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[[quoteright:350:[[Webcomic/OnePunchMan https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/saitama_flaat.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Well, maybe not ''[[StoryBreakerPower totally]]'' average.]]

->''"If I wanted all the glory... I wouldn't wear a mask."''
-->-- '''Spider-Man''', ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan''

These are special kinds of heroes who just don’t care about their great power or the fact that they're [[FamedInStory world-famous]] adventurers, or the idols of millions, and so on. Despite the great power they possess, they always defer to their friends or allies, and rarely want to take the spotlight, even when their friends encourage them to do so. This isn't caused by [[HeroicSelfDeprecation low self-esteem]] nor by [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone guilt]]. The characters honestly and truly don’t think of themselves as any better than anyone else, despite the great deeds they've done, or the inspiration they've become. In fact, such praise usually just embarrasses them.

Heroes of this type will often have their hands full with individuals who are EasilyImpressed, and will often come to the aid of such a person and spend the rest of the episode trying to get them out of their hair or increase their self-esteem. The catchphrase for [[IgnorantOfTheCall this sort of hero]] is [[AllAPartOfTheJob "I was just doing my job"]] or [[ThinkNothingOfIt "It was what anybody would have done"]] or "ImNotAHeroIm". They're also likely to point out who they think are TheRealHeroes, or when told "you did it", respond "No, ''we'' did it." Humble heroes aren't too fond of flattery or grand gestures, and the simplest gesture is often [[TheSimpleGestureWins the most valuable]]. They may not even [[GracefullyDemoted protest a rank demotion]], being too humble to care about rank at all.

This type of hero is often a result of UpbringingMakesTheHero especially if such a hero has MuggleFosterParents and is HappilyAdopted. If a hero isn't this at first but becomes one later, it may be the result of a powerful instance of BreakTheHaughty. Going towards an even darker route, a villain who has undergone a HeelRealization and a HeelFaceTurn usually feels the need to [[MustMakeAmends make up for the wrong they've done]] thereby becoming TheAtoner, where they become a more humble person as a result of knowing [[PrideBeforeAFall the price of pride and arrogance]].

One of the traits of an IdealHero. Tends to overlap with the AllLovingHero as humility is usually one of these characters’ defining character traits and the MagneticHero as it's their humility to endears them into the hearts of everyone around them. Also usually a character trait of TheParagon as this type of hero wishes to set the example that power rests in the hands of everyone. This is often common in {{Nice Guy}}s as well (particularly those with simplistic lifestyles or have little need for luxuries).

This is often a main characteristic of the MessianicArchetype and TheCape. Can also be a SociallyAwkwardHero, especially when humility leads to being embarrassed by praise. See also HeroicSelfDeprecation, where the hero acts humble because he thinks he's a loser. Can turn into MartyrWithoutACause when taken to ridiculous extremes. Contrasts with ItsAllAboutMe, SmallNameBigEgo, the SmugSuper, and the GlorySeeker. If BeautyEqualsGoodness, then expect the WorldsMostBeautifulWoman to also be the height of humility. They may be paired with a more arrogant rival and form an InsecureProtagonistArrogantAntagonist duo.

%%If you have time, please take time to put examples in alphabetical order. This page Administrivia/HowToAlphabetizeThings should help you with that.
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!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* [[TheHero Eren Yeager]] from ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' gradually morphs into this as part of his character development. He goes from a stubborn hothead with ''severe'' anger issues to a more thoughtful and introspective person who admits he's not strong, and has made ''a lot'' of mistakes, yet continues to fight because many people have put their hopes in him, and even a weak person like him can make a difference.
* Asta from ''Manga/BlackClover'' is this, having come from a peasant background compared to most Magic Knights who are aristocrats. When a drunk man wonders how a little twerp like Asta became a Magic Knight, he bashfully replies that he's surprised that he made it in too.
* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': It is implied that, long after the end of the Quincy Blood War, virtually no one but a select few people are aware of the crucial role Ichigo played in Yhwach's defeat (whereas the official story is that he was defeated by the [[PraetorianGuard Royal Guard]]). When called a hero to his face years later, Ichigo goes so far as to deny being one. In the ''[[Literature/BleachCantFearYourOwnWorld Can't Fear Your Own World]]'' novel, Nel explicitly points out that he doesn't care for that kind of fame; while Ichigo's friends in Soul Society aren't entirely happy with this at first, they choose to respect his wishes out of gratitude.
* In ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'', Touma Kamijou saves anybody in trouble he sees and has even saved the world a few times, but he doesn't care at all that [[TheGreatestStoryNeverTold nobody really notices his efforts]].
* Son Goku from ''Manga/DragonBall'', who only really cares about [[BloodKnight fighting strong opponents]] and pushing his limits as a martial artist, but has saved his universe several times over (and the Earth in specific a few more times than that). In ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' he openly says that he doesn't see himself as some kind of savior and that he helps people in need because that's how his grandfather raised him.
** Pretty much the entire main cast of ''Dragon Ball'' is this, fighting villains either out of self-interest or because it's the right thing to do. The heroes are more than willing to let [[FakeUltimateHero Mr. Satan/Hercule]] take all the credit for the exploits because they don't care about the limelight and are perfectly content in their normal lives. The first episode of ''Super'' centers on Satan trying to give a 100,000,000 Zeni reward to the Z-Fighters since he doesn't feel right keeping the money they rightly earned; Vegeta rejects it outright[[note]]It helps that he's married into the only family on Earth richer than Satan's, meaning his needs are already taken care of[[/note]], and Goku almost does the same until Goten and Satan convince him that bringing home that much money would make his wife Chi-Chi extremely happy.
* ''Manga/FairyTail'': During the Oracion Seis arc, we're introduced to "Iron Rock" Jura, one of the top ten wizards of the continent recognized for his incredible magical power. However, he's also shown to be pretty modest about his powers, as seen when he claims to be leagues behind Makarov, another of the ten. When he finally gets to fight though, he takes on Brain, the leader of Oracion Seis and apparent ArcVillain and quickly defeats him in a few spells, showing that he indeed was modest.
* ''Manga/FoodWars'': Despite his cocky tendencies, protagonist Soma Yukihira is this at the core. He doesn't gloat to his rivals nor does he boast over his past achievements. He is very quick to recognize talent in other students and doesn't make the mistake of underestimating them. [[spoiler:Says a lot that Even after becoming the 1st Seat of the Council of Ten (signifying he is the very best student chef of the current generation at Totsuki), Soma readily admits that Erina is better than him and believes he still has much to learn.]].
* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist:'' The ending of the climax in the manga and ''Brotherhood'' brings full circle to Edward Elric's character development. Before the beginning of the story, after he has seen the Truth, Ed was under the impression that he could do anything with alchemy, including finding the "correct way" to resurrect his mother. This mindset costs him an leg, and then he sacrifices his arm to bind his brother's soul to an armor to save the latter's life. When meeting with the Truth for the final time, Ed realizes that he was just human with no god-like powers, and despite the feats he had accomplished with his alchemy, he couldn't save a little girl who had been merged with her dog with it. [[spoiler:His brother sacrificed his soul to bring Ed his arm back. Ed gives up his ability to use alchemy in exchange for his brother's body and soul. Even without alchemy, Edward declares that he still has his friends and family. And they are the most important things in his life, not alchemy.]]
* Takiko Okuda of ''Manga/FushigiYuugiGenbuKaiden''. (Overlapping, at least initially, with RefusalOfTheCall and consistently with HeroicSelfDeprecation.)
* Played with in the case of Rudeus Greyrat from ''Literature/MushokuTenseiJoblessReincarnation''. In terms of raw magical power, he's probably the most powerful magician in history, but he never realised, because he didn't interact with other magicians so much. By the time he actually came to accept it, he doesn't care, because he's already met people who could easily defeat him, so he assumes there are others. He also cannot wear [[BattleAura Touki]], so he is [[GlassCannon weak against any attacks that actually hit him]]. However, he does try to gather fame in an attempt that family and friends lost in the Teleportation Incident members might hear about him. In the end, his greatest ambition is to live in peace with his family and friends.
* Ippo Makunouchi from ''Manga/HajimeNoIppo''. Aaaaaaw, Ippo.
