History DracoInLeatherPants / WesternAnimation

** [[BigBad Slade]], whose intelligence, competency and "cool" factor results in many fans ignoring the fact that he's a mind-raping adult who takes pride in stalking and fighting teenagers. Some fans even go as far as to find him blameless for Terra betraying the Titans. While yes, it was partially Terra's fault, Slade still played a role in it. Fans even go as far as to make him innocent compared to Terra.

** Duncan. It's invariably difficult to keep him in character seeing as his softer side overrules his bad-boy charm in the eyes of most fans. If you find a fanfic involving Duncan/Courtney, Duncan/Gwen, Duncan/anybody expect DracoInLeatherPants to come into play. (Although, those that ship him with Gwen do have some justified argument, she is the only one he is rather [[MoralityPet nice to]].)

** The Ice King receives no end of sympathy from most fans, continually painting him as harmless and misunderstood. While he ''is'' a JerkassWoobie with a FreudianExcuse, he still harasses, stalks, kidnaps, imprisons, mind-controls, and at one point ''mutilates'' around a dozen different women, all for the purpose of forcing them to "marry" him.

** Silco, especially after Episode 9. Focusing ''just'' on his last scene in that episode, a number of fans have taken it and rewritten him in their heads as a {{Tsundere}} JerkassWoobie who did everything to [[spoiler: provide for Jinx]], putting his [[spoiler: DyingDeclarationOfLove]] on a plinth while the whole reason he [[spoiler: was shot]] in the first place was because [[spoiler: he tried to shoot Vi and rob Powder/Jinx of her ability to choose a life other than with him]] is virtually ignored.
** Jinx also gets this treatment from some of the fanbase, excusing her more heinous actions in favour of playing up her tragic backstory. Sure, Jinx started out as a traumatized young girl who fell in with the wrong crowd. but she's still responsible for [[spoiler:a number of Enforcer and Firelight gang deaths. She [[LackOfEmpathy never shows remorse or a guilty conscience for the people she kills (Mylo and Claggor aside)]], willingly chooses to follow Silco's orders and goes out of her way to terrorize innocent civilians, and makes the ''highly unreasonable'' demand of wanting [[ShootYourMate Vi to shoot Caitlyn to get Powder back]], putting the already-scared and distressed Vi in an impossible position.]]

** Azula is a callous, cruel manipulator who kills without hesitation and gleefully advances the aims of the genocidal Fire Nation, but thanks to being the best example of EvilIsSexy and {{Magnificent Bastard}}ry in the show she has a large chunk of fans who insist she's a tragic woobie or just misunderstood. The GrandFinale gives her one hell of a FreudianExcuse and the following canonical comics hint that she [[spoiler:might be redeemable after all]], but the DILP treatment started long before that.
** Zhao and Ozai get this treatment by Fire Nation fans for EvilIsCool reasons, but unlike Azula they have no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

** Zuko got this treatment back when he was an AntiVillain, with many fans saying all his wrong actions can be excused because of his [[FreudianExcuse angsty backstory]] and conflicted nature. [[WordOfGod Mike and Bryan themselves]] have brought this up in commentary for episodes such as "The Warriors of Kyoshi" and "The Beach" that, as sympathetic as Zuko is, he's not supposed to be justified in his bad actions, and in fact a big part of his CharacterDevelopment is ''learning'' that he needs to take responsibility for his bad actions. This internal struggle of good and evil, which still crops up even after his HeelFaceTurn, is the entire point of his character.

*** ComicBook/PoisonIvy in particular gets this a lot because [[EvilIsSexy she is so hot and sexy]], because she's [[DeadpanSnarker quick-witted and funny]], and also because she [[PetTheDog occasionally acts as]] a CoolBigSis to the naive and put-upon ComicBook/HarleyQuinn, who ''does'' suffer a great deal at the hands of ComicBook/TheJoker and various others and legitimately deserves some sympathy herself. However, none of this should make anyone forget that the rest of the time she's a nasty piece of work, [[DisproportionateRetribution killing people left and right for her own insane reasons]] (or, on one heinous occasion, trying to turn them into ''trees'' after exposing them to a plant-based elixir that she promised would grant them immortality), and also being a [[ManipulativeBastard Manipulative Bitch]], using her goddess-like beauty to weaken men's resolve or [[ScrewTheRulesImBeautiful squirm her way out of being punished for her actions]].

