History Main / PrivateMilitaryContractors

* UK firm [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandline_International Sandline International]] was another case of a real-life Private Military Company and had close links with Executive Outcomes. After it shut down, most of the staff went on to form [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aegis_Defence_Services Aegis Defence Services]]. Check Sandline's (still existing) [[http://www.sandline.com/site/index.html website]] and check their company profile which reveals some interesting tidbits such as that Sandline will work for. Their involvement in the situation in Sierra Leone, including the coup against Kabbah, was a source of embarrassment to former Foreign Secretary Robin Cook in 1998.

* In ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'', the Ravagers, led by Yondu Udunta, act in this capacity when Ronan the Accuser attacks Xandar, defending the planet while the Nova Corp engage Ronan's ship in orbit. After being shot down, one of Ronan's Sakaarans tries to get Yondu to order his men to turn on the Nova Corp. Yondu responds by using his TrickArrow to kill said Sakaaran and all his comrades. After the battle, Yondu demands the orb containing the Power Stone, and departs.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

** The Vault Hunters themselves could be considered a heroic example-they don't work for any of the corporations but for themselves and their friends, and will do anything for money, from delivering messages to ''crashing a wake.'' Wilhelm in particularly was explicitly stated to be the best merc in the galaxy before he botched a job that tarnished his reputation.

* ''Series/TheNightManager'': Roper has a small army of mercenaries in his employ from across the world, from what he calls the "real United Nations".

Note to {{Evil Overlord}}s real, historical and/or imagined: attempting to defraud your [=PMCs=], or any other gratuitously over the top BadBoss move, is, generally speaking, a very bad idea. They have experience with those weapons you helped them maintain until quite recently and they know your layout. Always pay the mercs.

* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' has mercenaries as its primary characters, with its lead character Guts having been trained as one from childhood. The Golden Age arc of the manga, which the anime covers, follows a mercenary company called the Band of the Falcon that Guts was a part of, and in particular the events that would lead to its idealistic leader, Griffith, undergoing a nasty FaceHeelTurn and becoming Guts's number one enemy.

** The PMC Trust in ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundam00 Gundam 00]]'', a massive coalition of dozens of PMC groups, and powerful enough to have their own dedicated nation. The first season of 00 features two episodes to the Gundams tearing the place apart. Note that the PMC Trust is stated to have an arsenal of almost a hundred of Mobile Suits (granted, some of them probably belonged to the AEU who helped defend the place), and Celestial Being only has 4 MS at their disposal. And the Gundams still wrecked the place in just 4 hours...

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': The ninja villages are a fantasy version of this. They're are answerable to their nation's daimyo due to their role in national security, but they can contract missions with employers of other nationalities as well. While what their lower-level [[ChildSoldiers personnel]] does can be tasks as mundane as finding cats or doing yard work, the higher-ranked missions often include bodyguards for important political figures, working in place of regular military, or assassination ([[ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything not that we see them doing the last two parts very much]]).

* ''ComicBook/{{DMZ}}'' has a company that is mix of Haliburton and Blackwater called Trustwell. Their private army is ruthless, amoral and brutal.
* ''ComicBook/JonSableFreelance'': Jon Sable belonged to a mercenary company before returning to the U.S..

*** In one comic where American special forces are trying to capture Castle, one of the injured soldiers who is told that Blackwater (a real life PMC) won't hire him now.

* ''Fanfic/LinkedInLifeAndLove'': By the time of the story, Raven Branwen has reformated her BanditClan into Branwen Private Defense, a respected mercenary company that she describes as "huntsmen on a budget;" if there's a job that would normally require one huntsman, she sends five of her people and they get the job done. Furthermore, the BPD essentially acts as the police force and army for the entire country of Mistral, patrolling roads and hunting down monsters. The Huntsmen and Huntresses would normally do all that, but for some reason Headmaster Lionheart has gotten paranoid and withdrawn them all to the capital, then hired the BPD to do the job instead.

** ''Fanfic/EquestriaDivided'': [[OneNationUnderCopyright House Whitegold]] doesn't have an army like the other factions; rather, most of its forces are composed of mercenaries of various species — chiefly ponies, griffons, diamond dogs and zebras.

** ''Fanfic/TheLifeOfTheLegendaries'' depicts Silph Co. as owning Kanto's navy, army and air force.

* ''Film/BillionDollarBrain'' has the protagonist Film/HarryPalmer recruited into the private intelligence version, which a fervent anti-Communist Texan billionaire is using to commit sabotage in Latvia. In a subversion, it only consists of a few criminals who are embezzeling his money.

* ''Film/TheExpendables'' are about a group of mercenaries who take any job they can get. It's a handy excuse for putting together some of the most legendary action heroes together and make every one a badass. There is even some nods towards the way they operate, as they find out their most recent "employer" is actually CIA looking to pass off some DirtyBusiness onto their shoulders.

* In ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'', the Ravagers, led by Yondu Udunta, act in this capacity when Ronan the Accuser attacks Xandar, defending the planet while the Nova Corp engage Ronan's ship in orbit. After being shot down, one of Ronan's Sakaarans tries to get Yondu to order his men to turn on the Nova Corp. Yondu responds by using his TrickArrow to kill said Sakaaran and and all his comrades. After the battle, Yondu demands the orb containing the Power Stone, and departs.

