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1->'''Goku''': You mean you... You fool! You deliberately let yourself fall under Babidi's spell!\
2'''Vegeta''': Yes. I saw the power of Babidi's magic. At the World Martial Arts Tournament, those two henchmen he sent... [...] The people who'd seen those fighters in the previous tournament couldn't understand how they'd become so powerful. But you and I know, don't we? It was Babidi's magic, and I knew that what his magic had done for those fighters, it could also do for me! I knew that if I allowed myself to fall under his control, the difference in our power would disappear! I'm quite pleased with the results. Even if they do come at a price. I'd say the end more than justifies the means!
3-->-- ''Anime/DragonBallZ''
4
5In a world where getting {{Brainwashed}} by evil AppliedPhlebotinum is a common occurrence, what's worse than seeing a teammate taken over by TheVirus, subjected to DemonicPossession, be NotHimself or act all BrainwashedAndCrazy?
6
7Finding out that they're '''not''' actually brainwashed (or crazy); they've genuinely [[FaceHeelTurn joined]] TheDarkSide by their own volition, or had a legitimate FreakOut and their personality is as real as it is new. And you just can't bring them back the same way as you could with anyone else who ''was'' brainwashed, [[MoralEventHorizon assuming you can bring them back at all]].
8
9This is often held back as a dramatic (and tragic) reveal after a long montage (or whole episode) of the heroes performing all manner of attempts to break whatever control the BigBad has over this character. The reason it doesn't work? Because the BigBad doesn't actually ''have'' any control over them to begin with; they insist they are Not Brainwashed, and they're right.
10
11There's also the comedy option, where a character, having gone into a seemingly dangerous situation, finds out that it's actually not what it appears, while their allies (who haven't realized it) attempt to [[UnwantedRescue rescue them from the "brainwashing."]]
12
13Having one person out of a million Not Brainwashed is becoming more and more common. Not so much a [[SubvertedTrope subversion]] as the [[CyclicTrope natural cycle]] of the trope.
14
15Related to MoreThanMindControl. Contrast with PretendToBeBrainwashed. Compare NotAnAct.
16
17----
18!!Examples:
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20[[foldercontrol]]
21
22[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
23* In ''[[Anime/PrettySammy Magical Project S]]'', turns out Pixy Misa wasn't a brainwashed persona, but the repressed aspects of Misao's personality.
24* In ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', Vegeta falls under Babidi's Majin spell, which brings out the evil of whoever is placed under it and brings them under his control. After Goku tries to get him to snap out of it, Vegeta reveals that he's not truly under Babidi's control; he ''let'' himself be affected because he felt he was going soft, and knew Babidi could bring out his evil side and allow him to finally surpass Goku (however, this implies that he is at least ''partially'' under Babidi's influence, and when Babidi puts some effort into exercising it Vegeta has to muster a lot of his will to successfully resist it).
25* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
26** [[spoiler:[[BigBad Aizen]]'s]] Zanpakuto can cast illusions that can fool anyone if they have ever seen the sword using its power. [[spoiler:However, Tousen is blind, thus unable to see the sword. It is then revealed that he joined Aizen of his own will.]]
27** Played with in Orihime's case when [[spoiler:she was kidnapped to Hueco Mundo. At first, everyone thinks Aizen mindwashed her, but actually she was [[SadisticChoice forced to come along to save her friends]]. Aizen then says [[MetaphoricallyTrue she came of her own accord]]]], and the less... brainy Espada tries to twist this even more to say [[BlatantLies she is one of them]], even trying to convince ''her'' about it as a part of the massive BreakTheCutie process they're subjecting the poor girl to. Only for the lectures to be [[ShutUpHannibal put down]] by ''Ichigo'' of all people.
28* Kaiser/[[DubNameChange Zane]] in ''Anime/YuGiOhGX''. He's a champion of a game notorious for causing [[SplitPersonality Split Personalities]] and [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Superpowered Evil Sides]] in players, and his FreakOut and EvilCostumeSwitch take place during the MoreThanMindControl arc, but in his case, he really just snapped after a humiliating loss. He tells his [[MentorArchetype mentor]], his best friend, and his brother that when they try to "cure" him by dueling him since DefeatMeansFriendship: "There's no darkness inside me. I am not captured by darkness. I just want to know what brings out the power to win!" Originally, he was still a cold, aloof loner, but at least he had a strong sense of respect for his opponent. [[spoiler: He eventually gets better.]]
29** Another example is Adrian Gecko from the third season. His backstory is basically that he was adopted into a wealthy family to be the heir, but then his little brother was born and he was displaced. Despite that, he became the family's best agent and behaved well toward his little brother. However, his childhood friend pushed him to become a leader in his own right. Long story short it led to him sacrificing her to attain power and got him killed by the main villain of the season. Despite all of that, he maintained that everything he did was of his own free will.
30* Another ''Yu-Gi-Oh'' example in ''Anime/YuGiOhZEXAL'': when Yuma's longtime friend [[spoiler:Ryoga/Shark]] appears leading the villainous Barians, calling himself Nasch, the heroes think he's been brainwashed and [[IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight try to snap him out of it]]. However, he scoffs at any suggestion that he's not in control; in truth, he had regained his long-suppressed memories of being a Barian Emperor, and willingly chose to side with his people against his friends.
31** After Yuma and Nasch team up to defeat [[GreaterScopeVillain Don Thousand]], who corrupted humans and Barians alike with hatred and FakeMemories, Nasch is still intent on taking [[TheHero Yuma]] down and destroying Astral World. Understandably, Yuma refuses to fight his friend, claiming he still was under the influence of the curse. But Nasch explained his memories were not toyed with, that the real curse was his own, conscious vow to protect the Barian World at all costs, meaning their duel to the death was inevitable.
32* ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam'' had Domon's mentor, Master Asia, turn against him. Domon didn't give this much thought at first, since he had seen many people become {{Brainwashed}} by the Devil Gundam before then, and was mighty displeased to discover that Master Asia was serving the Devil Gundam purely by choice.
33* This trope appears in the last story arc of the live-action adaptation ''Series/PrettyGuardianSailorMoon''. Queen Beryl, who up until this point has been brainwashing her four lieutenants, resigns herself to certain death and releases Jaedite from her spell, so he can escape. His personality doesn't change at all: he reveals that he's always been her willing servant, and he intends to remain by her side no matter what.
34* In ''Manga/InuYasha'', Sango's brother Kohaku is brought BackFromTheDead with EasyAmnesia to work for Naraku. He kills women and children while under Naraku's influence but then regains his faculties. His sister's attempts to "break" his brainwashing at this point convince him that the best way to protect her (and make up for what he's done) is to continue working for Naraku in order to find a way to permanently destroy him.
35* ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}'', [[spoiler: BattleButler Walter]] is seen de-aged and on the side of the Nazi Vampires. When Alucard fights him, everyone assumes that he's been brainwashed. While it's left slightly ambiguous, it's heavily implied that not only was he doing it all of his own free will but [[spoiler:he has been TheMole all along]].
36* In ''Manga/SaintSeiyaTheLostCanvas'', {{woobie}} Alone is chosen as the vessel for [[EverybodyHatesHades Hades]] and subsequently begins to kill everyone, planning to end all life on Earth. [[spoiler: Turns out this has nothing to do with the influence of Hades, as he was never possessed; being chosen as the vessel for Hades simply gave him the power to execute a plan that was his own from the very beginning.]]
37* In ''[[Anime/DualParallelTroubleAdventure Dual]]'' Kazuki assumes that [[spoiler: Mitsuki Sanada]] has been hypnotized to fight him since the same thing had happened to Mitsuki Rara earlier. Turns out that [[spoiler: she had willingly agreed to help the Rara army so that they would help her and Kazuki return to their own world]]. Once she realizes how close she came to killing Kazuki and how dumb her choice was she keeps the truth to herself.
38* In ''Literature/ShakuganNoShana'', Yuji gets possessed by the Snake of the Festival. Shana tries to reach him and get him to fight it until he reveals the Snake is not controlling him; they are partners. [[spoiler:The Snake turns out to be GoodAllAlong, and he and Yuji had a plan to permanently end the war, they just needed to be WellIntentionedExtremist to do it.]]
