Line #10 PlayingWith/ThePowerOfFriendship


1	'''Basic Trope''': What makes a character strong is his friends.
2	* '''Straight''': With the help of his friends, Bob becomes strong enough to defeat Emperor Evulz.
3	* '''Exaggerated''': ''Everyone in the world'' is Bob's friend, and together, they all defeated the ultra-powerful, [[EldritchAbomination incomprehensible deity]] to save the universe with a friendship powered ZergRush.
4	* '''Downplayed''': Bob's friends help him out but he does most of the work.
5	* '''Justified''':
6	** As much as Bob is a powerful hero, Emperor Evulz is two times more powerful than him, and he can't defeat him without their help.
7	** Bob's advantage is less from any special powers friendship gives him, and more that having powerful friends fighting on his side gives him an eight to one advantage against Evulz.
8	** CombinedEnergyAttack.
9	** Evulz and minions backstabbing each other at the worst possible moments is what gives Bob and his friends the upper hand.
10	** Bob and the gang become {{Combat Pragmatist}}s, and proceed to gang stomp the living shit out of Evulz.
11	* '''Inverted''':
12	** Bob's [[EnemiesEqualsGreatness worst enemies and detractors]] are what make him strong enough to defeat Emperor Evulz.
13	** Bob's [[IWorkAlone solitary nature]] is what makes him strong enough to defeat Evulz because of the ConservationOfNinjutsu principle.
14	** [[IneffectualLoner Bob]]'s solitary nature is what makes him weak in every battle.
15	** Bob's friends are what weakens him in a battle against Evulz.
16	** Bob gets more friends due to his very strength.
17	** Evulz has many [[VillainousFriendship VillainousFriendships]] he can rely on, allowing ''him'' to tap into the PowerOfFriendship and demolish Bob.
18	** FriendshipHatingAntagonist
19	* '''Subverted''': It were to look like that Bob was going to win the battle via the support of his friends, but Evulz counteracts this by blasting Bob with a laser beam...
20	* '''Double Subverted''':
21	** ...but Bob was only out for a few minutes. What made him survive the attack is his friends pleading him to get up and finally defeat Emperor Evulz.
22	** Alternatively, Bob cannot continue the fight after being shot with a laser... So his friends finish it for him, and they take Evulz down ''hard''.
23	* '''Parodied''':
24	** Bob and his friends sing an annoying song about how making and having friends is awesome, much to the displeasure of {{The Cynic}}al loners.
25	** Bob and his friends sing about friendship which causes Emperor Evulz to [[VillainousBreakdown have a nervous breakdown while covering his ears]].
26	** Bob and his friends establish a religion called "Friendshipism", which is based around [[EasyEvangelism persuading loners to become friends]].
27	** Bob and his friends act like prejudiced, self-righteous jerks who would make others [[LonersAreFreaks feel bad about being loners]].
28	** Friendship is a literal source of energy. For example, your TV will always work as long as you watch it alongside a friend, even during blackouts.
29	* '''Zig Zagged''': Bob's friends shift between a BadassCrew and TheLoad depending on the episode.
30	* '''Averted''': The reliance of friends is never encouraged to resolve a problem; villains or otherwise.
31	* '''Enforced''': "Let's teach the viewers that friendship is the key to success."
32	* '''Lampshaded''': "This was a team effort! I didn't win, ''we'' won."
33	* '''Invoked''':
34	** Bob and his friends try to win over a loner by saying their friendship speeches.
35	** Bob tries to persuade a group of [[DividedWeFall disgruntled allies]] to defeat Emperor Evulz together.
36	* '''Exploited''': Bob uses his friends' support only for the sake of glorifying himself.
37	* '''Defied''':
38	** "Friends? No thanks! I can defeat Emperor Evulz ''[[ItsAllAboutMe by myself]]''. I don't need the extra help."
39	** Evulz acknowledges that [[TheTeam a team of heroes is a greater threat]] to his EvilPlan than one hero, so he throws them an AppleOfDiscord.
40	** "Sorry, but [[IWorkAlone I'm a loner]]. I'm not really interested in this whole friendship thing."
41	** There are villains where the power of friendship backfires on the hero.
42	** The villains know Bob’s using the power of friendship so they develop technology to counter it.
43	* '''Discussed''': "IfMyCalculationsAreCorrect, this is Bob's 37th spiel about how TheTeam would prevail by the power of friendship." "You've been keeping count of the number of friendship speeches he has said? You're an absolute giga-chad."
44	* '''Conversed''': "Great, this is the time where TheHero of this show spews a 'friendship conquers all' speech. BlahBlahBlah and what not." "Typical Bob."
45	* '''Implied''': Bob is frequently compared to a hero in the backstory who went out on a similar adventure and failed to defeat their villain. The backstory adventurer is stated to be a loner.
46	* '''Deconstructed''':
47	** It turns out Bob ''needs'' his friends to be strong enough to defeat Evulz. Too bad that they're being targeted one by one, and the group is slowly becoming weaker. Furthermore, the BigBad is strong [[VillainWithGoodPublicity with the same logic.]]
48	** {{Nepotism}} and cronyism are known problems in magical kingdoms that run on the power of friendship...
