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{{trope}}
{{quote|''
''We said, 'We worked harder than this!{{'
|'''Modest Mouse''', "Bury Me With It"}}
Life can be unfair. For example, you've just saved the day, but everyone else heaps praise on to someone who was hardly involved in it ([[Framed for Heroism]]). Or, you've just saved the day, but you go on to lose a gymnastics competition you entered on the same day. You're probably thinking... "Dude, where's my reward?"
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Contrast [[Keep the Reward]], [[Standard Hero Reward]], [[Awesome Moment of Crowning]]. [[Award Snub]] is the real life counterpart. This is averted with [[Hospitality for Heroes]].
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]'': Spike and Jet are bounty hunters who can never seem to cash in on the millions of Woolongs they would honestly deserve, for reasons that are as ingenious as they are [[Sadist Show|sadistic]] on the part of the show's producers. As the main characters can never sit back and relax and always need to look for new opportunities to screw up, this trope is in fact the very thing that drives the show all the way to the ending; by the final episode, after having dealt with everything from [[Psycho Prototype]]s to environmentalist groups bent on eradicating the human race, there's no paycheck to be had and the [[Big Eater|Bebop crew]] still find their refridgerator is (mostly) empty.
** Ironically, Spike and Jet have occasionally ended up with the potential to make lots and lots of money that they wouldn't honestly deserve (like the Grey Ash in "Waltz for Venus" or blackmail material on the Gate Corporation), [[Honor Before Reason|but they never take advantage of it and try to do the right thing instead]].
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** Nah, they've pretty much actively been keeping out of the spotlight all the way back to the legendary, world-conquering Piccolo-Daimaou, whose defeat Bulma credited to "the forces of good" when she reported it to the news. By the end, they're actively hiding the majority of their powers from the public and helping Mr. Satan keep the glory in order to avoid dealing with the fuss of fame (and keep Vegeta from killing any reporters that try to interview him).
== [[Comic Books]] ==
*
==
* There're a fair few ''[[
▲* [[Spider-Man|Action is his reward]]... but that doesn't mean he wouldn't mind a little public adulation... or for the ''Daily Bugle'' to stop calling him a menace... or for the police to stop shooting at him... or a little rent money...
== [[Film]] ==▼
▲== Film ==
* ''[[The Incredibles]]''. In the opening scene Mr. Incredible saves a) a suicide jumper, b) a young fan, and c) a trainful of people. The jumper sues him because he didn't want to be saved, the train passengers sue him for their injuries, and the fan {{spoiler|grows up to become the villain Syndrome who is trying to destroy all superheroes.}}
* In ''[[Dragonslayer]]'', the hero and his girl return to her village to find the local priest extolling how God has struck down Vermithrax's evil, while the elderly king sticks a sword in the dragon's carcass for a medieval photo op. Neither the villagers nor the royal court acknowledge for a moment that the {{spoiler|hero's wizard mentor}} is the one who really brought down the dragon.
* ''[[The Gods Must Be Crazy]]''. Andrew Steyn, without any conventional weapons, {{spoiler|rescues a bunch of schoolchildren by fighting off a platoon of guerilla soldiers and gets a runaway Land Rover under control}} only to have the appropriately named Jack Hind take the credit in front of the woman he loves.
== [[Literature]] ==▼
* ''[[The Pied Piper of Hamelin]]'': The town promises to pay the piper if he successfully gets rid of the all rats. After sending the rats into a river, the town reneged his reward. The piper decided to take his revenge by taking away the town's children.▼
▲== Literature ==
* In [[Douglas Adams]]'s ''[[Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency]]'', Dirk winds up getting caught in a plot involving time travel, saving the entirety of creation at the very end of said plot. When he returns to his detective agency, he realizes that the meddling he did with time-travel has, [[For Want of a Nail|among other consequences]], caused him to lose a most profitable customer. He sends her one final bill that reads "Saving the world - No charge".
* [[Discworld|Rincewind!]]
