History Main / ContagiousHeroism

** ''Million Memories'' ramps the trope UpToEleven by having Rudy bring out the best in [[spoiler: ''Siegfried'', the EvilOverlord, the ManipulativeBastard, TheStarscream... ''that'' Siegfried. The demon first strong arms Rudy into forming an EnemyMine against Mother where they both work to take her down (which unfortunately involved a little bit of deceiving his friends), only for things to get so bad Siegfried opts to [[TakingTheBullet shield Rudy from Mother's attacks]], taking heavy damage as a result, and then pulls off a HeroicSacrifice, almost begging your party to not let Mother destroy Filgaia.]]

* ''Literature/TheLegendOfDrizzt'': Jarlaxle Baenre, once the picture definition of a ChaoticNeutral MagnificentBastard, in the later books finds his long association with Drizzt Do'urden causing him to pick up the other drows almost saintly goodness and heroism. It reaches the point where, in the latest trilogy, [[spoiler: he's planning a revolution to overthrow Loth's priestesshood, and free all the drow from the Spider Queen's control]].

** Jane, also from ''1'', starts out as a cynical bounty hunter who believes ConceptsAreCheap. She initially wants nothing to do with the the war against the demons, but Rudy [[spoiler: saving her from being squashed by falling debris, leads to developing a soft spot for him, which only gets bigger when the heroes protect her [[OrphanageOfLove home town]] from Alhazad. After this, Jane ends up on hand to help the heroes wherever she can, even if she remains very {{Tsundere}} about it.

** In ''1'', Rudy compassionate and selfless nature turns out to be [[spoiler: the example Cecilia needs to follow to resolve her own personal problems. She realizes people care about Rudy, because he cares about others so if she wants people to care about her, she needs to do the same. This puts her on the road to becoming an AllLovingHeroine.

** ''Million Memories'' ramps the trope UpToEleven by having Rudy bring out the best in [[spoiler: ''''Siegfried'''', the EvilOverlord, the ManipulativeBastard, TheStarscream... ''that'' Siegfried. The demon first strong arms Rudy into forming an EnemyMine against Mother where they both work to take her down (which unfortunately involved a little bit of deceiving his friends), only for things to get so bad Siegfried opts to [[TakingTheBullet shield Rudy from Mother's attacks]], taking heavy damage as a result, and then pulls off a HeroicSacrifice, almost begging your party to not let Mother destroy Filgaia.]]

* Rudy Roughnight from ''VideoGame/WildArms1'' and ''WildArmsMillionMemories'' brings out the best in those around him.

** Jack Harkness; when he's introduced in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E9TheEmptyChild The Empty Child]]", he's a time-traveling scam artist, but his time spent travelling with the Doctor turns him into an AntiHero. He [[LampshadeHanging acknowledges the change]] in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E13ThePartingOfTheWays "The Parting of the Ways"]] when he's preparing to make a LastStand against the Daleks to buy the Doctor some time, commenting good-naturedly that he wished he'd never met the Doctor because he preferred himself as a coward.
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E6TheVampiresOfVenice "The Vampires of Venice"]]: Rory Williams [[WhatTheHellHero calls the Doctor out for this]], pointing out that the Doctor is terribly dangerous because he inspires people to try and impress him. Ironically enough, Rory himself goes with Amy to assist the Doctor in saving Venice, the Doctor recalling Rory's words.

%% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks!

-->-- '''Captain Jack Harkness''', ''Series/DoctorWho'', [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E13ThePartingOfTheWays "The Parting of the Ways"]]

* ''Series/KamenRiderBuild'': It's actually lampshaded that Sento's ideals are infectious. His attitude will gnaw even on the true, hardcore [[SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids cynics]] because he is ''the'' [[SillyRabbitCynicismIsForLosers silly]], idealistic [[AnimalMotif rabbit]]. It kind of bugs him if people decide that the love and peace they fight for should include [[HurtingHero him]] too, though.

When an [[AntiHero anti-heroic]] or outright villainous character is forced by circumstances to work with a [[{{Heroes}} heroic character]] and over time, becomes more selfless and cooperative as a result (though not necessarily to HeelFaceTurn levels). They may even blame TheHero for making them go "soft" — often right after a ConscienceMakesYouGoBack or a ChangedMyMindKid moment. This is even more likely to occur if the heroic character is a MessianicArchetype, an AllLovingHero, etc.

* Luffy from ''Manga/OnePiece'' is hardly a hero (and doesn't want to be one), but he has a massive problem with powerful people abusing their power and often demonstrates it with his fists. Thanks to his charismatic and caring nature, this attitude quickly takes hold on most of his crewmates, even on the stoic and previously uncaring swordsman Zoro.

* Downplayed in ''Literature/{{Discworld}}''. One of [[Characters/DiscworldCityWatch Carrot's]] defining traits is that he expects people around him to behave and be good to each other, and they do. The effect from his presence tends to be temporary and wears off shortly after he's gone, but as long as he's around, it works on just about everyone.

