History Main / JustThinkOfThePotential

* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'':

* ComicBook/UltimateMarvel:

* Inverted in ''[[Comicbook/DoctorStrange Doctor Strange: The Oath]]'', when Strange retrieves an elixir that can cure all diseases (particularly the inoperable brain tumor about to kill his associate Wong). A corrupt pharmaceuticals company [[WithholdingTheCure steals it from him]], claiming TheWorldIsNotReady; Strange counter-argues that other advances in medicine seemed like magic at first but were adopted and the world is better for it.

* ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon'': It turns out that mercenary groups, foreign governments and [[MegaCorp Mega-Corps]] are secretly invested in the [[MainliningTheMonster Titan DNA market]] and have been secretly buying from Jonah's paramilitary. Monarch actively try to warn the world against messing around with Titans' (''especially'' Ghidorah's) DNA, using [[ArtificialZombie the Many]] as an example of the consequences.

* ''FanFic/ResidentProject:'' This is Annette Birkin's justification for experimenting with a virus that transforms those it infects into nigh-unkillable mutant rage monsters. She even uses the trope phrase.
--> '''Claire:''' Potential for man-eating monsters? That are nearly unkillable because they heal from just about anything?
--> '''Annette:''' Yes. Think about what you just said! The Hollows have uncanny healing abilities. The Urahara vaccine proved that the facility for healing is not irrevocably tied to the more damaging aspects of the virus. Despite the name, the Panimmunity treatment doesn’t answer everything. We’ve always been on the edge, chasing one half-step behind the latest disease that new planets or terrorists with a grudge have to throw at us. If we can find out how Hollow healing works, and incorporate it… It wouldn’t be just diseases, either! Parasites, physical trauma… we could turn Panimmunity into a true panacea!

--> '''Dohj''': Wait, yo have interdimensional travel? This... is literally the greatest scientific achievement in history. And your just casually mentioning it. Like it's some sort of tacky furniture.

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* One of the all-time classic ''Series/DoctorWho'' stories, ''The Power of the Daleks'', was built around this trope. A Dalek spaceship turns up on a colony planet and the chief scientist is amazed by the technical sophistication of it, and the Daleks themselves. [[KillEmAll It doesn't end well]].
* In ''{{Series/Jekyll}}'', the villains frequently try to convince Jackman of the potential that his unique and bizarre physiology has for the world, as well as the potential to make them all ''very'' rich.
* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:

* That's how some corrupt governments (mainly Earth and Centauri) in ''Series/BabylonFive'' regard dealing with Shadows: sure, they are immensely powerful [[TheSocialDarwinist Social Darwinists]], but think of all the nifty technology/military aid! Probably subverted in that both actually get their promised cut from the DealWithTheDevil before it bites them lethally in the ass.
* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' in "Where No Man Has Gone Before". Most of the high ranking officers on the Enterprise are nervous about Gary Mitchell's rapidly growing psychic powers, but Dehner invokes this trope in order to keep him on the ship.

* Dr. Wily tries to convince Dr. Light of this in Music/TheProtomen. He's not convinced, but turns on the machines anyway.

** The medicinal explanation is from the ''Film/ResidentEvilFilmSeries''. [[spoiler:Wesker]]'s entire plan of betrayal in the first game was to [[spoiler:use the STARS members as {{mooks}} to gather combat data on the {{Super Soldier}}s and other assorted monsters they'd created]]. [[FakingTheDead Amongst]] [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder other]] [[AGodAmI things]].

* Done ridiculously in ''VideoGame/PhantasmagoriaAPuzzleOfFlesh''. The company that Curtis works for has managed to [[spoiler:open a portal to another dimension. One of their emails notes that the military is not interested in this, so they use it to trade the aliens on the other side substances so they'll synthesize a weight loss drug]].

