Line #91 Main/CrimefightingWithCash


1	[[quoteright:300:[[ComicBook/FinalCrisis https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Most-Excellent_Superbat3_2236.jpg]]]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:"The outfit says, [[ComicBook/{{Batman}} "I am vengeance! I am the night!"]]...the smile says, [[Series/ChappellesShow "I'm rich, bitch!"]]"]]
3
4	->'''[[ComicBook/TheFlash Barry Allen]]:''' What are your superpowers, again?\
5	'''[[ComicBook/{{Batman}} Bruce Wayne]]:''' I'm rich.
6	-->-- ''Film/{{Justice\|League 2017}} [[Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague League]]''
7
8	Sometimes a character doesn't have to be [[ComicBook/SpiderMan bitten by a radioactive spider]] or [[ComicBook/{{Superman}} sent to Earth from an alien planet]] to be a superhero. Instead, the hero needs only one thing: a lot of money (from just a low-end millionaire to high-end {{Fiction 500}} billionaire levels).
9
10	Superheroes who don't live an "everyman" life often happen to be millionaire playboys by inheritance to explain where they get their neverending supply of gadgets, hideouts, vehicles, and {{Sidekick}}s. Instead of (or, quite often, in addition to) donating money to charity, they've decided to give back to society by dressing themselves in spandex and buying [[WhereDoesHeGetAllThoseWonderfulToys lasers and boomerangs]] with which to kick the ass of ne'er do wells. If they're a super-genius as well, this will be the result of patenting their brilliant inventions. [[ReedRichardsIsUseless But not anything that will effect lasting social change in the world, like a cure for cancer or an endless supply of food]], because then writers couldn't do very special issues to address political/social problems of the week.
11
12	Super teams will often have at least one member who is a Crimefighter With Cash to explain how the team gets their CoolShip and other assorted goodies; see TheTeamBenefactor. Often overlaps with NonPoweredCostumedHero.
13
14	Frequently, but not always, overlaps with BadassNormal or ClothesMakeTheSuperman. Might include simply bribing the bad guys to stop, see CutLexLuthorACheck. Contrast MoneyIsNotPower, where a person's wealth won't help them at all. A subtrope of ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney Not to be confused with MoneyMauling where money is literally used as a weapon.
15	----
16	!!Examples
17	!!!The following have their own pages:
18	[[AC:Comic Books]]
19	[[index]]
20	* CrimeFightingWithCash/TheDCU
21	* CrimeFightingWithCash/MarvelUniverse
22	[[/index]]
23	----
24
25	[[foldercontrol]]
26
27	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
28	* Sylia Stingray, founder and leader of ''Anime/BubblegumCrisis''' Knight Sabers. She never has to worry about money as much as the others do.
29	* In an anime example, one of the filler episodes of ''{{Manga/Naruto}}'' featured Naruto having to bodyguard/babysit a rich and spoiled little boy with a fascination with the ninja lifestyle. But rather than be interested in the traditional means of becoming one (training, skill, etc.), he uses money to humorously duplicate other jutsus by way of a large group of greedy henchmen. He would even use made-up hand seals before throwing the cash to achieve the desired effect. For example, after seeing Naruto's shadow clone jutsu, the kid throws a handful of bills into the air for his cash clone jutsu, resulting in several men leaping into action, grabbing the money while dressed in the same clothes and wearing a mask of the kid's face. The Aesop of the episode comes when the kid eventually runs out of cash on hand while being kidnapped, causing his mercenary henchmen to betray him.
30	** This came with a BilingualBonus; Shadow Clone Technique in Japanese is ''Kage Bunshin no Jutsu'', while the rich kid's Money Clone Technique is ''Ka'''ne''' Bunshin no Jutsu''. He also gives Money as his [[ElementalPowers element]] when using other techniques.
31	* Inverted and played straight at the same time by Kisugi sisters from ''Manga/CatsEye''. They are a trio of [[ClassyCatBurglar cat burglars]] and inheritors of a massive fortune that they spent on committing art thefts and heists, while they also use it to defeat dangerous criminals and help police catch VillainOfTheWeek.
32	* Parodied in ''Manga/HayateTheCombatButler'': Nagi's alter ego [[PaperThinDisguise Mask the Money]] fights crime by bribing the [[{{Yakuza}} Very]] [[UnusualEuphemism Nice]] [[BlatantLies People]].
33	* This is the main plot point of ''{{Anime/Eden of the East}}''; each one of the Seleção gets a fancy cellphone with 10 billion yen and a [[VoiceWithAnInternetConnection "concierge"]] who can use this money to do whatever they (the Seleção) want, including assassinating people, bribing the prime minister, subtly disposing of corpses or [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking buying a hotel]]. [[spoiler: They are supposed to use this to "save the country".]]
