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| 3 | %% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks! |
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| 6 | |
| 7 | %% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1358446932059400100 |
| 8 | %% Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread. |
| 9 | %% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them. |
| 10 | %% |
| 11 | [[quoteright:348:[[Webcomic/ZebraGirl https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ZebraGirl-SamVsWolves1_7659.png]]]] |
| 12 | [[caption-width-right:348:[[RefugeeFromTVLand He's actually retired from cartoons, now.]] [[http://www.zebragirl.thecomicseries.com/comics/279 And more badass than you will ever be.]]]] |
| 13 | |
| 14 | ->''"It's widely believed that a Contractor possesses a cool, analytical mind: at all times, in all situations, no matter how desperate, he's able to calculate the most logical course of action. Is it because he knows no fear? Hardly. A Contractor can get as scared as anyone. He simply doesn't let his feelings affect his reason."'' |
| 15 | -->-- '''Mao''', ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack'' |
| 16 | |
| 17 | Everyone has a tipping point, a BerserkButton, [[HeroicBSOD a threshold of shock]] and joy and [[DrivenToMadness weirdness]] that once crossed [[NotSoStoic collapses all emotional reserve]] like a FawltyTowersPlot. Some, however, have such an exceptionally high threshold that they'd probably greet the impending collapse of the universe with the same equanimity as cold tea. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | Characters with [[TitleDrop Nerves of Steel]] are of steel in the same way a physical body can be MadeOfIron -- they are nigh-unshakable. |
| 20 | |
| 21 | Those who have Nerves of Steel ''think'' when times are tough. They make decisions efficiently; they push their emotions aside, and so their decisions are not overly affected by them. They may be TheStoic, or they may be perfectly normal emotionally. Either way, their ''minds'' are never shoved aside when their emotion is. It is always thinking, a weapon as sharp as a sword. Characters with Nerves of Steel aren't intimidated by screams from those with a HairTriggerTemper, won't get upset if their EvilPlan is foiled (this is a morality neutral trait), they aren't likely to burst into tears when it turns out TheHero is NotQuiteDead and got better, and very probably won't even raise their voice to the man who murdered a BusFullOfInnocents unless the sound of their righteous ass-kicking is loud enough to require it. Even happy news and emotions aren't likely to cause exaggerated reactions of joy (though they probably enjoy a nice hearty laugh every now and then). When captured, [[DefiantCaptive they are defiant]] and likely planning their escape. |
| 22 | |
| 23 | Reasons for this demeanor vary. They probably have SeenItAll, are naturally [[TheSpock Spock-like]], have an iron-clad StepfordSmiler facade (though on the inside they probably ''are'' banging their head against the cage) or emotionally ''can't'' be made to feel extreme emotion, such as the TinMan. This doesn't count if the character is an EmptyShell since there isn't anyone home to excite. The ExtremeDoormat may count depending on the individual case (some are just too listless to care at all, not requiring any emotional control at all). AffablyEvil villains and TheChessmaster are always composed as a result of everything [[AllAccordingToPlan going according to plan]]. |
| 24 | |
| 25 | Even if this person doesn't have PsychicPowers, his incredible self-control often makes him resistant to those who do. |
| 26 | |
| 27 | In short, someone with Nerves of Steel is immune to the HeroicBSOD, VillainousBSOD, and VillainousBreakdown. God help us all if [[NotSoStoic this proves untrue]]. |
| 28 | |
| 29 | A good trait for a BadassBookworm to have, at least if they want both halves at the same time. Note that nerves of steel may be hard to distinguish from TranquilFury at times. Previously susceptible characters may suddenly develop Nerves of Steel when it's TheLastDance. Showing a StiffUpperLip is a good way for a character to convince ''other'' people that they have Nerves of Steel. Compare HeroicSafeMode, where the emotional/thinking part of the brain "shuts down" to allow for instinctual survival mechanisms to work unclouded by emotions. PostVictoryCollapse is when a character ''fakes'' having Nerves of Steel, but breaks down as soon as the danger passes. Not related to BallsOfSteel, which is more literal. Contrast NervousWreck. |
| 30 | |
| 31 | ---- |
| 32 | !!Examples: |
| 33 | |
| 34 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 35 | |
| 36 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 37 | * ''Manga/AceOfTheDiamond'': Protagonist Eijun Sawamura, despite being HotBlooded by nature, is usually able to keep calm and composed when things get dire for the Seidou team, and he tends to perform very well under pressure. By contrast, his rival Furuya, who is TheStoic, breaks down easily and his game starts to deteriorate whenever he gives a hit. [[spoiler:This is a major factor in Coach Kataoka's decision to choose Eijun over Furuya as the main pitcher against the strongest opponents in the practice games during the second year, and giving him the ace number come the summer tournament]]. |
| 38 | * ''Manga/{{Akagi}}''. His inability to become scared or upset about ''anything'' eventually drives the BigBad (whose playing style is partially based on frightening his opponents to a point where they begin to play desperately) into a VillainousBreakdown. |
| 39 | * Inaho Kaizuka of ''Anime/AldnoahZero'' raises this to the level of a superpower. He's not just cool under pressure, he's ALWAYS completely calm and calculating, which is the main reason why he's able to repeatedly go up against [[SuperRobotGenre Super Robots]] piloted by trained Knights, using an obsolete RealRobot and nothing more than basic schooling. While his opponents rave and rant, he's calmly assessing the situation and spotting the chinks in the enemy's armor. Interestingly, it's never explained why he is that way -- his sister is mostly normal, and if anything a tad too perky for a trained soldier, so it's presumably not a genetic trait. |
| 40 | * ''Manga/AssassinationClassroom'': In one episode, Nagisa and Karma sneak into [[spoiler:the International Space Station to get some classified data on Koro-sensei. They pretend to have a bomb and use that to threaten the astronauts. The astronauts aren't fazed in the slightest, pointing out that they already have one of the most dangerous jobs known to man, so a bomb threat made by a couple of school kids is nothing to them. But as it turns out, the astronauts are perfectly willing to give up the data without a fuss anyway.]] |
| 41 | * ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'': |
| 42 | ** Soldiers using the 3D Maneuver Gear properly need to be able to react and change directions in an instant to avoid disaster while maintaining perfect balance. Levi, who is the WorldsStrongestMan, is consistently stoic and calm that it's near impossible to break him from that state. |
| 43 | ** '''Erwin Smith'''. There is a reason that he is Commander of the Scout Corps. Threaten him with execution? He will stand there and relay his entire plan to you so you can complete it when he's dead. Titan limbs flying around sending others scrambling for cover? He will stand there and watch without batting a lash. [[spoiler:A Titan bites into his arm and drags him off? ''He will continue to yell orders to his troops'', then show up later ''missing an arm'', to save the day himself.]] He doesn't have a single nerve ''not'' made of steel. |
| 44 | * ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' has Guts and Griffith. Guts switches between this and a [[TheBerserker roaring, bloodthirsty warrior]] when faced with the demonic Apostles attracted to his Brand of Sacrifice. It doesn't matter when or where they attack him, Guts always figures out a way to fight back and never breaks down from fear or despair. Griffith is [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative]], putting on a calm and friendly facade while he does whatever it takes to accrue more power for himself, culminating in him sacrificing his friends to the Apostles. Another example would be Pippin who was the only besides Guts who was not immediately overcome with terror during the Eclipse. Casca has her moments as well like when Wyald half-dead shows up again after Guts beats him and has a EvilLaugh while holding up Griffith, Casca (despite her nearly getting raped by this monster a few chapters ago) pointing her sword just yells “What’s so funny freak?” to his face. |
| 45 | * ''Manga/BlackLagoon'' has a number of characters who are remarkably good at keeping their cool under pressure, with Chang as probably the main example. He remains perfectly calm and collected even while a psychopathic killer is trying to kill or keep him pinned down with a machine gun. |
| 46 | * ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': |
| 47 | ** When Uryuu loses his powers, the only way to regain them is to have a giant, flaming energy arrow fired into an exact location 19mm to the right of his heart. This can only occur when his life is on the line, stretching his body and spirit to the absolute limit. In other words, not only does he have to be shot in a location that will kill him if it is off by a hair, but he has to be a ''moving target'' for it to work. His father, [[StepfordSnarker Ryuuken]], who has to perform the shot, makes it look easy solely because he doesn't turn a hair when doing it. Later on, when he leaves the room and lights up a cigarette to relax, the moment strongly indicates it wasn't easy for him at all, he was simply that good at disciplining himself when it mattered. FridgeBrilliance, perhaps, as Ryuuken is also an extremely talented surgeon, a job that requires nerves of steel every day. |
| 48 | ** To everyone's surprise, [[spoiler:Mizuiro]] turns out to have these. When he wakes up in a town that's been thrust into the spirit world and is therefore practically a ghost town, he reacts by stocking up on essentials -- rations food, tasers, and other weapons. When attacked by a being that can literally vaporise things at the touch, he nonchalantly throws a bottle at him to test the enemy's capability. Upon realising that the rumour about this being vaporising things is true, he doesn't bat an eyelid and coolly throws a ''Molotov cocktail'' at him instead. He's only mildly surprised that it doesn't work and, for a moment, his companions are actually more nervous of ''him'' than they are of the BigBad. |
| 49 | * Girge from ''Manga/BrokenBlade'' doesn't seem to be afraid of anything. He deliberately handicaps 10 enemy's golems [[OneManArmy alone]], destroys an elite troop of five with a handicapped golem, and finishes it off by [[spoiler:[[IAmSpartacus stepping up and proclaiming to be someone who was going to be executed]] with a smile.]] |
| 50 | * Spike Spiegel of ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' has “complete ambivalence to his mortality” as a defining trait to his character as he does things like ask a mugger to point a gun at him during a hostage situation or willingly jump into the vacuum of space. PlayedForDrama in many ways as the incident with Julia left Spike feeling like he was dead already and life was just a waking dream, thus explaining why he’s so fearless in the face of death. However this does get effectively subverted in Session 20# “Pierrot Le Fou” where the titular NightmareFuel antagonist manages to do unthinkable and actually put the fear of god into Spike and make him run for his life — something no other antagonist is able to achieve in the series. Pierrot was simply too scary even for someone without fear. |
| 51 | %%* A trait common to most, if not all, Contractors of ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack.'' %%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample |
| 52 | * Despite not being as smart as others on this page, Goku from ''Franchise/DragonBall'' rarely losing his cool and remains calm even when the situation appears completely hopeless. While even Piccolo can succumb to panic or despair, Goku is usually seen thinking of a plan or even humoring how things seem hopeless while smiling. Among his group of friends, he is often seen as the person to look to when things go really bad even when he is not currently the strongest fighter. |
| 53 | * ''Manga/TheElusiveSamurai'': Shizuku is most likely of the Elusive Warriors to remain calm and collected in a pinch. Since the strength of her divine power increases with strong self-composure, she is able to influence a [[AbsurdlyHighStakesGame Sugoroku match with Mima]] by withstanding Mima's taunts with grace, then shattering Mima's concentration by giving Tokiyuki a long, calm smooch on the lips. |
| 54 | * Zero from ''Manga/GamblingEmperorLegendZero''. Even the narrator mentions how the more pressure is on him and the direr the situation is, the sharper his mind becomes. |
| 55 | * The shogun Shigeshige of ''Manga/{{Gintama}}'' is pretty much the only character who never, ''ever'' loses his composure. [[ButtMonkey Which is saying a lot when considering all of the abuse he tends to take whenever he shows up.]] |
| 56 | %%* Miyata Ichirou from ''Manga/HajimeNoIppo''. %%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample |
| 57 | * Jotaro Kujo of ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' can maintain the world's greatest poker face in any situation short of having a steamroller dropped on top of him. This ends up being his greatest asset in his [[AbsurdlyHighStakesGame Absurdly High Stakes Poker Game]] with a soul-stealing CardSharp, as he manages to bluff the man into outright insanity. |
| 58 | * ''Mazinger'': |
| 59 | ** ''Anime/MazingerZ'': |
| 60 | *** TheProfessor Gennosuke Yumi. Eighteen-meters-tall killer robots are advancing towards his Institute? Mount Fuji is about of erupting and burying them under burning lava? Squads of armed soldiers are besieging them under the threat of set off an earthquake under their feet if they do not surrender? A spy is aiming one gun towards him? He has been captured and is being used like a hostage? It happens all the time! Basically, Yumi is a scientist, hence he refuses to panic and instead of it he uses his analytical mind to study the trouble and find a solution quickly. He is so good keeping his cool he can come across like cold and aloof sometimes. Usually, he only expresses emotion when one of the kids -- Kouji, his daughter Sayaka or their friends -- are in serious and immediate danger. |
| 61 | *** Usually you would not associate Kouji Kabuto with this trope since he is a HotBlooded character, but he is ''surprisingly good'' keeping his coolness when he needs thinking quick to save himself or someone else. |
| 62 | ** ''Anime/UFORoboGrendizer'': Prof. Umon also plays this trope. He can be incredibly calm in the worse situations (or his anime version is. One of his manga versions... not so much). |
| 63 | * ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSeed'': Lacus Clyne. The girl is never visibly shaken by anything that happens in the series, always maintaining a calm and cheerful demeanor... even when informed that [[spoiler:her father has been assassinated]], she carries on and does what needs doing. The only time she shows any loss of control is in a private moment near the end with Kira, where she breaks down crying from everything that's happened and hugs him. One scene later and she's back to her usual unshakable demeanor. |
| 64 | * ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ'': |
| 65 | ** Haman Karn is famous for her [[IronLady iron composure]], not even blinking when facing meters-long blades punching right at her face (because she knows that Judau would never kill an unarmed opponent). She loses her cool precisely once, after [[spoiler: she shoots Judau's sister]], and Judau responds with a [[PsychicPowers gigantic phantom of pure psychic rage]], causing her to break and run away as fast as she can. |
| 66 | ** Mineva Lao Zabi, having been raised in part by Haman, inherits some of that iron spine. In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamUnicorn'', she doesn't even flinch when she's taken hostage with a gun put to her head, instead telling her captors that they have zero understanding of who they're dealing with if they honestly think threatening her life will stop their attackers. |