* {{Subverted}} and PlayedForLaughs in ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar''. During the Kyoto class trip, [[spoiler:Shirogane notices Hayasaka's QuietCryForHelp and does resolve to help her, but his attempt to do so [[NiceJobBreakingItHero ends up making it worse]], as Kaguya's brother manages to track them down. When Kaguya later thanks him in Chapter 187 for helping Hayasaka, he tells her that it was nothing, with the narrator saying that it really ''was'' [[ExactWords "absolutely nothing"]]. The way he says it makes it look like he is just humble about it, when it really is just him [[SureLetsGoWithThat going along with what Kaguya thinks.]]]]
* ''Manga/KenganAshura'' has Takeshi Wakatsuki, who despite being one of the most successful fighters in the Kengan Association, is always willing to acknowledge his opponents' strength, and admits to being nervous about stepping into a match that he's almost guaranteed to win. This puts him in sharp contrast with most of the other regular Kengan fighters, who are mostly ArrogantKungFuGuy who walk into their fight with the assurance of victory without even knowing their opponents' strength.
* Nanoha Takamachi from the ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'' series holds the title of the Ace of Aces, i.e. ''other'' [[TheAce aces]] [[RespectedByTheRespected acknowledge her as their better]], -- except she never actually uses it, or does anything else to stand out. The savior of several worlds and of countless lives resides in a small house in the suburbs of Midchilda, raising her daughter and occasionally showing up at work despite her maternal leave. The fact that her biggest role model seems to be her own mother Momoko, [[SweetBaker who is a bakery proprietor by trade]], may have something to do with it.
* Ranka Lee from ''Anime/MacrossFrontier'' remains modest even after becoming a super-star, and claims that saving people's lives with her songs isn't anything special.
* Mob of ''Manga/MobPsycho100'' possessed godlike PsychicPowers, but believed that it didn't make him any different from others and chose to live life as a normal kid. Mob is admirable because he doesn't hold himself above other people despite his unmatched psychic abilities, and challenges himself to address his weaknesses instead of just trying to get a free ride based on something he didn't earn. Most of the antagonists are individuals who want an easy way to being feared or adored, and think that having an innate psychic ability that enables them to charm or coerce weaker people [[SuperSupremacist makes them entitled to something]]. Mob's combination of overwhelming power and humility [[BreakTheHaughty causes his foes to realize that just having supernatural powers doesn't make them entitled to special treatment]], and that they have to make themselves worthy of being respected just like anybody else.
* Tenma in ''Manga/{{Monster}}'', who never takes credit for his good deeds and maintains that all people are equal despite conspicuously being better than everybody else in every imaginable way.
* Izuku Midoriya of ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' is this. Unlike some of his other friends, he isn't out looking for fame or praise, just fighting for what he believes is right. He seeks to be someone like his idol All Might, never lords over anyone with his Quirk, and aids anyone in need. Midoriya is probably the only other hero to match [[HeroKiller Stain's]] twisted view of heroes (in which anything less than perfect altruism is tantamount to villainy).
* ''Manga/OnePiece'' has TheHero Luffy who despite having a lot of accomplishments on his belt enough to [[spoiler:obtain a fleet of 5600 people]], he turns it down saying he regards them as friends and that they should just do their own thing. This in turn allows them to [[spoiler:form the Straw Hat Grand Fleet.]]
* Saitama of ''Webcomic/OnePunchMan'' is a bit zig-zaggy with humility. His goal is not fame and fortune, but he'd still ''like'' for people to appreciate him and his heroics. That, and he was actually very upset when he realized that, after three years of independent hero work, he was recognized by absolutely no one because he wasn't registered with the Hero Association. But overall, he is a hero because he wants to be, and will gladly ruin his own reputation to prevent other heroes from being spat upon because one UngratefulBastard can't appreciate having his life saved. Genos considers this humility the greatest lesson Saitama didn't realize he was teaching.
** It also puts Saitama in opposition to ''most'' of the Hero Association, particularly the S-Class heroes. Just about every S-Class hero is in it for the glory and the fame, but Saitama is the one that actually ''solves'' problems, while the S-Class heroes frequently do very little in comparison, and sometimes nothing at all, because they consider the threat beneath them.
* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'': Ash Ketchum is a SpiritedCompetitor who is immensely proud of his team, but he never lords it over his friends and he always helps those in need [[ThinkNothingOfIt without demanding anything in return]]. He even forgets to mention he's [[spoiler:Alola's first Champion]] in ''Journeys'' until some fans bring it up in front of Goh! Even in the GrandFinale, after becoming the WorldsBestWarrior he declines to [[ToBeAMaster claim the title of Pokémon Master]], believing that [[WalkingTheEarth he needed to experience more of the world first]].
* ''Literature/RebuildWorld'':
** Akira starts as a StreetUrchin and sees himself as owing everything to his VirtualSidekick Alpha who saves him repeatedly. He’s in part kept like this by Alpha being a ManipulativeBitch trying to make and keep him dependent on her. So when he gets bullied by older hunters for being an inexperienced ChildSoldier, he typically just agrees with what they say and forgets about it.
** The supporting characters who form on and off members of TheSquad with Akira, Reina, and Togami, start off as BoisterousWeakling hunters but each undergoes a BreakTheHaughty experience (or multiple in Reina’s case) seeing them develop into this instead. Reina gradually gives in to being willing to give up on {{Pride}} and get better equipment, even wearing outfits obviously made for servants without it bothering her. And Togami pays for TrainingFromHell from SinkOrSwimMentor Shirakabe to catch up to Akira.
* ''Manga/RosarioPlusVampire'': The Newspaper Club has defeated several dangerous enemies that were dangerous to society, but they never print their heroic feats on paper. However, there are still some rumors about them, causing them to be TheDreaded for some students.
* ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann's'' own Simon, who sees himself as nothing more than "Simon the Digger."
* In ''Anime/TigerAndBunny'', Kotetsu T. Kaburagi/Wild Tiger is considered to be [[ButtMonkey mostly a joke]] of a superhero by his bosses and by people who watch [[ShowWithinAShow HeroTV]]. Nonetheless, not only does he refuse to quit, but he insists on putting his heart and soul into superheroics, to the point that he gets a bit irritated when others don't show the same devotion to their jobs. When Karina/Blue Rose is [[RedPillBluePill struggling over her own priorities]], she decides to ask him what makes him stick to it despite the frustrating, thankless nature of the job. His answer?
-->'''Kotetsu:''' I'm a hero because I want to save people. Isn't that enough of a reason? I don't really care if anyone acknowledges me or not.
* Played with concerning Yami Yugi from ''Anime/YuGiOh''. Despite saving the world numerous times, winning every tournament he fights in, and being crowned King of Games, he does not go looking for fame, has no problem with his friends not addressing him by his title or true name, and is confident in his skills but only brings it up when he's about to take the wind out of the antagonist's sails. Played straight with regular Yugi, who never brags and is one of the sweetest of the show's characters, though it's somewhat justified considering he was not the primary architect of the above feats, and the series puts great emphasis on friendship and teamwork as an enabling force.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Art]]
* In one of the Art/SistineChapel's many paintings, Saint Peter is not shown boasting when he is given the power to bind Heaven and Earth. Instead, Peter kneels down before UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}}, bringing him closer to Earth, and puts his hand to his heart as if to say, "Really, you're picking me?"
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''ComicBook/AstroCity'':
** While he would rather devote his free time to saving more lives, Samaritan attends tribute dinners and accepts awards only because he doesn't want to hurt the feelings of the people who give them to him.
** Before Samaritan, there was the Silver Agent, the example that others aspire to. When one hero praises the Agent after a battle by saying they could not have won without him, the Agent demurs by assuring him they would have found a way.
* In ''ComicBook/BeforeWatchmen: Minutemen'', Silhouette saves hundreds of children from exploitation, and yet never expects any adulation for it. This is sharply contrasted with the Silk Spectre, who actually hires people to pretend to rob jewelry stores so that she can very publically "thwart" them and look like a hero.
* ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'': Captain America, and to be honest, that's the [[AnAesop Aesop]] to his character. Captain America embodies what he believes to be the idyllic and optimal standards of his countrymen. If he believed he were better than everyone else, his principles would be wrong by default. This trope is the reason why most attempts at replicating Cap end in failure. That, and shady government programs from around the world keep bringing in serial killers and [[SociopathicSoldier sociopathic soldiers]] for their experiments with predictable results.
* The title character of Creator/MarkMillar's ''ComicBook/{{Huck}}'' is a superpowered GentleGiant who likes to do good deeds and isn't interested in publicity.
* ComicBook/LuckyLuke He never stays around after the problem is solved, when the townspeople (or sometimes the president of the United States) want to reward him for his heroic feats.