39[[/folder]]
40
41[[folder:Comic Books]]
42* ''Franchise/TheDCU'':
43** There's a variation in ''ComicBook/HalJordanAndTheGreenLanternCorps'', where the involved person never actually went evil. The Corps had suddenly vanished, with an unknown foe using their rings to pull them to the previous universe. Soranik Natu would have shared this fate, but her father ComicBook/{{Sinestro}} had forewarned of the event and pulled off her ring just in the nick of time. She's inducted into the Sinestro Corps, which is trying to take the Green Lanterns' place as the universe's law-keepers. The GL Corps eventually does make it back, but Soranik working with their greatest enemy looks ''very'' questionable. She has to explain that, no, she did ''not'' pull a FaceHeelTurn at all.
44** ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'': When the BigBad is revealed and explains what they've been doing to Power Girl, manipulating events behind the scenes for years, she takes it to mean that their manipulations are why Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman have been on the outs through the event. She's promptly told that nope, that's just their own fault.
45** ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'': In the [[ComicBook/TheJudasContract Judas Contract]] arc, moreso in the comics than the cartoon, Beast Boy/Changeling initially hoped Terra was being brainwashed or manipulated somehow by Deathstroke/Slade before he could accept that her alliance with Slade was completely voluntary. In the cartoon, while she is manipulated by Slade, she is very voluntary about doing his dirty work for him. Having his own traumatic experience with Slade, Robin shares the hope that Slade's forcing her into it, and Terra has to spell it out for him: "I DON'T NEED SAVING! I'm not some sad little girl who's waiting to be rescued! I wanted to be this way! I wanted to go with Slade! I wanted to annihilate you and your pathetic friends!"
46* ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse'':
47** Not quite brainwashing, but Quicksilver had undergone a FaceHeelTurn (to WellIntentionedExtremist) during -- and served as the BigBad of -- ''ComicBook/HouseOfM'', and followed it up with a lot of morally questionable and inherently selfish (if not outright ''villainous'') actions, such as stealing and unleashing the [[ComicBook/TheInhumans Terrigen Mists]] on the Earth in an effort to restore the powers of de-powered mutants. After ''ComicBook/SecretInvasion2008'', when it emerged that several heroes and villains had been replaced by shape-shifting Skrulls, Quicksilver explained his previous actions by claiming that he has been replaced as well -- cue a private moment with his half-Inhuman daughter, Luna, who points out that she is a LivingLieDetector and tells him she knows he is making it all up and is guilty as sin. He later repents of this in ''ComicBook/AllNewXFactor'', confessing in public, which at least repairs his relationship with Luna.
48** ''ComicBook/USAvengers'': During the events of ''ComicBook/SecretEmpire'', HYDRA tries to hit A.I.M. with a hypnotic attack. Fortunately, Roberto taught everyone some anti-mind control techniques Professor Xavier taught him. ''Un''fortunately, one AIM trooper (Larry from Stores, who previously worshipped Roberto) reveals he's not brainwashed at all, and shoots Roberto.
49** ''ComicBook/XMen'':
50*** In the 1990s, when Colossus abandoned the X-Men for Magneto's Acolytes, his teammates -- specifically ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} -- wanted to believe that he was under mind-control; Colossus immediately denied it and for a while, it was the official explanation that he was not being compelled. Eventually Professor X decided that Colossus had committed this FaceHeelTurn because of an undiagnosed brain injury (he had a huge dent in his head at the time and was trapped in his armored form). This led to an ''ComicBook/ExcaliburMarvelComics'' issue where Xavier [[SuperDickery has Colossus's ex-girlfriend trick him into coming back to Earth so they can abduct him]], then treats the injury. It was specifically asked by one of the characters, "what do we do if he still wants to go back to the Acolytes after we heal him?" The answer turned out to be "we let him go back" and that's exactly what Colossus did -- though the healing did give him a bit of additional clarity, and his stated purpose was to act as [[TheHeart a conscience for the team]]. It was kind of refreshing. He remained an AntiVillain with the Acolytes for a few years, real-time, which only ended when the Acolytes' space station was destroyed and the survivors got scattered across the Earth, forcing the team's disbandment.
51*** When Lucas Bishop first returned from the Future after his mad crusade to kill [[MessianicArchetype Hope]] failed and being left there by ComicBook/{{Cable}}, it first looked as if he was possessed by the Demon Bear. [[SubvertedTrope However]], it turned out that everything he did (including butchering ''billions'' of innocent people just to get Hope) was all him without any brainwashing. He just had a {{Heel Realization}} later.
52* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'': In a rare positive example of this, Megatron attributes the bulk of his HeelFaceTurn on the fool's energon he's been forced to take as a condition of his captaincy. But then issue 54 sees Ratchet reveal to Megatron that [[MagicFeather fool's energon is just a placebo, and all the steps Megatron has taken, up to and including his renouncement of violence altogether, has all been his own doing]].
53[[/folder]]
54
55[[folder:FanWorks]]
56* PlayedWith in ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/58529/the-ash The Ash]]'' with the ash ponies; The disease that turns victims into ash ponies removes the influence of the Magic of Friendship from their brains, and they treat ordinary ponies as having undergone HeelFaceBrainwashing.
57* ''Fanfic/ACaseStudyInTheSturdinessOfTheRookie9'': Since their teammate Ino is abusing her clan's Mind-Body Switch Techniques to turn both boys into her PeoplePuppets, Naruto and Kiba become convinced that she's done the same to their teacher, Asuma. What they don't realize is that Asuma is ''fully encouraging'' Ino's misuse, seeing it as a quick-and-easy way to keep the rowdy pair under control.
58* ''Fanfic/CodePrime'': In the ''R2'' chapter, ''Forward, the Light Brigade'', [[spoiler:Marianne reveals to the Autobots and Black Knights that she was involved in the Ragnarök Connection. Euphemia desperately believes that Charles used his Geass on her, only for Marianne to reveal that there was no Geass involved, and that she acted entirely on her own accord. The revelation [[BrokenPedestal shocks everyone who looked up to her]], with Lelouch taking it especially bad, as he straight up punches her in the face.]]
59* ''Fanfic/DungeonKeeperAmi'': The fairies persist in trying to "rescue" Jadeite from Keeper Mercury, assuming that anyone so handsome and gentlemanly could only be serving a Keeper if he were being magically controlled. In fact, he has several reasons to be willingly serving; he's doing meaningful work under a BenevolentBoss, laying the foundation for revenge on the queen who [[YouHaveFailedMe discarded him]], and may be developing a crush... but the fairies don't know any of that. He finds their repeated attempts to "free" him rather irritating.
60* In ''Fanfic/FaithAndDoubt'', after finding out the same source that turned Luna into [=NightMare=] Moon is behind Twilight's new aggressive behavior, the others assume he's brainwashed Twilight. It turns out this is pulled double. Not only is Twilight not brainwashed, neither was Luna. Allowing the eternal night to occur was against [[spoiler:Doubt's]] wishes, and as such he abandoned her just before her battle with Celestia.
61* In ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'' fanfiction ''[[https://m.fanfiction.net/s/4267279/1/Hero-High-Sphinx-Academy Hero High: Sphinx Academy]]'', the group of super-powered agents working with Pharaoh are explicitly instructed to act as if they have been brainwashed to serve him when out in public. The reason? They are his friends and he planned it so that if his plans did fail they would be absolved of their actions. Him being a master manipulator to the point his RedBaron is "Voice of a Sovereign", it would have been easy to believe.
62* In ''FanFic/NymphAndTheCorruptedMiraculous'', the BigBad can only corrupt one Miraculous at a time. If she wants anyone else at her side, she has to manipulate them the old-fashioned way. [[spoiler: When she wants a partner for Catastrophe (corrupted Adrien with the Cat ring), she goes to [[ConsummateLiar Lila]], offering her the Fox miraculous and a chance to get revenge on her classmates for calling her out. After Adrien breaks free, she has to join the fight herself in order to use the final Miraculous that she had.]]
