History Main / CapeBusters

* E.A.G.L.E. troops in ''ComicBook/AstroCity'' are normally called in for support and cleanup after super-hero incidents. During the "Confession" story arc, however, they become Cape Busters when directed by the mayor to enforce the SuperRegistrationAct. [[spoiler:It turns out to be all part of a plot by shape-shifting aliens to neutralize the supers ahead of a planetary invasion.]]
* Post-''ComicBook/New52'', from the pages of ''[[ComicBook/BatmanGrantMorrison Batman Incorporated]]'', Franchise/TheDCU now has Spyral. At least one of their ploys was to create the FemmeFatale Batwoman, hoping she'd get close enough to Bats to uncover his identity (instead she pulled a HeelFaceTurn). They know full well how unpopular this agenda would make them, so they prefer to recruit rebels, rogues and washouts over genuine patriots, and operate heavily in secrecy.

* A major event in the background of ''ComicBook/{{Empowered}}'', the San Antonio disaster, involved an uprising by a gang calling themselves the Capekillers, who keyed their equipment and training around killing superheroes and supervillains alike and were distinguished by ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''-based [[PopCulturedBadass codenames and shirts]]. Though they did manage to take down a handful of heroes, the retaliation of the Supers was brutal (hunting them down and wiping them out [[spoiler:and causing a volcano to form downtown as collateral damage]]), with the lone survivor being Thugboy. He's been laying relatively low since then, and maintains a dislike of any superheroes apart from his girlfriend.

** The [[EliteMooks Tyger Mercs]] in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'' were trained specifically to take down Batman (and keep all the supervillains within the prison). That doesn't stop Batman from easily kicking their butts, especially with the latter [[WellTrainedButInexperienced only having a few months' worth of training]].

* ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' has the Parahuman Response Teams, or PRT: an organization of [[BadassNormal non-powered humans]] equipped and trained to fight supervillains, either alone or alongside the superheroes. Squads are commonly equipped with reverse engineered [[HomemadeInventions tinkertech]] made by [[MadScientist Tinker capes]]. Their armory comes from associated heroes, purchases, or recovered materials from villains.

** While the above agencies are presented in a generally positive light, Freedom City's [[UsefulNotes/TheIronAgeOfComicBooks Iron Age]] had the brutish POF (Price of Freedom)-SWAT, courtesy of the oppressive policies of the [[CorruptPolitician mob-affiliated Mayor Moore]].

* A major event in the background of ''ComicBook/{{Empowered}}'', the San Antonio disaster, involved an uprising by a gang calling themselves the Capekillers, who keyed their equipment and training around killing superheroes and supervillains alike and were distinguished by ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''-based [[PopCulturedBadass codenames and shirts]]. Though they did manage to take down a handful of heroes, they were ultimately hunted down and wiped out almost in their entirety, with the lone survivor being Thugboy. He's been laying relatively low since then, and maintains a dislike of any superheroes apart from his girlfriend.

** Also in the X-Men stories, there was [[PuttingOnTheReich Genosha]], the high-tech nation which dealt with its "mutant problem" by [[MutantDraftBoard "conscripting the mutants into government service"]] -- a fancy way of saying "enslaved them and used them as expendable, brutally treated workers". They had an unusually high mutant population (hundreds/thousands for a population of a few million) and were deadly afraid they'd go rampant and take over the country (which also [[TheExtremistWasRight actually happened]] later on, when international opinion forced them to liberalize and mutant villain Fabian Cortez came along to exploit the bad blood during the ''ComicBook/BloodTiesMarvelComics'' event), so they employed a specially trained and equipped militarized police force to keep them in check. Enter the Magistrates, a [[BadassArmy heavily armed gendarmerie]] in [[DoomTroops cool, "evil" uniforms]] who fought the X-Men on various occasions when they tried to incite rebellion among the Genoshan mutants.

* The [[EliteMooks Tyger Mercs]] in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'' were trained specifically to take down Batman (and keep all the supervillains within the prison). That doesn't stop Batman from easily kicking their butts, especially with the latter [[WellTrainedButInexperienced only having a few months' worth of training]].

