History Main / DirtyCoward

Zazu in ''Fanfic/TheLionKingAdventures''. In ''Zazu's in Charge'', he's willing to abandon Simba and Nala in order to save himself from Scar and Hago.

* from ''FistOfTheNorthStar''
** * Jackal, a minor arc villain, is the practitioner of a martial art called "Nanto Bakusatsu-ken" -- ''South Star Exploding Kill Fist''. Despite the grandiose name, the style consists mainly of throwing sticks of dynamite at enemies while at a remove. Kenshiro [[LampshadeHanging calls him on this]] by snidely asking him if it's even truly a martial art.

* Hol Horse from ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' manages to be the only recurring villain in Part Three...by running for his life whenever things go wrong. He also refuses to ever work alone, despite being an assassin; he knows how weak his Stand is against most other Stands, after all. The incident that finally dispatches him even comes about because of his cowardice: told by a fortune-telling book that he'll kill Jotaro at noon, he takes the shot from a far distance and from cover... [[spoiler:which allows for a ProphecyTwist to send the bullets back into ''his'' head. To be fair, Thoth was ''prescribing'' that shoot-from-cover bit. The only thing Hol did wrong was use his own watch, which was fast, rather than a perfectly accurate clock. Had he done that, the bullets would have hit Jotaro along with the water burst from the pipe. Also, he didn't die -- like with Enya, he disengaged Emperor before the wounds could become fatal.]]
** A much better example of the Dirty Coward in the series is Alessi, whose Stand allows him to de-age anyone who touches his shadow. This is ''the only way'' he's willing to fight anyone (unlike Hol, who just adheres to the creed "run away to fight another day"). He has to use an ''axe'' to fight them. And to think he keeps calling himself a "good boy"...
*** Which make his defeat all the sweeter when he runs into Jotaro. He manages to use his powers on him but Jotaro simply lays him out with an uppercut. Talk about irony.
* Genma Saotome, father of the titular character of ''RanmaOneHalf'', falls somewhere between this and LovableCoward. Despite being one of the more formidable martial artists in the locale, whenever trouble arises (and it's often [[SinsOfOurFathers his fault that it does]]), his plan of action invariably boils down to some variant of "run away" or "make Ranma deal with it". Whether it's pinning the blame on Ranma, telling Ranma that it's his "duty" to handle things, or simply vanishing into the woodwork and leaving Ranma with no choice but to try and handle something he hasn't the faintest idea about, Genma virtually never lifts a finger to help.
** He also has a bad habit of grabbing [[BalefulPolymorph the nearest bucket of water]] as soon as it seems like he might have to answer some pointed questions.
* Yajirobe from ''Manga/DragonBall'' qualifies as this most of the time. With the exception of [[SingleStrokeBattle the time he ate Cymbal]] and him crawling out from behind a rock long enough to [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome cut off Vegeta's tail]] in ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', he'll constantly hide, cower and be a general wuss. Interestingly, when we first meet him he was seemingly set up as Goku's new {{rival}}, before falling into CantCatchUp even faster than all the other characters did.

* Helmeppo from ''Manga/OnePiece''. He bullies people while hiding behind his tyrannical Marine Captain father Morgan. He gets better though when his father is defeated and he learns to become a great marine.
** Spandam is far worse though, he [[MoralEventHorizon crosses the line]] to become a more obvious asshole than he already was in the flashback, when he [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown started to beat a defenseless]] [[WouldHitAGirl Nico Robin]] and [[EvilGloating mocks her about a military operation against her home island, which resulted in the death of her family and friends]]. He also beats Cutty Flam/Franky, when he's down, but starts to scream and cry, when he manages to bite Spandam in the head couple of times.
** Also Demalo Black.
** Marshall D. Teach, better known as Blackbeard, is a notable example in that despite having the D. initial, he started begging for his life the moment it was in immediate danger.

* Jackal, a minor arc villain from ''FistOfTheNorthStar'', is the practitioner of a martial art called "Nanto Bakusatsu-ken" -- ''South Star Exploding Kill Fist''. Despite the grandiose name, the style consists mainly of throwing sticks of dynamite at enemies while at a remove. Kenshiro [[LampshadeHanging calls him on this]] by snidely asking him if it's even truly a martial art.

