History Main / NeverBeAHero

'''Zemo:''' Touché. But there has never been another [[Franchise/CaptainAmerica Steve Rogers]], has there?

It should be noted that when the subject of this aesop doesn't have any powers and seeks to emulate a BadassNormal, NonPoweredCostumedHero or a hero with {{Charles Atlas Superpower}}s, this overlaps with DontTryThisAtHome and makes sense -- in these situations, the hero trained long and hard to be able to do what they can do, and those who seek to emulate the hero usually ''don't'' have the training and experience required to be able to fight bad guys and generally make it as a hero themselves. When the subject gains the powers and skills of the hero, then it turns into a FantasticAesop, since people don't spontaneously become firefighters and paramedics in RealLife.

* ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'': A plane gets hijacked by terrorists. Touma Kamijou defeats one of them and prepares to go after the others, but the pilot tells him to cut it out, saying interference from amateurs will only make the situation worse. Of course, Touma is the hero and far from an amateur. He defeats the others while the pilot does nothing useful and even hinders him at points. Touma gets fed up with him and clocks him with a metal rod to get him to shut up.

* Justified in ''LightNovel/TheDevilIsAPartTimer''. [[MuggleBestFriend Chiho]] is dissuaded from learning how to defend herself with magic, because her status as a noncombatant protected her and training to fight effectively would take too long (for context, her friends are the Demon King, the Hero, and their friends, all of whom avert HardWorkHardlyWorks, and their enemies are in the same tier). She is still encouraged to learn telepathy, so she can call for help.

->'''Baron Zemo:''' The desire to become a superhuman cannot be separated from supremacist ideals. Anyone with that serum is inherently on that path. She will not stop, she will escalate until you kill her ... or she kills you.\\
'''Bucky Barnes:''' Maybe you’re wrong, Zemo. The serum never corrupted Steve.\\

* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'':

* Syndrome from ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'' tries to be a superhero using technology but turned into the BigBad. Really, this trope is what "Incrediboy" ''thinks'' Mr. Incredible is invoking on him when all that's actually happened is that he's caught his idol at the worst possible time to introduce himself as his new sidekick without asking and messed up said introduction to boot. Then he in turn decides to take that rejection in the worst possible way. He still had his technological genius and all, he ''could'' simply have tried again under better circumstances... but no, he simply decided to {{rage quit}} right then and there.

There's a strange DoubleStandard regarding superheroics. Most superheroes [[JustForFun/HowToGiveACharacterSuperpowers get their powers by accident]] and choose to use them for good with little to no training beforehand. This is what makes them {{Heroes}}.

* In crossover ''Fanfic/{{Displaced}}'', Batman doesn't want Spider-Man operating in Gotham City because -Batman believes- Spidey is a young rookie whose lack of experience will get him killed or worse.

** Although when John Henry's niece Natasha gained powers through the Everyman Project and became leader of ComicBook/InfinityInc, he complained she hadn't "earned" them. This was less about "you shouldn't be a hero" and more about the fact that Infinity Inc. was sponsored by Lex ''[[FalselyReformedVillain reformed this time, honest]]'' Luthor. There ''was'' a little bit of "you're not mature or responsible enough to be a hero yet", before she went to Luthor, in Steel's actions, but in his defense Natasha herself demonstrated that he wasn't ''entirely'' wrong about this. For example, she seemed to only be interested in the "beating up the bad guys" part of being a superhero and considered helping civilians rebuilt a wrecked city to be a waste of a hero's time. On the other hand, when he was at one point thought dead, Natasha picked up his hammer and triggered a fantastic recorded message saying "I don't want you to be a superhero like me, it's too dangerous, but since you'll probably ignore me, I rigged all my gear to answer to you. You'll be great."

* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':

** When ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} arrived on Earth in ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton'', Superman insisted that his cousin keep her existence secret for a while during which he trained her. She wasn't to operate openly until he gave his say-so. However he was kind of justified: she was a recently-orphaned teen ''PhysicalGod'' who needed desperately some kind of stability as she got used to her new life and learnt to use her godlike powers, several -imaginary and canonical- stories showed why being Superman's secret emergency-weapon was a good idea, and when he finally revealed her existence to the world in ''ComicBook/TheUnknownSupergirl'', he stressed that his cousin was his ''partner'', not his sidekick.

