History Main / NominalHero

* Selina Kyle in ''{{Series/Gotham}}'' is a street thief who cares mostly about her own survival but springs to action when a friend needs help (Bruce and Bridgit) and tries to stop her old friend Ivy from murdering a lot of people.

* Chloe intends to become this in ''[[Fanfic/TheLamentSeriesChaoticNeutral Chloe's Lament]]''. Having Wished to [[RoleSwapAU trade places with Marinette]], she expects to become [[RealityWarpingIsNotAToy this new reality's]] Ladybug, and immediately starts scheming about all the ways she could abuse that power. Such as stealing the Miracle Box for herself, sabotaging and destroying the reputations of anyone she chooses to target, and withholding her [[WorldHealingWave Miraculous Cure]] unless she's paid handsomely for her efforts. Fortunately, she fails her SecretTestOfCharacter without ever realizing she was going to be tested in the first place, and the Ladybug Earrings are entrusted to [[spoiler:Sabrina]] instead.
* Nikolos Drakonakos from ''[[Fanfic/TheConversionBureau The Conversion Bureau: The Palladium Wings]]'' is the ''extremely'' cruel, borderline sociopathic leader of a band of {{Sky Pirate}}s. He fights against the Equestrians out of sheer hatred and desire for booty. In fact, many of the Sky Pirates have the same motivations that he does.

* The ComicBook/IncredibleHulk can frequently turn into this. While he generally dislikes the "puny humans" (and understandably so, given how often they [[BullyingADragon provoke him]] or [[{{Misblamed}} misblame him for things that are someone else's fault]]) he nonetheless ends up doing a lot of good by smashing villains whose plans threaten humanity, even if it's only because they [[YouWouldntLikeMeWhenImAngry made the mistake of pissing him off.]] This is especially pronounced with the more intelligent varieties of Hulk, such as Joe Fixit or the Green Scar, who are entirely cognizant of the damage they do and don't tend to particularly care.

* {{ComicBook/Sabretooth}} usually tends to be this. If he's working with the heroes, it's because he was forced to and / or had something to gain. Other instances, he's tried to do right by a love interest. Holly & Bonnie are examples. He's not a hero when he meets either of them, but was very protective of them, and would've possibly settled down with them had they survived. During the ''{{ComicBook/AXIS}}'' event, Creed was [[HeelFaceBrainwashing inverted]] into a hero due to a spell gone wrong by ComicBook/ScarletWitch. He starts off as a truly heroic figure wanting to atone for his sins, even refusing to kill for a time. During ''ComicBook/UncannyXMen2016'', his nominal hero tendencies returned after developing feelings for ComicBook/MonetStCroix, whose well-being he cared more about than anyone else. He's still inverted and repentant, but when Monet is around, [[AlwaysSaveTheGirl his priorities shift]].

* The head of ''ComicBook/SuicideSquad'' ComicBook/AmandaWaller. DependingOnTheWriter she is either this or a KnightTemplar; her job is always in the government's best interest, but she sometimes uses methods that tend to be too extreme. Her plans are not limited to recruiting supervillains to get the job done but extend to outright hunting superheroes.
* The third [[Characters/MarvelComicsCaptainMarvelTitleCharacter Captain Marvel]], Genis-Vell, ending up becoming this during a period of madness (caused by Entrophy.) Genis became something of a VillainProtagonist with a severely warped sense of justice and rabid sense of entitlement. Rick Jones, to whom Genis was molecularly bonded, constantly opposed him and (rightly) questioned Genis's sanity. On one occasion, Genis bestowed powers upon a serial killer whom his friend Rick Jones had testified against in order to get the killer to stalk both Rick and his wife, Marlo. After putting Rick through absolute hell to the point where death seemed certain, Genis then executes the serial killer and explains to Rick that all of this was to teach Rick that he only lived on Genis's own whims and that he was ''never to question him again''. He does get better once freed from Entrophy's control.

* ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'': All of the Guardians have some kind of criminal past, and even TokenGoodTeammate Groot has apparently spent some time kidnapping and/or impaling people for money as Rocket's accomplice. They're interested in stopping [[BigBad Ronan]] either to save themselves or to get revenge on him for wronging them in the past.

* ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'': [[spoiler:Admiral Hux]] becomes TheMole for The Resistance within the First Order. When confronted by the heroes about it, they state that their only goal is that their rival [[spoiler:Kylo Ren]] loses, and the best way to accomplish that is by having The Resistance win the war.

** Karsa Orlong is just about as anti as a hero can get. Being a {{deconstruction}} of the ProudWarriorRace guy and BarbarianHero, Karsa aims to improve the world... by slaughtering millions of people and smashing civilization back to barbarism.

