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"Law is order, and good law is good order."
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The Lawful Good alignment is often thought of as the most blatantly good of the good guys, and is commonly stereotyped as such. Utopias tend to be composed entirely of good, honest Lawful Good citizens. This rarely is the case, however...
A Lawful Good character believes in the goodness inherent in all beings (unless they're a Knight in Sour Armor), in a code of conduct — be it a personal one or a set of laws --, and that an ideal world comes from promoting this dualism of structure and benevolence. Differing interpretations of 'good' may lead a Lawful Good character to become Lawful Stupid. In most RPGs, it is compulsory for The Paladin to be Lawful Good. If they stop being Lawful Good, they run the risk of losing their powers (depending on how far they stray). Likely to take a theoretical approach to The Golden Rule, with lots of complex rules built around it to clarify how it is to be applied.
Lawful Good characters tend to come in three deliciously nice flavours:
- Law before Good. Like all Lawful Good characters, they face the dilemma of doing the good thing or doing the lawful thing, and they will almost always go for the lawful option. They obey the law, and they are essentially good people who will never, ever side with the forces of evil. But when it comes to the crunch, they'll topple the evil empire today and hope somebody else can save the civilians. They have a tendency to clash with Chaotic Good characters and have Good Is Not Nice attitudes to life.
- Good before Law. The inverse of Type 1. They face the same dilemmas as Type 1, but they are much more likely to choose the good option when it comes down to it. They give and take lawful and good orders, and they'll never side with the criminal. But when it comes to the crunch, they'll let the Big Bad get away today, as long as it ensures the safety of the civilians.
- Finding The Balance. They face the dilemmas of Type 1 and Type 2, but when it comes to the crunch, they have some problems — how many civilians are there? What are the consequences of the Big Bad escaping? Can they find a happy balance? What kind of sacrifice must they make to do both? Is it better to do one or the other? When it comes to the crunch, the Big Bad may get away, but he's lost The Dragon, who can lead us back to him. And not every civilian was saved, but their deaths (especially those of the fallen women and children) weren't in vain.
Characters who are Lawful Good but avoid becoming Lawful Stupid often end up being deliberately contrasted with one or more Lawful Stupid characters to show precisely what Lawful Good ought to mean (in the eyes of the authors).
Alternatively, too much weight on the "Law" side and too little on the "Good" can easily inspire a Knight Templar, though those tend to be Lawful Evil. This leads to unceasing debates over whether these people are playing the alignment "right", or whether they should belong to one of the other lawful alignments. Seriously, just check out any given Dungeons and Dragons forum. We're not kidding about "unceasing".
While the key difference between Lawful Good and Neutral Good is the belief that upholding law/honor/social mores/etc. is required to set a proper example for others or to prevent a philosophical Moral Dissonance, the key difference between Lawful Good and Lawful Neutral is the recognition that laws/honor/social mores/etc. exist only to protect the Greater Good, and will actually consider whether those strict guidelines really accomplish their tasks, rather than simply enforcing the rule for the rule's own sake.
If you have a difficulty deciding which alignment a good-aligned character belongs to, remember that the vast majority of characters do not have one clear, constant alignment. Do not attempt to shoehorn characters into an alignment if you can't figure one out for them; if you have any doubts, they probably simply lack a clearly-defined alignment.
The main difference between Lawful Good, Neutral Good and Chaotic Good is not their devotion to good, but the methods they believe are best to promote it:
- Even though there are some situations where they can't always use this method, Lawful Good characters believe the best way is to have a specific, strict code of conduct, whether self-imposed or codified as a law. Their first impulse when making a moral decision is to refer back to this code; those with externally imposed systems (codes of laws, hierarchies, etc.) will try to work within the system when those systems go wrong. Depending on whether they are more Lawful or more Good, they will either refuse to break the code even though it would hurt someone, or else break it only very reluctantly, and only when it would hurt someone if they kept their code. Lawful Good characters have to be very good at Taking a Third Option.
- Neutral Good characters are indifferent to Order Versus Chaos, and their only interest is in doing good. They will use whatever means will promote the most good, whether that means tearing down a code of laws, following a code of laws, creating an orderly society, causing the breakdown of harmful kinds of order, or staying away from society altogether. Their only goal is to do good, full stop.
- Most Chaotic Good characters don't constantly break the law, but they cannot see much value in laws (or, for weaker-CC Gs, do not see the value in laws that do not function solely to punish evil). They believe that their own consciences are their best guides, and that tying themselves to any given code of conduct would be limiting their own ability to do good. They do not get along with anyone who tries to instill any kind of order over the Chaotic Good character or others, believing these people to be restricting their freedom and the freedom of others; however, most Chaotic Good characters will respect the right of others to impose strong codes of conduct on themselves. Chaotic Good characters often focus very strongly on individual rights and freedoms, and will strongly resist any form of oppression of themselves or anyone else.
Character archetypes particularly prone to this alignment includes:
- The Cape
- The Captain
- Knight in Shining Armor
- Knight in Sour Armor
- The Paladin
- Reasonable Authority Figure and subtropes:
- Rebellious Rebel, if he tries to appeal to his original superiors
- Supporting Leader
- Most heroic versions of The Fettered
- The blue oni in a good Red Oni, Blue Oni duo
- The superego character in a heroic Freudian Trio
Others, such as Ideal Hero, The Messiah, and Friend to All Living Things, can vary between Lawful Good, Neutral Good, and Chaotic Good. Generally, a lawful good government is The Federation.
Others, such as characters with Super OCD and Creature of Habit, can vary between Lawful Good, Lawful Neutral and Lawful Evil
When dealing with the examples of specific characters, remember that assigning an alignment to a character who doesn't come with one is pretty {{[[[Your Mileage May Vary]] YMMV}}. If you've got a problem with a character being listed here, it probably belongs on the discussion page. There will be no Real Life examples under any circumstances; it just invites an Edit War.
On works pages: Character Alignment is only to be used in works where it is canonical, and only for characters who have alignments in-story. There is to be no arguing over canonical alignments, and no Real Life examples, ever.
Anime and Manga[]
- Most of the crew of Cowboy Bebop seem to be Chaotic Neutral, but Jet Black, the ship's owner, is a fairly realistic portrayal of Lawful Good. Dedicated, in his own way, to the pursuit of law and justice (the reason why he became a bounty hunter after quitting the force), he was known as an exemplary example of an honest cop during his days as the Black Dog of Ganymede.
- Angel/Tenshi of Angel Beats is an Iron Woobie example of this trope, as opposed to the main protagonists, who are more along the lines of Chaotic Good, or even Chaotic Stupid on occasion.
- Fate of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha works for an inter-dimensional police force, always attacks to subdue, and will go beyond her duty to save anyone that requires saving, even those that others consider as non-human. She also has a tendency to take in orphaned children and give them loving homes. Many of her lines literally scream Lawful Good.
- Chrono also counts, as while he has a fairly stoic personality and tends to be by-the-book in most regards, he cares for others and seeks the best possible outcome while upholding the law. Signum counts for similar reasons after she joins the TSAB.
- Mawari of Seto no Hanayome. Plans to be a police officer and carries a whistle at all times, blowing it at any perceived infraction against morals/justice with the Catch Phrase (or variant) "Do you want Mawari to teach you about the rules of society?" Always convinced that she is right and interferes with everything without concern for herself, according to Nagasumi's childhood memories.
- San herself is pretty Lawful Good too, being always concerned with the "code of chivalry" and the fact that, barring the occasional Comedic Sociopathy moment, she wouldn't hurt a fly.
- The titular character from Hayate the Combat Butler. Not only is he suicidally devoted to anybody who happens to need his help, he also took care of his deadbeat parents as a child instead of running away like a sensible person.
- Arguably Haran Banjou, main character of Yoshiyuki Tomino's Daitarn 3. More than once, despite his hatred for Meganoids, he spared those who showed themselves capable of love, or possessing some code of honour. He is possibly the most moral of all Tomino main characters.
- Akira Okuzaki, the teenage Ninja girl from Mai-HiME, has the utmost respect of her clan's traditions and rules. Still, she will occasionally go against them to do what she thinks is the right thing to do, such as saving Takumi's life instead of killing him for discovering her secret.
- Haruka Suzushiro from the same series acts more strict, but still adheres to this alignment... at least in the anime. Manga!Haruka is much more Lawful Neutral, but it's mostly played for laughs as she decides that certain laws (school rules) are more important than others (the laws against kidnapping people, for instance).
- Chief Yagami from Death Note. The ideal policeman, strictly holding himself to the law and proper police procedures, while at the same time dedicating everything, including his life, to the defeat of the serial killer Kira.
- Light, when he has no memory of being Kira. Combines Soichirou's moral core with Chessmaster tendencies. Given that the other choices at hand are a passionless kid who can't make his own flight plans and an emotionally volatile fourteen-year-old who's just plain dangerous, L's offer that said character become his successor may not have been entirely a Mind Screw.
