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1[[quoteright:300:[[Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2425687-ff7ac_cloud_render_4240.jpg]]]]
2[[caption-width-right:300:Hair that defies gravity.]]
3
4->''"…is my hair too spiky? Not spiky enough?"''
5-->-- '''Phoenix Wright''', ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyJusticeForAll''
6
7Spiky hair is the process of using gel and hairspray to make the hair stand on end like spikes sticking out of the head. It's often associated with late SeventiesHair and EightiesHair and the [[{{The Quincy Punk}} punk rock subculture]] of that era. In fiction, it's used to show that a character is wild and cool as [[DelinquentHair well as being badass]].
8
9While spiky hair is prominent in real life, fictional characters are almost always shown with perfectly spiked hair despite the fact that it would get [[ImprobableHairstyle flattened while they're in bed or from the day-long rainstorm]]. While it is a typically-male hairstyle, it has become somewhat fashionable for women to have a spiky hairstyle.
10
11A perennial favorite of the FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire. Why? No one knows. Maybe it reminds people of fangs. A staid, conservative character suddenly swinging to radical spiky hair may be an ExpositoryHairstyleChange to let you know they're going through a major shift in values.
12
13Compare AnimeHair and ShonenHair.
14----
15!!Examples:
16
17[[foldercontrol]]
18
19[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
20* ''Manga/{{Akira}}'': Tetsuo develops long spiky hair once he gains more control over his telekinetic powers.
21* ''Manga/BreakTheBorder'': Sei has spiky, messy hair fitting his energetic personality.
22%% * ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'': Matt. While many other characters sport wild and crazy hair, he's the only one who's actually stated to use gel.
23* ''Manga/DragonBall'': Nearly universal among [[ProudWarriorRace Saiyans]] in the franchise, aside from one who's bald. Their hair is even ''permanently'' spiky, since a Saiyan's hairstyle [[HairstyleInertia never changes from the day they're born]].
24* Anime/DuelMasters: Shobu. It's even [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in the intro.
25* In Episode 2 of ''Anime/FreshPrettyCure'', one of the hairstyles Remi tries on Love is a spiky, urchin-esque 'do.
26* ''Manga/MarchComesInLikeALion'': Issa Matsumoto spikes his hair up in slightly exaggerated way, making him the only character in the series so far with a remotely silly hairstyle.
27* ''Manga/MoriartyThePatriot'': Badass sniper Moran has perpetually spiky hair.
28%% * ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': Practically every male character except [[BruceLeeClone Gai, Lee]], Shikamaru, Kimimaro, Orochimaru, Deidara,[[LongHairedPrettyBoy and Neji]], though Naruto himself grows out of it in his late teens when he gets a new shorter haircut.
29%% * ''Anime/TenchiMuyo'': Ryoko and Washu are among the few female examples of spiky hair.
30%% * ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'': Played with by Team Unicorn, whose leader's hair has one long spike.
31[[/folder]]
32
33[[folder:Comic Books]]
34* ''ComicBook/TheBeano'''s [[ComicStrip/DennisTheMenaceUK Dennis the Menace]] and Smasher from ''ComicBook/TheDandy''.
35* Calvin from ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'' sports this, and even sports an ''Manga/AstroBoy'' cut in one strip.
36* The third ''ComicBook/{{Robin|1993}}'', Tim Drake, always spiked his hair as part of his Robin costume since he kept his hair down in his secret identity.
37* ComicBook/{{Incandescence}} has puffy, wavy spikes. A very unusual hairstyle for an American superheroine.
38[[/folder]]
39
40[[folder:Fan Works]]
41* ''Blog/BetterBonesAU'': Lionblaze has a spiky mane, though he goes "bald" after losing his powers.
42* In ''Fanfic/YokaiWatchTheRewriteSeries'', Nate's spiky hair is lampshaded when Roughraff calls it "rowdy" looking.
43* ''Fanfic/ToCatchARaven'' explains that one of Jinx's metahuman traits is that her hair is permanently spiky.
44[[/folder]]
45
46[[folder:Film]]
47* Rory O'Shea from ''[[Film/RoryOSheaWasHere Inside I'm Dancing]]'' and his bleached blond spikes. Not allowing him to gel his hair is one of the many ways the women in the care home try to restrict him.
48* The unnamed woman on the team from ''Film/AVPAlienVSPredator'' has some truly amazing blonde spikes. They show how much of a badass she is though in an action movie [[VasquezAlwaysDies the tough tomboyish girl doesn't last too long]].
