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The cowardly lion (a trope named after Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of Oz) is a protagonist that manages to accomplish daunting, often heroic tasks despite their own fears and doubts.
Why This Trope Rocks
- Their timidity and evident insecurities make the character extremely relatable and innately human.
- Their stories can much be more challenging to the viewers, as some of their quick-thinking actions would be somewhat more unique and different than those of a traditional hero, especially if they need to escape from a situation.
- It highlights the fact that the line between heroism and fear makes for some good character development, especially when some of them are underdogs who become more confident in themselves as a compelling story to tell.
- People tend to identify with characters who have anxiety and personal fears, as the audience can feel and understand the fear that these guys have as anxiety is something we can all relate to.
- Especially since they often are afraid of many things that most people aren't and have some level of insecurity while their fears are understandable to the audience, but whenever push comes to shove, they remove their fears and doubts in order to get work done and often save the day.
- Just like anti-heroes, they are usually more sympathetic and complex than traditional heroes, as they face more internal conflicts that make them do what's right and grow as a person, even in unpredictable situations that makes them scared.
- They, alongside the Underdogs and Determinators, represent that we have to beat the odds and overcome obstacles in life through diligence and dedication.
- They practically inspire people to face their own fears whenever trouble is at stake and/or to keep their loved ones safe, no matter how horrific it seems or looks, which is a very important and essential lesson in life.
Cowardly Qualities
- Despite what they're capable of doing and achieving at what they do, most of them still remain scaredy-cats .
- Some of these characters can be too nice for their own good or are unintentionally self-deprecating about their inner strengths (due to insecurity of course), which can make them doormats.
- Some of them can be too much of a coward to the point of being downright awful, annoying, and/or unlikeable.
- Especially when some of them can chicken out with no remorse and integrity when they need to help their friends (or themselves even!).
Examples of well-written cowardly lions
- Arnold Perlstein (Magic School Bus; Easily the most nervous and worried student who is known for being afraid of every single field trip, but still manages to have courage during the adventures he goes through a magic school bus)
- Carl Wheezer (Jimmy Neutron; In the movie and in the show, he serves as a likable comic relief coward who is always willing to do what's right instead of being a annoying incompetent sidekick)
- Courage the Cowardly Dog (Courage the Cowardly Dog; Always shown to have a kindhearted attitude and always remains sensible despite his many fears, which makes sympathetic and likable to the audience)
- Dave the Barbarian (Dave the Barbarian; A knight who can act cowardly despite putting on a confident look, but still remains an heroic and brave character who fights for his kingdom)
- Dirk the Daring (Dragon's Lair)
- Edd aka Double D (Ed, Edd n Eddy; An iconic example of being the most afraid and effeminate of the trio, all while acting as the trio's moralistic voice of reason to Ed's stupidity and Eddy's egotism, but Edd is also given a kindhearted demeanor that makes him the most sympathetic, and is also given lots heroic moments and qualities that makes him selfless such as standing up to Eddy's Brother and saving Eddy and Ed from sinking in what looked like quicksand)
- Fluttershy
- Hubie (The Pebble and the Penguin)
- Icahbod Crane (Sleepy Hollow)
- Izuku Midoriya (My Hero Academia)
- Jack and William Dalton (The Daltons; Being the most scared of the group, they still do noble things despite being criminals and their fears make them sympathetic to the audience)
- Jeremy (The Secret of NIMH)
- Krillin (Dragon Ball; Being the show's punching bag,)
- Luigi Mario (Super Mario; An iconic video game example of this trope. He is always shown to be easily afraid of the ghosts he faces in the series Luigi's Mansion, but earns lots of respect and admiration from his brother Mario, and his generally kind-hearted attitude makes him come off as sympathetic and likable rather than annoying and pathetic)
- Tails the Fox (Sonic the Hedgehog; Most especially in the Sonic Adventure games, where Tails was forced to face Dr. Eggman on his own without Sonic's help, and while he was clearly afraid, he musters the courage to save the day on his own).