* ''ComicBook/{{Shazam}}'': While Captain Marvel is known as "The World's Mightiest Mortal", it's a title others have given him, not one he flaunts himself. He'll usually blush at any compliments given to him and accepts any praise with good-natured humor. It's implied that Billy's humility is one reason the Wizard Shazam chose him since flaws such as Pride were what caused Black Adam's fall.
** One idea posited is that when Cap mentions that he has the Strength of Hercules, he isn't bragging about his power. Instead, Cap is acknowledging the beings that have given their powers to him, and giving them credit for his heroic acts.
* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': Most versions of Peter Parker, following their initial CharacterDevelopment. Peter could very easily have been the showboating jackass that Jameson likes to pretend he is. But he'd rather spend his time saving lives and battling supervillains than making himself rich. Underscored in his case by his {{origin story}}, in which a moment of showboating jackassery led to [[DeathByOriginStory tragic consequences]].
* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'':
** Being a reporter in his SecretIdentity, there is no way that Superman is unaware of how the world views him. But he's denied being the world's greatest hero multiple times, usually remarking that TheRealHeroes are the people who work to change the world every day who have no special powers. Humility is one of the character's core traits. ComicBook/{{Batman}} notes in ''ComicBook/PublicEnemies2004'' that the temptation to use his powers in order to force his will on others isn't something Superman battles because the thought never even occurs to him. And that, more than his powers, makes Superman such a great hero.
** ''ComicBook/TheLegionOfSuperHeroes'': When three teenagers meet ComicBook/{{Superboy}} to say they admire him greatly and want the greatest hero ever to join their [[ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes super-hero club]], a bemused Superboy mutters meekly that he just does his job.
** Superman is again a very humble superhero in ''ComicBook/SupermansPalJimmyOlsen2019'', and it's PlayedForLaughs during his "Secret Super-Powers" interview with Jimmy. He seems to seriously think that he has [[ExpertInUnderwaterBasketWeaving an innate ability to persuade anybody to buy him a hot dog]]. It's more than likely that people are just willing to give Superman a free hot dog because he's—well, Superman, but the guy's got such little ego that he can only rationalize this gesture of gratitude as having a supernatural cause.
** Although ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} [[ComicBook/TheUnknownSupergirl has occasionally been called]] "the world's greatest heroine", and is definitely one of the mightiest Earth's heroes, she simply regards herself as someone whose abilities entail responsibilities and duties. Nonetheless, she is not interested in fame or glory and she would definitely prefer being a normal woman.
* In the ''Literature/WarriorCats'' graphic novel ''A Thief in [=ThunderClan=]'', Brightheart saves Rainpaw's life when an owl tries to carry him away. She doesn't get all the fuss everyone's making over her afterward, calling her a hero; she just thinks that anyone would have done it.
* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'':
** Princess Diana is not only a superhero but also a princess, but doesn't brag and takes everything and everyone seriously and earnestly, seeing for instance no shame in taking a job as a BurgerFool in ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'' and after being late on multiple occasions due to her heroics considering herself unworthy to keep coming to work when her coworkers are trying so hard to make ends meet.
* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': During the Golden Age, there was a RunningGag in which people would attribute Wonder Woman's less public rescues to ComicBook/SteveTrevor, which drove him mad and had him occasionally yelling at his superiors. Even though he usually helped he didn't feel like he deserved any accolades or credit for something that someone else had primarily accomplished.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* ''Fanfic/{{Ageless}}'': Kyoshi felt guilty that she outshone Ban -- the Avatar that led a splinter group of the water tribe to populate what would eventually become Kyoshi Island -- so she made sure to erect a shrine for him.
* ''Fanfic/BaitAndSwitchSTO'': Lieutenant Commander Reshek Gaarra got a medal for saving the USS ''Spruance'' from a warp core breach, but he doesn't consider what he specifically did to be all that noteworthy, even though his captain did.
* ''Fanfic/AChangeOfPace'': According to the [[AllPowerfulBystander Outsider]], Legend struggles with this, wondering if he's doing good because it needs to be done, or if there's an ulterior motive he doesn't want to admit.
* ''Fanfic/CodexEquus'':
** As stated by her Codexverse entry, Scarlet Bell, known as "the Whistleblower", is rather humble and only sees herself as an ordinary pony who did the right thing. In fact, it's partially because of this that she moved to the Grittish Isles and lived a quiet life in Hornbridge, wanting to get away from the public attention she received for her actions as a filly. Furthermore, she serves as a living example of the potential for people to do good in the Codexverse, regardless if they're legendary heroes or not.
** Blue Suede Heartstrings is a justified example. Much like Elvis, Blue had a devoutly religious upbringing, and his humility became one of his defining traits. He ''hated'' being called "the King [of Music/Rock and Roll]" because he thought there were certain individuals who more than deserved his titles, and after Ascending to godhood, he preferred to appear as a mortal because he didn't want to be treated differently for it. Appropriately, one of his divine domains is ''Humility'', which he uses to help redeem prideful individuals. It also led to him becoming friends with Fluttershy Posey of the Mane Six, being legendary individuals who are humble despite their great powers and positions. However, Blue's humility is also one of his biggest weaknesses - because of his experiences with arrogantly abusive celebrities/managers in the Second Age, Blue often gives himself too little credit even when it's well-deserved. To this day, Blue's friend, Prince Stoltur Skjöldur, the Deer god of Evil and Pride, has been encouraging him to have a little more pride in himself, as having too little pride is as bad as having too much. Many benevolent deities, including Queen Dazzleglow, are interested in Blue because of his humility, which they believe might help Equus break free of the malicious/complacent arrogance that is keeping it vulnerable to various disasters and cycles.
* ''Fanfic/ADanceOnTheMats'': Anon is a downplayed example. He's pretty damn [[DeadpanSnarker snarky toward his opponents]], but he'll always offer them genuine praise.
* ''Fanfic/FriendshipIsOptimalAlwaysSayNo'': Greg is very modest about his heroic actions and quick to pass them off as nothing special.
* ''Fanfic/JonathanJoestarTheFirstJoJo'': Jonathan repeatedly states that the incredible feats he accomplishes aren't that impressive.
* ''Fanfic/KyoshiRising'': Kyoshi is uncomfortable with receiving special treatment from anyone and insists that people call her "Kyoshi" instead of "Avatar".
* ''Fanfic/MariaCampbellOfTheAstralClocktower'': Maria constantly ignores her own heroism, invoking IWasJustPassingThrough ''at best''. Even at her own knighting, she turns down the knighthood three times and afterwards says several times that she has no idea why she was knighted. Part of this is because she's a reincarnate from ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}''; most of the problems she solves would be laughably easy for any hunter, so they're not worth getting worked up about. And yes, she did expend real effort in many of those instances, but really, that says more about her own weakness than the difficulty of the task. She resolves to become worthy of her knighthood, even when her friends point out that technically knighthoods like this are just a formality to make exceptional commoners noble.
* ''Fanfic/NeitherABirdNorAPlaneItsDeku'': Izuku is a Kryptonian with a whole host of ComboPlatterPowers, including SuperStrength, NighInvulnerability, and [[SuperSenses seven types of vision]]. He doesn't think they're all that impressive when compared to All Might's Quirk, even as All Might's jaw is hitting the floor after hearing about Izuku's abilities. When he gets to U.A., he insists that he's just a normal guy when the rest of his class is gaping in awe at what he's capable of.
-->'''Kyouka:''' So I know you asked us to stop talking about you so much, but your power is really amazing, Midoriya.\\
'''Izuku:''' Yeah, people keep saying that, but I don't really think I'm that special. I'm only able to do all of that because of the way my body absorbs sunlight, so without that, I'm just a normal guy.\\
'''Itsuka:''' [[LampshadeHanging Good to know we can beat you just by sitting around for five billion years.]]
* ''Fanfic/NobledarkImperium'': The Word Bearers practice humility to sometimes extreme degrees. For instance, they remained an effectively homeless fleet-based chapter for fifty years after a Slaaneshi warhost razed their homeworld because the event had slipped through the cracks of the Administratum and they didn't want to make a fuss about it.
* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7118223/1/Elsewhere-but-not-Elsewhen Elsewhere, but not Elsewhen]]'': Used against Severus Snape. After banishing Harry to an AlternateUniverse, Voldemort strolls into Diagon Alley in the full light of day. When Dumbledore tries to confront him, Voldemort doesn't rise to the bait and instead gives Dumbledore all the rope he needs to hang himself by letting him declare Harry is safe. Pulling one of the kids' adventure books featuring Harry from Flourish and Blotts, he savages the entire line and the idea that he was ever the brilliant promised prince, instead showing his awful life at the Dursleys' and Dumbledore's willing complicity in it. This immediately destroys Snape's entire image of Dumbledore and prompts him to immediately attack him, certain in the knowledge he'd completely failed Lily's memory by collaborating with Dumbledore.
