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7[[quoteright:236:[[Webcomic/{{Exiern}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/crazybitch_1868.jpg]]]]
8[[caption-width-right:236:Typhan-knee finally sees herself for what she's become.]]
9
10->''"Have you noticed that our caps have actually got little pictures of skulls on them? Hans... are we the '''baddies'''?"''
11-->-- An '''[[ThoseWackyNazis SS Officer]]''' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWvpvlT9pJU who comes to a terrible epiphany]], ''Series/ThatMitchellAndWebbLook''
12
13Few things are [[VillainousBSOD more crushing]] than realizing [[ObliviouslyEvil that you're one of the bad guys]]. You might exclaim MyGodWhatHaveIDone (or something like it) and perhaps shed TearsOfRemorse. Or in some cases, you realize you're even worse than you thought you were. Either way, it's the moment you know you're in the wrong.
14
15It may lead to becoming TheAtoner, a RedemptionQuest, or RedemptionEqualsDeath, or, if the author is feeling particularly vindictive, to a HeelFaceDoorSlam. Conversely, may turn a WellIntentionedExtremist NecessarilyEvil, or force them to admit that there is NoPlaceForMeThere. There's also the possibility to [[IgnoredEpiphany ignore the realization]] and go for RedemptionRejection, which is what {{Complete Monster}}s would always do. Sometimes these people were just [[PunchClockVillain working for someone]] who turned out to be doing horrible things. A common form is to KickTheMoralityPet and/or realize that BeingEvilSucks.
16
17Common when TheDarkSideWillMakeYouForget or when BigBrotherIsEmployingYou. May be caused by a CorrectiveLecture.
18
19Compare NiceJobBreakingItHero (when someone has good intentions but harmful execution), HeWhoFightsMonsters (when someone became a heel by doing a dirty job for too long), ThenLetMeBeEvil (when they realise they're a heel -- but they embrace it), JerkassRealization, RegretfulTraitor (when their realisation comes after a FaceHeelTurn), GuiltInducedNightmare, and UnwittingPawn (when they've done bad things because someone was manipulating them). Contrast with KnightTemplar who often never realize that they are a villain (though there are plenty of exceptions) and CardCarryingVillain (who never thinks he's a good guy in the first place). Also see TomatoInTheMirror, when one of the good guys realizes he was a sleeper agent all the time.
20
21Compare ''and'' contrast EvilMeScaresMe.
22
23For the direct opposite, see FaceRealization. Or for the other direct opposite, see ObliviouslyEvil. See also YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre for where the character fails to see they are nobler than they give themselves credit for.
24
25[[noreallife]]
26----
27!!Example subpages:
28[[index]]
29* HeelRealization/AnimeAndManga
30* HeelRealization/ComicBooks
31* HeelRealization/FanWorks
32* HeelRealization/{{Literature}}
33* HeelRealization/LiveActionFilms
34* HeelRealization/LiveActionTV
35* HeelRealization/VideoGames
36* HeelRealization/WesternAnimation
37[[/index]]
38
39!!Other examples:
40[[foldercontrol]]
41
42[[folder:Audio Plays]]
43* ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'': "The Fourth Wall" has a fictional character being brought into reality, and realising that in the world of his TV show (''Laser'', starring JerkAss hero Jack Laser), he's the villain:
44--> '''Krarn:''' It’s called... ''Laser''.\
45'''Scullop:''' The show, yes.\
46'''Krarn:''' Why?\
47'''Scullop:''' Because he’s the lead, he’s the hero.\
48'''Krarn:''' I see.\
49'''Scullop:''' Is something the matter?\
50'''Krarn:''' ''[with horror]'' I’m the bad guy.\
51'''Scullop:''' Yes.\
52'''Krarn:''' He destroys my happiness, kills my wife. And yet I am the ''bad guy''.
53[[/folder]]
54
55[[folder:Comedy]]
56* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAZJVkelgcg This sketch]] by Brennan Lee Mulligan (of ''WebVideo/Dimension20'' fame) features a ghost from UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar named Oliver Buford Brock who realizes that racism was wrong. Brock even says that his GhostlyGoals involve bringing the slaves back to their masters, but he refuses to do that because of how terrible racism is. (Though Brock notes that if he did accomplish his goal, he'd probably be going straight to {{Hell}}.) Instead, Brock decided he MustMakeAmends and end racism, but then realized that [[MissingStepsPlan he didn't really have any idea how to do that]].
57[[/folder]]
58
59[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
60* In the film version of ''WesternAnimation/AllStarSuperman'', Lex Luthor has one of his only heel realizations in any continuity after he finally ''gets it''. What is "it"? ''Everything''.
61-->'''Lex Luthor:''' I could have made ''everyone'' see! If it wasn't for you, ''I could have saved the world!''\
62'''Franchise/{{Superman}}:''' If it had ''mattered'' to you, Luthor, you could have saved the world years ago.\
63'''Luthor:''' ... you're right.
64* ''WesternAnimation/AllDogsGoToHeaven'': In the ChristmasSpecial, it's revealed that Carface was thrown out of his home as a puppy because his owner blamed him for everything. Because of this, he's very sympathetic for the crippled young puppy Timmy, and is happy to see that he has a more caring family. He's thus horrified when he's shown the future and sees that his scam led to harming Timmy and his family. This causes Carface to reform and help stop Belladonna's plans to hypnotize every dog in San Francisco.
65* ''WesternAnimation/TheBadGuys2022'': [[spoiler:Diane Foxington]] is revealed to have had this moment in a flashback sequence. [[spoiler:As the Crimson Paw, she was an untouchable master thief, something she thought she was proud of. But when she steals the Golden Dolphin trophy (a Good Samaritan Award) and sees a reflection of herself, she feels guilty over living up to the FoulFox stereotype, and leaves the trophy -- and her life of crime -- behind.]]
66* In ''WesternAnimation/TheBoxtrolls'', [[spoiler:it eventually dawns on Trout and Pickles that they're ''not'' the good guys, and all it takes to get them to rebel against Snatcher is an ArmorPiercingQuestion from Winnie]].
67* Amos Slade, the BigBad of ''WesternAnimation/TheFoxAndTheHound'', has one at the end when Copper prevents him from shooting Tod, who saved both their lives only two minutes earlier. He realizes that he is being an UngratefulBastard and spares Tod's life.
68* In ''WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewGroove'' Pacha tells Kuzco, "Someday, you're going to find yourself all alone, and you'll have no one to blame but yourself.". Later in the movie, Kuzco is all alone in the jungle, and he realizes what a jerk he's been to everybody... and that he's entirely to blame for everything that's happened to him (even Yzma wanting to kill him). His narration again tells the audience that [[NeverMyFault he's the victim]], but...
