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| 4 | [[quoteright:236:[[VideoGame/MegaManX3 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/law_of_chromatic_superiority_final.png]]]] |
| 5 | [[caption-width-right:236:"Why do the Head Gunners with red paint get extra guns?!"]] |
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| 11 | ->'''Boom:''' I would be psyched if I were the Red Ranger!\ |
| 12 | '''Jack:''' You'd be psyched if you were the Pink Ranger.\ |
| 13 | '''Boom:''' ''(chuckles)'' ...True. But Red is the Big Cheese. Head honcho! Large and in charge! I mean, you get to tell the others what to do, and then they do it! |
| 14 | -->-- ''Series/PowerRangersSPD'' |
| 15 | |
| 16 | Which colors are better depends on what you're doing. For instance, let's say that you want to make some really good toast. But all you have is a crappy plastic toaster with a handle that sticks down. You don't have enough money to buy a new toaster, so how do you get the perfect toast you want? |
| 17 | |
| 18 | Simple: paint the toaster red. The resulting toast will be [[MemeticMutation three times better]] than normal toast. Red also [[TurnsRed makes every video game enemy three times stronger.]] The RedShirt can be a case of some colors being worse: they go ''down'' [[RedOnesGoFaster faster]]. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | While red is one of the most common colors to receive this treatment, it isn't the only one. It's generally held that the rarest color in a work will be the "best" one. A guy dressed all in black will ''always'' defeat opponents clad in lesser colors. {{Gold|ColoredSuperiority}} is ''always'' better than silver (unless you're [[SilverBullet dealing with werewolves]]), and silver is always better than bronze. Since bronze and gold are sometimes the same color, it makes for a complicated hierarchy. |
| 21 | |
| 22 | Related to ColourCodedForYourConvenience, ChromaticArrangement, PowerGlows and ColorCodedItemTiers. For tropes concerning specific colors being better, see RedOnesGoFaster, RedIsHeroic, BlueIsHeroic and PrimaryColorChampion, GoldenSuperMode, PurpleIsPowerful, EmeraldPower, GoldColoredSuperiority and GoldAndWhiteAreDivine. For when colors are worse, see RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver, WhiteShirtOfDeath, and potentially RedShirt. |
| 23 | |
| 24 | ---- |
| 25 | !!Examples: |
| 26 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 27 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 28 | * Very widely known to ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' fans as the "Char Custom Rule", nearly every entry in the series uses this in spades: |
| 29 | ** While certainly not the origin of the overall trope, it was neatly codified by ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'', which featured legendary AcePilot Char Aznable, whose [[AceCustom customized]] HumongousMecha was said to be three times faster than normal versions of its type (this was later {{ret con}}ned to the more reasonable '''30%''' faster and being very good at kicking off ships to go faster and preserve fuel). The only observable difference between his Mecha and normal models was that his was painted red.\ |
| 30 | \ |
| 31 | This has been used to comedic effect outside the series: The Bandai Hobby Center in Shizuoka, Japan [[http://en.gigazine.net/news/20100428_bandai_hobby_center_2/ has a "Char Custom" forklift]], painted to look like Char's MS-06 Zaku, which is held by the staff to be three times more [[BuffySpeak forklift-y]] than an ordinary forklift and the GE Consumer Finance Char Custom credit card receives three times as many bonus points per 1000 yen spent compared to their other Gundam-related credit cards. There's even a Char's Custom PSP and [[http://www.destructoid.com/gundam-3ds-game-getting-a-sexy-char-aznable-3ds-model-213309.phtml Char's Custom 3DS]] (as bundled with [[VideoGame/SDGundamGGeneration SD Gundam G Generation 3D]]), though whether they load three times faster has yet to be tested.\ |
| 32 | \ |
| 33 | And then ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamUnicorn'' unveiled the Sinanju, which really IS three times faster than its accompanying Geara Zulus; it's even piloted by Char[[spoiler:'s clone]]. [[RunningGag Three guesses as to what its color is]]. |
| 34 | ** The Char Custom Rule should also be given the Quattro Bajeena Corrollary: if red is not enough to emphasize its awesome, the mecha should be colored Gold (best example being the [[Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam Hyaku-Shiki]], [[Anime/TurnAGundam Harry Ord's SUMO]] and the [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny Akatsuki Gundam]]). |
| 35 | ** It is worth noting that the primarily-white Gundam is referred to by its enemies (the Principality of Zeon) as "the white mobile suit" and is usually recognized as such ("It's the white one! Fall back!"), the off-white [=GM=]s are superior to almost all of their Zeonic counterparts, and most other ace pilots have their mobile suits colored a certain color as well; Anavel Gato's blue-and-green Gelgoog, Johnny Ridden's red-and-black suits (similar enough to Char's colors that his being commonly mistaken for Char is a RunningGag, with "I'm not Char!" practically being his catchphrase, even moreso in {{fanon}}), the suits of the Black Tri-Stars, and the most skilled (and least-famous) ace pilot, Shin Matsunaga, who piloted the only other white mobile suits in the series other than the Gundam and actually outperformed Char in the battle that made him famous (and, by having the sense to retire after the One Year War rather than getting dragged into the next half-dozen conflicts, is the one who survives the longest). |
| 36 | ** There is also the Ramba Ral Corollary to the Char Custom Rule. If a machine is ''already'' red, you must paint it blue to show it has been changed. [[Anime/AfterWarGundamX Gundam Airmaster Burst]] and [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing Gundam Heavyarms Custom]] are instances of this. |
| 37 | ** Chromatic superiority is invoked - sort of - in one ''SD Gundam'' skit. The Gundams convince a bunch of Zakus to get drunk on sake so they'll turn red and go faster. Ends up being a subversion, as the drunken Zakus can barely move in a straight line, let alone at speed. It's deliberately invoked in the character creation quiz for ''Gundam Assault Survive'', where one of the random questions the player can be asked is what color they'd choose for their custom machine. Red is described as "speedy" while blue is described as "strong" (the third choice is black, which is said to represent good teamwork, referring to the Black Tri-Stars). |
| 38 | ** The Gamecube game ''Gashapon Wars'' has a stage where the player fights Char in all his distinctive red mobile suits. When he runs out of official models, he grabs the Strike Rouge from ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED Gundam SEED]]'', saying that since it's red it still counts. After the Rouge is defeated, he appears in the gold-colored Akatsuki from ''SEED Destiny'' and remarks that gold is his color too. |
| 39 | ** In ''Anime/SDGundamForce'', the Zakos are little more than {{Mooks}} and PluckyComicRelief, often defeated with a single hit. Zako Red, however, is cunning, sly, and ''effective''. There is a good reason for this, however: [[spoiler:Zako Red is a dummy body remotely controlled by Dark Axis leader Sazabi, as seen when Red goes inert after handing Captain Gundam's stolen Soul Drive to Sazabi]]. |
| 40 | ** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'' and ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny'' have the elite ZAFT redcoats, who are better than ordinary soldiers. Also, the Strike Rouge's red/pink color scheme is explained by it having a higher power output than the original Strike Gundam. |
| 41 | ** In ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundam00 Gundam 00]]'', which otherwise has surprisingly little references to older series (especially compared to ''SEED''), the Gundams unlock a hidden SuperMode which causes them to become three times faster... and red. |
| 42 | ** As ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundam00 Gundam 00]]'' TurnsRed, ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamF91 Gundam F91]]'' is the same. |
| 43 | * In ''Manga/{{DNA2}}'', hero Junta has dark red hair, which gets progressively lighter (and [[AnimeHair spikier]]) the stronger he gets, with his Twinkle Junta self being a lighter shade and the Mega Playboy himself having incredibly ''bright'' hair, colored a neon-magenta in most manga illustrations. |
| 44 | * In ''[[Anime/BlueCometSPTLayzner Layzner]]'' Ru Kain's Zakarl generates a red energy when using the fullest extent of its' V-Max. It also helps that his unit is painted gold compared to the rest of the empire. |
| 45 | * In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', red, yellow, or orange = powerful. Think about it. Who has those colors? Naruto, Kushina, Minato, Sakura, Gamabunta, Hashirama, Kurama, Jiraiya, everyone with the Sharingan, Gaara, A, Nagato, Deidara, Sasori, Choji, and Choza. The more of these colors is present, the more powerful the character. While many characters that do not have these colors are still quite dangerous, these are the ones that it is a truly bad idea to mess with. |
| 46 | * Dilandau's [[HumongousMecha guymelef]] in ''Anime/TheVisionOfEscaflowne'' only differs from the mooks' in that his is red, while theirs are purple. Similarly, his armour is red, while his subordinates' are blue. |
| 47 | * In ''Manga/SaintSeiya'', the Gold Saints are the strongest warriors of all, because they wear the shiniest clothes of all (Gold). This does get turned on its head a little as the series goes on, since the FiveManBand of main characters technically remain low-level Bronze Saints, [[spoiler: though their clothes develop a habit of subverting the hierarchy altogether.]] |
| 48 | * This tradition has been carried on by many other non-''Gundam'' HumongousMecha series, where the most technically skilled pilot (but very seldomly The Hero himself) has a red mech: AcePilot Asuka's Unit-02 in ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', squad leader Ryoko's red Aestivalis in ''Anime/MartianSuccessorNadesico'', HotBlooded AcePilot Kamina's Gurren in ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'', Milia Fallyna Jenius' VF-1J Valkyrie in ''Anime/{{Macross}}'' (though she's only the ''second'' most skilled pilot; the most skilled is her husband, Max Jenius, who pilots a blue version of the same craft), DeathSeeker StalkerWithACrush Gauron and BloodKnight PsychoForHire Gates' Plan-1058 Codarl-i in ''Literature/FullMetalPanic'', Kallen Stadtfeld's Guren [[SuperPrototype Mk-II]] / [[MechaExpansionPack Kashoushiki]] / [[MidSeasonUpgrade SEITEN]] in ''Anime/CodeGeass'' (though it was a unique model), and Elvy Hadhiyat's Alpha V-1 Vermillion in ''Anime/RahXephon'' (her Vermillion is the only one colored red; all others are either [[RedShirt grey]] or [[{{Mook}} black]]). |
| 49 | * Also, the Red Lion in ''Anime/GoLion''; Isamu Kurogane was the pilot of the ship that brought the Go Lion team to Altea and is generally considered the best pilot. Akira, despite piloting the Black Lion, wears a red uniform (much to the confusion of American viewers watching the ''Anime/{{Voltron}}'' translation). This is because the team is essentially a Franchise/SuperSentai FiveManBand wearing the uniforms they ''would'' be wearing in a regular Sentai. The lions just happen to not match their pilot's colors. |
| 50 | * ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', during a Filler episode, both paid homage to and parodied the trope by having several local kids form a {{Sentai}} squad; they then spent most of the episode arguing over who got to be the Red Ranger. They ended up both taking red, and then [[FakeUltimateHero Don Kanonji]] took ''[[RankInflation gold]]''. |
| 51 | * ''Anime/SpeedRacer'': the Mach 5 is mostly white, but has red trimmings. |
| 52 | * Lately, ''Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya'' has been affiliating the FiveManBand with their own colors. Guess what color Haruhi has? Note that she put on a RedArmbandOfLeadership when she founded the SOS-Brigade. |
| 53 | * ''Anime/PrincessTutu'': [[TheOjou Rue]] is the star dancer of the school and wears a red leotard in contrast to the blue ones of other students. Inversely, Ahiru is a complete [[CuteClumsyGirl clutz]] just barely keeping herself out of the probationary class and wears a white leotard. |
| 54 | * ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' has the [[ArtifactOfDoom Artifacts of Doom]] called Behelit that give the owner a chance to perform a DealWithTheDevil upon hitting their [[DespairEventHorizon worst moment]] and get turned into an Apostle. And then there is the Crimson Behelit, which is a Behelit that only appears every 216 years in the hands of the person destined to become a new member of the God Hand. |
| 55 | * According to the unofficial "[[http://fudoushin.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/rules.jpg Laws]] of SuperRobot {{Anime}}", regarding the application of this trope: If it's green and [[PowerGlows glows]], it's raw evolution, incredible power, great destruction, or all three; if it's red and has a command antenna, it moves three times faster; if it's orange, it's about to be destroyed; if it's gold, [[ThisIsGonnaSuck you're fucked]]. |
| 56 | * Inverted in ''Anime/MyOtome''. The first years, who are meant to be the weakest in both power and skill, wear a red dress, the second years wear dark grey and the graduated Meisters run the gamut of colours. Lena Sayers, said by WordOfGod to be the most powerful ever, wears blue. |
| 57 | * In ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', Ed attempts to invoke this trope. When asked about his trademark red jacket, he explains that it's a "manly color that gets the blood flowing!" |
| 58 | * {{Lampshaded}} in ''Manga/SpecialDutyCombatUnitShinesman'': the protagonist ends up with red as his costume color because his little brother pointed out that the red one is always the leader. |
| 59 | * The anime of ''VideoGame/SengokuBasara'' offers an inversion to this, as red clad [[HotBlooded Sanada Yukimura]] was bested in one of his fights by blue clad [[EyepatchOfPower Date Masamune]] (though only because Yukimura wasn't quite paying attention). |
