History Main / SlidingScaleOfAntiVillains

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Much like how [[AntiHero Anti-Heroes]] can be [[Analysis/AntiHero vastly different from each other]], so can [[AntiVillain Anti-Villains]]. This scale is a measure of how ambiguous an Anti-Villain is, goes from ALighterShadeOfBlack to being indistinguishable from the good guys. Inversely related to SlidingScaleOfAntagonistVileness. Can contribute to SlidingScaleOfVillainThreat and SlidingScaleOfVillainEffectiveness. Compare with [[Analysis/AntiHero Sliding Scale of Anti-Heroes]].

Noble and {{Woobie}} Anti-Villains are often a darker shade of grey (or ALighterShadeOfBlack, if they are unmistakably evil), while Well-Intentioned and In Name Only varieties tend to be {{a lighter shade|OfGrey}} (with the latter even being in a GoodVersusGood situation sometimes).

Works with an [[RomanticismVersusEnlightenment Enlightenment]] leaning tend to make frequent use of Woobie and Well-Intentioned anti villains, [[RousseauWasRight showing the villain as a product of society or simply misguided]].

[[foldercontrol]]

! Noble Anti-Villain
Although they may choose to be evil and perhaps [[CardCarryingVillain embrace their villainous reputation]], when the time comes for them to walk the walk, they turn away. This type of anti villain has a set of standards, certain lines that they will never cross. As such, they are the first one to say EvenEvilHasStandards when faced with someone who offends said code of conduct. Unlikely to KickTheDog but will PetTheDog. Often accompanied by a MoralityPet. Alternatively, villainy is just a job to [[PunchClockVillain put food on the table]], thus it's never personal. Placed higher on the "evilness" scale than Woobies because villainy is usually a choice rather than something they are driven to. The Noble type is the common definition of the Anti-Villain.

The defining Trope for this type of Anti-Villain would be the '''NobleDemon''' (emphasizing the "noble" aspect).

Related Tropes: NobleTopEnforcer, HitmanWithAHeart, MinionWithAnFInEvil, WouldNotShootACivilian, NeverHurtAnInnocent, EvenEvilHasStandards, WouldntHurtAChild, and MyMasterRightOrWrong.

[[folder:Examples]]
[[AC:{{Anime}} & {{Manga}}]]
* Greed of ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist''. He may try to paint himself as self-centered, but he cares deeply for his followers. He's also the only Homunculus who doesn't resent humans or is a cold-blooded psychopath. And he's the only AffablyEvil villain in the series as well. [[spoiler:It's no surprise the he later becomes an AntiHero in the series]].
* ''Manhwa/{{Yureka}}'': Lotto, is self-loving, manipulative, and [[DisproportionateRetribution excessively vengeful]], but is also capable of caring about those around him.
* Tia Harribel of ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''.
* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', we have Bartholomew Kuma.
* Viral from ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' is quite honorable, despite always wanting to enact revenge on Kamina for tarnishing his reputation and pride.[[note]]Eventually, [[spoiler:after Simon convinces him to make a HeelFaceTurn, Viral becomes an AntiHero.]][[/note]] Here are several examples:
** Just after the HotSpringsEpisode, he not-so-politely asks the heroes to PleasePutSomeClothesOn and allows them to arm themselves before fighting him.
** When he confronts Simon and Yoko over [[spoiler:Kamina's whereabouts, and eventually accepts Simon as his new rival]], he agrees to a fair one-on-one duel.
** When said duel is interrupted by Cytomander, who takes Yoko hostage and orders Viral to perform a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown on Gurren Lagann, Viral refuses and sheathes his axe, knowing that his honor cannot be regained that way.
* The Team Rocket trio of ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' fame were this to start with before moving down into In Name Only territory. As of ''Best Wishes'', they and the rest of the Team Rocket organization are firmly in this territory.

[[AC:ComicBooks]]
* ComicBook/{{Diabolik}} may be the [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast King of Terror]], but he will ''not'' harm children (or anyone particularly sympathetic actually), has little tolerance for human traffickers and drug smugglers and ''zero'' tolerance for rapists and biological weapons, tries to avoid collateral damage (not that he cares when he has to cause it), respects those who give him a run for his money, and will ''always'' keep his word.
* ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} depending on the day of the week (In his worst moments, he's FauxAffablyEvil). With his BlueAndOrangeMorality and all.
* The Eddie Brock version of ComicBook/{{Venom}} from ''SpiderMan'' became this (originally, he was just a psychotic KnightTemplar).
* Julius Caesar in ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}''. He isn't above tricking people, but within far more defined limits than Asterix himself, generally being more clever than he is deceitful. He always keeps his promises, treats people below his station and even his enemies with respect (even when they're really annoying), and is one of the few Roman politicians we see who isn't plotting to backstab everyone else, stealing money from the state, being completely ineffectual, or fantasizing about getting the Gaulish magic potion and using it to kill their friends and become god-emperor. It should be noted that in no way is he a nice guy, though - he's still a colonialist tyrant who tries to have people executed, is delighted by various VillainOfTheWeek characters with bizarre and horrible gifts, and is trying to destroy a culture's way of life simply because they're getting on his nerves.
* The Rogues from ComicBook/TheFlash comics. "The Rogues are all about the score."

[[AC:FanFic]]
* Dr. Brainstorm of ''Fanfic/CalvinAndHobbesTheSeries'' tends to fall into this, though usually he's a straight-up HarmlessVillain.
** Discussed in "Thunderstorm":
---> '''Dr. Brainstorm''': Because ''I'' want to be the heroic villain, okay? There's got to be at least one time where ''I'm'' the one who has a victory!
* Princess Ceymi from Fanfic/MLPCollateralDamage and Fanfic/WithoutAHive is a classic NobleDemon. She genuinely believes that the Changelings must be ruthless to survive, and she is loyal to her Hive and [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Queen]] [[BigBad Chrysalis]]. She herself avoids any unnecessary cruelty, and does not like to kill Ponies -- though she will if she is ordered to or believes that she has no better choice.

[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* ''Film/{{Parker}}'', though brutal, usually goes after the AssholeVictim (most of the time) and tries to mitigate excessive intimidation unlike in the [[Literature/{{Parker}} novel he is based on]].
* ''Film/TheChroniclesOfRiddick'' has the titular character. He fits better than the other film incarnations, since he's shown to have a more pronounced sense of honor, while still retaining the murderous and renegade nature we know him for.
* General Miura in ''Film/IpMan''. He's still a general of the brutal Japanese occupation, but he's shown to be honorable and detested the more extreme measures of his underlings.
* Pterano from ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime VII: The Stone of Cold Fire''. He's not above kidnapping, but he does make a point to strike his own henchmen to punish them for [[EvenEvilHasStandards two things he considers intolerable]]: violence and asking redundant questions (though the latter is disproportionate on his part).
-->'''Pterano''': If there's one thing I will not tolerate, it's violence!\\
'''Rinkus''': Then why are you hitting me?\\
'''Pterano''': Right... make that ''two'' things: violence ''and'' stupid questions!
** He then becomes TheAtoner toward the end when he has a flashback to the last time he tried leading a group of dinosaurs to the Great Valley and instead lead them to their deaths due to his arrogance.
* Junjo from ''Film/TheStreetfighter'' is a mixture of a Noble and Woobie. Even for a criminal martial artist driven to avenge his siblings, he still fights fairly with [[NominalHero Terry]].
* [[Creator/TimCurry Long John Silver]] in the [[Film/MuppetTreasureIsland Muppets version]] is very charming, [[AffablyEvil polite]], and actually cares for Jim. [[spoiler:He even goes out of his way to protect Jim at one point.]]

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* ''Literature/ArtemisFowl'' and by extension, {{B|attleButler}}utler, but only in the early books before they lean more towards [[AntiHero Anti-Heroism]].
* Napoleon in the ''Literature/{{Temeraire}}'' series. Indeed he often comes off as better than the people running Britain.
* ''Literature/HarryPotter'' has quite a few characters among the Death Eaters who learn the hard way that they're not quite as evil and twisted as Voldemort wants them to be, such as Draco Malfoy and, more sympathetically, [[spoiler:Regulus Black]].
* Admiral Sam Trang of the Kollin brothers ''Unincorporated'' series at least at first. He starts with very strict ideas of military conduct and honor. Unfortunately that military code includes IGaveMyWord and MyCountryRightOrWrong and because the President of the UHF is a murderous scumbag, he finds himself JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope despite his best intentions. [[spoiler:Then his wife is killed during the Avatar War and he briefly goes completely to the Dark Side before then having a HeelFaceTurn]].
* In the Star Wars Expanded Universe Boba Fett fits this trope nicely. He is the ConsummateProfessional, and while he will work for anyone who can afford his prices, he does have a code of honour and a sense of justice. His justice is just much more direct and no-nonsense. The "evil" in him comes from the fact that he believes order, no matter how it is achieved, is preferable to chaos; so he'll work for a genocidal xenophobic totalitarian faction like the Galactic Empire because he genuinely believes it's better than the alternative of chaos across the galaxy without a unifying power. But he has standards and acts on them frequently, refusing jobs that do not meet his exacting standard of justice or outright refusing to do things that he considers wrong, [[spoiler: like sniping the clone of Starkiller when he was distracted kissing Juno Eclipse.]]

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* Jesse Pinkman from ''Series/BreakingBad'', when we first meet him. Through CharacterDevelopment, he gradually shifts down the scale, and now spends most of his days as a Woobie.
** Mike could count as Noble. He never hesitates to kill, but he never holds any grudges and only kills because it is his job.
* Garak in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', he does have standards. He is also quite utterly unapologetic about the rather horrifying things he has done (and does).
* Both Mr.Gold/Rumpelstiltskin and Captain Hook from ''Series/OnceUponATime'': sinister, manipulative, and generally remorseless about the pain they inflict on others, yet possessing noble qualities and being able to do great good in addition to great evil.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* In the ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' series:
** Camus from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight'' [[spoiler:until he HeelFaceTurn-ed as Sirius in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemMysteryOfTheEmblem'']].
** Lloyd and Linus in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'' carry out the deeds of the Black Fang (and [[TheManBehindTheMan Nergal]]) but were relatively honorable.
** [[spoiler:Walhart]] from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening''. While his methods are clearly evil, he only wants to conquer the world so it's united under a single banner in order to avert an even bigger disaster. He's also surprisingly noble and refuses to resort to underhanded methods, making him a mix between this and Well-Intentioned.
* PlanetEater Pyron from ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}'' started out as a full straight villain in his debut, but then his ending in the third game indicates that he evolved into this as he began to show curiousity and respect toward Earth and its inhabitants, and chose to not destroy it at the end.
* Heihachi Mishima from ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}''. While a dickhead, he's got some soft spots to prevent him to be equal or even worse than Kazuya.
** Bruce Irvin even moreso. He's working with Kazuya efficiently but is a PunchClockVillain when outside his job, [[FriendToAllChildren befriending, helping and inspiring children to become a better person]].
** Kazuya himself is this in ''Anime/TekkenBloodVengeance'', since not only is he shown to not be a bad boss to Anna Williams, he's more concerned about beating the crap out of Jin than the atrocities committed on Shin Kamiya's class.
* For a short time, Anji Mito from ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'', crossing with In Name Only. Unlike [[VideoGame/BlazBlue Litchi]] below, Anji has no desperation or pressure to make him join That Man and joins out of complete, unpushed free will (and HIGH level of curiosity) rather than being forced. However, despite all that, he's still friendly as ever to even That Man's nemesis (Sol), tried to befriend May at one of her endings, and in any moment he met Baiken, after one fight, [[HeelFaceTurn he calls it quits]].
* The Bonne Family from ''VideoGame/MegaManLegends'' series. Tron Bonne especially, as she even becomes an AntiHero in certain spin-off and crossover games.
* Dr. Colress from ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'', who has shades of Well-Intentioned as well due to doing what he does ForScience
* Pre-HeelFaceTurn Axel Almer in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsOriginalGeneration''. He's still dedicated in kicking the good guys' ass, but he's more of a NobleDemon and his true enemy is actually Beowulf and is actually preventing him to 're-materialize' in that world after seeing the brutality Beowulf caused in his world.
* Franchise/{{S|treetFighter}}agat before ''VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha 3'', he willingly became a subordinate of Bison in order to get stronger and embraced his status as one of Shadoloo's Four Devas. But over time, he developed into a NobleDemon who is disgusted by Bison's more underhanded methods of granting strength and eventually ditches him for good to resume a more healthy rivalry with Ryu.
* Augus from ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath'', who only fights him because he fights for the strongest side, and actually treats up Asura's wounds from fighting Kalrow's space fleet before fighting him.
* Magus from ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger''. Everyone thought he was summoning [[EldritchAbomination Lavos]] to win his war in the Middle Ages. [[spoiler:Turns out Lavos destroyed Magus' home and family in the Dark Ages and the whole war was so he'd have an army strong enough to defeat it]]. While in the past it's shown he's always been pretty cold, [[spoiler:he offers your party advice on [[BackFromTheDead how to save Crono]] and his childhood pet cat [[LickedByTheDog follows him around very willingly]]]].
* This area would be the most charitable portrayal towards [[VideoGame/StarcraftII Nova Terra]], as she's mostly using a ConsummateProfessional and PunchClockVillain attitude, but she shows genuine concern about how the possibility of breaking out New Folsom prison will have dire consequences, aside of Spectres released (she might be misinformed or lying, but she was trying to keep the galaxy safe, and New Folsom does not only contain anti-Mengsk people), and if that happens, she'll cite that event as why she's convinced that Raynor really is being a threat to the galaxy. And there's the rumors that she's constantly brainwashed by Mengsk, because it's a Ghost thing...

