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* Harland, from the ''Series/ColdCase'' episode "Red Glare", was a loud and opinionated activist of civil rights. Reina, the woman he loved, claims that he is just a blowhard or "a man of words" as she called it. He is unlike Elliott Garvey who she admired as a true "man of action". [[spoiler:Harland's need to prove himself to her causes him to murder Elliott.]]
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* ''Series/KamenRiderOutsiders'': Zein is a NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist example. The heroic Riders and their associates support its zero-tolerance policy for malice, believing it to be a GreaterScopeParagon Benevolent AI, they create its namesake Rider form to stoke fear and terror on the villains, until they found out the hard way in episode 4, [[spoiler:as Zein plans to KillAllHumans as a FinalSolution to eradicate malice, capped off by Zein revealing itself as the real villain of the series]].
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*** Weirdly enough, Mr. Satan is one of the very few characters on the show to [[DeathIsCheap have not died once]]. When Super Buu unleashes his Human Extinction Attack (which does [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin exactly what you think it does]]), he didn't target Mr. Satan with it due to having fat Buu's memories of him. And when the Earth is eventually destroyed by Kid Buu, Goku saves Mr. Satan at the last minute. This actually makes him the '''''only''''' human to have never died, with the exception of Uranai Baba (who can travel to the afterlife at will, so she doesn't really count). [[spoiler:His luck runs out by ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', where he, along with most of the supporting cast, is killed by Frieza destroying the Earth. Though Whis [[CosmicRetcon rewinds time]] shortly afterward, meaning it technically never happened.]]

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*** Weirdly enough, Mr. Satan is one of the very few characters on the show to [[DeathIsCheap have not died once]]. When Super Buu unleashes his Human Extinction Attack (which does [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin exactly what you think it does]]), he didn't target Mr. Satan with it due to having fat Buu's memories of him. And when the Earth is eventually destroyed by Kid Buu, Goku saves Mr. Satan at the last minute. This actually makes him the '''''only''''' human to have never died, with the exception of Uranai Baba (who can travel to the afterlife at will, so she doesn't really count). [[spoiler:His luck runs out by ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', ''Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF'' and its ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' adaptation, where he, along with most of the supporting cast, is killed by Frieza destroying the Earth. Though Whis [[CosmicRetcon rewinds time]] shortly afterward, meaning it technically never happened.]]
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* ''VideoGame/NobodySavesTheWorld'': [[spoiler:Nostramagus]] is revered as the most powerful wizard in the land but there's a lot of evidence to suggest that he was a horrible, selfish {{Narcissist}} and a NominalHero at best. [[spoiler:Also the Calamity plaguing the lands is entirely his fault because he got bored and wanted a challenge and [[EvilIsNotAToy got more than what he bargained for.]]]]
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* In ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'', Eliott is brought to the school by Nick Fury, who tells Xavier the boy accidentally killed his parents when his mutant gift manifested itself. Elliot joins the school and soon shows his amazing powers with the X-Men as Magician, hailed for stopping terrorists and an attack by the Brotherhood. Fury returns to demand to recruit Elliot for a mission, saying he has permission from his parents. When a stunned Xavier reminds Fury of Elliot's parents being dead, a confused Fury has no idea what he's talking about as he never saw Elliot before a TV news report. It turns out Elliot is a RealityWarper manipulating everything. Discovered, he attacks the X-Men before apparently being killed. Elliot later appears to Kitty Pryde, explaining he never meant for this to happen as his powers acted on his subconscious desires to become a hero. He thinks it's better for everyone to think he died after "going mad" so he can live in peace, and as soon as he's gone, Kitty forgets Elliot was ever there.

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It's been decided that Manhua and Manhwa examples shall be placed into their own folders. Moving example to the correct section.


* ''Manhua/RetiredHeroes'': Two random adventurers pretend to be two of the heroes who saved the world... to Chris and Saliy, who actually know the heroes they're pretending to be. Given a more sympathetic take than usual, as they just wanted to help people, but needed name recognition to be taken seriously.


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[[folder:Manhua]]
* ''Manhua/RetiredHeroes'': Two random adventurers pretend to be two of the heroes who saved the world... to Chris and Saliy, who actually know the heroes they're pretending to be. Given a more sympathetic take than usual, as they just wanted to help people, but needed name recognition to be taken seriously.
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* During the ''ComicBook/DarkReign'' event in Marvel Comics, no one else than ComicBook/SpiderMan's ArchEnemy [[Characters/MarvelComicsNormanOsborn Norman Osborn]] became that: After killing the [[AliensAreBastards Skulls]]' [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Queen Veranke]] in the end of ''ComicBook/SecretInvasion2008'' [[VillainWithGoodPublicity he was so popular]] he got eventually promoted to be the director of a revamped S.H.I.E.L.D. (now renamed H.A.M.M.E.R.). On top of posing as superhero [[CaptainPatriot Iron Patriot]] he even formed his own team of Fake Ultimate Heroes, the ComicBook/DarkAvengers. However, at the end of the event, the real heroes were able to make Norman's true ambitions known to the public.

