History Main / FallenHero

->'''Luke Skywalker:''' There is still good in [[Characters/StarWarsAnakinSkywalker him]].\\
'''Obi-Wan:''' [[Characters/StarWarsDarthVaderAndServants He]]'s more machine now than man. Twisted and evil.

** Anakin Skywalker, who got [[Film/ThePhantomMenace three]] [[Film/AttackOfTheClones whole]] [[Film/RevengeOfTheSith movies]] of StartOfDarkness.

* Avengers member (and most-hated one, both with the fandom and even in-universe among the team itself) Dr. Druid had a 1995 series titled simply ''Druid'' that was about him becoming all about this. When he opens, he'd become washed-up and essentially a cuilt leader with some people staying at his penthouse, and starts to go mad with his new powers, giving into his anger and lust for power until Damion Hellstrom murdered him. Then during ''ComicBook/SquadronSupreme2015'', he became a tyrant on Weirdworld upon discovering that he could manifest a body there. That said, when he was seen in 2019, ''Dr. Strange, Surgeon Supreme'', he ''seemed'' to be back on the side of the angels, but the series ended before it could be confirmed to be the case or a ruse.

* At the beginning of Creator/KevinSmith's ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'' run, Karen Page was stuffed into a fridge. Then, Creator/BrianMichaelBendis took over and his identity was exposed to the public, and eventually, he was incarcerated for obstruction of justice. After beating the rap, his new wife, Milla, suffered a psychotic breakdown and the marriage dissolved (Matt cheating on her with Dakota North happened in between). By the time Lady Bullseye started to kill his closest allies to resurrect them as zombie ninja slaves, Matt finally said "screw this" and abandoned his life as Matt Murdock to become the leader of the Hand. Though still a TechnicalPacifist, the crossover ''ComicBook/{{Shadowland}}'' changed this with Marvel promoting Daredevil as the new "greatest super-villain of the Marvel Universe".

Usually revealed in a NotSoDifferentRemark moment. Almost always gets a StartOfDarkness, and often implies BecameTheirOwnAntithesis. Christopher Booker's [[Literature/TheSevenBasicPlots sixth basic plot]], {{Tragedy}}, uses this character arc, with the Fallen Hero as the main character. Compare FaceHeelTurn, TheDarkSideWillMakeYouForget. See also FallenAngel, TragicVillain, and TragicMonster. SuperTrope to TheParagonAlwaysRebels, in which the character has such influence over other good guys that they fall with him or her. When the Fallen Hero used to be a main character in a previous work, they're a RogueProtagonist.

** Multiple members of the Republic pulled one when Palpatine transforms it into the Empire by staying loyal to it regardless of its numerous atrocities. Notable examples include Wulf Yuularen, [[spoiler:Crosshair]], and Wilhuff Tarkin, although the latter two [[NominalHero were heroic mainly by virtue of being allied with far more moral people more than anything else]].

** Multiple members of the Republic pulled one when Palpatine transforms it into the Empire by staying loyal to it regardless of its numerous atrocities. Notable examples include Wulf Yuularen, [[spoiler:Crosshair]], and Wilhuff Tarkin, although the latter two [[Nominal Hero were heroic mainly by virtue of being allied with far more moral people more than anything else]].

** According to [[BigGood Ozpin]], Headmaster Leonardo Lionheart was a different person before joining 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 [[BigBad 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. In the end, his efforts to escape the conflict was AllForNothing since Salem decided to kill him after Haven's destruction was prevented. After Leo's death at the Battle of Haven, Ozpin chooses to spread a lie that the headmaster had died protecting his school from the White Fang, reasoning that Leo should be remembered for his lifetime of service, rather than decisions he made near the end of his life.]]

