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* ''ComicBook/KatieTheCatsitter'' has the Mousetress, who has been slandered as a villain despite being a superhero. Katie wants to help her get a positive reputation.
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* ''ComicBook/TheLeopardFromLimeStreet'', [[IAmNotShazam better known]] as Leopardman by the public, was feared by the people of Selbridge and hunted by the police due to being seen as either a criminal or a leopard monster. Given that he's a SpiderManSendUp, it makes sense that he's this.
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* ''ComicBook/TheLeopardFromLimeStreet'', [[IAmNotShazam better known]] as Leopardman by the public, was feared by the people of Selbridge and hunted by the police due to being seen as either a criminal or a leopard monster. Given that he's a SpiderManSendUp, it makes sense that he's this.this, though since he's also TheCowl he often uses the public's perception to his advantage.
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* ''ComicBook/TheLeopardFromLimeStreet'', [[IAmNotShazam better known]] as Leopardman by the public, was feared by the people of Selbridge and hunted by the police due to being seen as either a criminal or a leopard monster. Given that he's a SpiderManSendUp, it makes sense that he's this.
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* Played with in ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'': because of [[WorstNewsJudgementEver Angus Fangus painting him as a menace to society for the sake of ratings]], Paperinik, WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck's superhero alter ego, has a bad reputation in Duckburg, but fairer journalists outside mean that worldwide he's considered one of Earth's greatest heroes. [[JustifiedTrope There's a very good reason for it]]: in the early stories Paperinik [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast the Devilish Avenger]] was [[TheDreaded a terrifying criminal]] out to avenge himself [[UnscrupulousHero that slowly turned into a hero due his conscience leading him to target mainly criminals]], makes no mystery he's following the legacy of Fantomius the GentlemanThief, and realizes the best way to keep Duckburg's criminals in check is to remain feared (hence brutal beatdowns and [[TheVillainKnowsWhereYouLive visiting outsider criminals at their own homes]] to [[MookHorrorShow show them films of what he did to their friends that moved to Duckburg]]), and thus even in classic stories the otherwise adoring population of Duckburg is all too ready to believe he just returned to his origins; outsiders, on the other hand, started hearing about him when he became a famous superhero (most notably, in "Paperinik Versus Inquinator" he ''saved the White House from a terrorist attack'') and wouldn't believe accusation unless there's very good evidence.
to:
* Played with in ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'': because of [[WorstNewsJudgementEver Angus Fangus painting him as a menace to society for the sake of ratings]], Paperinik, WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck's superhero alter ego, has a bad reputation in Duckburg, but fairer journalists outside mean that worldwide he's considered one of Earth's greatest heroes. [[JustifiedTrope There's a very good reason for it]]: in the early stories Paperinik [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast the Devilish Avenger]] was [[TheDreaded a terrifying criminal]] out to avenge himself [[UnscrupulousHero that slowly turned into a hero due his conscience leading him to target mainly criminals]], makes no mystery he's following the legacy of Fantomius the GentlemanThief, and realizes the best way to keep Duckburg's criminals in check is to remain feared (hence brutal beatdowns and [[TheVillainKnowsWhereYouLive visiting outsider criminals at their own homes]] to [[MookHorrorShow show them films of what he did to their friends that moved to Duckburg]]), and thus even in classic stories the otherwise adoring population of Duckburg is all too ready to believe he just returned to his origins; outsiders, on the other hand, started hearing about him when he became a famous superhero (most notably, in "Paperinik Versus Inquinator" he ''saved the White House from a terrorist attack'') and wouldn't believe accusation unless there's very good evidence. A pair of cops inviting him to have donuts with them also shows that he still has fans in Duckburg, however.
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** Dwight is wanted for the murder of an established socialite [[spoiler: unlike the other two examples, he actually did it, although he was manipulated into doing so]]. His reputation was bad enough that he underwent plastic surgery to avoid being recognized.
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** Dwight is wanted for the murder of an established socialite socialite; [[spoiler: unlike the other two examples, he actually did it, although he was manipulated into doing so]]. His reputation was bad enough that he underwent plastic surgery to avoid being recognized.
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* Richard Wentworth, Literature/TheSpider, had a habit of killing crooks by the score. While this behavior was justified within the stories, it did make the police and public think of him as a dangerous criminal in his own right.
* While this tends to come up at some point in most incarnations of ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'', it was a particularly strong theme in the original Marvel Comics run, where the humans frequently weren't even aware that there were two factions of Transformers, let alone that one of those factions might be better-intentioned than the other.
** In particular, Walter Barnett of the Intelligence and Information Institute, inspired by one of his son's comic books, hired its writer, Donny Finkleberg, to portray "RobotMaster", who claimed to be in control of ''all'' the robots. When Finkleberg ended up a prisoner of the Decepticons, Megatron decided to keep the charade going, if only because it would invoke this trope for the Autobots. It didn't ''quite'' work, though, seeing as how it was kind of hard to explain why a madman bent on [[TakeOverTheWorld Taking Over The World]] would have two groups of robots under his control fighting each other, but fortunately for Finkleberg, he was able to escape before [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness he outlived his usefulness to Megatron]].
** In the IDW sequel series ''Regeneration One'', the Autobots definitely fall under this on Earth, seeing as how they failed to clean up after themselves when they left for good in 1991, and [[spoiler: inadvertently let Megatron [[ApocalypseHow nuke the population to near extinction]]]].
* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersAutocracy'' and its sequel ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMonstrosity'' play with this. In the first, the Autobots are considerably hated by the populace, as they are a security force for the corrupt government, and their leader, Zeta, levels a city to stop the Decepticons, who are the oppressed masses forming behind a charismatic leader, Megatron, and numerous citizens sympathize with them. The Protagonists even team up with him to stop their corrupt leader, and the second Megatron blows Zeta's head apart, he turns on the Autobots and the rest of the populace. The Autobots managed to rally the citizens (as well as getting the press on their side), and oust the Decepticons. The sequel continues to play with it, as much of the populace doesn't trust the Autobots, partly because of the old government, but mostly because people don't want to get involved in a war. Dai Atlas uses this distrust to [[GoodVersusGood rally]] people against Prime, but even then a few civilians just consider Atlas's group a bunch of cultists. At the end, the Decepticons have been thoroughly discredited, and despite the good publicity, most Cybertronians just leave rather than join the Autobots.
* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersRobotsInDisguise'' has this once again toward the Autobots from the people of Earth, for very justified reasons. Humanity is aware that there are two factions of Cybertronians. They're also aware that in the instances where those factions have clashed, it's resulted in hundreds of thousands of human casualties and nearly got New York nuked. They're aware that Megatron is the leader of the faction called the Decepticons and is considered an enemy of the Autobots. They're aware that Megatron and Devastator were [[EasilyForgiven allowed to join them]] instead of [[KarmaHoudini being executed for their crimes]]. So humanity sees no reason to trust anyone who would turn around and let such mass-murdering war criminals join them with no apparent repercussions.
* Played with in ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'': because of [[WorstNewsJudgementEver Angus Fangus painting him as a menace to society for the sake of ratings]], Paperinik, WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck's superhero alter ego, has a bad reputation in Duckburg, but fairer journalists outside mean that worldwide he's considered one of Earth's greatest heroes. [[JustifiedTrope There's a very good reason for it]]: in the early stories Paperinik [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast the Devilish Avenger]] was [[TheDreaded a terrifying criminal]] out to avenge himself [[UnscrupulousHero that slowly turned into a hero due his conscience leading him to target mainly criminals]], makes no mystery he's following the legacy of Fantomius the GentlemanThief, and realizes the best way to keep Duckburg's criminals in check is to remain feared (hence brutal beatdowns and [[TheVillainKnowsWhereYouLive visiting outsider criminals at their own homes]] to [[MookHorrorShow show them films of what he did to their friends that moved to Duckburg]]), and thus even in classic stories the otherwise adoring population of Duckburg is all too ready to believe he just returned to his origins; outsiders, on the other hand, started hearing about him when he became a famous superhero (most notably, in "Paperinik Versus Inquinator" he ''saved the White House from a terrorist attack'') and wouldn't believe accusation unless there's very good evidence.
* While this tends to come up at some point in most incarnations of ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'', it was a particularly strong theme in the original Marvel Comics run, where the humans frequently weren't even aware that there were two factions of Transformers, let alone that one of those factions might be better-intentioned than the other.
** In particular, Walter Barnett of the Intelligence and Information Institute, inspired by one of his son's comic books, hired its writer, Donny Finkleberg, to portray "RobotMaster", who claimed to be in control of ''all'' the robots. When Finkleberg ended up a prisoner of the Decepticons, Megatron decided to keep the charade going, if only because it would invoke this trope for the Autobots. It didn't ''quite'' work, though, seeing as how it was kind of hard to explain why a madman bent on [[TakeOverTheWorld Taking Over The World]] would have two groups of robots under his control fighting each other, but fortunately for Finkleberg, he was able to escape before [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness he outlived his usefulness to Megatron]].
** In the IDW sequel series ''Regeneration One'', the Autobots definitely fall under this on Earth, seeing as how they failed to clean up after themselves when they left for good in 1991, and [[spoiler: inadvertently let Megatron [[ApocalypseHow nuke the population to near extinction]]]].
* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersAutocracy'' and its sequel ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMonstrosity'' play with this. In the first, the Autobots are considerably hated by the populace, as they are a security force for the corrupt government, and their leader, Zeta, levels a city to stop the Decepticons, who are the oppressed masses forming behind a charismatic leader, Megatron, and numerous citizens sympathize with them. The Protagonists even team up with him to stop their corrupt leader, and the second Megatron blows Zeta's head apart, he turns on the Autobots and the rest of the populace. The Autobots managed to rally the citizens (as well as getting the press on their side), and oust the Decepticons. The sequel continues to play with it, as much of the populace doesn't trust the Autobots, partly because of the old government, but mostly because people don't want to get involved in a war. Dai Atlas uses this distrust to [[GoodVersusGood rally]] people against Prime, but even then a few civilians just consider Atlas's group a bunch of cultists. At the end, the Decepticons have been thoroughly discredited, and despite the good publicity, most Cybertronians just leave rather than join the Autobots.
* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersRobotsInDisguise'' has this once again toward the Autobots from the people of Earth, for very justified reasons. Humanity is aware that there are two factions of Cybertronians. They're also aware that in the instances where those factions have clashed, it's resulted in hundreds of thousands of human casualties and nearly got New York nuked. They're aware that Megatron is the leader of the faction called the Decepticons and is considered an enemy of the Autobots. They're aware that Megatron and Devastator were [[EasilyForgiven allowed to join them]] instead of [[KarmaHoudini being executed for their crimes]]. So humanity sees no reason to trust anyone who would turn around and let such mass-murdering war criminals join them with no apparent repercussions.
* Played with in ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'': because of [[WorstNewsJudgementEver Angus Fangus painting him as a menace to society for the sake of ratings]], Paperinik, WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck's superhero alter ego, has a bad reputation in Duckburg, but fairer journalists outside mean that worldwide he's considered one of Earth's greatest heroes. [[JustifiedTrope There's a very good reason for it]]: in the early stories Paperinik [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast the Devilish Avenger]] was [[TheDreaded a terrifying criminal]] out to avenge himself [[UnscrupulousHero that slowly turned into a hero due his conscience leading him to target mainly criminals]], makes no mystery he's following the legacy of Fantomius the GentlemanThief, and realizes the best way to keep Duckburg's criminals in check is to remain feared (hence brutal beatdowns and [[TheVillainKnowsWhereYouLive visiting outsider criminals at their own homes]] to [[MookHorrorShow show them films of what he did to their friends that moved to Duckburg]]), and thus even in classic stories the otherwise adoring population of Duckburg is all too ready to believe he just returned to his origins; outsiders, on the other hand, started hearing about him when he became a famous superhero (most notably, in "Paperinik Versus Inquinator" he ''saved the White House from a terrorist attack'') and wouldn't believe accusation unless there's very good evidence.
to:
*
* While this tends to come up at some point in most incarnations of ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'', it was a particularly strong theme in the original Marvel Comics run, where the humans frequently weren't even aware that there were two factions of Transformers, let alone that one of those factions might be better-intentioned than the other.
** In particular, Walter Barnett of the Intelligence and Information Institute, inspired by one of his son's comic books, hired its writer, Donny Finkleberg, to portray "RobotMaster", who claimed to be in control of ''all'' the robots. When Finkleberg ended up a prisoner of the Decepticons, Megatron decided to keep the charade going, if only because it would invoke this trope for the Autobots. It didn't ''quite'' work, though, seeing as how it was kind of hard to explain why a madman bent on [[TakeOverTheWorld Taking Over The World]] would have two groups of robots under his control fighting each other, but fortunately for Finkleberg, he was able to escape before [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness he outlived his usefulness to Megatron]].
** In the IDW sequel series ''Regeneration One'', the Autobots definitely fall under this on Earth, seeing as how they failed to clean up after themselves when they left for good in 1991, and
* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersAutocracy'' and its sequel ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMonstrosity'' play with this. In the first, the Autobots are considerably hated by the populace, as they are a security force
* ''ComicBook/AtomicRobo'': Robo's creator, UsefulNotes/NikolaTesla, deliberately thrust him into the
* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersRobotsInDisguise'' has this once again toward the Autobots from the people of Earth, for very justified reasons. Humanity is aware that there are two factions of Cybertronians. They're also aware that in the instances where those factions have clashed, it's resulted in hundreds of thousands of human casualties and nearly got New York nuked. They're aware that Megatron is the leader of the faction called the Decepticons and is considered an enemy of the Autobots. They're aware that Megatron and Devastator were [[EasilyForgiven allowed to join them]] instead of [[KarmaHoudini being executed for their crimes]]. So humanity sees no reason to trust anyone who would turn
* Played with in ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'': because of [[WorstNewsJudgementEver Angus Fangus painting him as a menace to society for
* In ComicBook/LesLegendaires, the Legendaries, who used to be loved by the people of their fictive world Alysia, became Heroes with Bad publicity after their "final" fight with their BigBad Darkhell by accidentally breaking a magic stone, causing it to accidentally trap everyone on the planet in the form of a child. The population ends up blaming them for this, and while they gradually get their reputation back, it's only after they saved the world from an OmnicidalManiac GodOfEvil that the population seem to have fully forgiven them.
** This sometimes cause the population of Alysia to be portrayed as [[UngratefulBastard horribly ungrateful]], seeing how they were quick to forget all the time the Legendaries risked their life (and keep doing so) for them just because of ''one'' accident that wasn't even lethal to the population.
* Played with in ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'': because of [[WorstNewsJudgementEver Angus Fangus painting him as a menace to society for the sake of ratings]], Paperinik, WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck's superhero alter ego, has a bad reputation in Duckburg, but fairer journalists outside mean that worldwide he's considered one of Earth's greatest heroes. [[JustifiedTrope There's a very good reason for it]]: in the early stories Paperinik [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast the Devilish Avenger]] was [[TheDreaded a terrifying criminal]] out to avenge himself [[UnscrupulousHero that slowly turned into a hero due his conscience leading him to target mainly criminals]], makes no mystery he's following the legacy of Fantomius the GentlemanThief, and realizes the best way to keep Duckburg's criminals in check is to remain feared (hence brutal beatdowns and [[TheVillainKnowsWhereYouLive visiting outsider criminals at their own homes]] to [[MookHorrorShow show them films of what he did to their friends that moved to Duckburg]]), and thus even in classic stories the otherwise adoring population of Duckburg is all too ready to believe he just returned to his origins; outsiders, on the other hand, started hearing about him when he became a famous superhero (most notably, in "Paperinik Versus Inquinator" he ''saved the White House from a terrorist attack'') and wouldn't believe accusation unless there's very good evidence.
