History Main / SuddenPrincipledStand

* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', in a flashback, Dalton is moved to tears by Hiruluk's ObiWanMoment, and after the latter kills himself, he sees [[AristocratsAreEvil Wapol]] [[KickTheDog laughing his ass off over it]]. With the last person to try and save the country in crisis now gone, Dalton decides that this is the last straw, and chews him out for his assholish behavior over the years, finally declaring no matter how advanced Drum Kingdom is in medicine, "Medicine cannot cure [Wapol's] stupidity." Unfortunately, in a [[DeconstructedTrope deconstruction]] of the trope, this leads to Wapol being furious with Dalton, and [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown soundly defeating him]], before sending him to prison. Pays off for him in the longterm, though; he’s become the effective new leader of the country by the time the Straw Hats reach it thanks to his continuation of that devotion, and downright replaces Wapol as its king eventually.

* ComicBook/CaptainAtom reaches this point in issue 50. Issues earlier, [[HerrDoktor Dr. Megala]] had arranged for a video recording revealing all the dirty secrets of the Captain Atom project to go out on national television after his death as insurance against his being eliminated by Wade Eiling. In issue 50, Megala does die, albeit not at the hands of Eiling, so Eiling has Cap go on television to claim that Megala was a supervillain and that everything that he was going to say were a bunch of lies. Just then, Megala's recording breaks in, and it turns out that all Megala had to say was that "Wade Eiling wears combat boots." When the regular broadcast resumes, Cap starts to go ahead with his rehearsed statement, but then decides he has had enough, and instead comes clean about how he is really a government agent who has been masquerading as a superhero.

** After half the arc is spent watching the kin show its increasingly cult like nature and descend into executing people who defy Darktail, Breezepelt, who has previously been loyal to the Kin, takes a stand and expresses horror at the idea of Heathertail being executed, leading to his HeelFaceTurn. He then spends the rest of the arc trying to atone for what he's done by fighting against the Kin from the inside and saving as many of the cats slated for execution as he can.

** No-one hears it, [[FightingFromTheInside and it had been building for some time,]] with some [[WouldntHurtAChild foreshadowing]] but it is still very jarring (in a good way) when the Winter Soldier flat-out refuses to assassinate [[spoiler:Carol]].

* In ''Fanfic/LovedAndLost'', Twilight Sparkle is manipulated by [[TyrantTakesTheHelm Prince Jewelius]] into [[CorruptTheCutie becoming colder]] and disowning her friends, brother and mentor after he [[HeroWithBadPublicity disgraces]] them all following the Changeling invasion. She [[CassandraTruth doesn't believe their warnings]] about [[spoiler:Jewelius having used her and the Changelings in stealing the throne]], and she doesn't seriously object to Celestia being hanged until the deposed princess gives her a heartfelt apology. Though she later starts having doubts about who to believe, she still doesn't object much against Jewelius. However, when he orders her to get Canterlot's citizens[[note]]who are more concerned about the renewed Changeling threat than the heroes they're lied about[[/note]] off his back by telling them a lie about him having the situation under his control, she goes against those instructions and tells the crowd the true state of things. This leads her into having with Jewelius an argument[[note]]in which she actually demands him to be a good ruler and set things right for everypony[[/note]] that leads her into realizing how right her friends were about him and throwing away entirely his bad influence on her.

* ''Literature/{{Deryni}} Checkmate'': The day after the Curia excommunicated Morgan and Duncan, its leaders, Archbishops Loris and Corrigan, tried to push through an Interdict on Morgan's duchy as well. The previously neutral Bishop Cardiel spoke against the measure, precipitating a schism within the Church. Cardiel argued that it was unjust to punish the people of Corwyn for the actions of its duke and left open the possibility that Morgan and Duncan were morally innocent. The conflict escalated as other bishops, including Arilan and Tolliver (Corwyn's bishop) joined in, accusing Loris of supporting a rebellion against the king and promoting genocide against the Deryni.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Tyrion puts up with a great deal on Joffrey's wedding day. The groom seems even more obnoxious than usual and going to great lengths to humiliate his uncle for no reason other than it amuses him. Tyrion puts up with it until Joffrey orders him to kneel before him. At that point, his face says it all: no chance. Margaery diffuses this brinkmanship by calling attention to the pie.
* ''Series/{{Succession}}'': Rhea thinks nothing of screwing over, backstabbing, and straight-up breaking the law when it suits her to get more money and a better position. But she finally draws the line at confronting a rape victim and destroying her in order to suit Waystar-Royco, and leaves Shiv to do it alone.

