History Main / PositiveDiscrimination

** Also, while Pepper Potts is not portrayed as an ActionGirl, the second and third movies epecially try to drive home that she's much [[CloserToEarth more sensible]] than Tony and morally superior as well... even as she spends the entire movie being passive-aggressive and rude. In the second movie, she becomes the company's CEO despite spending most of her career as a secretary.

** Also, while Pepper Potts is not portrayed as an ActionGirl, the movie still tries to drive home that she's much [[CloserToEarth more sensible]] than Tony and morally superior as well... even as she spends the entire movie being passive-aggressive and rude. In the second movie, she becomes the company's CEO despite spending most of her career as a secretary.

** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7c16swRoMU Daniel]] [[Series/{{Tosh0}} Tosh]] would like to have a word with her.

* SidneyPoitier's most famous starring roles in ''Lilies of the Field'', ''Film/ToSirWithLove'', ''Film/InTheHeatOfTheNight'' and ''Film/GuessWhosComingToDinner''. For the most part, all these roles have Poitier playing men who are nearly perfect specimens of humanity except for a bit of righteous anger at injustice. ''Dinner'' is the most blatant with character being less a man than an demigod of perfection.

* Asians (the Chinese in particular) are also often depicted [[AsianRudeness acting superciliously - sometimes even cruelly - toward other characters]], especially if the topic in question is something that Asians are "naturally" better at (martial arts, philosophy, etc.). This trend has inspired the ''Website/{{Cracked}}'' website to identify a common negative stereotype: "The Wise Old Asian Asshole." Pai Mei in the ''Film/KillBill'' movies probably took this character type about as far as it could go - so far, in fact, that Pai Mei's extreme sadism drove one of his victims to murder him in revenge.

The issue of Positive Discrimination can lead to a case of UnpleasableFanbase. On one hand, lack of Positive Discrimination, as stated above, puts the writer in danger of being called racist, sexist, etc. just because they gave the TokenMinority [[FelonyMisdemeanor something as heinous as a common flaw]]. On the other hand, it puts the discriminatee in danger of becoming the CreatorsPet, since he/she will often be seen as a MarySue or MartyStu in the eyes of the audience that is blatantly shilled one too many times and it leads to major UnfortunateImplications that someone from X isn't equal, but superior and can do [[PuritySue no wrong]]. Even worse, in RealLife it tends to set the victim up for a dizzying fall: if they are assumed to be so hypercompetent, then their making even the slightest mistake will be seen as disgrace or, worse, hypocrisy. (To quote BillCosby: "If a white man falls off a chair drunk, it's just a drunk. But if a black man does it, then it's the whole damned Negro race.")

* In AvatarTheLastAirbender, Azula is a villain more competent than Zuko. Justified because Zuko is NobleDemon, while Azula is straight villain.

** And then you get whiplash when they leave training and she becomes a complete FauxActionGirl who's no use at all.

* Occurs in the movie version of ''Film/GetSmart'' due to ValuesDissonance. Agent 99 being the competent and experienced professional while Maxwell Smart was a blundering incompetent was originally a surprising and subversive twist. Today it just seems like this trope. In fact they seem to have made Maxwell ''more'' competent in order to compensate. This may be to rectify the fact that in the original, 99 ''admires'' Smart, likes him being in charge, and is prepared to completely ignore his lack of ability in favor of his experience, character, and tendency towards dumb luck. The modern 99 is clearly aware of Max's inexperience, so they had to give him at least some capabilities.

* A particularly common theme in comics is to have black scientists as well, especially circa the 1970s or 80s, where it would likely have seemed ironic and well intentioned of the writers- Cyborg's parents (and his love interest at STAR Labs), Bumblebee of the Comicbook/TeenTitans, and more. Marvel examples include Thunderball (the ''only'' black member of the universally idiotic thugs in The Wrecking Crew was the brilliant nuclear physicist), Vermin, and streetwise more standard-type geniuses like Hobie Brown, among others. There's also Chemestro (Hood's go to science guy) and Deadly Nightshade from MODOK'S 11.

** Played more straight in ''TheGarfieldShow'' where Liz is far less snarky and irritable and willingly dates Jon from the get go. Jon, while not quite as brainless as his comic counterpart, is still pretty pathetic.

* Coco Bandicoot of the ''Franchise/CrashBandicoot'' series is significantly more intelligent and CloserToEarth than her brother ([[IdiotHero though that's not much of a challenge]]) and [[ActionGirl not far off in terms of physical power either]]. Interestingly, as more female characters were introduced in later titles, Coco seemed to gain more prominant [[TookALevelInJerkass obnoxious]] and [[TookALevelInDumbass idiotic]] tendancies (in addition to [[DistressedDamsel getting kidnapped frequently]]), though still seems somewhat saner than her male comrades.
* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius'', FantasticRacism between humans and the shapeshifting beast-men races called the Laguz are a major theme. While there are many senselessly evil or stupid human characters, in the first installment of the verse there was not a single evil Laguz. They were either outright heroic, brutally tortured and crazily brainwashed into attacking the heroes, or had a [[AntiVillain very good reason]] for opposing the good guys[[hottip:*:Yes, this includes Naesala and his ravens, considering that all the piracy and mercenary work they do is for the sake of feeding their people at home.]]. It got a bit better in the sequel, with a few Laguz bandits, some Laguz too big on the whole BloodKnight thing, references to the days when they would [[BurnTheWitch burn]] the [[HalfHumanHybrids branded]] at the stake etc., but not exceptionally either.
* According to an official {{Epic Mickey}} profile, "whether she's busy fending off unwelcome advances from the notorious Pete or wishing that Oswald would spend more time with her and their copious children, Ortensia is - in every way - Oswald's better half".

* On the blog [[http://www.regretsy.com/ Regretsy]] (which mocks pretentious or ridiculous items on the craft site Etsy), people who leave honest criticism in threads full of fawning approval have their own name and avatar replaced by a default one made up by Regretsy and the name "[[OnlySaneMan The Only Sane Person In The World]]". The icon is of a black woman.
* ''RedVsBlue'' used to have this issue, when the only female characters were Tex and Shiela, one of whom is canonically ''the'' biggest {{Badass}} in the series and the other is a tank's AI. Later seasons grew out of this to some extent, after introducing a female character who is just as laughably incompetent as the main cast (Sister), and giving real flaws to the more hypercompetent ladies (Tex).

