History Main / ManOfTheCity

* ''[[Creator/TimDorsey Serge A. Storms]]'': In ''The Pope of Palm Beach,'' Darby Pope is a local surfer who is famous for knowing everyone in the town of Riviera Beach. He is always giving people friendly greetings and happily does whatever favors anyone asks. Even the {{Dirty Cop}}s view him with pure respect.

* By their very nature, {{superhero}}es tend to be Men of the [[CityOfAdventure city they choose to make their home]]. However, there's particular ones that stand out amongst their peers:
** '''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'''. You can't even litter in Gotham without Batman kicking your ass. In his public persona as Bruce Wayne, he's the city's biggest philanthropist and provider of jobs. Lampshaded by the Riddler in stories by Creator/NeilGaiman who notes about Batman, "That man was the city."
*** His former pretege, ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} serves as the same for its neighbouring city, Bludhaven; downplayed though as Dick typically has less resources than Bruce and his public persona isn't a well-known citizen (for a while, he was just a regular beat cop), and so Nightwing is more just a single man trying to make the city a better place.
** ComicBook/{{Superman}} is a milder example than Batman, but it's still a very bad idea to commit a crime in Metropolis. As Clark Kent, he's an incorruptible champion of truth as reporter for the Daily Planet.
** Lex Luthor is a mild [[SubvertedTrope subversion]]: he ''does'' genuinely care for Metropolis, and has served as its benefactor in myriad ways. He gives its citizens jobs, organizes charities for the city's welfare and has constructed various important landmarks, including reconstructing Metropolis whenever a supervillain has a field day with the infrastructure. However, he'd be more than willing to personally slit every Metropolis citizen's throat if it furthered his vendetta against Superman.
** ComicBook/GreenLantern Hal Jordan is so much a man of the city he brought it ''back from the dead''. Coast City's slogan is "The City Without Fear" in his honor.
** ComicBook/GreenArrow a.k.a. Oliver Queen is this to his hometown of Star City, both as a crimefighter and a crusader for social reform. One arc even had him successfully running for Mayor in order to help the city rebuild after a major supervillain attack.

--->''"Gotham is an ugly city full of shame, far beyond redemption. This city's an ugly old whore... but she's beautiful when she cries".''
** Quoth ComicBook/SpiderMan: ''"You can't say 'I love New York'. Tourists can love New York. Me? Who grew up here? Who's lived here my whole life, who's crawled over every stone and swung off every cornice... I '''am''' New York. It's in me, in my blood, like a disease... you know, like a blood disease but a good one, like a [[{{Metaphorgotten}} happy... cancer...]] Okay, clearly I was not bitten by a radioactive poet."''
** ''ComicBook/TheFlash'' are [[LegacyCharacter Men]] of ''Two'' Cities, Central City and its neighbouring/twin city, Keystone City. Both cities are home to different incarnations of The Flash (Jay Garrick lived in Keystone City, his successor Barry Allen lived in Central City, and the third Flash, ComicBook/WallyWest, lived primarily in Keystone but protected Central City as well, and [[ComicBook/TheFlashInfiniteFrontier most recently]] moved to Central City to cover Barry's territory). Regardless, both cities are shown to ''adore'' the Flash family for what they do for their towns, to the point they opened up an official Flash Museum. It helps that, unlike a lot of superheroes who just protect the city and move on, its shown that the Flash Family tend to be personable with the citizenry, with Wally being on first-name-basis with a huge chunk of the populace of both cities.
** ''ComicBook/TheKryptonChronicles'': The architect Pym-El passionately rebuilds Kryptonopolis, hunts down and arrests saboteurs who want to stop the rebuilding efforts, and lobbies hard for the city to become the new planetary capital (feeling great disappointment when he fails).
* [[SchmuckBait Just try]] to commit a crime in Mega-City One, and face the long arm (and explosive side-arm) of ComicBook/JudgeDredd. He is the law, after all.

* ''ComicBook/ThePunisher'': At the end of ''ComicBook/WelcomeBackFrank'', bumbling cop Martin Soap revels in how New York is a place where even "a loser like me" can rise to power through blind luck and a little blackmail, reiterates his love for the town even after another ButtMonkey humiliation, and vows that he will use his new authority as police commissioner to reform the deeply flawed NYPD into the police force "this city deserves." However, the humiliating loss of his job a short time later seems to sour Soap on this issue, and he leaves New York for Las Vegas in his final appearance.

