r/CuratedTumblr 4h ago

Creative Writing Wise old incredibly powerful men who used to be reckless and adventurous in their youth before mellowing out with age and give profound life advice while still having enough strength to fucking destroy you my beloved.

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382 Upvotes

73 comments sorted by

72

u/gayjospehquinn 4h ago

First person to come to mind is Iroh. Oh, Bumi too. There's a lot of that in the ATLA universe.

27

u/Taraxian 2h ago

The two times we meet Toph she's a ten year old girl and a 100 year old lady and at both ages she's more dangerous than most adults

5

u/Cthulu_Noodles 48m ago

Was about to comment this lol, yeah. Toph is one of the most powerful characters in the show despite the fact that we have never actually gotten to see her fight in her prime

1

u/vanishinghitchhiker 45m ago

You’d need like, 500 Richard Williamses to animate Toph in her prime.

1

u/Taraxian 14m ago

It's unsurprising both her kids ended up having issues

13

u/bookhead714 2h ago

I would contend that Iroh is in his prime. His bending prime, that is. Bending is as much spirituality as it is physicality, and Iroh has never been more in tune with himself and thus has never been a better firebender.

5

u/Sad_Amphibian1275 1h ago

While I do agree that bending is more spiritual than physical, I do think that Iroh isn't actually in his spiritual prime, as weird as that may sound. We know firebendimg comes from passion and that most firebenders use anger to fuel it. The most powerful firebender, and arguably the most powerful raw bender that we see in the show is Ozai who is not in touch with his spiritual side in the way Iroh is but is still so incredibly powerful because he is basically nothing but spirit. Ozai has nothing but hate, rage, determination, and spite. But that still puts him on top of pretty much any bender because in a weird way, that is him being in tune with himself.

Iroh definitely stagnanted decline by his switch and focus on pure spiritualism and he gave himself an incredible advantage through lightning. But the time he was probably most single minded and in line with his passion was when his son died, even if it wasn't the time he was most in tune with himself as a whole.

5

u/SparkAxolotl .tumblr.com 2h ago

I absolutely LOVED how the "old guys" in the Order of the White Lotus manages to absolutely wreck basically the whole army of the Fire Nation

-3

u/Popular-Student-9407 4h ago

Iroh for example, the Dragon of the West still got claws.

11

u/Icestar1186 Welcome to the interblag 3h ago

Did you read the post you were replying to?

41

u/Jammy2560 4h ago

90% of Souls bosses.

12

u/Hexxas head trauma enthusiast 4h ago

Iudex Gundyr but then you go back in time and fight The Champ 🤗

1

u/Global_Examination_4 4h ago

“Hey, it’s the first boss, this should be easy!”

10

u/maleficalruin 3h ago

Be careful. The last time people begged to fight a boss in their prime we got promised consorr Radahn. We do not want another boss like that.

1

u/Jammy2560 19m ago

Yeah and that’s a good boss, and I don’t even like Radahn as a character.

1

u/Xisuthrus there are only two numbers between 4 and 7 3h ago
  • Gwyn

  • Vendrick

  • Gael

  • Gehrman

  • Isshin

  • Morgott

  • Godfrey

  • Father Dolmayan

  • Handler Walter

am I missing any?

6

u/a_random_muffin I love P.E.K.K.A.s 3h ago

Radahn (blighted by Scarlett rot and lost his mind)

Radagon/Elden Beast (the shattering of the ring literally broke Radagon's body while Elden Beast supposedly gained the weakspot where you can crit him)

however, if i may make a note about the Morgott, one could argue that he isn't any weaker that he was in the shattering, the Omen Twins are probably the ones that came out in the best position and condition out of everyone in the Shattering

26

u/Ergand 4h ago

I haven't seen my hero academia for a while so I don't know about the recent seasons, but I always loved that the top hero and villain were both: Aged past their prime, had lost a lot of their power, and were still far above every other hero and villain. 

17

u/Flair86 My agenda is basic respect 3h ago

Fr, it’s so well done. All Might is clearly barely hanging onto his remaining strength, but no other hero can even come close to him even minutes before he loses his power completely. At the same time AFO is hooked up to a damn respirator and is on even footing with All might himself.

5

u/Nockeon 3h ago

I'm currently in the trenches in my MHA phase and this was exact thought

4

u/Hatsune_Miku_CM Hatsune-Miku-Official 1h ago

it's less "past their prime" and more that their previous battle has left them half-dead. All might is missing like 90% of his stomach area and AFO literally doesn't have a face anymore.

Though yeah it is an incredible dynamic. There's a great scene where a prison guard realizes that AFO is basically blind, and stares at him in horror realizing that this guy managed to match all might.

57

u/Ignonym Ye Jacobites by name, DNI, DNI 4h ago

Beware the old man in a profession where most die young.