| 67 | ** Leina Ashta, Judau's sister, shows the results of her social TrainingFromHell under Glemmy Toto when she manages to give a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to the Federation's leaders, telling them to shut up and sit down ''while suffering from a gunshot wound to the stomach''. |
| 68 | ** Bright Noa's family, in general, are also shown to keep their cool to an incredible extent. Whether it's Mirai keeping calm even while threatened at gunpoint in ''Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam'' or her and her daughter talking about Char's plans despite ''an explosion going off close to their car'' in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamCharsCounterattack''. |
| 69 | * Johan Liebert from ''Manga/{{Monster}}'' serves as a villainous example. |
| 70 | * ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': Itachi Uchiha. Every move is carefully calculated, and he never loses his cool. That SanitySlippage from a couple of years ago? [[spoiler: He totally faked it so Sasuke would kill him]]. And then [[spoiler: after being freed from Kabuto's control when he's resurrected, he helps Killer Bee and Naruto fight the resurrected Nagato and calmly figures out how to beat Nagato's then-unbeaten gravity attack. He then, still calm, announces he's going to go defeat the resurrection technique itself.]] |
| 71 | * Gendo Ikari from ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion''. He only expresses emotion when his surrogate daughter Rei is in mortal peril [[spoiler:or about to abandon him.]] He calmly assesses and discusses options about the situation while his ''actual'' son might be being boiled alive, or trapped in a dimensional pit, or about to attempt to attack him with a giant robot because he's tired of his dickery. At one point he's half-coated in blood by an Angel duel happening ''right in front of him'', and he doesn't even ''flinch''. It's not that he doesn't care; he does, deeply. He's just... very inexpressive. There's a certain amount of self-loathing there as well. |
| 72 | * ''Manga/OnePiece'': |
| 73 | ** Nico Robin should qualify. She's the one on the upper right of a previous page image not losing her cool. |
| 74 | ** It feels like Luffy may have been born without the capacity for fear at times e.g when he has TheGovernment flag burned and Spandam points out he just declared war on the highest authority in the world and Luffy’s response is just: “[[BringIt BRING IT ON]]”. Luffy also didn’t hesitate to attack Kaido the WorldsStrongestMan an action so ballsy (and stupid) the people of Wano were stunned. |
| 75 | ** Zoro and Sanji both probably count as well. Sanji's been shown to be very efficient at dealing with a rapidly crumbling situation and saving his fellow Straw Hats, Sanji has also frequently stood up to god-like foes (e.g Enel) and heartily mocked them after taking their powerful attacks head on. Zoro ''never'' loses his cool ([[RuleofFunny except at the other Straw Hats]]), but he's a little too [[BloodKnight happy]] to pick a fight with other swordsmen, and tends to consider options that are too extreme to be plausible, to qualify fully for this. |
| 76 | ** No matter how dire the situation, Law almost always has a smug demeanor and has no reservations about FlippingTheBird to anyone, even if he's on the receiving end of a beating from them. [[spoiler:Even when he's on the verge of being murdered, he ([[BigDamnHeroes almost]]) goes out laughing and flipping his killer off. Then again, that D. in his real name probably gives that away; people with the D. tend to do that]]). |
| 77 | ** Jimbei was not only completely unafraid of Big Mom (which [[spoiler:saved him from her TouchOfDeath powers]]) but he even takes a moment to lay down a cup of sake and formally leave her crew with a sincere thank you, the first person to ever do so without dying. Big Mom was so dumbfounded that it actually takes her a brief moment before she tries to kill him again. |
| 78 | %%* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'': Subverted with Homura Akemi when her backstory is revealed. %%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample |
| 79 | * ''Manga/QueenMillennia'': Overnight, Hajime got into two explosions and has lost his parents, all of which he brushes off rather quickly. He is generally prone to getting into trouble and to only express confusion. |
| 80 | * ''Manga/SPYxFAMILY'': Twilight AKA Loid Forger remains calm and coolheaded in most situations and missions (Except when dealing with his forged family). Regardless of how dire and intense the moment is, he still maintains his composure and unyielding commitment to see things through to the very end. |
| 81 | * Chie Hori from ''Manga/TokyoGhoul''. An incredibly short girl with absolutely zero combat ability, who has spent nearly the last decade regularly trolling Ghouls and coming out on top. Her friendship with [[PickyPeopleEater Tsukiyama]] was cemented when he held her out an 8th story window and she didn't even blink. It isn't that she's foolish, even though she often gives that impression -- instead, she's simply got the world's best poker face and a knack for out-witting people before they even realize they've been conned. |
| 82 | [[/folder]] |
| 83 | |
| 84 | [[folder:Art]] |
| 85 | * Creator/MichelangeloBuonarroti's ''The Torment of St. Anthony'' shows an old man being thrown into the air by a horde of demons that are scratching at him, beating him with clubs and yelling while said geezer displays about a tenth of an emotion. As the stories go, St. Anthony is so confident in UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}}' love that not even beatings from flying fish-monsters can panic him. |
| 86 | [[/folder]] |
| 87 | |
| 88 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 89 | * ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}''. How many times have you seen this guy panic, or even show any sign of fear? He fights superhuman villains armed to the teeth yet he manages to beat them with a good plan and basically no emotional reaction to show for it. |
| 90 | * ''ComicBook/TheBoys'': James Stillwell, the man from Vought-American who is in charge of the heroes-division. He is a completely normal human without powers of any kind and is regularly surrounded by people who could reduce him to a stain on the walls, floor, and ceiling without effort. Yet he always remains completely calm and unperturbed at all times with his heartbeat never rising, even when threatened with death by said supers. [[spoiler:Homelander]] remarks that he might just have met a ''real'' superhuman. |
| 91 | * Albert Cleary of ''ComicBook/DamageControl'', who serves overdue bills to ''Dr. Doom'' without showing any outward signs of duress. |
| 92 | * ''ComicBook/TheFoxHunt'': The most reaction that Shinji as The Ghost Fox gives to seeing the bank robber he'd just defeated [[spoiler:literally rip himself in half]] is an understated "Nasty." His dad, the titular Fox, on the other hand, promptly [[VomitIndiscretionShot throws up]]. |
| 93 | * Post-Parallax members of the ''ComicBook/GreenLantern'' Corps tend toward this since they are now selected not for their lack of fear, but their ability to overcome it. |
| 94 | * ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'': Street Judges are [[TykeBomb trained from early childhood]] to be stoic and calm at all times. Dredd is the oldest judge on the force, having been active for more than half a century, so really has SeenItAll. He tends to approach any crisis with complete serenity, for instance hunting down a [[Franchise/{{Alien}} Xenomorph]] with the same routine attitude as a plumber fixing a kitchen sink. He even punched Fear itself in the face! |
| 95 | * ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': |
| 96 | ** Spidey himself despite being a guy from Queens who got powers by accident has gone up against monsters, super aliens, cosmic beings, other heroes and gods all while cracking wise. The likes of Thor and even Thanos have acknowledged how brave a mortal like him is in the face overwhelming odds. The fact that even [[https://external-preview.redd.it/0t0ZckiR_9Wgz-JFB2y9OQjILf7PGN5VR9MeghG3Ijw.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=6d2306bfa66c5734986d30a3d3054fcbaa9cff03 Galactus giving him a firm order]] isn’t enough to quake Peter is proof enough of his sheer nerve. |
| 97 | ** J.Jonah Jameson DependingOnTheWriter, he usually is more annoyed at the superpowered beings of his world than scared by them. The crowing example is during the Franchise/{{Godzilla}}-Marvel crossover where Jonah [[https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRfr1PTgd2_NW95MRYGC0qXlgBCX0NakPYw_Q&usqp=CAU actually sticks his head out the window and mouths off right into the King of all Monsters’ face]], proving for whatever his faults Jonah still has balls of Adamantium at his best. |
| 98 | ** Mary Jane in later comics, after traumatic experiences with Green Goblin, Venom and Carnage toughened her up. Nowadays she reacts to supervillains with annoyance and anger rather than fear. |
| 99 | * ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'': |
| 100 | ** ''ComicBook/ElseworldsFinestSupergirlAndBatgirl'': [[Characters/SupermanLexLuthor Lex Luthor]] is an utter, rotten bastard... who is never fazed by anything. [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker The Joker]] has kidnapped him? He looks calm. [[spoiler:A mad [[ComicBook/{{Superman}} Kryptonian]] is after his blood? He looks calm. His Kryptonian deterrent is gone? He looks calm. Supergirl is about to crush his windpipe? He looks calm. ComicBook/{{Batgirl}} has just exposed his crimes?]] He looks calm. |
| 101 | ** In ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton2004'', Batman always looks calm, composed and imperturbable. At a point, an enraged Kryptonian is floating behind him, and he keeps working without turning around. |
| 102 | * ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'': It takes a lot to faze Ratchet. He's not ''incapable'' of showing fear or distress, but he's been held hostage and tortured by experts, so the small stuff doesn't really impact him until someone dies, and even then, while he's not ''happy'', he's still clear-headed enough to convert the corpse into a weapon. |
| 103 | * ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'': Phillip Darnel, Steve Trevor's superior in the USAAF and later a general in the USAF, is remarkably calm in the face of superhuman and extraterrestrial threats that he's had no training to deal with, and treats having a enemy spy sitting on his desk and threatening him while he's unarmed like just another day at the office. |
| 104 | * Numerous members of the ''ComicBook/XMen'' qualify like Wolverine and X-23 treating Hulk like he’s a big sofa that needs to be moved or Jean Grey taking on Galactus. But a very special mention goes to ComicBook/{{Gambit}} who isn’t nearly as powerful as other X-Men, yet when facing someone like ComicBook/{{Apocalypse}} (a god-like mutant, who’s beaten the shit out of the Phoenix Force) one-on-one in ''ComicBook/Excalibur2019'' Gambit isn’t even slightly fearful, instead just plain pissed that the big blue bastard messed with his wife Rogue and goes to fight him like he would anyone else. |
| 105 | [[/folder]] |
| 106 | |
| 107 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 108 | * In the ''Literature/{{Temeraire}}'' fanfic ''Fanfic/BlackWingsBlackSails'', Laurence stares down Lily and her flesh-dissolving, acid-spraying face-spurs without showing even the slightest hint of fear. The only thing that can unnerve Laurence and break his stoic mask is his former dragon, Temeraire |
| 109 | * ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'' has several examples: |
| 110 | ** Most of the Avengers qualify, but Steve and Natasha are the stand-outs -- Steve because he tends to internalise his freak-outs, when they happen, and Natasha because she's just that opaque (not only has she really SeenItAll, she's not at all prone to dramatics). |
| 111 | ** Bucky Barnes, both as the Winter Soldier and afterwards. Even his NotSoStoic moment as the Winter Soldier in chapter 60 of the first book is largely internal. In the sequel, he's almost exclusively calm and composed, with the one moment when he was genuinely agitated (when Harry looked like he was about to snap and [[spoiler:go Dark Phoenix]] on Seamus Finnegan, who'd unwittingly pushed a TraumaButton) was noted by Cedric Diggory as being decidedly [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness unusual]]. |
| 112 | ** Dumbledore keeps his cool at all times, during battles, and even in the face of a half-mad Doctor Strange and the Phoenix herself. Twice, in the latter case. |
| 113 | ** Doctor Strange, meanwhile, tends to be somewhat kooky and occasionally coldly terrifying, but as the time-travelling seer who makes the Endless themselves dance on his puppet strings, he is invariably unfazed by everything that crosses his path... until his NotSoStoic moment, which encompasses most of the ''Forever Red'' arc of the sequel. As a result, this leads to a MassOhCrap from everyone else. |
| 114 | * ''Fanfic/CodePrime:'' In the epilogue of ''R2'', [[spoiler: Shamna doesn’t show an ounce of fear when meeting Predaking, even when he transforms, [[AdmiringTheAbomination calling him incredible]]. Considering the fact that Predaking was able to kill [[CombiningMecha Devastator]], and was able to hold his own against the [[BadassCrew Dinobots]], Shamna’s got a lot of guts to not be intimidated by him.]] |
| 115 | * ''Fanfic/DanceWithTheDemons'': [[ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} Selina Kyle]] gets shot with a poisoned dart during her wedding to [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Bruce Wayne]]. However, Bruce doesn't panic. He doesn't scream. He doesn't lose his composure. Instead, he rapidly assesses the situation, considers the tools at his disposal, coordinates his friends' efforts to save his wife, and forces himself to let them handle the situation when it's obvious he'd stand in their way. |
| 116 | -->[Kori] was awed. He wasn't letting himself shout, panic, even interrupt the team working on his wife. The man was so strong. |
| 117 | * In ''Fanfic/FateStarryNight'', Ritsuka treats having his hand impaled by Rider's spike as more of a minor annoyance than anything and stares down Berserker while having the gall to use Jason to purposefully piss off Greece's greatest hero to lure him away from Shirou. His ability to remain perfectly calm in high-tension situations confuses Rider, who wonders what the hell he went through to get to this point. But after successfully fleeing from Berserker, his legs turn to jello as he finally lets his fear seep in, showing that he's far from a FearlessFool. |
| 118 | * In ''Fanfic/IncarnationOfLegends'', Kojiro never, ever loses his cool, chatting casually with Bell even after murdering three men who were beating the boy up. Learning that Haruhime had been kidnapped under his watch only gets Kojiro to wave off the matter as he continues with a casual smile. He also has no problems walking right up to the Legiones, whose raw charisma and presence give Bell the urge to get down on his knees, and shaking his hand, even as a small army demands he show respect. |
| 119 | * ''Fanfic/TheSecondTry'': [[ManipulativeBastard Gendo]] is almost always calm, no matter the situation. He only got upset and agitated after [[spoiler:[[PeggySue Shinji]] warned him that he would never get [[AlwaysSaveTheGirl what he wanted]].]] |
| 120 | * ''Fanfic/TwilightsList'': Rainbow Dash thinks Twilight has these because she acts so cool and unperturbed in the face of Rainbow Dash's anxiety over the date. Unfortunately, this was because Twilight was actually asking Rainbow Dash out on a ''practice'' date, and as such, doesn't have any reason to be nervous. When Twilight realizes what has happened, she freaks out.. |
| 121 | * ''Fanfic/WithThisRing'' frequently shows the protagonist mentally working his way through whatever situation he faces -- frequently with more internal dialogue than there would actually be time for -- and reacting calmly and methodically, even if the chosen method is "railgun battery to the face." Likely justified since he wears a power ring that allows him to accelerate his thoughts and control his body's normally-involuntary functions like heart rate and sweating. It also helps that Guy Gardner specifically trains him to handle stressful combat situations like continual bombardment. |
| 122 | [[/folder]] |
| 123 | |
| 124 | [[folder:Film -- Animated]] |