* Franchise/SherlockHolmes. In the early stories particularly, he's more interested in fighting crime for the ''novelty'' of it, and the fact that the more unusual cases give him something to do; if he gets too bored he starts doing cocaine. Later stories shy away from the drug use and make him a bit more classically heroic, though his main fascination with his work is still the strangeness of his cases. He rarely shows an interest in financial gain; he even states that "my work is its own reward." Holmes's motivation is really a combination of a sense of justice but also of a desire for a worthy challenge. He takes cases whose riddles he will enjoy trying to solve. You could say that he is a heroic foil of ComicBook/TheRiddler who enjoys creating riddles.

* ''Webcomic/MagickChicks'': Melissa was introduced as [[AlphaBitch an antagonist]], back when she first appeared in ''Webcomic/EerieCuties'', but was eventually given her own SpinOff series which was meant to reform her -- ''[[BeingGoodSucks against her will.]]'' The comic stuck her with a sentient wand [[http://www.eeriecuties.com/strips-ec/stupid_magick_stick that acted as her conscience]] and Tiffany as her [[TheObiWannabe self-appointed instructor.]] Except Melissa couldn't care less and remained as [[http://www.eeriecuties.com/strips-ec/this_is_why_you_bother_me self-centered]] and [[http://www.eeriecuties.com/all_in_favor petty]] as before - despite occasional moments of heroism.

* Cotton Hill from ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill''. While he (and Hank at times) love to remind everyone he "killed fitty men in WWII", Cotton is also a racist, sexist, bitter old man who treats everyone ([[PetTheDog except Bobby]]) with utter disrespect and contempt. It's also shown that he exaggerated many of his "heroic" deeds in the war (Such as him claiming to be in two different battles that took place at the same time). It's even discussed in one episode when Hank points out to Peggy that, despite all his ''many'' shortcomings and exaggerated war deeds, he did come back from the war with a chest of medals, both his legs blown off, and a lot fewer friends.

* Dr. Venture from ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' often falls into this category, sometimes bordering on VillainProtagonist. He's a BrilliantButLazy BunglingInventor with ''extreme'' {{Freudian Excuse}}s thanks to his [[AbusiveParents emotionally abusive]] father and HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood. ''Usually,'' he still does the right thing in the end, but in a few episodes ("The Buddy System", "What Color is Your Cleansuit?",) he's "heroic" only in the sense that he is the show's protagonist, and the "good" he does (cloning a child who was killed on a tour of his compound, restoring the interns after exposing them to extreme radiation,) is basically done to keep himself out of trouble.

* The head of ''ComicBook/SuicideSquad'' [[Characters/SuicideSquadAmandaWaller Amanda Waller]]. DependingOnTheWriter she is either this or a KnightTemplar; her job is always in the government's best interest, but she sometimes uses methods that tend to be too extreme. Her plans are not limited to recruiting supervillains to get the job done but extend to outright hunting superheroes.

* DependingOnTheWriter, SelfDemonstrating/{{Lobo}} is sometimes portrayed as one, instead of a SatireParodyPastiche of an unstoppable villain-full-stop. Considering that he is literally worse than Hitler, ''without any hyperbole involved'', [[WhereIWasBornAndRazed as he wiped out his own]] PillarsOfMoralCharacter utopian species for kicks and giggles... when he was a teenager, this reveals a lot about media conventions in general.

* {{ComicBook/Sabretooth}} usually tends to be this. If he's working with the heroes, it's because he was forced to and / or had something to gain. Other instances, he's tried to do right by a love interest. Holly & Bonnie are examples. He's not a hero when he meets either of them, but was very protective of them, and would've possibly settled down with them had they survived. During the ''{{ComicBook/AXIS}}'' event, Creed was [[HeelFaceBrainwashing inverted]] into a hero due to a spell gone wrong by ComicBook/ScarletWitch. He starts off as a truly heroic figure wanting to atone for his sins, even refusing to kill for a time. During ''ComicBook/UncannyXMen2015'', his nominal hero tendencies returned after developing feelings for ComicBook/MonetStCroix, whose well-being he cared more about than anyone else. He's still inverted and repentant, but when Monet is around, [[AlwaysSaveTheGirl his priorities shift]].

* Nagash is one of ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}s'' biggest douchebags, and likely the single most evil person in the setting. He still has a vested interest against Chaos destroying the world however, and so for a good chunk of the lore he's technically been a "good guy". The quote marks are very much justified, and in ''TabletopGame/WarhammerAgeOfSigmar'' it's no real surprise when he finally gives in to his baser urges. It's fair to say he was only prevented from betraying everyone in ''TabletopGame/WarhammerTheEndTimes'' because one of the other "Why are we friends with this guy again?" characters betrayed ''him'' before he had the chance.