| 60 | * In ''Manga/YuGiOhR'', the top-ranked Card Professor uses a special black Duel Disk. It even gets compared to a black belt in martial arts in that while it isn't inherently any different from the other Disks aside from its color, it's a sign that the one wearing it is not someone you want to mess with. |
| 61 | * ''Anime/PokemonGenesectAndTheLegendAwakened'' features a group of five Genesect, four normal colored and one Shiny, with the Shiny one leading the troupe. The color of a Shiny Genesect? Red, of course. |
| 62 | * The ''Anime/PrettyCure'' series is an odd one. There ''are'' red-colored Cures, but the pink Cures are the leaders. The first series to feature a team, ''Anime/YesPrettyCure5'', had an early episode where Natts wanted to know who the leader was for the team. Nozomi decided it should be Karen, since she was the smarter of the five. However, Karen decided it should be Nozomi, since she was the one who got them all together and the others agreed. |
| 63 | * The KoreanWebtoon ''Webcomic/HelloHellper'' mostly takes place in the afterlife and it's SplashOfColor[=-coding=] has red common ghosts at the bottom and mysterious purple godlike beings(? we've only met one so far [[spoiler: who's later revealed as ''Satan'']]) at the top, with tough yellow ogres, insanely strong green guardians, and terrifying blue GrimReaper[=s=] in between. [[spoiler: Our hero has the ability to "take" colors: he's already got a boon of purple power from Satan and the powerful feet of a yellow-blooded ogre chief -- the fact that he was able to integrate the different colored blood was a literally one-in-a-million chance. He also has the ability to "give" colors: He smacked some red onto the first Reaper he defeated; said reaper was the son of the aforementioned ogre chief's daughter and ''[[Literature/JourneyToTheWest Sun Wukong The Monkey King]]''.]] |
| 64 | ** There seems to be a similar thing going on in the living world in the late main character's [[TheFamilyForTheWholeFamily gang]]-- er, [[BullyHunter group of protectors]]: Their regular patch is a black dog with three giant bottom teeth (like a boar) on a red background while [[spoiler: violent, deadly "hunters" trained by an gangster to get revenge on the gang who threw him out]] use a dog with three giant fangs on a green background. |
| 65 | * DoubleSubverted in ''Anime/AldnoahZero'', where [[TheHero Inaho]] uses a bright-orange KG-6 Sleipnir where everyone else in the Earth forces uses the military-green KG-7 Areion. The Sleipnir actually has [[InvertedTrope lower specs]] than the Areion, as it's a training unit for beginning pilots, yet through careful tactics and his outstanding [[ScienceHero knowledge of physics]], Inaho is able to take down [[SuperRobot Martian Kataphrakts]] on a regular basis. However, when asked why he doesn't upgrade to using an Areion when given the chance, Inaho notes that the one area where the Sleipnir excels over the Areion is [[FragileSpeedster speed]]. Because the Areion's marginally-better armor doesn't really protect against the weapons of Martian Kataphrakts anyway, Inaho prefers the Sleipnir's higher maneuverability, making it the superior choice after all. |
| 66 | * ''Anime/DarlingInTheFranxx'' applies this to the pilot rather than the machine - though Zero Two and Strelizia are [[{{Synchronization}} synonymous]] to her co-pilot anyway. Zero Two wears a distinctive red uniform, and a very eye-catching bright red LatexSpaceSuit for flight. She and her machine are so high-performance she's notorious for burning out her partners after only a few sorties. Once she gets a partner who can keep up with her, she transitions to more sedate white-with-stripes livery, though she keeps the [[LadyInRed red dress]]. [[spoiler:And sure enough, Strelizia gets a bright red SuperMode later on, and a GoldenSuperMode in the GrandFinale.]] |
| 67 | * ''Anime/CrossAnge'' both double-subverts it and plays this straight. Hilda's Arquebus is primarily red-colored and she is by far the most aggressive and active pilot amongst the usual Norma people that pilot Arquebus... but that pales compared to other Ragna-Mails, which are black colored... [[spoiler:except when Hilda gets one herself (Theodora), its SuperMode paints the Ragna-Mail red.]] On the other hand, the [=DRAGONs=] are led by Salamandinay, who rides the primarily red-colored Enryugo and [[RankScalesWithAsskicking by far the best DRAGON pilot, aside of being the race's princess.]] The two of them lampshade this trope when they appear in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' during save-quit scenes. |
| 68 | [[/folder]] |
| 69 | |
| 70 | [[folder:Card Games]] |
| 71 | * ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'': |
| 72 | ** In the early {{metagame}}s, people built up their mana base in the first few turns or drew plenty of cards to get out a combo. Red does not win that way. Red wins by killing you while you're doing that. Fans of red often name their decks things like "Red Deck Wins". Of course, if a red deck fails in these turns, it's practically defenseless from then on. Blue, however, is the color most known for {{Game Breaker}}s. |
| 73 | ** There is also the matter of expansion symbols, which (starting with Exodus) are colored in accordance to the card's rarity. Black for common and basic land, silver for uncommon, and gold for rare. When the game added the Mythic rarity, it wound up as a sort of bronze color, in a weird sort of aversion of this trope. |
| 74 | [[/folder]] |
| 75 | |
| 76 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 77 | * In ''ComicBook/ZodiacStarforce'', Emma is the leader, and has a uniform that is mostly pink and red compared to the mostly light-blue uniforms of her teammates. |
| 78 | * In a ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}/[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Simpsons]]'' crossover comic, the Simpsons and the Planet Express crew are running away from enemy saucers in their ship. In order to outrun them, Homer and Fry have the idea to paint racing stripes on the Planet Express Ship to make it go faster. |
| 79 | -->'''Bender:''' Lightning bolts? I thought we were doin' flames!\ |
| 80 | '''Homer:''' Why not both?\ |
| 81 | '''Fry:''' Yeah, then the ship'll go twice as fast! |
| 82 | * In ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'', this is the case with the [[AliensAreBastards Evronians]]: the low-ranked grunts and soldiers are light purple in color, while researchers such as Zoster or Gorthan are dark purple, [[RankScalesWithAsskicking and commanders like Zondag]] are black. At the top sit the Emperor-type Evronians, who look more monstrous and have red skin, giving them a demonic look. |
| 83 | * In ''ComicBook/MightyMorphinPowerRangersTeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'', when April and the Turtles are tasked with using the Rangers’ powers after Shredder locks them out of them, Raphael wants the brothers to keep their normal colors, meaning he gets to be the Red Ranger, a role he is not ready for. |
| 84 | [[/folder]] |
| 85 | |
| 86 | [[folder:Comic Strips]] |
| 87 | * In ''ComicStrip/ThePerishers'', {{Cloudcuckoolander}} Marlon is firmly convinced his soapbox cart goes faster with a red stripe on it. At one point, he tells his "mechanic", Wellington, that it needs a thicker stripe. |
| 88 | [[/folder]] |
| 89 | |
| 90 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 91 | * In ''Fanfic/TheKeysStandAlone: The Soft World'', the chromatic jump gems are the most common. The rarest ones are black, white, silver, gold, and clear, in that order, though Mattagandas mentions the Full Spectrum Jump Gem as the rarest of all. |
| 92 | * Almost entirely averted by Luke, the Red Ranger in ''Fanfic/PowerRangersTakeFlight'' -- unlike his counterpart from ''Series/ChoujinSentaiJetman'' (which the fic adapts), he doesn't even drive the team's {{BFG}} around, and otherwise has no special weaponry, Zords or anything else denoting his status as the leader. But just like his ''Jetman'' counterpart, he's also the only one on the team with any sort of actual combat training (from both his time in the Air Force and Project: Jetman) and it falls to him to give the others a crash course in such matters. |
| 93 | [[/folder]] |
| 94 | |
| 95 | [[folder:Films — Animation]] |
| 96 | * In the opening of ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch'', Stitch escapes from his confines and steals one of the police cruisers — specifically, as an observer notes with [[OhCrap more than a hint of concern,]] "the red one". [[AllThereInTheManual Secondary material,]] possibly that month's issue of ''Disney Adventures Magazine'', explained that the red one was the fastest, hence while the officers chasing him in the other pods couldn't catch him. |
| 97 | ** Downplayed in the movie proper. They didn't catch him not because he ran away in the fastest vehicle, but because [[AttackAttackRetreatRetreat he charged at them and they nearly shot him down, prompting him to panic and engage the standard-issue hyperdrive.]] |
| 98 | ** The same material mentioned that it was very lucky that this was the case, because Stitch only took the red one because [[RuleOfCool he thought it looked cool.]] |
| 99 | ** Red seems to be the standard color for higher-ranked stuff in the Galactic Federation. The final movie in the series, ''WesternAnimation/LeroyAndStitch'', has Stitch become a high-ranking officer of the Galactic Federation who's given command of their best ship, the B.R.B. 9000. B.R.B. stands for "Big Red Battleship". |
| 100 | * The "Beauty Divine" potion from ''WesternAnimation/Shrek2'' can turn it's drinker into their most idealized and beautiful self, has a special shelf in the Fairy Godmother's vault, and has a shimmering blue color that no other potion has. |
| 101 | * In ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'', the Koopas have green shells like in the games, except for the Koopa General who has a blue shell to designate him as the squadron's leader. |
| 102 | [[/folder]] |
| 103 | |
| 104 | [[folder:Films — Live-Action]] |
| 105 | * In ''Franchise/StarWars'', Red Squadron (the survivors of which later became [[Literature/XWingSeries Rogue Squadron,]] keeping the red coloring--notably, their counterpart, Renegade Squadron, didn't have red and didn't last) was considered the best starfighter squadron. |
| 106 | ** Similarly, in the Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse, their elite Empire counterparts, the 181st, painted their [=TIE=] Interceptors with red stripes. Given that (outside of video games) no other Imperial [=TIE=] squadron has any visible markings at all, this makes the 181st's simple but noticeable markings very intimidating to their enemies. |
| 107 | ** In Alan Dean Foster's novelization of ''Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope'' (ColonCancer, anyone?), Luke is, in fact, ''Blue 5'', not Red 5. It was changed to red because blue markings were affected by the BlueScreen technology at the time. If you look, there are ''no'' blue markings on any ship in the first movie. |
| 108 | ** Concerning the lightsabers, it's interesting (though probably entirely coincidental) to note that until ''Revenge of the Sith'', no one ''ever'' officially won a lightsaber battle using a blue lightsaber in any of the movies. In ''The Phantom Menace'', for example, Darth Maul has Obi-Wan on the ropes until Obi-Wan takes up Qui-Gon's green saber. Or in ''Attack of the Clones'', Anakin manages to hold his own against Dooku until his green blade is destroyed, leaving him with only a blue one. He then loses an arm. Likewise, notice how much better Luke does against Vader in ''Return of the Jedi'' with his green saber than he did in ''The Empire Strikes Back'' with his previous blue one. |
| 109 | ** And in ''Revenge of the Sith'', Anakin beats Dooku by ''taking his red lightsaber away from him''. |
| 110 | ** Mace Windu, the most skilled Jedi in combat (Yoda is the most powerful in general), uses a ''[[RealMenWearPink purple]]'' lightsaber, which is one of a kind. |
| 111 | ** More generally, if someone is wearing red armor in any ''Star Wars'' work (including the Emperor's bodyguards), they are definitely EliteMooks. In ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', for instance, Sith Commandos wear red instead of [[BlingofWar the usual shining silver.]] |
| 112 | ** Subverted with Booster Terrik's captured Star Destroyer, the ''Errant Venture''. It ends up painted red like he'd always wanted, but it's still the same maintenance nightmare as always and does not lose the tendency to be [[TheAllegedCar The Alleged Starship]]. While he eventually makes modifications that give it firepower far beyond a normal Star Destroyer (which is powerful in its own right), there's still the problem of [[CrewOfOne having less than a tenth the crew a Star Destroyer is designed for]]. And an ISD is one of the ''least'' automated warships to be found in the ''Star Wars'' verse. |
| 113 | ** In ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', Captain Phasma, the commander of all First Order Stormtroopers is clad with ''literal'' [[ChromeChampion chrome armor]], a [[BlingBlingBang golden blaster]] and a [[BadassCape long cape]]. According to WordOfGod, the chromatic material was salvaged from ''Palpatine's yacht'' in Naboo. Subverted however in her actual abilities where, like your typical Imperial and First Order officer, she talks a big game but is a subpar fighter at best who will surrender without a fight if it means saving her own skin and eventually falls in battle to her former subordinate Finn who takes her down with considerable ease. |
| 114 | * The kung-fu film, ''Film/HeroesTwo'', have the two titular character defeating most enemies without a sweat, until the final battle when the BigBad unveils his EliteMook legion, expert fighters in red and black. And actually puts up one hell of a fight before they expire. |
| 115 | * Desirability of being associated with a favorable color is the reason why the boss in ''Film/ReservoirDogs'' chooses the pseudonyms of his employees. |
| 116 | -->'''Mr. Pink:''' Why can't we pick our own colors?\ |
| 117 | '''Joe:''' No way, no way. Tried it once, doesn't work. You got [[{{Foreshadowing}} four guys all fighting]] over who's gonna be Mr. Black, but they don't know each other, so [[MexicanStandoff nobody wants to back down]]. No way. I pick. You're [[RealMenWearPink Mr. Pink]]. Be thankful you're not [[UrineTrouble Mr. Yellow]]. |
