History HeWhoFightsMonsters / ComicBooks

* Lampshaded in the ''ComicBook/AstroCity'' story "The Dark Age", as Charles Williams gets to wondering exactly how much difference there is between the current generation of DarkerAndEdgier [[AntiHero "heroes"]] and the criminals they fight. Later played straight as [[spoiler:Charles and his brother Royal grow so obsessed with killing their parents' killer that they become the same [[NinetiesAntiHero callous "heroes"]] that they despised]].
* Franchise/{{Batman}}'s greatest fear is that he will become this, if he hasn't already. In fact, this is the way many other heroes see him, and they are not entirely wrong ([[DependingOnTheWriter depending on who's writing him]]).

** Batman has had to be restrained more than once from killing the Joker in a few stories, like the ''[[ComicBook/BatmanHush Hush]]'' storyline when he thought the clown had murdered a childhood friend of his. In ''Under the Hood'', Batman freely admits to the Red Hood that he actually fantasizes about killing the Joker every day, but won't do so because he believes if he starts killing, he won't be able to stop.

** ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'': When the character Lockup was [[CanonImmigrant introduced into the "official" Batman comics]], the moral complexity of Lock-Up was (briefly) addressed by Commissioner Gordon, who admitted that there were times when he sympathized with Lyle Bolton. It is certainly easy to understand Bolton's frustration of having to deal with, year after year, some of the most monstrous human beings (and in one case an animalistic mutant!) who have ever existed, who are collectively responsible for over a thousand deaths over the past decade and have expressed no desire to reform. And since Arkham Asylum is infamously a CardboardPrison, that would almost clinch the argument on his side-- if Lock-Up were not so adamant about tracking down and brutally imprisoning anyone that he deems as responsible [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope which includes the "liberal media," "coddling doctors," and "gutless police".]]

* In the exclusive prologue featured in the comic adaptation of ''Animation/BoBoiBoyTheMovie'', The Kubulus aliens made [[MechanicalLifeforms Power Spheras]] to win against relentless hostiles that were invading their home planet of Ata Ta Tiga. After enough time went by for their society to be rebuilt better than before, the Kubulus became power-hungry and reprogrammed some Power Spheras to destroy, in order to conquer other planets and form an empire.
* ''ComicBook/{{The Boys}}'': Billy Butcher is this trope incarnate. On the surface, his crusade makes sense and is noble, a Superhero raped his wife, and Supes are in general complete degenerates who get away with their constant depravity because they corporate-backed celebrities. That said, Billy's methods are cruel and excessively violent, he frequently manipulates and abuses his own teammates [[spoiler:and his hatred of Supes grows so intense that he eventually decides to genocide ''everybody'' with Compound V in their system, including innocents, and his own teammates, becoming the final antagonist of the series]].

** Frank is often presented this way whenever he makes a guest appearance in more idealistic books like ''Comicbook/SpiderMan'' or ''Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}''. However, in his own books, he's portrayed as a profoundly messed up individual, more tortured machine than man. (Although, the Punisher told Spidey ''to his face'' once that Spider-Man could have wound up the same and still could, ''especially'' if he didn't have super-powers; Spidey didn't get the point, as clear as it was.)

%%(ZCE)* The Vigilante, Adrian Chase, slew himself for this very reason.

* {{ComicBook/Monstress}}'s Maika is constantly on the edge of this.
* In ''Comicbook/XMen'' comics and especially [[Film/XMenFilmSeries the original movie trilogy]], {{ComicBook/Magneto}} - a survivor of UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust - [[WellIntentionedExtremist is so determined to ensure that what happened to him never happens to his fellow mutants]] that he becomes increasingly xenophobic and genocidal towards unpowered humans, quite happy to wipe them out in order to ensure mutantkind's supremacy. Magneto ultimately winds up little better than those who prompted him to begin his fight.
** A fact that former Nazi Red Skull pointed out. It should be worth noting, though, that the Skull [[ArsonMurderAndAdmiration was sincerely trying to praise Magneto.]] He somehow didn't know that [[YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame Magneto was a Holocaust survivor.]]

