History Main / MoralityKitchenSink

** Light gray: Suzaku occupys a lighter shade of gray in the conflict, having genuinely good motivations and goals but performing villainous actions to achieve them.

** Light gray: Suzaku occupy a dark shade of white, having genuinely good motivations and goals but performing villainous actions to achieve them.

** Light gray: Suzaku occupies a darker shade of grey, having genuinely good motivations but performing villainous actions to achieve them.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Geneforge}}'' series. There are anywhere from two to five factions the player can join in each game. With the possible exception of 2's [[AGodAmI Barzites]], they pretty much all have arguments in their favor. While the world itself is more about GreyAndGrayMorality, the individual sides play out this trope. The WellIntentionedExtremist tends to be the most common type in each, but they all have their share of saints and monsters, and everything in between.

* ''Fanfic/CodePrimeR1Rebellion'': In order from Whitest to Blackest.

** The SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' takes this even further. There are some outright evil characters, but all of the series' major villains are [[WellIntentionedExtremist Well Intentioned Extremists]] who [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans genuinely believe that they are making the world a better place]]. While [[TheHero Korra]] and most of her allies are unquestionably good, a major part of her character arc is rejecting BlackAndWhiteMorality and understanding that [[VillainHasAPoint her enemies can have worthwhile ideas.]]

* On the surface, the main conflict of ''Videogame/{{Overwatch}}'' appears to be a [[BlackAndWhiteMorality straightforward case of heroes versus villains]], and that's true to an extent since Overwatch are clearly presented as the good guys and Talon as the bad guys, but even within and outside that conflict, the cast provides enough variation to run through the entire moral spectrum.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': The series began as a group of kids training to be hunters who specialize in killing Grim, an always chaotic evil race who prey on humans and fanas. However as the series goes on you are shown other organizations with their own motive and reason to fight, and even among the heroes each one has different motives to solve the same problem and tend to have trouble trusting each other.

In [[BlackAndWhiteMorality some stories]], the good guys are squeaky embodiments of shiny goodness that fight bearded stage magicians who cackle a lot. Then again, sometimes you [[WhiteAndGreyMorality have stories]] where your caped crusaders largely go up against the misguided and distraught. [[GreyAndGrayMorality Other stories]] might have the pragmatic freedom fighters against a government who alternately sing orphans to sleep or murder their kittens. Still [[BlackAndGrayMorality other stories]] have the world's mightiest, most murderous, most-pants-wettingest "[[ComicBook/TheAuthority heroes]]" you've ever seen against a guy who made entire worlds into slave-states for [[{{Greed}} profit]] and [[ForTheEvulz kicks]].

* ''Series/TheBoys'' takes the full-on BlackAndGrayMorality of [[Comicbook/TheBoys the original comic]] and brightened it a bit through AdaptationalHeroism and AdaptationalNiceGuy. There are downright evil people (Vought, Stillwell and Homelander), "good" guys [[UnscrupulousHero who go a bit too far]] (the title characters), "Supes" who are both flawed and do bad things (A-Train, Popclaw, Translucent, and The Deep), and two good-intentioned women who either are starting to get jaded (Starlight) or [[KnightInSourArmor downright became apathetic]] (Queen Maeve).

