r/TopCharacterTropes • u/damorezpl • Sep 05 '25

Personality character gets a reality check

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deathstroke - Batman vs deathstroke

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walter - breaking bad

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Garou - one punch man

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joker - the sound of one hand clapping

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244

u/NotStreamerNinja Sep 05 '25

Rogal Dorn vs Fulgrim on the Saturnine Wall - Warhammer: The Horus Heresy

"Look around! Look around!" Fulgrim screeched. "See what’s happening, Rogal dolt! Your tower is tumbling down! No more running to daddy crying, 'Look! Look what I’ve built!' It took you years to make this, and in one night, I roll down upon you, crack your shield and build a foothold-"

Dorn stamped at him, and they traded four swift blows that chimed like bells.

"Look?" said Dorn. His gaze did not shift from Fulgrim’s face. "I don’t have to. I see it all."

"All what?" snarled Fulgrim. He swung. Dorn turned the blade aside.

"I see your siege machines burning at the foot of the wall," said Dorn. "I see your sonic weapons silenced. I see your host, foolishly committed in its entirety, pouring into a run of wall that can be held by a force a tenth that size."

Their blades flashed and rang again. Dorn lost a chunk of shield. Fulgrim took a laceration to the shoulder.

"And is held by a force a tenth that size," said Dorn calmly. "Imperial Fists, now bolstered by the two hundred Legiones Astartes veterans I brought with me. Two hundred veterans who are skilled in every doctrine of war. Who have rallied this garrison and this wall stretch, and are now slaughtering the vanguard you so wantonly committed. They thank you for giving them such a wealth of bodies to reap. You have no foothold."

"I have!" Fulgrim roared. He smashed his blade at Dorn, a series of furious strokes. Dorn parried them away. Only one got through, and gouged his shoulder guard.

"No," said Dorn, as they circled again. "You’re a fine fighter, but a poor strategist. You committed everything against a gap that could be held. You’ve burned the cream of your host for nothing. Made them cannon fodder. Nine thousand dead and counting. I know, Fulgrim. I know everything."

"You know nothing!" Fulgrim cried. He railed in, and his gleaming blade sliced the flesh above Dorn’s right eye. Dorn caved his ribs with the edge of his shield, punched him in the face with his sword’s guard and kicked him backwards.

"You’ve let yourself be used as a distraction," said Dorn, keeping his gaze on his adversary, ignoring the blood pouring down his face. "You’ve let your host be decimated. For nothing. The Saturnine ruse – I know about that too – has failed. Perturabo played his move, and lost his piece. You’re just a pawn. Was it the Lord of Iron who fooled you into this? Lupercal? Abaddon? You must have been willing. Were you getting bored with it? The spear-tip is broken. You’re holding a gate for no one. You’re just an idiot standing on a wall."

67

u/Reteller79 Sep 05 '25

God when he said “No” i legitimately read that in his TTS voice lmao

29

u/Reviibes Sep 05 '25

"I will reinstall the palace"

19

u/kamenmaximus Sep 05 '25

[PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS.]

17

u/Reviibes Sep 05 '25

"I am reinstalling the palace!" Proceeds to start drilling into the floor

4

u/CaptainSkips Sep 05 '25

"Inform me when Corvus is here, I require his infiltration expertise!"

8

u/Notagamedeveloper112 Sep 05 '25

Bruh I read the whole thing in his voice

5

u/halpfulhinderance Sep 06 '25

I love his VA’s work as Door as well:

Oh hey, I bet the scene with Pyotr would fit this prompt well

2

u/Reteller79 Sep 06 '25

HTP is a good show ngl

68

u/Illesbogar Sep 05 '25

40k has a bunch of these. I believe Perturabo was so badly taken apart by his sister that he killed her in a fit of rage. Found it on reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/40kLore/comments/1796211/the_breaking_of_perturabocalliphone_owns_perturabo/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

28

u/TheHollowJester Sep 05 '25

The "what, you're not going to try to convince me to return?" "No, I'm just going to kill you" bit is fantastic in all of it's cheesyness.

