Line #40 Main/FailureKnight


1	->''"You're looking at a living legend, Lilly. The only active agent who ever lost a president."''
2	-->-- '''Frank Horrigan''', ''Film/InTheLineOfFire''
3
4	A character with an emphatic [[TheDulcineaEffect level of devotion to another character they may not have known very long.]] Such a character will often matter-of-factly explain it as chivalry, [[BecauseDestinySaysSo destiny]] or whatever. Everyone who knows the other character will envy the situation, or tolerate it with minimal embarrassment. So far they seem to be a simple SatelliteCharacter.
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6	Then we find out the tragic {{Backstory}} about [[MyGreatestFailure their greatest shames and failures]]. This isn't the first person they've pledged devotion to, and the former [[CynicismCatalyst died, left or outright rejected them]]; it may have happened repeatedly. In some cases, this role was a job of some kind, which gives the added punch to the gut to make them feel useless. The Failure Knight keeps trying even harder now.
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8	Bodyguards, {{Battle Butler}}s and {{Samurai}} can fit the bill too. If the lost figure was the knight's beloved, compare HeartbrokenBadass. Some (literal) {{Magical Girlfriend}}s are Failure Knights but are perceived as a lot more cloying about it.
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10	Many knights will find promotion: their boss treats their failure as a CareerBuildingBlunder. In particularly grim cases, the new object of devotion may be a ReplacementGoldfish for the lost one. For a more general effect of death on the knight's heroism, compare ILetGwenStacyDie.
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12	----
13	!!Examples
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15	[[foldercontrol]]
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17	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
18	* Manji is this in ''Manga/BladeOfTheImmortal''. Although he has been hired as Rin's bodyguard, he repeatedly shows that protecting her is more than just his duty. It is later suggested that he [[spoiler:cannot bear to let her die since she looks so much like his sister who had died under his protection]].
19	* In ''Manga/ChronoCrusade'', Chrono's fierce devotion to Rosette and saving Joshua is due in part to the guilt he feels for [[spoiler:killing Mary Magdalene through their contract in a misguided attempt to protect her]].
20	* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'':
21	** Setsuna is ashamed of her failure to save her [[{{Ojou}} ojou-sama]], Konoka, from almost drowning when they were kids.
22	** Mana evidently failed to protect her partner, but continues to carry around his now inert pactio card. The circumstances regarding it are still unexplained, however, so exactly what happened is anyone's guess.
23	** Negi never got over failing to [[DoomedHometown save his village]]. He was 4 years old, of course, but that didn't stop him from trying.
24	* Shao the Moon Spirit from ''Manga/MamotteShugogetten'' was shown to suffer from this in a flashback episode. Her masters who were actually good all eventually die anyway and most of her powers are seen as rather useless in the modern world.
25	* Mahoro from ''Manga/{{Mahoromatic}}'' not only was unable to protect Misato Suguru's father but had to ''kill'' him in the line of duty. When allowed to spend the rest of her (shortened) lifetime as she wants, she chooses to become the Misato family's maid and goes to serve and protect Suguru.
26	* Ellis [=McGaren=] from the ''VisualNovel/TriangleHeart3SweetSongsForever'' OVA channels her failure not only into protecting Fiasse but also into trying to show up Kyouya and Miyuki so ''they'll'' stop protecting her and leave them alone. Since KatanasAreJustBetter, the opposite happens, and Ellis has to face her past as their ForgottenChildhoodFriend.
27	* Fakir from ''Anime/PrincessTutu'' fits this trope so well that villains [[LampshadeHanging actively mock him for it]]. He fiercely tries to protect Mytho from danger--partially for fear that he'll repeat the mistakes of [[spoiler:the Knight from the original fairytale, whom he's the reincarnation of. In the story, the knight had tried to protect the Prince from the evil Raven, but was torn in two before he could strike a single blow on his enemy.]] As if that's not bad enough, it turns out that his desperate need to protect Mytho is compounded by [[spoiler:suppressed guilt for his parent's deaths, who were killed trying to protect him when an attempt to use his [[RewritingReality powers to make stories come true]] went horribly wrong]].
28	* Balsa of ''[[Literature/MoribitoGuardianOfTheSpirit Seirei no Moribito]]'' agrees to protect the prince despite the danger (and the attempted trickery) because [[spoiler:she feels she has to atone for nine lives her {{Mentor}} took to keep her safe; furthermore Chagum is also a ReplacementGoldfish for ''herself'', as he is in pretty much the same situation she was in as a child.]]
29	* From ''Anime/CodeGeass'': Sir Jeremiah "Orange-kun" Gottwald was the guard in charge of the imperial palace the day when Empress Marianne was murdered and never could forgive himself for such a terrible failure. [[spoiler: The chance to atone by serving her son Lelouch is the basis for his HeelFaceTurn.]]
30	** From the same show there is General Bartley who blames himself for the death of Prince Clovis, he spends the rest of the series trying to atone for it, finish their research and avenge the prince's death. His last words are even him calling out to his slain master.
31	** [[Characters/CodeGeassSuzakuKururugi Suzaku Kururugi]] is also a fairly textbook example of this trope even before he ''actually'' becomes Princess Euphemia's knight. [[spoiler:Her tragic death only exacerbates things, and by the time he gets to ''Nunnally's'' (apparent) death, Suzaku has hit the DespairEventHorizon.]]
32	* The hero of ''Manga/FlameOfRecca'' immediately pledges his eternal loyalty as a ninja to his "Princess" Yanagi ([[TheMedic a sweet healer]]) despite the fact that he had sworn only to do so for someone who's proven themselves stronger than him. This, of course, pisses off two characters who have a long history of trying to defeat him in order to make ''him'' their subordinate. And the whole reason why he does this? Because of a ''dream'' [[spoiler: that was eventually revealed as his father's failure to protect HIS master, Sakura-hime]].
33	* In ''Anime/MyHime'', part of Mai's reason for being protective of her younger brother Takumi stems from [[spoiler:her belief that her negligence led both him and their mother to almost drown in a raging river when they were young, leading to his current heart problems and their mother's death]].
34	* In ''Literature/{{Kurenai}}'', Yayoi seems to be stalking Shinkurou and Murasaki to the point of obsession. At first, this is put down as just her being jealous that Shinkurou got assigned the job to protect Murasaki. However, it is later revealed that [[spoiler:Yayoi once failed in her duty as a bodyguard to protect another client from murder, so this time she's extremely protective of Murasaki]].
35	* In the ''Manga/{{Basilisk}}'' TV series, [[spoiler: Gyoubu Kasumi, from the Koga ninjas]] gets [[AdaptationExpansion his backstory expanded]] so he's shown as a tragic, sad anti-hero [[spoiler: who, as a child, was traumatised after seeing his beloved [[DisappearedDad father]] Renbu die as a result of an Iga ninja attack.]]