* In the [[Liaden Universe]], what do you get for saving the planet? {{spoiler|KICKED OFF the planet.}} A subversion, though, in that {{spoiler|the protagonists were kinda thrilled to no longer have the responsibility. Played straight for some of the people who helped them, though.}}
* Harry at the beginning of ''[[Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (
{{quote|The injustice of it all welled up inside of him so that he wanted to yell with fury. If it hadn't been for him, nobody would even have known Voldemort was back! and his reward was to be stuck in Little Whinging for four solid weeks, completely cut off from the magical world, reduced to squatting among dying begonias so that he could hear about water-skiing budgerigars!}}
** And then later on...
{{quote|"WHO HAD TO GET PAST DRAGONS AND SPHINXES AND EVERY OTHER FOUL THING LAST YEAR? WHO SAW HIM COME BACK? WHO HAD TO ESCAPE FROM HIM? ''ME...!'' BUT WHY SHOULD I KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON? WHY SHOULD ANYONE ''BOTHER'' TO TELL ME WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING?"}}
** It goes back ''way'' further than that. Harry's 'reward' for stopping Voldemort the first time was to be locked in a small cupboard for ''ten whole years'', while the Death-Eaters (Voldemort's followers) were 'punished' by becoming members of A-List society with high-level government influence. Sad isn't it?
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* Twice in the ''[[Knight and Rogue Series]]''. First, after risking arrest to prove his brother-in-law is innocent, Fisk is thanked by said brother-in-law before being told to get the hell out of town, before he and Michael are booted out of town anyway. The second time they nearly get killed aprehending a group of wreckers, and though they ''do'' get a reward, Michael gives it away to his former crush as a wedding gift/piece offering to the groom without consulting Fisk first. He tries to justify this as the man having helped with the arrests by calling in the police, but Fisk thinks that, as the ones who found the criminals and foiled their plot, they shoul have gotten the money.
▲== Live Action TV ==
* Played with in a ''[[3rd Rock from the Sun]]'' episode where Harry and Tommy return someone's lost wallet. When they realize that they didn't get a reward, they spend the whole episode bugging the guy and dropping obvious hints. Finally, he gives in... and they immediately tell him to [[Keep the Reward]].
* Pretty much the story of Sam's life as the title character in the show ''[[Reaper]]''.
* ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'s'' third season episode "The Zeppo" is a
* Lampshaded to great effect in ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]''. Claire Bennett, with her regenerative powers, saves a man from a burning train. However, fellow cheerleader [[Alpha Bitch|Jackie Wilcox]] claims credit for it and is treated like a town hero. Of course, this is subverted mightily in later episodes.....
* [[Father Ted]]. Ted uncovers a betting scandal revolving around the 'King of the Sheep' contest. As he walks out of the tent where the contest is being held, Dougal remarks 'One thing though, Ted. If Chris has been disqualified, does that mean we don't get the money you bet on him?'
* The ''[[Doctor Who]]'' story ''The End of Time'' has the Doctor point this out. In the show's 47 year history, the Doctor has saved Earth, other planets, and the universe as a whole countless times, making sacrifice after sacrifice. Every friend he ever makes will die, while he is nearly immortal. He has destroyed his race to save the rest of the universe, making him the last of his kind. He's completely alone in the universe. His reward? None.
** What makes it all the more heart-wrenching this time is that the Tenth Doctor finally loses his temper when he realizes that in spite of all the good he could continue to do, he has to sacrifice his life (read: trigger another regeneration) to save his friend, Wilf.
{{quote|Wilf: I'm an old man. Just leave me.
Tenth Doctor: Well, of course! Look at you, not even remotely important, but me? I could do so much more! SO MUCH MORE!! But this is what I get...my reward...WELL IT'S NOT FAIR!!! }}
* [[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]] has this hard, and there isn't really anything he can do about it since magic is a crime punishable by death. He has secretly saved Camelot itself from total destruction multiple times over the course of the show. He saves Arthur's life [[Once an Episode]], often several times an episode, and aside from the exceptions that can be counted on one hand, either someone else gets the credit or Arthur never realizes his life was in danger in the first place. He's even saved Uther a couple of times, even though the guy's the reason why he has to keep his magic a secret.
== [[Newspaper Comics]] ==▼
▲== Newspaper Comics ==
* There's an old ''[[Doonesbury]]'' strip where the Skylab astronauts return from their mission to be congratulated by... the Lieutenant Governor of Iowa. In the words of one: "I'll bet we don't get a parade, either...."
