- Calvin & Hobbes: The Series: Jack, who regularly chats with the heroes and doesn't really care much for Dr. Brainstorm's schemes.
Crossover
- Battle of the Luminaries (Massive Multiplayer Crossover): Dingodile decided to play hooky from the main villains so he could focus more on the tournament.
- One and Only Son (Code Geass & Mobile Suit Gundam 00): There's The Knight of Rounds ( by canon), but Bismarck here takes up to eleven.
- Origins (Massive Multiplayer Crossover): It's implied some members of the Band of Brothers feel this way about their contracts with the Republic Intelligence Service. When things start heading south, one even complains "This venture is no longer profitable!"
- Origin Story (Buffy the Vampire Slayer & Power Girl): The various SHIELD agents, most especially Agent Dunne (who was completely honest with Alex and seemed genuinely upset that she was going to be imprisoned). Agent Dunne is also the only one to try talking Alex down before resorting to violence.
Godzilla / King Kong / MonsterVerse
- Abraxas (Hrodvitnon): The members of Alan Jonah's paramilitary who get some individual characterization (with the exception of Jonah himself of course), personality-wise, are made out to be Affably Evil at best or Jerkasses at worst. Those who fit into the former psychographic have genuine friendships with each-other, they play cards during their downtime, and display several other humanizing qualities.
- Landing Day: In this Perspective Flip of the first movie, the aliens are portrayed as preparing to move in. To do so, they have to carry out an extermination job not unlike humans ridding a house of cockroaches before moving into it.
- A Different Lesson: At many times, Chun seems to be an example of this, enjoying being an assassin solely because it's her job. (Type I Anti-Villain.)
- The TSAB – Acturus War: Most of the DRA's grunts.
- In Spider-Man fic Polarity, Herman Schultz the Shocker is portrayed as this, openly admitting that he's only into crime because it gives him good pay and lets him be his own boss. As Boomerang eventually analyses him, and several other characters, villain and hero alike, agree, he's also a crook for the fame. He immediately goes to the aid of a woman who is being attacked by what he thinks is an attempted rapist at the story's start, and then, when a news channel shows a group of survivors being trapped by zombies in a nearby 7-11, he immediately gets his things and goes to rescue them, which he explains several times throughout the fic as being because the thought of leaving them to die like that, when he could do something to help, was just appalling. At the fanfic's end he joins the Avengers in the new world created by the end of the Zombie Apocalypse.
- Fallout: Equestria: While in Shattered Hoof, Littlepip meets some Raiders that aren't raping-and-killing monsters, and are just trying to survive in the wasteland.
- Fallout: Equestria Recursive Fanfiction Fallout: Equestria - Project Horizons: Roses, a slaver who simply wants to provide for her daughter.
- The Lies We Tell Ourselves
: Deconstructed. The story explores how, in the timeline where Nightmare Moon took over Equestria, Rarity and Rainbow Dash came to be in Nightmare Moon's employ. Facing starvation, the two choose to work for the Nightmare, claiming that they were only joining for food, safety, and to protect their families. However, Rarity becomes increasingly invested in doing Nightmare's dirty work for greater rewards and benefits, including condemning her former friends to death. Within a short amount of time, the two have thoroughly embraced the reign of the Nightmare. - Unlike the rest of the Quirky Miniboss Squad in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fanfic My Little Mages: The Nightmare's Return, Iron Will isn't a believer in Nightmare Moon's goal, and isn't being offered anything other than payment in exchange for his services. That being said, he always upholds his contract, even after Rarity points out that Nightmare Moon's success would mean that he'll never be able to reach his own goal of retiring to a beach to work on his tan.''
- Pinkie Tales: Cindershy: Pinkie herself, as she plays one of the wicked sisters and has to be nasty to Cindershy, while being fully aware that she is only doing this because it is her role in the story and later goes through the fourth wall to help Apple Godmother make Cindershy a dress, when she was failing miserably.
- The Pony POV Series:
- Discord's little sister, Rancor, in the Dark World Arc. She only becomes one of his Co-Dragons because Their Parents ordered her to do so and when its not her turn to fight the heroes is a Friendly Enemy, complimenting them and even helping undo some of the Valeyard's damage by giving Apple Pie the ending of the comic (revealing it had a Bittersweet Ending instead of a Downer Ending) he used as part of his efforts to Break the Cutie. As far as she's concerned, its Nothing Personal. In fact, when she finishes her mission (stealing Destruction's power back from Discord, mortally wounding him in the process), she opens a portal, tells the heroes goodbye, and leaves to do her real job as an Anthropomorphic Personification.