* Subverted by Rorshach in the first issue of ''{{Comicbook/Watchmen}}'', as we discover that this isn't quite a standard superhero story.

* [[ComicBook/TheAuthority Jack Hawksmoor]], literally and biologically a man of cities.
* ComicBook/MisterX: The title character is on a personal crusade to repair the psychetecture of Radiant City. This [[MultipleChoicePast might be]] because he's the architect who screwed it up in the first place.
* The comic prequel to ''Film/TwentyEightDaysLater'' features Hugh Baker a Patriotic Londoner who remained behind in the city to fight the infected CrazySurvivalist style long after it was evacuated.

*** Ironically enough, the [[BigBad]] of the game, Crawford Starrick, is this. When the Bank of England's Governor is assassinated, he raises his workers' pay in an attempt to counteract the inflation that follows said assassination, while wishing to do the same to all of London.

* ''Series/{{Psych}}'': Im "Dual Spires", Sheriff Jackson and JackOfAllTrades Dr. Gooden are the town leaders who do a lot of work to keep their small, isolated town functioning and preserve the ideals of its founders, their ancestors. They are so obsessed with the town that they commit murder to keep their chosen successor from leaving.

* "Series/{{Kamen Rider W}}" Shotaro would not let any harm come to the city of Futo if he can help it.

* ''Series/{{Arrow}}''. As Oliver Queen reminds us in every TitleSequence, his one goal is to save this city. In fact his CatchPhrase for those who attempt to bring Starling City (later Star City) down is, "You have failed this city!"

* Peter Wisdom a.k.a. [[spoiler: Regulus Black]] is this to Britain as a whole in ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'', and one of the most dangerous characters in the series as a result, being TheUnfettered: protecting his country is pretty much his ''only'' motivation. All implying that he might put personal benefit over what is good for his country will do is make him angry - and that is not something that ''anyone'' wants.
* ''Fanfic/TheEndOfTheWorld:'' In the years after winning the 2nd Quarter Quell, Haymitch seems to know most of the people in District 12. He works hard to try and save his tributes and limit the amount of abuse that the Capitol heaps on District 12. However, this lessens a bit as he becomes more cynical and withdrawn later in the story.

--> '''Janos''': Have you ever thought of… oh, if you and yours had become lords of Brightwater Keep?"
--> ''Tommen gave a shrug. "Oh, occasionally when I was a child, but… never deeply." He looked at Janos seriously. "This is our home, Janos. It has served us well, and we… we have served it well. We love it. We love it deeply...Outsiders may call this city a stinking hole, and perhaps it is. But it is so much more than that. There is beauty here, and not just in the fine septs and pretty fountains. In deals made, and bonds honored. In trades practiced with skill and artistry by free people, not slaves. In men and women going about their lives, looking to stand a little taller than they did the day before, and hoping their children can stand taller still." To Janos' surprise, Tommen's eyes seemed to glisten somewhat, as if he was holding back tears. "As I said, a beautiful thing. What need have I for a castle that I could sit in while I dreamed of getting a better castle, when I have this?"''

* In Anime/TheLawOfUeki , one of the competitors is a young man from and dying country town who's class is set to be the last graduating class before their middle school shuts down. His goal for the competition is to get a Village Raising Talent so he can save his town.

** '''{{Franchise/Batman}}'''. You can't even litter in Gotham without Batman kicking your ass. In his public persona as Bruce Wayne, he's the city's biggest philanthropist and provider of jobs. Lampshaded by ComicBook/TheRiddler in stories by Creator/NeilGaiman who notes about Batman, "That man was the city."

