History Main / HeroSecretService

* In the original pulp novels, Radio/TheShadow has a network of agents who provide him with information, expertise, and muscle, including Harry Vincent, Shrevvy the Taxi Driver, Burbank the radio man, and later Margo Lane.

** Tetra and her crew arguably count to some extent in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker''. Two [[BirdPeople Rito]] characters and Valoo the dragon also save Link and Tetra from Ganondorf at one point.

* In the original pulp novels, TheShadow has a network of agents who provide him with information, expertise, and muscle, including Harry Vincent, Shrevvy the Taxi Driver, Burbank the radio man, and later Margo Lane.

[[TropeNamer Named after]] the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secret_Service Secret Service]] [[WeAllLiveInAmerica of the United States]] whose primary duty in modern times is to protect [[OurPresidentsAreDifferent The President of the United States]][[note]]As well as the Vice President, any plausible candidates for Pres/VP, foreign dignitaries, ''plus'' the immediate families of all of same.[[/note]] ''and'' the country's financial system.[[note]]As in fighting against fraudulent transactions; so if you try to forge some plates, you can expect a visit from those same [[TheMenInBlack Men in Black]] who could conceivably have to take down a squad of assassins.[[/note]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* The Protectorate, the government-run superhero organization from ''Literature/{{Worm}}'', and their non-powered counterpart the [[CapeBusters Parahuman Response Team]] serve as this for heroes who work for the government. They'll upgrade your costume with bulletproof materials, help you train both your powers and [[BoxingLessonsForSuperman regular skills]], give you competent SWAT team-equivalent backup whenever you need it, and throw in a paycheck on top of all that so you don't have to hold down a civilian job.
[[/folder]]

* The Fourth Shinobi World War of ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' features this as a major point. The main objective of the protagonists is to ensure [[spoiler:Tobi]] does not capture Naruto or B. They also effectively place Naruto under house arrest and assign what amounts to a small army to keeping him hidden, though the changing situation forces them to reconsider and either change the strategy to let him fight, but make sure he has back up asap wherever possible or risk the war being lost.

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' anime episodes 292-293, 296-297, 300-301. Only Ichigo has never seen Aizen's shikai and is therefore immune to its MindControl effect. Realizing this, several Soul Reaper captains and Vizards appoint themselves Ichigo's bodyguards. Their duty is to attack Aizen and keep him busy so he can't show Ichigo his shikai and render him easy to defeat, thus giving Ichigo a chance to defeat him. Later on Kisuke Urahara, Yoruichi, and Ichigo's father Isshin join in.

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]

* The yaoren of ''{{Fanfic/Embers}}'' are intended to be this for the Avatar, [[spoiler: but most of them are dead, except Zuko and a couple guys.]]

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'': The Guardians who travel with and protect the summoner Yuna on her journey to defeat Sin.
** Guardianship is actually a job with a significant number of openings. Three members of the party have served as Guardians for previous summoners (Auron for Yuna's father Braska, Lulu and Wakka for a summoner who gave up at the Calmlands and became a priest instead, and Lulu alone for a summoner who failed and died), and as you encounter other summoners you meet their Guardians (including one who was inspired by Auron).

* Ziro from ''VideoGame/SuperCosplayWarUltra'' is always accompanied by a squad of henchman, and outside of one or two normal attacks, ''absolutely every one'' of Ziro's attacks is done by one of them (he even uses one as a meat shield when he blocks.)

* In ''Manga/MagiLabyrinthOfMagic'', the King Candidates are all [[TheHero The Heroes]] of their own stories, with each one trying to become a King or some equivalent position of power and influence. Most King Candidates collect Households along their journeys, which are effectively their HeroSecretService, whose most important role is to protect their King Candidates.

* Mithril serves as Kaname's HeroSecretService in ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'', with her primary security force being Sousuke [[spoiler:and Wraith]].

* In ''Fanfic/TheBridge'', we get one HeroSecretService vs. another HeroSecretService that risks escalating a conflict. The Defender Kaiju [[note]]Anguirus, Mothra, and Godzilla Junior[[/note]] are trying to protect Sunset Shimmer and the Rainbooms from the Dark Hunters [[note]]Monster X, Gigan, Megalon, and Irys[[/note]] after Monster X and Gigan kidnapped Twilight Sparkle. What the Defenders don't know is the Hunters are acting as the protectors for the post HeelFaceTurn sirens and only went after Twilight because Sci-Twi stole Sonata's necklace.

