History Main / ThePunishment

* The Oathbreakers from ''Film/LordOfTheRings'' are an example of the Punishment done smartly- they get undead immortality as part of the curse for betraying Isildur, but become bound to serve his descendants if they ever need to call on them, and the only real power they get is the ability to inspire unnatural terror (shared by all Middle-earth undead). This is also a true punishment, as in Middle-earth the mortal soul wants to leave the world after the span of a lifetime and is in agony if it cannot.

* Some origins for [[MortalKombat Shang Tsung]] have his soul-sucking be part of an Elder God curse, as a way of staving off rapid aging and premature death. [[NeglectfulPrecursors Considering the track record of the Elder Gods]], this probably wasn't a good idea...
* Every enemy in ''SilentHill'' seems to be under some forced punishment from the town. Especially the second game. Monsters in straight jackets of their own flesh, monsters built into rusty cages... While these are [[spoiler:mostly various characters' nightmares given physical form,]] the film version decided [[spoiler:they were the actual townspeople twisted into monsters as part of Alessa's revenge]].
* ''NeverwinterNights2: Mask of the Betrayer'': For the crime of betraying his god in an attempt to save his lover's soul from eternal torment, [[spoiler: Akachi was turned into an immortal body-surfing soul-devouring manifestation of hunger]] by a particularly capricious god of death. This god may well have wanted to punish the country that created him, as he's never left it since becoming cursed. Of course, this was actually [[spoiler:a BatmanGambit by said god to cheat death by ensuring that he wouldn't be forgotten, and thus his consciousness would be preserved; and the player has an option to punish the god in turn, in a [[HoistByHisOwnPetard truly ironic manner]], by giving him a final death using the very "curse" he once unleashed]].

* The BigBad of the ''MegaManZero'' series, Dr. Weil, had been placed in an immortal, indestructible human-reploid hybrid body, so he could suffer forever in his lonely banishment from Earth. Unfortunately, they neglected to make his new body incapable of, say, speaking and building things, so when he comes back, he resumes the world domination and genocide thing where he left off and is almost impossible to stop.
** Although most of Dr. Weil's antics in the MegaManZero series are "merely" facilitated by the fact that his is immortal - ie, he is still around after 100 years of bitter punishment, and eventually proves [[HealingFactor very difficult to kill]] - at the ''very end'' of the series it goes FromBadToWorse. He figures out a way to use the technology that made him immortal - more commonly known to the players as Biometal - to [[EvilMakeover become superpowered]], [[MegaManning channel the powers of his deceased minions]], harness the raw energy powering his KillSat, and generally kick ass. Zero manages to [[SuperPowerMeltdown kill him]] in this form, but that only solves the problem temporarily, as, again due to [[CursedWithAwesome the Awesome he was Cursed with]], he eventually resurfaces in the MegaManZX series as something akin to [[TheLordOfTheRings Sauron]].

* Ignus in ''[[PlanescapeTorment Planescape: Torment]]'' was a pyromaniac sorcerer who got brought down by the cooperation of basically every magic user in the Hive. They decided to punish him by turning his body into a portal to the elemental plane of fire, basically making him a ManOnFire on a permanent basis.

* In ''[[BaldursGate Baldur's Gate 2]]'', Jon Irenicus is under a terrible curse for past crimes. While the curse does NOT grant him any special ability, it did not remove the powers he already had... and Irenicus is an insanely high-level wizard. His attempts at removing his curse result in many deaths and a lot of suffering for the PC (and his/her sister). Unusually, the people at the origin of the curse actually see their utter lack of foresight come back to bite them in the butt.

