History Characters / EvilDeadAshWilliams

* BelatedBackstory: Such things as his job at S-Mart weren't revealed until ''Army of Darkness''.

* GuestFighter: Appears as a playable character in ''VideoGame/TerrordromeTheGameRiseOfTheBoogeymen'', ''VideoGame/{{Broforce}}'' and ''VideoGame/DeadByDaylight'' as well as being an opponent in ''VideoGame/PokerNight2''.

* {{Flanderization}}: In the first movie, he was a normal, somewhat dorky young man who endured great suffering before unexpectedly defeating great evil. When the franchise became a comedy, he became a cartoonish dumbass who takes absurd slapstick knocks, then quips blithely before carving evil up with a chainsaw.

* ObliviousAdoption: If Cheryl's played by a black actress in the musical, herast words will be to tell Ash he's adopted.

* ZombieApocalyseHero: Ash Williams, Deadite hunter extraordinaire. His [[WeaponOfChoice Weapons of Choice]] are a SawedOffShotgun dubbed his "Boomstick" and a [[ChainsawGood chainsaw]] that [[BladeBelowTheShoulder replaces his amputated hand]].

* CoolOldGuy: Ash is may be past his prime and a complete jackass, but when shit hits the fan, there's no denying how awesome he is. Even after at least ''3 decades'' down the line hasn't changed the fact that he can hack and shoot Deadites to pieces like a cakewalk.

* RelatedInTheAdaptation: In a run of ''Theatre/EvilDeadTheMusical'' where his sister was played by a black actress, her last line was to tell Ash he was adopted.

* {{Adorkable}}: In ''The Evil Dead'', particularly in his interactions with Linda when he pretends to be asleep.

* {{Flanderization}}: In the first movie, he was a normal, somewhat {{Adorkable}} young man who endured great suffering before unexpectedly defeating great evil. When the franchise became a comedy, he became a cartoonish dumbass who takes absurd slapstick knocks, then quips blithely before carving evil up with a chainsaw.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He's crude, selfish and more than a little sleazy, but the {{Adorkable}} college kid from ''The Evil Dead'' is still buried deep down.

** Most clearly in ''Series/AshVsEvilDead''. As selfish and perverted as he might appear, it's clear that he's a lonely old man.

* IronButtMonkey: It's a damn wonder how Ash is still alive after all of the injuries he's obtained over the years.

* GenderBlenderName: "Ash" sounds pretty cool for a guy, but it's actually short for "Ashley," which is more common as a feminine name. This is a reference to him being a male FinalGirl in the first film.

* BosssUnfavoriteEmployee: He was this to Mr. Roper at Value Stop. While Roper was a MeanBoss in general, he had a particular dislike for Ash, a [[TheSlacker lazy goldbrick]] who's seniority makes him [[UltimateJobSecurity unfireable]]. When possessed by a Deadite, Roper retains enough of his old self to mock Ash as a "sad old failure" and admit he's ''always'' hated him.

* MadeOfIron: He's survived and walked off such things as getting bodily slammed into a tree and thrown through a wooden staircase with no long-lasting injuries.
** Subverted by the time of ''Series/AshVsEvilDead'', where his age is getting to him.

* TookALevelInJerkass: In the first movie, Ash is a NiceGuy thrown into the middle of a nightmare and struggles to survive. Throughout the next two movies, his experiences lead to him becoming increasingly more snarky and obnoxious, to the point where he apathetically "helps" the local castle and refuses to help them when the deadites take the Necronomicon. Administrivia/TropesAreNotBad, however, as that is the version of Ash that fans remember and love.

* TookALevelInJerkass: In the first movie, Ash is a NiceGuy thrown into the middle of a nightmare and struggles to survive. Throughout the next two movies, his experiences lead to him becoming increasingly more snarky and obnoxious, to the point where he apathetically "helps" the local castle and refuses to help them when the deadites take the Necronomicon. TropesAreNotBad, however, as that is the version of Ash that fans remember and love.

* BadassGrandpa: He's 57 years old by the time ''Ash vs Evil Dead'' starts and as the end of the first episode shows, he hasn't lost a step.

** Confirmed in the first season finale of ''Series/AshVsEvilDead'', where he [[spoiler:makes a deal with Ruby to not stop her from controlling the Necronomicon and the dark forces of the book in return for being allowed to walk away alive with Kelly and Pablo, sparing only Pablo and Kelly and possibly the inhabitants of Jacksonville, Florida.]] Despite his facade of not caring and trying to pass it off [[spoiler:Ruby keeping a handle on darkness as its EvilOverlord]] as being a NecessaryEvil, he does feel guilty but once again he just wants to [[ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne put it all behind him and let somebody else deal with this shit]].

* GuestFighter: Appears as a playable character in ''VideoGame/TerrordromeTheGameRiseOfTheBoogeymen'' and ''VideoGame/{{Broforce}}'', as well as being an opponent in ''VideoGame/PokerNight2''.

* BadassGrandpa: Even after at least ''3 decades'' down the line hasn't changed the fact that he can hack and shoot Deadites to pieces like a cakewalk.

* CoolOldGuy: Ash is may be past his prime and a complete jackass, but when shit hits the fan, there's no denying how awesome he is.