[[AC:VisualNovels]]
* Assassin/Sasaki Kojiro in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' embraces his status as Caster's 'gate guardian' and enjoys warding off the heroes from whatever Caster's planning, but he's incredibly polite and only in it because of the good fight he gets from the heroes, without ill-wills and if they beat him fair and square, he'll congratulate them. Essentially, a NobleDemon.

[[AC:WebComics]]
* Sebastian of Webcomic/TrueVillains seems to be this; his morals often conflict with his villainy, and he admits to turning to evil because of the adventure it offered him. When faced with the option to kill his rival, he [[spoiler:lets Gray live, even though he broke the rules of their duel.]]

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'': The Kanker Sisters (May, Marie, and Lee) are this in TheMovie. After learning the Eds are in trouble, they drop everything and capture their pursuers. Also, they are [[spoiler:visibly outraged (Lee) and terrified (Marie) after Eddy's brother shows his true colors and beats up Eddy and Edd]].
* David Xanatos of ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' teeters between this and PragmaticVillainy. He's far from the purest human being ever to live, but knows that "revenge is a sucker's game," ends up HappilyMarried, and eventually comes to terms with the titular gargoyles, all without ever quite pulling a HeelFaceTurn.
* Despite considering himself an official villain, Puma Loco from ''WesternAnimation/ElTigre'' puts his family in first place than his criminal schemes (at least most of the time), and is often seen helping his grandson Manny and his son White Pantera in beating up the other criminals of Miracle City.
* Ultra-Humanite in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' is quite morally ambiguous for a villain. While he does a series of serious crimes, like blowing up a modern art museum because he despises Modernism, he also tends to help the heroes in certain occasions. A particular example is in the ChristmasEpisode where he helps the Flash giving a desired toy to a group of orphans.
* Tom of ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'', DependingOnTheWriter. Although he does get sadistic pleasure out of tormenting Jerry and at the beginning of some shorts is shown doing so, in other shorts he's really only forced to go after Jerry by his owner. Jerry does his share of provoking their battles as well, sometimes to the point of DisproportionateRetribution, and sometimes even just because he feels like it.
* Dreadwing of ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime''. UndyingLoyalty to [[MyMasterRightOrWrong Megatron]] and the Decepticon cause, CombatPragmatist and MadBomber, but shows honor, gratitude and respect to Optimus Prime and the Autobots. [[spoiler:In the end, [[EvenEvilHasStandards Starscream's defilement of Skyquake's body]] almost causes him to [[HeelFaceTurn switch sides]].]]
* In the show, ''WesternAnimation/WhereOnEarthIsCarmenSandiego' the title villain, Carmen, steals various objects around the planet and her infamy is so grand, all law enforcement around the world know her by name. However, she never results to violence in her crimes, be it during her thefts or eluding her pursuers. It is a rule she actively follows that she has, on more than one occasion, saved ACME agents, and has berated those working for her when they try to kill the agents.
* Jack Spicer from ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown''. He is not seen as very evil by any of the other characters. He also [[EnemyMine will help]] [[TheProtagonist the Xiaolin dragons]], and in one episode, he was neutral. [[spoiler:In one episode, he actually turned good]].
[[/folder]]

! {{Woobie}} Anti-Villain
It's obvious that these types of villains don't WANT to be evil; circumstances just make them out to be. They may act out of UndyingLoyalty, [[LoveMartyr love for someone]], or maybe they're simply fighting for their own survival. Others are [[BreakTheCutie broken cuties]] who have snapped and want to end their suffering by destroying everything. Usually they are suffering from their alignment. The characters garner our sympathy not because their goal is good but because we can see how the CrapsackWorld made them the way they are. Often suffer from a damaged psyche. Anti-Villains in this category may become true villains, but they're also just as likely to turn into an Anti-Hero. (Alternately, they may have fallen from said category.)

A lot (although by no means all) of Franchise/{{Buffyverse}} vampires/demons fall into this category. They will tend to be driven to their villainous acts by something within their biology. One example would be vampires who don't necessarily ''want'' to kill people, but it's simply that they find human blood to be much more nutritious or tastier than that of animals.

The defining trope for this type of Anti-Villain would be a '''WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds'''.

Related Tropes: FallenHero, SympatheticMurderer, JerkassWoobie, NonMaliciousMonster, TragicVillain, and a typical DarkMagicalGirl.

[[folder:Examples]]
[[AC:{{Anime}} & {{Manga}}]]
* Fate Testarossa in the first season of ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha''. She's a girl with an abusive mother who does said abusive mother's bidding in the hope that once she's succeeded, her mother will once again become the kind person she [[spoiler:or rather, Alicia, the girl she's based off of]] remembers.
* Jeremiah Gottwald from ''Anime/CodeGeass'' falls into this early on, when you consider his real motives. He later becomes an UnscrupulousHero.
** Guilford, while less malicious than Jeremiah was early on, also falls under here, a KnightTemplar of the first order, his loyalty being his defining trait.
** Lelouch, in addition to Well-Intentioned (see below) and UnscrupulousHero. His hardships have caused him to jump off the deep end on more than one occasion, to put it lightly.

* Pegasus J. Crawford from ''Anime/YuGiOh'', who, like Mr. Freeze, is only evil so he can resurrect his dead wife.
* Hishigi of ''Manga/SamuraiDeeperKyo''. He fights entirely because of his loyalty to his one remaining friend.
* Enchu in ''Manga/MuhyoAndRoji'', as it's revealed late in the series that the real reason he turned to evil was not out of hatred for Muhyo, but a desire for release from his pain. Some of his accomplices, including [[spoiler:Rio]] and the Cortlaw Siblings are spurred on by the loss of loved ones, including the desire to return them from the dead.
* Sure, she may come across at times as unusually vicious for someone of this type, but '''GOD DAMN''', [[AbusiveParents does]] [[ElectricTorture it]] ''[[BreakTheCutie suck]]'' to be [[Anime/DokiDokiPrecure Regina]]! [[spoiler:This seems to run in the family, considering her father, King Jikochuu, only did what he did because he was under the influence of the dark essence in the castle basement, which wouldn't have happened if he hadn't gone crazy over almost losing his daughter.]]
* Atlas from ''Manga/AstroBoy''.
* Alma from ''Anime/JewelpetTwinkle'' wants nothing more than to ressurect her mother and reunite with her brother so they can be a family again. Too bad her plans include opening a book containing all the evil magic in the world and kidnapping her brother against his will.
* Alyssa from the Anime/MaiHime manga, and [[spoiler:Yukariko]] from the anime. The former does what she does out of a belief that she will be abandoned should she fail. The latter [[spoiler:falls in love with a man who proceeds to use her for his own evil bidding, and gradually grows more and more guilt-stricken over time]].
* [[spoiler:Reiner Braun, Bertolt Hoover, and Annie Leonhart]] from ''Manga/AttackOnTitan''. The series thrives on moral ambiguity, with enough mysteries and ruthless people doing necessary but cruel things to make labeling anyone truly "good" or "evil" difficult. However, TheReveal really drives this home once the enemy is uncovered. [[spoiler:While responsible for most of the death in the series, all three Titan Shifters are shown to be conflicted and remorseful over their actions. Annie's [[FreudianExcuse issues]] with her father hint at tragic reasons for her ruthlessness in battle, while Reiner and Bertolt are [[VillainousBSOD explicitly]] [[BecomingTheMask shown]] [[TearsOfRemorse to be]] {{trauma|InducedAmnesia}}tized by what they've done]]. It isn't clear exactly what drives them, but there's enough indication of being TrappedInVillainy. [[spoiler:Reiner develops a {{d|oubleConsciousness}}issociative disorder to cope with his guilt, while Bertolt states while he knows his crimes are unforgivable, it ''had'' to be done]].
* Scar from ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' is a ruthless SerialKiller, but all he did is to avenge the genocide of his people.
* Mifune of ''Manga/SoulEater'' is genuinely a good, kind, benevolent person - one of his defining character traits is that he loves children. Therefore, he has wound up protecting the young witch, Angela, the one child who's more in danger than any other. This is because, in this world, witches' magic makes them destructive by nature, and thus they are at the top of [[BigGood Lord Death]]'s hit list.
** Speaking of "Manga/SoulEater", let's not forget Crona, possibly the woobiest woobie that ever woobed, who only kills people and eats their souls after being tortured and raised to be a weapon by their mother [[AbusiveParents Medusa.]]

[[AC:ComicBooks]]
* Mr. Freeze in ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' [[RetCanon post-influence from]] [[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries the animated series]]. All he wants is to find a cure for his wife's terminal illness, but society itself denies him the opportunity to legally do so.
* Mikhail Rasputin, elder brother of Colossus of the ''ComicBook/XMen''. He means well every time he appears, but every single time he tries to do something good, it backfires, either because of his [[RealityWarper power]] or his dangerous, unstable [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity mental state]].
* DependingOnTheWriter, another example from the X-Men is Toad, who is often depicted as more pathetic than menacing and occasionally not even malevolent. Cursed with [[PowerIncontinence extremely unstable]], [[BlessedWithSuck borderline-useless powers]] and a life where being caught in a HumiliationConga is a ''good'' day (on a bad day, it's the TraumaCongaLine), Toynbee seems cursed to forever be the ButtMonkey of the X-universe itself. And the tragic thing is, all the guy really wants most of the time is a place to fit in. Instead, he gets abused and mistreated no matter [[ComicBook/{{Magneto}} which]] [[ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} side]] he's on.
* ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'' has the Ultimate version of Shocker, who was originally just a naïve scientist who worked hard and was a productive employee for Roxxon, only to be screwed out of all his patents by his employers apparently [[CardCarryingVillain just because]] [[CorruptCorporateExecutive they could]]. Feeling that he had no other options, Shocker turned to supervillainy, only to be treated like a joke after several humiliating defeats at the hands of Spider-Man.

[[AC:{{Film}}s -- Animation]]
* [[spoiler:Yokai/Robert Callaghan]] from ''Disney/BigHero6''. His actions are horrible and menacing, but he's also [[spoiler:a grieving PapaWolf who clearly shows remorse at the end.]]
* [[spoiler:Agatha Prenderghast]] from ''WesternAnimation/ParaNorman'' is just an angry little girl lashing out at everyone out of revenge.

[[AC:{{Film}}s -- Live-Action]]
* Big Daddy from ''Film/KickAss''. He may be a bit mixed with Well-Intentioned, but he's closer to this [[spoiler:once you see what happened to him five years ago]].
* [[TragicHero Anakin Skywalker]] / [[DragonWithAnAgenda Darth Vader]] from the ''Franchise/StarWars'' prequels, WellIntentionedExtremist and LoveMartyr who turns to TheDarkSide because LoveMakesYouEvil.
** Though by the time of the Original Trilogy, he had become a [[CardCarryingVillain full-fledged villain]], with seemingly nothing to make him sympathetic again... at least until [[RedemptionEqualsDeath the final act]] of ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi''.
* Loki from ''Film/{{Thor}}'' was doing the wrong things for the right reasons. Or maybe not "right reasons," but definitely "tragically understandable." [[spoiler:He lets the Jotuns into Asgard to prevent Thor from becoming king because he is not ready, he brings them back to Asgard so as to appear to save his father from an assassination attempt, and then attempts to destroy Jotunheim so as to rid Asgard of that threat. At its heart, it was all an attempt to prove to his father that he was just as worthy of his pride and affection as Thor.]]

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* [[spoiler:Simone and her sisters]] in ''[[Literature/RiversOfLondon Moon Over Soho]]''. Never asked or set out to be what they became (and weren't even truly aware of it until the end), and whose origin was entirely accidental.
* The "monster" from ''Literature/{{Frankenstein}}''. He actually recounts how all his thoughts were extremely noble when he had just been hiding and listening to people, but when he actually tried to interact with them and was feared, he became bitter and nasty. This slides it towards InformedAttribute, but the actual events in the novel also give good enough grounds to say this trope applies, especially when the protagonist Dr. Frankenstein is [[AntiHero not very heroic]] himself.
* Fëanor, Maedhros, and Maglor from ''Literature/TheSilmarillion''. Mass murderers, but they are bound by an unbreakable oath to recover the Silmarils from anyone, at any cost. All three swore the oath [[NotBrainwashed of their own volition]], and only [[spoiler:Maglor]] regrets it at the end.
* Nuada in ''Literature/AlienInASmallTown'' was born into his people's Warrior caste and really only wanted to be a soldier. Instead, for political reasons, he and most of his kin were shuffled off to a miserable reservation, far from public view, and treated as little more than prisoners all his life. He escaped and was forced to live in hiding in a wilderness for years more, driving him out of his mind. All that said, the eagerness with which he takes to killing for its own sake is nothing good.
* Literature/{{Carrie}} from the eponymous book and its [[TheFilmOfTheBook film adaptations]] eventually [[ProtagonistJourneyToVillain becomes]] a Woobie Anti-VillainProtagonist due to her mistreatment over the course of the story, leading up to her infamous rampage.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* The Master from ''Series/DoctorWho'' is revealed to be this trope given that the only reason he does what he does is because he's been driven absolutely insane by the drums in his head, and that the drumming was put there deliberately (and in AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho the Master was made into Death's Champion without his consent). However, he takes a lot of joy in the death and suffering he causes.
* Jefferson aka the Mad Hatter from ''Series/OnceUponATime''. He's pushed into what he does by Regina's manipulation and betrayal plus love of his daughter. Also he's been driven more than a bit crazy by his time in Wonderland and being one of the few conscientious people in Storybrooke.
** While he still qualifies in the present day, subsequent episodes interestingly reveal that he was once far more ruthless, and actually helped {{corrupt|TheCutie}} Regina and drive her past the DespairEventHorizon.
** On that note, Regina herself qualifies, as she struggled hard to avoid becoming evil, but fate itself seemed to conspire against her and the more pain she was put through, the more evil she became.
** The entire reason that Rumpelstiltskin became the Dark One was to save his son from the Ogre War. His whole background and motivation for doing evil is based around his love for his son. Not to mention that his village and his father [[spoiler: Peter Pan]] belittle him and treated him badly his entire life.
* The Red Queen of ''Series/OnceUponATimeInWonderland'' has become this as well, when it is revealed that [[spoiler: everything she has done working with Jafar has simply been so she can help him change the rules of magic, allowing her to change the past, in which she abandoned her true love Will Scarlet in order to be queen.]]
* Richard Harrow in ''Series/BoardwalkEmpire''. An expert killer, utterly broken by his experiences and injuries in the trenches of the First World War. His only friend, Jimmy, is a gangster who has a use for Harrow's skills. Harrow has therefore murdered a couple of dozen people on screen, many of them without even asking why.
* Cole Turner in ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}''. An AscendedDemon who tries to use his powers for good, but is repeatedly turned evil because of the [[TheCorruption corrupting nature of his powers]], DemonicPossession by the Source of All Evil, or the Charmed Ones [[ReformedButRejected refusing to believe that he's actually good]].
* Barca from ''Series/SpartacusBloodAndSand.'' Although he is occasionally a JerkJock, all of the truly ''evil'' things he does, he does because he is a slave and his master orders him too. He does occasionally show regret about his actions, especially in front of [[MoralityPet Pietros]]

[[AC:TableTopGames]]
* Several of the traitor Primarchs in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' started off as either this or Woobie {{Anti Villain}}s. Most of them are also {{Fallen Hero}}es.