36	* Akito from ''Anime/MartianSuccessorNadesico'' was traumatized by being unable to protect the people he was in a shelter with from a Jovian attack at the beginning of the series -- especially the little girl named "Ai" he befriended.
37	** [[spoiler: who, as it happens, [[NoOneCouldSurviveThat ended up being fine]].]]
38	* The death of [[spoiler: her old boyfriend Emilio Ribisi]] is hinted to be what caused [[spoiler: Leesa Kujo aka Sumeragi Lee Noriega's alcoholism]] in ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundam00 Gundam 00]]''. [[spoiler: She]] is more of TheStrategist than of a knight, but it still fits well.
39	* Ex-private detective, now HitmanWithAHeart Youji Kudoh from ''Anime/KnightHunters'' is permanently haunted by his failure to [[spoiler:protect his girlfriend and former partner, Asuka Murase, from being shot down during a job that went horribly wrong]].
40	* [[spoiler:Hanamichi Sakuragi]] from ''Manga/SlamDunk'' was badly traumatised by [[spoiler: the death of his father.]] What makes it worse is that [[spoiler:he was prevented of saving his dad's life by a bunch of bullies, who ambushed him when he was running towards the hospital, searching for help, in retaliation for ''him'' having beaten them up earlier.]]
41	* In ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'', the fact a legendary demon slayer failed to kill Muzan, with the added insult of he only escaping because [[spoiler:Yoriichi’s kindness distracted him by noticing Tamayo’s sad nature by the sidelines. That weighted him down immensely since Yoriichi came to realize he was pretty much the strongest demon slayer to ever live]], thus knowing very well Muzan would be responsible for many deaths to come without anyone at the time being able to put a stop to that terror.
42	* It has been revealed that ''Manga/HayateTheCombatButler'''s title character's strength and devotion comes from [[spoiler:having failed childhood friend Athena when he himself was a child.]]
43	* ''[[Anime/MobileFighterGGundam G Gundam]]'' has George De Sand and the "Versailles Tragedy", [[spoiler: where his opponent, Mirabeau, fired at the audience and killed several people]]
44	* Ein Dalton from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans'' has lost his mentor Lieutenant Crank Zent in the hands of [[SociopathicHero Mikazuki Augus]], and he projects the image of his relationship between Crank and himself onto his new superior, Specialist Major Gaelio Bauduin because other than Crank, Gaelio was the only one who [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe respected him despite him being a half-Martian]]. His repeated failures on protecting his superiors eventually lead to his SanitySlippage.
45	* Knight Zest of ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers''. The constant guardian of [[EmotionlessGirl Lutecia]] and [[FieryRedhead Agito]], who before the events of the season [[spoiler:had lost his entire squad in a failed attack on one of [[BigBad Jail's]] research facilities. A squad that included the mother of Lutecia, Megane, as well as the mother of Subaru and Ginga.]].
46	** Vita seemed to take on some of this trope after Nanoha is [[SnowMeansDeath almost fatally wounded]] between seasons.
47	** Also, Hegemon Claus Ingvalt from ''[[Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaViVid ViVid]]'' flashbacks, who has failed to [[spoiler:save the Saint King Olivie]].
48	** There's the possibility that [[LadyOfWar Signum]] becomes one of this after [[WorfHadTheFlu failing]] [[CurbStompBattle miserably]] in stopping [[HeroKiller Cypha]] [[AntiMagic of]] [[SmugSuper Huckebein]] from kidnapping two kids at the beginning of ''[[Manga/MagicalRecordLyricalNanohaForce Force]]''.
49	*** Confirmed as of chapter 20, Signum apologizes ''twice'' to Tohma and Lily for not being able to save them and also talk about the unavoidable guilt she feels about it.
50	* Hayate's rather complicated attitude toward Himeno in ''Manga/{{Pretear}}'' - including his harshly critical behavior toward her but also more particularly his almost stalkerish protectiveness (especially in the anime) - is the result of his guilt over [[spoiler:the previous Pretear, Takako, becoming the Princess of Destruction because of her unrequited love for him]].
51	** Sasame has elements of this, too, particularly in the ''manga'' version--[[spoiler:because of HIS unrequited love for Takako]]. At one point when Himeno is in danger, he panics, saying "I failed to protect the Pretear again!"
52	* [[spoiler:Xerxes Break, formerly Kevin Regnard]] has this as a somewhat complicated backstory in ''Manga/PandoraHearts''.
53	* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
54	** Rukia Kuchiki. As a Shinigami, she was forced to kill the man she admired and perhaps even loved. Finally, she gave Ichigo the power to protect his family and mentored him only to see him cut down by her own brother, Byakuya. By the time her execution rolled around, she was almost looking forward to oblivion.
55	** Also Ichigo, in regards to his mother Masaki's HeroicSacrifice for him:
56	---> '''Ichigo''': "I loved my mom. (...) She filled up the center our family revolved around. [[TearJerker From that center,]] '''[[TearJerker I stole mom from them,]]''' [[TearJerker I did...!]]"
57	** Ryuuken Ishida's worldview and life choices are deeply influenced by his inability to save his cousin [[spoiler:and [[ArrangedMarriage fiancee]] Masaki]] from Hollowfication or his wife [[spoiler:[[MarryForLove Kanae Katagiri]], who was the sole person capable of [[YouAreNotAlone bringing him back]] from his HeroicBSOD over Masaki,]] from [[TheEmperor Yhwach's]] [[ThePurge purge]].
58	* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
59	** Haku. His father killed his mother and then turned on him afterward all due to both of them possessing a rare bloodline ability. Poor Haku's will to live saved him by killing his father and the rest, leaving the child a vagrant orphan in a village stuck in perpetual winter. When Zabuza offered him the opportunity to serve him and be useful, Haku accepted and became Zabuza's loyal servant.
60	** Jiraiya for Naruto when he returns to Konoha. [[spoiler:Even in his dying moments]], Jiraiya thinks of his entire life as nothing but a long string of failures: [[spoiler:failing to win Tsunade's heart, failing to stop Orochimaru's descent into villainy, failing to save his student Minato and his teacher Sarutobi, and failing to stop his former student Nagato.]] Raising Naruto for the past few years to be a strong and capable young man was the ''only'' thing Jiraiya believes he did right.
61	* [[spoiler: Ingrid]] in ''Manga/{{Freezing}}'', having lost [[spoiler: her friend Marine]], becomes a BloodKnight version of the trope.
62	* In the Skypiea arc of ''Manga/OnePiece'', former ruler Gan Fall, after being unable to make peace with the Shandians or stop [[AGodAmI Enel]] from turning his kingdom into an [[BigBrotherIsWatching Orwellian]] {{Dystopia}}, he puts on a suit of armor and dedicates himself to saving as many people as possible as the Knight of the Sky.