*** Harley Quinn also for being an abuse victim at the Joker's hands, and actually having her origin shown in which he manipulates her into becoming his accomplice by taking advantage of [[MadLove her obvious crush]]on him by feeding her sob stories. While this is genuinely tragic, it does not excuse her numerous homicidal acts as a part of the Joker's entourage. Her first appearance has her gleefully try to bomb the policeman ball while all officers present are paralyzed by a toxic gas, and she becomes willingly complicit in several more severe crimes form then on.

* Chip Whistler from ''WesternAnimation/BigCityGreens'' is a narcissistic sociopath who is obsessed with revenge on the Green Family and has [[WouldHurtAChild literally tried to murder children]], but he’s good-looking, so there’s no shortage of fans trying to redeem him so he can be shipped with Gloria, Bill, or well, anyone.

** Viren, the ongoing main antagonist of the first three seasons, tends to get this from time to time. As said before, his ideals weren't exactly "wrong" at first, but when he gets desparate, he jumps to conclusions that would make him do things that are absolutely vile, including [[ManipulativeBastard trying to get his son to]] [[WouldHurtAChild kill his friends]] just so he can usurp the throne. Some fans tend to remember his more understanding opinions that could technically be more "right" than even what certain heroes would think, but that hardly matters when his actions only spur the war and he completely ignores the option to make peace when the opportunity arises.

* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': Stewie tends to get sympathetic treatment in later episodes, largely due to putting up with Brian's selfish egotism and his ComedicSociopath parents, disregarding the fact that even following his Flanderization, Stewie is often portrayed as a sadist who tries to kill his mother and puts Brian through all sorts of painful stunts for [[DisproportionateRetribution petty slights]] or even [[ItAmusedMe just to see if he can]]. (eg, giving him two gangster style beatings for overdue gambling fees or travelling in time to sabotage every meaningful point in his life over a gay joke).

** Bill Cipher, the BigBad of the entire series. He is a living embodiment of the Illuminati symbol and he has psychotic behavior but fans love him. He is often [[SelfFanservice drawn as a sexy man]] with one eye covered and [[ManOfWealthAndTaste dapper clothes]] who is sometimes shipped with Dipper or Mabel. Back in "Dreamscaperers," most of his villainous acts technically took place inside dreams, yet he still showed signs of his chaos-loving like when he telekinetically removed a deer's teeth to creep out Gideon. Fans ignored the warning signs and thought his mysteriousness at the time was hinting at some kind of morally-gray character, beginning to make all kinds of romantic interpretations of him. When the episode "Sock Opera" where he possesses Dipper's body debuted, fans started fawning over "Bipper" and outright calling him sexy even though he tried to kill Mabel. Even when the last quarter of the series makes it blatantly clear that his "strange plan" is [[spoiler:to ''destroy the world for fun'', which he partially succeeds at doing (he manages to cause an apocalypse in the town of Gravity Falls, but he's stopped from going further by a barrier),]] the habit of painting him as some sort of misunderstood good guy persisted to the end of the series and pairing him with the Pines remained some of the most popular ships in the entire fandom. Supplemental materials hint that there is indeed some [[HiddenDepths emotional depth]] to Bill's character, [[DefiedTrope but that ultimately he is still solely responsible for the atrocities he's committed]].

** Helga Pataki. In the series she's a JerkassWoobie with a HiddenHeartOfGold who is horribly neglected by her parents, but who also can be mean, selfish, rude (and even cruel in some instances) does many things moved by jealousy and constantly bullies other kids (not only Arnold). However, despite that, many fanfics (especially romantic fanfics) portray her almost as a saint. This happens mostly because [[ThisLoserIsYou a lot of viewers see themselves in her]], a sentiment amplified by her main character status.

** Zim is a VillainProtagonist with little sympathetic qualities and who desires to enslave Earth, committing some pretty vile deeds in his attempts to do so. In fan-fiction, however, he is often given more sympathetic qualities and PetTheDog moments, with his more villainous qualities and misdeeds being toned down, if not removed entirely. In shipping fics, it isn't uncommon for him to [[HeelFaceTurn give up his conquest]] thanks to [[LoveRedeems the love of some kind-hearted human or Irken girl]], or [[FoeYayShipping Dib]] in SlashFics.

