History Main / OutdatedHeroVsImprovedSociety

* In ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'' by the same author this is played with, in that it's implied Dalinar will come to be seen this way if they win. Wit tells him that he's a tyrant, but that he doesn't think Roshar is ready for anything better. And it certainly isn't ready for massive social change in the middle of the apocalypse. So, while in other times he might denounce Dalinar viciously, here he may be exactly what is needed.

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'': The reason the DC version of [[ComicBook/HerculesUnbound Heracles/Hercules]] is often depicted as a villain is that society has changed greatly since Ancient Greece while Herc has stayed exactly the same and the actions that used to get him acclaimed as a great hero now get him condemned as a monster. He is extremely and needlessly violent as well as incredibly arrogant and entitled, expecting to be treated with groveling adulation just for existing. He's also a raging misogynist who personally raped Hippolyta and led the mass rape/sexual enslavement of the Amazons that got him turned to stone and forced to bear the burden of holding up Themyscira, which he personally sees as time served for a misdeed and cannot understand why the Amazons would still happily kill him on sight given the chance.

* ''VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures'': The opening of the game shows that the Star Fox team has fallen on hard times since the war with Andross ended. In a time of peace, nobody has any need for an elite mercenary combat team, and they don't have the money to maintain their very expensive equipment.

* Creator/DCComics:
** In his original time of AncientEgypt, ComicBook/BlackAdam's methods were the mark of a great and mighty hero who would stop at nothing to free his people, rule them as a wise and just king and provide them with plenty, and keep them safe from threats. Five thousand years later, those same methods make him an ultraviolent, bloodthirsty, vengeance-prone mass murderer whose tendency to go on massive rampages whenever he feels personally wronged cause him to continually come into conflict with the heroes of the day.
** The reason the DC version of [[ComicBook/HerculesUnbound Heracles/Hercules]] is often depicted as a villain is that society has changed greatly since Ancient Greece while Herc has stayed exactly the same and the actions that used to get him acclaimed as a great hero now get him condemned as a monster. He is extremely and needlessly violent as well as incredibly arrogant and entitled, expecting to be treated with groveling adulation just for existing. He's also a raging misogynist who personally raped Hippolyta and led the mass rape/sexual enslavement of the Amazons that got him turned to stone and forced to bear the burden of holding up Themyscira, which he personally sees as time served for a misdeed and cannot understand why the Amazons would still happily kill him on sight given the chance.

* ComicBook/{{Magneto}}:
** DependingOnTheWriter, he may fit this trope during his StartOfDarkness origins. After surviving horrible atrocities against the worst types of human beings (usually [[UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust Nazi concentration camps]] during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII), the young man who would be Magneto saw similar [[FantasticRacism hate-mongering]] starting to appear against mutants, which he himself was. At some point, he joined forces with another mutant named Charles Xavier and the two made great achievements protecting and advancing mutantkind. However, Magneto remained convinced that human-mutant coexistence was impossible and that mutants had to eventually take control from humanity. The falling out between himself and Charles and their incompatible ideologies is the impetus for the ''Franchise/XMen'' series.
** In particular, Creator/GrantMorrison's run on X-Men directly makes the claim that Magneto's contribution to mutantkind is over and that even the mutant populace would rather fondly remember him as an obsolete hero.

