Jumped At the Call

""Normal? Who wants to be normal?! If you're not a hero, you're a zero.""

- Ben, Ben 10

For some heroes, when they receive the Call to Adventure, they refuse the call. When they finally accept the call, they continue to complain that "I Just Want to Be Normal".

Heroes who Jumped At the Call wonder what's wrong with those people.

These heroes are excited when adventure comes calling. They never, ever, ever say "I Just Want to Be Normal". They already have a costume, already picked out a codename, and they have been practicing how to deliver a Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner. They're already swallowing the red pill before you can even offer them the blue. About the worst thing you could do to them is to bring them down to normal. Or tell them someone else Missed the Call. They don't even care that more experienced people are reluctant; Least Is First.

Often, had a Changeling Fantasy once upon a time, and generally has Otaku tendencies. He is truly living the dream. Such a hero is also the most likely to be The Unchosen One, the Chosen hero that chooses himself.

However, you can also be too eager to jump, and end up jumping off a cliff. Beware shady strangers offering you everything you want. Genre Savvy bad guys, especially the Big D, will try to get you to miss the real call by jumping at theirs instead. They also sometimes tend to forget the baggage that comes with answering with the call, namely the fact that The Call Knows Where You Live.

When a hero is given a chance at returning to heroism and jumps at it, he is usually in love with being In Harm's Way. Neophytes might think themselves in love with it, and may actually turn out to be, but they may also discover, after real adventures, that they do not love it after all.

If a hero loses whatever power or abilities that made them a hero, and forces themselves into The Call again, one could say they've Got the Call on Speed Dial. A variant path through Hero's Journey.

Compare/Contrast The Team Wannabe.

