History Main / ProdigalHero

* [[HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows Harry Potter]] had to flee and hide all over England to stay a step ahead of Voldemort, but when the last Horcrux was hidden in Hogwarts and he found that out, he rushed to Hogwarts to find it, which sparked the FinalBattle.
* Galadriel in Creator/JRRTolkien books TheSilmarillion and LordOfTheRings. She was one of the leaders of the rebellion of the Noldor, and she fled the Undying Lands to Middle-Earth, desiring to rule her own kingdom. After the destruction of the Noldor, downfall of both Morgoth and Sauron, beginning of the Reign of Men and 7000 years of exile she finally returned back to home, albeit having lost everything she once had had.

* Piccolo from ''Manga/DragonBall Z'' may count, as he (or rather, his father) had been apart from Namek for years and only comes back when it's targeted by Frieza.

* This was essentially {{Nightwing}}'s character arc which was a '''decade''' in the making. In the early 1980's, Bruce and Dick started to drift a part; Dick was spending less and less time in Gotham as he dedicated most of his time to college and TheTeenTitans. After a mistake involving Clayface, Bruce outright fired Dick from the role. Dick assumed his own mantle end drifted to his own city to become a protector. Years later, [[KnightFall Bruce's back is broken by Bane]], and after his first choice of successor proves to be a disaster, Bruce finally repairs his relationship with Dick and Dick takes up the mantle of Batman.

* Dart in ''LegendOfDragoon'' has been off working as a soldier for several years, before he returns to his village to find it's been ransacked and his childhood friend (yup [[LoveInterest that sort]]) [[WhiteMagicianGirl Shana]] captured by the DiscOneFinalBoss' forces.

* ''TheLionKing'' follows this with Simba, invoking RightfulKingReturns since he was royalty before fleeing.
* ''ThePrinceOfEgypt'', being an adaptation of [[Literature/TheBible the story of Moses]], tells this story, mixing both the accidental murder as well as disgust of the Egyptians' treatment towards the Jews.

* In ''StarWars: KnightsOfTheOldRepublic II'', the main character is a broken, disgraced Jedi Knight who was exiled and stripped of his force power. He returns to the Old Republic to save it from a certain undesirable fate.
** The main character of the first game actually is referred to as 'the Prodigal Knight' in the Light Side ending. He mostly doesn't fit with this trope (and he certainly doesn't fit the definition of prodigal), however.

* Piccolo from ''DragonBallZ'' may count, as he (or rather, his father) had been apart from Namek for years and only comes back when it's targeted by Frieza.

* CJ from ''GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'' does it twice: first time, at the beginning of the game when he returns from Liberty City, and second time, when [[spoiler:Sweet gets arrested]] and spends most of the game in San Fierro and Las Venturas, only coming back to Los Santos near the end of the game.

* Zuko of ''AvatarTheLastAirbender'' was ''forced'' to leave home, but otherwise fits here.

[[AC:Film]]

* ''ThePrinceOfEgypt'', being an adaptation of [[TheBible the story of Moses]], tells this story, mixing both the accidental murder as well as disgust of the Egyptians' treatment towards the Jews.

[[AC:Literature]]

[[AC:Video Games]]

[[AC:Western Animation]]

A basic plot that most likely originated with [[Literature/TheBible the story of Moses]]. It involves a character living in the lap of luxury, when suddenly he's forced to run away from home, usually due to murdering someone on accident ([[DefectorFromDecadence though sometimes the character is just sick of the people where he lives)]]. The character exiles himself, and goes on to live a carefree life without much responsibility. That is, however, until their past comes back to bite them in the butt, and they are forced to return to their old home and save the day, usually by saving his people from either their evil rulers or a new evil that has come in his absence.

This story is usually AnAesop on growing up, facing the past, and taking responsibility, and goes to show the protagonist transforming from someone who once ran away from his past returning to confront it. The original decision to leave may come from the realization that they were MosesInTheBullrushes.

This is an element of the traditional "hero's journey" (in literary classes you learn that the first step in the stereotypical "heroic arc" is the "refusal of the call"). Perhaps an incorporation of the hero's journey's stages as subtroupes with some of the common subversions (such as JumpedAtTheCall).

Usually results in RightfulKingReturns if the protagonist was royalty, or AProtagonistShallLeadThem if they were not. Related to CharlieBrownFromOuttaTown, if the hero comes under a different (albeit similar) identity and costume. Compare / contrast AchillesInHisTent, RefusalOfTheCall.


