History Main / AHeroToHisHometown

* {{Inverted| trope}} by Mexican Sexy Star being a {{face}} in Wrestling/LuchaUnderGround against Puerto Rican Wrestling/IvelisseVelez being a face in Wrestling/{{AAA}} while feuding with each other in both.

* WWE's La Résistance started as a team of French foreign heels and then levitated towards being Quebec partisans. This resulted in them receiving a standing ovation upon winning the tag team titles in Montreal.

* U.S. President UsefulNotes/MillardFillmore is this ''within'' the United States. He was hated during his own (accidental) presidency: succeeding Zachary Taylor after the latter's sudden death, he managed to alienate the ''entire'' Whig Party beyond those few pockets who hadn't liked him to begin with, and he became the first president to not be renominated by his own party. Despite his personal opposition to slavery, he was accomodating to slave interests as president, and the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compromise_of_1850 Compromise of 1850]] that he oversaw angered abolitionists and is seen as the critical misstep on the way to the [[UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar Civil War]] a decade later. Following his presidency he ran again in 1856 on a populist, xenophobic anti-foreign trade ticket. Historians consider his presidency to be a DorkAge.\\

* UsefulNotes/MaoZedong in the [[PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny PRC]]; his face is still embedded all over China[[note]]He's on ''all'' the renminbi notes![[/note]] and even if officially the Chinese government has criticized the Cultural Revolution as Maoist excess he's still deified and officially respected as OurFounder and anti-Mao or critical views are taboo. Outside China, in the Anglophone, he's demonized in the English language media as a tyrant and psychopath.

* The Kim Dynasty are revered as [[GodEmperor royalty, or even divine beings]] in North Korea, and [[EnforcedTrope this is mandatory]].

* UsefulNotes/TimurTheLame is considered a hero in Central Asia, specially in his birthplace Uzbekistan, to the point that after the fall of the Soviet Union, the local Karl Marx statue was replaced by his statue instead. To Turkey, Pakistan, India and the Middle-East, he is viewed as an barbaric EvilOverlord due to the horrible atrocities he inflicted on them. Weirdly, he is popular among Christians in Europe for humbling the Ottomans and Persians to the point several plays, poems and musicals were written in his honor.

* [[Literature/TheBible 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]].
* Hector of Troy, to the Trojans naturally, even though the Greeks are supposed to be the heroes since they were out to get their abducted lady back from his brother.
* Ravana is well-liked in his native Sri Lanka. In stark contrast to his portrayal as a demonic emperor in {{Literature/Ramayana}}, he's regarded as a scholarly king who functioned as a ScienceHero with fantastic inventions and development for his people.

** You may compare the preferred treatment of the [[SuperSoldier Jägermonster]]s [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20050518 away from]], [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20100526 under]] and [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20111214 in]] Mechanicsburg. Jaegers are heroes and well-loved inside Mechanicsburg and Heterodyne territory, but because they were the supersoldiers who rode closest to the Heterodyne lords on their raids, many people still fear and hate them. It doesn't help Barry and Bill dismissed them and confined them to Mechanicsburg, rather than try to redeem their reputations -Jaegers will do ''anything'' for their lords -including putting up with Bill's wife Lucrezia treating them like objects.

* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' runs along more believable characterizations, so there's a lot of this. "Sure, the Heterodynes were [[MadScientist dangerous lunatics]] -- [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070601 but they became]] ''our'' dangerous lunatics!"
** You may compare the preferred treatment of the [[SuperSoldier Jägermonster]]s [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20050518 away from]], [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20100526 under]] and [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20111214 in]] Mechanicsburg.

* UsefulNotes/JosefStalin is seen differently within UsefulNotes/{{Russia}} than he is the Anglosphere. Despite suffering under his regime via collectivization/purges/TheGulag, for many his defense of the Soviet Union in the Great Patriotic War, his building of Atomic weapons, and other modernization are seen as pluses that sits alongside his minuses. Outside Russia he's seen as one of the 20th Century's worst dictators, either just as bad as Hitler or only ''slightly'' above Hitler.
** UsefulNotes/VladimirPutin owes his popularity in Russia to similar reasons. He's seen as the man who saved them from the bad times of TheNineties and restored Russia to a respected great nation. Interestingly enough, for a while his reputation in the West was also positive, with President Bush being friendly with him, but that changed as US-Russia relations worsened largely as a result of NATO enlargement.