** One could argue this is less a case of Positive Discrimination and more WouldntHitAGirl. That said, Lola arguably exemplifies CloserToEarth, and she's the most talented basketball player of all the WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes. (Given that [[SeriousBusiness the entire premise of the movie revolves around basketball]], one could argue how much of an edge this gives her).
* Illustrated quite well in ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents''. Although (much like ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'') the emphasis on humor quickly turned the entire cast into idiots, viewers were constantly reminded that Cosmo and Timmy's dad were ''far'' stupider than their female counterparts Wanda and Mrs. Turner.
** However, that's not to say Wanda and Mrs. Turner are perfect (or even close). Wanda borders on being a complete bitch more often than not, while Mrs. Turner is still (usually) neglectful and not exactly a genius, even if she seems so in comparison to Mr. Turner. As for other female characters, Vicky is the embodiment of evil, Tootie and Veronica are borderline-psychotic stalkers, and Trixie is a bit bitchy and air headed. In fact, the guys on average, sans Cosmo and Mr. Turner, probably have it better off. Despite some of their flaws (Timmy being a bit of a slow minded JerkAss, AJ being a bit of an InsufferableGenius, Chester being poorer than dirt), they're all otherwise relatively normal kids who are (usually) able to handle themselves.

** This is averted in the later series(Alien Force and Ultimate Alien), where there are even times she needs to learn an Aesop.

* In ''TheProudFamily,'' Penny dates Johnny, a wheelchair bound boy, out of pity. However, it turns out that Johnny is a very rude and horrible person who uses his disability to his advantage to make people do things for him. Eventually, Penny has enough and tells him to take a hike.

* Foxxy Love of ''DrawnTogether'' is consistently portrayed as the smartest, most moral character on the show (though that isn't saying much). She is even referred to in one episode as being "the only person in the house who isn't ''completely'' retarded". In contrast, the show's white characters (Hero, Clara, and Toot) are [[AcceptableTargets fair game for all kinds of abuse]]. (Xandir, who is AmbiguouslyBrown, vacillates between being a ButtMonkey and TheWoobie.)
** Her more responsible nature seems to come from her [[CaptainErsatz originator]] in ''JosieAndThePussycats'' who is also an example of this trope.

* ''{{Sealab 2021}}'' invokes this trope with Dr. Quinn, in order to mock it.
* Averted with GenkiGirl Frida Suez of ''ElTigre''. She is just as mischievous and misguided as Manny, if not more so. In the same vein as Babs, she also suffers double the amount of [[AmusingInjuries painful-looking slapstick]] than her male co-star.

* Played with and then mocked in a ''RobotChicken'' sketch where they play a skit once, then play it with the races reversed. Then they do something completely unrelated to the previous two skits. Each is bookended by a scientist asking what the audience feels about the skits, then concluding something completely nonsensical.
** Subverted in the ''RobotChicken'' short [[http://video.adultswim.com/robot-chicken/12-angry-little-people.html 12 Angry Little People]] in which the only black juror starts to loudly complain about how the police once took his shoe-shine box and beat him with it while using a stereotypically ignorant inflection. When the others stare at him in disgust he says, "What? Every black man on the TV gots to be a posi-a-tive role model?"

* In ''TheGoodeFamily'' this was lampshaded with the quote "We can't hire minorities! That's racist! [[HypocriticalHumor It's whites only at the Goode house.]]"
* ''JusticeLeagueUnlimited:'' Every time the female league members are shown sparring with the male league members, the female members win, despite their individual powers, strengths, any invulnerability, their level of training, and basic logic.
** Personality-wise, all the team members have flaws - black GreenLantern John Stewart is quick to jump to conclusions and lay blame, and Hawkgirl is hot-headed. WonderWoman's main flaw seems to be that she's a bit naive and stuck up. In fact, the least flawed character seems to be the white male Batman, but that's because he's CrazyAwesome. While Batman does have issues of his own [[InformedFlaw which are mentioned but rarely used against him]], namely his obsessiveness, lack of trust, and anti-social tendencies, these flaws often contribute to his success as a hero, rather than detract from it.

** It's worth noting that this is somewhat in contrast to Suzie's debut role in "Meet The Carmichaels", where she is introduced as [[BrattyHalfPint fickle crybaby]]. [[WhatTheHellHero "Tricycle Thief"]] also greatly subverts her CanonSue role.
** It's also worth noting that ''AllGrownUp'' subverts this even more by giving Susie realistic flaws. In the first episode she is easily conned by a woman into giving her $1000 thinking it's for a record deal, in another she completely buckles under pressure when she has to juggle an audition and a spot on her language team, she's shown to resent how the others look on her as perfect as well as sometimes acting rudely towards Angelica.

* Sandy Cheeks of ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'' played this to such extremes early on she almost comes off as a [[ParodySue parody]] of the trope. Compared to the more flawed males cast, Sandy was much CloserToEarth and often acted as the [[CanonSue unfallable voice of reason]] as well as being extremely talented in both intellectual and brawn levels, suggested to be [[GodModeSue both the strongest and smartest member of Bikini Bottom]]. Following the second season, Sandy was arguably swayed from this trope, being granted her [[{{Cloudcuckoolandder}} own]] [[LargeHam set]] [[SmallNameBigEgo of]] [[JerkJock flaws]] and often having her overboard positive aspects parodied or Lampshaded. However this came to be played straight again in later post-movie episodes, where the rest of the cast were Flanderized to extreme levels and Sandy arguably ending up the only main character not to have her [[JerkAss callous]] or [[TooDumbToLive idiotic]] traits exagerrated.

* Penny of ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget'', the most down to earth character on the show and several times more competant than her Uncle Gadget and the entire police department combined, it is not rare for her to save the day almost single handedly while the latter completely screw things up (she is a 10 year old girl). Granted Brain is near equally skilled, if far more blundering and neurotic in execution. Other female characters such as bumbling MAD agents appear but are rare.
* In the eighties cartoon ''BionicSix'', the family started out with three children, two of their own (a boy and a girl) and an adopted child who was black. The male son was a jock, and [[ButtMonkey go-to guy for saying or doing anything stupid]]. The adopted black son was not only just as big of a school hero jock as the white son, but was a ''supergenius'' on top of that.
* BlackPanther of ''WesternAnimation/AvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'' is part of an 80% Caucasian team of superheores, and he still manages to be one of the most impressive ones. He is [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower athletic and strong enough to fight the rest of the team to a standstill]], a genius comparable to [[Comicbook/IronMan Tony Stark]] except GenreSavvy enough to accept magic and the supernatural, the ''king'' of a super-advanced country, and has a MorphWeapon made out of the rare and powerful Vibranium (which is almost exclusively found in the country he is ''king'' of anyway). He especially stands out because everyone has [[DysfunctionJunction huge personal problems that they deal with every day]], but Panther didn't get one until season 2. [[spoiler: NickFury lets the team know that Panther's friend {{Hawkeye}} might actually be an alien spy. After Hawkeye denies this, the possibility that any Avenger could actually be an alien spy gives Panther paranoia that doesn't let up until the real Avengers ''twice'' save Wakanda.]]
* ''TheSimpsons'' is renowned for using this at it's most intense form, with Marge and Lisa often established as gifted, intelligent and sensible characters, while Homer and Bart usually play immoral idiots who instigate the dilemma of each episode. The show's long run (along with {{Flanderization}} taking it's toll) has led to numerous reversals and deconstructions (Lisa has gained an ego complex due to this trope, sometimes condescending and underestimating Bart and Homer, while Marge's sensible demeanor was exaggerated to the point she needs Homer for any impulsive drive), but the trope's formula is still easily the most consistent.

