History Main / RetiredBadAss

* Gran'ma Ben and Lucius Down from the ''ComicBook/{{Bone}}'' comic book series.
* In ''ComicBook/{{WITCH}}'', Hay Lin's grandma Yan Lin fits, as (when she as younger) ''she'' had her granddaughter's place in the Kandracar FiveManBand.

* Subverted in ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' - a reader accustomed to this trope might expect Hollis Mason, the original Nite Owl, to fight off the street gang that breaks into his place with ease. This, to say the least, is not how it plays out.
** In the director's cut of [[Film/{{Watchmen}} the film version]], Mason does fight back, with the blows cutting to brief flashbacks of him landing punches on masked villains when he was in his prime, but in the end, there's just too many thugs for him to take on at once. There's even a brief HopeSpot for him (and an OhCrap for the thug) right at the start, where he ''catches'' the first punch before laying out the thug.

* ''WesternAnimation/LadyAndTheTramp'': The Tramp, once something of a legendary figure among other dogs, is perfectly happy to live a lazy family life. Not that he can't be provoked into showing some of his skills every so often. Just as long as Lady doesn't find out.
* The titular characters of ''ComicBook/TheHighwaymen''.
* The Musketeer and the Legionary of Franchise/{{Batman}}'s Club of Heroes; The Musketeer is probably the greatest swordsman to ever emerge from Europe, even years out of practice and with no real interest in fighting crime anymore. The Legionary, however, is another story, having fallen from grace dramatically and becoming a fat slob in his later years. However, when he is assaulted at the Club of Heroes reunion he manages to not only land a bone-shattering backhanded blow on his assailant despite suffering from 17 stab wounds, he leaves a clue for the other heroes to both indicate the killer and ensure their safety. He may have gotten sloppy, but the Legionary once stood shoulder to shoulder with (and garnered respect from) freaking ''Batman''; he is ''not'' going down without a fight.
* The modern ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica series is about these coming out of retirement in order to train the next generations of heroes. It helps that most of them have slowed aging, thanks to exposure to energies in a battle in the 40s or through other means.
* ComicBook/JessicaJones's backstory involves her being a former superhero who went to high school with Peter Parker. However, a few years into her hero career she was kidnapped and enslaved by ComicBook/PurpleMan for eight months. The experience so traumatized Jessica that she quit superheroics, though continues to fight crime as a private eye.
* ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} is living like this at the start of the possible-future story of ''ComicBook/OldManLogan''. In fact, he hasn't popped out his claws in years.
%%* ComicBook/JonahHex is one in his DeadlyDistantFinale.

* Paperinik, Donald Duck's superhero person, became this in the BadFuture shown in issue 34 of ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'', having passed the last fifteen years in hiding because he was framed as a terrorist. He gets back in the game when a chance to change the past arrives.
* A dark example from ''ComicBook/AstroCity'': FlyingBrick Supersonic is brought out of retirement by a nostalgic old friend, but proves to be a shadow of his former self. Thanks to a combination of senility and lack of practice leaving him unable to use the clever and silver-age-y tricks he preferred during his career, Supersonic is reduced to wailing on his enemy until it stays down, causing massive collateral damage in the process.
** A lighter example appears in "The Dark Age". After the target of their RoaringRampageOfRevenge is no more, the Williams' brothers realize how self-destructive their quest was, and left their life of crime-fighting to run a chartered fishing business instead.
* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersRobotsInDisguise'': Thundercracker during his prime was a Seeker, high ranking in the Decepticon Hierarchy, having bested Bumblebee (who was smart enough to defeat Thundercracker's wing mate, Skywarp), and nearly killed Hot Rod in a joint attack with Skywarp. Nowadays he's abandoned the Decepticons and lives on Earth, keeping out of the conflict and writing truly awful television screenplays.
* General Thaddeus Ross in ''ComicBook/UltimateFantasticFour''. He's the former head of S.H.I.E.L.D., who was nearly killed by Weapon X in ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen''. After coming back from the dead, he was put in charge of the Baxter Building project instead.
* In ''ComicBook/TheSilencer'', protagonist Honor Guest is a retired assassin formerly employed by Leviathan.

* In ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' FlashForwardFic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/24258940/chapters/58462522 Next of Kin]]'', several characters--especially the Smashers--have become this in the twenty years since ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'', focusing on settling down and raising their children.

* Often used to keep the [[DesignatedHero designated heroes]] in check. One of the easiest ways to stop a 7th level adventurer from robbing a shop blind is to have a [[EasilyAngeredShopkeeper retired 14th level adventurer as the shopkeep.]] They're also helpful for breaking up a BarBrawl (whether or not the [=PCs=] started it).

* There's a few of these floating around in ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'', where some pilots and other soldiers retire from active combat to either go back to civilian life or into non-combat roles. There's actually an entire monastery of them called St. Marinus House, where Mechwarriors are allowed to sequester themselves without question from the monks there (most of whom are themselves former pilots)--most of the Mechwarriors seeking sanctuary there have [[WarIsHell been severely emotionally scarred by their experiences in combat]] and go to St. Marinus House to seek peace and solace away from combat. Doesn't keep some of them from coming out of retirement when truly needed, though.
* One of the non-player characters found in ''TabletopGame/InNomine'' is The Old Guy, a warrior angel in Austin, Texas, who's old enough to remember dinosaurs. He's away from the front lines and drastically weakened from what he used to be, due to the poisoning of a tree his life is bound to, but he hasn't lost any of his cunning or his skill, as he'd be glad to remind any demon stupid enough to come onto his radar.
* ''TabletopGame/FengShui'', whose character classes are based on character tropes, naturally has one for "Ex-Special Forces".

* In ''Webcomic/{{Gosu}}'', Gha Woobok, once feared as the greatest killer of the Baekma Valley, left the murim and is now a door-to-door merchant. [[MandatoryUnretirement It didn't last long]].
* Played with in [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/6/25/ this]] example of [[CatchPhrase dreaded continuity]] from ''Webcomic/PennyArcade''.
* Shiné and Shaedo in ''[[http://www.newrem.com NewRem Comics]]''. Both characters had played major parts in saving the world, the former even having at one point been made the world's goddess, before moving on to lives of internet-trolling and video-game playing, respectively.

* ''Webcomic/EvenInArcadia'' has Master Odai, an old Fae who has secluded himself off in the forest. He's a retired Emerged, the most powerful type of known mage.

* In ''Webcomic/BlueYonder'', [[http://www.blueyondercomic.net/comics/1530714/blue-yonder-chapter-2-page-11/ Lena learns that a neighbor was in N-Forcers.]]

* Professors Trevols and Dymond of ''Webcomic/AliceAndTheNightmare'' are both retired oneironauts, meaning that they've spent likely over a decade of their lives going willingly into lands filled with Nightmares.
* In ''Webcomic/KiddCommander'':
** Very definitely Jocasta Hubris. Her first appearance says "Retired, or something". And, apparently, "escaping a sundog's maw" is impressive on its own, compounded by jumping right back in for her ''coat''.
** Crow Gideon might qualify, but he seems to be more ''inactive'' than ''retired''. He's just not heard of or from in quite some time.

* ''Webcomic/{{Obscurato}}'' follows a retired warrior who has to come out of retirement to protect her family.
* Ye Thuza from ''Webcomic/SandraAndWoo'' was a Burmese guerrilla fighter in her youth, but these days she spends her time as a suburban housewife. Of course, that doesn't stop her from being the toughest character in the comic or [[BadassFamily passing on her skills to her children]].
* The village of Pagat Or from ''Webcomic/AshfacesDaughter'' seems to be filled with these.
* Chancellor Palpatine in ''WebComic/DarthsAndDroids'' isn't the incredibly dangerous character he was in the movies, he's not even much of a villain, but he ''is'' a retired Jedi who can hold his own against Yoda.

* A lot of the teachers and staff of [[SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy]] in the Literature/WhateleyUniverse.
** The seventy-something headmistress Elizabeth Carson. When Syndicate dropships and the unstoppable cyborg Assassin Deathlist invade her school, the gloves come off. Oh, she turns out to be Lady Astarte, possibly the greatest superheroine still around.
** Also Dr. Yablonsky, one of the Powers Lab teachers, who has a cybernetic arm and leg. One of the characters thinks he teaches the way Batman faces down thugs.
* Burt from ''AudioPlay/WereAlive''. He's a former Marine gunnery sergeant who owns a gun shop with enough weaponry to equip a [[MoreDakka small army]], carries a silver-plated Desert Eagle [[ICallItVera named Shirley]], and kills zombies while singing [[SoundtrackDissonance "Mary Had A Little Lamb"]].
* The end of ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' Season 10 reveals that [[spoiler:Butch Flowers, the Blues' deceased captain, was once Agent Florida and fought alongside the other Freelancers. It's not technically retirement, since he still answered to the Director, but his new job was much less intense.]]

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': [[spoiler:Maria Calavera]] was once the LivingLegend known as the Grimm Reaper - an unstoppable Huntress who wandered the wilderness slaying Grimm, but concealing her identity behind an ornate mask. She was ''such'' a Badass, Qrow reveals he based [[SinisterScythe Harbinger]] off her weapons (meaning she indirectly inspired [[TheHero Ruby]] to create Crescent Rose). She mysteriously vanished decades ago [[spoiler:after losing her [[MagicalEye Silver-Eyes]]]].
* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBt8ioYEXBw&t=1739s cover image]] of the fanmade ''VideoGame/JetSetRadio''-inspired album, ''Memories of Tokyo-To'', seems to imply this was the ultimate fate of [[ActionGirl Gum]]. We see her in a [[HurtingHero borderline depressed state]] as all she can do is [[GloryDays listen to music that reminds her of the glory days]] while [[BreakTheBadass she lays slumped against the wall]] [[HowTheMightyHaveFallen without her iconic helmet and face paint]]. One can only wonder what happened between her and [[TheFellowshipHasEnded the rest of the GGs...]]

* Buzz Aldrin--former NASA astronaut, decorated Air Force fighter pilot, second man to walk on the moon, MIT doctoral degree holder, and well...you get the idea--had enough of conspiracy theorist crackpot Bart Sibrel's heckling [[PapaWolf in front of his daughter]] and punched him right in the kisser [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wptn5RE2I-k on video]] when he was 72 years old.

* General, later Field Marshal and even later President, Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, born 1867. He made his lifetime career in the Czarist Russian army, retiring as a fully serving General of Cavalry of the Lifeguards in 1917, having participated in both Russo-Japanese war 1904-1905 and WWI 1914-1917. After the declaration of Independence of Finland in December 1917, he was pleased to become the commander-in-chief of the White Army. After the Finnish Civil War, he retired. Little did he know that his SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome was yet to become. His happy pensioneer's days were over in 1939 when the Winter War began. Again he was called to service, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Army. He was promoted to Field Marshal in 1940, and he served as the Supreme Commander of the Finnish Armed Forces until the end of the Continuation War. After the Armstice with the USSR in 1944 and resignation of President Risto Ryti, he was nominated as ''the President of Finland''. Why? Because [[WorthyOpponent he was the only person both Finns and Soviets could trust]]. He passed away in 1951.

*** That said, there was one person who held the rank as well- John J Pershing, in WWI.

* Mohamed Rafiq, a 65-year old Pakistani air force veteran living in Norway. In 2019, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bærum_mosque_shooting a right-wing terrorist planned a shooting at Rafiq's local mosque]]. Rafiq managed to ''wrestle the far younger shooter'' while the other retirees present called the police. By the time the police arrived, Rafiq and his fellow worshippers had already subdued and tied up the terrorist.

How well do you know your neighbors, shop keepers, the old guy down the street with all the little mementos from around the world? If you haven't known them your whole life there's a chance they may be a badass.

One thing badasses of all types have in common is that they're magnets for trouble, and even in retirement this doesn't change. Occasionally these guys get pulled back into action because the BigBad (or his men) know his reputation and come to make trouble. Other times it's because a young ArrogantKungFuGuy wants to make a reputation by beating the old legend. Perhaps the most frequent case is that when the heroes are in trouble and need help to accomplish their goals, they will come to the Retired Badass either for physical help or advice about their quest, or because the retired badass is a past teacher, {{mentor}}, even father figure.

Exactly how the retiree in question will respond may vary. Sometimes they will come fully out of retirement to join up with the heroes and their party, sometimes they will just give some words of advice and/or an epiphany that the hero couldn't come up with on their own, (or teach the hero something specific, like the ever popular DangerousForbiddenTechnique) but often they're just as likely to simply fade back into retirement once the immediate situation has been resolved. Their help or advice is frequently a one-shot deal: sure they can point a hero in the right direction, but after that, (and wiping the floor with some disrespectful mooks like those mentioned above), don't look to them for further help. After all, it's a big world and they're getting too old or [[JadeColoredGlasses disillusioned]] to play hero. Let someone younger pick up that mantle and save the world while they get back to living off their pension. However, they are usually more than capable of a LetsGetDangerous moment if needed. Expect him to have an EmergencyStash of money / weapons / [=IDs=] when needed.

* ''ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns''. The entire thing was about Batman retiring, dealing with his retirement and returning to the job, despite problems with his age.
** Also, Franchise/{{Batman}}'s majordomo Alfred. Several of his origins highlight his retired bad ass status. RAF, Special Forces... the job title he's retired from varies DependingOnTheAuthor, but they're all badass military positions.
* Scrooge [=McDuck=]. In ''ComicBook/TheLifeAndTimesOfScroogeMcDuck'', which follows Scrooge's entire life until Donald and his nephews are introduced to his old self, having become a shadow of his former self. Thanks to having to take action against a new generation of Beagle Boys however, he gets an AdrenalineMakeover and returns as a still-capable badass.

** In the director's cut of [[Film/{{Watchmen}} the film version]], Mason does fight back, with the blows cutting to brief flashbacks of him landing punches on masked villains when he was in his prime, but in the end there's just too many thugs for him to take on at once. There's even a brief HopeSpot for him (and an OhCrap for the thug) right at the start, where he ''catches'' the first punch before laying out the thug.

* The Musketeer and the Legionary of Franchise/{{Batman}}'s Club of Heroes; The Musketeer is probably the greatest swordsman to ever emerge from Europe, even years out of practice and with no real interest in fighting crime anymore. The Legionary, however, is another story, having fallen from grace dramatically and becoming a fat slob in his later years. However, when he is assaulted at the Club of Heroes reunion he manages to not only land a bone shattering backhanded blow on his assailant despite suffering from 17 stab wounds, he leaves a clue for the other heroes to both indicate the killer and ensure their safety. He may have gotten sloppy, but the Legionary once stood shoulder to shoulder with (and garnered respect from) freaking ''Batman''; he is ''not'' going down without a fight.

* ComicBook/JessicaJones's backstory involves her being former superhero who went to high school with Peter Parker. However, a few years into her hero career she was kidnapped and enslaved by ComicBook/PurpleMan for eight months. The experience so traumatized Jessica that she quit superheroics, though continues to fight crime as a private eye.

* Paperinik, Donald Duck's superhero person, became this in the BadFuture shown in issue 34 of ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'', having passed the last fifteen years in hiding because he was framed as a terrorist. He get back in the game when a chance to change the past arrives.

* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersRobotsInDisguise'': Thundercracker during his prime was a Seeker, high ranking in the Decpticon Heirarchy, having bested Bumblebee (who was smart enough to defeat Thundercracker's wing mate, Skywarp), and nearly killed Hot Rod in a joint attack with Skywarp. Nowadays he's abandoned the Decepticons and lives on Earth, keeping out of the conflict and writing truly awful television screenplays.

* ''Fanfic/TheSecretReturnOfAlexMack'': ComicBook/{{Batman}}'s butler Alfred is a former 006 agent. Not only that, but he was retired for being too old (Double-Oh agents are required to retire at 45); he was skilled enough to complete his career without ever getting seriously hurt.

* Steel Song is enjoying a quiet small town life at the start of the book. However, he is an ex-guard, has worked for many years as a bodyguard, becoming quite famous in the process and [[spoiler:is the only alive non-griffon Blademaster in existance.]] When he's called out of retirement to lead the [[Fanfic/TheDuskGuardSaga Dusk Guard]], he amply demonstrates just why the Princesses have chosen him.

* ''Fanfic/GhostsOfEvangelion'': Shinji and Asuka were mecha pilots and child soldiers in their teens. After the War they get therapy, go to college, get jobs and never fight again.

* Gideon becomes this in ''Series/CriminalMinds'' fanfic ''To live again''. He retired from profiling and opened a little store in a small town, the same place where Annie lives. He's still capable of serious asskicking, especially if his pseudo-daughter is at the risk. (No, you don't want to face a PapaWolf ex-profiler. You really don't.)

* Creator/SeijunTombo's fanfis depict Professor Oak as a former Pokémon Champion.

* ''Fanfic/HereThereBeMonsters'': Most of members of the Squadron of Justice had not suited up in many years, but they return to help the [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Marvel Family]] out.

