PICSPAM: The Tropes of Captain Mal
Shell Shocked Veteran
"The war never ended for the Shell Shocked Veteran. They've seen and done things that no amount of therapy will ever completely heal, and it's left them so irrevocably scarred they have trouble feeling, emoting, and caring about the people around them and themselves. If they continue to feel anything at all, its usually restricted to Survivor Guilt. Thus they're usually the first to do what must be done and Shoot The Dog." [link]
That's basically the basis of the character. Mal volunteered for the Independents during the Unification War against the Alliance, a war they lost. His loyal second-in-command Zoe became his second-in-command on his ship. He even named his beloved spaceship after the battle of Serenity Valley and he and Zoe still wear the Independents' emblematic browncoats. However, rather than having trouble "caring about the people around [him]", Mal is a veteran who has trouble expressing it (we know he does love his ship and his crew).
Alliance Commander: "Seems odd you'd name your ship after a battle you were on the wrong side of."
Mal: "May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."
Badass Longcoat Browncoat
"A Longcoat is the ideal action-hero garment, more practical than a cape but infinitely cooler than a sport coat or no coat. In addition, a Longcoat of any level of 'billowy-ness' makes an ideal cover for producing any number of weapons, tools, supplies and whatnot. Certain styles of Longcoat are deliberately designed to distort the wearer's frame, making their wearer's access to Hammerspace almost believable to mundane eyes.
Like capes, longcoats capitalize on the dramatic effect of having something that flutters behind you. A variant involves jackets and excessively long shirts, but having less material to billow in the gusts necessarily makes such people seem less badass. And of course, when the wearer of a Badass Longcoat takes the coat off, it's a sign that he's really serious about doing major damage." [link]
Pretty much self-explanatory. Us Firefly fans got our name from it!
Trade Agent: Hey! You all are Browncoats, eh? Fought for independence? Petty thieving ain't exactly soldiers' work.
Mal: War's long done. We're all just folk now.
Fight Magnet
"Everywhere a hero goes, he finds a fight. There's always a horde of Mooks who can't wait to mug the monster, and nobody will pass up the chance for a piece of the hero. Complete strangers will pick a fight with the hero for the most trivial of reasons, and gang up en masse at the slightest excuse." [link]
Trouble always seems to find the Serenity crew, and especially Mal. Countless bar fights, on-the-run passengers, unexpected duels, jobs gone wrong...
Mal: Wash, we got some local color happening... a grand entrance would not go amiss...
Mal: You all talkin' 'bout a fight? Well, fine, let's get out of here!
Inara: It's not a fist fight, Mal.
Gentleman: The duel will be met tomorrow morning, on Cadrie Hill.
Mal: Why wait? Where's that guard? He collected a whole mess a' pistols--
Gentleman: If you require it, any gentleman here can give you use of a sword.
Mal: Use of a... s'what?
The Combat pragmatist
"The Combat Pragmatist is the character who is defined by his willingness to do anything in a fight to win. These guys are characterized both by extensive knowledge of tactics others consider "dirty" fighting - they know that kneeing a girl in the crotch works - and by a willingness to use whatever tactics they need to achieve their goal. They have no compunctions against kneeing a girl in a real fight. Or shooting someone In The Back. Or throwing sand in their eyes. Or pulling down their pants (or flipping up their skirts if dealing with women)." [link]
Mal shoots first.
Mal: Say that to my face.
Lund: I said, you're a coward and a pisspot. Now what're you gonna do about it?
Mal: Nothing. I just wanted you to face me so she could get behind you.
The Operative: I'm not threatening you. I'm unarmed.
Mal: Good.
[Mal shoots the Operative, who falls behind a curtain. Mal grabs Inara and turns to leave.]
The Operative: [Grabbing Mal from behind] I am, of course, wearing full body armor. I am not a moron.
Good is not nice
"He never kills anyone if he can help it, nor will he allow people to come to any sort of harm by ignoring them. He's always willing to go out of his way to save the town and complete strangers. When the call comes, he will answer it, usually with very little protest. He will often help people in need with little promise of reward. In almost every way, he acts like the typical hero.
Except that he's antisocial and sometimes downright abusive toward most people he meets. He may refuse to explain anything. He may actively repulse people who express gratitude, friendship, and love as well as offers of support if he's got a problem. Let's face it; Good Is Not Nice.
