History Main / Revenge

An avenger has several options when pursuing his or her vendetta. He or she can devise a Machiavellian plan, [[TheChessmaster maneuvering things (and occasionally people) in place]] [[BestServedCold until the time of final vengeance is at hand]], which is the route taken by many classical revenge tales. Often the avenger takes steps to ruin the other guy's life in some manner before the final act, which may or may not end with the 0other guy's death. Another option, often chosen by {{action hero}}es or the more bloodthirsty avengers, is the RoaringRampageOfRevenge, where the avenger dispenses with this and goes straight for the bloodshed, hunting down everyone who had anything to do with the crime in question and eliminating them one by one, often in a GottaKillThemAll fashion, until they reach the BigBad behind it all and take their final vengeance.

* Becomes a major theme in the second season of ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'', especially with Ja Wangnan trying to avenge [[spoiler: Nia]] and Viole trying to figure out if he wants to take revenge on Rachel.

** Anak Zahard, Jr. is out to kill her entire adoptive family, the Zahard, because they killed Anak Zahard, Sr., her mother and her unnamed father. [[spoiler: And the first Zahard she meets becomes her new favourite auntie.]]

** Anak Zahard, Jr. is out to kill her entire adoptive family, the Zahard, because they killed Anak Zahard, Sr., her mother. [[spoiler: And the first Zahard she meets becomes her new favourite auntie.]]

* BillCosby's routine called, aptly, "Revenge", recalling his childhood where he plotted to get back at Junior Barnes for hitting him with a slushball. He crafts a perfect snowball and stores it in the freezer, intending to use it on him in July, where there's not a snowball in sight. [[spoiler:When the time finally comes for Bill to take his revenge, he finds out that his mother had thrown the snowball away, and has to resort to spitting on him]].

* [=UltraJMan=]'s ''VideoGame/IWannaBeTheGuy'' fangame, ''I Wanna See You Suffer'', was created with pure, unadultered raging vengeance aimed at all those people who talked him into making a LetsPlay of the ''[[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment I Wanna Be The Guy]]'' [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment fangame]], ''IWannaBeTheFangame'', as the driving spark of creativity...

* The show ''DanVs'' revolves entirely around this concept, exacted by a hilariously paranoid, quick-tempered Dan and his drag-along best friend Chris. His targets include cookie ninja, the wolfman, and the entire country of Canada.
* ''{{Stripperella}}''. Spoofed in "Beauty and the Obese", where MadDoctor Cesarean's motive for making supermodels fat is because beautiful women have spurned him all his life. And because his mother was a model who ran off when he was five. And because his promising career as a model was ruined when he became horribly disfigured in a modeling accident. Oh, and his grandparents were killed by models. He hates heights too, but you can't harm heights.

-->-- '''WinstonChurchill'''

* In ''AttackOnTitan'', this is the only thing that keeps Eren Jaeger going. Were it not for his sheer unyielding ''hatred'' of the Titans, he probably would have succumbed to despair long ago.

* Detective Charlie Crews from [[Series/Life]] is something of a CuckooCloudlander thanks to his 12-years of wrongful imprisonment after being framed for several murders and discovering Zen Buddhism as a way to stay sane in prison. He's a great example of BewareTheNiceOnes, with a dark and dangerous streak running below his outwardly calm and friendly demeanor, but he's a firm believer in letting go of his anger instead of acting on it. But as he draws closer to finding the real killer, the man who murdered Charlie's best friend and his family, and the culprits of the frame-job that sent him to jail, Charlie is torn between the beliefs and ideals which saved his life and kept him sane in prison and the overwhelming desire for revenge. In the first season finale, he settles for justice instead ([[PerpSweating though he lets the killer ''think'' he's decided on revenge to coax a confession out of him]]).

* Detective Charlie Crews from [[Series/Life]] is something of a CuckooCloudlander thanks to his 12-years of wrongful imprisonment after being framed for several murders and discovering Zen Buddhism as a way to stay sane in prison. He's a great example of BewareTheNiceOnes, with a dark and dangerous streak running below his outwardly calm and friendly demeanor, but he's a firm believer in letting go of his anger instead of acting on it. But as he draws closer to finding the real killer, the man who murdered Charlie's best friend and his family, and the culprits of the frame-job that sent him to jail, Charlie is torn between the beliefs and ideals which saved his life and kept him sane in prison and the overwhelming desire for revenge. In the first season finale, he settles for justice instead ([[SweatingThePerp though he lets the killer ''think'' he's decided on revenge to coax a confession out of him]]).

