History Main / CreateYourOwnHero

** ''VideoGame/WatchDogs2'': Marcus Holloway was set on the path that let to him joining [[=DedSec=]] when he was falsely accused of a crime by the [[=ctOS=]].
*** ''VideoGame/WatchDogsLegion'': [[spoiler: [[=DedSec=]] itself is restarted by Sabine Brandt, the treacherous former member who, posing as a rival hacker group, Zero Day, orchastrated the fall of the group's previous incarnation while framing them for her bombings.]]

Subtrope of NiceJobFixingItVillain, and the ultimate expression of VillainsActHeroesReact. Opposite of CreateYourOwnVillain, and SuperheroParadox. Related to GenocideBackfire, NiceJobBreakingItHerod, and INeedYouStronger (where the villain instead helps the hero to level-grind). Supertrope to PhlebotinumRebel and FaustianRebellion (in that the villain literally and intentionally empowers the would-be hero who then rebels against them) and so examples of that kind fall into those tropes.

Subtrope of NiceJobFixingItVillain, and the ultimate expression of VillainsActHeroesReact. Opposite of CreateYourOwnVillain, and SuperheroParadox. Related to GenocideBackfire and NiceJobBreakingItHerod Supertrope to PhlebotinumRebel and FaustianRebellion (in that the villain literally and intentionally empowers the would-be hero who then rebels against them) and so examples of that kind fall into those tropes.

->''I used to believe Batman was responsible for you people, but now I see nearly everyone here would have ended up exactly the same, Batman or not. Oh, the gimmicks might be different, but you'd all be out there in some form or another bringing misery to Gotham. The truth is, ''you'' created ''him''.''
-->--'''Janet van Dorn''' to Batman's RoguesGallery, ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' "[[Recap/TheAdventuresOfBatmanAndRobinE3Trial Trial]]"

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* In ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'', this is the origin of the unique transferable quirk One for All. Way back when quirks were first appearing, there was a supervillain with the power to take and give out quirks, called All for One. He had a more heroic brother, who was thought to be quirkless. All for One gave his brother a minor power stockpiling quirk. The thing was, the brother ''did'' have a quirk, just an extremely subtle one. The brother could pass his quirk on to others, and this ability fused to the stockpile power to become One for All, which not only became stronger with every generation, but was immune to being stolen and was thus the perfect power to face All for One with.

* Played with in ''ComicBook/LesLegendaires'', where [[BigBad Darkhell]] actually gets wise about this trope, and, after slaughtering a village, framed a local army of heroes by [[FalseFlagOperation leaving their banner behind]]. As a result, the only kid who survived ends up directing his hate toward said heroes, grows into a villain and becomes Darkhell's [[TheDragon Dragon]]. However, he eventually does learn the truth, causing him to pull a HeelFaceTurn and join the protagonists.

* ComicBook/{{Ultron}} is a prime example of AIIsACrapshoot and CreateYourOwnVillain... so it's poetic justice that he's had this happen to him ''several times over''. Over the years, he's created ComicBook/{{the Vision}}, Jocasta and [[ComicBook/{{Runaways}} Victor Mancha]] as part of various schemes, and they've ''all'' turned on him and joined the good guys.
* ''ComicBook/{{Wanted}}'': Invoked by Mr. Rictus, a CardCarryingVillain who routinely [[YouKilledMyFather murders a kid's parents in front of him]] to see if this will happen (in this world, the supervillains won decisively by banding together and rewriting reality so heroes forgot who they were). So far, nothing.
* In Creator/AlanMoore's ''ComicBook/{{Supreme}}'', due to [[spoiler:a StableTimeLoop]], the villain becomes the source of the hero's powers.
** Likewise in his ''ComicBook/VForVendetta'' graphic novel, albeit indirectly and more by the TheConspiracy as a whole than by the villain himself.

* ''ComicBook/CaptainAtom'': Wade Eiling led the experiment that transformed Nathaniel Adam into Captain Atom and also led the conspiracy that manipulated Nate into volunteering for the experiment.
* A Nazi villain named Iron Jaw kills a war correspondent and his wife, [[YouKilledMyFather prompting their son]] to become the Golden Age hero ''Crimebuster''.

