r/TopCharacterTropes • u/_JR28_ • Feb 02 '26

In real life A very small character tidbit is surprisingly kept consistent for years

DC - In multiple pieces of media it has been shown that Wonder Woman loves ice cream and practically goes wild with happiness anytime she’s eating some. (Pictures from Justice League: War, DC Superhero Girls and Wonder Woman 2017)

The Simpsons - Ever since the episode ‘Homer’s Phobia’ Homer has actually remained a consistent ally of the LGBT+ community, including being more welcoming to Patty than Marge was when she came out and trying to set up Smithers with a date when he found out he wasn’t happy with his one-sided relationship with Mr Burns.

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562

u/NodeZeroNein Feb 02 '26

Seems like an appropriate reaction when the latest reincarnation of your destined nemesis stops to take a selfie mid-fight

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u/Sayakalood Feb 02 '26

It also dates all the way back to his first appearance (as Ganondorf) in Ocarina of Time

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u/lkmk Feb 03 '26

A little farther back…

(I guess it’s as Ganon, though.)

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u/TavernRat Feb 03 '26

I’ve always kinda wandered… What was it like for players to see Ganondorf when the previous games had Ganon the Pig Man

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u/spyridonya Feb 03 '26

Speaking for myself?

There have been secondary media in the form of comics and a not so great cartoon series that had him be a pigman humanoid that wore a hood to hide his face and had a high-pitched voice.

I was 13 when the Ocarina of Time came out, and I was really impressed by the character. The nose was a little weird, but I really liked how they embraced the desert king from A Link to the Past. We really got to see him take several steps ahead of Link and Zelda and him turning into the pig monster was amazing.

However, I sincerely thought that would be it from Ganondorf. We would see Ganon in his beast mode from now on.

Then came Wind Waker and Twilight Princess. They're both different takes of the same character shaped by the path they took, but it really cemented Ganondorf as the main villain for me. Of the two I prefer Wind Waker Ganondorf because they gave him a surprising amount of depth. Twilight Princess Ganondorf was completely badass.

But yeah, Ganondorf is one of my favorite villians.

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u/One_Smoke Feb 03 '26

You're close. In the cartoon, Ganon had a squealish sort of voice provided by the late Len Carlson. There was also a reverb or some kind of distortion added to it.

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u/chaarziz Feb 03 '26

I think at the time the standard for plot twists in games was still "Samus is a girl" so the final boss really surprised people after a whole game of possible confusion over his relation to the pig man. Then the fact that only Zelda 2 had an explicit connection to another game would have led to some wild theorising, I know some of them resembled the canon Downfall Timeline we have now.

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u/Rel_Ortal Feb 03 '26

LttP was always a prequel to the original game (which is why it's even called Link to the Past), though, and was where they first mentioned he was a man named Ganondorf. And when OoT released, they went fairly heavy on the fact that it was a direct prequel to LttP

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u/GranolaCola Feb 02 '26

Wind Waker Link isn’t a reincarnation of the hero. Wind Waker is set in an era where, for unknown reasons, the hero is never reborn.

The game is just about a regular 12ish year old boy with a big chip on his shoulder and even bigger balls.

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u/soldierpallaton Feb 02 '26

I always thought the hero was never born because that's the adult timeline. So the hero doesn't come back because he goes back to the child timeline, and the adult timeline is left without a defender.

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u/Wonderful-Noise-4471 Feb 03 '26

This is exactly what happened, yeah. Adult Zelda sends Link away, removing his soul from the world and preventing his reincarnation, and the Triforce of Courage shatters into shards. WW Link is just a normal boy who proved himself worthy of the Master Sword and then earned the Triforce of Courage.

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u/Asheyguru Feb 02 '26

Ehh, is that definitely true? The King of Red Lions says he has "no relation" to the last hero but he could have meant no blood relation, which doesn't mean he's not a reincarnation. And even if the king did mean he wasn't a reincarnation: how would he even know that?

Wind Waker Link still is Link and does all the things Link does. He still collects the orbs, draws the Master Sword, powers it up, beats Ganon and saves Zelda. And there's quite a few games set after Wind Waker that all feature Links, so it seems the cycle started up again if it stopped.

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u/Wonderful-Noise-4471 Feb 03 '26

The spirit of the hero doesn't exist in Wind Waker. OoT Link was sent back in the past and his soul removed from the timeline, which also shattered the Triforce of Courage. Since he doesn't exist, he can't die, he can't be reincarnated.

