History Main / SuperheroParadox

* [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] in ''Series/{{The Boys|2019}}''. As opposed to the [[ComicBook/TheBoys comic continuity]], the SuperSerum Compound V is much more secret and restricted, leading to a far lower [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual metahuman]] population with no costumed supervillains whatsoever. [[EngineeredHeroism To remedy this]] [[BewareTheSuperman for the sake of his own vanity]], [[BigBad Homelander]] began handing out Compound V to terrorist organizations around the world while badgering [[EvilInc Vought]]'s marketing team to call them [[InsistentTerminology supervillains]] as opposed to "super terrorists".

Pretty much ''every'' {{Long Runner|s}} superhero franchise has succumbed to this to some degree or other; consequently a number of series have addressed this issue. Of course, all it takes is ''one'' averted planet-devouring menace whose appearance the hero's actions or existence ''did not invite'' to obviate the basic logic of the complaint: once the hero's presence has been directly responsible for preventing the local [[Characters/MarvelComicsGalactus Galactus]] {{expy}} from eating the planet, then the statement 'We'd have been better off if you'd never showed up!' ceases to be a true fact. Constant superhero battle is bad, yes, but total planetary annihilation is ''worse''.[[note]] Although FridgeLogic can still kick in with how ''common'' world and cosmic-scale threats seem to become once superheroes get involved. The planet somehow managed to survive some four-billion odd years (only about 10,000, if anything pre-human civilisation is discounted) despite the existence of such threats, and yet the heroes still wind up fighting them every other month or so. [[/note]] On the other hand, it may be pointed that a population that relies too much on superheroes to solve those problems on their behalf may end up HoldingOutForAHero.

* Averted in Frank' case: While recurring villains are rare for [[KillEmAll obvious reasons]], there's also no shortage of villains for him to kill- and he's perfectly aware of it, and his life's goal is only to kill as many of them as he can before dying (something his victims and the heroes who try to stop him never seem to get).

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'' references this in part from [[Characters/SHIELDDirectors Maria Hill]] being the most prominent thinker. There are some examples from the show proper which show this, such as [[Characters/Avengers70sMembers Wonder Man]], [[Characters/MarvelComicsUltron Ultron]], Kang as a borderline example or Red Hulk. However, for the most part, the Avengers in this show were thrust into a world at chaos, with villains like Loki releasing supervillains on the world as part of his gambit to take over Asgard, and most of the evil forces being active long before the Avengers ever formed. In fact, the Avengers manage to make things better on several occasions, by putting an end to long entrenched organizations like HYDRA or stopping long held wars like the Kree-Skrull war.

** This is a major plot point in ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar''. After the events of ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' (where Tony and Bruce created Ultron, a KillerRobot that wipes out a country and nearly takes the rest of the world with it), the governments of the world craft the Sokovia Accords to control the Avengers, with the logic that the heroes are beginning to cause more problems than they actually end up solving. [[Characters/Avengers60sMembers The Vision]] even argues in favor of the Accords by pointing out that Earth has seen a massive upswing in both superheroes and supervillains in the years since the original ''Film/IronMan1'' movie. And just to drive the point home, the villain is another one that was created as a direct result of the Avengers' actions: [[spoiler:Zemo lost his home and family to Ultron and he swore revenge against the "heroes" who created him and then didn't even stick around to help clean up the wreckage afterward.]] However, there's also the counterpoint that for three of the four examples given of Avengers causing collateral damage (''Film/TheAvengers2012'', ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'', and the incident in Lagos at the beginning of the film), the incidents were ''not'' sparked by any of the heroes and they in fact blunted the potential harm the villains could inflict.

* In ''[[Characters/MarvelComicsCarolDanvers Carol Danvers]]'' fanfiction ''Fanfic/APrizeForThreeEmpires'', it is pointed out that the presence of the original [[Characters/MarvelComicsMarvels Captain Marvel]] was the reason that Cape Canaveral was targeted by all kind of villains.

* [[Comicbook/MsMarvel2014 The Kamala Khan Ms. Marvel]] deals with this a bit during her post ''ComicBook/{{Secret Wars|2015}}'' run. A number of citizens comment that Ms. Marvel's activities have led to problems and 'crazy New York sh*t' to come to Jersey City. However, what isn't noted is that a lot of the problems Ms. Marvel fights do not originate in direct response to her: The Inventor was already there, and the Inhuman and Hydra villains were either created at the same time she was, or were long existent. While a few incidents were caused by her presence, many of the issues the people are upset about would have been a thing regardless of if she had or hadn't taken up the mantle. Heck, many of the issues the (right wing) citizens put at her feet originate from ''Loki'', who, while he did come to the city after she took up the mantle, was sent in response to the ''Inventor's'' actions, not Kamala's.

In many cases there is a MetaOrigin or an implied MagneticPlotDevice working alongside this theory. One of the reasons why TheWorldIsAlwaysDoomed.

