History Main / HonorbeforeReason

->"Shepherd Book always said, 'If you can't do something smart, do something right.'"

* Galad Damodred, from Robert Jordan's [[strike:12-book trilogy]] [[strike:DoorStopper]] bookshelf-destoryer fantasy series ''{{The Wheel of Time}}'', ''always'' does what is right, no matter the cost to himself or others. His half-sister considers him loathsome for this reason. He also joins the series' version of the [[KnightTemplar Knights Templar]], which created similar opinions in readers. This actually works in his favor in ''Knife of Dreams'' when he challenges an opponent knowing that his opponent was the better swordsman [[spoiler:only to win because his opponent was dragging out the fight to make Galad suffer. The result is that the [[KnightTemplar Knights Templar]] now follow him.]]

* Galad Damodred, from Robert Jordan's [[strike:12-book trilogy]] DoorStopper fantasy series ''{{The Wheel of Time}}'', ''always'' does what is right, no matter the cost to himself or others. His half-sister considers him loathsome for this reason. He also joins the series' version of the [[KnightTemplar Knights Templar]], which created similar opinions in readers. This actually works in his favor in ''Knife of Dreams'' when he challenges an opponent knowing that his opponent was the better swordsman [[spoiler:only to win because his opponent was dragging out the fight to make Galad suffer. The result is that the [[KnightTemplar Knights Templar]] now follow him.]]

* When Ellen Ripley of ''Film/{{Alien}}'' makes a promise, crosses her heart and hopes to die, you can bet your cocooned hide that no hive of monsters, snarling Alien Queen or imminent ''thermo-nuclear explosion'' will stop her from saving your life. And what Ripley Clone? Oh, that heartless, self centered emo-cynic bitch is just an alien-hybrid copy, not Ripley anyway.

* AntiVillain Prince Zuko of ''AvatarTheLastAirbender'' desperately wants the "honor" he believes only [[CompleteMonster his father]] can restore to him, and when the SnipeHunt he was sent on turns into an actual hunt for TheHero, Zuko becomes [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain something of]] a {{Determinator}}. The second and third seasons feature [[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor much internal conflict]] about what the nature of honor is, [[spoiler:culminating in a HeelFaceTurn for good,]] but he arguably never loses his focus on honor.

* In ''TheDresdenFiles'', the purpose of the Knights of the Cross is not to kill Denarians, but to save their hosts. They will give their foe every chance to surrender the coin, only killing the host if there is absolutely no other choice. And if the host does surrender the coin, their job is done, no matter how evil and vile the host may be, or how likely they are to seek another coin -- their purpose is not to judge, but to give each host a shot at redemption. Oddly enough, it does seem to work out for the best: [[spoiler:Sanya, Knight of the Cross and wielder of Esperacchius]] was a former Denarian host. However, also brutally subverted -- [[spoiler: Michael and Sanya walk away from a particularly nasty host who had surrendered his coin in order for his life to be spared. However, they didn't insist that harry do the same, and Harry, being the nice sort of chap he is, proceeds to break every major joint in the host's body with a baseball bat in order to extract important information and stop the host from escaping. And afterwards, the two Knights have a good laugh at the expression on the host's face when he realized he was left alone in a hotel room with a violently angry and vengeful man. The host deserved it many times over, but still, dick move Harry.]]

* Muslim "honor killings", where it's not frowned upon for familes to kill daughters that fall in love with someone other than the guy that the family picks for her.
** Honor killings also involve killing the rape victim instead of the perp(which would at least be comprehensible to, if not condoned by us). The reason for this is of course that killing the perp in a VigilanteExecution would cause a [[FeudingFamilies blood feud]]. This motive could be called more "reason before honor". If we choose to be "kindly" and not call it [[DirtyCoward something else]] that is.

* Slightly subverted in ''{{ReBoot}}''. Enzo has returned home to Mainframe, all grown up, big, strong and gunning for Megabyte, both literally and figuratively. When confronted by Enzo's gun, Megabyte taunts him into fighting like a "real sprite". Enzo puts away his gun...but then proceeds to send Megabyte flying with a punch hard enough to dent his chest, ''before'' Megabyte has a chance to prepare. And he then proceeds to do it ''again'' while Megabyte is still recovering from the first attack.

* Vashiel from ''{{Misfile}}'' is a prime example of this trope and firmly on the "LawfulStupid" side of the scale.
** He is magically bound to neither lie or even conceal the truth. And what does he do that's LawfulStupid? Try and get his brother to do good deeds to get back into Heaven?

* ''{{The Order of the Stick}}'': Lord Soon of the Sapphire Guard swore an oath of non-interference regarding the [[CosmicHorror Snarl]]'s Gates, other than his own. This was a good idea at the time, to prevent infighting from spoiling old friendships. However, ''all'' the paladins of the Guard still consider themselves bound by this oath, even though those to whom it was sworn are (probably) all dead, and seizing the Gates before the BigBad does is the key to saving the multiverse. Nevertheless, the oath takes precedence over the paladins' drive to oppose evil wherever it be found. This forces [[spoiler:Lord Shojo to get creative, and hire the title party to investigate the Gates instead.]]

** No longer true. A leader of the paladins eventually offers to help the Order of the Stick in their quest, if only by covering one of the remaining gates when the main characters go to find the other. He explains that [[spoiler:with Lord Shojo dead and their former home city occupied, their entire military order is effectively disbanded, so]] they're free to help the heroes as individuals if they want.

** Honor is one thing, but doesn't Ichigo know that limbs don't just grow back? You know dude, there are more important things to worry about than your own silly sense of a fair fight. Like, for example, the ENTIRE UNIVERSE!!!
*** Limbs have a funny habit of growing back when [[BarrierMaiden Orihime's]] around. He probably took that into consideration.

** As well as this, we have Captain [[IncurableCoughOfDeath Jushiro Ukitake]] (a.k.a. [[FanNickname Captain Tuberculosis]]), whose honorable ideals led to the death of his lieutenant, Kaien Shiba.

** Honor killings also involve killing the rape victim instead of the perp(which would at least be comprehensible to, if not condoned by us). The reason for this is of course that killing the perp in a VigilanteExecution would cause a [[FeudingFamilies blood feud]]. This could be called more "reason before honor". If we choose to be "kindly" and not call it [[DirtyCoward something else]].

** Medieval era Japanese samurai can be seen as an even more extreme example, with their ''entire lives'' being lived strictly according to what is most honorable, and then ending their life by charging into the [[InsurmountableOdds Jaws of Death]] because their lord commanded it, without a second thought. Of course, the only alternative is to [[FateWorseThanDeath become a]] {{ronin}}, {{So Yeah}}

* The heroes of the anime ''RurouniKenshin'' follow this trope to a tee. Surprisingly enough, even the heartless {{Darwinist}} villain Shishio Makoto follows this trope, threatening to kill his scheming right-hand man, Houji, who proposed a cowardly assault on the loved ones of the heroes while they dueled his lord; for such behavior is, to quote Shishio himself, "Against the Way of the Warrior." (They do it anyway.)
** In the manga, a different story. While he initially claimed the original plan would not be changed to include the attack on the Aoiya, because a challenge was a challenge, he then proceeded to [[http://www.onemanga.com/Rurouni_Kenshin/106/16/ claim the Aoiya idea as his own]] after lying to the Juppongatana about a supposed infraction Houji had committed that had put them in danger, as a way to put Houji on the spot and force him to prove the strength of his devotion.