History Main / Revenge

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.

* The main reason everybody in ''Manga/InuYasha'' teams up, at first. [[HalfHumanHybrid Inuyasha]] wants revenge on Naraku for killing [[ItsPersonal Kikyo]]. [[TagalongKid Shippo]] wants revenge on The Thunder Brothers for killing his father, so he joins Inuyasha. [[HandsomeLech Miroku]] wants revenge (and also to break his curse) on [[BigBad Naraku]] for killing his father indirectly/ giving him a [[CursedWithAwesome Wind Tunnel]] in the first place, so he teams up with Inuyasha. [[ActionGirl Sango]] wants revenge on Naraku for [[YouKilledMyFather killing her father]], [[ItsPersonal her people, her]], and [[BigSisterInstinct her little brother Kohaku]] and then [[BrainWashed using Kohaku]] as a puppet, so she joins Inuyasha. , so he leads this group. And [[SecondLove Kagome]]... is [[DesignatedVictim just kind of there.]]

* The main reason everybody in ''Manga/Inuyasha'' teams up, at first. [[HalfHumanHybrid Inuyasha]] wants revenge on Naraku for killing [[ItsPersonal Kikyo]]. [[TagalongKid Shippo]] wants revenge on The Thunder Brothers for killing his father, so he joins Inuyasha. [[HandsomeLech Miroku]] wants revenge (and also to break his curse) on [[BigBad Naraku]] for killing his father indirectly/ giving him a [[CursedWithAwesome Wind Tunnel]] in the first place, so he teams up with Inuyasha. [[ActionGirl Sango]] wants revenge on Naraku for [[YouKilledMyFather killing her father]], [[ItsPersonal her people, her]], and [[BigSisterInstinct her little brother Kohaku]] and then [[BrainWashed using Kohaku]] as a puppet, so she joins Inuyasha. , so he leads this group. And [[SecondLove Kagome]]... is [[DesignatedVictim just kind of there.]]

* The main reason everybody in ''{{Inuyasha}}'' teams up, at first. [[TagalongKid Shippo]] wants revenge on The Thunder Brothers for killing his father, so he joins [[HalfHumanHybrid Inuyasha]]. [[HandsomeLech Miroku]] wants revenge (and also to break his curse) on [[BigBad Naraku]] for killing his father indirectly/ giving him a [[CursedWithAwesome Wind Tunnel]] in the first place, so he teams up with Inuyasha. [[ActionGirl Sango]] wants revenge on Naraku for [[YouKilledMyFather killing her father]], [[ItsPersonal her people, her]], and [[BigSisterInstinct her little brother Kohaku]] and then [[BrainWashed using Kohaku]] as a puppet, so she joins Inuyasha. Inuyasha wants revenge on Naraku for killing [[ItsPersonal Kikyo]], so he leads this group. And [[SecondLove Kagome]]... is [[DesignatedVictim just kind of there.]]

[[folder:Film]]

* In Disney/{{Tangled}}, Gothel draws the Stabbington brothers into her plans by a promise of revenge on Flynn.

* In DevonMonk's ''[[Literature/AgeOfSteam Dead Iron]]'', Mae's motivation.

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's 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]].

** Similarly, ''Film/{{The Last House On The Left}}'' is also a [[RapeAndRevenge rape-revenge film]] But, in this case, it's the victims' parents who take revenge on the rapists. [[spoiler: In the original, both of the girls are already dead before the parents realize it]].

** Similarly, ''Film/{{The Last House On The Left}}'' is also a [[RapeAndRevenge rape-revenge film]] But, in this case, it's the victims' parents who take revenge on the rapists [[spoiler: In the original, both of the girls are already dead before the parents realize it]]

* This is the main motive of Theif King Bakura (and by extent, Yami Bakura) of ''Anime/YuGiOh'', who desires revenge for the massacer of Kul Elna.

* ''{{Persona3}}'' gives us Ken, a kid with a vendetta against his mom's murderer, Shinjiro, who accidentally killed Ken's mom from losing control of his power and has become TheAtoner for it. [[spoiler: When confronted on the anniversary of the mother's death, they get interrupted by Strega and Shinjiro sacrifices himself to protect Ken, denying him his revenge.]] Ken is of the [[TarotMotifs Justice Acrana.]]

* In ''FanFic/MegaManDefenderOfTheHumanRace'', this come sup quite a bit.