** Although Batman is often accused of this, when you start examining his rogues you see that he actually had less involvement in his villain's origins than most other superheroes. [[Characters/BatmanTwoFace Two-Face]] was a dual personality anyway, and is often associated more with Bruce Wayne than Batman. Also, his disfigurement is due to a mob trial, not Batman. ComicBook/PoisonIvy usually isn't even in Gotham when she's transformed, Harley is made by the Joker, Croc is just insane, the Ventriloquist is another split personality, [[Characters/GreenLantern1941 Solomon Grundy]] had nothing to do with Batman, [[Characters/BatmanThePenguin The Penguin]], Zsasz, [[Characters/BatmanRasAlGhul Ra's Al-Ghul]] and [[Characters/BatmanJasonTodd Red Hood]] were all criminals beforehand. Really, the only rogues who can really be traced directly to Batman are [[Characters/BatmanRoguesGalleryPart2 The Riddler]], Characters/{{Ba|tmanRoguesGalleryPart1}}ne, Hush, and possibly the Joker, but [[MultipleChoicePast who really knows about him?]] And if we accept the original Joker origin story at face value, he, too, was a pre-existing criminal gang leader who ran afoul of Batman (and ''accidentally'' became a supervillain thereby). Riddler, Bane, and Hush were already evil long before they fought Batman.

** This happens so frequently in the MCU that later movies begin using it as a plot point. Supervillains that owe their existence to the heroes in some way or another include Iron Monger,[[note]]already a CorruptCorporateExecutive, but built the suit in order to copy Iron Man's tech[[/note]] the Abomination,[[note]]already a BloodKnight, he took a Hulk-derived serum in order to fight him[[/note]] Whiplash,[[note]]attempted revenge on Tony Stark for Howard deporting his father, helped by a CorruptCorporateExecutive trying to match or surpass Iron Man's tech[[/note]] the ([[spoiler:fake]]) Mandarin,[[note]]attempted revenge on Tony for Tony's own dissing of him, but also going power-hungry on his own[[/note]] Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch,[[note]]traumatized by war that involved Stark-brand weaponry and volunteered for terrorist SuperSoldier experiments for revenge on America and Stark; and while they did make a HeelFaceTurn, joining the heroes just led to more trauma that ultimately [[Series/WandaVision caused more problems]][[/note]] Ultron,[[note]]literally created by Tony and Bruce, with some prodding from Wanda[[/note]] Yellowjacket,[[note]]CorruptCorporateExecutive using Hank Pym's Ant-Man tech (and possibly corrupted by improper use)[[/note]] the Vulture,[[note]]salvage contractor turned xenotech arms dealer after Tony Stark (again?!) took his job just after he heavily invested in it[[/note]] Killmonger,[[note]]the nephew of Black Panther T'Chaka, who killed his father and then abandoned him rather than risk Wakanda's isolationism[[/note]] Ghost,[[note]]gained her powers in a FreakLabAccident that was trying to duplicate Pym's tech, and driven to villainy by those same powers painfully killing her[[/note]] Mysterio,[[note]]the face for a whole ''collective'' of bitter former Tony Stark (AGAIN) employees[[/note]] and the Power Broker.[[note]]on the run and forced to turn to crime after betraying the government to help Steve Rogers, and embittered once he forgot and abandoned her afterward[[/note]]

** A number of issues involving the Multiverse in Phase Four look to be directly caused by Spider-Man and Doctor Strange screwing around with dangerous magic in ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome''. At a minimum, ''No Way Home'' draws in pre-existing villains from other dimensions and ''Film/DoctorStrangeInTheMultiverseOfMadness'' deals with cleaning up other, not-yet-defined aspects of the mess; and it remains to be seen if other aftereffects might be seen in future films. (Another factor is the actual re-creation of the multiverse in ''Series/Loki2021'', but that can't be blamed on any of the heroes -- that was done by Sylvie, whose villainy was caused in response to the TVA, which was itself a creation of He Who Remains; all of which were WellIntentionedExtremist villains).

* In ''Film/Batman1989'', Jack Napier killed Batman's parents, creating Batman. Decades later, Batman knocks Jack into the vat of acid, creating his arch-nemesis, the Joker. This dynamic was passed on to WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries and the DCAU, which is somewhat of a SpiritualSuccessor to the film.

** Until Goku's adventures began, there weren't that many villains causing trouble on Earth, at least not on a planetary scale. In fact, from the switch to "Z" onward, many of the villains that target Earth do so because of or in connection to Goku: the Saiyans show up to check on their TykeBomb, Frieza wants revenge for his defeat on Namek, and Cell and the rest of the androids are created by Dr. Gero to avenge the Red Ribbon Army. This trope is one of Goku's reasons for refusing to be resurrected after his HeroicSacrifice in the Cell Games.

** And speaking of Kami - a great portion of villains in Dragon Ball (as well as Vegeta and Nappa in DBZ) engage in schemes to obtain the magical wish-granting balls that he created. If there were no balls, Pilaf's, for example, ambitions to conquer the world would be just regular squabbles of mortal kingdoms.

** It is often the Senshi themselves whose energy is needed by villains to fulfill their plans. In the [[Anime/SailorMoon original anime]] [[spoiler:Galaxia comes to Earth exclusively to harvest the Senshi's Star seeds and awakens Nehellenia to lure Saturn out of hiding]].

