History Main / CoolUncle

* Fanfic/{{Touch}}: In ''Shadow'', Roxy cites the only peaceful period of her childhood was when her abusive mother dumped her at her Great-Aunt Terry's house for eighteen months. Though old and near-blind, she was caring and took care of Roxy to the best of her abilities.

* In ''Literature/{{Another}}'', Kouichi has a close relationship with his aunt Reiko(his mother's much younger sister), who serves as his guardian while he's in Yomiyama, [[spoiler:as well as his homeroom teacher]]. She looks after him, gives him advice on matters such as whether to pursue a career in art and generally is the person he's closest to in his family. [[spoiler:By the time he realizes that she's the "nonexistent person" and has to be killed in order to end the calamity, he realizes that he's come to think of her as being like his mother]].

* In ''Manga/{{Innocent}}'' Nicolas-Charles-Gabriel is this very kind to his eldest nephew Charles. Downplayed, since he's also an intrigant who tries to "steal" his nephew's position as executioner of Paris but fails due to being traumatized by Damien's horrific execution.

* [[ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse Scrooge McDuck]] may count as this to Huey, Dewey, and Louie, though he is technically their great uncle.

** Reed and Sue's children consider Johnny to be a cool uncle since he's a superhero that sets himself on fire. Ben also gets this treatment, although he's not a blood relative.

* In ''Nexus'', [[spoiler:Dante]] is certainly one because it's well... him. Though he would argue that he sees himself as [[ParentalSubstitute more than just an uncle]].
* Apollo to Armani in the ''Fanfic/BrokenBow'' series. Doubles as a {{Parental Substitute}}, since Artemis wasn't aware of the latter's birth until sixteen years later.
* In ''Fanfic/TheSecondTry'', [[spoiler:Rei.]] Her niece [[spoiler:Aki]] adores her and loves spending time with her. In turn, [[spoiler:Rei]] protects her and looks after her. Although, neither of them were aware that they were related when they met. This relationship continues in ''Webcomic/AkiChansLife''. They also double as a MoeCouplet.
* Harry feels that Tony, Sirius, and, naturally, Loki are this to him in ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm.'' Of course, Loki actually is his [[BadassFamily Cool Uncle]].
** Carol Danvers has a literal CoolUncle in Jack O'Neill. Yes, ''[[Series/StargateSG1 that]]'' Jack O'Neill.

* The ''Franchise/DragonAge'' fic series ''Fanfic/SkyholdAcademyYearbook'' plays with the trope by assigning several uncles to [[spoiler:Skye Rutherford]], all of whom think they are the CoolUncle. They have an "uncle-off" in one installment, by which they try to determine which of the six is her favorite; one of her mother's brothers is absent, so he can't participate, and honorary uncle Varric (the "whiskey uncle") abstains, but the other four have great fun with the competition.
* In ''Fanfic/ImaginarySeas'', Percy realizes that his beloved teacher Chiron, a son of Kronos, is technically his uncle. Percy doesn't dwell on it much though, as he is far more interested in whether or not Chiron was a robot like the Olympians.

* In ''[[Fanfic/{{Touch}} Shadow]]'', Roxy cites the only peaceful period of her childhood was when her abusive mother dumped her at her Great-Aunt Terry's house for eighteen months. Though old and near-blind, she was caring and took care of Roxy to the best of her abilities.
* In ''[[Fanfic/YugiohEQG Yugioh EQG: XX]]'', technically Flash Sentry is Flurry Heart's godfather, not her uncle, but he is dating Flurry Heart's aunt Twilight Sparkle, and happily states that he loves Flurry Heart and is more than happy to babysit her and do all the fun "aunt and uncle" activities with her when Twilight is too busy. Flurry Heart also loves Flash and considers him one of her favorite people.
* ''Fanfic/ChildrenOfRemnant'': Watts seems to strive to be this, serving as a mentor to Blake and getting Jaune alcohol for a party.
* [[VideoGame/{{Yakuza}} Goro Majima]] acts as this to [[Manga/MyHeroAcademia Izuku Midoriya]] in the fanfic [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13629709/1/Izuku-Midoriya-Mad-Dog-of-Shizuoka Izuku Midoriya, Mad Dog of Shizuoka]], cheering him up and teaching him how to fight despite not having a Quirk (yet). Perhaps out of respect, Izuku begins to adopt some of Majima's character tics (being TheGadfly to Bakugou, faking a KansaiRegionalAccent, [[BatterUp use of a baseball bat]]) as he finishes up middle school and prepares to try and get into U.A.

