History Main / NervesofSteel

* Dante from ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry''. This guy's reaction to things like giant demon birds threatening him, a three-headed ice dog trying to block his way, or a demon snake-plant trying to eat him? Dodging or no-selling whatever they try to do and taunting them back.

* Phoenix Wright from the ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' franchise. He's generally easily spooked or disheartened, but characters note time and again that he's at his best when under pressure, and true enough, he is pretty much unflappable once he has the murderer well and truly cornered.

* Nezha from ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'' ''Progressive'' calmly admits his culpability in a scam that resulted in many players being swindled out of their equipment while facing the rest of the "clearers" -- a group of the best players, who'd just downed the boss of the second floor (albeit with Nezha's help), despite knowing that the players could very well kill him for what he'd done.

** In [[LightNovel/FateZero the prequel]], Emiya Kiritsugu is also an excellent example, as a cool and collected individual who remains calm in dangerous situations and makes ruthless decisions without batting an eye. {{Subverted|Trope}}, as ends up breaking down by the end.

** ''[[UpdatedRerelease Golden]]'' has a scene that exemplifies this: [[spoiler: On the route to the true ending, if the Jester Link has been ranked up to 6 before the DiscOneFinalDungeon, it will auto-advance at certain points past it. After Rank 9, Yu has a choice to confront]] [[spoiler:[[EvilCounterpart Tohru]] [[BigBad Adachi]],]] [[spoiler:the character in question... who then pulls a gun on him. One of his responses to this is "You won't shoot me.", and in response]] [[spoiler:Adachi]] [[spoiler:does! Said bullet whizzes dangerously close to Yu's head... and he doesn't even ''flinch'' from it.]]

* ''VideoGame/IWasATeenageExocolonist'': If the protagonist has the Calm Temperament augment, their relaxed personality reduces the stress they get from working by 2 points.

** {{Space Marine}}s have the special rule "And They Shall Know No Fear," representing how their biological modifications and mental conditioning have left them without a real fear response. They can fall back if defeated in close combat or after suffering heavy casualties from enemy fire, but this is a TacticalWithdrawal rather than a rout, and the Space Marines automatically regroup after doing so.

-->'''Spongebob:''' Patrick, your snail is a ''rock.''\\
'''Patrick:''' Thanks, I know. He's got nerves of steel!
* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' Soundwave. ''Nothing'' scares him. Whether it be an Autobot rampaging through the halls of the ship, one of the Wreckers charging him head on, or what was for all intents and purposes a ''Terrorcon apocalypse'', he always handles the situation calmly and efficiently.

* 911 Dispatchers are frequently referred to as “The Calm in the Chaos.”

** Whitley doesn't have any combat prowess or experience, but when pushed into a corner he shows a surprising degree of resourcefulness in the face of danger and never loses his cool. [[spoiler:When Ruby's team is facing a collective HeroicBSOD over the invasion of Atlas, it's Whitley who starts strategising practical solutions, from calling Klein to doctor Nora's injuries to planning the evacuation of Mantle's citzens. During the Hound's attack on the manor in Volume 8, he never forgets to send out the drones to rescue Mantle before escaping; he tries slamming a door into its face even while fleeing; while everyone is shocked by the reveal of the Hound's true nature, he observes its moving into position to be crushed by a giant suit of armour, so encourages Willow to help him drop it, saving Ruby, Blake and Weiss in the process.]]

** Introduced after a train crash in Volume 6, Maria simply exits the carriage with a chirpy "That sure was a close one, eh?" while everyone is picking themselves up. When the group is forced to bunk down on an estate filled with dead bodies, she's the only one not freaked out and starts looking for books to read, it enables her to identify exactly what threat they're all facing and identify and activate the solution when everyone else is giving up. It's not just a sign that she's an ancient, highly experienced Huntress, it's part of her personality that she comes alive when faced with danger, rather than being disturbed or fearful like others.

* Lie Ren from ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' is extremely soft-spoken and stoic, and is more than capable of holding his own in a fight. Zigzagged in that his Semblance is one that literally mutes his emotions and those of others. This renders him and anyone he happens to be targeting completely undetectable to the Grimm.

* ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan'': During Khan's first attack against the ''Enterprise'', which severely damages engineering, all the engineering trainees and cadets are panicking except one: Midshipman Peter Preston, Scotty's nephew, who stays in his post through the chaos, helping save another engineer from being trapped behind the emergency doors. [[spoiler:Sadly, Preston dies from injuries he sustained afterwards]].

* ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan'': During Khan's first attack against the ''Enterprise'', which severely damages engineering, all the engineering trainees and cadets are panicking except one: Midshipman Peter Preston, who stays in his post through the chaos, helping save another engineer from being trapped behind the emergency doors. [[spoiler:Sadly, Preston dies from injuries he sustained afterwards]].

** Arthur Langtry is mostly portrayed as an ObstructiveBureaucrat who has it out for Harry personally, with his accomplishments as [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking leader]] of MagicalSociety mostly {{offscreen|MomentOfAwesome}}. In ''Literature/TurnCoat'', when TheMole unleashes a deadly monster in a White Council gathering, he [[BarrierWarrior wards it back]], formulates a battle plan, and telepathically coordinates all 200 wizards present with 3D visual aids, all within three seconds.

* Creator/{{Michelangelo}}'s ''The Torment of St. Anthony'' shows an old man being thrown into the air by a horde of demons that are scratching at him, beating him with clubs and yelling while said geezer displays about a tenth of an emotion. As the stories go, St. Anthony is so confident in UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}}' love that not even beatings from flying fish-monsters can panic him.

** Carrot Ironfoundersson doesn’t seem to comprehend his own mortality as he causally threatens dragons, walks in between armies of trolls of dwarves and isn’t even concerned when he’s surrounded by wolves. In ''Literature/{{Jingo}}'' he breaks up a fight between two battle hardened BloodKnight mercenaries talking to them like they’re misbehaving kindergarteners — at which their leader 71-hour Ahmed who witnessed it has to question Carrot’s boss Vimes if he’s real or not.

** ''VideoGame/WarioWare'': Spitz is very calm and collected, even after getting stiffed and driving in the middle of a UFO crossfire, but when he and Dribble were hit and almost knocked out by a laser, he [[BerserkButton SNAPS]].

** Susan Sto Helit thinks logically all the time (well, ''nearly'' all the time, as everyone has their blind spots) when others wouldn't -- which means both in a dangerous situation and, let's face it, most of the rest of the time too.

* "The Dinner Party" by Mona Gardner takes place at a dinner party in India, where a woman is arguing that women have grown out of [[EekAMouse jumping onto a chair when they see a mouse]] and a colonel is arguing that a woman's first response to any danger [[WomenAreDelicate is to scream]]. The American guest sees the hostess put a bowl of milk outside, realizes that she's baiting a snake that's [[OhCrap under the table]], and suggests they play a "game" of sitting still for 3 minutes to settle the argument. The snake is safely lured outside and the colonel takes it as proof of his point that men have superior emotional control, while the American asks the hostess how she knew the snake was there. She responds [[spoiler:"Because it was crawling over my foot."]].

* Helena of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil6''. Notably, she's just as calm as Leon is, even though she's never faced zombies before. [[spoiler:During the battle with Simmons, he flings a very large chunk of debris right at her head, and it misses by inches. ''She doesn't even flinch'', [[BoomHeadshot and promptly returns the favour]].]]

* ''Anime/CodeGeass'' has the main AntiHero protagonist [[GuileHero Lelouch]] [[FallenPrincess vi Britannia]]. In episode one alone, though he freaks out over the situation he finds himself -- among terrorists and then in the centre of a massacre -- he manages to keep a level head to do his best to extract himself and the MysteriousWaif who is the real target from the dangerous situation. And once he gets his Geass? Well, being able to calmly stand there as a giant mecha shoots around him is only the beginning... Lelouch might be a LargeHam emotional mess, but within a crisis or situation he's able to keep his cool unless certain triggers are pressed.

* ''VideoGame/IWasATeenageExocolonist'': If the protagonist has the Calm Temperament augment, their relaxed personality reduces the stress they get from working by 1 point, 2 if they use the Calm Temperament card in card challenges (but it doesn't work at maximum stress).