34	* Used in an astoundingly direct manner by Near in ''Manga/DeathNote''. Kira and Misa have him trapped in a building. The only way to escape is out the front door where he will be seen by Misa. In order to avoid being seen, he unleashes what appears to be a ton of cash from the top of the building. As the pedestrians go nuts trying to grab the money, Near escapes unseen.
35	* Parodied in one ''Anime/ExcelSaga'' episode, where a rich girl who is being targeted for assassination, solves all of her problems with cash. In the end, she even attempts to bribe some monster animal, who unfortunately ignores the money and eats her instead.
36	* Much of ''{{Anime/Daitarn 3}}'''s operating cost and Banjo's actions in general are self-financed. In the ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'', he's often the benefactor for the entire team. In games without ''Daitarn'', [[Anime/TheBigO Roger Smith]] takes up this role.
37	* At one point Manga/BlackJack ''buys a hospital'' with the spare cash he's got lying around, just so he can get to a dying patient [[IOweYouMyLife to whom he owes a great debt of gratitude]]. (He later sells it back, though.)
38	* ''Manga/{{Rinne}}''. An interesting case with Rinne Rokudo. He is at least a quarter shinigami, meaning that he has to pay for tools that normal shinigami naturally possess to do his job of guiding spirits to the afterlife. Unfortunately, unlike most examples on this page...he's [[PerpetualPoverty dirt poor]].
39	* In ''Anime/CControl'', everybody's magical powers, demon partners, and energy swords are literally fueled by money. The richer you are, the more powerful you are. The Big Bad was so wealthy his energy blade was scaled for giant robots, not people. He could still wield it with perfect control and reflexes, and it was implied he was holding back to help keep control of the blade.
40	* The whole shtick behind ''Anime/TheMillionaireDetectiveBalanceUnlimited''. Daisuke Kambe uses the titular [[Fiction500 unlimited balance]] to do things like buying a building so it’s okay for him to launch gas rockets into it. Each episode ends with a tally of how much he’s blown over the course of the case.
41	* In ''Anime/KillLaKill'', Kaneo Takarada uses the power of money to defend his hometown of Osaka from Honnouji Academy's forces. He pays everyone, including civilians, to fight for him with "Takarada bucks", which are worth more than yen, and his soldiers even have guns that ''[[MoneyMauling fire money]]''. Unlike the other schools that rely on their strength or guile alone, Takarada rules Osaka by using supply and demand to win everyone's favor. Even if Osaka is destroyed in the raid, Takarada is confident that he can pay everyone in town to rebuild it.
42	* ''Anime/DokiDokiPrecure'' has Alice Yotsuba[=/=]Cure Rosetta, who's the heiress of the financially huge Yotsuba Enterprise. Whether as a civilian or as a Cure, she has unrestricted access to any company asset required needed to help her team save the day.
43	[[/folder]]
44
45	[[folder:Comic Books]]
46	* ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes''
47	** Manticore. The "charities" part was lampshaded in one of the comics, where he notes that he feels guilty every time one of his {{Trick Arrow}}s misses and a couple thousand bucks that "could have fed and clothed a whole village in Ethiopia" goes down the drain. Though to be fair, in that same comic arc, he mentions that he donates a very large portion (assumed to be about fifty percent or so based on the evidence) to charity...he just feels guilty that he's not donating ''more''.
48	** This goes into overdrive with Wyvern and Longbow, ''large armies'' funded by Manticore and other major heroes and hero groups. There are a few magical or mutated superpowers spread throughout them, but the majority are just normal people.
49	** Black Scorpion and most Arachnos Crab Spiders are the villainous version of this; they have no normal powers, but what money and equipment they get access to. They're less about crimefighting, though.
50	* ''ComicBook/TheMetabarons'': While the titular characters seldom fight something as petty as crime (though Aghora and No-Name got some of their training by executing in melee, thousands of the scummiest criminals in prison per day) and most of them have godlike powers, they make heavy use of the money received from royalties for selling their homeworld and the mercenary work they do - including having enhancing bionics, a huge arsenal, a giant space fortress and dimension-travelling starfighter they designed themselves.
51	* The Revenant is the Batman [[{{Expy}} analog]] in the comic ''ComicBook/PS238''. At one point he muses "I sometimes think access to cash is the greatest superpower of all".
52	* ComicBook/RichieRich (although usually, in his titles, trouble comes to him, rather than him looking for trouble).
53	[[/folder]]
54
55	[[folder:Fan Works]]
56	* In the ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' fic ''Fanfic/CrimsonRising'', Aaron Collins and Anton Mercer- the fathers of Red [[Series/PowerRangersTimeForce Time Force]] Ranger Wes Collins and White [[Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder Dino Thunder]] Ranger Trent Fernandez respectively- provide important aid in setting up an emergency base for the Rangers after they find themselves hunted by Sector Nine, a government organisation created to monitor the Rangers that now seeks to control them under the authority of the ruthless General Gorbin. The two men also provide suitable financial resources for those Rangers facing work difficulties after their identities went public once the crisis is over, such as buying a recording studio so that Tanya and Kira can continue their music careers, funding Adam’s legal campaign to regain control of his dojo, or altering the birth certificate of Kat’s son to list Billy as his father rather than Kat's abusive ex-husband Malcolm Renaldi.