49* Freddie spikes his hair when he becomes a fan of punk music in ''Film/SchoolOfRock''. Billy is also shown with spiked hair when they arrive at Battle of the Bands. Laurence also goes for this look during the performance.
50* Ryan Phillippe donned some impressive spikes for the film ''Film/{{Homegrown}}''.
51%%* The bully Rory Buck from ''Film/JackFrost1998''.
52* Creator/JamesDean's greaser haircut in ''Film/RebelWithoutACause'' gives this impression.
53* Creator/GaryOldman's portrayal of Music/SidVicious in ''Film/SidAndNancy'' [[https://cinemacao.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/3f5beecff97c868f34cde025b7a7b2c5.jpg just had to follow that hairdo]].
54* Jonathan Lipnicki as little Ray Boyd in ''Film/JerryMaguire''.
55* ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'': Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen.
56* Rocket from ''Film/SuckerPunch'' to enhance the {{Animesque}} feel of the movie.
57[[/folder]]
58
59[[folder:Literature]]
60* ''Literature/TheFamousFive'' book ''Five have Plenty of Fun'' features a spiky-haired fairground boy, called Spiky.
61* Nymphadora Tonks in the ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' series favours her hair short, spiky and bright pink. Since she can change her appearance at will she obviously has no trouble spiking it up in the morning.
62* Lisbeth Salander from ''[[Literature/TheMillenniumTrilogy The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo]]'' is a goth girl with short spiky hair.
63* Mike from ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' is said to have this hairstyle, though the movies give him normal flat hair. Alice Cullen is also said to have short spiky hair; in the movies, her hair is a bit longer and a little less spiky.
64* Jerry Cruncher in ''Literature/ATaleOfTwoCities'' is described as having hair so spiky it would be [[GroinAttack dangerous to play leapfrog with him]]. His son has it, too.
65* Early in ''[[Literature/AuntDimity Aunt Dimity and the Lost Prince]]'', Bree first arrives on Lori's doorstep with her hair dyed a fiery red and done in a spiky hairdo:
66--> '''Lori:''' Good grief. What have you done to your hair?
67-->'''Bree (''turning head to one side''):''' Like it?
68--> '''Lori:''' It looks like your head is on fire.
69-->'''Bree (''smiling''):''' Brilliant. Just the effect I was aiming for. I call it my portable hearth. There's nothing like red hair to take the edge off a cold snap.
70:: Bree is also a free spirit who likes challenging the stuffier residents of the village. She later says that when Peggy Taxman saw Bree's hair in church, Peggy gave her a look that "would have curdled milk." In Bree's estimation, this is a feature, not a bug.
71* Thalia Grace from ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'' is described as a punk girl and has spiky black hair.
72* Miss Scary from the ''Literature/MrMen'' series.
73* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'': Finnick Odair ports an anime-like hairstyle in CatchingFire. In Mockingjay, it's toned down a bit.
74* Holly from ''Literature/VarjakPaw'' has spiky fur to fit her [[{{Tsundere}} spiky personality]].
75[[/folder]]
76
77[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
78* Spike from ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' is shown with spiky hair in a flashback to the 70s. And no, that's not [[ColdBloodedTorture where his name comes from]].
79** Oz usually has his hair spiky too, and often a [[KaleidoscopeHair different colour]].
80* ''Series/{{Angel}}'' often wore his hair spiky. On entering the alternate dimension of Pylea the different supernatural rules allowed him to see his reflection and he reacted with distress, suggesting this is some [[LockedIntoStrangeness horrible grooming accident created by his vampirism.]]
81* A big part of Creator/DavidTennant's now-iconic appearance on ''Series/DoctorWho'' was his perpetually spiked hair. Or as [[Characters/DoctorWhoRevivalSeriesCompanions Wilf]] put it, "sticky-uppy."
82* Both Chandler and Ross liked to have this hairstyle in ''Series/{{Friends}}''. Ironically Rachel told Ross he used too much gel when his hair was actually flat.
83* Vince from ''Series/WhatILikeAboutYou''.
84* Jon Lee from Music/SClub7 adopted this style for the ''LA 7'' season.
85* Abby Maitland in ''Series/{{Primeval}}'' gave herself a short spiky style for season 3. She grew out her hair in season 4.
86* Leo's EvilTwin from the season 6 finale of ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}''.
