History Main / WartsAndAll

* In ''VideoGame/ArcRiseFantasia'', the mysterious Leon of the Lord Knights is a topic of intrigue to the main group because, given the clues they got, all evidence points to Rastan fitting all the points and how his own group consider him to be a badass, except he constantly denies being Leon. [[spoiler:The real Leon turns out to be Serge; the ChivalrousPervert and silly guy. Unluckily for him, though, once the party learns about his identity, the trope is averted when their respect for him seems to go ''down'' for not meeting their expectations.]]

** In ''The Rise of the Rajas'' (HD Edition), Wang Tong, the narrator of Lê Lợi's campaign, noted that while Lê Lợi did much good during his reign, the state of affairs deterioriated under his successors.

* ''Comicbook/AstroCity'' does this a couple of times:

** ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'': For the last couple decades, it's been quite popular to portray Batman as a serious {{Jerkass}}, particularly to his friends and allies.

** ''ComicBook/TheWarlordDC'': This is the main theme of the 1992 miniseries, which largely consists of the Warlord's friends and family telling the viewpoint character "Well, yes, he's a hero, ''but''..." There's a fair amount of it in the 2009 series, as well (which is unsurprising, as they're both by Mike Grell).

* In Creator/RickRiordan's ''[[Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians The Battle for the Labyrinth]]'', the protagonists meet up with Briares, the Hundred-Handed One, and find him demoralized and unwilling to fight, much to Tyson's distress. In the end, however, he does join in the final battle.

* In Mitchel Scanlon's ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' Literature/HorusHeresy novel ''Descent of Angels'', Zahariel's first glimpse of Brother Amadis disappoints him: merely a man, not a figure like Lion. But the longer he looks at him, the more he understands his character and heroism.

* In the ''Literature/{{Uglies}}'' series novel ''Extras'', [[spoiler:the protagonist Aya eventually meets Tally Youngblood, who is now the most famous person in the world for overthrowing the dystopian system of the previous books. While Tally very much did save the world and is still working hard to protect it, all the brain and body surgeries and traumatic experiences she was put through have left her with a terrifying appearance, short temper and artificially lowered opinion of humanity.]]

* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** In the episode "Father's Day", Rose meets up with her dead father, whom she knows only from her mother's stories. He proves to be up to his neck in get-rich-quick schemes and he and her mother quarrel almost continuously. However, in the end, her father makes a HeroicSacrifice to save the universe. Rose's voice-over at the beginning and end of the episode are both about her father, but the concluding one is full of new insight. She better gets to know him (or rather an alternate universe version) in another episode. Turns out that his get-rich-quick schemes would've ''succeeded'' if he actually lived and despite initially being hostile to Rose (namely because he didn't get to be a dad here), he quickly embraces her as the daughter he never had.
** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E2TheShakespeareCode "The Shakespeare Code"]], the Doctor and Martha Jones attend the premiere performance of ''Theatre/LovesLaboursLost'' and Shakespeare himself appears on the stage at the end. The Doctor is initially thrilled at the prospect of meeting the greatest writer in the English language — until he acts boorishly in front of the audience. Somewhat amused, Martha quips to the Doctor, "You should never meet your heroes." It gets even worse when he starts (quite unsuccessfully) hitting on her.
* Textbook demonstrated in an episode of ''Series/{{MASH}}''. Hawkeye's nightly habits catch up to him, and a hangover prevents him from finishing surgery on a patient. Radar, laid up due to an earlier injury, chastises Hawkeye for his failure, which results in his hero angrily yelling at him. After much discussion (and everyone in camp chewing out Hawkeye for his lost temper, Hawkeye included) Radar reaches the conclusion that he was human all along, and that seeing him off the pedestal, he might be able to like him more as a person than an idol.
* Occurs in the ''Series/BabylonFive'' episode "Atonement". Delenn warns Lennier to stay on Babylon 5 when she goes to face the clan council, lest he finds out about her biggest wart. He refuses because of his UndyingLoyalty. When he finds out what it is - that she had cast the deciding vote for the Earth-Minbari war - Lennier tells her that he ''still'' has UndyingLoyalty for her.
* In ''Series/{{Heroes}}'', Hiro goes back in time to feudal Japan and meets his hero Takezo Kensei, who turns out to be a drunken Englishman. With Hiro's help, Kensei becomes the man the legends told of and discovers along the way that he's immortal and unkillable. [[spoiler:A falling out between Hiro and Kensei turns Kensei into a villainous inversion of the man Hiro helped him become.]]
* ''Series/MurdochMysteries'': Early in "Winston's Lost Night", Inspector Brackenreid is unhappy that the great Winston Churchill is locked in one of the station's cells, and he effusively praises Churchill's book as "stirring stuff". As he learns of Churchill's apparent alcohol-induced blackout and aristocratic ways (including traveling with servants and his treatment of Crabtree as another of his servants--asking the constable to fetch his hat and stick) and gets insulted by Churchill for requesting an autograph, Brackenreid begins to write him off as another "toff". Eventually, Brackenreid quotes from Churchill's book (to the author's delight) [[spoiler: to talk down a murderer threatening to kill Churchill]], and Churchill apologizes for his insulting comment on the autograph book and asks to sign it.