* After health problems forced Wrestling/NigelMcGuinness out of the ring, he continued to serve as a commentator, match maker and various other executive roles in Wrestling/RingOfHonor.

* In ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'', the Seventh Doctor is depicted as this during the time leading up to his regeneration in the [[Recap/DoctorWhoTVMTheTVMovie Doctor Who TV Movie.]] Years of being TheChessmaster had turned him into a burnt out, weary old man who's aware that the end is coming. He still has the occasional adventure, but he's mostly focused on tying up loose ends before he regenerates. He no longer travels with companions, he doesn't make any elaborate plans or schemes, and is generally a more morose, contemplative figure than he was at the start of his life. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking And he doesn't play the spoons anymore.]]

* Sometimes found in ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' either as something that happens during the course of the story, or as a small event when, say, an innkeeper pulls the mace down off his wall to help the heroes and show that it's not just ornamental. Having the [[YouAllMeetInAnInn 'adventure inn']] be run by a retired high-level adventurer is something of an old cliché in the game.

*** Whole areas populated by these. One example would be ''City of Ravens Bluff'' [[note]]still available [[http://forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=13961 in old free downloads]][[/note]] -- during the city's raise as a major trade port its populace grew from about 17000 resident and 3000 adventuring to about 30000 settled plus 10000 adventurers -- fair number being high-level, with the heads of local Wizards Guild equal in power to less powerful among the rulers of [[TheMagocracy magocracies]], and so on. Dales are different, but Dalesfolk tend to be very tough. In both cases, locals who live to tell interesting tales ''and'' outside adventurers who like the atmosphere end up settling there.

* [[FourStarBadass General Tagon]] in ''WebComic/SchlockMercenary'', the [[StrongFamilyResemblance familiar looking father of Captain Tagon]], retired with honours (and a law he wrote himself mandating that he NOT come out of retirement in any military capacity) some time ago. But as various events prove, he hasn't slowed down a tad.

** Also Dr. Yablonsky, one of the Powers Lab teachers, who has a cybernetic arm and leg. One of the character thinks he teaches the way Batman faces down thugs.
* Burt from ''AudioPlay/WereAlive''. He's a former Marine gunnery sergeant who owns a gun shop with enough weaponry to equip a [[MoreDakka small army]], carries a silver plated Desert Eagle [[ICallItVera named Shirley]], and kills zombies while singing [[SoundtrackDissonance "Mary Had A Little Lamb"]].

* General, later Field Marshal and even later President, Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, born 1867. He made his lifetime career in the Czarist Russian army, retiring as a fully serving General of Cavalry of the Lifeguards in 1917, having participated in both Russo-Japanese war 1904-1905 and WWI 1914-1917. After the declaration of Independence of Finland December 1917, he was pleaded to become the commander-in-chief of the White Army. After the Finnish Civil War he retired. Little did he know that his SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome was yet to become. His happy pensioneer's days were over in 1939, when the Winter War began. Again he was called to service, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Army. He was promoted to Field Marshal in 1940, and he served as the Supreme Commander of the Finnish Armed Forces until the end of the Continuation War. After the Armstice with USSR 1944 and resignation of President Risto Ryti, he was nominated as ''the President of Finland''. Why? Because [[WorthyOpponent he was the only person both Finns and Soviets could trust]]. He passed away in 1951.

* UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington. As if he hasn't done enough badassery in his life already, the former president was asked out of retirement by UsefulNotes/JohnAdams to take over the command of US Army during the Quasi-War with France.

* Mohamed Rafiq, a 65-year old Pakistani air force veteran living in Norway. In 2019, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A6rum_mosque_shooting a right-wing terrorist planned a shooting at Rafiq's local mosque]]. Rafiq managed to ''wrestle the far younger shooter'' while the other retirees present called the police. By the time the police arrived, Rafiq and his fellow worshippers had already subdued and tied up the terrorist.

* George Washington. As if he hasn't done enough badassery in his life already, the former president was asked out of retirement by John Adams to take over the command of US Army during the Quasi-War with France.

** [[http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=D+2001-172 A story]] has his nephew DonaldDuck bringing a Film/JamesBond {{Expy}} out of retirement. And time wasn't kind: both the spy and the villain's gadgets don't work anymore, the SharkPool is filled with skeletons since the sharks weren't fed, the BodyguardBabes are now grandmas...

[[folder:FanWorks]]

!!Examples

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'' likes to play with this one. Notable examples include:
** Hiko Seijuro, Kenshin's former mentor that he has been estranged from for a dozen years by the time Kenshin comes to him for help in the series (It doesn't help that he left against Hiko's wishes). Although Hiko is probably the most powerful character in the series, he is content to live away from people and make a living by creating pottery. After much persuading he helps Kenshin [[TookALevelInBadass take yet another level in badass]], and protects some of Kenshin's friends from a giant member of a QuirkyMinibossSquad (as well as [[WarriorTherapist helping the guy work his issues]]). Despite knowing about the threat of BigBad Shishio, however, he gives no hint he had any intention of doing anything about it.
** Nenji Kashiwazaki aka Okina, the former mentor of Kenshin's WorthyOpponent Aoshi, works along with other former {{ninja}} as the owner and manager of an inn. He still has contacts among spies in Kyoto that he uses to aid Kenshin. Aside from a fight with Aoshi, however, when he sees that his former pupil has gone a little too [[DarkerAndEdgier dark and edgy]] for his taste, he mostly stays on the sidelines, acting more as TheStrategist and advisor from now on. (Although considering the HUGE wounds Aoshi inflicted on him, it's well justified. no wonder poor Misao, who saw Aoshi almost kill Okina, was more than a bit disturbed).
** In a filler episode from the anime, it is revealed that a former first rate swordsman who fought Kenshin in the revolution now works as a children's teacher, having given up the sword. An old student who turned into an assassin tries to recruit him nonetheless.
*** That plot was recycled for the ''Ishinshishi e no Requiem'' movie, where one of the main characters (Takimi Shigure) was an ex-samurai who became a school retainer and the caretaker of his best friend's sister [[spoiler: whom Kenshin killed in the war]].
** The title character himself is a Retired Badass, and would very much like to stay that way.
* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
** Ryuuken Ishida is adamantly in the HeroicNeutral column. For all that he can [[CurbstompBattle curbstomp]] his powerful and talented son [[AloofAlly Uryuu]], Ryuuken just wants the spiritual world to leave him alone. [[spoiler:His retirement is implied to be connected to the tragic death of [[PosthumousCharacter his wife]].]]
** Isshin Kurosaki voluntarily gave up his powers a long time ago [[spoiler: to save the life of [[RescueRomance the woman he eventually married]]]] but willingly comes back out of retirement once he regains his powers.
* Andrei Rublev, Team Satomi's [[ZenSurvivor Zen-style]] coach from ''Anime/IGPXImmortalGrandPrix'' doesn't seem very Badass-y at first: portly, almost perpetually sullen, with an inflated ego way out of proportion to his apparent effect on the team. However, he's a prime example of this trope because of who he used to be: [[spoiler:the legendary IGPX pilot known as Rocket G]]. In the second season, he dusts off his skills [[spoiler:to act as a temporary replacement for Amy, who was injured in a race against newcomers Team White Snow, ]] and steps onto the track twice more before fading back into his coach role.
* ''Manga/BlackLagoon'':
** Ginji also qualifies. Initially appearing as a big, imposing, but polite fellow selling masks at a festival, his identity as a retired assassin for the Yakuza was soon made apparent when Hotel Moscow tried muscling in on Yakuza territory.
** [[NinjaMaid Roberta]] is even worse. She's a maid, complete with the obligatory [[{{Meido}} uniform]], but she's a former veteran of FARC nicknamed [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast "The Bloodhound"]] (El Sabueso), and if you get on her bad side ([[MamaBear like kidnapping her boss's son]]) [[RoaringRampageOfRescue you are likely to be dead in just a few days, tops.]]
* BattleButler Walter of ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}'' is retired from his former career as a top Hellsing agent, mostly doing standard butler duties and occasion bodyguard work for his boss. But when an attack by a pair of low rent vampires and their small army of ghouls overruns Hellsing headquarters he has a chance to show he can still live up his "Angel of Death" nickname, complete with a "What can an old man do" moment first. He also advises Integra Hellsing, shows newcomers to the organisation the ropes, deals with other threats to the organisation and even designs some of the weapons the main characters use.
* Ilena from ''Manga/{{Claymore}}'' probably works for this (although she's spent more time actively hiding than living in peace, it IS in a cottage in the country).
* ''LightNovel/TheGreatestMagicmastersRetirementPlan'': There's an unspoken rule that each country should only have one active single-digit Magicmaster at a time and that if a country gains two, one of them will have to retire in order to maintain the power balance between countries. Unfortunately for [[TheHero Alus]], Alpha's brass won't allow him to retire because there's no new single-digit to replace him.
* ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'':
** "Miss Yomoko," actually [[spoiler:post-timeskip Yoko]], finds a calm job as an [[HotLibrarian elementary school teacher]], occasionally fighting against bandits in Ganmens who [[MuggingTheMonster have the misfortune of attacking her school]]. [[spoiler:That is, until the Anti-Spirals arrive to wreck massive havoc on Kamina City.]]
** And at the end of the series, we're shown [[spoiler:Simon]], of all possible people, WalkingTheEarth, poor and unrecognized but apparently content.
* Though much younger than most, Nanjiroh Echizen from ''Manga/ThePrinceOfTennis'' fits quite well.
* Joseph Joestar in [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders Part 3]] of ''Franchise/JoJosBizarreAdventure''. It's worth noting that he looks quite a bit like Sean Connery in his later years, and Connery tends to play Retired Badass character quite a bit. Loses the "badass" part in Part 4 when his age finally catches up to him, although anyone who [[spoiler:is willing to open a vein when an invisible baby falls into a lake so the blood can make her show up]] can't completely relinquish it.
* Cologne from ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' is a quintessential example of the trope. She has been shown to be ''the'' most formidable martial artist in the series, with abilities far surpassing anything the main characters can do (and quite possibly above Happosai's level.) Yet, she's perfectly content running the Cat Cafe and letting the weirdness erupt around her, occasionally providing nuggets of information and only rarely being an active participant herself.
* [[spoiler: Margrave Jeremiah Gottwald]] becomes one of this after the ''Anime/CodeGeass'' GrandFinale. [[spoiler: (Prosperous [[BrickJoke orange farm]] and Anya as his partner and/or adoptive daughter included)]].
* Maria from ''Anime/MaiOtome'' is a retired Otome who works as an administrator and SternTeacher at Garderobe Academy, temporarily un-retiring when it comes time to take back her school near the end of the main series. Natsuki, Shizuru, Mai and the other Meisters are amazed to see her in action, and also by the fact that [[IWasQuiteALooker she used to be a hottie]].
* Thors from ''Manga/VinlandSaga'', following the birth of his daughter. Unfortunately he wasn't allowed to stay retired.
* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
** Chef "Red-Leg" Zeff was a great pirate in his prime who survived intact sailing on the Grand Line for over a year (outside the GL that's quite a feat). Even his "moment of retirement" had shades of badass. Depending on whether you read the manga or watched the anime respectively, he either ate his own leg so a young Sanji could survive off the actual food, or cut it off to rescue a drowning Sanji. Even as a peg-legged old man, he still has the Stuff, kicking so hard it blew away bullets fired towards him. Though he prefers to let the youngsters handle things.
** An even more badass example would be Silvers Rayleigh, [[spoiler: Gold Roger's former first mate]]. These days he runs a small business in Sabaody Archipelago, coating ships with a special substance, which enables travel to Fishman Island.
** Dr. Kureha too. She's demonstrated that she can probably take all of the Drum Island baddies herself despite being 139 years young, but is content to just watch. She even outright mentions it.
-->'''Dr. Kureha''': If you guys can't handle it, I'll come save you.
** Crocus is also pretty damn badass. In the past, [[spoiler:he was a doctor on Gol D. Roger's crew]]. In the present, he's still strong enough to tank ''bazooka bullets'' to the chest.
** Bellemere, Nami and Nojiko's adoptive mother, provides a variation. She may be a PosthumousCharacter, and unlike most other examples on this page, a rather young woman, but she qualifies nonetheless as she was a powerful and reliable Marine; she did retire very early to take care of Nami and Nojiko.
* Granny Chiyo from ''Manga/{{Naruto}}''. First portrayed as a doddering, almost-senile old woman who wants nothing more to do with her village and its politics, beyond berating the village elders of Sungakure for relying on Konoha instead of training to be more powerful themselves. [[spoiler: Then she and a young CombatMedic with SuperStrength, Sakura Haruno, make a ''formidable'' team up and defeat Sasori, Chiyo's own grandson/pupil and member of the [[BigBad Akatsuki]] -- using puppets that were built by Chiyo herself, as well as better made and with more tricks/better builts than Sasori's own.]] Notable in that the aforementioned [[spoiler: Sasori]] is one of the most powerful members of the Akatsuki, an organization exclusively composed of unbelievably badass rogue ninja who generally require a combination of multiple high-level protagonists and convenient plot devices to take down. Put in context; [[spoiler: Pain, who killed half the supporting cast of the series and destroyed the hero's hometown single-handedly, basically just has the ability to manipulate six nearly-indestructible corpses at once and utilize powerful jutsu through them. Sasori could do this with a hundred corpse "dolls" at a time. Although Pain had the good sense not to tell his opponents all about how his powers worked]]. Then she brings [[spoiler: [[DarkMagicalGirl Gaara]] back from the dead, not only pulling an HeroicSacrifice for him, but atoning for having sealed the Shukaku in Gaara as a newborn, [[DefectorFromDecadence which is the reason why she left Sunagakure in the first place]].]]
* ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'':
** Genkai had been happily retired for years before she took Yusuke on as an apprentice and promptly got dragged right back into the crap she'd worked so hard to get out of.
** Also Kuroko Sanada, Yusuke's predecessor as (the first) spiritual detective, who now lives happily on an estate with a husband and two kids. Although from time to time she (or one of her kids) has to kill a demon who dared to trespass.
* Half the members of Ala Rubra in ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' are retired badasses. The most prominent would probably be Eishun, Konoka's father. He's a master Shinmeiryu swordsman implied to be about on par with the likes of Jack Rakan or the Thousand Master, but the only arc he appeared in without being in a flashback he was petrified by a minor mook. [[spoiler:Who turns out to be the BigBad, and defeated Jack Rakan. So it doesn't make Eishun look ''that'' bad.]]
* Miya, the woman who runs Izumo Inn in ''Manga/{{Sekirei}}'' is in fact Sekirei #1 (though not a "Sekirei" as such, presumably because she was already mature when the Sekirei were discovered), and apparently the most powerful of all (in a flashback, she takes out a battleship with a single swing of her sword!). For reasons that aren't clear, she's hellbent on preventing the protagonist from finding this out (his Sekirei, of course, all know. 2 of them fought alongside her, in fact.), to the point of subtly threatening people who try to reveal more than she wants them to. Apparently she gave up fighting due to the influence of her late husband, the partner of Minaka (the man running the whole Sekirei game) [[spoiler: who presumably either murdered her husband or had him murdered. When asked what she would have done if she'd been told about another character's intentions to kill Minaka, [[http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/9417/sekireiv07c62103.png this is her reply]].]].
* Fujimaru "Falcon" Takagi appears to be this in ''Manga/BloodyMonday: Season Two'', claiming to have not even touched a keyboard since the first season [[spoiler: but this is just a facade to prevent his friends from getting involved again.]]
* ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'':
** Nanoha herself during ''Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaVivid'' due to injuries she sustained in the ''[[Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers StrikerS]]'' finale, though the existence of ''Force'' shows that she'll be back in action after [[TimeSkip two years]]. [[TheRival Einhart]] mistakes her for an ordinary housewife in Chapter 10, leading to lots of barely constrained snickering from Nove.
** Nanoha's father used to be a bodyguard before being badly injured. [[RealMenWearPink Now he runs a cafe]].
** Megane Alpine permanently retired after waking up from her nine-year long coma.
** Jill Stola from ''Anime/VividStrike'' used to be a competitive martial artist, but she had to retire after she received an unspecified injury.
** [[SmallRoleBigImpact Lyra Caprice]], also from ''[=ViVid=] Strike!'', had retired from fighting so she could help out her family. She mentioned before her final fight that she wanted to give it her all so she could retire without any regrets. Unfortunately, her opponent was Rinne, who not only subjected her to a CurbStompBattle but implied that she was weak and didn't try very hard. Poor Lyra was carried out of the arena on a stretcher in tears. [[spoiler: During the finale it's revealed that said loss convinced her to continue fighting competitively, just at the local level.]]
* Takumi's dad Bunta from ''Manga/InitialD'', currently the owner of a tofu-shop in the sticks, but is still driving star. Demonstrated when he drifts his car, then proceeds to light a cigarette and smoke it in the middle of the drift. Also the fact that the unnamed person who's calling on his cellphone for advice is hinted to be real life Drift King [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keiichi_Tsuchiya Keiichi Tsuchiya]].
* ''Anime/SamuraiChamploo'': The BigBad, Kariya Kagetoki. While he spends most of the series gardening and listening to reports of what's happening to the main characters, their exploits eventually coax him out of retirement...and that is is a very bad thing for Jin, Mugen, and Fuu.
* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSeedDestiny'':
** Kira Yamato starts off like this. Though it's not long before circumstances get so dire that he decides step out of retirement. It helps that [[spoiler: the BigBad tried to assassinate his girlfriend]].
** The rest of the [[BadassArmy Three Ships Alliance]] is this [[spoiler: seeing as they went into hiding following the end of the Bloody Valentine War]] except for the Kusanagi which is understandably protected [[spoiler: by their lack of having to do a HeelFaceTurn and therefore become wanted criminals]]. Once back in action, [[spoiler: they [[CurbstompBattle wipe the floor with everyone]]]].
* Before Kira, there was Amuro Ray in ''Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam'', who had essentially left the fighting and the military (and placed under house arrest because the Federation feared his Newtype powers), but came back when the battle between the AEUG and the Titans came to his doorstep.
* ''Anime/AfterWarGundamX'' has a semi-retired badass in TheCaptain, Jamil Neate. A former AcePilot and Newtype from the last war, his cockpit phobia prevents him from piloting mobile suits. Instead he uses his leadership and tactical ability to lead a scavenger ship across the landscape in a quest to protect other Newtypes from exploitation. He eventually starts getting treatment for his phobia so he can get back in the pilot's seat again.
* ''Anime/MagicalAngelCreamyMami'': Yuu's mother is a former motorcycle gang leader.
* Cure Flower of ''Anime/HeartcatchPrettyCure'' comes out of retirement once to kick some major ass. Her fairy partner Coupe also qualifies seeing as how he appears several times to save the Pretty Cures and does so my kicking serious ass.
* In ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'', there are quite a few of these among the Ghouls in the cast.
** Yoshimura is the kind and grandfatherly manager of Anteiku who has maintained peace in the 20th Ward through his ''mere presence'', having broken up the gangs active in the area and kept things relatively stable since setting up shop. But when he actually steps out of retirement, it becomes very clear why everyone fears Yoshimura.
** Enji Koma and Kaya Irimi, the head waiter and waitress of the cafe, turn out to be ones as well. Koma constantly waxes nostalgic about his violent past, which the younger characters brush off as him being a blowhard. Instead, it turns out these two were the leaders of rival gangs that slaughtered Investigators for kicks until Yoshimura [[DefeatEqualsFriendship recruited]] them. When they come out of retirement, the Investigators facing them are ''immediately'' terrified of the [[TheDreaded legendary]] [[RedBaron Devil Ape and Black Dog]].
** Uta and Yomo were rivals that turned the 4th Ward into a war zone, in their teenaged years. Both have since settled into quiet lives, with Uta running a mask shop and Yomo acting as Yoshimura's second-in-command. [[spoiler: Only......not so much for Uta, who remains active as part of The Clowns Gang]].
** Yukinori Shinohara is mentioned to have become one, retiring from active duty to work as an Instructor at the Academy. He comes out of retirement during the series, to serve as [[PsychopathicManchild Juuzou Suzuya]]'s partner.
* By the time of ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', many of the Z-Warriors have essentially stepped down from actually fighting. This is mostly because they know that Goku and Vegeta completely outclass them and, for a few of them, they actually have families who they prioritize. Gohan is hit the worst of this as, since he prioritized his wife and newborn child along with his studies over training, his fighting strength went down the crapper, being unable to sustain basic Super Saiyan form for long periods of time. With the exception of Gohan, many of these guys are still fighting prime, including Master Roshi, who last honestly fought ''way'' back during the middle part of ''Dragon Ball''.
* The ending to ''Manga/GunslingerGirl'' shows that [[spoiler:Claes and Rico]] retired from being TykeBomb ChildSoldiers to live their [[YourDaysAreNumbered remaining days]] on a boat.
* In ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'', [[spoiler: Professor Oak]] enters the Pokemon League finals as [[spoiler:"Dr. O"]], and defeats Green fairly easily. When Blue Oak, [[spoiler:his grandson]], tells him that he'll have to face either him or Red in the finals, [[spoiler:Oak]] forfeits, saying he already won a championship and he doesn't need another.
* [[GentleGiant Sweden]] of ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'', as a personification of [[UsefulNotes/{{Sweden}} the country]], was once a terror, controlling the Baltic region and Scandinavia (in fact, he was known as "The Lion of Northern Europe" and "The Supreme Ruler of Scandinavia"), and in one instance defeated an alliance of ''five'' countries/their personifications. [[note]]Norway and Denmark, Poland-Lithuania, Russia, France, and Spain[[/note]] In the present, though, he's calmed down considerably, puts his efforts and strength toward welfare, and is fond of making furniture and decorative arts.
* In the final volume of ''Manga/{{Ojojojo}}'', it's revealed that [[spoiler:Tsurezure is actually a former assassin]].
* ''Manga/WayOfTheHouseHusband'' is about Tatsu, a former {{yakuza}} member who takes being a devoted HouseHusband [[SeriousBusiness just as seriously]], often with [[HilarityEnsues hilarious consequences]].
** Torajirou whose gang was put out of business because of Tatsu while he was in jail became a crepe maker.
** Hibari, the powerful matriach of the Torii gang, retired after her husband's death. She and the remaining members run a local grocery store like it's their gang territory.
* Gran Torino from ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' is the retired pro hero that taught [[SupermanSubstitute All Might]]. He enjoys ObfuscatingStupidity during Izuku's training, but that doesn't prevent Izuku from learning exactly why All Might was virtually quaking in his boots when he recommended that Izuku accept Gran Torino's internship offer. Even in his old age Gran Torino's steam-jet quirk gives him enough speed and maneuverability to take on a [[HumanoidAbomination Nomu]] virtually single-handedly.
* ''Manhua/RetiredHeroes'': Basically all the main characters, obviously. Chris and Saliy are the heroes who saved the world but are now just living in a random town, their friends are wandering the world as nameless adventurers, and they left the party mage to look over the kingdom.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'' gives us Doc Hudson the Fabulous Hudson Hornet, a former racing legend who won three Piston Cups. After suffering a crash in '54, he was forced to give up racing completely after being replaced by a rookie. Despite this, he still has a lot of racing left in him and uses his skills to tutor the protagonist Lightning [=McQueen=] and acts as his crew chief.
** In ''WesternAnimation/Cars3'', Lightning meets a quartet of very old race cars in Thomasville, three of which were old opponents to Doc, and one of them in particular being his crew chief Smokey. [[spoiler: Zig-zagged with Lightning himself near the end -- since he shared the victory with Cruz Ramirez, he chooses to continue racing, but decides to spend the rest of the current season as her crew chief first, making him sort of semi-retired.]]
* Elastigirl and Mr. Incredible from the 2004 ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles''. For a while. She adapts pretty well, he's not so happy about it. Possibly also Edna, who is apparently doing ordinary fashion design with shows in Milan when Bob comes to see her. She leaps at the chance to design for "gods" again.
* Wylie Burp in ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTailFievelGoesWest'' was formerly a legendary sheriff but when Fievel meets him he's a drunken shell of his former self, that is until he is given the task of training Tiger to be his successor.
* Trusty from ''WesternAnimation/LadyAndTheTramp'' is an old bloodhound who hunted criminals in his youth. He supposedly lost his sense of smell, which was why he had to retire. The climax of the movie proves that his sense of smell is still perfectly good when he uses it to track the dogcatcher that's taking Tramp to the pound.
* ''WesternAnimation/LittleAngelsTheBrightestChristmas'': Both the children's father and Zeke fought in "the war", where the father had managed to save Zeke's life.
* Mighty Eagle as depicted in ''WesternAnimation/TheangryBirdsMovie''; While he might have been might once, that was clearly a long time ago. His HeroicBuild has given away to a large gut, and when Red goes to see him, he admits, "I am retired. Mostly tired."

