History Main / IconOfRebellion

** In occupied UsefulNotes/{{Norway}} people used the monogram H7 (Standing for Haakon VII, the Norwegian head of state during and after the war) as a symbol of resistance. The paperclip -- supposedly invented in Norway -- was also used for a while, until the Nazi occupation forces saw through it.

** Apparently Taegeukgis also became associated with democracy and freedom as well; they were used in countless South Korean democracy movements against its totalitarian governments(which, ironically enough, made bowing to Taegeukgi mandatory for all Koreans), especially during the June Democratic Uprising in UsefulNotes/{{Seoul}}.

* The "L" sign used in the uprising that brought down the Marcos régime in the UsefulNotes/{{Philippines}}.

** Shiny emerald green bracelets were worn by the supporters of the liberal presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi before the 2007 election. When Ahmadinejad's victory was announced and Mousavi was taken into house arrest they became a symbol of resistance, with more serious rebels also wearing green face masks or symbolic mouth-tape during the riots
*** The "V" hand sign is also associated with the Greens

* Music/{{NWA}}'s "Fuck the Police" has become an internationally used anthem and slogan during protests.

** ''[[Anime/MobileSuitVictoryGundam Victory Gundam]]'': By this point in time in the UC universe, Gundams as a whole are a symbol of resistance. Which is why the League Militaire's modeled their mobile suits to be either Gundams or Gundam look-a-likes.

** ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundam00 Gundam 00]]'', where Gundams become synonymous with Celestial Being.

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'': When Diana's leading an intergalactic resistance made up of escaped and liberated slaves, she herself is what her resistance fighters are rallying behind despite their very different cultures and creeds. Her symbol has been tagged on things in the capitol, indicating she has support among the kreel too, since there are no slaves there.

* Boko Berikuka in the ''Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse'' short story "Walkin' City Blues" is both a nickname for the walking city of the title, and a symbol of injustice for the city's working classes. It turns out [[spoiler:that the city is PoweredByAForsakenChild, and Boko Berikuka was the name of that child]].
* ''Literature/{{Gor}}'': In ''Magicians of Gor'' Tarl and his friend Marcus start a rebellion in Ar by claiming to have heard of the "Delta Brigade" (named after the events in a previous book where the forces of Ar were defeated in a delta) and scratch deltas everywhere. There later becomes an actual Delta Brigade which they have nothing to do with. It's like al-Qaeda -- no individual cell interacts with any other cell, they just call themselves that and engage in uncivil disobedience.

** Rebels against the Lunar Authority wore red caps called Liberty Caps. Heinlein got the idea from the French Revolution example in Real Life below.
** The "Simon Jester" symbol, which was used with anti-Lunar Authority graffiti.

* In ''ComicBook/UncannyXMen'', the X -- and Cyclops himself -- is actively used as a symbol by/of oppressed mutants.

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'': When Diana's leading an intergalactic resistance made up of escaped and liberated slaves, she herself is what her resistance fighters are rallying behind despite their very different cultures and creeds. Her symbol has been tagged on things in the capitol- indicating she has support among the kreel too, since there are no slaves there.

* Spilling over to real life, Music/{{NWA}}'s "Fuck the Police" has become an internationally used anthem and slogan during protests.

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[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/DinoDDay https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dinodday_camille.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Vive la France.]]

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* The Black Knights of ''Anime/CodeGeass'' use a corrupt Geass Symbol.
** The protagonist deliberately styles himself as [[MyHeroZero ZERO!]]
* ''Anime/{{Daltanious}}'': By 1995, the entire galaxy has been conquered by the [[GalacticConqueror Zaal Empire]]. When one robot from Earth, Daltanious, begins fighting back against the Zaal forces, word spreads to other planets and they become inspired by Kento and his persistence.

* From ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'', the Laughing Man's logo.
* In ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', [[spoiler:Eren Yeager]] is idolized as a messiah by a cult of [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters crazy bastards]], who believe that the city's current leaders are too incapable/unwilling to fend off the Marleyan invasion. (They...may not be wrong about that last part.) [[spoiler:It's suggested that the Attack Titan itself, which Eren wields, is some sort of manifestation of the concept of freedom in humanity's subconcious.]]

* Invoked by the campaign of [[PresidentEvil The Smiler]] in ''ComicBook/{{Transmetropolitan}}''. While campaigning to be president, he has his campaign manager Vita, who is also the most visible, [[TokenGoodTeammate decent]], and publicly admired member of his campaign, become this as they campaign against the current [[OurPresidentsAreDifferent highly corrupt and widely hated President]]. It even goes to the extent of having her adopt the buns on the side of the head hairstyle of Princess Leia from ''Franchise/StarWars'' to get people subconsciously thinking of her as fighting against the EvilEmpire. She later lampshades this to Spider.
-->'''Vita:''' That haircut was all cultural buttonpushing... made me look tough and smart, but also the underdog, fighting an evil empire as best I can.

