History Main / FailureKnight

* Saber of ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' has shades of this, which become more evident as the story progresses. [[spoiler: As Myth/KingArthur, she failed to save the country she lived to serve, and perhaps even led to the civil war which tore it apart. Her sole wish is to erase her own existence, in the hopes that a different king will wield Excalibur, and succeed where she failed. And as ''LightNovel/FateZero'' makes clear, this isn't the first Holy Grail War she's taken part in]].

* [[BigBrotherInstinct Conrad]] Weller from ''LightNovel/KyouKaraMaou'' has only been this for the last twenty years of a roughly hundred-year life, but it's really deep-set. The main character, Yuuri, is the reincarnation of the woman he loved very much, Susanna Julia von Wincott, and Conrad handled the soul transfer personally and assisted in the birth. He does pretty well at not treating Yuuri or thinking of him as a ReplacementGoldfish, but he is definitely a ''replacement''.
** Oddly the failure that seems to have hit his psyche deepest, or at least the one he acknowledges, has nothing to do with him--the entire command structure of the country is apparently held responsible for Julia applying her HealingHands to battle wounded until it killed her, and at the time ''he'' was off surviving a suicide mission while all but one of his best friends fell and died about him under his command. Technically, however, Rutenberg Pass was a victory, and nobody but he and Yozak really cared about the other HalfHumanHybrids who fell there, betrayed by the nation to which they had sworn their loyalty. Probably Julia's loss, which hit him quite hard in its own right, was the safe one to feel, since really processing what happened at Rutenberg would require confronting the incredible betrayal by his nation and his family that allowed the battle of Rutenberg Pass and his credentials as a hero to even ''happen''. He appears to have completely sublimated all his personal feelings to this overreaching mission to dutifully serve his king, which gives him his StepfordSmiler vibe.
*** Note that the best friend who survived Rutenberg with him is still someone whose ''life'' he is willing to threaten for ''messing'' with Yuuri after knowing the kid a few ''days'', and those not being heroic or successful days for the most part.
*** He also wound up [[spoiler: betraying everything he was and loved because his nation's god told him it was the best way to help Yuuri achieve his goals. To twist the knife, Shinou appears to have pulled that just as much to torment and mess with Yuuri as to get an inside man into Daishimaron.]] Their relationship never quite recovers, which is probably a good thing since Yuuri tended to rely on Conrad for everything.
** Conrad needs somebody to live for. Once it was [[BigBrotherInstinct Wolfram]]. [[RoyalBrat Wolfram]] rejected him for [[FantasticRacism being half-human]] shortly after his father died, he had a very justified nasty cynical adolescent phase, and then wound up fixated on Julia, as well as country and almost certainly his comrades. When most of that was shorn away and his Julia attachment was adroitly transferred to the new king, he became patriotism in a brown uniform. Even though it was a country in which no one had protested sending him to die, or moved to punish anyone for getting soldiers killed stupidly...but exiled a high-born general on a SnipeHunt because his WeHaveReserves tactics wound up setting off a popular blind noblewoman's ChronicHeroSyndrome, and getting her killed. Emotionally, that is the loss it is ''acceptable'' for him to mourn, so he assigns all his negative emotions to that, rather than risk hating everyone he has left in the world.
* Lancer of ''LightNovel/FateZero'' (a.k.a. [[Myth/CelticMythology Diarmuid Ua Duibhne]]) lost the trust of his lord Finn mac Cumhaill when he [[SoBeautifulItsACurse (accidentally)]] stole Finn's fiance. He joins the Holy Grail War for one reason: to successfully serve his Master through the War, thus atoning for his past failure. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, his new Master's fiance falls for him much like Grainne did, poisoning the attempt right from the start.]]
** Berserker AKA [[spoiler: Lancelot]] thinks he is this and was trying to atone for banging his king´s wife (who forgave him because they would be happier together). He completely snapped and killed several of his comrades. Not like he knows now that he is a Berserker.

* Archimedes in ''VisualNovel/{{Suika}}'', who is depressed that he didn't come into existence to fulfill the wish of the little girl who made him until after she had already died. [[spoiler:But he gets to make up for it by sacrificing himself for the local {{ill girl}} sister.]]

* ''ComicBook/SinCity'' invokes this trope quite a bit. The heroes have the DulcineaEffect UpToEleven. They know they will probably get killed in their quests but they can't help but protect those around them (or at least avenge their deaths).

