History Main / ByronicHero

* Unlike his FunPersonified and well adjusted iteration from the comics, the ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'' version of Dick Grayson is the hallmark of broodiness and obsessiveness with [[CompositeCharacter all the serious elements that were borrowed from Batman and the other Robins.]] He is [[TheAce handsome, a great leader, intuitive, intelligent and skilled]] at everything a BadassNormal could be, but for every quality he has, there are his anger issues buried under the mask of stoicism and tendency to lash out on his friends, his rigidness and demanding of others to be work alcoholic like him, distrustful and even manipulative (as seen in "Masks"), self-centered and competitive, and the worst of them, his obsessiveness with catching the bad guys, especially [[TheCorrupter Slade]] who always brings out the worst of Robin. No wonder that when Starfire travels in the future, the older Dick became TheCowl, and a loner with no friends like Bruce Wayne from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond''.

** Eridan Ampora fits the mold quite well. SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome happens and he accidentally alienates his friends.

* Dr. Thaddeus S. Venture of ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' is a bitter, miserable, savvy DeadpanSnarker super-genius with an incredibly traumatic childhood as a former boy adventurer.

* Unlike his FunPersonified and well adjusted iteration from the comics, the ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'' version of Dick Grayson is the hallmark of broodiness and obsessiveness with [[CompositeCharacter all the serious elements that were borrowed from Batman and the other Robins.]] He is [[TheAce handsome, a great leader, intuitive, intelligent and skilled]] at everything a BadassNormal could be, but for every quality he has, there are his anger issues buried under the mask of stoicism and tendency to lash out on his friends, his rigidness and demanding of others to be work alcoholic like him, distrustful and even manipulative (as seen in "Masks"), self-centered and competitive, and the worst of them, his obsessiveness with catching the bad guys, especially [[TheCorruptor Slade]] who always brings out the worst of Robin. No wonder that when Starfire travels in the future, the older Dick became TheCowl, and a loner with no friends like Bruce Wayne from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond''.

** Zuko has several traits of a Byronic hero: conflicting emotions? Check. Poor integrity? [[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor Check]]. The status of exile? Big ol' Check. It's, like, his ''thing''. A [[DarkAndTroubledPast troubled past]]? Very much so. {{Pride}}? Big problem he has to deal with. He's also [[LonersAreFreaks a loner]], "prone to {{Melodrama}}", and as for intelligence... well, [[KidHero Aang]] says that he's smarter than people give him credit for.

* The title character of ''WesternAnimation/BoJackHorseman'' is a {{deconstruct|edCharacterArchetype}}ion of this. He's self-centered, introspective, troubled, reflexive, impulsive with a DarkAndTroubledPast, TroubledButCute status and ReclusiveArtist shades. But instead of coming off as charming, mysterious and tragic, his demeanor gives the impression of him being arrogant, vain, pathetic, and abrasive with no one being interested in digging deeper, and when they do, his issues prove to be too much to handle.

** Stewie comes off as a {{parody}} of this type, being an antisocial GadgeteerGenius EnfantTerrible determined to TakeOverTheWorld. The parody aspect comes from him being a baby whom few see for who he truly is -- and the ones who do aren't taking him seriously.
** Brian has grown into a straighter example, even though he's a ''dog''. Highly intelligent and troubled, he struggles with the possibility of having done nothing meaningful in his life, but he's hindered by his ego when he puts a great deal of effort and seems to suffer from an inferiority complex as a result of being... well, a talking dog (which may explain the ego bit.) He and Stewie come to be {{Foil}}s for each other, ultimately having the closest and most closely-examined interpersonal relationship in the series. Stewie often is the one who keeps Brian in check yet also views Brian as his confidant and when [[ItMakesSenseInContext Brian journeyed to Stewie's head to stop a monster in his nightmares]], it turns out that Stewie is busting Brian's chops because he holds Brian in such high regard.

* ''WesternAnimation/HarleyQuinn2019'' has [[NominalHero Harley Quinn]] herself. A troubled, brooding, selfish outcast whose passions and strive towards a goal cause trouble for Gotham City and the rest of the world. She wants to be respected as a villain, to be in control of her own life, and to cause {{Apocalypse Anarchy}}. Harley is passionate, determined, and driven towards this goal, but it leads to all kinds of trouble for both her and her crew. On top of that, she can't go all the way with the worst aspects of supervillainy, leading to a self-defeating mindset.
* ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' has Helga G. Pataki. "Helga on the Couch" shows just how a combination of ParentalNeglect and peer pressure made her into the tough-as-nails LovingBully she is today, compelled to antagonize the very person she pines for. She's also far more astute than even she knows, and her talents and inner turmoil have inspired some incredible poetry.

* Rick from ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty''. There are minor hints here and there that Rick has a pretty troubled past. He is also moody, cynical, and very passionate about his science. However, while his scientific habits may not be self-destructive as much as they are outwardly destructive, his drug habits most certainly are, and he occasionally shows cracks in his narcissism that betray a strong self-loathing. He's also caused similar damage to his family, namely his daughter Beth and his grandson/traveling companion Morty. In fact, Morty himself may be slowly becoming one.
* Catra from ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'' possesses several Byronic qualities: pride, cynicism, a DarkAndTroubledPast, emotional conflict, a charismatic presence, [[spoiler:and [[ThePowerOfLove her love]] for Adora is what officially kicks in her redemption arc]].