- Maria Graceburt from Mai-Otome. Like Haruka, Maria's purpose in life is to make sure that everyone who steps through the gates of Garderobe Academy upholds the morals and traditions of their Otome predecessors, and tirelessly tries to hold herself to the same rules, as she was once an Otome herself.
- Chief Aramaki from Ghost in the Shell knows that his position includes many duties and limitations he does not like, but follows without protest. He does however try everything within his limited power to protect his team from political intrigue and prevent the harming of innocent people for the personal interest of his superiors.
- Togussa is also lawful good, but being the eternal new guy, still lacks the understanding that quite often both taking the law in your own hands and letting criminals go free does the most good in the long run.
- Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star lives his life by the code of his martial arts school and unfailingly fights tyranny and helps people in need because he considers it the duty of the strong to help the weak... But take one step out of line and he will detonate your body from the inside, making him an almost textbook example of a hard-liner, uncompromising and utterly awesome Lawful Good so much that he's often cited as an example for this alignment.
- His older brother, Toki, also qualifies as one.
- Ashitaka in Princess Mononoke is most probably Lawful Good. He always pleads with his enemies to stop attacking, but never hesitates to kill to save innocent people. He takes neither side in conflict between the people of the Ironworks and the spirits of the forest, and instead tries everything he can to prevent any further violence, while never compromising or backing away from what he thinks is the right thing to do.
- Koenma in Yu Yu Hakusho typically follows Spirit World's laws and fairly enforces them, but sometimes breaks them for the greater good, as he turns a blind eye to the Dark Tournament because it helps keep demons out of trouble. However, when he can, he will use legal means to deal with problems in Spirit World's hierarchy, like when he manages to get his father removed from office for sending demons into the human world to justify the barrier?s existence.
- Toru Muhyo in Muhyo and Roji typically adheres to the law and is forced to be consistent when passing magical law judgments, but he typically finds the best outcome for the ghosts and the other people involved in cases while adhering to the laws.
- The Third Hokage of Naruto enforces his village's laws fairly, but considers the villagers like his family and thinks of them first. Rock Lee is like this to some degree, typically being kind and honorable, and following Guy's orders to the letter, despite some Leeroy Jenkins moments. Sakura mostly follows this alignment typically obeying orders and rules and trying to do the right thing, but occasionally covertly acts on her own (for example, sneaking out of the village during the timeskip to research the Akatsuki). Also, in the time between his defeat at Naruto's hands and the Timeskip, Gaara goes from Chaotic Evil all the way to Lawful Good, wanting to be accepted and protect the people of his village. At the Summit of the Five Kages, he comes off as less concerned about politics and more concerned about doing the right thing.
- Rukia Kuchiki of Bleach tends to believe that even Soul Society's harsher laws are for the good of all human souls, but often acts altruistically in matters unrelated to her duty. Her adoptive brother Byakuya leans toward this alignment after being defeated by Ichigo, after a lengthy period as Lawful Neutral....which was actually atonement for breaking a couple of Soul Society traditons, for love. So one could argue he's basically come full circle. Retsu Unohana and CAPTAIN Toshiro Hitsugaya are also of this alignment, as are Ukitake and Shunshui, all four of whom lean more towards the good as they rightly suspect that a lot of their recent orders are suspect.
- While Smoker and Tashigi of One Piece are the Straw Hats' enemies, they are willing to work with them to deal with worse villains, and unlike other Marines, do not abuse their power or display Knight Templar tendencies in pursuing the Straw Hats or other pirates. Marine Captain T-Bone has a similar predilection, as he cares for his men and is almost obsessed with protecting the innocent. Nami and Nojiko's adoptive mother Bellemere, despite being a troublemaker in her youth, joined the Marines to fight against pirates who kill innocent people and tried to teach Nami not to steal.There is also Admiral Aokiji — although works for the Lawful Evil World Government, he practices "lazy justice," only going after those he deems to be threats, and objects to the more horrific actions the government takes, like Akainu blowing up a ship full of civilians to prevent any possibility of scholars escaping Ohara. Coby joins the Marines to bring justice to the people, but is purely moral and the one who finally speaks out against the Marines' actions when the battle at Marineford turns into a merciless massacre.
- Queen Arika of Mahou Sensei Negima, the last Queen of Vespertatia who was much beloved by her people and served as the Big Good of Nagi's Ala Rubra. Between her and the Chaotic Good Nagi, it's probably not much of a surprise that their son Negi averaged out as Neutral Good. Setsuna Sakurazaki is also of the Lawful Good alignment as well.
- Suzaku in the Code Geass spinoff Nightmare of Nunnally tries to keep order and support Euphemia in her quest to reform the empire without falling into the Lawful Neutral and Lawful Stupid behavior of the original series. He also starts out like this in his own spinoff manga, but shifts to Neutral Good while breaking Lelouch out of prison in order to save the world from Schneizel.
- And in the main series (as well as the aforementioned spinoff), Euphemia li Britannia and Nunnally vi Britannia, two Wide-Eyed Idealist Rebellious Princesses of the Lawful Evil Holy Britannian Empire. Two of the few indisputably good-aligned characters in a black-and-gray series.
- Gundam has many characters with this alignment:
- Bright Noah in the original series and its three sequels.
- Also, Blex Forer and Emma Sheen.
- Of course, The Hero Amuro Ray himself, especially in Chars Counterattack, though he started out as Chaotic Neutral in the original series.
- Ryu Jose, Amuro's Big Brother Mentor, deserves a mention here, too.
- Rain Mikamura and George De Sand start as those, shifting to Neutral Good
- Also speculated to be Kyouji and Raizou Kasshu's true alignment. They were framed to make them look Chaotic Evil (Kyouji) or Neutral Evil (Raizou) and cover up a huge Xanatos Roulette.
- Gundam Wing has Relena Peacecraft (who started as Neutral Good), her adoptive father (Vice-Foreign Minister Darlian), Lucrezia Noin (who starts as Lawful Neutral) and Sally Po. Quatre Rebarba Winner starts as one until he becomes Chaotic Neutral, and then Neutral Good. His father and his sister Iria were also Lawful Good and got either dead or injured for their efforts.
- Gundam Seed has Mu La Flaga and Anti Villains Athrun Zala and Nicol Amalfi. Murrue Ramius tries so hard to be this, but she's actually Neutral Good. Andrew Waltfield and Dearka Etheman shift to this alignment near the end of the series. Athrun later pilots a Gundam called Justice. The sequel gives us Talia Gladys and Rey Za Burrel.
- Mobile Suit Gundam 00 has Reasonable Authority Figures Sergei Smirnov and Kati Mannequin. Sumeragi used to be this when she was still part of the AEU prior on joining CB. Starting off as Lawful Neutral and then Neutral Good, Tieria Erde sort-of, if not, shifts to this alignment in the end of the series when he recaptured and merged with Veda, fulfilling his purpose as an Innovade, which is to guide humanity through innovation.
- Knight Gundam in all his incarnations.
- Leeron of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann becomes this after the time skip, working within the frameworks and rules set up by Rossiu to develop new technology and spacecraft. Rossiu does try to be this, but manages to be less on the good side than he thought, only actually becoming of this alignment after being punched in the face by Chaotic Good Simon after trying to commit suicide when realizing how wrong he was. In the far finale, we see him being a benevolent president, proving he turned out a true Lawful Good individual after all.
- In a way, Lord Genome is this and Lawful Evil.
- The heroes of Mobile Police Patlabor.
- Kenshin Himura from Rurouni Kenshin goes by this trope quite well, to name a specially blatant time the whole Jinchu story arc, where he jumps to protect 2 guys who were trying to kill him (one of them shot him with a gun after his fight with Enishi!!) and the guy who tried to blow him up with a grenade. Why? Because killing is wrong and he has this oath of never killing nor letting anyone kill anyone before him
- It's worth noting that Kenshin's master expelled him because this philosophy is against the principles of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu (Kenshin's fighting style), which is basically a combination of True Neutral and Chaotic Good. The idea is that practitioners are supposed to protect the weak by using lethal force on aggressors while not concerning oneself with the actions and laws of society and its people.
- Hino Rei of Sailor Moon was a highly-disciplined miko before she started fighting evil in high heels and a miniskirt, and is generally the most serious-minded of all the Inner Senshi. The manga version — who swore a vow of chastity to Princess Serenity in her past life and intends to hold herself to it in her new one — fits this trope even better.
- Inspector Zenigata from Lupin the Third is typically this, although since the series is a Long Runner it can vary Depending on the Writer. He has good reason to try to catch the Chaotic Neutral protagonist, but never hesitates to change focus when a much worse criminal gets involved, and will even ally with his arch-nemesis in order to save lives (but never lets him off the hook for long, due to his Lawfulness).
- Keith "Sky High" Goodman from Tiger and Bunny, who's driven by the desire to do the right thing and be a role model while doing it, definitely falls under this Alignment.
- Kimba from Kimba the White Lion is a kind-hearted ruler who aims at creating a utopia for his jungle and will risk his life to save others he barely knows.
- Sango from Inuyasha. Kikyo was this before her death, and certainly tries to be after being resurrected, but her undead status makes her more True Neutral.
