History Main / RevengeThroughCorruption

Revenge Through Corruption is a subtrope of RevengeByProxy and is related to SinsOfOurFathers. SinsOfOurFathers refers to revenge against the descendants of someone that is dead or missing. RevengeByProxy refers to revenge by harming someone important to the living person instead of taking the option of going directly after the target of revenge. Revenge Through Corruption can overlap either trope. What distinguishes this trope is the method of revenge. Drug examples may fall under ForcedAddiction if the victim isn't given a choice about being "corrupted".

* ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger'': One episode had a young boy (who happened to be the latest {{Reincarnation}} of a Dalai Lama-esque figure) be kidnapped. The perpetrator is crime boss who himself is reincarnated from a man who had quarreled with the previous Lama, and swore revenge in his next life. The current Lama's mentor speculates that the crime boss's end goal is this: the Lama's path to true enlightenment and Nirvana requires him to a life of purity and goodness, meaning that if he were tempted towards evil, all that work would be undone.

* In ''ComicBook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSearch'', it's revealed that [[AbusiveParent Fire Lord Ozai's poor treatment of his son Zuko]] was mainly out of spite towards his wife Ursa for wishing that Zuko would never turn out like him, [[spoiler:even going as far as claiming that Zuko was the bastard son of her ex-boyfriend]]. This mistreatment would continue through the [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender animated series]] until Zuko [[spoiler:betrayed [[MoralityPet his uncle]] and allegedly killed the Avatar]]. Upon hearing the news, Ozai uncharacteristically praises his son with respect, proud that Zuko broke his mother's wishes by being like his father, [[spoiler:[[HeelRealization a fact that Zuko greatly regrets for the rest of the series]] and tries to [[CallingTheOldManOut atone by turning against his father]] once he had enough]].

* The same thing from ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' applies in ''Fanfic/ConversationsWithACryptid'' with a twist since this trope is pulled by the heroes instead and sway the target of their influence into taking a morally-upright path. Toshinori/All Might managed to turn it right back at his nemesis by complete accident. [[spoiler:All For One is a WellDoneDadGuy, but his enmity with All Might forced him to abandon his family for years. Meanwhile, Toshinori met up with All For One's son Izuku and not only made him the successor to One For All, he became Izuku's [[ParentalSubstitute father in all but genetics]].]]

** In ''Fanfic/MarinetteDupainChengsSpitePlaylist'', Lila ''continues'' to work on corrupting the class and turning them against Marinette even after she's already transferred to a different school.

* Tira of the ''VideoGame/SoulSeries'' actually gets a double on this trope, first using her nemesis Sophitia's MamaBear nature to manipulate her into serving [[ArtifactOfDoom Soul Edge]] because Sophitia's daughter Pyrrha will die without Soul Edge's power. [[spoiler: Sophitia is unable to prevent Siegfried from destroying Nightmare, Soul Edge's incarnation, and has to commit suicide to save Pyrrha with the last piece of Soul Edge lodged in her heart.]] Years later, Tira does it again by becoming an EvilMentor to Pyrrha, who goes on to willingly become the newest host of Soul Edge. [[spoiler: Strangely, the light novel that details Sophitia's demise leaves it ambiguous if Tira ignored Sophitia's last request to keep Pyrrha safe, or if she tried to make Pyrrha into an insanely powerful WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds as a way to honor that request.]]

* ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'' This is Sauron's plan for avenging the exile of his master, Melkor. He tricks the elves (mostly Celebrimbor) into creating three of the Rings of Power, while creating the remaining 15 rings himself and gifting them to the lords of Men and Dwarves. The rings were not only tied to the corrupting influence of Sauron's own One Ring, but were filled with such stupendous power that the Elves became thoroughly reliant on them to preserve Middle-Earth.

* ''Literature/TheSilmarillion''L This is Sauron's plan for avenging the exile of his master, Melkor. He tricks the elves (mostly Celebrimbor) into creating three of the Rings of Power, while creating the remaining 15 rings himself and gifting them to the lords of Men and Dwarves. The rings were not only tied to the corrupting influence of Sauron's own One Ring, but were filled with such stupendous power that the Elves became thoroughly reliant on them to preserve Middle-Earth.

* In ''ComicBook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSearch'', it's revealed that [[AbusiveParent Fire Lord Ozai's poor treatment of his son Zuko]] was mainly out of spite towards his wife Ursa for wishing that Zuko would never turn out like him [[spoiler:even going as far as claiming that Zuko was the bastard son of her ex-boyfriend]]. This mistreatment would continue through the [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender animated series]] until Zuko [[spoiler:betrayed [[MoralityPet his uncle]] and allegedly killed the Avatar]]. Upon hearing the news, Ozai uncharacteristically praises his son with respect, proud that Zuko broke his mother's wishes by being like his father, [[spoiler:[[HeelRealization a fact that Zuko greatly regrets for the rest of the series]] and tries to [[CallingTheOldManOut atone by turning against his father]] once he had enough]].

