[[{{Warhammer 40000}} http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/CiaphasCainFakeUltHeroOfImp.jpg]]
[[caption-width:320:[[CoversAlwaysLie Covers. Always. Lie.]] ]]

->''In the half-dozen years since my arrival, I'd been temporarily seconded to units assigned, among other things, to assault fixed positions, clear out a space hulk, and run recon deep behind enemy lines. And every time I'd made it back alive, due in no small part to my natural talent for diving for cover and waiting for the noise to stop, the general staff had patted me on the head, given me another commendation, and tried to find an even more inventive way of getting me killed.''
-->--'''[[CiaphasCain Commissar Ciaphas Cain]]''', ''For the Emperor'' by SandyMitchell

A character touted as a brave and mighty warrior, despite it being complete hogwash. The best this character can manage is to be the UnknownRival, although the viewers are totally aware it's no contest, and oftentimes, he has FeetOfClay.

Sometimes this character is [[MilesGloriosus just duplicitous]], but is allowed to claim the title to keep the {{Masquerade}} going for the greater good. Sometimes, he's simply [[AccidentalHero in the right place at the right time]]. Sometimes, [[ShroudedInMyth rumor ran away with scraps of information]], and his efforts to correct it lead only to a reputation for [[ThinkNothingOfIt modesty]].

TheMessiah, of course, has no problem with them taking the credit, though NaiveNewcomer may be shocked to find him NoHeroToHisValet.

The false attribution can occur on-stage, with the FakeUltimateHero getting credit for what has happened, generally over the actual character who did it, or off-stage, where the characters learn the truth (often the hard way) but the true heroes of those incidents are not characters.

OlderThanDirt. In fact, the "false hero" who tries to claim the reward of the hero is a stock character of the [[ProppsFunctionsOfFolktales Fairy Tale]]. After the EngagementChallenge, he shows up with the dragon's head or threatens the [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses princess]] until she agrees to support his claim. A frequent problem for him is that while he has the heads, the hero cut their tongues out first. Others steal what he won on his quest. (Not all false heroes are the FakeUltimateHero, though, such as {{Cinderella}}'s stepsisters.)

A recently popular variant seems to be to have this individual as a semi-sympathetic protagonist who will usually [[DirtyCoward acknowledge himself]] that he's [[AccidentalHero not all he's made out to be]]. Sometimes, however, their actions will make you wonder if [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation they're just putting themselves down a little too much...]]

Compare GloryHound
----
!!Examples

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Anime ]]

