Line #175 Main/RonTheDeathEater


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4	[[quoteright:350:[[Franchise/HarryPotter https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rondeatheater_2878.jpg]]]]
5	[[caption-width-right:350:If it works for you, it works for me...[[note]]Not visible in the picture on right: The snake tongue, and (filed-off) red-horn-like growths above his ears[[/note]]]]
6
7	->''"''Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory'' is a well-loved movie based on the wonderful book ''Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory''. Parents love it, children love it, heck, we even love it. That does not mean it is perfect. Our goal is to expose the dark underbelly of the story. To reveal once and for all the truth about the only real villain in the movie (and no, it is not Slugworth). It is Grandpa Joe."''
8	-->-- The mission statement for the website, ''[[https://saynotograndpajoe.com Say NO to Grandpa Joe: Exposing the truth]]''
9
10	The fandom's tendency to shoehorn a good canon character into being a villain or make a villain ''significantly'' more evil than in canon is Ron the Death Eater, the inverse of DracoInLeatherPants. (The term usually used for this in fanfiction is "character bashing").
11
12	This {{demonization}} of a character can be seen as a kind of [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation deliberate]] {{Flanderization}} — often, in creating Ron the Death Eater, the fandom spins the character's canonical non-evil actions into evil acts, uses canonical evil actions as a justification as to why they are irredeemably evil even if the canon says otherwise, and has every possible negative trait of the character exaggerated. A measure of ruthlessness becomes complete and utter sociopathy, a tendency towards holding grudges becomes an obsessive hatred of anything they dislike, slight denseness becomes raging stupidity, etc.
13
14	This is often the result of also having a DracoInLeatherPants, but it doesn't ''have'' to be — some characters inspire this sort of portrayal on their own, either through their canonical blunders, having some flaw that makes them UnintentionallyUnsympathetic, or being [[DieForOurShip an obstacle to the author's]] OneTruePairing, especially if said character is a member of the OfficialCouple set. In any case, Ron the Death Eater is likely to be a CardCarryingVillain who does things ForTheEvulz than to have any plausible reason for switching sides.
15
16	This trend may lead to the production of FanWorks that have other characters who are canonically friends of the victim act as though they have always been an object of justified loathing, rather than going the "shocked at betrayal" approach. Or, even if these characters end up siding with the DracoInLeatherPants, they are subject to some character defamation themselves by way of "I was stupid to love him and not you".
17
18	Unlike DracoInLeatherPants, this can also be intentionally done for comedy, usually of the [[BlackComedy black variety]]. In works relying on this much rarer reasoning, the character in question is turned into a {{Jerkass}} (or worse), but the other characters' relationships with them aren't changed much. That way the main characters are exposed to, and thus constantly made to suffer by, a villain, and good times are had by the audience.
19
20	Named for the tendency in ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' {{fanfic}}s where Draco Malfoy turns good and hooks up with Hermione ([[FoeYayShipping or Harry]]) to have [[TheLancer Ron]] — in {{canon}} a decent, upstanding sort of fellow with a few faults but firmly on the side of good who happens to have a long-standing enmity with Draco — lose his mind ([[BrainwashedAndCrazy or have it lost for him]]) and often join [[BigBad Lord Voldemort]] just for a chance to kill the sainted Malfoy.
21
22	Compare DieForOurShip or DerailingLoveInterests (fans' or the creators' dissatisfaction with who the main character gets to be with romantically is the major cause of this trope), DesignatedHero (the hero of a work coming off as not-so-heroic is the other major cause), TheScapegoat (when a character is blamed for an event they're not responsible for), HistoricalVillainUpgrade (when a work depicts a historical figure as worse than they were in real life), DarkFic (a fan work that's deliberately DarkerAndEdgier than the original work and may involve characters being subjected to this trope), RootingForTheEmpire (when the audience actually wants the bad guy(s) to win), AdaptationalJerkass (when an adaptation makes a character more of an asshole than they were in the original work), AdaptationalVillainy (when an adaptation makes a character more evil than they were in the original work) and FaceHeelTurn (when the original source material itself turns a once good character evil). See also AccentuateTheNegative, which this trope essentially does to fictional characters. A MookHorrorShow can also come into this, when [[PerspectiveFlip a frightening or ruthless hero]] is portrayed through the eyes of a {{Mook}}.