[[AC:{{Theater}}]]
* Benjamin Barker, a barber, was such a nice guy with a beautiful wife and daughter before a corrupt judge banished him from London, sexually assaulted his wife, and then engaged in some WifeHusbandry with his daughter. It doesn't excuse his becoming Theatre/SweeneyTodd, who murders all his customers and gives them to his PsychoSupporter Ms. Lovett to cook into meat pies and sell to unsuspecting Londoners for a nice profit. And yet he's one of the most sympathetic characters in the CrapsackWorld of the musical.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* [[TheBigGuy Barry Burton]] in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil''. Wesker threatened his wife, so he went along with betraying the STARS unit.
* Brad Kilstein in ''VideoGame/PsychicForce''. He's actually pretty decent provided his SplitPersonality doesn't take over.
* Zero's girlfriend Iris from ''VideoGame/MegaManX4''. She didn't take Colonel's death well...
* Reptile in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat''. It's nearly a RunningGag that if you don't off him, his superiors screw him over. Unlike most of the villains, who seek power, his only goal is to resurrect his race, of which he is the sole survivor. He did get a bit better in ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'' when he's under the employment of the much more benevolent Kotal Kahn (but not much, considering [[BlackAndGrayMorality the game]]) who treats him with respect, but seeing that Kotal Kahn eventually [[spoiler:stood opposed to Earthrealm later...]]
* Walter Sullivan from ''VideoGame/SilentHill4'' may count. He's just a [[PsychopathicManChild little kid]] who wants his mom back. Plus he was raised by a cult of {{manipulative bastard}}s.
* [[spoiler:The [[OmnicidalManiac real Overlord Zenon]]]] from ''VideoGame/Disgaea2CursedMemories'' is this trope. "Everyone who has ever come close to me, has betrayed me..."
* Jack Krauser is retroactively implied to be of this trope in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'', as Darkside Chronicles explains that his reasons for turning to Wesker was because that was the only option left for him to do the thing he did well at, fighting, after his mission with Leon resulted in him being fired from SOCOM due to an arm injury that never recovered.
* Dr Stahngun/[[spoiler:Dimitri Allen]] in ''VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonAndTheUnwoundFuture''. He's only villainous in order to bring back the woman he loved. Layton even acknowledges he'd never go so far as to kill anyone.
* ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2: Mask of the Betrayer'' features the Founder, the definition of WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds. She inflicted the PlayerCharacter with a soul-eating curse and set into motion events that threaten the very fabric of the TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms, all to save her lover from [[AndIMustScream the Wall of the Faithless]].
* Yasha from ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath'' is a combination of this, In Name Only, and Stoic Woobie, who is the only one of the deities that turned on Asura to feel legitimate regret for forcing humanity into a MartyrdomCulture after betraying Asura.
* The Locusts from ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'' were revealed to be this, despite being AlwaysChaoticEvil. It turned out that they were fighting a losing war against the Lambent and they invaded the surface world as a means of survival.
* VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog starts out as this in his [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure2 debut]], as he seeks revenge on humanity for the death of his first and only friend, Maria. He later becomes an anti-hero, then later a hero.
* In the ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' series:
** [[spoiler:Idunn]], the TrueFinalBoss. She's actually [[spoiler:the [[LastOfTheirKind last of her kind]], trying to resurrect the species, which humans had driven away from Elibe.]]
** King Zephiel. The prequel shows [[UsedToBeASweetKid he was once a kind-hearted]] [[TheAce ace]] prince who probably would have made a fine king. Shame his [[AbusiveParents asshole father]] drove him into misanthropic insanity by trying to kill him ''at least'' twice (and nearly succeeding the second time). His sister, Princess Guinevere, says how after King Desmond almost succeeded in poisoning Zephiel (and said poison was implied to be something along the lines of mercury), he was never the same again. He comes to the conclusion that [[HumansAreBastards humans are responsible for the evil in the world]], and that it would be better off being returned to the dragons.
** [[spoiler:Yen'fay]] from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening''. He's forced to be a general in an army hellbent on conquering the world because his sister is under constant watch, and leaving his position will result in her dying from the army's spies.
* [[spoiler:The 3,000 year-old king AZ]] from ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY''. [[spoiler:Formerly the ancient king of Kalos from 3000 years ago, his Floette, one he loved very much, ended up in the great war, and died, being brought to AZ in a small coffin. This Saddened, yet angered AZ, creating a machine that would revive his Floette. he succedded, but his pain and anger was too great, as he converted his machine into an ultimate weapon that ended the war in one fell swoop. Yet after all this, his Floette, shocked and saddened at his action, left him, as he killed many pokemon to power his machine. The resulting energy left him and Floette immortal, reducing him to WalkingTheEarth, trying to atone for his sins. He succeeds in the end, finally letting go of his anger and meeting his floette after 3000 years of trying to find.]] "[[TearJerker Sniff]]".
* [[spoiler:Cyrus]] from ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl''. While his goal is villainous to those outside, he only wishes to rid the world of the emotions that plagued him for his life. While he does have [[spoiler:a lake where a spirit needed to create something for his plan bombed, as well as two others planned for the same fate]], he does as little harm as possible in the process and [[spoiler:releases the spirits after he completes what he needed them for]]. He treats his Pokémon and allies great as well, if his Crobat and [[spoiler:one of the Galactic admins going into the Distortion World when it closes so he won't be alone]] are any indication. He also has shades of feeling like he's in too deep to stop, considering how he acts towards the player.
* ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario''
** Count Bleck, who -- despite wanting to [[OmnicidalManiac unmake the world]] -- [[BenevolentBoss genuinely cares for his henchmen]], and [[spoiler:is [[LoveMakesYouEvil driven by the loss of his love]] rather than actual evil ([[HeelFaceTurn even helping the heroes]] near the end after being reunited with her).]]
** [[AllThereInTheManual It's also implied]] that [[TheDragon the cold and heartless Nastasia]] is loyal to him because she used to be a bat which he freed from a trap, leading her to [[HumanityEnsues take on a humanoid form in order to repay him]]. [[spoiler:After Count Bleck dies/disappears at the end of the game, she has a complete breakdown and starts crying.]]

[[AC:VisualNovels]]
* Rider/[[spoiler:Medusa]] from ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', throughout the whole series. Her past involves [[spoiler:getting bullied by sisters as well as humans and turning into a monster]] and her resolve in joining the war is simply to protect [[spoiler:Sakura]] simply because they're kindred spirits. Too bad that [[spoiler:Sakura]] handed down the Master status to Shinji and Rider also suffered her abuses, but since it's what [[spoiler:Sakura]] wanted and all to protect her, Rider had to embrace her status as a 'villain'.
** Even when she is returned to [[spoiler:Sakura's]] control, she still fits this, being quite willing to [[spoiler:kill Shirou and Rin if necessary to save Sakura (even if Sakura herself is opposed)]]. In Hollow Ataraxia, she even admits that she would happily destroy the entire city if necessary to save [[spoiler:Sakura]].
* [[spoiler:Takano]] from ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'' takes and interesting yet disturbing approach on {{Woobie}}s. Her motive for uncovering the truth about [[spoiler:Hinimizawa Syndrome]] starts out noble enough, but due to a combination of desperation and [[spoiler:severe PTSD from her experience with the OrphanageOfFear]], she becomes [[spoiler:progressively more insane as time passes]].
* [[spoiler:Kiryuu Moeka]] from ''VisualNovel/SteinsGate''. [[spoiler:Her villainous acts are done on behalf of her superior, FB, who took advantage of her weakened psyche when she was contemplating suicide. Moeka states that she would do anything if FB asked her to.]]

[[AC:WebComics]]
* In ''151 Hidden Depths'', [[http://hiddendepths.smackjeeves.com/comics/1405524/050-diglett/ Diglett]] becomes this after evolving into [[http://hiddendepths.smackjeeves.com/comics/1407376/051-dugtrio/ Dugtrio]]. [[PintsizedPowerhouse Being small]] led him to be rejected from joining the Pokemon Police Force so he proves he's a force to be reckoned with by [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds destroying cities]].

[[AC:WebOriginal]]
* Dr. Horrible from ''WebVideo/DoctorHorriblesSingAlongBlog'' is a combination of this and Well-Intentioned [[spoiler:until his DespairEventHorizon caused by Penny's death plunges him into complete villainy. Even so, he retains traces of this, given his decidedly depressing turn for the worse]].
* Flippy from ''WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends''. He's a nice guy always happy to help people, but his time in [[ShellShockedVeteran the war]] left him with a sadistic, murderous SplitPersonality that emerges to kill everyone around him whenever something (like loud, sudden noises or flashing lights) reminds him of said war. In the "Double Whammy" two-parter, he gets deeply remorseful and traumatised when his good side comes back and sees the carnage.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* The Ice King of ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'', especially after the revelation that [[spoiler:he [[WasOnceAMan used to be normal]] until he tried an antique crown that resulted in [[SanitySlippage a loss of sanity]], along with [[BlessedWithSuck gradually gaining supernatural ice powers and becoming unsightly]]]], leading to his present self.
** A lot of fans see Lemongrab as being this. Even though he did pretty horrible things, he was described by WordOfGod as "not evil- just completely unadjusted to living" and "dysfunctional," thanks to his failed experiment-induced problems with his noggin.
* Zuko from ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' is somewhere between this and Noble, before his HeelFaceTurn. He wants to capture the Avatar because it is the only way for him to restore his honor and gain his father's approval.
* In the SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' [[spoiler:Tarrlok]] and his brother [[spoiler:Noatak, better known as Amon]] turn out to be examples of this flavor of Anti-Villain. Their father was [[spoiler:Yakone, the infamous crime lord that Aang had defeated and {{depower}}ed decades before the start of the series]]. [[spoiler:Yakone]] proved to be a [[AbusiveParents Horrible Father]], perhaps almost as bad as Ozai. [[spoiler:He forced Tarrlok and Noatak to learn bloodbending so that he could use them to exact his promised vengeance against Republic City. Ultimately, Noatak turned on him and ran away from home, with a festering hatred of bending that would one day lead to him starting the Equalist revolution under the guise of Amon.]] Ultimately, [[spoiler:Tarrlok kills himself and Amon by igniting the fuel tank of Amon's escape boat using an Equalist shock gauntlet.]]
** [[spoiler:Noatak]] also arguably fits as Well-Intentioned as Tarrlok implies that he genuinely believes that what he's doing is for the greater good.
* In the movie ''WesternAnimation/BatmanMaskOfThePhantasm'', we have the Phantasm[[spoiler:/Andrea Beaumont]].
* Charmcaster becomes this in ''WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien'' with her motive being [[spoiler:to save her home dimension and resurrect her father]], with shades of Noble, especially after [[spoiler:she moves into neutral territory as a DimensionLord following the failure to accomplish her aforementioned goals.]]
* An interesting subversion/deconstruction of this character type can be found in [[BigBad Demona]] of ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}''. She's certainly got enough nuance and tragedy in her backstory to qualify her as a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds, but at the same time she has both the motive and means to do probably the most large-scale damage of any villain in the RoguesGallery and her obsession with getting revenge for her own pain has blinded her to the fact that she's spent the last millennium just digging herself in deeper.
* Nox of ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'', who desperately aims to be a WellIntentionedExtremist type but is [[TragicVillain mostly inhibited by his own delusions]].
* Princess of ''[[WesternAnimation/AlphaAndOmega Alpha and Omega 2: A Howl-iday Adventure]]'' is the top enforcer and TheDragon to her father [[BigBad King]]. However, she doesn't share the same [[TheSocialDarwinist Social Darwinist]] mindset as the rest of the Rogues and follows her father out of familial loyalty to him. Although this doesn't stop her from caring for and trying to protect [[MoralityPet Runt]] when he's taken as the Rogues' hostage.
* [[spoiler:Eddy]] from ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' is one, though it wasn't made obvious until the BigDamnMovie that served as the series finale.
* Boba Fett from ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' is just a young kid who watched his father be killed by the protagonists and [[AvengingTheVillain wants revenge]]. Although he's definitely in the wrong, it's obvious from the beginning that he only wants to hurt his father's murderer and is reluctant to drag innocent parties into his schemes. To add to this, he's [[CorruptionOfAMinor pressured into most of his more heinous acts]] by his EvilMentor, Aurra Sing. By the time the original Star Wars trilogy rolls around, however, he's grown into a straight-up villain.
* Doctor Reginald Bushroot from ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck''. Considering a vast majority of his crimes in the series are fueled by a desire to cure his loneliness and that he was a legitimately nice guy before the accident that gave him his powers, it's hard not to root for him in some instances. This is ''especially'' true in "It's a Wonderful Leaf", where he didn't set out to cause any trouble and only began his EvilPlan for the episode upon getting attacked by an angry mob just for looking different.
[[/folder]]
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! Well-Intentioned Anti-Villain

The WellIntentionedExtremist. They may believe in a good goal, but use whatever means there are to achieve it. The sympathy the audience can garner for this character comes from the fact that they basically share the same goal as the hero, but are pragmatically, expediently, or pessimistically, ruthless about it. They can very much be conscious about their morally questionable actions, but feel that there [[IDidWhatIHadToDo is no other way]]. Common antagonist in WhiteAndGreyMorality scenarios and relatively likely to be redeemed if shown the error of their ways depending on ''how'' "extremist" they are. These Anti-Villains may become more malicious true villains, but they are more likely to either stay in this category or possibly become an In Name Only Anti-Villain or an Anti-Hero. The In Name Only can also be a revolutionary of some sort, fighting against the main character only due to their affiliation to some government or organization, and usually fighting for a noble cause. Alternatively, [[ObliviouslyEvil they may not even realize what they're doing is wrong or making things worse in the first place]]. The more heroic examples tend to overlap with either UnscrupulousHero, or NominalHero.

