Holding Out for a Hero: Difference between revisions
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''I need a hero! I'm [[Trope Namer|holding out for a hero]] till the end of the night
''He's gotta be strong and he's gotta be fast
''And he's gotta be fresh from the fight''
|'''Bonnie Tyler''', [[Jim Steinman|"Holding Out for a Hero"]]}}
The crime rate in the [[City of Adventure]] is on the rise due to a new [[The Syndicate|criminal syndicate]] in town. Should people vote for more police funding and work in improving inner city economics so that fewer people turn to crime? No. [[Somebody Else's Problem|Why should they]]? A Hero will take care of it.
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** On one hand, the presence of superpowered beings in Primal Earth doesn't stop the world's militaries and police forces from trying their best to handle things on their own. Until the [[Alien Invasion|Rikti War]], for example, [[City of Adventure|Paragon City]]'s police department was confident in its ability to "serve and protect" without relying on heroes to do all the work. Even when the war's aftermath left the PPD barely able to function, Chief Conrad Bochco vowed to protect the city without seeking alliances or help from the numerous hero organizations—but the PPD is not above letting superpowered beings join the police force, as Blue Steel shows. (This is why the PPD's Awakened Division, comprised of officers who [[Fusion Dance|fused]] with [[Energy Beings|Kheldians]], is so controversial within the police force; some argue it's a form of relying on outside help.)
** On the other, the citizens of Paragon City often hold out for a hero when criminals and villains confront them (some of the purse-snatching gang members will even accuse their victims of this), knowing full well that a hero will (hopefully) step in and save them. Many are still ungrateful about it, though ("There you are! There's never a hero around when you need one!").
** And the trope is turned upside-down in the City of Villains expansion. There, the global criminal organization [[
* Averted in ''[[Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan]]'' and its American counterpart, ''[[Elite Beat Agents]]''. "Ouendan" can be roughly translated as "cheer squad"... and that's your job, my friend. The duty of the Ouendan and the Agents is to provide encouragement through song and dance - the person being aided does the actual work. The only exception in either series is {{spoiler|the last level of either game, where the Ouendan/Agents act as the focus for the [[Combined Energy Attack]].}}
* Averted in ''[[Okami]]'': Although you, playing [[A God Is You|Amaterasu]], have been helping the braggart swordsman Susano achieve fame by performing miraculous feats which he believes are his own, it doesn't take him long to realize that he's being "played with" by the gods. He then renounces any further help and goes off on his own. {{spoiler|(Although you do get to assist him one last time, against Orochi, he deals the final blow all by himself.)}} Additionally, although Amaterasu is able to defeat {{spoiler|Yami, the Lord of Eternal Darkness, it's only because [[Combined Energy Attack|the faith of all the people of Nippon]] granted her the divine might to do so.}}
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* ''[[The Gods of Arr-Kelaan]]'' when Mike, god of Honor/Valor, first gained his powers he worked as a superhero causing this effect. He decided he needed to change his strategy.
* In the ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' arc "Phoenix Rising," Oasis takes the role of vigilante protector for the town of Podunkton. Most of the citizens accept her either out of gratitude or fear of being next on her hit list, and the local police force thinks this is just peachy, since they get to collect their government paychecks without having to do squat. Officer Tod ''does'' prove himself able to hold his own against an expert assassin, though, having been a mob enforcer before Oasis cleaned up the town.
* Happens briefly in ''[[The Order of the Stick]]''. After the city is overrun by hobgoblins, several of the fleeing soldiers accidentally become aware of the elf wizard who had fought alongside them also fleeing the invading army under a spell of invisibility. These soldiers actually stop their retreat and proceed to bombard the elf with demands to save them, turn them invisible, teleport them out of there, blast the hobgoblins, anything. Unfortunately for them, said wizard is completely out of spells by this point and can only watch as they are slaughtered by the hobgoblins.
* In ''[[Dubious Company]]'', [[Living MacGuffin|Sal]] plays this straight since she has the [[Born Lucky|favor]] of a [[Random Number God|god]] and [[Designated Victim|1,025 kidnappings]] to justify it before meeting the pirates. She and the pirates then become accustomed to [[Ninja|Tiren]] saving them, until they all get captured. Once they realize the severity of [[Human Sacrifice|Kreedor's plan]] for Sal, the rest of the crew are forced to [[Took a Level in Badass|pull their weight]].
{{quote|Walter: We've still got Tiren! (Cut to Tiren [[Properly Paranoid|chained up, in stocks, from a suspended metal box in a separate cell]].)
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