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| 3 | %% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks! |
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| 7 | %% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1573784599070535800 |
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| 11 | [[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ffiv_rubicante_healing.png]]]] |
| 12 | |
| 13 | ->''"Harbingers of evil, henchmen of Takhisis, warriors of corruption, men and women of honor."'' |
| 14 | -->-- '''[[http://www.dlnexus.com/fan/rules/11053.aspx André La Roche]]''' on the [[Literature/{{Dragonlance}} Knights of Takhisis]] |
| 15 | |
| 16 | Their goals are evil, but their means? Not so much. |
| 17 | |
| 18 | A Noble Demon is a villainous character with a {{code of honour}}. They don't care that they have a [[SlaveToPR bad image]] -- they may even [[CardCarryingVillain actively cultivate and embrace it.]] However, every so often a situation presents itself and they're just not willing to go [[MoralEventHorizon the extra mile necessary]] to be ''completely'' evil. They'll topple your castle, but they'll do it [[NeverHurtAnInnocent right after everyone has cleared out first]]. They'll [[WeHaveReserves sacrifice whole armies]] to achieve their goal but they'll also [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifice themself]] if they must. They'll conquer your village but they won't cause [[RapePillageAndBurn more destruction than necessary]]. They want to kill TheHero but they won't stab an enemy in the back. They'll hold some innocent HostageForMacGuffin while treating them well and letting them go unharmed once the [=MacGuffin=] is handed over, and proclaiming that IGaveMyWord. Their ambition might be to TakeOverTheWorld, or merely to uphold the evil side of the BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil. They might ask, "WouldYouLikeToHearHowTheyDied", but they won't press the issue any further if you say no. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | They might be obsessed with [[IWasJustPassingThrough explaining this behavior]] so people won't think that [[HarmlessVillain they've gone soft]]. Killing enemies or servants [[YouHaveFailedMe who have failed]] but [[BenevolentBoss are loyal]] is "[[PragmaticVillainy a waste of resources]]" and their inevitable [[DefeatMeansFriendship newfound friends]] are "[[EnemyMine tactically advantageous allies]]." |
| 21 | |
| 22 | A lot of this behavior is sometimes explained as the result of a [[FreudianExcuse complex they acquired when they felt weak and helpless,]] and [[ThePowerOfLove if shown enough love]], they may [[HeelFaceTurn turn over a new leaf]]. Alternately, their nobility often gives them an opportunity to demonstrate VillainousValour in the face of the hero's successes. And while Noble Demons are generally far from nice, [[TheFettered being noble]] and powerful seems to imply they are [[EvenEvilHasStandards above petty and malicious acts]], or at least uninterested in them. |
| 23 | |
| 24 | A Noble Demon who's a ProudWarriorRaceGuy often comments that their enemies are (or have become) [[DefectorFromDecadence petty and cowardly and stain the name of their species]]. Likewise, when other villains show their [[DirtyCoward true colors under pressure]], the Noble Demon is likely to show VillainousValour. |
| 25 | |
| 26 | Often experiences SympathyForTheDevil from the heroes, and may perhaps show SympathyForTheHero right back. If EvilerThanThou comes up, the Noble Demon will likely be on the less evil end. May also be the "grayer" character in ALighterShadeOfGrey. On the SlidingScaleOfCharacterAppreciation, these guys fall under "Villains we sympathize with". |
| 27 | |
| 28 | Compare the less villainous versions: AscendedDemon, FamilyValuesVillain, or JerkWithAHeartOfGold. |
| 29 | |
| 30 | Whether AntiVillain or AntiHero beneath the facade, expect a Noble Demon's motives to include getting plenty of VillainCred. |
| 31 | |
| 32 | See also AmbiguouslyEvil and LawfulEvil. Contrast with CardCarryingVillain who doesn't deny they're evil but is much more willing to cross the MoralEventHorizon. Also contrast with FauxAffablyEvil, whose [[JerkWithTheHeartOfAJerk kind acts only serve to benefit them]] (though milder examples of this may still qualify). Villains lacking this trait will usually be AlwaysChaoticEvil. Compare and contrast NominalHero, a character who does heroic deeds for all the wrong reasons, and the WellIntentionedExtremist, whose ''goals'' are benign but whose ''methods'' are evil. |
| 33 | |
| 34 | Noble Demons are ''never'' {{Complete Monster}}s, as both a Complete Monster's actions ''and'' means are purely evil and they have no code or even sense of honor to abide to. Furthermore, a Complete Monster is never presented in any positive way, whereas honor is a redeeming feature for the Noble Demon. |
| 35 | |
| 36 | [[noreallife]] |
| 37 | ---- |
| 38 | !!Examples: |
| 39 | [[index]] |
| 40 | * NobleDemon/ComicBooks |
| 41 | * NobleDemon/VideoGames |
| 42 | [[/index]] |
| 43 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 44 | |
| 45 | [[folder:Anime and Manga]] |
| 46 | * ''Manga/AhMyGoddess'': Hild. She's still evil, as proven by her efforts to make Belldandy into a demon or to break up Belldandy and Keichii just to see if she could piss the former off enough to do something evil, but Hild enforces an existence of somewhat-noble demons, demons that live by making pacts and are bound in an agreement to never kill goddesses (though they can still fight them). She genuinely loves her daughter, Urd (though that won't stop her from beating the crap out of Urd if Urd stands in her way), and is distinctly less evil than many in Niflheim, evidenced when those more evil revolted against her. Turns out Hild's FauxAffablyEvil PragmaticVillainy is a lot better than say, an AxCrazy [[VetinariJobSecurity psychopath or ambitious conqueror ruling hell.]] She's also implied to be a [[spoiler:BenevolentBoss; the revolt by her more evil underlings was a desperate gambit to save Hild's life]]. |
| 47 | * Pluto in ''Manga/AstroBoy'' was created to be the WorldsStrongestMan, and over the course of his appearances, he travels the world and kills six powerful and generally decent robots essentially just to prove this fact and clear the path for his master to TakeOverTheWorld. However, he is also polite, honorable, avoids killing anyone aside from those robots, spares Astro's life after Astro saves his, is genuinely regretful when Astro appears to have died, and is repeatedly stated to be JustFollowingOrders. |
| 48 | * ''Literature/{{Baccano}}'': Most of the [[TheMafia mafiosos and camorristas]] are NeighbourhoodFriendlyGangsters at most. Luck Gandor, in particular, lives this trope, with both [[IdiotHero Firo]] and [[SerialKillerKiller Claire]] separately remarking that, deep down, he's too nice to really be cut out for a life at the top of a Mafia family. He pushes himself to act cold and ruthless in order to be able to properly fill the role. |
| 49 | * ''Manga/BambooBlade'': There's a ShowWithinAShow, ''[[{{Sentai}} Blade Braver]]'', where the character of Shinaider fits the classic noble demon archetype. Much as Tama considers [[TheHero Red Braver]] her favorite, her [[TheRival rival]], Rin, is a fan of Shinaider. |
| 50 | * ''Manga/BirdyTheMighty'' has Gomez, as he occasionally gives Birdy advice and encouragement, and in Decode he seems mostly against the idea of releasing the Ryunka on Earth. |
| 51 | * ''Manga/BlackJack'' is a milder example, deliberately cultivating a DrJerk reputation but still managing to be a [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold pretty decent guy]] in the long run. |
| 52 | * ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'': the demonic Nosferatu Zodd is a centuries-old BloodKnight who lives for battle and killing. Despite his love of carnage, he is never seen harming non-combatants or engaging in rape or torture like many other Apostles do. He also treats the protagonist Guts as a WorthyOpponent, relishing their fights but willing to let him go on occasions when Guts is too weakened from a previous battle to defend himself. On one occasion, when Guts was forced into a duel unarmed while Zodd was watching, Zodd ''threw Guts a sword'' to make the fight fair, even though he wasn't part of the fight. |
| 53 | * ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': Grimmjow Jaggerjaquez. He is certainly ruthless in battle, and has no qualms over killing those weaker than he is (it's a dog-eat-dog world in Hueco Mundo). But his sense of honor shows in his desire to only fight opponents at their best, going so far as to make a prisoner heal his latest rival, even if he has to trap a fellow Espada to do it. |
| 54 | * ''Manga/CaseClosed'': Among the [[TheSyndicate Black Organization]] members, Irish from the ''Raven Chaser'' NonSerialMovie claims to be one. He follows the B.O's orders and [[spoiler:beats the fuck out of both [[WouldHurtAChild Conan]] ''and'' [[WouldHitAGirl Ran]]]], but he also tells Conan that he hates the group for [[spoiler:killing his friend Pisco]] and ultimately [[spoiler:goes down TakingTheBullet for Conan as the last "fuck you" to the B.O, using his FinalSpeech to urge Conan to keep fighting against the group itself]]. |
| 55 | * ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'': Early villain [[spoiler:Accelerator]] becomes this after his character development and HeelFaceTurn to [[UnscrupulousHero Unscrupulous ero]]/[[NominalHero Nominal Hero]] near the end of the first season. Although he [[NeverHurtAnInnocent secretly wants to be a hero]], he still thinks of himself as a villain no better than the ones he now kills (and [[CardCarryingVillain proclaims this loudly]] even to those he has rescued) since [[TheAtoner he doesn't believe he can be forgiven]] after [[spoiler:slaughtering 10031 clones]]. Much later in the novels [[spoiler:he ditches this trope and being a CardCarryingVillain entirely and shifts to a PragmaticHero, declaring that villainy was just not working out for him and instead moves to AboveGoodAndEvil]]. |
| 56 | * ''Manga/ChronoCrusade'': Chrono may count as a literal example of this, though it's more just SuperpoweredEvilSide. |
| 57 | * ''Manga/{{Claymore}}'' has several examples. |
| 58 | ** In the anime, Isley ends the war in the north, because he does not want any more Awakened Beings from his army to be killed in battle (indirectly, he also rescues many warriornesses). |
| 59 | ** Rigaldo has killed several warriornesses, but he seemed to care about killing them in a fair fight, and did not was sadistic about torturing his opponents. |
| 60 | ** Chronos and Lars were single-digit warriors in the first generation, and became two very strong Awakened Beings. However, when they notice that the fighting style of Raki is very similar to Isley's, they are quite polite with him and seem to have no intention of attacking and eating him. |
| 61 | * ''Anime/CodeGeass'': Big stretch, but perhaps Princess Cornelia. She serves as the primary antagonist in Season 1, and her arrogance, ruthlessness and xenophobia is tempered with valour and courage in battle, a genuine desire to rebuild Area 11 and return stability to it, [[AFatherToHisMen genuine affection and respect for the men under her command, which is returned]], and [[MoralityPet a soft spot for her younger sister Euphemia]]. |
| 62 | * ''Anime/{{Daimos}}'' establishes that [[ConqueringAlienPrince Richter]]'s aim is to exterminate the human race so that the [[AngelicAliens Baam-seijin]] can have a new home after their old planet was destroyed. Despite [[WouldHitAGirl assaulting]] his sister for falling in love with a human, everything he does is motivated by a love for his people, and he goes out of his way to honour their personal requests and look after their loved ones. |
| 63 | * ''Anime/{{Daltanious}}'': Kloppen started out as an obsessed warlord, and was reviled by his associates for his cruel nature, [[spoiler: but by the end of the series, he's surrendered his violent tendencies and works with the heroes to defeat Dolmen. Kento is moved by how Kloppen risked his life several times to save them, and before the GrandFinale, he sacrifices himself to give Harlin a second chance at living.]] |
| 64 | * ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack'': the Contractor November 11 who frequently references his utter amorality but is unfailingly charming, friendly and sometimes flat-out ethical towards his co-workers. At the end of the series, [[spoiler:when making a HeroicSacrifice]], his fellow Contractors ironically (or perhaps accurately) attribute his extremely altruistic actions to this same amorality/rationality. |
| 65 | ** The protagonist, Hei, could also count as one of these, given the emphasis in the final episode of the first season on how he pretends to be the amoral, badass Black Reaper, but is actually a sensitive guy who is haunted by all of the killing and dubious acts he has to do. |
| 66 | * ''Devil and Devil'': A big part of the plot involves the main character Sword desperately trying to avoid falling into this trope... and failing spectacularly. Notably, he ''was'' a powerful and vicious BloodKnight of a devil before being forced to occupy a human vessel to survive. |
| 67 | * Anything and everything involving {{Satan}} and his cronies as written by Go Nagai, including the infamous ''Manga/{{Devilman}}'' series. On the flip side, God is written as being anywhere from a ManipulativeBastard who [[CosmicPlaything enjoys toying with humanity]] to an [[GodIsEvil unabashedly hate-filled cosmic entity]] [[ItsAllAboutMe who is offended by any life form that fails to prostrate itself before him]], and alternates between mind-wiping the planetary populace or ejecting "sin-waves" over the surface, turning anyone with the slightest amount of impure thoughts into homicidal maniacs (the latter example comes from the latest reworking, ''Demon Lord Dante''). The various Devilmen normally wind up fighting Satan's forces initially because he possesses humans in order to manifest on earth, and they can't get over the teachings they've learned prior. (Amon and Dante must be pretty weak mentally to keep getting overpowered by young boys like that.) |
| 68 | * ''Anime/DigimonTamers'': Impmon / Beelzemon is a weird example. He's prideful in his abilities, but as such, he's known for not attacking weak Digimon. The likely reason is that he feels it would be a waste of power, making this a subversion. Post-HeelFaceTurn he becomes a ''literal'' example. Still, when compared to the [[AlwaysChaoticEvil other]] [[MoralEventHorizon Demon Lords]]... |
| 69 | * ''Manga/DragonBall'': |
| 70 | ** Captain Ginyu teases this when he berates Jeice for interfering in his fight with Goku, even threatening to kill him if he does it again. It's such a gallant display of sportsmanship that Goku himself thinks Ginyu might be capable of redemption... and it's then subverted completely when Ginyu resorts to cheating via his trump card, the [[FreakyFridayFlip Body Change]] technique. He's still a BenevolentBoss and the ''one'' subordinate Frieza has who is completely loyal, but as far as fair play goes, Ginyu only indulges it when he thinks he can afford to. |
| 71 | ** Piccolo tries to invoke this when he was defeated by the androids, right before going off to fuse with Kami. No-one really fell for it, though... it was kind of half-assed. It had been ''years'' since the trope could actually apply to him, and he'd become an outright hero by the time of the Android Saga whether he admitted it or not. Which is exactly why Kami is actually willing to fuse with him. |
| 72 | --->'''Krillin:''' Wh-what's that look on your face? Do you have a plan?! C'mon, tell us! We're your friends!\ |
| 73 | '''Piccolo:''' Friends?! Don't press your luck. When do you think I became your friend? I'm a demon! Don't you ever forget that!! I'm merely using you -- to take over the world!! *flies away* |
| 74 | ** Beerus the Destroyer is this, though. Especially in ''Anime/DragonBallZBattleOfGods''. He can be quite petty, mean, very short-tempered and blows up planets, but it's his job, and he can be nice and polite too, also always keeping his word (and using LoopholeAbuse when he refuses to destroy the Earth). Just don't piss him off... |
| 75 | ** Hit from ''Anime/DragonBallSuper''. Despite being a ProfessionalKiller, he's actually quite noble and chivalrous all things considered. Hit allows Goku to recover from his heavy blow because Goku's strength and technique forced him to improve his own abilities, and he feels he owes the other fighter for that. He also avoids sniping Goku while he's preparing his ultimate technique. He also [[spoiler:rings himself out when Monaka successfully punched him to return Goku's favor when he did the same]]. In Episode 71, [[spoiler:he offers to let Goku live and walk away if he disappears. Goku refuses and temporarily dies because of it]]. Of the hits we've seen him do, he also avoids killing anyone but his target, using his [[spoiler:time skip]] to just bypass guards and civilians. He also lets his targets know they're about to die, kills them from the front, and does so quickly with a minimum of pain. |
| 76 | * ''Anime/TheFantasticAdventuresOfUnico'': Beezle is an obnoxious little hellion and a CardCarryingVillain, but he was raised by his father to [[IGaveMyWord keep his promises]], to the point of swimming out into a stormy ocean (which is doubly dangerous for Beezle, as sea water is poison to devils) to save Unico from drowning. |
| 77 | * ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'': Raoh is mostly this with hints of a UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans TragicVillain. Sure, he'll subjugate the people of the wasteland to his will, but if his men are ruthlessly torturing villagers, then he won't hesitate to trample them to death atop his CoolHorse Kokuoh-go. Additionally, Raoh sheds a river of TenderTears when his weaker, radiation-addled brother, Toki, cannot fulfill his childhood promise to stop Raoh's ambitions. Raoh openly shows respect for the bravery of the heroes who fall in battle, and notably orders his men to give Juza a ''Hero's Funeral'' for putting up an exceptionally valiant fight against him. He sheds further TenderTears when compelled to kill Yuria, the final step in his transformation to godhood, yet could not because even a tyrant like him was deeply moved with respect for her kindness and nobility. The fact that he doesn't even kill Yuria but prolongs her life in spite of her radiation sickness so she can live on with Kenshiro shows his Vader-like redemption from Noble Demon to affectionate older brother. |
| 78 | * ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'': Greed is an extremely friendly example, being, by far, the least violent of the homunculi and a BenevolentBoss in contrast to his "siblings'" egregious use of YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness. This quality is seen especially with the second incarnation of Greed. Toward the end of the series, he fights alongside the heroes and rescues people, which he justifies with [[IWasJustPassingThrough having nothing better to do/his desire to take power for himself]]. |
| 79 | * ''Literature/TheGardenOfSinners'': Shiki is a BloodKnight with a bit of BlueAndOrangeMorality who happens to take out threats to innocent people. |
| 80 | * ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}'': |
| 81 | ** [[ThePaladin Father]] [[HolyHitman Alexander Anderson]]. His hatred and wrath, though often directed towards understandable targets like vampires, is still rather misguided and includes [[FantasticRacism Protestants]]. But even so, he's displeased with the Holy Crusade's and Maxwell's actions, claiming that such arrogance, bloodlust, and genocide is an affront against God. |
| 82 | ** [[VillainProtagonist Alucard]] could count as well. Or at least when he's under Integra Hellsing's direct influence. Just like Anderson, he is completely disgusted by Maxwell slaughtering millions of innocent civilians in London and doesn't waste any time in unleashing his familiars on Millennium's Nazi vampires and Maxwell's crusaders. There's a few other points in the series where he expresses disdain for artificial vampires who kill innocents to satisfy their own DrunkWithPower egos or psychotic pleasures. Alucard usually mocks, tortures, and kills them in short order after that. |
| 83 | * Meruem of ''Manga/HunterXHunter'', especially after meeting Komugi and his CharacterDevelopment. His treatment of Netero counts during their battle, where ''Netero'' comes off more like the villain in comparison, with Meruem basically acknowledging HumansAreSpecial, and wishing to preserve them for eons, rather than just seeing them as inferiors existing solely to be eaten. He is only defeated because ''he's the freaking BigBad''. |
| 84 | * ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}'': Bankotsu, despite being a {{Mercenary}} in it [[BloodKnight purely for the bloodshed]], surprisingly follows an honor code as well as shows true compassion towards his allies. He says it the best right before [[spoiler:killing Renkotsu for betraying and killing Jakotsu, who also ''happened'' to be Bankotsu's best friend]]: |
| 85 | --> '''Bankotsu:''' The difference [between us] is... I would never turn my back on my friends. |
| 86 | * ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'': |
| 87 | ** Bruford from ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventurePhantomBlood Phantom Blood]]'', as shown when he kills a zombie trying to ambush Jonathan due to considering Jonathan to be a WorthyOpponent. |
| 88 | ** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency Battle Tendency]]'': |
| 89 | *** Rudolf von Stroheim may be a Nazi officer, but he lacks many of the more vile traits the Nazis were known to possess, [[TokenEvilTeammate chooses to team up with Joseph]], and recognizes that stopping the threat of the [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Pillar Men]] is the highest priority. |
| 90 | *** Wamuu will ''not'' break promises or fight someone unable to defend themselves. If he hadn't sworn to obey [[BigBad Kars]], he probably wouldn't have been a threat. |
| 91 | ** In ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders Stardust Crusaders]]'', [[HandicappedBadass N'Doul]] is a devoted servant of [[BigBad Dio]], and has no qualms about killing innocents who happen to be in his way. However, once [[TheHero Jotaro]] catches up to him, he commits suicide to spare himself from being interrogated, and with his dying breaths, he willingly tells Jotaro more about himself and the rest of the [[PraetorianGuard Egypt 9 Glory Gods]] that the Crusaders would face. Out of respect for this, and for being impressed by N'Doul's managing to knock off his hat, something that not even the raging sea could do, [[DueToTheDead Jotaro buries his body in the dunes]], [[WeaponTombstone marking his grave with his cane]]. |