The defining Trope for this type of Anti-Villain would be the '''WellIntentionedExtremist''', of course.

Related Tropes: NecessarilyEvil, ObliviouslyEvil, TotalitarianUtilitarian, UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans, VillainyFreeVillain.

[[folder:Examples]]
[[AC:{{Anime}} & {{Manga}}]]
* Kijima from ''Manga/{{Enigme}}'' is arguable less extreme, but his unstable facade puts him here.
* Kuze from the second season of ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'' is a WellIntentionedExtremist who only wants to see the refugees in Japan be treated with the same respect as any normal citizen of the country. Once he breaks free from the scheme of a corrupt bureaucrat, he wants to turn the refugee zones into autonomous countries. Failing that, he has a plan to allow all the refugees to transcend the need to have physical bodies.
* In ''Manga/AkameGaKill'', Night Raid, given that they are the [[BlackAndGrayMorality only heroic characters in the series]].
* The "heroes of justice" in ''Anime/AkahoriGedouHourLovege'' are this ''at best''.
* Folken from ''Anime/TheVisionOfEscaflowne'' really just wants peace. Unfortunately, it will take massive bloody mecha battles and razing a few kingdoms to get there.
* ''Manga/DefenseDevil'' has a very misguided version in Legato.
* [[spoiler:Admiral Gil Graham]] in ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAs'', who set the whole thing up in order to seal the Book of Darkness when it awoke, in order to prevent future tragedies. That Hayate would be collateral damage was unfortunate but unavoidable in his mind. Nobody judges him too harshly for this, because, honestly, no one else had come up with a ''better'' plan for stopping the Book.
* Pain, Konan, [[spoiler:and Itachi]] of ''Manga/{{Naruto}}''. The former two were orphans who tried to bring an end to the civil wars plaguing their country, but after their best friend died, gave up on less violent means of securing peace. [[spoiler:Itachi performed the Uchiha massacre because he was ordered to do so by the village in order to avert a civil war, and spared his brother]].
** [[spoiler:Ultimately Sasuke qualifies as well. He wants to reform the Shinobi world via a violent revolution that involves killing all of the current Kages.]]

[[AC:ComicBooks]]
* ComicBook/{{Magneto}} may very well define this category, at least when he's on the Heel side of his HeelFaceRevolvingDoor. He only wants to protect his people and sees a war between mutants and humans as inevitable so he wants to strike first. He may even have a point or two about this, he just can't resist going several steps too far.
* Magneto's [[TheDragon Dragon]] from the 90s, Exodus, also fits this definition. A literal KnightTemplar who's only wish is to save his people, yet frequently ends up at odds with the heroes due to being a WideEyedIdealist who won't accept any shades of grey. The 2014 run of ''Uncanny X-Men'' showed him helping S.H.I.E.L.D. in a ''massive'' HeelFaceTurn, which seems to indicate he may finally have admitted that not all humans are irrevocably evil.
* In ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye,'' [[spoiler:Brainstorm]] wants to build a time machine to stop the war from ever happening and save billions of lives. The Decepticons are the ones with the equipment - probably down to all the pillaging - so he becomes a double agent for them, while at the same time never handing over any genuinely useful information - just old information repackaged.

[[AC:{{Film}}s -- Animation]]
* [[spoiler:The zombies]] from ''WesternAnimation/ParaNorman''. They [[spoiler:executed Agatha]] out of fear and feels genuinely remorseful for it now.

[[AC:{{Film}}s -- Live-Action]]
* Arguably, [[KnightTemplar Chang]] in ''Film/OnlyGodForgives'', though he may be far too merciless and cold to qualify.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* Thrawn ends up here by the time of his [[Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy last campaign]]. He started out as a [[AntiHero morally ambiguous]] character in ''Literature/OutboundFlight'', but turned into a ruthless, pragmatic man who wasn't above committing some truly villainous acts to achieve his goals. His [[WellIntentionedExtremist motives were understandable]], especially after they were retconned into stemming from a desire to protect the galaxy from an imminent invasion, but he was most definitely not a good or nice man. His men adored him, but [[MamaBear Leia]] might have had something to say about that...
* Javert in ''Literature/LesMiserables'', who is only trying to maintain order and enforce the law, but is extremely rigid in carrying out his goals.
* Lord Asriel from ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials''. His goal is to eliminate an evil god, but the ways he gets to it includes killing a little boy by separating him from his soul.
* The priestess Lady Melisandre from Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire and possibly the other red priests. Her ultimate goal is saving the world and she's willing to do pretty much anything to achieve it, including killing a child. On a personal level, she's cold and fanatical, but also kind and extremely forgiving. The motivations and actions of the rest of her order are less clear.
* Creator/FyodorDostoevsky's novel ''Literature/CrimeAndPunishment'' has numerous characters who fit this description. With some of the more obvious villains you have Svidrigailov, the man who, in the good-aligned attempt to court Dunya, utilizes whatever means he possibly can, including threat of rape and bribery, in order to do so. Although he may qualify as an AntiHero, seeing as he is the protagonist, Raskolnikov also qualifies for this. He is inspired by the goal of showing that he has what it takes to add something to and improve the world, and resorts to murder, theft, and resisting arrest to show it.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* Walternate from ''Series/{{Fringe}}'' seems to fall into this category. Yes, he wants to destroy our universe, but for all he knows there isn't any other way to save his. He thinks the two universes are at war. True, he is openly malevolent towards [[spoiler:Olivia while she is trapped on the other side, along with anyone that helps her]] and is quite ruthless, but he occasionally has ''higher moral standards'' than Walter. [[spoiler:Most obviously displayed when he flat-out rejects his top scientist's idea to text cortexiphan on children, an idea that Walter developed and executed far before the conflict between the universes began]]. Though it was later revealed that Walter only did that in an attempt to [[spoiler:find a safe way to cross to the other universe and return Peter home]].
* Thomas from ''Series/TheEvent'', also [[spoiler:Sophia after Thomas' death and finding out the aliens homeworld is dying.]]
* Walter White from ''Series/BreakingBad'', in addition to being an AntiHero, [[spoiler:before he [[SlowlySlippingIntoEvil reaches the end of the slippery slope]] and becomes a VillainProtagonist.]]
* ''Series/{{Touch}}'': Guillermo Ortiz may be the most ruthless person to ever hold this distinction, [[KnightTemplar singularly devoted to the goal of killing a group of 36 people whose very existence he believes]] [[TheHeretic to be a crime against]] {{God}} [[YouAreWhatYouHate and bound to this goal by being a member of said group (presumably he intends to commit suicide after all of the others have been killed),]] but when he nearly took the life of someone outside this group of 36, it caused him to doubt himself, and when his attempt to confess his sins forced him to do what he'd narrowly avoided doing in order to remain free to continue his mission, he had a severe crisis of faith that only ended when he saved the life of a man who'd been DrivenToSuicide and restored the man's will to live. It truly appears that he is genuine in his belief that in hunting down and killing 35 highly gifted individuals and then committing suicide he is merely [[ChurchMilitant carrying out God's will.]]
* Raymond Reddington from ''Series/TheBlacklist'' fits this trope to a tee. He is a hardened criminal who cooperates with the FBI to bring down criminals who are far, far more amoral than he is. However, he is utterly ruthless in pursuing them, and anyone who double-crosses him is unlikely to live to tell the tale. He has a strong moral code, but it sometimes comes across like BlueAndOrangeMorality to the other characters (most of whom are FBI agents) because it often doesn't align with the law.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* Marche in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance''. He a VillainProtagonist because of this trope. All of his friends in the real world hate their lives. When they discover a book that warps reality into the land of Ivalice, everyone suddenly has everything they want. They're happy and want to stay there. But no. Marche won't accept it. He's determined to take everyone back to the real world because it's just not right to live a lie and abandon their parents and problems that they have to face in the real world. For Marche's brother, that would mean taking away his ability to walk and turn him back into the wheelchair-bound helpless child that he was. He pretty much has NO reason to ever go back to the real world, because nothing in his life went right before coming to Ivalice.
** Marche is arguable. He wants to go back to the real world, but neglects to notice that Ivalice is real as well and that his friends are plenty happier in it. He also refuses to go back alone and doesn't even bother trying to find a way to leave without destroying the world.
* [[spoiler:Namatame]] in ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'' (due to being oblivious to the consequences of his actions more than anything else).
* Matriarch Benezia from ''VideoGame/MassEffect1''. And depending on which camp are you on, [[spoiler:Saren Arterius]]. At the end of ''3'', [[spoiler:even The Illusive Man can come off as this, despite his utterly brutal experiments.]]
* Keith Evans in ''VideoGame/PsychicForce''. He truly wanted the good of his kinsmen, who was being oppressed by humanity and the only way to do it, he thinks, is being a DarkMessiah.
* Jedah Dohma from ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}''. He wants nothing but to eliminate all the evil that plagues Makai, but on the other hand his plan consists in fusing all the Darkstalkers (including the good ones) in a gigantic demon womb.
* Big Boss in ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' did the things he did, besides for his BloodKnight tendencies, out of a legitimate desire to free soldiers so they won't have to be expendable pawns of the government, due to his experience with The Boss' death (and his involvement in it). He also is shown to forgive and save his enemies/defectors if they are threatened, as evidenced by his saving Kyle Schneider's resistance from NATO's nuclear bombing of Outer Heaven despite the latter group being against him.
** Solidus Snake is similar, having taken in people who weren't wanted anywhere else, and also doing terrorist actions in order to prevent the Patriots from eliminating everything America stood for, such as liberty.
** The original founders of the Patriots were also this, as they did legitimately attempt to follow through with The Boss' will, and thought they were doing so with their actions.
* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' had The Master, the main villain whose only objective is to unify the wastelanders into a single race and thus prevent any more fighting and wars.
* Look no further than Ammon Jerro from ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2''. The man has an army of powerful fiends at his beck and call, murders several people who get in the way of his recovering a MacGuffin, and is canonically NeutralEvil. [[spoiler:He's not the BigBad, not even TheDragon. He's the former court mage of Neverwinter, trying to save Faerûn from the BigBad by whatever means necessary. And you get to give him an absolutely ''epic'' TheReasonYouSuckSpeech.]]
** [[spoiler:The BigBad he's opposing, the King of Shadows, can come across as this when you meet the ghosts of people who knew him. He willingly underwent a transformation into a magical golem called The Guardian so he could protect the Illefarn empire, and everything he's done since then, from binding himself to the [[TheDarkSide Shadow Weave]] to waging war on Neverwinter, and all the carnage he's caused, is simply him fulfilling the orders programmed into him.]]
* In ''VideoGame/ArcanumOfSteamworksAndMagickObscura'', [[spoiler:Kerghan is a powerful necromancer who seeks the destruction of all life... because, after centuries of using necromancy to study the place where souls go after death, he's wholeheartedly convinced that since all beings undergo suffering during life, the comparable peace associated with death is a desirable state of existence. This view is backed up by one of your party members, who is likely to have been killed and resurrected during the events of the game.]]
* Archie and Maxie, the leaders of Team Aqua and Team Magma in ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire'', who are doing what they think is best for the environment.
* The majority of Team Galactic (excepting Charon, of course) in ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'' fall under this category, particularly Commander Saturn and Commander Mars, who sincerely believe the universe will be better off as the result of their plans. Cyrus would like to think he's this type, but he's truly a particularly dark {{Woobie}}.
* [[spoiler:Lysandre]] from ''VideoGame/{{Pokemon X|AndY}}''. While he does [[spoiler:plan on wiping out life from the world]], he only does so because he feels it's his duty to make the world a better place due to his lineage and feels pressed for time due to humans not living forever. He even shows remorse over the path he's chosen throughout the game and gives the player an option to stop his plans. He certainly did a poor job hiring henchmen, however. Note that this is ''not'' true in Y, due to his motivation changing.
* When it becomes apparent that [[spoiler:[[VillainProtagonist Martin Walker]]]] is not the [[spoiler:main hero]] of ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'', he starts to fall squarely into this to a T with a dose of SanitySlippage and being ObliviouslyEvil. In the ending, he even outright says that he never meant to hurt anyone. [[spoiler:If you choose to kill the rescue team in the epilogue, he goes from a Well-Intentioned Anti-Villain into a full-blown one]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Bioshock|1}}'': [[EvilOverlord Andrew Ryan]]. The [[ApocalypticLog Audio Diaries]] show that he never let go of his dream, even as he went from a staunch idealist to a power-mad dictator.
** [[MamaBear Grace Holloway]] in ''VideoGame/{{Bioshock 2}}'' believes in [[EvilutionaryBiologist Sofia Lamb]] completely and believes Delta kidnapped Eleanor. Lamb herself ''might'' have been this once, but [[MoralEventHorizon definitely isn't now]]. [[KnightTemplar At all]].
* [[spoiler:Kessler]] from ''VideoGame/{{inFAMOUS}}''. His end goals are noble, hoping to prepare the protagonist Cole, [[spoiler:his past self, for the coming of the Beast, an entity intent on destroying all life, which Kessler failed to stop in his own timeline. So by extension, he hopes to save Cole's world.]] He hopes to do this, however, by showing Cole firsthand the kinds of atrocities he has to prepare for when [[spoiler:the Beast comes, as well as the agonizingly difficult choices he'll have to make for the greater good, resulting in the slaughter of thousands of innocent lives at Kessler's hands, including Cole's girlfriend and Kessler's former love, Trish]].
* Viridi from ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising''. As the Goddess of Nature, she is disgusted with the way humans fight against each other and pillage nature, so she tries to wipe them off the earth with the Reset Bomb. While Palutena and Pit agree with her views, they also say that what she does is not the solution and fight her forces to stop her Reset Bombs. Later on she [[spoiler:joins with Palutena and [[EnemyMine Hades]] to fight the Aurum Invasion]] and when [[spoiler:Palutena is possesed by the Chaos Kin, she helps Pit so he can rescue her]].
* In the ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' series:
** Lord Arvis of Velthomer in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar'' wanted Jugdral to achieve a state of peace and is willing to do and sacrifice anything for it, including siding with the Dark Bishop Manfroy and [[spoiler:[[PlayerPunch killing Sigurd and the majority of his followers]]]]. He makes good on his promises and actually turns Grannvale into a benign, noble [[TheEmpire Empire]] for about 10 years... until Manfroy gives his son Julius the tome of Loptous and everything Arvis worked hard for goes straight to hell and he can't even stop it. By the time he's confronted by Seliph, he's been so miserable and outclassed by Manfroy and Julius that he's just fighting to be able to die in the battlefield, giving him shades of In Name Only.
** [[spoiler:Walhart]] from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening''. While his methods (conquering the world) are very villainous, he's surprisingly noble and only does it to try to avert an even bigger disaster, making him this and Noble.