| 125 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'' has the Emperor of China, that even after the Huns have taken over the city and [[EvilIsBigger their hulking menacing leader]] is threatening him (or attempting to attack with his sword), never loses his cool. |
| 126 | -->'''Shan-Yu:''' I tire of your arrogance, old man. [[KneelBeforeZod Bow to me]]!\ |
| 127 | '''Emperor:''' No matter how the wind howls, the mountain cannot bow to it. |
| 128 | [[/folder]] |
| 129 | |
| 130 | [[folder:Film -- Live-Action]] |
| 131 | * ''Film/{{Aliens}}'': Corporal Hicks defines this trope. |
| 132 | ** It's illustrated early in the film when he spends most of the drop down to the colony ''asleep'', in contrast to Gorman's nervousness and the boisterous behavior of his fellow Marines. After his unit gets largely wiped out, unlike Gorman (who freezes up under pressure and then gets knocked out), Hudson (who becomes a nervous wreck), and Vasquez (who enters a murderous rage), Hicks never once loses his cool. |
| 133 | ** When they know through the trackers that the xenomorphs are just ''metres away'', Hicks instinctively as the military leader volunteers to put his head through an overhead vent with a torch knowing it could mean his instant death: "Gimme the light." Yep, Hicks is the real deal. |
| 134 | * Batman in ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice''. After Superman causes the Batmobile to crash and rips the hood off, Batman's response is to stand up, stare the Kryptonian down and deliver a BadassBoast. Later, when Doomsday brings down the Batplane with its EyeBeams and Bruce finds himself about to be vaporized by the rampaging, unstoppable, Kryptonian abomination, his response is simply a fairly calm [[OhCrap "oh shit"]]. |
| 135 | * Soviet spy Rudolf Abel in ''Film/BridgeOfSpies''. No matter how bad things get, Abel never gets rattled. |
| 136 | -->'''Donovan:''' Aren't you worried?\ |
| 137 | '''Abel:''' Would it help? |
| 138 | * John Russell (Creator/GeorgeCScott) in the 1980 {{horror}} film ''Film/TheChangeling''. The guy's impossible to scare. |
| 139 | * ''Franchise/TheChroniclesOfRiddick'''s title character displays this at least once in every work in the franchise. |
| 140 | * Charles Morse in ''Film/TheEdge'' shows impressive self-possession while stranded in the Alaskan wilderness. |
| 141 | -->'''Charles:''' You know, I once read an interesting book which said that, uh, most people lost in the wilds, they, they die of shame.\ |
| 142 | '''Robert:''' What?\ |
| 143 | '''Charles:''' Yeah, see, they die of shame. "What did I do wrong? How could I have gotten myself into this?" And so they sit there and they... die. Because they didn't do the one thing that would save their lives.\ |
| 144 | '''Robert:''' And what is that, Charles?\ |
| 145 | '''Charles:''' Thinking. |
| 146 | * ''Film/{{Elysium}}'': Carlyle [[spoiler: is impressively composed when his Bugatti SSTO is shot down, and even sets an ambush, immediately after crash-landing, for Max and Julio by sending only one of his droids out to kill them, and waiting for them to leave cover before deploying the second.]] However, he (like Delacourt, and, it's somewhat implied, many Elysians), seems slightly robotic, which may be the source of his imperturbability. Mind you, he still had the occasional small spazz and yelp. It's still impressive that he wasn't screaming and flailing. |
| 147 | * ''Film/FirstMan'': You don't get to become an astronaut unless you are absolutely cool under pressure, as Armstrong demonstrates multiple times. Whether he's dismissing reporters certain of his coming demise, shaking off nausea from his daily flight simulator, or parachuting out of an exploding test plane, he stays as calm and disciplined as ever. |
| 148 | * In ''Film/TheHuntForRedOctober'', Captain Ramius demonstrates this perfectly while eluding a torpedo following the vessel. |
| 149 | * ''Film/TheInLaws'': CIA agent Vince Ricardo shows this throughout the movie. Except when he finds out he has to pay $1.5 million by the next day to the people he hired to rob an armored truck, and when his son makes a crack about his mysterious phone calls, Vince stays cool under pressure, whether shooting a man's gun out of his hand, backing down the wrong way on a highway during a car chase, or [[spoiler:facing a firing squad]]. |
| 150 | * ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'': |
| 151 | ** Nobody is braver than [[Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger Captain Steve Rogers]], not [[Film/TheIncredibleHulk2008 a humanoid tsunami who can punch through mountains]], nor even [[Film/{{Thor}} the god of thunder himself]], and hence it is he, but a mere mortal, who leads ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'' to a crushing victory against an army of alien invaders. |
| 152 | ** Only one other Avenger may give Steve a run for his money when it comes to bravery, that being a certain [[Film/IronMan Anthony Edward Stark]], the man who personally flew a nuke that was going to destroy New York through a portal, fully knowing it was one-way trip but managed to save the day and gained Steve's respect in the process. [[spoiler:''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' takes this even further as Tony having had Thanos throw a moon at him and seen him defeat all his teammates including Doctor Strange, still stands up to Thanos and fights him till his armor breaks and he gets impaled. Even the Mad Titan himself states Tony [[VillainRespect has won his respect]] for sheer bravery.]] |
| 153 | ** ''Film/ThorRagnarok'': Hela, who used to be Odin's Executioner, [[OneManArmy fights the entire]] [[BadassArmy army of Asgard]] without showing any sign of fear [[spoiler:and wins, though it turns out that [[NighInvulnerability she had little reason to be afraid of them]], [[TheWorfEffect despite how formidable they were shown to be in the past]]]]. However, later, when confronted with both [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever Surtur]] and [[spoiler:[[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the prophesized destruction of Asgard]]]], she only pauses for a moment before determinately raising her sword to attack him, [[spoiler:even though it was an unwinnable fight]]. |
| 154 | ** Special mention to Nebula, as she's the only hero who doesn't despair after [[spoiler:half the universe is turned to dust and still remains stoic in the face of dying stranded in space at the start of ''Film/AvengersEndgame'']]. |
| 155 | ** ''Film/DoctorStrange2016'': The good doctor himself can give both Tony and Steve a run for their money. |
| 156 | *** Faced with an EldritchAbomination neither he nor anyone in his team can hope to defeat, and the imminent transformation of Earth and the entire universe into a hellscape, he proceeds to [[spoiler:fly right up to the EldritchAbomination in question and sets a time loop that locks him and it in an eternal duel. Yes, the being will - and quite brutally - kill him effortlessly, but he will keep coming back, trapping it with him. Effectively, he dies hundreds if not thousands of times in increasingly brutal manners and refuses to break till Dormammu yields and leaves earth]] |
| 157 | *** A dialogue in a later movie proves he was this way even before he got his powers - as a regular doctor, he was performing surgery in a hospital in the midst of the Chitauri invasion. |
| 158 | ** ''Film/BlackPanther2018'': Nakia is horrified to see Killmonger apparently kill T'Challa in ritual combat, but she immediately pulls it together and hustles T'Challa's (understandably) distraught mom and sister into hiding, because she understands that it's not safe to be related to the old king after a new king usurps the throne. |
| 159 | * Stephen Maturin operating on himself in ''Film/MasterAndCommander''. |
| 160 | * ''Franchise/MonsterVerse'': There are several examples amongst the humans. Mason Weaver and Alan Jonah both respond very much this way when they find themselves staring down the barrel of a gun respectively, whilst Lieutenant Brody and Lieutenant Colonel Packard respectively handle themselves very calmly in intense situations, and Director Guillerman doesn't panic when in the radius of Godzilla's rampage. |
| 161 | * This is most likely a requirement for [[HumongousMecha Jaeger]] pilots in ''Film/PacificRim'', considering with [[{{Kaiju}} what they fight against]]. One notable example is the Russian couple Aleksis and Sasha Kaidanovsky who calmly walk away when Gipsy Danger's plasma caster inadvertently activates. ''When the plasma caster is directly in front of them point blank''. |
| 162 | * Cutler Beckett of ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' remains completely calm throughout the movies. Even his VillainousBreakdown at the end of ''[[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd At World's End]]'' is rather quiet and understated. |
| 163 | -->'''Elizabeth:''' I propose a deal.\ |
| 164 | '''Beckett:''' I'm listening.\ |
| 165 | ''[Elizabeth puts a gun to his head]''\ |
| 166 | '''Beckett:''' (''without changing expression'') I'm listening ''intently''. |
| 167 | * ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan'': During Khan's first attack against the ''Enterprise'', which severely damages engineering, all the engineering trainees and cadets are panicking except one: Midshipman Peter Preston, Scotty's nephew, who stays in his post through the chaos, helping save another engineer from being trapped behind the emergency doors. [[spoiler:Sadly, Preston dies from injuries he sustained afterwards]]. |
| 168 | * ''Franchise/StarWars'': In ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', Poe Dameron shows signs of this. It's part of [[AcePilot the job]]. |
| 169 | -->''[Finn is escaping with the captured Poe by pretending to be transferring him... through the flight deck.]''\ |
| 170 | '''Finn:''' Okay, stay calm. Stay calm.\ |
| 171 | '''Poe:''' ''[flatly]'' I am calm.\ |
| 172 | '''Finn:''' I was talking to myself.\ |
| 173 | '''Poe:''' ''[shoots Finn a DisapprovingLook]'' |
| 174 | %%** This is half the reason that Jedi are so damn awesome. Often leads to AwesomenessByAnalysis. %%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample |
| 175 | * Leonardo in ''Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2014'', is the best at keeping his head cool in the middle of battle, showing why he's the leader. |
| 176 | * Bill from ''Film/{{Twister}}'' is known for being gutsy and getting closer to tornadoes than anyone in their right mind would. He is called "The Extreme". |
| 177 | * This is described as the most important trait of a great gunfighter in ''Film/{{Unforgiven}}''. |
| 178 | * ''Film/XMenFirstClass'': Sebastian Shaw knows how to keep his cool and respond logically to every new threat he faces. |
| 179 | [[/folder]] |
| 180 | |
| 181 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 182 | * Multiple characters in the ''Literature/SixteenThirtyTwo'' series -- notably among the uptimers Mike Stearns and Jeff Higgins. Taking examples from the first book alone: |
| 183 | ** When Mike Stearns realizes that there are soldiers coming to attack the Abrabanel's carriage, he intentionally stands out in the open with a semiautomatic pistol to draw their fire away from the carriage -- and doesn't stop firing even when [[ClothingDamage one bullet rips through his sleeve.]] |
| 184 | ** When Jeff Higgins is defending [[spoiler:the students in the cafeteria]] from a charging band of (dismounted) Croat cavalrymen, he empties his shotgun, reloads, empties it ''again'', and -- not having time to reload a second time -- [[PistolWhipping butt-strokes]] another before finally being struck down by a saber-blow. |
| 185 | * Bishop Claudo in ''Literature/TheArtsOfDarkAndLight'' may be discomfited by assassins, sorcerers and haughty elfkings, but he never loses his wits, remaining at least outwardly calm and confident even when his life is directly threatened. |
| 186 | * Scheherazade in the ''Literature/ArabianNights''. She spends nearly three years telling story after story after story, always ending on a cliffhanger, knowing that if it isn't a good enough cliffhanger, she will be executed in the morning. |
| 187 | * ''Literature/BazilBroketail'': Manuel never seems to lose his cool, even in stressful situations. He remains completely unmoved, for example, when Purple-Green yells at him. |
| 188 | * Creator/AgathaChristie's Superintendent Battle is distinguished by his utterly imperturbable manner, to the extent that it's practically a plot point if he shows ''any'' emotion at all. |
| 189 | * Literature/CiaphasCain, self-described DirtyCoward, not only manages to hide the fact from friends and enemies alike but keeps fighting and keeps ''thinking'' when faced with Necron Pariahs, Demon Princesses, Tyrannids and all the other threats of his Grimdark 'verse. |
| 190 | * The MainCharacters of ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'' certainly count especially towards the end. Of note there’s Abraham Van Helsing who wasn’t scared of the vampiric threat before or after he knew what was dealing with and Jonathan Harker whom after his wife Mina is attacked and infected with Dracula’s blood trades his fear out for UnstoppableRage, even fighting the count up close and personal. |
| 191 | * "The Dinner Party" by Mona Gardner takes place at a dinner party in India, where a woman is arguing that women have grown out of [[EekAMouse jumping onto a chair when they see a mouse]] and a colonel is arguing that a woman's first response to any danger [[WomenAreDelicate is to scream]]. The American guest sees the hostess ordering a servant to put a bowl of milk outside, realizes that she's baiting a snake that's [[OhCrap under the table]], and suggests they play a "game" of sitting still for 5 minutes to settle the argument. The snake is safely lured outside and the colonel takes it as proof of his point that men have superior emotional control, while the American asks the hostess how she knew the snake was there. She responds [[spoiler:"Because it was crawling over my foot."]] |
| 192 | * ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': |
| 193 | ** Susan Sto Helit thinks logically all the time (well, ''nearly'' all the time, as everyone has their blind spots) when others wouldn't -- which means both in a dangerous situation and, let's face it, most of the rest of the time too. She actively teaches the children under her care “Don’t be afraid, get angry”. |
| 194 | ** Carrot Ironfoundersson doesn’t seem to comprehend his own mortality as he causally threatens dragons, walks in between armies of trolls and dwarves and isn’t even concerned when he’s surrounded by wolves. In ''Literature/{{Jingo}}'' he breaks up a fight between two battle hardened BloodKnight mercenaries talking to them like they’re misbehaving kindergarteners — at which their leader 71-hour Ahmed who witnessed it has to question Carrot’s boss Vimes if he’s real or not. |
| 195 | ** Vimes himself while not as completely without fear as Carrot, can still be remarkably calm about a whole werewolf pack hunting him, meeting Death, getting countless attempts on his life, coming to face to face with various deranged psychotics. It’s suggested multiple times that Vimes fears the actions of others far less than what he’s capable of himself when unchecked. |
| 196 | ** In ''Literature/UnseenAcademicals'', Glenda develops these after she gets out of [[TallPoppySyndrome the crab bucket]]. Angry mobs? Furies? Vampires? The Patrician of Ankh-Morpork? She faced down ''all'' of them. Not to mention got into the palace using only [[FoodAsBribe pie.]] |
| 197 | * In ''Literature/{{Divergent}}'', Eric describes his method of overcoming fear as using rationality and reason to remain level-headed. Indeed, [[spoiler:he is completely rational and calm when facing his death]] in ''Insurgent''. |
| 198 | * ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': |
| 199 | ** Harry Dresden is normally exhausted, bleeding, in spiritual if not physical agony, angry, terrified and running out of magic with the fate of the world on his shoulders -- none of which ever stops him from ''thinking'' and finding the answers he needs. The short story "Aftermath", from his friend Murphy's point of view, shows that in the moments where ''his'' narration reveals that he's most afraid, he transforms from a gawky nerd into a human avatar of power, command, and defiance, so fearsome that she's afraid of him even though she trusts him with her life. |
| 200 | ** Dresden notes this about the mercenary Kincaid and (accurately) calls out that Kincaid is not purely human as a result. During pitched battles with supernatural enemies, Kincaid remains perfectly calm and doesn't miss a single shot, something beyond the capabilities of regular human. |
