History Main / KickTheMoralityPet

* Nathaniel is much more innocent at the start of ''Literature/TheBartimaeusTrilogy'', but a CynicismCatalyst in a world of BlackAndGrayMorality soon leads him to leave that behind. By the third book he is NotSoDifferent from the original villain. It's only when [[spoiler:Kitty Jones]] is injured that he starts to [[HeelRealization see the implications of his actions]].

* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'': [[spoiler:[[AntiVillain Reiner]] uses the massive strength of his Titan form to begin hurling Titans at the escaping soldiers and nearly kills several of his [[MoralityPet former friends]] in the process]]. It's used to illustrate just how far over the DespairEventHorizon he's gone and reaffirming his claims that IveComeTooFar. Armin even responds in shock, wondering aloud whether he even ''cares'' anymore about the danger of [[LivingMacGuffin Eren]] being devoured by Titans. Hange later theorizes that killing Eren was his actual goal in doing this, having given up on simply kidnapping him.

* Licht from ''Manga/BlackClover'' shows care for his subordinates when he's furious at Asta for harming Valtos. He later reveals that it was a ruse, revealing that he always hated his human underlings before he sacrifices them all to complete the elves' reincarnation.

* An interesting [[InvertedTrope inversion]] happens in ''Anime/KillLaKill'': when Ryuuko's resident MoralityPet, Mako Mankanshoku, starts letting the wealth and prestige of running the Fight Club go to her head, Ryuuko lets [[RussianReversal the morality pet kick her]] to bring Mako back to her senses.
* In ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'', Negi went on a BlackMagic fueled rage and indiscriminately attacked everyone around him. It was only after he came [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/mahou_sensei_negima/v32/c286/9.html within inches of killing one of his own (defenseless) students]] that he snapped out of it.
* Happens to Agnes in ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'' (at least in the novels), when Saito, Louise and everyone is fleeing the country to save Tabatha who is about to meet a FateWorseThanDeath at the hands of her uncle, the King of Galia. Anies had orders to only arrest the group and no intention of harming them, but as soon as she sees her lifelong nemesis [[spoiler:Colbert]] responsible for her DoomedHometown, whom she thought was dead, she [[UnstoppableRage snaps and opens fire]]. The shock from the realization [[WhatHaveIDone she nearly killed Saito in the process]], whom she trained and considered as a friend, has her realize that [[EpiphanyTherapy even if she killed her nemesis, other people would hate her in turn, so hatred and revenge are meaningless and that someone has to take it on himself to end the hatred here and now]]. She didn't forgive him, but is at least able, now, to look at his face without feeling murderous urges, or at least without acting on them.
* Kanaka in ''Manga/TheWorldOfNarue''. A victim of TimeDilation, she's missed a couple of decades. After she realizes that everyone she knew is now completely different, she freaks out and tries to run off. Narue, determined to befriend her (technically older) sister, runs after her. Kanaka pulls a laser gun to try to frighten Narue off, and after a brief tussle, Kanaka completely unintentionally shoots her. Fortunately it was a non-lethal gun to begin with, but it's still enough to get Kanaka to thoroughly regret her actions. Well, that and some manly tears from Kazu.
* In ''Anime/GunXSword'', Michael, who has become a loyal minion of the Claw meets up with his sister, Wendy, one of the heroes. Wendy ends up shooting him in the arm to try and stop him, and he starts strangling her. Then, her pet turtle bites his finger and he snaps out of it, realizes what he's doing, and saves Wendy when the lair starts to collapse. While the series implies a HeelFaceDoorSlam for Michael and his lover Fasalina, who likewise snapped out of her loyalty to the Claw [[spoiler:both appear to be crushed under rocks and averting JustAFleshwound, Wendy's shot is implied to be fatal]], supplemental materials go for RedemptionEarnsLife.
* In the ''Anime/SandsOfDestruction'' manga, [[LadyOfWar Mo]][[CuteAndPsycho rte]] finished her job in a city where the beastmen were eating humans. After berating [[TheHeart Kyrie]] of doing something reckless, she blows up the entire city that they just saved for [[ForTheLulz the fun of it]]. This action [[BewareTheNiceOnes causes Kyrie to snap at her]] and he leaves the group which causes the group to split up (with [[BearsAreBadNews Toppi]] and {{N|obleDemon}}aja going with him and [[OnlySaneMan Agan]] staying with Morte.) When he comes back, he throws the gun that she gave him to defend himself on the ground telling her that he doesn't need it anymore since he's not coming back. Cue, [[GoMadFromTheRevelation she snaps]] and attacks him proving Kyrie's point why he can't stay with her. Thankfully Toppi and Naja stopped her attack.