* Tom Wachowski from ''[[Film/SonicTheHedgehog2020]]''. Whenever something goes wrong in Green Hills, the first person called is usually Tom. Tom, however, doesn't feel the same way, feeling that he's nothing more than a glorified babysitter. [[spoiler:When Robotnik has Sonic and Tom dead to rights in the finale, the townspeople of Green Hills unite to protect their sheriff, which finally gets Tom to see the positive impact he has on their community and stay with his hometown]].

* Aral Vorkosigan in ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga'' is considered a war criminal by many offworlders because it is believed that he was responsible for an atrocity on Komarr. On Barrayar, he is respected enough to be regent without getting assassinated. In reality, the crime did occur, but was committed by a subordinate, against his orders.

* [[spoiler:[[AntiVillain Itachi]]]] from {{Manga/Naruto}} is an interesting example; only a handful of people in his village knew the truth of his life, but those that did respected him as a hero.

* UsefulNotes/TimurTheLame is considered an hero in Central Asia, specially in his birthplace Uzbekistan, to the point that after the fall of the Soviet Union, the local Karl Marx statue was replaced by his statue instead. To Turkey, Pakistan, India and the Middle-East, he is viewed as an barbaric EvilOverlord due to the horrible atrocities he inflicted on them. Weirdly, he is popular among Christians in Europe for humbling the Ottomans and Persians to the point several plays, poems and musicals were written in his honor.

* ''All'' the protagonists of ''Manga/OnePiece'' have become this. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMt7al2QX_w&list=PLT4HF37rq6nQQN-BoTDAvAXAvh3Tshpyo Their]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOp8Es09MvU&index=2&list=PLT4HF37rq6nQQN-BoTDAvAXAvh3Tshpyo friends]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYRMuC5-7Z8&list=PLT4HF37rq6nQQN-BoTDAvAXAvh3Tshpyo&index=3 and]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DczM_lOHnuQ&index=4&list=PLT4HF37rq6nQQN-BoTDAvAXAvh3Tshpyo families]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXF11xLjeT0&list=PLT4HF37rq6nQQN-BoTDAvAXAvh3Tshpyo&index=5 all]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHH7zlRR_vk&list=PLT4HF37rq6nQQN-BoTDAvAXAvh3Tshpyo&index=7 regard]] their {{Wanted Poster}}s as cause for celebration. None of them have much love for the World Government, as they're generally from places the government either fails to protect or actively oppresses.

* In the United States, Pancho Villa is considered a terrorist who attacked civilians unprovoked. In Mexico, he is considered a hero of the revolution on the same level as Emiliano Zapata or Francisco I. Madero. Discussions of him cause {{Flame War}}s, so [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment this is all that will be said about that]].

* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'': In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'' [[BigBad Ganondorf]] starts out as King of the Gerudo, and by all accounts enjoys more than a ZeroPercentApprovalRating among them despite Nabooru's opposing faction. In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Wind Waker]]'' he states that his [[WellIntentionedExtremist original motivation]] for conquering the green and fertile land of Hyrule was that his people lived in a desert and knew only death and hardship.

* Hector of Troy, to the Trojans naturally, even though the Greeks are supposed to be the heroes since they were out to get their abducted lady back from his brother. [[ValuesDissonance Never mind what she wanted]].
* Ravana is well liked in his native Sri Lanka. In stark contrast to his portrayal as a demonic emperor in {{Literature/Ramayana}}, he's regarded as a scholarly king who functioned as a ScienceHero with fantastic inventions and development for his people.

* In ''Series/LukeCage'', the titular character is a HeroWithBadPublicity due to being framed for several crimes and a smear campaign against superpowered people. The people of Harlem, on the other hand, don't buy the frame-up and regard him as their champion, helping him escape the police and [[spoiler:cheering him on during his final fight with Diamondback]]. For his part, Luke seems just as loyal to them.

* This is how Music/TheMegas portray Hard Man from ''VideoGame/MegaMan3'' - as an old, retired boxing champ who still has a HundredPercentAdorationRating in his home town, despite being one of Wily's Robot Masters. During his fight against Mega Man, when he starts losing, the crowd starts begging for him to throw in the towel so that he won't be killed ([[VillainousValor though he refuses]]). When he goes down, the last thing he hears before dying is the crowd still cheering for him even though he lost. The chorus of the song promises that the townspeople will revere him as a legendary figure for generations to come.

