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I fight not for honor or for patriotism. I fight because I am a soldier.
—Jake, Assault Suits Valken/Cybernator
In many works of fiction, the hero will have to stand up to a large number of villains who aren't really especially bad people; they're simply doing their jobs. The same, naturally, applies to heroes.
The Punch Clock Hero isn't fighting for peace, revenge, or because it's the right thing to do. He's only going against the Big Bad because he has to. In some cases, he is destined to do so but refused the call, only to find out that You Cant Fight Fate. In other cases, he gets involved only because he has bills to pay.
Examples:
Anime and Manga
- Masane Amada in Witch Blade starts as this, albeit not realizing the full scope of her decision. After about the halfway point, the horrifying truth that Because Destiny Says So kicks in, she jumps full force in being a full on hero to the point of Heroic Sacrifice
- The whole Cowboy Bebop crew, most of the time. Illustrated well during an early scene in the movie when a robber holds an old woman at gunpoint. Spike's reaction? "Well, that's a real shame. But, we're not cops and we're not from some charity organization. Sorry lady, we don't protect or serve. This is strictly business." (This distracts the robber — and enrages the hostage — sufficiently for him to get a clean shot off).
- L and Near in Death Note seem to be this, although that information is mainly gleened from a sequel manga chapter which may not even be canon and a spin-off novel by a different author.
- Near moreso than L - while L will say that he is hunting Kira because of "justice", Near is just doing it to emulate L.
- The Claymores officially claim to be like this. It's not usually true, however.
Comic Books
- The comic book Capes is about a company of mostly punch-clock superheroes.
- The Marvel character the Sentry, intended to be a Deconstruction of Superman. He's so dispassionate that he responds to natural disasters by having a computer calculate who he rescues instead of deciding it himself. He explains that he can't decide who to save himself because he values everyone.
"There's fifty things going on in this city every second of the day that the Sentry could do something about. And that's just in this city. A bank robbery in Queens is less or more important than a hurricane in Louisiana? How can I choose? I can't. I can't always be where I'm most needed."
- To drive the point further one way to beat him is by hacking into said computer to tell him everything that's going on.
- Super Temp in Wildguard, who's just doing this hero thing as a side job until his band gets heir big break, man.
- The Power Company operates similarly to Capes, Inc, mentioned above.
- As did Hero Hotline.
- And the Superbuddies, former members of the Justice League fighting crime for cash.
- And the Conglomerate, who have corporate sponsorship.
- In the introduction to Power Company, Joshiah Power is asked what distinguishes his team from the Conglomerate or Hero Hotline. His reply is "I hope we'll be more successful."
- At different times Booster Gold was a member of both the Superbuddies and the Conglomerate. This is not a coincidence.
- The Post-Zero Hour Legion Of Super Heroes had the Workforce. Most of them eventually left to join the Legion, though.
Film
- This is the Film Noir Defective Detective in a nutshell. If they do good, it's because the mysterious woman in the slinky dress hired them. If they get emotionally involved, it's because the villain hurt someone they love.
- Star Wars' Han Solo started out this way, though half the climax of the first movie was his overcoming this.
- Ghostbusters are, well, extermination (exorcism) company.
- Most of the members of The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen are only in it because they've been promised a full pardon for their past crimes and misdeeds. Only Quatermain, who wants to prevent world war from corrupting his beloved Africa, and Tom Sawyer, who wants vengeance for the murder of his best friend, have other agendas.
Literature
- Rincewind in the Discworld books, on the rare occasion where he has to do something to save the day. He just does it because he knows he will be dragged into it anyway.
- Arguably, Sherlock Holmes. As a consulting detective, he took clients based mostly on his subjective interest in the case or the challenge of the mystery and rarely because of any moral judgment. Holmes rarely executed justice himself, reserving that for the local authorities, and in a few cases let the antagonist off scot-free once the mystery was solved.
- Commissar Ciaphas Cain repeatedly pulls some truly heroic stunts despite being, well, himself, not because he wants to do it, but because he has. Either he doesn't want to ruin his reputation and lose all the perks it gives him, or he has learned in a hard way that meeting the danger is actually safer, or he might simply not give a credit where it is due. His editor, Inquisitor Amberley Vail, certainly leans to the third option.
- Travis McGee takes on new cases when he needs the money, and spends the rest of his time taking his retirement "in installments."
- Sergey Lukyanenko's Watch quartet is full of a mixture of this and its direct opposite (people wanting to do something Good but not being allowed, because it'd let the other side do an equal amount of Evil...).
- The new Doctor Shade in "Cold Snap" by Kim Newman seriously resents the fact he's a Legacy Character, and that his dad's weird friends want him to save the world.
Live Action TV
- Firefly's Jayne Cobb generally only fights the bad guys because, well, that's what The Captain is paying him to do. He was even a bad guy until Mal made him a better offer (an equal share and a room all to himself).
- House frequently has to be cajoled and pressured into taking a case (despite the fact that it is literally his job) but once he's interested he won't stop until he has a diagnosis.
Video Games
- A textbook example is the main character of Cybernator. In an unusual form of You Can't Fight Fate, he has to fight in a war because he was drafted into the army.
- Adding to this theme is the fact that none of the villains you fight, not even when they have to Kick The Dog, seem to like or enjoy what they're doing. The game is basically a story of gray-and-gray morality, with Punch Clock Heroes fighting Punch Clock Villains.
- Rayman is portrayed like this in his first game; after the narrator cries, "RAYMAN TO THE RESCUE!", Rayman is then shown lounging at a beach. He then lazily gives out a thumbs-up, saying, "No problem."
- Metal Gear Solid's Solid Snake fights the good fight at first because he believes in his cause. Unfortunately, with each successive Xanatos Gambit, Man Behind The Man and Because The Patriots Say So, his cynicism grows to the point where he starts off the fourth game only just removed from this, being completely fed up with always being the tool of someone else, and only gets worse from there.
- The gist of Zero's awesome World Of Cardboard Speech/Shut Up Hannibal at the end of Mega Man Zero 4.
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. I won't hesitate... If an enemy appears in front of me, I will destroy it!
Webcomics
- The titular character from The Non Adventures Of Wonderella is definitely one.
- Dechs, a.k.a. Shadehawk, of Antihero For Hire, literally — to pay the rent, he patrols for criminals to turn in for the bounty (and, though we don't see it too often, being "for hire"). Indeed, the setting has a "Superhero Activities Board" that's set up to encourage the Punch Clock Hero lifestyle.
- The basic premise of Everyday Heroes
 ; Mr. Mighty is a nine-to-five hero, while his nemesis, Dr. Unpleasant, is a Punch Clock Villain.
Western Animation
- The most literal example is also one of the oldest of these: Sam the Sheepdog and Ralph the Wolf are the stars in several classic Chuck Jones cartoon shorts for Warner Brothers. From 9 to 5, Ralph tries ever-more-outlandish schemes to catch a sheep, and Sam thwarts Ralph with minimal effort and maximum punishment. But as soon as that 5 o'clock whistle blows, the two punch out and walk home together, ready to do it all over again tomorrow.
- Except when Ralph tried to impersonate a sheepdog and take over Sam's shift.
- Jenny Wakeman of My Life As A Teenage Robot was designed to be a teenage superhero robot that fights evil. However, upon deciding that she'd rather hang out with human teens, she becomes an example of this trope.
Web Original
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