!!Examples:

[[AC:AnimeAndManga]]

[[AC:Film]]
* ''TheLionKing'' follows this with Simba, invoking RightfulKingReturns since he was royalty before fleeing.
* ''ThePrinceOfEgypt'', being an adaptation of [[TheBible the story of Moses]], tells this story, mixing both the accidental murder as well as disgust of the Egyptians' treatment towards the Jews.
* In ''StarWars'', [[TheObiWan Obi Wan Kenobi]] exiles himself to watch over little Luke Skywalker from a distance, and then returns to the first line to be his mentor.
* As the related trope of RightfulKingReturns would suggest, [[LordOfTheRings Aragorn]] is an example of this, having fled from his duty and being forced to take on his destined responsibility as king. (Only in the movie; in the book he's accepted his destiny and has been working towards it for decades.)

[[AC:Literature]]

** The TropeNamer of sorts is Jesus' fable of the Prodigal Son, in which a boy leaves home, loses all of his money gambling, becomes a wreck, and finally returns home, only to be greeted with love and open arms. However, because the son has no real dire reason to leave, and because there is no conflict upon his return, this isn't exactly a straight version of the trope at work.
** A more direct version of the trope, however, comes from earlier in ''The Bible'' with the tale of Moses fleeing Egypt, living happily in the desert, and then returning to Egypt to free the Jews from the tyrannical Pharaoh.
* [[HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows Harry Potter]] had to flee and hide all over England to stay a step ahead of Voldemort, but when the last Horcrux was hidden in Hogwarts and he found that out, he rushed to Hogwarts to find it, which sparked the FinalBattle.
* Galadriel in JRRTolkien books TheSilmarillion and LordOfTheRings. She was one of the leaders of the rebellion of the Noldor, and she fled the Undying Lands to Middle-Earth, desiring to rule her own kingdom. After the destruction of the Noldor, downfall of both Morgoth and Sauron, beginning of the Reign of Men and 7000 years of exile she finally returned back to home, albeit having lost everything she once had had.

[[AC:Mythology]]
* Jason was sent to train with Chiron when his EvilUncle grabbed the throne. When he returned, his uncle sent him off to get the Golden Fleece in the hopes he would get himself killed. Unfortunately for his uncle, he succeeded and returned with a lot of powerful friends, popular support, and a sorceress girlfriend.

[[AC:Video Games]]
* Dart in ''LegendOfDragoon'' has been off working as a soldier for several years, before he returns to his village to find it's been ransacked and his childhood friend (yup [[LoveInterest that sort]]) [[WhiteMagicianGirl Shana]] captured by the DiscOneFinalBoss' forces.

* ''{{Terranigma}}'' uses this.
* In the video game ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'', Ezio must flee Florence when his father and brothers are killed. He goes to his uncle's villa, learns to be an Assassin, and returns to Florence to investigate the conspiracy.
* CJ from ''GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'' does it twice: first time, at the beginning of the game when he returns from Liberty City, and second time, when [[spoiler:Sweet gets arrested]] and spends most of the game in San Fierro and Las Venturas, only coming back to Los Santos near the end of the game.


[[AC:Western Animation]]
* Zuko of ''AvatarTheLastAirbender'' was ''forced'' to leave home, but otherwise fits here.
----

* In ''StarWars: KnightsOfTheOldRepublic II'', the main character is a broken, disgraced Jedi Knight who was exiled and stripped of his force power. He returns to the Old Republic to save it from a certain undesirable fate.

* [[HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows Harry Potter]] had to flee and hide all over England to stay a step ahead of Voldemort, but when the last Horcrux was hidden in Hogwarts and he found that out, he rushed to Hogwarts to find it, which sparked the Final Battle.

* [[HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows Harry Potter]] had to flee an hide all over England to stay a step ahead of Voldemort, but when the last Horcrux was hidden in Hogwarts and he found that out, he rushed to Hogwarts to find it, which sparked the Final Battle.

* As the related trope of RightfulKingReturns would suggest, [[LordOfTheRings Aragorn]] is an example of this, having fled from his duty and being forced to take on his destined responsibility as king.

* In ''StarWars'': ''KnightsOfTheOldRepublic II'', the main character is a broken, disgraced Jedi Knight who was exiled and stripped of his force power. He returns to the Old Republic to save it from a certain undesirable fate.

* In the video game ''AssassinsCreed2'', Ezio must flee Florence when his father and brothers are killed. He goes to his uncle's villa, learns to be an Assassin, and returns to Florence to investigate the conspiracy.

* Dart in ''LegendOfDragoon'' has been off working as a soldier for several years, before he returns to his village to find it's been ransacked and his childhood friend (yup [[LoveInterest that sort]]) [[StaffChick Shana]] captured by the DiscOneFinalBoss' forces.