* Happens in ''Manga/NabariNoOu'' when [[MoralityPet Gau]] throws himself in front of Raikou's attack to stop him from [[MoralEventHorizon killing his own little sister, Raimei]]. Complete with Raikou [[CradlingTheirKill cradling Gau]] and [[WhatHaveIDone crying]]. [[spoiler:They both get better]].
* In ''Manga/ElfenLied'', [[spoiler:Lucy brutally kills Kouta's sister Kanae in the middle of what's basically a mix of a psychotic breakdown and a hissy-fit of jealousy]]. While she's still murderous after that [[BreakTheCutie due to other unrelated events]], quite a bit of guilt over said incident remains in her heart.
* [[spoiler:Subverted]] in ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}''. Everyone assumes that Izaya did this to Shinra in middle school for no reason whatsoever. [[spoiler:Turns out, he told Shinra to tell [[SilentScapegoat everyone that he stabbed him]] so he can use this opportunity to ruin Nakura who even dare hurt his OnlyFriend. Naturally, it's implied that Izaya also did this so no one will find that how close he is with Shinra]].
* When Sakura sees Manga/{{Naruto}}'s fox form for the first time, she tries to [[CooldownHug talk him out of it]]. Problem was that Naruto wasn't Naruto anymore; he was controlled by the Kyuubi, resulting in a horrifying 4-tailed state. To simply put it, he tail-slapped Sakura on the shoulder (badly) and tried to ''kill her while she was down''.
* In ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'', as Sayaka begins her downward spiral, she ends up upsetting Madoka when she angrily lashes out at her for not using her incredible potential as a MagicalGirl to aid her in the fight against witches. Unfortunately, this only makes Sayaka feel even worse, and she even rejects Homura's offer of a Grief Seed, given with the sole intent of preventing Madoka from being hurt by [[spoiler:Sayaka turning into a witch]].
* In ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer'', this is an unfortunate result of [[spoiler:[[ByronicHero Maho]]]] adopting a jerk attitude toward [[spoiler:her younger sister Miho, doing everything that is expected of her as heiress so that Miho can live her life her own way]]. When [[spoiler:Miho confronts her about shooting an enemy flag tank that was trying to save her own team, Maho]] coldly dismisses her, leaving her in tears. When [[spoiler:Miho]] [[OutOfCharacterIsSeriousBusiness against her typical nature]], [[spoiler:confronts her mother to ask her the same question, Maho]] realizes how much she has upset [[spoiler:Miho]] and apologizes.
* In ''Manga/HunterXHunter'', the Chimera Ant King has an epiphany re-affirming his identity as an apex predator. Deciding he no longer needs the distraction provided by Komugi, the blind girl he can't beat at a board game, he heads to her room to kill her. When he enters the room, he sees that Komugi has injured herself again...[[AvertedTrope and immediately becomes concerned and tries to help her]], all the while [[WhatIsThisFeeling wondering why he is acting this way]].
* In ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', [[spoiler:[[AntiVillain Reiner]] uses the massive strength of his Titan form to begin hurling Titans at the escaping soldiers and nearly kills several of his [[MoralityPet former friends]] in the process]]. It's used to illustrate just how far over the DespairEventHorizon he's gone and reaffirming his claims that IveComeTooFar. Armin even responds in shock, wondering aloud whether he even ''cares'' anymore about the danger of [[LivingMacGuffin Eren]] being devoured by Titans. Hange later theorizes that killing Eren was his actual goal in doing this, having given up on simply kidnapping him.
* In ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'', Kaneki's six-month RoaringRampageOfRevenge against Aogiri Tree comes to a halt when he [[spoiler:manifests his Kakuja form for the first time and ends up impaling [[TheLancer Banjou]] with his hand]]. After being given a CoolDownHug, he realizes just how far gone he really is and begins a period of soul-searching. This leads him to decide to disband his group, and return to Anteiku so that he can attempt to make amends for his actions.
* In ''Manga/MagiLabyrinthOfMagic'', Hakuryuu's attempt to conquer a second Djinn results in him being confronted with his conscience that appear in the form of his loved ones, with them telling him to put aside his revenge and accept his fate as it is. Angered at such a suggestion, while remembering all that he had suffered up until this point, he refuses and decides to fall into depravity instead. The first action that he does afterwards is to brutally cut down the illusions, while proclaiming that he will kill the real ones soon.
* In the ''Manga/MarmaladeBoy'' anime, when [[spoiler:Satoshi grossly misunderstands Namura's reasons to keep rejecting Meiko's love and beats him up]], he ends up [[spoiler:punching Meiko when she tries to stop him]].

