History Main / TheApocalypseBringsOutTheBestInPeople

* In ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/47234539 Miraculous vs. Vampires]]'', a crossover between ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' and ''ComicBook/DCVsVampires'', [[BigBag Shadow Moth]] steps up as the new BigGood of Paris after [[spoiler:Nightwing]] turns Ladybug and Chat Noir into vampires with Ladybug becoming the new vampire lord of her corrupted teammates. The sequel, ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/52900756 The Ambush]]'', {{Deconstruct|edTrope}} this in Gabriel's mind, as he recognizes that the fact it took the end of the world and losing everything for him to even act like a decent person, much less become a proper Butterfly hero, says a lot about his lack of character prior to the crisis. When Nooro [[SoProudOfYou praised him for using the Butterfly Miraculous to create heroic Kamikos instead of akumas]], [[YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame Gabriel can't even look him in the eye]], though he secretly hopes to properly earn his kwami's approval in the future.

** Introduced in ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', [[FutureBadass Trunks]] is very noble and polite, compared to the main timeline Trunks. Growing up in the shadow of constant apocalypse not only made him a more reliable and effective fighter than he would otherwise, but it causes him to develop a strong sense of moral responsibility from an early age that regular Trunks lacks. It helps that he was also raised by [[AllLovingHero Future Gohan]] instead of [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Vegeta]].

** ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'': In the same apocalypse mentioned above, Mai is shown to be a selfless woman ready to sacrifice her life for others instead of the regular Mai who's part of a GoldfishPoopGang who wish to conquer the world.

* One of the main characters in ''Manga/ViolenceJack'' was a lazy high-school kid that was completely pampered by his mother and sisters. Then [[spoiler:his whole family died during the Tokyo earthquake]] and he had to learn to survive on his own, becoming a badass and the leader of all orphan kids in Kanto.

* Maruti from ''Animation/TheReturnOfHanuman'' is considered a naughty kid in the village. But when Rahu and Ketu [[spoiler:and the volcano monster]] try to destruct the village, Maruti turns into Hanuman to beat them up. Because Hanuman is a Hindu God, all of the villagers worshipped him.

* ''Film/InDarkness2011'': Poldek, a sewer worker in 1943 Lviv, is a petty thief and a black marketer who dislikes Jews. The dire necessity of the moment -- ten Jews hiding out in the sewers after the Nazis liquidate the ghetto -- brings out the best in him. After Mr. Chiger tells him they have no money left to pay him with, he takes care of them for free, at great personal risk.

* ''Film/SchindlersList'' examines the trope from several angles. Oskar Schindler begins the film as a serial adulterer and war profiteer, but, as the death tolls and dangers increase, becomes continually more concerned with preserving human life, trying his hardest to keep people alive. Schindler himself believes—ironically—in the opposite of the trope: that war brings out the worst in people, and if the war had not happened then Amon Goeth would be generally a really nice guy. The movie itself suggests that war brings out the ''truth'' in people, i.e., Goeth is really a monster, and Schindler is really a good guy, it just took the war for them both to demonstrate what they had always been.

* Most of the Americans in the ''Literature/SixteenThirtyTwo'' series are hillbillies from a small town in West Virginia, and had [[MassTeleportation the town not been transported back in time]] to Germany during the UsefulNotes/ThirtyYearsWar, they would probably have remained a group of working-class miners and locals from a small town in the early 2000s. Once they [[FishOutOfWater come to terms]] with their new universe, their future knowledge base and cultural attitudes give them an edge that propels some of them to grand positions on the world stage, and many of them find personal fulfillment in surviving in their new world that they might never have achieved in their original timeline.

** The [[HordeOfAlienLocusts Vord invasion]] causes the otherwise scheming AntiVillain Attis Aquitaine (who has been an active villain for the rest of the series who only works with the protagonists against mutual enemies) to rise up and take command of Alera and lead the people as best he could. At the end, when [[spoiler:he dies from his wounds, the very characters opposing him at the beginning of the series end up praising him for his heroism]].

