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1[[quoteright:234:[[WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/captain_planet_full.png]]]]
2[[caption-width-right:234:''He's our hero[[TradeSnark ™]]!'']]
3
4->''"I wonder what you're captain of..."''
5-->-- '''Penny''', ''WebVideo/DoctorHorriblesSingAlongBlog''
6
7One of the most common types of superhero names. Simply stick "Captain" in front of this hero's name, and then whatever (usually) noun the writer wants. Perhaps it's to give the impression of leadership, as though this character actually is TheCaptain. This character won't actually be a captain of some military group, but will often be TheGoodCaptain.
8
9This can even happen with villains as well, although it's rare, and often reserved for parodies.
10
11The notoriety of this naming convention also named the tropes CaptainEthnic, CaptainGeographic, CaptainPatriotic, CaptainObvious (which was named outside this wiki), CaptainOblivious, CaptainErsatz, and several other members of the SugarWiki/TVTropesSuperheroTeam.
12
13'''Again, this is not simply a captain of a ship or military group,''' although it can occasionally overlap with it when a costumed superhero holds the actual rank of captain.
14
15Compare SomethingPerson and CaptainSpaceDefenderOfEarth (which this can overlap if a character is a space hero and a superhero).
16
17----
18!!Examples:
19
20[[foldercontrol]]
21
22[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
23* Captain Ginyu of "The Ginyu Force" in ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' is a villainous spoof of this. It should be noted that as a member of Frieza's forces, he may very well have the rank of Captain. However, it should also be noted that no other character on the force uses any rank designation, not even among the rest of the Ginyu Force.
24* Daichi ends up getting called Anime/CaptainEarth by his teammates, likely because of this trope. It eventually grows on him.
25* Captain Celebrity of ''Manga/MyHeroAcademiaVigilantes'' is a Pro Hero with FlyingBrick powers. Unfortunately, he's a [[ReallyGetsAround womanizing]] SmugSuper who's in the hero business just [[GloryHound for the fame and glory it brings him]].
26[[/folder]]
27
28[[folder:Comic Books]]
29* He started as a toy, only later being incorporated into DC and Marvel comics, but Captain Action certainly counts. Basically he's a guy in tights wearing a sea captain's cap (complete with boat anchor insignia) and wields a laser pistol and a "lightning sword," a sword with a blade shaped like a lightning bolt. He possesses super-strength as well as the ability to change his appearance to look like almost anyone. His comic series didn't do so hot in the '60s, or when they tried to revive him in the '90s. They're trying again with a new figure and darker and grittier comics.
30** The original version of Captain Action, Clive Arno, has no real reason to have the "captain" title, as he was an archaeologist before getting his powers. However the newer Captain Action, Miles Drake, is a former Navy SEAL so the title makes sense.
31* ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'' might not be the first, but he's one of the most famous. He's also one of the few who have actually earned the rank of Captain.
32** Major Glory of ''[[WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory The Justice Friends]]'' is a spoof of this (major being a rank above captain in the U.S. Army).
33* ''Comicbook/CaptainAtom''. Both the Charlton and DC versions are actual captains in the USAF.
34* ''ComicBook/CaptainBritain''. He belongs to a multidimensional organization of individuals carrying the Captain Britain title (or the local equivalent, like [[AlternateHistoryNaziVictory Hauptmann Englande]] or Captain [[Literature/NineteenEightyFour Airstrip One]]), each meant to defend their Earth's version of Britain and the greater Omniverse.
35* ''ComicBook/CaptainCanuck''.
36* ''ComicBook/CaptainConfederacy''. Lampshaded in the backup strip "Saks and Violet", where comic artists in the Free City of New York briefly consider a "Captain NYC" character, and one asks why superheroes never seem to rise above Captain.
37* ''ComicBook/CaptainGravity''.
38* ''ComicBook/{{Captain Marvel|MarvelComics}}'':
39** Mar-Vell actually ''did'' hold a Kree military rank equivalent to captain before being exiled to Earth. Same goes for [[ComicBook/UltimateMarvel Ultimate Captain Marvel]], who explained it this way: "My name is Geheneris [=HalaSon=] Mahr Vehl, rank of Pluskommander, officer of the Kree Void Navy. Pluskommander is a rank roughly analogous to Captain".
