Heroes

♫ He's gotta be strong, and he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight! ♪
L - R, top to bottom: Wonder Woman, Mario, Goku, and Korra.

"You see that you and I are of a different stripe, don't you? We don't have to dream that we're important. We are."

— Mr. House, Fallout: New Vegas

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The good guy, seeks to defeat the villain, save the princess, find the treasure, etc. Generally the central figure in Action Series and Adventure Series. Always wins in the end.

This list is about different kinds of heroic characters. We also have a specific list of Hero Tropes, which are ways that heroes are made heroic in storytelling.

If you're looking for something about the show of the same name, try Heroes (and if a link from another page sent you here instead of there, feel free to correct it — no-one may ever know you did, but virtue is its own reward!). You may also be looking for our page on the David Bowie album "Heroes".

Contrast this index with its antithesis, Villains. There's also a Wiki on this trope per The Wiki Rule.

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Tropes:

Indexes

• Anti-Hero: A hero who has serious personality flaws or even questionable morals. They are the equal and opposite counterpart of the Anti-Villain.
• Being the Hero Sucks: Being a good guy isn't necessarily all it's cracked up to be. Trying to fight the forces of evil can take a serious toll on one's life.
• Cops and Detectives: People whose job is to solve crimes and catch criminals are usually (though not always) depicted as morally righteous individuals.
• Hero Ball: Heroic lapses in judgment which prolong or facilitate the plot.
• Index with a Heart of Gold: Characters who act or seem harsh on the outside, but are actually kinder people on the inside.
• Pleasant Animals Index: Animals that we humans believe are adorable and/or awesome will often play a protagonistic role.
• A Polite Index: All types of characters who tend towards acting nice and respectful towards others (but are not necessarily always good people, as bad guys can be friendly too).
• Sidekicks: The friends and helpers of the main hero.
• Superhero Tropes: Tropes about superheroes (and by extension, supervillains).

A-C

• 100% Adoration Rating: The hero is universally liked by everyone.
• 100% Heroism Rating
• Accidental Hero: A character who does a heroic deed completely by accident.
• The Ace: The hero who's good at everything.
• Action Dad
• Action Genre Hero Guy
• Action Girl
• Action Mom
• Action Hero
• Action Pet
• Action Survivor: They're not a skilled fighter, but prove to be quite capable of handling a dangerous situation anyways.
• Actual Pacifist: Someone who refuses to physically harm other people no matter what.
• Adaptational Heroism: The villain character from the original work is a hero in the adaptation.
• Adaptational Nice Guy: A character is made nicer in the adaptation than they were in the original work. Often done with heroic characters whose rudeness might prevent them from being sympathetic.
• Adventurer Archaeologist
• The All-American Boy
• All-Loving Hero: A good guy who's kind to everybody. Often willing to give even nasty villains another chance.
• Always Lawful Good: An entire race of completely benign beings.
• Amnesiac Hero: The protagonist has little or no memory of who they are, and how they got themselves in their current situation.
• Anti-Anti-Christ: The Antichrist is expected to help the forces of evil with conquering/destroying the world. Fortunately, this Antichrist wants to save the world instead.
• Anti-Hero Substitute
• Anti-Hero Team: The team that consists of anti-heroes.
• The Anti-Nihilist: A character who knows how terrible the world is, but instead of succumbing to despair, decides to create meaning, values and purpose in life out of it.
• Arc Hero
• Ascended Demon: Demonic beings redeem themselves to become divine guardians.
• The Atoner: The hero really wants to redeem themselves for bad deeds or horrible mistakes they've made in the past.
• Badass Bookworm: An intelligent hero.
• Badass Pacifist: While they would never beat the crap out of their enemies, they're brave enough to stand up for their beliefs anyways.
• Badass Unintentional: The hero is completely oblivious of their great power.
• Bad Powers, Good People: A hero has superpowers that are usually associated with villains.
• Barbarian Hero: A "savage" warrior who's rather brave and noble.
• Beauty Equals Goodness: Most heroes tend to be very physically attractive.
• Benevolent A.I.: When Artificial Intelligence and/or robots care for the well-being of their creators and other living individuals rather than turn against them.
• Benevolent Mage Ruler
• Benevolent Monsters: Scary-looking creatures who would much rather befriend humans instead of harming them.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Heroes who can be quite dangerous and formidable when pushed too far.
• Big Damn Heroes: Good guys save the day at the right time.
• Big Good: The most powerful and significant force of good who exists in the story.
• The Big Guy: The physically strongest member of the group.
• Blue Is Heroic: Many good guys like to wear blue clothes.
• Broken Hero
• Brother–Sister Team
• Bully Hunter
• Byronic Hero
• The Cape: The archetypal superhero codified by Superman.
• The Captain
• Captain Space, Defender of Earth!: A parody of space opera heroes.
• The Cavalry: Reinforcements for a last-second dramatic rescue of the heroes.
• Celebrating the Heroes
• Celibate Hero: A hero who is not interested in pursuing romantic/sexual relationships for some reason or another.
• Chaotic Good: No order, all justice.
• Chaste Hero: A hero who is oblivious to the feelings of someone who is in love with them.
• The Chick: The (female) member of the group, often quite nice and diplomatic.
• The Chosen One: According to fate and prophecy, this hero is destined to save the world.
• The Chosen Zero: But they're kind of a loser as well.
• Chronic Hero Syndrome: The hero can't resist helping out anyone and everyone in need who they may come across.
• Chummy Mummy: An undead mummy who's friendly.
• Classical Anti-Hero
• Comedic Hero: A hero prone to humorously foolish behavior.
• Comically Invincible Hero
• Commanding Coolness
• Contrasting Sequel Main Character: The protagonist of a sequel differs significantly from the protagonist of a previous installment in the series.
• Cool Old Guy
• Cool Teacher: A educator who actually seems to make learning fun, serving as an unambiguously positive influence in their students' lives.
• Cool Uncle
• The Conscience: A character that acts as the others' moral compass.
• The Cowl
• Create Your Own Hero: A villain's actions inadvertently lead to someone rising up to oppose them.
• Creepy Good
• Crimefighting with Cash
• Crusading Lawyer: An attorney who genuinely tries hard to help out their client without ulterior motives.

