History Main / HowTheMightyHaveFallen

* Yzma from ''TheEmperorsNewGroove'', who goes from scary sorceress of the palace in the movie to itty bitty kitten in the sequels.

->Once upon a time you dressed so fine,
->You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn’t you?
->People’d call, say, “Beware doll, you’re bound to fall”
->You thought they were all kiddin’ you.
->...
->Now you don’t talk so loud,
->Now you don’t seem so proud
->About having to be scrounging for your next meal.

->He used to be the life and soul of everyone around.
->You'd never catch him looking up and never see him down but oh, la laa.
->He couldn't raise a smile oh, not for a while, and he's a failure now.

* ConanOBrien {{Lampshaded}} this trope in his opening skit to the 2006 Primetime Emmy Awards, mocking {{NBC}} in the Broadway-style musical number "[[TheMusicMan Trouble At NBC]]'':
--> ''Well, [[TheNineties a few years ago]] we were [[CashCowFranchise sittin' on top]]''
--> ''With'' {{Seinfeld}}, {{Frasier}}, ''and'' {{Friends}}
--> ''Then [[LongRunners those shows bailed,]]''
--> ''The new ones [[{{Cancellation}} failed,]]''
--> ''[[ScrewedByTheNetwork And it started a nasty trend.]]''
--> ''[[TooDumbToLive And the guy]] [[NiceJobBreakingItHero who passed on]]'' {{Lost}}
--> ''[[ThePeterPrinciple Was promoted instead of tossed]]''
--> ''And now [[FanNickname the Peacock's]] getting it from both ends.''

* The same sentiment was earlier expressed in ''Literature/TheAeneid'': "quantum mutatus ab illo / Hectore"

* The same sentiment was earlier expressed in ''TheAeneid'': "quantum mutatus ab illo / Hectore"

* The middle chapters of ''VideoGame/{{Portal 2}}'' take the player on an exploration of the old Aperture Science Innovators test facilities, far beneath the more modern chambers that you start the game in. You get to see what Aperture was like when its eccentric founder, Cave Johnson, was in his heyday, full of money and enthusiasm and with "astronauts, Olympians, and war heroes" jumping at the chance to test his products. Then you get to see it as a company struggling to survive and hiring bums off the street due to Congressional inquiries over the "[[InferredHolocaust missing astronauts]]". Lastly, you get to hear Cave's final recordings as a bitter, bankrupt old man dying of moon rock poisoning and trying desperately to preserve some kind of legacy. Aperture may have recovered and gone on without him, but he's gone, his memories buried along with the empire he built.

* Valmont from ''JackieChanAdventures'' goes from a major villain in the first two seasons to a homeless petty criminal in the third.

* Kallor in ''TheMalazanBookOfTheFallen''.

* Said by Guinan of the recently [[BroughtDownToNormal depowered]] Q in the ''StarTrekTNG'' episode ''Deja Q''.

* Inverted in ''TheSwanPrincess'' with Jean-Bob, a frog who only thinks that he is a prince when in actuality, he is not.

* Valmont from ''JackieChanAdventures'' goes from a major villain in the first two seasons to a homeless petty criminal in the third.

* Khan in ''StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan''. He went from being a leader in the Eugenics Wars to being stranded on a dead world, leading to his desire for revenge on Kirk.

* Valmont from ''JackieChanAdventures'' goes from a major villain in the first two seasons to a homeless petty criminal in the third.
* [[TheWoobie Gwen]] from TotalDramaIsland was the closest thing to a single main character the series has ever had to the point of being a CanonSue, forming the [[OfficialCouple official]] [[OneTruePairing OTP]] of the series with her equally Sue-ish boyfriend Trent. Despite the former trope she wasn't at all badly written, and was by far the most well-liked character among fans. They returned as a power couple in [[SophomoreSlump Total Drama Action]]'', where they [[ShipSinking almost immediately broke up]] after [[UnluckyChildhoodFriend Trent]] [[DerailingLoveInterests suffers a sudden mental breakdown]], [[DecoyProtagonist earning early eliminations for both of them]] while the focus shifts completely to a new set of main characters. [[ItGotWorse And then]] ''[[DarkerAndEdgier Total]] [[IdiotPlot Drama]] [[{{Tearjerker}} World]] [[RuinedFOREVER Tour]]'' came along. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiN7siRZ7Rk This]] pretty much summarizes her current role.

* The middle chapters of ''VideoGame/{{Portal 2}}'' take the player on an exploration of the old Aperture Science Innovators test facilities, far beneath the more modern chambers that you start the game in. You get to see what Aperture was like when its eccentric founder, Cave Johnson, was in his heyday, full of money and enthusiasm and with "astronauts, Olympians, and war heroes" jumping at the chance to test his products. Then you get to see it as a company struggling to survive and hiring bums off the street due to Congressional inquiries over the "missing astronauts". Lastly, you get to hear Cave's final recordings as a bitter, bankrupt old man dying of moon rock poisoning and trying desperately to preserve some kind of legacy. Aperture may have recovered and gone on without him, but he's gone, his memories buried along with the empire he built.