History Main / TinMan

** And yet he's the one with a sense of honor.

* In ''TabletopGame/PrometheanTheCreated'', the Prometheans aren't claiming they have no emotions; what they're claiming is that their emotions aren't ''real'' in some way. As artificial creations, they find themselves aping human emotions in an attempt to pass for normal. Their KarmaMeter, Humanity, measures how good they are at that; as it slips away, they're less able to keep the facade.
** The vampires of ''TabletopGame/VampireTheRequiem'' are also stated to not feel genuine emotions so much as ''remember'' emotions they had felt in life; the game notes that a vampire embraced young might suffer some awkward moments as they try to experience emotions they never felt before the Embrace. The only emotions a vampire is truly capable of "feeling" are those that come from the vampire's [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Beast]]: rage, hunger, and self-preserving fear, all of which manifest in the UnstoppableRage referred to in the game as "Frenzy."

** In ''Discworld/{{Mort}}'' it's speculated that even though he can't ''feel'' emotions like humans do, he can ''think'' emotions quite well, resulting in essentially the same conclusion.

** Even more so when ever he acts outside the role of Death, as he's able to freely save lives. Usually he'll spend it saving the lives of children. Leading to a moment in Discworld/{{Hogfather}}.

* ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack'': made of this trope. Several theories about how Contractors think are brandied about, but the truth seems to be that though they are still able to ''feel'' emotions, they do not ''act'' on them, instead operating according to logic and without guilt.

* Organization XIII (high-functioning members of [[TheSoulless Nobodies]]) from ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' were initially ambiguous examples but ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance Dream Drop Distance]]'' settles the debate once and for all. [[spoiler: At the very least Axel, Roxas and Xion have become canon examples, with Axel, believing to the very end that he had no emotion, being the most obvious one. After experiencing Roxas's memories, Sora concludes that he must have had a heart to grieve for his friends. Xemnas reveals that Nobodies ''can'' manifest new hearts, in the same way the puppet Pinocchio did - he just kept this secret so he could manipulate the rest of the Organization and try to turn them all into his [[SoulJar Soul Jars]].]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' parodies this with Bender's statement that "Being a robot's great, but we don't emotions, [[ImmediateSelfContradiction and sometimes that makes me very sad]]." Most of the robots in the show seem to have perfectly human-like emotions, although the triggers are somewhat different; Bender himself is [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots about the most emotional member of the main cast]], although [[LackOfEmpathy empathy]] presents some problems.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' parodies this with Bender's statement that "Being a robot's great, but we don't emotions, [[ImmediateSelfContradiction and sometimes that makes me very sad]]." Most of the robots in the show seem to have perfectly human-like emotions, although the triggers are somewhat different; Bender himself is [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots about the most emotional member of the cast]], although [[LackOfEmpathy empathy]] presents some problems.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' parodies this with Bender's statement that "Being a robot's great, but we don't emotions, [[ImmediateSelfContradiction and sometimes that makes me very sad]]." Most of the robots in the show seem to have perfectly human-like emotions, although the triggers are somewhat different; Bender himself is [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots particularly emotional]], although [[LackOfEmpathy empathy]] presents some problems.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' parodies this with Bender's statement that "I don't have any emotions, and sometimes that makes me feel sad".
** Especially since most of the robots in the show seem to have perfectly human-like emotions, although the triggers are somewhat different.

* The Weather Heads from WesternAnimation/Ben102016 constantly denies feeling emotions, usually combining it with IWouldSayIfICould (ex. "I would be happy our plan is progressing this well, if I could fell happiness), but they aren't fooling anyone. Subverted in "The 11th Alien", where they admit to be angry at Vilgax for planning to betray them.

* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' has the RobotGirl Chachamaru telling everyone this in SpockSpeak. Subverted in that nobody believes her as she's one of the friendliest people in the cast from the beginning. Even her own MadScientist creator realizes right away that she's different. This is because one of the programmers of her operating system was from a lesser-known work of the writer, ''Manga/AILoveYou'', where he had designed an artificial intelligence program fully capable of emotions. This is only alluded to in [[{{Shoutout}} one offhand comment]] in the manga.