** Fry isn't usually like this, but he has moments where a combination of his impulsiveness and immaturity leave him begging for help from someone who's warning/advice he earlier blew off. In only the second episode, he crashes a moon buggy he and Leela are riding into a lunar dust pool. He declares "Every man for himself!" and bails, only to immediately sink nearly up to his neck. Without missing a beat he yells for Leela to help him out.

* Carter Burke in ''Film/{{Aliens}}''. His meddling directly causes the deaths of everyone in the colony. When called on this he tries to bribe Ripley, then attempts to get [[spoiler:Ripley and Newt]] infected so he can sneak them past quarantine. And to top it off, in order to sell a convincing story to the authorities he was going to kill the rest of the team in their sleep on the way home. Slime ball doesn't even begin to describe him. In fact, being such a Dirty Coward is what leads to his death. When the Aliens attack, he tries to escape on his own, shutting a security door behind him as he does, which seemingly prevents Ripley and the Marines from getting out as well. He then runs straight into a single Alien, which kills him.
** Which is a kindness compared to the original script, where he ended up another victim of the Alien's parasite-based birthing process until Ripley gives him a grenade for a MercyKill.
*** Burke was so bad that when Paul Reiser, the actor portraying him, took his parents to the film's premiere, his mother NODDED IN APPROVAL when the character died.

!!Examples:

[[folder:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]

[[folder:Film]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* ''TheFairlyOddparents'': King Grippulon, supposedly a fearsome king, frequently uses his wife as a shield when his life is in danger, and is willing to put his son on the throne after there are several assassination attempts.
* Iago of Disney's ''Disney/{{Aladdin}}''. For much of the second movie onward, he spent a lot of time looking out for himself almost exclusively although unlike many of the examples here, he can be courageous and selfless. Two examples come up in the second film.

* Dr. Smith in ''LostInSpace''

*** To be fair, running from [[OneManArmy Shepard]] wasn't entirely unjustified, and while her use of force on civilians is terrible, it more closely follows the KnightTemplar behaviour Spectres are sometimes known for than actual cowardice. She actually dies quite bravely, and her speech to Shepard is more of a ShutUpKirk, since Shepard was calling her out on working for the Shadow Broker despite having been working for a known terrorist organisation.

* Homer Simpson of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''. (See page quote)
* Peter Griffin of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy''.
* Eric Cartman of ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark''.

* Nute Gunray and the ''entire'' leadership of the Trade Federation in the ''Franchise/StarWars'' prequels. They never made a move without an entire army to protect them, and cowered without any shame when there wasn't anyone to protect them. (In fact, pretty much every leader of the groups in the Seperatist Alliance was like this, which is likely the whole reason why Palapine chose them as UnwittingPawns - they'd be easy to dispose of once he [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness didn't need them anymore.]])

** Kuro, as a {{Foil}} to LoveableCoward Usopp. Tired of being pursued by the Marines, he sets up a scheme to murder an innocent young girl and his men in order to inherit her wealth and retire.

* Isao from ''{{Manga/Bokurano}}''. When it's his turn to pilot, he just runs away.

** Count Rugen as well. When Inigo Montoya finally confronts him, Rugen raises his sword as if to fight, then turns and sprints away. (And then, on top of it, ambushes Indigo when he finally does catch up to him. But what do you expect from a guy who's idea of a "hobby" was ColdBloodedTorture?)

* Lenny from ''VideoGame/{{Hitman}}: Absolution''.

May be the MilesGloriosus, and even believe his own brags when out of danger. The FearlessFool may invoke this to persuade his companions to [[YouthIsWastedOnTheDumb act like idiots]]. TheBully is often a Dirty Coward, brave enough when tormenting those weaker than they are, but [[PaperTiger showing their true colors]] in the face of those equal to or stronger than they are. Not to be confused with the CombatPragmatist, who may employ tactics that can be considered dirty and cowardly but does so out of cold calculation rather than fear. Contrast the LovableCoward, who numbers among the good guys and has foibles portrayed far more sympathetically. TheSoCalledCoward is by definition mistaken for one of these.