** This sometimes cause the population of Alysia to be portrayed as [[UngratefulBastard horribly ungrateful]], seeing how they were quick to forget all the time the Legendaries risked their life (and keep doing so) for them just because of ''one'' accident that wasn't even lethal to the population.
* Played with in ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'': because of [[WorstNewsJudgementEver Angus Fangus painting him as a menace to society for the sake of ratings]], Paperinik, WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck's superhero alter ego, has a bad reputation in Duckburg, but fairer journalists outside mean that worldwide he's considered one of Earth's greatest heroes. [[JustifiedTrope There's a very good reason for it]]: in the early stories Paperinik [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast the Devilish Avenger]] was [[TheDreaded a terrifying criminal]] out to avenge himself [[UnscrupulousHero that slowly turned into a hero due his conscience leading him to target mainly criminals]], makes no mystery he's following the legacy of Fantomius the GentlemanThief, and realizes the best way to keep Duckburg's criminals in check is to remain feared (hence brutal beatdowns and [[TheVillainKnowsWhereYouLive visiting outsider criminals at their own homes]] to [[MookHorrorShow show them films of what he did to their friends that moved to Duckburg]]), and thus even in classic stories the otherwise adoring population of Duckburg is all too ready to believe he just returned to his origins; outsiders, on the other hand, started hearing about him when he became a famous superhero (most notably, in "Paperinik Versus Inquinator" he ''saved the White House from a terrorist attack'') and wouldn't believe accusation unless there's very good evidence.
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* ''ComicBook/AllFallDown'' has Siphon suffer from this [[spoiler: when she is arrested on the news, for the deaths and injuries her accidental power-stealing caused]].
* In ComicBook/LesLegendaires, the Legendaries, who used to be loved by the people of their fictive world Alysia, became Heroes with Bad publicity after their "final" fight with their BigBad Darkhell by accidentally breaking a magic stone, causing it to accidentally trap everyone on the planet in the form of a child. The population ends up blaming them for this, and while they gradually get their reputation back, it's only after they saved the world from an OmnicidalManiac GodOfEvil that the population seem to have fully forgiven them.
** This sometimes cause the population of Alysia to be portrayed as [[UngratefulBastard horribly ungrateful]], seeing how they were quick to forget all the time the Legendaries risked their life (and keep doing so) for them just because of ''one'' accident that wasn't even lethal to the population.
* In ComicBook/LesLegendaires, the Legendaries, who used to be loved by the people of their fictive world Alysia, became Heroes with Bad publicity after their "final" fight with their BigBad Darkhell by accidentally breaking a magic stone, causing it to accidentally trap everyone on the planet in the form of a child. The population ends up blaming them for this, and while they gradually get their reputation back, it's only after they saved the world from an OmnicidalManiac GodOfEvil that the population seem to have fully forgiven them.
** This sometimes cause the population of Alysia to be portrayed as [[UngratefulBastard horribly ungrateful]], seeing how they were quick to forget all the time the Legendaries risked their life (and keep doing so) for them just because of ''one'' accident that wasn't even lethal to the population.
Changed line(s) 24 (click to see context) from:
* ''ComicBook/AtomicRobo'': Robo's creator, UsefulNotes/NikolaTesla, deliberately thrust him into the spotlight as an international celebrity as a protective measure; if anything happened to him, or if anyone tried to weaponize Tesla's technology, ''people would notice''. Turning public opinion against Robo (through a FalseFlagOperation involving [[spoiler:a stolen nuclear warhead]]) is how [[GovernmentConspiracy Majestic 12]] finally gains the upper hand on him, allowing them to shut down Tesladyne and absorb its resources (and other SuperScience institutions around the world) into the paramilitary Task Force ULTRA. Opinion swings back towards Robo's favor after he saves the world from a [[{{Kaiju}} Biomega]] invasion.
to:
* ''ComicBook/AtomicRobo'': Robo's creator, UsefulNotes/NikolaTesla, deliberately thrust him into Richard Wentworth, Literature/TheSpider, had a habit of killing crooks by the spotlight as an international celebrity as a protective measure; if anything happened to him, or if anyone tried to weaponize Tesla's technology, ''people would notice''. Turning score. While this behavior was justified within the stories, it did make the police and public opinion think of him as a dangerous criminal in his own right.
* While this tends to come up at some point in most incarnations of ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'', it was a particularly strong theme in the original Marvel Comics run, where the humans frequently weren't even aware that there were two factions of Transformers, let alone that one of those factions might be better-intentioned than the other.
** In particular, Walter Barnett of the Intelligence and Information Institute, inspired by one of his son's comic books, hired its writer, Donny Finkleberg, to portray "RobotMaster", who claimed to be in control of ''all'' the robots. When Finkleberg ended up a prisoner of the Decepticons, Megatron decided to keep the charade going, if only because it would invoke this trope for the Autobots. It didn't ''quite'' work, though, seeing as how it was kind of hard to explain why a madman bent on [[TakeOverTheWorld Taking Over The World]] would have two groups of robots under his control fighting each other, but fortunately for Finkleberg, he was able to escape before [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness he outlived his usefulness to Megatron]].
** In the IDW sequel series ''Regeneration One'', the Autobots definitely fall under this on Earth, seeing as how they failed to clean up after themselves when they left for good in 1991, and [[spoiler: inadvertently let Megatron [[ApocalypseHow nuke the population to near extinction]]]].
* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersAutocracy'' and its sequel ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMonstrosity'' play with this. In the first, the Autobots are considerably hated by the populace, as they are a security force for the corrupt government, and their leader, Zeta, levels a city to stop the Decepticons, who are the oppressed masses forming behind a charismatic leader, Megatron, and numerous citizens sympathize with them. The Protagonists even team up with him to stop their corrupt leader, and the second Megatron blows Zeta's head apart, he turns on the Autobots and the rest of the populace. The Autobots managed to rally the citizens (as well as getting the press on their side), and oust the Decepticons. The sequel continues to play with it, as much of the populace doesn't trust the Autobots, partly because of the old government, but mostly because people don't want to get involved in a war. Dai Atlas uses this distrust to [[GoodVersusGood rally]] people againstRobo (through Prime, but even then a FalseFlagOperation involving [[spoiler:a stolen nuclear warhead]]) is how [[GovernmentConspiracy Majestic 12]] finally gains few civilians just consider Atlas's group a bunch of cultists. At the upper hand on him, allowing them to shut down Tesladyne end, the Decepticons have been thoroughly discredited, and absorb its resources (and other SuperScience institutions despite the good publicity, most Cybertronians just leave rather than join the Autobots.
* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersRobotsInDisguise'' has this once again toward the Autobots from the people of Earth, for very justified reasons. Humanity is aware that there are two factions of Cybertronians. They're also aware that in the instances where those factions have clashed, it's resulted in hundreds of thousands of human casualties and nearly got New York nuked. They're aware that Megatron is the leader of the faction called the Decepticons and is considered an enemy of the Autobots. They're aware that Megatron and Devastator were [[EasilyForgiven allowed to join them]] instead of [[KarmaHoudini being executed for their crimes]]. So humanity sees no reason to trust anyone who would turn aroundthe world) into the paramilitary Task Force ULTRA. Opinion swings back towards Robo's favor after he saves the world from a [[{{Kaiju}} Biomega]] invasion.and let such mass-murdering war criminals join them with no apparent repercussions.
----
* While this tends to come up at some point in most incarnations of ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'', it was a particularly strong theme in the original Marvel Comics run, where the humans frequently weren't even aware that there were two factions of Transformers, let alone that one of those factions might be better-intentioned than the other.
** In particular, Walter Barnett of the Intelligence and Information Institute, inspired by one of his son's comic books, hired its writer, Donny Finkleberg, to portray "RobotMaster", who claimed to be in control of ''all'' the robots. When Finkleberg ended up a prisoner of the Decepticons, Megatron decided to keep the charade going, if only because it would invoke this trope for the Autobots. It didn't ''quite'' work, though, seeing as how it was kind of hard to explain why a madman bent on [[TakeOverTheWorld Taking Over The World]] would have two groups of robots under his control fighting each other, but fortunately for Finkleberg, he was able to escape before [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness he outlived his usefulness to Megatron]].
** In the IDW sequel series ''Regeneration One'', the Autobots definitely fall under this on Earth, seeing as how they failed to clean up after themselves when they left for good in 1991, and [[spoiler: inadvertently let Megatron [[ApocalypseHow nuke the population to near extinction]]]].
* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersAutocracy'' and its sequel ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMonstrosity'' play with this. In the first, the Autobots are considerably hated by the populace, as they are a security force for the corrupt government, and their leader, Zeta, levels a city to stop the Decepticons, who are the oppressed masses forming behind a charismatic leader, Megatron, and numerous citizens sympathize with them. The Protagonists even team up with him to stop their corrupt leader, and the second Megatron blows Zeta's head apart, he turns on the Autobots and the rest of the populace. The Autobots managed to rally the citizens (as well as getting the press on their side), and oust the Decepticons. The sequel continues to play with it, as much of the populace doesn't trust the Autobots, partly because of the old government, but mostly because people don't want to get involved in a war. Dai Atlas uses this distrust to [[GoodVersusGood rally]] people against
* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersRobotsInDisguise'' has this once again toward the Autobots from the people of Earth, for very justified reasons. Humanity is aware that there are two factions of Cybertronians. They're also aware that in the instances where those factions have clashed, it's resulted in hundreds of thousands of human casualties and nearly got New York nuked. They're aware that Megatron is the leader of the faction called the Decepticons and is considered an enemy of the Autobots. They're aware that Megatron and Devastator were [[EasilyForgiven allowed to join them]] instead of [[KarmaHoudini being executed for their crimes]]. So humanity sees no reason to trust anyone who would turn around
----
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Changed line(s) 7,36 (click to see context) from:
* Seriously, what hero in the Franchise/MarvelUniverse (besides ComicBook/CaptainAmerica) DOESN'T have bad publicity?
* The instigation for the events in Creator/MarvelComics' ''Comicbook/CivilWar'' [[CrisisCrossover crossover]] is a large amount of collateral damage (including a few hundred dead children) due to a TakingYouWithMe villain. For a brief time, ''all'' the heroes have bad publicity -- [[GoodVictimsBadVictims especially the few surviving New Warriors]]. The government's idea of damage control is, of course, a SuperRegistrationAct that promptly pits hero against hero. Public opinion then gives all the non-compliers bad publicity. When the new 'government-sponsored heroes' turn out to have overlooked a massive planet-wide [[ComicBook/SecretInvasion infiltration by aliens]], ComicBook/IronMan and ComicBook/SpiderWoman wind up with bad publicity. At this point the government decides to put noted psychotic and multiple-murderer ComicBook/NormanOsborn in charge, due to his brief moment of VillainsDoTheDirtyWork. This works out about as well as you'd expect, thus leaving the reader to wonder if the ''US government'' isn't being depicted as a VillainWithGoodPublicity.
* The anti-mutant prejudice in the ''ComicBook/XMen'' labels probably qualifies, although this can also be seen as a case of FantasticRacism. Anti-mutant sentiment is so strong that the original ''ComicBook/XFactor'' masqueraded as anti-mutant crusaders to endear themselves to the public.
* Even ComicBook/IronMan falls prey for this. In the ComicBook/ArmorWars storyline, Iron Man’s fighting against S.H.I.E.L.D, he’s kicked out of the West Coast Avengers, nearly causes an international incident in the U.S.S.R and gets into a fight with Captain America.
* Franchise/SpiderMan:
** Spider-Man gets a lot of undeserved flak, mostly due to the negative PR campaign by his employer, J. Jonah Jameson. Probably the first superhero to have this as his status quo.
** Within the first twenty issues it was revealed JJ felt jealous of Spidey's successes. Later revelations included [[FreudianExcuse being beaten by his stepfather]], [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer a mistrust of superheroes]], and JJ's own failure to live up to the high standards he sets for himself. In ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'', JJ hates Spider-Man because he wears a mask, and his wife was killed by a masked man.
** Though he is always the first to accuse Spider-Man of crimes, JJ is also usually the first to retract his statement when he is proven wrong, at one point remarking that he believes that ''claiming'' Spidey to be a menace prevents him from actually ''becoming'' one. Furthermore, regardless of the Daily Bugle's libel, there is enough evidence to suggest that the New Yorkers are not so easily manipulated anymore and ''will'' rally behind Spider-Man.
** Jameson eventually became the Mayor of New York City -- and as you might expect he constantly leveraged his expanded sphere of influence against Spider-Man.
** There is the fact that Peter began his superhero career as a teenager with no guidance and tended to be a wisecracking jerk who often screwed up and lost, and also tried more than once to draw a paycheck for it (nobody knows he needs the money to take care of his aunt). A bad first impression is hard to shake. Plus, being immature, he tended to egg on JJ or get angry at him (which could be interpreted as threatening).
** Interestingly, while the public and the police are quick to believe the worst about Spider-Man, and his "friends" in the superhero community ''rarely if ever stick up for him at all'', it has been shown on several occasions that most of the villains in his Rogue's Gallery know he is a decent man and innocent of just about everything he's accused of. This was highlighted in an early issue of ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}}, when Spider-Man was accused of a crime and the team of villains-pretending-to-be-heroes was trying to develop a plan to capture him in order to get good publicity. Mach-One, who was really the Beetle in disguise and had fought Spider-Man many times, told the team that the best thing to do was to go to the scene of the crime and wait for Spider-Man to show up and start investigating himself. When asked why he was so sure Spider-Man would do that, Mach-One responded with: "Because he's innocent. He'd never do anything like this. He'll be looking for the person who did." During this same issue, Mach-One fought alongside Spider-Man and was so impressed that this event was the beginning of him trying to turn his life around and become a real hero, which also spread to several other members of the team.
** In ''ComicBook/SupermanVsTheAmazingSpiderMan'', Superman initially thinks Spidey may be connected with a phony Superman because of Jameson's smear. Supes realizes his mistake right away, though.
** Perhaps one of the biggest reason why Spider-Man gets a lot of publicity (particularly the police force) is his [[ThouShaltNotKill total unwillingness to kill the supervillains that he fights against]]. In fact, in ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan'', [[spoiler:Otto Octavius inside Peter Parker's body, manages to ''win'' public support by killing Massacre. Something that Peter Parker himself is unwilling to do because [[IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim he's aware of the moral hazards]]. Apparently, the public isn't really happy about Spidey fighting a supervillain, sending the villain to [[CardboardPrison jail]], only to escape again and commit crimes that are [[FromBadtoWorse worse]] ([[WhatTheHellHero something that Otto himself pointed out]] to Ghost Peter). Because apparently, the governments inability to execute/permanently incarcerate villains is totally Spidey's fault.]].
** During [[ComicBook/NickSpencersSpiderMan Nick Spencer's run]], J. Jonah Jameson [[JerkassHasAPoint makes the argument]] that Spider-Man's bad public image is, at least in part, his own damn fault; while most other superheroes tend to work in teams and communities and are fairly open with the public, Spider-Man is usually a [[IWorkAlone lone wolf]] and frequently gets into fights with other superheroes before teaming up with them (though as Peter points out, this is very common for other Marvel superheroes). Furthermore, whenever Jameson made a false accusation against Spider-Man, the Wall-Crawler's response was never to reach out and set the record straight but rather to insult, antagonize and sometimes even threaten Jameson, [[NotHelpingYourCase which does not help his case at all]].