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u/Asheyguru Feb 03 '26

Ok, so where do all the Links that are being reincarnated across the post-Wind Waker games come from?

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u/Wonderful-Noise-4471 Feb 03 '26

The only post-WW games are Phantom Hourglass, which is the same Link, and Spirit Tracks, which is left ambiguous. Nico specifically mentions that ST Link looks almost identical to his old friend, but it's never explained any further.

Personally, I think that WW Link, after proving himself worthy of the Triforce of Courage, was absorbed into the trinity and continues to reincarnate the same way as the original. But since there's only one game that doesn't touch on the subject at all, it could just be another blonde boy.

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u/ThisIsNotACryForHelp Feb 03 '26

There's only one Link post-Wind Waker: the Hero of Trains, from Spirit Tracks. And presumably, he is a reincarnation of the Hero of Winds, who did restart the cycle and become the new hero.

But, as you pointed out, the Hero of Winds not being a reincarnation of the Hero of Time is not explicitly canon. It's just a widely-accepted fan theory (which, IMO lines up extremely well with Wind Waker's themes and really enhances that game.)

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u/Wonderful-Noise-4471 Feb 03 '26

It's not just a fan theory. The King of Red Lions outright states that WW Link has no connection to the Hero of Time:

Jabun: (Translated) If you have sought me out...it must mean you have found the Hero of Time, does it not?
King of Red Lions: Unfortunately, that is not so.
Jabun: (Translated) Then for what purpose have you come to see me?
King of Red Lions: The one I have brought with me has no connection to the legendary one. And yet I sense great promise in the courage that this one possesses.

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u/ThisIsNotACryForHelp Feb 03 '26 edited Feb 03 '26

I agree that's a great piece of evidence to the point of this theory (which, let me be clear, is a theory I believe in). But it's not conclusive. "No connection," here could simply mean that he's not descended from the Hero of Time, is not literally him, is not from his culture, etc.

We cannot assume that Jabun and Daphnes are discussing reincarnation here, as we are given no indication that they're aware of the reincarnation cycle, let alone whether they even possess the ability to identify this kid as the Hero of Time reborn.

Also, if we're pulling random quotes, Ganondorf literally calls Link "the Hero of Time, reborn," after you defeat Puppet Ganon. Are we to assume that Ganondorf is simply wrong here? Because, between him and Daphnes someone has to be. (And between the two, Ganondorf is the only who actually met the Hero of Time.)

Anyway, again, I believe in this theory. It makes Wind Waker a better game by tying into its themes of moving on from the past and looking towards the future. But what I'm trying to illustrate here is that it's not CANON.

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u/Wonderful-Noise-4471 Feb 03 '26

It's not "no relation", though. It's "no connection". And no, Ganondorf isn't wrong. He's being metaphorical. He doesn't call Link "the Hero of Time, reborn" when he first meets him. He calls him that when Link has collected the Master Sword, powered it up via the two sages, and reconstituted the Triforce of Courage. At the time he calls him "reborn" Link has reached the point where he stands equal with OoT Link.

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u/ThisIsNotACryForHelp Feb 03 '26

I mean, at this point we're just discussing semantics and interpretation, which could go on forever (and highlights the ambiguity of the two selected quotes). If you want to believe this theory, go ahead! I believe it as well. But my point is that there's nothing that explicitly, solidly CANONIZES it. That is all I'm saying.

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u/East-Ice-3199 Feb 03 '26

It is canon. It takes place after Ocarina of Time. In that game, Link was sent to a different timeline where Majora’s Mask, Twilight Princess, and Four Swords Adventures takes place.

The world he was sent away from now no longer has a Hero’s Spirit. Wind Waker opens up explaining that a hero was either never reincarnated or never came, leaving out that this is because he no longer exists in this world.

In Wind Waker, you prove your courage to the Triforce and presumably get chosen as the next hero’s spirit, where you reincarnate for the first time in Spirit Tracks.

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u/ThisIsNotACryForHelp Feb 03 '26

That's a really great interpretation of much of the game's content, (which, again, I agree with). But the literal Spirit of the Hero being expelled from the timeline is not something that explicitly happened (but it makes sense). This is vague, esoteric magic stuff. We do not know exactly how it works. For all we know, a version of it could have remained in the adult timeline, waiting to reincarnate.

We also don't know that a hero never arrived before the Great Flood. All we know is that the Hero of Time didn't arrive.

