History Main / NatureVersusNurture

* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10785555/1/Shadow-the-Hedgehog-First-Class Shadow the Hedgehog: First - Class]]'', Gerald Robotnik explains that it's in the nature of members of the Robotnik family to use their great intelligence for the betterment of society. Eggman, Gerald's illegitimate grandson, became the way he is due to nurture, specifically an abusive childhood.

* This is a theme of ''ComicBook/TheNewGods'', most notably involved in the child-swap that kicks off most of the events of the series. Mister Miracle represents good nature (he's the son of the kind, wise, heroic Izaya the Highfather) and bad nurture (he was raised in a re-education facility on a HellWorld and fed endless propaganda about tyranny and repression), while Orion represents bad nature (he's the son of the murderous, fascistic GodOfEvil Darkseid) and good nurture (he was raised as a prince and a warrior on an idyllic world, immersed in philosophies of freedom and love). Surprisingly, the apparent answer ends up being "both"; Mister Miracle refuses to have his spirit broken and escapes Apokolips to live on Earth with an officer he redeemed and rescued, while Orion, though prone to fits of rage and GoodIsNotNice moments, remains a valiant warrior who has no greater goal than to [[ArchnemesisDad defeat his father]].

** A prominent theme in the [[Recap/OnePieceWholeCakeIslandArc Whole Cake Island]] arc. Both [[spoiler:Sanji]] and [[spoiler:Big Mom]] were shown to have some very troubling pasts, yet the people they are today was the result of different circumstances. [[spoiler:Sanji]] was bullied horrifically as a kid by his father and brothers and locked away to rot. But thanks to the actions of his mother, Reiju and later [[spoiler:Zeff]], he became a kind hearted person who became strong enough to be one of the toughest pirates around and defend those he cares about. In contrast, [[spoiler:Big Mom]] was abandoned by her parents due to her abnormal strenght, the inital person who did raise here was nothing more then a BitchInSheepsClothing using her for her own ends and the person after her seeing her as a meal ticket, with both encouraging her destructive behavior and turning [[spoiler:Big Mom]] into a literal monster. What's more, these are traits [[spoiler:Big Mom]] showcases to her own family who would sooner stab each other in the back then help one another unless [[spoiler:Big Mom]] commands it. [[spoiler:Pudding]] is more or less the middle ground with this, like [[spoiler:Sanji]], she was bullied as a kid and Big Mom didn't do anything to deter it, so she became evil as a result. However when actually shown true kindness, this causes a breakdown because ''no one'' showed real compassion to her before. Leaving her in a state of confusion at a critical moment.

* It is all but stated in ''Franchise/DragonBall'' that Saiyans are naturally ruthless {{Blood Knight}}s who care about little except for fighting. When Goku hit his head and forgot his Saiyan memories, he was raised to be the good person we know by the kind senior Gohan. However, with supplemental material we have seen that they were good Saiyans and Goku's mother was one of them, bring into question if Goku's goodness is genetic as well as nurture.

** Note that they did start swapping important memories around pretty early, though not many. To a certain extent they all imprinted on the Shou who inspired the whole Akumetsu project, but even before that they were so alike it's creepy, and honestly that Shou is less like the others than any of them.

** A prominent theme in the [[Recap/OnePieceWholeCakeIslandArc Whole Cake Island]] arc. Both [[spoiler:Sanji]] and [[spoiler:Big Mom]] were shown to have some very troubling pasts, yet the people they are today was the result of different circumstances. [[spoiler:Sanji]] was bullied horrifically as a kid by his brother and father and locked away to rot. But thanks to the actions of his mother, Reiju and later [[spoiler:Zeff]], he became a kind hearted person who became strong enough to be one of the toughest pirates around and defend those he cares about. In contrast, [[spoiler:Big Mom]] was abandoned by her parents due to her abnormal strenght, the inital person who did raise here was nothing more then a BitchInSheepsClothing using her for her own ends and the person after her seeing her as a meal ticket, with both encouraging her destructive behavior and turning [[spoiler:Big Mom]] into a literal monster. What's more, these are traits [[spoiler:Big Mom]] showcases to her own family who would sooner stab each other in the back then help one another unless [[spoiler:Big Mom]] commands it. [[spoiler:Pudding]] is more or less the middle ground with this, like [[spoiler:Sanji]], she was bullied as a kid and Big Mom didn't do anything to deter it, so she became evil as a result. However when actually shown true kindness, this causes a breakdown because ''no one'' showed real compassion to her before. Leaving her in a state of confusion at a critical moment.

