History Main / AHeroToHisHometown

[[AC:Advertising]]

[[AC:Anime And Manga]]

[[AC:Comics]]
* Dr. Doom is viewed as a deceptive, violent, megalomaniac and he does his best to live up to his reputation. Even people who would admire the way he rules his {{Ruritania}} don't like him because he will not stop betraying them, breaking their laws or trying to steal their powers. The people of his country really do like him though, because Doom is better than the leaders they had before and better than the guys [[ReignOfTerror trying to usurp him.]]
* Another ''Fantastic Four'' villain, Mole Man, is at least respected by his constituents in Monster Island and Subterranea. They willingly follow him in his attacks against outside world, which they believe he leads for their own benefit, though part of it is to fuel his unfounded revenge.
* Darkseid, not that he's done much good for his people but they accept his rule anyway. It's everyone else refusing to follow him willingly that makes him search for an anti life equation.
* There was one ''Superman'' story where Lex Luthor took over a planet and became a hero to the population living there. He was still considered a super villain to the rest of the universe.

[[AC:Film]]
* ''Team America: World Police'': If the title of the film and its presence on this page weren't enough to tell you, Team America is an example. Some of the antagonists are trying to undermine their popularity at home too.

* Padme Amidala from ''Star Wars'' is an example that's also presented as unambiguously heroic to the audience as well viewed that way by her people on Naboo. There are plenty of people in the galaxy who hold the opposite view of her though, the Trade Federation are the most notable and assassination attempts come even from the wider republic she works for.

[[AC:Literature]]

* Noted as a trope to be weary of in the ''Discworld'' books, since the laws of planet follow narrative and TheGoodGuyWins([[DesignatedHero even if he isn't really good]]) in most narratives.

* In the ''StarWars'' ExpandedUniverse, Darth Vader is revered as a hero by the [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Noghri Noghri]] people, after he and TheEmpire saved their planet from an ecological disaster (never mind the fact that the disaster was, of course, also ''caused'' by TheEmpire).

[[AC:Live Action TV]]

[[AC:Mythology And Religion]]
* Goliath to the Philistines. He was simply trying to turn a hopeless battle around through CombatByChampion, but since he and his people were insistent on defying God, [[ForegoneConclusion failure was inevitable]].

[[AC:Professional Wrestling]]

[[AC:Real Life]]

[[AC:Tabletop Games]]
* Kharn The Betrayer from ''War Hammer 40K'' is viewed as a [[ShapedLikeItself traitorous betrayer]] by most Chaos Space Marines after he killed a bunch of world eaters and emperor's children because they took a break from killing each other to seek shelter from a storm that would have killed them all anyway. He remains popular among the Khorne Berserkers though, just for being so dedicated to shedding blood.

[[AC:Video Games]]
* The so called Demon Lord of the ''Tales Of'' Series is considered to be a wise and just ruler by his subjects and is willing to do anything to ensure their survival, including destroy your player character's world.

* In ''Metroid'' it's stated the only way citizens of the Kriken empire can earn respect is by discovering revolutionary technology or by helping to conquer a planet and most choose the latter. It's also stated the Krikens are one of the most hated factions because of this so the successful Krikens aren't getting much respect from anyone but other Krikens.
* One fan theory is that ''Mario Bros'' enemy Bowser only leads invasions into the Mushroom Kingdom and tries to force a marriage with Peach is because his land is barren and he wants better property for his people. What supports this is than in the Super Mario RPG and The Mario and Luigi games, it is shown that his subjects continue to follow him out of genuine respect despite his failures and he does come across as reasonable(if incompetent) authority figure when dealing with them.

[[AC:Web Comics]]

[[AC:Western Animation]]

* In the ''StarWars'' ExpandedUniverse, Darth Vader is revered as a hero by the [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Noghri Noghri]] people, after he and TheEmpire saved their planet from an ecological disaster (never mind the fact that the disaster was, of course, also ''caused'' by TheEmpire).

* Hawke in ''DragonAgeII''. After becoming ''Champion of Kirkwall'', their opinion carries much weight to the people in the city.