== [[Oral Tradition]], [[Folklore]], Myths and Legends ==
== Radio ==▼
▲* ''[[The Pied Piper of Hamelin]]'': The town promises to pay the piper if he successfully gets rid of the all rats. After sending the rats into a river, the town reneged his reward. The piper decided to take his revenge by taking away the town's children.
* In Douglas Adams's ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'', Arthur Dent saves the ship from being destroyed. Zaphod tells him good work. Arthur says "It was nothing." Zaphod says, "Oh, forget it, then."▼
▲== [[Radio]] ==
▲* In Douglas Adams's ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'', Arthur Dent saves the ship from being destroyed. Zaphod tells him good work. Arthur modestly says "It was nothing." Zaphod says, "Oh, forget it, then."
== [[Video Games]] ==
* At the end of ''[[Super Robot Wars]] Orginal Generation'', the Hagane and Hiryu Custom has just saved the Earth from not only civil war but an alien invasion as well. ''Original Generation 2'' began with the ATX team underneath Kenneth Garret, a slave driver who gives them no time off for relaxation. When they escape from him they end up under the control of Lee Linjun, a no nonsense captain who will gladly sacrifice everyone for victory, and who is jealous that he didn't save the world. Both of these characters (as well as several others) consider the L5 campaign to be a complete fluke.
* Link is almost universally gypped. Poor kid deserves a knighthood or something for all the stuff he goes through in the games, but what does he get? In ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening|The Legend of Zelda Links Awakening]]'', he finds out that {{spoiler|the Windfish's dreamworld was erased and he's ''still'' shipwrecked in the middle of the ocean}}. ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time|Ocarina of Time]]'' "rewards" him by sending him back in time to childhood and stripping him of his fairy. Most of the other games end ambiguously at best. [[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess|Midna]] may have said it best when she suggested that Link is meant to "toil in obscurity forever." Now remember that most of these Links are different people throughout history, and you realize that the name "Link" is a jinx for every poor sap that has it.
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** What happens at the end of the ''Zelda'' games is almost never explored in great detail, so we often don't actually ''know'' what exactly happens after the credits roll. The old ''[[The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past|The Legend of Zelda a Link To T He Past]]'' [[The Legend of Zelda (manga)|manga]] actually had a [[Bittersweet Ending]] {{spoiler|where Link was made Captain of the Palace Guard for his heroics- which unfortunately meant that he was forever [[Star-Crossed Lovers|kept from Zelda (who he was in love with) because of the difference in their ranks]].}}
** At least in Twilight Princess we see Link getting recognized for his exploits. Strangers recognize him in the town market after the [[Escort Mission]], and congratulate him for his bravery. The Gorons can't stop offering to aid your quest after you complete Death Mountain. [[La Résistance]] is in awe of your courage.
** Hard to say where [[The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker|Wind Waker's]] Link falls in
* In ''[[Command
** Fortunately, Comrade Yuri understands our pain and is determined to help us win Premier Romanov's favor.
*** Yuri... Is... Master
** Also, Red Alert III ends with the Soviet player character getting slightly more recognition.
** Speaking of [[Command
* Finishing Dead Space 2 on the hardest setting might count, since well... Besides gaining the most overpowered weapon, {{spoiler|the Foam Finger}}, which, you could have used to finish the game on the hardest difficulty setting.
** Somewhat averted since the weapon's a gamebreaker. But still.
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* [[Sonic the Hedgehog|The Chaotix Detective Agency]] more than likely go through this. Their first known mission was [[Sonic Heroes|orchestrated by Dr. Eggman]], leading to the three members to attack him when he promises to pay them "after [he] takes over the world!". And when he tries to escape after the [[Big Bad]] is defeated, Vector roars out "THAT SLIMEBALL!" and the trio chase after him again! And it's more than likely every other appearance is the same thing - they save the world, but they don't get a paycheck!
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* Happens to Winter and Otra more than once in ''[[Girly]]'': They do all the work (well, them and elephants), Captain Fist gets all the glory. They don't seem to mind, however.
* Double subverted in ''[[The Inexplicable Adventures of Bob]].'' After saving the world from the Iridium Bomb, Bob gets a Congressional Medal Of Honor. He accepts it, sets it on his mantle, and largely forgets about it. Having it doesn't change his life one way or the other.
