History Main / HeroicWillpower

** Sam in season five finale "Swan Song" [[spoiler:took control of his body while the devil was riding it]] just so he could [[spoiler:throw himself and the devil into [[FateWorseThanDeath hell's solitary confinement]]]]. In the season six finale, he drags himself to assist Dean and Bobby in the battle [[spoiler:against Castiel and Crowley despite obviously suffering under the strain of his "hell memories".]]

** In ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'', every character also has a handful of virtues. Compassion, Conviction, Temperance and Valor are ranked 1-5 based on how your character views them and acts on them. If you're trying to do something that fits a virtue, you can use Willpower to boost to your roll. So if you're some sod beating his wife or a kid, and a [[OhCrap Compassion 5 Exalt sees you doing it]] odds are you're about ready to get the beatdown of a century. (The flip side to this is that characters with high virtues have [[HeroicBSOD bigger issues]] with {{Limit Break}}s.)

* VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity both Batman and the Joker are infected with a poison (Joker poisoned a few people in gotham too, just for good measure) and are both dying. Even as it ravages his body, Batman fights on, doing what he has to to get the cure.

* CityOfHeroes has this as an actual defensive powerset for Melee classes, mostly to reflect a more "natural" superhero who doesn't rely on fire, ice, rocks, energy or anything weird like that for protection. Most other sets hand-wave your ability to avoid damage as your armor deflecting or absorbing the damage. Willpower has you fighting on DESPITE taking grenades, energy blasts, super-powered fists and all manner of weaponry to the face. Incidentally, it is one of the best performing powersets in the game.
* In KingdomHearts, after Sora stabs himself with the dark Keyblade and turns into a Heartless to save Kairi, all hope seems lost for his companions, as Ansem is likely going to kick their asses and kill them anyway... until Riku's spirit leaps out of Ansem's body, holding him off for just long enough that Kairi and the others can escape to Traverse Town.

* Inverted in ''Series/StargateAtlantis'', where the Wraith Michael manages to overcome the effects of a virus that turns Wraiths into submissive humans (on two separate occasions) through a sort of “Villainous Willpower.”
* Inverted in ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' Sylar resists Doyle's PeoplePuppets trick through “[[EvilerThanThou Villainous Willpower]].”

* In [[Literature/TheHungerGames Mockingjay]] [[spoiler:Peeta Mellark]] gets hijacked and brainwashed into wanting to kill [[spoiler:Katniss, believing she's a mutt who's out to kill him]]. The main characters are told that there's no cure for hijacking and that nobody has ever recovered from it. In the end [[spoiler:Peeta recovers almost entirely]] through sheer force of will.
* In the later (in internal chronology) Dune sequels, gholas (clones) can be "awakened" (recover the memories of their previous life/lives) by programming them to do something their true self finds abhorrent to invoke this trope.

* Film/{{Skyline}}: while everyone else who [[spoiler: gets their brains put into alien bodies]] seems to lose all personality and will, the male lead [[spoiler: uses his powerful new body to kick alien butt when they endanger his pregnant girlfriend.]]

** Sufficient fridge logic can lead you to the conclusion "If the main character is good because he regrets his alluded to arguably evil acts, and thus turns superhuman... shouldn't the man who realized that he could kill everyone by turning and sacrificed himself to save his friends be just as good?"
** ...no. Remember, it was the "evil gene" that caused them to turn into monsters instead of superhumans. Grim's sister thinks that its the same gene that makes people evil, but she could be wrong. All we know for certain is that Goat had this gene (as did most of the other mercenaries), and Grim didn't.
** This is also implied to be how only some people escaped demonic possession in ''VideoGame/{{Doom}} III''.

* This is essentially one of SpiderMan's powers. In fact, on some battle forums, this mode is sometimes called "Aunt May Mode" or "Mary Jane Mode" because roughly once a year since his inceptation, Spidey has had one of these moments in which he utilized this trope, often when his loved ones were in trouble (or at least the moment was brought on when he thought of them). When this happens, he goes far beyond his normal limitations. Examples include:

* Numerous examples in {{Soul Eater}}. Many characters will suffer through injury and Mind Rape only to carry on fighting. Specifically, it plays a large part in why [[SociopathicHero Stein]] can't be called ''entirely'' Ax Crazy. He will brutally lay waste to a battlefield of enemy mooks, but he won't let himself turn on his [[TrueCompanions friends]].

The internal struggle is often verbally indicated by the character gaining the VoiceOfTheLegion, paired with [[FightingFromTheInside physical and verbal tics]] like biting off each word in a loud (or even shouting) voice in a PunctuatedForEmphasis manner. When PlayedForLaughs the character will {{Lampshade}} this by saying something along the lines of "Must. Speak. Like. WilliamShatner!"

The power up gained with HeroicWillpower sometimes manifests by becoming a OneWingedAngel or with a move up the BishonenLine, visually distinguishing them from rank and file infected. Incidentally, despite the name this isn't exclusive to heroes, the {{Determinator}} is a [[ImplacableMan classic villain archetype]] after all.

** Deconstructed when [[spoiler: she fights Priscilla. The only way that Clare will have any chance of beating the latter is by fully awakening. However, her HeroicWillpower subconsciously prevents her from being able to unleash her maximum potential, resulting in an almost instant CurbStompBattle that ends very badly for our intrepid heroine.]]

