History TearJerker / TwistedMetal

** Axel, who one day had [[StuffedIntoTheFridge his wife kidnapped when he wasn't looking]], [[FingerInTheMail and had her body mailed back to him piece-by-piece]]. [[ItsAllMyFault Believing his act of carelessness led to his wife's death]], [[CoolAndUnusualPunishment Axel designed his vehicle]] [[SelfHarm just so the pain would serve as punishment for failing his wife]]. And in his ending, [[spoiler: he finally faces off against his wife's killer, [[MonsterClown Needles "Sweet Tooth" Kane]], [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim and guns him down after]] [[WouldYouLikeToHearHowTheyDied Needles bragged about how his wife cried out for his help as he slowly gutted her]]... [[VengeanceFeelsEmpty but still feels like he should still be punished for his wife's death]].]]

--> '''Agent Stone:''' "[[spoiler: ''[[FamousLastWords I was so close... to making it right...]]'']]"

--> '''John Doe:''' "[[spoiler: ''[[FamousLastWords God, I was just starting to remember...]]'']]"

** Charlie Kane - or more accurately, his son. After Charlie took his son away from his BigBrotherBully ([[MonsterClown Needles Kane]]), Charlie [[BoomHeadshot got his brains blown out of his skull one day]], [[SelfMadeOrphan likely by Needles himself]]. Since Charlie's son was desperate not to live without his daddy, [[WeCanRebuildHim he pieced back his father's head]], [[TheKidWithTheRemoteControl and now remotely controls Charlie]]. Entering the contest under Calypso's promise to "[[ShmuckBait make it all better]]" [[spoiler: [[BlatantLies it turned out to be a lie]], [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder and Calypso kills Charlie again by crushing his son's remote]]. Before Charlie's son has a chance to rebuild the remote, [[BookEnds Calypso takes him away from his father's corpse the way Charlie took him from Needles]]: turns out, what Calypso meant by "making it all better" [[EvilMentor was to tutor Charlie's son to become the heir to the Twisted Metal tournament]], especially now [[CainAndAbel since he killed Needles during the competition]]: after all, "[[InTheBlood It's in his blood.]]"]]

** Billy Ray Stillwell: Once an average farmer, Billy Ray's life was torn upside down when a crop duster sprayed him while he was checking out the fields - it killed all of the crops, and left Billy horribly disfigured. Still more shocked than angered, Billy Ray limped back home to find his wife, Annie, thinking she could figure out what to do. Only to find [[YourCheatingHeart Annie kissing the pilot that just sprayed him]], and the two talking about [[GoldDigger how they were going to collect Billy's life insurance]]. Outraged, Billy grabbed a hoe, beat Annie to death then kept hitting the body for an hour, and vowed to hunt the pilot down... And in his story, [[AntagonistInMourning he eventually]] ''[[AntagonistInMourning regrets]]'' [[AntagonistInMourning killing Annie]].

** Dollface, full-stop. ''[[TheWoobie Everything]]'' [[TraumaCongaLine about her is just so... tragic]]: first, in her [[AllThereInTheManual manual-only backstory]], [[MissingMom her mother died when she was ten]], [[AbusiveParents and her father took his grief out on her]], with him claiming "[[MisBlamed It's all your fault]]". Then, getting into the backstory now provided in her story mode, she worked as an intern for [[BadBoss Mr. Kreel]], who one day [[UnstoppableRage completely snapped]] [[MinorInjuryOverReaction because she spilled coffee over some of his files]], and [[DisproportionateRetribution sealed her in the Dollface mask as punishment]]. [[ClingyCostume He even made sure to lock it with a special, one-of-a-kind key]] so that [[AndIMustScream Dollface could never free herself from the mask]]. After Mr. Kreel left her for dead, Dollface was found dumped on the streets, and carted off to [[BedlamHouse Blackfield Penitentiary]]. There, she was put into solitary confinement, and if her "Patient Profile" is to be believed, her treatment involved equal amounts of [[WorstAid antidepressant drugs]], and [[ElectricTorture shock therapy]] - all while her mask was beginning to crush her head, and give her brain damage on top of all the trauma she experienced so far. By the events of ''Black'', she'd been imprisoned for over 7 years, and she legitimately thinks that [[ItsAllMyFault It's All Her Fault]] for being the way she was now. Even when she joins the contest, she comes off as the OnlySaneMan for [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds feeling remorse and regret for killing the other contestants]], openly wondering if [[WasItReallyWorthIt winning Twisted Metal to free herself from the mask would be worth all the death and destruction she must cause to get her wish]]. [[spoiler: And in her ending, she's forced into a FriendOrIdolDecision: if she takes the key to free her mask, [[CruelAndUnusualDeath Mr. Kreel would be killed by being slammed into an Iron Maiden]]. ...Okay, ''[[KickTheSonOfABitch that]]'' [[LaserGuidedKarma probably isn't much of a tearjerker in comparison]], but when Dollface ''does'' get the key after sealing Kreel's fate? ''[[ShaggyDogStory She tosses it away]]'', [[BecomingTheMask claiming she now preferred the mask to her old face]]. She then ends by driving off in Darkside, claiming "[[HumansAreBastards There's a whole lot of people in the world just like Mr. Kreel.]] ''[[PayEvilUntoEvil Someone has to show them they can't do bad stuff to people like me...]]''"]] ItGetsWorse: This is the better take of the character. Deleted scenes reveal that Mr.Kreel was going to be her own father who had murdered her mother and exacted disproportionate retribution on her own daughter for just making a little noise.