Anime and Manga

 * Takamachi Nanoha from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. At the age of nine, she was already Desperately Looking for a Purpose In Life, though she certainly wasn't thinking "magical girl". Though she has a hesitant beginning, she soon becomes extremely enthusiastic about her new "destiny". Let's be honest here, the girl loves to fight as a magical girl.
 * Yui Kasuga from Corrector Yui was an Otaku obsessed with Magical Girl, and loved the idea of being one herself.
 * Though Minto Aizawa in Tokyo Mew Mew wasn't happy about working with Ichigo at first, manga extras note that she thought it was her destiny to become Mew Mint and was even secretly delighted, which fits well with her reaction to her object of affection's Refusal of the Call.
 * Subverted in The Twelve Kingdoms: the Genre Savvy Yuka Sugimoto is thrilled at the prospect of being the heroine of a Trapped in Another World adventure story when a mysterious blond Bishonen and a flying monster or two show up at her high school... except she isn't and they weren't there for her. The real heroine of the story, her classmate Youko Nakajima, has a typical (and one might say extreme) Refusal of the Call reaction to the early events of the series. Unfortunately,  for a significant chunk of the first Story Arc.
 * Anti-Hero example: Alucard of Hellsing isn't really a hero, but he's willing to do heroic deeds just for the action. Very willing. Enough that one of his catchphrases is demanding he be given an order by his master.
 * Kazuki from Parallel Trouble Adventure Dual provides an excellent example of this. The second-in-command of Sanada's organization prepares a long, overwrought speech trying to convince him to fight in a mecha on behalf of their organization, and she is barely able to get five words out before Kazuki readily agrees.
 * Gai Daigoji from Martian Successor Nadesico (real name: Jiro Yamada, but he didn't think that sounded heroic enough) is so eager to be a giant robot pilot that he arrives to his post three days ahead of schedule. He promptly breaks his leg from showing off (literally).
 * Suzumiya Haruhi fits this trope so much that instead of waiting for the Call, she actually goes out looking for it (never realizing that it could be behind her back the whole time).
 * In Wa Ga Na Wa Umishi, although Rintarou intially refuses the call to be a salvor, once he makes his decision, he tends to jump at any and every call to salvage something, even when his older and wiser advisors try to tell him it's a bad idea. This has happened at least 4 times in 8 volumes alone.
 * The main protagonist from the anime MAR (Marchen Awakens Romance) does not seem to be bothered one whit that he was sucked into a magical world of adventure without his consent. Indeed, he rather enjoys the new life he finds there.
 * When a shopkeeper informs him that the particular ARM he's looking for (Monpierre Blanc, which can send him back home) isn't in her selection and would probably be far too rare and expensive to just buy somewhere, he's relieved; he'd been worried his adventure would end too soon.
 * Asuka from Neon Genesis Evangelion has been a Mecha pilot most of her life and revels in it. In fact, facing alien invaders is about the only thing she doesn't complain about. Finding herself paired up with a reluctant hero who is all "I Just Want to Be Normal" (Shinji) leads to a certain amount of tension. Add in an Emotionless Girl, and the whole gig starts to lose its luster. When it starts to become clear that she isn't The Chosen One and is likely to end up a Sidekick at best, she starts down the Hourglass Plot path, ending up in Mind Rape and Convenient Coma.
 * Midori in My-HiME is not only enthusiastic about her powers, but also seems to think she's Sailor Moon, complete with the "V" gesture, over-the-top introductions, and inspirational speeches about justice and friendship. Doubly ironic because not only is the series notably devoid of all that (and is significantly darker), but also because the original just wanted to be normal.
 * Princess Amelia from The Slayers is Jumping at the Call as well. Despite being a magical princess in a fantasy setting, she draws up long speeches about Justice, names attacks—like punching someone really hard—and generally tries to be a Superhero. She also always has the high ground (even if she tends to fall off of it). This is largely because she's a parody of Sailor Moon.
 * Admittedly, this seems to be a family trait - her father does exactly the same thing.
 * Prince Phil (Ameila's dad) went so far as to fake his death and start running around the rooftops in a frikkin' Batman costume. Despite being the bloomin' King!!