* ''ComicBook/LegendsOfTheDeadEarth'': In ''[[Franchise/{{Superman}} Superman: The Man of Steel]]'' Annual #5, the people of Hydros are wiped out by the Empire on the orders of Luthor the 60th. This inspires the planet's [[LastOfHisKind last survivor]] Kaleb to join the rebellion and fight the Empire as the new Superman.
* In ''ComicBook/TheTransformersAutocracy'', it's shown that while Orion Pax was always ''badass'', he would never have become Optimus Prime or united half of Cybertron against the ascendant Megatron if Megs hadn't betrayed him and dropped him into a deep hole - Orion survived the impact, and the structure at the bottom of the hole happened to be the hiding place for the Matrix of Leadership.

* When soldier of fortune Marc Spector defied his commander Raoul Bushman in order to protect archeologist Dr. Peter Alruane and his daughter Marlene, Bushman killed the elder Alruane and beat Spector to the point of death. Whether Spector actually died [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane is unknown]], but he would definitely face Bushman again as ComicBook/MoonKnight.

* ''Fanfic/CastSwap'': An odd indirect example - Scarlett's early-game decision to help eliminate Amy instead of Sammy actually allows Sammy the time to grow a spine throughout the course of the show and eventually take down Scarlett in the final challenge. The twist is that Sammy isn't even ''aware'' Scarlett did this, and neither of them bring it up by the end of the season.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse'': It's implied that the spider which bites Miles and gives him his powers is "radioactive" due to the Collider (either it came from another universe through the Collider or it was somehow contaminated by the Collider's energy). When a frightened Miles returns to the scene of the bite, he witnesses a battle between Kingpin and his universe's Spider-Man, and when the battle ends in Spider-Man's death, he vows to finish what Peter Parker started. Furthermore, the other five Spider-people - Peter B. Parker, Gwen Stacy, Peni Parker, Spider-Ham, and Spider-Man Noir - are pulled into Miles's universe by the same experimental tech.

* In ''Film/{{Andhadhun}}'', Akash was content to pretend he never witnessed anything, and then Simi blinded him and Manohar tried to kill him. Only then does he start to plot against them--because he wants his eyesight back and he wants to be sure that they don't try to kill him again.

* ''Film/{{Deadpool|2016}}'': Ajax, who was running mutant test-programs disguised as new cancer treatments, successfully recreated Wolverine's healing powers in mercenary Wade Wilson. Unfortunately, these tests involved incredibly painful torture, caused the destruction of Wilson's relationship, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking made him ugly]], so he destroys the lab, takes up the moniker Deadpool, and hunts down every single person involved in Ajax's plot, up to and including Ajax himself.

* In ''Film/TheMaskOfZorro'', Alejandro is motivated to become the new Zorro after Captain Love kills his brother.

* In ''Literature/SoonIWillBeInvincible'', the future Dr. Impossible ends up accidentally creating his arch-nemesis [=CoreFire=] (an [[CaptainErsatz ersatz]] of Franchise/{{Superman}}) with a FreakLabAccident during their time in college. [[spoiler:The funny thing is, [=CoreFire=] doesn't even remember Impossible as a student, despite having interacted with him on several occasions]]. It's pointed out that Dr. Impossible has tried everything he could think of to try to destroy [=CoreFire=], but nothing works. [=CoreFire=] appears to be utterly invulnerable to anything, except perhaps iridium, but the heroes made sure to get rid of any of that stuff long ago. While [=CoreFire=] is a member of the [[SuperTeam Champions]] (and, later, the [[PuttingTheBandBackTogether New Champions]]), he's easily the strongest member of the team (despite [[BadassNormal Blackwolf]] claiming to be able to beat him). Without [=CoreFire=], Impossible manages to single-handedly beat and capture the rest of the New Champions, having learned about their weaknesses long ago.

* ''Literature/ChrysalisBeaverFur'': Completely on a whim, the Terran chooses to show Daokat mercy when they find him cowering in some wreckage for dear life with a palace servant, helping the two out of the wreckage and even building them a rudimentary ship so they can leave the planet. This act proves to the Xunvir and other members of the Galactic community that the Terran is in fact sapient, and potentially able to be reasoned with.
* ''Literature/{{Patternist}}'': The BigBad Coransee [[EvilCannotComprehendGood cannot believe]] that his half-brother Teray doesn't want to compete to become Heir to the Patternmaster. His efforts to kill or [[RestrainingBolt mind-control]] Teray force Teray to set aside his own (relatively) HumbleGoal and become a serious contender, and, ultimately, to kill Coransee.

