History Main / Faceheelturn

See also HeelFaceRevolvingDoor, NeutralNoLonger, DealWithTheDevil, WeUsedToBeFriends, StartOfDarkness and EtTuBrute. If the turn takes place extremely abruptly, it may include JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope.

* ''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.

* ForcedIntoEvil, whereas the character was still a genuinely good guy, but had his own reasons to be on the bad guys' side [[TokenGoodTeammate while still maintaining a good heart]], whereas a character who did a Face Heel Turn is a character who not only goes to the bad guys' side, but also become a genuine bad guy at heart. A character Forced Into Evil can be said about halfway doing a full Heel Turn, but not a full turn yet like the ones in this page (given time, they may make a full turn in the future).

Not to be confused with EvilAllAlong, in which a character that was thought to be good was [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin evil all along]]. This trope describes a legitimate hero going to the darkside, not a DoubleAgent.

* [[DudeWheresMyRespect Getting no thanks for their work]] or even [[HeroWithBadPublicity a bad reputation]] instead pushes them into a MistreatmentInducedBetrayal.

* [[DudeWheresMyRespect Getting no thanks for their work]] or even [[HeroWithABadReputation a bad reputation]] instead pushes them into a MistreatmentInducedBetrayal.

* They made a DealWithTheDevil and did something [[MoralEventHorizon truly heinous]] to cement their allegiance to their new master.

* They made a DealWithTheDevil and did something [[MoralEventHorizon truly heinous]] in order to cement their allegiance to their new master.

* They made a DealWithTheDevil, and when the choice between the devil and their friends and loved ones came, they chose the devil's side.

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 the 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.

The term "Face Heel Turn" comes from ProfessionalWrestling, in which a "good" wrestler (a {{face}}) is occasionally tempted by TheDarkSide, or just gets fed up, and becomes a {{heel}}. Magazines and other promotional material from the various wrestling "leagues" frequently comment on various wrestlers' changes in "alignment" (in wrestling's fictional plotline known as {{kayfabe}}) nearly as frequently as they actually cover events in the ring themselves. (They even use phrases like "Face Heel Turn", though the shorter "Heel Turn" is more common.)

* They made a DealWithTheDevil, and when the choice between the devil and their friends came, they chose the devil's side.

In RealLife, the nature of HeelFaceTurn and Face-Heel Turn is subjective (one person's "seeing the light" is another person's "heartless betrayal" [[HazyFeelTurn depending on what group the individual is going to or leaving]]). Therefore, '''Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease'''

A good guy turns bad, the opposite of the HeelFaceTurn. The ways in which this happens are many:

!Example subpages

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In real-life the nature of HeelFaceTurn and Face-Heel Turn is subjective (one person's "[[HeelFaceTurn seeing the light]]" is another person's "heartless betrayal" [[HazyFeelTurn depending on what group the individual is going to or leaving]]). Therefore, Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease

* They made a DealWithTheDevil, and when the choice between the devil and their friends came, chose the devil's side.

* They lost themselves to their hatred for the enemy, and [[HeWhoFightsMonsters have become just as bad as the enemy, if not worse.]]

* They spent too long [[ToBeatHimIMustThinkLikeHim in the villain's headspace]] or among villains, leading to BecomingTheMask.

* They [[BecomingTheMask became the mask]] after spending so long among the bad guys (such as with an infiltration) that they've started to think like them.

* They went into deep cover and pretended to be on the villains' side for so long that they've [[BecomingTheMask become the mask]].

* ''WebAnimation/TheMostEpicStoryEverToldInAllOfHumanHistory'': [[TokenRobot Epic Robot Guy]] is a good guy in episode three, “The Most Epic Superhero Origin Story Ever”, who becomes a villain by the time of episode five, “The Most Epic Crime-Stopping Mission Ever”. This is {{Lampshaded}} InUniverse with the text “he became a bad guy! Dun dun dunnn!” written next to him when he appears.

* WebAnimation/TheMostEpicStoryEverToldInAllOfHumanHistory: [[TokenRobot Epic Robot Guy]] is a good guy in episode three, “The Most Epic Superhero Origin Story Ever”, who becomes a villain by the time of episode five, “The Most Epic Crime-Stopping Mission Ever”. This is {{Lampshaded}} InUniverse with the text “he became a bad guy! Dun dun dunnn!” written next to him when he appears.

* Their allies have [[HangingSeparately made life too difficult]] or out-and-out [[EtTuBrute betrayed them]].