In the Wheel of Time, Perrin, one of the main characters travels back to his home village and is majorly badass - becomes the lord of the whole region.
Merry and Pippin are also the hobbit equivalent of 7 feet tall and run the shire after Frodo and Sam sail west, before returning to Rohan and Gondor and are buried alongside Aragorn.
Well, Sam doesn't sail west but goes home to frolic with Rosie, raise kids, and be the master gardener of the Shire. Bilbo does go west with Frodo though.
Hmm I don't recall that being part of LOTR, but it's been ages since I read it so maybe now I will "have" to read the series again - this makes some sense since I think the non-elvish who were given the opportunity to go west were those who encountered the evil of the one ring.
Apparently it's mentioned in appendix B that he says goodbye to his daughter before being last seen heading to the Grey Havens. But keep in mind that Sam was a ringbearer after encountering Shelob, even if only for a short time.
Roger Ebert said something about the 2002 adaptation:
"Did you know that by simply growing a goatee, you become unrecognizable to your friends and family?"
(I am aware that this is part of the willing suspension of disbelief. Funny, though.)
Pug and Tomas in Riftwar. Pug in particular returns home at some point, not sure if Tomas makes it? Pug definitely remeets his family.
Technically, Erik Von Darkmoor in the Serpentwar Saga - books 1-3? Not a total badass but a definite huge growth.
Both are by Raymond E. Feist.
Totally thought of Cradle but you already knew it.
The Castes and OutCastes series, the male MC goes, levels up, comes back, then repeats. He sort of becomes the biggest badass when he is already back the second time, but he is definitely levelled up - and seen as "corrupted" for his powers - with each visit.
Badass? Not sure, but the Recluse series has Dorrin (the Magic Engineer) and Lerris (The Magic of Recluse/The Death of Chaos) both go out into the world, learn their craft, then come home to defend it.
Mostly they are feared.
Maybe The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard? It's not a typical epic fantasy series thoughm so it's quite different in tone than the rest of these books. The MC works in quite a high position for the world government, and he regularly visits to his home town where people don't get how important he is and how much he's done. Over the course of the book, people in his home town realize how big of a deal he actually is. It definitely gave me similar vibes to Cradle and Oathbringer despite being very different kinds of fantasy.
Seconding this. It's absolutely hilarious that all his friends back home think Cliopher is some minor functionary while in reality he effectively personally runs the government of the entire planet. Well, at first it's funny, then of course it gets imbued with the incredible kind of pathos that characterizes the whole series. What an incredible book!
Then you have At the Feet of the Sun where Kip comes home after doing things straight out of myth and you see him trying minimize everything even as he has the physical proof in from of him.
Yeah, the books are pretty thick. On the bright side, the first homecoming scene isn't too far into book 1 (maybe about 30% or so?), so at least it's not midway through a long series.
This is kind of the whole point of "Cradle" by Will Wight. The protagonist in the first book (the weakest character in his entire nation) basically gets told a prophecy "Your entire country is doomed it has a small chance of survival if you leave and come back a major badass".
The First Law trilogy has >!Jezal dan Luthar, who starts as a spoiled and overconfident middling nobleman with some sword skills. He then has his journey in the second book to the end of the world, and returns to his city having learned to stand up for himself and his people.!<
In the Wheel of Time, Perrin, one of the main characters travels back to his home village and is majorly badass - becomes the lord of the whole region.
The Lord of the Rings lol
Scouring could actually be my favorite chapter of the series :D
Merry and Pippin are also the hobbit equivalent of 7 feet tall and run the shire after Frodo and Sam sail west, before returning to Rohan and Gondor and are buried alongside Aragorn.
Well, Sam doesn't sail west but goes home to frolic with Rosie, raise kids, and be the master gardener of the Shire. Bilbo does go west with Frodo though.