| 92 | ** Rikiel from ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean Stone Ocean]]'' is the noblest of the three Sons of DIO introduced in this part. Lacking the negative qualities and sadism his two other brothers have, the only reason he fights the heroes is out of gratitude towards [[BigBad Pucci]] for awakening his Stand and saving him from his previous status as a CosmicPlaything. Throughout his fight with Jolyne and co., he displays impressive determination and fights honourably, and he takes his defeat well enough that he's more than willing to divulge everything he knows about Pucci's plan. |
| 93 | ** Ringo Roadagain from ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureSteelBallRun Steel Ball Run]]''. An honest, polite man who's willing to explain how his [[FightingSpirit Stand]] works to his opponents before engaging them in battle, as he believes his duels should be fair and reasonable. |
| 94 | * ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'': |
| 95 | ** Haruo Nijima is a very complex character. A "close" friend (of sorts) of Kenichi Shirahama, he is commonly referred to by various characters as an alien due to his likewise features: long pointed ears, sharp hooking nose, glaring eyes, and fanged teeth. He has even been known to be able to protude two arrow-headed antennas from the top of his head. As if that's not bad enough, he openly proclaims himself to be evil, and does nothing to discourage this belief amongst other parties. Worse, he dreams to one day rule the world (albeit not in a conquery sort of way); and to this end, he (somehow) formed a fighter group that he hopes would garner enough media attention to make his dream world conquest a reality. He is an ambitious power-grabber who relishes in bossing everyone around (mostly Kenichi). Despite this, as the key founder of the Shinpaku Alliance (which Kenichi and several other principal characters are part of), he seems to prioritize the well-being of his comrades more than anything else, and is not above resorting to being a living bait to lure danger away. |
| 96 | ** On a more serious vein, 90 percent of the antagonist Yami organization's One Shadow Nine Fists seems to consist of master-class fighters who are all Noble Demons in their own way. Special mention should go to Akira Hongo, the resident karate master who's code-named the "God Fist," as he is shown to [[AFatherToHisMen respect the bond that should exist between a master and his disciple]], who [[WouldntHitAGirl won't fight women]] [[EvenEvilHasStandards or opponents who have injuries from previous recent fights]] [[spoiler:and is even willing to [[EnemyMine team up with Ryozanpaku]] to help rescue the kidnapped Miu, if only because doing so will let him get revenge on "Demon Fist" [[ManipulativeBastard Silcardo Junazard]], the remaining 10 percent of the One Shadow Nine Fists, for [[MoralEventHorizon tricking him into]] ''[[MoralEventHorizon almost]]'' [[MoralEventHorizon killing Kenichi]]]]. |
| 97 | ** [[spoiler:Saiga Furinji, Yami's One Shadow, may very well be this too, as it's implied that Hongo had to seek audience with him before joining forces with Ryozanpaku, and Saiga himself also joined the group (in disguise) to help in Miu's rescue. It's justified for him, though, since [[PapaWolf Miu is his daughter]].]] |
| 98 | * ''Manga/{{Kinnikuman}}'': Ashuraman is this both literally (he is the prince of the Demon World) and figuratively (the reason for his loss and concurrent HeelFaceTurn in the Tag Tournament arc is because he's touched by ThePowerOfFriendship). For that matter, his trainer, [[MeaningfulName Samson Teacher]], qualifies as this as well, planting the seed of friendship into Ashuraman through [[HeroicSacrifice saving his life]]. |
| 99 | * ''Manga/NatsumesBookOfFriends'': Madara is a powerful man-eating {{youkai}} who is next in line to inherit the main character's MacGuffin, and has repeatedly stated that he wants nothing more than for said main character to hurry up and die so he can claim it. Nonetheless, he follows Natsume around as a bodyguard and saves his life on numerous occasions. He usually gets very defensive when other youkai point out that he's essentially Natsume's servant, usually deflecting the accusations by claiming that the main character is his pet or his prey ([[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou hence why he'll beat the crap out of anyone else who tries to hurt him]]). |
| 100 | * ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'': |
| 101 | ** Evangeline A.K. [=McDowell=], the vampire mage, constantly tells the rest of the cast [[CardCarryingVillain how hideously and irredeemably evil she is]], explicitly comparing herself to a video game BigBad. So they'd better not be getting the wrong idea when she's saving their lives, making sure they're okay, giving them proper training, helping the resident ghost girl not be feared, etc. Though, given that she officially wants Asuna and Negi to be her video-game sub-bosses... Also, it might be that she simply took the "evil" name from the "good" mages, who don't necessarily seem all that good, compared to her. She just only cares about herself and the people she has chosen to care about. [[TrueNeutral The rest, including the world, may go to scrapper]]. |
| 102 | ** Wilhelm is a literal Noble Demon, despite the fact that he petrified Negi's [[DoomedHometown hometown]] (because he's forced to do it by the person who summoned him), he drops all sorts of hints that the petrification isn't permanent, and goes out of his way to not hurt any of the girls when he fights Negi, and gives him some useful advice. |
| 103 | ** Fate as well. He's [[AffablyEvil a rather pleasant guy to be around]], civilized, and willing to talk things out. Granted, he does have six young girls working for him. However, he justifies this when it is revealed that five of the six of them are each the sole survivors of destroyed villages that he just happened across, whom he'd helped without question. The sixth is just a [[BloodKnight battle loving]], PsychoLesbian girl who's creepy. When one asks how he forced them into it, he states that the girls volunteered of their own free will. He's saved 57 others. What did he do with them? Kill them? Torture them? Perform unspeakable [[FateWorseThanDeath horrors upon them?]] Nope. He gave them applications to prestigious boarding schools so that they could grow up into a successful life. |
| 104 | * ''Anime/NinjaScroll'': Mujuro saves the two protagonists from precariously dangling over a cliff, just so that he can challenge Jubei, the male protagonist, to an honorable duel. He notably [[spoiler:gets the cleanest and quickest death out of all of the villains]]. |
| 105 | * ''Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'': Kyouya insists that he is an egotist with nothing in common with ShelteredAristocrat Tamaki. Despite this, his long-suffering of Tamaki's antics, which includes wearing ridiculous costumes on a daily basis (as a female more than once), is nobility in itself. He ''says'' that it's all to keep Tamaki looking like a golden child, to the point where it costs Kyouya favor with his own father. That's a bit too self-sacrificing for the so-called Evil Lord, isn't it? |
| 106 | * ''Manga/OnePiece'' has plenty of this, as the Straw Hats and the Whitebeard Pirates are the ''very rare'' pirate crews that don't hurt anyone and help others. Many others will acknowledge their selfish goals as pirates but will stop short of excessive killing and violence. Meanwhile, whilst many Marines are heroic characters who are only antagonists to the Straw Hats through their duty to fight piracy, some actively further the undoubtedly evil goals of the World Government and sympathise with some of its aims. They will then often be horrified at the immoral means the World Government goes to to protect its interests, and see protecting civilians as more important than the World Government's abstract and self-serving philosophy of 'Justice'. Some prominent examples include: |
| 107 | ** Smoker is basically Luffy's ArchEnemy and shows no mercy whatsoever to pirates, no matter how honourable their goals. He also stops every now and then to help his subordinates and prevent civilians from getting hurt in the crossfire. He also grudgingly acknowledges Luffy commanding Zoro to rescue him when an underground tunnel is flooded with water (leaving him powerless due to his Devil Fruit), and gives the Straw Hats a headstart in escaping. |
| 108 | ** Aokiji was horrified at Akainu's massacre of the Oharan civilians, even though he had a point, and later on ''leaves the Marines'' where it meant either serving under him and taking part in his KnightTemplar deeds, or being a silent spectator in a lower rank. |
| 109 | ** Sengoku, the honorary BigBad of the first part definitely counts, as he would rather leave his prestigious position as Fleet Admiral, than see the cover up of history's worst criminals just to save face. |
| 110 | ** The New World captains who come to the aid of Whitebeard during the Summit War. All of them are known for their terrifying infamy as pirates, but honour their debts to Whitebeard and come to his aid when Ace is threatened with execution. |
| 111 | ** Shanks. He is the series' first introduced example of a 'real' pirate, and his crew kill a bunch of bandits in the early chapters to establish that they aren't joking around. Shanks, however, is a deeply honourable figure. When Kaido, one of the Four Emperors alongside Shanks, Big Mom, and Whitebeard, attempts to take advantage of Whitebeard being distracted by Ace's pending execution to attack him, Shanks intervenes on Whitebeard's behalf and stops Kaido, then shows up to stop the war after [[spoiler:Whitebeard's death]] to prevent any further pointless bloodshed. |
| 112 | ** Some members of [=CP9=], most prominently Lucci and Kaku. Despite being cold-blooded killers, they initially honor Robin's request to spare the Straw Hats, only fighting them because of a favorable LoopholeAbuse. Lucci is more of an honorable warrior, not going after Robin even after Luffy is distracted, and showing disgust of Spandam's KickTheDog treatment of Robin and the Buster Call. Kaku straight up admits he liked being a Galley-La shipwright, and gracefully hands Zoro his key leading to Robin's freedom. It is because of this that the [=CP9=] basically get a Redemption Arc, [[spoiler:followed by Lucci and Kaku getting a RankUp]], whereas Spandam faces a FateWorseThanDeath and being a subordinate to [[spoiler:Lucci and Kaku, whom he LeftForDead]]. |
| 113 | ** Trafalgar Law. Being one of the series' most ruthless pirates, he nonetheless showed disgust at the slave auction, with him gracefully recruiting Jean Bart, a former slave, [[spoiler: with him saving Luffy at the tail-end of the Marineford War, when all hope seemed lost]], and betraying [[spoiler: Caesar the moment he realized the kids are being used for fatal experiments]], and all his actions post Punk Hazard being [[spoiler: an elaborate revenge for his BigBrotherFigure's murder 13 years ago]]. |
| 114 | ** In a surprising example, [[spoiler:Charlotte Katakuri]]. To say, [[spoiler:Katakuri is not only the strongest lieutenant of Big Mom, but a resident Seer, and at the time of his introduction held the series' highest bounty. But, Katakuri is gradually shown to be fiercely loyal to his family, protective of his younger siblings, and a honorable enemy, as he deliberately injures himself to equal Luffy's condition during their fight, and is the only one defeated by Luffy who outright acknowledges Luffy's ambitions without any sort of malice]]. |
| 115 | * The titular character in ''Literature/Overlord2012'', though very ruthless and ultimately self-serving, most of his worst actions are [[AssholeVictim directed at beings more evil than himself]], he treats the subjects of Nazarick like they are family, [[AFatherToHisMen thinks of his personnel guardians like his children]], and treats his conquered subjects generally well, and he has a very good track record of keeping his end of the bargain when invoking DealWithTheDevil scenarios. As the series progresses, the Noble part fades and his list of atrocities grows. |
| 116 | ** Among his subordinates, we have [[BattleButler Sebas Tian]] and [[BloodKnight Cocytus]] who unlike the rest of his guardians, are not hostile to those considered weaker than themselves and are more often then not friendly to others, unless provoked. Sebas in fact is one of the few denizens of Nazarick with a Good Alignment, and Cocytus is the only Floor Guardian who does not have an Evil Alignment (his is Neutral on the side of Good). |
| 117 | * Tamura Reiko from ''Manga/{{Parasyte}}'' is a monstrous parasite that eats humans. However, she does not hold any meaningless bloodbaths and acts of violence. She even strives to live together between humans and parasites. In addition, she has a long time over, Shinichi and Migi protected from the other parasites. |
| 118 | * ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'': [[ItsAllAboutMe Kyouko]] [[NominalHero Sakura]] before CharacterDevelopment. |
| 119 | * ''Anime/{{Raideen}}'': Prince Sharkin is a literal example as he's the AlienPrince of the Demon Empire who aims to take over the Earth. In spite of his evil actions, he abides by a code of honour. [[spoiler: It comes to claim him when he commits {{Seppuku}} to preserve his honour after losing to Raideen in his final battle.]] |
| 120 | * ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'': Saitou Hajime is a cold-blooded killer with a limitless mean streak, but still firmly believes in worldly order. |
| 121 | * ''Anime/SamuraiChamploo'': Mugen (at least at first) is a ChaoticNeutral vagabond who is open about not caring about anyone but himself and liking violence for its own sake. However, those same qualities make him unwilling to join with villains, scorning their self-importance and the idea of him following anyone. Moreover, despite his frequent complaints about her, he will always come to the rescue of Fuu when she is danger. |
| 122 | * ''Literature/{{Slayers}}'': Xellos is a self-serving but ultimately guy who keeps coming back to the protagonists... no matter how much they tarnish his vaunted "cool and mysterious sorcerer-swordsman" image. He is also one true Mazoku. "The power of the Monster race flows from... terror, anger, sorrow, despair." And he's still the friendliest and nicest character in the series most of the time, despite his penchant for painful and infuriating pranks. The novels make this clearer. [[spoiler:Xellos sets a city on fire, just to convince Lina to take action. He also blames it on an enemy, to make her even MORE active. This is one of the scenes that proves him a MagnificentBastard.]] He definitely appears to be one, though. |
| 123 | ** The Dark Lord Ruby Eye Shabranigdo also has these tendencies. He was shockingly polite and respectful to his enemies despite the fact they were of little use against him, [[spoiler:and when destroyed by Lina, he went so far as to congratulate her for her feat.]] |
| 124 | %%* ''Anime/SonicTheHedgehogTheMovie'': Hyper Metal Sonic. |
| 125 | * ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'': Viral is quite honorable, despite always wanting to enact revenge on Kamina for tarnishing his reputation and pride.[[note]]Eventually, [[spoiler:after Simon convinces him to make a HeelFaceTurn, Viral becomes an AntiHero.]][[/note]] Here are several examples: |
| 126 | ** Just after the HotSpringsEpisode, he not-so-politely asks the heroes to PleasePutSomeClothesOn and allows them to arm themselves before fighting him. |
| 127 | ** When he confronts Simon and Yoko over [[spoiler:Kamina's whereabouts, and eventually accepts Simon as his new rival]], he agrees to a fair one-on-one duel. |
| 128 | ** When said duel is interrupted by Cytomander, who takes Yoko hostage and orders Viral to perform a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown on Gurren Lagann, Viral refuses and sheathes his axe, knowing that his honor cannot be regained that way. |
| 129 | * ''Anime/TransformersArmada'': |
| 130 | ** Starscream falls into this category, leaving the [[TheStarscream usual betrayal duties]] to the likes of Thrust and Sideways. |
| 131 | ** Megatron, mostly towards [[EnemyMine Optimus Prime]]. On one occasion, he had a beaten, HeroicBSOD Hot Shot in his territory, who was the only one who knew that [[spoiler:Sideways]] had turned to the Decepticons--and instead just shoved him back through the space bridge and sent him home. |
| 132 | * Sixshot in ''Anime/TransformersHeadmasters'' suddenly became one towards the end of the series so he could do a HeelFaceTurn. |
| 133 | * In ''Anime/TransformersRobotsInDisguise'' Sky-Byte combines this with IneffectualSympatheticVillain; he becomes such a failure at being evil, that the good guys think he's pulled a HeelFaceTurn. |
| 134 | * ''Manga/UshioAndTora'': Tora is a tiger-like demon who seems like he'd be eager to eat Ushio if it wasn't for [[KidWithTheLeash the magic spear he wields]]. However, the demon needs so little persuasion to help the boy fight various supernatural threats to humanity, you'd almost think Tora secretly enjoys being a defender of the innocent. |
| 135 | * ''Anime/VoltesV'': Prince Heinel. In the earler episodes, he was a stereotypical haughty, belligerent villain. In future episodes he praises his subordinates for their dedications ad genuinely earns their respect in spite of his harsh attitude. He's willing to duel fairly one-on-one with [[TheHero Kenichi]], even throwing him his sword to do so, and routinely forgives his underlings for their failures, [[spoiler: unless they betray him, which he considers the worst kind of evil]]. |
| 136 | * ''Franchise/YuGiOh'': [[Characters/YuGiOhSetoKaiba Seto Kaiba]]. The "noble" half is mostly due to his [[MoralityPet little brother]], and the "demon" half is mostly due to his competition with his adopted father growing up. |
| 137 | ** ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'': Likewise, it took Edo Phoenix, Kaiba's third {{Expy}}, quite a while to reluctantly admit he had become more "hero" and less "[[AntiHero anti]]." |
| 138 | ** ''Anime/YuGiOhZexal'': there's Alito, one of the Barians, the only one with any sense of honor and fair play. (The others tend to regard him as "immature" and "childish".) He seems to consider Yuma a FriendlyEnemy (a sentiment shared by Yuma) and has developed a [[VillainousCrush crush of sorts]] on Kotori u him it shifts to Yuma. |
| 139 | *** Durbe of the Barian Emperors might be the original embodiment of this trope. While he showed in the battle of Saragasso that he will use any means to win, even using a dirty trick (which was part of Vector's plan), he only does so because of his noble intention in saving the Barian World, no matter the cost. He is also known to [[VillainRespect praise his opponents]] for their skills as he did with Shark (before knowing his true identity) and Droite (in the final battle on Earth). He puts an end to any unnecessary fights between the emperors, and trusts them and acknowledges their skills. Even his Chaos Number is named after this trope. His noble soul is shown the most during his final duel with Merag against Vector, Where he sacrificed himself to ensure Merag's victory on the traitor. Might also overlap with WickedCultured and AntiVillain. |
| 140 | *** Also from the Barian Emperors is Mizael. Unlike Durbe, he puts himself under the same conditions as Kaito during their duel, claiming he didn’t need any tricks to defeat him. Later, after his final duel with Kaito resulted in his defeat and regaining his true memories, he honors Kaito’s last request and hand’s the Number card created from their dragons to give to Yuma. |
| 141 | ** ''Anime/YuGiOhVRAINS'': |
| 142 | *** Akira Zaizen and Revolver could be considered downplayed versions. Zaizen is an employee for SOL Tech, a company willing to do whatever it takes to protect their profits. However, he cares for his younger sister and tries to help the protagonists when he can. Revolver is a straighter example, being a hacker hell bent on eradicating the Ignis and getting revenge on the person who put his dad into a coma, but he was also the one who alerted the authorities and ended the Lost Incident. |
| 143 | *** Bohman is also an example as he values fair play, since he believes that duels should be solely decided by the skill of the duelists, as much as his mission to win the war against the protagonists where those who lose duels get their conciousness taken from them. Furthermore, when he defeats one of his opponents, he allows them to see one of their loved ones before they disappear. |
| 144 | * ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'': |
| 145 | ** Hiei fits this trope to a T. Not only is he a demon, but he keeps insisting that he's bad to the bone and cares about nobody, but his actions keep on betraying him. By the end of the series, he's loosened up enough that he actually admits to having friends and [[spoiler:he gets emotionally close to a female demon with a past even more ghastly than his]]. |
| 146 | ** Yoko Kurama also plays this straight. He was once a sociopathic and ruthless thief, but by the time that he first appears in the series (midway through the Dark Tournament arc), he has since abandoned that for the most part. While it was feared that Kurama would pull a FaceHeelTurn once he transforms, his former demon self is shown to be more than willing in helping his human half and Team Urameshi. This is otherwise a subversion with Kurama, as while he is a demon he is way too noble to qualify, as LoveRedeems. Although, he is still quite willing to do whatever he deems necessary to achieve his end goals, and seems to enjoy torturing anyone who actually manages to anger him in some rather horrifying ways. |
| 147 | [[/folder]] |
| 148 | |
| 149 | [[folder:Card Games]] |
| 150 | * Sorin Markov of ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' is an [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Innistrad vampire]] planeswalker who is paranoid and drains blood in order to survive, but is one of the few characters who could be classified as a BigGood. He views his bloodthirst as a necessity, but tries to maintain order in his hometown and [[SealedEvilInACan attempts to seal]] the {{Eldr|itchAbomination}}azi to save the lives of billions. Being a white/black (formally monoblack)-aligned planeswalker, he also falls under DarkIsNotEvil. |