* Hercule Satan from ''{{Dragonball}} Z'' holds this honor. He is frequently credited as stronger than any other professional fighter, although this usually does not bother any of the main characters despite their world-saving ventures being unrecognized. However, a few characters are not above blackmailing him about the secret... Of course, he is the strongest normal human who doesn't know how to use ki when he first appears, and the good guys in fact would rather stay out of the spot-light, so it suits them just fine. When push comes to shove however, Mr. Satan is actually a rather decent and kind-hearted man who genuinely cares about people and wants to help them. He at least has the ''Heart'' of a Hero, if nothing else.
** This is actually subverted in the fight against Kid Buu, where he manages to use his Fake Ultimate Hero status to convince practically every human on Earth to contribute their energy to a SpiritBomb attack, pretty much saving the universe by doing so. Sometimes PR and the ability to work a crowd can come in handy it seems.
** He surpasses the feat in ''Dragonball GT'', where he convinces most of the world's population that the planet is going to blow up and that everyone needs to evacuate to another one. Pan [[LampshadeHanging notes]] that her Grandpa Satan could be a great hero if he'd just stop lying.
***It is made quite clear that he is a genuinely talented martial artist (he won the Budokai Tenkaichi fairly in the years Goku and company did not attend), -and- does have a level of strength that is genuinely superhuman, he just happens to live in a universe where even the mid-level Mooks can punch mountains apart. SoYeah. ~~~~
****Makes you wonder, what would happen if he decided to train with goku and the guys...
******He'd do exactly what every other secondary character does. [[SidekickGlassCeiling Sit on the sidelines]] [[CantCatchUp because he's still worlds behind Goku.]] That, or die to fuel someone's UnstoppableRage.
******Weirdly enough, Mr. Satan is the ''only'' character on the show to [[DeathIsCheap have not died once]]. The whole ''planet'' is blown up by Buu, but he is spared because he befriended Buu in a previous incarnation and apparently he still has a soft spot for him.
*In ''{{Bleach}}'' there's the TV personality Don Kanonji, a self-proclaimed exorcist. While he ''can'' see ghosts and has some degree of spiritual powers (being roughly on par with Ichigo when they met), he doesn't really know how to deal with them. (In fact in his first appearance it actually ''causes'' an incredibly self-centered ghost to become a Hollow.) Forms a group of junior-varsity "superheroes" to protect the protagonist's hometown when they leave. Naturally, it's the kids who do all the work. Unlike some, he is more likable in that he states that he does his actions in part to be an inspiring role model for children (hence standing his ground against the Hollow and even freeing a trapped Ichigo), and genuinely wants to make the world a better place.
**It's a bit strange how no Hollow has ever tried to eat him until now though. I mean, if he's been doing this for quite some time, then there were probably other incidents where he accidentally created Hollows as well. [[ObfuscatingStupidity Unless...]]
***It's stated in the Manga that a Hollow must go after their own family before they are allowed to hunt other humans. This probably explains why none have tried to eat him before, although it does have a definite feel of [[NiceJobBreakingItHero nice job breaking it fake ultimate hero.]]
** It's also worth noting that his powers are never explained, and there's a popular theory that he was [[spoiler: Isshin's]] vice-captain at some point.
* Sena Kobayakawa, the so called [[{{Eyeshield21}} Eyeshield 21]], the "Ultimate Ace Runningback of Notre Dame Academy...." Well, he's [[AccidentalHero surprisingly good at his position]], and it can creep the enemy out, so it's fine.
** A better example is Haruto Sakuraba, a medicore receiver who is hailed as the ace of Ojou (the second best school in Tokyo) due to his good looks, and modeling contract. During the match with Deimon, Sena accidently injures Sakuraba forcing Sakuraba to question his path in life. He eventually shaves his hair, bulks up, and becomes one of the best wide receivers in the country due to his height.
*** Why would Sena be on the field at the same time as an opposing wide receiver?
****Sakuraba was only on the field to retrieve and advertiser's sticker that had fallen off his helmet. Sakuraba shouldn't have been on the field at all and he knows that it's completely his fault that he was injured.
* Recently in ''OnePiece'', Buggy the Clown has recently become a ''Fake Ultimate Villain'' after the revelation of facts about his past make all the lower level members of the group he's with idolize him, while everyone else wonders how he could be so weak and cowardly [[spoiler:when he was a member of Gold Roger's crew.]] He uses this to his advantange and quells a potential mutiny against Luffy,[[spoiler: Jinbei, Crocodile and Mr. 1]] and rallies them to fight with them at [[spoiler:Marine HQ]] [[EvilFrogWantsToBeAnOx while he will be the one to]] [[spoiler:[[EvilFrogWantsToBeAnOx kill Whitebeard in the war]]]]. Naturally, they cheer in excitement.
*Almost every single episode of Detective Conan (Case Closed in English) features this, as Conan's deductions are revealed in the voice of the unconscious Kogoro Mouri (Richard Moore), building the man's reputation as a detective (despite the fact that Mouri is a mediocre detective at best).

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Comic Book ]]

*The British anthology comic ''Victor'' gave us ''[[http://www.workplacesolutions.co.nz/cadman.htm Cadman - The Front-line Coward]]''; most of the stuff he was famous for was actually done by his aide, Tom Smith, the only one who knew his true self. Cadman threatens Tom to keep him from revealing this.
* The DCComics character BoosterGold originally played this straight. His origin story is of a disgraced football player from the future who steals a flight ring and a super suit from a museum, then travels back to the modern day with a [[NonHumanSidekick reprogrammed tour guide robot]] full of old news data about disasters and the like. Though he does prove himself to be a true hero early in his career, later writers end up portraying him as a self-serving, fame-obsessed laughingstock that all of the big name heroes (save for Wonder Woman and Superman) treat like crap, even when he does stuff like facing Doomsday by himself, in order to buy Superman and his fellow JLA time to regroup.
**The current Booster Gold series takes this to a new extreme, as far as Booster being forced to throw away any and all chances of becoming a well-respected hero in order to be Rip Hunter's personal slave/super-hero, leading the guy into full-fledge ButtMonkey territory, with elements of Mildred Pierce tossed in as far as Rip revealing to Booster that Booster must forever be known as a coward and a loser of a hero, so that his son (Rip) can reap the full credit and fame of of all of Booster's work protecting the time stream. This on top of Rip purposely lying to Booster about "fixing" past tragedies, like saving Blue Beetle's life and preventing the Joker from crippling Batgirl. [[IGotBetter It doesn't, of course.]]
* The self-praising braggart Volstagg, of the ''Warriors Three'' from MarvelComics. For a time, his cowardice was his best weapon. The tree he was hiding in would break, dropping his not-inconsiderable bulk onto a roaming bad guy. Or the room he 'recons' (hides in) holds the InfinityPlusOne sword needed to send the demon back home. Turned upside down in that he becomes a regular hero. Canon that he was 'Home Alone' in the city of Asgard and pretty much kicked an invading army out all by himself.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Fairy Tales ]]

