History Main / HeelFaceReincarnation

* ''ComicBook/TheMightyThor'': Loki was originally a fearsome enemy to his [[CainAndAbel brother]] Thor. After being killed by the Void in ''ComicBook/{{Siege}}'', Loki was reincarnated into Kid Loki, who swore to not follow the same evil path as his past self. Given [[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor Loki's]] nature, however, this was easier said than done. Not helped by his previous selves deliberately trying to corrupt him.

-->'''Description for the Void Soul OptionalBoss:''' "No telling if it's true, but according to the ancient scrolls, Void Termina may rise again in other forms depending on whether positive or negative energy is gathered. It seems this being of darkness will wander the galaxy until one day he is reborn into a new existence. When he returns, hopefully it will be as...a friend."

* ''Fanfic/MariaCampbellOfTheAstralClocktower'': Maria Cainhurst, the penultimate boss from ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}[==]: The Old Hunters'', is incarnated into Maria Campbell, the AllLovingHero and intended heroine of ''[[LightNovel/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom Fortune Lover]]'' (if Katarina didn't make the plot OffTheRails). Part of the story involves Maria becoming a {{Workaholic}} owing to her GuiltComplex over her past life.

-->'''Description for the Void Soul BonusBoss:''' "No telling if it's true, but according to the ancient scrolls, Void Termina may rise again in other forms depending on whether positive or negative energy is gathered. It seems this being of darkness will wander the galaxy until one day he is reborn into a new existence. When he returns, hopefully it will be as...a friend."

* ''ComicBook/TheSandman'':

* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow'': Soma Cruz is the reincarnation of Dracula, the main villain of the franchise. Despite this, he is unambiguously heroic, though with [[BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil the seeming need for there to be a Dark Lord]], he has an uphill battle to keep himself from succumbing to darkness.

** [[spoiler:The devils and fiends serving as Public Safety [[HunterOfHisOwnKind devil hunters]]]] are [[ZigZaggingTrope a complicated]] example. In hell, they were [[spoiler:followers of the original Chainsaw Man--who turns out to be the series GreaterScopeParagon, but they may have simply worshiped his power instead of sharing his morality]]. Then they died and were reincarnated on Earth, which lead to them [[spoiler:being mind controlled by the BigBad. However, they all end up fighting and dying to protect human, including Denji ([[LegacyCharacter the new Chainsaw Man]]), with Power in particular becoming his surrogate sister.]] In short, their reincarnation leaded '''a''' change in alignment, [[HazyFeelTurn but the moral component is debatable and unclear]].

* ''Manga/ChainsawMan'': [[spoiler:Makima]] is the latest incarnation of the Control Devil. She is responsible for a number of tragedies that befall [[TheHero Denji]] and is the main villain of the Public Safety Saga. After Denji [[spoiler:kills Makima, the Control Devil is reincarnated as a little girl named Nayuta whom Kishibe leaves in Denji's care so she doesn't follow the same path as Makima]].

* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'': If you take the Light side path with your character, this is what happens to [[spoiler: Sith Lord Darth Revan]].

* ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsX'': Inverted with [[spoiler:the Player avatar]], whose heart reincarnates into that of Xehanort, the BigBad of the Dark Seeker saga.

* ''ComicBook/{{Irredeemable}}'': The Plutonian is a FallenHero and the main villain of the story. After his body is destroyed in the final issue, Qubit decides to redeem him by transporting his essence to another universe where he will hopefully be reborn as someone good. The final pages imply he is reborn as Franchise/{{Superman}}.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretSaturdays'': Much of the conflict revolves around the fact that the plucky KidHero Zak is actually the reincarnation of Kur, an ancient cryptid worshiped as an evil deity that many want to control. Kur is said to have destroyed entire civilizations and is destined to do it again, starting with humanity. Zak's not too happy about this and strives to [[ScrewDestiny avoid becoming Kur again.]]

** Majin Buu is the final villain of the ''[[Anime/DragonBallZ Z]]'' saga of ''Dragon Ball''. After destroying him, Goku wishes for Buu to be reincarnated as a good person so he could fight him under friendlier circumstances, having come to see Buu as a WorthyOpponent. Buu was reincarnated as Uub, who became Goku's third student.

* ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainBlossomverse'': It turns out passengers who die on the WesternAnimation/InfinityTrain are subjected to this, being recreated into Denizens to finish their journeys while also helping others. The clearest example of this is [[spoiler: Grace Monroe who went from the cult leader whose actions caused Chloe Cerise to die to the small music note Warbler who becomes Goh's partner]].

* ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainBlossomverse'': It turns out passengers who die on the WesternAnimation/InfinityTrain are subjected to this, being recreated into Denizens to finish their journeys while also helping others. The clearest example of this is [[spoiler: Grace Monroe]].

* ''ComicBook/TheSandman'': Daniel Hall/Dream II is a Heroic Reincarnation for his past AntiHero self Morpheus, being more approachable and forgiving.

* ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPPXVTzNvJ0&ab_channel=SaladSaiyan What if Frieza Was Reincarnated?]]'' by Salad Saiyan: Taking inspiration from Buu's reincarnation ''GT'', the video is an examination of how Frieza being reincarnated as a good guy would play out.

** Piccolo Jr. is the son/reincarnation of the evil Great Demon King Piccolo, a major villain in the original ''Manga/DragonBall'' saga. Initially, Piccolo continued his father/past life's enmity with Goku and campaign to conquer the world. However, he became an ally of [[EnemyMine convenience]] during the Saiyan Arc where he sacrificed himself to save [[MoralityPet Gohan]]. Following his resurrection, Piccolo underwent a HeelFaceTurn in earnest and has been a staunch friend and ally to Goku since.
** Filler material produced for the anime also depict Piccolo [[AffablyEvil showing signs he wasn't as monstrously evil as his past self]] even before he fully turns good. When he's attacked by wolves as a child, he knocks them out rather than kill them, and the first thing we see him do as an adult is save a mother and her son from a falling clock tower. At the time, it seemed like his beef was with Goku alone, and not humanity as a whole.

-->'''Description for the Void Soul BonusBoss: "No telling if it's true, but according to the ancient scrolls, Void Termina may rise again in other forms depending on whether positive or negative energy is gathered. It seems this being of darkness will wander the galaxy until one day he is reborn into a new existence. When he returns, hopefully it will be as...a friend."

* ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsX'': Inverted with the Player avatar, who reincarnates as Xehanort, the BigBad of the Dark Seeker saga.
* ''VideoGame/KirbyStarAllies'': Kirby is heavily implied to be the reincarnation of Void, an evil celestial being, when influenced by positive energy.

* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow'': Soma Cruz is the reincarnation of Dracula, the main villain of the franchise. Despite this, he is unambiguously heroic.

** ''Anime/YuGiOh'': Ryou Bakura is the reincarnation of Thief King Bakura, enemy of the Pharaoh Atem. While Bakurq is a kind and compassionate person, the Thief King is anything but and frequently possesses poor Bakura to attack his friends.

* Played with in the ''Series/CriminalMinds'' episode "Perennials." The unsub believes himself to be the reincarnation of serial killer Russel Smith, due to having been born in the next bed at the emergency room as Smith died from his injuries in a police shootout. All his life, he's had an inexplicable urge to do bad things, but he believes reincarnation is his chance to be a better person, so he doesn't act on it. Then one day, the brakes on his car fail, and he believes one of Smith's victim's reincarnations is responsible. So he sets about locating the people who were born after the deaths of the victims so that he can kill them to stop them from coming after him again, "forcing" them to reincarnate into harmless maggots. By the end of the episode, he apparently no longer believes in this trope, since he plans to commit suicide in a maternity ward so he can reincarnate to finish his work, rather than continue to atone for it.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'': Zigzagged with the War Doctor. For background, after the Eighth Doctor died, he asked to regenerate into [[TheUnfettered "a warrior"]] to fight the Time War that was tearing the universe apart and ultimately save more lives. While living as the War Doctor, he reportedly committed atrocities in the name of the greater good that he would never have been able to do otherwise, including intending to end the Time War with [[MoralEventHorizon a double genocide of both Time Lord and Dalek alike]]. While ultimately, he [[TakeAThirdOption took a third option]] with the help of two future incarnations, he couldn't remember that because TimeyWimeyBall. Thus, when he regenerated into [[TheAtoner the Ninth Doctor]], it played out as a straight example of this trope for several seasons before the StableTimeLoop restored his memories, turning it into a subversion.

* ''VideoGame/InfinityBlade'': It is implied that TEL uses the Redeemer to cause Ausar the Vile, a ruthless warlord who was killed by Raidriar, to be reborn as Siris. Siris would end up becoming the protagonist for the rest of the series.

* ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPPXVTzNvJ0&ab_channel=SaladSaiyan What if Frieza Was Reincarnated?]]'' by Salad Saiyan. Taking inspiration from Buu's reincarnation, the video is an examination of Frieza being reincarnated as a good guy.