History Main / ChestInsignia

* All of the bread-headed [=superheroes=] from ''Franchise/{{Anpanman}}'' have a symbol to represent them in some way. Anpanman has a smiley face, Currypanman's is a lemon-shaped smiley face with a neutral expression, Shokupanman has an angular "S", Melonpanna has a lowercase "M", Creampanda a "C", and Rollpanna two hearts (one red, the other blue to represent both of her hearts).

** By the post-''ComicBook/ZeroHour'' continuity, if not before, it became standard for all Legionnaires to wear a belt buckle with the Legion's insignia, an L and star inside a circle.

* The Whammies on ''Series/PressYourLuck'' have a yellow shield with a "$" on their front. On the 2002 series ''[[Series/{{Whammy}} Whammy! The All-New Press Your Luck]]'', the shield bore an uppercase "W."

* [[WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko Odd]], in his Lyoko form, has one of his dog, Kiwi, peeing.

* In the third season of ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'', the engine used to film the series was changed when ''VideoGame/{{Halo 2}}'' was released. In the game the player can customise their character with different insignias (although they wear them on their shoulders rather than the chest). The main cast feature their own personal symbols at first, but they were short lived.

* In ''Franchise/ArchieComics'', Archie's SuperPoweredAlterEgo, Pureheart, has a heart for his insignia. Jughead's heroic persona, Captain Hero, also has a heart on his chest, but inside it is a picture of his TrademarkFavoriteFood, a hamburger.

** These resemble (seemingly by design) the bows often seen on the chests of other {{Magical Girl}}s, including their predecessors in the [[Anime/FutariWaPrettyCure two]] [[Anime/FutariWaPrettyCureSplashStar previous]] ''Anime/PrettyCure'' continuities (as well as [[Franchise/SailorMoon some others]] you [[Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha might have heard of]]). Not ''quite'' a Chest Insignia, and not a reliable indicator by any stretch, but if you're the MonsterOfTheWeek and you meet a girl in with a bow on her chest, you should probably flee.

* Daimon Hellstrom, the Son of Satan, has an inverted five-pointed star within a circle tattooed on his chest. He usually goes shirtless to keep it on display.

* In ''Literature/MyBrotherIsASuperhero,'' Zack gets three glowing stars on his chest when he's given superpowers. Oddly enough he doesn't incorporate this into his Star Guy costume ([[CivvieSpandex which is just a dark hoodie]]); instead, Luke makes him a "sigil," consisting of an old brooch with the letters "SG" spelled out in little stars that came from a Christmas decoration.[[note]]He also makes Zack a cape, which he refuses to wear. Not that Luke is bitter or anything.[[/note]]

* ''Webcomic/Heroine Chic'', by value of focusing on the fashion designers to superheroes, has several examples. Some overlap with BroughtToYouByTheLetterS:

* The hiragana character "bu" (ぶ) in ''Manga/AiToYuukiNoPigGirlTondeBuurin''.

[[folder:Roleplay]]
* ''The Roleplay/GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse:'' Given that the game is about superheroes, these are common.
[[/folder]]

* ''WebOriginal/HowToHero'' discourages superheroes from doing this as it is in practice just putting a brightly covered target over their vital organs.

.

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[[quoteright:300:[[ComicBook/{{Hawkman}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Hawkman_and_world_1182.jpg]]]]
[-[[caption-width-right:300:Chest insignias are obligatory. Shirts are optional.]]-]

The universal formula for depicting a character to be instantly recognizable as "a {{Superhero}}" of some sort: put them in [[SuperheroesWearTights reasonably form-fitting clothes]], and then add a prominent symbol on the chest.

Almost universally in the earlier eras, and in many cases today, the logo is centered and covers at least half the space available; a variant, that appears more and more frequently nowadays, has it shrunk down and off-center like a police badge, or on a belt buckle. Copyright-holders soon realized that these insignia were marketing gold, in that fans of the characters were more consistently attracted to the insignia than the faces of the characters themselves; a valuable realization when different performers were chosen to portray the characters for various reasons. In addition, it's often easier to slap a stylized letter or icon onto merchandise, since the UncannyValley comes into play when trying to incorporate character faces onto merchandise.

Recently there has been a trend (particularly with less [[BadassNormal "super" characters]]) of justifying the symbol by having it attract gunfire towards the torso (which is easier to armour), such as with ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' and ''ComicBook/ThePunisher''.

Said symbol will often be BroughtToYouByTheLetterS. If it glows, there's overlap with HeartLight.

Compare HighlyConspicuousUniform (the group and/or military version of this trope), SymbolMotifClothing.