[[AC:WebComics]]
* [[TheDragon Redcloak]] from ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', initially; he became more of a straight villain over time due to his association with [[BigBad Xykon]]. Then he realizes that he is being corrupted and then becomes even more sympathetic and dangerous.
* General Xinchub of ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' started out as this...he did a lot of villainous things with the best of intentions, in order to protect humanity from threats it wasn't even aware of. Of course, by the time the main cast encounters him, he has discovered that he really ''{{e|vilFeelsGood}}njoys'' doing all these things and is a much less ambiguous villain. About the best thing you can say about him now is that [[RecruitingTheCriminal Petey finds him useful.]]
* Tangerine from ''Webcomic/{{Sinfest}}'' doesn't do the stuff she does out of malice, but as a result of not knowing any better. More recently she and Lil' E have slipped into In Name Only territory.
* [[JustTheFirstCitizen Baron]] [[EmperorScientist Wulfenbach,]] absolute ruler of Europa in ''Webcomic/GirlGenius''. He demands obedience of his subjects, kidnaps the children of notable [[MadScientist Sparks]] to his floating citadel in the sky, sends criminals and troublemakers to the [[GeniusLoci Castle]] [[DeathTrap Heterodyne]] to repair it, [[SnipeHunt despite nobody even possibly knowing how to,]] and has burned entire towns down to the ground to contain unmanageable problems within. He's also absolutely fanatical about keeping the Heterodyne bloodline under control, which puts him at odds with the protagonist Agatha, herself the last known heir of the family. The thing is, [[VillainHasAPoint he has a point]]. Prior to his taking control, Europa was a chaotic, feudal place of madness where most Sparks ran wildly and warred against each other with their insane creations, the worst of which included the exceptionally powerful Heterodyne family, which for at least fifteen hundred years had been, with two very notable exceptions, irredeemably evil warmongers singlehandedly capable of bringing Europa into ruin. Everything Baron Wulfenbach has done, however horrific, has been to restore peace and order to the country, [[TheExtremistWasRight and he did a damn good job of it too.]] [[spoiler:Not only that, but once he [[TimeStandsStill freezes himself along with the entirety of Mechanicsburg]] in a bid to keep Agatha from reclaiming the seat of her power, Europa quickly descends once again into a terrible anarchy unmatched by any before.]]

[[AC:WebOriginal]]
* [[spoiler:Jaffers]] and the obstacles [[spoiler:(except for [[WebVideo/ThatDudeInTheSuede Suede]] at the end of part 5)]] in ''WebVideo/SuburbanKnights'' just want to protect the gauntlet from [[spoiler:[[BigBad Malechite]] so that he cannot pose a threat to our technology-dependent world]]. In the process, however, they're willing to fight and kill anyone also looking for the gauntlet in order to prevent that from happening.
* [[Wiki/SCPFoundation The Global Occult Coalition]], while, like the SCP Foundation, ultimately trying to protect humanity from potential threats, is quite a bit more extreme, seeking the total destruction of all paranormal objects.
* Skitter in ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' wavers between this and PragmaticHero -- she is unquestionably a criminal, but her heroic motives and aspirations frequently lead her to risk life and limb for {{Innocent Bystander}}s being threatened by other supervillains in the town.
* [[spoiler: Ken'tu Kel]], the BigBad from ''Literature/TheLayOfPaulTwister''. His evil plan is to [[spoiler: reunite the two sundered worlds]], which Paul even agrees would actually be a good thing, probably. It's his callous indifference to the suffering that would come along with it, and his relentless willingness to [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans do whatever it would take to accomplish his goal, no matter who gets hurt]] that makes Paul realize he needs to be stopped.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* Jet from ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''. He has a good reason to be opposing the Fire Nation, he just takes his grudge way too far.
** SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' has [[spoiler:the Red Lotus]], whose goal is [[spoiler:to [[BombThrowingAnarchists throw the world into chaos]]...on the grounds that it will [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans eliminate government oppression and corruption]]]].
** The next and final season's villain, Kuvira, went the opposite route. She wanted to avoid the chaos that Zaheer's anarchy brought and bring peace and stability to the Earth Kingdom. So she usurped the monarchy, reshaped the Earth Kingdom into the Earth Empire, becoming the iron-fisted leader of a totalitarian state in the process.
* Earl of Lemongrab of ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' just wants the castle to be quiet, clean, orderly, and free of pranks and sass. So he sends EVERYONE to the dungeon for impossible lengths of time. Also, this guy doesn't exactly [[TheMentallyDisturbed have all his marbles together]], so he overlaps a lot with TheWoobie.
* Tony of ''WesternAnimation/AlphaAndOmega'' pressures his son to enter an ArrangedMarriage with a complete stranger and will enact a war with the Western Pack to take their territories if they don't comply. But once you get past his {{Jerkass}} behavior, his motivation isn't warmongering, but trying to ensure that his pack will have enough food and resources to survive, even if they must take it by force.
* Kang the Conqueror in ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'' becomes sort of this. The sole reason why he wants ComicBook/CaptainAmerica dead is because he blames Cap for disrupting the timeline (remember, Cap got preserved in a block of ice in the North Atlantic after an accident in his last mission in the 40's and then was revived to present times by the Avengers), which for an unexplained reason causes the destruction of the world within 10 years and almost erases Kang's wife Ravonna from existence.
** The "unexplained reason" is later revealed in season 2 as it turns out that [[spoiler: a Skrull impersonating Captain America caused a war between Skrulls, Krees and mankind, resulting in the destruction of Earth.]]
[[/folder]]
-----
! Villain in Name Only

These characters are NEVER actively malevolent. They range from simply being neutral characters who happen to have some other reason for opposing the hero to being outright benevolent, only considered villains because the villains they fight are much more heroic. Ironically, these characters can be extremely dangerous to the hero as their high skill at arms/competence more than makes up for their lack of vileness. Fighting them also poses a moral dilemma which can also sap the hero's morale. It is at this point where an AntiVillain starts to blur with the HeroAntagonist. Having to kill a particularly well liked In Name Only AV in a boss fight can be a PlayerPunch. Their deaths are extremely likely to be a TearJerker. These anti-villains stand virtually no chance of ever becoming straight-up villains and are much more likely to become a HeroAntagonist or even side with the hero in the end.

Related Tropes: more benign examples of MyCountryRightOrWrong or MyMasterRightOrWrong, NonMaliciousMonster (when the monster doesn't even have sentience to be a considered a character), PunchClockVillain, NobleTopEnforcer (when not a NobleDemon), mild examples of NecessarilyEvil, those who are ForcedIntoEvil, and occasionally a TokenGoodTeammate (when amongst a bunch of scumbags). The inversion of NominalHero, where a hero fighting with the good guys only does so with morally neutral motivations.

[[folder:Examples]]

[[AC:{{Anime}} & {{Manga}}]]
* ''Anime/AfroSamurai'' Afro's sensei -- [[spoiler:Who had taken Afro in and trained him with the other students, and provided him with a family and a good life to live]] -- only became an antagonist because [[spoiler:Afro found out he had the Number 2 heaband.]]
* ''Manga/AkameGaKill'' has Wave being one of the Jaegers for the incredibly corrupt empire. He is surrounded by some very evil types, yet still retains his sense of goodness and honor, fulfilling his duty to protect the peace for the innocent and hasn't brutally or coldly killed ''anyone'' yet. That nature of his is drawing him closer and closer to the RageBreakingPoint thanks to some of those in the empire he is supposed to answer to.
* ''Manga/HajimeteNoAku''. The "villains" actually try to force the world into doing nice things. The villains are so good, in fact, that the characters question the {{hero|WithAnFInGood}}es' good will and say that they are eviler...
* The Team Rocket trio from ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' were this for a looong time until [[TookALevelInBadass the Black/White series.]] They had started out as bumbling and humorous, but still villainous in personality, but by the end of the Johto arc, [[VillainDecay any evil they had was drained out]] and they were left as just bumbling and humorous.
* Excel and Hyatt from ''Manga/ExcelSaga'' are both a perfect example of a MinionWithAnFInEvil. Excel is a [[GenkiGirl hyperactive idiot]] who can't keep her focus on anything more than 3 seconds and lets her overt loyalty to Lord Il Palazzo prevent her from actually making rational decisions. Hyatt actually is competent but is constantly dying at the drop of a hat that she's only marginally more successful than Excel in carrying out their goals.
* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', this type applies to any of the Marines (particularly Smoker, Aokiji and Garp) that aren't corrupt or abusive, and follow a reasonable justice code that usually conflicts with the intentions of their KnightTemplar superiors.
* Coyote Starrk from ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' is only really considered an enemy because he follows Aizen. He fights against the heroes but never actually takes the step into actual villainy, never attacking to kill. It's eventually revealed that the only reason he joined them is [[spoiler:he is so powerful that his spirit energy kills any weaker hollows and he was tired of always being alone.]]
* Shin and Noi from ''Manga/{{Dorohedoro}}'' are an interesting example. Both seem to be BloodKnight assassins at a first glance, but in reality they are just {{Punch Clock Villain}}s that reserve their ruthlessness for those they are supposed to kill.
* [[spoiler:Sasaki]] in ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya''. [[spoiler:In a GenreSavvy display, she even states she KNOWS she's poised as "the villain of this story", but chooses not to follow through with playing the part, and actively helps in trying to sabotage the REAL villain's plan.]]
** Also the Computer Research Society President, who only opposed the SOS Brigade because Haruhi [[KickTheDog extorted a computer from him]]. Lately, though, he and Haruhi seem to be on better terms with each other.
* Ivan from ''Anime/DigimonSavers'', who kills Digimon to earn money to support his mother and his many siblings. He's a stark contrast with his boss [[MadScientist Kurata]].
* The title character of ''Manga/SquidGirl''. First of all, her threat of invading and taking over the surface world isn't taken very seriously by other characters (except [[OnlySaneMan Nagisa]]). If she actually ''tried'' to invade the surface, she would be defeated easily by the combined might of every military on the planet. However, it only takes ''[[BewareTheNiceOnes one person]]'' to keep her docile. Also, the worst thing she can actually do is trying to [[PrehensileHair tie you up with her tentacles]] and attempt to take over a beach restaurant. She is [[MundaneObjectAmazement very oblivious and naive]] to human society in general. In the end, she end ups a [[CuteMonsterGirl cute squid girl goofball]] with [[HarmlessVillain her villainy not taken seriously by anyone]].
* Chao Lingshen from ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima''. She's such an AntiVillain, in fact, that Negi had actually considered letting her complete her plan.
* ''{{Manga/Ratman}}'' is a [[VillainProtagonist protagonist]] version, and is actually a superhero {{Otaku}} who is only a "dark hero" because he was tricked into joining Jackal, an OddlySmallOrganization of rather goofy and nonthreatening villains. Since his missions have him breaking the law and put him at odds with the Hero Association (especially the more {{Jerkass}} heroes), he's a criminal, but takes every opportunity he can to use his powers to help people.
* Alyssa from the ''Anime/MaiOtome'' manga, who wants to end the Otome system so that she can spend more time with her sister.
* Panza from ''Manga/MuhyoAndRoji''. She ends up TakingTheBullet [[spoiler:for Roji]], and Muhyo points out that she's not evil like the rest of Ark.
* [[ByronicHero Maho Nishizumi]] from ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer'', especially when it's revealed that her reason for wanting to be a good Nishizumi heiress is [[spoiler:so that her younger sister Miho will be free to live her own way]].
* The Wolkenritter from ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAs'' spent centuries fighting in the service of the Book of Darkness' masters, but when they entered the service of Hayate, who had no desire for power or to see people harmed in her name, they are content to obey her command not to fight for her. However, when they realize that the Book will kill her unless it is filled, they set out to do so, but do so in a way that minimizes harm.
* Okay, this might take awhile, but throughout ''Anime/SenkiZesshouSymphogear G'', this is the heart of the role of Maria Cadenzavna Eve. At first, she's just convinced that she'll be the receptor of Fine and would save the world for calamity, something she took at heart, but the death of her sister casted doubts on her that she ended up taking on the mantle of a Noble antivillain, acting like a NobleDemon when she's really full of self-doubts about fulfilling her mission. Then, she found out that she's ''not'' the chosen receptor, putting her through more mental anguish, but at that point, she snapped into believing about 'doing whatever it takes to save the world', including siding with a nutjob [[EvenEvilHasStandards that she shows distaste of in the first place]] and mostly just mooching off her organization for his own butt (Dr. Ver), essentially, she became something of a WellIntentionedExtremist. Combine all those, and she has the qualities of a {{Woobie}}. Then Ver betrayed her and gleefully tells her that all those things like pitting her friends together, manipulating (and then killing) her mother, all because he's just looking out for his own welfare, she broke down, went back to her roots and struck against him, before she eventually pulls a HeelFaceTurn.
* Gaelio Bauduin from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans'' is a cheerful Gjallarhorn officer who believes in justice, he doesn't do anything villainous in his entire life, and in fact wants to reform the organisation from the inside. The only thing makes him a villain is the fact his job is to stop the protagonists. Not only he has to see his friends getting maimed and killed by [[SociopathicHero Mikazuki]], his gradual breakdown has corrupted him into a sad and vengeful person. [[spoiler: And in the end, he dies with the knowledge that his friends were betrayed by none other than his childhood friend, and the said friend would marry his ''[[{{Squick}} 9-year-old sister]]''.]]

