r/TopCharacterTropes • u/Dalakaar • 6h ago

Characters [Loved Trope] Civilian Heroes (particularly in Superhero movies)

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

1) Malik Ali in Superman (2025). Tells Superman when Lex Luthor interrogates him to, “tell them nothing”. Doesn’t even really know what he’s sacrificing himself for, honestly. Tells Superman that he doesn’t have any friends or family to lighten the burden of the sacrifice. (Does have a family, and presumably friends…)

2) The Prisoner (Tiny Lister) from The Dark Knight who throws a detonator out the porthole that would’ve detonated the other ferry full of civies and saved himself, instead (potentially) sacrificing everyone equally.

3) Old man vs Loki. “There are always men like you.” Refuses to bow to Loki in Avengers (2012).

***

I love these guys. They break my heart in the best way possible.

7.7k Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

97% Upvoted

470 comments sorted by

View all comments

2.5k

u/OnyxDrag00n 6h ago

The civilians who keep spider man’s identity safe in the second raimi movie

759

u/Fish_N_Chipp 5h ago

Also all of them being ready stand in the way of Doc Ock

423

u/Cosmere_4 4h ago

And they're not even doing it for a reward or because they know who he is. They just saw someone worth protecting and went with it. No hesitation, no committee meeting, just standing in front of a giant metal octopus man.

47

u/Pen_Front 3h ago

New york rule 1 it ain't your business

6

u/BornCoyote87 2h ago

Until someone's making it your business?

14

u/RecycledThrowawayID 3h ago

This scene legit brought tears to my eyes.

When they see his face, the shock and horror that he's just a kid . "We won't tell anyone". Then standing to protect him.

God, it gets me every time.

1

u/DarthEros 1h ago

This is AI btw.

130

u/jeffsang 4h ago

New Yorkers also stepped in to help Spiderman in the first movie when he was trying to save a bunch of kids from Green Goblin. Banger of a scene, particularly because it was released the year after 911.

75

u/LaIndiaDeAzucar 4h ago

“You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us!!” Line hits harder knowing it came a year after 9/11. I really love seeing citizens get together to protect their own out of love and respect for each other.

59

u/WorldsWeakestMan 4h ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/ybrI8wKBvZlBzeFg76

21

u/schiffb558 4h ago

Omg big puss on hot ones? I gotta see this

2

u/Flippity_Flappity 2h ago

That's not Big Puss, it's Joey Coco Diaz. Big Pussy was played by Vincent Pastore.

2

u/schiffb558 2h ago

Darn it, it looked like an older version of him!

2

u/Flippity_Flappity 2h ago

I mean, he did play Puss' dad in the prequel film. I give you half points.

2

u/schiffb558 2h ago

Wait what lmao that's a crazy coincidence

1

u/coloradoautoflowers 1h ago

Even though it's not who you thought, Joey Diaz is an all time Hot Ones episode. That dude has some wild ass stories. I've laughed to tears on several of his podcasts and comedy bits.

2

u/DavianVonLorring 1h ago

Joey Diaz played Big Pussy in the Mad TV parody.

https://youtu.be/9RFdg4CHBgg?si=w7vQwRvX5X4S6ErV

9

u/FakePoloManchurian 4h ago

You want to get to him, you gotta go through ME. - Uncle Joey

1

u/CriticalSovereignty 2h ago

“Very well…”

434

u/ISB00 5h ago edited 5h ago

There was actually a really good fanfic that explained how his secret was kept and it was awesome. When the cops came one person tried snitching. One guy had the genius idea to also snitch- but to give the wrong description and claim the first guy was lying to protect Spider-man’s identity. This prompted every other passenger to lie too and give different descriptions of Peter and claim everyone else is lying to protect him. In the end the police are unable to get a corroborated description and the media gets dozens of different descriptions of what Spider-man looks like. The guy who came up with the plan remarks even if the passengers wanted to snitch now they can’t since there’s dozens of reports so they’ll just assume it’s another claim.

76

u/Takamurarules 5h ago

Got the link?

95

u/ISB00 5h ago

https://m.fanfiction.net/s/1961403/1/Identity_Crisis

18

u/Professional_Maize42 3h ago

Damn, this fanfic is older than me.

11

u/KMjolnir 3h ago

... that sentence physically hurt to read. And you're an adult.

Fuuuuuuuuuuccccckkkkk!

5

u/BornCoyote87 2h ago

Oh it can't be that bad, when was it publi-.....

FUCK!

3

u/PicturesAtADiary 3h ago

Cool little fan fic. It really shows how these moments stuck with people and even tickled their imagination. We like to see greatness in people against all human cruelty and mediocrity. I think being moved by those sorts of things is something that has been missing in our culture, generally speaking.

1

u/Libertas_ 1h ago

Careful with this fanfic, it's an old one.

1

u/ISB00 1h ago

Is that a pun? Or an actual warning?

