History Main / AscendedFanBoy

* Future ComicBook/WonderGirl Cassie Sandsmark was introduced in the pages of ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'' as a member of the local Wonder Woman fan-club. She later went on to help found ComicBook/YoungJustice with several other superhero fans turned teen heroes, including Tim Drake and [[ComicBook/{{Impulse}} Bart Allen]].

* In ''Film/TheThirdMan'': Sargent Paine likes Holly Martin's books, and his sincere admiration for him is the cause Holly manages to stay in Viena, [[SpannerInTheWorks frustrating]] [[ThresholdGuardian Major Calloway desire to send Holly home as soon as possible]] and allowing [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom Holly to initiate his investigation]]:

'''Jason Nesmith:''' ''(at the same time)'' It's okay, now listen... Hold it... Just stop for a second! It's all real.\\

* 9-volt and 18-volt from ''VideoGame/WarioWare'' are the biggest Nintendo fanboys, making Nintendo microgames and owning everything Nintendo worked on. And 9-volt was working for Wario until DIY for unknown reasons and 18-volt still works for him.

** Rainbow Dash's ultimate goal. She idolizes the pegasus stunt flyer group the Wonderbolts and aspires above all else to join them, [[spoiler:ultimately succeeding in the sixth season]]. Later, she learns that her favorite literature hero, Daring Do, is actually based on a real person, and gets to help her on a mission.

-->-- '''''Webcomic/AxeCop'''''

** Seo Jayoung is a bored TheShutIn with PlayingWithFire powers who enjoys watching Egostic's terror attack livestreams, commenting on them as an EarlyBirdCameo, before he eventually reaches out to her to recruit her. She spends her off-time loafinf around watching Da-in until DraggedByTheCollar out to train.

** Justin from ''Series/PowerRangersTurbo'' can certainly qualify, especially considering his response to gaining the mantle of the Blue Turbo Ranger. Mack from ''Series/PowerRangersOperationOverdrive'' might be a more pronounced example, with his specific love of adventure books and sneaking off with the morpher intended for his AdventurerArchaeologist father. Dustin from ''Series/PowerRangersNinjaStorm'' is a less pronounced example; he's a comic book fan whose reaction to receiving the power was "IKnewIt Power Rangers ''are'' real!" but motocross is still his major interest.

* An ''entire country'' became this for the ''Series/EurovisionSongContest''. Australia has been dedicated fans of the contest since 1983, so in 2015, as part of the contest's 60th anniversary, Australia was given a slot in the final and came in 5th place with Music/GuySebastian. Because of the good result, they were brought back to compete for real in the semifinals for the 2016 contest, with Music/DamiIm. She took Australia all the way to second place.

* ''Literature/MyOneHitKillSister'': Asahi is a total fan of isekai stories and always dreamed of being sent to fantasy world. This happens to him and he gets excited at first... only to find that he did not gain any superpowers or fighting skills and is still a wimpy geek, making him useless as a fighter. Cue him lamenting the unfairness as his sister Maya follows him and does gain incredible power, forcing her to protect him.

** Justin from ''Series/PowerRangersTurbo'' can certainly qualify, especially considering his response to gaining the mantle of the Blue Turbo Ranger. Mack from ''[[Series/PowerRangersOperationOverdrive Operation Overdrive]]'' might be a more pronounced example, with his specific love of adventure books and sneaking off with the morpher intended for his AdventurerArchaeologist father. Dustin from ''Ninja Storm'' is a less pronounced example; he's a comic book fan whose reaction to receiving the power was "IKnewIt Power Rangers ''are'' real!" but motocross is still his major interest.
** There's more. Computer/sci-fi geek Ethan from ''[[Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder Dino Thunder]]'' looked about to faint when he found out he'd be a Ranger, and ''[[Series/PowerRangersMysticForce Mystic Force]]'''s Chip has been shown to be a fan of superheroes and fantasy. The main ''[[Series/PowerRangersJungleFury Jungle Fury]]'' PowerTrio also had big grins on their faces (or at least Theo did) when their mentor brought up the Rangers, just before they were presented with their own morphers. Subverted in ''[[Series/PowerRangersSPD SPD]]'', where fanboy Boom is almost the only one who ''doesn't'' get a morpher at some point.