** Dollface, full-stop. ''[[TheWoobie Everything]]'' [[TraumaCongaLine about her is just so... tragic]]: first, in her [[AllThereInTheManual manual-only backstory]], [[MissingMom her mother died when she was ten]], [[AbusiveParents and her father took his grief out on her]], with him claiming "[[MisBlamed It's all your fault]]". Then, getting into the backstory now provided in her story mode, she worked as an intern for [[BadBoss Mr. Kreel]], who one day [[UnstoppableRage completely snapped]] [[MinorInjuryOverReaction because she spilled coffee over some of his files]], and [[DisproportionateRetribution sealed her in the Dollface mask as punishment]]. [[ClingyCostume He even made sure to lock it with a special, one-of-a-kind key]] so that [[AndIMustScream Dollface could never free herself from the mask]]. After Mr. Kreel left her for dead, Dollface was found dumped on the streets, and carted off to [[BedlamHouse Blackfield Penitentiary]]. There, she was put into solitary confinement, and if her "Patient Profile" is to be believed, her treatment involved equal amounts of [[WorstAid antidepressant drugs]], and [[ElectricTorture shock therapy]] - all while her mask was beginning to crush her head, and give her brain damage on top of all the trauma she experienced so far. By the events of ''Black'', she'd been imprisoned for over 7 years, and she legitimately thinks that [[ItsAllMyFault It's All Her Fault]] for being the way she was now. Even when she joins the contest, she comes off as the OnlySaneMan for [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds feeling remorse and regret for killing the other contestants]], openly wondering if [[WasItReallyWorthIt winning Twisted Metal to free herself from the mask would be worth all the death and destruction she must cause to get her wish]]. [[spoiler: And in her ending, she's forced into a FriendOrIdolDecision: if she takes the key to free her mask, [[CruelAndUnusualDeath Mr. Kreel would be killed by being slammed into an Iron Maiden]]. ...Okay, ''[[KickTheSonOfABitch that]]'' [[LaserGuidedKarma probably isn't much of a tearjerker in comparison]], but when Dollface ''does'' get the key after sealing Kreel's fate? ''[[ShaggyDogStory She tosses it away]]'', [[BecomingTheMask claiming she now preferred the mask to her old face]]. She then ends by driving off in Darkside, claiming "[[HumansAreBastards There's a whole lot of people in the world just like Mr. Kreel.]] ''[[PayEvilUntoEvil Someone has to show them they can't do bad stuff to people like me...]]''"]]

*** And to ''really'' twist the knife, the [[StuffBlowingUp Explosion]] [[SmashToBlack to Black]] cuts to a message saying "[[AWinnerIsYou The LAPD thanks you for putting an end to Twisted Metal. You have won!]]". What ''should'' feel like a CrowningMomentOfAwesome, where the [[ApocalypseHow literally world-shattering]] BloodSport has been ended for good, is delivered as the king of all "YouBastard" moments, [[spoiler: for abusing [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes Calypso's sole redeeming relationship with his daughter]] [[WeCanRebuildHim by piecing what was left of her from her fatal accident back together]], [[UnwillingRoboticisation only to force her to become a mechanized]] [[WhyAmITicking suicide bomber]] [[SomebodySetUpUsTheBomb in the hopes she would deliver a warhead right in Calypso's face]].]] Even if [[IDidWhatIHadToDo this was the only way to stop Calypso]], (which future endings in games like ''Twisted Metal: Head-On'' have disproven, as plenty of contestants can injure, arrest, or outright kill Calypso) and that TheEndJustifiesTheMeans in this case, it's still a bitter pill to swallow.

** Mr. Grimm: Being a ShellShockedVeteran from TheVietnamWar is probably par for the course, but Grimm had the misfortune to experience a terror even most 'Nam vets would be mortified at: He and his best friend Benny were behind enemy lines, desperately fighting for their lives after the rest of the squad was cut down. Benny eventually gets hit, and as Grimm desperately tries to help him, he's knocked out by a Vietnamese soldier. Grimm and Benny were then imprisoned in a hole 25 feet deep, and were left starving for several days. After Mr. Grimm desperately begged for help non-stop for five days, an adviser to the Vietnamese showed up; he claimed that Mr. Grimm would have to eat to stay alive, and dropped a knife into the hole - the implication being that [[NoPartyLikeADonnerParty he wanted Grimm to kill and cannibalize Benny]]. Grimm refused, but after Benny died from his untreated wounds two days later, Grimm caved in, and started to chop up his friend for food. As a TragicKeepsake, he forged the shattered remains of Benny's skull into a makeshift helmet. When [[BigDamnHeroes a bunch of Marines]] [[BigDamnHeroes rolled in to save Grimm]], [[BerserkButton one of them tried to take the mask off]], and [[UnstoppableRage Grimm killed four of the Marines before being subdued]]. Now shipped back to the states, Grimm slowly rots in his cell at Blackfield, [[ImAHumanitarian still holding a craving for human flesh...]]