* The central thesis of Viktor Frankl's ''Man's Search for Meaning'' is that even in the darkest of days, when all seems lost, a person nevertheless has the ability and the choice to find meaning, satisfaction, and some form of joy in their lives instead of falling immediately into despair, bitterness and selfishness. The author draws upon his experiences as a prisoner in the Nazi concentration camps as an illustration. Frankl acknowledges that this is not guaranteed and depends on the person in question actually making that choice, but argues that it is also not guaranteed that dark times ''must'' cause someone to retreat from the world into bitterness, hopelessness and misanthropy. Essentially, in Frankl's argument the trope is less "The Apocalypse Brings Out The Best In People" and more that "Even In The Apocalypse You Are Still Capable Of Being Your Best Self".

** Londo gets worse at first, but then gets better when [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone he realizes]] what working with the Shadows and Morden is doing to his people and to himself. He spends a good portion of the series working to mitigate the damage wrought by his earlier actions.

** In ''Devil Survivor'', the apocalypse isn't happening, but the Yamanote train line areas of Tokyo have been locked down and separated from the rest, with no one allowed to leave. And nobody, aside from the protagonists, really show their good sides. And even the protagonists aren't immune to this. There is Midori, who becomes an overzealous 'Warrior of Love and Justice', and uses her demons to help people in danger, but it ultimately backfires on her pretty fast. Even Keisuke, the quiet, academic boy shows a pretty dark side of his mentality, when his BerserkButton is pushed. Worse, the policemen locked into the Yamanote circle gain access to using demons and begin to abuse their position.

*** The world is breaking down, and literally being swallowed into a void, but majority of the people are still no better. There are people like Ronaldo, who makes it his job to take care of the weaker people out on the street, protecting them from demons with his own and trying to get food and shelter for them. But overall, majority of humanity is now separated into the protagonists' side, helpless, cowering, and fearful civilians that are slowly losing their will to live, and the aggressive civilians, who have begun to grow insane because of the circumstances and will use violence to get what they want.

** The same could also be said of Gilgamesh, albeit for specific values of "best": he thinks only the few humans capable of surviving the hell he will unleash on them are worthy to be ruled. The worst part? He is admittedly right, and has a proof of concept : the UnholyNuke that leveled part of the city of Fuyuki and killed five hundred people, had only one survivor, Emiya Shirou, the protagonist. Said protagonist has the actual, proven potential to be a FutureBadass, a modern day Heroic Spirit. Rinse, wash, repeat with the whole world next time, and see what Badassery comes out.

* ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' has Bill, an aging Vietnam veteran with no family. In the supplementary comics, it's shown that before the zombie apocalypse he really didn't have anything to live for and existed in a well of depression. Since then he has been able to use his experience as a soldier to help him protect three other people who he has come to care for like family, particularly Zoey; in the end, he ends up sacrificing himself so that his new family can escape the apocalypse and have the hope of a relatively normal life.

* ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'': [[spoiler:It took [[TraumaCongaLine losing his ghost powers, watching Danny turn evil and murder his human half, and the deaths of Jack and Maddie]] for Vlad Masters to ''finally'' become a good person in the alternate timeline of ''WesternAnimation/TheUltimateEnemy''. Unfortunately, his prime timeline counterpart never had this such experience, and he continues his evil deeds until even Jack Fenton regards him as BeyondRedemption.]]

Compare MachiavelliWasWrong, RousseauWasRight, and EnemyMine. Contrast ApocalypseAnarchy.

* ''WebVideo/ToBoldlyFlee'' has the most KnightOfCerebus villains flying at Website/ThatGuyWithTheGlasses, and the reviewers come out of it the nicest they've ever been. Most notably, WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic saves the world to look after his friends and doesn't even want them to know.

* ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'': [[spoiler:It took [[TraumaCongaLine losing his ghost powers, watching Danny turn evil, and the deaths of Jack and Maddie]] for Vlad Masters to ''finally'' become a good person in the alternate timeline of ''WesternAnimation/TheUltimateEnemy''. Unfortunately, his prime timeline counterpart never had this such experience, and he continues his evil deeds until even Jack Fenton regards him as BeyondRedemption.]]