** Maybe? [[spoiler: In the single episode I can recall him being a major part of, he was ordered to kill the mind controlling little girl(or whatever she did to peoples heads), near the end he points his gun at her and clicks it stating he is out of ammunitions. Cue the villain of the episode lunging from the pile of collapsed tower that fell on her. Tres Iqus then unloads what appears to be hundreds of round of ammunition into the stupidest vampire in the series. If it wasn't emotions, the it was some contrived loophole logic that kept him from turning the kid into swiss cheese.]]

* Jonah Matsuka in ''Manga/TowardTheTerra'' believes this is the case for Keith Anyan, at one point claiming that in spite of his outwardly cold and machinelike demeanor, Keith's heart is "kinder and more human than anyone's." To what extent Matsuka is simply in denial is open to debate, but especially early in the series, Keith definitely demonstrates capacity for emotions both positive and negative, none of which he seems to understand how to process at all.

* The Manga/{{Bleach}} fanfic series Fanfic/{{Heirverse}}: Aizen [[ZigZagged plays with this]] more than he plays with Gin.

** [[HandWave Handwaved]]: The movie mentions that Prozium only mutes the extremes of emotion, though it doesn't seem to work all that well on the main characters.

* {{Dracula}} in the film ''Film/VanHelsing'' is another villainous Tin Man, going through most of the darker emotions throughout the film.
** Including the line "I can't feel sorrow!" [pained gaze into middle distance]
** This probably originated in the book, where vampires were essentially soulless demons who mimic human emotions and mannerisms to lure their prey; Dracula himself is described by Van Helsing as a unique exception to this, a vampire with enough self-awareness to concoct an ambitious plan to leave its haunting grounds and invade England. Nonetheless his 'charming host' mannerisms are a thin veneer for his cold, demonic evil, making him a great example of an early literary sociopath.

** The T-800 in ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay''. He is cybernetic robot assassin who can not feel pain or emotions. However when Sarah and John Connor turn on the T-800's learning chip, he is able to understand the value of a human life and emotions, yet he's doomed to never be able to express them. This can all be sum up in one phrase: "I know now why you cry, but it is something I can never do", as he [[FinalFirstHug lovingly hugs John like a father]] before going to his death.

* In ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'', Mr. Freeze claims to be emotionless, while *simultaneously* ranting in an over-the-top highly emotional manner.

* The TropeNamer from ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz''. Nick Chopper was an ordinary Munchkin woodcutter who was trying to earn enough money to run off with his fiancee and be a proper husband. Her family didn't approve of him, so they went to the East Witch and had her curse his axe. He ended up a cyborg as a tinner (who was likely working for the Witch) replaced his mutilated body parts with tin. His entire goal of getting a heart was to go back to his girlfriend. Of course, by the time he ''does'' find her [[spoiler: not only does he find out that she was seeing another fellow on the side (who was cursed in the same way and acts as a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]] as he's delighted to not have a heart any longer), she's married to a Frankenstein-style creation the tinner made from the parts of both suitors!]]

* Paul Redeker of ''Literature/WorldWarZ'' constantly complained that human emotions were weaknesses, making him the perfect person to design worst-case scenarios for anti-Apartheid Rebellions and ultimately the ZombieApocalypse. [[spoiler: However, having his scenario implemented against the zombie apocalypse - and feeling compassion -- breaks his brain. He develops an alternate persona.]]
** [[spoiler: As a direct result of being hugged by Nelson Mandela]].

* The Medtech in Chrys Cymri's ''DragonsCanOnlyRust'' and ''Dragon Reforged'' is an unsympathetic example. He believes Gonard, a more advanced robot than himself, has a soul, and is determined to prove it to vindicate their creator's vision. But he believes that he himself does not have one. It's debatable whether or not he's right. Maybe if he believed he had one, he'd act like less of a mercilessly pragmatic S.O.B. all the time.

