History Main / WoobieDestroyerofWorlds

This is a character with [[OmnicidalManiac Omnicidal]] and/or AxCrazy tendencies who wants to destroy everything and everyone in the story, and is suddenly in a position to do so (on a small or large scale); but in contrast to other characters, he/she has some plausible, outright tragic reason to do so. In some cases, the other characters outright sympathize with this one (whether or not the audience does too is out of the equation here), all the while accepting that they must be stopped. Sometimes, the character is even portrayed as ''likeable'', just... not with the right mindset.

This is a character with [[OmnicidalManiac Omnicidal]] and AxCrazy tendencies who wants to destroy everything and everyone in the story, and is suddenly in a position to do so (on a small or large scale); but in contrast to other characters, he/she has some plausible, outright tragic reason to do so. In some cases, the other characters outright sympathize with this one (whether or not the audience does too is out of the equation here), all the while accepting that they must be stopped. Sometimes, the character is even portrayed as ''likeable'', just... not with the right mindset.

This is a character who wants to destroy everything and everyone in the story, and is suddenly in a position to do so (on a small or large scale); but in contrast to the AxCrazy OmnicidalManiac, he/she has some plausible, outright tragic reason to do so. In some cases, the other characters outright sympathize with this one (whether or not the audience does too is out of the equation here), all the while accepting that they must be stopped. Sometimes, the character is even portrayed as ''likeable'', just... not with the right mindset.

May overlap with DeathSeeker, if they want to die, but intend to [[TakingYouWithMe make sure]] that [[SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum everyone else goes first]]. Also, be careful about applying this label to someone who ''did'' have a breaking past, and yet let the "destroyer" part override the "woobie" one and crossed the MoralEventHorizon: that's certainly a huge DracoInLeatherPants in the making.

Not the same as PutThemAllOutOfMyMisery, which is the trope for characters who [[MotiveRant rationalize]] their destructive behavior by insisting that society, or the earth, must be somehow cleansed or punished for some past injustice, making it the inverse of this trope. MotiveRant, CryForTheDevil, and StrawmanHasAPoint are more typical of ''that'' trope. For characters, especially villains somewhere ''in between'' this trope and [[PutThemAllOutOfMyMisery that one]], see JerkassWoobie. Also note that overlaps between the two tropes are not impossible.

This is a character who wants to destroy everything and everyone in the story, and is suddenly in a position to do so (on a small or large scale); but in contrast to the AxCrazy OmnicidalManiac, he/she has some plausible, outright tragic reason to do so. In some cases, the other characters outright sympathize with this one (whether or not the audience does too is out of the equation here), all the while accepting that they must be stopped. Sometimes, the character is even portrayed as ''likeable'', just...not with the right mindset.

This is a character who wants to destroy everything and everyone in the story, and is suddenly in a position to do so (on a small or large scale); but in contrast to the AxCrazy OmnicidalManiac, he/she has some plausible, outright tragic reason to do so. In some cases, the characters outright sympathize with him/her (whether or not the audience does too is out of the equation here), all the while accepting that he/she must be stopped. Sometimes, the character is even portrayed as ''likeable'', just...not with the right mindset.

The essential element is that he/she has been pushed beyond all reason. This may or may not make him/her TheWoobie, but either way he/she is portrayed as having a crappy existence. This is a character who, by definition, [[CosmicPlaything is constantly beaten up, kicked around, and lives an all-around miserable life]]. Should [[DespairEventHorizon he/she lose everything and everyone he/she trusts (be it through betrayal or in other cruel ways)]], and then ''just so happens'' upon the instrument of revenge against the [[CrapsackWorld cruel, heartless world]] that brought him/her so much pain, one need not be a genius to figure out unto whom shall his/her vengeful, bloodshot eyes cast his/her hateful gaze upon. Think of this person as a JerkassWoobie, only with the {{jerkass}}ery replaced by insanity (though many characters do fulfill both tropes).

This trope is less about the SlidingScaleOfVillainThreat and more about how much a character has been broken -- physically, mentally, and emotionally -- before he/she finally snaps and blames the whole world for all the crap he/she has been through. Of course, they must crack and pose a sudden threat of ''some'' sort, to the characters and/or the setting. And [[TheDogBitesBack some of them]] ''do'' [[SpannerInTheWorks get their]] [[WhosLaughingNow finger on the nuke trigger]]. In a few extreme cases, [[PersonOfMassDestruction they are the button]].

This is a character who wants to destroy everything and everyone in the story, and is suddenly in a position to do so (on a small or large scale); but in contrast to the AxCrazy OmnicidalManiac, he/she has some plausible, outright tragic reason to do so, so much so that, in some cases, the characters outright sympathize with him/her (whether or not the audience does too is out of the equation here), all the while accepting that he/she must be stopped. Sometimes, the character is even portrayed as ''likeable'', just...not with the right mindset.

[-[[caption-width-right:330:[[BreakTheCutie Break this cutie]] and he might break your back.]]-]

[-[[caption-width-right:330:[[BreakTheCutie Break this cutie]] and he might break you back.]]-]

[-[[caption-width-right:330:Never [[BreakTheCutie break this cutie]] as he may break you back.]]-]

->''Now I am become Death, destroyer of nations.''
--> The ''Bhagavad-Gita'', as quoted by J. Robert Oppenheimer after the first successful (Trinity Site) test of a nuclear weapon

[[caption-width-right:330:Never [[BreakTheCutie break this cutie]] as he may break you back.]]

%%Picture chosen in Image Pickin' forum. Please stop by there to discuss any changes.%%
%% ''Inyouchuu'' has been removed from the wiki for violating the site's recent policies against prurient works.

--> -- '''Eleanor Lamb''', ''[[{{Bioshock}} Bioshock 2]]''

Not to be confused with MikeNelsonDestroyerOfWorlds, where a bumbling but otherwise nice person [[RememberWhenYouBlewUpASun accidentally destroys]] [[EarthShatteringKaboom actual worlds]], leading to WhatTheHellHero and NiceJobBreakingItHero moments.