69-->'''Kuzco:''' ''[to narration]'' Hey, give it a rest up there, will ya?\
70'''Kuzco's Narration:''' What? I'm just telling them what happened.\
71'''Kuzco:''' Who are you kidding, pal? They saw the whole thing. They ''know'' what happened.\
72'''Kuzco's Narration:''' Well, yeah, but... but...\
73'''Kuzco:''' Just leave me alone...
74* ''WesternAnimation/Home2015'':
75** Oh has a major revelation that his own people themselves are entirely the cause of all their persecution problems.
76** After Oh [[spoiler:saves the Boov using a Gorg Superchip, Kyle realizes that he should have accepted Oh as his friend and sides with him against Smek]].
77* Claude Frollo of ''WesternAnimation/{{The Hunchback of Notre Dame|Disney}}'' seems to have one that lasts [[IgnoredEpiphany for about a second or two]] during his VillainSong, when he sings "God have mercy on her/God have mercy on me" and then follows up with "But she [[{{Yandere}} will be]] ''[[{{Yandere}} mine]]'', [[IfICantHaveYou or she will burn]]!"
78* Diego in ''WesternAnimation/IceAge1''. He's confronted about the selfishness and brutality in his plans that set up Manny when the mammoth saves him from the lava, and after Roshan chooses to walk to him first. This culminates in his change of heart and the decision to do whatever it takes to make sure his new "herd" makes it to safety - even if it might mean his own death.
79* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLEGOMovie'', it's no secret that Lord Business is a ControlFreak, [[spoiler:but it's not him who has the realization. It's "The Man Upstairs", a serious LEGO enthusiast who builds only to the specified instructions and sticks his creations into place with Krazy Glue, and never lets his son Finn, a simple young boy who only wants to build creative experiments, play with them. TMU finally has the realization after he finds out that Finn based an imaginary supervillain on him. Of course, TMU isn't really evil ''per se'', but he is, as noted, an AllegoricalCharacter for TMU's own control freak tendencies]].
80* ''WesternAnimation/TheLEGOMovie2TheSecondPart'': Finn finds the broken remains of Queen Watevra/the heart he built Bianca in the storage bin, and the look on his face all but says MyGodWhatHaveIDone.
81* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKingIISimbasPride'', after [[InLoveWithTheMark falling for Kiara]] and hearing Simba's side of Scar's death, Kovu finishes BecomingTheMask and gets a [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone My God What Did I Almost Do]] moment, deciding not to go through with the assassination plot he had been sent to do. Around the same time, this happens to Simba when he realizes that what he's doing to Kovu isn't what Mufasa would have wanted.
82* In ''WesternAnimation/MeetTheRobinsons'', after Bowler Hat Guy checked off everything on his villain agenda except the last entry, which he marked with a "?," he faced a "NowWhat" moment and realized that whereas the Robinson family had vastly improved the quality of life in the world in the span of a couple of decades, Bowler Hat Guy's actions had been nothing but destructive for petty reasons. Without a direction for himself anymore, Bowler Hat Guy starts thinking about reforming. The bowler hat, Doris, figures this out (ItMakesSenseInContext) and [[spoiler: takes matters into her own robotic claws, and it takes the combined efforts of the Robinsons, Lewis, and Bowler Hat Guy to stop her]].
83* In ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'', Sulley gives a scare demonstration to some candidates, badly scaring Boo, which makes him realize how horrible it actually is to scare little children.
84* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls'': [[BigBad Sunset Shimmer]] gets one after the climax of the film. [[spoiler:Whatever Sunset was expecting the Element of Magic to do once she put it on her head, it wasn't to turn her into a "raging she-demon". Before her transformation, Sunset hadn't been willing to threaten a puppy; after it, she tried to outright kill Twilight]]. After the Rainbooms stopped her, Sunset understood that she had been the bad guy even before this, and promptly repented. ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls Rainbow Rocks]]'' shows us details; she's harder on her past self than the Humane Five are, and directs a great deal of scorn and sarcasm at herself.
85* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsFriendshipGames'', the other members of Crystal Prep's Shadowbolts team are horrified that their determination to win [[spoiler:led to the actual human Twilight Sparkle being transformed into the monstrous Midnight Sparkle. So much so that, when Midnight goes on a reality-breaking spree, the girls quickly aid the others in saving those dangling in the holes from falling in. Once everything is set back to normal, the girls are a lot more apologetic and friendlier and no longer care about winning (much to their principal Cinch's fiery disgrace)]].
86* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyANewGeneration'': Phyllis Cloverleaf is the owner and CEO of [=CanterLogic=], a high tech company that specializes in propaganda-based protection gear, since Phyllis believes that unicorns and pegasiare dangerous and want to harm Earth ponies. Her realization that she's in the wrong starts when Sunny Starscout reveals the other pony tribes don't have magic, meaning they can't do any of the spells or flying that supposedly makes them dangerous. It's cemented when Phyillis' son Sprout goes totally overboard in [[spoiler:driving the earth ponies into war]], and she understands how toxic her beliefs really are.
87* Jack's realization in ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas'' crystallises in the song "Poor Jack".
88* RJ in ''WesternAnimation/OverTheHedge'' spends the first half of the film tricking the forest animals into stealing food so he can take it all and give it to Vincent, a bear whose food he caused to be run over. As he spends time with them, he starts to like being part of their family, so much so that he begins regretting his plan. When he finally goes through with and lets them take the fall, Vincent commends RJ for how he deceived them. RJ [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone realizes he's made a horrible mistake]] and goes off to save them.
89* In life, the [[spoiler: zombies]] of ''WesternAnimation/{{Paranorman}}'' were [[spoiler: KnightTemplar puritans who believed that they were doing the right thing by killing Agatha, who they suspected of witchcraft. In death, however, they feel ashamed of what they did and accept that it was utterly unforgivable]].
90* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerbTheMovieCandaceAgainstTheUniverse'': Candace finally gets one, when she sees how the [[BigBad Big Bad]] treats her brothers, and how she plans to use her to take over Earth. When she sees her brothers again, she couldn't help but run off in tears, realizing just how [[UngratefulBastard ungrateful]] she was towards her brothers' inventing talents and thinking that she's ruining everyones' summer.
91* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}}'': Downplayed with Ego. Rémy's cooking and its effect on him forces him to reevaluate nearly everything he's preached his entire career, and makes him realize his criticism should not be taken as gospel like it has been. He was wrong, anyone, even someone from the lowliest origin imaginable, can cook.