- Sweden from Hetalia, contrasting with the more Neutral Good Finland — whom he once had to pull out from the battlefield!
- This is what America and England try to be. They tend to go more for Chaotic Good and Selfish Good instead.
- Ukraine seems to be this, considering she's among the sanest (for a sort-of measure) in the very screwed up Baltic corner.
- Don't forget about the rest of the Baltics. Especially Lithuania, who does his best to look after the others and is a sweet, hardworking person. Though they're mostly Lawful only out fear of their boss Russia, though...
- Akira Yuki in the Virtua Fighter anime, who will involve himself in all kinds of trouble for his strong sense of justice, will defend his friends to the end and absolutely refuses to take a life, regardless of the circumstances. His game incarnation is probably Lawful Neutral, though.
- TK and Angemon from Digimon.
- Jin from Samurai Champloo.
- Elma from Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid is a much more light-hearted example. Initially she was only introduced as Tohru's rival, she was stern at first. But learned very quickly that even dragons can change and can be bargained with in her case.
Comic Books[]
- Superman, particularly in his more "Boy Scout" incarnations.
- Although when he originally debuted in the Golden Age, Superman fluctuated between Chaotic Good and Neutral Good. Post-Flashpoint, he's become more like the original version, in some cases even making Batman look tame by comparison.
- Captain Marvel, a.k.a. Shazam!. He was created as another comic book company's answer to Superman. (In one episode of the Justice League cartoon, Captain Marvel was the Boy Scout while Superman was the errant hero-gone-too-far.)
- The entire Marvel Family was like this. In Marvel Family #46 this gets taken to a ridiculous extreme by Mary Marvel. When she and an explorer are on an island of robots, they find out a law by the long-vanished civilization says that any humans there must be executed. Mary says she has to submit, as she 'never breaks a law, even the ancient law of a vanished civilization'. She uses her strength to make the robots think she isn't a human, then uses an idea of the Professor to bring more oil for the robots, causing them to make a new law that any human helping them goes free. However it gets more ridiculous considering Mary Marvel actually told the robots about the law when translating a document. http://digitalcomicmuseum.com/preview/index.php?did=2317&page=21
- The Adam West days of Batman tended to lean towards Lawful Good. He was less of a vigilante who broke the laws and only had his one true rule, to a detective on the force that just really liked bats. Batman is canonically Lawful Good (DnD canonical, not DC canonical). Complete Scoundrel lists him as an example of how a Lawful Good scoundrel will act (scoundrel, in this sense, being based around quick thinking and flexibility, rather than being Ciaphas Cain). Arguably, one of the factors which make Batman Lawful Good rather than Chaotic Good is his adherence to his "never kill" code. Contrast with The Punisher.
- Spider-Man may be the poster child for Chaotic Good, but really he is closer to this alignment. He does not actually value breaking the law for the Greater Good any more than most other costumed vigilantes, and will gladly use- and even seek out- the help of local law enforcement whenever its available, if not outright join them (Civil War being a prime example). The problem for Spidey is more that he is a Hero with Bad Publicity, and due to decades of media persecution along with a couple of people suspecting him of certain murders (the deaths of Gwen and George Stacy, respectively), he is just not really allowed to play this trope straight. As a contrast, the main reason Batman is portayed as Lawful Good is probably due to his good relationship with the police (or the police commisioner, anyway), but Bats will drop the cops in a flash if he thinks he can't trust them to do their jobs right; in contrast, Spidey just simply doesn't have a Jim Gordon alike to trust in the first place (though there have been a couple of detective friends over the years).
- The Avengers "Big Three" falls into this:
- Captain America, though after the Marvel Civil War some would argue differently. Cap's the flavor of this alignment where far more weight is put on Good than Lawful, and is one of the few major characters in the Marvel Universe to dedicate himself to Good first above anything else, having gone so far to once even giving up the "America" part of his name, rather than having to unquestionably follow the government's word no matter what. His Ultimate Marvel incarnation, however, puts a little more emphasis on the Lawful part over the Good part than his main universe counterpart.
- Cap's Lawful in that he's 100%, unswerving loyal to the ideals of America. The only time he floats away from this (in the eyes of the readers/in-universe public) is when the people in charge are themselves going against those ideals (for instance, forcing every single superhero and villain to not only register but publicly disclose their identity, something not even required of military and CERTAINLY not intelligence personnel.)
- Iron Man is often portrayed as this alignment in many works Depending on the Writer. Though during the Marvel Civil War, he fall into the Lawful Neutral side by upholding the Superhuman Registration Act by all necessary means, even if he has to turn against Captain America. Mind you that the average reader would root for Captain America over him because Iron Man did a lot questionable actions when it comes to upholding the Superhuman Registration Act. But in general, when it comes to ethical dilemmas, Iron Man chooses law over good, which makes him a flawed character.
- Interestingly enough, many alternative portrayals of him (that includes his Ultimate version) would often do the direct opposite the main universe Iron Man would do.
- Thor, while he isn't directly involved in the Marvel Civil War despite the U.S. government taking his DNA and made a clone of him, he usually chooses good over law like Captain America when he faces a conflict between Law and Good.
- Captain America, though after the Marvel Civil War some would argue differently. Cap's the flavor of this alignment where far more weight is put on Good than Lawful, and is one of the few major characters in the Marvel Universe to dedicate himself to Good first above anything else, having gone so far to once even giving up the "America" part of his name, rather than having to unquestionably follow the government's word no matter what. His Ultimate Marvel incarnation, however, puts a little more emphasis on the Lawful part over the Good part than his main universe counterpart.
- Despite his checkered past, Bigby Wolf of Fables seems like a textbook case of the "Lawful-Good-not-Lawful-Nice" breed of cop while he's serving as the Sheriff of Fabletown.King Cole, Snow White, Beast, and Flycatcher are others examples of Lawful Good.
- Vance Astrovik, aka "Marvel Boy" until he changed his superhero name to "Justice", in the Marvel Universe. When someone refuses to let his True Companions break him out of prison because he was convicted in a court of law, even if the crime he committed (negligent homicide) was an accident, then you know just how dedicated he is to upholding the laws of society.
Vance: I killed my father. Whether I meant it or not — and I didn't — I'm still responsible for the act. You can quibble about the law all you want, but I believe in the system, so I'm going to abide by it. Just because I have powers which would make it tempting to ignore the law — doesn't give me the right to. |
- The Linear Men of the DCU were a team of Lawful Good Superheros whose job was to be the Time Police. Sadly though they lost connection with humanity and became Knight Templars when Superman decided to Screw Destiny during the Our Worlds at War story line. Resulting in them being locked away because they couldn't deal with a world where there was no Because Destiny Says So. The team's position as the DCU Time Police has been filled by the Neutral Good Time Masters.
- The titular character of Nodwick and Piffany, one of his employers, both by Word of God (the comic is D&D-inspired). The way they express their alignment differ, however: Nodwick is extremely snarky, cynical and resigned to a life of constant pain, but is nonetheless begrudgingly duty-bound and altruistic, while Piffany is more or less Stupid Good and Good Is Dumb incarnate.
- Priam Agrivar from DC's Advanced Dungeons & Dragons and Forgotten Realms comics. Yes, a literal (A)D&D paladin. Also a former drunk who nonetheless managed to pull himself back out of the bottle and a generally likable character.
- Richard Rider, aka Nova, the premier member of the Nova Corps (Marvel's answer to the Green Lantern Corps), is so much of a boy scout he seems like he fell straight from the Silver Age. His recently-ended series went from one Crowning Moment of Awesome to another, with Richard refusing to compromise doing the right thing for any reason. The guy even chooses to stay behind on a doomed planet to make sure that everyone escapes before Galactus eats it, even if it means he would have to fight an impossible battle against Galactus and his herald, the Silver Surfer.
- Readers more familiar with Hal Jordan's more Chaotic Good-ish modern persona often forget that for many years he was solidly Lawful Good, emphasis on the Lawful. This was especially true during the Green Green Arrow series, with the very Chaotic Good Oliver Queen representing the 60s Counter-Culture and Hal representing the Establishment. The Green Lanterns in general fit this, considering they're space cops.
- She Hulk fits into this trope in contrast with her cousin/SpearCounterpart Chaotic Good or Chaotic Neutral tendencies. Justified, though, she is a lawyer after all.
Film[]
- Mufasa from The Lion King honors the traditions of his kind and the Circle of Life as a wise and just king.
- When pushed, Nicholas Angel from Hot Fuzz is not afraid of busting a conspiracy wide open with all necessary (but not excessive) force. He is also not afraid of the small mountain of paperwork that will be necessary afterwards.
- At the beginning of The Dark Knight, Harvey Dent fits this alignment perfectly. However.... Fortunately, Commissioner Jim Gordon remains a Lawful Good until the end of the film. His job pretty much speaks out this alignment.
