History Main / StartOfDarkness

* ''Series/BetterCallSaul'':
** A flashback finally explained why Mike Ehrmantraut of ''Series/BreakingBad'' "broke bad". [[spoiler:His son, also a police officer, was reluctant to take bribes and was executed by his crooked partners. Mike murdered them in revenge, then became a criminal to earn enough money to support his widowed daughter-in-law and granddaughter]].

** Burlew makes a point of not giving away Belkar's backstory in ''On the Origins of [=PCs=]'' (and the Belkar backstory comic for Kickstarter donors) for similar reasons, wanting the character to remain completely, unapologetically and unmistakably evil. Although, also to keep him funny. Evil isn't funny when it has a tragic backstory, just pitiable. Belkar ''does'' end up revealing a sob story in his childhood in the main comic... [[SubvertedTrope Entirely made up, it turns out, spun in order to gain roleplaying XP.]] WordOfGod, as stated in ''On the Origins of [=PCs=]'', is that this is to represent how some players create elaborate backstories for their characters complete with family and previous obligations and some... don't.

* The ''Franchise/StarWars'' Prequel Trilogy is essentially a Start of Darkness for the whole franchise, showing how the Empire came to be and how Anakin transformed from an idealistic young Jedi and the prophecied Chosen One into the Emperor's brutal, mutilated enforcer Darth Vader. The films (and later ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'') show that his FatalFlaw is ultimately that he cares too much about those close to him and is willing to get very violent very fast to protect them, even if it means destroying the Republic and the Jedi Order if it can earn him a chance to save his wife from potentially dying in childbirth, which makes him all the more vulnerable to [[BigBad Palpatine's]] [[TheCorruptor corruption]]. His journey to the Dark Side truly begins in ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'' when he starts having visions of his mother Shmi in pain and goes to Tatooine to find her. He did...mere moments before she dies in his arms after who knows what kind of abuse at the hands of the Tusken Raiders who had captured her. Anakin then murdered every last living thing in that village--men, women, children, and animals--and burned it to the ground. He doesn't get his iconic black life support suit until the end of the next movie, but it's safe to say that ''this'' is when Darth Vader was born.

** In ''FanFic/SplitSecond'', Sparkle got her powers at age eight, discovered she could kill magically at nine, given a reason to dislike ponies at ten, created zombies by eleven, had her mentor die at twelve, ate her first soul at thirteen, and was abandoned (sort of) by her [[MoralityChain sister]].

Subtrope of FaceHeelTurn, which is when a good guy turns bad. Compare BigBadSlippage, where the Start of Darkness happens in the main story rather than in a prequel. Contrast DiabolusExNihilo, when the villain's backstory is pointedly left absent.

* ''Series/CobraKai'', the DistantSequel to the 1980s ''Film/TheKarateKid'' films, gives one to John Kreese, the EvilMentor of [[Film/TheKarateKid1984 the first film's]] ThugDojo. A series of flashbacks during the third season shows that once upon a time Kreese was just another kid struggling under difficult circumstances much like the various protagonists of the films, (his mother had suffered from mental illness and then killed herself when he was young, he had to work menial jobs to make ends meet and was bullied by and alienated from his peers), and when he met a nice girl he decided that going into the Army was the best way to make something of himself. Then Kreese made the mistake of volunteering for a special forces unit led by a sadistic and ruthless captain who taught him martial arts and a "No Mercy" philosophy, Kreese's fiancee died in an accident while he was at war, and finally he was captured and tortured by the North Vietnamese troops, which included being put into death matches against other captured soldiers. By the time he's rescued from captivity, the sympathetic teenager we first saw has turned into an abusive, deluded, amoral, and brutal man.

* ''Film/{{Maleficent}}'' has this happen to both the titular character and Stefan. Maleficent's is Stefan betraying her trust and cutting off her wings while Stefan's is more subtle: initially it was his ambition to become king that led him to betray Maleficent in the first place, but Maleficent vengefully cursing Aurora drove him into even further villainy and madness whilst trying to defy it.

* ''ComicBook/TheLifeAndTimesOfScroogeMcDuck'' starts out with a [[UsedToBeASweetKid innocent but hardy scottish lad]] by the name of Scrooge Mcduck, who sets out into the world for adventure and fortune to show the world what he could do... But as we both know, the Scrooge Mcduck we know are by no means innocent. The comic actually starts out as a [[TheHerosJourney traditional hero's journey]], but just as our titular protagonist is at his strongest and most capable, he [[FallFromGrace slips up,]] unknowingly creating a dark path that [[DownerEnding makes him into a villain, alienates his family and destroys the last parts of the innocent adventurer]]... Before a certain [[DonaldDuck duck and his three nephews]] reminded him of [[RedemptionQuest his old days, of course.]]

** The Volume 8 episode "Midnight" reveals how Cinder Fall became a sadistic villain. [[spoiler:Thanks to her being adopted by a cruel Atlesian hotelier and her daughters, Cinder is worked, starved and tortured as a child-slave. A local Huntsman sympathises with her, secretly training her to become a Huntress so she can escape when she comes of age. Unfortunately, years of endless abuse finally causes Cinder to kill her adoptive family; once her mentor tries arresting her, she also kills him. Now she's obsessed with becoming strong, powerful and feared and treats others as her abusive step-mother once treated her.]]

** The Character Trailer for Volume 6 shows the trajectory of Adam, from his earliest days as a violent pro-faunus activist to his actions during the show, being a villainous anti-human that partakes in genocides.

** The Volume 8 episode "Midnight" reveals how Cinder transformed from an innocent child into a sadistic villain. [[spoiler:An orphan adopted by a cruel Atlesian hotelier and her daughters, Cinder is worked, starved and tortured as a child-slave. A local Huntsman takes pity on her, secretly training her to become a Huntress so she can escape when she comes of age. Unfortunately, years of endless abuse takes its toll and she snaps, killing her adoptive family; when her mentor attempts to arrest her, she kills him, too. Now she's obsessed with becoming strong, powerful and feared and treats others as her abusive step-mother once treated her.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TangledTheSeries'' gives us [[ChemistryCanDoAnything alchemist]] Varian, who has one of these in [[WhamEpisode "Princess For a Day"]] after his father is encased in a combination of his own mixtures and the black spikes popping up around Corona. As a direct result of Rapunzel's reluctant refusal to help Varian due to the kingdom facing an EndlessWinter, [[BreakTheCutie his optimism is replaced with hardened cynicism]] and he [[UsedToBeASweetKid goes from happy, eager-to-help child]] [[FromNobodyToNightmare to one of the series' darkest villains]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TangledTheSeries'' gives us [[ChemistryCanDoAnything blacksmith]] Varian, who has one of these in [[WhamEpisode "Princess For a Day"]] after his father is encased in a combination of his own mixtures and the black spikes popping up around Corona. As a direct result of Rapunzel's reluctant refusal to help Varian due to the kingdom facing an EndlessWinter, [[BreakTheCutie his optimism is replaced with hardened cynicism]] and he [[UsedToBeASweetKid goes from happy, eager-to-help child]] [[FromNobodyToNightmare to one of the series' darkest villains]].

** The Volume 6 episode "The Lost Fable" reveals how [[BigBad Salem]] transformed from being an ordinary woman into Remnant's AncientEvil. [[spoiler:Imprisoned her entire life by her [[AbusiveParent abusive father]] she was unable to cope with the death of [[BigGood Ozma]], her saviour and lover. [[BarredFromTheAfterlife Punished]] with CompleteImmortality for trying to trick the gods into resurrecting him, her [[RageAgainstTheHeavens vengeance]] destroys humanity, and she ends up corrupted after trying to kill herself in the divine Pools of Annihilation. The gods [[ResurrectiveImmortality resurrect Ozma]] to try and redeem the reborn humanity; the lovers clash over Salem's destructive urges, accidentally [[OffingTheOffspring killing their four daughters]] and locking them into a bitter ForeverWar for the fate of humanity.]]