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* Hank Pym is this in ''Film/AntMan1'', having been the original Ant-Man before retiring due to the long-term damage shrinking with the Pym Particles has done to his body even with the suit's protection. He then set up his own technology and scientific research company, before being forced in to retirement by Darren Cross. The Film has him putting a team together to prevent Cross from selling Nanotechnology to HYDRA.
* ''Film/BendOfTheRiver'': Glyn was a fearsome "border raider" back in the day, along the Missouri-Kansas border in the violent days before UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar. Now all he wants now is a quiet life farming or ranching, which is why he's leading a wagon train to Oregon.
* Downplayed in ''Film/{{Lockout}}'', where "retired" CIA-Operative Snow is helping out a buddy who ends up dead. Snow is framed, and to regain his freedom and clear his name he gets sucked into the movie's main plotline: rescuing the president's daughter. HOWEVER, Snow takes the job in order to achieve a secondary motive, so it's all just bluster and bullshit.
* In ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', Alfred reveals that he did some soldiering in Burma when he was a younger man. It's implied that he was special forces, probably the Regiment. 22 SAS. The original badass squad(ron).
* Walt Kowalski, Creator/ClintEastwood's character in ''Film/GranTorino''.
* The aging James T. Kirk, during the movie ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan'', was, to a limited extent, semi-retired and silently dreaming to once again captain the Enterprise. [[spoiler: So he stole the ship in the next movie, earning him a demotion from admiral back down to captain again.]]
* Juni retires in ''Film/SpyKids2IslandOfLostDreams'', so he is this at the start of [[Film/SpyKids3DGameOver the third movie]].
* ''Film/AHistoryOfViolence'' has some scary people who suspect Creator/ViggoMortensen's character is this (with more than a helping of RetiredMonster) rather than the HeroicBystander he claims to be after he defends his cafe from serial killers.
* The movie ''Film/{{Taken}}'' has Creator/LiamNeeson playing a retired government operative forced out of retirement to save his daughter.
* The Waco Kid in ''Film/BlazingSaddles'', until befriending the main character/new sheriff.
* Yoda of the original ''Franchise/StarWars'' trilogy. And before him, Obi-Wan Kenobi. And now Luke Skywalker as well.
* Hattori Hanzo from the ''Film/KillBill'' movies.
* Anthony Hopkins' {{Franchise/Zorro}} from the 1998 ''Film/TheMaskOfZorro'' is a borderline example, as he is the original Zorro that is captured for decades until training a new Zorro, his protégé Alejandro, years later. Straddles the line with an OlderAndWiser mentor.
* In ''Film/KungFuHustle'', not only did they have five Retired Badasses living in the same slum, once they got involved with TheHero and his fight with the Axe Gang, the gang went and dug up their own Retired Badass to fight on their side. Better yet, some of these characters were played by actors who were big names in martial arts movies - in the 70s and 80s. The director called them out of retirement to be in this film, which I suppose would make them Meta Retired Badasses.
* Topper Harley from ''Film/HotShotsPartDeux''.
* In ''Film/HappyGilmore'', Chubbs Peterson was a legend of pro golf before he lost his hand to an alligator. [[spoiler:Even [=McGavin=] seems [[EvenEvilHasStandards noticeably upset]] when he dies in an accident.]]
* The epynomus ''Franchise/{{Rambo}}'' is one who is contantly dragged back into action no matter how much he tries to avoid it.
* Mr. Miyagi from ''Film/TheKarateKid'' is one, though still ''quite'' a badass more so in part 2.
* In ''VideoGame/PrayForDeath'' Shô Kosugi has retired from the hectic ninja lifestyle to move to the US and open a convenience store. The local [[TheMafia mobsters]] try to muscle him. This does not end well.
-->(Dramatic singing voice) Back to the shadoooooows!
* The title character in ''Film/AlexanderNevsky''.
* Everyone in ''Film/{{RED}}''. The acronym stands for "Retired and Extremely Dangerous".
--> (''Frank and William are fighting'')
--> '''Frank Moses:''' Did Kordesky train you?
--> '''William Cooper:''' Yeah.
--> '''Frank Moses:''' I trained Kordesky.
* The title character in ''Film/HarryBrown'' is an ex-Royal Marine who has become a quiet, rather meek old man until his wife and best friend die. With nothing to lose and a group of thugs plaguing his council estate, he goes back to his old ways.
* Dr. Loomis in ''Film/HalloweenTheCurseOfMichaelMyers''.
* In ''Film/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'', Allan Quatermain is retired and living in Kenya, but is reluctantly summoned back to England to help prevent a world war. (This is a departure from the [[Comicbook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen source material]], in which he was located in an opium den somewhere in Asia.)
* Downplayed with Iraq War veteran Ssgt Michael Nantz from ''Film/BattleLosAngeles'' before aliens' world invasion, who is two days from retirement; however, he is called to defend Los Angeles when they do so [[spoiler: and destroy one of their command centers later on]].
* ''Film/SecondhandLions'' has three lead characters, two of whom fit this trope. Having fought in dozens of wars, they got old and tired before retiring to America. With their fortune came relatives and salesmen seeking money and one young boy who breaks them from their funk.
* ''Film/{{Transformers}}''
** Epps had retired from the military between the second and third films. [[spoiler: He comes out of retirement after ItsPersonal the Decepticons blow up the Autobot shuttle as it's leaving Earth, presumably killing them onboard.]]
** Dutch, Simmons' assistant in the third film. He can hack into any system and [[spoiler: disarm a Russian gangster pointing a shotgun at him without looking. When Simmons orders him to stand down, he almost sobs and says "I'm sorry, that was the old me!".]] This doubles as ActorAllusion to Alan Tudyk's role in ''{{Series/Dollhouse}}''.
* ''Film/BigJake'' has been retired so long that [[PhraseCatcher everyone thinks he is dead]].
* Captain Freedom (Jesse Ventura) from ''Film/TheRunningMan'' is a rare example of a villain who lived long enough to retire (imprisonment not being an issue in this case). His former employers try to coax him out of retirement to kill Ben Richards (Arnold Schwarzenegger), but he won't have any of it, not because he fears Richards, but because...
-->'''Captain Freedom''': I was killing guys like this ten years ago with my bare hands! I'm not going for any of these tricks!
* Done with hilariously campy style in ''Film/SurfNazisMustDie''. [[spoiler: A man that would be the hero in a normal action movie (the middle-aged black guy) is murdered by a group of self-styled Surf Nazis. Cue his aged mother to leave the retirement home and [[CurbStompBattle curb stomp]] the bastards.]]
* In ''Film/BubbaHotep'', the two heroes claim to be Elvis and JFK, having retired into anonymity.
* [[LastOfHisKind Joe Colton]] from ''Film/GIJoeRetaliation''. The last scene of the initial trailer features Colton kicking ass by shooting at Cobra mooks with an assault rifle while in the bed of a fishtailing [[CoolCar El Camino]]. Considering he's played by Creator/BruceWillis, this comes at no surprise.
* ''Film/PacificRim'':
** Stacker Pentecost was previously the co-pilot for Coyote Tango, before [[spoiler: he quit after his cancer worsened and was pulled from flight status by his doctors.]] And as seen in the trailers, he resumed piloting after [[spoiler: one pilot from Striker Eureka is injured]].
** Raleigh retired after [[spoiler: the death of his brother]], only to be [[TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive called back to duty]] by Pentecost when they are in desperate need for pilots.
* In ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine'', Fred Dukes and John Wraith become a boxer and his manager respectively, after Team X disbands.
* Briggs of ''Film/TheColony2013'' may be a ReasonableAuthorityFigure to his people, but anyone who attacks him learns that he hasn't forgotten his military days.
* In ''Film/DraculaUntold'', Vlad wants nothing to do with his past as the "Lord Impaler." [[spoiler: He doesn't succeed in ignoring that part of himself]].
* Double subverted in ''Film/StVincent2014''. Vincent mentions having been in Vietnam, but dismisses it as maybe having imagined it. Oliver later finds evidence that Vincent did fight in Vietnam and earned a Bronze Star for bravery.
* In ''Film/UnderSiege2DarkTerritory'', Casey Ryback is a retired Navy SEAL working as the head chef for a restaurant at the start of the film.
* In ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'', Comicbook/WonderWoman starts out like this, having been an active superhero [[Film/WonderWoman2017 during WWI]], but having retired after the [[WarIsHell horrors of war]] made her lose her faith in humanity. [[Comicbook/{{Batman}} Bruce]] reaching out to her in friendship and trust begins to restore her faith, and when [[spoiler: Comicbook/LexLuthor unleashes the unstoppable monster Doomsday]], Diana becomes [[HesBack Wonder Woman again to help save the day]].
* In ''Film/PowerRangers2017'', Zordon was not only one of the Power Rangers that stopped Rita from destroying the Earth 65 million years ago, but he was the [[TheLeader Red Ranger]] of his team. In the present day, his consciousness lives on in the spaceship which brought his team to Earth.
* The title character of ''Franchise/JohnWick'' is definitely this, being a legendarily badass assassin who had been retired for five years prior to the first film's beginning. However, now, [[MemeticMutation he's thinkin' he's back]], and is fully prepared to carve through [[OneManArmy several hundred people]].
* In ''Film/TheForeigner2017'', Mr. Quan is your typical mild-mannered, semi-elderly Chinese restaurant owner [[spoiler: until his daughter is killed in a terrorist attack]]. Then we find out why he's played by Creator/JackieChan. Another major character, Liam Hennessy, is a former IRA leader turned British politician.
* Duncan Vizla in ''Film/{{Polar}}''.
* ''Film/TheCommuter'': Michael used to be a detective with the NYPD, and uses his old skills well in the film. [[spoiler:It turns out he was chosen for them specifically. Later he comes out of retirement and tracks down Joanna, arresting her on another train.]]
* ''Film/TheEqualizer'' features Robert [=McCall=], a retired U.S. intelligence operative played by Denzel Washington, who is reluctantly drawn into conflict with the Russian Mafia in order to [[HookerWithAHeartOfGold protect a young prostitute]] whom he's recently [[IntergenerationalFriendship befriended]]. Loosely based on the [[Series/TheEqualizer 80s live-action TV series with a similar premise]].
* In the 1978 kung-fu movie ''Born Invincible,'' elderly Liu Chin [[ThouShaltNotKill swore an oath to Buddha]] never to use a sword again. But after the Chin Yin chiefs kill the Lei Ping school's teachers in retaliation for protecting him, Liu breaks his oath--and proves so skilled that he toys with the chiefs one-on-one. He ends up being the only fighter the main villains have to work together to beat. In contrast, it takes several training montages, an [[AttackItsWeakPoint exploitable pressure point]], and straight up dirty tricks for the Lei Ping students to beat the Chin Yin chiefs separately.