** ComicBook/JimmyOlsen [[SuperPowerSillyPutty got silly superpowers]] the whole time. It never ended well for him.

* Rick in ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'' urges Space Beth to not be the hero when he learns she is fighting the New Galactic Federation to prevent them from conquering the universe, even noting that she, like he once, is just "going through her hero phase" and that she'll grow out of it. He points out that someone is ''always'' trying to conquer the universe, and so the real goal is to be left alone by whoever succeeds -- being their enemy just means they'll [[BeingGoodSucks come after you, your planet, and your loved ones]] and so it's better to remain BeneathNotice.

There are other out-of-universe effects depending on the medium: in live action TV, film, video games etc., this means more coding, more (voice) actors, more special effects, etc. It's a lot more time and a lot more money and the budget might not stretch far enough to cover it. Even in Literature, it can lead to LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters, OutOfFocus, etc. It's simpler to stay on one hero.

* ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles'' has this trope going hand-in-hand with AmbitionIsEvil, which means being born with power makes you evil and you can only redeem yourself by [[TallPoppySyndrome giving it up completely and never bringing it up again]] or [[DeathEqualsRedemption dying to make up for it]]. And if you should happen to find a way to give yourself that power, you ''will'' be destroyed. Everyone else gets the power of teamwork, which is superior, (but they'll still need to depend on a Valkyria once in a while anyway).

->'''Baron Zemo:''' Desire to become a superhuman cannot be separated from supremacist ideals. Anyone with that serum is inherently on that path. She will not stop, she will escalate until you kill her ... or she kills you.\\

'''Zemo:''' Touche. But there has never been another [[Franchise/CaptainAmerica Steve Rogers]], has there?

->'''Batman Wannabe:''' What gives you the right?! What's the difference between you and me?!\\
'''Franchise/{{Batman}}:''' I'm not wearing hockey pads!
-->-- ''Film/TheDarkKnight''

* {{Invoked|Trope}} in ''Film/{{Zombieland}}'', where among Columbus' strict rules on surviving the ZombieApocalypse is "Rule #17: Don't be a hero", since [[PrideBeforeAFall one dumb mistake made out of pride can cost you everything]]. [[spoiler:Once he sees Wichita and Little Rock in danger and realizes he's the only one that can save them, [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight he decides to make an amendment]]: [[LetsGetDangerous "Be a Hero"]].]]

* In ''Film/TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe'' by Disney, Peter is met with this line... "Just because some guy in a red suit gives you a sword, it doesn't make you a hero!", hoping he's not dumb enough to try and fight the wolves and die trying. He does, since the alternatives are even dumber. (Fight the wolves, that is. He lives.)

** When ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} arrived on Earth in ''ComicBook/ActionComicsNumber252'', Superman insisted that his cousin keep her existence secret for a while during which he trained her. She wasn't to operate openly until he gave his say-so. However he was kind of justified: she was a recently-orphaned teen ''PhysicalGod'' who needed desperately some kind of stability as she got used to her new life and learnt to use her godlike powers, several -imaginary and canonical- stories showed why being Superman's secret emergency-weapon was a good idea, and when he finally revealed her existence to the world in ''ComicBook/TheUnknownSupergirl'', he stressed that his cousin was his ''partner'', not his sidekick.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* Averted in Literature/TheBible, book of Mark 9:38-41. When told by John that the apostles had stopped a man driving out demons in his name, Jesus tells them not to. Then it is played straight with Simon Magus in Acts 8:9-24, because he wanted to ''buy'' that kind of power, and again in Acts 19:13-16, with seven Jewish exorcists who tried to invoke Jesus' name in driving out a demon despite not believing in Jesus themselves. (The demon was ''not'' impressed, and the attempted exorcism ended badly.)

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'', after recovering from his initial SanitySlippage due to being tortured by the Joker, former policeman and now ElementalShapeshifter Ethan Bennet tells Bruce Wayne that he's actually considering turning down the cure that Bruce is working on, because he feels the powers of Clayface could be used to make him a literal super-cop. Bruce insists that Ethan give this idea up, claiming that Ethan's powers "make him unstable", and whilst Ethan proves that Bruce's concerns are wrong, he still ends up giving in and letting himself be cured.

* Syndrome from ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'' tries to be a superhero using technology but turned into the BigBad. Really, this trope is what "Incrediboy" ''thinks'' Mr. Incredible is invoking on him when all that's actually happened is that he's caught his idol at the worst possible time to introduce himself as his new sidekick without asking and messed up said introduction to boot. Then he in turn decides to take that rejection in the worst possible way. He still had his technological genius and all, he ''could'' simply have tried again under better circumstances...but no, he simply decided to {{rage quit}} right then and there.