* ''Literature/TheManchurianCandidate'': In the 2004 remake, the [[DirtyCommunists Communist]] [[TheConspiracy conspiracy]] of the original book and 1962 movie was updated for the post-Cold War times by making the villains a MegaCorp named Manchurian Global instead, which also happens to be a PMC, or at least have a PMC division. [[spoiler:Part of the reason the wanted the eponymous Manchurian Candidate to be their sleeper agent in the White House was so they could get him to send their troops into the Middle East, among other reasons.]]

* ''Film/{{Outpost}}'' has the eponymous installation investigated by a group of mercenaries firmly on the anti-hero sign of things. Their resumes are a Royal Marine (the commander), a US Marine (his second), a former IRA guerilla who joined the Paras, a UN Peacekeeper, a Foreign Legionnaire, a Russian Alpha Group soldier, and a yugoslavian man whose unit is never named.

* ''Film/{{Predators}}'': Our main character Royce is former American special forces soldier turned mercenary due to his BloodKnight views. He starts the film totally selfish and ruthless but evolves over the course of the story.

* ''Film/SASRiseOfTheBlackSwan''. The Black Swans are a family-owned PMC company headquartered in London. They are literal PsychosForHire as the father and his two adult children are high functioning psychopaths, making them handy for doing dirty work for the British government and corporations, until one of their atrocities is recorded on someone's mobile phone and an Interpol red notice is issued for crimes against humanity, setting off the plot.

* ''Literature/ChroniclesOfTheKencyrath'': The Kencyr people live in a resource-poor area but are exceedingly good at fighting; they make ends meet by hiring their troops out as mercenaries. Judging by examples in the series, about a quarter of the Kencyr peoples are mercenaries out on contract at any one time. Their rigid honor code makes them sometimes difficult employees, but their skill keeps them hired.

** Kincaid is a lone gunman for hire who spends most of his time protecting the Archive, but is willing to do side jobs if the pay is right.

* ''Literature/HammersSlammers'', from the eponymous Creator/DavidDrake novels. While Drake mostly uses them to tell stories based on historical events, their mercenary nature plays an important role in their characterization. In the series background, war has become so very expensive that mercenaries are common, and usually the most competent soldiers. The Slammers interact with other mercenary companies and are sometimes shortchanged by their employers. At other times, they play both sides off against each other. The Slammers also originated as an expy of the French Foreign Legion, an ArmyOfThievesAndWhores organized with a promise of citizenship on the planet recruiting them. But after seeing them in action the president who hired them decided he didn't want their kind on his world, so Colonel Hammer packed up and turned them into mercenaries, [[spoiler: until he saw an opportunity to come back and pull off a coup. And after that he hires out companies of the planetary army.]]

** In ''[[Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar By The Sword]]'', Kerowyn becomes the the leader of the Skybolts, a bonded mercenary company. At the end of the book, the Skybolts negotiate a permanent contract with Valdemar and become part of the army.

* In ''Literature/TheIronTeeth'' a few of the bandits start out their working lives as this, until things go south. For example, Vorsha worked as a mercenary — until her employer decided that outlawing her company on trumped-up charges beat paying them. And, if Herad plays her cards right, her band could well function as a decidedly murky company of these, too. She's already made one or two shady deals with lords which lean in this direction.

* ''Literature/JourneyToChaos'': The Dragon's Lair mercenary company that Eric joins is composed of sword swinging warriors, spell slinging mages, more covert warriors (spies and assassins and such) as well as {{Combat Medic}}s. Most of the time, they're hired to help keep the monster population under control. Since Eric is a novice in this book, he is only hired to do grunt work. Tiza would prefer playing this trope straight.
* ''Literature/KingsOfTheWyld'': The mercenaries, of course, though they're treat far more sympathetically than is normal for this trope. Furthermore, the entire setting is based on a pun regarding the word "band:" Mercenary bands are treated exactly like rock bands, with tours, frontmen, bookers, gigs, and of course money and fame.

* ''Literature/TheReynardCycle'': Mercenaries abound, both in the form of professional companies who operate independently as well as government sponsored troops who get loaned out to countries in need of extra fighting men. In ''The Baron of Maleperduys'', Reynard has Bruin recruit an entire army's worth of hired swords in order to combat the Calvarians.
* Author/RobertCrais: Joe Pike used to be a relatively ethical mercenary. Some less than ethical ones appear too.

** Mercenaries are generally called "sellswords". They can be hired individually or in an established company. Each sellsword company has its own name, style and reputation, ranging from the motley and brutal Brave Companions (disparaged as "the Bloody Mummers") to the elite and greatly respected Golden Company. While sellswords are rather notorious for their fickle loyalty and tendency to flee if battles turn sour or the pay runs dry (the only exception being the Golden Company, who make it a point of honor to never break a contract), they are generally regarded as competent warriors. Jaime notes that, unlike many wealthy knights of Westeros, sellswords must survive by their skill at arms alone. Some sellswords can grow quite rich and elevate their social position, the most notable being Bronn, who becomes a knight and marries into a noble family.

** Sellsails are mercenary sailors in it mainly for the loot: buccaneers, basically. Salladhor Saan is a notable example, a wealthy pirate who hires out his fleet to Stannis Baratheon. The Iron Isles, the Sisters and the Stepstones have a semi-steady side-gig of selling the use of whole flotillas or fleets. When they aren't going full-pirate, that is.

* ''Literature/StarGuard'': Terran soldiers are described as mercenaries, but in fact they're conscripted by Earth's puppet government on the orders of the extraterrestrial super-government Central Control and hired out to various planetary wars.

* ''Literature/TheWhiteCompany'' by Arthur Conan Doyle involves an English "free company", as they used to be called, being raised in England and Calais to travel to Spain and help Pedro the Cruel re-gain his throne.