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[[folder: Anime and Manga]]
* ''FruitsBasket'': whether or not one can excuse his [[spoiler:or her]] actions, Akito counts. Despite beating the living daylights out of several Zodiac members for the majority of their childhood(s) ''and'' emotionally abusing [[spoiler:''everyone'']], [[TheMessiah Tohru]] can't help but feel sorry for him [[spoiler:or her]]. One, she learned just [[spoiler:how badly Akito herself was emotionally abused, and how her upbringing influenced her outlook on life. The psychological abuse heaped onto her by her mother and EvilMatriarch extraordinaire, Ren, led to a pathological fear of abandonment, driving her to do ''anything'' to make sure no one will leave her. Being told that no one loves you, everyone will abandon you, and no one even respects you, ''and'' having your ''boyfriend'' sleep with Ren to spite you for sleeping with another man (which you partly did to get back at said boyfriend, and partly to stop said man from abandoning you) will do that to you]].
* Depending on [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation how you view his character,]] Alucard of ''{{Hellsing}}'' may qualify as this. If you look through the [[AxCrazy axe-craziness]], he seems like quite the DeathSeeker. Then there's his DarkAndTroubledPast...
* Dr. Hell from ''Anime/MazingerZ''. Everyone (including his parents. In particular his mother 'repeatedly' complained she never wanted having him, and hit him for any reason) abused him and mistreated him during his childhood and teenhood years until his mind finally snapped out, and he decided one day he would purge the world off idiots, and everybody would have to bow down to him. He was still dreaming of doing just that several decades later when he finally found [[LostTechnology the means to do so]] as exploring the ruins of an ancient, lost civilization.
* Tetsuo from ''Manga/{{Akira}}'', so very much so.
* Madam Red from ''BlackButler'' [[spoiler:becomes "Jack the Ripper" to get back at prostitutes for giving up what she could never have, with the help of Grell Sutcliff.]]
* Vincent from the ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' [[TheMovie movie]], having gone self-destructively homicidal from psychosis and the inability to separate his hallucinations from reality after becoming an unwilling participant in a SuperSoldier program that caused him to permanently hallucinate. His {{leitmotif}} "is it real?" just hammers it home.
* Lucy from ''Manga/ElfenLied''. Oh, she might as well be [[AnthropomorphicPersonification this trope incarnate]]. Several characters think that it's her natural instinct to eradicate humanity, but given her [[BreakTheCutie past]], her experiences alone would be enough to make her what she is.
** She truly believes that she doing all those atrocities out of instinct, so if we look at the nurture aspect, we come to the conclusion that she {{Mind Rape}}d herself (with a little help from ''nearly everyone around her'' [[spoiler:and [[EnemyWithin an inner voice]] / [[SplitPersonality alternate personality]] that wants to eradicate all life]]) into believing that she was, in her own words, "born to wipe out mankind". Heartbreaking can't even begin to describe it.
* Mantid from ''SpiderRiders'' is more than qualified for this trope -- he loses the love of his life in war; it's implied that he lost many friends the same way; now this is just a theory, but it may be that he lost his spider partner as well, which makes sense because we never get to see it. With all that, it's no wonder the guy went off the deep end.
* [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Shinji Ikari]] turns into this during ''End Of Evangelion''. After spending the entire series watching/hearing most of the friends he made die in the most horrifying ways, then having to accept that his father never loved him and was never going to, ''then'' having to decide to continue piloting the EVA for the world's sake, and then having to [[KickTheMoralityPet kill the only person who showed genuine love for him for his father's sake]], maybe it was a mistake to let him decide what will happen to mankind.
-->[[spoiler:"Nobody understands me. ''Everyone just '''die.'''''"]]
** Also, at the end of ''[[RebuildofEvangelion Rebuild of Evangelion 2.0]]'', [[spoiler:Shinji [[BerserkButton completely snaps]] after Zeruel eats Rei and decides that he's had enough with the world toying with him. This leads to a literal SaveTheGirlScrewTheWorld moment, and only Kaworu's [[BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork timely arrival]] stopped the Third Impact and a [[ApocalypseHow Class-5 apocalypse]].]]
* ''Anime/CodeGeass'' either subverts or zigzags this, depending on how one views it, at the end. [[spoiler:Lelouch, [[DespairEventHorizon having lost everything, including Nunnally (apparently) and the trust of the Black Knights]], abandons all reason [[TheLastDance and decides that he'll go down finishing his quest to recreate the world]]. He acted like an even worse Emperor than his father, from [[FacelessGoons Geassing his soldiers into complete obedience]] [[WeHaveReserves and using them as cannon fodder]], to ordering assassinations, and blowing up Mt. Fuji, depleting most of Japan's sakuradite supply, and [[NoEndorHolocaust quite possibly causing an even greater state of decay over Japan]], in order to [[GenghisGambit center the world's hatred around him]] and [[ThanatosGambit die a villain's death at the hands of Suzaku, disguised as Zero]]. Lelouch knew that there were alternatives to Schneidel's scheme, which makes it sound like a destructive and self-serving excuse to die, which would make it a zigzagged trope.]]
* At the end of ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAs'', [[spoiler:Hayate Yagami]] became one, though it required a massive BreakTheCutie moment created by other parties to push her past the "the-world-has-hurt-me-so-much-it-deserves-to-die" breaking point, [[spoiler:and when she regained her senses, she chastised her ArtifactOfDoom for thinking that that's what she really wanted and put a stop to things]].
** [[spoiler:The Book of Darkness]] is another example. Her life cycle has three phases: charging up in dormancy, gaining full awareness and control for a few minutes, and then dishing out an EarthShatteringKaboom, which returns her to stage one. Prior to her current appearance, she has been forced to serve a cruel master who abused her children. Bonus points for the fact that there is nothing that can be done to stop the cycle.
** A subversion in ''MagicalRecordLyricalNanohaForce'': the Huckebein family seems become this. But their unsympathetic actions, like slaughtering entire villages and communities is not a justifications for their reason to survive.
* ''Manga/{{Trigun}}'' features Legato Bluesummers, TheDragon to [[BigBad Millions Knives]]. He's got a sympathetic backstory as a nameless sex slave and, like Knives, has let his own pain [[BoomerangBigot drive him into]] becoming an OmnicidalManiac. Problem is, he's an utter, sadistic psycho with a murder habit, who likes to torture the lead, reducing any sympathy factor for him both in-universe and out.
** Knives actually has a shot at qualifying as this in the manga, at least during the flashback. During the main storyline, he's a {{Jerkass}} extraordinaire with a dash of "TheDarkSideWillMakeYouForget", but [[TheyWouldCutYouUp the story]] of [[PoweredByAForsakenChild Tesla]] would [[GoMadFromTheRevelation put anyone off]] [[HumansAreBastards the human race]], especially [[IJustWantToBeLoved a cute little kid who just wanted to be accepted]]...
* Hao/Zeke Asakura in the ''Manga/ShamanKing'' manga. [[spoiler:Not so much in the anime, since he turns his AxCrazy factor UpToEleven during the finale, which, sadly, is a GeckoEnding.]]
* Hiroko "Hiro-chan" Kaizuka from ''{{Narutaru}}'' is an intelligent, modest young girl who is [[BreakTheCutie broken]] by abuse from both [[KidsAreCruel unbelievably sadistic bullies]] ''and'' overly demanding, repressive parents. Eventually, she, along with her [[{{Mon}} Shadow Dragon]], Oni, attempts to make everything she doesn't like disappear...by way of going on a horrific, murderous rampage.
** A similar thing happens to [[spoiler:the main character, Shiina, but with someone else doing the destroying, right at the end of the manga.]]
* Elaine and Diana, the two [[TykeBomb unbelievably powerful]] psychic sisters, in ''{{Genocyber}}'', who both go through some truly nightmarish crap before transforming into the eponymous AnthropomorphicPersonification of destruction, Genocyber. Then they proceed to wipe out Hong Kong, then every single city in the world, then the only post-apocalyptic city that remains. Or [[MindScrew maybe not]]...
* Gaara in ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' started out as this. He's lucky Naruto is a WarriorTherapist. For that matter, any jinchuriki (such as Naruto and Gaara themselves) is prone to be so.
** [[spoiler:The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's escape]] plan is to turn [[spoiler:Naruto]] into one of these.
** In Part II, [[RivalTurnedEvil Sasuke Uchiha]] becomes this.
** Biggest example is probably [[PersonofMassDestruction Nagato]]. In a SerialEscalation of DeusAngstMachina, he snapped and became perhaps the most powerful WellIntentionedExtremist around. He nuked the Leaf Village, [[HeroKiller killed many main characters]] among other atrocious acts. Don't mess with someone who just went through the [[CosmicPlaything wringer]] and is very close to [[JustifiedTrope justifying]] his [[AGodAmI God]] [[PhysicalGod complex]].
* [[spoiler:Takano Miyo]] from ''VisualNovel/HigurashiNoNakuKoroNi''...Ironically, though, she's aiming at the wrong target in order to [[AGodAmI become a god]]. Guess Tokyo's a little too big to take down single-handedly.
* Yuuhi from ''TheLuciferAndBiscuitHammer'', with a FreudianExcuse to match: his father, a detective, was killed by his colleague. After the funeral, his mom simply left, and his grandfather beat into him the idea "Make no enemies - they'll stab you in the front; make no friends - they'll stab you in the back." Sami's reasoning is that [[spoiler:she wants to own the world by destroying it so that it doesn't go on without her [[IllGirl when she dies]].]]
* Valgaav from ''[[Anime/{{Slayers}} The Slayers TRY]]''. A tormented half-demon dragon who believes that all cosmic forces in his world are caught in an endless, senseless war that only causes suffering, and wants to erase everything from existence to end this.
* Black [=WarGreymon=] from ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02'' wanted to destroy the Digital World because he thought that, that was the only way for him to understand his purpose in his artificial life and soothe his pain.
** Yukio Oikawa from the same series. Growing up as a lonely boy in a unforgiving world, the only friend he ever had was Cody Kida's father. During their youth, they became the very first humans ever to discover the Digital World, and they together promised that they would one day travel to it. Fate decided to be a mean bitch one day and killed off Hida during his line of duty as a police officer before it could happen, leaving Oikawa with no one else in the world but his promise. Depressed and lonely, he became a easy target for [[spoiler:Myotismon's ghost]] to possess, who promised him that he would help him to get to the Digital World and fullfill his promise to Hida...at the expense of everything and everyone else.
* Darcia from ''WolfsRain'', who, after the loss of his lover, Hamona, turns insane and decides to ruin the paradise the protagonists are trying to create. In a sense, he doesn't want to destroy the current world, [[JustBeforeTheEnd as the Earth is dying anyway]], but prevent the next.
* [[spoiler:[[OmnicidalManiac Rau Le Creuset]]]] from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'' is Sunrise's reigning king of this trope. He's a dying man at 28 years old, [[spoiler:born with telomeres of the thirty-something Al Da Flaga, his genetic "father"]]. He's in constant pain that can only be subdued by drug dosages that double ''twice'' over the course of the series. His dealings with people, hatred of his flawed body and the people who ensured that he was born that way, [[spoiler:his emotional pain over his ParentalAbandonment, and being a clone and thus seeing himself with no "identity" of his own]] eventually became a bitterness towards humanity in general. He descends into full NietzscheWannabe territory, convinced that HumansAreBastards who only inflict pain and suffering on others, not least of all himself. [[spoiler:Aware that his own existence cannot be considered human and is more or less the personification of mankind's sins, he took it upon himself to be the JudgeJuryAndExecutioner of humanity, and in a very literal bid to ''make the pain stop,'' he tried to KillAllHumans, and nearly succeeded]].
** By the time he [[spoiler:sentenced all of humanity to annihilation]], he was more or less reveling in the fact that his view was "vindicated" by the actions of [[spoiler:[[SmugSnake Murata Azrael]], who had just tried to wipe out all Coordinators with a nuclear missile array, and [[GeneralRipper Patrick Zala]], who was preparing to annihilate all life on earth with [[KillSat GENESIS]]]]. A life or two was meaningless at this point.
** And an example from [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny its sequel]] is [[spoiler:Stella]] -- she stomps through city and wilderness alike in a giant robot, slaughtering innocent bystanders by the thousands [[spoiler:because she's driven by a childlike, irrational terror of death, and has been told that if she doesn't fight, scary things will kill her and everyone she cares about]]. The fact that she's just being used by [[ManipulativeBastard Neo]] and [[EvilGenius Djibril]], who are deliberately playing on her fear and pain, makes this all the sadder.
* Lord Fezarl Ezelcart, the BigBad of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamAge'', is a married man and was a father. However, the death of his son convinced him that it was high time to [[spoiler:[[SocialDarwinist root out the weak by waging a war that would eliminate them and create a paradise populated only by the most righteous of humans]].]] Thus began the UE's attacks on Earth Federation Colonies. In the third generation, [[hottip:*: the show's hook was that it would ''not'' follow an, overall, short war and one group of people as per ''Gundam'' tradition, but take place over three generations and nearly a century]], fate really twists the knife by having him encounter a young boy who greatly resembles his son... Who just so happens to be a Federation pilot and the grandson of Flit Asuno, main hero of the first generation and the biggest Vagan-hater alive. Ezelcant's son, in his last moments, said that he'd like to be reborn on earth along with them. Ezelcant is convinced that his son got half his wish.
* At the end of ''FushigiYuugi'', Tamahome unintentionally has a PsychicLink to Nakago's mind revealing his past [[spoiler:when he was a young boy, his entire tribe was wiped out, he witnessed his mother being gang-raped, and accidentally killed both his mother and her rapists with his awakened power, only to be sent to the Emperor of Kutou, who raped him repeatedly. As a result, he wants revenge on ''existence itself'' for giving him such a horrible life]].
* Russia of ''AxisPowersHetalia'' is more of a Woobie Conquerer of Worlds, insisting that "[[TakeOverTheWorld all will become one with Russia]]". This trope is also played straight with him during the Bloody Sunday strip, in which he [[GoMadFromTheRevelation snaps]] and [[FreakOut starts to mow down his own people]] on the grounds that "they're not ''really'' Russians if they don't love me".
* [[BigBad Lucia]] of ''RaveMaster'' has been portrayed as virtually a {{Jerkass}} extraordinaire, contradicting any even mildly humane moment shortly afterward. Until the ending, that is, when he starts [[BerserkerTears crying]] while fighting Haru because, as it turns out, the universe exists to screw him over. [[http://www.onemanga.com/Rave/292/15/ He even lists all the massive wrongs done to him that no one ever did anything about, or even commended rather than tried to stop]]. Though he looks a little crazier than he actually is in that image. It applies to him much better when he's a child.
* Diva from ''BloodPlus'' may count, although the "Destroyer of Worlds" part only comes about simply because she ''exists''. [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Chevaliers may love their 'queens']] but it seems that Amshel loves power more. Diva went along out of embitterment with the world due to her imprisonment as a child. All that could've been avoided had Nathan simply abducted her and made her a star singer without the whole TakeOverTheWorld thing and "make everyone into Chiropterans" aspect of Amshel's and James' agenda. She drops the Woobie part after [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil what she does to Saya's little brother, however]].
* Yuca from ''ImmortalRain'' doesn't know how old he is. All he knows is that, whenever he dies, he's reborn long after everyone he knew before died, while still retaining the memories of each of his previous lives. Over and over again, throughout what seems to be the course of human history. By the point we meet him, he wants to wipe out all humanity just so he can finally die and be able to stay dead.
* Shinobu Sensui of ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'' began as a heroic spirit detective, but had a mental breakdown after [[spoiler:discovering humans torturing demons, throwing his life's work of protecting humans into question -- one that isn't helped by his subscription to BlackAndWhiteMorality]]. His mind, now fractured into seven {{split personalit|y}}ies, embarked on a plan to destroy humanity as a way of ending the confusion and guilt, along with a [[spoiler:SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum over his terminal illness.]]
* Tsubaki of ''MiraiNikki'' was imprisoned as a sex slave by a cult her whole life before receiving her Diary, and now participates in the Diary game with the stated goal of destroying the world.
** Yuno [[spoiler:wants to keep the universe in an eternal time loop, forever replaying the Diary game, as this is the only way she believes she can stay with Yukiteru. She wants this so desperately because Yuki is probably one of the only kind people in her life, and her sole reason for living.]]
* [[spoiler:Tima]] of ''OsamuTezukasMetropolis'' exemplifies this trope perfectly. [[spoiler:After getting shot and realizing that she's a robot, she takes control of immeasurably powerful technology and orders the extinction of humanity.]]
* Crona of ''Manga/SoulEater'' has the 'destroy everything' part, by way of [[AmbiguousGender 'hir']] reasoning that everything that s/he fears/threatens hir should be destroyed (for much of the series, s/he understands no other way of 'dealing' with it). Given that Medusa did and still does possibly intend to turn Crona into an Eldritch Abomination in the style of madness incarnate Asura, s/he could feasibly go all the way on this one. Until Our Heroes inevitably {{defeat|MeansFriendship}} hir.
* [[BrokenBird Izayoi Aki]] from ''{{Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds}}'' ''epitomizes'' this trope for episodes 40 and 41. After watching her friend and mentor Divine [[spoiler:plunge to his horrifying death, while the only place she'd ever really felt at home in collapses in flames around her]], she wakes up from a coma where she relived ''every single horrible moment of her life'' all at once to the face of Yuusei, who she already feels conflicted about - and [[ParentalAbandonment her parents]], of all people. Destroying the world from there, though, yes, seems like DisproportionateRetribution, is not that much of a stretch.
** [[spoiler:Aporia, ZONE, Antinomy, and Paradox]], especially [[spoiler:Aporia]], too.
* [[spoiler:Chizuru Honda]] from ''{{Bokurano}}'', after snapping due to [[spoiler:her love interest and teacher's behavior towards her.]]
** [[spoiler:And now, in the manga, Jun Ushiro. HOLY GODDAMNED SHIT, USHIRO.]] What makes it worse is that [[spoiler:it's not ''his'' world that he's messing with.]]
* ''TheMelancholyOfHaruhiSuzumiya'': After going through nearly 15 and a half thousand of the same 2 weeks, Yuki gains emotions and becomes this. Except that she doesn't destroy the world. She steals Haruhi's powers and {{RetCon}}s reality for 1 year, according to the novels, and 3 years and 5 months, according to TheMovie. And she succeeds. And she's stopped by the protagonists. And, for a point in time, there's 4 Kyons and 3 Mikurus.
* Homoura from ''{{Saiyuki}}'': sure, he wants to bring an end to everything in existance, but he's so sweet and vulnerable, and so many undeservedly terrible things have happened to him. His two henchmen fit this trope, too!
* The eponymous BigBad from ''{{Noein}}'' is this. [[spoiler:It is revealed that he is a possible future of the male lead, who, upon losing his true love in a car crash, started desperately searching the time streams for a way to save her. Unfortunately, he found the multiverse to be full of pain and suffering, and decided to destroy everything and start it over from scratch.]]
* Yomi from ''GaReiZero''. [[TheParagonAlwaysRebels She was not exactly powerless]] before she become a rampaging monstrosity, [[DiabolusExMachina but events conspire to bring her down from her height]] and kick her mercilessly while she's down.
** Kagura in the [[GaRei original manga]] is an [[UpToEleven even better]] example. It's a CrapsackWorld for those sisters, yeah.
* Brandon Heat, or, more accurately, Beyond the Grave, from ''{{Gungrave}}''. A nigh-unkillable, unstoppable killing machine capable of destroying armies of super-powered zombies single-handedly with more firepower than some developed nations, by the time he becomes Beyond the Grave, [[spoiler:he has forsaken the love of his life because he thought that she deserved better than to be with a ruthless hitman, watched his boss, who was the father he never had, marry her, and been killed by his best friend [[UnexplainedRecovery (he got better)]] and resurrected by the daughter of his former lover to protect her. He does this by killing all of his friends, including his best friend and his mentor.]]
** [[spoiler:And, in the finale, [[DrivenToSuicide himself]].]]
* Yami [[spoiler:Atem]] from ''{{Yu-Gi-Oh}}'' becomes this for a bit in the Doma saga after he loses Yugi - ''especially'' during his duel with Haga. Oh, silly Haga, didn't you know that pretending to destroy the soul of a highly protective and emotionally unstable (and once-AxeCrazy) ancient spirit's partner was just asking for a one-way ticket down ''extreme-pain-and-death'' lane?
** Thief King Bakura might count, given that he [[StartOfDarkness became what he was]] later because he survived and witnessed the gruesome killing of all the people in his village. Granted, they seemed to be a village of thieves, but still, [[UsedToBeASweetKid he was an innocent child]] before this happened.
* It is very possible to see [[spoiler:Bernkastel]] from ''VisualNovel/UminekoNoNakuKoroNi'' as this, considering that she is an amalgamation of all of the [[spoiler:Rikas]] who died in ''VisualNovel/HigurashiNoNakuKoroNi''. Given the fact that all of these [[spoiler:Rikas]] experienced [[spoiler:several hundred years worth of]] AFateWorseThanDeath, it is unsurprising that their embodiment has some serious mental damage.
* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' [[spoiler:FillerVillain]] Shusuke Amagai [[spoiler:infiltrated]] Soul Society in order to set about the downfall of the Kasumioji clan, [[spoiler:as well as obtain the power and opportunity to kill]] Captain-Commander Yamamoto, all because [[InSeriesNickname Old Man Yama]] [[spoiler:killed his father]] and it had something to do with [[spoiler:the [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique Dangerous Forbidden Weapons]] being developed by]] the Kasumioji. He thought that [[spoiler:Yamamoto was just covering his own ends for being involved with the Bakkoto project.]] Turns out, [[spoiler:it was Central 46, not Yamamoto, which refused to bring them down, and in fact, Shusuke's dad went to conduct a covert op for Yamamoto to take them down and ended up being overtaken by the Bakkoto.]]
** [[TheHero Ichigo]] himself narrowly avoids becoming one in both the Fullbring arc, where he crosses the DespairEventHorizon due to [[spoiler:the majority of his friends and family being turned agains him by the BigBad, even going so far as to consider murdering him]], and in the Fourth movie, where he [[spoiler:lets his SuperPoweredEvilSide take over so that he can avenge the death of his sister, even though he nearly ends up creating HellOnEarth.]]
* [[spoiler:Video Girl Mai]] becomes this in ''Manga/VideoGirlAi'', [[spoiler:after ending up as a SexSlave to a boy without a pure heart and going mad as a result.]]
* Broly from ''Manga/DragonBall Z'' is heavily implied to be this in the Eighth movie. The movie heavily implies that his destructive nature, even by Saiyan standards, as well as his overall insanity was the direct result of life-threatening factors from his birth, such as his nearly dying from a stab wound commissioned by King Vegeta simply because he feared his power level, and then having to witness Frieza destroy his home planet. Then his father places a [[HypnoTrinket slave crown]] on Broly and uses him to destroy several planets for his [[EvilPlan plan to get revenge on Vegeta]] for what his father attempted to do to Broly and himself.
* In ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'', [[spoiler:Kaname Madoka has been this for a few {{alternate|Timeline}} [[GroundhogDayLoop timelines]]. She's TheWoobie in all of them, because of nearly [[CrapsaccharineWorld every event in the course of the show]], but in any timeline where she survives Walpurgis Night as a MagicalGirl (i.e. all of them so far where she hasn't died during it), she's fated to become [[ApocalypseMaiden an extremely powerful witch]], and either has to be {{Mercy Kill}}ed by Homura or simply goes on to destroy the world whilst Homura goes back in time to try and fix things (again). In the final episode, she becomes this yet again but sacrifices herself in the process.]]
** This was actually invoked by Homura in [[spoiler:the third timeline. The two of them have beaten Walpurgis Night, but their Soul Gems are almost completely darkened. Homura's resigned herself to the two becoming witches and destroying the world. [[HeroicSacrifice Madoka]] [[DefiedTrope disagrees]].]]
* [[BlackButler Alois Trancy]]. He's an AxCrazy CreepyChild with a DarkAndTroubledPast who only wants someone to love him in place of his dead brother (and likes to gauge out his servants' eyes.)
* In ''DogDays'', [[spoiler:the castle-crushing demon prophesized to kill our heroes is really a baby earth spirit, stabbed with an evil sword and forced to ''eat his mother'' and then [[OmnicidalManiac kill everyone around him]], until all he wants is death.]]
* People under the influence of the Kisenian Flower in ''Manga/SailorMoon'' become this. The Kisenian Flower specifically targets people with weak hearts, feeds off their negative energy, then destroys the planet they reside on and waits on the fragments until they find another willing host.
** Also invoked by Wiseman, who {{Mind Rape}}s and forces a PlotRelevantAgeUp on Chibi-Usa to make her believe she has been abandoned by everyone who loved her, thus making her TheDragon and his most loyal follower -- the Black Lady. It works for a while, but she's freed from this in the end by Sailor Moon and reverts to her original self.
** Hotaru. Woobie? Easily the biggest in the series. Capable of destroying the planet and everyone on it? You bet.
* Choji Suitengu, the BigBad of SpeedGrapher. His ultimate goal is to die after destroying the corrupted culture of greed that Japan had become, as they forced him and his sister into a living hell.
* Guts, the ByronicHero of ''{{Berserk}}''. He doesn't exactly want to destroy the world...but he is willing to [[WalkingDisasterArea walk a path of destruction]] to get to where he wants to be, [[ImplacableMan and he doesn't care who the hell gets in his way]]. Some say that Guts' quest to destroying the Godhand [[DeathSeeker is suicidal]] and his seething hatred for the Apostles [[HeWhoFightsMonsters is just as horrific]], and there ''might'' have been some truth to that before [[WhatTheHellHero he got a call back]] to what was most important to him: protecting the woman that he loves, Casca. That's right. [[StarCrossedLovers These two]] were unfortunate enough to have gone through the worse shit imaginable, and it will all end with both of them [[spoiler:spending an eternity in hell]] thanks to their former friend making an epic FaceHeelTurn. The only way to spare he and his lover of this horrible fate in the ''smallest'' way possible? Kill the LegionsOfHell by himself!
* [[spoiler:Kanto]] from ''Soil'' ''[[UncannyVillage New Town]]'' has had a rough life [[spoiler:his dentist drugged and raped him as a child which caused him to feel so ashamed and, well, ''soiled'' that he cut himself; it got worse when the dentist reconnected with him in high school and, as proof of his twisted "pure" love, gave him the video of his assault. The shame intensified to the point where he couldn't stand to watch cats in heat and tried to burn down the resident homeless crazy cat lady's shelter (fortunately, he didn't succed). Things seemed to get a little better when he met a nice girl, but just as he was about to have his first consensual sexual encounter, ''she disappeared from between his legs''.]] No wonder he wants to destroy the world by [[spoiler:enlisting the dentist's roughly ''three dozen unwitting current victims'' plus a victim by proxy (her rapists were also the dentist's victims) to cause enough anomalies to break reality]].
* [[spoiler:Both Celestin ''and'' Morgan Le-Fay]] from ''Manga/AhMyGoddess'' TheMovie.
* Teru Mikami of ''Manga/DeathNote'' was viciously bullied throughout his childhood so that when [[VillainProtagonist Light]] needs a new [[TheDragon Dragon]] it's no surprise when Mikami gleefully accepts the titular ArtifactOfDoom and the duty to "[[KnightTemplar eliminate evil]]." However, when Mikami gets a hold of the Death Note [[EvenEvilHasStandards he takes it even farther than]] ''[[EvenEvilHasStandards Light]]'' [[EvenEvilHasStandards killing off people with criminal records and the]] ''[[EvenEvilHasStandards lazy]]''. (Light thinks it's "It's too early" to do that sort of thing.)
* The Cut Man Brothers of ''Anime/MegaManNTWarrior''.
* [[spoiler:Black Mage Zeref]] from ''Manga/FairyTail''. Whatever spurred him to go and earn the reputation he has is a mystery, but he's so unbelievably miserable in the present that you just want to hug him. For the love of God, though, [[PowerIncontinence do]] ''[[InstantDeathRadius not]]'' [[TouchOfDeath hug]] [[EnemyToAllLivingThings him]]!
* [=ToyMajin=] of the ''FreshPrettyCure'' movie. He was tossed away by his previous human owner and he was filled so much bitter anger, he decided to steal away all toys, then use them to power himself, many of them filled with that same anger. When he captures Usapyon, Love's precious toy bunny doll, it [[HeroicBSOD breaks the Cure]], making her think that ''she'' had the same hatred and drives her to try to make amends... only to find out she never hated her at all. Thanks to [[AudienceParticipation the children's love for their toys]], Love's able to get [=ToyMajin=] to see the error of his ways and sees his true self... a teddy bear. Which she promptly gives to another kid who promises to take care of him.
* Scar from ''FullmetalAlchemist'' is one of the few survivors of a brutal genocide which killed almost all his loved ones. As revenge against the government who massacred his people, he becomes a SerialKiller who exclusively targets state alchemists. [[spoiler:Fortunately, in both versions of the anime, he gets better.]]
* ''Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie'': Mewtwo's motivations for wanting to destroy the planet in the first movie becomes a lot more understandable after remembering that the only humans he was exposed to prior to the events of the movie were the apathetic scientists who created him as well as Giovanni and Team Rocket, who were well known for exploiting pokemon for profit and sometimes even slaughtering them at worst.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Comic Books]]
* Long time on again/off again X-Men antagonist/ally Magneto arguably fits this trope, having suffered through the discrimination of World War II as a boy only to face it again as an adult for being a mutant, though he's better known for being the Well Intentioned Extremist.
* [[Comicbook/{{X-Men}} Madelyne Pryor]] learned that she was a clone of Jean Grey and was abandoned by her husband, Scott Summers (who fell in love with her ''because'' of her obvious similarity to Jean, though neither knew she was a clone at the time, assuming it to just be mere [[ContrivedCoincidence coincidence]] that they looked exactly alike), when he reunited with Jean, after Jean [[UnexplainedRecovery returned]] from the dead. Then Maddie's infant son was kidnapped and she was left for dead. She has a daydream where she's ripped apart to build the woman her husband actually wants and then is offered revenge. Thinking that it's just a dream, she accepts, which, naturally, leaves her possessed by a demon and willing to sacrifice her baby (who she finally has the power to find) to allow the demons of Limbo to take over the Earth.
* The ScarletWitch undergoes a fluctuating life where the good (a family with Comicbook/TheAvengers, marriage to her One True Wuv, having her longed-for kids) is outweighed by the bad (her father is a supervillain, her husband gets mindwiped and divorces her, her kids aren't real), along with a number of possessions, kidnappings, and multiple forced amnesia inflicted by her most trusted friends. Then she rewrites the universe. Then she ''does it AGAIN.''
* ''ComicBook/GreenLantern'' villain Atrocitus. His entire space sector was wiped out by the Manhunters, and the massacre is enough to drive his anger to the point where it gives birth to the [[Characters/GLRedLanternCorps Red Lanterns]]. Not even the other characters realize just how painful seeing the massacre was until they visit his dead home world. "The Manhunters came and we... We did nothing to deserve this. We...we did ''nothing.''
** "He loved something once... life."
** He even shares a brief moment of empathy with Saint Walker. Saint Walker admits that [[NotSoDifferent he, too, was once filled with rage]] after losing his entire family to random accidents during a pilgrimage. Only a brief moment, since Atrocitus points out one crucial difference: Saint Walker had no one to blame for their deaths, while Atrocitus can and does blame the Manhunters' creators, the Guardians.
** All of the Red Lanterns are like this to one extent or another, since Atrocitus specifically looks for rage "driven by loss" when recruiting. Earth's representative, Dex-Starr, for example, is a housecat who witnessed the brutal murder of his beloved owner, then was put in a sack and tossed off a bridge. One was a woman whose husband was killed by the Sinestro Corps, she was imprisoned on Ranx and was repeatedly raped by the various Corps members.
*** The one exception to this is the newest member of the Red Lanterns as of ''BrightestDay'': [[spoiler:Lobo, who goes back and forth between HeroicSociopath and CompleteMonster but can never be called a Woobie of any sort.]]
** The Rage Entity Butcher's chosen host [[spoiler:before it was sealed by Atrocitus]] was a man whose daughter was recently murdered.
** And before it was {{retcon}}ned that he was [[DemonicPossession possessed all along]], [[ComicBook/GreenLantern Hal Jordan]] became this while he was Parallax. During that time, the other heroes tried to show to him that they could understand his loss and his pain, and convince him to turn back from the path he had chosen as they stood against him to protect the universe.
* "What if the Avengers had become the pawns of Korvac?" (''ComicBook/WhatIf'' v1 #32) ends with a giant Korvac sitting on Earth in a state of bottomless despair, holding the Ultimate Nullifier. He thinks of everything that ever was, is, and will be, and presses the button.
* TheJoker in the ''Emperor Joker'' storyline. He decided that any universe where not only his tragic past ([[MultipleChoicePast whatever that was]]) could happen, but a guy like the one he became could be left alive and allowed run rampant...well, a universe like that didn't deserve to exist.
** At times, it's implied that [[NoodleIncident something]] happened that made the Joker [[MonsterClown how]] [[AxCrazy he is.]] As he puts it, all it took was "one bad day." [[TheKillingJoke A really bad day.]]
* In the last story arc in ''CaptainAtom'', Nathaniel Adam creates his own universe where he gets to control everything and create an ideal life for himself, one in which he never became Captain Atom. Being human, he then governs that universe so badly that he loses control of it to his own dark side, who forces him to relive his childhood in which his father left his fall-down drunk of a mother who proceeded to kill herself and his older sister, [[PromotionToParent who had raised him]]. Finally, Cap is forced to destroy his own universe to stop his evil side. An unusual example in several respects: first, Cap is a hero; second, he succeeds in destroying his universe; and third, it had, by that point, become so monstrously horrible that [[ShootTheDog destroying it was the right thing to do]].
** He picks up more experience than he'd like later on: during the {{Wildstorm}} crossover ''Armageddon'', he gets trapped in the Wildstorm Universe in such a way that he cannot leave and will eventually blow up, killing everyone in the Wildstorm universe. He does everything he can to prevent this from happening, but [[spoiler:while he does eventually get cured and sent home, Nicola blows up the universe instead, but also recreates it in its post InfiniteCrisis incarnation]].
** [[FanonDiscontinuity Furthermore, after being badly injured and put in a coma following the Infinite Crisis events, Captain Atom, making the best out of the hard learned lessons of the past months, personally captures, enslaves, and trains (by fighting to death in his personal arena) several alternate versions of people he knew, for the expressed purpose of conquering and laying waste to the entire Multiverse, in revenge for his past Woobie life]].
* Caliginous in ''HeroSquared'' has decided that [[PutThemAllOutOfMyMisery life is nothing but pain, misery,]] cruelty, and death, and should be ended in preferably the most all-encompassing fashion possible. Her arch-nemesis, [[TheCape Captain Valor]], just sees her as an evil megalomaniac, but his alternative self, Milo, manages to recognize that, beneath it all, she's a broken, lonely, psychologically tormented, and suffering woman.
* A Marvel What If? shows us an alternate universe where [[IronMan Tony Stark]] fires satellite lasers at the [[Comicbook/IncredibleHulk Hulk]] during WorldWarHulk, [[NiceJobBreakingItHero killing every superhero present except for the Hulk]]. The Skrulls see the Hulk as their prophet and launch [[SecretInvasion their attack]] early, killing most of the other heroes and conquer most of the planet within two months. The Hulk is recruited into the resistance, makes great progress, and becomes a symbol of hope and inspiration. Then the Skrulls hit the heroes with a bioweapon, killing them all-- once again, except the Hulk. The Hulk, now utterly bitter and filled with nothing but rage, summons the SilverSurfer to have him call {{Galactus}} to destroy the earth and the whole Skrull population with it. Once this is done, the Hulk becomes the new Herald of Galactus, the World Breaker, and goes on to destroy countless other worlds by feeding them to his new master.
* [[{{Batman}} Scarecrow]], anyone? Victim of a PrankDate, bullying throughout his entire school years, absentee parents, and an abusive grandmother with trained crows to attack him for the slightest mistake, no wonder the poor kid became obsessed with fear.
** ItGotWorse in ''BlackestNight''. Due to being exposed to too much of his own fear gas, he can't even ''feel'' fear (or, really, ''any other emotion'') anymore, [[spoiler:except when facing Batman]]. Yeah, it means the Black Lanterns don't consider him a priority target and he brought it upon himself, but it's still a raw deal.
* Superboy Prime could count. Yeah, he's skimmed over the MoralEventHorizon and many believe that he's completely irredeemable, but just look at how he got this way. Right after he learned that he was a counterpart to his childhood hero, his (and supposedly our) universe was wiped out and [[RetGone removed from history]] ([[ItGotBetter it's better now]]). Afterwards, everyone just forgot about him, while he was isolated in a pocket universe - only to be used by [[ManipulativeBastard Alexander Luthor Jr.]]. And now that he's [[NoFourthWall back in our reality]], he's completely aware that [[TheScrappy everyone hates him.]] He's one JerkassWoobie [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds Destroyer of Worlds.]]
* [[spoiler:Mario]] in ''UniversalWarOne''.
* Joey Finklebarr, in ''Freak Force'', is a boy who wakes up with super-strength and invulnerability. Once picked upon, [[spoiler:he proceeds to murder his schoolmates and his abusive father.]] He is all but unstoppable, [[spoiler:but gets talked down by Savage Dragon on the brink of total nihilism]].
* Shrinking Violet, the insecure wallflower of the ComicBook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}} during the period that she was under the influence of the Emerald Eye in the Postboot continuity.
* The Boys has recently gone into this territory. Butchers response after finally having revenge on the man/superhero who raped and indirectly killed his wife [[spoiler:kill every superhero in the world. A superhero raped his wife who in turn did not tell him about it. Several months after the event the fetus from this rape grew exponentially and clawed its way out of her womb, killing her in the process.]]
* {{X-Force}} once faced a villain team called the Inner Circle, two-thirds of which were this trope. For starters, they all have [[PowerIncontinence uncontrollable powers]] related to death, which is bound to cause some angst. Individually, Eli Bard is [[WhoWantsToLiveForever immortal and was driven insane by that]]; Wither lost many of his friends (including the girl he liked) to [[TheFundamentalist crazy religious fundamentalists]] and later his surviving friends abandoned him for being "dangerous;" Blink was abandoned and left for dead by the X-Men after saving all their lives (to be fair, they NeverFoundTheBody); and Mortis had an [[AbusiveParents abusive father]] while her half-sister, {{Dazzler}}, had a loving one and grew up to become a famous singer. [[BigBad Selene]] gave them refuge and taught them to do whatever they wanted with their powers... which resulted in lots of people dying. While by the time of the final battle they're all ranting-and-raving {{Omnicidal Maniac}}s, that, if anything, makes their situation even more tragic. The two exceptions in the group of six are Senyaka, who signed up [[BloodKnight to have better opportunities to kill people]] (fittingly, he's also the one with the best control over his powers and the only one who was a villain ''before'' being recruited by Selene), and Selene herself, who just wants to [[AGodAmI become a goddess]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Fan Works]]
* In ''FanFic/{{Team 8}}'', The possibility of Naruto becoming one of these is discussed. Itachi is attempting to break Kurenai's mind with his Dojutsu by making her live and relive the killing of herself and her team by a mob. She breaks it by forcing the illusion to faithfully recreate Naruto's likely reaction if he were to see Hinata killed: releasing the Kyuubi of his own will and letting it destroy the village.
** Was this written before or after [[spoiler:exactly that actually almost happened]]?
* The ''{{Firefly}}'' fanfic ''Fanfic/{{Forward}}'' has Inducer One-One-Nine, who is a type of psychic that is capable of MindManipulation. One-One-Nine is also [[spoiler:a nine-year-old girl named Kathryn Wade]], who was driven to insanity by her experiences at the Academy, to the point that in her fear of being recaptured she [[spoiler:took control of a town and turned them into her personal killing horde, and later wiped out a space station with nearly a thousand people on board]].
* ''FriendshipIsWitchcraft'':
** ''Fluttershy'', of all ponies. A DevilInPlainSight and leader of the ReligionOfEvil, she also suffered from a ''very'' [[AbusiveParents Abusive Parent]] that left her with issues. (It involved being found by robot wolves as a child. Who were [[spoiler:built by her father. So he could ''murder them'' while leaving a disturbing message about love. With that message causing her to be viciously attacked by insects.]])
** When Sweetie Belle gets upset at her sister, she threatens that if she can't be loved, she will make the world ''fear'' her and her (robotic) wrath instead. (Rarity ''mocks'' it, and Sweetie Belle storms off in a huff instead.)
* In the ''Manga/DeathNote'' fic ''FanFic/ConstantTemptation'' Light is {{Ret Con}}ned into being one. He [[FreudianExcuse is given]] the BackStory that [[RonTheDeathEater his father]] and [[BrokenPedestal role model growing up]] turned out to be a DirtyCop and [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain raging homophobe]] who arranged the deaths of all Light's past {{Love Interest}}s. Light figured out that his father was behind the deaths and [[GuiltComplex blamed himself for it]] because he wasn't able to protect them. Light came to the conclusion that there was no [[ArcWords justice]] in this world but no one should suffer as he did, he wished there was ''some way'' he could protect everyone... [[StartOfDarkness and then Light found the Death Note]]...
* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' fans love [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation interpreting]] members of the [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters massive cast]] as some form of this trope:
** ''FanFic/TouhouTonari'' has [[CuteGhostGirl Yuyuko Saigyouji]] not able to control her powers over death while she was alive, which caused her to [[DrivenToSuicide commit suicide]].
** ''FanFic/TouhouIbunshu'' has Remilia, Flandre, Mokou and [[spoiler:Yukari]] as varying flavours of "death to everyone" due to a ''long'' life (or unlife, in the case of the former two) of despair.
** Subverted in ''FanFic/ImperfectMetamorphosis'' with [[spoiler:Rin Satsuki]], who despite suffering so much pain and abuse from nearly ''everyone'' around her since childhood she ''still'' doesn't want to hurt anyone, and her first action in the story is simply to discover why she had to suffer. It's everyone ''else'' who thinks she's this trope.
* This is [[HumansAreFlawed humanity's]] [[PlanetOfHats hat]] in ''MassEffect'' fanfic ''Renegade Reinterpretations''. The FirstContact we had with the galaxy at large was with [[ScaryDogmaticAliens the batarians]], and several centuries of effective enslavement and guerrilla warfare later, we've been turned into a more low-key version of the [[StarControl2 Ur-Quan]] [[GalacticConqueror Kzer-Za]] (as in, we aren't out the enslave the universe before it does the same to us, but [[BerserkButton we don't particularly take well to aliens telling us what we can and cannot do]]-the response to the Citadel telling us to avoid vaporizing the batarian homeworld [[TemptingFate was us building a record-breaking fleet to do exactly that]]). Because of this, the hypothetical AlternateUniverse game has the KarmaMeter, instead of [[TheAce Paragon]] and [[AntiHero Renegade]] options, has "Assimilationist" ("[[WellIntentionedExtremist We know better than you because we've suffered more]], [[JerkassWoobie now hand over your government]]"), and "Xenonationalist" ("[[HiddenElfVillage Leave us the hell alone]], [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold and we will return the favor]]"). Notably, it's said the [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe asari]] favor us as lovers because of the [[LoveRedeems redemption]] [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys factor]].
* ''FanFic/InnerDemons'': One could argue that following the awakening of her [[EnemyWithin Queen persona]] and her subsequent FaceHeelTurn, Twilight Sparkle qualifies, from her own perspective at least -- she's convinced that her beloved mentor deceived her (which actually is true), and that her friends and brother abandoned and betrayed her (which is actually sorta true), so she's lashing out in anger at the world around her. And even if she didn't qualify beforehand, she definitely does qualify after [[spoiler:[[TheDragon Trixie]] -- the only pony left she felt she could trust -- is accidentally killed by Apple Bloom]]; after that, [[AxCrazy what little sanity she had left]] goes [[VillainousBreakdown completely out the window]], her powers fully consume her and [[OneWingedAngel transform her into an Alicorn]], and she decides that [[spoiler:rather than being Equestria's [[EvilOverlord ruler]], she'll be its ''[[OmnicidalManiac destroyer]]''.]] Celestia actually lampshades the definition of this trope when telling Shining Armor that his sister can still be saved from herself:
-->"There is a difference between a [[CompleteMonster monster]] and a destroyer. A monster has no heart, a destroyer may just be heart''broken''."
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film]]
* Milton (Stephen Root) in ''OfficeSpace''. After enduring bureaucratic neglect, managerial indifference, and stapler deprivation, he [[spoiler:walks into the Initech office complex, finds and steals an envelope full of embezzled cash, and burns the place down.]]
** In all fairness, if anyone listened to his mumbling, he ''did'' warn them.
** A deleted scene also shows [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Bill Lumberg]] dying in the fire, making Milton a murderer.
*** Although, considering the kind of attitude Lumberg had shown to his employees throughout the movie, [[AssholeVictim it'd be kind of hard to feel sad about that]].
* Harvey Dent/Two-Face in ''Film/TheDarkKnight''.
** Both Bane and Miranda Tate/Talia al Ghul from ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises''.
* ''{{Carrie}}'' is certainly a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds, even if she doesn't quite want to destroy ''worlds''...just most of her high school. Her rampage luckily ends before she gets the chance to do anything more.
** Spoofed in the zany teen comedy ''Zapped!'', in which science nerd Barney Springboro is similarly degraded at a prom when the AlphaBitch throws a watermelon at his head, almost knocking him out and causing almost everyone in attendance to laugh at him. Barney avenges himself by using his telekinetic powers to blow open the gymnasium doors and summon a hurricane-like wind that strips everyone except Barney's prom date and his best friend down to their underwear. Woobie, [[TheNudifier Nudifier]] of Worlds, perhaps?
* J.D. (Christian Slater) in ''{{Heathers}}''. For starters, his father is [[AbusiveParents a sociopathic bastard who doesn't care for him]] (when asked if he even likes his father, he responds that he "[hasn't] given the matter much thought"), and his mother killed herself in front of his eyes to get away from her husband. His entire life was spent moving around from town to town and school to school wherever his father's demolition job took him, where, it is implied, he saw the same scenario of clique groups bullying other students at every high school he's attended. He starts out by murdering {{Jerk Jock}}s and {{Alpha Bitch}}es and making their deaths appear as suicides (also implied as something he's done before), but he ultimately resorts [[spoiler:to trying to blow up the entire school. He explains his intentions are such because he believes that nobody loves him, and that "the only place different social types can genuinely get along with each other is in heaven", somehow seeing the school as a representation of society itself.]]
* Bartleby in ''{{Dogma}}'': he eventually snaps, realizing that God always favored man above angels like himself, gives up hope that "He" will never forgive him and Loki for their menial transgressions, and so decides to kill everything.
-->'''Loki:''' My god. I've heard [[RageAgainstTheHeavens a rant like this]] before.
-->'''Bartleby:''' What did you say?
-->'''Loki:''' I've heard [[RageAgainstTheHeavens a rant like this]] ''before''.
-->'''Bartleby:''' Don't you fucking do that to me.
-->'''Loki:''' You sound like the [[FallenAngel morning star!]]
-->'''Bartleby:''' You shut your fucking mouth!
-->'''Loki:''' You sound like [[{{Satan}} LUCIFER]], man! You've fucking lost it! You're not talking about going home, Bartleby, You're talking about fucking war on god! Well ''fuck that!'' I have seen what happens to the proud when they decide to [[CurbStompBattle take on the throne!]] [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere I'm goin' back to Wisconsin. ]]
-->'''Bartleby:''' We're going home, Loki! And no one, not you, not even the almighty himself is going to make that otherwise!
* Norman Bates in the ''Film/{{Psycho}}'' series is practically the TropeCodifier.
* Davy Jones from ''PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' doesn't seem to want to destroy ''everything'' - just everything that crosses his path. He's like this because his one true love, [[spoiler:the goddess Calypso]], betrayed him (presumably for another man, though it's never elaborated on) centuries ago. Jones' agony was unbearable, so he cut out his own heart to end it. When that failed, he adopted a different tactic - finding relief by sharing his pain with everyone he meets.
* Oswald Cobblepot in ''Film/BatmanReturns'': disfigured since birth, his aristocratic parents attempted to drown him in the sewers. He was found by a traveling circus, and was raised in the freak show as "The Penguin". While the public views him with sympathy, he has become a warped sociopath, plotting to [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge murder all the first born sons of Gotham City]]. When the [[MemeticMutation goddamn Batman]] foils him, he straps rockets to his hundreds (thousands?) of pet penguins, intending to use them in a suicide bombing to kill all of Gotham, which, as the only setting we see, is extremely {{omnicidal|Maniac}} in context. And yet, you still can't help but [[AlasPoorVillain pity him at his death]].
* Jean Grey in ''Film/XMenTheLastStand''.
** Magneto in ''Film/XMenFirstClass''. Could also qualify in the previous films.
* Kim Jong Il from ''TeamAmericaWorldPolice''. He's plotting the destruction of society as we know it, but deep down, he's just "a rittre ronery" (read: little lonely).
* [[Film/{{Manhunter}} Francis]] [[RedDragon Dolarhyde]]: actually lampshaded by Will Graham; he says that he feels a lot of sympathy for the child he once was, but thinks someone should put a bullet in the adult Francis' brain.
* Seymour Parrish (RobinWilliams) in ''OneHourPhoto''. He starts out sympathetic, if a little deranged, then you find out [[ParentalIncest what]] [[AbusiveParents made]] [[FreudianExcuse him]] [[BrainBleach crazy]].
* Hiroki Sawada -- or [[BrainUploading Noah's Ark]] in the ''Manga/DetectiveConan'' NonSerialMovie ''Phantom of Baker Street''. A ChildProdigy who was [[IntelligenceEqualsIsolation already beyond what the Japanese elementary school can handle]], which sparked arguments among his parents, culminating in his mother [[TakingTheKids taking him to the US]]. When [[MissingMom she died]] soon after, he was adequately homeschooled and adopted by his father's employer, Joe Schneider, which quickly made him a LonelyRichKid, who also exploit his intelligence...Schneider's own fear of InTheBlood, though, [[DrivenToSuicide drove him to suicide]], [[BrainUploading leaving a digitalized form of himself]] behind, who caused a HolodeckMalfunction on Schneider's [[{{cyberspace}} VR game]] launch, taking 50 kids as hostages...
* Lee Woo-Jin in ''Film/{{Oldboy}}''. Sure, he is the king of DisproportionateRetribution and a manipulative, sadistic, ruthless, evil man, but still, many viewers will say that his flashback to [[spoiler:his sister's suicide]] is the most heartwrenching scene in the movie.
* Grace in ''{{Dogville}}''. Made all the more ambiguous by the discussion just before the ending, where it suddenly becomes very clear that she's only a child.
* In a perfect example of BreakTheCutie, Alessa Gillespie from ''Film/SilentHill'' was burned alive by the cult she was a member of, but survived by her own power and remained wrapped in bandages for 30 years, unable to move anything but her eyes (and her lips, but only enough to kind of smile, but not enough to form words). She does the only logical thing and splits her soul into 3 parts so she can kill everyone in the cult (excluding [[spoiler:Rose, her good half, Sharon, and her mother).]]
* Film/KingKong.
* In Creator/StephenKing's ''TheShining'' (1997), Jack Torrance is portrayed sympathetically. His turn to {{Ax Craz|y}}iness is tragic AND terrifying.
* ''{{May}}'' is a particularly heartbreaking-cum-vicious example.
* The infant(s) of ''Film/ItsAlive'', whose homicidal rampage turns out to be birth trauma and separation anxiety, and who longs only to be reunited with his family.
* Sadako in ''[[TheRing Ring]]'' and her counterpart, Samara, in the US remake, ''The Ring'', considering that both were mistreated and murdered.
* Asami in ''{{Audition}}''. CompleteMonster though she may have been, she endured a horrific childhood.
* Eli in ''LetTheRightOneIn'', a vampire who is trapped not just physically in a twelve year old body but apparently emotionally as well, forced to kill to survive, whose only friend is an equally screwed up boy.
** Also, Abby in ''Let Me In'', the remake of ''Let the Right One In''.
* Bill Foster in ''FallingDown'' goes on a rampage of terror after his wife left him and would not allow him to see their daughter. He is fired from his job in the defense industry due to post-Cold War budget cuts and is generally just pissed off with the state of the world and takes his anger out on every issue, whether minor (foreign shopkeepers, high prices, poor fast-food service) or major (racism, social class, unemployment). While he is overly violent, he is representative of the everyday man pushed too far by the world.
* Loki in ''Film/{{Thor}}''. He wanted to [[TheUnfavourite prove that he was just as good as Thor]], and then found out that he [[spoiler:was a Frost Giant, after being raised around Asgardians who hate Frost Giants. He's also Laufey's son. He believes that he never really had a chance because Odin would never want a Frost Giant on the throne. [[ParentalFavoritism He was passed over in favour of Thor]] [[TheResenter a lot]] during their childhood.]] He takes a more literal turn in the film's climax when he [[spoiler:tries to use the power of the Bifrost to destroy Jotunheim.]]
** In the subsequent ''Film/TheAvengers'', Loki has become the [[BigBad main villain]] and attempts to subjugate the entire population of Earth.
* Oddly enough, Michael Myers is one of these in the ''Film/{{Halloween}}'' remakes. Rather than Michael being the CompleteMonster he was in the original films, director Rob Zombie attempted to portray him in a much more sympathetic light in the remakes.
* Dr. Tolian Soran in ''Film/StarTrekGenerations''.
* The [[spoiler:female]] half of the BigBadDuumvirate in ''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough''. Being [[spoiler:abandoned to be repeatedly raped by terrorists ''by your own father'', and at the advice of ''the BigGood'' no less]], certainly won't do wonders for your sanity.
* Caesar in ''RiseOfThePlanetOfTheApes''. He decides to lead a primate uprising partly because [[spoiler:he believes that the man who raised him doesn't love him anymore]].
* In ''StarWars: Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', Anakin Skywalker's final transformation into Darth Vader is shown to be caused by losing everything and everyone he cares for, albeit due to his own actions.
* ''Film/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet'': The titular character. Also see the theatre folder.
* Andrew Detmer in ''Film/{{Chronicle}}''.
* {{Godzilla}}. The original film shows him as a TragicVillain, just as much a victim of nuclear weaponry as anyone else. This is especially evident in the Heisei films, where he's portrayed as more of a "force of nature" rather than an outright villain.
** In ''Godzilla VS Destroyah'' this is taken to its most literal extreme when [[spoiler:Junior's death]] causes him to go into a grief-stricken meltdown [[RedRingOfDeath (As it causes him to go into a nuclear meltdown)]].
* The eponymous character of ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}''.
* In ''[[WesternAnimation/ToyStory Toy Story 2]]'', Stinky Pete, the prospector, spent his whole life on a dime store shelf, watching every other toy be bought by kids. This agonizing experience caused him to become bitter and willing to manipulate or outright force his "friends" Woody, Jessie, and Bullseye into going along with what he wants, whether they like it or not. Ironically, when he winds up being taken home at last by a little girl who defaces all her toys by drawing on them with crayons, he considers this the worst fate imaginable.
** Big Baby in ''Toy Story 3'' is also this. He's the scariest villian ever- until this:
-->(Looking at tag saying "My heart belongs to Daisy") *sob* [[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas Mama?]]
** Lotso in the same movie also has a Woobie-ish backstory, but it's made pretty clear by his actions both prior to and during the movie that he abandoned the 'Woobie' part long ago.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* Francis Dolarhyde from ''RedDragon''. Sure, he murders whole families and rapes their corpses, but good ''lord'', he had an awful childhood. It gets to the point where you want him to be caught, but you still kinda hope he gets out of the whole mess all right.
* The title character from the Balzac classic ''Literature/CousinBette'' could easily been seen as a female analogue to Heathcliff: childhood abuse, poverty and abandonment by the one man she ever loved (who probably [[AllLoveIsUnrequited never returned her feelings to begin with]]) drove her to a monomaniacal obsession with revenge, from which no-one in her path is safe.
* Ineluki the Storm King, the BigBad of TadWilliams' ''MemorySorrowAndThorn''. It is said that he was the brightest light the [[TheFairFolk Sithi]] had ever known and, had things been different, he might have led them out of their exile and into a new golden age. Instead, he went [[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow down dark paths]], sacrificing [[SelfMadeOrphan his family]], [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope his soul]], and ultimately, [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique his life]] to defend his people against the depredations of [[HumansAreBastards humanity]]. Even after death, his hatred sustained him, turning him into a [[TheUndead dark spirit]] that seeks now to return ''everything'' to Unbeing in revenge for his suffering. In the end, this turns out to be the key to his defeat.
* FrankensteinsMonster (in [[Literature/{{Frankenstein}} the original novel]], that is). All of his rage against man, and against Victor Frankenstein in particular, would be gone if just ''one'' person bothered to look past his macabre appearance and associate with him. But HumansAreBastards, [[DownerEnding so]]... [[Film/MaryShelleysFrankenstein The 1994 movie]] based on the novel ''did'' manage to get that part right, with the motivations of the monster laid bare.
* Gollum in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''. After centuries of misery and torment, he nearly destroys the quest (dooming Middle Earth to tyranny) because of a HeelFaceDoorSlam. Ironically, [[BreakTheCutie Frodo]] [[spoiler:knowingly claims the ring after suffering months of psychological torment because of it]]. Fortunately, [[DramaticIrony the quest would have failed]] without his [[ProphecyTwist attempt to prevent it]]. Bilbo, Frodo, and Sam taking pity on Gollum was [[BecauseDestinySaysSo necessary]] for the Ring's destruction; and expressly choosing ''not'' to attack and kill him on four separate occasions, even on the slopes of Mount Doom...
-->'''Frodo:''' But do you remember Gandalf's words: "Even Gollum may have something yet to do?" But for him, Sam, I could not have destroyed the Ring. The Quest would have been in vain, even at the bitter end. ''So let us forgive him!'' For the Quest is achieved and now all is over. I am glad you are here with me. Here at the end of all things, Sam.
** Much less so in [[Film/LordOfTheRings the films]], [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation which rearrange Gollum's character arc]] significantly, making him more of a JerkassWoobie. They made him much more of a {{Woobie}} in the second film and much less in the third, in order to "provide an antagonist for Frodo and Sam". This caused confusion for some viewers, wondering why anyone [[LostAesop "feels sorry for"]] Gollum... [[WordOfGod According to Tolkien]], had Gollum remained loyal to Frodo in the book, he would have taken the Ring and thrown ''himself'' in the fire.
* [[TheDragon Galadan Wolflord]] from ''Literature/TheFionavarTapestry'' turned rather genocidal towards mortals after one stole his girlfriend - but when said mortal wound up getting her killed, he went crazy and decided that the only way to end his pain was to destroy the universe. The only time in the trilogy he shows genuine emotion is when he finds some of the heroes apparently "desecrating" his shrine to her, [[spoiler:and at the very end, when the heroes spare him and he realizes that there is some good in the world - and in himself.]]
* ''{{Dragonlance}}'': Raistlin Majere has a life that progressively increases in Suck, until he decides that he's going to take vengeance by becoming a '''[[AGodAmI GOD]]'''. And he does it, too. [[spoiler:After he finds out that his godhood will destroy all of creation, leaving only himself in an empty universe, he...does exactly the same thing.]]
** More specifically, that was an alternate-future Raistlin who was insane at that point. When main-timeline Raistlin realizes the consequences of his actions, he ''does'' repent and sacrifices himself to save both the world and (to him, more importantly) his own soul.
** Raistlin is an ambiguous case, however, because his loneliness and isolation are entirely his own fault. Throughout his life, he was offered love and friendship by several people, but [[JerkassWoobie he drove them away with his own pride and bitterness]].
* In ''MalazanBookOfTheFallen'' by Steven Erikson, the Crippled God is in constant pain after being forcibly summoned and having subsequently crashed into the planet like a meteor. The Crippled God now tries to share his pain with everyone else. Several characters have speculated on whether or not his followers' twisted faith won't let him heal or is it that his pain twists the followers' minds [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity (even more)]]. He's also poisoning the goddess of the Earth, pushing him into full on OmnicidalManiac territory, as he spreads chaos and death across the known world.
** Also Korabas, the [[spoiler:[[WalkingWasteland Otataral]] [[InstantDeathRadius Dragon]]]]
* In AlanDeanFoster's ''HumanxCommonwealth'' series, Flinx's "sister" Mahnahmi is given this treatment in a big way. Considering how messed up she is and what she's suffered in her life, it's hardly surprising that she's become nihilistic, but for some reason, she insists on taking Flinx and everything he loves with her, even while he's busy saving the galaxy.
* The Lazar from the ''DeathGateCycle'' have this as their [[PlanetOfHats hat]] - they are undead beings caught forever in a state of hellish agony between life and death, and the only way they can have any release at all is by delivering others into the same torment. The only real exceptions are Jonathon (who's a straight {{Woobie}} mixed with MessianicArchetype) and, ironically, Kleitus, leader of most of the Lazar. He was enough of a MagnificentBastard in life to keep his head following reanimation (though, admittedly, he's a bit more AxCrazy now), and plans to use the other Lazar as his tools to purge the universe of sentient life, so he'll be left ruling an empire of the dead.
* The Chandrian, specifically [[FallenHero Lanre]], in ''TheNameOfTheWind''; Lanre went insane when his love died, and, in the unsuccessful attempt to bring her back, made himself immortal. With suicide now not an option, he decided to kill the rest of the world instead. He's definitely sympathetic in the BackStory, the only question is if he can maintain it as [[ShroudedInMyth Haliax]] in the modern era.
* In Richard Tierney's CthulhuMythos novel ''The Drums of Chaos'', ''Jesus'' is a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds. His sacrificial death on the cross is intended to open a gateway for the Great Old Ones to come to destroy the world and end everyone's suffering. One of the two heroes of the novel, John Taggart, also used to be a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds, but changed his mind. Since the world of the CthulhuMythos is a CrapsackWorld, especially in Tierney's version, where it crosses over with George Orwell's Literature/NineteenEightyFour, it is not clear who is in the right, so it is very much an example of GreyAndGrayMorality.
* While most of the villains in ''SwordOfTruth'' are {{Complete Monster}}s or {{Omnicidal Maniac}}s, Nicci is more of this trope. The sixth book, ''Faith of the Fallen'', is mostly devoted to showcasing her mindset and point of view.
* Inverted (and literal) in ''DeathStar'' with Tenn Graneet, the station's chief gunner. Rather than someone who commits evil acts because of his painful past, he is a somewhat naive JustFollowingOrders commander who believed that the Empire would never fire the Death Star at full power at an inhabited planet. When he realizes that [[StarWarsANewHope they would]] and he carried out that order, he becomes so full of self-loathing that you start to really pity him. Eventually, during the Rebel attack at Yavin, he stalls for a few critical seconds, allowing Luke to blow up the Death Star before the Death Star could blow up Yavin IV.
** Qwi Xux, one of the chief engineers for the Death Star's superlasers, and the creator of the Sun Crusher: she was taken from her village as a little girl and placed in a high-risks and genuinely horrific mathematics/science course with other students, where their lives depended on whether they got the answers right or wrong, and those of their village (if one of the students gets even one answer wrong, the student in question will be forced to watch as their home village is blown away via aerial bombardment and executed shortly thereafter). She was the sole graduate, and the sole survivor of that course, which was also headed by Imperial Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, and it was because of this that she felt driven, to the extent of borderline psychotic obsession, to solve any problem whenever the Empire declares that it wants a solution, often feeling not responsible if it turned out to be a failure in faux-naivete.
** There's also the Grand Admiral Osvald Teshik. Because of a failure in regards to rescuing Coh Veshiv from the Rebel privateer ''Far Orbit'', or any reason to begin with, as he implies that Palpatine did this to him for absolutely no reason whatsoever, he ends up being nearly killed in a battle that Palpatine ensured that he would not win, and that he turned into a cyborg with 3/4s of his body removed, and the near-death experience, and the abuse by various Imperial personnel for his cyborg status, left him extremely cold and nihilistic up until he was saved by a construction worker, and he ends up explaining the battle to the Rebels and the impact it had when he is to be executed for war crimes, having been resigned to his fate, before emitting a mechanical, almost pitiful laugh upon his death.
* Several in MercedesLackey's ''HeraldsOfValdemar'' series, including Tylendel and Lavan Firestorm. Vanyel and Talia both come very close to this trope, but are saved by the support of their friends, Companions, and MindlinkMates.
* Isabella Sordeno from Mindy Mackay's {{Peacebreakers}} seems to fit the bill. After being manipulated, abused, and [[spoiler:operated on while conscious]], she snaps and loses her mind, developing into a strategic mastermind and almost singlehandedly [[spoiler:conquers a country]] while exploiting and manipulating everyone around her ForTheEvulz. Eventually, as her malevolence snowballs, her reckless strike against an old enemy ends up [[ZombieApocalypse breaking the world]].
* Trashcan Man in ''TheStand'' plays a role quite similar to Gollum in ''TheLordOfTheRings'', which makes sense, seeing how the latter was a big inspiration for the former. He actually destroys [[spoiler:the entire [[{{Mordor}} Evil Realm of Las Vegas, turning nearby states into radiation zones]]]] to prove his loyalty to Flagg by bringing him [[spoiler:[[DeusExNukina the Big Fire]]]] to destroy the people of Boulder. This only occurs because Flagg promised him protection from the voices in his head of the people in his hometown who used to tease him for his insanity and {{pyromania|c}}. When one of Flagg's minions use the same language to insult Trash, he snaps and [[spoiler:blows up an airfield, and flees into the desert with a price on his head.]]
** Funny thing, the other guy wasn't even insulting him, he was only making a rude joke of sorts and involuntarily triggered his BerserkButton.
* Luke from ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians''.
* Dear god, Aeglyss, the halfbreed from TheGodlessWorldTrilogy. After a lifetime of ostracisation and failed attempts at social interaction, he's so damaged that his very presence is contaminating the planet and poisoning the [[TheLifestream Shared]]. By the end, he's diseased, physically ruined, and ready to die, and tries to take the world that's rejected him along for the ride. It's not even deliberate: after failing to enslave the world, he just doesn't care enough about it to try and stop the destruction he's begun.
* [[Literature/{{Wicked}} Elphaba]]. Yes, she went completely mental towards the end. But oh God, [[TearJerker when you read about]] [[FantasticRacism her life...]]
* {{Carrie}} from the book of the same name by Stephen King. She was the ButtMonkey for her entire school life, and at home, her mother beat her, verbally abused her, and locked her in a small closet for up to a day at a time. And she weathered all of it. When she found out that she had telekinetic powers, she exercised them to make them stronger, but not to get revenge. She never even contemplates revenge. But finally, one last, cruel prank goes too far, and the poor girl snaps, taking out of all of her pain and misery on the town around her.
* ''Q Squared'', the Star Trek Novel by ''PeterDavid'', features Jack Crusher in an alternate reality, a good but unhappy man who is targeted by the godlike Trelane, who drives Jack [[spoiler:murderously...and suicidally...insane]]
* Persephone in {{Ravirn}} releases the [[spoiler:Necessity virus]] that would have destroyed the entire multiverse without Ravirn's intervention in hopes of breaking Hades' hold on her. It's later implied that she would have done the same again when Hades [[spoiler:is one of the few candidates to replace Necessity and gain absolute power]], except that she trusted Ravirn to stop him instead.
* The Bane (real name Pearlpelt) from ''TheUnderlandChronicles.'' His father killed his other children so Pearlpelt could have more milk and grow stronger. His parents killed each other in a fight, and he saw his mother lying dead with her innards spilled over the ground. To make matters worse, almost all the humans shun him because he's the Bane, and many of his fellow [[YouDirtyRat rats]] honor him and want him to be their king. Eventually, he goes completely off the deep end, becoming an EvilAlbino and a great [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Hitler allegory.]]
* Ari from the ''MaximumRide'' books. He was born a sweet, innocent child, but he grew up in the shadow of [[spoiler:[[LukeIAmYourFather his half-sister]]]], Max. He was turned into a WolfMan by scientists, and was subject to constant genetic enhancements afterward, eventually becoming a hideous freak. [[spoiler:In the end, though, he gets a HeelFaceTurn--but [[RedemptionEqualsDeath too late]].]]
* Ghwerig the troll from ''TheElenium''. In reality, he is maddened by the loss of Bhelliom and devotes most of the rest of his life to searching for it, and though he eventually finds it, he is killed by [[TheHero Sparhawk]] and Kurik.
* Doesn't seem like it at first, but [[MagnificentBastard Petyr Baelish]] from ''ASongOfIceAndFire''. He was born as one of the poorest nobles, if not ''the'' poorest noble, in the realm, then separated from his family at a young age to live with another family in much, much better standing--throwing in his face what he will never have. He's small, weak, and looked down on by everybody. Nobody even calls him by his real name. Then, [[ItGotWorse just to make things worse]], he falls in love with one of the daughters, who he isn't allowed to marry because of his birth. He nearly gets himself killed fighting for her and, after he loses, she completely ignores him. Hard not to feel sorry for him...until he becomes a puppeteer in the royal court, [[spoiler:ruins his first love's family and [[ReplacementGoldfish kidnaps her teenage daughter]], kills people off at his convenience, and starts a frickin' civil war]].
** Catelyn Tully, who [[spoiler:turns into a homicidal, undead, noose-happy outlaw leader after witnessing the brutal massacre of her son, herself and companions at a wedding feast]].
* [[HarryPotter Barty Crouch Jr.]]. He's a WellDoneSonGuy with a father who never cared about him whatsoever, who loved his wife and [[WhenYouComingHomeDad work]] far, far more than his own son. He's also incredibly brilliant, one of the few characters to get twelve Outstanding [=OWLs=] in the series (not even ''Hermione'' got twelve Outstandings), probably got all Outstandings on his [=NEWTs=], too, possibly just to please his father. After failing to receive the love and approval of his father, he joined the very faction his father despised, finding approval and a father-figure in Voldemort. Crouch was then sent to prison with little consideration by his father, who proclaimed that he [[IHaveNoSon had no son]]. He's well aware that his father saved him from Azkaban and eternal MindRape via Dementors because his mother begged him to save their son. She herself was dying. The only parent who loved him gave up her life for him and died, and by this point, Crouch was already halfway to madness. It's strongly implied that being under the Imperius Curse for too long has the same effect as MindRape, and he was under one for thirteen solid years thanks to his own unloving father. It's no wonder he stayed very loyal to Voldemort and helped with his ploy to get Harry killed and killed his own father.
** Also, Merope. What she did to Tom Riddle Sr. was absolutely disgusting, but she was abused through most of her life by her father and brother, who were the wizard equivalent of white trash.
*** Likewise, her son Voldemort, although to a far lesser extent, is a very dark interpretation of the trope. Evidence from the book suggests that it's not so much that Voldemort doesn't see the value of love and hope as it is that he is completely incapable of experiencing or expressing them, as his sanity and capability of feeling these emotions were destroyed when he was conceived via Love potion. Dumbledore even speculates that Voldemort's sociopathic tendencies might have been mitigated altogether had Merlope actually raised him as her child instead of leaving him at an orphanage.
* Maud in Creator/CatherynneMValente's ''TheGirlWhoCircumnavigatedFairylandInAShipOfHerOwnMaking'', whose life as a hero and a great queen in Fairyland was cut short when she was sent back to the real world and her abusive family, so she sought revenge after being pulled back to Fairyland by her friend.
* The eponymous character of ''Literature/SkulduggeryPleasant'' was this after his family was killed. The books always implied that he went a bit off the rails, but in ''Death Bringer'', we find out that it went [[OmnicidalManiac a tad further]] than just UnstoppableRage. [[spoiler:He's Lord Vile.]]
* The novelization for Disney's ''Disney/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs'' paints Queen Grimhilde as an extremely dark WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds instead of an unrepentent CompleteMonster (Try thinking along the lines of [[Characters/FinalFantasyVI Kefka]] being a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds). For starters, the novel gives her the FreudianExcuse that she was emotionally abused by her [[AbusiveParents father]], a mirror maker, who refused to acknowledge that she was beautiful since she was a child, leading her to be insecure in regards to her beauty. When she did marry Snow White's father, the king, she actually did genuinely care for Snow White as if she were her own daughter. Unfortunately, her father's witch cousins ended up giving her a gift (the magic mirror) that also housed her father's spirit, and it is heavily implied that it was thanks to her father's haunting influence that she started to go insane by the movie.
* Ender in EndersGame is a great [[spoiler:and very literal]] example.
* [[TheElricSaga Elric of Melniboné]] just can't get a break. Every time he kills it makes him stronger and it also makes him hate himself more. On top of that every girl he loves (each of whom wants to wrap him in the proverbial blanket and feed him the proverbial soup) dies, which usually leads to him needing to wreak revenge on someone. And kill them with his sword and take their soul, and then hate himself. It's a vicious woobie cycle.
* ''InDeath'' series: ''Holiday In Death'' and ''Portrait In Death'' have killers who could be considered this. Those killers suffered losses that was the end of the world for them. They turned to murder because for them, it's the only way to unleash the pain. Those killers are also implied to have been born with untreated mental disorders. Perhaps they are unsympathetic, but it can be agreed that they are pathetic.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live-Action TV]]
* Adam Monroe on ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' his path of destruction fueled by his heartbreak over [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses Yaeko]].
** Surprisingly, [[BigBad uber-villain]] Sylar (a.k.a. Gabriel Gray). When Peter visits a [[AlternateTimeline potential future]], Sylar [[UnstoppableRage accidentally destroys Costa Verde]] after the [[DespairEventHorizon death]] of [[spoiler:[[MoralityPet his son]]]]. He was also that in the regular timeline from his terrible childhood.
* Dr. K in ''Series/PowerRangersRPM''. She unleashed a sentient computer virus that almost certainly nuked the planet, and is confirmed to have wiped out all of civilization outside of one city. Her motive? Escape from the top-secret government think-tank she had been trapped in all her life. In her defense, the guards caught her before she could set up a firewall. So she ''[[MikeNelsonDestroyerOfWorlds unintentionally]]'' killed most of humanity in an attempt to escape unjust imprisonment. And since the firewall was intended to keep the virus from escaping from the computer network in the first place, some consider it [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom the indirect fault of the guards who kept her from installing it, thus guaranteeing spread of the virus]].
** When Tenaya 7 invades her lab, [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech she mocks her]], saying, "You pride yourself on how smart you are, don't you? But you still [[NiceJobBreakingItHero royally messed up]], didn't you?"--after which the usually cool Dr. K completely loses it and angrily starts firing her sound cannon in random directions. After the flashback ends, she appears emotionally exhausted, most likely because of the guilt she faced for her mistakes, thus cementing her status on this page.
* Several episodes of the new ''Series/DoctorWho'' series have shown how easily the Doctor could become one of these due to all he's endured throughout the centuries, in particular, his [[FateWorseThanDeath treatment]] of the eponymous villains in "The Family of Blood". It's also heavily implied that the end of the Time War, in which he personally killed billions and almost annihilated two ancient civilisations, was the result of his despair over all the destruction the war had caused.
** When he finished off the last of the Racnoss was another indication of how the Doctor is standing at the edge of a slippery slope. Spider monsters or no, he was still killing babies and finishing up on making that species extinct.
*** The events of "Turn Left" show that the Doctor is borderline suicidal. When he destroyed the Racnoss, Donna was standing there, and was the only thing that convinced him to leave. In "Turn Left", she wasn't there, and he ended up dying with them.
** In the episode "Dalek", the eponymous creature suffers several existential crises in a row, from being (it believes) the [[LastOfHisKind Last Of Its Kind]] to being part human thanks to the method of its healing. Ultimately, it is DrivenToSuicide over the pain of emotions it never even knew existed.
** River Song, after the events of "Closing Time".
** The Master in the new series.
* Willow, in the season 6 finale of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. Her RoaringRampageOfRevenge over [[spoiler:the death of Tara]] ended with a magical overload that briefly attuned her to the thoughts and feelings of everyone else on the planet. Overwhelmed by the world's collective pain, she decided that [[PutThemAllOutOfMyMisery "your suffering has to end"]] and turned her newfound power towards bringing about TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. She was finally stopped by the ThePowerOfLove.
** When Faith is responsible for accidentally killing someone, Buffy and the rest of the gang offer to help her with her issues, only for things to go south when [[UnwittingInstigatorofDoom Wesley]] [[InterruptedCooldownHug has her shipped off to indefinite imprisonment]]. The result? She no longer trusts them, and becomes TheDragon to the BigBad.
** Drusilla, (after what Angelus [[BreaktheCutie puts her through]] )[[WaifProphet so]] [[TheWoobie very]] [[FemmeFatale very]] [[TheOphelia much]]
* In ''LegendOfTheSeeker'', Nicci is even more of this trope than in the books, as her KnightTemplar tendencies are downplayed and more emphasis is put on her desire to destroy the world.
* Played with in ''Series/{{Stargate SG-1}}'' episode ''Absolute Power'' with Daniel Jackson, the show's typical {{Woobie}} of various other types. [[spoiler:In the episode, Daniel is trying to sensitively obtain information about the Goa'uld from a small child, who touches his head in an apparently hostile act, as it renders him unconscious. When he awakens, he proceeds to have all of the needed knowledge revealed to him and proceeds to build the weapon that would apparently defend the Earth, but at the cost of having become at least a JerkassWoobie if not outright evil. He fantasizes about very violent things until, finally, his goal is met. He then proceeds to take over the most powerful weapon in the world from his SupervillainLair and destroy Moscow before waking up and realizing that having absolute power to defeat the Goa'uld in one fell swoop is not such a good idea after all. He wakes up to discover that it was AllJustADream, but during]] the episode, it was implied that WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds is actually simply a part of his subconscious, with or without special knowledge. Not surprising, really.
** [[RidiculouslyHumanRobot The scared, lonely robot girl]] who created the Replicators.
* ''Series/{{Dexter}}'' has the Trinity Killer. Notable in that this trope is used to make the character more disturbing, rather than more human (the usual utilization of this trope).
* ''{{Warehouse 13}}'' had a textbook example in [[spoiler:H.G. Wells. It started out with her daughter being murdered, who proceeded to hunt the killers down and cause them more pain than she felt. Then, after being turned into a statue for a century ([[FateWorseThanDeath while still awake the whole time]]), she found today's world [[HumansAreBastards even more lacking]], and decided to explode the Yellowstone supervolcano to start an ice age. In a twist similar to the ''{{Buffy|TheVampireSlayer}}'' example above, HoYay saved the day.]]
* The Greeed from ''KamenRiderOOO'' are monsters whose MO is consuming the world and are generally causing massive pain to everyone. Then we find out why they're doing it. Their 10th Core Medal was destroyed, leaving them sentient, but even if they get all 9 of their remaining Cores, they have a void inside them that can never be filled due to the destruction of the 10th. They've been that way since they've become sentient, they're only trying to consume the world to fill a void inside them that they were born with. If that hunger is enough to drive them to the extremes they go to, then they definately qualify.
* Lucifer in ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' sees himself as this and it isn't without some justification. He was a loyal servant to God, who felt that he has been cast aside for a species that did not deserve such love. He has tried to regain his prestige in God's eyes, but has been irrevocably cast as a monster. As such, that is what he has become.
** As of the season 6 finale, [[spoiler:Castiel]] is a straighter example. [[spoiler:Abandoned by God, at war with his brothers, betrayed by his allies, and, worst of all, rejected by his Nakama, Dean and Sam, and hopped up on the souls of millions of monsters from Purgatory, he has declared AGodAmI and demanded that they bow down and worship him. This cannot end well.]]
* Walter White in ''BreakingBad'' could be interpreted as this. He is an extremely intelligent and skilled man, but has to settle for working in a job far below his skill level. Also, he just found out that he has terminal cancer and is afraid that his death will leave his family in position of extreme poverty. He decides to use his skill in chemistry to manufacture crystal meth and sell it to support his family.
* Many unsubs from ''Series/CriminalMinds'' and its spin-off, ''SuspectBehavior'':
** Veronica Day, who manipulated her boyfriends into killing their parents because [[spoiler:someone killed her birth mother before she had a chance to tell her who she was, and if she couldn't have a happy family, then ''no one could''. And on top of that, she was caught because everyone thought she killed her mother. She was freed on a technicality but redeemed herself by confessing to one of her victims]].
** A mother who goes on a shooting rampage on her child's birthday/death day, who has a special grudge against "heroes" because not only was her child's injury and death ignored due to a police officer being killed in the same incident (they were caught up in a car chase), her own husband was a workaholic paramedic who didn't even take time off for his own son's birthday, eventually divorced her, and seemed too quick to get over his son's death (he hadn't, he just didn't show it as much as she did).
** A father whose son was a SerialKiller, and blamed his [[InTheBlood "rotten genes"]] for what happened, kills any young man who happens to have the same glasses as his son, but shifts targets to the father of one of the victims who has been harassing him for years eventually, hoping for a SuicideByCop. He also attempts to MercyKill his very ill wife, but is unsuccessful.
** Another father who, after the death of his wife, planned to murder-suicide himself and his three sons by ''sneaking pipe bombs into their backpacks and sending them off to school, a field trip, and the hospital where their mom died''.
** A young woman who, as a teenager, was repeatedly raped and beaten by her father ''and'' brother, and when her doctors finally managed to convince her to go to the police with it, she found her mother already at the station denying everything. She snapped and began believing that all women should suffer what she did (and, presumably, what she wanted to do to her mother), recruiting her weak-willed, toadyish husband to do the actual raping part.
** A woman who abducts other women, injects them with a paralyzing drug that will eventually kill them, and plays with them like dolls...because she walked in on her pedophilic, psychiatrist father giving away her favorite toys (given to her to keep her quiet while he was abusing her) to his latest patient/victim.
** A comic book artist ForcedToWatch as his pregnant fiancée was ''raped to death in front of him'' by a street gang. The trauma causes him to have episodes where he blacks out...during which time he, without knowing it, becomes a ''crazy'' skilled VigilanteMan, butchering members of the gang with katanas.
* The [[GrandFinale final]] perp on ''LawAndOrderCriminalIntent'' turns out to be [[spoiler:a woman who runs an internet company (a sweeter, female Mark Zuckerberg {{Expy}}) who, tipped off to a break-in at her headquarters, returns to confront the offending party and finds that he has killed her boyfriend. He runs at her and she retaliates with a scissors to the neck. She]] actually breaks down into TenderTears when confronted with the evidence, and it is clearly intended that our sympathy should be with [[spoiler:her.]]
* In ''Series/{{Fringe}}'', [[spoiler:Walternate. His son was kidnapped. His world is in the process of tearing itself to pieces, and millions of his fellow human beings have been killed. He's also waging a shadow war on our universe, since he thinks that it's the only way his can survive.]]
