History Main / WeHelpTheHelpless

* Lupin and the gang from Franchise/{{Lupin III}} (though mostly the anime adaptations and ''not'' the original manga). They're career criminals, but will often help out those in need, especially if they're being harassed by even worse criminals.

* ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'': The Van der Linde Gang's philosophy as summarized by Dutch is "we shoot fellas as need shootin', save fellas as need savin', and feed 'em as need feedin'." However, the romantic nature of the crusading outlaw becomes ''brutally'' deconstructed over the course of the game; if Dutch indeed wanted to help others and retreat from the modern world while spreading his quasi-Luddist philosophy, he could've started some sort of anarcho-primitivist collective and lived peacefully in the wilderness. But his insistence on maintaining an Old West gang and fighting injustice through force of arms means that the modern world will always be at his heels hunting him down. Just being a band of outlaws in the first place requires them to fend off other, more vicious gangs for territory and dominance, leaving little time for heroism, while Dutch himself slowly becomes (or is revealed as) a tyrant who doesn't allow anything less than unwavering loyalty in the ranks. Ultimately, all they've got separating them from the O'Driscolls in the eyes of the law is a code of ethics and a mission statement, and the law doesn't give a damn about good intentions. [[spoiler: There's evidence for both Dutch's sincere belief in his Robin Hood ideals and him using it as an excuse to justify a life of crime, but taking advice from Micah, [[AxCrazy a trigger-happy psycho]] [[ItsAllAboutMe who's only looking out for number one]], is what really dooms the gang.]]

* ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'': The Van der Linde Gang's philosophy as summarized by Dutch is "we shoot fellas as need shootin', save fellas as need savin', and feed 'em as need feedin'." However, the romantic nature of the crusading outlaw becomes ''brutally'' deconstructed over the course of the game; if Dutch indeed wanted to help others and retreat from the modern world while spreading his quasi-Luddist philosophy, he could've started some sort of anarcho-primitivist collective and lived peacefully in the wilderness. But his insistence on maintaining an Old West gang and fighting injustice through force of arms means that the modern world will always be at his heels hunting him down. Just being a band of outlaws in the first place requires them to fend off other, more vicious gangs for territory and dominance, leaving little time for heroism, while Dutch himself slowly becomes (or is revealed as) a tyrant who doesn't allow anything less than unwavering loyalty in the ranks. Ultimately, all they've got separating them from the O'Driscolls in the eyes of the law is a code of ethics and a mission statement, and the law doesn't give a damn about good intentions. [[spoiler: There's evidence for both Dutch's sincere belief in the Robin Hood ideal and him using it as an excuse to justify a life of crime, but taking advice from Micah, [[AxCrazy a trigger-happy psycho]] [[ItsAllAboutMe who's only looking out for number one]], is what really dooms the gang.]]

''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'': The Van der Linde Gang's philosophy as summarized by Dutch is "we shoot fellas as need shootin', save fellas as need savin', and feed 'em as need feedin'." However, the romantic nature of the crusading outlaw becomes ''brutally'' deconstructed over the course of the game; if Dutch indeed wanted to help others and retreat from the modern world while spreading his quasi-Luddist philosophy, he could've started some sort of anarcho-primitivist collective and lived peacefully in the wilderness. But his insistence on maintaining an Old West gang and fighting injustice through force of arms means that the modern world will always be at his heels hunting him down. Just being a band of outlaws in the first place requires them to fend off other, more vicious gangs for territory and dominance, leaving little time for heroism, while Dutch himself slowly becomes (or is revealed as) a tyrant who doesn't allow anything less than unwavering loyalty in the ranks. Ultimately, all they've got separating them from the O'Driscolls in the eyes of the law is a code of ethics and a mission statement, and the law doesn't give a damn about good intentions. [[spoiler: There's evidence for both Dutch's sincere belief in the Robin Hood ideal and him using it as an excuse to justify a life of crime, but taking advice from Micah, [[AxCrazy a trigger-happy psycho]] [[ItsAllAboutMe who's only looking out for number one]], is what really dooms the gang.]]

* ''Film/SevenSamurai'' gives a somewhat ambivalent and often cynical treatment of this.

%%* ''Franchise/DocSavage''

-> '''Dean Chesney:''' God helps those who help themselves.\\

-->'''Jim Hawking''': ''Hello! You've reached Hawking, from Starwind and Hawking Repairs! We fix everything from tractors to relationships, so how can we help you today?''

-->'''Black Adam''': You fight for the Wizard?\\
'''Superman''': I fight for those who can't fight for themselves!

-->'''Supergirl''': My cousin once said in an interview that he stood for "Truth, Justice and the American Way of Life". If anyone asked me, I'd say I stand for "Hope, Help and Compassion For All."

-->''"“You people call yourselves heroes, but all you're doing is running around fighting each other! When was the last time you fed the hungry? When was the last time you helped irrigate a desert? When was the last time you were there for someone who just needed a friend? That's what being a hero is all about. You're all like children, throwing temper tantrums.”''

--> '''The (Twelfth) Doctor:''' "I'm not a good man! I'm not a bad man! I'm not a hero! I'm not a President! And no, I'm not an officer! You know who I am? I am an ''idiot''... with [[Characters/DoctorWhoTheTARDIS a box]] and a screwdriver, passing through, helping out. And I don't need an army, I never have."

--->'''Picard''': Someone who has no else to help her, someone who will likely die if I don't.