D-F

• Damsel in Distress
• Dark Is Not Evil: Being associated with darkness doesn't make the character less of a hero.
• Dark Magical Girl: A Magical Girl with a Dark and Troubled Past, who starts out as an Evil Counterpart to The Hero, but usually switches sides after being taught The Power of Love, Friendship, and Acceptance after a big showdown.
• Defends Against Their Own Kind
• Delightful Dragon: Benevolent dragons who prove that dragons and other reptilians are capable of as much good as any other species.
• Designated Hero: The character is supposed to be a hero, but their actions say otherwise.
• Determinator: Absolutely nothing can make the hero give up.
• Deuteragonist
• Distressed Dude
• Doomed Moral Victor
• Dork Knight
• The Drifter
• Embodiment of Virtue
• Eternal Hero: The hero has existed for eons and will likely continue existing for eons.
• Ethical Slut: This character is a moral and benevolent person, at least when it comes to matters of romance and sexuality.
• Even the Loving Hero Has Hated Ones: An All-Loving Hero has at least one exception to their rule of loving others.
• The Everyman: The protagonist is a (mostly) average, normal, ordinary guy just trying to deal with everyday life. Though sometimes they get forced into dealing with extraordinary problems...
• Excited Kids' Show Host: An kids' show host who does his best to be as honest and good-natured as the character he plays on television, unlike their counterpart.
• Experienced Protagonist: A veteran hero who clearly isn't a rookie or newbie.
• Face: A good guy in wrestling terms.
• Face of a Thug: A person who is good or neutral in spite of having a menacing appearance.
• Failure Knight
• Fake Defector: A character who fakes a Face–Heel Turn to get closer to the villain.
• Fallen Princess
• Farm Boy: When the hero is just a simple peasant from the countryside.
• Faux Action Girl
• The Fettered: The hero's strength is their moral limitations.
• First-Person Smartass
• Five-Man Band: Most hero teams tend to fit into this classic mold.
• Folk Hero: A hero who became the subject of popular myths and legends, though certain aspects of their reputation may have been greatly exaggerated.
• For Great Justice: The good guys' motive is "justice", "goodness", etc.
• Friend to All Children: A hero who cares deeply for and protects kids.
• Friend to All Living Things: A hero who protects and cares deeply for animals.
• Friendly Ghost: A friendly ghost.
• Friendly Neighborhood Vampire: A benevolent vampire.
• Friendly Skeleton: An undead skeleton that is nice.
• Friendly Zombie: A zombie who is nice.
• From Zero to Hero: A character starts as a nobody, and rises up in the world through their heroic deeds.