** One episode features a group of [[SpacePirates Raiders]] acting as one for a rogue Centauri nobleman. In the end they betray him, as they know they can't fight the military of the Centauri Republic (a VestigialEmpire but still a superpower), but get offed by [[spoiler: [[BigBad the Shadows]] ]] before they can do more than tell their employer about it. The ExpandedUniverse mentions that Raider groups will sometimes hire themselves out to various governments, effectively acting like this.
** The Belt Alliance started as a union for workers in the asteroid belt that armed themselves to fight against Raiders and PMC groups working for companies trying to take their mines. After FirstContact the Belt Alliance evolved in a sort of shipping company / shipping union hybrid (with the single largest privately owned merchant fleet in the galaxy, as most of Earth's merchants work for them), while their armed forces continued fighting Raiders, both to defend Belt Alliance shipping and as PMC for other companies. It's mentioned that, in spite of their antiquated equipment (limited to light weapons by Earth Alliance law), they are ''very'' effective against Raiders due having focused all their weapons on killing fighters, [[TheDreaded with the very presence of Belt Alliance escorts keeping away the smarter ones]].

* In ''Series/KamenRiderBuild'', Namba Heavy Industries manages to be this with their Guardians, mass produced MechaMooks that they're willing to give use of to anyone with enough money to buy them. They later expand into selling use of Riders and Kaisers to the highest bidder, with the intent being to mass produce ''those'' and sell them to the highest bidder. [[spoiler:Of course they kept the strongest version, the Hard Guardians, reserved for their own private use.]] It's to the point a large portion of the armies of ''every single faction in the war'' is composed entirely of Guardians given to them by Namba. In fact, the entire reason Namba helped start the CivilWar in the first place was [[WarForFunAndProfit precisely because of that.]]

* ''Series/LawAndOrderCriminalIntent'': In "Boots on the Ground", the VictimOfTheWeek is an activist who been infiltrating two rival private contractors. This leaves plenty of suspects with military training.
* ''Series/{{Leverage}}'': In "[[Recap/LeverageS01E02TheHomecomingJob The Homecoming Job]]", the Villain of the Week is a PMC Blackwater {{Expy}} that shot up a group of US Army reservists. Their client was one of the wounded soldiers who was unable to pay for his medical expenses. While it's initially assumed that the reason for the shooting was simply that the mercenaries panicked, it's later found that [[spoiler: the company was actually stealing money from Iraq and using it to bribe a Congressman in order to continue to be given no bid contracts]].

* ''Series/TheNightManager'': Roper has a small army of mercenaries in his employ from across the world, from he calls the "real United Nations".

** Decima Technologies is a private intelligence agency who are introduced as a VillainOfTheWeek stealing secrets for the Chinese, but turn out to be an ArcVillain hoping to take control of [[BenevolentAI The Machine]] (and later [[EvilCounterpart Samaritan]]). While at first this appears to be to corner the market in selling information, they actually want to establish a DeusEstMachina for reasons based on [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans ideology]] rather than profit.

* ''Series/StargateSG1'': This is technically Teal'c's status, to make it legally possible for him to join the team. He's actually an alien freedom fighter, but on paper he's a security contractor at Cheyenne Mountain. This also gives him an official job and paycheck, allowing him to start living in an off-base apartment [[HumanAliens while letting people think he's an African immigrant rather than an extraterrestrial one]].

** The real-life ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_Canopy Constellis Group]]'', a real-life conglomerate which includes [=PMC=] subsidiaries such as Academi (Former Blackwater) and Triple Canopy, is a possible employer for the [=PCs=]. However, since the writers [[ShownTheirWork did their research]], they're a more realistic and accurate version of this trope. They are mostly very well-armed security guards that work in government contracts in war zones. The job is notable for its lack of stability and high layoff rates, with most of the military contractors being veterans and ex-military without any other marketable skills. In short, working for an actual PMC sucks.

** ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'': ''[[http://forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=13961 Gold and Glory]]'' is a {{sourcebook}} specifically for these, along with inherent adventure hooks. With understanding that small adventuring bands impossible to list due to great numbers and overall turnover rate also do a lot of the small-scale work in this field, and sometimes happen to hire, be hired by or grow into larger mercenary groups.

*** The Empire fields Free Companies, militia or mercenary companies that support their standing armies. This is despite the fact that regular Empire infantry already dress like and are organized like real-life Landsknecht mercenaries.

*** [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame The Squats]] are a highly mercantile species of [[HumanSubspecies Abhuman]] who approach every aspect of life as a business, including warfare. Squat mercenaries are highly sought after renowned for their skill, determination and reliability, especially when fighting against Orks. Early editions of the ''Epic'' scale version of the game represented this by allowing any army, except [[ArchEnemy Orks]] and [[TheLegionsOfHell Chaos]], to include companies of Squad mercenaries in their force.
*** Many minor Xenos races, such as the [[LizardFolk Loxatl]] and the [[SnakePeople Sslyth]], willingly serve as mercenaries for other alien races, the forces of Chaos, or even radical Imperial forces. What they ask for in return can vary, ranging from precious gems, the looted possessions of the enemy or even their choice of slaves. Such races are usually confined to the background material but when they do turn up in the game itself they are often incorporated into a specific faction's army list or as optional rules.

** Fyreslayers are a culture of dwarf mercenaries, with armies all across the Mortal Realms, with the reputation that they'll fight for or against just about anyone, but only accept payment in magical ur-gold. The truth is a little more complicated: ur-gold is actually formed from the blood of their shattered war god, Grimnir, which was scattered across the realms eons ago. By releasing its magical energies, they hope they can resurrect their lost god. They keep that part a secret, though, to keep anyone ese from trying togather it for themselves, leading to them being looked down on as OnlyInItForTheMoney.