** And then we get to Dino Fury... in which four of the five rangers were major fans before becoming rangers, and the fifth is an alien from [[HumanPopsicle 65 million years ago]] who had only ever heard rumors about the Morphin Grid before becoming a ranger himself. Turns into meta when it turns out that four of the five actors were fans of the franchise before being cast and the fifth had heard about it but not watched it due to circumstances (Tessa Rao, having grown up in New Zealand, where Power Rangers wasn't aired due to fears of violence.)

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'': After Buddy Pine is rejected as a sidekick by Mr. Incredible, [[LoonyFan he becomes Syndrome,]] the BigBad super-villain of the film. He proves to be frighteningly competent, largely from being smart, though this proves in part to be his undoing. Even as a {{supervillain}}, Syndrome continues to talk about Mr. Incredible as though he were a character in a favorite comic book, critiquing his actions in terms that will be very familiar to anybody who has ever been in a comic book store.

** Wait, really?! Which episode was that in, this troper thought they'd seen every episode?!

* Noa Izumi from ''Anime/{{Patlabor}}'' yearned for joining the Special Vehicles Unit because she was such a MechaShow fangirl her dream was piloting a giant robot, even if she knew Labors were not at all like ''Anime/MazingerZ'', ''Manga/GetterRobo'' or ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam''. Still, she got pretty disappointed when she was told that no, a Labor does not fly.

* ''Franchise/TheFlash'':

[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ascended_fanboy_2.png]]]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'', Po only wants to see his heroes, the Furious Five, compete for the Dragon Scroll. He doesn't imagine that [[spoiler:he will be chosen to receive it himself]].

* William of ''Literature/LogHorizon'' was in awe of Debauchery Tea Party and [[TheTeamWannabe wanted to join them]], but they had disbanded before he could. He went on to form one of the most well-respected battle guilds on the Yamato server and eventually [[spoiler:became the dominant force in Susukino]].

* Mahiro from ''LightNovel/NyarukoCrawlingWithLove'' gets to experience the less-than-pleasant side of this since his "fandom" is the Franchise/CthulhuMythos, meaning he now has to deal with {{Eldritch Abomination}}s and other extra-dimensional weirdness, and his only defense is the Crawling Chaos Nyarlathotep -- who just so happens to have fallen in LoveAtFirstSight with him. While most guys would love to have a beautiful silver-haired {{Otaku}} girl throwing herself at them ([[SexualEuphemism in more ways than one]]), Mahiro's fully aware that "Nyarko" is really an insanity-inducing cosmic horror, which throws a good bit of cold water on [[DidYouJustRomanceCthulhu any potential attraction]].

* Kirito from ''Literature/SwordArtOnline''. He was a gamer and after he got trapped in and escaped the virtual reality game SAO. The skills he learned from the game allowed him to beat up the guy that kidnapped his girlfriend.

* Subverted in ''Literature/TheTwelveKingdoms'', where the main character Youko's classmate Yuuka Sugimoto seems like one of these at first -- [[spoiler:it doesn't work out so well, she ends up working for the BigBad, and eventually she learns AnAesop of some sort and goes back home]].

* ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' features an Ascended Fanboy of [[spoiler:''[[RaisingSim God games]]'']]. That is, of course, [[spoiler:The Elimist]].
** Also the campers from ''The Resistance'', who are Star Trek fans on their yearly camp out to look for aliens or something.
** Not to mention Erek.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'' Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures:
** Subverted in ''Escape Velocity''; the fanboy ''dies'', and his long-suffering girlfriend, who finds all that sci-fi stuff silly and prefers Creator/JaneAusten, starts traveling in the TARDIS against her will.
** Fitz is more of a straight example -- he's more into fantasy and spy fiction than sci-fi, but it seems he won't turn his nose up at any fiction more interesting than regular existence. He's also very GenreSavvy, especially in his first appearance, where he's all but a FourthWallObserver (he comments on which act it would be if the story were a play). Fittingly, he [[ManChild harasses]] the poor long-suffering woman previously mentioned by [[Film/TheWizardOfOz repeatedly tapping his heels together and saying, "There's no place like home!"]] It's still not quite a straight example, though, as it turns out [[CowardlyLion he's pretty damn scared of the kind of stuff he likes reading about in real life.]]
* The Alphas from ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' were RPG enthusiasts and college students before they were taught how to become [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolves]]; now, they're one of the forces that makes sure Chicago stays safe for mortals. In a partial subversion, upon becoming werewolves, most of them went for "tough guy/gal" [[HellBentForLeather leather ensembles]]... only for them to a) look slightly ridiculous and b) turn out to be [[MagicPants massively impractical]] when the time to shapeshift came about. They do get out of that phase, though.
** Even more with Butters. He starts in ''Literature/DeadBeat'' (book 7) as a 90-pound Jewish nerd coroner and polka fan that tried to join the police and the army but never got to because he was not physically up to par. As of ''Literature/SkinGame'' (book 15), [[spoiler:he is a great magical theorist and can create magical objects even though he has no magic himself, defended Chicago Batman-style while Harry Dresden and Molly Carpenter were unable to, and ends up becoming a [[{{Paladin}} Knight of the Cross]] when he grabs the broken ''Fideiacchius'' and it turns into the [[Franchise/StarWars Lightsaber]] of Faith. Thus becoming an Ascended Fanboy from ''two'' universes. He is a [[{{Pun}} Jedi Knight of the Cross, you see..]]]].
* [[FiveManBand The DHIs]] in ''Literature/TheKingdomKeepers'' were all fans of Creator/{{Disney}} before they were chosen to defeat the Overtakers. Although, unlike most examples, [[ResignedToTheCall they weren't exactly thrilled with their duties]].
* Creator/FredricBrown's story "What Mad Universe" is about a fiction writer who reads a letter from a fan. Then, a strange explosion occurs in front of him... And he is transported to an AlternateUniverse where said fan is literally the embodiment of perfection.
* ''Literature/WildCards'' character Kid Dinosaur was a fan of "Aces" and nuts about dinosaurs. Then he caught the Wild Card Virus, the manifestation of which is often [[PersonalityPowers influenced by the subconscious]] of its victim. You can guess from his name what happened next.
* In ''Earthweb'' by Marc Stiegler, Earth Defense [[http://www.webscription.net/10.1125/Baen/067157809X/067157809X___2.htm sponsors]] an arcade game simulating the fight against the planet-bombing Shivas to find new minds fit to lead the real thing.
* In ''Literature/TheVampireChronicles'', Quinn Blackwood becoming part of Lestat's coven.
* Abraham Van Helsing in the original ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'' novel is either this or RetiredBadass, depending on how one reads the hints in his backstory. A "metaphysician and philosopher" who has spent a good chunk of his life gathering arcane knowledge on vampires, then throws himself enthusiastically at the chance to put that knowledge to practical use.
* Catherine Morland believes herself to be this in ''Literature/NorthangerAbbey'' when the huge Gothic novel fan gets a chance to stay in a Gothic mansion. [[spoiler: It turns out she's actually WrongGenreSavvy.]]
* R. J. Rummel's ''Never Again'' series of novels features a rather dark version of this trope. The main character, John Banks (who is an obvious [[AuthorAvatar stand-in]] for Rummel) is a professor of twentieth-century history who gets selected as one of two people to travel to the early part of that century. The dark twist is that Banks studies wars and crimes against humanity, and volunteered to go back in time in order to [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong prevent those events from happening]].
* Tash Arranda of ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear'' was fascinated by and idolized the then-extinct Jedi Order, reading everything about it that got past or around TheEmpire's censorship. She later found that like the Jedi, she was Force-Sensitive, and while in the series she [[HowDoIShotWeb struggles with her talents]], years after it is concluded she becomes part of Luke Skywalker's Jedi Order.
* Deconstructed in the ''Literature/WarriorCats'' spinoff storyline ''[=SkyClan=] and the Stranger''. [[spoiler:Sol's mother always got him and his siblings to behave by telling them stories of the Sky Warriors, which were the [=SkyClan=] cats from the days before the Clan was destroyed. Sol always loved the stories of the Sky Warriors. When his mom left him at the home of a crazy cat lady, he wished that he could become a Sky Warrior, because he thought that if he did, she would come back. After he grew up, he learned that [=SkyClan=] had been rebuilt, and wanted nothing more than to become one of its members. Leafstar, [=SkyClan=]'s leader, let him join, but no matter how much he tried he didn't have what it took. She promised that she would let him become a warrior after he had proved himself, but Sol, fueled by his dreams from kithood, was impatient. To try to become a [=SkyClan=] warrior faster, he kidnapped Leafstar's kits, planning to "find" them after she realized they were missing and become a warrior because of it. Leafstar caught him, however, and exiled him, realizing that he had none of the qualities of a true warrior. Because of this, Sol turned against the Clans, and vowed to destroy their CodeOfHonor to prove that it was worthless.]]