-->'''Shepard''': Listen, you're stuck here until this quarantine is over. That could take weeks. What you really need is to get this problem solved right now. That's what I do -- solve problems.

--> '''Waylon:''' Stuff it junior! You and your little toy soldiers make me sick! All self-righteous... Struttin' around like you own the damn joint... You ain't helpin' people because you care! You do it to feel important! You're a hypocrite, and you ain't better than me! Least I'm honest! [[AtLeastIAdmitIt Least ol' Waylon's honest about who and what I am!]]
--> '''Will:''' ...Maybe you're right. Maybe we are the same. You do what you want to do, and so do I. You fly around and act like a jerk because it's what you want to do. And I help people because it's what I want to do. Does that make me a hypocrite? If I do nothing, people will suffer. People will die. You say I do this to feel important, and maybe you're right. But if that saves even one life, then it's worth it. Understand?
--> '''Waylon:''' Why, you little sack of crap! I heard enough! Folks like you never live very long, anyway. I'm gonna bury you, kid!

-->'''Tagon''': But they're almost always bad guys, and we only do it for the money.

--> It's not our problem.
--> If we don't fight evil wherever we find it, then were no better than Dragaunus.

* In ''Manga/HajimeNoIppo'', Takeshi Sendoh's backstory has him as an ex-gang leader whose followers actually fought against other gangs to counterattack their abuse of other students. And ever since he was a child, Sendou strived to protect his friends from bullies: his motto was "Leave this to me! I'm gonna protect you ALL".

* ''ComicBook/JonSableFreelance''. Although Jon is a merecenary, he charges on a sliding scale of fees. And if he believes in the rightness of a particular cause, that fee may be purely nominal.

** The goal of the Fenris Rangers, a vigilate group which includes Seven of Nine, is to help those who have no one to help them in the lawless regions of the former Romulan Neutral Zone.

* Parodied with ''WesternAnimation/SmilingFriends'', where it's the main jo of the characters to make people smile. This causes them to get into all sorts of wacky zany misadventures.

* Samus Aran's missions ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' series are generally simple; investigate a disturbance on a planet, [[BountyHunter exterminate all the metroids]], etc. But in quite a few games, she goes above and beyond the strict terms of her contract due to her own heroic sensibilities. The two most extreme examples are perhaps Prime 2 (sent to investigate the missing Bravo team; ends up saving an entire planet from the same creatures that killed Bravo Team), and Fusion (Sent to exterminate the X Parasites, ends up ''defying her orders'' and breaking her contract in order to exterminate not only them, but also [[spoiler:destroy the illegal, Federation-run Metroid cloning project and the planet of SR-388]]). One can only imagine her collecting her meager contract for the investigations that kicked off each adventure. As far as ''Fusion'' goes, she might not even get paid for that mission, given the end result.

* Franchise/{{Superman}} tends to do this while not requiring/demanding any gratitude in return, there is a reason he was called "Champion of the Oppressed" back in the [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]]. Demonstrated in this quote:

* ''ComicBook/HeroesForHire'' [[ComicBook/LukeCageHeroForHire Power Man]] and [[ComicBook/ImmortalIronFist Iron Fist]], though if the cause is just enough, they'll waive the fee.

* OlderThanRadio: ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'' selling his services as a consulting detective to everyone from poor tradesmen and governesses to the official police force of UsefulNotes/ScotlandYard to aristocrats, captains of industry, and even royalty. He'll even investigate the case for free if the client can't afford to pay him but their problem stirs his interest. While it's certainly true that Holmes is glad to help people who need it and see justice done, and glad to collect his fee, his primary motivation is always finding ways to stave off the monstrous boredom that he feels whenever he is not on a case, since his vast intellect makes it very hard to find meaningful challenges and stimulation in life. From his point of view, the more bizarre and outlandish a case is, the better.

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikhism Sikhs]].

* Jack from ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' is an example of this, helping everyone he met in his journey and fighting evil in general.

%%* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''
%%* ''Series/TheAvengers1960s''
* ''Series/TheEqualizer'' does this [[TheAtoner to atone]] for the things he's done as an agent for "The Company".

* In the Disney show ''WesternAnimation/TheMightyDucks''. The one with alien crime fighting duck people. The squad of commando ducks is pursuing a warlord from their world named Dragonis to earth. While searching for him, they come across crime around every corner, but choose to ignore it, since Dragonis is their top priority. It's not until the former thief of the group gives them a speech, about how if they continue to allow crime to prosper, then they are equally responsible. It's after this speech that they devote themselves to fighting crime in the city, while searching for Dragonis.

--> If we don't fight evil wherever we find it, then were no better than Dragonis

** Jean-Luc Picard is among the very few people in the Alpha and Beta quadrants who wanted to save Romulan lives when the Romulan star was about to explode. His personal mission is to rescue Soji from the Zhat Vash. In "Stardust City Rag", he describes her to Seven of Nine as:

%%* ''Series/TheAvengers''

* Travis [=McGee=], from John D. [=MacDonald=]'s novels. He usually gives his profession as 'salvage consultant'. His normal fee is the half of value of whatever he is hired to recover; if the client object he's quick to remind them [[CatchPhrase half of the lost property/money is considerably more than none of it]]. Will occasionally wave the fee entirely ForGreatJustice.

* The heroes of the ''Roleplay/GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse'' did this as a matter of course. But then, they were superheroes. That's what superheroes '''do'''.