History Main / BaittheDog

* ''WesternAnimation/BigCityGreens'': At the end of the infamous "Reckoning Ball", [[Characters/BigCityGreensChipWhistler Chip Whistler]] seems to give a legitimate apology to the Greens for what he has done in the past, and they believe him and sign his forgiveness contract, which is enough to prove his dad he's sorry and makes him the new CEO. But then he reveals in the CEO office [[TheMole his true nature]] -- [[TheChessmaster he only manipulated the Greens into thinking he's sorry]] so he can seize full control of the Wholesome Foods corporation so he can ruin their reputation, now that his dad is retired and completely out of his face. Not only were the Greens fooled by this "apology", but the audience as well -- at least Gramma still showed some suspicions when it was time to sign. But considering [[JerkWithAHeartOfJerk he has been a jerk since the beginning]], this is ''not'' surprising.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': Bender manages to pull this off within the space of ''ten seconds'' in "The Beast With A Billion Backs". The Robot Devil asks Bender for the life of his first-born child. Bender fulfills his end of the bargain by reuniting with his long-lost robot son who was waiting years for him to come back... SmashCut to Bender ''[[BlackComedyBurst punting the child into a vat of molten lava.]]''

* The ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' episode "The Last Mabelcorn" shows how [[Characters/GravityFallsTheAuthor The Author]] and [[Characters/GravityFallsBillCipher Bill Cipher]] met and eventually became enemies. [[spoiler:Ford summoned Bill out of desperation once his research reached a dead end, the dream demon praising Ford's genius and saying how he would change the world. Ford was so happy that someone appreciated his intelligence for once that he and Bill began collaborating on the Portal Device, but an accident involving Ford's partner [=McGucket=] revealed that Bill had just been using Ford to bring about the Apocalypse and thought it would be funny to watch Ford try and stop him.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/InfinityTrain'': The third Book serves to flesh out and humanize [[{{Cult}} the Apex]] more. Simon, in particular, has a number of sympathetic moments showing how he cares for Grace [[spoiler:and the audience learns that he's been trapped on the train since he was 10. In "The Color Clock Car", he finally starts to warm up to Tuba, sharing a laugh with her and helping her through the car. The episode ends with Simon killing her by throwing her under the wheels of the train, gloating about it to Grace and Hazel, and it's all downhill for the remainder of the season.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks'': In "No Small Parts", Peanut Hamper goes AWOL and gets stranded in the middle of space. In "A Mathematically Perfect Redemption", she travels to a primitive planet and is found by some locals. As time passes, she becomes less selfish and eventually marries the chief's son. When some scavengers visit the planet and try to destroy the village to get to some buried ships, she sends out a distress signal and risks her life to save everyone. When the crew of the ''Cerritos'' beams down to the planet, they learn about all the good she's done and invite her back. But then it's revealed that she lured the scavengers so she could act heroic and rejoin Starfleet. Then she abandons everyone again. Then she threatens to send out a signal to the Borg out of spite.

* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'': The episode ''Autoboot Camp'' is a WholeEpisodeFlashback showing how Bumblebee and Bulkhead first met. At the titular camp, Bumblebee is constantly insulted and beat up by his instructor Sentinel Minor and the other Elite Guard candidates (so basically all the other attendees except Bulkhead, who wants to be a space bridge technician instead). And then there's Longarm, who encourages Bumblebee in his attempts to expose Wasp as a Decepticon spy, helping Bumblebee out when Wasp and Ironhide stuff him into a locker after cutting his legs off and informing Bumblebee of his last opportunity to expose Wasp before Sentinel takes the credit. Bumblebee and Longarm are shown to be good friends in the present day, and it makes sense considering how Longarm comes off as a NiceGuy... except then the end of the episode shows that Longarm is in fact, the ''real'' Decepticon spy Bumblebee was looking for, Shockwave, and that his encouragement was to get an innocent bot (an innocent {{Jerkass}}, but still...) arrested to draw suspicion away from himself. To rub the point home further, Shockwave later decides to rub it in Bumblebee's face that he was the real spy, cementing that he never really considered him a friend.