* In the Lego series ''{{Bionicle}}'', each Toa team has only one female on it, the main three so far being Gali, Nokama and Hahli. In each case they are the least flawed and the wisest members of their teams. Particularly noticeable in ''Legends Of Metru Nui'' in which each Toa Metru is given a major character flaw which they must overcome to unlock their individual mask powers, such as Vakama's lack of confidence and Matau's inability to stop and think before rushing in. Not only is Nokama's flaw relatively small (not admitting when she's wrong), [[InformedFlaw it is only referenced once and she overcomes it very early on, extremely quickly.]]

* It goes without saying that any work shot through with a racially or culturally supremacist viewpoint is going to avoid this trope like the plague (like ''TheBirthOfANation'' and ''The Eternal Jew'').
* Unless they're the protagonists, Jewish characters in many stories (where most of the characters are ''not'' Jewish and [[InformedJudaism the one character's Jewishness is made explicit]]) will often be arrogant and obnoxious, talking down to Gentile characters with a "know-it-all" attitude. Almost any character portrayed by Jon Lovitz will come off this way. A well-known example is his portrayal of Artie Ziff, Marge Simpson's creepy former boyfriend on ''TheSimpsons'' who acted snooty toward Homer back in high school. Marge once asked Artie if he knew why everyone disliked him, and his answer was "Anti-Semitism?" Marge then had to inform Artie that he was so hated because he was an insensitive {{Jerkass}}.
* Asians (the Chinese in particular) are also often depicted [[AsianRudeness acting superciliously - sometimes even cruelly - toward other characters]], especially if the topic in question is something that Asians are "naturally" better at (martial arts, philosophy, etc.). This trend has inspired the ''Website/{{Cracked}}'' website to identify a common negative stereotype: "The Wise Old Asian Asshole." Pai Mei in the ''KillBill'' movies probably took this character type about as far as it could go - so far, in fact, that Pai Mei's extreme sadism drove one of his victims to murder him in revenge.

* ''TheManShow'', as its name suggests, takes a [[JustJokingJustification (jokingly)]] male-supremacist attitude toward the world, even going so far in the very first episode to [[RefugeInAudacity start up a petition to repeal women's suffrage]]. Somewhat softened in that most of the male characters - including the two hosts themselves - are hardly paragons of virtue, and also in that the treatment of the pretty girls on the show was generally with the relatively harmless "sex object" stereotype (although occasionally the gags would get crueller than that). One spoof episode even had the hosts get in touch with their "feminine" sides: while continuing to wear male clothing, they acted much less raucous and talked in gentle tones and [[CuteKitten cuddled some kittens]] in the finale. (However, recent radio-show remarks by Adam Carolla suggest that his chauvinistic attitude on the show may not have been just an act.)

* The 2000 stoner comedy ''DudeWheresMyCar?'' has two white, Anglo-Saxon (though admittedly drug-addled) young men as its protagonists, and many of the butts of the movie's jokes are women, ethnic minorities, or other generally exotic or eccentric characters. There's the [[SassyBlackWoman sassy black female cop]] who is mean to our heroes when they get arrested, as well as the obnoxious, screeching, [[YouNoTakeCandle barely articulate]] Asian immigrant who works the drive-thru speaker at the "Chinese Fooood" restaurant. The one French character in the movie is a [[FrenchJerk sadistic pervert]]. Blonde beauty Christie Boner is an [[BrainlessBeauty idiotic slut]], while the protagonists' twin girlfriends are harpy-like and generally bitchy. On the other hand, Christie's boyfriend and his gang of (mostly) white bullies who torment our heroes certainly fall under the JerkJock stereotype.
* Melvin Udall (JackNicholson) in ''AsGoodAsItGets'' is a lonely romance novelist afflicted with a serious case of obsessive-compulsive disorder (which, granted, isn't a "traditional" disability but still can - and often does - wreak quite a bit of havoc with its victims' daily lives). In a more trite or inoffensive film he'd come off as TheWoobie due to this trope. But director James L. Brooks turns him into more of a JerkassWoobie whose extreme shortage of social skills has made him unbearably rude and misanthropic. (He's been prescribed pills for his disorder, but never takes them because he's too ashamed to.) Much of the movie is concerned with Melvin slowly becoming friendlier and more sensitive, especially to a gay neighbor whom he had mocked earlier in the film. Especially shocking is a scene in which Melvin, irritated that his daily breakfast at the diner just down the street from his apartment is not going as planned, offhandedly mocks a waitress for being [[HollywoodPudgy "fat."]] The restaurant owner immediately flies into a rage and [[BreakTheHaughty forces Melvin to leave the building]], prompting ''everyone'' else in the diner to [[AndThereWasMuchRejoicing burst into wild applause]] - a humiliating punishment that would ''never'' be administered to any disabled character suffering from any ailment more serious than OCD, unless said character blatantly crossed the MoralEventHorizon.

* Danish short film Election Night completely obliterates this. The entire movie is about a guy who, in his constant quest to be as politically correct as possible and thus has an EverythingIsRacist attitude to everything, is trying to go vote on time and has to take several different taxis - two of the three are driven by deplorable white men (one is heavily hinted to be a neo-nazi) - but one is driven by a sterotypical immigrant cab driver who suddenly asks him to vote to 'make sure those Yellow bastards get out of the country' because they keep closing down kebab bars and opening chinese restaurants instead.
* The disabled protagonists of ''RoryOSheaWasHere'' are as flawed and human as everyone else in the film.
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' more or less completely averts this. While this is to be expected since the large majority of the cast are female, the show also goes to great lengths to show similarly varying degrees of competence and morality with their few male characters. Spike in particular, while rarely the main hero, trades the IdiotBall and SanityBall rather equally with Twilight Sparkle with both showing a similar dependance on each other (this is keeping in mind Twilight is one of the saner female characters).
* Also most averted in ''TaleSpin'', Baloo is portrayed with little business sense and his air company is shown as a mess until Rebecca buys and reinnovates it. However, Rebecca contrasts Baloo both in strengths and flaws, being far more naive and less streetwise and making occassionally awful business assumptions, meaning both often need to other to run the company. Episodes tend to [[SanityBall rotate rather evenly]] as to whether Baloo or Rebecca are the instigator in a problem or the one solving it.
* Generally averted in ''AxisPowersHetalia''. The men are all nutty and pass the IdiotBall and SanityBall amongst them, but the women are just as insane. Like Hungary (didn't even realize she was a woman until well into adulthood, has a HotBlooded temper, and has been willing to let France molest her husband just to get compromising pictures) and Seychelles (a {{Cloudcuckoolander}} who tries to pester people into visiting her house). Even Liechtenstein, a sweet, quiet young girl, has done goofy things like insisted her brother wear her pajamas as a gift (ItMakesSenseInContext) and was distracted from her self-defense lessons when she saw how cute Switzerland's drawings were.