57	[[/folder]]
58
59	[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
60	* In ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6'', Fred is the only member besides the robot Baymax who isn't a science/engineering major, so he doesn't have the skills to weaponize his tech. However, he comes from an extremely rich family, so besides being the one who controls the firebreathing {{Kaiju}} suit, he supplies the money, materials, and a lab/workshop that's needed for the team.
61	[[/folder]]
62
63	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
64	* In ''Film/KickAss'', Red Mist is essentially this - his CoolCar and so forth are paid for by his father. Hit Girl and Big Daddy aren't independently rich, but they supplement their income with stolen mob money, which is extensive enough to have a WallOfWeapons in their safehouse (including a bazooka) and offshore accounts with millions of dollars in reserve.
65	* In ''Film/MysteryMen'' (1999), a deliberate parody of superhero tropes, [[CorporateSponsoredSuperhero Lance Hunt]] pretends to be the millionaire benefactor of Captain Amazing when he is actually himself Captain Amazing. This character also fits the CorruptCorporateExecutive trope, as it's implied that he made a lot of his money with advertising. Basically, imagine a UsefulNotes/{{NASCAR}} racer fighting crime.
66	[[/folder]]
67
68	[[folder:Literature]]
69	* OlderThanTheyThink example: in ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'', while tracking down the Count, the private fortunes of the Harkers, Dr. Seward, Quincey Morris, and especially Arthur Holmwood (being, respectively, a partner of a law firm and sole inheritor of the estate of the other partner, a physician and sole owner of a mansion which he converted to an insane asylum, an American entrepreneur who regularly travels the world, and a British lord) are used to rapidly equip the entire party with whatever tools they need nearly instantaneously, as well as fund several necessary bribes both in England and abroad. At one point in the novel, Mina lampshades the incredible utility of cold, hard cash.
70	* While they don't fight ''crime'' per se (please, don't give Haruhi ideas), the Espers in ''Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya'' have such limited situational powers that their real impact is how they're organized and can apparently pay for any event they want to happen. [[spoiler:Tsuruya's family seems to be one of their backers.]]
71	* The spoof guidebook ''Literature/HowToBeASuperhero'' features an example of a character who ''literally'' crimefights with cash; he offers the BigBad's {{mooks}} higher wages, paid vacations, and [[SignedUpForTheDental a health plan]], then orders them to beat up their former boss.
72	* Charles Adair from ''Literature/SuperPowereds''. While he doesn't actually go into the field, he manages to bring down most of the Sons of Progress by bankrolling them and then tracking the money, and offering anonymous tips to the Heroes.
73	[[/folder]]
74
75	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
76	* The premise of ''Series/{{APB}}'' is billionaire Gideon Reeves paying the mayor of Chicago $90 million to take over a police district, and then equipping it with high-tech gear of his own design, most of which the Chicago PD would never have been able to afford if they'd had to get a budget request for said things past the mayor's office instead of having the head of a major high technology firm giving them the stuff for free.
77	* ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' has the protagonist Oliver Queen using his family's fortune to engineer high-tech gear in his crusade to fight crime. He can also take a less direct approach, such as using his wealth to buy a priceless jewel to serve as bait for a jewel thief.
78	--> '''Oliver''': "You know us billionaire vigilantes... we ''do'' love our toys."
79	* Taiya Hando/Bun Red of ''Series/BakuageSentaiBoonboomger'' is this with some strategy in a way. If he needs to spend an exorbitant amount of cash to complete his job/defeat the Hashirien, he will do it. This even includes buying off entire locations just to use them to his advantage.
80	* ''Series/{{Castle\|2009}}'': One of the perks of being a best-selling novelist like Richard Castle is that he can sometimes use his money and/or fame to get to witnesses and evidence faster than a court order. He notably puts up 100k without knowing if he'll get it back just for a chance to help Beckett catch her mother's killer.
81	* In ''Series/ChicagoPD'', Voight often manages to come up with large sums of money just when they're needed, leading many to believe he's a crooked cop.
82	* Jayne Cobb from ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' joined up with Mal while having him at gunpoint after Mal offered him a bigger share of the profits and his own room compared to what Jayne would receive with his current crew.
83	* ''Series/{{Mantis}}'' was a short-lived prime-time crime fighter show on FOX centering around a wealthy robotics engineer who was left paraplegic after stopping a stray bullet when an armed robbery ended in a shootout with the police. He designed and prototyped [[SuperWheelchair a powered exoskeleton]] to restore his mobility, apparently in his free time, then realised the inherent potential for awesome that this represented and turned it into a suit of full-on PoweredArmor.
