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Grin of Audacity

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https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/grin_of_audacity_5.png
"It is a funny thing how differently the various races react to such a situation (under Japanese mortar fire). A British soldier would have called out to me to take shelter and would have made room for me beside him. The average Indian sepoy would have watched anxiously, but said nothing unless I was hit, when he would have leapt forward and risked his life to get me under cover. A Sikh would have sprung up, and with the utmost gallantry dramatically covered me with his own body, thrilled at the chance of an audience. Only a Gurkha would stand up and laugh."
— (then) Lt. Gen. Bill Slim

An athlete in a race, an adventurer on top of a train, a pirate boarding a ship, a cunning politician executing an amazing plan, a Lovable Rogue during a Swordfight, a warrior during a Last Stand, two friends sparring—anyone facing an interesting and fun challenge with a reasonable chance of failure will sport one of these smiles. It's usually a bit forced, showing the strain and stress the user is under, and sometimes there could be a certain edge of malice and aggressiveness to it, even insanity: a hint of bloodlust, to be precise. Alongside genuine heroes, it's also very common amongst AntiHeroes of the Unscrupulous and Nominal types as well, especially if they are young and/or adrenaline junkies. It is usually coupled with a steady gaze, even a frown of sorts.

The heroic counterpart to the Slasher Smile and the Psychotic Smirk, which both are mostly about enjoying the anticipation of hurting others, especially when it's secret and they're unaware of the threat. In contrast, the Grin of Audacity is about relishing the anticipation of winning.

It may overlap with Dying Smirk.

Examples:

    open/close all folders 

    Anime & Manga 
  • Berserk: Guts during the Golden Age has this expression, with Casca noting that when he smiles he like that he needs no help in a battle. Post Eclipse having lost nearly all sense of morality in the pursuit of vengeance, Guts has a Slasher Smile instead.
  • Black Lagoon: In contrast to the bloodthirsty Slasher Smiles sported by many of the cast, Rock's badass smiles tend toward these. They primarily come out when Rock has some kind of crazy plan in mind, or when he proposes something that's just... incomprehensible by most villain standards (like asking mercy for their victims). Justified since he stated that he asked for it because he likes it, just like the bad dudes loves to blow themselves up. You first see one on him at the very beginning, when Revy challenges him, a Japanese salaryman to a drinking duel. As of El Baile De La Muerte, Rock's Grin Of Audacity has become pretty damn unnerving (and blurring the lines between this trope and the Slasher Smile), to the point where Revy seems uneasy.
  • In Brave10, numerous members of the cast sport these whenever it comes time to fight, bordering on Slasher Smile sometimes when the more loose canon Braves get provoked.
  • In Cowboy Bebop if Spike Spiegal is smiling like this, expect some serious ass to be kicked with Jeet Kune Do. Ed also memorably smiles like this in “Mushroom Samba” when chasing Domino Walker.
  • In Dragon Ball Goku gives a confident smile when he's prepared to face a strong opponent. Something Roshi Lampshades at least once, much to the irritation of Goku's wife. Vegeta and Piccolo do in battle as well, often overlapping with Slasher Smile with the former.
  • Bleach: The Blood Knight protagonists will often sport this when a fight is beginning to get difficult - a challenge that tends to thrill them. As a result, Kenpachi, Ikkaku, Renji and even Ichigo tend to give one of these when they've acknowledged they have a Worthy Opponent and will therefore have earned the win they're aiming to achieve.
  • Natsu Dragneel from Fairy Tail is basically the same as Luffy in this regard. He challenges stronger guildmates apparently just for the fun of it, and wears this while fighting them.
  • Fire Force: Crossing over with The Un-Smile, Shinra Kasukabe has a tendency to grin like a madman whenever he is in a perilous situation, not so much because he's confident as much as it is a mental defense mechanism. This, unfortunately, made him something of a pariah as a child when his nervous grin was misconstrued as sociopathy when he was suspected of having started a fire that killed his family.
  • In Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS, Jail Scaglietti laughs when Fate finally captures him after years of pursuit.
  • Kobayashi of Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid gives one right before she starts arguing with Tohru's father. It stands out immediately since she's normally The Stoic.
  • Lupin III's cocky smile is seen whenever he's mid-heist or is about to get the advantage. Seeing as this is Lupin we're talking about, this is often.
    • Jigen sometimes gets his own grin when he is truly enjoying himself. It is not too far off from Lupin's own grin.
  • Negima! Magister Negi Magi:
    • When, after everything Negi has thrown at him, Jack Rakan still gets up to fight, Negi isn't sad, or angry, he's 'awed all over again!'
    • Also a little bit earlier during a fight with Kagetarou, when Negi realizes he's at a big disadvantage (though this one is with a bit of Bloodlust)
  • Unless you've seriously pissed him off, Luffy from One Piece has this as his default expression when fighting. Zoro blurs the line between this and Slasher Smile. Sanji is a mix, having a Grin of Audacity at the start of a battle and upgrading to a Slasher Smile when about unleash some real hurt, as seen in the Jabra fight. Franky does this a lot as well.
  • Lelouch of Code Geass, constantly. Most poignantly in episode 4, as he is preparing for his first maneuver as Zero.
  • In Rebuild World, Akira often sports one of these when in the thick of a fight, especially when Alpha offers him any semblance of good news given his bad luck. People who see him doing this mistake him for a Blood Knight, when Akira is actually terrified.
    • Eventually after establishing a Bash Brothers sort of bond with Carol, they both do this while fighting together on his flying motorcycle.
  • Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann delivers some particularly compelling examples.
    • One good example comes from climax at the first episode. Simon, Kamina and Yoko are in Lagann and Simon has manifested drills on Lagann to defeat the Gunman. The Gunman is being used as an impromptu drill while the trio head to the surface. As Kamina proclaims they're heading to the surface, Simon manages to crack out a confident smile for the first time and giving the audience a glimpse at the true power the young man possesses.
  • In Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, there is often a scene where Jaden is losing and takes a hard attack, and gets up off the ground looking downcast, seemingly holding back emotion... and then his Hidden Eyes are revealed, he's laughing in joy, and he's wearing one of these. He then proclaims that he's enjoying the duel and will continue to do so, especially because he's about to win. Given the typical state of the game at that point, his opponent is usually dismissive - but he usually proceeds to do just that.