[[AC:ComicBooks]]
* [[ComicBook/SubMariner Namor the Sub-Mariner]] whenever he is antagonizing the other superheroes of the Franchise/MarvelUniverse. His actions are mostly due to his hot-headed and anti-social personality.
* Comicbook/AmbushBug, back in his early days before he officially made a HeelFaceTurn.
* In Pre-Crisis days, Bizarro was Superman's {{Frenemy}}, despite being consistently considered part of Supey's RoguesGallery. His opposite thinking gave him a mild case of BlueAndOrangeMorality, and he was always dangerously stupid, but it was always clear that he never seriously intended to hurt anyone, and most stories ended with him and Superman parting on good terms.
* Another Silver Age Superman villain, Titano the Super-Ape, was always treated as a simple animal who couldn't be held responsible for his actions.

[[AC:FanWorks]]
* In the ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'' and ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' crossover fanfiction ''Fanfic/AShadowOfTheTitans'', Jade fits this trope, as she is only being a villain because circumstances forced her into the HIVE, and are currently keeping her there, though she has plans to defect as soon as she can.
* Similarly, in the ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}}'' crossover ''Fanfic/{{Kage}}'', Jade is only working with the villains because [[NiceJobBreakingItHero the Guardians' misconceptions]] and Nerissa's BlatantLies have forced her into it.
* [[spoiler:Nanoha herself]] is one of these in ''Fanfic/{{Game Theory|LyricalNanoha}}''. Definitely a good person, but the cause she's fighting for threatens to kill a lot of people.
* [[ParodySue Mariko Suou]] in ''Fanfic/PerfectionIsOverrated'' unwittingly serves the agenda of the BigBad by causing everyone to adore her through her SUE powers, and is [[TokenGoodTeammate the only SUE with anything near a healthy conscience]]. [[spoiler:In a side story, she realizes what is going on and tries to oppose the rest of the [=SUEs=], but the BigBad manages to get a SUE free of her powers and has her killed]].

[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* Naval Marshall General Isoroku Yamamoto from ''Film/PearlHarbor''. While being charged by the Japanese Empire with the task of somehow successfully destroying the American Pacific navy at anchor in shallow waters, he is making comments such as "A brilliant man would find a way not to fight a war."
* In ''Film/{{Underworld}}'' once the truth comes out, Lucian is a villain only by virtue of being on the other side. Somewhat unusually for this trope, both Selene and Michael recognize that he isn't a real villain, and turn on the ''real'' villain [[spoiler:Viktor.]]
* Dr. Connors in ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan'' is a genuine, kind man who only tests the Lizard formula on himself [[spoiler:to prevent Dr. Ratha from using it on unwitting test subjects at the veteran's hospital.]] Even when he turns into the Lizard he's only a WellIntentionedExtremist who wants to heal the world of weakness. Admittedly, he plans to do this by turning everyone into Lizard-creatures, but at least his intentions are noble. He puts himself firmly back into villain in name only territory by his actions [[spoiler:after he is cured, saving Peter's life.]]
* Ramsey Michel from ''Film/{{Chef}}'' appears to be a CausticCritic who gives Carl Casper's then-employer two stars. Casper takes it personally and trashes him in front of the entire restaurant. [[spoiler:Turns out, the reason for his rating is because the restaurant was deliberately restraining Casper's creativity (he's actually a fan of Chef Casper), and once he gets a chance to explain everything, the two patch things up, and Michel finances Casper's new restaurant.]]

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* Several of the Havenite military personnel in the ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' series are only villains because they happen to be part of a nation that is at war with Manticore. This is especially the case after Eloise Pritchart takes over as President and transforms Haven from a PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny into a genuine democracy. [[spoiler:They have now become straight protagonists after Haven and Manticore allied to fight Mesa.]]
* In many of the original ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'' stories, the perpetrator or the closest equivalent turns out to have merely been the victim of the circumstances, not known what they were doing, merely committing a lesser crime for understandable reasons, or at least to be a SympatheticMurderer taking justice in their own hands against an AssholeVictim who really had it coming. Once they're exposed and explain themselves, Holmes tends to let these characters off the hook even when they actually did do something illegal.
* [[MadScientist Nen Yim]] from the Literature/NewJediOrder was like this, putting her skills to the service of the [[ScaryDogmaticAliens Yuuzhan Vong]] more because they were [[MyCountryRightOrWrong her own people]] rather than because she believed in their cause (privately, she thinks her peoples' religion is bogus and their GodEmperor is [[TheCaligula a total nutjob]], though she'd never say it out loud). Indeed, her only actually ''villainous'' appearance is in ''Conquest'', the first book to feature her, in which she was more a sidekick to a much nastier MadScientist than a villain in her own right. Later on, she'd be the protagonist of her own subplot (''Rebirth''), helping [[TheDragon the Warmaster]] root out a [[TheStarscream Starscream conspiracy]] (the Enemy Lines duology), a cameo (''Destiny's Way'') or in an EnemyMine with the heroes followed by a HeelFaceTurn (''The Final Prophecy''), but any further real villainy was [[OffstageVillainy off-page]].
** Before that, in the ComicBook/XWingSeries, there was Admiral Teren Rogriss. In his first appearance (''Solo Command''), he's a good-natured officer who pulls an EnemyMine with General Han Solo to take down Warlord Zsinj. In the second (''Starfighters of Adumar''), more of his background is revealed, showing him to be an overall honorable man who happens to be on the side of the Empire. It's mentioned that he's fought the New Republic in ship-to-ship battles, but his name has never shown up in any so-called "dark projects" (like Imperial superweapons or Imperial Intelligence operations). Overall, he's a sympathetic character.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* Lt. Kavenaugh on ''Series/TheShield'' at least until the premiere of season 6 when he crosses the MoralEventHorizon.
* Enos from ''Series/TheDukesOfHazzard''. He is never really portrayed as corrupt or evil, and despite his DesignatedVillain role (by default by being on the same side as Boss Hogg), becomes quite sympathetic and likable over the course of the show. Enos is plagued by a strong sense of duty. He's a deputy, and sworn to uphold the law. Unfortunately for him, Boss Hogg controls the law. At times, one has to wonder if his goofing up isn't at least somewhat intentional as a way of helping the Dukes. Especially considering that he was able to become the head of the Los Angeles SWAT team.
* [[MinionWithAnFInEvil Sgt. Shultz]] and [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain Col. Klink]] from ''Series/HogansHeroes''
* The Gorgs in ''Series/FraggleRock''. While the Fraggles see them as cruel ogres, ''they'' just see the Fraggles as pests, and they actually have a valid reason to, seeing as the Fraggles steal vegetables from their garden. (The Fraggles don't consider this stealing; of course, the have a skewed view of many other beings, including humans.)

[[AC:{{Music}}]]
* The bully, representing Israel, in "Neighborhood Bully" by Music/BobDylan is called a bad guy by everyone in the neighborhood, but his actions suggest he's somewhere between an average man who's surprisingly hard to kill, and a downright hero, while everyone else hates him for some reason.
-->''"Well, he knocked out a lynch mob, he was criticized\\
Old women condemned him, said he should apologize\\
Then he destroyed a bomb factory, nobody was glad\\
The bombs were meant for him. He was supposed to feel bad"''