** Prince Shanan from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral Genealogy of the Holy War]]'', as a child, [[spoiler: failed to stop his leader's wife kidnapping and subsequent brainwashing by the enemy, who later killed almost everyone Shanan cared for.]] 17 years later, he's a badass and handsome swordsman who ''still'' feels horribly guilty after [[MyGreatestFailure that mistake]].

* In a way, ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'' has Yosuke, who loved Saki Konishi only to [[spoiler:subsequently have her die]]. This is more subtle in that he didn't really have the power to protect anyone until [[spoiler: after she died, but her death definitely drives him]]. The game kind of slaps him in the face by revealing that [[spoiler: Saki hated his guts - she worked at the department store run by Yosuke's father, which was putting Saki's family's liquour store out of business, and despite her claims to the contrary, she secretly resented him for it]].

* Twist: Depth Charge from ''{{Transformers}}: WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' isn't a Failure ''Knight''... He's more of a Failure '''VampireHunter'''. He used to be a loyal, good-natured, reliable Maximal, an all-around good guy. What happened? Protoform X happened. The sadistic, violent experiment gone wrong pretty much literally ripped Depth Charge's life to shreds, and [[HeWhoFightsMonsters bringing the monster to justice is all Depth Charge has left]]. He has a way of showing up when he's needed and then telling whoever he just saved where to stick it which stems from him being more of a loner than most {{Failure Knight}}s... but considering what happened to his ''last'' group of pals, maybe that's understandable.

* Sean Napier from ''WesternAnimation/ExoSquad'' reversed this trope; his goal is to "fix his mistake": saving the life of [[{{EvilOverlord}} Phaeton]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Epic}}'' Ronin is determined to protect MK and the pod [[spoiler:because the pod is all the forest has left of Tara]].

* Sir Knolte of Marlborough in ''Film/BlackKnight'' (the one with Creator/MartinLawrence), who used to be a respected knight in the service of the Queen, until King Leo usurped her throne. His [[MyGreatestFailure greatest failure]] is preventing this. When Jamal finds him, Knolte is living in the woods and spends much of his time drunk. He is later convinced to lead LaResistance against the false king and [[spoiler:kills TheDragon]].

Then we find out the tragic BackStory about [[MyGreatestFailure Their Greatest Failure]]. This isn't the first person they've pledged devotion to, and the former [[CynicismCatalyst died, left or outright rejected them]]; it may have happened repeatedly. In some cases, this role was a job of some kind, which gives the added punch to the gut to make them feel useless. The Failure Knight keeps trying even harder now.

* The ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'' has a few different Failure Knights in its ranks of heroes.
** Asbel from ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'' [[MyGreatestFailure fails to protect his friends]] during [[spoiler:a childhood incident that left them all inches from death]]. He joins the Knight Academy to attempt to become stronger so he never fails again, but then promptly fails over and over. To his credit, [[TheDeterminator he keeps trying]], but several characters [[WhatTheHellHero call him out on this]].
** Senel from ''VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia'' goes through quite the TraumaCongaLine when it comes to protecting Shirley and Stella. [[spoiler:He inadvertently gets the village they live in [[DoomedHometown destroyed]], gets Shirley kidnapped by Vaclav, fails to save Stella in time, and then breaks Shirley's heart to the point that she pulls a FaceHeelTurn and attempts to flood the world with water. On top of all that, his repeated "not my problem" attitude grates on the other party members' nerves to the point they go on without him, and the Quiet Nerifes doesn't give him sacred eres until he realizes what a complete {{Jerkass}} he's been to everyone.]] Tough break.

** Locke in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI''. He acts the knight-errant protector to Terra, especially when he finds out she has amnesia, and drops hints about a difficult past. Shortly thereafter he meets Celes and becomes utterly devoted. Locke swears to protect her, mentions a promise he had made to someone, other characters ask if he's "thinking of... her," and eventually we get the story: Locke was reminded, by both women, of his girlfriend Rachel. She was injured and lost her memories trying to save him. She later died, just after regaining them. [[spoiler: Eventually, he revives her -- [[TheLastDance only for a minute]]. Tht is long enough for her to forgive him, give her blessing to Celes and Locke's burgeoning romance, and die for good.]]