It sometimes run by LaResistance. If the hero is royalty, this may be PraetorianGuard. They are always [[MoreExpendableThanYou More Expendable Than The Hero]]. See also PoisonousFriend, who sees himself as protecting the hero but has a [[WellIntentionedExtremist worse code of ethics]] than the hero when it comes to [[PayEvilUntoEvil harming the hero's enemies]].

You need the ''Hero Secret Service: HeroesRUs for TheHero''! Twenty-four hour protection from any and all accidental or intentional premature causes of death that may hinder you on TheHerosJourney. They'll [[SecretKeeper keep]] your SecretIdentity secret, guard you while moving between [[HomeBase headquarters]], provide [[WeNeedADistraction distractions]], take out the {{Mooks}} so you can save your strength, and if necessary, make [[HeroicSacrifice Heroic Sacrifices]] [[MoreHeroThanThou for you]], thereby providing substantial HeroicResolve to get you through the culminating grand battle.

* ''[[LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya]]'': The SOS Brigade members (minus Haruhi herself) towards Kyon. All of them mention Kyon being a very important person towards Haruhi, and have either aided him, or in some cases protected him against threats, such as Nagato breaking into Asakura's closed space to save him.

* The ''Roleplay/RecordOfLodossWar'' finale has the heroes descending on a rescue mission down into the BigBad's fortress. One by one, Parn's companions break off to fight monsters that are [[PlotTailoredToTheParty suspiciously tailored for their talents]], leaving Parn to face the BigBad and the Dragon alone. This was all part of his destiny, since his sword and the Dragon's sword were the only items that could restore the BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil.

* This trope actually cause a large amount of conflict between Oz (the protector) and {{Manga/Arago}} (the hero protectee). Arago thinks Oz should be protecting other people who can't take care of themselves, while Oz's number one priority is protecting Arago and no one else.

** [[spoiler: Neji does this quite spectacularly, throwing himself in front of a fatal attack heading for Hinata and Naruto, not only to protect his friends, but also to make sure Naruto, the key to the Alliance's then-current strategy,survives.]]
* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' anime episodes 292-293, 296-297, 300-301. Only Ichigo has never seen Aizen's shikai and is therefore immune to its MindControl effect. Realizing this, several Soul Reaper captains and Vizards appoint themselves Ichigo's bodyguards. Their duty is to attack Aizen and keep him busy so he can't show Ichigo his shikai and render him easy to defeat, thus giving Ichigo a chance to defeat him. Later on Kisuke Urahara, Yoruichi and Ichigo's father Isshin join in.

* The SOS Brigade, the Organization and Tsuruya's {{Yakuza}} work as one for Kyon in ''Fanfic/KyonBigDamnHero''.

* The League of Literature/TheScarletPimpernel. Interesting example, as the hazards encountered is part of the appeal of sport or adventure to its members, and the main act of heroic sacrifice is to unquestioningly adhere to the chief's orders, in order to avoid to any possibility of red shirts.

* ''Literature/JourneyToChaos'': Trickster gods in general play this role to Tasio's "bestest friend", Eric Watley. In ''Literature/LoomingShadow'', Tasio reveals that he and his siblings kept the worst dangers from even reaching him in the previous book. This is after one of said siblings, Poi, randomly appeared on a ship that Eric was traveling on, engaged in a cyrptic conversation with Eric's mentor about how important the boy was to their plans, and then saved him from [[DemonicPossession enforcer possessed]] monsters.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* Even ''Series/PowerRangersTimeForce'' has an example in the Silver Guardians, where the two leaders are the Red Time Force Ranger and the Quantum Ranger and the Guardians take care of the dirty work, before they get in and morph.

* ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}''. President Roslin has her own civilian security team that takes part in a gunpoint face-off when Commander Adama attempts to terminate Roslin's presidency by force in "Kobol's Last Gleaming" -- we never see them again. In later episodes Roslin and the Quorum of Twelve are guarded by Colonial Marines, perhaps signifying the increased trust between Roslin and the military -- however this backfires on all concerned during TheMutiny.