This trope can usually be averted simply by adding more than one of the given minority; then they can spread the competence around. Failing that, they can try not making it a big deal that the character is X, and maybe no one will care that they're also depicted as flawed human beings. SpeculativeFiction can manage the latter pretty well by creating a culture where women/"minorities" are in positions of power and no one thinks it's unusual (invoking FantasticRacism optional), but sometimes they dip into this trope anyway.

The issue of PositiveDiscrimination can lead to a case of UnpleasableFanbase. On one hand, lack of PositiveDiscrimination, as stated above, puts the writer in danger of being called racist, sexist, etc. just because they gave the TokenMinority [[FelonyMisdemeanor something as heinous as a common flaw]]. On the other hand, it puts the discriminatee in danger of becoming the CreatorsPet, since he/she will often be seen as a MarySue or MartyStu in the eyes of the audience that is blatantly shilled one too many times and it leads to major UnfortunateImplications that someone from X isn't equal, but superior and can do [[PuritySue no wrong]]. Even worse, in RealLife it tends to set the victim up for a dizzying fall: if they are assumed to be so hypercompetent, then their making even the slightest mistake will be seen as disgrace or, worse, hypocrisy. (To quote BillCosby: "If a white man falls off a chair drunk, it's just a drunk. But if a black man does it, then it's the whole damned Negro race.")

* The Ignored Gender has a series called "'''[[http://www.youtube.com/user/theignoredgender/videos Misandry in the Media]]'''", already up to 14 videos featuring all of the commercials that portray men as idiots and women as flawlessly superior.

* Motoko Kusanagi of ''GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'', the sole female on her team, is the most skilled member of Section 9, being an expert hacker and skilled in both hand-to-hand combat and firearms. She even outdoes some of the other team members at their own specialties; anyone fighting her will lose because the Major is a GeniusBruiser and turns people's advantages against them.

** Deunan from his previous manga ''{{Appleseed}}'' is much less perfect and relies heavily on her much more level headed partner/boyfriend Briareos. Yet she is still the only woman of the unit and by far the most badass officer on the force.

* In ''{{Eyeshield21}}'', Patrick "Panther" Spencer, the only black character in the series, gets this treatment. By the final arc, where a chapter or play doesn't seem to be able to go by without saying he's greater than everyone else due to "his black genes", it really sticks out.

* There was a time in the 1980s when MarvelComics' two flagship ensemble teams, the Comicbook/{{X-Men}} and Comicbook/TheAvengers, both had black female leaders. However, there's a reason why Storm caught on with readers and became a very popular character and [[CaptainErsatz Captain Marvel]] (yes, that [[NextWave Captain Marvel]]) did not. The latter was a girl scout who was as close to being TheCape without actually wearing one, whereas the former actually had more than one dimension and is an interesting character in her own right.
** In addition to Storm of the X-Men and Monica "Formerly Known as Captain Marvel" Rambeau of Comicbook/TheAvengers and {{Nextwave}}, Slingshot naturally gravitated to the leadership role of {{Dynamo5}}, Skyrocket was the field leader of the Power Company, Misty Knight led Heroes for Hire, Vixen briefly gravitated to the leadership role of the JusticeLeague, Jet of the Global Guardians, Vaporlock of Infinity Incorporated, Kid Quantum II of the ComicBook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}, Amanda Waller of the SuicideSquad ... if you put a black woman on a superhero team, chances are she'll be running the show eventually. Oh, and Bumblebee ended up leading Titans East on the ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' cartoon.
* Although in theory ''SimpsonsComics'' (like ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' itself) is non-discriminatory in its negative stereotypes and ''everyone'' was supposed to be a blockhead, the Superior Squad (a superhero team led by Bart Simpson's favorite comic-book character Radioactive Man that fought supervillains between the 1950s and 1990s) mostly adhered to this trope. The team consisted of six men and two women - and guess which two were the most positively portrayed? One of the females, Lure Lass, was a regular MarySue, while the other, Weasel Woman, did have ''some'' flaws but was braver and more {{Badass}} than everyone else on the team, including Radioactive Man himself. In contrast, the two most profoundly flawed Superior Squad members were male, as well as the two ostensibly most powerful: Purple Heart (who later changed his name to [[BourgeoisBohemian "Bleeding Heart"]], then to [[DarkerAndEdgier "Heart of Darkness"]], then to "Bleeding Heart" again, and finally to [[BloodyHilarious "Bloody Heart"]]), who was your standard [[SmallNameBigEgo Ted Baxter]] type, and RM himself, who was well-meaning but very much a WindmillCrusader and rather stupid.
* Amy in ''SonicTheComic'' was made into TheLancer with ImprobableAimingSkills due to ExecutiveMeddling. She had few flaws compared to her very flawed male counterparts, and Tekno (another thoroughly competent female character). Ironically her intitial persona was surprisingly close to the lovesick CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass Amy of the later games.
** While Amy herself is a much more abrasive character in the [[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehog American Sonic comics]], it plays this straight with a fair few other characters. Sally and Bunnie are usually more rational and CloserToEarth than many male Freedom Fighters, who are often harbored by significant flaws like arrogance or temper issues, meanwhile the female leads' shortcomings are often more minor or down to circumstance than deep personality issues (eg. Bunnie's robotization, Sally's responsibilities as leader and monarch). Julie Su leans less into this vein, more or less acting as a DistaffCounterpart to Knuckles, though is still ''slightly'' more rational than him.
* In issue ten of ''{{Batman}} and Robin'' (New 52 version), a BigBad gathers together various people that feel like they've been injured or wronged by Batman. Almost all of them were injured through the results of their own actions and stupidity, or in one case were simply embarrassed. The lone female of the group is also the only one whose injuries were purely the result of Batman's actions towards her, thereby making her the only one with some small amount of legitimacy to her anger. Her injuries are also relatively minor and no more disfiguring than many body piercings... apparently she simply decided to keep them rather than having them removed.
* Black-a-Jack in ''LeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen''. Where do we start? His oversized head houses a brain similar in density to a black hole. He has to step lightly so he doesn't crack Earth in half. He disables any humanoid opponents just by raising his voice. He builds himself a language of his own that seems to splice and synthesize English and Dutch at will, because saying just one word at a time is a dullinquent waste of vocablishment; he builds himself a spaceworthy flying ship seemingly powered by the scent of roses; he's the single most interesting, possibly most in depth, inarguably by far the most intelligent, most funny, outrageous, sexy, free-spirited and most phenomenally powerful character encountered in this work of infinite fiction; he doesn't even show up on the page very often as the writer probably realizes nothing could stop him from [[EnsembleDarkhorse stealing the show]] and depriving it of drama. ''And'' he has a '''huge'''. . .personality.