[[folder:Literature]]
* Literature/ABrothersPrice has Jerin's grandmothers, who [[AMatchMadeInStockholm "rescued"]] his grandfather from a heavily guarded castle under siege, and were knighted later on. They retired to a quiet farmlife.
* Colonel Freeleigh in ''Literature/DandelionWine''. The boys in Green Town enjoy visiting him and hearing his stories about fighting in the Civil War.
* Literature/SherlockHolmes [[SherlockScan deduced that]] [[TheWatson Watson]] was an Afghan war veteran.
* In Creator/DavidGemmell's ''Literature/{{Drenai}}'' saga, Druss the Legend -- in his forties and already retired when he fought at Skeln Pass and in his sixties when he came out of retirement again to fight at Dros Delnoch in ''Literature/{{Legend}}''. Death offers him another twenty years' life, or a glorious death, at the beginning of the novel...
* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
** Subverted with Cohen the Barbarian. Despite age, wealth, taking over an empire, and plenty of other reason to retire, Cohen and his Silver Horde comrades utterly refuse to retire. [[spoiler: Even after their deaths in a RageAgainstTheHeavens arc, their spirits refuse an afterlife that seems to be everything they want.]]
** Played straight in ''The Last Hero'' with Vena.
** In ''Reaper Man'', [[spoiler:Death]] is forced into retirement.
** Later, Death ''chooses'' retirement to leave things to his granddaughter (and heir apparent) Susan. [[SuperpowerfulGenetics She]] was [[RefusalOfTheCall not happy about it]]. [[TheCallKnowsWhereYoulive REALLY not happy about it]]. ([[BewareTheNiceOnes And it's not a good idea to piss her off]]). Unfortunately, no matter how many times she quits, YouCantFightFate and she still keeps getting dragged back in.
** Lu-tze. He's just your average sweeper. Who can [[spoiler: kick the anthropomorphic representation of time's ass!]].
** Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg are supposedly permanently retired [[GotTheCallOnSpeedDial yet they always find their way to the center of, well, everything]].
** Sam Vimes ''intended'' to retire when he got married (and his wife gave him half the city as a wedding present). As he was having a ''really'' bad day at the office, he '''did''' retire... for about three hours. Then he realized he had to be himself and went back to work.
* The badass who refuses to retire is played straight with Ser Barristan Selmy in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', who at the age of sixty-something is forced into retirement against his will and is so annoyed by it that he kills two heavily-armed men half his age sent to arrest him before crossing half the planet to join forces with a rival ruler, in whose service he later swims through a foul sewer into the heart of a heavily-fortified city to open the gates from inside.
** Killing the two armed men was incidental, one might note; he'd already sneered at the collective swordsmanship of ''his own elite guard'', saying he could tear through '''all four''' of them present without difficulty. Part of the reason he's such a badass is because he's more or less TheLastOfHisKind. In the Kingsguard, Selmy served with and was trained by luminaries like the Lewyn Martell, and Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning -- men that he claims ''were twice the knight he was.''
*** Although in that particular case he was probably not referring to their martial abilities (or at least not exclusively) [[KnightInShiningArmor but to their character.]]
* In ''Literature/ToKillAMockingbird'' the children of mild mannered lawyer Atticus Finch were unaware of his badass marksmanship, until a dangerous mad dog wanders into town and someone needs to be able to safely put it down.
* In G. Gordon Liddy's ''The Monkey Handlers,'' Michael Stone is a lawyer by profession...and a former SEAL. He keeps "the tools of his former trade closed up in a trunk" but before he opens the trunk and averts an international terrorist plot, he warms up by kicking a motorcycle gang's ass in a bar.
* In ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'' many of the characters that survived the first set of books, like Caramon Majere, fell into this. Few of them enjoyed long or peaceful retirements...
** Considering that after Legends, Caramon retires for 30 years, has one last adventure, then dies another 30 years later at the age of 90, and most of the other heroes to retire for 30 years as well.
* OlderThanRadio: Leatherstocking of ''Literature/ThePioneers''.
* Rather common in fantasy fiction. Many fantasy authors will return to the same setting again and again, progressing the time line, cranking out more novels, and retiring earlier heroes to give newer generations their own chance to shine. And it's particularly common in novels franchised from games like Dungeons & Dragons or Warhammer 40K, where you'll have multiple authors all progressing the plot in the one setting. Sometimes it gets to the stage where you can't move for kindly old priests, world-weary old nobles, and rough-around-the-edges old innkeepers who were asskicking adventurers five or six books ago. And if the new crop of heroes ever needs a seasoned adventuring veteran to show them the ropes and give them a hook to connect with an existing storyline, they can't swing a cat without hitting at least one gruff mysterious stranger who turns out to be the famous heroic whatsisname in the flesh.
** This is cited as one of the reasons TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms was moved forward a good century! Drizzt and Elminster are just about the only two still around, and they're both very, very busy.
* Coll from the ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfPrydain''. Taran is quite surprised to learn his bald, peace-loving, pig-tending father figure is not only considered a hero, but responsible for rescuing a certain pig from the BigBad's lair. (It was a very special pig.)
* Creator/LoisMcMasterBujold's Literature/VorkosiganSaga: [[ActionGirl Cordelia]] [[ActionMom Vorkosigan]] retired after a legendary MamaBear incident and has been happily [[WarriorTherapist mentoring]] the younger generation ever since. She's never needed to come out of retirement, barring a few well-deserved verbal smackdowns.
** Aral Vorkosigan hasn't retired; he's physically unable to. That said, he has gone from being Prime Minister and an active voice in the Council of Counts to the Viceroy of Sergyar, with Miles taking over the Council duties. With Aral, that's as close as he'll get.
** Barrayaran Armsmen tend to be this. No Count is allowed more then twenty personal musclemen [[WeAreStrugglingTogether for understandable reasons]]. Therefore these tend to be picks of the best soldiers, cops, spies or whatever that can be found in a ''whole planet'' that have done enough service to prove themselves worthy to decorate a petty aristocrat's court.
* Sammy's friend Hudson in the ''Literature/SammyKeyes'' books. Nobody knows if he worked for the CIA or the NSA or what, but he knows stuff like safecracking and cryptography. Or maybe he's just a CoolOldGuy.
* Literature/CiaphasCain '''(HERO OF THE IMPERIUM)''' is ostensibly retired in ''Cain's Last Stand'', though that does little to slow him down when the hordes of Chaos come calling to the sleepy little planet he's spending the rest of his days on.
** He ''wants'' to be this, but that darn heroic reputation of his means he keeps getting called back into service, seemingly being killed in action, only to reappear and save the day. It got to the point where the Munitorum just considers him permanently alive despite his now being dead and buried.
*** Just for added reference, Cain managed to actually ''live'' to retirement. In the [[EverythingIsTryingToKillYou Warhammer]] universe.
* The Novel ''Path of Fury'' starts out giving the operational history of the main character, just before dropping her into retirement on a farming colony for a dozen years. That's when she becomes not so retired.
* Kvothe from ''Literature/TheNameOfTheWind'' became the world's most famous hero and retired long before he turned 30. Now he runs an inn. But probably not for long.
* In ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' Rand thinks his father Tam (later revealed as his ''adopted'' father) is a simple farmer whose handiness with a bow is simply down to a lifetime of hunting and hard outdoor work. Naturally it turns out his father was a badass warrior and infamous soldier, the second-in-command of the elite Illianer Companions and a blademaster who won great distinction in four or five major wars. Tam is forced out of retirement in Book 4 when Rand's home village comes under attack by hostile forces and by Book 11 is leading armies into battle again. Tam's badassery is slightly undone by the fact it took him eleven books and 22 years of in-universe time to work out that Rand is the Dragon Reborn (although some fans suggest he's been living in denial instead).
* ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'':
** For a good chunk of the main series we hear rumors that the dead 'Old Guard' loyal to the former Emperor are lying low and waiting for a chance to strike back against the Empress. This plan reaches fruition in ''Literature/ReturnOfTheCrimsonGuard'', when literally ''an entire army'' of retired badasses -- including many characters who had previously been encountered in other books and merely thought of as fishermen, farmers or guys living by themselves in some random tower -- re-emerges to take some names and dish out some pain. In addition, there are a whole other bunch of retired badasses who arrive to fight on the side of the Empress. Seriously, this novel is this trope made manifest.
** In ''Literature/HouseOfChains'', the fourth book of the series, [[BarbarianHero Karsa Orlong]] meets Keeper, better known as [[spoiler:Urko Crust, one of Emperor Kellanved's valued Old Guard]], who has retired to a lonely tower a ways outside of Ehrlitan to collect and rebuild what amounts to dinosaur fossils. He's still got a mean punch, though, as Karsa finds out first hand.
** Book eight, ''Literature/TollTheHounds'', reintroduces the reader to [[EliteArmy the Bridgeburners]], who had previously retired to run a bar in Darujhistan at the end of the third book, ''Literature/MemoriesOfIce''. For some reason, someone has contracted the Assassins' Guild to kill them all and Picker & Co. have to spring into action in order to not only save themselves but to also find out who is behind the contract.
* The heroine of Creator/PatriciaCWrede's ''Literature/CaughtInCrystal'', a middle-aged innkeeper with two young children, is a retired swordswoman. She's dragged out of retirement when both her former employers and their enemies come looking for information about her last disastrous mission. Notably, years of being sedentary and eating rich food has left her [[RealityEnsues too overweight to fit into her old armor and too out-of-shape to fight]] until a few chapters (and months) of cross-country hiking and training slims her down and toughens her up again.
* Creator/RobinHobb's ''Literature/TawnyMan Trilogy'' starts with the main character being called back from his retirement from being an assassin, a spy and king's man, to serve and teach the new generation.
* Kit Carson of ''Literature/TimeScout'' was forced into retirement by math. If he had continued to work, he would have died. Full stop. (To clarify, Kit's job was to scout time portals which could lead anywhere in history...but if they led into a point in time where Kit had already visited, he would immediately die. Eventually the odds got to be too bad even for him, and he gave it up.)
* Jack Random of ''Literature/{{Deathstalker}}'' by Simon Green is a professional rebel against the Empire who finally led one losing campaign too many, and [[RefusalOfTheCall disappeared into retirement as a gymnasium janitor.]] Or at least, [[MandatoryUnretirement he tried to.]]
* Twice in the works of Creator/BernardCornwell.
** Uhterd Uhtredson of ''Literature/TheSaxonStories'', narrating in first person as an old man.
** Derfel Cadarn, the narrator and hero of ''Literature/TheWarlordChronicles'', who is telling the story as an aged monk.
* In the Literature/BelisariusSeries Valentinian and Anastasius are last seen enlisting in the bodyguard of the Indian Empress Shakuntala, not to mention becoming sons-in-law of her chief counselor providing one of the best retirement packages available in the early Medieval World.
* ''Literature/LegacyOfTheDragokin'': Taurok stepped down as general in favor of his granddaughter because he's TheEmperor now.
* ''Literature/TreasureIsland'': The renowned Long John Silver, Flint's old quartermaster, starts the story semi-retired, HappilyMarried, and running his inn and tavern. This is after years of piracy. Of course, once he hears that Billy Bones and the map to Flint's trove have been found, he jumps right back in the game and takes the title of captain for himself. Unusually for most examples of villains coming out of retirement, he still makes it out of the story unscathed and is able to go back, as far as we know, to his mundane life.
* ''Literature/TheHungerGames '': Once the war is over both Katniss and Peeta withdraw to District 12 and spend the rest of their lives in as much peace as they can find.
* Prudence 'Roo' Jones starts ''Literature/HurricaneFever'' having retired from the Caribbean Intelligence Agency and devoting himself to his boat and raising his nephew Delroy, until a message from a dead friend pulls him into OneLastJob.
* ''Literature/AfterTheGoldenAge'' has The Hawk, a NonPoweredCostumedHero who is officially retired but who still keeps an eye out for criminal activity in Commerce City.
* Most of the Iron Sisters from ''Literature/TheMortalInstruments'' are retired Shadowhunters. Abigail Shadowhunter, in particular, founded them because she was frustrated at becoming this, and still wanted to help in the fight against demons.
* In ''Literature/{{MARZENA}}'', Anika From Bremen is a famous writer from the future (i.e. the future after the 2030s)), and is coming out of retirement to write the book series.
* ''Literature/LesMiserables'' has Georges Pontmercy, the father of Marius Pontmercy. While he served in the French army, and under the command of Napoleon, he survived a number of incidents, having his arm splintered, showing a daredevil attitude a number of times, challenging the might of the British navy with only one small vessel, and was generally a badass of the first order. After the battle of Waterloo, Pontmercy retired to a degree that nobody would have guessed that this mild-mannered man who wept a the slightest provocation, and tended to flowers, could be such a badass - were it not for a number of visible scars.
* ''Literature/CodexAlera'' has Valiar Marcus. In this Roman-influenced society, he earned his way into the House of the Valiant after a one-man rescue operation when he [[spoiler:tracked a group of 8ft tall yetis with ice magic who kidnapped some children several miles deep into their territory and killed the horde]]. He is regarded as one of the greatest centurions in the Antillus Legions. After his tenure in those Legions, he would tell you he retired to a quiet steadholt until he was commissioned once more to serve in the First Aleran Legion. He would say this because [[spoiler:in truth, he became Fedilias, one of the best Cursors for the Crown. The Cursors are the personal messengers, spies, and assassin of the First Lord. For decades he serves the First Lord before betraying him]].
* In ''Literature/SuperPowereds'', the HCP staff at Lander University is almost exclusively made up of former Heroes (the one who is stated to never having been a Hero used to work for a corporation and is ''extremely'' good at combat despite his age). This is necessary, since the program is designed to put dozens of Super students through a TrainingFromHell until only ten are left in the graduating class (only the best of the best are allowed to be given such great responsibilities), so only those who have themselves gone through the program can properly train them. Blaine Jeffries, the Dean of the HCP at Lander, is himself from the so-called "Class of Legends" and is considered by many to be one of the strongest Heroes alive due to his PowerNullifier ability. Both Coach George and his successor Professor Fletcher firmly believe that AsskickingEqualsAuthority and prove themselves to their students by thoroughly beating all of them at once.
* ''Literature/{{Eragon}}'' has Brom, who's living as an old storyteller in Eragon's home village.
* ''Literature/JourneyToChaos'': Henry Pupil Senior is an archiver working for Ataidar's royal government and, at some point in his immortal life, he endured "a thousand years of bloodshed". Quelling all the personal demons that come from such an experience might be why he's content to spend his time recording history in a tower.
* In ''Literature/ForgingHephaestus'', Fornax was one of the most badass supervillains of his day, able to go toe-to-toe with most capes and win. Only Lodestar was able to beat him in a one-on-one fight, and only after a titanic battle. After the rowdiness of his youth, Ivan Gerhardt, formerly known as Fornax, works as a corporate middle manager and does his best to preserve his secret identity. He lives alone, except for every other weekend, when his kids come to visit. They have absolutely no idea who their mild-mannered father used to be (their mother does, but she's keeping quiet). Ivan still has occasional involvement in the Guild of Villainous Reformation, but only as a representative of all retired villains. He wears a generic-looking mask, while at Guild HQ, and everyone calls him Pseudonym. Only the top brass know of his former identity, well, and his new apprentice Tori. Despite being retired for a decade, Pseudonym is still in his prime and extremely dangerous when pissed off.
* The ''Star Wars'' EU books (or whatever you call them now) have supporting character Raynar Thul, who by the later books is basically retired because of major trauma. When a squad of Mandalorian commandos storms the Jedi Temple:
-->'''Raynar''': I am Jedi Thul. I have not fought for real in many years. [[BlatantLies I should be a pushover.]] [[PreAssKickingOneLiner Come get me.]]
* Oromis (and his dragon Glaedr) from ''Literature/TheInheritanceCycle'' were among the oldest and wisest Dragon Riders even before the Fall. They only retired because Glaedr lost a leg and Oromis was afflicted with a magic-inhibiting, seizure-causing curse during an ambush by the Forsworn. [[HandicappedBadass Even with these disabilities]], on the rare occasion they choose to engage in combat there are very few forces capable of standing against them.
* Habim from ''Literature/TheWitchlands'' is a Marstoki soldier ([[spoiler:more specifically, a famous Marstoki general]]) who chose to retire after his country signed the Twenty-Year Truce and now works as a tutor. He can still kick all the ass when necessary. [[spoiler:He returns into service after the Truce is broken, although with different motives.]]
* In ''Literature/TheGateOfIvory'', Dorothea learns that the "Old Man" that she does ''tinaje'' for is actually the former legendary bandit and military commander, Annurian. He successfully stays in retirement until his death, in part because while all of the villagers know his identity, they also know that he's still incredibly deadly.

