History Main / StevenUlyssesPerhero

* The name of ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' immediately (and usually ironically) evoke a sense of adventure. Brock Samson is a long-haired strong man. Pete White is an albino scientist. Before his arms and legs became invisible, Phantom Limb was known as Hamilton G. Fantomas. Wherever a character's real name is revealed, it's almost always a pun on what they do. Of course, it's all done with a loving wink at the Gold and Silver Ages of comics that made this a trope in the first place.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Young Justice|2010}}'':

** Fredrick Xavier, Town Messenger [[JustForPun (a.k.a. Fred X.)]]

*** ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'': Several characters' names has some sort of meaning (Roxie, user of t''oxi''c poison types (and she also [[JustForPun rox]] out as the lead singer and guitarist in her band); marine Water-type trainer Marlon, whose name resembles that of a fish; and so on). Also, minor NPC Stu Deeoh is the head of Pokéstar ''Studios''.

* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' has a veritable boat-load: Katsuki Bakugo[[note]]"strong explosion"[[/note]] [[StuffBlowingUp basically sweats nitroglycerin]], Shoto[[note]]Which is written with the kanji for "freezing" and "heating" respectively[[/note]] Todoroki has both [[AnIcePerson ice]] and [[PlayingWithFire fire]] powers, Denki[[note]]"electricity"[[/note]] Kaminari[[note]]"above sound", but also a pun on "lightning"[[/note]] has [[ShockAndAwe electricity]] powers, Mina [[FunWithHomophones Ashido]] generates HollywoodAcid, etc. Protagonist Izuku Midoriya averts this, but oddly enough the aversion kind of makes him play it straight: his name doesn't reflect his superpowers because [[UnSorcerer he has none]] at the outset of the story. Then it's played straight when it's revealed that he's the ninth holder of One For All and the "ku" in his given name is homophonous to the Japanese word for nine, which [[AlternativeCharacterReading can also be read as]] "kyu". The previous holders of One For All also had [[NumericalThemeNaming names representing their numbers in the succession]].

** Most Devil Fruit users get a [[RedBaron nickname]] based on what their power is, like Fire Fist Ace, or Blue Pheasant Aokiji (who is an Ice man) etc. Blackbeard also gets a mention as he had the nickname Blackbeard before he ate the Yami Yami No Mi and became a Dark based Devil Fruit user .

** Most Gym Leaders have localized names that are puns on the type of Pokemon they train (including former gym leaders Brock and Misty).

* Is it any coincidence at all that Guy ''Gardner'' became a ComicBook/GreenLantern?
** Or that a guy named Sinestro goes bad?
** A number of new characters in Creator/GeoffJohns' run qualify too, including Sinestro Corps members Karu-Sil ("carousel"; she's surrounded by animals) and Kryb (literally steals babies -- also a VisualPun as her ribcage protrudes through her back, like a crib), and Red Lantern [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Atrocitus]] (TheBerserker using BloodMagic).

* Arsene Wenger was the coach of Arsenal FC between 1996 and 2018.

* ''Podcast/HiNay'' has DJ the DJ, who lampshades it with their CatchPhrase of "DJ‘s the name my mama gave me".

** Indus Tarbella's Epithet is '''[[{{CatchPhrase}} BARRIER]]!!''' In Pakistan, along the Indus River, lies a massive dam that blocks water, known as the Tarbela Dam.

* Franchise/SpiderMan confirmed that a suspicious recurring character was a villain by using the Internet: [[spoiler:Googling "spider" and "arrow" allowed him to realize that Miss Arrow is in fact the mass of pirate spiders (genus "Ero", a homophone for arrow) that took over his shed skin from ''The Other'']].

** In ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', when Stephen Strange introduces himself to [[Franchise/SpiderMan Peter]] as "Doctor Strange", Peter assumes that it's Strange's CodeName and introduces himself as Spider-Man. Strange gives him a look that says SureLetsGoWithThat (in this case, ''both'' are true, as he is a former neurosurgeon).

This is particularly common in Franchise/TheDCU:

* ''[[Characters/MarvelComicsDoctorDoom Doctor Doom]]'', the ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'' 's nemesis. "Doom" is his real surname (Victor Von Doom, to be precise), though he never actually completed his doctorate. His ComicBook/{{Ultimate|FantasticFour}} counterpart is more subtle about this: it's Victor ''Van Damme'' rather than ''Von Doom'', and "Doctor Doom" is a nickname.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'', the older son has the power of super-speed. His name? Dashiell Robert Parr, or 'Dash' for short. The other kids have subtler allusions to their powers; Violet (as in "ShrinkingViolet," because of her shyness at the beginning) whose power is invisibility and generation of forcefields, which are tinted violet. Ultraviolet is also a type of light that is invisible to human eyes. Jack-Jack [[spoiler:has a wide variety and is a "jack of all trades"]].