** ''Series/SamuraiSentaiShinkenger'': There's Fuwa Juzou, who is a half-Gedoushuu and sets himself up as [[TheHero Takeru's]] WorthyOpponent, constantly seeking to fight him. With him not really getting along with the [[BigBad head honcho]] of Gedoushuu, Chimatsuri Doukokuu, plus building up some 'friendship' with [[DarkChick Usukawa Dayuu]] and the fact that he's half-human makes people think that since this is ''Franchise/SuperSentai'', he'd at least be shown as either a NobleDemon, or pull a HeelFaceTurn later. Then, he foils Akumaro's plan... by revealing that he ''revels'' on his Gedoushuu lineage, preferring to be a full-blooded Gedoushuu (which he did), and his sword Uramasa turned out to be his parents begging him to stop killing, but he ''doesn't care one bit'', liking his profession as a BloodKnight to the max and wants nothing more than kill and more killing. At that point, any hopes of him as mentioned above are dashed forever and he places himself as one of Super Sentai's monsters.

* At the start of ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', Xykon seems like a crazy but slightly loveable and [[HarmlessVillain harmless]] EvilOverlord whose plans were [[FailureisTheOnlyOption invariably doomed]]. But if you thought that you were oh so wrong. The [[WhamEpisode Battle of Azure City]], where Xykon went full HeroKiller in some incredibly horrible ways, proved ''exactly'' how wrong that belief was.
** And Redcloak at first appears to merely be Xykon's DeadpanSnarker BeleagueredAssistant. Turns out he and his god are actually behind everything, and even using Xykon to their ends.
** In a meta sense, ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' author Rich Burlew essentially baited his audience. Burlew has occasionally written little essays on how D&D is played and storylines are formed on his website. In a number of these pieces, he talks about giving depth to the villains, and how evil people can have friends, EvenEvilHasLovedOnes, and [[VillainousFriendship two villains working together aren't always just looking to turn on each other at the first opportunity]]. Combine that with scenes of [[BigBad Xykon]] and [[TheDragon Redcloak]] joking together, snarking each other, and commiserating when their cause seemed to be lost, and it seemed like might be such friends. Then the prequel story "[[BreakThemByTalking Start]] [[EvilerThanThou of]] [[MoralEventHorizon Darkness]]" came out and kicked that theory right in the nuts. Well played, [[MagnificentBastard Mr. Burlew]], well played.
** When General Tarquin was introduced he got a lot of fans for affability, [[GenreSavvy savvy]], and style. And of course [[spoiler: he's Elan's father]]. It's since become apparent that [[spoiler: he uses his position as de facto ruler of the Empire of Blood to force any woman he fancies to marry him, often through outright torture. Which makes him ''rather less'' likable. Not to mention burning 30 slaves (possibly alive) to spell Elan's name out in lights -- even [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Elan]] finally realizes it at that point.]]
** The same goes for his partner Minister Malack. He's polite, efficient, eschews Tarquin's theatrics, and one of the first things we learn about him is that he hates Nale for murdering his children. Then we learn [[spoiler: those weren't his ''biological'' children. He's a vampire. One who's planning to outlive the rest of Team Tarquin, inherit a unified continent and offer his god a thousand sacrifices a day. "I'm thinking of [[IndustrializedEvil developing some sort of special chamber by then to make the process more efficient]]..."]]

