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9[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/{{Batman}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Batman_01_350_6854.png]]]]
10[[caption-width-right:350:[[{{Creator/Toonami}} Good guys wear black!]][[note]][[WesternAnimation/TheLegoMovie And sometimes, very, very dark gray.]][[/note]]]]
11
12->''"So yes, black mages often ''can'' be evil. But black as a color is not inherently evil. Being influenced by black’s philosophies does not necessarily mean that one will commit an evil act. That being the case, we cannot say that black represents evil. More closely aligned with evil than the other colors? Fine. More ripe with potential for evil? Sure. Evil? No. And that's a very important distinction."''
13-->-- '''Mark Rosewater''', ''[[http://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/black-2004-02-02 Making Magic: In The Black]]''
14
15So, you have a race of people who all have black, leathery [[GoodWingsEvilWings wings]]. They're born with the ability to [[CastingAShadow bend shadows with their thoughts]]. Also, they prefer the night, and let's not get started on how their [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast names all start with some variant of Dark, Black or Shadow]]. Surely, they're evil!
16
17Except...no one has actually mentioned them doing bad things; in fact, they may actually be [[GoodSamaritan pretty good guys.]] It's not like they keep pet dogs exclusively for [[KickTheDog kicking]]. Despite any [[ColourCodedForYourConvenience images that may have been burned into our minds]], creepy appearances and killing people actually [[FreakyFashionMildMind don't have much to do with each other]]. Unfortunately, however, people can still judge them [[FantasticRacism based on their looks]]. Expect some VanHelsingHateCrimes to be committed, especially by dickish [[KnightTemplar Knight Templars]] who claim to side with the [[LightIsNotGood holy light]].
18
19This trope can be a {{subver|tedTrope}}sion or {{aver|tedTrope}}sion of several other tropes depending on how it's played, including BeautyEqualsGoodness, AlwaysChaoticEvil, and ColourCodedForYourConvenience. A common use for it is for the "Don't judge a book by its cover" {{Aesop}}. It can also be used to promote EvilIsCool, and sometimes EvenEvilHasStandards, except without the, uh... evil. Even though with the subtle (or not so) undertone of {{Humans Are Bastards}} that this trope implies, using this does not automatically enforce LightIsNotGood; in fact, stories where LightIsGood ''and'' Dark Is Not Evil [[YinYangBomb are quite common]].
20
21The extreme form of this is TheSacredDarkness, where Dark is not just ''not Evil'', but is in fact equally holy and Good as Light (or even more so) is typically perceived to be. In situations where TheSacredDarkness exists, however, Dark Is Not Evil is '''not''' an absolute certainty, and the usual caveats about LightIsNotGood still apply.
22
23LightIsNotGood, GoodPowersBadPeople are sister tropes. For the inverse, see DarkIsEvil. A natural implication of the YinYangBomb. May overlap with MysteriousPurple if the dark color is [[PurpleIsTheNewBlack a shade of purple]] and "not evil" means morally ambiguous. See also GoodAllAlong, BadPowersGoodPeople, CreepyGood, FaceOfAThug, TerrorHero, PerkyGoth, OurMonstersAreDifferent, DontFearTheReaper, AntiAntichrist, ReluctantMonster, GoodIsNotNice, GoodIsNotSoft, and {{Halloweentown}}. When vampires are involved, this trope generally puts them on the friendly end of the SlidingScaleOfVampireFriendliness, often resulting in a FriendlyNeighbourhoodVampire. Gods of the underworld and death in particular can be this, since EverybodyHatesHades.
24
25Compare EvilWearsBlack, though the two can coincide if the Hero with Dark Powers wears white and the Villain with Light Powers, wears black.
26[[noreallife]]
27-----
28!!Example subpages:
29
30[[index]]
31* DarkIsNotEvil/AnimeAndManga
32* DarkIsNotEvil/ComicBooks
33* DarkIsNotEvil/FanWorks
34* [[DarkIsNotEvil/AnimatedFilms Films — Animation]]
35* [[DarkIsNotEvil/LiveActionFilms Films — Live-Action]]
36* DarkIsNotEvil/{{Literature}}
37* DarkIsNotEvil/LiveActionTV
38* DarkIsNotEvil/{{Music}}
39* DarkIsNotEvil/MythsAndReligion
40* DarkIsNotEvil/TabletopGames
41* DarkIsNotEvil/VideoGames
42* DarkIsNotEvil/WebAnimation
43* DarkIsNotEvil/{{Webcomics}}
44* DarkIsNotEvil/WebOriginal
45* DarkIsNotEvil/WesternAnimation
46[[/index]]
47
48!!Other examples:
49
50[[foldercontrol]]
51
52[[folder:Animation]]
53* Mr. Kadabra from ''Animation/AboutDressySally'' dresses in black and can often be creepy, especially with whisking Sally away from her home, but he's actually quite kind and gentle and teaches Sally an HonestyAesop without freaking her out after bringing her to his house.
54* Careful S. from ''Animation/HappyHeroes'' is colored black (purple in later seasons), his pre-ArtEvolution symbol represents Planet Gray, the villains' planet, and he's quite unemotive and quiet... and yet, at the same time, he's genuinely kind and heroic, being just as ready to fight off monsters as the other Supermen.