* Kharn The Betrayer from ''War Hammer 40K'' is viewed as a [[ShapedLikeItself traitorous betrayer]] by most Chaos Space Marines after he killed a bunch of world eaters and emperors children because they took a break from killing each other to seek shelter from a storm that would have killed them all anyway. He remains popular among the Khorne Berserkers though, just for being so dedicated to shedding blood.

* One fan theory is that ''Mario Bros'' enemy Bowser only leads invasions into the Mushroom Kingdom and tries to force a marriage with Peach is because his land is barren and he wants better property for his people. What supports this is than in the Super Mario RPG and The Mario and Luigi games, it is show that his subjects continue to follow him out of genuine respect despite his failures and he does come across as reasonable(if incompetent) authority figure when dealing with them.

* [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] by Nicolas Sarkozy. By the end of his [[FrenchPoliticalSystem presidency]], he had built up a solid reputation on the international stage, but he was a hugely controversial figure at home.

* [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] by Nicolas Sarkozy. By the end of his [[FrenchPoliticalSystem presidency]], he had built up a solid reputation on the international stage, but at home many people hated his guts.

* [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] by Nicolas Sarkozy. By the end of his presidency, he had built up a solid reputation on the international stage, but at home many people hated his guts.

* Aral Vorkosigan in VorkosiganSaga is considered a war criminal by many offworlders because it is mistakenly believed that he was responsible for an atrocity on Komarr. On Barrayar he is respected enough to be regent without getting assassinated.

Related To {{Realpolitik}}, compare also: ValuesDissonance, YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters, VillainWithGoodPublicity, HeroWithBadPublicity, EvilForeigner. Contrast:NeverAcceptedInHisHometown, NoHeroToHisValet, HundredPercentHeroismRating. Despite the name it has little to do with HomeTownHero, which is a story about someone from the area it is told in.

* In general, any EvilForeigner will be popular in their own country if their only negative traits are calling their homeland superior to whatever nation they happen to be wrestling in. Even with a full on gimmick in addition to being foreign there is still a decent chance that this trope may apply anyway.

* Padme Amidala from ''StarWars'' is an example that's also presented as unambiguously heroic to the audience as well viewed that way by her people. There are plenty of people in the galaxy who hold the opposite view of her though, the Trade Federation are the most notable.

* Kharn The Betrayer from War Hammer 40K is viewed as a [[ShapedLikeItself traitors betrayer]] by most Chaos Space Marines after he killed a bunch of world eaters and emperors children because they took a break from killing each other to seek shelter from a storm that would have killed them all anyway. He remains popular among the Khorne Berserkers though, just for being so dedicated to shedding blood.

* Goliath to the Philistines. He was simply trying to turn a hopeless battle around through CombatByChampion, but since he and his people were insistent on defying God, FailureWasTheOnlyOption.

* All the British Naval officers from ''ThePiratesOfTheCaribbean'', being from a time where piracy and all other sorts of things we frown on were considered okay if you did it in the service of your country. How heroic the films presented them to the audience varied from individual to individual.

[[AC:Live Action TV]]
* The Great Devourer from ''Series/{{Angel}}'' had to rely on a lot of deceptions to get by everywhere, except for its first home where everyone loved it despite knowing exactly what it was and still did long after it had abandoned them.

* Noted as a trope to be weary of in the ''Discworld'' books, since the laws of planet follow narrative and TheGoodGuyWins(even DesignatedHero win) in most narratives.

* Goliath to the Philistines.

* [[{{Dracula}} Vlad Tepes]] is a perennial Rumanian hero, mostly celebrated for fighting off the Turks and enforcing strict morality at home. [[BrokenAesop Sometimes to make an omelet, you've gotta impale a few thousand people...]]

* The so called Demon Lord of the Tales Of Series is considered to be a wise and just ruler by his subjects and is willing to do anything to ensure their survival, including destroy your player character's world.

-->--''FireEmblemRadiantDawn''

* The Sewer Urchin on ''TheTick'' is, on the surface, a milquetoast punchline. Underground he's in his element, superbly competent and feared and respected by sewer dwellers.

* The Great Devourer from ''{{Angel}}'' had to rely on a lot of deceptions to get by everywhere, except for its first home where everyone loved it despite knowing exactly what it was and still did long after it had abandoned them.

* In Hungary, "Attila" is a popular first name.