** In ComicBook/UltimateMarvel, Charles highlights this listing several dictators, leading to Erik snapping Xavier's neck in anger. Magneto later realizes Xavier was right, especially after he finds out that [[spoiler: Mutants in their universe were made by the government in an attempt to recreate/improve the SuperSoldier concept and process that Captain America was made from.]]
** From the flip side of the human/mutant coin is Graydon Creed, a baseline human with the bad luck to be born the son of one of [[ComicBook/{{Sabretooth}} the worst mutants]] in history. This, combined with being raised by a SuperSupremacist mother who had no use at all for her son once she realized he was not a mutant, turned Creed into a TragicBigot as an adult. Created to be a {{Foil}} to Senator Robert Kelly, Creed shared Kelly's BewareTheSuperman motivation but took it to much greater lengths than Kelly ever did, allying himself with the RoboticPsychopath Bastion and plotting a campaign of mutant genocide upon his ascension to PresidentEvil. Though he and Magneto never met, they were more similar than either man would have ever admitted.
* Rorschach from ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' describes this in great detail, recounting how he became a dark and gritty AntiHero first (though he had a violent childhood) by brutally taking out his anger and disgust on a [[spoiler:kidnapper who had raped, butchered and fed a little girl to his dogs]] by [[spoiler:setting him and the entire building on fire with kerosene and watching from afar for over an hour.]] It even affects Rorschach's psychologist. The chapter in which we learn this is even called "The Abyss Gazes Also" and ends with the Nietzsche quote above.
** Indeed, this trope also features in the ''Tales of the Black Freighter'' sub-comic: a lone, marooned sailor, convinced the titular ship will raze his village in his absence, returns to defend his loved ones on a raft of his mates' bloated corpses. He begins his bloody crusade against the raiders -- [[spoiler: except the raiders hadn't arrived yet. He ends up attacking his wife and, horrified at what he's done, throws himself into the ocean, [[UnwittingPawn where the freighter collects his condemned soul.]]]]
-->"I was a horror... amongst horrors must I dwell."
** Ozymandias could count toward this as well, seeing as [[spoiler: his solution to keep Russia and America from wiping each other out with nuclear strikes was to kill three million people before the missiles could be launched. Veidt strongly hints in his last conversation with Jon Osterman (Dr. Manhattan) that he has nightmares of being taken into a ghost ship to be surrounded by murderers, in exactly the same manner as the ending to ''The Black Freighter.'']]
* ''Comicbook/TheIncredibleHulk'': General Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross. This is made especially clear in ''ComicBook/HulkGray'', where many parallels between Ross and the Hulk are drawn and Ross grows more and more fanatical in his pursuit of the Hulk as time goes on. Eventually, in his pursuit to defeat him, he became what he hunted: [[spoiler: a Hulk]]. He even lampshades it.
* ''ComicBook/{{Blade}}'' pretty much constantly struggles with this. In fact, the storyline ''Midnight Massacre'' in Midnight Sons, where Blade's hatred of the occult led him to accept the power of a spirit in exchange for the ability to exterminate all supernatural life made him rethink just how he goes about his mission.
* ComicBook/SpiderMan villain Supercharger was the son of a scientist who was obsessed with mapping the biology of superheroes and was given electric powers in the very accident that killed his father. So, the guy was embittered against superheroes and felt that they were ultimately more trouble than they were worth. Somewhat understandable. So he demonstrates that people with superpowers are dangerous by going completely crazy with his powers so people will see how dangerous he is.
* The Jedi Covenant from the ''ComicBook/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' comics becomes so determined to stop the Sith from re-emerging that they're willing to kill ''their own apprentices''. [[spoiler: Ironically, the Covenant turns out to be puppeted by a Sith Acolyte who makes up for his lack of power by being a borderline MagnificentBastard. When the leader of the Covenant finds out about this, he does a VillainousBreakdown, VillainousBSOD, and HeelFaceTurn, in that order]].
* ''ComicBook/ElfQuest'' has the Go-Backs as an example of a whole culture falling prey to this. All they wanted was to follow the call of the souls of their ancestors to the Palace of the High Ones, but the Frozen Mountain Trolls fought a war to keep them away from it. The Go-Backs didn't only grow into ruthless warriors, but also took up a habit of their enemies that disgusted even other trolls: eating the bodies of the enemies they killed in battle.
* The [[Characters/GLRedLanternCorps Red Lanterns]], especially [[Characters/GLGreenLanternCorps Laira]], who was the first ComicBook/GreenLantern to use the newly-written premise to kill for revenge, which was why she was expelled from the Green Lantern Corps. Feeling betrayed, she became a perfect host for a Red Lantern Ring, which then turned her into as dangerous and murderous a psychopath as many of the [[Characters/GLSinestroCorps Sinestro Corps]] members that she hated so much.