* Somehow, even ''TwistedMetal'' manages to pull this off, with Grasshopper's ''Head-On'' ending. The reason Krista's ghost is in the tournament? Calypso [[MagnificentBastard wants her to win]] so she can wish herself back to life. Then when she actually ''does'' win, [[spoiler: [[NowYouTellMe she fails to realize what he was after]] (or [[WasItReallyWorthIt refused to believe it would be worth all the death and destruction she needed to cause to achieve her wish]]), and [[CallingTheOldManOut simply accuses him of using her to kill more people]]. And just to make things worse, [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong she wishes that the accident that killed her and gave Calypso his powers never happened]].]] Calypso is forced to grant her wish, and [[HopeSpot we see her happily playing with a younger, friendlier father]]. [[spoiler: Then we see her comatose in a hospital, with Calypso watching. He can't give her what she wants (since trying to RetGone anything in ''Twisted Metal'' never works), and she can't actually come back because [[LiteralGenie that wasn't her wish.]] The best he can do is leave her in a happy dream state until she recovers.]] Just... damn.

** No-Face: A former boxer, No-Face had his jaw and nose shattered after being put in a losing fight - when he went to a BackAlleyDoctor who could fix up his face, the Doctor in question was pissed at losing $20,000 on No-Face that night. After sedating No-Face, the Doctor [[BodyHorror tore out his eyes, his tongue, and stitched his mouth and eyelids shut]]. In No-Face's understandable UnstoppableRage [[AccidentalMurder he murdered six innocent people trying to get to the doctor]], and was locked in Blackfield as a result.
** Billy Ray Stillwell: Once an average farmer, Billy Ray's life was torn upside down when a crop duster sprayed him while he was checking out the fields - it killed all of the crops, and left Billy horribly disfigured. Still more shocked than angered, Billy Ray limped back home to find his wife, Annie, thinking she could figure out what to do. Only to find [[YourCheatingHeart Annie kissing the pilot that just sprayed him]], and the two talking about [[GoldDigger how they were going to collect Billy's life insurance]]. Outraged, Billy grabbed a hoe, and beat Annie to death, and vowed to hunt the pilot down... And in his story, [[AntagonistInMourning he eventually]] ''[[AntagonistInMourning regrets]]'' [[AntagonistInMourning killing Annie]].

* Virtually all of the characters from TwistedMetalBlack (well, okay, [[TokenEvilTeammate aside from Needles Kane]]) are this, each having a DarkAndTroubledPast or FreudianExcuse worthy enough to push them into the BloodSport that is Twisted Metal, and [[SympatheticMurderer excuse the actions that some of them take in their endings]] [[MoralEventHorizon that would've been flat-out monstrous in any other circumstance]]:

--> '''Mr. Grim:''' [[spoiler:''before death'' I gotta admit, I would'a shot that motherfucker too.]]

** Her ending in Twisted Metal 2 is an awful, awful thing. [[spoiler:Krista, surviving the hell-war that is the Twisted Metal contest, is overjoyed to see her father - and Calypso feels the same for her, [[IThoughtYouWereDead having thought that his daughter had died in a car accident that scarred him...]] But it's all a ruse. Krista is actually a cyborg reconstructed by the LAPD, as she's the only person that Calypso would allow in his direct presence, and is wired with an explosive that would detonate once she achieved an audience with Calypso. Before the bomb within her goes off, Krista says to her father, "Hold me daddy: I'm JustAMachine now, but [[ThisIsGonnaSuck I'm afraid the explosion will hurt]]." And Calypso, who you would ''think'' would have full rights to claim "ThatThingIsNotMyChild", and certainly would've damn well knew he'll be KilledOfForReal if he doesn't try to OutrunTheFireball... [[YouAreNotAlone hugs her]], [[TogetherInDeath just as the bomb's detonation obliterates them both]].]] Who'd have thought that ''[[BigBad Calypso]]'' would have deserved any sympathy?
*** And to ''really'' twist the knife, the [[StuffBlowingUp Explosion]] [[SmashToBlack to Black]] cuts to a message saying "[[AWinnerIsYou The LAPD thanks you for putting an end to Twisted Metal. You have won!]]". What ''should'' feel like a CrowningMomentOfAwesome, where the [[ApocalypseHow literally world-shattering]] BloodSport has been ended for good, is delivered as the king of all "YouBastard" moments, [[spoiler: for abusing [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes Calypso's sole redeeming relationship with his daughter]] [[WeCanRebuildHim by piecing what was left of her from her fatal accident back together]], [[UnwillingRoboticisation only to force her to become a mechanized]] [[WhyAmITicking suicide bomber]] [[SomebodySetUpUsTheBomb in the hopes she would deliver a warhead right in Calypso's face]].]] Even if [[IDidWhatIHadToDo this was the only way to stop Calypso]], (which future endings in games like ''Twisted Metal: Head-On'' have disproven, as plenty of contestants can injure, arrest, or outright kill Calypso) and that TheEndJustifiesTheMeans in this case, it's still a bitter pill to swallow.