** In the ComicBook/{{Ultimate|SpiderMan}} line of Spider-Man comics, JJ initially only wanted to make headlines. This quickly changed, however. It came to a head after The Bugle publicly started to support Sam Bullit, who was running on an anti-vigilante (in other words, anti-superheroes) campaign. But later, after an attempt on his life by some of the Kingpin's goons, JJ went to Peter's house (after having fired Peter from his job at the Daily Bugle earlier) and revealed his deeper reasons. He'd launched a smear campaign against Spider-Man because he didn't like the fact that his own son, who had died in a space shuttle accident (a real hero in Jameson's eyes), wasn't thought of as one and didn't get the attention he deserved, while everyday people looked up to a guy swingin' in his underwear.
*** Finally inverted later on, though. After Jameson sees Spider-Man risking his life to save a woman during a flood, he does a total 180 and devotes the Bugle's energies to supporting him.
*** In fact, after the Ultimatum wave, Jameson becomes [[spoiler:one of Spider-Man's greatest advocates]]. For instance, [[spoiler: when he discovers Peter's identity, he uses the information to clear Spider-Man's name without revealing his secret identity. He then gives Peter his job back and offers to pay for his college tuition. Eventually, when Spider-Man dies, he attends the funeral and comforts Aunt May in her time of need]].
** Humorously, the alternate future of ''ComicBook/MarvelComics2'' sees JJJ as a big fan and major supporter of ComicBook/SpiderGirl, the daughter of the hero he had slandered.
** This is exaggerated in ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan'' where Jameson's smear campaign is not only [[NeverAcceptedInHisHometown more effective]], but less deserved as he's become an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and has never egged-on JJ, thus giving less credence to it. The beginning of Season 3 finally averts this. Spidey joining and becoming a successful Avenger results in the general populace of New York loving him.
** Apparently, it comes with the webs, because across the Multiverse it's revealed that numerous Spider-Men/Women/Girls have this going for them. ComicBook/SpiderGwen is wanted for the murder of her Peter Parker and has drawn gunfire from police officers. The steampunk Lady Spider has been labelled a menace by J. Jonah Jameson in her world. ComicBook/SpiderManNoir isn't much loved where he comes from. And they're all [[ComicBook/SpiderVerse bouncing around]] [[ComicBook/WebWarriors the multiverse]] filling in where other Spider-Men were killed or lost and finding themselves not necessarily welcome.
** Subverted for ''ComicBook/{{Silk}}'', who is probably the only Spider-Hero other than the aforementioned alternate universe Spider-Girl to be liked by J. Jonah Jameson from the start. JJJ is a fan of Cindy Moon's alter ego and also acts as a bit of a ParentalSubstitute for her. Which makes things interesting once Cindy starts working as the TheMole and ''tries'' to actively ruin her reputation and be labeled a menace to strengthen the facade. Instead, Jonah begins coming up with a number of excuses for her villainous behavior, refusing to believe Silk has actually gone bad. Later on, Cindy ends up devastated when an ''actually'' evil version of her from Spider-Gwen's dimension shows up to commit a major crime spree, causing Jameson to finally lose faith in her.
** Lampshaded in Creator/SamRaimi's [[Film/SpiderMan1 the first movie]], where, after Spider-Man rescues numerous people from a burning building, several cops arrive and try to arrest him, in spite of him pointing out he had been rescuing people. Then a person inside the building starts screaming, and one of the officers demands Spider-Man rescue the woman and then come back down to be arrested.
* The ComicBook/IncredibleHulk. In fact, due to the damage he's caused in his career, it would be very hard to find someone in the Marvel Universe with ''worse'' publicity who could still be considered a hero.
* Played literally in the 2006 ComicBook/MsMarvel series, where Carol Danvers hires a publicist after a D-list villain (Stilt-Man) doesn't recognize her.
* In the ''ComicBook/AllNewAllDifferentMarvel'' era, [[ComicBook/TheFalcon Sam Wilson]] ComicBook/CaptainAmerica has this problem: after a whistleblower revealed what ComicBook/{{SHIELD}} was doing using Cosmic Cubes, Sam decided to take a stand and no longer be bipartisan. This has lead to his popularity tanking and people calling him names like "Captain Socialism". This has also damaged his friendship with Steve Rogers, as Sam no longer trusts the US Government to do the right thing and only ''hopes'' that they can, compared to Steve, who unabashedly believes they ''will''.
** [[ComicBook/MsMarvel2014 Kamala Khan]] is following in those footsteps when [[spoiler:a plot by HYDRA]] ends up making Ms. Marvel look like a total sellout when her face is used to promote new and expensive apartments without her knowledge.
* ''ComicBook/NewAvengers2015:'' The whole team has bad publicity, despite pretty much all of the line-up being some of the nicer people around. The American military and S.H.I.E.L.D. are just waiting for the team to step out of line and arrest them all. That they're supposedly run by A.I.M. has a lot to do with this.
** For an added bonus, the team includes Hawkeye and Songbird, who have both been heroes with bad publicity themselves.
* Over at Franchise/TheDCU, no matter how hard he tries, ComicBook/BoosterGold goes up against negative public opinion fairly often... usually due to his own screw-ups and glory-hound nature. He's getting better but the nature of his [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong time-travel mission]] means that, in the PresentDay, he's ObfuscatingStupidity and is keeping up a "jerk act" so he ''still'' has bad publicity. Now he '''has''' to have bad publicity, as being an infamous screw-up is the ultimate insurance against his enemies (also time travelers) trying to RetGone him... Among his family, he is the greatest hero of all.
* The instigation for the events in Creator/MarvelComics' ''Comicbook/CivilWar'' [[CrisisCrossover crossover]] is a large amount of collateral damage (including a few hundred dead children) due to a TakingYouWithMe villain. For a brief time, ''all'' the heroes have bad publicity -- [[GoodVictimsBadVictims especially the few surviving New Warriors]]. The government's idea of damage control is, of course, a SuperRegistrationAct that promptly pits hero against hero. Public opinion then gives all the non-compliers bad publicity. When the new 'government-sponsored heroes' turn out to have overlooked a massive planet-wide [[ComicBook/SecretInvasion infiltration by aliens]], ComicBook/IronMan and ComicBook/SpiderWoman wind up with bad publicity. At this point the government decides to put noted psychotic and multiple-murderer ComicBook/NormanOsborn in charge, due to his brief moment of VillainsDoTheDirtyWork. This works out about as well as you'd expect, thus leaving the reader to wonder if the ''US government'' isn't being depicted as a VillainWithGoodPublicity.
* The anti-mutant prejudice in the ''ComicBook/XMen'' labels probably qualifies, although this can also be seen as a case of FantasticRacism. Anti-mutant sentiment is so strong that the original ''ComicBook/XFactor'' masqueraded as anti-mutant crusaders to endear themselves to the public.
* Even ComicBook/IronMan falls prey for this. In the ComicBook/ArmorWars storyline, Iron Man’s fighting against S.H.I.E.L.D, he’s kicked out of the West Coast Avengers, nearly causes an international incident in the U.S.S.R and gets into a fight with Captain America.
* Franchise/SpiderMan:
** Spider-Man gets a lot of undeserved flak, mostly due to the negative PR campaign by his employer, J. Jonah Jameson. Probably the first superhero to have this as his status quo.
** Within the first twenty issues it was revealed JJ felt jealous of Spidey's successes. Later revelations included [[FreudianExcuse being beaten by his stepfather]], [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer a mistrust of superheroes]], and JJ's own failure to live up to the high standards he sets for himself. In ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'', JJ hates Spider-Man because he wears a mask, and his wife was killed by a masked man.
** Though he is always the first to accuse Spider-Man of crimes, JJ is also usually the first to retract his statement when he is proven wrong, at one point remarking that he believes that ''claiming'' Spidey to be a menace prevents him from actually ''becoming'' one. Furthermore, regardless of the Daily Bugle's libel, there is enough evidence to suggest that the New Yorkers are not so easily manipulated anymore and ''will'' rally behind Spider-Man.
** Jameson eventually became the Mayor of New York City -- and as you might expect he constantly leveraged his expanded sphere of influence against Spider-Man.
** There is the fact that Peter began his superhero career as a teenager with no guidance and tended to be a wisecracking jerk who often screwed up and lost, and also tried more than once to draw a paycheck for it (nobody knows he needs the money to take care of his aunt). A bad first impression is hard to shake. Plus, being immature, he tended to egg on JJ or get angry at him (which could be interpreted as threatening).
** Interestingly, while the public and the police are quick to believe the worst about Spider-Man, and his "friends" in the superhero community ''rarely if ever stick up for him at all'', it has been shown on several occasions that most of the villains in his Rogue's Gallery know he is a decent man and innocent of just about everything he's accused of. This was highlighted in an early issue of ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}}, when Spider-Man was accused of a crime and the team of villains-pretending-to-be-heroes was trying to develop a plan to capture him in order to get good publicity. Mach-One, who was really the Beetle in disguise and had fought Spider-Man many times, told the team that the best thing to do was to go to the scene of the crime and wait for Spider-Man to show up and start investigating himself. When asked why he was so sure Spider-Man would do that, Mach-One responded with: "Because he's innocent. He'd never do anything like this. He'll be looking for the person who did." During this same issue, Mach-One fought alongside Spider-Man and was so impressed that this event was the beginning of him trying to turn his life around and become a real hero, which also spread to several other members of the team.
** In ''ComicBook/SupermanVsTheAmazingSpiderMan'', Superman initially thinks Spidey may be connected with a phony Superman because of Jameson's smear. Supes realizes his mistake right away, though.
** Perhaps one of the biggest reason why Spider-Man gets a lot of publicity (particularly the police force) is his [[ThouShaltNotKill total unwillingness to kill the supervillains that he fights against]]. In fact, in ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan'', [[spoiler:Otto Octavius inside Peter Parker's body, manages to ''win'' public support by killing Massacre. Something that Peter Parker himself is unwilling to do because [[IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim he's aware of the moral hazards]]. Apparently, the public isn't really happy about Spidey fighting a supervillain, sending the villain to [[CardboardPrison jail]], only to escape again and commit crimes that are [[FromBadtoWorse worse]] ([[WhatTheHellHero something that Otto himself pointed out]] to Ghost Peter). Because apparently, the governments inability to execute/permanently incarcerate villains is totally Spidey's fault.]].
** During [[ComicBook/NickSpencersSpiderMan Nick Spencer's run]], J. Jonah Jameson [[JerkassHasAPoint makes the argument]] that Spider-Man's bad public image is, at least in part, his own damn fault; while most other superheroes tend to work in teams and communities and are fairly open with the public, Spider-Man is usually a [[IWorkAlone lone wolf]] and frequently gets into fights with other superheroes before teaming up with them (though as Peter points out, this is very common for other Marvel superheroes). Furthermore, whenever Jameson made a false accusation against Spider-Man, the Wall-Crawler's response was never to reach out and set the record straight but rather to insult, antagonize and sometimes even threaten Jameson, [[NotHelpingYourCase which does not help his case at all]].
** In the ComicBook/{{Ultimate|SpiderMan}} line of Spider-Man comics, JJ initially only wanted to make headlines. This quickly changed, however. It came to a head after The Bugle publicly started to support Sam Bullit, who was running on an anti-vigilante (in other words, anti-superheroes) campaign. But later, after an attempt on his life by some of the Kingpin's goons, JJ went to Peter's house (after having fired Peter from his job at the Daily Bugle earlier) and revealed his deeper reasons. He'd launched a smear campaign against Spider-Man because he didn't like the fact that his own son, who had died in a space shuttle accident (a real hero in Jameson's eyes), wasn't thought of as one and didn't get the attention he deserved, while everyday people looked up to a guy swingin' in his underwear.
*** Finally inverted later on, though. After Jameson sees Spider-Man risking his life to save a woman during a flood, he does a total 180 and devotes the Bugle's energies to supporting him.
*** In fact, after the Ultimatum wave, Jameson becomes [[spoiler:one of Spider-Man's greatest advocates]]. For instance, [[spoiler: when he discovers Peter's identity, he uses the information to clear Spider-Man's name without revealing his secret identity. He then gives Peter his job back and offers to pay for his college tuition. Eventually, when Spider-Man dies, he attends the funeral and comforts Aunt May in her time of need]].
** Humorously, the alternate future of ''ComicBook/MarvelComics2'' sees JJJ as a big fan and major supporter of ComicBook/SpiderGirl, the daughter of the hero he had slandered.
** This is exaggerated in ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan'' where Jameson's smear campaign is not only [[NeverAcceptedInHisHometown more effective]], but less deserved as he's become an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and has never egged-on JJ, thus giving less credence to it. The beginning of Season 3 finally averts this. Spidey joining and becoming a successful Avenger results in the general populace of New York loving him.
** Apparently, it comes with the webs, because across the Multiverse it's revealed that numerous Spider-Men/Women/Girls have this going for them. ComicBook/SpiderGwen is wanted for the murder of her Peter Parker and has drawn gunfire from police officers. The steampunk Lady Spider has been labelled a menace by J. Jonah Jameson in her world. ComicBook/SpiderManNoir isn't much loved where he comes from. And they're all [[ComicBook/SpiderVerse bouncing around]] [[ComicBook/WebWarriors the multiverse]] filling in where other Spider-Men were killed or lost and finding themselves not necessarily welcome.
** Subverted for ''ComicBook/{{Silk}}'', who is probably the only Spider-Hero other than the aforementioned alternate universe Spider-Girl to be liked by J. Jonah Jameson from the start. JJJ is a fan of Cindy Moon's alter ego and also acts as a bit of a ParentalSubstitute for her. Which makes things interesting once Cindy starts working as the TheMole and ''tries'' to actively ruin her reputation and be labeled a menace to strengthen the facade. Instead, Jonah begins coming up with a number of excuses for her villainous behavior, refusing to believe Silk has actually gone bad. Later on, Cindy ends up devastated when an ''actually'' evil version of her from Spider-Gwen's dimension shows up to commit a major crime spree, causing Jameson to finally lose faith in her.
** Lampshaded in Creator/SamRaimi's [[Film/SpiderMan1 the first movie]], where, after Spider-Man rescues numerous people from a burning building, several cops arrive and try to arrest him, in spite of him pointing out he had been rescuing people. Then a person inside the building starts screaming, and one of the officers demands Spider-Man rescue the woman and then come back down to be arrested.
* The ComicBook/IncredibleHulk. In fact, due to the damage he's caused in his career, it would be very hard to find someone in the Marvel Universe with ''worse'' publicity who could still be considered a hero.
* Played literally in the 2006 ComicBook/MsMarvel series, where Carol Danvers hires a publicist after a D-list villain (Stilt-Man) doesn't recognize her.
* In the ''ComicBook/AllNewAllDifferentMarvel'' era, [[ComicBook/TheFalcon Sam Wilson]] ComicBook/CaptainAmerica has this problem: after a whistleblower revealed what ComicBook/{{SHIELD}} was doing using Cosmic Cubes, Sam decided to take a stand and no longer be bipartisan. This has lead to his popularity tanking and people calling him names like "Captain Socialism". This has also damaged his friendship with Steve Rogers, as Sam no longer trusts the US Government to do the right thing and only ''hopes'' that they can, compared to Steve, who unabashedly believes they ''will''.
** [[ComicBook/MsMarvel2014 Kamala Khan]] is following in those footsteps when [[spoiler:a plot by HYDRA]] ends up making Ms. Marvel look like a total sellout when her face is used to promote new and expensive apartments without her knowledge.
* ''ComicBook/NewAvengers2015:'' The whole team has bad publicity, despite pretty much all of the line-up being some of the nicer people around. The American military and S.H.I.E.L.D. are just waiting for the team to step out of line and arrest them all. That they're supposedly run by A.I.M. has a lot to do with this.