** Steiner from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' is a ''literal'' failure knight. Despite his personal skills, his platoon (The Knights of Pluto) is the laughingstock of the Alexandrian military, his attempts to help or protect the Princess are undermined by everyone else in the cast (including the Princess herself), and he eventually [[spoiler: watches his own beloved Queen die, hoist by her own power-hungry petard.]] Fortunately, once he's hit rock bottom, things start to get better.\\
\\
When [[spoiler: Bahamut]] attacks Alexandria, his men start to redeem themselves when they perform specialized duties like readying the cannons, gathering information, protecting the citizens, and sending for reinforcements. You learn about which knights specialize in each area when one of the Knights of Pluto gives [[SomedayThisWillComeInHandy information]] (in the first Disk) that this knight is a great fighter, these knights are great cannoneers, that this knight knows all the women in town, and things along that line.

* ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankFutureACrackInTime'''s Alistair Azimuth is this [[spoiler: until he [[FaceHeelTurn goes a bit crazy]] and [[WellIntentionedExtremist tries to reverse his failure]].]]
* Occurs frequently in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic''. Depending upon your character interpretation, Carth, Jolee, and Juhani in the first game and Atton, the Disciple, Mandalore, and Visas in the second all qualify.
* ''Franchise/BaldursGate''
** As his charge is killed during the opening of ''VideoGame/BaldursGateII'', [[BoisterousBruiser Minsc]] becomes unable to return to his homeland of Rashemen, as he would be utterly humiliated for his failure to protect her[[note]]His ending slider reveals that he eventually returned anyway, hoping that his tales of his deeds would win him some respect regardless -- at which point he finds out the rumours and stories that had spread to Rashemen were enough to get him accepted and even respected. Turns out tagging along with a semi-divine main character does have some perks.[[/note]]. This makes Minsc's devotion to the survivors of the first game's party (canonically, the PC, Jaheira and Imoen) all the stronger, as well as giving him a highly protective streak concerning [[WideEyedIdealist Aerie]], [[RebelliousPrincess Nalia]], [[CuteBruiser Mazzy]] and [[ShellShockedVeteran Keldorn]] should they join you.
** A more literal FailureKnight in the same game can be found in the graveyard. Near the top of the screen, a Paladin mourns his deceased adopted son, while near the bottom of the screen a priest searches for a guardian for the orphaned little girl he's looking after...
* In the final case of ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyJusticeForAll'', Adrian Andrews is stubborn and very matter-of-fact due to [[spoiler:her former mentor, Celeste, [[DrivenToSuicide committing suicide]]. Doesn't help that the guilty party AND the victim were directly responsible, and Adrian Andrews suffers from severe self-esteem issues.]].
** In the first game, you could make the case that [[spoiler: Phoenix himself is Edgeworth's failure knight]]. Think about it: he allowed his entire career choice to be determined by his desire to help [[spoiler: a guy he'd known for about a year when they were both ''nine years old''.]]

* In ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'', Glenn is this way around Cyrus during Frog's backstory.
** In fact, getting over this event was the major point of a sidequest at the end of the game. [[spoiler:This upgrades your Masamune to 200 Attack Power, making it Frog's best weapon.]]
** Lucca is also something of a Failure Knight. Having witnessed a horrific accident involving machines in her childhood, when we meet her as a teenager she is fanatical about technology and science, and shows particular compassion towards Robo. [[spoiler:If you do a certain sidequest, she gets the opportunity to go back in time and prevent the tragedy where her mother lost her legs--turning it into a scary "near miss" which still has the same effect on the younger Lucca.]]
* Sork from ''VideoGame/TreasureOfTheRudra'' even though the Knight Captain says that he is the best Swordsman of Cryunne.
* Dias Flac, from ''VideoGame/StarOceanTheSecondStory''. Though we can't really blame Dias for his family's deaths, being as he was a little kid at the time.