Affably Evil is when a villain acts polite, friendly and kind, even while plotting evil. Good Is Not Nice is the inverse of that: a character who is morally slanted toward the good side but is rude, unfriendly, and mean." [link]
Mal is the main character of Firefly and we can expect him to be the "good guy". And he is, actually, a good guy. He may have lost his faith in the war but he didn't lose his conscience or his ability to care for other people even if he doesn't like to show it. When he finds out the cargo he was paid to steal was critical medicine for a mining town, he returned it. He dismisses Inara's offer to pay for the assistance of her friend Nandi. But he can also be rude, fight dirty and half the jobs he takes are "petty thieves".
Sir Warrick: You have to finish it, lad. [Mal doesn't move] You have to finish it. For a man to lay beaten, yet breathing? It makes him a coward.
Inara: It's humiliation.
Mal: It would be humiliating, having to lie there while the better man refuses to spill your blood. Mercy is the mark of a great man.
[He lightly stabs Atherton.]
Mal: Guess I'm just a good man.
[He repeats the poking.]
Mal: Well, I'm all right.
Wash: You brute.
Kaylee: Oh, sweetie, don't feel bad. He makes everybody cry. He's like a monster.
Mal: I'm not a monster!
Mal: Oh, I'm gonna go to the special hell.
Death Glare
"The Death Glare is a "calm", murderous look often coupled with a tensed and menacing posture, others with a deadly stillness, but always, always served with deathly silence. The Death Glare is hard to pull off, but when done right can convey a depth of anger and potential violence that no Badass Boast or Pre Ass Kicking One Liner can hope to top." [link]
See above.
Determinator
"Every character needs a certain amount of Heroic Spirit, but there are some who take it just too far. The personification of raw perseverance, this is the character - good guy or bad, be male or female - who never gives up. Ever. No matter what. Whatever other attributes he may possess, his persistence stands out.
There is no stopping the Determinator. They do not understand tact. They do not Know When To Fold Em, and it's a waste of time to tell them the odds. No one can reason with them. They'll do whatever they have to without question. No price is too great to pay for success, up to and including their own life (and others'). Do not expect them to realize they might be better off letting it go, even if they can barely stand, for they are the ones who will not give up until death. If you're ever kidnapped or lost with no hope of rescue, they'll be the one who will find you." [link]
This is well-explained in the Firefly characters tropes page. "This trope fits Mal Reynolds from Firefly to a 'T'. The man will NOT stay down. Shot in the arm? Minor annoyance. Hit in the chest with a thrown knife? Flinch and a gasp of pain. Shot in the stomach? Some medical tape and a jolt of adrenaline is all he needs. Impaled through the gut with a sword? Pull it out and keep fighting.Tortured to death? Get back up, stick the torturer with his own toy, and proceed to beat the hell out of the Big Bad. Lose the war and every member of your platoon? Keep on flying."
Mal: Haven't you killed me enough for one day?
The Operative: And are you ready to die for that belief?
Mal: I am.
Mal: We have done the impossible, and that makes us mighty.
Simon: You had the law on you, criminals and savages... half the people on the ship have been shot or wounded including yourself, and you're harboring known fugitives.
Mal: We're still flying.
Simon: That's not much.
Mal: It's enough.
Papa Wolf
"He may be normally a Bumbling Dad and a Non Action Guy, but threaten his kids, and you'll soon pray he'd let Mama Bear handle this instead. A Papa Wolf is always portrayed heroically in contrast to many an Overprotective Dad. A Team Dad may display a streak of this, but the Papa is more likely to be related to his children by blood or through formal adoption, and the children tend to be younger, which may be part of why the Papa Wolf is more oriented toward protecting them rather than training them to defend themselves. He, furthermore, tends to be less affectionate than Mama Bear under normal circumstances. Often, his fierce reaction to injury to his children is presaged by his normal manner, providing for and protecting his family under ordinary circumstances - however bumblingly." [link]
Of course he's a Papa Wolf. Threaten anyone his crew, and he'll make sure you pay. The Serenity crew really is Mal's family. He might not like some of them, but he loves them. You're holding Kaylee at gunpoint? He'll shoot you, even if you're an old war buddy. You want to burn Simon and River at the stake? He'll come back in the nick of time. You shoot the Preacher? He'll go beyond his disgust for The Alliance to get him the medical help he needs. Wash and he are getting tortured? He'll find the courage to keep provocating him to distract him from the pain. Inara serves as bait for a trap? He'll still go rescue her knowing it.
