Butt-head: Huhuh, look at his face! Beavis: Heh, look at that crack in his chin! Butt-Head: I think it's a buttcrack! Beavis: Well I guess that would make sense, since like, there's just a bunch of diarrhea coming out of his mouth. Butt-Head: Yeah. Uhuhuhuhuh, it's like when God was passing out buttcracks, this guy got in line twice. — Beavis And Butthead (riffing on Sam Harris)
A square jawline. A protuberant chin. A manly cleft. Somewhere along the line (possibly around Superman's time), artists decided that these, more so than anything else, were the defining facial feature of really heroic (or really strong and dumb) characters. Perhaps to an even greater extent than broad shoulders, barreled chest, and absurdly large biceps, the surest sign of a character's strength and manliness lies in his chin.
Parodies of superheroes will take this trope to its illogical extreme, giving heroes jawlines large enough to logically prevent them from looking down—and possibly, a ridiculous "butt chin". Some artistic conventions also render the cleft as a "swirl" on the chin. While the gluteus chinnimus can affect non-heroic, not-so-strong characters, "chin swirl" is generally reserved for only the manliest of manly.
If a character with a jawline like this crops up in an American Western Animation production, there's a really good chance he'll be voiced by Patrick Warburton. Also common in Captain Space, Defender of Earth!.
This has some Truth in Television, as scientists have noted that there is a definite correlation between jaw size and testosterone production (though cleft chins are very much unisex). Which is why it is Always Male.
This is mostly a hero trope, but villains occassionally have chins like this.
Compare Beauty Equals Goodness, Top Heavy Guy. Contrast Villainous Cheekbones (where angular faces characterize a bad guy).
Alphonse actually has one built into his armor if you look closely.
Gaav from Slayers. He is a Badass Longcoat, he has the Heroic Chin... but he is a villain! Well he's a villain because he's trying to kill Lina. When Amelia accuses him of being a villain, he's quick to turn the tables and point out Lina is technically a villain, and so is Amelia by association, causing a short Heroic BSOD on Amelia's part.
Bean Bandit from Gunsmith Cats features a truly massive jaw. It's not just aesthetic though. One might notice that Bandit NEVER leaves any bones left over after a meal. And he eats walnuts with the shells on.
Depending on the character designs, the title character of Lupin III is at times depicted with one of these, despite being a master thief. However, his rival, Inspector Zenigata is usually drawn with one. In the manga series, Goemon has a pretty manly chin, too.
Though an antagonist, Bartholomew Kuma is decidedly on the side of "Justice," and appropriately has a very, very manly jawline, as Sanji finds out the hard way when he attempts to kick it and nearly breaks his leg. Of course, it is made of metal...
Meanwhile, Whitebeard has one of the most impressive jawlines ever, and while being a pirate supposedly puts him on the side of more chatic-minded free spirits opposed to the law, he's definitely one of the most honorable and dedicated characters in the series.
Interestingly enough, Shiliew of the Rain has a massive chin, and while he once served as The Dragon to Magellan in the defense of Impel Down, he eventually joins Blackbeard as his new Dragon after his Ax Crazy tendencies go a little too far.
Superman, as stated above, has had one for such a long time that he may well be the Trope Maker.
Superman's chin is taken to a ridiculous extreme in Grant Morrison's All-Star Superman artwork, in which the Chin of Steel becomes ludicrously inflated.
But, if anything, Batman's is even more dimpled and protuberant. It's certainly more prominent, at any rate, given that it and the lips are all we actually see of his face.
In Joker, The Joker rants about this. He demands to know why Batman leaves that tiny window of manly perfection for all the world to see when he tries so hard to cultivate his image as a Terror Hero. Batman's glorious Shut Up, Hannibal! response: "To mock you."
Captain Everything. As a parody of Superman and Captain Marvel, it's to be expected, but he takes it to new levels as the series progresses and his appearance becomes more exaggerated. The same goes for the even more exaggerated Megaton Man.
And Sergeant Fluffy. Of course, the villainous Ultra-Conservative also has a very strong chin....
British comic hero Bananaman, as a parody of the genre, naturally possesses one of these.
Even as a gangly teenager, Steve Rogers had a bit of this going on. As Marvel's foremost Cape, Captain America tends to have a strong chin no matter who was drawing him. Lampshaded a little when a new love interest, Bernie Rosenthal, was introduced in the '80s — she had a chin cleft, and the first thing she said to him was that he had one too.
Ironically enough, the Green Lanterns tend not to have prominent jaws, Kilowog◊ aside.