 * Who could forget (the great) Kamina(-sama) of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann? When a giant mech, technology that was completely unknown, drops into their underground village, he stands up to it and threatens it with a completely ordinary katana, heroic speech at hand. Even after the girl with the absurdly powerful rifle, also unknown technology to the village, barely damages it. Then again, Katanas Are Just Better. This is just the start - his entire job in the series seems to be heroic speeches and epic-but-ridiculous action, down to called attacks like the "WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM?! KICK!".
 * In Yes! Precure 5, Nozomi Jumped At the Call before she even knew there was one, and in fact this is what brings the Call to Adventure to her.
 * After seeing Shizuru effortlessly demolish a fleet of battleships in the first episode of Mai-Otome, Arika made the decision on the spot to start her path toward becoming a full-fledged Otome just like Shizuru, as part of her journey to find her long-missing mother.
 * It probably doesn't help matters much that she receives encouragement from Haruka Armitage shortly thereafter.
 * While it would be considered normal within the context of the involved world, Ash Ketchum of Pokémon jumps at any chance to test his skills as a Pokemon Trainer, visiting whatever lands on his quest to become the Pokemon Master.
 * Chiko, from The Daughter of Twenty Faces. Never has a "kidnapping victim" been so willing.
 * Monkey D. Luffy from One Piece. Can you picture him wanting to be anything but a pirate?
 * Luffy didn't jump at the call so much he IS the call. He didn't need (or really have) any particular reason to become a pirate other than that he thought pirates were cool. And he pretty much functions as a walking call when it comes to recruiting members of his crew.
 * Interestingly, a early short story that would later evolve into One Piece exists. After eating the Devil Fruit and losing the ability to swim, he tells his grandfather (who owned the fruit) he's fine with it since he doesn't want to become a pirate anyway. However, at the end of the story his cool slips and he admits he's devastated since he wants to become a pirate more than anything. (As this doesn't match Luffy's backstory in the series, this cannot be considered canon.)
 * Several characters in Mahou Sensei Negima, unsurprisingly. Haruna stands out, as when the Masquerade is broken for her, she threatens to torture her three best friends for not letting her in on it sooner.
 * It took her half a picosecond to immediately snog Negi when she learned this would give her magic powers. When this failed to work the first time (Chamo didn't have the contracting spell ready), the only reason it took her a little longer to snog him again was because Negi was running scared by then and she had to catch him first.
 * The Digimon Frontier kids had to follow the directions of a literal call on their cellphones to make it to the Digital World, but Takuya was the one who actually jumped. Also, Daisuke, Miyako and Iori from Digimon Adventure 02, although the last two almost immediately regretted it and while they never quite made it to I Just Want to Be Normal, they never managed to be as gung-ho as Daisuke in the most critical moments.
 * Kenji in Koutetsushin Jeeg - much to the surprise of the base staff, who had a big "I know this isn't going to be easy for you" speech lined up. It should be noted that Kenji, while Hot-Blooded, isn't the brightest star in the sky (even compared to your average Super Robot pilot).
 * Hunter Steele in Spider Riders definitely fits this trope. Heck he had to go out of his way to prove he was a rider. Not to mention swallowing his pride and actually asking for help from Shadow.
 * Death Note: Light Yagami: "I just killed two men... no wait... this is exactly what I've been thinking about lately. The world is rotting and those who are making it rot deserve to die!" Normal kid to A God Am I in less than a 5-minute sequence.
 * Yuji Sakai from Shakugan no Shana, once he learns that he's just a Torch and will disappear one of these days, figures that he'd rather do something else than just waiting until he disappears, and does what he can to aid the titular Action Girlfriend, Shana.
 * Would you run after the girl that just stapled your mouth and told you to not involve yourself with her in order to offer her help? Bakemonogatari Araragi's]] charm is in Jumping At The Call Sight of an Oddity.
 * Naruto Uzumaki of Naruto. Pre-Timeskip, he always jumps at the call to prove himself. Post?
 * The Call to Adventure merely sped up Lelouch's schedule, at least the first time. The second time he recieves The Call, the caller is a terrorist he really should be running away from very from very fast, but his subconscious urge to jump trumps basic survival.
 * Transformers Super God Masterforce: the kids approach Metalhawk and ask him for The Call.
 * Once he learned there was a call to be answered, Kotetsu T. Kaburagi from Tiger and Bunny charged in its direction and never looked back. Back in high school he spent most of his time trying to come up with cool superhero names and beating up street gangs as a "vanguard of justice".