23
24	Contrast DracoInLeatherPants, where an evil or mean character is interpreted by fans as being a better person than they are in canon; the two can be combined with a PerspectiveFlip. Darker and often more serious counterpart to the MemeticPsychopath, who is '''always''' PlayedForLaughs. MoreInterestingAsAVillain occurs when the villainization of the hero is done because fans feel the character would be more interesting that way.
25
26	And last but not least, head to DarthWiki/PaintTheHeroBlack if you wish to join in the madness.
27
28	'''NOTE: This only applies to the general fandom trend of vilifying them, not specific works which instead go under AdaptationalVillainy or AdaptationalJerkass.''' Specific works can be noted as contributing to or codifying the trend but are not examples themselves.
29	----
30	!!Subpages:
31	[[index]]
32	* RonTheDeathEater/AnimeAndManga
33	** ''RonTheDeathEater/{{Gundam}}''
34	** ''RonTheDeathEater/MyHeroAcademia''
35	** ''RonTheDeathEater/{{Pokemon}}''
36	* RonTheDeathEater/LiveActionTV
37	** ''RonTheDeathEater/CobraKai''
38	** ''RonTheDeathEater/OnceUponATime''
39	* RonTheDeathEater/WesternAnimation
40	** ''RonTheDeathEater/MiraculousLadybug''
41	** ''RonTheDeathEater/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''
42	[[/index]]
43
44	!!Examples (sorted by the original canons' media):
45
46	[[foldercontrol]]
47
48	[[folder:Comic Books]]
49	* ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'':
50	** Sally suffered this royally from the fandom for many issues after her {{Jerkass}} attitude and slap to Sonic. The reason? Sonic prioritized putting an end to Robotnik's reign of terror over settling down with Sally, and Sally saw this as "selfish".
51	* {{Parodied}} InUniverse in ''ComicBook/TheUnwritten'', about a son of a writer who got famous after creating a series of novels very [[{{Expy}} similar]] to ''Literature/HarryPotter''. The first two start with fragments of those books, and the third with a fragment of Literature/{{Frankenstein}}. The first page of the fourth issue shows Harry's counterpart slaughtering Ron and Hermione's counterparts in a really terrible way, only to have it turn out on the next page that it's a DarkFic.
52	* Janet Drake (mother of Tim Drake, the third ComicBook/{{Robin}}) only made a handful of appearances before being killed off – while [[ParentalNeglect neglectful]] in leaving Tim home alone for months at a time, she was also consistently shown as warm and kind to him whenever she happened to be home. Fan fiction, however, near-universally portrays her as a ruthless social-climbing IceQueen who ''never'' shows Tim affection.
53	[[/folder]]
54
55	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
56	* Buck Cluck from WesternAnimation/ChickenLittle, notoriously so. The movie's writing makes him come off as [[ParentalNeglect neglectful]] and [[UnintentionallyUnsympathetic unsympathetic jerk]] who doesn't come to his son's aid when he needs it, and [[ItsAllAboutMe only doesn't act embarrassed about his son's very existence when Chicken does something heroic]]. However, the movie also makes it clear that he's never outwardly or intentionally abusive and that this is the best he can do given his circumstances, being a widower raising a paranoiac child by himself, and he does eventually see the error of his ways. An extreme VocalMinority of people on the internet (especially critics), however, depicted him as an [[TheSociopath abusive sociopath]] with no redeeming qualities, sometimes labeling him ''one of the most evil Disney characters'' or even ''the most {{Abusive Parent\|s}} in all of fiction'', somehow beating out the likes of [[WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDameDisney Judge Claude Frollo]], [[Anime/KillLaKill Ragyo Kiryuin]], [[Manga/FullmetalAlchemist Shou Tucker]], [[Franchise/BlazBlue Relius Clover]], and [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender Fire Lord Ozai]] for the title. The character's [[https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Buck_Cluck?action=history Disney Wiki]] page had an ongoing Administrivia/EditWar between ticked-off viewers categorizing him as the villain and [[JerkWithAHeartOfJerk adding "neglecting his son" to the list of things he likes]] and admins struggling to keep the page neutral.[[note]]This reputation largely grew out of WebVideo/TheMysteriousMrEnter's thrashing of the film, as he famously has a zero-tolerance policy for whatever he considers to be poor depictions of abuse and bullying in fiction, having grown up with an abusive father and enduring bullying well into adulthood.[[/note]]
57	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Encanto}}'': While Alma Madrigal isn't exactly the epitome of a good grandparent, she has a [[WellIntentionedExtremist pretty damn tragic]] FreudianExcuse and is shown to genuinely love her family in spite of her [[ThePerfectionist perfectionist]] tendencies. And the film itself never downplays how harmful her tendencies are, with her being genuinely remorseful about it. You would not know this if your only experience with the movie was fanfiction, which tends to turn her into an outright [[AbusiveParents Abusive Parent]] and grandparent.