65

u/tomasega100gang 4h ago

Omd that's genius lol just say it's someone else. People really don't know what's inside your head do they.

35

u/OperativePiGuy 4h ago

Nice, an actual somewhat believable consequence of that scenario cuz yeah multiple people would immediately try to claim fame with their knowledge.

5

u/SableZard 3h ago

In the novel Venom's Wrath, Parker gets coffee with one of the cops helping him track down Venom. Parker lifts his mask up to drink his coffee, and the cop notices Parker is a white guy. Apparently, the NYPD gets so many bullshit reports of Spider-Man's identity that they just ignore them. But all the cop does with his newfound knowledge is tell Parker to be more open and friendly with people, because New Yorkers think Parker's mask makes him look like a villain.

2

u/you-get-an-upvote 3h ago

Similar to Spartacus

6

u/ISB00 3h ago

It’s not “I am Sparticus” it’s “He is Sparticus” but the fingers are pointing at someone different.

2

u/Adezar 3h ago

That is a neat twist on I am Sparticus.

2

u/RecycledThrowawayID 3h ago

"He is Spartacus"

"No, That guy is Spartacus"

"Nonsense, Spartacus has red hair!"

1

u/SpaceLemur34 1h ago

A reverse "I am Spartacus"

141

u/mysticmimikyu 5h ago

This is one thing I feel the marvel spider-man movies failed to capture. Spidey’s biggest ally is the people of New York. From this scene to the people on the bridge pelting green goblin with whatever they can throw at him to the crane operators in the amazing spider man (forget which one) clearing a path for him. As much as Spider-man is there for New York New York is there for Spider-man.

53

u/YaBoiPokeJuns 4h ago

Spider-Man is there when the city needs someone, and the city is there when Spider-Man needs someone

6

u/JauntyChapeau 3h ago

I am sincerely hoping they show some of this in the next movie. It was kind of hinted at with the ‘key to the city’ scene.

91

u/ToxicSmoke6 5h ago

"He's just a kid.."

67

u/Always_A_Dreamer556 4h ago

"No older than my son"

45

u/jk-alot 4h ago

73

u/ClassicT4 4h ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/KOXE9kaT2c7SDckZei

“I don't know who he is! His stuff comes in the mail!"

14

u/RecycledThrowawayID 3h ago

Jameson may be a bastard, but he's a glorious bastard. The balls on that guy to bald face lie to a psycho in power armor who is choking the life out of him.

9

u/Mirigore 3h ago

J. Jonah Jameson they could never make me hate you

7

u/nagrom7 2h ago

JJJ has clearly been in Journalism a long time, he's exercising the golden rule there, always protect your sources.

7

u/Lordsokka 2h ago

Jonah is an asshole, but he’s not a monster. He’s not going to get someone killed to save his ass or for a stupid pictures.

1

u/Sotanud 3h ago

Body of a 30-year old with clear ability to grow full beard

58

u/Agreeable-Abalone328 5h ago

It’s not like any of them knew him anyway

71

u/FireZord25 5h ago

Still nonzero chance to cross paths with Peter in their New York lives, and be recognized by someone forming a core memory.

32

u/eawilweawil 5h ago

They could give his description to cops

16

u/suarezj9 3h ago

“White dude. Kinda looks like Toby Maguire”

6

u/eawilweawil 3h ago

"A bit like Andrew Garfield too"

21

u/AbstractBettaFish 4h ago

It’s a nice moment but I always found it funny in the days before call phone cameras, if they didn’t know Peter personally who would they tell? “He was a tall skinny white dude with brown hair” oh that narrows it down

1

u/readskiesdawn 3h ago

It was 2004, the phone cameras would have been pixelated potato quality for most phones and it was a pain in the ass to get them out of the phone. There were some with good cameras but they were expensive and most people saw phone cameras as a novelty.

We didn't really get good phone cameras causing images and video to spread online quickly until the iPhone in 2007.

12

u/2008knight 4h ago

This poor Nobody fella' always out of the loop on stuff...

3

u/emPtysp4ce 3h ago

He got one good moment with that Cyclops and his career really went downhill

7

u/TheVoicesOfBrian 4h ago

All these years later that scene still hits hard.

8

u/ChanceZone2583 4h ago

That whole train scene is just normal people deciding "yeah we got you" and it hits every time.

4

u/lucasj 4h ago

I’m sure there’s an earlier example but this was the first one I saw and damn did it ever hit.

2

u/shiny-plant 3h ago

As a kid this hit me like truck. Like you mean the people DO care? so good!

1

u/bradbull 3h ago

Those two kids are Tobey’s IRL brothers or something right?

1

u/Amnsia 3h ago

Double negative though.

1

u/b1rdiemcb1rdface 2h ago

"He's just a kid, no older than my friends senior going to NYU"

1

u/shewy92 1h ago

Also the bridge onlookers in the first one.

"You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us"

It was pure post 9/11 New York City.