* In ''ComicBook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSearch'', it's revealed that [[AbusiveParent Fire Lord Ozai's poor treatment of his son Zuko]] was mainly out of spite towards his wife Ursa for wishing that Zuko would never turn out like him [[spoiler:even going as far as claiming that Zuko was the bastard son of her ex-boyfriend]]. This mistreatment would continue through the [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender animated series]] until Zuko [[spoiler:betrays [[MoralityPet his uncle]] and allegedly kills the Avatar]]. Upon hearing the news, Ozai uncharacteristically praises his son with respect, proud that Zuko broke his mother's wishes by being like his father, [[spoiler:[[HeelRealization a fact that Zuko greatly regrets for the rest of the series]] and tries to [[CallingTheOldManOut atone by turning against his father]] once he had enough]].

* In ''ComicBook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSearch'', it's revealed that [[AbusiveParent Fire Lord Ozai's poor treatment of his son Zuko]] was mainly out of spite towards his wife Ursa for wishing that Zuko would never turn out like him [[spoiler:even going as far as claiming that Zuko was the bastard son of her ex-boyfriend]]. This mistreatment would continue through the [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender animated series]] until Zuko [[spoiler:betrays [[MoralityPet his uncle]] and allegedly kills the Avatar]]. Upon hearing the news, Ozai uncharacteristically praises his son with respect, proud that Zuko broke his mother's wishes by being like his father [[spoiler:([[HeelRealization a fact that Zuko greatly regrets for the rest of the series]] and tries to [[CallingTheOldManOut atone by turning against his father]] once he had enough)]].

* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' - A FallenAngel throws an ArtifactOfDoom where he knows the child of one of his enemies might pick it up. If the child were to pick it up, it would fall victim to DemonicPossession.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'': After the Parrs foil his scheme with the Omnidroid, Syndrome kidnaps Jack-Jack Parr, intending to raise him as a future sidekick.

%%* One of the reasons Malak [[spoiler:turns Bastila into his [[TheDragon apprentice]]]] in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic''.

* ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers'': In "[[Recap/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteersS1E6TheConqueror The Conqueror]]", Gaia's EvilCounterpart, Zarm, arrives, posing as a benevolent alien and corrupting most of the team with rhetoric and outright mental manipulation. Although Zarm getting the older team members on his side helps his general goal of spreading destruction, the fact that he taunts Gaia with the fact that "her Planeteers" are following him implies that a (if not ''the'') main purpose is to strike at Gaia for whatever unspecified thing made him angry at her.

** ''Fanfic/{{The Wolves in the Woods|MiraculousLadybug}}'' notably has this be ''completely accidental'' on Lila's part -- she ''severely underestimated'' just how readily the class would turn upon Marinette, and is [[EveryoneHasStandards outright horrified]] at the levels their {{Barbaric Bully}}ing reach.

* ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'' - This is Sauron's plan for avenging the exile of his master, Melkor. He tricks the elves (mostly Celebrimbor) into creating three of the Rings of Power, while creating the remaining 15 rings himself and gifting them to the lords of Men and Dwarves. The rings were not only tied to the corrupting influence of Sauron's own One Ring, but were filled with such stupendous power that the Elves became thoroughly reliant on them to preserve Middle-Earth.
* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'' - Sith seek to turn Jedi to their way of thinking and Jedi seek to turn Sith against one another. Neither side prevails for very long, and anyone trying to TakeAThirdOption (like [[VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords Darth Traya]]) gets destroyed in the crossfire.

* ''Fanfic/TheBridge'': Aside from wanting to use her for her magical potential, [[spoiler: the Windigos think using Sci-Twi, the Element of Magic in the human world, as their vessel of destruction is a good way to spite [[GodOfGood Harmony]] ]].

* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'': [[spoiler: Tomura Shigaraki]] is the grandson of All Might's mentor, Nana Shimura, who All For One took in and raised to be a villain. Both as a means of [[spoiler: obtaining a successor]] and as a final insult to his old enemy. He reveals this to All Might during their final battle to torture him, momentarily causing him to suffer a HeroicBSOD.

%%* It also happened to ComicBook/NickFury's son Mikel.
* Over at Creator/DCComics, [[ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica Wildcat's]] enemy the Yellow Wasp kidnapped his son in order to do this, but ironically wound up alienating his own child, who allegedly killed them both.
* In ''ComicBook/TomStrong'', a Nazi villainess raises Tom's son -- fathered without his consent or knowledge -- as a racist psychopath. [[spoiler: Even worse, [[TheBadGuyWins it sticks.]]]]
* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye:'' In the past, Megatron recruited the-bot-who-would-be-Tarn into the Decepticons, shaping him into the head of the D.J.D. just to "prove a point" towards Optimus Prime. It goes more than a little [[GoneHorriblyRight horribly right]], when Tarn's desire to hurt folk supersedes his fanatical loyalty to Megatron.