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* During the ''ComicBook/DarkReign'' event in Marvel Comics, no one else than ComicBook/SpiderMan's ArchEnemy [[Characters/MarvelComicsNormanOsborn Norman Osborn]] became that: After killing the [[AliensAreBastards Skulls]]' [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Queen Veranke]] in the end of ''ComicBook/SecretInvasion2008'' [[VillainWithGoodPublicity he was so popular]] he got eventually promoted to be the director of a revamped S.H.I.E.L.D. (now renamed H.A.M.M.E.R.). On top of posing as superhero [[CaptainPatriot [[CaptainPatriotic Iron Patriot]] he even formed his own team of Fake Ultimate Heroes, the ComicBook/DarkAvengers. However, at the end of the event, the real heroes were able to make Norman's true ambitions known to the public.
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* During the ''ComicBook/DarkReign'' event in Marvel Comics, no one else than ComicBook/{{Spider-Man}}'s ArchEnemy [[Characters/MarvelComicsNormanOsborn Norman Osborn]] became that: After killing the [[AliensAreBastards Skulls]]' [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Queen Veranke]] in the end of ''ComicBook/SecretInvasion2008'' [[VillainWithGoodPublicity he was so popular]] he got eventually promoted to be the director of a revamped S.H.I.E.L.D. (now renamed H.A.M.M.E.R.). He even formed his own team of Fake Ultimate Heroes, the ComicBook/DarkAvengers. However, at the end of the event, the real heroes were able to make Norman's true ambitions known to the public.

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* During the ''ComicBook/DarkReign'' event in Marvel Comics, no one else than ComicBook/{{Spider-Man}}'s ComicBook/SpiderMan's ArchEnemy [[Characters/MarvelComicsNormanOsborn Norman Osborn]] became that: After killing the [[AliensAreBastards Skulls]]' [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Queen Veranke]] in the end of ''ComicBook/SecretInvasion2008'' [[VillainWithGoodPublicity he was so popular]] he got eventually promoted to be the director of a revamped S.H.I.E.L.D. (now renamed H.A.M.M.E.R.). He On top of posing as superhero [[CaptainPatriot Iron Patriot]] he even formed his own team of Fake Ultimate Heroes, the ComicBook/DarkAvengers. However, at the end of the event, the real heroes were able to make Norman's true ambitions known to the public.
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* During the ''ComicBook/DarkReign'' event in Marvel Comics, no one else than ComicBook/{{Spider-Man}}'s ArchEnemy [[Characters/MarvelComicsNormanOsborn Norman Osborn]] became that: After killing the [[AliensAreBastards Skulls]]' [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Queen Veranke]] in the end of ''ComicBook/SecretInvasion2008'' [[VillainWithGoodPublicity he was so popular]] he got eventually promoted to be the director of a revamped S.H.I.E.L.D. (now renamed H.A.M.M.E.R.). He even formed his own team of Fake Ultimate Heroes, the ComicBook/DarkAvengers. However, at the end of the event, the real heroes were able to make Norman's true ambitions known to the public.
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[-[[caption-width-right:350:Mark Satan, the BadassNormal who defeated a {{Cyborg}} ConquerorFromTheFuture. The part where the real heroes …um, did the actual defeating work didn't make the airwaves, sadly.]]-]

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[-[[caption-width-right:350:Mark Satan, the BadassNormal who defeated a {{Cyborg}} ConquerorFromTheFuture. The part where the real heroes …um, heroes... um, did the actual defeating work didn't make the airwaves, sadly.]]-]



* ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'':

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* ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'':''Franchise/DragonQuest'':
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* [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] in ''WesternAnimation/RayaAndTheLastDragon''. Sisu, the eponymous last dragon, is remembered by the people of Kumandra as the great hero who single-handedly defeated the Drunn, but in fact her older siblings created the [[MacGuffin magic gem]] at the cost of turning themselves into stone and she just used it, she compares herself to the kid on the group project who didn't do any work but still got the same grade as everyone else. Unlike other examples she isn't a {{Jerkass}}, if anything she's [[StupidGood far too nice]]; and isn't a GloryHound either, in fact when Raya wakes her up from her slumber she's horrified that humanity has forgotten her siblings and their sacrifice. It's also shown that, while she wasn't the sole [[TheHero hero]], she was an important part of saving the world and doesn't recognise her own contribution and is selling herself short. As Raya points out, her siblings chose her to wield the gem for a reason.