** Characters/{{Emma Frost|WhiteQueen}} is an interesting case. Her name is "Frost" and she dresses in white, but has ''telepathy''. Downplayed later when she gained a secondary mutation to turn into a diamond-like (or ''ice''-like) substance. In the mid-90s, she had a story arc with X-Men member [[Characters/XMenTheOriginalTeam Iceman]] in which she ended up inhabiting his brain for some time. The chances of a romantic relationship happening afterward were hinted at repeatedly, but the endless opportunities for kitschy fan names ran rampant, which is possibly why the relationship never materialized. And in ''Film/XMenFirstClass'', she is played by Creator/JanuaryJones, which sounds like a comic-book name.

* Creator/WolfBlitzer came to prominence covering the Gulf War for Creator/{{CNN}}.

* ''The House of Dolmann'' in the UK comic ''Valiant'' was about a master toymaker who used remote controlled puppets to fight crime. If it wasn't [[ComicBook/FreedomFightersDC already taken]], he'd just have to switch the double letter in his name for a perfect codename.

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'':
** While Dr. Eggman has a lot of egg named devices, these are mostly named after himself given his ego to stick his name and face on everything. However, his original American name, Dr. ''Robot''nik, counts, when you consider what [[MechaMooks all his enemy forces are.]]

** Most Devil Fruit users get a nickname based on what their power is, like Fire Fist Ace, or Blue Pheasant Aokiji (who is an Ice man) etc. Blackbeard also gets a mention as he had the nickname Blackbeard before he ate the Yami Yami No Mi and became a Dark based Devil Fruit user .

** ''Fanfic/MaternalInstinct'' gives Shego's name as "Sheila Go Downe". Shego [[DoNotCallMePaul hates]] being called by her name due to its embarrassing nature combined with her poor relationship to her family.

* "Anime/SpaceDandy is a dandy guy....in space."

* ''Characters/DoctorDoom'', the ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'' 's nemesis. "Doom" is his real surname (Victor Von Doom, to be precise), though he never actually completed his doctorate. His ComicBook/{{Ultimate|FantasticFour}} counterpart is more subtle about this: it's Victor ''Van Damme'' rather than ''Von Doom'', and "Doctor Doom" is a nickname.

** [[NameOfCain Cain]] Marko (mark of Cain), Xavier's evil stepbrother who mistreated him, later to become the ComicBook/{{Juggernaut|MarvelComics}}.

''Webcomic/EverydayHeroes'':

* Incredibly prominent in ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater''. Black Mage's full name is Black Mage Evilwizardington. Guess what profession he adopted? This applies to all of the protagonists (Red Mage, Fighter, Thief) and many other characters. Dragoon even lampshades this in Episode 692.

* The eponymous hero of ''Webcomic/AxeCop'' was born Axey Smartist according to his origin story. He discarded his previous name at the start of the first episode.
* In ''Webcomic/BobTheAngryFlower'': [[http://www.angryflower.com/cubero.gif "The Cube Root of 500"]], scholar Trent Abakuz turns into a giant abacus.
* Parodied in [[http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=615 this]] ''Webcomic/DinosaurComics'', featuring Justin Tehnikov Time.

* Invoked over and over in ''Webcomic/EverydayHeroes''. Mr. Mighty's real name is Marion John Mighty. (WordOfGod has it that his grandfather, after gaining superpowers, legally changed his surname to "Mighty"). There is also Mr. Mighty's arch-nemesis, Dr. Dooley Unpleasant; reformed villain Dr. Odious (and his music-loving son, [[spoiler:Mel Odious]]); Simon Burke Davidson, commonly known as S.B.D. (he emits a terrible stench when turning invisible); and Carrie Pelosi, who has an enormous head of hair (and whose last name literally translates as "hairy").

* Endemic in the Supers theme of ''Webcomic/IrregularWebcomic'', as revealed on [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/cast/supers.html the cast page]]: Captain Spatula is Jakob Utensil; Dino Boy is Johnny Raptor; Refractive Man (whose body is made of crystal) is Malcom Calcite; and Worm Master is Andy [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annelid Annelid]]. On the villains' side, the Hippo is Maxamillian Waterhorse (''hippos'' = "horse", ''potamos'' = "river"), Earl of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taweret Taweret]]; the Sea Dog is Captain Karl Nein ("K. Nein"); Aqualich (who has command of dead fish) is Professor Arthur Gefilte; and the cockroach-like Bug is [[Literature/ArchyAndMehitabel Archy Mehitabel]].
* Chapter 1 of ''Webcomic/JennyAndTheMultiverse'' introduced a character called James "Jimmy" Westeron, who has been tipped in the author's notes to become this universe's version of [[https://jennyeverywhere.fandom.com/wiki/Jimmy_Wherever Jimmy Wherever]].