63	** In the Dressrosa arc, we have [[spoiler:the Toy Soldier, who was unable to save Rebecca's mother Scarlett, and therefore devoted himself to Rebecca herself. Eventually, however, Rebecca was caught and forced to fight in the colosseum for her freedom as a gladiator. The reasoning for this devotion is because the Toy Soldier was not originally a toy; he was the legendary gladiator Kyros, who was forgotten thanks to the abilities of Sugar's devil fruit. He was also the son-in-law of King Riku by virtue of being Scarlett's husband; his inability to protect the mother of his child made him determined to protect Rebecca, his daughter.]]
64	* In ''Anime/TheVisionOfEscaflowne'', we have two of these on opposite sides of the war. Allen Schezar, Knight of Astoria, feels guilty for [[spoiler:not being able to protect his deceased MissingMom and his long-lost sister Selena, kidnapped as a young girl]]. In the Zaibach empire, Jajuka the Beastman feels guilty because [[spoiler:he ''also'' was unable to save Selena... from forcibly becoming ''Dilandau'', thanks to the {{Mad Scientist}}s of the group]].
65	* Asuka from ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' devoted herself to piloting from a very young age. The reason for that is later revealed to be very tragic: on the day she was accepted as a trainee, she ran to tell her mentally unstable mother Kyoko the news [[spoiler: only to be the first to find Kyoko's body after she hung herself. To add insult to injury, Kyoko, even while alive, rejected Asuka for a doll and Asuka's father openly cheated on Kyoko with the woman's nurse and neglected Asuka as well. The real reason she wants to be the best pilot is that she feels it as a justification of her existence, essentially adopting her Eva as a ReplacementGoldfish. Once it becomes [[MindRape painfully]] clear that Shinji is better, Asuka [[InterruptedSuicide feels she has no reason left to live]]. When she [[EpiphanyTherapy realizes]] that her Eva isn't a ReplacementGoldfish but [[SoulJar the real deal]], she instantly recovers... only to [[CruelAndUnusualDeath lose again]] due to circumstances out of her control. This time she crosses the DespairEventHorizon [[GainaxEnding and stays that way]].]]
66	* In ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'', [[spoiler: Akemi Homura]] is an unusual example in that [[spoiler: the person she's going out of her way to protect is the same person she failed to save. It's revealed that in the original timeline, Madoka was a Magical Girl and died protecting Homura. Overcome with grief and guilt, Homura made a deal with Kyubey to be able to go back and protect Madoka in exchange for becoming a Magical Girl herself. Her wish was granted, and she became a Magical Girl with the power to control time which allowed her to repeat her attempt when Madoka died or turned into a witch. This has happened [[GroundhogDayLoop many times over]]. Nonetheless, she remains determined to save her.]]
67	* Tachibana of ''Manga/Gate7''. His BigBrotherInstinct towards Hana is justified once it's discovered that [[spoiler: he fails in protecting his own twin sister and she ended kipnapped by Iemitsu.]]
68	* Takao, the heroine of ''Manga/BokuraNoKiseki'', is extremely devoted to protecting the protagonist Harusumi, because in [[{{Reincarnation}} her past life]], she failed to protect her sworn master, Veronica (who Harusumi happens to be the reincarnation of), and let her die. This is rather embarrassing to Harusumi because previously to Takao regaining her PastLifeMemories, the two of them had just started going out.
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71	[[folder:Comic Books]]
72	* Franchise/{{Batman}} is [[CrapsackWorld Gotham]]'s Failure Knight. Other characters who don't know his [[OrphansOrdeal backstory]] find him [[JerkAss insufferable]], until they realize he ''[[KnightInSourArmor feels]] [[StoicWoobie everything]]''.
73	* ''ComicBook/SinCity'' invokes this trope quite a bit. The heroes have the DulcineaEffect. They know they will probably get killed in their quests but they can't help but protect those around them (or at least avenge their deaths).
74	* ''{{ComicBook/Sabretooth}}'' for his love interests, [[Characters/GenerationX Monet]], [[SatelliteLoveInterest Bonnie]], and [[SatelliteLoveInterest Holly]]. He's controlled by an enemy to fatally wound Holly and fails to get her to a hospital. Bonnie was infected with a plague before they met & he has to kill her when the cure gets destroyed in the lab explosion. When Monet is cursed by [[Characters/GenerationX Emplate]], he helps hide it by covering for her & letting her feed on him. This allows Emplate to gain greater control over Monet, which leads to her FaceMonsterTurn. He wanted to stay by her & help find a cure but due to the ''ComicBook/ResurrXion'' relaunch [[NoRomanticResolution dropping]] their relationship, it doesn't happen.
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77	[[folder:FanWorks]]
78	* In the ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' fanfic ''Fanfic/WinterWar'', Kotetsu Isane becomes this. After her captain, Unohana, surrendered Seireitei and was taken captive- after ordering Isane to escape along with the critically wounded Captain Ukitake rather than try to fight- Isane focuses all her energies on keeping him alive, even as she becomes too apathetic and convinced of her own weakness to take an active role in organizing LaResistance (despite being one of the few surviving lieutenants). She manages to put her guilt aside and fight effectively when she has to- but she's still strongly focused on protecting Ukitake, to the point of refusing to let him try a HeroicSacrifice at one point.
79	* The basis behind Sakato in ''Fanfic/{{Pokeumans}}'' trying to become the fastest Pokeuman pretty much ever is because he wasn't good enough to save his friend Connor from Pokextinction.
80	* ''Webcomic/{{Guardian}}'', being about Lulu from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', has a thorough exploration of this attitude and how Lulu came by it. From the beginning, her narration describes Ginnem as "the first summoner I failed."
81	* ''Fanfic/BlackenedSkies'' has several examples, such as Kaede and Kaito. All of the participants were involved in previous mutual killing games, and despite their best efforts, wound up falling victim to Monokuma's twisted motives and manipulations. Being thrown into another one, despite how impossible it seems, offers a chance to make up for those past mistakes - something Kaede in particular is determined to take full advantage of.
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84	[[folder:Film]]
85	* During UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, Creator/FrankCapra volunteered for the Army, where they assigned him to make training films. In his first film, he wrapped the information in a little story: a captain had lost his entire company and was drilling his new soldiers to survive what had killed the last one. They hated him until it happened, and they all survived. The Army found that soldiers who watched this remembered what to do much better than from most training films.
86	* Marlin from ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'' can be seen as this. In just the first 15 minutes of the film [[spoiler: [[DownerBeginning he loses his wife and almost all of the hundreds of their eggs to a vicious barracuda]]]]. In the end just one egg survives which he ends up naming the titular character Nemo and he becomes [[HelicopterParents extremely overprotective]] of Nemo out of sheer deterimination to not lose him too.
87	* Sir Didymus of ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}''.
88	* Frank Horrigan of ''Film/InTheLineOfFire'' holds himself responsible for not stopping the assassination of UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy. Someone taunts him with the possibility of history repeating itself.
89	* Jason to Kelly in ''Film/MysteryTeam''.