----
!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* ''Anime/ScienceNinjaTeamGatchaman''. All the team members have a stylized bird chest symbol on their costumes.
* Pretty Cure in ''Anime/YesPrecure5'' have butterflies on their chests.
** These resemble (seemingly by design) the bows often seen on the chests of other {{Magical Girl}}s, including their predecessors in the [[Anime/FutariWaPrettyCure two]] [[Anime/FutariWaPrettyCureSplashStar previous]] ''Anime/PrettyCure'' continuities (as well as [[Franchise/SailorMoon some others]] you [[Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha might have heard of]]). Not ''quite'' a Chest Insignia, and not a reliable indicator by any stretch, but if you're the MonsterOfTheWeek and you meet a girl in with a bow on her chest, you should probably flee.
* The hiragana character "bu" (ぶ) in ''Manga/AiToYuukiNoPigGirlTondeBuurin''.
* ''Anime/MegaManNTWarrior'':
** Every Navi has a circular personal symbol of some sort, and several mount it in the center of their chests, notably Rockman himself. (Hino "[[MeaningfulName Hinoken]]" Kenichi actually used recolors of the same symbol for all three of the Navis he operated during the series: [=FireMan, HeatMan, and FlameMan=].)
** There's a subversion with BloodKnight Bass/Forte: in place of a symbol he has a massive scar where his symbol would normally be.
* All of the bread-headed [=superheroes=] from ''Franchise/{{Anpanman}}'' have a symbol to represent them in some way. Anpanman has a smiley face, Currypanman's is a lemon-shaped smiley face with a neutral expression, Shokupanman has an angular "S", Melonpanna has a lowercase "M", Creampanda a "C", and Rollpanna two hearts (one red, the other blue to represent both of her hearts).
* While the title character of ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'' only has a ribbon on her chest in the main continuity, the Movieverse Nanoha gets a golden emblem with a red gem at the center that resembles the head of [[SwissArmyWeapon Raising Heart's combat form]].
* Kaneda from ''Manga/{{Akira}}'' has his gang's symbol (a capsule) on the back of his jacket.
* Variation in ''Franchise/DragonBall''; the iconic orange ''gi'' worn at various times by acolytes of the Turtle school (most notably Goku, Krillin and Yamcha during the original ''Manga/DragonBall'') has the kanji for "turtle" ("kame") prominently featured on the back, and in smaller type on the left chest (instead of centered on the chest like in most examples). The kanji is sometimes changed to reflect the wearer's fighting style: Piccolo gives Gohan a version with his demon clan insignia when he trained him during the Saiyan saga of ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', and Goku swaps out the back insignia for King Kai's (while retaining the turtle insignia on the front) after training with him in the afterlife.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Asian Animation]]
* A few of the superheroes in ''Animation/HappyHeroes'' have a chest insignia.
** Happy S.'s symbol is a heart.
** Sweet S.'s symbol is a pink-red first aid cross, symbolizing her healing abilities and protective personality.
** Careful S. has planet Gray's symbol (a yellow alien head with antenna-like ears on its sides) to represent how he was continuously used for evil from seasons 1 to 9. From Season 10 onwards, the insignia is changed to Kalo's triangle symbol to represent how they used to form the Gallant duo.
** Kalo's symbol is an inverted triangle. As mentioned above, Careful S. adopts this symbol himself starting from Season 10.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books -- The DCU]]
* Franchise/{{Superman}}'s "S" shield, shared by various sidekicks, and parodied repeatedly throughout pop culture.
** His wacky duplicate Bizarro, on the other hand, has a backwards "S" shield that looks almost like a "Z" -- and a backwards spitcurl to boot.
** In ''Superman/Fantastic 4'', Johnny Storm attempts to recruit Superman by offering, "It doesn't take much to make that 'S' into a '5'."
** The symbol has varied in different incarnations. Currently the [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] Superman is shown with a bloated looking "S". ComicBook/KingdomCome Superman had a more angular stylized "S".
** In ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' Clark gets this scorched onto his chest.
** Zibarro, the "imperfect" duplicate of ''Bizarro'' in ''ComicBook/AllStarSuperman'', has a "Z" instead of a backwards "S". At the end of the story the D.N.A. P.R.O.J.E.C.T. has [[spoiler: a plan to help the world if Superman doesn't come back, concealed behind a door with an "S" shield that looks like a "2"]].
** One-time Superman foes Protector and Radion--who bugged him in the ''Comicbook/KryptonNoMore'' story arc--had chest emblems: a flaming sword and a big red circle crossed by several black lines respectively.
** In ''Comicbook/SupermanBrainiac'', Comicbook/{{Brainiac}} points out that Superman's bio-suit appears to serve no purpose as he touches the S-shield. Superman growls that "My uniform's designed after the Kryptonian flag and my father's family crest".
* ''Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}'':
** Kara shares her cousin's "S" shield--later versions of the Superman mythos have established that it's the emblem of the House of El.
** During her Red Lantern stint in ''Comicbook/RedDaughterOfKrypton'', she wore a modified Red Lantern Corps emblem: a circle and two crooked lines on its right and left sides inside a diamond silhouette.
** Her ''Comicbook/SupergirlRebirth'''s uniform has a modified S-shield. As she's fighting Lar-On, he associates her with the House of El when he sees her emblem.
* Franchise/{{Batman}}:
** The iconic bat silhouette. This was lampshaded in ''ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'', where Batman admits that the famous bright yellow background is, obviously, a great big target as he gets shot smack dab in the middle of it, revealing that there's ''armor plating'' behind it. He then goes on to explain that he did it because he "can't armor my head". (Has Batman not heard of helmets, or [[HelmetsAreHardlyHeroic does he just not want to wear one?)]]
** Some of UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|of Comic Books}} stories have the bat-emblem used as a diamond-edged cutting tool.
** And Comicbook/{{Robin}}'s off-center "R" in a circle.
*** The similarity of the original version to the registered trademark symbol ® has been a frequent parody gag.
*** On [[Comicbook/RobinSeries Tim Drake's]] Robin uniform, the "R" was a hidden stylized shuriken.
** The [[ComicBook/{{Batgirl}} Batgirls]] also have batsymbols on their chests, although [[Comicbook/Batgirl2000 Cassandra Cain]]'s is more of an outline.
** As does the current ComicBook/{{Batwoman}}. The original Bat-Woman and Bat-Girl didn't, though.
** Comicbook/{{Nightwing}} has ... a sort of stylised wing-shape, although adaptations and the New 52 make it more recognisable as a bird.
** Comicbook/RedRobin has a large circular disk with a stylized silhouette of a bird's head on it in the middle of his chest.
* Franchise/GreenLantern's namesake -- more stylized for the [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] Green Lantern Corps than for Golden Age's Alan Scott.
