, her quick wits, her PluckyGirl nature and her uncle Mordecai's wise counseling to work her way into King Xerxes's favor.

** '''[[JesusWasWayCool Jesus the Christ]]''. True, he was a MessianicArchetype, but he was also a master at outsmarting the Pharisés-- often using [[IronicEcho their own words]] against them. One example is the famous "cast the first stone' story; he saves a woman by putting her prosecutors in a double bind.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'', Inquisitors blur the line between this and MagnificentBastard. The best, most loyal Inquisitors are this-- though they are willing to sacrifice millions, that's their [[TimeForPlanB plan b]]. The difference between what makes a good inquisitor and what makes a bad inquisitor is the bad ones make sacrificing millions their plan A. Mind you, 40k does follow AuthorityEqualsAsskicking, and Inquisitors are THE authority in the Imperium so they aren't pushovers in a fight. In practice they tend towards ActionHero too, or at the very least have someone to do that for them.

---> ''"If you are of no use to Tiber Septim, he will see to it that you are of no use to his enemies either..."''

* ''Film/TheHungerGames'' has Katniss manipulating the emotions of the citizens of the evil empire to gain their support by [[spoiler: pretending to be in love with Peeta]]. Peeta himself is even better at manipulating them and is very charming to the population.
* In ''Film/TheHungerGamesCatchingFire'' Peeta drives his manipulative skill [[UpToEleven up to 11]] by [[spoiler: pretending that Katniss is pregant with his child]].
* ''Film/TheHungerGamesMockingjay'' has the good guys and the bad guys battling each other with very emotional political advertisement (and other things).

* All of the protagonists of ‘’Manga/FullmetalAlchemist’’. While they all do have their fair share of fighting skill, most battles are decided by the winners taking advantage of their opponents’ weaknesses, physical or mental.

* Disney/{{Aladdin}} is a roguish street rat who gets by via theft and charm and uses cunning and trickery to best most conflicts -- but we never doubt he's the good guy.

* Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps from ''Disney/{{Zootopia}}'' both get through problems primarily by being smart and fast-thinkers. Nick is arguably the more clever one, having grown up on the streets as a con artist, but Judy is no slouch herself (and makes up the difference with [[ActionGirl her police training]]).

* Shoryuu from ''Manga/TheTwelveKingdoms'' has some elements of this and ActionHero. While he's a very badass fighter, it's his manipulation talent and his ObfuscatingStupidity abits that helps him the most.

* ''ComicBook/{{Erstwhile}}'' has the title character of "The Farmer's Clever Daughter", who earns her happy ending by predicting what the king will do and [[EngagementChallenge solving a riddle he sets before her]].

* Gavin Guile of ''Literature/TheLightbringerSeries'' is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin worthy of his name]] (and then there's his other name... ItsComplicated), and his family are just as tricky (do not let [[TheDreaded his father]] even notice you exist). Bonus points for the name itself of course, but consider the level of BadassBoast in a family taking a name that warns their enemies "I'm going to trick you" and still pulling it off. For centuries.

* Dirk Provin from Jennifer Fallon's ''Literature/SecondSons'' trilogy. He's a brilliant political genius with nerves of steel and any more would give away the plot of the last two books.

* ''Literature/AmaranthineSaga: Argent, true to his fox nature, relies on misdirection and deception rather than brute strength to defeat his enemies

** Also the Face class in ''TabletopGame/{{Spycraft}}''.

* Shy, the protagonist of 'Film/ByHookOrByCrook', scams people, robs a vending machine, and hotwires several cars in his quest to get rich and help out his friends.

* ''WesternAnimation/KipoAndTheAgeOfWonderbeasts'': Benson is a very good scammer and frequently uses lies and general trickery to evade Mutes.

** Following in Batman's footsteps, Tim Drake (ComicBook/{{Robin|Series}} III, ComicBook/RedRobin adopts this facet for crime fighting, managing on one occasion to convince a superpowered life draining baddie he had no chance against in a fight that he was immune to his powers while horrifying him, causing him to surrender.

* From ''Series/{{Leverage}}'', Leverage Consulting and Associates as a group. They're a group of top-notch thieves who teamed up to take down even worse crooks. All of them (save [[NoSocialSkills Parker]]) are fairly good at deception. [[ConMan Sophie Devaraux's]] primary skill is "Grifter," meaning she never has to use force, or stealth. She says it herself - if she's doing her job right, the mark opens the door ''for'' her and lets her take what she wants. Hardison is primarily the TechnoWizard, but he's just shy of Sophie when it comes to a con (TruthInTelevision: Social Engineering attacks are probably the most common way someone accesses a computer system they're not supposed to). However,[[ManipulativeBastard Nate Ford]] has the title of "Mastermind" - he ''used'' to be the thieves' bane as an insurance agent, but when he went rogue, he becomes increasingly devious with his scheming. You always know the mark is screwed, but you never know quite ''how'' until Nate lays it out in the last act.

* Betty Cooper of '' Series/{{Riverdale}}'' can be very underhanded and manipulative in her quests to do what she thinks is right, even toeing the line of Villain Protagonist.