History WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds / LiveACtionTV

* ''Series/ColdCase'' tends to feature lots of {{Tragic Monster}}s and [[SympatheticMurderer sympathetic murderers]], but a particularly [[AxeCrazy gruesome]] example is the Serial killer in ''it takes a village''. Surely someone who [[WouldHurtAChild tortures, mutilates and murders young boys]] just because they are able to [[WorthyOpponent beat him]] at a ''video game'' couldn't possibly have any sympathetic qualities right? As it turns out [[spoiler: the game is symbolic of a room in a particularly awful foster home where he spent his childhood]]. During which he and five other boys were made to stand naked on a square ''for days at a time'' by his counselor. He attempts a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome by standing up to said counselor. [[RealityEnsues Instead of joining in the other boys gang up on him]] [[{{Fingore}} and cut his finger off]]. He targeted boys who reminded him of the ones who attacked him and at times seems to legitimately believe its ''them'', even though its been over twenty years. By the time the detectives catch up to him, he's an [[TalkativeLoon incoherent mess]] who slips in and out of [[ThirdPersonPerson third person]]. He finally comes to his senses long enough [[spoiler: to realize that his latest intended prey is just an innocent little boy who has nothing to do with what happened to him so he lets him go.]] As awful as his crimes were, even the detectives couldn't help but feel a tinge of [[SympathyForTheDevil sympathy]] for him, or at least for the little boy he was.

* Played with in ''Series/StargateSG1'' 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.

* ''Series/ColdCase'' tends to feature lots of {{Tragic Monster}}s and [[SympatheticMurderer sympathetic murderers]], but a particularly [[AxeCrazy gruesome]] example is the Serial killer in ''it takes a village''. Surely someone who [[WouldHurtAChild tortures, mutilates and murders young boys]] just because they are able to [[WorthyOpponent beat him]] at a ''video game'' couldn't possibly have any sympathetic qualities right? As it turns out [[spoiler: the game is symbolic of a room in a particularly awful foster home where he spent his childhood]]. During which he and five other boys were made to stand naked on a square ''for days at a time'' by his counselor. He attempts a CrowningMomentOfAwesome by standing up to said counselor. [[RealityEnsues Instead of joining in the other boys gang up on him]] [[{{Fingore}} and cut his finger off]]. He targeted boys who reminded him of the ones who attacked him and at times seems to legitimately believe its ''them'', even though its been over twenty years. By the time the detectives catch up to him, he's an [[TalkativeLoon incoherent mess]] who slips in and out of [[ThirdPersonPerson third person]]. He finally comes to his senses long enough [[spoiler: to realize that his latest intended prey is just an innocent little boy who has nothing to do with what happened to him so he lets him go.]] As awful as his crimes were, even the detectives couldn't help but feel a tinge of [[SympathyForTheDevil sympathy]] for him, or at least for the little boy he was.

* Played with in ''Series/StargateSG1'' 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.

** Also, Jimmy is revealed to be one in season 2.

** [[ArchangelLucifer Lucifer]] sees himself as this and it isn't without some justification. From the beginning, he was destined to become [[{{Satan}} the Devil]], something he, [[OurAngelsAreDifferent his brothers]], and [[{{God}} his father]] are implied in "Changing Channels" to have known ever since God made the universe, before Lucifer would have even done anything actually evil; it would also have to mean that he and everyone just mentioned would have had to know not only that Lucifer would become Satan but that his ultimate destiny would be millenia trapped in Hell's deepest prison, alone, only to be released to be killed by his adored older brother, Michael, to bring "Paradise." Seasons 10 and 11 go on to [[RetCon reveal]] that he [[spoiler:was also given the Mark to bear by God after they sealed an UltimateEvil known as the Darkness into it, which is said to have corrupted Lucifer and is known to cause a constant, overpowering urge to kill]]. Once God's favorite angel, Lucifer feels that he has been cast aside for a species that does not deserve such love and that he and his brothers are being toyed with by [[GodIsEvil God]] for the sake of some messed-up cosmic play God has planned out. Lucifer has tried to regain his prestige in God's eyes, but has been irrevocably cast as a monster, with God refusing to take responsibility for his own part in Lucifer's fall and leaving him to his fate. As such, a monster is exactly what he has become. Despite it all, he still loves his family and tries to talk Gabriel out of fighting with him, only to be told off for "playing the victim" (even when it becomes increasingly clear that he ''does'' have a very strong case for having the odds stacked against him) and [[spoiler:being forced to kill Gabriel in self-defense]], obviously broken-hearted about it, and his one attempt to get himself and Michael [[ScrewDestiny off the chessboard]] was likewise rejected by Michael, who told him that he is a monster who destroyed their family and that he (Michael) needs to kill him, prompting Lucifer to eventually respond, "[[ThenLetMeBeEvil If that's the way it's got to be]]... ''[[BringIt then I'd like to see you try]].''"