** The Atlas Arc explores this happening with a good person who crumbles under stress to become something they never wanted to be. [[spoiler:When General Ironwood cracks under the strain of his responsibilities, after the villains have repeatedly pressed his TraumaButton, he transfers from a zealous do-gooder, through an increasingly authoritarian BigGood wannabe who wants to lock people down for their own protection and into a KnightTemplar AntiVillain who thinks the only way to save the world is to abandon the entire city of Mantle. By the end of his journey, he's murdered and imprisoned allies, forced enemies to work for him, sacrificed every alliance, abandoned the entire world, and will bomb the city of Mantle to get his way.]]

* ''Film/Fahrenheit4512018'': Implied by Beatty, who despite being a fire chief in charge of book burnings is clearly very familiar with some, since we see him writing out quotes by heart when he's alone (most are very cynical, indicating he'd lost his former ideals).

** Anakin Skywalker, who got [[Film/ThePhantomMenacethree]] [[Film/AttackOfTheClones whole]] [[Film/RevengeOfTheSith movies]] of StartOfDarkness.

** Anakin Skywalker, who got three whole movies of StartOfDarkness.

** In ''ComicBook/GrantMorrisonsBatman'', the International Club of Heroes, a group of vigilantes who all took inspiration from Batman, have taken on shades of this due to none of them having nearly as successful a career as their inspiration. Musketeer accidentally killed a man, was sent to an asylum, and, now retired, lives off the royalties of his autobiography. Knight's career as a former sidekick left him riddled with trauma, to the point that his sidekick, the current Squire, has to work to keep him healthy. Ranger changed his name to Dark Ranger and became an UnscrupulousHero, openly killing criminals. Legionary lost his city and became a JadedWashout, [[FormerlyFit his sex-symbol body now a pile of flab.]] And Wingman [[FaceHeelTurn became a full-on villain]], his massive [[SmallNameBigEgo inferiority complex]] causing him to take part in a murder plot to get [[NoRespectGuy revenge and respect]]. Only Man-of-Bats and Gaucho are still completely heroic.

* At the beginning of Creator/KevinSmith's ''Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}'' run, Karen Page was stuffed into a fridge. Then, Creator/BrianMichaelBendis took over and his identity was exposed to the public, and eventually, he was incarcerated for obstruction of justice. After beating the rap, his new wife, Milla, suffered a psychotic breakdown and the marriage dissolved (Matt cheating on her with Dakota North happened in between). By the time Lady Bullseye started to kill his closest allies to resurrect them as zombie ninja slaves, Matt finally said "screw this" and abandoned his life as Matt Murdock to become the leader of the Hand. Though still a TechnicalPacifist, the crossover ''ComicBook/{{Shadowland}}'' changed this with Marvel promoting Daredevil as the new "greatest super-villain of the Marvel Universe".
** The non-canon miniseries ComicBook/DaredevilEndOfDays shows a version of Daredevil who continued down this path (though seemingly without control of the Hand), culminating in his murder of ComicBook/TheKingpin, and then being killed by Bullseye. [[DownerBeginning And that's just the beginning of the first issue!]]

* ComicBook/GodzillaRulersOfEarth: King Caesar and [[spoiler: Mecha-King Ghidorah]].

* In ''Fanfic/TheShadowWars'' Story Verse, this is true of Grey Hoof (originally from VideoGame/StoryOfTheBlanks). He was a heroic leader and loving father, whose StartOfDarkness came when plagues ravaged Sunney Towne and he could do nothing to protect his Ponies from them. He became increasingly frantic in his desire to prevent these plagues from returning. Eventually, he [[OffingTheOffspring kills his most beloved daughter Ruby Gift]] in the delusion that she had the Mark Pox and would die horribly anyway -- setting in motion the events leading to the Curse.
* Rainbow Dash in [[Fanfic/RocketToInsanity Rocket to Insanity]]. She was the Element of Loyalty who helped defeat threats like Nightmare Moon and Discord, but being constantly tormented by nightmares eroded her sanity. [[spoiler:Pinkie Pie offering her cupcakes was the final straw that caused Rainbow to snap and made her go against her Element by killing one of her best friends]].
* In [[Fanfic/StarWarsFruitsOfBetrayal Star Wars Fruits Of Betrayal]], Ahsoka Tano takes the Jedi Council turning on her much more personally, to the point that she is in [[DespairEventHorizon complete emotional and mental anguish]]. Palpatine, sensing that she is on the verge of breaking, has her kidnapped and has her brought to Count Dooku so she may be turned to the dark side. She only manages to hold out for about three months until she finally turns, after which she is given the sith name Darth Cyrin and takes Anakin's place as Palpatine's right hand.