| 118 | ** Ironically, Mr Pink, the man stuck with the least desirable color, is [[spoiler:the only one who survives the film]]. |
| 119 | * Reversed in the ''Film/{{Clash of the Titans|2010}}'' remake. The soldiers are all clad in red and [[RedShirt all die]] like in the original, but odd-man-out, Perseus, wears a drab green fisherman's tunic and survives. |
| 120 | * The [[ELiteMook Red Drones]] from ''Film/TheLastSentinel'' wears... well, red, and are the most powerful drones in the movie, compared to the common black drones which the heroes can kill en masse. They actually pose enough trouble for the otherwise invincible protagonist. |
| 121 | * In ''{{Film/Tron}}'', all "bad guys" have red light as their theme, and even when they don't win, they're still badass. |
| 122 | * Subverted in ''Film/CurseOfTheGoldenFlower''. The golden army is defeated by the silver army in the end, though the Empress' red-clad Royal Guards are able to beat the Emperor's ninjas. |
| 123 | * In the 2012 version of ''Film/TotalRecall2012'' the [[MechaMooks police synthetics]] are mostly white and black like [[Franchise/StarWars stormtroopers]]. The all-black one seems to be superior to his brethren. |
| 124 | * In ''Film/{{Cinderella 2015}}'', Ella's ballroom dress is a vivid shade of blue that's almost absent from the rest of the film. This is especially notable at the Royal Ball, which depicts ''hundreds'' of women wearing [[PimpedOutDress Pimped-Out Dresses,]] yet all of the other blue ones are significantly darker or less saturated than Ella's. The only other time Ella's blue appears is on the uniforms of the Royal Guard as they search the kingdom for whoever can wear the glass slipper. |
| 125 | [[/folder]] |
| 126 | |
| 127 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 128 | * This is the entire basis of ''Literature/ShadesOfGrey'' by Creator/JasperFforde. The caste society in the novel is stratified by color; what color you can see and how much of it indicates your social standing and a host of other factors. Oh, and it's genetic. |
| 129 | * In the Nick Pollotta novel ''Illegal Aliens'', the speed at which you travel through hyperspace is a function of what color your ship is. When an alien engineer is asked to explain this, his BabelFish translates the explanation that gold is fastest. The "Great Golden Ones" have the best ships precisely because they enforce a monopoly on that color. |
| 130 | * OlderThanPrint: ''Haft Paykar,'' the epic poem of AncientPersia (modern Iran). The prince [[ValuesDissonance marries seven princesses]] [[UnwantedHarem from different countries]] [[AllYourPowersCombined and visits them each to learn their wisdom]]. Each princess is a {{Color Coded Character|s}}. In order of 'enlightenment': Black, Yellow, Green, Red, Blue, Brown, and, finally, White, for the most pious princess, whom he visits on Friday, the holy day of Islam. |
| 131 | * The concept is played straight in ''Dragon Rider'', but the norms are subverted--the golden dragon is the main villain and the good guys are silver. There was some sort of prophecy about "when silver will be worth more than gold". |
| 132 | * The Chosen in ''Literature/TheSeventhTower'' have a complicated caste system based around the colors of the rainbow. The closer you get to violet, the higher your social status. The various levels of their Castle are color coded and dictate where you may live--members of a certain color generally live on their own color; travel between colors isn't forbidden, but people apparently don't do it a lot. Some people have no color and are even lower ranked than red, and are, for all intents and purposes, slaves. Magic-users can't do magic with light of a color higher than their own. |
| 133 | * And, of course, there's always Lu Bu's horse, Red Hare, in ''Literature/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms'', which was reputedly supreme among horses in the day; the original term used was "thousand-''li'' horse," denoting... well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a horse that could run a thousand ''li'']] (about 500 kilometers, or over 300 miles) without stopping. |
| 134 | * In Fred Saberhagen's Literature/{{Berserker}} story [[http://www.webscription.net/chapters/0743498860/0743498860___9.htm "Wings Out of Shadow".]] When the AI personality construct asks for its spaceship to be painted red, it's your first clue that the musician who "kept getting thrown from his horse" is actually [[spoiler: Manfred von Richtofen, [[RedBaron THE Red Baron.]]]] |
| 135 | * ''Literature/TheWindSinger'' has a nation with a colour-based caste system. Members of each caste could only wear that colour and had to live in the ring of the city painted with that colour. |
| 136 | * ''Literature/PitDragonChronicles'': Dark red dragons are especially valued as [[BeastlyBloodsports fighters]] due to their reputation for ferocity. |
| 137 | * Elynne Mitchell's ''Literature/TheSilverBrumby'' series is rife with this trope. The first and most obvious example is Thowra, the eponymous "silver brumby". As a result of his coat colour -ordinarily cream coloured, but turning a paler 'silver' sheen in winter- Thowra finds himself the envy of rival stallions and hunted by humans who desire such a handsome horse. Given that your average brumby can be varying shades of brown, grey and black, Thowra is a VERY rare horse indeed. Other protagonists (and other important characters) of the series also have special attention given to their coats- notably, Thowra's own daughter, Kunama, who is also 'silver'; Socks, a black brumby with four white feet, and the brumbies of the night, who are milk-white with red eyes. |
| 138 | * In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', black dragons are apparently always the strongest. Balerion the Black Dread is the largest dragon in Westerosi history. Daenerys owns three dragons, who are each a different color. Drogon, the strongest and biggest of the three, is black with red accents. |
| 139 | * In ''Literature/DragonridersOfPern'', dragons and fire lizards have a clear-cut color hierarchy. From top to bottom: gold (female), bronze, brown, blue, green (infertile female). |
| 140 | * In ''Literature/TheUnexploredSummonBloodSign'', the [[TheOldGods Unexplored-Class Materials]] are all associated with a particular colour. The Red-Eyed Lady, Wicked Green Woman and Spirit of the Fluttering Yellow Gills are more powerful than most of the rest, while the White Queen is orders of magnitude more powerful still. [[spoiler:The White Queen is a double example, as she's the same entity as the [[EldritchAbomination Black Maw]]]]. Played with in the case of the Colorless Little Girl, [[spoiler:an artificial Unexplored-Class designed specifically to combat the White Queen. The Colorless Little Girl is uniquely capable of defeating the White Queen singlehandedly, but would lose to any other Unexplored-Class]]. |
| 141 | * The people in ''Literature/RedRising'' who are born Golds (golden irises, blonde hair, genetically superior physical traits) are at the top of the societal pyramid of power, with "Bronzie" being a nickname for the lower stock. The next tier of the pyramid are the Silvers (money managers), Whites (priesthood), and Coppers (bureaucrats). Beneath them are Oranges (mechanics), Yellows, (doctors), Greens (programmers), Blues (navigators), and Violets (artists). The fourth tier of the pyramid are the Grays (police), who are considered to be above the Browns (servants), Obsidians (brute force soldiers), and Pinks (sex workers). Reds (manual labor) form the base of the pyramid. |
| 142 | * In ''Literature/TheDragonKnightsBeloved'', a dragon's power and rarity can be perceived by how close its scales are to "sky" colours. From strongest to weakest, they are; blue, white, lightning-violet, green, and amber. Melissa notes that a Dragon Knight's strength [[HardWorkHardlyWorks is far less important militarily]] than the colour of the steed that chooses him...not that it really matters, because all Dragon Knights are adored by the people. |
| 143 | * ''Literature/TheFindersStoneTrilogy'': Normal wyverns are noted to have brown or grey scales, but the special wyvern that Giogi Wyvernspur can transform into has red scales. It's also much larger than a typical wyvern and has an immunity to hostile magic, something which wyverns don't normally possess. |
| 144 | [[/folder]] |
| 145 | |
| 146 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 147 | !!!'''In General:''' |
| 148 | * {{Toku}} shows are very strongly affected by this, because, in Japan, red is thought of as a heroic color. To wit: |
| 149 | ** Most Heisei (2000-onwards) Franchise/{{Kamen Rider}}s are either red to begin with or gain a red SuperMode. Played with by Series/KamenRiderAgito[[note]]Black and gold, with silver and red SuperMode[[/note]], Series/KamenRiderBlade[[note]]Blue and silver, with a gold and blue SuperMode[[/note]], Series/KamenRiderDecade[[note]]Magenta and black, with silver and black SuperMode[[/note]], Series/KamenRiderDouble[[note]]The first of the ComboPlatterPowers Riders whose main form is a bisected green and black, but has a red half-form.[[/note]], Series/KamenRiderOOO[[note]]Another ComboPlatterPowers Rider who as a whole is black but has accent colors for the various combinations; the first of which is red-yellow-green, with full red representing the MidSeasonUpgrade but the SuperMode is purple.[[/note]], and Series/KamenRiderFourze.[[note]]Primarily white, with red used for the PlayingWithFire form and the SuperMode being is a steel blue[[/note]] |
| 150 | ** Reportedly the show's staff had to fight ExecutiveMeddling tooth and nail for Double to ''not'' be primarily red and used the [[Series/KamenRider original Kamen Rider]] as part of their argument in favor of green and black. In the end, the suits got their red Rider with [[SixthRanger Accel]], but even he has a blue MidSeasonUpgrade and a gold, movie-exclusive SuperMode. |
| 151 | ** Similarly, in ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' and ''Franchise/PowerRangers'', the Red Ranger is always TheHero and ''almost'' always TheLeader. As such, the Red Ranger is usually privy to somewhat better, if predictable, characterization, a "Battlizer" that grants a unique SuperMode ([[MerchandiseDriven at least in the US adaptations]]), and, in some cases, even a unique motorcycle or mecha. |
| 152 | *** ''Series/JAKQDengekitai'' was, for a long time, the sole exception with Big One, who has a primarily white suit with accents of the other four heroes' colors and who manages to take over complete leadership from Red Ranger Spade Ace, which includes field leadership and all of the attention. |
| 153 | *** Oddly enough, ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' would mirror this situation when BreakoutCharacter Tommy gained the White Ranger powers and took over leadership from Jason (though part of that was because Jason was in the process of being written out anyway, and it didn't make sense for the replacement Red Ranger to automatically be placed in charge). |
| 154 | *** Another similar situation happens in ''Series/NinjaSentaiKakuranger'' and ''Series/MightyMorphinAlienRangers'' where the female White Ranger on both teams was the leader rather than their Red Rangers. Despite this, the Red Ranger on each team was still usually center stage in role calls. |
| 155 | *** Another rare case of the red ranger not being the leader also happens in ''Series/DenjiSentaiMegaranger''. Megared is the central character, but the leader is Megablack, due to being the most responsible member of the team, in contrast to Megared, who is a big slacker. This is not the case in the adaption, ''Series/PowerRangersInSpace''. |
| 156 | *** ''Series/MiraiSentaiTimeranger'' and its Power Rangers counterpart ''Series/PowerRangersTimeForce'' is another exception, though in an odd way - while the Red Ranger got top billing, the leader was the ''Pink Ranger'', as this was a case of RookieRedRanger by means of TimeTravel. Both shows also featured a second Red Ranger in Time Fire or the Quantum Ranger, who when it came to the US version got a Battlizer as well. |
| 157 | *** Two Red Rangers also appear in ''Series/NinpuuSentaiHurricaneger'' and ''Series/PowerRangersNinjaStorm'': Hurricane Red / Red Wind Ranger and Kabuto Raiger / Crimson Thunder Ranger. Both were their subteam's leaders, with Red pulling rank when they eventually teamed up together; ''Ninja Storm'' gave Red the usual Battlizer and Crimson instead got an equally impressive CoolBike. |
| 158 | *** This is taken furthest with ''Series/BakuryuuSentaiAbaranger'' and ''Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder''; where not only did the Red Ranger get the same SuperMode as the rest of the group, he got a SixthRanger-style upgrade with its own weaponry and Zord (Abare Max / Triassic Ranger), and then ''Dino Thunder'' added a Battlizer on top of ''that''! |
| 159 | *** Another one that plays with the formula is ''Series/UchuSentaiKyuranger''. The actual leader of the team is the Violet Ranger Ryu Violet, who joins the team as the tenth Ranger, but does not take the spotlight away from the Red Ranger Shishi Red. Shishi Red also uses super modes more often than the other Rangers, although the first few he uses are not unique to him and can be used by other Rangers, even when a second Red Ranger Houou Soldier joins the team. Shishi Red does have his own unique SuperMode which changes his color to white. |
| 160 | *** ''Series/KikaiSentaiZenkaiger'' provides the first complete aversion of this since ''J.A.K.Q'' and the first time it was averted since the start of the show, with the main character being the White Ranger Zenkaizer and the Red Ranger [=ZenkaiJuran=] being TheLancer. However it's still worth noting that Zenkaizer's suit still predominantly features a large amount of red. His SuperMode changes his suit to predominantly black and green. In a pair of bonus episodes, a red version of Zenkaizer shows up and tries to take over the Zenkaigers, but it turns out to be a scheme by the villains to strip the Zenkaigers of their powers. Zenkaizer then has a vision of several past white rangers reassuring him that it is ok for him to be leader even if he isn't red. |