* ''WebVideo/PreludeToAxanar'': Captain Sonya Alexander describes her fellow captain Kelvar Garth as liking to downplay his heroism during the Four Years' War, especially in the Battle of Cygnus III; he certainly does so, attributing his successful maneuver to luck and Alexander giving him the opening he needed.
* ''Fanfic/RacerAndTheGeek'' gives us Sunny Breeze, a badass veteran and unsung hero with a tendency towards self-deprecation.
* ''Fanfic/SomeoneElse'': Carver is always quick to downplay his actions or credit them to someone else.
%%* ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/81159/1/racer-and-the-geek/predawn Songs Uncle Sings]]'': The uncle is like this.
* ''Blog/StoriesFromTheFront'': Stormfront. Surprisingly, because as a [[EthicalSlut nymphomaniac]] Pegasus mare, she's exactly the sort of character whom one would ''expect'' to boast, but she doesn't -- about anything. Save by implication, and only to her own diary.
--> "I knew enough to operate a welding torch and reseal the coolant line and I suppose they considered that worth a medal."
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
* Manolo from ''WesternAnimation/TheBookOfLife'' isn't one to brag about himself.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'': Héctor composed his own song "Remember Me" not to pursue fame personally but in dedication and love to his daughter Coco.
* The eponymous character from ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'' keeps his humility both before and after he defeats monsters. He finds his fans often [[LoonyFan annoying]] and/or [[StalkerWithACrush dangerous]], and only brags to his father. When he finally achieves his goal of becoming a god and is able to return to Olympus, he instead settles for staying with [[LoveInterest Meg]] as a mortal.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* Steve Rogers' humility in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' is his defining trait and a major contributor to why Dr. Erskine chose him for the experiment. His mundane concern for others and refusal to impose his will on them makes him perfect for stopping movie hecklers and freeing prisoners-of-war from polytheistic ex-Nazi [[AGodAmI god-wannabes]].
--> '''Red Skull''': What makes you so special?\\
'''Captain America''': Nothing. I'm just a kid from Brooklyn.
* ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'': According to his Monarch Sciences bio, [[Characters/MonsterVerseIshiroSerizawa Dr. Serizawa]] is only the ''de facto'' spearhead of Monarch because, despite everyone's admiration of him and the world governments looking to him, he refuses to carry an official title; believing that "to maintain a balance between mankind and [[{{Kaiju}} Titans]], we must first maintain an equal balance of self".
* The climax of ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'' hinges on Indiana Jones being humble enough to believe that a shabby cup belonging to [[UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} a poor carpenter]] could be {{God}}'s Holy Grail. Soon after the Grail is recovered, Jones is able to admit he cannot have that kind of power for himself and allows the Grail to drop into the Earth.
* In ''Film/TheSandlot'', the fact that Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez is the best baseball player in the neighborhood isn't something he particularly cares about; he just loves playing the game with his friends. In fact, the first thing he does when he knocks the cover off a baseball is berate himself for ruining their last one.
* The eponymous gunfighter in ''Film/{{Shane}}'' refuses to be held up as a hero by the people he helps, and outright tells young Joey Starrett that the real heroes are people like the boy's parents, who are struggling to make a new life on the prairie.
* [[ComicBook/SpiderMan Peter Parker/Spider-Man]] as portrayed by Creator/TobeyMaguire in Creator/SamRaimi's ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'' even though he temporarily acts like a Big Name, Big Ego {{Jerkass}} in [[Film/SpiderMan3 the third movie]] as a side-effect of [[TheCorruption the alien symbiote]].
* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
** Padme is like this in ''Film/ThePhantomMenace''. Boss Nass is reluctant to ally himself with the Naboo because they have more-or-less treated the Gungans as an inferior species for years. So she doesn't bother trying to make excuses for it; she simply kneels and pleads with him for his help. Fortunately, it works. It helps that in the process of making the plea, she reveals the woman in the elaborate robes and makeup is her ''BodyDouble'' and she's perfectly content being seen as an anonymous member of her own security detail.
** Obi-Wan. The {{Novelization}} of ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' describes him as "modest, centered, and always kind."
** Rey wins her battle against the fearsome Kylo Ren by surrendering control and allowing the Force to work through her. Even after such a great victory, she spends ''Film/TheLastJedi'' insisting she's "nobody" and when offered a chance to become the most important figure in the galaxy by becoming Ren's co-emperor, she refuses and is content with being nothing.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* Jake from ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}''. From the very start of the series, his friends look to him as their de facto leader, even though he is reluctant and sees nothing special about himself. He assumes command because the group needs and expects him to. [[spoiler: After the war, the world looks to him as a famed hero, showering him with praise and admiration, but he definitely doesn't see himself [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone as worthy]] [[SurvivorGuilt of praise]].]]
* ''Literature/BazilBroketail'':
** Relkin is a decorated war hero, but he never lets the fame get to his head.
** Just like Relkin, Bazil wants nothing to do with greatness of his deeds and considers them just a job he's supposed to do. He would rather hang out with his friends, fight more battles against evil together and, of course, have some good food and good beer.
* Wilbur from ''Literature/CharlottesWeb''. His only reason to achieve fame and admiration from others with the help of Charlotte is so that Farmer Zuckerman would let the pig live out his days instead of killing him for food. "Humble" is even one of the words Charlotte wrote on her webs praising Wilbur.
* Creator/SandyMitchell's Literature/CiaphasCain, THE HERO OF THE IMPERIUM, goes to great lengths to invoke this trope as part of his reputation. As Vail notes he frequently seems to truly fit the role, without even noticing: he is astounded when targeted by assassins, when there are so many more crucial targets -- neglecting to notice that his death would have horrific effects on morale -- and when assigned to General Zyvan's staff, attributes his success in persuading the general to anything except that it's him who's doing the persuading.
* Aquilius in ''[[Literature/WordBearers Dark Creed]]''. He's a TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} SpaceMarine, who are usually well aware that they're worth ten Guardsmen in a straight fight and cop a massive attitude about that. Instead, Aquilius remains humble and respectful of the Guard even when he's lauded as the White Angel, and exaggerated stories of his deeds are used to keep the morale of the entire planet's military up. (It must be noted that he had to be ordered to let the stories spread.)
* Captain Carrot of the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' is almost certainly the rightful King of Ankh-Morpork (the royal line has been presumed dead for centuries), (almost) never uses violence or lies, obeys orders, and pays for taking away items used as evidence. He's always described as being simple. The "Hero" part comes from the fact that [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass "simple" isn't the same as "stupid"]].
** Also from Literature/{{Discworld}}, WordOfGod holds that Nanny Ogg is actually ''more'' powerful as a witch than the dreaded Granny Weatherwax, but she's taken great pains to ensure that Granny (her best friend) ''never finds out''. Nanny would far rather play the part of wise-cracking sidekick and CoolOldLady than have to live up to a reputation for being powerful, so she covertly arranges to back up Granny's much-lauded feats of Awesome while limiting her own domineering behavior to her own daughters-in-law.
* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles''
** Harry Dresden. Harry is very humble. As one of the strongest Wizards of his generation, he could use his power to amass a lot of money and influence. Instead, he lives in a basement apartment with little amenities and works as a private investigator helping people. He depreciates himself and his own actions because while he has done some amazing and world-saving feats, he knows exactly how close he was to failure and how much came down to luck and his friends being with him. He would really like to just read a good book on the weekend or work on magical theory and item crafting. However, he follows the "Tao of Peter Parker" and when people need him, he will be there, whether it means helping his werewolf friends deal with magical fleas when he was getting ready for a date, or [[spoiler:riding into battle against necromancers on a zombie ''T. rex'']]. He resists [[spoiler:the temptations of a Fallen Angel's shadow that lived in his head for a few years whose moniker is all about seducing her hosts into accepting the offer. He even turns the shadow against her original Fallen]].