** Amon is the charismatic leader of the Equalists, who [[WellIntentionedExtremist just want to bring about equality between benders and non-benders by ending all bending]], but have absolutely no problem harming the very people they claim to be helping. Amon's so charismatic that he's managed to convince some of the fans, who rightly point out existing inequalities in Republic City, but tend to gloss over that forcibly stripping people of something the setting treats as intrinsic to one's soul is not a nice thing to do.

** Season 4 gives us [[KnightTemplar Kuvira]]. She desperately wanted to save the Earth Kingdom from falling into anarchy after [[spoiler:The Earth Queen's assassination]]. To that end, she usurped power from the reigning Prince Wu and reformed the kingdom into the Earth Empire. Like Amon, she is extremely charismatic and can justify her actions with arguments so reasonable that even ''the heroes'' begrudgingly agree [[VillainHasAPoint she has a point]]. So charismatic is she that even some of the fandom will defend her by saying that she's just doing what she thinks is right, even when it's revealed she is throwing those not of Earth Kingdom decent into labor camps. The fact that [[spoiler:the series finale portrays her as a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds and gives her a FreudianExcuse to further humanize her]] only reinforced this sentiment.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'': An unusual case where this is applied to ''the main character of the show itself'', Lincoln Loud. Fan-rewrites or {{Fix Fic}}s of unpopular episodes where [[ButtMonkey Lincoln]] gets the short end of the stick often portray Lincoln as an innocent victim of the torment of his sisters (who are often given the RonTheDeathEater treatment) who calls them out for their mistreatment of him when in the canon episode(s) Lincoln wasn't entirely blameless or even brought on the torment upon himself. It's especially noticeable in certain re-writes of the widely-disliked episode "No Such Luck", where Lincoln calls out his entire family for treating him like dirt because they thought he was a jinx (sometimes to the point of getting them arrested or otherwise punishing them), even though in the actual episode, Lincoln, like it or not, brought everything bad that happened to him upon himself by making his family believe that he was a jinx ''solely for his own gain''.

** [[BigBad Hawk Moth]] ''himself'' started getting this treatment once it was revealed that [[spoiler:he's Gabriel Agreste. Fans latched on to his [[OutlivingOnesOffspring concern for Adrien's safety]] and motives (bringing his beloved wife back), while ignoring the fact that he often puts Adrien in danger to begin with.]]

*** For Chloé, it started becoming more justified when the writers tried to give her CharacterDevelopment and [[spoiler:turn her into a superhero]]; however, she constantly displayed AesopAmnesia in regards to this, and if anything only got ''worse'' in season 3, where [[spoiler:she willingly worked with Hawk Moth because Ladybug didn't give in to her demands]]. Despite this (or perhaps [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot because of it]]), the fans love having her [[HeelRealization see the error of her ways]] and become a good person for real. Usually, fans actually at least address her flaws and have her work to overcome them (though they sometimes make it too easy for her), but there are writers who just brush them aside.
*** For Lila, while it was more understandable when we only had "Volpina" to go by in terms of her personality (with there being enough wiggle room to give her [[ConsummateLiar constant lying]] a FreudianExcuse), there are still fans willing to do this after she's proven herself to be a {{sociopath}} who is perfectly willing to work with a supervillain to get what she wants. The most common methods involve citing a potential FreudianExcuse for her behavior (whether even loosely based in canon or made up by the author), [[FanonDiscontinuity ignoring her actions post-"Volpina"]], or putting her in a situation where she [[EvenEvilHasStandards has standards]] compared to a different character (typically a character going through a RonTheDeathEater phase).
** Félix Agreste has also been getting this from fans, who often ignore him being a remorseless ManipulativeBastard in favor of portraying him as, at worst, a JerkWithAHeartOfGold -- often at the expense of giving the RonTheDeathEater treatment to his cousin Adrien. A lot of this is rooted in the fact that [[WhatCouldHaveBeen he was originally meant to be the show's male protagonist]], and the fanbase had been applying {{fanon}} to him for years by the time he made his debut.

* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'': Rick Sanchez, one of the title characters of the show, is typically an asshole of many calibers. He's a drunk, selfish and reckless, even if he can get him and his grandson Morty out of sticky situations (though he's the one that normally put them in said situations). Every once in a while though, Rick seems to have a moment of character development, and fans forget that he's an asshole. Even if immediately after the moment of character development, he reverts back to his normal asshole-ish self.

** Three words: ''Aku''. ''Has''. ''FANGIRLS''.
** Besides, he has a loud fanbase that sympathize with him for being MadeOfEvil. He simply CAN'T stop being evil because it's in his very nature to be evil. The fact that [[spoiler:some fans saw his death as a TearJerker moment of the series only cemented this status, since his death marks the end to an iconic Cartoon Network villain many grew up with]]. Of course, this is ignoring that Aku is a ChaoticEvil {{sadist}} whose list of crimes can fill a book; and his [[LaughablyEvil sense of humor]] aside, he has no redeemable traits. Some fans even consider him as UglyCute or CreepyCute, largely due to his somewhat simplistic design.

** Catra. Even after she tries to [[spoiler:[[SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum destroy Etheria and all life on it including herself]] just to [[WeWinBecauseYouDidnt deny Adora victory]]]], you will still find fans who think she is justified in her actions. For some fans, the ''Draco'' part may be dropped [[spoiler:when Catra makes a HeelFaceTurn in Season 5 and performs a HeroicSacrifice.]]
** There are certain fans who completely whitewash [[spoiler:Entrapta's]] FaceHeelTurn and claim that [[spoiler:she's purely duped by the Horde and won't need any actual redemption, ignoring the extremely dark and irresponsible depiction of her ForScience tendencies. Some of them also argue her UsefulNotes/{{autism}} means she isn't morally responsible for any of her actions... which is pretty dodgy if you actually are autistic or sympathize with autistic people from a more thoughtful perspective.]]
** Hordak. While he's certainly deliberately sympathetic (Especially in the way he bonds with Entrapta), some fans forget that Hordak is very much not a good person and try to whitewash or ignore his villainous deeds, although many of his fans certainly understand that he's a villain and [[EvilIsCool like him plenty anyways.]] [[spoiler: The show ends with him redeeming himself, which has only intensified debate over whether the writers themselves give him this treatment.]]
** There are even some fans (admittedly only a very small minority) who downplay Shadow Weaver's [[ItsAllAboutMe relentlessly self-serving behaviour]] and insist that deep down, she cares for Adora and/or Catra... even though she's proven herself entirely willing to sacrifice ''both'' if it gets her what she wants.

** To a lesser extent, Mr. Burns. In canon, he's a heartless CorruptCorporateExecutive, but those who [[{{Shipping}} ship]] him with his assistant Mr. Smithers often sand off his edges and make him considerably sweeter- or, at the very least, portray Smithers as his MoralityPet.
* The ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' fandom does this a lot, especially with characters like [[FatBastard Cartman]], who once [[spoiler: has gone as far as to trick a kid into eating food made from his slain parents]], and Damien, who set Pip on fire and turned Kenny into a duck-billed platypus.
* Plankton in ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants''. It has been established that he's "1% evil, 99% hot gas", but some have doubted that as he continued to try to take Krabs' secret formula in myriad ways. One episode from the same first season with the previous calculation even had him as a JerkWithAHeartOfJerk with him saying [[CardCarryingVillain "Being evil is just too much fun!"]] His actions include enslaving Spongebob, taking out his brain, and gleefully attempting to lord over and enslave others while, in the first movie, set up Mr. Krabs to be punished by King Neptune, which would likely be lethal (though the severity of 'death' in such a program is not always clear). With the possibly-alternate world of the post-movie Spongebob, he's gone as far as to potentially murder people several times. He's definitely crossed the MoralEventHorizon to some at this point, though it may be DependingontheWriter, as he's still usually content with enslaving people. But because Mr. Krabs TookALevelInJerkass in these later seasons, a lot of folks act as though Plankton is some innocent victim who never does anything wrong, when even in those seasons he's still a Jerkass type himself who has done just as many nasty things as Krabs has. Obviously that doesn't excuse what Krabs did in "One Coarse Meal", but still...
** Squidward could also fall as an example. Sure he suffers a lot, but there are fans who ignore all the bad stuff he has done and some mean things he's said out of sheer grouchiness and treat him like an innocent victim, even when some of his misfortunes are brought upon himself.