* In Bendis' ''ComicBook/UncannyXMen'', the X- and Cyclops himself- is actively used as a symbol by/of oppressed mutants.

* ''Franchise/StarWars'': the Rebel Alliance's emblem.
** In the prequels, Count Dooku serves as the figurehead of the rebel Separatists.
** According to ''VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed'' video game, the emblem belongs to the House of Marek and adopted by the Rebels after Galen Marek (AKA Starkiller) [[HeroicSacrifice gives his life]] to save them from the Emperor and Darth Vader.
** After the ContinuityReboot, ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'' gave a new origin for the emblem as a creation of [[GraffitiOfTheResistance rebel artist]] Sabine Wren, who based it on a phoenix as a symbol of the rebel alliance rising from the ashes of their defeats, burning despite the Empire's attempts to stamp it out.

* In the ''Literature/BasLagCycle'':

** Spiral Jacobs, the vagabond, roams around the city of [[WretchedHive New Crobuzon]] and spends his days vandalizing the city with drawings of spirals. This occurs during a time of political unrest, and the masses of New Crobuzon adopt it as a symbol of the rebellion, wearing it on their clothing and making the marks themselves. Subverted in that [[spoiler: Jacobs is actually the ambassador of an enemy city and the spirals are part of an extremely powerful and intricate magic that would completely destroy the New Crobuzon, sending ripples of destruction backwards through time.]]

* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}''

* ''Literature/{{Gor}}'': In ''Magicians of Gor'' Tarl and his friend Marcus start a rebellion in Ar by claiming to have heard of the "Delta Brigade" (named after the events in a previous book where the forces of Ar were defeated in a delta) and scratch deltas everywhere. There later becomes an actual Delta Brigade which they have nothing to do with. It's like al-Qaeda - no individual cell interacts with any other cell, they just call themselves that and engage in uncivil disobedience.
* The mockingjay in ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' (or Katniss [[spoiler: putting a bunch of flowers on the recently slain Rue]]).
** Likewise, District 12's three-finger salute along with Rue's four note whistle - originally District 11's whistle to indicate the day's labor is over.
* In the second ''Literature/{{Inkheart}}'' book, the face of the commoners' uprising was the [[spoiler: fabricated]] folk-hero, The Blue-Jay. He was known by his fairness, thieving, and mask rather than his face, but the songs of the Blue-Jay stirred public favor for the uprising without a face.
* In the prequel ''Literature/LegendsOfDune'' novels, Serena Butler's infant son Manion becomes the symbol of what becomes known as the Butlerian Jihad against the tyrannical [[AIIsACrapshoot Thinking Machines]], after he is thrown from a balcony by the robot Erasmus. He becomes the first martyr in the fight as Manion the Innocent. "Saint" Serena herself joins the ranks of martyrs after she lets herself be taken and killed by the machines to invigorate the masses.

* In ''Literature/LesMiserables'', two of them: the flag Mabeuf dies waving, and Mabeuf's bullet-ridden coat afterwards.

* From Creator/RobertAHeinlein's ''Literature/TheMoonIsAHarshMistress'':

* The short story "Numismatics in the Reigns of Naranh and Viu" by Alex Dally [=McFarlane=] in ''The Mammoth Book of {{Steampunk}}'' is a steampunk-fantasy tale of rebellion against a tyrannical king. Largely, as the title suggests, from the perspective of the coins minted. The coins of the rebel faction are icons of the rebellion.
* ''Literature/TortallUniverse'': In the ''Literature/TrickstersDuet'', the symbol for the cultural uprising of an ethnic group enslaved and kept on the bottom rung of society is a crude broken manacle: three small circles as a chain attached to a larger broken circle. This tiny sign of the underground rebellion could be seen anywhere — vegetable stands, scratched into the corners of glass windows.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': In a story arc, Bajor is threatened by a nationalistic group called the Circle. These extremists spray painted their symbol as vandalism and in their headquarters. When a beloved war hero from the resistance returns to Bajor, the Circle makes sure to keep him isolated and out of the political scene, lest he become an icon of unity as they try to destabilize the existing government in the leadup to their coup-d'etat.
* ''[[Series/{{V 1983}} V: the Miniseries]]'': The "V" hand gesture, and as spray-painted graffiti.

