History Main / CorporateSponsoredSuperhero

* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' also plays with this. Heroes are government sponsored and also have strict limitations on how they can use their powers, but they also have their image and use it to gain public popularity, which can increase their ranking and get them more work. Heroes work out of firms that function like independent businesses, jockeying for government contracts based on their specialization.

* Employed as a setting detail in ''Literature/{{Worm}}'', where corporate-backed heroes exist as an viable but relatively unpopular career path for [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual parahumans]] who don't want to join [[MutantDraftBoard The Protectorate]] or take the risk of going it alone as an independent vigilante. [[CrisisCrossover During Leviathan's attack on Brockton Bay,]] two rival corporate-sponsored teams turn up alongside the government-sponsored defenders, being [[SkewedPriorities very]] [[SlaveToPR careful]] to avoid being seen in each other's company despite the overwhelming danger of the situation.

* In ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'' Gizmoduck is temporarily owned by the company Waddle in his first appearance.

** In ''ComicBook/{{Outsiders|2003}}'', the team under ComicBook/{{Nightwing}}'s leadership accepts sponsorship from a multimedia company named Optitron. The team has some doubts about the potential issues that could arise, but the funding is too good to pass up. It turns out that hey had good reason to be suspicious about the offer: [[spoiler:they discover that Optitron is actually a shell company owned by Wayne Industries, of aforementioned ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' fame. Dick is pretty pissed that Bruce went behind his back like this]].

** In ''ComicBook/{{Outsiders|2003}}'', the team under ComicBook/{{Nightwing}}'s leadership accepts sponsorship from a multimedia company named Optitron. The team has some doubts about the potential issues that could arise, but the funding is too good to pass up. It turns out that hey had good reason to be suspicious about the offer: [[spoiler:they discover that Optitron is actually a shell company owned by Wayne Industries, of aforementioned ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' fame. Dick is pretty pissed that Bruce went behind his back like this]].

** In one run of ''ComicBook/BatmanAndTheOutsiders'' (sans Batman himself), the team under ComicBook/{{Nightwing}}'s leadership accepts sponsorship from a multimedia company named Optitron. The team has some doubts about the potential issues that could arise, but the funding is too good to pass up. It turns out that hey had good reason to be suspicious about the offer: [[spoiler:they discover that Optitron is actually a shell company owned by Wayne Industries, of aforementioned ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' fame. Dick is pretty pissed that Bruce went behind his back like this]].

** Some of Honor Guard's members qualify, as the team has a stipend available (via N.R.Gistics) for those who need financial support to offset their time being heroes.

** Some of Honor Guard's members technically count, as the team has a stipend available (via N.R.Gistics) for those who need financial support to offset their time being heroes.
** Roscoe James (Jack-In-The-Box III) qualifies as this -- his predecessor pays him to take over the role so Roscoe can make his way through college without requiring a handout.

* ''TabletopGame/MutantsAndMasterminds'' has this to a degree in the World of Freedom setting. Not only are there companies and heroes that do go this route, but the country of France actually requires heroes to have a sponsor. The reason France does so is that the sponsor is liable for any damage the superhero causes. As such while it's easy to get government sponsorship corporations are more hesitant unless the hero in question isn't likely to cause any serious collateral damage they need to worry about. "Free agent" supers in France are considered illegal vigilantes. Naturally they don't try and enforce this law on any visiting foreign heroes, but they strongly encourage to leave matters happening in France to French heroes.

* The Flash does this in the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' episode "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueS2E13And14Eclipsed Eclipsed]]", but Green Lantern scolds him upon hearing about it. After the episode, it is made an official part of the Justice League charter that members do not do this... so they get the intern to do it.

* ''ComicBook/TheBoys'' is about a group of enhanced vigilantes that hunt down and kill corporate-sponsored superheroes who in this universe are hedonistic, immature, egocentric assholes who commit atrocities and suffer no consequences for them, this being the purpose of the formation of the titular team. It goes further: sometimes, the ''sponsors themselves'' will order the death of any super that becomes a liability and whose behavior begins to hurt the bottom line. [[spoiler:The G-men are a perfect example of this. Despite them being one of the most profitable team working for [[MegaCorp Vought-American]], the defense contractor ordered them to be wiped out after leader and Professor X stand-in John Goldokin's M.O. of kidnapping and abusing runaway children to make them part of his group was endangering the company's business.]]

* ''Fanfic/TwoLetters'': One of the first indications that there's something ''questionable'' about the new Ladybug is that her uniform has sponsorship logos plastered across it.
* ''FanFic/StuporHeroics'': Both Lori and Lynn are forced to do marketing as A-List Superheroes. Lori [[CelebrityIsOverrated is particularly frustrated by that part of the job]] especially when it prevents her from enjoying the cocoa she loves.