** According to some of his fans [[VillainProtagonist Zim]] is really a totally badass mastermind. But don't worry, he's not really evil; he would seriously regret destroying humanity, and would probably give it up if a kind-hearted human or Irken girl would [[LoveRedeems just show him some love]]. Oh, and also, [[RonTheDeathEater isn't Dib just such a bastard]] for trying to stop him so much? There's a bit of this for other Irkens too, particularly the Tallests. Apparently galactic conquest and repeated genocide and enslavement of the survivors is a-okay.

** This trope could had been easily renamed "Valtor in leather pants" since the fan arts and fanfics where he is portrayed as a romantic interest for Bloom can be counted in hundreds. In the latter, he is sometimes redeemed and others, he lures Bloom to the darkness. A case to pick with a grain of salt because Valtor is at the very least the same age as elderly Headmistress Griffin (even if he looks in his forties) whereas Bloom is an underage teenager (17yo) when they meet.

** Diaspro is often regarded as a victim of misogynistic {{Flanderization}}. By any means, she was as much of a victim as Bloom due to Sky's two-timing. The show's creators demonized her in that instance and later wrote her as willing of teaming up with dimensional terrorists so she could mind control Sky and of trying to murder Bloom out of pettiness. Fanfiction authors give her the chance to redeem herself more often than not, sometimes even retaining some of her original flaws (arrogance, classism) for added complexity. The fact the comics (which are partially canon) actually portrayed her as a better person who is only evil because of mind control definitely helps matters.

* ''WesternAnimation/PuppyInMyPocketAdventuresInPocketville'': Eva, the main antagonist of this series, is a [[CatsAreMean mean Siamese cat]] and [[PolarOppositeTwins the twin]] [[SiblingYinYang sister of]] [[TheHighQueen Princess Ava]] who wants to claim the Friendship Heart and the throne of the Pocket Kingdom for herself. She does this all ForTheEvulz and even lacks redeeming factors. Despite all this however, most fans absolutely adore her for varying reasons. Some fan content even paint her as a more sympathetic or misunderstood villain who just wants as much attention as her sister, but does it in the completely wrong way. Some fans even see her [[spoiler:fate being captured by the Pet Buster in place of her sister as a TearJerker moment, considering the implications of her and her sister’s family]].

* ''WesternAnimation/PuppyInMyPocketAdventuresInPocketville'': Eva, the main antagonist of this series, is a [[CatsAreMean mean Siamese cat]] and [[PolarOppositeTwins the twin]] [[SiblingYingYang sister of]] [[TheHighQueen Princess Ava]] who wants to claim the Friendship Heart and the throne of the Pocket Kingdom for herself. She does this all ForTheEvulz and even lacks redeeming factors. Despite all this however, most fans absolutely adore her for varying reasons. Some fan content even paint her as a more sympathetic or misunderstood villain who just wants as much attention as her sister, but does it in the completely wrong way. Some fans even see her [[spoiler:fate being captured by the Pet Buster in place of her sister as a TearJerker moment, considering the implications of her and her sister’s family]].

** Bill Cipher, the BigBad of the entire series. He is a living embodiment of the Illuminati symbol and he has psychotic behavior but fans love him. He is often [[SelfFanservice drawn as a sexy man]] with one eye covered and [[ManOfWealthAndTaste dapper clothes]] who is sometimes shipped with Dipper or Mabel. Back in "Dreamscaperers," most of his villainous acts technically took place inside dreams, yet he still showed signs of his chaos-loving like when he telekinetically removed a deer's teeth to creep out Gideon. Fans ignored the warning signs and thought his mysteriousness at the time was hinting at some kind of morally-gray character, beginning to make all kinds of romantic interpretations of him. When the episode "Sock Opera" where he possesses Dipper's body debuted, fans started fawning over "Bipper" and outright calling him sexy even though he tried to kill Mabel. Even when the last quarter of the series makes it blatantly clear that his "strange plan" is [[spoiler:to ''destroy the world for fun'', which he partially succeeds at doing (he manages to cause an apocalypse in the town of Gravity Falls, but he's stopped from going further by a barrier),]] the habit of painting him as some sort of misunderstood good guy persisted to the end of the series and pairing him with the Pines remained some of the most popular ships in the entire fandom. Supplemental materials hint that there is indeed some [[HiddenDepths emotional depth]] to Bill's character, [[DefiedTrope but that ultimately he is still the sole responsible for the atrocities he's committed]].