Comic Books
"Elijah: Why'd you join? The money or the secrecy your Fourth Man can buy? Jakita: Neither. I get bored easily. Planetary stops me getting bored."
 * Steve Rogers wanted to be a soldier before Pearl Harbor, but was rejected for poor physical health. Didn't stop him from trying to put on weight and heading to a recruitment station, time and time again. Eventually, a General took him aside and told him 'What if we shot you up with drugs and stuck you in the path of radioactive materials?'
 * Jakita Wagner in Warren Ellis's comic-book series Planetary is an example of this, but not out of a sense of heroism. At one point in the series, she gets to destroy several thirty-foot mutant ants with her bare hands. Though she doesn't say anything, the expression on her face in the close-ups clearly reads "I have the best job in the world."


 * In a nice cross-trope subversion in one issue, she's all happy and feeling good after saving the Red Shirt helicopter pilot from exploding.
 * Guy Gardner in The DCU. Not only does he revel in being a Green Lantern, but whenever his powers get taken away, he goes out and finds entirely new powers. He even spent a brief period as a Badass Normal before Executive Meddling gave him tattoos and morphing powers. Guy didn't just jump at The Call, he tackled it and made it his bitch.
 * DC Comics' Eddie Bloomberg wanted to be a superhero so badly that he built his own power suit at the age of 12 and dubbed himself Kid Devil, Blue Devil's sidekick.
 * In the Marvel line Young Avengers the titular young avengers are often described as super-powered fanboys, especially Billy (Wiccan) and Teddy (Hulkling). The first five members of the team had pretty strong ties to the original Avengers that fueled their desire to become superheroes, and although Kate (the fifth member) had no such ties, she was pretty set on becoming a hero as well.
 * Squirrel Girl. Her entire existence revolves around this trope. When she met Iron Man in her first appearance, she was a fourteen year old girl who had already created her own costume, her own power set and her own code name, and she desperately tried to become Iron Man's sidekick. After moving to New York she protected Central Park from muggers. After GLA, er GLX-, now GLC, yes GLI asked her to join their team she quickly agreed, not even bothering to consider asking her parents. What a trooper!
 * Kyle Rayner. A “blue midget in a dress” gives him a ring and he’s not sure what is going on but thinks it is way cool that when he puts on the ring his clothes change. Then his girlfriend points out that is Green Lantern’s costume and Kyle gets even more enthusiastic. Even after his girlfriend became the Trope Namer of Stuffed Into the Fridge Kyle still told both Ganthet and Hal Jordan to get stuffed when they wanted the ring back rather than take the chance to back away from the call.
 * Angela Spica of The Authority decided as a child that she was going to be a superhero when she grew up. As soon as she designed the technology, she exchanged her blood for nine pints of liquid nanotech, called herself The Engineer, and got right on saving the world (and overthrowing a few sovereign nations that pissed her off). Unique among her teammates, she both chose to be a superhero AND didn't regret the choice the minute the consequences kicked in. Catchphrase: "This is the best job in the world."
 * In Runaways, Molly Hayes is very enthusiastic about superheroing. She's reduced to awkward Shy Finger-Twiddling when she realizes no one else came up with a costume.
 * Beast Boy of the Teen Titans is a green freak who can shape-shift, and wouldn't have it any other way. Being able to date Raven was probably a plus too.
 * When Gabriel Cole got the opportunity to help his hero, Alpha One, out. He accepted the promotion to Section Omega Captain.
 * Joshua Carver of No Hero not only jumped at the call but he chased after it aggressively.
 * Empowered, full stop. You can see how much she wanted to become a superheroine if you consider that she gets her powers from a Stripperiffic super suit which loses powers immediately when ripped (which happens constantly) and still doesn't give up.
 * Misfit is a rather tragic take on this. She Jumped At the Call because she doesn't have a normal life to return to after she accidentally killed her own family with her powers.
 * Cassie Sandsmark went to great lengths to become a superhero, starting at stealing enchanted artifacts to empower herself, and eventually marching right up to the king of the gods and asking him for powers.

Fan Works
"Sorting Hat:"You're just guessing, or to put it more exactly, wishing that you have some ready-made heroic role that is your personal property.""
 * Nonoko in Kyon: Big Damn Hero is a little too eager to become a Magical Girl. So when she's left with her brother's supernatural weapons and protective gear when the school he attends is attacked she is eager to go—not to return her brother's stuff to him, but to rescue him.
 * Sort of, in With Strings Attached. In the Prologue, Varx offers Paul the chance to go on “a great adventure.” Paul, thinking he's dreaming, readily accepts. Except Varx then reveals he's not dreaming, so he suddenly has second thoughts—but whoops, too late.
 * Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality has Harry jump pretty quick and far: Deconstructed when he realizes that it is a rather serious flaw of his.


 * Eidolon and Shift from DC Nation are raging, hard-core superhero fanboys who totally jumped at the chance to become heroes in their own right. Green Lantern Travis Grey pickpocked his ring, used it to clean up his crappy, inner-city neighborhood. When the senior lanterns come back for the ring, he just dares them to take it. Guy is so impressed by this, he offers to train the kid.