| 151 | * The Dark World monsters in ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'' are implied to be this by WordOfGod, despite the fact that they're all hideous demons ruled over by a certifiably insane king. Zure, Knight of Dark World is of particular note, referred to by his flavor text as an "illustrious knight" who "never oppresses the commoners." Yep, he's a ''literal'' Noble Demon. |
| 152 | [[/folder]] |
| 153 | |
| 154 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 155 | * ''Fanfic/AbsoluteTrust'': Pre-HeelFaceTurn Zuko, as in canon, always keeps his word and acts honorably. Examples in this story include allowing Alec to say goodbye to his family when he orders him to surrender alongside Aang in the South Pole, and immediately heeding Alec's request not to hurt the koi fish in the North Pole's Spirit Oasis, relocating a safe distance away from the pond before continuing to attack. |
| 156 | * ''Fanfic/BatmanBeyondRevisited'': Ra’s al Ghul, who while having no conscience when it comes to killing criminals regardless of the collateral damage, is a [[IGaveMyWord man of his word]] and an honorable fighter…which is how Jake manages to defeat him. |
| 157 | * ''Fanfic/BloodAndHonor'': Sanguis has a personal code of honor which often conflicts with how Sith are expected to behave in the Empire. She regularly shows mercy to her enemies, keeps her word, frees Vette from slavery at the first opportunity, and engages in small acts of charity when prompted either by her friends or her conscience. On the other hand, she is completely dedicated to the defeat of the Republic, has no issue with slavery in general and loyally follows the orders of her superiors, even when they are personally distasteful to her. |
| 158 | * ''Fanfic/TheBoltChronicles'': Applies to Mittens in "The Blackbird." [[CatsAreMean The cat spends the first part of the poem wanting very much to eat the title character]] if the chance presents itself. However, when the creature knocks itself out [[RunningIntoTheWindow flying into a window]], Mittens refuses to consider dining on the bird because it [[EvenEvilHasStandards wouldn't be honorable to do so this easily]]. |
| 159 | -->'''Mittens:''' I wanted you, blackbird, I did. But not like this. |
| 160 | * The ''Series/{{Dexter}}'' fic [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9666470/53/Break-Me-Every-Time "Break Me Every Time"]] explicitly acknowledges Dexter as this when [[spoiler:his colleagues at Miami P.D. learn the truth about him; even after Angel gets news that his sister has been wounded in an attack at Dexter's flat, when he calls Dexter about it, Dexter assures Angel that he would have never hurt Angel or Jamie, and Angel admits that he believes Dexter]]. |
| 161 | * ''Fanfic/TheBridgeMLP'' gives us Monster X and Xenilla (a.k.a. Spacegodzilla). While still being a Xilian war weapon and not batting an eye at killing several Symbiotic Legion, X refuses to harm those who cannot fight back unless commanded to. In fact, multiple times he will come to the defense of a helpless neutral party. Xenilla, on the other hand, isn't above pondering mass property damage and killing those who annoy him but keeps the actual killing down to those who are needed to die for his goal, and despite his rivalry with his "brother" Godzilla, is actually the least aggressive of the two. |
| 162 | * ''Fanfic/CardsOfRemnant'': Something that sets Ilia apart from Adam is that she keeps her grudge with Blake between them ''only'' and doesn't want Blake involved with the White Fang's activities. When she has Sun at sword point after beating him, she lets Blake continue to face her men to try and save him, not wishing to kill him in cold blood. When Blake is set to perform a move that could cause damage to everything around her though, she trusts Ilia to keep Sun safe, Ilia herself declaring Sun only dies ''if'' Blake loses, not before, which she makes good on when [[spoiler:Performapal Gatling Ghoul]] proceeds to start attacking everything at random due to Blake's inability to control it. Ilia even gives Sun back after having her own monster destroy [[spoiler:Gatling Ghoul]]. |
| 163 | * ''Fanfic/CListers'': Killer Croc is a homicidal, misanthropic cannibal who will kill anyone who comes into the sewer, [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe but he rewards those who test him kindly with loyalty]], he'll let fellow outcasts live, and he protects the homeless children of Gotham from harm whenever he can. |
| 164 | * ''Fanfic/CodePrime'': |
| 165 | ** {{Deconstructed|Trope}} with Dreadwing -- however well-intentioned he may be, he still supports Megatron, and his attempts to support Suzaku only end up putting the latter on a darker path precisely because Dreadwing does not see how evil Megatron is. |
| 166 | ** Following Dreadwing's [[spoiler:defection to the Autobots and Black Knights, and later death,]] at the end of ''R1'', ''R2'' sees Sky-Byte become the Decepticons' resident soldier with a code of honor. |
| 167 | * ''Fanfic/DungeonKeeperAmi'': |
| 168 | ** Jadeite is an interesting case. While how evil he was in [[Anime/SailorMoon his original media]] is debatable, there is a definite trend towards nobility after Pemployment under Keeper Mercury. It helps that, by the standards of [[VideoGame/DungeonKeeper the local dimension]] [[CrapsackWorld he is rather tame]]. |
| 169 | ** Of further consideration is Keeper Mercury herself, who is viewed as this by most of the lightworld governments- [[RunningGag and she wishes people would just drop the villain part already]]. |
| 170 | * Menma's gang the Black Foxes in ''Fanfic/{{Eroninja}}'' are noted as being one of the gangs that skirts the line between lawless decadence and lawful enforcers. They only seek freedom and comfort but they also don't go out of their way to make others suffer. The best example is their protection racket. Unlike [[ShameIfSomethingHappened most such rackets]], they actually do protect any under their care, whether it be from enemy gangs, fires, or even illness. If someone refuses, rather than getting roughed up or having their shop burned down, they simply don't get any protection. And since the city they operate in is partially controlled by another gang, most are happy to pay. |
| 171 | * ''Fanfic/FuzzyMemories'' has Axel Droog, who's a manipulative, scheming boy who does whatever he can to get what he wants, but nonetheless has a clear moral conscience, and generally doesn't seem to actually hold much malice towards anyone. Despite this, he still ''is'' one of the main antagonists, and is more than willing to hurt others to achieve his goals. |
| 172 | * ''Fanfic/AGreatAndPowerfulHeart'': [[DirtyCop Sheriff Brass]] is a crooked [[spoiler:and racist]] scumbag, but despite pushing Trixie into [[AnOfferYouCantRefuse an unwanted task]], he does honor his promise to [[IGaveMyWord let her go]] when she completes the task and even rewards her for her trouble. |
| 173 | * ''Fanfic/HopeForTheHeartless'': Through CharacterDevelopment, the [[WesternAnimation/TheBlackCauldron Horned King]] gradually heads to this direction, complying to [[MoralityPet Avalina's]] pleas to be more merciful. Despite the good he does to her and others, he insists that he's irreversibly the Master of All Evil, despite what Avalina or [[EvilerThanThou his former master Arawn]] might think. |
| 174 | * ''Fanfic/{{Kage}}'': |
| 175 | ** [[TheDragon Raythor]] is this, much to Jade's surprise. Among other things, his first reaction to meeting Jade is to refuse to let [[KnightTemplar Nerissa]] force a child to fight their war. It's only when Jade herself insists on fighting (due to her own new vendetta against the Guardians and Elyon) and proves she can fight, that he backs down. |
| 176 | --->'''Jade:''' Wow, a bad guy with honor? Now I have seen everything. |
| 177 | ** Jade herself is only working with the villains because [[NiceJobBreakingItHero the Guardians' misconceptions]] and Nerissa's BlatantLies have forced her into it, and she tries to remain a good person as much as she can under the circumstances. She is also a literal example of this trope because she's currently an Oni, a Japanese demon. |
| 178 | %%* Zuko becomes this in ''Fanfic/TheMasksWeWear''. |
| 179 | * In ''Fanfic/MegaManDefenderOfTheHumanRace'', [[spoiler:Ballade]] is this, treating Mega Man with dignity while his allies don't. |
| 180 | * ''Fanfic/MurderersRow'': Church is a ruthless criminal, but he [[EvenEvilHasStandards still has some scruples]], prefers not to cause any unnecessary violence and to resolve things peacefully, and is [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes surprisingly caring to his friends and loved ones.]] |
| 181 | * The (OC)Changeling Princess Ceymi gets to be this in ''two'' ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fics by ''two'' separate writers. She genuinely believes that the Changelings must be ruthless to survive, and she is loyal to her Hive and [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Queen]] [[BigBad Chrysalis]]. She herself avoids any unnecessary cruelty and does not like to kill Ponies -- though she will if she is ordered to or believes that she has no better choice. In [[https://www.fimfiction.net/user/Phoenix_Dragon Phoenix_Dragon]]'s ''Fanfic/WithoutAHive'', the story in which she originally appeared, she is the mentor and mother (though maternity means little to the Changelings) of the protagonist Nictis. In [[https://www.fimfiction.net/user/Jordan179 Jordan179]]'s ''Fanfic/MLPCollateralDamage'', she is one of the three main characters along with [=Jordan179's=] OC Falcon Punch and the young Background Pony Cheerilee (age 9), in a story taking place almost two decades before the series and a decade before the start of ''Without A Hive'' (which is a long ComingOfAgeStory). |
| 182 | * ''Fanfic/TheOddsWereNeverInMyFavour:'' Romeo Maltasi, the champion of Ares, is a vindictive BloodKnight, but he also seems to respect Alexandra and expresses opposition to whatever [[HiddenAgendaVillain Lyudmila Romanov]] is planning, even though it will certainly lead to large-scale hostilities. |
| 183 | --> '''Romeo:''' Whatever war [she would start] would know no discipline, no honour, no sides... and no rules. |
| 184 | * Subverted in ''Fanfic/TheReturn'' -- while demonic and of nobility, when Dark Star wants to "topple your castle", she'll use artillery, and then go in the ruins and personally kill anyone left. |
| 185 | * ''Fanfic/ThousandShinji'': Shinji is a manipulative asshole, but he has standards and limits. Usually he doesn't mind using, manipulating and backstabbing people, but he doesn't seek to destroy someone who hasn't done anything to him, and he refuses to betray his family and friends. |
| 186 | * ''Fanfic/TheUltimateEvil'': Shendu is portrayed as the backstabbing and selfish demon he's known as in [[WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures canon]], but he's shown to have some honor with the way he [[VillainousRescue saves more than once the life of]] Valerie Payne, his [[YinYangBomb Other]] and the Chans' friend. Even though [[VillainousCrush he wants to make her his]], he attempts to do it by her own terms: by making her fall in love with him and not forcing her into anything. Valerie eventually comes to view Shendu superior to [[DiabolicalMastermind Valmont]]. |
| 187 | -->''In her eyes -- she didn't know whether it had always been so, or if this was something new -- Valmont was a scumbag criminal who would stoop to any means and do anything and everything just for a little money. But Shendu, despite being a lying, murderous and evil demon, had at times shown some form of honour, and he was more sophisticated and regal then Valmont. Valmont hid what he was behind an air of aristocracy and superiority that made her blood boil, but Shendu let you know up front what you were dealing with. That little shred of honesty, no matter how vile in its using, still made Shendu more worthy to Valerie then Valmont could ever hope to be.'' |
| 188 | * ''WebVideo/UltraFastPony'' portrays [[spoiler:Maud Pie]] as a demon, who serves whoever summons her without question, but adamantly refuses to kill anyone under any condition and is very friendly by this show's standards. |
| 189 | * A literal demon in the case of Baphomet from ''Fanfic/WarriorsOfTheWorldSoldiersOfFortune'', who is more than happy to cultivate his image of being a bad guy, but has standards on wiping out entire races, isn't afraid to give the Normans a leg-up and keeps to his word. |
| 190 | [[/folder]] |
| 191 | |
| 192 | [[folder:Films -- Animation]] |
| 193 | * The Red Hood [[spoiler: aka Jason Todd]] from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanUnderTheRedHood'' is not afraid of [[OffWithHisHead decapitating]] the competition in the drug trade. However, he forces his minions not to sell to children and other family friendly areas. [[spoiler: While he holds an incredible grudge against Batman for not killing the Joker, he thinks the less evil of Batman's enemies should be given another chance]]. |
| 194 | * Xibalba from ''WesternAnimation/TheBookOfLife'' is [[FatalFlaw incredibly prone]] [[DickDastardlyStopsToCheat to cheating]], be it giving the man he bet would marry Maria a medal of everlasting life or faking the death of Maria so the other man after her heart would commit suicide. But he ''is'' still married to [[BigGood La Muerte]], and is willing to gracefully accept defeat and even assist the heroes when his plan fails regardless. |
| 195 | * Pterano from ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTimeVIITheStoneOfColdFire''. He's not above kidnapping, but he does make a point to strike his own henchmen to punish them for [[EvenEvilHasStandards two things he considers intolerable]]: violence (particularly, though unspoken, against children, [[PapaWolf including and especially his nephew]]) and asking redundant questions. |
| 196 | -->'''Pterano''': If there's one thing I will not tolerate, it's violence!\ |
| 197 | '''Rinkus''': Then why are you hitting me?\ |
| 198 | '''Pterano''': Right... make that ''two'' things: violence ''and'' stupid questions! |
| 199 | ** He then becomes TheAtoner toward the end when he has a flashback to when he tried to find the Great Valley due to Ducky coming close to meeting the same fate as did one of the dinosaurs on the earlier expedition. |
| 200 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'' is a perfect example of this, with more than enough [[AffablyEvil affable evil]] thrown in for good measure. When he manages to [[spoiler:"kill" his arch-nemesis in the first fifteen minutes of the film]], he is honestly shocked and really quite horrified at first. After a brief villainous spree, [[spoiler:he regrets his actions even more and works to make it right]]. |
| 201 | ** This trope is also implied earlier on with how Roxanne responds to each of his deathtraps with little more than an eye roll and a snarky quip. Regardless of [[DesignatedVictim how many times she's seen them before]], there's no way on Earth she would react so calmly to them unless she was absolutely positive that he wouldn't actually use them. |
| 202 | ** His sole motivation for becoming a villain was ''there already was a hero''. Everything he does is in the interest of preserving a balance. [[spoiler:He even creates a new hero after "killing" the original one. [[NiceJobFixingItVillain Didn't work out quite as well as he hoped]], but it's the thought that matters.]] |
| 203 | * ''WesternAnimation/PussInBootsTheLastWish'': [[spoiler: The bounty hunter wolf, revealed to be TheGrimReaper himself, tries the whole film to claim Puss's last life as revenge for being so arrogant throwing away the other eight. But after Puss's CharacterDevelopment makes him fight to preserve his last life rather than wish for more, Death decides he learned his lesson and lets him off the hook, though warns with less hostility he ''will'' be back once Puss dies, naturally or otherwise.]] |
| 204 | * In ''WesternAnimation/{{Rango}}'', [[spoiler:Rattlesnake Jake]] is considered one in the end and tips his hat to the main character, even calling him a WorthyOpponent. |
| 205 | --> '''[[spoiler:Jake]]''': "I tip my hat to you. One legend to another." |
| 206 | * Long John Silver from ''WesternAnimation/TreasurePlanet''. He's a pirate, and he burns down the Benbow inn and commits unknown other crimes, including conspiracy and mutiny. He's afraid of being seen as going soft, but he [[MoralityPet honestly cares for Jim]], and when it comes down to [[spoiler:a choice between his dream of untold riches and saving the boy's life, he saves the boy. Still doesn't stop him running away to escape being imprisoned, though before he leaves he does give Jim the jewels he managed to save so that the Benbow inn can be repaired]]. |
| 207 | [[/folder]] |
| 208 | |
| 209 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 210 | * ''Film/ThreeTenToYuma2007'': Ben Wade. |
| 211 | -->'''Wade:''' Kid, I wouldn't last five minutes leading an outfit like that if I wasn't as rotten as hell. |
| 212 | * ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan'': Dr. Curt Connors is a WellIntentionedExtremist who gains a dash of AxCrazy when injected with the serum. However, even as the Lizard he only has beef with those who attack him or directly get in the way of his plan. The first time he first transforms, he goes after Ratha who is on his way to [[PlayingWithSyringes play doctor with unwitting war veterans]], and when he finds Gwen [[spoiler:hiding with the Ganali device, he merely takes it from her and lets her live]]. |
| 213 | * ''Film/AssaultOnPrecinct132005'': Marion Bishop. The show starts with him brutally killing an undercover policeman in a church. He later fights alongside cops who have him under arrest in the interest of "self-preservation". But at the end of the show, he walks away from the downed Good Guy, Sgt. Joe Roenick, despite the Good Guy now being his Sworn Rival. |
| 214 | * ''Film/BlackBook'': Müntze, the Hauptsturmführer was something of one as he was at least true to who he was and trying to do something approaching the right thing given his position as head of the Nazi security service. This is contrasted with his coldblooded and self-interested subordinate and the [[TheMole traitor inside the resistance.]] |
| 215 | * ''Film/{{Byzantium}}'': Darvell. Despite the rather elitist company he surrounds himself with he has always shown Clara kindness and is by far the most likable member of Brethren. His loyalty to the brotherhood is born out of the fact [[IOweYouMyLife they saved his life]]. He also respects both Clara and her daughter for how they've chosen their victims. [[spoiler:He eventually sides with Clara in the finale.]] |
| 216 | * ''Franchise/TheChroniclesOfRiddick'': Riddick. He's a villain in almost every way; a savage murderer and psychopath with a ''really'' sick sense of humour, but EvenEvilHasStandards (he dislikes rapists and senseless killing, for instance), [[PetTheDog he is a lot closer to animals than people]], and it seems he WouldntHurtAChild (he seems to like children, and in return he often fascinates them). |
| 217 | * ''Film/CityOfIndustry'': Roy Egan is a thief, but he's a ConsummateProfessional who would NeverHurtAnInnocent. At the end, after he gets revenge on the guy who betrayed him, he leaves some of the money to the widow of one of his dead partners. |
| 218 | * ''Film/TheExpendables'': General Garza is a tyrannical PuppetKing. However, he refuses to harm his daughter even after she betrays him. He is also genuinely sorry for the pain he brought to his people by collaborating with a corrupt ex-CIA official. |
| 219 | * ''Film/GangsOfNewYork'': Bill "The Butcher" Cutting. He's a ruthless murderous gang leader and a 19th century equivalent of a mafia boss, but he cares for the children and elderly who live in the five points in old New York. He despises lying and deception in all its forms and has a man killed for betraying the film's protagonist who planned to murder Bill: meaning, he killed a man for saving his life because he regarded any form of betrayal to be worse. |
| 220 | ** Even before that point, when referring to Amsterdam's father, he says, ''"I killed the last honorable man 15 years ago."'' Bill is a nativist who would like nothing more than to see all Irish-Catholics thrown out of America. |
| 221 | * Franchise/{{Godzilla}} generally levels out into one of these. Destructive? Yes. Uncaring? Ayup. But at the end of the day, he hates other kaiju a lot more than he hates people. |
| 222 | * In ''Film/{{Gunless}}'', Sean lives by a code where he cannot kill an unarmed man, hence the lengths he goes to make sure Jack gets a gun so they can duel. |
| 223 | * Mad Dog in ''Film/HardBoiled''. He's [[BigBad Johnny Wong]]'s [[TheDragon top enforcer]], and one of the most prominent members of the weapon smuggling Triads in Hong Kong. However, he possesses a very strong sense of honor, and openly expresses his disgust for those who betray their superiors. He also refuses to harm innocents, [[spoiler:which is why he [[HeelFaceTurn tries to kill Johnny Wong]] when the latter [[MoralEventHorizon guns down a bunch of patients in cold blood]] during the hospital takeover just to get at Allan]]. |
| 224 | * ''Film/{{Heat}}'': Neil [=McCauley=] may be a professional criminal, but he has a sense of decency that clearly outstrips all other criminals and many cops. He doesn't want to kill the security personnel he robs from and is angered when his accomplices do so. And he holds much more anger and malice toward other criminals who engage in duplicitous and inhumane behavior against him and his friends than against the police. He cares for those close to him as much as any hero, and it's impossible to not sympathize with him most of the time when he's shooting someone, as they usually deserve it. |
| 225 | * ''Franchise/{{Hellraiser}}'': In their initial portrayal, Pinhead and the Cenobites targeted only those who solved the Lament Configuration, along with those who had solved it and tried to elude them. Even so, solving the box by itself isn't sufficient cause for them to go after someone, for there must be some sense of ''desire'' behind the act for the Cenobites to take an interest (which was why [[spoiler: Tiffany]] from ''Film/HellboundHellraiserII'' was spared). They are also not averse to occasionally [[DealWithTheDevil bargaining with their targets]], [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor with mixed results]]. |
