History Main / CrimefightingWithCash

*** Dick Grayson has enough money to finance his crimefighting career, buy out the circus he used to perform in, save it from financial ruin, and tweak the formula enough to turn it into a success. He also takes on various real-wrld jobs from time-to time, not because he has to, but because he has enough money that is ''doesn't matter'' what he does during the day and so he does whatever the hell he feels like.

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-->--'''''ThePowerpuffGirls'''''

'''Examples:'''

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

* While they don't fight ''crime'' per se (Please, don't give Haruhi ideas), the Espers in ''{{The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya}}'' have such limited situational powers that their real impact is how they're organized and can apparently pay for any event they want to happen.
* Sylia Stingray, founder and leader of the [[BubblegumCrisis Knight Sabers]]. They never have to worry about money.

[[folder: Comic Books - DC ]]

[[folder: Comic Books - Marvel ]]

[[folder: Comic Books - Other ]]

* Manticore of ''{{City of Heroes}}''. The "charities" part was lampshaded in one of the comics, where he notes that he feels guilty every time one of his {{Trick Arrow}}s misses and a couple thousand bucks that "could have fed and clothed a whole village in Ethiopia" goes down the drain.

* RichieRich (although usually, in his titles, trouble comes to him, rather than him looking for trouble)

[[folder: Film]]
* In the film "Mystery Men" (1999), in many ways a deliberate parody of superhero tropes, Lance Hunt pretends to be the millionaire benefactor of Captain Amazing when he is actually himself Captain Amazing. This character also fits the CorruptCorporateExecutive trope.

[[folder: Literature]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

* In White Wolf Game Studios' ''[=~Mage: The Ascension~=]'' tabletop RPG, one group of mages (called "The Syndicate") use the symbolic value of money to guide (and hide) magical power. Given the kinds of results that every entry on this page can generate, it's very difficult to argue with that philosophy... except for the fact that this group is a member of the supposed "bad guys", the Technocracy.

* ''{{Mutants and Masterminds}}''. Load up on Equipment feats and Benefit (Wealth) and you can buy anything you don't come into the game possessing. The best part? Even Equipment 10, Benefit (Wealth) 5 (which puts your personal funds about on par with Bill Gates and gives you a ton of equipment) takes only 10% of your starting character points.

* The average high-level DungeonsAndDragons character has elements of this, but the best example may be the 3.5E Artificer. With all but one core item crafting feat, the "craft reserve" (a supply of special experience points that can only be used for item crafting), and the ability to "cull essence" (drain experience out of unneeded magic items into the craft reserve), they have unprecedented and unmatched ability to multiply wealth. Combined with class abilities related to using magic items more effectively or efficiently, the class's unofficial motto among optimizers is, "Anything you can do, I can do better."
** Of course, pretty much any high level D&D character will be absolutely loaded down with magic items. It's all they ever really buy. In universe the party rogue might be a greedy hedonist, but you can bet his player isn't saving up for a mansion and a retinue of servants when there are more pluses to add to his gear. This is {{Lampshaded}} (like most gaming tropes) in OrderOfTheStick, when Roy explains that they ''can't'' stay in a fancy inn, because it would look suspicious; everyone knows that adventurers never splurge on luxuries, even when carrying around huge sacks of gold. You save it all for magic items.

[[folder: Video Games ]]

[[folder: Webcomics ]]

[[folder: Web Original ]]

* Phase, of the WhateleyUniverse is only fourteen, still a freshman at [[SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy]], and already doing this. She's paying Whateley inventors to build weapons for her, including a utility belt that has nearly zero external volume but is chock full of HammerSpace, a specialized throwing dart made out of ''depleted uranium'', and the latest thing is a collapsing tactical baton. Made out of adamantium. With osmium for weight in the tip. It cost nearly a quarter of a million dollars.

* While not actually a super hero game, SpiritOfTheCentury allows characters with high Resources to buy awesome gadgets (though not so easily as an high Engineering character can make them) and anything else they desire (the upper end of the scale includes zeppelins and private islands, and character can reach it reliably on a given roll with a careful selection of stunts, or expenditure of FATE Points).

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* Done literally by Plastic Man in an episode of ''[=~Batman: The Brave and the Bold~=]''. After having swallowed a large amount of cash and valuables, he uses it to shoot down Gorilla Grodd by hitting himself in the stomach.

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<<|LuxuryTropes|>>

*** In fact, if This Troper recalls correctly, he once solved the problem of a villain (Could have been the Vanisher, not sure) developing and selling a dangerous drug by simply buying out his company.

** If Robin is to be believed, just the "Batarang budget" is large enough that he can hide the costs of secretly shipping a Batmobile across the country within it. And probably pay for the car itself as well. Then again, everything in the pages of ''YoungJustice'' has to be taken with a grain of salt.
*** This Troper is pretty sure that that scene with the Batarang budget was in Teen Titans by Geoff Johns.

* The civilian identity (well, one of them, at any rate) of the B-list Marvel hero MoonKnight is that of a wealthy businessman who owns and operates his own corporation, the money from which he uses to [[WhereDoesHeGetAllThoseWonderfulToys pay for all the fancy weapons and other devices he uses in his war on crime.]]