58	* ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'': Elsa and Anna's parents have it bad, despite dying within the first ten minutes of the film. Keeping Elsa and Anna separate was misguided but in canon they're not depicted as outright AbusiveParents. They're treated as {{Well Intentioned Extremist}}s who are still GoodParents who love their daughters. ''Fanfic/{{The Ice Behind Bars}}'' presents Elsa's father as abusive towards Elsa even before the accident. He hates her for her powers and doubts that she is even his. After Elsa accidentally injures Anna, his treatment of her only gets worse. When Anna and her mother disappear, Elsa's father uses the chance to claim that Elsa was killed along with her sister. He locks her up and regularly [[ColdBloodedTorture tortures]] her until Anna rescues her years later.
59	* In the Non/Disney {{fanvid}} fandom, and to a lesser extent the fanfic fandom, this is commonplace with characters like Jasmine from ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'', Elsa from ''Franchise/{{Frozen}}'', and Esmeralda from ''WesternAnimation/{{The Hunchback of Notre Dame\|Disney}}''. However, this is more-so because their designs and scenes make it easy to manipulate them into villains (with WordOfGod being that Esmeralda's design is outright based on prior Disney villains) than an actual dislike for the characters. For example, Jim from ''WesternAnimation/TreasurePlanet'' is the designated "bad boy" in the Disney crossover fandom. He's a common [[TheGentleManOrTheScoundrel 'Scoundrel' to most other male leads' 'Gentleman']].
60	* ''WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer1964'': It's a common cynical claim that Santa and the other reindeer didn't actually learn to accept Rudolph for who he was, they only learned to tolerate his difference because it could be useful. However, this is CommonKnowledge, as while they were unquestionably and unjustifiably jerks to poor Rudolph, they realized how wrong they acted and apologized ''before'' realizing his nose can navigate the snowstorm. Donner is also often seen as an {{Abusive Parent\|s}} because he was at first ashamed by his son's different trait and didn't protect him from bullying, but, again, he realized his wrongdoings and apologized for them before Rudolph's ability to navigate was realized.
61	* ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'':
62	** Some detractors see Mei as a SpoiledBrat who takes her mother for granted and throws tantrums all because she wouldn't allow her to listen to the music she likes. They tend to ignore that Mei has been nothing but kind and loyal to her mom her ''entire life'', Ming does things that would be humiliating for any child to deal with (like accusing Devon of being a predator after seeing Mei's drawings and spying on Mei while she's at school), and Mei realizes that being her true, authentic self makes her significantly happier while her family wants her to hide it away. Even before then, she never got to be herself around Ming because she didn't want to disappoint her.
63	** Conversely, there are also a number of viewers who view Ming as a borderline AbusiveParent whose lack of letting Mei have any free-will is the reason she became a brat in the first place[[note]]It's TruthInTelevision that children and teens with overly controlling parents [[StrictParentsMakeSneakyKids are more likely to become rebellious]].[[/note]] and was too EasilyForgiven in the end. This also ignores the fact that Ming's controlling behavior wasn't out of malice but rather because she [[WellIntentionedExtremist genuinely thought she was doing the right thing]] for Mei. Furthermore, the film makes it clear that Ming's in the wrong because of her overprotectiveness and that she needed to learn that she can't keep smothering her daughter. The fact that even those who don't see her as abusive genuinely found it hard to sympathize with Ming [[spoiler:even after her whole backstory is revealed]] doesn't help.