** Sinestro is this even more. To bring order to his planet, he established a totalitarian regime, becoming the symbol of tyranny in a star system. Once Hal Jordan took him down, he decided that Guardians were not up to the job of bringing order and defeating crime in the Universe and swore to destroy the Green Lantern Corps and replace it with his own order. He has no problems teaming up with several Franchise/DCUniverse villains and, in the end, created his own corps, openly acknowledging that most of its members are of the same kind as those he once fought. [[spoiler: When his daughter, Soranik Natu, had to become ruler of their native planet, Sinestro was more than interested if she was gonna follow the same path as him]].
** The Guardians of the Universe tried so hard to ensure the Green Lantern Corps' victory in the war with the other Corps that they established several oppressive rules, allowing Corps members to kill and banning romantic relationships between the members. They had no problems with giving Larfleeze a star system and giving him the location of the Blue Lanterns' (who wanted to become their allies) headquarters to make him stay away from the rest of the Universe.
* Rick Grimes from ''ComicBook/TheWalkingDead'' is becoming more like this as the series progresses. His actions have become increasingly brutal as his obsession with keeping his son and the group safe grows. He himself is beginning to recognize this however, although we'll have to wait and see if he can pull himself back from the brink.
* Megatron in the [[ComicBook/TheTransformersIDW IDW comic books]] was this. He initially formed the Decepticons to try bringing equality and justice to Cybertron, the Cybertronian society having become so corrupt and fascistic that Autobot thugs freely handed out beatings to innocent Cybertronians for no reason and the Autobot senate's answer to dealing with peaceful protests was to have all of the protestors shot. However, over the course of four millenia of war, as well as the brutal things he did to gain power in the first place, he's become exactly the kind of heartless and vicious tyrant that he originally despised.
** [[spoiler:Amazingly, he eventually had a MyGodWhatHaveIDone-moment, and pulled a HeelFaceTurn. And while there are some on both sides who acknowledge he's changed, there are a lot more who refuse to accept it.]]
* In the Marvel run of ''ComicBook/{{The Transformers|Marvel}}'', Circuit Breaker was accused of this--having originally been a mild-mannered engineer crippled in an attack by Shockwave, her thirst for revenge against all robots, Autobot or Decepticon, led to her inadvertently ''helping'' the Decepticons. She ended up being so vicious in battle that she terrified civilians, who initially thought she was a supervillain (this ''was'' the Marvel setting after all), and at one point her sponsor even accused her of becoming so single-minded that she was acting more robotic than the Cybertronians. These events actually shook her, but she never quite made it to the epiphany that she was doing more harm than good in the long run.
* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':
** While Superman rarely comes close to this trope, he is very aware of it and {{lampshade|Hanging}}s it on several occasions, mostly in response to {{Anti Hero}}es who are just as bad as the villains they fight. He even occasionally criticizes his own actions in the newspapers as Clark Kent when he does veer dangerously close to this territory as Superman.
** This fear is what made him [[KryptoniteRing give a piece of kryptonite to Batman]].
--->'''Superman''': I want the means to kill me to be in the hands of a man I trust with my life.
** In ''ComicBook/ForTheManWhoHasEverything'' he [[spoiler: nearly beats Mongul to death]], but was distracted.
** In the ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' ''ComicBook/RedDaughterOfKrypton'' storyline, after being freed by the [[Franchise/GreenLantern Red Lanterns]], the people of planet Ysmault declares that they'll follow their saviors' example and hunt their enslavers down and "erase" them. Guy Gardner warns them not to become like the monsters they're going to fight.
--->'''Guy:''' We came because we heard a monster was loose in our sector. It's our job to clean up the monsters. So. Do what you gotta do. Put people on trial. Punish them how you like. But watch out you don't turn into monsters. Because then we'd be back for you.
** Discussed in ''ComicBook/WayOfTheWorld''. After seizing a time-machine from an alien conqueror called Dolok, Supergirl considers going back to the very beginning of her career, start over and undo all her mistakes. However, she guesses she would eventually become another tyrant like Dolok, using time-travel to do and undo as she pleases without accountability, and crushes the device.
* Reed Richards of the ComicBook/FantasticFour blatantly averts this trope when dealing with his ArchEnemy, Doctor Doom. To this day, he still doesn't outright hate Doom, no matter what horrible things Doom inflicts upon him. In fact, in one storyline where he was exceptionally pissed off, Reed told himself that he really had to kill Doom this time, only to break down in grief and pity when he confronted him, and wound up pleading with Doom to reform.