* Joel in the ''Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures'' novels ''Return of the Living Dad'' and ''The Room With No Doors'', both by Kate Orman, is a sci-fi geek and fan of ''Professor X'' (the ShowWithinAShow with suspicious similarities to ''Series/DoctorWho'') who travelled back in time and found himself helping at a halfway house for stranded aliens and the like. At one point he compares himself to the gamer in panel two of the ''What's New?'' strip referenced above.
%%* Lucy Pennykettle from ''Literature/TheLastDragonChronicles''. Totally. Give her a chance to talk about any topic related to dragons (or squirrels) and she'll harp on for hours.
* ''Literature/TheGreatGreeneHeist'': Bradley starts out as an office messenger who's in awe of Jackson's legendary capers. He ends up as a trusted member of Jackson's CaperCrew.
* Before getting hired at Black Arts, ''Literature/{{You}}'''s Matt had devoured just about everything related to their games. Nowadays he's a member of the production team and the company's unofficial lorekeeper.
* [[FatAndSkinny Lyle and Lloyd]] in Geoph Essex's ''Lovely Assistant'': they're even ''[[InvokedTrope called]]'' "the fanboys" for much of the book. They're a geeky, [[GenreSavvy trope savvy]] [[HeterosexualLifePartners pair]] who not only play major (and effective) roles in the [[FinalBattle climactic showdown]] against the [[BigBad Big Bads]], but are specifically responsible (thanks to their encyclopedic knowledge of the stuff on this very site) for the good guys working out the clues needed to even ''show up'' for that climactic battle.
* ''Literature/NemesisSaga'':
** Ever since he was a kid Endo was a huge fan of {{Kaiju}}. When he gets the opportunity to partake in the creation of Nemesis, he is willing to kill to make his dream of seeing an actual kaiju come true.
** When he watches a kaiju fight in ''Project Maigo'', he is absolutely overflowing with excitement.
* In ''Literature/TheAuthorities'', Albert has been a huge fan of [[GadgeteerGenius Q]], even since he first saw a ''Franchise/JamesBond'' film. That's right, while every other boy his age was dreaming of being a superspy, he was dreaming of inventing crazy gadgets and being one of the few guys to be able to tell Bond off without consequences. His current job involves designing and employing cutting-edge equipment for a private investigative team, financed by a tech billionaire. He also loves quoting his idol and is gleeful when someone plays along.
* David Charleston, the protagonist of ''Literature/TheReckonersTrilogy'', aspired to join the titular Reckoners, the setting's resident CapeBusters, ever since, as a child, he witnessed the murder of his father at the hands of a [[BewareTheSuperman superhuman tyrant]]. At the beginning of the series, he finds them and persuades them to let him join.
* Taran of ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfPrydain'' dreams of becoming a hero and fighting side-by-side with Prince Gwydion. Eventually, he gets to do so, ends up with a CoolSword, [[spoiler: gets to marry the Princess, slay the BigBad]], and save the kingdom. Also somewhat deconstructed, in that while he wants to be a hero, he at first doesn't realize how much hardship is involved, and that you have to EarnYourHappyEnding.
* Post-apocalyptic ''Literature/{{Victoria}}'' has Terry, the former Marine aviator and aviation buff who made a fortune in real estate and fulfilled his dream--buying and restoring a real-life World War II jet bomber. He gets to ''use'' it, too, in the Confederate Civil War.
* ''Literature/GuardianCatsAndTheLostBooksOfAlexandria'': Marco is a {{bookworm}} cat who especially loves adventure stories. His idol is d'Artagnan from ''The Three Musketeers''. One day, his owners accidentally abandon him, leaving [[APetIntoTheWild Marco to fend for himself on the streets]]. He eventually makes his way to a library where an old cat asks him if he wants to go on real adventures. Marco jumps the call quickly, though his job as a Guardian isn't as action-packed as a typical adventurer's.
* The ''[[Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar Arrows]]'' trilogy is about Talia, a fangirl born in a ''medieval'' setting. She loved songs (and books, when they were available) about the brave, capable, [[NoWomansLand egalitarian]] Heralds who lived far away in the capital. So the day an oddly intelligent white horse showed up to interrupt her ArrangedMarriage and take her away to the Heralds' college was ''the best day of her life''. The trope is depicted positively- the Heralds of Talia's fantasies aren't significantly more flawed in real life, nor did she expect that the job would be without danger. Most of all, it gave her comfort and hope during a very harsh childhood.
* Literature/TruemanBradley moved to UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity so he could be just like his hero, the comic book detective Slam Bradley.
* In the ''Literature/FairyOak'' series, Telli was an admirer of Tomelilla, because of all her knowledge and achievements in the field of Magic. She ends up working for her, as the babysitter of her nieces, a scenario she had fantasized about when she decided her career path.
* ''Literature/TheInkBlackHeart'': A man dressed as ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'' at a [=ComicCon=] ends up helping Robin save a suspect from being run over by a train.
* Josh from ''Literature/SolarDefendersTheRoleOfAShield'' is a huge Defenders fanboy before abruptly finding himself on the team when he picks up a fallen Defender's ArtifactOfPower. [[IKnowMortalKombat He uses his obsessive knowledge of the Defenders to be more effective with his powers.]]

