History Main / WhatMeasureIsAMook

* ''ComicBook/OneHundredBullets'': Joan D'Arcy's bodyguards get a few pages of sympathetic characterization (Lyle is worried about his kids as a result of gang violence, Coop has lung cancer and [[HiredHelpAsFamily gets treated like a relative by Joan]], Lou's quit smoking after Coop got sick and is trying to be supportive of him through his illness), before Remi cuts his way through them to try and kill Joan, failing thanks to their efforts.
* Ruthlessly subverted and taken apart in ''Hench,'' by Adam Beechen and Manny Bello. In this graphic novel, a professional henchman (he's worked with a lot of supervillains, and tells us which are good bosses and which ones to stay away from at all costs) reflects on his life, and how it got so crazy. He isn't in the life ForTheEvulz so much as having no other way to make a living and support his kid.
* Volume One, Issue Twelve of Creator/GrantMorrison's ''ComicBook/TheInvisibles'', titled "Best Man Fall", is a PosthumousCharacter study of a guard who appeared in only one panel of a previous issue. It shows various snapshots from his life, up until the point where he gets shot. While he's far from the a saint, it still works to make you feel sad for him dying.
** This ends up being one of the running themes for the series, where mooks are often depicted as something more than grunting savages with guns before getting gunned down by the heroes. Yeah, it starts to wear on them, too.
* One of the many ''Franchise/StarWars'' comic series, called ''Empire'', focuses on the Empire's side of the conflict against the Rebels. One of the main characters is an up and comer in the Empire who gets mocked because he cares about the lives of each and every Stormtrooper.
* Actively [[DefiedTrope defied]] at the end of ''Comicbook/{{Empowered}}'' volume 2, in which the heroine shows she ''does'' care about a mook's family when she [[spoiler: saves the mook's life.]] And she does this [[spoiler: by looking into his head with the special powers of her suit, seeing that he is very close to having a deadly stroke, and convincing him to go to the hospital to get surgery all while he's standing guard over (under) her as she is ''tied up and hanging from the ceiling upside down.'']] Needless to say, he and his family are very grateful.
** And invoked by the BigBad.
** It probably helps that her boyfriend, Thug Boy, used to make his living as the leader of the "Witless Minions" (although in his case that involved pretending to be a mook in order to rip off bad guys for their stuff rather than being a typical mook.) Also, this trope is played with in a dark way when [[spoiler: a flashback shows that the rest of the Witless Minions were horribly [[NightmareFuel murdered by Willy Pete]] right in front of Thug Boy, who only narrowly survived. Admittedly they didn't all get names, so the effect of their deaths on Thug Boy is more plot-relevant than their actual deaths, but the reader certainly feels very, very sorry for them.]]
* ''Franchise/GIJoe'':
** One of the last few ''ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel'' comic books ("America's Elite") had a flashback to the early days of G.I. Joe and the evil Cobra. One of the undercover operatives was saying (paraphrased) "Yes, General Flagg, some of them are jerks but a lot of them are just confused people, they aren't really bad."
** Surprisingly reconstructed in ''ComicBook/GIJoeIDW'' comics. Cobra troopers and operatives are frequently given hints of personality and backstory but rather than making the mooks look sympathetic or tragic, it just helps to reaffirm that they're bastards and deserve to get taken down. It's repeatedly pointed out that while the mooks may be people too, they're also a bunch of terrorists, thieves, and murderers willingly working for a major criminal organization. One issue gives the backstory of four random Cobra troopers, only one of whom comes off as even remotely sympathetic; the others are bluntly and honestly depicted as being either [[BloodKnight sociopaths who get off on violence]] or [[PsychoForHire ruthless murderers who will do anything for money]].

