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10[[quoteright:350:[[WebAnimation/TerribleWritingAdvice https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nominal_hero_image_0.png]]]]
11[[caption-width-right:350:Where are the heroic traits?]]
12
13->''"According to a loose enough definition of 'hero', we qualify. Well, more or less. The point is that good deeds were'' '''done''' ''and'' '''we''' ''were '''nearby'''."''
14-->-- '''Red Mage''', ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'', [[http://www.nuklearpower.com/2007/11/15/episode-920-we-could-be-heroes Episode 920]]
15
16Fictional heroes tend to be a diverse bunch, but most have one thing in common: a morally positive motivation. Even morally questionable heroes usually are at least partially motivated by a genuine concern for others, desire for justice, belief in playing by the rules, etc.
17
18The Nominal Hero is the exception to this rule. While at least technically on the side of good, their motivations are neutral at best.
19
20So why ''are'' they on the side of good? Usually, it's one of the following:
21* '''Leave Me Alone''': [[HeroicNeutral They just want to keep to themselves.]] But that's not going to happen with the villain blowing everything up; or worse, specifically targeting them.
22* '''Annoyance/Revenge''': For these characters, ItsPersonal. Maybe the villain did something to them (or to a loved one, which overlaps with the Relationships motivation below) in the past, or maybe they think the minion's uniform is tacky. They aren't interested in fighting ''evil'', they want to see their ''opponent'' defeated. Often overlaps with EnemyMine.
23* '''Boredom''': These characters are basically fighting for good because they don't have anything better to do. They don't care if the heroes actually succeed, they just enjoy the adventure. A HeroicComedicSociopath or TheTrickster might have this motivation.
24* '''Mutual Interest''': These characters have selfish reasons to help the heroes succeed. Often, they are characters who would normally be villains, but at least for now are more concerned with stopping some other villain (perhaps the first villain just wants wealth and/or power, but the second one wants to [[EvilVersusOblivion destroy everything]]). Often an EnemyMine. A MagnificentBastard might aid heroes to manipulate events in their favor as a standard tactic. Or a heroic dissident fighting an oppressive regime might end up side-by-side with criminals who probably deserve to be imprisoned or executed.
25* '''Relationships''': Not all Nominal Heroes are purely selfish. Some [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes have a love interest or other that they do care about]]. A Nominal Hero might do [[VillainousRescue something heroic to impress or rescue that someone]], even though they couldn't care less if other people die. As mentioned above, this can also overlap with Annoyance[=/=]{{Revenge}} if the Nominal Hero is pissed off about something the villain did to a loved one.
26* '''Reward''': These characters want something in return for their help, such as [[OnlyInItForTheMoney a share of the treasure]], or simply something [[VillainWithGoodPublicity to look good]] on their resume. They aren't interested in whether anyone else benefits. The MilesGloriosus is an example of a character type that might choose to join a band of heroes for this reason.
27* '''Force''': Some characters become heroes because they literally aren't allowed to be anything else. Maybe they're on an ExplosiveLeash or are a CosmicPlaything, but when they fight for the side of good, it's only because it's their only option other than perhaps death.
28* [[LawfulNeutral Lawful examples]] of this trope find themselves "stuck" to the good side by [[IGaveMyWord a deal]], contract or some similar bind, or ([[RousseauWasRight more ideally]]) simply out of a sense of loyalty to the heroes.
29* '''Other motivations''': Not all Nominal Heroes need to have a motivation that makes any sense to others. They might be a {{Cloudcuckoolander}} or have BlueAndOrangeMorality.
30
31This type of hero is rarely averse to working alone, with other heroes. On a team of otherwise conventional heroes, they'll often be in an EnemyMine, SociopathicHero, or TokenEvilTeammate role. Other heroes may only work with them because they could use all the help they can get, or specifically to keep an eye on the hero-in-name-only so that they don't become a more serious threat.
32
33In terms of sympathy, most Nominal Heroes are {{Noble Demon}}s.
34Many other tropes about questionable heroes can overlap with Nominal Hero, but most are not true {{subtrope}}s:
35* An AccidentalHero, [[IJustWantToBeNormal Reluctant Hero]], or UnlikelyHero is at least as likely to turn out to be a ClassicalAntiHero at heart.
36
37'''Note:''' This is for ''InUniverse'' characterization. Subjective[=/=]{{Audience Reaction|s}} interpretations go in DesignatedHero.
38
39[[noreallife]]
40----
41!!Examples
42[[index]]
43* [[NominalHero/AnimeAndManga Anime & Manga]]
44* NominalHero/VideoGames
45[[/index]]
46
47[[foldercontrol]]
48
49[[folder:Advertising]]
50* The old Advertising/WilkinsCoffee commercials have Wilkins, who looks to be the usual "peppy guy who convinces the grumpy-gus to like the product"--except that, unlike most such characters, Wilkins is also incredibly willing to use violence to get his point across. In many commercials, he threatens Wontkins for not liking coffee or preferring a different brand, and in quite a few, he outright kills him. It's all PlayedForLaughs, though.
51[[/folder]]
52
53[[folder:Comic Books]]
54* ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'': The vast majority of Gaulish villagers are like this. They're only heroic at all because they're fighting against TheEmpire, which they mostly just pick on, usually for fun, rather than make any serious rebellion against them. They have two reasons for fighting them -- they love fighting (even turning on each other when Romans aren't available) and they're incredibly set in their ways, usually even when the Roman way is better. They started out intended more as a RagtagBunchOfMisfits LaResistance but got {{Flanderiz|ation}}ed into this mostly because it's funnier. Asterix, Obelix, and Getafix are much nicer people, though.
55* ''ComicBook/TheBoys'': Virtually the entire superhero community. Thanks to the massive media empire built around them by [[EvilInc Vought-American]], they don't even have to save anyone to be considered heroes as embellished comic lines surrounding their supposed "adventures" are made, and many let the fame and money go to their heads and end up becoming narcissistic sociopaths. Several of them used to even be supervillains but only switched to the "hero" side because [[GoodPaysBetter it pays better]].
56* ''ComicBook/{{Captain Marvel|MarvelComics}}'': The third Captain Marvel, Genis-Vell, ending up becoming this during a period of madness (caused by Entrophy). Genis became something of a VillainProtagonist with a severely warped sense of justice and rabid sense of entitlement. Rick Jones, to whom Genis was molecularly bonded, constantly opposed him and (rightly) questioned Genis's sanity. On one occasion, Genis bestowed powers upon a serial killer whom his friend Rick Jones had testified against in order to get the killer to stalk both Rick and his wife, Marlo. After putting Rick through absolute hell to the point where death seemed certain, Genis then executes the serial killer and explains to Rick that all of this was to teach Rick that he only lived on Genis's own whims and that he was ''never to question him again''. He does get better once freed from Entrophy's control.
57* ''ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'': [[Characters/MarvelComicsDeadpool Deadpool]] is a NobleDemon SociopathicHero. He easily eclipses even ComicBook/ThePunisher, as he frequently finds it ''funny'' to casually torture, dismember, and murder people. Though in later years, Deadpool has become more and more heroic, to the point where he's a solid AntiHero in the place of his old Nominal Hero status. [[spoiler:To the point where he was the OnlySaneMan and the conscience of the X-Men's Black Ops squad under Wolverine who thought that killing the kid who was Apocalypse's reincarnation is just wrong. Throughout the arc, he became more and more heroic too via CharacterDevelopment, and even convinced the kid to join the Jean School for the Gifted so he can use his powers for good instead of evil.]]
58* ''ComicBook/TheFlash'': The Clipper, a "hero" from the Great Depression era who is mentioned in ''The Flash''. While he gunned down poor people driven to crime by desperation and then cut off the tips of the ears of the survivors, he lived in a fancy mansion and had it easy. He's quoted as having said "it doesn't matter if they're guilty, it matters if they're dead!" indicating he didn't even bother to check if his victims were innocent.
59* ''ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}}'''s John Constantine is also a milder case. But being an AntiHero, many of his battles are because he was being forced to comply, for personal gain (ready to sacrifice anyone), or simply just being bored and wanting to do some shit.
60* ''ComicBook/HeroesReborn2021:'' The entire Squadron Supreme, with the exception of [[AxCrazy Zarda]], who can't even aspire to that. Blur is the closest to actually heroic, but even then he's an easily distracted ditz who does nothing to try and rein in his teammates' behavior. The fact TheManBehindTheMan rewrote reality to make them the only heroes in town helped with this.
61* ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk'': [[Characters/MarvelComicsBruceBanner The Incredible Hulk]] can frequently turn into this. While he generally dislikes the "puny humans" (and understandably so, given how often they [[BullyingADragon provoke him]] or [[{{Misblamed}} misblame him for things that are someone else's fault]]) he nonetheless ends up doing a lot of good by smashing villains whose plans threaten humanity, even if it's only because they [[YouWouldntLikeMeWhenImAngry made the mistake of pissing him off.]] This is especially pronounced with the more intelligent varieties of Hulk, such as Joe Fixit or the Green Scar, who are entirely cognizant of the damage they do and don't tend to particularly care.
62* ''ComicBook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'': Hyde, Griffin, and Nemo are a murderer, serial rapists, and psychopathic pirate respectively, who are offered an official pardon if they'll turn those qualities against the Empire's enemies. In the [[Film/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen film version]], Griffin is replaced by LovableRogue Rodney Skinner, and Hyde and Nemo get a makeover. In the second volume of the comic, Griffin [[spoiler:eventually becomes a straight-up villain when he betrays humankind to the Martians]]. His characterization never really changes, though, which shows how nominal a hero he was to begin with.
63* ''ComicBook/TheLifeAndTimesOfScroogeMcDuck'': Scrooge [=McDuck=] develops into one by the "Empire Builder From Calisota" chapter. His life experiences have hardened him to the point that he's become a corrupt robber baron, hates his family, has [[IgnoredEpiphany Ignored Epiphanies]], and only derives joy from getting even richer. He ''is'' redeemed later on, however.
64* ''ComicBook/{{Lobo}}'': DependingOnTheWriter, Lobo is sometimes portrayed as one, instead of a SatireParodyPastiche of an unstoppable villain-full-stop. Considering that he is literally worse than Hitler, ''without any hyperbole involved'', [[WhereIWasBornAndRazed as he wiped out his own]] PillarsOfMoralCharacter utopian species for kicks and giggles... when he was a teenager, this reveals a lot about media conventions in general.
65* ''ComicBook/ThePunisher'': [[Characters/MarvelComicsFrankCastle The Punisher]], in his darker takes, tends to sit somewhere around here. He simply summarizes his reasons for doing what he does in ''Welcome Back, Frank'' as "I hate them." He kills people who are a danger to others, but there's no actual altruism involved in it, and he doesn't think what he's doing actually helps people; he just wants revenge, and to keep killing until the day he dies. That doesn't mean he's [[PetTheDog incapable of behaving altruistically or that he has no moral code whatsoever]], but both him and everyone he interacts with understands that [[ALighterShadeOfBlack the only thing that really puts him ahead of those he kills]] is that he'll NeverHurtAnInnocent.
