Line #15 Main/TheExpyWithNoName


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2021_05_06_at_124146_pm.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350: "[[Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly There are two kinds of people in this world -- those with loaded guns, and those who dig. You dig.]]"[[labelnote:Note]]Clockwise from top-left: [[Film/DollarsTrilogy The Man With No Name]], [[VideoGame/PlantsVsZombies2ItsAboutTime Poncho Zombie]], [[Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII Marty McFly]], [[Literature/TheDarkTower Roland Deschain]], [[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders Hol Horse]], and [[Series/TheMandalorian Din Djarin]].[[/labelnote]]]]
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4	The Man With No Name from the ''Film/DollarsTrilogy'', as portrayed by Creator/ClintEastwood, is one of the most famous gunslingers in fiction, and an icon of the western genre. One could even argue that Joe/Manco/Blondie is ''the'' most iconic cowboy or character from a western in general, surpassing the likes of Franchise/TheLoneRanger, Film/{{Django}}, and [[Film/TheSearchers Ethan Edwards]].
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6	What separates him from other similar characters though, is his aloof nature, questionable motives, and his MysteriousPast, which has led to many imitators or influences in the fifty-plus years since the last film in the ''Dollars Trilogy'' came out. That said, the basic traits of The Man With No Name originated from "[[LineOfSightAlias Kuwabatake Sanjūrō]]", the main protagonist of Creator/AkiraKurosawa's ''Film/{{Yojimbo}}''. This even extends to settings and genres beyond the western, though said imitators are more likely to appear in a western work of sorts. Said {{Expy}} can be identified by some or all of the following traits:
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8	* They're some kind of drifter or outlaw, who likely works as a BountyHunter.
9	* Has a [[TheStoic stoic]] and aloof demeanor that makes them [[WildCard hard to read]].
10	* [[NoNameGiven Isn't known by their actual name]], and/or [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname goes by different aliases or nicknames]].
11	* They have a MysteriousPast that receives little to no elaboration on, at least at first.
12	* [[TheGunslinger Usually wields a gun of some sort]], and is usually very skilled with it.
13	* May use a piece of metal as defense from other projectiles, sometimes by hiding it under their clothes.
14	* Is accompanied by western motifs, such as wearing a cowboy hat or a poncho, or having their work of origin take place in a western-like setting. Non-western examples tend to wear outfits or use motifs specific to their setting though some may have Wild West influences.
15	* Talks in a [[BaritoneOfStrength low, gravelly voice]], if they [[TheQuietOne talk at all]].
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17	A SubTrope of AFistfulOfRehashes, StockParodies, FountainOfExpies, and NoCelebritiesWereHarmed.
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19	----
20
21	!!Examples:
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23	[[foldercontrol]]
24
25	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
26	* ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders'':
27	** Jotaro Kujo, who is directly inspired by the Man With No Name. [[TheStoic A stoic]], TerseTalker whose [[BadassLongcoat longcoat]] and school uniform hat bring to mind the Man With No Name's poncho and cowboy hat, and who travels to desert land of Egypt during the course of ''Stardust Crusaders''.
28	** Hol Horse is a parody of The Man With No Name, as while he is a cowboy who is dressed similarly to the Man With No Name and is a gunslinger, he's also [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain completely incompetent]] and a giant [[SmallNameBigEgo braggart]] on top of it all.
29	[[/folder]]
30
31	[[folder:Comic Books]]
32	* In ''ComicBook/AnnihilationConquest'', Wraith is pretty much the Kree With No Name, being a BountyHunter with a MysteriousPast and a [[TheGunslinger cool gun]]. He even has the requisite poncho.
33	* In ''ComicBook/TheElfWithNoName'', the titular elf is nameless and speaks very little.
34	[[/folder]]
35
36	[[folder:Fan Works]]
37	* In ''FanFic/NeonGenesisEvangeleMon'', Shinji's Sandslash talks and acts like this sort of character, right down to quoting lines from The Man With No Name.