[[folder:Fanfiction]]

* A common theme of Creator/RolandEmmerich's films, especially ''Film/IndependenceDay'', ''Film/TheDayAfterTomorrow'', and ''Film/TwentyTwelve''. Each one shows people being selfless even in the face of certain death.

* The central thesis of Viktor Frankl's ''Man's Search for Meaning'' is that even in the darkest of days, when all seems lost, a person nevertheless has the ability and the choice to find meaning, satisfaction, and some form of joy in their lives instead of falling immediately into despair, bitterness and selfishness. The author draws upon his experiences as a prisoner in the Nazi concentration camps as an illustration. Essentially, the trope is less "The Apocalypse Brings Out The Best In People" and more that "Even In The Apocalypse You Are Still Capable Of Being Your Best Self".

If this trope leads to the [[TheyDo reconciliation]] of a RomanceArc, you have a RelationshipSalvagingDisaster.

* [[TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering The plane of Ravnica]] is a CityPlanet that is ruled by ten guilds. One for every combination of the five colors of magic. Every guild has its own rule in the city, but their diversity of methods and beliefs often leads to clashes among them. But the invasion of [[MultiversalConqueror Nicol Bolas]] and his army of [[OurZombiesAreDifferent Eternals]] makes them finally act in accordance with each other in order to defeat him.

In peacetime, certain characters are at best {{Shrinking Violet}}s and, at worst, menaces to society. But when disaster strikes, they will [[LetsGetDangerous take the lead, take control, be surprisingly effective, and maybe even be nicer than usual]] -- or if they aren't, at least they don't seem so different from everyone else. They ''will'' seem different if any FridgeLogic gets applied. Part of the reason for this that in extreme situations, characters have more dramatic ''opportunities'' to be heroic then they would have as a 9-5 cubicle monkey. When daily survival means standing [[BackToBackBadasses back to back with your neighbor]] to help pick off that morning's crop of zombies so they don't murder you for a can of chilli later, people can really develop that small-town sense of being decent and helpful to each other.

** ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'': In the same apocalypse mention above, Mai is shown to be a selfless woman ready to sacrifice her life for others instead of the regular Mai who's part of a GoldfishPoopGang who wish to conquer the world.

* In ''Anime/StellviaOfTheUniverse'', a star going supernova devastates civilization. Humanity not only rebuilds, but creates a {{Utopia}}. It is also, however, implied that [[RousseauWasRight humanity would have ended up creating a Utopia regardless]], only a bit later...

* ''Literature/TheWorldIsFullOfMonstersNow'' shows the apocalypse bringing out the best and worst in people. The protagonist, Kodou Kazuto, and the lovely pink-haired sniper he brings into his party go from a corporate drone and a cowardly shut-in respectively, to being two of the top fighters and heroes in the story. Some other P.O.V. characters instead embrace the anarchy and constant peril to set loose their dark desires, treating their fellow survivors like toys, at best, to feed their dark delusions that the usually keep under wraps for fear of punishment.

** The side-story ''Unkillables'' has circumstances leading to a group of supervillains -- including Deathstroke, Lady Shiva, Solomon Grundy and Cheetah -- holing up in an orphanage. In the process of training the children to fight in order to increase their chances of survival, they bond with them (most notably Cheetah and a little girl who calls her a "good kitty"), [[spoiler:and in the end, most of them sacrifice themselves to get the children to Ivy's safe zone]].
* ''ComicBook/{{Incorruptible}}'': The notorious supervillain Max Damage turns over a new leaf when his archenemy, the Plutonian, goes insane and puts the entire world in jeopardy. The trope is eventually taken to its logical conclusion when Max ''thanks'' the Plutonian for going rogue, since it inspired Max to become a better person.

* ''Fanfic/ScarTissue'': Played straight when it is said that people are working together in order to survive, helping each other and sharing resources. However it is subverted when we see that some people still keeps very ugly attitudes.

* Maruti from ''Animation/TheReturnOfHanuman'' is considered a naughty kid in the village. But when Rahu and Ketu [[spoiler:and the volcano monster]] tries to destruct the village, Maruti turns into Hanuman to beat them up. Because Hanuman is a Hindu God, all of the villagers worshipped him.

