History Main / NonPoweredCostumedHero

* Also from Creator/CharltonComics, Judomaster and Peacemaker. The former used [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin his mastery of judo]] to combat crime, the latter wore body armor and a variety of lethal weaponry.

* DC's [[ComicBook/SevenSoldiers The Seven Soldiers of Victory]]. (The Original Lineup, none of this Grant Morrison nonsense): Shining Knight, Vigilante, the aforementioned Green Arrow, Speedy, Star-Spangled Kid, STRIPE, and Crimson Avenger. Then they joined the All Star Squadron, with powered heroes like the Flash (Jay Garrick), Superman, and Firebrand II

* ComicBook/KarateKid of the ''ComicBook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}''. Since the Legion's bylaws require each member to have a unique superpower, yet Karate Kid is an ordinary human, fans joke that his "power" is being able to put Superboy in a headlock.

* The Revenant and his KidSidekick Moon Shadow from ''ComicBook/{{PS238}}''. The Revenant is a CaptainErsatz of Batman, while Moon Shadow is a MuggleBornOfMages who is being taught the way of non-powered superherodom as a defence mechanism against his parents trying to [[InvokedTrope invoke]] a TraumaticSuperpowerAwakening on him.

%% * Ted Kord, the second ComicBook/BlueBeetle (but not Dan Garret or Jaime Reyes). --- please add context before un-commenting this example.
%% * Also from Creator/CharltonComics, Judomaster and Peacemaker. --- please add context before un-commenting this example.

-> ''A masked adventurer's costume is one of those things nobody really thinks about. Should it have a cape, or no cape? Should it be thick and armored to protect you from harm, or flexible and lightweight to allow maneuverability? What sort of mask should it have? Do bright colors make you more of a target than dark ones? All of these were things I had to consider.''
-->-- '''Hollis Mason''', from [[FictionalDocument his autobiography]] ''Under the Hood'', ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}''

* [[ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures Superduck/Paperinik]], the costumed hero alter ego of DonaldDuck, who's popular in European Disney comics. He's basically the Batman of Duckburg: he has no powers, he fights crime in a costume, few people know he's actually Donald, and he uses all sorts of gadgets developed by Gyro Gearloose. The stories where Donald appears in this guise seem to be in a whole different {{continuity}} from all others, as his becoming a badass with a SecretIdentity would have huge ramifications for his character.

* ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'' gleefully dances the line with this trope. Very few of the heroes have powers themselves, but all of them have and wear tech that grants them special abilities. The ones that do have powers are the results of experiments, cybernetically enhanced, or robots; even then, it's not entirely clear whether the character is the source of the power or just using something else. [[TheGunslinger McCree]] is probably the closest example. Every other character has some form of superhuman ability, be it [[MagicFromTechnology Powers From Technology]], using [[InstantAwesomeJustAddDragons magic dragons]], or being a SuperSoldier, robot, or [[KillerGorilla Gorilla]] [[UpliftedAnimal scientist]] [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot from the moon]]. [=McCree=]? He's ''really'' [[ImprobableAimingSkills good with]] [[QuickDraw a revolver]].

Sounds like a {{Superhero}}, right? He probably will get called that, too. But in this case he hasn't got any superpowers. He's probably an expert fighter, sure, and he may have all sorts of gadgets or other unusual advantages, but there's nothing more superhuman about him than perhaps unrealistically good human skills or abilities. (Being good at it isn't a requirement, though... just highly preferable for survival.) So he's a Non-Powered Costumed Hero.

The actual type of costume varies, but may involve CoolMask, CoatHatMask, BadassLongcoat, SuperheroesWearTights and/or SuperheroesWearCapes. Due to the nature of the trope, [[StandardSuperHeroSuits tropes about superheroes wearing stuff]] usually apply here too.

* Mumen Rider from ''Anime/OnePunchMan'' would qualify as one, being only equipped with his bike, his helmet, and a near insane determination to protect innocent people from evil, even when it is clear he has absolutely no chance of success. Which is borderline sad when he is put up against [[spoiler:[[http://onepunchman.wikia.com/wiki/Deep_Sea_King the Deep Sea King.]]]]

* ComicBook/KateBishop / Hawkeye II, is TheTeamNormal of the ComicBook/YoungAvengers. Her costume is a puple body suit, and her "power" is shooting things with a bow, like Hawkeye.
%% * ''ComicBook/KickAss'': Kick-Ass himself (though not particularly skilled), Hit-Girl and Big Daddy.

