A wick check to gauge The Spock's PCE issue. Simply saying "this character is calm / cold / logical" isn't enough because there is no context on how they are like this. What decisions have they made? How are their decisions "logical"?
Wicks checked: 50/50
PASS
Correct example with context (2/50) — 4%
- Characters.Neither A Bird Nor A Plane Its Deku Krypton: Despite wrong indentation, the example has sufficient context about how K.E.L.E.X. tends to be driven by extreme logic.
- Although K.E.L.E.X. has a dry wit when he wants to, his directives are primarily dictated by logic. He makes decisions based on things with the highest probability of improving Izuku's quality of life. This is why he callously mentions that the chances of another Kryptonian escaping the destruction of Krypton are slim to none and lists out all of the things Izuku doesn't wants to hear while asking why Izuku won't use his Super-Hearing. He also recommends using the life on Korusan Island as moving targets to practice his Heat Vision. He's never malicious about this, but he's very insistent on making sure that Izuku is doing the things that he should be doing like training for the U.A. Entrance Exam or going over Jor-El's files on Krypton rather than on things that are unlikely to prove fruitful.
- K.E.L.E.X.'s tendency to favor efficiency above all tends to grind Izuku's gears when basal desires enter the picture. When Izuku starts feeling hungry and decides to head back to town to eat lunch, K.E.L.E.X. nags him to keep studying and suggests fasting because Izuku can subsist forever off sunlight. Izuku just turns off the app in annoyance and continues walking.
- Characters.Zom 100 Bucket List Of The Dead: (Shizuka Mikazuki) Shizuka is coldly rational at the start of the story, only doing things that would increase her chances of survival and refusing to associate herself with people as frivolous and illogical as Akira, lest she wind up in more and more dangerous situations. She tries to apply logic to everything, analyzing the risks to minimize potential harm to herself. She slowly moves away from this mindset the longer she hangs around Akira, to the point of surprising herself when she purposefully draws the attention of some zombies to herself to protect a group of elderly people. Correct example + sufficient context.
Pothole that fits the definition (3/50) — 6%
- IronicName.Western Animation: Yellow Diamond, however, deserves a mention. She is are the birthstone for Virgo, and Virgos are associated with [[TheSpock order, intelligence, and cold calculation]]. When she finally appears in the show proper, she does fit the bill at first, but as her talk with Peridot goes on, it becomes readily apparent that for however much a being of logic she might be, she's clearly also a vengeful and spiteful being who would gladly destroy the Earth for payback against the rebellion. Pothole refers to the concept of this trope.
- Literature.Imperial Radch: (Fantastic Drug) Kef. It suppresses emotions, so people either take it in the mistaken belief they will become [[TheSpock transcendent beings of pure rationality and logic]] (it doesn't work like that) or they use it to dull emotional trauma. It can be incredibly habit forming and addictive. Pothole refers to the concept of this trope.
- VisualNovel.Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney Spirit Of Justice: (The Power of Love) In "Turnabout Time Traveler", Phoenix finds himself having to invoke this verbatim in order to justify a witness's actions and keep his case going (with the trope name even being the option you have to select). [[TheSpock Edgeworth]] doesn't buy it, calling the act too dangerous to commit even for love, but the judge overturns him, moved by the witness's potential effort and allowing him to buy into Phoenix's scenario. Regarding the question of whether an action motivated by love is justifiable, Edgeworth looks at it from a practical standpoint, especially when compared with the judge.
INSUFFICIENT CONTEXT
Partial context examples (11/50) — 22%
- Blog.Anomalous Data: Jay is an example that's very extreme on the cold and calculating bit. How cold and calculating?
- Characters.Grandmaster Of Demonic Cultivation Mo Dao Zu Shi Jin Guangyao: This was his role among the Venerated Triad. If Lan Xichen was the mediator, Jin Guangyao would go by logic and pragmatism and act after planning ahead, in contrast to Nie Mingjue who had a Black-and-White Morality and was the most temperamental of the three. Any specific decisions and plans that show this character "would go by logic and pragmatism and act after planning ahead"?
- Characters.Kamen Rider Revice Kamen Riders Live And Evil: He's the coolest and most stoic and logical of the Igarashi siblings. Later events, including the downfall of Fenix and reveal of Akaishi's true allegiance see him become increasingly impulsive and hot-headed. How cool / logical? Also, this character isn't cool / stoic — he is embarrassed towards his family in Episode 1, he is visibly trembling and ashamed near the end of Episode 3, and he expresses frustration towards his brother at the beginning of Episode 4.