* The titular organization in ''VideoGame/FirstEncounterAssaultRecon'' is a small group of U.S. soldiers dedicated to combating paranormal threats to national security. However, the F.E.A.R. organization actually plays very little role in the game, as they prove ineffective against both Fettel's army of clone soldiers and the apocalyptically-powerful psychic ghost Alma. The game's main focus is the player character, the super-powered Point Man (who has SuperReflexes and turns out to be not so much a member of F.E.A.R. and more like [[spoiler: a personality-less engineered weapon that was loaned to them just a few days ago]]).
** In the introductory briefing, one of your coworkers responds to the report of psychically-controlled clones by [[LampshadeHanging noting that "this is why nobody takes us seriously"]].
* In ''VideoGame/InFamous2'', gives us the Militia, a bunch of TriggerHappy {{Mooks}} that [[FantasticRacism wish to keep their city clean of any Conduits]].

** In ''ComicBook/MilesMoralesSpiderMan2022'', Agent Gao and the men under her command are specially equipped to combat and apprehend supervillains. Just to drive home how good they are at their job, Gao was able to take out an upgraded Scorpion ''[[CurbStompBattle in a single hit]]'', who at the time had both Miles and Misty Knight on the ropes. During Cletus Kasady's latest rampage, Gao decides to deploy the Cape Killers: a [[ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}} Thunderbolts-esque]] team of supervillain convicts she has personally enlisted to provide backup for her men [[GodzillaThreshold in times of exceptional crisis]]. Their roster is currently made up of Scorpion, Taskmaster, Electro II, and a new speedster named Hightail. All of this would be fine and dandy, but Gao considers Spider-Man and the rest of the superheroes of New York to be just as much of a threat, siccing her Cape Killers on Spider-Man repeatedly even in the middle of ''ComicBook/GangWar'', [[SkewedPriorities when supervillains are tearing the city apart]] in an effort to become the next Kingpin.

* A major event in the background of ''ComicBook/{{Empowered}}'', the San Antonio disaster, involved an uprising by a gang calling themselves the Capekillers, who keyed their equipment and training around killing superheroes and supervillains alike and were distinguished by ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''-based [[PopCulturedBadass codenames and shirts]]. Though they did manage to take down a handful of heroes, they were ultimately hunted down and wiped out almost in their entirety, with the lone survivor being Thugboy. He's been laying relatively low since then, and maintains a dislike of any superheroes apart from his girlfriend.

** In the final arc the superheroes are outlawed, and with Valker [[spoiler:being currently dead]] the job falls to the normal police. [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome They quickly find out they cannot compete with people with superpowers]].

* The [[EliteMooks Tyger Mercs]] in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'' were trained specifically to take down Batman (and keeping all the supervillains within the prison). Doesn't stop him from easily kicking their butts.
** The [[VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight Arkham Knight's]] militia are a massive army brought into Gotham City and specially trained for the sole purpose of killing Batman. But not even thousands of heavily armed soldiers, elite thugs, armed drones, snipers, armored jeeps, tanks, helicopters, and sentries can defeat Batman.

* The Brotherhood in ''VideoGame/TheDarkness II'' are an ancient organization zealously devoted to the titular Darkness; more specifically, they intend to steal it from the current host. To counter the tremendous powers of The Darkness, they deploy giant flashlights which nullify your powers, whip-wielding soldiers who can steal your guns, and even Darkness-enchanted soldiers who can move with super speed.

Typically the result of WhatMeasureIsANonSuper. See also MageKiller, for the anti-magic (rather than anti-superpower) version. They are a very common feature in CapePunk stories. This is a legally supported branch of MugglePower, and often falls under FantasticRacism (for the "militant anti-super racists/muggle supremacists" versions).

* The ''TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness'' has the Society Of Leopold, the modern incarnation of the Spanish Inquisition who are fanatically devoted to wiping out all vampires. Due to the [[WhatMeasureIsANonSuper vast power difference]] between vampires and {{Muggles}} (both in terms of [[CharmPerson social influence]] and individual strength), they're more of an annoyance than a credible threat, although that's small comfort if you're a low-powered vampire being chased through the sewers by a bunch of Society hunters.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[Film/GhostBusters If there's someone strong in your neighborhood, who ya gonna call?]]]]