* Joey Matthews and Wrestling/TylerBlack have one when the man who started The Age Of The Fall, Wrestling/JimmyJacobs, wanted them to film his stalking of ex girlfriend Lacey. They went through with this but when he tried to hit her with a rail road spike, invoking the same injury that started the movement in the first place, [[NotWhatISignedUpFor they stopped him]].

* Wrestling/WilliamRegal has, since his introduction, been a snobbish, arrogant, British {{Heel}} with a not-so-hidden vicious streak. But when he befriends the [[IdiotSavant mentally challenged but innocent and talented]] [[Wrestling/NickDinsmore Eugene]], despite his initial resentment at playing babysitter, he grows fond of his young charge, and stands up against Wrestling/TripleH when the former-champion tries to bully the kid.

* In ''VideoGame/NoOneLivesForever'', Magnus Armstrong is a principled villain and his rationalizations for working with HARM wear thin over the course of the game. After Cate Archer beats him in a fist fight, she convinces him to abandon HARM altogether.

* In 1962, a group of street musicians in UsefulNotes/{{Munich}} had gathered quite a crowd and kept playing well after 22:30 into the night. Police arrived and instead of just saying "this is a residential area, would you please stop playing here or move to the park", they immediately arrested the musicians. At that point some people in the crowd protested that this was unfair and 17 years of unresolved social tension after World War 2 finally spilled over. The officers called for backup, which arrived in the form of a riot squad, and at that point the situation grew into a real riot. Completely inexperienced and untrained, police handled the situation as poorly as one would expect and the riots escalated and lasted for over a week, and also marked the beginning of the [[TheSixties German civil rights movement]] which was marked by PoliceBrutality and [[WesternTerrorists left wing terrorism]] that lasted for the next two decades. And all because someone stood up and said "Don't you think this is a bit excessive?"
* Many Dutch student fraternities let their members go through two weeks of humiliation (which often include humiliating tasks, getting shouted at by older members, excessive alcohol consumption and very little sleep) before they are a full member. Other fraternities dislike this practice, and don't have this kind of initiation ritual (or some much lesser form). At least one fraternity puts an older member among the new members, and calls this "mole" forward to be "humiliated", until the new members invoke just this trope, at which point the masquerade is given up, and everybody has a good laugh.

* Phoebus against Frollo in ''WesternAnimation/{{The Hunchback of Notre Dame|Disney}}'', as quoted above. After a montage of atrocities committed against Parisian gypsies and anyone Frollo thinks could be sheltering them, Phoebus draws the line when ordered to burn a miller's family in their home and furiously tosses his torch into a water barrel. Frollo then grabs another torch and sets the fire himself. Without an instant of hesitation, Phoebus dives into the flaming house and manages to bring the family to safety. Frollo's soldiers then grab Phoebus and prepare to execute him in response right before Esmeralda, hiding among the terrified patrons, intervenes with a distraction.

* ''Film/{{Scarface|1983}}'': Throughout the film Tony has been a drug lord, a murderer, generally getting worse and worse. But seeing [[spoiler:Sosa's hitman about to kill the target while the man's wife and kid are in the same car]] makes him draw the line.

* The Literature/VorkosiganSaga by Creator/LoisMcMasterBujold:
** In ''Literature/FallingFree'', Bannerji doesn't refuse to fire at and destroy the ship that the Quaddies escape on per se, but he demands a [[BotheringByTheBook proper work order]], signed by the Hazardous Waste Management Officer, and with an Environmental Impact Assessment attached. This gives the ship time to escape.
** In ''Literature/ShardsOfHonor'', when Sergeant Bothari refuses to rape [[spoiler:Cordelia]] as per Admiral Vorrutyer's orders.
---> "She's Commodore Vorkosigan's prisoner. Sir."

* ''Series/{{The Boys|2019}}''. Homelander has discovered the existence of The Boys and accuses Starlight -- who is dating Hughie Campbell -- of being in league with them. He's working himself up into a homicidal fury when Queen Maeve gets up and tells Homelander to leave her alone. Homelander is surprised saying he could not remember the last time Maeve gave a shit about anyone. It's implied that both Starlight and Maeve's ex-girlfriend Elena have started Maeve feeling guilty about how far she's strayed from her ideals.

* Lion-O from ''WesternAnimation/{{ThunderCats|2011}}'' takes one against a bloodthirsty mob and his own father.

* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', in a flashback, Dalton is moved to tears by Hiruluk's ObiWanMoment, and after the latter kills himself, he sees [[AristocratsAreEvil Wapol]] [[KickTheDog laughing his ass off over it]]. With the last person to try and save the country in crisis now gone, Dalton decides that this is the last straw, and chews him out for his assholish behavior over the years, finally declaring no matter how advanced Drum Kingdom is in medicine, "Medicine cannot cure [Wapol's] stupidity." Unfortunately, in a [[DeconstructedTrope deconstruction]] of the trope, this leads to Wapol being furious with Dalton, and [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown soundly defeating him]], before sending him to prison.

* In ''Film/TheMuppets'', just as Tex Richman is about to cut the power to the Muppet theater:

[[folder:Web Comics]]

-->-- '''Phoebus''', ''WesternAnimation/{{The Hunchback of Notre Dame|Disney}}''

* A form of this occurs in ''Series/TheWestWing''. In the 6th season, a conservative Senator is trying to attach a rider banning gay marriage to a budget bill. Toby is looking to rally support, and goes to the Vice President, Bob Russell, for a statement of support. Russell, who is widely regarded as an idiot, mildly corrupt, and a bit of an opportunist, surprises Toby by refusing. Russell states that he has a gay nephew, but is against gay marriage because "it could set back progress fifty years." [[spoiler: [[YouShouldKnowThisAlready Bartlet eventually convinces the Senator to drop the amendment on the budget bill.]]]]

* Played for laughs in ''WebAnimation/IfTheEmperorHadATextToSpeechDevice'': the Centurion has been listening patiently to all of Emperor's and Kitten's more-and-less insane conversations, but when they begin to talk about the Space Wolves and Lemun Russ while [[ArchNemesis Magnus]] [[BerserkButton the Red]] was in earshot, [[spoiler:he interrupts them and reveals his true identity: [[NotQuiteDead Rogal Dorn.]]]]

Compare GrewASpine, EveryoneHasStandards, EvenEvilHasStandards, NeutralNoLonger, AwakeningTheSleepingGiant, NotWhatISignedOnFor, WontDoYourDirtyWork, ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight, SpannerInTheWorks, YouLeaveHimAlone, RageBreakingPoint (where anger is handled this way). Contrast SlowlySlippingIntoEvil, of which this can be a [[DefiedTrope Defiance]].

Compare EveryoneHasStandards, EvenEvilHasStandards, NeutralNoLonger, AwakeningTheSleepingGiant, NotWhatISignedOnFor, WontDoYourDirtyWork, ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight, SpannerInTheWorks, YouLeaveHimAlone, RageBreakingPoint (where anger is handled this way). Contrast SlowlySlippingIntoEvil, of which this can be a [[DefiedTrope Defiance]].

-->-- '''Phoebus''', ''WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame''

* Phoebus against Frollo in ''WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'', as quoted above. After a montage of atrocities committed against Parisian gypsies and anyone Frollo thinks could be sheltering them, Phoebus draws the line when ordered to burn a miller's family in their home and furiously tosses his torch into a water barrel. Frollo then grabs another torch and sets the fire himself. Without an instant of hesitation, Phoebus dives into the flaming house and manages to bring the family to safety. Frollo's soldiers then grab Phoebus and prepare to execute him in response right before Esmeralda, hiding among the terrified patrons, intervenes with a distraction.

Compare EveryoneHasStandards, EvenEvilHasStandards, NeutralNoLonger, AwakeningTheSleepingGiant, NotWhatISignedOnFor, ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight, SpannerInTheWorks, YouLeaveHimAlone, RageBreakingPoint (where anger is handled this way). Contrast SlowlySlippingIntoEvil, of which this can be a [[DefiedTrope Defiance]].

* In a roundabout way, [[spoiler: Knock Out]] of all bots in ''Fanfic/TransformersPrimeTimeWar''. Much to the shock of everyone present, stands between Megatron as he's about to kill [[spoiler: Smokescreen]] during the battle for the Space Bridge. Only it was [[spoiler: Smokescreen's]] order to save himself that he disobeyed.

* In ''Film/TheApartment'' there's Bud's climactic refusal to let Sheldrake use his apartment for a tryst with Fran after her [[spoiler: suicide attempt]].

* ''Film/{{Scarface|1983}}'': Throughout the film Tony has been a drug lord, a murderer, generally getting worse and worse. But seeing [[spoiler: Sosa's hitman about to kill the target while the man's wife and kid are in the same car]] makes him draw the line.