** For an added bonus, the team includes Hawkeye and Songbird, who have both been heroes with bad publicity themselves.
* Over at Franchise/TheDCU, no matter how hard he tries, ComicBook/BoosterGold goes up against negative public opinion fairly often... usually due to his own screw-ups and glory-hound nature. He's getting better but the nature of his [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong time-travel mission]] means that, in the PresentDay, he's ObfuscatingStupidity and is keeping up a "jerk act" so he ''still'' has bad publicity. Now he '''has''' to have bad publicity, as being an infamous screw-up is the ultimate insurance against his enemies (also time travelers) trying to RetGone him... Among his family, he is the greatest hero of all.
to:
* The instigation for the events in Creator/MarvelComics' ''Comicbook/CivilWar'' [[CrisisCrossover crossover]] is a large amount of collateral damage (including a few hundred dead children) due to a TakingYouWithMe villain. For a brief time, ''all'' the heroes have bad publicity -- [[GoodVictimsBadVictims especially the few surviving New Warriors]]. The government's idea of damage control is, of course, a SuperRegistrationAct that promptly pits hero against hero. Public opinion then gives all the non-compliers bad publicity. When the new 'government-sponsored heroes' turn out to have overlooked a massive planet-wide [[ComicBook/SecretInvasion infiltration by aliens]], ComicBook/IronMan and ComicBook/SpiderWoman wind up with bad publicity. At this point the government decides to put noted psychotic and multiple-murderer ComicBook/NormanOsborn in charge, due to his brief moment of VillainsDoTheDirtyWork. This works out about as well as you'd expect, thus leaving the reader to wonder if the ''US government'' isn't being depicted as a VillainWithGoodPublicity.
* The anti-mutant prejudice in the ''ComicBook/XMen'' labels probably qualifies, although this can also be seen as a case of FantasticRacism. Anti-mutant sentiment is so strong that the original ''ComicBook/XFactor'' masqueraded as anti-mutant crusaders to endear themselves to the public.
* Even ComicBook/IronMan falls prey for this. In the ComicBook/ArmorWars storyline, Iron Man’s fighting against S.H.I.E.L.D, he’s kicked out of the West Coast Avengers, nearly causes an international incident in the U.S.S.R and gets into a fight with Captain America.
* Franchise/SpiderMan:
** Spider-Man gets a lot of undeserved flak, mostly due to the negative PR campaign by his employer, J. Jonah Jameson. Probably the first superhero to have this as his status quo.
** Within the first twenty issues it was revealed JJ felt jealous of Spidey's successes. Later revelations included [[FreudianExcuse being beaten by his stepfather]], [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer a mistrust of superheroes]], and JJ's own failure to live up to the high standards he sets for himself. In ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'', JJ hates Spider-Man because he wears a mask, and his wife was killed by a masked man.
** Though he is always the first to accuse Spider-Man of crimes, JJ is also usually the first to retract his statement when he is proven wrong, at one point remarking that he believes that ''claiming'' Spidey to be a menace prevents him from actually ''becoming'' one. Furthermore, regardless of the Daily Bugle's libel, there is enough evidence to suggest that the New Yorkers are not so easily manipulated anymore and ''will'' rally behind Spider-Man.
** Jameson eventually became the Mayor of New York City -- and as you might expect he constantly leveraged his expanded sphere of influence against Spider-Man.
** There is the fact that Peter began his superhero career as a teenager with no guidance and tended to be a wisecracking jerk who often screwed up and lost, and also tried more than once to draw a paycheck for it (nobody knows he needs the money to take care of his aunt). A bad first impression is hard to shake. Plus, being immature, he tended to egg on JJ or get angry at him (which could be interpreted as threatening).
** Interestingly, while the public and the police are quick to believe the worst about Spider-Man, and his "friends" in the superhero community ''rarely if ever stick up for him at all'', it has been shown on several occasions that most of the villains in his Rogue's Gallery know he is a decent man and innocent of just about everything he's accused of. This was highlighted in an early issue of ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}}, when Spider-Man was accused of a crime and the team of villains-pretending-to-be-heroes was trying to develop a plan to capture him in order to get good publicity. Mach-One, who was really the Beetle in disguise and had fought Spider-Man many times, told the team that the best thing to do was to go to the scene of the crime and wait for Spider-Man to show up and start investigating himself. When asked why he was so sure Spider-Man would do that, Mach-One responded with: "Because he's innocent. He'd never do anything like this. He'll be looking for the person who did." During this same issue, Mach-One fought alongside Spider-Man and was so impressed that this event was the beginning of him trying to turn his life around and become a real hero, which also spread to several other members of the team.
** In ''ComicBook/SupermanVsTheAmazingSpiderMan'', Superman initially thinks Spidey may be connected with a phony Superman because of Jameson's smear. Supes realizes his mistake right away, though.
** Perhaps one of the biggest reason why Spider-Man gets a lot of publicity (particularly the police force) is his [[ThouShaltNotKill total unwillingness to kill the supervillains that he fights against]]. In fact, in ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan'', [[spoiler:Otto Octavius inside Peter Parker's body, manages to ''win'' public support by killing Massacre. Something that Peter Parker himself is unwilling to do because [[IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim he's aware of the moral hazards]]. Apparently, the public isn't really happy about Spidey fighting a supervillain, sending the villain to [[CardboardPrison jail]], only to escape again and commit crimes that are [[FromBadtoWorse worse]] ([[WhatTheHellHero something that Otto himself pointed out]] to Ghost Peter). Because apparently, the governments inability to execute/permanently incarcerate villains is totally Spidey's fault.]].
** During [[ComicBook/NickSpencersSpiderMan Nick Spencer's run]], J. Jonah Jameson [[JerkassHasAPoint makes the argument]] that Spider-Man's bad public image is, at least in part, his own damn fault; while most other superheroes tend to work in teams and communities and are fairly open with the public, Spider-Man is usually a [[IWorkAlone lone wolf]] and frequently gets into fights with other superheroes before teaming up with them (though as Peter points out, this is very common for other Marvel superheroes). Furthermore, whenever Jameson made a false accusation against Spider-Man, the Wall-Crawler's response was never to reach out and set the record straight but rather to insult, antagonize and sometimes even threaten Jameson, [[NotHelpingYourCase which does not help his case at all]].
** In the ComicBook/{{Ultimate|SpiderMan}} line of Spider-Man comics, JJ initially only wanted to make headlines. This quickly changed, however. It came to a head after The Bugle publicly started to support Sam Bullit, who was running on an anti-vigilante (in other words, anti-superheroes) campaign. But later, after an attempt on his life by some of the Kingpin's goons, JJ went to Peter's house (after having fired Peter from his job at the Daily Bugle earlier) and revealed his deeper reasons. He'd launched a smear campaign against Spider-Man because he didn't like the fact that his own son, who had died in a space shuttle accident (a real hero in Jameson's eyes), wasn't thought of as one and didn't get the attention he deserved, while everyday people looked up to a guy swingin' in his underwear.
*** Finally inverted later on, though. After Jameson sees Spider-Man risking his life to save a woman during a flood, he does a total 180 and devotes the Bugle's energies to supporting him.
*** In fact, after the Ultimatum wave, Jameson becomes [[spoiler:one of Spider-Man's greatest advocates]]. For instance, [[spoiler: when he discovers Peter's identity, he uses the information to clear Spider-Man's name without revealing his secret identity. He then gives Peter his job back and offers to pay for his college tuition. Eventually, when Spider-Man dies, he attends the funeral and comforts Aunt May in her time of need]].
** Humorously, the alternate future of ''ComicBook/MarvelComics2'' sees JJJ as a big fan and major supporter of ComicBook/SpiderGirl, the daughter of the hero he had slandered.
** This is exaggerated in ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan'' where Jameson's smear campaign is not only [[NeverAcceptedInHisHometown more effective]], but less deserved as he's become an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and has never egged-on JJ, thus giving less credence to it. The beginning of Season 3 finally averts this. Spidey joining and becoming a successful Avenger results in the general populace of New York loving him.
** Apparently, it comes with the webs, because across the Multiverse it's revealed that numerous Spider-Men/Women/Girls have this going for them. ComicBook/SpiderGwen is wanted for the murder of her Peter Parker and has drawn gunfire from police officers. The steampunk Lady Spider has been labelled a menace by J. Jonah Jameson in her world. ComicBook/SpiderManNoir isn't much loved where he comes from. And they're all [[ComicBook/SpiderVerse bouncing around]] [[ComicBook/WebWarriors the multiverse]] filling in where other Spider-Men were killed or lost and finding themselves not necessarily welcome.
** Subverted for ''ComicBook/{{Silk}}'', who is probably the only Spider-Hero other than the aforementioned alternate universe Spider-Girl to be liked by J. Jonah Jameson from the start. JJJ is a fan of Cindy Moon's alter ego and also acts as a bit of a ParentalSubstitute for her. Which makes things interesting once Cindy starts working as the TheMole and ''tries'' to actively ruin her reputation and be labeled a menace to strengthen the facade. Instead, Jonah begins coming up with a number of excuses for her villainous behavior, refusing to believe Silk has actually gone bad. Later on, Cindy ends up devastated when an ''actually'' evil version of her from Spider-Gwen's dimension shows up to commit a major crime spree, causing Jameson to finally lose faith in her.
** Lampshaded in Creator/SamRaimi's [[Film/SpiderMan1 the first movie]], where, after Spider-Man rescues numerous people from a burning building, several cops arrive and try to arrest him, in spite of him pointing out he had been rescuing people. Then a person inside the building starts screaming, and one of the officers demands Spider-Man rescue the woman and then come back down to be arrested.
* The ComicBook/IncredibleHulk. In fact, due to the damage he's caused in his career, it would be very hard to find someone in the Marvel Universe with ''worse'' publicity who could still be considered a hero.
* Played literally in the 2006 ComicBook/MsMarvel series, where Carol Danvers hires a publicist after a D-list villain (Stilt-Man) doesn't recognize her.
* In the ''ComicBook/AllNewAllDifferentMarvel'' era, [[ComicBook/TheFalcon Sam Wilson]] ComicBook/CaptainAmerica has this problem: after a whistleblower revealed what ComicBook/{{SHIELD}} was doing using Cosmic Cubes, Sam decided to take a stand and no longer be bipartisan. This has lead to his popularity tanking and people calling him names like "Captain Socialism". This has also damaged his friendship with Steve Rogers, as Sam no longer trusts the US Government to do the right thing and only ''hopes'' that they can, compared to Steve, who unabashedly believes they ''will''.
** [[ComicBook/MsMarvel2014 Kamala Khan]] is following in those footsteps when [[spoiler:a plot by HYDRA]] ends up making Ms. Marvel look like a total sellout when her face is used to promote new and expensive apartments without her knowledge.
* ''ComicBook/NewAvengers2015:'' The whole team has bad publicity, despite pretty much all of the line-up being some of the nicer people around. The American military and S.H.I.E.L.D. are just waiting for the team to step out of line and arrest them all. That they're supposedly run by A.I.M. has a lot to do with this.
** For an added bonus, the team includes Hawkeye and Songbird, who have both been heroes with bad publicity themselves.
* Over at Franchise/TheDCU, no matter how hard he tries, ComicBook/BoosterGold goes up against negative public opinion fairly often... usually due to his own screw-ups and glory-hound nature. He's getting better but the nature of his [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong time-travel mission]] means that, in the PresentDay, he's ObfuscatingStupidity and is keeping up a "jerk act" so he ''still'' has bad publicity. Now he '''has''' to have bad publicity, as being an infamous screw-up is the ultimate insurance against his enemies (also time travelers) trying to RetGone him... Among his family, he is the greatest hero of all.
Deleted line(s) 38,40 (click to see context) :
* Just about all of the masked vigilantes in ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' after they fell out of favor and costumed adventuring was made illegal -- except for those who work for the American government. Of course, the only other one still active is Rorschach, and let's be fair -- [[NinetiesAntiHero he's an insane person who does terrible things.]]
* The [[ComicBook/BatmanAndTheOutsiders Outsiders]]' raison d'être is to be the team of superheroes that can do the DirtyBusiness and ''know'' they're going to come out with stains upon their name. Considering that it was funded by Franchise/{{Batman}}, it makes sense but raises some [[ThouShaltNotKill interesting questions]]. When Batman retook control of the team, he fired several of the members, pointedly because they weren't suited to that sort of reputation:
-->'''Batman:''' Only criminals operate without constraints anymore, so we're going to ''cultivate'' the Outsiders' reputation as a team of ''outlaws''. I didn't think you'd ''mind'' sparing Nightwing and Thunder that kind of stigma.
* The [[ComicBook/BatmanAndTheOutsiders Outsiders]]' raison d'être is to be the team of superheroes that can do the DirtyBusiness and ''know'' they're going to come out with stains upon their name. Considering that it was funded by Franchise/{{Batman}}, it makes sense but raises some [[ThouShaltNotKill interesting questions]]. When Batman retook control of the team, he fired several of the members, pointedly because they weren't suited to that sort of reputation:
-->'''Batman:''' Only criminals operate without constraints anymore, so we're going to ''cultivate'' the Outsiders' reputation as a team of ''outlaws''. I didn't think you'd ''mind'' sparing Nightwing and Thunder that kind of stigma.
Deleted line(s) 46,59 (click to see context) :
* Franchise/{{Superman}}:
** With the ''ComicBook/NewKrypton'' storyline, Superman, ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'', Nightwing, Flamebird, Valor, and their friends are lumped together with General Zod and the Kandorians in Earth's eyes.
** In a complete 180 of his long-held status, Superman in the ComicBook/{{New 52}} starts out as one of these (which is covered in ''ComicBook/ActionComics''.)
** It becomes full-blown after he [[DarkestHour loses his powers and gets his identity outed]] in the ''ComicBook/SupermanTruth'' storyline and [[UngratefulBastard half the population]] turns against him. His approval rating dropped to just ''twenty-five percent.''
** He previously had a bit of bad publicity during his Electric Superman phase where losing control of his powers made him dangerous briefly.
** Before that, there was a storyline a few years after Superman returned from the dead where stories started circulating that Superman had not returned from the dead and that this was another impostor. Seemingly backed up when Superman's body was found in his tomb (turned out to be an illusion placed by Brainiac.)
** Way back in the very first Superman stories, by way of EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, this happened ''entirely'' as a result of his own tendency for morally questionable actions. He started getting good publicity pretty quickly, though, since one of the city's most prominent reporters was ''in love with him.'' Being a reporter ''himself'' can't have hurt, either.
** In ''ComicBook/KryptoniteNevermore'', Morgan Edge slanders Superman to try to bring him down.
* ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'':
** ''[[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 PostCrisis Supergirl]]'' suffers from Kryptonite poisoning when she arrives on Earth, which changes her personality to one of a crazy, self-absorbed, whiny, rude emo teen. After one year she gets her act together and begins acting as an S-wearing hero, but it took some time for her initial behavior being forgotten. Likewise, Daily Planet journalist Cat Grant starts a negative PR campaign to smear Kara. She finally stops one year later when Supergirl saves her life.
** Confused and frightened, ''[[ComicBook/Supergirl2011 Post-Flashpoint Supergirl]]'' fought Superman when they first met; which didn't exactly make the public like her. She yo-yo's back and forth on this, though. Some remember her fight with the Worldkillers in New York and praise her as a hero. Others... not so much.
** In the ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' story arc ''ComicBook/RedDaughterOfKrypton'' -- in which Supergirl became a Red Lantern -- this was subverted when Superman and [[Franchise/GreenLantern Guy Gardner]] talked about Supergirl. Superman admitted that Justice League teammate Hal Jordan had nothing good to say about the Red Lanterns (even when they try to be heroes, Red Lanterns are generally regarded as violent, dangerous, blood-thirsty sociopaths); but he added that he judges people based on what they do, not what people say about them, and he forms his own opinions.