* In ''Series/{{Arrow}}'', Oliver Queen's transformation into the Green Arrow began when his family's yacht, the ''Queen's Gambit'', sank, and he became stranded on Lian Yu. There, he was trained to fight by Slade Wilson. The ''Queen's Gambit'' was sunk by Malcolm Merlyn, the BigBad of season one, while Slade Wilson became the BigBad of season two. Oliver even expressly acknowledges at the end of season two that it was Slade who made Oliver into a hero.

** In Season 4, the Thinker ends up masterminding the transformation of a busload of people into new metahumans. While a number of them end up becoming criminals, one ends up becoming Central City's newest hero (under Barry's tutelage) - Ralph Dibny (AKA the Elongated Man). How does this work against the Thinker? [[spoiler:Dibny uses his {{Shapeshifter}} ability to spring Barry from prison, where he was put by the Thinker framing him for murder]].

*** In season 2, the Rangers meet and befriend three teenagers from Stone Canyon named Rocky, Adam and Aisha. These teens end up getting kidnapped by the villains to lure the Rangers into a trap. This results in the trio discovering the Rangers' identities and subsequently joining the team when Jason, Trini and Zack are PutOnABus.

*** In season 3 Rita kidnaps and brainwashes a teenager who is new in town yet again. This time, the teen in question is an Australian student named Katherine whom Rita has instructed to spy on the Rangers and steal Kimberly's power coin which would result in the Pink Ranger's death as the power coins are connected to the Rangers' life force. Not only does Kat break free from Rita's control and help save Kim, but she takes over as the Pink Ranger after Kim is PutOnABus. Even better, Kat had a temporary psychic connection to Rita as a result of the spell which allowed her to foil another of Rita's plans.

* Post Toryumon Japan, Muscle Outlaw'z hazed their own personal referee Kinta Tamaoka in an [[ComplexityAddiction overly elaborate plot]] that ended with ''[[TheDogBitesBack all]]'' the referees of Dragon Gate taking a stand against the power stable. Blood Warriors made Ronin from DG USA their enemies, perhaps unintentionally, when Wrestling/AustinAries attacked Wrestling/JohnnyGargano, Rich Swann and Wrestling/ChuckTaylor to prove his dedication to CIMA. Shingo Takagi and YAMATO had no interest in forming a PowerStable, but changed their mind after witnessing Mad Blankey's unnecessary bullying of their rookie friend Tominaga and created -akatsuki- with Tominaga and Super Shenlong. Mad Blankey turned on Akira Tozawa, despite him successfully leading them to victory time and time again, for being too [[VirtueIsWeakness facey]], which in turn only made him more facey, and then turned on Uhaa Nation for not destroying the banished Tozawa for them. This lead to Nation and Tozawa joining with the World 1 rejected Shachihoko BOY, Ricochet and Masato Yoshino to create Monster Express. [=VerserK=] basically created their sworn enemy [=MaxiMuM=]. The first step was when T-Hawk punished Naruki Doi for [[MisplacedRetribution Kotoka's betrayal of the group]], kicked Doi out of the stable, and [=VerserK=] then gave Doi a gang beating [[DisproportionateRetribution for asking to come back later]]. Second was when Takagi, T-Hawk, and Lindaman won the [[TournamentArc New Years Unit War 6 Man Tag Team Tournament]] and proved to be very unsporting winners by continuing to attack fellow finalists Masato Yoshino, Kotoka and Ben-K after the match, which inspired Naruki Doi to save them and propose an anti [=VerserK=] alliance. Despite being an explicitly anti [=VerserK=] alliance The Jimmyz quickly managed to end up at the top of [=MaxiMuM=]'s hit list when the Jimmyz attacked them after a match so Genki Horiguchi could show everyone the difference between "professionals" and "amateurs".

* The BigBad of ''VideoGame/PillarsOfEternity'', [[spoiler:Thaos]], does this ''twice'' to [[PlayerCharacter the Watcher]]: once, when his ritual at Cilant Lis Awakens the Watcher to their past lives, and [[spoiler:many centuries ''before'' that, when Thaos made a previous incarnation of the Watcher betray Iovara, which effectively tied all three of their souls together, bound to clash with each other again, sooner or later]].