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* [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] in ''WesternAnimation/RayaAndTheLastDragon''. Sisu, the eponymous last dragon, is remembered by the people of Kumandra as the great hero who single-handedly defeated the Drunn, but in fact her older siblings created the [[MacGuffin magic gem]] at the cost of turning themselves into stone and she just used it, she compares herself to the kid on the group project who didn't do any work but still got the same grade as everyone else. Unlike other examples she isn't a {{Jerkass}}, if anything she's [[StupidGood far too nice]]; and isn't a GloryHound either, in fact when Raya wakes her up from her slumber she's horrified that humanity has forgotten her siblings and their sacrifice. It's However, it's also shown that, that while she wasn't the sole [[TheHero hero]], she was an important part of saving the world and doesn't recognise her own contribution and is selling herself short. As Raya points out, her siblings chose her to wield the gem for a reason.
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* In ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'', the public remembers and reveres Dr. Jonas Venture, Sr. as a brilliant scientist and a heroic adventurer. As the series progresses, it's revealed that Jonas was actually a PsychopathicManchild who conducted unethical experiments and then abandoned them whenever he lost interest in them, leaving those involved to fend for themselves, on top of being an emotionally AbusiveParent to his son Rusty. Later on, he obtains full VillainWithGoodPublicity status when it's revealed that [[spoiler: he not only blackmailed his best friend [[Series/TheGreenHornet The Blue Morpho]] into being his [[TheDragon attack dog]] (after sleeping with his wife under the guise of "fertility treatments" and fathering The Monarch), but resurrected him as his cyborg slave before attempting a GrandTheftMe on what little of him remained in the present once it's discovered that [[TheReveal Jonas was a]] BrainInAJar [[TheReveal all this time]]]].

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* In ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'', ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros'', the public remembers and reveres Dr. Jonas Venture, Sr. as a brilliant scientist and a heroic adventurer. As the series progresses, it's revealed that Jonas was actually a PsychopathicManchild who conducted unethical experiments and then abandoned them whenever he lost interest in them, leaving those involved to fend for themselves, on top of being an emotionally AbusiveParent to his son Rusty. Later on, he obtains full VillainWithGoodPublicity status when it's revealed that [[spoiler: he not only blackmailed his best friend [[Series/TheGreenHornet The Blue Morpho]] into being his [[TheDragon attack dog]] (after sleeping with his wife under the guise of "fertility treatments" and fathering The Monarch), but resurrected him as his cyborg slave before attempting a GrandTheftMe on what little of him remained in the present once it's discovered that [[TheReveal Jonas was a]] BrainInAJar [[TheReveal all this time]]]].

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Per Real Life cleanup thread


%% Trope was declared Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease via crowner by the Real Life Maintenance thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php?crowner_id=fackmrde
%%https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13350380440A15238800
%%%




