History Main / PyrrhicVillainy

* In “The Trial of Donald Duck” there is a sleazy waiter named [[FrenchCuisineIsHaughty Monsieur Pierre]] who completely rips off Donald, charging him a large sum of money for a lunch ''Donald himself brought''. When he can't pay up, the waiter sues Donald. At the resulting trial, despite the best efforts of his lawyer, Donald is sentenced to washing dishes at the restaurant and the waiter cackles evilly... Cue Donald washing [[LoopholeAbuse and shattering]] countless dishes at an incredible rate. Pierre is reduced to a sobbing wreck, begging Donald to stop costing him likely thousands of dollars in dishes.

* In ''Kankinkon'', the most powerful man in the setting, the Saijou family patriarch Touji, has accomplished this. He used his connections, riches, and [[VillainwithGoodPublicity good public face]] to kidnap the woman he fell in love with, force her into marriage, and then fool her family into thinking she was taken care of after hitting her head and giving him their blessing. He even received a son and heir out of the ordeal and gets to have wild sex with her whenever he wants, but none of it even matters since he grew to only desire her love. [[HenpeckedHusband And he will never get it]], [[HoistByHisOwnPetard because he trapped her into the marriage in the first place.]]

* ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'' had an early, non-canon YetAnotherChristmasCarol where Robotnik is taken to see the future. Robotnik has finally defeated the Freedom Fighters, but he has rendered himself the last man alive in doing so, turning Mobius into a barren wasteland. However, Robotnik doesn't grasp this and fails to learn his lesson.

* In ''FanFic/TheFifthAct'', when Angeal finds out that his illness is terminal and that Cloud's genetics might hold the secret for a cure. Angeal succeeds in kidnapping Cloud and sold him out to Hollander in order to find a cure. He then finds out that Hollander has no intention of curing him and fully intends to experiment on Cloud to find out what made Cloud superior. Then Hollander is killed and Cloud kidnapped ''again'' with no cure to show for it. He betrayed Cloud's and his friends' trust, is now a fugitive and has completely betrayed his ideals and is still going to die.
* Both played straight and discussed in the final episode of ''FanFic/SonicXDarkChaos''. Maledict succeeded in creating an "Ultimate Weapon" greater than he ever dreamed of... but the fact that his prized Ultimate Weapon ([[spoiler: both of them, in fact]]) ended up turning against him [[{{Irony}} thanks to his own actions]] made his success ultimately pointless. Even ''Maledict himself'' admits his GambitRoulette wasn't worth it in the end.
* In ''FanFic/WishCarefully'', Voldemort and the Death Eaters got [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor exactly what they wanted]]: Britain is theirs, with the Light Side barred by a MagicallyBindingContract from returning for as long as the Death Eaters rule, and the Light faction will take all the Muggleborns and Squibs away each year so that the Death Eaters will never have to deal with them again. All they had to agree to was not to go after the Light refugees or interfere in any way with the Muggle world. It wasn't until well after the treaty that they realized that virtually all the producers of goods and services were Light-aligned, leaving them with a crippled economy that is hemorrhaging gold. Even worse, without the Muggle-borns and Light-faction bloodlines, inbreeding is slowly choking the magic out of their descendants, with more Squibs being born every year.