84	* ''Matt Houston'' starred a wealthy mustachioed Texas oil tycoon, named Matlock "Matt" Houston. With plenty of cars, a helicopter, and lots of millionaire toys to choose from, Matt Houston finds plenty of time for his PI hobby in Los Angeles.
85	* ''Series/HartToHart'' was another show that featured an incredibly rich couple who were so bored with their lives that they decided to become private investigators.
86	* ''Series/{{Leverage}}'': Variation with vigilantes. After the team are paid $32,761,349.05 ''each'' for their original job and plan to go their separate ways, they discover they've been set up, so they band together for "one more" for revenge. Then they realize that GoodFeelsGood, so they give up their lives of crime and live off of their newfound wealth while continuing to obtain justice for people who've been taken advantage of by greedy corporations, etc. With the exception of Tara, who fills in for Sophie for a few episodes, they never accept payment from any clients. They also finagle things so that a couple of fairly new [=FBI=] agents get credit for nabbing a few criminals, and help a cop who becomes a friend do the same.
87	* In the ChristmasEpisode of ''{{Series/Misfits}}'', the gang comes across '''a lot''' of money, and the episode ends with them using that money to [[spoiler:buy completely new powers]]. {{It makes sense in context}}.
88	* Harold Finch of ''Series/PersonOfInterest'' is a genius-level programmer and hacker, who made [[ArbitrarilyLargeBankAccount an obscene amount of money]] in his youth by inventing things like social networking; he now uses his crime-predicting Machine to [[WeHelpTheHelpless help the helpless]] and stop New York's criminal element. Notably, his attempts to fight crime purely with monetary resources didn't work, which is why he recruited [[BadassInANiceSuit Reese]] as a partner. Once the imminent threat is dealt with, he will often use his money to tie up loose ends by getting the victim a new job with one of his companies or setting up the victim with a new life.
89	** In one instance he pours millions of dollars into a failing company to prevent a drop in the company's stock price and thus thwarts the villain's attempt to make a fortune through insider trading. It does not hurt that once the scheme is exposed, the stock goes back to normal levels and Finch makes a nice profit.
90	** Another time he pays thousands of dollars for a stolen laptop because it is faster and easier than forcing a man to tell them where it is. It also means that the seller will leave town immediately and thus Finch and Reese do not have to protect him from the vicious gangsters who also are after the laptop.
91	** As an example of how wealthy Finch is, he has at least three cover identities set up for Reese. Two of them are single-digit millionaires, the third is a triple-digit millionaire.
92	** However once Finch's SecretIdentity is uncovered by an all-seeing ArtificialIntelligence, Team Machine is cut off from Finch's bank accounts and so has to gain working funds by more illegitimate means, like robbing criminals.
93	** Subverted in a prequel episode that shows Reese's predecessor as The Man in the Suit. Mr Dillinger is a highly-talented private security operative but because he's OnlyInItForTheMoney, no matter how much Finch is paying him, he's not being paid enough to get killed. After stumbling on a GovernmentConspiracy he decides to betray Finch, take the money, and run, only to get assassinated [[DramaticIrony by a future member of Team Machine]].
94	* ''Series/PowerRangersOperationOverdrive'' was formed by billionaire Andrew Hartford, who originally planned to take the role of the Red Ranger. While unsaid, he obviously spent his own money building the tech needed.
95	* Declan Rand does this in ''Series/{{Psych}}''. He uses his cash and time to pretend to be a [[TheProfiler criminal profiler]] in two episodes to help the cops and stave off boredom.
96	* In ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', Clark, despite all his powers, always depends on a rich benefactor who pays the bills or uses his contacts. First is Lex Luthor, second his father Lionel, and finally Oliver Queen.
97	[[/folder]]
98
99	[[folder:Roleplay]]
100	* ''Roleplay/TVTropesRollToDodge'': One shudders at the expense of the Jetbus, and the garage full of mid-range vehicles tuned to match Lamborghinis and Ferraris. Plumbum again.
101	[[/folder]]
102
103	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
104	* The average high-level ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' character has elements of this.
105	** Of course, pretty much any high-level ''D&D'' character will be absolutely loaded down with magic items. It's all they ever really buy. In-universe the party rogue might be a greedy hedonist, but you can bet his player isn't saving up for a mansion and a retinue of servants when there are more pluses to add to his gear. This is {{lampshade\|Hanging}}d (like most gaming tropes) in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' when Roy explains that they ''can't'' stay in a fancy inn because it would look suspicious; everyone knows that adventurers never splurge on luxuries, even when carrying around huge sacks of gold. You save it all for magic items.