** ''{{WesternAnimation/Frozen|2013}}'' makes use of this as part of a GenreDeconstruction of the typical Disney fairytale. The only true heroic characters are [[GenkiGirl Princess Anna of Arendelle]] (who, as a {{Deconstruction}} of the typical Disney heroine, suffers a few WrongGenreSavvy moments), Kristoff (who's gruff and standoffish, but turns out to be a JerkWithAHeartOfGold) and [[PluckyComicRelief Olaf]] (as a living symbol of the bond between the two sisters). [[AnIcePerson Queen Elsa]], a {{Deconstruction}} for the [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Evil Queen]] archetype, is a {{Dark Magical|Girl}} [[PersonOfMassDestruction Girl of Mass Destruction]] who can create ''sentient life'' and declares herself AboveGoodAndEvil. But she soon suffers a severe case of PowerIncontinence that plunges her country in an EndlessWinter [[spoiler:that she eventually learns how to lift]] and has one TraumaCongaLine after the next. Anna and Elsa's parents, serving as a {{deconstruction}} for the typical Missing Parent, are just [[ParentsAsPeople regular people]] who are [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom Unwitting Instigators Of Doom]] by isolating Elsa (and Anna) from the rest of the world for so many years. The trolls, despite their best intentions, are rather [[PoorCommunicationKills vague]] on their instructions and caused the above misunderstanding on the part of the Arendelle royal family. The Duke of Weselton is a NotSoHarmlessVillain who is very [[ItsAllAboutMe egocentric]] but he is a WellIntentionedExtremist who wants to save Arendelle from the winter Elsa cast (if only for selfish reasons). [[spoiler:And then there's the {{Deconstruction}} of PrinceCharming, Prince Hans who is a manipulative would-be usurper but has, according to WordOfGod, a FreudianExcuse]].

** ''{{WesternAnimation/Frozen|2013}}'' makes use of this as part of a GenreDeconstruction of the typical Disney fairytale. The only true heroic characters are [[GenkiGirl Princess Anna of Arendelle]] (who, as a {{Deconstruction}} of the typical Disney heroine, suffers a few WhatAnIdiot and WrongGenreSavvy moments), Kristoff (who's gruff and standoffish, but turns out to be a JerkWithAHeartOfGold) and [[PluckyComicRelief Olaf]] (as a living symbol of the bond between the two sisters). [[AnIcePerson Queen Elsa]], a {{Deconstruction}} for the [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Evil Queen]] archetype, is a {{Dark Magical|Girl}} [[PersonOfMassDestruction Girl of Mass Destruction]] who can create ''sentient life'' and declares herself AboveGoodAndEvil. But she soon suffers a severe case of PowerIncontinence that plunges her country in an EndlessWinter [[spoiler:that she eventually learns how to lift]] and has one TraumaCongaLine after the next. Anna and Elsa's parents, serving as a {{deconstruction}} for the typical Missing Parent, are just [[ParentsAsPeople regular people]] who are [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom Unwitting Instigators Of Doom]] by isolating Elsa (and Anna) from the rest of the world for so many years. The trolls, despite their best intentions, are rather [[PoorCommunicationKills vague]] on their instructions and caused the above misunderstanding on the part of the Arendelle royal family. The Duke of Weselton is a NotSoHarmlessVillain who is very [[ItsAllAboutMe egocentric]] but he is a WellIntentionedExtremist who wants to save Arendelle from the winter Elsa cast (if only for selfish reasons). [[spoiler:And then there's the {{Deconstruction}} of PrinceCharming, Prince Hans who is a manipulative would-be usurper but has, according to WordOfGod, a FreudianExcuse]].

* On the surface, the main conflict of Videogame/{{Overwatch}} appears to be a [[BlackAndWhiteMorality straightforward case of heroes versus villains]], and that's true to an extent since Overwatch are clearly presented as the good guys and Talon as the bad guys, but even within and outside that conflict, the cast provides enough variation to run through the entire moral spectrum.

[[folder:Truth In Television]]
* ANY large group of people will invariably have members of all moral and ethical stances.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]

[[folder:Table-Top Games]]

* ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman'': The show has people all over the spectrum. From the optimistic and hopeful Mr. Peanutbutter and Hollyhock to the pitch-black people like [[SerialRapist Hank Hippopopalous]]. The titular protagonist is very much in the grey: a Hollywood washout whose has hurt others with his self-centered behavior, but we learn he has a lot of baggage in his life, and an earnest desire to be better, so we end up rooting for him.