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/{{Bones}}'': Max Keenan, [[PapaWolf the kindest guy who will stab you to death, gut you, put you on a stick and set you on fire if you put his family in danger]]. Normally he's a science teacher who loves kids. Mess with his kids or his grandkids and he comes out of retirement.
* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
** Ned's had enough of fighting in war and clearly intends to spend his remaining years governing the North with his family. That is, until Robert showed up out of the blue, hellbent on making him the next Hand of the King.
** Sandor looks to be at peace with Septon Ray and his followers, and seriously considers just giving up his hate and living a normal life. Rogue members of The Brotherhood Without Banners derail that, though.
** Barristan, after being removed from the Kingsguard by Joffrey to elevate Jaime and make room for the Hound - until Season 3, that is.
* ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'': [[TheLancer John]] and [[BadassAdorable Mary.]] You don't want to mess with those two. Oh, and if you mess with John's best friend-[[BadassBookworm you'll wind up lying in a pool if your own blood.]] Also, don't mess with John. [[PregnantBadass Mary will kick your ass if you do.]]
** Mary wants to stay in this position, though, in contrast to [[InHarmsWay John.]]
* Christopher Henderson in ''[[Series/TwentyFour 24]]'', though a dark take since once Jack attempts to coax him out of retirement, it's revealed that he had already come out of retirement, did a FaceHeelTurn and was now a [[TheDragon Dragon]] for the season's BigBad.
** Jack himself attempts to retire [[strike:twice]] FOUR TIMES. The first time is following the first season. Jack is not retired in the true sense and listed as inactive. This is mainly due to the breakdown of his relationship with Kim, as well as suicidal thoughts following the big twist at the end of the season. Even so he's pretty quick to tell people he doesn't work for CTU anymore. Next is between seasons three and four, where he opts for a desk job in the Department of Defense. The third time is between seasons six and seven where he chooses simply not to come back to the United States. [[ButThouMust Obviously, this doesn't quite work out.]] As of Day 8, Jack is FINALLY truly retired from government work. He even tells someone this in the trailer for the season. He's living peacefully in New York City with Kim and his grandchild (guess this means you can add Retired Badass as well). [[DeskJockey No DoD desk job]], [[HesJustHiding no running from China]] and [[WalkingTheEarth no trip to Africa]]. Needless to say since this is 24 it's not going to last long. Near the end of said trailer cue DramaticGunCock and typical SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic that goes with nearly everything 24 related.
** President of Awesome David Palmer. After some rather unfortunate business in Season 3, he decided not to run for re-election and left political life. Come Season 4, and the current President, the weakly Charles Logan, decides that he needs somebody with balls to save America from mass nuking. One phone call later and President Palmer is back in the saddle (much to the annoyance of the actual Republican cabinet). RuleOfCool? Yes, but who cares?
* Shepherd Book of ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' fame is a relatively kindly old preacher whose mission in life is to guide the flock he's found on the good ship ''Serenity.'' Sometimes, said flock gets in trouble, and when that happens, the same kindly old preacher starts blasting men in the knees, knocking a cop senseless with his bare hands, and slicing apart battle droids with a giant curved machete.
* Jack O'Neill begins ''Series/StargateSG1'' in retirement, but doesn't stay that way long once Apophis comes to town. SG-1's ReasonableAuthorityFigure, General Hammond, had also ''planned'' on retiring before the Stargate mission began, though he wasn't retired yet...and didn't retire for many years afterward, as he was having ''too much goddamn fun''.
* Sam Axe in ''Series/BurnNotice''. He's a former... [[strike: something or other (it's not explicitly mentioned what he was)]] Navy [=SEAL=] Commander with buddies in seemingly every major US Agency. At the beginning of the show, he was making a living mooching off retired women in Miami. When his friend Michael comes back to town, however, he proves himself to be just as badass as he ever was.
** Lampshaded in "Friends Like These" when the supposedly bad guy Sam's interrogating is Serbian intelligence. He proceeds to try and psych Sam out by asking him what he used to do before he was an "errand boy" and figures out Sam is ex-military. He insults the [=SEALs=] to bait Sam into coming closer, then knocks Sam down and disarms him.
---> '''Milovan''': Navy [=SEALs=]? Little girls! You've gone soft! How stupid are you? * goes to fire, and the gun clicks uselessly*
---> '''Sam''': * drawing a second gun and getting up* Not stupid enough to let you near a loaded gun. Now sit down. * fires an inch from Milovan's foot* Please.
** Well, he's played by Creator/BruceCampbell of all people...
* [[TheBrigadier Brigadier]] Sir Alastair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart of ''Series/DoctorWho'' and ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures''. Enjoys gardening. Will still [[FiveRoundsRapid shoot the hell]] out of any alien invader who sets foot on his planet.
** Unless he's [[RunningGag stranded in Peru]].
** It doesn't take any great leap of the imagination to see the First Doctor companion Ian Chesterton as belonging here. People often remark on the incongruity of a Secondary School science teacher apparently being able to nonchalantly kick various kinds of arse. Glance at a calendar and do some mental arithmetic, and you'll realise that, as a man in his late-30's/early-40's in 1963, Ian [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII probably had quite an important event tucked away in his backstory.]] You can bet that not even the mental kids acted up in ''his'' class.
** The Curator, the caretaker of the National Gallery, who looks suspiciously like an older version of the Fourth Doctor. His CrypticConversation with the Eleventh Doctor in "The Day of the Doctor" suggests that he's a future incarnation of the Doctor, who has since retired from saving the universe and now spends his retirement between working as a humble museum worker and revisiting a few of his old faces ([[LeaningOnTheFourthWall but only the favourites!]]).
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'''s Rupert Giles, the [[SmartGuy bookish demon expert]] of the group, has a hinted-at past as rebellious badass "Ripper", but now all he does is sit around in the library and help out a few kids. Except for, you know, when he ''charged into the Big Bad's headquarters'', no support, ''completely'' alone, with a flaming baseball bat. And kicked vampire ass.
** Oh, and the time he scared or tortured someone for information in the time it took for Willow to fetch some rope. And the time he forced Ethan to tell him how to break a spell.
* King Uther Pendragon of ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}'', played by the same guy as Giles, has handed over most of the combat to his extremely Badass son. He spends most of his time being a ReasonableAuthorityFigure (unless magic is involved) and WellIntentionedExtremist against any magic he encounters (he genuinely believes it is evil) and by series 4 he is bed/chair bound and in a permanent bout of HeroicBSOD. Try and hurt [[PapaWolf his son or his people and he will kill you]]. He once held off his own son, who is unmatchable with a sword, refusing to attack, and took out an assassin during the 4th series bout of HeroicBSOD.
* Claude Rains, the Invisible Man from ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' is a variant of this. Subverted somewhat, as he's less of a Retired Badass and more of a Screw-This-I'm-Outta-Here Badass.
* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'': Mike Franks, [[CynicalMentor Gibbs's mentor]], is this. Implied that he retired [[spoiler:[[HeroicBSOD due to the Khobar Towers bombing]]]], then he went to live in a beach at Mexico. Whenever a situation arises that has him come back to the United States, however, he turns to be still quite good at what he used to do, and during at least ''two'' cases he got and trailed leads ''before'' Gibbs did, in one of these occasions taking the [[MonsterOfTheWeek episode's villain]] himself. He also sneaked by and terminated [[spoiler:Jenny Sheppard's killers]] and was instrumental in a case holding some keys to Gibb's past.
* ''Series/{{JAG}}'':
** General Williams in "Desert Son", former Commandant of the Marine Corps and Medal of Honor recipient. Even as a retiree, he still warrants his own helicopter transport and honor guard.
** The trio of retired underwater demolition divers (one of them played by Creator/ErnestBorgnine), in "Yesterday’s Heroes", whom despite living at a retirement home in Florida decides to take on a drug dealer.
** Admiral Boone (Creator/TerryOQuinn), the wingman of Harm's dad, is recalled to active duty in season 7.
* Tommy from ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' has tried to become this several times, but he ''keeps getting [[TheChosenOne chosen]]'' for new powers and duties. He probably would have stayed retired, if his initial idea of "peaceful retirement" hadn't been "MadScientist experimenting with oversized cyborg dinosaurs and magic rocks on a private island". By the end of Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder, however, he had to take care of the aftermath of that little booboo, and was in the much more relaxing career of "high school science teacher", which, while stressful, is not ''apocalyptically'' so.
** On the ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' side, technically ''everyone'' who lost their powers during ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger'''s [[UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny Great Legend War]]. While some heroes, such as the members of the ''Series/TokusouSentaiDekaranger'' and ''Series/ChourikiSentaiOhRanger'' are still active in their day jobs, some have settled down to be teachers, shop owners and, in one case, [[Series/GekisouSentaiCarRanger driving instructors]].
** Some of the mentors qualify as well. ''Series/SamuraiSentaiShinkenger'' features Ji, who's old enough to be a grandfather and is mainly in charge of the day-to-day operations of Shiba manor, but he is able to take on a horde of Nanashi using a naginata and a katana, and once killed one ''barehanded''.
* While not a conventional example, Hal from ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'' can take any one of his sons in a fight and leave them ''gasping for air'' in ''seconds'' (his words). Now if you've ever seen Francis and/or Reese [[HotBlooded cut loose]], you know this [[BumblingDad sweet, unassuming guy]] has got to be like seven kinds of badass.
* Although we haven't seen him cut loose it's implied that Zeke from ''Series/{{Parenthood}}'' is this.
* Samuel Colt of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', as shown in one of the Time Travel episodes. When two demons come knocking, he tells them quite politely to walk away, he's retired. When they refuse, he kills both of them in the span of two seconds, and only laments that they knocked over his bottle of whiskey.
** Bobby could be seen as semi-retired, fielding phone calls and doing research, but is in fact a crafty, tough old bastard with an encyclopedic knowledge of the occult.
* On ''Series/{{Leverage}}'', [[GentlemanThief Archie Leach]] is this. He is also [[ClassyCatBurglar Parker's]] mentor and father figure. With a [[StunGun taser]] built into his cane. And another cane with a six inch stiletto blade.
* On ''Series/TeenWolf'', Dr. Deaton. He repeatedly states HE'S RETIRED, but the end of season two sees him back in action going after Gerard.
* ''Series/MadamSecretary'': Secretary [=McCord's=] husband Dr. Henry [=McCord=] now teaches at Georgetown, but he's also a [[SemperFi retired USMC captain]] and operative for the NSA [[spoiler:and is reactivated in episode eight]].
* In ''Series/TheFlash1990'', the Nightshade used to be a masked hero and a GadgeteerGenius decades ago. He has since retired. Barry eventually learns the Nightshade's secret identity, when the latter decides to don his costume again to fight an old enemy known as the Ghost. And then again, when someone calling himself the Deadly Nightshade shows up and tries to take up the Nightshade's mantle.
* ''Series/StarTrekPicard'': By the start of the series, Picard has long since retired from Starfleet to tend his family vineyard in France, in the wake of Starfleet banning artificial lifeforms and refusing to help the Romulans in the face of their impending supernova. Though 94 and showing his age (yet still fitter than many people now would be) he managed to take out a couple of the Romulans who invaded his chateau.

[[folder:Multiple Media]]
* ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'':
** Turaga are Toa who retired by sacrificing their powers to save Matoran. The only ones we've seen this happen to did it as self-sacrifice (and for all we know that may be the only way ''to'' do it), so they tend to be of the zen variant.
** Rahaga. Formerly Toa Hagah, but Roodaka ambushed and forcibly retired them from being Toa. That is, until several thousand years later, the Toa Nuva forced Roodaka to [[RetiredBadassRoundup turn them back]].

[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
* Wrestling/LouThesz served as a trainer behind the scenes as well as a locker room reporter and interviewer after leaving the ring, commanding the respect of even Ox Baker, who reminisced about getting beaten up by Thesz and admitting it ''was'' [[ForYourOwnGood for his own good]].
* Cindy Rogers, who had to retire due to a neck injury, said that commentating on Wrestling/{{WSU}} matches was difficult. Watching pro wrestling made her want to do it.
* After health problems forced Wrestling/NigelMcGuinness out of the ring, he continued to serve as a commentator, match maker and various other executive roles in Wrestling/RingOfHonor.
* In Wrestling/{{Progress Wrestling}} there's RJ Singh, currently a commentator, who used to be a wrestler and will leave the table to get involved if people need to be pulled apart after a match.

[[folder:Radio]]
* In ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'', the Seventh Doctor is depicted as this during the time leading up to his regeneration in the [[Recap/DoctorWhoTVMTheTVMovie Doctor Who TV Movie.]] Years of being TheChessmaster had turned him into a burnt out, weary old man who's aware that the end is coming. He still has the occasional adventure, but he's mostly focused on tying up loose ends before he regenerates. He no longer travels with companions, he doesn't make any elaborate plans or schemes, and is generally a more morose, contemplative figure than he was at the start of his life. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking And he doesn't play the spoons anymore.]]

[[folder:Sequential Art]]
* Large Hat Gentleman in ''The duel with sabres'' by Caran d'Ache (Emmanuel Poiré). [[http://www.fulltable.com/vts/aoi/c/caran/p/07.jpg Page one]], [[http://www.fulltable.com/vts/aoi/c/caran/p/08.jpg page two]]. "Not so bad for an old 'un", indeed.

