Undying Loyalty

"Don't ask me to leave you and turn back. I will go where you go and live where you live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God."
—Ruth, The Bible

A character characterized by his or her loyalty. Can be a trait of both heroes and villains. Most of them are supporting characters, intended as sympathetic. Indeed if used in a villain it can sometimes be used to flesh him out and give him redeeming qualities. Alternatively it can be negatively portrayed as a threat to conscience.

When given to a main-character or one in an authority position expect it to manifest itself in protective instinct; as a Papa Wolf or as The Caretaker or as someone who is A Father to His Men. When given to a Sidekick expect it to be an unselfish willingness to support the main character.

See also: My Country, Right or Wrong, My Master, Right or Wrong, Thicker Than Water, I Will Wait for You, I Am Spartacus.

Characters that may exhibit this trope: Battle Butler, The Dragon, Happiness in Slavery, Sycophantic Servant, The Igor, Loyal Animal Companion, Robot Buddy, Sarcastic Devotee, Psycho Supporter, Extreme Doormat, Worthy Opponent, The Champion, Sidekick, Yes-Man and most of the characters on the Submissive Badass index.

Examples of Undying Loyalty include:

Anime and Manga

-- Jeremiah: "TASTE THE STORM OF MY LOYALTY!!!"

    • And that loyalty is actually come from his loyalty to Marianne. Now that's truly undying.
    • Guilford is the same towards Cornelia. He's just much quieter about it.
  • Patrick Colousaur embodies this for his superior officer, Kati Mannequin in Gundam 00. The reason is love. The undying loyalty is his cockroach like tendency to survive any dangerous No One Could Survive That situation, especially on her orders. Eventually, it pays off big time with him winning her hand in marriage.
  • Agnes to Henrietta in The Familiar of Zero.
  • Kabuto Yakushi from Naruto.
    • Also Zetsu and Kisame to Madara
    • And Kimimaro to Orochimaru even after being resurrected
  • Fate/Zero has an example with Alexander The Great's Reality Marble, Ionioi Hetaroi, which summons the Badass Army that he controlled in his life. It's literal undying loyalty. Later on, Waver Velvet proudly shouts that he is not Alexander's master, he is his follower. Gilgamesh spares him because of this.
  • Katekyo Hitman Reborn: Gokudera towards Tsuna is this trope, completely and totally. Heck, his whole character song seems to be a tribute to his undying loyalty towards Tsuna.
    • Arguably, Squalo qualifies as this for Xanxus. Not only did he wait 8 years for Xanxus' return, but he grew out his hair and puts up with crap that would make a Bastard Boyfriend seem like a pleasant alternative.
  • Literally the case of Koinosuke Odago in Jubei-chan, became undead to follow his master's directive through sheer force of will for 300 years.
  • Mahou Sensei Negima has Setsuna acting like this toward Konoka.
    • Fate's female minions act like this toward him as well. He took them all in as children after their parents were killed in the war.
  • The Familiars and Wolkenritter of Lyrical Nanoha. If it's for the sake of their master, the rightness or wrongness of an act doesn't matter, and if it will benefit or save their master, they will gladly give up their lives, powers, and/or freedom.
    • Fate Testarossa as well, initially toward Precia, then Nanoha.
  • R.E.O Speedwagon from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is extremely loyal to Jonathan Joestar via Defeat Means Friendship, combined with his selfless rescue of him from a burning building/Vampire attack. This loyalty would extend to the entire Joestar family, even more than half a century later.
    • On the villain side, we have Vanilla Ice (Don't ask). How loyal is he? He CUTS OFF HIS OWN HEAD WHEN DIO SAYS HE NEEDS BLOOD. Dio actually turns Ice into a Vampire in thanks for this. When he fights Iggy and Polneraff, he delivers a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown to Iggy just for making him destroy an effigy of Dio.
  • Bjorn to Askeladd in Vinland Saga.
  • In One Piece, each of the Straw Hats are fiercely loyal to their captain Luffy, ready to risk their lives for him as soon as he gives the word. At one point, when Kuma wanted to kill Luffy, both Zoro and Sanji, without a moment of hesitation, offered their lives instead.
  • Elenore Baker to Margaret.
  • Harry Ord from Turn a Gundam.
  • Brutally deconstructed in the anime Gungrave. Brandon's personal code which is this trope puts him under much torment when he has to choose between the best friend Harry and the father figure Big Daddy. Brandon's inability to choose ends up being one of the main causes of Brandon's downfall, which in turn leads to suffering of the people closest to Brandon. In the finale, Brandon admits that even though he is supposed to enforce the iron law of the syndicate to never betray, he just cannot shoot his best friend Harry.
  • This is the defining trait of most Mons.
  • In Claymore, Jean would go to literally suicidal lengths for Clare, as a result of I Owe You My Life sentiment. Also, Miria tends to inspire this in most people she meets, especially fellow Claymores.
  • Because they effectively picked him off the streets and brought him up as one of their own, Firo from Baccano! is unquestionably loyal to the Martillo camorra family to the point that he'd kill or give up his own life on their order.
  • Loyalty is a big deal in the Sengoku Basara anime and games, given the subject matter, but Kojuuro and the rest of the Date clan really stand out in their loyalty to Date Masamune. In the anime's second season, Masamune's followers pile onto him bodily to protect him from Toyotomi Hideyoshi; a flashback in the following episode shows Kojuuro preparing to commit Seppuku because he blamed himself for Masamune's arm being wounded in battle.
    • Yukimura's loyalty to his master Shingen is completely unfathomable. He can't even imagine a world where the latter doesn't exist for him to serve.
  • Hagi in Blood+ is characterized almost entirely by his unswerving loyalty to Saya. In something of a deconstruction, Hagi's devotion makes him reluctant to speak out when Saya makes decisions that might be bad for her; he even promises to kill her once she succeeds in killing Diva, and it takes being confronted and berated by Saya's brother Kai before Hagi will admit that he would much rather not go through with it.
  • Several instances in Fullmetal Alchemist:
    • The Mustang unit, particularly Hawkeye, to their commanding officer and also to one another. It goes both ways; Mustang will do anything to protect his subordinates (again, particularly Hawkeye).
    • Greed's minions
    • Fu and Lan Fan to Ling
    • And of course, the Elric brothers to one another!
    • The Briggs Brigade to Major-General Armstrong; Pride to Father.
  • A villain example but in Monster, Psycho for Hire Roberto is unfailingly loyal to his master Johan Liebert. Though given that this is Johan Liebert we're talking about, a man often compared to Hitler and the Devil himself, it's unlikely that he feels the same.
  • Recent Bleach antagonist Tsukishima has an ability to deliberately invoke this trope to anyone he cuts and make his victims unusually protective and friendly towards him by means of brainwashing and implanting false memories in them.
    • Defied by Byakuya, who is brainwashed that way, but kills Tsukushima anyway, despite the "debt" he owed Tsukushima for teaching him swordfighting, because Tsukishima was an enemy of Ichigo, and that was reason enough.
    • Believe it or not, Tsukishima himself might feel this way towards Ginjou, judging by his reaction towards Ginjou possibly dying and the brief flashback of him as a young child and the shinigami Ginjou.
  • Three of Shishio Makoto's Juppongatana display undying loyalty to him. Yumi uses herself as a distraction so that Shishio can stab Kenshin through her. Kamatari had to be deceived so that he did not follow Shishio in death. These two were in love with Shishio. The last, Houji, thoroughly subverts Evil Chancellor. He is evil and he's Shishio's majordomo but he is utterly devoted to his leader. Enough to take the blame for an unpopular plan and risk the ire of the other Juppongatana. Enough to follow Shishio into hell. Even Shishio himself acknowledges Houji's loyalty.
  • Many Specters from Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas, notably Wyvern Rhadamanthys and Bennu Kagaho.
  • After Kotetsu wins his trust in the first half of Tiger and Bunny, Barnaby develops a fierce loyalty towards him to the point that staying by his side becomes his only reason for remaining a hero.
  • Dragon Ball: Dabra to Babidi. Too bad Babidi is a moron that, after getting a stronger minion in Majin Boo, instantly had Boo kill Dabra, even though Babidi could barely get Boo to obey. This eventually resulted in Babidi getting killed by Boo, which Dabra had warned him of beforehand.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam's M'Quve is loyal unto death to his lady, Kycilia Zabi. He carries out every order she gives him to the letter, lives to serve her, and uses his Famous Last Words to will her his prized possession. Many suspect that Subordinate Excuse is in full effect here.
  • Inspector Zenigata, former trope namer of Sympathetic Inspector Antagonist, has the ability to inspire this into cops from all over the world. His subordinates in the Japanese police have ignored orders from the Interpol to follow Zenigata, and in the special Voyage To Danger the Italian police, after trapping Lupin in an unescapable trap (Lupin himself was desperate), packed and let him go when they learned that Zenigata had been pulled from the case because if they got him in that occasion it would have meant that Zenigata hadn't been the one who arrested him.