** More conventional [=PMCs=] do exist in the game's backstory — the most prominent are [=MET2000=], Tsunami, 10,000 Daggers and Combat Inc.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Traveller}}'': Since many characters have a military background, they often find themselves doing mercenary work. Basing a campaign around the characters being in a mercenary outfit was common, and supplements, rulebooks and premade adventures were issued to support such campaigns.

* ''VideoGame/ActOfWar'': In the ''High Treason'' expansion pack for ''Act of War: Direct Action'', powerful mercenaries can be purchased for a limited time with "insurance" money, if the mercenaries survive half of the money is given back to you, if not you don't see a return on your deposit. The mercenaries are tiered as "Official" (Heavy Infantry and Medics), "Unofficial" (AA-Guns and Tanks) and "Illegal" (Fighter Jets and Low Yield Nukes). They also play a minor role in the storyline. When Richter is forced to go rogue and flees the USA, he ends up having to rely on mercenaries for a few missions. The missions contain some debating regarding the morality of using mercenaries during which it is mentioned that a good chunk of the mercenaries were trained by the US even though Richter remains ethically opposed to their use.

** The big reveal in ''Private Military Company'' is that [[spoiler:a certain unspecified government contacted ION, Inc., directly or through Vrana, and wanted Chinese involvement in Takistan's nuclear program covered up]], and whether or not he himself or ION/Vrana were paid off, field leader Mark Reynolds is onboard with that even if it means [[spoiler:squelching out on the protection contract with the UN weapons inspection team]]. The player can choose to [[spoiler:fight their way through pro-Reynolds ION contractors to gun down Reynolds and expose the nuclear program and the attempted cover up]], but the canonical ending was that [[spoiler:the player and Henry Asano joined Reynolds in killing off the UN weapons inspectors — along with any ION contractors not already in on the plan — and successfully covered up the whole thing]], with the player character getting [[spoiler:a hefty bonus and moving up to ION Head of Operations]] by the time of ''Take On Helicopters''.

** The final mission of the game is an assault on the [[spoiler:very same (corrupt) PMC headquarters that the player characters have been working for most of the game, and at the end they decide to found their own PMC ''that won't plot attacks on American forces in order to build a case for privatizing the U.S. military'']].

** The Militia from ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight'', which is a very large mercenary army that is commanded by the eponymous Arkham Knight (AKA [[spoiler:[[ComicBook/RedHood Jason Todd]]]]) and {{ComicBook/Deathstroke}} (Slade Wilson). They have been hired by ComicBook/TheScarecrow (Jonathan Crane) to invade Gotham City on the night of Halloween, in order to help assist with Scarecreow's plans to gas the whole city with his [[SupernaturalFearInducer fear toxin]], and attempting to finally defeat Batman once and for all. The Militia are comprised mostly of former (U.S.) military veterans who have experienced combat in warzones around the world. Unlike Gotham's homegrown criminal organizations, they behave like an occupying paramilitary force and have established outposts all over the city; with their soldiers patrolling the streets both on foot and riding in armored cars, while also controlling a very large arsenal of [[AttackDrone unmanned tanks and helicopters]] to try and counter Batman's heavily upgraded [[WeaponizedCar Batmobile]].

** Markham's Marauders are the PlayerCharacter's mercenary company. They're presented as a small-time, company-sized outfit that mostly do jobs in the Periphery, and one out of many merc companies in the Inner Sphere. The Marauders ([[CanonImmigrant canonically]]) served the Aurigan Restoration during the Aurigan CivilWar, and provided employment and training for several [=MechWarriors=]-in-exile that would later go on to serve in the royal guard of the Aurigan Coalition.

* ''VideoGame/{{Bombshell}}'''s protagonist is ex-military and working for a mercenary outfit. Her departure from the military was nominally a honorable discharge, but she had a big cloud hanging over her due to a particularly prominent failure which cost her her [[AnArmAndALeg an arm]] and her [[TrueCompanions team]]. She considers the mercenary outfit (and the [[ArtificialLimbs new arm]] they gave her) to be her second chance.
* ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'': The Crimson Lance was this to the Atlas Corporation, actively seeking the Eridian technology in Pandora. In ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'', Hyperion is powerful enough to not only have a huge robot army, but a private army consisting of soldiers that can deploy turrets, snipers with ridiculous accuracy and Infiltrators that can cloak and attack you with their shotguns. And in ''VideoGame/BorderlandsThePreSequel'', Dahl is revealed to have a SpaceMarine private army, and a Legion is big enough to take control of an entire space station, complete with ten-foot-tall mechs, turrets and jet fighters.
** All eight corporations are implied to have their own private army. Aside from Hyperion, Atlas and Dahl, we only get to see Torgue's biker army in a DLC.

* In ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert'', Tanya is this to the Allies, as shown in the opening cutscene for her first mission, when one of the officers gets angry at having a civilian present in their war room. Tanya quickly lets him know that even if she's a civilian, she's trusted enough to have top level clearance. This seems to be no longer the case in the two sequels, however, where Tanya seems to work directly for the Allied military.

* ''VideoGame/CrusaderKings'' has a lot of mercenary companies, many of them based on historical examples as seen under Real Life, that can be hired, very expensively, if you need extra troops or galleys. Under certain circumstances they can be landed, and a few can be vassalized. But, once you run out of gold they'll send a message regretfully informing you that they have to cancel their contract.

* ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'': [=PMCs=] are ubiquitous in the year 2027 and play a significant role in the plot. The one that plays the largest role in the game is Belltower Associates, a British PMC that has taken over as the police of Hengsha, a Chinese two-tiered city, and serves as security for Tai Yong Medical, who pretty much own the city as well. [[spoiler:Both the leadership of Belltower and TYM are members of the Illuminati, too, and the Spec Ops troops are part of a covert Belltower unit.]] Amusingly, Belltower is also contracted out to the Australian government to fight in their civil war against separatists who are backed by China, which causes a lit of tension between Belltower's executives and the Chinese government.

* ''VideoGame/DiscoElysium'': Krenel's mercenaries are a squad hired by the Wild Pines group to protect their representative Joyce Messier while the negotiations with the Dockworker's Union are under way and to prove (military) support should the situation goes out of control.[[spoiler:It's later revealed that The Hanged Man, the victim whose murder you are investigating, was their leading officer. With his death, the squad went rogue and now are laying low planning their revenge.]] Most of the Krenel men we encounter are horribly racist [[SociopathicSoldier sociopathic soldiers]] fond of reminiscing of the war atrocities they committed in third world countries [[ForTheEvulz for cheap laughs]].

** The Fighters Guild, an organization of "[[HiredGuns warriors-for-hire]]" who operate throughout most of Tamriel. The Guild is chartered by Empire of Tamriel to provide [[AdventureGuild training and employment]] to citizens of the martial persuasion. The Guild got it start during the reign of the [[{{Wutai}} Akaviri]] [[RegentForLife Potentate]] Versidue-Shaie, who dissolved and outlawed the private armies of nobles throughout the Empire. Given that the citizens of Tamriel still had a need for protective services beyond what the Imperial Legions could provide and that there was a need to prevent thousands of unemployed soldiers from straying into brigandry, Versidue-Shaie ordered the formation of the Syffim (the [[SnakePeople Tsaesci]] word for "soldier"), the group that would eventually become the Fighters Guild. Fighters Guild Halls can accept contracts from any citizen of the empire, as long as it does not violate any laws or customs. These most often involve [[RatStomp dealing with dangerous wild animals]], [[BountyHunter collecting bounties on criminals]], protection and bodyguard services, and, at the highest levels, dealing with supernatural threats including vampires, necromancers, and Daedra worshipers.

** ''VideoGame/ExtrapowerAttackOfDarkforce'': The SPICA mercenary company is a PMC tasked with studying and eradicating [[TheAssimilator the Bem]] at the start of the game. Werner's command capabilities and resourceful contacts in high places makes them an essential support in fighting off the AlienInvasion.
** ''VideoGame/ExtrapowerGiantFist'': Has the Barracuda mercenary organization, led by Mr Barrack. Less scrupulous than SPICA, they consist of [[{{Mooks}} armed goons]] and are simple muscle for whoever pays them enough. Fighter Wolf is a more individual example, supported by his girlfriend and [[{{Literature/Momotaro}} his monkey, dog and bird helpers]] but otherwise operating solo. At the end of his route, he negotiates a comfortable gig as the bodyguard of Mars Corp's CEO.

** ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' has the Talon Company Mercs, who pop up occasionally in the Capital Wasteland, usually fighting other factions such as super mutants or scavenging in pre-war tech buildings. If you play a good karma aligned character and finish the "Power of the Atom" quest in favor of Megaton, Mr. Burke will send them after you as well.
** ''VideoGame/Fallout4'' features the Gunners, a group of semi-professional mercenaries with good equipment, disciplined ranks, and exactly zero morals; stand in their way, and you ''will'' go down. If you have enough money to pay their price, they'll do anything, from raiding old pharmaceutical companies for experimental drugs to stealing eggs from a Deathclaw nest. One potential companion, [=MacCready=], is a former Gunner who joined for the money, but grew so disgusted with their kill-happy ways he leaves them to strike out on his own. They are not happy with his choice.
* ''Videogame/{{Evolve}}'' has numerous groups employed by the gigacorps such as Hightower and Orion Secure Solutions. The group seen in game is Ebonstar Tactical Solutions, the hired guns of Nordita. Several of the maps (Armory, Barracks, King's Fort, Wraith Trap) are Ebonstar facilities and you can make use of some of their equipment in the Evacuation campaign.

* ''VideoGame/{{Haze}}'': Mantel is described as a Private Military Company, though in the game itself it's acting on its own and hasn't been hired. It's a particularly ludicrous example of this trope, since it's stated to have all but ''replaced'' all national armed forces. And Mantel is not just a PMC, but a super-corporation that has, apparently, taken over most of North America.

* ''VideoGame/JaggedAlliance'' has you hiring mercenaries from the Association of International Mercenaries (A.I.M.) to complete your missions. A.I.M. seems to work as more of a mercenary union/guild rather than a PMC, as members are hired on an individual basis and bring just themselves plus their starting equipment if you chose to pay for it, leaving you to provide any other equipment, further training and transportation within the area of operations.

** In-game, many of the antagonists you end up fighting are also mercenaries. Lucas' red-shirt wearing goons in the first game are all mercenaries he's hired to wrest control of the fallow trees, and Deidrianna's troops in the third are an even mixture of fanatically loyal soldiers, conscripts, and mercenaries. As the game progresses, Deidrianna begins to rely more and more on professional mercenaries to make up for the fact that many of her people are rebelling and her poorly-trained and poorly-armed conscripts have been regularly slaughtered by your own mercs.