* Just like in the Animated Series, ''Film/SpiderMan3'' has Peter Parker turn into a douchenozzle thanks to the alien symbiote turning him aggressive. He eventually goes on a date with Gwen Stacy (after getting dumped by Mary Jane), walks into the bar MJ is working at and proceeds to enter a song and dance meant to humiliate her. Finally, the bouncer gets fed up and tries to throw him out. Peter easily deflects him, but also instinctively knocks MJ down when she tries to grab him. Peter suddenly realizes the symbiote is controlling him and tries to get rid of it.

* In ''Literature/DragonBones'', an ancestor of the protagonist killed a dragon. (Dragons are sentient in that setting, and it was his duty to ''protect'' them). He was called out on this by his slave Oreg, whom he had whipped so severe that it would have killed a mortal. (Oreg is immortal and cannot act against orders, the worst form of slavery. AWizardDidIt.) [[spoiler:To make things worse, this ancestor is the same one whom the protagonist admires and tries to imitate, as he only knows about his better sides, such as establishing an anti-slavery law]].

* In ''Literature/{{Gone}}'', [[BigBad Caine's]] love/obsession for [[DarkChick Diana]] was his one redeeming quality. But, in book four, [[spoiler:[[JerkAss he lies to her, uses her for sex, and brags about this to]] ''[[JerkAss the entire town]]'']]. [[JerkassDissonance This upset the fangirls more than when he sicced coyotes on preschoolers]].
** This becomes subverted in ''LIGHT'', when he [[spoiler:abdicates the throne to rescue her, apologizes to her, saves her from a life in prison and dies defending her]].
* Nathaniel is much more innocent at the start of ''Literature/TheBartimaeusTrilogy'', but a CynicismCatalyst in a world of BlackAndGrayMorality soon leads him to leave that behind. By the third book he is NotSoDifferent from the original villain. It's only when [[spoiler:Kitty Jones]] is injured that he starts to [[HeelRealization see the implications of his actions]].
* The whole M.O. of the Ministry of Love in ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'' is to ''force'' people to do this under threat of torture to break them.
%%* Gale Hawthorne from ''Literature/TheHungerGames''.
* In ''Literature/TheCountOfMonteCristo'' Edmond attacks innocent people - the family members of his nemeses - not because they've hurt him in any way, but just to make his ''true'' enemies' despair that much more absolute. It's only once one of his closest friends tries to commit suicide (because he, unbeknownst to Edmond, was in love with one of those innocents) that Edmond realizes how cruel he's become. Fortunately, there's still time to save ''most'' of his victims.
-->'''Edmond:''' Pray God that I have not already done too much.

* In the climax of ''Series/PowerRangersTimeForce'', the BigBad Ransik has trashed the rangers and is getting ready to finish them of, when his daughter Nadira (having gained an appreciation for human life after helping deliever a baby) tries to talk him down. He ignores her, and during the fight she gets caught in one of his blasts. Horrified at having nearly killed his own daughter, Ransik voluntarily surrenders himself to the rangers.
* In ''Series/BreakingBad'' Walt SlowlySlippingIntoEvil is shown by his increasingly frequent mistreatment of Jesse and Skylar. By Season Five, only his children are safe.
* This is key to the ''Series/DoctorWho'' Series 9 finale "Hell Bent", in which the Doctor temporarily becomes a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds in the wake of [[spoiler:Clara Oswald's death, which leaves him without a Morality Chain]] and then solitary imprisonment and torture by his enemies. In hopes of [[spoiler:saving Clara's life]], he risks destroying the entire universe by creating a RealityBreakingParadox, and most of those trying to stop him have NoSympathy for what he went through so it would seem no one can bring him around; the one exception is [[spoiler:Clara herself]] but since that's the whole reason he's going to extremes... But then he [[spoiler:tries to erase her memories of him with the intent of returning her to Earth]]. The objection to this is enough to make him realize he's invoked this trope and he returns to his best self, even accepting [[spoiler:Mind Rape]] to excise the emotional cancer that made him so selfish.
* In ''{{Series/Mindhunter}}'', Bill and Holden interview RealLife spree killer Richard Speck, who has a pet bird he helped health a broken wing and fed with a dropper. When Speck is ([[HairTriggerTemper soon]]) angered by Holden's questioning, he throws the bird into a moving fan.

* ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'': In the "bad" ending, Emil [[spoiler:fakes his SuperpoweredEvilSide like he does on the other endings]], but this time goes too far in his fight with [[RogueProtagonist Lloyd]] and [[LoveInterest Marta]], and wins the fight, [[spoiler:killing Marta]]. Raine rushes over to heal Marta. Emil promptly admits it was all an act, and in an act to redeem himself, [[spoiler:he [[RedemptionEqualsDeath kills]] [[MurderSuicide himself]]. [[NonStandardGameOver Oops]]]].

* ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia]]'' has [[spoiler:Prince Berkut sacrificing his girlfriend Rinea, aka [[MoralityPet THE person he cares for]], to [[BigBad Duma]] as a part of a DealWithTheDevil after Alm beats his pride into the mud and he learns that he was never going to inherit the Rigelian throne]].
* {{Inverted|Trope}} in the second ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigationsMilesEdgeworth'' game. [[spoiler:Horace Knightley, the murderer of the first case, is a close friend of Simon Keyes, and pretty much the only person Knightley would be nice to. Simon is a FalseFriend that sets up his arrest and murder because he hates Horace as Horace's father killed Simon's... or so he thinks. It's actually the other way around, but he feels no remorse after learning about that fact]].
* In ''VideoGame/EnsembleStars'', Souma serves as a MoralityPet for Keito - while he's typically a pretty harsh and strict person, he's genuinely affectionate towards his innocent and undyingly devoted junior, and it's established that in the backstory it was Souma's kindness that transformed Keito and Akatsuki in general from villains into basically good people. However, the later event ''Ryuusei Bonfire'' shows that this wasn't a smooth process for Souma - [[spoiler:when he found out they were hurting Kanata (his club leader, friend, and ''God'') and was understandably angry and upset, Keito became enraged and yelled at him for disobeying, calling him useless and expelling him from the unit, leaving Souma in tears.]] This revelation wasn't well-received by some in the fandom who argued that this was far too cruel without any possible justification and [[MoralEventHorizon left Keito permanently unsympathetic]].

* Happened on an episode of ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'' where a kid being remorselessly tormented by bullies brings a gun to school. Just as the kid was about to give up the gun the bully's idiot friends tackled him which made him accidentally squeeze the trigger and he winds up shooting Richie, one of the few people who had tried to be nice to him. The kid suffers a [[TearJerker massive]] MyGodWhatHaveIDone.