** Sanya [[ThePaladin Knight of the Cross]], has saved countless lives in his fight against many dark foes. He genuinely arrives just in time. He is also agnostic, despite receiving his holy blade from ArchangelMichael himself, and [[spoiler:like Harry, was possessed by a Fallen Angel but turned away from that path]]. He notes his belief in some higher power doesn't mean he cannot do this job of helping people. Whether there is a God, or God and the Fallen are just cosmic aliens, or he is just suffering from some delusion, his simple job of helping people is all that matters to him. He doesn't boast about his accomplishments or world-saving ventures. Perhaps best exemplified when he arrives at a burning apartment building with two people trapped on the second floor after the landlady, elderly and unable to help, screams, "Oh, God in Heaven, help us!" He saves them and the elderly landlady talks with him.
--->'''Mrs. Spunkelcrief''': God in Heaven. He must have sent you to us, son.\\
'''Sanya''': It was probably just a coincidence, ma'am.
* The Redcrosse Knight from ''Literature/TheFaerieQueene'' is the first to credit others who helped him defeat foul monsters and to point out his own faults when praised.
* ''Literature/FengshenYanyi'': while Jiang Ziya is indeed small potatoes compared to the other Immortals who actually trained for longer, he still severely downplays his abilities, claiming to his friend Song Yiren that he only did manual labor at the Jade Emptiness Palace. Still, he's able to instantly submit five dangerous demons alone and later defeat the Jade Pipa Spirit so bad she was forced to turn back to her previous inanimate form.
* ''Literature/HarryPotter'' is this. Ron and Hermione have to convince him to teach them Defence Against the Dark Arts since, despite his accomplishments, he thinks he's just lucky rather than talented enough to teach others students what their ObstructiveBureaucrat professor refuses. Harry hates being famous for having survived the night of his parent's murder, hates being on the front page all the time, has to be brow-beaten into giving an interview despite the fact that giving it would help him, and doesn't want much to do with the Ministry of Magic and their propaganda plans, either.
** [[SadistTeacher Severus Snape]] refuses to believe that Harry is this and had him pegged as a GloryHound with a swelled head even before he ever met Harry. This is pretty much due to Harry's resemblance to his father James Potter, Severus' enemy from Hogwarts. The two ''despised'' one another, with Snape viewing James as an arrogant guy (to be fair, even James' friends said he had a bit of a big head before growing out of it. On the other hand, [[AwesomeEgo James]] was quite talented in his schoolwork without really trying, a successful Quidditch player, and on good terms with most of the school outside of Snape.) Snape's willful ignorance of Harry's humility is a major reason the two had such a terrible relationship throughout the entire series [[spoiler:even though Snape had made it his life's goal to protect Harry since he was also the son of the only woman Snape ever loved.]]
** HufflepuffHouse has this as both a virtue and a flaw -- Hufflepuffs ''do'' have plenty of proud accomplishments to their name, but the difference between them and the other three houses is that Hufflepuffs don't go around bragging about it. The reason this is also a flaw is that this leads to them being easily overlooked by others.
* ''Literature/HonorHarrington'':
** Even after racking up an admiralty, uncounted medals, a wildly successful business enterprise, and a noble title in two different star nations, the title character still gets flustered when someone decides to give her some new accolade.
** Insofar as the Republic of Haven has a guardian angel, Thomas Theisman is it. He singlehandedly put an end to the Committee of Public Safety's ReignOfTerror, personally shot the dictator in charge, resurrected the Old Republic from the ashes of history, built the Republic's Navy into a fighting force to be reckoned with by anyone in the galaxy, handed the absolute best woman for the job the acting Presidency on a silver platter (while steadfastly refusing it himself).... and at the end of the day, is still convinced he's just a decent officer and loyal citizen doing what anyone would do in his situation. No, Tom. You're ''really'' not. [[note]]This is an interesting contrast to President Eloise Pritchart, who is ''profoundly'' aware of her place in Havenite history and demands at least twice as much from herself as she does anyone else precisely because she feels the weight of that responsibility so keenly. She knows full well she could make or break the future of her nation, and that informs everything she does. This difference almost singlehandedly explains why ''she'' ended up as President, and Thomas Theisman did not.[[/note]]
%%* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'': Katniss Everdeen. Peeta may be an arguable case as well.
* Azusa in ''Literature/IveBeenKillingSlimesFor300YearsAndMaxedOutMyLevel'' scoffs at the idea of her being an [[TheArchmage almighty witch]]. She's just a simple herbalist who hunts [[CuteSlimeMook slimes]]. She does this deliberately, hoping to avoid the attention that being an almighty witch would attract. However, she also downplays all the legitimate hard work she put into curing Flatta's sick and quelling its plagues.
* Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs's Literature/JohnCarterOfMars
-->"I do not believe that I am made of the stuff which constitutes heroes, because, in all the hundreds of instances that my voluntary acts have placed me face to face with death, I cannot recall a single one where any alternative step to that I took occurred to me until many hours later. My mind is evidently so constituted that I am subconsciously forced into the path of duty without recourse to tiresome mental processes. However that may be, I have never regretted that cowardice is not optional with me."
* In ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'':
** Gandalf describes the essence of heroism as humility: "So it is often with great deeds. Small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere".
** Frodo and Samwise are able to resist the lure of [[ArtifactOfDoom the Ring]] for so long because since they as simple country folk, the Ring's promises that they could be made kings or gods seem plainly ridiculous when their greatest wishes are to write a history book and have a nice garden.
** Aragorn may be the rightful king of Gondor, but his greatest role in defeating the Dark Lord Sauron is to merely walk up to his gates and distract his evil eye while untrained hobbits decide the fate of Middle-Earth. Knowing he plays only a small part in a grand game, Aragorn is content to do his part as he was content to let the hobbits take the Ring to begin with.
* In ''Literature/SidStillsBluesThreeQuartersInTheBagInAlphabetCity'', Sid, a mostly retired famous musician, thinks he's just an old has-been and doesn't understand at first how popular he still is. When he meets Nathan's new bandmates, he checks behind him because he can't believe that they're so surprised and excited to see him.
* Ruth Mallory of ''Literature/SomeoneElsesWar'' genuinely thinks she's unintelligent and talentless, [[spoiler: even though she's the one who puts an end to the evil army and makes it possible for the ChildSoldiers to go home]].
* Franchise/StarWarsLegends:
** In the ''Literature/XWingSeries'', Wedge is like this to a certain degree. He demurs when called [[AcePilot the greatest pilot alive]], calls himself "regular old Wedge Antilles", and doesn't mind being in the background. That said, he's [[InformedFlaw supposedly got a huge ego]] which only shows at all a few times, and even then they are minor displays. Wedge admits to himself when this is brought up that he ''does'' sometimes feel insulted by the rudimentary tactics that Imperial pilots have tried to beat him with.
** By ''Literature/LegacyOfTheForce'', now, he's got the ego. Once he tells someone that they know he wasn't involved in a plan because that plan failed. He doesn't fail [[SpringtimeForHitler even when he tries]]. Justified. Character history has shown him to be generally "perfect", but he can recall someone who died by way of involvement in many of his tales. He feels intense guilt over what he does but takes pride in it. A bit of a TearJerker to see a guy mentally torture himself for things that aren't his fault.
** As noted, the novelization of ''Literature/RevengeOfTheSith'' goes out of its way to describe Obi-Wan as one. It seems that Obi-Wan is the only being who doesn't understand how great a Jedi he is -- when the Council proposes to send their "most cunning and insightful Master" after Grievous, he has no idea who they mean. He's also surprised when Mace Windu -- the guy who created his own form of lightsaber combat -- refers to him as "the master of the classic form... Not ''a'' master. ''The'' master." Anakin, however, is a subversion, in that he does his best to act, think and feel as a Humble Hero, but is still burning with the ambition and entitlement inside -- all ripe for manipulation by Palpatine.
* Saionji Kiyohiko of ''Literature/StoneKing'' never really feels he did anything worthy of a title like 'Ishio, the [[TitleDrop Stone King]] of Ibaraki'.
* ''Literature/TheSwamplingKing'': Subverted with Prince Josen; he spends all his time in disguise among the common folk, and they love him for it, but the truth is he just ''really'' doesn't want to have anything to do with the throne.
* ''Literature/TortallUniverse:''
** Keladry of Mindelan, protagonist of ''Literature/ProtectorOfTheSmall'', has a habit of [[DismissingACompliment dismissing compliments]] from her friends and tries to claim that her accomplishments to training, luck, or something other than her personal merits.
** ''Literature/BekaCooper'' tends to be very humble thanks to her ShrinkingViolet status with a "just doing my job" attitude.