87* June Tuesday on the short-lived ''Series/That80sShow''.
88* In the ''Series/PowerRangersWildForce'' episode "Forever Red", Tommy Oliver has switched to this hairstyle, which is jarring to older viewers because previously he'd been a long hair whose hair had lengthened with each passing season. It's still short and spiky when he returns as a regular cast member in ''Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder''.
89* Banban "Ban" Akaza/[=DekaRed=] from ''Series/TokusouSentaiDekaranger'', though he grows it out from ''Series/MahouSentaiMagiranger VS Dekaranger'' onwards.
90* Ted in ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', whose hair is almost fascinating in its intricately disheveled spikiness.
91* Don Eppes of ''Series/Numb3rs'' has variations of spiky hair throughout the series.
92* Stefan Salvatore from ''Series/TheVampireDiaries'' is known for his trademark spiky hair.
93* Lucas Scott wears his hair this way in the early seasons of ''Series/OneTreeHill''.
94* ''Series/TeenWolf'':
95** Scott [=McCall=] has been sporting spiky hair since season two.
96** [[spoiler: As of season three, Stiles has grown his hair out and is now sporting a spiky haircut.]]
97* Alex from ''Series/MythQuest'' tries this for one episode, but he gives it up rather quickly.
98* Logan Echolls in ''Series/VeronicaMars''. Coming from a family of actors probably didn't hurt his grooming standards.
99* Christine "Spike" Nelson from ''Series/DegrassiJuniorHigh'' and ''Series/DegrassiHigh'' is one of the most outrageous examples of this trope...and it wasn't done for the character. That WAS actress Amanda Stepto's real hair, drowned in loads of Final Net hairspray. In a behind-the-scenes documentary on the show, there's even a montage of her preparing her hairstyle.
100[[/folder]]
101
102[[folder:Music]]
103* As mentioned above, spiky hair is found in the punk rock subculture. It's often dyed various colours as well. Some schools aren't as strict about spiky hair as they are about certain other hairstyles, as long as the spikes aren't too severe.
104* Liberty spikes is a special style where the hair is grown long and spiked out, looking similar to the headdress on the Statue of Liberty where the name comes from.
105* Mark Hoppus, of Music/{{Blink 182}} fame.
106* Pretty much every member of Music/GoodCharlotte.
107* Derek Whibley aka Bizzy D from Music/Sum41.
108* Omi from Music/ExistTrace. Bonus points for it being silver.
109[[/folder]]
110
111[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
112* Wrestling/ZackRyder and his slogan "take care, spike your hair".
113* Indie wrestler Wrestling/ChristinaVonEerie has her hair spiked up into a Mohawk. Portia Perez once joked that it could be used as a weapon during matches.
114* At an AWE show Vertigo "The Cure" Rivera split a [[GarbageWrestler garbage can in half]] over the head of heavyweight champion Jesse Neal. Neal was knocked for a loop but his Mohawk survived without any signs of damage, making it look like his hair had cut the can in two and some metal just happened to hit his forehead as it parted.
115[[/folder]]
116
117[[folder:Video Games]]
118* ''VideoGame/ClockworkAquario'': One of the three [[PlayerCharacter Player Characters]], Huck Rondo, has [[HairColors green]] spiky hair.
119* ''VideoGame/CrayonChronicles'': The male PlayerCharacter (if you choose to play as him in the game) has spiky yellow hair.
120* In the few instances when it’s shown, it seems like the protagonist of ''VisualNovel/DoubleHomework'' has this.
121* Because of Cloud Strife's outrageous hair, spiky hair is considered a trademark of ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'', even though it's a fairly uncommon sight in the series outside of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' related stuff.
122** See that hairstyle on the page image? That (and his Cloudy Wolf outfit) originated from ''Anime/FinalFantasyVIIAdventChildren'', where Cloud's hair was ''toned down'' to comp for NoFlowInCGI. [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cloud_strife_01.png His original 'do]] has justifiably been compared to unkempt chocobo feathers.
123** Bit of trivia for those interested: Cloud's infamous 'do was a deliberate choice by the game developers; His original design called for slicked-back, black hair with no spikes. However, to make Cloud stand out more and emphasize his role in the game as the lead protagonist, his design to give him spiky blond hair instead.