90	* Sir Knolte of Marlborough in ''Film/BlackKnight2001'' (the one with Creator/MartinLawrence), who used to be a respected knight in the service of the Queen, until King Leo usurped her throne. His [[MyGreatestFailure greatest failure]] is preventing this. When Jamal finds him, Knolte is living in the woods and spends much of his time drunk. He is later convinced to lead LaResistance against the false king and [[spoiler:kills TheDragon]].
91	-->'''Jamal Walker''': Oh, you're upset. I ain't got no beef with you, dawg.\
92	'''Sir Knolte''': ''[drunkenly]'' Kindly address me with the proper respect. I am Knolte of Marlborough, and I am not a dog.
93	* In ''WesternAnimation/Epic2013'' Ronin is determined to protect MK and the pod [[spoiler:because the pod is all the forest has left of Tara]].
94	* Jake Gittes of ''Film/{{Chinatown}}'' is haunted by the memory of a time when he tried to help someone and ended up hurting her instead. [[spoiler:He's doomed to repeat the same experience by the movie's end.]]
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97	[[folder:Literature]]
98	* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' is rife with these. To name a few:
99	** Jorah Mormont's wife Lynesse left him; now he is massively overprotective of Daenerys, who looks like her
100	** Sandor Clegane's past failure is unspecified, but may have something to do with Gregor killing their younger sister; now he protects Sansa
101	** Erstwhile Lord Commander of [[PraetorianGuard the Kingsguard]] Ser Barristan Selmy carries the guilt of being too cowardly to stop [[TheCaligula Mad King Aerys]] from starting a civil war... and equally guilty about failing to protect him from said war, not to mention failing to protect Prince Rhaegar at the Trident, ''and'' failing to protect King Robert from a HuntingAccident. After getting forcibly retired by Joffrey, he threw his lot in with [[spoiler:Daenerys Targaryen]], and is absolutely set on protecting her whatever happens.
102	** Brienne of Tarth was in love with Renly Baratheon, who was the first man to pretend to treat her with something other than scorn, and swore to guard his life with her own; when he [[spoiler:was killed by his brother]], she was devastated. While she doesn't seem to be in love with [[spoiler:Jaime Lannister]], the fact that he was the first man to actually treat her with something other than scorn plus her single-minded devotion to fulfilling the oath she made to him smacks of this trope.
103	** Subverted with Ser Dontos, who is saved from execution by young Sansa Stark and helps her escape the Lannisters in return, [[spoiler:but is really a greedy drunk spying on her for Littlefinger, who has him killed]].
104	** Lord Jon Connington was close friends with Prince Rhaegar, and the way he thinks about him hints towards having felt more than friendship. Haunted by Rhaegar's death in the war that saw Jon exiled, he is now determined to [[spoiler:restore Rhaegar's son Aegon to the throne.]]
105	* In ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' series, Bonded Warders can go a little crazy if their charges die - they are typically DrivenToSuicide, WalkingTheEarth in an UnstoppableRage against evil forces until they get defeated.
106	* ''Literature/{{Komarr}}'' by Creator/LoisMcMasterBujold: Miles Vorkosigan, when [[LoveInterest Ekaterin]] starts to slip down a slope, has a flashback to the rescue operation in ''Literature/TheBordersOfInfinity''. In the previous incident, as the DropShip was leaving, one of the female prisoners who helped him organize it from the inside fell out the back. Miles tried to catch her, but he missed the grip and she fell to her death. This time he catches her...and promptly slides into the pond with her, as he's not anchored to anything and she outmasses him. This helps him accept that he couldn't have saved the other woman.
107	* The Bloodguard in ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfThomasCovenant'' probably fit this trope.
108	%%* Sturm, from ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}''.
109	* [[spoiler:Araris Valerian]] in ''Literature/CodexAlera'' has a lot of this going on thanks to his failure to protect Septimus. He gets a [[MyGreatestSecondChance second chance]] [[spoiler:with his son, Octavian.]]
110	* [[spoiler:Severus Snape]] has a twisted version in the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' series. His failure and motive for his subsequent behavior don't become clear until late in the final book.
111	* ''Literature/TheBartimaeusTrilogy'': Bartimaeus in a way projects this onto Nathaniel ([[spoiler:especially at the end of the third book]]) because of his failure to protect Ptolemy.
112	* Tash Arranda in ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear'' has a mild version of this. She's thirteen and [[EarthShatteringKaboom lost her homeworld Alderaan]], and everyone she knew and loved except her little brother with it - and she's determined not to lose him or, as they get to know and care for each other, her uncle. Zak loves her and wants to protect her too, but the element of "Never again" isn't as clearly outlined with him.
113	** Their uncle Hoole takes them in and protects them initially for reasons similar to this trope - he [[spoiler: [[ReluctantMadScientist unwittingly]] [[GoneHorriblyWrong contributed]] to an ApocalypseHow, and caring for kids whose homeworld is lost eases [[TheAtoner the guilt]] a little]] - but as he gets to know them better and care about them, after [[spoiler: it was revealed that he wasn't as responsible for it as he'd thought]] he becomes more of a PapaWolf.
114	* Toklo in ''Literature/SeekerBears'' feels that he could have prevented his brother Tobi from dying. That's why he felt he had to protect his friends all the time.
115	* ''Literature/TheUnderlandChronicles'': Poor Hamnet. [[spoiler:He shouldn't have listened to his mother and let the flood gates open so that everyone would drown.]] Later we discover that [[spoiler: Ripred is this for his dead mate and pups.]]
116	* ''Literature/PercyJackson'': Grover, who failed to save Thalia and then becomes this for Percy. And if Grover didn't feel bad enough about it himself, the elders are quick to shame him for it.
117	* ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'': Kaladin. He fails to protect his little brother, which drives him to try to protect anyone else he ever deems to be his responsibility (his spear squad, Bridge Four). His [[IShouldHaveBeenBetter reaction]] is generally not pretty.
118	* In ''Literature/SolarDefendersTheRoleOfAShield'', [[spoiler: Sensei Billingsley]] lost his son to a monster attack because he and his friends didn't know how to protect themselves well enough. He's since made it his mission in life to make sure all the kids in town are trained in self-defense.
119	* [[BigBrotherInstinct Conrad]] Weller from ''Literature/KyoKaraMaoh'' has only been this for the last twenty years of a roughly hundred-year life, but it's really deep-set. The main character, Yuuri, is the reincarnation of the woman he loved very much, Susanna Julia von Wincott, and Conrad handled the soul transfer personally and assisted in the birth. He does pretty well at not treating Yuuri or thinking of him as a ReplacementGoldfish, but he is definitely a ''replacement''.
120	** Oddly the failure that seems to have hit his psyche deepest, or at least the one he acknowledges, has nothing to do with him--the entire command structure of the country is apparently held responsible for Julia applying her HealingHands to battle wounded until it killed her, and at the time ''he'' was off surviving a suicide mission while all but one of his best friends fell and died about him under his command. Technically, however, Rutenberg Pass was a victory, and nobody but he and Yozak really cared about the other HalfHumanHybrids who fell there, betrayed by the nation to which they had sworn their loyalty. Probably Julia's loss, which hit him quite hard in its own right, was the safe one to feel, since really processing what happened at Rutenberg would require confronting the incredible betrayal by his nation and his family that allowed the battle of Rutenberg Pass and his credentials as a hero to even ''happen''. He appears to have completely sublimated all his personal feelings to this overreaching mission to dutifully serve his king, which gives him his StepfordSmiler vibe.