* ''FanFic/HeirOfTheNightmare'': Nightmare Moon succeeds in locking Celestia in the moon, turning [[LukeIAmYourFather her]] [[RelatedInTheAdaptation daughter Twilight]] against Celestia, driving the Elements of Harmony into hiding, destroying Ponyville, imprisoning Cadence, and making the ponies of Equestria fear Celestia's sun. However, in the process of turning Twilight to her side, she [[MindRape brainwashed Twilight]] into [[SuperpoweredEvilSide becoming a heartless murderer named Nightmare Nova]] with no love for anypony, only blind obedience, and causing the death of hundreds of ponies in Nova's rampage. Lampshaded by the title of the chapter "Pyrrhic Victory", [[spoiler: in which Nightmare has become so disgusted with Nova's heartlessness, and haunted with guilt over what she did, she is forced to beg an imprisoned Cadence for help to restore Twilight]].
* In ''FanFic/TruthAndConsequences'', Marinette performs a FaceHeelTurn with the intent of bringing back Adrien's mother, ending the war with Hawkmoth without revealing his relation to Adrien, and being free to pursue a normal, non-superhero lifestyle. By the end of the story, [[spoiler: she's accomplished all of this, but has alienated all her former friends, who are furious and heartbroken over the betrayal; no one will ever know who Hawkmoth was, but it's because he's dead; Adrien has his mother back, but he can't forgive Marinette for betraying him and ends their relationship, leaving Paris to fight evil around the world. She gets to pursue a normal life, but it's because she's been effectively exiled by the other heroes, who've taken up the defense of Paris without her. She even gets to pursue her fashion career in London as she wanted, but it's because she can't bear to stay in Paris when all her friends hate her]].

* In ''Webcomic/DrowTales''

--->'''Kingpin:''' It worked. Exactly as planned.
--->'''Smythe:''' ''(looking at the smoldering remains of their base)'' Ever hear the phrase, [[DiscussedTrope "pyrrhic victory"]]?
--->'''Kingpin:''' You're wrong, Smythe. We're going to rebuild it, bigger and better than before. The main thing is, it's mine again.

* In “The Trial of Donald Duck” there is a sleazy waiter named [[FrenchCuisineIsHaughty Monsieur Pierre]] who completely rip-offs Donald, charging him a large sum of money for a lunch ''Donald himself brought''. When he can't pay up, the waiter sues Donald. At the resulting trial, despite the best efforts of his lawyer, Donald is sentenced to washing dishes at the restaurant and the waiter cackles evilly... Cue Donald washing [[LoopholeAbuse and shattering]] countless dishes at an incredible rate. Pierre is reduced to a sobbing wreck, begging Donald to stop costing him likely thousands of dollars in dishes.
-->'''Pierre''': Please, I forgive you, but don't wash any more dishes! I'll pay you! I-I'll feed you... ANYTHING!\\
(The waiter cries miserably as Donald breaks a valuable looking green pot with great emphasis)\\
'''Donald''': You heard what the judge said: TEN DAYS!\\
'''Pierre''': [[BigNo NO!]] Ten more days... Aaggh!

* In ''[[Literature/{{Dragonlance}} Test of the Twins]]'', Raistlin Majere's goal of [[AGodAmI becoming a god]] is revealed to be a severe case of Pyrrhic Villainy. He succeeds, but in the process he destroys the world and eradicates every shred of good in his own soul, leaving him with no ability to renew or heal that which he has laid waste. Fortunately for all concerned, his brother Caramon is able to go back in time and reveal this outcome to the earlier Raistlin, who then [[RedemptionEqualsDeath sacrifices himself to save Caramon and Crysania]].

* In the ''WesternAnimation/HouseOfMouse'' short "Music Store Donald", WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck and WesternAnimation/Pete work in a music shop, but both are incredibly lazy and haven't made a sale for a long time, causing their manager to send them an ultimatum: the next person who makes a sale gets to keep their job while the other is fired. They both end up competing to sell an instrument to their next potential customer, Daisy Duck. In the end, Pete wins by using Donald himself as the bagpipes, allowing him to keep his job and get rid of Donald at the same time. However, in the process of trying to make the sale, both he and Donald caused a lot of damage to the store, so the manager not only takes Pete's commission, but his entire year's salary to cover the damages, and orders him to clean up the mess. Donald meanwhile, despite having lost his job, ends up with Daisy.

* A cartoon in ''WesternAnimation/HouseOfMouse'' has Donald Duck and Pete working in a music shop, but both are incredibly lazy and haven't made a sale for a long time, causing their manager to send them an ultimatum: the next person who makes a sale gets to keep their job while the other is fired. They both end up competing to sell an instrument to their next potential customer, Daisy Duck. In the end, Pete wins by using Donald himself as an instrument, allowing him to keep his job and get rid of Donald at the same time. However, in the process of trying to make the sale, both he and Donald caused a lot of damage to the store, so the manager not only takes Pete's commission, but his entire year's salary to cover the damages, and orders him to clean up the mess. Donald meanwhile, despite having lost his job, ends up with Daisy.