* ComicBook/{{Deathstroke}} was revealed to have done this to [[ComicBook/{{Batgirl}} Cassandra Cain]] to explain her inexplicable FaceHeelTurn. After Nightwing broke Slade's control over his daughter Ravager, Slade wanted revenge by taking Batgirl away from the Bat Family. He tried to manipulate Cassandra into believing Batman and the rest of the family didn't actually care about her, citing how she'd basically been abandoned while Bruce, Dick and Tim went off on a soul-searching journey. It later turned out Slade was injecting Cassandra with the same drugs that drove Ravager insane, and was broken out of it when Robin gave her a serum that neutralized Slade's PsychoSerum.
* In ''ComicBook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheSearch'', it's revealed that [[AbusiveParent Fire Lord Ozai's poor treatment of his son Zuko]] was mainly out of spite towards his wife Ursa for wishing that Zuko would never turn out like him [[spoiler:even going as far as claiming that Zuko was the bastard son of her ex-boyfriend]]. This mistreatment would continue through the [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender animated series]] until Zuko [[spoiler:betrays [[MoralityPet his uncle]] and allegedly kills the Avatar]]. Upon hearing the news, Ozai uncharacteristically praises his son with respect, proud that Zuko broke his mother's wishes by being like his father [[spoiler:([[HeelRealization a fact that Zuko greatly regrets for the rest of the series]] and tries to [[CallingTheOldManOut atone by turning against his father]] once he had enough)]].

* DoubleSubverted by Bill in ''Film/KillBill'', who kidnaps the child of his recent ex-lover and leaves her for dead only to give the child a perfectly happy, normal upbringing. [[note]]Because the child is his.[[/note]] Then the bride comes, and since she's going to corrupt the kid anyway, ''he unloads a revolver in their general direction''. Possibly as a way of cutting ties before mommy dearest stabs out daddy's heart, but that's enough permanent psychological abuse to get her in the nuthouse.

* Played with in ''Film/SkyHigh2005'' where the BigBad plans to turn the heroes themselves into children again and raise ''them'' to be evil.
* ''Film/TronLegacy'': Probably a factor in why Clu [[spoiler: decided to twist Tron into Rinzler instead of just kill him outright.]]. It might also explain the [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty "something special"]] in mind for Quorra.
* ''Film/TheKarateKid''

* Satan in ''Film/TheDevilsAdvocate'' intends to undermine the law and let the criminals run unpunished ''"until the stench of it rises so high it chokes the whole fucking lot of them!"''

* ''Franchise/StarWars'': Ben Solo’s turn to the Dark Side of the Force was orchestrated by Snoke and [[spoiler: Palpatine, albeit indirectly,]] to break Luke Skywalker’s dream of rebuilding the Jedi Order, as well as payback for turning Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker back to the Light Side. To put it in perspective, [[CrazyPrepared Ben’s corruption started even when he was in his mother, Leia Organa Skywalker’s womb]]!

%%* ''Literature/{{Night Watch|Discworld}}'' - Carcer toys with the idea of doing this to Vimes' younger self.

* ''Literature/WutheringHeights'' - Part of Heathcliff's revenge on Hindley Earnshaw includes treating Hindley's son Hareton exactly the way Hindley treated Heathcliff in hopes of making Hareton grow up as twisted as Heathcliff himself.

* This is the entire plot of Mark Twain's ''The Man Who Corrupted Hadleyburg.'' The titular town prides itself on its honesty and righteousness, but somehow manages to insult an unknown passing stranger who decides to get his revenge by shattering their pride. To that end, he sets up a trap involving a huge unclaimed fortune and manipulates many of the townsfolk into dishonestly trying to claim it for themselves only to then expose their dishonesty, proving how venal, selfish and hypocritical they are underneath their self-righteousness.
->''Why, you simple creatures, the weakest of all weak things is a virtue which has not been tested in the fire.''