* "All of Me" by Music/JohnLegend sums it up thus:
-->''Cos all of me, loves all of you[=/=]All your curves and all your edges, all your perfect imperfections.''

* Guybrush ends up one of these in the eyes of {{fangirl}} Morgan Le Flay in the third episode of ''Videogame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland'', though this is a big case of WrongGenreSavvy on her part. She built up such an expectation of him as an unparalleled swashbuckler and unstoppable {{pirate}} that she never realized he was the protagonist of a comedic puzzle-adventure game.
* Two examples from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid:''
** The first, Solid Snake. He's been idealized as the legendary soldier/superspy who went deep into heavily defended enemy territory as part of the FOXHOUND black ops unit in [[VideoGame/MetalGear1 separate]] [[VideoGame/MetalGear2SolidSnake incidents]] to destroy nuclear weapons at great risk to himself to save the world. He's also supposedly thought of in-universe as the modern Film/JamesBond, or such is the implication. Naturally, Meryl Silverburgh is surprised when Snake turns out to be rather coarse, rude and disdaining of her combat ability, as well as rather unhappy that he's involved in the mission to begin with.
---> '''Snake:''' The real me's no match for the legend, I'm afraid.
** The second, Big Boss. Though he ended up being a traitor, that little fact was apparently concealed by the government, as by the time of the fourth game he's a household name as a ComicBook/CaptainAmerica-style badass, considered to be the greatest soldier in history and his awesome-ness is apparently common knowledge. Numerous [[HollywoodStyle and highly inaccurate]] [[TakeThat video games]] and poorly researched books have been made out of his career. What nobody realizes is that he was a mentally damaged man who had to [[ShootTheDog shoot his own mentor on the orders of his government]] and later became convinced that [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans utopia for soldiers is worth nuking people with giant bipedal tanks.]] As well as that, some of his most mind-blowing feats were actually done by his [[spoiler: body double, [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain Venom Snake.]]]]
* ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'':
** The game plays with this by giving the players the decision of following this trope straight or not when Liara asks for input on a time capsule she's leaving for future generations to discover in case they fail to defeat the Reapers, with input that will hopefully allow them to succeed where they failed. Shepard has the option of letting Liara decided for herself how to comment on his/her work, painting them as a larger than life heroic figure, or not covering up his/her flaws and letting history decide for itself.
** Javik, an ancient Prothean who was put into stasis 50,000 years ago and whom the player has the option of reviving. Liara, an archeologist who has spent her entire life studying Prothean artifacts and ruins, has built up an image of the entire Prothean race as a race of sages and scholars and diplomats. Reviving, and then interacting with, Javik reveals that the Protheans as a race were social Darwinist militaristic conquerors and that Javik himself is a bit of a racist who holds all of the "primitives" surrounding him now in contempt. This latter attitude is somewhat understandable; when Javik went into stasis, humans and asari were still living in caves, and the salarians were swamp-dwelling animals who hadn't actually reached sapience yet.
* This occurs to an extent during the ''Legacy'' DLC for ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', which delves into the shady past of Hawke's father Malcolm. Though his past had been a mystery, Malcolm was by all accounts a good father who loved his family dearly and was even something of TheAce, being both a master mage and an excellent hand-to-hand combatant. During the DLC, Hawke (and their sibling, if still alive) discovers that Malcolm had never wanted a child with magic (he had at least one) and he was also [[spoiler: a practicing blood mage who used his powers to imprison an ancient darkspawn mage named Corypheus. However, Hawke also learns he only used his BloodMagic to buy passage out of Kirkwall, and only because he was coerced by the Grey Wardens.]]
* ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'': A major element of the franchise is taking historical situations and people and showing them in a more naked and honest light than is typically found in the history books. For example, UsefulNotes/RichardTheLionHeart is shown as something of a BloodKnight, Creator/NiccoloMachiavelli is shown as more of a statesman than a ruthless schemer, and the Patriots involved in UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution are shown manipulating public opinion to make their war seem more just than it is. At the same time, the games also take some liberties by having major historical figures be allied with the [[UsefulNotes/TheHashshashin Assassin]] and the [[UsefulNotes/TheKnightsTemplar Templar]] factions that are engaged in a SecretWar for control of humanity's hearts and minds.