** The poor, confused robot deliberately driven insane by a fringe political group in "Robot" is a clear example. It's forced to kill people, murders its own father, has a FreakOut, decides humanity is fundamentally corrupt, and then attempts to cause a nuclear holocaust to kill everyone on Earth apart from Sarah Jane as she was the only person who ever treated it with basic respect.
** [[AntiVillain Omega]], poor poor, screwed up, insane [[AlasPoorVillain Omega....]]
** 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.
** An in-universe example from the episode "The Doctor Dances":
---> '''The Doctor''': All that weapons tech in the hands of a hysterical four-year-old looking for his mummy.... There isn't a little boy born who wouldn't tear the world apart to save his mummy - and this little boy can.
** The new series characterises the Master this way - outrageously evil and destructive, but due to the Time Lords intentionally tampering with his brain when he was a child, leaving him permanently tormented by hallucinations of war drums.

** The Twelfth Doctor temporarily becomes this in the final three episodes of Series 9 when NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished results in a TraumaCongaLine. In "Face The Raven", Clara stops him from going on a rampage when [[spoiler: she -- his Morality Chain! -- '''must''' die when her efforts to stop a plot go horribly awry]], but it's clear that he can only keep his anger and anguish in check for so long. Next in "Heaven Sent", he is trapped in a torture chamber [[spoiler: and spends ''billions of years'' '''''and lives''''' escaping. The culprits were '''his own people''']]. He emerges at the DespairEventHorizon and hot for {{Revenge}} and succor in "Hell Bent". It turns out he underwent most of the torture to [[spoiler: get the means to save Clara from her fixed-point-in-time death]], and in pursuit of this TragicDream risks the entire universe's safety, heedless of the wishes and entreaties of others -- all because '''''he can't take it anymore!''''' [[spoiler: When he tries to mind wipe her to keep her safe, she tinkers with the device. Upon being told this, and uncertain whether the tinkering had any effect, Clara and Doctor agree to push the button together and let fate decide; ultimately, ''he'' loses most of his memories of ''her'']], but he accepts this fate as a proper punishment, having already realized/admitted the wrongness of his actions at last, and allows things -- and himself -- to return to their proper state. This is in many respects an uber-example of the trope because far from being a potential "Destroyer of Worlds", for a brief period the Doctor is actually headed to become Woobie, Destroyer of ''Time''.

** The second half of Season Seven introduces another one: [[spoiler:Jack/Nick.]]

* [[BigBad Belial]] from ''Series/UltramanGeed'' is a spiteful and destructive conqueror... [[spoiler:who is, deep down, just a bitter old man filled with sorrow and misplaced anger over being banished from his home and losing his family. He's trapped in an endless cycle of being resurrected and defeated over and over again, and he hates every minute of it. Geed comes to understand his feelings and pleads with Belial to just let it all go, but to no avail; Belial is too lost in his hate and resentment to admit his mistakes, and Geed is forced to destroy him permanently.]]

** ''Poor, poor Drizella.'' [[spoiler: Her own ''mother'', Rapunzel Tremaine, was willing to [[OffingTheOffspring kill her]] and use her heart to revive her sister Anastasia, the latter of whom she [[ParentalFavoritism does care about.]] She also has no friends in Seattle, with the exception of Henry and formely Gothel. Ironically, Drizella ended up being a ''Creator of Worlds'', seeing as how she created Hyperion Heights through the new curse. Come "Secret Garden" and her mother [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifices]] herself to save her.]]

