History Main / BrokenHero

* Pretty much [[DysfunctionJunction everybody]] in the MarvelUniverse. There's CaptainAmerica (grew up poor during the Great Depression, parents died when he was young, dead sidekick and identity issues), [[LukeCageHeroForHire Luke Cage]] (grew up in a bad part of New York, wrongly jailed for drug possession), ComicBook/IronMan (alcoholism, depression, self-worth issues, romantic issues and massive survivor's guilt), {{Deadpool}} (disfigured, partially reformed murderer, crazy), every single [[ComicBook/{{X-Men}} X-Man]] (FantasticRacism), the [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Fantastic "I promise I'll make you normal again someday, Ben!" Four]], a certain Dr. [[Comicbook/IncredibleHulk Bruce Banner]], Rick "the Hulk is my fault and I'm often trapped in the Negative Zone" Jones, the seething mass of neurosis that is {{Spider-Man}}, everything that's wrong with [[AntMan Henry Pym]], and... yeah, pretty much everybody else.

* [[HandsomeLech Miroku]] from ''{{Inuyasha}}'' is an easygoing, carefree and cheerful guy who likes to joke and tease, even though he will die very young being consumed by the [[{{curse}} Wind Tunnel]] in his right hand.

* Arguably, Vashyron, also from ''{{Resonance of Fate}}'', fits this. He is often relied on for comic relief and comedic moments in the game, he is rarely very serious for long unless on a job, he seems to get along with pretty much everyone he comes across, he's a womanizer, [[PapaWolf protective]], and a fun loving eccentric. He is another lone survivor, however, after his entire military squad was wiped out. By a lone little girl. Well, okay, so she only looked like a little girl. If you don't count the horns. [[spoiler: or the wings, or the creepy too-old woman's voice and super-ninja powers. Seriously, what IS this chick, any way?]] Two of them originally escaped the carnage, but after a rather heart wrenching sacrifice- only Vashyron was left standing.

* Marona from ''PhantomBrave'', possibly. Her parents died when she was five and the world as a whole, apart from her brother, seems to hate her for her spirit-seeing power, but she's a AllLovingHero nonetheless.
** It's worse than that. That 'brother' is really an HonoraryUncle. Who's ''also dead''.
** There's quite a bit of terror in realizing that this is a prepubescent child who's only real companions are dead people for the majority of the game. Ash is a dependable guy, but he's not exactly fit to do the bills and the vacuuming, meaning that Marona basically manages an entire island ''by herself.''

** Obito was also this, considering that he was basically Uchiha Naruto. [[spoiler: Then we learn that his is actually Tobi.]]

* Shirou in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight''. As his BackStory reveals, he lost his family, his friends, and his old life in the great fire 10 years ago, but is still extremely friendly and helpful towards almost everyone and never seems bothered by the event beyond some bad dreams. As one of the game paths later reveals, Shirou basically lost his entire existence and sense of self from the trauma as well, and his personality was 'rebuilt' around the fact that he was rescued when basically no one else was. Shirou is fundamentally broken on a mental level, in that he is unable to live for his own sake and can only find meaning in life through the act of saving others like he himself was once saved. [[spoiler:Kirei Kotomine is something of an inversion - A Broken ''Villain''. Like Shiro, he has no sense of self and only defines himself through others. The trouble is, while Shiro finds his meaning in helping others, Kotomine finds his in the ''suffering'' of others.]]

* ''{{Naruto}}'':

* {{Naruto}}, who is basically [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer shunned by his entire hometown]] because of the demon sealed inside him. He is nevertheless cheerfully nice and compassionate to anyone he meets. His {{Foil}}, [[BetaBaddie Gaara]], is basically what Naruto would be without [[TrueCompanions Squad Seven]], [[BigGood the Hokage]], and [[ParentalSubstitute Iruka]].

* Pretty much [[DysfunctionJunction everybody]] in the MarvelUniverse. There's CaptainAmerica (grew up poor during the Great Depression, parents died when he was young, dead sidekick and identity issues), [[LukeCageHeroForHire Luke Cage]] (grew up in a bad part of New York, wrongly jailed for drug possession), IronMan (alcoholism, depression, self-worth issues, romantic issues and massive survivor's guilt), {{Deadpool}} (disfigured, partially reformed murderer, crazy), every single [[ComicBook/{{X-Men}} X-Man]] (FantasticRacism), the [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Fantastic "I promise I'll make you normal again someday, Ben!" Four]], a certain Dr. [[Comicbook/IncredibleHulk Bruce Banner]], Rick "the Hulk is my fault and I'm often trapped in the Negative Zone" Jones, the seething mass of neurosis that is {{Spider-Man}}, everything that's wrong with [[AntMan Henry Pym]], and... yeah, pretty much everybody else.