** Charlie Kane - or more accurately, his son. After Charlie took his son away from his BigBrotherBully ([[MonsterClown Needles Kane]]), Charlie [[BoomHeadshot got his brains blown out of his skull one day]], [[SelfMadeOrphan likely by Needles himself]]. Since Charlie's son was desperate not to live without his daddy, [[WeCanRebuildHim he pieced back his father's head]], [[TheKidWithTheRemoteControl and now remotely controls Charlie]]. Entering the contest under Calypso's promise to "[[ShmuckBait make it all better]]" [[spoiler: [[BlatantLies it turned out to be a lie]], [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder and Calypso kills Charlie again by crushing his son's remote]]. Before Charlie's son has a chance to rebuild the remote, [[BookEnds Calypso takes him away from his father's corpse the way Charlie took him from Needles]]: turns out, what Calypso meant by "making it all better" [[EvilMentor was to tutor Charlie's son to become the heir to the Twisted Metal tournament]], especially now [[CainAndAbel since he killed Needles during the competition]]: after all, "[[InTheBlood It's in his blood.]]"]]
** Axel, who one day had [[StuffedIntoTheFridge his wife kidnapped when he wasn't looking]], [[FingerInTheMail and had her body mailed back to him piece-by-piece]]. [[ItsAllMyFault Believing his act of carelessness led to his wife's death]], [[CoolAndUnusualPunishment Axel designed his vehicle]] [[SelfHarm just so the pain would serve as punishment for failing his wife]]. And in his ending, [[spoiler: he finally faces off against his wife's killer, [[MonsterClown Needles "Sweet Tooth" Kane]], [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim and guns him down after]] [[WouldYouLikeToHearHowTheyDied Needles bragged about how his wife cried out for his help as he slowly gutted her]]... [[VengeanceFeelsEmpty but still feels like he should still be punished for his wife's death]].]]
--> '''Axel:''' [[spoiler: [[PyrrhicVictory The clown is dead... but so is my wife.]] ''[[SurvivorGuilt Now I can never be free...]]'']]

* Somehow, even ''TwistedMetal'' manages to pull this off, with Grasshopper's ''Head-On'' ending. The reason Krista's ghost is in the tournament? Calypso [[MagnificentBastard wants her to win]] so she can wish herself back to life. Then when she actually ''does'' win, [[spoiler: she fails to realize what he was after, and simply accuses him of using her to kill more people. And just to make things worse, she wishes that the accident that killed her and gave Calypso his powers never happened.]] Calypso is forced to grant her wish, and we see her happily playing with a younger, friendlier father. [[spoiler: Then we see her comatose in a hospital, with Calypso watching. He can't give her what she wants (since trying to RetGone anything in ''Twisted Metal'' never works), and she can't actually come back because [[LiteralGenie that wasn't her wish.]] The best he can do is leave her in a happy dream state until she recovers.]] Just... damn.
** Her ending in Twisted Metal 2 is an awful, awful thing. [[spoiler:Krista, surviving the hell-war that is the Twisted Metal contest, is overjoyed to see her father -- and Calypso feels the same for her, having thought that his daughter had died in a car accident that scarred him... But it's all a ruse. Krista is actually a simulacrum reconstructed by the LAPD, as she's the only person that Calypso would allow in his direct presence. Before the bomb within her goes off, Krista says to her father, "Hold me daddy, I'm just a machine now but I'm afraid the explosion will hurt." Calypso... hugs her.]] Who'd have thought that Calypso deserved any sympathy?

** Charlie Kane - or more accurately, his son. After Charlie took his son away from his BigBrotherBully ([[MonsterClown Needles Kane]]), Charlie [[BoomHeadshot got his brains blown out of his skull one day]], [[SelfMadeOrphan likely by Needles himself]]. Since Charlie's son was desperate not to live without his daddy, [[WeCanRebuildHim he pieced back his father's head]], [[TheKidWithTheRemoteControl and now remotely controls Charlie]]. Entering the contest under Calypso's promise to "[[ShmuckBait make it all better]]" [[spoiler: [[BlatantLies it turned out to be a lie]], [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder and Calypso kills Charlie again by crushing his son's remote]]. Before Charlie's son has a chance to rebuild the remote, [[BookEnds Calypso takes him away from his father's corpse the way Charlie took him from Needles]]: turns out, what Calypso meant by "making it all better" [[EvilMentor was to tutor Charlie's son to become the heir to the Twisted Metal tournament]], especially now [[CainAndAbel since he killed Needles during the competition]]: after all, "[[InTheBlood It's in his blood.]]"]]
** Axel, who one day had [[StuffedIntoTheFridge his wife kidnapped when he wasn't looking]], [[FingerInTheMail and had her body mailed back to him piece-by-piece]]. [[ItsAllMyFault Believing his act of carelessness led to his wife's death]], [[CoolAndUnusualPunishment Axel designed his vehicle]] [[SelfHarm just so the pain would serve as punishment for failing his wife]]. And in his ending, [[spoiler: he finally faces off against his wife's killer, [[MonsterClown Needles "Sweet Tooth" Kane]], [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim and guns him down after]] [[WouldYouLikeToHearHowTheyDied Needles bragged about how his wife cried out for his help as he slowly gutted her]]... [[VengeanceFeelsEmpty but still feels like he should still be punished for his wife's death]].]]
--> '''Axel:''' [[spoiler: [[PyrrhicVictory The clown is dead... but so is my wife.]] ''[[SurvivorGuilt Now I can never be free...]]'']]