63* The ''Fanfic/PonyPOVSeries'' has this turn out to be the case with Rainbow Dash, who really ''did'' take Discord's SadisticChoice. She only ''pretended'' to be Discorded and try to run from the others because Discord [[ExactWords just drove Cloudsdale insane]] when she got there and she could bare to face the others. [[LivingLieDetector Applejack]] eventually finds out and acts as her SecretKeeper for a while. Eventually, the guilt of it nearly causes her to [[SuperpoweredEvilSide go nightmare]] (and in one AlternateUniverse, actually do so and become Nightmare Manacle) before the others snap her out of it and calm her down.
64** Turns out to be the case with [[BigBadWannabe the Valeyard]] in [[BadFuture Dark World]]. He's not the Discorded Doctor, he's a pure evil regeneration of him. [[spoiler:The Doctor ''was'' Discorded, however, and Twilight's Memory Spell reverses it, allowing the Doctor to regenerate when they eventually kill off the Valeyard incarnation.]]
65** ''Inverted'' with [[spoiler:Dark World!Fluttercruel. It turns out she was ''born'' Discorded, something not even her father Discord was aware of. When she {{Body Surf}}s into Sparkler's body, Sparkler's memories of Derpy break the Discording, causing her to be capable of actually starting to think about whether or not her actions are wrong. [[VillainousBSOD She doesn't take this well.]]]]
66** Double Subverted in that, after [[spoiler:her brainwashing is broken, she ''continues'' to protect her father.]]
67* Implied in ''FanFic/RainbowDoubleDashsLunaverse''. In the Celestiaverse, it's stated that Luna's transformation into Nightmare Moon was partially due to the influence of an alien presence (the Nightmare), and that the reason Luna could pull such a quick HeelFaceTurn was that the Elements purged the Nightmare from Luna. But given the fact that Corona rejected Luna's offer of redemption, this implies that Celestia was not affected by any external force, and became the Tyrant Sun entirely on her own.
68** And in ''Crisis On Two Equestrias'', when Trixie accidentally teleports herself to the Celestiaverse, she quite naturally assumes that the differences between the two universes are the result of Corona [[MindRape Mind Raping]] her friends. While her memory transfer spell is able to "restore" their Lunaverse memories, the Celestiaverse Elements of Harmony are not fooled.
69* In ''Fanfic/TheRiseOfDarthVulcan'', the eponymous character (whose real name is Ted) ends up in [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Equestria]] and is empowered by the [[ArtifactOfDoom Alicorn Amulet.]] After a fight with Rainbow Dash, the Mane 6 see him with the Amulet, and blast him with the Elements of Harmony, thinking he was corrupted. Since he wasn't corrupted, not only do the Elements not work, but he believes that the Mane 6 were trying to brainwash ''him'', which only serves to fuel his anger.
70* In the ''Anime/YuGiOhVRAINS'' fanfic ''Fanfic/ReCoded'', when Miyu, Jin, and Zephyr were kidnapped and later fought alongside their Ignis, everyone thought that all the rogue Ignis have fully taken control of their partners and worked for ways to save them. It's later revealed they are not, and the three lost incident victims willingly joined their Ignis partners for different reasons.
71* ''Fanfic/SonOfTheSannin'': Downplayed with [[spoiler:Toneri Otsutsuki]]. He actually was initially brainwashed into joining Akatsuki but [[spoiler:his Tenseigan maturing]] freed him, and at that point, he stays with them anyway because their goals happen to align with his. When Hinata confronts him for the last time and learns about this, [[HopeSpot at first she thinks she can convince him to join them and fight Akatsuki]], but he makes it clear he wants to let the war rage on and then hijack the Juubi's power for himself once they succeed in their plans, [[WeCanRuleTogether and rule the new era making Hinata his queen]]. Hinata is naturally shocked by this, though it's not a surprise for the audience given that his attempt to kidnap her as a child happened ''years'' before he joined Akatsuki (and thus under no mind-control whatsoever).
72* A positive example in ''Fanfic/SpellboundLilafly''; Adrien and Marinette have known each other for a year before they "meet" at school, but he doesn't want Chloe to know that, or she'll likely retaliate against Marinette out of jealousy. So, he "introduces" himself to Marinette with a song that includes a MindControl effect -- knowing that she's unwittingly protected from such effects by the enchanted jewelry he's previously given her. Chloe recognises the effect and assumes that he's just toying with Marinette for his own amusement. Plagg and Tikki, on the other hand, are quite alarmed by his behaviour, and he has to do some fast talking. Marinette is [[MuggleMageRomance oblivious to the magic]] and just finds his over-the-top singing amusing.
73* ''Fanfic/AnUnpleasantSurprise'', Ashley the HeteronormativeCrusader honestly believes that Molly and Libby have been groomed and {{Brainwashed}} into believing that they're gay by their parents. An offended Molly repeatedly tells her that her attraction is natural with no outside influence. [[TheFundamentalist Unfortunately, Ashley won't hear it]].
74--> '''Molly [=McGee=]''': I can assure you Ashley that no one {{Brainwashed}} me into liking Libby. Libby told me about her feelings for me one day and after reflecting on it I realized that I felt something more for her too and decided to give a relationship between us a chance.
75* ''Franchise/ThePowerpuffGirls'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3711220/1/Villain Villain]]'' has Professor Utonium and Bubbles assume this to be the reason why Buttercup has become so malicious, having been brainwashed somehow by Mojo Jojo. Buttercup repeatedly tries to inform them that she's gone to the dark side of her own volition after years of feeling ostracized and disrespected by the town, but only Blossom believes this explanation, even saying that Buttercup's theory of Mojo being her true creator rather than the Professor makes a weird sort of sense. Bubbles eventually accepts it during the final confrontation, when Buttercup takes time to talk to her one-on-one and convince her that this fight is what she wants.
76* [[spoiler:The Inquisitor, a [[VideoGame/MassEffect Reaper]]]] from ''Fanfic/WhenThereWasATomorrow'' boast that it did not require [[spoiler:[[BrainwashedAndCrazy Indoctrination]] to bend [[ScaryDogmaticAliens The Covenant Leadership]] to its will. It instead pretended to be a Forerunner AI and exploited their religious fanaticism to forward its EvilPlan]].
77* ''Fanfic/WithThisRing'': Paul helps a Darkstar contingent to purge the Reach presence from the planet Urrigen, then undoes the brain alterations that were made to many government and military officials to make them trust the Reach -- but discovers that the Convenor has no alterations, and sold out his world because he genuinely preferred capitulation to fighting back. Of course, the Convenor wasn't honest with the populace about what he was doing, and it wouldn't have worked in the end, because the Reach eventually kill their client races or drastically alter them into near-mindless slaves. He gets summarily executed.
78[[/folder]]
79
80[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
81* Played with in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanUnderTheRedHood''. Given his background, [[spoiler:Jason Todd]] insists that he's moving towards the MoralEventHorizon of his own volition, but he himself doesn't seem totally sure, as the Lazarus Pit's influence on his mind could also be to blame (the Pit's side effect is to induce madness in the subject).
82** Batman puts forward that he knew [[spoiler:Jason]] was going to be dangerous someday. [[spoiler: That's why Batman made him Robin, to try and keep him on the straight and narrow.]]
83* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLEGOMovie2TheSecondPart'', Lucy, Metalbeard, Benny, Batman, and Unikitty are brought to a spa center in the Sistar System run by Balthazar as a means of enticing them to Queen Watevra Wa-Nabi's machinations. When the spa's treatments fail to do so with Lucy, they lock her in a room where they play an upbeat EarWorm pop song that seemingly brainwashes the others. This is made all the more creepy when Emmet and Rex are off exploring a StepfordSuburbia not too far off, with the missing Justice League [[OutOfCharacterAlert acting overly nice and covered in glitter]], all singing to the song as they chase them as if they were mentally reconditioned zombies. It is not until later when it is revealed that the inhabitants of the Sistar System were GoodAllAlong, the various supposedly brainwashed Master Builders ''sincerely'' liking the Sistar System's upbeat and inclusive ways. [[PoorCommunicationKills But they didn't exactly do themselves any favours with their poor communication]], nor did they when Queen Watevra Wa-Nabi [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial devoted an entire musical number]] to [[MostDefinitelyNotAVillain how she wasn't evil]].
