History Main / HeroWorshipper

** Midoriya has [[TheCape All Might]] posters, [[WorldsStrongestMan All Might]] action figures, [[CaptainPatriotic All Might]] costumes, and, at the start of the story, receives All Might's powers. This is deconstructed later on: While All Might genuinely is a great hero in both his public and private lives, it's noted that Midoriya's attempts to be [[IJustWantToBeYou literally All Might]] are hampering his potential to be ''better'' than All Might. Once he stops trying to mimic All Might in everything, he develops his own fighting style that is far less likely to [[HeroicRROD leave him crippled]].

* ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'': During the early episodes, Dexter was one of UsefulNotes/AlbertEinstein, referring to the long-deceased scientist as his "mentor", and even had a photo of him in his school locker. This was dropped eventually.

%% * [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter Misa Amane]] is this toward [[AGodAmI Light]] [[VillainProtagonist Yagami]] of ''Manga/DeathNote''; fortunately for her, she is useful enough that he doesn't [[MurderIsTheBestSolution kill her]] for it.

* [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter Misa Amane]] is this toward [[AGodAmI Light]] [[VillainProtagonist Yagami]] of ''Manga/DeathNote''; fortunately for her, she is useful enough that he doesn't [[MurderIsTheBestSolution kill her]] for it.

* ''Webcomic/SonicTheComicOnline'' has Silver who hero worships Tails, having grown up hearing about Tails' adventures, [[spoiler:however some of what he belives are Tails' adventures are actully Sonic's adventures, this is because in Silver's future Sonic has been [[UnPerson Un-Personed]]]].
* ''Webcomic/{{Paranatural}}'': PJ the [[UndeadChild ghostly child]] that lives in Max's house admires Max like he was a superhero.

* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/29718888/chapters/73088673 Timeless Academia]]'' shows that Izuku Midoriya's admiration of heroes extents to ones of the the historical and mythological kinds, to the point where he keeps an autograph book at Chaldea with signatures of the heroic spirits he summons. It's also to the point where from Olga Marie Animusphere's point of view, this trope sets him apart from other Masters, as instead of treating the Spirits as tools, he at worst treats them with immense respect and as equals.

* Thoroughly subverted in ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' with Soifon, who was seen to worship Yoruichi [[SchoolgirlLesbians way too much]] before said mentor left without a word, leaving the devastated ninja girl to attempt to kill her during the storyline. Subversion supported by the fact that Soifon holds rank as a Captain in Soul Society, and is thus a very competent combatant.

** Deconstructed in "Legends", with Ray Thompson. [[spoiler:It turns out that Ray is a RealityWarper who couldn't cope with the fact that the Justice Guild were killed in battle, and has effectively turned the entire city into his own personal LotusEaterMachine.]]

* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', Captain Bartolomeo worships Monkey D. Luffy to the point of obsession. An example of this is the fact that his ship's figurehead looks like Luffy.

* ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'': Many [[MegaCorp Hyperion]] employees revere Handsome Jack as a hero who brought greatness to the company and tried to bring law and order to the DeathWorld of Pandora. This attitude is best seen in ''TalesFromTheBorderlands'' with [[PlayerCharacter Rhys]], who models his appearance after Jack and looks back fondly on the time Jack spat on him, and Vasquez, who brags about Jack punching him in the face whenever he saw him. Of course, seeing as Jack is the BigBad of ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'', this is somewhat of a subversion - his employees may view him as a hero, but the atrocities he commits throughout the game prove otherwise. Indeed, many of his worshippers soon change their mind about him when they find out what he was ''really'' like, or, in Rhys' case, [[spoiler: having an AI recreation of him implanted into your head.]]

* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'':
** [[LittleMissBadass May Chang]] is a huge fangirl of Edward Elric... [[ExpectingSomeoneTaller Until she meets him]].
** Selim Bradley also fanboys Ed [[spoiler: which turns out to be an excellent cover for being a homunculus.]]

