This Inconsistently Admirable was Headlined on June 2024.
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♫ I will fight to be everything that everybody wants me to be when I'm grown!♫
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~ Steven singing about why he wants to protect the Earth
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Listen to me, Spinel! I understand! After everything you've been through, you must be in a lot of pain!
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~ Steven trying to turn Spinel good again
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I changed. That's the final piece. All those struggles, I learned from them, and I grew! Oh my gosh! It's not just my Gem powers I've forgotten! All this "Happily Ever After" stuff has made me forget the first power I ever had! The power to change!
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~ Steven reflecting on his own growth
Steven Quartz Universe is the titular main protagonist of the Cartoon Network animated television franchise of the same name.
He is a young boy who used to live with the Crystal Gems and is a member of the team. Like his mother Rose Quartz, he is devoted to humanity and anyone in needs.
He refused to have his enemies be shattered or killed and tried to show them kindness and understanding, which gradually led to corrupted Gems eventually redeemed themselves.
Over the franchise, he has saved Beach City from numerous threats like the Diamonds, Peridot, Jasper, Spinel, the Gem Monsters, and the Cluster, and Aquamarine.
He is the only hero to have good deeds which stands out from other characters, and has been a pacifist in contrast to Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl, who were more than often or not willing to use violence as a go-to solution. Plus, in contrast to Steven himself, the three of them have more stable powers, which shows that Steven has less resources than the Gems, who are admirable, yet have way more powers than Steven started out with. Plus, a lot of other villains who redeemed themselves also had more to work with, like antagonists who are gems like the Crystal Gems, or human antagonists who had more tools and inventions.
He decided to use his power from Rose Quartz for good to protect his gem family and his family.
He cures Connie’s blurry blindness, causing her to be able to see and no longer need her glasses anymore.
He established peace to the Homeworld Gems, creating peace in the entire galaxy and redeeming all 3 of the Diamonds.
In spite of his downfall, he redeems himself and goes on a redemption arc, shedding most of his redeeming qualities.
His corruption was ultimately caused by his desire to help everyone, and shouldering lots of responsibility on himself, making it come from a good place, which also makes him a well intentioned extremist to some extent.
What Makes Him Inconsistent?[]
By the epilogue series Steven Universe: Future, he has been shown to repeatedly let his anger and mental health issues get the best of him, to the extent it causes the majority of the series' conflicts like nearly squishing his friends because he doesn’t think Lars got over Sadie, nearly causing Greg to crash his car as the result of an argument, temporarily shattering Jasper, trying to shatter White Diamond, and getting angry at the Gems, Diamonds and anyone who has been doing what they could to reach out to him, even his father. While it's worth noting that some of these actions were completely unintentional, like nearly squishing his friends or causing his dad to crash his car, or were spurred by others, like Jasper encouraging him to be more aggressive, it's still difficult to defend his more violent moments, which is too much for NPG:
While he may not have meant to create a giant bubble to crush his friends with, and tried his best to get rid of it, he still refused to acknowledge his part in it and instead blamed Lars, which only caused the bubble to close in on them more.
He had an argument with his father that causes him to crash the car, he lashes out at him for running away from an abusive and controlling household since doing so prevented him from living a normal life, showing a certain amount of selfishness.
While he may have been justified in his anger towards White Diamond for what she had done to him, White had redeemed herself at the point and was trying to help him, thus making his attempted murder of her unwarranted.
By the climax of Future, he had let his mental health problems go unaddressed for so long that he did increasingly questionable actions and was refusing to even admit that something was really wrong with him, despite all the evidence to the contrary. He also gets so consumed by self-loathing and the belief he was a monster that he ultimately turns into one.
Trivia[]
He and his mother Rose along with Shinji and Yui Ikari from Neon Genesis Evangelion are currently the only mother-son duos on this wiki.
He was formerly approved as Pure Good due to him fixing his bad mistakes and standing out alongside Connie Maheswaran, but he got removed because of his additional wrathful and selfish deeds in Steven Universe Future. Rebecca Sugar has indicated that the series could continue in the future eventually, but has stated that she needs a long break before doing so. With the announcement of the sequel/spin-off series Lars of the Stars, there is a possibility that Steven’s status could be affected and he could be Near Pure Good or even Pure Good again depending on how the series plays out in the future.
He was also discussed for NPG after being removed from the Pure Good Wiki, although this was rejected as well.
If Steven Universe Future was never created, or at least written differently, he would have been Pure Good.
He, Rose Quartz and Blue Diamond are currently the only Steven Universe characters to be IA.
In spite of his corruption in Steven Universe Future, he can still be considered morally better than the other characters morally ranked above him (with the exception of Connie), as he is responsible for their redemption, including that of the most heinous villains, as well as restoring peace throughout the Gem World and Earth, making him the most heroic character in the show. In addition, his corruption was caused by his desire and need to help everyone as he had done for the majority of the show.
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Inconsistently Admirable