* This trope is brought up sometimes in ''ComicBook/SinCity'', despite the protagonists' violent nature. Marv refused to kill the initial set of cops sent against him and he employed similar methods when deaking with the henchmen at the Lord's estate, Wallace only killed a few assassins since he was one of the few SC characters who didn't like killing, Hartigan killed the guards at the Farm but mentioned that he hated doing it, and Dwight once questioned whether or not he should kill a cop on the grounds that he might be one of the few honest ones.
* In the most recent {{Wolverine}} comics, one issue explores the background of a female Hand ninja, known best for being Marvel's go-to mooks for stories set in Japan. The ninja dies early on during one of Logan's frequent rampages. The Hand brings her back to life only to serve as the human equivalent of a broodmare. She refuses and instead joins the Right Red Hand, a group of people who blame Logan for ruining their lives.
* One issue of ''[[Comicbook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesMirage Tales of the TMNT]]'' goes into the backstory of a new recruit to the Foot Clan ninjas--his family, his personality, and why he wanted to join the Foot. He comes back from his first fight with the turtles in a body bag.
* ''Fables'' loves to subvert this. We see bits and pieces of the [[BigBad Emperor's]] forces, background, interests, beliefs... Boy Blue [[spoiler: while he is sneaking through the Empire]] gives the goblins he questions the chance to surrender when he confronts them [[spoiler:since he just wants information]]. (Not his fault they kept attacking him.)
* {{Franchise/Transformers}} IDW comics had both types of Aversions. There was a group called the Machination, where Humans would have themselves augmented into Transforming robot heads, and control giant robot bodies. When the Autobots fight them, they only stun them or cause them to crash, despite the fact that they've tried to kill the Autobots several times, almost killed Ironhide, and painfully took apart Sunstreaker. By Maximum Dinobots, The Monsterbots and Dinobots, being the most violent of the Autobots, gleefully kill, dismember and even eat the Humans, and are only stopped from killing their leader because Ultra Magnus wants to arrest and try him (and more importantly, the Decepticon he merged with) for crimes on many other planets.
* ComicBook/TransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye: The Decepticon Scavengers (six {{Mauve Shirt}}s) discuss this trope, during one battle, where Optimus and Megatron shut themselves off and plugged into a neural network. They could see the battle from the eyes of all their troops, and used it to better coordinate their attacks, The Scavengers say troops were reduced to numbers and statistics, and at the end of the day, the only thing separating the sides were that the Autobots had the decency to collect their dead while the Decepticons left their troops corpses to decay.
* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'':
** There was something like this in the story "Light the Night", a rather dramatic multipart story exploring the HiddenDepths of Spidey's old enemy Electro. A subplot of the story dealt with a common criminal who Spidey had caught on numerous occasions, but could ''never'' remember from one time to the next. The guy hated Spider-Man, not so much because he kept getting punched out and webbed to the wall; he even said he wouldn't mind so much if, for once, Spidey ''remembered who he was!'' Eventually, the guy tries to pull a grandiose stunt and rob a high-class party, pretending to be a super-villain (doing a rather lame job of it), and when Spidey shows up, again, he seems enraged by his "arch-enemy's" presence, but Spidey has no-idea who he is. It becomes a moot point a minute later, as Electro tries to pull an even ''bigger'' stunt that threatens to wipe out the entire city block. Still, after the real villain is apprehended, the story ends somewhat happy for the guy; he runs into a beautiful socialite from the party who doesn't recognize him as the criminal, and they hit it off quickly. (But Spidey still has no idea who the guy was at the end, not even recognizing him when he passes by in his civilian identity as Peter Parker. Maybe he just had a forgettable face...)
* Here's a notable example where this happened as a result of a RedShirt dying. The first time Spider-Man villain Comicbook/{{Venom}} escaped from the Vault, he had to kill a guard to do so. (Even then, the guy's name was mentioned, as was the fact that he may have gotten the position by a rich relative who thought it was a high-paying easy job.) Much later, the guard's rich father and several of his friends sought revenge, forming a vigilante group called the Jury, equipped with high-powered armor based on the technology used to build the Guardsmen suits at the Vault. Unfortunately, they quickly turned into the KnightTemplar type, and even put Spider-Man on trial in a KangarooCourt, blaming him for creating Venom in the first place. [[spoiler:It was actually a ploy to guilt him into agreeing to help them get revenge against Venom; but when he realized they planned to ''murder'' Venom, Spidey came to his senses and beat them all ''senseless''.]]

* ''ComicBook/AmethystPrincessOfGemworld'':
** Averted. All the minions and soldiers mean something. Amy almost vomits after her first kill. The mate of one of the dead barbarians comes after the house seeking revenge. Hadran distinguishes himself from his brother by having respect for the soldiers under him, and everyone makes an effort to not kill any brainwashed soldiers.
** This comes up when Amy fights two rogue onyx agents. She kills one attacker, and the other angrily claims she killed her brother. Amy points out that they're trying to kill her mother.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Battle}}'', most of enemy soldiers are merely unnamed canon fodder, but some of the Germans get characterisation from early on. The most notable instances occur when Charley goes up against a German platoon while working as a sniper. One guy is even waiting on the news of the birth of his son. They even fraternise during an unofficial Christmas truce.
* In ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' storyline ''ComicBook/{{Crucible}}'', ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'s team show little concern for the lives of [[TheDragon Roho]]'s villain squad during their second engagement: Comet telekinetically explodes Vax's head, and Maxima kicks an energy knife through Rendll's throat. No one comments on it, not even Supergirl, who should have a big issue with her teammates killing at the drop of hat.
* ''ComicBook/DarkSoulsAgeOfFire'': The entire series leads up to Arkon just being one of many foes the Chosen Undead kills without learning anything about him.