[[folder:Real Life]]
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Wild Jonathan Wild]], the celebrated "Thief-Taker General" vigilante hero of 1720s London. He displayed an uncanny knack for finding stolen goods, primarily because [[ThievesGuild his own gang had stolen them in the first place]], and eventually was caught
* Happened to UsefulNotes/JosephStalin and [[UsefulNotes/MaoZedong Chairman Mao]], at least in the West. During their life, they were respected internationally, especially among leftists and third world revolutionaries, as political and economic visionaries. Stalin in particular was praised for defeating the Nazis during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. However, after their deaths, new information released portrayed them in a different light, as absolute dictators who amassed huge death tolls (in the tens of millions) to achieve their goals. Despite this, these two still have their supporters in their home countries, who argued that the dictators' purges were [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans justified]] in their end result of bringing stability to their countries [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized previously ravaged by civil war and brutal invasion.]]
** The Kim dynasty of North Korea; all NK media will portray the Kims as divine beings adored across the world, but pretty much everyone outside the NK, even among their major backers in China, treat them as jokes and a leftover from the UsefulNotes/ColdWar. The only reason that they still exist is because of the fact that they house THE largest military organization on earth, not to mention that an influx of starving refugees from North Korea would have devastating impacts on both China and South Korea.
** Famous historical figures in the West also aren't immune to this. Many historical figures, like Christopher Columbus, have had their legacies called into question once it became known, or historians (traditionally a western white male-dominated field) unearthed/started taking more seriously the atrocities they committed that were glossed over in the past. This has resulted in many places that had named buildings after prominent people stripping their names off.
* Cyclist Lance Armstrong, who broke a record winning the UsefulNotes/TourDeFrance seven times, was exposed as being a complete fraud who used doping through a large network in which several other cyclists were involved. His titles were stripped and left vacant.
* British TV presenter Jimmy Savile was widely praised during his lifetime as a popular TV host and a man who raised millions for charity. One year after his death, he was exposed for being a sex offender and child molester who used his program and charities to get to his victims. Worst of all, the rumors were known but those who knew about it either remained silent out of fear or were censored when they tried to speak out.
* Mark [=McGuire=] and Sammy Sosa were credited as heroes who saved the sport of professional baseball after the huge strike in the early '90s almost killed the sport in America. By the mid-'90s, they both posted back-to-back home run hitting seasons, which brought lots of fans back to the ballpark. It later got revealed that both men were using steroids to achieve their dominant home run hitting stats, which led to the scandal of the so-called 'Steroid Culture' in baseball, which was first revealed by another Fake Ultimate Hero, Jose Canseco, in a tell-all book where he named many players that would eventually get caught. Since then, many so-called baseball heroes have been exposed as steroid cheats and fell from grace, with only a few of them being {{Karma Houdini}}s.
* There are many professional boxers who seemed unstoppable and had many fans on the bandwagon until they faced a true challenger for the first time and got exposed as either ordinary or completely amateurish. Perhaps the biggest example of this was with the boxing career of Naseem 'The Prince' Hamed. Hamed became the hero of European boxing in the 90s with his extravagant entrances before fights and knockout victories afterwards. Given that he was a featherweight fighter with seemingly dangerous punching power also added to his fame since featherweights weren't known to have power. He became the undisputed champion of the featherweight division, which was mostly filled with average to bad boxers at the time, but his string of multiple knockout victories and title defenses added to his fame, landing him big endorsement deals in Europe which made him richer than most famous boxers. However, it all came to an end when he faced his first true challenger in Marco Antonio Barrera who was a celebrated world-class boxer in the lightweight division; and a boxer Hamed had been calling out for years. When the fight finally happened, Barrera exposed Hamed as a fighter who lacked the basic fundamentals of boxing and only got by with weak competition and his own punching power. He completely humiliated Hamed by the time the fight was over. Hamed left the sport afterwards never to return. However, he's ultimately a sympathetic example of the Fake Ultimate Hero, as he never once lied or cheated his way to glory, he's still praised to this day for bringing excitement back into the sport of boxing when it seemed like it was fading away and dying as a sport. And he's still looked at as a boxing legend in many parts of Europe for his revolutionary ring entrances. He continues to comment on boxing to this day, and [[https://www.ringtv.com/568428-prince-naseem-hamed-awarded-ring-magazine-featherweight-belt-history-in-the-making/ was later awarded a featherweight belt.]]
* Brazilian soccer player [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Kaiser_(footballer) Carlos "Kaiser" Raposo]] had an amateur skill level but [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQccw5NUz04 managed to hide this]] over the course of his decade-long career with fake injuries, frequent team changes, and other ruses along with the aid of friends in the media. He also used toy cell phones to create fake conversations in foreign languages or reject non-existent transfer offers to create an image of himself as a valuable player. On one occasion he was almost forced to play since the team had no other strikers, but he got himself ejected by picking a fight with a fan.
* The presence of one or more of these at a martial arts studio is a surefire indicator that you're looking at a [=McDojo=] or belt mill. If an instructor bills themselves as "legendary" or plays up their abilities or accomplishments in grandiose fashion (especially if they have an improbably high rank for someone of their age and experience level or repeatedly claims to be associated with eminent figures in the sport; a 28-year-old karate grandmaster or a Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor who uses claims of training and/or sparring with Gracies as their main selling point should make ''anyone'' suspicious), that is a gigantic red flag for that studio. Belt mills are dangerous because they teach a terrible, watered-down version of the art that focuses on form and point fighting, ''not'' actual self-defense applications, and stories of people who trained at a belt mill, thought they were qualified, and then wound up getting pounded into Cream of Wheat or even killed when they attempted to employ their "skills" in a self-defense scenario (or, far less favorably, started a fight just to show off) and were shown firsthand just how ill-prepared they really are abound in the martial arts world.
* The Soviet miner [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexey_Stakhanov Alexey Stakhanov]] was credited with [[{{Determinator}} mining 102 tons of coal in 6 hours]] (14 times his quota) and was used by the government as a symbol of productivity in the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stakhanovite_movement Stakhanovite movement]]. However, many workers resented him for [[ThePerilsOfBeingTheBest raising labor expectations for them]], and most historians nowadays agree the whole thing was propaganda by the Communist Party, and that Stakhanov had helpers who were uncredited.
* In Russia's attack over Kyiv, the Ukraine reported a pilot had shot down six MiG 29s in a single day, and called pilot the Ghost of Kyiv. Two months later the Ukrainian Air Force admitted that the incident never happened, and it was all propaganda to boost Ukraine's already abysmal morale.
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Compare and contrast BigBadWannabe (aka Fake Ultimate Villain), FakeUltimateMook (a seemly menacing, but very weak {{Mook|s}}) and PropagandaHero (where the Fake Ultimate Hero becomes a symbol). Contrast SelfMadeMyth.