66* ''ComicBook/SamAndMaxFreelancePolice'': Max considers it a compliment to be called a grade-A sociopath, and was even dubbed the most terrifyingly dangerous force in the universe by ''the villain'' in Season One of the Telltale games. The only thing that really seems to keep him in line is his less sociopathic partner. In most other media, both Sam and Max qualify as this, with their loose moral compass mostly putting them on the side of good because while they are unhinged sociopaths, they find it more fun to direct their brand of justice on people who really deserve it.
67* ''ComicBook/SecretWarsII'': The Beyonder tries being a superhero for a while, just for the heck of it. He quickly gets bored and decides instead that he wants to [[OmnicidalManiac destroy everything]].
68* ''ComicBook/SinCity'': Miho's motives are unknown since she is mute, but she seems to have loyalty almost exclusively to Old Town. She has assisted Dwight in the past only because he once saved her life but that didn't stop her from essentially threatening to kill him if he interfered while she was torturing a corrupt cop in the middle of the street. Otherwise, the best you can say about her is that she doesn't target innocent people. In the first movie, she does seem like an UnscrupulousHero, but only because it covered her more heroic actions.
69* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': At the start of ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan2013'', [[Characters/MarvelComicsOttoOctavius Otto Octavius]] who took over Spider-Man's body and poses as [[Characters/MarvelComicsPeterParker Peter Parker]] (ItMakesSenseInContext) just wants to prove he's better as being Spider-Man than Peter and one of the best superheroes the world would see. In fact he lost nothing of his arrogance and pathos from his villain days as Doctor Octopus. He later gets some CharacterDevelopment in the original run.
70* ''ComicBook/SubMariner'': Namor can veer between this and UnscrupulousHero depending on the book and [[TheAgesOfSuperHeroComics era]]. [[WildCard Unless he's the villain of the piece.]]
71* ''ComicBook/SuicideSquad'': [[Characters/SuicideSquadSupportStaff Amanda Waller]]. DependingOnTheWriter she is either this or a KnightTemplar; her job is always in the government's best interest, but she sometimes uses methods that tend to be too extreme. Her plans are not limited to recruiting supervillains to get the job done but extend to outright hunting superheroes.
72* ''ComicBook/{{Superboy}}'': In the ''ComicBook/New52'', [[Characters/SupermanConnorKent Superboy]] is this initially. This version of Superboy has no interest in heroics beyond what it takes to survive/gain his freedom. Between the first and second issues, he kills many of his captors by reflex and feels no remorse or guilt, tortures a group of soldiers who hold him at gunpoint, and flat-out threatens to kill anyone who stands in his way. Issue #4 steers him toward being a KnightInSourArmor, and he eventually becomes an All-Loving Hero.
73* ''ComicBook/{{Violine}}'': Kombo is cowardly, greedy, willing to betray his friends for money, and prone to abandon the heroes to their death at the first sign of trouble, but is treated by the main characters as an ally. If no one is around to steer him onto the right path, the plot will conspire to do so anyway, and he will take credit for "saving" everyone.
74* ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'': The Comedian: a thrill-killing BloodKnight, rapist, war criminal, and all-around PsychoForHire (and he's actually a more sympathetic version of the trope, believe it or not).
75* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'': ComicBook/{{Hercules|Unbound}} tries to be heroic, but this is hampered by DeliberateValuesDissonance and the fact he cares little for the people he is supposed to save, expecting them to pretty much grovel at his feet. It also doesn't help that he's [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil a rapist]] perpetually stuck in a HeelFaceRevolvingDoor, for a given value of "face".
76* ''ComicBook/XMen'': [[Characters/MarvelComicsSabretooth Sabretooth]] usually tends to be this. If he's working with the heroes, it's because he was forced to and/or had something to gain. In other instances, he's tried to do right by a love interest. Holly & Bonnie are examples. He's not a hero when he meets either of them, but was very protective of them, and would've possibly settled down with them had they survived. During the ''{{ComicBook/AXIS}}'' event, Creed was [[HeelFaceBrainwashing inverted]] into a hero due to a spell gone wrong by Characters/ScarletWitch. He starts off as a truly heroic figure wanting to atone for his sins, even refusing to kill for a time. During ''ComicBook/UncannyXMen2016'', his nominal hero tendencies returned after developing feelings for [[Characters/MarvelComicsMonetStCroix Monet St. Croix]], whose well-being he cared more about than anyone else. He's still inverted and repentant, but when Monet is around, [[AlwaysSaveTheGirl his priorities shift]].
77[[/folder]]
78
79[[folder:Fan Works]]
80!!!{{Crossover}}s
81* ''Fanfic/TheBoysRealJustice'': The Seven's main motivation for attacking the Legion of Doom is that their reputations as "heroes" have been suffering lately and they want to boost their profile by beating up some bad guys.
82* ''Fanfic/TheDevilOfZero'': Vergil is just as power-hungry as he was in the past and as anti-ethical in his methods of dealing with his enemies. It's just that he's on the side of good due to being Louise's familiar.
83* ''Fanfic/FrogInAWell'': The only reason Nobara and Megumi have enrolled at U.A. is that they want to use the Sports Festival as a way of broadcasting a live message that will hopefully help Yuuji find them, with the intent of quitting the school once they're reunited and concentrating on finding a way back home. Nobara even declares outright that she doesn't ''care'' what happens to the world they're currently trapped in. Megumi cares a bit more, but also recognizes that he can't possibly save everyone.
84* [[{{Manga/Bleach}} Ulquiorra]] from ''Fanfic/AHollowInEquestria'' fits the [[JustFollowingOrders lawful]] kind of Nominal Hero, something he spells out when Luna first calls him a hero, noting that the things he's done in the past without remorse mean he can't be a hero by their standards.
85
86!!!''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex''
87* ''Fanfic/ACertainInfinitePossibility'': In Season 5, [[spoiler:Teitoku Kakine]] has only three reasons for working with Jason: they're pursuing more power, want revenge on Ricane, and are incapable of disobeying Jason's orders due to their Mark of Lust.
88
89!!!''Manga/DeathNote''
90* ''Fanfic/{{Fade}}'': [[spoiler:Beyond Birthday]]. The only reason he bothers opposing Kira is that he hates L, who has become Kira in his attempts to stop the original's rise to power. It's implied that if L ''hadn't'' become Kira, he would've sided with the original instead just to get back at L. [[spoiler:Once Light enters the picture and becomes L's partner (mainly due to a combination of attraction and UsefulNotes/StockholmSyndrome), Beyond's motivation goes from "stop L" to "stop L and save Light" in quick fashion.]]
91
92!!!''Franchise/DragonBall''
93* ''Fanfic/WhatIfZamasuDidNothingWrong'': Initially, Zamasu only attempts to aid the Barbarians as a personal ''experiment'', hoping to impress his master Gowasu and convince him that he's worthy of succeeding him as the Supreme Kai. Over time, however, he grows into a more geniunely noble person.
94
95!!!''Franchise/FireEmblem''
96* ''Fanfic/ABrighterDark'': Hans, of all people, rescues Sakura and Mozu from Nohrian bandits for the purely selfish motivation of retiring safely in Hoshido, who he believes will inevitably win the war.
97
98!!!''Franchise/HarryPotter''
99* Jen Black in ''Fanfic/PrincessOfTheBlacks'' is only fighting Voldemort and his forces because 1) He tried to kill her (Jen even admits to herself she probably wouldn't have bothered reporting his return if he hadn't), and 2) Her patron (Death) has demanded she kill him. When asked, Jen admits she wouldn't join Voldemort, not for moral reasons, but because he's made himself her enemy.
100* The Harry Potter depicted in ''Fanfic/SeventhHorcrux'' is a RetiredMonster with the mind of Voldemort and a major-league UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist. He's entirely amoral but still ends up saving the world largely by accident or for selfish reasons. Of course, it helps that he's mellowed out of the blatant sadism and racism of his canon counterpart.
101
102!!!''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug''
103* Chloé intends to become this in ''[[Fanfic/TheLamentSeriesChaoticNeutral Chloé's Lament]]''. Having Wished to [[RoleSwapAU trade places with Marinette]], she expects to become [[RealityWarpingIsNotAToy this new reality's]] Ladybug, and immediately starts scheming about all the ways she could abuse that power. Such as stealing the Miracle Box for herself, sabotaging and destroying the reputations of anyone she chooses to target, and withholding her [[WorldHealingWave Miraculous Cure]] unless she's paid handsomely for her efforts. Fortunately for everyone else, she fails her SecretTestOfCharacter without ever realizing she was going to be tested in the first place, and the Ladybug Earrings are entrusted to [[spoiler:Sabrina]] instead.
104* In ''Fanfic/TheKarmaOfLies'', Adrien firmly believes in ProtagonistCenteredMorality, and that everything he does is right by default. This blinds him to the impact of his choices; so long as HE isn't personally impacted, he doesn't care if Lila is [[ConArtist conning his classmates]] or destroying Marinette's social life with MaliciousSlander. His SkewedPriorities lead to him ''skipping'' what turns out to be the FinalBattle with Hawkmoth because he can't slip away from the party he'd started ''while waiting for a distress signal from Ladybug''.
105* ''Webcomic/ScarletLady'': Chloé Bourgeoise as the titular heroine, full stop. She has no interest in fighting [[VillainOfTheWeek Akuma]] or saving Paris, just in [[HatesTheJobLovesTheLimelight getting famous and beloved]]. She makes her partner Chat Noir do the lion's share of the work and just uses her Lucky Charm/[[WorldHealingWave Miraculous Cure]] as needed. Pretty much everyone who knows her personally hates her (and only put up with her because she's the only one who can purify Akumas and fix the damage), but her talent for playing the media ensures that the world at large thinks she's the real deal.
106* 'Fanfic/TwoLetters'':
107** This is played for horror with the new Ladybug. While she still saves the city on a regular basis, she's only in it for the money and fame, and she's willing to ''weaponize'' her rabid fanbase to ruin the life of anyone who crosses her. She uses this to extort bribes from anyone with enough money, force the city to cater to her whims, and generally boost her own ego. Most of her fans are too devoted to pick up on this, and those who do won't speak out for fear of becoming her next target.
108** Adrien also qualifies, thanks to his SkewedPriorities. As Chat Noir, he cared more about trying to force Ladybug into a RelationshipUpgrade that she ''clearly'' didn't want, and only decided to leave her alone after switching targets to [[DramaticIrony Marinette]]. And while he ''does'' want to do something about her SketchySuccessor, his motivations for doing so remain [[ItsAllAboutMe entirely selfish]], and he ''still'' intends to [[spoiler:force Marinette into a relationship with him]].
109** TheReveal at the end confirms this also applies to [[spoiler:Marinette. From Luka's perspective, she's been through hell as Ladybug and is well within her rights to wash her hands of Paris's problems and air some lingering grievances in the bargain. While she's a bit ''too'' gleeful about the misfortune her retirement has caused, he's hopeful that she'll improve with time. However, Marinette's POV reveals that she's been traumatized to the point of becoming a {{Yandere}} who only cares about herself and is convinced that she ''deserves'' to revel in everyone else's misery after what she went through. She's only playing nice outwardly to keep up appearances for Luka. Oh, and if Luka ever tries to leave her, she'll remake the entire universe to force him to stay with her forever]].
110
111!!!''Franchise/MonsterVerse''
112* Godzilla himself in ''Fanfic/KaijuRevolution'', as even though he seeks to protect the planet from hostile forces, it's mainly due to him seeing the world as his territory. He frequently clashes with the other benevolent Kaiju and is extremely destructive and aggressive, obliterating cities and devouring other monsters.
