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Token Good Teammates in Films

  • In 28 Days Later, it's Sergeant Farrell for the soldiers. Surprise surprise.
  • 28 Weeks Later has Sergeant Doyle who, unlike the rest of the soldiers who follow the orders to kill all the survivors to prevent the spread of The Virus, protects the main characters and goes far enough to give his life to save them. However it's a played with example as the other soldiers aren't evil so much as Just Following Orders which turned out to be quite justified when the ending shows Doyle's survivors have allowed the virus to spread to France and, in all likelyhood, the entire world, all for the sake of saving two people.
  • Ace of Aces: By 1936, Günther von Beckmann is a Wehrmacht officer who doesn't hesitate coming to the help of his friend Jo Cavalier to save a Jewish family from The Gestapo. The rest of the prominent non-Jewish German characters, including of course Adolf Hitler, are otherwise committed to, well, full-on Nazis.
  • In The Avengers (2012), Captain America stands out in a team plagued with detachment from humanity, egotism, anger issues, guilt, and a seething desire for revenge. Later on, the team accepts him as their leader.
    • The character dynamics shift in Captain America: Civil War, where this role goes to the 15-year-old Spider-Man, who is the only character in the movie who is truly innocent, hasn't killed anybody, and, unlike everybody else, is only at that airport because he believes it's the right thing to do. Even Steve agrees that his actions make him "dangerous" when Spidey points it out and Cap complements the kid saying "he's got heart".
  • Baby Driver: Baby is quite easily one of these, as he's forced into the bank robbing business via threats from his boss, returns things like purses when he's forced to hijack cars, actually apologizes for doing crimes, and generally does not enjoy his job at all.
  • In Bad Girls from Valley High, Danielle and Tiffany are cruel and spiteful, whereas Brooke is kind but is easily intimidated and manipulated by Danielle and Tiffany. When Danielle is about to shoot Drew and Katarina, Brooke finally stands up for herself and says that they have gone too far. She tries to prevent Danielle from pulling the trigger to which Drew disarms her due to Danielle being frail and weak and also distracted by a party guest dressed in a clown suit from her party.
  • Blood Pi: Stephanie is the nicest of the Omega Pi girls. In the middle of the film, she acts the nicest towards Agnis, and while she doesn't tell them about Victoria's plan to subject her to a gang-bang, she does try to dissuade Agnis from going to a party at the Omega house where it's intended to happen.
  • The Other Wybie and the Other Father both share this role in Coraline.
  • In Cry Blood, Apache, Pitcalin is the only decent human being among Benjy's gang. He is visibly disgusted by their atrocities, and it is implied he did not know them before he joined them for a trading mission to the Apaches. He seems to be there because he is the only one who can speak Spanish.
  • Charles Bronson's character in The Dirty Dozen is the most reliable of the bunch, with Maggot on the other side of the spectrum as the Token Evil Teammate.
  • Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness sees Strange from the main MCU being transported to the alternate reality of Earth-838, where Earth's premier superheroes are the Illuminati; Mister Fantastic, Captain Marvel (Maria Rambeau), Black Bolt, Captain Peggy Carter, Professor Charles Xavier and Mordo, Mordo replacing their Doctor Strange after he died defeating Thanos... but in reality, 838-Strange used dark magic to defeat Thanos and was killed by the Illuminati to stop him being corrupted further.
  • In Dogma, the unnamed female board member (played by Linda Levine) is the lone innocent on the Mooby board of directors.
  • Ernest Goes to Camp:
    • Of the Second Chance Boys, Moose is the one who tends to be much nicer and much less of a delinquent than the others and also almost immediately warms up to and likes Ernest, seeing the man as intelligent and cool rather than the Kindhearted Simpleton the others write him off as. Though he joins in with the boys' mean treatment of Ernest, he's clearly conflicted about it and more or less only follows along out of loyalty to the others: when left to his own devices, he's very nice to the man.
    • Sherman's lawyer Blatz is the only high-up employee of Krader Construction who's a decent man and always seeks the peaceful, proper, and legal route to get what they want, and while he actively helps Sherman seize land he got legal ownership over through less than savory means, he ensures it's done legally and at least urges the man to give the people he's evicting more time to move out. Sherman attempting to shoot Ernest for thwarting his attempt to seize Kamp Kikakee rather than "seeking legal satisfaction" is apparently the last straw: he turns his back on Sherman and admits they got the deed to the land through deceiving Chief Wind Cloud, effectively saving the camp.
  • In The Gamers: Dorkness Rising, the GM sends along a paladin in order to keep in check the group's more sociopathic members. All it does is have them find more creative ways to be sociopaths.
  • The Grand Budapest Hotel: This is what you get when a man goes to jail and is on death row for a crime he didn't commit and decides to escape with other much less savory inmates.
  • Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) is the only Guardian that doesn't start off as a criminal or a Jerkass. The only reason he is with them is because of Rocket.
    • Mantis is also this in the sequel along with the even more innocent Baby Groot.