** ''Poor, poor Drizella.'' [[spoiler: Her own ''mother'', Rapunzel Tremaine, was willing to [[OffingTheOffspring kill her]] and use her heart to revive her sister Anastasia, the latter of whom she [[ParentalFavoritism does care about.]] She also has no friends in Seattle, with the exception of Henry and formely Gothel. Ironically, Drizella ended up being a ''Creator of Worlds'', seeing as how she created Hyperion Heights through the new curse.]]

** ''Poor, poor Drizella.'' [[spoiler: Her own ''mother'', Rapunzel Tremaine, was willing to [[OffingTheOffspring kill her]] and use her heart to revive her sister Anastasia, the latter of whom she [[ParentalFavoritism does care about.]] She also has no friends in Seattle, with the exception of Henry. Ironically, Drizella ended up being a ''Creator of Worlds'', seeing as how she created Hyperion Heights through the new curse.]]
*** Tremaine is also this to an extent, [[spoiler: seeing as how her actions were caused by her husband Marcus and Drizella essentially [[ReplacementGoldfish replacing]] her with the latter' stepmother Cecelia when she was locked in a tower, along with Anastasia's death.]]

** [[ArchangelLucifer Lucifer]] sees himself as this and it isn't without some justification. From the beginning, he was destined to become [[{{Satan}} the Devil]], something he, [[OurAngelsAreDifferent his brothers]], and [[{{God}} his father]] are implied to have known ever since God made the universe, before Lucifer would have even done anything actually evil; it would also have to mean that he and everyone just mentioned would have had to know not only that Lucifer would become Satan but that his ultimate destiny would be millenia trapped in Hell's deepest prison, alone, only to be released to be killed by his adored older brother, Michael, to bring "Paradise." Once God's favorite angel, Lucifer feels that he has been cast aside for a species that does not deserve such love and that he and his brothers are being toyed with by [[GodIsEvil God]] for the sake of some messed-up cosmic play God has planned out. Lucifer 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. His one attempt to get himself and Michael [[ScrewDestiny off the chessboard]] was rejected by Michael, who told him that he is a monster who destroyed their family and that he (Michael) needs to kill him, prompting Lucifer to eventually respond, "[[ThenLetMeBeEvil If that's the way it's got to be]]... ''[[BringIt then I'd like to see you try]].''"

* ''Series/ColdCase'' tends to feature lots of {{Tragic Monster}}s and Sympathetic Murderers, but a particularly [[AxeCrazy gruesome]] example is the Serial killer in ''it takes a village''. Surely someone who [[WouldHurtAChild tortures, mutilates and murders young boys]] just because they are able to [[WorthyOpponent beat him]] at a ''video game'' couldn't possibly have any sympathetic qualities right? As it turns out [[spoiler: the game is symbolic of a room in a particularly awful foster home where he spent his childhood]]. During which he and five other boys were made to stand naked on a square ''for days at a time'' by his counselor. He attempts a CrowningMomentOfAwesome by standing up to said counselor. [[RealityEnsues Instead of joining in the other boys gang up on him]] [[{{Fingore}} and cut his finger off]]. He targeted boys who reminded him of the ones who attacked him and at times seems to legitimately believe its ''them'', even though its been over twenty years. By the time the detectives catch up to him, he's an [[TalkativeLoon incoherent mess]] who slips in and out of [[ThirdPersonPerson third person]]. He finally comes to his senses long enough [[spoiler: to realize that his latest intended prey is just an innocent little boy who has nothing to do with what happened to him so he lets him go.]] As awful as his crimes were, even the detectives couldn't help but feel a tinge of [[SympathyForTheDevil sympathy]] for him, or at least for the little boy he was.

* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' have a very large number of villains, and while many earlier ones are AxCrazy Psychopaths, middle and later seasons have introduced a lot of {{Tragic Monster}}s and these.
** "Hidden": Gabriel Duncan's father spent a long time trying to convince people of the mutating effect of [[GreenRocks kryptonite]] but failed and ended up being a meteor freak himself, and asked his son to kill him. Feeling that the plague of the meteor infection will grow out of hand after the second, larger meteor shower, he decides to nuke the entire town. Not before warning, and when she attempts to talk him out of it, kidnapping [[VillainousCrush Chloe]], though.
** In season eight, [[spoiler:they managed to make Doomsday to be something like this because of the horrible life Davis, his human host, has had.]] He was [[ForWantOfANail abandoned as a kid]] as opposed to [[HappilyAdopted having loving]] [[MuggleFosterParents foster parents]] like Clark, and is cursed to bring nothing but death and destruction.
* 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.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** The poor, confused robot deliberately driven insane by a fringe political group in "Robot" is a clear example. It's forced to kill people, murders its own father, has a FreakOut, decides humanity is fundamentally corrupt, and then attempts to cause a nuclear holocaust to kill everyone on Earth apart from Sarah Jane as she was the only person who ever treated it with basic respect.
** [[AntiVillain Omega]], poor poor, screwed up, insane [[AlasPoorVillain Omega....]]
** 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.
** An in-universe example from the episode "The Doctor Dances":
---> '''The Doctor''': All that weapons tech in the hands of a hysterical four-year-old looking for his mummy.... There isn't a little boy born who wouldn't tear the world apart to save his mummy - and this little boy can.
** The new series characterises the Master this way - outrageously evil and destructive, but due to the Time Lords intentionally tampering with his brain when he was a child, leaving him permanently tormented by hallucinations of war drums.
** River Song, a LaserGuidedTykebomb who attempted to destroy the fabric of time itself attempting to avert the inevitable death of the Doctor. Fortunately, the Doctor saw her potential, having known the [[BootstrapParadox good person she'd become after this event]], and married her.
** The War Doctor seems to be this, being responsible for destroying Gallifrey. [[spoiler:Or is he?]]
** The Twelfth Doctor temporarily becomes this in the final three episodes of Series 9 when NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished results in a TraumaCongaLine. In "Face The Raven", Clara stops him from going on a rampage when [[spoiler: she -- his Morality Chain! -- '''must''' die when her efforts to stop a plot go horribly awry]], but it's clear that he can only keep his anger and anguish in check for so long. Next in "Heaven Sent", he is trapped in a torture chamber [[spoiler: and spends ''billions of years'' '''''and lives''''' escaping. The culprits were '''his own people''']]. He emerges at the DespairEventHorizon and hot for {{Revenge}} and succor in "Hell Bent". It turns out he underwent most of the torture to [[spoiler: get the means to save Clara from her fixed-point-in-time death]], and in pursuit of this TragicDream risks the entire universe's safety, heedless of the wishes and entreaties of others -- all because '''''he can't take it anymore!''''' [[spoiler: When he tries to mind wipe her to keep her safe, she tinkers with the device. Upon being told this, and uncertain whether the tinkering had any effect, Clara and Doctor agree to push the button together and let fate decide; ultimately, ''he'' loses most of his memories of ''her'']], but he accepts this fate as a proper punishment, having already realized/admitted the wrongness of his actions at last, and allows things -- and himself -- to return to their proper state. This is in many respects an uber-example of the trope because far from being a potential "Destroyer of Worlds", for a brief period the Doctor is actually headed to become Woobie, Destroyer of ''Time''.

* In ''Series/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/StargateSG1'' 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/{{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 ''Series/{{Buffy|TheVampireSlayer}}'' example above, HoYay saved the day.]]