** Roose Bolton becomes one of the most powerful men in Westeros for [[spoiler:betraying and murdering Robb Stark]]. He also inherits Robb's war with the Greyjoys, a war with Stannis, the imminent invasion of the Others, and only a handful of Roose's new vassals aren't actively plotting against him. His only heir is his sadistic bastard son Ramsay Snow, whose endless parade of StupidEvil actions are rapidly destroying what little support the Boltons have left. When he marries Ramsay to "Arya Stark" (actually Jeyne Poole) to secure their hold on Winterfell and the North, Ramsay abuses and rapes his new young wife for his own sadistic pleasure, so it's no surprise that she the first opportunity to escape the castle.

** Roose Bolton becomes one of the most powerful men in Westeros for [[spoiler:betraying and murdering Robb Stark]]. He also inherits Robb's war with the Greyjoys, a war with Stannis, the imminent invasion of the Others and only a handful of Roose's new vassals aren't actively plotting against him.

* "The Icebrood Saga" in ''VideoGame/GuildWars2]'' hands a case of this to the charr [[spoiler:Imperator Bangar Ruinbringer]]. Throughout the story arc, he's set out to wake and dominate an Elder Dragon to use as a weapon to ensure [[FantasticRacism charr supremacy]] forever, ultimately culminating with him creating a RenegadeSplinterFaction of charr and awakening Jormag, Dragon of Ice and Persuasion. How do his plans pan out? Well... Jormag thanks him for bringing the dragon an army of new followers, and transforms him into the ''Voice'' of Jormag - an impressive-sounding title that means he's just a mouthpiece for the dragon to talk ''through'' like an intercom, and otherwise completely ignore. Meanwhile, [[spoiler:Ruinbringer's protege and Rytlock's son Ryland]] is elevated to Jormag's champion and given the power and respect that [[spoiler: Bangar had assumed would be his]]. Further grinding salt into the wound of this [[LaserGuidedKarma betrayal]] is that Jormag's whispers are used to drive the dragon's victims into becoming thralls, and while the new Voice had heard them, he later implies ''Jormag's champion never did'', meaning that [[spoiler:Ryland's]] backstab didn't require the slightest nudge; ''additonally'', Jormag comments that it's been having some very remarkable and impressive conversations with its brilliant new champion while its Voice was deliberately left behind to be imprisoned by the heroes.

** The ''Recap/StartOfDarkness'' prequel book shows this happening very, very heavily to [[TheDragon Redcloak]], who loses nearly everyone and everything he cares about as he tries to make progress on [[MissionFromGod the quest his god has given him]], and to a much lesser extent to [[BigBad Xykon]], whose transformation into a lich means that he loses all the earthly pleasures that he had believed made life worthwhile before his transformation.

* ''Film/JingleJangle:'' Brings us Gustafson. He worked under Jeronicus Jangle, the greatest inventor of all time and even came up with an invention of his own that he begs Jeronicus to just look at for a moment due to the fact it never functioned properly. Jeronicus is dismissive and seems more preoccupied with spending Christmas with his family as well as working on a groundbreaking invention. After a little goading, Gustafson steals Jeronicus' book of inventions and uses it to become a famous toymaker leaving Jeronicus broken and destitute. Once out of stolen ideas, he returns to his one original invention only for it to fail miserably and prompt him to try stealing something else from Jeronicus. His efforts are thwarted but as he's being led away by the police, Jeronicus insists on giving him a gift: The part he needed for his invention to work. The nail is further driven in when its revealed that Jeronicus planned to surprise Gustafson with it the night he left. Gustafson is left dumfounded and can only manage a long last look before being taken to jail.