| 226 | * Captain Friedrich von Hecht in ''Film/HornetsNest''. He sees partisans (civilian resistance) as unlawful combatants and treats them accordingly, however, he considers ordinary Italian civilians as being off-limits. He'll use threats to try and dissuade them from helping the partisans, however, he is never shown actually going through with it, and looks down his nose at the SS because he disapproves of them targeting civilians as revenge for partisan activity. |
| 227 | * ''Film/InBruges'': Harry is a violent crime boss, but with principles and a clear moral code. He is a caring father and does not tolerate anyone who harms a child, even by accident. [[spoiler: The main driver of the film is his insistence on killing on of his own men, who'd accidentally killed a young boy. At the climax, when he thinks he's done the same thing, he promptly kills himself.]] |
| 228 | ** Although Ray and Ken could both also be seen as examples. Nobody in the film ever comes across as clearly evil. |
| 229 | * ''Film/IpMan'': General Miura, who is brutal and vicious out of a sense of patriotism, as a contrast with the sadism of SmugSnake Colonel Sato, and is, in his own albeit [[CombatPragmatist Combat-Pragmatic]] way, an honorable, traditional Japanese Warrior. |
| 230 | * ''Film/JoshuuSasori'': Matsu is a multiple murderess, desperate CombatPragmatist, serial prison escapist, and veteran manipulator of those around her. However, she only kills those who wrong her; she can't bring herself to [[spoiler:kill Yuki's brain-injured brother when Yuki begs her to]], and while some prisoners hate her, she looks out for those who help her, help others, or hold no malice. Really, she's forced by circumstances into becoming a demon and retains her basic nobility. In a way, this is played literally - there's a visual theme of Yuurei symbolism implying a supernatural driving force behind Matsu. |
| 231 | * Similarly, Captain Klaus Woermann in ''Film/TheKeep''. Despite an EstablishingCharacterMoment where he tells his driver that the Nazis are the "masters of the world" ("Does that enthrall you, Oster?"), he's another "no civilians" kinda guy and goes out of his way to ensure that relations between his troops and the Romanian villagers are good, even going so far as to punish one of his men he catches trying to loot. He is enraged later on when the SS execute several people for suspected partisan sympathies. When accused of incompetence, he unloads a scathing indictment of the SS and their policy of targeting civilians: "''My'' competence was proven in combat... against people who shoot ''back''!" |
| 232 | * ''Film/TheLastRitesOfRansomPride'': Matthew is a ProfessionalKiller and BountyHunter who committed atrocities with Pride and Graves in the Civil War. He's also honest, polite (though gruff) to people he meets on the road, and is disgusted by John's psychotic tendencies and penchant for [[CreepySouvenir creepy souvenirs]]. |
| 233 | ->'''Matthew:''' You wanna make a black-ass fool o' yourself, you go right ahead. But if you shame me, I ''will'' kill you! |
| 234 | * ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'': |
| 235 | ** ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014'': Yondu and the Ravagers. They may be space pirates whose motto is "steal from everyone," but they have a code and they stick to it, even helping defend Xandar with the Nova Corps during the final battle against Ronan. [[spoiler: Yondu was also the one who saved Peter from his death at the hands of ''his own father'', and raised him like his son, as good as he possibly could, for a space pirate. Even Peter acknowledged this, calling Yondu his father after his HeroicSacrifice.]] |
| 236 | *** This is further emphasized in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2''. Ravagers as a whole are shown to have universal, strict code(s) they follow, to the point that Yondu breaking the rule that "they don't deal in kids" resulted in Yondu being exiled by the Ravager community. [[spoiler:When they hear about the death of Yondu and presumably the truth about Peter's father and why Yondu took Peter in, they all show up and give him a proper Ravager farewell at his funeral]]. |
| 237 | ** Thanos in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' makes sure to spare half of every species he "culls", selects those to die at random rather than based on any other trait, believes his actions are for the greater good, and goes so far as to [[IGaveMyWord keep his promises]], [[WorthyOpponent show respect to enemies who impress him]], and comfort a distraught [[spoiler:Scarlet Witch]]. But in ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', when he finds out that the remaining half of the MCU planned a time-heist to undo his work, he turns OmnicidalManiac and vows to use the Infinity Stones to kill everyone and rebuild the universe to his liking. |
| 238 | * ''Film/MrSmithGoesToWashington'': Senator Paine, complete with a HeelFaceTurn. |
| 239 | * ''Film/MuppetTreasureIsland'': [[Creator/TimCurry Long John Silver]] is very charming, [[AffablyEvil polite]] and actually cares for Jimmy. [[spoiler:He even goes out of his way to protect Jimmy at one point.]] |
| 240 | * ''Film/NoNameOnTheBullet'': John Gant doesn't kill for free; he also doesn't kill except those whom he feels need killing. |
| 241 | * The titular aliens in the ''Franchise/{{Predator}}'' series are ruthless hunters who show no mercy to their prey and delight in HuntingTheMostDangerousGame, but draw the line at hunting those that are too weak to provide meaningful sport or otherwise cannot fight back ([[WouldNotHurtAChild so no hunting children]]) and, if their prey proves to be more than an equal match to them, may concede to them and even offer a trophy of their own to their target as a sign of respect...if they don't attempt to [[TakingYouWithMe set off a miniature nuke strapped to their armor and take their prey down with them]]. |
| 242 | * ''Film/TheRunningMan'': Captain Freedom's day job is fighting political prisoners to death on the titular DeadlyGame. But he believes strongly in the Gladiator Code, and quits over Killian's cheating. |
| 243 | * ''Film/LeSamourai'': Jef Costello. Even if he is a hitman, he has a clear set of morals. |
| 244 | * ''Franchise/StarWars'': Boba Fett has been characterized as this retroactively. He's extremely brutal and pragmatic in combat, will work for anyone that pays him enough, and gladly aids the Empire. However, he's also a strict professional and is bound to a strong code of honor; he only takes jobs that meet his harsh sense of justice and has frequently screwed over scumbags who hire him once [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness they're no longer of use]]. He also has a soft spot for children, particularly orphans, partly because of his own difficult childhood. Some expanded universe works suggest that he works with the Empire because he genuinely believes that they'll bring some level of order and peace to the galaxy. ''Series/TheMandalorian'' and ''Series/TheBookOfBobaFett'' expands on this quality of his further; in the former series, after he gets what he wants from the Mandalorian, he goes out of his way to invoke ExactWords on himself and help rescue the now-kidnapped child, and in the latter series, he brutally usurps a criminal empire for himself, but vows to rule with honor, rather than the fear it was once built upon. |
| 245 | * ''Film/TheStreetfighter'': Kowloon Dingsau may be the most feared Yakuza boss in Hong Kong, but he has a code of honor. He has numerous PetTheDog moments, particularly toward Junjo (himself also a Type I), and he does a HeelFaceTurn when King Stone tags Terry during the climactic deathmatch, becoming the only Yakuza (apart from Junjo, who is himself presumed dead until the second half of the sequel) to live to see the end of the film. That said, you have to be ''really'' stupid to provoke him into killing you (just ask King Stone and Jadot). |
| 246 | * Creator/QuentinTarantino's films usually have at least one character of this nature in them, seeing as they usually require us to empathize with and support vicious, murderous criminals. Examples include: |
| 247 | ** Seth Gecko in ''Film/FromDuskTillDawn'' is a ruthless, violent professional criminal who nevertheless has an inner core of decency and, in fact, comes across as downright heroic compared to his psychotic rapist-murderer brother, Richie (whom he vocally expresses disgust against). For bonus points, Richie is played by Tarantino himself. |
| 248 | ** Mr. White in ''Film/ReservoirDogs'', who coolly and emotionlessly kills police officers and is willing to kill innocent civilians if it will help him, but expresses disgust at the psychopathic excesses of Mr. Blonde and treats the terminally wounded Mr. Orange with almost paternal care. |
| 249 | ** Bill in ''Film/KillBill''. He's the head of an international team of assassins and was the mastermind behind the El Paso chapel massacre that left The Bride comatose and had the rest of the wedding rehearsal attendees killed. However, he refuses to let Elle Driver kill The Bride in her sleep, as in his own words "that would lower us", [[spoiler:and is a loving father to The Bride's daughter]]. |
| 250 | * Kazuya is this in ''Anime/TekkenBloodVengeance'', since not only is he shown to not be a bad boss to Anna Williams, he's more concerned about beating the crap out of Jin than the atrocities committed on Shin Kamiya's class. |
| 251 | * ''Film/TheTown'': Creator/BenAffleck's VillainProtagonist is a pretty good example. Despite being a career criminal and ruthlessly efficient bank robber, he is [[AffablyEvil personally a very nice and sensitive guy]], is disgusted by his colleagues beating people or taking hostages, and cares a lot about his community to the point of donating his stolen money to local charities. It's not hard to see how a woman could fall for him even after finding out that he was involved in robbing her bank and taking her hostage, leaving her with PTSD. |
| 252 | * ''Film/{{Utu}}'': Although Te Wheke kills white settlers indiscriminately, he respects courageous warriors. This rebel Maori spares the life of wounded {{cavalry officer}} Lt. Scott so they can fight again on more equal terms. |
| 253 | [[/folder]] |
| 254 | |
| 255 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 256 | * ''Literature/AgentG'': G is a murderer, manipulator, and occasional terrorist for hire. However, he's also a person who has deep feelings of guilt for the people he's murdered and a desire to actively fight against the powers that secretly control the world. |
| 257 | * Lieutenant-Commander Bextor Fenwick in ''Literature/TheArtsOfDarkAndLight''. He is a [[MyCountryRightOrWrong patriot]] for his own people, [[VillainByDefault and thus a villain]], and uses some rather underhanded tactics to promote their cause, but is fairly sympathetic personally. Notably, he resents the regime's genocidal policies, doing as little to enforce them as he can get away with, and indeed [[spoiler:he works actively to sabotage them from behind the scenes when his unit gets caught up in them]]. |
| 258 | * ''Literature/AtlasShrugged'': Imagine 1,000+ pages of characters constantly doing this. Whether they're making a HeroicSacrifice when being blackmailed with a SadisticChoice, giving food and shelter and later a job to a homeless man, or devoting their life to (what they see as) recovering stolen wealth and returning it to its rightful owners, with no monetary or material benefit to themselves, they will find a way to rationalize it as being "selfish." |
| 259 | * ''Literature/AndThenThereWereNone'': U.N. Owen [[spoiler: aka Justice Wargrave]] admits to himself that he's always been a vicious sadist, [[spoiler: but he's chosen to direct his cruelties toward those who deserve it, hence why he brought a bunch of people over to be murdered in highly creative ways. He even gives the more remorseful guests a painless death]]. |
| 260 | * ''Literature/TheBartimaeusTrilogy'': The title character is a literal Noble Demon (he prefers to be called a "djinni," though; "demon" is rather rude). |
| 261 | * ''Literature/BazilBroketail'': The officer in charge of Padmasan operations in the Kraheen empire on the Eigo continent, General Kreegsbrok, is pretty much the only Padmasan leader who isn't portrayed as a complete bastard. His methods are [[PragmaticVillainy purely pragmatic]], which means he doesn't engage in wanton war crimes when they don't serve any purpose and he doesn't advocate unnecessary cruelty towards slaves, since they are a valuable work force. Moreover, the Kraheen rulers were vicious bastards even before his takeover, so by overthrowing them [[AssholeVictim he did their subjects a favor]] and actually ''improved'' their lives. Even Relkin calls Kreegsbrok a man of honor (though he also accuses him of losing said honor by serving such evil masters). |
| 262 | * ''Literature/BelisariusSeries'': Damodara, a Malwa noble, starts off as being a ReasonableAuthorityFigure (especially in comparison to his gratuitously evil peers) and insists that not ruthlessly [[YouHaveFailedMe executing subordinates]] for failures is purely a pragmatic thing to do. Later, after having been in command of the highly honourable Rajput army, even he has trouble convincing himself that his actions are those of a purely pragmatic nature. |
| 263 | * ''Literature/TheCanterburyTales'': The demon featured in "The Friar's Tale", while declaring himself motivated by purely evil intentions, expresses a willingness to act toward good ends by punishing members of the CorruptChurch of the day. He also avoids the LiteralGenie behavior of other demons, only actually taking what people damn (e.g. saying "Damn you" to a person, animal, or object) when they truly mean it. |
| 264 | * ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'': Several characters follow the religion of Tash, who is basically that world's Satan, but are genuinely decent people who follow that religion only because they are brought up in it. Most notable is Emeth, an honorable Calormene soldier who is taken to Aslan's country (Heaven) at the end of ''Literature/TheLastBattle'' despite having spent his life striving to serve Tash as faithfully as he could. Aslan explains that, just as evil done in his own name counts as service to Tash, he considers Emeth's pure-hearted and noble actions in Tash's name to be service to himself. There's also Alimash, Aravis' Calormene cousin, who Bree describes as a "worthy nobleman." |
| 265 | * ''Literature/TheCinderSpires'' is set in tall spires of incredibly hard stone set AfterTheEnd. In Spire Albion, there are habbles, living areas made one on top of the other. The gangs that run Habble Morning are revealed to be basically this. They run things to keep their illegal activities going, protect those who pay their protection fees, deal with any outside criminal trying to make way in their territory all for the name of profit. [[spoiler:The Spirearch, knowing he didn't know if there was a mole in his own Guard, sent private word and money to the gang leaders to prepare in case civilians needed to be evacuated from the Habble. They kept to their word and the civilians were moved to safety with no casualties during the major attack, and they helped with firefighting teams.]] |
| 266 | %%* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': General Ashal from ''Literature/{{Jingo}}''. |
| 267 | * Limbo in ''Literature/TheDivineComedy'' is mostly populated by virtuous pagans who couldn't be baptized because they were born before the birth of Christ. So it's a pretty big deal that Saladin, a Muslim born several centuries after Christ, made it in. |
| 268 | * ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'': Raistlin Majere. An embittered, power-hungry MagnificentBastard with a slew of PetTheDog moments and a love/hate relationship with his twin Caramon. |
| 269 | ** Also, the Knights of Takhisis, who modeled themselves after the [[ThePaladin Knights of Solamnia]]. They are [[CardCarryingVillain Card Carrying Villains]] who follow an evil goddess but stress chivalry, respect for their enemies, and loyalty to their comrades in arms. They frown upon the backstabbing, self-serving ways of their predecessors, the dragonlords. |
| 270 | *** In fact this trope was deliberately invoked in-universe. Age after age, the forces of evil would attempt to conquer the world, get most of the way there, determine that victory was inevitable, then start to turn on each other as each petty evil overlord tried to come out on top of the others when the dust settled, which gave the heroes the chance to regroup and turn things around. Takhisis was sick and tired of this, so she discarded the majority of her forces, all the hordes of monsters and minor tyrants, in order to found a knightly order who would follow a strict code of conduct and honor. They were much less powerful overall than her previous armies, but their unity and integrity made them much more dangerous than the less discriminate monsters of the past. |
| 271 | ** Lord Soth the Death Knight. Although evil and filled with an intense hatred for all living creatures, most of the time Soth retains a semblance of the pride he held as a Solamnic knight, and fights honorably. He will never ambush an opponent from behind, nor does he strike before his enemy can ready his weapon. |
| 272 | * ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': |
| 273 | ** Gentleman Johnny Marcone runs a cut-throat criminal empire, but he will not tolerate {{rape|IsASpecialKindOfEvil}}, and he likes for his business [[NeverHurtAnInnocent to be done cleanly.]] He is renowned for 'disappearing' any gangster who hurts/tries to sell drugs to a child. He is fine with [[EnemyMine Harry]] and works with him when their interests coincide, and, as of ''Literature/GhostStory'' is funding LaResistance as a way of keeping the Fomor off of his territory. He also [[spoiler:steals the ShroudOfTurin to heal a victim of a shootout between his gang and another]]. |
| 274 | ** Subverted in ''Literature/DeathMasks'' by Paolo Ortega, who does a very good job of appearing to be an honorable vampire who only does what he must out of loyalty to his Court, wanting duel Harry to settle the war between the Red Court and White Counsel even if he threatens Harry's loved ones to force him to do so. In reality, he is as ruthless, pragmatic and evil as any Red Court vampire and just puts on the act for political advantages, as shown when tries to force Harry to lose the duel by continuing to threaten his loved ones and pulls out a gun when things don't go his way. |
| 275 | ** Also, Lara Raith. Similar to Marcone, she has her own (albeit, twisted) sense of honor and integrity, as Carlos Ramirez states that her word is good, and will frequently work with Dresden when their goals coincide, to the point where she could easily be mistaken for one of the good guys. Until ''Literature/TurnCoat'', where she thoroughly disabuses Dresden himself of the notion that she's a "good guy". |
| 276 | --->'''Lara:''' At what point did you forget that I am a vampire, Dresden? A monster. A habitually neat, polite, civil, and efficient monster. |
| 277 | *** Proven earlier in ''Literature/WhiteNight'', where [[spoiler:she's heavily implied to be the one who gave Lady Malvora the plan to target the Ordo]]. |
| 278 | * ''Literature/{{Dune}}'': |
| 279 | ** Leto Atreides II from Frank Herbert's ''Literature/GodEmperorOfDune'' rules the Galaxy as a tyrant for 3000 years to enforce peace. |
| 280 | * ''{{Literature/Eisenhorn}}'': Daemonhost Cheruabael demonstrates some shades of noble behavior, especially towards the end of the story. |
| 281 | * ''Literature/{{Elantris}}'': Hrathen. He's one of the top priests of the CorruptChurch, has a menacing (and largely accurate) reputation in his own right, and he's every inch the MagnificentBastard, but unlike other leaders of his religion, he really ''does'' care about the spiritual wellbeing of his followers, derives no pleasure from unnecessary destruction, [[spoiler:and executes a HeelFaceTurn after his AxCrazy sidekick decides to pole-vault the MoralEventHorizon without Hrathen's consent]]. |
| 282 | * ''Literature/GoodOmens'': Crowley is possibly the TropeCodifier: a demon situated on Earth whose assigned mission is to spread sin among humans and, in fact, was the original serpent who tempted Eve. However, six millennia of living with humans influences him to the point where he's become fond of humans and doesn't like the idea of [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt them being wiped out in the Apocalypse]] - in fact, he actively tries to ''prevent'' it. There's also the fact that his [[HeterosexualLifePartners best friend]] Aziraphale is an ''angel'' who's supposed to be his sworn enemy. Aziraphale could be considered a mild inversion of the Noble Demon, as while he sincerely believes in and commits himself to goodness, he displays decidedly ''un''-angelic traits such as materialism, pettiness, and going on drinking binges with a demon. |
| 283 | ** Aziraphale actively works against Heaven's plan to bring about armageddon just as resolutely as Crowley works against Hell's. The story implies that the actual differences between the two afterlives aren't as big as advertised and that God isn't actually actively on either side. |
| 284 | ** When you've spent 6,000 years on Earth with no other supernatural entities but each other for company, [[GoKartingWithBowser an Agreement]] is inevitable. Crowley is still Evil, but not ''too'' evil; and Aziraphale can be Good, but not ''too'' good. And they should probably thwart each others' plans once in a while for, you know, appearance's sake. And there's nothing wrong with the occasional cup of tea together. And Crowley's car is a much better means of getting around so it's surely OK to ride together once in a while, when necessary (although Aziraphale just cannot come to appreciate Crowley's taste in music). |
| 285 | *** Not even ''Crowley'' can appreciate Crowley's taste in music. Any cassette left in his car for more than two weeks, no matter how soothing or classical, metamorphoses into a Best of Queen album, which was bad enough ''before'' Freddie Mercury starts giving him messages from the demon commanders of Hell. |
| 286 | ** And [[WordOfGod living together in a cottage somewhere in the South Downs]] just makes it easier to keep an eye on each other's misdeeds/good deeds; it's certainly not fraternizing, nothing friendly about that at all. |