* Gulcasa of the [[YggdraUnion Ancardia]] [[BlazeUnion series]] [[YggdraUnison of]] VideoGame/DeptHeaven games. You don't see as much of his normal disposition in ''YggdraUnion'' due to his [[HeroAntagonist fighting for the opposite side]], but in the other two games especially, he's revealed to be the sweetest, most idealistic and {{Adorkable}} [[AntiAntiChrist demonic Christ figure]] you ever did see. His mother abandoned him when he was a toddler, his father brutally abused him all his life, and he grew up in extreme squalor. When his life finally started to turn around at age seventeen when he was a part of LaResistance, his father figure betrayed him, his childhood friend/surrogate mother/possibly first crush died because of it, he had to kill said father figure because of this, he was reunited with his mother only to be forced into a DuelToTheDeath with her, and then [[EtTuBrute his other childhood friend and his mentor backstabbed and deserted him]]. The TraumaCongaLine made him a lot more driven, but didn't put much of a dent in his wholehearted love for and trust in his TrueCompanions or his determination to create a peaceful world.

A hero who is a dropout, result of a failed experiment (in SciFi), or maybe just [[ParentalAbandonment abandoned]]/[[DarkAndTroubledPast abused as a child]]. Nonetheless, this character is [[ThePollyanna amazingly cheerful and optimistic]], and [[NiceGuy nice]] to even [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer the people who don't appreciate him]]. May be introduced as a BigEater, [[TheDitz a ditz]], or some other [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} harmless personality]]. He may even [[SelfDeprecation make some ostensibly humorous jabs at himself]].

Their BackStory is usually learned in flashbacks sometime later in a show, sometimes without warning. This can shock the other characters, especially TheRival AntiHero, and earns him new respect.

A hero who is a dropout, result of a failed experiment (in SciFi), or maybe just [[ParentalAbandonment abandoned]]/[[DarkAndTroubledPast abused as a child]]. Nonetheless, this character is [[ThePollyanna amazingly cheerful and optimistic]], and [[NiceGuy nice]] to even [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer the people who don't appreciate him]]. May be introduced as a BigEater, [[TheDitz a ditz]], or some other [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} harmless personality]]. He may even make some ostensibly humorous jabs at himself.

* Marona from ''PhantomBrave'', possibly. Her parents died when she was five and the world as a whole, apart from her brother, seems to hate her for her spirit-seeing power, but she's TheMessiah nonetheless.

* Krista Renz from ''AttackOnTitan''. She's a sweet, beautiful girl adored by everyone because of her kindness and considered the "Goddess" of the 104th Trainees Squad. However, it turns out that she's [[spoiler: a HeroicBastard disowned by her noble family, with massive issues concerning her self-worth. She's a DeathSeeker so desperate to die in a way that will get her praised that she was willing to risk the life of an injured comrade, and joins the [[RedShirtArmy Recon Corps]] while crying]]. [[BadassGay Ymir]] calls her on it numerous times, and she's begun to improve as a result.

* Commander Shepard of the MassEffect series can fit this depending on you play Him/Her. Two of the back stories, [[StreetUrchin Earthborn]] and [[DoomedHomeTown Colonist]] has Shepard being an orphan, the former has Shepard being a product of the streets while the latter had Shepard's entire family killed.

** Regardless of background, by the time of ''MassEffect3'', the [[TheChainsOfCommanding sheer weight of responsibility]] on Shepard's back has [[DeathSeeker pushed him/her to the breaking point]].

A BetaTestBaddie and a BrokenHero often have a complicated relationship of sympathy tied with dislike, until the former finally loses patience with the latter.

* The [[Creator/DCComics DC]] universe has its fair share of hard luck heroes, e.g. {{Batman}} (his parents were killed by some mugger in a dark alley), [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Billy Batson]] (an orphaned boy whose evil uncle stole his inheritance and was left on the streets on his own), [[GreenLantern Hal Jordan]] (his home city was destroyed and was possessed by Parallax).

* Mami Tomoe from ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'', who smiles as she gives advice to Madoka and Sayaka and fights the Witches... but confesses that she cries a lot when alone and says her smiles are all false.

* The [[Creator/DCComics DC]] universe has its fair share of hard luck heroes, e.g. {{Batman}} (his parents were killed by some mugger in a dark alley) and [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Billy Batson]] (an orphaned boy whose evil uncle stole his inheritance and was left on the streets on his own) [[GreenLantern Hal Jordan]] (his home city was destroyed and was possessed by Parallax).

* The [[Creator/DCComics DC]] universe has its fair share of hard luck heroes, e.g. {{Batman}} (his parents were killed by some mugger in a dark alley) and [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Billy Batson]] (an orphaned boy whose evil uncle stole his inheritance and was left on the streets on his own).

* Oz Vessalius from ''PandoraHearts'' pretty much ''embodies'' this trope. He's a CheerfulChild StepfordSmiler who [[spoiler:was rejected by his father at a young age, despite wanting desperately to impress him]]. As of Retrace LXX, [[spoiler:he's realized that he's not human but rather the chain B-Rabbit who, one hundred years ago, was forced to murder countless innocent people. By the end of Retrace LXXIV, he is [[BreakTheCutie almost completely mentally and emotionally broken]] thanks to his memories resurfacing as well as [[BreakThemByTalking interference by]] [[MagnificentBastard Jack]].]]

* The [[Creator/DCComics DC]] universe has its fair share of hard luck heroes. {{Batman}} (his parents were killed by some mugger in a dark alley), [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Billy Batson]] (an orphaned boy who's evil uncle stole his inheritance and left on the streets on his own).