* In LightNovel/TwoAsOnePrincesses'', the main characters are set upon by thugs who try to take her possessions, or her, she fights them off and they scheme sinister plans for vengeance. Well, they get their petty revenge alright, at the cost of completely destroying themselves, while forcing the main characters to leave town.

* Happens twice in ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'':

* In ''FanFic/WishCarefully'', Voldemort and the Death Eaters got [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor exactly what they wanted]]: Britain is theirs, with the Light Side barred by a MagicallyBindingContract from returning for as long as the Death Eaters rule, and the Light faction will take all the Muggleborns and Squibs away each year so that the Death Eaters will never have to deal with them again. All they had to agree to was not to go after the Light refugees or interfere in any way with the Muggle world. It wasn't until well after the treaty that they realized that virtually all the producers of goods and services were Light-aligned, leaving them with a crippled economy that is hemorrhaging gold. Even worse, without the muggleborns and Light-faction bloodlines, inbreeding is slowly choking the magic out of their descendants.
* ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/303151/1/the-same-box/forfeit The Same Box]]'': Starlight Glimmer has equalized every pony in Equestria, including herself, and imprisoned Princess Celestia in a machine that drains her magic to move the sun and moon, as her cutie mark cannot be removed (Luna's fate is left unmentioned). After warning Starlight one final time that her false utopia will end in disaster, to no avail, Celestia commits suicide rather than live in Starlight's equal world. With Celestia gone, Equestria is stuck in a state of EndlessDaytime, as equalized unicorns' magic is not strong enough to move the sun or moon. Equalized pegasi cannot control the weather, and equalized earth ponies cannot farm the land to grow crops. Equestria crumbles into a dystopia as plants and animals die in droves. Life is no longer worth living or enjoying because all traces of individuality have been eradicated and [[CreativeSterility nothing meaningful can be achieved anymore]]. Eventually, Starlight is left to overlook the abandoned ruins of Canterlot from the castle, realizing too late that her attempts to make a utopia led to the destruction of her world.

* ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/303151/1/the-same-box/forfeit The Same Box]]'': Starlight Glimmer has equalized every pony in Equestria, including herself, and imprisoned Princess Celestia in a machine that drains her magic to move the sun and moon, as her cutie mark cannot be removed (Luna's fate is unspecified). After warning Starlight one final time that her false utopia will end in disaster, to no avail, Celestia commits suicide rather than live in Starlight's equal world. With Celestia gone, Equestria is stuck in a state of EndlessDaytime, as equalized unicorns' magic is not strong enough to move the sun or moon. Equalized pegasi cannot control the weather, and equalized earth ponies cannot farm the land to grow crops. Equestria crumbles into a dystopia as plants and animals die in droves. Life is no longer worth living or enjoying because all traces of individuality have been eradicated and [[CreativeSterility nothing meaningful can be achieved anymore]]. Eventually, Starlight is left to overlook the abandoned ruins of Canterlot from the castle, realizing too late that her attempts to make a utopia led to the destruction of her world.

* ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/303151/1/the-same-box/forfeit The Same Box]]'': Starlight Glimmer has equalized every pony in Equestria, including herself, and imprisoned Princess Celestia in a machine that drains her magic to move the sun and moon, as her cutie mark cannot be removed. After warning Starlight one final time that her false utopia will end in disaster, to no avail, Celestia commits suicide rather than live in Starlight's equal world. With Celestia gone, Equestria is stuck in a state of EndlessDaytime, as equalized unicorns' magic is not strong enough to move the sun and moon. Equalized pegasi cannot control the weather, and equalized earth ponies cannot farm the land to grow crops. Equestria collapses into a dystopia as plants and animals die in droves. Life becomes worthless, no longer worth living or enjoying because all traces of individuality have been eradicated and [[CreativeSterility nothing meaningful can be achieved anymore]]. Eventually, Starlight is left to overlook the abandoned ruins of Canterlot from the castle, realizing too late that her attempts to make a utopia led to the destruction of her world.

