History Main / MisunderstoodLonerWithAHeartOfGold

* MichaelJackson's hero "Maestro" in ''Ghosts'', a 38-minute video. When one of the young boys he was secretly sharing ghost stories and magic tricks with lets the grown-ups in his town know what they were up to, they panic and form a TorchesAndPitchforks mob to storm his creepy mansion. The cold-hearted mayor even points out that he lives all alone and is a "freak". Maestro turns out to be a spirit who has a whole troupe of ghosts/ghouls backing him up, and in the end all but the mayor of the town comes to love him thanks to his wonderful powers. Unfortunately, he ''forced'' the crowd to witness his powers and tortured the mayor, so the intended "don't be suspicious of/prejudiced towards those who are different" Aesop is muddled. The story's RealitySubtext -- this was after the first round of child molestation allegations against Jackson -- doesn't help.

* MichaelJackson's hero "Maestro" in ''Ghosts'', a 38-minute video. When one of the young boys he was secretly sharing ghost stories and magic tricks with lets the grown-ups in his town know what they were up to, they panic and form a TorchesAndPitchforks mob to storm his creepy mansion. The cold hearted mayor even points out that he lives all alone and is a "freak". Maestro turns out to be a spirit who has a whole troupe of ghosts/ghouls backing him up, and in the end all but the mayor of the town comes to love him thanks to his wonderful powers. Unfortunately, the Maestro is actually a JerkSue who ''forced'' the crowd to witness his powers and tortured the mayor, and combined with the story's RealitySubtext -- this was after the first round of child molestation allegations against Jackson -- all the darker implications of this trope are hard to ignore.

** ''Subterranean Animism'' has the heroines on a mission to the Underworld, where youkai were banished that even the surface youkai didn't like. One of these is Satori, mistress of the Palace of the Earth Spirits, whom even the other youkai in the Underworld don't like... because her mind-reading powers and [[MindOverManners lack of discretion about them]] unnerve people. She's actually very sweet and mature, and is extremely gracious to you, considering you [[WhatTheHellHero just broke into her home]] and [[KickTheDog beat up]] [[ThatOneBoss her cat]] (and in [[strike:Marisa's case]] the case of both heroines, you're also [[KleptomaniacHero plotting to steal her stuff]]).

* Addie Clark, a.k.a. "The Governess", from ''{{Bizenghast}}'' is a posthumous example. When the series began, Addie was one of the ghosts who haunted Dinah's home, which was originally a school and before that a hospital which had burned down. It's been implied that Addie had been responsible for killing numerous children when the house was St. Lyman's School for Boys, and disappeared after supposedly setting the fire that destroyed the school. Over the years Addie's ghost was particularly cruel to Dinah. [[spoiler: Volume six and seven revealed that Addie was nowhere near the monster she'd been made out to be. A kind, young school teacher who made an effort to watch over the younger students who were bullied, she witnessed the people of Bizenghast hang a young woman as a witch one night. One of the men at the hanging was St. Lyman's headmaster, and he knew Addie witnessed the whole thing. She tried to get a letter to her sister by hiding it in a painting, but it never reached her. The headmaster tried to silence Addie by trapping her in the hidden cellar she sometimes taught her students in, suffocating her with smoke that accidentally turned into the fire that destroyed the school. Addie died in a closet along with two young boys. After Dinah discovered their body and the letter, Addie's ghost was able to come back to its senses. Apparently, because people had believed the rumors that she was a monster, this warped Addie after she died, and the truth being revealed was enough to give her back her clarity.]]

* ''EdwardScissorhands''. Okay, I'll admit that walking around with a knife shop attached to your hands isn't the safest thing in the world, but he never means to hurt anybody!

what they were up to, they panic and form a TorchesAndPitchforks mob to storm his creepy mansion. The cold hearted mayor even points out that he lives all alone and is a "freak". Maestro turns out to be a spirit who has a whole troupe of ghosts/ghouls backing him up, and in the end all but the mayor of the town comes to love him thanks to his wonderful powers. Unfortunately, the Maestro is actually a JerkSue who ''forced'' the crowd to witness his powers and tortured the mayor, and combined with the story's RealitySubtext -- this was after the first round of child molestation allegations against Jackson -- all the darker implications of this trope are hard to ignore.