* Franchise/TheFlash did this in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'', but Green Lantern scolded him upon hearing about it. After that episode it was made an official part of the Justice League charter that members do not do this.
** So they got the intern to do it.
--->Morbo says new job at Justice League is tireless job for tired old worker. Try [Insert Product Name Here] [Insert Slogan Here].

** In one run of ''ComicBook/BatmanAndTheOutsiders'' (sans Batman himself), the team under ComicBook/{{Nightwing}}'s leadership accepts sponsorship from a multimedia company named Optitron. The team has some doubts about the potential issues that could arise, but the funding is too good to pass up. It turns out tthat hey had good reason to be suspicious about the offer: [[spoiler:they discover that Optitron is actually a shell company owned by Wayne Industries, of aformentioned ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' fame. Dick is pretty pissed that Bruce went behind his back like this]].

* This is the premise of ''Anime/TigerAndBunny''. All superheroes are sponsored by corporations, who seem to serve more of an entertainment and advertising function than actual fighting crime. All of the heroes featured on [=HeroTV=] are genuinely heroic, however, and are in the business at least in part because they want to help people. As such, it's a more idealistic take on the concept than one might expect. Worth noting is that in this case the products aren't {{Bland Name Product}}s but real ProductPlacement from the actual anime's sponsors like Pepsi, and Bandai.

%% Image and caption selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1358838479007000100
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** Revelations later on in the show suggest that the entertainment aspect was part of a plot to reduce anti-NEXT (superpowered individuals) bigotry, which worked admirably. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, the guy masterminding it all jumped off the slippery slope, murdering people for technology and building up his own villain teams for the heroes to fight.]]
* ''Manga/SpecialDutyCombatUnitShinesman'' features a corporate ''sentai team'', complete with business-themed weapons like business card launchers and tie clip bombs.
* In ''Manga/{{Ratman}}'', pretty much every member of the Hero Society. As that's the only way the heroes can often afford the treatments for their abilities.
* ''WebComic/OnePunchMan'' generally averts this trope, since the heroes are part of a government organization and therefore get a salary. However, there are still a few "heroes" who are only in it for the money, and will gladly try to tear down other heroes in order to raise their own standings (and paychecks). The closest to this trope is the number one A-Class hero Amai Mask, who spends much more time acting and producing pop music than he does actually fighting evil. [[spoiler:While he ''is'' genuinely a hero, he's also a KnightTemplar and {{Jerkass}} who believes MurderIsTheBestSolution when dealing with monsters, even ones that have surrendered, and he's secretly [[HunterOfHisOwnKind a monster himself]] that's slowly losing what little humanity he has left.]]
* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' also plays with this. Heroes are government sponsored and also have strict limitations on how they can use their powers, but they also have their image and use it to gain public popularity, which can increase their ranking and get them more work. Heroes work out of firms that function like independent businesses, jockeying for government contracts based on their specialization.
* ''Manga/GodaigoDaigo'': In [[https://mobile.twitter.com/kounosuke0808/status/1264816262594482177 this story]], the titular hero is a giant-sized man whose job is fighting {{kaiju}} sized lizard aliens. It seems that in this universe, all heroes wear clothing or armor with the name of their sponsors (which helps pay for HeroInsurance). Daigo has fallen on hard times because he's getting little action and thus less sponsorship for him and his support staff.

* In the ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12592223/1/The-Spider The Spider]], Glider a.k.a. [[spoiler:Harry Osborn]] is sponsored by his father Norman Osborn and is [=OsCorp=]'s own superhero of New York.

* Used partly on ''Film/{{Hancock}}''. Ray was a marketing executive, and in one of Hancock's visits to his house saw a logo Ray made as part of a charity campaign he was doing (with little success). [[spoiler:At the end of the movie, he makes a replica of it ''on the Moon'' so that everybody can see it.]] It was a good deed between friends rather than actual business, but you know that Ray would get a lot of business after that.
* ''Film/BigManJapan'' has ads and logos tattooed all over him. At one point he's forced to let a monster free from his chokehold because the watching advertisers complaining he was covering up their ad!
* In ''Film/IronMan3'', James Rhodes/War Machine is given a [[WearingAFlagOnYourHead patriotic paint job]] and rechristened as "[[CaptainPatriotic Iron Patriot]]", which is said to have tested better in focus groups. WordOfGod is that the government specifically created Iron Patriot to cash in on the positive public perception of superheroes after the events of ''Film/TheAvengers2012''.

