History Main / ParttimeHero

* This is a common problem among ComicBook/DisneyMouseAndDuckComics superheroes in general and Paperinik (DonaldDuck) in particular, as they have to balance their civilian lives with their superheroing. The only one who has it (relatively) easy is Super Goof, as Mickey knows his SecretIdentity and is more than willing to cover for him with the others.

* Terry in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' ''does'' resent the loss of his free time to fighting villains, and there's considerable friction between him and Bruce, who treats normal life as simply a cover for crime fighting, since he [[BecomingTheMask became the mask]] long ago and never took it off despite never physically putting it on for forty years.

The Part-Time Hero wants to save the world, sure. He wants everyone to be happy and alive, but he also wants [[IJustWantToBeNormal a normal life]].

* The three sisters in ''Series/{{Charmed}}'' spend a lot of time complaining about their duties conflicting with their personal lives. Half of the time the villains have to walk up to their front door for them to even pay attention.

Compare PunchClockVillain. Contrast the PunchClockHero, who seems similar at first but is [[AntiHero far less heroic]] when he is not, well, being a hero.

* The titular Penn Zero from ''PennZeroPartTimeHero'', who got the job after his parents (who were also part-time heroes) got trapped in an unreachable plane of existence known as "The Most Dangerous Place Imaginable". His job has him zap to different dimensions to save the day when the native heroes of that world are unable to accomplish the task themselves, with his friends [[BunnyEarsLawyer Boone]] and [[HyperCompetentSidekick Sashi]] coming along for the ride as well. The trio usually find themselves fighting the PunchClockVillain duo Rippen and Larry, who do the same thing... but for villains. Obviously.

[[folder: Web Comics ]]
* Bob in ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob'' is self-employed at his newsstand, and it's a good thing, considering how often he ends up missing work. His customer Mr. Bystander seems to exist mainly to berate him for this.

* In ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'', the titular character likes spending time with his friends, and once [[spoiler:even SPLIT HIMSELF into two separate beings to]] try and keep a promise to them. He also has to try and balance out the responsibilities he has protecting Amity Park (even if it seems he enjoys it sometimes), and his schoolwork.

* Penn Zero of ''PennZeroPartTimeHero'' -- though he replaces heroes of the other worlds he gets zapped to.

** SpinOff series {{Angel}} averts it by making the Hero gig his full-time job. It might even be an ''inversion'' as some episodes deal with his friends and staff trying to force him to have some kind of personal life so he doesn't completely lose touch with actual humanity.

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

* Just like her father, ComicBook/{{Spider-Girl}} has ''real'' problems with this. Her Superhero career tends to completely screw her civilian life, especially her attention span in school.

* Penn Zero in PennZeroPartTimeHero -- though he replaces heroes of the other worlds he gets zapped to.

* Franchise/SpiderMan had this in the teenage and college days of his career. Most spin-offs and reboots have this as a focus point to the point where many people refer to it as the "Spider-Man dilemma".

* ''Manga/SailorMoon'' wants so badly to go back to being normal that at the end of the first season, she uses the power of her newly acquired MacGuffin to wipe everybody's memories that anything had ever happened, turning her entire team back to normal. (Unfortunately, the SortingAlgorithmOfEvil applied, and she was soon forced to undo this.)

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':

* Claire Bennet from ''Series/{{Heroes}}''.
** Actually, pretty much everyone in ''Heroes'', most of the time. It's common to see a character actually on the clock at a normal job, sometimes with their powers somehow woven into it. Though naturally, as a particular arc progresses, they gradually transition from part-time to full-time hero as the B, C, and D plots related to their personal lives are woven into (or pushed aside for) the main story arc. [[IJustWantToBeNormal No matter how much they resist.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' almost subverts this at times, as everyone knows she's off "saving the world" when having to ditch cheer-leading.

** Actually, pretty much everyone in ''Heroes'', most of the time. It's common to see a character actually on the clock at a normal job, sometimes with their powers somehow woven into it. Though naturally, as a particular arc progresses, they gradually transition from part-time to full-time as the B, C, and D plots related to their personal lives are woven into (or pushed aside for) the main story arc. [[IJustWantToBeNormal No matter how much they resist.]]

** Actually, pretty much everyone in ''Heroes'', most of the time. Though naturally, as a particular arc progresses, they gradually transition from part-time to full-time as the B, C, and D plots related to their personal lives are woven into (or pushed aside for) the main story arc. This is especially common with characters that [[IJustWantToBeNormal desperately struggle against getting woven into the A plot.]]

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** Actually, pretty much everyone in ''Heroes'', most of the time. Though naturally, as a particular arc progresses, they gradually transition from part-time to full-time as the B, C, and D plots related to their personal lives are woven into (or pushed aside for) the main story arc. This is especially common with characters that [[IJustWantToBeNormal just want to live normal lives.]]