Comic Books

  • Batman has had his ups and downs throughout the years, and had his scrapes with many a hero, but he will never be abandoned by Alfred.

Bruce Wayne: I wanted to save Gotham. I've failed.
Alfred: Why do we fall, sir?
(Beat)
Alfred: So that we can learn to pick ourselves up.
Bruce: You still haven't given up on me?
Alfred: Never.

    • Well, usually. Sometimes Batman's jerkiness is too much for him and he'll leave for a time. "Venom" and "Officer Down" are two such stories where this happened.
      • I remember than Alfred quit when Bruce has decided to ruthlessly risk his own life only for his stubborness. Alfred said that he would not allow him to auto destruct himself and so, by abandoning Batman he could show his true loyalty to him.
    • Red Robin/Tim Drake is this. Batman notes that loyalty is his prime motivation, and his loyalty to his father caused his Ten-Minute Retirement. So when Batman apparently dies, he goes Darker and Edgier, and tries to prove he is alive. Undying loyalty doesn't change regardless of who dies.
  • Krypto, the super dog. Not even being cloned makes him less loyal to the kryptonians

Max Lord: "We talked about this! Don't clone the dog! Dogs are weird! The whole loyalty thing just seems to be branded right in on a genetic level, for Pete's sake!"

  • Darkseid is as villainous as you can get. Yet, when Superman defeats him with his own Omega Beams and throws him down to the slaves, what do they do? Carefully carry him away, genuinely worried about his safety. When Superman seems confused as to why people he believe he had freed would help him, Darkseid himself musters enough strength to answer:

Darkseid: I am many things, Kal-El. But here, I am God.