* In ''ShinMegamiTensei: VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'', [[spoiler:Cain]]. For the sin of [[spoiler:being the first murderer]], God cursed him to be eternally reborn with a new body each time he dies, with all his previous memories intact. What does he do with this curse? Why, become an immortal [[TheChessmaster chessmaster]], of course, and spends eternity biding his time [[RageAgainstTheHeavens for the day he is able to take down God]]. [[spoiler:In a subversion, it is revealed that God's intention was not to punish Cain but to give him eternal life so that he he would eventually come around to reflect on his mistake and try to atone for it: The 'punishment' aspect is more due to Cain's eternal bitterness and inability to see that he has the hope of atonement than anything else.]]
* Raziel from ''LegacyOfKain'' was cast into the abyss, and after an eternity-long PainfulTransformation he came back as a NobleDemon. In his first game he was also bound to the Elder God who (allegedly) resurrected him, and thus could not die.
* The case with the famous Illidan Stormrage of the ''{{Warcraft}}'' franchise. Leaving out the debate on whether or not his punishment was just, Malfurion Stormrage and Tyrande Whisperwind took a powerful sorcerer and sentenced him to spend the rest of his {{immortal}} life chained up beneath the earth. Then, ten thousand years later, they are so desperate for a way to fight back against TheLegionsOfHell that they release him, only to find out that ten millennia of isolation have driven Illidan more than a little mad, making him even more dangerous than he was when he was imprisoned.
* Warwick in ''LeagueOfLegends'' was cursed for his evil alchemy by getting turned into a werewolf. He rather likes his new form.
** ''It's only fun if they run...''

* Prince Gaynor the Damned from MichaelMoorcock's multiverse. It was less CursedWithAwesome than many of the examples, since he was obviously consumed by despair and misery. He did get the "control over the forces of darkness" bit, but doesn't seem to take much consolation in it.

Some crimes are so heinous, ThePunishment is given to the criminal, and through them, to everyone. The condemned become ThePunishment.

* In the {{DCAU}}, Jason Blood's binding to {{Etrigan}} was punishment for betraying King Arthur and letting Camelot fall. Said 'punishment' consists of becoming immortal and getting a SuperpoweredEvilSide. Of course, you may say that being eternally bonded to a demon (even a [[AntiHero noble one]]) that hates your guts is a form of punishment too, especially since Jason [[TheAtoner appears to be seeking redemption for his acts]] but aware he will never get it.

* Captain Barbossa & his crew from ''PiratesOfTheCaribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl'' stole cursed gold and were turned into a literal "skeleton crew" because of it. While they could not get any pleasure from anything, they ended up being far more formidable foes, as they couldn't be killed.
** It's heavily implied that they get hungrier and thirstier with each passing moment--in other words, they are starving as if they haven't eaten in decades, ''but they can't die''. Besides, by the time the gold was cursed, the Aztecs were dead. The gods probably didn't care what happened to the rest of the world.
** [[spoiler: Jack]] actually [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy catches on to this]] and [[spoiler: gets himself cursed just long enough to survive the fight against Barbossa.]]
** Davy Jones and his crew from the second ''Pirates'' film suffer under similar circumstances, but in their case (his, at least) it's out of choice. It's also explained that over time they lose their identity, and as a result the crew are little more than puppets of their corrupt captain's malignant will. In the third movie [[spoiler:Will Turner becomes the new captain of the Flying Dutchman. Since their new captain is willing to perform his duties as a psychopomp, the crew's humanity is restored.]]

* [[Creator/NikolaiGogol Nikolai Gogol's]] short story ''Literature/ATerribleVengeance'' tells about the horror a warlock unleashes upon his family and neighbours. Nothing can stop him, EverybodyDies, then a nameless new character pushes him off a cliff. The last chapter explains his [[ContractualBossImmunity seeming invulnerability]]. A traitor's bloodline was cursed to produce an extremely evil man, who will be committing evil deeds for many decades until cast into abyss by [[BackFromTheDead the man betrayed and killed by his ancestor]]. The purpose is to torment the traitor stuck in his grave and unable to hurt his disgraceful descendant. Other warlock's ancestors suffered while the warlock was alive, but now that he's dead they'll be tearing him for eternity. Only the traitor still can't join them and will suffer eternally. Also the betrayed one is forced to watch as a punishment for inventing such a monstrous vengeance.

** Azalin Rex. A wizard king from the Greyhawk setting, he ruled his land with an iron fist. He fathered one son, who spent his childhood [[TrainingFromHell having the kindness beaten out of him]] so that he could become Azalin's ideal successor. This failed, and Azalin executed his own son when he was caught to smuggle condemned traitors beyond his father's reach. Azalin made a similar pact as Strahd to learn the process to become a lich in order to gain immortality to rule his land forevermore. Decades later, he learned of a scroll containing a spell to resurrect his dead son. At the same time, he was cursed with being unable to learn new magic. Thus, he has the means to correct his greatest "failure", but cannot take advantage of it. Even worse, his new castle in his new domain has a room that would let him circumvent his curse, but every instant in the room causes him agonizing pain, as his undead body is brought back to life, cell by cell, basically decaying in reverse. So in the end, he is the absolute and immortal ruler of a vast kingdom, but can never improve himself or hand his responsibility elsewhere; he can't move up and he can't move out.