* ''VideoGame/{{MAG}}'' focuses on an all-out war between three mega-[=PMCs=] (each of which have replaced government armies — they've been downgraded to little more than a glorified National Guard). In a decidedly odd subversion of the "not allowed to make war" deal, the [=PMCs=] are specifically fighting each other to prove that their group is more capable of defending the objective...from other [=PMCs=] (technically, the concern is terrorists, but the [=PMCs=] are the most frequent attackers). In other words, the [=PMCs=] are fighting and causing damage to the very things they're being hired to protect, so that they can be hired to protect it.

** Technically all of the multiplayer characters in ''Mass Effect 3'' are paid by the job. In some cases, they're serving members of an allied government (humans, turians, asari, salarians, geth, quarians) and paying them just simplifies the supply lines a little. In others, such as the batarians, vorcha, and volus, they're more motivated by the money than anything else.

** Also, there's the massive oil super-conglomerate known as Universal Petroleum, which contracts out a "low-rent" PMC known as Tactical Solutions to do security work. Of course, in this case, "security work" includes deploying a battalion of tanks, a virtual air wing of helicopters, and over a thousand foot infantry, complete with military-grade air support. The scary part is that some real-life [=PMCs=] (i.e. Blackwater and Executive Outcomes) ''could'' match what UP's mercenaries do in-game.

* ''VideoGame/PAYDAYTheHeist'': The Murkywater mercenaries, inspired by the real life counterpart Blackwater, show up as enemies in one level. They're no more resilient than a SWAT unit, but they have better reaction time and accuracy. They become more prominent in ''VideoGame/PAYDAY2'', featuring as enemies in more heists, including "Shadow Raid" where they're shown (or at least mentioned by Bain) to have a hand in a lot of dirty business — up to and including funding terrorists with drug money, and "Meltdown", where they have access to, of all things, [[spoiler:nuclear warheads]].
* ''VideoGame/PerfectDark'' has an excessively large security division of the dataDyne hyper-corporation, which is contracted to an alien race (albeit somewhat unwillingly), as well as the protagonists workplace, Carrington Institute. The sequel and extended universe adds the contractable security sectors of another two hypercorps; Zentek and Core-Mantis Omniglobal.

* ''Videogame/PlanetSide 2'': The New Conglomerate is a collection of {{Mega Corp}}s, libertarians, mercenaries, and pirates. The [[TheEmpire Terran Republic]] at one point had mercenaries, until they were all executed for treason.
* The main protagonists of ''VideoGame/ProjectWingman'' are a mercenary company called Sicario. They’re noted to having their own Special Ops forces, armored divisions, transport craft, and even their own AWACS. The last of which is something that not even some countries are able to operate. The game begins with Sicario finishing their contract in one country before flying to Cascadia to assist in their war for independence from the Federation.

* ''VideoGame/SamuraiWarriors'': Magoichi Saika's group (their Japanese name ''Saika-shu'' literally means "Saika group"). They're most prominently shown in the second game, where in Magoichi's story [[spoiler:the "Saika Mercenaries" first fight alongside UsefulNotes/OdaNobunaga at Anegawa the behest of Magoichi's friend, then against Nobunaga at the next battle. Once he's on the other end of their guns, Nobunaga does ''not'' take this well]].
* ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'': Jack's Squad falls neatly in the corporate mercenary mold. They are a platoon of guns-for-hire send by an unknown third party to investigate the [[DarkWorld Schwarzwelt]] with an "eye for development" (read: "profit and wealth"). Worth noting that their cross-dimensional mobile base, [[SuperPrototype the ''Lightning'']], is far more powerful than the other ships of the U.N. Schwarzwelt Investigational Team, being able to create a PocketDimension where the squad's HQ is located. The game explicit compare it to a fully customized and tuned out vehicle whereas the other ships are cars straight from the assembly line. Pretty much all the members except for [[AffablyEvil Captain Jack]] are incredibly rude and greedy trigger-happy psychos who readily admit to your face that they are looking for excuses to fill you with lead.

* In ''Videogame/StrikeCommander'', [=PMCs=] have become quite powerful, and operate their own armoured and airborne vehicles. They work for different nations to augment armies and carry out percision strikes. The player belongs to one such unit that specializes in F-16 fighter jets. The game takes you all around the world as your squad assists in other countries' wars. Stocking inventory for your squad means buying Sidewinder missiles and laser-guided bombs, among other things.

*** The 6-4 who are badass consummate professionals and have a reputation for taking contracts for less money by working for the underdog in a conflict, in this case they are employed by The Militia.
*** The Apex Predators who are equally badass and substantially less nice, they work for the IMC and make up all of the bosses the protagonist fights throughout the single player campaign.

* ''VideoGame/WarCraftIII'': Mercs can be hired from camps, and mercenary heroes, in the expansion, from tavenrs. Mercs can be quite useful in story missions as when you aren't given the means to make more of your troops but are still picking up money they can fill in gaps in your forces and in skirmishes as they can give you access to spells normally reserved for another faction.

* ''Webcomic/CryHavoc'': The Majan Hunters are just one of many mercenary companies, known in universe as 'dogs of war'. These companies are seemingly used to support small national armies.

* ''Webcomic/{{Outsider}}'': The Agumo Conference is a network of barsam pilots working as independent contractors willing to undertake a wide variety of jobs for paying clients. Many are currently employed by the loroi military as scouts, couriers and guns for hire.