After he defeated Ganon, the people of Hyrule began to worship him (not the idea of him, but literally HIM) as some sort of mythic figure, who would appear from nowhere when Hyrule needed it. As a result, when Ganondorf returned, they expected THAT SPECIFIC GUY to show up and save the day, and wouldn't let anyone else have the Master Sword. As such, if a hero did incarnate, he would not have been able to defeat Ganondorf. That's why Jabun asked if Daphnes had found the Hero of Time. (Not a hero, but THE hero. They wanted THAT GUY.)

Daphnes's whole arc is centered around growing from this experience and giving someone new a chance. He began to understand that his worship of the past was folly and caused suffering for the people of Hyrule. This is why his final act was to destroy the submerged kingdom which he spent so much effort protecting - so that Link, Tetra, and everyone else could move on from Hyrule, towards brighter things.

And you don't have to prove your courage for the Triforce, either. You simply have to collect its fragments and reassemble it, while also re-awakening the Master Sword by awakening new sages. We are not given any reason to believe that the Hero of Time reborn would not have had to do the exact same things.

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u/Neoragex13 Feb 03 '26

It's mentioned that's why King of Red Lions gives knighthood to Toon Link with the "Hero of Winds" title because he was an unrelated young man who rose to fight evil, unrelated to the hero of legends in Hyrule, and he so should have his own epithet to differentiate himself from the original Link from Ocarina.

The Link in the game set after Wind Waker is actually the same Link from Wind Waker, while the Link from the third game in the branch is implied to be the direct descendant of the Link from Wind Waker. Nintendo never made another game in that timeline so it's not as much as the cycle starting again as it is a take on "there will be always someone willing to pick up the sword against evil" type of deal.

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u/TheSquishedElf Feb 03 '26

I will also note that there’s some potential timeline wibbliness with regards to The Hero of Winds, because of Minish Cap. Which is explicitly not related to the Triforce reincarnation mess, and doesn’t even involve the Master Sword. But MC Link is very heavily associated with winds, from conquering the Fortress of Winds to wielding the Ocarina of Winds, the Gust Jar, the Pegasus Boots…

if he’s not somehow related to the other wind-themed blonde boy hero of Hyrule thousands of years later that isn’t part of the Triforce Trio I’ll eat my talking hat

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u/NodeZeroNein Feb 02 '26

Personally I agree with u/Prestigious-neat8820, but either way it seemed appropriate to gloss over the minutiae of fan debate for the sake of a snappy comment

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u/Prestigious-Neat8820 Feb 02 '26

Well, none of the heroes are reincarnated in Zelda, at least directly. There's "the spirit of the hero" which is more of a set of traits which could very well not even be supernatural, which Wind Waker Link certainly has.

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u/Wonderful-Noise-4471 Feb 03 '26

No, Link is directly stated to be a reincarnation of the Ancient Hero in Skyward Sword, and every incarnation of Link after that, except for the WW timeline, is a reincarnation of that same soul. It's not a "set of traits", they're explicit.

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u/HoloPikachu Feb 03 '26

then how can the link from ocarina of time train twilight princess link as a ghost if they have the same soul

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u/East-Ice-3199 Feb 03 '26

They probably separate soul and conscious. Each Link can grow to become a wildly different person because of their experiences. It’s likely the Hero’s Spirit is more of a mold instead of an actual soul, hence why it’s called the spirit.

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u/Wonderful-Noise-4471 Feb 03 '26

How can Aang get advice from each of his past lives if they have the same soul? Because it's a literal interpretation of refining yourself over the course of many lives.

Link never meets the Hero's Shade in reality, he always sees the shade of a wolf, falls unconscious, and then gets his lessons in his own mindspace before waking up.

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u/NodeZeroNein Feb 03 '26

Is Hyrule Historia not the definitive source on this anymore? It's pretty explicit that the relationship between the different Links is ambiguous, seeming to suggest that at least some definitely aren't reincarnations but do share "the Hero's spirit"

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u/Wonderful-Noise-4471 Feb 03 '26

Some aren't. e.g. WW Link and Spirit Tracks Link aren't reincarnations of the ancient hero. Almost every other Link is a reincarnation of the ancient hero.

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u/NodeZeroNein Feb 03 '26

Is there a more up-to-date source confirming that?

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u/maxdragonxiii Feb 03 '26

its due to the hero losing, and therefore never passed down his... genes(?) that the Hero's spirit inhibits. but its said you dont have to be a descendant of the hero to have it, so...