84[[/folder]]
85
86[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
87* In ''Film/TheShadow'' movie, Lamont Cranston assumes Dr. Reinhardt's assistant, Farley Claymore, has been telepathically controlled into helping Shiwan Khan, until he tries to snap him out of it and Claymore boasts he is helping Khan of his own free will, hoping to be rewarded with power. Given Cranston's earlier life as the vicious drug lord Yin-Ko, he knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men, and really should have considered that possibility.
88* In ''{{Film/Dragonheart}},'' this is the main conflict--Bowen hates dragons because he's convinced that King Einon, whom he mentored as a child, only turned evil when he bound his heart with a dragon's to save his life. The viewer, however, can see that Einon was [[EnfantTerrible pretty messed up]] even before his injury; it just takes Bowen most of the movie to accept it.
89[[/folder]]
90
91[[folder:Literature]]
92* In ''Literature/{{Trader}}'' by Creator/CharlesDeLint, Max Trader has [[GrandTheftMe involuntarily swapped bodies]] with another character. When his teenage neighbor Nia learns this, then sees her mother kissing another woman, she assumes her mother has been swapped too. Not so. Her mother is really a lesbian and just hasn't come out to her yet.
93* Multiple examples in Creator/LoisMcMasterBujold's ''Literature/TheSharingKnife'' series, due to Lakewalker magic having accidental [[{{Brainwashing}} beguilement]] as a common side effect.
94** Fawn is constantly asked if the sorcerous Dag has beguiled her into marrying him when they are really just in love.
95** In ''Passage'', [[spoiler:Alder]] is not beguiled by the rogue Lakewalker.
96** In ''Horizon'', a halfbreed Lakewalker beguiles a farmer into loving and marrying her, only to learn that beguilement wears off over time and her husband is staying with her of his own free will.
97* Bujold also plays the comedy situation for dramatics in ''Literature/ShardsOfHonor''. [[spoiler:Most of Beta Colony believes that Cordelia has been brainwashed by the Barrayarans, when she's really just in love with Admiral Vorkosigan.]]
98* In Bujold's ''Literature/TheSpiritRing'', sorcerers can attach the spirits of the recently deceased to inanimate objects and compel them to do their bidding. The heroine decides to skip the compulsion in favor of asking nicely, leading to an unexpected failure when the bad guy tries to destroy her animated [[spoiler:statue]]:
99-->'''[[spoiler:Uri]]:''' You cannot release me. I am not bound.
100* Kyp Durron in the ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'' is a rather ambiguous case. While he wasn't "brainwashed", he was certainly ''influenced'' mentally by [[BigBad Exar Kun]]. But it largely worked because Kun was telling Kyp what he ''wanted to hear'', and it's never 100% clear how much was Kun and how much was Kyp. Using a superweapon to blow up the stars of Imperial-controlled systems as revenge for his life of slavery and the death of his family was all Kyp, though, which leads to some heated in-universe debates when other characters, particularly his mentor Luke Skywalker, point-blank refuse to believe he was responsible despite all the available evidence.
101* Horribly subverted in ''Literature/WorldWarZ'' where "Quislings", humans who pretend to be zombies ([[BelievingTheirOwnLies to the point of literally believing they are zombies]]) are just so much more zombie chow.
102* Ruthlessly exploited in the backstory of ''Literature/HarryPotter''. Many Death Eaters were able to escape punishment by claiming to have been under the mind-control Imperius Curse. While there really ''were'' a lot of Death Eaters only there because of the Imperius, or perfectly mundane peer pressure and emotional manipulation for that matter, willing Death Eaters like the Malfoys exploited the fact that it's really hard to prove whether the curse has been cast in order to walk free.
103* [[http://wikinfo.org/index.php/Tarra_(Doctor_Who) Tarra]] from ''[[Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures The Ancestor Cell]]'', at least in [[ChivalrousPervert Fitz's]] conception. He thinks she's led on by Kellen, but it's obvious she's leading the rich kids on and is the ManBehindTheMan. Her "first name" is [[spoiler:[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Mother]], the title of a Literature/FactionParadox agent, a vicious {{Cult}} engaging in {{Temporal Paradox}}es and whose goal is to destroy the structure of time itself.]]
104* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles''
105** The Knights of the Blackened Denarius are a group of {{Fallen Angel}}s that [[SealedEvilInACan inhabit]] the ThirtyPiecesOfSilver. If a human picks up one of the coins, they expose themselves to the Fallen's influence. Most of these people are MindRaped into submission, but a fair few of the coin holders are working with the Fallen of their own free choice, for various reasons.
106** PlayedForLaughs when Bob the Skull tries to get Harry to let him out for a night:
107--->'''Harry Dresden:''' No way. Last time I let you out, you got into a frat party and started an orgy.\
108'''Bob the Skull:''' I didn't do anything another couple of kegs of beer wouldn't have done!
109* In ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' the world is being invaded by {{Puppeteer Parasite}}s, but it's noted that a fair number of the human hosts actually agreed to be infested voluntarily, either because they're quislings or because they were just so depressed and alone that they would join any group that [[FauxAffablyEvil seemed to offer them kindness]]. Although it's implied even many of the "voluntary" Controllers didn't really know what they were getting themselves into, like [[spoiler:Tobias]] in ''Back to Before''.
110* In ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia: Literature/TheMagiciansNephew'' Diggory and Polly stumble upon a room of very realistic statues, along with a bell. A poem next to the bell challenges anyone who comes to ring it, and notes that if they don't, they'll have to spend the rest of their lives wondering what would have happened. Diggory rings it over Polly's objections, thus waking up the "statue" of [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen the evil Queen Jadis]]. He plays it off that reading the poem put him under some sort of enchantment, making him so curious that he had no choice; under [[BigGood Aslan]]'s gentle scolding, however, he admits that no, he was just pretending so that he had an excuse to satisfy his curiosity.
111* ''Literature/{{Sirena}}'' has a positive example. The human Sirena wants the human Philoctetes to love her for who she is, but for years she assumes that he only loves her because of her [[SirensAreMermaids enchanted voice]]. He eventually tells her that he realized he loved her before he heard her sing and that her voice had nothing to do with it.
112[[/folder]]
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114[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
115* ''Series/{{Angel}}'':
116** "[[Recap/AngelS01E14IveGotYouUnderMySkin I've Got You Under My Skin]]" involves a boy who is apparently being possessed by a demon (from a species known for possessing children to carry out unspeakable acts, including UsefulNotes/LizzieBorden). When the demon is finally exorcised, he reveals that the boy was a born psychopath who was already more evil than he was. The boy was so evil, in fact, that he was not so much possessed by the demon as ''imprisoning'' him and using his powers.
117** In "[[Recap/AngelS03E17Forgiving Forgiving]]", after Wesley conspires to kidnap Angel's baby son Connor (and gets his throat cut by Holtz's [[TheDragon Dragon]] Justine for his trouble), Angel visits him in the hospital. Angel is at pains to stress that he's still Angel (and not the soul-less Angelus) before proceeding to try to [[VorpalPillow smother him with a pillow]].
118** A perfect example is Connor in the fourth season. Jasmine has the power to enthrall anyone who sees her; only contact with her blood can break the spell, at which point the victim sees her true, horrific face. Fred is accidentally freed this way, and she manages to free the rest of the cast one by one. But when they try to cure Connor, he betrays them -- it turns out that due to their blood relationship (he's the "father" of Jasmine's earthly form), he's ''never'' been under Jasmine's spell. He's just so tired of fighting and being manipulated that he's willing to go along with her UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans thing.
119* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'':
120** In a series fraught with EvilTwin and BrainwashedAndCrazy Power Rangers, ''Series/PowerRangersSPD'' chose to break the chain and give us the A-Squad, a team of "elite" Rangers thought to have been lost in space ([[Series/LostInSpace no pun intended]]), but had really faked their disappearance to voluntarily join with the Troobian army, believing it'll eventually crush the SPD and wanted to be on "the winning side" when it happened. All well and good... until a CanonDisContinuity in the ''Magazine/DisneyAdventures'' follow-up comic reversed it back to BrainwashedAndCrazy. This {{Retcon}} does illustrate how it can often be hard to tell when somebody's ''really'' Not Brainwashed: somebody who really has been brainwashed is ''rather unlikely to say so'', after all. If they did, it would mean they were brainwashed ''really poorly''. On the other hand, at the start of the season, before they were captured, one of the B-Squad Rangers notes that [[NotHimself something is off about the A-Squad]].
121** On a lighter note, ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' plays with this between Zedd and Rita. At first, she used a love potion. Later, Goldar will use a love potion antidote on Zedd. No effect. Goldar concludes it's this trope.
122* In the ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS04E09TheSwordOfKahless The Sword of Kahless]]", Worf and the legendary Klingon warrior Kor find an ancient heirloom that has the power to create a new golden age for the Klingon Empire. As the episode unfolds, they become increasingly at odds with one another over who should be the one to present it to the Empire, and even who gets to ''carry'' it. The ''fans'' were expecting some kind of [[{{Technobabble}} silly tech explanation]] for this behavior (i.e., that the artifact was brainwashing them), but no -- it's just ordinary jealousy and petty macho posturing. Is this trope therefore TruthInTelevision, do you think? That said, there is also a serious issue; Worf sees the sword as a religious icon that should belong to the Emperor, while Martok thinks it's a cultural treasure and should go the Chancellor. In the end, they conclude that introducing it would spark a civil war and deliberately lose it again.
123* In ''Series/TheVampireDiaries'', Stefan believes compulsion is why he and Damon fell for [[ManipulativeBastard Katherine]] when they were human. Damon disagrees, and tells Stefan he was never compelled (he would know since the compulsion would have worn off once he became a vampire himself) and knew she was an evil, murderous vampire... [[spoiler: but did not know she was having sex with Stefan as well as him]]. Katherine herself says that she only took away Stefan's fear, which seems to be the truth. She's never shown telling him, under compulsion, to love her. And let's be honest, his reaction to seeing her vamp face was the base caveman reaction of fear of something he didn't understand.
124* In the ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' episode "[[Recap/AgentsOfSHIELDS2E3MakingFriendsAndInfluencingPeople Making Friends and Influencing People]]", Ward, a HYDRA [[TheMole mole]] who betrayed the team in Season 1, reveals during an interrogation that HYDRA sometimes uses MindControl to force people to join them, but Ward quickly makes clear he was never brainwashed and everything he's done was of his own free will. {{Downplayed}}, though, since he was recruited and conditioned as a troubled young teen by charismatic [[TheSociopath sociopath]] John Garrett, so technically he fits the more traditional real-world definition of "brainwashed" by being a victim of indoctrination, which puts him in a murky gray area even after he starts pursuing more selfish end goals for himself (since he's clearly AxCrazy and not entirely sane from a combination of that and [[AbusiveParents an abusive childhood]]).
125* ''Series/JessicaJones2015'': Kilgrave generally resorts to mind control to get people to do his bidding. So when a team of goons shows up to rescue him as Jessica, Trish and Simpson attempt to take him to a BlackSite, Jessica thinks that these goons are being controlled. When she and Simpson capture and interrogate one of the goons, Jessica is thrown for a loop when the man admits that Kilgrave paid them, not brainwashed them. Jessica realizes that Kilgrave used money instead of brainwashing because he wanted to ensure he could still control them if his powers were temporarily disabled.
126* ''Franchise/KamenRider''
127** ''Series/KamenRiderDecade'': On Diend's world, everyone is brainwashed into subservience by Jashin 14, seemingly including Diend's brother, Junichi. But when Jashin is defeated and his mind control broken, it's revealed that Junichi wasn't brainwashed and had actually been working with the villain completely of his own volition from the very start.
128** ''Series/KamenRiderExAid'': Some time into the story, the previously-deceased Kiriya Kujo is revived by Masamune Dan as an extra ally for the villains' side. Emu is convinced that Masamune has reprogrammed Kiriya into working for him, so attempts to reprogram Kiriya back to their side with [[MidSeasonUpgrade Maximum Mighty X]]. Only for Kiriya to kick him into the ocean and reveal that he was working for Masamune entirely of his own free will. [[spoiler:[[MetaphoricallyTrue But as it turns out]], Kiriya was simply pretending to be loyal to Masamune [[FakeDefector in a bid to get close enough to steal the Proto Gashats]]]].
129** ''Series/KamenRiderZeroOne'': When Aruto is revealed to be Ark-One, the remaining heroic Riders are convinced that he is in some way being possessed by [[BigBad the Ark]], which has happened to various people before. But they later learn, much to their shock, that Aruto has gone over to the dark side entirely of his own accord [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge out of grief and rage over Horobi's murder of Is]].
130* ''Series/{{Treadstone}}'': In the flashbacks to 1973, CIA agent John Bentley calls out his captor Petra Andropov on how he's been tortured and brainwashed, so she replies that one day people will volunteer for this treatment. In the present day, CIA agent Matt Edwards says he's going to bring down Treadstone, only for the Treadstone asset he's working with to ask why she should help him do so as she volunteered for the treatment.
131[[/folder]]
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133[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
134* In 2011, Wrestling/{{TNA}} had a lesbian love triangle storyline where [[Wrestling/KatarinaWaters Winter]] used a LovePotion to make Wrestling/AngelinaLove dump Wrestling/VelvetSky and hook up with her instead, while viciously assaulting Velvet. Eventually, Angelina reveals that she's snapped out of it, but loves Winter anyway and genuinely wants to hurt Velvet.
135[[/folder]]
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137[[folder:Video Games]]
138* In ''VideoGame/AFKArena'', after the formerly-human god of thunder Zaphrael's son was kidnapped by a cult and [[DemonicPossession forced to become host for two Hypogeans]], he had no choice [[ShootTheDog but to kill him]]. His human wife Lucretia, being ForcedToWatch by the same cult (along with this being the last straw after a long, neglectful, loveless marriage), [[DealWithTheDevil willingly volunteered to be their host instead to have the power to get revenge]]. While it was widely assumed that the Hypogeans were controlling and manipulating her at first, it was later [[AllThereInTheManual revealed in Lucretia's "Dolly's Corner" profile]] that, no: ''she's'' the one controlling ''them.''
139-->''"Demonic whispers have no effect on me. I just want the gods to know: from now on, nobody will ignore my feelings!"''
140* In the ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII'' "Bonfire of the Vanities" DLC, Ezio must assassinate a number of Savonarola's assistants who shout his propaganda from rooftops and high walls. One of them turns out to be a true believer without the influence of the Apple. He laughs at Ezio for thinking that the Apple is the only way to make people believe something.
141* ''VideoGame/Disgaea5AllianceOfVengeance'': It is revealed that TheDragon to BigBad Void Dark, General Bloodis, is none other than NobleDemon martial arts master Goldion, having been defeated and brainwashed into servitude by Void, his own son. Luckily, Goldion's students Killia and Zeroken manage to master the "final technique" of his teachings, Avidya Holy Water, which has the power to break him free. And it doesn't work, Bloodis stays loyal to Void. They try again, but still he remains Bloodis. However, it is eventually revealed that they ''did'' break him free the first time; Goldion simply pretended to still be evil in order to secretly help the rebels and act as a StealthMentor.
142* Halfway through ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'', the heroes find out that the supposed Big Bad Dhoulmagus was actually possessed by the spirit of Rapthorne contained within his scepter. This force possesses several other characters over the course of the game, so when Marcello picks up the scepter and imprisons the heroes, and they hear that the Lord High Priest is dead and Marcello has taken over the church, they naturally suspect he's the latest victim. As it turns out, Marcello resisted the possession and killed the Lord High Priest of his own free will, for AmbitionIsEvil reasons. It's possible he was still being influenced, albeit more subtly than the other holders of the scepter.