* In ''ComicBook/KingdomCome'', Orion has killed {{ComicBook/Darkseid}} and became ruler of Apokolips. In order to maintain peace, he has to make many questionable choices and Superman notes that he is now more like his father than ever before. Subverted if you assume that he isn't trying to justify his becoming this and was telling the truth. Orion states that he tried to make Apokolips a better place. The residents couldn't handle freedom. This forced Orion to become more like Darkseid in order to keep the population under control.
* In ''Harry Kipling (Deceased)'', the [[FlatEarthAtheist New Atheist Militia]] is inspired by Kipling's example and sets about killing gods - by committing genocide [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly against their followers]]. In fact, their denial is so intense and fanatical that it manifests as what Kipling describes as an 'anti-god', and the NAM is as trapped by their own anti-god as the believers are by their deities.
* The fact that Crux turned himself into exactly the type of monster he's dedicated his life to hunting is called attention to in Issue #5 of ''ComicBook/RedHoodAndTheOutlaws''.
* In ''ComicBook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderSmokeAndShadow'', [[spoiler:Azula]] states that [[spoiler:her]] purpose is to be the monster that Zuko fights. Rather than becoming Fire Lord, [[spoiler:she]] will constantly threaten the Fire Nation and force Zuko to be more ruthless and authoritarian until he's the second coming of Ozai.
* In ''ComicBook/UncannyXMen2018'', ComicBook/{{Cyclops}} comes to recognize that his attitude following the events of ''ComicBook/HouseOfM'' turned him into the man who tried to be the second coming of Magneto.
** Apparently he didn't get the point during ''Schism'' when Magneto told him straight out that "you're more like me than I ever was"
* The ''ComicBook/{{Gobots}}'' miniseries by Tom Scioli of ''Webcomic/AmericanBarbarian'' and ''ComicBook/TransformersVsGIJoe'' fame depicts the Guardians' leader Leader-1 in this light. Leader-1's original intent is to defend humanity from Cy-Kill and his Renegades, but eventually proves to be capable of being just as ruthless, having no qualms with reprogramming his fellow [=GoBots=] to erase their memories whenever they question him.
* ''ComicBook/{{Irredeemable}}'': As the series progresses and [[BewareTheSuperman the Plutonian's]] rampage continues, Charybdis/Survivor [[SlowlySlippingIntoEvil slowly becomes]] more and more arrogant, controlling, ruthless, and all around awful in his efforts to save the world, to the point that the rest of the Paradigm begins fearing -- with good reason -- that they're going to have to fight ''him'' once Plutonian is dealt with. There's a direct correlation between Survivor's power/desperation/determination and his morality/sanity; the more he has of the former, the less he has of the latter. By the end of the series [[spoiler:he's practically a full-blown PsychoPartyMember and stepping so close to becoming a supervillain himself that when Gilgamos [[ShootTheDog preemptively kills him to prevent it]], almost '''nobody''' objects or argues that it was the wrong thing to do beyond practical reasons (Gilgamos had been hoping that killing Survivor would pass his powers onto [[CainAndAbel his actually good brother]], unaware that this isn't how their abilities work).]]
* The backstory of ''Tangent: Superman's Reign'', a 12-issue crossover between the Creator/TangentComics continuity and the standard Creator/DCComics continuity serving as a FullyAbsorbedFinale to the former, is that the Superman of the Tangent universe successfully defeated the Ultra-Humanite and proceeded to conquer the world to solve its problems on his terms, choosing to imprison or kill everyone who doesn't agree with his methods. After he discovers the existence of the standard DC universe, he opts to take over that world as well, leading to the Justice League teaming up with the few surviving heroes of the Tangent universe in order to stop him.
* In the ''Comicbook/JudgeDredd Megazine'' one-off story ''Darke's Mob'', a Dreddverse {{Elseworld}} of the ''Comicbook/{{Battle}}'' strip ''Darkie's Mob'', Joe Darke and his RagtagBunchOfMisfits are fighting their way through Deadworld rather than Burma, and Shorty's diary (sent through a rift back to Mega-City One as they neared their objective) describes how the last four survivors become something other than human due to the nature of Deadworld (and possibly because they have nothing to eat except the ghouls they're fighting), with Shorty developing immense PsychicPowers, Meeker becoming [[PlayingWithFire pyrokinetic]], and Darke himself having NighInvulnerability. The last scene is of Dredd reading the final lines of the diary: "Pray that we complete our mission. Rejoice that we are coming home", followed by an image of the four in sillouette, looking very much like the Dark Judges.