* The intro of the ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil1'' remake has Wesker stop while being chased by zombie dogs to shoot one that was about to kill Chris, and in both versions he helps Chris out at one point by leaving him supplies in a safe room. Of course, we find out much later the only reason he did these things was to get Chris to the mansion and keep him alive long enough to serve as a guinea pig to test the Tyrant B.O.W's combat effectiveness.
* ''VideoGame/StarCraft'': Kerrigan at the beginning of ''Brood War'' [[FalselyReformedVillain claims to be free of the Overmind's control]], ready to cooperate with the main characters against the new threat and actively helping them during their difficult quest. Artanis, after initial skepticism, even says that she changed and is not anymore the murderous Queen of Blades. It soon turns out that she was just using everybody to fullfill her goals and take control of the Zerg swarm, and then she betrays her former allies to get vendetta and become the unchallenged power in the sector.

* ''Webcomic/{{Drowtales}}'' has the case of Syphile, the elder step-sister of Ariel, the protagonist. In the original version, she was a completely unsympathetic and irredeemable psycho who murdered Ariel's pet cat, Fluffy, right in front of her, just for laughs, and it was satisfying watchin Ariel retaliate by throwing her down some stairs, right in front of Quaintana, Ariel's and Syphile's nominal mother, who disowns her on the spot. In the remake, Syphile is a bit more complex and it looks like she might actually be redeemable by letting Ariel keep the pet cat without complaint, until the next chapter shows that she locked Ariel and the cat in a room, unattended, ''for a week'' without even a means for the poor animal to void bowel or bladder properly. Then, after the week is over, storms into the room, lifts the cat by the tail, and when the poor animal tries to defend itself, bashes it into a wall, crushing its skull, for the "crime" of ''a simple scratch and a bite.'' Naturally, Ariel decides at that point that Syphile '''needs to die.'''

* ''WesternAnimation/PennZeroPartTimeHero'': At first it appears that Rippen's parents Axalon and Hedwin and younger sister Vlurgen were calling to celebrate Rippen's birthday in the episode "Mr. Rippen". But it becomes clear they were using calling on his birthday as an excuse so they can mock him for his failures as a villain while rubbing his sister's success in his face.

* In TheMovie of ''WesternAnimation/{{Ed Edd N Eddy|sBigPictureShow}}'' this is mildly applied. [[spoiler: Eddy's Brother is initially portrayed upon his introduction as a cool older brother willing to help out Eddy and his friends. It almost seems heartwarming the way Eddy hugs his brother for promising to help them out. One minute later he's beating the hell out of his little brother, his brother's best friend, and has the rest of the cast watching in horror.]]

** In ''Manga/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney2007'', Robin Wolfe is polite and friendly toward Phoenix when Phoenix comes to defend him when he is about to be accused of killing his employee Eddie Johnson, but increasingly suspicious hints pop up about him. His wife is cold and distant toward him, his daughter pokes holes in his claims about Eddie, and Eddie's brother confronts him about his role in Eddie's death. While Robin denies his brother Bobby's existence, the "Den of Spiders" built and maintained at considerable expense, seems to be a PetTheDog moment as does his having him run an errand near the time of Eddie's death, but then Phoenix sees that the Den of Spiders has a chair with restraints that is used on Bobby to keep him out of sight of guests. By the end of the night, Phoenix and Maya are essentially convinced Robin drove Eddie to his suicide... and around this, time [[AssholeVictim Robin]] [[KickTheSonOfABitch gets]] {{k|armicDeath}}illed.

* In the ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' manga, Robin Wolfe is polite and friendly toward Phoenix when Phoenix comes to defend him when he is about to be accused of killing his employee Eddie Johnson, but increasingly suspicious hints pop up about him. His wife is cold and distant toward him, his daughter pokes holes in his claims about Eddie, and Eddie's brother confronts him about his role in Eddie's death. While Robin denies his brother Bobby's existence, the "Den of Spiders" built and maintained at considerable expense, seems to be a PetTheDog moment as does his having him run an errand near the time of Eddie's death, but then Phoenix sees that the Den of Spiders has a chair with restraints that is used on Bobby to keep him out of sight of guests. By the end of the night, Phoenix and Maya are essentially convinced Robin drove Eddie to his suicide... and around this, time [[AssholeVictim Robin]] [[KickTheSonOfABitch gets]] {{k|armicDeath}}illed.