Film

 * Trish from Angels Revenge. You do have to wonder about the wisdom of a teenaged scholgirl with no combat skills deciding to force her way on to a team plannning to take on a ruthless drug cartel.
 * Lampshaded by Rhino the Hamster, the Ascended Fanboy from Bolt.
 * Johnny Storm in the 2005 Fantastic Four film. One of the few positive points critics cited towards the film was the refreshing portrayal, away from the more depressing, wangsty examples, such as that of Spider-Man.
 * Robert Parr aka Mr. Incredible from The Incredibles. When he was forced to retire, he didn't fall into civilian life like other heroes did (like his wife Helen, alias Elastigirl, and his best friend Lucius alias Frozone) and missed the action. So much in fact, that he jumped at an opportunity that turned out too good to be true.
 * This was subverted in the opening act, with Mr. Incredible saying in an interview that he doesn't see himself doing superhero work forever, and Elastigirl boasting about being on top of her game and not about to quit. They end up switching attitudes when they're later forced to act normal.
 * Until fairly recently, any James Bond film fits this trope; Bond is briefed on some threat to the world and, without more than a few moments flirting with Moneypenny and collecting Gadgets from Q, dives straight into the fray. The few times when he's dodged the orders he's been given are still, mostly, him answering the call; his bosses are the ones who've misheard it. The Call has, however, been very, very personal in a few movies, most notably Quantum of Solace, where Bond runs off chasing a relatively minor bad guy with disproportionate interest, just because that bad guy is connected to the death of . He still hits the big bad guys where they live, but he almost stumbles on them by accident along the way. A similar pattern was last seen in Licence to Kill, which was followed by the Bond series stalling for six years. Thankfully, MGM/EON has overcome their financial difficulties enough to announce that the next film should be released in 2012.
 * Dave Livewski the title character of "Kick Ass", who gets his powers as a result of answering the call before it's even been made.
 * In the reboot of Star Trek, the young Jim Kirk doesn't get the call for a few years after his peers. But once he does, he wastes no time in answering it.
 * Though the call in question is dubiously heroic, the Schofield Kid from Unforgiven not only eagerly accepts it, but enthusiastically spreads it to the baddest ass he knows.
 * Steve Rogers in Captain America the First Avenger was very eager to answer the call, despite being put on hold multiple times due to his poor health. When offered the chance, he jumps at it with all his might and does everything he can to make sure he uses his powers for good. This logic also extends to his friends, who are only too happy to follow him into battle even after just escaping near certain Death.
 * This is part of the reason why the Iron Man films have been so successful. In contrast to heroes like Spider-man and Batman, Tony Stark is a man who seems to genuinely enjoy being a hero and makes the most of his talents. Its refreshing to see a film where being a superhero actually looks fun and not like a chore.
 * Condorman features a lead character who doesn't merely jump at the call—he steals it. Woody Wilkins is a comic book writer who insists that his character (the titular Condorman) not do anything that he himself couldn't do in real life. It turns out that his friend works for the CIA and Woody talks him into letting him go on a routine courier mission, where he meets up with a lovely KGB spy named Natalia, who subsequently chooses to defect.

Literature

 * Stephanie Edgely, the 12-year old heroine of the book Skulduggery Pleasant, is only too glad to enter a fantastic world of magic, living skeletons, and vampiric museum guards.
 * Its subverted in the second book where many charecters point out that Stephanie appears a bit too eager to join the supernatural world, and misses out on a lot of experiences with her family and people her own age and they try to explain to her that this is not a good thing (to little avail). Its most poignantly illustrated when the mirror image she sends to live her normal life tells her at one point that she has no friends at school (something she had been unaware of).
 * Galen Waylock of War of the Dreaming leaps at the call. He had the training, the skills, the attitude. Unfortunately, his timing was a little off...
 * In The Chronicles of Prydain, Taran jumped into the (literal) thornbush of adventure. When older and more experienced, he looked back at that incident of a sign of what an impulsive idiot he was when all he wanted was an adventure.
 * Lampshaded in one of The Executioner novels. A female journalist asks Vigilante Man Mack Bolan why he's engaged in his Roaring Rampage of Revenge against The Mafia. Bolan replies that he was "simply the one there when the duty roster was handed out". When she scoffs at this answer, Bolan replies that, just as it's ridiculous for him to assume she should give up her career in journalism and become a housewife, it's ridiculous for her to think he'll forsake his far-more extensive military skills (which he lists in detail) and ignore what the mob is doing to his own country.
 * Sam Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings is thrilled by the prospect of "going to see Elves and all." Merry and Pippin are also insist on coming along - and even have a "conspiracy" set up to keep Frodo from leaving the Shire without them - but that's more the Power of Friendship.
 * In Secret of the Three Treasures by Janni Lee Simner (author of Bones of Faerie), the fourth-grade protagonist, Tiernay West, is so eager to become a professional adventurer like the protagonist of her father's novels that she wears her Indiana Jones hat everywhere and interprets everything by the relevant tropes. When she hears of a local legend about buried treasure, she jumps at the call so quickly, it leaves her mother's head spinning.
 * Harry Potter gets to adventure even before the call, then when the call actually comes it's his uncle who tries to prevent him from recieving it, but The Call Knows Where You Live, (in the form of Hagrid) then during the second book Dobby tries to prevent him from going back to his school of adventure. Interestingly enough, even after accepting the call he is reluctant about having to fight Voldemort, that's until he realizes how much fun he has fighting evil (and even gets his own little army), he's also willing to hurt anyone who gets in the way of his adventure (even his own friends).
 * Most of the main characters of The Wheel of Time were terrified at having to flee their isolated little village in order to lead the ravening monsters away from their loved ones. Egwene hid in a hayloft to make sure they didn't leave without her.

