History Main / RageAgainstTheMentor

* ComicBook/{{Cyclops}} of the ''Franchise/XMen'' went on a slow-burn one of these in the 2000s towards his mentor ComicBook/ProfessorX, as more and more evidence of Chuck's long history of {{Superdickery}} started to pile up. The straw that broke the camel's back was ''Deadly Genesis'', in which Cyclops found out that Chuck not only sent a secret third squad of X-Men to their deaths against the island monster Krakoa (among them Cyclops's own long-lost brother Vulcan), he also in the aftermath ''[[MoralEventHorizon wiped the minds of Cyclops and all the other X-Men to forget that Vulcan's team ever existed]]''. Understandably, Scott was '''pissed'''. So pissed, in fact, that he booted Xavier out of his own mansion!

Curse that CrypticConversation-loving TricksterMentor! His insistence on being vague and mysterious to look "cool" is costing lives because PoorCommunicationKills. Maybe they told one too many things "[[Franchise/StarWars From a certain point of view]]" with said point of view [[HalfTruth being self-serving]] [[IsThatWhatHeToldYou at best.]] [[IDidWhatIHadToDo Or maybe he's pulled some]] ''[[ShootTheDog very]]'' [[BrokenPedestal morally dubious stunts that border on, if not cross over into, hypocrisy and their student just found out. ]] Well, the protégé isn't going to stand for it! He's CallingTheOldManOut on his vagueness with cries of "I want answers! ''Now!''" or "You lied to me!"

Expect the aloof mentor to defend his arguments by saying YouAreNotReady, or that he told the hero "what he needed to know, not what he wanted to know", that their OmniscientMoralityLicense means that no harm was done, or even that "FromACertainPointOfView" he did tell the truth. Whatever the case, if the mentor doesn't immediately dish out some good {{backstory}} or {{Exposition}} after being called out, then his protégé will turn his back on the mentor for breaking his trust and being disrespectful and irresponsible with the lives of others.

* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
** Obi-Wan Kenobi: "So what I told you was true, FromACertainPointOfView." Although by the time Luke Skywalker is able to talk to him properly, he's calmed down from hearing the AwfulTruth (it ''has'' been a full year, after all) and the conversation is civil.

* In ''Manga/KatekyoHitmanReborn'', a villainous example is found with Xanxus towards the Ninth. Being an extremely violent and ill-tempered SpoiledBrat, he overreacted to the discovery of the Ninth not telling him that [[spoiler: he's actually ''not'' the Ninth's child, and therefore can't become the next Vongola boss]]. To the point where he readily [[spoiler: tricks Tsuna into accidentally killing the Ninth]] with little remorse or regret.

* ''FanFic/TheImmortalGame'': [[spoiler: Once they're reunited, Twilight ''really'' tears into Celestia by calling her out how she manipulated Twilight to make her into the perfect soldier. Celestia tries to mend things between them, but Twilight points out that the way she's doing it is just another manipulation.]]

* In ''FanFic/AnAlternateKeitaroUrashima'', Granny Hina's plans to make Keitaro take over the Hinata Inn go OffTheRails, and when she tries to force them back on track, she repeatedly gets called out for her manipulations. Sadly, none of these seem to sink in, as she firmly believes [[MoralMyopia everyone who disagrees with her methods is in the wrong]].

** Obi-Wan Kenobi: "So what I told you was true, FromACertainPointOfView." Although by the time Luke Skywalker is able to talk to him properly, he's calmed down from hearing the AwfulTruth and the conversation is civil.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'': Tighten becomes enraged at Megamind's refusal to join him as a crime team, dating the woman Tighten is stalking, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking "Lying to Space-Step-Mom!"]]

-->[[spoiler:"You didn't betray me. You betrayed yourself."]]

** In the final book Harry confronts him with the fact that ''even then'', there were still things being kept from him. Harry doesn't need to scream here; Dumbledore's guilt is written plainly on his face; he [[spoiler: breaks down and cries.]]