** Interestingly, in the alternate reality where Peter died as a boy ([[spoiler:an Observer did not save him]]), Walternate is better than Peter initially assumes him to be.
* [[AmericanHorrorStory Tate Langdon]]. He's mentally damaged, neglected by his parents, and clearly depressed...and also a seemingly sweet boyfriend. And he cries so prettily! On the other hand, he's a [[spoiler:mass-murdering, stalking ghost]].
* Richard Harrow in BoardwalkEmpire. Also, Jimmy is revealed to be one in season 2.
* Holtz in ''Series/{{Angel}}''. He was a vampire hunter whose family was brutally murdered by Angelus and Darla to torture him. Except for his daughter, whom they turned into a vampire so Holtz would have to kill her himself. His guilt and rage caused him to [[RevengeBeforeReason abandon reason for vengeance]] and pursue Angel to the twenty-first century and manipulate people for his own ends.
* [[VeronicaMars Cassidy Casablancas]] He was molested, belitted, picked on by his family, and abandoned by his mother. It causes him to go crazy and a blow up a BusFullOfInnocents
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* The subject of [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKCccyZvtIo Everything Burns]] by Anastacia & Ben Moody. The song could probably describe ninety percent of the people on this page. Rule of thumb, if you can't use this song as the character's theme song, don't put them here.
* The plot of MarilynManson's concept album ''Antichrist Superstar''.
* ''The Last Man'' from Fireaxe's 4-hour metal epic ''FoodForTheGods''. The [[NietzscheWannabe narrator]] laments the nature of man and how all we ever do is suffer. He then uses an unnamed DoomsdayDevice to destroy the entire human race and all life on Earth. [[SerialEscalation Then things start going bad]].
* Upon discovering that [[spoiler:his sister has died before he could find her again]], ''[[SoundHorizon Moira]]'''s Elefseus finally snaps from a lifetime of trauma and goes on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge against everything that ever played a part in his suffering, up to and including [[RageAgainstTheHeavens fate itself]].
* The female protagonist of CarrieUnderwood 's "Blown Away". She apparently has supernatural powers and uses them to create a destructive tornado to kill her father in his sleep who was described as a "mean old mister" that apparently killed her mother.
* Many of TheMegas' interpretation of the [[VideoGame/MegaMan Robot Masters]] count, as they are given their own backstories and motivations for wanting to help Wily. However, Air Man in particular stands out. He laments that his power only causes him to push others away, and decides...
-->'''Air Man''': If I can't walk among them, then I will walk the world alone.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mythology]]
* In NorseMythology, Loki rarely had it good. He started off as a slightly more happy-go-lucky (for whatever that's worth in Norse myths) [[TricksterArchetype trickster god]]. He ensured that Asgard's wall would be built for free, and aided Thor in one of his journeys. Hell, in some versions, Thor even says that Loki is "an evil man, but a good companion". Sure, he caused a great deal of trouble, but at the same time, he's typically regarded as a permanent outsider (in small part, one might argue, due to his half-giant heritage, never mind that a lot of other gods are half giant), gets threatened, and, at one point, gets his lips sewn shut by some bastard dwarves while all the other gods look on and laugh. Arguably, this would piss a lot of people off. And then, long story short, he murders Baldur, is punished horribly, and then causes [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt Ragnarok]], never repenting for his deeds.
** This actually gets worse when one realizes that there are TWO versions of the story leading to Ragnarok, and in the other, Loki never killed Baldur at all. He was punished instead for [[DisproportionateRetribution getting drunk at a party and insulting the other guests]]. For this crime, he was imprisoned and forced to watch as one of his sons is transformed against his will into a wolf which then ''tore out the entrails of his twin brother'', the entrails that were then in turn used to ''bind Loki into place to suffer eternal torment.'' That's right: unending agony while bound in the remnants of your murdered son. Yeah. All that for a bit of snark. It's really no wonder that when he gets out, he decides to join the Jotun to end the world.
** Of the children he fathered, two are thrown completely out of Asgard by Odin (Hel and Jormungandr, both for being ugly), while one gets chained to an island for the rest of time (Fenris) for being big, strong, and scary... and, essentially, for being a child of Loki (because, you know, you can't trust Loki's kids). The fact that all of these kids come back and help their father destroy Asgard at Gotterdammerung is perhaps understandable. (Fenris is usually told as being imprisoned precisely because the Asgard knew of his important role in Ragnarok, but then it gets into SelfFulfillingProphecy territory.)
* Some of the monsters from ClassicalMythology, especially the ones that [[WasOnceAMan used to be humans]] but were turned into monsters as punishment for some crime. Perhaps the most obvious example is the Gorgon Medusa and her sisters. Medusa got turned into a monster for the "crime" of ''getting raped.'' That's right, [[DoubleStandardRapeDivineOnMortal Poseidon raped her]] in Athena's temple. Athena got pissed that sex had occurred in one of her sacred places, but couldn't do anything to Poseidon, so she took out her anger on Medusa by turning her and her sisters into Gorgons.
** This is by no means the only version of this story, and most of the others make the situation slightly less bad. In some versions, the sex between Medusa and Poseidon was consensual, and in others, the RevengeByProxy angle is eliminated; that is, the other two Gorgons ''always'' looked like that (which makes sense, their parents being [[EldritchAbomination Ceto and Phorcys]], after all) and Athena simply turned Medusa into a form mimicking theirs. Still DisproportionateRetribution, but comes across as less ForTheEvulz on Athena's part.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
* [[BigShow The Big Show]], in a storyline in which he got fired by Wrestling/{{WWE}} General Manager JohnLaurinaitis for [[DisproportionateRetribution making fun of Laurinaitis's voice]]. Even though he pleaded and cried in front of the entire world, no one seemed to show him sympathy or come to his defense. When he managed to return to WWE with an "ironclad contract," he used [[TheUnfettered this opportunity]] to vent his rage on seemingly everyone else in the locker room. And when you weigh well over 400 pounds, who's going to stop you?
** What was worst of all was that Big Show got his job back - and thus, subsequently allied himself with - thanks to Laurinaitis, [[YouFailLogicForever the very man who had put him in his predicament in the first place]]!
* {{Edge}}, after he was placed in a Hell in a Cell Match with {{Undertaker}} in which he believed he would surely die. Resigned to the fact that he was going to Hell, he decided to make a living Hell for those who had double-crossed him or wouldn't help him before he went.
* After {{Kane}} found Undertaker in a coma in the spring of 2010, he embarked on a months-long rampage directed at every person who could possibly be a suspect in incapacitating his half-brother. It was actually a subversion, though, as Kane himself had been the one who'd attacked Undertaker, and he was accusing everyone else in order to deflect suspicion away from himself.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* A close reading of the [[AbusivePrecursors fallen]] [[EldritchAbomination Primordials]] from ''{{Exalted}}'' reveals them to be this.
** First up: The [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Yozis]]. While they seem pretty evil at first glance (and in the [[BigBad Ebon Dragon's]] case, [[DesignatedVillain the second]], [[CardCarryingVillain third]], [[MoralEventHorizon fourth]], and thereon), it's not hard to realize that they are, one and all, [[BeingEvilSucks thoroughly miserable]]. The fact that each one was built with an actual [[DysfunctionJunction mental disorder in mind]] really doesn't help their self-image.
*** Despite not being the First of the Primordials, the Primordial that was to be Malfeas made himself king because he had [[HotBlooded the guts]] [[TheDeterminator to be one]]. His glorious passion inspired and guided his fellow Primordials, when their mutually incomparable power would have made AsskickingEqualsAuthority futile. Upon his defeat, the cosmic passion that gave him power and meaning turned toxic. Now, it enslaves Malfeas and randomly subjects him to [[UnstoppableRage holocaustic Mania]] and [[DespairEventHorizon abyssal Depression]]. In between these peaks (or torn and stretched out on both peaks at once), his infinite furor is guided by perfect self-hatred, causing him to ''ceaselessly destroy himself''. Bipolar Disorder, among clinically recognized mental disorders, is most likely to end with suicide.
*** Cecelyne's grandeur is [[InferioritySuperiorityComplex driven by her inadequacy]]. To fulfill that barren emptiness, she puts on an air of [[AGodAmI cosmic pomp and importance]] and cares for her subjects [[SocialDarwinist mercilessly and ruthlessly]]. Her overcompensation (a common pattern seen in those with pathologically Narcissistic Personality) ultimately makes her an empty shell--an infinitely hollow desert, who feels that her value only comes from dominating and being wanted by others. Her powers center around fulfilling others' desires and demanding obedience, but they cannot actually help their user.
*** She Who Lives In Her Name is an Obsessive-Compulsive [[KnightTemplar control freak]], and she may seem like the least sympathetic...until you understand that she's also Autistic and [[AbsentMindedProfessor ''can't'' understand that what she is doing is wrong]].
*** As Adrian, she was a literal protector of Creation in that her presence separated Creation and the Wyld. She was selfless and compassionate [[MyBelovedSmother to an extreme]] -- she gave her own body for her children's safety. She ''really'' loved Creation! Gods' betrayal broke her heart to such a painful degree that she is [[KillTheOnesYouLove no longer ''capable'' of caring about anything, even herself]]. Her heart was broken so badly that she never put it together again -- Adorjan is a victim of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, no longer able to express attention in any way other than [[{{Yandere}} violence]].
*** The Shadow of All Things may have been a JerkAss, but he was a sort of Devil's Advocate -- he gave meaning to the world by being its enemy. Now his "virtue" is hollow and the Ebon Dragon displays an extreme form of Antisocial Personality; the only thing he can care about anymore is [[ForTheEvulz the suffering he inflicts on others]]. In the setting of Exalted, Ebon Dragon is one of the extreme few utterly undeserving of sympathy...but, still, the fact that he can't even recognize that he has fallen this low is something to pity.
*** Other Yozis are pathetic beings in the sense that their current condition inspires sympathy. Kimbery, who once [[LoveMartyr gave herself as life-water and life-blood]] for Creation, is so terrified of rejection that she destroys whoever approaches her -- Borderline Personality. Oramus, the First Primordial, bravely began to fight Pure Chaos and now he, through no fault of his own, is stuck inside his own wings, utterly unable to comprehend the world outside -- Schizophrenia. Isidoros, the strongest thing ''in the universe and all time'', lost faith in his own power and withers in perfect, [[BombThrowingAnarchist destructive]] [[NietzscheWannabe nihilism]] -- Paranoid Personality. Sacheverell was once a visionary who foresaw the ideal future for Creation; now he does nothing but sleep, refusing to feel anything -- Dissociative Disorder. The ''[[OnlySaneMan most comprehensible]]'' Yozi, Szoreny, has lost control of his ability to mold his personality based on who's talking to him into the ideal {{Foil}}, leading to his inability to think straight beyond the short term -- Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder. The fact that ''every'' Yozi was struck with a diagnosable mental disorder, turned up to [[TurnedUpToEleven a divine degree]], sort of justifies their desire to make everything literal Hell.
** Then...we have the [[SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum Neverborn]]. [[AndIMustScream Hoo boy]]. Though not much is known about the Neverborn individually, one can gander at the origin of their morbid hatred -- as authors of reality, the Primordials never bothered to put together a scenario where they might die. Without reality being designed to handle their death, the Neverborn could not truly die... but they were still killed and murdered, stuck in a limbo between life and death. The pain of dying has lingered with them for ''five thousand years''. What brought this miserable fate? They were pursing their own happiness in Creation, like every other living thing, before the Primordial War. Even with the most saintly soul, this is more than enough justification for their destructive cause.
* ''PrometheanTheCreated'' has a "black hat" group, the Centimani. They embrace [[TheCorruption Flux]], the antithesis to the Azoth that fuels Prometheans. Their powers are the same as those of Pandorans, the natural predators of their kind. Most other Prometheans consider them monstrous (not the least of which because many Centimani hunt other Prometheans to feed their Pandorans). But the gameline makes a point of pointing something out: Prometheans are the ''embodiment'' of BlessedWithSuck. Any given Promethean is constantly, day-in-day-out, hammered with terrible trials. Being nigh-indestructible is no barrier against the DespairEventHorizon. Most Centimani are less born to evil than dragged to it by the heels.
** Specific example: Eve, from ''Pandora's Book''. She was created haphazardly by a selfish Frankenstein who told her ''to her face'' that she was just there so he could reach the New Dawn. Then she saw him torn to pieces in front of her, leaving her with apparently no purpose. Other Prometheans taught her that, that wasn't the case, but when she tried to make a new Promethean herself, it failed, spawning Pandorans. Her second attempt worked, but her creation ran off after a few days. Finally, she gave in, creating new Pandorans intentionally so that she'd have ''something'' to cling to. Her quote is even, "At least I'm not alone anymore."
*** However, she ''[[ImAHumanitarian ate her former throngmates.]]'' Even the sourcebook admits that it's hard to consider her redeemable given that.
** From the sample adventure in ''Magnum Opus'', Los Tempestrad. He came to himself in a Hispanic gang's lair, and ended up being a hitman for them for years, and was systematically abused - after all, he was nothing but a puppet, a cheap weapon to be used as Ocho, the gang's leader (and his self-proclaimed creator), saw fit. Then one day, for the first time, he met another Promethean, who took him away from the gang and explained that humans can't create their kind. Unfortunately for him, said Promethean was the manipulative [[PathOfInspiration Botherud]] member Ice Blue, who promptly indoctrinated him in her order's teachings and used him ''exactly the same way the gang did''. His reaction to hearing about Lighthouse, a Promethean messiah supposedly made by a human, is understandable - confused fury, because he loses either way. (If Lighthouse ''wasn't'' made by a human, then every other Promethean in Boston is being tricked exactly the way Los Tempestrad was; if a human ''did'' make Lighthouse, then Ice Blue has lied to him since they met.) Los Tempestrad is a violent sociopath, but he never had a chance from the day he got off the slab.
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'', the HorusHeresy was a galaxy-spanning civil war between the loyal followers of the GodEmperor and the traitorous followers of [[TheCorruption Chaos]], shattering the Imperium (from which it still hasn't fully recovered even ten thousand years later) and ultimately dooming the galaxy to a slow, painful death. And yet all of those who rebelled had very legitimate reasons [[MotiveDecay at first]], often falling into this trope:
** Lorgar genuinely, deeply loved the Emperor, and wanted to have him venerated throughout the galaxy. The Emperor brought the banhammer down on that as soon as he knew about it, as despite being a PhysicalGod he wanted a society of {{Flat Earth Atheist}}s (due to Chaos being fed by worship). Distraught and suddenly having nowhere to direct his devotion, Lorgar eventually discovered the [[EldritchAbomination Chaos gods]], who had no problem whatsoever with worship and obeisance. Cue ReligionOfEvil.
** Magnus the Red actually tried to warn the Emperor about the rebellion, yet not only was he [[CassandraTruth not believed]], but because he used sorcery to learn and transmit the information he was declared a criminal. The [[HornyVikings Space Wolves]] were sent to apprehend him, resulting in the destruction of his homeworld and forcing him to side with Horus, and after the rebellion's defeat other events ensued which turned most of his legion into mindless automata.
** Angron first met the Emperor when he was having a LastStand against impossible odds, even for a Primarch. The Emperor offered to save him, but Angron refused, wanting to die with his soldiers... only for the Emperor to teleport him away anyway, leaving his soldiers to die without him. Angron became even ''more'' of a BloodKnight after this, and while fighting wars for him he retained his hatred of the Emperor for many years, jumping at the first opportunity to betray him.
** Horus himself was shown [[PropheciesAreAlwaysRight a vision]] of two possible futures of the Imperium, [[CrapsackWorld both of them horrible]]. [[SadisticChoice Choosing what he thinks is the less horrible one]], Horus attempts to overthrow the Emperor in order to fulfill it, but things don't quite go as planned.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theatre]]
* Erik from PhantomOfTheOpera
* The titular character of StephenSondheim's ''{{Theatre/Sweeney Todd|TheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet}}'', after being sent to a penal colony for fifteen years on a trumped-up charge, returned home to find that his wife had poisoned herself ([[spoiler:though contrary to what Mrs. Lovett would have him believe, she's still alive]]) and his daughter was adopted by the man responsible for his suffering, and, failing in his big attempt at revenge, finally goes AxCrazy and becomes this at the end of Act One.
* The [[TheMusical theatrical version]] of ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}''.
* Seymour Krelborn, the protagonist of ''LittleShopOfHorrors''.
** From the same musical, Audrey applies even moreso. Not because she contributed more to the destruction of the world, but because she's even more of a Woobie. Her [[spoiler:dying]] words made humanity's salvation impossible - entirely by accident.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* Fou-Lu from ''BreathOfFireIV''. He's an [[GodEmperor immortal emperor]] who also happens to be a [[PhysicalGod dragon]]. He's been [[KingInTheMountain hibernating for the past thousand years]], during which time some [[TheEmpire not-nice people]] usurped his throne and plotted to have him killed when he awakens. He manages to escape the assassination attempts, mostly through turning into a large [[BreathWeapon fire-breathing monster]] and schooling them all in the arts of pain and suffering, and then goes about trying to regain his throne. Along the way, he runs into (and is hidden by) a [[CountryMouse nice, friendly farm girl]] who wears a bell as jewelry, who promptly [[LoveAtFirstSight falls in love with him]]. He falls for her, too, though he's [[IUhYouToo too much the stoic and quiet type to admit it]]. The {{Big Bad}}s find out that she's been harboring the dragon-boy, take her captive, and drag her off to one of the [[PoweredByAForsakenChild more horrible fates imaginable]]. See, they have a [[EvilWeapon superweapon]], called the [[FantasticNuke Carronade]], that uses [[LoveHurts people with]] ''[[LoveHurts very]]'' [[LoveHurts close bonds to their target]] as [[HumanResources ammunition]], converting their pure soul (after a good amount of ColdBloodedTorture) into a foul and unspeakable city-destroying curse. So, the Emperor's walking through a forest on his way to his rightful palace to retake it, when he senses the powerful world-rending curse heading his way, and defends himself against it as best as he can. The last thing he sees before the force of the curse renders him unconscious is the [[ItsAllMyFault farm girl's bell charm falling from the heavens to land in front of him]]. Cue [[LaughingMad insane cackling]] and his plans going from 'regain throne' to '[[KillThemAll everybody dies]]'.
** A decision, of note, that is ''firmly'' cemented when he finally meets up with [[TheEmperor Emperor Soniel]], who acts as if he is welcoming Fou-lu back--and then proceeds to run him through with a [[EvilWeapon soul-eating sword]] created by [[KarmaHoudini his head thaumaturgist Yuna]] from a previous botched summoning where only the head came through. This would normally kill even a lesser being; Fou-lu is merely pissed off enough to [[OffWithHisHead decapitate the back-stabber]]. As if he needed any further cementing of the idea that HumansAreBastards...
* Kyrie from VideoGame/SandsOfDestruction is a unique example of this trope in that he is more than capable of destroying the world [[spoiler:(it was what he was created by the world mitself to do, after all]], but he ''doesn't want to do this in the least!'' His power brings about many a TearJerker in the game.
* Fortune and Vamp from MetalGearSolid2 (with a little more emphais on the Woobie bit in the former case and the Destroyer bit in the latter). The former endured the deaths of everyone dear to her, and as such is a [[TheResenter Resenter]] and DeathSeeker who happens to cause a lot of carnage with her {{BFG}}. The latter was the victim of terrorism, having to resort to cannibalism in order to survive in the ruins and developing a [[WhoWantsToLiveForever troubling immortality]] in the process.
* Selvaria from ''ValkyriaChronicles''. Sure, she's a badass DarkActionGirl and one of the game's main antagonists, but then you learn about her past...and then [[BigBad Prince Maximillian]], the one person she really cares about, orders her to use the 'Final Flame of the Valkyria' to destroy the Gallian army, which they both know will kill her in the process. She does.
* Duminuss from ''SuperRobotWarsReversal'', an artificial being (not sure of what she actually is, as she is only seen as a trippy eye glyph with a feminine/shota voice...and several {{Humongous Mecha}}s) whose only wish is to know her purpose. Her creator shunned her, and then she killed it. [[spoiler:Actually, her creator, Dark Brain, didn't die. He just implanted that memory into her for the lulz and left her]]. She shifts dimensions and invades the EXCELLENCE team labs searching for a time machine, to ask her creator for her purpose. She constructs 3 children, who are loyal and fight for her. Then Duminuss is destroyed, and her children kill themselves to bring her back. Then the heroes kill her again. She explodes, crying over how she'll die without ever knowing what was her true purpose. Unfortunately, [[SuperRobotWarsOriginalGeneration Original Generation Gaiden]] threw this out of the window and made her an unrepentant JerkAss...
** It's hinted that this isn't the same Duminuss, and [[spoiler:Dark Brain]] created multiple ones to do his dirty work. If it wasn't messed up like R's was, it makes sense that it's not the same
* [[spoiler:Sirus, aka Dark Emperor Griffon]], from ''VideoGame/DarkCloud 2''. [[spoiler:Originally a member of the Moon Tribe (aka anthropomorphic bunny) who loved nothing more than the flowers in the palace gardens, he was accused of trespassing. Alexandra [[RescueRomance interceded for him]] and made him the Garden Keeper. But then invading armies searching for the [[CosmicKeystone Atlamillia]] utterly ''annihilated'' the kingdom, leaving it a blasted wasteland, and killed Alexandra]]. [[LoveMakesYouCrazy His grief was so great]] that he swore [[OmnicidalManiac vengeance on all of mankind]], and started systematically ''erasing it from existence'' via TimeTravel, acquiring the MacGuffin for himself so he could reduce the world to nothingness. Regardless, the player and the protagonists are made to feel sorry for him by means of flashback scenes scattered throughout [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Moonflower Palace.]]
* [[spoiler:Yomiel]] in ''GhostTrick''. [[spoiler:He was falsely accused of giving secrets to the enemy and scared into thinking that he had no hope of acquittal, so he stole a police officer's gun and broke out of the police station, taking a little girl hostage out of panic. A shard of the just-crashed Temsik meteorite penetrated his back, freezing his body at the moment of death and severing it from his soul. By the time he finally pulls himself together and returns home, his fiancée has killed herself because he's been officially reported as dead. Yomiel is forced to wander the world alone, unable to die but not truly alive, separated from the rest of humanity. The isolation nurtures a darkness in his heart, making him want revenge on those who put him in that position, but he still desires most to have some way to lead a human life. His only friend and companion over those ten long years was a cat...and while trying to manipulate Lynne into shooting his shell, Yomiel accidentally kills him.]] Even his victims feel sorry for him when they find out his story.
* ''[[VideoGame/FirstEncounterAssaultRecon F.E.A.R.'s]]'' Alma is a dead straight example of this trope. [[spoiler:Having been driven insane by her own psychic powers as a child, experimented on and locked up since she was eight years old, medicated into a coma and locked away in a shield vault for most of her life, forcibly impregnated and then having both of her children taken away, then killed once the project was terminated, all by her ''own father'', and ''then'' repeatedly shot at by ''one of her own children'' while trying to embrace him]], it's no surprise that the second she gets loose, people ''die''. ''F.E.A.R. 2'' continues her rampage as she tries to get revenge on everyone who ruined her life, and kills anyone who happens to get in her way.
** Except for Becket, who she, um, [[spoiler:[[StalkerWithACrush "covets"]].]]
** In [[spoiler:The Point Man]]'s defense, being embraced by Alma tends to be ''a death sentence''.
* Practically every villain of the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series from VII onward is either this or else PutThemAllOutOfMyMisery, and arguably the villains from many of the previous games and spin-off lines.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'': Sephiroth, thanks to the revelation that he is the product of a MadScientist's experiment, compounded by the effect of falling into the Lifestream and being exposed to the voices of all souls not currently alive, warping his mind even more. His crossing of the MoralEventHorizon keeps him from truly being a [[TheWoobie Woobie]], but then again, he is the premiere DracoInLeatherPants of the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series.
*** He's built up much more into this in the prequel, ''CrisisCore'', where his two best friends turn out to be [[FlawedPrototype flawed prototypes]], abandon Shinra, and are hunted down like animals. One goes insane and the other commits SuicideByCop in fear of doing the same, and in a few months, Sephiroth loses the only people he could relate to and any pretense of trusting the organization that rules his life. So when Genesis and Hojo set him up for TheReveal [[IAmAMonster about himself]] and Jenova starts messing with his head, he cracks because he's got nothing worth holding on for. Also, CrisisCore shows that prior to the Nibelheim incident, Sephiroth was a [[PetTheDog fairly decent and caring person]].
*** A much more straight example of this trope is [[spoiler:Dyne.]]
** While [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII Ultimecia]] may not be a [[EpilepticTrees future version of Rinoa]], her own backstory is just as tragic. Due to being [[BlessedWithSuck a Sorceress]], she was persecuted her entire life because of the terrible actions of evil sorceresses in the past. Not only that, but thanks to history, she knows she is destined to die at the hands of a bunch of teenage mercenaries and all her plans are based on a desperate desire to [[ScrewDestiny escape her fate]]. Sadly, her actions in the past to achieve this goal caused the start of the persecution of Sorceresses in her own time. The story itself screws her over because of the subtle method of storytelling in the game, her backstory has to be pieced together from hints and comments by characters and plot events, making her seem like a GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere.
** Kuja in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' and Seymour in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' are PutThemAllOutOfMyMisery types, and thus their examples fall under that page. Seymour was waaaay too far gone to TakeAThirdOption, however.
** Shuyin in the sequel fits, however. Given that he was subjected to ''a thousand years of '''non-stop''''' MindRape until the start of the game, it's [[TheWoobie kinda understandable]]...
** It's implied that this affects [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Kefka Palazzo]] in ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'' during his surprisingly [[AlasPoorVillain touching]] final scene in which it is implied that the reason Kefka became an AxCrazy NietzscheWannabe was because he's so damn insane, he thinks there's nothing worth living for except destruction. Terra herself says that he was destroying to try and fill his "broken heart".
*** Speaking of [[VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy Dissidia]], [[spoiler:Chaos becomes one of these at the end. After destroying Cosmos, he realizes that he has no equal anymore (and possibly ends up horrified to remember that Cosmos was actually his artificial mother), and that the cycle of conflict is coming to a close. So he decides to destroy everything first.]]
**** On that note, while you don't find out why Garland betrayed Cornelia, his actions in Dissidia are said to be motivated by him pitying Chaos and Cid of the Lufaine. Also, One Man's Monologue depicts him lying paralyzed in the destroyed parallel world for several days and clearly shows that he felt bad about his time loop shenanigans in hindsight.
* [[spoiler:Sephiran/Lehran]] tries to call the judgment of a goddess down upon Tellius in ''FireEmblem: Radiant Dawn'', all because he thought that it would be the only way for him to finally be put out of his misery and that humanity was completely irredeemable after witnessing 850 years of slavery, tragedy, and war.
* Zephiel from [[FireEmblemElibe Fire Emblem 6 and 7]] [[spoiler:was a talented youth who did his best to win approval from his father, the king of Bern. But the harder he strove, the more distant his talentless father grew, and the fact that he was born from [[ArrangedMarriage a loveless marriage]] didn't help either. The final straw came when the king poisoned his heir's drink, several years after a first assassination attempt failed. Zephiel's closest retainer, [[WorthyOpponent Murdoch]], came up with the idea of faking his death to get him out of there. However, the king opened the casket, causing Zephiel to finally snap and stab him. According to his half-sister, Guinevere, Zephiel never smiled again. Years later, he (now king of Bern) was stirring up quite a bit of trouble in neighbouring countries, trying to offer the land back to its rightful owners because HumansAreBastards. Needless to say, he had to be killed...with [[TheWoobie his crestfallen sister's]] help, no less]].
** Another example is the true BigBad of the [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Tellius]] games, [[spoiler:Prime Minister Sephiran]]. He was once a great hero, [[spoiler:one of four champions of Ashera, Goddess of Order, in her war against Yune, Goddess of Chaos. He was a kind man, and a member of the most peaceful race on the continent, the heron laguz; indeed, once Yune was subdued, he defied Ashera's order to kill her and simply sealed her away. As Ashera thereafter proceeded to thereafter seal herself, he promised her that Tellius would see no war for the next thousand years, with the goddess adding ominously that if that promise were broken, she would destroy the world. Sephiran married a fellow hero and started a family, a family that would found the greatest country on the continent, which, given his [[TimeAbyss absurdly long lifespan]] as a heron, he would continue to serve in high positions all his life.]] Everything appeared to be going fantastic for him. Then, nineteen years before the main story [[spoiler:a SmugSnake subordinate of his assassinated the country's beloved empress and pinned the crime on the herons, all but four of whom were wiped out in the resulting genocidal war. Sephiran]] resolved that a world in which ''that'' could happen simply didn't deserve to live, and resolved that he would [[spoiler:create a war so devastating it would wake the goddess and bring doom to all life]].
* ''{{Crimsoness}}'' casts one of these as the PlayerCharacter.
* Durandal, an AI from the ''VideoGame/{{Marathon}}'' trilogy, was deliberately threatened by his creator in order to drive him to [[AIIsACrapshoot Rampancy]] (as part of an attempt to safely study the process), made to open and close doors for hundreds of years in order to stifle his creative development and slow his Rampancy, and was probably about to be experimented on more when he entered the "[[KillAllHumans anger]]" stage of rampancy, secretly contacted hostile aliens and drew them to Tau Ceti to enslave or kill every single human on the colony or in the ship. Though he becomes less of a {{woobie}} later, when he turns into a BadAss {{Chessmaster}}.
** Let's be fair to the bastard. He brought the Pfhor as a distraction so he could get loose. Once that was done, he started working on stopping them, freeing their slaves (admittedly, to work for him), and helping the Security Officer do that which he does so well. The extermination of those on Tau Ceti IV was not intentional.
* The King of Planet FM from ''VideoGame/MegaManStarForce''. [[spoiler:Everybody, including his family, wanted to kill him to overtake his throne. As a result, he stopped trusting people. He destroyed Planet AM and almost Earth, because he thought that the people there would want to kill him as well.]]
** Jack and Queentia from ''Star Force 3'' also fit this trope like a glove. [[spoiler:They were once the prince and princess of a small, but prosperous country, which was attacked by neighbor nations for their advanced EM technology. And it just went downhill from there...]]
** [[spoiler:You could probably also say this for Burai/Rogue, also in the 3rd game. After the first time you fight him on your way to fight Jack Corvus, he may have shared his backstory, saying something along the lines of "Go ahead and save him. Later on he will betray you."]]
* Strega of ''{{Persona 3}}'' is a trio of this, all of them being artificially [[BlessedWithSuck implanted with the powers of Persona by the Kirijo Group and forced to take drugs that shorten their lifespan in order to control their powers]]. The leader, Takaya, later [[spoiler:embraces [[EldritchAbomination Nyx]] coming to destroy life, proclaiming that his fight against [=SEES=] is him fighting for his way of life.]]
* Veigar from ''LeagueOfLegends'' fits this trope. A member of a [[OurGnomesAreWeirder notably short and cheerful race]], he was driven insane from isolation while imprisoned in [[WretchedHive Noxus]]. He then spent years learning dark magic, and vowed to end conflict by bringing all nations to their knees.
* The ''ShadowHearts'' series has a few, but [[spoiler:Masaji Kato]] from Covenant takes the cake. Having the woman you love being executed for treason? Bad, really bad. Managing to clone her, doing your best to make her clone remember everything so that you can finally be happy together, only to have to kill her again, and this time permanently, just as she starts to love you too? OUCH. No wonder he snapped after this and tried to create a new world by destroying the current one...Even the protagonists feel sympathy for him as the final battle starts.
* Alessa Gillespie from ''SilentHill'' is another textbook example. She was [[spoiler:burned to the point of near death but kept alive in excruciating pain, force-fed experimental hallucinogenics, and forcibly impregnated with ''[[OurGodsAreGreater God]]''. This was all done by her mother.]]
** Claudia from the third game and Walter from the fourth fall under PutThemAllOutOfMyMisery, however, since they wanted to rid the world of pain and suffering in general.
* The Ur-Quan of ''StarControl''. [[spoiler:After spending thousands of years psychically enslaved by evil toads who force them to exterminate whole species of their friends, and finally clearing their minds only long enough to revolt by putting themselves through unspeakable agony, anyone would be in a bad mood]]. The ''nice'' ones want to forcibly subjugate all sentient life in the galaxy. [[OmnicidalManiac The rest want to eliminate it altogether]].
* The main antagonist in ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'', Count Bleck, who wanted to use the Chaos Heart to undo and redo all reality because he was heartbroken by his one true love. [[spoiler:Except it actually turns out that the "redo" part is a lie. He's ''that'' messed up by the loss of his love.]]
* Depending on how charitable you feel, the darker Forsaken from ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' fall into this trope: their penchant for obscenely lethal plagues, doomsday weapons, and tendency to respond to any threat violently are a direct result of having once been decent, devout humans and elves before having been infected by the Plague of Undeath, killed, resurrected into undeath, corrupted by the Lich King and forced to massacre friends and family, and finally breaking free of his control only to be rejected by their faith and persecuted and hunted down by any remaining friends, family, and acquaintances. No wonder so many of them snap ''with apocalyptic fury''.
** Sargeras, the creator of the [[LegionsOfHell Burning Legion]], was so traumatized by the evil of some of the demons he fought against as the pantheon's chosen warrior that he decided that an universe where such things were allowed to happen was flawed, its attempts at Order pointless, and should be remade.
** Despite the fact that he wants to destroy the world because he doesn't like how mortals are using magic, Malygos can count because, let's face it, [[TraumaCongaLine his life sucked before he ultimately snapped.]] He was betrayed by his best friend, Neltharion (aka Deathwing, who had been corrupted by the [[EldritchAbomination Old Gods]]), who then went on to wipe out almost all the other blue dragons, coming very, ''very'' close to making Malygos the LastOfHisKind. He later ''supposedly'' regained his sanity (after being exposed to some volatile magical energies from another planet).
*** Maly's prime consort Sindragosa could also qualify. One of the blue dragons murdered by Deathwing, she wasn't only enraged by his betrayal, but she assumed ALL Dragons (including her mate) had betrayed her when they wouldn't answer her cries for help returning to [[ElephantGraveyard Dragonblight]]. She died very emotionally damaged. Mix in some Scourge corruption when the Lich King resurrected her to be his, umm... [[TheDragon Dragon]] and she's angry enough to help extinguish all life on Azeroth.
* Nessiah of ''YggdraUnion'' [[spoiler:has spent the past thousand-odd years living in misery, unable to age or die, as a punishment for being a pacifist in Asgard's time of war. He has spent his life since then [[RageAgainstTheHeavens trying to get revenge]] or just free himself, and makes a nice mess of the mortal world he lives in, in doing so]].
* [[spoiler:King Valentine]] in ''VideoGame/OdinSphere'' throws a SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum in the final book by [[spoiler:using the Cauldron to turn Leventhan into a really pissed-off Sheng Long, which ends up destroying him along with the rest of existence]]. Granted, he got broken pretty hard before and during the story, beginning with [[spoiler:being forced to kill his own daughter because she had an affair with the king of an enemy country]], then dying horribly, along with most of his kingdom, after being betrayed [[spoiler:by his own son]], enduring endless torture in the netherworld, and escaping it only to be spitefully denied the complete destruction he was so desperately seeking, [[spoiler:by the dude who started the whole thing by shagging his daughter, no less]].
* [[spoiler:Vayne]] in ''ManaKhemia'', after he [[IAmWho discovered the truth]] and [[GoMadFromTheRevelation failed to take it well]]. [[spoiler:Faced with the problem of honestly thinking that the best thing for the world would be if [[DrivenToSuicide he were to disappear]], while at the same time ''desperately'' not wanting to face the loneliness he lived with before coming to [[WizardingSchool Al Revis]], he decides to take the school and everybody in it with him.]]
* [[spoiler:Xion]] in ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2'', since her whole existence is a TraumaCongaLine.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'', we don't know for sure how many times [[spoiler:Fei and Elly reincarnated Themselves]], but for 10,000 years, the scenario has been mostly the same: [[spoiler:they find each other, fall in love, and when they seem to be about to have a little [[HappilyMarried marital bliss]], they die a horrible and painful death]]. If you had the painful experiment he was subject to in his childhood, [[spoiler:Fei end up with a multiple personality disorder, with TWO of his personalities wanting to destroy the world: one is able to exist independently and jump from body to body, and the other one is a PersonOfMassDestruction]]. And that's not all: [[spoiler:Krelian, a friend of Fei in a previous life, is another woobie ready to destroy the world if it allows him to be "reunited with God"]]. With that many {{Physical God}}s and {{Magnificent Bastard}}s on the same planet, you can guess that the ''Xenogears'' world is not [[WorldHalfEmpty the most pleasant place to be]].
* Elpizo from the ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'' series exhibits traits of this trope, being sentenced to death for discovering records about a past [[MassHypnosis catastrophe]] in the ruined library ''he was ordered to examine''. He escapes this fate, only to get lots of people killed while leading a failed assault on his former rulers; this drives him to obsession and megalomania, and he decides that he wants to [[KillAllHumans re-enact the aforementioned catastrophe]].
* Kerrigan from ''StarCraft'' killed her mom (and a whole mess of other folks) by way of a psychic accident, watched a kitten die of cancer, was forced to choose between killing her mentally ill father or her sadistic headmaster ([[TakeAThirdOption she just broke his gun]]) and decapitate a rebel leader (and steal his head), was experimented on, and was betrayed by her father figure. Then she got [[BodyHorror infested]] by a HordeOfAlienLocusts. Is it any wonder that she's a little crazy? Look me in the eye and tell me you wouldn't be.
** Ironically, the one who made her that way also qualifies. The Overmind was forcibly enslaved by the Dark Voice into trying to commit genocide against the protoss with the full knowledge that he and his zerg would be wiped out once they did their job. [[ThanatosGambit Kerrigan was meant to be the one hope they had of breaking the Dark Voice's hold]].
* The only reason ''SonicTheHedgehog'''s Emerl doesn't end up as one of these is because [[spoiler:Sonic {{shoot|TheDog}}s [[PlayerPunch the]] [[TearJerker dog]] before it can happen.]]
** Chaos Zero in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' and Shadow in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'' also count.
* Ratchet, of [[VideoGame/RatchetAndClank the Ratchet and Clank series]] - he's a walking [[ApocalypseHow class 1]] at the very least, though he manages to avoid wallowing in his existential angst and/or loneliness pretty well by [[ReluctantMadScientist keeping busy]].
** Alister Azimuth fits this even better, being effectively an older, more cynical, and more ruthless Ratchet. [[spoiler:To the point that he very nearly [[TimeCrash destroys time itself]] in a misguided attempt to correct his own mistakes.]]
* [[spoiler:Ballos]] from ''VideoGame/CaveStory'', who [[spoiler:destroyed the very kingdom whose people he loved and helped out after being subjected to ColdBloodedTorture by the king (and if the Wii version of his speech is of any indication, he may have brought the torture upon himself by recklessly allowing his power to grow), forcing Jenka to seal him within the floating island. In fact, when you reach him at the end of the BonusLevelOfHell, [[DeathSeeker he begs you to kill him]]...or [[IllKillYou he shall kill YOU!]]]]
* If there were any worthier candidate for the epitome of this trope, it would have to be ''BlazBlue'''s Ragna the Bloodedge. [[spoiler:Not only did he lose his home at the hands of Terumi, but he was also betrayed by his brother, Jin, who cut off his arm simply because [[DisproportionateRetribution Ragna didn't pay attention to him enough]]. In addition, his younger sister had been kidnapped, and he was left to die. ''Then'', Rachel saves him from death by turning him into a half-vampire, causing him immense trauma and making his hair [[LockedIntoStrangeness turn white]]. Then, later, we find out that his sister is the template for a series of robotic clones, two of which are playable characters in the game. One of them, Noel, is a grown-up Saya for the most part, while the other, Nu, is a [[{{Yandere}} crazy loli robot bitch]] who wants to fuse with Ragna to complete herself and form the Black Beast, which turned the world into a [[CrapsackWorld crapsack one]] already.]] He's already flat-out stated that he hates everything because of these events. You can't help but feel pity for him, unless you're a soulless bastard.
