Motives vary widely and may characterize in more detail than the heroism alone. Many of them are not mutually exclusive:
- He's genuinely modest (in which case blushing is likely). Likely for The Cape.
- It's All a Part of the Job and the constant praise is very wearying. May be phrased as "It's What I Do."
- He's embarrassed to receive all the credit when others contributed. He may try to share; success is unlikely, but it is often appreciated. Again likely for The Cape. Also for A Father to His Men.
- The person he rescued was a True Companion or another hero. The full phrase is likely to be "Think nothing of it. You Would Do the Same for Me."
- The rescuer and the rescued are in the middle of doing something, which still needs to be done and must get on with it; there is no time for gratitude. "Thank me later" may be said. Especially if the rescue will be only temporary if they don't succeed.
- The rescued had, by previous actions, put the rescuer deeply in his debt. Gratitude for something which isn't even reciprocal return is embarrassing.
- He blames himself (correctly or otherwise) for the original problem and felt that he Must Make Amends; he feels that he doesn't deserve their praise because of his past actions and gratitude only reminds him of his original guilt.
- His motives were more self-interested than the rescued person seems to think. Will often state such motives. The Cape will often be honest about this, or Good Is Not Nice.
- He felt more fear than anyone realized, and is embarrassed to be hailed for what he thinks is a mere facade of heroism. Likely for the Cowardly Lion.
- He did it for a lark, because he lives In Harm's Way, or whatever else he had to do, even if others regard it as dirty, servile, or difficult.
- He's a loner by nature or simply dislikes being the center of attention. Likely for the Anti-Hero or Good Is Not Nice. Prone to be brusque.
- Some characters can manifest this only at times — such at the end of a problem — when they are exhausted or stressed out or otherwise completely incapable of social interaction.
- The expressions of gratitude are getting out of hand, with grateful crowds and public celebrations chipping away at the hero's limited free time, and he just wants or needs to do something else.
- His reputation for misanthropy is valuable to him. He is prone to ask that no one spread the news. Likely for Hidden Heart of Gold.
- His heroic action violated some Obstructive Code of Conduct, and gratitude will only get him in trouble.
- If he becomes Famed In-Story, people will keep trying to drag him away from Home Sweet Home.
- It looked harder than it was, or the gratitude is disproportionate, and he's embarrassed. Perhaps he genuinely doesn't understand why heroic acts that come so easily to him seem so impressive to others. An honest Fake Ultimate Hero or Accidental Hero is likely here, as is The Cape.
- He wanted to save the person, but won't admit it; this is the subtrope I Was Just Passing Through. Most likely for a Tsundere.
- He didn't want to save the person, but knew he should, or that he needed the other one. May explicitly say that he did for the mission, or his duty, not for the other character personally. This character might be a Knight in Sour Armor and is prone to Grudging "Thank You" when he's the one saved.
- He's trying to seem modest. Likely a less honest Fake Ultimate Hero. Also likely to backfire and look like a covert brag if the hero's actions were manifestly less than great. Particularly if he tried to disclaim his feat before anyone showed any gratitude for it.
- After an Embarrassing Rescue or the like, he is bitterly rejecting the patently insincere thanks (possibly along with complaints, knowing that the rescued person will, at best, think nothing of it and more typically will revenge himself for the embarrassment. Which can be any character at all. (Well, except a Love Freak.)
- Ironically, he can express this in some form or another after it is clear that no one is going to recognize what he did. The purer his heroism, the less bitterly he will do so.
- Comically, he may do so in front of the beneficiaries, which often jolts them into expressing their gratitude.
- The feat was, or involved actions which were, extremely embarrassing or disreputable to the point where the hero doesn't want to be associated with it. See also Medal of Dishonor.
- He's Compliment Fishing and trying to set up other people to insist that his actions really were great.
- He achieved his heroic feat completely by accident, or with a darker intention in mind. He is not really the hero everyone thinks he is.
- He knows, or at least believes, that someone else did most of the work and/or had a harder task than him. He feels guilty accepting thanks because he honestly believes that the other party is more worthy of gratitude than he is.
- He simply dislikes the idea of being the subject of hero worship, finding it to be demeaning to the saved party or encouraging dependency.
- The hero is trying to be stealthy or is in disguise and wants to avoid having their cover blown by a public display of gratitude.
- Pragmatically speaking, bragging would only make him unlikeable to the public eye.
- The character doesn't want to be held to the high expectations of being labeled a hero, so they try to avoid public acknowledgment.
- There was enough collateral damage, personal failure, or other negative consequences caused in the process that they consider the situation to be an overall loss. Being praised for their "heroics" after such an event only make the guilt and shame they feel sting more.
- The rescuer is deliberately downplaying their actions because don't want the person they saved to feel guilty or traumatized by any costs or injuries they endured in the process of the rescue.