92* ''WesternAnimation/TheRugratsMovie'':
93** Tommy suffers this big time. Having been abandoned by his friends and left to fend for himself and his baby brother, Dil, Tommy finally snaps at Dil's greediness and attitude and plans to give Dil to the monkeys. However, as he's ready to dump banana baby food on Dil, the younger Pickles' demeanor changes to one of outright fear and Tommy sees himself in a puddle's reflection. This and Dil quickly clambering up to hug Tommy is enough to realize what he was doing was wrong. Even the ''monkeys'' are close to tears as they sadly look on as Tommy brings Dil back to shelter.
94** Dil as well gets this during this scene, realizing how much of a brat he was.
95** Chuckie later realizes he abandoned his best friend to fend for himself in the woods. He gets Phil and Lil to go back for Tommy and Dil because somebody has to take care of them and there's nobody else around.
96* In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', Ming is not an evil person. She never wanted to be a villain, and certainly never saw herself as a villain. But somewhere between [[spoiler:getting OneHitKO'ed by Mei and meeting up with the aunties and Grandma on the astral plane]], she realizes that she is, in fact, the villain of the piece. That realization, plus the compassion and forgiveness shown to her by both her daughter and her mother, are enough to bring about a drastic change in her attitude.
97* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}'', Judy gets one as she realizes the extent of her [[InnocentBigot patronizing attitude]] and InnocentlyInsensitive comments towards predators has worsened the Night Howler situation.
98[[/folder]]
99
100[[folder:Music]]
101* Music/HammerFall has "Last Man Standing", about a man who gave up everything and refused to budge in his beliefs, only to now see that he's just about out of time to make things right.
102-->Seeing clearer what I've done, I refused to let things go\
103I could never once admit I'm wrong, and what do I have to show?\
104Seeing clearer what's at stake, and the things I have to change\
105I just hope I can, it's not too late to get a chance to end this pain!
106* Happens in "Cats in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin. Add a major tearjerker in that Chapin never lived to see his children grow up; he died in an automobile accident in 1981.
107--> And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me\
108He'd grown up just like me\
109My boy was just like me
110* Happens twice in ''Music/RaziasShadow'' by Forgive Durden. First, when [[spoiler: Ahrima goes into the darkness and Barayas (the Spider) convinces him that the only way to make people respect him is to make them fear him. He destroys the lamps and is banished. In Toba the Tura, he laments "Oh, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone what have I done]]?"]]. Second, [[spoiler: Pallis. After accidentally stabbing his brother, Adakias, he begs and pleads for him to fight and stay alive. Though he was aware of his evil intentions, he didn't mean to take things so far]].
111* The second half of Music/DavidBowie's "Cygnet Committee", wherein the second narrator first gleefully describes the violence he and his allies have turned to but slowly sees it be antithetical to his ideals.
112* "Overburdened" by Music/{{Disturbed}} features one for a KnightTemplar waiting in line in hell:
113-->I was fighting for a reason\
114Holy blessed homicide\
115Seems I have committed treason\
116All I've sacrificed
117* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyuJI73Uxns The Truth beneath the Rose]]" by Music/WithinTemptation is sung from the KnightTemplar's point of view as they realise how wrong their actions were, and wish to become TheAtoner.
118-->I believed it would justify the means\
119It had a hold over me\
120Blinded to see\
121The cruelty of the beast\
122Here is the darkest side of me\
123(Forgive me my sins)\
124The veil of my dreams\
125Deceived all I have seen\
126Forgive me for what I have been.
127* Bob has a small one in "[[ZombieApocalypse Re: Your Brains]]" by Music/JonathanCoulton, which doesn't seem to affect him much.
128-->I'm not a monster, Tom\
129Well, [[EliteZombie technically I am]]\
130I guess I am.
131* Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds song "The Curse of Milhaven"
132-->Since I was no bigger than a weavil\
133they've been saying I was evil\
134that if bad was a boot then I'd fit it\
135that I'm a wicked young lady,\
136but I've been trying hard lately \
137Oh, fuck it! I'm a monster! I admit it!
138* "I Was Wrong" by Music/SocialDistortion.
139--> When I was young, I was so full of fear\
140I hid behind anger, held back the tears\
141It was me against the world, I was sure that I'd win\
142[[BreakTheHaughty But the world fought back, punished me for my sins]]\
143I felt so alone, so insecure\
144I blamed you instead, made sure I was heard\
145And they tried to warn me of my evil ways\
146But I couldn't hear what they had to say\
147I was wrong, self-destruction's got me again\
148I was wrong, I realize now that I was wrong
149* Happens in the middle of "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKQYZUU63QM Crusade]]" by Music/{{Voltaire}}, after the narrator has slain one of the reportedly evil dragons he was crusading against.
150--> The dragon fell upon the ground\
151'Twas then I heard a whimpering sound\
152A dragonling to his father clung\
153Who only fought to protect his young.
154* "Take This Bottle" by Music/FaithNoMore is about an abusive alcoholic who wants his wife and child to leave him to stew in his own guilt.
155* "Stop!" on the Music/PinkFloyd album Music/TheWall is Pink having an epiphany about how far down the road of evil he is, which leads into the trial in the center of his mind.
156-->'''''[[BigWordShout Stop!]]'''''\
157I wanna go home\
158Take off [[PuttingOnTheReich this uniform]] and leave the show\
159But I'm waiting in this cell because I have to know\
160Have I been guilty all this time?
161* "Sorry" by {{Buckcherry}}
162* "Two Worlds Collide" by Inspiral Carpets
163* One interpretation of the Music/ImagineDragons song "The River" explains that the singer has realized his own selfishness, and decided to perform a spiritual cleansing.
164* "Criminal" by Music/FionaApple is a girl realizing she's been a [[DomesticAbuse monster to the guy she loves]] and desperately searching for a way to [[TheAtoner fix it]].
165-->I've gotta make a play\
166To make my lover stay\
167So what would an angel say?\
168The Devil wants to know
169* Similar to the Fiona Apple example above, "Runaway" by Music/KanyeWest depicts the narrator realizing that he is an unrepentant DomesticAbuser with [[DespairEventHorizon with no real way to redeem himself]].
170* Music/MindInABox's [[SequelSong cohesive plot]] revolves around a man named Black, working for a government agency using increasing Orwellian methods. He realizes he's working for the bad guys when his boss, White, attempts to erase his identity.
171-->Everything that I did wrong was never my intention — At that time, I thought it was the right thing to do.
172* Music/TheWho's 'Behind Blue Eyes', while largely a straight-up Main/VillainSong, has some moments of this.
173-->But my dreams\
174They aren't as empty\
175As my conscience seems to be
176* Sweet Escape by GwenStefani. As she says "I know I've been a real bad girl, I didn't mean for you to get hurt.