* Subverted in ''Manga/Reborn2004'', where [[StalkerWithACrush Gokudera]] worships the ground that Tsuna walks on, but is quite capable at fighting himself.
* Everyone that Misaki's ever [[DefeatMeansFriendship beaten]] in ''Manga/AngelicLayer'' becomes her CombatCommentator and squealing fan, even those who would rather not admit it.

* In ''Anime/YuGiOhZEXAL'', there was a villain called Jin who claimed to be a Numbers Hunter who worked for Kaito. As it turned out, he had never even met Kaito, and simply idolized him. [[spoiler: When he finally did meet Kaito, he professed his loyalty, but Kaito was not impressed at all, and treated him like any other Numbers Holder.]]
* Joshua Christopher from ''Manga/ChronoCrusade'' is an odd twisted example. He's incredibly devoted to Aion and often speaks about him in glowing terms, and is very excited when he gets a chance to watch him fight. The thing that makes this twisted is (a) Aion is the BigBad; (b) Joshua has been given incredible power by Aion in order to do his bidding, and (c) that power has turned him [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity absolutely bonkers]]. He would be a LoonyFan if it wasn't for Aion being the one that drove him nuts in the first place and doesn't actively discourage him.
* ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'': Graham is pretty much convinced that Ladd is the second coming of Christ.
* Gau from ''Manga/NabariNoOu'''s devotion to Raikou is so strong that he's willing to ''[[SelfSacrificeScheme commit suicide if he thinks it'd make Raikou happier]]''.
* Kaorin is a bit of this to Sakaki in ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh''. Part of it's just SingleTargetSexuality, but she also does a fair bit of expositing on just how cool and athletic Sakaki is.
* In ''LightNovel/FateZero'', Waver Velvet eventually becomes this to his Servant Rider, saying that he would follow the latter without hesitation and, to [[spoiler:Gilgamesh]], proudly declared himself to be Rider's follower rather than Master. He even keeps all of his Servant's video games as a memento and wears his colors [[spoiler:when he becomes Lord El-Melloi II]].

* Sanae from ''LightNovel/LoveChunibyoAndOtherDelusions'' worships "Mori Summer," a self-proclaimed mage who wrote the ''Mabinogion'', a journal of philosophical-sounding rants of the other dimension. This is the basis of her SitcomArchnemesis relationship with Shinka[[spoiler:, the girl behind "Mori Summer" who wants to purge that part of her life seen as her OldShame.]]
* [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter Misa Amane]] is this toward [[AGodAmI Light]] [[VillainProtagonist Yagami]] of ''Manga/DeathNote''; fortunately for her, she is useful enough that he doesn't [[MurderIsTheBestSolution kill her]] for it.
* [[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventurePhantomBlood Speedwagon]] from ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' gets redeemed out of a slum by Jonathan Joestar and has been worshipping him since. He later becomes a billionaire oil tycoon, and he's even more grateful to the point he devotes the rest of his life (and even after) supporting Jonathan's descendants and all their journeys.
* A minor character in ''Manga/YouAndMe'' named Matsushiro feels this way towards Yuuta (despite not being heroic). They're in the same school club, though Yuuta rarely turns up, and Matsuhiro greatly admires him. He even tried to write a self-insert manga of Yuuta and his friends.

** [[TheRival Bakugo]] isn't half as fanboyish, but he also idolizes All Might, but for different reasons. Midoriya thinks of All Might as a hero who saves people in trouble, Bakugo sees All Might as a hero who never, ever loses. A key part of Bakugo's character development is discovering that All Might is SecretlyDying and [[PassingTheTorch passed his powers onto Midoriya]]... [[TheDeterminator but he's still a great hero]].

* In ''Fanfic/JonathanJoestarTheFirstJoJo,'' Both versions of Joseph love and worship Jonathan. Young Joseph is obviously more bratty regarding it, wanting his attention, and while Jotaro doesn't fawn over Jonathan, he does respect him a great deal.

* ''WebVideo/ImAMarvelAndImADC'':
** Franchise/SpiderMan to Franchise/{{Batman}} in ''Marvel/DC After Hours'' and ''Happy Hour''. He was like this to Superman too back in the day.
** And Goblin has this going for Willem Defoe.
* In ''Fanfic/TheCommission'', Nora is this to Yang due to latter leading her mercenary group in a rescue of the former's hometown.

