History Main / ShroudedInMyth

* ''ComicBook/{{Diabolik}}'' the title character, about which in the first story is said "[[SympatheticInspectorAntagonist Ginko says that, in the international criminal underground, people whisper about a ''being'' called ''Diabolik''". Even Ginko at the time wasn't sure he actually existed, or that the extremely dangerous and unnamed criminal he once arrested was him (it was) until he first discovered one of his hideouts and found some of his [[LatexPerfection plastic masks]] (the ability to become anyone being one of the skills attributed to Diabolik), while the public wouldn't be sure until he was arrested and tried.

* In ComicBook/{{Diabolik}} the title character is this, sort of: he hasn't done ''some'' of the things attributed to him, but he could very well do them if he saw the necessity. Case in point: in ''Il Re del Terrore: il Remake'' (a remake of the first story) people say he'd blown up a flying plane to kill an enemy, something he hadn't done at that point in the timeline but that he would do years later to punish a CorruptCorporateExecutive who had murdered a friend of his (bonus points for the victim having taken the plane to try and escape Diabolik's revenge only to receive his radio call informing him of the bomb and that he had stole the parachutes while he placed the bomb).

-->'''Hades:''' Don't like the song? It's about you!
-->'''Zagreus:''' It says I'm really the bastard son of Zeus, but also indelibly connected to the god of wine, and how your parents tore me to pieces, giving rise to mortals, but that I'm always going to be stuck here.
-->'''Hades:''' You fill Orpheus's mind with nonsense, it produces nonsense. Nonsense I presume shall spread from this place far and wide, so everyone might know that I have nothing to do with you.

* ''Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures'': At the end of ''The Also People'', Franchise/BerniceSummerfield complains that the Doctor and many of his other friends are shrouded in myth on various worlds, when's it ''her'' turn? The Doctor assures her that there is one planet that worships her as the Goddess of Alcohol and Sarcasm. She's not impressed.

* Though not explicitly stated in ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4245303/1/KOTOR-The-Prodigy-of-Revan-Book-One KOTOR: The Prodigy of Revan,]]'' it's heavily implied the Jack's father and sisters are regarded like this, as well as his ancestry. Jack himself has garnered a great deal of repute himself, though for maintaining a command position in the military when [[spoiler:all of his elder brothers had been killed early in their careers]] than his actions as an officer.

** ''Literature/CiaphasCain'': Despite his cowardly, self-serving tendencies, and [[ThinkNothingOfIt his valiant attempts to quell them]], Ciaphas is regarded as a [[IncorruptiblePurePureness sterling]] [[TheHero hero]] with [[ThinkNothingOfIt touching modesty]]. One religious sect has even proclaimed him to be ''a physical manifestation of the god-emperor's Divine Will''.

[[folder:Religion]]
* '''Any and every religious story ever told''' ''could'' be subject to this trope, since there is no concrete evidence that definitively proves any religion to be absolutely true or absolutely false.
[[/folder]]

* In the [[VideoGame/Metroid1 very first game]]'s instruction manual, ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'''s Samus Aran is described as being "shrouded in mystery", supernaturally skilled and NighInvulnerable thanks to a plethora of cybernetic upgrades, encased in a suit of PoweredArmor that's the terror of every law-breaker in the galaxy, and with his, her or its true form is known to no one. Of course, when the armor finally comes off at the end of the game, the galaxy's most famous badass turns out to be [[SamusIsAGirl a rather attractive blonde woman]].

** It actually goes farther than that. In the ''ComicBook/{{Serenity}}'' comic ''Better Days'', the crew gains an absolute ''shitload'' of money. Now having enough cash to be able to waste some, Jayne gives a handful of bills to a monk, who then remarks: "The Hero of Canton... he's real!" This is happening on a ''completely different planet.''

* In ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'', every game becomes this to its sequel. In ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 2}}'', the events of the first game are legend, and in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'', subtle hints are dropped regarding the events of the second game. This even carries over to the canceled ''VideoGame/FalloutVanBuren'', which had large portions of it made canon, and many references are made to it by ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', which takes place in the same area.

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheNewBatmanAdventures'' featured a group of kids telling stories about Batman. One had him as a complete monster, one as the campy Creator/AdamWest incarnation, and one was a rather brilliant TakeThat at Creator/JoelSchumacher and [[Film/BatmanForever his]] [[Film/BatmanAndRobin movies]].

* ''TabletopGame/InNomine'': There's a persistent rumor in-universe about the Dozen, a cabal of twelve immortal sorcerers, sometimes with a thirteenth as a leader, who can command powers that should normally be impossible. The details vary wildly in telling -- they might be led by Merlin or Solomon or Cain or the Wandering Jew, they might be able to command angels or summon Demon Princes or raise the dead -- and ultimately nobody knows anything for sure. Demons make a point of playing up the joke in order to mislead ambitious sorcerers... but when they talk among themselves, they aren't too sure that the Dozen really ''are'' fictitious, and maybe some of those stories ''are'' real after all...