* ''TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening'' has a a sort of literal, deliberate, in-universe example of this in the ''Grimoire of Grimoires'' sourcebook: the ''Ancient Lands''' pentalogy, a five-book fantasy series that's wildly popular in unAwakened society, but also contains just enough actual magical knowledge that it's been known to Awaken the occasional Sleeper and teach them their first few spells. It was written by son of a Free Council mage who saw the Diamond orders as repressive, and the whole series is essentially a critique of their worldviews. The books and their fans are depicted in a fairly positive light; Mages who Awaken by reading the books tend to have idealistic, anti-authoritarian streaks that drive them to do great things.

* Scott of ''Podcast/PodcastTheRide'' was a massive fan Fry's Electronics, specifically the chain's diverse and elaborate theming, to the extent that he filmed an HD ShotForShotRemake of a very dated space shuttle launch video unique to his local store in Anaheim, UsefulNotes/{{California}}. After several months of jokingly campaigning on Twitter, Scott managed to get in contact with the chain's management, which permitted him to replace the store's video with his own and host a fan event there... two days before the store permanently closed, and just a few weeks before the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic would break out and lead to the end of the entire chain.

* Subverted in ''Literature/TheTwelveKingdoms'', where the main character Youko's classmate Yuuka Sugimoto seems like one of these at first -- [[spoiler:it doesn't work out so well, she ends up working for the BigBad, and eventually she learns AnAesop of some sort and goes back home]].

* ''Anime/YuriOnIce'' has Yuuri, who goes from idolizing world champion figure skater Victor to actually competing with him. Later, Victor offers to become Yuuri's coach [[spoiler: and they eventually end up as an OfficialCouple. In fact, he's Victor's ''fiancé'' now.]]