| 161 | ** Another exception is ''Series/JuukouBFighter'', which became the first ''{{Series/Beetleborgs}}'' series, in which the ''blue'' warrior rather than the red one is the leader who gains a unique powerup halfway through the series. Most likely because the red warrior is a girl. The followup ''Series/BFighterKabuto'' which was used for ''Beetleborgs Metallix'' has the leader in gold. |
| 162 | !!!'''By Series:''' |
| 163 | * ''Series/DoctorWho'': The Dalek hierarchy is fond of this. In the classic series, the higher-ranking Daleks would be red or blue, with the Supreme Dalek being white or black. Started again in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E13Doomsday "Doomsday"]] when Dalek Sec of the Cult of Skaro was clad in black, continuing with the Supreme Dalek following him in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E12TheStolenEarth "The Stolen Earth"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E13JourneysEnd "Journey's End"]], which was decked out in red. The Supreme Dalek of the New Dalek Paradigm is coloured white, with red now actually denoting the [[RedShirt lowest rank]], the Drones; but in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E1AsylumOfTheDaleks "Asylum of the Daleks"]], the red Drones were seen acting as officers (or [=NCOs=]) to the bronze-colored originals. [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E1TheMagiciansApprentice "The Magician's Apprentice"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E2TheWitchsFamiliar "The Witch's Familiar"]] brought back the red Supreme Dalek, by which time the unpopular Paradigms had been quietly shooed off of the show. |
| 164 | * The American [=DVDs=] of ''Series/{{House}}'' all have shiny, colorful covers--except the fifth season, which has a gray cover. Now take a guess which season is considered to be the worst by most people. |
| 165 | * ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' had the Command Track departments wear a "Wine Red" uniform. This is a departure from the original ''Series/{{Star Trek|The Original Series}}'' where the Command was Gold (actually a Lime Green that turned gold under the stage lights and film stock) and the engineering and security detail was red, hence the infamy of the {{Red Shirt}}s and it's speculated the change was to avoid that trope[[note]]In actuality, it was planned to retain the original color scheme. However, when they saw Jonathan Frakes and Creator/PatrickStewart in the red uniforms, they realized it worked a lot better and made the switch.[[/note]]. Red became exclusively command track, while gold was changed to Operations/Engineering and Security, while Blue has remained the medical and scientific departments throughout the franchise. Star Trek is unique in that there is significant division between the departments in terms of responsibility, but less so in terms of rank. Blue and Gold uniformed officers can reach lieutenant commander and remain in those colors (commanders - with the exceptions of Dr Crusher and Counsellor Troi - consistently wear Red uniforms, as that means they are on command tracks), while in the first season Worf and Geordi wore red and had the comparatively low ranks of Lieutenant Junior Grade. In the second season both were promoted to full Lieutenant and wore Gold, Worf was Head of Security and Geordi Chief Engineer. |
| 166 | * Happens a lot on ''Series/{{Survivor}}''. The tribes are always [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience color coded]]. But everytime there's a red colored tribe, they tend to dominate the season and eventually have a member win the game (with others in the top four or five!). This happened in the ''All-Stars'' (Chapera), ''Vanuatu'' (Lopevi), ''Cook Islands'' (Aitutaki), ''China'' (Fei Long), ''Tocantins'' (Jalapao), and ''[[DesignatedHero Heroes]]'' vs ''[[DesignatedVillain Villains]]'' (Villains) seasons. Played straighter in the ''Amazon'', ''Guatemala'', and ''Nicaragua'' seasons for having a red-colored merged tribe. Subverted by Bob Crowley from ''Gabon''. Despite not being part of the red tribe ''Fang'' before the merge, he ''won'' the game by defeating former Fang members [[CoolOldLady Susie Smith]] and [[GenkiGirl Sugar Kiper]]. [[BadassBookworm Sophie Clarke]] in ''South Pacific'' and [[NiceGuy Ethan Zohn]] in ''Africa'' also subverted it by winning even though they weren't part of the Savaii and Samburu tribes, respectively. |
| 167 | [[/folder]] |
| 168 | |
| 169 | [[folder:Myths & Religion]] |
| 170 | * In Lakota religion, the directions are represented by colors; note that, unlike Westerners, Lakota also consider above, below, and center to be directions. |
| 171 | ** [[TheWildWest West]] is represented by [[DarkIsNotEvil black]]. Though younger than North, he is invoked first. |
| 172 | ** [[SnowMeansDeath North]] is represented by white. [[EvilIsDeathlyCold Though cruel]], [[MoralityPet he can also be quite generous]]. |
| 173 | ** [[ThePowerOfTheSun East]] is represented by yellow. East is generally lazy. |
| 174 | ** [[TheHero South]] is represented by red. South is notable for marrying Wohpe, the goddess of peace, thus invoking this trope. South is also the model of masculinity. Did we mention that the color red is associated with fertility? |
| 175 | ** [[WorldInTheSky Above]] is represented by blue. Is not one of the brothers. |
| 176 | ** Below is represented by green. Also is not related to the brothers, and is [[TheSmurfettePrinciple represented as female]]. |
| 177 | ** [[SixthRanger The center]], half-brother to the first four, is [[TagalongKid the youngest]] and, in fact, [[OlderThanTheyLook eternally a child]], and is associated with the PowerOfLove. And whirlwinds. |
| 178 | * Many Christian churches and religious orders assign different colors to ranks in the clerical hierarchy: |
| 179 | ** In the Roman Catholic church, bishops wear purple vestments, cardinals wear red, and the Pope, of course, wears white. |
| 180 | ** In Anglican churches, black cassocks (or sarums) are the norm--but to denote rank, Bishops can wear purple piping and Canons can wear red piping. |
| 181 | * In Judaism, a dark blue dye (called [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tekhelet tekhelet]], whose exact source is uncertain and may have been a kind of snail) was traditionally used for the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tallit prayer shawls]] worn by observant Jews throughout the day. Today, most Jews don't wear the tallit at all times, but blue stripes still appear on them and the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Israel flag of Israel]] was inspired by its design. |
| 182 | * In Islam, green is the preferred color and often shows up in the heraldry of Islamic countries or organizations. Other significant colors include black, red, and white, which derive from the flags of various Islamic dynasties (the Abbasids, Umayyids, etc). |
| 183 | * Many printings of ''Literature/TheBible'' use this: Jesus' word's in red. Plus, he's always portrayed in purple robes. |
| 184 | [[/folder]] |
| 185 | |
| 186 | [[folder:Pro Wrestling]] |
| 187 | * Wrestling/{{WWE}} Superstar Wrestling/{{Kane}} is known as "The Big Red Machine" or "The Big Red Monster". However, Kane usually loses to his brother, Wrestling/TheUndertaker, who is usually dressed in black, blue, purple or grey. |
| 188 | * ''[[Wrestling/{{WWERaw}} WWE RAW]]'', the flagship of the promotion, is known as the "red brand", while ''[[Wrestling/{{WWESmackDown}} WWE [=SmackDown!=]]]' is blue. In theory they're of equal status, but Smackdown was originally the BShow, always reverts to such when the brands combine, typically runs for an hour less than Raw even when they are separate and is always pre taped rather than live, just to cement it's B show status. |
| 189 | ** As of mid-late October 2019, it's supposedly been flipped. The network provider FOX invested in WWE to get a show on their network, and they chose Smack Down, renamed it to ''[[Wrestling/{{WWESmackDown}} WWE [=SmackDown!Live=]]]'', and moved their biggest stars and their most important title there. RAW is now functionally the B show, or maybe even the C show, based on how you view ''[[Wrestling/{{WWENXT}} [=NXT=]]]'' . |
| 190 | [[/folder]] |
| 191 | |
| 192 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 193 | * ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'', being a game about collecting and painting armies of miniatures, naturally uses this: |
| 194 | ** As noted previously, the Orks have such a firm belief in the idea that red-painted vehicles go faster, [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve their unconscious, gestalt psychic field makes it happen]]. This is not just fluff, but an actual rule--a Red Paint Job can be purchased for Ork vehicles (if they're actually painted red, that is) and will let them [[RedOnesGoFaster move an extra inch]]. Orks also associate blue with good luck, yellow with flashiness and/or [[MoreDakka dakka]], black with hardiness, and hold that "green iz best", though currently, there aren't any rules regarding these colors. Fanon adds purple or orange as a "sneaky" color (Have ''you'' ever seen a seven-foot-tall green-skinned killing machine [[HighlyVisibleNinja covered in bright purple and orange paint]]? Of course not! ''[[InsaneTrollLogic That's how sneaky it makes them]]''). |
| 195 | ** Other armies' high-speed variants--the Eldar jetbikers of Saim-Hann, the jetpack-equipped and overcharged-engined Space Marines of the Blood Angels, and the battlesuit-focused Farsight Enclaves of the Tau--happen to have red color schemes. Purely coincidental, of course... |
| 196 | ** Space Marines attach certain colors to specific ranks: [[PsychicPowers Libra]][[GeniusBruiser rians]] usually wear blue, [[BadassPreacher Chaplains]] wear black with a [[WhiteMaskOfDoom bone-colored skull mask]], [[GeniusBruiser Techmarines]] wear red (and have [[MultiArmedAndDangerous big mechanical arms]]), [[CombatMedic Apothecaries]] frequently have white armor, and Captains and Chapter Masters are likely to be encrusted with golden BlingOfWar. Squad leaders, if they aren't [[HelmetsAreHardlyHeroic going bareheaded]], tend to have a contrasting helmet color from their standard uniform. The system used by the Literature/{{Ultramarines}} has sergeants wear red helmets instead of blue, company veterans with white helms, and champions in gold. |
| 197 | ** If you see an all-gold uniform--whether it be on the Blood Angels Sanguinary Guard, the [[PraetorianGuard Adeptus Custodes]], or the [[GodEmperor Emperor Himself]]--you're dealing with a serious badass. |
| 198 | * ''[[http://arimaa.com/arimaa/ Arimaa]]'' subverts this trope quite a bit. While Gold does have the first move, Silver can see Gold's layout and react accordingly, making them more or less equal. |
| 199 | * ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': |
| 200 | ** The series has done this for ages with their dragons. Strongest of the "metallic" (good) dragons? Gold, with silver just after it. Strongest of the "chromatic" (evil) dragons? Red, with blue just behind it. Black is the second weakest, only stronger than white. And, of course, the god of metallic dragons is platinum. |
| 201 | ** So strongly do gamers adhere to this tradition that many decried the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' movie, sight unseen, merely upon hearing rumors that its red dragons would be more powerful than its gold ones. (After it came out, of course, they had plenty of other offenses to bitch about.) Presumably, the red ones were ''older'' than the gold, as age trumps color where a D&D dragon's power is concerned. |
| 202 | ** It's traditional for artists to depict Tiamat, the game's five-headed goddess of evil dragonkind, with her red head in the middle and larger than the other four. Artwork that dares to do otherwise has been lambasted for "getting it wrong", even though her descriptions don't specify which head goes where, and Tiamat logically ought to be as capable of changing her appearance as any other goddess. |
| 203 | ** This is averted with the various "Chromatic" and "Prismatic" spells, though. Prismatic spells in whatever form (spray, projectile, weaponry, walls, etc.) have different effects based on affecting color, and are typically rated in power (measured in amounts of damage, defensive capability[[labelnote:1]]Red effects can stop nonmagical ranged attacks and indigo can [[AntiMagic stop spells]], for instance[[/labelnote]] or special effects like insanity or petrification) based in a strict rainbow order...meaning red is almost invariably the ''weakest'' color. |
| 204 | * In ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'', the ranking system is based on color, with infrared (or black) being the lowest and going up through red and the rest of the rainbow all the way to ultraviolet (white). All things painted a certain color--files, walls, floor tiles--can be assumed to be restricted to those ranks and should be absolutely avoided by lower ranks. Therefore, one of the most restricted commodities of all is ''paint'', and the [[BlackMarket infrared market]] trade is fast and furious... |
| 205 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'': Played straight and invoked with the Red Samurai security division of the Renraku Computer Systems MegaCorp; not only are they a highly trained security force devoted to protecting their company, they even wear red-colored classic samurai armor to complete their look in order to show that [[CorporateSamurai they're not to be trifled with]]. |
| 206 | [[/folder]] |
| 207 | |
| 208 | [[folder:Toys]] |
| 209 | * In ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'', the colors red and gold tended to be affiliated with characters and items of bigger importance. Tahu, Vakama, Jaller, Lhikan, Dume, Antroz, Raanu and Ackar were all leaders wearing red, Lhikan even having gold as his secondary color. Large and expensive sets also came in red more often than not. Golden Masks were more powerful in-story than regular ones, and the Golden Armor (worn by the red Tahu) played a big role in defeating the BigBad, and was also the last big collectible item of the toyline. Two other ultra-powerful masks, the Mask of Life and Mask of Time were golden as well. Light-themed characters likewise used gold as their standard color. Mata Nui, a godlike being in the story, was released as a gold-colored exclusive set too. Although some years subverted the rule (the promos of 2006 and 2007 notably focused more on white and blue), these two colors remained fairly important throughout the line's run, and rarely were characters wearing them pushed to the back. |
