[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/primarycolors2_2305.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The Dress Code of True Heroes [[hottip:*: From top left: Optimus Prime of {{Transformers}}, Franchise/{{Superman}}, Franchise/WonderWoman, Franchise/{{Gundam}}, Franchise/{{Super Mario|Bros}}, SailorMoon.]]]]

->''Red, blue, yellow... Primary but it works in a superhero-ish kind of way.''
--> '''Lana Lang''' -- ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries''

We know that RedIsHeroic. But even in cases where the hero's [[ColorCodedCharacters definitive color isn't red,]] they may still sport a costume that is primarily red, blue and yellow.

There are of course many different ways to design a costume, but if you see a character wearing both red and blue prominently, chances are they are TheHero, [[TheProtagonist the main character]], or at least playing for the good guys' side. It is a good visual shorthand to the audience that this is a person you can trust.

Red and blue are both strong colors so they balance well and are thus commonly paired together. There's a tendency to be blue below the belt and red above whether wearing armor, dresses, superhero tights, or as simple as blue jeans and a red t-shirt.

The other typical set up is that most of costume will be blue, an iconic piece of it (such as a hat or a cape) will be red, and yellow will be used for accents, trims, buttons, logos, and other accessories.

Yellow is the go to for a third color (besides black and white). But if yellow is paired with either red or blue instead of being a complete RBY trio it tends to get overshadowed since its a less dominant color.

This trope may have stemmed from the early days of comicbooks in which heroic characters typically had color schemes that sported Primary Colors (Red, blue, yellow, like {{Superman}}) while villains typically had secondary colors (Purple, green, gray - think TheJoker or GreenGoblin.)

Also, good or evil can depend on the shade, as cherry red and royal blue are usually associated with good, while crimson red and navy blue are associated with evil.

SubTrope to GoodColorsEvilColors. See also RedIndexBlueIndex.
Compare RedIsHeroic. Contrast RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver.