* ''VideoGame/FreedomForce'': In Minuteman's origin story, he is shot by an American traitor during his meeting with Sukhov. The mortally wounded man crawls to the statue of a minuteman nearby, which has been hit with [[SuperSerum Energy X]] and absorbs the energy.
* ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'': Ridley's attack on three-year-old Samus' colony and the murder of her parents ended up creating his [[ArchEnemy greatest enemy]].

*** The protagonist isn't the only person he's been pushed to opposing him, either; he [[spoiler:killed Futaba's mother using Akechi for the sake of getting her cognitive research for his own use two years prior to the game's events, and instead of simply murdering Futaba's mom, in an incredibly unnecessary KickTheDog moment on his part, he '''forged a suicide note stating that Futaba's mom committed suicide because she hated her daughter and read it out loud to a 14 year old Futaba and her relatives!''' Sure enough, Futaba was instantly driven into an increasingly extreme depression to the point that she generated a palace, heard hallucinations of Wakaba telling her that she's disappointed on her and even believing that if she died her mom will come back to life. Once she knows the truth, it's quite clear that she would accompany the protagonist to take down Shido at all costs.]]

* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' Commander Shepard is literally brought back from the dead with a reinforced skeleton, enhanced mental capacity, off the charts biotic powers, on top of Shepard's pre-existing military training and inherent instinct for battle, in order to fight off hordes of Reapers who seem to be harvesting humans. Shepard was engineered by Cerberus to be a nigh unstoppable super soldier. However, when Commander Shepard finds out that Cerberus is allowing human colonies to be targeted in order to track Reaper movement, s/he breaks with Cerberus who then tries repeatedly to kill Shepard if they can't control him/her. That's right. They try to kill the already badass military (wo)man that they then enhanced into a super soldier engineered to be able to take on hordes of insanely overpowered aliens single handedly. And they try to bring him/her down with mid-level goons with guns.
* ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends''
** Evelynn's extended lore says that, as one of her many [[InterplayOfSexAndViolence sadistic flings]], she killed a pair of Demacian nobles in front of their child. She then left, figuring that the look of trauma on the child's face was funny enough. Said child grew up to become Shauna Vayne, one of the most feared, proficient and ruthless demon hunters in all of Runeterra - and, [[DifficultButAwesome in the right hands]], one of the strongest [=ADCs=] in the game.
** Gankplank coldly executed the gunsmith who forged his flintlock, along with her young daughter. But the daughter survived, growing up to be rival pirate Miss Fortune. [[spoiler:Who got her revenge in spectacular fashion by blowing his ship, his crew and his arm to pieces.]]
* ''VideoGame/Halo2:'' The Prophets decide to spare the life of disgraced commander Thel Vadam and appoint him as Arbiter, intended to be used for dangerous suicide missions, while also making moves to replace his species with the dogmatically loyal Brutes. He ends up becoming the leader of the Covenant splinter faction after learning the truth of Halo and ultimately kills the Prophet of Truth.
* ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed:'' The Templars have a really, really, ''really'' bad habit of doing this, routinely motivating one person to dismantle their latest operation via their own pettiness. And they never learn from it.
** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII:'' Ezio Auditore was a layabout Florentine youth, until the day Rodrigo Borgia had his father and brothers arrested and killed for being a thorn in his side. Ezio spent the next twenty years hunting down and killing all of Rodrigo's confederates, before taking the fight to the man himself in Rome, rebuilding the Italian Assassins while he was at it.
** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII:'' Connor Kenway was a child when Charles Lee and his fellow Templars attacked him, insulted him, and apparently tried to burn down his village, killing Connor's mother. Connor's efforts to find Lee wound up not only getting all those Templars killed, but helped kick-start the American revolution. Connor's father, Haytham, even pointed out to Lee that this wouldn't have happened if Lee ''hadn't hit a kid in the face with a rifle for no reason''.
** In Modern day, Desmond Miles had abandoned the ways of the assassins, believing them to be a crazed cult. Warren Vidic had him kidnapped and forced him back into the war. This resulted in the deaths of himself, Master Templar Daniel Cross [[spoiler:, and his double agent Lucy Stillman]].
** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedOrigins:'' Bayek and his wife Aya were just minding their own business in Siwa, until the Order of Ancients rolled through, looking for a Precursor vault in their village, resulting in the death of their child. The couple's RoaringRampageOfRevenge is what ultimately cause the founding of the Assassins.
** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedOdyssey:'' Alexios / Kassandra was quite happily lounging around on Kephallonia, minding their own business and occasionally working as muscle-for-hire, when one of the Cult of Kosmos hires them to march off into the middle of UsefulNotes/ThePeloponnesianWar and assassinate some general. Who turns out to be their [[spoiler:step]]father. Their anger prompts the Eagle Bearer to start investigating, and ultimately go after the entire Cult.
** In Modern day, Layla Hassan was an employee of Abstergo Industries who only wanted to work on the Animus. After getting no recognition for her efforts, she choose to build her own and present her findings to her bosses. They sent in a strike team after her driving her straight into the arms of the Assassins.
* Done deliberately in ''VideoGame/NierAutomata''. [[spoiler:The entire [=YoRHa=] project 2B and 9S were created for is part of a larger charade between machine lifeforms and androids to perpetuate the ForeverWar. If [=YoRHa=] ever got the upper hand (which they eventually do,) contingencies were in place to destroy the entire project and either kill or [[BrainwashedAndCrazy infect and convert]] everyone involved with it. Unfortunately for the machines, there were still survivors.]]
* [[spoiler:Omega]] in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' activly [[{{Invoked}} Invokes]] this trope. It desires to fight powerful enemies to further grow in strength and evolve. After reading about countless accounts of "heroes", both factual and fictional, who overcame objectivly impossible odds to save the day, it purposefully acts villainous by threatening innocents and attacking those close to [[PlayerCharacter the Warrior of Light]] to shape them into the perfect heroic opponent.
* Albert Wesker in the ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' series was one of the founders and original leaders of Raccoon City's S.T.A.R.S. unit. He would go on to betray the unit in the first game as part of his schemes. Unfortunately for him, two of the unit's members, Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine, would survive to become persistent thorns in his side. In his final appearance in ''Videogame/ResidentEvil5'', Chris has foiled his latest scheme and succeeds in killing him. Wesker admits that he should have killed Chris years ago.
* ''Videogame/GrimDawn:'' During the titular [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt Grim Dawn]], one wayward Aetherial spirit decides to possess some random schmuck, wiping their memories and puppeteering them right until the locals try to hang them; then, instead of getting banished back to their realm for a while as the body is killed, it decides to depart the body with just enough time for the host to be cut down and survive. A host that now has no memory of the past, a slew of unusual and useful abilities and unnatural, growing strength that Aetherial energy seems to enhance. A host now known as the Taken, who can proceed to dismantle almost everything they had achieved, and take down threats of similar apocalyptic caliber. Notably, the Taken can find the same spirit possessing a different body later on during the assault on their stronghold at Malmouth, and the spirit is ''not'' happy that things spun so far out of control.
* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'':
** One of the reasons Dante became a demon hunter was to eventually find and kill the demon that killed his mother. In ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry1'' that demon, Mundus, [[NiceJobFixingItVillain makes the foolish mistake]] of luring Dante to his island in an attempt to kill him. Worse, Mundus' cruel treatment of his minion Trish causes her to pull a HeelFaceTurn and lend her power to Dante in his climactic battle with the villain.
** A quite literal case with Lucia, the {{Deuteragonist}} of ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry2''. She is revealed to be one of the [[ArtificialHuman demons created by]] [[BigBad Arius]] but was discarded for being a "defect". She is adopted by the demon hunting clan of the Vie du Marli and kills Arius in the game's climax.
** ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry3'': Arkham's murder of his wife Kalina Ann results in their daughter Mary, now known as Lady, becoming a demon hunter and killing him.
** Vergil, Dante's EvilTwin brother, begets a child named Nero who would become the protagonist of ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry4'' and ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5''. Nero would also [[spoiler: defeat Vergil in ''5''.]]