** The Volume 6 episode "The Lost Fable" reveals how [[BigBad Salem]] transformed from being an ordinary woman into Remnant's AncientEvil. [[spoiler:Imprisoned her entire life by her [[AbusiveParent abusive father]] she was unable to cope with the death of [[BigGood Ozma]], her saviour and lover. [[BarredFromTheAfterlife Punished]] with CompleteImmortality for trying to trick the gods into resurrecting him, her [[RageAgainstTheHeavens vengeance]] destroys humanity, and she ends up corrupted after trying to kill herself in the divine Pools of Annihilation. The gods [[ResurrectiveImmortality resurrect Ozma]] to try and redeem the reborn humanity; the lovers clash over Salem's destructive urges, accidentally killing their daughters and locking them into a bitter ForeverWar for the fate of humanity.]]

** The Volume 6 episode "The Lost Fable" reveals how [[BigBad Salem]] transformed from being an ordinary woman to becom Remnant's AncientEvil. [[spoiler:Imprisoned her entire life by her [[AbusiveParent abusive father]] she was unable to cope with the death of [[BigGood Ozma]], her saviour and lover. [[BarredFromTheAfterlife Punished]] with CompleteImmortality for trying to trick the gods into resurrecting him, her [[RageAgainstTheHeavens vengeance]] destroys humanity, and she ends up corrupted after trying to kill herself in the divine Pools of Annihilation. The gods [[ResurrectiveImmortality resurrect Ozma]] to try and redeem the reborn humanity; the lovers clash over Salem's destructive urges, accidentally killing their daughters and locking them into a bitter ForeverWar for the fate of humanity.]]

** The Volume 6 episode "The Lost Fable" reveals how [[BigBad Salem]] transformed from being an ordinary woman to Remnant's AncientEvil. [[spoiler:Imprisoned her entire life by her [[AbusiveParent abusive father]] she was unable to cope with the death of [[BigGood Ozma]], her saviour and lover. [[BarredFromTheAfterlife Punished]] with CompleteImmortality for trying to trick the gods into resurrecting him, her [[RageAgainstTheHeavens vengeance]] destroys humanity, and she ends up corrupted after trying to kill herself in the divine Pools of Annihilation. The gods [[ResurrectiveImmortality resurrect Ozma]] to try and redeem the reborn humanity; the lovers clash over Salem's destructive urges, accidentally killing their daughters and locking them into a bitter ForeverWar for the fate of humanity.]]

** The Volume 6 episode "The Lost Fable" reveals how Salem became evil. [[spoiler:Imprisoned her entire life by her [[AbusiveParent abusive father]] she was unable to cope with the death of Ozma, her saviour and lover. [[BarredFromTheAfterlife Punished]] with CompleteImmortality for trying to trick the gods into resurrecting him, her [[RageAgainstTheHeavens vengeance]] destroys humanity, and she ends up corrupted after trying to kill herself in the divine Pools of Annihilation. The gods [[ResurrectiveImmortality resurrect Ozma]] to try and redeem the reborn humanity; the lovers clash over Salem's destructive urges, accidentally killing their daughters and locking them into a bitter ForeverWar for the fate of humanity.]]
** The Volume 8 episode "Midnight" reveals how Cinder became evil. [[An orphan adopted by a cruel Atlesian hotelier and her daughters, Cinder is worked, starved and tortured as a child-slave. A local Huntsman takes pity on her, secretly training her to become a Huntress so she can escape when she comes of age. Unfortunately, years of endless abuse takes its toll and she snaps, killing her adoptive family; when her mentor attempts to arrest her, she kills him, too. Now she's obsessed with becoming strong, powerful and feared and treats others as her abusive step-mother once treated her.]]

** "The Lost Fable": [[spoiler:Salem had at least ''[[TraumaCongaLine three]]''. Having been sheltered her entire life by her [[AbusiveParent abusive father]], she struggled to cope with the death of Ozma, the only person who loved her and treated her kindly, and attempted to seek the Gods to revive him. When she tried to trick them into doing so, she almost succeeded until they figured out what she was up to, leading to them punishing her with [[WhoWantsToLiveForever immortality]] so that she'd never see Ozma again. Upon realizing that the Gods were fallible if they were able to tricked and argued amongst themselves, she rallied humanity to RageAgainstTheHeavens... only for the Gods to [[KillEmAll wipe them out]] and leave her in the aftermath. When she tried to kill herself by jumping into the Gods' pool of Grimm, figuring that it would be the only thing capable of killing her, she became a ''literal'' avatar of darkness that not even her revived husband or their children could MoralityChain down.]]
** "Midnight" reveals [[spoiler:Cinder]]'s. [[spoiler:She was an orphan who was adopted by a wealthy Atlasiain businesswoman, who put her to work in her high-end hotel as a child-slave in all but name. A local huntsman named Rhodes took pity on her, however, and began training her in secret to become a Huntress so she could leave when she came of age. Unfortunately, the endless abuses from her adopted family got to be too much, until she snapped and murdered them all. When Rhodes saw what happened, he tried to disarm and arrest her, but she killed him as well for his perceived betrayal]].

** The Volume 2 story arcs in feudal Japan show the Start of Darkness for [[WhoWantsToLiveForever Adam]] [[AGodAmI Monroe]], and some arcs in the axillary graphic novels show the background of characters like Thompson and Linderman.

* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', Catelyn Stark's memories of her [[UnluckyChildhoodFriend old friend]] Petyr Baelish are that of a sweet, [[LoveMakesYouEvil romantic kid]]. Despite the fact that she [[LikeBrotherAndSister was never interested in him that way]], his romantic idealism spurred him on to duel her betrothed Brandon Stark for her hand, which resulted in Petyr nearly dying and getting sent packing back to his own poor home [[spoiler: although that quite probably had more to do with the outcome of him being rejected and raped (whilst drunk and [[BedTrick believing himself in bed with Cat]], by her sister, [[AllLoveIsUnrequited Lysa]], resulting in her pregnancy, which their father forces her to abort.]] In the present, Petyr is a full-on MagnificentBastard and [[TheChessmaster chessmaster]], [[spoiler: in control of both the Vale and Riverlands after having manipulated, married, and murdered Lysa, sparked the massive and destructive War of the Five Kings, and has taken on Cat's [[ReplacementGoldfish lookalike daughter]] Sansa, herself a BrokenBird, as both protegé and potential love interest.]]

* The ''Franchise/StarWars'' Prequel Trilogy is essentially a Start of Darkness for the whole franchise, showing how the Empire came to be and how Anakin transformed from an idealistic young Jedi and the prophecied Chosen One into the Emperor's brutal, mutilated enforcer Darth Vader. The films (and later ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'') show that his FatalFlaw is ultimately that he cares too much about those close to him and is willing to get very violent very fast to protect them, even if it means destroying the Republic and the Jedi Order if it can earn him a chance to save his wife from potentially dying in childbirth, which makes him all the more vulnerable to [[BigBad Palpatine's]] [[TheCorruptor corruption]]. His journey to the Dark Side truly begins in ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'' when he starts having visions of his mother Shmi in pain and goes to Tatooine to find her. He did...mere moments before she dies in his arms after who knows what kind of abuse at the hands of the Tusken Raiders. Anakin then murdered every last living thing in that village--men, women, children, and animals--and burned it to the ground. He doesn't get his iconic black life support suit until the end of the next movie, but it's safe to say that ''this'' is when Darth Vader was born.