** In Bruce's "Knightmare" vision, he sees a potential BadFuture where Superman has become a Fallen Hero, ruling Earth with an army of soldiers and the help of nightmarish flying monsters [[note]]actually [[Comicbook/NewGods Darkseid's]] Paradeamons, but Bruce doesn't know this yet[[/note]].

* Literature/TrappedOnDraconica: Pre-series [[spoiler: Kazebar]] was Draconica's number 1 humanitarian. To reward his good work [[spoiler: Dronor granted his son the power to travel between worlds, believing that if any human deserved this honor it would be Kazebar's family line.]] Whether he was tempted by this power or if he was EvilAllAlong is not made clear.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' had Terra, who started off as a good-natured girl with unstable powers, but was eventually drawn to becoming [[BigBad Slade's]] apprentice in exchange for him teaching her to control her powers, leading to her betrayal and becoming a villain.

* In Season 2 of ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'', after a TimeSkip, we have [[spoiler: Aqualad, now [[MeaningfulRename Black]] [[OverlordJr Manta]] [[LegacyCharacter II]].]] The worst part is that [[spoiler: he was ''TheLeader'' in Season 1.]] The cause of this was [[spoiler: [[LoveMakesYouEvil blaming the team for his love interest dying]]]] ''and'' [[spoiler:finding out [[LukeIAmYourFather his real father was the supervillain Black Manta.]]]] Viewers can only hope for a HeelFaceTurn.

* In ''Fanfic/GuardiansWizardsAndKungFuFighters'', it's eventually revealed that [[HumanoidAbomination the Tracker]] was originally Didier, one of the great heroes of Meridian's ancient past. How exactly this came to pass is currently unknown, however.

* In ''Monster Girl Encyclopedia'', the monster army has a whole unit made up purely from this trope. These people were heroes who failed their mission to slay the Overlord. Men are charmed and women become [[HornyDevil succubi]]. The old comrades then reform their party under command of the Demon Lord. It's played for laughs, although they're probably the most powerful fighting force in the Overlord's army, but the former heroes are mostly too busy screwing their heroines and are only seen in actual combat when there's a serious threat.

[[caption-width-right:350:"[[Film/RevengeOfTheSith YOU WERE THE CHOSEN ONE!]] It was said that you would ''destroy'' the Sith, not ''join'' them! Bring ''balance'' to the Force, not leave it in ''darkness''!"]]

* [[WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers Captain Planet]] becomes one in the "Funny Or Die" series wherein he eventually turns every human on earth into a tree. [[WeaksauceWeakness He's taken down by woodpeckers]].

* WebAnimation/RedVsBlue: The Meta (aka Agent Maine) was once one of the strongest and best fighters of Project Freelancer. [[WeUsedToBeFriends He was also once friends with both Carolina and Washington]], even going so far as to [[TakingTheBullet take several sniper rounds for Carolina]]. Unforunatly, because the director gave him an A.I. that wasn't meant for him and was evil to boot, said A.I. (named Sigma) brainwashed him into doing his bidding and commanded him to take all the other A.I.s result in Maine killing several of his former teammates, which included Carolina (though she managed to survive, but only because Maine though he killed her). By the time Maine is finally free of Sigma and the other A.I.s control, Maine had already experienced DeathOfPersonality and there is nothing left of Maine. His only real goal once freed is to find another A.I. so he have his full strength back, not caring who he has to kill to do it.

