History Main / VillainousBSOD

-->'''Dracula:''' (BeAt) ...You are the greatest of your people, Isaac. (readies his magical mirror in background) You have a soul, I think. Perhaps that is more valuable to the world to come than a dusty collection of books and apparatus... ...or perhaps you simply deserve a better fate than to die instead of me.

-->'''Dracula:''' ...Then I regret to have taken the choice for you.
--> (grabs Isaac shoulder from behind, stunning Isaac and throws Isaac into the portal)
-->'''Isaac:''' [[BigNo NOO!!]] '''Dracula!!'''
--> (the portal closes before Isaac can reach it)
-->'''Isaac:''' '''NOOOOO!!!'''

-->'''Isaac:''' To save your genius, your knowledge and your will, without question. I am just a Forgemaster, yours, is the Wisdom of Ages.
-->'''Dracula:''' (BeAt) ...You are the greatest of your people, Isaac. (readies his magical mirror in background) You have a soul, I think. Perhaps that is more valuable to the world to come than a dusty collection of books and apparatus.

* ''WesternAnimation/Castlevania2017'': Dracula is far from heartless and has many people he holds dear. His love for Lisa is genuine and strong enough that he is willing to kill all humans. He also holds his friends, Hector and Isaac, in high regards, especially Isaac. [[spoiler:At the climax of season 2, noticing that Isaac will die for him, he teleport Isaac to safety and fights again the heroes alone]].

** The other example is [[SinisterMinister Joseph Seed]], the ExBigBad of ''VideoGame/FarCry5'', who founded the [[ApocalypseCult Project at Eden's Gate]] and is implied to have had a hand in the nuclear bombing that scoured Hope County at the end of that game, creating the setting of this one.

* ''VideoGame/FarCry4'': Dr. Noore Najjar is one of [[TheCaligula Pagan Min's]] {{Dragon}}s, who runs the GladiatorGames at the Shannath Arena, along with HumanTraficking and selling heroin. Thing is, she was ForcedIntoVillainy by Pagan: enraged by Noore criticizing the way he ran Kyrat, Pagan [[IHaveYourWife kidnapped her husband and sons]] and gave them to his other enforcer, [[TortureTechnician Paul Harmon]]. Noore, after [[PlayerCharacter Ajay Ghale]] is brought to her, begs for his help in capturing Paul to find out where he's holding her family. After Ajay goes through with it, though, [[VillainRevealsTheSecret Paul tells him the truth about Noore's family]]: [[spoiler:Pagan had them killed years ago, and Paul got his daughter Ashley to compose false letters from them in order to deceive Noore]]. If Ajay goes back to Shannath and [[spoiler:doesn't shoot Noore upon reaching her, but tells her the truth instead,]] she ends up falling to her knees, horrified by the reveal that all the atrocities she'd carried out in Pagan's name in the hope of freeing her family were AllForNothing. When Ajay tries comforting her, saying that she's "free now" and can [[ScrewThisImOutOfHere leave Kyrat]], Noore's reply is this:

** In ''Anime/DigimonTamers'', this happens to Beelzemon, the Mega form of the human-hating Digimon, Impmon. After being granted the power to digivolve like he always wanted, Beelzemon attacked the children and destroyed one of their partners (who unfortunately, don't have the pleasure of being reborn as digi-eggs as it was in the previous series). After being defeated in battle and spared, he begins to come to realize the atrocities he had committed and wanders around, guilt-ridden, depressed and haunted by memories of what he did. After surviving what was essentially a suicide attempt (not fighting back when he's attacked by a swarm of digimon which quickly render him powerless), he eventually sets off to make things right, by first making amends with the humans he had abandoned and then by helping the others in the battle against the D-Reaper, and saving the girl whose partner he killed.

* In ''Fanfic/TheInstituteSaga'', [[Franchise/XMen Quicksilver]] gets one after he realises that Franchise/{{Superman}} is faster than him.

** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E16TheWatersOfMars "The Waters of Mars"]]: The Doctor has one after he's snapped out of his AGodAmI behaviour.

** To compound things, Kelso sees some other doctors walking towars him, and tries to [[StepfordSmiler fake his usual happiness and cheery attitude]], making one [[FridgeLogic wonder how many other times he's gone through a similar BSOD]].

* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'': If you side with the Imperials in the Civil War quest and [[spoiler:kill Ulfric Stormcloak]] before finishing the main story, you can encounter him later [[spoiler:wandering the mists of Sovngarde]]. He's utterly distraught because he's come to realise that [[spoiler:his rebellion against the Empire was actually ''feeding [[EldritchAbomination Alduin]] with the immortal souls of his own people'']].

* ''VideoGame/FarCry4'': Dr. Noore Najjar is one of [[TheCaligula Pagan Min's]] {{Dragon}}s, who runs the GladiatorGames at the Shannath Arena, along with HumanTraficking and selling heroin. Thing is, she was ForcedIntoVillainy by Pagan: enraged by Noore criticizing the way he ran Kyrat, Pagan [[IHaveYourWife kidnapped her husband and sons]] and gave them to his other enforcer, [[TortureTechnician Paul Harmon]]. Noore, after [[PlayerCharacter Ajay Ghale]] is brought to her, begs for his help in capturing Paul to find out where he's holding her family. After Ajay goes through with it, though, [[VillainRevealsTheSecret Paul tells him the truth about Noore's family]]: [[spoiler:Pagan had them killed years ago, and Paul got his daughter Ashley to compose false letters from them in order to deceive Noore]]. If Ajay goes back to Shannath and [[spoiler:doesn't shoot Noore upon reaching her, but tells her the truth instead,]] she ends up falling to her knees, horrified by the reveal that all the atrocities she'd carried out in Pagan's name in the hope of freeing her family were AllForNothing.

* Occurs during V's route in ''VisualNovel/MysticMessenger'' after [[spoiler: [[BigBad Rika]] stabs V in a fit of rage after he told her that not only can their relationship never be what it used to be before she [[VisionaryVillain started her cult,]] but that before she had her SanitySlippage, he never actually loved her in the first place, only realizing now with MC's help that he was just trying to find himself through her. She immediately calls you [[TearsOfRemorse in tears,]] [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone asking what she's done and telling herself that she's a monster,]] and begging you to come save him and make him happy the way she was never able to.]]

* In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'', Degwin Zabi suffers this after [[spoiler:his youngest son, Garma, is killed]]. By the end, he's had enough of the war and wants it to end. In the anime, he attempts to broker peace [[spoiler:only for Ghiren to blast him and General Revil with the Solar Ray]]. The novel of the series, however, doesn't give him that chance - he can only watch as the rest of his children get plucked off before [[spoiler:Char takes over]].

** [[spoiler:Queen Chrysalis]] gets hit ''hard'' with this when [[spoiler:her plan to [[AGodAmI become an Alicorn]] by being hit with the Elements of Harmony [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor succeeds, but completes her better than she expected]], giving [[TheSociopath her]] a ''heart''. This more or less drives her ''insane'']].

* ''Film/SawIII'' was supposed to have this. Jigsaw was to awaken on his makeshift hospital bed, and realize to his horror that for all his life before the films, for all his warped intent to try to make people reflect on what they've done with their lives, all that anyone would remember him as is a monster and a killer. The thought, naturally, was to have occurred too late in the film for him to do anything to save the current protagonist, leaving the man weeping and too weak to move. WhatCouldHaveBeen, indeed? A slasher movie villain feeling remorse for his crimes could arguably have redeemed the series from shallow {{Gorn}}.

* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel IV'', after [[spoiler:Kurt pulls out an ArmoredPiercingQuestion towards Cedric as to whether he can actually face [[EvilChancellor Giliath Osborne]] with a half-hearted conviction if Cedric manages to defeat [[TheHero Rean]] and then goes on to defeat Rufus in the [[HumongousMecha Seven]] [[ThereCanOnlyBeOne Rivalries]], Cedric ends up breaking down especially after all the terrible things that he's done throughout ''III'' and ''IV'' finally catch up to him. It takes [[VideoGame/ZeroNoKiseki Shirley]] and Class VII to get him off his feet and challenge Class VII with his full conviction. He loses but finally accepts it and ends up at peace with himself. By the end of the game, he's come to terms with himself and leaves content though it costs him the throne of the empire and his royalty status as crown prince gone.]]