I find ones who hurt you. I kill. I good kitty.

  • Wong, Doctor Strange's manservant and friend, is his one constant companion. He even sticks around after Strange relinquishes the title of Sorcerer Supreme and joins the New Avengers.
  • This one panel strip.
  • In The Adventures of Tintin, when Loyal Animal Companion Snowy thinks that Tintin is dead, he resigns himself to spending the rest of his life at his grave.


Film

  • Anguirus is Godzilla's most loyal ally, even willing to risk his own life if it means helping his fellow kaiju.
    • Ironically enough, Anguirus was the very first monster Godzilla ever fought. Defeat Means Friendship, indeed!
    • A prime example of Anguirus's loyalty towards Godzilla can be seen in the 1974 film Godzilla VS Mechagodzilla. In it, after losing to the Mechagodzilla (disguised as the real Godzilla) he goes to warn Godzilla about the impending danger even after Mechagodzilla had broken Anguirus's jaw and pretty much beat the living daylights out of him.
    • In Godzilla: Final Wars, Anguirus is released by the Xilians alongside Rodan and King Caesar (Godzilla's other two allies in the Showa series) to stop Godzilla at Mount Fuji. Anguirus and Godzilla have a short conversation before Godzilla gives a sharp backward jerk of his head after Anguirus roars something and charges into battle, as if he's shocked that Anguirus would actually fight against him. Fortunately, Godzilla leaves his three former allies in a comical heap, sparing them from death.
  • |Woody will never give up on you.
  • Bob from the 1989 Batman film proves this trope isn't just for good characters. He always, always has The Joker's back covered and follows his boss' every order without question, even when Joker asks to borrow Bob's gun so he can shoot Bob dead just for the hell of it.


Literature

  • Hagrid is extremely loyal to Dumbledore in Harry Potter, probably moreso than any other person.
    • Sirius Black has put himself through a lot out of loyalty to Harry and his father.
    • Possibly the best example in the series of this trope is Severus Snape; we don't learn the circumstances until the end of the last book, though it has defined him the whole time.
    • Also, Ron's loyalty to Harry is repeatedly mentioned to the point where it's practically his defining characteristic. They have a couple of instances where they're on the outs (they are teenage boys), but on the whole they're practically brothers.
    • Harry's loyalty to Dumbledore is tested throughout books 5, 6, and 7. Even after learning about Dumbledore's Dark and Troubled Past and his Feet of Clay, Harry's loyalty to his mentor is unquestionable. "Dumbledore's man, through and through" indeed.
  • Sam Gamgee is Frodo's servant in The Lord of the Rings. He is something of a Determinator about it. His loyalty to Frodo is proverbial among Tolkienites.
  • Boxer, the horse in Animal Farm. "Napoleon is always right."
  • Mara Jade isn't the kind to give away her loyalty easily, but when she does, she'll defend whatever she chose with her life. She tends to be loyal to specific people rather than a large group; to Palpatine as an Emperor's Hand, to Talon Karrde as a smuggler, and to Luke and Ben as a Jedi, wife and mother.
  • Harry Dresden and Thomas Raith, the first because he never had any family aside from his father who died when he was small, and Thomas because his family was so messed up that he always protected his siblings, and that was the attitude Lord Raith instilled in his family (as a method of control), especially, his younger siblings, i.e. Harry and Inari. Family is important.

Harry: *in Proven Guilty when they are about to attack Arctis Tor, and having given a you don't have to come with me speech, his companions all step forward* I don't care whose DNA recombined with whose. When everything goes to hell, the people who stand by you without flinching - they are your family.

  • Gunner Ferik Jurgen is completely loyal to Commissar Ciaphas Cain, who trusts him more than himself (because he "knows" he isn't as trustworthy as people say). Jurgen will obey any order from Cain, no matter how crazy it sounds.
  • Mary Ann Patten in The Captains Wife . Which is Based on a True Story.
  • Andrew LaFollet in Honor Harrington is the titular character's personal armsman, sworn to die for her service if necessary. Despite Honor's trying to save him as the last surviving original armsman by having him guard her son, he dies saving his half sister and Honor's son and mother
    • Not just Andrew, but ALL of her armsmen display this. It's a 100% volunteer service and they all joined as they feel they owe a personal debt to her.
    • Then there's Horace Harkness's loyalty to Manticore. Caught, given a chance to surrender and or die, he switches sides. Then proceeds to manipulate his keepers until he can personally free his commander in a rather epic way.
  • Jacopo to Dantes in The Count of Monte Cristo, as well as Haidee and Ali.
  • Lord Byron wrote a poem dedicated to a beloved dog who died of rabies titled Epitaph to a Dog. The dog's unflinching love and loyalty are described in great detail:

But the poor Dog, in life the firmest friend
The first to welcome, foremost to defend
Whose honest heart is still his Master’s own
Who labours, fights, lives, breathes for him alone

  • In Dune the servitors of the Atreides except Yueh are loyal to their House. And even Yueh took steps to ensure that Paul and Jessica would survive his betrayal. Duncan Idaho sacrifices himself to buy time for Paul and Jessica's escape, Gurney Halleck quickly renews his service to Paul when he discovers he is alive, and Thufir Hawat kills himself rather than follow through on orders from the Emperor to kill Paul.