** One OVA involves him undergoing enough psychological stress he ''loses'' his HeroicWillpower and spends the finale battling inside of his own mind to regain control.

* Throughout ''HellTeacherNube'', one of the titular character's main fears is to have the [[RightRedHand Hand of the]] [[SealedInsideAPersonShapedCan Oni]] overpower him and transform ''him'' into a full [[{{Youkai}} Oni]], thus unleashing its horror on the world. He has always been able to contain it, with or without help, through [[{{Determinator}} sheer willpower]]. And yet, when confronting said Oni's brother, Zekki, Nube was forced to ''let'' the Hand take him over completely, which was Zekki's goal all along... and then proceeded to use the PowerOfLove [[PapaWolf for his]] [[BadassTeacher students]] to [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome control the transformation]] and [[CurbStompBattle beat Zekki into a bloody pulp]].

* ''Film/{{Serenity}}'': despite River Tam's brain is explicitly stated to be surgically altered to remove her ability to control her own behaviour, she nevertheless becomes less insane and more stable in the end of the film, with no explanation other than HeroicWillpower and the PowerOfFriendship.

* In ''SecondApocalypse'' Kellhus displays HeroicWillpower in shrugging off mind control.

** [[spoiler:Subverted]] in "The Pandorica Opens". [[spoiler:Auton Rory]] has enough HeroicWillpower to hold onto his identity and memories, [[spoiler:but not enough to keep him from shooting Amy]].

** But HeroicWillpower is usually an attribute which sets apart the {{BadAssNormal}}s from the RefugeInAudacity named BadAss characters, and commonly just the elite forces from the less-so.

!!Examples:

** The page for ''TTGL'' says this grows on trees in that world. Not Quite… It grows in ''everything with DNA''. Though they call it Fighting Spirit/Spiral Power, and everything with a spiral to it has it or can be used to generate it. Yes, everything. Even That.
** Viral is a beastman, which means he was specifically designed ''not'' to generate any Spiral Power. [[BeyondTheImpossible He manages to do it anyway]].
* Subverted in ''Manga/DragonBall Z'' by the reformed Vegeta, who gets possessed by an evil wizard, then though sheer willpower refuses to obey the wizard's commands to kill a god... and then attacks Goku anyway, revealing he ''chose'' to be possessed in order to get the power needed to crush his old rival.

* The entire story of VideoGame/NeverwinterNights 2: Mask of the Betrayer revolves around this, especially for good characters

!Examples:

->"This? This is just spirit. Anything is possible if you have the spirit for it."
--> -- '''Rakan''', ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima''

!!Examples

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

[[folder: Comic Books]]

* In ''ThirtyDaysOfNight'', sheriff Eben Olemaun allows himself to be infected with vampire blood in order to become strong enough to defend his town. [[spoiler: It works, and even though he's ravenous for human blood he manages to control his urges and fight and kill several vampires, including their leader. He doesn't turn human again afterwards though, and allows himself to die when the sun finally rises.]]

** His infamous fight against [[SilverSurfer Firelord]].

* In ''TheLostBoys'', the older brother, Mike, is given blood that's slowly making him a vampire. After a climactic battle where he, his brother and friends defend their home from the vampire gang that was turning him, he manages to beat the strongest vampire in the gang. When he doesn't turn human again [[spoiler: and the [[TheManBehindTheMan real vampire lord]] show up, he beats him too and finally regains his humanity.]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

** Sam in season five finale Swan Song [[spoiler:took control of his body while the devil was riding it]] just so he could [[spoiler:throw himself and the devil into [[FateWorseThanDeath hell's solitary confinement]]]]. In the season six finale, he drags himself to assist Dean and Bobby in the battle [[spoiler:against Castiel and Crowley despite obviously suffering under the strain of his "hell memories".]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* Webcomic/GirlGenius: Agatha has fought off Lucrezia without musical aid once in this strip: http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20100310

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* HarryPotter regularly fights off various threats that attempt to weaken or control his mind, such as the [[EmotionBomb despair-inducing]] power of the dementors, although he is overcome by these the first few times. He also seems to be nearly immune to the Imperius Curse, a strength no other character shows, and in one case fought off [[DemonicPossession bodily possession]] by Voldemort himself. His resistance is explained as a combination of this trope and ThePowerOfLove.

* Danny "[[ImmortalIronFist Iron Fist]]" Rand can focus his chi so intensely that he can punch through steel and cure cancer. At the same time.

* In ''TheDresdenFiles'', [[spoiler: Harry becomes the Winter Knight]]. All throughout ''ColdDays'', [[spoiler: his psychopathic side threatens to slip out a terrifying number of times. He always snaps back within a few seconds and redoubles his efforts to suppress it.]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

* In ''TheLostBoys'', the older brother, Mike, is given blood that's slowly making him a vampire. After a climactic battle where he, his brother and friends defend their home from the vampire gang that was turning him, he manages to beat the strongest vampire in the gang. When he doesn't turn human again [[spoiler: and the [[TheManBehindTheMan real vampire lord]] show up, he beats him too and finally regains his humanity.

* Franchise/{{Batman}} has so much willpower, it's [[BadassNormal practically]] his only superpower. Superman said it himself in his WorldOfCardboardSpeech that batman will continue to fight as long as he has breath in his body.