38	* ''A Fistful of Mammary Gland''. Seven of Nine declares that names are irrelevant as she only has a number. Neelix promptly dubs her the Woman With No Name, followed by The Doctor who is The Man With No Mane, and a RedShirt who challenges Seven whom he calls "[[TooDumbToLive The Man With No Brain]]." By that point Seven finally loses patience and kills him.
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40	[[/folder]]
41
42	[[folder:Film - Animation]]
43	* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Rango}}'', the Spirit of the West takes the appearance of an old gunslinger that speaks with a gravelly voice, wears an old cowboy hat, and also sports a brown poncho. [[spoiler: He is even referred to as the Man With No Name, and is highly implied to be Clint Eastwood himself.]]
44	[[/folder]]
45
46	[[folder:Film - Live-Action]]
47	* [[ParodiedTrope Parodied]] in ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII'', where Marty [=McFly=] uses the alias "Clint Eastwood" when arriving in Hill Valley during 1885. He gets laughed at initially, [[spoiler: but eventually plays some aspects of this straight when he uses a boiler plate to defend himself from a bullet.]]
48	* ''Film/OnceUponATimeInTheWest'': Harmonica, one of the main protagonists of the film, neatly checks most of the boxes here. His real name is never once even mentioned, as his moniker is derived from the musical instrument he often plays when he wants to get someone's attention, is a skilled gunfighter, and his demeanor almost never changes from a hardened look of determination. The only bit of backstory that's ever alluded to, was his brother's murder at the hands of Frank, a sociopathic outlaw whom Harmonica spends the entirety of the film seeking revenge. Fittingly, the film was directed by Sergio Leone, the director of the Dollars trilogy, and was originally set to star Clint Eastwood himself as Harmonica.
49	* Boba Fett from ''Franchise/StarWars'' is basically the Man With No Name, but in the ''Franchise/StarWars'' universe (again), being a stoic BountyHunter whose past remains shrouded, at first. His father, Jango Fett, also qualifies as this.
50	* Creator/ClintEastwood himself played with the archetype in some of his post-''Dollars'' Westerns.
51	** The Stranger in ''Film/HighPlainsDrifter'' rides into a dusty town with the familiar beard, cigar and laconic personality, but is a [[DeconstructedCharacterArchetype deconstruction]] of the character and established upfront as being truly brutal, with almost [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane supernatural]] gun skills. The Stranger shows that stoic drifter with unparalleled gun skills and seemingly no feelings of remorse makes him a terrifying figure. While his MysteriousPast is never fully explained, it's strongly hinted that [[spoiler:he may be the ghost of a marshal murdered in the town, back to get revenge]].
52	** The Preacher from ''Film/PaleRider'' is another example. His real name is unknown, and he is a mysterious gunfighter who conveniently shows up to a town that needs his help. [[spoiler:Like the aforementioned Stranger, he may or may not be a supernatural being, namely TheGrimReaper.]]
53	** William Munny in ''Film/{{Unforgiven}}'' is more or less an older and retired Man With No Name. In his youth he was a BountyHunter and an outlaw who was considered a deadly and ruthless gunslinger - at least, until he settled down with his wife on a farm.
54	* ''Film/MadMax'' after the first movie. He's a drifter, an ex-MFP cop turned road warrior rather than an outlaw or bounty hunter. Several movies have him carrying a pistol-grip shotgun in a low-slung holster. He talks as little as possible and doesn't even give his name a lot of the time, being specifically referred to as "The Man With No Name" in ''Thunderdome''.
55	[[/folder]]
56
57	[[folder:Literature]]
58	* ''Literature/TheDarkTower'': Roland Deschain, the last gunslinger of Mid-World, is the dark fantasy version of TMWNN, a supernaturally skilled gunfighter trying to reverse the destruction of his world (and eventually the entire universe). Stoic, humorless, and quiet, Stephen King has specifically said that Clint Eastwood's performance in Sergio Leone's films was a direct inspiration in creating him.
59	[[/folder]]
60
61	[[folder:Live-Action Television]]
62	* In the ''Series/{{Community}}'' episode "[[Recap/CommunityS2E23AFistfulOfPaintballs A Fistful of Paintballs]]", each member of the study group is dressed as a famous western character. [[MetaGuy Abed]] is (naturally, given the title of the episode) dressed as The Man With No Name including his signature poncho, copies his voice and manner of speaking, and is the most aloof member of the group during the paintball game.