143* In ''VideoGame/{{EarthBound|1994}}'', Ness's [[WeUsedToBeFriends "friend"]] Porky ([[DubNameChange aka Pokey]]) is often seen with brainwashed humans, even claiming to have been brainwashed and subsequently freed following the Happy Happy Village incident. Halfway through the game, he finally just flat-out admits that he is actually working for Giygas of his own volition.
144* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' has a minor example pop up in background dialogue. Hang around the Jarl's keep in Riften and you will hear Jarl Laila Law-Giver ask her court mage to work out what sort of mind control or possession has taken hold of her son recently. Said mage has to break the news that, in all likelihood, her son genuinely ''does'' support the Imperials.
145* In ''Videogame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears'', this trope was used when Kain -- who was repeatedly brainwashed in the first game -- insists that he is acting of his own volition when he attacks several of his former allies. It is later discovered that he wasn't brainwashed at all -- [[spoiler:he was an EnemyWithout]].
146* Michalis of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight'' killed his own father, took the throne of Macedon, and ruled as a power-hungry tyrant. When his sister Minerva finds him NotQuiteDead in the sequel, she assumes he was brainwashed by Gharnef (And since Gharnef brainwashed at least two other characters into being evil, she's right to be suspicious). Turns out he was a case of this trope, as Gharnef had in fact used MoreThanMindControl, playing on his ambition and desire to improve Macedon's standing in the world. The FaceHeelTurn was completely genuine. [[spoiler:Of course, this also means he's able to pull a genuine HeelFaceTurn later.]]
147** This is basically the biggest plot twist of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones'' if you choose to follow Ephraim's path. [[spoiler:Turns out [[BigBadFriend Lyon]] was never possessed by the Demon King. He simply summoned his soul by using dark magic, became corrupted by power from it, and then ''pretended'' to have been possessed in order to easily control his followers. Of course, at the very end, upon Lyon's defeat, the Demon King's soul does end up truly taking over, and implying that he was manipulating Lyon by preying on his darkest thoughts and emotions, into aiding Fomortiis in his goals. And that he let Lyon get away with what he was doing because it was good for his plans too.]] None of this happens if you choose to follow Eirika's path. [[spoiler:In this latter version, Lyon really was possessed the whole time.]]
148** In the ''Birthright'' route of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'', Xander assumes the protagonist is brainwashed by the Hoshidan royals. They are not.
149** This happens again in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes''. Most Heroes are forced into the service of the Emblian Empire by being placed under a contract that makes them fight for them. [[VideoGame/FireEmblemFates Xander]], on the other hand, decides to continue to follow the Emblians even after he is released from his contract because he believes BigBad Princess Veronica is just [[DarkMagicalGirl a lonely girl that he needs to help]].
150* In ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddysSecurityBreach'', the HostileAnimatronics are actually BrainwashedAndCrazy, and are normally harmless. That said, it's implied that two of them don't ''need'' to be brainwashed to do wrong:
151** While [[spoiler:Montgomery Gator]] ''is'' brainwashed like the other antagonistic animatronics, it's strongly implied that before getting brainwashed, [[spoiler:he murdered Glamrock Bonnie, just so he could become one of the Pizzaplex's main mascots]]. If that wasn't bad enough, it's also implied that [[spoiler:he wants to kill Glamrock Freddy so he can become the Pizzaplex's main star. Thankfully, he never succeeds]].
152** Moon, the Daycare Attendant's [[JekyllAndHyde evil personality]], apparently doesn't need to be brainwashed in order to terrorize "naughty" children, and seems to enjoy its job too much. [[spoiler:In the sequel DLC ''Ruin'', Moon tries to prevent Sun (the good personality) from regaining control over its body, and is only stopped when Cassie reboots them to form a third, more pleasant personality named "Eclipse".]]
153* The Valkyrie [[{{Superboss}} bonus bosses]] in ''VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4'' have all been trapped in corrupted physical forms by Odin; killing them merely frees their spirits to do their actual job again. The enemy Valkyries in ''VideoGame/GodOfWarRagnarok'', Gná, Hrist, and Mist, on the other hand, are honestly loyal to Odin without brainwashing involved.
154* Most of the enemies fought in ''VideoGame/JoJosBizarreAdventureEyesOfHeaven'' are protagonists brainwashed by anomalies (and in some cases brought BackFromTheDead), as indicated by a purple aura around them. However, most characters who were villainous do ''not'' have the aura (though some do, like Stroheim and Akira); those who served Dio in the first place continue to do so, Diego is a mercenary, Kira (and his future self, disguised as Kosaku) just wants to escape being hunted by the Joestars, and Joshu is still a brat even ''after'' he's de-brainwashed. [[spoiler: Funny Valentine initially allied with Heaven Ascension Dio of his own free will, but later on betrayed him and only fought the protagonists to test their strength. Either way, he was unaffected by the anomalies.]]
155* In ''VideoGame/Macross30TheVoiceThatConnectsTheGalaxy'', a number of heroic characters are found to be brainwashed to fight for the BigBad. It's therefore a surprise to see that [[Anime/MacrossZero Shin Kudo]] is ''not''. He's fighting for the enemy of his own will. [[spoiler:His reasons turn out to be because the BigBad told him [[ApocalypseHow what happens to Earth]] at the end of the Zentraedi War, and he's desperate to prevent that from happening. Understandable that he'd feel this way: he's the only heroic pilot from ''before'' the Zentraedi War, and thus the only one who never imagined such a thing could happen, while for everyone else it's simply a fact of history.]]
156* ''VideoGame/MassEffect2:'' Mordin, your team’s scientist salarian requests your help in rescuing Maelon one of his students, who was reportedly kidnapped by a [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy krogan]] faction called the Blood Pack. Ostensibly to cure the genophage; a virus that keeps the krogan population suppressed so they don’t have the numbers to launch a galactic war. After fighting through the entirety of the Blood Pack and even killing their clan leader, you find Maelon continuing to work on a cure. If you ask Mordin if Maelon has been brainwashed somehow to keep working on a cure, Maelon retorts that he isn’t brainwashed - else his mental capacity would have significantly degraded to the point where he can’t work on a cure. He came to the Blood Pack entirely willingly, as he has come to believe that the genophage was unethical and needed to be cured.
157* In ''Videogame/MegaManBattleNetwork 5'' a signal that makes people aggressive starts spreading out and the player (immune via PlotCoupon) must shut the signal in each area down, usually meaning he has to fight his teammates first. One of the fights, however (Charlie in Team Protoman, Dusk in Team Colonel) reveals that the character wasn't affected, he just wanted to fight Lan.
158* ''VideoGame/MegaManX4'': In a series where Reploids regularly get infected by the [[ContagiousAI Sigma Virus]] and turn violent, the entirety of Repliforce as well as (possibly) Magma Dragoon are Mavericks that are not infected. [[BigBad Sigma]] just managed to [[BatmanGambit play their]] attitudes to his advantage in order to incite their Maverick behaviour on their own accord -- [[BloodKnight Magma Dragoon]] was tempted by Sigma into destroying the Sky Lagoon on the notion that it would goad X or Zero into fighting him (he ''really'' wanted to fight and defeat them), and [[HonorBeforeReason Colonel]] refused to get Repliforce to stand down after being suspected in involvement with the Sky Lagoon incident, causing the main conflict of the plot to occur.
159** The New Generation Reploids in ''VideoGame/MegaManX8'' have total virus immunity, which they love to remind the heroes, who can't understand why they'd go Maverick. It's later revealed that their copy chips contain Sigma's DNA, and [[spoiler:Lumine]] explains that they can "go Maverick at will," possibly meaning that they subscribe to Sigma's EvilutionaryBiologist ideals without needing to be brainwashed into it by the Maverick Virus.
160* In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil7Biohazard'', it is slowly revealed that the HillbillyHorrors you meet are in fact BrainwashedAndCrazy. Except for the PsychopathicManchild Lucas. He turns out to have been already a murderer even before all of this and just hangs around after escaping the brainwashing for the [[HealingFactor perks]].
161* In ''VideoGame/SuikodenI'': [[spoiler:The BigBad of the game has most of the empire's soldiers under her MindControl, and everyone (including her) thinks she has the king under that power, too. At the very end of the game, though, he reveals that he was never really under her control, and was acting the way he did [[LoveMartyr because he genuinely loved her]].]]
