As a blunt TL;DR: is there a point to this trope, or do we just throw any old thing up as an example?
More detailed: I'm not quite sure that all of these belong here. It seems that, in general, somebody's title (like Mister, Doctor, Captain) doesn't really count as Role Called - if used, it just means the series/piece is named after them.
Some examples that absolutely are just "what you would call the character" (as opposed to Role Calling):
Doctor Strange: he's actually a physician, and that's the name he uses as a superhero.
Judge Dredd: based on my (limited) knowledge of the series, "Judge" is a title that all the Judges use, like calling a police officer "Officer."
Doctor Who: the "borderline" point has been discussed, but seems less relevant. Not only is "Who" not his name, "Doctor" isn't his profession or role: that's his name! (Essentially. I don't think we need to worry about the etymology that cropped up redefining the word for some in-universe cultures; that would be like saying "martinet" is no longer Jean Martinet's name, but his description, after the word came to mean something through his behavior.) Forget borderline - this one doesn't seem related to Role Calling at all.
Monk: as the second comment puts it "...is a detective." In what possible way is this Role Calling? (If the answer is "because he lives a somewhat monastic life," I think that's kind of "cheating"! It's his name, and the wordplay might be there, but it doesn't seem to qualify for this trope. Maybe a different trope, like Meaningful Name or something...?)
King John: How else would you refer to royalty except by their title and name? I don't get how this is calling out a "role" or "occupation." It's the same as "Mister Jones" - it's simply how you refer to the guy if you're not family or friend.
King Lear: same as King John.
Brigadier General John Stark: and, again, it's another "Mister Jones" reference. Ranks are simply what you call somebody - not a role or occupation.
Commander Kitty: another military title. Just don't see how these work for this trope.
Detective Fork: and again...becoming repetitive!
The Wotch: if it were called "Anne, the Wotch" then that makes sense. It's not.
Avatar: The Legend of Aang: how's that again? The title is by no means a Role Call. Yes, it has both Aang's name and his role in there...but the title doesn't present them as a Role Call.
Kim Possible: that's her name. In what way is there a Role Call?
Some that I'd say aren't quite Role Called, but I could see the argument for it:
Citizen Kane: "citizen" is hardly his role in the story, and certainly not his occupation.
Doogie Howser, M.D.: iffy, in my opinion, but I know enough doctors who will say "He's an MD" instead of "He's a doctor" that I suppose it could count as an occupation (even though it's the degree, not the profession, and you frequently find either without the other). Michael Crichton has an M.D.; you wouldn't say he is an M.D. (or, well, anything, anymore, I'll admit!).
House, M.D.: same as Doogie.
Judge Judy, etc.: I'd say this is less clear-cut than Judge Dredd - it's not really their title in these cases, so not a big deal. Could easily count as Role Called, I just don't know if it really makes sense in the spirit of the trope.
Trapper John, M.D.: same as Doogie and House.
Some I'm not sure about:
Invader Zim: I could see this one - we've only managed to catch a few episodes on Netflix here, and we dig it - but is "Invader" (again) a sort of title? Like "Sergeant Jones"?
Sushi Pack: er...this would be like saying "Blue Angels" or "Fantastic Four" is a Role Call. It's the full name of the group, isn't it? What "role" or "occupation" is being called out here?
One I'm not qualified to judge, but I suspect doesn't work right:
El Goonish Shive: ...and which character is being Role Called...? And what is "El Goonish"? (I honestly don't know, which is why I'm not qualified on this one!)
I didn't go through the Anime/Manga folder because I'm not well-informed enough in the medium (and it's always a long list!).
So, to reiterate the gist: is there a point to this trope, or do we just throw any old thing up as an example?
As a blunt TL;DR: is there a point to this trope, or do we just throw any old thing up as an example?
More detailed: I'm not quite sure that all of these belong here. It seems that, in general, somebody's title (like Mister, Doctor, Captain) doesn't really count as Role Called - if used, it just means the series/piece is named after them.
Some examples that absolutely are just "what you would call the character" (as opposed to Role Calling):
Some that I'd say aren't quite Role Called, but I could see the argument for it:
Some I'm not sure about:
One I'm not qualified to judge, but I suspect doesn't work right:
I didn't go through the Anime/Manga folder because I'm not well-informed enough in the medium (and it's always a long list!).
So, to reiterate the gist: is there a point to this trope, or do we just throw any old thing up as an example?
Edited by JoePGuy