* The trilogy of ''Franchise/StarWars'' prequels, showing how the Empire was formed and how Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader. Specifically, Anakin's journey to the Dark Side began in ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'', when he started having visions of his mother Shmi in pain and went to Tatooine to find her. He did... mere moments before she died after who knows what kind of abuse at the hands of the Tusken Raiders. Anakin then murdered every last living thing in that village--men, women, children, and animals--and burned it to the ground. This would instill a desire within him to seek power at any cost in order to protect those he still loved, which made him vulnerable to Palpatine's [[TheCorruptor corruption]].

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'': The Golden Age Arc, which is canonically the third Arc in the manga but the first chronologically, serves as one for Griffith, who was previously seen once as Femto right before the arc started, and explains AntiHero Guts's motivations.
* ''Manga/BlackLagoon'': The episode "Two Father's Little Soldier Girls" contains a number of flashbacks to [[MagnificentBastard Balalaika's]] past detailing her childhood, service in Afghanistan, disillusionment with society and rise to power in [[TheMafiya Hotel Moscow]].
* ''Anime/DanganRonpa3'': The ''Side:Despair'' portion of the series shows how [[spoiler:the students of Class 77-B from ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'']] became Ultimate Despair. It also shows the transformation of [[spoiler:protagonist Hajime Hinata]] into Izuru Kamukura.
* ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'': Zamasu. While he never trusted or liked mortals, he wasn't actively against them or wanted to kill them. He just wanted to take a more direct approach when dealing with mortals who abused the gods' knowledge, instead of just watching and guiding. Things, however, went downhill the moment [[spoiler:Present]] Zamasu meets Goku. Not only is Goku a mortal who is friendly with gods, but he is also more powerful than most gods outside of the Gods of Destruction. Once Zamasu gets into his mind that mortals are stupid and dangerous, everything else was confirmed bias.
* ''Manga/ElfenLied'': Sure, [[KidsAreCruel brats]]. Go ahead, take the puppy of the [[ShrinkingViolet shy]], [[TheWoobie emotionally-repressed pink-haired girl]] [[ApocalypseMaiden with cute little horns]], beat it to death and [[ForcedToWatch make her watch]] -- [[SarcasmMode she can't hurt you]].
* ''Manga/FairyTail'': In chapter 436, we are given a look into Zeref's past, including the source of his InstantDeathRadius. [[spoiler:He was cursed by a god for trying to bring his dead little brother back to life]]. However, this was only the beginning. Later on, Mavis reveals when Zeref truly fell into the darkness: [[spoiler:he fell in love with Mavis after he found out she had the same curse and she proposed that they give EternalLove a shot. However, their first and only kiss ''kills'' her because his love for her is strong enough to empower his curse to take her supposedly immortal life. To have the only person who ever brought him happiness be so cruelly ripped away is what would finally break Zeref and cause a downward spiral that he would never get out of]].
* ''LightNovel/FateZero'' is a story that's just as much about Kitisugu destroying himself as Kotomine Kirei turning into full-blown villainy. Despite a lifetime of priesthood, Kirei never found happiness without [[EvilFeelsGood the suffering of others]], and is painfully aware of it. Enter Gilgamesh, who gradually convinces him to [[BeYourself embrace]] his true nature as a {{sadist}}.
* ''Manga/FutureDiary'': Yuki used to be a sweet, shy boy living an unextraordinary life. However, once he obtains his Future Diary and meets [[{{Yandere}} Yuno]], that sweet boy becomes a faded memory, especially after [[spoiler:his mother dies. His morality begins to disappear as the show progresses and he comes to love the girl who has [[StalkerWithACrush stalked]] him and [[MurderIsTheBestSolution killed several people]].]]
* ''Anime/GaReiZero'' is [[WordOfGod explicitly stated]] the Start Of Darkness of Yomi. Judging from [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds what happen]] [[Manga/GaRei in the manga]], this might also qualify as Kagura's Start Of Darkness.
* ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'': One episode in the second season focuses entirely on [[AntiVillain Kuzes]]' past, showing what motivated him to fight on the behalf of the people, even against the state.
* ''Anime/GuiltyCrown'': In episode 15, ''[[TheHeart Shu]]'' of all people has one of these. [[spoiler: Hare]] is killed right in front of him (in his arms) because of something stupid and selfish done by [[spoiler: Souta and his friends]] in order to prevent [[spoiler: the creation of the Void Ranking System.]] After [[spoiler: her]] death Shu gets DullEyesOfUnhappiness and [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything mounts Inori and forcibly removes her Void]] and procedes to chillingly emotionlessly systemetically rip to pieces the mechs attacking them. He then proceeds to go hysterical and begin pounding [[spoiler: Souta's]] face in before being dragged off by Yahiro. [[DespairEventHorizon His next words,]] [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness coming from]] Shu of all people, [[OhCrap hit the characters(and the audience) pretty hard]]:
--> '''Shu:''' "I was wrong. Kindness is pointless. We have to separate the good from the trash. I'm going to become king." ''[[FanNickname Heil Mein Shurer]]''
* In ''Anime/HellsingUltimate'' it reveals that [[spoiler:Alucard was raped by the Turks when they invaded his nation.]] While that didn't break him, it can be considered the first step in his path to becoming [[spoiler:the ultimate vampire and most powerful being in this series]] as well as completely mad and battle-thirsty.
** Another point could be how he became a vampire. [[spoiler:Having waged war on the Ottoman Empire and having sacrificed everything, including his people and subjects for the glory and promise God would save them, he was captured and to be executed. Feeling betrayed, dark forces offered him power and by taking in blood, he turned his back on god and he became a vampire.]]
* ''WebComic/HetaliaAxisPowers'':
** "Hey, Lithuania, we don't want children that can't play nice, [[http://community.livejournal.com/hetalia/1045.html right?"]]
** Russia mentions all [[CosmicPlaything he's endured over the centuries]]. This could be taken as his DespairEventHorizon, when he simply couldn't take ''more''.
* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'':
** A series of flashbacks taking place prior to the events of ''Manga/StoneOcean'' act as this for Enrico Pucci [[spoiler:and Weather Report]]. Specifically, [[spoiler:the death of Perla Pucci]] was this, [[spoiler:as her death caused the former to become the [[WellIntentionedExtremist Well-Intentioned]] KnightTemplar he is now, while the latter gained his hatred for humanity from the event]].
** While the manga goes with the idea that [[BigBad Dio Brando]] was [[EnfantTerrible born evil]], the ''[[LightNovel/JojosBizarreAdventureOverHeaven Over Heaven]]'' spin-off novel (a {{defictionalization}} of DIO's journal from ''Stone Ocean'') goes into detail on his past and what made him who he is when the series starts. In the novel, Dio himself specifically sees the death of his mother as this, as it was [[TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth her being worked to an early grave despite her kindness]] that led Dio to the conclusion that VirtueIsWeakness. Had she lived, Dio most likely wouldn't have become the vicious monster he is now.
* ''Anime/LastExileFamTheSilverWing'': Episode 11 shows the event that ended up shaping Luscinia Hafez into the series' BigBad.
* ''Anime/MazingerZ'': Dr. Hell's mind was already unstable and unsound due to his upbringing (he was abused by everybody when he was young, including his parents -- particularly his mother, who often said she never wanted children and would be better off without him, and was not above hitting him for no reason). However, when he found out the woman he loved was in love with another man [[spoiler:Juzo Kabuto, future builder of Mazinger-Z and [[TheHero Kouji]]'s grandfather]], he... [[LoveMakesYouCrazy flipped out]] and [[LoveMakesYouEvil attempted to murder his perceived rival]]. Shortly after he tried helping someone... and he got the crap beaten out of him for it. Later he crawled back towards his home, bruised and blood-stained, muttering "Mediocre imbeciles! You don't deserve to be alive! One day I'll purge the world of all of you! And then everybody will kneel before me". When you heard his words and saw his utterly mad stare you realized he had snapped out completely and Dr. Hell had been born.