Thufir: You see, your Majesty? See your traitor's needle? Did you think that I who swore my life to the Atreides would give them less now?

    • The Atreides dukes are similarly loyal and protective toward their retainers. Paul Atreides is even willing to sacrifice his life to save the much, much older Hawat:

Paul: "For I say to you, Thufir, that in payment for your years of service to my family you may now ask anything you wish of me. Anything at all. Do you need my life now, Thufir? It is yours."

"Your friend Conseil," the fine lad replied serenely, "has nothing to say for himself. He's a completely disinterested party on this question... He's in Master's employ, he thinks like Master, he speaks like Master, and much to his regret, he can't be counted on to form a majority. Only two persons face each other here: Master on one side, Ned Land on the other. That said, your friend Conseil is listening, and he's ready to keep score."
I couldn't help smiling as Conseil wiped himself out of existence.

  • In A Song of Ice and Fire Davos is forever loyal to King Stannis, even after losing four sons in his service.
    • Catelyn orders Brienne to bring Sansa back to her from King's Landing. By the time she arrives, Sansa is no longer there, so she starts searching for her desperately, despite the dangers of the road and the fact that Catelyn is already dead by the time, and there is no safe place where she could bring Sansa anyway.
  • Luca Brasi from The Godfather has this towards Vito Corleone. In the backstory it is mentioned that during the Olive Oil War some mobsters tried to kill Vito and Luca proceeded to go on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge that only ended when Vito became well enough to call him off. However, this trait ultimatly backfires on him when Vito has him pretend to leave the Corleone family to inflitrate a rival mafia family and they see right through it.
  • Sancho Panza claims to be this for Don Quixote… but there are limits for the patience to the service to a Lord Error-Prone who always manages to get himself and Sancho in an Humiliation Conga Once A Chapter. Sancho considers several times in the book to left Don Quixote service, but he is so fond of him he never does it.

...if I were wise I should have left my master long ago; but this was my fate, this was my bad luck; I can't help it, I must follow him; we're from the same village, I've eaten his bread, I'm fond of him, I'm grateful, he gave me his ass-colts, and above all I'm faithful; so it's quite impossible for anything to separate us, except the pickaxe and shovel.

Live Action TV

"Mei Mei, all I have is right here."

      • The ending of The Movie has made Firefly fans argue whether the "rest of his life" part is correct, or if she's no longer insane, or if she'll slowly become more insane.
      • Unless the Alliance is overthrown, he will at least have to keep her interests in mind for the rest of her life even if she is not insane. And he will always have to be fleeing himself.
    • River herself does this, as well.

"No. You take care of me Simon. You've always taken care of me. My turn."

    • And Mal. Because if you turn on any of his crew, you turn on him.
    • Zoe's characterization is primarily based on her loyalty to Mal. The main source of tension in her marriage is that she seems more devoted to Mal than to her husband.
  • The A-Team. So very much. Their loyalty to one another is so strong that in the beginning of Season 5, Hannibal, Face, and B.A. are willing to face the firing squad so Murdock won't have to. Don't worry. They all make it out just fine. And in the second season episode, Curtain Call, Face makes it quite clear that he is willing to risk capture/being sent to prison in order to get the proper medical supplies to save Murdock's life.
    • And those are just two examples. The whole show is filled with moments like those.
  • Lisbon of The Mentalist towards her entire team - but especially towards Jane. For him she's blackmailed one of her closest friends, blackmailed her boss's boss, punched a robber in order to get his case thrown out of court, gotten locked in a box, and repeatedly gotten suspended from the job that is basically her whole life. Not to mention six months of anger management classes.
  • The partnered detectives on the Law and Order shows frequently exhibit this toward each other, although Goren and Eames on Criminal Intent are perhaps the franchise's Trope Codifier. Eames even went so far as to resign from the force after Goren was fired in the season 9 opener.
  • Gibbs in NCIS has this toward his team. Abby undoubtably does too, as she is just that kind of person, but has fewer chances to show it spectacularly.
    • When Ziva is accused of a non-sanctioned assassination of a defected Syrian official in Witness Protection the whole team forms an extra-legal "conspiracy" to rescue her.
    • McGee risks his career in another episode to save his sister.

McGee's Sister: But he loves NCIS...
Gibbs: Evidently he loves you more.