* In ''[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/grimms/60twobrothers.html The Two Brothers]]'', after the huntsman kills the dragon, [[FakeUltimateHero the marshall]] cuts his head off while he sleeps. His {{Talking Animal}}s [[BackFromTheDead restore him]], and when he goes to the city with the animals, the princess identifies him, and since he has the tongues of the dragon, he can prove the marshall a liar.
**Similarly in ''[[http://www.mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/079.htm The Three Princes and their Beasts]]'', where the prince had gotten tokens from the princess.
* In ''[[http://www.mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/396.htm The Three Dogs]]'', the hero killed the dragon and promised to return within a year to marry the princess, but a coachman made her promise to say that he had killed the dragon. The hero proved himself with his dogs and the teeth of the dragon.
* In ''[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/pentamerone/7merchant1911.html The Merchant]]'', the hero, killing the dragon, had to throw the heads far apart to keep them from rejoining the body, but a peasant collected them and claimed to have killed the dragon. The princess recognizes his dog, and he can produce the tongues to prove his claim.
* In ''[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/firebird/stories/goldbird.html The Golden Bird]]'', after the [[YoungestChildWins youngest prince]] found the Golden Bird, the Golden Horse, and the maiden from the Golden Castle on TheQuest, his [[GreenEyedMonster envious]] brothers [[ThrownDownAWell shove him down a well]], steal these things, and present them to their father. The maiden promised not to tell, but the [[TalkingAnimal fox]] saves the prince, and when he comes to the castle, all three of them cheer up, alerting his father to the truth.
** Similarly, the brothers in ''[[http://www.mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/412.htm The Bird Grip]]'', and in ''[[http://www.mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/368.htm The Golden Blackbird]]''.
* In ''[[http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/pt1/pt113.htm The Brown Bear of the Green Glen]]'', the brothers set on [[YoungestChildWins the hero]] and leave him for dead, stealing the magical water he had brought back and giving it to their father. When the princess from the land he had gotten it from comes, she can identify who actually got it.
* In ''[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/grimms/97wateroflife.html The Water of Life]]'', after the [[YoungestChildWins youngest prince]] got the water of life, his brothers steal it and replace it with salt water. The king believes that they saved him and the youngest son tried to kill him, and so he tries to have the youngest murdered. However, when people come seeking the hero, the king realizes that it was the youngest; fortunately, the servant he ordered to do it had disobeyed.
** Similarly in ''[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/jacobs/moreenglish/kingengland.html The King of England and his Three Sons]]'', with golden apples, where he is identified by the princess whose land the apples grew in.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Film ]]

* Used in the animated movie ''{{Balto}}'' by the villain. Steel, a literal glory hound, goes on in the movie's first half about how he'll get a bunch of medicine to save all the children... only to get lost in a blizzard, then [[UnwantedRescue rescued]] by the real hero. Steel goes back to try to take all the glory, but only [[ShallowLoveInterest one character]] [[VillainsNeverLie doesn't fall for it.]] At the end, Balto arrives in triumph and all the dogs realize what a foul liar Steele is.
* In the Sherlock Holmes deconstruction ''Without a Clue'' Sherlock himself is this. It turns out that Sherlock doesn't really exist, he's just an actor hired by Watson to play the part of Sherlock, which Watson made up because he felt that the character would sell better than if he simply wrote about himself solving the crimes.
* In the 1999 movie ''Ravenous'', Lt. Boyd is promoted to Captain after his actions during a battle during the Mexican American War. He managed to take a Mexican stronghold single-handedly after taking the fort by surprise by freezing with fear and playing dead as the rest of his troop died around him, and his supposedly dead body was piled with the rest of the corpses inside the fort after the battle. His superior officer was very aware of this fact, and states that he should be executed for dereliction of duty and desertion, but it would be bad for morale if a "war hero" were to be executed. They instead promote him but assign him to the worst post in the military, the dysfunctional Fort Spencer. (Not a spoiler - it's the first scene of the movie.)
** That's... actually really {{Badass}}.
* There's a level of this in ''TheGodsMustBeCrazy'', where the confident tour guide tries to take credit for the clumsy hero's actions.
* Gaston from ''[[Film/BeautyAndTheBeast Beauty And The Beast]]''.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