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G-J

• Genius Bruiser: The hero has both brains and brawn.
• Gentle Giant: A big, tall guy who's pretty nice.
• Gentleman and a Scholar
• God of Good: A benevolent deity who treats mortals well.
• Good All Along: Someone assumed to be a bad guy was really a good guy this whole time.
• The Good Chancellor: A character who serves their kingdom or nation with utmost earnestness.
• Good-Guy Bar: A place for heroes to hang out after saving the day, just right across the street from the Bad-Guy Bar.
• The Good Guys Always Win: As a near-universal rule of fiction, the heroes must always defeat the villains and save the day in the end (with some rare exceptions).
• Good Is Not Dumb: A character who is good gets underestimated because of it.
• Good Is Not Nice: A hero who acts like a jerk most of the time.
• Good Is Not Soft: A hero who has no qualms about severely punishing villains.
• The Good King: A monarch who honestly wants what's best for his people.
• Good Parents: Parents who do a pretty good job of protecting and raising their children.
• Good Samaritan: A person does a good deed simply for others' well-being.
• Good Shepherd: A religious leader who is also a good person.
• Good Versus Good: Where two heroes are in conflict against each other.
• Good Wears White: Heroic characters dress in white clothing to symbolize their goodness.
• Greater-Scope Paragon: A heroic being who is indirectly responsible for the heroes existing or being involved in their mission, but is not directly involved with the story.
• Guile Hero: A hero who relies on saving the day with his wits and quick thinking.
• The Gunslinger
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: A good guy/girl with blonde hair.
• Handsome Heroic Caveman: A caveman is both physically and morally appealing, in contrast to the brutish Neanderthals or the Frazetta Man.
• Haunted Heroine: A heroine haunted equally by her own past and the uncanny events around her.
• Headbutting Heroes: Good guys who despise each other.
• The Heart
• Heartwarming Orphan: An orphan child who normally ends up being adopted and is a good character who makes the audience emotional.
• Heel–Face Turn: The villain becomes a hero.
• Heel–Face Return: The villain gets Put on a Bus and returns as a good guy.
• Henshin Hero: The hero has a super mode where they become stronger.
• The Hero: The character who performs heroic deeds with a heroic motivation. And usually the biggest force of good in the story. Likely The Leader of any Five-Man Band, though lone-wolf Heroes who prefer to go solo also exist.
• Hero's Muse: The Hero is inspired or led by an idealized woman.
• Hero Academy: A school for training young heroes.
• Hero Antagonist: When the antagonist role is filled in by a good guy. They're usually the main opponent of a Villain Protagonist.
• Hero of Another Story: Good guys who have their own adventures, despite not being part of the main story.
• Hero Protagonist: The main character of the story is almost always a good guy (with some exceptions).
• Heroes Act, Villains Hinder: Good guys kickstart the plot, and the bad guys are holding them back.
• Heroes' Frontier Step: A character commits an action so noble that it proves that they're a hero.
• Heroes Love Dogs: Good guys like to keep pet dogs.
• Heroes "R" Us: An organized group of heroes.
• Heroic Bastard: A good guy born to unmarried parents.
• Heroic BSoD: A hero experiences an emotional breakdown.
• Heroic Build: Many heroic men have an impressively muscular body.
• Heroic Comedic Sociopath
• Heroic Dog: A canine who really is man's best friend.
• Heroic Dolphin
• Heroic Lineage
• Heroic Mime: A good guy who never talks.
• Heroic Rematch
• Heroic Resolve
• Heroic Russian Émigré
• Heroic Sacrifice: Getting oneself killed in a selfless effort to save other people.
• Heroic Seductress
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: The hero belittles themselves.
• Heroic Spirit
• Heroic Vow
• Heroic Willpower: The hero is in danger of being corrupted by an evil force, but manages to fight it off by doing their best not to give in to the madness.
• Heroism Equals Job Qualification
• Heroism Won't Pay the Bills: Fighting for all that's good isn't a well-paying job.
• Hero on Hiatus
• Hero Secret Service
• "The Hero Sucks" Song: Characters, usually villains, insult the hero through a song.
• A Hero to His Hometown
• Hero with an F in Good: A character who isn't very good at being a hero.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: A good guy who has an (undeservedly) bad reputation among the citizens. Which may be the result of manipulations by a bad guy with a better reputation.
• Hidden Agenda Hero: The hero's motive is a mystery.
• High-Heel–Face Turn: When a villainous group has just one woman, then she's the one who will turn good in the end.
• The High Queen: The queen is beautiful and good to an inhuman degree, and is to be held in awe.
• Hollywood Action Hero
• Homegrown Hero
• Homeless Hero: A nomadic hero who wanders around to fight evil.
• Honest Corporate Executive: Not all wealthy businesspeople have to be ruthlessly greedy plutocrats.
• Hope Bringer
• Horrifying Hero
• Horseback Heroism
• Hospitality for Heroes
• Humble Hero
• Hunter of Monsters: Someone who fights and slays dangerous supernatural creatures to protect other people.
• Hurting Hero
• Ideal Hero: A hero who's held up as being a near-perfect role model.
• The Idealist Was Right: A character who was scoffed at for being idealistic ends up having the best solution for their problems.
• Idiot Hero: The hero is not really smart.
• I'm Not a Hero, I'm...
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: The hero who is morally pure and is immune to temptation.
• Innocent Aliens: Extraterrestrials who truly come in peace.
• Intrepid Reporter
• Invincible Hero: A hero who is so super-competent that they seem to be outright unstoppable.
• Iron Lady
• Iron Woobie: The hero is a miserable person, but that won't stop them from quitting their journey.
• It Sucks to Be the Chosen One: The hero dislikes being forced to face their destiny.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Some heroes are mean, but have a soft side deep down.
• Jumped at the Call: A character is eager to uphold the responsibility of being the hero once they are given the chance.