** In ''ComicBook/SupergirlRebirth'', Director Chase regards Supergirl as an out-of-control liability -although she has saved the world several times at this point- due to the number of messes she caused or took part in before getting over her angst, loneliness and anger issues.
** In ''ComicBook/{{Bizarrogirl}}'', the inhabitants of Bizarro World hate Bizarrogirl, believing she left them to fend for themselves when [[PlanetEater the godship]] turned up. As soon as they see her, they insult her and pelt her with fruit, eggs and worse things.
** With the ''ComicBook/NewKrypton'' storyline, Superman, ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'', Nightwing, Flamebird, Valor, and their friends are lumped together with General Zod and the Kandorians in Earth's eyes.
** In a complete 180 of his long-held status, Superman in the ComicBook/{{New 52}} starts out as one of these (which is covered in ''ComicBook/ActionComics''.)
** It becomes full-blown after he [[DarkestHour loses his powers and gets his identity outed]] in the ''ComicBook/SupermanTruth'' storyline and [[UngratefulBastard half the population]] turns against him. His approval rating dropped to just ''twenty-five percent.''
** He previously had a bit of bad publicity during his Electric Superman phase where losing control of his powers made him dangerous briefly.
** Before that, there was a storyline a few years after Superman returned from the dead where stories started circulating that Superman had not returned from the dead and that this was another impostor. Seemingly backed up when Superman's body was found in his tomb (turned out to be an illusion placed by Brainiac.)
** Way back in the very first Superman stories, by way of EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, this happened ''entirely'' as a result of his own tendency for morally questionable actions. He started getting good publicity pretty quickly, though, since one of the city's most prominent reporters was ''in love with him.'' Being a reporter ''himself'' can't have hurt, either.
** In ''ComicBook/KryptoniteNevermore'', Morgan Edge slanders Superman to try to bring him down.
* ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'':
** ''[[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 PostCrisis Supergirl]]'' suffers from Kryptonite poisoning when she arrives on Earth, which changes her personality to one of a crazy, self-absorbed, whiny, rude emo teen. After one year she gets her act together and begins acting as an S-wearing hero, but it took some time for her initial behavior being forgotten. Likewise, Daily Planet journalist Cat Grant starts a negative PR campaign to smear Kara. She finally stops one year later when Supergirl saves her life.
** Confused and frightened, ''[[ComicBook/Supergirl2011 Post-Flashpoint Supergirl]]'' fought Superman when they first met; which didn't exactly make the public like her. She yo-yo's back and forth on this, though. Some remember her fight with the Worldkillers in New York and praise her as a hero. Others... not so much.
** In the ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' story arc ''ComicBook/RedDaughterOfKrypton'' -- in which Supergirl became a Red Lantern -- this was subverted when Superman and [[Franchise/GreenLantern Guy Gardner]] talked about Supergirl. Superman admitted that Justice League teammate Hal Jordan had nothing good to say about the Red Lanterns (even when they try to be heroes, Red Lanterns are generally regarded as violent, dangerous, blood-thirsty sociopaths); but he added that he judges people based on what they do, not what people say about them, and he forms his own opinions.
** In ''ComicBook/SupergirlRebirth'', Director Chase regards Supergirl as an out-of-control liability -although she has saved the world several times at this point- due to the number of messes she caused or took part in before getting over her angst, loneliness and anger issues.
** In ''ComicBook/{{Bizarrogirl}}'', the inhabitants of Bizarro World hate Bizarrogirl, believing she left them to fend for themselves when [[PlanetEater the godship]] turned up. As soon as they see her, they insult her and pelt her with fruit, eggs and worse things.
Deleted line(s) 61 (click to see context) :
* ComicBook/TheCreeper is often seen as a creep by the public and as an outright criminal by the police/other superheroes, but the twist is that he himself is more than willing to accuse and demonize the Creeper as Jack Ryder, his reporter/talk show host alter ego to lessen any suspicions that they might be connected. And Ryder is seen as an irritating TV menace on his own too.
Deleted line(s) 70 (click to see context) :
* Franchise/{{Batman}} is being hit ''hard'' with this in the new DCU as Batman ''and'' as Bruce Wayne. Some people in Gotham actually riot because they think he killed ComicBook/TheJoker -- yes, ''The Joker'' is more sympathetic in the public eye. Bruce's attempts at urban renewal are also not being well received. Some people in Gotham do not see it for the act of goodwill it is and see it as a rich bastard tearing down historical buildings (read: run-down buildings in a high crime area they didn't care about before) to make a new skyscraper. Most versions of Batman actively cultivate this trope, because it lends credit to him being far more ruthless than he truly is, therefore scarier to most criminals.
Changed line(s) 72,77 (click to see context) from:
* ''ComicBook/AtomicRobo'': Robo's creator, UsefulNotes/NikolaTesla, deliberately thrust him into the spotlight as an international celebrity as a protective measure; if anything happened to him, or if anyone tried to weaponize Tesla's technology, ''people would notice''. Turning public opinion against Robo (through a FalseFlagOperation involving [[spoiler:a stolen nuclear warhead]]) is how [[GovernmentConspiracy Majestic 12]] finally gains the upper hand on him, allowing them to shut down Tesladyne and absorb its resources (and other SuperScience institutions around the world) into the paramilitary Task Force ULTRA. Opinion swings back towards Robo's favor after he saves the world from a [[{{Kaiju}} Biomega]] invasion.
* ''ComicBook/CleanRoom'' shows every public opinion of Astrid Mueller as "evil, corrupt, manipulative, secretive corporate emperor". While much of it is true, it pales in comparison to her hidden enemies' depths. It's implied that Astrid allows this on purpose since it explicitly separates her allies from her enemies.
* ''ComicBook/ROMSpaceknight'''s a KnightInShiningArmor by any standard, but he's very bad at explaining things. Things like "my gun doesn't kill people, it sends them to a PhantomZone", "this gadget I pulled out lets me detect shapeshifting aliens planning to conquer Earth", and "those people I shot were shapeshifting aliens hiding among you." Combine that with his faceless red-eyed design and silver full-body armor, and you have him looking an awful lot like a KillerRobot descending from the sky, waving around mystery devices, and vaporizing random humans for no reason. It's really no shock that people are scared of him.
* ''{{ComicBook/Transmetropolitan}}'': Spider is one of the few people who are consistently willing to stand up for the little guy, and he gets a lot of shit for it. Granted, Spider has done a wide variety of colourful things to piss off the rich and famous, and, at least to some extent cultivates this persona in order to draw creative inspiration from it. However, consider the fact that he once received a death threat consisting of a petition to have him dragged outside and shot. It had over five-hundred signatures...
* ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'': Loki manages to make Thor look like an out-of-control maniac when he stops some police brutality with excessive force of his own.
* ComicBook/KidColt was branded an outlaw for killing his father's killers in a fair gunfight. (Some more recent retellings have had Colt admit that he is not sure if it was a fair fight or not, as he doesn't remember if he gave them a chance to draw.) Wherever he travels in the WildWest, he is a still a wanted man and has to keep looking over his shoulder for lawmen and {{Bounty Hunter}}s.
* ''ComicBook/CleanRoom'' shows every public opinion of Astrid Mueller as "evil, corrupt, manipulative, secretive corporate emperor". While much of it is true, it pales in comparison to her hidden enemies' depths. It's implied that Astrid allows this on purpose since it explicitly separates her allies from her enemies.
* ''ComicBook/ROMSpaceknight'''s a KnightInShiningArmor by any standard, but he's very bad at explaining things. Things like "my gun doesn't kill people, it sends them to a PhantomZone", "this gadget I pulled out lets me detect shapeshifting aliens planning to conquer Earth", and "those people I shot were shapeshifting aliens hiding among you." Combine that with his faceless red-eyed design and silver full-body armor, and you have him looking an awful lot like a KillerRobot descending from the sky, waving around mystery devices, and vaporizing random humans for no reason. It's really no shock that people are scared of him.
* ''{{ComicBook/Transmetropolitan}}'': Spider is one of the few people who are consistently willing to stand up for the little guy, and he gets a lot of shit for it. Granted, Spider has done a wide variety of colourful things to piss off the rich and famous, and, at least to some extent cultivates this persona in order to draw creative inspiration from it. However, consider the fact that he once received a death threat consisting of a petition to have him dragged outside and shot. It had over five-hundred signatures...
* ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'': Loki manages to make Thor look like an out-of-control maniac when he stops some police brutality with excessive force of his own.
* ComicBook/KidColt was branded an outlaw for killing his father's killers in a fair gunfight. (Some more recent retellings have had Colt admit that he is not sure if it was a fair fight or not, as he doesn't remember if he gave them a chance to draw.) Wherever he travels in the WildWest, he is a still a wanted man and has to keep looking over his shoulder for lawmen and {{Bounty Hunter}}s.
to:
* ''ComicBook/AtomicRobo'': Robo's creator, UsefulNotes/NikolaTesla, deliberately thrust him into the spotlight as an international celebrity as a protective measure; if anything happened to him, or if anyone tried to weaponize Tesla's technology, ''people would notice''. Turning public opinion against Robo (through a FalseFlagOperation involving [[spoiler:a stolen nuclear warhead]]) is how [[GovernmentConspiracy Majestic 12]] finally gains the upper hand on him, allowing them to shut down Tesladyne and absorb its resources (and other SuperScience institutions around the world) into the paramilitary Task Force ULTRA. Opinion swings back towards Robo's favor after he saves the world from a [[{{Kaiju}} Biomega]] invasion.
* ''ComicBook/CleanRoom'' shows every public opinion of Astrid Mueller as "evil, corrupt, manipulative, secretive corporate emperor". While much of it is true, it pales in comparison to her hidden enemies' depths. It's implied that Astrid allows this on purpose since it explicitly separates her allies from her enemies.
* ''ComicBook/ROMSpaceknight'''s a KnightInShiningArmor by any standard, but he's very bad at explaining things. Things like "my gun doesn't kill people, it sends them to a PhantomZone", "this gadget I pulled out lets me detect shapeshifting aliens planning to conquer Earth", and "those people I shot were shapeshifting aliens hiding among you." Combine that with his faceless red-eyed design and silver full-body armor, and you have him looking an awful lot like a KillerRobot descending from the sky, waving around mystery devices, and vaporizing random humans for no reason. It's really no shock that people are scared of him.
* ''{{ComicBook/Transmetropolitan}}'': Spider is one of the few people who are consistently willing to stand up for the little guy, and he gets a lot of shit for it. Granted, Spider has done a wide variety of colourful things to piss off the rich and famous, and, at least to some extent cultivates this persona in order to draw creative inspiration from it. However, consider the fact that he once received a death threat consisting of a petition to have him dragged outside and shot. It had over five-hundred signatures...
* ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'': Loki manages to make Thor look like an out-of-control maniac when he stops some police brutality with excessive force of his own.
* ComicBook/KidColt was branded an outlaw for killing his father's killers in a fair gunfight. (Some more recent retellings have had Colt admit that he is not sure if it was a fair fight or not, as he doesn't remember if he gave them a chance to draw.) Wherever he travels in the WildWest, he is a still a wanted man and has to keep looking over his shoulder for lawmen and {{Bounty Hunter}}s.invasion.
* ''ComicBook/CleanRoom'' shows every public opinion of Astrid Mueller as "evil, corrupt, manipulative, secretive corporate emperor". While much of it is true, it pales in comparison to her hidden enemies' depths. It's implied that Astrid allows this on purpose since it explicitly separates her allies from her enemies.
* ''ComicBook/ROMSpaceknight'''s a KnightInShiningArmor by any standard, but he's very bad at explaining things. Things like "my gun doesn't kill people, it sends them to a PhantomZone", "this gadget I pulled out lets me detect shapeshifting aliens planning to conquer Earth", and "those people I shot were shapeshifting aliens hiding among you." Combine that with his faceless red-eyed design and silver full-body armor, and you have him looking an awful lot like a KillerRobot descending from the sky, waving around mystery devices, and vaporizing random humans for no reason. It's really no shock that people are scared of him.
* ''{{ComicBook/Transmetropolitan}}'': Spider is one of the few people who are consistently willing to stand up for the little guy, and he gets a lot of shit for it. Granted, Spider has done a wide variety of colourful things to piss off the rich and famous, and, at least to some extent cultivates this persona in order to draw creative inspiration from it. However, consider the fact that he once received a death threat consisting of a petition to have him dragged outside and shot. It had over five-hundred signatures...
* ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'': Loki manages to make Thor look like an out-of-control maniac when he stops some police brutality with excessive force of his own.
* ComicBook/KidColt was branded an outlaw for killing his father's killers in a fair gunfight. (Some more recent retellings have had Colt admit that he is not sure if it was a fair fight or not, as he doesn't remember if he gave them a chance to draw.) Wherever he travels in the WildWest, he is a still a wanted man and has to keep looking over his shoulder for lawmen and {{Bounty Hunter}}s.
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!!The following have their own pages:
[[index]]
* HeroWithBadPublicity/TheDCU
* HeroWithBadPublicity/MarvelUniverse
[[/index]]
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[[index]]
* HeroWithBadPublicity/TheDCU
* HeroWithBadPublicity/MarvelUniverse
[[/index]]
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* Seriously, what hero in the Franchise/MarvelUniverse (besides ComicBook/CaptainAmerica) DOESN'T have bad publicity?
* The instigation for the events in Creator/MarvelComics' ''Comicbook/CivilWar'' [[CrisisCrossover crossover]] is a large amount of collateral damage (including a few hundred dead children) due to a TakingYouWithMe villain. For a brief time, ''all'' the heroes have bad publicity -- [[GoodVictimsBadVictims especially the few surviving New Warriors]]. The government's idea of damage control is, of course, a SuperRegistrationAct that promptly pits hero against hero. Public opinion then gives all the non-compliers bad publicity. When the new 'government-sponsored heroes' turn out to have overlooked a massive planet-wide [[ComicBook/SecretInvasion infiltration by aliens]], ComicBook/IronMan and ComicBook/SpiderWoman wind up with bad publicity. At this point the government decides to put noted psychotic and multiple-murderer ComicBook/NormanOsborn in charge, due to his brief moment of VillainsDoTheDirtyWork. This works out about as well as you'd expect, thus leaving the reader to wonder if the ''US government'' isn't being depicted as a VillainWithGoodPublicity.
* The anti-mutant prejudice in the ''ComicBook/XMen'' labels probably qualifies, although this can also be seen as a case of FantasticRacism. Anti-mutant sentiment is so strong that the original ''ComicBook/XFactor'' masqueraded as anti-mutant crusaders to endear themselves to the public.
* Even ComicBook/IronMan falls prey for this. In the ComicBook/ArmorWars storyline, Iron Man’s fighting against S.H.I.E.L.D, he’s kicked out of the West Coast Avengers, nearly causes an international incident in the U.S.S.R and gets into a fight with Captain America.
* Franchise/SpiderMan:
** Spider-Man gets a lot of undeserved flak, mostly due to the negative PR campaign by his employer, J. Jonah Jameson. Probably the first superhero to have this as his status quo.
** Within the first twenty issues it was revealed JJ felt jealous of Spidey's successes. Later revelations included [[FreudianExcuse being beaten by his stepfather]], [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer a mistrust of superheroes]], and JJ's own failure to live up to the high standards he sets for himself. In ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'', JJ hates Spider-Man because he wears a mask, and his wife was killed by a masked man.
** Though he is always the first to accuse Spider-Man of crimes, JJ is also usually the first to retract his statement when he is proven wrong, at one point remarking that he believes that ''claiming'' Spidey to be a menace prevents him from actually ''becoming'' one. Furthermore, regardless of the Daily Bugle's libel, there is enough evidence to suggest that the New Yorkers are not so easily manipulated anymore and ''will'' rally behind Spider-Man.