- Commodore Norrington in Pirates of the Caribbean. Particularly in the first film; the second film had him in the middle of a Heroic BSOD, and he never quite recovered until his Heroic Sacrifice.. Will Turner tries to be this through most of the series, but since piracy is In the Blood, he pretty much realizes by the end that trying a lawful approach isn't going to do him any good in the long run, since pirates have a natural drive towards chaos.
- Jack Valentine of Lord of War, an uncorruptible Interpol agent Hero Antagonist whose goal is to bring Neutral Evil Villain Protagonist Arms Dealer Yuri Orlov to justice.
- Marge Gunderson from the Coen Brothers' Fargo, a By-The-Book Cop whose decency, courage, and kindness are contrasted vividly with the selfishness, greed, and brutality of the criminals she is pursuing.
- Her "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Grimsrud is a Crowning Moment of Awesome and the embodiment of the Lawful Good trope.
Marge: So that was Mrs. Lundegaard on the floor in there. And I guess that was your accomplice in the wood chipper. And those three people in Brainerd. And for what? For a little bit of money. There's more to life than a little money, you know. Don't you know that? And here ya are, and it's a beautiful day. Well, I just don't understand it. |
- Mr. Spock in the 2009 Star Trek film. He wants to do what's right, but he has to go the proper Starfleet protocol in order to do so. Captain Kirk, however, is Chaotic Good.
- Henry Walton Jones, Sr. in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
- Detective John Hartigan of Sin City, of the Knight in Sour Armor variety (not surprising given the kind of place Basin City is).
- Tron has a strong moral code expressed in his Catch Phrase: "I fight for the Users!" His counterpart / creator Alan Bradley is also of this alignment, not even doing his banking on company time. Alan does make a To Be Lawful or Good call early in the film by throwing his lot in with Flynn's plan, though.
Literature[]
- Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird represents the moral ideal of both a lawyer and a human being: he is brutally honest, highly moral, a tireless crusader for good causes (even hopeless ones), and a virtual pacifist. He gets double points for maintaining his alignment despite being a lawyer in a society that is anything but Lawful Good. The American Legal Society chose this as the best law movie ever made because of him. Superman's favorite book is To Kill A Mockingbird even.
- Roland Deschain of The Dark Tower novels sees himself as this, and does try to live up to the standards of Lawful Good, though in practice he often strays into Neutral or even Chaotic territory if faced with a situation which demands that he set aside his morals in order to achieve a goal. He always regrets the need to act outside of the Lawful Good alignment, but this never stops him from doing it when he deems it necessary.
- Jack Ryan from Tom Clancy's Without Remorse et. seq.
- Discworld:
- Captain Carrot.
- As a prime example of how Character Alignment is only part of character, rather than the whole of it, Samuel Vimes is also Lawful Good, albeit of a very different sort than Carrot's. Despite being arguably the most cynical and misanthropic bastard in the series, Samuel Vimes is also one of the most moral people in the series. The law is the rock to which Vimes clings in a world that makes no sense to him — when demons possessed him, he kicked them out of his mind by sheer force of Lawful Good, and created the Guarding Dark. He does things by the book (well, mostly) and gives people their due process.
- The Librarian is another example of a Lawful Good Discworld character. The fact he knows when to exploit the loophole that apes are seldom mentioned in Lawful codes of behavior, or to fudge the rules of the Librarians of Time and Space for a good cause, is one of the reasons he's the most popular member of the UU faculty.
- The traditional alignment for Hector from the Iliad. Especially the case in the Eric Bana film Troy when he might as well serve as the standard bearer for this alignment.
- This is the preferred alignment of House Stark in A Song of Ice and Fire. It's also their Fatal Flaw, and so far most of them who've tried to uphold it have died..
- Davos Seaworth is also Lawful Good, being unquestioningly loyal to his Lawful Neutral lord but also shown to be personally interested in his well-being, and is willing to go against his superior if it means keeping said lord clean from doing evil.
- Another example of a Lawful Good character from this series is Brienne of Tarth, a female Knight in Shining Armor who is willing to risk life and limb to fulfill an oath she has taken or to protect innocent people, despite the fact that she lives in a Crapsack World dominated by dishonorable or even outright evil men and gets little respect or glory for it.
- Ser Barriston Selmy is another character from the series who is quite obviously lawful good.
- The core attribute of the Heralds of Valdemar. The Kingdom of Valdemar is very strongly lawful, but also absolutely committed to benevolence. One of their core axioms, especially as regards religion, is "There is no One True Way". The primary function of the Companions is to help prevent any drift into Lawful Stupid and they have been pretty successful at it for centuries. The Heralds themselves, while not Paladins in the classic sense, often behave in a similar manner. More recently, the formerly villainous nation of Karse has also been dragged back in this direction by their Lawful Good god, who got fed up with his worshipers and needed them to get back into shape on a tight timetable due to an impending disaster.
- From The Dresden Files, we have two sides of the Lawful Good coin, the somewhat disillusioned cop Karrin Murphy who takes her oath to serve and protect the population of Chicago very seriously, and the honest-to-God holy-sword wielding paladin Michael Carpenter.
- Eve Dallas from In Death tends toward the Lawful Good side, as a way of dealing with her Dark and Troubled Past. She considers her duty of "standing for the dead" as sacred, no matter the victim. Her husband Roarke tends more towards the chaotic, considering justice to be separate and distinct from the law, as best illustrated when he hunts down and kills the murderers of Summerset's daughter.).
- From Harry Potter, Hufflepuff House fits this to a tee. Their core values are loyalty, friendship, and fairness. Hermione starts off as Lawful Good and eventually changes to Neutral Good.
- Kingsley Shacklebolt is also this for the most part, as he uses his position within the Ministry of Magic to help the Order of the Phoenix. Rufus Scrimgoeur is a clearer example. He believes very strongly in the Ministry and is occasionally distrusting of Neutral Good Harry and Chaotic Good Dumbledore, but unlike Fudge, he clearly sees Voldemort and his minions as a problem and uses his position to fight the Death Eaters to the best of his ability — often going a little too far, in fact.
- Percy Weasley is also a pretty good example of this trope.
- From Xanth we have Trent, at least after his banishment. He considers his word to be his bond no matter how personally inconvenient, never harms anyone unless absolutely necessary, and rules as a benevolent monarch. Most Xanth protagonists arguably have this as their alignment, with only occasional Chaotic examples like Metria. They are typically very noble, honest, kind, and will keep their word no matter what. In fact, their adherance to keeping bargains has caused a couple of them to verge on Lawful Stupid territory. The most notable example is probably Grey Murphy, who found himself bound to serve the evil Reality Warper Com Pewter simply because of a vow his parents made. And he was going to go through with it! Some comments from the author have suggested this is actually what he believes is right.
- Judge Dee is definitely of this alignment. Indeed, in his dedication to the Law and Confucian morality he may well incarnate it. The ambiguities of the real world sadden him but do nothing to change his alignment.
- Some of the main characters in the Followship of the Ring are Lawful Good: Aragorn and even Boromir before the corruption of the Ring gets on him. Gimli most probably is, too.
- Galad Damodred in The Wheel of Time series continually puts good in front of every other motivation, even going so far as to join the Children of the Light, believing that this is the best way to help people see the Light. He's not the only one:
- Many of the Andoran characters are this alignment, including (to various degrees), Morgase, Elayne (especially since returning to Andor), Gill, and Tallanvor.
- A number of the duopotamians tend towards law as well, notably Egwene and Perrin. Rhuarc, Amys, Aviendha, Gaul, Bain, and Chiad are all Lawful Good.
- Others include a number of the Borderlanders (like Lan and Agelmar), various Aes Sedai (Pevara and Silviana come to mind, as does Siuan, especially in the early books), and much of the more sympathetic nobility such as Darlin.
- Notable subversion: the Seanchan see themselves as very lawful and very good, but it's hard to agree with the good part, considering the rampant and fairly brutal slavery. Egeanin is a bit of an exception though.
- Paksenarrion and Duke Phelan from The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon. Other paladins and marshals, and also sergeant Stammel are most likely of this alignment too.
- Laurence in Naomi Novik's Temeraire series which sometimes leads to disagreements and misunderstandings with his Neutral Good/Chaotic Good dragon.
- Amara in the Codex Alera is an unfailingly lawful individual, who honors her word, possesses Undying Loyalty to her liege and the Realm of Alera [1], and exceptionally just and kind, to the point where upon learning an enemy spy's daughter is being held hostage by said spy's ruler, Amara immediately offers to help rescue the child, on the grounds that it is the right thing to do. Making this especially interesting is that Amara is a Cursor (read: spy and assassin) but manages to prove that one can be such while still remaining Lawful Good.
- The Malazan Book of the Fallen has Itkovian. Who is a nice guy to boot.
- Dalinar Kholin of The Stormlight Archive is a Lawful Good aristocrat in a society where almost all aristocrats are corrupt and self serving. He follows the ancient Codes of leadership which have otherwise been forgotten and ultimately gives up his (extremely valuable) magic sword in order to buy the freedom of a bunch of slaves because he'd promised he'd free them. Kaladin is also Lawful Good, although more of the "personal code" variety since he hates the entire aristocracy essentially unilaterally. Also, his sidekick Syl is an honorspren, essentially a spirit of lawful goodness.