** Jin's desire to kill Ragna (and thus the cutting off of his arm) is due to being the World's Antibody and part of his function as the Power of Order. He is meant to be the opposite to Ragna, who is the Destroyer of the World (by being the Black Beast). However, Ragna could instead become the Protector of the Azure.
** [[spoiler:Noel Vermillion]] eventually becomes one. [[spoiler:She]] was [[spoiler:nothing more than a clone of Ragna and Jin's dead/missing little sister, Saya. Since she looks like Saya, whom Jin despises, he's cruel to her. Noel understandably doesn't know why. She's ridiculously sensitive about her small breasts, and gets upset whenever anyone mistakes her as a boy (which is stupid in and of itself, since she's still visibly got breasts, hooray sexism). Making matters worse is that her best friend, Tsubaki, has been ordered to kill her as of the end of Calamity Trigger. Oh, and then Terumi gets ahold of her, mind-rapes her, and turns her into an unholy implement of destruction. All the hate and rage she kept pent up has now been amplified and directed towards the world itself. Yaaaay.]]
* [[spoiler:Labtech X]] is motivated to destroy GaiaOnline by [[spoiler:a bad case of the CloningBlues and [[WellDoneSonGuy lack of approval]] from his creator/parent/original, Johnny Gambino.]]
* [[spoiler:Lambda]] in ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'', as well as [[spoiler:Richard, thanks to MoreThanMindControl.]]
* [[spoiler:Dr. Lantis]] of ''Star Ocean: The Second Story''. He loses his daughter, his last surviving relative, and goes insane from grief and rage. Because of this, he wants everything gone.
* [[spoiler:Paraiba]] in ''VideoGame/TalesOfHearts'', though on a smaller scale. After she absorbs Kohak's [[SoulFragment sadness spirune]], she tries to flood a town.
* [[CreepyChild Flandre]] [[PersonOfMassDestruction Scarlet]] of ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}''. She may be [[CuteAndPsycho completely bonkers]] with the power to [[EarthShatteringKaboom blow up the world,]] but she is still a [[BadassAdorable cute little girl]] who has [[MadwomanInTheAttic never seen the light of the sun]] and [[OurVampiresAreDifferent probably never will]]. Many fans [[CutenessProximity want to hug her]], even though they know it will inevitably end in a [[LudicrousGibs shower of blood and gore]].
* [[spoiler:Aribeth]] from ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights''. [[spoiler:She starts as a heroic paladin and your main ally, beloved by all and considered a national hero. Then the people of the city you and her worked your asses off to save force the government to execute her innocent lover for being an ''unwilling'' pawn in [[TheMole Desther]]'s plans. And the government had no say in it, ''the townspeople formed a mob and forced Fenthick's execution.'' In the next chapter, Aribeth is so filled with despair that the BigBad is able to manipulate it into hatred and rage, turning her against the titular city (and the player). Aribeth is especially pitiful when you face her in the finale, as, with her lover dead and feeling of betrayed by Neverwinter, you can tell that she feels she has nothing left to lose.]]
** In ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2: Mask of the Betrayer'', there's [[spoiler:Akachi the Betrayer]], who, as [[ThePunishment punishment]] for defying the gods by [[spoiler:trying to rescue his beloved's soul from the [[AndIMustScream Wall of the Faithless]]]], is turned into [[spoiler:the Spirit-Eater curse, an EldritchAbomination driven only by hunger and the instinct to possess bodies and devour spirits, always eating but never satiated]].
** Also in this category? The King of Shadows himself, the BigBad of the Original Campaign. [[spoiler:He started out as the greatest hero of the ancient realm of Illefarn. Then he volunteered for a horrifically painful ritual that turned him into a construct of pure magic, the Guardian, to make an effective deterrent to [[TheEmpire Netheril]]. Then the Netherese wizard Karsus tried to usurp Mystryl's place as god of magic and all hell broke loose. The Weave was interrupted and the Guardian faced destruction. He chose to continue his vigil over Illefarn by drawing power from the [[BlackMagic Shadow Weave]]. That's when he became the King of Shadows. Illefarn tried to destroy him and only succeeded in binding him outside the Material Plane.]]
* Morinth of ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' claims to be this, stating that she never wished to be born an Ardat-Yakshi (the Asari equivalent of being a Sex Demon). Subverted in that it was ultimately her choice to succumb to her addiction to murder and her actions show that, in the end, she wants to screw and kill the galaxy, in that order.
** Arguably, [[DarkMagicalGirl J]][[AxCrazy a]][[SociopathicHero c]][[BrokenBird k]] has the potential to be this. She is the most powerful human biotic (excepting an Adept Shepard) in existence and certainly one of the most powerful biotics of any species in the galaxy. Her backstory includes [[spoiler:being stolen from her mother as an infant, brutally [[ColdBloodedTorture tortured]] and [[PlayingWithSyringes experimented]] on by ''[[EvenEvilHasStandards rogue]]'' [[NGOSuperpower Cerberus]] [[EvilutionaryBiologist scientists]], [[RapeAsDrama raped]], used, abused, [[HeroicSacrifice watched the only person she ever truly cared about die to protect her]], and who knows what else.]] [[CosmicPlaything Yeah. Her life sucks.]] Good thing Shepard [[VideogameCaringPotential can help her deal with it and provide some measure of comfort]]. [[VideogameCrueltyPotential Or make it worse.]] It's up to you.
** The ''Overlord'' DLC adds a new one. Simply naming who it is would be a spoiler, but anyone who's played it will know which character it is.
* While Luca Blight of ''SuikodenII'' is a CompleteMonster by any standard, his behaviour is a lot more understandable when you've absorbed the fact that he became that way after observing his mother being raped and murdered while his father stood by, cowering in fear.
** More specifically, his mother was raped but not murdered as he was forced to watch, by mercenaries hired by Muse, the city-state his country was at war with, all the while expecting his father to ride in and saved the day, only to learn later that his father spent the entire time sitting on his throne, dithering. As an added bonus, his sister, Jillia, was the product of that rape, whom he loves and yet serves as a constant reminder of that day.
* ''SuikodenIII'' had this with Luc. In the first 2 games, he is a moody, JerkAss teenager who does not seem to have much motivation in participating in wars as his ParentalSubstitute more or less drops him off. 15 years later, he concocts a plan to [[spoiler:destroy his [[MacGuffin True Wind Rune]] in a major case of crossing the MoralEventHorizon]]. The reason? [[spoiler:Turns, out he was a [[ArtificialHuman defective clone]] of another rune bearer who wanted vessels to [[GottaCatchThemAll collect all 27 of them]]. Even worse is that his rune gives him visions of an apocalyptic wasteland. He thinks that if he destroys the rune, he'll effectively kill god and change fate.]] This has caused many fans to categorize him as a WellIntentionedExtremist.
* In the "worst" ending of ''BioShock2'', [[spoiler:Eleanor Lamb]] turns into one of these. She [[spoiler:was almost laser-guided by her mother to become some kind of Utopia, although some fans thought that she would become an Eldritch Abomination or an otherwise unpleasant form of Life that would destroy Rapture and the Topside World. In the Bad Ending, Eleanor is influenced by Delta's murders, kills her mother in revenge, and, depending on how many of the [=NPCs=] and Little Sisters the player killed, will be allowed by Delta to absorb his mind and, we assume, his powers, or will do the same, only against Delta's will. Whether the case, she swears to punish the world, while watching a storm fall over the corpse-filled ocean.]]
-->"''There is no Name for what I am. But, with your help, they will never see me coming...(Fade to Black)''"
* The King of Sorrow from ''VideoGame/{{Klonoa}}'' fits this trope perfectly. [[spoiler:Long story short, he ends up being ignored by the entire world for representing an emotion that everyone hates. He goes mad and, as an act of vengeance, decides to unleash sorrow all across Lunatea, which, judging by the reactions, will cause quite a bit of destruction.]]
** [[spoiler:He outright says that he plans to destroy the world when you reach him in the Terminus of Tears and it's pretty clear that he's gone AxCrazy]].
* [[spoiler:Melissa Bergman/MB]] in ''MetroidOtherM.'' [[spoiler:Her]] only crime initially was occasionally disagreeing with the other scientists on the Bottle Ship, but for that, they decided that [[spoiler:she had to have her emotions removed from her. She]] saw this as betrayal by her beloved mother [[spoiler:figure]], and as a result, everyone got horribly mauled by monsters.
* The 501st legion from ''StarWarsBattlefront''. Even though they are the Emperor's elite troops, somehow, you can't help feeling sorry for the narrator (who's quite obviously a ShellShockedVeteran), ''even when you're slaughtering Rebels on Yavin 4''.
* Soma Cruz from ''CastlevaniaDawnOfSorrow'' - kill Mina, and he is going to kill you in revenge and proceed to become this, requiring Julius Belmont, Yoko Belnades, and Alucard to stop him.
** Speaking of ''Castlevania'', Dracula can be considered as one too. He once fell in love with a human, and had a son with her, and he was happy. Then [[HumansAreBastards some idiots]] [[BurnTheWitch accused her of being a witch and burned her]]. Dracula [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge snapped]].
** This happened at least TWICE. One lead him to become Dracula in the first place, he was a devout man until she got killed, and went hog wild onto the Dark Side with the help of Death and the stolen power of another Vampire. After a while of this, he mellowed out and met a woman who might have even redeemed him...who then got killed by a bunch of witch hunters, causing him to REALLY loose it (Aulcard came from the second pairing, and takes it on himself to help shut down Daddy when he awakens)
* The [[EvilSorcerer Masked Mage]], from ''SeikenDensetsu3''. [[spoiler:He was Belgar, the Oracle of Shadows. [[DarkIsNotEvil Contrary to what his title might imply]], Belgar was [[GoodShepherd a wise and righteous man]] who watched over [[SaintlyChurch the Holy City of Wendel]] in tandem with the Bishop of Light. The tragedy began when a sick girl showed up seeking his [[HealingHands healing prowess]]. Feeling helpless upon realising that it was an incurable disease, he turned to TheDarkArts in search of a way; however, the girl passed on before he could find one. Belgar continued his research and subsequently started dabbling in necromancy. The dark arts gradually began tainting his soul and the Priest of Light had to exile him from Wendel. By the time SeikenDensetsu3 begins, he had become the [[FallenAngel vengeful Masked Mage]], one of the potential {{big bad}}s. It's such a TearJerker when you play [[WorldOfMana the prequel]] and see what a good man he actually was.]]
** Cecilia from ''[[WorldOfMana Heroes Of Mana]]'' is another example.
* Jin Kazama shows some signs of this in ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}} 6''.
* You know that [[ProfessorLaytonAndTheUnwoundFuture Future Luke?]] Turns out, [[spoiler:he's not Luke, but Clive. He lost his parents thanks to a time-travel incident gone wrong, which interestingly also killed [[{{Foil}} Professor Layton]]'s girlfriend, and the person responsible is now the ''Prime Minster''! Thanks to a nice old lady's fortune, he decides to build a HumongousMecha to level London and rebuild it. Interestingly, Latyon actually prevented him as a kid from going back into the burning building on the day of the incident and, while he doesn't know why, got the Professor involved knowing full well he'd ruin his plans.]] As if he wasn't a fangirl magnet already...
* Anders in ''DragonAge2'' becomes this by the end of the game. After a time growing up in the Mages Circle--a life stuck in a tower, bound to do whatever [[PathOfInspiration the Chantry]] asked him to--he escaped from the [[KnightTemplar Templars]]...seven times. On the last time, he joined the [[DragonAgeOrigins Grey Wardens to escape more permanently.]] It's all downhill for him after that, unfortunately. The Grey Wardens consider him a wuss and mock him enough that he leaves, and then he lets a wayward Spirit of Justice--once a friend of his--into his body. All of this isn't too bad, but it starts getting nasty when [[spoiler:he goes to Kirkwall.]] The sheer dark magic of the place corrupts Justice into a Demon of Vengeance. By the time Dragon Age II begins, he's constantly fighting for control over the influence of Vengeance/Justice. After all of this, his brooding is pretty justified. (He gets added points for being the constantly-hunted leader of a Mages' Rights group.) In the final act, though, [[DemonicPossession he can't fight Justice off anymore,]] and essentially performs a [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope terrorist attack on the local branch of the Chantry.]] Talk about a TraumaCongaLine. Ultimately, his fate is left up to [[PlayerCharacter Hawke.]]
* [[spoiler:Oersted]] from ''LiveALive'', Knight Chapter. [[spoiler:His story begins when he wins a tournament to gain a princess' hand in marriage and, in doing so, earns the accolades of the people, only for her to be kidnapped by the Demon King the following night. What seems to be a standard Save The Princess plot is soon turned on its head as the hero, Hash, who last slew the Demon King, is killed when fighting against it with the rest of Oersted's party. Then, the Demon King seems to assault Oersted in the night, only for it to turn out to be the king, who had been made to look like it—a fact discovered only after Oersted kills him. Now treated as a demon by the townspeople, Oersted returns to the Demon King's castle to save the princess, the one person who might still believe in him, only to encounter his best friend, Straybow, who seemed to have died in battle with the Demon King along with Hash. Turns out, he had orchestrated everything to make Oersted an outcast out of jealousy of the latter's success. On top of that, after Oersted battles and kills his old friend, the princess appears, accuses Oersted for not trying to rescue her when he had been trying to do so all along, professes her love for Straybow, and kills herself. With no one in the world now who doesn't loathe him, Oersted snaps and declares that, if the people want to think of him as a demon, why, then that's exactly what he'll become...the Demon King Odio. He then proceeds to slaughter every last person in the kingdom and send several incarnations of himself across time to test the virtues of humanity, thus starting the game's events.]]
* In ''EpicMickey'', the smaller Shadow Blot is revealed to be this. His motives are just like [[OswaldtheLuckyRabbit Oswald's]]: he wants to be famous and loved by the people in RealLife. If you use paint, after [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYbFNLV329E Mickey's climactic battle with it]], he gives {{Mickey|Mouse}} a big hug, leading [[DeadpanSnarker Gus]] to marvel: "''Huh''? He's actually kind of... ''sweet''."
* As of ''VideoGame/{{Portal 2}}'', [=GLaDOS=] becomes this. After all, she [[spoiler:was originally a human, Caroline, [[BrainUploading forcibly uploaded into a mechanical shell]]]], and, because she was (understandably) resistant to the orders of the people who did this, was also subjected to MindRape due to the cores they forced onto her, hearing voices all her life, and soon killed every living thing in the facility.
** [[spoiler:Wheatley]] becomes this. At first, he's your friend and guide, helping you escape Aperture, but when he connects to GLaDOS's body and becomes in control of the facility, he goes mad with power and [[FaceHeelTurn betrays you.]] But during the final battle with him, if you listen long enough, he begins ranting. He hysterically claims that you've been using him and that you plan on running off with GLaDOS once you could escape. He even accuses that you didn't catch him when he disconnected from his management rail [[hottip:*: Which is unfortunately true...]], which he honestly believed would kill him! And worst of all... he's ''[[TearJerker crying...]]''
* The novels for ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'' paint [[spoiler:Vanitas]] as such.
* The [[spoiler:[[AxCrazy real Overlord Zenon]]]] from ''VideoGame/Disgaea2CursedMemories'' definitely is this trope. [[spoiler:Overlord Zenon is the famous and well-known "God of All Overlords" for [[OneManArmy having slain about 1000 other Overlords, 99 on the day she fled to Veldime to reincarnate.]] She doesn't appear much, but when she does, she tries to kill everyone, because she's convinced that everyone is going to betray her. Understandable, since nearly all the demons in the Disgaea universe tend to be rather ambitious. "Everyone who has ever come close to me, has betrayed me..."]]
* Many of the ghosts from the ''FatalFrame'' series have really sad backstories, and the only real reason they're attacking people is because they've been driven violently insane by the Malice/Darkness/Curse/etc that came out of the story's resident HellGate.
* [[PokemonDiamondAndPearl Cyrus]], as revealed in ''Pokemon Platinum'', was motivated by a childhood full of emotional neglect (if not more) to [[EndOfTheWorldSpecial destroy the universe so it could be recreated]] without emotion entirely, to end the suffering it caused.
** Interestingly, you hear about this from his grandfather, who was well aware of the ParentalNeglect and regrets not helping him, implying that it's possible Cyrus could have turned out normal if his grandfather had stepped in.
* Schala, from the [[VideoGame/ChronoTrigger Chrono]] [[VideoGame/ChronoCross games]]. In ''Trigger'', she was abused and neglected by her mother, Queen Zeal, who went mad after discovering the power of Lavos. Schala was later caught in the Ocean Palace as it collapsed and never seen again...[[spoiler:until ''Cross'', when it was revealed that, since she had such a miserable life, she wished for none of it to ever happen. This let Lavos take over her soul, and turn into the Time Devourer, which threatened to destroy everything that ever existed. She finally gets a happy ending at the end of ''Cross'', when Serge uses the Chrono Cross to free her from the Devourer and RetGone Lavos out of existence once and for all.]]
* The freaking MAN-AT-LEGS from ''{{Pikmin}}'', believe it or not! Yep, that creepy mechanical spider that ''blasts your Pikmin to oblivion with a gun''! How? According to its journal entry, the Man-at-Legs has no need for the gun since it has no natural enemies, leading to the rumor that ''the gun controls the creature''! Let's look at it from the Man-at-Legs' point of view... imagine if you had a gun attached to you that killed everything around you that moved, and you were targeted by a giant swarm of insects for reasons beyond your control.
* Pyrrha, the daughter of FallenHero Sophitia in ''[[SoulSeries Soul Calibur V]]'' starts out as an innocent, drifting Woobie with no home or family of her own; being kidnapped by [[MagnificentBastard Tira]] at a young age followed by the demise of her mother resulted in her spending the next seventeen years of her life searching aimlessly for somewhere to belong, regularly attacked and forced to kill or be killed due to Tira's manipulations to make her a suitable heir to [[ArtifactOfDoom Soul Edge]]. When she finally reunites with her long-lost brother Patroklos, however, things finally seem about to get better for her. [[spoiler:Then Patroklos finds out Pyrrha is [[TheCorruption Malfested]] when she taps into her SuperpoweredEvilSide to save him from the BigBad, Nightmare. The still gentle and mostly-innocent but now ''utterly terrifying'' Pyrrha turns to Patroklos in concern to make sure he's OK only for Patroklos to point his sword at her in the midst of a HeroicBSOD, finally running away from her in horror. Pyrrha, heartbroken, decides she can never trust anyone but Tira and willingly takes up Soul Edge to escape being alone. The resulting character, Pyrrha Omega, is extremely violent and deadly compared to the frightened and naive Pyrrha, but she screams as much in ''pain'' as in rage while she fights, and doesn't seem so much to be possessed by Soul Edge as she is madly lashing out at ''everything'', thinking the entire world is her enemy and desperately needing to do something, ''anything'' to escape her pain.]]
--> [[spoiler:'''Pyrrha''': [[SanitySlippage Stop hurting me...stop rejecting me...''stop killing me!!!'']]]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Iji}}'' has Iosa the Invincible. A maniacal BloodKnight even by her species high standards, her lust for carnage began when the Tasen [[ApocalypseHow Alpha Struck]] her home planet, killing ''every living thing'' on it [[{{Determinator}} except for her]], afterwards desiring nothing more than exterminating every last Tasen in existence.
** Iji herself can become one of these, depending on the players actions. Indeed, Iosa is portrayed as her EvilCounterpart because their histories (and possible subsequent actions) are almost identical.
* [[spoiler:Mithos Yggdrasill]] of ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' definitely qualifies. [[spoiler:All he wanted was to make a better world and try to get rid of the FantasticRacism that plagued it while he was at it. After his sister dies, he spends the next four thousand years trying to revive her as he uses humans as lab rats for his plan to commit genocide by turning everyone into the same inorganic beings.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* [[spoiler:Sakura]] in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' eventually decides ([[spoiler:with the help of the devil that is possessing her]]) that since her life sucks so much, she's just going to kill everyone she doesn't like, and then [[spoiler:give birth to the devil]]. Well, the last part probably wasn't too high on the agenda but she didn't really care if it happened or not.
** Surprisingly enough, [[spoiler:Angra Mainyu also qualifies. He was originally just a man who was tortured to death by the people of his village to serve as a scapegoat for human evil, which technically fulfilled the requirements to become a Heroic Spirit. He justifiably hates humanity as a consequence.]]
** Rider; in her backstory, she is [[spoiler:[[GreekMythology Medusa]].]]
** Depending on your [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation interpretation]] of him, [[spoiler:[[BigBad Kirei Kotomine]]]] might count. The ''Fate'' and ''Unlimited Blade Works'' scenarios don't really go into his backstory enough to show it, so it seems like he's just in it ForTheEvulz. ''Heaven's Feel'', however, asks the question of what could be worse than [[spoiler:being born naturally evil, [[EvilFeelsGood only able to take pleasure in the suffering of others]], but still [[BeingEvilSucks born with a conscience]]?]]
* The page image depicts Yamato from ''VisualNovel/{{Inyouchuu}}''. [[spoiler:Yamato is a HalfBreed who spent much of his life as an outcast, traveling around Japan with Yayoi in order to find a cure for his demonic tendencies. Mikoto (the girl in the image) was one of the few people to actually treat him decently. In the third game, Mikoto allows herself to be [[FaceFullOfAlienWingWong impregnated by demons]] in a last ditch attempt to find a cure, and is killed by the [[UntrustingCommunity untrusting villagers]] who want to kill him.]] Cue the page image.
* [[spoiler:Kohaku]] of ''{{Tsukihime}}'' has become so emotionally broken that she thinks of herself as a doll and has no idea how she really feels about anything. Oh, and she's plotting the deaths of [[spoiler:Akiha and SHIKI, is implied or perhaps stated to be involved in Makihasa's death, and may view Shiki as a target as well, though she doesn't succeed there in any path. It's okay if everyone dies except Hisui]]. Oh, and she's indirectly behind all the [[SerialKiller serial killing]] going on in the Far Side routes.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* Before she [[PowerOfLove mellowed out a bit,]] Galatea fit this trope in ''TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob.'' She explains her position [[http://bobadventures.comicgenesis.com/d/20080722.html thusly.]]
* Back in 2000, the webcomic ''Webcomic/{{Fluble}}'' actually had a [[http://techhouse.brown.edu/cgi-bin/fluble/vault.pl?date=20000208 storyline]] about a space monstrosity named [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Woobie]], who wanted to destroy the world because he felt unloved.
* ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids'' seems to be casting Jengo Fett in this role.
* Yonatan from ''FakeNewsRumble''. The only reason he's helping [[BigBad the Dark One]] with the destruction of worlds is because of his [[ChildhoodFriendRomance unrequited crush on his childhood friend]], who sought power.
* Sandra Eastlake from ''ZebraGirl''. After trying for two years to come to terms with accidentally being transformed (through no fault of her own) into an obviously non-human demon who cannot eat or even taste food properly, type properly (her fingers are razor-sharp, foot-long claws), sound normal (her voice sounds like [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJCYr7Skf_g the modulated noise of a cat being strangled]]), interact within normal society, or even hold a normal job, surviving multiple attempts on her and her friends' lives, being rendered incapable of intimate contact due to her bodily fluids being ''acid'', and becoming her town's very own urban monster legend, she is finally pushed over the edge by a wizard who goes out of his way to ''provoke her into becoming completely evil so that he can successfully poison her with an evil-killing toxin''. When even that fails, he simply drags her to Hell while the whole town stands by and does nothing, because he happened to look more human than she does. She finally snaps when, [[spoiler:''after they both arrive in hell'', he transforms into a demon and threatens to spend the rest of eternity torturing her]]. By that point, she has nothing left to lose.
** And as icing on the cake, consider that the only reason said wizard even knew about her in the first place is because ''she contacted '''him''' to ask for help''.
* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'''s Oasis. All she wants is for her one true love to return her love, and until he does, she'll slaughter everything in her path. She ''knows'' that she was essentially brainwashed by Steve Hereti into loving Torg, but can't help it anyway. This, coupled with her not knowing exactly what the hell she is, is slowly driving her insane(er).
* Kimiko of ''Webcomic/DresdenCodak'', [[http://www.dresdencodak.com/cartoons/dc_045.html as shown in the Hob arc]].
* Trace Legacy from ''Webcomic/TwoKinds''. A few weeks after he settles down with his new wife, a Keidran thief shoots her with a poison arrow. In his grief, he throws himself into BlackMagic research to try and resurrect her. The spell backfires, nearly killing him and destroying his sanity. He then sacks a Keidran village and takes over the Order, [[BalefulPolymorph polymorphing]] his old boss into a Keidran so he can kill her without a fuss. The Goddess of Neutrality has to wipe his brain to keep him from committing genocide.
* Tavor from ''Webcomic/LookingForGroup''. After losing his family and kingdom to invaders, he decides to take his pain out on the rest of the world by trying to erase the city representing its last hope from existence.
* Redcloak from ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', once you've read his backstory in ''StartOfDarkness''. [[spoiler:Entire family and village, except his brother, massacred by the supposedly LawfulGood Sapphire Guard. Teamed up with Xykon, who took over Redcloak's own team and demoted him to number 2 after Redcloak himself turned him into a Lich. Forced to kill his brother by Xykon as a twisted loyalty test]]. Recently lost an eye to one of the Sapphire Guard and was forbidden by Xykon (again) from healing it. He remains in service to a potentially world-destroying evil plan which is the only part of his old life that remains.
** [[spoiler:Darth V]] also qualifies, having snapped after being unable to [[spoiler:trance for months]] due to severe guilt, then having [[spoiler:his/her family threatened with a horrible death]]. The fallout of [[spoiler:his/her [[DisproportionateRetribution casting of]] [[MoralEventHorizon "Familicide"]] on the dragon making these threats, killing everyone even remotely related to her,]] has indeed pushed this a lot closer to a literal "Destroyer of Worlds" example -- [[spoiler:one of [[SealedEvilInACan the Gates sealing away]] [[EldritchAbomination the Snarl]] was defended by a man with dragon blood, and his family]].
* ''Webcomic/BobAndGeorge'': [[http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/020417c pitying Spark Man was not wise]].
* Eridan Ampora from ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}''. The first thing he does when he's introduced? [[spoiler:Shoot a laser through a whale. Second? Have all of his romantic advances rejected [[IJustWantToBeLoved when desperately pining for companionship]]. The last thing he does while alive? Kill his queen, kill his friend, knock out his rival, and ''doom his species to extinction''.]]
** The Handmaid, a servant of Lord English, who is, with the help of Doc Scratch, responsible for [[spoiler:turning Alternia into a CrapsackWorld and the creation of their FantasticCasteSystem.]] She's also a slave in all but name, has been [[AbusiveParents abused since birth]], wants desperately to die but can't [[WhoWantsToLiveForever due to being cursed with immortality]], and the [[HopeSpot one time she succeeded in escaping her fate]] ended with her running right into the time-traveling, universe-destroying demon himself.
** How about [[spoiler:Gamzee?]] He's very friendly and silly throughout Part 1 of Act 5, and only goes AxCrazy upon realizing [[spoiler:that the Juggalo religion he followed was really a musical project by a [[InsaneClownPosse couple of Earthlings,]] and thus stops eating the sopor slime which kept him sane.]] It may sound ridiculous on the surface, but when you compare it to human examples of the FaithHeelTurn, you can't help but feel sorry for the poor guy.
* The golem girls in ''WapsiSquare'' played this role once. They were tortured until their wills were completely broken, then they were turned into a weapon. They ended up rampaging and destroying most of the world. Since then, civilizations have been rebuilt, and they have had their free will returned.
* [[http://hiddendepths.smackjeeves.com/comics/1407376/051-dugtrio/ Dugtrio]] in ''151 Hidden Depths'' ends up destroying cities after being refused to join the Pokemon Police Force.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* ''IlivaisX'''s protagonist, Iriana Estchell, is this all the way. Her life essentially boiled down to being converted into a WetwareCPU by an abusive instructor who loved taking advantage of how pleasure is felt as pain for her, interspersed with more flat-out rape which was meant to promote her love-based Drive Core to consume her. She finally escapes [[spoiler:with Seyne's help]] and has in her possession an advanced SuperPrototype HumongousMecha powered by a PerpetualMotionMachine. "Destroy absolutely everything in the Aztec Empire" is now #1 on her list of priorities. There's only the slight problem of how she's not really THAT good at it, and said Aztec Empire isn't inherently evil at all.
* Zorc from ''[[WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries Yu-Gi-Oh! Abridged]]''. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=Q3uEHstpRwQ Who's that crazy kook destroying the world?]]
** Also from ''[[WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries Yu-Gi-Oh! Abridged]]'', Marik, driven to "evil" because his own father tortured and neglected him. Even his [[SuperpoweredEvilSide evil alter ego]] Melvin was originally created to [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CatVJI_sD0 "give him all the hugs he ever needed"]]
* Aman in the sketches of something, what may became [[http://http://www.youtube.com/user/GanXingba/videos Korra Abridged]].
--> ''"All I ever wanted was to someone laugh on my jokes, just once, but no one ever did. So I decided if I couldn't live my dreams, than I take everyone else dream by ridding the world of bending."''
* This is what Dr. Horrible becomes at the end of DoctorHorriblesSingAlongBlog.
* Voldemort in ''AVeryPotterMusical'' is only the way he is because no one ever loved him...and maybe with Quirrel, things would be okay?
* How can anyone not want to give [[TheSpoonyExperiment Dr Insano]] a hug after his plans go wrong?
* WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic seems to have a SplitPersonality problem, so you honestly do feel bad for him when he looks like he might cry after realizing an explosive tantrum of his blew up a city.
* [[{{Godzilla}} Monster X]] in ''WebAnimation/TohoKingdomToons''. Sure, he's well-aware that the fangirls call him a "{{Woobie}}", but he also says that he's not giving up without a "fighty-wighty".
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Western Animation]]
* Satan from ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'', especially in TheMovie. He often comes off as just a nice, friendly guy who tries to act tough, and all he really wants is to move up to live on Earth (even if that will doom humanity). Just listen to his [[IWantSong so-called]] VillainSong, "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X13Kb_DktHg Up There]]."
** Also Butters in season 6. After the main boys snub him, he adopts the alter-ego "Professor Chaos", and plots to ''drown the world''... with a garden hose.
* Ezekiel Rage in ''WesternAnimation/JonnyQuestTheRealAdventures'', particularly in his first episode, where he is a delusionally tortured man bent on revenge for the loss of his family.
* While Shen of ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2'' isn't this in the actual film, information revealed in [[AllThereInTheManual the supplementary material]] shows that he was originally intended to be one.
* [[spoiler:World]] from ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'', who [[spoiler:destroyed his own world in rage when the gang tried to take Frankie back home]], and is still the Woobie considering his [[TearJerker depressing back story]] and the fact that all he really wanted was a friend who was willing to stay with him.
* An incomplete ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'' episode involves a giant creature called Squishy, Hugger of Worlds, a childish titan whose planet hugs eventually destroy them. According to plot ideas, Squishy is constantly tormented by other races (including Zim's species) and hugs planets like a sad child clings to a blanket or teddy bear.
* Nox, the [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity hopelessly insane]] BigBad of ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}''. His true goals are, at first, ambiguous, and we are led to believe that he'll be more of a CardCarryingVillain early on, but three quarters of the way through, we learn that he is [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong trying to turn back time for some reason]]. Not until we see the bonus episode dedicated to his past do we realise his true intentions and motivations. From there on, he becomes less of an amusing Saturday morning cartoon villain and more of a deep, tragic character who you can't help but feel for, even ''as'' he commits acts of genocide. In fact, at this point, if Nox were to suddenly reappear without his mask and turn out to be even remotely handsome looking, he very much risks falling into DracoInLeatherPants territory. [[spoiler:This doesn't happen, as his last appearance is...[[AlasPoorVillain a shot of his armor in a pile of dust next to what is assumed to be his family's grave]]]].
* Blackarachnia from ''TransformersAnimated''. She ''really'' didn't want to be [[BalefulPolymorph turned into a half-organic mutant]], and only wants to be restored to her original form and re-accepted into Transformer society (namely, with the Decepticons; she no longer trusts the Autobots). However, the methods she resorts to are unethical and often dangerous, and her old friend Optimus knows that he has to stop her hurting anyone.
** Wasp is another example. He was falsely accused of being a Decepticon spy, sent to Autobot prison, driven insane by his time there, and forcibly transformed into a [[{{Cyborg}} Techno-organic]] by Blackarachnia. However, he is a homicidal maniac, a Decepticon, and wants revenge on Bumblebee, who didn't know that Wasp was framed
* The Ice King of ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' is a Sociopath, but mostly, he's just lonely. Just try not to feel bad for him when NEPTR chooses Finn over him.
** The 2011 Christmas Episode of Adventure Time discusses his origin, further proving his status. [[spoiler:"I want people to know...if I do things, if I do things that hurt anyone...please, please forgive me. Just watch over me until I can find my way out of this labyrinth in my brain and regain my sanity! And then maybe Betty, my princess...maybe you'll love me again."]]
** [[BadassPrincess Flame Princess]] is also one. She had her heart broken by [[TheHero Finn]] ([[CanineCompanion Jake]] in disguise) after he changed his mind about Finn dating her since she's evil. He did this ''just'' after he sang a song telling how much Finn likes her. After this, she goes {{Yandere}} and goes on a rampage. She ''probably'' doesn't get many boyfriends due to her unpredictable personality and the way her dad seems to shelter her because of said personality.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' has Demona. To be fair, a lot of it is [[HoistByHisOwnPetard her own doing,]] but that poor girl has ''suffered.'' Losing almost her entire family, being abandoned by everyone she loved and trusted, and being hunted for a thousand years by a family who is extremely fond of DisproportionateRetribution? That'll mess anyone up. The episode [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-i9O88LSw-4&feature=related 'City of Stone']] (from 4:10 onward) gives us a very good example of how badly Demona is broken.
-->'''The Sisters:''' You must give them the code.\\
'''Demona:''' (''In a trance'') I will have vengeance for the betrayal of my Clan... Vengeance for my pain.\\
'''The Sisters:''' But who betrayed your Clan? And who caused this pain?\\
'''Demona:''' (''Getting agitated'') The Vikings destroyed my Clan!\\
'''The Sisters:''' Who betrayed the castle to the Vikings? (Note: Demona did)\\
'''Demona:''' The Hunter hunted us down.\\
'''The Sisters:''' Who CREATED the Hunter? (Note: Demona did)\\
'''Demona:''' Canmore destroyed the last of us...\\
'''The Sisters:''' Who betrayed Theatre/{{Macbeth}} to Canmore.(Note: Demona di-- oh, you get the idea)\\
(Pan to wide-eyed [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone 'What have I done']] look on Demona's face)\\
'''Goliath:''' Your thirst for vengeance has only created more sorrow. End the cycle, Demona... give us the code...\\
'''Demona:''' (''Tears forming while saying slowly'') The access code is...[[spoiler:[[CrowningMomentOfSadness alone]].]]
* Ace in ''JusticeLeagueUnlimited'': very, very broken and very, very dangerous. If you are not {{Batman}}, that is, the only person she apparently trusts.
* Spider-Carnage, of ''SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries''. An {{alternate|Universe}} version of Spider-Man, he watched first Uncle Ben, and then Aunt May die in rapid succession. The creation of his {{clon|ingBlues}}e, Ben Reilly, only worsened his mental stability, and the revelation that he, and not Ben, might be the clone drove him almost completely over the edge, leading to an attempt on the latter's life. What firmly pushes him into this trope though, is what happens following his possession by the [[SerialKiller Carnage]] [[PuppeteerParasite symbiote]]. Driven out of his mind, Spider-Carnage combines the Spot's portal technology with a disintegration bomb that will [[OmnicidalManiac destroy not only his own world, and not only the Universe, but the]] ''[[OmnicidalManiac totality of the multiverse]]''. As he puts it: "I'm gonna destroy all reality". Clearly insane, and running on pain and angst, he's eventually snapped out of it by a talk with another universe's Uncle Ben, leading to a last minute HeelFaceTurn, followed by [[DrivenToSuicide suicide]].
* Mr. Freeze from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' was splashed with cryogenic chemicals while fighting with his boss, who he'd been stealing resources from to find a way to cure his terminally ill wife, Nora. He was even willing to kill innocent people to get revenge. This interpretation of Freeze proved so popular that it spread into most other adaptations of ''{{Batman}}''.
** In ''The New Batman Adventures'', Freeze's condition had worsened, reducing him to a living head without a body. Nora was revived but left him for one of her doctors. A comic tie-in expands on this. Nora's new husband, jealous over her love for Victor, hid the letters that Victor wrote to her. When Nora found out, she tried to return to Victor but could not accept his criminal past.
** By the time of ''BatmanBeyond'', his wife's gone, and although he gets a second chance in a clone body and tries to make amends for all the people he's hurt, [[YankTheDogsChain he relapses, gets betrayed, barely survives the attack on him, and proceeds to freeze his betrayers for trying to prematurely perform autopsy on him, then aims to commit suicide by blowing up the man's company, killing hundreds of innocent people in the crossfire]]. His FamousLastWords with Terry, the new Batman, are one of the best done AlasPoorVillain moments ever.
-->'''Terry:''' Freeze, you've got to get out of here. The building's about to collapse.\\
'''Freeze:''' Believe me, you're the only one who cares.
** There are other villains besides Mr. Freeze who qualify for this trope: For instance, there was Calendar Girl, who was a former model for calendars, but constantly failed attempts at rectifying her "hideous appearance" left her with nothing else than a desire of vengeance against the people she perceived took away her beauty. She is later revealed to actually be a GorgeousGorgon, although she still firmly believes her appearance is repulsive despite this.
* Weathervane/Paula Haze from ''WesternAnimation/LoonaticsUnleashed''. She was treated like trash by Misty Breeze. No wonder the poor girl snapped.
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
** [[HeWhoFightsMonsters Hama]]. Kidnapped and imprisoned by the Fire Nation army as a teenager, prevented from bending her native element (water), it's no wonder she took her only chance of escape, by turning the guards into PeoplePuppets by bending their body fluids. But then she snuck into the Fire Nation and started kidnapping innocent civilians with the same technique she used on the prison guards...
** Possibly first-season Zuko--although he doesn't really accomplish much, he probably ''would'' destroy the world if he thought it would [[AbusiveParents make his daddy]] [[WellDoneSonGuy love him]]. He gets better in the second season, becoming a straight-out [[TheWoobie Woobie]].
** How about Aang? He's not evil or villainous in any way, but it is scary when he gets upset and goes into the Avatar State.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' gives us [[spoiler:Hiroshi Sato]], who became an Equalist in order to avenge his dead wife, who perished due to firebenders. Unlike [[BigBad Amon]], who's always collected (and may in fact be lying about his past), [[spoiler:Hiroshi Sato]] is reduced to a hateful wreck that just happens to be [[BitchInSheepsClothing cleverly disguised]].
** He loses all sympathy when [[spoiler:[[MoralEventHorizon he tries to kill his own daughter]]]], but [[spoiler:'''Amon''' of all people become this when you learn that not only are he and [[JerkassWoobie Tarrlok]] brothers, and not only is Yakone their father, but you see how he [[AbusiveParents treated them]]. It was so bad it made Noatak hate all Benders...[[BoomerangBigot including]] [[YouAreWhatYouHate himself.]]]]
* Yivo from ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', always faced system incompatibilities when he tried to court the Futurama Universe. Philip J. Fry got him interested.
* Plankton from ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants''.
** Literature/TheUglyBarnacle, who was "so ugly that everyone died".
** What's especially weird about Plankton is that he only became this in hindsight. The movie, the canon end of the series, is where Plankton really goes into high gear, and before the movie, he wasn't exactly sympathetic. After the movie is when he becomes the DesignatedVillain, and gets more abuse than he deserves.
* The Toad from ''FlushedAway''. He was once Prince Charles' favorite pet. Then someone brought in a rat and flushed the Toad down the toilet so Charlie could focus all his attention on the replacement pet. This became his motivation for attempting to wipe out the Sewer-London. Seriously, we can't blame him for what he is now.
* ''ScoobyDooOnZombieIsland'' gives us [[spoiler:Simone Lenoir and Lena Dupree]], settlers who came to what would become the area around New Orleans two hundred years ago, presumably to escape religious persecution. Their commune, by sheer bad luck, fell under attack by merciless pirates, who fed everyone except them to alligators ForTheEvulz ([[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids because this is a kids' movie]]). Making a [[DealWithTheDevil Deal With the Pagan Cat God]] for enough power for a RoaringRampageOfRevenge, they found that they had been cursed with immortality and the need to suck out souls to maintain it. It's quite jarring that, at the end of the film, [[spoiler:they get [[NoImmortalInertia the same punishment]] as their accomplice Jacques]].
* [[spoiler:Doug]] from ''UglyAmericans''
* Michael 'Goob' Yagoobian in ''MeetTheRobinsons''.
* Lucius Heinous the Seventh from JimmyTwoShoes.
* [[JerkassWoobie Princess Luna]] in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' became [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Nightmare Moon]] and tried to cause [[TheNightThatNeverEnds eternal darkness]] because the ponies all rejected her beautiful night [[PaintingTheFrostOnWindows that she creates]], much preferring [[LightIsGood Celestia's]] day. This doesn't seem so bad, except that Luna's special talent (signified by her cutie mark) ''is'' the night, and the series establishes on numerous occasions that [[SanitySlippage very bad things]] happen when a pony's special talent is rejected; it's just in this case the one being rejected was a {{Physical God}}dess.
* Ren Hoek from RenAndStimpy.
* FrankWelker personally think that his character Megatron from ''{{Transformers}}'' might be one of these, mentioning several times in his interviews that there might be "a lot of hurt" inside Megatron. It's somewhat played with in the IDW comic adaptation of ''Franchise/TransformersGeneration1'' and in ''TransformersPrime''; there Megatron was either a miner or a gladiator who suffered the harsh life of the Cybertronian working class, living under the corruption of the Autobot high society, until he decided to change the system to a more equal variation in peaceful, non-violent ways, only to meet bloody supression. This forced the idealist to change his tactics to more violent ones, but the war slowly turned the idealistic rebel into a bitter and angry warmongering tyrant.
[[/folder]]