** Jameson eventually became the Mayor of New York City -- and as you might expect he constantly leveraged his expanded sphere of influence against Spider-Man.
** There is the fact that Peter began his superhero career as a teenager with no guidance and tended to be a wisecracking jerk who often screwed up and lost, and also tried more than once to draw a paycheck for it (nobody knows he needs the money to take care of his aunt). A bad first impression is hard to shake. Plus, being immature, he tended to egg on JJ or get angry at him (which could be interpreted as threatening).
** Interestingly, while the public and the police are quick to believe the worst about Spider-Man, and his "friends" in the superhero community ''rarely if ever stick up for him at all'', it has been shown on several occasions that most of the villains in his Rogue's Gallery know he is a decent man and innocent of just about everything he's accused of. This was highlighted in an early issue of ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}}, when Spider-Man was accused of a crime and the team of villains-pretending-to-be-heroes was trying to develop a plan to capture him in order to get good publicity. Mach-One, who was really the Beetle in disguise and had fought Spider-Man many times, told the team that the best thing to do was to go to the scene of the crime and wait for Spider-Man to show up and start investigating himself. When asked why he was so sure Spider-Man would do that, Mach-One responded with: "Because he's innocent. He'd never do anything like this. He'll be looking for the person who did." During this same issue, Mach-One fought alongside Spider-Man and was so impressed that this event was the beginning of him trying to turn his life around and become a real hero, which also spread to several other members of the team.
** In ''ComicBook/SupermanVsTheAmazingSpiderMan'', Superman initially thinks Spidey may be connected with a phony Superman because of Jameson's smear. Supes realizes his mistake right away, though.
** Perhaps one of the biggest reason why Spider-Man gets a lot of publicity (particularly the police force) is his [[ThouShaltNotKill total unwillingness to kill the supervillains that he fights against]]. In fact, in ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan'', [[spoiler:Otto Octavius inside Peter Parker's body, manages to ''win'' public support by killing Massacre. Something that Peter Parker himself is unwilling to do because [[IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim he's aware of the moral hazards]]. Apparently, the public isn't really happy about Spidey fighting a supervillain, sending the villain to [[CardboardPrison jail]], only to escape again and commit crimes that are [[FromBadtoWorse worse]] ([[WhatTheHellHero something that Otto himself pointed out]] to Ghost Peter). Because apparently, the governments inability to execute/permanently incarcerate villains is totally Spidey's fault.]].
** During [[ComicBook/NickSpencersSpiderMan Nick Spencer's run]], J. Jonah Jameson [[JerkassHasAPoint makes the argument]] that Spider-Man's bad public image is, at least in part, his own damn fault; while most other superheroes tend to work in teams and communities and are fairly open with the public, Spider-Man is usually a [[IWorkAlone lone wolf]] and frequently gets into fights with other superheroes before teaming up with them (though as Peter points out, this is very common for other Marvel superheroes). Furthermore, whenever Jameson made a false accusation against Spider-Man, the Wall-Crawler's response was never to reach out and set the record straight but rather to insult, antagonize and sometimes even threaten Jameson, [[NotHelpingYourCase which does not help his case at all]].
** In the ComicBook/{{Ultimate|SpiderMan}} line of Spider-Man comics, JJ initially only wanted to make headlines. This quickly changed, however. It came to a head after The Bugle publicly started to support Sam Bullit, who was running on an anti-vigilante (in other words, anti-superheroes) campaign. But later, after an attempt on his life by some of the Kingpin's goons, JJ went to Peter's house (after having fired Peter from his job at the Daily Bugle earlier) and revealed his deeper reasons. He'd launched a smear campaign against Spider-Man because he didn't like the fact that his own son, who had died in a space shuttle accident (a real hero in Jameson's eyes), wasn't thought of as one and didn't get the attention he deserved, while everyday people looked up to a guy swingin' in his underwear.
*** Finally inverted later on, though. After Jameson sees Spider-Man risking his life to save a woman during a flood, he does a total 180 and devotes the Bugle's energies to supporting him.
*** In fact, after the Ultimatum wave, Jameson becomes [[spoiler:one of Spider-Man's greatest advocates]]. For instance, [[spoiler: when he discovers Peter's identity, he uses the information to clear Spider-Man's name without revealing his secret identity. He then gives Peter his job back and offers to pay for his college tuition. Eventually, when Spider-Man dies, he attends the funeral and comforts Aunt May in her time of need]].
** Humorously, the alternate future of ''ComicBook/MarvelComics2'' sees JJJ as a big fan and major supporter of ComicBook/SpiderGirl, the daughter of the hero he had slandered.
** This is exaggerated in ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan'' where Jameson's smear campaign is not only [[NeverAcceptedInHisHometown more effective]], but less deserved as he's become an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and has never egged-on JJ, thus giving less credence to it. The beginning of Season 3 finally averts this. Spidey joining and becoming a successful Avenger results in the general populace of New York loving him.
** Apparently, it comes with the webs, because across the Multiverse it's revealed that numerous Spider-Men/Women/Girls have this going for them. ComicBook/SpiderGwen is wanted for the murder of her Peter Parker and has drawn gunfire from police officers. The steampunk Lady Spider has been labelled a menace by J. Jonah Jameson in her world. ComicBook/SpiderManNoir isn't much loved where he comes from. And they're all [[ComicBook/SpiderVerse bouncing around]] [[ComicBook/WebWarriors the multiverse]] filling in where other Spider-Men were killed or lost and finding themselves not necessarily welcome.
** Subverted for ''ComicBook/{{Silk}}'', who is probably the only Spider-Hero other than the aforementioned alternate universe Spider-Girl to be liked by J. Jonah Jameson from the start. JJJ is a fan of Cindy Moon's alter ego and also acts as a bit of a ParentalSubstitute for her. Which makes things interesting once Cindy starts working as the TheMole and ''tries'' to actively ruin her reputation and be labeled a menace to strengthen the facade. Instead, Jonah begins coming up with a number of excuses for her villainous behavior, refusing to believe Silk has actually gone bad. Later on, Cindy ends up devastated when an ''actually'' evil version of her from Spider-Gwen's dimension shows up to commit a major crime spree, causing Jameson to finally lose faith in her.
** Lampshaded in Creator/SamRaimi's [[Film/SpiderMan1 the first movie]], where, after Spider-Man rescues numerous people from a burning building, several cops arrive and try to arrest him, in spite of him pointing out he had been rescuing people. Then a person inside the building starts screaming, and one of the officers demands Spider-Man rescue the woman and then come back down to be arrested.
* The ComicBook/IncredibleHulk. In fact, due to the damage he's caused in his career, it would be very hard to find someone in the Marvel Universe with ''worse'' publicity who could still be considered a hero.
* Played literally in the 2006 ComicBook/MsMarvel series, where Carol Danvers hires a publicist after a D-list villain (Stilt-Man) doesn't recognize her.
* In the ''ComicBook/AllNewAllDifferentMarvel'' era, [[ComicBook/TheFalcon Sam Wilson]] ComicBook/CaptainAmerica has this problem: after a whistleblower revealed what ComicBook/{{SHIELD}} was doing using Cosmic Cubes, Sam decided to take a stand and no longer be bipartisan. This has lead to his popularity tanking and people calling him names like "Captain Socialism". This has also damaged his friendship with Steve Rogers, as Sam no longer trusts the US Government to do the right thing and only ''hopes'' that they can, compared to Steve, who unabashedly believes they ''will''.
** [[ComicBook/MsMarvel2014 Kamala Khan]] is following in those footsteps when [[spoiler:a plot by HYDRA]] ends up making Ms. Marvel look like a total sellout when her face is used to promote new and expensive apartments without her knowledge.
* ''ComicBook/NewAvengers2015:'' The whole team has bad publicity, despite pretty much all of the line-up being some of the nicer people around. The American military and S.H.I.E.L.D. are just waiting for the team to step out of line and arrest them all. That they're supposedly run by A.I.M. has a lot to do with this.
** For an added bonus, the team includes Hawkeye and Songbird, who have both been heroes with bad publicity themselves.
* Over at Franchise/TheDCU, no matter how hard he tries, ComicBook/BoosterGold goes up against negative public opinion fairly often... usually due to his own screw-ups and glory-hound nature. He's getting better but the nature of his [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong time-travel mission]] means that, in the PresentDay, he's ObfuscatingStupidity and is keeping up a "jerk act" so he ''still'' has bad publicity. Now he '''has''' to have bad publicity, as being an infamous screw-up is the ultimate insurance against his enemies (also time travelers) trying to RetGone him... Among his family, he is the greatest hero of all.
* Richard Wentworth, Literature/TheSpider, had a habit of killing crooks by the score. While this behavior was justified within the stories, it did make the police and public think of him as a dangerous criminal in his own right.
* Just about all of the masked vigilantes in ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' after they fell out of favor and costumed adventuring was made illegal -- except for those who work for the American government. Of course, the only other one still active is Rorschach, and let's be fair -- [[NinetiesAntiHero he's an insane person who does terrible things.]]
* The [[ComicBook/BatmanAndTheOutsiders Outsiders]]' raison d'être is to be the team of superheroes that can do the DirtyBusiness and ''know'' they're going to come out with stains upon their name. Considering that it was funded by Franchise/{{Batman}}, it makes sense but raises some [[ThouShaltNotKill interesting questions]]. When Batman retook control of the team, he fired several of the members, pointedly because they weren't suited to that sort of reputation:
-->'''Batman:''' Only criminals operate without constraints anymore, so we're going to ''cultivate'' the Outsiders' reputation as a team of ''outlaws''. I didn't think you'd ''mind'' sparing Nightwing and Thunder that kind of stigma.
* While this tends to come up at some point in most incarnations of ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'', it was a particularly strong theme in the original Marvel Comics run, where the humans frequently weren't even aware that there were two factions of Transformers, let alone that one of those factions might be better-intentioned than the other.
** In particular, Walter Barnett of the Intelligence and Information Institute, inspired by one of his son's comic books, hired its writer, Donny Finkleberg, to portray "RobotMaster", who claimed to be in control of ''all'' the robots. When Finkleberg ended up a prisoner of the Decepticons, Megatron decided to keep the charade going, if only because it would invoke this trope for the Autobots. It didn't ''quite'' work, though, seeing as how it was kind of hard to explain why a madman bent on [[TakeOverTheWorld Taking Over The World]] would have two groups of robots under his control fighting each other, but fortunately for Finkleberg, he was able to escape before [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness he outlived his usefulness to Megatron]].
** In the IDW sequel series ''Regeneration One'', the Autobots definitely fall under this on Earth, seeing as how they failed to clean up after themselves when they left for good in 1991, and [[spoiler: inadvertently let Megatron [[ApocalypseHow nuke the population to near extinction]]]].
* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersAutocracy'' and its sequel ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMonstrosity'' play with this. In the first, the Autobots are considerably hated by the populace, as they are a security force for the corrupt government, and their leader, Zeta, levels a city to stop the Decepticons, who are the oppressed masses forming behind a charismatic leader, Megatron, and numerous citizens sympathize with them. The Protagonists even team up with him to stop their corrupt leader, and the second Megatron blows Zeta's head apart, he turns on the Autobots and the rest of the populace. The Autobots managed to rally the citizens (as well as getting the press on their side), and oust the Decepticons. The sequel continues to play with it, as much of the populace doesn't trust the Autobots, partly because of the old government, but mostly because people don't want to get involved in a war. Dai Atlas uses this distrust to [[GoodVersusGood rally]] people against Prime, but even then a few civilians just consider Atlas's group a bunch of cultists. At the end, the Decepticons have been thoroughly discredited, and despite the good publicity, most Cybertronians just leave rather than join the Autobots.
* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersRobotsInDisguise'' has this once again toward the Autobots from the people of Earth, for very justified reasons. Humanity is aware that there are two factions of Cybertronians. They're also aware that in the instances where those factions have clashed, it's resulted in hundreds of thousands of human casualties and nearly got New York nuked. They're aware that Megatron is the leader of the faction called the Decepticons and is considered an enemy of the Autobots. They're aware that Megatron and Devastator were [[EasilyForgiven allowed to join them]] instead of [[KarmaHoudini being executed for their crimes]]. So humanity sees no reason to trust anyone who would turn around and let such mass-murdering war criminals join them with no apparent repercussions.
* Franchise/{{Superman}}:
** With the ''ComicBook/NewKrypton'' storyline, Superman, ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'', Nightwing, Flamebird, Valor, and their friends are lumped together with General Zod and the Kandorians in Earth's eyes.
** In a complete 180 of his long-held status, Superman in the ComicBook/{{New 52}} starts out as one of these (which is covered in ''ComicBook/ActionComics''.)
** It becomes full-blown after he [[DarkestHour loses his powers and gets his identity outed]] in the ''ComicBook/SupermanTruth'' storyline and [[UngratefulBastard half the population]] turns against him. His approval rating dropped to just ''twenty-five percent.''
** He previously had a bit of bad publicity during his Electric Superman phase where losing control of his powers made him dangerous briefly.
** Before that, there was a storyline a few years after Superman returned from the dead where stories started circulating that Superman had not returned from the dead and that this was another impostor. Seemingly backed up when Superman's body was found in his tomb (turned out to be an illusion placed by Brainiac.)
** Way back in the very first Superman stories, by way of EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, this happened ''entirely'' as a result of his own tendency for morally questionable actions. He started getting good publicity pretty quickly, though, since one of the city's most prominent reporters was ''in love with him.'' Being a reporter ''himself'' can't have hurt, either.
** In ''ComicBook/KryptoniteNevermore'', Morgan Edge slanders Superman to try to bring him down.
* ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'':
** ''[[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 PostCrisis Supergirl]]'' suffers from Kryptonite poisoning when she arrives on Earth, which changes her personality to one of a crazy, self-absorbed, whiny, rude emo teen. After one year she gets her act together and begins acting as an S-wearing hero, but it took some time for her initial behavior being forgotten. Likewise, Daily Planet journalist Cat Grant starts a negative PR campaign to smear Kara. She finally stops one year later when Supergirl saves her life.
** Confused and frightened, ''[[ComicBook/Supergirl2011 Post-Flashpoint Supergirl]]'' fought Superman when they first met; which didn't exactly make the public like her. She yo-yo's back and forth on this, though. Some remember her fight with the Worldkillers in New York and praise her as a hero. Others... not so much.
** In the ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' story arc ''ComicBook/RedDaughterOfKrypton'' -- in which Supergirl became a Red Lantern -- this was subverted when Superman and [[Franchise/GreenLantern Guy Gardner]] talked about Supergirl. Superman admitted that Justice League teammate Hal Jordan had nothing good to say about the Red Lanterns (even when they try to be heroes, Red Lanterns are generally regarded as violent, dangerous, blood-thirsty sociopaths); but he added that he judges people based on what they do, not what people say about them, and he forms his own opinions.
** In ''ComicBook/SupergirlRebirth'', Director Chase regards Supergirl as an out-of-control liability -although she has saved the world several times at this point- due to the number of messes she caused or took part in before getting over her angst, loneliness and anger issues.
** In ''ComicBook/{{Bizarrogirl}}'', the inhabitants of Bizarro World hate Bizarrogirl, believing she left them to fend for themselves when [[PlanetEater the godship]] turned up. As soon as they see her, they insult her and pelt her with fruit, eggs and worse things.