** ComicBook/{{Storm}} once warned ComicBook/BlackPanther that he might turn out like Magneto, as like T'Challa, Magneto started off as a good man who only wanted to protect his people. She claimed that if T'Challa didn't ease up with his ruthless methods, he might one day become just as evil as the villains he faces.

* In the ''Comicbook/JudgeDredd Megazine'' one-off story ''Darke's Mob'', a Dreddverse {{Elseworld}} of the ''Comicbook/{{Battle}}'' strip ''Darkie's Mob'', Joe Darke and his RagtagGroupOfMisfits are fighting their way through Deadworld rather than Burma, and Shorty's diary (sent through a rift back to Mega-City One as they neared their objective) describes how the last four survivors become something other than human due to the nature of Deadworld (and possibly because they have nothing to eat except the ghouls they're fighting), with Shorty developing immense PsychicPowers, Meeker becoming [[PlayingWithFire pyrokinetic]], and Darke himself having NighInvulnerability. The last scene is of Dredd reading the final lines of the diary: "Pray that we complete our mission. Rejoice that we are coming home", followed by an image of the four in sillouette, looking very much like the Dark Judges.

* In the ''Comicbook/JudgeDredd Megazine'' one-off story''Darke's Mob'', a Dreddverse {{Elseworld}} of the ''Comicbook/{{Battle}}'' strip ''Darkie's Mob'', Joe Darke and his RagtagGroupOfMisfits are fighting their way through Deadworld rather than Burma, and Shorty's diary (sent through a rift back to Mega-City One as they neared their objective) describes how the last four survivors become something other than human due to the nature of Deadworld (and possibly because they have nothing to eat except the ghouls they're fighting), with Shorty developing immense PsychicPowers, Meeker becoming [[PlayingWithFire pyrokinetic]], and Darke himself having NighInvulnerability. The last scene is of Dredd reading the final lines of the diary: "Pray that we complete our mission. Rejoice that we are coming home", followed by an image of the four in sillouette, looking very much like the Dark Judges.

* In the ''Comicbook/JudgeDredd Megazine'' one-off story''Darke's Mob'', a Dreddverse {{Elseworld}} of the ''Comicbook/{{Battle}}'' strip ''Darkie's Mob'', Joe Darke and his RagtagGroupOfMisfits are fighting their way through Deadworld rather than Burma, and Shorty's diary (sent through a rift back to Mega-City One as they neared their objective) describes how the last four survivors become something other than human due to the nature of Deadworld (and possibly because they have nothing to eat except the ghouls they're fighting), with Shorty developing immense PsychicPowers, Meeker becoming [[PlayingWithFire pyrokinetic]], and Darke himself becoming TheUnkillable. The last scene is of Dredd reading the final lines of the diary: "Pray that we complete our mission. Rejoice that we are coming home", followed by an image of the four in sillouette, looking very much like the Dark Judges.