121	*** Note that the best friend who survived Rutenberg with him is still someone whose ''life'' he is willing to threaten for ''messing'' with Yuuri after knowing the kid a few ''days'', and those not being heroic or successful days for the most part.
122	*** He also wound up [[spoiler: betraying everything he was and loved because his nation's god told him it was the best way to help Yuuri achieve his goals. To twist the knife, Shinou appears to have pulled that just as much to torment and mess with Yuuri as to get an inside man into Daishimaron.]] Their relationship never quite recovers, which is probably a good thing since Yuuri tended to rely on Conrad for everything.
123	** Conrad needs somebody to live for. Once it was [[BigBrotherInstinct Wolfram]]. [[RoyalBrat Wolfram]] rejected him for [[FantasticRacism being half-human]] shortly after his father died, he had a very justified nasty cynical adolescent phase, and then wound up fixated on Julia, as well as country and almost certainly his comrades. When most of that was shorn away and his Julia attachment was adroitly transferred to the new king, he became patriotism in a brown uniform. Even though it was a country in which no one had protested sending him to die, or moved to punish anyone for getting soldiers killed stupidly...but exiled a high-born general on a SnipeHunt because his WeHaveReserves tactics wound up setting off a popular blind noblewoman's ChronicHeroSyndrome, and getting her killed. Emotionally, that is the loss it is ''acceptable'' for him to mourn, so he assigns all his negative emotions to that, rather than risk hating everyone he has left in the world.
124	* ''Literature/FateZero''
125	** Lancer (a.k.a. [[Myth/CelticMythology Diarmuid Ua Duibhne]]) lost the trust of his lord Finn mac Cumhaill when he [[SoBeautifulItsACurse (accidentally)]] stole Finn's fiancé. He joins the Holy Grail War for one reason: to successfully serve his Master through the War, thus atoning for his past failure. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, his new Master's fiancé falls for him much like Grainne did, poisoning the attempt right from the start.]]
126	** Berserker AKA [[spoiler: Lancelot]] thinks he is this and was trying to atone for banging his king´s wife (who forgave him because they would be happier together). He completely snapped and killed several of his comrades. Not like he knows now that he is a Berserker.
127	[[/folder]]
128
129	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
130	* ''Series/{{Angel}}'': VampireHunter Holtz, to a certain degree.
131	* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': How Brienne feels about herself after the deaths of Renly Baratheon and later, Catelyn Stark, neither of whom she was in a position to protect. Littlefinger even points out her inability to protect either of them in "The House of Black and White." This changes by the middle of Season 6, where Jaime praises her for succeeding in fulfilling her oath.
132	* ''Series/{{Lateline}}'' had one of these, a snarky sassy secretary type who idolized the jerky lead anchor character.
133	* Shoutaro Hidari, in ''Series/KamenRiderDouble'', is intensely devoted towards protecting his clients no matter what. He got too ahead of himself once while still working under his [[MentorOccupationalHazard mentor]]. It caused the client (parent and child) to get hurt. With his mentor's teaching and his own guilt, Shotaro decided to never be so rash again. The sentiment is shared by Akiko in her more heroic moments as she indeed is a daughter of her father.
134	* Haruto Soma, in ''Series/KamenRiderWizard'', sees protecting [[VictimOfTheWeek Gates]] as his sole purpose in life. He [[SurvivorGuilt blames]] himself for being the only survivor of dark magical ritual that started the plot and moved him from FailureKnight he became after [[spoiler: losing his parents as a child]] to superpowered FailureKnight. He couldn't do anything in either case, but that doesn't particularly matter to him.
135	* Nico Saiba invoked this reaction in Taiga Hanaya when she called him her doctor in ''Series/KamenRiderExAid''. She meant it as a joke, but he failed to save someone once already and so was obligated to take care of her no matter how much he didn't want to. Her habit of trolling him and spoiling his attempts to be Mr. Tough Guy didn't make anything easier either.
136	* On ''Series/{{NCIS}}'', it's implied that Gibbs's devotion to his team is at least partly due to the murder of his wife and daughter several years earlier. This may be especially true of Abby, who serves as something of a surrogate daughter.
137	* ''Series/TheMentalist'': Patrick Jane, while not helpful in the traditional sense, always saves his beloved Lisbon and her team after the death of his wife and daughter.
138	* Zig-zagged in ''Series/{{Nikita}}'': after she fails to save Larissa, a woman she'd befriended during a brief period of captivity, Alex becomes invested in saving the people of Division, to the point of orchestrating a mutiny which she (irrationally) believes will allow everyone to live. However, it is eventually revealed that Larissa [[spoiler: never existed, and that Alex had been brainwashed in order to exacerbate her existing survivor's guilt to the breaking point, with the expectation that she'd do what she eventually did. Subsequently, after the mutiny results in the actual, for real death of someone particularly close to her, Alex, still under the influence, attempts to pull off a second rescue]], this time of a group of sex slaves.
139	* Finch to Reese in ''Series/PersonOfInterest''. He holds himself responsible for the people whose lives were endangered but he did not, or could not, save, including [[spoiler:Reese's love]]. Reese returns this to a degree, seeing Finch as the man who gave him a purpose in life and a way to save people.
140	[[/folder]]
141
142	[[folder:Manhwa]]
143	* ''Manhwa/SkeletonSoldierCouldntProtectTheDungeon'': It's right there in the title. The first thing that ever happened to the skeleton soldier was he failed to protect the necromancer who raised him; apparently the next twenty years weren't much better, and he died failing to protect his succubus queen.
144	[[/folder]]
145
146	[[folder:Multiple Media]]
147	* In ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'', Toa Vakama got stuck in this rut as a result of what happened to Toa Lhikan and failing to stop the BigBad in time, becoming a LeeroyJenkins around the time the Visorak invade Metru Nui. This, plus the effects of being turned into a mutant freak cause him to perform a brief FaceHeelTurn.
148	[[/folder]]
149
150	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
151	* The Anchors of ''TabletopGame/BlissStage'' are pledged to love and protect the very, very fragile [=ANIMa=]pilots: it's always safe to assume that they've seen more than one of their charges die. [[WordOfGod "Repeat (falling for a pilot who dies) until you get used to it. THAT'S what it's like to be an Anchor."]]
152	* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': Skarbrand is one of the most feared Bloodthirsters despite having been effectively abandoned by his patron god Khorne. After taking a swing at his boss (due to a Tzeentchian spell), Khorne picked him up and threw him so hard he didn't land for eight days and eight nights, destroying his wings on landing. Now a being of pure rage, he slaughters his way across the galaxy in the hopes of getting back into Khorne's good graces... fat chance of that: he's actually killed more people since than when he worked for Khorne.