* In ''Videogame/AssassinsCreedIII'', Samuel Johnson is arguably the nicest of the founding fathers. However, when Connor asks him why he isn't speaking out about slavery even though he freed his wife's slave, he says "It's complicated" and ducks the issue. Even though he himself is opposed to slavery, he doesn't really want to force the issue for fear of dividing the colonists, a trait that was true even years later.
* In ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' players will find the BigGood, Statesman - hero of Paragon, leader of the Freedom Phalanx, and saver of the world multiple times… But when you actually meet Statesmen up close, or the Freedom Phalanx you will find Statesman apparently berates his team, demands constant perfection, doesn’t trust the rest of the Phalanx to do the job without him around, can’t recall every one whose helped him save the world (he doesn’t deny they helped him, he’s just done it so much it’s a ButForMeItWasTuesday situation) and in general is a colossal pain-in-the-ass; He is however despite all this still a genuine hero, and most of his flaws come from years of having to save Paragon City over and over again.
** This actually happens with multiple members of The Freedom Phalanx, Sister Psyche’ is a heroine who has been active since she was a tween in World War II, but actually meet her and it turns out the years have turned her into a cynical snarky SmugSuper; Manticore is non-powered wealthy hero who lost his parents as a kid and now fights crime, but get to know him and you’ll find he is a very pro-lethal force hero whose angst and rage can make him come off less as edgy and more like an angry rich person upset he has to put up with the system of law and order; The hero Synapse was an engineering assistant used as a test subject by a company of mad scientists and now has super speed, but what you don’t find out from his public appearances is he apparently still gets night terrors from reliving the tortuous experiments he was subjected to; and then we have Back Alley Brawler - Semi RetiredBadass, whose still on call but mostly focuses on his career as a SuperCop, but you will find out he is semi-retired because he’s had to straight up kill people and doesn’t want that tainting the Freedom Phalanx.
* In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'', there is a celebrity named Poppy Mitchell. She is an actress popular in the romantic comedy genre, and she has a reputation as "America's Sweetheart." One mission in the game requires you aid a paparazzi in capturing video footage of Poppy engaging in anal sex with one of her co-stars. Another later mission requires you to get footage of her fleeing from the police while drunk driving. Needless to say, these two incidents pretty much destroy her squeaky-clean image.
* The so-called "legends" that make up the Order of the Stone in ''VideoGame/MinecraftStoryMode'' are revealed to be a bunch of cheap glory hounds who used a command block (i. e. Minecraft's version of cheating) to kill the Ender Dragon when they realised the fight was too tough for them. Their refusal to own up to their cowardice basically fuels the first arc. Needless to say, the lead Jessie, who really believed that they were heroes, is less than impressed.
* The PlayerCharacter in ''VideoGame/DiscoElysium'' is a legend in the local police force of Revachol, having served for years in the city's most crime-ridden neighborhood, but also having solved hundred of cases and having a remarkably low kill count. He is also a hopeless alcoholic, drug addict and potential sex pest, who suffers from occasional mental breakdowns and hears voices in his head. In fact, his assigned partner, Kim, first meets him, after he has been through a three-day bender that has obliterated his memory. [[spoiler:In the better endings Kim admits that he's completely insane but also a good man at heart and the best detective he's ever seen.]]

* Stated by illustrator and author of ''Website/RejectedPrincesses'' to be one of the goals of the site when it covers a more well known historical woman by presenting details and character flaws that are often left out of popular depictions.
* ''WebAnimation/IfTheEmperorHadATextToSpeechDevice'': Whammudes and Custodisi's opinion of the Emperor after reading ''[[Literature/HorusHeresy The Last Church]]''. Their loyalty to their lord and liege is unbreakable... but that doesn't mean they don't see just what kind of an asshole he is. Before TheReveal that Uriah Olathaire had become a Chaos priest, ''Custodisi's opinion favored him over the Emperor'' in the tale.

