History Main / ProtagonistJourneyToVillain

* ProtagonistJourneyToVillain/AnimeAndManga
* ProtagonistJourneyToVillain/ComicBooks
* ProtagonistJourneyToVillain/FanWorks
* [[ProtagonistJourneyToVillain/LiveActionFilms Films -- Live-Action]]
* ProtagonistJourneyToVillain/{{Literature}}

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
* In the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls'' spin-off universe of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', [[SignificantGreenEyedRedhead Sunset]] [[APupilOfMineUntilSheTurnedToEvil Shimmer's]] pictures of herself as Princess of the Fall Formal show her progressing from "genuine and innocent" to "condescending and entitled" to "outright power-hungry".

[[folder:Religion & Mythology]]
* In Literature/TheBible, David goes down this path. Despite being the runt of his father's litter, David becomes God's chosen one and he replaces Saul as Israel's king. For a time, David brings prosperity to Israel, and he is renowned as a hero by basically everyone in his country. David eventually lets the power get to his head, and he indulges in every kind of pleasure he can think of. One day David spots a woman named Bathsheba taking a bath, who was the wife of an officer in his military, and he falls madly in love with her beauty. Knowing that he can't steal Uriah's wife, David conspires to put him in a risky battle, hoping that he will be killed so he can take Bathsheba for himself. David goes through a long period of guilt over the remainder of his life, suffering the death of a child with Bathsheba, losing favor with some of his royal court, and finally ending a rebellion hosted by his son Absalom who died in battle. David believes very strongly that these misfortunes were God's punishment for his sin, and he spends his old age seeking forgiveness from God. Even though David fell from grace, the Bible notes that Solomon -- the son of David and Bathsheba -- brings even greater prosperity to Israel than even his father did.
* In Myth/NorseMythology, there are quite a few myths starring [[TricksterGod Loki]] as a GuileHero for the Aesir. Then he orchestrates the death of [[TheAce Balder]], his motives for which are open for interpretation, and confesses to the crime while giving every other god TheReasonYouSuckSpeech at a party. After that he gets rather painfully imprisoned and is destined to lead [[ZombieApocalypse the army of Helheim]] during [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt Ragnarok]].

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': The ''Literature/HorusHeresy'' series discusses the events that ultimately lead to Horus betraying the Emperor, such as his brush with death where the Chaos Gods appealed to his repressed ambitions.
* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerAgeOfSigmar'': The novel "The Godeater's Son" explores this trope, as it follows the protagonist Heldenarr Fall from a peasant living in Aqshy's wastelands to a powerful Chaos Lord as he seeks revenge against the regime that's been oppressing his people.

