History Main / SmallstepsHero

** This trait is also shared by the Archangel Uriel(a.k.a. The Angel of Death). In the short story "The Warrior", he talks with Harry about how even small kindnesses can do much good down the line. Then in "Skin Game", he gladly loans Michael his Divine Grace, despite the risk of Falling if it's misused, all for the sake of saving the soul of one of Nicademeus' {{mooks}}.

** Back in [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks the Silver Age]], ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} looked after orphaned kids when she wasn't taking down interplanetary dictators. [[UsefulNotes/TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks By the Bronze Age]] the dichotomy between her compulsion to help people and her desire for a normal life had gotten so bad that [[ComicBook/Supergirl1982 she had to accept for her sanity's sake she couldn't solve every problem in the world]].

* ''Manga/OnePunchMan'': Mumen Rider has made his hero career on never ignoring a citizen in need, no matter how humble their needs are. This leads him to occasionally [[LawfulStupid arrive late to catastrophes if the alternative means breaking traffic rules]], but [[HeroicSpirit it also leads him to throw himself against monsters one or two classes above him]] in SuperWeight because he's a Hero, and heroes are supposed to sacrifice themselves to save civilians. He's even willing to try to save [[ArcVillain Garou]] from a CoupDeGrace because, having been (temporarily) defeated, he's supposed to be taken in alive. Despite being one of the most ineffectual superheroes in the setting (he's just a guy on a bike), he's noted to be surprisingly popular InUniverse for embodying what a superhero is supposed to act like.

* ''Series{{Forever|2014}}'':

* ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, more often than not. He thinks more like a soldier than your typical superhero, though he puts TheMenFirst and is quite unwilling to sacrifice anyone. Case in point, during the ''ComicBook/SecretWars2015'' arc, he was flatly ''against'' destroying other universes and the countless lives in them in order to save the MarvelUniverse.

* ''Literature/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'': Naofumi is one of four [[SummonEverymanHero heroes summoned to a fantasy world to fight against a]] RegularlyScheduledEvil known as [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast the Waves of Catastrophe]]. However, the weapon he receives, the Shield is considered [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway the most useless]] of the four, and Naofumi himself is not only disrespected but also [[HeroWithBadPublicity accused of things he didn't do]]. Despite this, during the first Wave of Catastrophe, rather than meeting up with the rest of the Heroes to fight the source of the Wave, he instead chooses to defend a small village from the hordes brought forth by it. Later on while the Three Heroes spend the next weeks showering themselves in glory and praise thinking themselves as true Heroes; Naofumi travels the land as a Merchant selling his wares, building a network with other Merchants and [[AlmightyJanitor occasionally cleaning up the various messes that The Three Heroes inadvertently left behind]] through their actions spiraling out of control, and in many cases ''actually providing'' the service that The Three Heroes had done but much better without many strings attached. [[spoiler:This inadvertently paints a target on Naofumis' back by [[ReligionOfEvil The Three Heroes Church]]; because the three Heroes that they worship as though Gods are instead [[FailureHero complete idiots]], while ''[[TheAntiChrist "The Devil Of The Shield"]]'' has slowly endeared himself to the populace at-large as TheParagon.]]

* ''Literature/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'': Naofumi is one of four [[SummonEverymanHero heroes summoned to a fantasy world to fight against a]] RegularlyScheduledEvil known as [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast the Waves of Catastrophe]]. However, the weapon he receives, the Shield is considered [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway the most useless]] of the four, and Naofumi himself is not only disrespected but also [[HeroWithBadPublicity accused of things he didn't do]]. Despite this, during the first Wave of Catastrophe, rather than meeting up with the rest of the Heroes to fight the source of the Wave, he instead chooses to defend a small village from the hordes brought forth by it.

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender:'' Katara, as laid out in an early episode of Book 3. The Gaang stumbles across a small village in the Fire Nation that relies on the lake they live on, which has been polluted by the local factory. Despite them being crunched for time (or so [[ObsessedAreTheListmakers Sokka claims]]), Katara intentionally makes it so that they stay long enough for her to help them. Then the local military unit blames the villages for their supplies going missing, and their factory going up. Katara refuses to leave the villagers alone, even when Sokka insists otherwise. Even before then, the heroes always assert that overthrowing the Fire Lord is just the start, a big aspect of their journey is about making a difference and building a better tomorrow.

** In ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', Korra helps the villain unleash a major SealedEvilInACan just because he was holding one of her friends hostage.

* WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack suffers from ChronicHeroSyndrome and will always stop to help anyone in need, even if it means sacrificing [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption yet another chance]] to achieve his ultimate goal of going back to the past and [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong preventing Aku from taking over the world]]. The worst part is that if he actually ''did'' go back to the past and defeat Aku, it's highly likely that in a future without Aku in charge, none of those people would have even needed Jack's help in the first place. Of course, they're suffering ''right now'', while his defeating Aku is in his future; he trusts that, no matter how many chances he loses, at some point destiny will bring him back to the past.