->''"You just had to be a hero, didn't you?"''

* ''Manga/ACertainScientificRailgun''

* In ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'', a plane gets hijacked by terrorists. Touma Kamijou defeats one of them and prepares to go after the others, but the pilot tells him to cut it out, saying interference from amateurs will only make the situation worse. Of course, Touma is the hero and far from an amateur. He defeats the others while the pilot does nothing useful and even hinders him at points. Touma gets fed up with him and clocks him with a metal rod to get him to shut up.

* Completely averted by John Henry Irons, AKA ComicBook/{{Steel}}. When Franchise/{{Superman}} saved his life he asked how he could repay him and got the answer "live a life worth saving". So he builds PoweredArmor and uses it to become a Superhero. He remains a respected member of the superhero community to this day. Although when John Henry's niece gained powers through the Everyman Project and became leader of ComicBook/InfinityInc, he complained she hadn't "earned" them. This was less about "you shouldn't be a hero" and more about the fact that Infinity Inc. was sponsored by Lex ''[[FalselyReformedVillain reformed this time, honest]]'' Luthor. There ''was'' a little bit of "you're not mature or responsible enough to be a hero yet", before she went to Luthor, in Steel's actions, but in his defense Natasha herself demonstrated that he wasn't ''entirely'' wrong about this. For example, she seemed to only be interested in the "beating up the bad guys" part of being a superhero and considered helping civilians rebuilt a wrecked city to be a waste of a hero's time. On the other hand, when he was at one point thought dead, Natasha picked up his hammer and triggered a fantastic recorded message saying "I don't want you to be a superhero like me, it's too dangerous, but since you'll probably ignore me, I rigged all my gear to answer to you. You'll be great." But then, [[LegacyCharacter taking up the]] [[TakingUpTheMantle mantle]] is a slightly different situation in Franchise/TheDCU.
* Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}:
** Played with in the Silver Age. When Kara Zor-El arrived on Earth, Superman insisted that his cousin keep her existence secret for a while during which he trained her. She wasn't to operate openly until he gave his say-so. However he was kind of justified: she was a recently-orphaned teen ''PhysicalGod'' who needed desperately some kind of stability as she got used to her new life and learnt to use her godlike powers, several -imaginary and canonical- stories showed why being Superman's secret emergency-weapon was a good idea, and when he finally revealed her existence to the world, he stressed that his cousin was his ''partner'', not his sidekick.
** In ''Comicbook/ManyHappyReturns'', Post-Crisis Superman meets Pre-Crisis Kara. Unfortunately he believes she is an obsessed fan playing super-heroes, so he tells her to go home and flies away before she can explain she is his cousin. Ironically she is way more powerful than him.

* [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] ComicBook/LoisLane and Comicbook/LanaLang used to get powers all the time, and every time there was an Aesop that they couldn't use them properly, with a huge unspoken "Because she's a ''[[StayInTheKitchen girl]]''".
* ComicBook/JimmyOlsen [[SuperPowerSillyPutty got silly superpowers]] the whole time. It never ended well for him.
* Similarly, Johnny Quick once gained a DistaffCounterpart called Joanie Swift whom he seriously resented, but who couldn't be dissuaded from trying to help, until she had to deal with ''[[EekAMouse mice]]'', after which she agreed to let him take away her powers.
** In what was perhaps a deliberate bit of irony by writers, Johnny Quick's daughter Jesse would inherit his powers as well as that of his wife Liberty Belle, super-strength. So the speedster who saw no problems in taking the powers of another person for essentially being a girl is now represented in the comics by a girl who can also bend steel.
* No one but Franchise/{{Batman}} or the Bat-Family are ever supposed to be working in Gotham City. Anyone else will invariably get things wrong, such as by being very slightly more brutal than Batman on interrogation, or risking getting people killed somehow, or accidentally interfering in the one crime per year that the Gotham PD is actually doing something about. How contrived this feels varies from case-to-case.

*** And then it got better, since after Battle for the Cowl the Cavalier has been going by his real name, Mortimer Drake (no relation to Tim Drake), and is acting as the bodyguard for Dr. Leslie Thompkins after she provided him with emergency medical assistance. He still uses the sword, though.