113
114!!!''Franchise/MyHeroAcademia''
115* {{Discussed|Trope}} in ''Fanfic/ItsOverIsntItItsOnlyJustBegun'' after Inko learns about Katsuki's bullying. When her six-year-old son tries to insist that he doesn't want to get Kacchan in trouble because he's going to be a hero, Inko gently questions his logic, walking him through the realization that if his bad behavior is never challenged, he wouldn't be a very good one.
116* ''Fanfic/MidoriyaPlusThreeSixtyFive'': The majority of Izuku's classmates in this AlternateUniverseFic are primed to ''become'' nominal heroes. Much like Katsuki, they've been coddled and praised for having powerful Quirks, allowed to bend the rules and get away with stunts. Suffice to say, they're ''shocked'' when [[SternTeacher Aizawa]] refuses to allow them to continue their selfish ways, and most wind up expelled for their bad behavior, such as engaging in underage drinking and nearly offing a classmate with a barely-averted DeadlyPrank.
117* ''Fanfic/TheScorpionJar'' revolves around Izuku deciding to ''ensure'' that [[BarbaricBully Katsuki]] and the other bullies at [[SuckySchool Aldera]] never get the chance to ''become'' these, as they're far too accustomed to throwing their weight around and abusing others.
118
119!!!''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''
120* Array from ''Fanfic/ChroniclesOfHarmonysEnd''. He represents Order, and therefore opposes Discord on principle rather than morality.
121* Nikolos Drakonakos from ''Fanfic/TheConversionBureau: The Palladium Wings'' is the ''extremely'' cruel, borderline sociopathic leader of a band of {{Sky Pirate}}s. He fights against the Equestrians out of sheer hatred and desire for booty. In fact, many of the Sky Pirates have the same motivations that he does.
122* In ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/183015/iron-wills-foalcon-necrophilia-sex-rampage Iron Will's Foalcon Necrophilia Sex Rampage]]'' Iron Will is the only hero of the story. The only other character apart from Sweetie Belle is the computer shop owner who finds Iron Will's stash of foalcon and tries to extort money from him.
123
124!!!''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}''
125* ''Fanfic/LatiasJourney'' has an in-universe example in the Red Ranger. An amoral and borderline sociopathic "[[BewareTheSuperman superhero]]" is designated as heroic by [[spoiler:Mr. Ford]].
126* {{Inverted|Trope}} with the Black Arachnid in ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines''. As opposed to his canon counterpart, his incarnation in this story is a GentlemanThief who only targets people who are ''way'' worse than him, and takes something of historical or monetary value from them as punishment for their actions. However, despite some doubts among the members of the police force, they make it clear that he's still a thief and it's their duty to catch him.
127
128!!!RealPersonFic
129* The people who identify as Animals in ''Fanfic/TheKeysStandAlone'' could be seen as these since they were brought over by the Pyar gods as heroes to help overthrow the Black Tower and its minions. Theoretically, they're doing this, though all the reader ever hears about them is what miserable torturing cruel bastards they are. Several minor characters even express bewilderment that the gods would bring over such people as potential saviors.
130
131!!!''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}''
132* ''Fanfic/ARabbitAmongWolves'': Jaune is trying to reform the White Fang and battle corruption, but he has zero genuine interest in either cause. But having accidentally murdered Adam Taurus, [[HeroWithBadPublicity he has inadvertently become Public Enemy #1]] and wants to prove to the public he isn't a cold-blooded killer. He even admits that if not for his situation, he'd probably ignore the plight of the poor.
133
134!!!''Franchise/StarTrek''
135* Hakeev, of all people, in the ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'' fanfic ''Fanfic/EmaelMosekhesailho''. He's still definitely a very evil man--he's a leading officer of the [[StateSec Tal'Shiar]] and at one point he casually speaks of mounting a reprisal pogrom against the Remans after [[Film/StarTrekNemesis Shinzon]] is dealt with--but in trying to topple Shinzon and root out {{the conspiracy}} that put him in power, he's on the same side as protagonist Sahuel t'Khnialmnae, whom he's trying to recruit into the agency.
136* Lieutenant Commander Brokosh, the Lethean protagonist of the ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'' fic ''Fanfic/RedFireRedPlanet''. He does follow an ethical code of his own making[[labelnote:*]]At least part of it reads, "Don’t kill anyone you don’t have to, don’t risk your underlings without cause, and treat your prisoners with decency."[[/labelnote]], but he's a mercenary who signed with the Klingon Defense Force for the money since he's married to a minor Klingon noblewoman from an ImpoverishedPatrician house and they have a son to support.
137[[/folder]]
138
139[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
140* In ''Film/{{Braveheart}}'', Steven the Irishman seems to have only joined the Scots because he'll be able to kill Englishmen, not to help the Scots get freedom.
141* ''Film/DeathNote2017'': Light Turner becomes this after [[spoiler:Mia kills the FBI agents]]. Before that happened, he was an UnscrupulousHero, as he used the Death Note to make the world a better place. But afterwards, he used it to keep it from people worse than him.
142* ''Film/EscapeFromNewYork'': When ordered to rescue the President of the United States, Snake Plissken would gladly hijack his transportation and fly to Canada, but a bomb planted in his body makes him do otherwise.
143* The Heisei incarnation of Franchise/{{Godzilla}} saves the world, or at least [[TheTokyoFireball Tokyo]] from other monsters, but it's not clear whether he has any motivations other than territorial instinct and [[PapaWolf devotion to his son, "Junior"]].
144* ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly'': Blondie is "The Good", but only because the other two main characters are even worse.
145* ''Film/{{Guardians of the Galaxy|2014}}'': All of the Guardians have some kind of criminal past, and even TokenGoodTeammate Groot has apparently spent some time kidnapping and/or impaling people for money as Rocket's accomplice. They're interested in stopping [[BigBad Ronan]] either to save themselves or [[ItsPersonal to get revenge on him for wronging them in the past]].
146* ''Film/{{Hulk}}'' is a milder example. But it's not entirely clear (until possibly the end) if the title character really knows and/or understands what he's doing.
147* ''Film/IShotJesseJames'': Robert Ford is more than willing to kill UsefulNotes/JesseJames (and later, [[TheRival John Kelley]]) when he thinks it’ll get him Cynthy’s hand. However, he also has a sense of honor and seems decent enough in every other aspect of his life.
148* ''Film/JamesBond'': Unlike his novel counterpart, Bond himself is too heroic for this trope, varying from PragmaticHero to UnscrupulousHero DependingOnTheWriter. However, several of his allies do qualify.
149** ''Film/{{Goldfinger}}'': Pussy Galore is a full participant in Goldfinger's plot to set off a nuclear bomb at Fort Knox, which would kill 60,000 people and cause economic chaos in the entire western world, and is motivated solely by money. While she eventually pulls a HeelFaceTurn and does more to stop Goldfinger than even Bond himself, her motivations for this are a combination of falling in love with Bond and realizing her partnership with the dangerously psychopathic Goldfinger is doomed anyway rather than any sudden change in morality.
150** ''Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService'': Marc-Ange Draco is the head of one of the world's most powerful crime syndicates. He only becomes Bond's ally in the first place because he wants Bond to marry his daughter Tracy, as a form of therapy for her suicidal depression brought on by her first husband's death, and he is so casually sexist and dismissive towards Tracy that [[EveryoneHasStandards even the notoriously misogynistic Bond is taken aback]]. He supplies Bond with an army to defeat Blofeld and SPECTRE in the FinalBattle not to prevent Blofeld's plan to hold the world to ransom with the Omega Virus, but solely to save his daughter as Blofeld had kidnapped her.
151** ''Film/{{Goldeneye}}'' and ''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough'': Valentin Zukovsky is an ex-KGB operative turned Russian mafia head. He helps Bond in the former film only because Bond bribes him with military equipment, and in the latter out of revenge for Elektra King betraying him and killing his nephew. Though he develops a begrudging respect for Bond as a WorthyOpponent and possibly even a friend, he is still an unrepentant criminal who will help save the day only when this aligns with his personal interests.
152* In ''Film/JohnWick'', John himself. He massacres dozens of mobsters simply because the son of their boss, Iosef, killed his puppy and flat-out threatens to kill [[TheDon Viggo]] if he doesn't hand over Iosef. He's kept from being a full-on VillainProtagonist by a strict sense of honor (for starters, [[NeverHurtAnInnocent he takes great pains to avoid collateral damage]]) and the fact that, well, he's going up against TheMafiya that John himself put into power.
153* All the protagonists of ''Film/KellysHeroes'' are disgruntled US soldiers, who intend to abscond to Switzerland with 16 million dollars in NaziGold. They never do anything outright evil and are all fairly sympathetic in that they are repeatedly pissed on by their superiors and blamed for things they had no power over, but are also very blatantly only out to line their own pockets and don't care much about what they have to do to get what they want.
154* Lampshaded and played for laughs in ''Film/MysteryMen''. Captain Amazing is constantly viewed by the residents of Champion City as a great hero, even though he is often rude, inconsiderate, thoughtless, and only interested in making money off his powers. He even brings about the events of the film, unwittingly, by getting his archnemesis released from prison so he can fight someone worthy (and save his sponsorship deals), eventually getting himself killed stupidly in the process. The audience isn't ''supposed'' to like him. Their sympathies instead lie with the title characters, who are the underdogs of the superhero world; most of them have [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway crappy superpowers]] (such as only turning invisible when literally nobody is watching...not even himself), and they're respected by next to nobody in the city they've sworn to protect.
155* ''Film/{{Nobody}}'': Hutch Mansell is a man with a lot of pent-up anger, and unlike similar protagonists in other action films (like, say, John Wick), he's only looking for an excuse to snap and lash out instead of any kind of justice or revenge. He also shows no remorse for the violence he did in his past or in the present. The only thing that stops him from being a straight-up villain is that the people he's fighting against are just as bad as he is.
156* Amleth is only the "hero" of ''Film/TheNorthman'' because Fjölnir is a horrible person who destroyed his life and Amleth is paying in kind. Beyond that, Amleth is just as much of a brutal warrior who engages in, at least, the "pillage and burn" parts of RapePillageAndBurn, as well as slavery [[spoiler:at first, and it could be argued that he only freed Fjölnir's slaves at the end merely to provide a distraction]]; and although he doesn't directly harm women or children, he's got no problem with his fellow berserkers doing it. Even so, by the end, [[spoiler:he ''has'' killed a woman and a child, who were also his kin, making him a kinslayer like Fjölnir too]], albeit in self-defense. They have [[PapaWolf similar positive qualities]] too, making Amleth only ALighterShadeOfBlack. In general, the movie consistently shows that Amleth and Fjölnir are similar; both products of their time and culture.
157* [=MacNamara=] (Creator/JamesCagney) in ''Film/OneTwoThree''. He cheats on his wife, neglects his children, and all of his actions are motivated entirely by self-interest. To get the prize job in London (for which he already has bought a new umbrella), he has no scruples to destroy the happiness of a young couple, make the marriage documents vanish from the registry office, frame the bridegroom as an American spy, destroying his intended career and at the very least ensuring that he spent several years in prison. Then unfortunately it turns out the bride, the only daughter of [=MacNamara=]'s boss, is pregnant...
158* ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'': [[spoiler:Admiral Hux]] becomes TheMole for The Resistance within the First Order. When confronted by the heroes about it, [[spoiler:Admiral Hux]] states the rationale for this is so that rival [[spoiler:Kylo Ren]] loses, and [[NotInThisForYourRevolution the best way to accomplish that is by having The Resistance win the war]].
159* ''Film/StarshipTroopers''. Humanity in this film is a race of [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters arrogant, jingoistic, xenophobic bastards]] run by an openly [[PuttingOnTheReich fascist]] and militaristic PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny. Their every action in the war against the [[BugWar Klendathu Arachnids]] is framed as heroic by in-universe propaganda, embodying the film's intended satire on militarism.
160* In ''Film/TheStreetFighter'', Takuma "Terry" Tsurugi is a brutal and pitiless man. He sells a girl into slavery and kills her brother when they're not able to pay him for services rendered, and he's not above sacrificing innocents that he's not directly helping. He avoids VillainProtagonist territory by fighting against {{Yakuza}}, whom he despises, and working to protect the good guys, even though he does so for his own reasons. In the {{Video Game|s}} version, he's portrayed in a somewhat more positive light.
161* ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'': The T-800 is a killer machine with no emotions, only protecting and following the orders of a ten-year-old because of his programming. By the end of the film, he's able to understand human behaviour and emotions, so he becomes a more traditional hero over the course of the movie.
162* The Terminator from ''Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines'' plays this far more straight. At one point he even flatly admits he doesn't care at all about John or Kate and is only protecting them because it's his mission. Even toward the end, when he's been [[MindVirus corrupted by the T-X]] and is about to kill John, it's being reminded that he's about to fail his mission that [[FightingFromTheInside makes him stop]].
163* ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'': Loki's reasons for helping Thor defeat Malekith are fairly selfish [[spoiler:(Loki wants to avenge Frigga's murder, and this mission offers him an opportunity to escape his prison cell)]], but he nevertheless puts his life on the line to achieve their mutual goal.
164* ''Film/{{Vendetta}}'': As evil as Victor Abbott may be, let's not forget that Mason Danver's plan is to kill a man who, while a criminal, had nothing to do with the death of his wife, so he'll be sent to prison, where he can murder Abbott for a crime he's already been arrested and incarcerated for.
165* ''Film/{{Yojimbo}}'': Sanjuro cleans up the town in which the film takes place, not out of concern for the people, but because he jumped at the opportunity to make money killing people. He's kept from being a VillainProtagonist only by one or two PetTheDog moments and the fact that his victims are even worse.
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169* ''Literature/BeastTamer'':
170** Arios Orlando is this. He's a hero only because he has the Hero skill "Limit Breaker", which he inherited, and allows him to be humanity's champion against the Demon Lord and its armies. However, he's an arrogant, entitled asshole who thinks all the people in the world only exist as part of his personal heroic tale. He has no moral scruples and believes he can do whatever he wants to whoever he wants without consequence just because of his Hero title. He's also a SoreLoser who wants murderous vengeance against the protagonist Rein Shroud whom he kicked out of the party at the start of the story because Rein wasn't outright ''begging'' to be let back in the party when the party needed him to do something, fully intending to kick him out again, and instead fighting back when Rein dared to defend the honor of this new BattleHarem party. Arios lost and was forced to apologize. The instant he [[spoiler:loses his "hero" title because his crimes are too grievous, he turns on the rest of the party and joins up with the Demon Lord to get revenge on humanity for the "disrespect" he's getting in not being recognized as a hero anymore]].
171** The rest of the Hero party also qualifies for being Arios's escorts on his assigned quest against the Demon Lord. The commoners ''loathed'' them for their snobbery and being suck-ups to nobility and the wealthy while treating the commoners as dirt beneath their boots and they're even shown outright abandoning people in distress the moment they lose the tactical advantage and passing off the blame to others, and enforcing this shift of blame with blackmail and threats of force. [[spoiler:It's not until Arios himself turns on them that they realize that they're not heroes at all.]]
172* ''Literature/BewareOfChicken'': The magistrate of Verdant Hill is universally beloved, and he does in fact do quite a lot of good for the province, but when the narrative peeks inside his head, it becomes clear that his motivations are entirely selfish and petty. He is thoroughly addicted to having everyone's praise and approval, and so he does what it takes to keep getting those things -- meaning that he's a rather good ruler in practice, but without any actual moral principles. Jin finds him to be exceedingly helpful, and assumes it's because of his great care and concern for his people; it's really driven by his constant stomach-churning fear that Jin will raze the town if angered.
173* Raistlin Majere is this in the original Literature/{{Dragonlance}} ''Chronicles'' trilogy. Really the only thing keeping him with the Heroes of the Lance is some lingering affection for some of them and the presence of his brother Caramon. [[spoiler:Even during ''Chronicles'', Raistlin started drifting towards becoming the TokenEvilTeammate and the FaceHeelTurn was complete by the next trilogy ''Legends''. Still, he did earn his RedemptionEqualsDeath and had a few PetTheDog moments.]]
174* ''Literature/TheEpicOfGilgamesh'' has its titular character, who doesn't really become properly "heroic" until the end of the story--he starts off as a cruel tyrant, and even after meeting Enkidu and mellowing out somewhat, he's still immature and self-centered. It's only when he learns to accept mortality that he becomes a good king.
175* Senna Wales, the witch of ''Literature/{{Everworld}}.'' She is motivated by her completely selfish goal of overthrowing the powers of Everworld, seizing control over the foundations of reality, and then [[DimensionLord ruling over the universe]] as [[GodhoodSeeker an absolute god]]. However, she is kept from being a VillainProtagonist because most of the real villains that she opposes (Huizilopocli, Hel, Ka Anor) are monsters, she [[TokenEvilTeammate helps the other protagonists more often than she goes against them]], and she seems to genuinely think that Everworld and its people would be better off with her ruling them all.
176* [[spoiler:Severus Snape]] in the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' books does have something of a moral compass, in that he aims to [[TheAtoner atone]] for his mistreatment and inadvertent betrayal of TheLostLenore by avenging her death. He doesn't care much for anyone else, though, as evidenced by his general nastiness… [[spoiler:though this may have changed under the years of working with Dumbledore, taking into account his reply to Dumbledore on the lives he couldn't save, and risking blowing his cover to attempt to save Lupin's life at the start of the final book.]]
177* Everyone knows who James Bond is, but ''Literature/JamesBond'' in the original Ian Fleming novel is a homophobic and sexist character who has no problems showing his disdain towards women doing work associated with men and the existence of lesbians. Ian Fleming noted in an interview that this was intentional.
178-->'''Ian Fleming:''' I don't think that he is necessarily a good guy or a bad guy. Who is? He's got his vices and very few perceptible virtues except patriotism and courage, which are probably not virtues anyway ... But I didn't intend for him to be a particularly likeable person.
179* ''Manga/HybridXHeartMagiasAcademyAtaraxia'': As of Volume 8, [[MadScientist Nayuta Hida]] has joined the protagonists in their battle against the [[PhysicalGod Deus Ex Machina]]. Nayuta has no regrets about what she has done for her [[AGodAmI pursuit of godhood]], such as the way she treated her children, and makes no attempts to redeem herself. For their part, [[TheHero Kizuna]] and the others know this and only accept her help because she is the best chance they have against the Deus Ex Machina.
180* Brazilian novel ''Macunaíma'' follows the adventures of the eponymous character, who is labeled as the "hero without virtues". One of his first "heroic" acts is to rape the queen of the Amazons, which earns him the title of King of the Jungle. Later on, he sets out to São Paulo to reclaim a mystic amulet from a man-eating monster, though he spends most of his time enjoying himself in the city's brothels. Finally, his envy of his own brother leads him to pull a prank that accidentally leads to the deaths of all his family members.
181* Creator/StevenErikson's ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'':
182** Karsa Orlong is just about as anti as a hero can get. Being a {{deconstruction}} of the ProudWarriorRaceGuy and BarbarianHero, Karsa aims to improve the world... by slaughtering millions of people and smashing civilization back to barbarism.
183** Seerdomin is a hero to the Redeemer's followers because his daily presence at the barrow discourages bandits from entering the camp surrounding it, but his reasons for visiting are rather personal and he is even surprised that people would look up to him.
184* The protagonist of ''Literature/TheMentalState'', Zack State, appears to be this. He never does anything virtuous unless he can justify it with a selfish motive. Of course, it is open to interpretation as to whether this is always the case, or if he is simply trying to convince himself that he doesn't care about others.
185* Max Dembo from ''Literature/NoBeastSoFierce''. He's an ex-convict making a genuine attempt to reform, but it's motivated entirely by pragmatism and he's shown to be racist, homophobic, misogynistic, short-tempered, and amoral. He does have a few PetTheDog moments, but after enough rejections and humiliations, he dovetails right back into being a criminal.
186* Yarol, the Venusian sidekick in C.L. Moore's ''Literature/NorthwestSmith'' stories, is heavily implied to be this. The narration never specifies his enormities, but hints that his [[{{Bishonen}} angelic beauty]] belies his absolutely evil nature.
187* Uhtred Ragnarsson of Bebbanburg, the main protagonist of the [[Literature/TheSaxonStories Saxon Stories]], is this in his halfhearted service of Alfred the Great. Although he would much rather accompany the Danish invaders, certain events forced him to make an oath of service to King Alfred that he refuses to break.
188* Franchise/SherlockHolmes. In the early stories particularly, he's more interested in fighting crime for the ''novelty'' of it, and the fact that the more unusual cases give him something to do; if he gets too bored he starts doing cocaine. Later stories shy away from the drug use and make him a bit more classically heroic, though his main fascination with his work is still the strangeness of his cases. He rarely shows an interest in financial gain; he even states that "my work is its own reward." Holmes's motivation is really a combination of a sense of justice but also of a desire for a worthy challenge. He takes cases whose riddles he will enjoy trying to solve. You could say that he is a heroic foil of [[Characters/BatmanTheRiddler The Riddler]] who enjoys creating riddles.
189* [[Literature/TakeshiKovacs Takeshi Kovacs]] tends to rack up an alarming body count at the best of times, but in the second book in particular he's only in it for the money.
190* Many of the heroes in ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' are morally dubious or in it for the sake of their own careers. The clearest example is Shadow Stalker -- a thrill-seeking psychopath with a [[StrawNihilist poorly articulated philosophy]] that serves only the purpose of [[BewareTheSuperman placing her at the top of the food chain]] and regularly brutalizes or kills criminals when she thinks she can get away with it.
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193[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
194* ''Series/TwentyFour'' protagonist Jack Bauer skirts along this trope during the show's eight seasons but manages to stay away from it for the most part. The sequel mini-series "Live Another Day," however, shows that he's officially entered this territory due to how much his experiences in the show's original run have soured him. He comes out of hiding to save the day again solely because he learned that his old flame Audrey and her father and his former boss James Hellar were in danger and displays a much more ruthless attitude than he did during the original series, including shooting a group of people in order to incite a riot for a diversion and [[spoiler:outright murdering the main villain of the first half of the season with little provocation even after she's been successfully captured, a stark contrast to the original seasons where he primarily killed only in self-defense or if someone [[ItsPersonal murdered someone important to him]]]].