* ''WebVideo/SonicTheHedgehog2SpecialEdition'' reveals that one of the {{powerup}}s from Oil Ocean Zone was sapient. His name was Failure Cresh, and he had a thorough backstory involving being born with a ten-ring monitor for a head, and a HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood resulting from this. When the player destroys the monitor, the video pauses for a moment of silence--but it's obvious that the player himself is completely oblivious to the fact that he just killed a person.
* The characters in ''Roleplay/DarwinsSoldiers'' kill a ''lot'' of terrorists, rogue guards and other assorted {{Mooks}} and no one seems to have a problem with it.
* Literature/NewYorkMagician: Part of the reason Michel [[spoiler:hurls Malsumis off a building]] is because he's pissed off about Mal's cavalier attitude towards his minions' deaths, and the mortality of humans in general, culminating in TheReasonYouSuckSpeech.

* {{Lampshaded}} in ''WebVideo/HellsingUltimateAbridged'':
-->'''Alucard:''' Hey guys, how's your health plan? ''*SWAT team opens fire*'' Apparently it's great!\\
''*carnage and gore ensue as the cops finally retreat into the elevator*''\\
'''Integra:''' Walter, be honest with me: what are we looking at in terms of collateral?\\
'''Walter:''' Well...''*Alucard walks out of elevator filled with corpses*'' the ''[[SociopathicHero Alucard]]'' amount.

* ''Webvideo/CriticalRole'': Being a D&D-game, the player characters seem to fall victim to this quite often: for example in the second campaign, the Mighty Nein learn that [[HighClassCallgirl The Ruby Of the Seas]] [[HookerWithAHeartOfGold Marion Lavorre]] has a stalker, and decide to stop him - nonletally, at Marion's insistance. However, they don't extend the same courtesy to his two bodyguards, who had nothing to do with their employer harrassing Marion. In the ensuing battle, the Mighty Nein kill both bodyguards, one of them through instant zombification only to scare his employer.

* In ''WebAnimation/RWBY'', during the train battle in Volume 2, team RWBY happily kills at least a dozen members of the White Fang. Bear in mind: Team RWBY is all under 18 and have presumably never killed sentient beings at this point in time, and the White Fang are a group of Fanaus formed to combat [[FantasticRacism against their kind.]] And Blake [[HeelFaceTurn used to be a member.]] The only other time the heroes unambiguously kill a villain, [[spoiler: Adam, the man behind the White Fang's turn to terrorism, in Volume 6,]] it's taken very seriously and treated as a major point in their character development.

* Heavily deconstructed in ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6225805/1/The_Measure_of_a_Guard The Measure of a Guard]]'', a short story set in the world of ''VideoGame/FallFromHeaven'', where the ''protagonist'' himself is a mook.
* Kyon averts this trope in ''Fanfic/KyonBigDamnHero''. Before fighting 24 {{Mooks}} with Yuki's help he asks her not kill any of them and/after the fight, worried about the battle aftermath on them, he asked her how much they were injured.
* The VillainProtagonist of the ''Franchise/MassEffect'' fanfic ''The Council Era'', Tyrin Lieph, completely disregards his own Mooks as expendable. While this is reasonable when it only refers to his Mecha Mooks, later within the storyline, (i.e. The second part, The Krogan Rebellions, tenuously scheduled to start in summer of 2011) [[spoiler: he has completely disregarded the value of the lives of his dezban militia, the Krogan Resistance Movement, and his own devoted Soldiers of Salvation.]]

However, there are exceptions that can save a mook. If the mooks [[MookFaceTurn switch sides]] (a rare event), they usually get the benefit of RedemptionEarnsLife; additionally, if they were GoodAllAlong and only doing evil because they had no choice, they have a shot. Also, some works of (generally kid-friendly) fiction explain the heroes used a NonLethalKO on their foes.

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games]]

[[folder: Web Original]]

[[folder: Real Life ]]

Why? Because {{Red Shirt}}s and {{Mooks}} are not generally [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman seen as people]]. After all, they [[NominalImportance lack a name]] and other [[WhatMeasureIsANonUnique distinguishing characteristics]] (sometimes they [[FacelessGoons don't even get a face]]), so they also have [[EmptyShell no identity or soul]].

