History Main / FaceHeelTurn

In the religious and/or philosophical context(s), since HeelFaceTurn indicates ''redemption'', this trope alone can be closely linked to '''damnation''', or having an '''''unfornate transition''''', normally an immoral one, of one's own conscious state, which can make this certain individual "be damned" (i.e. seen as questionable or unapproachable) by others.

In the religious and/or philosophical context(s), since HeelFaceTurn indicates ''redemption'', this trope alone can be closely linked to '''damnation''', i.e. having an '''''unfornate transition''''' (normally an immoral one) of one's own conscious state.

In the religious and/or philosophical context(s), since HeelFaceTurn indicates ''redemption'', this trope alone can be closely linked to '''damnation''', i.e. being perceived by others as '''''becoming morally wicked'''''.

'''Due to the nature of this trope, ''MAJOR UNMARKED SPOILERS ahead!'''''

* FaceHeelTurn/{{Webcomics}}

* FaceHeelTurn/{{Music}}

* FaceHeelTurn/TabletopGames

* FaceHeelTurn/ReligionAndMythology

A wrestler's heel turn is often a sign that he or she is about to see his or her popularity skyrocket. Indeed, it is very common, once they have turned, to remain heels for their entire careers. Heels that become ''really'' popular may end up "naturally" becoming faces again, but it is just as likely for heels to be beloved ''because'' [[LoveToHate they are heels]]. In fact, as paradoxical as it might seem, a heel turn can help an otherwise despised wrestler become likable: fans may well resent a face character, and may be better able to relate to a character who is [[ThisLoserIsYou profoundly flawed in one way or another]]. (After all, that's what satire is all about.)

Note that a Face-Heel Turn is harder to pull off than a HeelFaceTurn - at least convincingly. If a character is introduced as likable and heroic, it takes some good writing to properly take them through the CharacterDevelopment required to become a villain. Simply {{Foreshadowing}} that a character could turn evil is not enough. The work has to be put in to get the character to that destination; there are plenty of wrestling examples where this hasn't been done, or the reasons for the turn are so badly thought out that the fans reject it, and the wrestler turns back face shortly after.

%% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks!

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%% This trope is represented in the Pantheon/TropePantheons by Arthas Menethil of ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'', in the Hall of Pantheon/AlignmentChanges.
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** According to [[BigGood Ozpin]], [[MoleInCharge Headmaster Leonardo Lionheart]] was a different person before joining [[BigBad Salem]] and he seemed just as loyal as Team RWBY appears to be in the present. The second season of ''RWBY: The Grimm Campaign'', which depicts the Kuchinashi incident and takes place two years before the beginning of the main series ended with him sending Huntsmen reinforcements to help deal with the Wave crime syndicate that was left in Kuchinashi after their leader was killed. [[spoiler:It's somewhere between this incident and Volume 5 of the main show where he begins feeding Salem the locations of every Huntsman in the kingdom to have them all killed, and he enrolls Cinder's team into Haven Academy with forged transcripts so that they can enter Beacon Academy as transfer students in Volume 2, and sabotage Beacon from within. When he learns who Oscar is in Volume 5, he contemplates capturing the boy for Salem in the hope that he can finally be freed from the torment of working for her. By then, he's become a person that Ozpin no longer recognises.]]
** When first introduced, General James Ironwood was one of [[BigGood Ozpin's]] most trusted allies and someone who desperately wanted to protect the world from [[BigBad Salem]]. The events of Volume 3 leave him traumatised from the way the villains exploit him and his army to harm Vale; he becomes increasingly authoritarian and controlling, such as closing the Atlesian borders and imposing curfews. [[spoiler:Throughout Volume 7, the heroes become increasingly concerned about his decisions until he finally snaps from a combination of learning that Salem can't be killed and the villains pressing his TraumaButton one too many times. Pushed over the edge into villainy, he fulfills Oscar's prediction of becoming as dangerous as Salem by temporarily replacing the BigBad as Volume 8's ArcVillain.]]

** According to [[BigGood Ozpin]], [[MoleInCharge Headmaster Leonardo Lionheart]] was a different person before joining [[BigBad Salem]] and he seemed just as loyal as Team RWBY appears to be in the present. The second season of ''RWBY: The Grimm Campaign'', which depicts the Kuchinashi incident and takes place two years before the beginning of the main series ended with him sending Huntsmen reinforcements to help deal with the Wave crime syndicate that was left in Kuchinashi after their leader was killed. [[spoiler:Sometime during those two years however, he became afraid of Salem and started working for her so he could escape the conflict which included using his council position to give her forces the locations of the Kingdom's Huntsmen so they could eliminate them and helped forged documents for Cinder's team to easily infiltrate Beacon and cause it's destruction. Later when the heroes learn about this, Leonardo was shown to be regretful about what he did. When he learned that Oscar Pine was Ozpin's current reincarnation however, he decided to willingly capture Oscar and present him to Salem in order to escape the conflict and save himself.]]

** When first introduced, General James Ironwood was one of [[BigGood Ozpin's]] most trusted allies and someone who desperately wanted to protect the world from [[BigBad Salem]]. The events of Volume 3 leave him traumatised from the way the villains exploit him and his army to harm Vale; he becomes increasingly authoritarian and controlling, such as closing the Atlesian borders and imposing curfews. Throughout Volume 7, the heroes become increasingly concerned about his decisions until he finally snaps from a combination of learning that Salem can't be killed and the villains pressing his TraumaButton one too many times. Pushed over the edge into villainy, he fulfills Oscar's prediction of becoming as dangerous as Salem by temporarily replacing the BigBad as Volume 8's ArcVillain.

