To-do list:
- Split the trope in the following ways:
- Split off a trope for “deep voices signaling an authority figure" (unisex)
- Split off a trope for “deep voices signaling a physically strong character" (unisex)
Badass Baritone is supposed to denote a character who is tough and "badass" by giving them a deep voice. However, Like other Badass tropes, It became a ZCE magnet, and a few examples attracted some gushing especially in regards to the actors/voice actors that portray such characters.
Here are the results from my Wick Check: (Thanks Yindee for the organization help!)
- Valid- (7/52)
- No mentions of the character being a badass- (11/52)
- ZCE- (24/52)
- Maybe/Not sure- (10/52)
Fortunately, There are 2 solutions I can think of:
- Disambiguate with other deep voice related tropes (Contralto Of Danger, Evil Sounds Deep, Power Makes Your Voice Deep etc.).
- Retool the trope to signify deep voices with masculine characters (Much like how Manly Facial Hair was retooled from Badass Beard and Badass Mustache) as well as yard it for deep voices symbolizing a leader/authoritarian figure.
Wick check:
As brought in here
Badass Baritone has a lot ZCEs, Possible Misuse (Its supposed to denote a tough character via deep voice), among others. So I'll check if there's an overarching problem with it.
Gonna play the eenie meenie miney mo game with this
52/52
- Valid- (7/52)
- No mentions of the character being a badass- (11/52)
- ZCE- (24/52)
- Maybe/Not sure- (10/52)
- Fire Emblem Heroes Midgard (Gustav)/ Badass Baritone: The tough king of Askr, with a very deep voice to match, courtesy of Joji Nakata and Edward Bosco. Valid
- Far Cry 3 (Dennis)/ Badass Baritone: He has a deep, mature voice, and he's an African warrior of the Rakyat tribe. Valid
- Horizon Zero Dawn - Tribes(Aratak)/ Badass Baritone: His voice is deep and commanding, as befits a powerful tribal chieftain. Valid
- LEGO Marvel Super Heroes (Wolverine)/ Badass Baritone: Has the usual low register to provide the usual badass image for Wolverine. Valid
- Now and Then, Here and There (Elamba)/ Badass Baritone/Evil Sounds Deep: In the english dub his voice is much deeper to emphasize the ruthless warrior he is and seems to lower as his cruelty becomes more apparent. Comes naturally when you have the same voice as the Shredder. Valid
- Transformers Prime Autobots/ Badass Baritone: He's got a deep voice and a deep love for combat. (Wheeljack) Valid
- Punch-Out!!/ Badass Baritone: In the Wii game, he speaks with the deepest voice of all the boxers next to Mr. Sandman. He's easily one of the tougher opponents in the game as well, if you haven't figured out how to deal with his attacks. (Great Tiger) Valid
- The Locked Tomb (Silas)/ Badass Baritone: It's noted by Gideon's narration that he has a rather deep No mentions of the badass part
- Resident Evil - Albert Wesker/ Badass Baritone: He has a very deep and booming voice. No mentions of the badass part
- Live A Hero (Monomasa)/ Badass Baritone: Has a very deep voice, though it is unclear if this is Drovain's own voice or if he is using Monomasa's. No mention of the badass part
- The Testament Of Sister New Devil Moderate Faction (Rasmus)/ Badass Baritone: Both Tesshō Genda and Christopher Corey Smith provide a deep, booming voice of Ramsus. No mention of the badass part
- Kamen Rider Revice / Weekend (The Masked Man)/ Badass Baritone: His present self has a deep, almost metallic sounding voice, courtesy of Shinshu Fuji. No mention of the badass part
- Doom (2016): UAC and ARC (Samuel Hayden)/ Badass Baritone: His deep voice has drawn more than a few comparisons to Peter Cullen's take on Optimus Prime. Doesn't explain the badass part
- Knives Out (Benoit Blanc)/ Badass Baritone: Blanc's Southern accent blends extremely well with Daniel Craig's natural deep voice. no mentions of the badass part
- Sybal-Heim (Basileus)/ Badass Baritone: His deep voice is portrayed with black speech bubbles instead of white. No mentions of the badass part
- Team Fortress 2: The Engineer/ Badass Baritone: Maybe not as much at launch, but Grant Goodeve tends to use a noticeably deeper voice for lines added in later updates. No Mention of the badass part
- Metroid - Bounty Hunters (Ghor)/ Badass Baritone: His voice is significantly deeper in his battle suit. It's most obvious in the conversation you have with him on the first mission to Norion. Mixes with Evil Sounds Deep after his corruption. no mention of the badass part
