Line #60 Main/HelplessGoodSide


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11	->'''Krieg's Inner Conscience:''' I don't know the dead man. Probably didn't deserve what he got. Doesn't make him special, though. All kinds of people die out here. The innocent... and the not-so-innocent. If I'm lucky, he hasn't noticed me yet. I wanna warn him. I wanna tell him to run, to hide, to get out of sight so I won't have to kill him. That's... what I ''wanna'' say. What actually comes out of my mouth is:\
12	'''Krieg:''' ''[sprints toward the man with buzz-axe raised]'' I HAVE THE SHINIEST MEAT BICYCLE! ''[chop, SmashToBlack, man screams]''\
13	'''Conscience:''' ''[resigned]'' Heh. Close enough.
14	-->-- ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'', "A Meat Bicycle Built for Two"
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16	Sometimes, when a character has a SplitPersonality, or two people SharingABody, one of them is a total wimp. This can range from merely being incompetent in a combat situation to being unable to take care of their own basic needs, such as feeding themselves and not wetting themselves in public. Regardless, when these come out in a combat situation, the character tends to be royally screwed. If they're on a team, this can transform them from a badass into TheLoad. When the BigBad does this, they may become a ZeroEffortBoss or ClippedWingAngel.
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18	Compare GoodIsImpotent. Contrast SuperpoweredEvilSide, which sometimes goes hand in hand with this. Sometimes appears as a result of EasyAmnesia. In a world where PassionIsEvil, the Good side will be passive or emotionless.
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20	!!Examples
21
22	[[foldercontrol]]
23
24	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
25	* ''Manga/{{Animerica}}'''s [[spoiler:BigBad Kiyone]] is revealed to be this, having been intelligent but physically weak compared to his older, stronger, and much favored twin, which made him vulnerable to his SuperpoweredEvilSide. He is so much so that he is put in a DrivenToSuicide state, believing that he has no chance of redemption after all his actions in Season 2, and his now EnemyWithout demon sees this as an opportunity to attempt to take him over again.
26	* ''Anime/CodeGeass''
27	** Chigusa, the side of Villetta Nu that arises as a result of amnesia.
28	** ''R2'': After the first showdown at the Sword of Akasha, [[spoiler:the immortal C.C.]]'s personality reverts to that of herself at the age of ten. Complete with all the skills and confidence of a ten-year-old. Making matters worse, [[spoiler:C.C. was born in the Dark Ages, so she's not just a child, she's a slave who doesn't understand the modern world and whose primary skills include cooking, sewing and the ability to count to twenty]].
29	* Lunch/Launch of ''Manga/DragonBall'' spends half her time as a hyper-competent, incredibly violent criminal specializing in dramatic robberies. The other half of the time, she's a ditzy, gullible, physically weak woman who is so different from her counterpart that it's hilarious.
30	* Lucy of ''Manga/ElfenLied'' is a psychotic murderer who can kill things with telekinetic "hands" called vectors that she can extend in a two meter radius around her. However, after taking a bullet to the head, she becomes Nyu, an innocent amnesiac girl who initially doesn't even know how to use a restroom. However, as time goes by, they start switching back and forth. This is strange, but becomes more reasonable when later it is revealed that [[spoiler:she's actually got a THIRD personality already, the one that is a bugfuck insane genocidal monster. The genetic programming to assimilate or murder all of mankind that Lucy has been struggling with all her life.]]
31	* One episode of the ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' anime features the Jusenkyo Preservation Society, which sends enforcers to punish Ranma and the others who "abuse" the Jusenkyo curse. One of them is a hulking man named Kinnii, who use a two-handed Chinese sword with devastating power. However, he's also a victim of the Spring of Drowned Buddhist Priest (Fūshannīchuan), so whenever he gets hit with cold water he transforms into a frail, tiny, pacifist monk who's FriendToAllLivingThings.
32	* In the ''Manga/RockmanZero'' manga, Zero has this in the form of an energy conservation mode. It also takes away his helmet and weapons.