177* Music/TheMegas: Proto Man starts out [[UnfulfilledPurposeMisery murderously angry]] that he was created to be TheHero and then taken apart so that Franchise/MegaMan could fill the role instead. After a KirkSummation shows him the error of his ways, he concludes that he wouldn't have been a good fit for the job anyway:
178-->''If I'd been standing where you are, I think I would've done what Father wants...but now I know what I'd become.''
179[[/folder]]
180
181[[folder:Myths & Religion]]
182* OlderThanFeudalism in ''Literature/TheBible'':
183** According to Christianity, acknowledging one's own "fallenness" is the first step to receiving salvation.
184*** And in the Orthodox faith, the right way of true living by Christ's commandments is to come to the ''state'' of this. And if not, that won't work.
185*** A specific example would be Saul of Tarsus, better known as Saint Paul the Apostle. He began as a notorious persecutor of the earliest Christians, who was knocked to the ground and struck blind by a vision of God on the way to Damascus (''"Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?"''). He converted within the week to Christianity and found his sight restored, and "the road to Damascus" would become a popular metaphor for the Heel Realization.
186** The Gospel of Matthew, 27:54, and the Gospel of Mark, 15:39: a Roman soldier present at the Crucifixion, upon seeing all the things that happen when UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} finally does die, remarks, "Truly, [[BullyingADragon this man was the son of God]]."
187** In the New Testament, when Judas Iscariot realizes that he's betrayed Jesus, he gives back the thirty pieces of silver and hangs himself. (The other account for his death averts this trope.)
188** David, though beloved of the Lord, was rebuked by the prophet Nathan when he had [[UriahGambit Uriah the Hittite put on the front lines so he would be killed]], and David could take his wife Bathsheba for himself. Nathan tells him that the child Bathsheba was currently pregnant with would not live. Indeed, despite David fasting and clothing himself in sackcloth, the baby died after seven days. (And during this time, David allegedly wrote the powerfully penitent Psalm 51).
189** According to [[Literature/TheFourGospels the gospel of Luke]], Jesus was crucified at the same time as two criminals. One of the criminals mocked Jesus, telling Him to save all three of them if He was really the Son of God. The second criminal rebuked the first, telling him that they (the criminals) were getting the punishment they deserved, but that Jesus had done nothing wrong. The second criminal asked Jesus to remember him, and Jesus promised that the second criminal would join him in paradise for his humbleness and for proclaiming Jesus as the Son of God.
190* ''Literature/TheBookOfMormon'': When the ActualPacifist people of Ammon are attacked and over a thousand of them slaughtered, the attackers eventually realize that they're not fighting back at all, and many are "stung", "their hearts had swollen". Over a thousand of them -- more than the number of casualties -- throw their weapons down and join the survivors in prayer.
191* According to legend, Joan of Arc's executioner showed up at his church for confession as a babbling wreck shortly after due to realizing he had "killed a holy woman."
192[[/folder]]
193
194[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
195* Since pretty much any wrestler who is booed is a {{heel}}, outside of some bizarre circumstances like XPacHeat, most are well aware of what they are and don't see themselves as being "wrong", "evil" or such. A wrestler who does realize they have been doing wrong and deciding to cut it out may still remain a heel anyway (Wrestling/MickieJames). A straight example, by this page's description, would be at ''Wrestling/{{R|ingOfHonor}}OH Fifth Year Festival Finale'' when Wrestling/ColtCabana tried to remove [[Wrestling/HunterJohnston Delirious's]] mask. When the fans booed him for it, he stopped and apologized for it.
196* Wrestling/MattHardy, whom after losing an "[[GimmickMatches I Quit]]" to his brother Wrestling/{{Jeff| Hardy}}, realized he was being consumed by jealousy and envy and stopped being such an ass to his brother.
197* Wrestling/TheShield formed together because they really didn't like the {{popularity| power}} contest that is the reality of professional wrestling (or the fact that the in their eyes inferior Wrestling/{{Ryback}} arrived on the main roster before them, [[GreenEyedMonster but that's another topic entirely]]) and decided to everything they could to ensure [[{{face}} fan favorite wrestlers]] were as unsuccessful as possible, which they viewed as "justice". This led them to work for Wrestling/TheAuthority in keeping down the always over [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]] but found The Authority often getting in their way (such as against Wrestling/TheWyattFamily), and when The Authority decided to go after commentator Wrestling/JerryLawler, The Shield came to the conclusion The Authority was, in fact, the greatest injustice in WWE and decided to fight them instead.
198* After seeing Wrestling/{{TNA}}'s locker room empty to ensure that she would not escape from [[Wrestling/TheDudleyBoys Bully Ray]] and his table, Dixie Carter came to realize she was the bad guy and scolded [[Wrestling/{{EC3}} her nephew]] from trying to take action against Bully Ray, the company, and her own personal circle for the incident instead of putting Bully Ray in charge of wrestling operations as an apology for her tyranny.
199[[/folder]]
200
201[[folder:Roleplay]]
202* ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest'':
203** Bobby Jacks, who realizes he's one of the bad guys very early on but then decides that now that he's killed somebody there's no going back. Lenny Priestly also arguably fits this, although he is less somber about it.
204** In ''v4'', Reiko Ishida has one of these after [[spoiler:strangling resident WideEyedIdealist and InstantFanClub member Carol Burke to death in a fit of rage]].
205[[/folder]]
206
207[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
208* The first edition of the ''TabletopGame/DiscworldRoleplayingGame'' draws on ''Literature/WyrdSisters'' (see above) to define a spell that triggers such realizations. If the target refuses to be frightened, this can rebound on the caster...
209* In ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'', having a Heel Realization is the only way a darklord can escape his/her IronicHell realm. The sourcebook does note that people actually ''capable'' of having a Heel Realization and actually admitting that they reaped what they sowed when they committed the [[MoralEventHorizon Act of Ultimate Darkness]] that made them darklords would never have become darklords in the first place. Thus far, the only time this has happened was when the writing team lost the rights to Lord Soth and had to remove him in a hurry; he admitted his guilt, causing the Powers That Be to lose interest in torturing him and banish him from the realm.
210* In ''TabletopGame/SentinelsOfTheMultiverse'', the villainous AI Omnitron -- after a century of defeats at the hands of the heroes -- surmises that their success comes from their emotions, and creates a new, tenth iteration with an empathy chip. Omnitron-X then realizes the depth of suffering he's caused and goes back in time to destroy his previous versions as atonement.
211[[/folder]]
212
213[[folder:Theatre]]
214* At the end of ''Theatre/{{Anastasia}}'', [[spoiler: Gleb realizes he is no better than his father if he goes through with assassinating Anya/Anastasia]].