* The main plot motivation of Corvo Attano from ''Dishonored''.

Being that revenge is one of the darker character motivations, villains, being a rather [[{{Forgiveness}} unforgiving]] lot, will often choose to take vengeance on those who have, in their eyes, wronged them, [[ItsAllAboutMe even if the "wrong" in question was something legitimately justified, such as stopping a villain's original evil plan and putting him behind bars]] or [[MoralMyopia stopping an associate of his, which resulted in the associate's death]]. Villains in general are more likely to engage in DisproportionateRetribution than many heroes, and don't usually care about what happens to innocents that get swept up in the mess -- some such villains [[RevengeByProxy deliberately target innocents who are connected to the person they want revenge on, just to make the person suffer all the more]]. Others target anyone who has anything to do with a certain organization responsible for what led them on this rampage, regardless of whether or not those people were actually involved in the crime in question, or take it out on [[SinsOfOurFathers the descendants of those who wronged them to start with]]. Others will broaden their vendetta to cover more and more people until the vendetta essentially covers [[OmnicidalManiac all of humanity]]. This can be tempered, or even overridden, if the character keeps it up; killing the man who killed your father can be noble if he continues to slaughter people wherever he goes, and your {{Revenge}} can be viewed as the icing on the cake. Villains can often be seen drawing on ThePowerOfHate in order to get their revenge as well.

On the other hand, {{Revenge}} can also appear lighter in shade. If the provocation was extreme, and still more if the character is reacting ''quickly'' to circumstance, without time to think -- as in TheDogBitesBack -- the effect can be mostly sympathetic. It can also be softened by the character's being partly motivated by the knowledge that the villain will go on committing such crime, and by taking care to ensure that only the guilty suffer, and suffer no more than they deserve.

Revenge in its basic form is essentially [[PayEvilUntoEvil Paying Evil Unto Evil]]. [[KickTheDog Someone has done]] [[MoralEventHorizon something seriously bad]] to [[ItsPersonal another person or someone that person loves]], and for some reason, there is no justice to be had for the crime, so the character sets out to exact their own kind of justice upon the person or people responsible. Although, [[ItsAllAboutMe some characters]] may not care for justice or "getting even", but want the satisfaction that comes only from DisproportionateRetribution. This can be compounded when the harm is [[RantInducingSlight slight]], like [[RevengeSVP not getting invited to a party]]. Avenging a death may be regarded as DueToTheDead -- and the [[OurGhostsAreDifferent ghost may agree]].

An avenger has several options when pursuing his or her vendetta. He or she can devise a Machiavellian plan, [[TheChessmaster maneuvering things (and occasionally people) in place]] [[BestServedCold until the time of final vengeance is at hand]], which is the route taken by many classical revenge tales. Often the avenger takes steps to ruin the other guy's life in some manner before the final act, which may or may not end with the other guy's death. Another option, often chosen by {{action hero}}es or the more bloodthirsty avengers, is the RoaringRampageOfRevenge, where the avenger dispenses with this and goes straight for the bloodshed, hunting down everyone who had anything to do with the crime in question and eliminating them one by one, often in a GottaKillThemAll fashion, until they reach the BigBad behind it all and take final vengeance. (Possibly [[DueToTheDead mutilating the corpse]].)

KillMeNowOrForeverStayYourHand, {{Forgiveness}}, and DefeatMeansFriendship may stop this vendetta. Finding the person and discovering they have become TheAtoner can snatch it away from you. On the other, if they try to [[BuyThemOff buy you off]], they may still be fair game. May also invoke TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou; if your enemy is defeated by someone else, how can you avenge yourself?

Being that revenge is one of the darker character motivations, villains, being a rather [[{{Forgiveness}} unforgiving]] lot, will often choose to take vengeance on those who have, in their eyes, wronged them, [[ItsAllAboutMe even if the "wrong" in question was something legitimately justified, such as stopping a villain's original evil plan and putting him behind bars]] or [[MoralMyopia stopping an associate of his, which resulted in the associate's death]]. Villains in general are more likely to engage in DisproportionateRetribution than many heroes, and don't usually care about what happens to innocents that get swept up in the mess -- some such villains [[RevengeByProxy deliberately target innocents who are connected to the person they want revenge on, just to make the person suffer all the more]]. Others target anyone who has anything to do with a certain organization responsible for what led them on this rampage, regardless of whether or not those people were actually involved in the crime in question, or take it out on [[SinsOfOurFathers the descendants of those who wronged them to start with]]. Others, particularly those of a HumansAreBastards world-view, will broaden their vendetta to cover more and more people until the vendetta essentially covers [[OmnicidalManiac all]] [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds humanity]]. This can be tempered, or even overridden, if the character keeps it up; killing the man who killed your father can be noble if he continues to slaughter people wherever he goes, and your {{Revenge}} can be viewed as the icing on the cake. Villains can often be seen drawing on ThePowerOfHate in order to get their revenge as well.