153	[[/folder]]
154
155	[[folder:Video Games]]
156	* ''Franchise/BaldursGate''
157	** As his charge is killed during the opening of ''VideoGame/BaldursGateII'', [[BoisterousBruiser Minsc]] becomes unable to return to his homeland of Rashemen, as he would be utterly humiliated for his failure to protect her[[note]]His ending slider reveals that he eventually returned anyway, hoping that his tales of his deeds would win him some respect regardless -- at which point he finds out the rumours and stories that had spread to Rashemen were enough to get him accepted and even respected. Turns out tagging along with a semi-divine main character does have some perks.[[/note]]. This makes Minsc's devotion to the survivors of the first game's party (canonically, the PC, Jaheira and Imoen) all the stronger, as well as giving him a highly protective streak concerning [[WideEyedIdealist Aerie]], [[RebelliousPrincess Nalia]], [[CuteBruiser Mazzy]] and [[ShellShockedVeteran Keldorn]] should they join you.
158	** A more literal FailureKnight in the same game can be found in the graveyard. Near the top of the screen, a Paladin mourns his deceased adopted son, while near the bottom of the screen a priest searches for a guardian for the orphaned little girl he's looking after...
159	* In ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'', Glenn is this way around Cyrus during Frog's backstory.
160	** In fact, getting over this event was the major point of a sidequest at the end of the game. [[spoiler:This upgrades your Masamune to 200 Attack Power, making it Frog's best weapon.]]
161	** Lucca is also something of a Failure Knight. Having witnessed a horrific accident involving machines in her childhood, when we meet her as a teenager she is fanatical about technology and science, and shows particular compassion towards Robo. [[spoiler:If you do a certain sidequest, she gets the opportunity to go back in time and prevent the tragedy where her mother lost her legs--turning it into a scary "near miss" which still has the same effect on the younger Lucca.]]
162	* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' has Aveline, who meets the Hawke family while defending her husband from Darkspawn, declaring "They will not have you, not while I stand." A matter of minutes later, it's revealed he's infected with the Blight, forcing either her or Hawke to MercyKill him. She spends the game's seven-year timespan juggling her roles as Captain of the Guard and Hawke's adventuring companion and is an equally fierce Team Parent in both. To put this in perspective, [[DysfunctionJunction she's still in the running for the most well-adjusted character in Kirkwall]].
163	* In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVI'', [[spoiler:the Real World version of TheHero went off to fight Murdaw, but got banished immediately by Murdaw's magic. He wound up in Weaver's Peak, where everyone viewed him as a weakling and a coward. The only person who cared for him was Tania, hence why his Dream World counterpart is Tania's actual brother. Only once Weaver's Peak is attacked does the Real World hero become willing to face his fear and [[MergerOfSouls merge with his Dream World counterpart]].]]
164	* The ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' games are fond of this trope:
165	** Locke in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI''. He acts the knight-errant protector to Terra, especially when he finds out she has amnesia, and drops hints about a difficult past. Shortly thereafter he meets Celes and becomes utterly devoted. Locke swears to protect her, mentions a promise he had made to someone, other characters ask if he's "thinking of... her," and eventually we get the story: Locke was reminded, by both women, of his girlfriend Rachel. She was injured and lost her memories trying to save him. She later died, just after regaining them. [[spoiler: Eventually, he revives her -- [[TheLastDance only for a minute]]. That is long enough for her to forgive him, give her blessing to Celes and Locke's burgeoning romance, and die for good.]]
166	*** Cyan also falls under this when Kefka poisons the water surrounding Doma castle, killing everyone inside, including Cyan's wife and son. Later on, after beating the Phantom Train boss, Cyan sees his wife and son depart to the afterlife, telling him that they love him and they thank him for all he has done for them. Though he tries to put it behind him, Cyan still blames himself for not being able to prevent the tragedy. In fact, during [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the World of Ruin]], those negative emotions haunt him and cause a spirit fiend named Wrexsoul to appear in Cyan's dreams and feed off Cyan's soul. After the party defeats the monster, the spirit of Cyan's wife and son appear and they tell him to be strong and to keep living. This finally gives Cyan the strength to carry on, which causes him to fully master all of his Bushido techniques.
167	** Cloud and Aeris in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''. [[ItWasHisSled It's because she is killed by Sephiroth and Cloud was unable to do anything]].
168	** Steiner from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' is a ''literal'' failure knight. Despite his personal skills, his platoon (The Knights of Pluto) is the laughingstock of the Alexandrian military, his attempts to help or protect the Princess are undermined by everyone else in the cast (including the Princess herself), and he eventually [[spoiler: watches his own beloved Queen die, hoist by her own power-hungry petard.]] Fortunately, once he's hit rock bottom, things start to get better. When [[spoiler: Bahamut]] attacks Alexandria, his men start to redeem themselves when they perform specialized duties like readying the cannons, gathering information, protecting the citizens, and sending for reinforcements. You learn about which knights specialize in each area when one of the Knights of Pluto gives [[SomedayThisWillComeInHandy information]] (in the first Disk) that this knight is a great fighter, these knights are great cannoneers, that this knight knows all the women in town, and things along that line.
169	** Lulu from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' went on two pilgrimages before going with Yuna. Both failed, but for differing reasons. The first journey was a summoner Lulu was unable to protect when they went to see an off-the-beaten-path Aeon, something she never forgave herself for. The second was a man who, upon reaching the Calm Lands, decided to abandon his journey -- something many summoners end up doing once they reach that stage.
170	*** Auron from the same game, however, is a FailureKnight because he ''succeeded'' in protecting his summoner ([[spoiler:since the Final Summoning results in the summoner's death anyway]]). Being a guardian just kind of sucks all the way around.
171	** Noel from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'' feels he failed to protect Yeul and everyone else in his world. [[spoiler: He also fails to protect Serah, who dies in his arms right after they beat Caius. And then it turns out that he didn't even succeed in protecting the future, as killing Caius allows the world to be destroyed.]] Damn...
172	** Yunita from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyThe4HeroesOfLight'' is determined to protect Aire and save [[DoomedHometown Horne]], but Aire berates her for being late, they're separated early on, then the two boys she travels with ditch her one after the other and leave her with a severe inferiority complex, and she's conned out of all her possessions. It's probably a good thing she didn't find out until ''after'' meeting her again that Aire spent the good chunk of the game cursed into being a cat, otherwise her HeroicBSOD in Urbeth might have gotten even worse.
173	* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'':
174	** Prince Shanan from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar Genealogy of the Holy War]]'', as a child, [[spoiler: failed to stop his leader's wife kidnapping and subsequent brainwashing by the enemy, who later killed almost everyone Shanan cared for.]] 17 years later, he's a badass and handsome swordsman who ''still'' feels horribly guilty after [[MyGreatestFailure that mistake]].