[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/TheBoyshttps://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/theboysbecky0101141exclueliterobertsongoldvirg.jpg]]]]

-->''[[{{Catchphrase}} I'm a Hero Hunter. I hunt heroes. Haven't found any yet.]]''

** One of the major antagonistic forces in ''Series/MsMarvel2022'' is the Department of Damage Control, which from ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'' onwards has apparently taken the additional assignment of policing unknown, [[InspectorJavert allegedly]] dangerous superhumans. [[EstablishingCharacterMoment Their immediate response]] to Kamala Khan revealing herself by saving someone is to deploy {{Attack Drone}}s ([[Film/SpiderManFarFromHome repurposed E.D.I.T.H. drones]], [[ContinuityNod to be specific]]) to try to capture her and gather all witnesses to [[GoodCopBadCop interrogate the crap out of them]]. [[spoiler:The season ends with them doing an all-out assault on Kamala's high school to try to capture her and her friends, an act of such unmistakable PoliceBrutality that it causes a severe hit to the agency's PR and leads to all of the agents who were involved to be fired]].

* Several organizations in the [[TheEmpire Imperium of Man]] in ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' fill this role. Of particular note is the Inquisition, that consists of 3 major branches: Alienhunters/Ordo Xenos, Daemonhunters/Ordo Malleus, and Witchhunters/Ordo Hereticus.

* Syndrome from ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'' is a villainous version. The Omnidroid may be just be an all-purpose killing machine with anti-superhero capabilities, but the zero field is clearly designed against supers.

* ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'' has Anti-Skill, a group of people dedicated to keeping order in a town full of espers. Said people have no powers, just modern armor, plastic shields and automatic weapons. They are considered superior to Judgement, a group composed primarily of espers. Probably because these espers are children, and adults try to avoid putting them in too much danger.

Is a [[Film/{{Jumper}} kid who can teleport at will going into your bank vaults and taking all your stuff]]? Is a [[VideoGame/{{Prototype}} crazy man in mismatched clothing eating citizens and causing general havoc in large cities]]? [[RuleofThree Is]] [[OverlyLongGag yet another]] [[Series/{{Heroes}} telekinetic serial killer running around stealing people's brains]]?

[[OverlyLongGag Is]] a [[ComicBook/XMen group of mutants learning and teaching at a unique school?]] [[WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles Is a superhero family living a normal, peaceful life, contributing to their community?]] [[OverlyLongGag Is]] yet another [[Series/{{Heroes}} young child discovering their powers, requiring them to be stolen and experimented on]]?
''WhoYouGonnaCall''

* The [[Creator/{{Syfy}} Sci-Fi Channel]] program ''Series/Warehouse13'' is basically ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'' (see below) the TV series, set in ''Franchise/IndianaJones''' huge-ass warehouse. The only operatives are a pair of tough but bewildered government agents and their eccentric supervisor.

* The ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'' deals with and keeps imprisoned many strange people, but enough about the staff: Notable charges include a [[BigBadWannabe wannabe supervillain]] with {{Plaguemaster}} powers, a shape-shifter that becomes a [[TwentyPercentMoreAwesome 30 percent better version]] of anyone/thing else it encounters, [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway Cactusman]], [[PsychicChildren Cameron]] the [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior Crusader]], Cain and Abel themselves[[note]]Cain is a gentle man who happens to be a WalkingWasteland, while Abel is a BloodKnight with ResurrectiveImmortality. Site lore generally has it that Cain has had a few dozen millennia to come to regret the deed on which the Biblical event was based, while Able CameBackWrong and rather pissed off about the whole "murder" thing.[[/note]], and [[{{Sentai}} The Black Rabbit Company]][[note]]a team of cybernetically enhanced genetically engineered CatGirl commandos and their slightly less competently enhanced but [[TheHeart good-hearted]] [[TheOneGuy token boy]]/[[TheFace party face]] tormented by his own lack of self confidence and an eldritch parasite[[/note]].