55[[/folder]]
56
57[[folder:Fairy Tales]]
58* In ''Literature/TheBlackThiefAndTheKnightOfTheGlen'', the title [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment thief is a thief]]. Nevertheless, he generously throws his lot in with the three princes to help them, and in the course of the tale, he reveals that he saved the knight's life as a baby at considerable danger to himself.
59* The original tale of ''Literature/TheLittleMermaid'' had the Witch as not being evil, just neutral and clearly warning of the risks. In at least some versions, she even informs the mermaid's sisters about how to save her.
60[[/folder]]
61
62[[folder:Folklore]]
63* While many folklorical [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_dog_%28ghost%29 black dogs]] are malevolent, some are this trope instead. Eg. the Gurt Dog of Somerset in Britain is thought to protect children and lone travellers.
64* According to Alpine folklore, the demonic goat figure [[TheKrampus Krampus]] is the polar opposite of Santa Claus in that while Santa rewards good children with gifts, Krampus punishes naughty children using harsh punishments. It's because of this that he's often depicted as a good guy within countries that honor Krampus-related traditions in spite of him being a goat demon (although you might not get that within certain works of fiction).
65[[/folder]]
66
67[[folder:Manhwa]]
68* Deshwitat, the main character from ''Manhwa/{{Rebirth}}'' is a dangerous Dark Power-loaded half-vampire bent on killing [[BigBad Kalutika]], ''[[LightIsNotGood The God of Light]]'' because [[spoiler:he was once close friends with Desh when Kal was still human, and after a godly-powers-releasing HeroicBSOD cursed a mutual friend with immortality, killed Desh's girlfriend in front of him because of Desh's failure to rescue Kal's sister, turned Desh into stone for 300 years, annihilated the [[strike:[[Franchise/StarWars Galactic Senate]]]] Council of the Gods, resurrected or cloned Desh's girlfriend and made her his consort, and is now plotting the destruction of the human and vampire races because of his [[FreudianExcuse really miserable childhood]]. LightIsNotGood indeed...]]
69[[/folder]]
70
71[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
72* [[InsistentTerminology WWE Superstar]] Mark Calaway is best known for being "Wrestling/TheUndertaker", a [[ProfessionalWrestling wrestling]] gravedigger/zombie/death incarnate/cult leader/biker. Although he started off (and [[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor every so often returns to being]]) a {{Heel}}, he's often treated as a Face until his retirement, being one of the longest-tenured and popular wrestlers. Behind the scenes, he's also very well respected as a mentor and AFatherToHisMen.
73* [[Wrestling/{{Boogeyman}} The Boogeyman]] has red and black devil-style face paint and originally a stage persona to match. What impression do you get [[http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/pictures/b/boogeyman/02.jpg about]] [[http://mimg.ugo.com/201101/7/8/5/162587/cuts/03boogeyman_480x480.jpg this]] [[http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/6269/boogeyman4cv.jpg guy]]? This is crossed with CreepyGood: Despite his overall creepiness, Boogeyman definitely seemed to be a force of good in his own, weird way.
74* Hallowicked became this after his 2006 [[HeelFaceTurn Rudo-Tecnico Turn]]. After [[Wrestling/HunterJohnston Delirious]] used the [[ArtifactOfDoom Eye of Tyr]] on him to turn him against Wrestling/{{UltraMantis Black}} at the 2014 Wrestling/{{CHIKARA}} SeasonFinale ''Tomorrow Never Dies'' on December 6, 2014, he completely changed his look and became a case of LightIsNotGood.
75* Wrestling/{{Sting}} has been a face for pretty much his entire career stretching back to the 1980s and continuing through to today. In 1996, he changed from his original good-natured SurferDude gimmick into a gothic, brooding avenger with corpse-white face paint inspired by ''Film/TheCrow1994'', but he continued to be the BigGood of Wrestling/{{WCW}} and established himself as the main adversary of the heel Wrestling/NewWorldOrder faction. The handful of times that a FaceHeelTurn was attempted with him in WCW and Wrestling/{{TNA}} were temporary and unpopular due to his long-time face status and fan popularity.
76[[/folder]]
77
78[[folder:Theatre]]
79* In the musical ''Theatre/CrossRoad'', violinist Niccolo Paganini makes a [[DealWithTheDevil contract]] with the devil Amduscias. Despite being a devil at the top of his CapeSwish game, and demanding Niccolo's life as payment for his gift of one million songs of genius, Amduscias doesn't ever do anything particularly evil. On the contrary, he seems to really love Niccolo and want him to be happy, even if he will die young. In the end, Niccolo has no regrets about the contract, and prefers the short, exciting life he had over the possibility of a long, ordinary one. Amduscias sings a hauntingly beautiful reprise of the title song over him as he dies.
