History WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds / ComicBooks

* {{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 was a loser through his whole life, then was vampirized by Selene and forced to be her slave for the next two thousand years; 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" (oh, and later he's vampirized, too); 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, ComicBook/{{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]].

* A Marvel What If? shows us an alternate universe where [[ComicBook/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 ComicBook/SilverSurfer to have him call ComicBook/{{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.

* 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/{{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 {{co|ntrivedCoincidence}}incidence 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.

* [[spoiler:Mario]] in ''UniversalWarOne''.

* Doctor Destiny becomes one in ''ComicBook/TheSandman''. Sure, he kills innocents to get his Materioptikon back. Sure, he uses it to project his own twisted, psychotic delusions onto reality. But his ramblings drive home just how sad and ''sick'' he is underneath it all. His first appearance in the series reveals that he is ''incapable of sleeping'', and he's become a paranoid, shivering wreck stuck in solitary confinement, he barely looks human, and he's not allowed any clothes because he keeps attempting to hang himself. Then once Morpheus takes the stone back from him, he immediately breaks down crying and says he's sorry, and Morpheus believes he was totally sincere.

* A Marvel What If? shows us an alternate universe where [[ComicBook/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 ComicBook/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.

* 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]].

*** The one exception to this is the newest member of the Red Lanterns as of ''BrightestDay'': [[spoiler:Lobo.]]

** FromBadToWorse in ''BlackestNight''. Due to being exposed to too much of his own fear gas, he can't even feel fear. Or nearly 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.

* Doctor Destiny becomes one in ComicBook/"TheSandman". Sure, he kills innocents to get his Materioptikon back. Sure, he uses it to project his own twisted, psychotic delusions onto reality. But his ramblings drive home just how sad and ''sick'' he is underneath it all. His first appearance in the series reveals that he is ''incapable of sleeping'', and he's become a paranoid, shivering wreck stuck in solitary confinement, he barely looks human, and he's not allowed any clothes because he keeps attempting to hang himself. Then once Morpheus takes the stone back from him, he immediately breaks down crying and says he's sorry, and Morpheus believes he was totally sincere.

* {{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 was a loser through his whole life, then was vampirized by Selene and forced to be her slave for the next two thousand years; 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" (oh, and later he's vampirized, too); 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, ComicBook/{{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]].

* TheJoker from ''ComicBooks/FlashPoint'' is even more of an example, [[spoiler: as [[GenderFlip she]] is none other than ''Martha Wayne'' aka our usual Batman's mother, who [[DespairEventHorizon completely]] [[GomadFromTheRevelation lost it]] when a young Bruce was murdered. ([[DeathByOriginStory Instead of her and Dr. Thomas Wayne]], like we all know.)]] [[spoiler: Thomas himself may count, as ''he'' is the one who goes Batman in this universe and for exactly the same reason.]]

** 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." [[ComicBook/TheKillingJoke A really bad day.]]

* ''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.''

* TheBoys 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.]]

* [[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.

* SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker in the ''EmperorJoker'' 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.]]

* A Marvel What If? shows us an alternate universe where [[ComicBook/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.

* {{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 was a loser through his whole life, then was vampirized by Selene and forced to be her slave for the next two thousand years; 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" (oh, and later he's vampirized, too); 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]].

* 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.

** 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.

* {{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 vampirized by Selene and forced to be her slave for the next two thousand years; 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]].

* {{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]].

* 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.

* 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.

* SelfDemonstrating/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.

* 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.]]

*** 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.]]

* 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.

* 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.