195* ''{{Series/Andromeda}}'': Tyr Anazasi is a mercenary. He is also a Nietzschean, a member of a HumanSubspecies that practices [[StrawNihilist enlightened self-interest]], [[DesignerBabies genetic engineering,]] and [[TheSocialDarwinist social darwinism]]. Tyr is ultimately on no one's side but his own; he is not only not much of a hero, he is an out-and-out antagonist at times and will always play the heroes and villains against each other for his personal benefit (though he is more than willing to drop an immediate benefit for a larger, long term one). He will stand by the heroes, even at great personal risk, when their interests align with his and it seems like they will come out on top (which, he recognizes, is most of the time; Dylan and Rommie are good enough to beat the odds more often than not), but doesn't hesitate to throw the heroes under the bus when he thinks the risks are small and the payoff big enough.
196* ''Series/BlackAdder'' Lord Flashheart is a rare example of a FakeUltimateHero who really was brave and dashing and always won. He first appeared as an Elizabethan swashbuckler in season 2 and a dashing flying ace in season 4 and was handsome, bold, admired by all, adored by the ladies, and laughed in the face of danger. He was also an arrogant prat who boasted constantly, lied, sucked up to his superiors, patronized his admirers, and treated women as sex objects. And the only reason he always won was that he was an underhanded bastard who cheated and employed every dirty trick in the book.
197* ''Series/BlakesSeven'':
198** Over the course of his development, Kerr Avon varies from TokenEvilTeammate to a JerkWithAHeartOfGold but loses all sympathetic qualities towards the end of Series 4 when he tries to kill Vila in cold blood. He's still fighting the LawfulEvil Federation but he only cares about saving himself.
199** His reasons for fighting the Federation also change as time passes: in Season 1 he claims to have nothing to do with Blake's revolution other than living on the same ship, in Season 2 he's playing along because he wants the ship, in Season 3 the Federation is a threat to his freedom and by Season 4 he genuinely hates them, though by this time he's [[SanitySlippage sliding down the sanity slope]] and it's hard to tell ''what'' his true motivations are.
200** Most of the other "good" main characters -- except Blake, Cally, Dayna, and perhaps Jenna and Gan -- are being dragged along behind Blake's idealism. They fight because there's nowhere for them to run.
201** Dayna seems to stay with Avon out of a combination of not having anywhere else to go and wanting revenge on Servalan for her father's murder. While the seven more or less end up as FireForgedFriends, only Blake and Cally really have anything approaching idealism, rather than being motivated by loyalty or self-interest, and they're both gone by Season 4.
202* ''Series/TheBookOfBobaFett'': Boba Fett is a crime lord whose sole motivation is to consolidate his newfound power. The only things making him worth rooting for are his strict sense of honor, desire to rule with respect rather than fear, and the fact that his enemies are also notorious crime lords who are far worse than him.
203* Season 4 of ''Series/BreakingBad'' has protagonist Walter White slip into this. [[spoiler:He's still a nasty piece of work, but the Juarez Cartel (represented by the FauxAffablyEvil Don Eladio) and Gus Fring are much ''much'' worse than him.]]
204* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': Spike from seasons 4-6. After having a chip inserted in his head that [[RestrainingBolt prevents him from attacking humans]], but still leaves him free to hurt demons, he frequently teams up with the Scoobies solely because [[BloodKnight it's the only way he can get a good fight.]] From season 5, he's also motivated by having fallen in love with Buffy and gains Dawn as a MoralityPet, but still operates on BlueAndOrangeMorality compared to the rest of the good guys and commits many horrifying actions. [[spoiler:He grows out of this and becomes a true hero in season 7 after regaining his soul.]]
205* ''Series/{{Dexter}}'': The titular character is at the far, dark end of this to the point where he could fairly be considered simply a likeable VillainProtagonist, being a SerialKiller who was disciplined at a young age to channel his sociopathy toward killing other evildoers. By the end of Season 7, he is 100% VillainProtagonist.
206* Amos from ''Series/TheExpanse'' (who is very reminiscent of a heavily {{Flanderiz|ation}}ed Jayne) only seems to stick around with the others out of personal loyalty and/or UnrequitedLove for Naomi and because he has nowhere else to go, at least in Season 1.
207* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'', which was [[SpiritualAdaptation blatantly]] ''Blake's 7'' with money, was also filled with Nominal Heroes. The only reason why the main characters come together is that they're all being hunted by the oppressive government, but [[TheOnlyBeliever only one of them was anything approaching an idealistic revolutionary]]. (That one person was not the main protagonist and [[spoiler:died just over halfway through the show's run]].) In four seasons, they only consciously set out to do something "good" for the universe on two occasions, at the end of the third season and in the GrandFinale WrapItUp. Amusingly lampshaded when [[ItsAllAboutMe Rygel]] offers to nobly escape their latest encounter with certain doom in order to carry their message, only to be reminded that they don't actually ''have'' one.
208* ''Series/FatherTed'': Father Jack Hackett is a violent, selfish, perverted alcoholic and flashbacks suggest he was once a bullying fire and brimstone preacher and a paedophile. The only thing keeping him from being a VillainProtagonist is that his alcoholism and old age usually render him too docile to harm anyone. And sometimes they do the exact opposite.
209* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'':
210** Jayne is working for Mal only because Mal offered him more money and his own bunk. When given the offer he immediately shot the mercenaries he was currently working for and sided with Mal. He makes it clear throughout the series that he would do the same again if a better offer came along... Maybe. The big lug goes through a ''lot'' of CharacterDevelopment in thirteen episodes and one BigDamnMovie and shows regular signs of HiddenDepths.
211** Arguably this can be applied to all the crew (with the exception of Book, whose motivations are unclear though his loyalty less so), who are on the crew for either financial gain or survival. Though there are moments of sincere heroism that even Mal can't ignore -- such as returning the medicine they stole (only Jayne objects), helping out the whores (which only Jayne agrees to when he realises it'll get him free whore sex), and risking everything to out the secret behind the Reavers (even Jayne agrees to this).
212* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
213** In Seasons 3 and 4, Sandor "The Hound" Clegane, having abandoned his position as a Kingsguard for the tyrannical Lannister regime, works to return Arya Stark to her family, which is a heroic goal, though his primary motivation is the ransom he expects to be paid for her. He's still not by any means a good person, as he robs innocent peasants on two separate occasions, on the first barely being convinced not to murder his unconscious victim by Arya, and on the second leaving a kindly farmer and his young daughter to starve [[UngratefulBastard after the man had invited him into his home, given him a free meal and offered him a job]]. However, he despises (and helps Arya kill) monsters like [[spoiler:the Frey soldiers who murdered her family at the Red Wedding]] and PsychoForHire Polliver, and by the end of Season 4, he has come to care for Arya enough that he is now looking after her with no hope of a reward. [[spoiler:After a near-death experience, he returns in Season 6 as a much more heroic character, albeit still not a particularly [[GoodIsNotNice nice]] one, fighting to save the world from the White Walker invasion for purely noble reasons.]]
214** Bronn is a mercenary who fights for whichever side pays him best, including propping up oppressive monarchs like Joffrey and [[spoiler:Cersei]], resorts to dishonourable tactics in battle, and, in his time as Commander of the City Watch of King's Landing, uses extreme measures to keep the peace such as having every known thief in the city rounded up and summarily executed. Though he does have some standards, being clearly disgusted by Joffrey having Sansa Stark beaten by Meryn Trant in front of the Royal Court, the only reason he qualifies as a hero at all is that the characters he spends most of his time working for are Tyrion and Jaime, who the audience is generally inclined to sympathise with.
215* Selina Kyle in ''{{Series/Gotham}}'' is a street thief who cares mostly about her own survival but springs to action when a friend needs help (Bruce and Bridgit) and tries to stop her old friend Ivy from murdering a lot of people
216* [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] in the two TV series, Series/HenryDanger and Series/DangerForce. Captain Man, the main protagonist and superhero of each show, starts off the series as a [[AllLovingHero superhero who's dedicated to protecting the innocent and good citizens of Swellview, his hometown, because he cares for their peace and safety.]] ''Or,'' at least, so you would ''think''...as he goes through the show, ''Henry Danger,'' it becomes increasingly obvious that he really is only just a superhero because he enjoys the fame and praise he gets from the people, he enjoys being the [[ChickMagnet romantic object of all the ladies' attention,]] and he enjoys [[TheCasanova flirting and swinging through all his romantic relationships with the ladies that give him that romantic attention he likes.]] Also, when it comes to fighting criminals and villains, he just loves fighting crime because [[BloodKnight he enjoys the sensation of beating up the bad guys]] knowing he's [[NighInvulnerability almost completely indestructible and invincible]] and that they never usually can stand a chance against him. However, his friends and companions will occasionally remind him of why he became a superhero in the first place to protect the innocent and keep the peace, which usually makes him feel guilty when they tell him or show him that he's taking his obsession with the fame and attention-seeking way too far.
217** In the spin-off series, '' Series/DangerForce,'' when the Danger Force teens become Captain Man's sidekicks, they too start out like him and even go as far as promising that even though they respect and admire Captain Man as a mentor, they'll never become like him, only fighting crime for the fame and attention. However as the series goes along, especially in the second season, it becomes apparent that they're becoming more and more like Captain Man and that he's rubbing off on them way more than they'd probably be willing to admit, especially when it comes to only fighting crime because they want the fame, glory, and attention and because they like the romantic attention from their young teen peer fans who have romantic crushes on them.
218* ''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet'':
219** Munch treats being a homicide detective as a mundane job and only really wants to get paid, and is much more interested in having a lighter workload than solving murders. He does occasionally become legitimately altruistic when children are involved and can be persuaded to do the right thing, but he's just as frequently too much of a lazy, abrasive cynic to even bother trying.
220** Felton similarly treats being a homicide detective as a mere job, and doesn't show much investment in it. He shows a quite stunning LackOfEmpathy at times, even joking about a woman's death in front of her husband, and occasionally shows a willingness to violate the law for his own ends.
221* ''Series/KamenRiderExAid'':
222** Taiga Hanaya/Kamen Rider Snipe, who fights against the Bugsters not because he cares about the patients or their lives. He just wants to collect all the Gashats so can he destroy all the Bugsters and get his revenge on Graphite. He also doesn't care about who gets hurt because of his actions. However, he later reveals HiddenDepths and shows that this is mostly just an act of him pretending to be a jerk.
223** Former BigBad Kuroto Dan/Kamen Rider Genm eventually joins the heroes, but not out of a change of heart. He's upset because his father Masamune, the new Bad, has hijacked his scheme and diverted it away from the purpose he intended it for, and taken credit for all his hard work. There are also bits of the Relationship and Force motivations there, as he feels a familial connection to Poppy (for reasons that are complicated to explain here) and can now be trapped in a Bugvisor if he starts acting up.
224* The Arms Monsters in Series/KamenRiderKiva. They’re no fans of the [[MonsterOfTheWeek Fangire]], but they aren’t afraid to indulge in rape and eating humans to survive. They only assist Kiva as a life debt to his father.
225* ''Series/KamenRiderOOO'': Ankh is only helping Eiji against the other Greeed because it's in his own best interests, and has no qualms about who is hurt so long as he gets what he wants. [[spoiler:though he gradually transitions into a KnightInSourArmor by the end.]]