** Actually, pretty much everyone in ''Heroes'', most of the time. Though naturally, as a particular arc progresses, they gradually transition from part-time to full-time as the B, C, and D plots related to their personal lives are woven into (or pushed aside for) the main story arc.

-->-- '''Commenters''' on ''WapsiSquare''

This often includes the {{Superhero}} with a SecretIdentity, but not all of them. Comicbook/SpiderMan is more of an example than Franchise/{{Batman}} is. Includes all WakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld series, of course.

* ''SailorMoon'' wants so badly to go back to being normal that at the end of the first season, she uses the power of her newly acquired {{MacGuffin}} to wipe everybody's memories that anything had ever happened, turning her entire team back to normal. (Unfortunately, the SortingAlgorithmOfEvil applied, and she was soon forced to undo this.)
* ''MagicKnightRayearth'': Ryuuzaki Umi, one of the heroines, spends a considerable amount of time throughout the first season of the show whining about how she's going to miss an important fencing tournament if they don't finish up and get home Right Now. And when they get back to earth, it's clear that only a couple of minutes (if that) have passed. The second trip (in Rayearth II) "took" a couple of days, but they still spent more time than that in Cephiro.

* ComicBook/SpiderGirl has ''real'' problems with this. Her Superhero career tends to completely screw her civilian life, especially her attention span in school.
* {{Superman}} has been portrayed this way DependingOnTheWriter.
* Comicbook/{{Spider-Man}} had this in the teenage and college days of his career. Most spin-offs and reboots have this as a focus point to the point where many people refer to it as the "Spiderman dilemma"

* ''MercyThompson'': Mercy has to keep up her job as a car mechanic while fighting whatever supernatural horror is threatening her friends this time. You know things are serious when she asks her ex-boss to run the shop for a day.

* Chuck Bartowski of ''{{Chuck}}'' is constantly forced to renege on personal commitments because national security is at stake.

-->'''Forest''': This is the burden we bear, brother. We have a gig that would inevitably cause any girl living to think we are cool upon cool, yet we must Clark Kent our way through the dating scene, never to use our unfair advantage. Thank God we're pretty.

* Common to the point of default in the ''Teen {{Champions}}'' subgenre book.

* Bob in ''TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob'' is self-employed at his newsstand, and it's a good thing, considering how often he ends up missing work. His customer Mr. Bystander seems to exist mainly to berate him for this.

* ''WhateleyUniverse'': All of the kids in Team Kimba, since they're at the SuperHeroSchool Whateley Academy in the webfiction 'verse, and they're not supposed to be getting into superhero fights since they're minors. And they have classes they're not supposed to cut.

* ''KimPossible'' almost subverts this at times, as everyone knows she's off "saving the world" when having to ditch cheer-leading.
* Terry in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' ''does'' resent the loss of his free time to fighting villains, and there's considerable friction between him and Bruce, who treats normal life as simply a cover for crime fighting, since he became the mask long ago and never took it off despite never physically putting it on for forty years.
* Virgil from ''StaticShock'' has been conflicted with this problem more often than not, to near Spiderman levels. He even once has a near complete [[BroughtDowntoNormal power loss]], and puts his life back on track, until it turns out that Static is needed in Dakota more than Virgil thought. And in the end, he realizes that [[GoodFeelsGood being able to help people is worth the loss of his personal free time]].
* Largely avoided on ''WonderPets''. In one story, the Wonder Pets take time off to join the circus and in another, they take a vacation. In both stories, however, they actually end up saving an animal. Also, they are generally always ready, willing and able to save animals, though Ming-Ming can sometimes be grouchy.
* In ''DannyPhantom'', the titular character likes spending time with his friends, and once [[spoiler:even SPLIT HIMSELF into two separate beings to]] try and keep a promise to them. He also has to try and balance out the responsibilities he has protecting Amity Park (even if it seems he enjoys it sometimes), and his schoolwork.
* ''HappyTreeFriends'': Splendid. [[WhatTheHellHero This is]] [[RequiredSecondaryPowers probably a]] [[DestructiveSaviour good thing.]]

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The [[ParttimeHero Part-Time Hero]] wants to save the world, sure. He wants everyone to be happy and alive, but he also wants [[IJustWantToBeNormal a normal life]].

This often includes the {{Superhero}} with a SecretIdentity, but not all of them. Comicbook/SpiderMan is more of an example than Comicbook/{{Batman}} is. Includes all WakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld series, of course.

* Sydney Bristow from ''Series/{{Alias}}'' attempts this valiantly for the first few seasons. Ultimately, all her non-spy friends are either brought into the conspiracy or murdered, so she pretty much goes all-in for the remainder.

* ''KimPossible'' almost subverts this at times, as pretty much everyone knows she's off "saving the world" when having to ditch cheer-leading.