History Main / CircusBrat

* ''ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}}'': [[Characters/HawkeyeClintBarton Clint Barton]] and his brother Barney both grew up in the Carson Carnival of Traveling Wonders, and this is where Clint learned his sharpshooting skills to begin with.

* ''ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}}'': Clint and his brother Barney both grew up in the Carson Carnival of Traveling Wonders, and this is where Clint learned his sharpshooting skills to begin with.

* ''ComicBook/GhostRider'': Johnny Blaze was originally a stunt motorcyclist at the Quentin Carnival, later coming to later owner it. Gives much plot in that the sideshow acts are often supernaturally real.

* [[ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} Richard "Dick" Grayson]], the original Comicbook/{{Robin}} from ''Franchise/{{Batman}}''. He still returns to the circus whenever they pass by Gotham and Bludhaven. He even ended up using his sizable trust fund to buy them out to save them from financial ruin. He's generally regarded as the best acrobat in the world.
** Originally Jason Todd, as Dick's SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute, was also this. He was given a completely different backstory after the [[ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths Crisis]] reboot.
* ComicBook/{{Nightcrawler}} / Kurt Wagner from ''ComicBook/XMen'' was raised in a traveling circus.
* Johnny Blaze, the original Comicbook/GhostRider. Stunt motorcyclist, later circus owner. Gives much plot in that the sideshow acts are often supernaturally real.
* DC's first [[Franchise/TheFlash Trickster]] was a circus brat, which might explain his... eye-catching costume. Of course, this ''is'' DC...

* The occult detective Creator/HieronymusBosch in the Danish comic with the same name was raised in a Russian circus by his acrobat mother and juggler father. He was trained in both conjuring and honest-to-karma real magic by the circus' illusionist, this being the original source of his occult knowledge.
* ''ComicBook/TheGoon'' was abandoned by his father with his Aunt Kizzie, the circus Strongwoman, when he was only an infant, with his father threatening to throw him into the river if Kizzie didn't take him.
* ''ComicBook/BenoitBrisefer'', the album "Le Cirque Bodoni" has Mona Bodoni, a circus girl specialized in TightropeWalking.

* ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}} and his brother Barney both grew up in the circus, and this is where Clint learned his sharpshooting skills to begin with.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}}'', Colette explains to Linguini the backstories of the other cooks. One was a circus acrobat who was fired for messing around with the ringmaster's daughter.

* In ''Film/CharliesAngelsFullThrottle'', the assassin known as the Thin Man is revealed (in a detailed flashback) to have been the child of Romanian circus performers who died in a fire.
* ''Film/TheGreatestShowman'' details the first circus, so naturally, there aren't many in Barnum's act who had been in the circus before. Regardless, the Wheelers are implied to have ''some'' sort of previous acrobatics and trapeze experience, and Anne is one of the youngest in the show.

* Claire in ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'' grew up at a circus and worked as an acrobat, gaining a CharlesAtlasSuperpower in the process. He's also AxCrazy, but that's not connected to his background.

[[folder:Comics]]

* Mai from ''Anime/MagicalStarMagicalEmi'' grew up in the Magic Carat Magic Show.

* In the ''Literature/FernHollow'' story "The Tortoise Fair", Tugger Bramble and Monty Tuttlebee ''try'' to be the runaway type when they stow away in the titular fair's caravan. Unfortunately (for them; fortunately for the caravan), they are discovered when Tugger sneezes. [[DefiedTrope The tortoises are just turning around to bring them back]] when their parents and P.C. Hoppit catch up with them, [[InvasionOfTheBabySnatchers suspecting the tortoises of kidnapping the kids]]. Monty's confession sets the record straight.

* In the ''Literature/FernHollow'' story "The Tortoise Fair", Tugger Bramble and Monty Tuttlebee ''try'' to be the runaway type when they stow away in the titular fair's caravan. Unfortunately (for them; fortunately for the caravan), they are discovered when Monty sneezes. [[DefiedTrope The tortoises are just turning around to bring them back]] when their parents and P.C. Hoppit catch up with them, [[InvasionOfTheBabySnatchers suspecting the tortoises of kidnapping the kids]]. Monty's confession sets the record straight.

* In the ''Literature/FernHollow'' story "The Tortoise Fair", Tugger Bramble and Monty Tuttlebee ''try'' to be the runaway type when they stow away in the titular fair's caravan. Unfortunately (or fortunately), they are discovered when Monty sneezes. [[DefiedTrope The tortoises are just turning around to bring them back]] when their parents and P.C. Hoppit catch up with them, [[InvasionOfTheBabySnatchers suspecting the tortoises of kidnapping the kids]]. Monty's confession sets the record straight.

* ComicBook/{{Nightcrawler}} / Kurt Wagner from ''ComicBook/XMen''.