- Mr. Satan (Dragon Ball; A egomaniacal "arrogant showboating marital artist" type and more of a "Crouching Moron Hidden Badass" version of this trope, who despite being genuinely afraid of Majin Buu and lying about him defeating villains when the Z-Fighters actually did, he wasn't afraid to take on Cell, was willing to defend his daughter in any way, was willing to help the Z-Fighter defend Earth from any genocidal villain such as Majin and Cell, and always showing his tough side despite being genuinely afraid of losing his people's faith on the inside)
- Mrs. Brisby (The Secret of NIMH)
- Neville Longbottom (Harry Potter; While usually fearful, he still puts his fears aside as a wizard-in-training and fights for good reasons)
- Peter Puppy (Earthworm Jim; a mutated puppy sidekick example of how he's often anxious and nervous of many things, but is always loyal to Earthworm Jim no matter what, and his most fearless alter-ego makes him courageous. Which makes him comedic and sympathetic at the same time.)
- Ron Stoppable (Kim Possible; Despite being a cowardly sidekick with incompetent moments, he still remains heroic and is still willing to help Kim fight criminals no matter what.)
- Ron Weasley (Harry Potter; He's the most fearful wizard-in-training out of them all, but is willing to put his fears aside and help Harry on the side of using magic for good)
- Rex (Toy Story; An iconic toy dinosaur example of the film. While he tries to be scary and fails at it, it's very well-developed that he is scared of a lot of things and panicks the most, but is given a kindhearted attitude that makes him likable and is given heroic qualities since he always shown to be willing to help Buzz in his adventures to rescue Woody in the second movie)
- Scooby-Doo (Scooby Doo; He is a iconic example of being lovable and endearing as the Team Pet of the Mystery Gang. He serves as comedic relief as a playful and silly coward, all while still willing to help the Mystery Gang discover mysteries and revealing villains despite being afraid of things easily as much as Shaggy does)
- Shaggy Rogers (Scooby Doo; He is a iconic example of being lovable and endearing as the goofy slacker of the Mystery Gang. He also serves as comedic relief as a lazy, wisecracking, silly, laid-back goofball who has cowardly moments, but is still willing to help the Mystery Gang discover mysteries and revealing villains despite being afraid of things easily as much as Scooby does)
- Vila Restal (Blake's 7)
- Willow (Angry Birds Stella; Despite being the most afraid out of all the Angry Birds, he was still willing to put his fears aside and fight the villainous pigs alongside Stella Bird)
- Xander Harris (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Examples of poorly-written cowardly lions
- Arnold the Armadillo (Bubsy pilot, although he is very sympathetic, he is not really given moments of being a real hero since he is far too tragic and accident-prone to be a protagonist, and even in the Paws On Fire game, he isn't given enough heroic moments for him to shine)
- Cyril Figgis (Archer, Seasons 1-10; Too much of a unlikable hypocrite for us to root for him and his cowardly behavior makes him too pathetic and insecure than necessary)
- Diddy Kong (Donkey Kong Country TV Series; A dirty coward who is more of a manipulative jerk who runs away from danger despite doing not much heroic deeds)
- Lester the Unlikely (Lester the Unlikely; Being way too much of a dimwitted coward for us to like him or sympathize with him, even though he's a hero, he's too pathetic for us to like him as a protagonist)
- Mega Man (8)
- Mega Man X (Mega Man X7)
- Reggie (Free Birds; More of a pathetic coward than a likable coward)
- Miles "Tails" Prower (Sonic Forces, where Tails got flanderized into being a helpless coward who can't defend himself and needed Sonic to help him take down Eggman's robots, unlike his past version being able to take on them singlehandedly).
- Teela (Masters of the Universe: Revelation; Who is very much a jerk and her cowardly moments make her too unlikable for a heroine)
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