* In [[Creator/DanteAlighieri Dante]]'s ''Literature/LaVitaNuova'', Beatrice is so devoid of {{Pride}} that it astonishes {{God}} and merits her entrance into the heaven of humility, sitting within reach of the Virgin Mary herself.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/AsTimeGoesBy:'' As revealed in the reunion special, when Lionel was in Kenya years ago [[spoiler:he took on the financial burdens of supporting the family of a man who worked on his plantation but died, so all the kids could go to school and the mother would be well off. For this, the family calls him "Father."]] He never once spoke of it to Jean or mentions it in his book ''My Life in Kenya'', despite being sure it must have come up at one point, but when Jean insists he never talked about it, Lionel just accepts he might not have and leaves the matter to rest. He just did what he saw as the right thing to do and did it. There is no need to fuss about it.
* ''Series/BandOfBrothers'': Easy Company finds themselves with a bad CO at the worst possible time, right before going into Bastogne, the most hellish part of the war they fought in. With mostly incompetent officers, First Sergeant Carwood Lipton is seen by all of the [=NCOs=] and privates as the true, unofficial leader of the company, seeing to their needs and always attempting keeping their spirits and morale up. When they finally get a competent CO again, the new CO tells Lipton that he had heard that there was a single man who ensured the survival of the company. Lipton is completely at a loss for who he is talking about until the CO tells him point blank that he's talking about him.
* Captain Apollo from ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|1978}}''. One of the good examples is shooting the marooned Cylon Red-Eye to save a town on the planet Equilus without any thought of recognition and [[ButNowIMustGo leaves the planet soon afterwards]].
* ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'':
** Most of the main characters, while sometimes prone to showing off or letting their stubbornness cloud their views, are ultimately in police work because they want to protect people. Holt in particular has an ''incredibly'' impressive record, but he's never the one to bring it up. Even Jake, who can be an InsufferableGenius and desperately wants everything to go the way it does in badass action movies, proves himself to be doing this for the right reasons. If asked to choose between glory or doing the right thing, he'll choose the latter, no hesitation.
** Minor character Detective Dave Majors is TheAce, and is a LivingLegend to all the other cops in New York, to the extent that Amy and Jake compete for his attention when they get assigned to a case with him. However, Majors doesn't appear to notice this, and is incredibly down-to-earth and chill, to the point that you have to wonder if ''he'' even knows his reputation. When Amy rejects his request for a date, he's mildly surprised, as he's never been turned down before, but almost instantly shrugs it off and isn't the least bit upset with her.
* ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'': Leo never talks about his time in WWII, and considers himself a FailureHero because he couldn't save his two best friends, but when convinced to go to a reunion (under the guise of being his own grandson), in a room full of war heroes everyone is honored to meet him, just because they think he's related to Leo Wyatt.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'': The Doctor, although capable of extreme, often horrifyingly destructive displays of arrogance when pushed too far, is extremely humble compared to his own race, the Time Lords. He's even stated that he really only wants a quiet life of sightseeing with his friends.
* {{Exploited|Trope}} in ''Series/TheGoodWife'' when Eli coaches A.D.A. Finn Polmar on a campaign interview. As a career campaign manager, Eli knows that humility plays well on TV, so he tells Finn to play straight the fact that he doesn't feel like a hero regarding the courtroom shooting where [[spoiler:Will]] was killed.
* Hercules in ''Series/HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys''. Not only is Hercules humble, but he is quite proud of his best friend Iolaus, being sure to point out to the attractive woman Iolaus is talking to that Iolaus has saved Hercules many times.
* ''Series/TheLoneRanger''. People normally figured out it was he who solved their problems only after he left.
* ''Series/MrRobot'': Elliot serves as this trope as he is shown to be extremely humble and down to earth and only uses his hacking skills for good and benevolent reasons. Unlike most of the other main characters in the series (Angela and Tyrell), who only want power and glory, Elliot doesn't want any of this stuff and is fine with the way his life is and only cares about doing the right thing.
* ''Series/PersonOfInterest'': Harold Finch, despite being the man who built God, insisted that he wasn't special, and tried to teach the Machine that he wasn't worth more than any other human life ([[WellDoneSonGuy it doesn't work]]). Whenever he needs help from someone he had previously helped, he always asks politely and never implies that they owe him anything. The response is always a declaration of UndyingLoyalty.
* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
** [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Worf]] and [[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Martok]] are as close to this as can be expected for Klingons. Despite both being prime examples of the ProudWarriorRaceGuy, they both care more about doing their duties and protecting the empire than fulfilling any political ambitions, despite what [[ObstructiveBureaucrat Chancellor]] [[TheParanoiac Gowron]] seems to think.
** [[TheCaptain Captain Picard]] is also fairly modest about his accomplishments, as a visiting Klingon ambassador comments.
---> ''Picard:''' I have been...pleased to offer occasional assistance to the Klingon people in the past.\\
'''Ambassador Kell:''' Your modesty is very human, Captain. I will excuse it.
** ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' gives us [[TheCaptain Captain Archer]]. Despite being the man ultimately responsible for creating TheFederation, he's more than happy to let others take the spotlight, and even rewrites one of his speeches to avoid taking credit for his accomplishments.
* ''Series/WallenbergAHerosStory'': Wallenberg - a Swedish diplomat who falsified papers to allow refugees to escape the Holocaust - says he can only take credit for saving a "few" lives when in reality it was close to 100,000.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Multiple Media]]
* [[GodIsGood Mata Nui]] from ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' is one of the most powerful beings in his universe, charged with watching over the biomechanical inhabitants of his [[PlanetSpaceship robot body]] while preparing for the task of [[spoiler:restoring his creator's dying world back to its previous state]]. Yet after being [[BroughtDownToNormal stripped of all that power by his worst enemy]] and finding himself a stranger on a desert world [[spoiler:actually the planet he's supposed to restore]], it says something that his first onscreen act is to stop himself from accidentally squashing a bug, apologize and then try to ''befriend'' it. He goes on to become a hero and savior to the tribes he encounters, saves others he's never met without any hesitation, and never once asks to be worshipped or even thanked for his actions. He even reveals he [[AGodIAmNot never liked considering himself a god to the inhabitants of his universe]], simply [[MyGreatestFailure a protector who failed in his task]] and [[TheAtoner now wants to make things right]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* "Music/AlternateRealities" begins with Twilight saying that she's no more qualified to run Equestria than any of her friends.
* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_Beneath_My_Wings "Wind Beneath my Wings"]] is a song where the speaker praises a (possibly deceased) benefactor who clearly deserves more credit for her life than anyone knows about.
%%* "Everyday Superhero" by Music/SmashMouth.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mythology and Religion]]
* UsefulNotes/{{Buddhism}}
** Several teachings (especially the Tibetan variation) practice humility as part of their religion. In fact, it's one of the important traits for the state of enlightenment. In fact, Buddhism even teaches the concept of "emptiness" of one's self (known as Śūnyatā).
** Apparently, this trope is one of the reasons why Bhutan (a Buddhist kingdom) is considered to be one of the happiest countries on the planet and ''eighth'' happiest country, according to 2009 Business Week edition. Many Bhutanese don't own important luxuries that western countries value the most (i.e. expensive mansions, sports cars, HD TV, Internet, etc.), yet they are considered to be the happiest people on the planet because Bhutanese people don't have to ''worry'' about owning such luxuries when most of them live in simplistic lives. This was actually one of the Bhutanese government's concerns when they finally lifted their ban on television and internet.
* UsefulNotes/{{Christianity}}:
** In the [[Literature/TheFourGospels Gospels]], UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} asks those he heals and saves not to tell others of his great deeds and teaches his followers not to do good words so they can be seen (as the [[{{Hypocrite}} Pharisees]] do). Charitable acts and other good deeds should be kept between the hero and God; a secret from everyone else. "Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing."
** The Catholic Church claims that this is how visionaries, aka people who are allegedly chosen by [insert: God, Jesus Christ, Our Lady the Virgin Mary, etc.] to be given diverse revelations regarding the Faith, should behave. i.e [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Laboure Saint Catherine Laboure]] (who met Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal) didn't take credit for her visions and revelations, worked as a nun and nurse her whole life, and her identity as the actual visionary was only revealed ''after'' her death.