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'':
** [[ArchangelLucifer Lucifer]] sees himself as this and it isn't without some justification. From the beginning, he was destined to become [[{{Satan}} the Devil]], something he, [[OurAngelsAreDifferent his brothers]], and [[{{God}} his father]] are implied to have known ever since God made the universe, before Lucifer would have even done anything actually evil; it would also have to mean that he and everyone just mentioned would have had to know not only that Lucifer would become Satan but that his ultimate destiny would be millenia trapped in Hell's deepest prison, alone, only to be released to be killed by his adored older brother, Michael, to bring "Paradise." Once God's favorite angel, Lucifer feels that he has been cast aside for a species that does not deserve such love and that he and his brothers are being toyed with by [[GodIsEvil God]] for the sake of some messed-up cosmic play God has planned out. Lucifer 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. His one attempt to get himself and Michael [[ScrewDestiny off the chessboard]] was rejected by Michael, who told him that he is a monster who destroyed their family and that he (Michael) needs to kill him, prompting Lucifer to eventually respond, "[[ThenLetMeBeEvil If that's the way it's got to be]]... ''[[BringIt then I'd like to see you try]].''"
** [[spoiler:Castiel in the sixth season finale]]. Abandoned by God, at war with his brothers, rejected by both allies and his TrueCompanions for [[IDidWhatIHadToDo doing what he has to do]], and hopped up on the souls of millions of monsters and {{Eldritch Abomination}}s from Purgatory, he declared AGodAmI and demanded that everyone bow down and worship him, or else he would destroy them. It did not end up well.
** As of the season 9 finale, [[spoiler:Dean]]. His entire life has been devoted to saving others, to his own detriment more often than not, with no credit, or appreciation from anyone but his fellow hunters (even his own family constantly abandons him and yet expects him to clean up their messes), he finds out he was genetically engineered by Heaven itself, was raised as a warrior TykeBomb with little love shown him by his borderline insane father and now, after literally allowing himself to be murdered to keep from becoming a monster he's [[spoiler:the First Knight of Hell, the Demon that all other demons fear, more powerful than the King of Hell and only less powerful than Lucifer himself]] and all because he wanted to save the world and keep the angels and demons from having their gang war on his planet.
** Demons in general qualify as this once you find out their backstory: they're destructive, sadistic monsters purely because they [[spoiler:are humans who have undergone such horrific torture in Hell for so long that they literally lose their memories of everything except Hell and subsequently lose their humanity, turning just as depraved and warped as their torturers. How did they get to Hell in the first place? Maybe they made the unfortunate decision to sell their soul to a stranger at the crossroads for a wish. Or maybe the angels running Heaven decide they needed to be punished for something, barred them from Heaven, and sent them to Hell after they die. (By the way, crimes that warrant this range from getting tricked into doing something wrong to refusing to follow their screwed-up orders.) Or even just because the King of Hell has reapers on the payroll and can get ANYONE he wants condemned to Hell]]. '''''Jeez.'''''
* ''Series/BreakingBad'':
** Walter White could be interpreted as this. He is an extremely intelligent and skilled man, but works as a high school chemistry teacher and has to watch his former classmates and business partners from [=Caltech=] become multimillionaires off the company he co-founded. After a lifetime of this kind of indignity, without ever fighting back, he gets diagnosed with lung cancer; this humiliation collectively pushes him over the edge into cooking meth so he can make back the money he lost and get even with a world that continually screwed him over.
** [[AntiVillain Jesse Pinkman]] is one, himself. Oh, you can taunt him all day, everyday: for years. And, he'll just take it. With, perhaps, the odd, nasty prank in retaliation, but nothing more. The minute you press his {{Berserk Button}}s of 1) harming people he cares about, 2) [[FriendToAllChildren harming children]] and/or 3) harming or threatening to harm children he cares about as the utter worst, however... you will find out that all that taunting? Has created an unstable, dirty nuclear device with [[ChaoticStupid a dodgy timer]]. [[HonourBeforeReason Which you have just primed]]. He [[UnstoppableRage won't care about the consequences]]: [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge he'll take you down as soon as he is able to get a solid fix on your position and has a clean line of sight.]] And, the fallout won't be pretty or discriminate, however low-yield he appears in comparison to others on this list.
* Many unsubs from ''Series/CriminalMinds'' and its spin-off, ''Series/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.
* ''Series/ColdCase'' tends to feature lots of {{Tragic Monsters}} and Sympathetic Murderers, but a particularly [[AxeCrazy gruesome]] example is the Serial killer in ''it takes a village''. Surely someone who [[WouldHurtAChild tortures, mutilates and murders young boys]] just because they are able to [[WorthyOpponent beat him]] at a ''video game'' couldn't possibly have any sympathetic qualities right? As it turns out [[spoiler: the game is symbolic of a room in a particularly awful foster home where he spent his childhood]]. During which he and five other boys were made to stand naked on a square ''for days at a time'' by his counselor. He attempts a CrowningMomentOfAwesome by standing up to said counselor. [[RealityEnsues Instead of joining in the other boys gang up on him]] [[{{Fingore}} and cut his finger off]]. He targeted boys who reminded him of the ones who attacked him and at times seems to legitimately believe its ''them'', even though its been over twenty years. By the time the detectives catch up to him, he's an [[TalkativeLoon incoherent mess]] who slips in and out of [[ThirdPersonPerson third person]]. He finally comes to his senses long enough [[spoiler: to realize that his latest intended prey is just an innocent little boy who has nothing to do with what happened to him so he lets him go.]] As awful as his crimes were, even the detectives couldn't help but feel a tinge of [[SympathyForTheDevil sympathy]] for him, or at least for the little boy he was.