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Compare and contrast BigBadWannabe (aka Fake Ultimate Villain), FakeUltimateMook (a seemly seemingly menacing, but very weak {{Mook|s}}) and PropagandaHero (where the Fake Ultimate Hero becomes a symbol). Contrast SelfMadeMyth.

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* In ''Manga/MajinTanteiNougamiNeuro'', this is invoked as Yako pretends to be a genius child prodigy detective in order to draw people's attention away from Neuro, who acts as her assistant but is actually the one solving the crimes. As a demon, Neuro cannot be the one to get the spotlight, so he needs a patsy/victim/chew toy to be his face. This isn't to say Yako is useless. She possesses an incredible amount of empathy (something a demon totally lacks), and the more the story goes on, the more they solve crimes together.



* In ''Manga/NeuroSupernaturalDetective'', this is invoked as Yako pretends to be a genius child prodigy detective in order to draw people's attention away from Neuro, who acts as her assistant but is actually the one solving the crimes. As a demon, Neuro cannot be the one to get the spotlight, so he needs a patsy/victim/chew toy to be his face. This isn't to say Yako is useless. She possesses an incredible amount of empathy (something a demon totally lacks), and the more the story goes on, the more they solve crimes together.

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not into sportsball but as far as i can tell tebow didnt fake anything, simply coasted on being decent


* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Wild Jonathan Wild]], the celebrated "Thief-Taker General" of 1720s London, who displayed an uncanny knack for finding stolen goods, primarily because [[ThievesGuild his own gang had stolen them in the first place]].
* A common criticism of [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague Tim Tebow]] during his two-year stint as quarterback of the Denver Broncos. He managed to get a couple of fourth-quarter comebacks and a winning streak, including a win against the heavily-favored Pittsburgh Steelers during the playoffs... but his play ''as'' a quarterback, specifically his throw, is ''atrocious''. It's caused his critics to claim that his comebacks were only comebacks due to his teammates' help.

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* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Wild Jonathan Wild]], the celebrated "Thief-Taker General" vigilante hero of 1720s London, who London. He displayed an uncanny knack for finding stolen goods, primarily because [[ThievesGuild his own gang had stolen them in the first place]].
* A common criticism of [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague Tim Tebow]] during his two-year stint as quarterback of the Denver Broncos. He managed to get a couple of fourth-quarter comebacks
place]], and a winning streak, including a win against the heavily-favored Pittsburgh Steelers during the playoffs... but his play ''as'' a quarterback, specifically his throw, is ''atrocious''. It's caused his critics to claim that his comebacks were only comebacks due to his teammates' help.eventually was caught
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** Buggy the Clown has become a Fake Ultimate ''Villain'' after the revelation of facts about his past make all the lower-level members of the group he's with idolize him, while everyone else wonders how he could be so weak and cowardly [[spoiler:when he was a member of Gol D. Roger's crew]]. He uses this to his advantage and quells a potential mutiny against Luffy, [[spoiler:Jimbei, Crocodile and Mr. 1]] and rallies them to fight with them at [[spoiler:Marine HQ]] [[BigBadWannabe while he will be the one to]] [[spoiler:[[BigBadWannabe kill Whitebeard in the war]]]]. Naturally, they cheer in excitement. He manages to accidentally create such an image for himself that [[spoiler:he becomes [[PsychoForHire one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea]] over the course of the time-skip]], and eventually [[spoiler:fails upward to become one of the ''Four Emperors of the Sea'' after a series of misconceptions leads the World Government to think he founded the Marine-hunting Cross Guild organization and has Crocodile and Mihawk as his underlings when it was really the other way around.]]