* ''WebVideo/EpicRapBattlesOfHistory'' exempts none of its participants from fact-based criticism, save for a few who only show up as surprises near the end of their battles, but very few who aren't universally regarded as outright villains by historical consensus are portrayed in a strictly negative light. UsefulNotes/ThomasJefferson is a good example; his battle with Frederick Douglass consists in large part of [[WhatTheHellHero scathing criticism]] over his status as an unrepentant slave owner, but ends on a note stressing that this does ''not'' discredit his positive achievements.
* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' has Summer Rose, [[DeceasedParentsAreTheBest deceased mother]] of Ruby Rose. She's described by nearly everyone as the perfect Huntress and leader, no heroic character has anything bad to say about her, and Ruby feels enormous pressure to [[PursuingParentalPerils live up to her legacy]]. In the Volume 9 finale "Of Solitude and Self", she sees a memory of her mother [[spoiler:revealing that the night she left, she lied to Ruby's father Tai and went on a risky mission with only Raven knowing, nor was she the perfect loving angel Ruby's been picturing her as.]] While she's initially [[BrokenPedestal angry at this]], she eventually realizes that no one is perfect and thus [[YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre she shouldn't hold herself to those standards either]].

* On ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'', an old sports hero comes to Lawndale High for a dedication, and everybody has to put up with what a JerkJock he is. The discrepancy between his honored status and caustic personality becomes even more difficult when [[spoiler:he dies in an accident, evoking sympathy and NeverSpeakIllOfTheDead]].
* ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'': {{Invoked|Trope}} by Dinobot via his [[spoiler: LastWords]]:
-->"Tell my tale to those who ask. Tell it truly, the ill deeds along with the good, and let me be judged accordingly. [[Theatre/{{Hamlet}} The rest... is silence.]]"

* Holland from ''Anime/EurekaSeven''. When Renton runs away to join Gekkostate, he is disappointed to discover that his idol is a {{Jerkass}} who [[SillyRabbitIdealismisForKids doesn't subscribe]] [[JadeColoredGlasses to his own]] [[KnightInSourArmor ideals.]]
* Played with in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', where the young Princess May Chang has a sizable crush on famed alchemist Edward Elric - whom she's never met. She imagines him to be dashing, tall, and a complete {{bishounen}} with beautiful manners...then she meets the grumpy, snarky, vertically-challenged reality. It's done for laughs when she berates him for "toying with a maiden's affections" - and he stares at her and wonders who in the world she is.

--->'''Hinata:''' "You make mistakes... but... because of those mistakes... you get the strength to stand up to them... that's why I think you are truly strong."\\
'''Naruto:''' "[[InsecureLoveInterest This whole time, you always loved me for the way I am]]."

[[folder: Art]]

* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/1460890/1/Living-History Living History]]'', a group of time travelers are shocked to learn how ''human'' the [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Scoobies]] actually are. They're all considered legends (and in the case of Xander and Faith, patron saints) but are still relatively normal people doing their jobs. One at least is massively disappointed by how incredibly primitive they are as he simply can't account for over 800 years of technological advancement.
* Tsunade in ''Fanfic/{{Eroninja}}'' always imagined her grandmother to be a ProperLady, but when she's resurrected Tsunade learns that Mito only acted as such after her husband died to keep the nobles and council happy. In reality, she's a HardDrinkingPartyGirl. Thankfully they later [[RebuiltPedestal reconcile]].
* Deliberately invoked in ''[[http://anime.adult-fanfiction.org/story.php?no=600055428&chapter=3 The Vain Rose's Garden]]'' after Belldandy walks in on Skuld having sex. Urd explains to Belldandy that Skuld idolizes her and is likely feeling ashamed at being caught doing something she never does, and thus urges Belldandy to explain to Skuld that she too has urges and indulges them.
* ''FanFic/RivalsSeries'': A rare positive example. For most of the story, there are two versions of Viktor Nikiforov that Yuuri Katsuki sees: first, the idol he adored and worshiped, and then (thanks to a mixture of Viktor's BrutalHonesty and Yuuri's fragile self-esteem) the memory he despised and hated and did everything to beat. [[spoiler:It's only after getting to know Viktor the ''person'', both the good '''and''' the bad, that Yuuri begins to let go of his grudge, and eventually, fall in love with him]].
* This idea is invoked in the one-shot ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' fic "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3038776/1/Eric Eric]]", where Ron tells Kim to go to prom with Eric after it's revealed that Eric is real after all (Drakken just replaced him with a synthodrone to undermine Kim's confidence). However, when Kim starts seriously thinking about recent events at prom, she finds herself struck by the thought that Ron has seen her even at her most flawed moments, such as her obsession with designer labels or dismissing her lifelong best friend even when he's still willing to be there for her, and ''still'' has those kind of feelings for her.