** ''ComicBook/SupermanRedSon'' ends with Superman and Brainiac leading a Soviet invasion of Washington DC. President ComicBook/LexLuthor stops Superman by [[spoiler:sending him a written message: "Why don't you just put the whole WORLD in a BOTTLE, Superman?", a not-so-subtle reference to the city of [[strike:Kandor]] Stalingrad]]. Superman immediately breaks down.

* ''ComicBook/{{Magneto}}'' had a well-done example of one mixed with a WhatHaveIDone moment when he believed that he had accidentally killed Kitty Pryde (Kitty actually had just been knocked unconscious due to massive feedback between her phasing and Magneto's powers). It could well mark the beginning of a HeelFaceTurn that culminated with him some 50 issues later taking over the X-Men from Professor X.
** His Ultimate counterpart also had a notable one. Upon learning of the mutant race's true origins, he has a MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment and with tears in his eyes says that Xavier will understand and forgive him; completely forgetting he had snapped Xavier's neck not too long ago.

* In the ''Franchise/IronMan'' arc ''The Secret Origin of Tony Stark'', the rogue Rigellian Recorder robot (try saying that five times fast) designated 451 reveals he has been laboring for 500 years to place humanity - Earthlings - in a position where they can create a galaxy- or even universe-wide empire of harmony and peace. To this end he wishes them to give the ultimate deterrent to keep everyone who would destroy them at bay - Godkiller, arguably the ultimate weapon of mass destruction. The final piece was a pilot - to which end he had genetically engineered one human to be such. When Tony Stark - of course - is forced to interface with Godkiller, he and 451 discover that the system does not recognize him [[spoiler:because he's adopted]]. The interface does not work. When 451 realizes he has worked for five centuries and has directly or indirectly killed ''over 450,000,000 people'' for ''nothing'' he slumps down and stammers "One should not have acted."

Subtrope of VillainousBreakdown. See also BrainwashingForTheGreaterGood and AlasPoorVillain. The trope name comes from the original UsefulNotes/BlueScreenOfDeath, of course.

* There was one Franchise/TheDCU story where all the superpowered people on earth were {{depower}}ed. SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker became sane as a result, and committed suicide over the guilt of everything he'd done.

** The final villain of the series, [[spoiler:Eren Yeager decides to wipe out humanity outside Paradis using the Rumbling. Once he commences with it, Eren is unable to endure the guilt of committing omnicide, and as a coping mechanism, begins to hallucinate himself as a child soaring across the limitless skies.]]

* When you finally catch up with Takahisa Kandori in ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei: VideoGame/{{Persona}}'', he's realized that he's gotten everything he's ever wanted and it ''absolutely sucks''. He's demotivated to the point that Nanjo has to needle him about how he's achieved his nigh-godhood through borrowed power in order to prompt the requisite boss fight.

** In ''Anime/DigimonTamers'', this happens to Beelzemon, the Mega form of the human-hating Digimon, Impmon. After being granted the power to digivolve like he always wanted, Beelzemon attacked the children and destroyed one of their partners (who unfortunately, don't have the pleasure of being reborn as digi-eggs as it was in the previous series). After being defeated in battle and spared, he begins to come to realize the atrocities he had committed and wanders around, guilt-ridden, depressed and haunted by memories of what he did. After surviving what was essentially a suicide attempt (not fighting back when he's attacked by a swarm of digimon which quickly render him powerless), he eventually sets off to make things right, by first making amends with the humans he had abandoned and then by helping the others in the battle against the D-Reaper, and saving the girl who's partner he killed.
* Anemone of ''Anime/EurekaSeven'' begins this after her [[spoiler: second failure against the Nirvash, due to her fear that Dewey will kill her for [[YouHaveFailedMe failing]]. This causes her to do nothing but lie down in her bed when she isn't fighting, and she gets worse after finding out Dominic went AWOL]].
* It's impossible to tell how many of these Akito from ''Manga/FruitsBasket'' has. When [[spoiler:Hatsuharu almost beats her up for imprisoning Rin, during conversations about Shigure and Ren's relationship, when she stabs Kureno, and when Tohru falls from a cliff in front of her. She consequently goes through a very angsty, somewhat suicidal, phase. She ends up being saved from herself by Tohru's friendship and Momiji's statement that Akito should treasure the ones she cares for]].
* Self-inflicted (of sorts) example with Greed in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist''. [[spoiler:The second version of him, while having mostly the same personality, is at first much more malicious in keeping with the behavior of the other homunculi who are TheHeartless. After Greed kills Bido, who was the only surviving member of his former TrueCompanions after the rest were slaughtered by Bradley, Greed's memories return and Ling starts mocking Greed in his head while he's tormented by the memory of his comrade's screaming voices]]. While this also counts for AmnesiacDissonance, it fits this too, because the PowerOfFriendship is used as a weapon against him.
** [[spoiler:Envy]] experiences this when Ed points out the entire reason he was so vicious and hateful of humanity was his jealousy of their ability to rely upon one another, while [[spoiler:Envy]] was all alone. He begins weeping in frustration at having a ''human'', and the one he despised most of all at that, understand him so deeply and [[spoiler:commits suicide rather than deal with the humiliation]].
** Lust from [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist the 2003 anime]] has a subtle but noticeable one; after [[KickTheMoralityPet killing an alchemist that reminded her of a past lover]], she loses all enthusiasm for her work. [[spoiler: When Scar dies and she realizes her boss doesn't care about [[PinocchioSyndrome giving her what she wants]], she [[HeelFaceTurn quits altogether]]]].