[[AC:{{Theatre}}]]
* John Dickenson in ''Theatre/SeventeenSeventySix'' is staunchly against Independency, even coming to blows with protagonist UsefulNotes/JohnAdams. His only claim to villainy is he's a Loyalist that truly believes America's best course is to remain with England.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* Grace Holloway in ''VideoGame/BioShock2'': She's on the bad guy's side, and sends waves of splicers against you, but she's only doing it because the BigBad made her life easier when it was at a low point, and because she believes [[spoiler:you kidnapped a child she was in charge of several years ago.]] If you spare her, she realises she's on the wrong side, and actually sends you some supplies later in the game.
* In ''VideoGame/NieR'', [[spoiler:The Shadowlord, who is [[TomatoInTheMirror actually the original Nier]]. His "villainy" is the only thing preserving human life at this point, and his only selfish actions in the series are to save his daughter - the same motivation that ironically [[NiceJobBreakingItHero drives the player character to kill him]] and [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt ruin everything forever]].]]
* The Guardians from ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'', especially Harpuia. They're essentially good people (technically, {{R|idiculouslyHumanRobots}}eploids) fighting for an evil government. Eventually they make a HeelFaceTurn.
* Litchi Faye-Ling in ''VideoGame/BlazBlue''. She actually disliked NOL and thinks Hazama is suspicious, but the situation forces her to join the bad guys, and Relius kept reminding her that [[MinionWithAnFInEvil she has a wavering heart that kept her from doing advances.]] She never makes any malicious plans on her own and the Sector Seven story had her try to walk around Ikaruga just to find Arakune and begging for help to Kokonoe, and not attacking unless provoked, in which she starts crossing {{Woobie}} too when it turns out that the Sector Seven treat her as a wanted criminal, and then Hazama-Relius fetched Nu-13 to drag her back. When the main storyline proper comes in, her only 'evil' action is to help Relius on his plan and 'say' that it's just to create a world where Lotte lived and did not turn to Arakune, apologizing as she had to beat down her friends, and being flabbergasted that Carl, for personal reasons, throws himself into villainy by helping Relius.
* Mid Boss in ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea|HourOfDarkness}}''. The worst thing he does is loot the party's picnic basket.
* Sif The Great Grey Wolf from ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' is a giant wolf that does [[spoiler:nothing beside protecting [[UndyingLoyalty his master's grave]], and will fight to the death for protecting it, even when he's too weak to stand.]]
* Maiden Astraea from ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls''. [[spoiler:The only reason she's even billed as a villain is because she has a demon's soul (she's the Valley of defilement's Archdemon), but it's outright stated that even in her bitter disillusionment after finding out about God's non-existence, she still hasn't lost her kind heart, and her soul is the most impure one because she's taking all the sins and suffering of the Valley's inhabitants on herself, relieving them of some of their misery. The Valley's denizens adore her, and will do absolutely anything to protect her, including judiciously slaughtering pesky soul-hunters looking to snag her soul. Like say, the player character. And she commands such loyalty simply by being a good person at heart.]] Sixth Saint Astraea, indeed.
* The Boss in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater''. Eventually revealed to be a highly compassionate and honorable person, as well as a FakeDefector who Snake is only forced to fight and kill because she's being used as a political scapegoat, [[HeroicSacrifice which she willingly goes along with to prevent a third world war]].
* Miles Edgeworth in the ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' series is either this or Well-Intentioned: he starts off as a more typical villain, trying his best to get all the defendants found guilty, but he has a HeelFaceTurn. Now, he looks for the truth, and helps Phoenix if need be.
* Both Eldigan and Ishtar from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar''. Eldigan is too LawfulStupid when it comes to knightly loyalty (and dies for it), and Ishtar was great to children and Tine, but just can't say "no" to [[BigBad Julius]].
** Ishtar, however, ''did'' go directly against Julius' orders and had children that were due to be sacrificed smuggled into Friege castle, and made it clear that anyone who laid a finger on them would be dealt with by her ''personally''. While she does end up dying for Julius, she does show that she's willing to disobey the orders of '''the most powerful character in the game''' in order to do what she feels is right. Really, if she wasn't in love with Julius she'd probably have done a HeelFaceTurn.
** The ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' series likes this trope. Others who fit this would be General Eagler from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade The Blazing Blade]]'', Selena and Glen from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones Sacred Stones]]'' and Levail from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn Radiant Dawn]]''.
* General Teo [=McDohl=] from ''VideoGame/SuikodenI''. And you, being his son, offed him because he serves the Empire, and you lead the rebels.
%%* Troy from ''VideoGame/SuikodenIV''.
* ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'':
** Tamoko in the first game, based on what we see of her. She's only on the side of the BigBad, and willing to try to kill the PlayerCharacter, because she loves him, and she even wants to stop his plans to save him. However, she ''is'' officially NeutralEvil according to game files, which doesn't actually contradict her behaviour if we assume she's otherwise willing to do evil but her True Love for the villain is stronger than those tendencies. But according to what we actually see her do, her being merely somewhat amoral rather than evil would be the most sensible explanation.
** In the sequel, [[spoiler:[[TheMole Yoshimo]]]], Tamoko's brother according to cut content. WhatASenselessWasteOfHumanLife indeed. [[TrueNeutral Even more clearly amoral rather than evil]], but forced to work for the villain through a MagicallyBindingContract.
* VideoGame/TalesSeries:
** Leon Magnus from ''VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny'', who's fighting you only to preserve the life of Marian, his surrogate mother figure. For double whammy, [[spoiler:so is his manipulator Hugo Gilchrist, who turns out to be his and Rutee's father and he's been possessed all along.]]
** Arietta from ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss''. She hates the party because they ''killed her mother'' (there were extenuating circumstances, but still) and because Anise essentially took over her job as Ion's guardian, gaining all his affection in the process. She doesn't understand why Ion doesn't care about her anymore. [[spoiler:She doesn't know that this Ion is a clone, not the one she knew. The boss fight where you kill her is a serious TearJerker.]]
* Sonia/[[spoiler:Chris Ryan]] from ''VideoGame/PsychicForce''. Her loyalty was actually programmed and [[spoiler:any events of her death proved to be soul-crushing for her little sister Wendy]].
* [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV Golbez]] and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyX Jecht]] in ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy''. The first is a StealthMentor, the second just wants a reunion with his son.
** The latter character was In Name Only in his original game as well, seeing how the only reason he's on the villain's end is because he fused with Sin after becoming Brask's Final Aeon with the intention of eliminating Sin, and was perfectly willing to die at the hands of his son as long as it at least ensured Sin's permanent destruction.
** [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Cloud Strife]] and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX Kuja]] are depicted as Anti-Villains in ''Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy'', being on the Warriors of Chaos side, yet not being too happy about their current position in the conflict, as well as sympathizing with the other side in the case of Cloud. It's also implied that Cloud's sympathizing for the Cosmos side is because a person he knew and cared for was there. Cloud eventually managed to defect to the Warriors of Cosmos, although at the cost of getting killed by Chaos at the end of the 12th cycle and having to be revived. Kuja, however, wasn't so lucky, thanks to Kefka and his implementing FakeMemories.
** General Leo from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' is the Empire's TokenGoodTeammate. He never once directly antagonizes the good guys, refuses Magitek infusion, is heartbroken [[spoiler:when all of the inhabitants of Doma are poisoned to death by Kefka]], gives fatherly advice to Terra, and [[spoiler:turns against Kefka as soon as the latter proves to be not so harmless. After being slain by Kefka, the heroes give him a heartfelt funeral]]. Plenty of characters make remarks around him to the effect of "Why is he with them?"
* From ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'', [[spoiler:N, leader of Team Plasma]] is easily the most [[TearJerker heartbreaking]] example of one of these in the Pokemon series, and has a bunch of qualities of the other 3 types above this one, with none of the truly evil traits that belong to them. [[spoiler:Fortunately, he gets to pull a HeelFaceTurn at the end.]]
* Lemon Browning in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsAdvance'' and ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsOriginalGeneration''. Despite her MadScientist tendencies, she's generally without malice and kind enough with her creations, and you off her merely because she just has to fight for the side she's on. Oh, and her relationship with [[NobleDemon Axel]] is genuine. [[spoiler:Add up that she's [[ManicPixieDreamGirl Excellen Browning]]'s AlternateUniverse counterpart...]]
** Originally in ''Advance'', [[VideoGameCaringPotential if you feel genuine enough]], you can avoid attacking her in the last stage and go beat down [[BigBad Vindel]], leaving Lemon's fate more open than surefire death.
* Sophitia Alexandra starting from ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soul Calibur IV]]'' goes down this path. Despite starting out as the holiest and purest of all fighters, her motherly instincts pushed her to protect her child who was under Soul Edge's influence by protecting said weapon that she swore to destroy. There's a reason why she's ''crying'' in her official art in IV.
** Her daughter Pyrrha gets the same treatment in Soul Calibur V. Being raised by Tira and manipulated into being a new host for Soul Edge, everything out of her mouth screams she doesn't want to do any of it.
* VideoGame/DonkeyKong himself when he's the antagonist, such as the classic arcade game or the ''VideoGame/MarioVSDonkeyKong'' series. He never has any malicious intent; he simply has trouble controlling his impulses and tends to get angry when he doesn't get what he wants, leaving [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]] to stop him. After Mario defeats DK, he generally forgives him and gives DK whatever he wanted in the first place.
* [[spoiler:Claus, AKA The Masked Man]] from ''VideoGame/MOTHER3''. He's only evil because [[spoiler:Porky revived his dead body and brainwashed him as an assassin.]]
* [[spoiler:Aphelion, the silver dragon]] from ''VideoGame/RadiataStories'' is the closest thing to a BigBad the game has--and wouldn't be considered evil on any conceivable moral scale if it weren't for the fact that [[spoiler:his plan '''cannot''' go through without killing his fellow dragons and the host of his opposite, Quasar.]]
* Mr Freeze in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'' is this with a bit of {{Woobie}}. As usual his main goal is to protect his wife and he only goes against Batman once in the entire game and that's just because Bruce's stubborness lead to a miscomunication between them.
* The Thieves Guild in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion''. Despite being unrepentant thieves they never kill, protect the poor and only target people who can easily afford the loss. Their leader the Grey Fox in particular fits this as he only resorts to crime due to a curse which he seeks to break.
* ''VideoGame/OdinSphere'': Odette deserves the title of "{{Jerkass}} {{Antagonist}}" more than she does "Villain". Unlike most other antagonists, Odette's ambition is to keep the living from [[BackFromTheDead helping dead souls escape the Netherworld]] or stealing her soul-absorbing crystals to use as weapons. Her most villainous action is trying to enforce a [[DealWithTheDevil contract]] with Oswald which was made ''for'' him while he was an infant; aside from this, most of the heroes would never even encounter her if they didn't keep jaunting in and out of the Netherworld for their own reasons. A throwaway line suggests that Odette's strictness stems from her fearing that too much rule-breaking would lead to TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. [[spoiler: She's absolutely right; not only does one hero's escape allow the BigBad back into the land of the living, but the her death lets one of the prophesied calamities [[SealedEvilInACan out of its can]]... along with possibly making death [[CessationOfExistence much worse than it ever was before]].]]
* General Horace Warfield from ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'': While Dominion forces are just going along with Arcturus Mengsk's self-serving plans, Warfield is AFatherToHisMen and always prioritizes citizen safety, regardless of who they are. He's even fine with working along with Jim Raynor to protect people. Of course, by the expansion, when Kerrigan flipped, he happens to be on her rampage list because she justifiably hates Mengsk and he's under Mengsk's employment, and Mengsk's negligence cost him his life. But before he perishes, he manages to give her a BIG WhatTheHellHero regarding her descent into villainy and how she'll just disappoint Raynor further if he sees her. This has enough of an impact on Kerrigan that she decides to honor his wish to spare his men.

[[AC:VisualNovels]]
* Lancer/Cu Chulainn from ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' is actually a laid back cool guy whose [[BloodKnight source of joy]] is good, fair fights and teasing. It's just that his Master is Kotomine Kirei ([[spoiler:after his previous Master got killed by him]]), a man that he finds disgusting. but [[HonorBeforeReason too honor-bound]] to [[LawfulNeutral obey the rules despite his misgivings]]. Kotomine's actions and his other servant Gilgamesh disgust him so much that he ends up defecting when the opportunity presents itself (which leads to him dying as a result). It does show when the show goes AlternateUniverse in ''VisualNovel/FateHollowAtaraxia'', where all he does is hang around fishing rather than being hostile.

[[AC:WebComics]]
* Various characters of Webcomic/TrueVillains could count as this. Cecile and Xeke only seem to help Xaneth because they are friends with Elia, and Mia is just going along with Sebastian. Had someone different taken her in, she could've easily been a hero.
* The Monster in the Darkness of Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick also counts as this type of Anti-Villain, especially since his encounter with Mr Stiffy : he is even shown [[spoiler:actively countering Xykon's plans]] in some of the [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1041.html later comics]] wich might even count as a full-on {{HeelFaceTurn}}.

[[AC:WebOriginal]]
* Notepad of ''WebVideo/DontHugMeImScared'' seems to genuinely want to give the puppets a good time, and when it all goes to hell she seems as horrified as they are. She's really more of a {{Jerkass}} ControlFreak than actually evil.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* [[TheChewToy Waspinator]] in ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars''. Technically, he's never done anything villainous, even compared to Megatron's other mooks.
* King Julien from ''WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar'' is a complete JerkWithAHeartOfGold but while he's a recurring antagonist, he repeatedly teams up with the Penguins to help them out. Okay so he sometimes messes things up even worse but at least he's ''trying''.
* General Iroh from ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''; [[CoolOldGuy A jolly old man]] who just happens to be on the side of [[TheEmpire the Fire Nation]], he has no malicious plan of any kind and just wants to help his TroubledButCute nephew Zuko. [[spoiler:He's also a high ranking member of The Order of the White Lotus, a group of {{Cool Old Guy}}s who end up liberating Ba Sing Se from the Fire Nation]].
* Swiper from ''WesternAnimation/DoraTheExplorer'' may be antagonistic, but he's definitely not evil, and is in fact one of Dora's friends. Also, even swipers have standards (for example, after [[YetAnotherChristmasCarol the Christmas Carol-based episode]], he never swipes anything on Christmas).
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
** Cheese Sandwich is a cheery guy whose only goal is to throw parties for ponies and make them happy. The problem is that [[GenkiGirl Pinkie Pie]] does the exact same thing, and feels threatened that Cheese Sandwich might lure her friends away with his charisma and energy. [[spoiler: Once he explains his backstory, the two team up and depart on good terms with one another]].
** Rumble is this in "Marks and Recreations". His only reason to be against the Cutie Mark Crusaders is his fear of getting a cutie mark that wouldn't involve being a Wonderbolt and thus, be unable to become one. As a result, he decides to spread his belief to the Cutie Mark Day Camp campers, which lures them away from the camp. Thankfully, his brother, Thunderlane, shows him that he doesn't need to just do what Wonderbolts do to get that type of cutie mark and thus, quickly rejoins the Cutie Mark Crusader's camp.
* Cecil Tunt of the ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'' two-parter "Sea Tunt" plans to get Cheryl declared insane. While he's doing it for money, Cheryl ''is'' quite clearly insane. He's also broke and needs outside funding to keep his multiple charities afloat. All the ISIS staff except Cheryl either didn't care or supported him once they found out what he was doing.
* The ''WesternAnimation/LeagueOfSuperEvil'', PlayedForLaughs. If it weren't for the fact that they keep telling you how evil they are, they'd just be annoying neighbours.
[[/folder]]
-----

* The title character of ''[[Manga/ShinryakuIkaMusume Squid Girl]]''. First of all, her threat of invading and taking over the surface world isn't taken very seriously by other characters (except [[OnlySaneMan Nagisa]]). If she actually ''tried'' to invade the surface, she would be defeated easily by the combined might of every military on the planet. However, it only takes ''[[BewareTheNiceOnes one person]]'' to keep her docile. Also, the worst thing she can actually do is trying to [[PrehensileHair tie you up with her tentacles]] and attempt to take over a beach restaurant. She is [[MundaneObjectAmazement very oblivious and naive]] to human society in general. In the end, she end ups a [[CuteMonsterGirl cute squid girl goofball]] with [[HarmlessVillain her villainy not taken seriously by anyone]].

!! Noble Anti-Villain

[[AC:AnimeAndManga]]

[[AC:{{Comics}}]]

!!{{Woobie}} Anti-Villain
It's obvious that these types of villains don't WANT to be evil; circumstances just make them out to be. They may act out of UndyingLoyalty or [[LoveMartyr love for someone]] or maybe they're simply fighting for their own survival. Others are [[BreakTheCutie broken cuties]] who have snapped and want to end their suffering by destroying everything. Usually they are suffering from their alignment. The characters garner our sympathy not because their goal is good but because we can see how the CrapsackWorld made them the way they are. Often suffer from a damaged psyche. Anti-Villains in this category may become true villains, but they're also just as likely to turn into an Anti-Hero. (Alternately, they may have fallen from said category.)

[[AC:Films — Animation]]

[[AC:Films — Live-Action]]

** Count Bleck, who — despite wanting to [[OmnicidalManiac unmake the world]] — [[BenevolentBoss genuinely cares for his henchmen]], and [[spoiler:is [[LoveMakesYouEvil driven by the loss of his love]] rather than actual evil ([[HeelFaceTurn even helping the heroes]] near the end after being reunited with her).]]

!! Well-Intentioned Anti-Villain

[[AC:{{Comics}}]]

[[AC:Films — Animation]]

[[AC:Films — Live-Action]]

!! Villain in Name Only

[[AC:{{Comics}}]]

-->''Well, he knocked out a lynch mob, he was criticized\\

The bombs were meant for him. He was supposed to feel bad''

* Cole Turner in ''Series/{{Charmed}}''. An AscendedDemon who tries to use his powers for good, but is repeatedly turned evil because of the [[TheCorruption corrupting nature of his powers]], DemonicPossession by the Source of All Evil, or the Charmed Ones [[ReformedButRejected refusing to believe that he's actually good]].