| 287 | ** [[HomoeroticSubtext And when Crowley rushes into a burning building without a second thought because he thinks Aziraphale may be inside...]] |
| 288 | ** Crowley himself insists that the reason he ended up in the rebellion is simply that he [[CategoryTraitor hung around with the wrong crowd]]; |
| 289 | --->''An Angel who did not so much [[FallenAngel Fall]] as [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere Saunter]] [[MinionWithAnFInEvil Vaguely]] [[RebelliousRebel Downwards]]...'' |
| 290 | ** During The Spanish Inquisition, Crowley was sent a commendation from Hell for facilitating it even though all he was doing in Spain at the time was wandering around the fancy parts not really doing anything. [[EvenEvilHasStandards Once he actually saw]] [[HumansAreBastards what humans were doing with no influence from Hell]], [[INeedAFreakingDrink he went to the nearest pub to binge-drink. For a solid week]]. |
| 291 | ** Simply put, Crowley is only evil on paper. He's actually a [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold quite decent fellow once you get to know him]], but you won't catch him admitting it. |
| 292 | * ''Literature/HonorHarrington'': Rob S. Pierre is a ruthless Dolist manager who clawed his way up to become the head of the People's Republic of Haven. He did it mostly to fight off the other factions who would have done it anyways and been worse than him, and he actually has a plan to fix everything. It actually works, and when a democratic revolution after his death establishes a stable and free government, they owe his efforts at fixing the economy. |
| 293 | ** Pierre is more of a TragicVillain, who continued the path the Legislaturalists laid out before him [[NecessarilyEvil because the Havenite economy would collapse otherwise]] and he could see no way out. Stephen Westman is a more accurate example. He bombs are designed to affect and discredit the Star Kingdom of Manticore, and [[NeverHurtAnInnocent he sends warnings to evacuate]] before his bombs detonate. [[UsefulNotes/TheTroubles It surely couldn't be echoing the original IRA]] in a [[FantasyCounterpartCulture fantasy counterpart war]], could it now? |
| 294 | ** The better sort of [[SonsOfSlaves seccy]] [[TheDon crime lords]] in ''Torch of Freedom'' and (to an even greater extent) ''Cauldron of Ghosts'', fall into this category. The first pair of characters to [[TakingYouWithMe exact a bloody price]] from the [[RoaringRampageofRevenge rampaging]] [[spoiler: OPS]] thugs during [[spoiler: Operation Ratcatcher]], despite knowing [[HeroicSacrifice how doing so has to end]] given the [[CurbStompBattle disparity of numbers and armaments between the two sides]] are introduced as follows: |
| 295 | --> [[TheDragon Shasta McGuire]] had never thought of himself as a particularly good man, which was reasonable—he wasn’t one. What he was, was just over two meters in height, with an ugly, scarred face, knuckles that were even more heavily scarred, and a twenty-T-year history as one of [[TheDon Maysayuki Franconi]]’s enforcers. Franconi probably wouldn’t have qualified for sainthood in most people’s eyes, either, but she’d always done her best to run her territory with a minimum of unnecessary bloodshed. |
| 296 | * ''Horatius at the Bridge'': Lars Porsena has summoned one of the greatest army ever seen on the Italian peninsula to conquer and pillage Rome and install the hated Sextus Tarquinius as king. His army however is stopped by Horatius Cocles and two other men by the Tiber long enough for the rest of the Roman population to hew down the bridge which is the only entry to the city. When the bridge goes down, Horatius alone is left on the other side with Lars Porsena and the rest of the Etruscan army. Though Lars Porsena and Sextus command Horatius to finally yield, Horatius refuses to dignify them with a response, and instead, despite being grievously wounded and still carrying his heavy arms, plunges into the raging Tiber to swim across. While Sextus hopes that Horatius will at least now finally drown, Lars Porsena takes a different view entirely: |
| 297 | --->‘Curse on him!’ quoth false Sextus;\ |
| 298 | ‘Will not the villain drown?\ |
| 299 | But for this stay, ere close of day\ |
| 300 | We should have sacked the town!’\ |
| 301 | ‘Heaven help him!’ quoth Lars Porsena,\ |
| 302 | ‘And bring him safe to shore;\ |
| 303 | For such a gallant feat of arms\ |
| 304 | Was never seen before.’ |
| 305 | * ''Literature/IncarnationsOfImmortality'': Satan epitomizes this trope. In his mortal life he was Parry, an honest and honorable priest who sought to punish the truly wicked while saving the souls of creatures and men who were technically evil but were not truly evil in their souls. Now he is Satan, the Incarnation of Evil, but his goal remains the same. His reason for his war against God is that the system for determining whether a person goes to Heaven or Hell is flawed, and he gets ''too many good people.'' He makes a deal with the Archangel Gabriel to keep the war from harming mortals. He is friends with ''JHVH'', the previous Incarnation of ''Good''. |
| 306 | * ''John Rain'': The title character is a freelance assassin. However, he has rules about which jobs he accepts. He will not harm women or children and he will only target "principal actors", meaning he won't hurt a target's friends or family members to "send a message." |
| 307 | * ''Literature/NowhereIslandUniversity'': [[AxCrazy Ulfric]] [[TheDreaded Trollbjorn]] is a near-mute psychotic, with a constant SlasherSmile, [[LightningBruiser disturbing strength,]] a [[HellIsThatNoise distinctive]] [[LaughingMad giggle,]] and has a reputation for being AxCrazy in a setting filled with other AxCrazy individuals. However, he is a good loser, and if you beat him, you'll have earned his respect. |
| 308 | * ''Literature/OneOfUsIsLying'': [[spoiler:Chelsea/Evie]], the mastermind of the third book is willing and even eager to punish and kill certain people, but is determined to avoid killing any innocent bystanders or people who have done wrongs that don’t meet a certain threshold. |
| 309 | * ''Literature/PleaseDontTellMyParentsImASupervillain'': The Supervillain known as Bull is willing to help fellow villains extort the city for money, but prefers to avoid risking any actual harm to the people. Best exemplified in the backstory when a villain named Third Horseman ransomed the city with a weaponized anthrax bomb. When he got the money, he set it off while sitting right on top of it. [[spoiler:Bull had been working for him at the time, and had switched out the anthrax for flour. He had no idea the guy was crazy enough to actually do it, he was just worried about someone getting poisoned during the disposal. Since he saved the entire city, the heroes let Bull keep the ransom money, which he promptly put into a trust for his wife and daughter]]. |
| 310 | -->'''Penny:''' No wonder he has so many friends. |
| 311 | * ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': there are quite a few theoretically villainous or antagonistic characters that act rather decently, at least to some people. These include Jaime Lannister, Sandor Clegane, Jaquen H'Gar, and Petyr Baelish, all of whom have acted decently towards protagonist characters when they didn't have to. Then again, the series tries to show all of its characters as three-dimensional and well-developed. |
| 312 | ** Your mileage may ''definitely'' vary on Petyr Baelish; the only character he's kind to is Sansa, and that's only when he's not sexually harassing her. His nobler moments come off as {{squick}}y to some. This is the problem with [[TheTrickster Petyr]]... you're never quite sure when he's donning any particular behaviour pattern (including this one) as a mask, even as a reader: heaven help the characters he interacts with. There's also nothing particularly noble about his goals, code of conduct, or even behavior to almost any other character. |
| 313 | ** [[Characters/ASongOfIceAndFireJaimeLannister Jaime Lannister]] is probably the best example; his biggest evil act was the murder of King Aerys after swearing to protect him, but what most characters don't know (or conveniently forget) is that Aerys was a crazy son of a bitch, who, if he had lived just half an hour longer, would have ordered his capital city burned to the ground with [[GreekFire wildfire]], killing hundreds of thousands of civilians as well as the enemy. Jaime himself laments that he's loved by one for a kindness he never did, and reviled by thousands for his finest act--though, despite a sympathetic [=PoV=] and some heavy-duty character development, he remained pretty unrepentantly demonic until ''A Storm of Swords''. |
| 314 | *** He also threw the young son of his host out of one of the higher windows of a castle, permanently crippling him. He becomes much more sympathetic when (two books later) we realise that he did it for the great love of his life ([[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen not a nice lady herself]]), that he had intended the child to be killed instantly, and that he is deeply remorseful for it, considering it his own MoralEventHorizon. By the time his [=PoV=] comes up, he has a ''humongous'' pile of other things (many immediately dangerous) to worry about... so, it's not looked at again in any great depth due to having been put in the stockpot of "miscellaneous things to guilt about in aggregate at 3 am, but which I don't usually have time for" he has constantly on the backburner. |
| 315 | |
| 316 | * Silas in “Literature/SorceryOfThorns” fits the trope well as he never tries to tell people he’s anything but a monster and an unloving demon. However, he saves Elisabeth and Nathaniel’s asses more times than anyone can count and deeply loves Nathaniel as a son/friend/emotional support. This friendship extents to Elisabeth throughout the book. |
| 317 | |
| 318 | * ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'': |
| 319 | ** For a Sith Lord, Darth Plagueis surprisingly fits this trope. For one thing, when Plagueis takes Palpatine under his wing, he makes it very clear that, although he is going to make Palpatine's training a living hell, he will not attempt to continue with Darth Bane's legacy of backstabbing, and intended to share everything he knew to Sidious expecting that he'd do so in return. Unfortunately, Sidious still managed to [[TheStarscream continue the legacy]]. |
| 320 | ** In his appearance in ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear'', Thrawn comes off this way. He's cold and fairly callous and calculating, but he's also ''fair'' - when he thinks another character is responsible for the deaths of some of his men, he tries to find out the facts, and as soon as he's sure they didn't do it, he lets them go. He's also the only character in this series to really acknowledge that the protagonists are ''children'' - when Tash is rude, he crisply informs her that since she's a child, he won't take offense. This time. |
| 321 | ** Any bounty hunter who follows [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Bounty_Hunters%27_Creed the Bounty Hunters' Creed]]. |
| 322 | ** Boba Fett fits this trope nicely. He is the ConsummateProfessional, and while he will work for anyone who can afford his prices, he does have a code of honor and a sense of justice. His justice is just much more direct and no-nonsense. The "evil" in him comes from the fact that he believes order, no matter how it is achieved, is preferable to chaos; so he'll work for a genocidal xenophobic totalitarian faction like the Galactic Empire because he genuinely believes it's better than the alternative of chaos across the galaxy without a unifying power. But he has standards and acts on them frequently, refusing jobs that do not meet his exacting standard of justice or outright refusing to do things that he considers wrong, [[spoiler:like sniping the clone of Starkiller when he was distracted kissing Juno Eclipse]]. |
| 323 | * ''Literature/TalesOfTheFiveHundredKingdoms'': Sorceress Arachnia, before her HeelFaceTurn. Justified in that she was very lonely and was committed to the path of an Evil Sorceress mainly because The Tradition was pushing her along. |
| 324 | * Don Simon Ysidro from the Creator/BarbaraHambly novel ''Literature/ThoseWhoHuntTheNight'' -- despite being a vampire -- has a distinctive sense of honor due to his nobility (noblesse oblige). |
| 325 | * ''Literature/TortallUniverse'': ''Literature/TheImmortals'': Rikash [[spoiler:Moonsword]]. He's only [[TheBeastmaster Daine's]] enemy at all in ''Wolf-Speaker'', where he's smart enough to try to kill small animals venturing indoors, but he doesn't directly attack ''her'', and seems vaguely embarrassed when she finds out that he's friends with [[LonelyRichKid lonely Maura]]. Later he's more directly Daine's ally, and she trusts him, though he never lets up on the snark. In fact, this trope becomes even more cemented when she finds out [[spoiler:why Stormwings were created in the first place: to make war ugly enough that humans would reconsider starting them. (Although this didn't work.) Their friendship grows strong enough that she honestly mourns him when he dies and even names her oldest son after him.]] |
| 326 | * ''Literature/VampireHunterD'': Baron Balaz from ''Pale Fallen Angel''. He's a vampire, but also a protagonist due to his extreme sense of HonorBeforeReason. |
| 327 | * ''Literature/WatershipDown'': While General Woundwort is ruthless, he generally rules Efrafa like a tyrant for their own protection, and when fighting Bigwig he deems him a WorthyOpponent and offers him a place of leadership. Ultimately abandoning his moral code proves his undoing by insisting on finding Hazel's warren to destroy it out of revenge. His lieutenant Campion also fits the title of a NobleDemon, however, he follows Woundwort out of honor and attacking Hazel's warren is nothing personal to him. After Woundwort is killed/disappears he no longer serves an evil purpose. He becomes the new leader of Efrafa, giving its population more freedom and making an agreement/alliance with Hazel to let each other's rabbits move out and make a new warren when their warrens become too populated |
| 328 | * ''Literature/YoungBond'': Zoltan the Magyar from ''Literature/BloodFever'' is a ruthless criminal working for the BigBad, but he keeps his promises and ends up saving Bond from certain death. |
| 329 | * Creator/RogerZelazny's Lord Demon had retired for a time before the story opened. Before that, he was known for hacking down armies with his sword. |
| 330 | ** And in Zelazny's ''Literature/LordOfLight'', the demon king Taraka not only helps the hero in his war but develops (by possessing the Buddha) a sense of shame and remorse. By the end, he's only a demon in form and desire for power. |
| 331 | [[/folder]] |
| 332 | |
| 333 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 334 | * ''Series/{{Angel}}'': |
| 335 | ** Illyria, who is a literal demon king, has a tendency to give self-serving justifications for her helpfulness. Given the below ''Buffy'' example, this might be part of the reason why she gets along with Spike so well. It could also be that he's [[MadeOfIron fairly]] [[{{Determinator}} resilient]] even by vampiric standards, so he's the only remotely acceptable toy she has on hand in what is otherwise a World Of Cardboard. |
| 336 | ** The demon Boone fought Angel in the 1920s, but let him go when the sun came up because it would have been too easy. |
| 337 | ** There's plenty of benign demons in the Buffyverse, but Lorne goes above and beyond the call of duty. His club, Caritas (Latin for "sanctuary") was specifically designed to bring human and demonkind together peacefully. |
| 338 | * ZigZagged by ArcVillain [[CaptainPatriotic Soldier Boy]] in ''Series/{{The Boys|2019}}''. He's a JerkWithAHeartOfJerk who insists he's not the monster he's made out to be, but is a {{narcissist}} who cares nothing for the collateral damage and innocent deaths he causes. Despite this, [[spoiler:the season 3 finale is set up so it seems like Soldier Boy will betray Butcher out of his love for his son. But he actually sticks to his word [[WouldHurtAChild (even if it involves killing a child)]], and it's [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Butcher who betrays him to protect his stepson]], not the other way around. Furthermore, it's less out of a code of honor that he decided to try OffingTheOffspring but more out of viewing them as {{Inadequate Inheritor}}s because he didn't get to raise them to be the way he wanted them to be]]. |
| 339 | * ''Series/BreakingBad'': Mike Ehrmantraut, a former police officer who works as a bodyguard/hitman for meth kingpin Gustavo Fring. All of his actions are ultimately driven by a desire for his next paycheck, but he also has a strict policy about providing for his family at all costs and refusing to abandon former allies who have fallen into the hands of the law. Tellingly, his main conflict with Walt in Season 5 comes when [[spoiler:Walt plans to orchestrate the assassinations of all of Gus' incarcerated agents to get out of paying them for their continued loyalty]]. Mike makes it clear that this crosses a serious moral line and refuses to even ''consider'' going along with it. |
| 340 | ** Walt himself starts as this, with his prime motivation being to provide enough for his family after his death. As he gets deeper into the criminal underworld and starts to enjoy the feeling of being a drug baron, this aspect of his character starts to fade until he's no better than his rivals. To sum up, Walt has a HeroicBSOD when he kills Krazy-8 in self-defense. [[spoiler: Walt later becomes a cold-blooded murderer, as his kill list slowly but surely increases.]] Walt tried his best to keep Skyler out of his meth business and to protect her. [[spoiler: Walt not only successfully drives Skyler to his side, but their Season 5A arc is basically 'Walt keeps Skyler as his hostage in threat of their children'.]] Walt basically advises Jesse with 'no violence'. [[spoiler: His ''first act'' as Heisenberg is to blow up his superior's office room, uncaring of the life and property fallout.]] Walt also had a ThouShaltNotKill policy in his early days. [[spoiler: Walt mows down anyone and nearly everyone after his epic murder of Gus. Not to mention Gale's murder.]] Walt saved Badger from prison, from even a possible prison murder, by paying off a con artist for a limited time in prison. [[spoiler: Walt's ''Film/TheGodfather'' moment is ordering a large-scale prison massacre of Mike's above-mentioned men at the hands of the Aryan Brotherhood, including a lawyer who basically had no idea about Gus's empire.]] Walt got really angry over anyone who hurt his children. [[spoiler: Walt poisons Brock non-fatally just to bring Jesse back to his side, and coldly watches Todd kill Drew Sharp.]] Walt has a no innocents rule in early Season 1. [[spoiler: He casually watches Jane die, indirectly leading to a airplane crash that kills 167 people.]] Walt wanted to quit after calculating money needed for it, no more no less. [[spoiler: He basically shrugs of a ''5 million dollar'' risk-free deal with [[CutLexLuthorACheck just the raw products of Walt's meth kitchen, all legally]]. He finally stopped at the 80 million mark, but Walt had [[PragmaticVillainy better reasons than a true change of heart.]] ]] |
| 341 | *** Even at his worst though, Walt surely showed signs of this. [[spoiler: He concedes to Skyler's demands to handover Junior and Holly for safekeeping. Also, whenever Skyler and Saul advised killing Hank and Jesse to safeguard Walt's secret, Walt tried to TakeAThirdOption regarding them, only reluctantly ordering Jesse's assassination after he becomes too big a threat to be ignored, and his efforts to ''save'' Hank is truly to be seen to be believed. Walt eventually becomes a darker version of this in the series finale, where he basically rights all his wrongs, that which is possible by him for then.]] |
| 342 | * In the transitory stages of his BadassDecay, this accurately describes the normal behaviour of Spike in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', an escalation from his previous instances of Petting the Dog. |
| 343 | * In ''Series/Charmed1998'', the Council of the Cleaners is made up of two Elders and two powerful demons. Either both or one of them agreed with the decisions regarding [[spoiler:at first letting the Charmed Ones off free but at the cost of Morris's life (this was reversed before he was killed) and then punishing Phoebe only, for her trying to use magic to shortcut her path to finding a husband]]. |
| 344 | * ''Series/{{Daredevil|2015}}'': Wilson Fisk, before he's even seen, establishes himself as this. When Wesley is discussing all he's been doing to cover up their involvement with the Union Allied Construction fiasco, including killing people, he asks if Karen Page, who blew the whistle on them to begin with, should get the same treatment. Fisk dismisses the suggestion, saying, "Everything she knows is in the papers." |
| 345 | * ''Series/{{Dexter}}'': A serial killer [[Characters/DexterDexterMorgan Dexter Morgan]] may be, he also lives by the "Code of Harry" which outline he should only kill other murderers who kill for sheer pleasure. |
| 346 | * ''Series/DoctorWho'': |
| 347 | ** Saladin in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E6TheCrusade "The Crusade"]] is treated as a more honorable figure than King Richard. He doesn't return Barbara from El Akir, but for good reason, pointing out he can't upset one of his commanders during a war. This does seem to keep with his portrayal in a lot of representations of the Crusades. |
| 348 | ** Jano in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS3E9TheSavages "The Savages"]] is the chief of a powerful high-tech civilisation that runs its technology through kidnapping and draining people from an undercaste. While he stringently regards them as worse than animals, the Doctor is able to snare him in a BatmanGambit by observing Jano's reasonable treatment of his men and dedication to his role of benevolent leader, getting him to implant a SoulFragment from the Doctor into himself and causing him to have a HeelRealisation as a result of gaining the Doctor's morality. |
| 349 | ** The Master is sometimes portrayed as a Noble Demon, often mentioning his friendship with the Doctor, or expressing regret at inconveniencing the companion, between stages of his plan to rule the universe and kill them both. |
| 350 | ** The trope is subverted in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E11BoomTown "Boom Town"]], in which the villain claims that her sparing of a journalist is evidence that she ''isn't'' evil, and the Doctor completely dismisses the idea, pointing out that it's just a rationale she uses to live with herself. |