** Bill Cipher, the BigBad of the entire series. He is a living embodiment of the Illuminati symbol and he has psychotic behavior but fans love him. He is often [[SelfFanservice drawn as a sexy man]] with [[PeekABangs one eye covered]] and [[ManOfWealthAndTaste dapper clothes]] who is sometimes shipped with Dipper or Mabel. Back in "Dreamscaperers," most of his villainous acts technically took place inside dreams, yet he still showed signs of his chaos-loving like when he telekinetically removed a deer's teeth to creep out Gideon. Fans ignored the warning signs and thought his mysteriousness at the time was hinting at some kind of morally-gray character, beginning to make all kinds of romantic interpretations of him. When the episode "Sock Opera" where he possesses Dipper's body debuted, fans started fawning over "Bipper" and outright calling him sexy even though he tried to kill Mabel. Even when the last quarter of the series makes it blatantly clear that his "strange plan" is [[spoiler:to ''destroy the world for fun'', which he partially succeeds at doing (he manages to cause an apocalypse in the town of Gravity Falls, but he's stopped from going further by a barrier),]] the habit of painting him as some sort of misunderstood good guy persisted to the end of the series and pairing him with the Pines remained some of the most popular ships in the entire fandom. Supplemental materials hint that there is indeed some [[HiddenDepths emotional depth]] to Bill's character, [[DefiedTrope but that ultimately he is still the sole responsible for the atrocities he's committed]].

** Both of the show's [[AlphaBitch alpha bitches]], Chloe and Lila, have been getting this from fans:
*** For Chloe, it started becoming more justified when the writers tried to give her CharacterDevelopment and [[spoiler:turn her into a superhero]]; however, she constantly displayed AesopAmnesia in regards to this, and if anything only got ''worse'' in season 3, where [[spoiler:she willingly worked with Hawk Moth because Ladybug didn't give in to her demands]]. Despite this (or perhaps [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot because of it]]), the fans love having her [[HeelRealization see the error of her ways]] and become a good person for real. Usually, fans actually at least address her flaws and have her work to overcome them (though they sometimes make it too easy for her), but there are writers who just brush them aside.
*** For Lila, while it was more understandable when we only had "Volpina" to go by in terms of her personality (with there being enough wiggle room to give her [[ConsummateLiar constant lying]] a FreudianExcuse), there are still fans willing to do this after she's proven herself to be a {{sociopath}} who is perfectly willing to work with a supervillain to get what she wants. They usually excuse her behavior by claiming that Ladybug was partly responsible for her [[StartOfDarkness downfall]] as she humiliated her in front of Adrien (never mind that Lila was already lying to and manipulating everyone around her beforehand, which is ''why'' Ladybug called her out), that she was manipulated and encouraged by Hawk Moth, that she suffers from her parents' constant [[ParentalNeglect absence]] (though there's little evidence of this in canon), and that she actually has feelings for Adrien, meaning she ''can't'' be a heartless person.

** Desiree gets this from fans. She has a very sympathetic backstory and is heavily implied to have been an unappreciated sex slave in life. The fact that she's [[BuxomIsBetter extremely]] [[HartmanHips attractive]] helps of course. In the show proper, she's bad to the bone and has gone full JackassGenie more concerned with power than actually granting wishes.

*** For Lila, while it was more understandable when we only had "Volpina" to go by in terms of her personality (with there being enough wiggle room to give her [[ConsummateLiar constant lying]] a FreudianExcuse), there are still fans willing to do this after she's proven herself to be a {{sociopath}} who is perfectly willing to work with a supervillain to get what she wants. They usually excuse her behavior by claiming that Ladybug was partly responsible for her [[StartOfDarkness downfall]] as she humiliated her in front of Adrien, that she was manipulated and encouraged by Hawk Moth, that she ''clearly'' suffers from her parents' constant [[ParentalNeglect absence]], and that she actually has feelings for Adrien, meaning she ''can't'' be a heartless person.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' has Sideshow Bob. While his [[WickedCultured intelligence]], menacing aura, and highbrow[=/=]DeadpanSnarker attitude combined with the perpetual clown-like mishaps to which he's subjected make him a cool and funny villain, there is a considerable fanbase determined to overlook that his life revolves around murdering Bart and those who stand in the way of his murdering Bart, instead making him into an angster hiding his suffering under an antisocial exterior. Extra annoying in that they overlook the canonical explanation for any angst (his being Krusty the Klown's ButtMonkey for years), instead giving him a depressingly cliched tragic backstory.