Subtrope of ProtagonistCenteredMorality. Compare WhatMeasureIsANonSuper, WhatMeasureIsANonUnique, and WhatMeasureIsANonHuman AMillionIsAStatistic can be this when applied to mooks in large numbers. Contrast ImmortalLifeIsCheap. PayEvilUntoEvil normally goes hand-in-hand with all this mookocide, often with sneers about the way mooks ''will'' go around JustFollowingOrders. BreakoutMookCharacter may be a subversion. See also: SparingTheAces.

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2SpecialEdition'' reveals that one of the {{powerup}}s from Oil Ocean Zone was sapient. His name was Failure Cresh, and he had a thorough backstory involving being born with a ten-ring monitor for a head, and a HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood resulting from this. When the player destroys the monitor, the video pauses for a moment of silence--but it's obvious that the player himself is completely oblivious to the fact that he just killed a person.

A common way to play this for BlackComedy is for the minion/monster to say 'Living is fun!' before the hero runs in and stabs them.

* [[http://www.maniacworld.com/taming-a-nazi-sniper-with-a-trumpet.html This]].

* Averted in regards to NGO related warfare where the goal is usually to execute the leadership first and not harm potentially enslaved soldiers who may not have any interest in fighting once they are not being coerced. This is not to say any more qualms exist about killing them off should it be required but that the leadership in these organizations is no more protected then any other member should the opportunity arise.

* Subverted, in FanFic/TheStalkingZukoSeries Aang is called out on sparing Ozai when he and the Ocean Spirit[[note]]although it can be argued that the Ocean Spirit was the one in control at the time[[/note]] slaughter countless of Fire Nation soldiers in the Siege of the North.

* In ''FanFic/KirbyoftheStarsTheAfterStory'', the treatment and rights of Waddle Dees are given a larger focus compared to the anime, particularly in Chapters 9 and 10.
* ''FanFic/ACureForLove'': All of Kira's henchmen wear helpful "Hello my name is..." badges so that Kira can kill them with ease if they step out of line.
* In ''FanFic/AceCombatEquestriaChronicles'', one has to wonder if there are other Exiles like Pearl Eyes and Bolt Burst... and how many have been casually killed off by the [=EAF=] forces.

** It's an unwritten convention because heads-of-state hesitate to set the precedent of executing others, for fear of becoming targets themselves. After all, why risk your own life when you can both agree to let your armies fight for you? Capturing them and subjecting them to the process of a global trial also lends legitimacy to an execution, plus spreads the responsibility for it around to other countries.
** Additionally, they are the person who can order the enemy to surrender to you, which might be useful to keep an option.

* In ''ComicBook/ElfQuest'': [[http://www.elfquest.com/gallery/OnlineComics/SAS/DisplaySAS.html The Searcher and the Sword]], Shuna (who's been living with the elves for about two years) goes and gets married to a human man, who starts off with just bad vibes but quickly [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope jumps off the slippery slope]] and becomes a full-fledged wife-beater. After he beats her the first (and only) time, she fights off typical "maybe my love could change him" reasoning, beans him one last time, and flees. Her erstwhile husband and three or four human fighters pursue her. For the showdown? One of the Mooks makes ready to shoot the elves point-blank while they're in a hole; Strongbow [[http://www.elfquest.com/gallery/OnlineComics/SAS/DisplaySAS.html?page=87 responds in kind]]. That's one down, deader than dead. The elves quickly subdue the rest, Shuna duels her hubby, and then they tell them to leave and never come back.

* Deconstructed in ''Fanfic/TheDaysofReckoningAreUponUs'', a recurring point brought up is that Steve and Natasha [[Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier dumping all of SHIELD's files on the internet]] led to a lot of agents and their families getting killed due to their identities being compromised. Likewise, Steve and his allies are ripped a new one over the cops they killed who were just trying to do their jobs and [[Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar arrest a potential terrorist (Bucky).]]

* {{Franchise/Transformers}} IDW comics had both types of Aversions. There was a group called the Machination, where Humans would have themselves augmented into Transforming robot heads, and control giant robot bodies. When the Autobots fight them, they only stun them or cause them to crash, despite the fact that they've tried to kill the Autobots several times, almost killed Ironhide, and painfully took apart Sunstreaker. By Maximum Dinobots, The Monsterbots and Dinobots, being the most violent of the Autobots, gleefully kill, dismember and even eat the Humans, and are only stopped from killing their leader because Ultra Magnus wants to arrest and try him(and more importantly, the Decepticon he merged with) for crimes on many other planets.