[[folder:Tabletop RPG]]
* Sometimes found in ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' either as something that happens during the course of the story, or as a small event when, say, an innkeeper pulls the mace down off his wall to help the heroes and show that it's not just ornamental. Having the [[YouAllMeetInAnInn 'adventure inn']] be run by a retired high-level adventurer is something of an old cliché in the game.
** At least prior to the recent ResetButton, it seems the Forgotten Realms is stuffed full of Retired Badass characters... and then stuffed some more.
*** Whole areas populated by these. One example would be ''City of Ravens Bluff'' [[note]]still available [[http://forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=13961 in old free downloads]][[/note]] -- during the city's raise as a major trade port its populace grew from about 17000 resident and 3000 adventuring to about 30000 settled plus 10000 adventurers -- fair number being high-level, with the heads of local Wizards Guild equal in power to less powerful among the rulers of [[TheMagocracy magocracies]], and so on. Dales are different, but Dalesfolk tend to be very tough. In both cases, locals who live to tell interesting tales ''and'' outside adventurers who like the atmosphere end up settling there.
*** 4e got most of those retired badasses dead. Elminster and Drizzt are just about the only two, and both are very busy. (Elminster is VERY retired... he doesn't leave his hut!)
*** Truthfully, Elminster ''always'' claimed he was retired, but the thing is, with wizards, being "retired" isn't always that straightforward. (Folks in the Realms often suspect that a wizard who makes this claim is up to something, and they're usually right.)
* Often used to keep the [[DesignatedHero designated heroes]] in check. One of the easiest ways to stop a 7th level adventurer from robbing a shop blind is to have a [[EasilyAngeredShopkeeper retired 14th level adventurer as the shopkeep.]] They're also helpful for breaking up a BarBrawl (whether or not the [=PCs=] started it).
* Jake Kramer from the ''TabletopGame/MutantChronicles'' franchise. Wisecracking CoolOldGuy, officially killed in action, unofficially either doing undercover jobs for the Capitol corporation or [[KillItWithFire killing things with fire]].
* There's a few of these floating around in ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'', where some pilots and other soldiers retire from active combat to either go back to civilian life or into non-combat roles. There's actually an entire monastery of them called St. Marinus House, where Mechwarriors are allowed to sequester themselves without question from the monks there (most of whom are themselves former pilots)--most of the Mechwarriors seeking sanctuary there have [[WarIsHell been severely emotionally scarred by their experiences in combat]] and go to St. Marinus House to seek peace and solace away from combat. Doesn't keep some of them from coming out of retirement when truly needed, though.
* One of the non-player characters found in ''TabletopGame/InNomine'' is The Old Guy, a warrior angel in Austin, Texas, who's old enough to remember dinosaurs. He's away from the front lines and drastically weakened from what he used to be, due to the poisoning of a tree his life is bound to, but he hasn't lost any of his cunning or his skill, as he'd be glad to remind any demon stupid enough to come onto his radar.
* ''TabletopGame/FengShui'', whose character classes are based on character tropes, naturally has one for "Ex-Special Forces".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'':
** In the first game, Solid Snake had retired to the Alaskan wilderness to try to get away from his past before being forced back into service. Technically, he had semi-retired prior to the beginning of ''Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake'', as well. His retirement is usually explained as disillusionment after the ''many'' revelations of the first and second games, and it was usually with the blessing of his parent agency (FOXHOUND)... until they needed him again. In ''Metal Gear Solid'', he was understandably upset to be pulled out of retirement, which he entered at only about twenty-seven or twenty-eight.
** There's also Col. Roy Campbell, who isn't a Colonel anymore during the first VideoGame/MetalGearSolid, but Snake continues to respect him and refer to him as such despite Campbell's objections.
** This can also be said of everyone who was part of the Cobra Unit in WWII. No one knows what happened to them after the war, (With the exception of The Fury, who got crisped in space.) but The Boss brings them all back together.
* Quercus Alba of ''[[VisualNovel/AceAttorney Ace Attorney Investigations]]'' was given an ambassadorial position after becoming a highly decorated general in the Cohdopian military. [[spoiler: He still won a knife fight with a man half his age, then arrange a complex plot to smuggle his corpse into the Bahbalese embassy to make it look like he was killed somewhere completely different with a different weapon.]]
** Phoenix Wright is not ''retired'' so much as disgraced and disbarred, but he plays this role for young rookie Apollo in ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney.'' At the end of the game, with his name cleared, he comes out of retirement.
* Laike from ''VideoGame/LunarTheSilverStar Lunar'' is still an adventurer despite being retired from heroism. He just does it for kicks.
* In the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' series, Yen Sid used to be a Keyblade master on par with Eraqus and Xehanort. But he retired and passed his knowledge onto Mickey, which [[MemeticBadass turned out well.]]
* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'':
** Garcia from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones'' retired from Renais's army when his wife died. He was talked into coming out of retirement by his son Ross after helping Eirika's army ward off bandits who were attacking their village.
** Jagen retires from the battlefield in between ''VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight'' and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemMysteryOfTheEmblem'', becoming the hero's non-playable strategist. At the end of the saga, he fully retires from the army.
** After being one of the protagonists of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'', Eliwood was forced to retire from the battlefield before ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade'' due to his poor health, and he's not even forty yet. In the bonus trial maps, Eliwood is playable as a Paladin, with stats that suggest he could still be a tough nut if it wasn't for his chronic illness.
** Jeralt from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' is a former captain of the Knights of Seiros who had left the church two decades prior to the start of the game to raise his son/daughter (the PlayerCharacter) as a mercenary. The archbishop calls him out of retirement to aid the protagonist in their new role as a teacher at the church's local MilitaryAcademy. The few missions where he appears as an allied NPC show that he hasn't lost much of his fighting skill.
* Citan from ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'': When you first meet him, he is just a simple country doctor with a hot wife and precocious daughter. Then it turns out that he [[spoiler:was one of Solaris's elite Elements and]] is one of the most powerful playable characters. Especially on disc 2, where he's retrieved his sword. As a bare-handed fighter he was already tough. As a [[IaijutsuPractitioner master of iaijutsu]], he's a virtual one-man army.
* Muramasa from the Xbox remake of ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden'', an elderly shopkeeper, shows himself in the second game to be quite the fighter.
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
** [[TrueFinalBoss Red]] in ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver''/''Crystal'' and their remakes is one; the previous PlayerCharacter and champion, despite being only 14 years old, he waits at the top of Mt. Silver, a perpetually snowy mountain and the last area of the game, and has one of the most powerful Pokemon teams in the history of the series, and the highest-level Pokemon that any NPC trainer has had outside of battle facilities (his Pikachu); something that is being actively enforced, as shown when his Pikachu's level was bumped up in the remakes because [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Barry]]'s starter briefly overtook his Pikachu in levels. In ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'', now an adult, it seems he has returned to civilization and taking open challengers again as one of the bosses of the Battle Tree post-game facility, alongside his old friend turned rival turned friend again [[ReformedBully Blue]].
** Steven Stone, the League Champion of ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire'', steps down from his position in ''Emerald'', letting Wallace take his position instead, while Wallace's mentor Juan takes over things as the Sootopolis Gym Leader. You have the option of hunting down Steven in Meteor Falls and challenging him to battle; his Pokemon are even stronger than his team as Champion. The remakes make him a champion again.
** Professor Oak is implied to have been one. He's a Pokémon Professor now but he was Agatha's [[TheRival rival]] in the past. Agatha ultimately became the more powerful of the two and ended up in the Elite 4.
** Deconstructed in ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite''. Alder gets called out of retirement to put a stop to N's ascent to power, but he's badly out of practice, and N easily defeats him. Reconstructed post-game when Alder starts training again and becomes a BonusBoss, a position he keeps in [[VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2 the sequels]].
* ''[[VideoGame/NintendoWars Advance Wars 2]]'' has Hachi and Sensei. The former is the game's shopkeeper most of the time, except he also happens to be one of the [[GameBreaker most powerful]] playable characters. As for Sensei, his opponent during his first appearance shrugged him off as just an old man. That is until this person realizes Sensei's real identity and past reputation as a C.O., at which point he becomes positively ''terrified''.
* Bill from ''VideoGame/Left4Dead''. A former (so technically retired) Green Beret who served two tours in Vietnam.
* Buddy Cheque, Abner Dubbleplay, and Erik Stream from ''VideoGame/BackyardSports''. Barry Dejay seems like this, but he's not officially retired; he just has a broken ankle (and is a SmallNameBigEgo rather than a badass).
* ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'':
** Dr. Mordin Solus, an old [[note]] Technically, he is in his early thirties, but given the salarian short life span it makes him a seasoned adult[[/note]] salarian doctor who set up a free clinic in the slums of a space-borne WretchedHive so he could [[TheAtoner spent his final years helping people]]. He is also a former black ops science specialist who's very handy with a submachine gun, casually murders mercenaries who try to shake his clinic down and hangs their corpses outside as a warning, and willingly enlists on a suicide mission to stop the Collectors and their Reaper masters.
** A more minor character, a krogan known only as "the Patriarch", can be found serving as TheDragon to the local crime boss in Afterlife, on Omega. Once upon a time, it was ''he'' who ran the planet, until a young asari named Aria came along and overthrew him, only leaving him alive as a symbol of what she was capable of. It's possible through a sidequest to bring him indirectly out of retirement; Aria wants him to hide from some assassins, but he can be persuaded to allow Shepard to kill them in his name, regaining some of his badass status.
* Ford Cruller from ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'' is retired, due mainly to [[spoiler:a past battle shattering his mind into several personalities]]. This problem is remedied by the presence of psitanium, leading to [[spoiler:a rather dramatic entrance during Sasha and Milla's battle with Oleander, where he ties a block of psitanium on his back and [[BigDamnHeroes bursts through the damn ceiling]]]].
* ''VideoGame/ArcanumOfSteamworksAndMagickObscura'':
** Late game, you run into [[spoiler: the elven mage Nasrudin, chilling on an uncharted island, after being thought dead for lord knows how many years. What's particularly shocking, however, is that the entire plot up until this point has lead you to believe that you're the living one, the reincarnation of Nasrudin.]].
** William Thorndop, the firearms master, is a former highwayman who gave up his violent profession and decided to spent the rest of his life as an Order of Halcyon monk.
* In ''VideoGame/FarCry2'' Hakim and Iosip (Albanian) are retired from their respective nation's armies, but they both still kick ass. And in the first game, you're a retired special forces type (ex-CIA?) until the bad guys blow up your boat. That was a mistake.
* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' has several examples. Most notably Tirion Fordring, who players first meet as a humble small-holder in the Eastern Plaguelands. After [[spoiler:the death of his son Taelan]] he reveals himself as a powerful Paladin and goes on to play a major role in the Wrath of the Lich King expansion.
** His WorthyOpponent Eitrigg is a [[DefectorFromDecadence retired]] orc warrior who ran into him by chance. After [[spoiler:some mutual life-saving]], he rejoins the Horde as an advisor to help them learn the pre-corruption ways.
* Julius Belmont in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow''. He's fifty-five years old in ''Aria'', and has been out of practice for thirty-six years, but the minute Dracula's back in the castle? So is Julius.
* Landon Ricketts in ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'', a former American Wild West gunslinger who retired to Mexico, where he serves as an unofficial lawman when the need arises, but spends most of his time relaxing and playing poker.
* Admiral Bobbery in ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor''. A tough sailor who sailed the world and such when younger, he comes straight out retirement after Mario persuades him that they need a captain for the voyage to Keelhaul Key, then joins his party for the rest of the game slightly later.
* [[BadassPreacher "Reverend"]] Ray [=McCall=] in the first ''VideoGame/CallOfJuarez''. A former gunslinger, he slaughtered his way across the West before pulling a HeelFaithTurn [[spoiler: after murdering his preacher brother William]]. Then his [[spoiler: other]] brother is killed, he thinks his half-Mexican nephew is the culprit, and he immediately digs up his old longcoat and revolvers for another blood bath.
* ''VideoGame/AllPointsBulletin'': Chiro, a former gangbanger who went legit and opened a tattoo parlor.
* ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' has the Enclave Remnants, former members of the fascist Enclave army. The Courier, with the help of Arcade Gannon can rile them back into action for the final battle, where they drop in from Vertibirds (helicopters) in full PoweredArmor with a variety of deadly weapons in which they show why the Enclave should be feared to this very day.
* In ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRevelations'', Ezio leaves the Brotherhood to settle down with Sofia at the end of the game. ''[[WesternAnimation/AssassinsCreedEmbers Embers]]'' picks up more than a decade after this and he's still able to keep up with [[ActionGirl Shao Jun]]. She's ''46 years'' Ezio's junior, too.
* [[AntiHero Agent 47]] of ''VideoGame/{{Hitman}}'' tried to retire after the events of [[VideoGame/HitmanCodename47 the first game]]. [[TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive It didn't work.]]
* Kliff Undersn from ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' was a retired commander of the Holy Order of Sacred Knights before entering the tournament.
* [[TheGoodKing Lord Nasher Alagondar]], the BigGood of the ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' series, is a former adventurer.
* Bain in ''VideoGame/PAYDAYTheHeist'' used to do heists back in his day. Now he serves as the team's eyes and ears during heists when it comes to police activity.
* By ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsII'', Frank Woods is this. Well into his 90s, he is living in seclusion due to the [[spoiler:large amount of secret information he's been privvy to from his combat days]]. However, he does share his experience with the son of the previous game's protagonist, describing the missions he worked on with Alex Mason.
* In ''VideoGame/IcewindDale II'', the origin of the [[InfinityPlusOneSword Holy Avenger Cera Sumat]] involved one of these. Long ago, an old paladin long since retired heard of six powerful villains called the Lost Followers ravaging the land. Taking up his sword once more, the paladin singlehandedly tracked down and defeated them all. The weapon description states that Cera Sumat was once a simple iron sword, but the courage and faith of the paladin made it something more.
* Jolee Bindo of ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' is an ex-Jedi hermit who crash-landed on Kashyyyk twenty years ago and never put much effort in trying to leave thanks to being quite disillusioned with the Jedi and the galaxy at large. (Granted, the forest floor is so dangerous that it's a semi-retirement at best.) He joins your party because he doesn't have much else to do [[spoiler:and because you're actually Revan]].
** The Jedi Exile in the second game, a General in Revan's army during the Mandalorian Wars, who after [[spoiler: detonating the super-weapon that devastated Malachor V]] and becoming severed from the Force, willingly accepted banishment from the Jedi Order and spent ten years wandering the Outer Rim. Part of their return to action is to discover why they've regained their Force abilities, find out who is trying to kill them and prevent a HumanoidAbomination from leaving planets devoid of life.
* The Getter Team in ''VideoGame/ShinSuperRobotWars''. They act as mentors for the protagonists' group and join up with Shin Getter late in the game.
* In ''VideoGame/SwordOfTheStars: The Pit'' the Marine character is technically an ex-Marine, a former [=SolForce=] man retired to the planet the game's set on.
* The title character in ''Granny Strikes Back'' is a retired special agent. Who shoots at [[ItMakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext alien-built animated snowmen trying to steal her raspberry jam]].
* The President in ''VideoGame/{{Pikmin}} 2'' was once a space captain but left it behind to start up Hocotate Freight. [[spoiler:He comes out of retirement when Louie gets left behind]].
* ''VideoGame/DragonsCrown'' has Morgan Lisley, the game's shopkeeper, equipment repairer, and [[UnknownItemIdentification unknown item identifier]] all in one, is revealed in one of the Treasure Art to be [[spoiler:a legendary genius runic mage who is one of the few who mastered {{Golem}} Magic, with the notes stating she was able to control several Golems at once and play with them like dolls even back when she was just a ChildMage more than a century ago]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'' has Cap'n Cuttlefish, who fought in the Great Turf War decades ago.
* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'':
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'':
*** [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld 4000 year-old]] reclusive wizard Divayth Fyr is one. He was formerly a member of [[TheClan Great House]] [[EvilSorcerer Telvanni]] and the [[TheMagocracy Psijic Order]], but left both to run his "Corprusarium", a safe haven for those afflicted with the [[BodyHorror Corprus Disease]].
*** Yagrum Bagarn, [[spoiler:[[TheLastOfHisKind the last living]] [[OurDwarvesAreDifferent Dwemer]]]], is one of the residents of Fyr's Corprusarium and also fits the trope. He was a [[UltimateBlacksmith Master Crafter]] in service to Lord Kagrenac who spent time [[DimensionalTraveler traveling to "outer realms"]]. When he returned to find his people gone, he traveled all across Tamriel searching for any other surviving [[spoiler:Dwemer]]. He caught the Corprus Disease and was forcibly retired. He is still in possession of a full set of Dwemer armor, a stash of Dwemer coins, and the legendary hammer Volendrung.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'': Delphine, a former member of [[AncientOrderOfProtectors the Blades]], was forced into retirement and hiding by the terms in the [[WonTheWarLostThePeace White-Gold Concordat]] which dissolved and outlawed the Blades. Now in her mid-50s, she is still a highly capable warrior and the [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Thalmor]] dossier on her advises the use of "[[TheresNoKillLikeOverkill overwhelming force]]" when engaging her. [[spoiler:Midway through the main quest, she'll come out of retirement to take over as the Grandmaster of the reformed Blades]].
* Impa in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' is implied to have been much mightier in her youth compared to her feeble appearance now. True to form, if Link swings a weapon at her she will do a NonchalantDodge and call him a fool instead of cowering like most [=NPC=]s.
* Marcus Fenix by the time of ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar 4''. While everyone else who survived the first three games now have other jobs, Marcus is a reclusive hermit living in the vast estate of his deceased wife's family, fixing whatever needs fixing and growing tomatoes in between daily visits to her grave, while his son JD gets up to no good with the Outsiders, living at odds with the COG. When JD and his companions come seeking his help, bringing trouble with them, he reveals his vast stash of COG armor and weapons and suits right back up. By the next game he is officially (and perhaps forcibly) un-retired and back kicking ass for the COG.
* Half of the main cast of ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'', depending on how you define "retired". Following the fall of Overwatch, most of its original members went off doing vigilante and mercenary work - even (and especially, it seems) if they were believed dead before or shortly after the fall. Commander Jack Morrison, the head of Overwatch, and Ana Amari, took up the mantels of Soldier: 76 and Shrike, respectively, and are currently somewhere in Egypt. Reinhardt Wilhelm and his squire Brigitte Lindholm traveled across Europe fighting injustice where they found it, while Brigitte's father, Torbjörn, attempted to atone for his role in the First Omnic Crisis. Jesse [=McCree=] and Lena Oxton also (seperately) became vigilantes, while Angela Ziegler focused her efforts on helping others. Genji Shimada, meanwhile, retired to a Nepalese Omnic monastery to learn how to accept his cyborg body.
* King Graham in ''Videogame/KingsQuest2015'' is a bedridden old man [[spoiler:dying of magical poison]] in the present day. The premise of the game is that he is retelling the stories of his youthful adventures to his granddaughter Gwendolyn. All the while begging his MagicMirror to show him one last adventure. [[spoiler:Ultimately, the mirror shows him no new adventures.]]
* In the ''VideoGame/SakuraWars'' series, Sumire Kanzaki, a member of the Imperial Combat Revue's Flower Division, was forced to retire from active duty when her spiritual power dwindled to the point that she could no longer operate her MiniMecha. Come ''VideoGame/SakuraWars2019'', she serves as the new commander of the Imperial Combat Revue. Now OlderAndWiser, she doesn't need to fight on the front lines to prove that she is ''still'' not a woman to be trifled with.
* Deconstructed with Cassius Bright in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsInTheSky''. Considered a OneManArmy and in-universe MemeticBadass, he leaves the army due to [[ILetGwenStacyDie grief over his wife's death]]. The void he leaves behind is considerable, and several higher-ups in the army believe the country is ''defenceless'' without him. This leads to [[spoiler: his protege staging a coup and trying to uncover an ancient superweapon]]. Cassius is eventually forced out of retirement to clear up this mess.
* Giliath Osborne in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel'' was said to be a former general in the Erebonian army before he became the high chancellor of the empire and retired from his military duties. And if a person is a significant character in the ''VideoGame/TrailsSeries'', then chances are that the person can kick a lot of ass. [[spoiler:He finally proves his worth in ''Cold Steel IV'' and it turns out that he's a OneManArmy who could have soloed most of the cast and come out on top.]]
* Nathan Drake and Victor Sullivan in ''VideoGame/Uncharted4AThiefsEnd'' when they help Samuel Drake get the Treasure or stop Nadine and Rafe. Nate is technically retired for a short period and now working as a Salvage diver and calls back to adventure by his older brother Sam. and Nate lies to her wife, and go treasure hunting. Until they encounter by telling the truth at Madagascar. Victor is a Retired marine officer who still knows how to fly a plane too.
* ''{{VideoGame/Grow}} Comeback'' start with a hero who defeat monster with no problem, once he deafeat the last monster time will pass and he will lose his hair and [[FormerlyFit become fat]], then a new monster will appear and you need to help him become badass again so he can beat it.
* Files found in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil7Biohazard'' tell you that Jack Baker is a former Marine. Despite this, he never uses any of the guns or ammunition littered around the house. One imagines it's a combination of being too mentally unstable to have the patience to use them properly, as well as just having too good a time throwing his superhuman strength around to bother. [[spoiler:His brother and the protagonist of the ''End of Zoe'' DLC, [[HeroOfAnotherStory Joe Baker]], is also retired military. He's spent his time since hunting gators at the edge of the Baker family property and, when Eveline and her monsters arrive, take to fighting them with his bare fists.]]
* Dingodile in ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot4ItsAboutTime'' is revealed to have [[HeelFaceTurn reformed]] and retired to run his own diner. He gets dragged into the events of the game by accident and shows that he still can fight just as well as he used to, only with an air cannon rather than his trademark flamethrower.
* ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'':
** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestII'': The messenger didn't go to Midenhall to get the prince to help. He wanted THE KING. Unfortunately, the two kingdoms have probably been out of touch for a while, as Midenhall's king notes that he's a bit too old to be adventuring about. Have at it, my boy.
** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIX'': Greygnarl chased the Gittish Empire out of Upover 300 years ago, but in the ensuing peace, his powers have deteriorated somewhat.
* ''VideoGame/SenranKagura'' has Asuka's grandparents, Hanzo and Sayuri. The fact they made it to retirement age in a field of work where students are advised not to set any life goals that involve making it past 25 says it all -- Hanzo operates a TruceZone by sheer presence, and Sayuri can kick the ass of students a quarter her age without breaking a sweat.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* In ''Webcomic/{{Gosu}}'', Gha Woobok, once feared as the greatest killer of the Baekma Valley, left the murim and is now a door-to-door merchant. [[MandatoryUnretirement It didn't last long]].
* Played with in [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/6/25/ this]] example of [[CatchPhrase dreaded continuity]] from ''Webcomic/PennyArcade''.
* Shiné and Shaedo in ''[[http://www.newrem.com NewRem Comics]]''. Both characters had played major parts in saving the world, the former even having at one point been made the world's goddess, before moving on to lives of internet-trolling and video-game playing, respectively.
* In ''Webcomic/BrunoTheBandit'', the protagonist's mother Eunyce is eventually revealed to have been a Series/XenaWarriorPrincess CaptainErsatz when she was young. Before that, she's entirely retired; afterward, she comes out of retirement more or less permanently, ready to use her skills whenever necessary.
* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' gave us:
** Old Man Death, who ran with the Jägers in his youth and Never. Lost. A. Fight. After being "ravished by a wild princess" he married her, gave up his old life and opened a deli. However, he can still hold his own in a fight with a science-magically modified super-soldier.
** Carson von Mekkhan, Seneschal to Bill and Barry Heterodyne, also rode with the Jägers in his youth, an occupation described as something for people who liked to drink and fight and mess people up, and didn't care if they lived or died. When we first encounter him, he is sitting in a rocking chair and discussing dinner plans with his granddaughter. He is still badass enough to go toe-to-toe with the Castle and win regularly.
* ''Webcomic/EvenInArcadia'' has Master Odai, an old Fae who has secluded himself off in the forest. He's a retired Emerged, the most powerful type of known mage.
* In ''Webcomic/OurLittleAdventure'', [[http://danielscreations.com/ola/comics/ep0306.html two elves prove to be this.]]
* ''Webcomic/PixieAndBrutus'': Brutus is a former military dog, and his scars indicate he's definitely got some combat under his belt. However, he's now retired to a nice suburban home.
* In ''Webcomic/BlueYonder'', [[http://www.blueyondercomic.net/comics/1530714/blue-yonder-chapter-2-page-11/ Lena learns that a neighbor was in N-Forcers.]]
* [[FourStarBadass General Tagon]] in ''WebComic/SchlockMercenary'', the [[StrongFamilyResemblance familiar looking father of Captain Tagon]], retired with honours (and a law he wrote himself mandating that he NOT come out of retirement in any military capacity) some time ago. But as various events prove, he hasn't slowed down a tad.
* Professors Trevols and Dymond of ''Webcomic/AliceAndTheNightmare'' are both retired oneironauts, meaning that they've spent likely over a decade of their lives going willingly into lands filled with Nightmares.
* In ''Webcomic/KiddCommander'':
** Very definitely Jocasta Hubris. Her first appearance says "Retired, or something". And, apparently, "escaping a sundog's maw" is impressive on its own, compounded by jumping right back in for her ''coat''.
** Crow Gideon might qualify, but he seems to be more ''inactive'' than ''retired''. He's just not heard of or from in quite some time.
* ''Webcomic/StandStillStaySilent'': Trond made it to general in a society centered around hunting PlagueZombie monsters before being more or less forced into retirement. He also accumulated plenty of {{Blackmail}} material along the way.
* ''Webcomic/{{Obscurato}}'' follows a retired warrior who has to come out of retirement to protect her family.
* Ye Thuza from ''Webcomic/SandraAndWoo'' was a Burmese guerrilla fighter in her youth, but these days she spends her time as a suburban housewife. Of course, that doesn't stop her from being the toughest character in the comic or [[BadassFamily passing on her skills to her children]].
* The village of Pagat Or from ''Webcomic/AshfacesDaughter'' seems to be filled with these.
* Chancellor Palpatine in ''WebComic/DarthsAndDroids'' isn't the incredibly dangerous character he was in the movies, he's not even much of a villain, but he ''is'' a retired Jedi who can hold his own against Yoda.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* Orym, at the beginning of ''Literature/AshAndCinders''. He was living a quiet life as a lovable lunatic in the Smallwood due to an as-yet unexplained event that made him decide to give up being a Wizard.
* Yamauchi-sensei from ''Literature/GreekNinja'' is a retired ninja.
* The original Uncle Sam in the [[ComicBook/LessThanThreeComics LessThanThree]]-Verse.
* A lot of the teachers and staff of [[SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy]] in the Literature/WhateleyUniverse.
** The seventy-something headmistress Elizabeth Carson. When Syndicate dropships and the unstoppable cyborg Assassin Deathlist invade her school, the gloves come off. Oh, she turns out to be Lady Astarte, possibly the greatest superheroine still around.
** Also Dr. Yablonsky, one of the Powers Lab teachers, who has a cybernetic arm and leg. One of the character thinks he teaches the way Batman faces down thugs.
* Burt from ''AudioPlay/WereAlive''. He's a former Marine gunnery sergeant who owns a gun shop with enough weaponry to equip a [[MoreDakka small army]], carries a silver plated Desert Eagle [[ICallItVera named Shirley]], and kills zombies while singing [[SoundtrackDissonance "Mary Had A Little Lamb"]].
* The end of ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' Season 10 reveals that [[spoiler:Butch Flowers, the Blues' deceased captain, was once Agent Florida and fought alongside the other Freelancers. It's not technically retirement, since he still answered to the Director, but his new job was much less intense.]]
* ''WebVideo/ThePlumberKnightReturns'': [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]] has been retired for twenty years, having been living under the assumed name of Michael Camborelli. The series depicts him coming back out of retirement to fight off a street gang known as the Goombas.
* Hal Monroe of ''Podcast/RollToBreathe'', Epoch's mentor, used to be Dr. Watt, a powerful Bronze Age hero with nanomachines for blood. A death among his team turned him cynical and paranoid and caused him to retire. However, when he does fight he's shown to still be as strong and capable as ever.
** Diamond Joe, the mayor, is a Silver Age hero-turned-politician. When the team bodyguards him he is an endless source of support, and while he doesn't have as much endurance as he used to, he is still incredibly strong and his skin can still turn to diamond.
* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': [[spoiler:Maria Calavera]] was once the LivingLegend known as the Grimm Reaper - an unstoppable Huntress who wandered the wilderness slaying Grimm, but concealing her identity behind an ornate mask. She was ''such'' a Badass, Qrow reveals he based [[SinisterScythe Harbinger]] off her weapons (meaning she indirectly inspired [[TheHero Ruby]] to create Crescent Rose). She mysteriously vanished decades ago [[spoiler:after losing her [[MagicalEye Silver-Eyes]]]].
* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBt8ioYEXBw&t=1739s cover image]] of the fanmade ''VideoGame/JetSetRadio''-inspired album, ''Memories of Tokyo-To'', seems to imply this was the ultimate fate of [[ActionGirl Gum]]. We see her in a [[HurtingHero borderline depressed state]] as all she can do is [[GloryDays listen to music that reminds her of the glory days]] while [[BreakTheBadass she lays slumped against the wall]] [[HowTheMightyHaveFallen without her iconic helmet and face paint]]. One can only wonder what happened between her and [[TheFellowshipHasEnded the rest of the GGs...]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
** Jeong Jeong is a former admiral of the Fire Nation who, disillusioned with the war and killing, deserted the navy, turned into something of a pacifist, (and not the [[TechnicalPacifist technical]] kind either), and soon had a group of followers with no apparent goal other than to keep from getting caught or killed until Aang showed up. Jeong Jeong reluctantly taught him some rudimentary firebending, but disappeared at the end of the episode and did not return.[[spoiler:..until the finale.]]
** Iroh might also count as a temporary example. Although not really active anyway through the first two seasons, he is genuinely willing to chuck all other concerns to run a tea house in Ba Sing Se.
** Piandao is similar to Jeong Jeong, minus the pacificism and the bending. It's AllThereInTheManual that after he left the military for similar reasons he wandered around the world and studied under several masters before moving to his house. Then the Fire Nation sent one hundred soldiers, and he ''[[OneManArmy beat them all himself]]''. After that they left him alone.
** It's worth noting that all of the above are, along with Pakku and Bumi, [[spoiler: revealed to be members of the Order of the White Lotus, which is more or less a secret society of retired badasses.]]
** On a very different note, Hama, The Puppet-Master. She is still a formidable opponent at least into her eighties, and when you see how many Fire Nation soldiers they ended up sending to capture her and her alone. There must have been a reason for them sending quite that many troops.
* By the time of ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', the surviving members of the Gaang have all become this in varying capacities. Katara is still a master healer and is the one who taught Korra Waterbending, but is not nearly as active as she once was, Zuko has [[AbdicateTheThrone abdicated his Fire Lord title]] to his daughter, but still [[CoolOldGuy acts as an advocate for world peace]], and Toph has [[TheHermit retreated to a solitary life]] [[spoiler: in the Foggy Swamp.]] Only Toph and Zuko "come out of retirement" by doing any actual prolonged fighting. [[RealityEnsues Since they're all in their 80's]], Zuko is floored with little fanfare[[note]]Though he made a good showing considering that he was fighting under the worse possible terrain effects for his skillset-- a newly-trained Katara handed his ass to him under similar conditions back in the first series[[/note]], while Toph comes out looking better, but aside from her knocking Korra around for fun, she sticks to long-range attacks and claims her back is killing her in the end. She claims that this is the reason Katara, the most sensible of the three, has largely stayed out of the fighting even during the Water Tribe Civil War.
* Bruce Wayne does much the same in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'', where he serves as a mentor to a new young Batman... although he also proves in a few scenes from the show that he can still kick ass, especially in the first episode with a gang called The Jokerz who assume that such an old man is harmless...
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': after taking up an interest in cooking, Bender finds himself a retired cook/mentor in Helmut Spargle, who lives just long enough to attempt to give Bender a lesson or two, (despite Bender's literal lack of taste), and a secret ingredient. With the confidence instilled by Spargle and the secret ingredient, Bender wins an Iron Chef style cook-off with famous cook Elzar. The stock twist comes when the Professor does an analysis on the secret ingredient, revealing it to be [[MagicFeather nothing but water]]... [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope laced with LSD]]]].
* Yan Lin in ''[[WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}} W.I.T.C.H]]'', as well as her companions in the former FiveManBand (Halinor, Katma and Cassidy). [[spoiler: When Nerissa restores their youth and powers ''and'' brainwashes them in the TV series, holy CRAP, the girls are in quite the trouble.]]
* Grandpa Max from ''Franchise/{{Ben 10}}''. In the original continuity, anyway. Max Tennyson was one of the top operatives in the Earth chapter of the Plumbers, a intergalactic police organization, before retiring a few years before his grandchildren were born. The events of the [[WesternAnimation/Ben10 first series]] reigniting alien activity on the planet forces him back into action, and by the end of the [[WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse fourth series]], he's the director in charge of the Earth Plumbers.
* One of the youngest examples is [[WiseBeyondTheirYears 10-year-old]] [[AfroAsskicker Huey Freeman]] from ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks''. Retired from Domestic Terrorism.
-->'''Huey:''' Eh. I'm retired.
* In ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'', ComicBook/CaptainAmerica fought on a team of six other superheroes, who are drawn back into Nazi fighting when they are in their 70s.
* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'' has Uncle Scrooge retired from adventuring, albeit far more reluctant about it than his comic book counterpart who was perfectly fine with handling the business side of finance. He actually misses going on regular expeditions, but it isn't until the nephews bring up how much of a big deal he ''used'' to be that he's prompted to plan a new adventure in order to salvage his ego.
** Donald Duck is "one of the most daring adventurers of all time", but whatever that incident resulted in the disappearance of his twin sister Della cause him to give up adventuring and cut ties with Uncle Scrooge, instead focusing his efforts on raising his sister's kids. Even once he's brought back into the action, he adamantly tells an old friend that he doesn't want to be a hero anymore, and that his only motivation these days is to keep his nephews safe.
* The Chief in ''WesternAnimation/TUFFPuppy'' used to be T.U.F.F.'s top agent and able to take out a legion of villains singelhandedly. He comes out of retirement in one episode to catch the Chameleon with Dudley. While things don't go very well at first, after some encouragement from Dudley, he shows he's still got enough badass in him to get them out of a jam, then beat the stuffing out of the Chameleon.
* In ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'', Grandpa Phil, notorious for his tall tales, claims to have beaten Hitler in a fistfight in WWII. He quickly takes this back... only to reveal on a strikingly serious note that he ''did'' beat up [[PropagandaMachine Goebbels]].
* Billy from ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime''. He was Ooo's previous [[TheChampion greatest hero]] before Finn, who idolized him. Among his exploits, he killed an Evil Ocean by '''punching it''', rescued a princess from the evil Fire Count, and most impressively, [[SealedEvilInACan imprisoned]] [[UltimateEvil the Lich]] in amber in order to save the entire world. How does that get even more badass? He imprisoned the Lich by ''pummeling him into the tree!'' He retired due to finding the fight against evil pointless since more always showed up. In the end, Finn and Jake convince him that fighting evil, while not a permanent solution, still helps protect people, implying he might come out of retirement.
* ''Franchise/MyLittlePony'':
** ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyAndFriends'': In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyAndFriendsE40WouldBeDragonslayer Would-Be Dragonslayer]]", Sir Huguenot is described by Alonzo as the bravest knight of all time. He's also retiring, as he's getting too old for heroics, and is on the lookout for a replacement.
** ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were the original wielders of the Elements of Harmony in ancient times and used them to save the world from Discord's tyranny. Then Luna [[FallenHero fell to evil and became Nightmare Moon]], forcing Celestia to save the world from her. In modern day, Twilight Sparkle and her friends now wield the Elements (which they used to restore Luna to good), so the Princesses largely stick to their official business. However, a bit of Celestia's former badass reappeared when confronting Discord. She was even more badass during the Season 2 finale, [[spoiler:when she blasted Queen Chrysalis with magic in order to protect her kingdom. Chrysalis ended up beating her anyway, but only because her power was increased from absorbing Shining Armor's love]].
* WesternAnimation/MyLifeAsATeenageRobot has Nora Wakeman. Most people think she’s just an old woman and a MadScientist, but she was once a part of Skyway Patrol and can still kick some ass.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** On some episodes that take place in the past, Grandpa Simpson is revealed to have been a really awesome war hero. He is shown saving his comrades from a grenade and rescuing Santa Clause from a younger Mr. Burns. He was in nearly every branch of the military and fought in both world wars. This makes his current position as the useless, senile old man even more depressing. He [[ThrowtheDogaBone occasionally gets to do something cool]], though, like when he and Bart tried to steal the Hellfish treasure or when he helped catch the Springfield Cat Burglar.
** Principal Skinner is a jaded educator easily cowed by his mother and frequently outmanoeuvred by a ten-year old, but he was also a Green Beret in Vietnam, which occasionally shines through, most notably when he effortlessly beats up a lawyer and two goons sent by Disney to shut down the school carnival.
* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'':
** Special Agent William Fowler is a retired Army Ranger (And a bit out of shape) but still fully capable of piloting a fighter jet (StillGotIt) and whooping some {{Mook}} ass. [[spoiler: He's even able to hold his own, however briefly, against Silas.]]
** To a lesser extent, Ratchet and Soundwave. [[TheMedic Ratchet]] is one of Optimus Prime's oldest allies, and even though he is still capable in combat, he generally serves as MissionControl and stays off the front lines unless his expertise is needed. Meanwhile, Soundwave was Megatron's first follower; despite being the only bot capable of holding his own against the Decepticon leader in the gladiatorial pits, he also stays away from combat preferring to be [[SinisterSurveillance the "eyes and ears"]] of the Decepticons. [[BewareTheQuietOnes But when push comes to shove, it appears he hasn't lost his touch.]]
* WesternAnimation/{{Kim Possible}}'s Grandmother Nana Possible can give her a run for her money.
* In ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983'' there was Granamyr, an ancient dragon who was the second-oldest being on Eternia and likely one of the most powerful. In his first appearance (the memorable episode "The Dragon's Gift") he only sent He-Man and Teela on a SecretTestOfCharacter (and had the attitude of a GrumpyOldMan) but in his ''second'' appearance, he proved he was still a force to be reckoned with, where he kicked an evil dragon's ass but good in a rather epic aerial battle. This is ''not'' a guy you mess with. (Oh and he has a pretty CoolHelmet too.)
* Slappy Squirrel from ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}''. The premise behind her segments is that she's a veteran from UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation, and as a result, is wise to the tricks that cartoon villains pull. (Most of her enemies are from that era too, and bother her out of an obsession for revenge, but [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain they aren't nearly as smart.]])
* ''WesternAnimation/DofusTheTreasuresOfKerubim''. The [[CatFolk ecaflip]] Kerub may be [[JustForPun long in the tooth]] now, but back in his heyday, he was a daring adventurer who fought, loved, and lost with the best of them, and has the [[TrashOfTheTitans flippin' great pile]] of memories to prove it. He currently makes a living as a humble shopkeeper, but he enjoys sharing stories of his exploits with his [[HappilyAdopted son]], his live-in maid, or any friends or acquaintances who should stop by.
* Rex, Gregor and Wolffe in ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'', three clone troopers who went into hiding after the Clone War ended, living in a beat-up AT-TE on a desert planet fishing for Sandworms. The main characters try recruiting them for the Rebellion but they aren't interested until the Empire attacks and they have a chance to prove they're not obsolete yet. Though now past their prime (clone troopers age twice as fast as ordinary humans, so despite only being 32 years old they're biologically 64) and slightly overweight, they're still much more capable than the modern [[{{Mooks}} stormtroopers]].
* Malory Archer of ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'' is long retired from field agent work. That doesn't mean she's to be trifled with. She's a crack shot with her weapon of choice (A [[HandCannon .44 Magnum]]) and is capable of escaping underground imprisonment without any assistance.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros'' has several:
** The original main members of Team Venture, [[ManlyGay Col. Gentleman]], [[SuperSoldier The Action Man]], and [[TheBigGuy Kano]] ([[CaptainErsatz Captain Ersatz's of]] [[Literature/KingSolomonsMines Allan Quatermain]], ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, and [[Radio/TheGreenHornet Kato]] respectively) were the world's most prolific adventurers in TheSixties to the point where comic books were made based on their adventures. And even in the present day, they're more or less just as capable of kicking ass as they were in their prime.
** Billy Quizboy's mother Rose was once a superhero known as Triple Threat, based on ComicBook/{{Zatanna}}, ComicBook/BlackCanary, and several 20th-century performers according to WordOfGod. She presents herself in the present day as a kindly old woman who [[AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents coddles Billy relentlessly despite him being in his 30's]] and hides her past from him, but her MamaBear tendencies present themselves whenever he's threatened.
-->'''Rose''': I'll let you take the first swing. And if you don't put me down, I'll beat the living ''shit'' out of you till my arthritis kicks in. And I just took my Humira.
* Hudson in ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' left his position as guide of the Gargoyles' clan but he's still a cunning fighter.
* As in the other incarnations Alfred shows to be a pretty competent combatant in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', especially in the Franchise/JamesBond-like episode "The Lion and the Unicorn" where he alone defeats two mooks.
* Hinted to be the case with Varian's father, Qurian, from ''WesternAnimation/TangledTheSeries''. He even has a hidden trunk of gear and looks over some of it while looking at a family portrait.
* Lucas Hall of ''WesternAnimation/StarComTheUSSpaceForce'' was the greatest Star Ranger in his youth. He’s been retired for fifteen years and is an elderly man now, but while age and inactivity have slowed him down, he’s still a force to be reckoned with. He comes out of retirement to rescue a [=StarCom=] team that got trapped in an old Star Ranger base, where his knowledge of the base’s traps and protocols prove invaluable.
* In ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce'', Ben starts the series as one, having chosen to remove the Omnitrix and live a normal life sometime after the Original series.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* In general, most veterans are these as long as they're not {{Shell Shocked Veteran}}s.
** And sometimes even then. Ask Audie Murphy.
* John L. Burns was a veteran of the War of 1812 and the Mexican War. At the ripe old age of 68, he was constable of Gettysburg PA. The Civil War Battle of Gettysburg began a few months shy of his 70th birthday, and Burns snagged his old flintlock and walked out to the battle lines. His ass-kicking abilities undiminished by age, he joined the Union soldiers (who were mostly a third or a quarter of his age) and showed them how it was done, even shooting a Confederate officer off his horse. Burns ended up receiving multiple gunshot wounds himself, but amazingly survived the battle and the war, living on until 1872.
* While "The Father Of Lucha Libre" and [[Wrestling/{{CMLL}} EMLL]] founder Salvador Lutteroth did not participate in matches, he had fought in the Mexican revolution prior to becoming a promoter.
* Buzz Aldrin--former NASA astronaut, decorated Air Force fighter pilot, second man to walk on the moon, MIT doctoral degree holder, and well...you get the idea--had enough of conspiracy theorist crackpot Bart Sibrel's heckling [[PapaWolf in front of his daughter]] and punched him right in the kisser [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wptn5RE2I-k on video]] when he was 72 years old.
* Cinncinatus, the retired Roman general, came out of retirement and saved Rome from invaders. Then he retired back to his farm rather than submitting to the temptation to use his fame to make himself an EvilOverlord. In doing so he was held up to Roman Schoolboys for ages after as an example of faithful public service.
* General, later Field Marshal and even later President, Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, born 1867. He made his lifetime career in the Czarist Russian army, retiring as a fully serving General of Cavalry of the Lifeguards in 1917, having participated in both Russo-Japanese war 1904-1905 and WWI 1914-1917. After the declaration of Independence of Finland December 1917, he was pleaded to become the commander-in-chief of the White Army. After the Finnish Civil War he retired. Little did he know that his SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome was yet to become. His happy pensioneer's days were over in 1939, when the Winter War began. Again he was called to service, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Army. He was promoted to Field Marshal in 1940, and he served as the Supreme Commander of the Finnish Armed Forces until the end of the Continuation War. After the Armstice with USSR 1944 and resignation of President Risto Ryti, he was nominated as ''the President of Finland''. Why? Because [[WorthyOpponent he was the only person both Finns and Soviets could trust]]. He passed away in 1951.
* The Tower Guards "Beefeaters" in London. Everyone is an OldSoldier who was given the position as a reward for service in the British Army.
* Hermann Goering. His later reputation as TheCaligula of UsefulNotes/NaziGermany does little to hint that he used to be one of Germany's [[AcePilot best fighter pilots]] in UsefulNotes/WW1, with 22 recorded kills.
* George Washington. As if he hasn't done enough badassery in his life already, the former president was asked out of retirement by John Adams to take over the command of US Army during the Quasi-War with France.
** On account of his many heroic deeds for the United States, President Washington was posthumously promoted to General of the Armies of the United States, and the same statute that enacted this promotion decreed that no American can ever hold a military rank greater than George Washington.
*** That said, there was one person who held the rank as well- John J Pershing, in WWI.
* Most former Gurkhas are this, but one honorable mention should go to Bishnu Shresthra who single-handedly subdued FORTY fully-armed train robbers with only a [[KukrisAreKool notorious traditional knife]].
* Creator/ChristopherLee before becoming one of the world's best actors, playing badass roles like Dracula and Saruman among others, and singing metal, he was a Nazi hunter during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. Yes... he killed Nazis for a living!
[[/folder]]