** Charlie Kane - or more accurately, his son. After Charlie took his son away from his BigBrotherBully ([[MonsterClown Needles Kane]]), Charlie [[BoomHeadshot got his brains blown out of his skull one day]], [[SelfMadeOrphan likely by Needles himself]]. Since Charlie's son was desperate not to live without his daddy, [[WeCanRebuildHim he pieced back his father's head]], [[TheKidWithTheRemoteControl and now remotely controls Charlie]]. Entering the contest under Calypso's promise to "[[ShmuckBait make it all better]]" [[spoiler: [[BlatantLies it turned out to be a lie]], [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder and Calypso kills Charlie again by crushing his son's remote]]. Before Charlie's son has a chance to rebuild the remote, [[BookEnds Calypso takes him away from his father's corpse the way Charlie took him from Needles]]: turns out, what Calypso meant by "making it all better" [[EvilMentor was to tutor Charlie's son to become the heir to the Twisted Metal tournament]], especially now [[CainAndAbel since he killed Needles during the competition]]: after all, "[[InTheBlood It's in his blood.]]"]]
** Axel, who one day had [[StuffedIntoTheFridge his wife kidnapped when he wasn't looking]], [[FingerInTheMail and had her body mailed back to him piece-by-piece]]. [[ItsAllMyFault Believing his act of carelessness led to his wife's death]], [[CoolAndUnusualPunishment Axel designed his vehicle]] [[SelfHarm just so the pain would serve as punishment for failing his wife]]. And in his ending, [[spoiler: he finally faces off against his wife's killer, [[MonsterClown Needles "Sweet Tooth" Kane]], [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim and guns him down after]] [[WouldYouLikeToHearHowTheyDied Needles bragged about how his wife cried out for his help as he slowly gutted her]]... [[VengeanceFeelsEmpty but still feels like he should still be punished for his wife's death]].]]
--> '''Axel:''' [[spoiler: [[PhyricVictory The clown is dead... but so is my wife.]] ''[[SurvivorGuilt Now I can never be free...]]'']]

--> '''Grimm:''' "[[PsychologicalHorror They say the mind bends to cope with the horrors of life...]] [[GoMadFromTheRevelation I think mine bent so much that it snapped in two]]."
** Preacher's story. Sure, he skirts on the edge of being a HolierThanThou lunatic, but wanting to [[TheAtoner find forgiveness after]] [[MyGreatestFailure butchering a whole church]] is pretty understandable. [[spoiler: And his "MyGodWhatHaveIDone" [[HeroicBSOD breakdown]] he has after finding out he was never a victim of DemonicPossession, but was genuinely insane, is utterly heartwrenching. It gets even worse when he crucifies himself to beg for God's forgiveness, and then, when that didn't work...]]]]

** Agent Stone: A ByTheBookCop [[BewareTheNiceOnes who one day snapped]] when facing a HostageSituation, being angered over how criminals could kill indiscriminately, [[KarmaHoudini and eventually got released from court or prison to kill again]]. But in his UnstoppableRage, Stone [[AccidentalMurder accidentally gunned down a mother and her daughter in the crossfire]]. [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone Utterly horrified at what his haste had cost him]], Stone attempted to [[AteHisGun Eat His Gun]] - [[ItWorksBetterWithBullets only to be thwarted as it was out of ammo]]. Now that he's joined the contest, he's finally gets a chance to SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong [[spoiler: and in his ending, [[HopeSpot he seemingly gets it]], and is able to take out the terrorists without killing the mother and daughter in the process. However, he doesn't notice [[NotQuiteDead one of the terrorists is still alive]] (who is heavily implied to be Calypso given his [[EyeScream sunken eye]]), [[BoomHeadshot and gets a bullet to the brain]] [[ShootTheShaggyDog for all his trouble]].]]

** Mr. Grimm: Being a ShellShockedVeteran from TheVietnamWar is probably par for the course, but Grimm had the misfortune to experience a terror even most 'Nam vets would be mortified at: He and his best friend Benny were behind enemy lines, desperately fighting for their lives after the rest of the squad was cut down. Benny eventually gets hit, and as Grimm desperately tries to help him, he's knocked out by a Vietnamese soldier. Grimm and Benny were then imprisoned in a hole 25 feet deep, and were left starving for several days. After Mr. Grimm desperately begged for help non-stop for five days, an adviser to the Vietnamese showed up; he claimed that Mr. Grimm would have to eat to stay alive, and dropped a knife into the hole - the implication being that [[NoPartyLikeADonnerParty he wanted Grimm to kill and cannibalize Benny]]. Grimm refused, but after Benny died from his untreated wounds two days later, Grimm caved in, and started to chop up his friend for food. As a TragicKeepsake, he forged the shattered remains of Benny's skull into a makeshift helmet. When [[BigDamnHeroes a bunch of Marines]] [[BigDamnHeroes rolled in to save Grimm]], [[BerserkButton one of them tried to take the mask off]], and [[UnstoppableRage Grimm killed four of the Marines before being subdued]]. Now shipped back to the states, Grimm slowly rots in his cell at Blackfield, [[ImAHumanitarean still holding a craving for human flesh...]]

* Virtually all of the characters from TwistedMetalBlack (well, okay, [[TokenEvilTeammate aside from Needles Kane]]) are this, each having a DarkAndTroubledPast or FreudianExcuse worthy enough to push them into the Deadly Game that is Twisted Metal, and [[SympatheticMurderer excuse the actions that some of them take in their endings]] [[MoralEventHorizon that would've been flat-out monstrous in any other circumstance]]:

** Dollface, full-stop. ''[[TheWoobie Everything]]'' [[TraumaCongaLine about her is just so... tragic]]: first, in her [[AllThereInTheManual manual-only backstory]], [[MissingMom her mother died when she was ten]], [[AbusiveParents and her father took his grief out on her]], with him claiming "[[MisBlamed It's all your fault]]". Then, getting into the backstory now provided in her story mode, she worked as an intern for [[BadBoss Mr. Kreel]], who one day [[UnstoppableRage completely snapped]] [[MinorInjuryOverReaction because she spilled coffee over some of his files]], and [[DisproportionateRetribution sealed her in the Dollface mask as punishment]]. [[ClingyCostume He even made sure to lock it with a special, one-of-a-kind key]] so that [[AndIMustScream Dollface could never free herself from the mask]]. After Mr. Kreel left her for dead, Dollface was found dumped on the streets, and carted off to [[BedlamHouse Blackfield Penitentiary]]. There, she was put into solitary confinement, and if her "Patient Profile" is to be believed, her treatment involved equal amounts of [[WorstAid antidepressant drugs]], and [[ElectricTorture shock therapy]] - all while her mask was beginning to crush her head, and give her brain damage on top of all the trauma she experienced so far. By the events of ''Black'', she'd been imprisoned for over 7 years, and she legitimately thinks that [[ItsAllMyFault It's All Her Fault]] for being the way she was now. Even when she joins the contest, she comes off as the OnlySaneMan for [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds feeling remorse and regret for killing the other contestants]], openly wondering if [[WasItReallyWorthIt winning Twisted Metal to free herself from the mask would be worth all the death and destruction she must cause to get her wish]]. [[spoiler: And in her ending, she's forced into a FriendOrIdolDecision: if she takes the key to free her mask, [[CruelAndUnusualDeath Mr. Kreel would be killed by being slammed into an Iron Maiden]]. ...Okay, ''[[KickTheSonOfABitch that]]'' [[LaserGuidedKarma probably isn't much of a tearjerker in comparison]], but when Dollface ''does'' get the key after sealing Kreel's fate? ''[[ShaggyDogStory She tosses it away]]'', [[BecomingTheMask claiming she now preferred the mask to her old face]]. She then ends by driving off in Darkside, claiming "[[HumansAreBastards There's a whole lot of people in the world just like Mr. Kreel.]] ''[[PayEvilUntoEvil Someone has to show them they can't do bad stuff to people like me...]]''"]]
** Raven: Sure, being a {{Goth}} EmoTeen, it was all too easy to make her a {{Wangst}}y excuse to compete - but good GRIEF does her motivation genuinely hurt. It turned out that she was pretty well-adjusted, all things considered, until her best friend Kelly was pushed into the harbor by a couple of {{Jerkass}} {{JerkJock}}s, who wanted to "[[BurnTheWitch see if a witch could swim]]" - not knowing or caring that neither Kelly ''or'' Raven knew how to swim, causing Kelly to drown while Raven could only watch. Raven was carted off to [[BedlamHouse Blackfield]] by [[AdultsAreUseless her parents]] shortly afterwards, and any chance of her thinking of any way to cope with Kelly's death - [[MurderIsTheBestSolution besides killing the guys who killed her]] - was utterly gone. Her EstablishingCharacterMoment has her [[SelfHarm carving Kelly's name into her arm]], and her quotes in her story mode have her going FromBadToWorse - some even imply [[DrivenToSuicide she wants to kill herself]], [[SuicideByCop or at least get herself killed in the contest]], [[TogetherInDeath just so she could be with Kelly again]].
--> (Intro) "Kelly was my best friend in the world. [[WhyCouldntYouSaveThem I would've died for her]]! ...Who knows? [[DeathSeeker Maybe if I'm lucky... I'll get the chance.]]"
--> (Skyscarpers Stage): "100 stories up. [[SuicideIsPainless I should just drive my car off the edge. Then I'd never have to worry about anything anymore...]]"
** Mr. Grimm: Being a ShellShockedVeteran from TheVietnamWar is probably par for the course, but Grimm had the misfortune to experience a terror even most 'Nam vets would be mortified at: He and his best friend Benny were behind enemy lines, desperately fighting for their lives after the rest of the squad was cut down. Benny eventually gets hit, and as Grimm desperately tries to help him, he's knocked out by a Vietnamese soldier. Grimm and Benny were then imprisoned in a hole 25 feet deep, and were left starving for several days. After Mr. Grimm desperately begged for help non-stop for five days, an adviser to the Vietnamese showed up; he claimed that Mr. Grimm would have to eat to stay alive, and dropped a knife into the hole - the implication being that [[NoPartyLikeADonnerParty he wanted Grimm to kill and cannibalize Benny]]. Grimm refused, but after Benny died from his untreated wounds two days later, Grimm caved in, and started to chop up his friend for food. As a TragicKeepsake, he forged the shattered remains of Benny's skull into a makeshift helmet. When a bunch of Marines rolled in to save Grimm, one of them tried to take the mask off, and Grimm killed four of the Marines before being subdued. Now shipped back to the states, Grimm slowly rots in his cell at Blackfield, still holding a craving for human flesh...

** Preacher's story. Sure, he skirts on the edge of being a HolierThanThou lunatic, but wanting to [[TheAtoner find forgiveness after [[MyGreatestFailure butchering a whole church]] is pretty understandable. [[spoiler: And his "MyGodWhatHaveIDone" [[HeroicBSOD breakdown]] he has after finding out he was never a victim of DemonicPossession, but was genuinely insane, is utterly heartwrenching. It gets even worse when he crucifies himself to beg for God's forgiveness, and then, when that didn't work...]]]]
--> '''Preacher:''' [[spoiler: "[[EnemyWithin A man cannot hide from himself]]. ''[[ImGoingToHellForThis There is only one path before me...]]''" ([[DrivenToSuicide Drops himself off the ledge of a building]])]]
** Agent Stone: A ByTheBookCop who one day snapped when facing a HostageSituation, being angered over how criminals could kill indiscriminately, [[KarmaHoudini and eventually got released from court or prison to kill again]]. But in his UnstoppableRage, Stone [[AccidentalMurder accidentally gunned down a mother and her daughter in the crossfire]]. [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone Utterly horrified at what his haste had cost him]], Stone attempted to [[AteHisGun Eat His Gun]] - [[ItWorksBetterWithBullets only to be thwarted as it was out of ammo]]. Now that he's joined the contest, he's finally gets a chance to SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong [[spoiler: and in his ending, [[HopeSpot he seemingly gets it]], and is able to take out the terrorists without killing the mother and daughter in the process. However, he doesn't notice [[NotQuiteDead one of the terrorists is still alive]] (who is heavily implied to be Calypso given his [[EyeScream sunken eye]]), [[BoomHeadshot and gets a bullet to the brain]] [[ShootTheShaggyDog for all his trouble]].]]