* Lampshaded in the ''ComicBook/AstroCity'' story "The Dark Age", as Charles Williams gets to wondering exactly how much difference there is between the current generation of DarkerAndEdgier [[AntiHero "heroes"]] and the criminals they fight. Later played straight as [[spoiler:Charles and his brother Royal grow so obsessed with killing their parents' killer that [[HeWhoFightsMonsters they become the same]] [[NinetiesAntiHero callous "heroes"]] that they despised]].

--> Do you want to be me?
* The Vigilante, Adrian Chase, slew himself for this very reason.

** It's also why Batman so strictly adheres to ThouShaltNotKill: having that as a [[TheFettered line that he]] ''[[TheFettered never]]'' [[TheFettered crosses]] is a [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope barrier to slipping over the edge]] and becoming as much of a monster as the psychos he fights. Out of all his enemies, the Joker manages to be the one who makes him come very, '''very''' close to breaking his one rule...and that's because the Joker goes out of his way to make him break it.

* General "Thunderbolt" Ross from ''Comicbook/IncredibleHulk''. This is made especially clear in ''Hulk: Gray'', where many parallels between Ross and the Hulk are drawn and Ross grows more and more fanatical in his pursuit of the Hulk as time goes on. Eventually, in his pursuit to defeat him, he became what he hunted: [[spoiler: a Hulk]]. He even lampshades it.

* In the Marvel run of ''ComicBook/TheTransformers'', Circuit Breaker was accused of this--having originally been a mild-mannered engineer crippled in an attack by Shockwave, her thirst for revenge against all robots, Autobot or Decepticon, led to her inadvertently ''helping'' the Decepticons. She ended up being so vicious in battle that she terrified civilians, who initially thought she was a supervillain (this ''was'' the Marvel setting after all), and at one point her sponsor even accused her of becoming so single-minded that she was acting more robotic than the Cybertronians. These events actually shook her, but she never quite made it to the epiphany that she was doing more harm than good in the long run.

* The Jedi Covenant from the ''Comicbook/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' comics becomes so determined to stop the Sith from re-emerging that they're willing to kill ''their own apprentices''. [[spoiler: Ironically, the Covenant turns out to be puppeted by a Sith Acolyte who makes up for his lack of power by being a borderline MagnificentBastard. When the leader of the Covenant finds out about this, he does a VillainousBreakdown, VillainousBSOD, and HeelFaceTurn, in that order]].

* Franchise/{{Superman}}:
** While ''Comicbook/{{Superman}}'' rarely comes close to this trope, he is very aware of it and {{lampshade|Hanging}}s it on several occasions, mostly in response to {{Anti Hero}}es who are just as bad as the villains they fight. He even occasionally criticizes his own actions in the newspapers as Clark Kent when he does veer dangerously close to this territory as Superman.

* In the ''Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}'' ''Comicbook/RedDaughterOfKrypton'' storyline, after being freed by the [[Franchise/GreenLantern Red Lanterns]], the people of planet Ysmault declares that they'll follow their saviors' example and hunt their enslavers down and "erase" them. Guy Gardner warns them not to become like the monsters they're going to fight.
-->'''Guy:''' We came because we heard a monster was loose in our sector. It's our job to clean up the monsters. So. Do what you gotta do. Put people on trial. Punish them how you like. But watch out you don't turn into monsters. Because then we'd be back for you.
* Reed Richards of the Comicbook/FantasticFour blatantly averts this trope when dealing with his ArchEnemy, Doctor Doom. To this day, he still doesn't outright hate Doom, no matter what horrible things Doom inflicts upon him. In fact, in one storyline where he was exceptionally pissed off, Reed told himself that he really had to kill Doom this time, only to break down in grief and pity when he confronted him, and wound up pleading with Doom to reform.