** Let's say people had shunned him out of scorn before, but after that point they did it out of FEAR.
* ''Manga/{{Monster}}'': Despite the fact that Johan Liebert may as well have been born an EnfanteTerrible with a destiny as a natural-born villain (to the point that he displays several characteristics associated with TheAntichrist), the series is principally devoted to finding out what in particular set him on his life trajectory to be as evil as conceivably possible (not least by committing and/or inspiring others to commit a series of murders). In the final episode and the series' semi-sequel ''Another Monster'', it is implied that pondering what his mother's reasoning and intentions for alternately rejecting either himself or his twin sister were when [[SadisticChoice she was forced to give one of the children to Franz Bonaparta and Peter Čapek]] (compounded by the fact that the two were HalfIdenticalTwins that were also dressed seemingly indistinguishably), combined with [[TraumaCongaLine internalizing all of the pain and fear that his sister experienced after she was the one taken away by Bonaparta and Čapek, and then being abandoned by their mother to live on their own]], was what induced Johan to begin killing and manipulating others in earnest.
* ''Manga/MutekiKanbanMusume'', being a DeconstructiveParody of the {{Shonen}} FightingSeries, has this in the short '' "Another Kanban Musume" '': Megumi has an extended FlashBack when she tells the story of how in [[FreudianExcuse her childhood she tricked a teacher into teaching her]] under a TrainingFromHell how to gain ImprobableAimingSkills so Megumi can defend herself against Miki Onimaru. The parody here is that Megumi is not a ClassicVillain nor is Miki TheHero. They both are only the SchoolyardBullyAllGrownUp and TheRival to each other. The deconstruction is that this story is not about ImprobableAimingSkills, because Miki always manages to DodgeTheBullet. Megumi is really talking about how she realized [[CantCatchUp that she was weaker than Miki]], [[SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids and how she renounced attacking her directly and resorted to lying]] and scheming to fight her… only Megumi doesn’t realize that, because she is a {{Hypocrite}}.
* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' has done this with many antagonists so far, and attempts to justify the [[spoiler:Uchiha examples, by claiming that their powers take hold of them because they love ''too much'']]:
** Deuteragonist Sasuke Uchiha witnessed his brother Itachi murder their parents, after murdering their entire clan. He then was subject to days of MindRape compressed into seconds, and a challenge to kill his brother when he's ready. None of this makes him "evil", so much as focused on killing his brother, a world-class criminal, on his own, having gone from a frendly outgoing boy to a brooding young man. He does start recovering when he meets up with Team 7, but his second encounter with Itachi not only undoes all the recovery he has been going through, but deal further damage to his sanity and doubts, leading him to fight his rival and protagonist Naruto out of fear he will be surpassed. This fragile state of mind means he's vulnerable to temptation; he then follows Orochimaru, the series' first BigBad, to gain the power to beat Itachi. After the TimeSkip and having become a colder person, he does finally defeat his brother... until the mysterious Tobi decides to reveal some secrets. He tells Sasuke [[spoiler: the truth about Itachi's backstory, that it was the clan itself that was evil and Itachi was just following orders, he becomes seriously mentally imbalanced and unstable, playing into the hands of the new BigBad manipulating him, Tobi]], and he decides his best option is revenge on their entire home town. Only [[spoiler:after learning more about everything, defeating the final BigBad and one last battle with Naruto does he finally reach his end of the darkness.]]
** Gaara grew up believing his mother named him as a curse against everyone else, for her having to die in childbirth. His father had warriors and himself to keep Gaara in line, because of the demon sealed within him, which would be unleashed if he lost control of his emotions or even slept. As a small child, he believed that there was only one person who loved him, his maternal uncle Yashamaru. [[DespairEventHorizon The betrayal of Yashamaru]] transformed him [[BreakTheCutie from an attention-starved waif to a serial killer]]. He came around to the side of good once he realized what friendship was, long before any of the above was actually fixed, and years before it was all retconned to be [[spoiler:a big misunderstanding, and his parents always loved him]].
** When [[spoiler:Sasuke "defeated" Orochimaru]] the manga briefly touched on [[spoiler:Orochimaru]]'s past, while the anime expounded on it. His [[TragicDream deepest dream]] was to live long enough to meet his parents when they were reincarnated. Years of war and loss turned him cold and bitter until only the dream of living forever remained.
** [[spoiler:Nagato]] lived in a state of constant war, as his homeland was the battleground for all the bigger countries' wars. For years, he was subtly manipulated by Tobi. Then, his parents were killed in front of him. Eventually, [[spoiler:the death of his dear friend Yahiko and his subsequent crippling]] drove him to share his Pain with the rest of the world.
** [[spoiler:Kakuzu]] was imprisioned and punished for failing to kill the First Hokage. As a result [[spoiler:he steals the elders hearts and runs away.]]
** [[spoiler:Kabuto]] grew up an orphan, but that didn't let him get down. However, he never really knew who he was meant to be. He was inspired to be a ninja by the first people to challenge him to grow in his natural talents, [[spoiler:Orochimaru and Danzo]]. While on a mission for them, he was tricked ''by them'' into accidentally killing his foster mother, who in turn had failed to recognize him due to their brainwashing of her. After this happens he hits the DespairEventHorizon and [[spoiler:Orochimaru]] was the only person around that was there for him at that point. He commits some good, and a lot of evil, actions for the rest of the series, but only comes into his own once [[spoiler:Orochimaru dies]] and he no longer has any guidance or kindred spirit.
** [[spoiler:Obito Uchiha]], after some subtle mental influencing by [[spoiler:Madara]], witnessed first-hand the death of [[TheLostLenore his childhood crush]] at the hands of the friend who vowed to protect her and became convinced the world he lived in was hell. [[spoiler:He then decided to accept Madara's plan to create a better world by killing or brainwashing everyone in the world]].
** [[spoiler:Madara Uchiha]] lived through a time of warfare, like everyone else in his generation. Then, thanks to his best friend's work, which he attempted to co-opt and sabotage, things started getting better and he mostly got over the wars, like everyone else in his generation. Then this one time, he didn't get to be the top boss of the country, after he eavesdropped on a private conversation between his best friend and his best friend's brother, where he found out that not everyone liked him, because he was such a bully to other people, his own family, and the people they were supposed to be courting as allies. So instead of being happy for his friend who did get the job (and apparently completely glossing over the fact that his friend wanted to name Madara as his successor), he [[spoiler: used an ancient stone detailing the world's constantly warring history to assume said friend's system would fail and justify his becoming the BigBad and trying to brainwash or kill everyone in the world, despite that in no way saying he in particular should take any action]]. Ladies and gentlemen, your final villain. [[GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere Kind of.]] Madara and said best friend's brother both having serious paranoia issues that played off each other in the worst way certainly didn't help.
* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
** Chapter 0, a special tie-in to the tenth movie, ''Anime/OnePieceFilmStrongWorld''. In it, we see Shiki and Gold Roger's rivalry, as well as the Flying Pirate's escape from Impel Down and his preparing for the movie's plot. Interspersed are scenes of people throughout the world, reacting to both Roger's death and Shiki's escape.
** To a lesser extent, the Fishman Island arc explains part of what made Arlong who he is.
* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}''
** ''[[Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie Pokémon: The Origin of Mewtwo]]'' is this to Mewtwo.
** The fourth Mega Evolution special is this for Alain.
* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'':