** Most of the villains get this treatment. Some fans will sympathize with Heather due to WordOfGod confirming Harold’s theory that she has a FreudianExcuse of being bullied for being [[FormerlyFat fat]] when she was younger. The “Total Drama Messages From Home” segment from the first season also seems to confirm that she comes from an unloving household, where it shows her parents celebrating her departure for the show and going as far as to sell out all her belongings. There are also some fans who will portray Scott as kinder for the sake of someone (to be fair, this canonically happened in Season 5), and even ''Mal (a.k.a. THE MALEVOLENT ONE!!!)'' is portrayed as having a shred of goodness in him in some fanon, despite being essentially MPD Mike's inner embodiment of chaotic evil.

** Most of the villains get this treatment. There are some fans who will portray Scott as kinder for the sake of someone (to be fair, this canonically happened in Season 5), and even ''Mal (a.k.a. THE MALEVOLENT ONE!!!)'' is portrayed as having a shred of goodness in him in some fanon, despite being essentially MPD Mike's inner embodiment of chaotic evil.
** Ezekiel is occasionally written as a sad, down-on-his-luck, poor woobie who doesn't actually want to be in the game, and gets a lot of flack from other characters who never forgive him for his sexist comments back in the first season saying that [[StrawMisogynist guys are better than girls]]. By season three, and hinted at since the post-elimination special of the first season, it's clear that he's actually [[SmallNameBigEgo incredibly arrogant]] and there are more reasons for people to not like him besides [[NeverLiveItDown his comments]] (which nobody really brings up to him). Seeing as he ''clings on to the jumbo jet after being thrown off'' and ''willingly'' stays there [[spoiler:until becoming feral]], it's also obvious that wanting to leave the game is something he would never do. And yet the innocent, pull-toque-over-his-eyes Ezekiel is still present after all of this, probably because the creator's attempts to make Ezekiel come off as a {{Jerkass}} with a huge ego [[UnintentionallySympathetic backfired]] in his fan's eyes due to how little screentime he got... And how divided fans are over how he eventually became an expy of [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Gollum]] by the end of World Tour and the fact that two seasons later, he still hasn't fully recovered. It also helps that a lot of his more arrogant actions can easily be seen as [[IJustWantToHaveFriends a desperate attempt to get people to like him.]]

** There are certain fans who completely whitewash [[spoiler:Entrapta's]] FaceHeelTurn and claim that [[spoiler:she's purely duped by the Horde and won't need any actual redemption, ignoring the extremely dark and irresponsible depiction of her ForScience tendencies. [[DiagnosedByTheAudience Some of them also argue]] that she's autistic, and hence isn't morally responsible for any of her actions... which is pretty dodgy if you actually are autistic or sympathize with autistic people from a more thoughtful perspective.]]

** There are certain fans who completely whitewash [[spoiler:Entrapta's]] FaceHeelTurn and claim that [[spoiler:she's purely duped by the Horde and won't need any actual redemption, ignoring the extremely dark and irresponsible depiction of her ForScience tendencies. Some of them also argue based on her AmbiguousDisorder that she's autistic, and hence isn't morally responsible for any of her actions... which is pretty dodgy if you actually are autistic or sympathize with autistic people from a more thoughtful perspective.]]

* {{WesternAnimation/Phineas and Ferb}}. It’s not uncommon for people to claim that Dr. Doofenshmirtz was never evil and was only ever misunderstood notwithstanding the truly dangerous and malicious nature of his schemes. It doesn’t always come with the {{Ron the Death Eater}} treatment for Perry but it sometimes does.

** Scorpia has her own share of fans too. Despite having committed many vile acts during her time in the Horde, some of them treated her as an innocent bystander who did nothing wrong.