** The series ''Magneto: Not A Hero'' made the case that Magneto is neither a "hero" nor a "villain". He is a MoralPragmatist. He will always seek the most direct and proactive ways to end mutant oppression and help them become the dominant species on the planet. Depending on the current status quo, sometimes the most direct method is to help the X-Men or other heroes, and sometimes it means battling against them, in which case, he becomes this trope.
** Ironically, post 2010s, the fanbase has swung the other way as it's become increasingly obvious that mutantkind does need some militant leaders. The Krakoan age has pushed Magneto to even higher prominence, while guys like Cyclops believe that Xavier's dream, while noble, requires a lot more force than he wished to believe. The guy who is considered outdated these days is Xavier, as his dream and nigh-pacifism are considered incredibly naive these days.
* In Creator/MarvelComics' mythology works (''ComicBook/TheMightyThor'', ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHercules'' and others), many gods succumb to this trope as they can't deal with a world that's moved on without them (Or, in fact, [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly their lives may depend on being worshipped]]). In particular, in some of their douchebaggiest moments, [[TopGod Zeus and Odin]] have both hatched terrible schemes to trick or cow humanity into worshipping them again, usually by some sort of apocalyptic show of force. Fortunately, Thor, Hercules, and other characters who are loyal to humanity have typically talked them out of it.
* ''ComicBook/UncannyXMen'': [[Characters/MarvelComicsExodus Exodus]], an ancient mutant who was a knight during UsefulNotes/TheCrusades and faithful ally of the ComicBook/{{Black Knight|MarvelComics}} before his dormant powers were awakened by ComicBook/{{Apocalypse}} who intended to use him as a herald. While Exodus was able to come back to his senses and stop himself from killing the Black Knight, he was entombed for centuries before being awoken by Magneto above, who indoctrinated him into the modern-day crusade of mutant supremacy. Just like Black Adam, Exodus's methods proved incompatible with the modern day and only served to get him into conflicts with superheroes. Perhaps because he is a younger immortal, Exodus has been growing out of this with time, once being recruited by ComicBook/{{SHIELD}} to lead their psi division and currently being entrusted with the critically important duty of educating mutant children in ''ComicBook/XMen2019''. He's not out of the woods yet (he still idolizes Magneto beyond reason and parrots mutant propaganda about the ComicBook/ScarletWitch), but all in all he has a better chance of outgrowing this trope than most of the other characters on this list. At the conclusion of the 2021 ''ComicBook/XMenTheTrialOfMagneto'' story, he [[spoiler:gladly admits he was wrong about Wanda and tells the children new stories about how 'the Pretender became the Redeemer']].

* ''Film/DemolitionMan'': SubvertedTrope. One of the major plot points is that John Spartan, your average Eighties/Nineties red-blooded American CowboyCop, is seen by everybody in the futuristic city of San Angeles (which runs on PoliticalOvercorrectness) as a curiosity at best and a mindless brute at worst (they [[SmugSnake really have no problem calling him terms like]] "neanderthal" to his face). Of course, the reality is San Angeles runs on a very prissy kind of fascism and it takes someone with Spartan's will to point it out, let alone do something about it.

** The reason the DC version of [[ComicBook/HerculesUnbound Heracles/Hercules]] is often depicted as a villain is that society has changed greatly since Ancient Greece while Herc has stayed exactly the same and the actions that used to get him acclaimed as a great hero now get him condemned as a monster. He is extremely and needlessly violent as well as incredibly arrogant and entitled, expecting to be treated with groveling adulation just for existing. He's also a raging misogynist who personally raped Hippolyta and led the mass rape/sexual enslavement of the Amazons that got him turned to stone and forced to bear the burden of holding up Themyscira, which he personally sees as time served for a misdeed and cannot understand why the Amazons would still happily kill him on sight given the chance.

* PlayedForLaughs in ''Manga/Level1DemonLordAndOneRoomHero'', which takes place after the fantasy hero Max defeated [[MaouTheDemonKing the Demon Lord]]; when said Demon Lord resurrects and seeks out his old foe, it turns out Max has become an unemployed slacker who lives in a one-room apartment since heroes like him aren't needed anymore.

* ''Literature/OurLastCrusadeOrTheRiseOfANewWorld'': A century ago, the Empire branded men and women born with magical power as "witches", hunted them down, and killed them. One of the most powerful of these witches, Eve Sophi Nebulis (better known as 'Nebulis'), rebelled and led her fellow witches against the Empire, forming the Sovereignty of Nebulis before she was eventually sealed away. A century later, and both the Empire and Nebulis are still locked in a ForeverWar that both Alice (a witch and direct descendant of Nebulis' young twin Alicerose) and Iska (an elite swordsman of the Empire and successor of the swordsman who sealed Nebulis) wish to end to stop the senseless bloodshed. After Nebulis is released from her seal, declares her intention to destroy the Empire and everyone in it, and then attacks Alice when she tries to reason with her, both Alice and Iska realize that regardless of her actions a century ago, she's now a threat that needs to be dealt with.
* In ''Anime/RurouniKenshin'' the titular rurouni Himura Kenshin suffers this on occasion, as do many of his colleagues and enemies who also survived the wars that led up to the Meiji era. He himself prefers it, and hopes that the Meiji government, for all its flaws, can be an improved society where people don't have to suffer and die like they did during the Revolution, while many of the villains are [[EvilReactionary trying to push for a remilitarized society more like the age of bloodshed they remember]]. That said, it's also inverted in that the ''other'' class of villains come from several of the old revolutionaries instead parlaying their success to become {{Corrupt Politician}}s, morally-bankrupt businessmen, or criminal kingpins, abandoning the virtues of their warrior age for the vices of capitalism and profiteering, which is [[EndOfAnEra another source of tension in the series]].