** With the formation of more Lantern Corps, each of them have their own insignia.
** This is done for maximum horrific effect in ''ComicBook/BlackestNight'' among the Black Lanterns. When a corpse rises as a Black Lantern, the Black Hand symbol (a downward-pointing triangle with five lines coming from the top) is always incorporated into their new costume; sometimes in extremely imaginative ways (for instance, Black Lantern Superman has his S-shield as the triangle).
* Both the various incarnations of Franchise/TheFlash (and [[KidSidekick Kid Flash]] though ComicBook/{{Impulse}} does not use one) uses a lightning bolt insignia.
* ''ComicBook/{{Shazam}}'': The "Marvel Family" use a giant thunderbolt.
* The new ComicBook/PhantomLady has a triangle insignia on her costume. It's a lot smaller then most insignia -- but then so is her costume.
* The Tasmanian Devil puts an interesting spin on this, as the character transforms into a werebeast form. When he does this, red fur grows over his entire body... except for a white patch on his chest forming the letter "T".
* In ''JSA: Classified'' #2, ComicBook/PowerGirl explains her distinctive (and [[CleavageWindow infamous]]) costume "keyhole" as a kind of anti-insignia: "The first time I made this costume, I wanted to have a symbol, like you. I just... I couldn't think of anything. I thought eventually, I'd figure it out. And close the hole. But I haven't."
** Leading to the infamous [[ImageMacro "Fill my hole, Superman."]]
** Ironically, the ''original'' reason was just that Power Girl was an aggressive woman who took pride in her femininity.
** She also categorically refused a ''P'' insignia offer by a JSA teammate.
** The lack of an insignia became an unintentional bit of FridgeBrilliance. Her "cleavage window" is the same kind of circle with a line that's used as the 'Power' icon for most electronics.
** In the ComicBook/{{New 52}}, Power Girl wears a more modest outfit with a stylized "P" on the left side of her chest...until enough people complained about it that they went back to the CleavageWindow.
* The [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] Crimson Avenger, after he abandoned his CivvieSpandex, wore a costume with a sunburst on the chest. The modern Crimson Avenger claims this was a stylized bullet hole; her own CivvieSpandex has a realistic blood-splatter.
* Both Liberty Belles wear an image of, surprise surprise, the Liberty Bell. Johnny Quick (husband of the first and father of the second), had a pair of wings on his costume.
* The reboot version of Lar Gand of the ''Comicbook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}'' wore [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Legionnaires37Monel.jpg a costume with an insignia]] that could be seen as either an "M" for M'onel (his 30th century CodeName) or "V" for Valor (his 20th century one). Various other Legionnaires also wear or have worn chest insignias, such as Sun Boy's sunburst and Timber Wolf's stylized wolf head.
** By the post-''ComicBook/ZeroHour'' continuity, if not before, it became standard for all Legionnaires to wear a belt buckle with the Legion's insignia, an L and star inside a circle.
* ''Franchise/WonderWoman''
** For most of her history Diana has had a soaring eagle on the top of her one-piece. In 1982 it was replaced it with concentric W's (explained in-story as the logo of the "Wonder Woman Foundation" and, ComicBook/PostCrisis, as Diana Trevor's WAFS insignia). The eagle has recently returned.
** Donna Troy had a version of the eagle on her red shirt as ComicBook/WonderGirl.
** Cassie Sandsmark's original Wonder Girl costume had a black shirt with Wonder Woman's concentric Ws overlaid with a G.
** In ''ComicBook/WonderWomanAndTheStarRiders'' the villain Purrsia wears a P on her chest.
* The various ComicBook/{{OMAC}}s all have an eye symbol on their chests, representing their connection to orbiting satellite Brother Eye.
* As pictured above, ''ComicBook/{{Hawkman}}'' has one, despite not actually having a shirt or top to wear it on, which on its own should be an indication of the importance of the trope.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books -- Marvel]]
* ComicBook/CaptainAmerica's white star, though the pattern on his shield and the A on his forehead are also pretty emblematic of him.
** [=USAgent=], who was Captain America for a while in the 80s, has red and white stripes with a black star in the upper-left.
** When Steve Rogers served as Director of SHIELD, his outfit had a chest insignia featuring a white star inside an outlined white circle, with three white stripes extending on each side of the circle.
* The Comicbook/FantasticFour's 4-in-circle.
* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'':
** ComicBook/SpiderMan's spider at the center of his costume's web-pattern. (He also sports a more abstract spider on the back of it.)
** The Black Costume[=/=]ComicBook/{{Venom}} has a larger white spider design that takes up most of the chest and back.
** [[ComicBook/ScarletSpider Ben Reilly]] had his own Spider-Man costume design, which ComicBook/SpiderGirl (Pete & MJ's daughter from an AlternateUniverse TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture) adopted for her own series.
** Arachne, another spider-themed female hero, uses the Venom-style design. In fact her costume, back when she was the current Spider Woman, was the inspiration for Peter's original black costume.
* A particularly extreme form of insignia is the dragon symbol sported by [[ComicBook/ImmortalIronFist Iron Fist]] -- actually an exotic burned-in scar received during his origin story. Previous Iron Fists have had it in other places. A villain who hates the Iron Fist legacy tried to burn the symbol off Danny's body.
* Guardian, leader of the Canadian superteam ComicBook/AlphaFlight, has a large red maple leaf that wraps around the left side of his chest. At one point, the whole team got similar uniforms.
* ComicBook/ThePunisher sports a prominent skull on his chest -- like Batman's symbol, a heavily armored target.
** In some issues, the teeth are spare ammo magazines.
* The Comicbook/XMen have an X in circle logo. It usually isn't in the middle of their chest, but it still counts.
** ComicBook/EmmaFrost has a particularly {{Stripperific}} variation on the X logo; it's made up of the exposed portions of her skin.
** Most versions of Sunfire's costume have a red circle and lines across his chest that evoke the Japanese military flag.
** Havok used to use a pattern of circles within each other that looked similar to the way his energy blasts are drawn. Nowadays he just has a glowing circle with lines reaching out of it.
** Thunderbird's costume featured a large eagle on the chest, spreading its wings out in the shape of a T.
** Similarly, Phoenix (Jean Grey) sported an abstract, triangular bird shape. The "light" Phoenix version was a small phoenix in a black triangle, whereas the Dark Phoenix showed a very large emblem which covered nearly her entire torso. Double-subverterd by the earliest version of Rachel Summers, who initially wore her emblem-less Hound costume, but she eventually switched over to the traditional Phoenix costume. But she went with the Dark Phoenix version despite not being remotely evil because [[RuleOfCool it looked cooler]].
* {{Gravity|Master}} has a circle with four arrows pointing inward. There was a RunningGag where everyone who saw him mistook him for an X-Man, to his confusion; it turns out that it was because his symbol looks sort of like a stylized "X."
* Comicbook/{{Daredevil}} has two interlocked Ds. His original costume, however, had just the one.
* ComicBook/MsMarvel has a large lightning bolt across her chest. As Captain Marvel, she has a small starburst. The 2014 ComicBook/{{Ms Marvel|2014}} also has the lightning bolt across her chest.
* Shen Kuei, aka The Cat, has a large black cat tattooed onto his chest.
* ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'s, erm, "Deadpool Symbol" (a simplified version of his mask), makes an appearance on his belt buckle, his weapons, his boxers and on the center of many of his shirts.
* Generally averted by Creator/RobLiefeld's creations, who are instead identifiable as superheroes by their [[TooManyBelts many belts]], [[HeroicBuild improbable]] [[BodyHorror anatomies]], ShouldersOfDoom, and thousands upon thousands of pockets. Nevertheless, a few -- like Shatterstar -- do go in for a Chest Insignia.
* ComicBook/TheMightyThor and ComicBook/IronMan have costume details which serve this purpose. The former has the six circles on his chest plate, while the latter has the uni-beam, which is usually circular or pentagonal.
* ComicBook/NormanOsborn's Iron Patriot armor also has a Uni-Beam, shaped like a star. This feature ironically causes the Uni-Beam to overheat after multiple uses, used to the advantage of Spider-Man in their most recent fight.
* Jamie Madrox, aka {{M|esACrowd}}ultiple [[SomethingPerson Man]], has "spots connected by lines" that were originally part of an impact-reducing full-body suit but have since [[CivvieSpandex retreated]] to the chest.
* Daimon Hellstrom, the Son of Satan, has an inverted five-pointed star within a circle tattooed on his chest. He usually goes shirtless to keep it on display.
* In his full garb as Sorcerer Supreme, Comicbook/DoctorStrange's typical tunic has a blue 'demon' with upstretched arms. His new wardrobe in the 2011 revival of ''ComicBook/TheDefenders'' has a red trident-like symbol which resembles it.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books -- others]]
* In ''Franchise/ArchieComics'', Archie's SuperPoweredAlterEgo, Pureheart, has a heart for his insignia. Jughead's heroic persona, Captain Hero, also has a heart on his chest, but inside it is a picture of his TrademarkFavoriteFood, a hamburger.
* ComicBook/TheAstoundingWolfMan has his wolf insignia on his bulletproof armor.
* The French superhero ''ComicBook/{{Superdupont}}'', created by Creator/{{Gotlib}}, has an insignia with the letters "SD" inside a tricolor (blue-white-red) cockade.
* Mike Baron & Steve Rude's space hero Comicbook/{{Nexus}} has a lightning bolt symbol, off to one side.
* In [[http://johnnysaturn.com Johnny Saturn]], a saturn symbol is worn on the chest of both Johnny Saturn I (John Underhall) and Johnny Saturn II (Greg Buchanan). In the Spire City / Johnny Saturn universe, superhero heraldry has come to include letters, element symbols, and more subtle symbolism.
* ''ComicBook/AllFallDown'' gives us Portia, Paradigm and Siphon.
* ComicBook/SuperDinosaur has an "SD" on the front of his standard harness.
* ComicBook/EMan has UsefulNotes/AlbertEinstein's formula E=mc[[superscript:2]] on his chest.
* Samandahl Rey, the protagonist from the Crossgen series ''ComicBook/{{Sigil}}'', has the trademark sigil burned into his chest.
* ''ComicBook/WilqSuperbohater'':
** The sign of Rzuff that Wilg wears on his chest, that looks like a turtle. "Rzuff" is mispronounced "żółw", which means a turtle; similarly, "Wilq" is mispronounced "wilk", which means wolf. Just don't try to think about it too much.
** Alcman wears the percent sign, which is a reference to his (rarely used) superpower: shooting gushes of 100% pure ethanol.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* This is played with in the ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' / ''ComicBook/PowerGirl'' crossover ''Fanfic/OriginStory''. When Alex Harris decides to assume the identity of Superwoman, the costume she designs has a combination of the classic ComicBook/PowerGirl CleavageWindow along with the color scheme of Franchise/{{Superman}}. Alex accepts and believes in Kara's reasons for not having a real ChestInsignia, but she also acknowledges the House of El by including the Franchise/{{Superman}} �S� on her belt buckle and on the broaches that hold her cape on. Like ComicBook/PowerGirl, Alex feels that if people are overly preoccupied or distracted by her boobs that's their problem, not hers.
* Inverted in the ''Fanfic/FacingTheFutureSeries'' where Sam designs a logo for her ghost identity Sam Tasma that goes on the back of her coat. Despite the impracticalness of it, it doesn't matter to Sam.
* Franchise/{{Superman}} and ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} chest emblems are brought up in ''Fanfic/HellsisterTrilogy'' when Izaya asks The Source who can help them fight Darkseid, and the fiery hand draws two S-emblems.
-->"Who should we seek for an ally on Earth?"\\
The word vanished from the wall's surface. The fiery hand travelled over it again.\\
It drew a symbol.\\
Highfather nodded, in comprehension. "Ah," he said.\\
The symbol was a mostly-triangular shield, with an S inside its boundaries.\\
The New Gods well knew who bore that shield, for they had all encountered him on several occasions.\\
But the hand did not stop with that. It sketched another symbol.\\
The same shield, with the same S, once more, beside the first.\\
Two shields.
* ''Fanfic/LastChildOfKrypton'': Shinji's Superman costume has a very prominent red "S" on his chest.
-->''Those hands belonged to a boy, a boy his own age in red and blue. The sun was behind him so that he shone, and his face was in shadow. On his chest was an emblem, like an English S, angular and stylized in a diamond-shaped red field on the expanse of his blue chest.''
* ''Fanfic/SOE2LoneHeirOfKrypton'': Asuka's Power Girl costume had no insignia, but when she decided to turn into a better, truer super-heroine she made her Supergirl costume, placing a huge "S" emblem on her chest.
-->''Her tight blue shirt made her not inconsiderable curves very apparent, and the yellow and red shield emblem with the "S" inside it on her chest only served to draw the eye to that area.''
* In Chapter 9 of ''Fanfic/NeitherABirdNorAPlaneItsDeku'', Izuku dons his hero costume for the first time. It also includes the traditional House of El crest, except it's all white as opposed to Superman's traditional red and yellow.
* In ''Fanfic/AmazingFantasy,'' the Spider-People introduced in the series all have some kind of insignia on their chest. For instance, the insignia on Izuku's chest is white, resembling the Spider-Man of [[VideoGame/SpiderManPS4 Earth-1048]], while the Venom-Bakugou of Earth-2018.688 has the symbol common to all symbiotes of Knull but instead of a tail, the dragon breathed nuclear fire.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
* There's the "i" in an oval sported by ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles''. Even the villain Syndrome sported an "S" that covered his entire torso. Interestingly, during the lawsuits that force Mr Incredible and other supers into hiding, Mr. Incredible's defense lawyer covers his Chest Insignia with a hand. This makes sense in context, given that Mr. Incredible is an identity defined by said logo.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Bolt}}'', the white-furred dog who plays a canine superhero has a black lightning bolt painted on his side. A justified variant, as Bolt's breastbone usually faces the ground and an insignia there wouldn't often be seen.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* The Redcross Knight in ''Literature/TheFaerieQueene'' has a, you guessed it, blood red cross on the front of his armor.
* ''Literature/TalesOfAnMazingGirl''- 'Mazing Girls Wears An 'M. Cause.
* ''Literature/SeptimusHeap'': Septimus Heap wears a pentagram, a symbol of '''Magyk''', imprinted on his tunic.