| 210 | [[/folder]] |
| 211 | |
| 212 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 213 | * ''VideoGame/ArmChamps'': The final opponent, a {{Cyborg}} named Specks, comes in the colors Blue, Purple, Green and Red. Naturally, the red one is the strongest of them all. |
| 214 | * ''VideoGame/{{Blinx}}'': Most of the enemies return in later levels with a different color scheme and more health. |
| 215 | * ''VideoGame/BloodySpell'' has a RecurringBoss, the Bloodthirster demon, who keeps coming back - the fourth return onwards, it's red-furred and far more powerful than the previous grey Bloodthirsters. There's also the priestess enemies who wears a vareity of colours ranging from cyan to green to yellow - and their boss, the HighPriestess, who wears blood-red. |
| 216 | * ''VideoGame/BungoToAlchemist'': The rarity of writers is referred to as the color of each writer's background when they are summoned. In descending order: Rainbow → Gold → Silver → Beige. Enemies are also color-coded based on their difficulty. |
| 217 | * Robots in ''VideoGame/TheCrownOfWu'' mostly use melee attacks, but be wary if there are enemies whose swords or spears emits a red glow; these enemies have SwordBeam abilities and can spam ranged attacks at you from a distance. |
| 218 | * An interesting case in ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' happens with the {{Shotoclone}}s (Ryu, Ken, and Akuma). Ryu wears white and is the most average out of them, having a well-rounded playstyle. Ken wears red, and his playstyle is much more fast-paced and aggressive than Ryu's. Akuma wears black (or dark blue, depending on the artist) and is the most technical of them all. His playstyle is even MORE aggressive than Ken's or Ryu's, but he can play much better mind games than both of them combined. To balance this, his health is extremely low. |
| 219 | * ''VideoGame/{{Crusader}}'': The cream-of-the-crop, "Silencers", such as the main character, wear red armor. The next-best level of soldiers, "Elites," wear black. |
| 220 | * ''VideoGame/DiabloII'': |
| 221 | ** The weakest of the creatures known as fallen ones are red, the stronger version known as "carver" are blue, the strongest (called "Dark ones") are black (not counting a very special purple version). |
| 222 | ** The Balrog-type demons go, from the weakest to strongest, through Balrog (pale red), Pit Lord (bluish-black), and Venom Lord (olive green). |
| 223 | ** Diablo himself goes from Normal (red) to Nightmare (yellow) to Hell (black). |
| 224 | ** The series also introduced the colouring of items that has since become standard in many [=RPGs=]. In the first game, white was normal, blue magic and yellow unique. ''Diablo 2'' added yellow for rare and green for set items, changing unique to gold. ''Diablo 3'' uses red for legendary (replacing unique and set items in the previous game). While the details vary, the core white-blue-yellow progression can be seen in many games. Ironically, it's actually somewhat subverted in ''Diablo 2'' since although rare items had more modifiers, regular magic items could have ''larger'' ones, so the weapon with the highest possible damage was actually blue, but then the best weapons are unique or runeworded anyway. |
| 225 | * ''VideoGame/PuzzlePirates'': Black clothes (and furniture, and houses...) are the sign of a truly superior pirate. Why? Because black ink costs a ''fortune'' on the in-game market, so only an extremely talented pirate would be able to pillage up enough gold to waste that much on decorating. Of course, some consider black to be pretentious and showy. These people cannot afford it. |
| 226 | * ''VideoGame/TotalWarWarhammer'': Regiments of Renown -- unique, more powerful variants of regular units -- are typically distinguished from their common counterparts by more vivid color schemes. Examples include da Big 'Un (black and green to the common Rogue Idols' brownish color), the Shredder of Lustria (purple highlights on the regular Dread Saurians' green) and the Spirit of Tepok (rainbow-colored plumage instead of the common Coatls' blue). |
| 227 | * ''VideoGame/GuildWars'': |
| 228 | ** Black dye is ''ridiculously'' more expensive than any other color, due to supply and demand; black dye "drops" from slain enemies more rarely than any other color. It's quite helpful in forming parties, actually; all-black armor tells the world you'll go to the ends of the Earth to shop at Hot Topic and probably aren't too fun to party with. |
| 229 | ** In fact, many players prefer to save the more valuable dyes (black and white especially, but also blue, red, and silver) as sources of ready cash in the in-game economy. White dye generally goes for about half the price of black dye, and blue, red, and silver dye are, while still much more expensive than the other colors (orange, green, brown, yellow, purple, and gray), cheap by comparison. |
| 230 | ** Additionally, items themselves are color-coded to identify relative quality. A white item has only basic stats, while blue items have additional, weaker modifiers added. Purple items have better modifiers and gold have the best natural modifiers. None of these items are guaranteed to have the best modifiers, but green items do. |
| 231 | * ''VideoGame/GuildWars2'' greatly expands on the color-coding of item quality to include eight categories. In ascending order of quality and rarity they are [[ShopFodder gray]], white, blue, green, yellow, orange, red, and [[PurpleIsPowerful purple]]. Also, three enemy types have special colored borders for their name indicating their difficulty. There are silver elites, gold champions, and purple legendaries. Weaker enemies have standard frames while the unique world bosses have a unique frame. |
| 232 | * Played straight in the ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' series, with resident badass Sol Badguy dressed in red, black, and gold. |
| 233 | * The ''[[http://wiki.uqm.stack.nl/Black_Spathi_Squadron Black Spathi Squadron]]'' in ''VideoGame/StarControl'' supposedly dedicated themselves to wandering space and "performing brave and hostile deeds" and painted their ships black with bright red stripes in order to distinguish themselves from the normal Spathi (their species' normal [[PlanetOfHats hat]] is being ''extremely'' cowardly). |
| 234 | * ''VideoGame/{{Spyborgs}}'' have TheGoomba, Carrions and Reapers, who comes in brown or grey. And late in the game, comes their upgraded variants, Carrion EX and Reaper EX which are either shiny-golden or red-and-black, who puts up a far better fight. |
| 235 | * In the ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' series, the Yakumo "family" of youkai display this. Yukari Yakumo, whose first name translates to "Violet", is one of the most powerful characters in the entire series. Her [[{{Familiar}} shikigami]], Ran Yakumo ("Indigo"), is a short step below, and both are [[OptionalBoss Extra Stage bosses]], with Yukari being a [[BrutalBonusLevel Phantasm]] Stage boss. Down the spectrum is Chen ("Orange")--Ran's own shikigami--who is both a Second Stage boss and Extra Stage midboss. |
| 236 | * Turns up quite a bit in the ''VideoGame/AceCombat'' series: |
| 237 | ** ''VideoGame/AceCombatZeroTheBelkanWar'' has Solo Wing Pixy who, [[spoiler:before he defects to A World With No Boundaries and becomes the final boss]], flies an F-15C with a portion of the right wing painted red, representing the time that he had lost a wing during combat, but fought on, finished the mission, and landed safely; you can also unlock this custom paint job for your own F-15. Otherwise averted for Cipher, however - his "official" plane is also an F-15C, this time with blue wings. |
| 238 | ** Averted in ''VideoGame/AceCombat04ShatteredSkies'', where '''Yellow''' Squadron is the most badass bunch of mofos, and Red Squadron is one of the generic {{Mook}} squadrons. |
| 239 | ** ''VideoGame/AceCombat2'' has the Z.O.E. squadron: five unmanned aircraft painted entirely red, the last of which appears as the most dangerous enemy in the final mission, flying one of the series' very first superfighters. Like with ''Zero'', Scarface One inverts this - his official plane in this game is the Su-35, which has a paint scheme primarily consisting of the color blue; his teammates likewise tend towards green planes. |
| 240 | ** Z.O.E makes a comeback in the VideoGameRemake of ''[=AC2=]'', ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatAssaultHorizonLegacy Assault Horizon Legacy]]''. However, Scarface One's planes are now (by default) gray, rather than blue camouflage. |
| 241 | ** ''VideoGame/AceCombatInfinity'' included "Moby Dick Pursuit" BossBattle missions in which the players cooperate to take down ''VideoGame/{{Ace Combat 6|FiresOfLiberation}}'''s Aigaion. The improved version seen in the second such mission is painted red, and the rarest and most dangerous is gold. After an update, these were replaced with similarly-colored versions of the Stonehenge turret network from ''04''. |
| 242 | * ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' color-codes items by rarity. Its item coloring standard has been used by several RPG games: |
| 243 | ** Poor quality items, colored grey. More often than not they are low-quality equipment or {{Joke Item}}s. |
| 244 | ** Ordinary quality items are colored white. More often than not they are quest items, crafting reagents or consumable items. White equippable items exist, but they are practically nonexistent after early levels (those that exist tend to be profession items). |
| 245 | ** Uncommon items are colored green. They are most seen as equippable items that give a modest increase to player character's stats, and are often quest rewards. Rare crafting reagents and profession items may be considered Uncommon in the game. |
| 246 | ** Rare items are colored blue. They tend to be equippable items given at the end of a quest line, obtained through somewhat costly profession recipes, or at low-difficulty dungeons. Some valuable crafting reagents are considered Rare by the game. |
| 247 | ** Epic items are colored purple. They tend to make the bulk of items that can be obtained in raids and high-difficulty dungeons. Epic equippable items are often separated by "tiers" (indicated by their item level) as epic items introduced later into an expansion are better than the ones introduced beforehand. |
| 248 | ** Legendary items are colored orange. With the exception of ''Legion'', there tends to be an extremely scarse amount of legendary weapons introduced per expansion. If they need to be crafted, they require special crafting reagents that are often Legendary as well (and cannot be used to craft anything else). |
| 249 | ** Artifact items are colored gold. Since their introduction in ''Legion'', they are extremely powerful, one-of-a-kind items that make the main mechanic of an expansion and are handed out in early, major storyline quests. Artifact power can be obtained through various means to power them up. In ''Legion'', every specialization had their own artifact weapons, whereas in ''Battle for Azeroth'' they all use the Heart of Azeroth neck item. |
| 250 | ** Heirloom items are colored light blue. Meant to be used to level up alternate characters, they are account-bound items that scale with the character's level. In terms of strength, they are comparable to Rare quality items, though Heirlooms have the unique trait to increase experience gains. |
| 251 | * ''VideoGame/TooHuman'' also has color-coding of items by quality; the order is grey (trash), green, blue, purple, orange, red (epic). These colors are only used for the item's inventory icon, and its actual color can be customized. |
| 252 | * Katina Trask of ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'', specifically in ''Original Generations'', has special battle comments when fighting red mecha; one is essentially "the red ones do triple damage!". She, herself, pilots a red Gespenst. Also, any and everything that Ratsel canonically pilots is painted black with red and gold trim. And [[ICallItVera named Trombe.]] And [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Sleigh Presty]] with her 'always number 1' rants. Having her and Char Aznable (originator of Sleigh's nickname) face off against each other in Alpha 2 is a memorable moment. |
| 253 | * In ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'', this goes for nearly every game with the enemies (though it varies all over the place). Red Koopa Troopas won't walk off cliffs, red Venus Fire Traps/Fire Piranha Plants shoot 2 fireballs, regular Paragoombas fly and drop Micro Goombas, while the Red Paragoombas can only hop. Inverted in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'', in which the red Shy Guys and Snifits ([[UniqueEnemy well, the only one, at least]]) [[ArtificialStupidity walk off cliffs]] and the red Beezos fly in a straight line. The red Pansers, though, don't walk off cliffs because they, [[GameplayAndStorySegregation unlike the other Pansers]], don't move. |
| 254 | * In the ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic'' series, red units almost always upgrade into blue units. |
| 255 | ** In the second game, green dragons upgraded to red dragons, which upgraded to black dragons. |
| 256 | ** In the third game, green dragons upgrade to gold dragons and red dragons upgrade to black ones. The black dragons are more powerful overall due to tradition, but the gold ones are faster. Many other units establish a color hierarchy as well: four out of seven basic units from the Inferno faction are coloured yellow or pink, but wind up red when upgraded. |
| 257 | * In the Meet the Team videos for ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'', the RED team version of the character class the video is named for is always used and is shown beating the hell out of the other team. TruthInTelevision in a way, as the game's developers track various game-related statistics, and RED tends to have a higher chance of winning. |
| 258 | * In the ''VideoGame/TimeCrisis'' series, there are the red [[{{Mook}} soldiers]]. They [[OneHitPointWonder take just about as many hits as the regular Mooks]], but, unlike the [[ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy regular ones whose bullets went for you about once in 30 times]], these guys will [[ImprobableAimingSkills almost always aim straight for you]]. Considering that you're downed in 3 to 5 hits, [[DemonicSpiders its easy to see why these guys cause many players a lot of frustration]]. |
