Basic Trope: A "hero" who is entirely motivated by monetary gain.
- Straight: Bob defeats Emperor Evulz just so the people of Troperville will pay him as promised.
- Exaggerated:
- Bob defeats Emperor Evulz to earn the trust of the people of Troperville, because he wants to steal money and possessions from them without anyone suspecting a thing.
- Bob is a Nominal Hero.
- Downplayed:
- Heroism is a small part of Bob's motivation, but he's mostly in it for the money.
- Evulz stole the money in Bob's account, he just wants it back.
- Bob won't work for Emperor Evulz even when Evulz offers him money, but he does insist on getting a promise of pay before defeating him.
- Justified:
- Bob had no intention of becoming a hero; he was just passing through Troperville, and the townsfolk promised him a reward for defeating Emperor Evulz.
- Bob is poor and will do anything for money.
- Bob has rent that's soon-to-be due, student debt, or some other thing that needs to be paid off. May go hand in hand with the second Justified example.
- Played For Comedy:
- Bob finds out Emperor Evulz plans to melt down the gold taken from the town and use it to make magic armor. Bob sets out on a quest and refuses to stop until he finally destroys Emperor Evulz. The troperville townsfolk try to thank him for his courage and the return of their gold, but Bob walks right past all of them with all of the gold Emperor Evulz stole. It's this point when the townsfolk realize they're not getting their gold back, but decide to cut their losses and just be happy Emperor Evulz is defeated.
- Inverted:
- Emperor Evulz is a Well-Intentioned Extremist.
- Emperor Evulz is only threatening Troperville so they'll pay a ransom.
- Not only is Bob in it purely for the sake of heroism, but he declines any cash or other reward that he is offered, even for doing the right thing.
- Bob is a restaurant owner who kicks Alice out for putting ketchup on one of his special burgers. Alice retorts, "You got my money! Isn't that enough?"
- Subverted:
- Bob lied about his motivation; he wants to save the people of Troperville from Emperor Evulz.
- Bob is only in it for the money, at first, but then he gains a soft side for the people he's saving.
- Money is important to Bob, but only as a means to some more noble end, like paying for medicine for his terminally ill younger sister. He couldn't care less about enriching himself.
- Double Subverted: ...because several of them have offered him money.
- Parodied: Bob destroys the entirety of capitalism, somehow, and demands to be paid for it.
- Zig Zagged: Bob just wants money, but he suffers from some Forgotten Aesops about greed along the way.
- Averted:
- Bob's reasons for heroism are purely heroic.
- Bob is being bribed with something other than money, perhaps food.
- Enforced: "We want to show our hero as an average joe who just happens to be helpful. Let's make it so he's only in it for personal reasons, possibly for money."
- Lampshaded: "Bob doesn't care about saving us. He just wants our money."
- Invoked: The townsfolk offer Bob money for defeating Emperor Evulz.
- Exploited:
- After Bob defeats Emperor Evulz and claims the cash, people start bribing him for other deeds.
- Bob aligns with whichever side can reward him best.
- Bob claims to be in it only for money to prevent retaliation against Troperville - if he is seen as a greedy asshole then they won't think of using it as leverage against him.
- Charlie uses Bob on why he thinks humans will only do good things if you bribe them with something.
- Defied: The townsfolk do not offer a reward because they don't want a greedy or selfish hero.
- Discussed: "No, I'm not just in this for the money! I want to save you all from the Emperor's clutches."
- Conversed: "Bob's no hero. He's in it for selfish reasons. See? They're paying him."
- Implied: Bob never mentions his motivation, but his expression brightens when the townsfolk give him a huge sack of money.
- Deconstructed:
- Because of the selfish motivation behind his actions, Bob goes down in history as a self-centered Anti-Hero.
- Bob becomes so consumed by greed as a hero that he decides to stop becoming a hero in exchange for becoming a villain in the process.
- Reconstructed:
- Bob doesn't care what people think of him, as he is neither good nor evil.
- The people of Troperville don't care about their hero's motivation; they're just thankful that someone saved them from Emperor Evulz.
- Bob is a character in a video game with Faction-Specific Endings. Because you're the one signing his paycheck, he will follow you no matter who you support.
- Played For Laughs: Bob wants Emperor Evulz dead because he sings the most annoying songs, and his evil deeds seem insignificant in comparison (at least to Bob).
- Played For Drama: Bob will also do evil deeds for money; he only chose the good side because Troperville bribed him and Emperor Evulz did not.
- Untwisted: Bob acts like a big-shot hero, as if he has something to hide. When his sidekick Alice asks why he became a hero, he says, "Oh, there's a very heroic reason: they're paying me!"
Why did I become a hero if I'm Not in This for Your Revolution? I'm Only in It for the Money, of course!