* The ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'' does this in spades. Start with the heroes of Team Kimba. They range from the 'I don't even want to hit people' attitude of Phase to the 'I had to slaughter a hundred bad guys to rescue people' switch of Tennyo to Bladedancer, who killed an ordinary family man in cold blood to prevent a possible BadFuture. The villains are all over the place too. Supervillain Dr. Diabolik is apparently a great father, and his children have said he only does the things he does to advance mankind.
* ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' is full of this. Each faction has their own ups and downs; the superheroes range from genuine {{Nice Guy}}s and literal and metaphorical [[KnightInShiningArmor Knights In Shining Armor]] to having sociopaths and [[GloryHound glory-seekers]] among their ranks, while the villains range from ForTheEvulz sadists and TakeOverTheWorld types to several examples of JustifiedCriminal and WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds, and in one case an unrepentant Neo-Nazi who presided over race crimes gives his life for the sake of his city.

* ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman'': The show has people all over the spectrum. From the optimistic and hopeful Mr. Peanutbutter and Hollyhock to the pitch-black people like [[SerialRapist Hank Hippopopalous]]. The titular protagonist is very much in the grey: a Hollywood washout whose hurt others with his self-centered behavior, but has a lot of baggage in his life, and is capable of doing decent things.

* This is usually how the ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' games start: humanity has been plunged into a terrifying environment where the EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt is either looming on the horizon or is a very recent memory, [[FantasyKitchenSink all manner of mythical beings]] are running rampant, and a [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits bunch of humans of varying personalities, backgrounds, and degrees of morality and idealism]] are just trying to stay alive, with finding a solution to the mess an ever-present ([[ActionSurvivor but often secondary]]) concern. Then [[LawfulEvil Law]] and [[ChaoticEvil Chaos]]-aligned beings start pressuring the heroes to take a stance. By the third act, almost everyone [[WithUsOrAgainstUs will have taken a side]] and [[MortonsFork demand you do the same]]. Should you choose neither, you end up as [[OnlySaneMan one of the few sane people]] in an EvilVersusEvil scenario.

** There's also some work put into showing how characters who do evil things think and why they do what they do. [[spoiler: Sora]] and [[spoiler: Dennis]] both have a lot of humanizing traits. [[spoiler: Serena]] shows the mentality that leads people to becoming Black, since she wanted to be [[spoiler: a soldier]] until she stopped to consider that her victims might be ''innocent''. [[spoiler: Sora]] suffers from a bad case of FantasticRacism, but is shown to have grown up with no friends, trained not to ask questions and obey orders unquestioningly, and [[spoiler: starts thinking for himself and avoiding commands [[MoralityPet once he makes real friends for the first time in his life]], and begins to have a HeelRealization]]. In fact, all the characters from [[spoiler:Academia]] are either TrappedInVillainy which leads them to despair and ThenLetMeBeEvil, or see themselves as ProudWarriorRaceGuys with UndyingLoyalty to their leader, even the nastier characters [[spoiler:like [[TheDreaded Yuri]]]]. Speaking of Yuri, it becomes clear that his twisted personality is a result of being raised as a monster by a man who, due to preconceived notions, saw him as a "demon" and rewarded him for doing evil, which was the ''only'' time someone paid personal attention to him. [[spoiler: Kurosaki]] is a [[spoiler: genocide survivor]] and a ShellShockedVeteran trying to rescue his friends and family, who has become paranoid and [[WellIntentionedExtremist ruthless]] due to all he's lost. Reiji's invasion of privacy and ruthlessness has saved the lives of the three LID students and enabled him to ensure that [[spoiler: his dimension isn't caught by surprise and destroyed the same way the Xyz dimension was]]. [[spoiler: Duel Chaser 227]] became a DirtyCop in order to avoid poverty. Most of [[spoiler: the Tops]] actually believe the lie that they are equals and friends with [[spoiler: the Commons]], when they're actually the oppressive ruling class in a CrapsackWorld. [[spoiler: [[TheScrappy The Commons]]]] are starving and manipulated by their oppressors BreadAndCircuses, but while the crowd can be nasty every individual member that we meet is genuinely nice or has a HiddenHeartOfGold somewhere. [[spoiler: Shinji]] truly believes the only way to change the system [[ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption is through a violent revolution]] and [[spoiler:his rebellion]] gets swallowed by BlackAndWhiteInsanity, but ultimately [[spoiler:pull a mass HeelFaceTurn]]. Jean-Michel Roget [[JerkWithAHeartOfJerk is just a greedy bastard]], although he tries to justify his actions to himself by claiming MightMakesRight. Kaito is in the same boat as Kurosaki, except [[spoiler: every member of his family was killed, whereas Kurosaki still had his sister, and Kaito thus pushed everyone away to avoid being hurt- causing him to become HeWhoFightsMonsters even more than Kurosaki.]] [[spoiler: Edo]] feels TrappedInVillainy, and once he finally breaks out of it he manages to abuse the aforementioned UndyingLoyalty of [[spoiler: the Academia soldiers]] to convince his subordinates to [[spoiler: get the soldiers in Heartland to pull a mass HeelFaceTurn]]. Leo Akaba [[spoiler: doesn't think that anything in the four dimensions really "counts" and just wants to get his daughter back]], but he goes ''far'' beyond WellIntentionedExtremist, fucks up royally in the process, and refuses to listen to any perspective but his own. Even [[spoiler: Zarc was pushed to the edge by his need to fulfill the sick desires of his fans, as well as the implications that he had ability to understand the pain of duel spirits when everyone was forcing them into battle]].

