Historical Hero Upgrade: Difference between revisions

** Saito is sort of an odd example as [[Characterization Marches On|he's initially]] introduced as a vicious [[Blood Knight]] and Watsuki comments on getting angry letters for giving him a ''[[Historical Villain Upgrade]]'', which might explain why soon after his introduction, Kenshin describes him as a morally pure [[Worthy Opponent]], and he becomes an [[Anti-Hero]] from that point onward.

** The manga's treatment of Okubo is closer to this trope. He's historically seen as a [[Sleazy Politician]], and that aspect is certainly part of his character, although he's presented as working for the best for his country and deserving of the respect he gets from Kenshin and Saito. [[Word of God]] comments on wanting to rehabilitate his image, noting that in terms of corruption, he [[Take That|wasn't much different than Japan's current politicians]].

 

=== Comic Books ===

** Arguably, the film does actually emphasize their extreme devotion to religion, but also has Leonidas himself rejecting the practices as illogical and detrimental to them during a time of war.

* [[Charles Fort]] may be one of the most important figures in paranormal science, but he wasn't much of a hands-on investigator. The only weird event he claimed to be present for was a painting falling off a wall for no apparent reason. In a one-shot comic from [[Dark Horse Comics]], he's not only depicted as being directly involved in the things he investigates, but is upgraded to a badass action hero who saves the world from aliens. A preteen [[H.P. Lovecraft]] gets to be his sidekick. At the end of the comic, [[Theodore Roosevelt]] puts him in charge of a secret [[Doctor Who|UNIT]]-like organization.

 

=== Films -- Animated ===

** Though this is more a reflection of this trope being applied far more heavily to Pocahontas herself... John Smith is portrayed as being quite shallow and bland until he gets a lecture from the [[Purity Sue|morally pure and spiritually superior]] [[Positive Discrimination|Native American woman]] that [[Epiphany Therapy|causes him to become a well-rounded individual]].

* The imperial Romanov family in ''[[Anastasia]]''. [[Don Bluth]] really just grabbed the opportunity to portray another idyllic [[Follow the Leader|Disney-like]] princess, while neglecting to mention all the reasons the revolutionists thought themselves justified in their actions. On the other hand, Grigori Rasputin gets quite the [[Historical Villain Upgrade]].

 

=== Films -- Live-Action ===

* Eliot Ness of the ''[[The Untouchables]]''. In the two TV series and in the film, he's the ultimate lawman who spearheads the effort to bring down [[Al Capone]]. In reality, his only major contribution to crimefighting was ''taking credit'' for bringing down Capone. He was also an alcoholic who notably blundered the pursuit of a Cleveland serial killer.

** Some historians claim that Ness was successful in stopping the Cleveland Torso Murderer, albeit indirectly, and that a political rival related to their preferred suspect smeared Ness in the aftermath. YMMV, naturally.

** He's a bit more sympathetic in Brian Michael Bendis's comic ''Torso''. As Cleveland's head of Public Safety, he tries to prevent pedestrian traffic deaths (about 400 people a year) while the public is more concerned with a serial killer who's stalking prostitutes and immigrants in a tent city on the outskirts of the city that most of the population didn't care about anyway.

* Lucilla, sister of the Roman Emperor Commodus has been given a Historical Hero Upgrade in both ''[[Gladiator (film)|Gladiator]]'' and the 1964 epic ''The Fall of the Roman Empire'' (where she was played by Sophia Loren). The real life Lucilla ''was'' indeed involved in a plot to assassinate her brother... but according to contemporary historian Herodian it was because of her own jealousy and desire for power (in fact he even blames her attempt to have Commodus killed as what made him so paranoid in the first place).

** According to some fan-theories, the events of the games are filtered through Altair and Ezio's impressions of them. Such as the way beggars in AC 1 would bother Altair and ''only'' Altair.

** Not to mention that with their advantage in information control, the Templars would obviously try to slander any historical figure who allied themselves with the Assassins.

 

=== Western Animation ===

* At the end of ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'', the heroes have to whitewash Führer Bradley's life and not tell anyone that {{spoiler|he was a Homunculus and willing to sacrifice his people to give Father godhood}}.

 

* ''[[Star Trek: First Contact]]'' explores this trope with the fictional historical figure of Zefram Cochrane. Federation history paints Cochrane as a shining paragon of idealism while he was really a selfish, cynical drunk (but still kind of a [[Loveable Rogue]]). Much of his widely known idealism only came long after he'd made [[First Contact]], while the time-traveling crew only met the earlier, broken man who'd barely lived through [[World War III]]. The Cochrane they meet even sneers at the very same aphorisms [[Timey-Wimey Ball|he'll later famously deliver]]. The novelization hints that he may have had untreated bipolar disorder, alternating between manic creative highs that led to his [[Faster-Than-Light Travel|inventing the warp drive]] and crushing lows.

** This was later lampshaded in a ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]'' episode where Captain Archer wants to take [[Star Trek: First Contact|an obscure speech by Cochrane in which he claimed cyborgs tried to sabotage first contact]] as the complete truth (which, of course, it is). T'Pol points out that Cochrane was "frequently intoxicated" (which is also true, and probably the only reason Cochrane ever revealed that information).

 

=== Literature ===

** A recurring theme in the books is Cain using his memoirs (compiled into the books we read) to give himself a [[Historical Villain Upgrade]] instead. By his actions, Cain is a hero. By his own claims he's a self-serving coward. Those tropes get played with a lot, and Sandy Mitchell says [[Shrug of God|he's not sure.]]

* Within the ''[[Dragaera]]'' series, the Dumas-[[Recycled in Space|recycling]] novels Brust [[Literary Agent Hypothesis|attributes to Paarfi]] are an example of this (and probably [[Historical Villain Upgrade]] as well) in universe. Paari presents a rose-colored, [[Good Old Ways]] view of Dragaeran history and tends to present historical figures in a flattering light, although in some cases, you can read between the lines and sense the real person was much less pleasant.

 

=== Live-Action TV ===

* The original ''[[Star Trek]]'' invokes this trope by establishing that some people in the 23rd century consider [[Magnificent Bastard|Khan Noonien Singh]] to be one of history's heroes.

* In the ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]'' episode "Living Witness", the ancestors of an alien civilization are treated this way after they tried to raid Voyager and took hostages while doing so. Voyager was trading with one of their enemies while not knowing there was even a conflict between the two sides, and both are given a corresponding [[Historical Villain Upgrade]] to the point that they launched a horrific war against their "peace-loving" culture and staged full-on genocide against them. They themselves, on the other hand, are depicted as martyrs and freedom-fighters.

 

=== Video Games ===

* The protagonist of ''[[MediEvil (1998 video game)|Medievil]]'', Sir Daniel Fortesque, became a friend of the king through various exaggerated tales of his exploits. When an actual battle occurred, Daniel ended up getting killed by arrows minutes into it. However, due to being the King's friend, he went down in history as a hero. When the evil sorceror he fought against tries to take over the world again, Sir Dan gets a chance to finally prove himself as the hero history remembers him as.

* Pilineal Whitestrake in ''[[The Elder Scrolls]]'' series is known as the Divine Crusader, and held in high regard by Imperials for freeing Tamriel from the Ayleids. Nevermind he was a racist berserker who would often go into psychopathic episodes, which were said to have damaged the lands themself. He nearly single-handedly wiped ''an entire race'' from the face of the planet, and even attacked another race called the Khajiit, ''simply because they didn't look human''.

 

=== Western Animation ===

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Characterization Tropes]]

[[Category:Hollywood History]]