** However this is ultimately averted in all its points:
*** While some villains come to Earth specifically because they need the Senshi's energy for their plans, the Senshi, without exception, are Awakened ''because'' of the villains. In particular, Minako initially refused to become Sailor Venus until she stumbled in her first youma and spends her entire [[Manga/CodenameSailorV solo series]] considering to retire, the Death Busters, who ''do'' need Sailor Moon's energy, are a problem only because the Outer Senshi didn't Awaken in time to wipe them out before they got entrenched, and Sailor Saturn is Awakened directly by the Death Busters' actions (and, in the manga, makes her comeback due the Dead Moon Circus' arrival).
*** They're also extremely effective: the supervillains are ultimately taken down (either redeemed or outright killed), and it's a plot point that, [[Manga/CodenameSailorV back when she went by Sailor V]], Sailor Venus single-handedly ''wiped out all crime from Shiba Koen district and was branching out in the rest of Minato Ward'' (and by all crime we mean ''all'' crime: she's shown stopping simple bullies more than once, and a police report mentions specifically she solved all cases from money counterfeiters to ''panty thieves''), with the manga showing she's still making regular patrols alongside Sailor Moon.

* ''Manga/NegativeHeroAndGeneralOfTheDemonKingsArmy'': The titular hero lost her parents very young, because since evil monsters kept attacking the village to get at her, the villagers murdered her parents. By the time she's old enough to be sent against the demon general (after an upbringing implied to be anything but kind or well-meaning), she's just there to beg him to kill her so she can finally be reunited with her family. He's so utterly confused (and sympathetic) he gets her to stay as assistant librarian.

** On the other hand, there was an episode in which the girls are put under a strict curfew so that they can get enough sleep. The many supervillains of Townsville quickly take advantage of their absence and are only stopped by a loophole in the curfew: ([[spoiler:Daylight Savings Time]]).

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'': It's not until Terry becomes Batman that we get ''genuine'' super-villains again like Blight, Big Time, Shriek, Spellbinder, Stalker, and Willy Watt -- many of whom Batman had a hand in creating, while others were already operational, and hit a bat-shaped wall when they came to Gotham. On the other hand Terry also has a tendency to see his villains (and a couple of Bruce's) get shut down. Permanently. Terry freely acknowledges that he created Blight (or at least that he caused his transformation, Powers was a criminal already) -- and he's perfectly okay with that, as Blight [[YouKilledMyFather ordered his father's death]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'' references this in part from [[Characters/SHIELDDirectors Maria Hill]] being the most prominent thinker. There are some examples from the show proper which show this, such as [[Characters/Avengers70sMembers Wonder Man]], [[Characters/AvengersEnemies Ultron]], Kang as a borderline example or Red Hulk. However, for the most part, the Avengers in this show were thrust into a world at chaos, with villains like Loki releasing supervillains on the world as part of his gambit to take over Asgard, and most of the evil forces being active long before the Avengers ever formed. In fact, the Avengers manage to make things better on several occasions, by putting an end to long entrenched organizations like HYDRA or stopping long held wars like the Kree-Skrull war.

* The Characters/{{Incredible Hulk|Bruce Banner}} brought this up in ''Comicbook/WorldWarHulk: Gamma Corps'', while talking down the team sent to kill him. He mentioned that the greatest threats Earth had ever faced, namely Dormammu, [[Characters/MarvelComicsGalactus Galactus]], and [[Characters/AvengersEnemies Ultron]], had nothing to do with him. Dormammu was usually chasing Comicbook/DoctorStrange, [[Characters/FantasticFourTheFantasticFour Reed Richards]] had actually brought Galactus back to life so he could keep eating planets, and ComicBook/AntMan had built Ultron. Comparatively, the threat the Hulk posed at his worst and the threat his whole RoguesGallery posed to the world combined didn't add up to the threat posed by a single one of those guys. Though it's worth noting that at least in Galactus' case, [[NecessarilyEvil his existence is necessary for the universe to function properly]].

** This happens so frequently in the MCU that later movies begin using it as a plot point. Supervillains that owe their existence to the heroes in some way or another include Iron Monger,[[note]]already a CorruptCorporateExecutive, but built the suit in order to copy Iron Man's tech[[/note]] the Abomination,[[note]]already a BloodKnight, he took a Hulk-derived serum in order to fight him[[/note]] Whiplash,[[note]]attempted revenge on Tony Stark for Howard deporting his father, helped by a CorruptCorporateExecutive trying to match or surpass Iron Man's tech[[/note]] the ([[spoiler:fake]]) Mandarin,[[note]]attempted revenge on Tony for Tony's own dissing of him, but also going power-hungry on his own[[/note]] Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch,[[note]]traumatized by war that involved Stark-brand weaponry and volunteered for terrorist SuperSoldier experiments for revenge on America and Stark; and while they did make a HeelFaceTurn, joining the heroes just led to more trauma that ultimately [[Series/WandaVision caused more problems]][[/note]] Ultron,[[note]]literally created by Tony and Bruce, with some prodding from Wanda[[/note]] Yellowjacket,[[note]]CorruptCorporateExecutive using Hank Pym's Ant-Man tech (and possibly corrupted by improper use)[[/note]] the Vulture,[[note]]salvage contractor turned xenotech arms dealer after Tony Stark (again?!) took his job just after he heavily invested in it[[/note]] Killmonger,[[note]]the nephew of Black Panther T'Chaka, who killed his father and then abandoned him rather than risk Wakanda's isolationism[[/note]] Ghost,[[note]]gained her powers in a FreakLabAccident that was trying to duplicate Pym's tech, and driven to villainy by those same powers painfully killing her[[/note]] Mysterio,[[note]]the face for a whole ''collective'' of bitter former Tony Stark (AGAIN) employees[[/note]] and the Power Broker.[[note]]on the run and forced to turn to crime after betraying the government to help Steve Rogers, and embittered once he forgot and abandoned her afterward[[/note]] A notable inversion occurs in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'', as Hydra and the Red Skull came first and Captain America was created in direct response to ''them''.
** Invoked by [[Characters/TheMightyThorThorOdinson Thor]] in ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}''. According to him, when ComicBook/{{SHIELD}} activated the Tesseract [[spoiler:to create weapons capable of defending themselves from Asgardian-level threats]], they ironically sent the message to everyone in the galaxy that the Earth is ready for "a higher form of war." [[Characters/SHIELDDirectors Nick Fury]], in turn, cites Thor himself and his arrival on Earth in New Mexico as an example of this trope and the reason S.H.I.E.L.D. was escalating in the first place, since Thor's fight with the Destroyer showed everyone that Earth is "hopelessly, ''hilariously'' outgunned" by pretty much every alien race out there. And as Thor's own films and ''Film/{{Guardians of the Galaxy|2014}}'' show, he's not wrong.