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'', an upgraded Prowl beats (clone) Starscream. Unfortunately, there's a lot of collateral damage - including a torn down tree and broken bird eggs that he earlier made an effort to protect. Seeing these, Prowl realizes what a total asshole he's being.
* Happened in ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'' and ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'' while he wore the black suit.
* Kevin from ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'' tends to do this whenever he [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity goes insane due to absorbing alien energy]]. In the original series, Ben showed him kindness ''twice'', and both times [[TheFarmerAndTheViper his reaction was to attempt to backstab him]]. Later, after reforming over the course of ''[[WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce Alien Force]]'', he gradually turns insane again, resulting in him hurting both Ben and Gwen, who have become his friends (and in Gwen's case, his LoveInterest) at this point. 10-year-old Ben calls him out for it:
-->"[[ReasonYouSuckSpeech You are a jerk. You always have been]]. [[JerkassWoobie People try being nice to you, but you don't care]]; [[ItsAllAboutMe you are too busy being sorry for yourself]]."

'''Lord {{Franchise/Superman}}:''' I've done a lot of things I thought I'd never do these last two years. One more won't hurt.

* In ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'', Negi went on a BlackMagic fueled rage and indiscriminately attacked everyone around him. It was only after he came [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/mahou_sensei_negima/v32/c286/9.html within inches of killing one of his own (defenseless) students]] that he snapped out of it.

* [[spoiler:Subverted]] in ''{{LightNovel/Durarara}}''. Everyone assumes that Izaya did this to Shinra in middle school for no reason whatsoever. [[spoiler:Turns out, he told Shinra to tell [[SilentScapegoat everyone that he stabbed him]] so he can use this opportunity to ruin Nakura who even dare hurt his OnlyFriend. Naturally, it's implied that Izaya also did this so no one will find that how close he is with Shinra]].

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]
* In the Pokemon fanfic Fanfic/TravelsOfTheTrifecta, Paul does this twice, to both Reggie and Conway, and both times only realizes his mistake later on. With Reggie, it occurs in the first chapter, when Paul threatens to disown him if he loses to Brandon, which then starts the chain of events that leads to Reggie getting struck by lightning. [[spoiler:With Conway, Paul abandons him after they get attacked by Team Galactic because Paul thinks that Conway is a traitor for "letting" Mars molest him, and stays angry at Conway until Reggie talks to him about it and Paul realizes that he shouldn't have abandoned Conway like that]].

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* ''Webcomic/{{Drowtales}}:'' Ariel was heading toward the AntiHero[=/=]AntiVillain grey area, but after accidentally killing a slave she became more of an EmotionlessGirl, and more recently more of a PluckyGirl type. Because of this she ended up sparing an enemy and avoided directly killing someone else, though given the CrapsackWorld of the setting both of those choices may come back to bite her.

* Kevin from ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'' tends to do this whenever he [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity goes insane due to absorbing alien energy]]. In the original series, Ben showed him kindness ''twice'', and both times [[TheFarmerAndTheViper his reaction was to attempt to backstab him]]. Later, after reforming over the course of ''[[WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce Alien Force]]'', he gradually turns insane again, resulting in him hurting both Ben and Gwen, who have become his friends (and in Gwen's case, his LoveInterest) at this point. 10-year-old Ben calls him out for it:

* In the climax of Volume 7 of ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}, General Ironwood has gone around the bend, issued arrest orders for the heroes, and intends to raise Atlas and leave Mantle to die at the cold and Grimm. Oscar, who has spent much of the Volume spending time with Ironwood, tries to appeal to Ironwood and get him to change his mind. When Ironwood refuses to budge and swears to let no one get in his way, Oscar remarks that Ironwood has become as dangerous as Salem. In response, Ironwood shoots him without hesitation or mercy.

Alternatively, this trope may be used as a MoralEventHorizon crossing to show that the character is [[BeyondRedemption too far gone to pull them back to their senses]], which will result in either an IgnoredEpiphany or the character [[NeverMyFault displacing the guilt onto someone else]]. See also MinorInsultMeltdown and MomentOfWeakness.

* In the YearInsideHourOutside series finale of ''Series/StargateSG1'', Daniel, having gotten fed up with what he thinks are Vala's intentionally shallow attempts at flirting and seducing him, lashes out with a nearly minute-long rant about her shortcomings that reduces Vala, who actually ''is'' genuinely attracted to him, to tears. It's especially shocking coming from '''Daniel''' of all people, but a close listen as his rant goes on reveals that he shifts from disparaging her actions to voicing his own insecurities and hesitancy about them having a relationship. And when a disturbed Daniel realizes both this and how badly he's hurt her, he quickly lets Vala know that he ''does'' return her feelings. They then decide to see if they can sustain a relationship, and [[SexyDiscretionShot you can guess what happens next]]. And considering that except for [[spoiler:[[WordOfGod Vala's having a miscarriage]]]], they [[NobodyThinksItWillWork spend the next fifty years together with no problems]] before Sam [[ResetButton reverses time]], apparently they work out any remaining issues.