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** Buggy the Clown has become a Fake Ultimate ''Villain'' after the revelation of facts about his past make all the lower-level members of the group he's with idolize him, while everyone else wonders how he could be so weak and cowardly [[spoiler:when he was a member of Gol D. Roger's crew]]. He uses this to his advantage and quells a potential mutiny against Luffy, [[spoiler:Jimbei, Crocodile and Mr. 1]] and rallies them to fight with them at [[spoiler:Marine HQ]] [[BigBadWannabe while he will be the one to]] [[spoiler:[[BigBadWannabe kill Whitebeard in the war]]]]. Naturally, they cheer in excitement. He manages to accidentally create such an image for himself that [[spoiler:he becomes [[PsychoForHire one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea]] over the course of the time-skip]], and eventually [[spoiler:fails upward to become one of the ''Four Emperors of the Sea'' after a series of misconceptions leads the World Government to think he founded the Marine-hunting Cross Guild organization and has Crocodile and Mihawk as his underlings when it was really the other way around. While initially offended at being perceived as minions, Crocodile and Mihawk decide it's actually better for them to use Buggy as their figurehead.]]



* In ''Webcomic/OnePunchMan'', King, the S-class rank 7 hero and supposedly the WorldsStrongestMan, actually qualifies. [[spoiler:He's the one who took credit for all of Saitama's superhero deeds (from the very first chapter with Vaccineman and even before that) since he happened to be the only man in the vicinity. However, he's portrayed sympathetically; he was simply MistakenForBadass and now has to rely on his reputation to save people through VictoryThroughIntimidation.]]

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* In ''Webcomic/OnePunchMan'', King, the S-class rank 7 hero and supposedly the WorldsStrongestMan, actually qualifies. [[spoiler:He's the one who took credit for all of Saitama's superhero deeds (from the very first chapter with Vaccineman and even before that) since he happened to be the only man in the vicinity.vicinity and his [[FaceOfAThug intimidating appearance]] made everyone assume he's strong. However, he's portrayed sympathetically; he was simply MistakenForBadass and now has to rely on his reputation to save people through VictoryThroughIntimidation.]]
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** Mr. Satan ([[DubNameChange "Hercule"]]) is frequently credited as stronger than any other professional fighter, although this usually does not bother any of the main characters despite their world-saving ventures being unrecognized. However, a few characters are not above blackmailing him about the secret... Of course, he is the strongest normal human besides Yajirobe who doesn't know how to use KiManipulation when he first appears, and the good guys, in fact, would rather stay out of the spotlight, so it suits them just fine. When push comes to shove however, Mr. Satan is actually a rather decent and kind-hearted man who genuinely cares about people and wants to help them. He at least has the ''heart'' of a hero, if nothing else.

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** Mr. Satan ([[DubNameChange "Hercule"]]) is frequently credited as stronger than any other professional fighter, although this usually does not bother any of the main characters despite their world-saving ventures being unrecognized. However, a few characters are not above blackmailing him about the secret... Of course, he is the strongest normal human besides Yajirobe who doesn't know how to use KiManipulation when he first appears, and the good guys, in fact, would rather stay out of the spotlight, so it suits them just fine. When push comes to shove however, Mr. Satan is actually a rather decent and kind-hearted man who genuinely cares about people and wants to help them. He at least has the ''heart'' ''[[AllLovingHero heart]]'' of a hero, if nothing else.
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* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' has the Holy Iron Chain Knights, which is, for the most part, a whole organization of this. They're treated as some of the most sacred warriors working for the Church and viewed with awe by the people, and being a member is something to be proud of... but, as it turns out, the Knights are so prestigious that they're basically never expected to see actual combat. Most of its members are just scions of various noble houses who bought their commissions and knighthoods, and use it as a way to get military service under their belt. If they were actually put in real danger, it might put those noble families in a tizzy when their heirs die in battle, so their duties are pretty much 95% ceremonial. Farnese, their leader, is a JeanneDArchetype who had never been in an actual fight and was explicitly only a member because the Knights traditionally have a female leader. The only two competent members at their introduction are Azan and Serpico (respectively, the only genuine believer in their ranks, and Farnese's personal bodyguard).