| 351 | --->'''Margaret:''' I promise you I've changed since we last met, Doctor. There was this girl, just today, a young thing, something of a danger. She was getting too close. I felt the bloodlust rising, just as the family had taught me, I was going to kill her without a thought... and then, I stopped. She's alive somewhere right now, she's walking around this city because I ''can'' change, I '''did''' change. I know I can't prove it–\ |
| 352 | '''The Doctor:''' I believe you.\ |
| 353 | '''Margaret:''' Then you know I'm capable of better.\ |
| 354 | '''The Doctor:''' It doesn't mean anything.\ |
| 355 | '''Margaret:''' I ''spared her life''!\ |
| 356 | '''The Doctor:''' You let one of them go, but that's nothing new. Every now and then, a little victim is spared. Because she smiled. 'Cause he's got freckles. 'Cause they begged. And that's how you live with yourself. That's how you slaughter millions. Because once in a while, on a whim, if the wind's in the right direction, you ''happen'' to be kind.\ |
| 357 | ''[Margaret then attempts to turn his own argument against him]''\ |
| 358 | '''Margaret:''' [[NotSoDifferentRemark Only a killer would know that.]] Isn't that right? From what I've seen, your funny little happy-go-lucky life leaves devastation in its wake. Always moving on, because you dare not look back. Playing with so many people's lives — you might as well be a god. And you're right, Doctor, you're absolutely right. [[IronicEcho Sometimes... you let one go.]] ''[{{beat}}]'' Let ''me'' go. |
| 359 | * ''Series/GameOfThrones'': |
| 360 | ** The Hound does not lie. When the Brotherhood tries to blame Gregor's crimes on him, he rebukes the accusation, but when they bring his actual crimes he admits to them without hesitation. Furthermore, when Arya snaps and kills a Frey soldier out of revenge (and food and fire). Sandor pulls her aside afterwards and tells her if she ever does that again... at least ''warn'' him first. |
| 361 | ** While evidently not 100% good (he himself snarks to Ned that he's no hero), Varys desires peace above all. He also has a distaste for violence and is appalled by the casual evil displayed by the likes of Joffrey and Littlefinger. |
| 362 | ** Salladhor Saan may be a greedy pirate, but he values loyalty and has a strong code of ethics. |
| 363 | * ''Series/GoodOmens2019'': Just like the original book character, Crowley is a demon situated on Earth whose assigned mission is to spread sin among humans and, in fact, was the original serpent who tempted Eve, but after spending so much time on Earth he has developed an appreciation for humanity and works to stop the Apocalypse. He actively convinces an angel (and his best friend!) to break ranks and help him save humanity by pointing out the losses. He's a few shades different from his original book counterpart, in that he does a lot more work in becoming Hell's poster boy for evil and horror (mostly by lying in his memos to Hell rather than actually hurting anyone, maintaining the trope). He's also just a ''tad'' more in denial about being a good person deep inside, performing acts of goodness with a lot more posturing and fussing, ''and'' getting a lot more annoyed at having his goodness be pointed out than his book counterpart's weary acknowledgment of the fact. Nonetheless, he genuinely wants to save humanity, wanting absolutely no part in the fight between Heaven and Hell, and ends up giving precious advice to the anti-christ on how to cancel TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. And gets a lot better about recognizing his inner goodness. |
| 364 | --> '''Aziraphale:''' I like to think none of this would have worked out if you weren't, at heart, just a little bit of a good person.\ |
| 365 | '''Crowley:''' And if you weren't, deep down, just enough of a bastard to be worth knowing.\ |
| 366 | ''[Crowley and Aziraphale smile and hold up their champagne flutes]''\ |
| 367 | '''Crowley:''' To the world.\ |
| 368 | '''Aziraphale:''' To the world. |
| 369 | ** In a flashback scene that's completely original to the show, Crowley is observing Noah's Ark being filled with animals with his angel friend Aziraphale. When he is told that mankind (or, precisely, "the locals") will be punished with a huge flood because [[DisproportionateRetribution "God's a bit tetchy"]], he is disturbed to note that that punishment includes the children. Aziraphale is hesitant about the plan but unwilling to question it, whereas Crowley is outright horrified by it. |
| 370 | ---> '''Crowley:''' Not the kids, you can't kill kids. |
| 371 | ** Remember the last temptation of Christ? Another show-only flashback tell us that it was Crowley that did it, and even then he hadn't intended it as a temptation, he just thought Jesus was a "bright young lad" who deserved to see the world. |
| 372 | ---> '''Crowley:''' Well he's a carpenter from Galilee, his traveling opportunities are limited. |
| 373 | ** Season 2 gives us yet another Biblical flashback, this time about the story of Job. [[spoiler: God has agreed to let the forces of Hell destroy everything Job has, including the very lives of his three children. Crowley is sent to do the destroying, and seems to kill all of Job’s goats with glee. However, it is revealed that he did not, in fact, kill Job’s goats; he simply transmuted them into birds, so that it would look as though they had been killed. Discovering this fact is what leads Aziraphale to believe that Crowley is too good a person to go through with murdering Job’s children, and sure enough, the demon only turns them into lizards rather than killing them, and returns them to their parents safe and sound.]] |
| 374 | ** Similarly in the book, Aziraphale is also a mild inversion of the Noble Demon, being genuinely committed to being good and believing in those values, while having decidedly ''un''-angelic traits such as materialism, pettiness, and going on drinking binges with a demon. And just like show!Crowley, show!Aziraphale is also some shades different to his book original in that he's just a little less petty and a bit more uptight about (trying) to follow heaven's orders. He still ends up choosing humanity [[HomoeroticSubtext and Crowley]] over his designated allegiance, recognizing that heaven really has no idea what it's doing regarding God's actual Plan. |
| 375 | * General Shadow in ''Series/KamenRiderStronger'' is a quite literal case. He may be a Majin from the Demon World, but even he [[EvenEvilHasStandards refuses to harm children]], and isn't interested in any other evil plans that don't involve him getting to fight Stronger. He even goes out of his way to help Stronger at one point because he deemed his allies' plan to be too destructive. |
| 376 | * The Imagin of ''Series/KamenRiderDenO'' are time-traveling spirits whose goal is to ravage the past in order to change the future, typically pulling cruel LiteralGenie tricks along the way. However, the series introduces several Imagin who don't know their original goal or simply don't care for it; all of these Imagin end up as good guys. The singular best example is Kintaros, whose partner wished to become stronger. While most Imagin would beat up anybody stronger than their partner, Kintaros possessed the young man's body and underwent physical training using his extreme strength. Throughout the entire ordeal, Kintaros displays exceptional honor, courage, and compassion, and it's no surprise he ends up partnered with Den-O by the end of the two-parter. |
| 377 | * The Graphite Bugster of ''Series/KamenRiderExAid'', for all that he's a BloodKnight, is more than willing to abide by the outcome of a battle, deeming the outcomes of his battles as sacred. When he fought one last battle against Kamen Riders Brave and Snipe, only for [[BigBad Cronus]] to use [[TimeStandsStill Pause]] to interfere with the result[[note]]defeating Graphite would allow the Riders to gain access to the final boss of Kamen Rider Chronicle, Gamedeus, meaning they could potentially clear the game and stop Masamune's plan[[/note]], Graphite broke free of Pause, repelled Cronus, and then, with Pause about to end, walked right back into the path of the Rider Critical Finish that had been about to kill him. |
| 378 | * Shades in ''Series/{{Luke Cage|2016}}'' is steeped in the gangster lifestyle, but with it comes a code that he laments is becoming less common among his peers. He'll kill without hesitation or remorse if he deems it necessary, but also without wanton cruelty or involving civilians who are not involved in the life. |
| 379 | * ''Series/MadanSenkiRyuKenDo'' had Jack Moon, who while living by an ideology of "The Strong Rule and The Weak Obey" believed in a fair fight, he even refused at one point to revive his boss to destroy everything because it would violate his ethics as a swordsman, although his demonic nature would rear its ugly head from time to time. |
| 380 | * In ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}'' we have Morgause. When trying to kill the king of Camelot (a dude who drowns children) she puts everyone who might try to fight her immortal soldiers under a sleeping spell. While considered the villain, she actually doesn't do much of anything that is really evil and has a lower body count than the heroes. Ultimately Subverted, as the next season shows she'll happily murder innocents, engage in slavery, backstab her own lover and is responsible for corrupting Morganna. |
| 381 | * Colonel/Hauptmann Hans Dietrich, the recurring villain from the UsefulNotes/WorldWarII series ''Series/TheRatPatrol''. He's portrayed as an intelligent, reasonable soldier who has a code of honor and is neither cruel nor sadistic, but just happens to be fighting for the wrong side. The relationship between Dietrich and the heroes is one of mutual respect, and there are several EnemyMine episodes in which the Rats and Dietrich's men declare a temporary truce to accomplish a common goal. In "[[Recap/TheRatPatrolS2E19TheDecoyRaid The Decoy Raid]]", Dietrich even kills a fellow German who has become an AxCrazy fanatic and broken an agreement Dietrich made with UsefulNotes/TheRedCross. |
| 382 | * ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' and ''Franchise/PowerRangers'': |
| 383 | ** ''Series/ChikyuuSentaiFiveman'': First Captain Chevalier may be a ruthless, planet-marauding warlord, but he [[BenevolentBoss treats his henchmen well]], genuinely respects the [[WorthyOpponent Fivemen]] and is an [[AffablyEvil all around friendly guy]], when he's not causing havoc at least. |
| 384 | ** Grey from ''Series/ChoujinSentaiJetman''. As opposed to [[BigBad Radiguet]], he believes in fair play and strangely has an extra devotion to Maria, because he likes her. He even gets pissed at Radiguet's plan to turn Maria into a vampire to become his queen, and pleads with the Jetmen to restore her humanity so she can die human, not as a monster. While he does fight [[TheLancer Gai]] in his end, his reasoning for that boils down to just "I'm a warrior, this is all I can do". He died commending Gai for his victory and muttering Maria's name. |
| 385 | ** Ecliptor from ''Series/PowerRangersInSpace'' can be seen as ''Power Rangers'' original Noble Demon. While he [[CardCarryingVillain asserted himself as evil]], [[LikeASonToMe he genuinely cared about]] [[BigBad Astronema]], even allowing her to escape when she tried to join the Rangers. He's eventually brainwashed to be more evil, but even in the finale, [[spoiler:when he sees Andros standing over the lifeless body of Astronema, he's more concerned with trying to save her than fighting back]]. |
| 386 | ** Villamax from ''Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy''. He puts Trakeena through a TrainingFromHell to help her get revenge on Leo for killing her father, while clashing with [[TheStarscream the more cunning Deviot]]. In the finale, [[spoiler:when Trakeena picks up the VillainBall after absorbing Deviot, Villamax objects to her sending [[{{Mooks}} Stingwingers]] on {{suicide attack}}s. After Villamax [[PetTheDog shields a little girl from falling debris]], he has a HeelRealization. He tells Trakeena there's no honor in killing civilians and they clash, [[SympathyForTheDevil but he hesitates when trying to attack]], and is killed]]. |
| 387 | ** Diabolico in ''Series/PowerRangersLightspeedRescue'' is a very literal example, as the villains in said show are actual demons. In fact, [[spoiler:his code of honor is strong enough that it eventually results in a HeelFaceTurn]]. |
| 388 | ** Rouki from ''Series/HyakujuuSentaiGaoranger'' and Zen-Aku in ''Series/PowerRangersWildForce'' also have shades of this, although it's implied to be mostly a result of [[DemonicPossession possessing]] the SixthRanger. [[spoiler: Zen-Aku somehow survives his destruction and decides to accompany Merrick on WalkingTheEarth and [[TheAtoner seeking atonement.]] ]] |
| 389 | ** Wolzard from ''Series/MahouSentaiMagiranger'' as well as his ''Series/PowerRangersMysticForce'' counterpart Koragg the Knight Wolf are constantly insisting on honor, and refusing to finish off the Rangers as it would be "dishonorable to defeat a weaker opponent" (as a result of which, by the time he ''does'' fight them seriously, [[VillainForgotToLevelGrind they're too powerful for him to beat]]). It eventually turns out that his honorable side was an artifact of his previous heroic personality before he was turned evil by a magic spell. |
| 390 | * Vic Mackey from ''Series/TheShield''. He's a sadistic, violent DirtyCop and drug dealer who nevertheless refuses to harm children, is extremely protective of vulnerable women, and has UndyingLoyalty to the rest of the Strike Team. [[spoiler:It's gradually deconstructed over the course of the series as it's increasingly revealed Vic's standards are self-serving and he's entirely willing to ignore them should it benefit them.]] |
| 391 | %%* Mr. Cataliades from ''Literature/TheSookieStackhouseMysteries''. |
| 392 | * ''Franchise/{{Stargate|Verse}}'': |
| 393 | ** Todd from ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' may be a Wraith, but he's helped the humans out a fair bit with their various crises, [[spoiler:some of which they caused in the first place]]. Todd ''is'' assumed to be killing and feeding from humans as usual when the Atlanteans aren't around (which is a necessity for any Wraith to survive). He does volunteer to be a test subject for an attempt to transform Wraith into beings capable of eating normal food, [[StatusQuoIsGod even if it doesn't work out in the end.]] What makes him stand out is that [[PragmaticVillainy he considers Atlantis too useful to destroy]], given how often he's benefited from their [[EnemyMine temporary alliances]] against his real enemy (rival Wraith). The one time he ''does'' act against Atlantis is when he believes (wrongly) that they have betrayed ''him''. |
| 394 | ** System Lord Yu from ''Series/StargateSG1''. Unlike the other Goa'uld, Yu is known for keeping his bargains, probably the whole "Asian honor" thing. He also lets Teal'c go after capturing him in "The Warrior". [[spoiler:Unfortunately, Lord Yu ends up going senile, meaning he can no longer be trusted to keep his bargains because ''he doesn't always remember making them''.]] |
| 395 | * ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': |
| 396 | ** Crowley doesn't want the world to end and helps the Winchesters to find Death (partially because Lucifer would wipe out demons as well, but also because the other demons ate his tailor... it makes sense in context) and gives Bobby back his ability to walk... Although there was a deal (well, pawning) involved in the latter. |
| 397 | ** Then [[spoiler:subverted when it's revealed that he can't actually get Sam's soul back and has been getting the Winchesters to do his dirty work, leading to Cas burning his bones and effectively 'killing' him]]. |
| 398 | ** And THEN it turns out that [[spoiler:he was working with Cas so they could get the souls out of Purgatory]]. |
| 399 | ** Meg, starting in Season 6. In early seasons, she's a stone-cold evil Lucifer loyalist. After Crowley ascends as King of Hell, she enters into a series of EnemyMine deals with the Winchesters that leads to a gradual HeelFaceTurn, fueled in large part by her growing affection for Castiel. She, not the Winchesters, cares for and protects Castiel after his nervous breakdown, and she saves the Winchesters more than once. |
| 400 | * ''Series/{{Victorious}}'': [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Jade]] may act like a bitch most of the time, but she [[PetTheDog pets enough dogs]] (or, [[LesYay should we say]], [[{{Pun}} Cats]]) to show us that she's actually one of these. |
| 401 | * ''Series/TheWire'': Proposition Joe is a drug dealer, but unlike many of the other dealers in the show, he has no desire to dirty his hands with violence whenever he can avoid it, as it's bad for business. His PragmaticVillainy makes him quite reasonable and sensible: "buy for a dollar, sell for two". He regards himself as a businessman and wants nothing to do with anything else attached to the drug trade. |
| 402 | [[/folder]] |
| 403 | |
| 404 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 405 | * For fans of Rhapsody (...of Fire), it's certainly hard to read this trope without a certain Shadowlord of the Black Mountain ''leaping'' to mind. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAC8oo-7Xi8 This is his theme. Listen to the lyrics closely.]] Noble Demon? Dargor's his name! |
| 406 | * The subject of "Black Wings" from ''Music/BoneMachine'' by Music/TomWaits could be said to be a Noble Demon or an AntiHero. "He broke out of every prison" and "they say he once killed a man with a guitar string", yet "he once saved a baby from drowning" and "there are those who say beneath his coat there are wings". |
| 407 | [[/folder]] |
| 408 | |
| 409 | [[folder:Mythology and Religion]] |
| 410 | * OlderThanFeudalism: Similarly, in the ''Literature/{{Ramayana}}'', Ravana's brother Vibhishana is one. [[spoiler: He makes a HeelFaceTurn and joins Rama.]] |
| 411 | * Whenever the devil in a DealWithTheDevil plot is the literal Devil, classic works of fiction often portray him as this; in particular, those that make a deal with him get exactly what they ask for at the quoted price. Though the devil can be a JerkassGenie when he feels like it, the thrust of most stories is the humans trying to wheedle their way out of the contract, not the other way around. |
| 412 | * The "demon king" Asmodeus from Jewish folklore is an excellent illustration, being portrayed as a wise and sometimes morally superior WorthyOpponent to King Solomon, as well as observant of Jewish traditions down to attending synagogues. |
| 413 | ** This portrayal influenced the presentation of demons in Isaac Singer's short stories. A notable example would be the protagonist and narrator of "The Last Demon", who ends up with this distinction and acts as an AntagonistInMourning after the entire town he tempts is exterminated by the Nazis. He ends up trapped without future victims, as his evil depends upon luring people away from good, making completely evil people of no use to him. |
| 414 | * The devil Boruta of Polish folklore is a literal example -- he's a nobleman devil. Sure, once in a while he drags someone to Hell, but when you don't give him a pretext on your own, he mostly just hangs out in the ruins he inhabits or [[BarBrawl starts brawls on local weddings]]. He's also a Polish patriot. |
| 415 | ** For comparison, Boruta's peasant counterpart, the devil Rokita, is a lazy prankster who occasionally shows [[{{Pun}} devilish]] ingenuity in helping greedy and prideful people find their rightful place down below. |
| 416 | [[/folder]] |
| 417 | |
| 418 | [[folder:Podcasts]] |
| 419 | * [[spoiler:The Thing That Shatters The Sky]] from ''Critical Hit: A Major Spoilers Dungeons and Dragons Podcast'' offers to provide the Torqeltones safe harbor on the moon in gratitude of his liberation so they can live in happiness as his plans destroy the World. He seems unphased when they talk of choosing to fight him instead, telling them to weigh their options carefully and consider whether the glory of taking down a void god is worth the perils of facing one. |
| 420 | * ''Podcast/KakosIndustries'' has VillainProtagonist and CardCarryingVillain Corin Deeth III normally fall into this. He's in charge of one of the biggest [[EvilInc Evil corporations in the world,]] but is still [[BenevolentBoss a fairly lenient boss]] who honestly cares about his closer companions and has some sense of moral compass, making him far less ruthless than his competitors. He does have the occasional violent outburst and some severe cases LackOfEmpathy at his worst but is all around a pretty decent person. |
| 421 | [[/folder]] |
| 422 | |
| 423 | [[folder:Professional Wrestling]] |
| 424 | * This is Wrestling/TheUndertaker and his brother Wrestling/{{Kane}} when they're in a {{Face}} role. Treated more as a force of nature than an actual wrestler or superstar, Taker could hit a [[FinishingMove Tombstone Piledriver]] on anyone and have the crowd cheer for him. Once, Taker kidnapped perpetual-face manager Wrestling/TeddyLong, and Taker still got cheered. Kane, meanwhile, is pretty much always AxCrazy; he just targets faces or heels depending on his current alignment. |
| 425 | * Wrestling/LowKi lashed out at perceived slights that were not actually dealt towards him in Wrestling/ProWrestlingZero1, was part of his fair share of rotten {{power stable}}s in Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling and often tended to be an asshole during matches. Besides referees though, he generally respected officials, seemed generally happy to be in both companies, graciously accepted his awards and though he mostly ignored the cheering of the crowds for him, didn't resort to too much CheapHeat or anything to really disquiet them. |
| 426 | * [[Wrestling/DavidHeath Vampire Warrior/Gangrel]] and his manager "Evil Queen" Kiara Dillon tend to be babyfaces since most of their 'evil' tends to be retaliatory towards those who crossed them first. |