* Some ''Franchise/XMen'' fans have considered this debate when comparing the characters of Cable and Nate Grey, as each are essentially the same character in terms of their genetic heritage- being the 'child' of Scott Summers and Jean Grey, even if Nate was created in a lab using DNA samples stolen from his 'parents' while Cable was the naturally-conceived child of Scott Summers with Jean's clone- but experienced vastly different upbringings, with Cable a soldier dedicated to his chosen mission while Nate was intended as a weapon and resent others' attempts to use him.

* ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'' Zig-Zags the trope, with the answer coming out somewhere in between. Some personality traits seeming to be InTheBlood (Harry being HotBlooded, for instance, and Hermione's 'tone of detached ruthlessness' that Harry notes sounds exactly like her grandfather, Magneto). However, [[UpbringingMakesTheHero upbringing]] is strongly emphasised in the classical case of Clark Kent, and in the two examples where characters are SplitAtBirth ([spoiler: Jean]] and [[spoiler: Maddie]], and [[spoiler: Scott]] and [[spoiler: Remy - though Remy's a clone]]) it's made clear that there are definite and fundamental personality differences that come from their respective upbringings.

* ''{{Film/Twins]]'': Discussed. The scientists responsible for Julius and Vincent's creation were firmly on the side of Nature, to the point that they were willing to go through with some extremely unethical experiments to prove their point. Julius, on the other hand, [[CallingTheOldManOut calls the whole idea bullshit]], pointing out that Vincent (the "reject batch") was left to his own devices but still managed to survive and thrive in an environment that would have killed any of them, and could probably, given the opportunity to learn something other than con artistry, theft and cheating, have been the greatest of them all.

* The entire plot of ''Film/TradingPlaces'' begins when the Duke brothers place a bet on which is true. [[spoiler: By the end of the movie, Winthrope's HumiliationConga turns him into a gun-toting maniac, and Valentine not only becomes a charming businessman, but provides his own street smarts]].

Everyone knows about some of the fundamental questions to life - [[Series/BabylonFive who are you, what do you want]], [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist where did you come from, and where will you go]]?[[labelnote:*]][[WaxingLiyrical Where did you come from, Cotton-Eyed Joe?]][[/labelnote]] Those are the "what" questions, but this is the "why". Why did you say that? Why did you do this? Why were you there?

Everyone knows about some of the fundamental questions to life - [[Series/BabylonFive who are you, what do you want]], [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist where did you come from, and where will you go]]?[[labelnote:*]]Where did you come from, Cotton-Eyed Joe?[[/labelnote]] Those are the "what" questions, but this is the "why". Why did you say that? Why did you do this? Why were you there?

* Creator/IsaacAsimov used this with regards to robots, of all beings, in the short story compilation/narrative ''[[Literature/IRobot I, Robot]]'', by comparing physically and [[ArtificialIntelligence positronically]] identical robots who developed with different frames of reference (generally resulting in [[InstantAIJustAddWater aberrant behavior]]).

Everyone knows about some of the fundamental questions to life - [[Series/BabylonFive who are you, what do you want]], [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist where did you come from, and where will you go]][[labelnote:*]]Where did you come from, Cotton-Eyed Joe?[[/labelnote]]? Those are the "what" questions, but this is the "why". Why did you say that? Why did you do this? Why were you there?

Everyone knows about some of the fundamental questions to life - [[Series/BabylonFive who are you, what do you want]], [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist where did you come from, and where will you go]][[labelnote:*]]Where did you come from, Cotton-Eyed Joe?[[/labelnote]] ? Those are the "what" questions, but this is the "why". Why did you say that? Why did you do this? Why were you there?

Everyone knows about some of the fundamental questions to life - [[Series/BabylonFive who are you, what do you want]], [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist where did you come from, and where will you go]]? Those are the "what" questions, but this is the "why". Why did you say that? Why did you do this? Why were you there?

* ''Franchise/MetalGear'': A recurring theme in the series, Specifically in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'', Raiden is contrasted with Solid Snake and his clone brothers. Whereas the Snakes are genetically altered clones of Big Boss, Raiden is a child soldier who was raised by Solidus (one of the Snakes) and then subjected into the [=S3=] Plan, a simulation program meant to train a soldier in Solid Snake's image.