Compare/contrast the other TropeyTheWonderDog tropes, ''especially'' PetTheDog and KickTheDog. Contrast AdoptTheDog, those who look morally ambiguous/neutral until they do something good to set them as likable. If it's the series itself that seems relatively harmless until ''[[GutPunch it]]'' happens, there may be a DeadStarWalking indicating that AnyoneCanDie. Can induce MoodWhiplash. Also, compare and contrast with VillainyDiscretionShot; oftentimes the only line separating this trope from that one is that we see the [[KickTheDog dog kicking moment]] in gory detail. A Bait the Dog moment can subvert an EstablishingCharacterMoment, or it might show that the character is more complex than first appears. Often a BitchInSheepsClothing, ironically, or perhaps fittingly enough. Also, see EvilAllAlong, WiseOldFolkFacade and FauxAffablyEvil. Compare DevilInPlainSight, where the character is blatantly evil but nonetheless fools most of the other characters.

* In ''Anime/FateZero'', this is a key part of the intro for Caster(though, given who he truly is, it's not too surprising).Ryuunosuke, a serial killer, summons Caster, who arrives in all his frightening glory. Ryuunosuke offers Caster the last survivor of his latest kills, a BoundAndGagged child, for Caster. Caster draws a book of spells... but then unties the boy and kindly instructs him to leave. However, the second the boy gets to the door, Caster summons... SOMETHING that tears him limb from limb, explaining that offering hope, then tearing it away creates the most despair, to Ryuunosuke's glee.

* ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventurePhantomBlood'' has a particularly unsettling scene where Dio Brando, now a vampire, has been leaving a trail of destruction and killing many people in his way... then encounters a woman with a baby, who pleads with him to spare her child and take her life instead. In a surprising moment of honor, Dio swears that he won't lay a hand on the child... [[spoiler:and then turns ''the mother'' into a zombie, who then devours her own baby alive.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheBadGuys'' has Professor Marmalade, a guinea pig and beloved philanthropist who believes he can reform the gang, and takes them to his compound to train them. When leader Mr. Wolf has a breakthrough, Marmalade praises him but warns his friends might be holding him back from living "the good life". When the gang is later framed for stealing a valuable meteorite and arrested, he meets with them in the prison transport... [[spoiler:and reveals everything was part of his plot to steal the meteorite for his own heist and frame the gang. To rub salt in the wound, he also reveals Mr. Wolf's secret to the others, leading to a nasty falling out between Mr. Wolf and his friends when they arrive at prison]].

** Carl's idolization of Litchi itself is kind of subverted as the series progresses. Litchi, when first introduced, is shown to be a kindhearted woman [[AllLovingHero who cares about everyone]] and would even sacrifice herself to save someone unknown like Carl. We are also told that she is trying to save her lover. Come ''Continuum Shift'', however, [[spoiler:her emotions and goal of saving Arakune become the catalyst for her FaceHeelTurn, as Litchi joins Carl's father, Relius, for a chance to save her lover, maybe to establish that she is not meant to be the sensible LoveYouAndEverybody MessianicArchetype, but [[LoveMartyr a desperate lover]] to the level of near-obsession. Somehow, she still retained her kind self after this turn of events, but it was probably a type of baiting provided by Creator/ArcSystemWorks.]]

* Izaya Orihara in ''{{LightNovel/Durarara}}'' is introduced acting like a nice guy and seems to be comforting a troubled girl named Rio Kamichika. Then, it turns out that he had persuaded Rio into a SuicidePact, and he tells her that all the nice things he said were just him screwing with her, which pushes poor Rio to ''really'' attempt suicide (she survives unharmed, but no thanks to him) after he announces that he really doesn't care what she does with herself. After this scene, he is generally more [[LaughablyEvil comically evil]], but the show has moments once in a while to remind you what a creepy, sociopathic person Izaya is.