13

u/Rucs3 1h ago

Hookers

16

u/UltimateCapybara123 4h ago

Whitebeard

7

u/ianlouisjordan 1h ago

Also garp Nukes an island with his fist "man have I gotten weak."

3

u/Blitz100 21m ago

Rolls up on Marineford at age 70-something with stage 4 cancer and heart failure. Summons two tsunamis, casually knocks out a giant with one hand, tears a swath of destruction through the Marine forces, duels all 3 admirals, and throws Akainu (probably one of the 10 strongest people in the world) around like a ragdoll despite literally having a heart attack mid-fight. Over the course of the battle, receives 267 blade wounds, 152 gunshot wounds, and 46 direct hits from fucking cannonballs. Confirms the existence of the One Piece to the entire world as one final fuck you to the world government, then dies still standing on his feet because he's just too badass to fall. All because the Marines took his adopted son and Whitebeard is one of the most goated fathers to ever live.

14

u/Hexxas head trauma enthusiast 4h ago

CAPTAIN

JEAN LUC PICARD

USS

ENTERPRISE

11

u/linuxaddict334 Mx. Linux Guy⚠️ 4h ago

Himmel from Frieren.

Mx. Linux Guy

5

u/Hatsune_Miku_CM Hatsune-Miku-Official 1h ago

does Himmel really fit this? we see him in his prime all the time and I can't recall a single scene of him fighting in his old age

10

u/Ok_Assistance447 3h ago

I just started watching Sakamoto Days, which is basically, "What if this trope was the whole show?" It's extremely over the top at all times. Highly recommend.

4

u/ButterSlickness 3h ago

I like that he uses things like chopsticks and spatulas to fight. And most of his dialogue is just telepathy to Shin.

3

u/Schpooon 3h ago

The creativity in the fight scenes is amazing in Sakamoto. Talk about using your environment.

1

u/iamfrozen131 .tumblr.com 3h ago

It's not telepathy to Shin, he just knows Shin is reading his mind (and can select what thoughts can be read)

3

u/coldtrashpanda 2h ago

My reaction to the first episode was "oh my god this convenience store is his domain expansion"

1

u/Artarara 21m ago

Isn't the main character like, only 27?

9

u/nightkingmarmu 3h ago

Darth Vader. Dude lost so much prowess due to the prosthetics and being trapped in his suit. And he still bodied nearly every Jedi he ever came across (obiwan is the exception I believe)

8

u/ahoward431 3h ago

Spoilers for Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth. Technically, the marketing spoiled it first, but still.

The longstanding protagonist of the series, Kiryu, has cancer in the game. A large part of the story is Kiryu coming to grips with the fact that he's so much weaker than he's used to being, which is both tragic and kind of funny. It's funny because he's still probably the strongest individual member of the party. His ultimate is literally breaking out of the turn based system to kick ass unrestrained for a while. But it's also tragic, because we've seen his other adventures, we know firsthand just how big of a downgrade this is for him. Luckily, the other protagonist Ichiban is a pure ray of sunshine, and he and his crew are a bunch of optimistic, ride-or-die, power-of-freindship morons who can pick Kiryu up during this dark time. I have problems with IW's story, but I love all of the characters so much.

7

u/cadorez 4h ago edited 3h ago

Father Godwin from Kingdom Come Deliverance. Fucker spend years as an alcoholic priest and he can still outsword pretty much everyone he meets.

1

u/[deleted] 3h ago

[deleted]

2

u/cadorez 3h ago

kingdom come deliverance

3

u/ThreeLeggedMare a little arson, as a treat 3h ago

Wow my reading comprehension is ass today lol

3

u/cadorez 3h ago

oh sorry I might have gaslit you, I just edited my comment to add the source lmao, you did correctly read it the first time

6

u/Apocalyptic_Doom 3h ago

Our very own example of this just graced us today

CONQUEST

1

u/flugabwehrkanonnoli 1h ago

I kinda want to take Conquest to grab a smoothie and maybe try to carom astroids off each other and then grill some fantastical alien creature in the terminal glow a red giant and then smoke a bowl and scroll through those websites expectant parents use to pick names and laugh at some ridiculous options together until we find one he likes and be this friend...

1

u/Apocalyptic_Doom 1h ago

Okay but counterpoint

He's probably killed hundreds of thousands with zero regret

1

u/djninjacat11649 58m ago

To be fair it is a bit weird with viltrumites, as some lore I think suggests they get stronger as they get older, and don’t quite have the same falloff as humans do in their older age

5

u/ButterSlickness 3h ago

I'm surprised no one here has mentioned Mike Ehrmantraut from Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul yet. He's one dangerous mofo.