* ''LegacyTheTaleOfTheAmericanEagle'' has the stylised Eagle's head from the cover worn by American Eagle. Averted with other superpowered characters, as they are either supersoldiers who like an air of anonymity, or escaped genetic experiments who don't have costumes.
* Played straight with Black Torrent and Dark Flame of ''Literature/{{Relativity}},'' averted with Overcast and Zephyra (who simply dress all in black).
* In ''Literature/MyBrotherIsASuperhero,'' Zack gets three glowing stars on his chest when he's given superpowers. Oddly enough he doesn't incorporate this into his Star Guy costume ([[CivvieSpandex which is just a dark hoodie]]); instead, Luke makes him a "sigil," consisting of an old brooch with the letters "SG" spelled out in little stars that came from a Christmas decoration.[[note]]He also makes Zack a cape, which he refuses to wear. Not that Luke is bitter or anything.[[/note]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' / ''Franchise/PowerRangers'':
** Many teams feature Chest Insignia. Sometimes it's a team logo, sometimes it's a personal one. A few have the smaller offset-to-the-side version. Logo belt buckles are also used but they're generally not as visible.
** Notably, [[Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers the original Power Ranger team]] only had the belt buckle versions (except for the White Ranger), but the trope was powerful enough for all of the toys from the original run to add them to the chest as well. [[Film/MightyMorphinPowerRangersTheMovie The movie]] followed suit. (We wouldn't get show-accurate MMPR toys until 2009, well after MMPR's 1993 debut!)
** These insignias got a lot easier to spot when ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger'' made prominent use of them. A list (and where they appear on each team's costume) can be found [[http://henshingrid.blogspot.com/2011/02/super-sentai-emblemssymbolsinsignias.html here]].
* Parodied in the live-action series of ''WesternAnimation/TheTick''. Captain Liberty's chest insignia is a star cut out of her uniform, revealing some fine {{Fanservice}} underneath (compare ComicBook/PowerGirl). The supervillain Destroyo even makes light of this the episode "The Tick v Justice" -- referring to her insignia as "your star full of cleavage."
* ''Series/LazyTown's'' resident "slightly above average hero", the unfeasibly athletic, blue-bespandexed Sportacus, sports a chest badge that reads "10". The number indicates his heritage (he's tenth in a line of similar protectors) and carries connotations of his being a "team player".
* ''Series/ElChapulinColorado'' had his red "CH" inside a yellow heart.
* Not quite heroes, but there's the minor fact that ''Franchise/StarTrek'' featured the small-bit-on-the-side version. To the point where some of the fluff says the ''Enterprise'''s then-unique pointy thing became Starfleet's actual official insignia so everyone could wear it. In the Next Generation era, they double as [[CommLinks communicators]]/[[TrackingDevice trackers]].
* The [[Franchise/UltraSeries many versions]] of the Japanese {{Superhero}} Series/{{Ultraman}} always have a light on his chest, which flashes to indicate how much energy he has remaining.
* ''Franchise/KamenRider'':
** Series/KamenRiderStronger has a [[BroughtToYouByTheLetterS big letter S]] on his chest that spun around when he [[SuperMode powered up]].
** Series/KamenRiderBlack and his sequel form Series/KamenRiderBlackRX both have their respective logos as the smaller, badge-like version of this trope.
** Series/KamenRiderOOO has a three-part chest logo which changes depending on which Core Medals are currently in use.
** Kamen Riders Mach and [[spoiler:Chaser]] of Series/KamenRiderDrive have the badge version.
** Series/KamenRiderGhost has his stylized eye logo as a big chest insignia under his hoodie jacket. The same applies for Kamen Rider Spectre.
** Series/KamenRiderBuild gets his diagonal-cut gear logo on the chest of his [=RabbitRabbit=] and [=TankTank=] forms in order to maintain FashionableAsymmetry in the forms that otherwise lack it.
* [[Series/SaturdayNightLive The Ambiguously Gay Duo]] have G for Gary and A for Ace. Unsurprisingly, there happened to be times when they had to stand next to something large and Y-shaped.
* Villainous example: the parallel-Earth Cybermen in ''Series/DoctorWho'' have the logo of the MegaCorp that produced them ([[BroughtToYouByTheLetterS a stylised letter C]] for Cybus Industries) stamped on their chests.
-->'''Doctor:''' Got a logo on the front. Lumic's turned them into a brand...
* ''Series/{{Castle}}'' contains a notable example: While the police officers Castle works with have the usual "POLICE" on their bulletproof vests, Castle had one made which says "WRITER" instead.
* The Whammies on ''Series/PressYourLuck'' have a yellow shield with a "$" on their front. On the 2002 series ''[[Series/{{Whammy}} Whammy! The All-New Press Your Luck]]'', the shield bore an uppercase "W."
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
* Professional Wrestlers who wear singlets often adopt a chest emblem. Wrestlers with other styles of ring gear often wear similar logos on their legs, crotch, or butt.
* Wrestling/BretHart had the winged-skull-inside-a-heart
* Wrestling/KurtAngle sported an "A" inside a pentagonal shield for Kurt Angle--meant to evoke Superman's famous S-shield
* The distinctive "nASh" across the chest of Wrestling/KevinNash.
* In a direct reference to the Superman "S" shield, indy wrestler Wrestling/ChrisHero sports a Superman-style shield with the letters "CH" in it.
* And then there was [[Wrestling/GregoryHelms the Hurricane (Gregory Helms)]], whose gimmick was of a superhero. Naturally, he wore a 'hurricane' symbol with an H in the center on his costume.
** His sidekick Rosie, once he 'graduated', sported an R. Since Rosie was about twice the size of Hurricane, his R was about twice as big as Hurricane's symbol.
** His original sidekick, [[Wrestling/MollyHolly Mighty Molly]], had a symbol similar to the Hurricane's but with an "M" in the center.
* In ECW, [[Wrestling/MikeBucci Nova]] (when he was doing his "Super Nova" gimmick) wore a super hero-type outfit with a sideways ComicBooks/GreenLantern logo in the center.
* Wrestling/SharkBoy, at least before becoming Stone Cold Shark Boy, had the clear shark motif on his outfit.
* [[Wrestling/ImpactWrestling TNA]] wrestler Suicide has his full name in block lettering written over a vaguely M-shaped logo on his chest. More so after Wrestling/AustinAries stole his identity and he began going as Mannik.
* [[Wrestling/NickDinsmore Eugene]], late in his WWE run, started wearing a [=superhero=] outfit with a backwards "E" on it.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Roleplay]]
* ''The Roleplay/GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse:'' Given that the game is about superheroes, these are common.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Toys]]
* In the various ''MyLittlePony'' series, each pony has a symbol on their ''flank'' (known as a "cutie mark" in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'') corresponding to their name and personality. It's where a brand would be on an actual horse, which... is actually pretty dark.