* It takes very few [[GroundhogDayLoop loops]] for Joffrey to realize what a horrible human being Cersei really is in ''FanFic/PurpleDays'', but he never stops loving her, knowing her one redeeming trait is her unconditional love for him. On the other hand, he quickly gets fed up with her StupidEvil tendencies and her attempts at seizing personal power, and once he begins fixing the realm, he makes it a point to sideline her, and eventually, he decides to just chuck her and Jaime in a GildedCage in the Westerlands and be done with it.
* The ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'' drabble ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13549460/1/ Fix You]]'' has Misty and Serena having a little argument apparently due to Serena not liking [[{{Tsundere}} the way Misty treated Ash]]. When Serena says that Ash was being NotHimself and wanted to help him, Misty accuses her of [[LovingAShadow making herself a perfect image of Ash and not actually knowing him]], unlike her who met him the time he was a rookie (meaning that he was brash, arrogant, and a bit of a SoreLoser prone to UnsportsmanlikeGloating). The implication is made clear that, unlike Serena, Misty is aware of Ash's flaws, yet accepts them as a part of him and loves him nonetheless. It's somewhat downplayed as Serena's feelings aren't less genuine than Misty's, but the Kalosian girl acknowledges she should get to know him more.

'''[[spoiler:Lyze]]:''' Well what did you expect? Some ''Tyto alba'' with gleaming armor and battle claws, the moon rising behind him? (''holds up his mangled talon'') Well, ''this'' is what it looks like when you've actually fought in battle. It's not glorious, it's not beautiful, it's not even heroic. It's merely doing what's right. And doing it again and again, even if someday you look like ''this''.

* Played with by the North Wind in ''WesternAnimation/PenguinsOfMadagascar''. While they are a competent and heroic team, they're also rather egotistical and unsympathetic, causing much of the antagonism between them and the penguins. Cemented when [[spoiler:the North Wind abandon the penguins inside Dave's submarine to "regroup", even after Private saved them from a DeathTrap.]]

* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'', although Harry had known Dumbledore for over six years and saw him as a father figure, he realizes that he doesn't really know the ''true'' Dumbledore: what he does outside of school, what his history is, whether he's truly the paragon of virtue that Harry's viewed him as for years. That's what makes it all the more soul-crushing for Harry to read the (surprisingly true, considering the author) biography of Dumbledore written by Rita Skeeter, depicting a youthful Dumbledore championing [[FantasticRacism Wizard superiority]] and being buddies with Grindelwald, who was effectively the [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Wizard Hitler]]. By the end of the book, Harry accepts that Dumbledore is not perfect and that he is still the greatest wizard who ever lived regardless of how he used to be.

* ''Film/SpiderManFarFromHome'': Peter Parker (Spider-Man) ultimately comes to terms with this when he learns his late mentor [[spoiler: Tony Stark (Iron Man)]], while a hero, was a very flawed man, usually second guessing himself, acting before thinking, and even then, didn't think through the consequences of his choices. Despite this, he never hesitated to help others if he could, and was willing to make sacrifices for the greater good, including the ultimate one. This makes Peter realize that he shouldn't underestimate himself nor overestimate his beloved late idol, because, in the end, heroes are human too.
* ''Film/{{Hancock}}'': Only one character manages to see through the appearance to heroism.
* In ''Franchise/StarTrek'', Zefram Cochrane was the genius who gave the human race warp drive, thus taking the first step in the founding of TheFederation. ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'' revealed that he was a cowardly, womanizing drunk whose intentions in building the first warp ship was "dollar signs, and lots of them".
-->'''Commander Riker:''' Someone once said "Don't try to be a great man. Just be a man, and let history make its own judgment."\\
'''Zefram Cochrane:''' That's rhetorical nonsense. Who said that?\\
'''Commander Riker:''' You did, ten years from now.