Preacher: The Saint of all Killers. His lantern jaw rivals that of Clark Kent's, but there's nothing good about him.
Even the more obscure films out there subscribe to this notion. Superhero-in-training Rod Rescueman from Twice Upon A Time had his career pretty much determined by genetics — he has a barrel chest and a Lantern Jaw of Justice.
Prince Naveen has one to match his cocky personality, though it's less exaggerated than the other examples.
Facilier has one too, though that's probably because he was partly modeled on Captain Hook.
Parodied in Heavy Metal, most prominently with Captain Sternn, on trial for twelve murders, fourteen armed robberies, twenty-two counts of piracy, eighteen counts of fraud, thirty-seven rapes, and to top it off... one moving violation.
Cars featured an automobile version of Jay Leno named Jay Limo, who is a large limousine with an oversized bumper.
Gaston from Beauty and the Beast has a chin to match his brawn and penchant for boasting. It's even mentioned in his Villain Song (No-one's got a swell cleft in his chin like Gaston!).
Brad in Wreck-It Ralph — just a little exaggerated. Particularly noteworthy in the flashback sequence.
Films — Live-Action
Possibly the main reason why Aaron Eckhart was cast as Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight. A subtle nod to the standard heroic archetype? Or maybe he's just a damn good actor. Possibly both. Nolan did comment on Eckhart's facial features making him look like a movie hero from the '50s, after all.
While we're at Batman movies: Many fans protested when Michael Keaton was cast, for his lack of this trope.
In the heart-warming (?) ending of Me, Myself & Irene, it is revealed that Jim Carrey's alternate personality had one of these surgically implanted on him. Everyone is amused.
"Look here, Daddy; now you can blow your nose and wipe your ass at the same time!"
Don't forget Bruce Campbell, especially in Evil Dead. His (hilarious) autobiography is even called If Chins Could Kill.
Parodied in Bullshot (1983) where the hero is always walking around with his jaw stuck out. Lampshaded in the trailer: "There was a time when heroes were straight-limbed, lantern-jawed, well-bred, and British!"
The comic-book Iron Man was never drawn with chin on his helmet but the movie version from the Mark II armor up has a protruding chin that does make him look more heroic.
Johnny in Starship Troopers. Seriously, his jawline steals half the scenes in that movie.
Judge Dredd. Love him or hate him, but Sly Stallone had the perfect chin for the title role.
Comic book expert Elijah Price discusses this trope at some length in Unbreakable when going over some of the finer details in the concept artwork for a comic book cover.
Josh Brolin's character Sergeant O'Mara in Gangster Squad has a jaw of granite and a stare to match.
Literature
In Me, by Jimmy (Big Boy) Valente, a parody of the life of Jesse Ventura, Garrison Keillor makes reference to a part of Navy SEAL training where "a Naval Surgeon gave us cleft chins."
In Tour Of The Merrimack, dim-witted Vice-President Sampson Reed is described as having one so dramatic that his nickname is "The Chin".
A rare female example: Eldest Whistler is described as tall, lean, broad-shouldered, and iron-jawed.
Joked about in A Memory of Light, where Mat observes that the Deathwatch Guards have all traded their senses of humor for oversized chins.
Live-Action TV
Christopher Meloni, who plays Elliot Stabler on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, nicknamed "The Chin of Justice". (He also has the habit of thrusting said chin towards a suspect while questioning them.) The same goes for Olivia Benson.
Dr. Clayton Forrester, villainous Mad Scientist of Mystery Science Theater 3000 had a chin cleft and was quite proud of it. He even invented "chinderwear" in one episode. Interestingly, after Clay's departure, Mike and the bots would mock the male leads of films like Devil Doll and Time Chasers for their chin clefts: "Ugh, his chin-butt is engulfing her!"
Both futuristic journalist Edison Carter and his A.I. counterpart Max Headroom have lantern jaws, though given Max's preference for snark and mischief over heroism, the "justice" part usually only applies to Edison.
The Middleman has a particularly spectacular one of these, nicely complimenting his broad shoulders and washboard abs.
Misfits actor Iwan Rheon is a very attractive example of this trope. A pretty pertinent one too, as his character ultimately takes a level in badass and becomes The Hero of the series, despite spending the first two seasons as a put-uponnerd.
Burn Notice's Sam Axe. The guy's played by Bruce Campbell.
The X-Files: Agent Fox Mulder's prominent cheekbones definitely fit the trope.
