cowardly

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[[quoteright:335:[[Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Cowardly_Lion_original_6169.jpg]]]]

->''"The fearless are merely without fear. People who act in spite of their fear are truly brave."''
-->-- '''James A. Lafond-Lewis'''

A character with the major characteristic of being a coward, especially when compared to any fearless characters of the story. Thing is, when push comes to shove, they have nothing to envy about the naturally badass characters.

Unlike TookALevelInBadass, the character's fearful nature isn't eliminated after their moment/s of glory. They remain scaredy-cats and/or insecure in their regular lives, despite the fact that they can kick major ass when they put their minds into it. Many of them will tell everyone to ThinkNothingOfIt, because they think the fear they felt trumps the heroism they performed. These characters may also be {{Combat Pragmatist}}s who get the job done by using brains rather than brawn when they go up against enemies that outclass them and they know they'll get killed if they just charge in and attack.

Usually, inverse of MilesGloriosus. Unlike TheSoCalledCoward, this character is not actually misunderstood and does not need to be viewed by other characters as cowardly; it is his own opinion that matters. (And the so-called coward may be perfectly confident in his own courage.) Unlike the AccidentalHero, the examples in this trope are characters that manage to get things done with their own worth, despite their fears.

Contrast the FearlessFool -- especially when it is invoked to encourage him. Prone to HeroicSelfDeprecation and FaceYourFears. See also LovableCoward.

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!!Example subpages

[[index]]
* CowardlyLion/AnimeAndManga
* CowardlyLion/ComicBooks
* CowardlyLion/{{Literature}}
* CowardlyLion/{{Live-Action TV}}
* CowardlyLion/VideoGames
* CowardlyLion/WebComics
* CowardlyLion/WebOriginal
* CowardlyLion/WesternAnimation
[[/index]]

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!!Other examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* Tojo in ''Fanfic/TheLionKingAdventures'' is a literal example.
* Hobbes is [[CharacterExaggeration exaggerated]] into this in ''Fanfic/CalvinAndHobbesTheSeries''.
* In the HungerGames fanfiction ''Fanfic/SomeSemblanceOfMeaning'', the heroine, Vale, is a [[NiceGirl kind-hearted]] ShrinkingViolet who is (understandably) terrified of going into the arena and [[ChildrenForcedToKill being forced to fight her fellow tributes to the death]]. However, when it comes to defending the people she cares about, [[BewareTheNiceOnes she is no pushover]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* A major characteristic of the [[TropeNamer Cowardly Lion]] in ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'' [[CaptainObvious is]] [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment cowardice]]. This doesn't prevent him from joining Scarecrow and Tin Man to rescue Dorothy when she's captured by the Wicked Witch of the West.
-->'''Cowardly Lion:''' All right, I'll go in there for Dorothy. Wicked Witch or no Wicked Witch, guards or no guards, I'll tear them apart! I may not come out alive, but I'm going in there! There's only one thing I want you fellows to do.\\
'''Tin Man and Scarecrow:''' What's that?\\
'''Cowardly Lion:''' Talk me out of it!
* Albert Lory from ''This Land Is Mine'' lives in an unnamed country under Nazi occupation and, literally, runs home to his aged mother any time there is an allied air strike. He eventually makes a HeroicSacrifice because he's more terrified of seeing his friends picked off one by one than actually dying.
* In the 2005 adaptation of KingKong, Bruce Baxter abandons the rescue mission, claiming that they're going to die and all but calling himself a coward. This doesn't prevent him from returning JustInTime to rescue the rescuers, in a BigDamnHeroes moment that would give Han Solo a run for his money.
* Bob from ''Drugstore Cowboy'' is pretty open about his neurosis and his reliance on drugs to keep the stresses of world away from him. The people around him are still awed by the acts of {{Magnificent Bastard}}ry he performs out of sheer panic.
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[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* Wade Duck in ''ComicStrip/USAcres''.
* Dan Thompson's action-strip AffectionateParody ''Webcomic/RipHaywire'' features dog companion TNT who, despite being an abject coward, is always by Rip's side.
[[/folder]]

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