40** Since Mar-Vell's death, his codename has been taken up by Monica Rambeau, Phyla-Vell and Carol Danvers. Carol had reached the rank of full bird colonel by the time she quit the Air Force, meaning that she's more than earned the title.
41* ''ComicBook/DrBlinkSuperheroShrink'' has both Captain Omnipotent and Major Amazing (among others). They argue over who outranks who.
42-->'''Captain Omnipotent:''' These ranks really mean something?\
43'''Nocturne:''' I'm looking it up.
44* ''ComicBook/{{Empowered}}'' has [[GratuitousSpanish Capitan]] Rivet, the metallic leader of the Superhomeys.
45* ''ComicBook/TheFlash'' rogues Captain Cold and Captain Boomerang are villainous examples.
46* The Captain from ''ComicBook/{{Nextwave}}''. A straight-up parody, as he kept trying to find things to put after "Captain" but kept encountering trouble with it. He went with "Captain ☠☠☠☠" at one point, but got his mouth washed out with soap by ComicBook/CaptainAmerica.
47-->'''The Captain:''' I was Captain Power for a while. But then I got sued. Something about [[Series/CaptainPowerAndTheSoldiersOfTheFuture a cartoon]]. Then I changed it to Film/CaptainRon. And got sued. Changed it to [[ChurchOfHappyology Captain L. Ron]]. Got beaten up by Tom Cruise. I was Captain Universe, but it turned out there was already a ComicBook/CaptainUniverse. Captain Ultra. There was already one of those. A plumber, would you believe. Broke into my apartment and left a horse's head in the water tank as a warning. Captain Avenger, taken. Captain Avalon, I had to give up. [...] I tried Captain Marvel. [...] There've been, like, eight Captain Marvels. One of them was an adult movie actor with a yellow lightning bolt tattooed on his... anyway. There was a Captain Kerosene. I mean, I was scraping the bottom of the barrel, and there was already a Captain Kerosene. That's my luck, right there. I wasn't Captain Rectitude. But I was pretty much all of the other Captains at one time or another. So I gave up. I decided I was just The Captain. And then some Marine-looking melon-farmer tracks me down and says, "''I was The Captain first!''." I had to pay him money in the end.
48** By the way, he's not actually joking. Aside from the [[ShoutOut Shout Outs]] to other franchises (and the porn star Captain Marvel), all of these Captains are ''real'' Marvel characters of varying obscurity. Even Captain Rectitude.
49* Captain Marvel, former moniker of ''Comicbook/{{Shazam}}''.
50* Another villain is [[Comicbook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]] foe Captain Nazi.
51* Slightly averted in the Johnson-era satire ''[=SuperLBJ=] and the G.R.E.A.T. Society'', where Goldwater is depicted as "COLONEL America." (The real Goldwater's reserve rank was Major General.)
52* Captain Metropolis is a minor character in ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}''. His name might be [[JustifiedTrope justified]] by his apparent military background.
53* ComicBook/CaptainFlash, one of the few superheroes created during MediaNotes/TheInterregnum.
54* ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'': In the ComicBook/UltimateMarvel universe, Captain America was the first superhero ever. And, for decades, the ''only'' superhero ever to exist. When he was found alive, and the US created the Ultimates with other new superheroes, the European Union made their own super soldier program. All their members were named as "Captain" followed by the name of their country, as in "Captain Britain", "Captain Italy", etc.
55* Super-powered anthropomorphic rabbit [[Comicbook/CaptainCarrotAndHisAmazingZooCrew Captain Carrot]] is the greatest hero of Earth C, home of Creator/DCComics's funny animal characters.
56* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Vol 1]]: When Steve Trevor gained superpowers for about a week and took up costumed superheroing he used the title Captain Wonder.
57* Captain Hero, superheroic alter ego of [[ComicBook/ArchieComics Jughead Jones]], was a whimsical parody of the trope.
58* Don Martin's Mad Magazine character Captain Klutz was a luckless schlub who attempted to commit suicide jumping out his tenament window but on the way down he gets caught up in a pair of long johns, some polka dot shorts, a bath bonnet and a towel. He then falls on top of a bank robber who called him a klutz. When the police asks who he is, he slurs "I'm a klutz, captain." The officer takes this as a spoonerism and christens him Captain Klutz.
59[[/folder]]
60
61[[folder:Fan Fic]]
62* ''FanFic/TheCaptainOfTheVirtualConsole'' has Captain Gancena, taking inspiration from WesternAnimation/CaptainNTheGameMaster.