  • Slughorn for the Slytherin house in the Harry Potter (see the literature section).
  • The Hills Have Eyes (2006): Bobby is extremely lucky that Ruby found him when he was unconscious. She only strokes his face and leaves. Any of the other mutants would have torn him apart and/or eaten him.
  • Jane Got a Gun: Bill was the only man in the Bishop gang to show any conscience, and gave up the criminal lifestyle because he loved Jane, rescuing her from them before he married her.
  • The title character in John Wick. John is a hitman and works with criminals, but he has a strict moral code and even spares his enemies if they choose to stay out of his way.
  • In The Karate Kid there is Bobby of Johnny's gang of Cobra Kai bullies. While the others harass Daniel with glee, Bobby is more compassionate, not wanting to bully the kid so much and protesting them ruining the beach party, he is constantly trying to calm Johnny down, and although he reluctantly cheats and injures Daniel's knee on Kreese's orders during the tournament, he immediately drops down and profusely apologizes for it. He even shows up years later in Cobra Kai as a pastor.
  • Meg and Walt from Knives Out. Though both are still very flawed, they are the only two Thrombries besides the late Harlan (who’s at worst a Jerk with a Heart of Gold) to be marginally decent human beings and who never once insult Marta like the rest. They’re definitely not above shitty actions after Marta is revealed to be the inheritor to Harlan’s will, such as Walt threateningly reminding Marta her family doesn’t have a visa and could be deported or Meg ratting Marta out to the rest of the family — but nevertheless, they still show her compassion, unlike the rest of the family. Marta does appreciate it with her even calling Harlan out on how he’s treated Walt, his son and employee.
  • Several Italian characters in the war film Lion of the Desert. The strongest is Colonel Diodiece, whose good faith efforts to negotiate peace with Omar Mukhtar's Libyan rebels are undermined by his own government. Later, he's openly ashamed of the government's cruelty towards Mukhtar in captivity and disobeys orders to ensure him better treatment. Other characters like Mukhtar's defense attorney also qualify.
  • The Great White Hunter Roland Tembo from The Lost World is this to a T, who in spite of his abrasive attitude is a compassionate man who even showed concern for Sarah when he believed the blood on her jacket was hers. The news of his buddy Ajay's death also saddens him so much that he takes no joy in getting what he wanted, to hunt and take down a Tyrannosaurus rex which he accepted in lieu of financial payment, and instead turns his back on InGen and leaves for good. So much so that most viewers found Roland and Ajay to be much more heroic and noble than Ian Malcolm and his crew of Designated Heroes.
  • Monty Python and the Holy Grail: The right head of the Three-Headed Knight seems to be this, as he initially argues against killing Sir Robin, preferring to have tea instead.
  • In Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Jefferson Smith is the nicest, greatest guy in the world, and everyone around him sucks. But by being around him, they start to get better. Ms. Saunders the secretary, the Corrupt Senator from Smith's home state, they all see the light.
  • Pete from Neighbors is the most moral of the group and actually has ambitions outside of the Frat.
  • Priscilla from No Kidding is the one child at Chartham Place who isn't rude, strange, a liar, or destructive. She even goes as far as to help Catherine look after the others.
  • Old People: Of all the murderous old folks in the movie, Aike, the protagonists' family's senior citizen, is never seen attacking any young people. In fact, at the end, he saves his granddaughter's life by shooting and killing the Old Guy.
  • Paul, somewhat, and Sorina definitely in Pain & Gain. Paul is essentially Driven to Villainy and Sorina just doesn't know any better.
  • Panic Room: The entire crux of Forest Whitaker’s Burnham is that he is this compared to the other home invaders Junior (who’s a jerkass) and Raoul (who’s Ax-Crazy) being instead a genuinely good-hearted man who desperately needs the money but absolutely doesn’t want to hurt anyone to get it. When the Delicate and Sickly daughter Sarah goes into diabetic shock while at his and Raoul’s mercy, Burnham gives her the medication she needs. His better nature leads to him saving Meg from getting killed by Raoul in the climax, even though he had the Bearer bonds and could have just escaped.
  • Professor Hugo Fassbender in The Pink Panther Strikes Again, who wanted nothing to do with former Chief Inspector Dreyfus's reign of terror, as he doesn't believe in world domination, but he had no choice when Dreyfus tortured his daughter Margo. He unwillingly joined with Dreyfus to build a doomsday device to threaten the world unless they kill Chief Inspector Clouseau.
  • Predators:
    • Isabelle is a mere Israeli sniper alongside a mercenary, enforcers for Yakuza, RUF, and Mexican cartels, and a death row murderer (and a doctor who's actually a serial killer) and is usually the only one with some conscience in the team.
    • Nikolai the Spetnaz soldier counts too, being a friendly family man who sacrificed his life to save one of the group for no reason but it being the right thing to do.