* J.R.R Tolkien's Middle-Earth, especially in ''Literature/TheSilmarillion''. On the heroic side of things you have most of the more noble characters like Frodo, Eärendil and Beren (though, even they aren't immune from making mistakes and moral lapses) and most of the Valar who always mean well but often make misguided choices. All the free peoples vary greatly, with morally ambigous characters like Thingol, Malgor, Túrin, Mîm, Fëanor, Gollum, and Thorin hovering in the middle and with Morgoth and his directly corrupted minons at the evil extreme. However, the moral compass of the series varies between each story, with ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' mostly (though not completely) revolving around BlackAndWhiteMorality while {{Black And Gray|Morality}} dominates ''Literature/TheChildrenOfHurin'' and ''Literature/TheHobbit'' (with shades of GreyAndGrayMorality in both).

See also ShadesOfConflict. When you've got a specific group to which this trope applies, you've got a FourPhilosophyEnsemble. Compare TheGoodTheBadAndTheEvil along with WhiteAndGreyMorality. Contrast EvilVersusEvil, where nothing is good or morally ambiguous about the characters. Also contrast GoodVersusGood where nobody is truly evil.

** The closest there is to a good guy is [[TheGoodKingdom Avalon]], which is basically [[Myth/ArthurPendragon Arthurian]] England which [[LawfulGood places the protection and prosperity of its people as its ultimate priority, with all citizens and the king under the rule of law]]. That said, they still maintain close ties with the brutally dogmatic Inquisition, and they have a very backwards view of things like scientific development.

* ''Fanfic/SPECTRUM'', a ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fanfiction, being an Anti-TCB deconstructionist story, falls squarely in the camp of "Conversion is bad and wrong" in its portrayal of the central conflict, factions and characters may range from one end of the [[{{Pun}} spectrum]] to the other.