63* In ''Fanfic/SkyholdAcademyYearbook'', two of the student characters have a tendency to write various kinds of RealPersonFic about their teachers. In one such StoryWithinAStory, they turn [[VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition Cullen]] into "Captain Ferelden."
64[[/folder]]
65
66[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
67* In ''Film/TheCannonballRun'' mild mannered mechanic Victor becomes Captain Chaos!
68* Parodied in ''Film/{{Deadpool|2016}}'': while brainstorming aliases with Weasel, Wade happens to [[LineOfSightName glance at the bar's "dead pool" board]] and decides to call himself "Captain Deadpool". Weasel gives him a blank stare and says "Just 'Deadpool'", to which Wade agrees.
69** Also present in one scene of ''Film/Deadpool2'', where Wade introduces himself as Captain Deliciouspants, before [[spoiler: jumping into bear pen in a zoo, attempting to commit suicide after his girlfriend's death.]]
70* Lampshaded in ''Film/{{Epoch}}'', where the protagonist is being escorted to the BigDumbObject by Captain Tower of the US Army (played by Creator/BrianThompson). He mentions to his companion that it sounds like a superhero name. Subverted in the sequel where [[spoiler:Tower dies from a single shot to the gut]].
71** Maybe because he got promoted.
72* Champion City's beloved superhero Captain Amazing in ''Film/MysteryMen'', despite being an effective crime-fighter and media darling, is actually a self-important snob more interested in the endorsement deals he lands after averting high-profile crimes than actual justice and public safety. He even arranges for dangerous supervillain Casanova Frankenstein to be paroled from prison just so he'll be able to defeat him yet again. This backfires spectacularly...
73* The 1980s comedy ''Film/HeroAtLarge'' had Captain Avenger. John Ritter was an actor hired to play the in-universe-fictional Captain Avenger to promote an upcoming movie. When Ritter foils a robbery in-character, the hero becomes "real."
74* The title character in ''Film/TheReturnOfCaptainInvincible'', of course. The question just in whose forces he supposedly earned the rank does come up early in the movie when he's being interrogated by his detractors shortly before his original disappearance. (It's never actually answered, though since it's clear that he ''is'' very much an acclaimed UsefulNotes/WorldWarII hero and crime fighter the question itself comes across as appropriately petty.)
75[[/folder]]
76
77[[folder:Literature]]
78* ''Literature/CaptainUnderpants'' plays with this. In George and Harold's Superman-style origin comic for the character, his first name is revealed to be "Captain" after his adopted parents' favorite cereal.
79* ''Literature/HowToBeASuperhero'' has several. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in the section explaining why superheroes shouldn't try to fund their career with bank loans:
80-->'''Superhero:''' Good morning. I want to apply for a loan.
81-->'''Bank official:''' Certainly sir. And what is your name?
82-->'''Superhero:''' Captain Whirlwind.
83-->'''Bank official:''' Ah, a captain. Well, we offer preferential loans for veterans. What part of the forces did you serve in?
84-->'''Superhero:''' Er ... well ... I didn't ... I'm not actually a real captain.
85* In ''Literature/SuperPowereds'', the first ever costumed Hero in this 'verse was Captain Starlight. While it's known that he's a UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo vet, it's not stated what his military rank was.
86* In ''Literature/{{Renegades}}'', the informal leader of the eponymous group is called Captain Chromium. He's highly unlikely to have been an actual captain at any point, given he was probably still a kid when the governmen collapsed.
87[[/folder]]
88
89[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
90* An episode of ''Series/TheATeam'' had Murdock, Face and BA driving taxicabs. Murdock being Murdock, he soon drives around wearing a tablecloth as Captain Cab.
91* PlayedWith in ''Series/TheBoys2019'', as the first supervillain (well, ''[[VillainWithGoodPublicity open]]'' supervillain) shown is a {{Middle Eastern Terrorist|s}} with ActionBomb powers who calls himself Naqib, the Arabic word for Captain.
92* ''Series/CaptainPowerAndTheSoldiersOfTheFuture''
93* ''Series/CaptainVideo''
94* ''Series/CaptainNice''
95* ''{{Series/Dinosaurs}}'': When Earl gained superpowers and decided to be a superhero, he wanted a superhero name more impressive than "[[ShowWithinAShow Captain Action Figure]]", Baby's favorite superhero. He became "Captain Impressive."