* Played with in ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'': because of [[WorstNewsJudgementEver Angus Fangus painting him as a menace to society for the sake of ratings]], Paperinik, WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck's superhero alter ego, has a bad reputation in Duckburg, but fairer journalists outside mean that worldwide he's considered one of Earth's greatest heroes. [[JustifiedTrope There's a very good reason for it]]: in the early stories Paperinik [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast the Devilish Avenger]] was [[TheDreaded a terrifying criminal]] out to avenge himself [[UnscrupulousHero that slowly turned into a hero due his conscience leading him to target mainly criminals]], makes no mystery he's following the legacy of Fantomius the GentlemanThief, and realizes the best way to keep Duckburg's criminals in check is to remain feared (hence brutal beatdowns and [[TheVillainKnowsWhereYouLive visiting outsider criminals at their own homes]] to [[MookHorrorShow show them films of what he did to their friends that moved to Duckburg]]), and thus even in classic stories the otherwise adoring population of Duckburg is all too ready to believe he just returned to his origins; outsiders, on the other hand, started hearing about him when he became a famous superhero (most notably, in "Paperinik Versus Inquinator" he ''saved the White House from a terrorist attack'') and wouldn't believe accusation unless there's very good evidence.
* ComicBook/TheCreeper is often seen as a creep by the public and as an outright criminal by the police/other superheroes, but the twist is that he himself is more than willing to accuse and demonize the Creeper as Jack Ryder, his reporter/talk show host alter ego to lessen any suspicions that they might be connected. And Ryder is seen as an irritating TV menace on his own too.
* ComicBook/TheGreenHornet actually invokes this. Since his day job consists of him being the owner and publisher of a major newspaper, Britt Reed, he constantly has his newspaper run stories about the Green Hornet being a dangerous criminal mastermind so he (as the Green Hornet) can infiltrate criminal gangs who assume he wants a cut of their operation.
* The three main heroes in ''ComicBook/SinCity'':
** Hartigan was framed for Junior Roarke's murder due to being one of the only clean cops on the force.
** Marv already had a reputation of being a psychopath but going up against the Roarkes ensured that his name would be mud [[spoiler: before execution]]. In fact, they initially ran afoul of him when they tried to frame him for murder.
** Dwight is wanted for the murder of an established socialite [[spoiler: unlike the other two examples, he actually did it, although he was manipulated into doing so]]. His reputation was bad enough that he underwent plastic surgery to avoid being recognized.
* ''ComicBook/AllFallDown'' has Siphon suffer from this [[spoiler: when she is arrested on the news, for the deaths and injuries her accidental power-stealing caused]].
* In ComicBook/LesLegendaires, the Legendaries, who used to be loved by the people of their fictive world Alysia, became Heroes with Bad publicity after their "final" fight with their BigBad Darkhell by accidentally breaking a magic stone, causing it to accidentally trap everyone on the planet in the form of a child. The population ends up blaming them for this, and while they gradually get their reputation back, it's only after they saved the world from an OmnicidalManiac GodOfEvil that the population seem to have fully forgiven them.
** This sometimes cause the population of Alysia to be portrayed as [[UngratefulBastard horribly ungrateful]], seeing how they were quick to forget all the time the Legendaries risked their life (and keep doing so) for them just because of ''one'' accident that wasn't even lethal to the population.
* Franchise/{{Batman}} is being hit ''hard'' with this in the new DCU as Batman ''and'' as Bruce Wayne. Some people in Gotham actually riot because they think he killed ComicBook/TheJoker -- yes, ''The Joker'' is more sympathetic in the public eye. Bruce's attempts at urban renewal are also not being well received. Some people in Gotham do not see it for the act of goodwill it is and see it as a rich bastard tearing down historical buildings (read: run-down buildings in a high crime area they didn't care about before) to make a new skyscraper. Most versions of Batman actively cultivate this trope, because it lends credit to him being far more ruthless than he truly is, therefore scarier to most criminals.
* In ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'', following her [[BrainwashedAndCrazy brainwashing]] by the Iron Queen, NICOLE becomes a subject of fear to much of New Mobotropolis, particularly IdolSinger Mina Mongoose, who begins a series of musical protests against her. And things are made even worse when [[EvilSorcerer Ixis Naugus]] starts using Mina's music as a conduit for his magic, amplifying the public's distrust of NICOLE into [[HatePlague paranoia and hate]], in a bid to make himself a VillainWithGoodPublicity by promising to dispose of NICOLE for them. [[spoiler:And it ''works'', leading to a HeroicBSOD on NICOLE's part and a MyGodWhatHaveIDone on Mina's part]].
* ''ComicBook/AtomicRobo'': Robo's creator, UsefulNotes/NikolaTesla, deliberately thrust him into the spotlight as an international celebrity as a protective measure; if anything happened to him, or if anyone tried to weaponize Tesla's technology, ''people would notice''. Turning public opinion against Robo (through a FalseFlagOperation involving [[spoiler:a stolen nuclear warhead]]) is how [[GovernmentConspiracy Majestic 12]] finally gains the upper hand on him, allowing them to shut down Tesladyne and absorb its resources (and other SuperScience institutions around the world) into the paramilitary Task Force ULTRA. Opinion swings back towards Robo's favor after he saves the world from a [[{{Kaiju}} Biomega]] invasion.
* ''ComicBook/CleanRoom'' shows every public opinion of Astrid Mueller as "evil, corrupt, manipulative, secretive corporate emperor". While much of it is true, it pales in comparison to her hidden enemies' depths. It's implied that Astrid allows this on purpose since it explicitly separates her allies from her enemies.
* ''ComicBook/ROMSpaceknight'''s a KnightInShiningArmor by any standard, but he's very bad at explaining things. Things like "my gun doesn't kill people, it sends them to a PhantomZone", "this gadget I pulled out lets me detect shapeshifting aliens planning to conquer Earth", and "those people I shot were shapeshifting aliens hiding among you." Combine that with his faceless red-eyed design and silver full-body armor, and you have him looking an awful lot like a KillerRobot descending from the sky, waving around mystery devices, and vaporizing random humans for no reason. It's really no shock that people are scared of him.
* ''{{ComicBook/Transmetropolitan}}'': Spider is one of the few people who are consistently willing to stand up for the little guy, and he gets a lot of shit for it. Granted, Spider has done a wide variety of colourful things to piss off the rich and famous, and, at least to some extent cultivates this persona in order to draw creative inspiration from it. However, consider the fact that he once received a death threat consisting of a petition to have him dragged outside and shot. It had over five-hundred signatures...
* ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'': Loki manages to make Thor look like an out-of-control maniac when he stops some police brutality with excessive force of his own.
* ComicBook/KidColt was branded an outlaw for killing his father's killers in a fair gunfight. (Some more recent retellings have had Colt admit that he is not sure if it was a fair fight or not, as he doesn't remember if he gave them a chance to draw.) Wherever he travels in the WildWest, he is a still a wanted man and has to keep looking over his shoulder for lawmen and {{Bounty Hunter}}s.
* The instigation for the events in Creator/MarvelComics' ''Comicbook/CivilWar'' [[CrisisCrossover crossover]] is a large amount of collateral damage (including a few hundred dead children) due to a TakingYouWithMe villain. For a brief time, ''all'' the heroes have bad publicity -- [[GoodVictimsBadVictims especially the few surviving New Warriors]]. The government's idea of damage control is, of course, a SuperRegistrationAct that promptly pits hero against hero. Public opinion then gives all the non-compliers bad publicity. When the new 'government-sponsored heroes' turn out to have overlooked a massive planet-wide [[ComicBook/SecretInvasion infiltration by aliens]], ComicBook/IronMan and ComicBook/SpiderWoman wind up with bad publicity. At this point the government decides to put noted psychotic and multiple-murderer ComicBook/NormanOsborn in charge, due to his brief moment of VillainsDoTheDirtyWork. This works out about as well as you'd expect, thus leaving the reader to wonder if the ''US government'' isn't being depicted as a VillainWithGoodPublicity.
* The anti-mutant prejudice in the ''ComicBook/XMen'' labels probably qualifies, although this can also be seen as a case of FantasticRacism. Anti-mutant sentiment is so strong that the original ''ComicBook/XFactor'' masqueraded as anti-mutant crusaders to endear themselves to the public.
* Even ComicBook/IronMan falls prey for this. In the ComicBook/ArmorWars storyline, Iron Man’s fighting against S.H.I.E.L.D, he’s kicked out of the West Coast Avengers, nearly causes an international incident in the U.S.S.R and gets into a fight with Captain America.
* Franchise/SpiderMan:
** Spider-Man gets a lot of undeserved flak, mostly due to the negative PR campaign by his employer, J. Jonah Jameson. Probably the first superhero to have this as his status quo.
** Within the first twenty issues it was revealed JJ felt jealous of Spidey's successes. Later revelations included [[FreudianExcuse being beaten by his stepfather]], [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer a mistrust of superheroes]], and JJ's own failure to live up to the high standards he sets for himself. In ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'', JJ hates Spider-Man because he wears a mask, and his wife was killed by a masked man.
** Though he is always the first to accuse Spider-Man of crimes, JJ is also usually the first to retract his statement when he is proven wrong, at one point remarking that he believes that ''claiming'' Spidey to be a menace prevents him from actually ''becoming'' one. Furthermore, regardless of the Daily Bugle's libel, there is enough evidence to suggest that the New Yorkers are not so easily manipulated anymore and ''will'' rally behind Spider-Man.
** Jameson eventually became the Mayor of New York City -- and as you might expect he constantly leveraged his expanded sphere of influence against Spider-Man.
** There is the fact that Peter began his superhero career as a teenager with no guidance and tended to be a wisecracking jerk who often screwed up and lost, and also tried more than once to draw a paycheck for it (nobody knows he needs the money to take care of his aunt). A bad first impression is hard to shake. Plus, being immature, he tended to egg on JJ or get angry at him (which could be interpreted as threatening).
** Interestingly, while the public and the police are quick to believe the worst about Spider-Man, and his "friends" in the superhero community ''rarely if ever stick up for him at all'', it has been shown on several occasions that most of the villains in his Rogue's Gallery know he is a decent man and innocent of just about everything he's accused of. This was highlighted in an early issue of ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}}, when Spider-Man was accused of a crime and the team of villains-pretending-to-be-heroes was trying to develop a plan to capture him in order to get good publicity. Mach-One, who was really the Beetle in disguise and had fought Spider-Man many times, told the team that the best thing to do was to go to the scene of the crime and wait for Spider-Man to show up and start investigating himself. When asked why he was so sure Spider-Man would do that, Mach-One responded with: "Because he's innocent. He'd never do anything like this. He'll be looking for the person who did." During this same issue, Mach-One fought alongside Spider-Man and was so impressed that this event was the beginning of him trying to turn his life around and become a real hero, which also spread to several other members of the team.
** In ''ComicBook/SupermanVsTheAmazingSpiderMan'', Superman initially thinks Spidey may be connected with a phony Superman because of Jameson's smear. Supes realizes his mistake right away, though.
** Perhaps one of the biggest reason why Spider-Man gets a lot of publicity (particularly the police force) is his [[ThouShaltNotKill total unwillingness to kill the supervillains that he fights against]]. In fact, in ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan'', [[spoiler:Otto Octavius inside Peter Parker's body, manages to ''win'' public support by killing Massacre. Something that Peter Parker himself is unwilling to do because [[IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim he's aware of the moral hazards]]. Apparently, the public isn't really happy about Spidey fighting a supervillain, sending the villain to [[CardboardPrison jail]], only to escape again and commit crimes that are [[FromBadtoWorse worse]] ([[WhatTheHellHero something that Otto himself pointed out]] to Ghost Peter). Because apparently, the governments inability to execute/permanently incarcerate villains is totally Spidey's fault.]].
** During [[ComicBook/NickSpencersSpiderMan Nick Spencer's run]], J. Jonah Jameson [[JerkassHasAPoint makes the argument]] that Spider-Man's bad public image is, at least in part, his own damn fault; while most other superheroes tend to work in teams and communities and are fairly open with the public, Spider-Man is usually a [[IWorkAlone lone wolf]] and frequently gets into fights with other superheroes before teaming up with them (though as Peter points out, this is very common for other Marvel superheroes). Furthermore, whenever Jameson made a false accusation against Spider-Man, the Wall-Crawler's response was never to reach out and set the record straight but rather to insult, antagonize and sometimes even threaten Jameson, [[NotHelpingYourCase which does not help his case at all]].
** In the ComicBook/{{Ultimate|SpiderMan}} line of Spider-Man comics, JJ initially only wanted to make headlines. This quickly changed, however. It came to a head after The Bugle publicly started to support Sam Bullit, who was running on an anti-vigilante (in other words, anti-superheroes) campaign. But later, after an attempt on his life by some of the Kingpin's goons, JJ went to Peter's house (after having fired Peter from his job at the Daily Bugle earlier) and revealed his deeper reasons. He'd launched a smear campaign against Spider-Man because he didn't like the fact that his own son, who had died in a space shuttle accident (a real hero in Jameson's eyes), wasn't thought of as one and didn't get the attention he deserved, while everyday people looked up to a guy swingin' in his underwear.
*** Finally inverted later on, though. After Jameson sees Spider-Man risking his life to save a woman during a flood, he does a total 180 and devotes the Bugle's energies to supporting him.
*** In fact, after the Ultimatum wave, Jameson becomes [[spoiler:one of Spider-Man's greatest advocates]]. For instance, [[spoiler: when he discovers Peter's identity, he uses the information to clear Spider-Man's name without revealing his secret identity. He then gives Peter his job back and offers to pay for his college tuition. Eventually, when Spider-Man dies, he attends the funeral and comforts Aunt May in her time of need]].
** Humorously, the alternate future of ''ComicBook/MarvelComics2'' sees JJJ as a big fan and major supporter of ComicBook/SpiderGirl, the daughter of the hero he had slandered.
** This is exaggerated in ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan'' where Jameson's smear campaign is not only [[NeverAcceptedInHisHometown more effective]], but less deserved as he's become an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and has never egged-on JJ, thus giving less credence to it. The beginning of Season 3 finally averts this. Spidey joining and becoming a successful Avenger results in the general populace of New York loving him.
** Apparently, it comes with the webs, because across the Multiverse it's revealed that numerous Spider-Men/Women/Girls have this going for them. ComicBook/SpiderGwen is wanted for the murder of her Peter Parker and has drawn gunfire from police officers. The steampunk Lady Spider has been labelled a menace by J. Jonah Jameson in her world. ComicBook/SpiderManNoir isn't much loved where he comes from. And they're all [[ComicBook/SpiderVerse bouncing around]] [[ComicBook/WebWarriors the multiverse]] filling in where other Spider-Men were killed or lost and finding themselves not necessarily welcome.
** Subverted for ''ComicBook/{{Silk}}'', who is probably the only Spider-Hero other than the aforementioned alternate universe Spider-Girl to be liked by J. Jonah Jameson from the start. JJJ is a fan of Cindy Moon's alter ego and also acts as a bit of a ParentalSubstitute for her. Which makes things interesting once Cindy starts working as the TheMole and ''tries'' to actively ruin her reputation and be labeled a menace to strengthen the facade. Instead, Jonah begins coming up with a number of excuses for her villainous behavior, refusing to believe Silk has actually gone bad. Later on, Cindy ends up devastated when an ''actually'' evil version of her from Spider-Gwen's dimension shows up to commit a major crime spree, causing Jameson to finally lose faith in her.
** Lampshaded in Creator/SamRaimi's [[Film/SpiderMan1 the first movie]], where, after Spider-Man rescues numerous people from a burning building, several cops arrive and try to arrest him, in spite of him pointing out he had been rescuing people. Then a person inside the building starts screaming, and one of the officers demands Spider-Man rescue the woman and then come back down to be arrested.
* The ComicBook/IncredibleHulk. In fact, due to the damage he's caused in his career, it would be very hard to find someone in the Marvel Universe with ''worse'' publicity who could still be considered a hero.