* 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.
* [[Series/AmericanHorrorStoryMurderHouse 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]].
* ''Series/BoardwalkEmpire'':
** Richard Harrow is an expert killer, utterly broken by his experiences and injuries in the trenches of the First World War. His only friend, Jimmy, is a gangster who has a use for Harrow's skills. Harrow has therefore murdered a couple of dozen people on screen, many of them without even asking why.
** 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.
* ''Series/VeronicaMars'': [[spoiler:Cassidy Casablancas]] 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.
* ''Series/TwentyFour'':
** Jack Bauer almost winds up becoming this. Throughout the entire series he's been betrayed, used, exploited, and almost all his friends and loved ones have wound up dead. In season 8 his last potential love interest is killed and the President betrays him which proves to be the last straw, sending on him on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge to expose the conspirators behind the day's events which in turn lead to his love interest dying and then mercilessly '''slaughter''' them, which turn out to be [[spoiler: former President Charles Logan and Russian President Yuri Suvarov]]. What sets him apart from most of the others is he does still have some rationality and does overall still refuse to harm any innocent life; when pressured into the fact that going down this path would lead to several casualties in the ensuing war between the United States and Russia, he realized what he was doing was in the wrong. He may have stopped himself after ''realizing'' what he was doing would kill more innocent than guilty, but prior to that he pulled some pretty risky moves, including opening fire on a crowd of civilians in order to get to said [[PresidentEvil corrupt President]] which could have backfired horribly and killed someone. I'd say he qualifies.
** Depending on how you view him, Tony Almeida.

* Morgana from ''Series/{{Merlin}}''. She has magic, in a place were that is a death sentence. Aims to stop this but no one will help her. Is turned on by her former friends, as they ignore her and keep things she really should have been told. Merlin is the worst in this.

* ''Series/ColdCase'' tends to feature lots of {{Tragic Monsters}} and Sympathetic Murderers, but a particularly [[AxeCrazy gruesome]] example is the Serialkiller in ''it takes a village''. Surely someone who [[WouldHurtAChild tortures, mutilates and murders young boys]] just because they are able to [[WorthyOpponent beat him]] at a ''video game'' couldn't possibly have any sympathetic qualities right? As it turns out [[spoiler: the game is symbolic of a room in a particularly awful foster home where he spent his childhood]]. During which he and five other boys were made to stand naked on a square ''for days at a time'' by his counselor. He attempts a CrowningMomentOfAwesome by standing up to said counselor. [[RealityEnsues Instead of joining in the other boys gang up on him]] [[{{Fingore}} and cut his finger off]]. He targeted boys who reminded him of the ones who attacked him and at times seems to legitimately believe its ''them'', even though its been over twenty years. By the time the detectives catch up to him, he's an [[TalkativeLoon incoherent mess]] who slips in and out of [[ThirdPersonPerson third person]]. He finally comes to his senses long enough [[spoiler: to realize that his latest intended prey is just an innocent little boy who has nothing to do with what happened to him so he lets him go.]] As awful as his crimes were, even the detectives couldn't help but feel a tinge of [[SympathyForTheDevil sympathy]] for him, or at least for the little boy he was.