* In a way, ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'' has Yosuke, who loved Saki Konishi only to [[spoiler: subsequently have her die]]. This is more subtle in that he didn't really have the power to protect anyone until [[spoiler: after she died, but her death definitely drives him]]. The game kind of slaps him in the face by revealing that [[spoiler: Saki hated his guts - she worked at the department store run by Yosuke's father, which was putting Saki's family's liquour store out of business, and despite her claims to the contrary, she secretly resented him for it.]]
* Mickey Mouse, of all people, is like this in ''Franchise/KingdomHearts''. In the first games, he prefers to work behind the scenes on his own and doesn't seem to want to get Sora and company too involved with what he's doing, only directly helping out when he has no choice. That's because in the prequel game, [[spoiler: he does the opposite, running off to heroically join Terra, Aqua and Ven in battle and fight on the frontlines with them. However, he winds up accomplishing nothing and can only watch as Ven is rendered comatose, Terra and Aqua "disappear" and the Darkness starts to destroy worlds a year or so later just like they feared. Apparently he doesn't want Sora and co to end up like their predecessors.]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Wild Arms 5}}''
** Greg certainly qualifies. Dropping his entire war on Golems and becoming a ride-along babysitter/bodyguard, all for a kid he met twice that on one occasion was more than ready to shoot him in the back is a pretty far jump for a violent, outlaw drifter. [[spoiler: Until you find out that Dean reminds him of his murdered son, whose death he blames himself for. ]]
** The main villain is one as well, considering that his entire crusade was prompted by [[spoiler: his own failure to tear down the wall between Veruni and Humans. The same goes for Nightburn, to a lesser degree.]]

* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' has Aveline, who meets the Hawke family while defending her husband from Darkspawn, declaring "They will not have you, not while I stand." A matter of minutes later, it's revealed he's infected with the Blight, forcing either her or Hawke to MercyKill him. She spends the game's seven-year timespan juggling her roles as Captain of the Guard and Hawke's adventuring companion and is an equally fierce Team Parent in both. To put this in perspective, [[DysfunctionJunction she's still in the running for the most well-adjusted character in Kirkwall]].
* In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVI'', [[spoiler:the Real World version of TheHero went off to fight Murdaw, but got banished immediately by Murdaw's magic. He wound up in Weaver's Peak, where everyone viewed him as a weakling and a coward. The only person who cared for him was Tania, hence why his Dream World counterpart is Tania's actual brother. Only once Weaver's Peak is attacked does the Real World hero become willing to face his fear and [[MergerOfSouls merge with his Dream World counterpart]].]]

* In the Skypeia arc of ''Manga/OnePiece'', former ruler Gan Fall, after being unable to make peace with the Shandians or stop [[AGodAmI Enel]] from turning his kingdom into an [[BigBrotherIsWatching Orwellian]] {{Dystopia}}, he puts on a suit of armor and dedicates himself to saving as many people as possible as the Knight of the Sky.

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe'':

* Saber of ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' has shades of this, which become more evident as the story progresses. [[spoiler: As KingArthur, she failed to save the country she lived to serve, and perhaps even led to the civil war which tore it apart. Her sole wish is to erase her own existence, in the hopes that a different king will wield Excalibur, and succeed where she failed. And as ''LightNovel/FateZero'' makes clear, this isn't the first Holy Grail War she's taken part in]].

* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'':

* Balsa of ''[[Anime/MoribitoGuardianOfTheSpirit Seirei no Moribito]]'' agrees to protect the prince despite the danger (and the attempted trickery) because [[spoiler:she feels she has to atone for nine lives her {{Mentor}} took to keep her safe; furthermore Chagum is also a ReplacementGoldfish for ''herself'', as he is in pretty much the same situation she was in as a child.]]

* In ''Anime/MaiHime'', part of Mai's reason for being protective of her younger brother Takumi stems from [[spoiler:her belief that her negligence led both him and their mother to almost drown in a raging river when they were young, leading to his current heart problems and their mother's death]].

* It has been revealed that Manga/HayateTheCombatButler's strength and devotion comes from [[spoiler:having failed childhood friend Athena when he himself was a child.]]

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}''

* The basis behind Sakato in ''FanFic/{{Pokeumans}}'' trying to become the fastest Pokeuman pretty much ever is because he wasn't good enough to save his friend Connor from Pokextinction.

* ''FanFic/BlackenedSkies'' has several examples, such as Kaede and Kaito. All of the participants were involved in previous mutual killing games, and despite their best efforts, wound up falling victim to Monokuma's twisted motives and manipulations. Being thrown into another one, despite how impossible it seems, offers a chance to make up for those past mistakes - something Kaede in particular is determined to take full advantage of.

* From ''Anime/CodeGeass'': Sir Jeremiah "Orange-kun" Gottwald was the guard in charge of the imperial palace the day when Empress Marianne was murdered and never could forgive himself for such a terrible failure. [[spoiler: This is the basis for his HeelFaceTurn.]]