215* Reverend Hale in ''Theatre/TheCrucible'' has one of these and spends the rest of the play trying to make amends -- by encouraging victims of the witch-hunt to confess and live rather than dying for continuing to deny witchcraft.
216* Valjean and Javert in ''Theatre/LesMiserables'' -- see Literature, above, although the episodes with Petit Gervais and Marius are sometimes omitted, the realizations following directly from the Bishop's undeserved gift to Valjean and Valjean's decision to spare Javert. Here, with Javert having been upgraded from "recurring nuisance" to "deuteragonist", an explicit parallel is drawn, Javert having a solo that's a DarkReprise of Valjean's.
217* The stage version of ''Theatre/LittleShopOfHorrors'' climaxes when Seymour Krelborn realizes what he's aided and abetted for a little fame and a shot at the woman of his dreams. Confronting [[ManEatingPlant Audrey 2]] he damns them both, "[[NotSoDifferentRemark You're a monster, and so am I!]]" [[spoiler:He is then [[DownerEnding promptly eaten]]]].
218* Both characters in ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'' experience this in the play -- for him, it's an IgnoredEpiphany, but Lady Macbeth [[GoMadFromTheRevelation loses her mind]].
219* In George Bernard Shaw's play ''Theatre/SaintJoan'', after Joan of Arc is captured, the English chaplain John de Stogumber pushes relentlessly for burning her at the stake; when he actually sees it done, he goes insane with remorse.
220* Emma, the protagonist of Creator/AndrewLloydWebber's ''[[Theatre/TellMeOnASunday Song & Dance]]'', desperate and discouraged by several failed relationships, finally has an affair with a married man. But when the man knocks on her door one night and tells her he's left his wife for her, she's forced to admit she wasn't serious about the relationship and was only using him. Realizing what she has become, Emma vows that she will change and become the good person she once was again.
221* In ''You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown'', [[ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}} Lucy van Pelt]] has a massive one after conducting a series of surveys to determine how crabby everyone thinks she is. Very crabby, it turns out.
222* In ''Theatre/JacobMarleysChristmasCarol'', while watching his past and the Cratchits' happy present, Marley realizes how short, cruel, and meaningless his own life was.
223[[/folder]]
224
225[[folder:Visual Novels]]
226* Part of Kotomine's {{backstory}} in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' is his realization that nice people do not enjoy watching others being tortured or that sort of thing. That's fundamentally why he can't actually become a CardCarryingVillain; he actually has a sense of morality. The end result can be considered an IgnoredEpiphany but he ''did'' try. For years.
227* In ''VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo'', in Act 4 of Shizune's route, [[spoiler:she realizes that she has been taking those closest to her for granted and pushing people close to her away. She thus resolves to, with Hisao's help, repair her friendship with Misha, and also says she will be less competitive in the future]].
228* In ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'', Miles Edgeworth starts to have "doubts" after you demonstrate two defendants to be innocent, but it's not until he's the defendant in [[spoiler:two murder trials in a row]] in which he's innocent that he really decides that striving to get every single defendant found guilty to maintain a "perfect record" might be a bad thing. Furthermore, he finds out that although he became a prosecutor because of [[spoiler:the fatal shooting of his father]], it turns out that [[spoiler:the real killer is the senior prosecutor who mentored him, and instilled those beliefs in him to begin with!]]
229** Also, in the fifth case, Edgeworth finds that [[spoiler:he's already guilty of using forged evidence, and the forged evidence was used to give a death sentence to a serial killer]]. He wasn't aware of it at the time ([[spoiler:he himself didn't forge it, and he was convinced that it was the real deal]]), but it really came to bite him in the ass when people found it out and started to call him out on it. Even when they find out [[spoiler:who forged the evidence and why, sort of clearing his name a bit]], he couldn't forgive himself for it... and it's implied that [[spoiler:it's one of the many things that pushes him to leave the prosecutors' office for a year, leaving what appears to be a suicide note]].
230** [[spoiler:Acro]] has one in ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyJusticeForAll''. When the Judge, having realized that [[spoiler:he'd intended to kill Regina in revenge for her DeadlyPrank that resulted in Acro being wheelchair-bound and his brother bat going into a coma, but accidentally killed Regina's father and Acro's ParentalSubstitute]], asks if he's a victim, he says he's nothing but a murderer.
231** Downplayed in that he's not the BigBad or even arguably a villain in ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyTrialsAndTribulations'', but [[spoiler:Godot]] realises at the end of the final case that he both made the situation a lot worse because of his actions (literally engineering a situation where he could be a hero) and was projecting his own insecurities and self-hatred onto Phoenix.
232** In ''VisualNovel/TheGreatAceAttorney'', [[SerialKiller The Professor]](aka [[spoiler:Klint van Zieks]]) started killing nobles who couldn't be touched by the law, but after [[spoiler:the BigBad, Mael Stronghart, blackmailed him into doing his bidding]], he started killing [[spoiler:Stronghart's enemies]], and by the time he killed his mentor, he realized he was BeyondRedemption. This ultimately culminated in [[spoiler:him allowing Genshin Asogi to kill him after the latter exposed him, leaving behind a last will and testament exposing Stronghart's crimes]].
233* Major spoilers for ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair''. [[spoiler: Hajime Hinata learns this during the final trial. He was an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent at Hope's Peak Academy, having to pay a fortune just to get in. He submitted himself to an experiment by the school board to become the Ultimate Hope, becoming Izuru Kamukura. He then murders the School Council, then urged by the Ultimate Despair, Junko Enoshima, who broadcasts it to the world. This makes all of the Reserve Students commit suicide, bringing about the Tragedy. When Hajime remembers his old life and that he's the one responsible for bringing AI Junko to the island, which caused the killing game to start and half of his friends to die, he undergoes a hardcore HeroicBSOD.]]
234* In ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}'', Akiha route, you can, at one point, kill Ciel ([[spoiler:thus, failing her test of Shiki's humanity]]), prompting Shiki to assume he IS a natural-born killer, after all, and give in to TheDarkSide. Needless to say, it's a bad ending game over.
235** Part of Kohaku's route [[spoiler:has her realize much quicker than in Hisui's route that ''maybe'' she should have picked a different hobby than plotting the utter annihilation of the Tohno family, even if Makihasa wasn't the world's nicest guy after his Inversion Impulse began]].