- Characters.Lexx: (Kai, Last of the Brunnen-G) Parodied. He has Spock's flawless logic and cold pragmatism, but unlike the half-Vulcan's buried human side, Kai really is emotionally and spiritually dead. Whereas Stanley (the Kirk) and Xev (the McCoy) want to explore the universe in search of sex, he has no sex drive or passion whatsoever. He cares for nothing and about nobody, since he's literally a walking corpse. The example doesn't say anything about how the character has "flawless logic", "cold pragmatism" and being "emotionally and spiritually dead". What does this character do in the story that shows he has those traits? Although the tropes Spock Speak and The Comically Serious are present in the character folder, they are both ZCEs.
- Characters.Merlin Main Cast: The two examples feature contradictory information, describing Arthur as both The McCoy and The Spock, with insufficient context on what decisions Arthur makes in the story. Same for Merlin (insufficient context). Simply listing adjectives isn't enough.
- The McCoy (Freudian Trio): In the trio between himself, Merlin and Gwen, Arthur is The McCoy (arrogant, aggressive, impulsive, Hot-Blooded) to Merlin's The Spock (calm, logical, intelligent, The Chessmaster) and Gwen's The Kirk (motherly, nurturing, sensitive, The Heart). See Freudian Trio.
- The Spock/Superego (Freudian Trio): In the team of three consisting of himself (Courage), Merlin (Magic) and Gwaine (Strength), Arthur is The Spock/Superego (serious, noble, honourable, The Stoic, The Strategist, Knight in Shining Armor) to Merlin's The Kirk/Ego (balanced, neutral, peacemaker between the opposing personalities of Arthur and Gwaine, friends with both Arthur and Gwaine, Take a Third Option, The Heart, The Conscience) and Gwaine's The McCoy/Id (fun loving, roguish, rebellious, Loveable Rogue, Knight in Sour Armor, Plucky Comic Relief).
- Characters.Sabrina The Teenage Witch: (Zelda Spellman) Thinks more with her head. How?
- Characters.The Bridge 2011: (Saga Norén) Reconstructed. Saga is very logical and so always thinks before she acts — but this actually makes her more disliked, suspected, and lonely, because her tendency to default to logic makes her come across as cold and aloof, and even merciless at times. Misuse of "reconstructed". What decisions does Saga make that shows the character is logical?
- Characters.The Zone: (Tobias Salk) Cold and logical, this complements his cynical viewpoint well. Any specific instances where he is "cold and logical"?
- DarthWiki.High Speed Enforcer Nitro:
- But when officers Terry O'Lean and his newly appointed partner Jacob "Jake" Loeb ask for help after discovering an advanced weaponry smuggling inside an abandoned warehouse, they have no choice but to send it to them.
- (Terry O'Lean) Terry is calm, contemplating, and assesses the situation with his brain. Despite this he has a tendency to believe that people are at default good-natured. '''Any specific instances where he "is calm, contemplating, and assesses the situation with his brain"?
- Fanfic.Crisis Equestria: Any examples where the character applies their "fierce logic"?
- There are also other ponies that don't exactly want to see them make it home and all go to great lengths to keep the Mane Six from their goal. Their primary opponents? A team of suspiciously similar Evil Counterparts — Starlight Shadow, [[TheSpock Grayscale Force]], Curaçao, Havocwing, Red Velvet, and Insipid — their father Silvertongue, and his personal assassin Shadowstep.
- The Spock: Grayscale Force's/Gray Skies's Hidden Depths show that her apathetic nature does not mean she's dumb, applying a fierce logic to everything she does and having the nerve to willingly put her own life at risk to force her opponent into a no-win scenario.
- Fanfic.One Eye Full Of Wisdom: The Aburame clan as a whole function on what the logical course of action is in any scenario. Sasuke starts picking up similar habits though to a lesser degree. Any specific examples?
Zero context examples (11/50) — 22%
- Characters.Blaz Blue Jin Kisaragi: To Noel's Kirk and Ragna's McCoy, although he has some McCoy traits of his own, also serves as this to Tsubaki's Kirk and Makoto's McCoy. Apart from being a ZCE, it also contains contextless The Kirk and The McCoy potholes.
- Characters.Code Geass Main Characters: (C.C.) To Lelouch's Kirk and Kallen's McCoy. Apart from being a ZCE, it also contains contextless The Kirk and The McCoy potholes.
- Characters.Neds Declassified School Survival Guide: Features both examples and potholes of zero context. Not only this applies to The Spock, but The McCoy and The Kirk are also guilty of this.
- Characters.Pulp Fiction: ZCE.
- (Vincent Vega) To Jules' McCoy.