49	** Bob relying on the power of friendship does him jack when AllOfTheOtherReindeer is in play and everyone arbitrarily hates his guts.
50	** The PowerOfFriendship [[BlueAndOrangeMorality has a strange sense of conscience.]] Since it doesn’t power up [[LonersAreFreaks loners]], whether they are heroes, villains or the morally neutral. Plus it isn't limited to kind-hearted heroes, it [[VillainousFriendship can be accessible to 2 or more villains that are genuinely buddy-buddy with each other.]] Like [[BigBad Emperor Evulz]] with his best friend [[TheDragon General Drake]], plus it can be exploited by the LawfulNeutral besties, Mayor Jake and General Thomas, the ChaoticNeutral chaps, Anarchist Andrew and Rogue Ryan and the TrueNeutral bros, WildCard Willy and [[GenericGuy Generic Gene]].
51	** Because Bob relies so heavily on ThePowerOfFriendship, he often doesn't train too hard when it comes to his own abilities. While the power of friendship is strong, eventually he encounters someone who is just vastly more skilled than he is even with the power of friendship; resulting in him getting his ass completely handed to him.
52	** The Power Of Friendship has been turned into yet another cliche, and thus more ammunition to be used to bully the characters.
53	** People who get stronger due to friendship are vulnerable to societal events that cut off interpersonal interactions, like a plague that puts everyone under lockdown. Due to less opportunities to spend time with their friends, these people find themselves weakened and [[DespairEventHorizon in despair]]. Meanwhile, those who enjoy solitude are [[NoSell unaffected]] by the ramifications of said plague.
54	** The Power of Friendship seems impressive on paper, but in practice, it is really, ''really'' hard to pull off. Long-lasting friendships need a commonality to take root, they take time and effort to build, and people ought to truly accept each other as individuals despite their differences for that power to be effective. In situations where people superficially refer to each other as friends, but secretly distrust each other for one reason or the other (which proves to be quite common in the setting), the "combined energy attack" they pull off might as well hit like a wet noodle.
55	** As potent the Power of Friendship is, it is easy to be rid of it. Evulz sows discord among Bob's group, or otherwise finds a way to successfully convince Bob to leave his friends.
56	** The belief that friends grant strength (and hence, a lack of friends makes a person inferior) drives people to make more friends to pursue self-betterment, eventually becoming a [[MemeticsInFiction meme]]. A closer inspection reveals that not everyone benefits from this ideal. To name a few, Alice is talented but feels inadequate due to a lack of friends. Bob enjoys his alone time but is ridiculed because of it. Charlie becomes so obsessed with making friends that he forces others to become his friends. Ultimately, the idea that friends grant strength causes problems that are not visible at first glance.
57	** Bob brings his friends to take on Evulz. Evulz calls on his friends to take on Bob. Bob's friends call on ''their'' friends, while Evulz's friends call on theirs. With everyone and their friends and friend of their friends getting involved, the small, contained conflict immediately escalates into [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI a clusterfuck of epic proportions that engulfs the entire continent.]]
58	** Bob is actually TheSociopath who only forms friendships because of the power he gains from them. The moment better options come along, his "friends" become useless to him and are thrown aside like trash in favour of newer, stronger friends. Eventually, Bob burns enough bridges that his former friends all decide to jump him, and end up successfully beating Bob to death via a ZergRush.
59	* '''Reconstructed''':
60	** Bob has learned to fight more independently while under his friends' wings; even with them dead or alienated from him, he can fight better and generally operate better than he could before he'd met them. Furthermore, Evulz mistakes his allies and associates for friends, making a poor justification for his actions. His "friends" don't work well and are disgusted by his actions and the effects they have. Whereas, Bob and his friends are TrueCompanions who kindly help each other and even the "friends" of Evulz.
61	** At least nepotism and cronyism mean that the people around the throne are probably all on the same side.
62	** Bob learns from the loss and kicks up his own training far more to match his enemy; with the power of friendship proving valuable in overpowering them.
63	** When the result of having friends is [[ImplacableMan being able to shrug off more damage]] than a [[Franchise/TheTerminator T-800]], becoming stronger than Hercules, more ferocious than ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} and shooting lasers as powerful as [[Franchise/StarWars the Death Star]] at half-power ([[Film/RogueOne which is still a hell of a lot of power]]), then whining about how "my friends are my power" is a stupid cliche is just idiotic.
64	** Even if the more magical and sentimental implications of this trope have become a cliche, there is still nothing wrong at all with networking, fostering loyalty, pooling resources and knowledge, obtaining differing points of view for discussing a situation, and plain old [[ZergRush strength in numbers]].
65	** People who run on the power of friendship gradually adapt and overcome the plague via the internet/social media.
66	** While friendship can be a source of power, it isn't the only one. Social outcasts and those who prefer solitude can draw power from idealism, knowledge, and other things that matter to them. Alternately, outcasts team up with each other.
67	* '''Played For Laughs''': Bob and Co. rely on "the power of friendship". What they mean by that is that they will [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown dogpile their enemies to death]].
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70	Don't go back to the main page without ThePowerOfFriendship, because friends are awesome!
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72	%% Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion:
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74	%%* '''Plotted A Good Waste''': ???

Context PlayingWith / ThePowerOfFriendship