%%Belongs in ProductAsSuperhero* Commander Cash from ''Series/RoboCopTheSeries''.

* Just like in the comics, in ''Series/{{The Boys|2019}}'', the SuperTeam known as "the Seven" (plus a number of other Supes) are employed by Vought Industries. The Seven's HQ is at the same building as the Vought HQ. Vought has a sophisticated analytical division that predicts and locates high-profile crimes for the Seven to make an appearance (hopefully with cameras standing by). The Seven are required to wear costumes designed by Vought and to promote Vought-approved viewpoints depending on the demographics Vought targets. Most of the Seven are [[SlaveToPR more concerned with their popularity]] (most notably on {{social media|Is Bad}}) and merchandising sales than with crime-fighting.

* ''TabletopGame/MutantsAndMasterminds'' has this to a degree in the World of Freedom setting. Not only are there companies and heroes that do go this route, but the country of France actually requires heroes to have a sponsor. The reason France does so is that the sponsor is liable for any damage the superhero causes. As such while it's easy to get government sponsorship corporations are more hesitant unless the hero in question isn't likely to cause any serious collateral damage they need to worry about. "Free agent" supers in France are considered illegal vigilantes. Naturally they don't try and enforce this law on any visiting foreign heroes, but they strongly encourage to leave matters happening in France to French heroes.

* Downplayed in ''WebComic/SleeplessDomain''. Magical Girls are considered celebrities InUniverse, complete with managers, advertising deals, and merchandise. Sylvia of Team Alchemical is always focussing on ways to make more money, Team Forte doubles as a band, and BattleCouple Team Melty have a deal with an appliances company.

* Powdered Toast Man from ''WesternAnimation/RenAndStimpy''.

--> Morbo says new job at Justice League is tireless job for tired old worker. Try [Insert Product Name Here] [Insert Slogan Here].

* Various stories of the ''Fanfic/CoreLine'' SharedUniverse focus on a superhero team called "The Champions", which are funded and geared by a MegaCorp called "Stingray Industries" (with The Champions being (on the books) a sub-division of its security teams focused on dealing with super humans). The short story "''Fanfic/CorelineATaleOfTwoMaris''" has the Commander of the Champions' Indianapolis Division discuss that two other superhero groups of the setting (the Avengers Infinity and the Justice League Unlimited) are also arguably "corporate-sponsored", being mostly funded and geared by fellow Mega-Corporations [[ComicBook/IronMan Stark Industries]] and [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Wayne Enterprises]] and having a history of dealing with issues with said sponsors (Avengers teams having done missions that (unknown to them at the time) were in the interest of Stark Industries and Justice League members having had to deal with Alternates of Bruce Wayne/Batman that went too far with their paranoia)... which, frankly, makes their looking down at The Champions because of their corporate roots a bit hypocritical, to say the least.
* The Franchise/SpiderMan fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12592223/1/The-Spider The Spider]], Glider aka [[spoiler: Harry Osborn]]'s sponsored by his father Norman Osborn and [=OsCorp=]'s own superhero of New York.

* ''Franchise/RoboCop'' is a subversion on the superhero genre (much like ''Comicbook/JudgeDredd'' was) in that the hero defends the existing power structure, though he finally defies it in [[Film/RoboCop1987 the original film's]] finale. [=RoboCop=] is actually a press stunt by Omni Consumer Products; the company, which already owns everything in Detroit, proposes a new law enforcement robot in order to [[LawEnforcementInc get a foothold in law enforcement as well]].
* Used partly on ''Film/{{Hancock}}''. Ray was a marketing executive, and in one of Hancock's visits to his house saw a logo Ray made as part of a charity campaign he was doing (with little success). [[spoiler:At the end of the movie, he makes a replica of it ON THE MOON, so everybody could see it.]] It was a good deed between friends rather than actual business but you know Ray would get a lot of business after that.

* In ''Film/IronMan3'', Comicbook/WarMachine is given a patriotic paint job and rechristened as "Iron Patriot", which is said to have tested better in focus groups. WordOfGod is that the government specifically created Iron Patriot to cash-in on the goodwill superheroes were receiving after the events of ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}''.

* A variation in ''Literature/{{Corpies}}'', where the titular term is a derogatory name for PEERS (Privately Employed Emergency Response Supers) used by actual licensed Heroes. Unlike Heroes, PEERS are employed by corporations and typically feature logos of their sponsors on their uniforms. They are also not allowed to engage supervillains (except in self-defense) and are limited to rescue and disaster recovery work. Some PEERS teams work with cops, while others employ Hero liaisons. A liaison's job is to use his or her experience to determine if an emergency is caused by a Super or a [[PowerIncontinence Powered]] and to either keep the team away or confront the Super/Powered, while the team focused on rescue work.

