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shroudofsorrow

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Lawful Neutral

"I am the Law"

-Judge Dredd

Continuing my alignment lists we come to Lawful Neutral, which represents one of two things: either a character who is more concerned with upholding order and obeying the rules than with being good or evil, or a character who is a part of some kind of organized system/hierarchy but is too morally gray to be definitively good or evil. Lawful Neutral characters tend to be most concerned with upholding the laws of the land and while they will likely prioritize a clear threat/evil over punishing a jaywalker, that doesn't mean they don't also want to catch the jaywalker if at all possible. A Lawful Neutral character would certainly oppose evildoers, but they would also be just as likely to oppose heroes who break the law, and are the not kind of people to be swayed by tears or coins.

List items

  • The source of the page quote, Judge Dredd is the PERSONIFICATION of this alignment, being most concerned with maintaining law and "order" in Mega-City One along with his fellow judges and not being terribly concerned with being a nice guy but also battling back genuinely evil forces and threats. Ergo, Lawful Neutral.

  • DC's resident champion of this alignment, being the angelic spirit of God's vengeance and more specifically dark judgment and divine retribution. He has no use for compassion, only for punishing evildoers. However he is also fair to a degree, as he does not harm the innocent.

  • The Strategic Homeland Intervention Espionage and Logistics Directive is a world-wide peacekeeping organization whose stated goal is to maintain peace and order around the globe, but at the same time they are not above indulging in some ethically sketchy and downright ruthless behavior. Not to mention that they have hindered the superheroes efforts nearly as often as they have aided them due to their not liking how most superheroes operate outside the law.

  • In his more morally ambiguous depictions.

  • Even moreso than most SHIELD agents, Maria Hill personifies this alignment, being totally, completely obsessed with maintaining order and taking her job so ridiculously seriously that she makes the no-nonsense Nick Fury look completely lax by comparison.

  • While the various villainous alternate depictions of Sable are Neutral Evil by virtue of being self-interested, ruthless mercenaries, finding an alignment for 616 Silver Sable was a tough call. I ultimately decided on this one because of her extreme patriotism and devotion to her home country of Symkaria and how she clearly respects it's authority and in many ways works for it by hunting down dangerous terrorists and nazi war criminals. Her code of honor and picking her targets carefully also lends further credence to the idea of her being Lawful, even if I have made clear that Lawful characters aren't the only ones with code of honor. Even so, I feel this is ultimately the best alignment choice for her. One might argue that her hunting down bad guys exclusively would make her good, but her coldness and at times ruthlessness make her lean more towards Neutral rather than Good.

  • Major SHIELD and Government operative who is usually depicted as being most interested in maintaining order and keeping her chosen nation secure. While I could probably say she's Lawful Good, some more gray depictions of the character slip more into this.

  • During the "Disassembled Era" (From Avengers Disassembled to Siege) where he became a self-righteous and occasionally fascistic jerk and also a jingoist government lapdog who fought and imprisoned his old friends. Not exactly the finest point in Tony's character history.

  • The modern version frequently turns into this due to all-too often being a self-righteous jerk, just like Iron Man. That's two big brains who got made unlikable.

  • Much like Reed and Tony, he becomes this whenever he's turned into a jerk.

  • More or less the ultimate government lap-dog and very much a military man through and through, USAgent is a lot more jingoist and conservative than Captain America, and while not quite a bad man, he's definitely not the nicest of folks either. In his mind, maintaining order and loyalty to his country are more important than anything else.

  • The Ultimate Marvel universe version for a time, being like US Agent a more conservative "take no prisoners" kind of guy who is also pretty cool with doing what his country's government tells him to do. After this causes an army of superpowered terrorists to invade the country though, Cap begins to change his perspective.

  • Pre Character Development he's a by-the-book kind of soldier who much prefers to follow orders even when he could afford not to.

  • The soldiers of the Galactic Republic who were bred and trained to be fanatically loyal and dedicated to said Republic and to follow orders without question, even when they could be ethically sketchy. Things only got worse when Order 66 was activated...

  • Yet another dedicated member of the Empire who is too nice and bereft of villainous acts to qualify as evil. He respects Darth Vader and Galen Marek's authority as well (when he's not trying to kill the latter that is!) and thusly I do feel he is Lawful Neutral.

  • Pretty much the same character mold as Sunber. Legitimately nice, kind person who just happens to be part of an evil organization's hierarchy. With her though it doesn't stick, and she comes to join the Rebellion, whereupon she becomes definitively good.