** Azalin Rex. A wizard king from the Greyhawk setting, he ruled his land with an iron fist. He fathered one son, who spent his childhood [[TrainingFromHell having the kindness beaten out of him]] so that he could become Azalin's ideal successor. This failed, and Azalin executed his own son when he tried to smuggle refugees beyond his father's reach. Azalin made a similar pact as Strahd to learn the process to become a lich in order to gain immortality to rule his land forevermore. Decades later, he learned of a scroll containing a spell to resurrect his dead son. At the same time, he was cursed with being unable to learn new magic. Thus, he has the means to correct his greatest "failure", but cannot take advantage of it. Even worse, his new castle in his new domain has a room that would let him circumvent his curse, but every instant in the room causes him agonizing pain, as his undead body is brought back to life, cell by cell, basically decaying in reverse. So in the end, he is the absolute and immortal ruler of a vast kingdom, but can never improve himself or hand his responsibility elsewhere; he can't move up and he can't move out.

** Being NeglectfulPrecursors of the highest order, this wasn't even the first time the Guardians of Oa had tried ThePunishment and seen it blow up in their faces. They once imprisoned {{Sinestro}} in the central power battery, forgetting they'd already stuck the [[EldritchAbomination living personification of fear]] inside there - which Sinestro quickly awakened. The resulting clusterfuck ended up killing all but one of the Guardians, and reducing the number of Green Lanterns in existence from 3,600 to 1. The lesson: the [[SealedEvilInACan Can you Seal Evil In]] and the CosmicKeystone that is the very heart of your power should be two different things.

A long time ago, ThePunishment committed a terrible crime. It was decided that the only way to truly make him pay for his deeds was a torture of the [[FateWorseThanDeath darkest supernatural sort.]] A side-effect to this, however, would be the punished one becoming immortal and/or gaining control of the forces of life/death/darkness itself. ThePunishment then uses this new power to bring terror and death to everyone.

Which may [[FridgeLogic prompt the audience to wonder]] "Wait... they're ''giving'' him magic powers and immortality as a ''punishment''?! Is this CursedWithAwesome or not?" The answer, is, of course, "[[MathematiciansAnswer Yes.]]" So now the punishers must face a supernatural being, in as much pain as possible, who ''hates them even more than before''. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Good move, geniuses.]] They now have to keep them [[SealedEvilInACan locked away somehow]], but this usually doesn't bite them in the ass. At least, not them. No... it's the present generation's problem. More often than not, the result of a [[NeglectfulPrecursors Neglectful Precursor]]'s bad parenting. If you're lucky, there will be an AchillesHeel that can break ThePunishment.

Of course, even with great power it's still [[InformedAttribute implied]] that it ''[[ImmortalityHurts hurts]]''. It's sometimes more a [[SocietyIsToBlame punishment to humanity for having allowed such a person to exist]]. Or, the punisher just doesn't care what kind of threat they would become if free... just as long as ThePunishment is in as much pain as possible.

* The Oathbreakers from ''Film/LordOfTheRings'' are an example of ThePunishment done smartly- they get undead immortality as part of the curse for betraying Isildur, but become bound to serve his descendants if they ever need to call on them, and the only real power they get is the ability to inspire unnatural terror (shared by all Middle-earth undead). This is also a true punishment, as in Middle-earth the mortal soul wants to leave the world after the span of a lifetime and is in agony if it cannot.

** Pharaoh Anhktepot, Ravenloft's token mummy darklord, suffered ThePunishment ''twice''. First, Ra punished him for his hubris by making his touch lethal, so he started killing his own subjects until the survivors murdered him. Then the Dark Powers got wind of his misdeeds, and confined this once-mighty king in a tiny domain with just a few hundred inhabitants; now undead, Anhktepot can become alive for a day by sacrificing one of its residents, but he knows that doing so too often means he'll run out of subjects and be alone forever.