[[folder:Comics]]

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40K'': Skarbrand is one of the most feared Bloodthirsters despite having been effectively abandoned by his patron god Khorne. After taking a swing at his boss (due to a Tzeentchian spell), Khorne picked him up and threw him so hard he didn't land for eight days and eight nights, destroying his wings on landing. Now a being of pure rage, he slaughters his way across the galaxy in the hopes of getting back into Khorne's good graces... fat chance of that: he's actually killed more people since than when he worked for Khorne.

[[folder:Fanfic]]

* Sir Didymus of ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}''

--> '''Jamal Walker''': Oh, you're upset. I ain't got no beef with you, dawg.
--> '''Sir Knolte''': (''drunkenly'') Kindly address me with the proper respect. I am Knolte of Marlborough, and I am not a dog.

Bodyguards, {{Battle Butler}}s and {{Samurai}} can fit the bill too. If the lost figure was the knight's beloved, compare HeartbrokenBadass. Some (literal) {{Magical Girlfriend}}s are Failure Knights but are perceived as a lot more cloying about it. Many knights will find promotion: their boss treats their failure as a CareerBuildingBlunder. In particularly grim examples, the new object of devotion may be a ReplacementGoldfish for the lost one.

* Setsuna from ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima''. Ashamed of her failure to save her [[TheOjou ojou-sama]], Konoka, from almost drowning when they were kids.
** It should be noted that this is more apparent in ''Anime/NegimaSecondSeason''. While Setsuna was basically Konoka's lapdog in the first manga she still possessed her own personality and independence - both were eighty-sixed in the second anime.
** Mana evidently failed to protect her partner but continues to carry around his now inert pactio card. The circumstances regarding it are still unexplained, however, so exactly what happened is anyone's guess.
** Negi never did get over failing to [[DoomedHometown save his village]]. He was 4 years old, of course, but that didn't stop him from trying.

Bodyguards, {{Battle Butler}}s and {{Samurai}} can fit the bill too. Some (literal) {{Magical Girlfriend}}s are Failure Knights but are perceived as a lot more cloying about it. Many knights will find promotion: their boss treats their failure as a CareerBuildingBlunder. In particularly grim examples, the new object of devotion may be a ReplacementGoldfish for the lost one.

** When he first meets Terra in the opening sequence of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', Locke acts the knight-errant protector, and there are hints of a painful past. However, shortly thereafter he transfers his devotion to Celes, and that goes for the jugular. Locke swears to protect her, mentions a promise he had made to someone, other characters ask if he's "thinking of...her," and eventually we get the story: Locke was reminded, by both women, of his girlfriend, who lost her memories trying to save him and later died soon after regaining them. He swore to find a way to revive her. Eventually, he finds it but it only brings her back long enough for her to forgive him, give her blessing to Celes and Locke's burgeoning romance, and die for good.

** Cloud and Aerith in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''. [[ItWasHisSled It's because she is killed by Sephiroth and Cloud was unable to do anything]].

Then we find out the tragic BackStory about [[MyGreatestFailure Their Greatest Failure]]. This isn't the first person they've pledged devotion to, and the former [[CynicismCatalyst died, left or outright rejected them]]; it may have happened repeatedly. In some cases this role was a job of some kind, which gives the added punch to the gut to make them feel useless. The Failure Knight keeps trying even harder now.

Bodyguards, {{Battle Butler}}s and {{Samurai}} can fit the bill too. Some (literal) {{Magical Girlfriend}}s are Failure Knights, but are perceived as a lot more cloying about it. Many knights will find promotion: their boss treats their failure as a CareerBuildingBlunder. In particularly grim examples, the new object of devotion may be a ReplacementGoldfish for the lost one.

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

** Mana evidently failed to protect her partner, but continues to carry around his now inert pactio card. The circumstances regarding it are still unexplained, however, so exactly what happened is anyone's guess.

* Shao the Moon Spirit from ''Manga/MamotteShugogetten'' was shown to suffer from this in a flashback episode. Her masters who were actually good all eventually die anyway, and most of her powers are seen as rather useless in the modern world.
* Mahoro from ''Manga/{{Mahoromatic}}'' not only was unable to protect Misato Suguru's father, but had to ''kill'' him in the line of duty. When allowed to spend the rest of her (shortened) lifetime as she wants, she chooses to become the Misato family's maid and goes to serve and protect Suguru.
* Ellis [=McGaren=] from the ''VisualNovel/TriangleHeart3SweetSongsForever'' OVA channels her failure not only into protecting Fiasse, but also into trying to show up Kyouya and Miyuki so ''they'll'' stop protecting her and leave them alone. Since KatanasAreJustBetter, the opposite happens, and Ellis has to face her past as their ForgottenChildhoodFriend.