- Puyo Puyo Fever (Possessed Klug) / Badass Baritone: His English voice acting in his Tetris 2 DLC appearance has an impressively deep and intimidating pitch. no mention of the badass part
- Berserk: Guts/ Badass Baritone: Damn, even his voice is badass! And it was shown (or rather, heard) in the anime that Guts went through some major puberty at around age 14 or 15 since he already has a deep voice by then. It just adds to the sexiness. ZCE plus creepy gushing
- Pastamonsters Enderman And His Allies (Enderman)/ Badass Baritone: Especially when he sings ZCE
- Trails Series Erebonia Ironblood (Rufus Alberea)/ Badass Baritone: To emphasize his noble bearing and combat prowess. ZCE
- Final Fantasy XV - Kingdom of Lucis (Regis Lucis Caelum CXIII)/Badass Baritone: It gives him a fitting air of command and gravitas. ZCE
- Helheim Hassle (Bear Death)/ Badass Baritone: He has this up until his identity is revealed. After that, his voice is considerably less baritone and badass. ZCE
- Bravely Default Protagonists (Ringabell)/ Badass Baritone: He has a rather deep and smooth voice in the Japanese dub. Not so much in the English version. ZCE
- Trails Series Calvard Arkride Solutions Office/ Badass Baritone: Part of the parcel when you're a badass martial artist played by Daisuke Ono. (Van Arkride) ZCE
- Trails Series Calvard Arkride Solutions Office/ Badass Baritone: As expected from the man who voiced Snake and Big Boss, Bergard has a really deep voice. (Bergard Zeman) ZCE
- Borderlands: Hyperion (Vasquez)/ Badass Baritone: God bless you, Mr. Warburton. ZCE plus gushing
- Tsukihime: Supporting Cast (Nrvnqsr Chaos)/ Badass Baritone: He's voiced by Joji Nakata. ZCE
- The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015) (Napoleon Solo)/ Badass Baritone: American accent or not, that is Henry Cavill's natural voice. ZCE
- Hololive Holostars Japan Generation Three (Oga Aragami)/Badass Baritone: Has one of the deepest (if not the deepest) voices among the Holostars. This is heavily abused during Oga's cover of Love Live!'s 'Snow Halation' during a collab singing session. He later mentions during a late-night talk stream that because his voice is naturally low, it can be difficult for people to hear him clearly, which causes him to raise his voice, which in turn spooks people. ZCE plus possible IRL troping
- The X Factor USA Season 2 (Willie Jones)/ Badass Baritone ZCE
- Destiny The Guardians (Commander Zavala)/ Badass Baritone: Has one of the deepest voices in the game and you do not become Titan Vanguard without reason. ZCE
- A Dragon in Shining Armour (Alphamon)/ Badass Baritone: Alphamon is described as having a deep voice. ZCE
- Tada Never Falls in Love (KittyBig)/ Badass Baritone: The voice in his heart one could easily mistake for James Earl Jones. It's not though. ZCE
- Witch Cartoon Allies(Vathek)/ Badass Baritone: He has a deep voice in the animated series. ZCE
- Tales of Xillia (Gaius)/ Badass Baritone: In the dub, courtesy of Travis Willingham. ZCE
- Jak and Daxter (Sig)/ Badass Baritone: Courtesy of his voice actor. ZCE
- Okupas (Pollo)/ Badass Baritone: Has quite a deep voice. ZCE
- Saints Row The Third Street Saints (Keith David)/ Badass Baritone: A given, as he is one of the go-to voices for such an archetype in Hollywood. ZCE
- Total War: Warhammer - The Greenskins (Grom the Paunch)/ Badass Baritone: During the trailer of The Warden and the Paunch, Grom had a voice almost as low as Grimgor's. While significantly higher-pitched in game, his voice is still notably deep for a goblin and far deeper than Skarsnik's. ZCE and no mention of the badass part
- Transformers Prime Autobots/ Badass Baritone: Comes with being voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson. (Bulkhead) ZCE
- Transformers Prime Autobots/ Badass Baritone: Comes with being voiced by Michael Ironside. (Ultra Magnus) ZCE
- Like a Dragon: Kazuma Kiryu/ Badass Baritone: Takaya Kuroda, an actor with a notably deep voice, plays Kiryu with pure, unadulterated badass. He also uses it to great effect whenever he sings. Darryl Kurylo's no slouch in this regard, either. Maybe valid
- Splinter Cell: Fisher Family (Sam Fisher)/ Badass Baritone: He's one of the most lethal men on the planet, and he's voiced by Michael Ironside in almost all appearances. His distinct low growl is often the last thing his opponents ever hear. Also counts for Daniel Beretta in the European French version. Maybe valid (Note: I combined it with the subbullet so I won't get confused during counting)