** Greed, after killing a member of his old TrueCompanions.

* ''Film/{{Downfall}}'': Jospeh and Magda Goebbels are die-hard fanatics to UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler but they do love their six children, innocent of their parents' evil deeds. But after Hitler commits suicide and Germany's downfall is at hand, Magda (with Jospeh's approval) murders the children to prevent them from growing up in a Nazi-freed world.

* ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'': Ego the Living Planet genuinely fell in love with Meredith Quill but knew that staying with her would jeopardize his life-long goal to assimilate all life in the universe. So he deliberately planted a brain tumor in her head that would eventually kill her, cutting off his one tie to Earth. Revealing this to their son turns out to be a bad idea as it instantly snaps Peter out of his reverie and turns [[MommasBoy Peter]] against him.

* ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'': Ego the Living Planet genuinely fell in love with Meredith Quill but knew that staying with her would jeopardize his life-long goal to assimilate all life in the universe. So he deliberately planted a brain tumor in her head that would eventually kill her, cutting off his one tie to Earth. Revealing this to their son turns out to be a bad idea as it instantly turns [[MommasBoy Peter]] against him.

Alternatively, this trope may be used as a MoralEventHorizon crossing to show hat the character is [[BeyondRedemption too far gone to pull them back to their senses]], which will result in either an IgnoredEpiphany or the character [[NeverMyFault displacing the guilt onto someone else]]. See also MinorInsultMeltdown and MomentOfWeakness.

* Whilst elsewhere in the [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Buffyverse]], Willow's downward spiral of magic addiction is brought to a halt when she crashes her car [[BreakTheCutie with Dawn in the passenger seat]] while under the influence[[note]]of magic[[/note]]. Her manipulative friend Amy, who has been encouraging her magic abuse, is hurt by Willow's decision to quit magic [[spoiler:and eventually becomes a BigBad in the Season 8 comics]].

* It was this sort of moment, when she recklessly injures one of her teammates in a drunken stupor, that convinces the heroic Swallowtail of the ''Roleplay/GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse'' to seek help for her alcoholism.

Compare VillainousBSOD. Also, some may be too far gone for this trope to pull them back to their senses, which will result in either an IgnoredEpiphany or the character [[NeverMyFault displacing the guilt onto someone else]]. See also MinorInsultMeltdown and MomentOfWeakness.

[[folder:Fanfiction]]

[[folder:Videogames]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]

[[folder:Web Originals]]

* A strange mixture of in-universe and out-of-universe examples: in ''LetsPlay/TwitchPlaysPokemonCrystal'', the Mob accidentally releasing [[EnsembleDarkhorse Togepi]] instead of LazerGator caused them to take stock of themselves, eventually leading to its new and distinct themes and plot.

* Experienced at least twice by Kratos in the ''VideoGame/GodOfWarSeries'', when he [[spoiler:murdered his wife and child]] prior to the start of the series, and when he [[spoiler:kills Athena]] while fighting [[spoiler:Zeus]] at the climax of ''VideoGame/GodOfWarII''.

* In ''Literature/TheCountOfMonteCristo'' Edmond attacks innocent people- the family members of his nemeses- not because they've hurt him in any way in any way, but just to make his ''true'' enemies' despair that much more absolute. It's only once one of his closest friends commits suicide (because he, unbeknownst to Edmond, was in love with one of those innocents) that Edmond realizes how cruel he's become. Fortunately, there's still time to save ''most'' of his victims.

** And [[spoiler:Severus Snape]]'s. When he found out the information he provided would lead directly to [[spoiler:Lily Potter's death]], he switched sides. [[spoiler:It was too late to save her, however, and he had to live with the guilt. This was not the first time this happened -- back in his fifth year at Hogwarts, Snape, in a MomentOfWeakness, called Lily (his best friend at the time) a Mudblood. Their friendship, already strained from Severus surrounding himself with future Death Eaters like Lucius Malfoy, promptly dissolved after that. To this day he still considers it his absolute worst enemy, as it cost him at the very least the friendship of the woman he loved, and the day where the only path he saw left for him was the Death Eaters, all of which eventually led to Lily's death]].

* ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'': Beerus meeting Goku is the reason why he goes from an amoral, selfish God of Destruction who will destroy anything that [[DisproportionateRetribution annoys him]], to being the overall BigGood in ''Super''. However, Beerus has no problem reminding Goku that ''he'' is a god while he is just a mortal whose power can't compete with him or any God of Destruction. The most vicious kick he gives is when he mocks Goku for trying to stop Champa from [[spoiler: killing his own team]], saying that since Champa is a god, he can do what he wants in his universe, and there is nothing Goku can do to stop it. He also seems to agree with Champa that Goku and the others are pawns to the gods.

** Chapter 95: Roy is taking brutal revenge on [[spoiler: Envy]] when Ed, Scar, and Riza step in to stop him. Roy asks Riza what she plans to do [[spoiler: after she shoots him. The answer? ''Kill herself'' because it means she let him betray his own ideals.]] He backs down immediately.