- (Jules Winnfield) The McCoy: To Vincent's [[TheSpock Spock]]. This becomes especially emphasized after his Near-Death Experience.
- Characters.Raumschiff Gamestar: (First Mate Martin) Blank ZCE.
- Characters.Sherlock Sherlock Holmes: John even calls him "Spock" in "The Hounds of Baskerville". Why?
- Characters.Wizards Of Waverly Place: (Justin Russo) Blank ZCE.
- Darth Wiki.BELQDNG: [[spoiler: To Viviane's Kirk and Luther's [=McCoy]]=]. ZCE.
- JusticeLeague.Tropes M To Z: Martian Manhunter. Commented-out ZCE.
- Recap.Kids Incorporated S 2 E 15 Phantom Of The Place: Ryan falls into this role; with a bit of Agent Scully mixed in. ZCE.
- Series.You Rang M Lord: James. ZCE.
Contextless potholes (20/50) — 40%
- Anime.Star Twinkle Pretty Cure: [[TheSpock Cure Milky]] Potholed to a character on a poster.
- Characters.American Housewife: (Freudian Trio) Doris is The Spock, usually giving the more practical (if ruthless and calculating) advice. Besides misusing Freudian Trio (only 1 character is featured, not 3), there is no context on how Doris gives practical advice. Any specific examples?
- Characters.Fire Emblem Awakening Robin: (The Kirk) To Chrom's McCoy and Lucina's [[TheSpock Spock]]. Many of the game's big decisions (especially the ending) are made by the Avatar in the end. A ZCE that contains contextless The McCoy and The Spock potholes.
- Characters.The Order Of The Stick Divine Beings: Freudian Trio: With Cedrik as the Id, Lee as the Superego, and Nero as the Ego, at least according to Sabine. No context other than "a character who sets up traps".
- ComicStrip.Cul De Sac: (Power Trio) [[TheSpock Petey]] ,Andre and Loris form one of these. A ZCE that contains contextless The Kirk, The McCoy and The Spock potholes.
- Fanfic.Four Deadly Secrets: (O.O.C. Is Serious Business) On Team JNPR's way to the Chapter 10/11 mission, Pyrrha gives Jaune a "cram session" of swordplay training. [[TheSpock Ren]] jokingly tells Jaune to go easy on Pyrrha, which takes both Jaune and Nora by surprise. Other than insufficient context on how Ren is OOC, the pothole fails to give sufficient context on how Ren tends to be driven by reason / logic.
- Fanfic.Pirate Meets Gebler: (Freudian Trio) Nami is The Kirk, Elly is The McCoy, and Fei is The Spock. A ZCE that contains contextless The Kirk, The McCoy and The Spock potholes.
- In fact, Robin is The Spock to the former two.
- Funny.Log Two: Most of the crew's Christmas time antics. As observed by a very baffled Spock Contextless pothole to the character Spock.
- Literature.Anne Of Green Gables: (Power Trio) Anne, Gilbert, and Diana. A ZCE that contains contextless The Kirk, The McCoy and The Spock potholes.
- Literature.Republic Commando Series: Power Trio: '''Commented out Power Trio ZCE + wrongly-indented example that includes The Kirk, The McCoy and The Spock contextless potholes.
- Main.Dying Alone: Although considering he was with Spock and McCoy when he said it, it's possible he meant dying without either of them there. Contextless pothole to the character Spock.
- Main.Everybody Laughs Ending: Star Trek: The Original Series had the Everybody Laughs Except Spock Ending, which was homaged in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode "Bound" where Everybody Laughs Except T'Pol. Contextless pothole to the character Spock.
- Main.Monster Is A Mommy: (The Order of the Stick) Inverted when [[TheSpock Vaarsuvius]] failed to consider that the dragon (s)he was killing might be a son. Several hundred comics later, his mom hunts him/her down... and she is pissed. Contextless pothole to the character Vaarsuvius.
- Music.Dinosaur Jr: [[TheSpock Mascis]]. Potholed to a musician on a poster.
- Recap.War Of The Worlds S 01 E 01 The Resurrection: No context other than "a character who is a scientist".
- The next morning, teacher/scientist Harrison Blackwood is giving a lecture to a group of teenagers at a technology institute. As he finishes his lecture, he's distracted by the arrival of a beautiful scientist who enters the room with an older man. After being momentarily distracted, the older man, Dr. Jacobi, introduces the woman as Dr. Suzanne McCullough, a microbiologist who has been transferred to the institute and is looking forward to working with the team there.