* [[spoiler:Severus Snape]] in the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' books does have something of a moral compass, in that he aims to [[TheAtoner atone]] for his mistreatment and inadvertent betrayal of TheLostLenore by avenging her death. He doesn't care much for anyone else, though, as evidenced by his general nastiness … [[spoiler:though this may have changed under the years of working with Dumbledore, taking into account his reply to Dumbledore on the lives he couldn't save, and risking blowing his cover to attempt to save Lupin's life at the start of the final book.]]

* Array from the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fanfic ''FanFic/ChroniclesOfHarmonysEnd''. He represents Order, and therefore opposes Discord on principle rather than morality.
* Nikolos Drakonakos from ''[[Fanfic/TheConversionBureau The Conversion Bureau: The Palladium Wings]]'' is the ''extremely'' cruel, borderline sociopathic leader of a band of {{Sky Pirate}}s. He fights against the Equestrians out of sheer hatred and desire for booty. In fact, many of the Sky Pirates have the same motivations that he does.

* Hakeev, of all people, in the ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'' fanfic ''Fanfic/EmaelMosekhesailho''. He's still definitely a very evil man--he's a leading officer of the [[StateSec Tal'Shiar]] and at one point he casually speaks of mounting a reprisal pogrom against the Remans after [[Film/StarTrekNemesis Shinzon]] is dealt with--but in trying to topple Shinzon and root out {{the conspiracy}} that put him in power, he's on the same side as protagonist Sahuel t'Khnialmnae, whom he's trying to recruit into the agency.
* Lieutenant Commander Brokosh, the Lethean protagonist of the ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'' fic ''Fanfic/RedFireRedPlanet''. He does follow an ethical code of his own making[[labelnote:*]]At least part of it reads, "Don’t kill anyone you don’t have to, don’t risk your underlings without cause, and treat your prisoners with decency."[[/labelnote]], but he's a mercenary who signed with the Klingon Defense Force for the money since he's married to a minor Klingon noblewoman from an ImpoverishedPatrician house and they have a son to support.
* ''FanFic/ARabbitAmongWolves'': Jaune is trying to reform the White Fang and battle corruption, but he has zero genuine interest in either cause. But having accidentally murdered Adam Taurus, [[HeroWithBadPublicity he has inadvertently become Public Enemy #1]] and wants to prove to the public he isn't a cold-blooded killer. He even admits that if not for his situation, he'd probably ignore the plight of the poor.
* In ''Webcomic/ScarletLady'', Chloe Bourgeoise as the titular heroine, full stop. She has no interest in fighting [[VillainOfTheWeek Akuma]] or saving Paris, just in [[HatesTheJobLovesTheLimelight getting famous and beloved]]. She makes her partner Chat Noir do the lion's share of the work and just uses her Lucky Charm/[[WorldHealingWave Miraculous Cure]] as needed. Pretty much everyone who knows her personally hates her (and only put up with her because she's the only one who can purify Akumas and fix the damage), but her talent for playing the media ensures that the world at large thinks she's the real deal.

* In [=ItsJustSomeRandomGuy's=] Website/YouTube ''WebVideo/ImAMarvelAndImADC'' sketches, this trope is played around with. Franchise/{{Wolverine}} [[LampshadeHanging says to]] [[Comicbook/{{Watchmen}} The Comedian]], "[[{{Dissimile}} You kinda remind me of myself at your age ... except I've got ethics... and I'm not a sociopath... or a rapist... you know what, maybe you remind me of someone else.]]"

This type of hero is rarely averse to working alone, with other heroes. On a team of otherwise conventional heroes, they'll often be in an EnemyMine, SociopathicHero, or TokenEvilTeammate role. Other heroes may only work with them because they could use all the help they can get, or specifically to keep an eye on the hero-in-name-only, so that they don't become a more serious threat.

* The old Advertising/WilkinsCoffee commercials have Wilkins, who looks to be the usual "peppy guy who convinces the grumpy-gus to like the product"--except that unlike most such characters, Wilkins is also incredibly willing to use violence to get his point across. In many commercials, he threatens Wontkins for not liking coffee or preferring a different brand, and in quite a few, he outright kills him. It's all PlayedForLaughs, though.

* The vast majority of Gaulish villagers in ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'' are like this. They're only heroic at all because they're fighting against TheEmpire, which they mostly just pick on, usually for fun, rather than make any serious rebellion against them. They have two reasons for fighting them -- they love fighting (even turning on each other when Romans aren't available) and they're incredibly set in their ways, usually even when the Roman way is better. They started out intended more as a RagtagBunchOfMisfits LaResistance, but got {{Flanderiz|ation}}ed into this mostly because it's funnier. Asterix, Obelix and Getafix are much nicer people, though.
* Virtually the entire superhero community in ''ComicBook/TheBoys''. Thanks to the massive media empire built around them by [[EvilInc Vought-American]], they don't even have to save anyone to be considered heroes as embellished comic lines surrounding their supposed "adventures" are made, and many let the fame and money go to their heads and end up becoming narcissistic sociopaths. Several of them used to even be supervillains, but only switched to the "hero" side because it pays better.