* In ''MrAndMrsSmith''. Jane Smith is professional and usually the one to be in control of the situation. John Smith makes bumbling mistakes and more than once seems to succeed purely on luck. He is also not as cold-hearted as his wife. It appears she paid for that skill with her charisma and wisdom stats.

* A scene in the film ''{{Dogma}}'' depicts two angels condemning a room full of businessmen for their ([[CorruptCorporateExecutive many]], many) sins such as child molestation, among other things. Every one of them are male, and the only female in the room is a secretary, whose worst sin was not saying "God bless you" when one of the angels sneezed.

* Pick any kids' sports movie, and there will be [[JackieRobinsonStory one female player]] on the team. This girl will never miss a shot or strike out on camera. (Arguably, this implementation began with the original ''BadNewsBears'' movie in the 1970s.)
** ''Film/SpaceJam'''s Lola Bunny
* ''Film/TheBourneSeries''. All the important female characters are pretty unambiguously good; except for Bourne himself nearly all the important male characters are corrupt and/or outright sociopaths (except for Simon in ''Ultimatum'', but he ends up being [[spoiler: TooDumbToLive]]). Julia Stiles' character does spend the first two films trying to kill Bourne, but only because she was given false information.

* This is one of the rules set down for ''TheLoneRanger'': all villains had to be white to avoid accusations of racism.
* SidneyPoitier's most famous starring roles in ''Lilies of the Field'', ''ToSirWithLove'', ''InTheHeatOfTheNight'' and ''GuessWhosComingToDinner''. For the most part, all these roles have Poitier playing men who are nearly perfect specimens of humanity except for a bit of righteous anger at injustice. ''Dinner'' is the most blatant with character being less a man than an demigod of perfection.
** Stanley Kramer, the director/producer of ''Dinner'' argued that Poitier's had to be perfect because the only objection to his marrying Spencer Tracy's daughter was his race.

** Hilariously {{Subverted| Trope}} in ''{{Sneakers}}''. For most of the film, Poitier's character is his typical eloquent, composed, genteel family man. During the film's climactic confrontation, however, he and Dan Aykroyd's character are kidnapped by a pair of mooks. Poitier turns to Aykroyd, says "Hey, you know why they kicked me out of the CIA? My temper." and proceeds to beat the crap out of one of the mooks, as he screams, "Motherfucker, mess with me and I split ya head!".
* In the new ''CharliesAngels'' films, all the men are either buffoons, evil, secretly evil, a disembodied voice on a speaker phone, or BillMurray. Then again, all the women ''other'' than the Angels are also secretly evil.

* Lampshaded in ''TheAnimal:'' Miles, the only black man employed at the airport, is constantly complaining that, because he's black, the others treat him as if he could do no wrong, and ignore anything he does - such as smoking in a federal building - that would prove otherwise. This becomes a ChekhovsGun when Miles claims to be the monster to keep the mob from killing the main character. The mob immediately disbands to avoid getting charged with a hate crime, and Miles stands there as they walk off, screaming about 'reverse racism'.
* Cleverly {{Averted| Trope}} in the otherwise forgettable Paul Hogan comedy ''Almost An Angel''. A wheelchair-bound man is being a JerkAss in a bar and Hogan calls him on it. When the other bar patrons get angry over Hogan coming down on a guy in a wheelchair, Hogan pulls a chair out, sits down in it, and then challenges the guy to a fist-fight since they were now on equal terms. And wins. This earns the respect of the JerkAss, who stops being such a JerkAss for the rest of the film.

* ''[[TheGamers Gamers 2: Dorkness Rising]]'' a female joins the group and two of the guys flip out (the other two being the ex boyfriend and the DM who knew ahead of time.) And:

*** Its been said they've managed to alienate all the Male gamers (even the eleven year olds) with their {{Jerkass}}ery, so going outside NoWomansLand is their last option. Being a newcomer leaves her less jaded and still FunctionalGenreSavvy enough to appreciate the story the GM was working so hard to write. As evidenced by [[spoiler: using a very rare unlimited wish so that a dorky but lovable {{NPC}} could be resurrected and RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap. The resident {{Munchkin}} berates her for wasting her potential GameBreaker on puny CharacterDevelopment and says ScrewThisImOuttaHere]]. She's also Kas's ex girlfriend, and seems to be pretty good at predicting his behavior.

** In equal fairness, a big part of the movie's plot is Tony's need to get his act together and his excesses (from alcoholism to abusing the power the of armor him), and it would both defeat the point and be incredibly disturbing if anyone managed to be ''less'' mature and [[WithGreatPowercomesGreatResponsibility responsible]] than Tony.

* The early movies starring Creator/AdamSandler would often show not just Adam's character but practically everyone else to be annoying, bizarre, or just plain unpleasant (due to RuleOfFunny). The one exception would be the pretty young woman whom the Sandler character lusts after, who was always about as MarySue as it could get: always did the right thing, never disgraced or embarrassed, and without any but the smallest flaws that could be easily ignored by the story. The implication was that Sandler didn't deserve such a perfect creature and had to spend the entire movie reforming his behavior to be worthy of her. As time went on, the usual Sandler formula began to be subverted. In ''BigDaddy'', for instance, the girl Sandler is with at the start of the film is even more morally flawed than he is, and [[BreakTheHaughty receives her comeuppance in the final scene as most of the movie's characters (both male and female) laugh at her]]. And the remake of ''Mr. Deeds'' [[InvertedTrope turns the trope completely inside-out]]: the heroine of the story is actually a ''villain'' at the start of it (well, more of a DefectorFromDecadence) while Deeds (Sandler) is IncorruptiblePurePureness personified. The girl ends up having to suffer quite a few indignities (including a brutal TheReasonYouSuckSpeech) as part of her HeelFaceTurn and to prove to Deeds that ''she's'' worthy of ''him'' - and, just to add insult to injury, also discovers that in ''this'' film, SlapstickKnowsNoGender.
** ''TheWaterboy'' subverts this, too: Sandler's love interest is good-hearted, but also somewhat trashy and a petty criminal to boot.