** ''{{Persona 4}}'' gives us Naoto Shirogane, a KidDetective who is initially standoffish, a bit antisocial and is the dangerous combination of 'working with the Inaba Police' and 'GenreSavvy enough to suspect that your group is hiding important facts crucial to the solving of the case.' When an irritated Rise initially accuses Naoto of treating the case like a game, Naoto doesn't outright deny it, either [[spoiler: until just before Naoto puts a XanatosGambit to find your secret out into motion. Naoto gets intentionally captured by the kidnapper. You then rescue Naoto from the TV and find out 1) that she was a girl passing herself off as a boy out of insecurity spawned from being a young girl in a profession composed largely of men, 2) as a young girl she didn't have many friends so she immersed herself in detective novels and studying, 3) that she was ''right'' about the real murderer/kidnapper being in jail.]] After this, [[spoiler: she's very open to getting to know the group, though she can ''still'' be a touch standoffish and nervous, she immediately offers to help Teddie to find any information about his true identity, despite not even knowing him very well. She makes doctor's appointments for your whole group to make sure that the TV world hasn't physically damaged anybody's health and even offers to help Kanji with his math.]] In summation, Naoto puts on a standoffish hard-boiled facade, but is a helpful all-around sweetheart, dedicated to solving the murders.

* A milder example in MassEffect, Liara T'Soni is an antisocial loner more comfortable working with the ruins of dead civilizations than other people, but she turns out to be just shy and is really quite nice.

* ''TheSandlot'': Mr. Mertle (played by JamesEarlJones) is definitely an example. His dog Hercules, a.k.a., "The Beast", also qualifies to an extent.

* JamesEarlJones' character in TheSandlot exemplifies this - an ill-kept yard and a [[BigFriendlyDog seemingly]] vicious dog keep the neighborhood kids at bay, but [[spoiler: he's actually an avid baseball fan who was willing to trade a mint-condition baseball with all the signatures of the 1940s Yankees for the now-mauled one that Babe Ruth had signed]].

* JamesEarlJones' character in TheSandlot exemplifies this - an ill-kept yard and a ([[BigFriendlyDogseemingly) vicious dog keep the neighborhood kids at bay, but [[spoiler: he's actually an avid baseball fan who was willing to trade a mint-condition baseball with all the signatures of the 1940s Yankees for the now-mauled one that BabeRuth had signed]].

* Boo Radley from ''ToKillAMockingbird,'' the reclusive [[HeroicAlbino not-quite-albino]], reputed to be AxCrazy, who later [[spoiler:saves Scout's and Jem's lives]]. As with most of the characters in ''To Kill a Mockingbird'', Boo Radley was [[TruthInTelevision based on a real childhood neighbor of Harper Lee]], named Alfred "Son" Boleware, who after a teenage vandalism incident was grounded by his {{Jerkass}} dad well into adulthood.

* ''HarryPotter'':

* ''{{Pollyanna}}'': Mr. Pendergast.
* The Professor from Zilpha Keatley Snyder's ''TheEgyptGame''.
* While not a literal example, {{Christopher Moore}}'s ''[[Literature/BloodsuckingFiends You Suck]]'' had its resident goth characters get each other's attention by yelling "Hey, Boo!". Abby Normal looked upon this as thanking the universe for sending you a benevolent retard for assistance.
* [[TheAragorn Aragorn]] from ''{{The Lord Of The Rings}}'' first appeared as a sinister figure sitting in a dark corner of the bar in Bree; the hobbits were convinced he was one of the minions of Evil pursuing them. Of course, he turned out to be rather the opposite...
** "All that is gold does not glitter" is actually part of a poem used to describe him.
* The hermit from ''TheTomorrowSeries''.
* The Groke from ''TheMoomins'' is eventually revealed to be a lonely and tragic feature, ever wandering the earth alone and searching for warmth and companionship. Because she is a WalkingWasteland who sucks life and heat out of everything she gets close to, she will never get it.

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* MichaelJackson's hero "Maestro" in ''Ghosts'', a 38-minute video. When one of the young boys he was secretly sharing ghost stories and magic tricks with lets the grown-ups in his town know what they were up to, they panic and form a TorchesAndPitchforks mob to storm his creepy mansion. The cold hearted mayor even points out that he lives all alone and is a "freak". Maestro turns out to be a spirit who has a whole troupe of ghosts/ghouls backing him up, and in the end all but the mayor of the town comes to love him thanks to his wonderful powers. Unfortunately, the Maestro is actually a JerkSue who ''forced'' the crowd to witness his powers and tortured the mayor, and combined with the story's RealitySubtext -- this was after the first round of child molestation allegations against Jackson -- all the darker implications of this trope are hard to ignore.
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* ''{{Scooby-Doo}}'' uses it almost once an episode. Look out particularly for groundskeepers and managers, but grumpy old people in general.