*** Starscream's usual Draco in Leather Pants treatment is taken UpToEleven in ''Prime''. Because of his skinny physique and how badly he tends to get punished, fans are quick to paint him as a JerkassWoobie and some even write {{Hurt Comfort Fic}}s that ship him with his ArchEnemy [[TheLancer Arcee]], glossing over the many [[KickTheDog dogs he's kicked]]; said dog-kicking includes killing Cliffjumper and throwing his death in the other Autobots' faces whenever he can, threatening Miko in front of an immobile Bulkhead, and taunting a T-cog-less Bumblebee about his inability to transform while holding said T-cog at gunpoint right in front of him.

** Catra. Even after she tries to [[spoiler:[[SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum destroy Etheria and all life on it including herself]] just to [[WeWinBecauseYouDidnt deny Adora victory]]]], you will still find fans who think she is justified in her actions.

** Bill Cipher, the BigBad of the entire series. He is a living embodiment of the Illuminati symbol and he has psychotic behavior but fans love him. He is often [[SelfFanservice drawn as a sexy man]] with [[BlindingBangs one eye covered]] and [[ManOfWealthAndTaste dapper clothes]] who is sometimes shipped with Dipper or Mabel. Back in "Dreamscaperers," most of his villainous acts technically took place inside dreams, yet he still showed signs of his chaos-loving like when he telekinetically removed a deer's teeth to creep out Gideon. Fans ignored the warning signs and thought his mysteriousness at the time was hinting at some kind of morally-gray character, beginning to make all kinds of romantic interpretations of him. When the episode "Sock Opera" where he possesses Dipper's body debuted, fans started fawning over "Bipper" and outright calling him sexy even though he tried to kill Mabel. Even when the last quarter of the series makes it blatantly clear that his "strange plan" is [[spoiler:to ''destroy the world for fun'', which he partially succeeds at doing (he manages to cause an apocalypse in the town of Gravity Falls, but he's stopped from going further by a barrier),]] the habit of painting him as some sort of misunderstood good guy persisted to the end of the series and pairing him with the Pines remained some of the most popular ships in the entire fandom. Supplemental materials hint that there is indeed some [[HiddenDepths emotional depth]] to Bill's character, [[DefiedTrope but that ultimately he is still the sole responsible for the atrocities he's committed]].

** Vlad Masters/Plasmius based his life around revenge for an accident and the title character's father "stealing" his one true love Maddie. He uses deception and mind control to amass his fortune and uses it and his ghost powers to attempt murder and cause mayhem, which he somehow thinks is a good way to get Maddie to fall in love with him and Danny to consider him as a better father than Jack. Yet because all he wants, essentially, is to be loved, numerous fans ignore that he's a selfish, maniacal narcissist.

** [[EvilChancellor Long Feng]] and his [[SecretPolice Dai Li]] are sometimes given this treatment, with their Orwellian methods and repression of Ba Sing Se painted as the act of true patriots who were compelled to do whatever it took to keep their city safe. [[Fanfic/{{Embers}} Case in point.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/MegaMan'', RS-Protoman is arguably not as bad as most of the examples on this page, but some fans seem to think that his switching alliances would instantly rid him of his [[PsychoPrototype less pleasant]] traits. (Possibly so they can offload them to their idealized version of [[{{Fanon}} RS-Bass]]).

** Charmcaster in ''Ultimate Alien'' is pretty much [[WesternAnimation/TeenTitans Terra]] when it comes to fan reaction: she's ''meant'' to be a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds AntiVillain, but certain fans focus too much on the "Woobie" and "Anti" while ignoring the "Destroyer of Worlds" and "Villain", while on the flipside there are those who [[RonTheDeathEater only insist on seeing the "Destroyer of Worlds" and "Villain" but not the "Woobie" and "Anti".]] ''Omniverse'' almost seems to parody these two extremes with Hobble and Ben's attitudes toward her respectively, leaving Rook as the only one taking the intended middle-road response.

* Scarab from ''WesternAnimation/MummiesAlive''. Never mind that he was something like a cross between [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Mr. Burns]] and [[WesternAnimation/ThunderCats Mumm-Ra]]; FanFic still has him suavely hooking up with heroes of the show alike. Considering that relatively few people even remember the show, the sheer amount of SlashFic it generates around an aging CorruptCorporateExecutive who powers up into an insectoid monstrosity is rather disturbing.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'':

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'':