* A sidequest in ''Franchise/MassEffect'' can have you justifying holding a dead soldier's body for tests along these lines (Think Of The Lives That Will Be Saved).
** Its also the main MO of Cerberus, experimenting on every especially dangerous species or tech (Rachni, Thorian Creepers, Thresher Maws and Husks in the first game, biotics in the second novel and second game, reaper and collector tech in the second game -- the Illusive Man downright says "Think of the potential" in the latter case -- and geth in the Overlord DLC) for possible military application.

* ''VideoGame/FrontMission3'' gives you the [[FunWithAcronyms MIDAS]], standing for Matter Irradiation Dissociative Acceleration System. It's a nuclear weapon that [[SphereOfDestruction reduces everything to gold atoms when in contact with water within a couple of miles]]. However, said device is originally designed to be a clean energy alternative to nuclear reactors, but according to files in many military websites inside the game that you can hack yourself, militaries consider it really useful due to its "modifiable output". And then it is revealed that the first device that wiped out half of a huge city is not only operating in half power, but is just a copy of it. It is later revealed in ''Front Mission 5'' that there existed a second MIDAS - a certain Mass Interparticle Dissociation Antiproton Synthesizer. And it is also revealed that this is the ''original'' MIDAS, and that the MIDAS from ''3'' was simply a derivative technology meant to supply enough power for it to ''just'' function at all. The ''original'' MIDAS is not only many times stronger than the derivative MIDAS, but it is powered by anti-matter [[spoiler: such that its creator Emir Kramskoi theorizes it could wipe out Alaska if it exploded]].

** Also happened with the X Parasites in ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion''. Towards the end of the game, the Federation decides the X could have use as weapons, and orders Samus to stop fighting them and leave the space station the X had infested. [[ColonyDrop Samus had other ideas]].

* In ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'', this plus InventionalWisdom is the backbone of Aperture Science's MadScientist approach to research, and quoted nearly verbatim by founder Cave Johnson in ''VideoGame/{{Portal 2}}'', who has no use for safe science and considers anyone with moral or ethical constraints to be a wimp. The triumphant example of this is The Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device, which arose from government-funded research into making a better ''shower curtain''. [=GLaDOS=], the Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System that runs the Enrichment Centre and [[spoiler:[[AIIsACrapshoot flooded it with a deadly neurotoxin]]]] was originally a fuel system de-icer. Overkill is Aperture Science's specialty, due both to competing with [[ForScience Black Mesa]] and its founder being completely batshit insane. It should be noted that some Aperture inventions, such as the aforementioned Handheld Portal Device, actually have a ''ton'' of incredibly useful potential civilian applications... and no indication that any of them ever even occurred to anyone at Aperture.