* Khotun Khan in ''VideoGame/GhostOfTsushima'' starts off well, invading Tsushima, massacring the samurai army, filling the main character Jin full of arrows, then curbstomping the main character when he comes looking for a rematch. But then Khan pulls a BondVillainStupidity and chucks Jin off a bridge instead of finishing him off. Not only does Jin survive, but two near-death experiences teach Jin that straightforward samurai tactics are not going to work against the Mongol army and switches to using guerilla/assassin attacks, which work much better.
* ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'': The Sith Inquisitor PC, especially if played lightside (and in fact [[CuttingOffTheBranches their default name]] if a level 60 character is created in the expansions is the lightside title Darth Imperius). After they kill their first master, Darth Zash, in self-defense, Zash's enemy Darth Thanaton tries to kill them out of an AssociationFallacy, driving the PC to become one of the mightiest Sith Lords in living memory and eventually overthrow Thanaton just to survive--whereas [[CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot if he'd just accepted their offer to become his apprentice, he'd probably have lived]].
* ''VideoGame/HorizonZeroDawn'': Had [[spoiler:HADES]] not tried to kill Aloy the moment he saw her, then she may never have left the Nora tribe's Sacred Lands. It's possible she would have eventually found out about [[spoiler:the end of the old world, the role of the machines, and her power as a clone of Elisabet Sobeck via the door in All-Mother Mountain]] eventually, but the odds of that happening early enough to lead to her being able to defeat [[spoiler:HADES prior to his assault on the Spire]] are practically zero given the tribe's isolationist customs and their gerontocratic system of government, meaning that it would be decades before Aloy would even knowshe had to, [[spoiler: as only women with living grandchildren are even allowed near that door, and Aloy doesn't even have a boyfriend]].

** ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' has Terry [=McGinnis=] become the new Batman, not long after his father Warren is murdered on the orders of [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Derek Powers]], the [[BigBad main antagonist]] of the first season. The hitman who actually committed the murder in question is killed by Terry when he inadvertently becomes exposed to the toxin they were illegally manufacturing, but Powers manages to stick around until the S1 finale by undergoing experimental radiation treatment that saves his life with some... [[WalkingWasteland side effects]].
** ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' presents the darkest version of this trope in "Epilogue", where [[WellIntentionedExtremist Amanda Waller]] reveals to Terry [=McGinnis=] that [[spoiler:when she noticed Bruce Wayne was growing too old to be Batman, she decided to create her own hero by collecting Batman's DNA, finding a couple with an identical psychological make-up as Thomas and Martha Wayne, overwrite the husband's reproductive DNA with Batman's without the man's knowledge, with Terry being the resultant child. Then when he was 7 years old, Waller commissioned [[WesternAnimation/BatmanMaskOfThePhantasm the Phantasm]] to assassinate Terry's parents in his presence. Thankfully, the Phantasm decided to abort the operation to honor Bruce's legacy, instead of taint it. Although Terry points out, as detailed above, that the actions of Derek Powers wound up finishing the job anyway.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'': Adora was raised in the Horde as an officer cadet, and as a result of her subsequent HeelFaceTurn, the Horde's greatest enemy is using its combat training. [[spoiler:Light Hope tells her in season 3 that she was only on Etheria to become She-Ra ''at all'' because of Hordak's portal experiments, but season 4 reveals this to be a complete lie.]]

* This happens in ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'' in relation to [[spoiler:''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'']]. Black Heron of F.O.W.L. had created an intelligence-granting ray gun and tested it out on a rodent. That rodent, one [[spoiler:Gadget Hackwrench]], would go on to boost up other rodents, team up and help Launchpad and Dewey save the day.

* ''VideoGame/HorizonZeroDawn'': Had [[spoiler:HADES]] not tried to kill Aloy the moment he saw her, then she may never have left the Nora tribe's Sacred Lands. It's possible she would have eventually found out about [[spoiler:the end of the old world, the role of the machines, and her power as a clone of Elisabet Sobeck via the door in All-Mother Mountain]] eventually, but the odds of that happening early enough to lead to her being able to defeat [[spoiler:HADES prior to his assault on the Spire]] are practically zero given the tribe's isolationist customs and their gerontocratic system of government meaning that it would be decades before Aloy even knew she had to [[spoiler: as only women with living grandchildren were even allowed near that door, and Aloy didn't even have a boyfriend]].