* In ''Fanfic/NeitherABirdNorAPlaneItsDeku'', Izuku is still this, memorizing the backstories of practically every major Hero in the world and rambling on and on about them whenever asked. He's astonished when someone manages to tell him something that he ''doesn't'' know. That narration mentions that he has visited Might Tower so many times that he's practically committed the tour guide's script to memory.
** But this trope also gets played more soberly. Izuku is utterly dependent on Heroes for guidance because of his crippling lack of self-esteem stemming. When All Might gives Izuku a blunt, honest opinion that he isn't sure if Izuku should be a hero, Izuku just breaks down and takes All Might's word as gospel without bothering to refute it. Luckily, he recovers when All Might apologizes and gives Izuku a DareToBeBadass after the Sludge Villain incident is resolved. He gets another boost in cheer and confidence when he wins the support of Firestorm.
* In ''Fanfic/{{Juxtapose}}'', Izuku and Sir Nighteye are still All Might's biggest fans. But this takes a darker turn for Sir Nighteye, who is so obsessed with keeping Toshinori alive that [[spoiler:he's willing to leave Izuku in the hands of the League of Villains if it means preventing Toshinori's death.]]
* In ''Fanfic/IfTheyHaventLearnedYourName'', Sam Wilson is a huge fan of Colonel Rhodes. He practically preens when Rhodey compliments him on his flying during the DC incident, and has to call his mom immediately afterwards to gush about how Colonel Rhodes ''[[ThatCameOutWrong touched his skin]]''- no, shook his hand. With the War Machine gauntlet on, but ''still''.

* The Kid from ''Film/TheMatrix''.

--> '''Lord Tywin:''' She's a heroine of yours, I take it? Aren't most girls more interested in the pretty maidens from the songs? Jonquil with the flowers in her hair?
--> '''Arya:''' Most girls are idiots.
--> '''Lord Tywin:''' Ha! You remind me of my daughter.

--->'''Evagora''': Elnor gravitates towards strong female figures because he grew up with a bunch of them, so that's the type of people he relates to, people who are strong-willed, and Seven of Nine is not afraid to give her opinion, which is pretty similar to absolute candor.

-->'''Ragueneau:''' (''following him'') Bravo! I saw...\\

'''Cyrano:''' (''contemptuously'') [[ButForMeItWasTuesday Ah!... the duel!]]\\
'''Ragueneau:''' (''admiringly'') Ay! the duel in verse!...\\

'''Ragueneau:''' (''making passes with a spit that he catches up'') "At the envoi's end, I touch!... At the envoi's end, I touch!"... 'Tis\\

(''with increasing enthusiasm'') "At the envoi's end--"\\

'''Ragueneau:''' (''stopping short in the act of thrusting to look at the clock'') Five minutes after six!... "I touch!"\\
(''he straightens himself'') ...Oh! to write a ballade!

* ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha Street Fighter: Alpha 2]]'': Sakura is Ryu's no.1 {{fangirl}} and aspires to become his student in hopes becoming just like him. Since he's refused to train her, she's become a capable martial artist in her own right by emulating his style. The fighting gloves she wears were even Ryu's old training pads, which he gave to her as a parting gift.

** ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII''

[[folder:Web Original]]

* Cooper in ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce''... but worships TheChick.

* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague''

* Junior, Sylvester's [[Film/AustinPowers mini-me]] son in a series of WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes. Although his admiration tended to expire fairly rapidly once Dad actually started to ''demonstrate'' his mouse-catching abilities (or lack thereof)...
* Also from WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes, the page picture comes from a pair of cartoons, ''WesternAnimation/TreeForTwo'' and ''Dr. Jerkyl's Hide'', in which Spike/Alfie the Bulldog is hero-worshiped by Chester the Terrier. Their relationship is inverted after a series of humiliating defeats is inflicted on Spike, and he ends up hero-worshiping the smaller dog.

