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{{trope}}
[[File:
A common western action cartoon format that was very popular in the 1980s and 1990s (after the success of ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' [[Fountain of Expies|spawned]] a [[Follow the Leader|crop of imitators]]) and still continues to this day.
The format is more or less this: A team of heroic monsters (aliens, mutants, or magical beings) are somehow created, awakened, or arrived in the modern world. Usually a modern American city. They are honorable creatures who set out to [[They Fight Crime|fight crime]]. The average person fears them for their appearance, and they must hide from [[Muggles]]. However, they befriend one or two open-minded humans, usually either children or career women. These women or children end up being the team's friends and guides to modern Earth, and are [[Secret Keeper
Since these shows are usually aimed at young boys, expect [[The Smurfette Principle]] to be in full swing. The heroes are usually [[Last of His Kind|The Last Of Their Kind]], with no females. Consequently, [[Interspecies Romance]] will usually be explored, [[Shipping|particularly by fans]], especially if the [[Secret Keeper]] is a career woman.
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{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==▼
▲== Anime and Manga ==
* The Japanese ''[[Microman]]'' anime.
* This was actually the format for ''[[Sonic X]]'', with Sonic and his Furry pals as the "monsters" (albeit cute ones) and the Thorndyke family as their human allies. This was ostensibly to give the audience a human identification
== [[Comic Books]] ==▼
* ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' -- which started out as a black-and-white independent comic in the middle 1980s -- is the [[Trope Codifier]], of
▲== Comic Books ==
** As well as the many other [[Furry Comic|anthropomorphic]] [[Animal Superheroes|animal superhero]] comics which were "[http://www.misterkitty.org/extras/stupidcovers/stupidcomics121.html inspired]" by them. ▼
*** Ironically, the Ninja Turtles were originally intended as a parody of [[Frank Miller]]'s gritty style (''[[Ronin]]'' and ''[[Daredevil]]'' being his two notable works to that point and the two books most closely parodied). They spawned a bunch of "adjective, adjective, adjective, noun" anthropomorphic imitations/parodies. But those were mostly dreamed up by fans and wannabe pros looking to cash in (TMNT #1 was
** Making ''[[Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters]]'' a parody of a parody.▼
* Going way, way back, the original [[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]] basically started off this way, minus the pet human.
* [[Conversational Troping]] in an early-90s issue of ''[[Green Lantern]]'' set at a toy expo: "Buddy, every ten minutes I've got someone trying to sell me 'the new Turtles'. I've a warehouse full of stupid dinosaurs named after dead presidents!"
== [[Live-Action TV]] ==▼
* Often parodied on ''Late Night With [[Conan O
▲== Live-Action TV ==
▲* Often parodied on ''Late Night With [[Conan O Brien]]'', where Conan's mock fall previews often feature programs such as ''Embryonic Rockabilly Polka-Dotted Fighter Pilots'' or ''Country Cuckoo-Clock Codpiece Zulu Warriors''.
▲* Non-cartoon example: ''[[Beauty and The Beast (TV)|Beauty and The Beast]]''.
* The live-action show ''[[Dark Angel]]'' was similar in premise, with the exception that most of the [[Catgirl|Chimera]] could at least pass for human (with the notable exception of Joshua in season 2). Nevertheless, Logan acted as a [[Secret Keeper]] for Max and the rest.
== [[Video Games]] ==▼
▲== Video Games ==
▲* The [[Battletoads (Video Game)|Battletoads]] from the videogame of the same name.
* Parodied in the old adventure game ''The Big Red Adventure''. One TV showed the "Teenage Mutant Ninja [[The Beatles|Beetles]]", who were four cockroaches [http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/big-red-adventure/screenshots/gameShotId,258412/ with the faces of the Fab Four]!
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* Master of the subverted trope that it is,
==
* [[Transformers Generation 1|The original]] ''[[Transformers]]''
▲* Master of the subverted trope that it is, the ''[[Perry Bible Fellowship]]'' gives us [http://www.pbfcomics.com/?cid=PBF198-Secret_Mutant_Hero_Team.jpg this].