A basic plot that most likely originated with [[TheBible the story of Moses]], making this OlderThanFeudalism. It involves a character living in the lap of luxury, when suddenly he's forced to run away from home, usually due to murdering someone on accident ([[DefectorFromDecadence though sometimes the character is just sick of the people where he lives)]]. The character exiles himself, and goes on to live a carefree life without much responsibility. That is, however, until their past comes back to bite them in the butt, and they are forced to return to their old home and save the day, usually by saving his people from either their evil rulers or a new evil that has come in his absence.

* The TropeNamer of sorts is [[TheBible Jesus' fable of the Prodigal Son]], in which a boy leaves home, loses all of his money gambling, becomes a wreck, and finally returns home, only to be greeted with love and open arms. However, because the son has no real dire reason to leave, and because there is no conflict upon his return, this isn't exactly a straight version of the trope at work.
** A more direct version of the trope, however, comes from earlier in ''TheBible'' with the tale of Moses fleeing Egypt, living happily in the desert, and then returning to Egypt to free the Jews from the tyrannical Pharaoh.

* ''TheLionKing'' follows this, invoking RightfulKingReturns since he was royalty before fleeing.

[[AC:Theater]]
* {{Hamlet}} is exiled from Denmark for murdering Polonius and then returns years later to finish his plan to kill his uncle Claudius.

* Piccolo from ''DragonBallZ'' may count, as he had been apart from Namek for years and only comes back when it's targeted by Freezer.

This is an element of the traditional "hero's journey" (in literary classes you learn that the first step in the stereotypical "heroic arc" is the "refusal of the call"). Perhaps an incorporation of the hero's journey's stages as subtroupes with some of the common subversions (such as Jumped At The Call).

Usually results in RightfulKingReturns if the protagonist was royalty, or AProtagonistShallLeadThem if they were not. Related to Charlie Brown From Outta Town, if the hero comes under a different (albeit similar) identity and costume. Compare / contrast AchillesInHisTent, RefusalOfTheCall.

* Piccolo from DragonBallZ may count, as he had been apart from Namek for years and only comes back when it's targeted by Freezer.

* TheLionKing follows this, invoking ReturnOfTheKing since he was royalty before fleeing.
* ThePrinceOfEgypt, being an adaptation of [[TheBible the story of Moses]], tells this story, mixing both the accidental murder as well as disgust of the Egyptians' treatment towards the Jews.
* In StarWars, [[TheObiWan Obi Wan Kenobi]] exiles himself to watch over little Luke Skywalker from a distance, and then returns to the first line to be his mentor.
* As the related trope of ReturnOfTheKing would suggest, [[LordOfTheRings Aragorn]] is an example of this, having fled from his duty and being forced to take on his destined responsibility as king.

** A more direct version of the trope, however, comes from earlier in TheBible with the tale of Moses fleeing Egypt, living happily in the desert, and then returning to Egypt to free the Jews from the tyrannical Pharaoh.

* In StarWars: KnightsOfTheOldRepublic II, the main character is a broken, disgraced Jedi Knight who was exiled and stripped of his force power. He returns to the Old Republic to save it from a certain undesirable fate.
* {{Terranigma}} uses this.
* In the video game AssassinsCreed2, Ezio must flee Florence when his father and brothers are killed. He goes to his uncle's villa, learns to be an Assassin, and returns to Florence to investigate the conspiracy.
* CJ from GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas does it twice: first time, at the beginning of the game when he returns from Liberty City, and second time, when [[spoiler:Sweet gets arrested]] and spends most of the game in San Fierro and Las Venturas, only coming back to Los Santos near the end of the game.

* Zuko of AvatarTheLastAirbender was ''forced'' to leave home, but otherwise fits here.

A basic plot that most likely originated with [[TheBible the story of Moses]], making this OlderThanDirt. It involves a character living in the lap of luxury, when suddenly he's forced to run away from home, usually due to murdering someone on accident ([[DefectorFromDecadence though sometimes the character is just sick of the people where he lives)]]. The character exiles himself, and goes on to live a carefree life without much responsibility. That is, however, until their past comes back to bite them in the butt, and they are forced to return to their old home and save the day, usually by saving his people from either their evil rulers or a new evil that has come in his absence.

Usually results in the ReturnOfTheKing if the protagonist was royalty, or AProtagonistShallLeadThem if they were not. Related to Charlie Brown From Outta Town, if the hero comes under a different (albeit similar) identity and costume. Compare / contrast AchillesInHisTent, RefusalOfTheCall.

* Piccolo from DragonBallZ may count, though, as he had been apart from Namek for years and only comes back when it's targeted by Freezer.