* Happens to Agnes in ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'' (at least in the novels), when Saito, Louise and everyone is fleeing the country to save Tabatha who is about to meet a FateWorseThanDeath at the hands of her uncle, the King of Galia. Anies had orders to only arrest the group and no intention of harming them, but as soon as she sees her lifelong nemesis [[spoiler: Colbert]] responsible for her DoomedHometown, whom she thought was dead, she [[UnstoppableRage snaps and opens fire]]. The shock from the realization [[WhatHaveIDone she nearly killed Saito in the process]], whom she trained and considered as a friend, has her realize that [[EpiphanyTherapy even if she killed her nemesis, other people would hate her in turn, so hatred and revenge are meaningless and that someone has to take it on himself to end the hatred here and now.]] She didn't forgive him, but is at least able, now, to look at his face without feeling murderous urges, or at least without acting on them.

* In ''Anime/GunXSword'', Michael, who has become a loyal minion of the Claw meets up with his sister, Wendy, one of the heroes. Wendy ends up shooting him in the arm to try and stop him, and he starts strangling her. Then, her pet turtle bites his finger and he snaps out of it, realizes what he's doing, and saves Wendy when the lair starts to collapse. While the series implies a HeelFaceDoorSlam for Michael and his lover Fasalina, who likewise snapped out of her loyalty to the Claw [[spoiler: both appear to be crushed under rocks and averting JustAFleshwound, Wendy's shot is implied to be fatal]], supplemental materials go for RedemptionEarnsLife.
* In the ''Anime/SandsOfDestruction'' manga, [[LadyOfWar Mo]][[CuteAndPsycho rte]] finished her job in a city where the beastmen were eating humans. After berating [[TheHeart Kyrie]] of doing something reckless, she blows up the entire city that they just saved for [[ForTheLulz the fun of it.]] This action [[BewareTheNiceOnes causes Kyrie to snap at her]] and he leaves the group which causes the group to split up (with [[BearsAreBadNews Toppi]] and {{N|obleDemon}}aja going with him and [[OnlySaneMan Agan]] staying with Morte.) When he comes back, he throws the gun that she gave him to defend himself on the ground telling her that he doesn't need it anymore since he's not coming back. Cue, [[GoMadFromTheRevelation she snaps]] and attacks him proving Kyrie's point why he can't stay with her. Thankfully Toppi and Naja stopped her attack.
* Happens in ''Manga/NabariNoOu'' when [[MoralityPet Gau]] throws himself in front of Raikou's attack to stop him from [[MoralEventHorizon killing his own little sister, Raimei]]. Complete with Raikou [[CradlingTheirKill cradling Gau]] and [[WhatHaveIDone crying]]. [[spoiler: They both get better.]]
* In ''Manga/ElfenLied'', [[spoiler: Lucy brutally kills Kouta's sister Kanae in the middle of what's basically a mix of a psychotic breakdown and a hissy-fit of jealousy.]] While she's still murderous after that [[BreakTheCutie due to other unrelated events]], quite a bit of guilt over said incident remains in her heart.
* [[spoiler: Subverted]] in ''{{LightNovel/Durarara}}''. Everyone assumes that Izaya did this to Shinra in middle school for no reason whatsoever. [[spoiler: Turns out, he told Shinra to tell [[SilentScapegoat everyone that he stabbed him]] so he can use this opportunity to ruin Nakura who even dare hurt his OnlyFriend. Naturally, it's implied that Izaya also did this so no one will find that how close he is with Shinra.]]

* In ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', [[spoiler: [[AntiVillain Reiner]] uses the massive strength of his Titan form to begin hurling Titans at the escaping soldiers and nearly kills several of his [[MoralityPet former friends]] in the process]]. It's used to illustrate just how far over the DespairEventHorizon he's gone and reaffirming his claims that IveComeTooFar. Armin even responds in shock, wondering aloud whether he even ''cares'' anymore about the danger of [[LivingMacGuffin Eren]] being devoured by Titans. Hange later theorizes that killing Eren was his actual goal in doing this, having given up on simply kidnapping him.
* In ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'', Kaneki's six-month RoaringRampageOfRevenge against Aogiri Tree comes to a halt when he [[spoiler: manifests his Kakuja form for the first time and ends up impaling [[TheLancer Banjou]] with his hand]]. After being given a CoolDownHug, he realizes just how far gone he really is and begins a period of soul-searching. This leads him to decide to disband his group, and return to Anteiku so that he can attempt to make amends for his actions.

* In the ''Manga/MarmaladeBoy'' anime, when [[spoiler: Satoshi grossly misunderstands Namura's reasons to keep rejecting Meiko's love and beats him up]], he ends up [[spoiler: punching Meiko when she tries to stop him.]]

[[folder:Comicbooks]]
* In ''[[ComicBook/SecretSix Villains United]]'', Cheshire was blackmailed into joining the Secret Six with threats that a bomb was implanted in the back of her daughter's head. By the end of the miniseries Cheshire conceived a replacement child via seducing Catman. Neither Lian or her father Roy ever learned about this, which allowed Cheshire to continue her emotional manipulation of Roy long after Lian's death.

