History Main / ArmiesAreEvil

* Inverted in Creator/TomClancy's work. Being in the military is usually a reliable sign that a character is good - sometimes this is taken to ridiculous extremes, where a character who is introduced only for one scene is given a service background simply to make them slightly more sympathetic.

* ''WebVideo/PiratesSMP'': As befitting of the setting, navies are variously portrayed as unsympathetic, from razing entire villages for no reason other than being the ''[[DisproportionateRetribution stopping point]]'' of a famous pirate (i.e. being willing to hurt innocents), to [[spoiler:employing ChildSoldiers]] and [[spoiler:sending off their best men to die pointless deaths to "save resources".]] [[DownplayedTrope At best]], they are portrayed to be a restrictive environment which churns out unhappy soldiers and personnel, unable to live their lives freely and to the fullest. Despite two major characters having a military background in canon, both of them are depicted to have only joined due to extenuating circumstances ([[spoiler:TradingBarsForStripes and childhood indoctrination from being born and raised in TheDictatorship]], respectively), and both have since defected for various reasons.

** Note, said ex-Marines seem to be disabled (like the protagonists) or dishonorably discharged (everyone else, even Quaritch).

-->'''Herres:''' My only lasting achievement was [[spoiler:the extinction of life on Earth]]. And my one redeeming act – if any – was [[spoiler:to delay that extinction by days or weeks by throwing more death at it]]. It is my hope that there will be no need for men like me in the world to come. If you are one of the people of that future world, listening to this message, please know that I am sorry, and that I wish you well.

-->'''General:''' There are basically two divisions in the collective we call "The Military." There is the heroic military, as represented in most of your early war movies, and the conspiratorial military (filled with subterfuge and deception), as represented in bad sci-fi films and ''Series/TheXFiles''.
-->'''Zoe:''' And you would be from ...
-->'''General:''' General Mayhem! Pleased ta meetcha!
* ARES in the ''Webcomic/DeviantUniverse''.
* An unusual example from ''WebComic/MyLifeAtWar'', with ''[=PMCs=]'' from a libertarian society who [[CultureClash have no concept of nationalism]] views a nationalist army as group of sadist fighting just for the sake of it. Instead for something else that make more sense, [[WarForFunAndProfit like money]].
* ''Webcomic/AnecdoteOfError'': Alemi’s armed forces, the Dalgysume, commit war crimes as a matter of course. They consider a school full of children to be a legitimate military target, and their founder was known for killing his captives by tearing them limb from limb. As a result, his killer is honored as a hero everywhere ''except'' Alemi. But [[AHeroToHisHometown in Alemi]], people believe his victims deserved it, which completely disgusts Yensha when she hears this.

* This trope origin of the villains in ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers''. The Transformers originate as manufactured robots-for-sale that TurnedAgainstTheirMasters after [[GrewBeyondTheirProgramming achieving self-awareness]]. The heroic Autobots were the consumer goods, the evil Decepticons were the military hardware. Both races' culture and mentality remained in those two mindsets - peaceful Autobots, power-hungry Decepticons.

An increasingly common variant of this trope draws on DemocracyIsBad; Soldiers ''try'' to do their job, which most of them view as "[[OccupiersOutOfOurCountry defend my home from threats]]" as opposed to "[[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill smash the enemy at all costs]]" and especially not "[[WarComesHome let's go destroy somebody else's home]]". They may have incomplete information or bad judgment, but most of them want to do the Right Thing, and are willing to [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifice themselves to that end at the drop of a hat]]. They just run smack dab into SturgeonsLaw--for every superior that is AFatherToHisMen, an OfficerAndAGentleman or even just a plain old ReasonableAuthorityFigure, there are dozens if not hundreds of {{General Ripper}}s, {{General Failure}}s and/or [[TheNeidermeyer Neidermeyers]] looking to pull a fast one--[[JustFollowingOrders and as soldiers they are supposed to obey all of them.]] This is sometimes called "Hate The War, Love The Soldier".

* Deconstructed in ''WebVideo/HalfLifeButTheAIIsSelfAware''. The U.S. Military starts wiping out everyone at Black Mesa following the Resonance Cascade as in [[VideoGame/HalfLife the original game]]. Since their strategy consists of bombing everything they can and charging in guns blazing at any enemy they run into rather than use actual tactics, and Black Mesa actually providing them with most of their funding and weapons, [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome the whole operation falls apart thanks to massive casualties and quickly burning through their resources.]]

** ''[[Videogame/AssassinsCreedRevelations Revelations]]'' subverts this with the Ottoman Army - whilst they will still (try to) kill you and bully the citizens of Konstantiniyye, they are serving the lawful authority and hate the Templars. [[spoiler: After you kill their commander, it is revealed that he was good all along]]. Played straight with the Byzantine Army.