* ''[[Film/{{Saw}} Saw VI]]'' both plays it straight in the first trap and lightly lampshades it in two later scenes; the hanging trap, where the main character has to choose between two employees; an elderly woman with failing health but a family and a young man who's perfectly healthy but has no-one [[spoiler: he chooses the woman]] and the carousel trap, in which he has to choose two out of his six employees for survival [[spoiler: he chooses two women; one because she's a single mother (playing it straight) and the other who's suggested to having been ''written off her parents' will'' (lampshading it) chosen at random (lampshaded)]].
* GeorgeLucas' ''RedTails'' does this with the African-American Tuskegee Airmen, not by making them unusually good but by making their white counterparts incredibly incompetent.
** It's not that their incompetent but that they're reckless and glory hungry and leave the bombers they're supposed to be escorting unprotected to go after shoot down German fighters. The Tuskegee pilots are not above this, especially Lightning but their commanding officers Col Bullard orders them to stay with their bombers at all costs.

* Robert Jordan's ''WheelOfTime'' seems to have this at first glance: Half of the nations and organizations in that [[TheVerse world]] are [[LadyLand openly matriarchal]], and in the rest the women are in control anyway. But it soon turns into what's almost a [[SubvertedTrope reversal]], or even [[StrawFeminist Straw Feminism]], since ''all women in this world'' turn out to be both incompetent ''and'' {{jerkass}}es.
** Doesn't fit here in THIS context - what Jordan has shown is that BOTH sides think this of the other, thus the split in Aes Sedai factions (the male from the female) enhances his concept of "United you stand, divided you fall."
** It should also be pointed out that[[hottip:*: until a certain point in the plot]] any male [[OurMonstersAreDifferent Aes Sedai]] are (now) slowly driven insane by the Dark One's tainting of saidin[[hottip:*: the male half of all magical energy]]. All these men, back in the Age of Legends, going immediately insane was responsible for the [[ApocalypseHow Breaking of the World]]. Also the women of the time stubbornly refused to help even when their own plan had collapsed around their ears. Then again, they make it a point that if the women had joined in, it could have been even worse as both sexes would have gone wild. Or the men's plan could have worked and the Breaking never would have happened. It's left ambiguous.

* DeanKoontz often does this with his disabled characters. Needless to say, this annoys actual disabled people.
* In the StarWarsExpandedUniverse, after Jacen's death, the Moffs are caught using biological weapons against the Hapan royal family, and part of the terms of their amnesty are that a certain percentage of Moffs be female.
* The saintly Uncle Tom in ''UncleTomsCabin'': Harriet Beecher Stowe intended him to be a model of a perfect Christian; he was portrayed in the novel as being young and strong but still aspiring to be nonviolent. It eventually backfired when later readers began to interpret Tom's [[StupidGood goodness as weakness]], and a different version of the character emerged in minstrel show adaptations (which Stowe neither approved nor profited from): an older, weaker man who groveled and kowtowed before whites and was essentially a slavery apologist. Thus we have UncleTomfoolery.

* ''Series/TheOfficeUS'': Even though Stanley and Darryl have clearly been obnoxious or inappropriately insubordinate, Michael constantly ignores it for the cameras, fearing accusations of racism. The show is also pretty impressive when it comes to gender: the female characters are exactly as flawed as the male ones.
* ''SpinCity'' averted this cleverly with [[TwoferTokenMinority gay black guy]] Carter. Carter was highly intelligent, extremely good at his job and often acted as the voice of reason, but he was a flawed character in other ways such as his neuroses and hyper-sensitivity to racial and sexual discrimination.

* Any family sitcom involves a wife who is far more intelligent and level headed than her spouse. This usually leads to one or two episodes where the trend is reversed so the husband can be right at least once. This one goes back to ''TheHoneymooners''. Although sometimes they make it so the wife is ''still'' right anyway because the husband starts flaunting the fact he was right and messes up again. If you are a man on one of these shows, you simply cannot win.
* {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d and then massively subverted in the ''InspectorMorse'' episode "Twilight of the Gods." Nobody, including Morse, wants to believe anything ''too'' bad about Andrew Baydon--despite how unpleasantly he treats other people--because he has a Nazi concentration camp tattoo on one arm. In fact, the tattoo is a fake, designed to cover up what Baydon was ''really'' doing during WWII.

** Turk himself really disliked this, saying that if he wanted to be portrayed as a role modal for being just a good medic, fine, but being singled out as the token and being used for positive discrimination annoyed him.
* In the short-lived series ''TheLoneGunmen'', Yves Adele Harlow was the lone female on the primary cast, and also the only fully competent one. The individual characters all got their moments to shine, but Yves owned every single time she was on-screen (and off-screen).
** Actually, in the pilot, Frohike managed to outwit Yves, and Jimmy manages to save the day often as well.
* ''CoronationStreet''. Any male character that isn't a gormless twat or a henpecked husband, or has any type of backbone, is some kind of villain. Be it a wife beater, serial killer, con artist, womanizer or just your average JerkAss. In affair storylines the woman will almost always be the sympathetic one.

** ''WalkerTexasRanger'': The bad guys never laid a finger on Sydney Cooke in the show's frequent martial-arts fights. Even ''ChuckNorris'' took a few hits from bad guys on the show.

* ''TheVampireDiaries'' does this with Bonnie, who is always lauded, never judged. She betrays Elena by pretending to de-curse the vampire weapon, knowing it will affect Stefan and Damon, and no one pulls her up on it. Season two, when [[spoiler: Caroline becomes a vampire]], Bonnie immediately snubs/judges her instead of being a friend - again, this is never addressed. She also {{Mind Rape}}s a sorta friend and no one who matters in the show bats an eye.

* In the same vein, according to Jocelyn Brown's "Real Man", released in '''1997''', any man worth his salt would ''never'' offer to go half (split the check) on a date.

** ToddInTheShadows has this as a BerserkButton, and called her out on the general misandry in the lyrics of "If I Were A Boy", saying that men are perfectly capable of doing (and indeed have done) everything she portrays in the song as only being possible if she were a boy, and women are capable of doing all of the malevolent things that she portrays in the song as only capable of being done by men.

*** If they're the one who made her suffer by accident, he begs for forgiveness because he'll more than make up for it. Jason Derulo with "Whatcha Say" (When the roof came in/and the truth came out/I just didn't know what to do/But when I become a star/We'll be living so large/I'll do anything for you.)
**** To be fair, in the above song, the man cheated on her. It actually makes him (unintentionally) come off as worse, as if he thinks he can buy off her broken trust and the emotional pain he caused her. The point still stands, but it's not the best example for showcasing unjustified lack of balance.

** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7c16swRoMU Daniel]] [[{{Tosh0}} Tosh]] would like to have a word with her.