106	** The best example may be the 3.5E Artificer. With all but one core item crafting feat, the "craft reserve" (a supply of special experience points that can only be used for item crafting), and the ability to "cull essence" (drain experience out of unneeded magic items into the craft reserve), they have unprecedented and unmatched ability to multiply wealth. Combined with class abilities related to using magic items more effectively or efficiently, the class's unofficial motto among optimizers is, "Anything you can do, I can do better."
107	** The 2nd Edition ''Al-Qadim'' supplement ''The Complete Sha'ir's Handbook'' introduces the Clockwork Mage. A very versatile class for an imaginative player, although one that needs lots of cash to build [[WhereDoesHeGetAllThoseWonderfulToys All Those Wonderful Toys]].
108	** In 1st Edition, characters receive experience points based on the gold pieces they acquire during their adventures. Technically if your first-level character stumbles upon a massive dragon's hoard of gold, he'll instantly become a powerful, high-level adventurer as well as richer than Croesus.
109	* In White Wolf Game Studios' ''TabletopGame/MageTheAscension'' tabletop RPG, one group of mages (called "The Syndicate") use the symbolic value of money to guide (and hide) magical power. Given the kinds of results that every entry on this page can generate, it's very difficult to argue with that philosophy... except for the fact that this group is a member of the supposed "bad guys", the Technocracy.
110	* ''TabletopGame/MutantsAndMasterminds''. Load up on Equipment feats and Benefit (Wealth) and you can buy anything you don't come into the game possessing. The best part? Even Equipment 10, Benefit (Wealth) 5 (which puts your personal funds about on par with Bill Gates and gives you a ton of equipment) takes only 10% of your starting character points. Which fits the genre perfectly well, mind you. Unimaginable riches are something many superheroes have just "because", to make them more awesome, even if it has nothing to do with any other superpowers they may or may not have.
111	* During a ''{{TabletopGame/Pathfinder}}'' panel at PaizoCon 2015 discussing the new Vigilante class, an iconic called the "Gold Baron" was (jokingly) considered. The Gold Baron is a wealthy business owner with, of course, a secret identity. "By day, he employs them. By night, he robs them." The Gold Baron leaves half a copper piece on the bodies of his victims and has various abilities that fit his style—for instance, clerics in Pathfinder have a "heal living/harm undead" positive energy burst, so the Gold Baron has a similar burst that heals the rich and harms the poor.
112	* While not actually a superhero game, ''TabletopGame/SpiritOfTheCentury'' allows characters with high Resources to buy awesome gadgets (though not so easily as a high Engineering character can make them) and anything else they desire (the upper end of the scale includes zeppelins and private islands, and character can reach it reliably on a given roll with a careful selection of stunts, or expenditure of fate points). Several Resources-based stunts expand on this.
113	** Any Fate Core supers game that doesn't change the default skill list is going to have this because Resources is a skill. Ones that import Absolute stunts from the ''ComicBook/AtomicRobo Role-Playing Game'' can allow a character, with one Stunt, to make it so that any Overcome attempt made with Resources ''succeeds automatically''. No matter how much money they're asking, you have more.
114	* TabletopGame/SentinelsOfTheMultiverse has resident Batman {{Expy}} the Wraith aka Maia Montgomery who uses the money she gets as CEO of Montgomery Industries to fund her crime-fighting activities. Notably, there is a limit to this as in the Miststorm Timeline she has to liquefy all her assets (and reveal her identity) in order to buy out the Freedom Five and pay for the costs of Absolute Zero's suit.
115	* In ''TabletopGame/UnknownArmies'', where literally all mages are pathologically obsessed, naturally there are Plutomancers whose obsession is cold, hard cash. For them, the acquisition of cash is one and the same with the acquisition of sorcerous power. Ironically, though, they CAN'T go about this trope the normal way -- ''spending'' any significant sum of money breaks their taboo and strips them of power.
116	* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'':
117	** ''TabletopGame/RogueTrader'': Your characters are typically the titular Rogue Traders and are merchant princes or planetary nobility capable of owning whole solar systems. Barring a horrific financial crash or being a fallen house, when your character goes to the market they roll to see what is available for them to buy, not what they can afford. This is because it's assumed that naturally almost everything except for huge fleets of space battleships is easily affordable to your character. You can easily afford multiple palaces, whether that planet has any available at the moment is another story. Since the vast majority of your enemies are lawless pirates, alien scum, and evil cultists - you even fit the billing of crimefighting albeit mostly for your own sake.
118	** Inquisitors often have massive galactic bank accounts to call up on whenever they need to purchase something, and often have entire legions of stormtroopers, who are paid mercenaries specifically trained by an Inquisitor, to serve as their bodyguards. With their own authority, they can also claim ownership of anything they deem valuable enough for a mission (which, depending on the mission and the Inquisitor, can be anything). They are the not-so-secret police of the Imperium and are tasked with keeping the peace. It seems that an Inquisitor's funds come directly from their own pocket, as they either own vast swathes of land on a planet (if not the planet outright) or have inherited it from their predecessor.