* The stuck up IceQueen journalist in ''Film/DeepImpact'' goes through this, defrosting including in front of her until then hated father, and ultimately [[spoiler:gives up a place to safety to help a colleague with a baby and to stay behind, watching with her father the big ass tsunami wiping out everything.]]

* The title character of ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead'', a twenty-something LoserProtagonist from London who is stuck in a dead-end job where the younger employees don't respect him, and a rocky relationship with a girl (entirely through his own fault - she is fed up of how inactive his life is). When the ZombieApocalypse hits, he [[IKnowMortalKombat becomes a badass zombie slayer due to his knowledge of video games]] and eventually TheLeader for a group. [[spoiler:Not only does he make it through the outbreak, but he also fixes his relationship with Liz and finds himself more in-control of his life.]]
* The BigBad terrorist of ''Film/SourceCode'' appears to believe that "The World Is Hell" and that a better (or at least ''happier'') society will rise if he destroys the old one (by setting off home-made nukes throughout the country). He remains ''extremely'' vague on his MotiveRant, though, and this ([[spoiler:and the fact that he's a white-bread well-to-do [[WesternTerrorists American]] with enough money, connections and smarts to create said home-made nukes by his lonesome]]) makes protagonist Captain Colter Stevens to [[TerroristsWithoutACause label him as "crazy"]] and call him out on this as such:

-->'''Harry Lime:''' Don't be so gloomy. After all, it's not that awful. You know what the fellow said: in Italy for thirty years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.

* Most of the Americans in the ''Literature/SixteenThirtyTwo'' series are hillbillies from a small town in West Virginia, and had [[MassTeleportation the town not been transported back in time]] to Germany during the UsefulNotes/ThirtyYearsWar, they would probably have remained a group of working class miners and locals from a small town in the early 2000's. Once they [[FishOutOfWater come to terms]] with their new universe, their future knowledge base and cultural attitudes give them an edge that propels some of them to grand positions on the world stage, and many of them find personal fulfillment in surviving in their new world that they might never have achieved in their original timeline.

* In ''Literature/TheEndingSeries'', a fair amount of the people that Dani and Zoe came into contact with do their best to be decent and help others survive in the horrifying world that they find themselves into.

** Taking charge when things get tough and attempting (not always succeeding) to go back to being a OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent is an established character trait for Sam.

--> '''Solzhenitsyn:''' And how can one explain that certain unstable people found faith right there in the camp, that they were strengthened by it, and that they survived uncorrupted? And many more, scattered about unnoticed, came to their alloted turning point and made no mistake in their choice. Those who managed to see that things were not only bad for them, but even worse, even harder, for their neighbours. And all those who, under the threat of a penalty zone and a new term of imprisonment, refused to become stoolies?
--> '''Solzhenitsyn:''' As soon as you have renounced that aim of 'surviving at any price,' and gone where the calm and simple people go--then imprisonment begins to transform your former character in an astonishing way. To transform it in a direction most unexpected of you. And it would seem that in this situation feelings of malice, the disturbance of being oppressed, aimless hate, irritability, and nervousness ought to multiply. But you yourself do not notice how, with the impalpable flow of time, slavery nurtures in you the offshoots of contradictory feelings.... You are ascending.

* The central thesis of Viktor Frankl's ''Man's Search for Meaning'' is that even in the darkest of days, when all seems lost, a person nevertheless has the ability and the choice to find meaning, satisfaction and some form of joy in their lives instead of falling immediately into despair, bitterness and selfishness. The author draws upon his experiences as a prisoner in the Nazi concentration camps as an illustration. Essentially, the trope is less that The Apocalypse Brings Out The Best In People and more that Even In The Apocalypse You Are Still Capable Of Being Your Best Self.

* Early on in ''Series/The100'', Bellamy only seems to care about himself and [[BigBrotherInstinct his sister]], and only assumes control of the 100 to advance his own interests. However, as the dangers of post-apocalyptic Earth become clear, Bellamy becomes a more caring and responsible leader, determined to keep his people alive. The first few episodes make it look like Bellamy will be our main [[TheAntagonist antagonist]], but by the end of the first season he's one of the most heroic characters on the show.