* An episode of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' reveals that a SecretTestOfCharacter at one stage in Klingon martial arts training is for the master to repeatedly challenge the student to do something impossible so that after repeated painful failures the student will eventually do this and prove that they're mature and self-respecting enough not to trust their superior uncritically and put up with abusive behaviour. This fits perfectly, given that they are the trope namer for KlingonPromotion.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': [[BigGood Ozpin's]] been keeping a lot of secrets regarding his SecretWar with [[BigBad Salem]]. In Volume 2, Ironwood tells Glynda he's certain that Ozpin's hiding something. He becomes so mistrustful of Ozpin's placid attitude that he reports him to the Vale Council, who strip Ozpin of responsibility for the Vytal Festival's security. Raven also states she turned her back on Ozpin's war because the more she learned about it, the more she mistrusted Ozpin until she abandoned him entirely. She's baffled and angry that her twin brother Qrow has never seen light. Teams RWBY and JNPR become increasingly frustrated with Ozpin's secretive behaviour throughout Volume 5, until it blows up into a big argument at the beginning of Volume 6. [[spoiler:The tipping point for the heroes is learning that the Relics attract the Grimm after they've carried the Relic of Knowledge onto a train full of people. That leads the revelation of the secret that Ozpin's been hiding, causing all the heroes -- including the [[UndyingLoyalty ever-loyal]] Qrow -- to turn on Ozpin [[BrokenPedestal completely]]. A broken Ozpin [[HeroicBSOD locks himself away]] in the back of Oscar's mind; the heroes spend Volumes 6 & 7 trying to navigate the truth-bomb that's been dropped on them, and feeling like they'll never trust Ozpin again.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'': Titan becomes enraged at Mega Mind's refusal to join him as a crime team, dating the woman Titan is stalking and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking "Lying to Space-Step-Mom!"]]

* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': Harry Dresden does it to his mentor Ebenezer [=McCoy=], specifically in Blood Rites. The catalyst is the reaction [=McCoy=] and a mercenary named Kincaid have upon realizing that Dresden has recruited both of them for an attack on a bunch of Black Court vampires. Later, Harry confronts [=McCoy=], [[BrokenPedestal who tells him the truth about his job]] -- [[spoiler:that he's the Blackstaff, whose job is basically to do the White Council's dirty work. That pretty much means ignoring all of the principles and values that Ebenezar always taught Harry to uphold, and the resulting shock to Harry causes him to shun [=McCoy=] for at least three books.]]
** In ''Proven Guilty'', Harry and Ebenezer take steps towards a reconciliation a couple days after [[spoiler:Molly's trial]] when Harry realizes that ''someone'' had to have spoken on his behalf during his own trial, despite the fact that Ebenezer claimed not to have been present.

** In ''Ghost Story,'' Molly (Harry's apprentice in magic) feels this way towards Harry after [[spoiler: his ill-considered suicide leaves Chicago unprotected against supernatural onslaughts, and inadvertently begins Molly's StartOfDarkness.]] She's long since reached a DespairEventHorizon, so her attitude is less "angry" than "[[BreakTheCutie melancholy]] and utterly [[DidYouThinkICantFeel disillusioned]]" but it still feels like this trope.

* ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTenseiPersona'':

* ''Anime/CodeGeass'' C.C. does this in regards to the nature of Geass and her own past. Then again, Lelouch doesn't try hard to crack her most of the time, since he's busy with other things. When he does try to make her talk, C.C. usually gets out of it by reminding Lelouch she's his trustworthy co-conspirator. [[spoiler: In reality she's trying to use him to get out of her [[DeathSeeker curse of immortality]].]]

** Subverted in one issue of ''[[ComicBook/BatmanAndTheOutsiders The Outsiders]]''. [[ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} Dick]] is furious at Bruce for what he believes was an attempt to exert control over the new Outsiders by providing them funding through a subsidiary of Wayne Industries and secretly providing Arsenal with intel. Bruce explains that he really was just trying to help the new team by funding them -- they needed money, and he has money. Bruce just didn't want Dick to feel like he owed him anything. Dick calms down, but says it was still wrong of Bruce to pass on intel to Arsenal without telling him. Bruce responds [[spoiler:by telling Dick that he hasn't spoken to Arsenal for over a year. Dick immediately calls Arsenal to warn him, only to find out that Arsenal is currently meeting with "Batman". Woops, I mean ''Deathstroke''.]]