* Invoked on ''Series/BetterCallSaul'' when Kim is defending Huell, a not-too-bright pickpocket who accidentally assaulted a police officer and faces a long prison term. She has Jimmy travel all the way to Huell's hometown of Coushatta, Louisiana and mail out dozens of letters supposedly written by members of a local church congregation. The letters paint Huell as a man who is beloved in his hometown because of the many good deeds he has done, including rescuing a number of elderly people from a fire. The prosecutor decides that the public backlash from prosecuting someone with such a good reputation is not worth it and agrees to a plea deal where Huell is sentenced to time served.

* This is how Music/TheMegas portray Hard Man from ''VideoGame/MegaMan3'' - as an old boxer who still has a HundredPercentAdorationRating in his home town, despite being one of Wily's Robot Masters. Even when [[InvincibleHero he inevitably loses to Mega Man]], the last thing he hears before dying is the crowd ''still'' cheering for him despite his loss, and the chorus promises that he will be revered as a legendary figure in the town for generations to come.

* This is how Music/TheMegas portray Hard Man from ''VideoGame/MegaMan3'' - as an old brawler who still has a OneHundredPercentAdorationRating in his home town, despite being one of Wily's Robot Masters.

* Micaiah in Part III of ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn]]''. She's despised by the Laguz Alliance [[spoiler:for trying to trap their army between hers and Begnion's without warning, and later crippling the Apostle's Army by ambushing them in a canyon and almost ''burning them alive'']], yet the people of Daien, due to her role as the spearhead of Daien's liberation, revere her to the point of fanaticism.

* In the ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'', 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 that was originally the result of an accident during the Clone Wars, but as it turns out, the cleaning up the Empire did was not so much cleaning up as making it ''appear'' they were doing that to keep the Noghri perpetually under control.

* Wrestling/{{Edge}} would sometimes claim to still be popular in Toronto when he got especially searing heat from the crowds of other cities. He would then claim this made Toronto better than wherever he currently was, which made the booing even louder.

** The Herald of Andraste has a similar situation in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'', especially in the first act. After the prologue, the people in the village of Haven see them as practically TheMessiah sent by TheMaker to save them all, and this is also the opinion of some beyond Haven; but just as many think the Herald is, at ''best'', an upstart who will tear apart the main religion. At worst, people think they are the one responsible for all the problems. To those in the Inquisition, though, they're a HopeBringer, and unlike Hawke, things improve for them over the course of the game as they become the Inquisitor, who command a level of respect roughly on par with that of royalty.

* U.S. President UsefuelNotes/MillardFillmore is this ''within'' the United States. He was hated during his own (accidental) presidency: succeeding Zachary Taylor after the latter's sudden death, he managed to alienate the ''entire'' Whig Party beyond those few pockets who hadn't liked him to begin with, and he became the first president to not be renominated by his own party. Despite his personal opposition to slavery, he was accomodating to slave interests as president, and the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compromise_of_1850 Compromise of 1850]] that he oversaw angered abolitionists and is seen as the critical misstep on the way to the [[UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar Civil War]] a decade later. Following his presidency he ran again in 1856 on a populist, xenophobic anti-foreign trade ticket. Historians consider his presidency to be a DorkAge.\\

* Doctor Doom is viewed as deceptive, violent, and megalomaniacal, and he does his best to live up to his reputation. Even people who would admire the way he rules his country [[{{Ruritania}} Latveria]] 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.]]

* U.S. President Millard Fillmore is this ''within'' the United States. He was hated during his own (accidental) presidency: succeeding Zachary Taylor after the latter's sudden death, he managed to alienate the ''entire'' Whig Party beyond those few pockets who hadn't liked him to begin with, and he became the first president to not be renominated by his own party. Despite his personal opposition to slavery, he was accomodating to slave interests as president, and the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compromise_of_1850 Compromise of 1850]] that he oversaw angered abolitionists and is seen as the critical misstep on the way to the [[UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar Civil War]] a decade later. Following his presidency he ran again in 1856 on a populist, xenophobic anti-foreign trade ticket. Historians consider his presidency to be a DorkAge.\\

* Saddam Hussein was so popular among the people of his hometown of Tikrit that it became a political liability. He abolished surnames to disguise the fact that so many of his supporters bore the name al-Tikriti.

* One fan theory is that ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' enemy Bowser only leads invasions into the Mushroom Kingdom and tries to force a marriage with Peach because his land is barren and he wants better property for his people. What supports this is that 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 a reasonable (if incompetent) authority figure when dealing with them.