** [[UsefulNotes/ThePope Pope Francis]] has presented himself as a humble pastor rather than a grand figure and emphasized avoiding {{Pride}} in his teaching. One such gesture of humility has been choosing to reside in the Domus Sanctae Marthae guesthouse rather than in the papal apartments of the Apostolic Palace used by his predecessors. He is also known for favoring simpler vestments void of ornamentation, including refusing the traditional papal mozzetta cape upon his election, choosing silver instead of gold for his piscatory ring, and keeping the same pectoral cross he had as Cardinal. Not to mention many little things like calling a divorce, pregnant -- and distressed - woman ''personally'' as [[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2611292/A-little-bread-wine-does-no-harm-Pope-Francis-tells-divorced-woman-OK-communion.html detailed here.]]
* In Myth/ArthurianLegend, Sir Gareth of Orkney comes in disguise as a kitchen boy who only asks food of King Arthur despite his noble appearance. He later gets knighted by Sir Lancelot by equaling him in combat and he later goes on the lady Lynette's quest to save her sister without revealing his noble blood for most of their journey and enduring her constant berating of his apparent kitchen boy status.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/InNomine'': Litheroy is notable among the archangels for his great degree of personal humility. He's very plainspoken, rarely stands on ceremony, will readily explain his plans and intentions if his angels ask, and is by his preference on first-name basis with his servants -- he will accept descriptive titles like Archangel or Abbot, but would really prefer for his angels to just call him Litheroy.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/BlueSkies'': Skye believes he's a simple healer in the grand scheme of things, but Divina, the mysterious being from Sylph Forest, tells him that he has given hope to his friends and family just by helping them with their problems, and that [[YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre he can do the same for the rest of the world]].
* This is made into a sub-theme of ''VideoGame/BrutalLegend'', where Eddie Riggs' profession as a roadie leads him to do all the saving-the-world work in the game, but defer all the credit to well-intentioned but functionally useless RebelLeader Lars, echoing what he does in our world, where he does all the real work in managing the worst band in the world, but never shows his face. The finale makes it clear that the resistance is just humoring him and fully recognize that he's the real hero.
* In ''VideoGame/DawnOfTheDragons'', the turnip-picking farmhand turned dragon-rider isn't exactly thrilled about his/her rising status as a LivingLegend but plays along to keep up morale.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 4|A Promise Unforgotten}}'', no matter what he accomplishes (be it starting a rebellion, defeating Badass Freakin' Overlord Zetta, or [[spoiler:challenging God himself]]), Valvatorez will always insist [[AlmightyJanitor he is merely a simple Prinny Instructor]] [[ThePowerOfFriendship that relies on his comrades]] and the [[PowerUpFood power of sardines]].
* Although [[VideoGame/FatalFury Terry]] [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters Bogard]] is known by his massive badassery all around the world ([[VideoGame/CapcomVs and sometimes even crossover universes]]), he doesn't boast about it half as much as he has right to. Many of his quotes in ''KOF XIII'' are borderline self-deprecating.
* ''Franchise/FireEmblem''
** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'', Ike is the poster boy for this trope, eventually renouncing his title of nobility and going back to his humble roots.
** Edward from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'' also counts. Despite being a core member of the Dawn Brigade, having lived his life on the streets and barely survived, by the end he decides to be a simple commoner, against the wishes of [[spoiler:Queen Micaiah.]]
** Prince Seliph from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar'' is this too. He's always kind and almost a little shy when not fighting and openly wonders if he's truly fit and strong enough to bring down TheEmpire. His cousin Leif from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776 Thracia 776]]'' is pretty similar, too.
*** And so is their companion, Ced, who remains kind and down-to-Earth while leading the Magi Squad and fighting for the freedom of the countries under the Grandbell tyranny. And when Seliph's group comes to recruit him, he even ''berates'' himself for not doing enough for the people in his eyes.
** Even more so, [[spoiler: Morva]] from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones The Sacred Stones]]''. He both [[spoiler: led the Five Heroes]] and [[spoiler: dealt the fatal strike to Fomortiis the Demn King]], but refused to take credit for his heroic actions and instead of [[spoiler: founding his own nation]] like his friends, he led a quiet life taking care of [[spoiler: both Caer Pelyn and the Darkling Woods alongside his adoptive daughter, Myrrh, who later joins Ephraim and Eirika's quests. (Sadly, [[AndthenJohnWasAZombie by that time, poor Morva... was killed and turned into a Draco Zombie]]. ]])
* ''{{Franchise/Halo}}''. The Master Chief views himself as a soldier doing his duty and nothing more, though you wouldn't guess it from the man who saved the galaxy. Twice.
* Poppy from ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' is referred to as TheChosenOne who will bring glory to Demacia, but she has [[IgnorantOfTheCall never considered herself a hero]], much less ''the'' Hero of Demacia. Ironically, she already wields the hammer that OnlyTheChosenMayWield -- but that's only because she's determined to ''find'' the actual Chosen to give it to them.
-->'''Poppy''': I'm no hero. Just a Yordle with a hammer.
* Rean Schwarzer from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel'' is this especially in ''Cold Steel III'' where he tells people that he's just some run-of-the-mill guy and not [[spoiler:some national hero.]]
* Mario's contemporary, Link from ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' is as well. Along with his trademark courage, being humble is generally his only canon personality trait. He gets overconfident once in ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'', but quickly gets a cold shower for it.
* ''Franchise/MassEffect'':
** [[TheParagon Paragon]] Shepard is like this. A sufficiently noble Shepard will eventually get a mission to rescue drugged hostages wandering among the terrorists. If you manage to save every one of them, when [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Admiral Hackett]] calls back to thank you, you can tell him you were "[[AllAPartOfTheJob just doing your job]]." Given what a ScrappyLevel this mission is, that's ''one humble hero.'' At one point in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', s/he even wonders why Hackett essentially made him/her [[BigGood the leader and human ambassador of the multi-species fleet]], despite the fact that s/he's the only reason most of them even agree to be in the same room together.
** In the same vein, [[VideoGame/MassEffectAndromeda Ryder]] can be one of these, passing off some of their accomplishments as nothing, or a team effort.
** ''Andromeda'' teammate Jaal is somewhere between this and a heroic self-deprecator. His family includes several top-flight badasses, from his grandmother down to (most of) his siblings, and Jaal himself answers directly to the head of LaResistance when first met. The only one who doesn't seem to realize what a big deal he is... is Jaal.
* Despite saving the world twice from invading aliens, Kurt the janitor from ''VideoGame/MDK2'' refuses the fame he has garnered and is perfectly content to continue his cleaning duties aboard the ''Jammy Dodger''.
* Zero from the ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' and ''[[VideoGame/MegaManZero Zero]]'' series. By the ''Zero'' series he believes that, as someone created purely to destroy, he has no place in trying to change the world, and instead uses his strength to support others who can, like X and Ciel.
--> '''Zero''': I never cared about justice, and I don't recall ever calling myself a hero. I have always only fought for the people I believe in.
* Similar to T. Hawk above, Nightwolf from ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' is one of Earthrealm's defenders and is known for his politeness, selflessness, and humility, a stark contrast to the comically inflated ego of the (still well-meaning) Johnny Cage.
* Amaterasu from ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}''. She the sun deity of Nippon who is destined to rid the land of demons but makes no point of establishing her identity to the people she helps. The office of [[VoiceForTheVoiceless Celestial Envoy]] exists so that ''someone'' will tell the world what she has done for them since she won't do it herself.
* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'': Miles "Tails" Prower is more humble than his speedy, blue friend. Not that it's hard.
* ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'': Ja'rod, son of Torg, captain of the IKS ''Kang'' and the first genuinely good member of the House of Duras we've ever met. In the backstory he was offered a seat on the Klingon High Council for his exploits but refused:
--> "Until I have fully proven my worth to the Empire, I do not deserve to be in your number. I will return to Qo'noS as a hero, or not at all."
* T. Hawk from ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV''. He's become quite beloved by his people, the Thunderfoot tribe whose lands he recovered from M. Bison... but he has repeatedly refused to become the chieftain despite his merits since he believes he's too inexperienced and young for such a task.
* Even though he's usually a SilentProtagonist, ([[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Super]]) Mario is usually characterized like this.
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'': Yuri Lowell, the protagonist. He rarely takes credit for his actions; when his initial goal of retrieving the lower quarter's Aque Blastia is completed, he lets [[ChildhoodFriend Flynn]] take the credit for bringing it back to the people, and ends the game nothing more than just another guild member despite [[spoiler:defeating the WorldsStrongestMan and killing an EldritchAbomination]]. It's [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructed]] by Flynn, who hates being rewarded for the things Yuri's done.