  • Pre Character Development, as she is a loyal and high-ranking member of an organized hierarchy (Cerberus) but at the same time is really not a bad person (especially when compared to so many others in Cerberus) and as such is more this alignment.

  • A dedicated and loyal Spectre who thanks to his limited screen-time and general lack of a developed personality comes off as being this.

  • Let me tell you, finding an alignment for Thane Krios was not an easy task. I ultimately settled on this one for him in his early years, when he was still overtly loyal to the Hanar and respected their authority, and also killed evil people in the name of making the world a more peaceful (and thus orderly) place. He also still had his code and scruples back then too. By the time you actually recruit him I'd say he's become more Neutral Good.

  • Usually seen as this, and indeed she shows many of the signs, such as complete, inflexible adherence to her Justicar Code. That in turn forces her to see things in very black and white extremes and to adhere to various technicalities and regulations that often do more harm than good. She herself even seems to acknowledge this to a degree.

  • Might actually be more Neutral Evil or Lawful Evil depending on how she acts in the supplementary materials, but in ME 2 at least she seemed pretty benign to me for a supposed crime boss, and as she's the head honcho who represents the only thing resembling order on Omega yes I think I can list her as this.

  • In Mass Effects 2 and 3 where she becomes a mindlessly loyal (and whiny) Alliance drone, which stands in notable contrast to her more rebellious attitude in the first game. Even if you get her to trust you again I'd still say she qualifies as this.

  • Also in Mass Effect 2 though unlike Ashley (who remains pretty obnoxious) he can potentially come to his senses in 3 and become Lawful Good again.

  • As with most other Sci-Fi factions of it's ilk, though I would argue that the Alliance at least TRIES to be more Lawful Good. They just fail more often than not. They're never really evil though, so I think they ultimately fit this the best.

  • In it's early years when it was still part of the Alliance and did the dirty but necessary jobs the Alliance didn't want to be seen doing. Then they went rogue and became a whole lot worse...

  • At their absolute nicest, which, mind you is not often.

  • Same as the Imperium as a whole.

  • The elite officers of the Imperial Guard who make sure their men stay in line and follow orders. As with all other Imperium-aligned characters in Warhammer 40k, they're either this or Lawful Evil.

  • Kind of in-between this and Lawful Evil. He did execute two of his own men for retreating after all. But then outside of that he's fairly respectful when speaking to his Gabriel, Isador, and Toth and has no other malevolent deeds outside of this one act (that I also think is par for the course for human commanders unfortunately) so I can say he's at least in-between this and Lawful Evil, rather than being fully in either direction.

  • Also the same as the Imperium as a whole.

  • Ditto. It does also to a certain extent depend on the different Space Marine chapters, some of which are nicer than others.

  • The elite of the Space Marines and usually having the same alignment as their fellows, whatever that may be.

  • Chapter Grandmaster of the Ultramarines.

  • In running for the most well-known and ubiquitous of the Space Marine chapters. They also pride themselves on being particularly honorable and reasonable authority figures.

  • The main "heroes" of the Dawn of War series. But of course, in Warhammer 40k being a "hero" is simply being anything other than a completely evil and remorseless psycho who's willing to cross any and all moral lines to win.

  • Talk about your not-so-subtle names. While the man is probably one of the more benevolent and heroic characters in the mythos, in the world of Warhammer 40k that's still too ruthless to be straight up good, though I will at least admit that he comes a heck of a lot closer than most. Ultimately Lawful Neutral leaning towards Lawful Good is what I'd say he is.

  • Before becoming corrupted.

  • Some of the absolute most elite of all Space Marines, and like the Sisters of Battle are particularly dedicated and devoted to the God Emperor of Mankind.

  • Most Inquisitors are Lawful Evil I'd say, but Toth here manages to be benign enough to qualify as this instead. Still a bit of a jerk though.

  • The Eldar are usually prone to some level of moral ambiguity, and their Farseers tend to not be an exception to this. That said, Taldeer and the Eldar under her command fight all of the other factions equally and they're not really setting out to be all that malevolent, especially not in relation to the ever-destructive forces of the Orks, Necrons, and of course, the Four Powers.

  • And here's another one.

  • With their extremist views and desire to see the whole galaxy become a brutal communist oligarchy, the Tau tend to be pretty Lawful Evil in my book. But this particular Tau commander comes off as a bit more benign than many of his fellows, and thus I feel fits this alignment instead.