    Comic Books 
  • The Flash is prone to these, at least the DCAU version.
  • So are many Robin's and Batgirl's in the Batman family. Usually: in their case, it's youthful enthusiasm, insecure optimism, and a bit of a prankster spirit. Batman himself often had this expression during the 70s (especially during the Neal Adams era) before The Dark Knight slipped nigh-totally into Perpetual Frowner mode.
  • And then there's some of Frank Miller's All-Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder, when it isn't an outright Slasher Smile. Frank Miller is very fond of this trope in general. Sin City and 300 had many of those, and the movies even more so. Even when heroic, his characters tend to be on the bloodthirsty, violent side: aggressiveness is the key point here, and showing they are unscrupulous heroes.
  • Among the X-Men while Wolverine has the Slasher Smile Gambit has this whenever he’s kicking ass. Beast, Nightcrawler, Rogue, Psylocke and X-23 often have these kind of grins too.
  • Okko: In the Flash Back to his adolescence, when Okko is cornered during a fight against a Yojimbo, he give her a Slasher Smile before turning his back to the enemy with a confidant grin. She try to attack him, only to be defeated by his newly mastered technique.
  • Wonder Woman (1987): Diana tosses a wild grin at Natasha after Diana fights Ectreba and knocks her out and has the prisoner Ectreba had been "questioning" taken to medical, and then informs everyone that she and Ectreba will be questioning the man together the next day.
  • One of the clear differences between Plastic Man and Elongated Man without getting into motivations and backstories is that the former grins and smirks, while the later smiles kindly.

    Fan Works 
  • Abraxas (Hrodvitnon): Rodan's beak forms a grin at the idea of getting payback on Ghidorah for dominating him, in Chapter 13. Viv and San have a few such grins over the course of the story when it comes to the prospect of getting their own payback on Ghidorah or fighting generally.
  • Anglerfish: Tim grins when the gangsters he's fighting all crowd him and talk like they've got the upper hand; they've only put themselves in better range for him to take them out. He's less amused when Jason shows up shooting at the mouth of the alley.
  • While Loki occasionally pulls one of these in Child of the Storm, mention must go to its most constant bearer, Magnificent Bastard Stephen Strange, for whom a Gambit Pile Up is just part of his own Batman Gambit, and whose smile is usually code for 'you're completely and utterly screwed'.
    • Harry develops one in the sequel, which is noted to look worryingly like Strange's.
  • In Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality's fan art, Harry is often represented wearing this, as befits a Young Conqueror, as do his retainers in the Chaos Legion (don't ask). Then a certain Wham Episode happens, some illusions are shattered, and Harry's expressions become much more grim: it's instead Hermione and her group that take up most of the more optimistic kind of heroing.
  • Yesterday Upon The Stair's Izuku forces himself to smile under stress.
    Tsuyu: He scares villains by being super strong, and you can scare them by smiling at them like you're about to eat a baby.