119	[[/folder]]
120
121	[[folder:Video Games]]
122	* Mention must be made of Colin in ''[[VideoGame/NintendoWars Advance Wars]]'', whose main powers are 1) getting all his troops at a 20% discount, albeit with 10% reduced offensive - but not defensive - power 2) increasing his money by 50% with basic power and 3) displaying so much money his men suddenly gain the ability to rip Neotanks in half bare-handed. His sister Sasha can use the family economic influence to crash her foes' CO Power bars. Between the two, they're total {{Game Breaker}}s.
123	** There's also Kanbei, who buys his troops at an increased 20% price for a 20% boost to his units' offence and defence in ''Advance Wars 1'' and ''Dual Strike'', or a 30% boost in ''Advance Wars 2''. Like Colin, he's considered one of the best [=COs=] in the game and is even considered broken in the second.
124	** Lastly, there's Hachi, who has a 10% discount on units he buys with zero penalties. His CO Power, Barter, changes the discount to 50%, and his Super CO Power, Merchant Union, creates ground units in cities controlled by Hachi in addition to providing the 50% discount.
125	* Ezio Auditore of ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII''. Granted, he's on a pretty standard RoaringRampageOfRevenge. But using his sister as his accountant, he can renovate the family villa back in Monteriggioni. This results in it generating loads and loads of cash, with which one can buy weapons and armor, paintings to decorate said villa (making it more valuable and able to generate even more money), hire allies for various missions, or literally throw at people. He appears to have no day job, outside of MurderInc. In ''[[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood Brotherhood]]'', Monteriggioni is destroyed, so Ezio moves to Rome and does the exact same thing on a larger scale. And after that in ''[[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRevelations Revelations]]'', he continues this trend owning Constantinople, Istanbul, or whatever name you might give the city, based on your affiliation.
126	* Misedor from ''VideoGame/Disgaea6DefianceOfDestiny'' is an [[Fiction500 unfathomably rich]] human king who firmly believes the power of money is the greatest force of them all, but he laments the fact the hero he financed to defeat the God of Destruction gave up and turned into a mooch and that his kingly duties prevented him from being one himself. After his adventure with Zed, he realizes that he can just do the heroic deeds ''himself'', and refashions himself as "Hero King Misedor", who still uses money to solve his problems, but more proactively. It also extends to his special attacks, which show him crushing his enemies using all kinds of expensive gold objects.
127	* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV''[='=]s [[Radio/GTARadio in-universe television]] has a cartoon called ''Impotent Rage'', which parodies both this trope and the [[BourgeoisBohemian "limousine liberal" stereotype]]. The protagonist, billionaire industrialist and liberal donor Braxton Hunter (a parody of Ted Turner), moonlights as the titular Impotent Rage, whose ''real'' superpower seems to be [[NiceJobBreakingItHero actively harming the people and causes he tries to support]] through his incompetence.
128	* The Magic Armor from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'', especially when combined with the infinite rupees reward from [[ThatOneSidequest Jovani]] and the wallet upgrades, turns Link into one of these. Granting invincibility at the cost of 2 rupees per second and 12 rupees every time you're hit, you're basically able to [[NoSell unleash]] the Franchise/{{Terminator}} on any threat without getting a scratch on you. ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker Wind Waker HD]]'' offers a similar setup, albeit without as easy a source of unlimited cash to keep it running.
129	* ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'': The ''Retaliation'' expansion to the multiplayer added [[ProudMerchantRace volus]] characters. While they are the least effective race in combat, they can afford to buy the very best tech and biotic equipment that the galaxy can offer, allowing them to fight side by side with krogan battlemasters and asari justicars.
130	* ''VideoGame/MegaManStarForce 2'': while you might have super-powers by default of ThePowerOfFriendship, if you want to go from "badass" to "''really'' badass", you need to fork over some Zennys. Board-sweeping landmines, HP increases, and even Giga Cards are available to those who equip the Zenny Finder weapon, track down a repeatable OptionalBoss like Kung Foo Kyd or Cancer Bubble who's weak to their chosen element, and then kick them around many, many times.
131	* ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'' lets you operate a keep that needs to be financed. You can either wait for its revenues to build up or spend your own money. Additionally, you can recruit one of your lieutenants by offering him double what he's being paid to attack you.
132	* ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'' places you in charge of [[AnEntrepreneurIsYou organizing a shopping district]] called Join Avenue. Some of the shops you can sponsor there sell rare and useful items, others sell high-price ShopFodder for a significant markdown, and still others provide services that improve your Pokemon's stats and/or levels. Read that last one again: Some of the Join Avenue shops ''straight-up sell EV and level training for your Pokemon!''