33	* In ''Anime/SailorMoon S'', Hotaru is still present in the mind of Mistress 9 after she takes over her body. She fights against her constantly as she grows weaker and weaker. When her light finally peters out, Mistress 9 announces triumphantly to Usagi that Hotaru has died. [[spoiler: Unfortunately for her she didn't take Sailor Saturn into account.]]
34	* Mibu Kyoshiro of ''Manga/SamuraiDeeperKyo'' initially appears to be this. Subverted, however, as he is later revealed to be [[spoiler:[[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass a better swordsman than even Demon Eyes Kyo!]] He just doesn't like to fight.]]
35	* ''Anime/YuGiOh''
36	** The spirit of the Ring uses Bakura as a part-time body parasite; Bakura generally has no clue what's going on. Bakura is friends with the heroes, while the spirit of the ring is trying to kill them.
37	** Yugi starts out kinda wimpy and needing the Pharaoh to protect him. As the series goes on, however, he [[TookALevelInBadass takes a level in badass]] until the end, when he proves himself stronger than the Pharaoh.
38	* In ''Anime/YuGiOhCapsuleMonsters'', while [[spoiler:Alexander's]] good half is able to assist Yugi and his friends, when he merges with his evil half the evil side wins out, suppressing him completely until after the final battle.
39	[[/folder]]
40
41	[[folder:Comic Books]]
42	* A ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' villain known as the Ventriloquist has this sort of ... problem. He seems like a decent-but-timid person, but he expresses his sociopathic side through a ventriloquists' dummy he carries called "Scarface." Scarface is dressed and acts like a miniature version of Al Capone, often giving the impression that he's actually holding his Ventriloquist hostage. If Scarface is destroyed, the Ventriloquist will usually surrender, often expressing relief that the dummy he was talking through and manipulating is gone. However, it's definitely his own problem and not the dummy being an ArtifactOfDoom or something (and there are times you'll ''really'' start to wonder). He's been separated from the puppet a number of times, but always winds up with him again in the end. This is typical of Batman's RoguesGallery -- fixing Two-Face's appearance doesn't fix Two-Face for long[[note]]One comic actually [[NiceJobBreakingItHero had it turn him fully into his evil persona]], as the mangled side of his face represented the ''good'' Harvey Dent[[/note]], etc.
43	* In ''Comicbook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'', Jekyll is a sickly and emaciated man who is dominated by the ogre-like Hyde. Hyde remarks that he used to be a dwarf while Jekyll was more formidable since he was the embodiment of Jekyll's bad traits, and Jekyll wasn't really that bad a person. But as Hyde himself explains to Nemo, "Without me, Jekyll has no drive...while without him, I have no restraints."
44	* ''ComicBook/{{Miracleman}}'' has Johnny Bates, the non-superpowered alter ego of the mass-murdering Kid Miracleman. Not only is Bates timid and horrified by the monstrous actions of his other persona, he's also still a child due to Kid Miracleman having remained in superpower form since the early 60s, forcing Bates' body to remain in stasis for most of it with his mind helplessly trapped in Kid Miracleman's. Miracleman is eventually forced to kill Bates to permanently stop Kid Miracleman after he destroys most of London and massacres the inhabitants.
45	[[/folder]]
46
47	[[folder:Fan Works]]
48	* Inverted in ''FanFic/RaptureFalls'', where Frank Fontaine's [[PsychoSerum ADAM]] abuse results in a split personality. The new good side quickly proves he's no pushover despite not being the primary, and wrests control away from Fontaine when the latter tries to kill Jack; understandable, [[spoiler:considering that the Atlas character who became the basis for the split led a rebellion against Andrew Ryan, so making him bad under pressure would've been counterproductive]]. Fontaine ends up the helpless ''evil'' side, and it's later commented that [[spoiler: Atlas]] is the better fighter of the two.
49	* In ''Fanfic/{{The Royal Protector\|TheEternalWinter}}'' Star Butterfly's personality is split between a PrincessClassic and a BloodKnight personalities due to abuse, she almost gets killed when an assassin attacks her while the former is in control.