* ''VideoGame/WhiteKnightChronicles'': You. No, seriously. The game features an incredibly robust character creator that you use to create the "Avatar" character. In terms of the game, the avatar serves as ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin for online multiplay but also tags along as a HeroicMime for the main story quest. The story plays out and the avatar generally keeps silent, but is clearly with the main party in the cutscenes, despite being one of the main players in a fight for the fate of the world.
* ''{{VideoGame/Yakuza}}'': Downplayed with Kiryu. Kiryu is TheAce and masters a wide variety of skills over the course of seven games. He will downplay his accomplishments in most fields, but happily engage in a BadassBoast when it's time to remind someone why they call him [[RedBaron The Dragon of Dojima.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* In ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob,'' Bob once got a Congressional Medal of Honor for saving the world. He keeps it on his mantle, tends to forget it's there, and most of his neighbors don't seem to realize he has it.
* In ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' Jiminez Hoffmann saves a king's life and puts an end to a war that has lasted generations. He treats it as no big deal. [[WhatTheHellHero And gets chewed out for it because that war was the only thing keeping the people involved from waging war upon the surface.]] [[spoiler:Luckily they end up turning their combined forces on the Other instead]].
* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' one of the prequels, "How the Paladin Got His Scar" reveals the paladin O-Chul to have been this in his youth to a rather extreme degree. He sees nothing special about repeadly putting himself in the line of fire (which continues into the main comic) but is also apologetic when promoted for doing so.
--> '''General Nhek''': He's always like this. Last time I promoted him, he apologized to me.
--> '''O-Chul''': I still live with the burden of having failed to properly fulfill the duties of a lieutenant.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* Franchise/Ben10: After [[CharacterDevelopment maturing]] over the course of the TimeSkip, [[Characters/Ben10BenTennyson Ben Tennyson]] became this in ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce''. When referred to by a [[SpacePolice Plumber]] as "the legendary Ben 10" his response is to shrug and say "Guess so." This falls by the wayside in ''WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien'' when he gets a severe case of AcquiredSituationalNarcissism from becoming a celebrity in TheUnmasquedWorld, although he becomes much less haughty following this arc.
* WesternAnimation/BugsBunny can sometimes be this or at least act the part. In his earlier cartoons, he tended to be an AttentionWhore with {{Jerkass}} tendencies, but those traits were handed over to WesternAnimation/DaffyDuck, and Bugs became much humbler, even if he did take a casual level of pride in his fame and fortune that annoyed [[StrawLoser Daffy]] to no end. (Of course, this being Bugs, it's just as likely that [[ItAmusedMe he's annoying Daffy on purpose]].) In one short, a mad scientist tries to take his brain:
-->''"Sorry, Doc, but I need [[GuileHero what little I've got]]."''
* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'': [[Characters/DuckTales2017DonaldDuck Donald Duck]]. While in his younger days he was "one of the greatest adventurers of all time!", now he's a RetiredBadass who just wants to lead a normal, boring life and ensure a good, safe upbringing for his nephews. Of course, although he wants to be done with adventure, [[TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive it seems adventure's not quite done with him.]]
-->'''Storkules:''' You're a hero, whether you want to be or not.\\
'''Donald:''' I do not. But thanks, friend Storkules.
* ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeRenegades'': Conrad "Duke" Hauser, who doesn't call himself a hero, but just an "ordinary Joe". In a flashback, he refused a medal for saving one of his men from a land mine with a DivingSave because he considered himself responsible for putting the soldier in danger in the first place by not clearing that mine beforehand.
* Saint Walker from ''WesternAnimation/GreenLanternTheAnimatedSeries'', when asked who he is when first meeting Kilowog, introduces himself as "merely a conduit of hope." This is of course, right after he takes down a giant Red Lantern battleship ''[[OneHitKO with a single punch]]''.
* Penny from ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget'' is content with letting her bumbling uncle bask in the glory and fame of dozens of monumental achievements, even though almost all of the credit for them is rightfully hers.
* [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]]'s introduction in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' cemented him as this, stating "It was nothing, really" when he received a compliment. It's worth pointing out that the person complimenting him is ''Batman'', and the reason for said compliment was that Cap took down the Parasite in seconds when several other heroes failed to slow the villain down. Elongated Man even points out that Cap was blushing at the praise and tells Cap not to be so modest.
* WesternAnimation/KimPossible fights {{supervillain}}s and saves the world as a hobby, but plays it down whenever she gets attention for it, and when a movie producer decides to make a film about her, it doesn't seem to have ever occurred to her that her adventures [[WhoWouldWantToWatchUs would be worth retelling]]. As she would say, [[ThinkNothingOfIt "No big."]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheMask'': The Mask despite his ego and his quirks is this as he lives in Stanley's apartment instead of living somewhere that will be more to his style so though he run for mayor and became assistant to the President of the United States, he still prefers doing mundane things such as dancing at the Coco Bongo, watching TV, playing with his dog and stopping the criminals and supervillains which shows that The Mask, unlike most mask personas, prefers not to use his power to go any higher than needed even got bored listening to a tribe that is worshipping him and doesn't think himself much of a god at all instead thinking himself as a genuinely insane madman who otherwise leads a normal life and does normal things in his life.
* Mike Chilton in ''WesternAnimation/{{Motorcity}}'' has done a lot of good for the residents of the titular underground civilization, and is somewhat famous (infamous in Detroit Deluxe) for it, but is still very down to earth about his accomplishments.
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
** [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicTwilightSparkle Twilight Sparkle]] is the personal student of the supreme ruler of the nation, is perhaps the most powerful unicorn alive, and has personally been involved in saving the world on multiple separate occasions. Despite all this, she doesn't brag and actually gets a bit timid when her assistant Spike brags about her. She seems more interested in learning about magic and spending time with her TrueCompanions. She retains her humble nature even after she is turned into a princess with a rank that equals her teacher's; blushing and giving an embarrassed grin when acknowledged or praised is something characteristic of her. Even becoming [[PhysicalGod an alicorn princess]] doesn't make her haughty; she rarely invokes her title.
** All of the [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicTheManeCast Mane Six]]. While [[JerkWithAheartOfGold Rainbow Dash]] does have the occasional GlorySeeker moment, the girls don't talk loudly about their achievements and would rather spend their time hanging out together between them or with their families than being celebrated for their exploits. They may be willing to confront powerful antagonists, but only because it's the right thing to do and they greatly care about their beloved land.
** Twilight Sparkle's human counterpart in the [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls Equestria Girls]] series is also extremely humble despite her amazing intelligence. She doesn't brag about her being the number one student at a very elite academy but thanks to the jealousy and bullying from other students, her humility becomes self-loathing. It takes becoming friends with the other counterparts of the Mane Six and Sunset for Human Twilight to fully become a humble hero.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': [[Characters/TheOwlHouseLuzNoceda Luz Noceda]] is exceedingly humble, no matter the situation. Whenever something greatly positive occurs, Luz makes certain to offer praise to all of the other people involved in said positive event before she offers any to herself. Even when she is arguably the one who deserves the most credit for the event, or one of her friends insists that [[PluckyGirl Luz]] is doing something they couldn't, such as Amity offering her praise and encouragement for Luz taking her place as Grom Queen, Luz still brushes it off as nothing big.
* [[Characters/SamuraiJackJack The titular]] ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' is highly skilled in several areas of combat, especially in the way of [[MasterSwordsman the sword]], and he frequently delays his quest to return to his own time by [[ChronicHeroSyndrome helping people in need]]. He's also [[TheQuietOne quiet]], polite, and never brags about his accomplishments or the fact that he's a [[WarriorPrince prince]].
* ''WesternAnimation/ShadowRaiders'': Graveheart has kept TheAlliance together in their war against The Beast; his catchphrase is "I'm just a miner".
* Peter Parker, ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'', frequently has chances to snatch up glory in both his personal and superhero life. He avoids such chances, not only because of risk but because he's just not that kind of guy. Still [[DeadpanSnarker snarky,]] though.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/SpiralZone'' episode "Profiles in Courage", a reporter tries to get each of the Zone Riders to describe his/her own heroism. Instead, they praise their teammates and the brave civilians who have helped them out. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d when the frustrated reporter asks Dirk "Don't you people ever talk about yourselves?"; Dirk's response is a LittleNo.
* Aerrow from ''WesternAnimation/StormHawks''. Despite often displaying a cocky attitude in battle, he's remarkably down-to-earth. In "Second Chances", he was reluctant to take part in the team's newfound celebrity lifestyle, saying it wasn't what being a Sky Knight was about.
* Optimus Prime in ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' is this in his many incarnations.
[[/folder]]
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