** {{Franchise/Superman}} is a milder example than Batman, but it's still a very bad idea to commit a crime in Metropolis. As Clark Kent, he's an incorruptible champion of truth as reporter for the Daily Planet.
** ComicBook/LexLuthor is a mild [[SubvertedTrope subversion]]: he ''does'' genuinely care for Metropolis, and has served as its benefactor in myriad ways. He gives its citizens jobs, organizes charities for the city's welfare and has constructed various important landmarks, including reconstructing Metropolis whenever a supervillain has a field day with the infrastructure. However, he'd be more than willing to personally slit every Metropolis citizen's throat if it furthered his vendetta against Superman.
** Franchise/GreenLantern Hal Jordan is so much a man of the city he brought it ''back from the dead''. Coast City's slogan is "The City Without Fear" in his honor.
** ComicBook/GreenArrow aka Oliver Queen is this to his hometown of Star City, both as a crimefighter and a crusader for social reform. One arc even had him successfully running for Mayor in order to help the city rebuild after a major supervillain attack.
** ''ComicBook/AllStarBatmanAndRobinTheBoyWonder'' plays this up for Bats by having him wax poetic by comparing Gotham to a woman (Frank Miller apparently hadn't gotten out of this mindset from writing ''The Spirit''), only for ''ComicBook/TheJoker'' to invert it as a counterpoint.
--> "Gotham is an ugly city full of shame, far beyond redemption. This city's an ugly old whore... but she's beautiful when she cries".
** Quoth [[Franchise/SpiderMan Peter Parker]]: ''"You can't say 'I love New York'. Tourists can love New York. Me? Who grew up here? Who's lived here my whole life, who's crawled over every stone and swung off every cornice...I '''am''' New York. It's in me, in my blood, like a disease...you know, like a blood disease but a good one, like a [[{{Metaphorgotten}} happy...cancer...]] Okay, clearly I was not bitten by a radioactive poet."''
** ''Franchise/TheFlash'' are [[LegacyCharacter Men]] of ''Two'' Cities, Central City and its neighbouring/twin city, Keystone City. Both cities are home to different incarnations of The Flash (Jay Garrick lived in Keystone City, his successor Barry Allen lived in Central City, and the third Flash, ComicBook/WallyWest, lived primarily in Keystone but protected Central City as well, and [[ComicBook/TheFlashInfiniteFrontier most recently]] moved to Central City to cover Barry's territory). Regardless, both cities are shown to ''adore'' the Flash family for what they do for their towns, to the point they opened up an official Flash Museum. It helps that, unlike a lot of superheroes who just protect the city and move on, its shown that the Flash Family tend to be personable with the citizenry, with Wally being on first-name-basis with a huge chunk of the populace of both cities.

* ''ComicBook/TheSandman'': In the story "Ramadan", the Caliph of Iraq is highly proud of Baghdad, the splendid capitol city of his empire. He knows that its splendor won't last forever, so he makes a bargain with Dream, sacrificing the material wealth of Baghdad if Dream will ensure that the idealized memory of the city will live on in people's dreams forever.

* ''Series/{{Chiefs}}'': Hugh Holmes dedicates his life to making Delano a good place to live in, seeking to hire industrious police chiefs and show {{Corrupt Hick}}s the door. In the book, [[SparedByTheAdaptation though not the series,]] he has a heart attack due to depression over the horrific tragedy of the {{Serial Killer}}'s crimes and how they will forever taint the town that he has done so much for.

* ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooAndTheWitchesGhost'': A slightly sleazier example then usual. Mayor Corey and his four accomplices (one of whom, a hardware store owner, has no apparent way of personally profiting from the situation) fake the witch hauntings out of desperation to bring back tourists and save the town's struggling economy. At the end, Corey is also distraught about the loss of most of their tourist attractions.

* ''Literature/ManOfTheCity'': Teenaged boarding house owner Arley Pickett is determined to keep Lockwood's efforts to buy everyone's land from making the DyingTown of Grubstake (which she is attached to) a ghost town without ruining anyone's efforts to get the money they deserve or leave if they want to.

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' had, with ''Dragon Magazine'' (later updated in the Dragon Compendium), the Urban Druid which is clearly this from level 1 to level 3, as they have a favored city they gain boni while in. It gets a bit less clear from level 4 onward, as they get to add another city as favored (culminating in six favored cities at level 20), thus being a Man/Woman/Other of ''Several'' Cities.

* ''Film/TheDead'': Brian and Daniel encounter an army officer who is leading sevaral men in defending their hometown. The officer is determined to keep his people safe, but also refuses to evacuate to a better-defended area (although it turns out to be a SafeZoneHopeSpot) due to his connection with the area and determination to help the village survive along with its residents.