  • As Mandalore the Preserver, where he not only maintains his sense of honor but also acts as leader of the Mandalorians and the one who keeps them all united and organized. Under his leadership though the Mandalorians also largely keep to themselves, only battling the Sith because they recognize them as a threat to their well-being. Outside of that they're fairly isolated and not all that good or evil. And this extends to the ever morally ambiguous Canderous.

  • What she initially appears to be before being exposed as a Lawful Evil hypocrite of the highest order. Also incidentally one of my three least favorite Star Wars characters of all time.

  • Though perhaps not wholly evil, Halsey is still concerned primarily with maintaining the order represented by the UNSC and is willing to cross some moral lines (such as the entire SPARTAN-II program) to do that.

  • Seems to be this by virtue of being a super-soldier commander who is generally content to maintain the law and order represented by he UNSC, whether it be against Prometheans or the Storm Covenant.

  • For most of Halo 2 he's somewhere in-between this and Lawful Evil before realizing that the Prophets have betrayed him and his race and from there making the transition to Lawful Good.

  • The human government of the future who, as the many Insurrectionist Groups would attest, are far from perfect and are ultimately more concerned with maintaining some semblance of order than with being particularly good or evil.

  • Somewhere in-between this and Lawful Good. They do have genuinely good intentions with their desire to bring democracy and an America-style government back to the Wasteland, but alas for all of their good intentions and representing one of the few remaining bastions of order in the post-nuclear world, their methods can be rather crude and inept at times.

  • Sort of this in the sense that he is very dedicated to his country and respects their authority (Lawful) and will fight against all of the other characters regardless of their moral compass (Neutral).

  • Loyal to the Greek Gods and fairly pious on that front, and also subservient to Nightmare. But the latter is only due to an honest desire to keep her children safe from Soul Edge's power, and between those good intentions, lingering kindness, constant regret, and complete lack of any serious malevolent deeds, I feel inclined to list her as this rather than straight up evil.

  • Mortal Kombat's resident follower of this alignment and a text-book example of it, as he is most obsessed with, you guessed it: ORDER. Not good or evil but just plain order.

  • Explicitly listed as this, and in fairness he kind of is. He is obsessed with justice and punishing criminals after all. But he lacks the drive to do good and to be moral that so characterizes Lawful Good, and thus is more this instead. Really, he favors being Lawful over being Good, as opposed to favoring both equally the way a Lawful Good character would. Not to mention that his "justice" can get kind of brutal at times...

  • Unlike most Githzerai, who are Lawful Evil, Dak'kon here is instead more like the Githzerai's cousin race, who are this alignment. Personally, I might argue that Dak'kon like Vhailor leans towards Good, but nevertheless I'll list him as this, especially since the game itself cites him as this.

  • Initially, as he is technically a member of a Paladin order, but given his cocky and immature nature he's not really all that Good. He can though potentially become truly Lawful Good depending on how you resolve his personal side-quest.

  • Given his absolutely relentless nihilism but also lack of malevolent acts or deeds, Neutral seems like a good fit for him. What makes him constitute Lawful I can't really say, but that's the alignment the actual game gave him. Still seems more True Neutral to me though. I guess they wanted to have at least one party member for this alignment and Xan was the only one they thought to give it to.

  • King of the Gods, but also in the original mythology a somewhat morally ambiguous and at times ethically sketchy God.

  • Whenever he's not turned into a straight up villain, Hades is more this I feel. After all, he's in a position of authority as ruler of the Underworld, and also maintains order in the place. And while not really a nice guy, he's not always an evil Satan-esque figure either. Thus, he's more this when not vilified.

  • Usually depicted as this on the account of being the God of Justice and Rule and also being King of the Gods. Not to mention he tends to have a certain amount of moral ambiguity so...

  • In "Injustice Gods Among Us" where he does serve as a member of a fascist, totalitarian regime, but is also by far the most nicest, most reluctant, and most questioning member of said regime.

  • Also in Injustice Gods Among Us for the same reasons as Billy. After abandoning the Regime, I'd say he becomes more Chaotic Good.

  • In the DCAU and my DC Universe, where he's much more akin to Namor. On that note...

  • Sometimes this, namely whenever he prioritizes his own people's well-being over everyone else's (which is rather often) and preferring to stay out of surface-world conflicts all together (which is also a fairly common occurrence).