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!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:AnimeAndManga]]
* Almost every single main character's Gundam has a blue body, red boots, and yellow accents (such as its head crest)
** [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam The Original Gundam]]
** [[Anime/MobileFighterGGundam Shining Gundam]]
** [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing Wing Gundam]]
** [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED Strike Gundam]]
*** [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny Impulse Gundam]]
** [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam00 Gundam Exia]]
** [[Franchise/LyricalNanoha Nanoha Takamachi]]. Yes, her MagicalGirl costume has been [[EnforcedTrope intentionally colored]] white, blue, red, and yellow to resemble a classic Gundam.
* SailorMoon: while other characters typically only had two prominent colors, Moon had a blue skirt, red boots and gloves and bows, and the standard yellow tiara.
** WordOfGod states her [[ColorCodedCharacters representative color]] was pink.
* Goku of DragonBall, pseudo example, wearing orange and blue, but a noticeably redder shade of orange than a few other characters with the same costume (like Goten). Of course when he turns Super Saiyan, his hair becomes golden yellow.
** In the FollowTheLeader fashion, Dragonball may have inspired a growing subtrope of PrimaryColorChampion that swaps red for orange, see {{Naruto}} and {{Toriko}}.
* [[OnePiece Luffy]] wears a red jacket, blue shorts, and a yellow hat.
* Franchise/{{Digimon}}: a few of the goggle boys and almost all of their partners have this design, if only in their final forms. Sometimes to result of a FusionDance of a RedOniBlueOni pair.
** [[Anime/DigimonAdventure Omnimon]]
** [[Anime/DigimonAdventure02 Davis, Flamedramon and Imperialdramon]] also most of the Veemon line was blue with red eyes and yellow markings.
** [[Anime/DigimonFrontier Susanoomon]] whose Emperorgrermon top half was red, and Magnagarurumon bottom half was blue, with golden yellow hallows and trims around both halves.
** [[Anime/DigimonSavers Shinegreymon]] and in burst mode, though the design is red and yellow with blue accents
** [[Anime/DigimonXrosWars Taiki and Tagiru and the entire Gumdramon line]].
* [[FistOfTheNorthStar Kenshiro]] wears blue with a red undershirt.
* [[JojosBizarreAdventure Jotaro Kujo's]] ensemble in part 3 was a blue school uniform and cap with a red undershirt as well.
* GurrenLagann: Simon wears a blue jacket with red accents in the first season, and has more yellow accents after the timeskip. Also wears red and yellow goggles.
** Similarly, Kamina has his blue hair and copious amounts of red in his glasses and cape.
** Gurren and Lagann themselves are mostly red with yellow and blue highlights.
* Anime/SpeedRacer wears a blue shirt, red shoes and yellow gloves. His 'M' logo is also red.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:ComicBooks]]
* Franchise/{{Superman}}: Blue tights, red cape, briefs and boots, yellow belt and accents on his logo. The modern TropeCodifier if not the TropeMaker.
** Most of the other members of the Superman family follow suit, including {{Supergirl}} and most versions of of {{Superboy}}. PowerGirl's costume is mostly white, but has red/blue/yellow accents.
** For the inversion, when SelfDemonstrating/LexLuthor goes battles Superman personally he uses green-and-purple PoweredArmor.
** Other villainous colors worn include Brainiac (purple), Mr. Mxyzptlk (purple), Parasite (purple), Metallo (silver), and Darkseid (navy blue).
* Franchise/WonderWoman: A red and blue LeotardOfPower, blue on bottom, red on top, yellow accents such as the WW logo, belt and golden lasso. Her New 52 design replaced the yellow accents with silver ones, but the red and blue (being the primary component of the trope) still stayed.
* Franchise/{{Spider-Man}}: Red and blue body suit. The legs have more blue, the torso has more red. In contrast, many of his RoguesGallery (including the Green Goblin, Dr. Octopus, Electro, Mysterio, the Lizard, the Vulture, the Jackal, etc.) favor green and/or purple.
* CaptainAmerica, leader of ComicBook/TheAvengers and definitely the BigGood of the MarvelUniverse, also wears blue and red. Many All-American heroes invoke this as blue and red are two of USA's colors, along with white.
* The Franchise/{{X-Men}} dress code changes it up a bit by being blue and yellow with red accents (such as the X insignia or just leaving out their [[RedHeadedHero red hair.]]) Notably three of the most prominent characters all do this in some way.
** {{Wolverine}} typically has a red belt.
** ComicBook/{{Cyclops}} has the red bar in his visor, a red belt buckle and is sometimes depicted with his reddish brown hair out.
** Jean Grey also does the yellow and blue costume, red hair variation before she becomes the Phoenix and trades the blue with green as she drifts into Villain / AntiHero territory.
** Magneto, in contrast, wears purple tights.
* DareDevil: Red tights.
* RedTornado: A red android with a blue cape and yellow arrow designs down his arms and head.
* StarGirl: wears a blue costume with red and white trim (representing America) but carries a yellow staff and is almost always depicted with flowing blonde hair.
* Both [[{{Shazam}} Captains]] [[{{Captain Mar-Vell}} Marvel]] are primarily red with yellow accents, with the Fawcett/DC Comics version also having a white cape and the Marvel Comics version having black (highlighted with blue, at least in old printing processes).
* ComicBook/IronMan: Red and gold.
* TheMightyThor: Blue armor, a red cape, and blond hair. His enemy Loki wears green.
* TheFantasticFour: Blue tights. In contrast, Dr. Doom wears a green cloak.
* TheFlash: Red with yellow accents.
** Jay Garrick, the original Flash, also offsets it with blue pants, as opposed to the red bodysuit that Wally and Barry sport.
* Inverted with the ComicBook/IncredibleHulk, who is usually green with purple pants, highlighting how the character is more monstrous than the usual hero.
