History Main / LawfulGood

-->-- '''[[Superman Superman]]'''

* The Agent of Parliament from ''Serenity'' ... a contraversial example, but suitable, being a man of iron discipline, scrupulous devotion to order, complete honesty and true altruism (remember that this is a man who is trying to build a utopia that he is well aware will have no place for him).

A Lawful Good character believes in [[RousseauWasRight the goodness inherent in all beings]] (unless they're a KnightInSourArmor), and in a code of conduct, be it a personal one or a set of laws, and that an ideal world comes from promoting this dualism of structure and benevolence. Differing interpretations of 'good' may lead a LawfulGood character to become LawfulStupid. In most {{RPG}}s, it is compulsory for [[KnightInShiningArmor Paladins]] to be Lawful Good. If they stop being Lawful Good, they lose their powers.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure

* Inara Serra from ''{{Firefly}}'' fits this, gladly following the rules and conventions of the Companion Guild (and using them to her advantage when necessary) while at the same time being quite clearly an altruistic character who cares about her friends and crewmates.

*** There's a motivational poster floating around the internet with a sketch of Vimes by Paul Kidby and the caption, "This is how you play Lawful Good you bastards."

**** Ha, I found the image [[http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v209/Gojira/automotivator.jpg]]

* ''WhiteCollar's'' Peter Burke is a straitlaced FBI agent who will not break the law in pursuit of his goals no matter what.

** [[BadassLongcoat JC]] [[SunglassesAtNight Denton]] himself counts.
*** More NeutralGood on him, as elaborated in that article.

* GalaxyRangers - Zachary is pretty much a dictionary definition of LawfulGood...unless you [[BerzerkButton threaten his wife]] or [[PapaWolf kids]].

* Christopher Foyle from [[FoylesWar ''Foyle's War'']] is a LawfulGood detective doing his best to uphold the law in a time when both individuals and institutions were prone to bending the rules if not outright breaking them.

* Even though there are some situations where they can't always use this method, Lawful Good characters believe the best way is to have a specific, strict code of conduct, whether self-imposed or codified as a law. Their first impulse when making a moral decision is to refer back to this code; those with externally imposed systems (codes of laws, hierarchies, etc.) will try to work within the system when those systems go wrong. Depending on whether they are more Lawful or more Good, they will either refuse to break the code even though it would hurt someone, or else break it only very reluctantly, and only when it would hurt someone if they kept their code. LawfulGood characters have to be very good at TakingAThird Option.

[[folder:Meta]]
* Tropers who don't want to start an edit war, and like to obey the moderators. Anyone who refrains from describing a real life person as Lawful Good anywhere on this site is Lawful Good.
* Policemen/women who join the force as an opportunity to help people and uphold the spirit of the law.
[[/folder]]

* Police officers (unless they're [[DirtyCop corrupt]], or working for a [[LawfulEvil corrupt]] [[TheEmpire government]])

* TheParagon

Others, such as TheMessiah, can vary between LawfulGood, NeutralGood, and ChaoticGood. Generally, a lawful good government is TheFederation.

*** Nope, ''Soul Calibur'' is Lawful Good, its the polar opposite of Soul Edge.

Written well, a Lawful Good character can be incredibly interesting, and occasionally face some very difficult decisions. What's really right? Shall I do the Lawful thing, or do the Good thing? Obey the letter of the law, or save the innocents? This can lead to a {{To Be Lawful Or Good}} decision. And, just because one is Lawful, doesn't mean that they automatically agree with other Lawful characters. There are, after all, differing laws and codes of conduct; some can co-exist. Some cannot.

* KnightInSourArmor (this is their PREFERRED alignment. Whether they live up to it...)

** Haruka Suzushiro from the same series acts more strict, but still adheres to this alignment... at least in the anime. Manga!Haruka is much more LawfulNeutral, but it's mostly played for laughs as she decides that certain laws (school rules) are more important than others (the laws against kidnapping people, for instance).

** His older brother, Toki, also qualifies as one.

** ''GundamSeed'' has Mu La Flaga. Murrue Ramias tries so hard to be this, but she's actually NeutralGood. [[spoiler: Andrew Waltfield and Dearka Etheman shift to this alignment near the end of the series.]] [[AntiVillain Despite working for the "bad guys"]], Athrun Zal is still a good person. [[spoiler:After his HeelFaceTurn, he pilots a Gundam called ''[[FridgeBrilliance Justice]]'']]. [[GundamSeedDestiny The sequel]] gives us Talia Gladys and Rey Za Burrel, but CharacterDerailment made them LawfulNeutral and [[LawfulEvil Evil]] respectively.
** ''{{Gundam 00}}'' has {{Reasonable Authority Figure}}s Sergei Smirnov and Kati Mannequin. Sumeragi used to be this when [[spoiler:she was still part of the AEU prior on joining CB]]. Starting off as LawfulNeutral and then NeutralGood, Tieria Erde sort-of shifts to this alignment near the end of the series when [[spoiler: he recaptured and merged with Veda, fulfilling his purpose as an [[ArtificialHuman Innovade]], which is to guide humanity through [[EvolutionaryLevels innovation]].]]