* ''Film/StarTrekBeyond'': Captain Balthazar Edison was a hero of the [[Series/StarTrekEnterprise Romulan and Xindi Wars]]. When Starfleet was formed and the Federation preferred cooperation between alien species rather than waging wars, Edison, a SpaceMarine, was made a SpaceNavy captain and given an exploration ship. That, coupled with [[spoiler:being abandoned (so he thinks, the Federation simply never received his DistressSignal due to electromagnetic interference) in uncharted territories by the society he once proudly served was the final straw that drove him mad and led him to swear vengeance, becoming the film's villain Krall.]]

* ''Literature/ICouldntBecomeAHeroSoIReluctantlyDecidedToGetAJob'' looks at a world where Raul and countless other Heroes find themselves at a loss at what to do with their lives after the war with the Demon King abruptly ended. While Raul valiantly attempts to adjust by finding work at a department store, others decide that the best way to deal with their problem is by starting a ''new'' war.

** The reason the DC version of [[ComicBook/HerculesUnbound Heracles/Hercules]] is often depicted as a villain is that society has changed greatly since Ancient Greece while Herc has stayed exactly the same and the actions that used to get him acclaimed as a great hero now get him condemned as a monster. He is extremely and needlessly violent as well as incredibly arrogant and entitled, expecting to be treated with groveling adulation just for existing. He's also a raging misogynist who personally raped Hippolyta and led the mass rape/sexual enslavement of the Amazons that got him turned to stone and forced to bear the burden of holding up Themyscira, which he personally sees as time served for a misdeed and cannot understand why the Amazons would still happily kill him on sight given the chance.

-->'''Professor Xavier:''' Magneto had become a legend in death, an inspiration for change. Now look at you--just another foolish and self-important old man, with outdated thoughts in his head. You have '''nothing''' this new generation of mutants wants...except for [[LampshadeHanging your face on a T-shirt.]]

* Myth/{{Merlin}} in [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3155629/6/A-Tale-of-Too-Many-Worlds A Tale of Too Many Worlds]] As Literature/{{Chrestomanci}} sadly notes, he's still a fundamentally good guy the problem is that the world has long changed since his era and there's really no place for him.
--> "I think he still is," Chrestomanci said, "but the world has changed around him. Thrones are getting along quite happily, you see," he told Merlin. "Civilised worlds don't take well to smiting. We no longer stand on mountaintops and hurl fireballs at enemy hordes. Instead, we work for the government and help pass laws to stop others doing things like that." He looked a little regretful.

-->'''John Spartan, in the epilogue''': [To DaChief] You're gonna get a little dirtier, [to Edgar Friendly] and you're gonna get a ''lot'' cleaner... and somewhere in the middle, I think things will work out.

* ''[[Film/IntoTheStorm2009 Into The Storm]]'' has this as its theme when it comes to Winston Churchill, and arguably imperial Britain as a whole.

* ''Literature/SpeakerForTheDead'': At the end of ''Literature/EndersGame'', Ender is universally respected as the savior of humanity for his defeat of the Buggers. By the time of this sequel set 3000 years later, however, he is universally reviled for his extermination of the Buggers, who are regarded sympathetically. This shift is largely due to his own actions; Ender himself was empathetic to the Buggers and wrote a book (under the PenName [[TitleDrop "Speaker for the Dead"]]) from their perspective that proved to be very influential. Interestingly, while "Ender" the military commander was reviled, the "Speaker for the Dead" became revered and the founder of a kind of pseudo-religion of "speakers for the dead" who would be invited to "speak the death" of an individual (usually with BrutalHonesty). Ender himself became one of these (before converting to Catholicism, but we won't get into that).

* In ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'' by the same author this is played with, in that it's implied Dalinar will come to be seen this way if they win. Wit tells him that he's a tyrant, but that he doesn't think Roshar is ready for anything better. And it certainly isn't ready for massive social change in the middle of the apocalypse. So, while in other times he might denounce Dalinar viciously, here he may be exactly what is needed.