96* ''Series/HenryDanger'' - The protagonist is the sidekick to superhero Captain Man. Apparently, he chose the most common prefix and suffix for superhero names and left out the middle part.
97* In the French series ''Series/HeroCorp'', which parodies the superhero genre, many characters are named like this, usually with a ridiculous noun, like Captain Extreme Sports or Captain Shampoo.
98* Captain Terrific in an episode of ''Series/ImaginationMovers''.
99* ''Series/ImpracticalJokers'': "Look! It's a fat bird!" "No! It's a fat plane!" "No! It's... Captain Fatbelly!" A.K.A. Joe Gatto in [[FanDisservice green spandex]] and [[UnderwearOfPower white briefs]].
100* Captain Marvelous in ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger''. A pirate captain, but counts since he is the leader of a superhero team (the only one left in the universe, since the powers of the previous thirty-four Franchise/SuperSentai were depleted and transformed into the Gokaigers' keys).
101* In an episode of ''{{Series/Maude}}'' Maude's cousin visits; he has a split personality which comes out at times of stress, becoming CAPTAIN-AN-AN-AN-AN HERO-RO-RO-RO-RO! (He makes his own echo sound, and insists others do the same.)
102* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''. The ShowWithinAShow holodeck program ''Film/TheAdventuresOfCaptainProton'', an AffectionateParody of ComicStrip/FlashGordon and other sci-fi serials. The hero is played by ''Lieutenant'' Paris (demoted to Ensign at one stage). When Voyager's actual captain is reluctantly convinced to enter the program, she naturally outranks him as ''Queen'' Arachnia.
103* On ''Series/WhoseLineIsItAnyway,'' the names of "Weird Superheroes" often dip into this trope. Colin was once memorably dubbed "Captain [[NonIndicativeName Hair]]."
104[[/folder]]
105
106[[folder:Music]]
107* The song "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN8IInmVna0 Captain Molecule]]" by The Divers is one of the more AffectionateParody takes on this trope.
108[[/folder]]
109
110[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
111* ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'' features several ShowWithinAShow examples, such as Captain Napalm and Captain Steroid.
112* ''ComicStrip/{{Curtis}}'' has the [[ShowWithinAShow SuperCaptainCoolMan comic]].
113[[/folder]]
114
115[[folder:Pinball]]
116* Captain Courageous from ''Pinball/JohnnyMnemonic''.
117[[/folder]]
118
119[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
120* Fully justified in the GURPS IST universe, as the International Supers Teams are a military organization. All supers on the teams are awarded the rank of Captain if not higher, so anyone who wants to use it gets to.
121[[/folder]]
122
123[[folder:Video Games]]
124* ''VideoGame/CaptainRainbow'', a character from Creator/{{Nintendo}}.
125* Captain Smiley of ''VideoGame/ComicJumper''.
126* Captain Diabetes in ''VideoGame/SouthParkTheFracturedButWhole''.
127* Captain Falcon of ''VideoGame/FZero''. '''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros YES!]]'''
128** During the [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Palutena's Guidance]] on him, Viridi [[LampshadeHanging questions]] what kind of captain he actually is.
129* Captain Qwark of ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank''
130* Captain Hero of ''VideoGame/SimCity''
131* ''VideoGame/CaptainCommando'', hero of a self-titled arcade game and Creator/{{Capcom}}'s former mascot.
132[[/folder]]
133
134[[folder:Webcomics]]
135* In ''WebComic/DocRat'', [[http://www.docrat.com.au/default.asp?thisItem=753 Captain Kerpow]].
136* [[http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2011-01-07 This]] ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' features Catalina suggesting a "Captain Superhero" rename of Cheerleadra.
137-->'''Susan:''' Cheerleadra... I can't ''believe'' they dubbed her Cheerleadra.
138-->'''Catalina:''' Yeah! That's, like, a ''sidekick's'' name! They should've called her "Captain" Something! '''''Captain Tiny Skirt!'''''
139-->'''Susan:''' <{{beat}}>
140-->'''Catalina:''' ...[[DefensiveWhat What?]] I don't have a lot to go on.
141[[/folder]]
142
143[[folder:Web Original]]
144* Discussed in the three-part series ''Captain Dynamic'', made by Rooster Teeth to promote ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'', the titular character claims that heroes often use the word Captain in their names because it gives people a sense of the military and gives them the power to marry people on a boat.