- Super Robot Wars UX (Agnes "Agni" Berge)/ Badass Baritone: He has a slightly deeper voice in Act 3, signifying his more serious and professional attitude at this point. Maybe Valid
- Kirby - King Dedede/ Badass Baritone: In games where he is voiced, Dedede is liable to have a bellowing, kingly voice. It's greatly emphasized by his tendency to roar, and he indeed has the strength to back it up. Maybe Valid
- The Elder Scrolls Online (King Fahara'jad)/ Badass Baritone: He has a very deep voice and is a capable king. Maybe Valid
- Kingsman: Kingsmen (Merlin)/ Badass Baritone: Merlin has a deep voice and is the Kingsmen's resident Badass Bookworm. Mayhaps
- Soul Eater: Troubled Souls - Headmaster And Staff (Lord Death)/Badass Baritone: During his Let's Get Dangerous!! moments, otherwise his voice is chipper and goofy. Unsure
- Transformers Prime Autobots/ Badass Baritone: Peter Cullen's voice has only gotten more deep over the years, and even more badass.(Optimus Prime) Not Sure
- Transformers Prime Autobots/ Badass Baritone: He's got a deep voice and can fight with the best of them. (Cliffjumper) Maybe Valid
- Punch-Out!!/Badass Baritone: The Wii version gives him an impressively deep voice to make him even more intimidating. (Mr. Sandman) Maybe
- Possible solutions:
- Disambiguate with other deep voice related tropes (Contralto Of Danger, Evil Sounds Deep, Power Makes Your Voice Deep etc.).
- Retool the trope to signify deep voices with manly characters (Much like how Manly Facial Hair was retooled from Badass Beard and Badass Mustache) as well as yard it for deep voices symbolizing a leader/authoritarian figure.
Edited by GastonRabbit on Jan 1st 2023 at 1:22:27 PM
low-poly Shinri
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
I kinda get that, and that’s why Voice Of Authority has the intention of being unisex, since being in power doesn’t automatically mean a woman is masculine.
Voice Of Authority sounds a bit close to The Leader to me (similar to expressions like "voice of reason").
![[down]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_down.png "[down]"){kind=icon}
I know it's not final. I'm just providing insight on one of the leading suggestions.
Edited by FernandoLemon on Dec 20th 2022 at 11:17:51 AM
I'd like to apologize for all this.
low-poly Shinri
that’s not the final trope name, since we’re still brainstorming name ideas. But now that you mentioned it, The name might cause confusion.
Edited by Ayumi-chan on Dec 20th 2022 at 10:02:08 PM
She/Her | Currently cleaning Char Clone
Cake's just a shot away. (he/him)
Maybe Deep Voice Of Authority if we don't want to incorporate either word in the current name (otherwise Baritone Of Authority would indicate that it refers to a literal voice without the word "voice").
Edited by GastonRabbit on Dec 20th 2022 at 9:12:11 AM
You can't always get what you want.
low-poly Shinri
Edited by Ayumi-chan on Dec 20th 2022 at 11:32:32 PM
She/Her | Currently cleaning Char Clone
Professional Wick Checker
Baritone Of Authority & Deep Voice Of Authority. ![[tup]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Thumbs_up_emoticon_3268.png "[thumb up]"){kind=small}
Also, yes to retooling it to a unisex trope, as I don't think the restriction to males only is necessary/significant.
The Unknown Unknown
As someone who was part of the long-term Badass cleanup that eventually stalled, I'm fine with this.
I just want clarification: if we make a hypothetical unisex Voice Of Authority, does that mean both Badass Baritone and Contralto Of Danger get subsumed into it?
A cruel, sick joke is still a joke, and sometimes all you can do is laugh.
low-poly Shinri
Perhaps, but I'll put into consideration, since Contralto Of Danger might need its own wick check for any problems.
Edited by Ayumi-chan on Dec 20th 2022 at 11:10:31 PM
She/Her | Currently cleaning Char Clone
Cake's just a shot away. (he/him)
I agree with leaving Contralto Of Danger out of this one. We can always do with it what we did with Bald Black Leader Guy (which had a thread made after Bald Of Awesome was dewicked and Bald of Authority was launched, since it was determined to be The Same, but More Specific to the latter) and merge it later if it's determined to be redundant.