| 259 | * ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' plays this one straight. The normal Sith Troopers at the beginning of the game wear dark Shiny armor, but by the end of the game, in their place, you fight the higher level elite ones that look exactly the same, except with shiny red armor instead. |
| 260 | * In the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' games, Covenant ranks are primarily differentiated by color, though later games added more visual variety that wasn't color-based. While the specifics vary depending on the game, the basic rules of thumb are: Grunts go from orange to red to black to white, and Elites go from blue to red to black/violet to white to gold (with ''VideoGame/HaloReach'' adding in maroon as the highest rank). Jackal Minors always have blue shields, but the shield color of Majors changes depending on the game. Also, Skirmishers go from grey to red to green to gold. And none of this is going into specialist units. |
| 261 | ** In ''VideoGame/Halo3'' and ''VideoGame/Halo3ODST'', most of the color differences between Brute ranks consisted of slightly different shades of blue, with some gold, red, and black thrown in. Fortunately, the more important rank differences could be discerned by helmet shape alone. |
| 262 | ** ''ODST'' split the basic Drone into progressively stronger green, blue, and silver ranks, and added red and gold leaders with energy shields. In ''Reach'', Drones go from yellow-green to red to blue. |
| 263 | ** After Creator/ThreeFourThreeIndustries took over the franchise, the Covenant have mostly averted this trope, since each individual rank now appears in a variety of colors, with the only exception being Elite Warriors and Zealots, who wear armor painted respectively in gold and maroon. |
| 264 | ** ''VideoGame/Halo2'': Standard Forerunner Aggressor Sentinels were silver and fired orange beams, while the stronger versions were gold and fired blue beams. |
| 265 | ** ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'': This is how most REQ variants of Covenant weapons and vehicles are segregated, although whether the best one is gold or red (or silver, if you're talking vehicles) tends to vary. |
| 266 | * ''VideoGame/HollowKnight'': The sentries of the City of Tears are mostly blue, but the largest and most powerful variant, the great husk sentries, are colored red instead. |
| 267 | * ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'': |
| 268 | ** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', Sora gains a speed boost when in the red-colored Valor Form. |
| 269 | ** The Eliminator in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsCoded'' is a [[UndergroundMonkey red re-skin]] of the Defender Heartless. It's also one of the most dangerous non-boss enemies in the game, being able to inflict any StatusEffect at random with its powerful attacks and has a large amount of HP. |
| 270 | * ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls'' has a similar effect, occasionally with black world tendency, you can encounter "Black Phantom" NPC enemies. Despite the name, they appear a glowing red with black cracks running through them and tend to be much stronger and harder to kill. |
| 271 | * ''VideoGame/DustyRagingFist'' have the [[GiantMook giant ram]] enemies, who comes in two colours; light blue for the common, easily-defeated ones, and red for stronger ones which can deal heavier damage and absorb more hits. |
| 272 | * In ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'', the Distortion Drives that take only 50% Heat and don't guarantee a kill have a blue background, while the sure-kill, 100% Heat Astral Heats use a black background with the character's crest overlaying in red briefly. |
| 273 | * ''VideoGame/MachineHunter'' does this with the [[GiantMook giant alien grubs]]. The first encountered types are purple and actually ''easier'' to kill (Averting PurpleIsPowerful); you later encounter red grubs which are stronger and can set you on fire. |
| 274 | * In ''VideoGame/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAsPortable: The Battle of Aces'', Nanoha's more powerful EvilTwin, Material-S, has a mainly black-and-red barrier jacket, compared to Nanoha's own white-and-blue one. |
| 275 | * ''VideoGame/{{Amorphous}}'' has the [[HiveQueen Queen]]. It's the only red [[BlobMonster gloople]] in the game '''and''' its [[DualWielding dual-wielded]] claws are ''gold''. Unsurprisingly, it's the game's regular boss enemy. |
| 276 | * ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' |
| 277 | ** In later generations, the color of your trainer card changes as you meet certain achievements and gain stars. While the number and colors have varied a bit, it always begins as red and ends with black. Of course, the main things that come with this change are a few bits of dialogue change and bragging rights. |
| 278 | ** Shiny Pokémon are off-color and rare (at one point 1 in 8192 per encounter) variants of normal ones. Their abilities aren't different from their normal cousins, but they're sought after just for being rare. Interestingly, the shiny sprite or model of a Pokémon is sometimes an inversion of this rule: Trading black for blue, or red for green. Other times it is played straight, with a famous example being [[http://www.pokemondungeon.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/tumblr_m6b5u8caj21r5yidjo1_500.jpg Gyarados]]. |
| 279 | * ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'' toys with the idea of chromatic superiority in the description for the spell ''Chromatic Orb.'' |
| 280 | * ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'': Several games use this to denote enemy strength, with progressively stronger variants of a basic enemy family coming in distinct colors. |
| 281 | ** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI'': If a monster has a red or orange version and a blue version, the blue version is generally tougher. The only exception is the Blue Bubbles, which are far less annoying than the red versions. On the other side, if a beneficial item has a red and a blue version, the red is better -- red potions have two doses, the red ring's protection is twice as strong as the blue ring, and the red candle has infinite use whereas the blue candle has one use per screen. The Magical Sword (red hilt) does more damage than the White Sword (blue hilt). |
| 282 | ** ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'': Just like in the first game, an enemy's color indicates its strength; orange is the weakest, then red, and finally blue is the strongest version of that enemy. When Link is under the influence of the Shield spell, his tunic and cap change from green to red. |
| 283 | ** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'' continues this with the blue and red armor, the blue and red boomerangs, and arguably the ice rod (blue) and the fire rod (red). The Cane of Byrna (blue) and Cane of Somaria (red) may also qualify, since the latter is required to progress in the game where the former is completely optional. Averted with the potions, where the blue potion is the best because it has the combined abilities of the red and green potions. In many cases, the red/blue coding of enemies is changed up somewhat to take advantage of the Super NES's ability to display far more colors on-screen than the NES, i.e., Eyegores and Goriyas are green/red and Leevers are green/purple. In all three examples, green is the weakest. |
| 284 | ** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'': Link's [[GiantFlyer Loftwing]] is "special" because it's red, the implication being that it's faster than the others. Pipit, during the prologue, won the Wing Ceremony last year, but thanks his lucky stars Link's "red terror" wasn't involved. |
| 285 | ** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'': |
| 286 | *** Most enemy types are colour-coded based on how tough they are. In order of weakest to strongest, they go red → blue → black → silver. In Master Mode (in the first DLC pack), red-coloured enemies are removed, with each enemy type being moved up a step in colour (red in Normal Mode becomes blue in Master Mode, blue becomes black, etc.), and a new class of gold-coloured enemies become the strongest ones. |
| 287 | *** The three tiers of Lynel weaponry are color-coded to mark their increasing strength. Basic Lynel gear has bronze or copper bindings and details, which become silver in Mighty Lynel gear and golden in Savage Lynel gear. |
| 288 | *** Horses with solid-colored coats have consistently better strength, stamina and speed than horses with white patterns. This scales with the amount of white present -- horses with extensive white patterning have worse stats than ones with smaller marks such as socks or blazes, while horses with completely solid coats have the best stats of all. |
| 289 | *** The game's sequel, ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom'' once again follows this, though the returning enemies (Bokoblins, Moblins, Lizalfos, Hinoxes, and Lynels) now have new horns, with the new enemies (Boss Bokoblins and Horriblins) also following suit. |
| 290 | ** The Soldier enemies follow this pattern in every game they appear in, despite those games not doing this for other enemies. Green-armored Soldiers are the weakest kind, blue ones are stronger, red ones stronger still, and gold and grey ones strongest of all. This convention mirrors the green/blue/red progression of the rings/armor Link finds as protective gear, since they are human warriors wearing armor rather than monsters, though ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds'''s version of the Soldier enemies are full time monsters made by Yuga. |
| 291 | ** Rupees, Hyrule's currency, follow a similar pattern. The three basic denominations are green (flashing yellow/blue in the NES game due to technical limitations, one rupee), blue (5 rupees), and red (20 rupees), mirroring the progression of Link's power-ups. |
| 292 | * ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'': Played with in the post-end bonus chapter. The characters form a Sentai FiveManBand. The leader is Red, Neku is first Black-n-Blue but later "demoted" to just Blue so someone else can be Black ([[spoiler:Black is TheMole, by the way]]), and Joshua first wants to be Pink, but then says he should actually be Gold and later gets "upgraded" to [[AmbiguouslyGay Rainbow]]. (No, really.) |
| 293 | * ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'': She-Slimes are the stronger version of normal Slimes, and they are females in some of the adaptions. ''VideoGame/DragonQuestX'' also introduces little jester creatures riding Rockbomb monsters. (For example, Pantomines are jester creatures riding Bombboulders, while Indojesters ride Rockbombs using their grey coloration from ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVII'' and other spinoff appearances) |
| 294 | * ''VideoGame/ArmoredCore'' has [[LightningBruiser Nine]][[ThatOneBoss ball.]] Amazigh and Hari from 4 and for Answer are red but they are a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]] since you can make the same [[HumongousMecha NEXT]] they use and play the same way they can, if not better. In the Armored Core for Answer the NEXT, White Glint is this due to it moving so fast all you see is a "white glint" and has completely custom NEXT parts...until you get your own. |
| 295 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'', {{Orochi}} has eight heads, each with a different colored hat. The head with the red hat is the dominant one, getting to say all of Orochi's lines and gets the character portrait. In addition, the villain Crimson Helm has a face and hat that is identical to Orochi's dominant head, though this is because Crimson Helm was born from Orochi's remains. |
| 296 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Elite}} II: Frontier'', the tonnage of the ship that is attacking you is shown by different colours on the scanner. The ships you don't want to meet in combat? Imperial Courier (White), Asp (Yellow), Cobra III (Orange), and Viper (Red). |
| 297 | * ''VideoGame/DirtyBomb'': Loadout cards are rated in color from basic Standard cards to Lead, which introduces augments, Iron, which has two augments over Lead's one, and finally Bronze, which fills out the augment slots. There are higher tiers, but the sole advantage they have is different coloration or special patterns in the case of event loadouts, and the ones available are the same across every rank (An iron loadout with the same first two augments as a gold one will have the exact same weapons) except Standard. |
| 298 | * In ''VideoGame/TheTowerOfDruaga'', the best and most important items are blue (exception: the Ruby Mace is superior to the Sapphire Mace). |
| 299 | * ''VideoGame/SpacePanic'' and ''VideoGame/MrDo's Castle'' invert the conventional priority by having the red enemies be the weakest. Green enemies are stronger, and blue enemies are the strongest. |
| 300 | * ''VideoGame/WonderBoyIIITheDragonsTrap'' uses a red-green-blue enemy progression. |
| 301 | * ''VideoGame/SwordOfTheStars'' plays with this. Drives increase in power from fission (orange) to fusion (yellow) to antimatter (purple). Lasers go red, green, purple, blue, gold. Plasma is green, yellow, purple. |
| 302 | * ''VideoGame/{{Dogyuun}}'': Subverted by the gold robot. It's golden in colour, it's set up to be the BigBad or TheDragon, it gets screentime in the intro... and it's only the second of ten bosses. |
| 303 | * ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'': Knuckles the Echidna is a bright red whereas the rest of his tribe is tan. |
| 304 | * ''VideoGame/TheFinalFantasyLegend'' appears to have a subversion where Silver armor is more expensive and powerful than Gold armor. However, Silver is really a mistranslation of Mythril. [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyLegendII The sequel]] gets around this by changing Bronze, Gold, and Mythril to Bronze, Silver, and Gold in the English translation. |
| 305 | * ''VideoGame/LEGOIsland'': In the racing minigames, vehicles whose colors don't clash are faster than ones with clashing colors. Also discussed at length by mechanic Nubby Stevens outside the gas station, with a red and blue race car acting out his theories in a FunnyBackgroundEvent: |