* Delta, the only black cast member of ''{{Luann}}'', is the smartest and most level-headed of the entire group. Unless you count "being a workaholic" as an actual flaw, she's about as MarySue as they get.
* Dr. Liz Wilson, the female veterinarian of {{Garfield}}, has it all. She's a hot babe, a caring doctor, and she's smart. Back when the strip played up the romantic antagonism between her and Jon Arbuckle (before she and Jon finally became a couple), Liz was consistently portrayed as a goddess whom Jon could never measure up to, and he was lucky to be even breathing the same oxygen as she. Really, her only perceptible flaw was her DeadpanSnarker behavior toward Jon (which Jon never seemed to notice). Just to make things even, though, she ''did'' shoot down Jon so many times, and so coldly, that after a while you stopped laughing at Jon being an idiot and started to resent Liz for being so mean to him.

** One could argue this is less a case of PositiveDiscrimination and more WouldntHitAGirl. That said, Lola arguably exemplifies WomenAreWiser, and she's the most talented basketball player of all the WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes. (Given that [[SeriousBusiness the entire premise of the movie revolves around basketball]], one could argue how much of an edge this gives her).

** PositiveDiscrimination was also regularly expressed by Sam, constantly the voice of reason to the perpetually IdiotBall-holding Danny and Tucker, and Jazz, the perfect student in contrast to her BookDumb little brother.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Wolverine and the X-Men}}'', when Wolverine is unconscious after braving a fire to save a little girl, the little girl's parents want to help him (risking their whole family), but another member of the group wants to turn him in to the mutant registration forces. Fair enough. The little girl's parents are also a mixed race couple and the other guy is white. Okay, fine. Except the mixed-race couple are toned, young, attractive, and wearing fashionable clothes, while the white guy is fat, middle-aged, balding, and wears Bermuda shorts and Hawaiian shirts. Again an over the top mix of PositiveDiscrimination ''and'' an AcceptableTarget.

** Interestingly, upon getting [[WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow his own moment in the spotlight]], Cleveland became a much [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} zanier]] and [[TookALevelInJerkass obnoxious character]] (if not nearly to the same callous extent as [[PsychopathicManchild Peter]]) with his wife Donna generally portrayed as [[WomenAreWiser having more common sense]]. Played with for the kids, Cleveland Jr is a KindheartedSimpleton, meaning he is dopier but less selfish and obnoxious than Roberta.

** Another similar subversion is in ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises''. Catwoman is shown to be extremely cynical, sarcastic and flawed but still [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold a good person at heart]] and an AntiVillain, [[spoiler:who becomes an AntiHero by the end of the film]]. Bruce's compassion and ability to forgive helps her gain some optimism, and from there, she begins to show her more positive traits more often. Then there is Miranda Tate, who seems to almost be a PuritySue in comparison to the other characters. Miranda is smart, nice, beautiful, has a plan to help solve the energy crisis and helps Bruce learn to want to be happy again after [[spoiler:Rachel Dawes' death and Batman's ZeroApprovalGambit]] in ''Film/TheDarkKnight''. The subversion comes when [[spoiler:it is revealed Miranda is actually Talia, daughter of the BigBad of ''Film/BatmanBegins'', Ra's al Ghul. Everything "Miranda" did in the movie was a part of her plan to make Bruce lose hope and then take revenge on him for leaving Ra's to die...by torturing and [[NukeEm nuking]] Gotham.]]

In particular, you will virtually never see Native Americans in more recent works, without this trope being present in spades. Specifically, it's usually a hybrid of the MagicalNativeAmerican and NobleSavage tropes; the individual in question will be depicted as having a much stronger/more active connection to God than whites are supposedly capable of, and will therefore automatically be morally superior as well, as a direct result.

* ''TheSimpsons'' is renowned for using this at it's most intense form, with Marge and Lisa often established as gifted, intelligent and sensible characters, while Homer and Bart usually play immoral idiots who instigate the dilemma of each episode. The show's long run (along with {{Flanderization}} taking it's toll) has led to numerous reversals and deconstructions, but the trope's formula is still easily the most consistent.

When the TokenMinority can do no wrong. She (this is most often seen with the [[TheSmurfettePrinciple lone female character]]; it's guaranteed if she's the lone [[TwoferTokenMinority racial minority]] as well) will never bumble or make a mistake, even in a show where the majority of the team does. She will be much smarter and have [[OnlySaneMan more common sense]] than average, she has more knowledge and skill than she has any reason to possess given her professional background, she will ''definitely'' be of [[CloserToEarth superior moral character]], [[ActionGirl and she can probably kick your ass too]].

** When wrestling shows first began to appear on TV, Westerns were popular, so it was perhaps inevitable that "Indian chief" characters would appear. The promoters were aware that depicting a member of America's smallest minority group as a cheating, savage, murderous heel would be, to put it lightly, kind of mean - so they set out to subvert the negative stereotype and overdid it. Every Native American character between the 1940s and the 1990s - Chief Jay Strongbow most famously - was the NobleSavage incarnate and always a hero. Not until just before the "Attitude Era" would Tatanka (a real-life Lumbee from North Carolina, [[FakeNationality although he depicted a Lakota]]) turn ''spectacularly'' heel, joining Ted [=DiBiase's=] Million Dollar Corporation. (Later, when he returned to WWE in the mid-2000s, Tatanka would turn heel in a different way, this time painting his face with creepy makeup and claiming to be a "vengeful ghost warrior" - and his new gimmick was so {{Badass}} that it just resulted in [[DracoInLeatherPants Draco In A Leather Loincloth]]. Worse, he got only two matches with the new gimmick before [[PutOnABus mysteriously disappearing]].)

*** Even though WWE now features several prominent black wrestlers, traces of the hapless black hero of yore can still sometimes be seen, usually with Kofi Kingston, the only African-born (from Ghana) WWE Superstar. While he has always been a face and can more than hold his own with some of WWE's best (even defeating ChrisJericho for the Intercontinental Championship in his first pay-per-view appearance!), many of his storylines have seen him [[{{Jobber}} job]] to the heels or get stuck in the tag-team ranks. Probably one of Kingston's most degrading moments was when he was attacked by {{Edge}} just before the 2009 Raw Elimination Chamber Match and prevented from competing at all, for no other reason than so that Edge could win the World Heavyweight Championship (and get a good KickTheDog moment in the bargain).
* In all eras, female wrestlers almost never have the moral or psychological depth of their male counterparts. WWE's Divas and TNA's Knockouts can be heels but they're more likely to [[PokeThePoodle commit petty or annoying misdeeds]] than to act truly evil. (This may now be changing, with Katarina "Winter" Waters in TNA portraying a character who has clearly crossed the MoralEventHorizon.)
** Currently BethPhoenix and Natalya like trapping the other divas in painful looking submission holds and holding the house microphone up to their face so the entire arena can hear them scream. Then there's Kharma.
* In intergender situations, it's almost always the man as the heel and the woman as the face, even if the woman is a heel as well (see BethPhoenix). Chyna was initially a heel in intergender competition but fans cheered for her anyway so she was turned face. Ivelisse Velez of ''ToughEnough'' fame successfully averted this as she competed in several intergender matches as a heel.
** In perhaps her most notable appearance, Beth was more of a WildCard than a straight face or heel. Still officially a heel at the time, she entered the 2010 Royal Rumble Match (which only two other Divas, Chyna and Kharma, have ever done) and foreshadowed her HeelFaceTurn by easily eliminating Great Khali (who was a face at the time, albeit not a very sympathetic one). She then attempted to eliminate then-heel (and her RealLife boyfriend) CMPunk, but he got the best of her. It's doubtful she would have won in any case, since one of the last entrants in that match (and the eventual winner) was {{Edge}}, who has demonstrated in the past that he WouldHitAGirl.
** A special case occurred early in 2004, when TrishStratus was a face and {{Christian}} was a heel, and Christian brutalized Trish with a submission hold [[ILied after promising to throw the match]]. But when Chris Jericho (Trish's boyfriend at the time) tried to come to her rescue, she inexplicably sided with Christian and became a heel herself (and yes, the UnfortunateImplications were thick).