* The heroes of "MobilePolicePatlabor", full stop!
* Kenshin Himura from ''RurouniKenshin'' goes by this trope quite well, to name a specially balatant time [[spoiler: the whole Jinchuu story arc, where he jumps to protect 2 guys who were trying to kill him (one of them shot him with a gun after his fight with Enishi!!) and the guy who tried to blow him up with a grenade. Why?? because killing is wrong and he has this oath of never killing nor letting anyone kill anyone before him]]

* CaptainMarvel, a.k.a. ''Shazam!''. He was created as another comic book company's answer to Superman. (In one episode of the ''Justice League'' cartoon, Captain Marvel was the Boy Scout while Superman was the errant hero-gone-too-far.)

** Bigby might be closer to LawfulNeutral, due to his willingness to be ruthless in the name of protecting Fabletown. King Cole, Snow White, Beast, and Flycatcher are more clearly LawfulGood.

* The Linear Men of the {{DCU}} were a team of Lawful Good Superheros whose job was to be the TimePolice. Sadly though they lost connection with humanity and became {{Knight Templar}}s when Superman decided to ScrewDestiny during the Our Worlds at War story line. Resulting in them being locked away because they couldn't deal with a world where there was no BecauseDestinySaysSo. The team's position as the DCU TimePolice has been filled by the NeutralGood Time Masters.

* When pushed, Nicholas Angel from ''HotFuzz'' is not afraid of busting a conspiracy wide open with all necessary (but not excessive) force. He is also not afraid of the small mountain of paperwork that will be necessary afterwards.

* [[TheSpock Mr. Spock]] in the 2009 ''StarTrek'' film. He wants to do what's right, but he has to go the proper Starfleet protocol in order to do so. [[TheKirk Captain Kirk]], however, is ChaoticGood.

*** Lawful Good doesn't [[GoodIsNotNice mean Lawful Polite]].

* Captain Carrot from the ''{{Discworld}}'' novels. As a prime example of how CharacterAlignment is only part of character, rather than the whole of it, Samuel Vimes is also Lawful Good, albeit of a very different sort than Carrot's. Despite being arguably the most cynical and misanthropic bastard in the series (see Batman comment above), Samuel Vimes is also one of the most moral people in the series. The law is the rock to which Vimes clings in a world that makes no sense to him -- [[spoiler:when demons possessed him, he kicked them out of his mind by ''sheer force of Lawful Good'']]. He does things by the book (well, mostly) and gives people their due process. Lawful Good all over.

** Carcetti probably started out this way, and Carver grows into it as the series progresses. Prezbo is a mild example.
* The detectives and district attorneys in the ''[[LawAndOrder Law & Order]]'' shows generally live up to the series title: They often struggle with the temptation to bend the rules to nail the bad guy, but they can never do so readily, or without remorse; and they are painfully aware the bad guys, and usually the defense attorneys, have no such compunctions. More importantly, they never lose sight of their first duty, which is not to punish the guilty but to protect the innocent, even if that means letting the bad guy get away; which takes them clearly out of the Lawful Neutral category. All these tendencies are even more marked in the [=DAs=], who, unlike the cops, rarely have to deal with chaotic situations in the field. There are many marked exceptions which serve to drive the dramatic tension: Elliot Stabler, in particular, is not above using the JackBauerInterrogationTechnique on a suspect, especially if an innocent's life is in danger; and all the detectives will routinely use psychological torture, threats, intimidation, and "We know more than you think" dishonesty, to get a suspect to spill something before his/her lawyer shows up.

* Detective Claudette Wyms from ''TheShield''. Illustrated perfectly when she discovers that a recently-deceased public defender had been abusing prescription drugs for the last several years, and therefore some of her clients may not have received adequate legal counsel. Despite abuse from her coworkers and pressure from her superiors, she went on a self-appointed crusade to investigate the matter. Despite the fact that countless convictions would be overturned as a result of her investigation, she pressed on due to the possibility that innocent people had been sent to prison. In retaliation, the Chief of Police passed her up for a promotion that she had previously been all but guaranteed.

** Also President Roslin at the beginning of the series, although by the end she has also been tarnished by events.

* Giles from BuffyTheVampireSlayer started out LawfulGood, attempting to keep Buffy in line with the Council's wishes. Didn't take him long to cross over to NeutralGood, and that alignment was pretty much solidified by the time Buffy told the Council to stuff it.