* ''Film/{{Race}}'': Owens cheating on his wife (whom he has a daughter with) for a period of time is shown, even though the film primarily focuses on his triumphs as a barrier-breaking African-American olympian.
* ''Film/SchindlersList'' pointedly includes Schindler's womanizing and, pre-CharacterDevelopment, war profiteering along with his more well-known heroic actions.

* ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'': The all-powerful ''Wizard of Oz'' turns out to be [[spoiler:nothing more than a SnakeOilSalesman. His confidence trickster skills do, however, eventually save the day.]]

* Evee is of this position in ''Film/VForVendetta'', although it's an unusual case because [[VillainAntagonist V]] wants to embody an idea instead of be a hero (because [[CantStopTheSignal ideas are bulletproof]]) while Evee wants to remember him as a person who lived and loved, as apart from the faceless totalitarian government he opposed.

* ''Film/{{Control}}'' takes this approach regarding Music/JoyDivision frontman Ian Curtis; it's not afraid to showcase the more {{jerkass}}-y side of the man, while at the same time allowing the audience to understand the escalating personal struggles that tormented him throughout his life and [[DrivenToSuicide drove him to suicide]] in 1980.

* ''{{Film/Ray}}'' does not shy away from portraying any part of the life of Music/RayCharles. It does portray him as an inspirational figure who managed to reach stardom in spite of his blindness, but also doesn't shy away from portraying his constant struggles with his lack of eyesight, his addictions to pretty damn near everything, his near-constant adultery or his ruthless business dealings. When he was given the script, the two things Ray refused to allow in the film was when he, as a young boy, was forced to play the piano (he always claimed music was his interest and that he pursued it), and the scene that showed im sharing heroin with Margie Hendrix (he was clear enough to see what heroin was doing to him, and refused to drag her down with him).

* In Creator/RickRiordan's ''[[Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians The Battle for the Labyrinth]]'', they meet up with Briares, the Hundred-Handed One, and find him demoralized and unwilling to fight, much to Tyson's distress. In the end, however, he does join in the final battle.

* In Creator/TerryPratchett's ''Literature/UnseenAcademicals'', Trev was bitter about his dead father. Nutt pointed out that his father had been only human, not a god; a good father; and, if perhaps a FearlessFool who had gotten himself killed, yet people who had risked their lives had been important to the human race -- an insight which profoundly moves Trev.
** Discworld also references the TropeNamer in ''Literature/FeetOfClay'' when "Old Stoneface" Vimes, a CaptainErsatz of Cromwell, is persistently described as having 'warts and all' by historical romantics who essentially use this as their justification for considering him the bad guy (King Lorenzo, on the other side, was "extremely fond of children" ''but he looked the part'').
* The Wizard in ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz'', aka the Great and Powerful Oz. [[spoiler:Less so in the book, where he is portrayed as a kindly old man who has simply gone astray in his balloon, as in the 1939 film, where he is shown as a ''SnakeOilSalesman''.]]
* John "Black Jack" Geary of ''Literature/TheLostFleet''. After being in [[HumanPopsicle suspended animation]] for over a century, he's found by a fleet on its way to a major offensive. He quickly discovers that he's nearly worshipped by people on his side of the war. This trope is a major theme of the series as a whole.
* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'', although Harry had known Dumbledore for over six years and saw him as a father figure, he realizes that he doesn't really know the ''true'' Dumbledore: what he does outside of school, what his history is, whether he's truly the paragon of virtue that Harry's viewed him as for years. That's what makes it all the more soul-crushing for Harry to read the (surprisingly true, considering the author) biography of Dumbledore written by Rita Skeeter, depicting a youthful Dumbledore championing [[FantasticRacism Wizard superiority]] and being buddies with Grindelwald, who was effectively the [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Wizard Hitler]]. By the end of the book, Harry accepts that Dumbledore is not perfect and that he is still the greatest wizard who ever lived regardless of how he used to be.
** He had an earlier moment in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'', where he views one of Snape's [[TransferableMemory Pensieve memories]] and observes his practically-sainted father, James, antagonizing Snape (specifically, the moment where Snape ruins the only good friendship he had.) A moment later verified by James' [[TrueCompanions fellow Marauders]], Sirius and Remus. They dispell Harry's worries and mention that while James had his negative sides, he was ultimately a good and noble man and he did mature beyond that.
* In the ''Literature/{{Uglies}}'' series novel ''Extras'', [[spoiler:the protagonist Aya eventually meets Tally Youngblood, who is now the most famous person in the world for overthrowing the dystopian system of the previous books. While Tally very much did save the world and is still working hard to protect it, all the brain and body surgeries and traumatic experiences she was put through have left her with a terrifying appearance, short temper and artificially lowered opinion of humanity.]]
* In the epilogue of ''Literature/EndersGame'' (and throughout the direct sequels), this trope is part of a movement called the "Speaker for the Dead" (also the title of [[Literature/SpeakerForTheDead the first sequel]]). A Speaker is something of a professional eulogizer, they speak at funerals and tell the story of the person who has died: the good, the bad, how they were seen by others, and how they saw themselves. The idea being to tell the story without applying judgment or justification, laying bare all the cold hard truths of the departed's life. In-universe, the concept became popular after it was done for the man who united humanity under a single government (the story including his sociopathic behavior as a young man, which included violent emotional and physical abuse and manipulation of his siblings).
** One such funeral service (for a wife-beating alcoholic) is shown in the titular sequel. No attempt is made to justify his violence and abuse, but those in attendance finally understand how much physical and emotional pain the man himself was in for his entire life and why he took it out on his family. No forgiveness or redemption is implied, only an increased understanding and empathy for a fellow human being.