Sheriff Hartwell appearing in the episode "Bad Blood" counts as well. However, considering that he's a vampire, albeit of the friendly kind, he's a borderline example among this trope and the Villainous Cheekbones.
Agent Doggett, a rugged manly-man type from season 8 and 9, has an angular face as well.
A running joke that crops up every time Sargent Slaughter appears is a commentator reference to his chin always preceding him. This is more of an Informed Attribute, seeing as his chin is actually pretty normal.
Freddie Hardest from the obscure self-titled MSX games had as his only distinguishing feature a chin the size of a pair of melons.
Double H from Beyond Good And Evil has one of these. Funnily enough, his original, Dummied Out (still visible in one MDisk) model had an even more dramatic, neck-engulfingly huge chin, but it was replaced with a more "normal" one. Not by◊ much◊, though.
And now we present you your regular mention of Captain Gordon, Possessor of Lantern Jaw!
The Wood Golem monster type also has an impressive jaw line.
The title character of the Apple Macintosh game Power Pete/Mighty Mike possess a chin nearly the size of the rest of his head
All three main characters on the TV show-within-a-game Republican Space Rangers from Grand Theft Auto IV.
All of classes in Team Fortress 2 (except Pyro) have one of these, further exaggerated by their underbites—yes, even Bratty Half-Pint Scout has a hatchet chin that can kill. The Soldier class epitomizes this, being a great, big, yelling, murderous chin. THIS MAN'S CHIN WAS SCULPTED BY GOD.◊
King Varian Wrynn is famous for having one, earning him the moniker "King Varian Chynn"
Neltharion/Deathwing from the upcoming Cataclysm expansion is an inversion — his lower jaw would not be out of place at a construction site, yet he is going to break the world when he shows up. Also, he's a dragon. Slightly justified: Deathwing needs his armor plating because his body is being torn apart. Without his massive chin, his lower jaw would eventually fall off.
The unnamed human from the opening cinematic for Mists of Pandaria has one complete with a Badass Beard.
The Knight unit in Warcraft 3 has a very large chin. There's no cleft, but there is manly stubble.
Playable character from Time Splitters 2, Hank Nova is described in his gallery info as having "the squarest jaw the galaxy has ever seen."
For a nonhuman counterpart, Monster Hunter Tri has the Uragaan, whose chin is its most prominent feature. The chin can even be broken, but don't expect it to go quickly.
Parappa The Rapper: Joe Chin is never an outright hero — or an outright villain, for that matter — but he is definitely aptly named.
Samurai Warriors gives us the astounding and noble Bad Ass Honda Tadakatsu, whose in-game model gives him quite a square jaw to go with his powerful physique. Sengoku Basara, of course, then cranks this Up to Eleven by giving Tadakatsu a chin so pronounced it gets its own armor covering.
Full Throttle, Full Stop. You can see that chin from the tiny, tiny page art.
The Lost Vikings: Baleog the Fierce, being the offense class out of the trio, has a particularly large chin.
'Guts Man', both in Mega Man and Mega Man Battle Network, quite literally has the squarest chin in existence. It's so square as to be perfectly rectangular and often looks like a box attached to the bottom of his face, giving him an enormous underbite. Whether he's actually heroic or not depends largely on the universe and circumstances, but there are at least two instances of Guts Man being on Mega Man's side.
Guard-Captain Aveline of Dragon Age II is a rare female example.
Web Comics
Prince Ossomer of Erfworld has one by necessity since his appearance is a Shout Out to Superman. His brothers Ansom and Tramennis have less pronounced (but still pretty manly) chins.
One character takes a missile in his chin, and when it's rebuilt he has one of these. Legs remarks that it looks heroic, like it belongs in a comic book... and then the narrator insists that, for the sake of the Fourth Wall, the chin has to go.
Surgical reconstruction and Fourth Wall damage aside, there's a ton of lantern-jawed heroes in the comic: Kaff, Nick, Shep, Andy, Hob, Brad (after bulking up), Pranger, Doyt Gyo/Doythaban, hell, even Kerchak has the gorilla version...
In the web-novel Domina, occasional mention is made of Derek's "strong chin."
In Worm, this is one of Brian's more prominent features — although, entertainingly, he is actually the supervillain Grue.
In the Whateley Universe, there is Bravo, who has this to a laughable degree.
Western Animation
Parody: Captain Kremmen of the Space Corps (animated shorts) from The Kenny Everett Video Show.
The Crimson Chin, from The Fairly OddParents, takes this trope to ridiculous new heights. Just look at the picture. Seriously — the man has chin-based superpowers. And on top of that, he's voiced by Jay Leno!