** In one of the earliest examples, Barry Allen was a big fan of the Flash from UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks. One bolt of lightning later, you have an Ascended Fanboy, and UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks is born.
** As was Wally West, who dreamed of being like the Flash as a kid (helped along by a visit from his time-travelling future self). Then, in a repetition of the accident which gave Barry Allen his powers whilst visiting his lab, Wally became Kid Flash, Barry's protege and eventual successor.

* ComicBook/{{Batman}} seems to attract ascended fans, despite his ''constant'' efforts to keep "amateurs" out of "his "town. Many of his fellow Bat-Family crimefighters were not actively recruited or trained by him. Rather, they became involved on their own and were absorbed into the larger Bat-Family afterwards.

** Tim Drake (the third ComicBook/{{Robin}}) also demonstrates this trope. In his origin story, he deduces that [[ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} Dick Grayson]] must be Robin because of a signature move they both use, spends several years of his childhood stalking and photographing Robin and Batman, and finally confronts Dick and then Bruce Wayne, insisting that "Batman needs a Robin" when Bruce is endangering himself with recklessness in the wake of [[ComicBook/ADeathInTheFamily Jason Todd's murder.]]

** In ''[[ComicBook/HarleyQuinn Harley's Little Black Book,]]'' it's revealed that ''Harley Quinn'' of all people is a massive ComicBook/WonderWoman fangirl, and has been since childhood. She even has a hidden shrine to Wonder Woman in her closet.

** ComicBook/{{Superboy}}-Prime is an odd example: a kid named Clark Kent who grew up reading DC Comics in the real world-like universe known as Earth-Prime, turned out to have powers just like Superman (he was actually Supes's AlternateUniverse doppelgänger the whole time), gets caught up in ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' in what must have seemed like a SelfInsertFic from his perspective, watches his universe die, goes insane, and turns into one of the most dangerous supervillains in ''Franchise/TheDCU''.

* ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'': Maki Matsumoto became a fan of ComicBook/{{Bullseye|MarvelComics}} after he inadvertently rescued her when he killed the {{Yakuza}} who were planning on selling her into sexual slavery. [[AffirmativeActionLegacy She would later become Lady Bullseye]].

* Evil Version: Parker Robbins was a fan of Supervillains who later ended up becoming ComicBook/TheHood, one of the {{Big Bad}}s of the Marvel Universe.
* ComicBook/SquirrelGirl was an Avengers fan rejected for having the useless power of controlling squirrels. Then she ends up saving Iron Man and defeating Doctor Doom. That would be ascended enough, but then she goes on and beats Thanos, Terrax, Deadpool, Mandarin, and others. She's not only ascended but made her way to the very top of the Marvel universe. She eventually got to (sort of) join the Comicbook/NewAvengers as a nanny for ComicBook/LukeCage and ComicBook/JessicaJones' daughter. She later becomes a full-fledged member of the New Avengers during ComicBook/AllNewAllDifferentMarvel.

* One of the primary plot points of the series ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'' was the ComicBook/LexLuthor Everyman Project, which could artificially grant superpowers to normal people. This led to countless citizens gaining superpowers and creating their own hero identities (including, in one SplashPanel that included over a dozen of these new heroes, the superhero ''[[BestKnownForTheFanservice Poledancer]]''). Eventually, Luthor creates his own super-team populated by these heroes with Eliza Harmon, who idolized the ComicBook/TeenTitans and all things [[Franchise/TheFlash speed]]. When she became Trajectory and a member of Luthor's new ComicBook/InfinityInc she never stopped hoping to eventually join the Titans and dreamed of eventually becoming the [[LegacyCharacter new]] Kid Flash. Two pages [[SacrificialLamb later]]....

** ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'': The first Spider-Man, Peter Parker, was a fan of both ComicBook/TheUltimates and most genius people (including in-universe genius, like Tony Stark and Charles Xavier). ComicBook/MilesMorales, the second Spider-Man, is the reverse: he was raised by a superhero-hating father and never paid much attention to heroes and villains. Then when he gets his powers, he gives himself a crash course in the superhero world and retroactively becomes a fan of Peter Parker [[spoiler:and vows to honor Peter's memory as the second Spider-Man]].