** The two that seem to be the most free from this trope are Characters/{{Captain America|TitleCharacter}} and [[Characters/TheMightyThorThorOdinson Thor]]. In ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'', the villain is [[spoiler:HYDRA, having been reformed within S.H.I.E.L.D. while Captain America was presumed deceased, and Bucky's BrainwashedAndCrazy status can only be tangentially tied to Cap and was done while Cap was on ice]]; while Thor tends to be the response to the villains - ''Film/{{Thor}}'' had Loki, who was specifically out to get Thor and only put Earth in danger because Odin sent him there, the [[Film/ThorTheDarkWorld second film's villains]] were threats from before Thor's time and the whole universe was at risk, and [[Film/ThorRagnarok the third]] was again before Thor's time and [[spoiler:was only a danger due to Odin's death releasing her from being sealed]].

** One could argue that even the ''First Avenger'' exception isn't entirely an exception, as HYDRA would never have become a threat of such magnitude if Odin, one of the good guys, hadn't hidden the Tesseract on Earth in the first place.

* Discussed in ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', where Korra realizes that for every wrong the Avatar sets right, she creates ripples in reality that bring about new villains and disasters for her to fight (to boot, [[spoiler:by {{DePower}}ing, then losing track of Yakone, Avatar Aang's indirectly created both villains of the first ''Korra'' season, the season two mess was the handiwork of the ''original'' Avatar Wan, while seasons three and four's antagonists are both a result of Korra leaving the spirit portals open in season two]]). While this initially causes her to lose faith in her destiny, her mentor Tenzin encourages her to view it from the angle that it is the Avatar's destiny to ''continuously'' rebalance the world, in other words, to learn from the past and to adapt to the global changes, moving into the future.

* Discussed in ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', where Korra realizes that for every wrong the Avatar sets right, she creates ripples in reality that bring about new villains and disasters for her to fight (to boot, [[spoiler:by DePowering, then losing track of Yakone, Avatar Aang's indirectly created both villains of the first ''Korra'' season, the season two mess was the handiwork of the ''original'' Avatar Wan, while seasons three and four's antagonists are both a result of Korra leaving the spirit portals open in season two]]). While this initially causes her to lose faith in her destiny, her mentor Tenzin encourages her to view it from the angle that it is the Avatar's destiny to ''continuously'' rebalance the world, in other words, to learn from the past and to adapt to the global changes, moving into the future.

* In ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'', once Touma Kamijou made his presence known, several members of the Magic Side target him and his home Academy City, seeing the existence of his [[AntiMagic Imagine Breaker]] as an offense to God. Etzali, the Mitsuki Unabara imposter, even angrily tells Touma that if he had never shown up, his friends would have never been endangered. After Touma helped end WorldWarIII, the organization GREMLIN was formed to counter him, willing to do things like attempt a ColonyDrop that would trigger a second Ice Age ''[[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill just to kill him]]''. Subverted in that many of these enemies had been in operation long before Touma showed up and had already been planning to attack Academy City; Touma just provided a scapegoat. Also, without Touma, many of them would have succeeded.

** Although Batman is often accused of this, when you start examining his rogues you see that he actually had less involvement in his villain's origins than most other superheroes. [[Characters/BatmanTwoFace Two-Face]] was a dual personality anyway, and is often associated more with Bruce Wayne than Batman. Also, his disfigurement is due to a mob trial, not Batman. ComicBook/PoisonIvy usually isn't even in Gotham when she's transformed, Harley is made by the Joker, Croc is just insane, the Ventriloquist is another split personality, [[Characters/GreenLantern1941 Solomon Grundy]] had nothing to do with Batman, [[Characters/BatmanThePenguin The Penguin]], Zsasz, [[Characters/BatmanRasAlGhul Ra's Al-Ghul]] and [[Characters/BatmanJasonTodd Red Hood]] were all criminals beforehand. Really, the only rogues who can really be traced directly to Batman are [[Characters/BatmanRoguesGalleryPart2 The Riddler]], Characters/{{Ba|tmanRoguesGallery}}ne, Hush, and possibly the Joker, but [[MultipleChoicePast who really knows about him?]] And if we accept the original Joker origin story at face value, he, too, was a pre-existing criminal gang leader who ran afoul of Batman (and ''accidentally'' became a supervillain thereby). Riddler, Bane, and Hush were already evil long before they fought Batman.