** That particular example of ThePunishment doesn't exist in 4e, for the curious. The games designers took a long look at the powers the drider gained (more innate spells, increased toughness, better combat ability), their similarity to the spider (a holy creature in drow society and by Lolth's religious tenets), and the fact that the drider form is generally based off of one of Lolth's own avatars, and asked themselves: "why is this supposed to be a punishment, again?" Being a drider is now a ''blessing'', instead of a curse.

** Apparently prior to certain changes necessitated to [[RetCon resolve]] {{Plot Hole}}s, he was a teenage prodigy similar to Ciel (this is slightly more evident in the third game, where his speech pattern seems less like an old man's and more like a slightly immature teenager, particularly in his use of colloquialisms - can you see any [[MadScientist evil doctor]] without an [[BunnyEarsLawyer excuse]] referring to their nemesis as a "fun guy," non-threat or otherwise?). Considering that the suit also prevents him from aging, this would have just added [[NotAllowedToGrowUp another reason]] for Weil to go nuts and try to destroy everything, making this a case where turning someone into ThePunishment is an ''excessively'' [[WhatWereYouThinking bad idea.]]

** The Nameless One himself could be seen as a self-inflicted form of ThePunishment. He wanted to extend his life [[spoiler:so as to have more time to atone for his crime, but messed up in that every time he cheats death someone else dies in his place]] and he loses his memories, keeping him from being able to fulfill his original intent and breaking the spell.

** Azalin Rex. A wizard king from the Greyhawk setting, he ruled his land with an iron fist. He fathered one son, who spent his childhood [[TrainingFromHell having the kindness beaten out of him]] so that he could become Azalin's ideal successor. This failed, and Azalin executed his own son when he tried to smuggle refugees beyond his father's reach. Azalin made a similar pact as Strahd to learn the process to become a lich in order to gain immortality to rule his land forevermore. Decades later, he learned of a scroll containing a spell to resurrect his dead son. At the same time, he was cursed with being unable to learn new magic. Thus, he has the means to correct his greatest "failure", but cannot take advantage of it. Even worse, his new castle in his new domain has a room that would let him circumvent his curse, but every instant in the room causes him agonizing pain, as his undead body is brought back to life, cell by cell, basically decaying in reverse.

** Vlad Drakov, a CanonImmigrant from the Dragonlance setting, spent his free time as a mercenary general who won many wars but was constantly looked down upon by his clients as he yearned for a country to call his own. Ravenloft provided in its own unique fashion. Drakov was delighted at first, until he discovered that his new country was a backwater tract of mud surrounded on all sides by more advanced and prosperous domains. Which he tried to invade. [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption Over and over and over again]], each defeat replacing more of his reputation as a ruthless if successful general with one as a bumbling idiot.
** [[PhysicalGod Vecna]], a demigod from the Greyhawk setting, was trapped by the Dark Powers by virtue of him tying too much of his power into his avatar. Being a god and all, there isn't really much the Dark Powers can do to curse him other than hold him in place and tie him into a physical form. Which doesn't really last all that long once Vecna gets into full GambitRoulette mode.

** Or Dominic D'Honaire. He was an exceptionally manipulative child, who frequently stirred up trouble among the adults around him for his own entertainment, yet always managed to evade suspicion. He was doted on intensely by the women in his life, in large part because his mother died giving birth to him. As a darklord, he now has the power to control the minds of anyone, making anyone like him... Except for women whom he is attracted to, who are immune to his control and start seeing him as progressively more repellent.

** Lemot Sediam Juste was a successful theater actor in his homeland, extremely popular and successful, but tended to be pigeonholed away from roles that called for greater dramatic depth. He wanted to be seen as a truly great actor, but whenever he starred in one of these roles, his efforts came across as [[LargeHam melodrama]] or even [[{{Narm}} comedy]]. He turned to writing his own plays, striving for the dramatic and gripping but achieving only the [[{{Gorn}} needlessly violent]], using up his reputation's goodwill and finally turning the public on his efforts. He burnt down his theater with a full audience, his troupe, and himself still inside. He and his theater were resurrected, and he found that whatever he wrote on a script magically came to life on stage, but no matter how hard he tries, his illusionary chracters [[UncannyValley ring false]] and his sets appear like matte paintings when lingered upon.