80* The musical ''In the Green'' features the character of Shadow. She represents the repressed trauma and guilt that Hildegard carries over [[spoiler: her sister Agatha's death.]] Her introductory song, [[https://youtu.be/9jNN95LBRnw "Underground,"]] is a perfect example of this trope, as she welcomes the other aspects of Hildegard to her realm. Despite her appearance, she's gentle and kind and is trying to keep the others safe from the painful memory she holds. [[spoiler: She is ultimately integrated with the others when Hildegard finally "becomes whole."]]
81* In ''Theatre/JasperInDeadland'', most of the corpses in Deadland dress in dark clothes but are friendly, sociable, and way less of a problem for Jasper than anything else he encounters in Deadland.
82* ''Theatre/TheMagicFlute'' [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope subverts]] this. The Queen of the Night actually is as bad as she sounds.]]
83* The musical version of ''Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' zig-zags this: the Phantom does have sympathetic qualities thanks to his FreudianExcuse, and "Music of the Night" is basically this concept set to VillainLoveSong -- but he's still not a nice person and gets progressively worse as his CrazyJealousGuy side takes over. He ends up with a LoveRedeems and IJustWantMyBelovedToBeHappy ending, however. The [[Literature/ThePhantomOfTheOpera book version]] of the Phantom on the other hand, while still [[TragicMonster pitiable]] is genuinely DarkIsEvil for the most part.
84* Pretty much the whole point of the musical ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}''. Also contains usage of AristocratsAreEvil.
85[[/folder]]
86
87[[folder:Theme Parks]]
88* This is a common interpretation of the Ghost Host and the Happy Haunts from ''Ride/TheHauntedMansion'' and other attractions at Ride/DisneyThemeParks. This is supported by the line in "Grim Grinning Ghosts", "They pretend to terrorize," implying that, like with [[WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas the citizens of Halloween Town]], it's all in good fun for them. This is more blatant in the ExpandedUniverse material, specifically [[Film/TheHauntedMansion2003 the 2003 movie]] and the game, where the ghosts are the victims that the heroes need to save.
89[[/folder]]
90
91[[folder:Visual Novels]]
92* ''Franchise/AceAttorney'':
93** In ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyTrialsAndTribulations'', [[spoiler:Viola Cadaverini]] definitely falls under ObviouslyEvil. Her clothing and hair is entirely black, she has a way of [[OffscreenTeleportation suddenly appearing from nowhere]], a [[GigglingVillain creepy giggle]], is aware of her family's being TheMafia, and repeatedly offers [[PerfectPoison coffee]] to Phoenix and Maya. As it turns out, she's [[spoiler:an innocent victim being exploited by Furio Tigre, and thinks that his murder scheme was horrible]]. Of course, that doesn't stop her from [[spoiler:"making him [[DeadlyEuphemism drink a lot of coffee]]" when she finds out the truth.]]
94** Detective Tyrell Badd from ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigationsMilesEdgeworth'' isn't bad, although he is [[{{Pun}} Baddass]].
95** [[spoiler:Simon Blackquill]] from ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies'' is presented as a murderer with black hair and black clothes, and acts like one for most of the game. But in the end, he's shown to be an innocent man who was TakingTheHeat for who he thought was the guilty party in [[WhenItAllBegan an old incident]]. He's not evil, just rough and sarcastic. By contrast, [[spoiler:[[LightIsNotGood his partner Bobby Fulbright]] is the BigBad in disguise]].
96** Barok van Zieks in ''VisualNovel/TheGreatAceAttorney'' dresses like Dracula, spends seemingly every moment swirling AGlassOfChianti, and goes by the moniker "the Reaper of the Old Bailey" because any defendant he fails to convict winds up mysteriously dead. [[spoiler:Turns out his boss was orchestrating their assassinations behind his back to make him [[AbstractApotheosis an avatar of karmic justice]] in the eyes of the public]].
97** Ryunosuke Naruhodo's completely black uniform gets commented by some witnesses and occasionally gets him accused of being a "dark wizard". Obviously, Ryunosuke is the protagonist and is a very decent and kind person who seeks the truth for his clients.
98* [[spoiler:Rider]] in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' doesn't appear completely dark or use especially dark powers, but wears a black cloth, initially comes off as the Servant of an evil SmugSnake, is [[DarkActionGirl dangerously ass-kicking]], and even Saber calls her off as a monster. To hammer it down worse, she is revealed to be [[spoiler:Medusa, a Greek figure mostly viewed as AlwaysChaoticEvil]]. But beyond the initial impressions, you find out that [[spoiler:she's not evil, [[TheWoobie only tortured and hammered with lots of misfortunes in the past]], and her true Master was someone far more benevolent and kinder than the said SmugSnake (provided she doesn't snap)]].
99* In ''VisualNovel/HerTearsWereMyLight'', [[spoiler:Nil isn't messing with reality to be evil. She's upset that Time has lost her memories of her and is becoming attracted to Space, and she wants to be happy with her again]].
100* In ''VisualNovel/ShallWeDateAngelOrDevil'', four of the love interests are demons and soul reapers.
101* The ''VideoGame/VenusBlood'' series:
102** Just about every main protagonist in the franchise is a VillainProtagonist who engages in NaughtyTentacles with the majority of the heroines. However, later entires provides choices that can bring them into this category, in addition to establishing more mutual love with the heroines.
103[[/folder]]

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