* ''Literature/TheEnchantmentEmporium'' has the Gale family. In the first book, the family's history is a matter of discussion between the BigBad and his {{Dragon}}. The third book shows part of might have actually happened, [[spoiler:as part of a StableTimeLoop]].

** The Space Pirates, not to be outdone, have grown Samus into their cultural mythology as a one-woman demonic grim reaper. Every game in the ''Prime'' series features an ApocalypticLog sequence in which the Space Pirates describe the impending horror of a raid by "[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast The Hunter]]." To clarify, the ''Prime'' series makes it clear that there are numerous other bounty hunters out in the galaxy; the fact that Samus alone gets the epithet of ''THE'' Hunter shows how ''terrified'' they are of her.

* ''Manga/BlackClover'': Virtually everyone in the Clover Kingdom knows the legend of [[TheArchmage the First Wizard King, Lemiel Silvamillion]], who defeated [[AlmightyIdiot a cataclysmically powerful demon]] centuries ago, saved the kingdom from complete annihilation at the cost of his own life and had a statue of himself erected on top of the demon's skull to immortalize his accomplishment. What nobody knows is that [[spoiler:the demon in question was Licht, the leader of the elves and Lemiel's closest friend, who [[LesserOfTwoEvils turned himself into a demon]] to prevent a devil from [[DemonicPossession possessing him]] after [[ManipulativeBastard orchestrating the massacre of Licht's people at the hands of human nobles]], and entrusted Lemiel with the grim task of [[MercyKillArrangement killing him]]. Oh, and the statue? It's no statue: it's Lemiel himself, [[TakenForGranite turned to stone]] by his servant Secre Swallowtail [[FlingALightIntoTheFuture so that he could return if the devil ever broke free of his seal and attempted to finish the job]].]].

* At the end of ''Literature/WatershipDown'', an elderly Hazel overhears a young doe telling some rabbit babies a folk tale, which is a ''very'' heavily-mythologized account of Hazel's own adventures in establishing the Watership warren. Also General Woundwart gets made into a supernatural bogeyman used to frighten children; the narration comments he might not have been displeased by this.

* ''Manga/BlackClover'': Virtually everyone in the Clover Kingdom knows the legend of [[TheArchmage the First Wizard King, Lemiel Silvamillion]], who defeated [[AlmightyIdiot a cataclysmically powerful demon]] centuries ago, saved the kingdom from complete annihilation at the cost of his own life and had a statue of himself erected on top of the demon's skull to immortalize his accomplishment. What nobody knows is that [[spoiler:the demon in question was Licht, the leader of the elves and Lemiel's closest friend, who [[LesserOfTwoEvils turned himself into a demon]] to prevent a devil from [[DemonicPossession possessing him]] after [[ManipulativeBastard orchestrating the massacre of Licht's people at the hands of human nobles]], and entrusted Lemiel with the grim task of [[MercyKillArrangement killing him]]]].

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': There is Quincy folklore centring around a prophecy regarding a Sealed King. The prophecy states that the Sealed King will regain his heart after 900 years, his reason after 90 years and his power after 9 years. [[spoiler:Six years before the story begins is when he regains his reason, resulting in the {{Plot Triggering Death}}s of Ichigo and Uryuu's [[TheLostLenore mothers]]. Nine years after their deaths, the storyline's final arc kicks off with the [[TheEmperor Sealed King's]] power being restored, along with the revelation of a hidden stanza to the prophecy: 9 days after he regains his power, he reclaims the world. It turns out a lot of the story ties into this prophecy, even Aizen's actions.]]

* In the ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'' series, the titular kingdom's legendary badass is Vanyel, the last Herald-Mage, who was said to be capable of leveling cities with his power, and whose HeroicSacrifice destroyed an entire invading army. In the {{prequel}} detailing his life, these myths are seen to be entirely true.

* Played with in ''Fanfic/DungeonKeeperAmi'', Mercury's exploits -- magical, and on the field of battle -- are recounted remarkably accurately. This might be because her detractors have a vested interest in downplaying her achievments, and thus her combat reputation is basicaly accurate. Her [[AnythingThatMoves other]] [[ExtremeOmnisexual reputation]], on the other hand...

* ''Art/TheMonaLisa'': A lot of fiction revolves around theories on who sat for the Mona Lisa painting. Particular theories even argued that it was Leonardo himself in drag, because apparently, some think [[LadyLooksLikeADude Lady Lisa looks like a Dude]]. Of course, these were all retroactively debunked in 2005, when the Louvre revealed a letter confirming that the model was Florentine noblewoman Lisa del Giocondo whose husband was a friend of Leonardo’s father.