* ''VideoGame/HorizonZeroDawn'': Had [[spoiler:HADES]] not tried to kill Aloy the moment he saw her, then she may never have left the Nora tribe's Sacred Lands. It's possible she would have eventually found out about [[spoiler:the end of the old world, the role of the machines, and her power as a clone of Elisabet Sobeck via the door in All-Mother Mountain]] eventually, but the odds of that happening early enough to lead to her being able to defeat [[spoiler:HADES prior to his assault on the Spire]] are practically zero given the tribe's isolationist customs.

* ''Literature/{{Chrysalis}}'': Completely on a whim, the Terran chooses to show Daokat mercy when they find him cowering in some wreckage for dear life with a palace servant, helping the two out of the wreckage and even building them a rudimentary ship so they can leave the planet. This act proves to the Xunvir and other members of the Galactic community that the Terran is in fact sapient, and potentially able to be reasoned with.

* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'': Ironically in Season 5, the High Priestess raising her seven daughters to kill Jack is what led to her eldest daughter, Ashi, pulling a {{Heel Face Turn}} and [[PredatorTurnedProtector assisting Jack in his quest]].

** Velez was an average talent with no resources or connections that interested [=VALkyrie=], had no discernible reason to resent SHINE as much them and [[DragonWithAnAgenda wanted to prove herself better than all other wrestles, including the rest of VALkyrie]]. The many enemies [=VALkyrie=] made [[ChallengeSeeker created a steady schedule for Velez]], and she grew from average [[TookALevelInBadass to best in the group]]. Their first mistake was recruiting her, their second was dumping Velez after she knocked off their leader and became champion, which resulted in [=VALkyrie=] not having another champion until [=SoCal=] Val's [[EvilerThanThou hostile takeover]]. Their third mistake under, Val's leadership, [[FriendOrIdolDecision was the attempted kidnapping]] of Velez's injured friend Wrestling/LaRosaNegra. This made things [[ItsPersonal even more personal]] for Velez, [[OlderAndWiser who now had resources and connections]] comparable to [[LegionOfDoom VALkyrie]]'s own.
** Su Yung, a wrestler driven crazy by [=VALkyrie=]'s reign of terror, was recruited when Velez was dumped. [=VALkyrie=]'s [[HiredGuns hired muscle]] Sweet Saraya turned Yung into an [[OurZombiesAreDifferent obedient zombie]], seemingly to save money by having Su openly do for free what Saraya did covertly for pay, but [=VALkyrie=] had no idea how to handle Yung without Saraya around and Val proved [[TheDogBitesBack so abusive even Saraya]] lost control of the now more dangerous zombie Su ([[AxCrazy which Saraya was proud of]]). Velez took [=VALkyrie=]'s last title belt. When Yung failed to get it back, Yung finished off [=VALkyrie=] herself.

* Valkyrie, the first PowerStable of Shine Wrestling, brought about its own downfall when it recruited Wrestling/IvelisseVelez and Wrestling/SuYung. Velez was an average talent with no resources or connections that interested Valkyrie, had no discernible reason to resent Shine as much them and [[DragonWithAnAgenda wanted to prove herself better than all other wrestles, including the rest of Valkyire]]. The many enemies Valkyrie made [[ChallengeSeeker created a steady schedule for Velez]], and she grew from average [[TookALevelInBadass to best in the group]]. Their first mistake was recruiting her, their second was dumping Velez after she knocked off their leader and became champion, which resulted in Valkyrie not having another champion until [=SoCal=] Val's [[EvilerThanThou hostile takeover]]. Their third mistake under, Val's leadership, [[FriendOrIdolDecision was the attempted kidnapping]] of Velez's injured friend Wrestling/LaRosaNegra. This made things [[ItsPersonal even more personal]] for Velez, [[OlderAndWiser who now had resources and connections]] comparable to [[LegionOfDoom VALkyrie]]'s own. Su Yung, a wrestler driven crazy by Valkyrie's reign of terror, was recruited when Velez was dumped. Valkyrie's [[HiredGuns hired muscle]] Sweet Saraya turned Yung into an [[OurZombiesAreDifferent obedient zombie]], seemingly to save money by having Su openly do for free what Saraya did covertly for pay, but Valkyrie had no idea how to handle Yung without Saraya around and Val proved [[TheDogBitesBack so abusive even Saraya]] lost control of the now more dangerous zombie Su ([[AxCrazy which Saraya was proud of]]). Velez took [=VALkyrie=]'s last title belt. When Yung failed to get it back, Yung finished off [=VALkyrie=] herself.