63	* Some incarnations of The Doctor (specifically, the War, Ninth, and Twelfth Doctors) from ''Series/DoctorWho'' could qualify, even if the series itself predates the ''Dollars Trilogy'' by one year. NoNameGiven? Check. MysteriousPast? Check. Morally grey motives? Check.
64	* The Mandalorian/Din Djarin from ''Series/TheMandalorian'', being a stoic BountyHunter with a mysterious past [[DarkAndTroubledPast (initially)]] and a ruthless gunslinger who wanders from place to place, and whose Beskar armor can protect him from blaster shots. Fittingly, his name doesn't get revealed until the very end of Season 1. He even gets to meet Boba Fett in Season 2. Din however undergoes CharacterDevelopment by becoming a PapaWolf to The Child/[[spoiler:Grogu]] and having a more altruistic personality.
65	* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': {{Parodied}} in the episode "[[Recap/SupernaturalS06E18Frontierland Frontierland]]" where Dean travels back in time to the Wild West and attempts to live his Clint Eastwood fantasies only to be disappointed in the grim reality. The episode is also a WholePlotReference to ''Back to the Future: Part III''.
66	[[/folder]]
67
68	[[folder:TabletopGames]]
69	* In ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' there is a [[HandCannon Plasma Tongue Repeater wielding]] Solar exalted wandering the south. Noone knows his name and only the only consistent name he called is the Righteous Devil, after the Martial Art he uses.
70	* The Dwarf With No Name, in the ''TabletopGame/DiscworldRolePlayingGame'' setting "[[http://www.sjgames.com/pyramid/sample.html?id=2177 A Fist Full of Tunes You Can Whistle]]", who wears a poncho over his armour and a flat-brimmed helmet. He ambled into the Western-like town of Mallo Burro some time ago, and due to his taciturn nature, everyone is speculating as to his motives. Which are, quite simply, that sometimes people will give you money to fight for them, and if you have to ''create'' a fight for this to happen, then so be it.
71	[[/folder]]
72
73	[[folder:Video Games]]
74	* The Sundown Kid in ''VideoGame/LiveALive'' the protagonist of TheWildWest chapter is a clear {{Expy}}: TheStoic, TheDrifter, and poncho-wearing [[TheGunslinger gunslinger]].
75	* Cole Cassidy from ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'' is modeled after the Man With No Name, with a very similar outfit, a revolver he shoots with near-superhuman accuracy, the (former) withholding of his real name[[note]]In Cassidy's case, he used to go under the criminal alias of "Jesse [=McCree=]", before eventually [[MeaningfulRename disowning it]] in the wake of rejoining Overwatch[[/note]], and a deep voice. Big parts of his past continue to be a mystery over the game's run, such as his life before joining the Deadlock Gang, and how he lost his arm. He also initially refused to join the reformed Overwatch, preferring to work alone as a drifter.
76	* ''VideoGame/PlantsVsZombies2ItsAboutTime'' has the Poncho Zombie, who is found in the Wild West period and is styled after the Man with No Name from a visual standpoint, wearing a poncho, cowboy boots, and a cowboy hat. The references don't stop there, as on occasion, he may be wearing a metal grate beneath his poncho like the Man with No Name did in ''Film/AFistfulOfDollars'', turning him into a HeavilyArmoredMook.
77	* ''VideoGame/TheTownWithNoName'', a parody of Western films, has another Man With No Name as its protagonist. He's a drifter who comes to the titular town to find his sister, and ends up killing several outlaws. Ironically, it's a ''side character'', not the Man With No Name himself, who is drawn to look like Clint Eastwood.
78	* ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' has Erron Black, a cowboy gun-for-hire who fights via gunslinging and typically serves as an antagonist.
79	* ''VideoGame/WildGuns'' has Clint as one of the two playable characters who sports the hat and poncho, though carries a {{BFG}} as opposed to a revolver.
80	* Doc from ''VideoGame/BootHillHeroes'' is the BountyHunter archetype with the attire to match.