* Data on ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' often claimed he was incapable of emotion, which was a source of curiosity and debate among both the crew of the ship and the fans of the show. In an instance of him telling Doctor Crusher that he was incapable of giving love to Lal, his child, she looked skeptical and said she found that hard to believe. Not long after, he expressed what appeared to be a subdued form of anger at the idea of Admiral Haftel judging him to be an unfit parent while judging him by different standards from a human. By the end, even the Admiral who originally wanted to take the daughter away for study was convinced they shared an emotional connection. When he actually uses the chip that his creator made to give him emotions, he tends to behave rather poorly; in general, the series supports the idea that perhaps he already has something like emotions without it--for example, he cannot "miss" people, but his subroutines become used to the presence of certain persons and their absence can affect him.

** Gabriel and Lucifer, dear God. Gabriel's blended in with humans since he went AWOL, and even Lucifer, the goddamn Devil, looks distraught after [[spoiler: killing his little brother, Gabriel. Mark Pellegrino and Richard Speight Jr broke hearts in that scene]]

'''Michael''': What are you talking about, you don't have feelings!\\

* The appropriately titled song ''Tin Man'' by the pop-folk duo, ''The Avett Brothers'' is about a man who describes the emotions that he misses experiencing with the passion of someone who is obviously still feeling them.

* The Pawns in VideoGame/DragonsDogma are a humanoid race who have no ambition/drive beyond protecting the [[PlayerCharacter Arisen]] and have no emotions. Or so we're told by the manual and various human characters in the game. When travelling with Pawns however, you'll soon notice that they can sound scared, angry, concerned, or might remark wistfully on the beauty of the landscape being marred by monsters.
** This might be explained in universe. An NPC mentions that Pawns are indeed capable of "showing" emotional cues, such as laughter or crying. However, these supposed emotions come across as hollow and illusory to actual humans, which tends to make the Pawns seem [[UncannyValley rather unnerving]] to most people.

** Even more so when ever he acts outside the role of Death, as he's able to freely save lives. Usually he'll spend it saving the lives of children.
*** Leading to a memorable and defining CrowningMomentOfAwesome in Discworld/{{Hogfather}}.
* In Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs's ''[[Literature/JohnCarterOfMars The Master Mind of Mars]]'', both Ras Thavas and Toonolians appear to have reached this state from excessive desire to be TheStoic. They profess to be above such things as sentiment, but when they manifest it, and Ulysses Paxton calls them on it, they are in complete denial.

* The native people of Finland are known for being this, due to their stoic demeanor and their ability to suppress their emotions. They are capable of feeling emotions, but they don't usually show their emotions that much, since they're good at hiding it.

* The Manga/{{Bleach}} fanfic Fanfic/{{Heirverse}} series: Aizen [[ZigZagged plays with this]] more than he plays with Gin.

* The Manga/{{Bleach}}fanfic Fanfic/{{Heirverse}} series: Aizen [[ZigZagged plays with this]] more than he plays with Gin.

* In ''[[{{WebOriginal/Takotsubo}} Takotsubo: The story of a superhero,]]'' Cord Cai [[InvokedTrope invokes this]] when he uses "Tin Man" as his gang alias. PlayedForDrama since like the original Tin Man, [[BreakTheCutie he lost his fiance,]] and he starts a gang because [[TragicVillain he thinks he's not good enough for anything else]]. Hearts are a big motif, especially broken hearts--"Takotsubo" means "broken heart syndrome," Cord has a broken-heart tribal tattoo and wears a giant red heart pendant as the Tin Man, and [[BatSignal the city uses his magical broken-heart graffiti tags to call for help]].

* In ''Franchise/MassEffect'', The Geth teammate Legion has shades of this. Despite having a robotic manner and being an aggregate of 1183 VI programs, he often talks about morality, purpose, and the meaning of life. His opinions on freedom sound suspiciously [[{{Transformers}} familiar]]. Occasionally, his "I'm an emotionless robot" facade cracks, such as when confronted with betrayal or unpleasant revelations, when asked pointed questions about his illogical behavior, or when playing ''[[http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Shadow_Broker_Dossiers/Legion Galaxy of Fantasy]]''.