* In ''ComicBook/NewWarriors'', Hindsight Lad managed to track down the Warriors' secret HQ and blackmailed his way onto the team with his knowledge of several of their secret identities. He later earned a legitimate place on the team with his fact-finding skills. Much later, he betrayed [[ComicBook/CivilWar the surviving Warriors]] by secretly leaking several of their identities to an already enraged public, out of a sense of betrayal. This led to one former Warrior being beaten and hospitalized by an angry mob. (Why ''he'' felt betrayed or why he'd take such a drastic step to "get even" [[WriterOnBoard is never explained adequately.]] Or explained at all, for that matter.)

** In ''ComicBook/{{Secret Wars|2015}}'', [[ComicBook/CarolDanvers Captain Marvel]]'s former TagAlongKid Kit is now grown up and a member of the Thor Corps. Kit sums it up by saying she used to idolize Captain Marvel as a child, and now has the power to fly and fight alongside her.

* [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Clark Kent]] in ''Fanfic/TheLastSon'' has been a huge admirer of ComicBook/CaptainAmerica since he was a kid. Shortly after he assumes the identity of Superman, he gets to meet and fight alongside his idol, and the two become close friends.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLEGOBatmanMovie'' has this happen to Dick Grayson. From an orphan and a Batman fan, to Bruce Wayne's adopted son, to [[SureLetsGoWithThat joint custody of Batman and Bruce Wayne]], to ComicBook/{{Robin}}.

* Alex Rogan in ''Film/TheLastStarfighter''.
* In a similar vein, Kevin Flynn from ''Film/{{Tron}}''. He was a video-game programmer who ran his own arcade, then gets zapped into the games themselves...

* ''Film/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'':

** DJ Herzogenaurach is a huge fan of Chip 'n Dale [[spoiler:and in the credits scene, he's seen doing a cover of the Rescue Rangers theme alongside them.]]
* Woody Wilkins in ''Film/{{Condorman}}'' deliberately sets out to bring fame to his eponymous comic book hero by attempting all the stunts he writes about in RealLife. He convinces his CIA buddy to let him take a "routine" courier mission and winds up involved in the [[DefectorFromCommieLand defection]] of a KGB spy. In a variation of the usual trope, he is actually WrongGenreSavvy, which is where the HilarityEnsues.

*** In [[Film/AntMan1 his own movie]], ComicBook/AntMan admitted to being a big fan of ComicBook/TheFalcon and the Avengers before his and Falcon's brief skirmish (which Scott won), and found out at the end of the film in a SequelHook that Falcon was seeking him out to recruit his help. ''Civil War'' follows up on this, with Scott being recruited to fight alongside his heroes on Captain America's Anti-Accords side during the big airport battle.

* In ''Film/TheThirdMan'': Sargent Paine likes Holly Martin's books, and his sincere admiration for him is the cause Holly manages to stay in Viena, [[SpannerInTheWorks frustrating]] [[ThresholdGuardian Major Calloway desire to send Holly home as soon as posible]] and allowing [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom Holly to initiate his investigation]]:

* Duck Zhang in the ''Literature/{{Gone}}'' series.

** Justin from ''Series/PowerRangersTurbo'' can certainly qualify, especially considering his response to gaining the mantle of the Blue Turbo Ranger. Mack from ''[[Series/PowerRangersOperationOverdrive Operation Overdrive]]'' might be a more pronounced example, with his specific love of adventure books and sneaking off with the morpher intended for his AdventurerArchaeologist father. Dustin from ''Ninja Storm'' is a less pronounced example; he's a comic book fan whose reaction to receiving the power was "IKnewIt! Power Rangers ''are'' real!" but motocross is still his major interest.

** Flynn from ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'' was someone who had a lot of moral principles and a deep admiration for Superheros but before the Venjix attacks he couldn't channel his desires in a meaningful way without getting into trouble. After risking his life to save a group of refuges trapped outside the dome he impressed the higher ups so much that he became the Blue Ranger. His father even lampshaded that after years of telling Flynn Superheros don't exist it turns out he was looking at one all along.