* While she sisn't after it, Rancor from ''Fanfic/PonyPOVSeries'' is [[AnthropomorphicPersonification the Draconequus representing]] Revenge.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Ser Loras Tyrell and Brienne of Tarth swear vengeance against Stannis Baratheon after [[spoiler:their beloved King Renly is murdered.]] It's also [[spoiler: Littlefinger's primary (if not sole) motive for conspiring with Olenna Tyrell to murder Joffrey.]]

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Ser Loras Tyrell and Brienne of Tarth swear vengeance against Stannis Baratheon after [[spoiler:their beloved King Renly is murdered.]]

* The Tonberry of the FinalFantasy series is '''the''' MoeAnthropomorphism of this concept: (aside from their OneHitKO move once they come up close) their attack Karma/Everyone's Grudge deals damage proportionate to the number of enemies its target has killed.

* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'': This is the whole purpose of the White/Black/Red color-wedge. Seen most clearly in [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=338444 Kaalia's flavor text]].

* ''Series/TheMentalist'' centers around Patrick Jane, formerly a fake psychic who uses his skills at manipulation and knowledge of human behavior to help law enforcement, all in the larger goal of tracking down Red John, the serial killer who murdered his wife and child (because Jane, while still pretending to be a psychic, mocked him on national television.) While most assume his intention is to bring Red John to justice to achieve a sort of personal redemption, he eventually reveals that his intent all along was to kill Red John. Notably after he made this revelation, the next two episodes directly dealt with revenge killings; a mother who killed to avenge the neglectful if accidental killing of her teenage daughter, and a young man who killed to avenge the deliberate murder of his best friend and father figure. After their confessions, Jane asked them both the same question: was it worth it? The woman broke down in tears, saying that in the end it didn't change anything. The man, on the other hand, said that it was completely worth it, and that it was a "cleansing" experience. Neither of these answers comfort Jane, [[spoiler: and he eventually goes through with his revenge, though the man he killed turned out to be an impostor sent by the real killer in his place.]]

* ''Film/{{I Spit On Your Grave}} is the epitome of this. New York writer Jennifer Hills is brutally raped by three men and takes revenge on all of them...in particularly brutal manners.

* ''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 Fëanor (especially it's progenitor) are the most desperate for it, and [[TheUnfettered most willing to do whatever it takes.]] Fëanor 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 Fëanor]], he has some issues [[DisproportionateRetribution 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.]]

* Revenge is more or less the driving force of Xadhoom's life in the Disney series ''PaperinikNewAdventures''. As the [[LastOfHisKind Last Of Her Kind]] after an alien race destroyed her home planet, she's dedicated her life to wiping out every last one of them. Said aliens are now threatening Earth, so she becomes an ally to the main character - DonaldDuck's superhero alter ego - but her obsession is implied to be rather unhealthy.
* 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, SelfDemonstrating/LexLuthor and SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker 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.

* Few of SpiderMan's enemies are obsessed with revenge against people who wronged him like one of his oldest, Adrian Toomes, the Vulture. The whole reason he ''became'' the Vulture was to seek revenge against Gregory Bestman, his embezzling business partner who had robbed him blind. Since then his schemes have revolved around revenge against people who have cheated or wronged him in some way, including Spider-Man himself, the Vegas crime boss Morris "the Snake" Diamond (who stole his blueprints for a special plastic compound), another mobster named Mr. Morgan (who hired the Hitman to kill Spidey before Toomes could do so), and ''especially'' crooks who copy his blueprints to try to duplicate his equipment. This has included "Blackie" Drago and the Vulturions. Not coincidentally, Toomes is currently the only man to call himself the Vulture.

* ''TaxiDriver'' has a long shot in which the camera pans back over all the corpses Travis Bickle left in the wake of his RoaringRampageOfRevenge. The reason for this: how satisfying would a story about revenge be if we didn't get to linger over the results a bit?

* ''VeronicaMars'' is a revenge addict. When she starts to run short on targets for personal revenge she looks for other people to get revenge for.
* A major theme on ''{{Lost}}''. Sawyer's desire to avenge his parents carries through the first three seasons. In the fourth, we learn of Ben's desire [[spoiler:to kill Penny in revenge for Alex's death]]. Charlie, Shannon, Sayid, and Sun have also sought revenge for loved ones at various times.