| 201 | ** Arthur Langtry is mostly portrayed as an ObstructiveBureaucrat who has it out for Harry personally, with his accomplishments as [[RankScalesWithAsskicking leader]] of MagicalSociety mostly {{offscreen|MomentOfAwesome}}. In ''Literature/TurnCoat'', when TheMole unleashes a deadly monster in a White Council gathering, he [[BarrierWarrior wards it back]], formulates a battle plan, and telepathically coordinates all 200 wizards present with 3D visual aids, all within three seconds. |
| 202 | * Paul Atreides in ''Literature/{{Dune}}.'' Fear is the mind-killer, after all. |
| 203 | * Ender of ''Literature/EndersGame'': despite the enormous pressure piled on him by the teachers and his almost complete isolation, he never loses his temper and keeps on studying and winning the games; even when he's confronted by an entire gang of bigger boys out for his blood, or when the teachers stack the games completely against him, he still doesn't panic and wins with brutal efficiency. In the final stages of his training he's so worn out he's one step away from going insane but he still ''keeps on winning every battle''. |
| 204 | * ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'': |
| 205 | ** Lee Jordan reacts to the new PoliceState that is actively hunting down and killing "undesirables" and dissenters by starting up Potterwatch, of which he is the announcer and continuously makes jokes at the regime's expense and goes out of his way to report on deaths and other things which the regime is doing everything in their power to hide despite the fact that they are actively hunting him and sometimes get so close that it delays his broadcasts. |
| 206 | ** [[spoiler:Severus Snape, for years of lying to the face of ''Voldemort'', who is among the best Legilimens/mind readers in the world and generally a terrifying, paranoid, most evil Dark Lord in history.]] |
| 207 | ** Even after Harry “died”, Neville tells Voldemort that he’ll join him when “hell freezes over”. Voldemort sets the sorting hat on fire, puts it on Neville. What does Neville do? He pulls the Sword of Gryffindor out of the hat and chops off Nagini’s head, making Voldemort mortal once and for all. All while, once again, he’s on fire! |
| 208 | * Bilbo Baggins from ''Literature/TheHobbit'' while not as much at first (he fainted upon learning he might die on his adventure) after TakingALevelInBadass he shows no fear taking on armies of giant spiders and most impressively pokes fun at the Smaug the massive and wicked dragon while talking to him, which considering how powerful dragons are in the greater context of Middle Earth (being made by GodOfEvil Morgoth) means Mister Baggins undeniably has a massive pair on him. |
| 209 | * ''Literature/HoratioHornblower'': He displays these in war and in gambling. For example, at one point, a lit explosive lands on the deck at his feet. He reaches down and calmly pulls out the fuse. He looks up and sees that everyone else had dived for cover, and they are now staring at him like he's the bravest man on the planet. He manages to be exasperated because no other course of action had even occurred to him. |
| 210 | * Creator/PGWodehouse's Literature/{{Jeeves|AndWooster}}; under the most strenuous conditions, he might be prompted to elevate an eyebrow an eighth of an inch or so. |
| 211 | * InspectorJavert from ''Literature/LesMiserables'' is a really interesting take on this. |
| 212 | ** No danger can shake his cool, calm reserve: he'll arrest an armed gang with a [[TechnicallyASmile grin]] and a barrage of [[DeadpanSnarker pithy one-liners]], stare down the barrel of a gun and (accurately) predict it will misfire, duck hurled paving stones, and face his execution at the hands of angry revolutionaries with equanimity. Show him ''mercy'' when he's not expecting it, though, and it's a [[HeelRealisation whole]] [[BlackAndWhiteInsanity different]] [[DrivenToSuicide story]]... |
| 213 | ** [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] with Javert at least once in the novel. As when he arrests Valjean at Fantine’s sick bed, making her have a DeathByDespair Valjean has a moment of TranquilFury ripping off a bedstead making the up-until-then smug Javert “retreat across the room” and when Valjean coldly asks him not to disturb him during his last words to Fantine’s body, Javert outright trembles. Given Javert’s aforementioned fearlessness [[BewareTheNiceOnes it’s a mark of how shit scary Valjean must be when angry]] that even someone like Javert chickens out when face to face with it. |
| 214 | * Multiple characters in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' display this. Most notable examples include: Frodo walking down towards the eyes of Shelob in her own nightmarish lair, Gandalf facing the Balrog on the bridge, Aragorn giving Sauron a BringIt via the Palantír, Éowyn facing the Witch-King and Sam taking on Shelob before storming a orc fortress. |
| 215 | * Shows up, appropriately enough, in ''Nerves'', where nobody really loses their cool despite a breeder reactor blowing up, producing an isotope that could destroy everything within thirty miles at any moment and the one guy who knows enough to stop it going missing. Interestingly, it slightly {{deconstruct|edTrope}}s this trope, showing just how hard it can be to keep calm and carry on. |
| 216 | * At least a couple of characters in ''Literature/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' show this. Most prominently is The Persian who despite knowing first hand how utterly dangerous Erik is, willingly sneaks around the Phantom’s abode and does his best to prevent Erik’s evil machinations. Christine while she certainly has moments of being afraid is still able to look Erik in his NightmareFace and brave enough to repeatedly protect Raoul from him (it’s summarised that Raoul’s presence may make her braver, including not being afraid of the dark while with him). A minor character La Sorelli deserves serious credit, despite being considered a BrainlessBeauty, she bravely ventures outside her dressing room armed with a knife upon hearing eerie footsteps that terrify the other younger ballerinas. |
| 217 | * ''Literature/TheShahnameh'': Rostam displays this on multiple occasions including: |
| 218 | ** He goes to battle against the mounted and heavily armed Ashkboos with only a bow and two arrows. He shoots down Ashboos's horse with one arrow. The thoroughly rattled Ashkboos fires a barrage of arrows at Rostam who doesn't even move. Then Rostam shoots his only remaining arrow with dead accuracy. |
| 219 | ** When Esfandiar arrives to arrest Rostam they shake hands and Esfandiar squeezes Rostam's hand so hard the veins under his nails pop and start to bleed. Not only does this not faze Rostam, but he also delivers some good-humored badass boasts and goes home to prepare for battle. |
| 220 | ** When he sneaks into the Div-e Sepid's cave, he finds the demon sleeping. Instead of taking the opportunity to slay the monster in his sleep, he lets out a battle cry and fights him only when he's fully awake. |
| 221 | ** Bahman fearing for his father Esfandiar's life in his battle against Rostam tries to assassinate him by hurling a boulder from a hill to crush Rostam. The hunting party accompanying Rostam drop what they're carrying and dive out of the way. Rostam simply kicks the rolling rock away from him! |
| 222 | * ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': |
| 223 | ** The prologue-only Waymar Royce from Book 1: ''A Game of Thrones'', in spite of being something of an UpperClassTwit, did not panic upon coming face to face with one of the Others. He calmly drew his sword and dueled the icy fiend, actually holding his own. [[spoiler: He lost and wound up a wight, but still]]. |
| 224 | ** Stannis Baratheon is somewhat infamous for being dogmatically stubborn and cool under pressure. The fact that he doesn't seem to emote or react like most people do not help his already terrible PR. |
| 225 | ** Oberyn Martell shows absolutely no fear going up against [[WorldsStrongestMan Gregor Clegane]], a.k.a. [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast The Mountain That Rides]]. [[spoiler:While he does back up this fearlessness by knocking Gregor to the ground, he wasn't quite as good as he thought he was and is killed while attempting to deliver the finishing blow.]] |
| 226 | * Literature/{{Spenser}} has these and has even discussed it. His outlook is basically that while he may be scared, it doesn't change what he has to do and acting scared could make things worse. |
| 227 | * Nezha from ''Literature/SwordArtOnline'' ''Progressive'' calmly admits his culpability in a scam that resulted in many players being swindled out of their equipment while facing the rest of the "clearers" -- a group of the best players, who'd just downed the boss of the second floor (albeit with Nezha's help), despite knowing that the players could very well kill him for what he'd done. |
| 228 | * In the often overlooked Creator/FrankHerbert novel, ''The White Plague'', a character takes great pain and care to describe the titular illness in its every gory, incurable, detail, knowing that no one trying to cure the white plague can possibly do so. The reason this character has such intimate knowledge of the effects of the plague is that ''she's dying of it''. |
| 229 | * ''Literature/XWingSeries'': |
| 230 | ** Wedge Antilles is said to alternately have cold-space lubricants and ice water in his veins. He just about invariably keeps cool and adjusts to new situations. Certainly, Wedge feels emotions, some strongly, but he's well able to analyze and understand them. He's only shown losing control once -- when someone uses FantasticRacism to diss one of his nonhuman pilots, who ''just'' died to save the man, he pulls a NeckLift and never mind that the other man is taller. |
| 231 | ** Admiral Teren Rogriss, an Imperial fleet commander [[EnemyMine who ends up briefly working with the Republic]] ''Solo Command'', is noted to have these [[WorthyOpponent by his enemies]]. He amply demonstrates by playing chicken ''with [[MileLongShip kilometer-long capital ships]]''. His ''Interdictor''-class cruiser isn't much in a fight but can prevent a HyperspeedEscape by Warlord Zsinj's flagship -- as long as it remains in range. Zsinj sends several vessels against him but can't beat the ''Imperial''-class Star Destroyers backing up Rogriss's ship, so he decides to set one of his cruisers on a collision course to force the (smaller and lighter) ''Interdictor'' to turn aside. Zsinj [[OhCrap starts worrying]] the second he identifies the officer in charge since he knows his own captain will flinch first. In the end, that captain is killed and the burning hulk of his ship is locked into its course. Rogriss stays ''past'' the last second, maneuvering out of the collision using a canny modification of his ship's systems, but also willing to take the risk that it wouldn't work to allow his allies time to keep fighting Zsinj. |
| 232 | * ''Literature/TheZombieKnight'' has Roman's secretary Gina. Without even being able to fight, she waltzed into a castle overrun with superpowered psychos from [[ReligionOfEvil Abolish]] and riddled it with eavesdropping devices, then spent weeks holed up listening to the bug feeds (which often include the sounds of Abolishers gruesomely killing people) and feeding info to her allies. All while knowing that at any time a curious Abolish reaper might spot her soul and bring the supervillains down on her. |
| 233 | [[/folder]] |
| 234 | |
| 235 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 236 | * ''Series/TwentyFour'': In spite of the worst that can be thrown at him, almost nothing fazes Jack Bauer. The same goes for his political counterpart, David Palmer. |
| 237 | * ''Series/ANZACGirls'': Instead of panicking when she's faced with a catastrophic lack of anything resembling proper facilities or adequate supplies at the field hospital on Lemnos Island, Matron Grace Wilson not only keeps a cool head but keeps her nurses calm as well, then sets about fixing the problem to the best of her ability and making do with what she's got. In real life, the real Grace Wilson wound up with an unheard-of 2% mortality rate — almost miraculous given the era and circumstances. It got her the Royal Red Cross. |
| 238 | * ''Series/BabylonFive'': |
| 239 | ** Mr. Morden. Gotta hand it to him; not even being arrested, threatened by most of the cast or coming face-to-face with [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien Ambassador Kosh]] seems to unnerve him. [[spoiler:The fact that two equally advanced aliens constantly watch over him may have something to do with that -- when Londo kills/chases them off, he finally cracks.]] |
| 240 | ** When Vir is faced with a giant monster (that he didn't know was a hologram) he just kept repeating that his boss wants an audience until the technomage responsible for the giant monster gave up on trying to scare him away. |
| 241 | * ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': Oz. He's ''not'' a man easily shaken by anything. |
| 242 | * ''Series/BurnNotice'': Michael Weston makes a comment about this in one episode. Stating how one can never tell if someone does have Nerves of Steel. Where a trained soldier could crack easily under pressure but a father whose son was kidnapped can have ice water in his veins. |
| 243 | * ''Series/TheCityHunter'': [[ActionGirl Na Na]] displays these. It's a necessary part of her job, as she's a professional bodyguard and government agent. |
| 244 | * ''Series/CriminalMinds'': Hotch. Everyone from a serial killer to a snarky defense attorney to Strauss has done something that should unsettle him. He generally handles this by taking a moment, then delivering a line that explains their failings with a mix of calm and condescension. |
| 245 | * ''Series/{{Dexter}}'': When Paul is pulling his alpha male act on [[Characters/DexterDexterMorgan Dexter Morgan]] in season 1, he throws a punch that stops an inch short of Dexter's face. Dexter barely flinches and never takes his eyes off Paul or changes his expression, then calmly asks him, "Is that it?" |
| 246 | * ''Series/DoctorWho'': |
| 247 | ** The Doctor's companions sometimes have this: |
| 248 | *** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E4TheFaceOfEvil "The Face of Evil"]], Leela's "fight or flight" response doesn't have a "flight" setting. |
| 249 | *** Romana II evidently picked them up quickly after jousting against the [[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E1DestinyOfTheDaleks Daleks]], considering how she stayed calm and scheming after [[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E2CityOfDeath witnessing a horrific murder of a scientist]] by Count Scarlioni to intimidate her. |
| 250 | ** The Doctor himself can be described as having this, as he regularly risks his life and confronts danger with composure. In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E9TheSatanPit "The Satan Pit"]], he literally laughs in the face of the Devil, in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E13TheBigBang "The Big Bang"]] he carries on without visible nerves after having seen his future self near death and in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E12HellBent "Hell Bent"]] he literally stands in front of a firing squad without flinching. He is also unperturbed at gruesome sights, although sometimes saddened — in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E8ColdWar "Cold War"]] he quite clinically examines a dismembered corpse. Not to mention the fact that he can even carry on living and being cheerful after everything he's seen and lost. |
| 251 | ** Being head of the UK branch of UNIT typically brings with it a total refusal to show more emotion than some blend of steely determination and deadpan indifference in the face of any kind of alien menace, especially when it's TheBrigadier himself or his daughter, whether the MonsterOfTheWeek is armies of Cybermen, reality-bending terrors or demons from beyond the stars. |
| 252 | * ''Series/{{Firefly}}'': |
| 253 | ** Simon remains calm while operating on Kaylee in "[[Recap/FireflyE01Serenity Serenity]]" with (as far as he knew) the possibility that he and River might be killed or turned over to the Alliance hanging over his head, and while directing Zoe in operating on him in "Objects in Space". Including warning her when he's about to pass out. |
| 254 | ** Simon is a classic SugarAndIcePersonality and is [[TheStoic stoical]] a lot of the time. River had an even harder time in "Objects in Space". She had her amygdala torn out after all and thus is flooded with emotion. |