* Creator/DerrenBrown attempts to show this in ''Series/{{Apocalypse}}'', a large-scale CandidCameraPrank aimed at one lazy man-child named Steven. He is tricked into believing that he is a survivor of a ZombieApocalypse caused by a meteorite. Everyone else is an actor, including dozens of "[[NotUsingTheZWord infected]]". At first, there is a leadership figure he can follow. Then the older guy chooses to leave with his infected wife, leaving Steven in charge of the compound. He then meets another survivor, who is deliberately modeled on Steven himself to allow Steven to see himself from a third-person perspective and get disgusted. Steven is forced to make a hard choice, after which, he is put in trance again and is made to believe it was AllJustADream.

* Summer Landsdown of ''Series/PowerRangersRPM''. A shallow RichBitch before the RobotWar, she wandered alone through the devastated wasteland and saw her beloved butler die in her arms. By the time she got to the last haven of mankind, she was a BadassBiker ActionGirl who truly cared for her fellow man, and quickly goes to the front lines as a Power Ranger. The series ends with the war, so we don't see if she regresses when she goes back to civilian life.

* Daryl Dixon of ''Series/TheWalkingDead2010'' started off as racist, hot tempered, selfish, and dominated by his even nastier older brother Merle. After a few months of dealing with the zombie apocalypse, being forced to work together with others to survive, and Merle's absence, he has become a much nicer (if still gruff and awkward), steadfast, reliable, useful, and loyal member of the group. When Merle returns, Daryl even [[CharacterDevelopment calls him on his racist comments]].

* In ''VideoGame/AdvanceWars: Days of Ruin'', Brenner is very proud to see that what's left of humanity after the meteors hit have banded together to form small communities and even enforce rudimentary laws among themselves. Lin scoffs at the idea that this is a reflection on humanity's kindness, instead stating that it's nothing more than survival and that everyone involved is really just looking out for themselves. While Lin's theory is supported by the fact that even after the apocalypse, there's still a war going on and tyrants like Greyfield still rise to power, Brenner's theory is supported by the likes of [[spoiler:Tasha and Gage dropping their lifelong grudge with Rubinelle once and for all upon witnessing the noble side of Brenner and Will, and even artificial rapidly-aged test-tube humans like Isabella, Cyrus, and Penny choosing to be good people in spite of being an absolute blank slate (Isabella), being trained to be evil from birth by his "father" (Cyrus), and being mentally broken to the point of insanity by cruel experiments (Penny). In the end it seems to settle on "The Apocalypse Brings Out The Best In ''Most'' People." Even ''Lin'' lightens up in the end.]]
* ''VideoGame/DeathStranding'': Most people you have to connect are more than happy to join the Chiral Network, to share their work and discoveries with others and help them avoid the Death Stranding. Some of the preppers are hesitant at first, but they still want to pitch in and help others after you prove your worth. Many of them will happily give you gifts and schematics of things that might be useful on your journey (exoskeletons, weapons, better gear or backpack charms that give you different perks) just out of the goodness of their hearts.

** In ''Devil Survivor'', the apocalypse isn't happening, but the Yamanote train line areas of Tokyo have been locked down and separated from the rest, with no-one allowed to leave. And nobody, aside from the protagonists, really show their good sides. And even the protagonists aren't immune to this. There is Midori, who becomes an overzealous 'Warrior of Love and Justice', and uses her demons to help people in danger, but it ultimately backfires on her pretty fast. Even Keisuke, the quiet, academic boy shows a pretty dark side of his mentality, when his BerserkButton is pushed. Worse, the policemen locked into the Yamanote circle gain access to using demons and begin to abuse their position.

*** The world is breaking down, and literally being swallowed into a void, but majority of the people are still no better. There are people like Ronaldo, who makes it his job to take care of the weaker people out on the street, protecting them from demons with his own and trying to get food and shelter for them. But overall, majority of humanity is now separated into the protagonists' side, helpless, cowering and fearful civilians that are slowly losing their will to live and the aggressive civilians, who have begun to grow insane because of the circumstances and will use violence to get what they want.