Drawn Together's Captain Hero, another superhero parody, also sports one.
Pretty much all the guys in the DCAU have these, except the Flash. They're not pronounced, but they're there. Thank Bruce Timm's drawing style for this.
Samurai Jack started out with a prominent chin...that grew bigger and bigger as the show progressed. Eventually it took up exactly half the length of his entire face.
Hacker from Cyberchase had a huge chin for no good reason. Inverted in that he is a villain character (but not a very good one
The North Wind from A Miser Brothers Christmas has the chin but is the villain of the piece.
Commander Feral of Swat Kats has the lantern jaw as well, though he is not the primary heroic figure on the show.
Dexters Laboratory: Major Glory of The Justice Friends clearly invokes this in his DCAU-style design.
Aquaman has an OUTRAGEOUS one in Batman The Brave And The Bold. In fact, most of the characters in the show have one. Including the women. It's kind of weird.
In Voltron Force, it's Hunk'slion that has this. Recall that the lion is a robot. This is part of an overall trend of the lions looking more individual, rather than Palette Swaps of each other.
Ben 10 Omniverse's design of Alien X feature this. So does Paradox. So do the Galvan (especially when they are fat), despite their species being clearly portrayed as lacking a chin in the previous installments. And Kevin's chin, who was already tall in Alien Force, is even more prominent now. In fact, so many exemples can be listed that somebody made a meme about it◊. Then again, Derrick J. Wyatt of the aforementioned Transformers Animated is the art director.
Very fittingly, the Justice Knight, another parody of superhero, sports a square jaw.
The Mmmmmmmmmporpg has a monumental chin. He's more of an antagonist, but he's certainly manly (if you disregard his girly true name).
In the Duck Dodgers episode "Pig of Action", the Eager Young Space Cadet (Porky Pig) is turned into a muscle-bound action hero by Green Rocks, with an exaggerated "butt cheeks" chin.
Jay Leno, who does the voice for The Crimson Chin. He may not necessarily be heroic, but his chin is. His autobiography is even titled Leading With My Chin. And his Battle Bot (occasionally trotted out for an exhibition match) was called Chinkilla.
Another real life example: David Hayter, who did act, very briefly, in live-action film once upon a time. And cosplays as Solid Snake.
Pat Tillman.◊ Considering he was a NFL football player who became a soldier who fell in the line of duty, it's difficult to get much more heroic.
Patrick Warburton. When combined with his manly voice, he's become the go-to guy for characters like this (as noted in the description).
Ditto Craig T. Nelson (voice of Mr. Incredible). Though the years seem to be slowly eating away at his chin cleft.
It's mentioned in Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt that Adam West only got the part of Batman because he fit this trope more than another (better, apparently) actor.
Benito Mussolini, demonstrating that not everybody with one is a good guy.
American History in general presents George Washington in this manner. Washington sat for a ton of portraits to get his image out to the general public. According to the History Channel's Death Masks program, Washington often times convinced (bribed?) the artist to give him the Lantern Jaw of Justice. The most famous example that doesn't feature his Lantern Jaw of Justice, was a portrait was done by Gilbert Stuart. Of all of the portraits done, Washington detested this portrait... and the reason? It doesn't feature his trademark Lantern Jaw of Justice - Gilbert Stuart refused to paint the manliness, so instead gave us one of the most accurate representations of his real chin. See? Even back then, he realized the importance of giving the impression that you're a hero and ooze responsibility, leadership and trustworthiness - all by the power of his chinny chin chin. The portrait is most prominently featured on the $1 bill.
Ol' Georgie didn't help his case any by not putting his dentures in for that portrait, but reconstructions of his face show that his chinny chin chin was indeed quite strong when his teeth were in his head. Besides, this is George Washington we're talking about; his chin could have been on backwards and he'd still be seen as a hero. This is particularly strange, as the dour expression in this particular portrait is usually attributed to how firmly George had to hold his mouth to keep in the dentures he wore at the time (which had, among other awkward features, springs to help them open, so he had to bite down to keep his mouth closed, and they had a tendency to slip about if he didn't keep his lips held firm).
This is one of several reasons everyone agrees that, whatever one might think of his personality or policy, Mitt Romney looks "presidential": his jaw and hair look like they came right out of a '50s superhero comic.
Ben Affleck. Parodied in a South Park episode where he's supposed to be the long lost son of a couple who have litterally buttfaces. And Cartman nicknames him "Ben Assfleck".