| 255 | ** Wash is able to go from the funny sarcastic guy to completely calm and in control in mere moments as well, as best seen in the Pilot in where he shows us just WHY Malcolm and Zoe have such trust in him and provides us with one of the best Crowning Moments Of Awesome in the series by outmaneuvering the Reavers without losing that stoic calm. Also in the [[Film/{{Serenity}} Movie]], outmaneuvering the Reavers while flying directly into the thick of an Alliance armada. When Mal panics and tries to direct him, "No, no, no, ''no!''" Wash simply matches his tone, "Yes, yes, yes, yes!" and keeps his bearing. |
| 256 | ** Zoe walks into the room where her husband and her oldest friend and comrade are being tortured and cuts the villain off before he can even finish presenting his impossible dilemma, all without changing expression. When she gets given Wash and Mal's ear, she calmly accepts both, then returns to the ship and puts the ear on ice before heading back out for the rescue mission. Her response to [[spoiler: Wash's death]] in Serenity is almost equally flat. She freaks out initially, but no more than a few seconds later, she is coolly walking off the ship, checking her weapons, and telling the others that "he's not coming." |
| 257 | %%** Simon Tam displays this in "[[Recap/FireflyE09Ariel Ariel]]". River does in "[[Recap/FireflyE14ObjectsInSpace Objects in Space]]". |
| 258 | * ''Series/{{The Flash|2014}}'': The often-underestimated Detective Joe West. When an unstoppable metahuman serial killer breaks into his home and threatens him, Joe calmly talks to him and refuses to call for help, knowing that's exactly what the villain wants. He persists even under torture. He only looks worried when he sees Cecille, but even then he mentally shouts to her ''not'' to call for help, hoping that her residual telepathy picks up on it. Even then, the detective spent this time analyzing the guy, even figuring out that [[spoiler:Cicada is a father]]. |
| 259 | * ''Series/GameOfThrones'': |
| 260 | ** Ned Stark seems awfully calm when surrounded by Lannister soldiers, with Jaime Lannister in front of him. |
| 261 | ** Arya Stark is developing these as she goes from horrifying experience to horrifying experience. She is absolutely unafraid of characters such as Tywin, Melisandre and the Hound who terrify everyone else in the series. |
| 262 | ** Granted, he knows his sister is close by and has his back, but Jojen never loses his affable tone even when Osha has a spear to his neck — and a full-grown direwolf is baring its teeth at the same time. |
| 263 | ** Tywin is very nonchalant of Tyrion threatening to kill him, even after finally being shot down with a crossbow. |
| 264 | ** When Bronn is challenged by Sandor Clegane, he is less "OhCrap" and more "oh well". It is very rare to see Bronn in distress. This is usually because he's so badass that things rarely turn against him to begin with, but even when they do he takes it in stride. The exceptions are in Season 5 when his engagement is annulled, costing him his imminent Lordship, and later on when Tyene has him poisoned and on the brink of death. Even in the latter scenario, he's rotting in a dungeon with a slim chance of getting out soon and is perfectly content to stay there singing to himself for as long as he has to. Season 7 also brings an exception with the Battle of the Blackwater Rush, which has him quite distressed at fighting a battle against the Dothraki khalasars and a damn ''dragon'', and even then he holds it together long enough to kill said Dothraki chasing him, deal a crossbow bolt to Drogon and then save Jaime's ass by tackling him out of the way of Drogon's fire. |
| 265 | ** Daenerys is the blood of the dragon and a dragon is ''not'' afraid. Right from episode one, she's been showing the kind of reserve and spine a ruler of realms should have. She's been insulted, intimidated and threatened in various unpleasant ways by several powerful people. None of them managed to so much as affect her expression, much less her resolve. Reaches a CMOA when she refuses to back down against Drogon's black rage in Daznak's Pit. If she had; he probably would have devoured her. |
| 266 | ** Stannis, as is his book counterpart, as his reaction to half his fleet being decimated by Wildfire is pretty much to grit his teeth and go charging at the King's Landing anyway. |
| 267 | --->'''Stannis:''' Come with me and take this city! |
| 268 | * ''Series/HouseOfTheDragon'': Daemon Targaryen keeps calmly [[MusicSoothesTheSavageBeast singing a song in High Valyrian to the gigantic and terrifying dragon]] Vermithor in the first SeasonFinale in order to tame the beast, without running away. |
| 269 | * ''Series/GreysAnatomy'': The season six finale is a moment of awesome for Cristina. [[spoiler:Derek's been shot, and the lockdown has left no one but her to operate on him. If she doesn't, he will die. A few minutes later, the shooter comes in and sticks his gun in her face, ''demanding'' that she stop operating and let Derek die. She's scared, she's crying, but her hands don't shake because dammit [[HonorBeforeReason she promised she would try to save her best friend's husband.]] She keeps. On. Operating.]] |
| 270 | -->'''Cristina''': Derek's a mess, Meredith's a mess, you're a mess -- that leaves ''me'' in charge! Now ''go. Scrub.'' '''In.''' |
| 271 | * ''Series/{{JAG}}'': Clayton Webb; while he can be annoying, the only picture of him panicking was in a flashback in one episode. In other times, he is never fazed. |
| 272 | * Red Ranger Jason Lee Scott from ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' was able to keep his nerve when trapped in a room with [[TheDragon Goldar]] ''without his morpher''. |
| 273 | * In ''Series/PersonOfInterest'', all the main heroes (and most of the villains, too) are stoic in the face of deadly danger, but Sameen Shaw takes it right over the top. She has a mood disorder that means she might be genuinely incapable of feeling fear. |
| 274 | * ''Series/{{Revolution}}'': Julia Neville reveals herself to be in possession of these in "[[Recap/RevolutionS1E10NobodysFaultButMine Nobody's Fault But Mine]]". She remains calm and states calmly that she's not the type to beg for her life... and this is while Miles Matheson is holding a sword to her throat. |
| 275 | * ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'': |
| 276 | ** John Watson. In the first episode, Sherlock mentions this trope by name while analyzing the [[spoiler:man who shot a serial killer]]. At that exact moment, he catches sight of [[BadassAdorable John]] and realizes who he's describing. |
| 277 | ** Sherlock has his moments. In the fourth episode, he's being threatened at gunpoint and is told that if he doesn't come up with a piece of information he ''doesn't have'', John will be killed. Despite this clearly concerning him, he still remains relatively calm and thinks fast enough to [[AwesomebyAnalysis deduce]] the information he needs. It helps that Irene gives him a vital clue at that moment by [[spoiler:looking down at herself]]. |
| 278 | ** Both Sherlock and John handle the finale of the first season ender pretty well -- particularly the last few moments. In the same episode with Irene, John didn't as much as ''blink'' when Sherlock threw the CIA dude out the window. And he calmly threatened death on a professional killer. |
| 279 | ** Sherlock remained calm with Magnusson, and Mary remained calm when she did shoot Sherlock, though she did look apologetic. |
| 280 | * ''Franchise/StarTrek'': |
| 281 | ** In a ''[[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries Star Trek: TOS]]''[=/=]''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration''[=/=]''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]'' crossover novel, ''The Return'', Dr. Bashir was doing some very delicate operation and the Red Alert klaxons went off. Data was sure that the patient was dead because the noise would have startled Bashir, but no, he kept his scalpel very still. Then he contacted the bridge. "Turn off the alarms in sickbay. I held myself still once but I don't think I could do it again." |
| 282 | ** Jett Reno in ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'' is rarely fazed by ''anything''. She survives ten months stranded on an asteroid caring for injured and unconscious crewmates with her sanity intact, and reacts to whatever danger occurs by identifying the [[MacGyvering quickest engineering solution]] and then doing it, no hesitation. Even the time crystal, which left Pike and Burnham gasping in horror at the BadFuture visions, doesn't faze her -- she just locks everyone else out of the room, ''blinks hard'', and keeps working until she's done. |
| 283 | %%** ''Series/StarTrekPicard'': In "Absolute Candor", Emmet (the Emergency Tactical Hologram) is totally nonchalant when he reports to Rios that ''La Sirena'' is seconds away from being obliterated by Vashti's security net. |
| 284 | %%** Spock displays this. |
| 285 | %%** Kirk often does, too. |
| 286 | %%** And of course, Data does this. Though "Fiber optic nerves" would be more accurate in his case. |
| 287 | * ''Series/TheWildWildWest'': Jim West is basically unflappable under any circumstances. |
| 288 | [[/folder]] |
| 289 | |
| 290 | [[folder:Roleplay]] |
| 291 | * Irene from ''Roleplay/DawnOfANewAgeOldportBlues'' has been shown capable of keeping her calm even under great duress, or when dealing with the inherent BodyHorror of her [[{{Biomanipulation}} power]] (such as rationally deciding to merge her hand into Melissa's neck to keep the other girl from turning to smoke). It can be [[DissonantSerenity somewhat unnerving]] at times. |
| 292 | * In ''Roleplay/YuGiOhEastAcademy'', every single one of the East Academy duellists shows an almost mind-boggling amount of courage, standing firm in the face of horrors that most war veterans would [[GoMadFromTheRevelation break down at.]] Bear in mind that these kids are all underage schoolchildren who never asked for this. |
| 293 | [[/folder]] |
| 294 | |
| 295 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 296 | * In ''TabletopGame/BloodBowl'', the "Nerves of Steel" trait means a player doesn't get any penalties from being surrounded by opposing players while handling the ball. |
| 297 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Deadlands}}'' has a character trait called ''nerves o' steel,'' but this Trope is more effectively represented by the ''level-headed'' advantage: the cool-headed [[GratuitousSpanish hombre's]] lack of panic usually results in more flexibility with initiative in a combat round than others possess. Used well, a ''level-headed'' character can almost choose when to act in a round, representing a mind that is constantly looking for the perfect time to strike. |
| 298 | * ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'' has the Unfazeable advantage, which means that the character in question never has to make Fright Checks. |
| 299 | * ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy'': |
| 300 | ** Models with the "Immune to Psychology" rule do not suffer morale penalties when fighting units that cause Fear or Terror, making them immune to terror routs that can send less disciplined fighters running for the hills when a monstrous creature charges into battle. |
| 301 | ** Models with the "Cold-Blooded" trait still have to take leadership tests, but throw an extra dice and pick the two most favourable one whenever called upon to do so. When added to the [[{{Determinator}} "Stubborn"]] or "Immune to Psychology" rules there is very little that will shake the model's resolve. |
| 302 | ** The "Unbreakable" rule is the most extreme version -- Unbreakable characters are immune to Leadership tests, and will not lose morale no matter what. |
| 303 | * ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': Represented in different ways: |
| 304 | ** {{Space Marine}}s have the special rule "And They Shall Know No Fear", representing how their biological modifications and mental conditioning have left them without a real fear response. They can fall back if defeated in close combat or after suffering heavy casualties from enemy fire, but this is a TacticalWithdrawal rather than a rout, and the Space Marines automatically regroup after doing so. One of the signs of how far the Chaos Space Marines have [[FallenHero fallen]] is that they do not have this rule. Their nerves are very much not steel, and they know fear. [[spoiler:Cypher is unusual since he's a Chaos Space Marine who still has the "And They Shall Know No Fear" rule.]] |
| 305 | ** Units with the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Fearless]] take this one step further -- they're sufficiently [[{{Determinator}} determined]], [[ChurchMilitant zealous]], [[AxeCrazy bloodthirsty]], or [[FearlessFool stupid]] that they automatically pass any Morale checks they would be called upon to take. This lets them sidestep [[CarFu Tank Shock]] attempts and return to their formation without losing cohesion, but this disregard for their own safety can see them take additional casualties when outnumbered in close combat. |
| 306 | ** Nerves of Steel is a talent in ''TabletopGame/DarkHeresy'' and ''TabletopGame/RogueTrader'', which allows you to re-roll pinning tests. A better way or representing this trope would be taking the Fearless talent or the From Beyond trait, which make you completely immune to fear or pinning, or [[InsanityImmunity having an unhealthy amount]] of [[SanityMeter Insanity Points]]. |
| 307 | ** Subverted with the World Eaters, the chosen Legion of WarGod Khorne, who are lobotomized so as to become completely fearless... but end up as screaming lunatics who live only to rush at the enemy and decapitate them with chainaxes. Exactly how much fear is left to get rid of when you're willingly going through the operation led by a chap with the title of ''berserker-surgeon'' is debatable. |
| 308 | [[/folder]] |
| 309 | |
| 310 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 311 | * Ryfia from ''VideoGame/ArcRiseFantasia''. Despite mostly being a standard WhiteMagicianGirl, she is almost completely unflappable. The most notable example occurs when Weiss throws a knife at her, that passes hair-width away from her face, and she doesn't even budges. |
| 312 | * The eponymous ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'' virtually never shows any form of fear or panic in either game, regardless of the situation. The only couple of times we see her worried or upset are when those close to her are in danger. Other times, she'll either just [[DeadpanSnarker snark]] at the immediate danger, or [[HatesSmallTalk get annoyed with the enemy's rambling]] and attack it. |
| 313 | -->'''Fortitudo:''' Challenging us with the dark arts!? No matter the age, witches never learn...\ |
| 314 | '''Bayonetta:''' *[[ShutUpHannibal BANG]] [[HatesSmallTalk BANG]] [[TriggerHappy BANG]]* [[ShoutOut Flock off]], [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry feather-face]]! |
| 315 | * ''VideoGame/CoffeeTalk'': The Barista has served so many different kinds of [[FantasyKitchenSink fantasy beings]] that they've gotten used to the presence of the scarier ones. |
| 316 | ** They're able to keep a cool head and [[spoiler:serve a sedative to Gala in the middle of his Fury.]] |
| 317 | ** In Episode 2, Jorji is shocked by how the Barista can be so calm about the possibility of [[spoiler:the dead hawthorn tree, which was left behind by the fairy that was killed by a drunk driver, being haunted.]] |
| 318 | * In ''VideoGame/DeadCells'', the bow weapon ''Nerves Of Steel'' has very low base damage, but excellent [[CriticalHit critical hit]] damage if the player can draw the bow, wait a short while, and only then release it with correct timing. It can be tough to keep the rhythm going while enemies are bearing down on the player, but the reward of high damage criticals is well worth it. |
| 319 | * Agent Francis York Morgan of ''VideoGame/DeadlyPremonition'' reacts to the DarkWorld simply by lighting a cigarette and proceeding forward with hardly any reaction. It helps that he's already [[CloudCuckooLander crazy]] [[SplitPersonality in his own way]]. |
| 320 | * JC Denton is ''VideoGame/DeusEx'' when playing stealthily. "You mechs may have copper wiring to reroute your fear of pain, but I've got nerves of steel." |
| 321 | * Dante from ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry''. This guy's reaction to things like [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry1 giant demon birds threatening him]], a [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening three-headed ice dog trying to block his way]], or a [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry4 demon snake-plant trying to eat him]]? Dodging or no-selling whatever they try to do and taunting them back. |