*** Bruce is also a subversion as it is shown numerous times that he also uses his cash to give to charity a lot, and when he's not crimefighting, training, or bonding with other crimefighters, he's doing charity work. It is amazing to note that he built up a reputation for being somewhat of a reclusive lazy playboy despite the fact that he is arguably the worst workaholic on the planet.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Most-Excellent_Superbat2.jpg]]

-->--''ThePowerpuffGirls''

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Most-Excellent_Superbat2.jpg

* In the animated version of ''[=WildC.A.T.s=]'', when the team itself was temporarily unavailable and with no evidence strong enough to bring the government in to stop the Daemonites, their corporate sponsor, Jacob Marlowe crippled the villain's plan by figuring out what highway the enemies were going to have to travel down, buying it, and turning it into a toll road (somehow managing to do this in one night). When the Daemonite transport runs the tollbooth without paying, this provides him with the evidence he needs to bring the government down on them.

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* Mention must be made of Colin in ''AdvanceWars'', whose main powers are 1) getting all his troops at a 20% discount, albeit with reduced power 2) increasing his money by 50% with basic power and 3) displaying so much money his men suddenly gain the ability to rip Neotanks in half bare-handed.
** His sister Sasha can use the family economic influence to crash her foes' CO Power bars. Between the two, they're total {{Game Breaker}}s.
* ''NeverwinterNights2'' lets you operate a keep which needs to be financed. You can either wait for its revenues to build up or spend your own money. Additionally, you can recruit one of your lieutenants by offering him double what he's being paid to attack you.
* In most {{RPG}}s this is one of the ways to get powerful. Want that uber-awesome gun? Buy it.
** Especially '[[AllegedlyFreeGame free]]' games with micro transactions where you can buy (with real money) the best armor and weapons in the game if you fork over 50 bucks.
* Ezio Auditore of AssassinsCreed. Granted, he's on a pretty standard RoaringRampageofRevenge. But using his sister as his accountant, he can renovate the family villa back in Monteriggioni. This results in it generating loads and loads of cash, with which one can buy weapons and armor, paintings to decorate said villa (making it more valuable and able to generate even more money), hire allies for various missions, or literally throw at people. He appears to have no day job, outside of MurderInc.
[[/folder]]

* Kate Bishop of ''YoungAvengers''.

* Parodied in ''HayateTheCombatButler'': Nagi's alter ego [[PaperThinDisguise Mask the Money]] fights crime by bribing the [[strike:{{Yakuza}}]] Very Nice People.

** It has been estimated that becoming Batman, with all associated gadgets, property and other festoonery, would cost you about $3 million.
*** Ur? Robin has approximately half a million just in his costume and utility belt.
*** That's it? So Bruce Wayne was able to become Batman with the change he had in his pocket?
*** His Crays alone would be at least a million dollars and he has seven of them I believe. I would put his spending range, especially based on Jim Lee range shots at about 25+ million, not counting various discounts he gets out of sniping stuff from Wayne Enterprises. [Or counting the NYC property he picked up for Dick recently.]
*** Was this calculation done in the Golden Age of Comics?
*** During the "RIP" story arc, [[BondGirl Jezebel Jet]] mentioned that Bruce could dig her country out of its deficit with the money used to maintain the Batcave.
**** Then again, her country is only "a small African nation". Maybe she's from Swaziland.
** The new series "Batman Incorporated" literally lives off this trope.

* At one point BlackJack ''buys a hospital'' with the spare cash he's got lying around, just so he can get rid of the people in charge of it and do things his way. (He later sells it back, though.)

* The civilian identity (well, one of them, at any rate) of the B-list Marvel hero ''Moon Knight'' is that of a wealthy businessman who owns and operates his own corporation, the money from which he uses to [[WhereDoesHeGetAllThoseWonderfulToys pay for all the fancy weapons and other devices he uses in his war on crime.]]

* Done literally by Plastic Man in an episode of ''[=~Batman: The Brave and the Bold~=]''. After having swallowed a large amount of cash and valuables, he uses it shoot down Gorilla Grodd by hitting himself in the stomach.

* Phase, of the WhateleyUniverse is only fourteen, still a freshman at [[SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy]], and already doing this. She's paying Whateley inventors to build weapons for her, including a utility belt that has nearly zero external volume but is chock full of HammerSpace, a specialized throwing dart made out of ''depleted uranium'', and the latest thing is a collapsing tactical baton. Made out of adamantium.

* Danny Rand, Marvel's [[ImmortalIronFist Iron Fist]], is a glorious aversion. He's a billionaire superhero whose crimefighting has almost ''nothing'' to do with his being a billionaire: he's the heir to the Iron Fist, a set of martial arts based abilities. Not only do these require no financial resources whatsoever, he's best known as being, along with Luke Cage, one of the core [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Heroes for Hire]]. Why is he a mercenary if he's already a billionaire? [[MST3KMantra Well, he's a comic book character from the seventies]].

** DC's GreenArrow is similar. Using his skill at [[TheArcher archery]] to fight crime. His fortune is mostly limited to developing new [[TrickArrow Trick Arrows]]. And even then, he's regularly just using the normal pointy kind.

* Kyle Richmond, also known as the superhero Nighthawk, uses his vast fortune to sponsor the Defenders, a second-tier team of heroes. As just one example, when Luke Cage complains that his helping the Defenders is taking away time from his paying work, Richmond offers to put him on retainer and pay him a salary to stay with the team, an offer which Cage cheerfully accepts.