History Main / LivingLegend

* Dante in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' is known as the Legendary Devil Hunter starting some time after the original game. He takes after his father, Sparda, who was known as the Legendary Dark Knight in his glory days.

* In ''Fanfic/PokemonStrangledRed'', Steven becomes this as the narrator keeps playing the hacked game. {{NPCs}} start to recognize him on his first meetings with them. They even remember and have compassion for him after Miki dies, but Steven wants none of this.

* ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'': By ''VideoGame/Doom2016'', the Doomguy, now referred to by demons and humans alike as the [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Doom Slayer]], has become to demons what they are to humans. A [[TheDreaded terrifying force of nature]] that they would tell hushed stories about for his [[ImplacableMan unstoppable and utterly brutal assaults]] on their domain. Even the humans that the Slayer fights to defend are terrified at the very sight of this [[OneManArmy relentless killing machine]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}: By ''VideoGame/Doom2016'', the Doomguy, now referred to by demons and humans alike as the [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Doom Slayer]], has become to demons what they are to humans. A [[TheDreaded terrifying force of nature]] that they would tell hushed stories about for his [[ImplacableMan unstoppable and utterly brutal assaults]] on their domain. Even the humans that the Slayer fights to defend are terrified at the very sight of this [[OneManArmy relentless killing machine]].

* Kenshin from ''Manga/RurouniKenshin''. He's a legendary swordsman who is considered the best in all of Japan. He is ShroudedInMyth and no one knows what he really looks like outside his 'X' scar on his cheek and flaming red hair.

** This is discussed in ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' in the Lonesome Road DLC in regards to Legate Lanius. According to Ulysses, Lanius' greatest weapon is his personal legacy as an indomitable warlord feared both by the NCR and the Legion, with Caesar going out of his way to make him more mysterious (thus justifying [[MultipleChoicePast the conflicting details of his past]]). However, this also means that Lanius is deeply afraid of defeat since a single loss will damage his reputation, meaning that by sowing doubt within his mind [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath he can be convinced to retreat]].

* Franchise/TheWitcher: Geralt of Rivia, the legendary witcher.

* Kvothe from ''Literature/TheKingkillerChronicles'' books. This is partly because he's genuinely special (a natural magician with eidetic recall and a talent for Naming), partly because his quest puts him in situations that just happen to be legend-building status, and partly as a reputation he's deliberately cultivated.

* In ''WesternAnimation/Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja'': The Ninja has protected Norrisville for years, making Randy fit the trope by being the new Ninja.

* Film/JamesBond: Villains often happen to know of Bond's [[TheAce badass]] reputation, though some will always {{underestimat|ing badassery}}e him and think he can't live up to it. Some villainesses also know of his [[TheCasanova reputation]] [[ReallyGetsAround with the ladies]] and their reactions to it vary.

* Creator/DanielCraig's Film/JamesBond has reached this status by the time of ''Film/NoTimeToDie'', to the point two CIA agents, Logan Ash and Paloma, are very giddy to meet him [[spoiler:even though Ash is a traitor and attempts to kill him twice regardless.]]

* In ''Fanfic/PokemonStrangledRed'', Steven becomes this as the narrator keeps playing the hacked game. NPCs start to recognize him on his first meetings with them. They even remember and have compassion for him after Miki dies, but Steven wants none of this.

* Many characters of the ''StarWars'' video games have reputations.

* Chapter 7 of ''Webcomic/FurryFightChronicles'' introduces Donkizari, who is treated and referred as a living legend for being the undefeated Continental Champion of Concatta. For reference, she had the title since Cookie was a little girl.

* The rogue vampire Seth in ''Webcomic/Sorcery101'' cultivates this kind of reputation, including stories that he EscapedFromHell and became the only known DaywalkingVampire out of personal awesomeness. [[spoiler:A lot of it is a smokescreen to throw off the many people who want him dead: he spreads rumours about himself, stole the name and reputation of a much older vampire, and owes his sun immunity to a protective amulet.]]

* ''Webcomic/TheShufflers:''Hiddenite comes from a tribe of mages called the Harvesters who were Shrouded in Myth and dismissed as fairy tales. He has the unique ability of having his own world in his cloth. When he confirms he’s a descendant, Märchen outright calls him a walking legend.

** The Muten Roshi. When he was introduced, he was revered as the God of Martial Arts and [[WorldsStrongestMan The Strongest Man In The World]].
** The Muten Roshi's rival, the Crane Hermit, is also well known within the martial's community. He is seen as the Muten Roshi's equal.

* To the women's gymnastics fans of the world -- and its athletes -- Oksana Alexandrovna Chusovitina is this. While it is these days not unusual for an athlete to compete for around a decade, or even longer -- see Beth Tweddle, Catalina Ponor, etc. for proof -- ''nobody'' has been around as long as "Mama Chuso". Her first international elite competition was in ''1989''. She has since gone to seven (read that again: ''seven'') Olympic Games, the first in 1992, and in 2019 successfully qualified for her ''eighth''. And her performance hasn't gone downhill whatsoever[[note]]She has fallen in the rankings somewhat simply due to the constant increase in difficulty, but she is still doing the same skills she did in the '90s, almost as well as she did them then[[/note]]; she won silver on the vault at the 2011 world championships and made the Olympic vault finals in both London and Rio. At 37 and ''41''. In a sport where women's careers have roughly the lifespan of a gnat and tend to be over by the time the gymnast hits her mid-20s, she is not just extraordinary but in fact in violation of all known laws of physics. To put this in perspective, when she made her international debut, most of her current competition had not yet been ''born''.[[note]]In Rio, the rest of the gold-medal winning Team USA called their captain Aly Raisman "Grandma Aly". Aly, all of ''22'' at the time, was born two years ''after'' Chuso's Olympic debut.[[/note]] She can literally say that she's been doing this since her opponents were in diapers.

* Men's singles figure skating has Creator/YuzuruHanyu. Wikipedia has [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_career_achievements_by_Yuzuru_Hanyu a staggering list of his professional achievements.]] Podiums and national teams have changed since his senior debut in 2010, but Hanyu remains a constant face as of 2021, still on top of his form despite various (repeated) injuries (that have [[CareerEndingInjury ended others' careers]]) and severe asthma. His second consecutive Olympic medal (2018 Pyeongchang) was won with his ''Seimei'' routine on a reinjured ankle and painkillers. He is also a survivor of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. His aim at this time of writing is to be the first man to land the quadruple axel in competition, an UpToEleven difficult jump that might be BeyondTheImpossible. His competitors have spoken about the "psychological warfare" of skating right after Hanyu, because he is guaranteed to turn in such a good performance that the next skater would have a tough act to follow, not to mention the rain of Franchise/WinnieThePooh bears that typically ensues. Even though he hasn't retired yet, there have been [[https://twitter.com/axelsandwich/status/1177210512691494912 multiple direct tributes]] by younger athletes.

* Orson Gregory in Literature/TheDreamsideRoad is famous for his role in defeating [[GreatOffscreenWar Thunderworks]]. Even strangers he encounters at the [[AttackOfTheTownFestival Wintertide Festival]] recognize him or his [[FlamingSword signature weaponry]].