* The eponymous character of ''Film/{{Megamind}}''.
* In ''ToyStory2'', Stinky Pete, the prospector, spent his whole life on a dime store shelf, watching every other toy be bought by kids. This agonizing experience caused him to become bitter and willing to manipulate or outright force his "friends" Woody, Jessie, and Bullseye into going along with what he wants, whether they like it or not. Ironically, when he winds up being taken home at last by a little girl who defaces all her toys by drawing on them with crayons, he considers this the worst fate imaginable.
** Big Baby in ''ToyStory3'' is also this. He's the scariest villian ever- until this:

* Trace Legacy from ''TwoKinds''. A few weeks after he settles down with his new wife, a Keidran thief shoots her with a poison arrow. In his grief, he throws himself into BlackMagic research to try and resurrect her. The spell backfires, nearly killing him and destroying his sanity. He then sacks a Keidran village and takes over the Order, [[BalefulPolymorph polymorphing]] his old boss into a Keidran so he can kill her without a fuss. The Goddess of Neutrality has to wipe his brain to keep him from committing genocide.
* Tavor from ''LookingForGroup''. After losing his family and kingdom to invaders, he decides to take his pain out on the rest of the world by trying to erase the city representing its last hope from existence.

* ''FruitsBasket'': whether or not one can excuse his [[spoiler:or her]] actions, Akito counts. Despite beating the living daylights out of several Zodiac members for the majority of their childhood(s) ''and'' emotionally abusing [[spoiler:just about ''everyone'']], [[TheMessiah Tohru]] can't help but feel sorry for him [[spoiler:or her]]. One, she learned just [[spoiler:how badly Akito herself was emotionally abused, and how her upbringing influenced her outlook on life. The psychological abuse heaped onto her by her mother and EvilMatriarch extraordinaire, Ren, led to a pathological fear of abandonment, driving her to do ''anything'' to make sure no one will leave her. Being told that no one loves you, everyone will abandon you, and no one even respects you, ''and'' having your ''boyfriend'' sleep with Ren to spite you for sleeping with another man (which you partly did to get back at said boyfriend, and partly to stop said man from abandoning you) will do that to you]].