* Hilariously subverted in ''FamilyGuy'' where Peter finds a very old winning ticket allowing him to spend the day with any celebrity. he chooses OJ Simpson whom is treated by everyone as being a psychopath. eventually after showing much generousity he wins the town over.... ending the episode by stabbing several people and making his escape.

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* ''{{Drowtales}}'' has Mel'arnach. [[http://www.drowtales.com/mainarchive.php?id=106 Her appearance in the remade chapter one]] ups the "scary" making the reveal that [[ObfuscatingInsanity it's an act]] more powerful later on.
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* ''MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' has one episode where the entire ''town'' goes into terrified hiding whenever the mysterious cloaked stranger Zecora arrives. Ponies are afraid of her because she looks odd, talks odd, and lives alone in the spooky, mysterious Everfree Forest (where the "plants and animals care '''for themselves'''!") Even after Twilight points out that she's a ''zebra'' not a pony, everyone is still disturbed; they then blame Zecora for their being cursed, think she's planning to eat them in stew, and so on... In the end they all go off to find her, to get her to remove the curse and "rescue" Applebloom whom they believe has been kidnapped by her. Of course it turns out Zecora had nothing to do with their cursed maladies and was in fact, working on a cure for them. Also, she ''would'' probably have interacted with ponies more, except that whenever she went to town the shops would be "mysteriously closed".

* ''Anime/AngelBeats'': Tenshi/[[spoiler:Kanade Tachibana]]. She's seen as a freak because she doesn't have any friends, but that's only because [[spoiler: She's ''actively'' trying to ''graduate'' those around her, and thus is never really seen with anyone for any length of time.]]

* ''AngelBeats'': Tenshi/[[spoiler:Kanade Tachibana]]. She's seen as a freak because she doesn't have any friends, but that's only because [[spoiler: She's ''actively'' trying to ''graduate'' those around her, and thus is never really seen with anyone for any length of time.]]

** Interestingly one of the examples of Zecora's "oddness" is her tendency to paw and dig holes at the ground: a water-finding method which is common amongst real zebras. [[GeniusBonus This is the one aspect of her behavior that's not actually explained in the episode.]]

** Interestingly one of the examples of Zecora's "oddness" is her tendency to paw and dig holes at the ground: a water-finding method which is common amongst real zebras. [[GenuisBonus This is the one aspect of her oddness that's not actually explained in the episode.]]

* MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic has one episode where the entire ''town'' goes into terrified hiding whenever the mysterious cloaked stranger Zecora arrives. Ponies are afraid of her because she looks odd, talks odd, and lives alone in the spooky, mysterious Everfree Forest (where the "plants and animals care '''for themselves'''!") Even after Twilight points out that she's a ''zebra'' not a pony, everyone is still disturbed; they then blame Zecora for their being cursed, think she's planning to eat them in stew, and so on... In the end they all go off to find her, to get her to remove the curse and "rescue" Applebloom whom they believe has been kidnapped by her. Of course it turns out Zecora had nothing to do with their cursed maladies and was in fact, working on a cure for them. Also, she ''would'' probably have interacted with ponies more, except that whenever she went to town the shops would be "mysteriously closed".
** Interestingly one of the examples of Zecora's "oddness" is her tendency to paw and dig holes at the ground: a water-finding method which is common amongst real zebras.

* MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic has one episode where the entire ''town'' goes into terrified hiding whenever the mysterious cloaked stranger Zecora arrives. Ponies are afraid of her because she looks odd, talks odd, and lives alone in the spooky, mysterious Evertree forest (where the "plants and animals care '''for themselves'''!") Even after Twilight points out that she's a ''zebra'' not a pony, everyone is still disturbed; they then blame Zecora for their being cursed, think she's planning to eat them in stew, and so on... In the end they all go off to find her, to get her to remove the curse and "rescue" Applebloom whom they believe has been kidnapped by her. Of course it turns out Zecora had nothing to do with their cursed maladies and was in fact, working on a cure for them. Also, she ''would'' probably have interacted with ponies more, except that whenever she went to town the shops would be "mysteriously closed".