History Main / ZombieApocalypseHero

-->--'''Tallahassee'', ''Film/{{Zombieland}}''

* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'': The episode "Rick Potion #9" has Rick accidentally unleashing an apocalypse where the entire population are first turned into monstrous humanoid insects, and then into hideously deformed mutants called Cronenbergs during an attempt at fixing the first change. The only survivors are Mortys family members, due to being immune to the concoction that mutated the human race (the plague was caused by a botched LovePotion Morty asked for, and anyone sharing his DNA was immune). The Smith family proceed to TookALevelInBadass and become hardened Cronenberg slaying {{Action Survivor}}s, while Rick and Morty escape to another dimension.

** "Dial "Z" for Zombie", the first ever EpisodeOfTheDead, has Homer of all characters take on this role. Homer brandishes his family's shotgun and protects them as he blasts his way through multiple zombies.

* ''Film/DayOfTheDead1985'': John is just a helicopter pilot, but he kills more zombies (mostly with his gun but some by bludgeoning them) than any of the soldiers and is the character with the best lan on how to survive long-term.

* Film/DawnOfTheDead2004 : Hospital nurse Anna and stoic cop Kenneth are the leaders of the many survivors who gather at a mall besieged by zombies.

* ''ComicBook/{{Crossed}}'': Among the main protagonists who do a lot to fight against the rape and torture-happy Crossed in their respective story arcs are a waitress whose grandfather taught her to shoot, a horse rancher’s daughter, three comic book writers (two in Japan, one in England), a crusty Scottish fisherman, a BadassBiker, a science teacher, a medical student, a writers' retreat guest, an anthropology student, and a bunker salesman. Given the DarkerAndEdgier {{Deconstruction}} nature of the series, a good number of them take up monstrous actions themselves, suffer horrible deaths, or both.

Meet the Zombie Apocalypse Hero, a StockCharacter found in either a ZombieApocalypse story, an EpisodeOfTheDead, or [[EverythingsDeaderWithZombies any other setting with zombies]]. This character is either an ActionHero or ActionSurvivor who finds they have a talent for slaying zombies. They may even become a go to specialist that is [[WhoYouGonnaCall called upon for their services]] to clear out zombie outbreaks. The discovery of these characters often comes as an unexpected surprise considering their average and unremarkable civilian identity. Expect TheApocalypseBringsOutTheBestInPeople to be in play.

Meet the Zombie Apocalypse Hero, a StockCharacter found in either a ZombieApocalypse story, an EpisodeOfTheDead, or [[EverythingsDeaderWithZombies any other setting with zombies]]. This character is either an ActionHero or ActionSurvivor who finds they have a talent for slaying zombies. They may even become a go to specialist that is [[WhoYouGonnaCall called upon for their services]] to clear out zombie outbreaks.

The discovery of these characters often comes as an unexpected surprise considering their average and unremarkable civilian identity. Expect TheApocalypseBringsOutTheBestInPeople to be in play.

Unlike other [[HunterOfMonsters supernatural creature hunters]] who may have special tech or powers, the Zombie Apocalypse Hero is usually a BadassNormal. This makes sense in the apocalyptic setting, where resources are rare and everyone is just trying to get-by and survive with whatever they can find. Making them the physical underdog also amps up the threat level and makes them more relatable to the viewers. Plus, zombies themselves are on the lower end of the powerlevel spectrum compared to other creatures, lacking any obvious powers other than pseudo-immortality and primarily rely on [[ZergRush power in numbers]].

** Chris Redfield, a former US Army pilot turned rookie police officer in Raccoon City who becomes trapped in a mansion full of zombies. He would later form an organisation to counter bioterrorism and one of the key figures in combating the Umbrella Corporation, responsible for the engineering of the monstrosities.

* ''Series/TheWalkingDead'': Rick Grimes and his team are a whole BadassCrew of them. All of them are formidable in combatting walkers (as the zombies are called in this series) and each of them boasts their own [[WeaponBasedCharacterization personality-reflecting weapon]].

* ''VideoGame/HouseOfTheDead'' Agent G is the main protagonist across the franchise and a government agent who has faced off and cleaned through numerous mutant outbreaks across the world.

* ''Film/ScoutsGuideToTheZombieApocalypse:'' The zombie apocalypse is quickly contained to one town, which the military prepares to destroy. They evacuate most of the residents, but the kids attending a large WildTeenParty get left behind, prompting a trio of misfit Boy Scouts to fight their way to that party to warn the party-goers, including the main hero's CoolBigSis.

* ''Franchise/EvilDead'': Ash Williams, Deadite hunter extraordinaire. His [[WeaponOfChoice Weapons of Choice]] are a SawedOffShotgun dubbed his "Boomstick" and a [[ChainsawGood chainsaw]] that [[BladeBelowTheShoulder replaces his amputated hand]].

* ''Series/TheWalkingDead'': Rick Grimes and his team are a whole BadassCrew of them. All of them are formidable in combatting walkers (as the zombies are called in this series) and each of them boast their own WeaponOfChoice.

Common picks for their WeaponOfChoice include [[{{Handguns}} guns]] (particularly {{shotguns|AreJustBetter}}, [[SawedOffShotgun sawed-off]] or not), {{machete|Mayhem}}s, {{chainsaw|Good}}s, {{crowbar|Combatant}}s, or some other weapon efficient at making the undead into the ''properly dead''.

Common picks for their WeaponOfChoice include [[{{Handguns}} guns]] (particularly [[EverythingsBetterWithShotguns shotguns]], either [[SawedOffShotgun sawed off]] or not), [[MacheteMayhem machetes]], [[ChainsawGood chainsaws]], [[CrowbarCombatant crowbars]], or some other weapon efficient at making the undead, ''properly dead''.

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** Blind gardener Tomonoga Ijiro retreats into the wilderness during the outbreak, but he takes a sword with him and proceeds to decapitate every zombie he encounters. He later helps lead the rebuilding of Japan.

* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'': The episode "Rick Potion #9" has Rick accidentally unleashing an apocalypse where the entire population are turned into hideously deformed mutants called Cronenbergs. The only survivors are Morty?s family members, due to being immune to the concoction that mutated the human race. The Smith family proceed to TookALevelInBadass and become hardened Cronenberg slaying {{Action Survivor}}s, while Rick and Morty escape to another dimension.