K-M

• Kid Detective: A child who solves crime.
• Kid Hero: The hero is a young child or teenager.
• Kid Hero All Grown Up: They've entered a full-time career of heroism in adulthood.
• King in the Mountain: A legendary figure is believed to be in hibernation until the people they've protected need them again rather than dead.
• Kleptomaniac Hero: "Take everything that isn't nailed down or too heavy, and anything that can be pried loose is not considered nailed down".
• Knight Errant: Drifting heroes who do good deeds as they pass by.
• Knight in Shining Armor
• Knight in Sour Armor: A cynical hero who nonetheless continues to do good.
• Knight Templar: Characters who has noble goals, but can be self-righteous and extremist in achieving them.
• Lady of Adventure
• Lady of War
• The Lancer: The hero's second-in-command.
• Lancer vs. Dragon: When The Lancer takes on their Evil Counterpart The Dragon.
• Lantern Jaw of Justice: Good guys with huge chins.
• Lawful Good
• The Leader: A role always filled by the main hero/protagonist of the story.
• Light Is Good: Heroes are usually associated with the light and bright colors.
• Little Old Lady Investigates
• Load-Bearing Hero: A hero that holds a falling object to save the members of main cast or others.
• Lord Error-Prone
• Lovable Alpha Bitch
• Lovable Coward: They're too chicken to confront danger, but end up being forced to do so anyways.
• Lovable Lizard: Heroic (or at least friendly) lizards.
• Madonna Archetype
• Magical Girl: Young girls learning to find their place in the world while secretly fighting to protect it with magical powers.
• Magician Detective
• Magnetic Hero
• Man of the City: The hero who ensures the safety and well-being of the city they live in.
• Martial Pacifist: They would personally prefer a peaceful solution, but that doesn't mean they aren't willing to put up a good fight if they have to.
• Mean Character, Nice Actor: The character is mean and nasty, but the actor behind that character is not.
• The Meddling Kids Are Useless
• Messianic Archetype
• Mighty Whitey
• Mistaken for Superpowered
• Monster Adventurers
• Mook–Face Turn: Mooks who are convinced by heroes to defect to the forces of good.
• More Hero Than Thou: Good guys have a dispute over who gets to make the noble sacrifice.
• Moses Archetype
• Mr. Vice Guy: A hero who often engages in some sort of sin or vice.
• My Girl Back Home
• Mystery Writer Detective