* ComicBook/{{Robin}} is mostly red, with some yellow accents (and either green or black, depending on which Robin and when). In his LighterAndSofter versions, Franchise/{{Batman}} also has a costume that is primarily gray and blue with bits of yellow (logo and utility belt). In contrast, villains such as SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker, the Riddler, Poison Ivy, Ra's al Ghul, Killer Croc, Two-Face (sometimes), the Mad Hatter (sometimes), and Catwoman (classic) all favor green and/or purple.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film]]
* Discussed by Mr. Glass in {{Unbreakable}}, that heroes are in primary colors and villains in secondary.
* Disney/WreckItRalph, being a video game antagonist, wears orange and brown. The game's hero, Fix-It Felix Jr., wears blue.
* ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'': Sheriff Woody wears blue jeans, and a yellow with red plaid shirt. Also wears a red ascot. In contrast TheRival and later TheLancer Buzz Lightyear wears green and purple.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* In every ''Franchise/StarTrek'' production, the Starfleet uniforms are some variation of black and a primary color, from [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries TOS]]'s colored sweaters over black shirts to ''[[Series/StarTrekEnterprise Enterprise]]'''s blue jumpsuits with colored piping.
** And, of course, when ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' took a DarkerAndEdgier turn midway through its run, the uniforms were changed to being mostly gray and black, with the primary colors muted and relegated to the wrists and neck.
* In ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' and ''Franchise/PowerRangers''; red, blue, and yellow Rangers are constants[[note]]With [[JAKQDengekitai very,]] ''[[BattleFeverJ very]]'' [[DengekiSentaiChangeman few]] [[Series/ZyudenSentaiKyoryuger exceptions]] that lack a yellow[[/note]] while Rangers of other colors may or may not be there. This is especially noticeable in seasons when the team (before {{Sixth Ranger}}s) is a PowerTrio instead of a FiveManBand, so those three colors are all there are.
** The green-clad Dragon Ranger from ''KyoryuSentaiZyuranger'' was a villain before turning good. Same for the ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' Green Ranger and his EvilLaugh.
** ''NinpuuSentaiHurricanger'' and ''Series/PowerRangersNinjaStorm'' had a trio in primary colors and a {{Psycho Ranger|s}} (at first) duo in crimson and navy blue. ''Ninja Storm'' hung a lampshade when one of the Rangers questioned which of the nearby enemies to fight and another answered "anyone not wearing a primary color".
** ''Series/ZyudenSentaiKyoryuger'' has a rare case of a Ranger that sports all three colors in one of its tie-in movies: his main color is navy blue, there are yellow accents similar to those shared by all Kyoryugers, and he has prominent red accents as well. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, it's a case where darker colors equal villainous; his name is ''[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Deathryuger]]''.]]
* ''{{Smallville}}'' has Clark Kent's main color scheme that of red and blue, where he used to almost always wear a red jacket over a blue t-shirt, or a blue jacket over a red t-shirt. He would also wear a red or blue flannel plaid shirt with occasionally white variants. This is mainly due to his farming duties. When he starts doing heroic things in Metropolis all people see is a red and blue blur. When Chloe first meets Kara before she becomes {{Supergirl}} she says, "I should have known you were Clark's cousin from all the primary colors."
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Multiple Media]]
* ''Franchise/{{Bionicle}}'':
** Takua zigzags this. In his first appearance in the GameBoy Advance game ''Quest for the Toa'', he has a blue mask, yellow torso, arms and eyes and red feet. In the game's sequel, the ''Mata Nui On-Line Game'', his torso and arms are red and his feet are yellow. His toy ditched yellow for even more blue, and had no eye colors. The ''Mask of Light'' movie gave him yellow eyes again and a yellow HeartLight. Upon transforming into a Toa, however, he became [[GoldAndWhiteAreDivine gold and white]].
** Takua's best friend Jaller wore yellow (gold in some media) and red, and his pet crab Pewku was blue and yellow in her earliest appearances (her set changed this to brown and gray).
** Lhikan (whose mask was later given to Jaller) was gold and red. Many similarly colored Matoran also appear in the ''Legends of Metru Nui'' movie's crowd shots.
** The Kardas Dragon has plenty of red, blue and yellowish gold on its body, along with black and silver.
** Brutaka and Tarix sport yellowish gold and blue.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:VideoGames]]
* Franchise/{{Super Mario|Bros}} - blue overalls, red shirt and hat, yellow buttons.
** Heroes wear primary, villains wear secondary: Bowser has green, while Wario and Waluigi both feature purple.
** There's an interesting mix with Luigi--Green cap and shirt with blue overalls. Kind of makes sense once you discover how some games allude to Luigi's DarkSide.
* Captain Falcon of VideoGame/FZero - blue body suit, red helmet, yellow boots and nipples.
* All three of the ''VideoGame/{{MOTHER}}'' main protagonists wear this color scheme:
** [[VideoGame/EarthboundZero Ninten]] wears a blue shirt with yellow stripes, blue shorts, red socks, blue shoes, and a red and blue baseball cap. In most fanart, he is also depicted with a red bandana around his neck in order to differentiate him from the similarly dressed Ness mentioned just below.
** [[VideoGame/EarthBound Ness]] wears very similar clothing as Ninten above, except that his shoes are red. It should be noted that in-game, Ness wears a yellow backpack, but in [[SuperSmashBros Smash Bros]] it's depicted as brown.
** Finally, [[VideoGame/{{Mother 3}} Lucas]] wears a striped red and yellow shirt, and blue shorts. His shoes are red and yellow.
* SonicTheHedgehog is blue and wears red shoes. Also, the current modern Sonic design has yellow buckles on the red shoes.