| 306 | --> '''Nubby:''' I wonder if a red car is faster than a blue car? ''(race cars drive by)'' I wonder if the colors run, does it make it faster? ''(cars drive by again)'' Or if the colors clash, will the car crash? ''(cars collide head-on and bounce out of the frame)'' Or... |
| 307 | * ''VideoGame/RaptorCallOfTheShadows'': |
| 308 | ** The game has many red-coloured units that appear only in the third and final episode called Outer Regions. They have a ''huge'' amount of armour and firepower, making them DemonicSpiders in and of themselves. Therefore, it is highly recommended to use the most powerful weaponry that your money can buy, namely the [[BeamSpam Twin Laser]]. |
| 309 | ** Tango Sector (the second episode) has red-coloured helicopters that first appear in the fourth level and make recurring appearances up to the sixth level. They fire big salvos of missiles, but their pattern is predictable enough that you can easily dodge their fire and blast them apart with your weapon of choice (namely the Laser Turret or the Twin Laser). |
| 310 | * The ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'' series of games features a number of differently colored versions of each class and monster (except unique characters), each with progressively better stats as you move up the chain. Subverted in that each class has its own color arrangement rather than all following the one pattern. |
| 311 | * ''VideoGame/AlienShooter'': |
| 312 | ** The first game has this with monsters and vaguely handwaves it by noting that they were mutated by chemicals in the secret lab. Normal cannon fodder aliens are greenish, yellow = slightly faster, stronger and tougher, red = LightningBruiser, rare blue = DamageSpongeBoss. |
| 313 | ** Also applies to your body armor, which absorbs a percentage of damage received. Green flak vests absorb 50% and have 100 HP, yellow combat suits are twice as durable and absorb about 75%, and red PoweredArmor absorbs 90% while boasting 300 HP. |
| 314 | * In ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles'', leaders and aces wear red (Or are painted red in the case of tanks). Certain super-strong enemies wear black. |
| 315 | * ''VideoGame/{{Ingress}}'' items are color-coded based on strength and rarity: |
| 316 | ** Weapons, Resonators, Portal levels, and Power Cubes: yellow (L1) →→ red (L4) →→ purple (L8) |
| 317 | ** Portal Mods: green (Common) → purple (Rare) → pink (Very Rare) |
| 318 | * The very first {{Mook}} that you encounter in ''VideoGame/{{Descent}} 3'', known as the Gyro, shoots incredibly weak laser bolts in bursts of four and flees when outnumbered. The Gyro has a red counterpart, called the Flame Gyro, that is faster and ''much'' more aggressive, circling and attacking targets with a constant spray of napalm that does enormous damage over time as well as [[AttackAttackAttack refusing to flee even when it is outgunned]]. |
| 319 | --> '''Gyro:''' Freeze!\ |
| 320 | '''Flame Gyro:''' [[CallingYourAttacks BURN]]. |
| 321 | * EliteMooks in ''VideoGame/{{Elona}}'' are PaletteSwaps of normal mooks. What color they are varies, but as general it's red for a warrior or DireBeast, blue for a mage, black for KingMook, or ColorCodedElements if the enemy has elemental affinity. |
| 322 | * In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' the higher-ranking [[ReligionOfEvil Los Illuminados]] cultists wear red robes instead of the standard black. |
| 323 | * ''VideoGame/{{Urbanoids}}'': The enemy's role and power are determined by their color: household (red), maintenance (yellow), construction (green), law enforcement (blue) and military (black). Once any of them is under your control, it turns white. |
| 324 | * ''VideoGame/PacMan99'': Regular Jammer Pac-Man are mini-sized and white colored. They slow down Pac-Man on contact but otherwise do not harm Pac-Man, and can be killed by picking up a Power Pellet. Later in the round, red Jammer Pac-Man begin appearing, which are full-size and much slower compared to the white Jammers, but have the same kill power as a Ghost and are far more persistent; Power Pellets only freeze them in place, and only picking up a Bonus Fruit can kill red Jammers. |
| 325 | * A telltale sign that an enemy is an EliteMook in ''VideoGame/NightFire'' is an article of clothing of theirs that is red. They can take and dish out more damage than their regular peers. |
| 326 | * The MechaMooks in ''VideoGame/{{Robokill}}'' come in four difficulty tiers following the stereotypical tier color sequence: green, blue, [[RedIsViolent red]], and [[GoldColoredSuperiority yellow]]. |
| 327 | * ''VideoGame/{{Arknights}}'' lets you distinguish its EliteMooks as they are almost always red [[PaletteSwap Palette Swaps]] of regular ones. |
| 328 | * ''VideoGame/{{Joust}}'' has, in ascending order of points earned and aggressiveness, Bounders (red), Hunters (grey), and Shadow Lords (blue.) |
| 329 | * ''VideoGame/BalloonFight'', a Nintendo-produced game which takes heavy inspiration from Joust, has white-balloon enemies, cyan-balloon enemies, and yellow-balloon enemies, in order of difficulty and points earned. |
| 330 | * ''VideoGame/{{Galaxy Champions TV}}'' uses this several times. The final stage has golden flooring, and is also full of golden recolors of all the enemies, who are faster and more aggresive than thier non chrome counterparts, when you fully upgrade a weapon future pickups of that weapon will be golden, and the Galatic Champion is decked out in golden armour |
| 331 | * In ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'', of course the last EMMI is red. [[spoiler:But then it's subverted as just as it attacks Samus, [[PowerParasite the Metroid absorption powers]] kick on overdrive, and she stops its charge with just one grab.]] |
| 332 | * ''VideoGame/Grounded'': |
| 333 | ** There are three types of ants you come across in the backyard: Red ants, Black ants, and Fire Ants. Red ants are the weakest, which won't attack you unless you give them a good reason to, and you can even get them to ignore you by [[DressingAsTheEnemy wearing Red Ant Armor]]. Black ants are stronger, and wearing armor made out of their comrades won't fool them, but the workers won't deliberately attack you, unless you're in one particular area. Fire ants are outright hostile, and will attack on sight, regardless of circumstance. |
| 334 | ** Stinkbugs are aggressive, constantly leaking out a poisonous gas that can only be nullified by wearing a gas mask. Green shield bugs have a much more potent stench, which can overwhelm a gas mask if given the chance. |
| 335 | ** Ladybugs are neutral towards you, and won't attack unless you provoke them. Lady''birds'', however, are a lot meaner, and will attack without hesitation. |
| 336 | ** Both Larvae and Ladybird Larvae will attack on sight, but the Ladybird Larva has the added bonus of inflicting [[KillItWithFire Sizzle]] on their targets, and they can hop backwards to escape from retaliation. |
| 337 | [[/folder]] |
| 338 | |
| 339 | [[folder:Web Animation]] |
| 340 | * In ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue Reconstruction'', [[spoiler: Red defeats Blue by default, by erasing all the Blue' records. At least that's how Sarge sees it.]] |
| 341 | * Played with in ''WebAnimation/IfTheEmperorHadATextToSpeechDevice'', with Kitten suggesting that Salamanders are worse and Orks keep on losing because both are green, while the Ultramarines' blue being superior. The Emperor dismisses this, as to him all colors are equally inferior before gold. |
| 342 | * ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Silver in relation to eyes is stated to be an extremely rare color. The heroine, Ruby, has these very rare silver eyes and, if the legends are true, is destined to be a great huntress. [[spoiler:A person born with silver eyes possesses a mysterious magical ability to produce white light from their eyes that can defeat the Grimm in a range of ways: freezing them to stone, blinding them, or disintegrating them to dust. The power comes from the God of Light, who also possessed silver eyes that can slay the Grimm with white light. The God of Light himself is a being of golden light, [[GoldColoredSuperiority superior]] to his younger brother who is the God of Darkness, a being of dark purple tones and who can [[PurpleIsPowerful produce powerful purple attacks]] in his own right. He does feel very inferior to his older brother, however, which makes their relationship tense.]] |
| 343 | [[/folder]] |
| 344 | |
| 345 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 346 | * Subverted in [[http://www.sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/051210 this]] ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' [[BSideComics Bikini Suicide Frisbee Days]]. |
| 347 | * The trolls of ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'', whose [[AlienBlood "hemospectrum"]] goes from purple and blue at the top to yellow and rusty-brownish red at the bottom [[spoiler: and Karkat's mutated bright red blood being off the scale]]. Being of a lower blood color might give you psychic powers (see [[OurGhostsAreDifferent Aradia]] or [[EyeBeams Sollux]]), but it also means you are subject to FantasticRacism and ensures that you'll be the first one to feel the [[BrownNote Vast Glub]]. Trolls with higher blood also live longer: trolls with red or yellow blood are unlikely to meet the next generation, while trolls with purple blood often live for centuries. |
| 348 | * The FlyingCarpet given to the heroes in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0817.html invokes this trope]]. |
| 349 | -->'''Tarquin:''' This is my fastest flying carpet, Elan. You'll note both its red color as well as its racing stripes. |
| 350 | * In ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'', [[PlayingWithFire Yeon]] completely busts and chars the motor of their boat, and tries to pretend that it goes faster because it is black now. |
| 351 | [[/folder]] |
| 352 | |
| 353 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 354 | * Black computers obviously [[http://www.dansdata.com/black.htm run faster]]. That's why the old boring beige ones died out. |
| 355 | [[/folder]] |
| 356 | |
| 357 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 358 | * In the Creator/TexAvery cartoon ''WesternAnimation/BadLuckBlackie'', a black cat is hired by a white kitten to stop a bulldog by crossing his path and causing him bad luck (i.e., [[AnvilOnHead something heavy falls on him]]). The bulldog eventually stops the black cat by painting him ''white'', thus negating the bad luck. The kitten comes to the rescue by painting himself ''black'' and crossing the dog's path, causing the dog to get hit by [[KitchenSinkIncluded the obligatory kitchen sink]]. |
| 359 | * In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "[[Recap/FuturamaS3E12TheRouteOfAllEvil The Route of All Evil]]", Cubert slaps a flame decal on the side of his home-built spacecraft, claiming it'll "make the ship go faster". |
| 360 | -->'''Leela:''' What's your scientific basis for thinking that?\ |
| 361 | '''Cubert:''' I'm twelve. |
| 362 | * ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'': Though never confirmed in canon, there seems to be a Chromatic Superiority scheme amongst the ecto-energy. Four colors appear in the series -- green, blue, purple, red. By some loose estimates, it seems that that's also the order from weakest to strongest. Red reigns supreme in ecto-energy. |
| 363 | * ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries'' also featured Experiment 627 ("Evil!") who was designed to be better than Stitch in every way. He looked very much like Stitch save for a cone-shaped head and, of course, a red color scheme rather than a blue one. |
| 364 | * In ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'', Iron Man becomes the first superhero to lead the Avengers. As people who read Iron Man's comics and/or saw his movies would expect, he mostly uses red and gold armor in this show. This incarnation even wears red as Tony Stark. |
| 365 | * In ''WesternAnimation/ExoSquad'', enemy Neosapien ace Neo-Frame pilot Thrax pilots a red Neo-Frame, whereas other Neosapiens pilot purple and gold craft. Sure enough, Thrax turns out to be one of the best fighters that Able Squad goes up against. |
| 366 | [[/folder]] |
| 367 | |
| 368 | [[folder:Real Life]] |
| 369 | * Manfred von Richthofen, a.k.a [[RedBaron the original Red Baron]], considered by many to be the greatest air combat pilot in the world, piloted (of course) a red triplane. He, in all likelihood, was the one to popularize this trope. Following his example, his squadron-mates started their aeroplanes up in funky colors as well so he wouldn't stand out quite so much. Richthofen's squadron ended up being so colorful that its actual name, "Jagdgeschwader 1", gave way to the nickname "Flying Circus"[[note]]It was also called this because, like a travelling circus, it had no permanent base, but packed up and moved all over the front as "troubleshooters."[[/note]]. Before long, practically the entire Imperial German Air Service was trying out the Law of Chromatic Superiority. German pilots found that, while red paint didn't make their fighters fly any faster, it did make them easy to distinguish from the universally khaki-colored British aircraft in the middle of a dogfight. |
| 370 | * The Tuskegee Airmen were the first black World War II fighter pilots and were credited with never losing a plane under their protection to enemy action. The famous color of their plane tails? Red. The Tuskegees' signature was inverted twice over with the 352nd Fighter Group. Became so famous that the Germans started calling them the Blue-Nosed Bastards of Bodney (Bodney being the city they operated out of). The inversion comes with the obvious blue nose. |
| 371 | * Some experimental high-performance Luftwaffe aircraft that were being put through initial combat trials received distinctive paint-jobs, such as the all-red ME-163 Komet prototype V41 belonging to Wolfgang Spate. |