** Garrus is unique as a companion in ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'' in that you can shift his attitude to life with your actions and dialogue. He starts off as a frustrated CowboyCop, but traveling with a Paragon Shepard convinces him that playing by-the-book is the better alternative. Of course, working with Renegade Shepard only reinforces his original beliefs.

* Parodied in ''Webcomic/SamAndFuzzy''. The majority of the comic's early story arcs revolves around Sam being drawn into Mr. Blank's plot to resurrect the defunct Ninja Mafia (and Mr. Black's desire to keep it dead). One of the players in this plot ends up being Gertrude Dupont, who spent most of her life training in the hopes of becoming Ninja Emperor, a position Sam basically stumbled into under false pretenses. When the position is in her grasp if she just lets Mr. Blank kill Sam, she finds that she can't go through with it, and points out that, out of all the people she has betrayed and backstabbed in her life, Sam was the only person who ever expected her to do the right thing, and it makes her want to do...''something''.

* ComicBook/GreenArrow from ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' was already a hero but is introduced adamantly refusing join because he doesn't like the League's style. They only seemed to fight the "big monsters" while he preferred to help the "little guys". However, after he takes down a giant radioactive "monster", he starts to reconsider, that and ComicBook/BlackCanary walking by didn't hurt either. Interestingly, it's later implied that ''he'' is playing this role for the rest of the League -- that Green Arrow is acting as a kind of MoralityChain for the more powerful members of the League, keeping their attention on the "little guys".

* ''WesternAnimation/WhatIf2021'': T'Challa as Starlord can't seem to help himself on converting everyone he meets into becoming a hero. [[spoiler: Even Thanos!]]

* ''Comicbook/{{Thunderbolts}}'': The whole of the first arc is about them BecomingTheMask, but for Beetle/M.A.C.H.-1, the turning point comes in ''Comicbook/SpiderMan Team-Up'' #7.
He's looking forward to stabbing the hero in the back in a deniable way, but after fighting alongside him, and seeing Spidey stand up for the Thunderbolts, he just can't do it. When telling Meteorite about this later, he nearly mentions the trope by name:

* Kyouko in ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' is introduced as an UnscrupulousHero and clashes violently with the heroic Sayaka at first. However, after the true nature of magical girls is revealed to them, Kyouko grows more attached to Sayaka, rediscovers her own long-forgotten heroic self, and ultimately [[spoiler:commits a HeroicSacrifice to stop a rampaging Witch Sayaka]].
* Luffy from ''Manga/OnePiece'' is hardly a hero (and doesn't want to be one), but he has a massive problem with powerful people abusing their power and often demonstrates it with his fists. Thanks to his charismatic and caring nature, this attitude quickly takes hold on most of his crewmates, even on the stoic and previously uncaring swordsman Zoro.
* Zabuza from ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' has a moment of this due to [[MoralityPet Haku]].
* Both Piccolo and Vegeta from the ''Franchise/DragonBall'' franchise fell prey to this, though it took a ''lot'' longer with Vegeta.

* The Black Bulls from ''Manga/BlackClover'' start off as a lackadaisical group who have a reputation as inept Magic Knights. After Asta joins, they become inspired by his determination and selflessness as a Magic Knight, especially in the Underwater Temple when they fight against Vetto. As a result, they train their magics more and take their duties more seriously. So much so that they jump from last place to second place at the annual squad rankings.

* Han Solo in the original ''Franchise/StarWars'' trilogy starts off as a smuggler pilot, who is quite a mercenary and only helps Luke and the Rebels for the cash they offer. Before long, however, he gradually becomes a heroic Rebel leader himself under the influence of the very heroic Skywalker siblings.
* The NaiveNewcomer Will and the LoveableRogue Jack seem to have respectively a positive and negative influence on each other through the ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' movies. Jack becomes more selfless, not much, mind you, but he does improve a bit, while it's inverted with Will, who becomes more ruthless.

* In the first two ''Literature/ArtemisFowl'' books, career criminal Mulch Diggums only works with the rest of the cast in exchange for time cut off his sentence or a MercyLead over the cops who want to arrest him, or as a result of being blackmailed. By the third book, he's incredibly annoyed to learn that he's developed a fondness towards Artemis and is prepared to commit an entirely non-selfish act to prevent Artemis from being kidnapped by [[TheMafia the Chicago mob]].

* Isabela the PirateGirl in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' is introduced as a kind of woman who'd kill without a second thought, never commit to serious relationships, and run off with a precious artifact while you're not looking. However, with enough [[RelationshipValues Friendship or Rivalry]], she will [[spoiler:ultimately return said artifact to the Qunari to prevent more bloodshed in Kirkwall]]--and blame Hawke for having a bad influence on her.