* Similar to the Aliens example above is the Mana Cannon of ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' and ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'', which is rediscovered, on average, every two thousand years or so, and every time it is rediscovered, it either wipes out the civilization that rediscovered it, or fails miserably, coming ''dangerously close'' to wiping out the civilization that rediscovered it. Its a weapon that makes nukes look safe, with what seems like a ninety percent chance of backfiring horribly... but think of the military potential such a powerful WaveMotionGun has!
* Twice in ''VideoGame/TraumaCenter''. In ''Under the Knife 2'', a medical researcher realizes that while incredibly deadly, GUILT creates some amusing reactions in people before it becomes active. Sure, there's that whole problem that barring mutations that exist in a very small portion of the populace, GUILT will eventually brutally murder the host, but all that's needed is a way to manipulate the GUILT so that it won't harm anyone, regardless of whether they're a natural host or not. [[spoiler: They fail. But it's not like anyone couldn't see that one coming, given the whole series is about operating on such super-parasites.]]
** Also shows up in ''Trauma Team''. A pathology professor discovers a ridiculously virulent form of ebola in his adopted daughter, one that upon reaching its final stage of development proceeds to destroy everything inside the infected: skin, blood vessels, and the bacteria and viruses within them. Given that his daughter somehow managed to survive with it in her without dying, he reasoned that he could figure out how to replicate this, and thus have an ultimate form of chemotherapy: Sure you'd have to replenish all the beneficial bacteria inside the patient later, but the infection would also wipe out whatever malignant diseases were inside them as well. [[spoiler: In this case, it's not so much that he failed, but he accidentally got infected with the disease before he could finish, and out of fear that the disease could spread, he killed his daughter to make sure it would die along with his research. He fails, for several reasons.]]
* Avernus' research in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' which comes from horrific experiments on his fellow Grey Wardens involving blood magic to discover the true power of the Taint that the Wardens possess. The Warden has the option to kill him for his crimes, let him live but force him to constrain himself to ''ethical'' research in future, or let him continue experimenting as he wishes. Additionally, you can chose to make use of the results of his previous research yourself unlocking several new abilities for your character powered by the taint, or you can destroy the results of said research. This itself is a [[GreyAndGrayMorality morally grey]] decision, as Avernus' research could potentially allow the Wardens to no longer die from the Taint in 30 years, allowing them long and productive lives, as well as becoming even ''more'' effective warriors against the Darkspawn. It's a matter of deciding whether the potential benefits are worth letting a man who butchered and electrocuted his fellow Wardens to death during his experiments go unpunished.
* In the ''Franchise/DeadSpace'' series, [[spoiler:the Brethren Moons]] use this trope to manipulate humanity and every other race that existed before it in the galaxy. Their Markers seem like the answer to their victims' prayers since said races are usually running low on resources and the Markers generate practically unlimited energy. The poor saps study and manufacture more Markers, all the while slowly succumbing to the Markers' insidious influence. Humans have also dabbled in this within the Dead Space universe with utilities and power tools most commonly. The Plasma cutter that serves as the main weapon for Isaac Clark is just meant to be an industrial cutting to not a weapon and most weapons available in the first game are slightly modified power tools. The Stasis and Kinesis system also have all manner of combat applications which seem to be know to Earth Gov given their soldiers are equipped with Stasis modules.
* ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'': Let's just say that the plot wouldn't have happened at all if several ([[HollywoodScience questionably-titled]]) [[MadScientist scholars from Byrgenwerth]] didn't decide to study [[spoiler: [[EldritchAbomination The Great Ones]]]] by founding a city, an academy and a religion around them. All to learn more about the Cosmos and how to transcend their own humanity, [[TranshumanTreachery of course]].

* [[TheSociopath Penelope's]] [[MoralEventHorizon downfall]] in ''VideoGame/SlyCooperThievesInTime'' is triggered by her seeing potential in [[GadgeteerGenius Bentley]], wanting to use his skills to design weapons of mass destruction and [[WarForFunAndProfit sell them]] to terrorists and rouge nations, making billions of dollars from global suffering and [[TakeOverTheWorld taking over the world]], and having [[LackOfEmpathy no empathy]] for [[OmnicidalManiac life in general]]. This goes ''way'' beyond the morality of the Cooper Gang, who only steal from villains, and they kick her out in retaliation. It doesn't help that she [[DidYouActuallyBelieve never loved Bentley]], only wanting to control him, and [[RemovingTheRival tried to murder his two best friends]].

* Invoked by name in ''VideoGame/IndianaJonesAndTheFateOfAtlantis'' by nazi agent Klaus Kerner upon realizing the explosive potential of orichalcum:

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A character or characters with vision, sometimes representing a large organization, encounters a new, esoteric technology, and suddenly realizes all the Potential Applications it could be put to. The technology can come in any form--maybe a MadScientist just constructed a group of RidiculouslyHumanRobots, maybe astronauts have brought back a BlackBox filled with ImportedAlienPhlebotinum, maybe genetics researchers have dreams of MainliningTheMonster they've just spliced up in a lab, or maybe biologists from an AnimalWrongsGroup have just discovered {{Killer Rabbit}}s in the Amazon.