** Subverted in episode 10. It seems to be one of these for Homura, but instead, it ends up showing that she's far less villainous than she seems [[spoiler:(all of her AntiHero antics are an attempt to prevent Madoka from dying and/or suffering a FateWorseThanDeath)]]. Played straight for Kyoko in episode 7.
** Played straight, however, in ''[[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheMovieRebellion Rebellion]]''. [[spoiler:Homura's infatuation with Madoka, causes her to trick her into appearing again, so she can steal her powers of godhood and become the devil. She does this to create a new perfect world where she believes Madoka will be happy (even though Madoka didn't want any of it) and will always be by her side.]]
** The mobile app Magia Record reveals how Nagisa Momoe turned into the witch Charlotte, who famously and memeticially bit Mami's head off. [[spoiler: Her magical girl idol and her mother were both murdered by a serial killer, and the resulting trauma caused her to witch out. It also doubles as a reveal for the identity and backstory of Urhmann, another witch whose identity was unknown to the fans until then.]]
* ''Manga/RaveMaster'': Almost every villain gets at least a chapter for this. Some are a little sad, some will leave you temporarily cheering for the villain (until you remember that every single one aims to wipe out all life as we know it).
* ''Anime/RahXephon'': One episode presents the back-story of Makoto Isshiki, a cold-hearted seducer and major jerk to everyone else. It shows him as a cute and kind boy who just wanted to find his parents. Then, one day he admitted to himself [[CloningBlues what he really was]], and his flashback ends with him getting an ImportantHaircut and taking on his nasty personality.
* ''Anime/RomeoXJuliet'' practically drops it line for line with the episode "Darkness: The Origin", which gives Prince Montague a somewhat run-of-the-mill FreudianExcuse.
* The ''Manga/RozenMaiden Ouvertüre'' OVA explores the start of Suigintou's fierce rivalry with Shinku and the source of her massive inferiority complex that motivated her to become the first season's BigBad.
* 2007 adaptation of ''Manga/SkullMan'' features one for [[spoiler:Black Ghost, BigBad of ''Manga/Cyborg009'']]
* ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'': The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOBG3CCew7Q 8th and final Parallel Works video]] is one of these for [[spoiler:Lordgenome]].
* ''Manga/{{Toriko}}'': Midora starts to reminisce over his past during his battle with Ichiryu. The flashback chapters reveal how a nameless baby born to be fed to wild pigs eventually became one of the most powerful and dreaded beings on the planet.
* The flashback arc in both incarnations of ''Manga/{{Trigun}}'' seems at first to be the background for the highly [[MysteriousPast mysterious]] lead, but it's even more about the Start Of Darkness for the BigBad, his EvilTwin. In the anime version, the kid was always somewhat [[CreepyChild touched in the head]], and one [[FantasticRacism abusive crewman]], combined with the awareness that the human race destroyed the Earth and are [[HumansAreBastards now looking for a new planet]], push his pragmatism into KillAllHumans territory. In the manga...he has ''[[StrappedToAnOperatingTable much]]'' [[TheyWouldCutYouUp better]] [[TheReveal reason]].
** His ''manga'' [[AndIMustScream reason]] made ''Vash'' try to ''kill himself twice'' and laugh hysterically when he thought he'd accidentally killed [[HappilyAdopted Rem]]! And manga Knives UsedToBeASweetKid--more than Vash, even. Some of adult Vash's ideals are stuff ''Knives'' said as a kid.
** Legato also gets one of these, in the manga. Unusually, it has a very upbeat ending -- because psychotically serving an OmnicidalManiac who doesn't really give a damn about you is ''so'' much better than being raped to death by the guy who owns you. Knives didn't just spare him, he even asked his name! And nameless-boy-who-would-become-Legato goes stumbling after him naked and weeping for joy.
** Livio has one, too, although his is complicated by the fact that [[spoiler:first he got a psychotic alternate personality,]] and then later he was [[spoiler:acquired by the Eye of Michael and turned into a killing machine in his own right.]]
** Anime [[AntiHero Wolfwood]] also gets one. Manga Wolfwood just gets back story snippets. But because the anime is LighterAndFluffier, Wolfwood's philosophical position has a lot less pull there, so he needs a more clear-cut 'reason' to think the way he does.
* ''Anime/UnlimitedPsychicSquad'', episodes 7-8, for the VillainProtagonist, Kyousuke. Sort of a weird case because the flashback is almost entirely upbeat-ish; most of the tragic stuff is {{Time Skip}}ped over. Only the final push where [[spoiler:the captain]] shoots Kyousuke because he was supposedly going to destroy the world, [[NiceJobBreakingItHero but the assassination attempt fails to kill him and turns him evil]], is actually shown.
* ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'': the antagonists in seasons one and two are shown to have become villainous due to major psychological trauma leading to crises of faith in their formerly-held ideals (the massacre of Toguro's students by a youkai and Sensui's exposure to the depravity of humanity and then the Black Chapter tape). And in both cases enough self-hatred to stage really stupid, selfish [[spoiler: [[ThanatosGambit Thanatos Gambits]].]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/MetalGear'''s entire {{prequel}} sub-series dedicated to the story of how the BigBad of the first two games, Big Boss, became the war mongering mercenary who was willing threaten the world with nuclear weapons:
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' details Snake's beginnings as a TragicHero, starting as a black-ops operative, who after being forced to kill his own {{Mentor}} for the sake of political maneuvering between America and Russia drives him to lose all faith in his country.
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPortableOps'' takes this further, showing him continue to be disillusioned at the USA's lack of care for its own soldiers, and marking his transition from a lone soldier to a competent and respected leader.
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'' shows the final FaceHeelTurn, where, after he's unable to accept a recreation of his {{Mentor}} sacrificing herself once again, being manipulated by the USA and USSR despite his desire to just be ''left alone'', and then getting betrayed by his own friends, decides he's going to make his own nation of {{Blood Knight}}s who will willingly become criminals or terrorists as long as it means they can fight.
** And finally, we get to see the fallout of Big Boss' FaceHeelTurn in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidGroundZeroes'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'', as all the soldiers under him are dragged into the same SelfInflictedHell of becoming enemies of the world.
* The Jetstream DLC of ''Videogame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'', which is set before the events of the original game. shows how [[TheRival "Jetstream" Sam Rodriguez]] ended up involved with Desperado.
* This occurs in the backstory of ''VideoGame/Fallout4'' for [[MadScientist the Institute]]. Having sequestered themselves far below the [[DeathWorld Commonwealth]] for roughly a century while working on creating RidiculouslyHumanRobots to help rebuild civilization with, they were already pretty distrusted and regarded with suspicion by the residents of the Wasteland above, many of whom saw their offers of WeCanRuleTogether as SchmuckBait. Eventually, the Institute decided to help the Commonwealth [[PetTheDog as a gesture of good will]] by [[TheManBehindTheMan secretly organizing]] the [[TheAlliance Commonwealth Provisional Government]], [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything an alliance of like-minded representatives of various settlements from across the Commonwealth]] [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution that would come together and help organize the beginnings of a new society]] ([[CallBack similar to the creation]] of the [[TheFederation New California Republic]] in ''VideoGame/Fallout2''). Unfortunately, unlike the historical Constitutional Congress they were based on, [[RealityEnsues the members of the CPG were never able to come to a consensus]] and [[KillEmAll killed each other]] - leaving only the Institute's representative the SoleSurvivor of the shootout. The Institute was then promptly blamed by the rest of the Commonwealth for their [[HopeSpot chance at a new society getting smashed to pieces]]. This set the Institute [[CynicismCatalyst on their dark path to villainy]], with them now regarding the Commonwealth [[FantasticRacism as a lost cause full of unkempt savages]] only worthy of being used as tools [[VisionaryVillain in their quest]] to [[WellIntentionedExtremist create a world that won't fall victim]] to AtomicHate. At least, this is the version of the story [[UnreliableNarrator that the Institute tells]].
* ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars Original Generation Gaiden'' features the Start of Darkness of one of MX's BigBad Albero Esto. It was only mentioned several times in MX, but in OG Gaiden, it's... rather full-blown and detailed.
** In Alpha Gaiden, Char's FaceHeelTurn (since ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamCharsCounterattack'' is part of Alpha 2) makes even more sense then it's UC Gundam verse reasons. During the course of the plot, he watches humanity keeping picking the TooDumbToLive options and the horrifying results, and this disillusions and pisses him off enough to decide a ColonyDrop is actually a good idea.
* ''VideoGame/SengokuBasara 2 Heroes'' features a Gaiden story for Maeda Keiji, which in fact was a Start of Darkness for a villain in the actual game, Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi starts out as a normal man, joining Keiji in pranks here and there, until he encounters [[MagnificentBastard Matsunaga Hisahide]], who proceeds to humiliate him, and this causes him to become drunk with power, leaving Keiji and doing a lot of atrocities later on.
* The ''Franchise/MassEffect'' novel ''[[Literature/MassEffectRevelation Revelation]]'' serves as a Start of Darkness for Saren, showing how he came to be the villain in the videogame... though in the novel itself, he's already an ''extreme'' KnightTemplar.
** The comic ''ComicBook/MassEffectEvolution'' is one for The Illusive Man, Cerberus, and a younger Saren.
* About one third of ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'' is spent on telling us how Sephiroth became the MagnificentBastard and OneWingedAngel he is in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''. Including remaking Cloud's flashback scenes from the original game to the actual ''moment'' he snapped, also a Start Of Darkness in their own right. This took advantage of advances in animation and allowed for Cloud's serious amnesia problem. (Also the EpilepticTrees spawned when he had ''dialogue'' right for a scene he ''was not actually present for.'' Some fans believe his delusion of Zack-ness was largely caused by some kind of Hojo-induced memory transfer.)
** The game proved that he didn't suffer a sudden sanity loss, but rather more of a long line of betrayals that started as early as Gast's death and ended with the very facts of his own existence, which overall is both more believable (even allowing for Jenova's clear ability to mess with his brain) and more tragic. Due to ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'' we know that he had lost absolutely everything by the time this happened.
** His Start Of Darkness could be pinned at conception, at the moment he broke, or just described as 'his whole damn life.' The man was born one of Hojo's experiments. Their suffering has been unquestioned more or less since Hojo was introduced. Though he still had just enough innocence left during that fateful practice duel that events afterward could almost be labeled 'BreakTheCutie'.
* Prince Luca Blight from ''VideoGame/SuikodenII'' had his after his family was ambushed by bandits in one of their official travels. He and his father managed to escape, but his mother wasn't so lucky. Luca wanted to go back for her but his father said that he couldn't risk his life as the King. His mother was rescued shortly after, but she didn't return to the castle. Several months later, Luca managed to find out where she was and quickly escaped from the castle in order to meet her. He had a arduous journey, and a man took his horse in exchange for a pear and some water (Luca didn't want to eat the wild berries or drink the muddy water he found in the way). Upon finally meeting his mother, she started to scream and rip her hair out when Luca came close. One of their aids explained that she was brutally raped by the bandits and got pregnant, as well as going completely insane and unable to stand near men. Luca then snapped. He went back to the castle, but not before meeting the man who took his horse, who he murdered with joy. He was also lucky enough to find a small village along the way, and found that the bandits, as well as his mother's rapist, were sheltered in a house there. He stormed inside the hut and caught everyone off-guard, murdering everyone. When he found the rapist, he tortured and killed him gruesomely. When he returned to the castle, two things were permanently scarred on his mind: the disgust for people and the pleasure he got when killing. Thus, Luca Blight was born, a monster who causes a war for the sole reason of having an excuse to kill people by the thousands.
** ''VideoGame/SuikodenTactics'' reveals the backstory of the AxCrazy pirate Brandeau, who in ''VideoGame/SuikodenIV'' was seemingly just the StarterVillain and a method for [[TheHero Lazlo]] to end up with [[BlessedWithSuck the Rune of Punishment]] and kick off the main plot. In ''Tactics'', he's a fairly affable guy who's part of a pirate band that the main characters team up with [[EnemyMine to defeat the much worse pirate Steele]] who was the previous Rune of Punishment bearer. In the process, Brandeau's [[BloodBrothers best friend]] Edgar (a fairly significant PosthumousCharacter in ''IV'') is killed by Steele and their sidekick Peck [[WasOnceAMan is hideously mutated]]. Brandeau scored the killing blow on Steele and thus [[YouKillItYouBoughtIt was cursed to be its next bearer]]. Out of guilt at his failure to save Edgar, Brandeau and Peck left the pirate band and struck out on their own. Several year and a lot of SanitySlippage later, they encountered Lazlo who put an end to their misery.
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' is the Start of Darkness for Ganondorf, explaining how he became the King of Evil, Ganon.
** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'', [[spoiler: before the final duel with him]], Ganondorf's backstory is expanded by revealing his motives for conquering Hyrule in the previous game.
** Likewise, ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap'' is the Start of Darkness for Vaati, and explains his origins as a Minish sorcerer's apprentice.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' serves to show a Start of Darkness for the series, [[spoiler:seeing as every figure of evil that appears in the Zelda universe, Ganon or otherwise, is a result of Demise's curse incarnate.]]
* ''Kagetsu Tohya'' fleshes out [[VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}} Michael Roa Valdamjong's]] start of darkness with the Crimson Moon and Drinking, Dreaming Moon scenarios. Roa actually wanted to achieve immortality because he fell in love with Arcueid and wanted to be with her for eternity, but mistook that feeling for hatred and thought he wanted to torment her for eternity.
** [[LightNovel/KaraNoKyoukai Araya]] wants to take over Ryougi's body because he wants to reach Akasha, so all the meaningless deaths would at least have a reason and cease to be meaningless. ect.
* In ''VideoGame/LiveALive'', the hidden [[spoiler:Medieval]] Chapter explains just who and what "Odio" is, and what made him into the demon of hatred influencing the various end bosses. [[spoiler:It starts the young, heroic, KnightInShiningArmor Oersted on a fairly formula "Save the princess from a demon" plot, but... well, to say it all goes to hell about halfway through would be an understatement. By chapter's end, everyone in the kingdom believes Oersted to be the ''real'' demon (over something that was an accident, not that they saw that part of it), everyone who believed in him is either dead, or being "protected" from him, his best friend is revealed to be the one who ruined his life, and the princess declares her own hatred for him after he duels said traitorous friend to the death, and then ''commits suicide''. Oersted is left with ''absolutely nothing''. He then proceeds to just plain ''snap'', and decides that if the world is so insistent that he is a demon, [[ThenLetMeBeEvil then a demon is exactly what he will be.]]]]
* ''VideoGame/DragonFable''[='=]s Fire War is a Start Of Darkness for Drakonnan. [[spoiler:Once Yulgar's apprentice, Konnan called upon the hero to stop the rampage of the red dragon Akriloth upon his home village. But despite the hero's best efforts and the powers of the hero's recently acquired dragon, [[HopelessBossFight they were no match for Akriloth and the power of the Fire Orb]]. Akriloth, instead of finishing the hero, sadistically [[ForcedToWatch made them watch]] as he burned the village to the ground, killing Konnan's family. Konnan [[FailureToSaveMurder blamed the hero for failing to save them]] and when the evil pyromancer Xan got his hooks into him, this would turn into a desire for revenge that would soon threaten the entire land of Lore]].