Live Action TV
"Sherlock: [You've seen a] bit of trouble too, I bet. John: Of course, yes. Enough for a lifetime, far too much. Sherlock: Want to see some more? John: Oh God, yes."
 * Heroes:
 * Hiro Nakamura recognised his powers the second he got them, and did everything he could to develop them so he could become a Superhero. He didn't just jump at the call, he'd spent his life sitting by the phone.
 * Early in the series, Peter Petrelli shows similar tendencies, spouting lines like "Do you ever think you were meant for something greater?" to then-strangers.
 * Gabriel Gray would give up his abilities in a heartbeat for a little approval. When he remakes himself as Sylar, however, he not only jumps at his call but at anyone else's he can get his hands on.
 * In Doctor Who, the Doctor didn't jump at the call, he stole a TARDIS and went looking for it.
 * In terms of the Doctor's companions, this serves as a distinction between the old and the new series. Becoming a companion in the old series is much less voluntary, a moment of what's in that box and sometimes continues under some duress. In the current series, the Doctor seems to choose his companions based on this trope.
 * Jenny, the Doctor's daughter / Opposite Gender Clone from series 4, follows in her Dad's footsteps, stealing a spaceship and flying off in search of adventure.
 * As of "The Doctor's Wife",
 * Faith's far more enthusiastic acceptance of being The Chosen One compared to Buffy in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
 * In the seventh-season episode "Potential",
 * Mack from Power Rangers Operation Overdrive jumps at the call to become Red Ranger. This is against his father's wishes, as said father was originally going to be Red himself before his son snuck the morpher out from under him. This is notable within PR because 95% of Rangers over the course of the franchise either refuse the call initially or accept with I Just Want to Be Normal undertones.
 * Most Rangers Jumped At the Call when initially offered (We get to be POWER RANGERS? AWESOME!), only to later realize what being a Ranger actually MEANS and develop an I Just Want to Be Normal attitude.
 * Supernatural:
 * While his brother, Sam, instead jumped at the chance to go to college, Dean stayed on with hunting and loved it. (This was before he got broke. Now he's not exactly so eager about it.) Arguably this could be more because he followed his Dad's orders without question and couldn't even comprehend disobeying than anything to do with noble heroics.
 * And it took a confused English teacher at a random school to teach Sam that he -could- go to college himself.
 * And then there's Jimmy, who didn't so much jump at the chance as wildly fling himself at it. It's kind of an understatement just to say
 * The X-Files: Special Agent Leyla Harrison, who had been following Mulder's and Scully's adventures through their expense reports, was thrilled to team up with Doggett in the episode "Alone"
 * John Watson in Sherlock.


 * Kamen Rider Fourze Gentaro Kisaragi jumpped so fast he forgot to ask what he was being called for. Or how to use his newly aquired Transformation Trinket...
 * Almost all the women working at the munitions factory in Bomb Girls were eager to do so, for many different reasons.

Religion/Mythology

 * When Jesus gathered the Twelve Apostles, it was simply a matter of going to their homes/jobs and saying "Follow me". It is described that they left immediately, including leaving their nets in the water (some were fishermen).