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* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' has the Holy Iron Chain Knights, which is, for the most part, a whole organization of this. They're treated as some of the most sacred warriors working for the Church and viewed with awe by the people, and being a member is something to be proud of... but, as it turns out, the Knights are so prestigious that they're basically never expected to see actual combat. Most of its members are just scions of various noble houses who bought their commissions and knighthoods, and use it as a way to get military service under their belt. If they were actually put in real danger, it might put those noble families in a tizzy when their heirs die in battle, so their duties are pretty much 95% ceremonial. Farnese, their leader, is a JeanneDArchetype who had never been in an actual fight and was explicitly only a member because the Knights traditionally have a female leader. The only two competent members at their introduction are Azan and Serpico (respectively, the only genuine believer in their ranks, and Farnese's personal bodyguard). Eventually, Farnese joins Gut's group after being humbled and TookALevelInBadass while aiming to be a real hero.
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* ''WesternAnimation/GeneratorRex'': Hunter Cain is an anti-EVO vigilante who turns public opinion against Rex by being "better" at getting rid of [=EVOs=]. In reality, he butts in on Rex's fights and blows up the [=EVOs=] before Rex can cure them, killing whoever or whatever was unfortunate enough to mutate. Once he's sure the public will cheer him on for killing Rex, he clones an EVO and releases the clones into the city to "prove the futility of Providence". A newscaster catches him bragging about this while fighting Rex, he refuses to help the militia he gathered fight the [=EVOs=] he created, and Rex defeats him, letting the public see who he really is.

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* ''WesternAnimation/GeneratorRex'': Hunter Cain is an anti-EVO vigilante who turns public opinion against Rex by being "better" [[MurderIsTheBestSolution "better"]] at getting rid of [=EVOs=]. In reality, he butts in on Rex's fights and blows up the [=EVOs=] before Rex can cure them, killing whoever or whatever was unfortunate enough to mutate. Once he's sure the public will cheer him on for killing Rex, he clones an EVO and releases the clones into the city to "prove the futility of Providence". A Providence" by confronting Rex as he attempted to help the militia Cain had gathered fight the [=EVOs=] he created; stating that his men will die to make him look good. Unfortunately for Cain, [[EngineeredPublicConfession a newscaster catches him bragging about this while fighting Rex, he refuses to help the militia he gathered fight the [=EVOs=] he created, and Rex defeats him, Rex]], letting the public see Cain for who he really is.is. And after Rex shuts down the EVO clones do his men leave Cain entirely as he's hauled off to a Providence prison.
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* Zote of ''VideoGame/HollowKnight'' touts himself as being a mighty warrior, wielding a nail he proudly calls "Life Ender" (which is made of wood). In reality, he's a bumbling fool who gets himself into many dangerous and deadly situations. Later in the game, he appears as a "boss"... [[ZeroEffortBoss which cannot deal any damage whatsoever]] to your character. [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential At two points in the game you are capable of leaving him to die]]. If you do save him, he eventually makes his way to Dirtmouth where Bretta unfortuantely falls for his lies completely. If you visit her dreamworld, you can fight him as an actually functional boss.

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* Zote of ''VideoGame/HollowKnight'' touts himself as being a mighty warrior, wielding a nail he proudly calls "Life Ender" (which is made of wood). In reality, he's a bumbling fool who gets himself into many dangerous and deadly situations. Later in the game, he appears as a "boss"... [[ZeroEffortBoss which cannot deal any damage whatsoever]] to your character. [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential At two points in the game you are capable of leaving him to die]]. If you do save him, he eventually makes his way to Dirtmouth where Bretta unfortuantely unfortunately falls for his lies completely. If you visit her dreamworld, you can fight him as an actually functional boss.

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Not a trope


** Honjou "Lightspeed" Masayuki is hailed as not just a Hero, but ''the'' Hero, having achieved a string of incredible feats and deeds to his name despite being suddenly summoned to this world only about a year ago. He's earned fame throughout the western nations to the point that he's amassed a strong following among the people and leads a team of adventurers. However, while Masayuki ''does'' possess [[SuperPowerLotteryWinner one of the strongest Unique Skills in the world]] outright called TheChosenOne, the man himself is only at best an average fighter and constantly over his head. The reason he's gotten his fame is that [[spoiler:he's BornLucky and [Chosen One] is a potent combination of CharmPerson, PerceptionFilter, and SuperEmpowering, meaning that people are naturally compelled to think and interpret his actions in the most flattering/awe-inspiring light [[InsaneTrollLogic no matter what the leaps in logic]], while any "attack" he actually lands hits ForMassiveDamage. Anyone he defeats (unless they're undead) becomes [[DefeatMeansFriendship compelled to aid or join his side]], and the Skill's SuperEmpowering ensures anyone that's his "ally" receives the power boost aspect while the PerceptionFilter makes everyone attribute the victories of his team to that of Masayuki himself, boosting his renown further (his team honestly doesn't mind, as just being with him is beneficial enough and they actually like him). He's won whole battle tournaments by [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath outright talking them into giving up]] (which everyone interprets as him offering them the easy way out)]]. Masayuki himself is a {{Deconstruction}}; however, as [[IJustWantToBeNormal he never wanted to be randomly summoned into this world]] and is constantly afraid that the day will come when his luck just won't hold out. Any attempt to explain this to most people will simply result in them thinking he's being modest, and [[PowerIncontinence he can't turn the Skill off]]. He remains a Hero continuing the fight because he's scared of what the crowd would do if he ever backed down and learned the truth, afraid that the warriors he's bested would be dishonored for life if they realized what a weakling he really is, and ''wanting'' to do good but unable to believe it's by his own worth, not his Skill. [[spoiler:Ironically, he's actually an incomplete {{Reincarnation}} of [[TheEmperor Emperor Rudra]], a legendary Hero who had the favor of [[DragonsAreDivine True Dragon]] [[TheMaker Veldanava]], is TheRival of [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils Guy Crimson]], and is the lover of [[HotGod True Dragon Velgrynd]].]]