* The Clipper, a "hero" from the Great Depression era who is mentioned in Franchise/TheFlash. While he gunned down poor people driven to crime by desperation, and then cut off the tips of the ears of the survivors, he lived in a fancy mansion and had it easy. He's quoted as having said "it doesn't matter if they're guilty, it matters if they're dead!" indicating he didn't even bother to check if his victims were innocent.

* In ''ComicBook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'', Hyde, Griffin, and Nemo are a murderer, serial rapists and psychopathic pirate respectively, who are offered an official pardon if they'll turn those qualities against the Empire's enemies. In the [[Film/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen film version]], Griffin is replaced by LovableRogue Rodney Skinner, and Hyde and Nemo get a makeover. In the second volume of the comic, Griffin [[spoiler:eventually becomes a straight up villain when he betrays humankind to the Martians]]. His characterization never really changes, though, which shows how nominal a hero he was to begin with.

* The head of ''ComicBook/SuicideSquad'' [[Characters/SuicideSquadAmandaWaller Amanda Waller]]. DependingOnTheWriter she is either this or a KnightTemplar; her job is always for the government's best interest, but she sometimes uses methods that tend to be too extreme. Her plans are not limited to recruiting supervillains to get the job done, but extend to outright hunting superheroes.
* The third [[Characters/MarvelComicsCaptainMarvelTitleCharacter Captain Marvel]], Genis-Vell, ending up becoming this during a period of madness (caused by Entrophy.) Genis became something of a VillainProtagonist with a severely warped sense of justice and rabid sense of entitlement. Rick Jones, to whom Genis was molecularly bonded, constantly opposed him and (rightly) questioned Genis's sanity. On one occasion, Genis bestowed powers upon a serial killer whom his friend Rick Jones had testified against in order to get the killer to stalk both Rick and his wife, Marlo. After putting Rick through absolute hell to the point where death seemed certain, Genis then executes the serial killer and explains to Rick that all of this was to teach Rick that he only lived on Genis's own whims, and that he was ''never to question him again''. He does get better once freed from Entrophy's control.

* From ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'', the Comedian: a thrill-killing BloodKnight, rapist, war criminal and all-around PsychoForHire (and he's actually a more sympathetic version of the trope, believe it or not).

* ''Fanfic/TheDevilOfZero'': Vergil is just as power hungry as he was in the past and as anti-ethical in his methods of dealing with his enemies. It's just that he's on the side of good due to being Louise's familiar.
* ''FanFic/{{Fade}}'': [[spoiler:Beyond Birthday]]. The only reason he bothers opposing Kira is because he hates L, who has become Kira in his attempts to stop the original's rise to power. It's implied that if L ''hadn't'' become Kira, he would've sided with the original instead just to get back at L. [[spoiler:Once Light enters the picture and becomes L's partner (mainly due to a combination of attraction and StockholmSyndrome), Beyond's motivation goes from "stop L" to "stop L and save Light" in quick fashion.]]
* [[{{Manga/Bleach}} Ulquiorra]] from ''Fanfic/AHollowInEquestria'' fits the [[JustFollowingOrders lawful]] kind of Nominal Hero, something he spells out when Luna first calls him a hero, noting that the things he's done in the past without remorse means he can't be a hero by their standards.

* The people who identify as Animals in ''Fanfic/TheKeysStandAlone'' could be see as these, since they were brought over by the Pyar gods as heroes to help overthrow the Black Tower and its minions. Theoretically they're doing this, though all the reader ever hears about them is what miserable torturing cruel bastards they are. Several minor characters even express bewilderment that the gods would bring over such people as potential saviors.

* The Harry Potter depicted in ''Fanfic/SeventhHorcrux'' is a RetiredMonster with the mind of Voldemort and a major-league UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist. He's entirely amoral, but still ends up saving the world largely by accident or for selfish reasons. Of course, it helps that he's mellowed out of the blatant sadism and racism of his canon counterpart.

* Lieutenant Commander Brokosh, the Lethean protagonist of the ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'' fic ''Fanfic/RedFireRedPlanet''. He does follow an ethical code of his own making[[labelnote:*]]At least part of it reads, "Don’t kill anyone you don’t have to, don’t risk your underlings without cause, and treat your prisoners with decency."[[/labelnote]], but he's a mercenary who signed with the Klingon Defense Force for the money, since he's married to a minor Klingon noblewoman from an ImpoverishedPatrician house and they have a son to support.