* ''ComicBook/TheBoys'' ends with [[EvilInc Vought]] still up and running under a new name, but at the cost of [[spoiler: their main source of income, superheroes, being out of the picture after most of them were killed in their coup attempt against the U.S. government, Butcher leaking everything they had on them to ruin the ones that didn't, and Hughie threatening to go through with Butcher's FinalSolution should they ever overstep their bounds again. [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Stillwell]], who spent the entire course of the series being an unfeeling [[TheSociopath sociopath]] willing to do anything to improve Vought's bottom line, has a VillainousBreakdown after realizing his years of scheming led to nothing.]]

[[folder:Comic Strip]]

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40K'':

** ''VideoGame/GodOfWarIII'' ends Kratos' story in this manner. [[spoiler:Kratos finally has his revenge on Zeus, and has brought down nearly all of Olympus AND the Titans. However, each god he killed caused a major calamity to strike the world. By the end, the oceans have risen (Poseidon), the sun has been blotted out (Helios), a plague has broken out (Hermes), all vegetation has died (Hera), and what little remains has been covered in Gaia's remains. Even worse, Pandora's HeroicSacrifice (something he was trying to ''prevent'') was utterly pointless, as the power to defeat Zeus was in him the entire time. When Athena's ghost pulls her FaceHeelTurn, he finally has had enough and impales himself, which releases Hope and helps the world a little... but he's still dead, and can never rejoin his family. '''Damn.''']]

*** [[spoiler:Or is he? Waiting through the credits reveals Kratos may be alive. And [[VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4 he's on a new journey]].]]

* ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/318115/long-live-the-queen Long Live The Queen]]'': During her battle with Starlight Glimmer, Twilight ends up in a timeline where Sunset succeeded in plan to steal the Element of Magic[[note]]basically, Trixie became the Element of Magic but was unable to complete Starswirl's spell, and when she traveled to the human world, her vanity prevented her from rallying the school against Sunset[[/note]], overthrew Celestia, banished her to the human world, and destroyed the magic mirror so she could never return. She transformed herself into an alicorn, [[TakenForGranite petrified]] everypony else powerful enough to pose a threat to her, and now rules Equestria unchallenged with an iron hoof. [[spoiler:However, [[ZeroPercentApprovalRating she is not loved by anypony,]] and using fear to keep her subjects in line has left her miserable and asking "WasItReallyWorthIt" Abandoning her position is out of the question since she is the only alicorn left to raise the sun and moon (Nightmare Moon was banished back to the moon rather than purified in this timeline and Sunset can't purify her without the full set of Elements, Cadance can't manipulate them even if she were unpetrified, and Sunset has tried and failed to repair the mirror to get Celestia back). And since she has made herself immortal, she will live and rule forever. She is so jaded that she allows Twilight to travel back in time to restore the original timeline, even risking the possibility that her timeline will be [[RetGone Ret Goned]] and her along with it, because she knows that the Sunset from Twilight's original timeline found redemption and, she feels, deserves to live more than her]].
-->'''Sunset Shimmer:''' I am the only alicorn left to raise the sun and moon for them. I have told them Celestia will never return. They do not believe me. They harbor hopes that she will return someday. I cannot allow them to overthrow me for empty hope. But I have crushed their hope. My subjects shake in fear when I pass. To refer to me without my title could mean banishment, or worse. I am Queen of Equestria. Immortal and beautiful and flawless. None could ever hope to rebel against me and succeed. Equestria and her ponies hate me. Yet, they also fear me. And in their fear, they are obedient. That is the best I can achieve for at least many years to come until the memory of Celestia fades and none but I remember her. You tell me, Twilight Sparkle. Am I happy in this world?

** In the ''ComicBook/EmperorDoom'' Graphic Novel, Doom succeeds in conquering the world by brainwashing everyone. By and large, he's a fairly benevolent monarch and does much to solve many of the world's problems. Unfortunately, [[VictoryIsBoring he's so bored out of his mind]] that when the one unaffected hero manages to break the spell on a few others, he lets the rebellion win. He'd rather be a conqueror than a DeskJockey.

** In Triumph and Torment, this is how Doom saves his mother.