Ultimately, the Potential Applications are rarely realized during the story, and very often turn out to have been a phantom. Even if the technology really could have been used peacefully, it will usually be destroyed by the heroes to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands -- ensuring that even when he isn't, [[ReedRichardsIsUseless Reed Richards Is Still Useless]]. Now, if the people involved in the research don't care about the potential applications, it's because they do it ''ForScience!'' Just don't think of the [[PowerPerversionPotential other potential applications.]] This is why the DisposableSuperheroMaker is disposable in the first place.

** This is a huge [[GenreBlindness genre blind-spot]] for Nick Fury, who is normally quite TheChessmaster. This is the main [[JustifiedTrope justification]] for JokerImmunity in ''Ultimate Marvel'' - Nick Fury wants to keep super-freaks alive so he can study them and keep the United States in the lead in the [[GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke superhuman arms race]]. And yet, this factor only works so far: after a pair of failed attempts to keep Dr. Octopus prisoner and study his mechanical arms, the next time he was captured Fury ordered to drop them into acid, and good riddance.
** ''ComicBook/UltimateGalactusTrilogy'': Johnny and Ben took parts of Reed's particle accelerator... to make a still?

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->''"Forgive me Mister President! But I am a man of science, not of war! I intended the Giant Death Ray to be used for good, not evil!"''

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* In the novel ''Literature/JurassicPark'', John Hammond is convinced the technology to clone dinosaurs is a gold mine. In [[Film/JurassicPark the movie]], he just wants to make children happy. In both versions, both of the above mentioned likely plot developments come into play: The park is stocked with dinosaurs that are incredibly dangerous, and a corporate spy lets the dinosaurs loose as part of a plan to steal the technology that made them.
* Spoofed in the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novel ''Literature/TheLastContinent'', where Ponder ruminates on the potential of interdimensional portals, and the Senior Wrangler tries to bring him back down to Earth:
-->"When you've been a wizard as long as I have, my boy, you'll learn that as soon as you find anything that offers amazing possibilities for the improvement of the human condition, it's best to put the lid back on and pretend it never happened."
** There's also Leonard of Quirm, who compulsively sketches the blueprints for lethal weaponry alongside his more artistic works, complete with lists of needed materials and assembly instructions. Naturally, he's sure no one would ever actually use them against ''people'', although some might be helpful against wild animals or for moving mountains out of the way.
** Multiple books state that the real purpose of the Unseen University is to provide wizards with an environment where they have little inclination to do serious magic. Wizard wars are a horrible thing so it is better for everyone if powerful wizards spend their days lazing about rather than trying to come up with more powerful spells.
* In ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', Boromir thinks the One Ring has the potential to destroy the BigBad. It does, in the hands of a sufficiently powerful and strong-willed person, just with the [[PyrrhicVictory minor side effect]] of the person [[ArtifactOfDoom becoming just as evil and dangerous as Sauron]] in the process.
* In ''Literature/TheDayOfTheTriffids'', Triffid oil is more effective than any other oil, and triffid "flesh" can be used as feedstock. The latter fact cuts both ways, but WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong
** Averted in practice, as triffids only became a major threat to human survival ''after'' a severe Class 1 to borderline Class 2 ApocalypseHow for which they were not directly responsible.
*** There is still some shade of it, at least in the book. Triffids are dangerous only because of their poisoned stinger, that ''could'' be easily chopped off, but then they would produce a slightly worse oil. So for the sake of oil quality, monster plants.
* Subverted in Creator/LoisMcMasterBujold's ''Literature/EthanOfAthos'', when the title character meets a runaway [[PsychicPowers telepath]] fleeing a black ops clean-up crew. Said telepath, who has been bred for applications in espionage and interrogation, is astonished when the first thing through Dr. Ethan Urquhart's head is how wonderful such an ability would be when dealing with pre/non-verbal patients. Ethan effectively explains that what the average person answers when asked "What are the potential implications of this new ability/technology?" is "What would ''I'' do if I had this new ability/technology?"