- Characterization Marches On: Being the pilot episode, the main characters' personalities weren't completely set in stone yet, and clash with their portrayal in the rest of the series. Harrison's portrayal as someone who effortlessly charms Charlotte into bed and is just as much at-home at a high-society party as he is in the lab clashes with his role as The Spock throughout the rest of the series. Norton's heavy Jamaican accent is toned down within the same episode, with him being much more reserved once the team reaches the estate.
- Series.Waterloo Road: (Fraudian Trio) In the first two series, head of pastrol care Kim is The McCoy, Deputy Head Andrew is The Spock and Head Jack is The Kirk. A ZCE that contains contextless The Kirk, The McCoy and The Spock potholes. Freudian Trio is misspelled.
- Tsundere.Live Action TV: Downplayed by Farscape in the character of Aeryn Sun. She might seem to be a Tsundere at first, but is disqualified for running hot and cold at the same time, as opposed to running hot and cold alternately, resulting in a sort of permanent The Spock exterior with passions that never quite surface; a definite lack of Slap-Slap-Kiss due to her Megaton Punch hurting Crichto and her coming by her behavior honestly as a borderline Super-Soldier trained The Spartan Way suddenly cut adrift from her in no way Mildly Military lifestyle and ending up on the wrong end of a Stern Chase… ta-daa. Pothole fails to provide any meaningful context about her character.
- WebAnimation.Quest Of Laizen: (Freudian Trio) Nero refuses to fight if he doesn't know the reason why. [[TheSpock Raine]] pushes him to fight the evil rulers. Abel just wants to be there for his best friend and sister. No context other than "character A pushes a reluctant character B to fight evil rulers.
- YMMV.The Suffering: (Complete Monster) The Suffering: Hermes T. Haight — pronounced "hate" — is one of the many spirits haunting Carnate Island, and the most sadistic. In life, Hermes was the former executioner at Abbott State Penitentiary, where he killed prisoners in a variety of ways — including [[TheSpock Horace Gage]] via the electric chair, condemning him to a life as an electric phantom — before settling on a clear, odorless gas, having done so for decades. Becoming curious as to how his victims felt during the execution process, he studied their corpses and phone conversations before deciding to get a taste of his own gas, killing himself. As a spirit, he haunts Carnate, killing various prisoners and guards with his green gas, including ones trying to escape the island from the Malefactors. Attempting to make Torque unleash his inner beast, he later tries to kill him by trapping him in a gas-filled room. Near the end, he's forced to help Torque cross a gap, doing so by gassing an escaping bus and using it as a bridge. A self-described professional claiming to be doing his job, Hermes enjoys the freedom death has given him in regards to killing people, managing to be worse than the actual monsters infesting Carnate. Contextless pothole to the character Horace Gage.
- YMMV.Yamada Kun And The Seven Witches: (Harsher in Hindsight) For all of Shiraishi's The Spock moments, she is rather emotion-driven about the fact that she was Yamada's first kiss, doing everything in her power to be the first one he kisses after his supposed amnesia, and crying when she sees him kissing someone else. But as we find out almost 100 chapters later, she wasn't his first kiss. Yamada kissed Nancy's witches many times before he kissed her, and his first kiss was actually with Seishuin - a girl that he doesn't have much to do with. What moments?
Misuse (3/50) — 6%
- Characters.Jade Empire: (Master Li) Master Li is regarded as a highly capable man even by his enemies. While he's composed and polite, he doesn't display much emotion even when congratulating his protege. He also rarely raises his soft yet deep voice, but when he does, you know you're in trouble. Raising a Laser-Guided Tyke-Bomb for twenty years behind a facade of a caring teacher and killing them without trouble once they've served their purpose speaks of an especially dark example of this trope. What's more, he's incapable of caring even for his family beyond practical value. Context is about a character who is dispassionate and doesn't care for the well being of others.
- Manga.Nameless Asterism: (Freudian Trio) Kotooka, Tsukasa, and Washio. Kotooka is the Id, being the most emotional (during the series' climax, her emotions boiling over incites a fight between herself and Washio that nearly breaks up their trio for good) and somewhat selfish (see It's All About Me below). [[TheSpock Washio]] is the Superego, being so stoic to the point where her apparent aloofness causes problems in the girls' friendship. Finally, Tsukasa is the Ego, being the most balanced of the three, and ultimately playing peacekeeper during Kotooka and Washio's fight. Context is about an aloof / stoic character, not a character who is always about logic and reasoning.
- VideoGame.Until Dawn: When Chris and Ashley are looking for Sam, Ashley insists the ghost she keeps seeing is real, while Chris thinks it's the work of The Psycho. Chris is completely right. Context is about a character who firmly believes that some event is man-made rather than supernatural.
