History Main / WalkingTheEarth

* Bartz (and his chocobo!) in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV''. He starts the game as a wanderer, [[spoiler:following his father's dying wish that he carry out this trope]]. He returns to this after saving the world.

** Of course, in Wild ARMs mythology, Drifters are less about walking the earth and more about living day to day, doing odd jobs (which tend to be monster hunting) to earn a living. They don't wander because they want to either: more than a few characters have become drifters by necessity rather than by choice.

** [[BadassAndChild Tien and Chiaoutzou]] take this trope even further. They walk the Earth for their entire lives going on [[JourneyToFindOneself training journeyes]].

* The protagonists of ''HighwayToHeaven'' -- though again, having an Angel of the Lord riding shotgun probably makes the little things easier to deal with.

* The ''TouchedByAnAngel'' spin-off ''PromisedLand'' featured a family that traveled the US while living in a trailer home.

** {{Supernatural}} deconstructs this trope rather than playing it straight, though: Sam and Dean are [[PerpetualPoverty perpetually broke]] [[ConMan conmen]] who live out of their suitcases in rat-trap motels when they aren't outright squatting; they have the law on their tails, they have no friends outside the hunting community (and very few in it), and when they get on one another's nerves (which [[OddCouple happens a lot]]), there's no escape. This is frequently {{played for laughs}}, but it's definitely not portrayed as romantic.

* The Old English poem ''The Wanderer''.

It's much easier when you have a valuable skill... but this is [[KnightErrant a different trope]]. You can get away with just WalkingTheEarth in settings with sufficiently strong traditions of SacredHospitality, though -- like Homeric Greece (obviously), the Muslim world (where hospitality is a religious obligation), the Balkans if you're not from next door, and [[SweetHomeAlabama the American South]]. Some Walkers, however, have some skills like craftsmanship that they utilize to make a trade/earn a living while traveling, like {{hobo}}s.

* The Gaang must do this in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', initially to get from the South to the North Pole and making a lot of detours/helping people along the way. After the first season, they get more involved with the Earth and Water militaries, and their destination keeps changing, and they are often on the run.

** While the nature of the Avatar's duties call for a certain amount of walking the earth, they do generally have homes they return to, such as Kyoshi Island and Roku's island, and Aang would probably would too if not for [[YouCantGoHomeAgain certain events.]]

This trope is a very American one and is quite common in older [[TheWestern westerns]]. As far as big TV producing nations go, The U.S. of A. has the geography best suited to this form of adventure. Australia also has the tradition of the Walkabout, where young men would wander the land for months as a spiritual journey. However, this trope is by no means exclusive to the U.S. and Australia; a common case in point of this is the British franchise ''Series/DoctorWho''.[[hottip:*:Then again, this trope is largely made possible due to the fact that the protagonist isn't limited to the ''Earth''.]]

** {{Supernatural}} deconstructs this trope rather than playing it straight, though: Sam and Dean are perpetually broke conmen who live out of their suitcases in rat-trap motels when they aren't outright squatting; they have the law on their tails, they have no friends outside the hunting community (and very few in it), and when they get on one another's nerves (which [[OddCouple happens a lot]]), there's no escape. This is frequently {{played for laughs}}, but it's definitely not portrayed as romantic.

* The lucky guys in ''{{Route 66}}'' got to do it in a Corvette.

* Randall Flagg, BigBad of Stephen King's ''TheStand'' and TheDragon of ''Franchise/TheDarkTower'', is the rare villainous version of Walking the Earth. And Walking Alternate Universes.

* [[spoiler: implied to be Tom's fate in the end of {{The Way}}]]

* There was a global nomad in the documentary ''Encounters at the End of the World''.Growing up in Communist Eastern Europe caused him to cherish the freedom of travel. He kept a backpack packed at all times so he could up and leave at a moment's notice.

* Superman did this just before the {{New 52}}. After feeling he was out of touch with the American people, he decides to remedy the situation by handing in his US citizenship and literally walking all over America looking for people to help. Amazingly, no-one noticed Clark Kent was doing the exact same thing at the exact same time in the exact same places.
** He could probably say that he was following Superman, as many other reporters were surely doing.

Most of us would agree with Vincent Vega's response to Jules: "You're gonna become a ''bum!'' If you don't have a job, a home, and legal tender, that's all you'll be is a bum. Someone who picks in garbage cans and eats the stuff I throw away." Most people who go WalkingTheEarth by themselves are male (or [[SweetPollyOliver disguised as male]]). Females generally belong to a nomadic group, mostly for defense purposes.

It's much easier when you have a valuable skill... but this is [[KnightErrant a different trope]]. You can get away with just WalkingTheEarth in settings with sufficiently strong traditions of SacredHospitality, though -- like Homeric Greece (obviously), the Muslim world (where hospitality is a religious obligation), the Balkans if you're not from next door, and [[SweetHomeAlabama the American South]]. Some Walkers, however, have some skills like craftsmanship that they utilize to make a trade/earn a living while traveling, like {{Hobo}}s.

This trope is a very American one. As far as big TV producing nations go, The U.S. of A. has the geography best suited to this form of adventure. Australia also has the tradition of the Walkabout, where young men would wander the land for months as a spiritual journey. Notable exception: Series/DoctorWho, largely because the protagonist isn't limited to walking the ''Earth''. Also a very common trope in older [[TheWestern Westerns]].

* This is the PhantomStranger's hat (well, his other hat, he also wears a tasteful fedora). He sums it up thusly - "I have walked hundreds of billions of miles across this Earth... across time and space... through the blinding light of the Elysian Fields... and the darkest depths of Pandemonium... where the stench and despair of the chaoplasm is always a potent reminder of how far man can fall. I am the Phantom Stranger. And the stranger comes... when the stranger is needed."

* This is ThePhantomStranger's hat (well, his other hat, he also wears a tasteful fedora). He sums it up thusly - "I have walked hundreds of billions of miles across this Earth... across time and space... through the blinding light of the Elysian Fields... and the darkest depths of Pandemonium... where the stench and despair of the chaoplasm is always a potent reminder of how far man can fall. I am the Phantom Stranger. And the stranger comes... when the stranger is needed."

* The ''{{Saiyuki}}'' gang could be considered to be part of this trope; although they do have a destination, they get side-tracked so often that they might as well not have one. Luckily, Sanzo has a credit card. The kind that's accepted everywhere. Even in small, rural villages in the middle of nowhere.
** [[SchizoTech In what looks like ancient china]]

* Randall Flagg, BigBad of Stephen King's ''TheStand'' and TheDragon of ''TheDarkTower'', is the rare villainous version of Walking the Earth. And Walking Alternate Universes.
** In ''TheDarkTower V: Wolves Of The Calla'', Father Callahan reveals that he had spent the time between the events of ''Literature/SalemsLot'' and his arrival at Calla bryn Sturgis wandering the Earth.