* Invoked by the BigBad of ''VideoGame/FateExtra'', whose ultimate plan is to grant power to war-profiteers like the Harway dynasty, so good people will always be helping each other in the constant war. [[TechnicalPacifist Said antagonist claims to be a pacifist himself]].
* Also invoked by Kirei Kotomine, BigBad of ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight''. In his own sick twisted way, he loves humankind and inflicting pain, misery and untold suffering to it, because according to him, from it will shine the true value of human souls. It certainly helps that he is HARDWIRED to enjoy inflicting misery to his fellow man, helping him to achieve personal satisfaction while technically working for the betterment of his kin.
** The same could also be said of Gilgamesh, albeit for specific values of "best" : he thinks only the few humans capable of surviving the hell he will unleash on them are worthy to be ruled. The worst part? He is admittedly right, and has a proof of concept : the UnholyNuke that leveled part of the city of Fuyuki and killed five hundred people, had only one survivor, Emiya Shirou, the protagonist. Said protagonist has the actual, proven potential to be a FutureBadass, a modern day Heroic Spirit. Rinse, wash, repeat with the whole world next time, and see what Badassery comes out.
** This is also arguably PlayedWith, what with Shirou certainly being a NiceGuy, willing to put himself on the line for others at every turn, but the problem is that in his case, given he is litterally defined by his SurvivorGuilt and the wish to become a Hero, he takes it way far beyond the reasonable. He keeps on being called out on that by people who ignore his background. They become a bit more understanding after listening to his backstory.

** Both Jecht and Tidus become better people and heroes by being plucked out of their normal environment in Zanarkand and dropped into the often deadly CrapsackWorld that is Spira. Jecht went from an [[AlcoholicParent alcoholic]] and [[AbusiveParents abusive]] JerkJock of a father to a hero willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of other people, while Tidus went from a childish athlete with tons of issues and operating for somewhat selfish reasons, (he only goes along with Yuna pilgrimage at first because he thinks it might give him a chance to get out of Spira) to a great guardian who matures, becomes more altruistic, and saves the world at the cost of his own life.

* ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' has Bill, an aging Vietnam veteran with no family. In the supplementary comics, it's shown that before the zombie apocalypse he really didn't have anything to live for and existed in a well of depression. Since then he has been able to use his experience as a soldier to help him protect three other people who he has come to care for like family, particularly Zoey; in the end he ends up sacrificing himself so that his new family can escape the apocalypse and have the hope of a relatively normal life.

* Leon from ''WesternAnimation/TitanMaximum'' became the SixthRanger of the team in the time of need. He's still silent.

* General Ludendorff in ''Film/WonderWoman2017'', who is [[spoiler:not actually Ares]], seems to believe this, [[AluminumChristmasTrees which is true to the man's real beliefs]].

* ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'': [[http://www.scpwiki.com/scp-3008 SCP-3008]], an IKEA store with impossible dimensions home to many colonies of ordinary people who got lost inside and besieged by monstrous "staff" who attack every night. A journal from one resident that might it out lampshades how in TV and movies you'd see people in such a situation turn on each other, while in the store basic human decency seems to prevail.

* ''LightNovel/LogHorizon'': While not a literal apocalypse, the event called The Apocalypse brings out the best in some people, particularly Shiroe, and the worst in others.

* ''LightNovel/TheWorldIsFullOfMonstersNow'' shows the apocalypse bringing out the best and worst in people. The protagonist, Kodou Kazuto, and the lovely pink-haired sniper he brings into his party go from a corporate drone and a cowardly shut-in respectively, to being two of the top fighters and heroes in the story. Some other P.O.V. characters instead embrace the anarchy and constant peril to set loose their dark desires, treating their fellow survivors like toys, at best, to feed their dark delusions that the usually keep under wraps for fear of punishment.

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]

* ''FanFic/TheSecondTry'': Shinji and Asuka are the last two people on Earth and have to fend for themselves, eventually getting past their laundry list of neuroses and becoming a pair of {{Badass Bookworm}}s, as well as [[spoiler:a pretty good set of parents]].