[[folder:Theatre]]
* ''Theatre/{{Ebenezer}}'' explores how Scrooge became the cold-hearted miser he is at the start of ''Literature/AChristmasCarol''.
* ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}'' follows Alexander Hamilton as he goes from an idealistic, eager revolutionary to a bitter, pragmatic politician who is forced to play the game and throw others under the bus in order to protect his reputation and gets what he wants. He eventually has a HeelRealization [[spoiler:following the death of his son, who was killed trying to defend his father's honor in a duel]], and is a more sympathetic character for the rest of the show.
* One of the best examples of this would be ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}''. He starts off as a noble person and a good guy – a hero returning from war in triumph. But ambition which was fueled by his wife and the witches leads him to murder his king and usurp his throne and turns him into a monster.
* ''Theatre/{{Othello}}'' starts out as a noble and good, if a bit daft, leader, but Iago takes advantage of his jealousy and manages to get him to murder his own wife in cold blood.
* ''Theatre/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet''. A barber framed and transported for life for a crime he did not commit by a corrupt judge who wanted his beautiful wife for himself. He returns to London, finds out what happened to his wife and daughter in the meantime [[spoiler:(though he turns out to have been lied to about the former by Mrs. Lovett, who led him to believe that his wife was dead because she wanted him for herself)]], and seeks revenge against the judge, leaving a trail of blood and death of innocents in his wake that would ultimately lead to him becoming the infamous Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* ''Euphoria'': While our protagonist Keisuke Takato already starts off rather morally ambiguous with his [[{{Sadist}} extremely unhealthy sexual deviancy]], he at the very least [[ReluctantPsycho has enough of a conscience]] to try and keep said deviancy under wraps until the DeadlyGame forces his hand. Going through with the [[EarnYourBadEnding "Brute End"]], however, quickly has him lose all sense of shame to fully indulge in his sadistic desires, to the point that by the end of it [[spoiler:he [[CruelAndUnusualDeath brutally murders]] one of the girls and condemns the others to a FateWorseThanDeath]].
* ''VisualNovel/RagingLoop'': Protagonist Haruaki Fusaishi is forced to repeatedly participate in a week-long game of werewolf in order to get out of GroundhogDayLoop, and gets increasingly darker as the game loops and repeats. [[spoiler:The first time around, he's only a bystander who cannot directly get involved in the game, therefore making him responsible neither for killing villagers nor lyncing suspected wolves. In the second game, Haruaki is a villager and is forced to take several morally objectionable acts to flush out the wolves, which includes sending innocent people to the gallows to keep his ObfuscatingStupidity. In the third game, he's forced to become a wolf, and personally kills several of the people he's come to know over the course of the last two loops to finally end the loop. 'Luckily' the latter loop [[TheBadGuyWins leads to the victory of]] [[TheManBehindTheMan the real villain behind the loops]], forcing Haruaki to loop back for a final attempt and SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong.]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* Pretty much the entire point of ''Webcomic/ErrantStory'', as Ian Samael ... ''changes'' over the ten-year run of the comic.
** The other person on the receiving end of the same power-up actually went the other way, from a fairly antisocial and useless character to an active force for good. So the story is at least heavily implying that it was, in fact, Ian's own inability to deal with his issues that screwed everyone.
* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', based on what Pandora [[https://www.egscomics.com/comic/2017-07-05 tells]] him, Tedd [[https://www.egscomics.com/comic/2017-07-07 thinks]] that without his friends he might have taken the same path as Lord Tedd, one of his AlternateUniverse counterparts who turned evil.
* Schtein's arc in ''Webcomic/StringTheory2009''.
* The protagonist of ''Webcomic/ZebraGirl'' [[FaceHeelTurn slowly goes insane]] following her transformation into a demon. Her drive to become human again [[StagesOfMonsterGrief slowly fades away]] the longer she remains in that form.
** She finally DOES become human again when she betrays her friends, but it comes at the cost of being banished to an alternate dimension. At the resolution of the plot arc, she's seen to embrace [[ChaoticGood her semi-former humanity AND her demonic essence]], regaining her demonic form and abilities while rekindling her human compassion.

[[folder:Web Original]]
* PlayedForLaughs in Creator/AllisonPregler's reviews of ''Series/Charmed1998,'' due to the protagonists' {{Designated Hero}}ism and her own {{Alternate Character Interpretation}}s.
-->"I just got it. This show was actually playing us the whole time! The villains were the heroes, and the heroes were the villains! This was all leading to an [[Franchise/StarWars Anakin Skywalker]] moment! We're presented with protagonists with massive power, destined for greatness, and the potential for immense good. However, slowly but surely, we're watching their downfall, leading up to the creation of three Darth Vaders. Out of the most unlikely circumstances, their own protege and her sister, [[RaisedByOrcs raised by evil]], must rise up and save the world. I should have seen it coming. Goodness gracious, ''Charmed,'' you MagnificentBastard! You played me for a fool, but you were pulling the strings all along!\\
"Or maybe this show is just [[PrecisionFStrike fucking]] moronic, you choose."
* Both protagonists of ''WebVideo/ArbyNTheChief'' make this journey in Season 7. After spending most of the season isolated in real life from everyone except each other, having to grapple with their own mortality and crumbling bodies, and being repeatedly subjected to the douchebaggery of other players on ''VideoGame/HaloReach'', [[TheDitz Chief]] and eventually [[OnlySaneMan Arbiter]] both fall under [[TheBully Eugene]]'s sway and join him in his Fragban spree across the network.
* ''WebVideo/DoctorHorriblesSingAlongBlog'' serves this purpose for the title character. Although it's more of an [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain Protagonist's]] Journey To [[NotSoHarmlessVillain Not So Harmless]] TragicVillain.
* [[WebVideo/SovietWomble Soviet Womble's]] ''Random Arma 3 Bullshittery Part 9'' is this, telling the story of a resistance group[[note]]Either called the Badgers or M.I.L.F.[[/note]] fighting against the Russians, and slowly becoming more and more evil. Especially noticeable with Soviet, who acts as the most consistent TokenGoodTeammate throughout the whole thing, believing that they should be fighting for freedom and democracy, and is horrified by the some of the stuff his fellow players do, but by the end he's so worn down that [[spoiler: he joins in using civilians as [[HumanShield human shields]] during an attack on the Russian base]].