133	* ''VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon'' The Business Management minigame lets you take over a struggling family confectionary shop and turn it into a Fiction500 conglomerate. And in the process, you'll earn a huge salary that can be put into buying yourself all the best gear available. In addition, it unlocks the Fat Stack skills, which let you [[MoneyMauling literally fight crime with cash]] by beating bad guys senseless by smacking them around with huge wads of bank notes.
134	[[/folder]]
135
136	[[folder:Web Animation]]
137	* A variation: In an episode of ''WebAnimation/CalicoElectronico'', Cálico is temporarily replaced as the superhero of Electronic City by Meteoro Sexual. One of the new hero's tricks? Pay criminals to let him catch them.
138	[[/folder]]
139
140	[[folder:Web Comics]]
141	* ''Webcomic/FlorkOfCows'' {{parodies}} this trope with [[https://www.reddit.com/r/FlorkofCowsOfficial/comments/b7hmph/captain_rich/ Captain Rich]], an UpperClassTwit who seems to be ''trying'' to help people, but doesn't really understand how non-billionaires live, nor does he seem to care about much other than amassing more wealth.
142	-->'''Captain Rich''': The only thing I hate more than crime is the ''poor''.
143	* In ''Webcomic/JupiterMen'', Nathan gets all of his technology from his father's company, a billion-dollar tech conglomerate that sells everything from cell phones to police uniforms. The stuff in Jupiter-Man's lair consists of technology that he has not released to the public. That said, Nathan doesn't fight crime with his tech, as he's completely devoted to his role of protecting Prime from extradimensional threats, leaving mundane crime to the police. He doesn't change his stance until he realizes that Quintin won't stop trying to help people, compromising with him by offering to go after crime they encounter while on patrol but continuing to let the police do most of the work.
144	* All superheroes so far in ''Webcomic/TheList''. Powers bought include augmented senses, augmented muscles, exoskeleton armor, nanotechnology weaponry and armor, telepathy, telekinesis, and a [[ImprobableWeaponUser sound barrier breaking guitar]], just to name a few.
145	* ''SuperFogeys'' has a short-lived character actually called Money Man whose "power" is to bankroll the others.
146	* Lampshaded in ''Webcomic/{{Spinnerette}}'' with various jokes about "Mid-West superheroes don't have the budget of their West Coast counterparts" and the "League of Canadian Super Heroes" who seem to be a sort of penny-ante version of The Fantastic Four.
147	* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' has a storyline with someone attempting a FalseFlagOperation, and the Toughs end up needing to buy a lot of self-driving scooters[[note]]And, for Schlock, a bunch of hammers. The Parks & Recreation truck with [[ChainsawGood chainsaws]] was just a happy bonus.[[/note]] to help provide 'close air support' to try to stop it:
148	-->'''Sorlie:''' What's our budget look like?\
149	'''Chester:''' Your budget for this project is, and I'm quoting General Bala-Amin, "all the money".
150	* Subverted in ''Webcomic/LeagueOfSuperRedundantHeroes''. Asstronomus commits the Power Group to product placement by gambling with their budget.
151	[[/folder]]
152
153	[[folder:Web Original]]
154	* Phase, of the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'', is only fourteen, still a freshman at [[SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy]], and already doing this. He's paying Whateley inventors to build weapons for him, including a utility belt that has nearly zero external volume but is chock full of HammerSpace, a specialized throwing dart made out of ''depleted uranium'', and the latest thing is a collapsing tactical baton. Made out of [[FantasyMetals adamantium]]. With osmium for weight in the tip. It cost nearly a quarter of a million dollars. Also more literally, as he is planning such things as courses in marketing and patent law to allow inventors (as opposed to corporations) to profit from their work. Apparently, many villainous gadgeteers are [[CutLexLuthorACheck just in it for the money]], so he reasons that if he can make their work both profitable and beneficial, most would rather put in an honest day's work rather than put on a mask and rob banks; if it makes a difference in their customers' lives as well (i.e., averting the problem of [[ReedRichardsIsUseless brilliant inventions having no impact on society]]), all the better. And then there's the job creation work he's planning, including work based on MundaneUtility. Basically, he's realized that persecuted minorities are more likely to commit crimes when they're persecuted (and thus poor). Finally, he's not above using financial influence to attack the economic base of his opponents:
155	-->''Remember when we were teasing Ayla and we said someday someone would piss her off and she’d make a few phone calls, and suddenly the entire planet’s economy would strike back? Not so funny right now.''
156	** And Splendor of the Cadet Crusaders, a RichBitch who used daddy's money to buy herself {{Power Gem}}s so she could be a superheroine. Yes, she hates She-Beast just that much.
157	* The Rocket was bequeathed 11 million dollars earmarked for 'Fighting Evil' in ''Literature/LegionOfNothing''. He makes good use of it.
158	* [[http://static.fjcdn.com/pictures/The_052fd2_2719547.jpg This]] FauxtivationalPoster.