* StreetFighter: Ken Masters wears a red gi and Chun Li wears a blue qipao.
** In contrast, the evil Vega wears purple trousers.
* VideoGame/MegaMan is usually just blue, but some incarnations will give him red and yellow accents. [[VideoGame/MegaMan.exe]] and [[MegaManStarForce GeoStelar]] are the straightest examples.
** VideoGame/MegaManX is blue with red accents by default, but in his higher level armors he gains plenty of yellow trims as well.
*** [[VideoGame/MegaManZero Zero]] on the other hand is primarily red and yellow.
*** In contrast, Sigma wears green and purple armor.
* Isaac of ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'' wears a blue outift with a red breast plate and a yellow ScarfOfAsskicking.
** His son Matthew in ''VideoGame/GoldenSunDarkDawn'' wears a blue jacket, red shirt, and a scarf so similar to Isaac's that fans often say it is the same one.
* VideoGame/Medabots Ikki wears blue shorts and a red shirt with a yellow button on the collar.
* Almost every FireEmblem Lord wears this color scheme too. Usually blue clothes with a yellow trim, and a red cape (at least on the inside of it)
** Marth
** Alm in his Awakening redesign has red and yellow accents to his blue armor. In his original design they were red and green accents however.
** Celice
** Roy, Eliwood and Hector.
*** Lyn's costume was blue with yellow trim and very subtle red accents. Her Awakening redesign plays it even straighter by changing her obi to be bigger and deep red.
** Ike
*** Micaiah may or may not be an example. Her default attire is mostly purple but has red, blue and yellow accents. At tier 2 she has a whitish pink dress, blue cape and yellow ugg boots, at tier 3 she has a pale blue dress, red cape and yellow heels.
** Chrom, only wears desaturated and darker blue clothes with a yellow trim, however his is usual sword and its scabbard are is red.
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivals protagonists]] tend to feature primary colors with blacks and whites in their wardrobes. Departures from this include May and Brendan, who add green accents in ''Emerald''; Dawn, who wears at least as much pink as red, if not more; and Hilda, whose outfit is ''mainly'' [[StealthPun black and]] [[TitleDrop white]] though it is offset by a pink (a kind of red) hat and blue shorts. Rivals are also more prone to wearing secondary colors, though Cheren and Hugh wear primaries like the [=PCs=] do. In further contrast, [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeams villains]] favor black, white, and grey.
** In ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'', the player can act in movies, including a superhero series. In these movies, the player is cast as the hero and is dressed up in bright primary colors; while Brycen, as the villainous Brycen-Man, wears purple with green accents.
* Raphael/Phantom R of ''VideoGame/RhythmThiefAndTheEmperorsTreasure'' wears a blue suit with red trim (and matching red tie and hair).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:WebOriginal]]
* HomestarRunner has a red shirt and 'blue soles glued to the bottom of his feet.' His hat is also blue with a red brim.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:WesternAnimation]]
* CaptainPlanet: Blue body, red 'clothes' with a yellow emblem.
* FatAlbert: Red shirt, blue jeans.
* Kaldur, the new version of Aqualad designed specifically as TheLeader of ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'', wears blue pants and a red shirt with a yellow belt buckle. [[DarkSkinnedBlonde He also has blond hair.]] In the comics his pants are darker, almost black, but he has more yellow decals on his shirt.
* [[http://centralcitytower.wordpress.com/2012/12/28/character-introduction-zahara/ Zahara]] of ''Spider Stories'' was [[WhatCouldHaveBeen nearly a full on blue bottom, red top]] before foregoing becoming closer to just being [[RedIsHeroic red]]. However she still has yellow gold trims on her dress and wears cyan blue flower petals so...
* Discussed, but not enforced, in DannyPhantom. Danny's costume is black with white accents. In one episode he accidentally splits himself in half; one half is his goofy, slacker side, and the other half is his dedicated, heroic side. The heroic side begins acting very much like a stereotypical comic book hero, and insists that his costume should have a cape and be in bright primary colors.
* Optimus Prime of {{Transformers}}. In fact, the Autobot logo is usually red and many Autobots are primary colors, while the Decepticons have purple as a signature color and the Constructicons specifically are known for being purple and green. Having the good side in red and the bad side in purple places them in the opposites of the spectrum, so not only they're differentiated by primary and secondary colors, but also by "hot" and "cold" colors (darker blue for bad guys, light orange for good guys).
* Even comedy is not immune. Fry from {{Futurama}} wears a red jacket and blue jeans.
** Bart Simpson also wears a red T-shirt, blue shorts, and is drawn with stark yellow skin (because of the art style) though its debatable whether he is the main character or if its Homer.
* Arnold from ''HeyArnold'' wears a bluish teal sweater and blue jeans, with a red with yellow plaid button down shirt that hangs out from under his sweater like a skirt. He also has a blue cap and wild blond hair.
* JimmyNeutron wears a red T-shirt with a yellow logo on it, and blue shorts/jeans.
* {{Freakazoid}}: Red underwear, blue skin, yellow logo.
* ThunderCats: Lion-O wears a blue costume and a yellow/gold gauntlet. Both are accented by the red Thundercats logo, and his big bright red mane of hair.
[[/folder]]

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