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Action Dad

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See those two kids behind him?
Don't mess with them.

"Dads are tough, too!"

In a lot of media, if the main character has a father, he usually is out of the picture, doesn't care what's going on with his child(ren), or just doesn't notice what's going on.

This guy, however, is not any of those things.

This is the father who realizes something is happening, and isn't going to stand for it, particularly if it poses any kind of threat to his family. Often overlaps with Papa Wolf. May also be paired with Action Mom, in which case they could easily be a Battle Couple.

Usually shows up in Action/Adventure Series shows, with the kid protagonist being followed by his or her protective father. May only show up every once in a while, being absent most of the time but showing up when something the protagonist can't handle arises to lend a hand, or just beat the snot out of whatever was trying to touch his kid.

Only examples where the guy in question is actually closely related, please!

See also Papa Wolf, Knight Templar Parent and Family Man.


Examples

    Podcasts 

    Tabletop Games 
  • Magic: The Gathering has quite a few, such as Jarad vod Savo, towards his son Myc.
  • In the Ravenloft setting, Rudolph van Richten went Papa Wolf on the Vistani band that kidnapped his son, and then hunted down the vampire who'd hired them to deliver the boy. It's revealed in Van Richten's Guide to the Vistani that the originally kindly and very forgiving doctor's curse of vengeance upon that particular Vistani clan for what they did is the reason why they can never rest in one place for more than a day or two. Because with his curse that "the undead take you" as they took his son to the undead, every surviving member of the clan is forever hunted by the undead until Van Richten lifts the curse with his forgiveness.
  • The biography of Marc Oberlindes, a sample character of Traveller, tells how once when his son was imprisoned he recruited a band of mercenaries to rescue him.
  • Warhammer 40,000: Kill one of Sanguinius' Blood Angels (ergo: Sons) and he WILL break your spine. Likewise, if you hurt Sanguinius, the Blood Angels will tear you apart.

 
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Asura

While Asura is a natural at fighting and will resort to it continuously, he only fights to keep the world safe for his daughter.

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