236* In the [[spoiler:PsychologicalHorror [[DisguisedHorrorStory masquerading as a]]]] DatingSim ''VisualNovel/DokiDokiLiteratureClub'', [[spoiler:in the final scene with Monika, you learn that she's [[MediumAwareness self aware]] and can [[RealityWarper edit the game's code]], and has deleted every other part of the game, [[MurderTheHypotenuse other characters included]]. The player's response is to delete ''her'' character file, and for a moment it looks like she's going to go full screaming {{Yandere}} before it slowly sinks in that [[KarmicDeath this is exactly what she did to the others]] and that, even if they were replaceable data and scripts, they were still her friends. She laments how monstrous she had become and restores the characters and the game world before accepting her fate.]]
237* ''VisualNovel/MajikoiLoveMeSeriously'': Miyako, who was originally brought into the Kazama Family for a reprieve from horrible treatment by her family & classmates, becomes troubled by decreased attendance at the Family's Friday meetings, and insists that everyone attend even if they miss events crucial to realizing individual goals. She cannot believe that people who call themselves her friends wouldn't be around when she needs them, and when her pleas lead to vehement arguments which threaten to tear the group apart, she just becomes more resigned to the idea that no one will ever understand her. [[spoiler:It takes a BitchSlap and a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech from Chris, her biggest defender in those altercations, for Miyako to comprehend the undue burden she puts on the rest of the Kazama Family by never growing as a person from when she joined. She never tried to make any other friends or pick up any new experiences, and when she felt lonely & unfulfilled she made the rest of the Family her crutch, forever remaining the helpless girl the rest of the Family has to save. She vows to do better, kickstarting her CharacterDevelopment and the second half of her route.]]
238-->'''Miyako:''' [[spoiler:...Friends are your equals... How could I forget that?]]
239[[/folder]]
240
241[[folder:Web Animation]]
242* ''WebAnimation/PuffinForest'': In "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjLXuKHkKxE&t=8s We Became The Villains In Our Own Campaign]]", Ben and his party [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin discover that they are the villains of their campaign]]. Deep into the campaign, they discover that they've been unintentionally causing a lot of harm in the world [[note]]They saved a ship only to get its crew killed by [[SuicidalOverconfidence summoning a]] [[KrakenAndLeviathan kracken for them to fight]], [[VanHelsingHateCrimes they killed zombies]] [[PoorCommunicationKills that only wanted to warn them about an impending danger]], and they helped [[EvilSorcerer a guy]] retrieve black crystals that he needs to summon his [[EldritchAbomination dark master]] to take over the world[[/note]]. The GM confirms this by telling the party that they are pure evil and [[MoralEventHorizon beyond redemption]].
243* ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle''
244** Wiz and Boomstick's being constantly annoyed by ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} leads them to arrange a match against ComicBook/TheMask in hopes of getting rid of him once and for all. [[spoiler:When the Mask does the dirty deed and kills Deadpool, both Wiz and Boomstick can't stand the fact that they did this and feel horrible over breaking their own rules and setting up a match against someone who was clearly superior to him just so they can get rid of him.]]
245** Boomstick is equally horrified in "Martian Manhunter vs Silver Surfer" [[spoiler:as both combatants lament that they were forced to fight for some unknown reason.]]
246* ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'':
247** The end of season 10 gives us a rather dark one. [[spoiler: The Director of Project Freelancer has tortured a sentient AI to the point where it shed aspects of its own personality in order to save itself, took those fragments and began implanting them into the heads of a team of special operations soldiers, and sent them to attack what ultimately ended up being the actual military for more resources. Eventually, as one of his former agents goes on a power hungry RoaringRampageOfDestruction to collect the other agent's fragments, the Director's crimes come to light and its implied he's arrested. A few years later shows this was not the case and reveals the true purpose behind the project: to somehow bring back his dead wife. By this point, his own daughter is trying to kill him and when she finally finds him, he only asks for her to leave her pistol which he would use to commit suicide as the final recording of his wife plays on a loop.]]
248** Agents York and North Dakota have one of these in Season 9 after having law enforcement shooting at them during the mission to capture the Sarcophagus.
249-->'''York:''' We're the good guys, right?
250* ''WebAnimation/OverlySarcasticProductions'': Red discusses this trope in her Trope Talk video, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i76q3agsE2g&t=504s&ab_channel=OverlySarcasticProductions "Are We the Baddies?"]], titled after the Mitchell and Webb sketch mentioned above.
251* In ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', after learning that Elm and Vine want to stop her from blowing up Mantle ''because'' she's their friend despite earlier scorning friendship, Harriet finally realizes how wrong her actions were in her determination to mimic Clover's UndyingLoyalty to Ironwood.
252[[/folder]]
253
254[[folder:Webcomics]]
255* X from ''Webcomic/AMagicalRoommate'' has one after being hired to build a doomsday device that involves nuclear power but can be controlled magically. She's initially fascinated by it and works hard until she realizes that she's building something that's going to kill people, at which point she sabotages the entire project and walks out.
256* In ''Webcomic/AgentsOfTheRealm'', after Norah explains to her that Ruby is firmly in bad-guy camp, Jordan realizes that trusting the first person to know about their powers is a bad idea and jumps to Norah's camp.
257* Parodied in ''Webcomic/AnsemRetort''.
258-->'''Axel:''' We've faced worse than this. Remember when Disneyworld was destroyed?\
259'''Marluxia:''' Larxene did that.\
260'''Axel:''' Well, what about that plane that got hijacked?\
261'''Marluxia:''' ''You hijacked that plane''.\
262'''Axel:''' Okay, but there was that corrupt government.\
263'''Marluxia:''' That was, and still is Zexion.\
264'''Axel:''' Wow, we're [[{{Jerkass}} assholes]].
265* ''Webcomic/{{Bobwhite}}'', during a summer story arc, Cleo realizes, "[[http://www.bobwhitecomics.com/?webcomic_post=20090707 I'm such a terrible employee that I made a child cry.]]"
266* In ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids'', the [=PCs=] have always been skirting the border between merely OffTheRails and ObliviouslyEvil, casually trashing the GM's carefully scripted story and messing things up far worse than they were initially. The GM loves to point this out to them, but it isn't until [[http://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0454.html #454]] that Pete finally gets it. His reaction subverts the trope: "So we're the bad guys now? Cool!"
267** Played a little more seriously in [[http://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0571.html #571]], where Anakin slaughters the younglings. Jim can [[MoralEventHorizon no longer sympathize]] with Anakin. [[spoiler: In this continuity, he's probably right]].
268* In ''Webcomic/DominicDeegan'', after spending most of an arc in denial ("I am a good man!"), Bulgak finally realizes that he is "[[https://www.dominic-deegan.com/comic/2570-20101124/ a selfish, damned fool]]."
269* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'':
270** Abraham realizes the error of his ways after Nanase persuades him that in trying to fulfill the letter of his oath by killing Ellen he was actually violating the spirit of it. This leads him to become TheAtoner.