** A chapter ending introduces a few techs at the Diclonius research facility, along with their boss, a quirky, joking {{Bishonen}} with a fondness for candy sticks. All is well and good... until a RevealShot reveals that they're working, joking and laughing in [[spoiler:an office with a window showing an endless train of mutilated and uncensored Diclonii torsos for that radar system rattling past.]]

* Johan Liebert of ''Anime/{{Monster}}'' indulges in this trope on more than one occasion. He's hardly ever shown as anything other than an awful psychopath who enjoys murdering people for little more than shits and giggles. However, during the university arc, we see him lovingly playing with children, and helping an old man and his illegitimate son reunite for the first time. However, [[spoiler: this is quickly subverted when we see that he manipulated said children into playing a game by which they would attempt to balance themselves on the sides of rooftops, whereby many children fell to their deaths, and that he merely brought the father and son together so that it would be easier to kill them both (he fails on the second part, but still).]] He also gives money to a sickly homeless woman... because he can tell she's a heroin addict, and would almost certainly spend the money to buy more.

%%* The "Invaders of the Tomb" arc of ''LightNovel/{{Overlord}}'' can feel like one done with a VillainProtagonist instead of a straight-up villain. Sure, Ainz/Momonga had already been displaying a LackOfEmpathy up to that point, but the people he's going up against were so completely evil that it was easy to root for him for the CatharsisFactor. Then there's the Lizardmen arc, where he does proclaim his intention to slaughter a bunch of innocent lizardmen who had done nothing to him... but he ends up sparing them in the end, so no harm no foul, right? Then there's all the casualties of the Jaldabaoth incident, but [[PsychoSupporter Demiurge]] was the mastermind of that, not Momonga. But then he massacres a bunch of people whose only crime was attempting to loot a tomb they'd believed to be empty. Those who get the "mercy" of a quick death [[FateWorseThanDeath are the ones who got off easily]]. Ainz seems to take it as a [[BerserkButton personal slight against himself]] that these people would '''dare''' to defile the dungeon he and his friends created... even though he is the one who lured them there in the first place. It's usually at this point that people who had been slow on the uptake finally realize that Ainz, regardless of his AffablyEvil demeanor and his [[WellIntentionedExtremist ultimately idealistic intentions]], is ALighterShadeOfBlack at '''best'''.

* A subtle example in ''Film/{{Watchmen}}''. There's a MaleGaze shot of Silk Spectre in her form-fitting costume, then a cut to the Comedian leering at her. He's a cool superhero type, and he's also just a guy like us! Then, moments later, he tries to rape her.

* Film/{{Nightcrawler}} has Lou Bloom -- a socially awkward but nice kid of recent generations, forced into thievery and petty crime by the horrible economy, something that everyone, from Millennials to Boomers, has felt. He's good with tech, and tries to make an effort to be nice, and social, and is eager to learn, right? Even though his job, and focus of the film, capitalizes on sensationalism and suffering, well, that's just something everyone in this economy's had to swallow, right? Surely, that doesn't include stuff like sexual extortion, evidence rigging, eliminating the competition, and [[spoiler:outright murder]], right...? He's not someone like Sheldon Cooper or Steve Urkel -- he's really Patrick Bateman. To be fair, he [[spoiler:murders a security guard to steal his watch]] right at the beginning of the film.

** Though the signs were present long before that. It was, in fact, the moment he came upon his dying father and tried to steal his crown that got him injured badly enough to need a dragon heart transplant in the first place.

** In [[VideoGame/BlazBlueCalamityTrigger the first game]], there's [[spoiler:that mild-mannered informant Hazama who merrily helped Noel... until suddenly in the True End, he reveals his true nature: {{Troll}} extraordinary Yuuki Terumi, who's responsible for nearly every single depravity done to the world]].

* The Japanese horror classic ''Film/{{Audition}}'' perfectly fits this trope.