->''"Oh please, everyone's always on about the children. I already tried leaving them alive, but all they do is grow up under my rule or dedicate their pathetic lives to revenge. Usually both."''
-->-- '''Freeza''', ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'', "Episode 28: Leave It To Freezer"

** Diluted with the previous establishment of Union Jack and the Phantom Eagle during World War I; presumably these mascot adventurers served as previous examples.

* In Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean, Jolyne Cujoh was thrown into Green Dolphin Street Prison by [[spoiler:[[BigBad Enrico Pucci]], the prison's pastor and]] an ally of DIO who planned to use her to lure her father Jotaro to the prison so that he could steal his memories and discover how to achieve heaven. Jolyne didn't figure into his plans at all as anything besides bait, as he thought she was an ordinary teenage girl who wouldn't pose any threat to his plans. However, after seeing her father rendered comatose by his [[FightingSpirit stand]] while he attempts to break her out of prison, Jolyne becomes determined to recover her father's mind and shows [[spoiler:Pucci]] that he drastically miscalculated which Joestar was the real threat to his plans.

* In ''Manga/MoriartyThePatriot'', William does this ''on purpose''. After he met Sherlock and was impressed by his deductions and ability to recognize the presence of a criminal mastermind, he gave Sherlock an "audition" for the role of hero in his play by seeing what he'd do when framed for murder, then happily cast him in the role, continuing to tease him with mysteries and crimes hoping to frustrate Sherlock enough to end the story of the Lord of Crime.

* ''Fanfic/CastSwap'': An odd indirect example - Scarlett's early-game decision to help eliminate Amy instead of Sammy actually allows Sammy the time to grow a spine throughout the course of the show and eventually take down Scarlett in the final challenge.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'' tries to [[InvokedTrope invoke]] this trope. After accidentally killing Metroman, he [[AntagonistInMourning misses playing the bad guy]] and creates a new super-hero by giving powers to a random man named Hal. However, Hal actually [[GoodPowersBadPeople uses his power to become a villain even worse than Megamind]] and ironically, is the one who will cause Megamind to become a hero.

** In ''FanFic/KnightOfDeathAndRebirth'', the actions of the Radical Faction (particularly Meivia and Druella) cause Lelouch to become a BlackKnight seeking to overthrow Lilith along with Britannia and the Chief God. The repercussions don’t help as he saves several Heroes of Lescatie from becoming monsters, who all join him as TrueCompanions.

* ComicBook/{{Ultron}} is a prime example of AIIsACrapshoot and CreateYourOwnVillain... so it's poetic justice that he's had this happen to him ''several times over''. Over the years, he's created ComicBook/{{the Vision}}, Jocasta and ComicBook/VictorMancha as part of various schemes, and they've ''all'' turned on him and joined the good guys.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse'': the spider that bites Miles and gives him powers isn't one from his universe, but is pulled into his universe by Kingpin's experiments underneath New York. When a frightened Miles returns to the scene of the bite, he witnesses a battle between Kingpin and his universe's Spider-Man, and when the battle ends in Spider-Man's death, he vows to finish what Peter Parker started. Furthermore, the other five Spider-people - Peter B. Parker, Gwen Stacy, Peni Parker, Spider-Ham, and Spider-Man Noir - are pulled into Miles's universe by the same experimental tech.

* ''Literature/HarryPotter'' has a SelfFulfillingProphecy variant of this: [[spoiler:when learning a child with the potential to kill him would come, Voldemort tracked down the baby and tried to kill him. This ironically resulted in him marking the kid as his equal just as the prophecy foretold.]]

%% Please see thread to discuss a new image.

* ''Series/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'': The Sith Inquisitor PC, especially if played lightside (and in fact [[CuttingOffTheBranches their default name]] if a level 60 character is created in the expansions is the lightside title Darth Imperius). After they kill their first master, Darth Zash, in self-defense, Zash's enemy Darth Thanaton tries to kill them out of an AssociationFallacy, driving the PC to become one of the mightiest Sith Lords in living memory and eventually overthrow Thanaton just to survive--whereas [[CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot if he'd just accepted their offer to become his apprentice, he'd probably have lived]].