* In ''Webcomic/ScarletLady'', Chloe Bourgeoise as the titular heroine, full stop. She has no interest in fighting [[VillainOfTheWeek Akuma]] or saving Paris, just in [[HatesTheJobLovesTheLimelight getting famous and beloved]]. She makes her partner Chat Noir do the lion's share of the work, and just uses her Lucky Charm/[[WorldHealingWave Miraculous Cure]] as needed. Pretty much everyone who knows her personally hates her (and only put up with her because she's the only one who can purify Akumas and fix the damage), but her talent for playing the media ensures that the world at large thinks she's the real deal.

* [=MacNamara=] (Creator/JamesCagney) in ''Film/OneTwoThree''. He cheats on his wife, neglects his children, and all of his actions are motivated entirely by self-interest. To get the prize job in London (for which he already has bought a new umbrella) he has no scruples to destroy the happiness of a young couple, make vanish the marriage documents from the registry office, frame the bridegroom as an American spy, destroying his intended career and at the very least ensuring that he spent several years in prison. Then unfortunately it turns out the bride, the only daughter of [=MacNamara=]'s boss is pregnant...

* ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'': The T-800 is a killer machine with no emotions, only protecting and following the orders of a ten year old because of his programming. By the end of the film he's able to understand human behaviour and emotions, so he becomes a more traditional hero over the course of the movie.
* The Terminator from ''Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines'' plays this far more straight. At one point he even flatly admits he doesn't care at all about John or Kate, and is only protecting them because it's his mission. Even toward the end, when he's been [[MindVirus corrupted by the T-X]] and is about to kill John, it's being reminded that he's about to fail his mission that [[FightingFromTheInside makes him stop]].

* ''LightNovel/HybridXHeartMagiasAcademyAtaraxia'': As of Volume 8, [[MadScientist Nayuta Hida]] has joined the protagonists in their battle against the [[PhysicalGod Deus Ex Machina]]. Nayuta has no regrets of what she has done for her [[AGodAmI pursuit of godhood]], such as the way she treated her children, and makes no attempts to redeem herself. For their part, [[TheHero Kizuna]] and the others know this and only accept her help because she is the best chance they have against the Deus Ex Machina.

** Seerdomin is a hero to the Redeemer's followers, because his daily presence at the barrow discourages bandits from entering the camp surrounding it, but his reasons for visiting are rather personal and he is even surprised that people would look up to him.
* The protagonist of ''Literature/TheMentalState'', Zack State, appears to be this. He never does anything virtuous unless he can justify it with a selfish motive. Of course, it is open to interpretation as to whether this is always the case, or if he is simply trying to convince himself that he doesn't care abut others.

* ''Series/TwentyFour'' protagonist Jack Bauer skirts along this trope during the show's eight seasons, but manages to stay away from it for the most part. The sequel mini-series "Live Another Day," however, shows that he's officially entered this territory due to how much his experiences in the show's original run have soured him. He comes out of hiding to save the day again solely because he learned that his old flame Audrey and her father and his former boss James Hellar were in danger, and displays a much more ruthless attitude than he did during the original series, including shooting a group of people in order to incite a riot for a diversion and [[spoiler:outright murdering the main villain of the first half of the season with little provocation even after she's been successfully captured, a stark contrast to the original seasons where he primarily killed only in self-defense or if someone [[ItsPersonal murdered someone important to him]]]].
* ''{{Series/Andromeda}}'': Tyr Anazasi is a mercenary. He is also a Nietzschean, a member of a HumanSubspecies that practices [[StrawNihilist enlightened self-interest]], [[DesignerBabies genetic engineering,]] and [[TheSocialDarwinist social darwinism]]. Tyr is ultimately on no-one's side but his own; he is not only not much of a hero, he is an out-and-out antagonist at times and will always play the heroes and villains against each other for his personal benefit (though he is more than willing to drop an immediate benefit for a larger, long term one). He will stand by the heroes, even at great personal risk, when their interests align with his and it seems like they will come out on top (which, he recognizes, is most of the time; Dylan and Rommie are good enough to beat the odds more often than not), but doesn't hesitate to throw the heroes under the bus when he thinks the risks are small and the payoff big enough.
* ''Series/BlackAdder'' Lord Flashheart is rare example of a FakeUltimateHero who really was brave and dashing and always won. He first appeared as an Elizabethan swashbuckler in season 2 and a dashing flying ace in season 4 and was handsome, bold, admired by all, adored by the ladies, and laughed in the face of danger. He was also an arrogant prat who boasted constantly, lied, sucked up to his superiors, patronized his admirers, and treated women as sex objects. And the only reason he always won was that he was an underhanded bastard who cheated and employed every dirty trick in the book.