* The ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' drabble ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13549460/1/ Fix You]]'' has Misty and Serena having a little argument apparently due to Serena not liking [[{{Tsundere}} the way Misty treated Ash]]. When Serena says that Ash was being NotHimself and wanted to help him, Misty accuses her of [[LovingAShadow making herself a perfect image of Ash and not actually knowing him]], unlike her who met him the time he was a rookie (meaning that he was brash, arrogant, and a bit of a SoreLoser prone to UnsportsmanlikeGloating). The implication is made clear that, unlike Serena, Misty is aware of Ash's flaws, yet accepts them as a part of him and loves him nonetheless. It's somewhat downplayed as Serena's feelings aren't less genuine than Misty's, but the Kalosian girl acknowledges she should get to know him more.

** The game plays with this by giving the players the decision of following this trope straight or not when Liara asks for input on a time capsule she's leaving for future generations to discover in case they fail to defeat the Reapers, with input that while hopefully allow them to succeed where they failed. Shepard has the option of letting Liara decided for herself how to comment on his/her work, painting them as a larger than life heroic figure, or not covering up his/her flaws and letting history decide for itself.

* ''{{Film/Ray}}'' does not shy away from portraying any part of the life of Music/RayCharles. It does portray him as an inspirational figure who managed to reach stardom in spite of his blindness, but also doesn't shy away from portraying his constant struggles with his lack of eyesight, his addictions to pretty damn near everything, his near-constant adultery or his ruthless business dealings. When he was given the script, the two things Ray refused to allow in the film was when he, as a young boy, was forced to play the piano (he always claimed music was his interest and that he pursued it), and the scene that showed im sharing heroin with Margie Hendrix (he was clear enough to see what heroin was donig to him, and refused to drag her down with him).

** This actually happens with multiple members of The Freedom Phalanx, Sister Psyche’ is a heroine who has been active since she was a tween in World War II, but actually meet her and it turns out the years have turned her into a cynical snarky SmugSuper; Manticore is non-powered wealthy hero who lost his parents as a kid and now fights crime, but get to know him and you’ll find he is a very pro-lethal force hero whose angst and rage can make him come off less as edgy and more like an angry rich person upset he has to put up with the system of law and order; The hero Synapse was an engineering assistant used as a test subject by a company of mad scientists and now has super speed, but what you don’t find out from his public appearances is he apparently still gets night terrors from reliving the tortuous experiments he was subjected to; and then we have Back Alley Brawler - SemiRetiredBadAss, whose still on call but mostly focuses on his career as a SuperCop, but you will find out he is semi-retired because he’s had to straight up kill people and doesn’t want that tainting the Freedom Phalanx.

* In ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' players will find the BigGood, Statesman - hero of Paragon, leader of the Freedom Phalanx, and saver of the world multiple times… But when you actually meet Statesmen up close, or the Freedom Phalanx you will find Statesman apparently berates his team, demands constant perfection, doesn’t trust the rest of the Phalanx to do the job without him around, can’t recall every one whose helped him save the world (he doesn’t deny they helped him, he’s just done it so much it’s a ForMeItWasTuesday situation) and in general is a colossal pain-in-the-ass; He is however despite all this still a genuine hero, and most of his flaws come from years of having to save Paragon City over and over again.