50	[[/folder]]
51
52	[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
53	* ''Film/TheCell'': Catherine Deane enters the mind of the serial killer Stargher, she encounters his weak innocent side, and his stronger evil side. In the end she has to kill both of them. [[spoiler: The innocent side tells her to do it as a MercyKill.]]
54	* Ed Norton's character in ''Film/PrimalFear'' is at first revealed to have an evil split personality that was probably the one responsible for the murder. After their stunt in the courtroom, with the trial finished, Richard Gere's lawyer character suddenly suspects it was the other way around, that the psycho killer in fact had a Helpless Good Side and he's now helped that psycho use his good side to get out of real jail time. Turns out that's not quite right either as [[spoiler: there never was any good side at all, the whole thing was just the psycho doing an act and playing everybody (including a mental health professional)]].
55	[[/folder]]
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57	[[folder:Literature]]
58	* ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'':
59	** A variant occurred when Rachel morphed starfish and was split into two Rachels. Her 'Nice Rachel' side was this trope, weak, scared, freezing up under stress, not good for much of anything. However, unlike most examples of this trope, her 'Bad Rachel' side was just as big a liability because she couldn't think of anything more complex than [[AttackAttackAttack "hit it till it falls over"]]. ''Both'' of them realized that as much as they didn't like the other, they needed each other. They worked together, and eventually recombined of their own free will.
60	** Interestingly, "Nice Rachel" is the one who got her ''sense of duty'', which helped counteract this trope and kept her from slipping completely into GoodIsImpotent - much as she hated to fight, she had a ''duty'' to defend the Earth and her friends, so she had to.
61	* [[SplitPersonalityTakeover Orion]] in ''[[Literature/ArtemisFowl The Atlantis Complex]]'', [[spoiler:up until he saves everyone. Unlike Artemis, he ''listened'' when Butler taught him how to shoot a gun.]]
62	* In ''[[Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar The Mage Winds]]'' trilogy, vicious Mornelithe Falconsbane turns out to be a legendary BigBad from the past who is currently possessing a helpless boy named An'desha. An'desha doesn't want anything to do with this monster, but he doesn't dare fight him for fear that Falconsbane will snuff him out entirely. Fortunately, he gets allies who help him undermine Falconsbane from within; eventually they destroy him for good and An'desha can be himself again.
63	* In ''Literature/NickolaiOfTheNorth'', Skank and Skism are conjoined goblin twins (formerly an elf who couldn't decide whether he wants to mess with dark magic or not). Skism is mild-tempered, dreamy and kind, but is constantly bullied by Skank and has to follow his orders. He does manage to get a few PetTheDog moments, especially when Skank is distracted.
64	[[/folder]]
65
66	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
67	* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': Ben's presence in his and [[GodOfEvil Glory]]'s shared body ''almost'' saved their lives as they transformed back into him just before Buffy would have dealt the killing blow and she leaves him alive instead. Too bad for him that Giles is savvy enough to just take care of the DirtyBusiness and ShootTheDog.
68	* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episodes "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E8HumanNature Human Nature]]"/"[[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E9TheFamilyOfBlood The Family of Blood]]", in order to escape the titular Family, the Doctor uses a Chameleon Arch to turn himself into the mild-mannered, meek, human, named John Smith. Upon discovering who he ''really'' is, John Smith is terrified of his true self, given how people describe the Doctor as being "[[SuperpoweredEvilSide like Fire and Ice and Rage]]". Eventually, John Smith elects to "die" to become the Doctor once more. Cue the Family meeting one ''furious'' Time Lord.
69	* Averted in ''Series/{{Jekyll}}''. While this version of Hyde is not only psychopathic, [[SuperpoweredEvilSide but also has explicit superpowers]], Tom Jackman (the Jekyll side) is a highly intelligent and resourceful man in his own right. Consequently, he was able to keep Hyde in check for a long time, and set up a system of surveillance, communication and scheduled changes to which he forced Hyde to adhere under threat of turning himself in, which let him ensure that Hyde didn't do anything too terrible, and had a restraint chair built that he could trap himself in to punish Hyde if he broke the rules. Notably, despite all his displays of contempt for his "daddy", Hyde never doubted that Jackman did have it in him to hurt them both, and when their shared PapaWolf instincts get triggered, Hyde recognises that he is stronger when he combines with Jackman's greater maturity and self-control.