** Especially in Generation 1, there are variations to this. Some Little Ponies have symbols over their entire torso. Others, such as the Winger Ponies, have their flank symbols matched by one on their forehead. And Sea Ponies for the most part do not have symbols at all; the few who do have a necklace as symbol.
* ''My Little Pony'' SpinOff lines ''Toys/FairyTails'' and ''Toys/MyPrettyMermaids'' also have, respectively, birds and mermaids with unique symbols. The birds have them on their chests, while the mermaids have them on their tails. The mermaids' symbols are called name designs and only visible in cold water.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' allows players to choose chest insignia from over a hundred symbols, plus [[BroughtToYouByTheLetterS every letter in the Greek and Roman alphabets and all ten decimal digits]].
** Although the letter and number options are pretty rarely used, as they look kinda silly.
* Most Navis in ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'' have their characteristic insignia in a circle on their chest. [=MegaMan.EXE=] himself has a stylized H, which stands for "Hikari," the family name of of his operator Lan [[spoiler:as well as himself. Long story.]]
** Ditto Geo in ''VideoGame/MegaManStarForce'', though there's only one or two other characters that have one.
* While it's not ''superhero'' exactly, who ''doesn't'' wear a tabard with a chest symbol in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' these days? Not only can they cover some of the uglier chest armor, but they're good for showing whose guild you're in or what faction you're exalted with, or what achievements you've earned.
* Jecht from ''Videogame/FinalFantasyX'' and ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'' has the logo of his sports team tattooed over his [[WalkingShirtlessScene always bare]] chest.
* In ''VideoGame/ComicJumperTheAdventuresOfCaptainSmiley'', Captain Smiley has one that obnoxiously snarks back at him called Star.
* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Megaman10.jpg This]] faux-ContemptibleCover of ''VideoGame/MegaMan10'' gives Megaman one of these, an "M" in a six-sided figure. In the official art (and actual ''games''), he has superhero UnderwearOfPower, but no insignia.
* Commander Shepard in ''Franchise/MassEffect'' has the N7 emblem (basically the Alliance's version of a Ranger Tab, although Shepard is the only character seen thus far to have it) on the left breast of their default armor. In the 2nd game it also appears on all non DLC, customizable chest plates. Promotional images for the third game reveal Ashley Williams to have her own version of the armor with S1 in place of the N7.
* ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'' lets you decorate your warframes' chests (and backs) with various insignias, such as those awarded for defeating bosses, a symbol of your mastery rank and ones earned from syndicates which help you earn [[AllianceMeter standing with them and their allies]] (and lose standing with their enemies).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'':
** Though not quite a superhero, the star on Homestar Runner's shirt has become emblematic of the series.
** Strong Mad similarly has an M on his singlet, and Homsar has his entire name on his shirt.
** Coach Z also wears a "Z" emblem on his footy-pajamas/stomach. The Coach fancies himself a rapper; that might actually be FlavorFlav-style bling.
* In the third season of ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'', the engine used to film the series was changed when ''VideoGame/{{Halo 2}}'' was released. In the game the player can customise their character with different insignias (although they wear them on their shoulders rather than the chest). The main cast feature their own personal symbols at first, but they were short lived.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* In ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob'', after Bob very briefly becomes a {{Superhero}} and then loses his powers, he says his one real regret is that he used a permanent laundry marker to make the "B" logo on his shirt.
* ''Webcomic/EverydayHeroes'':
** Lampshaded: team leader Matt O'Morph has a super-flexible boneless body; in the same way, his chest emblem is an irregular blob that changes shape in every panel.
** His teammates have more traditional symbols: Mr. Mighty's gold double-M in an oval, and Dot Dash's dot-and-dash (a [[PunnyName convoluted pun]] on her real name).
* ''Webcomic/HeroByNight'' gets sort of a stylised version of the double arrow used by the Secret Society of Shadows.
* Skull Girl from ''Webcomic/SuperTemps'' has a pair of...erm Chest Insignias conveniently positioned.
* Arachni-Guy from ''WebComic/MyRoommateIsAnElf'' has the number 8 with eight stick limbs protruding from it (two for his arms, two his legs, and four for his metal limbs that extend from his back.
* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' characters get super-hero style clothes with their Aspect's symbol featured prominently on the chest when they ascend to God-tier.
* The companies from ''Webcomic/{{Consolers}}'' all have shirts (or other pieces of clothing) with their company logo, or its first letter.
* In ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' the Wulfenbach troops manning the [[DrillTank Deep 6 Model Worm Chaser]] wear [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090121 tank tops with large Wulfenbach insignias centered on their chests.]]
* ''Webcomic/RealmOfOwls'':
** Peacemongers sport [[https://realmofowls.com/comics/attack-on-jollyhoot a surprised face insignia]] that later changes to [[https://realmofowls.com/comics/jollyhoot-wall-out an angry face insignia]].
** Aviatar has a chest insignia [[https://realmofowls.com/comics/the-aviatar loosely resembling an Ankh]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* Literature/JusticeSquad: Being a semi-satire of superheroes, it's quite prevalent on the team members.
* Literature/WhateleyUniverse: the first team uniforms of Team Kimba all had chest emblems, along with color-coded detailing on their uniforms. Phase, who had a capital 'P' on his uniform, complained the most (as always) about them.
* The super-powered operatives of the ''Literature/{{Citadel}}'' wear the organization’s insignia over their hearts, a stylized white tower on a black circle. The colors are reversed for trainees.
* In ''Literature/EntirelyPresentingYou'', it's completely averted by the only superhero in that universe.
* ''WebOriginal/HowToHero'' discourages superheroes from doing this as it is in practice just putting a brightly covered target over their vital organs.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Videos]]
* Captain Hammer in ''WebVideo/DrHorriblesSingAlongBlog'' has a common-or-garden claw hammer on his T-shirt.
* ''Website/CollegeHumor'': In the shorts [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6djQHeqMwQ "Font Conference"]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_tQRGq6clE "Font Fight"]], about {{Anthropomorphic Personification}}s of UsefulNotes/{{fonts}}, Comic Sans is a superhero with a "CS" chest insignia... in Comics Sans, of course.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* All of Ben's alien forms in ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'' have the Omnitrix symbol on them somewhere, usually the chest, but the shoulder, forehead, and wrist are also common options. Grey Matter is the form with the oddest placement. It's much larger than usual given Grey Matter's small size, but on his back, where it's not usually visible. Justified in that the symbol basically ''is'' the ImportedAlienPhlebotinum that lets him turn into those alien forms - the Omnitrix tailors itself to its user and not all of Ben's forms have arms. We have a FlipFlopOfGod on this: In the Alien Force/Ultimate Alien years, the reformatted Omnitrix and the Ultimatrix have the symbol ''always'' on the chest, and to change directly from one alien form to another (the original version couldn't do that) he slapped the Omnitrix symbol. Creator/DwayneMcDuffie, the showrunner at the time, said that the pre-reformatted Omnitrix wasn't working at 100%, and it was ''always'' meant to be in the center of the chest for easy reachability. However, Omniverse puts the Omnitrix symbol in different places again, and ''its'' showrunner Creator/DerrickJWyatt said that it was errors in the ''previous'' models that ''limited'' the positioning of the Omnitrix during AF/UA. Neither explanation has been mentioned in-show.