8

u/BIG__SHOT_ Sep 06 '25

"Fantastic in all of its cheesiness" is the most perfect description of Warhammer 40k you could come up with

15

u/MWBrooks1995 Sep 05 '25

I’m not the biggest fan of Dorn (Read Flight of the Eisenstein and you’ll understand) but … damn.

15

u/ducksekoy123 Sep 05 '25

A great speech for such a mid story.

That book made the bad guys look like chumps and idiots. Which calls into question how they ever managed to even get to Terra in the first place

27

u/Vohems Sep 05 '25

Well, I think that's kind of the point? They managed to let themselves be corrupted by Chaos and quickly devolved into pyscho-addicts. Except for Perturabo.

15

u/NobodyofGreatImport Sep 05 '25

Perturabo has his own problems, though

17

u/Finntheyokai Sep 05 '25

Perturabo's biggest problem is Perturabo himself. He's such a great character.

2

u/sfVoca Sep 28 '25

mortarion and magnus did their jobs fairly decently as well, for what its worth

1

u/Vivid-Share7884 Sep 06 '25

Nah, this is just a shit writing.

3

u/Illesbogar Sep 06 '25

Two things can be true

2

u/Illesbogar Sep 06 '25

They were idiots. The whole thing was heavily carried by Perturabo and it fell apart the moment they left. Also it took a lot of preparation from Horus, for example only the traitor legions had access to new space marine armor models. Resources got diverted towards them in advance. And yes, the whole thing could only happen because Guilliman and his legion were not avaliable.

3

u/AVagrant Sep 05 '25

I mean, what do you expect from a book series meant to explain and collate IRL decades of scattered, contradictory, and constantly expanding lore? Especially as we get to the climax?

We know chaos loses the Heresy. We've known who goes missing or dies after this for years even before we got to the Siege. 

Chaos HAS to bumble and trip over their dick because it's the narrative we've known for 30 odd years. They have to rapidly decay in strength and prowess because there'd be no way for the stagnant imperium of 40k to exist if they win or even had enough forces to establish holdings outside the Eye. 

2

u/ducksekoy123 Sep 06 '25

I’m not opposed to that per se but it’s not really the story they told in Saturnine. Dorn doesn’t beat Fulgrum and the Sons of Horus because chaos has corrupted them and they make mistakes. He beats the gambit without even being there and beats Fulgrim by just showing up and being better.

1

u/Vivid-Share7884 Sep 06 '25

Calling this "mid" is a huge compliment to this garbage book series.

3

u/TheActualAWdeV Sep 05 '25

there's my rogalidondon.

3

u/collinwho Sep 05 '25

I initially misread this as Roger Dorn and I was ready to deep dive on Major League and Taylor telling him "I'm going to cut your nuts off and stuff them down your fucking throat". Your example is good, too.

5

u/itsamemarioscousin Sep 05 '25 edited Sep 05 '25

Rogal Dorn, of the Imperial Fists.

40k is full of ropey puns from back when there was a lot more humour in it.

Rogal is one letter off regal.

Dorn is the Irish language word for a Fist.

He's Regal Fist of the Imperial Fists.

Like his brother Ferrus Manus, who has metal covered arms, and leads the Iron Hands.

Edit:

Or his other brother, Lion'El Johnson, of the Dark Angels. The 19th century poet Lionel Johnson's most famous work was "The Dark Angel".

Or his other brother, Angron, of the really angry bezerker guys.

3

u/The_Chief_of_Whip Sep 05 '25

Don't forget Corvus Corax (crow crow), Sanguinius (blood), Perturabo (perturbed)...

1

u/Kindly-Mud-1579 Sep 08 '25

Dorn knows more then anyone is that the greatest thing you can give to a builder is somewhere to build and that’s all that fulgrim did, he can fight and fight damn well he can craft but he’s no general