- The tellingly-named Honor Harrington. Trends toward type two, and much of her Character Development is in her attempting to strike a balance. Very likely to accept personal suffering to protect what she considers the greater good.
- Horace from the Ranger's Apprentice series starts out at this, always following orders carefully and never deviating from the Knight's Code of Chivalry. Eventually this fades somewhat.
Live Action TV[]
- Cedric Daniels from The Wire, who balances between doing "good police work" and what Baltimore PD management demands. An example of Lawful Good in a system which is not Good. Kima Greggs, with her rigid sense of ethics and insistence on proper policework, is also Lawful Good. Carcetti probably started out this way, and Carver grows into it as the series progresses. Prezbo is a mild example.
- The detectives and district attorneys in the Law & Order shows generally live up to the series title: They often struggle with the temptation to bend the rules to nail the bad guy, but they can never do so readily, or without remorse; and they are painfully aware the bad guys, and usually the defense attorneys, have no such compunctions. More importantly, they never lose sight of their first duty, which is not to punish the guilty but to protect the innocent, even if that means letting the bad guy get away. All these tendencies are even more marked in the DAs, who, unlike the cops, rarely have to deal with chaotic situations in the field.
- Benton Fraser from Due South is so Lawful Good, especially in early seasons, that Boy Scouts and Knights of the Round Table alike would tell him to take a chill pill.
- Captain Picard and Worf from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
- Inara Serra from Firefly fits this, gladly following the rules and conventions of the Companion Guild (and using them to her advantage when necessary) while at the same time being quite clearly an altruistic character who cares about her friends and crewmates. Shepherd Derrial Book from the same series also fits this alignment.
- Detective Claudette Wyms from The Shield. Illustrated perfectly when she discovers that a recently-deceased public defender had been abusing prescription drugs for the last several years, and therefore some of her clients may not have received adequate legal counsel. Despite abuse from her coworkers and pressure from her superiors, she went on a self-appointed crusade to investigate the matter. Despite the fact that countless convictions would be overturned as a result of her investigation, she pressed on due to the possibility that innocent people had been sent to prison. In retaliation, the Chief of Police passed her up for a promotion that she had previously been all but guaranteed.
- Apollo in Battlestar Galactica. Goes one step further and even holds his superiors to the letter of the law. Also President Roslin at the beginning of the series, although by the end she has also been tarnished by events.
- Captain Stottlemeyer from Monk, with great emphasis on the lawfulness part.
- SSA Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner from Criminal Minds. Hotch is the by the book, rule-following leader who almost never takes his tie off, in contrast to the brilliant but off-kilter Gideon, and later the Cowboy Cop David Rossi. When Elle shot William Lee under questionable circumstances, Hotch didn't let her off the hook, but told her to either go get counseling, or hand in her badge and gun. (She did the latter.) Committed to Lawful Good even at the expense of his marriage and his own personal well-being.
- To clarify, his wife wanted him to switch jobs and thus spend more time with his family; Hotch really did want to spend time with his family, but loved his job and was proud of the difference he made, especially since his young son was so proud of what he did thinking that he was some kind of superhero. His wife left (with his son) because she couldn't handle it, though they still stayed in touch and loved each other. As for Elle, there wasn't enough evidence to prove what happened one way or the other (though the audience saw- she murdered Lee in cold blood), and he might have taken tougher action if there was, especially since the perp was out on the streets solely because she stuffed his arrest up.
- Most of the team fits this alignment really, maybe all of them; Hotch just exemplifies it best.
- Babylon 5 has a couple you can argue about (most notably Commander Sinclair and Delenn), but the only truly and obviously Lawful Good character is poor ol' Marcus Cole.
- There's also Security Chief Michael Garibaldi, who's willing to let a few small-time offenses go unpunished, but adheres to a strict code and turns in his badge rather than assisting in Sinclair's torture of a prisoner.
- Teal'C from Stargate SG-1, while leading the Jaffa rebellion against tha Goa'uld, lives by strict codes of honor of his race, and while he does sometimes question the orders he's given, he rarely does go against them. General Hammond as well.
- Maxwell Smart lives to thwart evil and promote niceness. He's loyal to the law and his country, and is a stickler for the regulations, but is not above occasionally ignoring them to help his friends.
- Seeley Booth from Bones is the character from said show that fits this alignment best (it makes sense, seeing as he works for the FBI and takes his job very seriously).
- Christopher Foyle from Foyle's War is a Lawful Good detective doing his best to uphold the law in a time when both individuals and institutions were prone to bending the rules if not outright breaking them.
- White Collar's Peter Burke is a straitlaced FBI agent who will not break the law in pursuit of his goals no matter what.
- Any incarnation of Power Rangers, lets just say Bulk and Skull weren't wrong when they called the Power Rangers goody-goods.
- Not too surprisingly given his nickname, but Paladin from Have Gun Will Travel is a quite good example of this alignment. A major purpose of his Bounty Hunter role is to avoid unneeded violence, which includes a hatred of vigilantism and an unwillingness to kill in any situation except absolute necessity. He's more of the good-over-law type of this, since while in most situations, he will follow-through with what he was hired for/keep any promise he makes. In some instances, his employer turned out to be the villain, and he therefore changed allegiance to their victim.
- The West Wing has a number of examples, with C.J., Sam, Charlie and the President all examples in different ways.
- The Syfy series' titular Tin Man, Wyatt Cain.' Glitch was also this way before he was surgically altered, acting as The Good Chancellor.
- Agent Dale Cooper in Twin Peaks fits this alignment to a T.
Myth and Religion[]
- Many religions have had one or more figures who would fall into this category. This may be due to people generally preferring order.
- Tyr and Forseti were both gods associated with law, oaths, and justice. Both were viewed highly favorable with the former being famous for being invoked before punishment of a criminal and sacrificing his hand to honor a vow.
- God as viewed by the monotheistic religions. He is firm about his laws and their punishments, but is also believed to be very merciful and forgiving of transgressions who overall works for the good of mankind. Other interpetations paint Him as Lawful Neutral or Lawful Evil.
- Ra and Horus are strongly associated with the pharohs and upholders of Ma'at, or order. Ra punished Geb and Nut after they broke his commands despite the threat their disobedience was to him. He sent Sekmet to punish humanity for its sins, but stopped her from exterminating them. Horus was dubbed "The Avenger" for avenging the murder of his father and often invoked for just vengeance.
- According to Buddhist belief, the great Gautama Buddha (or simply Buddha) discovered a path to enlightenment by freeing oneself from craving and temptation. To do so would apparently free yourself from suffering and obtain immense wisdom. However it is important to follow the Four Noble Truths and understand the Noble Eightfold Paths. In doing so, one can achieve Nirvana, a state of liberation from rebirth (rebirth being the repeating of pain, death and suffering). Ultimately Nirvana grants true freedom, quietude and the highest forms of happiness.
Professional Wrestling[]
- The classic pro wrestling babyface is usually Lawful Good, in that he plays by the rules, enjoys fair competition, gets along well with the other faces, and tries to be a positive role model for the kids watching at home. Not every face fits this classic mold (indeed, these days, most don't), but it was popular enough pre-ECW to make an exhaustive list of examples nearly impossible. For perhaps the best known example of this character type, see Hulk Hogan in the '80s.
- Benevolent authority figures such as Linda Mcmahon & Teddy Long often serve as a foil to Lawful Evil counterparts such as Vince McMahon.
Radio[]
- The Lone Ranger, who followed an amazingly strict code of honor and behavior, even for a hero.
Tabletop Games[]
- Paladins in the first through third editions of Dungeons and Dragons lose all their powers if they don't follow their code of conduct, which essentially means they must be Lawful Good at all times. The fourth edition got rid of this, due in part to the unceasing debates mentioned above, and now has paladins' alignments dependent on what gods they serve, with straying from the path a matter left to the church and other paladins.
- Naturally, the game has numerous races and creatures whose cultures or dispositions tend toward Lawful Good:
- Hill and mountain dwarves (the two most common subraces) are in listed in 3rd Edition as often Lawful Good (as opposed to usually as is the case of other races, leaving open the option for Lawful Neutral hardasses and chaotic berserkers) because their society places great emphasis on taking care of each others' needs. In fact, the World of Greyhawk includes a dwarven socialist state that runs without a hitch thanks to their natural inclination toward cooperation.
- In the first and second editions, halflings were listed as Lawful Good, drawing on Tolkien's description of them as close-knit, kindhearted country folk.
- Naturally, the game has numerous races and creatures whose cultures or dispositions tend toward Lawful Good:
- With their society revolving around serving the Greater Good, the Tau Empire in Warhammer 40000 attempt to be this, and often do achieve it on occasion, but are more commonly repressive Lawful Neutral with a dash of necessary Lawful Evil.
- Many of the Space Marines (such as Nathaniel Garro and Zahariel) in the Horus Heresy novels, except those who go spectacularly rogue.