124** ''WebAnimation/FinalFantasyVIIMachinabridged'' pokes fun at this, with [[AdaptationalWimp Cloud]] forced to continue working alongside AVALANCHE after he was the only one of the group positively identified following the initial reactor bombing[[labelnote:*]]owing to [[NeverMyFault Barret ditching him]] to Shinra security forces after he "[[RunningGag f***ed up]]" with the reactor bomb[[/labelnote]]. Cloud tries to protest that the police sketch of him based on eyewitness accounts looks ''[[FacialCompositeFailure nothing]]'' like him (being literally a stick with Cloud's [[BFS Buster Sword]] and AnimeHair on it) only for Barret to bluntly state that those will still be sufficient for the average joe to recognise him on sight. Cloud reluctantly concedes the point.
125*** One of Barret's more colourful threats towards Cloud is threatening to "rip off his spiky hair and stab him with it".
126* ''VideoGame/HeavenDust'': The PlayerCharacter has brown spiky hair.
127* Many characters from the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' series have outrageously spiky hair, Sora and Axel in particular. There's even a ''LampshadeHanging'' in the second game in reference to [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Cloud's infamous hair]] (although, ironically, he uses his much more sane-looking ''Advent Children'' costume/hair in ''II'').
128-->'''Tifa:''' I'm looking for somebody. Have any of you seen a guy with spiky hair?
129-->'''Sora:''' ''(tugs on one of his own spikes)''
130-->'''Tifa:''' ''(chuckles)'' Spikier.
131* Hwoarang gets this hairstyle in ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}} 4'' when he joins the army. It grows out between games. See also Jin Kazama and Kazuya Mishima.
132* Hwang Sung Kyung and his expy Hong Yun-Seong from ''VideoGame/SoulCalibur'', despite the game [[AnachronismStew being set in the 1500s]].
133* Phoenix Wright from the ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' series. The rest of the cast frequently poke fun at him for it.
134** Several other characters have AnimeHair in varying degrees of spikiness, but the most obvious is Furio Tigre from ''Trials & Tribulations''. [[spoiler:It enables him to impersonate Phoenix, despite otherwise looking nothing like him.]]
135* Crono from ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'', who was designed by Creator/AkiraToriyama of ''Manga/DragonBall''.
136* Shu from ''VideoGame/BlueDragon'', as well as his grandfather Furisha, both of whom were ''also'' designed by Creator/AkiraToriyama.
137* The appropriately-named Spike from the ''VideoGame/ApeEscape'' series. Kei from the third game too.
138* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'', who has ''literally'' spiky hair in that he has quills. Taken up another notch with the messier quill arrangement in ''VideoGame/SonicBoom''. Curiously enough, '''Shadow''' also has that arrangement in ''Boom''.
139* In ''VideoGame/FancyPantsAdventures'', Fancy Pants Man, despite him being a stick figure, has three large spikes for hair.
140* Dekar in ''VideoGame/LufiaIIRiseOfTheSinistrals'' could pass for Sonic with his mane of spiky blue hair.
141** Maxim gets into the spiky-hair look in ''VideoGame/LufiaCurseOfTheSinistrals''.
142* [[RobotGirl Meta]] from ''VideoGame/{{METAGAL}}'' has a pretty spiky top.
143* ''VideoGame/NinjaBattleHeroes'': Most of the main cast have some pretty spiky tops. [[https://images.nintendolife.com/reviews/3ds-eshop/ninja_battle_heroes/large.jpg Just have a look.]]
144* The player character from ''VideoGame/OedipusInMyInventory'' has spiky hair despite being a shepherd from the Hellenistic era.
145[[/folder]]
146
147[[folder:Web Animation]]
148* The little girl from ''WebAnimation/{{Monsterbox}}'' has hair that looks like a pile of leaves on top her head and down her back.
149[[/folder]]
150
151[[folder:Webcomics]]
152* Hedge from ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' has naturally spiky hair. Which [[JustifiedTrope makes sense]] as he has [[HalfHumanHybrid hedgehog heritage]].
153* Barry's hair from ''Webcomic/{{Newheimburg}}'' is gelled like this.
154* [[BadassNormal Bismun]] of ''Webcomic/{{Pacificators}}'' is very, very, ''very'' obsessed with keeping his hair perfectly spiky. Breanne calls him "Conehead" because of it. Look, [[http://www.sailorenergy.net/Profiles/ProfilePacificatorsBismun.png he really is a cone head!]]
155* Isaac from ''Webcomic/{{Paranatural}}''. He is possessed by a spirit which gives him naturally spiky hair.