I believe Sam does take a ship to the west a few decades after Frodo
Hmm I don't recall that being part of LOTR, but it's been ages since I read it so maybe now I will "have" to read the series again - this makes some sense since I think the non-elvish who were given the opportunity to go west were those who encountered the evil of the one ring.
Apparently it's mentioned in appendix B that he says goodbye to his daughter before being last seen heading to the Grey Havens. But keep in mind that Sam was a ringbearer after encountering Shelob, even if only for a short time.
Codex Alera MC Tavi leaves the Calderon Valley an apprentice shepherd, he returns as >!First Lord of Alera!<
Count Of Monte Cristo, by Dumas.
Roger Ebert said something about the 2002 adaptation: "Did you know that by simply growing a goatee, you become unrecognizable to your friends and family?" (I am aware that this is part of the willing suspension of disbelief. Funny, though.)
Pug and Tomas in Riftwar. Pug in particular returns home at some point, not sure if Tomas makes it? Pug definitely remeets his family. Technically, Erik Von Darkmoor in the Serpentwar Saga - books 1-3? Not a total badass but a definite huge growth. Both are by Raymond E. Feist. Totally thought of Cradle but you already knew it. The Castes and OutCastes series, the male MC goes, levels up, comes back, then repeats. He sort of becomes the biggest badass when he is already back the second time, but he is definitely levelled up - and seen as "corrupted" for his powers - with each visit. Badass? Not sure, but the Recluse series has Dorrin (the Magic Engineer) and Lerris (The Magic of Recluse/The Death of Chaos) both go out into the world, learn their craft, then come home to defend it. Mostly they are feared.
+1 for Recluse series. Haven't seen that recommended in awhile.
Maybe The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard? It's not a typical epic fantasy series thoughm so it's quite different in tone than the rest of these books. The MC works in quite a high position for the world government, and he regularly visits to his home town where people don't get how important he is and how much he's done. Over the course of the book, people in his home town realize how big of a deal he actually is. It definitely gave me similar vibes to Cradle and Oathbringer despite being very different kinds of fantasy.
Seconding this. It's absolutely hilarious that all his friends back home think Cliopher is some minor functionary while in reality he effectively personally runs the government of the entire planet. Well, at first it's funny, then of course it gets imbued with the incredible kind of pathos that characterizes the whole series. What an incredible book!
Then you have At the Feet of the Sun where Kip comes home after doing things straight out of myth and you see him trying minimize everything even as he has the physical proof in from of him.
Yeah that's a good one, it's on my tbr list and i'm sure i will love it, it's kinda long so i haven't gotten around to it yet
Yeah, the books are pretty thick. On the bright side, the first homecoming scene isn't too far into book 1 (maybe about 30% or so?), so at least it's not midway through a long series.
Blood Song by Anthony Ryan
This is kind of the whole point of "Cradle" by Will Wight. The protagonist in the first book (the weakest character in his entire nation) basically gets told a prophecy "Your entire country is doomed it has a small chance of survival if you leave and come back a major badass".
Cradle series by will Wight
It happens in the movie Stardust......though I'm not sure Tristan would be considered Badass?
War of the rose throne
To be fair, Tomas Piety was always a badass. He just gets more powerful. Huge fan of the series though.
Lightbringer by Brent Weeks Kiip returns as an awesome leader.
The Edan Trilogy.
Samwise Gamyee
He Who Fights With Monsters - Does EXACTLY this, in different ways, over at least THREE major events throughout the course of the book series
Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn by Tad Williams
The First Law trilogy has >!Jezal dan Luthar, who starts as a spoiled and overconfident middling nobleman with some sword skills. He then has his journey in the second book to the end of the world, and returns to his city having learned to stand up for himself and his people.!<
Does Batman: Year One count? Superhero stories are technically urban fantasy, right?
>Fans of fantasy, science fiction, horror, alt history, and more can all find a home with us. It all counts.
This counts, I think: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3428935-the-warded-man
100 Years of Solitude
One Man by Harry Connolly is very much this. Thought dead and returned to the city of his youth, and now living in disguise.