* Hank Schrader to Walter White Jr. in ''Series/BreakingBad''.
* Creator/JossWhedon said that in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' Season 7, Faith was a Cool Aunt to the Potentials, whereas Buffy was the mom.

* Diego decides that, since they're a FamilyOfChoice, then he gets to be Arqui's fun uncle in ''Series/ElCorazonNuncaSeEquivoca''.
* Debra Morgan sometimes plays this role in ''Series/{{Dexter}}''.

* ''Series/FamilyTies'' had Uncle Ned, played by Creator/TomHanks. He was really cool, but he had a drinking problem.

* Uncle Jesse from ''Series/FullHouse'' is this to his three nieces. He's their late mother's younger brother who's a singer and agreed to help his brother-in-law Danny raise the kids. But unlike most examples of this trope, Jesse does end up having children of his own. Uncle Joey is also this though he's Danny's best friend and only an "uncle" in spirit.

* On ''Series/GoodEats'', Alton mentions that his parents would go off on romantic getaways and leave him and his (TV) sister Martha in the care of their Uncle Rudy back in TheSeventies. Rudy lived a bohemian lifestyle out of a van and was fond of kabobs, despite lacking cooking skills.

* Peter Petrelli from ''Series/{{Heroes}}'', though his interaction with his nephews is limited, his niece Claire definitely looks up to him.
* Series/KirbyBuckets has an uncle named Leon who is always willing to do "solids" for other people. At first, Leon's solids seemed to work out great for Kirby, as he got him new subscribers for his web channel, a gourmet crab lunch, a girlfriend, a basketball session with NBA superstar Zach [=LaVine=], new sneakers and a car. Unfortunately, Leon's gifts eventually backfired, as they were all either cheap knockoffs (the sneakers, the crab lunch, the subscribers -- actually inflated by a bot) or outright stolen (the car). It later turned out that he did all of it on purpose because Kirby's mother specifically told him not to contact him. Needless to say, Kirby was amazed his mother was able to come up with such an elaborate scheme.
* Beaver and Wally's way cool, sorta whack Uncle Billy in ''Series/LeaveItToBeaver''. Just don't take him for granted; he hates that.
* ''Series/NorthernRescue'' has Aunt Charlie. Her character page on the show website describes her as spending more time dealing with her nephew and nieces' problems than her own.
* On ''Series/OnceAndAgain'', Judy is like this for both Grace and Zoe.
* Shawn Spencer on ''Series/{{Psych}}'' had his treasure hunting Uncle Jack.
* Played with in ''Series/{{Snowfall}}''. In the first season, it looks like Jerome fits this role for Franklin, as he helps Franklin gather the manpower and firepower needed to establish his business. In Season 2, Franklin gets disillusioned with Jerome after he proves unable to adjust to the rigors of big business, but his worship then goes to his Aunt Louie, who becomes a surrogate mother figure for him after his own mother disowns him.

* Aunt Mimi is like this to Davis on ''Series/{{Treme}}'', backing his musical ventures and going out on the town with him on occasion.
* Uncle Charlie from ''Series/TwoAndAHalfMen''.
* Invoked in ''Series/WandaVision'' when [[spoiler: Wanda's brother Pietro seemingly comes back from the dead and moves into the family house. He instantly takes a liking to the kids, especially Tommy (who inherits his powers). When Wanda starts to question him, he admits he's pretty much there to give her and Vision grief while bonding with the kids. Then it turns out he was an imposter bewitched by [[BigBad Agatha Harkness]] to spy on Wanda.]]

* [[ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse Scrooge McDuck]] may count like this to Huey, Dewey, and Louie.

** Reed and Sue's children consider Johnny to be a cool uncle since he's a superhero that sets himself on fire. Ben also gets this treatment although he's not related.

* In ''Manga/Innocent'' Nicolas-Charles-Gabriel is this very kind to his eldest nephew Charles. Downplayed, since he's also an intrigant who tries to "steal" his nephew's position as executioner of Paris but fails due to being traumatized by Damien's horrific execution.

* In ''Manga/Innocent Nicolas-Charles-Gabriel'' is this very kind to his eldest nephew Charles. Downplayed, since he's also an intrigant who tries to "steal" his nephew's position as executioner of Paris but fails due to being traumatized by Damien's horrific execution.

* In Manga/Innocent Nicolas-Charles-Gabriel is this very kind to his eldest nephew Charles. Downplayed, since he's also an intrigant who tries to "steal" his nephew's position as executioner of Paris but fails due to being traumatized by Damien's horrific execution.