* ''Webcomic/{{SSDD}}'': The CORE was a company of [[http://www.poisonedminds.com/d/20120210.html mallcops]] before society collapsed. Now they're a vast army for hire that can conscript troops from client nations, has replaced many states' armed forces and is one of the few things keeping the Collective of Anarchist States from conquering the rest of the world.

* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'': Ron hires these guys in [[Recap/KimPossibleS2E28RonMillionaire Ron Millionaire]], when he becomes filthy rich. They're not particularly effective — they fight the {{Red Shirt}}s, the guys that Kim takes by herself, and ''lose''.

* The Russian [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagner_Group Wagner Group]] is possibly one of these. They are often used by the Russian government to provide forces for allies in conflicts where it suits them to have plausible deniability. They are notable for having been brazen enough to launch an [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Khasham attack]] on a US base in Syria. [[CurbStompBattle It went poorly for them.]] They've been active in Eastern UsefulNotes/{{Ukraine}}, UsefulNotes/{{Syria}}, UsefulNotes/{{Sudan}}, and the UsefulNotes/CentralAfricanRepublic in the lates 2010 and early 2020s. After years of denying his involvement, Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin finally admitted in September 2022 that he founded the Wagner Group in 2014 to support the Russian forces in Eastern Ukraine. This was due to a leaked video of Prigozhin showing him offering prison inmates freedom if [[TradingBarsForStripes they served for six months]] in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, in which the group has seen its heaviest involvement yet, in fierce battles of attrition such as Bakhmut.

* UK firm [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandline_International Sandline International]] was another case of a real-life Private Military Company, and had close links with Executive Outcomes. After it shut down, most of the staff went on to form [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aegis_Defence_Services Aegis Defence Services]]. Check Sandline's (still exisiting) [[http://www.sandline.com/site/index.html website]] and check their company profile which reveals some interesting tidbits such as that Sandline will work for. Their involvement in the situation in Sierra Leone, including the coup against Kabbah, was a source of embarrassment to former Foreign Secretary Robin Cook in 1998.

* Modern standing armies were originally collections of mercenary units under permanent contract to a given ruler (not always mercenaries strictly speaking; most were [[MyMasterRightOrWrong lawful subjects]] of the ruler, but they served under the same terms). They were usually raised privately by a local noble often from his neighbors. In fact much of the modern traditional ranking system was originally commercial in concept. [[ColonelBadass Colonel]] for instance originally meant "CEO of a ''regimentum''(regiment), that is a mercenary band with a standing royal contract.

** John Paul Jones was a Scotsman (and ''very much'' anti-English at that), but is most famous for his service to Russian Empire and United States.

** Even [[UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte Napoléon]], merely an Artillery captain at the time, [[WhatCouldHaveBeen considered enlisting to the Russian Army]] at one point, but decided against it so as not to lose seniority, because there was a mandatory rank penalty for the foreign officers at the time.

* Another famous example is the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almogavars Almogavars]], infantry shock troops recruited all over the Iberian kingdoms with an origin in the Kingdom of Aragon who were feared for their ferocity and their BattleCry, "Awake, iron!", which they would shout as they struck their weapons with a piece of flint, making enormous sparks. A group of them led by Roger de Flor formed the Catalan Company, which was hired to help protect the Byzantine Empire, which they did with great success, but then their leaders were murdered by orders of the Emperor — which led to the Catalan Revenge, a two year long war of revenge and looting. The Almogavar survivors would later move to the Duchy of Athens, but after being denied their pay they went and conquered both the Duchies of Athens and Neopatras.

* The Russian [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagner_Group Wagner Group]] is possibly one of these. They are often used by the Russian government to provide forces for allies in conflicts where it suits them to have plausible deniability. They are notable for having been brazen enough to launch an [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Khasham attack]] on a US base in Syria. [[CurbStompBattle It went poorly for them.]] They've been active in Eastern Ukraine, Syria, Sudan, and the Central African Republic in recent years. After years of denying his involvement, Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin finally admitted in September 2022 that he founded the Wagner Group in 2014 to support the Russian forces in Eastern Ukraine. This was due to a leaked video of Prigozhin showing him offering prison inmates freedom if [[TradingBarsForStripes they served for six months]] in the 2022 Russo-Ukrainian War.

* The Russian [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagner_Group Wagner Group]] is possibly one of these. They are often used by the Russian government to provide forces for allies in conflicts where it suits them to have plausible deniability. They are notable for having been brazen enough to launch an [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Khasham attack]] on a US base in Syria. [[CurbStompBattle It went poorly for them.]] They've been active in Eastern Ukraine, Syria, Sudan, and the Central African Republic in recent years

* ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' has the aptly named Project Freelancer as the focus for much of the series' backstory. Additionally, the group of Insurrectionists the program was at war with [[spoiler:was revealed to be a UNSC splinter group acting as a private security force for [[MegaCorp Charon Industries]].]]

* ''{{VideoGame/inFAMOUS 2}}'' features Vermaak 88, a [[AmoralAfrikaner South African PMC]]; by the time the game starts, news reports mention they're the largest and most lucrative private army in the world. [[BigBad Joseph]] [[CorruptHick Bertrand]] hires out an entire unit of Vermaak 88 mercenaries to come work in New Marais, but this is actually a front to use these men as guinea pigs for a lab experiment — he uses a [[PowerCopying power transfer machine]] on Lucy Kuo (a kidnapped [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual Conduit]]) to grant Kuo's [[AnIcePerson ice powers]] to the Vermaak soldiers. Bertrand then intends to sell the [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity now completely insane]] and {{superpowered|Mooks}} [[{{supersoldier}} mercenaries]] as weapons of war to various dictators and warlords around the world, ultimately hoping to inspire [[FantasticRacism fear and hatred of Conduits]] on a global scale.