** [[spoiler:''Cypher,'' on the other hand, plays it much straighter--and to [[TheMole it’s logical extreme]]. He despises Morpheus’s vagueness, his loyalty to the Oracle, and above all his refusal to be up front about everything. He fully believes that, had Morpheus been honest about what would happen if the Red Pill was chosen, no one would have chosen it, leading to his eventual FaceHeelTurn.]]

** In ''Proven Guilty'', Harry and Ebenezer take steps towards a reconciliation a couple days after [[spoiler:Molly's trial]], when Harry realizes that ''someone'' had to have spoken on his behalf during his own trial, despite the fact that Ebenezer claimed not to have been present.

* The Literature/{{Deverry}} Cycle: Rhegor gets this from Nevyn [[spoiler:after Brangwen and Gerraent die.]] Subverted in that the laws of dweomer says that someone has to ask the right questions in order to learn the information that Rhegor was withholding. Nevyn also gets this a few times (sometimes for less reason), and Dallandra catches a few hits too. (While Salamander does withhold information at times, it's not to someone he has a mentor-type relationship with.)

* A stellar example of this appears in ''Series/BabylonFive'', in the third-season episode "Interludes and Examinations." After a season and a half of evasions and mysteries from DungeonMaster Kosh, Captain Sheridan snaps, and refuses to back down until Kosh gives them the help they need, ignoring all dire warnings and accusations of impudence. This example plays out with more subtlety than most, as neither Sheridan nor Kosh is definitively wrong in this confrontation: it's portrayed more as a conflict between two characters of strong will, who think they know what is best, and a case can be made for both of them. [[spoiler:And then Kosh dies, as he knew he would after providing direct assistance to the anti-Shadow alliance.]]

* An episode of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' reveals that a SecretTestOfCharacter at one stage in Klingon martial arts training is for the master to repeatedly challenge the student to do something impossible, so that after repeated painful failures the student will eventually do this and prove that they're mature and self-respecting enough not to trust their superior uncritically and put up with abusive behaviour. This fits perfectly, given that they are the trope namer for KlingonPromotion.

* In ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'', the Toa protagonists got tired of how the Turaga elders only ever delivered their [[MrExposition exposition]] after a new menace had arrived to besiege their villages, and questioned their trustworthiness. Thankfully the Turaga anticipated this, and had a heated argument between themselves on whether to confront the Toa and the rest of the islanders with the truth. Thus when the Toa arrived demanding answers, they were ready to offer them.

** Angron held a deep grudge against the Emperor for teleporting him out the day just before the SlaveRebellion, saving only him and leaving his own men to die (and making him look like a coward). Eventually he and his chapter pledge their allegiance to Khorne really quick.

* ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDead'' has a way more downplayed version. In some episode like number four of season 1 Clementine shows herself to be more independent. [[spoiler: As you go looking for boats in Savannah Clem will come to your rescue no matter what. This shows that she doesn't trust Lee as much as she should, though her decisions did indeed lead to Lee escaping his predicament alive. Then, at the end of episode four Clem goes missing. No, the Stranger did not kidnap her. In season 2 if you confess to Luke what happened it'll show that Clem ''ran away'' from Lee just to find her parents.]]

** [[strike: Speedy]] Red Arrow vehemently called out the Justice League (by extension, Green Arrow) and quits, seeing that the Justice League didn't take him seriously and treated him only as a sidekick. Robin, Kid Flash and Aqualad did a minor one, where they threatened to leave also. The League relented and TheTeam was born.

* In the ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriorsGundam'' games, [[TheHero Kamille Bidan]] from ''Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam'' has this reaction when meeting the FallenHero version of his mentor Quattro Bajina (actually Characters/CharAznable) from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamCharsCounterattack''.

* In ''VideoGame/Persona3'', after doing some research into a mysterious explosion at their school ten years prior to the game's setting, Yukari Takeba calls Mitsuru Kirijo, a fellow member of SEES and resident {{Ojou}}, on knowing more than she's letting on about the Shadows. Mitsuru reveals that [[spoiler: the Kirijo Group, her family's corporation, had been conducting secret experiments on Shadows using the school as a secret laboratory. The experiment went out of control, and the resulting explosion dispersed the Shadows across the city.]] Mitsuru tries to justify her withholding of this information by saying that it "never seemed relevant."
* Yusuke in ''VideoGame/Persona5'' is furious when he discovers his adopted father Madarame sees his students as nothing but fuel for his own ego and career. It turns to complete hatred when he finds out [[spoiler:Madarame let his ill mother die to steal her last painting and take credit for it. Then adopted her son, Yusuke himself, to take advantage of his own artistic talents.]]