* In the ''{{Discworld}}'' series, this happens to cowardly non-magical wizard Rincewind in ''Interesting Times'', due to exaggerated tales of his deeds told by his sidekick from previous adventures, Twoflower (while Rincewind ''did'' perform many of the "heroic" deeds attributed to him, they attribute to him a much higher level of competence and ability than he actually had, and neglect to mention the fact he was scared out of his gourd the whole time, and mostly got by on luck alone). Like Ciaphas Cain, Rincewind is horrified by the attention, because his admirers quickly expect him to perform incredibly dangerous deeds to save their country.
** In the same book, his contemporaries at the Unseen University have a much more realistic idea of Rincewind's disposition, but he ends up being chosen as the man for the job anyway for two reasons: First, the word "Wizzard" on his hat is spelled the right way (compared to other solutions they were seeking for the riddle of the identity of the "Great Wizzard"), and second, Ridcully finds the common thread in Rincewind's experiences, i.e., none of it ever actually kills him.
** Also in Discworld, Sergeant Jack Jackrum makes it clear that almost all of the heroics that the higher-ranking officers in the Borogravian Army are known for are actually his exploits, shirking the credit because he likes being exactly where he is. [[spoiler: Even more complicated by the fact that all of the said officers are ''women, including Jackrum him(her?)self,'' disguised as men. They all believed they were alone in their charade, leading to the rather embarrassing climax where she outs all of them in front of each other.]]
** And in ''Discworld/TheWeeFreeMen'', the Baron's son Roland gets the credit for rescuing Tiffany Aching from TheFairFolk, when of course it was the other way around. He's very embarrassed and apologetic about this, it's just that no one will believe some cheesemaking peasant had to rescue a noble [[CassandraTruth no matter what he says]].
* Gilderoy Lockhart in ''HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets'', who never does the amazing things he is credited for but takes credit for them by using the only magic he is good at: [[LaserGuidedAmnesia erasing memories]].
* Lancelot in Bernard Cornwell's ''TheWarlordChronicles'' series is a total coward, and ultimately a villain, whose heroic reputation is the result of his hiring minstrels and bards to sing songs about his heroism, smoothly taking the credit for the work of others. These lies even survive his KarmicDeath.
*Nimrod Pennyroyal in the MortalEngines series rewrote the story recounted in ''Predators Gold'', placing himself as the hero. In this way very similar to Lockhart. His lies were eventually uncovered, so that in ''The Darkling Plain'' when he really did do something worthy of recognition, and wrote a factual account, no-one was willing to publish his book.
*Harry {{Flashman}} practically defines this trope (indeed, was the primary influence on Commissar Cain, among others).
* Invoked in John Moore's ''Slay and Rescue'' when a fellow accuses [[TheAce professional hero]] Prince Charming of doing as Cornwell's Lancelot does. Subverted because a) by this point in the story, the reader '''knows''' Charming is a genuine {{Badass}}, and b) he proves it by asking the other guy to shoot an apple off Charming's head, William-Tell-style. "The eyes caught a flash of lamplight on steel, the memory retained a blurred impression of fluidly shifting muscles, and [[ImplausibleFencingPowers Prince Charming's sword neatly cleaved the speeding bolt in midair]], [[RuleofCool the two halves of the wooden arrow separating and piercing the apple a quarter inch apart]]."
* In Robert Asprin's ''MythAdventures'' novels, the protagonist Skeeve is one of these. It's less by design and more because the rumors of the genuinely impressive things he was involved in tend to leave out a) the other people who were there b) the fact that there was a lot more con artistry than vast magical power involved.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