** Bart Simpson is a cynical rebel who has far more potential than he's given credit for, but with his teachers and parents showing him little-to-no faith or support when he was little, he decided to take pride in his status as an underachieving bad boy. However, there are moments when his mask slips and he becomes very angst-ridden over his own failings.
** His sister Lisa is the poster girl for IntelligenceEqualsIsolation and often opposes the moronic people of Springfield over her beliefs and causes. She's implied to suffer from depression, and her struggles with pride show whenever something provides competition over her intelligence and talents.
* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': Stan Marsh has endured a lot of anguish from the idiotic citizens of South Park (let alone [[AbusiveParents his father]]), to the point that his growing cynicism and depression was the subject of a particularly heavy two-parter. He is incredibly impassioned when he takes up a cause, and as close to TallDarkAndHandsome as the art-style will allow him and still being the everyman.

** The Crystal Gems (barring Steven, since he wasn't born then) are varying degrees of Byronic, having fought a war in rebellion against the totalitarian Homeworld, and while they cherish and defend the Earth, they also remain aloof to its people. Pearl is brainy and skilled yet also has the most easily wounded pride, and is still struggling to move past the death of Rose Quartz and the fact that Pearls are a SlaveRace in Gem hierarchy. Amethyst is the most uncouth and rebellious, due to the circumstances of her creation making her feel as though doesn't truly belong anywhere. Garnet seems to be the least troubled, as she has to be strong and in control to bear TheChainsOfCommanding, and it took her a while to come out of her stoic shell. Despite this, all three are becoming much less Byronic. Garnet has become more open and comfortable, Amethyst is happy with herself and Pearl is slowly moving on while also becoming closer friends with Greg, the man Rose chose over her and Steven's dad.
** Steven himself struggles with this in Season 1's "Full Disclosure", where Jasper is defeated and Beach City is saved, and after having a chat with Ronaldo, Steven erroneously thinks it would be for the best to withdraw from Connie, which causes her to worry intensely about Steven and she challenges him to tell her about the break-up in person instead of indirectly communicating through cell phone texts; Steven ultimately relents when he sees that Connie could have ended up sad and friendless, and ultimately decides to still be friends with her. However, Steven becomes a much straighter example of the trope in the [[WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseFuture final season]], where he develops a [[ChronicHeroSyndrome messiah complex]] from spending his childhood saving the world over and over and becomes jaded and unstable [[SoWhatDoWeDoNow over the fact that there's nothing left for him to do]]. After spending a significant amount of time DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife, he leaves town to go WalkingTheEarth alone.
** We can now add Lapis and Peridot to this. While neither are official members, they both have some damage. Peridot started out as a prideful and surly being while having hidden a complex for being a second generation Peridot and thus inferior to her predecessors and reliant on gadgets. She ends up stuck on Earth, knowing of the doomsday trap for it (though that is no longer an issue.) As of now, she is discovering her own powers and viewing Earth as her home. Lapis meanwhile endured more hardship and trapped in a cracked state for centuries. She doesn't have much loyalty to anyone except Steven and she endured being fused with Jasper to use her as a punching bag (in a not-too-subtle allegory for toxic relationships.) While she has brightened up a bit and befriended Peridot, she is the most prone to being moody and sullen and it's clear that she doesn't wanna fight anymore.
** Jasper can be seen as a Byronic Villainess, a skilled and powerful Homeworld soldier with a firmly ingrained belief that the purpose of all Gems is to serve the Diamond Authority. The Byronic aspect becomes apparent with TheReveal that [[spoiler: Rose killed her leader, Pink Diamond, leaving her emotionally hollow, self-loathing, and determined to seek {{revenge}}]].
** Rose Quartz herself can be seen as this [[spoiler: with TheReveal that she ''was'' Pink Diamond and faked her own death.]]. Her rebellion was started, in part, because [[spoiler: Pink preferred socializing with workers and soldiers in the persona of Rose to the isolation of ruling over them as Pink, especially after untold millennia of emotional abuse from her older sisters]]. The death of Pink Diamond at the hand of Rose Quartz [[spoiler: was intended to drive her sisters away from the Earth forever, but she didn't expect they'd launch a final, parting attack. One which destroyed or horrifically mutated every Gem (rebel or otherwise) left on the planet]]. Despite her rosy demeanor and pride in saving the Earth, she was haunted by in her role in provoking this and her inability to heal the victims, only to collect them and keep them safe in hopes that someday a way to help them could be found.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Young Justice|2010}}'': The show's incarnation of Characters/{{Super|manConnerKent}}boy. He suffers from CloningBlues and an increased temper as a result of [[spoiler: being the clone of Superman and Lex Luthor]]. His initial aloof relationship with Superman doesn't help, but he gets a lot better over time as seen in Season 2.