* Granny Chiyo from ''Manga/{{Naruto}}''. First portrayed as a doddering, almost-senile old woman who wants nothing more to do with her village and its politics, beyond berating the village elders of Sungakure for relying on Konoha instead of training to be more powerful themselves. [[spoiler: Then she and a young CombatMedic with SuperStrength, Sakura Haruno, make a ''formidable'' team up and defeat Sasori, Chiyo's own grandson/pupil and member of the [[BigBad Akatsuki]] -- using puppets that were built by Chiyo herself, as well as better made and with more tricks/better builts than Sasori's own.]] Notable in that the aforementioned [[spoiler: Sasori]] is one of the most powerful member of the Akatsuki, an organization exclusively composed of unbelievably badass rogue ninja who generally require a combination of multiple high-level protagonists and convenient plot devices to take down. Put in context; [[spoiler: Pain, who killed half the supporting cast of the series and destroyed the hero's hometown single-handedly, basically just has the ability to manipulate six nearly-indestructible corpses at once and utilize powerful jutsu through them. Sasori could do this with a hundred corpse "dolls" at a time. Although Pain had the good sense not to tell his opponents all about how his powers worked]]. Then she brings [[spoiler: [[DarkMagicalGirl Gaara]] back from the dead, not only pulling an HeroicSacrifice for him, but atoning for having sealed the Shukaku in Gaara as a newborn, [[DefectorFromDecadence which is the reason why she left Sunagakure in the first place]].]]