* ''[[8-
== [[Web Original]] ==
* 'Winning' ''[[Survival of the Fittest]]''. You get to live, that's it, and even ''that'' isn't even guaranteed: the winner of V0 got punted back into V1 and died, and {{spoiler|the winner of V3 didn't even live past his first year.}}
* In the webgame ''[[Antaris Realspace]]'', after more or less reversing the tide of the entire war and taking out an enemy flagship with just a few ships, the ending says this: "Command has rewarded you by giving you a pay raise of 10 dinars. Those cheap Muthers!!!"
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'':
** Homer Simpson gets passed over for an "Employee of the Week" award to an "inanimate carbon rod". Later in the episode, he stuffs another inanimate carbon rod in a space shuttle door to prevent a Columbia-like disaster, but it's not him who gets a parade. Then again, he was the one who broke the door (among other disasters) in the first place.
*** In Homer's defense, no one on the ground knew about Homer's inadvertent meddling, and hell, when they landed, the ''real'' astronauts even explicitly stated that Homer was the one that saved them.
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** When Mayor Quimby is about to be killed in an electric chair, Lisa comes up with the idea of firing a message tied to a mini-rocket, but Ralph gets the credit because he was the one who thought of asking Lisa. Although initially annoyed, Lisa congratulates Ralph along with everybody else after Bart says: "Come on, Lise, [[Throw the Dog a Bone|let him have this one]] - it's [[The Ditz|Ralph!]]"
** In "Crook and Ladder", Homer, Moe, Skinner, and Apu save Mr. Burns's mansion from a fire. They expect a reward from the rich man, but instead he says he hates them and leaves. Moe remarks, "I can't believe he acted completely in character!"
* Tommy Gilligan saves the whole ''[[Kids Next Door]]'' organization, but Numbuh 362 insists that a computer failsafe prevents them from re-inducting him in, and, hey, rules are rules (luckily he decided he didn't want to stay anyway).
** If you think about it, the fact that he was allowed to keep all his memories of the KND might count as a reward, they usually erase all memories of the KND of anyone who leaves.
*** That was intended to keep ex-KND teens or adults from using their stuff. He's not old enough for them to have to worry about that yet, and besides, he was a member of the KND for about a day anyway.
* Rivals ''[[Kim Possible]]'' and Bonnie Rockwaller set their differences aside to save Camp Gottagrin (formerly known as Wannaweep) from a scheming villain, but feel angered at a rival school winning an award at the cheer camp being held there. The only thing they've learned from the whole ordeal? "Cheer camp stinks."
* ''[[Clone High]]'': Joan sheds a tear at everyone lording on Abe being the MVP of a basketball game, even though Joan scored her school's only points (er, point) of the game.
* ''[[I Am Weasel]]'', "This Bridge Not Weasel Bridge": Baboon freaks out reading a newspaper proclaiming Weasel to be responsible for the bridge, because Baboon was the one who finished all of the construction.
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* An infuriating example occurs in [[Doug]]. Basically, Doug finds an envelope full of money. Naturally, being the good-hearted kid he is, he turns it into the police, and when the money is unclaimed after a month, it legally becomes his. As he is counting it, however, a [[Coincidental Broadcast]] from the old woman who lost the money in the first place appears on the TV, where she tearfully hopes for its return. He is motivated, out of nothing but the kindness of his heart, to return the money. His reward? A pack of gum. [[Being Good Sucks]], indeed.
** Something good ''did'' come out of it, though: he got the respect of his sister, Judy, which pretty much stuck for the rest of the series.
* In ''[[Family Guy]]''{{'}}s ''Blue Harvest'', Peter/Han is rewarded for rescueing Lois/Leia with a gift basket.
▲* There're a fair few [[Harry Potter (novel)|Harry Potter]] fics where his "reward" for killing Voldemort is to be thrown into Azkaban, kicked out of the wizarding world, stripped of his powers, etc. In one particularly egregious case, once he offed the [[Big Bad]] he was ''reborn as Tom Riddle'' and had to live through Voldemort's entire life doing (and hating) all the things he'd done in order to "preserve the timeline." Then, once he died as Voldemort, {{spoiler|he found himself back in his infant body on the night his parents were killed and had to repeat the whole cycle ''all freaking over again''...}}
{{reflist}}
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[[Category:Truth in Television]]
[[Category:Dude, Where's My Reward?]]
[[Category:This Index Asked You a Question]]
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