175	** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'':
176	*** LadyOfWar Fiora goes through this ''twice''. First, [[spoiler: she had a huge fight with her middle sister Farina that almost split up the family]], and then [[spoiler: her whole Pegasus Knight squad is slaughtered, so her youngest sister Florina must talk her out of going into a suicidal FoeTossingCharge]]. [[BreakTheCutie YIKES]]!
177	*** There's also Harken, who obsesses over his [[spoiler: failure to protect Lord Elbert from [[BigBad Nergal]]]].
178	** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones'' we have Gerik, who tells Innes in their supports that he's always felt like crap for not preventing the death of an old friend who motivated him to become a mercenary. [[spoiler: And there's also the matter of him finding out that the killer... was another good friend of his: Saleh, the BadassBookworm. Who killed the other guy ''by accident'' and also considered it his greatest regret.]]
179	** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' has a Pegasus Knight, Cordelia, go through a situation identical to Fiora's [[spoiler:(a slaughtered squadron under her watch). Except in this case her fellow knights sacrificed their own lives willingly so she could escape. It haunts Cordelia deeply, especially in her supports with the Avatar, and in a conversation with Severa she mentions she "often dreamed of death" aka the slaughter of her wingmates!]]
180	* Mickey Mouse, of all people, is like this in ''Franchise/KingdomHearts''. In the first games, he prefers to work behind the scenes on his own and doesn't seem to want to get Sora and company too involved with what he's doing, only directly helping out when he has no choice. That's because in the prequel game, [[spoiler: he does the opposite, running off to heroically join Terra, Aqua and Ven in battle and fight on the frontlines with them. However, he winds up accomplishing nothing and can only watch as Ven is rendered comatose, Terra and Aqua "disappear" and the Darkness starts to destroy worlds a year or so later just like they feared. Apparently he doesn't want Sora and co to end up like their predecessors]].
181	* Occurs frequently in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic''. Depending upon your character interpretation, Carth, Jolee, and Juhani in the first game and Atton, the Disciple, Mandalore, and Visas in the second all qualify.
182	* In a way, ''VideoGame/Persona4'' has Yosuke, who loved Saki Konishi only to [[spoiler:subsequently have her die]]. This is more subtle in that he didn't really have the power to protect anyone until [[spoiler: after she died, but her death definitely drives him]]. The game kind of slaps him in the face by revealing that [[spoiler: Saki hated his guts - she worked at the department store run by Yosuke's father, which was putting Saki's family's liquour store out of business, and despite her claims to the contrary, she secretly resented him for it]].
183	* In ''VideoGame/PhantomBrave'', Ash protects Marona to make up for failing to protect her parents. Nevermind that he died right along with them.
184	** This is also quite likely the source of his power as a Phantom. Most of the main cast of Marona's army release their power to get ready for a big fight by reciting a small incantation, unique to each character. Ash's incantation? Word for word the last thing he said before the battle where he failed to protect Marona's mother and died in the process.
185	---> "[[YouShallNotPass You'll go no further!]] [[MyGreatestFailure For her sake...]] [[MyGreatestSecondChance I WILL NOT FAIL!!]]"
186	* In the final case of ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyJusticeForAll'', Adrian Andrews is stubborn and very matter-of-fact due to [[spoiler:her former mentor, Celeste, [[DrivenToSuicide committing suicide]]. Doesn't help that the guilty party AND the victim of the case were directly responsible, and Adrian Andrews suffers from severe self-esteem issues]].
187	** In the first game, you could make the case that [[spoiler: Phoenix himself is Edgeworth's failure knight]]. Think about it: he allowed his entire career choice to be determined by his desire to help [[spoiler:a guy he'd known for about a year when they were both ''nine years old''.]]
188	* ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankFutureACrackInTime'''s Alistair Azimuth is this [[spoiler:until he [[FaceHeelTurn goes a bit crazy]] and [[WellIntentionedExtremist tries to reverse his failure]].]]
189	* Dias Flac, from ''VideoGame/StarOceanTheSecondStory''. Though we can't really blame Dias for his family's deaths, being as he was a little kid at the time.
190	* Archimedes in ''VisualNovel/{{Suika}}'', who is depressed that he didn't come into existence to fulfill the wish of the little girl who made him until after she had already died. [[spoiler:But he gets to make up for it by sacrificing himself for the local ill girl sister.]]
191	* The ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'' has a few different Failure Knights in its ranks of heroes.
192	** Asbel from ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'' [[MyGreatestFailure fails to protect his friends]] during [[spoiler:a childhood incident that left them all inches from death]]. He joins the Knight Academy to attempt to become stronger so he never fails again, but then promptly fails over and over. To his credit, [[TheDeterminator he keeps trying]], but several characters [[WhatTheHellHero call him out on this]].
193	** Senel from ''VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia'' goes through quite the TraumaCongaLine when it comes to protecting Shirley and Stella. [[spoiler:He inadvertently gets the village they live in [[DoomedHometown destroyed]], gets Shirley kidnapped by Vaclav, fails to save Stella in time, and then breaks Shirley's heart to the point that she pulls a FaceHeelTurn and attempts to flood the world with water. On top of all that, his repeated "not my problem" attitude grates on the other party members' nerves to the point they go on without him, and the Quiet Nerifes doesn't give him sacred eres until he realizes what a complete {{Jerkass}} he's been to everyone.]] Tough break.
194	* Sork from ''VideoGame/TreasureOfTheRudra'' even though the Knight Captain says that he is the best Swordsman of Cryunne.
195	* Jack van Burace from ''VideoGame/WildArms1'' was originally [[spoiler: a Fenril Knight named Garrett Stampede, tasked with protecting the Kingdom of Arctica and the main offense of his unit (and potential LoveInterest) Elmina. Unfortunately the demons [[CurbStompBattle completely destroyed Arctica]], killed the king and most of the other Fenril Knights. Jack only escaped because Elmina locked him out of the castle to protect him while she undertook a LastStand against Alhazad.]] Later on when [[spoiler: Rudy has lost his left arm, Jack laments he can't seem to protect the people he truly cares about.]]
196	* ''VideoGame/{{Wild Arms 5}}''
197	** Greg certainly qualifies. Dropping his entire war on Golems and becoming a ride-along babysitter/bodyguard, all for a kid he met twice that on one occasion was more than ready to shoot him in the back is a pretty far jump for a violent, outlaw drifter. [[spoiler: Until you find out that Dean reminds him of his murdered son, whose death he blames himself for. ]]
198	** The main villain is one as well, considering that his entire crusade was prompted by [[spoiler: his own failure to tear down the wall between Veruni and Humans. The same goes for Nightburn, to a lesser degree.]]
199	[[/folder]]
200
201	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
202	* Saber of ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' has shades of this, which become more evident as the story progresses. [[spoiler: As Myth/KingArthur, she failed to save the country she lived to serve, and perhaps even led to the civil war which tore it apart. Her sole wish is to erase her own existence, in the hopes that a different king will wield Excalibur, and succeed where she failed. And as ''Literature/FateZero'' makes clear, this isn't the first Holy Grail War she's taken part in]].