*** Equally played straight in the ''ComicBook/SpiderManBeyond'' storyline, which sees the returned Ben Reiley Spider-Man as the "mascot" of the Beyond Corporation.

* ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'': Possibly {{deconstructed|Trope}}; one of the side notes in the comic mentions one of the earlier heroes was a bank-sponsored hero named Dollar Bill, who had to wear a garish costume as one of the conditions of his sponsorship. Perhaps not so ironically, [[CapeSnag the cape was caught in a revolving door]], tripping him up long enough for a crook to shoot him dead as he tried to stop a bank heist.
* ''ComicBook/BoosterGold'' has been this at different stages in his career. His stint as leader of the Conglomerate is probably most emblematic; every member of that team wore a jacket emblazoned with dozens of corporate logos and were featured in magazine and television ads for various companies.
* In DC's ''ComicBook/SevenSoldiers'', The Manhattan Guardian was sponsored by a newspaper. A notable case in that the heroism was the primary reason why he was hired, rather than for advertising or public relations purposes.

* ''ComicBook/IronMan'', when Tony Stark isn't filling the role. Jim Rhodes wore the armor for a while under the employ of Stark and a few of Stark's other employees have worn variations of the armor briefly. Part of Iron Man's SecretIdentity was that he was sponsored by Stark Enterprises as Tony's bodyguard.
** One back-up feature in a 90s annual was a news article about how many other companies were trying to FollowTheLeader with their own corporate-backed heroes; none of them were doing so well, though.
** Speaking of which, ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'', in many incarnations, were sponsored by Tony Stark himself.
* The ''ComicBook/WildCATSWildStorm'' from ''Creator/{{Wildstorm}}'' were sponsored by different companies and entrepreneurs in the past.
* In ''ComicBook/GreatLakesAvengers'', at least one of the ill-fated men to bear the superhero moniker of Grasshopper was sponsored by [[BlandNameProduct Roxxon Oil]].
* The Blur in ''ComicBook/SupremePower'' actually started as a corporate spokesman, seen in ads for everything from mp3 players to soda. After Nighthawk got him to start being heroic, he switched to a single sponsor -- Kyle Richmond/Nighthawk's own company.
* One of the major hooks behind ''ComicBook/XStatix'' was the fact that the team of mutant media darlings were also inveterate corporate shills.
* Creator/GrantMorrison's ''ComicBook/DoomPatrol'' run had Sunburst, a Japanese superhero with his own reality show and tie-in {{manga}}.
* Capes, Inc., a group of B-list heroes, from ''ComicBook/{{Invincible}}.''
* One of the hopefuls in ''ComicBook/{{Wildguard}}: Casting Call'' was Running Girl, a speedster who had her own shoe deal even before she debuted as a superhero. Currently, the deal's pending -- she didn't make Wildguard and the contract stipulates she be on a team. Human Shield mentioned being contacted by home security and plastic bag companies to act as a spokesman, but didn't say whether he was actually going for it.
* Creator/DCComics also has Aztek, who was sponsored by [[Characters/SupermanLexLuthor LexCorp]] so that they could have their own member on the [[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica JLA]].

* The entire team from ''All-New ComicBook/XFactor'' is sponsored by Serval Industries. It's implied that they recruited the former [[ComicBook/TheAvengers Avenger]] [[Characters/Avengers60sMembers Quicksilver]] to add a sense of legitimacy to the group.

* {{Invoked|Trope}} and PlayedForLaughs in ''[[Franchise/SpiderMan Amazing Spider-Man]]'' #550. When the Blue Shield attempts to apprehend Spider-Man for the Initiative, Spidey's first quip is to ask how he can get a better deal on his health insurance premiums[[note]]Blue Cross Blue Shield is the name of a major American health insurance company[[/note]].
** Played straight during the title's ''ComicBook/AllNewAllDifferentMarvel'' relaunch, which takes a cue from Iron Man and makes Spider-Man the "mascot" of Parker Industries.
** Equally played straight in the ''ComicBook/SpiderManBeyond'' storyline, which sees the returned Ben Reiley Spider-Man as the "mascot" of the Beyond Corporation.
* In ''ComicBook/AstroCity,'' some of Honor Guard's members technically count, as the team has a stipend available (via N.R.Gistics) for those who need financial support to offset their time being heroes.
** Also, Roscoe James (Jack-In-The-Box III) qualifies as this -- his predecessor pays him to take over the role so Roscoe can make his way through college without requiring a handout.
* The post-''ComicBook/{{Secret Wars|2015}}'' relaunch of ''ComicBook/{{New Avengers|2015}}'' revolves around the A.I.M. corporation assembling and sponsoring their own team of Avengers.
* The Franchise/MarvelUniverse's [[Characters/MarvelComicsOlympians version of the Greek gods]] have a front company called the Olympus Group that bails them out when they have problems with mortal authorities, which would thus technically make ComicBook/TheIncredibleHercules a corporate-sponsored hero.

* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'':
** Within Diana's first day of arriving in the US back in the pages of ''ComicBook/SensationComics'' there was a man badgering her about becoming her sponsor. She turned him down at first and then played along just long enough to expose the scam he was trying to run.
** Both {{deconstructed|Trope}} and {{reconstruct|ion}}ed in Creator/GeorgePerez's run on ''ComicBook/{{Wonder Woman|1987}}'' -- one of Diana's most... ''distinctive'' supporting characters was Myndi Mayer, a brassy, loud-mouthed publicist who turned Wonder Woman into a celebrity and merchandising juggernaut shortly after her debut in Man's World. Diana was rarely ''directly'' involved in said merchandising or its proceeds, but she did (reluctantly) give Myndi's company exclusive rights to her superhero name and emblem. While her image took a blow, the money also went to support plenty of worthy causes, especially feminist ones, meaning that Diana was achieving a lot more than she could've sans her help. Unfortunately, Myndi would end up dying from what was to believed to be gunshots, only for it to be revealed that she overdosed because of her cocaine addiction. The entire thing was a painful wake-up call to Diana, who was still pretty naive to the world.
* Prior to ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}, the most recent user of the ComicBook/{{Guardian}} title was The Manhattan Guardian, who was sponsored by a newspaper that had bought the rights to the name and costume from Cadmus.
* A planned Marvel comic series would feature ComicBook/TheAvengers teaming up with a [[https://io9.gizmodo.com/heres-marvels-canceled-promo-comic-for-defense-contract-1819898744 superhero group run by real-life military contractor Northrup Grumman]]. The sheer backlash from readers outraged about promoting the military-industrial complex to children caused it to be canceled before it was even released.
* In one run of ''ComicBook/TheOutsiders'', the team under ComicBook/{{Nightwing}}'s leadership accepted sponsorship from a multimedia company called Optitron. The team has some doubts about the potential issues that could arise, but the funding is too good to pass up. Turns out they had good reason to be suspicious about the offer: [[spoiler:they discover that Optitron is actually a shell company owned by '''Wayne Industries'''. Dick is pretty pissed that Bruce went behind his back like this]].
* ''ComicBook/TheBoys'' is about a group of enhanced vigilantes that hunt down and kill corporate-sponsored superheroes who in this universe are hedonistic, immature, egocentric assholes who commit atrocities and suffer no consequences for them, this being the purpose of the formation of the titular team. It goes further: sometimes, the ''sponsors themselves'' will order the death of any super that becomes a liability and whose behavior begins to hurt the bottom line. [[spoiler:The G-men are a perfect example of this. Despite them being one of the most profitable team working for [[MegaCorp Vought American]], the defense contractor ordered them to be wiped out after leader and Professor X stand-in John Goldokin's M.O. of kidnapping and abusing runaway children to make them part of his group was endangering the company's business.]]
* ''ComicBook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'' has media companies paying most of the LongLived but senile clients' bills in the OldSuperhero retirement homes in case their TV or movie franchises become profitable again.
* The [[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueIncarnate thought-projected Superman, Superdoom]], was originally meant to be this, but when its [[CorruptCorporateExecutive “corporate owners”]] used it to [[OneNationUnderCopyright dominate its native parallel Earth]] with the clear objective to eliminate any and all competitors across the multiverse, a literal “killer franchise” was born.

* Most of the heroes in the ''Webcomic/{{Zodiac}}'' universe are this. The eponymous team is sponsored by the New Dawn corporation.

* Employed as a setting detail in ''Literature/{{Worm}}'', where corporate-backed heroes exist as an viable but relatively unpopular career path for [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual parahumans]] who don't want to join [[MutantDraftBoard The Protectorate]] or take the risk of going it alone as an independent vigilante. [[CrisisCrossover During Leviathan's attack on Brockton Bay,]] two rival corporate-sponsored teams turn up alongside the government-sponsored defenders, being [[SkewedPriorities very]][[SlaveToPR careful]] to avoid being seen in each other's company despite the overwhelming danger of the situation.