* In ''Webcomic/TheNonAdventuresOfWonderella'', sidekick Wonderita's first name is Rita, and Rival hero Patrianna is actually Anna Petri.

* Referenced in ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent'' [[http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=699 #699]]. Whether Penelope Gaines really is Pizza Girl, making this an actual example, is yet to be determined, though it seems unlikely that plot thread will be taken up again. If not, though, she was definitely named after her for the sake of the joke, making it an InvertedTrope.
* Parodied in ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'': [[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=010721 "Secret Angel Princess Princess is really Princess Princess!"]] Parodied in this strip: [[http://www.sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/050914 "Yet another mix-up at the office of wizard naming"]]
* From ''Webcomic/StrawberryDeathCake'', Sir Winston S. Moosington receives a curse that turns him into a woodland creature -- but not a wolf....
* Lampooned in [[http://xkcd.com/2022 this]] ''Webcomic/{{xkcd}}'' comic regarding athlete's names; it mentions three real names (Margaret Court, a tennis player; Gary Player, a golf player; and Lonzo Ball, a basketball player), and then a few other names like Jake Halfpipe, Dwight Shuttlecock and Kate Dopingscandal. The AltText mentions how Usain Bolt will be superseded in popularity by Derek Legs in the 2090s.

* In ''Literature/{{Brennus}}'', Melody is a sonics-based GadgeteerGenius who goes by the CodeName Polymnia. {{Justified|Trope}} in that her family was highly musical. She wasn't, which led to her manifestation, which resulted in an [[AdaptiveAbility appropriate power]].

* ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'' has Touma Kamijou, whose name can also be pronounced as "The One Who Purifies Gods and Slays Demons" or "Invisible Demon Above God". [[spoiler:He manages to talk a PhysicalGod into a HeelFaceTurn, and other gods want him to serve a similar role for them. It's claimed that [[AntiMagic his power]] was originally a weapon meant to drive back demons. Finally, his body contains an entity that's described as being invisible and is seemingly more powerful than God.]]

* ''LightNovel/RecordOfGrancrestWar'': Silicate is a class of minerals often purple in color, so it's no surprise that Siluca favors earth magic and has purple eyes. It's somewhat justified in that magic is passed on through bloodlines, so her parents knew she would have some type of it.

** In [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Unova]], there's the edible trio of Cilan(tro), (water)Cress, and (spicy) Chili; the incredibly subtle Burgh; Elesa, the expert of electricity; [[DishingOutDirt Clay]]; ''Sky''la; [[AnIcePerson Brycen]]; and Drayden, who apparently trained in the Dragon's Den in Gen. II. For the Elite Four there's S'''haunt'''al, mistress of Ghosts; Grimsley, a foreboding Dark-user gambler; and Marshal, the martial-arts expert of the Unova Elite 4.

* If a character from ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing'' doesn't have an ALizardNamedLiz name, they'll probably have one of these: Petri the mouse scientist, Snake the ninja rabbit, Reese and Cyrus the recycling-center-running alpacas, Leif the garden-shop-running sloth, Blathers the ultra-talkative museum curator owl and his astronomer sister Celeste, Orville and Wilbur the dodo pilots, Ankha the Egyptian-themed cat, Vic the viking-themed bull, Cece and Viche the [[VideoGame/{{Splatoon}} Callie and Marie]]-themed squirrels, Clay the dogu-looking hamster, Booker and Copper the police dogs, Harriet the hairstylist poodle, Carmen (from "caramel") the sweet-toothed rabbit, Jingle the reindeer, Brewster the pigeon barista, Genji the Japanese-themed rabbit, Kabuki the Japanese-themed cat, Roswell the alien-themed alligator...

** [[VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield Galar]] has Nessa, a water specialist named after... a certain body of water. Also Bea, the fighting Gym Leader, which sounds a lot like "beat"; and the Dark-type user Piers (sounds similar to "pierce").

** In the very first issue of ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'' our titular heroine met a circus trapeze performer named Dom Carney.
** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': Tigra Tropica is apparently the actual name of a tiger taming villain.