| 322 | * ''VideoGame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness'': Seraph Lamington, no matter what sort of situation arises, always manages to keep a calm, collected tone... even when Laharl is about to tear him several new ones. |
| 323 | * ''VideoGame/EternalDarkness'', famed for abuse of the SanityMeter, lacks the meter during Pious Augustus's chapter. Simply due to being before the meter is introduced to gameplay? Being the only battle-hardened professional soldier among the player characters? [[TheChosenOne Or is it because the ancients decided to preserve his sanity?]] After all, they aren't so bad to look at by default, [[MindRape they choose to make those who look at them lose it.]] |
| 324 | * ''Franchise/{{Fallout}}'': A perk of the same name is present in both ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' and ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas''. With its effect granting an increase to the regeneration of Action Points, which the player character(s) uses mostly to attack enemies in V.A.T.S., this can be inferred as gaining an unflinching focus in battle and attacking with more precision. |
| 325 | * The [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyI Warrior of Light]] from ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'' almost always keeps a cool head no matter the situation. He's only shown losing his calm demeanor once, [[spoiler: when Cosmos sacrifices herself to shield him from a horde of Manikins near the end of ''012''.]] |
| 326 | * The [[PlayerCharacter Warrior of Light]] in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' absolutely never shows fear no matter what foe they face. They're capable of displaying a range of emotions like anyone else, but when it comes to staring down things like [[TheEmpire the Empire's]] best generals, [[PhysicalGod primals]], top ranking demons, or even [[spoiler: the embodiment of despair itself that can destroy the universe]], the Warrior of Light shows only determination. |
| 327 | * In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' the Avalanche crew MainCharacters are quite fearless but the most prominent example of this is Sephiroth as in the vast majority of his appearances he’s completely unshakable and practically nothing can wipe that PsychoticSmirk off his face. In fact we’ve only ever seen Sephiroth lose his cool twice in the FFVII universe first when he’s GoneMadFromTheRevelation of his birth in the Shinra manor, and second being when Cloud shrugs off getting impaled to lift Sephiroth up by the very sword he buried through Cloud’s torso, with Sephiroth even uttering a ThisCannotBe in outright panic before Cloud throws him into the reactor. After he CameBackStrong Sephiroth is pretty much unshakable besides a subdued OhCrap at getting cut up by Cloud’s Omnislash. |
| 328 | * Jenny Myers from ''[[VideoGame/FridayThe13thTheGame Friday the 13th: The Game]]'' has a perfect Composure stat, making her breathing less louder when hiding in closets or under beds while also decreasing the chances of Jason spotting her with Sense. This also means she can get out of Jason's [[NeckLift Neck Lift]] a lot faster than the other counselors. |
| 329 | * Pretty much all of the playable characters from ''Five Nights at Fuckboy's'' count as this, with Freddy, Toy Freddy and Springtrap treating almost all of the threats they come across as more annoying obstacles rather then genuine threats. Freddy also momentarily freaks out at having to fight a god named Cranky Kong but quickly regains his composure and manages to defeat him and even has the guts to mock him over his failure afterwards. |
| 330 | * A questline in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'' has Trevor helping a pair of lunatics threaten and arrest anyone they think is an illegal immigrant. The last mission starts with Trevor running into one of their previous victims on the street and is informed that the man's family has been living in the US for two hundred years. Trevor tries to play it off, but the argument escalates until Trevor is pointing a gun at the man's head. He doesn't flinch and tells Trevor that if he wants to make things right, he'll take care of the men he had been working with. He continues on by saying he won't pay Trevor a single penny for doing so. Trevor, easily [[AxCrazy the most psychotic and violent GTA protagonist]], can do nothing more but honor his demands. |
| 331 | * ''VideoGame/IdolManager'': The "Thick Skin" trait makes the idol who has it immune to bullying from other idols and online harassment. Gameplay-wise, idols who ''don't'' have the trait run the risk of being BulliedIntoDepression via gradual depletion of their mental stamina meter if the player doesn't deal with the situation when it arises. |
| 332 | * ''VideoGame/IWasATeenageExocolonist'': |
| 333 | ** If Sol has the Calm Temperament augment, their relaxed personality reduces the stress they get from working by 2 points. [[GameplayAndStorySegregation It doesn't prevent them from getting traumatized during Glow atttacks, however.]] |
| 334 | ** Dys's BioAugmentation makes him completely fearless, which is why he's daring to go on life-threatening expeditions and is NotAfraidToDie. |
| 335 | * ''VideoGame/LikeADragon'': |
| 336 | ** It's frankly astonishing how well Haruka deals with all the incredibly dangerous situations life has been throwing at her since she was a young girl. While later games suggest that her traumatic past experiences with the Yakuza have toughened her up considerably, she was already pretty strong-willed in the face of danger as far back as the first game. |
| 337 | ** Tanimura from ''VideoGame/Yakuza4'' almost always maintains his apathetic facade, whether it's facing down armed crooks or playing RussianRoulette. This was even more apparent in the original version of the game, with his combat vocalizations being more low-key compared to the other playable characters (the remastered voice actor gives him a more hot-blooded edge, which maintains the effect by replacing his apathy with cockiness). |
| 338 | ** Takasugi from ''VideoGame/Yakuza5'' is impressively unflappable for a small-time loan shark. He walks in on a tense conversation between Shinada and Daigo and doesn't bat an eye when Daigo pulls a gun on him, merely snarking as he raises his hands. Later on, Manabe angrily pulls a knife on him when he asks him a question on a rather sensitive topic, and he continues to snark about how suspicious such behavior is. |
| 339 | ** Tachibana from ''VideoGame/Yakuza0'' is always shown to be calm and collected, best examplified towards the end of the game where he remains cooly defiant [[spoiler:while being tortured to death.]] |
| 340 | ** ''VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon'': |
| 341 | *** Ichiban Kasuga is usually an excitable goofball, but he can turn positively icy when the situation calls for it. Early in the game he doesn’t so much as flinch when a Geomijul hitman fires a crossbow that grazes his right cheek, and he shows absolutely no fear when [[spoiler:Ryo/Masato]] points a gun at him in the ending. |
| 342 | *** Saeko is one on a technical level, as her experience as a barmaid provides her with greater psychological resilience towards Fear, Drunk, Charm, and Silence than her teammates, which are classified as mental status effects. |
| 343 | ** ''Videogame/LikeADragonGaidenTheManWhoErasedHisName'' shows that Masaru Watase was shockingly composed during his appearance in the above game since the climax reveals that he was dealing a very recent knife wound to the gut during that time and only allowed himself to crumple after the worst was over. |
| 344 | * ''Franchise/MassEffect'': |
| 345 | ** [[PlayerCharacter Commander Shepard]], especially if the SoleSurvivor background is chosen. Keeping his/her cool while the rest of his/her unit panicked under attack from nightmarish Thresher Maws was what got him/her noticed enough to be considered for the Spectres. Ditto his/her feat in the War Hero origin, where Shepard effectively stared down an entire invading army until reinforcements arrived. This isn't even getting into what happens in the story proper. While s/he does slowly get ground down by TheChainsOfCommanding and all the death s/he sees, this doesn't stop him/her from, at one point, effectively facing down a 160m tall Reaper, on foot, while it's firing at him/her with barely any hint of fear. |
| 346 | ** [[AcePilot Joker]]'s performance in general, and at the end of the first game in particular; he isn't even nervous trying to land the Mako APC in a ''fifth'' of the normal minimum landing zone, just intent. It's a stark contrast to [[NonActionGuy his attitude outside of the pilot's seat]], though. |
| 347 | * The protagonist in ''VideoGame/Metro2033'' is resistant to psychic anomalies. At least a few times in the game, he and several others are attacked by something indescribable and unnatural and he's able to resist it. This is also why he's able to withstand the Dark Ones's psychic communication without going insane. |
| 348 | * ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'': Samus displays this at several points, most notably when encountering her old foe Kraid. While Kraid (who, mind you, is a thirty-foot tall fire-breathing and spike-shooting dinosaur) roars and screams at her in fury, doing everything he can to break his restraints (and coming pretty damned close), Samus calmly stands about an inch outside his reach, charges up her ArmCannon, and casually shoots him in the mouth. |
| 349 | * ''Videogame/{{OFF}}'': The Batter remains calm, cool, and collected throughout the entire game, whethere he's purifying spectres, facing down monstrous bosses, or [[spoiler: putting an end to the world.]] |
| 350 | * Yu from ''VideoGame/Persona4'' has them, even more so should you pick the right dialogue choices. Not to say he doesn't show emotions like confusion or panic, it's just that he manages to stay calm and collected regardless. When emotions run high, he often gets the option to tell others to calm down. In fact, late in the game, [[spoiler:telling the others this is crucial should you want to avoid the first BadEnding.]] ''[[UpdatedRerelease Golden]]'' has a scene that exemplifies this: [[spoiler: On the route to the true ending, if the Jester Link has been ranked up to 6 before the DiscOneFinalDungeon, it will auto-advance at certain points past it. After Rank 9, Yu has a choice to confront [[EvilCounterpart Tohru]] [[BigBad Adachi]], the character in question... who then pulls a gun on him. One of his responses to this is "You won't shoot me.", and in response Adachi does! Said bullet whizzes dangerously close to Yu's head... and he doesn't even ''flinch'' from it.]] |
| 351 | * Franchise/ResidentEvil: |
| 352 | ** Helena of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil6''. Notably, she's just as calm as Leon is, even though she's never faced zombies before. [[spoiler:During the battle with Simmons, he flings a very large chunk of debris right at her head, and it misses by inches. ''She doesn't even flinch'', [[BoomHeadshot and promptly returns the favour]]]]. |
| 353 | ** One of Ada's most inspiring traits is her strength of will; Ada is not a woman easily shaken. It’s most noticeable in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2Remake'' when, compared to Leon and Claire, not once does she ever show external fear of the zombies lunging at her or Mr. X chasing her down the hallway, even as a new spy, only exasperatedly replying how much of a persistent bastard he is. It's only ever really subverted in her ending in ''6'' when she [[NotSoStoic emotionally breaks down]] while [[spoiler:destroying Carla's laboratory]]. |
| 354 | ** Jill has a noticeably more muted approach to tense situations after the Raccoon City incident compared to other survivors, maintaining a calm, stoic attitude. Even when she's more hotheaded and traumatized during the Raccoon City incident, particularly ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Remake'', she rarely shows any external signs of fear, with the only noticeable occurrence being when she feebly crawls away from Nemesis after he tanked a car she totaled into him. |
| 355 | * ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog''. Very few things faze him. Danger and strong opponents [[ChallengeSeeker only excite him]], and his official profiles describe as being good at keeping his cool under pressure. [[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics The Archie comic series]] notably tended to [[AdaptationPersonalityChange make him more childish and excitable]] until Sega put a stop to it, decreeing a mandate that it's not in Sonic's character to act overly emotional. |
| 356 | * ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'': D'Tan, the Proconsul of the Romulan Republic. A NonActionGuy who ended up in charge of a loose coalition of refugees, colonists, political dissidents, and ex-Imperial Fleet personnel, he's nonetheless a cool hand on the tiller. In one cutscene a Tal Shiar officer beams into his office in the middle of the night when he's working late to try and offer an EnemyMine. D'Tan's response is to tell her to make an appointment and come back during regular business hours. |
| 357 | * ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'': On Ord Mantell during the Jedi Knight story, the PC leaves Padawan Kira Carsen guarding the ship and being their VoiceWithAnInternetConnection, and comes back to find her held hostage by Sith hunting the PC for their self-proclaimed ArchEnemy Darth Angral. Angral would have been there too, except Kira sent him on a wild goose chase the minute he showed up. |
| 358 | -->"Told 'em you were on Corellia. Suckers." |
| 359 | * Shu Shirakawa in any ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' games where he's present is this. Doesn't matter even if he's already on the verge of being defeated, his expression will not budge one bit. |
| 360 | * ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'': |
| 361 | ** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' has Jade Curtiss as the StepfordSmiler version of this. His ability to be unfazed by any situation is occasionally lampshaded by the younger characters as something that freaks them out. |
| 362 | ** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'''s Yuri Lowell, as a partial {{Expy}} of the above Jade, is also similarly unfazed in the face of danger. It doesn't freak out his TrueCompanions but they certainly think it's ''weird'' that facing death in the face only worries him somewhat. [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] when it comes to [[BloodKnight Judith]] in regards to her saying she would cut her way out of a monster's stomach to win a fight. Yuri ''believes'' she could do that and finds her terrifying for that reason. Speaking of, Judith also fits this even ''more'' thanks to that. |
| 363 | ** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'' and its [[VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2 sequel]] has [[NiceGuy Jude]] [[CombatMedic Mathis]]. As a medical student (and an actual practising doctor in the sequel) it makes that he would be trained in that regard...but he just naturally seems able to keep his cool in the face of danger. Might have to do with being a TeenGenius as much as his personality. [[TheAce Milla]] [[GodInHumanForm Maxwell]] is much the same, though how much is her keeping her calm in the face of danger and her not valuing her life (in the first game) is up for debate. [[spoiler: Her alternate version in the sequel subverts this trope, however.]] |
| 364 | ** ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'''s [[ActionGirl Velvet]] [[AntiHero Crowe]] didn't start as this, but after spending three years in a HellholePrison repeatedly killing all daemons dropped into her cell and surviving mainly off her desire for {{Revenge}} and her sheer [[ThePowerOfHate hatred]] she holds for the BigBad means she approaches dangerous situations more casually than normal people do. [[DownplayedTrope That said, she's still plenty emotional and there are plenty of things that can shake her]]. [[BloodKnight Rokurou]] [[{{Samurai}} Rangetsu]] is a more straight example, though his BlueAndOrangeMorality and ManChild state is partly to blame. |
| 365 | * ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'''s Genocide route sees the protagonist wandering and killing through an increasingly sparse underground world where the inhabitants have already left as word apparently spreads... but one straggler is an old coot of a turtle who hasn't left his post as a vendor and who ''will not be'' intimidated. |