* ''Series/ColdCase'' tends to feature lots of {{Tragic Monsters}} and Sympathetic Murderers, but a particularly [[AxeCrazy gruesome]] example is the Serialkiller in ''it takes a village''. Surely someone who [[WouldHurtAChild tortures, mutilates and murders young boys]] just because they are able to [[WorthyOpponent beat him]] at a ''video game'' couldn't possibly have any sympathetic qualities right? As it turns out [[spoiler: the game is symbolic of a room in a particularly awful foster home where he spent his childhood]]. During which he and five other boys were made to stand naked on a square ''for days at a time'' by his counselor. He attempts a CrowningMomentOfAwesome by standing up to said counselor. [[RealityEnsues Instead of joining in the other boys gang up on him]] [[{{Fingore}} and cut his finger off]]. He targeted boys who reminded him of the ones who attacked him and at times seems to legitimately believe its ''them'', even though its been over twenty years. By the time the detectives catch up to him, he's an [[TalkativeLoon incoherent mess]] who slips in and out of [[ThirdPersonPerson third person]]. He finally comes to his senses long enough [[spoiler: to realize that his latest intended prey is just an innocent little boy who has nothing to do with what happened to him so he lets him go.]] As awful as his crimes were, even the detectives couldn't help but feel a tinge of [[SympathyForTheDevil sympathy]] for him, or at least for the little boy he was.

* ''Series/ColdCase'' tends to feature lots of Tragic Monsters and Sympathetic Murderers, but a particularly [[AxeCrazy gruesome]] example is the Serialkiller in ''it takes a village''. Surely someone who [[WouldHurtAChild tortures, mutilates and murders young boys]] just because they are able to [[WorthyOpponent beat him]] at a ''video game'' couldn't possibly have any sympathetic qualities right? As it turns out [[spoiler: the game is symbolic of a room in a particularly awful foster home where he spent his childhood]]. During which he and five other boys were made to stand naked on a square ''for days at a time'' by his counselor. When he attempting a CrowningMomentOfAwesome by standing up to said counselor. [[RealityEnsues Instead of joining in the other boys gang up on him]] [[Fingore and cut his finger off]]. He targeted boys who reminded him of the ones who attacked him and at times seems to legitimately believe its ''them'', even though its been over twenty years. By the time the detectives catch up to him, he's an [[TalkativeLoon incoherent mess]] who slips in and out of [[ThirdPersonPerson third person]]. He finally comes to his senses long enough [[spoiler: to realize that his latest intended prey is just an innocent little boy who has nothing to do with what happened to him so he lets him go.]] As awful as his crimes were, even the detectives couldn't help but feel a tinge of [[SympathyForTheDevil sympathy]] for him, or at least for the little boy he was.

* ''Series/ColdCase'' tends to feature lots of TragicMonsters and SympatheticMurderers, but a particularly [[AxeCrazy gruesome]] example is the Serialkiller in ''it takes a village''. Surely someone who [[WouldHurtAChild tortures, mutilates and murders young boys]] just because they are able to [[WorthyOpponent beat him]] at a ''video game'' couldn't possibly have any sympathetic qualities right? As it turns out [[spoiler: the game is symbolic of a room in a particularly awful foster home where he spent his childhood]]. During which he and five other boys were made to stand naked on a square ''for days at a time'' by his counselor. When he attempting a CrowningMomentOfAwesome by standing up to said counselor. [[RealityEnsues Instead of joining in the other boys gang up on him]] ''and cut his finger off''. He targeted boys who reminded him of the ones who attacked him and at times seems to legitimately ''them'', even though its been over twenty years. By the time the detectives catch up to him, he's an [[TalkativeLoon incoherent mess]] who slips in and out of [[ThirdPersonPerson third person]]. He finally comes to his senses long enough [[to realize that his latest intended prey is just an innocent little boy who has nothing to do with what happened to him so he lets him go.]] As awful as his crimes were, even the detectives couldn't help but feel a tinge of sympathy for him, or at least for the little boy he was.

** [[AntiVillain Jesse Pinkman]] is one, himself. Oh, you can taunt him all day, everyday: for years. And, he'll just take it. With, perhaps, the odd, nasty prank in retaliation, but nothing more. The minute you press his {{Berserk Button}}s of 1) harming people he cares about, 2) [[FriendToAllChildren harming children]] and/or 3) harming or threatening to harm children he cares about as the utter worst, however... you will find out that all that taunting? Has created an unstable, dirty nuclear device with [[ChaoticStupid a dodgy timer]]. [[HonourBeforeReason Which you have just primed]]. He [[UnstoppableRage won't care about the consequences]]: [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge he'll take you down as and when he is able to fix solidly on your position and got a clean line of sight.]] And, the fallout won't be pretty or discriminate, however low-yield he appears in comparison to others on this list.