Regardless, he will often be secretly envious of the stability and loving home life that his sibling enjoys with their spouse and kids, even as he boasts of his own independence. The uncle may be the BlackSheep of the family. Often he's the kids' godfather as well; if they ever lose their parents, he'll be the one who steps in to become a ParentalSubstitute. This can lead to character development if he has to tone down his lifestyle and become a responsible guardian for the kids' sake. But if only ''his'' sibling dies, his surviving in-law may feel obligated to keep him in the kids' lives, even if they clash.

* In queer culture, a "guncle" (gay uncle) is a gay man with no kids who dotes on his nieces and nephews with his worldly ways, unorthodox wisdom, and, often enough, disposable income. Stereotypically he embodies this trope to the fullest. Unfortunately, there's no equivalent lesbian or gender-neutral term, though lesbians are generally more likely to [[AllLesbiansWantKids have kids of their own]].

* Genjuuro Kazanari from ''Anime/{{Symphogear}}'' is Tsubasa's uncle and leader of the 2nd Division Mobile Disaster Response Corps. He's a BadassNormal who ''punches'' a BFS and ''breaks'' it. Fans call him [[FanNickName Aku]][[StreetFighter ma]]. [[spoiler:Season 3 revealed he isn't Tsubasa's uncle but her half-brother. Doesn't stop him from being any less cool]].

-->-- '''Grunkle Stan''', ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'', "Headhunters"

* Happens in ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'', although which two characters involved are a bit of a spoiler. [[spoiler:It turns out that Laphicet the malak is the reincarnation of Artorius and Celica's unborn child, making Velvet his Cool Aunt. Laphicet has the least trouble getting past Velvet's BrokenBird exterior to her HiddenHeartOfGold.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieInTheNutcracker'': In the original Nutcracker Drosselmeyer is Clara/Marie's godfather; in this version [[GenderFlip Aunt]] Drosselmeyer is not a magician but a world-traveling adventuress whose stories and presents excite Clara, to the disapproval of her grandfather. She also appears to know about Parthenia, and it's heavily implied that the king she danced with in her story was Prince Eric's father.

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': Grunkle Stan is actually the children's great-uncle, but he fits this trope to a T anyway: unmarried, knows lots of cool magic tricks and allows them to climb on the roof. Oh yeah, and he's also a wanted criminal and the shifty owner of a run-down tourist trap. Not the most responsible uncle in the world, [[LovableRogue but still a good guy]]. [[spoiler:Later, we meet his brother Ford, the local MadScientist slash monster hunter, who takes very little time to charm the kids with his [[GadgeteerGenius various cool inventions]], particularly Dipper who idolized him because of his writings long before he knew they were related.]]

* In queer culture, a "guncle" (gay uncle) is a gay man with no kids who dotes on his nieces and nephews with his worldly ways, unorthodox wisdom, and, often enough, disposable income. Stereotypically he embodies this trope to the fullest. Unfortunately there's no equivalent lesbian or gender-neutral term, though lesbians are generally more likely to [[AllLesbiansWantKids have kids of their own]].

Lots of fictional families seem to have that one uncle that all the kids just ''love''. Most often, he's a youngish bachelor with no children of his own and has no intention of settling down any time soon, though he may be romantically involved. He may travel a lot and wow the kids with stories of meeting celebrities and traveling the world (and if so, he ''always'' brings back the coolest souvenirs, which he naturally gives away as presents). Or he may be well-off and spoils his sibling's kids whenever they're together.

* ''Film/TheHost'': Park Nam-joo is a Cool Aunt with a bronze medal in archery. She seems to be her niece Hyun-seo's favourite relative.

* ''Literature/DiaryOfAWimpyKid'': Greg mentions his uncle Charlie several times, claiming that he's his "secret weapon" at Christmas, as he'll get Greg whatever he asks for. Downplayed, though, because he has a tendency to misinterpret Greg's requests; one Christmas, for example, when Greg wanted a Barbie house (because he thought it would make a cool fort for his toy soldiers), he got Greg a Barbie ''doll'' instead.

* Genjuuro Kazanari from ''Anime/SenkiZesshouSymphogear'' is Tsubasa's uncle and leader of the 2nd Division Mobile Disaster Response Corps. He's a BadassNormal who ''punches'' a BFS and ''breaks'' it. Fans call him [[FanNickName Aku]][[StreetFighter ma]]. [[spoiler:Season 3 revealed he isn't Tsubasa's uncle but her half-brother. Doesn't stop him from being any less cool]].