- Although things have went strongly downhill following the Horus Heresy, some space marine chapters, such as the Salamanders, the Ultramarines, the Blood Angels, the Imperial Fists, and the Grey Knights can be solidly put in this position, being in strong support of the Codex Astartes combat doctrines, and being generally nicer than many other chapters.
- The Sisters of Battle are also fairly Lawful Good, if they place more emphasis on Lawful than Good.
- Many of the Space Marines (such as Nathaniel Garro and Zahariel) in the Horus Heresy novels, except those who go spectacularly rogue.
- High Elves in Warhammer Fantasy. Stress on Lawful, as they are a hallmark of Good Is Not Nice, and High Elves are a haughty, elitistic, uppity and arrogant lot who paternize Humans, disdain Dwarves, shun Wood Elves and hate almost all other races.
Video Games[]
- Norman Jayden from Heavy Rain certainly applies, though how closely he sticks to the law depends on the action of the players.
- Despite his Good Is Not Nice attitude, Knuckles the Echidna from Sonic the Hedgehog is unerringly, thick-headedly Lawful Good, his absolute devotion to his duty of guarding the Master Emerald often clashing with his desire to fight evil. It's also one of the reasons he clashes so often with the far more free-spirited Chaotic Good Sonic.
- Blaze the Cat is a more obvious (albeit less famous) example of a Lawful Good in the Sonic series, as not only does she devote herself to guarding the Sol Emeralds, but she also devotes herself to the welfare of her people.
- A Lawful Good character alignment is possible in the sandbox game In Famous, and whether the player chooses to be lawful good or Chaotic Evil has a major influence on game play. If the player chooses to play the role of the hero, then he helps the police restore order to the city, gains powers exclusive to the hero end of the spectrum, and is generally loved by the people, to the extent that they eventually plaster the city with posters of him standing triumphant and heroic, holding a lightning bolt.
- In Mass Effect, a Paragon Commander Shepard is the epitome of Lawful Good. Lt. Kaidan Alenko, as one of the most Paragon-leaning squadmates, also defaults to Lawful Good, and Paragon Shepard can guide the normally Chaotic Good Garrus's Character Development toward the lawful as well. Ironically Legion is probalby the strongest example in the game, despite being from the once thought to be Always Chaotic Evil Geth. When making choices he always reffers back to a code of rules, such as making sure his programmes reach mutual consensus, and that all sentient beings have a right to freedom (ammusingly echoing the calling card of the most iconic Lawful Good robot of all.) While his lack of emotion would supposedly make him Lawful Neutral, his Shadow Broker Dossier reveals that he donated money to rebuilding Eden Prime, suggesting his values are closer to Good than Neutral. And then sliding back to neutral when he muses on how interesting it will be to watch Ronald Taylor's men deliver retribution.
- Sereph Lamington from Disgaea of this alignment, but in a society of KnightTemplars he ends up flirting with chaos. He is determined, however, to accept the punishment due him for the rules that he breaks — a characteristic he shares with Flonne. Adell from the second game is also Lawful Good. He adheres to his rigid code of honesty and fairness even when it puts him at a disadvantage. He refuses to break promises, despises lying and deception, and his motivation for fighting is saving people. Almaz is most likely this. Yukimaru, too.
- Valvatorez deserves credit for being the first Lawful Good Demon in the series. He has a habit of making poorly considered promises that lead to him taking on the most powerful forces in the Netherworld rather than break them, and though he's a little Good Is Not Nice he's still endlessly supportive and loyal to his minions. Some of the other characters seem to consider this some sort of mental illness, even Valvatorez himself at times.
- Thorndyke from Soul Nomad and The World Eaters. Except in the Demon Path, where he becomes an Ax Crazy Chaotic Evil Fallen Hero.
- Anduin Lothar from Warcraft. The granddaddy of The Alliance.
- The same goes for Uther Lightbringer, the quintessential paladin of the Warcraft universe.
- And, to balance things out, Thrall, the creator of the modern (Chaotic Good) Horde. He's a brilliant strategist, a fairly good diplomat and politician and, above all else, a very strict traditionalist.
- The Draenei, the Naaru, and really paladins in general.
- Kim Kaphwan, the Korean Taekwondo champion from Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters. He even has a "for truth, justice and the Korean way" Victory Quote in '95. Not to mention his "I won't tolerate evil" Catch Phrase when dealing with criminals.
- Carth Onasi in Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic is a staunch Republic loyalist, takes it upon himself to steer you to light side actions, and is higher on the Karma Meter than the party's Jedi. Juhani (after her Heel Face Turn) is also this, struggling to live up to not only the lofty ideal of the Order, but her own interpetation of those ideals, which are even more stringent. Bastila (before her Face Heel Turn and after her Heel Face Turn if you turn her back) also falls here, and is even more adamant than Carth about trying to steer you to light-side actions. Mical the Disciple and Brianna the Handmaiden in the sequel are also of this inclination, though a Dark Side Exile can cheerfully corrode them into Lawful Evil.
- Most of the characters in the Hagane-Hiryuu team in Super Robot Wars Original Generation are mostly Lawful Good. Otherwise, they wouldn't be so easily forgiving to almost every villains they come across. Except to those who are completely too stubborn and irredeemable.
- Games based on the Dungeons and Dragons system naturally have characters whose alignments are right there for you to see. Such as...
- Aerie, a naive young elven spellcaster who's compassionate to anyone in need and whose timid exterior hides a determination to fight against injustice. (~Baldur's Gate~ II.)
- Ajantis Ilvstarr, the youthful, idealistic but somewhat simplistic and naive paladin. (~Baldur's Gate~.)
- Dynaheir, an honest, forthright, and scrupulously moral wizard from a nation where spellcasters like her are expected to become leaders one day. (~Baldur's Gate~.)
- Keldorn, the aged veteran paladin who generally has much wisdom and compassion, but can be confused about what to do when questions of ethics morality affect him directly. (~Baldur's Gate~ II.)
- Mazzy Fentan, a fierce and honorable halfling warrior, paladin in all but name. (~Baldur's Gate~ II.)
- Yeslick Orothiar, a dwarven warrior-priest. Surprisingly laid-back for a Lawful Good character who was, until you rescued him, a slave in his own family's ancestral mine. (~Baldur's Gate~.)
- Casavir, a paladin who left the service of Neverwinter to serve what he thought was "the greater good". (Neverwinter Nights 2)
- Khelgar Ironfist, a drunken brawler who likes a fight too much, but goes through a lot of Character Development.
- Safiya, a Red Wizard who is listed as True Neutral because Red Wizards are class-restricted from being good. (Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer)
- Anomen, a Fighter/Cleric squire, starts out as a Lawful Neutral Jerkass with dreams of knighthood. If you help him do the right and lawful thing in his Personal Quest, he will pass his test of knighthood with flying colors and become Lawful Good. His improved character is reflected in his stats by a +4 bonus to Wisdom. Otherwise, he will fail his test and become Chaotic Neutral, having lost his purpose in life. (~Baldur's Gate~ II.)
- Nathyrra is listed as Lawful Evil purely because the Assassin Prestige Class is required to be evil. She acts completely Lawful Good. (Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark)
- The only Fate/stay night character that is listed as being of the Lawful Good territority is Saber. Considering she's King Arthur, it is only obvious. However, when she becomes Saber Alter, she becomes Lawful Evil.
- Shirou Emiya also starts out Lawful Good but converts to Neutral Good in the Unlimited Blade Works route after several Hannibal Lectures from Archer, his Fallen Hero future self cause him to re-think his stance on trying to save everybody simply because it's "right" and to Chaotic Good in Heaven' Feel when he chooses Sakura over his ideals.
- The online game Dragon Fable features the Paladin Artix. He's always fighting undead, and slaying Necromancers and the like — occasionally climbing down wells and battling his way into the Necropolis to do so. Fortunately for him, in Dragon Fable the line between Good and Evil is pretty well defined.
- Despite having Kleptomaniac Hero tendencies, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney has got to be either this or Neutral Good. His successor Apollo Justice, focusing more on the lawful part of the equation than Phoenix did, is definitely Lawful Good. Post-Character Development Edgeworth also counts; he clearly shows his pursuit of justice comes first and his desire to "win" second — unlike in Franziska and Manfred von Karma's case. Also, Mia Fey, who is more collected and rational than Phoenix, eventually becoming his Obi Wan before and after being murdered.
- Harpuia from the Mega Man Zero series falls between Lawful Good and Lawful Neutral because of his Hero Antagonist nature. He opposes the resistance, but is saddened by the war (see his comments about 1/3 into the second game), would rather die than be possesed by a manifestation of evil (the second fight in MMZ 2), and believes protecting the innocent is more important than fighting the resistance when faced with Chaotic Evil Omega. His prime motivation for fighting Zero is protecting humanity.
- While we are in these woods, both Mega Man and Mega Man X are the perfect examples of this alignment.
- From Persona 4 we have Ryotaro (honest cop) and Nanako Dojima. Chie even decides to become a cop to protect people. And towards the end, Naoto starts leaning strongly towards Lawful Good as well.