70	* ''Series/KamenRiderBuild'' inverts the trope by making the "evil" (actually morally ambigious) side the helpless one. The WellIntentionedExtremist [[spoiler: Takumi Katsuragi]] can't activate an upgrade of the Rider System despite having designed it himself. It needs a heart and emotions that he lost to misanthropy and questionable choices. He has to hand it off to his split personality [[spoiler: Sento Kiryu]], who would always return to a SillyRabbitCynicismIsForLosers mindset even after suffering through a civil war and attempted suicide, because unlike the IneffectualLoner [[spoiler: Katsuragi]] he has PowerOfFriendship.
71	* ''Series/MoonKnight2022'' portrays the meek, mild-mannered AudienceSurrogate Steven Grant as this to TheHero Marc Spector [[spoiler:and especially [[AntiHero Jake Lockley]]]].
72	* In ''Series/{{Sanctuary}}'', Adam Worth is the inspiration for ''Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde''. The Adam (Jekyll) side isn't exactly helpless, but at least he doesn't want to beat Magnus to a bloody pulp like the Hyde part.
73	* Lex Luthor's good side in ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', a boy who goes by "Alexander".
74	[[/folder]]
75
76	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
77	* In ''TabletopGame/WraithTheOblivion'', player characters have their dark nature, the Shadow, balanced by their light side, the Eidolon. While the Shadow is usually ''incredibly'' proactive about their attempts to defile, corrupt and destroy you, the Psyche, so they can take over and become a Spectre, the Eidolon typically has no will or personality of its own, but can provide bonus dice to resist the Shadow's actions. However, you can't do anything with it unless you spend character points on the relevant Background.
78	** In Spectres, the Psyche-Shadow relationship is inverted, with the Shadow dominant and the Psyche acting as a conscience, trying to nudge the Spectre towards redemption.
79	[[/folder]]
80
81	[[folder:Video Games]]
82	* ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'' has Krieg, a man who was experimented on, turning him into one of the AxCrazy, [[WordSaladHumor word-salad-spouting]] Psychos you've been mowing down by the dozen. His original personality still exists as a (very exhausted) voice in his head, who for the most part can only sit back and watch ([[TheSnarkKnight and snark upon]]) the carnage and mayhem caused by the Psycho at the wheel. All the sane personality can do is make sure said carnage and mayhem is only directed towards [[PayEvilUntoEvil people who deserve it]] by threatening to take control of their body ''just'' long enough [[HeroicSuicide to commit suicide and kill them both]] if the Psycho [[NeverHurtAnInnocent ever hurts an innocent person]]. Whether he's actually capable of doing this or whether it's just a bluff isn't clear, but it works to keep the Psycho in line well enough (he's probably satisfied as long as he still gets to kill ''someone''). The devs have compared him to the driver of an out-of-control truck with its brakes cut barrelling through a city. He can't slow it down or stop it, but he can do his best to steer it away from people and minimize casualties.
83	* In ''VideoGame/ClockTower II: The Struggle Within'', the protagonist Alyssa can only run from and outsmart her enemies, while her evil side, Bates, pumps them full of lead when he [[SplitPersonalityTakeover takes the reins]].
84	* ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'' has Royal Sorcerer Navlaan. Talk to him while hollow, and you will meet a bloodthirsty assassin who will enlist your aid in killing a number of other [[NonPlayerCharacter NPCs]]. If human, however he will be meek and frightened, begging you to get as far away as possible and leave him there. It is implied that, rather than being a split personality, the former 'side' is actually another being [[SharingABody using Navlaan's body as a vessel, and that the latter is his true self]].