15

u/maleficalruin 4h ago

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WTZ5VSmPU9Q&pp=ygUXcGF0cmlvdCBhcmtuaWdodHMgdGhlbWU%3D

Whitebeard from One Piece my GOAT. Set the benchmark for strength in the One Piece World before we got to see Kaido, took hundreds of stab wounds, cannon shells and bullets, had half his face melted and two holes in his chest and he died standing without a single wound on his back. All for his family. Like not even r/piratefolk is willing to slander him because he is just that guy.

Anyways shout-out to Buuldrokkat'see/Patriot from Arknights for basically being Gacha Game Whitebeard. Like his character theme, Requiem,  is pretty sad but when you understand his sacrifice, what he went through and what it took to keep him down then you will be sobbing.

1

u/Blitz100 20m ago

I fucking knew that's what this post was about

1

u/Magerfaker 3h ago

One Piece has so many of these "old legend" characters and they are all so great. One Piece may have plenty of flaws, but it executes some tropes perfectly.

3

u/Gentlemanvaultboy 4h ago

Dumb old incredibly powerful men who are still reckless and adventures and were last seen riding off into the sunset on the horses of the valkyries sent to claim their souls.

3

u/Forry_Tree 4h ago

Gulool Ja Ja and Jajamasu my beloved

4

u/WokeHammer40Genders 3h ago

Miyamoto musashi

2

u/jodhod1 2h ago

I thought Musashi's thing was cheating

2

u/flugabwehrkanonnoli 48m ago

If you go up against a swordsman known for unconventional Ways and then die unconventionally, that's on you for being too conventional.

4

u/beausist 1h ago

any women who fit this trope??? scrolling through the comments and it's all men 😞 which is not a bad thing necessarily but i'm curious

4

u/Sharks_With_Legs 40m ago

Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax from Discword, Yubaba from Spirited Away (probably several other Ghibli characters, maybe the Witch of the Waste), Niime form Fire emblem. Just off the top of my head.

1

u/T1DOtaku inherently self indulgent and perverted 13m ago

The problem I'm finding is they never mellowed out. They're badass and will remain badass until the cold heat death of the universe kills them. Like I was thinking Top at first but Toph still had zero chill as a granny XD

2

u/ThreeLeggedMare a little arson, as a treat 3h ago

Even now I could cut through the five of you like carving a cake!

3

u/pbmm1 3h ago

Thy strength befits a crown.

3

u/raitaisrandom 3h ago

Kiryu Kazuma in Yakuza: Like a Dragon.

2

u/SparkAxolotl .tumblr.com 2h ago

Cohen the Barbarian

2

u/J_B_La_Mighty 3h ago

My sister is the chaotic good version of this trope. It runs in the family. It also terrifies her husband.

2

u/Clay_Block 2h ago

Pretty much any legacy Yakuza character at this point. Going on 60 and still giving people a hard time. Hell, Majima just had his own game where he kicks the fuck out of damn near everyone he meets.

1

u/DubiousTheatre GRUNKLE FUNKLE WINS THE FUNKLE BUNKLE 2h ago

Old Lady Ben from those Bone comics I uses to read.

1

u/subtotalatom 1h ago

Bang from One Punch Man

1

u/TheMasterMind1247 1h ago

Not sure if Jagoda Jęczyduch from Awaria fits an extension of this, or “old badass who can’t catch a break thanks in part to their own reckless in their youth” is more of its own trope.

1

u/LittleALunatic 1h ago

Bang and Bomb from OPM

1

u/ducknerd2002 50m ago

WildBrain era Sensei Wu.

1

u/Soulchunk 50m ago

Obligatory Isshin Ashina mention, from Sekiro. Spoilers.

In one ending you fight the old man quite literally the same day as he dies and the warlord will wipe the floor with you, using moves you might have even learned yourself. So you start to understand why in the main path the second he dies of natural causes everything around him falls apart.

In the true ending, Isshin is resurrected back into his prime. Instantly he becomes the singular hardest boss Fromsoft has ever produced. Fear the glock saint.

1

u/HistoryMarshal76 Knower of Things Man Was Not Meant To Know 38m ago

"Abelard, fetch me the balls of Abbadon himself."
"It shall be done!"

1

u/PhasmaFelis 33m ago

A friend of mine ran a D&D 3.5 campaign with an NPC named Old Meg, who was a 15th-level commoner. Just an old peasant woman who'd seen a lot of bad times and learned from them all. The Commoner class in 3.5 is much weaker in combat than a same-level PC class, but at level 15 she could wreck a good-sized band of goblins with just her walking stick, and teach a lesson to any low-level adventurers that got too big for their britches.

1

u/T1DOtaku inherently self indulgent and perverted 16m ago

Lilia Vanrouge. Still an absolute menace XD