--> "She's a symbol of resistance and she's holding on my heart like a hand grenade."
* Spilling over to real life, NWA's "Fuck The Police" has become an internationally used anthem and slogan during protests.

* The red flag in the musical version of ''Theatre/LesMiserables'', having its basis in real life revolutions also using the red flag.

[[folder:Toys]]
* ''Franchise/GIJoe'': COBRA, naturally enough, has a red cobra's head with its hood open.
[[/folder]]

* The Wild Rose of the Wild Rose Rebellion from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII.'' It can be seen on the rebels' {{Badass Cape}}s and the phrase itself is used as a password.

* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', due to their actions at the Gallows, Hawke's name becomes a rallying cry for oppressed Mages to rise up, ultimately leading to the Mage-Templar War engulfing Thedas. This is despite Hawke having very little to do with the actual ''reason'' for those events having occurred, ultimately simply being the RightManInTheWrongPlace, who was forced to use all of their badassery to ride out the wave.
** There is also the Kirkwall Rebel Symbol, which appears throughout the city. It is basically a crude figure of a dragon scrawled upon walls.
* The Rockerboys in ''VideoGame/Cyberpunk2077'', a protest movement striking back against corporate and government overreach (same thing, really), have their iconic founder, musician Johnny Silverhand -- a character inherited from the ''Cyberpunk'' universe's [[TabletopGame/Cyberpunk2020 tabletop-RPG origins]]. He's believed to have been killed in the Fourth Corporate War, but in ''[=CP2077=]'' the protagonist discovers that a copy of his personality has survived via BrainUploading.
* ''VideoGame/MinecraftStoryMode'': In Season 2 Episode 5, there are several posters of Ocelots scattered around Beacontown. It is eventually revealed that [[spoiler:Lukas reformed the Ocelots to rebel against The Admin, who has stolen Jesse's identity, explaining he reformed the group to remind everyone of what it was like before, including The Admin (who Lukas thinks is his friend Jesse gone mad), directly calling it a symbol for Beacontown to rally around in their rebellion]].
* In ''VideoGame/Persona5'', the Phantom Thieves' symbol (which resembles a hat burning from the inside out) eventually gains traction as this trope. [[CallingCard Receiving the symbol in the mail]] is a warning: the thieves have noticed what you're doing and if you don't change your ways within about a month or so, they will [[BrainwashingForTheGreaterGood change them]] ''for'' you. Of course, those who are cruel on a big enough scale to ''get'' noticed are also too arrogant to ever listen...
* ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'': In Chapter 9 of ''Knights of the Fallen Empire'', an official resistance is formed to combat the Eternal Empire, [[EnemyMine comprised of members of both the Republic and the Empire]]. The symbol of the Eternal Alliance is a combination of both factions' symbol [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/swtor/images/f/ff/Alliance_flag.png/revision/latest?cb=20170209130218 cut down the middle and put together]].

[[folder:Web Original]]
* Le Diamant ("The Diamond") and L'Épurateur ("The Purifier"), two famous figures of the alternate French Revolution in ''Literature/LookToTheWest''. While Le Diamant was a figure with well known beliefs that went on to influence radical thought for years after his death, L'Épurateur was an unknown soldier who posed dramatically atop the Bastille with a bloodied, upside-down flag and the decapitated head of a reactionary leader. [[note]]In-universe history books note that nobody knows who L'Épurateur really was, and for all they know he could have been a simple thug who went to fight for the royalists the next day when they offered him more money.[[/note]] They inspired a stylised diamond symbol and a red flag with an upside-down fleur-de-lys respectively.
* In the AlternateHistory story ''Literature/FearLoathingAndGumboOnTheCampaignTrailSeventyTwo'', the villainous Mr. Potter from ''Film/ItsAWonderfulLife'' gets turned into this by the anti-government activists. Ironically, it started because the [[OppressiveStatesOfAmerica authoritarian, far-right corporate regime running America]] in TheEighties tried to promote ''It's a Wonderful Life'' as TheMoralSubstitute to ''Literature/AChristmasCarol''. A story about a [[CorruptCorporateExecutive greedy businessman]] learning the error of his ways -- and a quintessentially British story, at that (the Special Relationship having thoroughly gone to hell by that point in time) -- was unacceptable to the political classes, while ''It's a Wonderful Life'' was seen as supporting the conservative, pro-capitalist, EverytownAmerica values of George Bailey and Bedford Falls. Unfortunately, the downtrodden masses came to identify Mr. Potter as representative of America's leadership, and before long, protesters and activists were often comparing the state of America to that of Pottersville, the dystopian AlternateUniverse Bedford Falls that the angel shows to George.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'': The season 1 finale "Reunion" reveals that Hop Pop standing up to Mayor Toadstool in "Hop Popular" has made him an icon for rebellion against the Toads, who seem to run the valley. Unfortunately, this has also made him a target for Captain Grime and his men.
* ''WesternAnimation/HitMonkey'': As the first season goes on and Monkey takes down more and more criminals, the people of Tokyo come to respect him and note him as a symbol of good. [[spoiler:This comes to a head in the season finale where the crowd outside the tower Shinji’s campaign is holed up all wear masks of Monkey’s likeness. The cherry on top? When Monkey is exposed while trying to infiltrate the tower, the masked crowd quickly joins the brawl.]]
* Some continuities of ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' have the Autobot symbol be their slave brand until they threw off their shackles and turned it into a badge of honor.
** The Decepticon symbol is also acase of this in most stories post 2010, where the Decepticons are depicted as slaves and other lo class 'bots that rebelled against Cybertron's corrupt government, but eventually [[WarIsHell started going too far]].
* In season 5 of ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' [[spoiler:Ashi]] discovers the rave that Jack freed in "Jack and the Rave" and once they hear that she is looking for Jack they make a S-salute with their hands while singing a tribute about him.