Much like how [[AntiHero Anti-Heroes]] can be [[Analysis/AntiHero vastly different from each other]], so can [[AntiVillain Anti-Villains]]. This scale is a measure of how ambiguous an Anti-Villain is (Ranging from ALighterShadeOfBlack to being indistinguishable from the good guys). Inversely related to SlidingScaleOfAntagonistVileness. Can contribute to SlidingScaleOfVillainThreat and SlidingScaleOfVillainEffectiveness. Compare with [[Analysis/AntiHero Sliding Scale of Anti-Heroes]].

Much like how [[AntiHero Anti-Heroes]] can be [[Analysis/AntiHero vastly different from each other]], so can [[AntiVillain Anti-Villains]]. This scale is a measure of how ambiguous an Anti-Villain is. Inversely related to SlidingScaleOfAntagonistVileness. Can contribute to SlidingScaleOfVillainThreat and SlidingScaleOfVillainEffectiveness. Compare with [[Analysis/AntiHero Sliding Scale of Anti-Heroes]].

Noble and {{Woobie}} Anti-Villains are often a darker shade of grey (or even ALighterShadeOfBlack), while Well-Intentioned and In Name Only varieties tend to be {{a lighter shade|OfGrey}} (with the latter even being in a GoodVersusGood situation sometimes).

Noble and {{Woobie}} Anti-Villains are often a darker shade of grey, while Well-Intentioned and In Name Only varieties tend to be {{a lighter shade|OfGrey}} (with the latter even being in a GoodVersusGood situation sometimes).

** [[spoiler:Idunn]] from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade''. [[spoiler:Yes, the ''TrueFinalBoss''. She's actually the [[LastOfTheirKind last of her kind]], trying to resurrect the species, which humans had driven away from Elibe.]]
*** A better example from that game would be the BigBad, King Zephiel. The prequel shows [[UsedToBeASweetKid he was once a kind-hearted]] [[TheAce ace]] prince who probably would have made a fine king. Shame his [[AbusiveParents asshole father]] drove him into misanthropic insanity by trying to kill him ''at least'' twice (and nearly succeeding the second time). His sister, Princess Guinevere, says how after King Desmond almost succeeded in poisoning Zephiel (and said poison was implied to be something along the lines of mercury), he was never the same again. He comes to the conclusion that [[HumansAreBastards humans are responsible for the evil in the world]], and that it would be better off being returned to the dragons.

* Cheese Sandwich from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' is a cheery guy whose only goal is to throw parties for ponies and make them happy. The problem is that [[GenkiGirl Pinkie Pie]] does the exact same thing, and feels threatened that Cheese Sandwich might lure her friends away with his charisma and energy. [[spoiler: Once he explains his backstory, the two team up and depart on good terms with one another]].

* Jack Spicer from ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown''. He is not seen as very evil by any of the other charecters. He also [[EnemyMine will help]] [[TheProtagonist the Xiaolin dragons]], and in one episode, he was neutral. [[spoiler:In one episode, he actually turned good]].

These characters either lack any villainous traits whatsoever or have so much concern over others that any signs of villainy are nearly completely drowned out. Frequently, these characters are called villains only because they fight against the hero. Basically, these guys are NEVER actively malevolent. They usually have some other reason for opposing the hero besides evil schemes. Ironically, these characters can be extremely dangerous to the hero as their high skill at arms/competence more than makes up for their lack of vileness. Fighting them also poses a moral dilemma which can also sap the hero's morale. It is at this point where an AntiVillain starts to blur with the HeroAntagonist. Having to kill a particularly well liked In Name Only AV in a boss fight can be a PlayerPunch. Their deaths are extremely likely to be a TearJerker.

* Big Boss in ''Franchise/MetalGear'' did the things he did, besides for his BloodKnight tendencies, out of a legitimate desire to free soldiers so they won't have to be expendable pawns of the government, due to his experience with The Boss' death (and his involvement in it). He also is shown to forgive and save his enemies/defectors if they are threatened, as evidenced by his saving Kyle Schneider's resistance from NATO's nuclear bombing of Outer Heaven despite the latter group being against him.

Much like how [[AntiHero Anti-Heroes]] can be vastly different from each other, so can [[AntiVillain Anti-Villains]]. This scale is a measure of how ambiguous an Anti-Villain is. Inversely related to SlidingScaleOfAntagonistVileness. Can contribute to SlidingScaleOfVillainThreat and SlidingScaleOfVillainEffectiveness. Compare with [[Analysis/AntiHero Sliding Scale of Anti-Heroes]].

--> '''Dr. Brainstorm:''' Because ''I'' want to be the heroic villain, okay? There's got to be at least one time where ''I'm'' the one who has a victory!

* Thomas from ''Series/TheEvent'', also [[spoiler:Sophia after Thomas's death and finding out the aliens homeworld is dying.]]

* Big Boss in ''Franchise/MetalGear'' did the things he did, besides for his BloodKnight tendencies, out of a legitimate desire to free soldiers so they won't have to be expendable pawns of the government, due to his experience with The Boss's death (and his involvement in it). He also is shown to forgive and save his enemies/defectors if they are threatened, as evidenced by his saving Kyle Schneider's resistance from NATO's nuclear bombing of Outer Heaven despite the latter group being against him.

** The original founders of the Patriots were also this, as they did legitimately attempt to follow through with The Boss's will, and thought they were doing so with their actions.

-->''Well, he knocked out a lynch mob, he was criticized''\\
''Old women condemned him, said he should apologize''\\
''Then he destroyed a bomb factory, nobody was glad''\\
''The bombs were meant for him. He was supposed to feel bad''\\

** Ishtar, however, ''did'' go directly against Julius's orders and had children that were due to be sacrificed smuggled into Friege castle, and made it clear that anyone who laid a finger on them would be dealt with by her ''personally''. While she does end up dying for Julius, she does show that she's willing to disobey the orders of '''the most powerful character in the game''' in order to do what she feels is right. Really, if she wasn't in love with Julius she'd probably have done a HeelFaceTurn.

* Loki from ''Film/{{Thor}}'' was doing the wrong things for the right reasons. Or maybe not "right reasons," but definitely "tragically understandable." [[spoiler:He lets the Jotun's into Asgard to prevent Thor from becoming king because he is not ready, he brings them back to Asgard so as to appear to save his father from an assassination attempt, and then attempts to destroy Jotunheim so as to rid Asgard of that threat. At its heart, it was all an attempt to prove to his father that he was just as worthy of his pride and affection as Thor.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'': The Kanker Sisters in TheMovie are this. After learning the Eds are in trouble, they drop everything and capture their pursuers. Also, they are [[spoiler:visibly outraged (Lee) and terrified (Marie) after Eddy's brother shows his true colors and beats up Eddy and Edd]].

* {{Deadpool}} depending on the day of the week (In his worst moments, he's FauxAffablyEvil). With his BlueAndOrangeMorality and all.

** General Leo from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' is the Empire's TokenGoodTeammate. He is heartbroken [[spoiler:when all of the inhabitants of Doma are poisoned to death by Kefka]], gives fatherly advice to Terra, and [[spoiler:turns against Kefka as soon as the latter proves to be not so harmless. After being slain by Kefka, the heroes give him a heartfelt funeral]].

* Black Knight Camus from [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAkaneia the original Fire Emblem]] [[spoiler:until he HeelFaceTurn-ed as Sirius in the sequel]]
** Lloyd and Linus in the [[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe seventh installment]] where they carried out the deeds of the Black Fang (and [[ManBehindTheMan Nergal]]) but were relatively honorable.

* [[spoiler:Walhart]] from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening''. While his method for his goal is very accepted as evil, he only wants to conquer the world so it's united under a single banner in order to avert an even bigger disaster. He's also surprisingly noble and refuses to do underhanded methods, making him a mix between this and Well-Intentioned.

* [[spoiler:Yen'fay]] from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening''. He's forced to be a general in an army hellbent on conquering the world because his sister is under constant watch, and leaving his position will result in her dying from the army's spies.
* [[spoiler:Idoun]] from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe Fire Emblem: The Sword of Seals]]''. [[spoiler:Yes, the ''TrueFinalBoss''. She's actually the [[LastOfTheirKind last of her kind]], trying to resurrect the species, which humans had driven away from Elibe.]]

* [[spoiler:Walhart]] from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening''. While his method (conquering the world) is very villainous, he's surprisingly noble and only does it to try to avert an even bigger disaster, making him this and Noble.
** Lord Arvis of Velthomer in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral'' wanted Jugdral to achieve a state of peace and is willing to do and sacrifice anything for it, including siding with the Dark Bishop Manfloy and [[spoiler:[[PlayerPunch killing Sigurd and the majority of his followers]]]]. He made good use of his claims and actually turns Grannvale into a benign, noble [[TheEmpire Empire]] for about 10 years... until Manfloy gave his son Julius the tome of Loptyr and everything Arvis worked hard for went straight to hell and he can't even stop it. By the time he's confronted by Seliph, he's been so miserable and outclassed by Manfloy and Julius that he's just fighting to be able to die in the battlefield, giving him shades of In Name Only.

* Both Eldigan and Ishtar from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu]]''. Eldigan was too much of a StupidGood when it comes to loyalty (and dies for it), and Ishtar was great to children and Tinny, but just can't say "no" to [[BigBad Julius]].
** Ishtar, however, ''did'' go directly against Julius's orders and had children that were due to be sacrificed smuggled into Freege castle, and made it clear that anyone who laid a finger on them would be dealt with by her ''personally''. While she does end up dying against Julius, she does show that she's willing to disobey the orders of '''the most powerful character in the game''' in order to do what she feels is right. Really, if she wasn't in love with Julius she'd probably have done a HeelFaceTurn.
** The Franchise/FireEmblem series likes this trope. Others who fit this would be General Eagler from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe Blazing Blade]]'', Selena and Glen from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones Sacred Stones]]'' and The Black Knight from FireEmblemTellus

** [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Cloud Strife]] and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX Kuja]] were depicted as Anti-Villains in ''Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy'', being on the Warriors of Chaos side, yet not being too happy about their current position in the conflict, as well as sympathizing with the other side in the case of Cloud. It's also implied that Cloud's sympathizing for the Cosmos side is because a person he knew and cared for was there. Cloud eventually managed to defect to the Warriors of Cosmos, although at the cost of getting killed by Chaos at the end of the 12th cycle and having to be revived. Kuja, however, wasn't so lucky, thanks to Kefka and his implementing FakeMemories.
** General Leo from VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI is the Empire's TokenGoodTeammate. He is heartbroken [[spoiler:when all of the inhabitants of Doma are poisoned to death by Kefka]], gives fatherly advice to Terra, and [[spoiler:turns against Kefka as soon as the latter proves to be not so harmless. After being slain by Kefka, the heroes give him a heartfelt funeral]].
* From ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'', [[spoiler:N, leader of Team Plasma]] is easily the most [[TearJerker heartbreaking]] example of one of these in the Pokemon series, and has a bunch of qualities of the other 3 types above this one, with none of the truly evil traits that belong to them.

* Lancer/Cu Chulainn from ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' is actually a laid back cool guy whose [[BloodKnight source of joy]] is good, fair fights and teasing. It's just that his Master is Kotomine Kirei ([[spoiler:after his previous Master got killed by him]]), a man that he finds disgusting. but [[HonorBeforeReason too honor-bound]] to [[LawfulNeutral obey the rules despite his misgivings]]. Kotomine's actions and his other servant Gilgamesh disgust him so much that he ends up defecting when the opportunity presents itself (which leads to him dying as a result). It does show when the show goes AlternateUniverse in ''VisualNovelFateHollowAtaraxia'', where all he does is hang around fishing rather than being hostile.

* [[Characters/MCULoki Loki]] from ''Film/{{Thor}}'' was doing the wrong things for the right reasons. Or maybe not "right reasons," but definitely "tragically understandable." [[spoiler:He lets the Jotun's into Asgard to prevent Thor from becoming king because he is not ready, he brings them back to Asgard so as to appear to save his father from an assassination attempt, and then attempts to destroy Jotunheim so as to rid Asgard of that threat. At its heart, it was all an attempt to prove to his father that he was just as worthy of his pride and affection as Thor.]]

* [[spoiler:Nanoha herself]] is one of these in ''Fanfic/GameTheoryFanFic''. Definitely a good person, but the cause she's fighting for threatens to kill a lot of people.

* [[TragicVillain Loki]] from ''Film/{{Thor}}'' was doing the wrong things for the right reasons. Or maybe not "right reasons," but definitely "tragically understandable." [[spoiler:He lets the Jotun's into Asgard to prevent Thor from becoming king because he is not ready, he brings them back to Asgard so as to appear to save his father from an assassination attempt, and then attempts to destroy Jotunheim so as to rid Asgard of that threat. At its heart, it was all an attempt to prove to his father that he was just as worthy of his pride and affection as Thor.]]

* Bushroot from ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck''. Considering a vast majority of his crimes in the series are fueled by a desire to cure his loneliness and that he was a legitimately nice guy before the accident that gave him his powers, it's hard not to root for him in some instances. This is ''especially'' true in "It's a Wonderful Leaf", where he didn't set out to cause any trouble and only began his EvilPlan for the episode upon getting attacked by an angry mob just for looking different.

* ''WesternAnimation/ParaNorman''
** [[spoiler:Agatha Prenderghast]] is just an angry little girl lashing out at everyone out of revenge.
** [[spoiler:The zombies executed Agatha]] out of fear and feels genuinely remorseful for it now.

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* Scar from ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' is somewhere between this and Noble. As a SerialKiller, he targets State Alchemists because they have massacred his people.

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* Zuko from ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' is somewhere between this and Noble, before his HeelFaceTurn.