* ''VideoGame/InThe1stDegree'' has James Tobin charged with grand theft and murder. There are indications in the interrogation tapes that the chain of events leading up to the events in the game go back to when Tobin and his wife Helen divorced. He apparently took it hard and just went on a steady downward spiral after that.
* ''VideoGame/BatenKaitos Origins'' shows how Geldoblame came to be in control of TheEmpire, and how he went from Verus' prissy YesMan to a megalomaniacal EvilOverlord.
* As seen in a flashback, the death of Sophia in ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'' was the Start Of Darkness for Krelian ''and'' Grahf.
* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilTheDarksideChronicles'' provides such a story for [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil4 Jack Krauser]]. During a mission working alongside Leon, Krauser suffered an [[CareerEndingInjury injury]] that crippled his left arm and effectively ended his illustrious military career. After witnessing how the virus healed [[IllGirl Manuela]] and gave her incredible power, Krauser decided to seek out [[BigBad Wesker]] in hopes of regaining everything he'd lost.
* ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance'' gives us the Start Of Darkness for series BigBad Xehanort. What drove this man down his path of villainy? [[spoiler: His [[TheHeartless Heartless]] went back in time and showed his younger self all of the evil acts he would do, even bringing him to the future to help them out. Even though he would forget what he saw and do, the actions he would take are now engraved in his heart. Xehanort isn't just happy messing around with the heroes- even his youth is fair game!]]
** DoubleSubverted in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep''. [[spoiler: Master Xehanort orchestrated a series of events on Terra that almost mirrored [[Franchise/StarWars Anakin Skywalker's]] descent into darkness, including the murder of Terra's mentor, Master Eraqus. Despite this, however, Terra never fell completely, and Eraqus' death only prompted him to get his act together and [[PayEvilUntoEvil finally point his darkness and rage at the right person:]] Xehanort himself. Unfortunately, in the process, Terra's darkness ends up weakening his heart, allowing Xehanort to casually commit GrandTheftMe on him, resulting in the man we knew as Xehanort in the later games.]]
** An update for ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsX Kingdom Hears Union χ]]'' titled Kingdom Hearts Dark Road follows Young Xehanort as a playable protagonist, back when he was still a friend of Eraqus'.
* ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'':
** We learn that the Injustice-verse Superman started his takeover of the world after the Joker tricked him into killing Lois and his unborn child by taking them up to space without a suit because he was under the effect of a Kryptonite-induced fear toxin that made Superman hallucinate that she was Doomsday. Lois' death triggered the hidden DeadMansSwitch in her to ''set off a nuke and blow up Metropolis''. The Joker then successfully goaded Superman into murdering him, something that he was never able to do with Batman.
** Injustice Steve Trevor was a Nazi spy who almost tricked Wonder Woman into surrendering the Amazons' Lasso of Hestia. His deception broke Diana's idealism and shaped her into the despicable BloodKnight she is today.
* In ''[[VideoGame/{{Ravenmark}} Ravenmark: Scourge of Estellion]]'', [[spoiler:Livia Cassianus]] finds out that the late Emperor Sergius Corvius has always intended for [[spoiler:her]] to inherit the Obsidian Perch (i.e. the throne of the Empire of Estellion). Before that, [[spoiler:Livia]] falls in love with young [[spoiler:Calius Septim]]. In the final cutscene, [[spoiler:Calius]] gives [[spoiler:his]] life to save [[spoiler:Livia]] from the BigBad pulling a TakingYouWithMe. [[spoiler:Livia her]]self is scarred by the flamesoul explosion. At [[spoiler:Calius]]'s grave, [[spoiler:Livia]] vows to remake the Empire into something new, claiming that traitors must be rooted out, and the blood of the fallen must be repaid. The description of the sequel ''Ravenmark: Mercenaries'' claims that six years have passed since then, and that the land is still reeling from the rule of the "Scarlet [[spoiler:Empress]]".
* ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}''
** ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaLamentOfInnocence Lament of Innocence]]'' is the origin of the series' version of Dracula. [[spoiler:the once-noble Mathias Cronqvist, after the death of his wife, arranged for his friend Leon Belmont's fiancée to die as well as part of plan that ultimately gained him two immensely powerful stones, allowing him to literally master Death and become the lord of darkness, causing Leon and his descendants to declare eternal war upon him.]]
** The series reboot ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow Lords of Shadow]]'' provides an alternate start of darkness: [[spoiler:Gabriel Belmont, after learning that he is responsible for the death of his wife, that he cannot resurrect her using the magic mask as he has been led to believe, and that Satan has been using him to spearhead a war against God, begins on a path that leads to him becoming Dracula himself. Forcefully injecting himself WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity to prevent another demon from retrieving it made things even worse - and it's implied that the demon in question is ''Lucifer''.]]
* ''Videogame/BorderlandsThePreSequel'' deals with Handsome Jack's rise to power and how he went from someone with legitimately heroic aspirations to the power-hungry and delusional villain of ''Videogame/{{Borderlands 2}}''. However, ''VideoGame/Borderlands3'' reveals in a side-mission the true start. [[spoiler: After learning his daughter Angel manifested Siren powers and fearing she would be a target for anyone who would want her for themselves, she was eventually kidnapped in front of him and his wife by a bandit named Grogmouth. A scared Angel accidentally activated her abilities and took control of Grogmouth's turrets, firing wildly at everything. Not only does the bandit get killed, but so does Jack's wife/Angel's mother accidentally. This drives Jack clear over the DespairEventHorizon and JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope in the process. He locks Angel (a child no less!) in a solitary chamber "for her own good", only to later decide to use her powers to his own benefit, starts the events of the first Borderlands in the process and rises up the ranks of Hyperion as seen in the Pre-Sequel.]]
* In ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', Maria's death at the hands of G.U.N. was this to Shadow and was his main motivation for wanting to destroy the Earth. Though subverted once he remembers Maria asked him to ''protect'' the Earth, not destroy it.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'' has the Chapter 1 "The meager". The entire chapter is a flashback that shows both [[spoiler:Delita]] and [[spoiler:Wiegraf]] starts of darkness, both triggered by the [[spoiler:murders of their respective sisters]].
* ''Franchise/AceAttorney'': A variation given he was already a hard-ass to begin with, but ''Gyakuten Kenji 2'' explains in more detail how Manfred von Karma turned from a "mere" {{Jerkass}} to a full-blown villain [[spoiler:who murdered Gregory Edgeworth for tarnishing his perfect win record. This was also the start for Miles, as Manfred took him in shortly thereafter and began to instill his "win at all costs" mentality in him.]]
* Completing single-player in ''VideoGame/WarOfTheMonsters'' unlocks a small cutscene that shows how the {{Kaiju}} you played as came to be (except for the unlockable monsters, where you get a "making of" video instead).
* Phase 10: The Wicker Bride of ''VideoGame/{{Splatterhouse}}'' (2010) gives one for the game's antagonist, Dr. West. His wife was burned inside of a wicker man by the townsfolk a few hundred years ago [[spoiler:then you show up to kill her, as a result of a StableTimeLoop]].
* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3QJ8Pgjj3c "Harbingers: Gul'dan" video]] released before the ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' expansion ''Legion'' details how Gul'dan became a power-hungry servant of demons after having been cast out from his birth village for being crippled.
* Each of the killers in ''VideoGame/DeadByDaylight'' has an origin story that is only explained [[AllThereInTheManual on the official website]].