  • Depending on how you look at it, Ghost Rider could be this, seeing as how he sometimes serves as Marvel's equivalent to the Spectre as a supernatural entity serving a higher power (Satan/God) and punishing sinners without mercy but also sparing and even protecting innocents. Ultimately it depends on the writer.

  • During the character's "darker" phase, where he becomes more brutal in his attempts to protect the remnants of the Mutant race. People even start comparing him to Magneto as all the while Scott inches ever closer to Lawful Evil territory, which just so happens to be Magneto's most common alignment.

  • Alongside her boyfriend Emma is technically dedicated to the preservation of the Mutant race but also like (modern) Cyclops Emma is not above indulging in some ethically sketchy behavior now and again to get the job done.

  • Sometimes this, either in his less villainous incarnations and/or when working with the X-Men for a common good.

  • One of Marvel's foremost examples of this alignment given that he feels totally and utterly compelled to obey the orders of the Shi'ar Empress, whomever that may be, EVEN WHEN HE KNOWS IT'S A BAD THING. So in other words, he will follow the orders of say, Deathbird just as much as he would Lilandra. And he doesn't even want to do it, but feels compelled to all the same.

  • They're typically in-between this and Lawful Good but honestly I would argue they lean more towards this on the account of frequently prioritizing lawful over good, though that's usually the fault of the Guardian's silly directives.

  • The very highest-ranked of all Green Lanterns and answering directly to the Guardians. Salaak also tends to be pretty tight-laced and a stickler for the rules as a result, which has sometimes brought him into conflict with the more rebellious Hal Jordan.

  • Depending on the version, the Queen of the Amazons is just as apathetic to the World of Man as the rest of her people, and as she leads them and represents the order on Paradise Island, I'd say that makes her this.

  • Though she sometimes inches more into Lawful Evil territory I would say that more often than not Waller is this due to a genuine desire to protect her country and maintain order and even sometimes working with the heroes rather than against them. It is this moral ambiguity that makes her more Lawful Neutral in my mind.

  • While the individual members of the team are by and large not this alignment, the organization as a collective technically is, because it's a government organization that does government work and is bound by their authority. It just happens to be composed of various supervillains coerced into service.

  • In Batman Arkham City, where he's not all that good or evil frankly, and is also Lawful due to the fact that he is, in his own words, a "loyal servant to the Order of St. Dumas". So his being a loyal and dedicated follower of something and also being fairly neutral morality-wise makes him a pretty solid example of this I feel.

  • More the DCAU version, but even so Bullock usually has at least some shades of this due to his frequent antagonizing of Batman despite his being an obvious necessity in a place like Gotham. This is in contrast to Gordon, who does good within the bounds of the law but also recognizes and appreciates Batman's assistance.

  • In the "Beware the Batman" show before going through character development and coming to (albeit reluctantly) accept Batman's assistance.

  • As an agent of MI6 James Bond is tasked primarily with maintaining the order represented by the British Government and her allies, and though he can be just a bit of a loose cannon at times Bond does ultimately do exactly this. I suppose you could argue that as he consistently fights and defeats clear villains he's Lawful Good, but for now we'll leave him here, especially since an official D&D book cites him as this.

  • Initially in the JJ Abrams movie before going through Character Development.

  • The Disney version, who is kind of gruff, a bit of a control freak, and not the easiest chap to get along with, but when all is said and done he cares about the safety and well-being of his pack/clan, and also maintains order and cohesion among them. Thus, I'd say he fits this, with him maybe also leaning towards Lawful Good.

  • The Angelina Jolie version, who lords over her forest domain as more or less it's queen but honestly isn't all that malevolent outside of the one curse she places on Aurora that she comes to regret.

  • Generally presents himself as a rigid and uncompromising authority figure. As such I feel he is ultimately this, especially considering that he's meant to be more morally gray. Though I do think he ultimately ends as a Lawful Good character for most of the series he's more this alignment.

  • Initially in the movies

  • In Kingdom of Heaven, and I'd argue probably in real life too, though he is also regarded as a fairly heroic and noble figure in the Muslim world and by many historians.

  • Could be seen as being this, in a way. As Death he represents a brutal but arguably necessary part of nature that in perpetuating he maintains a kind of balance and natural order, and his also being impartial and not necessarily enjoying his job but doing it because it's (again) necessary could kind of make him this.

  • Same deal.
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