    Films — Animation 
  • The Lion King (1994): There's that scene with "I walk on the wild side... I laugh in the face of danger ha ha ha ha!" First it's young Simba, then Nala does it right before the big battle at the end.
  • Mulan is about to be cut down by the leader of the invading army, and stops him by smiling at what's behind him.
  • In The Super Mario Bros. Movie, the king of the penguins can be seen smiling with furrowed brows as he orders his soldiers to attack the Koopas — even though his confidence is woefully misplaced, with the battle quickly ending with Bowser and the Koopas having barely taken damage from the penguins' snowballs and ice projectile.
  • Eugene in Tangled wears this as he tries to speak an apology to Maximus before riding to Rapunzel's rescue.
  • In Turning Red, Abby wears this as she passes a note in class behind the teacher's back.

    Films — Live-Action 

    Literature 
  • Cyrano de Bergerac's various incarnations often wear this.
  • Morgan and Derry exchange wicked grins in Deryni Rising just before Morgan secretly uses his powers to give a Connaiti mercenary his comeuppance.
  • Tavi from the Codex Alera frequently sports one of these, especially when coming up with a plan or taking on overwhelming odds. His friends and family quickly learn to dread seeing it.
  • A family trait of the Mccaffreys in Rapunzel Let Down. The father is a politician and his hot-blooded sons enjoy hazardous escapades.
  • A regular feature of Kelsier from Mistborn: The Original Trilogy, usually as a deliberate form of defiance.

    Live-Action TV 
  • The Boys (2019): Billy Butcher has a particularly badass grin overlapping with Slasher Smile, special mention goes to the one◊ he has while having a Brawler Lock with Arch-Enemy Homelander in Season 3.
  • Buffyverse: Buffy is known for this as well as Faith and Angel (especially in his own series where he lightens up). Spike alternates between this, the Psychotic Smirk and Slasher Smile.
  • Doctor Who:
  • On Glee, this is the typical expression worn by characters during uplifting songs, especially Barbara Streisand-style songs about extremely ambitious and extremely insecure characters.
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Halbrand has a confident smirk on his face every time he is up to something (and he is up to something all the time), befitting his roguish charm.
  • Motherland: Fort Salem: The Marshal frequently sports one when No Selling the witches' Work.
  • Our Miss Brooks:
    • Sported by Walter Denton, whenever conniving to pull an especially severe prank on Mr. Conklin. Being told off sometimes serves to encourage the grin (except by Mr. Conklin himself, of whom Denton is somewhat afraid). Noticeable in "Wild Goose", "Space, Who Needs It?", "Cure That Habit", "Marinated Hearing" and "Spare That Rod!".
    • Walter is also proud of having a "dark secret". In "Citizen's League", Miss Brooks suffers from guilt for having accidentally stuck a pin in the seat of the church organist Mrs. Dunfy when fitting her dress for the governor's wedding. Miss Brooks asks Walter if he himself has a dark secret. Walter smirks, laughs, and says he does. However, after being chewed out by Miss Brooks, Walter admits it's far from terrible, and again in the nature of a teenage prank.
    • In "Wake Up Plan", Mr. Conklin laughs at his having sent a letter to the board of education, reporting Miss Brooks for missing her morning classes. This is in spite of admitted to himself, out loud, that it was a terrible thing to do.
    • In The Movie Grand Finale, Mrs. Davis suggests to Mr. Boynton that Lawrence Nolan had induced Miss Brooks to take a trip on his yacht so he might seduce her. Mr. Boynton is outraged, and begins frantically checking his address book. Meanwhile, Mrs. Davis smiles and stifles a giggles, overjoyed that her use of Operation: Jealousy was off to a fine start!
  • Red Dwarf: Lister and Cat often have this expression◊ being absolute rapscallions compared to the more straight-laced Rimmer and Kryten.
  • Star Trek: The Original Series: Kirk being probably the archetypal adventuring space hero often wore a dangerous smile◊ while having a scrape.
  • Person of Interest: Reese often sports these as the series goes on.
  • The Wire: in a series filled with "devious motherfuckers", this comes up often. Omar does a particularly easy, flippant grin, whether he be robbing a drug dealer at gun point or testifying against one in a courtroom.
  • The Witcher (2019): Although mainly a Perpetual Frowner, Geralt is capable of this.