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' plays this trope straight for some classes or at least for some roles within the group: the Barbarian and the Fighter get hit so the Wizard, the Rogue and sometimes the Cleric or Bard don't have to. Then there is the Knight, a Wizard's best friend in that its class abilities ''focus'' on actively drawing aggro towards it.

** Guardianship is actually a job with a significant number of openings. Three members of the party have served as Guardians for previous summoners (Auron for Yuna's father Braska, Lulu and Wakka for a summoner who gave up at the Calmlands and became a priest instead and Lulu alone for a summoner who failed and died), and as you encounter other summoners you meet their Guardians (including one who was inspired by Auron).

* ''Webcomic/TheContinentals'': Continental Operative Jeffrey Tiffen Smythe and his gender bending partner the adventuress Lady Fiona Fiziwigg work for a division of British Military Intelligence known as The A.T.S.T.K.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003'' there were the Guardians, an organization of high-tech Ninja who filled this role for the Utroms. Splinter's deceased master Hamato Yoshi was one of them, and regarded as one of the best and one of the most loyal. He was trusted with their greatest secrets, which is why he was targeted by the Shredder. It turned out to be pointless for the villain, as Yoshi was willing to die before he talked, and was DefiantToTheEnd, insulting the honorless villain with his last words.

* Jorgen von Strangle spends much of ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' ''WesternAnimation/{{Wishology}}'' trilogy doing everything he can to protect Timmy, whom he [[spoiler:(correctly, it's later revealed)]] believes is the Chosen One. He saves Timmy from the first Eliminators who find him, disguises himself as Timmy so the Eliminators can take him while the real Timmy escapes, breaks himself and the rest of Timmy's allies out of prison and gets them everything they need to find and help Timmy, and rescues Timmy after he sacrifices himself to the Darkness to save everyone.

* Played for laughs in ''Disney/{{Tangled}}'' with Pascal, Rapunzel's pet chameleon, who often acts as her protector and defender ... which gets tricky seeing how he's a very small creature.

** In fact, there is quite a lot of people willing to protect Pacifica [[spoiler: ,that were made this way through super-genetics by ancient BigGood]].

* Snow White's "Royal Guard" in ''Series/OnceUponATime''. Basically, its the Seven Dwarves.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'': Cult of the Illuminated believes that the Solars are returned righteous god-kings and will do anything to protect fledgling Solars. Various Yozi cults will also do the same for Infernals. Abyssals have the death cults.

** Guardianship is actually a job with a significant number of openings. Three members of the party have served as Guardians for previous summoners (Auron, for Yuna's father Braska, Lulu and Wakka for a summoner who gave up at the Calmlands and became a priest instead and Lulu alone for a summoner who failed and died), and as you encounter other summoners you meet their Guardians (including one who was inspired by Auron).

* ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'', the human resistance. No matter how many squadmates you get horribly killed, some will always show up. They 'followed you' or one empty room turns out to have some prisoners. The agonizing screams of the dead heard just minutes ago don't matter. Then again, there's no reason to think they're not dying like flies in your absence, too. They might expect following Gordon to ''improve'' their [miserable] life expectancies. Which actually can work out for the Episode 1 evacuees.

* In ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts'', Donald and Goofy are dispatched to escort the Keyblade Wielder.

* The Fourth Shinobi World War of ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' features this as a major point. The main objective of the protagonists is to ensure [[spoiler:Tobi]] does not capture Naruto or B. They also effectively place Naruto under house arrest and assign what amounts to a small army to keeping him hidden, though the changing situation forces them to reconsider and either change the strategy to let let him fight, but make sure he has back up asap wherever possible or risk the war being lost.

* The Fellowship of the Ring essentially served this purpose in ''The LordOfTheRings'', until it split up after the Ringbearer, Frodo, realized that the only thing they couldn't protect him from was [[TheCorruption themselves]]. They instead recruit a large invasion force [[SupportingLeader to distract the enemy from Frodo's presence.]]

* ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'': The Order of Mata Nui was stated by WordOfGod as being the CIA of the Matoran Universe. They are exactly the secret service, and they do not hesitate to kill or do other dirty jobs, while [[ThouShaltNotKill Toa don't kill]]. [[FridgeLogic On the other hand]], since Toa are the MU equivalent of cops by this analogy, then this is actually pretty stupid. But, {{LEGO}} being LEGO...

* The Hero in ''VideoGame/{{Fable}}'' gets a little help near the end of the game, in the form of old minor characters, guards, and guild members, all teleporting into battle. Could also coincide with a CrowningMomentofAwesome on the part of the previously-useless soldiers.

* ''Series/SamuraiSentaiShinkenger'' has this dynamic within its team. Takeru/[=ShinkenRed=] is so greatly important that the other four are basically his bodyguards. They don't even refer to themselves as Shinkengers, instead saying they're "the same" as their leader. Not all of the team is thrilled with this development, but all of them have to do it. The Shinkengers are also assisted by kuroko, an army of "stagehands" who help announce the Shinkengers' arrival on the battlefield, do crowd control, and other tasks.
** Taken even further in the later episodes, when it's revealed that [[spoiler:Takeru]] has been a ''kagemusha'' (a variant of BodyDouble) all along. The [[spoiler:real [=ShinkenRed=], a young girl,]] has been training in secret to develop the special technique needed to defeat the BigBad. Eventually, in recognition of [[spoiler:Takeru]]'s valor and skill, [[spoiler:she "adopts" Takeru]] and he becomes the rightful holder of [[spoiler:the [=ShinkenRed=] position]] in all respects.

* ''FireEmblem'', pretty much every game. Matthew in ''Rekka no Ken'' is a literal example: Hector is preparing to sneak out the back of Castle Ostia, but Matthew senses something's amiss and sniffs out a small army of assassins before they can harm Hector.

* This concept is referenced in ''[[VideoGame/HarukanaruTokiNoNakaDe Harukanaru Toki no Naka de - Hachiyou Shou]]''. [[CastFullOfPrettyBoys The Hachiyou]] are "those who protect the {{Miko}}". On one occasion said Miko, Akane, is [[BrownNote put into a coma by the sound of a cursed kin]], with the apparent way of waking her up is to have one of her protectors exorcise said instrument, killing himself in the process. [[{{Onmyodo}} Yasuaki]], who calls himself "Miko's tool", sums it up by saying that, if there's no Miko, there's no point in the Hachiyou's existence[[note]]although, to be fair, he has [[ArtificialHuman some issues]][[/note]]. Thankfully, EverybodyLives, since the second story arc subverts the concept by making it clear that the Hachiyou are ''not'' [[MoreExpendableThanYou expendable]], being the key to recovering TheFourGods.

* ''VideoGame/{{Half-Life 2}}'', the human resistance. No matter how many squadmates you get horribly killed, some will always show up. They 'followed you' or one empty room turns out to have some prisoners. The agonizing screams of the dead heard just minutes ago don't matter. Then again, there's no reason to think they're not dying like flies in your absence, too. They might expect following Gordon to ''improve'' their [miserable] life expectancies. Which actually can work out for the Episode 1 evacuees.

[[TropeNamer Named after]] the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secret_Service Secret Service]] [[WeAllLiveInAmerica of the United States]] whose primary duty in modern times is to protect [[OurPresidentsAreDifferent The President of the United States]][[note]]As well as the Vice President, any plausible candidates for Pres/VP, foreign dignitaries, ''plus'' the immediate families of all of same.[[/note]] ''and'' the country's financial system.[[note]]As in fighting against fraudulent transactions; so if you try to forge some plates, you can expect a visit from those same MenInBlack who could conceivably have to take down a squad of assassins.[[/note]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', the White Lotus has taken on the job of watching over the new Avatar in an official capacity, though they don't seem to be very good at keeping her out of trouble. This premise is pretty much abandoned entirely after a few episodes, instead switching the White Lotus to generic guards for Air Temple Island.

** Tetra and her crew arguably count to some extent in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker''.

* ''{{Exalted}}'': Cult of the Illuminated believes that the Solars are returned righteous god-kings and will do anything to protect fledgling Solars. Various Yozi cults will also do the same for Infernals. Abyssals have the death cults.