* In ''LightNovel/KureNai'', Yayoi seems to be stalking Shinkurou and Murasaki to the point of obsession. At first this is put down as just her being jealous that Shinkurou got assigned the job to protect Murasaki. However, it is later revealed that [[spoiler:Yayoi once failed in her duty as a bodyguard to protect another client from murder, so this time she's extremely protective of Murasaki]].

* [[spoiler:Hanamichi Sakuragi]] from ''Manga/SlamDunk'' was badly traumatised by [[spoiler: the death of his father.]] What makes it worse is that [[spoiler:he was prevented of saving his dad's life by a bunch of bullies, who ambushed him when he was running towards the hospital, searching for help, in retaliation for ''him'' having beat them up earlier.]]

* Ein Dalton from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans'' has lost his mentor Lieutenant Crank Zent in the hands of [[SociopathicHero Mikazuki Augus]], and he projects the image of his relationship between Crank and himself onto his new superior, Specialist Major Gaelio Bauduin because other than Crank, Gaelio was the only one who [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe respected him despite him being a half-Martian]]. His repeated failures on protecting his superiors eventually leads to his SanitySlippage.

** Sasame has elements of this, too, particularly in the ''manga'' version--[[spoiler:because of HIS unrequited love for Takako]]. At one point when Himeno is in danger he panics, saying "I failed to protect the Pretear again!"

** In the Dressrosa arc, we have [[spoiler:the Toy Soldier, who was unable to save Rebecca's mother Scarlett, and therefore devoted himself to Rebecca herself. Eventually however Rebecca was caught and forced to fight in the colosseum for her freedom as a gladiator. The reasoning for this devotion is because the Toy Soldier was not originally a toy; he was the legendary gladiator Kyros, who was forgotten thanks to the abilities of Sugar's devil fruit. He was also the son-in-law of King Riku by virtue of being Scarlett's husband; his inability to protect the mother of his child made him determined to protect Rebecca, his daughter.]]
* In ''Manga/TheVisionOfEscaflowne'', we have two of these in opposite sides of the war. Allen Schezar, Knight of Astoria, feels guilty for [[spoiler: not being able to protect his deceased MissingMom and his long lost sister Selena, kidnapped as a young girl.]]. Whereas in the Zaibach empire, Jajuka the Beastman feels guilty because [[spoiler: he ''also'' was unable to save Selena... from forcibly becoming ''Dilandau'', thanks to the {{Mad Scientist}}s of the group.]]
* Asuka from ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' devoted herself to piloting from a very young age. The reason for that is later revealed to be very tragic: on the day she was accepted as a trainee, she ran to tell her mentally unstable mother Kyoko the news [[spoiler: only to be the first to find Kyoko's body after she hung herself. To add insult to injury, Kyoko, even while alive, rejected Asuka for a doll and Asuka's father openly cheated on Kyoko with the woman's nurse and neglected Asuka as well. The real reason she wants to be the best pilot is because she feels it as justification of her existence, essentially adopting her Eva as a ReplacementGoldfish. Once it becomes [[MindRape painfully]] clear that Shinji is better, Asuka [[InterruptedSuicide feels she has no reason left to live]]. When she [[EpiphanyTherapy realizes]] that her Eva isn't a ReplacementGoldfish but [[SoulJar the real deal]], she instantly recovers... only to [[CruelAndUnusualDeath lose again]] due to circumstances out of her control. This time she crosses the DespairEventHorizon [[GainaxEnding and stays that way]].]]

* Takao, the heroine of ''Manga/BokuraNoKiseki'', is extremely devoted to protecting the protagonist Harusumi, because in [[{{Reincarnation}} her past life]], she failed to protect her sworn master, Veronica (who Harusumi happens to be the reincarnation of), and let her die. This is rather embarrassing to Harusumi, because previously to Takao regaining her PastLifeMemories, the two of them had just started going out.