Video Games

 * Sam and Max will take any case from anyone (as long as they get paid) and always eagerly fight to answer the phone when it starts ringing. Sam always wins.
 * Except when the timestream was messed with, or when hell froze over.
 * Dante of the Devil May Cry series loves his work and actively flaunts his powers whenever possible.
 * Joe of Viewtiful Joe, who had watched tokusatsu films and TV shows all his life and actively embraced his own chance to be an action hero.
 * Which is reversed in the anime adaptation, where Joe doesn't seem to want more than an autograph.
 * Betrayal at Krondor: After initially trying not to get himself involved in the situation, Owyn has a chance to continue with the quest - and eagerly takes it. When Gorath and James sneak out of Krondor to go and investigate the moredhel threat, Owyn intercepts them and insists that if he isn't taken along, he'll surely talk to the wrong person by accident on the way home and jeopardize their mission - essentially throwing the reason he was initially forced to come along back in their faces.
 * Zack Fair from the Final Fantasy VII prequel Crisis Core, and to an initially less-successful extent, Cloud, in the original Final Fantasy VII game.
 * Zack continued to want to be a hero to the end. Cloud became far more reluctant after a while, though he still demonstrates a need to protect and rescue people he cares about.
 * Zack more went out looking for the call. He ran away from home (from his letter home, he apparently didn't tell his parents what he was doing), apparently at thirteen, and joined SOLDIER. And three years later when the game starts he's still going at it full blast.
 * Tidus in Final Fantasy X is generally unconcerned about suddenly being yanked out of his world, and eagerly follows Yuna around even after initially being told he can't be one of her guardians.
 * Considering he may have been a, his eagerness makes sense.
 * In the sequel, all it takes is one blurry, ancient sphere of someone who looks kind of like Tidus for Yuna to put on a Stripperiffic outfit, strap on a pair of pistols, and start globetrotting.
 * Riku of Kingdom Hearts felt that there was something more for him beyond his homeworld. He was right. Unfortunately, The Dark Side was apparently aware of this as well, and Riku was too impatient to wait one more night.
 * Everyone in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance but Marche and Cid.
 * And everyone period in the sequel, especially the protagonist Luso.
 * Travis Touchdown of No More Heroes fame is an otaku who spends 95% of his time watching wrestling tapes, various anime, and occasionally going out and slaughtering en masse. He literally buys a beam katana off of eBay, then when a random woman in a bar asks him to decapitate someone with it, is only too happy to do so. Then again, he also loves to grab the Idiot Ball as well.
 * Midori 'Dolly' Komaki of Devil Survivor is a cosplaying camgirl. Once she witnesses your small band of survivors battling demons with your own summoned Mons, she squeals at the thought of "real heroes!" and literally snatches up a COMP of her very own. Unfortunately, she apparently snags an Idiot Ball along with it...
 * The protagonist in Quest for Glory I: So You Want To Be A Hero goes out looking for quests to complete so that he can gain the title of hero after graduating from the "Famous Adventurer's Correspondance School".
 * One of the Aesops of Last Scenario is that jumping at the call is a stupid, stupid idea. Late in the game, the protagonist lists off four major characters who each tried to become heroes, and each wound up doing something horrible.
 * All the Villain Protagonist leads in the Overlord series eagerly embrace their destinies. Even the Overlord of the original game
 * Most of the Origin stories in Dragon Age: Origins allow the player character to either drag his/her feet and try to reject recruitment by the Grey Wardens, or eagerly badger authority figures to be allowed to join.
 * Twilight Sparkle eagerly decides to investigate Rarity's case in My Little Investigations
 * Dragon Quest V, the speechless hero either wanders or sneaks off to adventures to save people three times during his childhood, much to his father's worry.
 * The player does this in Dark Souls. Given that the choice was either this or rot in his cell for all eternity, it's easy to see why.

Webcomics
"Torg: And why are Lots 189 through 205 closed for repair? Riff: I don't want to talk aboud it. Torg: And Lot 206 looks like it's been partially liquefied!"
 * Riff from Sluggy Freelance loves nothing more than building absurdly overpowered weapons and using them to reduce evil monsters to smithereens. If no evil monsters are around, he'll start fiddling around with dimensional portals and Black Magic rituals until he finds some. He once tried putting some of his robots into storage—this didn't go so well.

"Sakuya: I thought you and Marisa would want to help investigate, since you're Gensokyo's premier incident-solvers. Reimu: You flatter me because it's true! Also, do you know what this means? IT IS TIME TO RESOLVE AN INCIDENT! *clenches fist* Sakuya: Um, okay, the geyser incident was less than a year ago. Could you not act like you're physically addicted to incidents, please?"
 * Rowan in Hi To Tsuki To Hoshi No Tama is a straightforward example.
 * Mr. Mighty from Everyday Heroes. Superpowers run in his family, and he was eager to inherit the name. His daughter, on the other hand, would rather just be normal.
 * Largo not only actively seeks The Call, he is one of the few people who hears it.
 * A.N.T. literally jumped at the call when offered a superhero team-up in The Crossoverlord.
 * Monica and Shelly, of Wapsi Square are currently experiencing this after trying to settle back into normal life.
 * Spinnerette has wanted nothing more than to be a superhero her entire life. The first thing she does after getting mutated with spider DNA and gaining four extra arms? Try to figure out what name she'll use.
 * Reimu in Touhou Nekokayou seems to enjoy her job, to say the least.