    • Tony to Gibbs. When he refused the chance to a promotion in a location of a life-time, on the knowledge that another promotion wasn't going to come up again anytime soon.
  • Dorota is always loyal to Blair on Gossip Girl, no matter what happens. Chuck Bass is also incredibly loyal... most of the time.
  • Vorenus on Rome. Once he swears fidelity to a cause or a person he will remain loyal to the end. Or as Octavian puts it, "The man turns loyalty into a vice."
  • The crew of the USS Enterprise in Star Trek: The Original Series. This has three major variations: Kirk and Spock's loyalty to each other, Kirk, Spock and McCoy's loyalty to each other, and the whole crew's loyalty to each other. It only gets more blatant the more films you watch.
  • It doesn't seem to matter what you throw at them, nothing so far discovered can break Mulder and Scully apart for more than a few hours - and even then, they just rebound with a tighter bond than before.
  • Prison Break: Linc and Michael.
  • Rem in Logan's Run: In the first episode of the TV series, Logan and Jessica meet Rem, an android. He helps them escape from other androids, then is completely loyal to them for the rest of the series, although he has no reason to do so, even putting himself at risk of being destroyed several times to save them, sometimes harming other humans in the process. He's not programmed to do this. He just does it.
  • Lennier to Delenn, Vir to Londo in Babylon 5.
    • Also Ranger Marcus Cole to Delenn, who once fought a Duel to the Death against a rival Warrior who wanted to assassinate her. The fact that she could inspire such loyalty, particularly in a human, convinced her rival that she deserved leadership of the Rangers.
  • He only appeared in six episodes, but Regan Matthews of Smallville was characterised by his complete and undying loyalty to Lex Luthor.
  • DI Thomas Lynley and his partner DS Barbara Havers, to each other. Any attempt to turn them against each other will fail.
  • Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger, the crew are amazingly loyal to Captain Marvelous, but especially the first mate, Joe Gibken/Gokai Blue.
  • The White House senior staff in The West Wing are strongly characterized by their devout, unshakable loyalty to President Bartlet (who is similarly loyal to them, freely risking political capital rather than throw members of his staff under the bus), occasionally to the point of My Master, Right or Wrong. However, they are also similarly protective of each other, putting their loyalty to their fellow staffers before morality or reason, comparing their relationships to family ties.
  • Merlin to his loved ones, particularly Arthur, Guinevere, Morgana (before her Heel Face Turn) and Gaius.
    • No matter what happens, he always stands by Arthur, and by extension albeit very reluctantly, Uther.
    • Lancelot to Gwen and the Knights to Arthur.
    • Against all legendary expectations, Guinevere to Arthur. Morgana had to resort to enchantments to force her into cheating on him with Lancelot. Even after Arthur banishes her from Camelot after believing her unfaithful, she continues to wear her engagement ring around her neck, and comes to his aid in his hour of need.
  • The Winchester boys from Supernatural take the "undying" part literally.
  • Samantha Carter would walk through fire for Jack O'Neill. Jack O'Neill "would rather die than lose Carter." And of course, SG-1 "is a team. No one else can begin to understand what that really means."
  • In The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Cameron is completely loyal to John Connor, and perfectly willing to be destroyed to protect him, to the point that she implants a bomb in her head and gives the detonator to John in case she "goes bad." This is juxtaposed with a termination protocol that Skynet hardwired into her to kill John Connor specifically, which activates when she takes severe damage at the start of the series' second season. She is eventually able to override this protocol, but her fears that the damage she took will make her hostile again form a major part of her internal conflict over the series.
  • Series/Nikita: The Guardians, along with Roan, are completely loyal to Percy, and remain so even after Oversight locks him up at the beginning of Season 2, eventually helping him escape.
    • Michael, when he was The Dragon, also qualified, remaining loyal to Percy despite his misgivings about the latter's methods. That is, until he discovered that Percy was behind the murder of his family, which is what prompted his Heel Face Turn.
  • JD towards Dr. Cox in Scrubs, one of the most prominent hallmarks of their relationship, especially whenever Cox is pitted against an outsider (or Kelso).
  • Al Bundy from Married... with Children is this toward his wife Peggy, even if he hates the marriage with a passion and wish for it to be undone, as since anytime another woman offer herself to him, he'll (grudgingly) reject the offer in respect to his wife. Sure, he'll cry afterward but you've to give him credit for the loyalty he shows to something he always says he hates with every fiber in his body.
  • John Watson from Sherlock. He refused to believe that his best friend was a fraud, even when Sherlock himself was telling him so before jumping off a rooftop to his 'death'.


Music


Mythology

  • Hanuman, as described in the Ramayana is completely devoted to Rama, to the point he swears he will live as long as Rama's name is spoken and revered, effectively becoming immortal.
  • Penelope to Odysseus in The Odyssey.
  • Hagen to Günther in Nibelungenlied.


Poetry

Here lies our leader
In the dust of his greatness
Who leaves him now be shamed forever
I who am old will not leave this battle
But will lie by his side in the dust with my Master


Tabletop Games

  • In GURPS this is called "Sense of Duty".
  • Legend of the Five Rings gives us the story of the Scorpion Clan Champion Bayushi Ujiro and his bodyguard Shunsen. Ujiro issued a challenge to the other Clan champions to determine which clan best understood the concept of loyalty. The challenge involved all the champions and their bodyguards performing an action to be set by Ujiro. If the bodyguards do not follow through with the command, that clan is disqualified. So, Ujiro gives Shunsen the command, "Kill me." He did, then commited suicide. The gathered Clan champions and bodyguards, shocked, conceded defeat. And then the Crane go and adapt the event for Winter, because that's just how the Crane are!


Toys

  • In Transformers, Megatron usually has at least one Decepticon like this. Soundwave gets a gold star for consistency; GLORIOUSLugnut for effort.