** Most of the other "good" main characters -- except Blake, Cally, Dayna and perhaps Jenna and Gan -- are being dragged along behind Blake's idealism. They fight because there's nowhere for them to run.

* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'', which was [[SpiritualAdaptation blatantly]] ''Blake's 7'' with money, was also filled with Nominal Heroes. The only reason why the main characters come together is because they're all being hunted by the oppressive government, but [[TheOnlyBeliever only one of them was anything approaching an idealistic revolutionary]]. (That one person was not the main protagonist and [[spoiler:died just over halfway through the show's run]].) In four seasons, they only consciously set out to do something "good" for the universe on two occasions, at the end of the third season and in the GrandFinale WrapItUp. Amusingly lampshaded when [[ItsAllAboutMe Rygel]] offers to nobly escape their latest encounter with certain doom in order to carry their message, only to be reminded that they don't actually ''have'' one.

* Zigizagged on ''Series/{{Leverage}}''. In the pilot, the heroes are clearly only motivated by payback and greed. Throughout the rest of the series, their motivations flip back and forth almost every episode between wanting to atone, wanting to help the victims, and the love of stealing. Also, the "alternative revenue stream" is occasionally mentioned, implying that the team continues to profit from their work by betting against their marks in the stock market, like they did in the pilot.
* While Lucifer Morningstar from ''Series/Lucifer2016'' has a strong sense of right and wrong (albeit a very twisted one), the only reason why he joined up with Chloe and her investigations was because she fascinated him due to her moral compass and immunity to his charms and because he found punishing criminals to be exciting. He only ever stays the course whenever it interests him in any way, becoming easily distracted or simply dropping out of the case all together if it bores him, only to re-enter the case if it suits his needs.
* ''Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy'': Magna-Defender is like this. He may assist the rangers taking down a monster or two and want to take down Scorpious, but he's only does it for the revenge. This definitely becomes clearer when he tries to destroy Terra Venture because it might destroy Scorpious. Although he gets better, [[RedemptionEqualsDeath near the end]].

* ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'': In this 2010 BBC modernization, Sherlock Holmes describes himself as a "high-functioning sociopath," and cautions Dr. Watson: "Don't make people into heroes, John. Heroes don't exist; and if they did, I wouldn't be one of them." This shows that his motivations are not those of a typical straight hero, and that he's possessed of a very cynical worldview. His motivation is quite explicitly boredom and a need for intellectual stimulation.

* Crowley in ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' starts off as this. He's no less evil than the other demons, but he is the only to realize that it's in his best interest to [[spoiler:stop [[{{Satan}} Lucifer]] from destroying humanity]].

* In professional wrestling, good deeds, good sportsmanship, generally being a good person and of course, being a good or even adequate wrestler, will get one cheered somewhat reliably. But audiences are not static; it's impossible to really know how they will react until you're in front of them, and any wrestler who gets consistently cheered for will become a {{face}} by default. Generally one designated {{face}} or {{heel}} beforehand will try to invoke the "correct" response or correct the opposite, but sometimes, fans set their minds on someone being worth cheering for, no matter how reprehensible that someone might be. In the lucha libre territories of pro wrestling, tecnicos have a slightly easier time with this, as the battle lines are more clearly defined, but if they get booed enough they'll turn rudo too.

* The Light Warriors in ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'' (with the exception of [[TokenGoodTeammate Fighter]]) only possess the distinction of being protagonists due to showing up at the recruiting station at the right time. Both in-story and by WordOfGod, they are far worse than any of the monsters they end up facing. The worst of the lot are Black Mage (a pure VillainProtagonist and an OmnicidalManiac who wants to deliver the world to [[GodOfEvil Chaos]]) and Thief (a kleptomanic JerkAss MiserAdvisor and race elitist who's only in it to screw over as many people as possible). Red Mage is an amoral {{Munchkin}} who's in it for the XP but will happily commit atrocities toward that end. Fighter, on the other hand, is an IdiotHero who is only going along with the others because he [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter thinks they're actually on the side of good]]. Still, the epilogue has them being credited as the individuals who started the events that led to the world being saved. That is, by being responsible for the world-ending threat in the first place.

* Abigail from ''Webcomic/{{BACK}}'' seeks to overthrow a corrupt dictatorship, but only so that she may more easily bring abut the apocalypse. Any lesser villain she fights is because they got in her way.

* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'': Tarvek is really only a "hero" because he cares about Agatha and Gil, something which lead him to realize just how messed up mind controlling the masses really is. He has at least one other surviving person he cares about, but that sibling-like relationship would have done nothing to prevent him from fulfilling the destiny the Knights of Jove were planning for him and generally being a back-stabbing manipulator. He also admits that he's willing to burn the whole world down to protect them no matter who he has to kill.