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* The core of ''WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}}'' is the story of how a fairly innocent child named Powder turned into the [[CuteButPsycho psychotic]] [[BombThrowingAnarchist anarchist]] [[MeaningfulRename Jinx]].
* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'': Enforced and overseen by Black Heron. [[Characters/DuckTales2017BradfordBuzzard Bradford Buzzard]] had a noble goal in mind when he presented his plan to Ludwig von Drake as a young man, even though he failed to recognize the villainous nature of his suggested method. From the moment Heron allied with him, she began strong-arming him into making concessions towards evil, with adding the F to F.O.W.L. being the first example. Bradford was ultimately responsible for his own choices, but Heron was dead-set on making a villain out of him -- and succeeded beyond her wildest expectations, to the point even she feared his wrath during their final years together.
* ''WesternAnimation/InfinityTrain'' Cult of the Conductor, follows Cracked Reflection's minor antagonists Grace and Simon of the Apex, introduced as passengers who rampage through the train and terrorize the inhabitants. As they find themselves separated from their followers and travel across the train to find them, they learn certain truths that begin to affect their worldview. Simon starts off as the more sympathetic of the two due to his abandonment issues, only for him to get worse mostly thanks to Grace's ToxicFriendInfluence enabling his hatred for the train's denizens to the point where he projects his anger for his former companion at the accompanying Tuba by murdering her. And when confronted with the truth about their cult's conductor, Simon is unable to accept it even when Grace outright admits her lies to him. In response, he doubles down on the cult's beliefs and changes it for the worse, at the cost of his sanity and tragically ends up DyingAlone.
* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' served as an expansion on the circumstances that led to [[Characters/StarWarsAnakinSkywalker Anakin Skywalker]] [[TheParagonAlwaysRebels becoming]] [[Characters/StarWarsDarthVaderAndServants Darth Vader]], with his turn to TheDarkSide explored in a much fuller degree and allowing for his CharacterDevelopment to properly blossom. [[spoiler:Its final scene is of Vader presumably reflecting on it.]]
* In episode 4 of ''WesternAnimation/WhatIf2021'', it presents an AlternateUniverse where [[Characters/MCUDoctorStrange Doctor Stephen Strange]] lost his girlfriend Christine Palmer instead of the use of his hands in the fateful car crash that would lead to him becoming Doctor Strange. In his grief, he has spent centuries absorbing mystic beings to gain enough power to reverse the Absolute Point regarding Christie's death. In the end, he kills his [[EvilCounterpart Good Counterpart]] and succeeds in overcoming the absolute point, only for Christine to end up not being alive again for more than a few moments... [[RealityBreakingParadox Because Christine Palmer's death in this timeline was supposed to kick off the events that lead to Doctor Strange becoming the sorcerer he is now, Strange Supreme's success in undoing the Absolute Point regarding her death ends up destroying the universe he once vowed to protect.]]
* The short-lived cartoon ''WesternAnimation/WhateverHappenedToRobotJones'' would have been one of these if it hadn't been canceled so early. It was supposed to end with the titular protagonist leading a robot rebellion to wipe out humanity.

* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' served as an expansion on the circumstances that led to [[TheParagonAlwaysRebels Anakin Skywalker becoming Darth Vader]], with his turn to TheDarkSide explored in a much fuller degree and allowing for his CharacterDevelopment to properly blossom. [[spoiler:Its final scene is of Vader presumably reflecting on it.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/InfinityTrain'' Cult of the Conductor, follows Cracked Reflection's minor antagonists Grace and Simon of the Apex, introduced as passengers who rampage the train and terrorize the inhabitants. As they find themselves separated from their followers and journey the train to find them, they learn certain truths that begin to affect their worldview. Simon starts off as the more sympathetic cult leader thanks to his abandonment issues, only for him to get worse mostly thanks to Grace's ToxicFriendInfluence enabling his hatred for the train's denizens to the point where he projects his anger for his former companion at the accompanying Tuba by murdering her. And when confronted with the truth about their cult's conductor, Simon is unable to accept it even when Grace outright admits her lies to him. In response, he doubles down on the cult's beliefs and changes it for the worse, at the cost of his sanity and tragically ends up DyingAlone.