226* Zigizagged on ''Series/{{Leverage}}''. In the pilot, the heroes are clearly only motivated by payback and greed. Throughout the rest of the series, their motivations flip back and forth in almost every episode between wanting to atone, wanting to help the victims, and the love of stealing. Also, the "alternative revenue stream" is occasionally mentioned, implying that the team continues to profit from their work by betting against their marks in the stock market like they did in the pilot.
227* ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'': Galadriel of the Second Age is defined by her selfish desire for revenge. She has no problem risking the lives of her own troops, threatening the Orcs with genocide, or manipulating Halbrand and Miriel in such a way the queen puts the troops of Numenor at her disposal.
228* While Lucifer Morningstar from ''Series/Lucifer2016'' has a strong sense of right and wrong (albeit a very twisted one), the only reason why he joined up with Chloe and her investigations was that she fascinated him due to her moral compass and immunity to his charms and because he found punishing criminals to be exciting. He only ever stays the course whenever it interests him in any way, becoming easily distracted or simply dropping out of the case altogether if it bores him, only to re-enter the case if it suits his needs.
229* ''Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy'': Magna-Defender is like this. He may assist the rangers in taking down a monster or two and want to take down Scorpious, but he's only doing it for revenge. This definitely becomes clearer when he tries to destroy Terra Venture because it might destroy Scorpious. Although he gets better, [[RedemptionEqualsDeath near the end]].
230* ''Series/{{Revolution}}'': Rachel Matheson reveals herself as this in "[[Recap/RevolutionS1E17TheLongestDay The Longest Day]]" when she directly tells Aaron that she wants to turn the power back on not to help anyone, but to give the other factions the power to kill Monroe as revenge for killing her son Danny.
231* ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'': In this 2010 BBC modernization, Sherlock Holmes describes himself as a "high-functioning sociopath," and cautions Dr. Watson: "Don't make people into heroes, John. Heroes don't exist; and if they did, I wouldn't be one of them." This shows that his motivations are not those of a typical straight hero and that he's possessed a very cynical worldview. His motivation is quite explicitly boredom and a need for intellectual stimulation.
232* ''Series/TheShield'':
233** Vic Mackey alternates between this and a full-on villain. He's a drug-dealing, manipulative, murderous DirtyCop but he still frequently finds himself trying to bring down criminals far worse than he is and put an end to crime in Farmington… whenever he isn't behind it. He slowly but surely slips into full-blown villainy over the course of the series, especially as his cruel manipulation tactics start being turned on legitimately good people who just happen to be in his way.
234** With the exception of [[TokenGoodTeammate Lem]], the rest of the Strike Team falls into this too. Ronnie is a loyal accomplice who doesn't bat an eye at even Vic's worst crimes and Shane is a short-tempered, violent bigot. However, they still aid Vic in his nobler endeavors just as loyally as they do with his crimes.
235* ''Series/TheSopranos'': Tony Soprano is a con artist, a thug, a womanizer, a thief, a murderer, an extortionist, and an adulterer. But the things separating him from a VillainProtagonist are his genuine love for his family, kindness to his friends, occasional pangs of guilt and moments of vulnerability, and the fact that his friends (and enemies) are even worse than he is. It actually makes him seem like a milder case of the trope... and then he loses much of it by Season 6B and the finale.
236* Crowley in ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' starts off as this. He's no less evil than the other demons, but he is the only one to realize that it's in his best interest to stop [[{{Satan}} Lucifer]] from destroying humanity, as he knows Lucifer will come for the demons once he's done with the humans. He mostly acts as a straight-up villain once Lucifer is out of the picture, but periodically goes back to being this whenever he finds it in his interests to work with the Winchesters against an even more evil entity.
237* ''Series/TheWire'':
238** Omar Little is a stick-up man who robs drug dealers for a living. As Maurice Levy points out, he is an amoral man profiting off the drug game that is leeching the life out of the city of Baltimore, and the only reason he opposes the show's villains such as the Barksdales or Marlo Stanfield is for revenge when they've killed someone close to him. However, he has a strict code of honor, never targeting anyone who is "[[WouldNotShootACivilian not in the game]]", and his victims are such colossal {{Asshole Victim}}s that he comes across as a KarmicThief.
239** Many policemen and public servants don't really care about fighting crime or improving the city and would only perform good deeds when it furthers their own agendas. Examples include:
240*** [[DaChief Bill Rawls]] is a foul-mouthed {{Jerkass}} whose only interest in fighting crime is to "juke the stats" by any means necessary so that he can appear to be doing his job properly and get himself a promotion. He initiates the investigation into the Barksdales in Season 1 only because his superiors nagged him into it under pressure from a judge.
241*** Stan Valchek is a slimy schemer who uses all manner of politics to climb the upper ranks of the Baltimore Police Department. While he does establish the Major Crimes Unit to commence a very important investigation into Frank Sobotka's shipping yard in Season 2, he does so only out of petty revenge for Sobotka showing Valchek up by beating him to donating a stained glass window to a local church.
242* On ''Series/XCompany'' Mirri asks to join the resistance spies in order to get the chance to kill her enemies.
243[[/folder]]
244
245[[folder:Manhua]]
246* Xiaxi, the protagonist of ''Manhua/GoddessCreationSystem'', is intentionally morally ambiguous. Her only goal is to survive, but in order to do so, she has to cause young men to fall in love with her even though she has zero intention of ever reciprocating and has every intention of abandoning them the moment they do. Despite her completely selfish motivation, she just so happens to be an otherwise good influence on her targets: The wild Mingluan becomes more focused, the narcissist Mingyi becomes more thoughtful and less selfish and the impulsive and lazy Jun'er starts shaping up to be a responsible and mature leader.
247[[/folder]]
248
249[[folder:Podcasts]]
250* The "heroes" of ''Podcast/TheAdventureZone'' are in the business of tracking down [[ArtifactOfDoom Artifacts of Doom]] for two reasons: because they don't want the planet destroyed ([[WesternAnimation/TheTick it's where they keep all their stuff]]) and because the pay is pretty good. [[HeroicComedicSociopath They'll gleefully lie, cheat, steal, and murder]] along their way toward saving the world from the latest threat, and everyone else has to put up with it, because [[UltimateJobSecurity their track record at world-saving can't be beat]].
251[[/folder]]
252
253[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
254* Invasion angles have a tendency to create faces by default since no matter how disagreeable a heel is he still represents the company the fans came to see, that those jerks are getting in the way of. Ray Gonzales, who was directly responsible for bringing Wrestling/{{AAA}} luchadores into WWC in the first place and only fell out with them when they stopped doing what he told them, is a prime example, since, hey, he's still a Puerto Rican fighting the foreigners in the Puerto Rican company. In fact, this can apply to invaders that have simply been around longer than more recent arrivals, such as the W*ING wrestles becoming {{face}}s in Wrestling/{{FMW}} when IWA Japan and Víctor Quiñones's Puerto Rican Army came in. [[ForeignWrestlingHeel The Dominican]] Los Compadres and Los Broncos becoming faces when different foreign wrestlers came into WWC and the Dominicans were nominal faces again when wrestlers from the ''Puerto Rican'' independent circuit came into WWC. There are a few aversions though, as Wrestling/{{Carlito C|olon}}aribbean Cool remained a heel when Savio Vega invaded WWC with IWA PR (mainly because his argument to Vega about not being a tecato just made fans think he was {{lazy|bum}} instead). Another was Averno, El Texano Jr and El Terrible taking advantage of first Los Independientes attack on Wrestling/{{CMLL}} to blindside Brazo de Plata, Jon Strongman and Wrestling/{{Mistico}}, as they ran out to stop the independent circuit invaders.
255* In [[VillainBasedFranchise heel based promotions]] such as Fuyuki Army, Oz Academy, Kai En Tai Dojo, and Perros Del Mal Producciones or on heel-based shows like ''Wrestling/{{n|ewWorldorder}}Wo Souled Out'' or the Wrestling/{{N|ationalWrestlingAlliance}}WA Wildside "Elite" events, it is incredibly easy for a heel not associated with the dominant PowerStable to become a face by default, as Wrestling/EddieGuerrero discussed when the nWo were taking over Wrestling/{{WCW}}.
256* In professional wrestling, good deeds, good sportsmanship, generally being a good person, and, of course, being a good or even adequate wrestler will get one cheered somewhat reliably. But audiences are not static; it's impossible to really know how they will react until you're in front of them, and any wrestler who gets consistently cheered for will become a {{face}} by default. Generally one designated {{face}} or {{heel}} beforehand will try to invoke the "correct" response or correct the opposite, but sometimes, fans set their minds on someone being worth cheering for, no matter how reprehensible that someone might be. In the lucha libre territories of pro wrestling, tecnicos have a slightly easier time with this, as the battle lines are more clearly defined, but if they get booed enough they'll turn rudo too.
257* Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin in 1997. Although events involving Wrestling/BretHart made him firmly a face in the fans' eyes, he retained all of the aspects that made him a heel, to the point where some fans thought he was just a DesignatedHero. He beat up people who tried to help him, [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown smashed Bret Hart's leg into oblivion with a chair and then hijacked an ambulance to beat him up some more]] and generally acted like a massive JerkAss to everyone.
258* The only real differences between Wrestling/TripleH as a heel and as a face is whether or not he's directly insulting the fans, and how often he tries to weasel out of a fight.
259* Wrestling/EddieGuerrero's motto throughout his entire career was "lie, cheat and steal", and he would live up to this even as a face. The only reason he was a face at all is that he was so [[LovableRogue charming]] that the fans would cheer him no matter what he did.
260* Wrestling/RandyOrton is a sadistic psychopath even as a face, with the only difference in his behaviour being that he attacks heels instead of faces. Even then, he often dishes out random, unprovoked RKOs to people who have done nothing to deserve it, which will get him cheered regardless because the move is [[RuleOfCool too cool to boo.]]
261* Wrestling/{{Kane}} is treated as a demonic, rage-filled force of nature who nobody wants to cross even as a face.
262* [[Wrestling/AndradeCienAlmas La Sombra]], La Máscara and especially Rush, the most hated man in Wrestling/{{CMLL}}, only avoided being officially designated rudos by the latter's sheer insistence that they were merely "Los Ingobernables, técnicos diferentes", and that the other técnicos they typically opposed like Volador Jr. and Wrestling/{{Mistico}} were still their brothers.
263* Wrestling/AllysinKay's HeelFaceTurn in Shine Wrestling began with Kay [[TakeThatAudience insulting her own fans]] and ended with her embracing them after all her friends "betrayed" her and she had no one else to turn to. This betrayal consisted of Kay's friends proclaiming that Kay was NOT TheLeader of their PowerStable and making what they thought was a good business decision even though Kay was against it. All the initial violence in the resulting feud was instigated by Kay, something their PsychoForHire ''Sweet Saraya'' called [[EvenEvilHasStandards her out on]], and when not feuding with her former friends Kay continued to try and force the Shine promotion to give her what she wanted by "destroying innocent girls". What made Kay a baby face was that the friends she betrayed had made five on one {{no holds barred beatdown}}s of genuine baby faces their modus operandi, the business she was against was them merging with [[EvilerThanThou an]] even [[TheBully crueler]] power stable and after her face turn none of the "[[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter innocents]]" Kay was destroying [[AssholeVictim were actually innocent]].
