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Accidental Hero: Difference between revisions
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moved the "Evil Plan" example from Comic Books to Web Comics
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* Kitano, the protagonist of ''[[Angel Densetsu]]'', half the time manages to do this by just being around and [[Selective Obliviousness|not understanding what's happening]]. The other half, however, he's actually [[The Messiah|saving the day]].
* [[Irresponsible Captain Tylor]] - While he does not really become celebrated (although he gets quite the reputation amongst the enemy), Justi Ueki Tylor does seem to hit both flavors often.
== Comic Books ==
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* [[The Avengers (Comic Book)|The Avengers]] - Hardball was recruited into the Initiative when he used his powers to save a little girl from being hit by an armored car—at least, that's what it looked like to witnesses. In reality Hardball was trying to ''rob'' the armored car. The rescue was a coincidence. This is one of the first hints that Hardball is a bit too amoral for a superhero-in-training.
* Quite often the [[Incredible Hulk]] isn't actually ''trying'' to do something heroic, but he often does a lot of good with his powers anyway.
* Kevin Kolton from [http://www.evilplan.thewebcomic.com Evil Plan] wasn't trying to do anything heroic with the supervillian's telekinesis chip. He accidentally installed it by {{spoiler|falling asleep in class.}}▼
* [[Quantum and Woody]]'s first case was an investigation into the murder of Ed Palmer's wife. They follow clues all around the world until they captured Terrence Magnum, a global financier with a stolen computer chip that could decrypt military codes. Unfortunately, he had nothing to do with the murder—Mrs. Palmer was killed by her husband, as the police had originally surmised.
== Fairy Tales ==
*
== Film ==
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* ''[[A Fistful of Dynamite]]'': Despite Juan Miranda's best efforts to the contrary he is constantly being lauded as a hero of the revolution. An example of this is {{spoiler|freeing political prisoners being held in a former bank whilst only interested in finding money}}.
* In [[Charlie Chaplin]]'s ''[[Modern Times]]'', Chaplin thwarts a prison break by dodging bullets and pummeling the escaping prisoners. But he only does so because earlier he'd unknowingly sprinkled cocaine all over his lunch that another prisoner had hidden in a salt shaker, and was completely high at that point.
== Literature ==
* ''[[Audrey Wait]]'': The media latches on to Audrey as the subject of infamous [[Ear Worm]] and [[Break Up Song]], "Audrey, Wait!", turning her into a celebrity for no real reason other than inspiring the song. Not "heroic" in the traditional sense, but Audrey uses the media attention to good ends.
* [[Chronic Villainy|Chronic (if pitiable) Villain]] Gollum in [[J. R. R.
* [[Harry Potter (novel)|Harry Potter]] is credited with defeating Voldemort as a baby, when it was really his mother's love that saved Harry and destroyed Voldemort's body. Allowing Harry to grow up without all that pressure is one of the main reasons Dumbledore arranges for him to live with [[Muggle Foster Parents]] (even if said foster family [[Abusive Parents|went a little too far the other way.]])
** In ''[[Harry Potter/Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix|Harry Potter]]'', the nervous Ron is applauded for making a save with his foot during practice. When Harry mentions this right before the first match of the year, Ron tells him that he fell off the broom and kicked it accidentally. Harry quickly quips, "Well, a few more accidents like that and the match is in the bag."
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* Everything Rincewind ever did in the ''[[Discworld]]'' novels that didn't involve running away like his backside was on fire.
** Except for the one time that he mans up, in ''[[Discworld/Sourcery|Sourcery]]''. But it's okay! The statue, as a reward, gets downgraded to a plaque, gets downgraded to a certificate, gets downgraded to a fine.
*** It's implied that although a coward he may be, Rincewind also grew up on the streets of Morpork - and
** Also in ''[[Discworld/The Light Fantastic|The Light Fantastic]]'' and ''[[Discworld/Interesting Times|Interesting Times]]'', although he is still trying to run away in ''Interesting Times''. He just finds the save-everybody [[MacGuffin]] while he's at it.
*** In ''The Light Fantastic'', [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|he beats up the bringer of the apocalypse]]. With his ''bare hands''.
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* In John Gardner's novel "The Liquidator" an allied soldier mishandles his sidearm and kills two men. Fortunately for him they are both German agents. This seen by the Allied agent they were trying to kill who mistakes his terror stricken gaze as stone cold killer face. The agent later recruits the soldier as an assassin.
▲== Live Action TV ==
* In the ''[[Firefly]]'' episode "Jaynestown," Jayne is idolized by the citizens of a small town who herald him as the [[Just Like Robin Hood|hero who robbed their oppressor and gave them the money]]. What the locals do not know is that the robbery was just that: a robbery. Jayne had every intention of keeping the money, but his ship was damaged and he had to throw the money out the window in order to escape. In fact, he was so determined to keep that money that he actually threw his ''partner'' out of the ship first. The spurned partner returns, minus an eye, and reveals the sordid truth, but this does not stop a local man from [[Taking the Bullet|taking a shotgun blast meant for Jayne]]. There's even a song that the locals composed in celebration of his "heroics," an excerpt of which can be found on the quote page.