[[folder: Comics ]]

* ''ComicBook/SinCity'' invokes this trope quite a bit. The heroes have the DulcineaEffect UpToEleven. They know they will probably get killed in their quests but they can't help but to protect those around them (or at least avenge their deaths).
* ''{{ComicBook/Sabretooth}}'' for his love interests, [[Characters/GenerationX Monet]], [[SatelliteLoveInterest Bonnie]], and [[SatelliteLoveInterest Holly]]. He's controlled by an enemy to fatally wound Holly, and fails getting her to a hospital. Bonnie was infected with a plague before they met & he has to kill her when the cure gets destroyed in the lab explosion. When Monet is cursed by [[Characters/GenerationX Emplate]], he helps hide it by covering for her & letting her feed on him. This allows Emplate to gain greater control on Monet, which lead to her FaceMonsterTurn. He wanted to stay by her & help find a cure but due to the ''ComicBook/ResurrXion'' relaunch [[NoRomanticResolution dropping]] their relationship, it doesn't happen.

[[folder: Fanfic]]

[[folder: Film ]]
* During UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, Creator/FrankCapra volunteered for the Army, where they assigned him to making training films. In his first film, he wrapped the information in a little story: a captain had lost his entire company, and was drilling his new soldiers to survive what had killed the last one. They hated him, until it happened, and they all survived. The Army found that soldiers who watched this remembered what to do much better than from most training films.

--> '''Sir Knolte''': (''drunkedly'') Kindly address me with the proper respect. I am Knolte of Marlborough, and I am not a dog.

[[folder: Literature ]]

* [[spoiler:Severus Snape]] has a twisted version in the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' series. His failure, and motive for his subsequent behavior, doesn't become clear until late in the final book.

* Tash Arranda in ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear'' has a mild version of this. She's thirteen and [[EarthShatteringKaboom lost her homeworld Alderaan]], and everyone she knew and loved except her little brother with it - and she's determined not to lose him or, as they get to know and care for each other, her uncle. Zak loves her and want to protect her too, but the element of "Never again" isn't as clearly outlined with him.

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* Haruto Soma, in ''Series/KamenRiderWizard'', sees protecting [[VictimOfTheWeek Gates]] as his sole purpose in life. He [[SurvivorGuilt blames]] himself for being the only survivor of dark magical ritual that started the plot and moved him from FailureKnight he became after [[spoiler: losing his parents as a child]] to superpowered FailureKnight. He couldn't do anything in either case, but that doesn't any particularly matter to him.
* Nico Saiba invoked this reaction in Taiga Hanaya when she called him her doctor in ''Series/KamenRiderExAid''. She meant it as a joke, but he failed to save someone once already and so was obligated to take care of her no matter how much he didn't want to. Her habit of trolling him and spoilling his attempts to be Mr. Tough Guy didn't make anything easier either.

[[folder: Multiple Media ]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

** When he first meets Terra in the opening sequence of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', Locke acts the knight-errant protector, and there are hints of a painful past. However, shortly thereafter he transfers his devotion to Celes, and that goes for the jugular. Locke swears to protect her, mentions a promise he had made to someone, other characters ask if he's "thinking of...her," and eventually we get the story: Locke was reminded, by both women, of his girlfriend, who lost her memories trying to save him and later died soon after regaining them. He swore to find a way to revive her. Eventually he finds it, but it only brings her back long enough for her to forgive him, give her blessing to Celes and Locke's burgeoning romance, and die for good.
*** Cyan also falls under this when Kefka poisons the water surrounding Doma castle, killing everyone inside, including Cyan's wife and son. Later on, after beating the Phantom Train boss, Cyan sees his wife and son depart to the afterlife, telling him that they love him and they thank him for all he has done for them. Though he tries to put it behind him, Cyan still blames himself for not being able to prevent the tragedy. In fact, during [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the World of Ruin]], those negative emotions haunt him and causes a spirit fiend named Wrexsoul to appear in Cyan's dreams and feed off Cyan's soul. After the party defeats the monster, the spirit of Cyan's wife and son appear and they tell him to be strong and to keep living. This finally gives Cyan the strength to carry on, which causes him to fully master all of his Sword Techs.

** A more literal FailureKnight in the same game can be found in the graveyard. Near the top of the screen a Paladin mourns his deceased adopted son, while near the bottom of the screen a priest searches for a guardian for the orphaned little girl he's looking after...