*Kind of used in season five of ''{{Angel}}''. Although it is clear to the audience he is fake, Lindsey, calling himself Doyle, representing himself to Spike as a servant of the {{PTB}}. Although this is just a manipulation, Spike does see himself as a hero and does help the helpless in this way.
** Another take on this trope with season five is Spike the Fake Hero in the Shanshu prophecy. Inside the show, Spike has an equal chances of being the real subject of the prophecy, but seriously, the show is called ''Angel''.
*** Then again, that makes Spike more disposable and thus perhaps a better candidate to get the "reward" of becoming human.
* In an episode of ''{{Monk}}'', neurotic Harold Crenshaw claims to be the daredevil "Frisco Fly".
* TV example: Lucius Lavin from ''StargateAtlantis'' set himself up as the hero on a backward planet through the clever use of a personal shield in the aptly-named episode "Irresponsible". He went to the extreme of employing "attackers" so that he could save the village from them. Despite the fact that the Atlantis team had ample reason to just shoot him on sight, they let him go ''again''. Most of the audience doesn't quite understand why.
**To be fair, his shield had been drained by the events of the episode; however, they hadn't let him know that, and as they were leaving he was daring a kid to [[GroinAttack kick him in the junk]]. That would serve the twofold purpose of revealing him as a fraud, and being really really painful.
* This is the entire premise of the RemingtonSteele series.
*''BlackAdder'' had a rare example of a FakeUltimateHero who really was brave and dashing and always won. Lord Flashheart (who appeared as an Elizabethan swashbuckler in season 2 and a dashing flying ace in season 4) 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, patronised his admirers, and treated women as sex objects. And the only reason he always won was because he was an underhanded bastard who cheated and played dirty.
* One early story arc in ''StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' featured Li Nallas, the rebel hero of the Bajoran resistance. He attained this title after accidentally killing a man in his underwear. It was only afterwards that he realized that the man in question was an infamous Cardassian war criminal...