* Sandy Cheeks of ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'' played this to such extremes early on she almost comes off as a [[ParodySue parody]] of the trope. Compared to the more flawed males cast, Sandy was much CloserToEarth and often acted as the [[CanonSue unfallable voice of reason]] as well as being extremely talented in both intellectual and brawn levels, suggested to be [[GodModeSue both the strongest and smartest member of Bikini Bottom]]. Following the second season, Sandy was arguably swayed from this trope, being granted her [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} own]] [[LargeHam set]] [[SmallNameBigEgo of]] [[JerkJock flaws]] and often having her overboard positive aspects parodied or Lampshaded. However this came to be played straight again in later post-movie episodes, where the rest of the cast were Flanderized to extreme levels and Sandy arguably ending up the only main character not to have her [[JerkAss callous]] or [[TooDumbToLive idiotic]] traits exagerrated.

* Though she does have her flaws, Piper of ''WesternAnimation/StormHawks'' is the most competent member of the FiveManBand... she's also the token female, AmbiguouslyBrown...[[LesYay may or may not be a lesbian,]] [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar or at least bisexual.]]

** Interestingly, upon getting [[WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow his own moment in the spotlight]], Cleveland became a much [[CloudCuckooLander zanier]] and [[TookALevelInJerkass obnoxious character]] (if not nearly to the same callous extent as [[PsychopathicManchild Peter]]) with his wife Donna generally portrayed as [[WomenAreWiser having more common sense]]. Played with for the kids, Cleveland Jr is a KindheartedSimpleton, meaning he is dopier but less selfish and obnoxious than Roberta.

* ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'' has a five man band, the only one with an actual hint of common sense is Numbuh 5, who is female and black. However, Numbuh 3 averts as the resident CloudCuckoolander, giving her the least common sense of the five. Granted, given the series, having the most common sense doesn't tell you that much.

* Sandy Cheeks of ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'' played this to such extremes early on she almost comes off as a [[ParodySue parody]] of the trope. Compared to the more flawed males cast, Sandy was much CloserToEarth and often acted as the [[CanonSue unfallable voice of reason]] as well as being extremely talented in both intellectual and brawn levels, suggested to be [[GodModeSue both the strongest and smartest member of Bikini Bottom]]. Following the second season, Sandy was arguably swayed from this trope, being granted her [[CloudCuckooLander own]] [[LargeHam set]] [[SmallNameBigEgo of]] [[JerkJock flaws]] and often having her overboard positive aspects parodied or Lampshaded. However this came to be played straight again in later post-movie episodes, where the rest of the cast were Flanderized to extreme levels and Sandy arguably ending up the only main character not to have her [[JerkAss callous]] or [[TooDumbToLive idiotic]] traits exagerrated.

* Kanga of Disney's ''[[Disney/TheManyAdventuresOfWinnieThePooh Winnie the Pooh]]'' adaptations is presented as being [[CloserToEarth much more logical and mature]] than [[CloudCuckooLand the rest of the Hundred Acre Wood]] for the most part, albeit largely due to taking on a TeamMom role. The majority of Disney's attempts to bring in other female additions are similarly far less zany and have less distinct personality flaws than the male leads. This is interestingly subverted in the original novels, where Kanga is more equally idiot-prone as the rest of the cast while the unofficial sequel ''Return To The Hundred Acre Wood'' introduces Lottie the otter, who is actually one of the more obnoxious and scatter brained characters.

* ''RedVsBlue'' used to have this issue, when the only female characters were Tex and Shiela, one of whom is canonically ''the'' biggest BadAss in the series and the other is a tank's AI. Later seasons grew out of this to some extent, after introducing a female character who is just as laughably incompetent as the main cast (Sister), and giving real flaws to the more hypercompetent ladies (Tex).

** The part about the Black Widow being better than Tony's driver/bodyguard is helped by the fact that said driver/bodyguard is played by the film's director, meaning he's perfectly willing to show ''himself'' less competent than her.

* Kanga of Disney's ''WinnieThePooh'' adaptations is presented as being [[CloserToEarth much more logical and mature]] than [[CloudCuckooLand the rest of the Hundred Acre Wood]] for the most part, albeit largely due to taking on a TeamMom role. The majority of Disney's attempts to bring in other female additions are similarly far less zany and have less distinct personality flaws than the male leads. This is interestingly subverted in the original novels, where Kanga is more equally idiot-prone as the rest of the cast while the unofficial sequel ''Return To The Hundred Acre Wood'' introduces Lottie the otter, who is actually one of the more obnoxious and scatter brained characters.

* The saintly Uncle Tom in ''UncleTomsCabin'': Harriet Beecher Stowe intended him to be a model of a perfect Christian. It eventually backfired when later readers began to interpret Tom's [[StupidGood goodness as weakness]].

* BlackPanther of ''[[WesternAnimation/AvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes]]'' is part of an 80% Caucasian team of superheores, and he still manages to be one of the most impressive ones. He is [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower athletic and strong enough to fight the rest of the team to a standstill]], a genius comparable to [[Comicbook/IronMan Tony Stark]] except GenreSavvy enough to accept magic and the supernatural, the ''king'' of a super-advanced country, and has a MorphWeapon made out of the rare and powerful Vibranium (which is almost exclusively found in the country he is ''king'' of anyway). He especially stands out because everyone has [[DysfunctionJunction huge personal problems that they deal with every day]], but Panther didn't get one until season 2. [[spoiler: NickFury lets the team know that Panther's friend {{Hawkeye}} might actually be an alien spy. After Hawkeye denies this, the possibility that any Avenger could actually be an alien spy gives Panther paranoia that doesn't let up until the real Avengers ''twice'' save Wakanda.]]