!!Examples:

* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' served as an AuthorsSavingThrow to expand on the circumstances that led to [[TheParagonAlwaysRebels Anakin Skywalker becoming Darth Vader]], with his turn to TheDarkSide explored in a much fuller degree and allowing for his CharacterDevelopment to properly blossom.

* In episode 4 of ''WesternAnimation/WhatIf2021'', it presents an AlternateUniverse where [[Characters/MCUDoctorStrange Doctor Strange]] lost his girlfriend instead of the use of his hands. In his grief, he has spent centuries absorbing mystic beings to gain enough power to reverse Christie's death. In the end, he kills his [[EvilCounterpart Good Counterpart]] and destroys the universe he once vowed to protect.

* In TheBible, David goes down this path. Despite being the runt of his father's litter, David becomes God's chosen one and he replaces Saul as Israel's king. For a time, David brings prosperity to Israel, and he is renowned as a hero by basically everyone in his country. David eventually lets the power get to his head, and he indulges in every kind of pleasure he can think of. One day David spots a woman named Bathsheba taking a bath, who was the wife of an officer in his military, and he falls madly in love with her beauty. Knowing that he can't steal Uriah's wife, David conspires to put him in a risky battle, hoping that he will be killed so he can take Bathsheba for himself. David goes through a long period of guilt over the remainder of his life, suffering the death of a child with Bathsheba, losing favor with some of his royal court, and finally ending a rebellion hosted by his son Absalom who died in battle. David believes very strongly that these misfortunes were God's punishment for his sin, and he spends his old age seeking forgiveness from God. Even though David fell from grace, the Bible notes that Solomon -- the son of David and Bathsheba -- brings even greater prosperity to Israel than even his father did.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'' is an Inversion of this trope. The titular character, who started out as a villain due to past experiences and growing up with not having the best role models or life experiences. Only throughout the events of the film (some of the events being of his own fault) he slowly begins to become a superhero and [[spoiler:takes Metro Man's place as Metro City's main hero.]]
* [[SignificantGreenEyedRedhead Sunset]] [[APupilOfMineUntilSheTurnedToEvil Shimmer]] of the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls'' spin-off universe of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' ''inverts'' this. She is the BigBad of the first film, the {{Deuteragonist}} of the [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsRainbowRocks second]], and finally TheHero from the [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsFriendshipGames third]] film, going forward.
** Though on a smaller level, Sunset's pictures of her as Princess of the Fall Formal show her progressing from "genuine and innocent" to "condescending and entitled" to "outright power-hungry".

* In TheBible, David goes down this path. Despite being the runt of his father's litter, David becomes God's chosen one and he replaces Saul as Israel's king. For a time David brings prosperity to Israel, and he is renowned as a hero by basically everyone in his country. David eventually lets the power get to his head, and he indulges in every kind of pleasure he can think of. One day David spots a woman named Bathsheba taking a bath, who was the wife of an officer in his military, and he falls madly in love with her beauty. Knowing that he can't steal Uriah's wife, David conspires to put him in a risky battle, hoping that he will be killed so he can take Bathsheba for himself. David goes through a long period of guilt over the remainder of his life, suffering the death of a child with Bathsheba, losing favor with some of his royal court, and finally ending a rebellion hosted by his son Absalom who died in battle. David believes very strongly that these misfortunes were God's punishment for his sin, and he spends his old age seeking forgiveness from God. Even though David fell from grace, the Bible notes that Solomon -- the son of David and Bathsheba -- brings even greater prosperity to Israel than even his father did.
* In Myth/NorseMythology, there are quite a few myths starring [[TricksterGod Loki]] as a GuileHero for the Aesir. Then he orchestrates the death of [[TheAce Balder]], his motives for which are open for interpretation, and confesses to the crime while giving every other god TheReasonYouSuckSpeech at a party. After that he gets rather painfully imprisoned, and is destined to lead [[ZombieApocalypse the army of Helheim]] during [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt Ragnarok]].

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'' is an Inversion of this trope. The titular character, whom started out as a villain due to past experiences and growing up with not having the best role models or life experiences. Only throughout the events of the film (some of the events being of his own fault) he slowly begins to become a superhero and [[spoiler:takes Metro Man's place as Metro City's main hero.]]

* [[ProtagonistJourneyToVillain/LiveActionFilms Films - Live-Action]]

[[folder:Films - Animation]]

[[folder:Religion and Mythology]]