| 427 | * Wrestling/RandyOrton's face run in 2010. The lyrics to his entrance music show that it's no secret that he's extremely evil-minded. But the more his face gimmick goes on, the more he shows that he has standards regarding respect and earning your victories. This was shown more than ever during the buildup to Survivor Series 2010, in which Wrestling/JohnCena was the special guest referee in Orton's WWE title match with Wrestling/WadeBarrett. John Cena was a reluctant member of Wade Barrett's group, Wrestling/TheNexus, and Barrett said that if Cena awarded Barrett the title, then Cena would be free from the Nexus, but if Randy Orton won, he would have Cena fired for violating Nexus orders. Orton was one of the first to point out that if Cena were to screw him over in the title match, while he would keep his job, it would make him the biggest phony in WWE and would be disrespecting everyone who ever won it by handing it over to a man who cheated to win it. |
| 428 | * Wrestling/IvelisseVelez in [[PowerStable Valkyrie]]'s first incarnation. The other members claimed [[NeverMyFault they were wronged]], claimed to be [[ProperLady classy]] or were {{only in it for the money}}. Vélez was the only one completely open and unapologetic about the group's [[DespotismJustifiesTheMeans intentions and methods]]. She was also the most sacrificial member and eventually kicked out for refusing to take a dive. |
| 429 | * {{Wrestling/Walter}}/Gunther is a brutal and unpleasant perennial {{heel}} who often denigrates and insults the accomplishments of other wrestlers, such as claiming that his record-setting Intercontinental Heavyweight title reign in the WWE diminishes every other holder of that title in the promotion's history. But unlike many heels, Gunther considers the ring and mat of professional wrestling sacred, bravely meeting all challengers head-on and winning through athleticism and technique rather than cheating or cheap disqualification wins, and is angry whenever his stable tries to put their thumbs on the scales of a match in his favor. He also invokes curmudgeonly VillainRespect for his opponents when they meet him on his terms and give him a run for his money. |
| 430 | [[/folder]] |
| 431 | |
| 432 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 433 | * Many of the demons of ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}''. The general demonic mindset is [[BlueAndOrangeMorality alien rather than explicitly evil]], so it's possible for them to have agendas that might come across as weird or scary while ultimately being well-meaning or even pleasant. Ligier, the Green Sun, simply wishes for Creation to share in the glories of Hell (and is often drawn into Creation by lowly people with great need, who he will offer his services as a smith to), Amalion only wishes to create beautiful things (even if they are beauties that break mortal hearts) and was HappilyMarried to one of Exalted (whom she still loves), Alveua wants to give everything a sense of order and purpose (albeit through forging their bodies into useful items), and creatures as low in the hierarchy as the neomah simply want to create children, albeit from flesh harvested from multiple donors (and can be summoned by the tears of parents mixed with the afterbirth of stillborn children). |
| 434 | * In the ''Heroes Unlimited'' supplement Gramercy Island, there is the story of a demon who is given a human body and sent to the mortal world to redeem himself. He is promptly arrested for shoplifting food (he didn't know the local customs). While sitting in the interrogation room at a police station, he is asked if he's committed any other crimes. Not wanting to lie, he says that yes, he was directly responsible for the deaths of over three thousand people, many of whom he had killed with his bare claws...ed hands. "In fact, sixty of them were here in this city. Why do you ask, officer?" Attempting to arrest him, he defends himself by resuming his demonic form right there in the interrogation room. After the frightened cops drop 30 bullets into him without much effect, he apologizes and resumes his human form. The demon is then sentenced to one thousand years in prison, a sentence set to commensurate with the demon's extraordinary life span. |
| 435 | * ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' has the Narzugons, or Hell Knights, who are Noble ''Devils''. Unlike their scheming and manipulative brethren, Narzugons treat their foes with the utmost respect and courtesy, always allowing them the chance to surrender peacefully and always fighting fairly, which is ''far'' more than can be said for most other Devils. 4th Edition takes this even further by revealing that the Narzugons are actually the disgraced servants of the unnamed god Asmodeus slew in his ascension to godhood, and are now forced against their will to serve the Nine Hells. This may actually push them into full-blown AntiVillain territory. |
| 436 | ** In 4th and 5th edition, Devils are generally this by default. They may have evil intentions, but they respect authority, have a strong sense of honor and wouldn't start a fight just ForTheEvulz (their henchmen/worshippers, on the other hand, are a lot less honorable). |
| 437 | ** Devils in general are considered LawfulEvil, emphasis on the Lawful. While they will use every dirty trick and loophole available to them, they will never ''ever'' break a contract. Doing so is one of the very few ways for a devil to get on the Nine Hells' shitlist. |
| 438 | * ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': |
| 439 | ** Talos of the Night Lords has been a thief and a murderer since childhood. He joined his Legion in their treachery during the Literature/HorusHeresy and has spent centuries killing and surviving using every underhanded tactic in the book. Yet he treats his useful slaves well, even kindly, and strives to live up to the (admittedly warped) ideals of his Primarch, in [[AxCrazy contrast]] to the [[HumanoidAbomination rest]] of the [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder Night Lords]]. |
| 440 | ** The Alpha Legion's whole hat is being this, along with TheChessmaster and FakeDefector... [[RiddleForTheAges maybe]]. During the Horus Heresy, the Alpha Legion often went out of their way to help Imperial forces even though they were supposed to be on Horus' side. |
| 441 | ** From the same universe and [[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}} its sister series]] several editions earlier, we had the Chaos God Khorne pre-{{Flanderization}}, whose servants generally fought with some degree of honor, and would frequently spare noncombatants on the basis of them not being {{Worthy Opponent}}s. There were even cases of Khorne sending his daemons after servants who had offered him the skulls of noncombatants or other equally "unworthy" opponents. While this is no longer true of the vast majority of his servants, Khorne himself is still usually portrayed as honorable, and he refuses to allow his servants to use psychic abilities as they would be unfair. He is generally suspicious of Tzeentch, the god of sorcery and secrets, for the same reason. |
| 442 | *** Nowadays Khorne cares not from where blood flows so long as it does and has no problem with slaughtering everyone down to the babies, but if you dare attempt to offer up the skull of a child or defenseless civilian as an offering as oppossed to a great warrior he will smite your ass. |
| 443 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' has Abhorash and his Blood Dragon knights, who are basically a cult of martial vampires who have a code of honor which states that only cowards prey on the weak and defenceless, and so they travel around picking fights with worthy warriors and monsters and feeding on their blood instead. They're still bloodthirsty (metaphorically and literally), sociopathic undead monsters, but if you're a (civilian) woman or child, they'll leave you alone, unless they happen to be in the throes of blood hunger. Notably, the only reason Abhorash didn't kill Neferata, his former queen who unwillingly turned him into a vampire after making herself the first one using her Elixir of Life, is out of his sworn oaths before he was tricked into drinking the Elixir of Life. |
| 444 | * ''TabletopGame/WarhammerAgeOfSigmar'': Kastelai Vampires are essentially the Mortal Realms' version of the Blood Dragon Knights, and might even be descended from Abhorash himself; they see themselves as noble warriors bound to a strict code of honor, and while for some it's only an affectation, others are serious about it. The vampires in ''The Last Volari'', for instance, were actually beloved by the mortals they ruled over as saviors and guardians, and while the Volari didn't exactly ''care'' for the mortals, they took their vow of protection over them very seriously, only feeding on condemned criminals and outside invaders. |
| 445 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' has the Bloodied Gauntlet orc tribe, who are as warlike as their fellows but more selective about it, having abandoned the indiscriminate slaughter of anything in their path in favor of honorable combat with {{Worthy Opponent}}s. |
| 446 | [[/folder]] |
| 447 | |
| 448 | [[folder:Theatre]] |
| 449 | * Fagin from ''Theatre/{{Oliver}}''. He is a thief, who trains others to be thieves, and works with Bill Sykes, but deep down he doesn't like his life and wishes the things he does weren't necessary, and tries his best not to be too bad. This trope is exemplified in the song "Reviewing the Situation": |
| 450 | -->'''Fagin:''' though I'd be the first one to say that I wasn't a saint, I'm finding it hard to be really as black as they paint. I'm reviewing the situation; can a fellow be a villain all his life?... I'm a bad 'un and a bad 'un I shall stay. You'll be seeing no transformation, but it's wrong to be a rogue in every way. I don't want nobody hurt for me or made to do the dirt for me, this rotten life is not for me, it's getting far too hot for me, there is no in-between for me, but who will change the scene for me? I think I'd better think it out again! |
| 451 | * ''Theatre/LesMiserables'': |
| 452 | ** Jean Valjean of from a certain point of view (namely, Javert's). He is an ex-con who is constantly evading the law, pardons criminals when he feels bad for them, and participates in an armed rebellion, but he is also a just mayor, who routinely helps save lives (such as Fauchelevent and [[spoiler:Marius]]) and even spares Javert himself when he has the chance. |
| 453 | ** And Javert, in certain adaptations. There is no indication that he is ever more cruel or harsh beyond what is required for his job, and apologizes to a disguised Valjean for accusing him of being an escaped convict. In [[Film/LesMiserables2012 the movie]], he saves a student from gunfire while building the barricade, for which he is thanked profusely, and is much more sympathetic to Gavroche, [[spoiler:especially after the latter is shot - his expression clearly indicates that he thinks that the boy shouldn't have been killed and is part of what leads to his VillainousBSOD and suicide]]. |
| 454 | [[/folder]] |
| 455 | |
| 456 | [[folder:Toys]] |
| 457 | * ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'': [[EnergyBeings Makuta]] [[AntiVillain Krika]] of the [[BrotherhoodOfEvil Brotherhood of Makuta]]. Just as guilty as the other members of his species of plunging the [[GodIsGood Great Spirit Mata Nui]] into slumber and ruining the universe [[FallenHero he was made to protect]], but remains the only one with a functioning moral compass and [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone fully aware of what he and his comrades have done]], but goes along with it because [[YouCantFightFate he believes their fate is sealed either way]]. He [[YouWillBeSpared offers mercy to his opponents when possible]], questions the Plan of [[BigBad Makuta Teridax]], [[spoiler:finally pulls a HeelFaceTurn near the end to try and stop the Plan from succeeding, and upon learning that [[UriahGambit Teridax set all the remaining Makuta up to die]] he chooses to [[HonorBeforeReason return to his comrades and warn them instead of escaping]], knowing he would likely (and did) die by their hands for his [[RewardedAsATraitorDeserves betrayal]]]]. There's a reason he's considered by many fans to be the EnsembleDarkhorse among the Makuta. |
| 458 | * ''Franchise/TransformersGenerationOne'' has a lot of these, especially as time went on and the Decepticons started to be portrayed with more depth and moral grayness. |
| 459 | ** Thundercracker in almost every continuity. He expresses disgust towards Decepticons who kill innocents because "[[ProudWarriorRaceGuy the Decepticons are forged through combat, not slaughter]]". In at least one continuity he abandoned the Decepticon military and became a neutral civilian after Megatron attempted to use a nuke on a civilian population just to kill Optimus Prime and his team. |
| 460 | ** Cyclonus. He's brutal in combat and serves the Decepticons willingly, but avoids unneeded cruelty and holds a strong code of honor. In the IDW continuity, he refuses to feel bad about actions committed during his time in the war, but strives to be a good person and is driven by a desire to return Cybertron to its golden age. |
| 461 | ** Soundwave in most continuities is undyingly loyal to Megatron and ultimately wanting peace and equality. He also tries to avoid violence that he considers unnecessary. The IDW comics highlighted this the most, with Soundwave attempting to start up a peaceful Decepticon commune on Jupiter after the Great War ends. |
| 462 | ** Thunderwing in the original comic series. He's most famous as being the only Decepticon leader to gain the position through a fair election. |
| 463 | ** Sixshot, a powerful OneManArmy who will ruthlessly carry out missions, but who has a strong code of honor and refuses to harm children. In at least one continuity he actually pulled a HeelFaceTurn after interacting with one of the Autobots' human allies. In another he grappled with severe depression and remorse over his actions in the war, feeling like he had let himself be used as a weapon by evil people. |
| 464 | ** Krok, at least in the IDW continuity, where he's ruthless in combat but reasonable and polite off the battlefield. He also bears no true hatred towards his enemies, as he's come to realize that there aren't as many differences between the Autobots and Decepticons as most think. |
| 465 | ** Deathsaurus, well-known as one of the noblest Decepticon leaders. Not only does he try to avoid unneeded cruelty and have a soft spot for children, but he's very polite towards soldiers under his command, treating them with respect as long as they pull their weight. He's also motivated partly out of a desire to [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes provide for his wife Esmeral]] and holds respect towards his archenemy Star Saber. In the IDW continuity, he's introduced as having ''deserted'' the Decepticons along with all his men in protest of their high command's WeHaveReserves mentality. |
| 466 | [[/folder]] |
| 467 | |
| 468 | [[folder:Web Animation]] |
| 469 | * Agent Washington from ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'' qualifies, at least late in Revelations. His brand of villainy is less out of genuine malice, and more out of desperation to get out of prison. As the bad guy, he's quite nice to hapless Doc, at least as nice as his personality allows. He ends up making a HeelFaceTurn (To counter his earlier FaceHeelTurn) by the end of the season and has been firmly heroic ever since. |
| 470 | ** His {{Foil}} in the Chorus Trilogy, [[spoiler: Locus/Samuel Ortez, is also an example, though it isn't obvious until the end of the Season. He's a Deconstruction, in that he's a moral man deep down, who's been manipulated into acting amoral and ruthless by his ToxicFriendInfluence [[ManipulativeBastard Felix/Isaac Gates]]]]. |
| 471 | * ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Hazel is a villain that is set-up to appear to be the most considerate subordinate of [[spoiler:[[BigBad Salem]]]]. He hates fighting, abhors unnecessary killing and is willing to help random strangers in need, such as when he helps Oscar obtain a train ticket. When he meets the leader of the White Fang, Sienna Khan is ready to kill him on the spot for being a human who knows the location of her base. However, he patiently and politely insists that she hear him out and that no-one has to die, and is very unhappy when [[spoiler:Adam suddenly assassinates Sienna to usurp her throne]]; he regards Adam's action as an unnecessary killing. [[spoiler:However, Hazel is actually a subversion of the trope, being revealed as a {{hypocrite}} who will throw away all his beliefs for the chance to kill [[BigGood Ozpin]]. Blaming Ozpin for the death of his little sister, he has vowed to kill Ozpin [[ResurrectiveImmortality over and over again]] in revenge. He doesn't hold back against anyone who tries to protect the [[LegacyCharacter fourteen-year-old Oscar]], blaming the injuries he inflicts and his [[ShockAndAwe torture]] of Nora on Ozpin. He tells Oscar that he has no problem killing him because of the monster [[BodySurf Oscar hides inside]], stating that it's Ozpin's fault if Oscar dies. But it gets double subverted when he is ultimately persuaded to do a HeelFaceTurn along with Emerald and [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifices himself]] to allow the heroes to escape Salem.]] |
| 472 | * Moxxie from ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'' fits the bill quite well. Despite being a demon ''and'' an assassin, he has a very strong conscience and sense of rectitude, refusing to kill or hurt innocent people. |
| 473 | ** Prince Stolas. Not only is he a literal noble demon, he's [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes highly protective]] of the people he loves. [[{{PapaWolf}} Especially]] his daughter. |
| 474 | [[/folder]] |
| 475 | |
| 476 | [[folder:Web Comics]] |
| 477 | * Ito, the God of Trust and Betrayal from ''Webcomic/AMomentOfPeace'', [[http://www.amomentofpeace.net/comic.php?num=108 steals dreams and crushes hopes]] for a living, and has prosthetic hands forged from moments of despair by crows that grew hands to strangle people. Despite all this, he seems to be a nice guy when you get to know him. |
| 478 | * ''Webcomic/DanAndMabsFurryAdventures'': Fa'lina runs a school that teaches horrible things like torture, yet also cares about people, including strangers. It's not entirely clear whether she is simply crazy, has a deeper agenda, or allows evil things in her school as the price to protect the Cubi race, who are feared and hated by much of the world. |
| 479 | %%* ''Webcomic/{{Sinfest}}: Fuchsia becomes a literal example post-character development. |
| 480 | * The Demon from ''Webcomic/FriendlyHostility'' not only works as a nurse but is also the OnlySaneMan and the NiceGuy. Despite this, he's pretty cool with his family devouring human beings. |
| 481 | * ''Webcomic/ErrantStory'''s Jon Amraphel likes to ''think'' he's a cold-blooded assassin AntiHero ("I kill people for money. I'm officially a not-nice person"), but gets called on it several times for all the times he [[WouldntHitAGirl Wouldn't Shoot a Girl]] and helped them escape, even setting them up with foster families. |
| 482 | * Many of the [[AllTrollsAreDifferent trolls]] in ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' are this when they are first introduced, in the "Hivebent" arc. Their [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy culture]] explicitly endorses being a violent psychopath, and most of them have no problem with this ([[ValuesDissonance having been raised with it]]) and wish to grow up to work as soldiers for TheEmpire. However, all but a few of them are fairly kind and compassionate, and the aforementioned few who actually ''are'' violent are clearly treated as wrong by the others. |
| 483 | * Sandoval from ''Webcomic/{{Oglaf}}'' is a wicked nobleman and serves as ambassador for the [[TheFairFolk elvish country of Xoan]]. He'll use, screw, and kill anyone he feels like, typically in flamboyant fashion yet he usually spares innocent, virginal Ivan simply because Ivan is an innocent virgin. Sure, [[{{Troll}} he'll toy with Ivan]], but that's merciful and gentle coming from Sandoval. |
| 484 | * ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': |
| 485 | ** Malack is a [[spoiler:vampiric]] dark cleric and loyal right-hand man to a brutal warlord. He is also cultured and cordial, and he goes out of his way to offer truces and compromises to fellow cleric Durkon because he doesn't want to have to resort to violence against someone he respects. [[spoiler:When Malack is ultimately forced to fight Durkon and turn him into a vampire, Durkon pleads with Malack to show mercy on his comrades. And true to form, Malack leaves the paralyzed Belkar alive and, a short while later, does not reveal the Order of the Stick's position to Nale out of respect for Durkon's final wish.]] |
| 486 | ** The Directors of the Inter-Fiend Cooperation Commission run Evil as if it were a business... complete with ReadTheFinePrint and LoopholeAbuse, of course, but still... Yes, they'll manipulate you into making a [[DealWithTheDevil Deal With Them]], but they are firm believers in the EquivalentExchange, meaning they ''won't'' demand [[YourSoulIsMine eternal dominion of your soul]] for temporary services rendered, they refuse to violate their contract and they pride themselves on their ''fantastic'' customer service on top of being completely candid about their [[HellInvadesHeaven long-term goals]]. Heck, they'll even propose an alternative solution to their Deal, just to make sure you won't sign over your soul while under duress... Of course, like any good evil businessman, they'll neglect to correct you if you make assumptions that works in their favor. [[spoiler: Like if you assume that their dominion over your soul will kick in ''after'' you've died and that they cannot call in your debt ''at absolutely any time they want''... They'll still make sure that your empty body is protected from all harm when they do, though. "Fantastic customer service" and all that.]] |
| 487 | * Jerak, who is a demon, from ''Webcomic/PlanescapeSurvivalGuide'' is convinced that he remains evil, even after helping the good guys eats rather significantly into his profit margins. His (also demonic) compatriots, Grull and Winnie, don't seem to mind alignment shifts as much as he does. |
| 488 | * "Gav", the protagonist of ''[[http://www.nukees.com/ Nukees]]'', is an aspiring dictator-of-the-world, with a passion for gigantic weapons of destruction -- and everything nuclear. But he's also helped his friends out of any number of tight spots, while constantly trying to cover it up so as not to lose his villainous reputation. The most notable example is probably when he saves a DamselInDistress but makes it look like he was trying to rape her instead... |
