History Main / TykeBomb

* In ''Anime/{{Kite}}'', the main villains have a pattern of adopting orphans, raising them, ritually molesting them, and deploying them as tyke-bombs for hire. The protagonist is one of their creations, and it's shown that her master ''made her'' an orphan, while she watched.

Many {{Big Bad}}s feel the best minions are [[RaisedByOrcs homegrown ones]]. Tykebombs are typically raised from birth (or [[DesignerBabies creation]], for ScienceFiction) or early infancy with the idea of serving out of loyalty. This means putting an immense amount of potential power into the hands of a wildly inappropriate user, usually a young child.

* The Cortexiphan children in ''{{Series/Fringe}}'' were given drugs at extremely, disturbingly early ages in the hopes that [[spoiler: they would develop superpowers to become weapons in a potential war against another universe.]] In most cases, this left them as [[IncrediblyLamePun ticking tyke bombs]].

* Lily in ''VideoGame/FZeroGX''.

* Lily in ''VideoGame/FZero AX/GX''.

* Princess Azula from ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' is the tykebomb of her father EvilOverlord Ozai. This is one of the most successful examples, as Ozai made sure to "coddle and praise" her rather than "abuse her and insist she is made to serve him" (that's what [[TheUnFavorite Zuko]] is for).

** Speaking of "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueUnlimitedS2E13Epilogue Epilogue]]", [[spoiler:Terry [=McGinnis=] from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'']] is [[{{Retcon}} revealed]] to be a rare Tyke-Bomb for good. However, the people who came up with this scheme ultimately got cold feet and didn't go through with it. [[spoiler:Terry]] grew up with a normal childhood; that he wound up fulfilling their ambitions anyway was pure serendipity.

** If the twins count, then Korra herself certainly counts as well. While Tenzin and Tonraq ''intended'' to have her trained as TheChosenOne from early childhood for her own protection rather than as a means by which to turn her into a tool to use for personal gain, but the end result was effectively identical. Korra's own temperamental affinity for violence probably had something to do with it, but either way the result wasn't pretty -- she grew into a perfect weapon who believed she had no value outside of her powers and responsibilities, and she essentially failed to mature emotionally and spiritually past the age of four as a result (with [[WhatTheHellHero sometimes terrifying consequences]]). Korra's character arc in Books One and Two essentially involves her figuring out how to {{defus|ingTheTykeBomb}}e herself and exist as her own person outside of her predetermined role (and even then, she can be pretty ruthless for a good guy!).
** Book 3 reveals that this was a result of [[spoiler:the Red Lotus attacking Korra when she was little in an attempt to kidnap her and train her, molding her to their way of thinking. They wanted her to grow up with the aim of overthrowing world leaders and "restoring the world to its natural state of disorder."]]
* Hunter from ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' was taken in by his uncle, Emperor Belos, at a very young age, and underwent brutal training to become Belos's right-hand man, the Golden Guard. He doesn't have a better time when he does have the rank either, as Belos is one hell of an AbusiveParent, and he's rarely taken seriously by the rest of the Coven Heads. It's later revealed that [[spoiler:Hunter is the latest in a long line of clones called Grimwalkers, created in the image of Belos's brother and raised from birth to become Golden Guards, [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness and killed without hesitation as soon as they try to defy Belos]]. When Hunter tries to confront Belos about this, Belos sees this as insubordination and tries to kill him, prompting Hunter to defect from the Emperor's Coven]].
* The Daughters of Aku from ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' were trained from birth to hunt down and kill Jack, undergoing brutal TrainingFromHell at the hands of their [[AbusiveParents mother]].
** Jack himself is a benevolent version and even a {{Reconstruction}}, as his father arranged for him to train with different fighters around the world if/when Aku broke free. At the same time though, he befriended the various tutors and people, gaining appreciation for the cultures and many of his experiences with his friends there have given him valuable knowledge for his future endeavors (such as his memories of Egypt helping him figure out how to defeat the Minions of Set), ending up much more well-adjusted ([[spoiler:and unfortunately for the Daughters, effective]]) than a lot of other Tyke Bombs. They all even [[spoiler: show up at Jack's wedding to celebrate and then mourn the loss of his bride alongside him when she ceases to exist as a result fo Aku's defeat in the past.]]

* Parodied in the ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' episode "My Own Personal Jesus"; in a flashback to UsefulNotes/TheColdWar, a doctor delivers a baby boy and hails him as ''"another ready soldier in the war against communism."''

* This trope is the entire premise of the 2005 Creator/JetLi movie ''Film/{{Unleashed}}''.

* In ''WebOriginal/OrionsArm'', ''Homo jihadi'' were a [[ActionBomb quite literal]] example.