Video Games

  • Missile, from Ghost Trick, is literally the Most Triumphant Example. After he dies for the second time, this time with ghost tricks of his own, he opts to stay dead just to help save Lynne and Kamila. If that's not enough, the ending reveals that Ray is actually Missile from a previous Bad Future where he couldn't save anyone with his swap trick, so he goes back in time and waits ten long years to make the black cat Sissel think he was the man in red, knowing that said main was tied to Lynne and Kamila's murders and Sissel is only concerned about discovering his identity. If that isn't the Crowning Moment of Undying Loyalty, what is?
  • T3-M4 in Knights of the Old Republic: The Sith Lords (Contrast the first game, where his only sense of personality is as a foil to HK-47) is noted by other characters as being loyal to The Exile and becomes quite the sociopath (but played for laughs as his victims are droids) when she is captured by Goto and it needs to help rescue her.
    • Also from the second KotOR every single member of your party except Kreia due to the Jedi Exile's unique force bonds with them, and even Kreia likes the exile for being The Force's Ubermensch.
    • HK-47 is himself an example, as he is loyal to Revan almost to the degree of hero-worship.
  • In the Mass Effect series, the defining characteristic of Commander Shepard (apart from being the Ultimate Badass Of The Known Space) is the ability to inspire Undying Loyalty in his/her squad and crew members. This is Lampshaded a lot in Mass Effect 2 by the Illusive Man, and most of the second game is, in fact, spent gaining the complete loyalty of his/her crew members (or at least making sure they won't be distracted by any personal business). Or not.
    • The two returning squadmates from ME1, Tali and Garrus, are already devoted to Shepard even before their loyalty missions in the second game. In particular, if you bring Garrus to the entrance of a quarantine zone for an epidemic that kills his species but not humans, he'll offer to follow you in even though you have human teammates available: "It's your call, Shepard. If you need me, I'm not going to let a damn cough keep me back."
      • Tali makes her hatred for Cerberus, the terrorist organization that Shepard is forced to work with in Mass Effect 2, clear from the very beginning and tells Shepard that she's only joining the mission for his/her sake.
    • Although she only joins the squad in DLC, you can learn that Liara's devotion to you drove her to absurd lengths between games. First, she went out of her way to find Shepard's body and prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. Then, she handed the body over to Cerberus despite her fears and mistrust of them because they were the only ones offering a small chance of Shepard coming back. Then, she embarked on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge against said "wrong hands", namely the Shadow Broker, the mightiest crime lord in the galaxy for daring to try to harm Shepard. And the reason she was so cold to you in the second game? She was scared senseless that Shepard Came Back Wrong due to Cerberus' manipulation. But even with that fear, her loyalty to Shepard's cause never wavered, maybe even being the most loyal to Shepard's cause, which is saying a lot.
    • In Grunt's case, even before his loyalty's solidified he pretty much already has nothing but total respect for Shepard and is quick to defend him/her to those who dare spit on his/her name. All thanks to their very first exchange, when Shepard stood up to him (when Grunt had him/her pinned against a wall) and had a gun on him without him noticing it. Being a total Badass will have that effect on krogan.
    • Then there's Joker and Dr. Chakwas who are willing to follow Shepard into hell and back and even join Cerberus partly because they were bringing Shepard back.
    • And of course Shepard him/herself to his/her crew. Threatening the people under his/her command is not advised. EVER!
    • Shepard can even inspire this in people (s)he's only worked with once or twice: in Mass Effect 3, speaking to Kirrahe on the salarian homeworld will result in him promising to support you in retaking Earth, regardless of the salarian government's decision on the matter. If the salarian government does decide not to support you, most likely because you cured the krogan genophage against their wishes, Kirrahe goes AWOL in order to join you... and takes the entire salarian Special Tasks Group with him!
  • In Dragon Age: Origins, every party member's opinion of you will fluctuate depending on your actions. Be too evil and some will hate you, too noble, others likewise. The sole exception is your Mabari war hound, whose approval of you is eternally maxed out. Additionally, if the player character is of Human Noble origin, the Dog will have Undying Loyalty from even before the game starts. Little Daddy's Boy/Girl got a purebred Mabari pup some time in the past and now it's Dog.
    • Also, Oghren. He may get pissed at you, but he is the only character who will never leave you till the end(plus showing up in the Expansion Pack), regardless of circumstances. Dog won't leave you once recruited, but there is the chance that you'll accidentally miss out on his Lost Forever sidequest.
      • Of course, if he's taken to the Gauntlet, he states that he follows you because he's got nothing to lose and he's lost everything back home.
    • Dragon Age II promotes it to a gameplay mechanic: once you've maxed out a companion's Friendship or Rivalry, it will remain permanently locked there, signifying his or her unyielding loyalty to Hawke. In the endgame, this means that with a single exception (Sebastian, whose loyalty to the Chantry is greater than to Hawke) party members will stick with Hawke no matter what agenda s/he pursues.
  • Generally the noble antagonists in Fire Emblem have like this as a key character trait which leads to their death. Also Undying Loyalty to the main character is a common trait of most Jeigan characters including Jeigan himself
  • Youmu from Touhou Project is intensely loyal to her mistress, Yuyuko. In the fighting game, Immaterial and Missing Power, Youmu briefly questions Yuyuko's actions but just as promptly castigates herself harshly for it.
  • Possibly the Trope Codifier for Video Game examples would have to be The Boss from Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. "Loyalty To The End." is her Badass Creed and her primary motivation to the exclusion of all else. The sheer scale of the sacrifices she makes in the name of that creed border on ridiculousness. In short (No easy task), she killed her own lover and father to her child under orders, was irradiated during nuclear testing, shot in the head, horrifically injured while being a top secret participant in the Mercury Project, betrayed all of her friends to their deaths and ultimately murdered by her most beloved pupil after a lifetime of painful sacrifices without solace or reward, and condemned to be remembered as a traitorous war criminal. All in the name of the United States government, which she had known since childhood to be corrupt from within by a dying conspiracy, and purely so that conspiracy could steal a huge amount of money from Russia. And yet, "Loyalty To The End." The Revelation in Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker that she was suffering from brain damage may undermine all this an iota however.
    • Her and the Sorrow's counterparts, Snake and Otacon. Even when the entire world is against them, they will absolutely NEVER abandon each other. Even at the very end of the series--the very end of Snake's life--Otacon outright refuses to leave Snake's side. Snake's last word in the series is Otacon's name.
      • Gray Fox is another great example in this series. Raised as a child soldier in Africa during the Mozambique Civil War during the 1960s where he was nicknamed Frank Jaegar by his enemies for his "frank" appearance as a boy which he tricked them with until he killed them as a fierce "hunter" (Jaegar is German for hunter). Big Boss defeated the young Frank when he attacked him on patrol one day and rescued him from the war and brought him back to a U.S friendly safe zone but unfortunately the Philosophers experiment on him and turn him into a mind-controlled super soldier and years later Big Boss rescues him from this fate as well. Frank joins Big Boss's FOXHOUND Unit and from the 1970s until the 1990s serves under Big Boss's command in conflicts all around the world and earns their highest title of Fox, but despite his prowess as a warrior Fox tells Snake of how once again Big Boss came to his rescue when he had been captured by the enemy and they tortured him. In Gray Fox's eyes Big Boss is a father figure and the man that he owes his life to, this undying loyalty to the man is so extreme that he betrays America and joins Big Boss's Outer Heaven cause even going so far as to fight his friend Solid Snake in a battle to the death. Fox's loyalty wasn't to a country or an ideal but to a man, Big Boss.
  • Mortal Kombat 9; When Baraka tells Jade that Edenians have no loyalty, she accuses him of blind loyalty, something she views as a bad thing. And in Baraka's case, she's not far off.
    • Also, Mileena has this towards her "father" Shao Kahn, as does Skarlet.
  • Lyon from Suikoden V is very devoted to the Prince, to whom she also develops Bodyguard Crush to.
  • Tales of Symphonia demonstrates both the good and bad sides of this trope:
    • Kratos's feelings of loyalty toward Mithos have him lingering on the wrong side of morality for thousands of years, including nearly all of the game.
    • Botta's loyalty to his leader is his primary character trait, and even leads to his Heroic Sacrifice in order to save the party and thus make sure someone gets a message back to said leader.
  • Deekin in Neverwinter Nights is able to resist the Big Bad, one of the rulers of the Nine Hells, and who is simultaneously offering him great power to crush the Dragons he served under and is using his True Name to force him into helping. Merely telling Deekin you will miss him grants him will enough to fight off the most powerful magic in the planes.