** The really twisted element common to all of these punishments is that the darklords' own character flaws which led them to commit their Acts of Ultimate Darkness in the first place are what truly makes their existence in Ravenloft a living hell. If they ever worked up the moral strength to acknowledge their mistakes, Ravenloft would no longer be a prison for them. Then again, if they were capable of doing that they probably would never have become darklords in the first place.

->''"[...] ...as for Imhotep, he was condemned to endure the Hom Dai, the worst of all ancient curses. One so horrible had never been done before. He was to remain [[SealedEvilInACan sealed inside his sarcophagus]], TheUndead for all eternity. The Medjai would never allow him to be released. For he would arise a walking disease, a plague upon mankind, an unholy flesh-eater with the strength of the ages, power over the sands, and the glory of invincibility!"''

* The Sins in ''Webcomic/{{Jack}}'', due to their actions in life, are cursed with powers that seem awesome, but come with conditions attached due to the webcomic's heavy use of IronicHell.

** Apparently prior to certain changes necessitated to [[RetCon resolve]] [[PlotHole Plot Holes]], he was a teenage prodigy similar to Ciel (this is slightly more evident in the third game, where his speech pattern seems less like an old man's and more like a slightly immature teenager, particularly in his use of colloquialisms - can you see any [[MadScientist evil doctor]] without an [[BunnyEarsLawyer excuse]] referring to their nemesis as a "fun guy," non-threat or otherwise?). Considering that the suit also prevents him from aging, this would have just added [[NotAllowedToGrowUp another reason]] for Weil to go nuts and try to destroy everything, making this a case where turning someone into ThePunishment is an ''excessively'' [[WhatWereYouThinking bad idea.]]
* The Garradors (burly mutants with huge wrist blades) in VideoGame/ResidentEvil4 might be an example of this, though it's never made clear in the story. It's just that the first one you meet is kept chained up in a dungeon with its eyes sewn shut, while another version wears a suit of armour that completely seals off its head. It seems from the few times you encounter them in the game that they're completely mad and out of control.

* Warrior-king Lo Pan from BigTroubleinLittleChina was defeated by the first sovereign emperor of China and afflicted with the "curse of no flesh" making him immortal and indestructible, albeit without physical form.

* This is one of the central plot mechanics of ''{{Reaper}}''. When a soul in Hell is tortured with an elemental force of nature for even as little as two years, if that soul then escapes from Hell, then it will have total command of that element on Earth (and, being a bad enough dude to be sent to Hell and a bad enough dude to be able to escape it, will employ that elemental control with great sociopathic intent).

* The Oathbreakers from LordOfTheRings are an example of ThePunishment done smartly- they get undead immortality as part of the curse for betraying Isildur, but become bound to serve his descendants if they ever need to call on them, and the only real power they get is the ability to inspire unnatural terror (shared by all Middle-earth undead). This is also a true punishment, as in Middle-earth the mortal soul wants to leave the world after the span of a lifetime and is in agony if it cannot.

* ''{{Stargate SG-1}}'' backstory: To punish [[spoiler:Anubis]] for tricking [[spoiler:Oma Desala]] into ascending him, the Ancients partially descended him, allowing him to keep some but not all of the Ancient knowledge. The ''latter'' was punished by allowing him to wander free so she could witness the destructive power she gave him. She ended this by eventually taking matters into their own hands and fighting the former in [[SealedEvilInADuel eternal battle]].

** Davy Jones and his crew from the second ''Pirates'' film suffer under similar circumstances, but in their case (his, at least) it's out of choice. It's also explained that over time they lose their identity, and as a result the crew are little more than puppets of their corrupt captain's malignant will.

Which may [[FridgeLogic prompt the audience to wonder]] "Wait... they're ''giving'' him magic powers and immortality as a ''punishment''?! Is this CursedWithAwesome or not?" The answer, is, of course, "[[MathematiciansAnswer Yes.]]" So now the punishers must face a supernatural being, in as much pain as possible, who ''hates them even more than before''. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Good move, geniuses.]]

Of course, they now have to keep them [[SealedEvilInACan locked away somehow]], but this usually doesn't bite them in the ass. At least, not them. No... it's the present generation's problem. More often than not, the result of a [[NeglectfulPrecursors Neglectful Precursor]]'s bad parenting. If they're lucky enough, there will be an AchillesHeel that can break ThePunishment.