203	[[/folder]]
204
205	[[folder:Webcomics]]
206	* Gilgamesh Wulfenbach, of ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'', could be considered a variation; instead of having lost his Great Love, he just [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20060217 thought he did.]] The [[spoiler: second time]] drives him insane. Well, more insane.
207	* Nigel Dantalian of ''Webcomic/FeyWinds'' is a war golem who failed to protect his master, the Alchemist, from the comic's resident BigBad. The last order that the Alchemist gave Nigel was to find Sylphe and help her. He devotes himself to Kit because of the echoes of Sylphe's magic in her body.
208	* Kat suggests this as a possible motivation for the mysterious bird robots in ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt''. Specifically, that their creator lost his lover on the bridge so he built the birds to defend court students trying to cross the bridge. It now looks unlikely that this is the case, however.
209	* Chief of ''Webcomic/{{Goblins}}'' seems to feel this at times. At birth, he was chosen as chief in order to prevent a civil war that would have destroyed his clan, but it cost the clan their glory and honor. As a result, he has shown a strong loyalty towards his warriors and [[spoiler: [[HeroicSacrifice when Kore found them, he chose to stay behind so the others could escape]].]]
210	* Ruby in ''Webcomic/NuzlockeComics'' during season 2, after [[spoiler: [[TotalPartyKill he loses his entire team]] in the Hoenn Champion battle]] at the conclusion of the first season.
211	* Rachel Pidgley from "Webcomic/TheGlassScientists" deconstructs this. When she was a girl, her little brother went out one night looking for her and was stopped by police. When he tried to run, he fell off a fire escape and died. In the series proper this is given as the explanation for why she dotes on [[SplitPersonality Mr. Edward Hyde]], who bears a striking resemblance to him. This makes her treat him like her brother, which is a bit of an issue considering that Hyde is thirty-five, an uncaring jerkass and a wanted arsonist. He demonstrably doesn't give a shit about her and she knows it, but she feels too guilty over her brother's death to stop, enabling Hyde just for the fantasy that he's is still with her.
212	* Grace of ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2003-10-17 becomes one]] after failing to stop Damien when he killed everyone at the lab she grew up in. Grace also [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2010-06-14 blames herself]] for not being able to help Nanase stop Abraham. Abraham himself is one because he [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2002-08-16 failed his mentor in creating the Dewitchery Diamond]] which compounded his already serious problems and resulted in the deaths of at least five people.
213	* Katia of ''Webcomic/{{Prequel}}'' is this to everyone who is nice enough to be her friend, aside from random guards.
214	* [[spoiler:Kielnode Chrishi]] from ''Webcomic/BlackHaze'' is a variant of one for [[spoiler:his little brother Rood]]. While [[spoiler:Rood doesn't end up dying]], it's directly ''because'' of [[spoiler:Kiel]]'s negligence that [[spoiler:he becomes an experiment in the Tower's ceremony]]. [[spoiler:Kiel]] uses this second chance to make [[spoiler:the now amnesiac Rood]] his top priority, ensuring that he's living safely and comfortably.
215	* Sir Vitaleu from the Webcomic/TrashKnight is considered by many to be a dullard, incompetent, and even a coward. Seems to be an InformedFlaw because while he is naive and trusting to a fault, he is very competent at killing people and is very courageous. It could also be a case of him being a HeroWithBadPublicity or he is just bad at administrating to his town being a noble warrior at heart.
216	[[/folder]]
217
218	[[folder:Web Original]]
219	* In ''Literature/{{Worm}}'', we discover in [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/03/12/scourge-19-7/ Chapter 19.7]] that [[spoiler:Tattletale]] went to such great lengths for [[spoiler:Skitter]] because her older brother committed suicide, and [[spoiler:Skitter]] was on a path to do the same.
220	[[/folder]]
221
222	[[folder:Western Animation]]
223	* Twist: Depth Charge from ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}: WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' isn't a Failure ''Knight''... He's more of a Failure '''VampireHunter'''. He used to be a loyal, good-natured, reliable Maximal, an all-around good guy. What happened? Protoform X happened. The sadistic, violent experiment gone wrong pretty much literally ripped Depth Charge's life to shreds, and [[HeWhoFightsMonsters bringing the monster to justice is all Depth Charge has left]]. He has a way of showing up when he's needed and then telling whoever he just saved where to stick it which stems from him being more of a loner than most {{Failure Knight}}s... but considering what happened to his ''last'' group of pals, maybe that's understandable.
224	** Arguably, much the same thing happens to [[spoiler:Silverbolt]] in ''WesternAnimation/BeastMachines'', when Megatron [[spoiler:turns him evil, removes his code of honor, and he ''likes'' it.]] Afterwards, he splits his time between brooding over his fall, seeking revenge and [[spoiler:spurning the affections of his former lover, Blackarachnia]]
225	* Sean Napier from ''WesternAnimation/ExoSquad'' reversed this trope; his goal is to "fix his mistake": saving the life of [[EvilOverlord Phaeton]].
226	** Interestingly, there are indications that Phaeton is a variant of this. He must bring about Neosapien domination of the Solar System because he helped the Exofleet crush the first Neo revolt, albeit under duress; not to mention that the Neos were losing anyway.
227	* [[Characters/AvatarTheLastAirbenderSokka Sokka]] in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' is upset with [[spoiler:Yue]]'s death and blames himself for it, thinking he could have protected her. When he meets up with Suki again, he tries protecting her fervently to prevent her from dying too.
228	* In a sense, Leonardo, from ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' (and particularly from [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 the 2003 version]]) sometimes fall into this or feels like this. He hasn't always been able to protect his family from danger, and this has always tormented him.
229	[[/folder]]
230
231	[[folder:Real Life]]
232	* OlderThanRadio: In a sense, UsefulNotes/The47Ronin who pulled a huge LongGame to kill the nasty nobleman who got their master killed ''and'' still ended up as the heroes, allowed to kill themselves honorably via ''{{seppuku}}'' rather than be executed and die in shame.
233	* [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfHanover George III]]'s second son Frederick, Duke of York was so conscious of his disastrous experience in [[UsefulNotes/TheNapoleonicWars Flanders]] that he devoted himself entirely to being a better officer; Britain got its first serious army reform in the bargain.\
234	\
235	Unfortunately for Britain, this devotion also impacted his health and marriage: his bad marriage added to the uncertainty of the succession (the reign of George IV was a race among the previously-dissolute princes to produce a legitimate heir), as he wanted nothing to do with his wife; and his ill-health eventually killed him before his older brother died, leaving third son Prince William to take the throne--and while "Sailor Billy" was hardly a bad king given the circumstances, it's widely believed that Frederick would have been better.
236	[[/folder]]
237

Context Main / FailureKnight