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** Honjou "Lightspeed" Masayuki is hailed as not just a Hero, but ''the'' Hero, having achieved a string of incredible feats and deeds to his name despite being suddenly summoned to this world only about a year ago. He's earned fame throughout the western nations to the point that he's amassed a strong following among the people and leads a team of adventurers. However, while Masayuki ''does'' possess [[SuperPowerLotteryWinner one of the strongest Unique Skills in the world]] outright called TheChosenOne, the man himself is only at best an average fighter and constantly over his head. The reason he's gotten his fame is that [[spoiler:he's BornLucky and [Chosen One] is a potent combination of CharmPerson, PerceptionFilter, and SuperEmpowering, meaning that people are naturally compelled to think and interpret his actions in the most flattering/awe-inspiring light [[InsaneTrollLogic no matter what the leaps in logic]], while any "attack" he actually lands hits ForMassiveDamage.really hard. Anyone he defeats (unless they're undead) becomes [[DefeatMeansFriendship compelled to aid or join his side]], and the Skill's SuperEmpowering ensures anyone that's his "ally" receives the power boost aspect while the PerceptionFilter makes everyone attribute the victories of his team to that of Masayuki himself, boosting his renown further (his team honestly doesn't mind, as just being with him is beneficial enough and they actually like him). He's won whole battle tournaments by [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath outright talking them into giving up]] (which everyone interprets as him offering them the easy way out)]]. Masayuki himself is a {{Deconstruction}}; however, as [[IJustWantToBeNormal he never wanted to be randomly summoned into this world]] and is constantly afraid that the day will come when his luck just won't hold out. Any attempt to explain this to most people will simply result in them thinking he's being modest, and [[PowerIncontinence he can't turn the Skill off]]. He remains a Hero continuing the fight because he's scared of what the crowd would do if he ever backed down and learned the truth, afraid that the warriors he's bested would be dishonored for life if they realized what a weakling he really is, and ''wanting'' to do good but unable to believe it's by his own worth, not his Skill. [[spoiler:Ironically, he's actually an incomplete {{Reincarnation}} of [[TheEmperor Emperor Rudra]], a legendary Hero who had the favor of [[DragonsAreDivine True Dragon]] [[TheMaker Veldanava]], is TheRival of [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils Guy Crimson]], and is the lover of [[HotGod True Dragon Velgrynd]].]]
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* In ''ComicBook/AstroCity'', [[spoiler:Queenslaw]] pretended to be selfless superheroes so they could steal from the criminals they captured.
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Renamed to Clone Angst, cutting non-examples, ZCEs, and no-context potholes.


** Massimo from ''VideoGame/MegaManXCommandMission'' is someone who wound up in this position unintentionally when he took over the armor and position of the original Steel Massimo after he was captured by the Rebellion Army. He develops into a true hero and inheritor to the name over the course of the game. Fittingly, the name of the chapter he joins is called "The Paper Hero".
** [[CloningBlues Copy]]-X from ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'' thinks himself a better hero than both the original and Zero. Makes for better satisfaction when the latter beats him, ''twice''.

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** ''VideoGame/MegaManXCommandMission'': Massimo from ''VideoGame/MegaManXCommandMission'' is someone who wound up in this position unintentionally when he took over the armor and position of the original Steel Massimo after he was captured by the Rebellion Army. He develops into a true hero and inheritor to the name over the course of the game. Fittingly, the name of the chapter he joins is called "The Paper Hero".
** [[CloningBlues Copy]]-X from ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'' ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'': Copy-X thinks himself a better hero than both the original and Zero. Makes for better satisfaction when the latter beats him, ''twice''.

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