** The Trapper was a loyal worker on his father's estate, but after his father's mental health degraded to the point of ordering him to massacre the rest of the workers, he in turn snapped and murdered his father, which earned him a spot in [[EldritchAbomination The Entity's]] ranks.
** The Wraith was a crusher operator at an auto chop-shop, but after learning that the main purpose of his job was actually to perform hits on people who were trapped inside the cars, he went mad, [[HoistByHisOwnPetard killed his boss in the same way he murdered all his other victims,]] then ripped out his head and spine, which he now uses as his primary weapon.
** The Hillbilly was hated by his parents since birth because of his physical deformity, and they locked him away in a room where the only contact he had with the outside world was being fed through a hole in the wall. Eventually, he escaped, murdering his parents and all of the animals on their farm.
** The Nurse had a good life and promising future, until her lumberjack husband died in a work accident, forcing her to take a job at [[BedlamHouse Crotus Prenn Asylum]] to make ends meet. After spending two decades surrounded by insane people, she finally went insane herself, massacring all of the patients in the middle of the night.
** The Shape is, well...[[Franchise/{{Halloween}} Micheal Myers.]]
** The Hag lived in a quiet, friendly town. when the hag, formerly known as Lisa Sherwood, lost her footing and struck her head, slipping in and out of consciousness because of a sudden storm, she found herself captured by cannibals, when she finally escaped she proceeded to devour her kidnappers.
* The [[AllInTheManual manuals]] for the ''VideoGame/{{Disciples}}'' series detail the backstory, including the Start of Darkness for the two evil deities of the setting (as opposed to just JerkassGods). Bethrezen started out as the [[{{God}} Highfather]]'s favorite angel, to whom the Highfather gave the power to create. Bethrezen then made Nevendaar (the game world) and asked other deities to fill it with life, himself creating humans. Then Bethrezen asked the other angels to watch over the world and went to get the Highfather to show him his creation. The jealous angels messed with the mortal races, so by the time the Highfather arrived to see Nevendaar, the world was afire with war and destruction. Outraged at Bethrezen, the Highfather entombed him within the molten core of his own creation for all eternity. After millennia in the core, Bethrezen grew bitter at the Highfather and the mortal races, becoming the setting's [[TheDevil Devil]] and creating the [[TheLegionsOfHell Legions of the Damned]] as his army. The demonic legions burst onto the surface in the elven woods, sending the elves running for the hills, which happened to be in dwarven territory. Assuming the elves were invading, the dwarves attacked them. The elven gods Gallean and Solonielle confronted the dwarven god Wotan and demanded that he punish his children for the unprovoked attack. Enraged, Wotan killed Gallean and threw his heart at the sun. Solonielle managed to jump and catch the heart, but her flesh was burned off. The grief, the desire for vengeance, and the pain warped Solonielle into the fleshless goddess Mortis, whoc slaughtered an entire people and raised them up as her Undead Hordes.
* A good chunk of the plot of ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'' revolves around the main party to hunt down the Earthen Historia so as to watch past events, specifically those revolving around the [[TheDreaded Lord of Calamity]] [[BigBad Heldalf]].
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'' follows in the footsteps of above (not surprising since it's a prequel) as during the massive WhamEpisode the truth of how the BigBad became how he is is revealed by the Earthen Historia. In a somewhat meta fashion, due to the HistoricalVillainUpgrade that [[AntiHero Velvet]] goes through in-universe (as the first one to hold the title of [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Lord of Calamity]]) the prologue of the game counts as this, showing what [[BreakTheCutie broke]] the sweet village girl she was before the Advent.
* ''VideoGame/DiabloIII: Reaper of Souls'' spends quite a bit of lore explaining how [[spoiler:Adria]] became a heartless betrayer and agent of Diablo, as well as the fall of both Urzael and Malthael himself.
* Issue #10 of ''VideoGame/TheSecretWorld'' prompts the players to investigate the chain of events that led to the creation of [[MouthOfSauron the Black Signal]], concluding with a full-blown Start Of Darkness in "Nightmare In The Dream Palace." [[spoiler: Turns out that the seemingly omniscient voice of the Filth was once a [[FromNobodyToNightmare social misfit and outcast by the name of John Copley]], who ended up joining the [[PathOfInspiration Fear Nothing Foundation]] in a desperate attempt to find friends; the cult exploited this by providing him with friends and even a girlfriend to lust over, eventually sending him on a night on the town that ended with him experiencing a vision of [[EldritchAbomination the Dreamers]]. With John well and truly indoctrinated, the FNF employed him as a suicide bomber and charged him with delivering the [[FantasticNuke Message]] to Orochi Tower... but John didn't die when he detonated. Instead, [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence he became something]] ''[[WasOnceAMan else]].'' ]]
* A series of side quests and cutscenes in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' show the origin of Edda Blackbosom: [[spoiler:she was initially Edda Pureheart, a slightly inept Conjurer who was the ButtMonkey of the team of adventurers, including her fiance, a Gladiator named Avere. However, while exploring the Tam-Tara Dungeon, [[LeeroyJenkins Avere's decision to charge forward without help]] lead to [[OffWithHisHead him losing his head.]] Her teammates put the blame squarely on her shoulders as they broke apart and, after you give her a pep talk, she seems determined to start things anew. However, the grief of her fiance's death and a run in with a mysterious figure would lead her to turn to necromancy and turn evil.]]
* The ''Kiwami'' remake of ''Videogame/Yakuza1'' adds in additional cutscenes that deal with Akira Nishikiyama's descent into villainy during the 10-year timeskip that happens between the prologue and the first chapter, where his failed attempts to save his sister as well being constantly disrespected and being under Kiryu's shadow led to him becoming an ambitious crimelord who serves as the central antagonist of the game.
** Majima's side of the story in ''VideoGame/Yakuza0'' chronicles how he went from a surprisingly mellow and subdued caberet club owner to the AxCrazy Mad Dog of Shimano through a long, ''long'' [[TraumaCongaLine series of traumatic events.]]
* After the reveal of [[spoiler: Scott Shelby]] being the Origami Killer in ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'', you're treated to a flashback to his childhood where his brother is stuck in a pipe and is drowning from the rising rainwater. Their abusive alcoholic father refuses to budge, causing the sibling in the pipe to drown while his last words to his brother is "Don't forget about me, [[spoiler: Scotty]]." From that moment on, [[spoiler: Scott]] never forgave his father. By the time he becomes an adult, he goes on a kidnapping spree by capturing young boys and forcing their fathers to go through a series of trials to prove that they're willing to sacrifice anything to save their sons. If the fathers fail to reach their sons in time, the kids drown inside a well when the heavy rain floods it.
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** Shion gets one herself during the Meakashi chapter (takes about 2 episodes in the anime, culminating with the "distinguishment" incident). The events happen in every arc (having taken place one year before the story begins, but whether the events "detonate" depends on the arc.

** Season 15 has the ''Desert Gulch Chronicles'' flashbacks, which detail the time when the [[PsychoPrototype Blues and Reds]] were in the same situation as the Reds and Blues -- playing CaptureTheFlag in a box canyon in the middle of nowhere. One member of the Blue Team, Mark Temple, was childhood friends with Biff, a member of the Red Team. They were even about to try to get Biff medically discharged so he could return to his girlfriend, but before they could do that, Agents Carolina and Texas were sent down for a battle. In the battle, Tex accidentally killed Biff. She and Carolina left the gulch and never thought of it again... but Temple had just lost his best friend, and the revelation that Biff had died for nothing more than a training exercise (and the UNSC had voluntarily given them up for it) broke him. He eventually started tracking down and killing Freelancers ([[MisplacedRetribution even ones who had nothing to do with what happened]]) with the rest of the Blues and Reds, and plotted to destroy the UNSC.