| 366 | * ''VideoGame/VermintideII'': Implied with [[WitchHunter Saltzpyre]]. Unlike the rest of the Ubersreik Five who give a pithy FacingTheBulletsOneLiner [[DarkestHour when they are the last standing member of the group against the Vermintide]], Saltzpyre has no audible response to the very poor odds and stoically keeps fighting in silence - odd considering he's normally the [[LargeHam largest ham]] in a whole WorldOfHam. |
| 367 | * ''VideoGame/WarioWare'': Spitz is very calm and collected, even after getting stiffed and driving in the middle of a UFO crossfire, but when he and Dribble were hit and almost knocked out by a laser, he [[BerserkButton SNAPS]]. |
| 368 | [[/folder]] |
| 369 | |
| 370 | [[folder:Visual Novels]] |
| 371 | * ''Franchise/AceAttorney'': |
| 372 | ** Phoenix Wright is generally easily spooked or disheartened, but characters note time and again that he's at his best when under pressure, and true enough, he is pretty much unflappable once he has the murderer well and truly cornered. |
| 373 | ** Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth, is similarly known for his ability to keep his cool. In his case, it's because he has an unshakable commitment to the truth and simply ''will not'' let anyone get in the way or bully him off the path. He even has the nerve to say as much to a man '' holding him at gunpoint in his own office''. |
| 374 | ** Godot in ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyTrialsAndTribulations''. Thuggish LoanShark in the courtroom with an intimidating roar and BrooklynRage got everyone else in the courtroom hiding under desks or behind walls? Godot simply boasts about being the one to bring in said thug. |
| 375 | ** This becomes a plot point in the third case of ''[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyJusticeForAll Justice For All]]'': Witness Acro is, well, an acrobat, and as such ''needs'' a set of these to be good at his job. In court, this makes him difficult to press, as he he keeps his cool no matter what.[[spoiler: It's this calmness in the face of being potentially nailed for Russel's murder that makes Phoenix realize that he'd go for RefugeInAudacity when hiding the murder weapon (a large bust) on short notice (Franziska raided his room)- it's with him in court, hidden in his wheelchair.]] |
| 376 | ** The third culprit in ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney'', while more temperamental than the above example, is calm enough to not have any tells that Apollo can Perceive. Zig-zagged, as he finally breaks down when Apollo [[spoiler:reveals his plan to get his accomplice to testify against him.]] |
| 377 | * The protagonist of ''VisualNovel/DoubleHomework'', when he and his classmates are caught in the path of an avalanche, comes up with an escape plan that saves all of their lives. |
| 378 | * The player character of ''VisualNovel/MysticMessenger'' is a combination of this and ThePollyanna; she'll be held at gunpoint, kidnapped and held captive by a powerful cult, or be trapped in a small apartment with a live bomb, just to name a few predicaments she finds herself in, and through it all, she just focuses on encouraging the happiness and strength of her friends and current love interest. She may show occasional signs of nervousness during dangerous situations, but it doesn't stop her from pushing on. Other people even comment on how unflappable and constantly supportive she is, and their reactions range from being inspired by her perseverance to a combination of disbelief and awe. |
| 379 | * Kyoko Kirigiri in ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc''. She has some NotSoStoic moments here and there, but the insanity of the plot never seems to affect her otherwise. The one time she admits to being genuinely nervous, [[TheHero Naegi]] doesn't notice any change at all. |
| 380 | * In ''VisualNovel/DaughterForDessert'', Mortelli, faced with a break-in of his own office, methodically uncovers who the culprit is. |
| 381 | * In ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', Servant Archer is singled out as having these more than any other Servant due to cultivating battle experience as a way to make up for the fact that he had very few natural gifts. It's actually an ability of his called ''Eye of the Mind'' which is basically keeping a calm, calculating head while in combat. |
| 382 | ** Servant Assassin also has shades of this, its an ability called ''Vitrification'', which means the guy can keep a calm mind at all times. Possibly it's due to his ExtremeDoormat nature, but things like [[spoiler:having his lungs detonated from the inside, being minutes away from death due to Mana deprivation, or being eaten alive]] don't seem to affect his mind much. |
| 383 | ** Kuzuki Souchirou. He's more of an ExtremeDoormat than Assassin, sure, but it doesn't change the fact he's basically a Muggle who faces superpowered Servants without the slightest hint of fear or anxiety. [[TheStoic Or any other emotion for that matter...]] |
| 384 | ** In [[Literature/FateZero the prequel]], Emiya Kiritsugu is also an excellent example, as a cool and collected individual who remains calm in dangerous situations and makes ruthless decisions without batting an eye. {{Subverted|Trope}}, as ends up breaking down by the end. |
| 385 | * [[FairCop Keiji Shinogi]] of ''VisualNovel/YourTurnToDie'' typically has a laid-back demeanor, and the rare times he ''does'' [[OhCrap lose his cool]], it isn't long before he slips back into it. [[spoiler:Any [[NotSoStoic prolonged expression of emotion]] is a [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness sign]] that something bad is about to happen.]] |
| 386 | [[/folder]] |
| 387 | |
| 388 | [[folder:Web Animation]] |
| 389 | * ''WebAnimation/{{Dreamscape}}'': |
| 390 | ** Kai counters any dirt slung at him with a blunt, and sometimes even smug, retort. This is best illustrated against Melissa's BrutalHonesty after defeating her dragon in 'Confronting the Dark'. |
| 391 | ** Nik just laughs off all the shit [[{{Jerkass}} Jenna and Aseir]] sling at him. |
| 392 | * ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': |
| 393 | ** Although visibly nervous during his first Grimm fights and recklessly losing his temper against Cinder in Volume 5, Jaune grows beyond his inexperience and trauma to become a steady, fearless fighter. [[spoiler:When his group enters Salem's lair to rescue Oscar, Ren notices Jaune is completely fearless. Later, he keeps his team on mission while Ruby's team fights Cinder. When he joins the battle, it's after Ruby, Blake and Yang have seemingly died; he remains calm against Cinder, and after he's forced to MercyKill Penny and has watched Weiss apparently die, he still holds it together and encourages Winter to escape to safety instead of recklessly charging Cinder like he once did. WordOfGod states that Jaune has grown into the hero who is capable of making the tough decisions that even the other heroes cannot make, which is why he can MercyKill a friend for the greater good.]] |
| 394 | ** In Volume 4, the crew of the ship Blake is travelling on has never seen such a huge Grimm in all their time on the sea. The captain's response is to immediately take charge, rally the crew into performing their jobs, issuing commands to both his crew and Huntsmen, when he realizes he has a couple on board. He can keep track of his ship, weapons, the coastline, two Huntsmen and the Grimm to coordinate everything and destroy the Grimm with a killing blow. Not once does he lose his cool, or stop thinking and strategising. |
| 395 | ** Introduced after a train crash in Volume 6, Maria simply exits the carriage with a chirpy "That sure was a close one, eh?" while everyone is picking themselves up. When the group is forced to bunk down on an estate filled with dead bodies, she's the only one not freaked out and starts looking for books to read; it enables her to identify exactly what threat they're all facing and identify and activate the solution when everyone else is giving up. It's not just a sign that she's an ancient, highly experienced Huntress, it's part of her personality that she comes alive when faced with danger, rather than being disturbed or fearful like others. |
| 396 | ** Whitley doesn't have any combat prowess or experience, but when pushed into a corner he shows a surprising degree of resourcefulness in the face of danger and never loses his cool. [[spoiler:When Ruby's team is facing a collective HeroicBSOD over the invasion of Atlas, it's Whitley who starts strategising practical solutions, from calling Klein to doctor Nora's injuries to planning the evacuation of Mantle's citzens. During the Hound's attack on the manor in Volume 8, he never forgets to send out the drones to rescue Mantle before escaping; he tries slamming a door into its face even while fleeing; while everyone is shocked by the reveal of the Hound's true nature, he observes it moving into position to be crushed by a giant suit of armour, so encourages Willow to help him drop it, saving Ruby, Blake and Weiss in the process.]] |
| 397 | * ''WebAnimation/{{Shrapnel}}'': Fitting their claim to be brave warriors, the Ugandan Knuckles don’t show any fear when faced with terrible situations. |
| 398 | ** The Commandah doesn’t show a hint of fear when he’s got a gun pressed to his head, or is outnumbered by his enemies. |
| 399 | ** Goggles isn’t intimidated by a group of three people more than twice his size threatening to beat him up, or worse. |
| 400 | * Johny, the super mellow teenager, from the Flash series ''WebAnimation/{{Siblings}}''. |
| 401 | [[/folder]] |
| 402 | |
| 403 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 404 | * ''Webcomic/MierukoChan'': Miko is shown to quickly develop an uncanny level of calm when facing [[ISeeDeadPeople the strange and horrific ghosts and spirits she sees everyday]]. |
| 405 | * ''Webcomic/OnePunchMan'': {{Subverted|Trope}} with King. Identified as one of the strongest heroes in the world, he never publicly shows anything but a neutral, stoic expression even when in a dangerous situation, nor does he rush into fights.[[note]]Note that this is unlike the expressionless Saitama in that Saitama can lose his cool at more mundane threats, and get excited in a fight if it's challenging, it's just that he no longer finds any fights that would be any danger or challenge to him.[[/note]] His heart starts audibly beating like an engine when battle approaches, though, and it's claimed no monster has heard that sound and lived. What's actually going on is that [[spoiler:King is hiding his terror in the knowledge that he's actually got no powers or fighting ability at all (his "victories" were actually Saitama's before he registered with the Hero Association), so he'd be in huge trouble if he actually had to fight. Good thing for him]] he's TheDreaded for monsters and bad guys, so usually they don't dare to fight him. |
| 406 | * It's relatively early in ''Webcomic/OrderOfTales'' that [[TheStoryteller Koark]] first shows his ability to keep his wits about him in the face of danger: when [[spoiler:[[http://www.rice-boy.com/order/index.php?c=122 he has been accused of murder and brought before the Oceanqueen of Tenshells]]]], he is obviously terrified, but [[http://www.rice-boy.com/order/index.php?c=125 speaks easily and eloquently in his own defense]] nevertheless. |
| 407 | * [[TheCaptain Kaff Tagon,]] and indeed many of the Toughs in ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary''. Exceedingly useful, given their [[HiredGuns profession.]] In fact, Tagon once grabbed a thrown knife '''[[EyeScream out of his eye]]''' and, without hesitating, [[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2010-08-15 used it to slaughter his two foes.]] |
| 408 | -->'''Tagon:''' Thank you. Now ''I'' have a knife. |
| 409 | * Chaz the talking sword form ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' is always ready to neutrally analyse the current situation. He being just a sword, it's not so surprising he doesn't get upset about things, although he can certainly be sarcastic. |
| 410 | * ''Webcomic/StandStillStaySilent'': Tuuri after [[spoiler:she gets potentially infected with a disease whose only possible outcomes are death and zombification]]. She actually seems more worried about her cousin and older brother's reactions to it and treats the latter's PowerStrainBlackOut as a ConvenientComa because that keeps her from having to tell him. |
| 411 | * ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'': Apparently common trait in the Khun family, primarily seen in Khun Aguero Agnes, one of the main characters. (The anime adaptation downplays this a bit, since he's shown as getting upset and aggressive at things other people say more easily.) He can think his way through anything, even in combat, as long as it isn't something that looks more complicated than it is, in which case he can starts overthinking. The young version of the head of the family, Khun Edahn, looks to have been similar, as do Princess Khun Maschenny Jahad and Khun Kiseia. Khun Ran is ''kind'' of like this, but his cool thinking is usually limited to thinking up clever tactics, since "not fighting" never seems to occur to him as an option. |
| 412 | * When it comes time to battle, Gray from ''Webcomic/WeakHero'' forces his emotions to the side so that he can think logically about the steps he needs to take to win. This leaves outsiders with the impression that he's completely stoic -- he does genuinely feel fear when he has to fight, but he never lets it impact his ability to fight. |
| 413 | * Tabbi in ''Webcomic/WeAreTheWyrecats'' is introduced as such, being extremely tough to intimidate. Unsurprisingly, given the [[TraumaCongaLine hellish]] situation she's just escaped from. |
| 414 | * Sam Sprinkles in ''Webcomic/ZebraGirl'' shows this off on multiple occasions, such as [[http://zebragirl.net/?date=2004-03-26 when he was caught in an alley facing a pair of werewolves with claws as long as his hands.]] Although [[spoiler: later on he explicitly admits to himself that he has lost this trait, either due to torture at Sandra's hands or by falling in love.]] |
| 415 | [[/folder]] |
| 416 | |
| 417 | [[folder:Web Originals]] |
| 418 | * ''LetsPlay/AestheticGamer'' barely ever gets scared by whatever occurs in the many, many horror games he plays. He once did jump in his seat when, during his ''VideoGame/DreadOut'' playthrough, [[spoiler: a motorcycle was flung over the partition in the abandoned wedding hall]]. |
| 419 | * All of the main cast of ''Literature/ChronoHustle'' fits this, but it's especially notable with Mary Bishop. Jack Masterson is a con artist and thus is used to thinking his way out of tricky situations. Melinda Summers is a TRD agent and is thus trained to deal with all sorts of strange things. Mary, meanwhile, is just a simple farm girl from the Old West, who manages to deal with a crew of pirates when she accidentally ends up in that era. |
| 420 | * LetsPlay/{{Critikal}}. That man fears nothing. Even ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'', which is memetic for scaring people, not only fails to scare him but ''bores'' him to the point he starts telling a story about his teen years to pass the time. Thus far the only thing that's ever scared him was [[spoiler:a leaf falling in his peripheral vision]]. |
| 421 | * Rebecca from ''WebVideo/DemoReel'' responds to creepers in masks telling her to be scared by reminding them that their car is being towed. |
| 422 | * ''LetsPlay/{{Mahu}}'' In "Second Chance", Satayesh Ibrahim is nearly the living personification of this trope. As commander of Task Force Manticore, she is known as the "Ice Queen" by friend and foe alike. |
| 423 | * The AsHimself version of Creator/DougWalker in "The Review Must Go On". His [[WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic character]] has, to be blunt, come to life and is scaring the shit out of him by acting like some demonic abusive partner, but he only shows his terror when he's scarfing down tranquilizers alone in the car. |
| 424 | * From ''Literature/{{Worm}}'': |
| 425 | ** Even in a city full of superheroes and supervillains, Skitter is an exceptionally cool customer. It's particularly evident in her fight against [[spoiler:Mannequin]], one of TheDreaded [[spoiler:Slaughterhouse Nine]] -- she comes up with her plan of attack literally while [[spoiler:he is trying to slit her throat]]. |