162* In ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsOriginalGeneration 2'', much of the early plot revolves around surviving members of the "School" on the opposing side trying to "save" one of your pilots from obvious brainwashing. Of course, she's on your side entirely by choice, and ''they're'' the ones undergoing brainwashing.
163* In ''VideoGame/TerraInvicta'', the [[AlienInvasion invading]] Hydra are able to use "pherocytes" to effectively MindControl other species, including humans. However, the leader of the pro-alien Servants, Judith Howell, wants the Hydra to take over Earth of her own free will. She is deeply pro-alien from the start, and [[spoiler:demonstrates a very high degree of resistance to the pherocytes. The Hydra seriously consider killing her when she starts debating them under conditions that ''should'' have rendered her an unthinking pawn, before realizing that a willing servant is more useful than a mind-controlled one. They even start taking her suggestions into account]].
164* ''VideoGame/TokyoMirageSessionsFE'': Until chapter 5, the party deals with artists who've been brainwashed into a state of insanity by powerful Mirages. Towards the end of chapter 5, they face [[spoiler:Yatsufusa]] and they assume he's brainwashed like everyone else before him. But no, he's fully aware of his actions and is working with the Mirages of his own free will; he's completely insane and wants to destroy the world because he thinks that'd be the greatest form of entertainment.
165* In ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'' most Orcs believed their enslavement to the Burning Legion was forced on them by Gul'dan. Grom revealed that the chieftains had willingly accepted the Legion's offers of power in exchange for serving them, with Grom being the most eager.
166** There is also one in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''. The players are sent to assassinate Emperor Dagran Thaurissan, the Evil Emperor of the Dark Iron and rescue the captive Princess Moira Bronzebeard. It however turned out that she took a liking to him and the two were HappilyMarried with a child on the way, much to the player's surprise.
167** In the Stonecore, there's a rock giant that you're tasked by Therazane to kill named Ozruk. At first, she sent agents to free him from whatever magic binds him to this Twilight's Hammer dungeon. "No such magic was placed upon him."
168** One [[EpilepticTrees theory]] about Garrosh Hellscream's increasing aggression was some form of mind control, but [[LikeFatherLikeSon like his father]] it turned out to be a simple desire for power and conquest with little thought to the consequences.
169* In ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'', while [[spoiler:Mumkhar]] probably ''was'' brainwashed (since he was [[spoiler:ReforgedIntoAMinion]]), anything about attacking his former allies and stealing the Monado was redundant. To prove his point, [[spoiler:he threatens to kill Fiora a second time, despite the fact that she had been turned into a Face like him, just to torment Dunban]].
170** Additionally, when [[spoiler:Dickson]] is revealed to have been EvilAllAlong, several of the party members initially believe [[spoiler:Zanza]] has him brainwashed, telling him to snap out of it. He quickly shoots this down:
171---> '''[[spoiler:Dickson]]:''' You can quit your bellyaching! I'm in total control! I've ''always'' been like this! Ever since long before any of you lot were born!
172* ''VideoGame/YsMemoriesOfCelceta'' uses this trope, although not particularly sanely. The Bad Guys start kidnapping villagers and making them wear magic masks which give them super-strength and also make them obey their new masters. And the sub-boss is the village chief's son Remnos. Oh no! He was clearly mind-controlled too! ...actually he was just faking it, and only got the super-strength from the mask, because he was nebulously awesome and good at everything, including resisting mind control? (Also awesome at fighting, art, music, scholarship. He was just hiding his true talents the whole time to... not shame his elder sister with how awesome he was in comparison.) Why he went along with the bad guys' plan which involved wounding and stealing from the villagers (including his father!), and why the bad guys let him keep tagging along after he reveals he wants to "help" them of his own free will, is a question better less unasked. The narrative treats Remnos as a Good Guy spy of course rather than a villain... despite this not really happening...
173* ''VideoGame/YuGiOhTheFalseboundKingdom'' has several of Yugi's actual friends brainwashed into enemy roles in the in-universe video game. Bakura attacks under similar circumstances... and turns out to be his [[DemonicPossession evil alter ego]]. [[SarcasmMode Act surprised.]]
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176[[folder:Web Comics]]
177* The final arc of ''Webcomic/ItsWalky'' deals with several mind-controlled former teammates... and one who, it turns out, switched sides by choice.
178-->"He wasn't hypnotised, merely disgruntled."
179* In ''{{Webcomic/Erfworld}}'', Jillian [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/erf0105.html concludes]] that Wanda rejects her [[LastSecondChance urging to desert Stanley]] because she is bound by a loyalty spell. When an ally with spell-detecting abilities informs her that Wanda is ''not'' under any loyalty spells, she flatly refuses to believe it. But she comes around for the most part when Wanda [[PillarOfLight tries to kill her]], though.
180* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' #640, after [[spoiler: Vaarsuvius]] takes great pleasure in killing an opponent (and their entire extended family) it is revealed that the DealWithTheDevil they made had no effect on their alignment or actions-- essentially, the character merely revealed [[WhatYouAreInTheDark their true self.]] The character was told the spell ''[[ExactWords could]]'' affect their alignment, with the implication that this was done to give an excuse for indulging their own darkest impulses.
181* At the end of chapter three in ''Webcomic/CucumberQuest'', the "Roselings"--little plant-minions whom the Guardener had been brainwashed from his own Guardlings--reveal that they served Rosemaster willingly because she was much nicer than the Guardener was. (And also that he wasn't their master in the first place; he'd just shown up and started bossing them around.) [[spoiler:Cucumber gives them Rosemaster's Disaster stone, effectively her remains, so they can look after it.]]
182[[/folder]]
183
184[[folder:Web Original]]
185* ''Website/SCPFoundation'': [[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-804 SCP-804]] was investigated up, down, and sideways for any possible memetic properties that would compel anyone to operate it despite knowing that it would [[OmnicidalManiac destroy them and anything manmade in its area of effect]]. The result of all their exhaustive research... nothing. The only test subjects with any interest in potentially operating it were the sort of sociopaths who already wanted to watch the world burn. The chief researcher is forced to conclude that the reason the reclusive activist community that created SCP-804 tried to use it to destroy humanity simply because they ''wanted'' to do it.
186* ''WebVideo/SAndDTier'': Played with. Morgan's superhero brother Chad is thoroughly convinced that the reason Morgan commits crimes and hangs out with supervillain Alex is that Alex has brainwashed them for some nefarious purpose and it's his duty to rescue them. In reality, Morgan had no interest in being Chad's sidekick, became a villain on their own, and they and Alex are [[VillainousFriendship best friends]]. Unlike most examples, Morgan is making ''no effort'' to pretend they're not acting of their own volition, and Alex has attempted to disabuse Chad of the notion that any coercion is going on multiple times. Chad simply won't hear it, partially because he's too self-involved to imagine that his sibling wouldn't want to be his sidekick, and partially because he's an idiot.
187[[/folder]]
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189[[folder:Western Animation]]
190* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'': In "[[Recap/AdventureTimeS7E9EmpressEyes Empress Eyes]]", Ice King appears to have fallen under the spell of a vampire with mind-control powers, but it turns out [[InsanityImmunity his mind is too addled to fall for it]]. The only reason Ice King was following her orders was that the Empress was a pretty lady he thought was interested in him.
191* In the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' story "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueS1E14And15TheBraveAndTheBold The Brave and the Bold]]", Gorilla Grodd uses a mind control helmet as his main weapon. Once it's broken, it turns out that the scientist who was assisting him was in love with him all along.
192-->'''Flash:''' Internet romances, huh? Go figure.
193* In the pilot episode of ''WesternAnimation/BuzzLightyearOfStarCommand'', our hero is surprised to find his ex-partner Warp Darkmatter is not only alive but had been [[TheDragon working]] for the BigBad his entire career. Unable to accept that his buddy was EvilAllAlong, Buzz offers [[WrongGenreSavvy several tried-and-true possible explanations]]:
194-->'''Buzz:''' But how... of course! [[CriminalAmnesiac Amnesia!]]\
195'''Warp:''' No.\
196'''Buzz:''' Evil clone.\
197'''Warp:''' No...\
198'''Buzz:''' ''[[EvilKnockoff Android replica!]]''\
199'''Warp:''' ''No.''