M: "Come, join me. What has done but hold you back from your potential? I could make you a force that all dragons would bow down to in fear! All the world would know your name, Deekin, and fear it!"
 D: "No! You may be bigger than the boss, but... but... DEEKIN NOT LIKES YOU!!"
M: "You dare defy me, reptile?!"
D: "That's right! Deekin defies you! Deekin stands by the boss... to the end!"

  • In Final Fantasy IX, Steiner is portrayed as loyal to the royal family of Alexandria, there in which lies his personal conflict when he's forced to choose between loyalty to Queen Brahne and his sworn duty to protect Princess Garnet.
  • In God of War 3, the spirits of the fallen Spartans will come to Kratos' aid when he invokes the "Army of Sparta" magic. Even in death his soldiers remain loyal to him.
  • Sergei Vladimir to the Umbrella Corporation as a whole and Ozwell E. Spencer in particular in Resident Evil, for a stark contrast with his rival, Albert Wesker. Unlike most of his coworkers, he is absolutely determined to go down with the ship that is Umbrella; this largely stems from Umbrella having given him a home and a purpose following the collapse of the USSR. By the end of the game he's the only person still trying to hold Umbrella together, and he goes so far as to deliberately transform into a monster to try and stop Wesker from taking over the remnants of the company. When he dies, the company falls apart, as Sergei was the only one who was really keeping it intact.
    • Alfred Ashford displays similar tendencies with regards to his sister, Alexia whom he is obsessively loyal to, even going so far as to create a split personality version of her during her absence.
  • The Heavy is intensely loyal to his teammates, especially towards the Medic.
  • Fenrich to Valvatorez in Disgaea 4. Hell, Fenrich's Catch Phrase is "All is for my Lord". Doubles as a subversion to Fur Against Fang, with Fenrich and Valvatorez, respectively.
  • This is showcased rather tragically in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. The Ikana warriors encountered in the game guard the long abandoned and ruined Ikana Kingdom even in death, their ghoulish spirits still roam the area out of a devotion to their commander. Link encounters the Captain of the Guards in this area and helps him find peace so he can pass onto the afterlife at long last, his last order as the Captain he issues to Link to be the messenger, he tells Link to let his soldiers know that the war is over. When told this the soldiers in question finally let go of their obligation to the Kingdom and move on. The King of Ikana also still haunts his Kingdom and even in death he protects his throne when he sees Link thinking him to be an enemy. When Link defeats the King in battle he laments to Link his sadness over the fall of his Kingdom and how foolish he was to let it happen but he acknowledges that it is finally time to let go and rest in peace and as a parting gift he gives Link the tools he needs to defeat the final dungeon of the game.
  • Kid Icarus: Palutena, goddess of wisdom, gets this from her angel (and pretty much her entire army), Pit. He is very quick to get into a shouting match with all sorts of divinities that insult her, even when she was possessed and sent his lifeless body to slaughter untold amounts of innocent people, he gave everything to bring her back to herself again.
  • Caught Pokemon will follow a trainer's every command (provided they like the Trainer enough).
  • A defining trait of the character Voldo is his great devotion to his long deceased master, Vercci.

