History Main / KingOfTheHomeless

* ''Series/FlashGordon'' has Terek, who leads the mutant Deviates, exiled by Ming from the city. Unbeknownst to Ming and Aura, [[spoiler:he's Ming's son and Aura's brother. He and Aura eventually lead a takeover of the city and try to have their father executed]].

* During the Creator/FrankMiller run of ''[[ComicBook/DareDevil Daredevil]]'' the title character encountered "the King," who ruled the homeless in the New York sewer system in analogy to [[ArchEnemy the Kingpin]] ruling the New York mobs. He even has own pet SewerGator that [[FedToTheBeast he feeds with those who displease him]].

* Bruce Lee (not that one) is a drug dealer and former street fighter who acts as the self-appointed leader and protector of the huge population of homeless, addicts, street kids and other social rejects in Romania's captial city Bucharest. He even rules a community in the underground heating tunnels beneath the city.

* The Beggar Sect is a faction that shows up often in many {{Wuxia}} works, and the leader is called the King of Beggars, who usually masters two distinctive styles, the 18 Dragon Subduing Palms and The Dog Beating Stick, each legendary styles of combat. Needless to say, this character is usually a badass.

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* The ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer40000}}'' GaidenGame ''TabletopGame/{{Necromunda}}'' has the special character Redwart the Magnificent, the self-proclaimed King of the mutant and destitute Scavvies who are forced to live in the most polluted and dilapidated areas of the Underhive.

[[folder: Theatre ]]

* One of the Templar targets that Arno pursues in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedUnity'' is [[NoNameGiven Le Roi des Thunes]], translated as "The King of Beggars". [[spoiler: After Arno assassinates him, he's replaced by the Marquis de Sade. Yes, ''[[Creator/MarquisDeSade that]]'' de Sade. Fortunately, he's an ally to Arno and the Assassins.]]

* The Hobo King from ''VideoGame/{{Stacking}}'' (DLC).

* Nikos Kazantzakis portrayed UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} in this fashion in his novel ''Literature/TheLastTemptationOfChrist'', which also carried over to MartinScorsese's [[Film/TheLastTemptationOfChrist film adaptation]]--[[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment not without controversy of course]].

* Soviet propaganda film ''Film/{{Strike}}'' has such a character, who is actually referred to as the "King". ("My kingdom is limitless.") He mobilizes his army of vagrants to infiltrate the striking workers and cause a disturbance, so the authorities will have an excuse to break the strike with force.
* ''Film/{{Newsies}}'' has the newsboys of New York who live together and buy the newspapers to sell them to the people. When their prices are raised, Jack Kelly bands them together to go on strike, but they need every borough of New York, especially Brooklyn which is the territory of Spot Conlon. He's the key... the most respected and... famous... newsie in New York...

* ''Film/SilentMovie'' has a gag where Mel Funn--having just fallen off the wagon, hard--buys an absolutely massive wine bottle and stumbles into a back alley. All the homeless in the alley gather around Mel and hail him as "the king of the winos".

* ''Film/KingOfBeggars'', a ''{{Wuxia}}'' movie starring Creator/StephenChow, deals with a main character who quests to become one.
* The Chairman in ''Film/BasnOLudziachStad'' is a crime boss type. Getting rid of him (kinda...) causes much rejoicing.
* ''Film/JohnWickChapter2'' has the Bowery King, who runs a network of homeless or otherwise downtrodden people throughout New York City.

* ''Literature/ThievesWorld'' series. Moruth the Beggar King was the leader of the beggars in the Downwind section of Sanctuary.

* ''Literature/{{Neverwhere}}'' has a whole ''feudal system'' among the denizens of London Below, but there doesn't seem to be any particular overlord. The highest-ranking single person seems to be the Earl of Earl's Court.
* The Outcaste in the ''Literature/{{Spaceforce}}'' novels are people who have been convicted of serious crimes by the Taysan Empire, and stripped of their caste - which means they have no way of earning a living and typically starve to death. In the second book, ''Deadline'', we meet a former royal bodyguard, Calia, who was punished for the heinous offence of marrying a servant, and has organised the rest of the Outcaste into a secret community.
* The novel ''The King of Schnorrers'' involves a character who is the leader of professional beggars in London.
* ''Literature/BloodsuckingFiends'' has a Homeless King inSan Francisco, very clearly modeled on Emperor Norton of the same city.
* Koba is the leader of Echo's homeless in ''Literature/LabyrinthsOfEcho''.
* In ''Literature/{{Reliquary}}'', Mephisto is the leader of a large community of homeless living in the tunnels under Manhattan. Pendergast and D'Agosta seek his help in navigating the tunnels and finding the den of the Wrinklers.