 * In The Adventures of Shan Shan, Cassie encourages this and does it herself.

Web Original

 * Himei of Sailor Nothing initially jumped at the chance to be a magical girl just like on TV and fight The Heartless. Unfortunately for her, this turns out to have been a Bad Idea and completely irreversible.
 * Chaka, from the webfiction Whateley Universe. She was a very unhappy transgendered boy who finally got the hot (female) body she had always dreamed of, ass-kicking Ki powers, the chance to finally tell off her two older siblings, and the chance to be a superhero go to Super-Hero School and drag her new friends into mishaps and adventures.
 * Or Monolith/Stronghold, who was dying to get superpowers as soon as his older sister did and he realized it was even a possibility. Now he's a Flying Brick who looks like he was drawn by Rob Liefeld, and loving every minute of it. Except he has to get through high school too.
 * As much as Rob from the web fiction serial Dimension Heroes was reluctant at first, it didn't take him long to realize that kicking inter-dimensional monster butt with futuristic super powers is a lot more fun than sitting around the house all summer.

Western Animation

 * Ben Tennyson from Ben 10. Watch an episode, any episode; he's running headlong towards the Monster of the Week (or a filler fight scene) before the first ad break. He has a code name for each of his many alter egos, never backs down from a fight... and several episodes heavily imply that he'd still like even more excitement in his life. Deconstructed a bit in the Made for TV Movie The Secret Of The Omnitrix, when Ben has to own up to the selfish and thrill-seeking motivations behind his superheroing.
 * In the Alternate Universe episode "Gwen 10", Gwen, while calmer and more responsible, is simlarly thrilled with the powers of the Omnitrix and the adventure it entails. In the regular universe, she starts learning magic and becomes part of the adventure.
 * Coop of Megas XLR both plays it straight and subverts it. As implied by the opening theme song, he digs his giant robot. However, The Call is actually Kiva's insistence that he save humanity in the future, and Coop's fondness of that is decidedly lacking. He likes to fight, but it's more about having a giant robot than following the call.
 * The young Planeteers from Captain Planet fit the trope.
 * Sari of Transformers Animated is remarkably eager to serve as ally to the titular giant alien robots, actively befriending them and trying to sneak aboard their ship within their first meeting. When she discovers that  her main concern is more that she wasn't told sooner.
 * Miko from Transformers Prime follows suit - when she spots Arcee trying to convince Jack to meet the other Autobots, she has no idea why he's hesitating and eggs him on. Much to Arcee's exasperation, being spotted means she has to bring Miko along too.
 * Kim Possible first jumped at the call when she saved a millionaire in her first mission, right? Wrong, she first jumped at the call in pre K, defending Ron from three super villains. Typically jumping at the call, literally, is the basis for most of her adventures.
 * The titular character in Manowar's 'Defender'.
 * So completely inverted in the Pandemic episodes of South Park. The boys and Craig experience an end of the world scenario, and then find an ancient prophecy saying that Craig is the chosen one who will save everybody; except Craig's spent the entirety of the two episodes complaining about the whole situation, and stating that he wants nothing to do with any of it. He literally refuses to explore an ancient ruin in one part, noting that nothing is forcing them to go further in.
 * 'Tis the whole point of Adventure Time (hence the title of the show).
 * In The Legend of Korra Korra, unlike her predecessor Aang, seems to LOVE being the Avatar.

Truth In Television

 * Project Chanology. Of all things.
 * Charles Darwin jumped at the call when he took the post as the ship's naturalist on board the HMS Beagle, a move which eventually resulted in the development and publication of his revolutionary Theory of Natural Selection.
 * He was reluctant to publish his evolutionary theories, when his friends called him to do so, predicting how the world at large would react.
 * Volunteering for the military, but applying to enter the special forces isn't so much jumping at the call as it is running at the call with a knife while the call is deep in enemy territory and holed up in a secret complex filled with fanatical armed guards after you've been without rest, water, or food for three days in the desert and you don't have even half of what would normally be needed to get at the call.