264[[/folder]]
265
266[[folder:Radio]]
267* {{Satan}} in Series 5 of ''Radio/OldHarrysGame''. The StoryArc of the season has Satan attempting to get humans to be less sinful because Hell is getting too overcrowded and it's placing an intolerable strain on the people who work there.
268[[/folder]]
269
270[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
271* Voiree Misallo from ''8BitGamers''. Though firmly on the side of good after a religious experience and a genetic examination revealing her to be born with a semi-sociopathic defect, her motivation mostly has to do with wanting to avoid hell, keep her boyfriend, and remain friends with her TrueCompanions.
272* Nagash is one of ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}s'' biggest douchebags, and likely the single most evil person in the setting. He still has a vested interest against Chaos destroying the world however, and so for a good chunk of the lore, he's technically been a "good guy". The quotation marks are very much justified, and in ''TabletopGame/WarhammerAgeOfSigmar'' it's no real surprise when he finally gives in to his baser urges. It's fair to say he was only prevented from betraying everyone in ''TabletopGame/WarhammerTheEndTimes'' because one of the other "Why are we friends with this guy again?" characters, his subordinate Mannfred von Carstein, betrayed ''him'' before he had the chance. It speaks to Nagash's character well that the moment his soul was released from imprisonment in Age of Sigmar and ascended to godhood, one of his first actions was to bring Mannfred's soul back in a continually decaying part of his empire just to torment Mannfred by making him his servant again.
273[[/folder]]
274
275[[folder:Theatre]]
276* ''Theatre/IntoTheWoods'' uses this as part of its {{deconstruction}} of {{Fairy Tale}}s. Everything that goes wrong in the DarkerAndEdgier second act is a direct or indirect result of the heroes [[ItsAllAboutMe putting their own]] HappilyEverAfter above the greater good. By the end, the cast admits that they have no idea who's the hero and who's the villain, and the most sympathetic character is the WickedWitch who was the first act's BigBad.
277[[/folder]]
278
279[[folder:Webcomics]]
280* The Light Warriors in ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'' (with the exception of [[TokenGoodTeammate Fighter]]) only possess the distinction of being protagonists due to showing up at the recruiting station at the right time. Both in-story and by WordOfGod, they are far worse than any of the monsters they end up facing. The worst of the lot are Black Mage (a pure VillainProtagonist and an OmnicidalManiac who wants to deliver the world to [[GodOfEvil Chaos]]) and Thief (a kleptomaniac JerkAss MiserAdvisor and race elitist who's only in it to screw over as many people as possible). Red Mage is an amoral {{Munchkin}} who's in it for the XP but will happily commit atrocities toward that end. Fighter, on the other hand, is an IdiotHero who is only going along with the others because he [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter thinks they're actually on the side of good]]. Still, the epilogue has them being credited as the individuals who started the events that led to the world being saved. That is, by being responsible for the world-ending threat in the first place.
281* In ''Webcomic/AnsemRetort'', the only difference between Axel and the villains he fights is that the villains want to destroy all of humanity at once while Axel would prefer to do it one person at a time.
282* Abigail from ''Webcomic/{{BACK}}'' seeks to overthrow a corrupt dictatorship, but only so that she may more easily bring about the apocalypse. Any lesser villain she fights is because they got in her way.
283* ''Webcomic/CurseQuest'': It is unclear why Avalon is even in the group considering he cheers on monsters trying to kill his teammates and pretending to be someone else when he needed to provide identification in the International Heroes Guild book. He does get excited about getting a quest to the Land of Avalon, so it can be assumed he has ulterior motives and is simply siding with the heroes as a cover.
284* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'': Tarvek is really only a "hero" because he cares about Agatha and Gil, something which led him to realize just how messed up mind-controlling the masses really is. He has at least one other surviving person he cares about, but that sibling-like relationship would have done nothing to prevent him from fulfilling the destiny the Knights of Jove were planning for him and generally being a back-stabbing manipulator. He also admits that he's willing to burn the whole world down to protect them no matter who he has to kill.
285* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'':
286** The Midnight Crew are a group of bloodthirsty, vicious criminals. The only thing that keeps them from being outright {{Villain Protagonist}}s of the first Intermission is the fact that the gang they're facing off against, the Felt, is led by the even worse BigBad.
287** Vriska is normally fairly solidly on the heroes side, and still comes across as a villain most of the time. Any time she becomes too sympathetic she'll gleefully kick some random dog, and never stops being in it mostly for her own ego.
288* ''Webcomic/LearningWithMangaFGO'' has its take on the protagonist, generally referred to as Gudako. As a [[StrawFan satire of the average gacha fan]], she's self-absorbed, lazy, a massive pervert, and plays the game to obtain as many pretty girl Servants as possible. She's so uninterested in actually resolving the plot that her Servants have taken to doing it themselves without her. Her male counterpart actually does try to get through the story, but he's pretty transparently doing it because he thinks it's the best way to get lots of cute boy Servants.
289* ''Webcomic/MagickChicks'': Melissa was introduced as [[AlphaBitch an antagonist]], back when she first appeared in ''Webcomic/EerieCuties'', but was eventually given her own SpinOff series which was meant to reform her -- ''[[BeingGoodSucks against her will.]]'' The comic stuck her with a sentient wand [[https://pixietrixcomix.com/eerie-cuties/2012-07-11 that acted as her conscience]] and Tiffany as her [[TheObiWannabe self-appointed instructor.]] Except Melissa couldn't care less and remained as [[https://pixietrixcomix.com/eerie-cuties/2013-02-27 self-centered]] and [[https://pixietrixcomix.com/magick-chicks/all-in-favor petty]] as before - despite occasional moments of heroism.
290* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'':
291** Eugene Greenhilt swore a BloodOath to defeat Xykon the Sorcerer because the latter killed his mentor, but he was the one who muttered "yeah, whatever," afterwards. He was a horrible father and an inattentive husband, and the small amount of interest he has in Xykon being defeated is only because that oath he swore is keeping him from resting. He's only ''barely'' inside heaven in the afterlife. When his son Roy died and went to heaven, Roy was able to get much further inside heaven because unlike Eugene, he actually gave a damn and did everything he could to fulfill the family oath.
292** Belkar Bitterleaf is an unapologetic HeroicComedicSociopath with no actual redeeming qualities. At one point, [[TheHero Roy]] claims that the only reason he keeps Belkar around is to keep him from using his abilities to become a full-blown villain. Belkar's StupidEvil antics are entirely deliberate on his part, as he finds being his own personal MookHorrorShow is not only entertaining but also an effective way of gaining XP. Later, he shifts to a more subdued TokenEvilTeammate role and gains an actual MoralityPet of sorts, his RightHandCat, Mr. Scruffy.
293* ''Webcomic/OzzieTheVampire'': Ozzie and Kimmy to varying extents. Ozzie doesn't care about humanity so much as protecting the city she lives in from demon invaders. Kimmy verges on being a HeroicComedicSociopath -- it's implied she made some kind of deal with Grimsley that obligates her to fight and seal away demons.
294* In ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'', any time Bun-Bun does something good in the series, Pete Abrams is always careful to give him a completely selfish reason (usually either that the good guys bribed him, or that the villain happened to piss him off). It's rare that he's implied to do anything solely because he cares about a member of the main cast.
295* Sebastian in ''Webcomic/TrueVillains'' is a LivingLegend who took on heroic exploits more for the thrill and reward than any real benevolence. He becomes a VillainProtagonist more or less [[https://www.truevillains.com/comic.php?P=2007-12-08~N-To%20Be%20Expected-jpg as soon]] as he gets a more interesting offer from a demon he'd intended to vanquish.
296[[/folder]]
297
298[[folder:Web Original]]
299* During ''LetsPlay/AnalogControl''’s LetsPlay of ''{{VideoGame/Fable|I}}'', the hosts’ protagonist, Arseface, shifted between pragmatic heroism, ChaoticEvil and [[AccidentalHero Accidental Heroism]] at sporadic intervals. Most notable of his nominal heroic deeds was slaying BigBad Jack of Blades in the simple hope of being left alone, then rejecting Jack’s offers of alliance and immortality because [[WhoWantsToLiveForever his first life had been shitty enough.]]
300* ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall'': Linkara fell into this trope during the Lord Vyce arc, becoming gradually more self-centered and obsessed in his fight against his enemy to the point of being abusive to his friends. The hard light hologram replica of himself he leaves behind to do reviews while he goes on a walkabout to figure out why his magical abilities shut down reflects this perfectly: it turns evil not because it was buggy or corrupted, but because [[GoneHorriblyRight it was a perfectly accurate reflection of Linkara at the time it was created.]]
301* On ''Website/{{Cracked}}'', Dan O'Brien's darker grittier Spider-Man film franchise reboot (basically him as Spider-Man) was this. He only ever beat up bad guys if he felt like it and he only ever rescued Mary Jane. His archnemesis was [[Creator/ScarlettJohansson Doctor Scarlett Johctopus]] and they ended up making out.
302* Captain Hammer of ''WebVideo/DrHorriblesSingAlongBlog'''s ''only'' qualification as a hero is that the guy he's fighting is trying to get into a supervillain organization. He may look like TheCape, but underneath his dashing, larger-than-life demeanor is a misogynistic, self-centered, bigoted glory hound who's far more interested in his image than in actually helping people. This makes him the [[HeroAntagonist antagonist]] of the story, set against the nerdy, TechnicalPacifist, ShrinkingViolet [[VillainProtagonist protagonist]], Dr. Horrible.
303* ''WebAnimation/DSBTInsaniT'': Lisa will fight for what is right, but only when she feels like it, and she'll often wait until the last minute to do so anyway.
304* In [=ItsJustSomeRandomGuy's=] Website/YouTube ''WebVideo/ImAMarvelAndImADC'' sketches, this trope is played around with. [[Characters/MarvelComicsLogan Wolverine]] [[LampshadeHanging says to]] [[ComicBook/{{Watchmen}} The Comedian]], "[[{{Dissimile}} You kinda remind me of myself at your age ... except I've got ethics... and I'm not a sociopath... or a rapist... you know what, maybe you remind me of someone else.]]"
305* Hank starts off ''WebAnimation/MadnessCombat'' as a mass-murdering OneManArmy willing to kill people over a boombox, and only becomes heroic in later episodes because his enemies now include an AxCrazy MonsterClown and a [[RealityWarper reality-warping]] GodOfEvil.
306* Creator/HarryPartridge:
307** The titular ''WebAnimation/{{Starbarians}}'' are so profoundly unheroic that multiple episodes have suggested they're a bigger threat to the galaxy than any threat they've ever stopped. One even has the mass-murdering criminal they're attempting to collect the bounty on reveal that, in fact, ''he's'' trying to collect the bounty on ''them'', which is ten times larger than his own. Later episodes have Hogstrong at least attempting to be more heroic, while Killgar wants to just keep murdering people for money and fun.
308** WebAnimation/DrBees is an odd case, in that he does seem to want to do good... it's just that [[BlueAndOrangeMorality his conception of "good"]] is "adding swarms of angry bees to any given situation." Despite this, he seems to be respected as a genuine superhero by the people and has even pursued the defeat of a supervillain, The Comforter... [[HarmlessVillain whose acts of villainy]] consisted of [[PokeThePoodle making people more comfortable]].