Pretty much ''every'' {{Long Runner|s}} superhero franchise has succumbed to this to some degree or other; consequently a number of series have addressed this issue. Of course, all it takes is ''one'' averted planet-devouring menace whose appearance the hero's actions or existence ''did not invite'' to obviate the basic logic of the complaint: once the hero's presence has been directly responsible for preventing the local ComicBook/{{Galactus}} {{expy}} from eating the planet, then the statement 'We'd have been better off if you'd never showed up!' ceases to be a true fact. Constant superhero battle is bad, yes, but total planetary annihilation is ''worse''.[[note]] Although FridgeLogic can still kick in with how ''common'' world and cosmic-scale threats seem to become once superheroes get involved. The planet somehow managed to survive some four-billion odd years (only about 10,000, if anything pre-human civilisation is discounted) despite the existence of such threats, and yet the heroes still wind up fighting them every other month or so. [[/note]] On the other hand, it may be pointed that a population that relies too much on superheroes to solve those problems on their behalf may end up HoldingOutForAHero.

** It is also {{subverted|Trope}} on an universal scale. Although the Earth itself may have been better off without Goku or the Nameless Namek, if they weren't around, Frieza would still be alive terrorizing the universe along with the remaining Saiyans. And Buu would still exist, waiting to be awakened one day and destroy the universe. Also, who's to say that neither Frieza or the Saiyans wouldn't one day go to Namek and use their Dragon Balls or go to Earth to sell it?
* ''Franchise/SailorMoon''

* This happens with Franchise/{{Batman}} so often that we might as well have called this the Batman Paradox. Batman's greatest success is breaking the mob's hold on Gotham and its government, but the question of whether it's his fault that a RoguesGallery of costumed freaks has risen in their place is always there, waiting to be asked.

** In ''Comicbook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'', a psychologist claims Batman's RoguesGallery are the ''real'' victims -- that Batman's actions were somehow responsible for their mental instability and criminal behavior. He's partly right, as ComicBook/TheJoker had given up supervillainy after Batman retired -- then [[ISurrenderSuckers resumed his villainy after the Bat's return]]. Then the psychologist [[TooDumbToLive declares the Joker rehabilitated, and then gets killed by him]]. That said, the only reason Batman came back in the first place was because Gotham (and as ''ComicBook/TheDarkKnightStrikesAgain'' shows, ''the entire planet'') had degraded from CrapsackWorld to a full-blown {{Dystopia}}, so probably subverted.

---> '''Franchise/{{Superman}}:''' I told him, "They've made a treaty. ''All'' of them. If I take you back to Gotham, they'll ''kill'' you. They won't stop until you're ''dead.''" He smiled that scary smile. He said, "And while they're trying to kill me, they aren't killing innocents. Now take me home."
** In one issue of ''Franchise/TheFlash'' (during Wally West's time in the role), Captain Cold notes much the same thing about Barry Allen - that he made it all a game to the Rogues, and thus prevented them from doing a lot more than they otherwise could have because they were so fixated on him. Cold's attitude shifts when Barry comes back. He notes that the Rogues had Wally convinced it was all something of a game for years - he'd stop their crimes, but he'd also work with them against worse threats or during their various attempts to go straight. Barry, a cop, always treated the Rogues like what they are: dangerous criminals.
** Although Batman is often accused of this, when you start examining his rogues you see that he actually had less involvement in his villain's origins than most other superheroes. ComicBook/TwoFace was a dual personality anyway, and is often associated more with Bruce Wayne than Batman. Also, his disfigurement is due to a mob trial, not Batman. ComicBook/PoisonIvy usually isn't even in Gotham when she's transformed, Harley is made by the Joker, Croc is just insane, the Ventriloquist is another split personality, [[Characters/GreenLantern1941 Solomon Grundy]] had nothing to do with Batman, ComicBook/ThePenguin, Zsasz, ComicBook/RasAlGhul and ComicBook/RedHood were all criminals beforehand. Really, the only rogues who can really be traced directly to Batman are ComicBook/TheRiddler, ComicBook/{{Bane}}, Hush, and possibly the Joker, but [[MultipleChoicePast who really knows about him?]] And if we accept the original Joker origin story at face value, he, too, was a pre-existing criminal gang leader who ran afoul of Batman (and ''accidentally'' became a supervillain thereby). Riddler, Bane, and Hush were already evil long before they fought Batman.

** The is a major plot point in ''Comicbook/DetectiveComicsRebirth''; the Victim Syndicate are a gang of former InnocentBystanders who were mutated in some way by being caught in a superhero battle, and have decided it's all Batman's fault, and they're going to make the rest of the city see him as the threat he is. Spoiler quits the Bat-Family because she begins to agree with their beliefs, if not their methods.

