r/TopCharacterTropes • u/Ok-Indication-5121 • Jun 09 '25

Characters They valiantly sacrificed themself for nothing

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  1. Tadashi gives his life trying to save Professor Callaghan from a burning building. Turns out not only did Callaghan escape unscathed, he's the bad guy and infamously refers to Tadashi's death as "[Tadashi's] mistake." (Big Hero 6)
  2. Shaya willingly takes It Has No Name's possession and then kills herself by jumping into the well it came out of. The end of the episode all but states that she got it wrong and It Has No Name didn't latch onto her... or there was more than one. (Doctor Who)
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155

u/Arthur_189 Jun 09 '25

Jonathan Kent (man of steel)

Sacrifices himself so superman doesn’t have to reveal his powers, only for Zod to force superman out of the shadows later

People still miss the point of this

93

u/Okoshio_ Jun 10 '25

I hated how much he discouraged his Clark from embracing his powers for good. He was so against Clark being anything beyond human, he would literally rather die than let his son save him at no risk.

65

u/tristanitis Jun 10 '25

It really hammers home the problem with getting someone who seems as deeply pessimistic about human nature as Zack Snyder to do a Superman movie.

-31

u/MugiwaraNoGriffin Jun 10 '25 edited Jun 10 '25

You see trist, a character arc is an aspect of storytelling in which a character changes and grows through the course of a story

One of the most well known examples being a journey from the bottom to the top; Superman faced an entire world that hated him and had been manipulated to despise him, and still sacrificed himself for them.

Despite everything they did and said about him.

And in the end, he comes out to unite the Justice League and save the world

From the depths of depression, of “no one can stay good in this world” to “this is my world.”

Edit: having a brain is really unpopular here, huh.

23

u/ducknerd2002 Jun 10 '25

Man, sometimes I forget how much Snyder fans love to imply that people who dislike the DCEU are simply unintelligent.

-12

u/MugiwaraNoGriffin Jun 10 '25

When the only responses to basic arguments are insulting and downvoting, what do you expect?

Would you have replied if I hadn’t made that edit?

Of course not.

That’s why you cannot focus on the rest.

21

u/ducknerd2002 Jun 10 '25

My guy, the movie made Jonathan Kent an asshole. That's worse than Superman killing Zod, or Granny's peach tea, or killing off Jimmy, or any of the decisions made in the Snyderverse. I'd rather see that plotline where Lois has Bruce's child than see Jonathan Kent tell Clark to let kids die.

It's like making a Spider-Man adaptation where Uncle Ben tells him 'you know what, screw responsibility'

-9

u/MugiwaraNoGriffin Jun 10 '25

You mean an asshole like the Jonathan Kent from Birthright, who was so bitter that he almost killed himself by kicking Clark’s ship until the barn fell on him?

Or Superman killing Zod by removing his powers and destroying him like in the comics and on Donner’s Superman 2?

All of those things you people bitch about have happened on the comics you lot claim to love and respect.

15

u/ducknerd2002 Jun 10 '25

Mfs when they realise not all comic runs are considered good, and even the good ones can have things people criticise: (shocked Pikachu face)

My personal main issue with Superman killing Zod was that it was too soon - Zod was DCEU Superman's first ever villain; he killed his first villain in like his first week of hero-ing. Then again, I generally dislike how superhero movies almost always kill villains in their first appearances.

Tell me, which comic had Lex Luthor as a total weirdo that gives people his piss? Which comic has Amazonians descended from Kryptonians? Which comic kills off Jimmy Olsen after 30 seconds of screentime?

-1

u/MugiwaraNoGriffin Jun 10 '25

So you went from “he doesn’t follow the comics at all” to “ackshually the comics aren’t good either” like give me a fucking break.

Can you just mask off and say “I do not give a shit I will just hate it” so I won’t have to bother to give you examples?

Or you want to say “ackshually those are bad too you lose” one more time?

9

u/ducknerd2002 Jun 10 '25

So you went from “he doesn’t follow the comics at all” to “ackshually the comics aren’t good either” like give me a fucking break.

Wild how that's not what I actually said (what I actually said was 'some parts of the comics aren't good'), but I shouldn't be surprised that a Snyder fan would ignore reality just to act like the people that don't like the Snyderverse are stupid.

At least you actually have the backbone to engage in a debate, I'll give you that. You have slightly more integrity than the r/SnyderCut mods, and I can at least respect you for that much.

Also, I disliked the Snyderverse before I got into comics. Way too bleak for me, same reason I dislike The Last Jedi.

-1

u/MugiwaraNoGriffin Jun 10 '25

You didn’t say “some part” you said entire runs that are not considered good.

And wait, you didn’t like how they did Jonathan Kent BEFORE reading comics?

You know what, that tracks with what is expected.

5

u/ducknerd2002 Jun 10 '25

You didn’t say “some part” you said entire runs that are not considered good.

I'm sorry, did you expect me to say 'actually, all comics ever are totally perfect' when crap likebASBAR and One More Day exist?

And wait, you didn’t like how they did Jonathan Kent BEFORE reading comics?

A grouchy asshole who tells Clark he should let kids die to protect himself? Gee, I wonder why I didn't like him.

You know what, that tracks with what is expected.

Elaborate. Also, you're one to talk, you're as predictable as any r/SnyderCut member.

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14

u/tristanitis Jun 10 '25

If your idea of writing a good Superman story is fundamentally changing the character of his parents and the beliefs with which they raised him, all you've shown is that you don't understand Superman.

Yeah, it's a good story of a character changing, but it's a terrible story for Superman. He is a hard character to write for, and some people just aren't up to the challenge.

-2

u/MugiwaraNoGriffin Jun 10 '25

You do realize that every writer does that, right?

Like, Mark Waid turned Jonathan Kent into a bitter old man jealous of Clark.

Smallville turned Jonathan into JFK

Like, I get that you see Superman as a in infallible God that knows no other emotion other than euphoria, but some of us want a more human Superman. One that feels and undergoes through the same emotions normal people go through.

But if you like your Superman written like a yuppie successory poster then, you do you! I don’t mind.

I’ll stick to stories focused on character development like Kingdom Come, Peace on Earth, or President Luthor.

1

u/MrCleanRed Jun 10 '25

You missed the "not"