* Played literally in the 2006 ComicBook/MsMarvel series, where Carol Danvers hires a publicist after a D-list villain (Stilt-Man) doesn't recognize her.
* In the ''ComicBook/AllNewAllDifferentMarvel'' era, [[ComicBook/TheFalcon Sam Wilson]] ComicBook/CaptainAmerica has this problem: after a whistleblower revealed what ComicBook/{{SHIELD}} was doing using Cosmic Cubes, Sam decided to take a stand and no longer be bipartisan. This has lead to his popularity tanking and people calling him names like "Captain Socialism". This has also damaged his friendship with Steve Rogers, as Sam no longer trusts the US Government to do the right thing and only ''hopes'' that they can, compared to Steve, who unabashedly believes they ''will''.
** [[ComicBook/MsMarvel2014 Kamala Khan]] is following in those footsteps when [[spoiler:a plot by HYDRA]] ends up making Ms. Marvel look like a total sellout when her face is used to promote new and expensive apartments without her knowledge.
* ''ComicBook/NewAvengers2015:'' The whole team has bad publicity, despite pretty much all of the line-up being some of the nicer people around. The American military and S.H.I.E.L.D. are just waiting for the team to step out of line and arrest them all. That they're supposedly run by A.I.M. has a lot to do with this.
** For an added bonus, the team includes Hawkeye and Songbird, who have both been heroes with bad publicity themselves.
* Over at Franchise/TheDCU, no matter how hard he tries, ComicBook/BoosterGold goes up against negative public opinion fairly often... usually due to his own screw-ups and glory-hound nature. He's getting better but the nature of his [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong time-travel mission]] means that, in the PresentDay, he's ObfuscatingStupidity and is keeping up a "jerk act" so he ''still'' has bad publicity. Now he '''has''' to have bad publicity, as being an infamous screw-up is the ultimate insurance against his enemies (also time travelers) trying to RetGone him... Among his family, he is the greatest hero of all.
* Richard Wentworth, Literature/TheSpider, had a habit of killing crooks by the score. While this behavior was justified within the stories, it did make the police and public think of him as a dangerous criminal in his own right.
* Just about all of the masked vigilantes in ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' after they fell out of favor and costumed adventuring was made illegal -- except for those who work for the American government. Of course, the only other one still active is Rorschach, and let's be fair -- [[NinetiesAntiHero he's an insane person who does terrible things.]]
* The [[ComicBook/BatmanAndTheOutsiders Outsiders]]' raison d'être is to be the team of superheroes that can do the DirtyBusiness and ''know'' they're going to come out with stains upon their name. Considering that it was funded by Franchise/{{Batman}}, it makes sense but raises some [[ThouShaltNotKill interesting questions]]. When Batman retook control of the team, he fired several of the members, pointedly because they weren't suited to that sort of reputation:
-->'''Batman:''' Only criminals operate without constraints anymore, so we're going to ''cultivate'' the Outsiders' reputation as a team of ''outlaws''. I didn't think you'd ''mind'' sparing Nightwing and Thunder that kind of stigma.
* While this tends to come up at some point in most incarnations of ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'', it was a particularly strong theme in the original Marvel Comics run, where the humans frequently weren't even aware that there were two factions of Transformers, let alone that one of those factions might be better-intentioned than the other.
** In particular, Walter Barnett of the Intelligence and Information Institute, inspired by one of his son's comic books, hired its writer, Donny Finkleberg, to portray "RobotMaster", who claimed to be in control of ''all'' the robots. When Finkleberg ended up a prisoner of the Decepticons, Megatron decided to keep the charade going, if only because it would invoke this trope for the Autobots. It didn't ''quite'' work, though, seeing as how it was kind of hard to explain why a madman bent on [[TakeOverTheWorld Taking Over The World]] would have two groups of robots under his control fighting each other, but fortunately for Finkleberg, he was able to escape before [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness he outlived his usefulness to Megatron]].
** In the IDW sequel series ''Regeneration One'', the Autobots definitely fall under this on Earth, seeing as how they failed to clean up after themselves when they left for good in 1991, and [[spoiler: inadvertently let Megatron [[ApocalypseHow nuke the population to near extinction]]]].
* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersAutocracy'' and its sequel ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMonstrosity'' play with this. In the first, the Autobots are considerably hated by the populace, as they are a security force for the corrupt government, and their leader, Zeta, levels a city to stop the Decepticons, who are the oppressed masses forming behind a charismatic leader, Megatron, and numerous citizens sympathize with them. The Protagonists even team up with him to stop their corrupt leader, and the second Megatron blows Zeta's head apart, he turns on the Autobots and the rest of the populace. The Autobots managed to rally the citizens (as well as getting the press on their side), and oust the Decepticons. The sequel continues to play with it, as much of the populace doesn't trust the Autobots, partly because of the old government, but mostly because people don't want to get involved in a war. Dai Atlas uses this distrust to [[GoodVersusGood rally]] people against Prime, but even then a few civilians just consider Atlas's group a bunch of cultists. At the end, the Decepticons have been thoroughly discredited, and despite the good publicity, most Cybertronians just leave rather than join the Autobots.
* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersRobotsInDisguise'' has this once again toward the Autobots from the people of Earth, for very justified reasons. Humanity is aware that there are two factions of Cybertronians. They're also aware that in the instances where those factions have clashed, it's resulted in hundreds of thousands of human casualties and nearly got New York nuked. They're aware that Megatron is the leader of the faction called the Decepticons and is considered an enemy of the Autobots. They're aware that Megatron and Devastator were [[EasilyForgiven allowed to join them]] instead of [[KarmaHoudini being executed for their crimes]]. So humanity sees no reason to trust anyone who would turn around and let such mass-murdering war criminals join them with no apparent repercussions.
* Franchise/{{Superman}}:
** With the ''ComicBook/NewKrypton'' storyline, Superman, ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'', Nightwing, Flamebird, Valor, and their friends are lumped together with General Zod and the Kandorians in Earth's eyes.
** In a complete 180 of his long-held status, Superman in the ComicBook/{{New 52}} starts out as one of these (which is covered in ''ComicBook/ActionComics''.)
** It becomes full-blown after he [[DarkestHour loses his powers and gets his identity outed]] in the ''ComicBook/SupermanTruth'' storyline and [[UngratefulBastard half the population]] turns against him. His approval rating dropped to just ''twenty-five percent.''
** He previously had a bit of bad publicity during his Electric Superman phase where losing control of his powers made him dangerous briefly.
** Before that, there was a storyline a few years after Superman returned from the dead where stories started circulating that Superman had not returned from the dead and that this was another impostor. Seemingly backed up when Superman's body was found in his tomb (turned out to be an illusion placed by Brainiac.)
** Way back in the very first Superman stories, by way of EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, this happened ''entirely'' as a result of his own tendency for morally questionable actions. He started getting good publicity pretty quickly, though, since one of the city's most prominent reporters was ''in love with him.'' Being a reporter ''himself'' can't have hurt, either.
** In ''ComicBook/KryptoniteNevermore'', Morgan Edge slanders Superman to try to bring him down.
* ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'':
** ''[[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 PostCrisis Supergirl]]'' suffers from Kryptonite poisoning when she arrives on Earth, which changes her personality to one of a crazy, self-absorbed, whiny, rude emo teen. After one year she gets her act together and begins acting as an S-wearing hero, but it took some time for her initial behavior being forgotten. Likewise, Daily Planet journalist Cat Grant starts a negative PR campaign to smear Kara. She finally stops one year later when Supergirl saves her life.
** Confused and frightened, ''[[ComicBook/Supergirl2011 Post-Flashpoint Supergirl]]'' fought Superman when they first met; which didn't exactly make the public like her. She yo-yo's back and forth on this, though. Some remember her fight with the Worldkillers in New York and praise her as a hero. Others... not so much.
** In the ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' story arc ''ComicBook/RedDaughterOfKrypton'' -- in which Supergirl became a Red Lantern -- this was subverted when Superman and [[Franchise/GreenLantern Guy Gardner]] talked about Supergirl. Superman admitted that Justice League teammate Hal Jordan had nothing good to say about the Red Lanterns (even when they try to be heroes, Red Lanterns are generally regarded as violent, dangerous, blood-thirsty sociopaths); but he added that he judges people based on what they do, not what people say about them, and he forms his own opinions.
** In ''ComicBook/SupergirlRebirth'', Director Chase regards Supergirl as an out-of-control liability -although she has saved the world several times at this point- due to the number of messes she caused or took part in before getting over her angst, loneliness and anger issues.
** In ''ComicBook/{{Bizarrogirl}}'', the inhabitants of Bizarro World hate Bizarrogirl, believing she left them to fend for themselves when [[PlanetEater the godship]] turned up. As soon as they see her, they insult her and pelt her with fruit, eggs and worse things.
* Played with in ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'': because of [[WorstNewsJudgementEver Angus Fangus painting him as a menace to society for the sake of ratings]], Paperinik, WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck's superhero alter ego, has a bad reputation in Duckburg, but fairer journalists outside mean that worldwide he's considered one of Earth's greatest heroes. [[JustifiedTrope There's a very good reason for it]]: in the early stories Paperinik [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast the Devilish Avenger]] was [[TheDreaded a terrifying criminal]] out to avenge himself [[UnscrupulousHero that slowly turned into a hero due his conscience leading him to target mainly criminals]], makes no mystery he's following the legacy of Fantomius the GentlemanThief, and realizes the best way to keep Duckburg's criminals in check is to remain feared (hence brutal beatdowns and [[TheVillainKnowsWhereYouLive visiting outsider criminals at their own homes]] to [[MookHorrorShow show them films of what he did to their friends that moved to Duckburg]]), and thus even in classic stories the otherwise adoring population of Duckburg is all too ready to believe he just returned to his origins; outsiders, on the other hand, started hearing about him when he became a famous superhero (most notably, in "Paperinik Versus Inquinator" he ''saved the White House from a terrorist attack'') and wouldn't believe accusation unless there's very good evidence.
* ComicBook/TheCreeper is often seen as a creep by the public and as an outright criminal by the police/other superheroes, but the twist is that he himself is more than willing to accuse and demonize the Creeper as Jack Ryder, his reporter/talk show host alter ego to lessen any suspicions that they might be connected. And Ryder is seen as an irritating TV menace on his own too.
* ComicBook/TheGreenHornet actually invokes this. Since his day job consists of him being the owner and publisher of a major newspaper, Britt Reed, he constantly has his newspaper run stories about the Green Hornet being a dangerous criminal mastermind so he (as the Green Hornet) can infiltrate criminal gangs who assume he wants a cut of their operation.
* The three main heroes in ''ComicBook/SinCity'':
** Hartigan was framed for Junior Roarke's murder due to being one of the only clean cops on the force.
** Marv already had a reputation of being a psychopath but going up against the Roarkes ensured that his name would be mud [[spoiler: before execution]]. In fact, they initially ran afoul of him when they tried to frame him for murder.
** Dwight is wanted for the murder of an established socialite [[spoiler: unlike the other two examples, he actually did it, although he was manipulated into doing so]]. His reputation was bad enough that he underwent plastic surgery to avoid being recognized.
* ''ComicBook/AllFallDown'' has Siphon suffer from this [[spoiler: when she is arrested on the news, for the deaths and injuries her accidental power-stealing caused]].
* In ComicBook/LesLegendaires, the Legendaries, who used to be loved by the people of their fictive world Alysia, became Heroes with Bad publicity after their "final" fight with their BigBad Darkhell by accidentally breaking a magic stone, causing it to accidentally trap everyone on the planet in the form of a child. The population ends up blaming them for this, and while they gradually get their reputation back, it's only after they saved the world from an OmnicidalManiac GodOfEvil that the population seem to have fully forgiven them.
** This sometimes cause the population of Alysia to be portrayed as [[UngratefulBastard horribly ungrateful]], seeing how they were quick to forget all the time the Legendaries risked their life (and keep doing so) for them just because of ''one'' accident that wasn't even lethal to the population.
* Franchise/{{Batman}} is being hit ''hard'' with this in the new DCU as Batman ''and'' as Bruce Wayne. Some people in Gotham actually riot because they think he killed ComicBook/TheJoker -- yes, ''The Joker'' is more sympathetic in the public eye. Bruce's attempts at urban renewal are also not being well received. Some people in Gotham do not see it for the act of goodwill it is and see it as a rich bastard tearing down historical buildings (read: run-down buildings in a high crime area they didn't care about before) to make a new skyscraper. Most versions of Batman actively cultivate this trope, because it lends credit to him being far more ruthless than he truly is, therefore scarier to most criminals.
* In ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'', following her [[BrainwashedAndCrazy brainwashing]] by the Iron Queen, NICOLE becomes a subject of fear to much of New Mobotropolis, particularly IdolSinger Mina Mongoose, who begins a series of musical protests against her. And things are made even worse when [[EvilSorcerer Ixis Naugus]] starts using Mina's music as a conduit for his magic, amplifying the public's distrust of NICOLE into [[HatePlague paranoia and hate]], in a bid to make himself a VillainWithGoodPublicity by promising to dispose of NICOLE for them. [[spoiler:And it ''works'', leading to a HeroicBSOD on NICOLE's part and a MyGodWhatHaveIDone on Mina's part]].
* ''ComicBook/AtomicRobo'': Robo's creator, UsefulNotes/NikolaTesla, deliberately thrust him into the spotlight as an international celebrity as a protective measure; if anything happened to him, or if anyone tried to weaponize Tesla's technology, ''people would notice''. Turning public opinion against Robo (through a FalseFlagOperation involving [[spoiler:a stolen nuclear warhead]]) is how [[GovernmentConspiracy Majestic 12]] finally gains the upper hand on him, allowing them to shut down Tesladyne and absorb its resources (and other SuperScience institutions around the world) into the paramilitary Task Force ULTRA. Opinion swings back towards Robo's favor after he saves the world from a [[{{Kaiju}} Biomega]] invasion.
* ''ComicBook/CleanRoom'' shows every public opinion of Astrid Mueller as "evil, corrupt, manipulative, secretive corporate emperor". While much of it is true, it pales in comparison to her hidden enemies' depths. It's implied that Astrid allows this on purpose since it explicitly separates her allies from her enemies.
* ''ComicBook/ROMSpaceknight'''s a KnightInShiningArmor by any standard, but he's very bad at explaining things. Things like "my gun doesn't kill people, it sends them to a PhantomZone", "this gadget I pulled out lets me detect shapeshifting aliens planning to conquer Earth", and "those people I shot were shapeshifting aliens hiding among you." Combine that with his faceless red-eyed design and silver full-body armor, and you have him looking an awful lot like a KillerRobot descending from the sky, waving around mystery devices, and vaporizing random humans for no reason. It's really no shock that people are scared of him.
* ''{{ComicBook/Transmetropolitan}}'': Spider is one of the few people who are consistently willing to stand up for the little guy, and he gets a lot of shit for it. Granted, Spider has done a wide variety of colourful things to piss off the rich and famous, and, at least to some extent cultivates this persona in order to draw creative inspiration from it. However, consider the fact that he once received a death threat consisting of a petition to have him dragged outside and shot. It had over five-hundred signatures...
* ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'': Loki manages to make Thor look like an out-of-control maniac when he stops some police brutality with excessive force of his own.
* ComicBook/KidColt was branded an outlaw for killing his father's killers in a fair gunfight. (Some more recent retellings have had Colt admit that he is not sure if it was a fair fight or not, as he doesn't remember if he gave them a chance to draw.) Wherever he travels in the WildWest, he is a still a wanted man and has to keep looking over his shoulder for lawmen and {{Bounty Hunter}}s.