** The Twelfth Doctor temporarily becomes this in the final three episodes of Series 9. In "Face The Raven", Clara stops him from going on a rampage when [[spoiler: she -- his Morality Chain! -- '''must''' die when her efforts to stop a plot go horribly awry]], but it's clear that he can only keep his anger and anguish in check for so long. Next in "Heaven Sent", [[spoiler: he spends ''billions of years'' '''''and lives''''' escaping a torture chamber set up by his own people]]. He emerges from this TraumaCongaLine at the DespairEventHorizon and hot for {{Revenge}} and succor in "Hell Bent": [[spoiler: he risks the entire universe by saving Clara at the moment of her death, a fixed moment in time, heedless of her and others' wishes and entreaties. When he tries to mind wipe her to keep her safe, she tinkers with the device. Upon being told this, and uncertain whether the tinkering had any effect, Clara and Doctor agree to push the button together and let fate decide; ultimately, ''he'' loses most of his memories of ''her'']], whereupon he finally admits to himself and others that he let his anguish get the better of him, accepts his fate as a proper punishment, and allows things -- and himself -- to return to their proper state. This is in many respects an uber-example of the trope because far from being a potential "Destroyer of Worlds", for a brief period the Doctor is actually headed to become Destroyer of ''Time''.

** [[AntiVillain Jesse Pinkman]] is one, himself. Oh, you can taunt him all day, everyday: for years. And, he'll just take it. With, perhaps, the odd, nasty prank in retaliation, but nothing more. The minute you press his [[BerserkButton Beserk Buttons]] of 1) harming people he cares about, 2) [[FriendToAllChildren harming children]] and/or 3) harming or threatening to harm children he cares about as the utter worst, however... you will find out that all that taunting? Has created an unstable, dirty nuclear device with [[ChaoticStupid a dodgy timer]]. [[HonourBeforeReason Which you have just primed]]. He [[UnstoppableRage won't care about the consequences]]: [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge he'll take you down as and when he is able to fix solidly on your position and got a clean line of sight.]] And, the fallout won't be pretty or discriminate, however low-yield he appears in comparison to others on this list.

** The Twelfth Doctor temporarily becomes this in the final three episodes of Series 9. In "Face The Raven", Clara stops him from going on a rampage when [[spoiler: she -- his Morality Chain! -- '''must''' die when her efforts to stop a plot go horribly awry]], but it's clear that he can only keep his anger and anguish in check for so long. Next in "Heaven Sent", [[spoiler: he spends ''billions of years'' '''''and lives''''' escaping a torture chamber set up by his own people]]. He emerges from this TraumaCongaLine at the DespairEventHorizon and hot for {{Revenge}} and succor in "Hell Bent": [[spoiler: he risks the entire universe by saving Clara at the moment of her death, a fixed moment in time, heedless of her and others' wishes and entreaties. When he tries to mind wipe her to keep her safe, she tinkers with the device and ''he'' loses most of his memories of ''her'']], whereupon he finally admits to himself and others that he let his anguish get the better of him, accepts his fate as a proper punishment, and allows things -- and himself -- to return to their proper state. This is in many respects an uber-example of the trope because far from being a potential "Destroyer of Worlds", for a brief period the Doctor is actually headed to become Destroyer of ''Time''.

** The Twelfth Doctor temporarily becomes this in the final three episodes of Series 9. In "Face The Raven", Clara stops him from going on a rampage when [[spoiler: she -- his Morality Chain! -- '''must''' die when her efforts to stop a plot go horribly awry]], but it's clear that he can only keep his anger and anguish in check for so long. Next in "Heaven Sent", [[spoiler: he spends ''billions of years'' '''''and lives''''' escaping a torture chamber set up by his own people]]. He emerges from this TraumaCongaLine at the DespairEventHorizon and hot for {{Revenge}} and succor in "Hell Bent": [[spoiler: he risks the entire universe by saving Clara at the moment of her death, a fixed moment in time, heedless of her and others' wishes and entreaties. When he tries to mind wipe her to keep her safe, she tinkers with the device and ''he'' loses most of his memories of ''her'']], whereupon he finally admits to himself and others that he let his anguish get the better of him, accepts his fate as a proper punishment, and allows things -- and himself -- to return to their proper state.