Visual Novels

  • Several of the Servants in Fate/stay night would qualify. Saber, Berserker and Rider are probably the best examples, though the latter two are not immediately obvious. Archer has signs of this towards his master Rin from time to time despite flat out betraying her in the route centered around him.
    • Especially notable in Saber's case, as she was betrayed by Kiritsugu in Fate/Zero along with Irisviel, who she had true loyalty to. But even in arcs where Saber is bound and/or corrupted by magic, she still has an overriding protectiveness of Shirou.
    • None in the franchise embodies it more than the Fourth Grail War's Rider, Iskander, King of Conquerors, whose men are so loyal to him that he can create a Reality Marble from which to summon them to fight by his side once more. And later on, when Waver loses his Command Spells, Rider still sticks with him because, in his words, "Whether or not [you] are a Master, you are my friend, and that will never change."


Webcomics

  • In Girl Genius All of the Jägers and the people of Mechanicsburg are loyal to the Heterodynes, to the point of twenty years later they are still waiting for them to come back.
    • General Goomblast explicitly states that the Jägers are voluntarily loyal to the Heterodynes, having made a solemn decision to serve the house for the rest of their unending lives before drinking the Super Serum that transformed them. The sole exception to this is Vole, who abandoned his oath, and is no longer considered a Jäger by the rest.
      • It seems as though this, more than anything, is what gave the Heterodyne's their power. Most Sparks use various flavors of mind control on their creations, who eventually turn on them. Most—if not all—Heterodyne creations serve their masters voluntarily, even after centuries of service.
    • Natural minions will remain loyal to their Sparks, even against their better judgment. Mechanicsburg, ancestral home of Heterodynes, happens to be completely populated with natural minions loyal to House Heterodyne.
  • Something*Positive: The entire oddball band of True Companions has this as their primary virtue. Whatever else you can say about them, they're devoted to each other.
  • Homestuck: Becquerel, Jade's First Guardian dog, is so completely devoted to her that when he is prototyped, Jack Noir inherits his loyalty to her and not only can't bring himself to kill Jade, but actually puts into motion the process of reviving her after she is killed.


Web Original


Western Animation

Real Life

  • Joseph Goebbels. He remained at Hitler's side until the last minutes of the battle of Berlin.
  • One German officer told a story from World War II when he was attached to a unit of Finns. The Russians abducted a wounded Finn and subjected him to Cold-Blooded Torture to lure his comrades to come to his aid and walk into an ambush. The Finns instinctively grabbed their weapons and walked into the forest knowing perfectly well what the Russians were up to.
    • At the beginning of the Winter War a party of Finnish soldiers went to the house of an old peasant woman and told her that the Russians were coming and they had to be deprived of shelter. She went into her hut, solemnly cleaned and swept it and then lit the fire herself. She said, "This is my gift to Finland."
  • During Stalingrad, A squad of Soviet troops were pinned down by German fire and tanks, with only one belt of ammo for their turret left. One of them gets captured by the Germans. The captured Soviet then lies to the Germans and tells them his squad is completely out of ammo, and leads them to the one place where he knows his squad will be able to mow down the Germans with what little firepower they have. The captured Soviet soldier was later executed in front of his still-pinned down comrades, who were eventually killed when the Germans called in tanks to run them out.
  • One German refused to divorce his Jewish wife and protected her for three years. When the Russians arrived he tried to protect his wife and they shot him and raped her as he lay dying
  • Marriage vows are often some form of a declaration of the trope:

Name, will you have this wo/man to be your husband/wife; to live together in the covenant of marriage? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?

    • They answer

I will.

  • Dogs to mankind. This dog, for example, refused to leave the casket of his Navy Seal master.
  • During the filming of Suburban Knights, things looked so hopeless during filming do to inclement weather and other issues that Doug, Rob, and Mike Michaud were all fully prepared to scrap the whole thing and simply film everyone hanging out in Chicago as the special. Holly told them everyone wanted to get the film done, so they tried to have a vote. Linkara stood up to say the voting was pointless, because they already knew everyone would say yes. He then went into a speech saying that Doug is the reason that every one of them has a job on the site, and they're going to finish this thing for him no matter what. Doug thanked them profusely and left, newly energized to figure out the best way to finish the film.
  • Many people are this way toward their family.
  • Some species of animal will remain faithful to their breeding partner for all its life. For example, the Shingleback has been known to even stay by the side of their partner if they die for days on end.
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