* ''Series/{{VIP}}'': "[[Recap/VIP2x16HardValsNight Hard Vals Night]]" Val is a fan of Music/{{Lit}} who she winds up having to protect from jewel theives and arms dealers while they hide out at VIP headquarters. She also helps them rehearse for an upcoming concert. The icing on the cake comes at the end where she gets to star in their latest music video as a giantess who the band serenades until [[spoiler: she eats them all.]]

* [[http://www.therealtoothfairies.com/meet-the-real-tooth-fairies/meet-stacey Stacey the tooth fairy]], as in ''literally'' ascended. She was once a normal girl, but when she noticed she got letters each time she lost a tooth, she started writing them back, eventually resulting her to be this. Her plush lion [[PantheraAwesome also got the treatment]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/AvengersAssemble'', ComicBook/TheFalcon is a Captain America fanboy who gets to fight alongside his idol after becoming a costumed hero.

** ComicBook/TheJoker [[DidntSeeThatComing himself]] is guilty of this towards the Weeper. To be fair, it ''was'' the father of modern, gimmicked supervillainy, so he ''had'' a good reason to {{squee}}.

* Tsumugi Nikaido from ''Fanfic/RhythmicPrettyCure'' is a fan of MagicalGirlWarrior anime and manga such as [[ShowWithinAShow Delta Dynamos]], and when the call selects her to become a Pretty Cure, [[JumpedAtTheCall she instantly goes for it]].

* Played with regarding Hyper Fangirl and ''WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic.'' She starts off as a [[WesternAnimation/TheLorax Onceler fangirl]] who quickly becomes a fan of the Critic (as in, falls in obsessive love with him). Despite not being interested in her at all, the Critic calls her in to help with the next review (comparing the two ''Spider-Man'' movie franchises) because she's a Spider-Man fan too. However, the rest of her appearances have her break in and eventually kidnap the Critic, forcing him to let her review a movie with him. After some CharacterDevelopment, though, she gets called in more often to review movies with Critic or at least offer an alternate opinion from his.

* William of ''LightNovel/LogHorizon'' was in awe of Debauchery Tea Party and [[TheTeamWannabe wanted to join them]], but they had disbanded before he could. He went on to form one of the most well-respected battle guilds on the Yamato server and eventually [[spoiler:became the dominant force in Susukino]].

* Kirito from ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline''. He was a gamer and after he got trapped in and escaped the virtual reality game SAO. The skills he learned from the game allowed him to beat up the guy that kidnapped his girlfriend.

* Deconstructed in ''Manga/TwentiethCenturyBoys''. Kenji's childhood fantasies of evil alien invaders are used by a cult as the basis for taking over the world themselves, forcing him to step into the role of the hero he always saw himself as in the scenarios. [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt It...doesn't work out too well.]]

* Walter in ''Film/TheMuppets'' is a Muppet fan who becomes the newest member of the gang.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', the meta-tastic villain Control Freak is the Titans' self-proclaimed Number One Fan. He is a caricature of the stereotypical lank-haired, overweight geek, complete with overfondness for lightsabers and trenchcoats. One of his two feature episodes is chock-full of fandom references, up to and including online ship-wars. Control Freak is also tremendously disappointed in one of these episodes to discover that the Titans East (a group of C-listers he's never even heard of before) are substituting for the "real" Titans while they're away on a long-term mission, and thus the gadgets he'd designed specifically to challenge the Titans were wasted. As the Titans East have completely different powers, he escapes and comes up with new weapons to fight them... and becomes a fanboy of the Titans East as well once they defeat him. He also becomes disappointed when he finds out that the Teen Titans don't even consider him an actual villain when he discovers their list of villains and doesn't find himself listed but instead finds The Puppet King's name- a villain they had only encountered once.

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'':

* Webcomic/SuperRivals: Cindi, aka Thunder Bunny, was stoked to work alongside her personal hero, Awesome Girl on a "secret mission", and was broken-hearted when it seemed like Awesome Girl had set her up. [[spoiler: However, she later learned it was actually Madame Mischief from the real Awesome Girl.]]