* Madam Red from ''BlackButler'' [[spoiler:becomes "Jack the Ripper" to get back at prostitutes for giving up what she could never have, with the help of Grell Sutcliff, of course.]]

* ''Anime/CodeGeass'' either subverts or zigzags this, depending on how one views it, at the end. [[spoiler:Lelouch, [[DespairEventHorizon having lost everything, including Nunnally (apparently) and the trust of the Black Knights]], abandons all reason [[TheLastDance and decides that he'll go down finishing his quest to recreate the world]]. He acted like an even worse Emperor than his father, from [[FacelessGoons Geassing his soldiers into complete obedience]] [[WeHaveReserves and using them as cannon fodder]], to ordering assassinations, not to mention blowing up Mt. Fuji, depleting most of Japan's sakuradite supply, and [[NoEndorHolocaust quite possibly causing an even greater state of decay over Japan]], in order to [[GenghisGambit center the world's hatred around him]] and [[ThanatosGambit die a villain's death at the hands of Suzaku, disguised as Zero]]. It's been noted that Lelouch knew that there were alternatives to Schneidel's scheme, which makes it sound like a destructive and self-serving excuse to die, which would make it a zigzagged trope.]]

** [[spoiler:The Book of Darkness]] is another example. Her life cycle has three phases: charging up in dormancy, gaining full awareness and control for a few minutes, and then dishing out an EarthShatteringKaboom, which returns her to stage one. Prior to her current appearance, she has been forced to serve a cruel master who abused her children. Bonus points for the fact that there is literally nothing that can be done to stop the cycle.

* Gaara in ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' started out as this, basically being the male equivalent of [[Manga/ElfenLied Lucy]]. He's lucky Naruto is a WarriorTherapist. For that matter, any jinchuriki (such as Naruto and Gaara themselves) is prone to be so.

* Yuuhi from ''TheLuciferAndBiscuitHammer'', with one heck of a FreudianExcuse to match: his father, a detective, was killed by his colleague. After the funeral, his mom simply left, and his grandfather literally beat into him the idea "Make no enemies - they'll stab you in the front; make no friends - they'll stab you in the back." Sami's reasoning is that [[spoiler:she wants to own the world by destroying it so that it doesn't go on without her [[IllGirl when she dies]].]]

** Yukio Oikawa from the same series. Growing up as a lonely boy in a unforgiving world, the only friend he ever had was Cody Kida's father. During their youth, they became the very first humans ever to discover the Digital World, and they together promised that they would one day travel to it. Of course, fate decided to be a mean bitch one day and killed off Hida during his line of duty as a police officer before it could happen, leaving Oikawa with no one else in the world but his promise. Depressed and lonely, he became a easy target for [[spoiler:Myotismon's ghost]] to possess, who promised him that he would help him to get to the Digital World and fullfill his promise to Hida...at the expense of everything and everyone else.

* Lord Fezarl Ezelcart, the BigBad of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamAge'', is a married man and was a father. However, the death of his son convinced him that it was high time to [[spoiler:[[SocialDarwinist root out the weak by waging a war that would eliminate them and create a paradise populated only by the most righteous of humans]].]] Thus began the UE's attacks on Earth Federation Colonies. In the third generation, [[hottip:*: the show's hook was that it would ''not'' follow an, overall, short war and one group of people as per ''Gundam'' tradition, but take place over three generations and nearly a century]], fate really twists the knife by having him encounter a young boy who greatly resembles his son... Who just so happens to be a Federation pilot and the grandson of Flit Asuno, main hero of the first generation and the biggest Vagan-hater alive. It's also important to note that Ezelcant's son, in his last moments, said that he'd like to be reborn on earth along with them. Ezelcant is convinced that his son got half his wish.

* Russia of ''AxisPowersHetalia'' is more of a Woobie Conquerer of Worlds, insisting that "[[TakeOverTheWorld all will become one with Russia]]". This trope is also played totally straight with him during the Bloody Sunday strip, in which he [[GoMadFromTheRevelation snaps]] and [[FreakOut starts to mow down his own people]] on the grounds that, basically, "they're not ''really'' Russians if they don't love me".
* [[BigBad Lucia]] of ''RaveMaster'' has been portrayed as virtually a {{Jerkass}} extraordinaire, contradicting any even mildly humane moment shortly afterward. Until the ending, that is, when he starts [[BerserkerTears crying]] while fighting Haru because, as it turns out, the universe ''literally'' exists to screw him over. [[http://www.onemanga.com/Rave/292/15/ He even lists all the massive wrongs done to him that no one ever did anything about, or even commended rather than tried to stop]].
** Though he looks a little crazier than he actually is in that image. It applies to him much better when he's a child.
* Diva from ''BloodPlus'' may count, although the "Destroyer of Worlds" part only comes about simply because she ''exists''. [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Chevaliers may love their 'queens']] but it seems that Amshel loves power more. Diva went along out of embitterment with the world due to her imprisonment as a child. All that could've been avoided had Nathan simply abducted her and made her a star singer without the whole TakeOverTheWorld thing and "make everyone into Chiropterans" aspect of Amshel's and James' agenda. She pretty much drops the Woobie part after [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil what she does to Saya's little brother, however]].

** Yuno [[spoiler:wants to keep the universe in an eternal time loop, forever replaying the Diary game, as this is the only way she believes she can stay with Yukiteru. She wants this so desperately because Yuki is probably one of the only kind people in her life, and pretty much her sole reason for living.]]

* Crona of ''Manga/SoulEater'' has the 'destroy everything' part, by way of [[AmbiguousGender 'hir']] reasoning that everything that s/he fears/threatens hir should be destroyed (for much of the series, s/he understands no other way of 'dealing' with it). Given that Medusa did and still does possibly intend to turn Crona into an Eldritch Abomination in the style of madness incarnate Asura, s/he could feasibly go all the way on this one. Until Our Heroes inevitably {{defeat|MeansFriendship}} hir, of course.
* [[BrokenBird Izayoi Aki]] from ''{{Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds}}'' ''epitomizes'' this trope for episodes 40 and 41. After watching her friend and mentor Divine [[spoiler:plunge to his horrifying death, while the only place she'd ever really felt at home in collapses in flames around her]], she wakes up from a coma where she pretty much relived ''every single horrible moment of her life'' all at once to the face of Yuusei, who she already feels conflicted about - and [[ParentalAbandonment her parents]], of all people. Destroying the world from there, though, yes, seems like DisproportionateRetribution, is not that much of a stretch.

* [[spoiler:Chizuru Honda]] from ''{{Bokurano}}'', after snapping due to [[spoiler:her CompleteMonster love interest and teacher's behavior towards her.]]

* Yami [[spoiler:Atem]] from ''{{Yu-Gi-Oh}}'' becomes this for a bit in the Doma saga after he loses Yugi - ''especially'' during his duel with Haga. Oh, silly Haga, didn't you know that pretending to destroy the soul of a highly protective and emotionally unstable (not to mention once-AxeCrazy) ancient spirit's partner was just asking for a one-way ticket down ''extreme-pain-and-death'' lane?

* In ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'', [[spoiler:Kaname Madoka has been this for a few {{alternate|Timeline}} [[GroundhogDayLoop timelines]]. She's TheWoobie in pretty much all of them, because of nearly [[CrapsaccharineWorld every event in the course of the show]], but in any timeline where she survives Walpurgis Night as a MagicalGirl (i.e. all of them so far where she hasn't died during it), she's fated to become [[ApocalypseMaiden an extremely powerful witch]], and either has to be {{Mercy Kill}}ed by Homura or simply goes on to destroy the world whilst Homura goes back in time to try and fix things (again). In the final episode, she becomes this yet again but sacrifices herself in the process.]]

* [[BlackButler Alois Trancy]], pretty much. He's an AxCrazy CreepyChild with a DarkAndTroubledPast who only wants someone to love him in place of his dead brother (and likes to gauge out his servants' eyes.)

* [=ToyMajin=] of the ''FreshPrettyCure'' movie is pretty much what happens if [[ToyStory3 Lotso]] got ahold of a ton of power. He was tossed away by his previous human owner and he was filled so much bitter anger, he decided to steal away all toys, then use them to power himself, many of them filled with that same anger. When he captures Usapyon, Love's precious toy bunny doll, it [[HeroicBSOD breaks the Cure]], making her think that ''she'' had the same hatred and drives her to try to make amends... only to find out she never hated her at all. Thanks to [[AudienceParticipation the children's love for their toys]], Love's able to get [=ToyMajin=] to see the error of his ways and sees his true self... a teddy bear. Which she promptly gives to another kid who promises to take care of him.

* ''Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie'': Mewtwo's motivations for wanting to destroy the planet in the first movie becomes a lot more understandable after remembering that literally the only humans he was exposed to prior to the events of the movie were the apathetic scientists who created him as well as Giovanni and Team Rocket, who were well known for exploiting pokemon for profit and sometimes even slaughtering them at worst.

* [[Comicbook/{{X-Men}} Madelyne Pryor]] learned that she was a clone of Jean Grey and was abandoned by her husband, Scott Summers (who fell in love with her ''because'' of her obvious similarity to Jean, though neither knew she was a clone at the time, assuming it to just be mere [[ContrivedCoincidence coincidence]] that they looked exactly alike), when he reunited with Jean, after Jean literally [[UnexplainedRecovery returned]] from the dead. Then Maddie's infant son was kidnapped and she was left for dead. She has a daydream where she's ripped apart to build the woman her husband actually wants and then is offered revenge. Thinking that it's just a dream, she accepts, which, naturally, leaves her possessed by a demon and willing to sacrifice her baby (who she finally has the power to find) to allow the demons of Limbo to take over the Earth.

** At times, it's implied that [[NoodleIncident something]] happened that made the Joker [[MonsterClown how]] [[AxCrazy he]] [[CompleteMonster is.]] As he puts it, all it took was "one bad day." [[TheKillingJoke A really bad day.]]

* Superboy Prime could count. Yeah, he's skimmed over the MoralEventHorizon and many believe that [[CompleteMonster he's completely irredeemable]], but just look at how he got this way. Right after he learned that he was a counterpart to his childhood hero, his (and supposedly our) universe was wiped out and [[RetGone removed from history]] ([[ItGotBetter it's better now]]). Afterwards, everyone just forgot about him, while he was isolated in a pocket universe - only to be used by [[ManipulativeBastard Alexander Luthor Jr.]]. And now that he's [[NoFourthWall back in our reality]], he's completely aware that [[TheScrappy everyone hates him.]] He's one JerkassWoobie [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds Destroyer of Worlds.]]

* The Boys has recently gone into this territory. Butchers response after finally having revenge on the man/superhero who raped and indirectly killed his wife [[spoiler:kill every superhero in the world]]
** To elaborate [[spoiler:a superhero raped his wife who in turn did not tell him about it. Several months after the event the fetus from this rape grew exponentially and clawed its way out of her womb, killing her in the process.]]
* {{X-Force}} once faced a villain team called the Inner Circle, two-thirds of which were this trope. For starters, they all have [[PowerIncontinence uncontrollable powers]] related to death, which is bound to cause some angst. Individually, Eli Bard is [[WhoWantsToLiveForever immortal and was driven insane by that]]; Wither lost many of his friends (including the girl he liked) to [[TheFundamentalist crazy religious fundamentalists]] and later his surviving friends abandoned him for being "dangerous;" Blink was abandoned and left for dead by the X-Men after saving all their lives (to be fair, they NeverFoundTheBody); and Mortis had an [[AbusiveParents abusive father]] while her half-sister, {{Dazzler}}, had a loving one and grew up to become a famous singer. [[BigBad Selene]] gave them refuge and taught them to do whatever they wanted with their powers... which, of course, resulted in lots of people dying. While by the time of the final battle they're all basically ranting-and-raving {{Omnicidal Maniac}}s, that, if anything, makes their situation even more tragic. The two exceptions in the group of six are Senyaka, who signed up [[BloodKnight to have better opportunities to kill people]] (fittingly, he's also the one with the best control over his powers and the only one who was a villain ''before'' being recruited by Selene), and Selene herself, who just wants to [[AGodAmI become a goddess]].

* The ''{{Firefly}}'' fanfic ''Fanfic/{{Forward}}'' has Inducer One-One-Nine, who is a type of psychic that is capable of MindManipulation. One-One-Nine is also [[spoiler:a nine-year-old girl named Kathryn Wade]], who was driven to insanity by her experiences at the Academy, to the point that in her fear of being recaptured she [[spoiler:took control of an entire town and turned them into her personal killing horde, and later wiped out an entire space station with nearly a thousand people on board]].