* The classic pro wrestling [[{{Face}} babyface]] is usually LawfulGood, in that he plays by the rules, enjoys fair competition, gets along well with the other faces, and tries to be a positive role model for the kids watching at home. Not every face fits this classic mold (indeed, these days, most don't), but it was popular enough pre-{{ECW}} to make an exhaustive list of examples nearly impossible. For perhaps the best known example of this character type, see Hulk Hogan in the '80s.

* A lawful good character alignment is possible in the sandbox game ''{{inFamous}}'', and whether the player chooses to be lawful good or ChaoticEvil has a major influence on game play. If the player chooses to play the role of the hero, then he helps the police restore order to the city, gains powers exclusive to the hero end of the spectrum, and is generally loved by the people, to the extent that they eventually plaster the city with posters of him standing triumphant and heroic, holding a lightning bolt.

** Adell from the second game is also LawfulGood. He adheres to his rigid code of honesty and fairness even when it puts him at a disadvantage. He refuses to break promises, despises lying and deception, and his motivation for fighting is saving people.

** Yukimaru, too.

*** ''Most'' draenei, at any rate. [[IronWoobie Farseer Nobundo]] is more NeutralGood. And while it ''might'' be possible to file [[ExaltedTorturer Interrogator Khan]] (who is a [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique scary, scary guy]]) under GoodIsNotNice, let's not even ''talk'' about the Auchenai. Or, for that matter, [[AxCrazy Setaal Darkmender]].

** Aerie, a naive but good-natured young elven spellcaster who hides her feelings of bitterness about the tortures she's suffered possibly due to not thinking them proper. (''[=~Baldur's Gate~=] II''.)
** Ajantis Ilvstarr, the youthful, idealistic but somewhat simplistic and naive paladin. (''[=~Baldur's Gate~=]''.)
** Dynaheir, an honest, forthright, and scrupulously moral wizard from a nation where spellcasters like her are expected to become leaders one day. (''[=~Baldur's Gate~=]''.)
** Keldorn, the aged veteran paladin who generally has much wisdom and compassion, but can be confused about what to do when questions of ethics morality affect ''him'' directly. (''[=~Baldur's Gate~=] II''.)
** Mazzy Fentan, a fierce and honorable halfling warrior, paladin in all but name. (''[=~Baldur's Gate~=] II''.)
** Yeslick Orothiar, a dwarven warrior-priest. Surprisingly laid-back for a LawfulGood character who was, until you rescued him, a slave in his own family's ancestral mine. (''[=~Baldur's Gate~=]''.)

** Starting in ''SonicTheHedgehog3'', repeated in ''SonicAdventure'', and occasionally lampshaded after that, Knuckles was so thickheaded that Eggman was able to constantly slide him into the LawfulStupid role by telling him that Sonic wanted to steal the Master Emerald. Putting the two at each other's throats was naturally part of Eggman's plan to steal the emerald himself, and it seems Knuckles was notoriously slow to wise up to this.

* Celes from ''FinalFantasyVI''. Unlike Leo ([[LawfulNeutral who realized the Empire wasn't very morally sound but believed he still had to serve it]]) and Kefka ([[ChaoticEvil who reveled in the death and destruction the Empire caused]]), she is fully aware of how evil TheEmpire had become and actively tried to combat them. In fact, Locke first stumbled upon her being imprisoned after said combat attempt failed.
* The United States faction (of course) from CommandAndConquer: Generals

* Princess Voluptua in ''TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob'' takes her job and responsibilities very seriously, such that she is willing to [[http://bobadventures.comicgenesis.com/d/20100223.html sacrifice her chance for personal happiness]] for them. Even BeleagueredBureaucrat Zippobic, who ''[[OccupiersOutOfOurCountry hates]]'' the government she represents, [[http://bobadventures.comicgenesis.com/d/20100525.html grudgingly concedes]] that he respects and trusts ''her'' (even if he does think she [[CharacterFilibuster talks too much.)]]

* Ned Flanders from ''TheSimpsons'' is very staunchly lawful good. Both before and even after {{Flanderization}}.

*** Of course, TheHero Amuro Ray himself, especially in {{CharsCounterattack}}, though he started out as ChaoticNeutral in the original series.

** ''GundamSeed'' has Mu La Flaga and Murrue Ramias (though she shifts to NeutralGood). [[spoiler: Athrun Zala and Dearka Etheman shift to this alignment near the end of the series. Also, Athrun's Gundam is called ''[[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic Justice]]''.]] [[GundamSeedDestiny The sequel]] gives us Talia Gladys and Rey Za Burrel, but CharacterDerailment made them LawfulNeutral and [[LawfulEvil Evil]] respectively.