** [[UsefulNotes/TheNetherlands The Dutch]] would wear Orange in defiance to the Nazis. Orange was the symbol of the Dutch ruling family - The House of Orange.
** The V for Victory sign - not exactly an icon of rebellion in Britain, where it originated, but certainly in occupied Europe.

** In occupied UsefulNotes/{{Norway}} people used the monogram H7 (Standing for Haakon VII, the Norwegian head of state during and after the war) as a symbol of resistance. The paperclip - supposedly invented in Norway - was also used for a while, until the Nazi occupation forces saw through it.

* The Clenched Fist Salute is still a popular symbol of rebellion. It has socialist/communist connotations - it was used, for example, by Republican forces in the UsefulNotes/SpanishCivilWar. In America, it is also associated with the UsefulNotes/CivilRightsMovement, likely due to the far left sympathies or affiliations of several of the most active groups at the time who varied from democratic socialists like MLK to the Maoist-sympathetic Black Panther Party.
* When a Pope became deeply unpopular in Rome in the late 1700s, the acronym I.S.S.S.V became a widespread graffiti. it stood for ''I Settembre sera sede vacante'' - ''In September the Throne will become vacant''. The Pope in question is thought to have become deeply unsettled by this; he did indeed die of natural causes before the following September.

[[quoteright:348:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chanology_3199.PNG]]
[[caption-width-right:348:[[Film/VForVendetta "Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy. And ideas are bulletproof."]]]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chanology_3199.PNG]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[Film/VForVendetta "Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy. And ideas are bulletproof."]]]]

* Keffiyeh for Palestinian, and the Palestine solidarity movements. Website/{{Wikipedia}} has [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keffiyeh a long and comprehensive history]] of how it came to be an icon, which might be useful to clear some confusion in regards of [[ParanoiaFuel its image in the west]].

* Keffiyeh for Palestinian, and the Palestine solidarity movements. Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} has [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keffiyeh a long and comprehensive history]] of how it came to be an icon, which might be useful to clear some confusion in regards of [[ParanoiaFuel its image in the west]].

* When a Pope became deeply unpopular in Rome in the late 1700's, the acronym I.S.S.S.V became a widespread graffiti. it stood for ''I Settembre sera sede vacante'' - ''In September the Throne will become vacant''. The Pope in question is thought to have become deeply unsettled by this; he did indeed die of natural causes before the following September.

* In the second season of ''Machinima/FreemansMind'', Gordon very quickly deduces that the lambda symbol is the symbol of the Resistance which they use to mark their hidden supply caches. He then calls out how monumentally stupid this is, because if he figured it out that easily, the government can too, and can use it to find them and stamp them out. Then again, the entire Resistance appears so incompetently run that Gordon at one point can't help but wonder if it's actually secretly run by the government as a way for them to easily weed out and slaughter dissidents.

* The popular song ''Le temps des cérises'' (The Season of Cherries) for the supporters of the Paris Commune of 1870/71.

* In ''VideoGame/Persona5'', the Phantom Thieves' symbol (which resembles a hat burning from the inside out) eventually gains traction as this trope. Receiving the symbol in the mail is a warning: the thieves have noticed what you're doing and if you don't change your ways within about a month or so, they will [[BrainwashingForTheGreaterGood change them]] ''for'' you. Of course, those who are cruel on a big enough scale to ''get'' noticed are also too arrogant to ever listen...