* ''VideoGame/MetalGear:'' Almost every major BigBad or GreaterScopeVillain in the franchise qualifies for this trope. Part of the conflict of the series revolves around the problem of what becomes of great soldiers once their job is done. For example, many in [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPortableOps Army's Heaven]], [[VideoGame/MetalGear1 Outer Heaven]], [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid FOXHOUND]], and [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty the]] [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots Patriots]] are once-heroes who have no idea how to cope with peace.

** Ironically, post 2010s, the fanbase has swung the other way as it's become increasingly obvious that mutantkind does need some militant leaders. The Krakoan age has pushed Magneto to even higher prominence, while guys like Cyclops believe that Xavier's dream, while noble, requires a lot more force than he wished to believe. The guy who is considered outdated these days is Xavier, as his dream and ngih-pacifism are considered incredibly naive these days.

** Ironically, post 2010s, the fanbase has swung the other way as it's become increasingly obvious that mutantkind does need some militant leaders. The Krakoan age has pushed Magneto to even higher prominence, while guys like Cyclops believe that Xavier's dream, while noble, requires a lot more force than he wished to believe.

** Ironically, post 2010s, the fanbase has swung the other way as it's become increasingly obvious that mutantkind does need some militant leaders. The Krakoan age has pushed Magneto to even higher prominence.

** The reason the DC version of [[ComicBook/HerculesUnbound Heracles/Hercules]] is often depicted as a villain is that society has changed greatly since Ancient Greece while Herc has stayed exactly the same and the actions that used to get him acclaimed as a great hero now get him condemned as a monster. He is extremely and needlessly violent, incredibly arrogant and entitled and expects to be treated with groveling adulation just for existing, and is also a raging misogynist who personally raped Hippolyta and led the mass rape and sexual enslavement of the Amazons that got him turned to stone and forced to bear the burden of holding up Themyscira, which he personally sees as time served for a misdeed and cannot understand why the Amazons would still happily kill him on sight given the chance.

** One comic has a fertility god tell a (modern) woman he's going to fulfill all her wishes. She looks ecstatic... [[ValuesDissonance and then he tells her she's now fertile and assured to bear boys.]]

-> '''Iska''': Nebulis, you may have been the hope that led all astral mages 100 years ago. But no...seeing your actions made me understand... Right now, in this age...
-> '''Alice''': You are no longer needed!
-->-- ''LightNovel/OurLastCrusadeOrTheRiseOfANewWorld''

* ''LightNovel/OurLastCrusadeOrTheRiseOfANewWorld'': A century ago, the Empire branded men and women born with magical power as "witches", hunted them down, and killed them. One of the most powerful of these witches, Eve Sophi Nebulis (better known as 'Nebulis'), rebelled and led her fellow witches against the Empire, forming the Sovereignty of Nebulis before she was eventually sealed away. A century later, and both the Empire and Nebulis are still locked in a ForeverWar that both Alice (a witch and direct descendant of Nebulis' young twin Alicerose) and Iska (an elite swordsman of the Empire and successor of the swordsman who sealed Nebulis) wish to end to stop the senseless bloodshed. After Nebulis is released from her seal, declares her intention to destroy the Empire and everyone in it, and then attacks Alice when she tries to reason with her, both Alice and Iska realize that regardless of her actions a century ago, she's now a threat that needs to be dealt with.

* ''Franchise/MassEffect:''
** Party member Urdnot Wrex felt this way about his father. Decades or even centuries before the start of the games, Wrex and his father [[ArchnemesisDad came to blows]] about how to save their DyingRace. His father was a krogan hero who had fought back in the [[BugWar Rachni Wars]]. He was set in the old ways, [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy seeking to go to war with everyone]] regardless of the fact that doing so at this point would be suicide. Wrex, trying to think radically about their survival, wanted to create a more civilized society of krogan. This made him very unpopular with his old man and ''many'' of their race. In the end, his father tried one last time to sway Wrex to his side, and when Wrex refused, [[OffingTheOffspring he sprang his trap]]. However, it failed: Wrex [[SelfMadeOrphan killed his father]] instead and fled the planet.

* ''Webcomic/SaturdayMorningBreakfastCereal'' has a fertility god tell a (modern) woman he's going to fulfill all her wishes. She looks ecstatic... [[ValuesDissonance and then he tells her she's now fertile and assured to bear boys.]]