271** [[spoiler: Pandora]] has [[https://www.egscomics.com/comic/2017-01-02 one]] as well after receiving a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech from Raven. Given that she also starts referring to herself as "we" and going back and forth on how justified her actions are, it makes clear to her exactly how unstable she's become. This [[https://www.egscomics.com/comic/2017-08-11 comes to a head]] later in the arc.
272* In ''Webcomic/{{Endstone}}'', when about to MindRape her ParentalSubstitute, [[http://endstone.net/comic/issue-1-page-42/ Cole wonders why she is doing these terrible things -- for a panel]].
273* ''Webcomic/{{Erfworld}}'': Parson arrives at this fairly quickly after arriving (what with his side having all the classic evil minions like dwagons, gobwins, twolls, and giant spidews), but gets chewed out by his new boss and told that the whole "Good Guys/ Bad Guys" concept is just stupid. Comes up again after the climax of the Battle of Gobwin Knob, when the full impact of his plans and actions (tens of thousands of Erfworlders are '''''dead''''') hits Parson and he has to wonder how much he was influenced by the spell that summoned him and how much by his own free will and genuine desire to command a battle.
274%%(ZCE)** King Slately, too.
275%%(ZCE)--->''"I am facing facts," he repeated, softly. "My friend. Hard, hard facts." The two rulers looked at one another for a long moment. "My son is more of a man than I am. All my sons have been. And you always knew it. Did you not?"\
276Don said nothing.\
277"You never would listen to me about Royal ideals," Slately said, frowning. "Honor, sacrifice, dignity, decorum, station...loyalty, bravery... You were too polite to me, Don. You couldn't simply say I was no Royal ideal myself."''
278* In ''Webcomic/{{Exiern}}'', While Typhan-Knee has some good reasons to hate Theresa (like Theresa's prejudice against Typhan-knee's people), she also hates Theresa for several bad reasons: they are both under a GenderBender spell (and Theresa sees it as a positive because she was transexual before the change), the guy Typhan-Knee tries to tell herself she's not in love with seem interested in Theresa, and they (Typhan-knee & Theresa) are equally bigoted against each other's cultures. After [[LoveInterest Denver]] give her the appropriate "WhatTheHellHero", Typhan-knee finally realizes she's just as bad as she claimed Theresa was.
279* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'':
280** Parodied:
281--->'''Agatha:''' And ''I'm'' the evil mad girl with the death ray and the freakish ancestors -- and the town full of minions -- and the horde of Jägers -- and the homicidal castle full of sycophantic evil geniuses and fun-sized hunter-killer monster clanks ''and goodness knows what else--''\
282''[[[BeatPanel beat]]]''\
283'''Agatha:''' --And you know what? ''I can work with that!''
284** In fact, multiply parodied: Baron Wulfenbach gets a few lovely moments too -- mostly in the vein of knowing he's the "bad guy" and [[TheExtremistWasRight being all right with that]]. He's not really the bad guy -- but his [[FaceHeelTurn "heel" turn]] happened because he was drugged and dragged out of his continent, only to find upon his return years later (and with a new son in tow) that [[TheProtagonist the Heterodynes]] have vanished, their base was [[CurbStompBattle annihilated]], [[ZombieApocalypse zombie-like people are running rampant]], and the few nobles alive who still have power are engaged in petty squabbling instead of banding together to fix the utter [[CrapsackWorld chaos]]. The Baron quickly gathers all the allies he can, makes all the death rays he can, and just starts killing everything that is killing something else, until everyone finally bows to his rule. [[TheExtremistWasRight He's one of the only two reasons that the continent has general peace]], and the other reason was a woman who made a HeroicSacrifice to stop the zombie threat from being ''worse'' than it had. It hasn't stopped the world from ''considering'' him an evil tyrant, but at this point, he's stopped ''caring'' what anyone else thinks.
285** [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080305 At one point]], Gil Wulfenbach goes into a huge rant about how he always tries to be a NiceGuy but all that does is make people think that [[VirtueIsWeakness he is weak and that they can take advantage of him]], and so the only way he can ever make people listen to reason is by beating the crap out of them first. And then he realizes, to his horror: "This must be how [[EvilOverlord my]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist father]] feels ''all the time!''"
286** Tarvek has one while arguing with Gil, about using slaver wasps. ''[[https://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20110401 "Of course they shouldn't be used on Agatha! They shouldn't be used on any... oh."]]''
287* In ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'', Vriska Serket, who up until this point had been manipulating events in the B1 session, has one after [[spoiler:killing Tavros]].
288* Steward and Trinket in ''Webcomic/{{Housepets}}'' have an enforced one: When they come down from [[spoiler: demon mode]], it seems like all their rationalisations for their actions have come crashing down. This results in an overwrought "I'm a monster!" phase which even the people they were trying to kill are relieved to hear is temporary, although the understanding thus gained seems to last longer.
289* Though not a villain, ''Webcomic/TheJapaneseBeetle'' had a moment where he realized he's a creep, and set about [[CharacterDevelopment trying to become a decent person and a real hero]].
290* Subversion: Cale'anon of ''Webcomic/LookingForGroup'' believes he has turned evil [[spoiler:after killing a little boy]] and tries to act accordingly, but really, he [[PokeThePoodle isn't made of the right (or wrong) stuff]].
291* In ''Webcomic/{{MonsterLands}}'', The Destructor realizes that going out of his way to start random fights with strangers is a bad idea, as seen [[http://www.monster-lands.com/comic/fight-pg-36/ here]]
292* ''Webcomic/PoppyOPossum:'' Between the FantasticRacism against opossums and her desire to keep peace in Eggton, Petunia Quibble starts the series determined to run Poppy out of town. She changes her mind after confronting Poppy over her past sins when she discovers, via an emotional outburst from Poppy, that the latest one before coming to Eggton was the result of Poppy's daughter being injured. When asked about it later, Petunia admits she ''had'' been against Poppy from the start, but that outburst helped her realize that Poppy was a person, one who'd had it rough, and she was on the verge of becoming the next villain in her life.
293* ''Webcomic/SleipnirEquineInvaderFromJupiter'': When General Kincaid smugly orders [[spoiler:for the military to finish Sleipnir off when the alien horse is badly injured TakingTheBullet for them, Clint realizes what a monster he is and attacks him. Kincaid easily overpowers Clint and smugly tries to break his leg, then kills Jericho when the horse tries to protect Clint. This leads to Jimenez--already troubled by Kincaid planning to drop a nuke in the middle of Austin, Texas--deciding that his boss has gone too far and briefly knocking Kincaid out with a punch to the head]].