* The ''{{WesternAnimation/Arthur}}'' special "Arthur's Perfect Christmas" introduces clumsy, but well-meaning Uncle Fred, whom both Arthur and D.W. find hilarious. After Arthur accidentally breaks the Christmas present he got for his mom, Fred saves the day by passing off his own gift to Jane (a tea set he broke last Christmas) [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments as being from Arthur.]]
* Uncle Iroh was this to Zuko during his childhood in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''. As a teenager, Zuko initially sees his uncle as more of a buffoon, but eventually comes around to accepting Iroh's guidance, which encourages Zuko to reject his father's philosophies and [[{{Wangst}} lighten up a bit]]. Iroh is implied to have continued this trend with his great niece, Izumi, considering that she named her own son after him.

* In the original Nutcracker, Drosselmeyer is Clara/Marie's godfather; in ''WesternAnimation/BarbieInTheNutcracker'' [[GenderFlip Aunt]] Drosselmeyer is not a magician but a world-traveling adventuress whose stories and presents excite Clara, to the disapproval of her grandfather. She also appears to know about Parthenia, and it's heavily implied that the king she danced with in her story was Prince Eric's father.
* On ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'', Daria's Aunt Amy (Helen's younger sister) is a Cool Aunt due to having much more in common with Daria than anyone else in her family.

* Scrooge [=McDuck=], WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck's wealthy uncle and Huey, Louie, and Dewey's granduncle. When it comes down to it, the triplets also think the world of "Unca" Donald himself.

* Despite his name, Uncle from ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'' is more like Jade's ''grand'' uncle because he is her uncle's uncle. However ''Jackie'' fits the trope quite well. No matter how much Jade gripes, it's shown on multiple occasions how much more freedom Jade has with him than with her traditional parents in China, and how much she idolizes Jackie.
* Grunkle Stan from ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' is actually the children's great-uncle, but he fits this trope to a T anyway: unmarried, knows lots of cool magic tricks and allows them to climb on the roof. Oh yeah, and he's also a wanted criminal and the shifty owner of a run-down tourist trap. Not the most responsible uncle in the world, [[LovableRogue but still a good guy]]. [[spoiler:Later, we meet his brother Ford, the local MadScientist slash monster hunter, who takes very little time to charm the kids with his [[GadgeteerGenius various cool inventions]], particularly Dipper who idolized him because of his writings long before he knew they were related.]]
* WesternAnimation/LittleBear has his Uncle Rusty, Father Bear's 'little' brother, a [[GentleGiant huge]] and rustic red bear who works as a logger and visits occasionally; Little Bear admires him greatly.
* ''WesternAnimation/PBAndJOtter'' has Aunt Nanner, who is a very cool aunt to Peanut, Baby Butter and Jelly. Around the end of the series, she gets married to Redolfo, who is rather cool in his own right. [[PlayingWithATrope Discussed]] in one episode where they worry about how boring they must seem compared to all of her adventures. She assures them that coming home to be with them is precisely what she looks forward to while on those adventures.
* Uncle Zucchini from ''WesternAnimation/ReadyJetGo''. He's a fun and friendly guy who is an intergalactic garbage-man.
* Scrappy-Doo thinks of Franchise/ScoobyDoo as a Cool Uncle, despite Scooby's cowardice.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretSaturdays'' has Doyle Blackwell, Zak's uncle from his mother's side. Zak even said in the fourth episode he might be "the coolest guy he's ever met", before knowing they were related and while he was still [[PunchclockVillain an enemy]] nonetheless.
* On ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', the titular family has "Uncie Herb."
** Milhouse also has a cool uncle who took him in when Milhouse thought his parents had died.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TazMania'', Taz and his siblings have an Uncle Drew, whom they adore. Maybe because he's an Expy of Creator/BobHope.
* WesternAnimation/UncleGrandpa takes this trope to a whole other level. He's a cool uncle ''and'' grandpa to '''everyone in the world'''.
* Green Arrow from ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' may not be Artemis's biological uncle, but he takes on this role in her life when he becomes her mentor. He also held this role for ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} in a different series, ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Unlimited''.

* On ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'', Daria's Aunt Amy is a Cool Aunt due to Aunt Amy having much more in common with Daria than anyone else in her family.

* Invoked in ''Series/WandaVision'' when [[spoiler: Wanda's brother Pietro seemingly comes back from the dead and moves into the family house. He instantly takes a liking to the kids, especially Tommy (who inherits his powers). Then it turns out he was an imposter bewitched by [[BigBad Agatha Harkness]] to spy on Wanda.]]