156* Hsin from ''Webcomic/{{Rhapsodies}}'' uses a whole lot to maintain his anime like hairstyle... [[http://rhapsodies.wpmorse.com/comic/03172009/ so much he almost glued his new hat to his head.]]
157* Kat Vance from ''Webcomic/SequentialArt''.
158* Rana from ''Webcomic/{{Sombulus}}'' has natural big red spiky hair that never seems to be bothered by physics or weather.
159* Rowan from ''Webcomic/WeakHero'' has bright red hair that sticks up like a fan, which certainly makes him stand out in a crowd and helps with his constant posturing.
160[[/folder]]
161
162[[folder:Web Original]]
163* ''Website/{{Cracked}}'' Photoplasty advertises a hair gel that makes the above video game examples possible in [[http://www.cracked.com/photoplasty_273_26-ads-products-that-must-exist-in-video-games_p2/#17 Ads for Products That Must Exist in Video Games.]]
164* The protagonist of ''VideoGame/OedipusInMyInventory'' has spiky hair in all three stages of life.
165* Tom from ''WebAnimation/{{Eddsworld}}'', who is depicted with extremely spiky hair. [[CompanionCube He calls it Steve]]. A flashback reveals that this is because [[ItMakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext his dad was a pineapple]].
166[[/folder]]
167
168[[folder:Western Animation]]
169* ''WesternAnimation/AllGrownUp'': Phil has this hairstyle in the first season. He has curtained hair in other seasons. Tommy also has really short spikes.
170* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'': Phineas has this hairstyle.
171* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'': Rick Sanchez has a fluffed-out hairstyle reminiscent of Doc Brown, but the show’s animation style depicts it as spiked.
172* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
173** Bart Simpson's hair is a bunch of triangles pointing straight up on the flat top of head. DependingOnTheArtist, they may cover the entire top of his head, or just the circumference. Lisa and Maggie have similar hair, except theirs points outward instead of up. They always refer to their hair as "points" instead of spikes. In all three cases, [[LongPants there's no clear division between where their skin ends and their hair starts]].
174** Sideshow Bob, Bart's archnemesis, has huge curly spikes of hair that make him resemble a palm tree.
175* A DJ-lookalike seen in ''WesternAnimation/PixarShorts Tokyo Mater'' has large spoilers on his roof that resemble spiked hair.
176* ''WesternAnimation/TheWeekenders'': Carver has triangular dreadlocks pointed upward. Tino also gives himself this look when he's trying to impress a punk chick.
177[[/folder]]
178
179[[folder:Real Life]]
180* Creator/HaroldLloyd.
181* [[Music/SpiceGirls Victoria Beckham]] as well as her husband David both have had spiky hairstyles though not at the same time.
182* Freddie Ljungberg, when he still had hair, liked to dye it red and spike it up.
183* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frosted_tips Frosted tips]], a popular men's hairstyle in the 90s/2000s in which dark hair is styled into numerous tiny spikes and bleached blonde at the tips. Guy Fieri of the Creator/FoodNetwork and ''Series/DinersDriveInsAndDives'' has this as his most recognizable feature, and it's notable that, even though he usually wears sunglasses, he doesn't actually put them on the top of his head, presumably so as not to crush his hair, and instead puts them on the back of his neck.
184* This is actually becoming a trademark hairstyle for younger workers and college students in parts of Asia, to the point where those with 'spiked' hair outnumber those with traditionally slicked and parted 'dos in some contexts (though 'artificially unkempt' is catching on). Since many of them are from the generation that adopted it as a form of rebellion or due to RuleOfCool, the establishment has gradually become more tolerant. Still won't fly in high school or below, however.
185** This is helped by the fact that most Asians tend to have thick, abundant hair that spikes naturally, so for many slicked hair needs a lot of gel or mousse and spiky hair is simpler to maintain. For similar reasons, spiky hairstyles are popular among Latino men, since indigenous people of the Americas also have that coarse hair.
186* Singers Music/HowardJones and Music/BillyIdol both sported spiky hairstyles back in the '80s.
187* The late Keith Flint of Music/TheProdigy, who at times even [[https://www.correio24horas.com.br/fileadmin/user_upload/correio24horas/2019/03/04/Keith-Flint-Prodigy.jpg shaved the middle to look even more like two horns]]. Music/WeirdAlYankovic parodied it by turning one of their songs into [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sev_NjA21oc "Lousy Haircut"]].
188[[/folder]]

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