* In the Pokemon fanfic Fanfic/TravelsOfTheTrifecta, Paul does this twice, to both Reggie and Conway, and both times only realizes his mistake later on. With Reggie, it occurs in the first chapter, when Paul threatens to disown him if he loses to Brandon, which then starts the chain of events that leads to Reggie getting struck by lightning. [[spoiler: With Conway, Paul abandons him after they get attacked by Team Galactic because Paul thinks that Conway is a traitor for "letting" Mars molest him, and stays angry at Conway until Reggie talks to him about it and Paul realizes that he shouldn't have abandoned Conway like that.]]
* In ''Fanfic/WhiteDevilOfTheMoon'', [[NotQuiteDead Precia Testerossa]] finally succeeds in reviving her IllGirl daughter Alicia. Initially, Precia seems to revert back to the caring mother she once was, but Alicia eventually begins to notice signs of her mother's SanitySlippage. It comes to a head when Alicia calls her out on [[spoiler:her abusive treatment of Fate]], and Precia loses her temper and hits her with a lightning spell. [[spoiler:Fate responds by ventilating Precia's innards.]]

* Just like in the Animated Series, ''Film/SpiderMan3'' has Peter Parker turn into a douchenozzle thanks to the alien symbiote turning him aggressive. He eventually goes on a date with Gwen Stacy (after getting dumped by Mary Jane), walks into the bar MJ is working at and proceeds to enter a song and dance meant to humiliate her. Finally the bouncer gets fed up and tries to throw him out. Peter easily deflects him, but also instinctively knocks MJ down when she tries to grab him. Peter suddenly realizes the symbiote is controlling him and tries to get rid of it.
* Parodied in both ''Film/AceVentura'' and ''Film/TheNakedGun'': The protagonist is trying to convince the others that the ReasonableAuthorityFigure is actually a villain in disguise and CrossesTheLineTwice while trying to prove it. [[spoiler: In the case of Ace Ventura, he's actually ''right''.]]

* At the end of ''Franchise/StarWars Episode III: Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', Anakin Skywalker [[spoiler:force chokes Padmé Amidala nearly to death when she tries to convince him what he's doing is evil. Unfortunately, the incident doesn't prompt him to stop, instead he just blames Obi-Wan Kenobi for turning her against him.]]
* ''Film/XMenFirstClass'' includes a dramatic confrontation where [[spoiler:Magneto is deflecting bullets from Moira [=MacTaggert=] trying to stop him from destroying the US and Soviet fleets. One of the bullets flies off and hits Charles in the spine. For a moment, there's a look of pure horror and guilt on Erik's face, then he decides it was Moira's fault. Xavier vocally disagrees and talks him down by playing on the other man's guilt.]]

* This is [[spoiler:Albus Dumbledore]]'s backstory in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows''. He was dangerously close to joining with [[BigBad Grindelwald]] and his vision for the world when his sister Ariana was accidentally killed during an argument [[spoiler: between him Gellert and Aberforth after Gellert tortured Aberforth for standing in the way and Albus ran to his defense. At that point he came to his senses and instead became the BigGood that he is known as.]]
** Also the story for [[spoiler: Regulus Black]]. He was a loyal Voldemort supporter, proud to offer the use of his beloved House Elf...until he finds out that [[spoiler: Voldemort wanted the elf to test the defenses around his horcrux, which involved the elf being horribly tortured and left to die]]. After he found out about that, [[spoiler: along with deducing Voldemort's use of Horcruxes]] he gave his life to try to bring Voldemort down.
** And [[spoiler: Severus Snape]]'s. When he found out the information he provided would lead directly to [[spoiler: Lily Potter's death]], he switched sides. [[spoiler: It was too late to save her, however, and he had to live with the guilt. This was not the first time this happened -- back in his fifth year at Hogwarts, Snape, in a MomentOfWeakness, called Lily (his best friend at the time) a mudblood. Their friendship, already strained from Severus surrounding himself with future Death Eaters like Lucius Malfoy, promptly dissolved after that. To this day he still considers it his absolute worst enemy, as it cost him at the very least the friendship of the woman he loved, and the day where the only path he saw left for him was the Death Eaters, all of which eventually led to Lily's death.]]
* In ''Literature/DragonBones'', an ancestor of the protagonist killed a dragon. (Dragons are sentient in that setting, and it was his duty to ''protect'' them). He was called out on this by his slave Oreg, whom he had whipped so severe that it would have killed a mortal. (Oreg is immortal and cannot act against orders, the worst form of slavery. AWizardDidIt.) [[spoiler: To make things worse, this ancestor is the same one whom the protagonist admires and tries to imitate, as he only knows about his better sides, such as establishing an anti-slavery law.]]
* In ''Literature/LesMiserables'', Jean Valjean steals from a little boy from force of habit after the bishop pardons him. While the child wasn't someone he knew, how monstrous the act was, especially since it came immediately after the bishop had pardoned him, was what prompted his HeelRealization and finalized his transformation into a Messiah.
* In ''Literature/{{Gone}}'', [[BigBad Caine's]] love/obsession for [[DarkChick Diana]] was his one redeeming quality. But, in book four, [[spoiler: [[JerkAss he lies to her, uses her for sex, and brags about this to]] ''[[JerkAss the entire town]]'']]. [[JerkassDissonance This upset the fangirls more than when he sicced coyotes on preschoolers.]]
** This becomes subverted in ''LIGHT'', when he [[spoiler: abdicates the throne to rescue her, apologises to her, saves her from a life in prison and dies defending her.]]
* Nathaniel is much more innocent at the start of ''Literature/TheBartimaeusTrilogy'', but a CynicismCatalyst in a world of BlackAndGrayMorality soon leads him to leave that behind. By the third book he is NotSoDifferent from the original villain. It's only when [[spoiler: Kitty Jones]] is injured that he starts to [[HeelRealization see the implications of his actions]].