| 372 | * During [=WW2=], the Luftwaffe often painted parts of their fighter aircraft in bright colours, especially yellow, for easy recognition, e. g., during the Battle of Britain, so that they would not be fired on by trigger-happy tail-gunners of the bombers they were escorting. These colours, e. g. on the propeller spinner, engine cowl or tailfin, were also used to set apart sub-units of a ''Jagdgeschwader'' (fighter wing) or as a common mark of fighters serving in a particular theatre of war (e. g. white for North Africa). This ended up leading to the belief among Allied pilots that the Luftwaffe distinguished their pilots in [=WW2=] by the color of their propeller spinner. Yellow-nosed aircraft, it was thought, had pilots with 30 kills or more (in actual fact, e. g. the Luftwaffe's top-scoring pilot Erich Hartmann (352 kills) had a black one, and Hans-Joachim Marseille, the top-scoring pilot against Western Allies (158) had a white one). This proved to be a danger to some German pilots after the arrival of long-ranged Allied fighters on the Western Front: American pilots, confident in their superior numbers and ability to dive out of a bad situation to escape, ''frequently picked fights'' with yellow-nosed enemy aircraft in preference to lesser ones. There is an apocryphal story that some American pilots in the Pacific theater would paint their propellers a different color before every battle so Japanese pilots would think they were facing different fighter squadrons each time, creating the illusion that the Americans had massively superior numbers. Apocryphal because the Americans didn't need to create an illusion of what they actually had. |
| 373 | * Linguistic comparison studies have shown that, almost universally, the first color split off from white/warm/light and black/cool/dark when a language adds in a third color term...is red. Yes, that's right, even among colors themselves, red is chromatically superior. [[note]]The next split, for those curious, tends to be either yellow, [[UsefulNotes/GreenIsBlue blue/green,]] or [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs yellow/blue/green.]][[/note]] |
| 374 | * [[http://uk.gamespot.com/news/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=26431086 Studies]] show that "gamers have more of a chance of being on the winning side if they choose to play as a red team member as opposed to blue". The same applies to athletes all the way up to the professional and Olympic level, according to DiscoverMagazine. The caveat being that they are action games, such as [=CoD=] and Halo. In thinking games, such as MultiplayerOnlineBattleArena, colors like blue have the advantage due to encouraging long-term thinking, creativity, and being able to see the bigger picture. |
| 375 | * RealLife studies have shown that players in sports who wear red are more likely to win in competitions over other colors, like blue. Is this because putting on red somehow ups their performance? No, it's because wearing red seems to have some kind of intimidation factor on the opponents. So wearing red doesn't make you better, it just makes everyone else worse. |
| 376 | * The "black tax" levied on computers. A previous generation of Apple [=MacBooks=] came in two colors: white and black. There was a $200 difference in price between the two (black being more expensive). The functional difference? The [=BlackBook=] has a 90-gigabyte larger hard drive (perhaps a $50 value, if you're feeling very, very generous). With the other $150, you're paying for the privilege of owning a chromatically superior computer. A similar price difference exists with chrome or stainless steel kitchen appliances over plain white enamel. Black enamel usually costs more than white, but less than silver. {{Invoked}} for the "white is coming" ad campaign for the white Sony PSP in the Netherlands, featuring a black model and a white model fighting, which spawned a [[UnfortunateImplications predictable]] [[http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/06/sony-under-fire-for-racist-advertising/ response.]] |
| 377 | * The Chevy Volt's ''very'' EverythingIsAnIpodInTheFuture dashboard center stack comes in "Ceramic White" or "Dark". The former is the only one available with the standard cloth interior, "Dark" requires one of the $1000 leather interiors. |
| 378 | * The X-Box 360 "Elite" is, of course, black. And the 'Special Resident Evil Edition' of the Elite is red. |
| 379 | * [[http://notalwaysright.com/ah-managers/1229 The red cameras take better pictures?]] Not to be confused with the RED cameras, which take better (motion) pictures and are colored black. |
| 380 | * The infamous Magazine/{{Playboy}} [[PlayboyBunny Bunnies]] outfits are ranked this way, with the black-colored bunny outfit signifying the highest rank of bunny. This system has largely fallen out of use lately for the various locations of the Playboy Club (mostly for aesthetic reasons), but still occasionally plays the trope straight. |
| 381 | * Practitioners of martial arts such as judo or karate wear belts of various colors to denote their skill level. And, of course, the white belt is the one novices carry, a black belt symbolizes a high expertise, and the red belt is reserved for the ''instructors'' no less. It works really well in Judo, with the belts going from white to black and the red belt being reserved for people of fifth dan and above. That is, people that can do stuff you wouldn't expect in a movie. The apocryphal basis for the color-belt system lends the Law a touch of faux - TruthInTelevision-originally, a practitioner merely received A belt, period, when he began. A pristine white belt which, unlike the rest of the uniform, was never washed, so that the sweat, dirt, and what have you else would slowly make the belt progressively darker. So if you saw a guy with a black belt, it meant he'd been studying his particular style for a long time and was probably capable of kicking your ass before you even knew you were about to fight him. Sadly, this explanation isn't actually true - it was invented by a California dojo in the mid-20th century ''specifically to invoke the trope''. |
| 382 | * In the Cheezic Federation of Tang Soo Doo, you start off as white, go to orange (instead of yellow in other schools), then blue, then green (which are three degrees), then red (three degrees again), then Apprentice Black (either have red and black belt, or you wear the Black Belt Gi with a red belt, then First Degree Black. You either get white or RED tape when you increase in degrees. |
| 383 | * American Express cards in order of exclusivity: green, gold, platinum, black, etc. |
| 384 | * Ii Naomasa, one of UsefulNotes/TokugawaIeyasu's [[FourIsDeath Four Guardians]], inspired by the awesome red color of Yamagata Masakage's unit when he was a kid, formed a unit dressed entirely in red armor nicknamed the Red Devils. Dressing in red, of course, made them so fast that they drew first blood in the Battle of Sekigahara. At this point, no matter what color the Tokugawa wears in any media adaptation, if there's Naomasa, he'll always be portrayed with red armor. |
| 385 | * Scientific studies show that people view members of the opposite sex more favorably depending on the color of their clothes. Women view men with the appropriate color as more powerful and successful, while men see women with said color as more sexy and interesting. [[LadyInRed And what color may that be? Red.]] |
| 386 | * There have also been studies of packaging where identical detergent is put into different colored boxes and then sent out to be used by consumers. Red and yellow boxed detergents were almost always identified as more effective. |
| 387 | * Purple, in some societies, came to be associated with royalty because it was expensive to produce. Sometimes, it was even ''illegal'' for commoners to possess it. It's made out of a mucus secretion of sea snails. In the West, purple is the color of royalty. In Asia, it's usually yellow (saffron-based dyes being extremely expensive). At certain points in Chinese history, anyone caught wearing yellow clothes (or using the emperor's surname) was not only executed, but so was their extended family up to three degrees of relatedness. [[DisproportionateRetribution So your clan is dead if you accidentally offend the emperor]]. |
| 388 | * [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_in_Chinese_culture In Chinese culture, red is considered a lucky colour]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_envelope red envelopes]] containing money are often given out at special occasions like Chinese New Year. Naturally, this led to some clashes when [[RedChina Communism was adopted as the official ideology of China]] (since red was already its colour, naturally). Also note that [[DarkIsNotEvil black is not necessarily a forbidding or mournful colour]], but white is and is used at funerals. |
| 389 | * In Russia red is considered a strong or preferred color, dating long before the Communist days. The Russian word for red, ''krassnyy'' shares the same root as the Russian word for beautiful, ''prekrassnyy''. |
| 390 | * Inverted with stars: |
| 391 | ** The blue ones are brighter. They also "go faster", as in, have a shorter lifespan. |
| 392 | ** Red Dwarf stars win the endurance race, lasting longer than any other star type. A Red Dwarf can burn for longer than the current age of the universe (13 billion years). |
| 393 | ** Red supergiants are the largest stars known, however they're outshone by their smaller blue counterparts. The largest known star (VY CMa) is as wide as the ORBIT of Jupiter, and as bright as 270 thousand Suns, but the brightest known star (R136a1) is as bright as ''eight million suns''. |
| 394 | * Even nature gets in on the act. Drab colors are used to blend in with the environment, whereas bright colors (red especially) are used to warn predators of poison (or are used by nonpoisonous creatures to bluff). Unless it's a fruit, in which case red indicates ripeness. |
| 395 | * Everyone in the ''universe'' knows that gold, silver, and bronze mean first, second, and third best, respectively. Unless you introduce platinum. Platinum beats gold. This, of course, is based on the chemical purity (ie. lack of reactivity) and economic value of the metals for which the colours were named. |
| 396 | * Inverted in US military officer ranks. Silver is always higher rank than gold. For example, a major wears gold oak leaves, while a lieutenant colonel has silver oak leaves, supposedly because the "gold" is usually brass, and the ranks are sorted based on the value of the metal used rather than color. This is done in Venturing (part of the Boy Scouts of America) recognition. Silver is higher than Gold and only second to Ranger. |
| 397 | ** Inverted for all western military powers, period. It's not because of the value of the metal, but because of heraldic reasons where the virtues represented by silver (truth, loyalty, purity) are generally valued higher than those represented by gold (obedience, glory, faith). For example military bodyguard regiments (like the Royal Life Guards of the United Kingdom or Livgardet in Sweden) almost always use silver buttons on their uniforms while other lesser elite regiments use gold buttons. |
| 398 | * Yellow cars are better. They're more visible, especially at night, and have fewer accidents. Similarly, some fire trucks are painted yellow or lime green in the interest of safety; these colors are much more visible to the human eye than red. Red cars, on the other hand, get pulled over for speeding more often. Because they ''look'' faster, cops are more likely to check their speed and catch them breaking the law even by a few miles per hour over the limit. |
| 399 | * This idea is actually implicit in the very nature of colour: colour is determined by which wavelengths of light bounce of an object. Light with longer wavelengths is closer to red, while the blue end of the spectrum has shorter wavelengths. Shorter wavelengths mean more energy is packed into a smaller space, so blue and purple light has the most energy while red has the least. Referenced in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AV5aY7HYAk this]] Physics Of Science Fiction video, where it's pointed out that although purple lasers would be the strongest, there are other, higher energy, types of electromagnetic radiation, but lasers made from them would be invisible since they're outside the visible spectrum. |
| 400 | * Windows editions go from white to green to blue to black in increasing order of superiority. |
| 401 | ** Windows XP: Home (green), Professional (blue) |
| 402 | ** Windows Vista/7: Starter (white/pale green), Home Basic (green), Home Premium (dark green), Business/Professional (blue), Enterprise (navy blue), Ultimate (black) |
| 403 | ** Windows 8: Vanilla (white), Pro (black) |
| 404 | ** Windows 10: Home (blue), Professional (purple) |
| 405 | * In many military organizations, the color of one's hat or beret is synonymous with where they sit on the hierarchy. Traditionally, this is either a black or red beret, signifying airborne or special forces groups (in many instances, wearing a beret at all is a mark of a special unit, so these are ''super'' special) in many nations. The U.S Army has an interesting inversion of this. The standard beret color for most of its troops is black, with red being used for airborne troopers. The most "badass" colors though are the comparatively droll tan and green. Tan berets are for members of the [[OneRiotOneRanger 75th Ranger Regiment]], where the green ones are for U.S Army Special Forces. |
| 406 | * At launch, the UsefulNotes/WiiU had two different models, each with an associated bundle. The white model was billed as the basic version, with only 8 gigabytes of storage and the absolute bare minimum of peripherals necessary to use the system. The black model, on the other hand, was sold as part of a deluxe bundle, coming with 32 gigabytes of storage and all the peripherals from the basic bundle, plus stands for the console and gamepad, a sensor bar for Wii controllers, and a copy of ''VideoGame/NintendoLand'', albeit for a higher price ($300 versus $350 in the US). Japan later got a white version of the deluxe bundle, and the price of the deluxe bundle eventually dropped to match the basic bundle, but the black version remained the clear favorite, getting promotional bundles with ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosU'', ''VideoGame/MarioKart8'', and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker HD''; the ''Wind Waker'' bundle even got a special gamepad with gold designs on the front. |
| 407 | * The patriarch in a troop of gorillas is called a "silverback" due to the distinctive patch of silver fur that male gorillas develop upon reaching adulthood. |
| 408 | [[/folder]] |
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