* In ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2'', it is Axel's evasiveness about Xion and Roxas' natures that [[spoiler: directly leads to Roxas' leaving the Organization.]] For the most part, Axel keeps the information under his hat because he believes it to be [[AwfulTruth something Roxas ''really'' doesn't need to know]]. That doesn't stop it from undermining Roxas' trust in him, though.
** Done again in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'': [[spoiler: if Master Eraqus had simply told Terra that "Xehanort is evil and he's using Ven to further his plot" instead of outright attacking Ven while Terra watched, the two of them might not have had to fight each other, and unfortunately, this Rage Against the Mentor went a bit farther than most did.]] To his credit, he ''does'' seem to realize he's made a mistake and both of them are immediately [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone regretful]].
* VideoGame/AssassinsCreed: After Altair realizes that there's more to the nine men that [[TheMentor Al-Mualim]] is having him hunt down, he announces he's fed up of getting riddles and cryptic words from both sides.

* A good chunk of Christine's part in the final trio of ''ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' involves her doing this to [[TheSvengali the Phantom]].

* In the ''KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' games, and other accompanying media, this is pretty much the catalyst for Jedi involvement in the Mandalorian War- and thus, the reason for the Jedi Civil War.

** ''Series/KamenRiderFourze'' had a similar story of TheRival fighting his mentor in the form of Sakuta Ryusei. Though this time, the mentor has a darker connection. [[spoiler:He's TheDragon for TheBigBad, manipulating him from the beginning. It didn't help that just a while ago, [[KilledToUpholdTheMasquerade the mentor sent away]], for lack of a better term, his girlfriend to a PhantomZone.]] Though the fight is rather curbstompy [[spoiler:what with the mentor's ability to just summon a Dark Nebula and sending people there whenever he pleases]]. [[spoiler:He does manage to send Ryusei and his friend back after he realizes that ruthlessness isn't as powerful as friendship]].

** In the chronologically earlier trilogy, Anakin throws tantrums (and worse) because he thinks that Obi-Wan is withholding important things when he isn't. (Though considering [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds what Anakin slowly becomes during the last two movies]], maybe Obi-Wan -- and Qui-Gon Jinn, for that matter -- ''should'' have withheld a few things.)

* ''Anime/SamuraiSeven'''s Katsushiro does this after having been disillusioned by his mentor, who he had previously been holding up as a paragon of samurai virtues.
* Resident BadassNormal Teana from ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers'' does this to her mentor Nanoha (and almost drags Subaru into it, as well) when she grows frustrated of seemingly not making any progress because Nanoha "deliberately holds her back". It is often referred to in the fandom as the "White Devil Incident". Of course, this being ''Nanoha'', [[spoiler:it is resolved in a very [[{{Squee}} heartwarming]] fashion and Nanoha's training eventually proves good enough for Teana to take out three Numbers at once, while injured, without any backup, whereas most other named characters have trouble taking them on one on one]].

* In ''Manga/{{Pretear}}'', Himeno demands that the Leafe Knights tell her the origins of the Princess of Disaster. When they eventually break down and tell her the truth, she's so stunned by the backstory that her confidence drops drastically and for a time she [[BroughtDownToNormal can't even use her powers]]--which just proves the Knight's reservations in the first place.

* Occasionally happens with Domon to Master Asia in ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam'' once he's found out [[spoiler: Master's been supporting the Devil Gundam all along.]]
* Fed up with all the secrets and mystery, the new DarkerAndEdgier Judai of ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'' threatens to flush his [[note]]formerly TreacherousAdvisor's[[/note]] SpiritAdvisor's spirit down the toilet in Season 4 unless he gets some straight, concrete answers.