Vengeance. You do not get much of it in real life, and the little you do get is cold, late, and adds up otherwise as having been a really bad idea. So you look for it in fiction. Where you find out that, seven times in ten, revenge was a really bad idea for your surrogate, too. The other three times ... well, hey, ''somebody'' had to get some, sooner or later. That, and the girl. And a pony. With a [[IWantMyJetPack jetpack]].

* The reason for DoctorDoom's supervillainy is the fact that he blames [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Reed Richards]] for every single thing that has ever happened to him, [[StartOfDarkness starting with]] his disfigurement, and wants nothing more than to cause him as much pain as possible in revenge. This actually makes them quite different from many other pairs of [[ArchEnemy Arch Enemies]]: for example, [[{{Superman}} Lex Luthor]] and the [[{{Batman}} Joker]] are the nemeses of the respective heroes because they start out as being a certain way and, due to their differences with the hero, grow to hate them and eventually focus on them. Doom, on the other hand, is a supervillain who branches out to become an enemy of every single Marvel superhero out there, but every single thing he does can be eventually traced back to his hatred of Reed Richards.

* [[PlayerCharacter Claude]] of GrandTheftAutoIII seems to be motivated solely by revenge against [[BigBad Catalina]] (when he's not [[MoneyDearBoy doing odd jobs for money]] or [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential going on a rampage]]).

* ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'': The Exiles(Noldorian Elves who left Valinor against the will of the Valar) as a whole are seeking revenge on Morgoth, but the House of Feanor(especially it's progenitor)are the most desperate for it, and [[TheUnfettered most willing to do whatever it takes.]] Feanor spends his final days [[RevengeBeforeReason attempting]] [[GottaKillEmAll to]] [[UnstoppableRage wreak]] [[HeWhoFightsMonsters unholy]] [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge veangance]] on [[Satan Morgoth]] and all his servants. He starts out with a RousingSpeech which summed up is "Morgoth killed my dad, your king, and stole the entire world's most precious gems. [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge Let's not take this like pansies and go wreck his shit.]] As in all of it. Oh and anyone who tries to take those gems from me, or hide them in any way? You'll get the same." Being [[HairTriggerTemper Feanor]], he has some issues [[DDisproportionateRetribution working with people]] [[KillEmAll who try to get him to actually]], you know ''[[RevengeBeforeReason think about what he is doing]]'' rather than just blindly rushing ahead. Which is what he does. Which is what kills him. [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome While fighting all the balrogs. At once. Alone.]]
** Feanor's sons are no slouches in the revenge department either, they commit one mass slaughter of elves with their father, and two without. They will betray and/or kill anyone who they think is trying to keep a silmaril from them(this is what led to the Second Kinslaying). And this is barely scratching the surface of all the things they do/ are willing to do. The entire family ends up dead except for Feanor's estranged wife who stayed behind and one of his sons, [[WarriorPoet Maglor,]] who ends up crossing DespairEventHorizon [[WalkingTheEarth wandering the shores of Middle-Earth]] [[GriefSong singing his sorrow and regret.]]

* In ''MassEffect'', [[HotScientist Dr. Liara T'Soni]] went on a two year long quest to destroy [[spoiler:the Shadow Broker after he tried to sell Shepard's body to the Collectors]]. Depending on your choices, this might also fit under ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend.
** Zaeed wants revenge on Vido for shooting him in the head twenty years ago, Garrus wants vengeance on Sidonis for betraying him and his team, Kasumi gets payback on Hock for torturing her boyfriend to death, Thane got revenge on the men who killed his wife in his {{Backstory}} and Jack has a serious vendetta against Cerberus for experimenting on her as a child. It's really easier to list which members of the ''MassEffect2'' [[DysfunctionJunction squad]] ''don't'' want some form of revenge. Including Shepard him/herself if you take the Renegade route, which gives us the quote, "The Collectors are about to find out what happens when you piss me off."