* In ''Literature/HarryPotter'' Dumbledore reveals he saw potential in the Deathly Hallows but chides himself for his foolishness in not realising that Grindelwald merely wanted to use them for evil.
* In ''[[Literature/CiaphasCain Caves of Ice]]'' this is how the [[AveMachina techpriests]] respond to Cain's demand that the uncovered [[RobotWar Necron]] tomb must be collapsed ASAP. It doesn't help that they intentionally had a refinery constructed on that particular site so they could dip their grabby mechadendrites into the tomb. This error, like many, is self-correcting.

-->-- '''Professor Death''', Series/ThatMitchellAndWebbLook

* Part of the [[EpistolaryNovel epistolary story]] in ''Literature/{{Devolution}}'' includes an interview with the protagonist Kate's brother Frank, a former tech company attorney deeply skeptical of Silicon Valley techno-utopianism who blames it for the failure of the high-tech Greenloop community where Kate lived. He describes the Silicon Valley motto of "move fast and break things" as fueled by a faith in this trope, and recounts a time when he went to a conference in Menlo Park where a man showed off how he had hacked his hand to play the piano. The man tells the audience to "think of the possibilities", specifically citing how this technology, applied to a whole exo-suit, could help disabled and elderly people walk again. Frank raises a possibility of his own: somebody hacking the exo-suit after you put it on and forcing you to grab a gun and shoot up a preschool.

* Part of the [[EpistolaryNovel epistolary story]] in ''Literature/{{Devolution}}'' includes an interview with the protagonist Kate's brother Frank, a former tech company attorney deeply skeptical of Silicon Valley techno-utopianism who blames it for the failure of the high-tech Greenloop community where Kate lived. He describes the Silicon Valley motto of "move fast and break things" as fueled by a faith in this trope, and recounts a time when he went to a conference in Menlo Park where a man showed off how he had hacked his hand to play the piano. The man tells the audience to "think of the possibilities", specifically citing how this technology, applied to a whole exo-suit, could help disabled and elderly people walk again. Frank raises a possibility of his own: somebody hacking the exo-suit after you put it on and forcing you to grab a gun and shoot up a preschool.
-->'''Frank:''' He looked like I'd just kicked over his sandcastle. He hadn't wasted one neuron on that thought, because, in his mind, it was just that. A waste. All positivity all the time. Learn to fly, [[ThePollyanna even if it's in]] the ''[[UsefulNotes/TheHindenburg Hindenburg]]''.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}}'': The young, idealistic Jayce (and his cohort Viktor) have begun developing [[{{Magitek}} "hextech"]] that could potentially revolutionize the future, fix many societal problems of today, and save countless lives (including the deathly-ill Viktor), but old, wisened Heimerdinger is extremely wary of magic's potential to also destroy everything, and that once hextech falls into the wrong hands, society will have even bigger problems to worry about.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}}'' features [[BothSidesHaveAPoint a two-way debate on this matter]] in the conflict between Jayce and Heimerdinger. The young, idealistic Jayce (and his cohort Viktor) have begun developing [[{{Magitek}} "hextech"]] that could potentially revolutionize the future, fix many societal problems of today, and save countless lives (including [[GeniusCripple the deathly-ill Viktor]]), but old, wisened Heimerdinger is [[DoesNotLikeMagic extremely wary of magic's potential to also destroy everything]], and that once hextech falls into the wrong hands, society will have even bigger problems to worry about.

* "The Light" in ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' have a habit of finding dangerous and/or horrifying technology that theoretically they're going to use to benefit humanity. Although SuperStrength mutagens, giant aggressive plants, MindControl chips, and weapons scavenged from the planet Apokolips seem more like typical supervillain plots rather than having genuine potential.

* In ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk'', Dr. Samuel Sterns takes such an interest in Bruce's irradiated blood because of its potential applications in the eradication of diseases. [[AdaptationalHeroism He even seems to genuinely mean it]], though, having said that, [[ForScience he also doesn't object]] to Blonsky's demands to infuse him with the blood and turn him into the Abomination.