* Inverted in ''Literature/TheScarletLetter''. Chillingworth comes to town to get revenge on Dimmesdale [[GoodAdulteryBadAdultery for having an affair with Hester]]. He accomplishes this by [[FalseFriend befriending the man]] and indulging in a lot of not-so-accidental ObliviousGuiltSlinging to torture Dimmesdale's soul. This works brilliantly. When Hester finally confronts him and points out that surely he's had enough vengeance, he retorts that Dimmesdale "has but increased the debt", since Chillingsworth's [[RevengeBeforeReason pathological obsession with revenge]] has corrupted him, making him even ''more'' bitter and twisted, and [[EvilMakesYouUgly even affecting him physically]]. [[LockedOutOfTheLoop Poor Dimmesdale never even finds out what's going on.]]
* ''Literature/WarriorCats'': Mapleshade's seeming favorite method of getting revenge is to try to corrupt cats in the Clans she feels betrayed by (she was a [=ThunderClan=] cat who was exiled for having kits with a [=RiverClan=] cat, but after the kits drowned he shunned her and she became Clan-less). For instance in ''Crookedstar's Promise'', she is trying very hard to turn future [=RiverClan=] leader Crookedstar to the dark side. Likewise, in the ''Omen of the Stars'' arc, she tries to groom alienated [=ThunderClan=] cats into turning against their Clan.
* ''Literature/FromTheNewWorld'': Squealer's scheme is to [[spoiler:raise a human child to believe it's a monster rat so it can use its psychic powers to kill other humans]].

* ''Series/DoctorWho''

* ''Series/LukeCage2016'': When Mariah is arrested at the end of Season 2 [[spoiler: and just before dying in prison]] she wills that control of Harlem's Paradise -- the symbolic seat of power for Harlem's criminal underworld -- be handed over to Luke. She explains that she's [[BatmanGambit counting on]] him trying to [[WellIntentionedExtremist control and minimize crime from the inside]], only to find himself [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope being seduced and changed by the power]].

%%* One of the reasons Malak [[spoiler: turns Bastila into his [[TheDragon apprentice]]]] in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic''.

* Manfred von Karma of the ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' series suffers a single penalty in his otherwise unblemished career as a prosecutor. He murders the attorney who penalized him, Gregory Edgeworth, and completes his revenge by raising his son Miles as a ruthless prosecutor who wants to see every defendant convicted. Unfortunately for him, Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey undo all his years of planning and helps Miles Edgeworth become an honest prosecutor who eventually dedicates himself to cleaning out the Prosecutor's Office.
* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'': Wesker has hated Chris Redfield for years and wants revenge against him. So when he captures Jill Valentine, Chris's [[TrueCompanions True Companion]] and possible LoveInterest, instead of just killing her he makes her BrainwashedAndCrazy and sends her to attack Chris.

* Demona is able to do this to Brooklyn in ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' to get revenge against Goliath. She convinces Brooklyn that Goliath's belief in Gargoyles and Humans co-existing in peace is a pipe dream and she can cast a spell to force him deal with reality. Instead, she cast a control spell making Goliath her slave. Thanks to quick thinking by Elisa Maza, the spell gets broken, but it becomes a personal OldShame, and OnceDoneNeverForgotten moment for Brooklyn throughout the whole series and he [[ThisIsUnforgivable never forgives Demona]] for it.

* In an episode of ''Series/LawAndOrderCriminalIntent'', a district attorney's privileged son is suspected of committing murder, and the detectives believe the attorney is trying to protect him, because his father happens to be a infamous criminal, and they believe the attorney might be corrupt. Turns out the attorney dedicated his life to living crime free and rejected his criminal father. He was simply being a father and giving his son the benefit of the doubt. In the end, its reveal that the attorney's criminal father got his revenge by corrupting his grandson from prison and convinced him into becoming a criminal and to reject his father for being weak. Once the attorney realized this, he disowns his son and lets the detectives arrest him for murder.

* [[MagnificentBitch Tira]] of the ''VideoGame/SoulSeries'' actually gets a double on this trope, first using her nemesis Sophitia's MamaBear nature to manipulate her into serving [[ArtifactOfDoom Soul Edge]] because Sophitia's daughter Pyrrha will die without Soul Edge's power. [[spoiler: Sophitia is unable to prevent Siegfried from destroying Nightmare, Soul Edge's incarnation, and has to commit suicide to save Pyrrha with the last piece of Soul Edge lodged in her heart.]] Years later, Tira does it again by becoming an EvilMentor to Pyrrha, who goes on to willingly become the newest host of Soul Edge. [[spoiler: Strangely, the light novel that details Sophitia's demise leaves it ambiguous if Tira ignored Sophitia's last request to keep Pyrrha safe, or if she tried to make Pyrrha into an insanely powerful WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds as a way to honor that request.]]

* ''Film/StarWars'': Ben Solo’s turn to the Dark Side of the Force was orchestrated by Snoke and [[spoiler: Palpatine, albeit indirectly,]] to break Luke Skywalker’s dream of rebuilding the Jedi Order, as well as payback for turning Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker back to the Light Side. To put it in perspective, [[CrazyPrepared Ben’s corruption started even when he was in his mother, Leia Organa Skywalker’s womb]]!