| 426 | ** One of the reasons Tattletale is so ferociously effective is that she doesn't let pain, injury, or threat to life and limb stop her from using her [[TheSmartGirl smarts]], her [[SherlockScan superpower]], and her [[GrinOfAudacity vulpine grin]] to break down any obstacle in front of her. |
| 427 | ** Miss Militia from the [[HeroesRUs Protectorate East-North-East]] is also remarkably good at keeping her head in dangerous and chaotic situations. |
| 428 | ** Jessica Yamada, introduced in [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/02/07/interlude-18-donation-bonus-3/ Interlude 18 (Donation Bonus #3)]], is an unpowered therapist specializing in working with superpowered individuals, most of whom could kill her as easily as swatting a fly. Even in the face of intense fear, she maintains a calm demeanor for her patients' benefit. |
| 429 | [[/folder]] |
| 430 | |
| 431 | [[folder:Web Video]] |
| 432 | * Tokino Sora and Shishiro Botan of ''WebAnimation/{{Hololive}}'' have reputations for being nigh impossible to scare. Sora often apologizes to her audience for her "subpar reactions" owing to her actually loving horror media, though she does get scared on extremely rare occasions (when confronted by cicadas and worms), while Botan actually derives amusement from seeing her peers (especially Lamy) freak out at horror games. |
| 433 | [[/folder]] |
| 434 | |
| 435 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 436 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'': How Lana got her job. During her animal rights protest phase, her and a few fellow hippies parked outside a fur store waiting to splash someone with paint. When said someone turned out to be Malory, she responded with a [[HandCannon .44 Magnum]] aimed at them. When everyone but Lana scattered, Malory knew she had a spy. |
| 437 | -->'''Malory:''' You're really not scared, are you?\ |
| 438 | '''Lana:''' No.\ |
| 439 | '''Malory:''' Then how would you like a job? |
| 440 | * ''WesternAnimation/DragonsTheNineRealms'': When recurring antagonist Welma Sledkin meets with the AxCrazy BigBad Buzzsaw, who has taken an issue with her mining for [[FantasyMetals Dragoncite]] in what he considers to be his kingdom, Buzzsaw's dragon Jack stands up to its full height, wings spread and a threatening expression on his face as if he were ready to incinerate Sledkin at any moment. Sledkin doesn't even flinch at this and goes on to casually tell Buzzsaw that she doesn't need his permission to mine for [[FantasyMetals Dragoncite.]] |
| 441 | * ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': When a gang of 15-year-olds is held captive by a duo of vengeful RealityWarper ghosts, Wendy is the only one to get scared but not ''panicked''. Even Dipper, who ultimately saves the day, has at least one freak-out. |
| 442 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Invincible|2021}}'': Debbie Grayson. [[spoiler:After sleuthing out that her husband Nolan/Omni-Man deliberately killed the story's equivalent of the Justice League, Debbie gets drunk and confronts her husband. Despite knowing full well [[PersonOfMassDestruction what he can do]], she never flinches as she drops a PrecisionFStrike on him.]] |
| 443 | * ''WesternAnimation/MightyDucksTheAnimatedSeries'': Wildwing, once he puts on the "Mask of Drake [=DuCaine=]". |
| 444 | * ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicRarity Rarity]] the unicorn is a [[PlayingWithATrope fun example]]. She's usually an [[LargeHam overly-dramatic]] DramaQueen, but is also utterly unflappable in the face of actual danger. Her reaction to having her hair [[NobodyTouchesTheHair magically turned into a literal rats' nest]] is to panic and scream for a mirror, but being captured and enslaved by the [[OurTrollsAreDifferent diamond dogs]] results in... mild annoyance, with her eventually freeing herself. Incidents of physical danger are almost invariably treated with reason and calm, while annoyances are quick to be declared "[[PunctuatedForEmphasis THE! WORST! POSSIBLE! THING!]]". |
| 445 | * ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': Rocky, Patrick Star's snail that's actually a rock. |
| 446 | -->'''[=SpongeBob=]:''' Patrick, your snail is a ''rock''.\ |
| 447 | '''Patrick:''' Yeah, thanks, I know. He's got nerves of steel! |
| 448 | * ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'': : It's implied in episode "[[Recap/RickAndMortyS3E7TheRicklantisMixup The Ricklantis Mix-up]]" that [[Characters/RickAndMortyEvilMorty Evil Morty]] planned for Campaign Manager Morty to shoot him, to garner the support he needed to tip the election in his favour through sympathy. But, despite not taking any preemptive measures to ease the pain for himself, he approaches his former campaign manager in public without even a hint of apprehension or that anything is wrong. That takes ''serious'' courage, even if he knew the Citadel's medical technology would save him. His return is season 7 has him at his calmest even when he's facing death multiple times, having casual conversations with Rick on how to save themselves and maintaining his stoic expression in life-or-death fights. |
| 449 | * ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'': Despite being locked in a DrowningPit, [[Characters/TotalDramaJulia Julia's]] surprisingly and "unnervingly calm" over her predicament as Emma puts it, contrasting Damien who is having a full-blown panic attack, and only starts to crack when the water rises past her mouth. She does admit to being terrified in the confessional but not wanting others to see it. |
| 450 | -->'''Julia:''' It's okay to be scared, but never show it. Nothing's more important than what other people think of you. |
| 451 | * ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'': Soundwave. ''Nothing'' scares him. Whether it be an Autobot rampaging through the halls of the ship, one of the Wreckers charging him head on, or what was for all intents and purposes a ''Terrorcon apocalypse'', he always handles the situation calmly and efficiently. |
| 452 | * ''WesternAnimation/TronUprising'': Beck is usually pretty cool under fire. |
| 453 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros'': |
| 454 | ** Brock Sampson is a terrifying BloodKnight, but his own reactions are mostly very low-key. |
| 455 | ** Dr. Venture, the man he's assigned to bodyguard, is also an example. A very, ''very'' weird {{subverted}} or [[ZigZaggingTrope zigzagged]] example where his lack of reaction comes not from bravery, but simply from being a SeenItAll character in a FantasyKitchenSink WorldGoneMad. He's not fearless or anything, he's just been so desensitized to violence and bizarre things that he's stopped caring. |
| 456 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Young Justice|2010}}'': A villainous example is Lex Luthor. Lex never once loses his cool and always stays calm, even when he is targeted by [[spoiler:the real Roy Harper]], who is out to get revenge on him. |
| 457 | [[/folder]] |
| 458 | |
| 459 | [[folder:Real Life]] |
| 460 | * [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee]]. The former earned his nickname specifically from [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Battle_of_Bull_Run The First Battle of Bull Run]] (a.k.a. First Manassas) when his brigade was one of those that came up to hold the line after the initial attacks of the Union had driven other Confederate troops off in disorderly retreat. While the nickname was a compliment of his courage ("There is Jackson standing like a stone wall"), what makes particularly clear that the trope fits is the ''place'' where his brigade was standing like a stone wall: [[TheStrategist just over the crest of the hill, where the Union artillery fire could not ravage them.]] (What's more, his cannons were placed just ''on'' the crest, meaning the recoil sent them backward out of the line of fire for safer reloading.) |
| 461 | * This is practically required of all medical professionals across the board. Surgeons work incredibly long hours under high levels of stress where the slightest shake of a finger or hand could cost a patient their life. Virologists and bacteriologists handle some of the deadliest biological agents in the world, the steadiness of their hands and laboratory regulations an absolute must in guaranteeing their own safety. Nurses and orderlies have to care first-hand for unruly, terrified, or dying patients, often seeing them through the most painful (or last) moments of their lives. There's a good reason why the burnout rate is so high in many medical fields, ''especially'' neurosurgeons. You have to have them to heal them because one little slip of your hand (which must be ''very'' steady) can cause a potentially fatal mistake. |
| 462 | * Pilots. There's a reason they're known for their DangerDeadpan. When zooming across at nearly the speed of sound in a metal tube, no matter if it's just a pilot by himself in his jet fighter, a few passengers in a small plane, or ''hundreds'' of lives in his hands in a large passenger plane, pilots, on a rule, remain calm and composed even as they careen to certain doom. This is just as well considering that quick thinking, steady hands, and rapid problem-solving skills are the only things that can save a flight from crashing when things go wrong. |
| 463 | ** What pilots are to everyone else, Chuck Yeager is to pilots. Every pilot who has ever lived aspires to his [[DangerDeadpan calm, all-American radio drawl]]. |
| 464 | ** Goes double for astronauts in particular and members of space programs in general; they coined the term "steely-eyed missile man" for a reason. |
| 465 | *** "Houston, we've had a problem." |
| 466 | *** "Try SCE to AUX." |
| 467 | *** "Tranquility, we copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We're breathing again. Thanks a lot." |
| 468 | *** Neil Armstrong, legendary within NASA for his cool handling of the Gemini 8 close call and for going back to work in his office after he avoided death by ''seconds'' when ejecting from a lunar landing trainer crash, was the first man in history to do the coolest thing ever done by a human being, and took this trope one further by ''never once acting like he thought it made him a big deal''. Disaster and Adulation were both met with the same cool head. |
| 469 | *** Of course, an entire ''culture'' of people with Nerves of Steel and DangerDeadpan will produce a lot of understated euphemisms over time. NASA popularized words like "anomaly" to describe a catastrophic failure, while Elon Musk of [=SpaceX=] describes them as [=RUDs=] -- rapid, unscheduled disassemblies. |
| 470 | %%* Björn Borg. |
| 471 | * Rafael Nadal is an interesting example. On one hand, he's fiery and celebrates when a match is going his way and thus he is not stoic like many other examples, on the other hand, the man never seems to succumb to pressure, even if the match is not going in his favour. Indeed, in the world of tennis, he's often lauded for his mental strength and composure. |
| 472 | %%* Joe Montana. |
| 473 | %%* Former NHL goalie, Patrick Roy. |
| 474 | %%* Tim Duncan |
| 475 | %%* Jerry West, they didn't call him [[RedBaron "Mr. Clutch"]] for nothing. |
| 476 | %%* The Duke of Wellington |
| 477 | %%** He found his match in Portugal, in the shape of André Masséna. |
| 478 | * Any skydiver. ''Ever''. These are people who throw themselves into free-fall tens of thousands of feet in the air, with the knowledge that any miscalculation or mechanical failure could result in [[NotTheFallThatKillsYou a very sudden stop at the end]] -- voluntarily, for fun. |
| 479 | * Pretty much any sub captain who is reasonably good. Submarine actions are ''very'' slow and unlike some types of warfare, a sub captain cannot keep himself going by mere "Fight or Flight" instinct. In part, this is often due to their training with their submarine's nuclear power plant. Nuclear engineering is often described as "You will watch every dial, with absolute attention, all of the time." and must be ready at any moment to take the necessary steps to bring a problem under control. |
| 480 | %%* Fedor Emelianenko |
| 481 | %%* Try playing professional golf without this... |
| 482 | %%** Or indeed any professional sport with a large cerebral component -- cricket, baseball, snooker, the aforementioned chess... |
| 483 | * In the 23-F coup attempt in Spain, in which troops stormed the Congress of Deputies and ordered all politicians to the ground -- weapons pointed at them -- three of them disobeyed: Manuel Gutiérrez Mellado, who stood up and ordered the leader to desist (to no avail, but took some balls), Adolfo Suárez, who remained sitting down (also took some balls), and Santiago Carrillo, who remained sitting and calmly lit up a cigarette showing Nerves of Steel and balls of the same material. Carrillo later explained his reasoning to the press: "Why didn't I obey? Well, simple. I was the leader of the PCE (the Spanish Communist Party) [[note]]The perpetrators of the coup were Francoists (fascists)[[/note]]. It didn't matter if I lied down or stood if they succeeded they would have killed me all the same". In other words, he was convinced he wouldn't leave Congress alive, so he decided to FaceDeathWithDignity. |
| 484 | * During UsefulNotes/WorldWarII the US Navy believed that the Nerves of Steel, basic literacy and numeracy, experience with rapid decision-making, [[WeHaveReserves and socioeconomic irrelevance of stockbrokers]] made them good (Aircraft Carrier) Fighter Direction Officer candidates. |
| 485 | * UsefulNotes/MichaelJordan was magic in the clutch because of these. It's really this attribute, more than his other-worldly skills and athleticism, that set him apart from all his peers. Even if he came up short, it wouldn't faze him at all next time. One game illustrated this more than any other. He had one of the best games of his career while suffering from a stomach illness, personally scoring 45 points while throwing up on the sidelines between every play. |
| 486 | * An unwritten item on the essential qualifications list for commercial and military aviators, emergency responders and pretty much every other profession you can name where the smallest panic-induced mistake can cost lives. This is why DangerDeadpan is a stock trope for both the AcePilot and MissionControl. |
| 487 | * TruthInTelevision: Scientists have identified a gene named COMT which has two variants, often called the "warrior" and "worrier" variants. People who have two copies of the "warrior" variant tend to exhibit this trope; their ability to concentrate, reason, solve problems, etc. actually ''increases'' when they're under stress. On the other hand, people who have two of the "worrier" variant tend to perform better than most people under normal conditions, but [[NervousWreck fold like a cheap lawn chair under pressure]]. |
| 488 | * The more horror movies you watch the more likely you are to become used to jump scares and the less likely they are to startle you. |
| 489 | * UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington was famous for this; he regularly rode to the front lines during battles, even commenting once that he rather liked the sound of bullets whizzing past his head. |
| 490 | * Tom Dumoulin during the 2017 Giro d'Italia. While he had every reason to rely on his time trialing ability,[[note]]Olympic silver, Dutch champion, multiple time trial stage wins at grand tours.[[/note]] getting through the last week wasn't easy with the large amount of mountain stages, especially with him coming down with stomach problems before the last climb of stage 16, taking a shit at the roadside. How did he manage the mountains? Keeping his own pace, limiting his losses on his rivals, and taking the time back on the time trial on the final day. |
| 491 | * It's common for autistic people to work well under intense or even life-threatening conditions. This is not universally true, as autism manifests differently from person to person. |
| 492 | * In Creator/GayleKing's infamous interview with Music/RKelly, he stands up and starts ranting and raving, all the while she remains seated and never once loses her composure. She later confessed that the only thing she was scared of was that he would leave the interview. |
| 493 | * In the UsefulNotes/BigFivePersonalityTraits, people who score low in neuroticism tend to be this, remaining calm in stressful situations. |
| 494 | * 911 Dispatchers are frequently referred to as "The Calm in the Chaos." |
| 495 | * Demolitions expert and steeplejack Creator/FredDibnah, who could present to camera while hanging on the side of a factory chimney two hundred feet up, with no safety harness. |
| 496 | [[/folder]] |
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