** It eventually gets his identity exposed in ''WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien'': A young fan noticed that there were a bunch of aliens wearing the same symbol in about the same area, and after poking around that area found that Ben wore an identical symbol on his watch...
** The Plumbers in Alien Force and Ultimate Alien have badges (identical to Ben's Omnitrix symbol) that they wear on the chests of their armor. We find out that the Omnitrix and the Plumbers bear the same symbol because it is an intergalactic peace symbol that predates both.
* [[WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko Odd]], in his Lyoko form, has one of his dog, Kiwi, peeing.
* Although he didn't have it at the beginning, Danny eventually (although in an incredibly convoluted manner) gets his own at the beginning of the second season in ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' as a stylish "DP".
** [[OppositeSexClone Dani]], on the other hand, has her logo slightly off center.
* WesternAnimation/{{Freakazoid}} has a "F!" on his chest.
* WesternAnimation/DangerMouse has "DM". It's off-centre in a similar manner to Robin's.
* Turned up in the original ''WesternAnimation/{{ThunderCats|1985}}'': the Thundercats themselves had the roaring-jaguar insignia that the Eye of Thundera projects, and Mumm-Ra sported an insignia ''on his bare chest'' depicting intertwined serpents.
* ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats2011'': The BlueBlood, RoyalBlood and soldiers of Thundera all sport large red cabochons on their clothing, either chest or belt-mounted, and their shields, meant to evoke their PowerCrystal, the Eye of Thundera. It's even present on a Thunderian [[Art/TheSphinx Sphinx]]. The Cat-headed IconicLogo carried over from the original ''is'' the royal emblem, seen in the castle throne room, and projected as a BatSignal, but does not appear on armor or clothing, in part as a deliberate effort to [[AvertedTrope avert]] instances of the UnreliableIllustrator.
* Most Franchise/{{Transformers}} sport the robot-face Autobot or Decepticon logo prominently on their chests (Others may have them on their shoulders, or wings if they have an aerial alt-mode). Skyfire switched out his own logo to indicate he'd [[HeelFaceTurn defected]], demonstrating that these logos are removable, not painted or embossed. (Magnetic patches, perhaps?)
** Some of the Decepticon ones, at least, are brands: see ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'', when [[spoiler:[[ThoseTwoGuys Mixmaster and Scrapper]]]] join the Decepticons.
** We've also seen these symbols appear out of flippin' ''nowhere'' when a character joins/changes sides. And a couple of spy characters have the ability to change theirs at will.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Visionaries}}'' each warrior has a totem on their chestplate that represents their animal form.
* ''Franchise/CareBears'' and their Cousins also have symbols unique to each character. As an added bonus, these symbols double as a [[CareBearStare weapon]], at least in earlier installments. Originally they were known as tummy symbols, in latter installments they're known as belly badges and can be used to activate special powers, rather than being used as a weapon.
* Liberally doused the ''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' cartoon. Every characher wore a ring and belt with the legion insignia and each character had a symbol that reflected their powers. If they didn't have the symbol on their chests, it still showed up in the show intro and several times during the show, usually on computer screens.
* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/TheTick'' with Four-Legged Man, whose chest reads "(4 legs)". Parentheses included. The Tick's own chest is pure blue, whereas Barry, the jerkass self-styled superhero that was trying to steal the Tick's name, had a big tick outline on his chest.
* The mooks working for MAD in ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget'' often went out in public in outfits with the MAD emblem on it. Despite this, the title character ''never once'' realized that said individuals worked for MAD.
* In ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot'' Bob's gold and black icon was displayed over his heart like a sheriff's badge. After he merged with [[DoAnythingRobot Glitch]] his icon moved to the center of his chest and had a gear shaped symbol added around it.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'' spin-off special Underfist: Halloween Bash has the Underfist symbol on the team members uniforms as well having it on some of their equipment and vehicles.
* The eponymous superhero duo of ''WesternAnimation/AtomicPuppet'' both have one in the form of a giant "A". AP's is actually a part of him, while Joey's is only being visible in hero form (though he wears one on his t-shirt). It also forms the series' title logo.
* On the original ''WesternAnimation/WackyRaces'', each car had an oval with a "W" on it. Closer shots showed an axle with a tire on each side coming out of the W, which was the Hanna-Barbera graphic trademark for the show. (Usually the graphic trademark was a square with the show's characters.)
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Oddly, this trope is OlderThanPrint: Knights on the Crusades typically wore white surcoats with red crosses on their chests. The Knights Hospitallier (a.k.a. Knights of Malta) kept their trademark red surcoat with white cross long afterward.
* It's fairly common for law enforcement officers to wear a BulletProofVest with "POLICE" or "FBI" or something similar stenciled in great big letters across the chest and back for ease of recognition. During the excitement and confusion of a raid or gunfight with bad guys, it helps to prevent friendly fire.
* The 2005 redesign of the US Army's battle uniform, known as the [=ACU=], moved soldiers' rank insignia from the collar to the middle of the chest. Members of the Chaplin Corps also wear their insignia on the right side of their chests, above their identifying name tape; which is allowed uniquely for chaplains.
* In sports of all kind it has been extremely common for members of a club or team to wear the emblem of their club on their chest; here historically the smaller type worn over the heart is the more common design, but some teams also used and use the central position. With the greater commercialization of sport it has become more common to show two or more chest emblems, e. g. the club's insignia over the heart, the logo of the main commercial sponsor in the center and that of the maker of the jersey somewhere else. The number assigned to a player or athlete is also now generally worn as a kind of chest emblem on the front of the jersey as well as on the back. Merchandising team shirts, frequently with the numbers and names of popular players, has also become a much greater factor in sports franchises' economic picture over the past decades.
[[/folder]]