* {{Castle}}: When [[spoiler:Kate Beckett]] finally got to [[spoiler:personally arrest her untouchable nemesis [[CorruptPolitician senator Bracken]]]].

* {{Ween}}'s song ''Buenos Tardes Amigo'' is a revenge song being sung to the man who killed the narrator's brother. [[spoiler: The twist is that the narrator was actually the killer himself, [[TheUnFavorite probably due to jealousy,]] and is framing the listener to keep anyone else from knowing the truth.]]
* Revenge is one of DoctorSteel's prime motivations.

* KateBush's "The Wedding List"; a pregnant bride kills the murderer of her husband and commits suicide.

* SoundHorizon's ''Märchen'' album revolves around the spirits of seven women (all but one from the {{Fairy Tale}}s of Creator/TheBrothersGrimm) being granted a chance at revenge against the people who wronged them by a strange ghost who goes by the name Märchen. [[spoiler:The seventh woman, Elisabeth, rejects this offer, content that her first and only love März has finally fulfilled his promise to return to her, [[TogetherInDeath even if only in death]]. It is this that leads Märchen to remember the man he used to be: März himself.]]

* ''{{Warhammer 40000}}'': The Invaders Space Marine chapter destroyed the Eldar Craftworld Idharae. The survivors of Idharae who joined Craftworld Alaitoc, returned the favor by destroying the Invaders fortress-monastery. The chapter is reduced to 300 marines, and lost many of their weapons.
* In ''{{Warhammer}}'' the Dwarfs have a serious problem with this. They're incapable of ever letting something go, and everything anyone does that displeases them is a deliberate, malicious strike against them. One instance involves a human fortress being razed because they hired dwarven engineers to help build it and shortchanged their payment by a handful of coins out of thousands. Instead of accepting that this was probably just a clerk miscounting or a ripped bag losing a few coins in transit and either brushing it off or sending someone to ''explain what the problem is'' and asking for the complete payment, they instead stewed on this vile theft for a century, assembled an army, and laid siege to the baffled fortress.

* In the second act of ''IntoTheWoods'', [[spoiler: The Giantess]] wants revenge for the death of her husband.
* In ''IlTrovatore'', the gypsy Azucena seeks revenge against the di Luna family for burning her mother as a witch.

* In ''AmericanBarbarian'', [[http://www.ambarb.com/?p=124 Rick's motive.]]
* ''BobAndGeorge''

* In ''DragonMango'',

* ''EerieCuties'' [[http://www.eeriecuties.com/d/20091118.html What Lupus the Wolfhearted sought from the vampire queen.]]

* In ''{{Endstone}}'', [[http://endstone.net/2009/10/01/issue-2-webpage-15/ the revenge-minded have plagued Herrik for years]].

* ''SeaLab2021'' wanted to do a ChristmasSpecial, but for various reasons swapped Christianity for the made-up religion of Alvisism, based around a violent, Wild West messiah. Whereas Christmas is about family and giving, Alvistide is about drinking and revenge.

** Weisman also worked on ''TheSpectacularSpiderMan,'' and in this case it's not a BigBad but a lower-ranked but likable villain who lives by it: Sandman was a thief and never forgot it even once getting super powers, and once, when offered payback against Spider-Man by joining the Sinister Six, he said that he didn't care about revenge and just wanted the "big score" he'd always dreamed of. (He joins anyway, once convinced there'd be a lot of money involved.)
* In ''MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic,'' the Cutie Mark Crusaders concoct a plan to get some ''extremely'' well-deserved payback on Babs Seed, but find out that she became a bully in response to being bullied where she came from, and that they'd be no different if they did the same thing. (They end up going to a lot of trouble to save her from their plan, made harder by her ''continuing to be a JerkAss,'' but Babs also learns her lesson in the end.) That when you PayEvilUntoEvil you become subject to HeWhoFightsMonsters was the {{Aesop}} of the week.

* Revenge is a recurring theme in ''TheWonderful101''. A number of characters on both the heroes' and villains' sides have revenge as their primary motivation, and the game's story takes time to show how counter-productive revenge can be. People driven by revenge endanger themselves and everyone around them, and revenge as a motivator leads to one becoming just as much a monster as the ones they want revenge against. This is contrasted by Wonder-Red, who prioritizes the team and the mission above his personal feelings, even when that means [[spoiler:not chasing the alien who killed his father]].