** ''Series/JessicaJones2015'': This is Jeri Hogarth's reaction to Kilgrave when Jessica begins to enlighten her about his CompellingVoice powers. [[spoiler:It's also {{Foreshadowing}}: Jeri thinks she can control the danger posed by Kilgrave, and attempts to use him for her own ends.]] Jessica herself genuinely does ''very'' briefly consider attempting to reform Kilgrave to use his powers for good, since his ability is so powerful it could be used to really change the world for the better. Sensibly, given Kilgrave's rampant sociopathy, she ultimately decides this is a stupid idea and attempts to take him out without bothering to wait for his sudden but inevitable betrayal.

* In ''Series/{{Primeval}}'''s third season, Christine Johnson and her subordinates are attempting to control the anomalies in order to turn Future Predators (the extremely dangerous evolved bats) into soldiers. The unspoken implications are blatant throughout the season, and the second-last episode of the season has Hellen Cutter outright say blame Christine for the death of the human race before feeding her to a Future Predator... which might almost come off as a KarmicDeath.
** It is clear that Helen is batshit (pun intended) insane. She keeps accusing random people of causing the apocalypse, and then allies with Leek, who's keeping Future Predators (among others) as slaves. She then shoots her husband Nick, who came back to rescue her from an explosion she caused. Helen's final solution for preventing apocalypse -- [[spoiler:erasing the human race by killing the early hominids in the distant past]].

* The bread and butter of ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}''. The main story of season one contains but one dark hint about it, but the potential applications are ''all'' up in the story's business by season two. Oh, believe us, they're no empty threat.

* One of the all-time classic ''Series/DoctorWho'' stories, ''The Power of the Daleks'', was built around this trope. A Dalek spaceship turns up on a colony planet and the chief scientist is amazed by the technical sophistication of it, and the Daleks themselves. [[KillEmAll It doesn't end well.]]

*** {{Discussed}} in one episode. Students at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Science and Tech Academy are routinely given a lecture on "Potentiality" - which they refer to as "TheTalk" - to remind all the super scientists-in-training to consider the potential for misuse, evil, and other problems that can come from their discoveries.

** ''Series/JessicaJones'': This is Jeri Hogarth's reaction to Kilgrave when Jessica begins to enlighten her about his CompellingVoice powers. [[spoiler:It's also {{Foreshadowing}}: Jeri thinks she can control the danger posed by Kilgrave, and attempts to use him for her own ends.]] Jessica herself genuinely does ''very'' briefly consider attempting to reform Kilgrave to use his powers for good, since his ability is so powerful it could be used to really change the world for the better. Sensibly, she ultimately decides this is a stupid idea and attempts to take him out without bothering to wait for his sudden but inevitable betrayal.

* In ''Series/AlienNation'', the characters take down a doctor who's killing Newcomers and using their organs to retard aging in his human clients. George thinks that his discovery should be shared--maybe if something good can be made out of this, the victims won't have died for nothing. But Matt isn't having any of it, and tosses all the data into a fire.
-->'''Matt''': ''Never'' bet on the goodness of the human race.
* In ''{{Series/Primeval}}'''s third season, Christine Johnson and her subordinates are attempting to control the anomalies in order to turn Future Predators (the extremely dangerous evolved bats) into soldiers. The unspoken implications are blatant throughout the season, and the second-last episode of the season has Hellen Cutter outright say blame Christine for the death of the human race before feeding her to a Future Predator... which might almost come off as a KarmicDeath.
** It is clear that Helen is batshit (pun intended) insane. She keeps accusing random people of causing the apocalypse, and then allies with Leek, who's keeping Future Predators (among others) as slaves. She then shoots her husband Nick, who came back to rescue her from an explosion she caused. Helen's final solution for preventing apocalypse - [[spoiler:erasing the human race by killing the early hominids in the distant past]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'': The Enclave, the secret government cabal which caused WWIII, contracted Vault-Tec to create the vaults for human experimentation on some of the last remaining American survivors, and generally wants to re-conquer the United States so they can return it to the dystopian endless totalitarian 1950's, are usually split into three groups: scientists who want to use their advanced, people-tested (on) technology to shape the world in their image (for better or ''worse''), soldiers who like killing stuff with advanced technology and trust the rest of the Enclave to make the world right again, and a group of psychopaths who genuinely believe causing rampant, pointless death and destruction is the purpose of human progress. Unfortunately, that last group makes up most of Vault-Tec, as seen with [[{{Sadist}} Doctor Braun]] and [[ComicallyMissingThePoint Overseer Barstow]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'': The Enclave, the secret government cabal which caused WWIII, created the vaults for human experimentation on some of the last remaining American survivors, and generally wants to re-conquer the United States so they can return it to the dystopian endless totalitarian 1950's, are usually split into three groups: scientists who want to use their advanced, people-tested (on) technology to shape the world in their image (for better or ''worse''), soldiers who like killing stuff with advanced technology and trust the rest of the Enclave to make the world right again, and a group of psychopaths who genuinely believe causing rampant, pointless death and destruction is the purpose of human progress. Unfortunately, that last group controls the Enclave most of the time, as seen with [[{{Sadist}} Doctor Braun]] and [[ComicallyMissingThePoint Overseer Barstow]].