You can't always get what you want.
low-poly Shinri
Ok, once the Three-Day Rule is up, I think this should be the crowner:
- Split the trope into “deep voices signaling an authority figure (unisex) and “a manly male character with a deep voice”
Also, as I said in the wick check, another problem with Badass Baritone is the fact that there potholes to the actors/voice actors that portrayed the deep voiced character or just say they have a deep voice courtesy of that person, which to me, seems like actor myopia. A few other voice tropes have that problem, but I think BB suffers from it the most, presumably due to the name.
Edited by Ayumi-chan on Dec 21st 2022 at 11:48:42 PM
She/Her | Currently cleaning Char Clone
Cake's just a shot away. (he/him)
(Retracted; misread the timestamp.)
Edited by GastonRabbit on Dec 21st 2022 at 1:36:25 PM
You can't always get what you want.
Cake's just a shot away. (he/him)
OK, it's hooked. I made the two split options separate.
You can't always get what you want.
the Retromancer
Remind me if strong or cool characters having intimidating deep voice is "a manly male character with a deep voice" or Power Makes Your Voice Deep.
TroperWall / WikiMagic Cleanup
It would only be Power Makes Your Voice Deep if the character became stronger and their voice deepened alongside the change. If the character starts the story cool and strong with a deep voice and they don't gain any power/oower-up and have another voice drop, it's not PMYVD
Cake's just a shot away. (he/him)
I was going by the splits Synchronicity mentioned in this post, and I think Ayumi-chan was as well. I can still add the trope for strong characters to the crowner.
Edit: Done. Let me know if any further changes are needed.
Edited by GastonRabbit on Dec 21st 2022 at 1:54:13 PM
You can't always get what you want.
low-poly Shinri
Admittedly, I'm a bit split on the "deep voice for manly male character vote", considering that it's not very popular so far, but if it's not hooked then I'll just save it for a future yarded trope, if thats allowed.
She/Her | Currently cleaning Char Clone
the Retromancer
Feeling "manly male character with a deep voice" is not a trope because "manliness" is vaguely defined and men having deeper voices is natural. The only viable thing here is being a part of Mr. Fanservice.
TroperWall / WikiMagic Cleanup
low-poly Shinri
fair enough
E: decided to downvote the "manly deep voice" shtick.
Edited by Ayumi-chan on Dec 22nd 2022 at 11:28:01 PM
She/Her | Currently cleaning Char Clone
Sexy Baritone might be tropable in its own right, as I've seen my share of Barry White and other such parodies of that nature so it's quite common. It's not the same as Aroused by Their Voice, which requires in-universe acknowledgment.
Cake's just a shot away. (he/him)
I agree, but it would probably have to be taken to TLP since I don't think the wick check picked up any examples like that.
Edited by GastonRabbit on Dec 22nd 2022 at 9:51:20 AM
You can't always get what you want.
the Retromancer
If something can't be worked on for now, yarding is free.
TroperWall / WikiMagic Cleanup
I think Voice Of Authority might be prone to misuse, given its use as a term outside TV Tropes, where it's used as a term for either expertise or the official spokesperson for a high-profile figure or organisation.
You're looking at something more akin to Authoritative Baritone to make it clear that it's the baritone that creates the impression of authority rather than the person being authoritative because of their position or knowledge.
If my post doesn't mention a giant flying sperm whale with oversized teeth and lionfish fins for flippers, it just isn't worth reading.
the Retromancer
You mean Voice Of Authority be misused as if it's Mouth of Sauron? Good point.
Edited by Amonimus on Dec 22nd 2022 at 4:00:26 PM
TroperWall / WikiMagic Cleanup
I like Authoritative Baritone. We can add it to the future crowner list since unless some dramatic changes happen in the next 24-36hrs, that trope is going to get made
Edited by amathieu13 on Dec 22nd 2022 at 8:01:17 AM
Crown Description:
Badass Baritone's tropeworthiness has been questioned, but splitting off specific concepts has been suggested. What should be done with Badass Baritone?
I think we can discuss masculinity in the trope description without putting it in the name or limiting the trope to explicit associations to masculinity. This was what was done with Bald Head of Toughness. It came out of the Bald Woman disambig but was written (I drafted it) with the future likely disambig of Bald Of Awesome in mind.
Not every tough bald woman is being coded as manly or masculine. Or rather, while toughness is heavily associated with masculinity, it's not quite enough to say that tough bald women are by default manly.
Similar case here. Deeper voices are associated with power because masculinity is associated with power AND deeper voices, but not all women with deeper voices who are considered powerful are trying to be or are coded as masculine. (Much has been said too of women having to "lean in" while preserving their femininity.)
Idk if I explained that well...
Edited by amathieu13 on Dec 19th 2022 at 2:46:39 PM