* Dingodile in ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot4ItsAboutTime'' is revealed to have [[HeelFaceTurn reformed]] and retired to run his own diner. He gets dragged into the events of the game by accident and shows that he still can fight just as well as he used to, only with an air cannon rather then his trademark flamethrower.

* Red Legs Greaves, from ''Literature/TheHighSeas''. A former pirate captain, he beats a far younger man holding a rapier, while arming himself with nothing but a knife.

* ''Fanfic/TheSecretReturnOfAlexMack'': Batman's butler Alfred is a former 006 agent. Not only that, but he was retired for being too old (Double-Oh agents are required to retire at 45); he was skilled enough to complete his career without ever getting seriously hurt.

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* In ''Fanfic/TheParselmouthOfGryffindor'', Dumbledore hires Gellert Grindelwald for a Defence Professor. Yes, to everyone but Dumbledore's bemused outrage, the man who once came close to [[TakeOverTheWorld Taking Over The World]] through ''causing goddamn World War II'' is now a schoolteacher.

* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBt8ioYEXBw&t=1739s cover image]] of the fanmade ''VideoGame/JetSetRadio''-inspired album, ''Memories of Tokyo-To'', seems to imply this was the ultimate fate of [[ActionGirl Gum]]. We see her in a [[HurtingHero borderline depressed state]] as all she can do is [[GloryDays listen to music that reminds her of the glory days]] while [[BreakTheBadass she lays slumped against the wall]] [[HowTheMightyHaveFallen without her iconic helmet and face paint]]. One can only wonder what happened between her and [[BreakingTheFellowship the rest of the GGs...]]

* The [[cover image https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBt8ioYEXBw&t=1739s]] of the fanmade ''VideoGame/JetSetRadio''-inspired album, ''Memories of Tokyo-To'', seems to imply this was the ultimate fate of [[ActionGirl Gum]]. We see her in a [[HurtingHero borderline depressed state]] as all she can do is [[GloryDays listen to music that reminds her of the glory days]] while [[BreakTheBadass she lays slumped against the wall]] [[HowTheMightyHaveFallen without her iconic helmet and face paint]]. One can only wonder what happened between her and [[BreakingTheFellowship the rest of the GGs...]]

* [[Comicbook/WarMachine James "War Machine" Rhodes]] becomes this after IronMan was thought to have been killed during ''ComicBook/{{Onslaught}}'' CrisisCrossover. He started his own marine salvage business called "Rhodes Recovery". A mixture of his sister being killed by a powerful gang and his business going bankrupt due to his shady accountant force him out of retirement.

* ''Manga/{{Gokushufudou}}'' is about Tatsu, a former {{yakuza}} member who takes being a devoted HouseHusband [[SeriousBusiness just as seriously]], often with [[HilarityEnsues hilarious consequences]].

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''

* Half the members of Ala Rubra in ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' are retired badasses. The most prominent would probably be Eishun, Konoka's father. He's a master Shinmeiryu swordsman implied to be about on par with the likes of Jack Rakan or the Thousand Master, but the only arc he appeared in without being in a flashback he was petrified by a minor mook. [[spoiler:Who turns out to be the BigBad, and defeated Jack Rakan. So it doesn't make Eishun look ''that'' bad.]]

* [[GentleGiant Sweden]] of ''Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia'', as a personification of [[UsefulNotes/{{Sweden}} the country]], was once a terror, controlling the Baltic region and Scandinavia (in fact, he was known as "The Lion of Northern Europe" and "The Supreme Ruler of Scandinavia"), and in one instance defeated an alliance of ''five'' countries/their personifications. [[note]]Norway and Denmark, Poland-Lithuania, Russia, France, and Spain[[/note]] In the present, though, he's calmed down considerably, puts his efforts and strength toward welfare, and is fond of making furniture and decorative arts.

* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid''

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}''

* ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' has Dr. Mordin Solus, an old [[note]] Technically, he is in his early thirties, but given the salarian short life span it makes him a seasoned adult[[/note]] salarian doctor who set up a free clinic in the slums of a space-borne WretchedHive so he could [[TheAtoner spent his final years helping people]]. He is also a former black ops science specialist who's very handy with a submachine gun, casually murders mercenaries who try to shake his clinic down and hangs their corpses outside as a warning, and willingly enlists on a suicide mission to stop the Collectors and their Reaper masters.

* Giliath Osborne in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel'' was said to be a former general in the Erebonian army before he became the high chancellor of the empire and retired from his military duties. And if a person is a significant character in the ''VideoGame/KisekiSeries'', then chances are that the person can kick a lot of ass. [[spoiler:He finally proves his worth in ''Cold Steel IV'' and it turns out that he's a OneManArmy who could have soloed most of the cast and come out on top.]]

* Laike from ''[[VideoGame/LunarTheSilverStar Lunar: Silver Star Story]]'' is still an adventurer despite being retired from heroism. He just does it for kicks.

** Jagen from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAkaneia'' retires from the battlefield in between ''Dark/Shadow Dragon'' and ''Mystery of the Emblem'', becoming the hero's non-playable strategist. At the end of the saga, he fully retires from the army.