** One of the most heroic examples of this in all the Chronicles Of Darkness is [[TabletopGame/HunterTheVigil The Reckoning]], dedicated to killing [[TabletopGame/BeastThePrimordial Heroes]] -- Heroes usually being {{Tautological Templar}}s with no regard for collateral damage or the guilt of their quarry.

* In the first book of the shared-anthology series ''Literature/WildCards'', when the Four Aces are [[HauledBeforeASenateSubcommittee testifying before the HUAC Committee]], soldiers are waiting outside with poison gas to prevent any superheroic antics.
** To a lesser extent, the Senate/Special Committee on Ace Resources and Endeavors (SCARE) serves as this. Any number of aces work for SCARE, and are often assigned to deal with threats from aces and/or jokers.

The Cape Busters are normal humans whose job it is to battle against superhumans. Their effectiveness and morality ranges considerably from setting to setting. They can be anything from upstanding law enforcement types, to amoral covert government Black Ops ruthlessly enforcing the SuperRegistrationAct, to genocidal [[KnightTemplar Knights Templar]] attempting to [[FantasticRacism exterminate all Supers]]. Likewise, they can be [[BadassNormal Badass Normals]] who manage to hold their own against Supers with effective technology and superior tactics, or they can be a laughably ineffective RedshirtArmy that end up dying in droves. [[ZergRush Though even the second one can be effective and terrifying in its own right.]]

* Post-''ComicBook/New52'', from the pages of ''[[ComicBook/GrantMorrisonsBatman Batman Incorporated]]'', Franchise/TheDCU now has Spyral. At least one of their ploys was to create the FemmeFatale Batwoman, hoping she'd get close enough to Bats to uncover his identity (instead she pulled a HeelFaceTurn). They know full well how unpopular this agenda would make them, so they prefer to recruit rebels, rogues and washouts over genuine patriots, and operate heavily in secrecy.

** Most notably, during the ''ComicBook/CivilWar'' arc, when S.H.I.E.L.D.'s primary mission was to hunt down heroes who refused to comply with the [[SuperRegistrationAct Superhuman Registration Act]]. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were then given the derogatory nickname "Cape Killers" at first, but it has since been adopted (especially under [[Characters/MarvelComicsNormanOsborn Norman Osborn]]'s [[ComicBook/DarkReign HAMMER organization]]) as their official designation. They operate as a SWAT-esque subdivision of regular agents, backing up any government-backed metahuman operatives (the ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}}, now the ComicBook/DarkAvengers) when confronting non-registered metahumans or metahuman criminals (which S.H.I.E.L.D./HAMMER never seemed to make any distinction between).

* In the {{Elseworld}}s comic ''Comicbook/NightwingTheNewOrder'', Nightwing leads a government task force that ruthlessly tracks down and depowers meta-humans, and those their devices can't yet depower are put into stasis. It's eventually revealed that the technology that powers the devices in question is from [[spoiler:Apokolips and was originally designed to depower meta-humans in order to weaken the planet's defenses against an invasion by [[Characters/NewGodsDarkseid Darkseid]] and his forces]].

* One of Creator/GarthEnnis' first jobs for Marvel was the "What If?" comic ''Comicbook/ThePunisherKillsTheMarvelUniverse''. Instead of mobsters, Frank Castle's family is killed in the crossfire of a brawl between superheroes and supervillains, and he reacts violently. A SecretCircleOfSecrets of similar survivors and casualties of superpowered violence use their immense wealth and influence to keep Castle out of jail and killing all the supers he can. [[spoiler:He kills them all, then kills himself.]]

* ''ComicBook/MarshalLaw'' has the titular protagonist, who predates ''[[ComicBook/{{Stormwatch}} Stormwatch: Team Achilles]]'' and ''ComicBook/TheBoys'', and is also a super being himself. He was initially conceptualized as a parody of ComicBook/JudgeDredd, before to becoming a "hero hunter". This concept would later on be VindicatedByHistory.