309* ''WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment'': Spoony (the character, not Creator/NoahAntwiler) is a sleazy pervert and a confirmed rapist as both WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic and WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick found out the hard way. The Chick herself is a sociopath with no qualms when it comes to tormenting and manipulating her best friend.
310* ''WebVideo/{{Oxventure}}'': Jane Douglas's character, Prudence, in the games of ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''. She's a moderately sadistic, demon-descended Cthulhu cultist who specialises in Eldritch Blast, who seems to care about nobody besides the other Oxventurers.
311* ''Roleplay/WeAreOurAvatars'': A version of Aurora is supposed to be the Dragonborn. Instead, she chose to focus on sidequests, and the Group essentially stole her job. However, the Dragonborn ends up being congratulated for their achievements, angering Imca and Asagi.
312* In ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'', the Scourge, which in the distant past has destroyed entire galactic civilizations in its efforts to defeat Mythos monsters. SociopathicHero Jobe Wilkins may fall into this trope as well.
313* X-Ray of ''WebAnimation/XRayAndVav'' is nothing more than a GloryHound, seeking to gain the fame and attention of being a hero and not actually really ''being'' a hero. He hates the idea of anything taking his spotlight and will attack and blame them for his shortcomings.
314[[/folder]]
315
316[[folder:Western Animation]]
317* The entire main cast of ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}''. Most of them are petty, hedonistic assholes who are more concerned with their lavish lifestyles and do things that are morally questionable or just plain stupid in their spy business. The worst case however is Malory Archer, the head of ISIS who lies, manipulates, and abuses her workers for her own selfish gains. Worst yet, one of them happens to be her son Sterling Archer, whom she has abandoned and abused since he was a kid.
318* ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButthead'': [[Characters/BeavisAndButtHeadTitularCharacters Beavis and Butt-Head]] are selfish, amoral delinquents whose goals range from getting laid to getting rich; most of their "heroic" acts are [[AccidentalHero completely unintentional]]. In fact, the only reason they qualify as "heroes" is because their enemies sometimes [[BlackAndGrayMorality make them look like saints by comparison]].
319* The titular character of ''WesternAnimation/BlackDynamite'' is brutal, aggressive, [[PoliticallyIncorrectHero prejudiced]], commits crimes on a regular basis, and rarely does anything out of altruism unless it affects one of his friends (and sometimes, not even then). He's mostly the good guy because he opposes "The Man", and The Man is much, much worse. In the original film, he was closer to an UnscrupulousHero, willing to stick up for the black community as a whole even if it would endanger him.
320* WesternAnimation/DaffyDuck is usually portrayed this way when he's the hero. Usually his heroism is motivated either by glory, money, or because the true villain is a threat to him personally, and in the last case it's often made clear that he wouldn't do it if it were anyone else who was in danger. He tends not to care about the damage his "heroic" antics cause as long as he gets what he wants, and he is perfectly willing to screw those around him over for even the slightest benefit to himself. All of these traits carry over to his incarnation as ''WesternAnimation/DuckDodgers''.
321* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' features a few:
322** Zapp Brannigan is a selfish, womanizing, ignorant {{Jerkass}} GloryHound whose incompetence is of epic proportions, and whose battle plans often if not usually call for callously sacrificing thousands of lives in order to further his own career. Nonetheless, he is a key asset for [[TheFederation DOOP]]. In many appearances, though, he's a functional or outright antagonist due to his habit of screwing over the Planet Express crew.
323** [[Characters/FuturamaBenderBendingRodriguez Bender]] is an extremely selfish kleptomaniac and thus falls into nominal heroism at times. However, much of this can be excused by the fact that as a robot, he does not fully understand human needs and emotions. He also has quite a few PetTheDog moments.
324** Professor Farnsworth is an amoral crackpot who treats human life as expendable and freely admits that he's always expected that he would cause the apocalypse one day. He's still always on the front lines to save the Earth whenever it's put into peril by an even more evil entity.
325* Damien Darkblood in ''WesternAnimation/Invincible2021'' is this and a ''literal'' NobleDemon. He's a CaptainErsatz of ComicBook/{{Hellboy}} who escaped from Hell and works as a HardboiledDetective [[PurposeDrivenImmortality in order to redeem his soul]] by seeking justice for others and delay, if not prevent, [[DraggedOffToHell returning]]. However, according to [[SupermanSubstitute Omni-Man]], his motivations are purely selfish and he doesn't actually care about the people he helps.
326* Cotton Hill from ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill''. While he (and Hank at times) love to remind everyone he "killed fitty men in WWII", Cotton is also a racist, sexist, bitter old man who treats everyone ([[PetTheDog except Bobby]]) with utter disrespect and contempt. It's also shown that he exaggerated many of his "heroic" deeds in the war (such as him claiming to have been shipped from Italy to the Pacific, but then also claiming to have participated in two different battles that took place at roughly the same time on entirely different fronts - the only front we can be sure he actually fought in is the Pacific since one two-part episode focuses on his illegitimate half-Japanese son). It's even discussed in one episode when Hank points out to Peggy that, despite all his ''many'' shortcomings and exaggerated war deeds, he did come back from the war with a chest of medals, both his shins blown off, and a lot fewer friends.
327* [[Characters/TheLegendOfKorraVarrickAndZhuLi Varrick]] from ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra''. He's pretty friendly and helpful to the heroes, but he's motivated by self-interest and the villains just happen to be cutting in on his business. Come Book Four, however, [[spoiler:[[CharacterDevelopment he's actually started to grow a conscience]], and with some (heavy-handed) prompting from Bolin, he joins the heroes for good]].
328* ''WesternAnimation/MegasXLR'': Coop can come across like this much of the time. He views M.E.G.A.S. as less like a vital weapon in Earth's defense and more like a fancy toy he can show off and play with. In many episodes, Coop only fights the villain because they did something to offend him and the only reason he is relied upon to pilot M.E.G.A.S. is that he modified it in such a way that only he can pilot it.
329* ''WesternAnimation/{{Metalocalypse}}'' has Dethklok, who are ''barely'' out of VillainProtagonist territory. Outside of being [[IdiotHero thicker than cement to a man]], they're also [[ItsAllAboutMe supremely self-centered]], showing a LackOfEmpathy for any of the many, many people injured or killed as a result of their concerts. For the most part, their main motivation is to just live a hedonistic celebrity lifestyle with no limits, and they treat anything else as an inconvenience.
330* [[Characters/RickAndMortyRickSanchez Rick Sanchez]] on ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'' is a very, ''very'' extreme example, bordering on VillainProtagonist. He's a reckless, insane StrawNihilist who is blatantly emotionally abusive towards his family and has been repeatedly shown to always be only one night of heavy drinking away from turning into a full-blown OmnicidalManiac. Even so, he has a handful of PetTheDog moments and fights even more evil beings often enough to avoid being an outright villain: it helps that he ''clearly'' [[PapaWolf cares very deeply for Morty]], no matter how much he denies it or abuses Morty in the process.
331* [[Characters/SouthParkEricCartman Eric Cartman]] from ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' is usually one of these when he's working with the other boys towards any kind of cause. He's usually purely in it for [[ItAmusedMe his own amusement]], but might have his own self-serving interests or be using the boys to his advantage. In "Kenny Dies" he wanted to reinstate funding for stem cell research because he had 33 aborted fetuses he wanted to sell, in "Smug Alert" he saves the lives of Kyle and his entire family purely because not having a Jew around to mock and fight with is boring, and in "Mrs. Teacher Bangs A Boy" he apprehends Ike's pedophile teacher because he, as a power-tripping [[Series/DogTheBountyHunter Dog-wannabe]] hall monitor caught them in the hall without a hall pass which he takes ''incredibly'' personally.
332--> '''Kyle:''' Wow. I... think I owe you one, Cartman.
333--> '''Cartman:''' You don't owe me anything. My hallways are cleeean.
334* ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012'' has an InUniverse ShowWithinAShow example with Captain Ryan, the "hero" of the ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries'' parody "Space Heroes". He does nothing "heroic" on-screen, with actions like openly stating he brings along the {{red shirt}}s so they die, refusing to help two red shirts because "they'll never learn if we keep saving them" (and not caring that this is their first mission and they have no weapons), subtly taunting the Spock expy about being in love with one of the just-killed red shirts, and sucking a bunch of innocent aliens out into space because he finds their noise annoying. He's played on a meta-level as a HeroicComedicSociopath, in that the audience is amused by the fact that Leonardo seems to never realize how utterly terrible Captain Ryan is and tries to emulate his perceived leadership, whilst Raphael and the others recognize that "Space Heroes" is a terrible show because of Captain Ryan's utter lack of heroic qualities.
335* Sentinel Prime from ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' is technically on the side of the good guys, being a member of the high-ranked Autobot Elite Guard, but is a pompous, arrogant, incompetent GloryHound JerkAss with [[FantasticRacism a truly appalling level of anti-organic bigotry]]. He hates the Decepticons, but that's about the only thing "heroic" about him. He manages to get even ''worse'' as we learn more about him, and discover the reason for his hatred for [[NiceGuy Optimus Prime]]: [[spoiler:way back when they were both cadets together, they had a female friend, Elita-1, until one day Sentinel and Elita-1 talked Optimus into making a trip to a forbidden, organic-inhabited planet to search for the wreck of a Decepticon battleship and retrieve its lost stockpile of Energon. Despite the fact that, as he repeatedly pointed out, this was both illegal and highly dangerous, Optimus eventually went along, mostly to keep them out of trouble. As expected, things went disastrously wrong when they were attacked by a colony of {{Giant Spider}}s and the Energon stockpile blew up; Optimus managed to drag Sentinel to safety, but Elita-1 was presumably killed. This got them both court-martialed, but because Optimus took all the blame, only he was expelled from the Elite Guard Academy. Sentinel [[NeverMyFault never admitted he was the one who led them to the planet, nor stopped blaming Optimus for Elita-1's death]]. And just when you think he couldn't get worse, when he finally meets Blackarachnia, the transmutated Elita-1, he is so disgusted by her technorganic state that he outright tells her that she should have ''killed herself'' rather than living like this, making Blackarachnia, herself no fan of her state, protest that it's not ''that'' bad. He truly cements his JerkWithAHeartOfJerk status when he promptly attacks her and tries to kill her himself]]!
336* Dr. Venture from ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros'' often falls into this category, sometimes bordering on VillainProtagonist. He's a BrilliantButLazy BunglingInventor with ''extreme'' {{Freudian Excuse}}s thanks to his [[AbusiveParents emotionally abusive]] father and HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood. ''Usually,'' he still does the right thing in the end, but in a few episodes ("The Buddy System", "What Color is Your Cleansuit?",) he's "heroic" only in the sense that he is the show's protagonist, and the "good" he does (cloning a child who was killed on a tour of his compound, restoring the interns after exposing them to extreme radiation) is basically done to keep himself out of trouble.
337* Lord Hater becomes this in the SeriesFinale of ''WesternAnimation/WanderOverYonder''. After being a BigBadWannabe for an entire season, he helps the heroes defeat the true BigBad, Lord Dominator. [[EvilVersusOblivion Hater wants to rule the galaxy, whereas Dominator wants to destroy it]], so Hater temporarily becomes a hero to save the galaxy he wants to rule.
338[[/folder]]

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