* The [[FinalFantasyI Warrior of Light]] of ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'' comes across as detached and robotic to both players and some of the characters; fitting, considering the fact that [[spoiler:he's really a Manikin, created by Cid]]. But despite how placid and emotionless he appears, he's actually an honorable, caring and highly intuitive young man. While on the surface he does what he can to not give in to negative emotions, even his immaculate countenance can slip occasionally.

* In ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'', [[http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=1005 Antimony seems to revert to]] EmotionlessGirl after her father calls her, but [[http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=1006 Mr. Donlan picks out that she's actually feeling quite strongly.]]
** Annie is often thought to be practically the reincarnation of her mother, but in this, she [[http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=1013 clearly]] [[http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=1015 takes after]] [[http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=1016 her father]].
** [[spoiler: __Jones__]] claims that to have no desires or dreams, yet seeks human companionship and seemed a bit sad that [[spoiler: despite recently evolving to resemble her, human beings are very different - fragile, short-lived, and emotional]]. Also claims to have a perfect, photographic memory, but keeps a photo album.

* Data on ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' often claimed he was incapable of emotion, which was a source of curiosity and debate among both the crew of the ship and the fans of the show. In an instance of him telling the Doctor that he was incapable of giving love to Lal, his child, she looked skeptical and said she found that hard to believe. Not long after, he expressed what appeared to be a subdued form of anger at the idea of the Admiral judging him to be an unfit parent while judging him by different standards from a human. By the end, even Admiral who originally wanted to take the daughter away for study was convinced they shared an emotional connection. When using an emotion chip at one point, he ends up behaving quite poorly while in general, the series supports the idea that perhaps he already has emotions in his own way--for example, he cannot "miss" people, but his subroutines become used to the presence of certain persons and their absence can affect him.
---> '''Data''': You know I cannot grieve for you.\\

The dark flipside of the trope is especially common in ScienceFiction or {{Fantasy}}, where whole races may be introduced as [[StrawVulcan "logical" and beyond base emotions]]; and then turns out to be arrogant, harsh, hateful, merciless or borderline unstable, as if they've lost their positive emotions but kept all the bad ones. Apparently, many authors confuse being emotionless with being a JerkAss who only derides those emotions considered "weak", like [[SaveTheVillain mercy]], [[RuleOfEmpathy empathy]], [[GreaterNeedThanMine altruism]], [[TheFourLoves love]], [[HumbleHero humility]], [[GoodSamaritan compassion]] and the ability to [[TheEmpath see someone else's point of view]]. Or basic politeness. So instead of an indifferent race that cannot be bothered over differences and [[HollywoodEvolution levels of evolution]], what we get is a race that is willing to exterminate anyone with extreme prejudice because they feel arrogance and contempt, but neither shame nor horror.

TruthInTelevision: What's usually being depicted here is someone who is ''out of touch'' with their emotions, experiencing them without being aware of them. This is not so uncommon in real life! Reasons can include machismo, denial, some mental illnesses (depression!), or certain cognitive abnormalities (''e.g.'', the autistic spectrum). There's also a personality trait known as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexithymia alexithymia,]] which is defined by the mind having great difficulty in identifying feelings, distinguishing between feelings and the bodily sensations of emotional arousal, and in describing feelings to other people. Lastly, anger is controlled by a different part of the brain from other emotions, which can explain why a person can be angry, but not know ''why'' they're angry, or lash out in a particular way and unaware that anger is fueling their actions.

The dark flipside of the trope is especially common in ScienceFiction or {{Fantasy}}, where whole races may be introduced as [[StrawVulcan "logical" and beyond base emotions]]; and then turns out to be arrogant, harsh, hateful, merciless or borderline unstable, as if they've lost their positive emotions but kept all the bad ones. Apparently, many authors confuse being emotionless with being a JerkAss who only derides those emotions considered "weak", like mercy, [[RuleOfEmpathy empathy]], [[GreaterNeedThanMine altruism]], [[TheFourLoves love]], [[HumbleHero humility]], [[GoodSamaritan compassion]] and the ability to [[TheEmpath see someone else's point of view]]. Or basic politeness. So instead of an indifferent race that rests comfortably in itself, what we get is a race that can justify extermination of anyone with extreme prejudice, because they feel arrogance and disdain, but neither shame nor horror.