| 489 | * The cast of ''Webcomic/SomethingPositive'' are a cynical, mean, and sometimes violent and sadistic bunch of people who always look out for their friends. |
| 490 | * Mosp, of ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'', is an extremely literal example, what with being a demon and also very, very noble. Her nobility comes across slowly as a product of Torg's compassion for her. [[spoiler:It doesn't end well for her.]] |
| 491 | * [[http://tallcomics.com/?id=41 Spondulio Wealthmonger]] from ''Webcomic/UnwindersTallComics'' is considered "the most charitable person alive" by everyone. But Spondulio would be the first (and only) one to remind you that he's thoroughly selfish to the core and that his many acts of kindness are actually the side effects of elaborate plans to make himself fabulously wealthy. |
| 492 | [[/folder]] |
| 493 | |
| 494 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 495 | * ''Roleplay/FireEmblemOnForums'' has a few such examples: |
| 496 | ** ''[[Roleplay/FireEmblemOnForumsWonderfulBlessing Wonderful Blessing]]'': Mammon and Leviathan. Both are powerful generals of Hellrealm, but they have sympathetic aims (to end the ForeverWar, albeit in favour of the demons, so they can go home and start the family they wanted to) show a distaste for going too far and and have sympathetic backstories [[spoiler: as victims of a coverup of an AncientConspiracy]]. [[spoiler: They perform a HeelFaceTurn upon having the silencing curse on them removed, and realising that Serena holds the key to ending the ForeverWar.]] |
| 497 | ** ''Solrise Academy'': Justice, of the Seekers of Calamity. While clearly devoted to his cause, he shows blatant disgust when civilians are endangered, and is about to acquiesce to the protagonists' demands because [[IGaveMyWord he promised to]] before he's teleported away. |
| 498 | * Played with in ''Literature/TalesOfMU'' with Vice-Chancellor Embries. He's a "noble" dragon, employed by MU as their ace in the hole against the campus being razed to the ground again. He does, however, have an unfortunate habit of eating his secretaries. As Professor Hall says, "Few people mistake a ''noble'' dragon for a ''nice'' one more than once." |
| 499 | * ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'': |
| 500 | ** Carmilla is noble and a demon. She's one of the protagonists, and yet she is directly descended from both Cthulhu and Shub-Niggurath and is supposed to take the mantle of The Kellith, to wipe humanity off the face of the earth and repopulate the planet with the seeds of The Great Old Ones. [[ScrewDestiny She's refusing]] [[AntiAntiChrist to do so.]] |
| 501 | ** Dr. Diabolik, known colloquially to his kids as 'Dr. Dad'. His goals are fairly villainous all in all, or at least they appear to be; still, he likes to avoid collateral damage, refuses to allow the slaughter or maiming of civilians, and the like. WordOfGod has it that he does this at least in part to avoid being on the supervillain A-list: while he's at the top of the B-list, it's getting on the A-list that will really have everyone gunning for him. [[spoiler: He also curbs his plans to attack Darwin when an OmnicidalManiac turns up.]] |
| 502 | * ''Literature/APracticalGuideToEvil'': Amadeus of the Green Stretch is what happens when you have a noble demon who is also a [[MentorArchetype mentor to the main character]]. He starts out as the [[CardCarryingVillain card-carrying]] [[TheDragon dragon]] for the [[TheEmpire the Dread Empire of Praes]], his first appearance involves him executing various members of [[TheEmpire the empire]] for being [[PragmaticVillainy unnecessarily evil and oppressive towards the nation he had helped conquer]], and [[spoiler: by the end of the story he proves himself more than willing to sacrifice himself to achieve his goals, which incidentally doubles as an instance of [[MentorOccupationalHazard the mentor curse]] taking its toll]]. |
| 503 | [[/folder]] |
| 504 | |
| 505 | [[folder:Web Videos]] |
| 506 | * ''WebVideo/DrHorriblesSingAlongBlog'' has a textbook example in the form of the title's MadScientist, a generally nice guy who wants to make the world a better place...but he's so cynical that he believes that this can only be accomplished by [[WellIntentionedExtremist taking it over through classic supervillainy and rebuilding it according to his ideals]]. |
| 507 | [[/folder]] |
| 508 | |
| 509 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 510 | * [[Characters/AvatarTheLastAirbenderZuko Prince Zuko]] in the first two seasons of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''. Multiple times, he has a clear opportunity to coerce Aang by threatening either bystanders or captured prisoners, but he never does. During their first fight, he clearly sees that Aang will surrender instantly to protect the water tribe villagers but never exploits this, and keeps his word to leave the village in peace if Aang surrenders. When he disembarks his ship in the first episode, he shrugs off Sokka's attack using non-lethal force instead of just roasting him to make a point. When he has Katara prisoner, he tries to bargain with her and appeal to her better nature rather than threaten or coerce her, and he forces pirates to help him capture Aang rather than use Katara as bait. Likewise, when he has Katara and Sokka prisoner, he still insists on fighting Aang one on one rather than try to use them. [[spoiler:It's later revealed an entire driving point of his character is his honour: the whole reason he's hunting the Avatar is being sent on a SnipeHunt as punishment from his father for speaking out of turn during a meeting... to say it was wrong to use inexperienced Fire Nation troops as [[WeHaveReserves front-line fodder]]. He struggles back and forth with his honour and his desire to return to his country for much of the series and eventually it culminates in a full HeelFaceTurn where he becomes Aang's firebending teacher.]] |
| 511 | * The Penguin from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' fancies himself a GentlemanThief (which he would be if his etiquette wasn't so ''terrible'') and follows a code of honor, stating at one point that he refused to go after Two-Face while in the hospital as "[[HonorAmongThieves kidnapping a fellow rogue from his sickbed just isn't done]]", and in another appearance being the one to diffuse an argument between Joker and Two-Face because it "behooved them to work together" instead. It also helps that he's the only one of the rogue's gallery to ''not'' be insane, thus his crimes all center around monetary gain rather than revenge or just sheer insanity and tend to cause much less collateral damage. It's not to say he's [[NotSoAboveItAll above using hummingbirds with poisoned beaks]] to kill Batman in his "Aviary of Doom", a scheme that Poison Ivy and even ''The Joker'' thought was over-the-top in its ludicrous villainy, but that's just showmanship according to him. |
| 512 | * ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' gives us Dinobot, the ProudWarriorRaceGuy of the Predacons who defects to the Maximals and becomes their vicious, but noble, TokenEvilTeammate. While he holds his Maximal allies in high regard, he maintains that he is ''still'' a Predacon despite their alliance and has absolutely no interest in officially joining their ranks, even once opting to remain behind on the prehistoric planet they've found themselves on to effectively fight until he is killed rather than returning to Cybertron to be "treated as a Maximal". What separates him from his former Predacon allies is he views combat as [[WarriorPoet something grand and poetic]] rather than just being a brute who fights and murders for personal gain, has lofty notions of the honor of fair combat over [[CombatPragmatist winning at any cost]] to the point he's perfectly willing to [[WillfullyWeak lower himself to his opponent's level]] for a fair fight, truly respects the honor and dignity of his Maximal allies over the scoundrels in [[BigBad Megatron's]] ranks, and holds dear his beliefs in [[TheFatalist fatalism]], DoNotGoGentle, and DefiantToTheEnd. [[spoiler:Naturally, after a bit of HeelFaceRevolvingDoor when he comes to wonder if Megatron's way truly is the right way, he goes out in the biggest DyingMomentOfAwesome the series ever produced: he defends the primitive tribe that will sire the entire human race ''from the entire Predacon army by himself'', [[HeroicSacrifice dying]] but '''''winning''''' in the process and destroying the remnants of the [[MacGuffin Golden Disk]] to boot, all because it's the right thing to do and to [[TheAtoner restore his honor after betraying the Maximals]]. His LastWords sum it up the best:]] |
| 513 | --> [[spoiler:'''Optimus:''' Well fought, my friend. You saved the valley. You saved the lives of those who live here... and of those who are still to come.\ |
| 514 | '''Dinobot:''' Then... there is nothing to regret.\ |
| 515 | '''Rattrap:''' Like I said, you're just a blasted, slag-spouting saurian, but... it's nice to know where you stand.\ |
| 516 | '''Dinobot:''' Upwind of you, for preference, vermin. ...Tell my tale to those who ask. Tell it truly, the ill deeds along with the good, and let me be judged accordingly. [[Creator/WilliamShakespeare The rest... is silence]].]] |
| 517 | * Despite considering himself an official villain, Puma Loco from ''WesternAnimation/ElTigreTheAdventuresOfMannyRivera'' puts his family in first place than his criminal schemes most of the time, and is often seen helping his grandson Manny and his son White Pantera in beating up the other criminals of Miracle City. |
| 518 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'': |
| 519 | ** [[AffablyEvil David]] [[MagnificentBastard Xanatos]] has had his moments where he tried to appear more callous than he really is, usually where his [[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove feelings for Fox are concerned]]: |
| 520 | --->'''Owen:''' You've never looked more heroic. |
| 521 | --->''[[{{beat}} Pause]]'' |
| 522 | --->'''Xanatos:''' A momentary lapse, I assure you. |
| 523 | ** Macbeth counts as well. Practically ''all'' of his actions in the show are driven by [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou his desire to kill Demona- both for revenge for her betrayal and just wanting to finally die]], but he outright refuses to take the easy way out by smashing her to bits when she's in stone form during the day, preferring to beat her in a fair fight. Notably, Macbeth only attacked Goliath's clan in his introductory episode because he thought they were Demona's allies. In all subsequent episodes, he refuses to harm anyone outside of his feud with Demona. |
| 524 | * In the [[WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983 He-Man]] and [[WesternAnimation/SheRaPrincessOfPower She-Ra]] Christmas Special, Skeletor gradually falls under the influence of the Christmas spirit, causing him to become this for a time. He does not enjoy the experience. |
| 525 | * ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'': |
| 526 | ** Ultra-Humanite is quite morally ambiguous for a villain. While he does a series of serious crimes, like blowing up a modern art museum because he despises Modernism, he also tends to help the heroes in certain occasions. A particular example is in the ChristmasEpisode where he helps the Flash giving a desired toy to a group of orphans. |
| 527 | *** Oddly enough, both of those plots are from the same episode! Ultra-Humanite waited until Christmas because he knew the museum would be empty, thus making for exactly zero casualties. In the ensuing fight with Flash, they accidentally smash the toy, and Humanite helps to repair and deliver it. He sums it up best when he points out he not only repaired it but improved it as well (it now tells stories instead of trashily rapping) and Flash asks if it's going to explode: |
| 528 | ---> '''Ultra-Humanite:''' Flash, ''please''. It is Christmas. |
| 529 | *** Earlier, in his introduction episode, (which is really Batman playing on all of the Injustice Gang) Batman is forced to trying to offer Ultra-Humanite double whatever Luthor was paying. Humanite counters by revealing he's not being paid but is in it because he cannot stand the lack of culture in modern society. Batman counters by offering to donate enough money to his favorite opera program on PBS to upgrade him from ViewersLikeYou to a named donor... and he'd put in a good word to the prison to get Humanite a TV to watch that. Humanite's HeelFaceTurn is what stops Luthor's plan once and for all. |
| 530 | ** Though more overtly evil than Humanite, Atomic Skull has a clearly much stronger moral code than his fellow Legion of Doom members. He rarely commits crimes on his own and typically operates as an enforcer for other criminals or participates in Meta-Brawl which, while illegal, is merely an underground fighting ring where people gamble on battles between willing metahuman combatants (and he's notably absent when they sink to using brainwashed unwilling heroes). He's also much more strongly in favor of allying with the Justice League to save the world than most of his allies, stating "[[EvilVersusOblivion Hey it's our world too!]]" and even risked his own skin to save Hawkgirl's life by carrying her unconscious body clear of an explosion. |
| 531 | * Gene from ''WesternAnimation/IronManArmoredAdventures''. Despite technically being the BigBad, he puts himself and his (cough) ''[[TheMafia business]]'' at considerable risk to save a girl when TheHero could not (she's not a {{Love Interest|s}}, not a MacGuffin, not an ActionGirl that could be useful to him, just a friend). |
| 532 | * [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicPrincessLuna Nightmare Moon]] from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' despite being DrunkOnTheDarkSide doesn't seem to want to harm her subjects. Compare how she merely tried to block and distract the main cast to how she actively tried to ''kill'' Princess Celestia. This is explored a bit further in the Season 5 finale where, as opposed to the other {{Bad Future}}s that are war-torn ruins or outright post-apocalyptic events, the future under her rule is merely dark, unpleasant, and gloomy. Nightmare also seems to be surrounded by loyal followers, while most of the other villains either act solo in their Bad Futures or had to brainwash followers, implying that while things under Nightmare Moon might be different and arguably worse than under Celestia, they're not necessarily ''bad'' and some might even prefer her rule. |
| 533 | ** [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicDiscord Discord]] seems largely unwilling to kill or hurt ponies, at least physically. (He's fine with MindRape, until his HeelFaceTurn.) BlueAndOrangeMorality is usually cited as an explanation; dead ponies just aren't fun to play with. Also, in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E2TheReturnOfHarmonyPart2 "Return of Harmony"]] he fulfills his word and returns the horns and wings to the Mane Six. It's true that Discord needed to separate Rainbow Dash from the others and she would need her wings for that, but he didn't have to return Fluttershy her wings, or Rarity and Twilights' horns ([[HoistByHisOwnPetard and thanks for his mistake, they were able]] [[TakenForGranite to petrify him again]]). Cozy Glow, King Sombra or Queen Chrysalis never would do that, and Chrysalis would be particularly delighted into seeing Twlight transformed into an earth pony. |
| 534 | ** The sphinx from "Daring Done" is willing to strong-arm (paw?) food out of the ponies to the point they're starving, and she ''is'' willing to cheat by demanding a second chance, but when she's beaten at her own game she stays true to her terms and leaves. Considering she's about 200X the ponies size, apparently able to warp reality to a degree and capable of breathing fire, there was nothing stopping her from just eating Somnambula and continuing her reign of terror when she was "defeated". |
| 535 | ** [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicLordTirek Lord Tirek]] has some noble qualities, such as actually holding fellow powerful villains like Discord and Grogar in regard, and while he ''did'' inevitably betray them it's left ambiguous if he always intended to do so or if he only did so after learning Discord lied to him and after Grogar's {{mistreatment|induced betrayal}}. He also seems to have at least some honor as he actually kept his side of the deal and returned Twilight's friends, unharmed as agreed, in exchange for her magic (which, notably, [[HoistByHisOwnPetard led to his defeat]]. He's also the only member of the Legion of Doom who actually cares about the team's cohesion instead of explicitly being in it for himself, like being willing to return Chrysalis' power, and at least tolerates Cozy Glow's attempts to befriend him or unite the team with friendship. |
| 536 | * Brain from ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'' is a WellIntentionedExtremist EvilGenius, but if the push comes to shove, he'll choose ThePowerOfFriendship over [[TakeOverTheWorld taking over the world]]: he ''did'' take over the world in one of the Christmas episodes thanks to toy bears that hypnotized people, but when he realized how badly he had alienated Pinky and crossed a line he shouldn't have, his only order was for everyone to just have a happy Christmas and be with people they cared about; another episode had Pinky sell his soul to Satan to give Brain world domination, but Brain eventually decided that if he couldn't rule with Pinky by his side, he wouldn't rule at all. |
| 537 | ** Whenever the world is in danger from some other threat, Brain will do whatever he can to save the world. ("So it is available to take over tomorrow night.") |
| 538 | * Alvin from the ''WesternAnimation/SabrinaTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "Planet of the Dogs". He starts off as a normal dog, but when Sabrina neglects him, he gains the ability to speak from the Spooky Jar and becomes the leader of a gang of mistreated dogs. Also, he kidnaps Sabrina's family but never puts them in mortal danger. |
| 539 | * Captain Skyhook from ''WesternAnimation/TheSpaceKidettes'' is a pathological Noble Demon. His evil minion, Static, enthusiastically suggests all sorts of gruesome villainy be done to the Kidettes, only to be chastised by Skyhook, who replies that "They're just itsy bitsy, teeny weeny little kids!", and promptly bashes Static's helmet in. |
| 540 | * Red X from ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'', so very, very much. He's a [[GentlemanThief talented thief]] using a powered suit that he stole from Robin to commit crimes, and he outright tells Robin that he ''likes'' being a criminal. On the other hand, whenever Red X shows up, he inevitably ends up doing ''something'' good in spite of himself, up to and including making enemies out of nine other supervillains to ensure Robin [[ItMakesSenseInContext wins a race]]. |
| 541 | * Fuse from ''WesternAnimation/ThunderbirdsAreGo''. He's all about chaos and destruction, and he never actually does a HeelFaceTurn, but in "Chain Reaction", [[spoiler:after the good guys save his life, he returns the favor and saves theirs]], showing that he has at least some honor. |
| 542 | * [[Characters/TotalDramaDuncan Duncan]] from ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'' becomes this when he plays the villainous role, though he's usually an AntiHero. He's a {{Jerkass}} delinquent who loves to push people's buttons, but usually he's just [[SlaveToPR playing up his bad-boy reputation]] so he doesn't seem "soft". |
| 543 | * Cyclonus in ''Franchise/TransformersGeneration1'' occasionally had elements of this. |
| 544 | * ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'': |
| 545 | ** Breakdown shows shades of this when Bulkhead saves him from the terrorist group MECH. Starscream and a load of mooks arrive, and Starscream orders Breakdown to turn on him. Breakdown does, but is hesitant and needs prompting from his leader to actually do it. He also seems to be the only Decepticon to not view the [[FacelessGoons vehicons]] as expendable, confiding in one and later stating he doesn't think they get enough respect. |
| 546 | ** Dreadwing has UndyingLoyalty to [[MyMasterRightOrWrong Megatron]] and the Decepticon cause, CombatPragmatist and MadBomber, but shows honor, gratitude, and respect to Optimus Prime and the Autobots. [[spoiler:In the end, [[EvenEvilHasStandards Starscream's defilement of Skyquake's body]] almost causes him to [[HeelFaceTurn switch sides]].]] |
| 547 | ** {{Subverted}} with Soundwave. While he seems to be this at first due to his noticeable lack of KickTheDog moments, that's only because Soundwave [[PragmaticVillainy doesn't indulge in it because it might compromise the mission]]. As long as it's not a part of or doesn't threaten the mission, he doesn't see any reason to be cruel. If it ''is'' the mission, however, you can certain [[TheUnfettered he won't hesitate to be as cruel as possible to get it done if that's what Megatron wills.]] |
| 548 | ** While Predaking originally attacked the Autobots as his then-nominal enemies, he turned against the Decepticons after realizing that ''they'' orchestrated the destruction of his brethren rather than the Autobots. This is notable in the ''Predacons Rising'' finale movie, where despite holding a grudge against the Autobots for their part in the destruction of the Earth-based Predacon clones (save for ''himself'', of course), Predaking still at least humors their words to a certain extent and eventually aids them in holding the line against Unicron's Terrocon army. |
| 549 | * The Monarch from ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros'' has shown on several occasions that he does not hate Dr. Venture (and his family) as much as he claims to. |
| 550 | * Nox in ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'' is willing to do almost anything to achieve his goals, but only because he thinks it'll all be erased when he succeeds and shows a lot of respect to parents like Alibert, who are willing to fight and possibly die to defend their families. |
| 551 | * [[ImpossibleTheft Carmen]] [[MonumentalTheft Sandiego]] from ''WesternAnimation/WhereOnEarthIsCarmenSandiego''. Sure, she'll steal priceless works of art, monuments, archeological digs, etc. but she won't harm anyone. In fact, if Zach and Ivy are in trouble, she'll rescue them. To her, [[ItAmusedMe it's just a game to play]] and she only chose it because catching bad guys as an ACME agent [[ChallengeSeeker was too easy for her]]. |
| 552 | [[/folder]] |
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