- Reverend Ray McCall of Call of Juarez is a Badass Preacher / The Atoner who sees himself as an incarnation of divine wrath upon evildoers. Although initially chases after Billy Candle to avenge his brother's death, upon learning that Billy is innocent, he becomes horrified at his actions and sets out to do everything he can to save his step-nephew and the girl that has been taken hostage as a result of their actions.
- His younger brother William in Bound in Blood is an even straighter example.
- Jorge Garcia of Backyard Sports tries to help the other kids have better morals for the greater good, a genuine Lawful Good character.
- Kura from Shogo: Mobile Armor Division is willing to help Sanjuro convince Admiral Akkaraju that he's being used by Shogo and that Toshiro is merely a puppet for Cothineal, but rather than openly defy him, seeks evidence to help prove the case.
- Sam Carter of Deus Ex believes that UNATCO serves a fundamentally good purpose and that it can only be saved if the good people stay, even if he allows JC Denton to escape, and loot the armory on the way out.
- While most good Soul Series characters seem to fall into Neutral Good territory, Sophitia is a definite Lawful. She's on a heaven-mandated mission to destroy Soul Edge. She only breaks this under pressure of a direct threat to her daughter, after she's been deceived into thinking that her life and that of Soul Edge are linked. She still arguably maintains this Lawful stance, only now, her loyalty is to her family, rather than the gods.
- Siegfried in Soul Calibur 4 becomes completely Lawful Good, but leans much more towards Lawful than Good. Soul Calibur itself is either Lawful Neutral or Lawful Evil.
- Cecil Harvey of Final Fantasy IV. When the game begins, he's torn between following orders and being "Lawful" and doing the right thing and being "Good"; eventually, he becomes a paladin and then king of Baron, and gets to be both.
- Aerith Gainsborough from Final Fantasy VII. Even her powers such as Great Gospel demonstrates her nigh saintliness. Too bad about her fate.
- Red XIII as well, due to his high respect towards his elders and ancestors (at least eventually), and initially only follows the party to get back home to his adoptive grandfather.
- What do Aerith's Limit Breaks and nigh saintliness have to do with being Lawful? Good definately, but I don't see the Lawful side to her really.
- Larsa Solidor of Final Fantasy XII is a deeply-idealistic Lawful Good: throughout the game, he strives to bring about peace through diplomacy rather than intimidation and subterfuge. This of course stands in stark contrast to his elder brother's Lawful Evil.
- Chun Li from Street Fighter. She works hard to bring M. Bison and Shadaloo to justice, adopted several children, and hates inflicting harm on her opponents.
- Meta Knight was a Well-Intentioned Extremist version of this, sometimes bordering on Neutral Good. He's also done some crazy things, but they are few and far between. He's Lawful Good, because of his consistent sense of honor (the only times he wasn't this are when he became possessed or when he wanted to stop Kirby from opening the chest containing Dark Nebula).
- Touhou Project's Reimu may act crabby or
pretend to beindifferent at times, but when push comes to shove, she will act as the dutiful hero.- Shiki Eiki Yamaxanadu, the local Judge of The Dead. She's Lawful by definition and she's definitely Good; she tries to dissuade other characters from their (many, many) vices.
- In Dragon Age: Origins, there is Wynne, a Circle Mage who strongly believes in both good and justice and also holds that the rules and laws of both the Circle Tower and the Chantry are necessary to control the dangerous power of mages. Also, Alistair is a Knight in Sour Armor version of this. The Spirit of Justice in Dragon Age: Awakening is, as the name implies, a Fade spirit who aspires to the ideal of Justice, and is physically incapable of being anything but Lawful Good.
- Aveline from Dragon Age 2 is another example; as a guardswoman she always tries to use the law to make people's lives in Kirkwall better, and she'll speak up if Hawke acts particularly chaotically or callously.
- Command and Conquer:
- GDI in the first game of the Tiberium series. Beginning with TS, they already become less Paladin like, and by TW their politicians are a corrupt bunch. The high military people except Solomon however are always Lawful Good though.
- Allied Nations faction from Red Alert (until Uprising, since they have a Guantanamo Bay equivalent).
- The United States faction from Generals, including a unit named the Paladin Tank.
- Sasha Nein of Psychonauts. His air of complete disinterest may make him seem more Lawful Neutral at first, but what else do you expect from The Spock?
- Anyone from the Belmont clan in Castlevania (save for Gabriel, who is totally unrelated and is Neutral Good) can be categorized as Lawful Good, as they carry their duty from the vampire killer bloodline to hunt down Dracula to protect mankind. Alucard fits as well, as he fights in part because of his loyalty to his mother and her people.
- Bang Shishigami in Blaz Blue is this. His drive is to protect his homeland Ikaruga and its townspeople (now taking residence in Ronin-Gai) and is a strict follower of Thou Shall Not Kill, even against his worst nemesis Jin Kisaragi (unless he got too consumed in anger), preferring to make him reflect on his sins after beating him up.
- Tokugawa Ieyasu in Sengoku Basara, being The Messiah, fights for the good of the people and strengthening their bonds and always sought to help his friends, former or not... all under the Tokugawa banner.
- From Metal Gear, Colonel Roy Campbell is this, as a contrast to Solid Snake's chaotic nature. As a result, his orders sometimes clash with Snake's inherent rebellious nature.
- Also, with Roy there is Mei Ling. In Metal Gear Solid 4 Guns of the Patriots she even commands a battleship herself and is the leader of the final assault squad!
- In Tales of the Abyss, Jade Curtiss (of all people) clearly demonstrates this alignment if you delve into the game's numerous sidequests. He even gets a title calling him "Lawman". An interesting example because despite being both Lawful and Good, he does not remotely fit the classic stereotypes associated with the alignment; it's been suggested that he clings to the law because his past has made him afraid to trust his conscience as a guide.
- In Tales of Vesperia, there's also Flynn Scifo, who clashes with Yuri Lowell's ideals quite frequently.
- In Fire Emblem Tellius (that is Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn), the following fall into this alignment: Sigrun, Tanith, Geoffery, Bastian, Lucia, Kieran, Oscar, Titania, Lethe, Mordecai, Kyza, Janaff, and Ulki, who gain this status by being loyal, upright servants of solidly good authority figures. The healers and characters with the "Spirit of Order," qualify as well; Rhys, Laura, Mist, Sanaki, and the three Herons.
- In Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword we have Eliwood starting as this, then settling slowly but surely into Neutral Good. Hector's Lancer Oswin and Eliwood's retainer Marcus remain mostly Lawful Good, however, with Oswin even reaching the extreme of hiding Uther's upcoming death from Hector despite the inner conflicts it brings him, since Uther had asked him to do so.
- Also Fiora, the eldest of the three Pegasus Knight sisters (balancing Farina's Chaotic Good and Florina's Neutral Good). She's very kind and gentle, but she also seems to believe that Eliwood's interest in her can't be reciprocated due to her being a mercenary from Ilia, and actually discusses possible separation by gender with Kent to avoid emotional attachments until the end of the war.
- In the "sequel", Fire Emblem: Sword of Seals, aside of Marcus we have Percival and Douglas, high-ranked military leaders of Etruria with lots of responsability and very loyal to a king who's a good person, but has his will overriden by treacherous advisors after falling in despair by the death of his son and heir. They're balanced by their fellow leader Cecilia and the high-ranked sniper Klein, who fall more into Neutral Good.
- Also Juno and zealot, a Battle Couple of high-ranked mercenaries hailing from Ilia.
- In LA Noire, Cole Phelps seems to be one of the few detectives who cares about doing the right thing and clearing his cases. This naturally puts him at odds with almost every other Dirty Cop in the LAPD.
- Just to add this up, the cops he is partnered with aren't crooked except Roy Earle.
- Kleptomaniac Hero aside, King Graham of Daventry is quite lawful and good. Queen Valanice is even more so. The kids are more Neutral Good.
- Wiegraf from Final Fantasy Tactics starts out this way. He's a principled warrior who rebelled against the Crown because the realm was bankrupt and refused to pay their volunteer army, but even in the rebellion, he sticks to his principles and refuses to allow his troops to engage in kidnapping; he wants his and his men's rightful due, not just a ransom. When his sister is killed, however, he starts sliding down the slippery slope, until he accepts the power of a Zodiac Stone with what would have been his dying breath and becomes Chaotic Evil.
- The Master Chief after First Strike, and potentially many of the SPARTAN-II are this. While he started off as Lawful Neutral in his morally nebulous beginnings, his trainer taught him about honor, and Halsey taught him of the value of each and every life. Even before it, he showed exceptional care for the people under his command, and is willing to put himself at risk so no one else has to.
- The citizens of Far Harbor from Fallout 4's Far Harbor DLC are a small town of fishermen and women pushed out their previous homes by the radioactive fog that plagues their island. Some of them believe the Neutral Evil Children of Atom are to blame, but in truth their fortune and misfortune was entirely manipulated by none other than DiMA himself. Though their fingers point to the fanatical cult, Far Harbor really desires to reclaim their lost land to prosper again.