** ''{{Disney/Frozen}}'' makes use of this as part of a GenreDeconstruction of the typical Disney fairytale. The only true heroic characters are [[GenkiGirl Princess Anna of Arendelle]] (who, as a {{Deconstruction}} of the typical Disney heroine, suffers a few WhatAnIdiot and WrongGenreSavvy moments), Kristoff (who's gruff and standoffish, but turns out to be a JerkWithAHeartOfGold) and [[PluckyComicRelief Olaf]] (as a living symbol of the bond between the two sisters). [[AnIcePerson Queen Elsa]], a {{Deconstruction}} for the [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Evil Queen]] archetype, is a {{Dark Magical|Girl}} [[PersonOfMassDestruction Girl of Mass Destruction]] who can create ''sentient life'' and declares herself AboveGoodAndEvil. But she soon suffers a severe case of PowerIncontinence that plunges her country in an EndlessWinter [[spoiler:that she eventually learns how to lift]] and has one TraumaCongaLine after the next. Anna and Elsa's parents, serving as a {{deconstruction}} for the typical Missing Parent, are just [[ParentsAsPeople regular people]] who are [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom Unwitting Instigators Of Doom]] by isolating Elsa (and Anna) from the rest of the world for so many years. The trolls, despite their best intentions, are rather [[PoorCommunicationKills vague]] on their instructions and caused the above misunderstanding on the part of the Arendelle royal family. The Duke of Weselton is a NotSoHarmlessVillain who is very [[ItsAllAboutMe egocentric]] but he is a WellIntentionedExtremist who wants to save Arendelle from the winter Elsa cast (if only for selfish reasons). [[spoiler:And then there's the {{Deconstruction}} of PrinceCharming, Prince Hans who is a manipulative would-be usurper but has, according to WordOfGod, a FreudianExcuse]].
** ''Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'', despite (or perharps ''because of'') its {{Disneyfication}} from the [[Literature/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame source material]], which ran on GreyAndGrayMorality. [[GentleGiant Quasimodo]] and the [[AllLovingHero Archdeacon]] are the only truly good characters in the movie (and even the former has several LetsGetDangerous moments). Esmeralda is a KnightInSourArmor. Clopin and the gypsies in general are {{Unscrupulous Hero}}es. Phoebus is a PragmaticHero in sour armor [[spoiler:who later has a HeelFaceTurn]]. The crowd of Parisian citizens start off as a bunch of bullies that mock Quasimodo, but [[EveryoneHasStandards end up siding with the heroes when Frollo goes too far]] and accept Quasimodo at the end. Even [[BigBad Judge Frollo]], for all his [[ChurchgoingVillain nasti]][[EgocentricallyReligious ness]], [[TheSociopath sociopathy]] and [[WouldHurtAChild monstrosity]], is given a very humane and relatable moment in his VillainSong "Hellfire."
** ''Disney/{{Zootopia}}'', as a film exploring prejudice, shows varying degrees of prejudice among characters: Judy tries to be anti-prejudice [[spoiler: but has some implicit prejudices of her own she needs to overcome]]. Nick lives up to the "sly fox" stereotype and is cynical about animals' abilities to overcome them [[spoiler: because he tried and failed to in his backstory, but eventually does, thanks to Judy]]. Bogo is unwilling to budge on his preconceived notions [[spoiler: until he sees results, at which point he does so unapologetically]]. Clawhauser is not malicious in any way but still stereotypes Judy out of innocent ignorance and then immediately apologizes for it. Judy's parents are kind, well-meaning people, who are openly prejudiced against predators, especially foxes [[spoiler: but get better thanks to Judy]]. Gideon Gray is shown as a kid attempting to reinforce predator superiority [[spoiler: but has grown out of it as a young adult]]. Lionheart leads a type of affirmative action program to get animals into non-traditional jobs but treats his own small animal assistant mayor like dirt [[spoiler: and was willing to kidnap several animals to protect himself from being a victim of prejudice]]. Bellwether is sweet and friendly, attempting to raise Judy up [[spoiler: while [[TheMole trying behind the scenes]] to systematically [[BigBad tear all predators down]], and willing to turn against Judy when she refuses to do the same]]. And Gazelle has reached a level of enlightenment few can.

** The closest there is to a good guy is [[TheGoodKingdom Avalon]], which is basically [[KingArthur Arthurian]] England which [[LawfulGood places the protection and prosperity of its people as its ultimate priority, with all citizens and the king under the rule of law]]. That said, they still maintain close ties with the brutally dogmatic Inquisition, and they have a very backwards view of things like scientific development.