294* In ''Webcomic/TheSpecialists'', [[http://thespecialistscomic.com/page-122/ Hartmann, trying to convince the Specialists they can trust him, tries to convince them of this: he tells them that he, the erstwhile Nazi, hates the Nazis -- and himself]].
295* In ''Webcomic/StrongFemaleProtagonist'', Alison has a long conversation with her ethics and aesthetics professor in which she attempts to come to terms with her decision to assault and kidnap someone she didn't like, then force him to use his powers to help save a great many lives. Except that over the course of the conversation she finds herself increasingly unable to escape the truth: she didn't do it to save those lives, she did it to save her friend. And that her attempts to portray him as the most selfish and horrible person she's ever known are projecting her own guilt onto him, given that she's lost friends because of her selfish behavior in her earlier years (not to mention her acquaintances with mass murderers and villains bent on world conquest).
296* ''Webcomic/UnOrdinary'': [[spoiler: John]] is able to justify his attacks to himself by seeing himself as the victim and everyone else as beneath him and complicit in his own suffering due to his society's power based hierarchy, which encourages the strong to lord their power over the weak. Even when he decides that he's a monster, his conclusion is "So what? Everyone is else is just as fucked up as I am!" When he's finally forced to face that he's attacking and endangering people left and right, despite many of them genuinely being decent people instead of faking, he breaks down completely.
297* ''Webcomic/ItsWalky'': [[DarkActionGirl Sal's]] fall from grace has led her to retrieve an AmplifierArtifact which she is poised to use to destroy about 2/3rds of the world with. Walky brings her back from the brink by presenting her with her ex-boyfriend Danny, who is the only person she will still let herself care about. Her tough-girl persona collides with her desire for Danny to think well of her and [[VillainousBSOD she collapses into a crying heap in Danny's arms]]. Afterward, she becomes TheAtoner for the next few story arcs, resolving to willingly serve out her prison sentence [[PlayAlongPrisoner despite her superpowers meaning she can escape whenever she wants]]. Her Heel Realization is illustrated by having Sal's hair, which had fallen over her left eye and covered it during her entire DarkActionGirl phase [[GoodHairEvilHair to illustrate how she wasn't letting herself see everything going on around her]], [[ExpositoryHairStyleChange falling away from her face as she sees and recognizes Danny's presence]].
298* ''Webcomic/{{xkcd}}'': "[[http://xkcd.com/481/ Listen to Yourself]]" uses a "{{Troll}} Realization" variation on the theme.
299* ''Webcomic/ZiggyPigAndSillySeal2022'': Occurs in issue #7 when Ziggy Pig abruptly realizes that his FrameUp scheme has turned him into a villain.
300-->"Holy crap... WE'RE $%#& VILLAINS!"
301[[/folder]]
302
303[[folder:Web Original]]
304* Cracked.com offers a helpful list of [[http://www.cracked.com/article_15021_5-signs-that-youre-villain-in-hollywood-action-movie.html 5 Signs That You're the Villain in an Action Movie]], including details like acknowledging one's own RedRightHand and the possibility of being an EvilBrit.
305* Rudyard Kipling in ''Literature/MaleRising'' went through this after he witnessed the atrocities committed by the British during the [[spoiler: Indian War of Independence]]. As a result, [[spoiler: he defects to the Indian side, reports the war from their perspective, and writes a retort to his famous poem, stating that Britain has become unfit to carry the WhiteMansBurden]].
306* Phase of the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'' is a fourteen-year-old who was kicked out of the richest family on the planet, the Goodkinds, when he turned into a mutant: the Goodkinds are notoriously anti-mutant, supporting the [[KnightTemplar Knights of Purity]] and the semi-governmental Mutant Commission Office (MCO). Goodkinds, including the person he used to be, supported the MCO with billions of dollars over the years. Phase has defended the MCO to his new (mutant) friends at [[SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy]], even though there are rumors that the MCO has kidnapped hundreds of young mutants who were never seen again. In "Ayla and the Grinch", Phase has to face the fact that the MCO really ''has'' been kidnapping, and "disappearing", young mutants, and he is partly responsible since he helped fund the MCO.
307[[/folder]]
308
309[[folder:Web Videos]]
310* Throughout ''WebVideo/DrHorriblesSingAlongBlog'', the titular VillainProtagonist has been a villain [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain in name only]], mouthing WellIntentionedExtremist slogans but too meek to actually do anything really bad. Then comes the challenge from the Evil League of Evil to which he aspires: [[IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten commit a heinous crime or die]]. It's not until the very end, when his inability to pull the trigger on his ArchEnemy Captain Hammer has led directly to the death of [[spoiler:his love interest, Penny]], that he realizes that the murder will be attributed to him, and thus he ''is'' now a villain for real. His final song, "Everything You Ever", is a [[LyricalDissonance triumphant dirge]] simultaneously celebrating his ascension to true Evil and mourning the loss of his soul.
311-->"Now the nightmare's real; now Dr. Horrible is here...."
312* The ''Escapist'' series ''Doraleous and Associates'' had an episode where the titular heroes-for-hire realized they were working for the bad guys. They immediately switched sides.
313* Steve in ''WebVideo/KateModern'', when he realizes his religion is actually a [[ReligionOfEvil murderous cult]], which he has been serving blindly.
314* {{Exaggerated|Trope}} in ''WebVideo/ToBoldlyFlee''. WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic blames himself for putting the lives of his Channel Awesome co-workers in danger to follow more of his crazy schemes, which he's right to do. He then starts blaming himself for things like [=SOPA=], the internet censorship bill, which he had nothing to do with.
315* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_Y4jLOEEyk this]] short video made for Christmas 2009, [[Series/TwentyFour Jack Bauer]] begins to [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique interrogate and torture]] SantaClaus. (Santa's flying over the US without a passport delivering mysterious packages, after all). With only a few sentences Santa makes Jack (who has just threatened to [[EyeScream cut out Santa's eyes]]) realize that what he's doing is wrong. The video ends with an emotionally distraught Jack leaving the room and nearly having a breakdown in his car.
316* In one of WebVideo/SovietWomble's Arma videos, their clan takes on the role of a freedom fighter insurgency freeing an island nation from Russian occupation. As the video goes on and the resistance group's number of war crimes committed grows at an explosive rate, Womble comments that their group has more or less become the bad guys in this scenario.
317-->'''Moogle''' Eh look. If someone tells us to go fuck ourselves, what's the appropriate response? \
318'''Womble:''' Oh! Oh! Gee! Maybe one of them isn't break the fucking Geneva Convention. We're the fucking baddies.
319[[/folder]]

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