* A lot of modern military contractors, at least those operating in Western countries, are somewhat of a subversion of the trope in the sense that they are not really capable of doing what a real military does: they are more of glorified, heavy-duty security guards without the means to engage in "real" combat where heavy military equipment is involved. Wiki/TheOtherWiki has a list of some of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_private_military_contractors the most notable examples]]. This may be in part because of the United Nations Mercenary Convention, which prohibits the "recruitment, training, use, and financing of mercenaries". Using private military contractors for offensive operations would arguably be a violation of international law. However, China, France, India, Japan, Russia, the UK, and the US are not signatories to the treaty.

* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' has mercenaries as its primary characters, with its lead character Guts having been trained as one from childhood. The Golden Age arc of the manga, which the anime covers, follows a mercenary company called the Band of the Hawk that Guts was a part of, and in particular the events that would lead to its idealistic leader, Griffith, undergoing a nasty FaceHeelTurn and becoming Guts's number one enemy.

** In a few games, entire countries hire out their military forces, because their land is unsuitable for farming and mercenary work keep the country afloat. Starting with Thracia's DragonRider army, they're usually flying units, and even their royalty are mercenaries.

*** The squads of Marauders who often fight alongside [[ArmyOfThievesAndWhores Renegade & Heretic armies]] are a mix of corrupted [[SpacePirate pirates]] and mercenaries who fight because they are being very well paid to do so rather than for the glory of the Dark Gods. To represent their status as more professional soldiers, the 8th Edition rules make Renegade Marauders one of the most reliable units in a Renegades & Heretics force, but they are the only infantry unit in the army that cannot be dedicated to one of the Chaos Gods.

* ''Film/TripleThreat'': The antagonist, Collins, leads a team of professional mercenaries. Payu and Long Fei used to be mercenaries before defecting.

[[folder:Film]]

* ''Film/Venom2018'': Despite being a nominal ResearchInc, the Life Foundation employs hit squads with armored vehicles and high-tech {{Attack Drone}}s, who somehow get away with a high-damage ChaseScene through the streets of San Francisco.

* In ''Film/SleepyHollow1999'', the Headless Horseman is the vengeful ghost of one of the Hessian mercenaries hired by Great Britain during the American Revolution.

* ''Film/Water1985'': An island in the West Indies that strikes a deposit of pure mineral water. Annoyed at the competition, the French hire a group of mercenaries to blow it up. After blowing up the well and nearly throttling the island's governor to death, the mercenary commander then leaves the governor [[MyCard his card]], saying: "If you are in need of an army, just call."

* ''{{Franchise/Extrapower}}'':
** ''[[VideoGame/ExtrapowerAttackOfDarkforce EXTRAPOWER Attack of Darkforce]]'': The SPICA mercenary company is a PMC tasked with studying and eradicating [[TheAssimilator the Bem]] at the start of the game. Werner's command capabilities and resourceful contacts in high places makes them an essential support in fighting off the AlienInvasion.
** ''[[VideoGame/ExtrapowerGiantFist EXTRAPOWER Giant Fist]]'': Has the Barracuda mercenary organization, led by Mr Barrack. Less scrupulous than SPICA, they consist of [[{{Mooks}} armed goons]] and are simple muscle for whoever pays them enough. Fighter Wolf is a more individual example, supported by his girlfriend and [[{{Literature/Momotaro}} his monkey, dog and bird helpers]] but otherwise operating solo. At the end of his route, he negotiates a comfortable gig as the bodyguard of Mars Corp's CEO.

[[folder:Webcomics]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* In ''Roleplay/DarwinsSoldiers'', [[ElaborateUndergroundBase Pelvanida]] guards are explicitly stated to from an unnamed private security company. And they carry some ''serious'' firepower.
* ''Roleplay/{{Netland}}''`s TOAST Industries contracts out its own internal force group, as well as selling hardware to other [=PMCs=] (and the [[PlayerCharacter PCs]]).

** ''ComicBook/TheNewUniverse'' includes ''Mark Hazzard: Merc''.

** The real-life ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_Canopy Constellis Group]]'', a real-life conglomerate which includes [=PMC=] subsidiaries such as Academi (Former Blackwater) and Triple Canopy, is a possible employer for the [=PCs=]. However, since the writers [[ShownTheirWork did their research]], they're a more realistic and accurate version of this trope. They are mostly very well-armed security guards that work in government contracts in warzones, the job is notable for it's lack of stability and high layoff rates, with most of the military contractors begin veterans and ex-military without any other marketable skills. In short, working for an actual PMC sucks.

* Modern standing armies were originally collections of mercenary units under permanent contract to a given ruler (not always mercenaries strictly speaking; most were [[MyMasterRightOrWrong lawful subjects]] of the ruler, but they served under the same terms). They were usually raised privately by a local noble often from his neighbors. In fact much of the modern traditional ranking system was originally commercial in concept.[[ColonelBadass Colonel]] for instance originally meant "CEO of a ''regimentum''(regiment), that is a mercenary band with a standing royal contract.

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[[caption-width-right:350: [[Music/WarrenZevon Van Owen and Roland]] ]]

Private Military Contractors (PMC) are mercenaries, soldiers, and other combatants employed by a private company or other organization and fighting on behalf of clients. While such soldiers of fortune are regarded with wariness in most settings, they're generally considered distinct from criminal enforcers, mafia hit men, and the like. The polar opposite of [[{{conscription}} conscripts]].