N-R

• Naïve Everygirl
• Nature Hero
• Nazi Hunter: Someone who tries to bring fugitive Nazi war criminals to justice.
• Nerd Action Hero
• Neutral Good
• Nice Guy: A kindhearted hero who is a very swell guy/girl to be around with.
• No Badass to His Valet
• No Hero to His Valet
• "No More Holding Back" Speech: The hero makes a speech about the problems they've experienced and how they overcame them.
• Noble Bigot: They still try to do the right thing despite their prejudices.
• Noble Bigot with a Badge: A policeman who tries to uphold the law despite their prejudices.
• Noble Savage: Someone from a primitive tribe, who is generally more decent and wise than people from civilized society.
• Nominal Hero: Someone who may incidentally do some good deeds despite a total lack of altruistic motives.
• Non-Ironic Clown: This type of clown who is a good guy in every sense of the word, intending to entertain children in circus.
• Omniscient Hero
• The One with a Personal Life: The one member of the crew who still has a life outside of adventuring.
• Only the Chosen May Wield: A weapon only wieldable by the Chosen One or one with certain special attributes.
• Outdated Hero vs. Improved Society
• Outside-Context Problem, when they are the good guys
• Pajama-Clad Hero: A hero who does good deeds while in sleepwear.
• The Paragon: The hero who encourages others to be more heroic.
• Part-Time Hero
• Pet the Dog: An outwardly rude character does something nice to prove that they are good underneath.
• Pink Heroine
• Plucky Girl
• Polite Villains, Rude Heroes: Good Is Not Nice versus Affably Evil.
• Politically Incorrect Hero: A hero who holds some very controversial beliefs about other people.
• The Poorly Chosen One: Unfortunately, they totally failed to achieve their great destiny.
• Positive Friend Influence: A character that helps others within their social circle (friends, family, Ragtag Bunch of Misfits, etc) to start making their way on overcoming their issues and become better people.
• The Power of Friendship: A hero can defeat a bad guy with companionship as his/her strength.
• The Power of Love: The heroes' love for each other lets them overcome their trials.
• The Power of Rock: A hero can defeat the villain via rock music.
• Pragmatic Hero: A hero who does morally questionable deeds for the greater good.
• Precursor Heroes
• President Superhero: A President (or otherwise Chief of State) of a sovereign country who happens to have superpowers — and does use them for heroics as a side job.
• Princess Protagonist: When the heroine is a member of royalty.
• Prodigal Hero
• Propaganda Hero
• Prohibited Hero Saves the Day
• Proto-Superhero: Early versions of the modern superhero archetype.
• Punch-Clock Hero: This character is a hero because it's his job. Not a big deal.
• Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: A ramshackle group of characters has to save the day.
• The Real Heroes
• Reasonable Authority Figure: The authority figure who mostly aids the heroes.
• Rebellious Rebel
• Reckless Pacifist
• Recruit Teenagers with Attitude: Instead of trained adults or the average superheroes, random teenagers are asked to save the day.
• Red Is Heroic: Many good guys like to wear red clothes.
• Redshirts: The Good Counterpart of evil Mooks. Unfortunately, they're not any more useful in a fight.
• Redshirt Army
• The Redeemer: The hero reforms a majority of villains they meet.
• Redeeming Replacement: The identity of a villain is assumed by someone who instead uses the identity to be a hero so as to make amends for their predecessor's crimes.
• Reformed Bully
• Reformed Criminal: Small time Criminals who have a change of heart and join the good guys.
• The Republic
• La Résistance: A group of people who intend to fight back against and overthrow the tyrannical regime oppressing them.
• Retired Badass: A hero who is retired (but no less brave or competent).
• Right Man in the Wrong Place
• Righteous Rabbit: Heroic rabbits.
• Rude Hero, Nice Sidekick: A hero who is a jerk who is accompanied by a nicer sidekick.