▲* ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' is the [[Trope Codifier]], of course -- with April O' Neil and Casey Jones as the human allies.
▲** As well as the many other [[Furry Comic|anthropomorphic]] [[Animal Superheroes|animal superhero]] comics which were "[http://www.misterkitty.org/extras/stupidcovers/stupidcomics121.html inspired]" by them.
▲*** Ironically, the Ninja Turtles were originally intended as a parody of [[Frank Miller]]'s gritty style (''[[Ronin]]'' and ''[[Daredevil]]'' being his two notable works to that point and the two books most closely parodied). They spawned a bunch of "adjective, adjective, adjective, noun" anthropomorphic imitations/parodies. But those were mostly dreamed up by fans and wannabe pros looking to cash in (TMNT #1 was VERY rare and up to $2-300 in demand). This didn't stop until it crashed the comic market. The famous "black and white implosion" which was a dry run for the [[Dork Age]] market collapse.
▲** Making ''[[Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters]]'' a parody of a parody.
▲* [[Transformers Generation 1|The original]] ''[[Transformers]]'' -- with the Witwicky family as the human allies.
** Although the Autobots never really hid from ''anyone'' in the original series. They were acknowledged by the world's leaders as early as the end of the three-part pilot.
*** In the TV show, that is. In the comic, the world remained fearful of all Transformers, regardless of faction. The Autobots had a few reliable human allies like Buster Witwicky and G.B. Blackrock, but they were few and far between.
** ''[[Transformers Animated]]'' is more in line with this trope, featuring Sari as the kid, a smaller [[Five-Man Band|Five 'Bot Band]], and an abandoned Detroit car factory as their HQ. The Autobots still don't hide from anyone, though.
** Played straight with''[[Transformers Prime]]''.
* ''[[
* ''[[Street Sharks]]''
** Not to mention their spinoff series, ''[[Extreme Dinosaurs]]!''
* ''[[Mummies Alive]]'' Centuries old Mummies able to summon [[Power Armor|Power Armour]], one of them a [[Sweet Polly Oliver|Sweet Polly ... Cleopatra]]?... Ride around in [[Magitek|weird ancient Egyptian vehicles]] and got an Egyptian version of a boomerang whilst protecting a child reincarnation of an ancient Egyptian Pharaoh from an [[Evil Chancellor|advisor of said Pharaoh.]]
* ''[[
* ''[[Toxic Crusaders]]'', the kid-friendly animated [[Spin-Off]] of the ''[[Toxic Avenger]]'' movies.
* ''[[
* ''[[The Mighty Ducks (
** To be fair, they 'pose' as a hockey team by actually playing hockey in a league. But they still fight space dragons and villains-of-the-week.
* ''[[
* Parodied in ''[[
* The initial [[Five Episode Pilot]] of ''[[Challenge of the Go Bots]]'' was like this. Since the Gobots' cover has been completely blown by the end of that [[Story Arc]] (it's not as if Leader-1 didn't ''try'' to observe the [[Obstructive Code of Conduct]] at first), subsequent episodes show the Guardians interacting with Earth's people and governments completely out in the open.
* The 1993 series ''[[
* ''[[Adventures of the Gummi Bears]]'' might count... only it's pseudo-medieval instead of modern day, and it averts [[The Smurfette Principle]].
* ''[[
* ''[[Kung Fu Dino Posse]]'', a 40-episode cartoon series that aired on Starz in 2009, is an homage to several Secret Mutant Hero Teams before it, including the Street Sharks spinoff ''[[Extreme Dinosaurs]]'' and TMNT. In modern times, a quirky science geek accidentally thaws out four anthropomorphic dinosaurs, whereupon they inflict inexplicable Kung Fu upon evil raptor villains and their army of generic mutants. The series is well aware of its own cliches and often leverages them for comic effect.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:
[[Category:Fountain of Expies]]▼
[[Category:Animation Tropes]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Saturday Morning Cartoon]]
[[Category:
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