** Belkar Bitterleaf is an unapologetic HeroicComedicSociopath with no actual redeeming qualities. At one point, [[TheHero Roy]] claims that the only reason he keeps Belkar around is to keep him from using his abilities to become a full-blown villain. Belkar's StupidEvil antics are entirely deliberate on his part, as he finds being his own personal MookHorrorShow is not only entertaining but also an effective way of gaining XP. Later, he shifts to a more subdued TokenEvilTeammate role, and gains an actual MoralityPet of sorts, his RightHandCat, Mr. Scruffy.

* X-Ray of ''WebAnimation/XRayAndVav'' his nothing more than a GloryHound, seeking to gain the fame and attention of being a hero and not actually really ''being'' a hero. He hates the idea of anything taking his spotlight and will attack and blame them for his shortcomings.

* The entire main cast of ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}''. Most of them are petty, hedonistic assholes who are more concerned with their lavish lifestyles, and do things that are morally questionable or just plain stupid in their spy business. The worst case however is Malory Archer, the head of ISIS who lies, manipulates, and abuses her workers for her own selfish gains. Worst yet, one of them happens to be her son Sterling Archer, whom she has abandoned and abused since he was a kid.

* WesternAnimation/DaffyDuck is usually portrayed this way when he's the hero. Usually his heroism is motivated either by glory, money, or because the true villain is a threat to him personally, and in the last case it's often made clear that he wouldn't do it if it were anyone else who were in danger. He tends not to care about the damage his "heroic" antics cause as long as he gets what he wants, and he is perfectly willing to screw those around him over for even the slightest benefit to himself. All of these traits carry over to his incarnation as ''WesternAnimation/DuckDodgers''.

** Bender is an extremely selfish kleptomaniac, and thus falls into nominal heroism at times. However, much of this can be excused by the fact that as a robot, he does not fully understand human needs and emotions. He also has quite a few PetTheDog moments.

* Damien Darkblood in ''WesternAnimation/Invincible2021'' is this and a ''literal'' NobleDemon. He's a CaptainErsatz of ComicBook/{{Hellboy}} who escaped from Hell and works as a HardboiledDetective [[PurposeDrivenImmortality in order to redeem his soul]] by seeking justice for others and delay, if not prevent, [[DraggedOffToHell returning]]. However according to [[SupermanSubstitute Omni-Man]], his motivations are purely selfish and he doesn't actually care about the people he helps.
* Cotton Hill from ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill''. While he (and Hank at times) love to remind everyone he "killed fitty men in WWII", Cotton is also a racist, sexist, bitter old man who treats everyone ([[PetTheDog except Bobby]]) with utter disrespect and contempt. It's also shown that he exaggerated many of his "heroic" deeds in the war (Such as him claiming to be in two different battles that took place at the same time). It's even discussed in one episode when Hank points out to Peggy that, despite all his ''many'' shortcomings and exaggerated war deeds, he did come back from the war with a chest of medals, both his legs blown off, and a lot less friends.

* Sentinel Prime from ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' is technically on the side of the good guys, being a member of the high-ranked Autobot Elite Guard, but is a pompous, arrogant, incompetent GloryHound JerkAss with [[FantasticRacism a truly appalling level of anti-organic bigotry]]. He hates the Decepticons, but that's about the only thing "heroic" about him. He manages to get even ''worse'' as we learn more about him, and discover the reason for his hatred for [[NiceGuy Optimus Prime]]: [[spoiler: way back when they were both cadets together, they had a female friend, Elita-1, until one day Sentinel and Elita-1 talked Optimus into making a trip to a forbidden, organic-inhabited planet to search for the wreck of a Decepticon battleship and retrieve its lost stockpile of Energon. Despite the fact that, as he repeatedly pointed out, this was both illegal and highly dangerous, Optimus eventually went along, mostly to keep them out of trouble. As expected, things went disastrously wrong when they were attacked by a colony of {{Giant Spider}}s and the Energon stockpile blew up; Optimus managed to drag Sentinel to safety, but Elita-1 was presumably killed. This got them both courtmartialed, but because Optimus took all the blame, only he was expelled from the Elite Guard Academy. Sentinel [[NeverMyFault never admitted he was the one who led them to the planet, nor stopped blaming Optimus for Elita-1's death]]. And just when you think he couldn't get worse, when he finally meets Blackarachnia, the transmutated Elita-1, he is so disgusted by her technorganic state that he outright tells her that she should have ''killed herself'' rather than living like this, making Blackarachnia, herself no fan of her state, protest that it's not ''that'' bad. He truly cements his JerkWithAHeartOfJerk status when he promptly attacks her and tries to kill her himself]]!