** Jayne also denounces heroes in and of themselves shortly afterwards, saying there's no people like that. "There's just people like me."
* ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' has the episode "The Homecoming": the Bajoran Li Nalas was hailed a legendary hero after slaying a powerful Cardassian warrior in an epic contest of strength and skill. The truth is that Li Nalas caught the man by surprise --
** Another ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine|Deep Space Nine]]'' episode, "Nor the Battle to the Strong", has Jake Sisko: a civilian, aspiring novelist and part-time journalist. While on a besieged planet, Jake defended a field hospital by causing a minor cave-in, killing two Klingon invaders and sealing the entrance. {{spoiler|Except that it was all an accident, he was panicking and shooting blindly, and the results were extraordinary luck for him.}} He freely admitted, however, that he was acting on fear and only trying to stay alive. He even wrote a truthful account of it for publication. He may not be a hero, but he's a very conscientious journalist.
** In yet another ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine|Deep Space Nine]]'' episode, "The House of Quark", Quark accidentally kills a notable Klingon warrior when he attacks him in a drunken rage. [[Anti-Hero|Unlike the normal remorse and guilt of characters put in this position, however, Quark milks the free publicity for all that it's worth]]...until it lands him in the middle of a series of Klingon political intrigues.
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== Newspaper Comics ==
* ''[[Beetle Bailey]]'': When Beetle [[Professional Slacker|of all people]] receives a medal for being an exemplary worker. It starts when he gives his usual kind of lip ("I could do that, if I wanted to") to Sarge "asking" him to clean up some graffiti. Sarge gets angry and gives a violence-laden order for him to want to do it, then. When he's cleaning the wall, Killer happens by and asks why he's doing it, to which Beetle replies with angry sarcasm that it's because he wants to. The General also happens to walk by and is impressed by this dedication.
== Video Games ==
* [[Leisure Suit Larry|Leisure Suit Larry goes looking for love (in several wrong places)]]. Larry Laffer meets a
* In [[Silent Hill]], [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|beating a god to death with a pipe]] tends to be an objective the player character achieves while pursuing a different goal, though how heroically that turns out for the characters depends on which of the [[Multiple Endings]] you get.
* In the [[World of Mana]] series, being the chosen hero tends to happen by accident:
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* In ''[[Chrono Trigger]]'', the "Legendary Hero" Tata just stumbled across the Hero Medallion.
* Rance, the "hero" of the ''[[Rance]]'' series, is this. He wants to have sex with as many women as possible. If some ancient demon god is trying to destroy the world, obviously he has to put a stop to that, since it would get in the way of all his fun. There are a few intentional heroic moments too, though (such as in ''[[Sengoku Rance]]'' when he saves Kouhime and [[Kick the Son of a Bitch|slaughters her rapists]]).
== Web Comics ==
▲* Kevin Kolton from [http://www.evilplan.thewebcomic.com Evil Plan] wasn't trying to do anything heroic with the supervillian's telekinesis chip. He accidentally installed it by {{spoiler|falling asleep in class.}}
== Western Animation ==
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* In ''Fragebogen'', Ernst von Salomon relates that in the concentration camp where the Americans (yes, the Americans) interned him as a "security threat", he was informed that the general everyone was kowtowing to was the victor of Crailsheim. You never heard of the Battle of Crailsheim? It was the last German victory.
** In ''Crusade in Europe'', Eisenhower noted that "...we occupied Crailsheim, but were forced to withdraw by unexpectedly strong resistance." The real story: the general, in his command tank, was cut off from his unit in the darkness. He finally found an armored column and traveled with it all night, before finding that it was an American column. He tried to slip off quietly (insofar as possible in a tank), but was spotted. So he opened fire with everything he had. The Americans heard firing, thought the Germans had outflanked them and were counterattacking from the rear, and pulled out of Crailshem. "Proving that a general without his command can be just as useful as a lance corporal."
* When [http://www.cbsnews.com/news/amber-cummings-avoids-prison-for-killing-nazi-husband-while-he-slept/ Amber Cummings] killed her neo-nazi husband, it was meant to prevent him from harming their daughter, Claira. Not only did the action spared Claira from a life of sexual
* In 1834, a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delphine_LaLaurie#Torture_and_murder_of_slaves_and_1834_LaLaurie_mansion_fire slave] was [[Driven to Suicide]], which seems typical giving that slavery was legal at the time. What was her chose to end her life, [[Kill It with Fire| set the building on fire]]. The slave belong to Delphine LaLaurie, and she was found to be a notorious torturer of slaves, which just so happen to be illegal. The arson the slave committed pretty expose the torture despite the [[Better to Die Than Be Killed| preferring death over torture]].
* [http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2011/09/there-once-was-a-man-hit-on-the-head-by-a-falling-baby-twice/ Joseph Figlock], a street sweeper, was hit by a falling toddler while on his shift in Detroit, Michigan. A year later, it happened AGAIN the same spot! What's more, neither cases ended in fatality.
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