** Interestingly, this was actually defied in the original Amazing Spiderman 50. The famous "Spider Man No More" story where Peter quits being Spiderman due to thinking he never has enough time and that he is nothing but a menace for the world. But because Spiderman had his costume publically revealed, TheKingpin begins his takeover of New York, making things tangibly worse for the city with daylight robberies and the police overwhelmed. So Spiderman was essential to keep crime in check, no matter how many villains might arise while he's around.
** This is actually invoked in Marvel Knights Spider-Man, where Spidey learns (from Mac Gargan of all people) that many of the villains who confront heroes on a regular basis, were actually created by organizations (mostly associated with white collar crime) as a way of distracting superheroes from noticing the crimes committed by these people and organizations.
* While Franchise/{{Superman}} is a magnet for criminals and alien powerhouses, it's worth noting that the "normal" human ComicBook/JimmyOlsen is not harmless. Marvel's Rick Jones is an even more blatant counterpart. Superman is an interesting case, as (at least in current continuity) most of his biggest enemies were entrenched long before he arrived on the scene (ComicBook/LexLuthor, ComicBook/{{Brainiac}}, ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}, Zod, Intergang) or created to dick with him personally (Bizarro, Metallo). Also the ones that already were there (the aforementioned Darkseid and Mongul come to mind, along many, many others) took interest in Earth ''because'' of Superman.
* In an issue of ''ComicBook/BirdsOfPrey'', Comicbook/{{Huntress}} stops a villain named [[AtrociousAlias Carface]]. The police aren't thrilled with her presence, even when she mentions that she stopped the bad guy threatening the city. The cops state that the crime rate was low until the heroes showed up and vigilantes are just "[[WalkingDisasterArea trouble magnets]]".

* ComicBook/LexLuthor, of all people, subverted this. In UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|of Comic Books}}, Lex told Franchise/{{Superman}} that if not for him then he would rule the planet.
* The Comicbook/IncredibleHulk brought this up in ''Comicbook/WorldWarHulk: Gamma Corps'', while talking down the team sent to kill him. He mentioned that the greatest threats Earth had ever faced, namely Dormammu, Comicbook/{{Galactus}}, and Comicbook/{{Ultron}}, had nothing to do with him. Dormammu was usually chasing Comicbook/DoctorStrange, [[ComicBook/MisterFantastic Reed Richards]] had actually brought Galactus back to life so he could keep eating planets, and ComicBook/AntMan had built Ultron. Comparatively, the threat the Hulk posed at his worst and the threat his whole RoguesGallery posed to the world combined didn't add up to the threat posed by a single one of those guys. Though it's worth noting that at least in Galactus' case, [[NecessarilyEvil his existence is necessary for the universe to function properly]].

* Discussed in ''Fanfic/ConnectingTheDots'', a ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague''-''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans''-''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' {{Crossover}}: The reason Franchise/{{Batman}} doesn't want Franchise/WonderWoman's help in Gotham is because she attracts supervillains and suchlike by acting like a hero, flying around, showing herself and [[GlorySeeker thus being a challenge for every villain wannabe]].

* In ''ComicBook/CarolDanvers'' fanfiction ''Fanfic/APrizeForThreeEmpires'', it is pointed out that the presence of the original ComicBook/{{Captain Marvel|MarvelComics}} was the reason that Cape Canaveral was targeted by all kind of villains.

* ''Fanfic/ShowaAndVampire'' had an unintentional example of this. The goal of the villains is to capture its heroes and exploit their amazingly strong powers. It didn't seem to occur to the writers that makes it the heroes' fault that their school becomes a magnet for villains by being there. Not helping is how the heroes only defend themselves when attacked, and aren't offsetting all the villains they attract by actually battling villains who are up to something that's not related to capturing them. [[note]] It should really be pointed out that the {{Toku}} hero shows that inspired the fic usually invert the trope: the villains are there first and a hero arises to stop them second, sometimes as an unforseen result of one of the villains' plans. [[/note]]
* ''Fanfic/HowTheLightGetsIn'' both averts this and plays it straight. The Flash revitalized Central City, making it safer, happier, and even cleaner. Green Arrow however has turned Star City into a dying city, the economy has been in the toilet ever since the Undertaking (though corruption and greed,pre The Hood, lowered it first), hospitals have long wait times, there's constant violence, traffic delays due to construction and clean up crews, and schools have to have "vigilante drills" on top of active shooter drills. Dean however, notes the real problem isn't that Oliver attracts supervillains, but that he consistently fails to stop them before they cause death and destruction.

** It begins at the end of ''Film/BatmanBegins'', when Gordon wonders aloud about what the criminals will do to keep up with Batman being on the side of the police, and then mentions this weird new hitter going around who uses [[ComicBook/TheJoker a playing card as his signature]]. Then, in ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', escalation is the main theme. The cops and organized crime were locked in a stalemate. Then Batman came and tipped the scales, and the existing criminal element didn't stand a chance against him. The Joker is explicitly named as crime's response to the Batman, a monster that didn't -- couldn't -- exist before Batman did. Nobody's very pleased with the thought.