* ''Comicbook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderThePromise''. Roku keeps telling Aang he needs to be decisive and kill Zuko, and if he contemplated the world he would see that he needs to do this. So Aang contemplates the world, and sees the people he loves, including Zuko, while getting sick of Roku's vague advice ("What did you expect me to picture? Some floaty cosmic energy?"). He realizes that Roku's worldview of how the four nations must be kept separate is outdated and decides there's nothing more he can teach him, so he severs his spiritual connection to him.

* ComicBook/{{Cyclops}} of the ''Franchise/XMen'' went on a slow-burn one of these in the 2000s towards his mentor Professor X, as more and more evidence of Chuck's long history of {{Superdickery}} started to pile up. The straw that broke the camel's back was ''Deadly Genesis'', in which Cyclops found out that Chuck not only sent a secret third squad of X-Men to their deaths against the island monster Krakoa (among them Cyclops's own long-lost brother Vulcan), he also in the aftermath ''[[MoralEventHorizon wiped the minds of Cyclops and all the other X-Men to forget that Vulcan's team ever existed]]''. Understandably, Scott was '''pissed'''. So pissed, in fact, that he booted Xavier out of his own mansion!

[[folder:Videogames]]

* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'': In the entirety of the show's run, [[MentorMascot Kyubey]] has been [[spoiler:yelled at, nearly got speared, shot to death, gotten hurt, and figuratively got demoted to garbage man through a loophole-abused wish]] by four of the five {{Magical Girl}}s, because [[spoiler:they [[YouDidntAsk purposefully hid details]] that the people they make contracts with should be aware of, [[AwfulTruth details]] that can [[DrivenToSuicide drive someone to suicide]], so the girls are not happy regardless of their [[WellIntentionedExtremist good intentions]] or [[AMillionIsAStatistic logical argument]]]].

* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'': '''Kyubey'''! In the entirety of the show's run, he's been [[spoiler:yelled at, nearly got speared, shot to death, gotten hurt, and figuratively got demoted to garbage man through a loophole-abused wish]] by four of the five {{Magical Girl}}s. Why did he get so much hurt? Well, when [[spoiler:[[YouDidntAsk you purposefully hide details that the people you make contracts with should be aware of]], [[AwfulTruth details that can drive someone to suicide]], [[WellIntentionedExtremist regardless of your well-intentions]] or [[AMillionIsAStatistic logical argument]], bad things are gonna happen to you]].

* Twilight Sparkle gets a very short one of these, barely a scene long, in the third season episode "Keep Calm and Flutter On" of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''. When Celestia brings [[MeaningfulName Discord]] to Ponyville and tells the Mane 6 that she expects them to reform him Twilight promptly screams a query of Celestia's sanity right in the Princess's face. For the uninformed, Discord is somewhere between a TricksterArchetype and the Equestria equivalent of ''{{Satan}}''.

** In the chronologically earlier trilogy, Anakin throws tantrums (and worse) because he thinks that Obi-Wan is withholding important things when he isn't. (Though considering [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds what Anakin slowly becomes during the last two movies]], maybe Obi-Wan (and Qui-Gon Jinn, for that matter) ''should'' have withheld a few things.

* ''Series/{{Merlin}}'': Merlin seems to have had little enough patience with the Great Dragon throughout, but in the last episode, he turns on the Dragon for good [[spoiler:after learning that its sole motive in helping him was to secure its own release]].

* In ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'', every single freakin' ComicBook/{{Robin}}. And most of the [[ComicBook/{{Batgirl}} Batgirls]] at some stage. It's especially poignant since Batman is also [[CallingTheOldManOut a father figure]] to most of them.
** Subverted in one issue of ''[[ComicBook/BatmanAndTheOutsiders The Outsiders]]''. Dick is furious at Bruce for what he believes was an attempt to exert control over the new Outsiders by providing them funding through a subsidiary of Wayne Industries and secretly providing Arsenal with intel. Bruce explains that he really was just trying to help the new team by funding them -- they needed money, and he has money. Bruce just didn't want Dick to feel like he owed him anything. Dick calms down, but says it was still wrong of Bruce to pass on intel to Arsenal without telling him. Bruce responds [[spoiler:by telling Dick that he hasn't spoken to Arsenal for over a year. Dick immediately calls Arsenal to warn him, only to find out that Arsenal is currently meeting with "Batman". Woops, I mean ''Deathstroke''.]]