** John Doe: A man with MoralAmnesiacDissonance, who starts to find himself increasingly unnerved with how easy it is for him to kill others in the Twisted Metal contest. Then, when he gets his first decent flashback, he remembers running with a gang of nobodies, who only committed random muggings and bank robberies. [[SmallNameBigEgo Since they couldn't stand being known as "nobodies"]] the gang came up with a plan: they would detonate a bomb at the Midtown Center of Disease Control, which would launch [[TheVirus viruses]] and [[ThePlague diseases]] [[ApocalypseHow across the world]]. When the memories stop there, he muses "[[HeelRealization I don't think I like the man I'm turning out to be...]]"
*** Then, in his ending, [[spoiler: he discovers the truth: [[FaceRealization he was TheMole from the FBI who was sent to infiltrate a doomsday cult]], and that his amnesia came from tossing the bomb out the window of the hospital, which knocked him unconscious, but prevented any of the hospital's diseases from spreading. John basked in the glory of being a hero, who was willing to [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifice himself to save the world]]... before [[OhCrap realizing he was standing before]] [[BigBad the Number 2 on the FBI's Most Wanted list]]. After Calypso thanked John for playing Twisted Metal, [[ShootTheShaggyDog he shoots him to death]]. As [[AlmostDeadGuy John lay dying]], [[IHaveAFamily he suddenly remembered having a wife and two kids...]].]]

** No-Face: A former boxer, No-Face had his jaw and nose shattered after being put in a losing fight - when he went to a BackAlleyDoctor who could fix up his face, the Doctor in question was pissed at losing $20,000 on No-Face that night. After sedating No-Face, the Doctor [[BodyHorror tore out his eyes, his tongue, and stitched his mouth and eyelids shut]]. In No-Face's understandable UnstoppableRage [[AccidentalMurder he murdered six innocent people trying to get to the doctor]], and was locked in Blackfield as a result.
** Billy Ray Stillwell: Once an average farmer, Billy Ray's life was torn upside down when a crop duster sprayed him while he was checking out the fields - it killed all of the crops, and left Billy horribly disfigured. Still more shocked than angered, Billy Ray limped back home to find his wife, Annie, thinking she could figure out what to do. Only to find [[YourCheatingHeart Annie kissing the pilot that just sprayed him]], and the two talking about how they were going to collect Billy's life insurance. Outraged, Billy grabbed a hoe, and beat Annie to death, and vowed to hunt the pilot down... And in his story, he eventually ''regrets'' killing Annie.
--> '''Billy Ray:''' "[[AntagonistInMourning My poor, sweet Annie!]] [[MisBlamed I don't blame her no more.]] [[TheCorrupter It was that damn pilot done steered her wrong!]]"
** [[AxCrazy Bloody Mary]] is one of the most greedy and bloodthirsty of the drivers, but after always being mocked for being ugly, and constantly watching her friends get married while she remained alone, Mary definately holds justifiable anger under the AxCrazy {{Yandere}} mania. Even worse are some of her quotes in story mode, which highlights one ''hell'' of a FreudianExcuse:

* Virtually all of the characters from TwistedMetalBlack (well, okay, [[TokenEvilTeammate aside from Needles Kane]]) are this, each having a DarkAndTroubledPast or FreudianExcuse worthy enough to push them into TheDeadliestGame that is Twisted Metal, and [[SympatheticMurderer excuse the actions that some of them take in their endings]] that [[MoralEventHorizon would've been flat-out monstrous in any other circumstance]]:
** Dollface, full-stop. ''[[TheWoobie Everything]]'' [[TraumaCongaLine about her is just so... tragic]]: first, in her [[AllThereInTheManual manual-only backstory]], [[MissingMom her mother died when she was ten]], [[AbusiveParents and her father took his grief out on her]] with him claiming "[[MisBlamed It's all your fault]]". Then, getting into the backstory now provided in her story mode, she worked as an intern for [[BadBoss Mr. Kreel]], who one day [[UnstoppableRage completely snapped]] [[MinorInjuryOverReaction because she spilled coffee over some of his files]], and [[DisproportionateRetribution sealed her in the Dollface mask as punishment]]. [[ClingyCostume He even made sure to lock it with a special, one-of-a-kind key]] so that [[AndIMustScream Dollface could never free herself from the mask]]. After Mr. Kreel left her for dead, Dollface was found dumped on the streets, and carted off to [[BedlamHouse Blackfield Penitentiary]]. There, she was put into solitary confinement, and if her "Patient Profile" is to be believed, her treatment involved equal amounts of [[WorstAid antidepressant drugs]], and [[ElectricTorture shock therapy]] - all while her mask was beginning to crush her head, and give her brain damage on top of all the trauma she experienced so far. By the events of ''Black'', she'd been imprisoned for over 7 years, and she legitimately thinks that [[ItsAllMyFault It's All Her Fault]] for being the way she was now. Even when she joins the contest, she comes off as the OnlySaneMan for [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds feeling remorse and regret for killing the other contestants]], openly wondering if [[WasItReallyWorthIt winning Twisted Metal to free herself from the mask would be worth all the death and destruction she must cause to get her wish]]. [[spoiler: And in her ending, she's forced into a FriendOrIdolDecision: if she takes the key to free her mask, [[CruelAndUnusualDeath Mr. Kreel would be killed by being slammed into an Iron Maiden]]. ...Okay, ''[[KickTheSonOfABitch that]]'' [[LaserGuidedKarma probably isn't much of a tearjerker in comparison]], but when Dollface ''does'' get the key after sealing Kreel's fate? ''[[ShaggyDogStory She tosses it away]]'', [[BecomingTheMask claiming she now preferred the mask to her old face]]. She then ends by diving off in Darkside, claiming "[[HumansAreBastards There's a whole lot of people in the world just like Mr. Kreel.]] ''[[PayEvilUntoEvil Someone has to show them they can't do bad stuff to people like me...]]''"]]
** From Black, The Preacher's story. From the entire cast of the game, he seems to be the only redeemable person... but he disagreed.