- General Hercules Beetle from the Wedding Arc also counts. Despite being the second most dangerous changeling on the planet and having Undying Loyalty to his Queen, he's ultimately just a soldier doing his job. He's well aware that the Changeling's Fantastic Racism towards other species is horseapples and never shows any sadism or needless cruelty towards them, even being very respectful when not fighting. When it's not his turn to fight, he's content to just watch the ponies and learn about them. After being defeated, he's a Graceful Loser and suggests his former opponents fall back before reinforcements arrive. Really, the only reason Hercules is a villain is because his queen is evil and the moment she's defeated and replaced by Cadence, Hercules becomes a good guy as well.
- Vinyl and Octavia Duel Destiny: Prosecutor Milise Deauxnim is definitely this. Sure, he's a bit of a jerk who ends up getting both Vinyl and Octavia put in jail, but he's only doing the job he was hired for, and everything he does and points out is entirely legal/true.
- A Growing Affection: The Acolytes of Pain don't particularly like what they are doing, or what it does to Nagato, but they are unflinchingly loyal to him.
- Guys Being Dudes: Arlo is very into the aesthetic of being a Card-Carrying Villain and regularly refers to himself as "evil", but treats the actual Shadow Pokemon manufacturing and Pokestop takeovers like any other job. He even refers to being "on/off the clock".
- The Retelling of Pokémon Colosseum: Miror B, and, to a lesser extent, Dakim.
- Crimson Rising: While Operation Overdrive Rangers Will and Dax remain with the anti-Ranger organisation Sector Nine even after the rest of the Overdrive team join the other Rangers, Will is the most committed to Sector Nine as he wants to prove himself 'superior' to the other Rangers and get paid for it. By contrast, Dax makes it clear more than once that he is only working for Sector Nine due to the money and the chance of gaining a film career out of the deal, although he and Will eventually defect when General Gorbin, the head of Sector Nine, kills one of his own scientists and threatens to torture a four-year-old girl just because they're the father and daughter of Tori, the Blue Ninja Storm Ranger.
- A Rabbit Among Wolves:
- To Jaune's surprise, the band of White Fang soldiers he ends falling into are pretty genial people when not being terrorists.
- Mercury, unlike Emerald, has no real loyalty to Cinder. When Jaune (unintentionally) insults Cinder by calling her a stripper, he gives Jaune an amused grin and a thumbs up.
- Beyond the Dawn: Beren briefly becomes one when Sauron blackmails him, threatening to kill Finrod.
- Courtney's Crusade for Redemption: Chef Hatchet. Out of the challenges, Chef shows himself as reasonable, and even friendly. He even offers himself to keep Courtney's idol safe for her so none of the other contestants can steal it.
- Demon of Wind: While Rai did choose to become Wuya's apprentice and is not without flaws, it's made pretty clear in the story that he never had any personal grudge against Dashi or his students and infact by the time he was finally turned to stone he was only staying with the Heylin side because he had to.
- Yu-Gi-Oh! The Thousand Year Door: Lord Crump, most of the time. He is a suck-up to the Queen, but the only time he ever seems truly malicious towards anyone is when under the influence of the potion of bravery.
Unsorted/Dormant/Dead
- In The Parselmouth of Gryffindor, Crabbe and Goyle are only two of a rather distressing number of minions-for-hire within Slytherin House. While some of them do enjoy the troublemaking it involves, others, like Douglas Wilkes, are just in it for the money (or free candy) and are quite affable.
- Vladmir, director of Father's army from Codename: Kids Next Door fanfic series Dark Studios Kids Next Door. His character bio says he's closer to real-world logic. His main reason for accepting Father's job was because he paid well.
- Earth and Sky:
- The LaFish brothers were paid off by Diamond Tiara to attack Pip and Soarin' during the Pegalathon, but claim it's Nothing Personal.
- According to Word of God, Otto Bomb is only working for Professor Destiny (and Doctor Insanity) because the pay is good. He eventually gets tired of their suicidal stubbornness, and abandons them to continue the Pegathalon on their own.
- In Fate/Zero Sense, Kirei and Wade manage to be this and Card Carrying Villains at the same time. While they are both unrepentantly evil, they also work for the author and follow his orders and when not being evil or breaking the Fourth Wall they live rather normal lives.
- In Naruto fanfic First Try Series, Zabuza's group are notable In-Universe for being this as they are political dissident, not criminals.
- The Alliance in Firefly fanfic Forward. Their soldiers are enemies in Business but actually become allies of the crew in Condor and Adrift.