* [[ColorCharacter Scarlet Leon]] in ''Film/BasnOLudziachStad'', though he's taken seriously by total of two people. One, if you don't count himself.

* In ''Literature/AfterTheGoldenAge'', the Hawk is a vigilante costumed hero, and is famous for being the only superhero in Commerce City with no actual superpowers.

* The heroes in ''Literature/{{Relativity}}'' don't have super powers, but some of the villains do.

* An episode of ''Series/{{iZombie}}'' involved a man pretending to be a superhero. He stops a group of thugs from attacking a woman and is later found dead. After eating his brain, Liv starts to think in comic book speak, mentally monologueing her actions, and even makes a costume for herself. She doesn't count as this trope, though, given that she's a zombie. She does get to meet a few other "superheroes" from the dead guy's team. [[spoiler:She finds out that the killer was the woman he was trying to save. She was a thief, and he ended up discovering what she stole]].

* ''ComicStrip/ThePhantom''. Even his "civilian" attire -- long coat, shades and hat on top of his bodysuit -- practically counts as a costume of this sort, and since he ''has'' no proper civilian identity, it really is more a disguise than his superhero outfit is.

* In the ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' [[FillerStrip filler story]] "Stick-Figure Tales of Cotton", parodying the superhero genre, Riff becomes "Science Guy", fighting bad guys with gadgets, although actually he only ever uses the bazooka. In his origin story, which is a parody of Franchise/{{Batman}}'s, his parents get shot and he first becomes "Orphan-Boy", with the proportional speed, strength and dexterity of someone without parents. His superhero outfit is the same as Riff's normal outfit (insofar as you can tell on a stick figure), except that he wears the BadassLongcoat as a [[SuperheroesWearCapes cape]].

* Karate Kid of the ''ComicBook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}''. Since the Legion's bylaws require each member to have a unique superpower, yet Karate Kid is an ordinary human, fans joke that his "power" is being able to put Superboy in a headlock.

Conpare RealRobotGenre for the HumongousMecha counterpart. Contrast with ClothesMakeTheSuperman, where the character ''becomes'' powered when wearing the costume. See also CrimefightingWithCash.

[[folder:Real Life]]
* There are about 300 registered superheroes in the United States. Presumably, they don't have powers.
[[/folder]]

* Iwao Oguro, aka. Knuckleduster, from [[Manga/VigilanteMyHeroAcademiaIllegals My Hero Academia: Vigilantes]] has no government-issued hero license, largely because of his lack of a quirk, but he still puts on a costume and goes out at night to secretly fight crimes the licensed heroes overlook.

* Most of the character ''Film/MysteryMen'' put on costumes and want to be heroes with powers that range from not a power at all (such as shoveling) to MaybeMagicMaybeMundane. The Shoveler and Blue Raja are pure straight examples, the former dressed as a construction worker (which he is) and counting on... shoveling things... and the latter in an intricate Victorian Indian costume complete with affected British accent and specializing in throwing things (mostly silverware).

* Mumen Rider from ''Anime/OnePunchMan'' would qualify as one, being only equipped with his bike, his helmet, and an near insane determination to protect innocent people from evil, even when it is clear he has absolutely no chance of success. Which is borderline sad when he is put up against [[spoiler:[[http://onepunchman.wikia.com/wiki/Deep_Sea_King the Deep Sea King.]]]]

** ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' follows the Green Arrow, Oliver Queen, expert archer and fighter in a green hooded costume. As the series went on, more heroes of this trope followed starting with the Canary, Sara Lance, a trained assassin in a black costume and domino mask, who passed the mantle onto her sister, Laurel, as the Black Canary[[note]]interestingly, neither sister has the traditional Canary Cry metapower as in the comics; Sara has no powers and Laurel was gifted a Canary Cry gadget collar courtesy of Cisco Ramon; the series eventually introduced Earth-2 Laurel's Black Siren and Central City cop-turned-metahuman Dinah Drake as the third Canary, both of whom have a metahuman Canary Cry[[/note]]. Bodyguard John Diggle eventually gained a distinctive helmet and hero name ("Spartan") but is otherwise a former soldier in the field with a gun, while Oliver's sister Thea (trained in archery and fighting with the League of Assassins) and her boyfriend Roy Harper (a parkouring thief) traded red-hooded costumes as Speedy and Arsenal. The team further expanded out to include a new wave of heroes, including Wild Dog (in a sports shirt and hockey mask, wielding semi-automatics) and GadgeteerGenius Mr. Terrific (who has a costume, a painted T on his face, and changes his hair from his civilian afro into cornrows for his alter ego), a former Olympic athlete with an array of technological weapons to deploy. The final non-super super to join is Mia [[spoiler: Queen, Oliver's future daughter, a freedom fighter in the BadFuture who takes up the Green Arrow mantle]].

** ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' follows the Green Arrow, Oliver Queen, expert archer and fighter in a green hooded costume. As the series went on, more heroes of this trope followed starting with the Canary, Sara Lance, a trained assassin in a black costume and domino mask, who passed the mantle onto her sister, Laurel, as the Black Canary[[note]]interestingly, neither sister has the traditional Canary Cry metapower as in the comics; Sara has no powers and Laurel was gifted a Canary Cry gadget collar courtesy of Cisco Ramon; the series eventually introduced Earth-2 Laurel's Black Siren and Central City cop-turned-metahuman Dinah Drake as the third Canary, both of whom have a metahuman Canary Cry[[/note]]. Bodyguard John Diggle eventually gained a distinctive helmet and hero name ("Spartan") but is otherwise a former soldier in the field with a gun, while Oliver's sister Thea (trained in archery and fighting with the League of Assassins) and her boyfriend Roy Harper (a parkouring thief) traded red-hooded costumes as Speedy and Arsenal. The team further expanded out to include a new wave of heroes, including Wild Dog (in a sports shirt and hockey mask, wielding semi-automatics) and GadgeteerGenius Mr. Terrific, a former Olympic athlete with an array of technological weapons to deploy. The final non-super super to join is Mia [[spoiler: Queen, Oliver's future daughter, a freedom fighter in the BadFuture who takes up the Green Arrow mantle]].

** ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'' is frontlined by Sara Lance, now dubbed the White Canary with no domino mask and a distinctive white leather outfit. While most of her crew throughout the series have specific metapowers, the original crew involved criminals-turned-begrudging-heroes "Captain Cold" Leonard Snart and "Heat Wave" Mick Rory from ''Series/TheFlash'', who don't have natural powers and use engineered, elemental guns, while donning appropriate costumes on the job (a fire-proof jacket and welding goggles for Mick, snow goggles and a blue fur-lined parka for Snart).

** ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'' is frontlined by Sara Lance, now dubbed the White Canary with no domino mask and distinctive white leather outfit. While most of her crew through the series have specific metapowers, the original crew involved criminals-turned-begrudging-heroes "Captain Cold" Leonard Snart and "Heat Wave" Mick Rory from ''Series/TheFlash'', who don't have natural powers and use engineered, elemental guns, while donning appropriate costumes on the job (a fire-proof jacket and welding goggles for Mick, snow goggles and a blue fur-lined parka for Snart).

* ''Series/Arrowverse'', like the comics they draw upon, are full of these heroes, beginning with its titular character:

* ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' Based on the DC Comics, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen returns home to Starling City five years after being presumed lost at sea along with his father when the family's yacht supposedly sinks in a storm in the North China Sea. Upon his return, Oliver embarks on a crusade against crime in Starling City using a set of skills he obtained during his years away; archery, hand to hand combat and a wide variety of martial arts; all while under the hooded (and later masked) persona known publicly at first as "The Hood" and "The Vigilante", then as "The Arrow" and finally (and currently) as "The Green Arrow". He gradually amasses a team of fellow hooded/masked/otherwise disguised vigilantes, with members joining and exiting the group throughout the series, including his bodyguard and best friend John Diggle as 'Spartan', his younger sister Thea as 'Speedy', his ex-girlfriend Laurel as 'The Black Canary' and Thea's boyfriend Roy Harper as 'Arsenal'.

* ''Radio/TheGreenHornet''
* ''Radio/TheLoneRanger''

* In ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'', Manticore and his EvilTwin Chimera. Also, any PlayerCharacter could have been this if the player chose, typically involving taking the Natural origin and powers that are less-obviously super, like Martial Arts, Willpower, Gadgets, Devices, the various weapon sets, and many Mastermind summon sets (particularly Robots, Thugs, Mercenaries, and Ninjas). The unfinished Utility Belt and Gadgetry power pools would have played into this trope, too.

Contrast with ClothesMakeTheSuperman, where the character ''becomes'' powered when wearing the costume. See also CrimefightingWithCash.

* ''Franchise/TheLoneRanger''