Mal: Cut her down!
Patron: The girl is a witch.
Mal: Yeah, but she's our witch. [cocks gun] So cut her the hell down.
Simon: You... you came for us.
Mal: You're on my crew.
Simon: Right. I just, I guess I didn't... you don't even like me.
Mal: You're on my crew. Why we still talking about this?
Mal: Y'all gonna be here when I wake up?
Book: We'll be here.
Mal: Good. That's good.
Mal: No, the Doc will bring you around. I look to be bored by many more sermons before you slip. Just don't move.
Book: Can't.... order me around, boy. Not one of your crew.
Mal: Yes you are.
Jayne: What're you takin' it so personal for? It ain't like I ratted you out to the feds!
Mal: Oh, but you did! You turn on any of my crew, you turn on me! But since that's a concept you can't seem to wrap your head around, then you got no place here. [Pause.] You did it to me, Jayne. And that's a fact.
UST
"Two people are obviously attracted to each other, but some element of the story is keeping them apart. This tension is frequently referred to as UST in fandom, where it is pronounced "oost" or Yu-Ess-Tee. Also known as "Long Unresolved Sexual Tension"." [link]
Obviously with Inara. Was never resolved in any way even with the movie. Frustrating.
Inara: You have a strange sense of nobility, Captain. You'll lay a man out for implying I'm a whore, but you keep calling me one to my face.
Mal: I might not show respect to your job, but he didn't respect you. That's the difference. Inara, he doesn't even see you.
Nandi: You didn't give me the whole truth, Mal.
Mal: 'bout what?
Nandi: 'Bout her feelings for you.
Mal: I really don't know --
Kaylee: But how can you be sure Inara don't just wanna see you? Sometimes people have feelings. And I'm referring here to people.
Mal: You all were watching, I take it?
Kaylee: Yes.
Mal: Did you see us fight?
Kaylee: No.
Mal: Trap.
Mal: I got no answers for you Inara. I got no rudder. Wind blows northerly, I go north. That's who I am. Now maybe that ain't a man to lead but they got to follow. So you want to tear me down? Do it inside your own mind.
Inara: I'm not trying to tear you down.
Mal: But you fog things up. You always have. You spin me about. I wish like hell you were elsewhere.
[Mal turns and stalks away]
Inara: [Quietly] I was.
ANTI HERO
"While heroes are typically conventional, anti-heroes, depending on the circumstances, may be preconventional (in a "good" society), postconventional (if the government is "evil") or even unconventional, such as L Lawliet.
Other common attributes are: rarely speaking, being a loner, either extreme celibacy or extreme promiscuity, father issues, occasional Bad Dreams, being able to tell the story of their life through any Nick Cave song, a name from the Dark Age Of Supernames and wearing lots of black. They won't Save The Villain, but they will Shoot The Dog, and they will not hesitate to kill anyone who threatens them." [link]
Maybe that's the trope that could sum up Captain Mal in the end.
Sheriff Bourne: You were truthful back in town. These are tough times. A man can get a job. He might not look too close at what that job is. But a man learns all the details of a situation like ours... well... then he has a choice.
Mal: I don't believe he does.
Mal: And I never back down from a fight.
Inara: Yes, you do! You do all the time!
Mal: Well... yeah, but I'm not backing down from this one!
Mal: Someone tries to kill you, you try to kill 'em right back.
Captain: You woulda done the same.
Mal: We can already see I haven't. Now get the hell off my ship.
Zoe: Jayne. This somethin' the Captain has to do for himself.
Mal: No! No, it's not!
Inara: You call this going well?
Mal: We got the loot, didn't we?
Inara: Yes, but-
Mal: Then I call this a win. What's the problem?
Inara: Shall I start with the part where you're stranded in the middle of nowhere, or the part where you have no clothes?
The Operative: Do you know what your sin is, Mal?
Mal: Aw, hell, I'm a fan of all seven.
[Mal headbutts the Operative and pulls the sword out.]
Mal: But right now, I'm gonna have to go with wrath.