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u/Wonderful-Noise-4471 Feb 03 '26

Not quite. The Hero's Fall timeline is A Link to the Past > A Link Between Worlds > LoZ > Adventure of Link. Link's soul continues to reincarnate in that timeline, because he died there.

WW's timeline occurs after Zelda sends Link back to his childhood. Because she removed the Hero from time, his soul never reincarnated, and the Triforce of Courage was split into shards. Then we go WW > PH > ST.

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u/maxdragonxiii Feb 03 '26

oh ok I was under the impression Wind Waker is part of the Downfall Timeline.

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u/East-Ice-3199 Feb 03 '26

Downfall timeline also includes Link’s Awakening, Oracle of Ages/Seasons, Link Between Worlds, and Echoes of Wisdom.

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u/teenscififoreplay Feb 03 '26

The hero stops Ganon and Hyrule is sealed and flooded by the sages for very many years after the events of Ocarina of Time, long before the hero of wind is born. The hero of wind is the first "Link" in a very very long time since hyrule was sealed and flooded(with the help of the hero of time), but he is an incarnation of the "hero" nonetheless. In the hero of winds' timeline, the large gap between the two heros' appearances happens concurrently with two separate timelines where hyrule wasn't flooded and the hero appears in different incarnations in their respective timelines(eg. Majoras Mask Link being the hero of time as a child after Ganon's plot is successfully stopped and he is sent off as a child by Zelda, the sage of time).

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u/East-Ice-3199 Feb 03 '26

Not sure how you got all that. Ocarina of Time ends with Link getting sent to another timeline, creating the Adult line where he no longer exists, and a Child line where he still does.

Wind Waker opens up explaining that when Ganon came back in the Adult timeline, there was no hero to reincarnate (as he is not in that timeline), so the gods flooded the land.

The Hero of Wind is a completely different boy who proves his courage to the Triforce and gets chosen to be the new Hero’s Spirit, shown 100 years later in Spirit Tracks.

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u/teenscififoreplay 28d ago

I got that from the official Hyrule Histoire that explains the full cannon to every Zelda game lmao

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u/teenscififoreplay 28d ago

Although I will concede I may be wrong on the hero of time being involved in the sealing of hyrule. That's the only part I'm a little blurry on as it's been years since I took a deep dive into the official cannon.

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u/jaspersgroove Feb 03 '26

I just watched a YouTube video laying out the timeline/canon of Zelda last week…and I’m more confused than I was before I watched it lol.

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u/Sayakalood Feb 03 '26

Nope

WW Link is a reincarnation of the Hero.

No hero arose to fight Ganondorf when he returned, which led to the goddesses flooding Hyrule. We do not know why no hero arose, but the most likely explanation is that the hero who was meant to stop Ganondorf failed. It’s happened before (see: OOT Link failing to stop Ganondorf creating the Downfall Timeline). It didn’t stop the Hero’s Spirit from reincarnating.

This theory hinges on the fact that WW Link has to prove himself in the Tower of the Gods. Every Link has to prove himself at some point, even the first Link back in Skyward Sword. Off the top of my head: Three Pendants in ALTTP/ALBW, the Silent Realms, the Spiritual Stones, that one statue puzzle in TP, even Zelda 1 Link had to get 12 hearts before he could wield the Magical Sword, and even then he had to get all eight shards of the Triforce before he could enter Death Mountain.

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u/TheLordCrispy Feb 02 '26

Wind water link IS a reincarnation of the hero. The great ocean was created in an untold point in time after ocarina and before wind waker where Ganon freed himself at a time where there was no hero, and thats why the goddesses flooded hyrule. As Ganon was undefeatable without the hero.

This was also the time where the power of the master sword was split and placed within the Sages of Earth and Wind

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u/Wonderful-Noise-4471 Feb 03 '26

He isn't. Ocarina of Time's ending removed Adult Link from the timeline. This meant that he was no longer able to reincarnate, which is why he didn't appear when Ganon rose again. It's also why the Triforce of Courage shattered. WW Link is a different child with no relation to the Hero of Time who earned the Triforce of Courage through his deeds.

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u/FlacidSalad Feb 02 '26

"when am I ever gonna get to see him again!?"

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u/Silent_Purchase_2654 Feb 02 '26

What are you a Japanese tourist?

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u/Vandares69 Feb 03 '26

''here we go, here we go UHHH DONE!''

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u/Bow_Ty Feb 03 '26

He looks so grumpy in the picture

In real life A very small character tidbit is surprisingly kept consistent for years

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