- In particular, Colonel Dannet, who was so affected by what he did to the children at the Academy that he retired early and hid out on a Rim planet, just trying to forget what happened.
- In My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fic Getting Back on Your Hooves, Checker's butler Helping Hoof only helps her with her schemes because he works for her. And he seems perfectly willing to keep information from her.
- In Teen Titans (2003) fic Jewel of Darkness, Guerra only fights the Titans because Midnight pays him to. As soon as their contract expires, he loses all interest in them (except Cyborg).
- In Once upon a Time: Abridged we have Waldo The Wraith, who has eight children and a wife to support. Also, the dragon in the puppet show.Dragon: Rawwwr and stuff...
- Star Wars Paranormalities Trilogy: Gahmah Raan, obviously because he's a Bounty Hunter. This is even further emphasized when he just leaves Kratzar after a duel with Zolph where they were evenly matched. However, he has also worked with the Galactic Alliance during the Yuuzhan Vong War.
- In Taaroko's Season 8, the San Francisco branch of Wolfram & Hart are still ruthless and evil, but unlike the Los Angeles branch, they don’t fixate on specific targets, abandoning their attempt to capture and control Dawn/the Key as her initial escape proves that they can’t keep her contained.
- In the Command & Conquer fic Tiberium Wars, The Nod soldiers range from bloodthirsty fanatics fighting for the Church Militant to ordinary, decent soldiers and everything in between.
- In Mega Crossover Undocumented Features, The Big Fire accountants forced into being field agents by their Q-Boss, Earl, in The Antianeira Incident.
- Total Drama
- Chef Hatchet in The Legend of Total Drama Island does his job (which frequently involves making the contestants' lives more difficult) in a conscientious and workmanlike fashion, but he'll also help the contestants out from time to time if it doesn’t conflict with his duties. He agrees to conduct the funeral service when Chris can't be bothered, and his attitude toward Sadie after her ordeal during the camping challenge could even be seen as kindly.
- Kimura the Slug, from Sword Art Online/The Familiar of Zero crossover fanfic Halkegenia Online, is both Punch-Clock Villain and Punch-Clock Hero at various points of narrative. He is totally fine with experiments on Mind Control, and is equally fine being a cannoneer in a fortress protecting the civilians inside.
- In the Babylon 5 fanfic Order in Chaos, some Drazi factions: they start the Centauri-Orieni War on the side of the Orieni, but stop any serious offensive after getting their asses handed to them by the Centauri, and when the Centauri Republic starts hiring mercenaries to fight the Orieni, many Drazi (often survivors of the early battles against the Centauri themselves) answer the call. At the same time, other Drazi (sometimes from the same faction) continue picking minor fights with the Centauri (and get their asses handed to them) for almost the entire war. Not surprisingly, the Centauri consider them Psychos for Hire and use them as cannon fodder.
- Hivefled's non-spectral fantrolls could fall under this heading; they're going along for the glory of the Empire, unaware of what their leaders are really up to or why some of their friends have mysteriously vanished over the sweeps.
- Dig Build Live features the mobs of Minecraft sometimes being shown doing things on their own time, like watching films together, telling their kid a bedtime story, or even helping their own cross a railroad track.
- While a great deal of Gato's mercenaries in A Drop of Poison leave after their boss' death, several of them stay and get jobs around the village, including in the newly created police force the Torasen (which is otherwise comprised of Naruto's shadow clones). The clone leader of the group notes most of those who joined the Torasen were either Rōnin or simply those who "left home to learn to fight, drunk on romantic tales of samurai life".
- Captain Boomerang of the Royal Boo Guard in Can a Boo Be Friends with a Human? isn't so overly enamoured with King Boo and would rather resort to diplomacy than fighting. But he can't leave when he has his family to be concerned about.
- Stormtroopers in The Shadow might be harsh with prisoners and working for The Empire but they're not personally malicious. One of Luke's former prison guards invites him to the troops' weekly sabbac game after Luke becomes Vader's apprentice. He also rather likes Luke's nickname of him, Crank, as everyone else calls him ED-8 and "there's lots of Eds" and confesses that he joined the military because it let him leave his homeworld.
- Black Three, one of Vader's personal wingmen, is a remarkably friendly young woman who takes Luke out for a burger once and regularly lets him borrow her speeder.
- The Last Prayer: Most of the Sand ninja invading Konoha aren't particularly malicious and are more focused on how they'll be able to better provide for their families once they've taken over Fire Country or invest in upgrades they've been wanting for a while. The worst any of them consider is maybe looting a bit for bonus pay or souvenirs for their kids.