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'': When Circe's MemoryGambit as Donna Milton backfires she is horrified and mentally torn. She helps Diana and ComicBook/{{Artemis}} against the White Magician in the immediate aftermath and after Artemis dies anyway she goes missing for years. Ultimately when she resurfaces she's [[IgnoredEpiphany decided to double down on the villany]], but her mind is quite clearly unhinged and she's no longer able to put together clever plots like she once was.

* In the ''Manga/DeathNote'' fic ''FanFic/ShadowOfTheValley'' Light has one when he sees a grave robber defacing [[spoiler: L Lawliet]]'s grave.
* In the ''Manga/DeathNote'' fic ''FanFic/ACureForLove'' Light after he [[spoiler: loses L]] in both the deleted scenes and in the main story. It's the variation where "the villain becomes ''more dangerous''" as Light goes off the MoralityChain.

* In ''FanFic/MagicalPonyLyricalTwilight'', a ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fic, the Mane Six nail [[spoiler:Prescia Tessarossa]] with the Elements of Harmony. The next chapter, we find out that [[spoiler:she's locked up onboard the ''Asura'', healed mentally and physically, but broken down to the point where she begs Twilight to kill her]].

** Subverted in ''Discworld/WyrdSisters'': Granny Weatherwax attempts to defeat the Duchess by pulling down the mental dividers that keep her from thinking about the horrors she's committed -- and the Duchess recovers almost immediately, announcing that [[ForTheEvulz she's perfectly fine with who she is, enjoys her work, and would happily do it all again given the chance]]; in fact, the only regret she has is not having done even worse things.[[note]]Arguably she's not really an {{Expy}} of [[Theatre/{{Macbeth}} Lady Macbeth]]; rather, she's closer to being [[Theatre/TitusAndronicus Aaron]].[[/note]] Luckily Nanny Ogg, who's even more of a CombatPragmatist than Esme, was ready with a MundaneSolution in the form of [[TapOnTheHead the nearest blunt instrument]].
** Since [[TheGrimReaper Death]] tends to show up after people have been disconnected from all their glands and after death has stripped away any rose-tinted glasses villains may have had about their actions, he's been known to induce a few. Mr. Tulip gets a big one in Discworld/TheTruth (although he's probably better off than his associate Mr. Pin who didn't repent).
** In ''Discworld/SmallGods'', after death one must walk across a black desert, alone with their beliefs, to face judgement on the other side. But when Vorbis, a cold-blooded torturer who exploited religion for his own gain, dies he realizes that he ''has'' no beliefs. The revelation that he is utterly alone drives him into a catatonic state. Decades later, when Brutha dies, he finds Vorbis still lying there. Being truly selfless and kind person, he helps him up and walks with him.

* Scar in ''Disney/TheLionKing'' undergoes a very brief one when Simba returns, mistaking him for Mufasa (his tone implying guilt or at the very least fear):

* Queen Grimhilde from ''Disney/SnowWhite'' suffers this trope during the battle with her in ''VideoGame/DisneyVillainsRevenge'', which causes her to destroy the mirror before being killed herself.