----

** Similarly, Phoenix (Jean Grey) sported an abstract, triangular bird shape. The "light" Phoenix version was a small phoenix in a black triangle, whereas the Dark Phoenix showed a very large emblem which covered nearly her entire torso. Double-subverterd by the earliest version of Rachel Summers, who initially wore her emblem-less Hound costume, but she eventually switched over to the traditional Phoenix costume.

* In ''Disney/{{Bolt}}'', the white-furred dog who plays a canine superhero has a black lightning bolt painted on his side. A justified variant, as Bolt's breastbone usually faces the ground and an insignia there wouldn't often be seen.

!!Examples

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* Though not quite a superhero, the star on WebAnimation/HomestarRunner's shirt has become emblematic of the series. Strong Mad similarly has an M on his singlet, and Homsar has his entire name on his shirt. Coach Z also wears a "Z" emblem on his footy-pajamas/stomach.
** The Coach fancies himself a rapper; that might actually be FlavorFlav-style bling.

* Lampshaded in ''Webcomic/EverydayHeroes''. Team leader Matt O'Morph has a super-flexible boneless body; in the same way, his chest emblem is an irregular blob that changes shape in every panel.

* In ''WebComic/GirlGenius'' the Wulfenbach troops manning the [[DrillTank Deep 6 Model Worm Chaser]] wear [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090121 tank tops with large Wulfenbach insignias centered on their chests.]]

* Captain Hammer in ''WebVideo/DoctorHorriblesSingAlongBlog'' has a common-or-garden claw hammer on his T-shirt.
* ''The Roleplay/GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse:'' Given that the game is about superheroes, these are common.

* ''HowToHero/WebOriginal'' discourages superheroes from doing this as it is in practice just putting a brightly covered target over their vital organs.

* All of Ben's alien forms in ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'' have the Omnitrix symbol on them somewhere, usually the chest, but the shoulder, forehead, and wrist are also common options. Grey Matter is the form with the oddest placement. It's much larger than usual given Grey Matter's small size, but on his back, where it's not usually visible. Justified in that the symbol basically ''is'' the ImportedAlienPhlebotinum that lets him turn into those alien forms - the Omnitrix tailors itself to its user and not all of Ben's forms have arms. We have a FlipFlopOfGod on this: In the Alien Force/Ultimate Alien years, the reformatted Omnitrix and the Ultimatrix have the symbol ''always'' on the chest, and to change directly from one alien form to another (the original version couldn't do that) he slapped the Omnitrix symbol. Creator/DwayneMcDuffie, the showrunner at the time, said that the pre-reformatted Omnitrix wasn't working at 100%, and it was ''always'' meant to be in the center of the chest for easy reachability. However, Omniverse puts the Omnitrix symbol in different places again, and ''its'' showrunner Creator/DerrickJWyatt said that it was errors in the ''previous'' models that ''limited'' the positioning of the Omnitrix during AF/UA. Neither explanation has been mentioned in-show.

* Variation in ''Manga/DragonBall''; the iconic orange ''gi'' worn at various times by acolytes of the Turtle school (most notably Goku, Krillin and Yamcha) has the kanji for "turtle" ("kame") prominently featured on the back, and in smaller type on the left chest (instead of centered on the chest like in most examples). The kanji is sometimes changed to reflect the wearer's fighting style: Piccolo gives Gohan a version with his demon clan insignia when he trained him during the Saiyan saga, and Goku swaps out the back insignia for King Kai's (while retaining the turtle insignia on the front) after training with him in the afterlife.

Recently there has been a trend (particularly with less [[BadassNormal "super" characters]]) of justifying the symbol by having it attract gunfire towards the torso (which is easier to armour), such as with ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' and ''ThePunisher''.

* ''My Little Pony'' SpinOff lines ''Toys/FairyTails'' and ''Toy/MyPrettyMermaids'' also have, respectively, birds and mermaids with unique symbols. The birds have them on their chests, while the mermaids have them on their tails. The mermaids' symbols are called name designs and only visible in cold water.

* In the various ''MyLittlePony'' series, each pony has a symbol on their ''flank'' (known as a "cutie mark" in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'') corresponding to their name and personality.
** It's where a brand would be on an actual horse, which... is actually pretty dark.

* In ECW, Nova (when he was doing his "Super Nova" gimmick) wore a super hero-type outfit with a sideways ComicBooks/GreenLantern logo in the center.
* Shark Boy, at least before becoming Stone Cold Shark Boy, had the clear shark motif on his outfit.
* Wrestling/{{TNA}} wrestler Suicide has his full name in block lettering written over a vaguely M-shaped logo on his chest. More so after Wrestling/AustinAries stole his identity and he began going as Mannik.

* The Whammies on ''Series/PressYourLuck'' have a yellow shield with a "$" on their front. On the 2002 series ''Series/WhammyTheAllNewPressYourLuck'', the shield bore an uppercase "W."