* Whilst elsewhere in the [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Buffyverse]], Willow's downward spiral of magic addiction is brought to a halt when she crashes her car [[BreakTheCutie with Dawn in the passenger seat]] while under the influence[[note]]of magic[[/note]]. Her manipulative friend Amy, who has been encouraging her magic abuse, is hurt by Willow's decision to quit magic [[spoiler: and eventually becomes a BigBad in the Season 8 comics.]]

** On his return to King's Landing, Jaime goes so far low as to to force himself on Cersei, when they are right next to their son's corpse in the sept.

* In the YearInsideHourOutside series finale of ''Series/StargateSG1'', Daniel, having gotten fed up with what he thinks are Vala's intentionally shallow attempts at flirting and seducing him, lashes out with a nearly minute-long rant about her shortcomings that reduces Vala, who actually ''is'' genuinely attracted to him, to tears. It's especially shocking coming from '''Daniel''' of all people, but a close listen as his rant goes on reveals that he shifts from disparaging her actions to voicing his own insecurities and hesitancy about them having a relationship. And when a disturbed Daniel realizes both this and how badly he's hurt her, he quickly lets Vala know that he ''does'' return her feelings. They then decide to see if they can sustain a relationship, and [[SexyDiscretionShot you can guess what happens next]]. And considering that except for [[spoiler: [[WordOfGod Vala's having a miscarriage]] ]], they [[NobodyThinksItWillWork spend the next fifty years together with no problems]] before Sam [[ResetButton reverses time]], apparently they work out any remaining issues.

* This is key to the ''Series/DoctorWho'' Series 9 finale "Hell Bent", in which the Doctor temporarily becomes a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds in the wake of [[spoiler: Clara Oswald's death, which leaves him without a Morality Chain]] and then solitary imprisonment and torture by his enemies. In hopes of [[spoiler: saving Clara's life]], he risks destroying the entire universe by creating a RealityBreakingParadox, and most of those trying to stop him have NoSympathy for what he went through so it would seem no one can bring him around; the one exception is [[spoiler: Clara herself]] but since that's the whole reason he's going to extremes...But then he [[spoiler: tries to erase her memories of him with the intent of returning her to Earth]]. The objection to this is enough to make him realize he's invoked this trope and he returns to his best self, even accepting [[spoiler: Mind Rape]] to excise the emotional cancer that made him so selfish.

* ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'': In the "bad" ending, Emil [[spoiler: fakes his SuperpoweredEvilSide like he does on the other endings]], but this time goes too far in his fight with [[RogueProtagonist Lloyd]] and [[LoveInterest Marta]], and wins the fight, [[spoiler: killing Marta]]. Raine rushes over to heal Marta. Emil promptly admits it was all an act, and in an act to redeem himself, [[spoiler: he [[RedemptionEqualsDeath kills]] [[MurderSuicide himself]]. [[NonStandardGameOver Oops]].]]
* Experienced at least twice by Kratos in the ''VideoGame/GodOfWarSeries'', when he [[spoiler: murdered his wife and child]] prior to the start of the series, and when he [[spoiler: kills Athena]] while fighting [[spoiler: Zeus]] at the climax of ''VideoGame/GodOfWarII''.
* In ''VideoGame/JediKnightMysteriesOfTheSith'', this trope is invoked in [[spoiler: the final duel of the game]]. As Mara Jade, you must holster your lightsaber and stop attacking [[spoiler:Kyle]] in order to force him to have to kill you unarmed if he wants to reach his goal, thus snapping him out of it.

* ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia]]'' has [[spoiler: Prince Berkut sacrificing his girlfriend Rinea, aka [[MoralityPet THE person he cares for]], to [[BigBad Duma]] as a part of a DealWithTheDevil after Alm beats his pride into the mud and he learns that he was never going to inherit the Rigelian throne.]]

* In the ''Secretary'' arc in ''Webcomic/NatureOfNaturesArt'', [[spoiler: XZ "breaks up" with SV by quitting the college, and he goes into an UnstoppableRage and kills her. Whether he did a HeelFaceTurn before he also died is up for debate.]]

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'', an upgraded Prowl beats (clone) Starscream. Unfortunately there's a lot of collateral damage - including a torn down tree and broken bird eggs that he earlier made an effort to protect. Seeing these, Prowl realizes what a total asshole he's being.

-->"[[ReasonYouSuckSpeech You are a jerk. You always have been.]] [[JerkassWoobie People try being nice to you, but you don't care;]] [[ItsAllAboutMe you are too busy being sorry for yourself.]]"
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': Discord has always had an utter disregard for the feelings of anyone else, and doesn't get snapped out of it until [[spoiler: Fluttershy basically makes herself his MoralityPet by actually treating him as a friend. It's not until he realizes that his antics are driving her away that he finally grows some empathy.]]
** [[spoiler:He did it again in the Season 4 finale, when he betrays Fluttershy to join Lord Tirek. Then he realizes how betrayed Fluttershy feels. This one has lasting ramifications, as Discord feels [[MyGreatestFailure so guilty about it]] that the prospect of making Fluttershy cry again is enough to plunge him into a HeroicBSOD.]]