** ''FanFic/TouhouIbunshu'' has Remilia, Flandre, Mokou and even [[spoiler:Yukari]] as varying flavours of "death to everyone" due to a ''long'' life (or unlife, in the case of the former two) of despair.

* Dr. Tolian Soran in ''Film/StarTrekGenerations''. Literally.

** In ''Godzilla VS Destroyah'' this is taken to its most literal extreme when [[spoiler:Junior's death]] causes him to go into a grief-stricken meltdown [[RedRingOfDeath (Literally, as it causes him to go into a nuclear meltdown)]].

** Big Baby in ''ToyStory3'' is also this. He's pretty much the scariest villian ever- until this:

* Francis Dolarhyde from ''RedDragon''. Sure, he murders whole families and rapes their corpses, but good ''lord'', he had an awful childhood. It gets to the point where you know he's a CompleteMonster, and you want him to be caught, but you still kinda hope he gets out of the whole mess all right.

* Gollum in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''. After centuries of misery and torment, he nearly destroys the quest (dooming Middle Earth to tyranny) because of a HeelFaceDoorSlam. Ironically, [[BreakTheCutie Frodo]] more literally embodies this trope, because he [[spoiler:knowingly claims the ring after suffering months of psychological torment because of it]]. Fortunately, [[DramaticIrony the quest would have failed]] without his [[ProphecyTwist attempt to prevent it]]. Bilbo, Frodo, and even Sam taking pity on Gollum was [[BecauseDestinySaysSo necessary]] for the Ring's destruction; and expressly choosing ''not'' to attack and kill him on four separate occasions, even on the slopes of Mount Doom...

* ''{{Dragonlance}}'': Raistlin Majere has a life that progressively increases in Suck, until he decides that he's going to take vengeance by becoming a '''[[AGodAmI GOD]]'''. And he does it, too. Of course, [[spoiler:after he finds out that his godhood will destroy all of creation, leaving only himself in an empty universe, he...does exactly the same thing.]]
** More specifically, that was an alternate-future Raistlin who was pretty much totally insane at that point. When main-timeline Raistlin realizes the consequences of his actions, he ''does'' repent and sacrifices himself to save both the world and (to him, more importantly) his own soul.

** Qwi Xux, one of the chief engineers for the Death Star's superlasers, not to mention the creator of the Sun Crusher, also qualifies big time, probably even moreso than the aforementioned chief gunner: she was taken from her village as a little girl and placed in a high-risks and genuinely horrific mathematics/science course with other students, where their lives literally depended on whether they got the answers right or wrong, not to mention those of their village (basically, if one of the students gets even one answer wrong, the student in question will be forced to watch as their home village is blown away via aerial bombardment and executed shortly thereafter). She was the sole graduate, not to mention the sole survivor of that course, which was also headed by Imperial Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, and it was because of this that she felt driven, to the extent of borderline psychotic obsession, to solve any problem whenever the Empire declares that it wants a solution, often feeling not responsible if it turned out to be a failure in faux-naivete.
** There's also the Grand Admiral Osvald Teshik. Because of a failure in regards to rescuing Coh Veshiv from the Rebel privateer ''Far Orbit'', or any reason to begin with, as he implies that Palpatine did this to him for absolutely no reason whatsoever, he ends up being nearly killed in a battle that Palpatine ensured that he would not win, and that he turned into a cyborg with 3/4s of his body removed, and the near-death experience, not to mention the abuse by various Imperial personnel for his cyborg status, left him extremely cold and nihilistic up until he was saved by a construction worker, and he ends up explaining the battle to the Rebels and the impact it had when he is to be executed for war crimes, having been resigned to his fate, before emitting a mechanical, almost pitiful laugh upon his death.

* The Bane (real name Pearlpelt) from ''TheUnderlandChronicles.'' His father was a CompleteMonster who killed his other children so Pearlpelt could have more milk and grow stronger. His parents killed each other in a fight, and he saw his mother lying dead with her innards spilled over the ground. To make matters worse, almost all the humans shun him because he's the Bane, and many of his fellow [[YouDirtyRat rats]] honor him and want him to be their king. Eventually, he goes completely off the deep end, becoming an EvilAlbino and a great [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Hitler allegory.]]

* Ghwerig the troll from ''TheElenium''. In reality, he is maddened by the loss of Bhelliom and devotes most of the rest of his life to searching for it, and even though he eventually finds it, he is killed by [[TheHero Sparhawk]] and Kurik.
* Doesn't seem like it at first, but [[MagnificentBastard Petyr Baelish]] from ''ASongOfIceAndFire''. He was born as one of the poorest nobles, if not ''the'' poorest noble, in the realm, then separated from his family at a young age to live with another family in much, much better standing--basically, throwing in his face what he will never have. He's small, weak, and looked down on by everybody. Nobody even calls him by his real name. Then, [[ItGotWorse just to make things worse]], he falls in love with one of the daughters, who he isn't allowed to marry because of his birth. He nearly gets himself killed fighting for her and, after he loses, she completely ignores him. Hard not to feel sorry for him...until he becomes a puppeteer in the royal court, [[spoiler:ruins his first love's family and [[ReplacementGoldfish kidnaps her teenage daughter]], kills people off at his convenience, and starts a frickin' civil war]].

** Also, Merope. What she did to Tom Riddle Sr. was absolutely disgusting, but she was abused through most of her life by her father and brother, who were basically the wizard equivalent of white trash.

* Willow, in the sixth season finale of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. Her RoaringRampageOfRevenge over [[spoiler:the death of Tara]] ended with a magical overload that briefly attuned her to the thoughts and feelings of everyone else on the planet. Overwhelmed by the world's collective pain, she decided that [[PutThemAllOutOfMyMisery "your suffering has to end"]] and turned her newfound power towards bringing about TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. She was finally stopped by the ThePowerOfLove. Heck, Dark Willow was the trope image for a while.

** Drusilla, (after what [[CompleteMonster Angelus]] [[BreaktheCutie puts her through]] )[[WaifProphet so]] [[TheWoobie very]] [[FemmeFatale very]] [[TheOphelia much]]

* The Greeed from ''KamenRiderOOO'' are monsters whose MO is consuming the world and are generally causing massive pain to everyone. Then we find out why they're doing it. Their 10th Core Medal was destroyed, leaving them sentient, but even if they get all 9 of their remaining Cores, they have a void inside them that can never be filled due to the destruction of the 10th. They've been that way literally since they've become sentient, they're only trying to consume the world to fill a void inside them that they were born with. If that hunger is enough to drive them to the extremes they go to, then they definately qualify.

** As of the season 6 finale, [[spoiler:Castiel]] is a straighter example. [[spoiler:Abandoned by God, at war with his brothers, betrayed by his allies, and, worst of all, rejected by his Nakama, Dean and Sam, not to mention hopped up on the souls of millions of monsters from Purgatory, he has declared AGodAmI and demanded that they bow down and worship him. This cannot end well.]]

** A woman who abducts other women, injects them with a paralyzing drug that will eventually kill them, and plays with them like dolls...because she walked in on her CompleteMonster, pedophilic, psychiatrist father giving away her favorite toys (given to her to keep her quiet while he was abusing her) to his latest patient/victim.

* The [[GrandFinale final]] perp on ''LawAndOrderCriminalIntent'' turns out to be [[spoiler:a woman who runs an internet company (basically a sweeter, female Mark Zuckerberg {{Expy}}) who, tipped off to a break-in at her headquarters, returns to confront the offending party and finds that he has killed her boyfriend. He runs at her and she retaliates with a scissors to the neck. She]] actually breaks down into TenderTears when confronted with the evidence, and it is clearly intended that our sympathy should be with [[spoiler:her.]]

* The subject of [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKCccyZvtIo Everything Burns]] by Anastacia & Ben Moody. The song could probably describe ninety percent of the people on this page. Heck, rule of thumb, if you can't use this song as the character's theme song, don't put them here.

** Of the children he fathered, two are (literally) thrown completely out of Asgard by Odin (Hel and Jormungandr, both for being ugly), while one gets chained to an island for the rest of time (Fenris) for being big, strong, and scary... and, essentially, for being a child of Loki (because, you know, you can't trust Loki's kids). The fact that all of these kids come back and help their father destroy Asgard at Gotterdammerung is perhaps understandable. (Fenris is usually told as being imprisoned precisely because the Asgard knew of his important role in Ragnarok, but then it gets into SelfFulfillingProphecy territory.)

** First up: The [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Yozis]]. While they seem pretty evil at first glance (and in the [[BigBad Ebon Dragon's]] case, [[DesignatedVillain the second]], [[CardCarryingVillain third]], [[MoralEventHorizon fourth]], [[CompleteMonster and thereon]]), it's not hard to realize that they are, one and all, [[BeingEvilSucks thoroughly miserable]]. The fact that each one was built with an actual [[DysfunctionJunction mental disorder in mind]] really doesn't help their self-image.

*** She Who Lives In Her Name is an Obsessive-Compulsive [[KnightTemplar control freak]], and she may seem like the least sympathetic...until you understand that she's also Autistic and literally [[AbsentMindedProfessor ''can't'' understand that what she is doing is wrong]].
*** As Adrian, she was a literal protector of Creation in that her presence separated Creation and the Wyld. She was selfless and compassionate [[MyBelovedSmother to an extreme]] -- she literally gave her own body for her children's safety. She ''really'' loved Creation! Gods' betrayal broke her heart to such a painful degree that she is [[KillTheOnesYouLove no longer ''capable'' of caring about anything, even herself]]. Her heart was broken so badly that she never put it together again -- Adorjan is a victim of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, no longer able to express attention in any way other than [[{{Yandere}} violence]].
*** The Shadow of All Things may have been a JerkAss, but he was a sort of Devil's Advocate -- he gave meaning to the world by being its enemy. Now his "virtue" is hollow and the Ebon Dragon displays an extreme form of Antisocial Personality; the only thing he can care about anymore is [[ForTheEvulz the suffering he inflicts on others]]. In the setting of Exalted, Ebon Dragon is one of the extreme few who should be considered a CompleteMonster, utterly undeserving of sympathy...but, still, the fact that he can't even recognize that he has fallen this low is something to pity.

*** It's worth noting, however, that she ''[[ImAHumanitarian ate her former throngmates.]]'' Even the sourcebook admits that it's hard to consider her redeemable given that.

** Lorgar genuinely, deeply loved the Emperor, and wanted to have him venerated throughout the galaxy. The Emperor brought the banhammer down on that as soon as he knew about it, as despite basically being a PhysicalGod he wanted a society of {{Flat Earth Atheist}}s (due to Chaos being fed by worship). Distraught and suddenly having nowhere to direct his devotion, Lorgar eventually discovered the [[EldritchAbomination Chaos gods]], who had no problem whatsoever with worship and obeisance. Cue ReligionOfEvil.

** Angron first met the Emperor when he was having a LastStand against impossible odds, even for a Primarch. The Emperor offered to save him, but Angron refused, wanting to die with his soldiers... only for the Emperor to teleport him away anyway, leaving his soldiers to die without him. Angron became even ''more'' of a BloodKnight after this, and even while fighting wars for him he retained his hatred of the Emperor for many years, jumping at the first opportunity to betray him.
** Horus himself was shown [[PropheciesAreAlwaysRight a vision]] of two possible futures of the Imperium, [[CrapsackWorld both of them horrible]]. [[SadisticChoice Choosing what he thinks is the less horrible one]], Horus attempts to overthrow the Emperor in order to fulfill it, but of course things don't quite go as planned.

* And, of course, the [[TheMusical theatrical version]] of ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}''.

* Fou-Lu from ''BreathOfFireIV''. He's an [[GodEmperor immortal emperor]] who also happens to be a [[PhysicalGod dragon]]. He's been [[KingInTheMountain hibernating for the past thousand years]], during which time some [[TheEmpire not-nice people]] usurped his throne and plotted to have him killed when he awakens. He manages to escape the assassination attempts, mostly through turning into a large [[BreathWeapon fire-breathing monster]] and schooling them all in the arts of pain and suffering, and then goes about trying to regain his throne. Along the way, he runs into (and is hidden by) a [[CountryMouse nice, friendly farm girl]] who wears a bell as jewelry, who promptly [[LoveAtFirstSight falls in love with him]]. He, of course, falls for her, too, though he's [[IUhYouToo too much the stoic and quiet type to admit it]]. The {{Big Bad}}s find out that she's been harboring the dragon-boy, take her captive, and drag her off to one of the [[PoweredByAForsakenChild more horrible fates imaginable]]. See, they have a [[EvilWeapon superweapon]], called the [[FantasticNuke Carronade]], that uses [[LoveHurts people with]] ''[[LoveHurts very]]'' [[LoveHurts close bonds to their target]] as [[HumanResources ammunition]], converting their pure soul (after a good amount of ColdBloodedTorture, of course) into a foul and unspeakable city-destroying curse. So, the Emperor's walking through a forest on his way to his rightful palace to retake it, when he senses the powerful world-rending curse heading his way, and defends himself against it as best as he can. The last thing he sees before the force of the curse renders him unconscious is the [[ItsAllMyFault farm girl's bell charm falling from the heavens to land in front of him]]. Cue [[LaughingMad insane cackling]] and his plans going from 'regain throne' to '[[KillThemAll everybody dies]]'.
** A decision, of note, that is ''firmly'' cemented when he finally meets up with [[TheEmperor Emperor Soniel]], who acts as if he is welcoming Fou-lu back--and then proceeds to run him through with a [[EvilWeapon soul-eating sword]] created by [[KarmaHoudini his head thaumaturgist]] [[CompleteMonster Yuna]] from a previous botched summoning where only the head came through. This would normally kill even a lesser being; Fou-lu is merely pissed off enough to [[OffWithHisHead decapitate the back-stabber]]. As if he needed any further cementing of the idea that HumansAreBastards...

** Shuyin in the sequel fits, however. Given that he was literally subjected to ''a thousand years of '''non-stop''''' MindRape until the start of the game, it's [[TheWoobie kinda understandable]]...

* Zephiel from [[FireEmblemElibe Fire Emblem 6 and 7]] [[spoiler:was a talented youth who did his best to win approval from his father, the king of Bern. But the harder he strove, the more distant his talentless father grew, and the fact that he was born from [[ArrangedMarriage a loveless marriage]] didn't help either. The final straw came when the king poisoned his heir's drink, several years after a first assassination attempt failed. Zephiel's closest retainer, [[WorthyOpponent Murdoch]], came up with the idea of faking his death to get him the heck out of there. However, the king opened the casket, causing Zephiel to finally snap and stab him. According to his half-sister, Guinevere, Zephiel never smiled again. Years later, he (now king of Bern) was stirring up quite a bit of trouble in neighbouring countries, trying to offer the land back to its rightful owners because HumansAreBastards. Needless to say, he had to be killed...with [[TheWoobie his crestfallen sister's]] help, no less]].

* [[spoiler:King Valentine]] in ''VideoGame/OdinSphere'' throws a SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum in the final book by [[spoiler:using the Cauldron to turn Leventhan into a really pissed-off Sheng Long, which ends up destroying him along with pretty much the rest of existence]]. Granted, he got broken pretty hard before and during the story, beginning with [[spoiler:being forced to kill his own daughter because she had an affair with the king of an enemy country]], then dying horribly, along with most of his kingdom, after being betrayed [[spoiler:by his own son]], enduring endless torture in the netherworld, and escaping it only to be spitefully denied the complete destruction he was so desperately seeking, [[spoiler:by the dude who started the whole thing by shagging his daughter, no less]].

* [[spoiler:Xion]] in ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2'', since her whole existence is pretty much a TraumaCongaLine.

** Ironically, the one who made her that way also qualifies. The Overmind was forcibly enslaved by [[CompleteMonster the Dark Voice]] into trying to commit genocide against the protoss with the full knowledge that he and his zerg would be wiped out once they did their job. [[ThanatosGambit Kerrigan was meant to be the one hope they had of breaking the Dark Voice's hold]].

* If there were any worthier candidate for the epitome of this trope, it would have to be ''BlazBlue'''s Ragna the Bloodedge. [[spoiler:Not only did he lose his home at the hands of Terumi, but he was also betrayed by his brother, Jin, who cut off his arm simply because [[DisproportionateRetribution Ragna didn't pay attention to him enough]]. In addition, his younger sister had been kidnapped, and he was left to die. ''Then'', Rachel saves him from death by turning him into a half-vampire, causing him immense trauma and making his hair [[LockedIntoStrangeness turn white]]. Then, later, we find out that his sister is the template for a series of robotic clones, two of which are playable characters in the game. One of them, Noel, is pretty much a grown-up Saya for the most part, while the other, Nu, is a [[{{Yandere}} crazy loli robot bitch]] who wants to fuse with Ragna to complete herself and form the Black Beast, which turned the world into a [[CrapsackWorld crapsack one]] already.]] He's already flat-out stated that he hates everything because of these events. You can't help but feel pity for him, unless you're a soulless bastard.

* [[spoiler:Aribeth]] from ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights''. [[spoiler:She starts as a heroic paladin and your main ally, beloved by all and considered a national hero. Then the people of the city you and her worked your asses off to save force the government to execute her innocent lover for being an ''unwilling'' pawn in [[TheMole Desther]]'s plans. And the government had no say in it, ''the townspeople literally formed a mob and forced Fenthick's execution.'' In the next chapter, Aribeth is so filled with despair that the BigBad is able to manipulate it into hatred and rage, turning her against the titular city (and the player). Aribeth is especially pitiful when you face her in the finale, as, with her lover dead and feeling of betrayed by Neverwinter, you can tell that she feels she has nothing left to lose.]]

* Morinth of ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' claims to be this, stating that she never wished to be born an Ardat-Yakshi (the Asari equivalent of being a Sex Demon). Subverted in that it was ultimately her choice to succumb to her addiction to murder and her actions show that, in the end, she's a straight-up CompleteMonster who wants to screw and kill the galaxy, in that order.

* The King of Sorrow from ''VideoGame/{{Klonoa}}'' fits this trope perfectly. [[spoiler:Long story short, he ends up being ignored by the entire world for basically representing an emotion that everyone hates. He goes mad and, as an act of vengeance, decides to unleash sorrow all across Lunatea, which, judging by the reactions, will cause quite a bit of destruction.]]

** Speaking of ''Castlevania'', Dracula can be considered as one too. He once fell in love with a human, and even had a son with her, and he was happy. Then [[HumansAreBastards some idiots]] [[BurnTheWitch accused her of being a witch and burned her]]. Dracula [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge snapped]].

** Interestingly, you hear about this from his grandfather, who was well aware of the ParentalNeglect and regrets not helping him, implying that it's possible Cyrus could have turned out totally normal if his grandfather had stepped in.

* [[spoiler:Kohaku]] of ''{{Tsukihime}}'' has become so emotionally broken that she thinks of herself as a doll and has no idea how she really feels about anything. Oh, and she's plotting the deaths of [[spoiler:Akiha and SHIKI, is implied or perhaps stated to be involved in Makihasa's death, and may view Shiki as a target as well, though she doesn't succeed there in any path. It's okay if everyone dies except Hisui, pretty much]]. Oh, and she's indirectly behind all the [[SerialKiller serial killing]] going on in the Far Side routes.

* Sandra Eastlake from ''ZebraGirl''. After trying for two years to come to terms with accidentally being transformed (through no fault of her own) into an obviously non-human demon who cannot eat or even taste food properly, type properly (her fingers are razor-sharp, foot-long claws), sound normal (her voice sounds like [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJCYr7Skf_g the modulated noise of a cat being strangled]]), interact within normal society, or even hold a normal job, surviving multiple attempts on her and her friends' lives, being rendered incapable of intimate contact due to her bodily fluids being ''acid'', and becoming her town's very own urban monster legend, she is finally pushed over the edge by a wizard who goes out of his way to ''provoke her into becoming completely evil so that he can successfully poison her with an evil-killing toxin''. When even that fails, he simply drags her to Hell while the whole town stands by and does nothing, because he happened to look more human than she does. She finally snaps when, [[spoiler:''after they both arrive in hell'', he transforms into a demon and threatens to spend the rest of eternity torturing her]]. By that point, she '''literally''' has nothing left to lose.

* Redcloak from ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', once you've read his backstory in ''StartOfDarkness''. [[spoiler:Entire family and village, except his brother, massacred by the supposedly LawfulGood Sapphire Guard. Teamed up with CompleteMonster Xykon, who took over Redcloak's own team and demoted him to number 2 after Redcloak himself turned him into a Lich. Forced to kill his brother by Xykon as a twisted loyalty test]]. Recently lost an eye to one of the Sapphire Guard and was forbidden by Xykon (again) from healing it. He remains in service to a potentially world-destroying evil plan which is the only part of his old life that remains.

** Also from ''[[WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries Yu-Gi-Oh! Abridged]]'', Marik, driven to "evil" because his own father tortured and neglected him. Even his [[SuperpoweredEvilSide evil alter ego]] [[CompleteMonster Melvin]] was originally created to [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CatVJI_sD0 "give him all the hugs he ever needed"]]

* This is pretty much what Dr. Horrible becomes at the end of DoctorHorriblesSingAlongBlog.

* [[spoiler:World]] from ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'', who [[spoiler:''literally'' destroyed his own world in rage when the gang tried to take Frankie back home]], and is still the Woobie considering his [[TearJerker depressing back story]] and the fact that all he really wanted was a friend who was willing to stay with him.

* Nox, the [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity hopelessly insane]] BigBad of ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}''. His true goals are, at first, ambiguous, and we are led to believe that he'll be more of a CardCarryingVillain early on, but three quarters of the way through, we learn that he is [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong trying to turn back time for some reason]]. Not until we see the bonus episode dedicated to his past do we realise his true intentions and motivations. From there on, he becomes less of an amusing Saturday morning cartoon villain and more of a deep, tragic character who you can't help but feel for, even ''as'' he literally commits acts of genocide. In fact, at this point, if Nox were to suddenly reappear without his mask and turn out to be even remotely handsome looking, he very much risks falling into DracoInLeatherPants territory. [[spoiler:This doesn't happen, as his last appearance is...[[AlasPoorVillain a shot of his armor in a pile of dust next to what is assumed to be his family's grave]]]].

* Spider-Carnage, of ''SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries''. An {{alternate|Universe}} version of Spider-Man, he watched first Uncle Ben, and then Aunt May die in rapid succession. The creation of his {{clon|ingBlues}}e, Ben Reilly, only worsened his mental stability, and the revelation that he, and not Ben, might be the clone drove him almost completely over the edge, leading to an attempt on the latter's life. What firmly pushes him into this trope though, is what happens following his possession by the [[SerialKiller Carnage]] [[PuppeteerParasite symbiote]]. Driven totally out of his mind, Spider-Carnage combines the Spot's portal technology with a disintegration bomb that will [[OmnicidalManiac destroy not only his own world, and not only the Universe, but the]] ''[[OmnicidalManiac totality of the multiverse]]''. As he puts it: "I'm gonna destroy all reality". Clearly insane, and running on pain and angst, he's eventually snapped out of it by a talk with another universe's Uncle Ben, leading to a last minute HeelFaceTurn, followed by [[DrivenToSuicide suicide]].

* Weathervane/Paula Haze from ''WesternAnimation/LoonaticsUnleashed''. She was pretty much treated like trash by Misty Breeze. No wonder the poor girl snapped.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' gives us [[spoiler:Hiroshi Sato]], who became an Equalist in order to avenge his dead wife, who perished due to firebenders. Unlike [[BigBad Amon]], who's always collected (and may in fact be lying about his past), [[spoiler:Hiroshi Sato]] is pretty much reduced to a hateful wreck that just happens to be [[BitchInSheepsClothing cleverly disguised]].
** He loses all sympathy when [[spoiler:[[MoralEventHorizon he tries to kill his own daughter]]]], but [[spoiler:'''Amon''' of all people become this when you learn that not only are he and [[JerkassWoobie Tarrlok]] brothers, and not only is [[CompleteMonster Yakone]] their father, but you see how he [[AbusiveParents treated them]]. It was so bad it made Noatak hate all Benders...[[BoomerangBigot including]] [[YouAreWhatYouHate himself.]]]]

* ''ScoobyDooOnZombieIsland'' gives us [[spoiler:Simone Lenoir and Lena Dupree]], settlers who came to what would become the area around New Orleans two hundred years ago, presumably to escape religious persecution. Their commune, by sheer bad luck, fell under attack by merciless pirates, who fed everyone except them to alligators ForTheEvulz ([[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids because this is a kids' movie]]). Making a [[DealWithTheDevil Deal With the Pagan Cat God]] for enough power for a RoaringRampageOfRevenge, they found that they had been cursed with immortality and the need to suck out souls to maintain it. It's quite jarring that, at the end of the film, [[spoiler:they get [[NoImmortalInertia the same punishment]] as their CompleteMonster accomplice Jacques]].

* Lord Fezarl Ezelcart, the BigBad of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamAge'', is a married man and was a father. However, the death of his son convinced him that it was high time to [[spoiler: [[SocialDarwinist root out the weak by waging a war that would eliminate them and create a paradise populated only by the most righteous of humans]].]] Thus began the UE's attacks on Earth Federation Colonies. In the third generation, [[hottip:*: the show's hook was that it would ''not'' follow an, overall, short war and one group of people as per ''Gundam'' tradition, but take place over three generations and nearly a century]], fate really twists the knife by having him encounter a young boy who greatly resembles his son... Who just so happens to be a Federation pilot and the grandson of Flit Asuno, main hero of the first generation and the biggest Vagan-hater alive. It's also important to note that Ezelcant's son, in his last moments, said that he'd like to be reborn on earth along with them. Ezelcant is convinced that his son got half his wish.

* Ezelcart, the BigBad of Anime/MobileSuitGundamAge, is a married man and was a father. However, the death of his son convinced him that it was high time to [[spoiler: [[SocialDarwinist root out the weak by waging a war that would eliminate them and create a paradise populated only by the most righteous of humans]].]] Thus began the UE's attacks on Earth Federation Colonies. In the third generation, [[hottip:*: the show's hook was that it would ''not'' follow an, overall, short war and one group of people as per ''Gundam'' tradition, but take place over three generations and nearly a century]], fate really twists the knife by having him encounter a young boy who greatly resembles his son... Who just so happens to be a Federation pilot and the grandson of Flit Asuno, main hero of the first generation and the biggest Vagan-hater alive. It's also important to note that Ezelcant's son, in his last moments, said that he'd like to be reborn on earth along with them. Ezelcant is convinced that his son got half his wish.

** Both Bane and Miranda Tate/Talia al Ghul from {{The Dark Knight Rises}}.

* Harvey Dent in ''Film/TheDarkKnight''.