** Invoked by [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]] in ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}''. According to him, when ComicBook/{{SHIELD}} activated the Tesseract [[spoiler:to create weapons capable of defending themselves from Asgardian-level threats]], they ironically sent the message to everyone in the galaxy that the Earth is ready for "a higher form of war." ComicBook/NickFury, in turn, cites Thor himself and his arrival on Earth in New Mexico as an example of this trope and the reason S.H.I.E.L.D. was escalating in the first place, since Thor's fight with the Destroyer showed everyone that Earth is "hopelessly, ''hilariously'' outgunned" by pretty much every alien race out there. And as Thor's own films and ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' show, he's not wrong.
** This is a major plot point in ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar''. After the events of ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' (where Tony and Bruce created Ultron, a KillerRobot that wipes out a country and nearly takes the rest of the world with it), the governments of the world craft the Sokovia Accords to control the Avengers, with the logic that the heroes are beginning to cause more problems than they actually end up solving. ComicBook/TheVision even argues in favor of the Accords by pointing out that Earth has seen a massive upswing in both superheroes and supervillains in the years since the original ''Film/IronMan'' movie. And just to drive the point home, the villain is another one that was created as a direct result of the Avengers' actions: [[spoiler:Zemo lost his home and family to Ultron and he swore revenge against the "heroes" who created him and then didn't even stick around to help clean up the wreckage afterward.]] However, there's also the counterpoint that for three of the four examples given of Avengers causing collateral damage (''Film/TheAvengers2012'', ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'', and the incident in Lagos at the beginning of the film), the incidents were ''not'' sparked by any of the heroes and they in fact blunted the potential harm the villains could inflict.
** The two that seem to be the most free from this trope are ComicBook/CaptainAmerica and [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]]. In ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'', the villain is [[spoiler:HYDRA, having been reformed within S.H.I.E.L.D. while Captain America was presumed deceased, and Bucky's BrainwashedAndCrazy status can only be tangentially tied to Cap and was done while Cap was on ice]]; while Thor tends to be the response to the villains - ''Film/{{Thor}}'' had Loki, who was specifically out to get Thor and only put Earth in danger because Odin sent him there, the [[Film/ThorTheDarkWorld second film's villains]] were threats from before Thor's time and the whole universe was at risk, and [[Film/ThorRagnarok the third]] was again before Thor's time and [[spoiler:was only a danger due to Odin's death releasing her from being sealed]].

* Part of the ''Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}}'' montage chronicling their success is a Larry King segment on them, mentioning the possibility that they were the very cause of the paranormal activity they combated. It could have been more an accusation that they were con-artists faking the incidents rather than that they were attracting ghosts. This is clearly wrong, as they invented the ghostbusting job ''before'' the paranormal activity was rising, and do such an excellent job that by the beginning of [[Film/GhostbustersII the sequel]] they are jobless.

** The fourth season of ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'' is a direct result of the Legends' actions to stop the Season 3 BigBad [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Mallus]]. Apparently, Mallus wasn't the only thing that got out when the Legends allowed him to manifest physically in order to defeat him. A whole slew of magical creatures have escaped and are wreaking havoc across the timeline. This time, they need Series/{{Constantine}}'s help in stopping them.

* [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] in ''Series/TheBoys''. As opposed to the [[ComicBook/TheBoys comic continuity]], the SuperSerum Compound V is much more secret and restricted, leading to a far lower [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual metahuman]] population with no costumed supervillains whatsoever. [[EngineeredHeroism To remedy this]] [[BewareTheSuperman for the sake of his own vanity]], [[BigBad Homelander]] began handing out Compound V to terrorist organizations around the world while badgering [[EvilInc Vought]]'s marketing team to call them [[InsistentTerminology supervillains]] as opposed to "super terrorists".
* ''Series/TheUmbrellaAcademy'' has a few examples of this. Reginald Hargreeves, in his apparent attempts to safeguard the world and prevent the apocalypse, [[spoiler: actually causes the apocalypse, by abusing the Academy members, suppressing Vanya's powers, and humiliating Harold Jenkins]]. As for the Hargreeves, their attempts to prevent the apocalypse [[spoiler: also fail, leading to multiple apocalypses]].

-->'''Brandon:''' It's kind of hard to explain. It's the irony of a hero who ''attracts'' danger. ...''Take Franchise/{{Superman}}!'' Before Supes came to town, the worst crime Metropolis had was wife beaters, thugs, and the occasional mob bosses. Nowadays, Metropolis gets a weekly visit from some overbeast with [[BigOlUnibrow a unibrow]] and [[CompensatingForSomething a tiny dick]], thrashing the city just to stand toe-to-toe with the Man of Steel. Indirectly, ''all'' of Metropolis' major disasters have been caused by Supes. In the end, Metropolis was probably better off ''without'' a crime fighter.

* ''Literature/{{Worm}}'': It is eventually revealed that [[spoiler:in Eidolon's extreme desire to be a hero and have a WorthyOpponent, his powers subconsiously created the [[EldritchAbomination Endbringers]]. When he finds out, he completely freaks out and allows Scion to kill him. Unfortunately, this doesn't make the Endbringers disappear, they just begin behaving erratically.]]