    • Subverted in the case of Edwin. As Royce describes to Isabelle that every one of them are seasoned killers, he notes that the meek Edwin's presence doesn't even make sense (although the comic adaptation has him speculate that Edwin's there to treat any injuries). The doctor eventually reveals himself as the most psychotic member of the entire group besides mass murderer Stans (who is at least honourable), since he's a Serial Killer whose only motive to kill innocent people is because he likes it and feels at home on the predator death world.
  • In Riddick, the only decent member of Santana's crew is Luna, the Tagalong Kid who carries a Bible and wants to do the right thing but doesn't in fear of Santana's wrath. This leads to him him surviving.
  • The Amish family in Saving Sarah Cain are this in public school. In their case, they make venial compromises that understandably irritate Big Sis Lyddie (who is THEIR "Token Good Teammate").
  • Sleepers: The unnamed black guard at Wilkinson's. Unlike the others, he doesn't abuse his power against the boys and silently admonishes Nokes for doing so.
  • Sandman in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Unlike the rest of the villains who want personal revenge (Doc Ock), want to turn people into reptiles (The Lizard), like the energy in the new universe and want to stay and become more powerful (Electro) or just are doing things For the Evulz (Green Goblin), he instead just wants to go back home to his Delicate and Sickly daughter. He even initially helps MCU Spider-Man against Electro and only joins the villains when he learns Doctor Strange plans to send him home to die. He is very grateful to be cured of his Dishing Out Dirt powers and gets transported home without complainant.
    • Doc Ock becomes the other Token Good Teammate of the villains after he gets control of his higher brain functions back from the mechanical arms. He even has a Big Damn Heroes moment in the climax, helping the three Spider-Men de-power Electro.
  • Star Wars: Many people working for the Galactic Empire are just trying to do their jobs right to avoid getting killed by Darth Vader, but Captain Lorth Needa is the standout example. After his crew loses the Millennium Falcon in a chase, Needa assumes full responsibility and goes to apologize to Vader if it means sparing his crew from punishment. Vader forgives him, alright.
  • Subverted in Stoker in which Whip Taylor seems to be this among his Jerk Jock group of friends who harass India — telling them to leave her alone, apologizing for their behavior. To that end, she seeks him out late one night to talk. . .and he tries to rape her when she rebuffs his advances.
  • Zangief from Street Fighter, simply because he's so stupid he thinks M. Bison is the hero and the A.N. are "enemies of peace and freedom". He has a Heel Realization just in time to save about half the main cast.
    Deejay: Are you totally demented, man?! Bison is the enemy of freedom and peace! These people have come from all over the world to stop him!
    Zangief: Bison?! He's a... bad guy?!
  • Ratcatcher II and Rick Flagg are this in The Suicide Squad. They completely lack the trigger-happy ruthlessness of Peacemaker and Bloodsport, the unhinged mental state of Harley and Polka-Dot Man, or the feral hunger of Nanue, having instead a fully functional moral compass. There’s also The Team Normal and Corto Maltese freedom fighter Milton, whose death was a tragedy... at least for Polka-Dot Man, the only one who acknowledged or remembered him.
  • In Super Troopers, Ursula is this to the local Spurbury police department, being kept on dispatch because she was not let in on the drug-smuggling ring, and decides to help the troopers expose them. She ends up being the only one to still be a part of the force after the highway patrol takes all of their jobs due to their incarceration.
  • They/Them (2022): Molly is the only staff member who isn't fully on board with their conversion therapy, genuinely sympathizing with the LGBT+ youth while trying to help them surreptitiously. It turns out she's LGBT+ herself, once was in the camp for the same therapy, while also the killer who has been murdering them to avenge a friend who their "aversion therapy" killed along with stopping them abusing or killing more teens like them.
  • Jim Caviezel's character in The Thin Red Line, Witt, is so noble and idealistic that he comes across as jarring to the other soldiers around him.
  • Thirst (1979): Dr. Fraser is the only member of the Hyma Brotherhood opposed to the cult's efforts to condition Kate into joining them, believing it would only result in her losing any respect she ever had for them even if they were to succeed.
  • Triple Threat (2019): Payu and Long Fei had been working with Devereaux under the impression that they were going on a humanitarian mission to free prisoners. When they realize that the only prisoner being freed is a notorious killer, and that the mercenaries intend on killing the other prisoners, they refuse to cooperate, proceeding to escape, taking the prisoners away from the intended blast radius.
  • The Truman Show:
    • Sylvia was the only cast member to come clean to Truman about his situation. Marlon, according to Word of God, has felt enormous guilt about deceiving Truman. A couple of deleted scenes support this. One where Marlon is quietly aghast at making a spin-off about Truman's son, and in another, he lets Truman walk away after spotting him.
    • Simeon is the Token Good in the control room, and refuses to drown Truman when he escapes on a sailing ship.
  • Subverted in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Wolverine was the most vocal and adamant about his disapproval of Team X's actions, but it turns out that after his departure, most of the rest left not long after, with only Zero and Victor staying behind. Logan simply set the example, as they realized what they had become.


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