* Machinima/RedVsBlue: The Meta (aka Agent Maine) was once one of the strongest and best fighters of Project Freelancer. [[WeUsedToBeFriends He was also once friends with both Carolina and Washington]], even going so far as to [[TakingTheBullet take several sniper rounds for Carolina]]. Unforunatly, because the director gave him an A.I. that wasn't meant for him and was evil to boot, said A.I. (named Sigma) brainwashed him into doing his bidding and commanded him to take all the other A.I.s result in Maine killing several of his former teammates, which included Carolina (though she managed to survive, but only because Maine though he killed her). By the time Maine is finally free of Sigma and the other A.I.s control, Maine had already experienced DeathOfPersonality and there is nothing left of Maine. His only real goal once freed is to find another A.I. so he have his full strength back, not caring who he has to kill to do it.

'''Obi-Wan:''' [[Characters/StarWarsDarthVaderAndServants He's]] more machine now than man. Twisted and evil.

* ''Literature/OneOfUsIsLying: "Hero" might be a strong word, but Simon started his gossip blog (a few years before the book) to impress his aloof former best friend Jake and expose a sleazy jock who was anonymously sending girls unsolicited [[IntimateTelecommunications sexting messages.]] Before long, though, he was exposing harmless personal secrets and gleefully ruining people's lives just so he could feel important.

->'''Luke Skywalker:''' There is still good in [[Characters/StarWarsDarthVaderAndServants him]].\\
'''Obi-Wan:''' He's more machine now than man. Twisted and evil.

** A Fallen Hero or a Misunderstood one? Alpharius and Omegon, the twin Primarchs of the Alpha Legion seemingly sided with Horus against the Emperor. However, they did this after being informed by a universal alien organisation that when the Emperor would defeat Horus, the universe would continue in constant warfare against the [[UltimateEvil Chaos Gods]], ultimately devouring the universe in the process. They were told that when Horus would defeat the Emperor, the Empire would fall into chaos for 2 or 3 generations after which the Fallen Primarchs and Horus, ridden with guilt of their actions, would seek war upon themselves and destroy mankind and the [[UltimateEvil Chaos Gods]] in the process (which is what the Emperor was trying to do). Upon reflecting this information the Alpha Legion decided to side with Horus against the Emperor to actually [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans follow the path he had directed]] for the destruction of the [[UltimateEvil Chaos Gods]]. Thus they became Fallen Heroes to take the action a Right Hero should do.

** The [[UltimateEvil Chaos Gods]] showed Horus a vision of a terrible future where the Primarchs are gone, the ideals of the Great Crusade are forgotten, and the Emperor is worshiped as a god in a brutal fascist dictatorship. Horus [[DealWithTheDevil dealt with the Chaos Gods]] and turned on the Emperor (the man who saved humanity and rebuilt civilisation after a horrific dark age that lasted ''thousands of years'') to save humanity from this dark fate. The Horus Heresy results in the Imperium becoming increasingly authoritarian due to its paranoia over Chaotic rebellions like Horus's, and the final battle leaves Horus dead and the Emperor in a coma, unable to steer the Imperium onto a more enlightened path. Fast forward ten thousand years and Horus's actions have caused the Imperium to become a brutal fascist dictatorship where the Emperor is worshipped as a god and the Imperial Truth (the atheistic rationalism which the Emperor personally believed) is thought of as heresy, [[{{Irony}} since it offends the immortal God-Emperor]]. [[DownerEnding Just]]… ''[[DownerEnding damn]]''.

* Among one of the ComicBook/IncredibleHulk's most dangerous foes is a [[FutureMeScaresMe future version of himself,]] [[TheCaligula the Maestro]], an insane, hedonistic, sadistic tyrant.

* ''ComicBook/{{Irredeemable}}'' centers around The Plutonian, a Superman-like superhero who snaps violently after a long and thankless career and proceeds to become the irredeemable BigBad set to obliterate the world that he once protected. Inversely, there's the spin-off ''Incorruptible'', which focuses on former Supervillain Max Damage who, in the wake of The Plutonian's rampage of destruction, decides to [[HeelFaceTurn become a hero]]. The title reflecting Max's belief the he has to be ''perfectly'' heroic, that anything less would result in a backslide into evil.