* The Creator/IrwinAllen disaster film ''Film/TheSwarm'' (1978) attempts this, with the military wanting to use pesticides that would damage the environment while Creator/MichaelCaine keeps suggesting other methods. Unfortunately the threat of the killer bees is so over-hyped (at one stage they cause the [[FailsafeFailure explosion of a nuclear power plant]]) that Caine's continuing refusal is hard to justify.

* In ''Literature/BlackCompany'' a group of rebel soldiers is caught raiding a village, brutally murdering everyone but a deaf child that is later being raped by them. [[spoiler: And they are supposed to be the good guys!]] On the other hand, after signing new contract with Soulcatcher and before leaving Beryl, Black Company [[spoiler: silently sneaks into Beryl's army barracks and murders thousands of sleeping soldiers]] in order to safely leave the city. In the whole series most of the characters connected to the military are either morally black or grey.

** The intro for the [[Videogame/Fallout1 original]] ''[[Videogame/Fallout1 Fallout]]'' [[Videogame/Fallout1 game]] springs immediately to mind. An American soldier is seen murdering a man (almost certainly a Canadian P.O.W) execution-style while his buddy laughs, before [[BlackComedy waving for the cameraman]], ''in an ad for U.S War Bonds''.
** The [[VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}} Talon Company]] and the [[VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}} Gunners]]. They have their delusions of being an elite crew of pseudo-military mercenaries, but through their ruthless behaviour, they're in reality just a murdering, thieving band of {{Jerkass}} Raiders with better equipment. They'll happily wipe out whole towns if it means a job (or sometimes ''[[RapePillageAndBurn just for the sheer hell of it]]''). They never take prisoners (and conversely never surrender), and they can't be reasoned with. The Gunners aren't even above slavery, trying to buy a child from the [[PlayerCharacter Sole Survivor]] during a quest to return the kid to his parents - if you refuse, they come back and demand the kid ''and'' his parents be handed to them as property.

* In ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', General James Ironwood brings a portion of the Atlas Military with him as security for the Vytal Festival in Beacon Academy. Since the actions of the series BigBad are becoming noticeable, he feels that this is a sign of protection that will deter aggressors. BigGood Ozpin states that a guardian is a symbol of protection, while an army is a symbol of conflict. The masses will be on edge, wonder what threat a force so large is meant to fight, and their negativity will in turn attract the Grimm.

* This trope origin of the villains in ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers''. The Transformers originate as manufactured robots-for-sale thaty TurnedAgainstTheirMasters after achieving self-awareness. The heroic Autobots were the consumer goods, the evil Decepticons were the military hardware. Both race's culture and mentality remained in those two mindsets - peaceful Autobots, power-hungry Decepticons.

* ''Film/{{Evolution}}'' features a GeneralRipper who wants to [[KillItWithFire napalm the aliens]] and gets mad when [[IgnoredExpert scientists]] get in his way.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}'', the [[SemperFi United States Marines]] are presented as {{Punch Clock Villain}}s whose primary goal is to contain the Infection. Meanwhile, the Blackwatch organization controlling the occupation are the ''real'' villains, and have no qualms with massacring civilians and nuking Manhattan. Their BadassCreed even goes so far as to point out that "nothing is sacred" and "we will burn our own to hold the red line." To be fair, despite their gung ho appearances, Blackwatch ''is'' [[TheExtremistWasRight right]]. Only the random fluke that [[spoiler:a particular strain of the Blacklight virus that thinks is Alex Mercer]] is not bent on destroying all humans (though it is an unrepentant murderer, it doesn't want to destroy the city) makes them villains. The rest of Blacklight is an unstoppable plague bent on destroying humanity and Blackwatch are the sole thing that can stop it, as far as they know. What makes Blackwatch monsters is their willingness to experiment on people (which started this whole mess). The marines, while presented as most definitely gung oh, are almost shown sympathetically, being used as meat shields by Blackwatch, ([[spoiler:ultimately left on Manhattan when Blackwatch plans to nuke the island]], and being woefully unprepared and uninformed about what they are facing.

** They get ''worse'' in the sequel. Heller can collect audio logs left by Blackwatch soldiers and every single one is a recording of some kind of puppy-kicking evil perpetrated by them. It's like sociopathy is a required personality trait for joining Blackwatch.

-->-- '''Kent Brockman''', ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': Under Creator/RussellTDavies, and spinoffs ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'' and ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'' (also both under RTD) occasionally veered into this, particularly in Torchwood such as in the Children of Earth miniseries where they were depicted rounding up children to be fed to alien drug dealers. The level of demonisation was usually tied with the level of Anvilicious political messages. However, in most of their appearances the British (and UNIT) military forces are depicted fairly positively either aiding the Doctor or combating the various alien incursions. It's implied that the Doctor has grown to hate soldiers due to his own actions during the Time War, and he is proven wrong about soldiers more than he is proven right.