- If played with good intentions, Johnathan Reid from Vampyr becomes a savior to the people who needs him most. However in doing so, makes the character statistically weaker for not feeding so much. The game will become increasingly harder, due to your benevolent restraint. But in the end, it becomes worth the challenge.
- Jin Sakai from Ghost of Tsushima. Though he was trained by his Lawful Neutral uncle, its obvious Jin cares a great deal more for doing the right thing than perhaps most Samurai. In fact one could mistake him for Neutral Good, due to some of his actions mirroring Ninja-like qualities. However rather you choose an honorable or dishonorable approach, Jin still holds true to his morals. To the point of even catching the main villain by surprise at times.
Web Original[]
- In the Whateley Universe, Stormwolf, leader of the Wild Pack, is so Lawful Good that he refuses to 'take the law into his own hands' to stop the sociopath Don Sebastiano from ruling the campus and attacking other students.
- Neopets: Jeran, a noble knight who protects the people of Meridell in spite of serving the selfish fatass king Skarl; also, King Altador, the honorable king of the city named after him, is a perfect example of this trope.
- Professor Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch from RWBY make fine examples here. Both were initially teachers at a school for heroes, Ozpin was inspirational and believed in his students. Glynda re-enforced the rules and at times assisted Ozpin when lessons were due, however she wasn't above lecturing students who messed up or disobeyed the rules.
Webcomics[]
- Roy Greenhilt of Order of the Stick is explicitly stated to be Lawful Good, because his is a D&D-run continuity. In fact, when he was judged by a being of pure Law and Good, she makes particular note of his failings-his tendency to use Chaotic means to achieve Lawful ends, his occasional disrespect for local ordinances in favor of a more familiar set of rules, and most especially his association with Chaotic Evil Belkar. In the end she judged that he was Lawful Good because he kept trying to be. He's human, after all, and it's unreasonable to expect him to live up to the standards of Pure Law and Good perfectly.
- Miko Miyazaki, meanwhile, is also Lawful Good (she being a paladin, it's the only possible option), but so Lawful Stupid about it that she's violently psychotic and anyone who disagrees with her delusional view of the world is automatically pigeonholed as being part of some great Evil conspiracy only she can stop. This view continues unabated until (and, indeed, even after) she finally pushes herself into unambiguously Evil territory and falls from Paladinhood.
- Durkon the dwarven cleric also, by all means and actions, comes off as Lawful Good, with a near-obsessive dedication to the way of Dwarven life (despite eventually fitting in quite well with humans) but also dedicated to his friends and allies, and often functioning as the moral compass of the team when even Roy has doubts. Oddly enough, his deity of choice, Thor, is Chaotic Good.
- Of course, all the Sapphire Guard paladins are Lawful Good by default (except the above example), while each in their own small way averts the Lawful Stupid tendencies paladins are often stuck with. Special mention must go to the righteously Badass O-Chul, who's transcended goodness completely and ascended into Lawful Awesome. Author Rich Burlew specifically stated that he intended to portray O-Chul as everything good about the paladin, and Miko Miyazaki to be a demonstration of the wrong way to go about it.
- Gilgamesh Wulfenbach of Girl Genius seems to be leaning this way, after taking over the Empire when his father Klaus is injured, even delivering a kickass speech (and a righteous asskicking) to one of his more overzealous underlings about how tired he is of "mercy" being seen as "weakness."
- Big Ears from Goblins is a paladin, so that's a given. However, he is the author representation of what a paladin should be: loyal, kind-hearted and in all general good. He completely averts the Lawful Stupid, but sometimes fails to Honor Before Reason.
- White Mage from 8-Bit Theater always mentions bringing order to a dying world.
- Berserker humorously shifts between this and Chaotic Evil.
- Garland.
- In Freefall ship's engineer Florence Ambrose is definitely Lawful Good, at least partly due to genetic engineering (the Lawful part, anyway).
- Wondermark brings us The Adventures of Jack Bulletproof: The Cop Who Plays By All The Rules.
- Princess Voluptua in The Inexplicable Adventures of Bob takes her job and responsibilities very seriously, such that she is willing to sacrifice her chance for personal happiness for them. Even Beleaguered Bureaucrat Zippobic, who hates the government she represents, grudgingly concedes that he respects and trusts her (even if he does think she talks too much.)
- Cloud from Sandra and Woo is lawful good, for example he dreams of bringing peace and justice to his mother's home country Burma, gives school bullies a proper punishment and spends a lot of time to help his cousin.
- Uncharacteristically for the series, Major Murtaugh of Sanctum Adroit the Haven Hive arc of Schlock Mercenary seems to be shaping up into a lawful good character, as a stark contrast to Maximilian's Lawful Evil.
Western Animation[]
- Optimus Prime is Lawful Good in every incarnation, all the way from Optimus Prime the Mighty Leader of the Autobots, to Optimus Primal the Gorilla, to Optimus Prime the Elite Guard Washout, to Optimus Prime the last Prime.
- Goliath, leader of the Gargoyles, follows this to a fault, as do most Gargoyles.
- Ned Flanders from The Simpsons is very staunchly lawful good. Both before and even after Flanderization.
- Samurai Jack combines a burning urge to do good with a deep respect for traditions and a desire to help others. This is pretty much the reason his goal of returning to the past has yet to be fulfilled — he refuses to take advantage of the possibilities he's found to do so when someone in need of help is in his midst.
- SpongeBob has Sandy (pre-Saving Bikini Bottom) and Krabs (Pre-movie), Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, and Neptune.
- Galaxy Rangers — Zachary is pretty much a dictionary definition of Lawful Good...unless you threaten his wife or kids.
- Ferb counts as this alignment, surprisingly — he breaks the rules constantly, but only because his mother never bothered to tell him and Phineas that they weren't allowed to go into outer space/build giant robots/construct their own town/etc. He does, however, get building permits (written in crayon) and taking zoning laws into account, while also fudging the rules occasionally (if the family car is being controlled by a remote, does it really count as underage driving?) They take it Up to Eleven when they're stranded in space and need to jump start their rocket — but they can't start the car themselves, because they're not old enough to drive. Phineas, on the other hand is more Neutral Good, as he helps his and Ferb's 2nd Dimension counterparts go against 2nd Dimension Doof's Lawful Evil tendencies.
- Perry and the rest of the O.W.C.A. are more obvious qualifiers for the trope.
- Kim, of Kim Possible fame, generally fits this trope when Disney isn't going for Rule of Funny.
- Another Disney example is SHUSH from Darkwing Duck. Very by the book, especially senior agent Grizzlikov. (J Gander Hooter is a little more willing to bring in outside help--like, say, Darkwing.) Still, despite how he can appear (especially to Darkwing) as Lawful Stupid, the big bear is still on the side of good. By the book.
- Dungeons and Dragons: Hank the Ranger is quicker to point out the law and rules of the party's location, and also the one who is least likely to argue or question the Dungeonmaster.
- Joe Swanson from Family Guy is a police officer that always follows the law and expects his friends to do the same, even going as far as arresting them should they break the law. However, Joe has made a few exceptions when the circumstances call for it and is willing to bend a few rules for it.
- Of course, like the rest of the cast he has fallen victim to Flanderisation and became much more of a Jerkass as the seasons rolled on. For instance, when the guys think Quagmire spends too much time with his new cat, Joe is the one who suggests breaking into his house and shaving it, and when Peter accidently kills it while shaving it he has no problem covering up the crime. The police force is also implied to be pretty racist and though one of his best friends is a black man, he doesn't have a problem with it
Joe: If the black balls innocent it has nothing to fear. |
- Tom Dubois from The Boondocks always follows the law, and has a strong sense of justice that led to him becoming an attorney. Admittedly feels this way partially out of a strong fear of prison rape, but he's nonetheless idealistic and a good (but somewhat clueless) person. His wife Sarah and daughter Jazmine as well.
- The Powerpuff Girls has the level-headed Blossom, who is extremely concerned with her duty of being one of the three heroines of Townsville and often wants to do things in an orderly manner, often arguing with Buttercup over coming up with plans to defeat villains. There's a reason she didn't want to use her ice breath even when she needed it to protect the city from a fireball.
- My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic:
- Applejack: Thoroughly dependable (except when sleep-deprived), honest and loyal.
"There's no point in winnin' if we cheat." |
- Twilight Sparkle: Has a very organised mentality, and tries both to follow the rules and treat others right. (She did prove to be less than reliable in promising to keep secrets, or would have if Pinkie Pie had not popped out from random places to remind her.)
"Isn't this exciting? We'll do everything by the book!" |
- Edd (Double D) from Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy makes a good classic example. He always believes in doing the right thing, despite Eddy's obnoxious ego who more or less ruins their scams. Double D has a serious moral compass to his character, something that is more or less ignored or abused.
- ↑ Until the events of Captain's Fury, where Gaius doesn't so much Shoot the Dog as erupt a volcano underneath it