    Music 
  • The traditional Border ballad "Lock the Door, Lariston" is about a besieged reiver with a cunning plan.
    Why dost thou smile, noble Elliot of Lariston?
    Why does the joy-candle gleam in thine eye?
    Bold border ranger, beware of thy danger,
    Thy foes are relentless, determined and nigh!
  • The Miracle of Sound song "Here We Go Again" references this.
    Fates we have found so hellbent, wild...
    Facing it down with reckless smiles!

    Video Games 
  • In most of the Devil May Cry series this is Dante’s (a Thrill Seeker Blood Knight) almost permanent expression. If anything be more concerned when Dante is not smiling because that means he’s taking things seriously.
  • Similarly the titular heroine of Bayonetta does this a lot, often in a flirtatious manner.
  • Super Mario Bros.:
    • Bowser, Wario and Wuluigi have this expression, often overlapping with Slasher Smile. Donkey Kong is a more heroic example having a troubling grin on his face nearly all the time.
    • Surprisingly enough, Luigi in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team just before fighting Giant Bowser.
  • Final Fantasy VII
  • In Final Fantasy XIV, at the end of the Endwalker expansion, if you opt to not deny the claims of Zenos, the Warrior of Light gives off an unique expression of a knowing and confident smirk, showing that for all of their heroism and kindness, they are still an adventuring warrior deep in their heart and take pride in their battles much like Venat did.
    Warrior of Light: (smirking) That, I can't deny.
  • Leon (who helped inspire Dante above) in Resident Evil 4 cracks a dangerous smile and a chuckle after throwing his knife into Salazar’s hand◊.
  • Sora when he stabs himself in the chest with the dark Keyblade to release Kairi's heart in Kingdom Hearts.
  • A tragic example: in Yakuza 0, the baddies are torturing Tachibana for the location of the owner of the Empty Lot, but the thug doing the torturing, Yoneda, is getting too rowdy with his giant sledgehammer; Lieutenant Kuze scolds him saying that their prisoner is of no value for them dead, and proceeds to stop the torture and loosen his wraps. This prompts Tachibana to give the two-bit yakuza a small grin... which unfortunately makes Yoneda lose his shit and smash Tachibana's head on with the hammer, killing him.
  • Sonic the Hedgehog is one of the most iconic thrill-seekers in gaming, it would make a lot of sense to show that. A lot of his art has him in his classic pose either with a smirk, or a cocky grin. Even when he could be kicked down to near-death, he doesn't let his grin fall.
  • In Undertale, when you enter combat with the single weakest monster in the game, this is their expression, even knowing how dangerous you are. It doesn't waver as he proceeds to kick your ass.
  • In Persona 5, this is the protagonist's signature expression whenever he's in Phantom Thief mode, as befitting a defiant rebel seeking to change the hearts of the wicked and corrupt. Many of the other Phantom Thieves also sport daredevil grins when they summon their Personas for the first time, particularly Ryuji and Yusuke.

    Visual Novels 
  • In Katawa Shoujo, athlete Emi wears this expression when she's running, and the protagonist describes it in great length, as he finds that change from her standard, softer expressions fascinating.
  • This is the default expression for any protagonist in the Ace Attorney series once they start on their cleverer hunches, especially when they're onto something that turns a previously hopeless case upside-down. Then again, this can be said for just about anyone in these games pursuing the legal profession, as it's clear they all enjoy their jobs far too much.

    Web Animation 
  • Yang Xiao Long wears one often throughout the RWBY trailer featuring her, preceding the delivery of a Curb-Stomp Battle. This continues onto many of her fights in early volumes, but she stops it once things get more serious and she develops past her Blood Knight tendencies.
    • Her uncle Qrow also does this in his battle with Winter, to show that he's not taking it too seriously and because the whole thing's a Batman Gambit to make her lose her temper in front of her boss. He later grins when he gets the upper hand on Tyrian during a fight, contrasting the villain's Slasher Smile.

    Webcomics 

    Web Original 

    Western Animation 

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