* The ComicBook/IncredibleHulk can frequently turn into this. While he generally dislikes the "puny humans" (and understandably so, given how often they [[BullyingADragon provoke him]] or [[{{Misblamed}} misblame him for things that are someone else's fault]]) he nonetheless ends up doing a lot of good by smashing villains whose plans threaten humanity, even if it's only because they [[YouWouldntLikeMeWhenImAngry made the mistake of pissing him off.]]

* The head of ''ComicBook/SuicideSquad'' ComicBook/AmandaWaller. DependingOnTheWriter she is either this or a KnightTemplar; her job is always for the government's best interest, but she sometimes uses methods that tend to be too extreme. Her plans are not limited to recruiting supervillains to get the job done, but extend to outright hunting superheroes.
* The third [[ComicBook/CaptainMarVell Captain Marvel]], Genis-Vell, ending up becoming this during a period of madness (caused by Entrophy.) Genis became something of a VillainProtagonist with a severely warped sense of justice and rabid sense of entitlement. Rick Jones, to whom Genis was molecularly bonded, constantly opposed him and (rightly) questioned Genis's sanity. On one occasion, Genis bestowed powers upon a serial killer whom his friend Rick Jones had testified against in order to get the killer to stalk both Rick and his wife, Marlo. After putting Rick through absolute hell to the point where death seemed certain, Genis then executes the serial killer and explains to Rick that all of this was to teach Rick that he only lived on Genis's own whims, and that he was ''never to question him again''. He does get better once freed from Entrophy's control.

** Karsa Orlong is just about as anti as a hero can get. Being a {{deconstruction}} of the ProudWarriorRaceGuy and BarbarianHero, Karsa aims to improve the world... by slaughtering millions of people and smashing civilization back to barbarism.

* Captain Hammer of ''WebVideo/DoctorHorriblesSingAlongBlog'''s ''only'' qualification as a hero is that the guy he's fighting is trying to get into a supervillain organization. He may look like TheCape, but underneath his dashing, larger-than-life demeanor is a misogynistic, self-centered, bigoted glory hound who's far more interested in his image than in actually helping people. This makes him the [[HeroAntagonist antagonist]] of the story, set against the nerdy, TechnicalPacifist, ShrinkingViolet [[VillainProtagonist protagonist]], Dr. Horrible.

* Dr. Venture from ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' often falls into this category, sometimes bordering on VillainProtagonist. He's a BrilliantButLazy BunglingInventor with ''extreme'' {{Freudian Excuse}}s thanks to his [[AbusiveParent emotionally abusive]] father and HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood. ''Usually,'' he still does the right thing in the end, but in a few episodes ("The Buddy System", "What Color is Your Cleansuit?",) he's "heroic" only in the sense that he is the show's protagonist, and the "good" he does (cloning a child who was killed on a tour of his compound, restoring the interns after exposing them to extreme radiation,) is basically done to keep himself out of trouble.

* ''Fim/TheRiseOfSkywalker'': [[spoiler:Admiral Hux]] becomes TheMole for The Resistance within the First Order. When confronted by the heroes about it, they state that their only goal is that their rival [[spoiler:Kylo Ren]] loses, and the best way to accomplish that is by having The Resistance win the war.

* ''Fim/StarWarsTheRiseOfSkywalker'': [[spoiler:Admiral Hux]] becomes TheMole for The Resistance within the First Order. When confronted by the heroes about it, they state that their only goal is that their rival [[spoiler:Kylo Ren]] loses, and the best way to accomplish that is by having The Resistance win the war.

* '''Relationships''': Not all Nominal Heroes are purely selfish. Some [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes have a love interest or other that they do care about]]. A Nominal Hero might do [[VillainousRescue something heroic to impress or rescue that someone]], even though they couldn't care less if other people die. As mentioned above, this can also overlap with Annoyance[=/=]{{Revenge}}.

* '''Relationships''': Not all Nominal Heroes are purely selfish. Some [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes have a love interest or other that they do care about]]. A Nominal Hero might do [[VillainousRescue something heroic to impress or rescue that someone]], even though they couldn't care less if other people die.

* Senna Wales, the witch of ''Literature/{{Everworld}}.'' She is motivated by her completely selfish goal of overthrowing the powers of Everworld, seizing control over the foundations of reality, and then [[DimensionLord ruling over the universe]] as [[AGodAmI an absolute god]]. However, she is kept from being a VillainProtagonist because most of the real villains that she opposes (Huizilopocli, Hel, Ka Anor) are monsters, she [[TokenEvilTeammate helps the other protagonists more often than she goes against them]], and she seems to genuinely think that Everworld and its people would be better off with her ruling them all.