* Clopin in ''Literature/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'' is something along the lines of a beggar king. He is a beggar, conman, and pickpocket, whose skill has earned him the leadership position among the Romani, and lower class citizens. He [[JokerJury decides judgement of Trespassers]] in the Court of Miracles. Clopin's main redeeming factor is [[AFatherToHisMen his genuine concern for all his "subjects"]], and will to put his life on the line to help them.
* ''Literature/TheAreasOfMyExpertise'' discusses the Hobo Kings in some depth. Among other distinctive features, they apparently reincarnate rather like the Dalai Lama.
* The Beggar Sect is a faction that shows up often in many WuXia works, and the leader is called the King of Beggars, who usually masters two distinctive styles, the 18 Dragon Subduing Palms and The Dog Beating Stick, each legendary styles of combat. Needless to say, this character is usually a badass.
* In the ''Literature/JediAcademyTrilogy'' Jacen and Jaina got lost in Coruscant's underworld and stumbled into Dakyim's Kingdom, a community of refugees. Their leader was King Onibald Daykim, a former low-level banker who led his fellow bureaucrats into hiding when they earned the Emperor's ire. After learning the Emperor was dead and the Empire largely collapse, Onibald decided to remain a king than return to banking.

* Nikos Kazantzakis portrayed UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} in this fashion in his novel ''Literature/TheLastTemptationOfChrist'', which also carried over to MartinScorsese's [[Film/TheLastTemptationOfChrist film adaptation]]--[[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment not without controversy of course]].
* The ''Literature/MatthewSwift'' series has the Beggar King, a character who is the embodiment of this trope - literally, as in-universe, [[ArchetypalCharacter Archetypal Characters]] abound if their trope is famous enough.

* The ''Series/DoctorWho'' two-parter "Daleks In Manhattan"/Evolution of the Daleks" features a Depression-era Hooverville in New York City, where the de facto leader of the homeless is a wise man [[MeaningfulName named Solomon]].
* ''Aibou'': There's a whole homeless republic/hippie commune in a section of one of the cities, and its self-appointed President becomes the victim of a crime.

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* In ''Theatre/TheThreepennyOpera'', Peachum is the head of London's Beggar's Guild and is referred to at least once as the Beggar King/King of the Beggars.

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* ''{{VideoGame/inFAMOUS}}'' has Alden Tate of the Dustmen, who are sort of... super-powered homeless that can make junk {{mecha}} and [[GoddamnedBats trash spiders]].
* In an AlternateUniverse, [[{{VideoGame/Portal2}} Cave Johnson]] became the Hobo King, ruling over the derelict remains of Aperture.
* One of the Templar targets that Arno pursues in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedUnity'' is [[NoNameGiven Le Roi des Thunes]], translated as "The King of Beggars." [[spoiler: After Arno assassinates him, he's replaced by the Marquis de Sade. Yes, ''[[Creator/MarquisDeSade that]]'' de Sade. Fortunately, he's an ally to Arno and the Assassins.]]

--> '''Who is the Topsy King?'''
-->In his own words: 'A goden most capering! Hines the walkskies, chanter the powb raggedy men. Dab with viddlo, too, goden!' So there we have it.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|2003}}'' had The Garbageman, a hideous and ruthless villain who dreams of ruling a garbage kingdom with the homeless as his slaves. After he was defeated The Professor (so named because he used to be a university professor) became a good and wise leader to the homeless and gave a valuable Aesop on recycling.

* Nikos Kazantzakis portrayed {{Jesus}} in this fashion in his novel ''Literature/TheLastTemptationOfChrist'', which also carried over to MartinScorsese's [[Film/TheLastTemptationOfChrist film adaptation]]--[[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment not without controversy of course]].

* ''{{Newsies}}'' has the newsboys of New York who live together and buy the newspapers to sell them to the people. When their prices are raised, Jack Kelly bands them together to go on strike, but they need every borough of New York, especially Brooklyn which is the territory of Spot Conlon. He's the key... the most respected and... famous... newsie in New York...
%% Please help confirm if this is a valid example: * Perry in ''TheFisherKing counts''. When we first see him we get the impression he protects tribes of homeless against anti-bum vigilantes, and may well be held in the role of some kind of leader.

* The Beggar Sect is a faction that shows up often in many WuXia works, and the leader is called the King of Beggars, who usually masters two distinctive styles, the 18 Dragon Subduing Palms and The Dog Beating Stick, each legendary styles of combat. Needless to say, this character is usually a BadAss.

* The JimStarlin ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' miniseries ''[[ComicBook/BatmanTheCult The Cult]]'' features Deacon Blackfire's [[PathOfInspiration evil cult]] of homeless people.
* During the FrankMiller run of ''[[ComicBook/DareDevil Daredevil]]'' the title character encountered "the King," who ruled the homeless in the New York sewer system in analogy to [[ArchEnemy the Kingpin]] ruling the New York mobs. He even has own pet SewerGator that [[FedToTheBeast he feeds with those who displease him]].

* In DCComics's brief ''Magog'' series there was a villain named Miasma who was basically Bernie Madoff turned into this trope.

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* The Hobo King from ''{{Stacking}}'' (DLC).

* Rafi, from James Elroy Flecker's [http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/3834/pg3834-images.html ''Hassan''] (1923), is probably the earliest straight example of this trope happening on a large scale: He's rich and conspiring against the Sultan - This, of course, makes this one OlderThanTelevision.

* In the pages of the ''ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica'', the GoldenAge supervillain Ragdoll eventually becomes one of these, forming a cult around himself that he uses to terrorize Star City and his old nemesis {{Starman}}.

* Clopin in ''Literature/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'' is something along the lines of a beggar king.