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

* ''{{Warhammer 40000}}'s'' Commissar CiaphasCain, '''HERO OF THE IMPERIUM''', one of the most inspirational warriors of our age, fearless and decisive in battle, blessed by the God Emperor with an armor of faith so strong it can resist the powers of the Warp, always risking his life to save the common dog soldier of the Imperial Guard!
**...except in reality he spends most of his time fleeing in terror, most of those men he saves are by pure accident, and all his resistance to the Warp is due to his assistant, Jurgen, the dirtiest soldier in the Imperium, who happens to be a "blank" and thus immune to psychic powers of any kind.
***To be fair, Cain has managed to resist the temptations of Chaos on at least one occasion when Jurgen was not close by, in the short story "The Beguiling" when Slaaneshi cultists attempted to seduce Cain and the Guardsmen with him. [[spoiler:Cain cottoned on and shot the lead cultist, Jurgen was unaffected, and the two redshirts with them wound up as Slaaneshi sacrifices.]] Also, unlike most other Fake Ultimate Heroes, Cain doesn't particularly ''want'' his epic reputation, and in fact is somewhat horrified by the whole thing; all he really wants is to retire on some nice quiet planet somewhere, away from all the fighting.
****And when he does retire, the fighting comes half way across the galaxy to find him.
****Which makes things funnier because Cain is constantly sent into the most dangerous battles ''specifically because'' everybody thinks he's a hero. And then he's forced to act at least somewhat ''like'' a hero, and do what looks to the troops like genuinely brave and inspiring things, because his reputation forces him to do them.
*****Note, though, the suggestion in later novels that Cain [[BecomingTheMask actually becomes genuinely heroic]], merely very self-effacing. See chapter fifteen, ''The Traitor's Hand''; Cain risks his life to save other soldiers, while [[DeadpanSnarker Amberley Vail]] comments in a footnote that 'it never seems to have occurred to him to order Jurgen to take the shot anyway, sacrificing the impetuous troopers for the good of the majority, a decision which most commissars would undoubtedly have taken without a qualm.'
***** Also note that the books are written from Cain's viewpoint and it is implied multiple times in the comments by Amberley Vail that he isn't the best judge of character when it comes to his person. Cain isn't LawfulStupid but acts '''despite''' his unwillingness to risk his life, which is pretty much the definition of a hero.
****** Further subverting the trope, Cain is actually a very skilled fighter, once taking down a Khorne Chaos Space Marine with a Chainsword and Laspistol in SINGLE COMBAT.
****** To be completely accurate, Cain deserves almost every aspect of his reputation (except the armour of faith part, which is all Jurgen). When forced into battle he's an incredible warrior, he's a very intelligent leader whose abilities are tempered by a caution and ([[EverythingTryingToKillYou totally justified]]) paranoia that many less competent leaders lack and despite his constant talk of putting human shields between himself and danger, he comes across as [[AFatherToHisMen one of the most compassionate leaders in the entire Imperial Guard]]- despite being a ''[[BadBoss commissar]]''. And taking into account Amberly's assertion that courage is facing and overcoming your fears rather than simply having none, he is actually incredibly brave (he's survived countless suicide missions because he knows that sometimes a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do). In fact, the only real difference between the perception of Cain and the truth (apart from [[CoversAlwaysLie the dual-wielded bolt pistols]]) is his stated motivations for his actions.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* Captain Qwark from the ''{{Ratchet and Clank}}'' video games fits this trope perfectly. Beloved as a hero by all the galaxy and initially idolized by Ratchet, Qwark turns out to be a selfish, cowardly, self-promoting JerkAss who switches loyalties (or plays both sides) whenever it's convenient. Despite all of this, he remains a mostly sympathetic character due to his sheer incompetence.
*Sir Daniel Fortesque in {{Medievil}}. He spends most of the game taking guff from the heroes in the Hall of Heroes and [[ExpositionFairy the gargoyles]] about how he talked his reputation up, only to die instantly when the ''real'' war started.
* ''{{Wild ARMs 5}}'' has Nightburn, the hardest BadAss to walk [[strike:the Earth]] Filgaia. Except he's [[spoiler: a propaganda tool of the bad guys]], and never did any of the stuff he's famous for.
* In ''{{Tak and the Power of Juju}}'', everyone thinks Lok is the mighty warrior from the Pupanunu's prophecy, and you go through the first part of the game trying to rescue him. As it turns out, Tak is the one destined to take out the Big Bad.
*In the Soviet campaign of ''CommandAndConquer Red Alert 2'' the character General Vladimir is a womanizing slob who is touted to be a great "Hero of the Soviet Union" and is constantly given all the credit for your character's successes whenever you and he work together during a campaign. Ironically [[spoiler: he catches on to the fact that the EvilChancellor Yuri wants to kill the Premier and take over the Soviet Union long before you do. You kill him on Yuri's orders, but then discover he was right and revolt against Yuri yourself.]]
** General Krukov of ''Red Alert 3'' is similar, giving the player a lot of crap while taking credit for any of your successes. When he works with the Allies he arrives late and with limited reinforcements, stating that you should have done all the work yourself by the time he arrived.
** The (in)famous Soviet sniper Natasha is the stuff of legend--literally--to the point where there's considerable debate over her very existence. The fact that she exists as a trainable unit only serves to increase the probability that "Natasha" is more than one woman.
* [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig Zaged example]]:In most games you would expect the hero to be the player character, but both ''TheElderScrolls: Oblivion'' and ''{{Fallout}} 3'' make the player character the heroes errand boy. The real heros are Martin and the PC's father respectively. Both of whom had voice actors hyped to no end...
** Objection! While Dad had set up Project Purity, it's still you who finishes the job and goes down as a hero in the history of the wastes. You are less the Brotherhood's errand boy than their beacon of hope and ultimate weapon. It's like calling a superhero an errand boy for saving the world when being asked for it.
* Every ''PaperMario'' game seems to have one of these. The original had the stereotypically British, pith helmet-wearing explorer Kolorado, who insisted that it was he who led Mario onto his multiple discoveries, not the other way around. ''The Thousand-Year Door'' had the stereotypically Spanish, feather hat-wearing Flavio, a prissy millionaire who told stories of his own bravery while constantly proving himself to be a coward. ''Super Paper Mario'' has Flint Cragley, the host of a nature documentary who portrays himself as the ultimate macho-man on his show, whereas in reality he depends on his camera crew (and, inevitably, on Mario) to get him out of even the smallest scrape.
* In ''ChronoTrigger'', a young boy named Tata finds the [[MacGuffin Hero Medal]] and is hailed as hero. He eventually outs himself and gives it to your party, admitting that he had just picked it up off the ground and just ran with being called a hero, though later in a NewGamePlus you can have an ending where Tata storms Magus' castle, only to face...[[spoiler: Chrono, Lucca, and Marle, who laugh at him]].
* Pierre from ''ChronoCross'' is a cowardly weakling who insists that he's really ''the'' ultimate hero. While nobody takes him seriously on this claim, he ''is'' the only person who can equip the Hero's Blade, the Hero's Shield, or the Hero Medal, which hints that there's a lot more to him than meets the eye.
* [[CloningBlues Copy]]-X from ''MegaManZero'' thinks himself a better hero than both the original and Zero. Makes for better satisfaction when the latter beats him, ''twice''.
-->'''Zero:''' I just remembered something... He was not as naive as you are. That's what made him a hero.
** And the original X was already pretty naive and trusting. Although that might have changed in 100 years.
** For the most part, X more or less got that killing everything would only make matters worse. We don't speak of the seventh game, but if it existed it would show what being clueless in the other direction would look like.
** And let us not forget the title character, who is an utterly glorious subversion. A fake? Of sorts, but Zero is still very much the legendary hero and it shows. [[BigBad Weil]] never figured as much out and paid for it.
* ''FinalFantasy'' gives us Gilgamesh, mightiest swordsman in Ivalice, traverser of many worlds, seeker of Legendary blades, slayer of heroes, insists he knows what he's doing...
** Except he's an [[BraggartBoss incompetent trash-talking buffoon]], all his legendary swords are fakes, and he ends up [[VillainExitStageLeft fleeing from the heroes]] after getting his ass soundly kicked in every game he's been featured in. This was especially evident in ''FinalFantasyV'', when his {{Big Bad}} Boss Exdeath was so embarassed by his performance he [[YouHaveFailedMe tosses him into the void]]. To be fair however, most of the time he seems fairly well intentioned, and his level of competency varies from game to game.
*** He gives a good account of himself in ''FinalFantasyVIII'' (after [[spoiler:[[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu Seifer kills Odin]]]]), [[ScratchDamage most of the time.]]
*** But then again, his final battle in ''FinalFantasyV'' is a CrowningMomentOfAwesome on its own - [[spoiler: even if he ''is'' helping out the good guys...]]
* In ''{{Disgaea 3}}'', Almaz claims to be a great hero, even though he pretty much just made the title up. This follows him throughout the whole game, as Mao keeps calling him "Fake-Hero"