** At the beginning of the series, General James Ironwood was the commander of the Atlas Military, one of Ozpin's most trusted allies and was someone that genuinely wanted to help stop [[BigBad Salem]]. After the events of Volume 3 however, the trauma of having his robotic soldiers being hacked and used to frame Atlas cause him to start becoming more Authoritarian and controlling such as closing the borders to the Kingdom and turning it into a [[PoliceState police state]] which causes the heroes to be unnerved by the situation even when they work with his forces. [[spoiler:By the end of Volume 7 and throughout Volume 8, Ironwood has become a full on villain, serving as the secondary opposing threat to Ruby and her friends when he decides to declare martial law on Mantle until the end of Volume 8 where he becomes the main villain of the Volume.]]

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': At the beginning of the series, General James Ironwood was the commander of the Atlas Military, one of Ozpin's most trusted allies and was someone that genuinely wanted to help stop [[BigBad Salem]]. After the events of Volume 3 however, the trauma of having his robotic soldiers being hacked and used to frame Atlas cause him to start becoming more Authoritarian and controlling such as closing the borders to the Kingdom and turning it into a [[PoliceState police state]] which causes the heroes to be unnerved by the situation even when they work with his forces. [[spoiler:By the end of Volume 7 and throughout Volume 8, Ironwood has become a full on villain, serving as the secondary opposing threat to Ruby and her friends when he decides to declare martial law on Mantle until the end of Volume 8 where he becomes the main villain of the Volume.]]

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': At the beginning of the series, General James Ironwood was the commander of the Atlas Military, one of Ozpin's most trusted allies and was someone that genuinely wanted to help stop [[BigBad Salem]]. After the events of Volume 3 however, the trauma of having his robotic soldiers being hacked and used to frame Atlas cause him to start becoming more Authoritarian and controlling such as closing the borders to the Kingdom and turning it into a police state which causes the heroes to be unnerved by the situation even when they work with his forces. [[spoiler:By the end of Volume 7 and throughout Volume 8, Ironwood has become a full on villain, serving as the secondary opposing threat to Ruby and her friends when he decides to declare martial law on Mantle until the end of Volume 8 where he becomes the main villain of the Volume.]]

* ''WebAnimation/RWBY'': At the beginning of the series, General James Ironwood was the commander of the Atlas Military, one of Ozpin's most trusted allies and was someone that genuinely wanted to help stop [[BigBad Salem]]. After the events of Volume 3 however, the trauma of having his robotic soldiers being hacked and used to frame Atlas cause him to start becoming more Authoritarian and controlling such as closing the borders to the Kingdom and turning it into a police state which causes the heroes to be unnerved by the situation even when they work with his forces. [[spoiler:By the end of Volume 7 and throughout Volume 8, Ironwood has become a full on villain, serving as the secondary opposing threat to Ruby and her friends when he decides to declare martial law on Mantle until the end of Volume 8 where he becomes the main villain of the Volume.]]

[[caption-width-right:250:[[{{Pun}} From]] [[TheWisePrince a nice prince]] to [[TheEvilPrince an ice prince]].]]

[[folder:Machinima]]
* ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'': After one too many betrayals and being imprisoned after all his efforts to bring down the Director, Agent Washington snaps and decides to capture Epsilon for the Chairman so he'll finally be allowed to leave Project Freelancer and the UNSC behind, even if it means he'll have to kill the Reds and Blues to do it. Getting double-crossed by [[TheBrute the Meta]] and having the Reds and Blues save him once more causes Wash to change his mind and realign with the heroes against the Director.
* ''Machinima/Supermarioglitchy4sSuperMario64Bloopers'': [[spoiler:Enzo. He used to be a friendly guy and was being nice to other people until in "Birthday Freakout", after [[IdiotHero Mario]] ruins his birthday party. From then on he becomes a villain and is determined to kill Mario and the rest of the main cast. He is also actually revealed to be the [[SerialKiller shady black figure]] in "The Visitor" (2014).]]
[[/folder]]

Note that a FaceHeelTurn is harder to pull off than a HeelFaceTurn - at least convincingly. If a character is introduced as likable and heroic, it takes some good writing to properly take them through the CharacterDevelopment required to become a villain. Simply {{Foreshadowing}} that a character could turn evil is not enough. The work has to be put in to get the character to that destination; there are plenty of wrestling examples where this hasn't been done, or the reasons for the turn are so badly thought out that the fans reject it, and the wrestler turns back face shortly after.

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* Elphaba from ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}'' fits this trope, after having everything she tries spectacularly backfire on her, and having everyone she loves die all around her, she snaps during the song 'No Good Deed' dedicating herself to a lifetime of evil. Almost immediately subverted when she is shown to be just very, very pissed off, but not actually evil a mere song later.
** Nessarose, her sister, goes from a bratty but well-meaning child to the Wicked Witch of the East who, unlike is closer to the [[Film/TheWizardOfOz the film's]] portrayal of her than Elphaba. She is named governor of Munchkinland and uses the position to strip away their power in order to keep her husband Boq from leaving her, and when he tries, [[spoiler:she removes his heart, turns him into the Tin Man, and blames it on Elphaba]]. Likewise, Boq goes from a shy boy with a crush on Galinda to [[spoiler:a far more murderous version of the Tin Man, who declares "for once I'm glad I'm heartless - I'll be heartless killing her!"]].

* Invoked by Pulitzer in ''Theatre/{{Newsies}}'', by threatening to have the Newsies arrested if Jack doesn't agree to end the strike. In exchange, Jack tries to argue against ''his own cause'' at the rally ''he organized'', despite protests from Spot and Davey. Luckily, Katherine talks him down, and he relents.