* Yajirobe from ''Manga/DragonBall'' qualifies as this most of the time. With the exception of [[SingleStrokeBattle the time he ate Cymbal]] and him crawling out from behind a rock long enough to [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome cut off Vegeta's tail]], he'll constantly hide, cower and be a general wuss. Interestingly, when we first meet him he was seemingly set up as Goku's new {{rival}}, before falling into CantCatchUp even faster than all the other characters did.

Though the Dirty Coward may be a sociopath, they're certainly not [[SociopathicHero heroic]] [[HeroicComedicSociopath or ]] [[ComedicSociopath comedic]]. And if they're a bastard, they're ''certainly'' not [[MagnificentBastard magnificent]]. The Dirty Coward is the slime of the earth, working exclusively for themselves and shamelessly [[CowerPower retreating from harm's way]] even if that harm is about to hit TheMessiah that [[AFriendInNeed just saved his or her life two seconds ago]]. They'll take every advantage and [[CombatPragmatist are not above using dishonorable tactics and dirty tricks]], but they'll cry and moan [[ItsAllAboutMeevery time the tables are turned]] or [[WhoWillBellTheCat someone asks for a volunteer]]. Often full of vicious plans for anyone they dislike, as long as they aren't in need of that person's skills at the moment.

Though the Dirty Coward may be a sociopath, he or she is certainly not [[SociopathicHero heroic]] [[HeroicComedicSociopath or ]] [[ComedicSociopath comedic]]. And if they're a bastard, they're ''certainly'' not [[MagnificentBastard magnificent]]. The Dirty Coward is the slime of the earth, working exclusively for themselves and shamelessly [[CowerPower retreating from harm's way]] even if that harm is about to hit TheMessiah that [[AFriendInNeed just saved his or her life two seconds ago]]. They'll take every advantage and [[CombatPragmatist are not above using dishonorable tactics and dirty tricks]], but they'll cry and [[ItsAllAboutMe moan every time the tables are turned]]. Often full of vicious plans for anyone they dislike, until [[WhoWillBellTheCat someone asks for a volunteer]].

Though the Dirty Coward may be a sociopath, he or she is certainly not [[SociopathicHero heroic]] [[HeroicComedicSociopath or ]] [[ComedicSociopath comedic]]. And if they're a bastard, they're ''certainly'' not [[MagnificentBastard magnificent]]. The Dirty Coward is the slime of the earth, working exclusively for themselves and shamelessly [[CowerPower retreating from harm's way]] even if that harm is about to hit TheMessiah that [[AFriendInNeed just saved his or her life two seconds ago]]. They'll take every advantage and [[CombatPragmatist are not above using dishonorable tactics and dirty tricks]], but they'll cry and [[ItsAllAboutMe moan every time the tables are turned]]. Often full of vicious plans for anyone they dislike, until [[WhoWillBellTheCat someone asks who's going to do them]].

* Wormtongue from ''TheLordOfTheRings'' fits this trope pretty well. He was a soldier from Rohan once who betrayed his king and country, to curry favor with Saruman. Though some may say he helped redeem himself in the end by [[spoiler: killing Saruman]], though I'm pretty sure that wasn't courage, but extreme hatred.

* In ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan'', the clerk is sometimes accused of being this at the final battle when he breaks down in fear upon seeing the advancing german troops while he was supposed to bring ammunition belts to the machine gun position in the ruined house. As usual, it's easy to judge a character's actions from the comfort of your own living room, but actually a realistic portrayal of the psychological issues combatants have to face in war, where not everyone is a cold-blooded killer.

** Wormtongue started out as an ordinary villain. His original idea was, after [[spoiler: Theodred]] was killed, to get Eomer disinherited, then have Theoden get Eowyn to marry him so that he could take the throne as her consort. A nasty bit of political dynastic maneuvering, but not really out of the way. But to do it he had to get Saruman's help, and by the time he realized what Saruman was really up to he was in over his head.

* Creator/WilliamShakespeare used this at least twice: the [[MilesGloriosus braggart]] Parolles in ''AllsWellThatEndsWell'' cravenly betrays his fellow soldiers when they make him think he has been captured by enemy forces; more sympathetically is Falstaff