81	* [[VideoGame/RedDeadRevolver Red Harlow]] is a laconic BountyHunter who is a skilled [[TheGunslinger gunslinger]]. Unlike most examples, his cynical outlook is actually explained by his backstory in the game's tutorial; His parents were murdered when he was young and he ends up WalkingTheEarth until he arrives in Brimstone, whereupon he discovers his parents' killers.
82	* ''Videogame/OddworldStrangersWrath'' has the titular Stranger, a mysterious bounty hunter in a poncho and hat who speaks in a gravelly voice. Unlike most examples however, he doesn't use guns (and even explicitly states that he doesn't like them), instead using an arm-mounted crossbow that shoots critters.
83	[[/folder]]
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85	[[folder:Web Video]]
86	* ''WebVideo/EpicRapBattlesOfHistory'': "Creator/BruceLee vs. Creator/ClintEastwood" features the latter in character as the Man With No Name, shooting outlaws, [[ClintSquint squinting]] throughout the video, rapping in his low voice, and wearing his famous getup from the ''Film/DollarsTrilogy''.
87	[[/folder]]
88
89	[[folder:Western Animation]]
90	* ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGummiBears'': The episode "For a Few Sovereigns More" has Duke Igthorne hire bounty hunter Flint Shrubwood to capture a Gummi Bear. Shrubwood is obviously patterned on Clint Eastwood's Man With No Name, (while Shrubwood is given a name, it's only used once in the episode, when he's introduced) from his voice and appearance to his theme music (which he plays himself on a reed whistle; it's not quite the iconic "whipporwhill" of ''A Fistfull of Dollars'' but it's close). He's easily the most fearsomely capable and implacable antagonist to appear in ''Gummi Bears,'' as he subdues Grammi and captures Cubbi with no trouble (he only takes Cubbi, because the Duke was only paying him for one Gummi Bear) and, when betrayed by the Duke, captures him with equal ease. He has no trouble subduing Igthorne's ogres, either. Ultimately, the only thing that stops him is Cubbi's convincing the Duke to let him have the money he's owed.
91	* ''WesternAnimation/BountyHamster'': Recurring character [[Music/{{America}} The Horse With No Name]] is an anthropomorphic animal parody of the Clint Eastwood character.
92	-->'''Cassie:''' If you're called The Horse With No Name then that ''is'' your name!
93	* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' episode "Deadly Force", Broadway watches a western called ''Showdown'' that features a character who looks like Clint Eastwood with his cowboy hat and poncho. Said character wins a gunfight with a character bearing a resemblance to Kenny Rogers.
94	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': In Cheese Sandwich's debut episode "Pinkie Pride", he's initially introduced as a Horse With No Name: he's a gruff-voiced loner clad in a poncho and cowboy hat, and he drifts from town to town helping the downtrodden. The very first scene has him in the desert town of Appleloosa. He even has an EnnioMorriconePastiche as his personal leitmotif. And all of this is [[BaitAndSwitchCharacterIntro deliberately misleading]]: upon arriving in Ponyville, Cheese reveals he's actually a [[FunPersonified goofball party planner]] based heavily on his voice actor, Music/WeirdAlYankovic.
95	* The titular character of ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' shares some elements of The Man With No Name such as being a lone warrior of [[TheQuietOne few words]], known only by their nickname, [[WalkingTheEarth passes quietly through various places with no permanent residence]], defeats the bad guy and then moves along. Creator/PhilLaMarr even described his voice for Jack as being a Japanese version of Creator/ClintEastwood. Jack even fights two Western bounty hunters in one episode named after ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly''.
96	* ''WesternAnimation/TimeSquad'': The episode ''[[Recap/TimeSquadS02Ep17BillyTheBaby Billy The Baby]]'' features the Time Squad visiting the Old West while trying to help Billy the Kid become the outlaw history has written him to be. But their outlaw antics attract the Sheriff's attention, who is also known as the Man With No Name to them. The Sheriff looks, and sounds like Clint Eastwood, and challenges Tuddrussel to a duel at high noon.
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98	[[/folder]]

Context Main / TheExpyWithNoName