* Mickey Mouse, of all people, is like this in ''Franchise/KingdomHearts''. In the first games he prefers to work behind the scenes on his own and doesn't seem to want to get Sora and company too involved with what he's doing, only directly helping out when he has no choice. That's because in the prequel game, [[spoiler: he does the opposite, running off to heroically join Terra, Aqua and Ven in battle and fight on the frontlines with them. However, he winds up accomplishing nothing and can only watch as Ven is rendered comatose, Terra and Aqua "disappear" and the Darkness starts to destroy worlds a year or so later just like they feared. Apparently he doesn't want Sora and co to end up like their predecessors.]]

** Greg certainly qualifies. Dropping his entire war on Golems and becoming a ride along babysitter/bodyguard, all for a kid he met twice that on one occasion was more than ready to shoot him in the back is a pretty far jump for a violent, outlaw drifter. [[spoiler: Until you find out that Dean reminds him of his murdered son, whose death he blames himself for. ]]

* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' has Aveline, who meets the Hawke family while defending her husband from Darkspawn, declaring "They will not have you, not while I stand." A matter of minutes later, it's revealed he's infected with the Blight, forcing either her or Hawke to MercyKill him. She spends the game's seven-year timespan juggling her roles as Captain of the Guard and Hawke's adventuring companion, and is an equally fierce Team Parent in both. To put this in perspective, [[DysfunctionJunction she's still in the running for most well-adjusted character in Kirkwall]].

[[folder: Webcomics ]]

* Kat suggests this as a possible motivation for the mysterious bird robots in ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt''. Specifically, that their creator lost his lover on the bridge so he built the birds to defend court students trying to cross the bridge. It now looks unlikely that this is the case however.
* Chief of ''Webcomic/{{Goblins}}'' seems to feel this at times. At birth he was chosen as chief in order to prevent a civil war that would have destroyed his clan, but it cost the clan their glory and honor. As a result he has shown a strong loyalty towards his warriors and [[spoiler: [[HeroicSacrifice when Kore found them, he chose to stay behind so the others could escape]].]]

* Twist: Depth Charge from ''{{Transformers}}: WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' isn't a Failure ''Knight''... He's more of a Failure '''VampireHunter'''. He used to be a loyal, good natured, reliable Maximal, an all-around good guy. What happened? Protoform X happened. The sadistic, violent experiment gone wrong pretty much literally ripped Depth Charge's life to shreds, and [[HeWhoFightsMonsters bringing the monster to justice is all Depth Charge has left]]. He has a way of showing up when he's needed and then telling whoever he just saved where to stick it which stems from him being more of a loner than most {{Failure Knight}}s... but considering what happened to his ''last'' group of pals, maybe that's understandable.

* Saber of ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' has shades of this, which become more evident as the story progresses. [[spoiler: As KingArthur, she failed to save the country she lived to serve, and perhaps even led to the civil war which tore it apart. Her sole wish is to erase her own existence, in the hopes that a different king will wield Excalibur, and succeed where she failed.]]

* Nico Saiba invoked this reaction in Taiga Hanaya when she called him her doctor in ''Series/KamenRiderExAid''. She meant it as a joke, but he failed to save someone once already and so was obligated to take care of her no matter how much he didn't want to. Her habit of trolling him and spoilling his attempts to be Mr.[[JerkassFacade Tough Guy]] didn't make anything easier either.

* The Anchors of ''TabletopGame/BlissStage'' are pledged to love and protect the very, very fragile [=ANIMa=]pilots: it's always safe to assume that they've seen more than one of thier charges die. [[WordOfGod "Repeat (falling for a pilot who dies) until you get used to it. THAT'S what it's like to be an Anchor."]]

* ''ComicBook/SinCity'' invokes this trope qite a bit. The heroes have the DulcineaEffect UpToEleven. They know they will probably get killed in their quests but they can't help but to protect those around them (or at least avenge their deaths).

* Sir Vitaleu from the Webcomic/Trashknight is considered by many to be a dullard, incompetent, and even a coward. Seems to be an InformedFlaw because while he is naive and trusting to a fault, he is very competent at killing people and is very courageous. It could also be a case of him being a HeroWithBadPublicity or he is just bad at administrating to his town being a noble warrior at heart.

* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' has Aveline, who meets the Hawke family while defending her husband from Darkspawn, declaring "They will not have you, not while I stand." A matter of minutes later, it's revealed he's infected with the Blight, forcing either her or Hawke to MercyKill him. She spends the game's seven-year timespan juggling her roles as Captain of the Guard and Hawke's adventuring companion, and is an equally fierce Team Parent in both. To put this in perspective, she's still in the running for most well-adjusted character in Kirkwall.