* [[TheSociopath Penelope's]] [[MoralEventHorizon downfall]] in ''VideoGame/SlyCooperThievesInTime'' is triggered by her seeing potential in [[GadgeteerGenius Bentley]], wanting to use his skills and [[WarForFunAndProfit sell them]] to terrorists and rouge nations, making billions of dollars and [[TakeOverTheWorld taking over the world]]. This goes ''way'' beyond the morality of the Cooper Gang, who only steal from villains, and they kick her out in retaliation. It doesn't help that she [[DidYouActuallyBelieve never loved Bentley]], only wanting to control him, and [[RemovingTheRival tried to murder his two best friends]].

** The medicinal explanation is from the movieverse version of ''Film/ResidentEvil''. [[spoiler:Wesker]]'s entire plan of betrayal in the first game was to [[spoiler:use the STARS members as {{mooks}} to gather combat data on the {{Super Soldier}}s and other assorted monsters they'd created]]. [[FakingTheDead Amongst]] [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder other]] [[AGodAmI things]].

* Happens quite often in ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}''. The eponymous creatures are the most advanced, deadliest predators in the known universe, so naturally the Space Pirates want them for their Military Potential. The [[TheFederation Galactic Federation]] also falls into this trap, at first for purely benevolent reasons (the Metroids have incredible energy storage and processing capabilities, due to the way they feed), but later for their Military Potential too. In the ''Prime'' subseries, the semi-living energy-producing substance called Phazon fills this role for both sides as well, although the GF is smart enough this time to realize its danger and helps Samus destroy it, even if they do take advantage of it in the meantime.
** Also happened with the X parasites in ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion''. Towards the end of the game the Federation decides the X could have uses as weapons and orders Samus to stop fighting them and leave the space station the X had infested. [[ColonyDrop Samus had other ideas]].
** In ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'', [[spoiler:Adam Malkovitch]] wrote a report on the Metroids warning the Federation higher-ups against trying to weaponize Metroids because they are way too dangerous. Most of the higher-ups agreed with the assessment, but a few ignored the warning and used the information in the report to ''start'' a Metroid weaponization project. The events in the game quickly prove this was a ''bad'' idea.

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[[quoteright:270:[[WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/forscience.jpg]]]]
[-[[caption-width-right:270:As you can see, Doctor Venture's "Ooo-Ray" has only peaceful applications.]]-]

* In the ''Film/IronMan'' series, Tony Stark builds a miniature ARC reactor to power his electromagnet to save his life, and then the IM Mark I to escape the Ten Rings. After that, he keeps the tech close to his chest ([[{{Pun}} so to speak]]) because he knows the government, and his dad's old partner, would use its power against his wishes.