145* Captain Hammer in ''WebVideo/DoctorHorriblesSingAlongBlog''. Lampshaded when Penny asks (in song), "I wonder what he's captain of."
146--> '''Captain Hammer:''' [''mocking Billy/Horrible''] You see, little Penny's giving it up, she's giving it up hard. 'Cause she's with Captain Hammer. [''holds up his fists''] And these are not the hammer. [''walks away from Billy, but then returns''] [[DontExplainTheJoke The hammer is my penis]].
147* ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'': SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy specifically forbids students from using an unearned title as part of their code name, so Alvin "Captain Canada!" Cuthbert (his insistence on including that exclamation point is a good indication of his general level of doofusness) is forced to use "Cerebrex" until he graduates, assuming the other Canadian students don't beat him to death for making them look bad, which is a distinct possibility since Whateley has a lot of Canadian students and he does tend to make them look bad.
148** Likewise "Captain Bravo!" and "Doctor Goodvibes" are stuck with "Bravo" and "Goodvibes" until graduation, lampshaded by typical teenage bellyaching about the unfairness of it all. But you can see why the faculty and staff who have actually earned those ranks, titles and degrees would find the whole idea of High School kids using them unacceptably pretentious.
149[[/folder]]
150
151[[folder:Western Animation]]
152* Captain Linger ("The day he saves may be his own!") was the star of a brief series of interstitial shorts on ''Creator/AdultSwim'', a FlyingBrick superhero with a bad habit of [[OverlyLongGag awkwardly hanging around after saving the day]].
153* Captain Atomic from ''WesternAnimation/AtomicPuppet'', not to be confused with ''ComicBook/CaptainAtom''. His former sidekick Mookie goes by Sergeant Subatomic.
154* Although not a superhero, ''WesternAnimation/{{Captain N|The Gamemaster}}'' was likely named after this trope.
155** And subsequently the hero of the webcomic ''Webcomic/CaptainSNES''.
156* ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers''
157* ''WesternAnimation/CaptainSimianAndTheSpaceMonkeys''.
158* Captain Hero of ''WesternAnimation/DrawnTogether''
159* The English dubbed version of the animated ''[[Series/ElChavoDelOcho El Chavo]]'' series refers to "El Chapulín Colorado"[[note]]Another of Creator/{{Chespirito}}'s creations / characters.[[/note]] as "Captain Hopper" because of the "CH" on his costume.[[note]]It's actually the Spanish letter "ch" ("cheh"), which Chespirito regularly incorporated into his productions, mainly as the names of some of his characters.[[/note]]
160* [[ShowWithinAShow Captain Green and the Eco-Teens]] in ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents''.
161* Captain California in ''WesternAnimation/HeroHigh''.
162* Captain Super Captain from the ''WesternAnimation/PennZeroPartTimeHero'' episodes "I'm Super!" and "I'm Still Super!"
163* [[ShowWithinAShow Captain Implausible]] in ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb''.
164* Captain Hindsight from ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', a superhero with the dubious power to determine what should have been done to avert the present catastrophe.
165** He can also fly, which everybody appears to ignore.
166* Captain Crandall from ''WesternAnimation/TeamoSupremo'', calls himself "Captain Crandall."
167* Captain Sunshine from ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros''.
168* WesternAnimation/CaptainCaveman, a Hanna-Barbera character from TheSeventies, is exactly what you might expect - a hairy prehistoric superhero, transplanted to more modern settings.
169* Played with in the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' episode "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueUnlimitedS3E5FlashAndSubstance Flash and Substance]]" in the scene where the Trickster is {{drowning his sorrows}} and grousing about how the other [[RoguesGallery Rogues]] [[TheFriendNobodyLikes don't respect him]]:
170-->'''Trickster:''' "Captain Cold", "Captain Boomerang"... probably would have gone for it if I was a ''captain''.
171* The title character of ''WesternAnimation/CaptainSturdy'', who has [[OldSuperhero retired, but is forced to get back in the saddle because his pension was cancelled by the retirement age for superheroes being raised to 70]].
172* ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'' has Captain Rescue, an [[OldSuperhero over-the-hill hero]] who is a send-up of both TheCape and GadgeteerGenius types of heroes.
173[[/folder]]
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