* The Youtube personality who goes by the name of Comics by Perch has a video called "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkamLDlCkpc The Squadron Supreme and when superheroes did interfere]]" which addresses this issue, as well as how it was approached in a story-line of the ''Squadron Supreme'' comic book by Mark Gruenwald.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'':

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderman'':

** On the other hand, the [[ComicBook/NormanOsborn Green Goblin]], easily the worst of any of his enemies, more or less created himself, and ''then'' went on to accidentally create Doctor Octopus by way of a failed assassination attempt (which was just the Goblin covering up the link between the Big Man and Norman Osborn, though granted said link was strengthened by the appearance of Spider-Man). Also most of these guys were villains already, Spidey just prompted the Big Man (a pre-established and dominant crime lord) to give them powers, which in the case of Shocker already existed. The Vulture (who has a vendetta against Norman Osborn), Chameleon (an established freelance spy), the Tinkerer (another freelancer), and to a lesser extent Mysterio (who was "inspired" by Spidey in his own way) also count as aversions.

*** Despite its highly episodic nature, the first two seasons chronicle the StoryArc of the fall of traditional crime and the rise of supervillains in Gotham City. When the series begins the Joker and the Penguin are the only active supervillains (we see almost everyone else's StartOfDarkness, and Rah's Al Ghul only comes to Gotham to meet the Batman). CorruptCorporateExecutive Roland Dagget runs the city, along with Rupert Thorne and Arnold Stromwell, traditional gangsters. Over the course of the series, Dagget gradually loses his fortune as legal fees and criminal charges catch up to him, and Thorne and Stromwell have their operations systematically taken apart as new, colorful villains appear in the scene. This comes to a head in "Batgirl Returns", when Dagget is arrested, and "Shadow of the Bat," where Thorne himself is arrested after another of his criminal operations is busted and it is revealed that Two-Face has been taking control of Gotham's mob behind the scenes. By the time of ''The New Batman Adventures'', almost all criminal activities are the work of costumed and themed supervillains. Then we see Jack Ryder claiming on his {{show|WithinAShow}} that Batman [[CreateYourOwnVillain created]] ComicBook/TheJoker seven years ago...

* Played straight in ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' where it's established that the Justice League are so good at their job that ComicBook/VandalSavage forms a sophisticated LegionOfDoom stand-in known as The Light which consists of himself and a cadre of other {{Diabolical Mastermind}}s using the bulk of Earth-based super villains as their minions. They are so successful that many of the "victories" the heroes pull off are revealed to have been {{Xanatos Gambit}}s that actually served the interests of the Light, and for most of season 1 the heroes don't know that the Light even ''exists''.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'' references this in part from Maria Hill being the most prominent thinker. There are some examples from the show proper which show this, such as ComicBook/WonderMan, ComicBook/{{Ultron}}, Kang as a borderline example or Red Hulk. However, for the most part, the Avengers in this show were thrust into a world at chaos, with villains like Loki releasing supervillains on the world as part of his gambit to take over Asgard, and most of the evil forces being active long before the Avengers ever formed. In fact, the Avengers manage to make things better on several occasions, by putting an end to long entrenched organizations like HYDRA or stopping long held wars like the Kree-Skrull war.

** This happens again in the ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'' animated series; one episode begins where Egon announces the Ghostbusters are out of work....because they have eradicated all paranormal activity in New York. Their solution? Rebrand themselves as the ''[[TheyFightCrime Crimebusters]]'' and clean up New Yorks criminal underworld. Turns out they are even ''better'' at that because by the end of the episode New York is ''crime free'' and they are once again unemployed...fortunately, right as they realize that, [[StatusQuoIsGod the ghosts have come back.]]

* In ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse'' fanfic ''Fanfic/{{FIRE}}'', Red Skull believes that, as long as there is a Captain America, there will always be a Red Skull. Sick of their eternal struggle, he decides to kill himself and take Cap with him.

* In ''ComicBook/CarolDanvers'' fanfiction ''Fanfic/APrizeForThreeEmpires'', it is pointed out that the presence of the original ComicBook/CaptainMarVell was the reason that Cape Canaveral was targeted by all kind of villains.

** Although Batman is often accused of this, when you start examining his rogues you see that he actually had less involvement in his villain's origins than most other superheroes. ComicBook/TwoFace was a dual personality anyway, and is often associated more with Bruce Wayne than Batman. Also, his disfigurement is due to a mob trial, not Batman. ComicBook/PoisonIvy usually isn't even in Gotham when she's transformed, Harley is made by the Joker, Croc is just insane, the Ventriloquist is another split personality, ComicBook/SolomonGrundy had nothing to do with Batman, ComicBook/ThePenguin, Zsasz, ComicBook/RasAlGhul and ComicBook/RedHood were all criminals beforehand. Really, the only rogues who can really be traced directly to Batman are ComicBook/TheRiddler, ComicBook/{{Bane}}, Hush, and possibly the Joker, but [[MultipleChoicePast who really knows about him?]] And if we accept the original Joker origin story at face value, he, too, was a pre-existing criminal gang leader who ran afoul of Batman (and ''accidentally'' became a supervillain thereby). Riddler, Bane, and Hush were already evil long before they fought Batman.

->'''Vision:''' In the eight years since Mr. Stark announced himself as Iron Man, the number of known enhanced persons has grown exponentially. And during the same period, a number of potentially world-ending events has risen at a commensurable rate. \\