159	* Used in an unconventional way by the {{Villain Protagonist}}s of ''Literature/{{Worm}}''. They manage to defeat [[spoiler:Coil]] by hiring his mercenaries out from under him.
160	* This Trope gets [[ConversationalTroping Conversed]] in the ''Morning Patrol'' episode of ''WebAnimation/CivilProtection''.
161	-->'''[[TheFool Dave]]''': Alright, if you were a Superhero, what Superpower would you want?
162	-->'''[[StraightMan Mike]]''': Oh, I dunno.
163	-->'''Dave''': Oh, come on, pick something!
164	-->'''Mike''': Okay, how about being rich?
165	-->'''Dave''': That's not a Superpower!
166	-->'''Mike''': It may as well be! Do you realise we'll be working this job another ''thirty years'' before we can retire? And that's ''maybe''! Most Cops didn't have to deal with that before the invasion; they were out in twenty!
167	-->'''Dave''': It's not a Superpower!
168	-->'''Mike''': What about ComicBook/{{Batman}}? That's his Superpower. He's rich! You can afford to spend all night running around in a cave and throwing Ninja Stars at people when you're rich!
169	-->'''Dave''': They're-
170	-->'''Mike''': Because he doesn't have to get up and go to work in the morning like the rest of us!
171	-->'''Dave''': They're not-
172	-->'''Mike''': ComicBook/{{Superman}} has to get up and go to work. ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' has to get up and go to work. Not Batman! He can sleep in, ''and'' he has a Butler!
173	-->'''Dave''': [[ComicallyMissingThePoint They're not Ninja Stars, they're Batarangs!]]
174	-->'''Mike''': WHATEVER!
175	* ''Blog/HowToHero'' features the Billionaires with Issues™ type of superhero.
176	[[/folder]]
177
178	[[folder:Western Animation]]
179	* Xander Crews (a.k.a. Awesome X) of ''WesternAnimation/FriskyDingo'' is a decided sendup of this type of hero. When someone argues that he's not a superhero because he doesn't have any powers, Crews claims that being able to manage his team of super-mercenaries (the Xtacles) counts as a power.
180	* Non-superhero example: Daphne of ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'', who funded most of their activities with her family's money.
181	* ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'' tries this when he discovers a money tree. It doesn't turn out well. Odd in that he isn't portrayed as horribly rich, yet fights crime similarly to Batman. The BOOM! Comics continuation revealed he was on a pay stipend with SHUSH, which probably gave a hefty sum to the point where he didn't need to work. When he dropped the hero gig, he was forced to take a job and it's presumed he's back on the payroll after he returned to duty.
182	* ''Franchise/ThePowerpuffGirls''
183	** [[SpoiledBrat Princess]] [[RichBitch Morbucks]] initially plays this straight when she tries to help the girls foil a bank robbery which doesn't go well. Inverted in all her subsequent appearances, as she can be a challenge for the girls due to being super rich, meaning that she's been ''committing'' crime with cash.
184	** Some fans also believe that the Professor is sufficiently wealthy from patenting his own inventions, to the point that he doesn't appear to have a day job and instead just works in his basement lab all the time, as and whenever he likes. Except when they had to move to Citiesville because of his new job. Prof. Utonium ''did'' try to fight crime with cash one time but it ended up not working out since he discovered that fighting crime can also be a painful way to go (just because you have a lot of gadgets doesn't mean you can't get beaten up by someone who's just stronger than you are).
185	* In ''WesternAnimation/WildCATs1994'', when the team itself was temporarily unavailable and with no evidence strong enough to bring the government in to stop the Daemonites, their corporate sponsor, Jacob Marlowe crippled the villain's plan by figuring out what highway the enemies were going to have to travel down, buying it, and turning it into a toll road (somehow managing to do this in one night). When the Daemonite transport [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking runs the tollbooth without paying]], this provides him with the evidence he needs to bring the government down on them. In the series finale, he discovers that the Daemonites had acquired a nuclear missile and were transporting it cross country to kill the heroes. He starts by having shrapnel and debris scattered across the road and then had his company buy all the truck tires in the area. The truck blows its tires and then has to wait for replacements. Then he proceeds to buy the inventory of all the gas stations in the area, leaving the truck desperate for fuel. When the Daemonites ''finally'' overcome these obstacles and launch the missile, Marlowe '''then''' buys out a competitor's entire company (using some highly illegal market manipulations) for the sole purpose of being able to order the pilot of said competitor's private jet to intercept the missile.
186	[[/folder]]
187
188	[[folder: Real Life]]
189	* In particularly lawless areas, some companies (including the U.S. government) will hire mercenaries to keep crime under control.
190	* Seattle's Phoenix Jones, a self-proclaimed superhero, is currently receiving a lot of heat over his attempts to raise $10,000 for a new "superhero suit."
191	[[/folder]]
192

Context Main / CrimefightingWithCash