200* In ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong'', Spud makes a deal with Fury, one of the villainous Gorgon sisters, who claims that she will make his [[AllGuysWantCheerleaders cheerleader]] crush Stacy [[LovePotion fall in love]] with him in a plot to free her sisters without interference. And when Stacy does decide she likes Spud, he thinks that it's because of this supposed "love spell," even though she continues to act far more fickle than you'd think someone truly under a love spell would act. In the end, like any other DealWithTheDevil, Spud has to break off his alliance with the Gorgon and prepares himself for Stacy to break up with him now that she's not enchanted anymore. But Spud is relieved to find that there was never a love spell, and Stacy was Not Brainwashed.
201* In the ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce'' episode "Above And Beyond", the Plumbers' Helpers thought Ben was BrainwashedAndCrazy when he randomly attacked them and Max in a satellite station. Except that he wasn't; he was only acting to [[SecretTestOfCharacter test their teamwork skills]], and Max was in on it.
202* ''WesternAnimation/BeastMachines'':
203** Optimus Primal believes that Megatron has brainwashed Rhinox and turned him into the villainous Tankor. While technically correct -- he was brainwashed at first -- after his spark is awakened, Tankor continues to oppose Optimus, as he has grown disillusioned with him after the failure of the Beast Wars.
204** An interesting variation was Silverbolt, who was originally an intensely noble paladin-type and got brainwashed by Megatron into [[spoiler:Jetstorm]]. When he was eventually freed of the brainwashing, however, he was quite upset -- he had actually found it liberating to be freed of his own strict code of honor. He decided not to be re-brainwashed when he had the opportunity later, however.
205** [[spoiler:Comedy-relief punching bag Waspinator]] got brainwashed into [[spoiler:the motorcycle-based Thrust]]. When he was finally freed of his brainwashing he was quite upset as well, since "[[spoiler:biker-bot was cool!]]" and he liked being cool for a change.
206* ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'': Unlike Adora, Catra didn't fall for the Horde's propaganda as a child and knew all along about their true villainous nature, but [[LackOfEmpathy simply didn't care]] after a while. She was honestly shocked that Adora didn't know the truth.
207* ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'': When Peter learns that the symbiote has bonded to Eddie Brock (who is like a brother to him in this continuity just like in the Ultimate Spider-Man comics), he thinks that it's corrupting Eddie like it tried to do to him and begs him to fight its influence. Eddie responds by saying that he's not being controlled, he just shares the symbiote's desire to destroy Peter (the symbiote [[IfICantHaveYou wants to kill Peter because he rejected it]], and Eddie wants to kill him because Peter's actions indirectly screwed Eddie over). Eventually Eddie reveals that he's always resented Peter, because even though their parents died in the same accident, Peter was taken in by his aunt and uncle, and Eddie ended up all alone... until now. [[DownplayedTrope That being said]], as it had already been established that the symbiote can and does affect the character of whoever wears it by bringing out their dark side, it is possible that Eddie was simply in denial- while he may indeed have unconsciously resented Peter for all those reasons, it is likely that the symbiote exaggerated and played upon it while smothering the more genuinely positive feelings towards him that he had displayed earlier in the series. HumansAreFlawed, after all.
208* In ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'', most of the akumatized villains are BrainwashedAndCrazy victims of the series' BigBad Hawk Moth. However, several people have allowed themselves to be akumatized of their own volition.
209** [[spoiler:Gabriel Agreste/The Collector ''is'' Hawk Moth, and akumatizes himself at one point to throw suspicion off of his civilian identity.]]
210** [[spoiler:Lila Rossi/Volpina/Chameleon resents Ladybug for exposing her chronic lies to Adrien and offers herself to Hawk Moth to get revenge on her.]]
211** [[spoiler:Nathalie Sancoeur/Catalyst is Gabriel's personal assistant and in on his secret, and allows herself to be akumatized to aid him in one of his most dangerous plans.]]
212** [[spoiler:Chloé Bourgeois/Miracle Queen is manipulated by Hawk Moth into joining him willingly due to her newfound resentment towards Ladybug for no longer allowing her to be a superhero with the [[TransformationTrinket Bee Miraculous]] (for her own safety, as Hawk Moth knew her identity, plus Chloé was being reckless). Like Lila, she allows Hawk Moth to akumatize her so she can get revenge.]]
213** [[spoiler:Tomoe Tsurugi/Ikari Gozen was genuinely brainwashed during her first akumatization, but later on she starts working for Hawk Moth, and lets herself get akumatized again as a way to test combining akuma powers with Miraculous powers.]]
214** The heroes never actually saw Catalyst, as she remained in the lair the whole time. A straighter example is [[spoiler: Safari. Nathalie once again volunteers to be akumatized, getting her access to several different powers. She is fully operating under her own will when she fights the heroes, even expressing her intent to betray Monarch and blackmailing him to let her keep her powers.]] When the battle was over they cast shame on Monarch for "taking advantage" of the sick, unaware he had actually been tricked.
215* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'':
216** The third season focuses on SuperhumanTrafficking, where victims (usually kids) are captured and implanted with {{Mind Control Device}}s. However, the mid-season finale reveals that [[spoiler:Tara Markov]] is working with [[LegionOfDoom the Light]] even after said device is removed and they're taken in by the heroes.
217** In the fourth season, Fury of Infinity, Inc. claims she and the other Infinitors were controlled while working for the Light. Trajectory and Everyman's behavior suggests that even if that is true, they at least are working for the Light of their own free will.
218* ''WesternAnimation/TheAngryBeavers'': In "Zooing Time", Norbert is put in a zoo, in part because of Daggett, and discovers that it's a great place to live. Daggett, meanwhile, feels responsible for the situation and tries to rescue him, convinced that he's brainwashed
219* In the ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries'' episode "[[Recap/LiloAndStitchTheSeriesS1E33Hunkahunka Hunkahunka]]", Lilo's friend Keoni has a crush on Pleakley (in his horrible disguise as a human woman). Lilo, Stitch, and Jumba are quick to blame the MonsterOfTheWeek, but no, he ''actually does'' have a crush on Pleakley. (For context: Pleakley has green skin, one eye, and three legs.)
220* The ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "[[Recap/SouthParkS17E4GothKids3DawnOfThePosers Goth Kids 3: Dawn of the Posers]]" involves [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext evil plants]] that use mind-controlling spores to turn {{Goth}}s into becoming {{Emo}}s ([[FandomRivalry which are totally different]]!). This trope is played straight with [[spoiler:Firkle]], but played with for Henrietta: [[spoiler:there are no mind control spores, she's just [[WeakWilled suggestible enough]] to change cliques when she ''thinks'' she's being brainwashed]].
221* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'': Apothecary Gary is a special type of mushroom that can use his spores to control others, turning them into his mindless zombies. After his first defeat and near death he barely avoided extinction by taking control of Jeremy the beetle, and when he returns he has an entire village worshiping him as their leader that have his spores on their heads. However, he reveals he was found and taken in by this peaceful group of frog farmers, and that they actually ''wanted'' Gary's spores, because it made them [[GreenThumb better gardeners]], allowing them to empathically feel the needs of all plants, and because they were willing to receive them they got to keep their minds intact, thus achieving a true symbiotic relationship.
222-->'''Apothecary Gary:''' It wasn't mind control -- not this time, really -- and with this power, we turned Gardenton into a paradise. I've never had willing subjects before, and let me tell you, it makes a big difference.
223* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheBadBatch'': Most clones are forced into executing Order 66 via a control chip in their heads that brainwashes them into seeing the Jedi as traitors. Clone Force 99 (the titular "Bad Batch", who all have unique mutations) avoid most of it due to their being different from the "regs", but Crosshairs remains with the Empire even after the others go rogue, leading them to believe it's because he doesn't share their resistance to the chip. In the first season finale, the others get a chance to remove his chip... and find it was removed already.
224[[/folder]]

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