-->'''Matsuri''': Yeah, she may eat a lot and have thick legs. [[SayingTooMuch Sure she sweats a lot and might even be a bit of a pervert..]]]

The trope name comes from UsefulNotes/OliverCromwell (1599-1658), who, in an attempt to avoid this trope, once told an artist to paint a portrait of him "warts and all". Official portraits were commonly done with the flaws in a person's appearance "corrected" by the artist. Cromwell wanted his picture to include his imperfections. Similarly, this trope is about the legendary character being finally seen for who and what he is, flaws and all. It is somewhat fitting that Cromwell, whom many admire while still admitting to his flaws, is the TropeNamer.

** ''Confession'': Altar Boy learns that his mentor, the Confessor [[spoiler:is a vampire -- and Confessor refused to declare he had not killed people as a vampire. However, his HeroicSacrifice not only won over Altar Boy, but it also inspired him to take up the mantle]].
** ''Life in the Big City'': An alien is put off by Crackerjack's arrogance, boasting, and foolishness, but follows him for a night and is almost persuaded not to send his race information they need to invade. Eventually, he does it; not because Crackerjack is less than a hero but because [[GossipyHens other humans]] displease him.

%%* Louie from ''Anime/RuneSoldierLouie''.
* ''Manga/TheDangersInMyHeart'': Moeko recalls a story in elementary school where Ichikawa made a boy apologize to her for going too far in rejecting any insinuation about liking her, calling her a hag, and making her cry. She seems flattered at first until Ichikawa reveals that he guilt-tripped him into doing it with a BreakingSpeech about how he would get financially ruined for defamation to take him down a peg, to the point where ''the boy'' was crying. By then Moe’s just appalled. Anna, [[SmittenTeenageGirl on the other hand,]] is awestruck by his sense of justice.

* Played with in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', where the young Princess May Chang has a sizable crush on famed alchemist Edward Elric - whom she's never met. She imagines him to be dashing, tall, and a complete {{bishounen}} with beautiful manners...then she meets the grumpy, snarky, vertically-challenged reality. It's done for laughs when she berates him for "toying with a maiden's affections" - and he stares at her and wonders who in the world she is.
** This is played straighter in regards to her feelings for Alphonse. After Ed turns out to not be the person she hoped he was, once she gets to know Al (in his suit-of-armor body, of course), she begins to imagine him as dashingly charming and handsome (in his real body) in much the same way she did to Ed, and thus is very eager for him to get his body back. However, when Al ''does'' get it back (after first sacrificing himself, causing May to believe he died), he's very emaciated and sickly-looking (due to the time his body was on the Gate), not at all how May imagined him. Nonetheless, she still tearfully hugs him, overjoyed that he's alive.
* Holland from ''Anime/EurekaSeven''. When Renton runs away to join Gekkostate, he is disappointed to discover that his idol is a {{Jerkass}} who [[SillyRabbitIdealismisForKids doesn't subscribe]] [[JadeColoredGlasses to his own]] [[KnightInSourArmor ideals.]]
* In ''Manga/MobileSuitGundamSEEDAstray'', [[GenkiGirl Kisato]] is a total fangirl of the legendary George Glenn, the original [[BornWinner Coordinator]] and an [[TheAce Ace]] of the highest caliber. He ends up coming back to "life" when the team finds his BrainInAJar and [[MadScientist Professor]] hooks it into a hologram projector. However, he turns out to be a very goofy and playful fellow, which upsets Kisato's image of him as an austere, serene, larger-than-life figure. In the end, she accepts him after he convinces her that he's only human and legends always exaggerate...but she's still put off by how silly he is.
* In ''Manga/DragonBall'', Bulma tells Future Trunks that Vegeta is a noble warrior; needless to say it's jarring and very disappointing for him when he goes back in time and sees just how much of a JerkAss BloodKnight his father really was.

* In ''Anime/TheVisionOfEscaflowne'', Chid has a case of this toward [[OfficerAndAGentleman Allen Schezar]]: his mother's tales of Allen's skill, bravery and heroism had led Chid to expect him to be an unbeatable hero. Allen showing up badly wounded and semi-conscious is something of a letdown to the boy, who'd been expecting someone rather more invincible.

* ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'': For Kaguya, a couple being able to share and accept each other's flaws is what romance is all about. [[spoiler:This ends up leading to the final hurdle she and Shirogane have to overcome before their RelationshipUpgrade, as he believes that one should only display their ideal self to their significant other and has no idea why she's suddenly acting cold to him.]]