S-Z

• Science Hero: The hero is a scholar who uses his scientific knowledge to fight evil.
• Scrap Heap Hero
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: A character who listens and does what their heart tells them is the morally right thing to do and not what bureaucratic laws tell them to.
• Sealed Good in a Can: A hero who has somehow been imprisoned for a long time.
• Secular Hero: A hero who doesn't hold religious beliefs.
• Series Mascot: Most good guys serve as iconic characters chosen to represent a fictional universe or media franchise.
• Sheep in Sheep's Clothing
• Showy Invincible Hero
• Shut Up, Hannibal!: After the villain tries to break the hero's spirit by claiming that their heroic efforts are worthless or that the hero is no different from the villain, the hero responds by sharply rebuking the villain and rejecting their harangue as they prepare to kick the villain's butt.
• Sidekick Song: The hero's sidekick has a moment to shine with a song.
• Sixth Ranger: An additional team member who joins the hero team a good while after the other members have been active.
• Small Steps Hero
• The Smart Guy: The most intelligent member of the group.
• Smith of the Yard
• Snooping Little Kid
• Socially Awkward Hero: While they're eager to help other people, they're not very good at casually socializing with them.
• Sociopathic Hero: The Sociopath is a "hero".
• Spanner in the Works: The hero foils the villain's plan by accident or because the villain failed to anticipate their involvement.
• Spoiled Sweet
• Stock Shōnen Hero: The stereotypical protagonist of most Shōnen anime.
• Stock Shoujo Heroine: The stereotypical protagonist of most Shoujo anime.
• Stoic Woobie
• Summon Everyman Hero
• Superheroes: Heroes who are defined by possessing special skills, abilities, superpowers, or at least a gimmicky theme and grandiose personality that sets them apart from more mundane heroes. Obviously enough, they're the opposite of supervillains.
• Super Zeroes: Incompetent superheroes.
• Supporting Leader
• Team Chef: The member of a hero team who does the cooking.
• Team Dad: The surrogate father to the heroic team.
• Team Mom: The surrogate mother to the heroic team.
• Technical Pacifist
• Teen Superspy
• Terror Hero
• Things I Will Do If I Am Ever the Hero
• Token Good Teammate: The only nice person among a gang of scoundrels.
• Token Heroic Orc: The only heroic member of a species that is (otherwise) evil.
• Took a Level in Kindness
• Tragic Hero: A hero who's motivated by their Dark and Troubled Past, or has otherwise suffered great hardship.
• Trenchcoat Brigade
• A True Hero
• Tsundere
• Underhanded Hero
• Unfazed Everyman
• Unintentionally Karmic: They save the day and ruin things for the bad guy…but not on purpose.
• Unlikely Hero: Nobody really expects them to rise up to the challenge of saving the day.
• Unscrupulous Hero: A hero who is considered one because the villains are worse than him.
• Upbringing Makes the Hero
• Villain Killer: A (oftentimes) heroic character who has killed numerous villains (including Big Bads, The Dragons, and or villainous factions).
• Virtuous Bees: Thanks to their gentle character, work ethic, and their willingness to sacrifice themselves for the greater good, bees are seen as virtuous and noble insects.
• Wake Up, Go to School, Save the World: Young heroes have to balance their school life with fighting evil.
• War Hero
• We Help the Helpless: Heroes will lend a hand to anyone in need of their help. The less fortunate classes of society are no exception.
• Wealthy Philanthropist: An rich character who attempts to use their money to help the poor and other people who are in need.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Characters who are only doing what they do because it is for the greater good.
• The Wise Prince
• Withholding the Big Good
• Wonderful Werewolf
• The Wonka: The owner of a business who runs the business well in spite of being completely bonkers.
• Working-Class Hero: The hero comes from a lower-class background.
• "X" Marks the Hero: A character has a cross-shaped scar to show they're a badass good guy.
• You Meddling Kids
• Zombie Apocalypse Hero: The hero of a Zombie Apocalypse, whose goal is to survive against the zombie hordes at all costs.

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