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Webcomics ]]

* Captain Fist, in the {{webcomic}} ''{{Girly}}'', sometimes falls into this category. He does heroic stuff normally, but sometimes other people give him credit for the things the main characters do.
** A better example might be [[http://girlyyy.com/go/31 Detective Clampjaw]], who takes credit for his neice's mystery solving skills without being aware she's doing anything.
* Rok'Tar of Flintlocke Vs. The Horde may be getting this reputation from the Night Elves, due to an [[http://pc.gamespy.com/flintlocke-vs-the-horde/episode-9-when-orcs-attack/940273p1.html exaggerated story]] from a Nelf he attacked when he's really a fairly low-level Orc Hunter whose pet is only a bunny named Bun'Kar.
* EightBitTheater. [[DesignatedHero The Light Warriors aren't all that heroic, and usually aren't even trying.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Web Original ]]

* Captain Hammer from ''DrHorriblesSingAlongBlog'' is a JerkAss variant of this. Sure, he's a genuine SuperHero, but he's also a smug, nasty, patronizing, self-centered JerkJock deconstruction of TheCape who is hinted to generally do more damage than his C-list enemies.
** Also, the titular Dr. Horrible can count as a Fake Ultimate ''[[VillainProtagonist Villain]]'' at the end when [[spoiler: he takes credit for Penny's death to join the Evil League of Evil when it was really an accident caused by the aforementioned Captain Hammer]].