85	* Downplayed in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5''. [[spoiler:V (being TheFettered human half of Vergil)]] is by no means "weak", but compared to his released evil side [[spoiler:Urizen (TheUnfettered demon half)]], he's an ant begging to get squashed if he goes up against him, which is why he needs Dante and the gang's help to defeat him [[spoiler:so he can perform a SplitPersonalityMerge to bring Vergil back]].
86	* Some fans of ''VideoGame/DrawnToLife'' see [[spoiler:Sock]] as this to Wilfre.
87	* Near the end of the Endwalker expansion in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', the player character manages to inspire hope in a part of the BigBad’s HiveMind and she considers making a HeelFaceTurn. However, the rest of her sisters are so consumed by despair that they completely ignore her pleadings.
88	%%* Pearl in ''VideoGame/LegendOfMana''.
89	* In ''VideoGame/{{Nox}}'', [[spoiler:Hecubah]], of all people, is revealed to have a Helpless Good Side in the Wizard ending.
90	* In ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'', [[spoiler:Light Gaia manifests as Chip, a small fairy-like creature who needs Sonic's help to restore the Chaos Emeralds and seal away Dark Gaia. {{Subverted}}, however, once he regains his memories of being Light Gaia, including remembering that he can control the Gaia Colossus, which is imperative in helping Sonic take down Dark Gaia once and for all.]]
91	* Emil in ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'', who spends the entire game resorting to his SuperPoweredEvilSide for every single random encounter. [[spoiler:Until the very end, anyways, when Ratatosk, said SuperPoweredEvilSide, is exorcised from his body, and Emil [[TookALevelInBadass takes a level in badass and fights as himself.]]]]
92	[[/folder]]
93
94	[[folder:Western Animation]]
95	* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' had Stan go inside Roger's mind. There, he meets Roger's conscience, a withered [[WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}} Jiminy Cricket]] who is locked in a cage and dying from neglect.
96	* In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', Ventriloquist is portrayed in a similar manner in the comics. There's a creepy scene at the end of his first episode that shows him making a new Scarface dummy to replace the one that was destroyed earlier, showing that he still has a problem. [[spoiler:The trope is averted in his last appearance. Unlike other times the doll is destroyed, Wesker finally gathers enough willpower to destroy the Scarface doll himself. The episode ends with Wesker finally moving on with his life and Scarface is never seen again.]]
97	* ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'' combines this with GhostInTheMachine -- each character has a "little hero" in them, but villains have said hero BoundAndGagged.
98	* ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'':
99	** When the Tiger Talisman splits Jackie into two sides, Jackie's light side, often referred to as ''Pussycat'' by his darker side, acts much like this. Case in point, he cried when he stepped on a bug. However, as Jackie was Jackie, he's still able to kick ass.
100	-->'''Light!Jackie:''' ''(just after he kicks Dark!Jackie, he speaks in a genuinely friendly tone)'' Dropkicking little girls is not nice.
101	** Fully averted in an episode where [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Captain Black]] is being possessed by an [[ArtifactOfDoom oni mask]], and the Tiger Talisman is used to draw out his light side; said light side isn't whiny, ineffectual, or [[ApologisesALot overly apologetic]] in the slightest. However, [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation some fans contend]] that the Talisman only separated Captain Black from the Oni Mask's consciousness, instead of separating Captain Black's own light and dark sides.
102	* The fourth episode of ''WesternAnimation/WhatIf2021'' features the AlternateUniverse where doctor Strange turns evil over trying to undo the death of his love Christine Palmer. The Ancient One splits him into two versions in hopes that the good Strange would stop the evil one. However the good version is completely outclassed and ultimately loses. Justified in that the evil Strange spent centuries amassing power, whereas the good Strange was at the point where the evil one began.
103	* In ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'', Dojo is normally a cowardly tiny dragon with no ability to fight whatsoever that can't even breathe fire without assistance. His SuperpoweredEvilSide however is powerful and underhanded enough to defeat and eat the rest of the protagonists with ease.
104	[[/folder]]
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Context Main / HelplessGoodSide