** Dollface, full-stop. ''[[TheWoobie Everything]]'' [[TraumaCongaLine about her is just so... tragic]]: first, in her [[AllThereInTheManual manual-only backstory]], [[MissingMom her mother died when she was ten]], [[AbusiveParents and her father took his grief out on her]] with him claiming "[[MisBlamed It's all your fault]]". Then, getting into the backstory now provided in her story mode, she worked as an intern for [[BadBoss Mr. Kreel]], who one day [[UnstoppableRage completely snapped]] [[MinorInjuryOverReaction because she spilled coffee over some of his files]], and [[DisproportionateRetribution sealed her in the Dollface mask as punishment]]. [[ClingyCostume He even made sure to lock it with a special, one-of-a-kind key]] so that [[AndIMustScream Dollface could never free herself from the mask]]. After Mr. Kreel left her for dead, Dollface was found dumped on the streets, and carted off to [[BedlamHouse Blackfield Penitentiary]]. There, she was put into solitary confinement, and if her "Patient Profile" is to be believed, her treatment involved equal amounts of [[WorstAid antidepressant drugs]], and flat-out ShockTherapy - all while her mask was beginning to crush her head, and give her brain damage on top of all the trauma she experianced so far. Even when she joins the contest, she comes off as the OnlySaneMan for [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds feeling remorse and regret for killing the other contestants]], openly wondering if [[WasItReallyWorthIt winning Twisted Metal to free herself from the mask would be worth all the death and destruction she must cause to get her wish]]. [[spoiler: And in her ending, she's forced into a FriendOrIdolDecision: if she takes the key to free her mask, [[CruelAndUnusualDeath Mr. Kreel would be killed by being slammed into an Iron Maiden]]. ...Okay, ''[[KickTheSonOfABitch that]]'' [[LaserGuidedKarma probably isn't much of a tearjerker in comparison]], but when Dollface ''does'' get the key after sealing Kreel's fate? ''[[ShaggyDogStory She tosses it away]]'', [[BecomingTheMask claiming she now preferred the mask to her old face]]. She then ends by diving off in Darkside, claiming "[[HumansAreBastards There's a whole lot of people in the world just like Mr. Kreel.]] ''[[PayEvilUntoEvil Someone has to show them they can't do bad stuff to people like me...]]''"]]

* Dollface from ''Black''. Everything about her is so tragic.

* Somehow, even ''TwistedMetal'' manages to pull this off, with Grasshopper's ''Head-On'' ending. The reason Krista's ghost is in the tournament? Calypso [[MagnificentBastard wants her to win]] so she can wish herself back to life. Then when she actually ''does'' win, [[spoiler: she fails to realize what he was after, and simply accuses him of using her to kill more people. And just to make things worse, she wishes that the accident that killed her and gave Calypso his powers never happened.]] Calypso is forced to grant her wish, and we see her happily playing with a younger, friendlier father. [[spoiler: Then we see her comatose in a hospital, with Calypso watching. He can't give her what she wants (since trying to RetGone anything in ''Twisted Metal'' never works), and she can't actually come back because [[LiteralGenie that wasn't her wish.]] The best he can do is leave her in a happy dream state until she recovers.]] Just...damn.

* Somehow, even ''TwistedMetal'' manages to pull this off, with Grasshopper's ''Head-On'' ending. The entire reason Krista's ghost is in the tournament? [[CompleteMonster Calypso]] [[MagnificentBastard wants her to win]] so she can wish herself back to life. Then when she actually ''does'' win, [[spoiler: she fails to realize what he was after, and simply accuses him of using her to kill more people. And just to make things worse, she wishes that the accident that killed her and gave Calypso his powers never happened.]] Calypso is forced to grant her wish, and we see her happily playing with a younger, friendlier father. [[spoiler: Then we see her comatose in a hospital, with Calypso watching. He can't give her what she wants (since trying to RetGone anything in ''Twisted Metal'' never works), and she can't actually come back because [[LiteralGenie that wasn't her wish.]] The best he can do is leave her in a happy dream state until she recovers.]] Just...damn.

* Dollface. Everything about her is so tragic.