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* The titular character from ''{{Shrek}}''
** A better example would be Prince Charming. He's supposed to be a brave and selfless hero, but he's really a whiny, prissy mama's boy.
* Major Man, in the ''PowerpuffGirls'' episode "Major Competition". He gains the accolades of Townsville by repeatedly beating the Girls to the punch in saving the day, but the Girls discover this is because he keeps staging crimes and disasters. Eventually, they beat him by staging their ''own'' monster attack.
*A "hero" from ''TeenTitans: Trouble in Tokyo'' used the same tactic.
* Zap Brannigan from ''{{Futurama}}'' shows himself in every appearance to be an arrogant, cowardly, ineffectual philanderer. And yet every time, by the end of the episode, he ends up looking like Earth's greatest hero, usually because of something that the Planet Express crew did and he took credit for.
* Captain Good, a [[TheCape Cape]] participant from ''Yogi's Space Race'', is secretly a disguised [[DastardlyWhiplash Phantom Phink]] (an {{Expy}} of [[DastardlyAndMuttleyInTheirFlyingMachines Dick Dastardly]] - [-{{IN SPACE}}-]).
* The animated film ''SharkTale'' is about a fish who is hailed as a "shark slayer" (the film's original title) after the shark chasing him is killed by a wayward anchor and he takes all the credit.
* The flamboyant Flint from ''{{Oban Star-Racers}}'' is the track favourite on his homeworld of Alwas, and, along with his gunner, Marcel, is believed by everyone there to be unbeatable. However, when Molly actually races him, she quickly learns his true secret to success: the judges fix races for him by deploying traps that ''only'' affect the challenger. When trying to play fair fails, Molly decides to goad Flint into proving his "skills" by flying into the traps; he promptly crashes.
* ''TheBoondocks'' episode "The Legend of Catcher Freeman" reveals through a [[TheRashomon Rashomon]] that Catcher Freeman was basically this. He wasn't a mighty MemeticBadass who led a slave rebellion (Robert's version) or a PsychopathicManchild who was used as a hound to hunt slaves (Ruckus' version). Huey learns from the internet that he was merely a DirtyCoward who decided to stick with the rebels after he accidentally shot his own master/father, who he was about to sell his script to for his freedom. Naturally Robert and Ruckus choose to ignore this.
* In ''TheFairlyOddparents'' special ''Wishology'', [[spoiler: Turbo Thunder]] spends a good deal of the trilogy telling everyone he's the ChosenOne. Of course, his actions in Part II prove he's anything but.
* DuckDodgers is this to the Martian Queen, but notably, ''to no one else''.
* Cyborg or no, InspectorGadget couldn't detecive his way out of a paper bag, but Penny just sits back and lets him take all the credit. He's so clueless that he doesn't even realize that he's not the hero.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Real Life ]]

*Phil Jackson, full stop. He's a [[strike:nine]] ten times championship-winning coach. People give him all sorts of credit for coaching ability as a result even though he had the incredibly good fortune to have a team filled with Michael Jordan (the greatest basketball player in the world), Scottie Pippen (the second best basketball player in the world), and supporting players that harmonized with Jordan and Pippen's strengths. He also had a friend who knew the difficult-to-use but highly potent triangle offense. Once Phil convinced Jordan to cooperate the Bulls went on to win six championships. After the Bulls broke up, Jackson left to coach the Lakers, who had Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'neal (two more players who are/were in the greatest of all time list) on the lineup. The Lakers had talent but little direction. With Phil Jackson, the Lakers added won the title three times in a row. Shaq and Phil left, and the Lakers crumbled. Phil returned, the Lakers struggled, added some roleplayers to complement Kobe, after much effort won another championship. Understand, I know that motivating players is a talent but that talent is hardly unique to Phil. Maybe he really is one of the few people who could have managed stars' egos well enough to convince them to cooperate; he has a gift for pyschology. People just tend to think he's a tactical/strategic master, immune to mistakes, and some sort of elite coach. Thing is, he benefited from being in the right place at the right time. [[supersecretspoiler: yes I am an Orlando Magic fan. (Hey, this text option needs ''some'' use.)]]
** This is a common theme with sports coaches. Some of the more reasonable sports commentators take note of the fact that, for example, Joe Torre was considered a largely ineffectual manager until he went to the Yankees and won four titles in his first five years. That said, much of the country figures that Terry Francona deserves a good deal of credit for helping the Red Sox end their 86-year title drought and bringing two championships to Boston in a four-year span. Those who follow the Red Sox on a regular basis, however, [[YourMileageMayVary have mixed opinions,]] as they still see the day-to-day decisions that earned him the nickname "Francoma" when he first arrived. (ThisTroper, a Red Sox fan, grudgingly admits that, while somewhat [[TheFool bumbling]], Francona is still an improvement over some of the previous managers that cost us shots at earlier World Series--Joe [=McCarthy=], Don Zimmer, John [=McNamara=], and Grady Little all legitimately ''cost'' us either pennants or World Series with their incompetence, in 1948, 1978, 1986, and 2003, respectively.)
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