* In ''Fanfic/JonathanJoestarTheFirstJoJo, Both versions of Joseph love and worship Jonathan. Young Joseph is obviously more bratty regarding it, wanting his attention, and while Jotaro doesn't fawn over Jonathan, he does respect him a great deal.
* ''FanFic/DigimonTrinity'': Takato is this to the Digidestined; it's established from the very first chapter that he admits and respects them and considers it an honor to be Kari's student.

* ''FanFic/DigimonTrinity'': Takato is this to the Digidestined; it's established from the very first chapter that he admits and respects them and considers it an honor to be Kari's student.

* Subverted with Lugnut in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated''. He's practically a one-mech Megatron cult to the point where even Megatron gets sick of his constant loud praises, but he's also the largest and strongest member of the Decepticons on Earth and his "Punch of Kill Everything" is not named ironically.

* Subverted in ''Manga/KatekyoHitmanReborn'', where [[StalkerWithACrush Gokudera]] worships the ground that Tsuna walks on, but is quite capable at fighting himself.

* In ''FanFic/TheCommission'', Nora is this to Yang due to latter leading her mercenary group in a rescue of the former's hometown.

* Everyone that Misaki's ever [[DefeatMeansFriendship beaten]] in ''Anime/KidouTenshiAngelicLayer'' becomes her CombatCommentator and squealing fan, even those who would rather not admit it.

* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', [[GuestStarPartyMember Teba]] tells his son Tulin about Link's incredible archery skills during their battle against Divine Beast Vah Medoh. As a result, when you meet Tulin again at the Flight Range, where Teba will have him watch Link shoot the targets for pointers, he'll always be in an excited crouched-down pose when talking to Link and similarly admiring Link's coolness. He'll even get mad if Link tries to humbly downplay his skills.

** Conrad Verner worships Shepard to an extreme that in the 2nd game he dresses up as Shepard. The third game reveals those photos and autographs he claimed he wanted in the first game to show his wife? Yeah, she doesn't actually exist. He ''does'' have a shrine to Shepard though, but they shouldn't worry, it's all done very tastefully.

* A minor character in ''Manga/KimiToBoku'' named Matsushiro feels this way towards Yuuta (despite not being heroic). They're in the same school club, though Yuuta rarely turns up, and Matsuhiro greatly admires him. He even tried to write a self-insert manga of Yuuta and his friends.

Often works as a stand-in for the audience, sometimes in the way of a American sidekick - but with a few notable differences. Unfortunately, the hero worshipper's arc on many occasions ends with their hero not being what they're cracked up to be, leading to a BrokenPedestal.

Often works as a stand-in for the audience, sometimes in the way of a American sidekick - but with a few notable differences. And in many occasions ends with a BrokenPedestal.

* Despite being an airhead tomboy, Katarina in ''LightNovel/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'' ends up getting referred to as a saint at school. The normal students misinterpret her more wild behavior as being gentler pursuits like admiring plants but recognize that she's very kind and status blind despite being about as high of nobility as you can get. One of her friends also seems to more worship her than love her like she's said to and is particularly attached to her since the pair knew each other in their past lives, though neither is consciously aware of it.

* In ''Fanfic/IfTheyHaventLearnedYourName'', Sam Wilson is a huge fan of Colonel Rhodes. He practically preens when Rhodey compliments him on his flying during the DC incident, and has to call his mom immediately afterwards to gush about how Colonel Rhodes ''[[ThatCameOutWrong touched his skin]]''- no, shook his hand. With the War Machine gauntlet on, but ''still''.

* Inverted in ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' and ''Film/TheLastJedi'' with the bad guys, who are ''Villain'' Worshippers. The First Order are a bit too reverent towards the Empire, essentially being the alt-right to the Empire's original flavour Nazis; Kylo Ren, meanwhile, is worryingly obsessed with the legacy of Darth Vader, [[spoiler:his grandfather]].
** Rey and Finn are this to Han Solo.
** Poe does his best to become the best pilot in the galaxy to General Leia.

* Captain Bartolomeo worships Monkey D. Luffy to the point of obsession in ''Manga/OnePiece''. To the point where his ship's figurehead is Luffy.