64	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Up}}'': Construction worker Steve. Many fans think he deserved to be hit in the head by Carl due to the mishap with his mailbox, and blame him for causing Carl having to go to court and subsequently losing his house. What is overlooked however is the fact that Carl assaulted Steve, with him getting a gash in the head. Also Steve likely had no way of knowing how important the mailbox was for Carl.
65	[[/folder]]
66
67	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
68	* ''Film/TheDevilWearsPrada'': Nate is far from the perfect boyfriend in the film, but even with that, the fanbase portrays him as far worse than he actually is. Most fans make him out to be an abusive jerk, when the most he does is get angry at Andy for putting her job first. They also like to ignore his more positive traits, like trying to comfort Andy when she is forced to take Emily's place in Paris. This also comes from a healthy dose of DieForOurShip, as a lot of Miranda/Andy shippers like to play him as far more aggressive in trying to get her to quit, when in reality he is right about the job changing her, mainly because Miranda admits to trying to do just that.
69	* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'': Following ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'', fanfics cropped up by the hundreds that portray either Team Cap or Team Iron Man as either perfect saints who have never done anything wrong, or horrible excuses for human beings who were out to get the other team from the start. The "Not Team Cap Friendly", "Not Steve Friendly", and "Not [other person on Team Cap] Friendly" tags are somewhat popular when searching MCU fic on Website/ArchiveOfOurOwn, while the equivalent pro-Team Cap/anti-Team Iron Man tags are almost nonexistent in favor of fics where Ultron doesn't happen or where the whole team bands against the Accords, suggesting that the readers and writers who aren't staunchly anti-Team Cap tend to prefer the whole team together rather than outright disliking Tony or anyone who sided with him.
70	** Many of these fics shows Steve willing to disregard the will of 117 countries and thinks he knows best, while disregarding that he said that he didn’t believe that oversight was impossible but that they would need safeguards and was willing to negotiate to make sure that they can get amended. They also portray Steve as irresponsible and reckless during the first chase with the Winter Soldier and he shouldn’t have gotten involved, while ignoring that Bucky who was brainwashed into his crimes had a squad after him with orders to kill on sight and that they were sent after a dangerous cyborg assassin. He was trying to protect the soldiers from Bucky as well as vice versa, he even stated that even if Bucky had been behind the bombing and was too far gone then he was the best one to bring him down and not die trying.
71	* A number of backstory fics for ''Film/StarTrek2009'' play out the existing villain version of this trope with [[Recap/StarTrekS1E13TheConscienceOfTheKing Kodos]] from [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries the original series]]. Canonically, Kodos was a particularly extreme WellIntentionedExtremist who was trying, in his own twisted way, [[TheNeedsOfTheMany to save lives]], and who [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone carried incredible amounts of guilt]] over his actions for the rest of his life. In reboot fanfics he appears in, however, readers can expect to see him depicted as a CompleteMonster who was eager for a chance to put his eugenic theories into practice (in some cases to the point of engineering the famine for this purpose), who cares only about the elimination of the unworthy and just uses the excuse of saving lives as a cover, and who actively participates in the [[WouldHurtAChild rape and torture of children]].
72	** For a non-villain example there's also Jim Kirk's mother Winona Kirk, who despite barely appearing in canon is overwhelmingly portrayed in fic as neglectful and abusive to Jim and responsible for all kinds of angst and trauma in his past.
73	* An appreciable chunk of critics, fans and casual viewers alike tend to paint Kevin [=McAllister=] of ''Film/HomeAlone'' as a budding sadist and psychopath on par with [[Franchise/{{Saw}} Jigsaw]] because of the creatively painful traps he lays out to thwart the Wet Bandits, who are just nonviolent cat burglars. This does, however, overlook how the two crooks are breaking into a house where they ''know'' an unattended child is staying, and they even go so far as to taunt Kevin about it when they arrive to burglarize his home ("''We know that you're in there, and that you're '''all alone!'''''"). By that point, the kid is well within his rights to assume they mean him harm and respond accordingly.
74	* ''Franchise/StarWars'': The "Darth Jar Jar" meme is an odd example of using Ron the Death Eater in order to invoke DracoInLeatherPants at the same time as an attempt to see the character in question RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap. In canon, Jar Jar Binks is a well-meaning but LethalKlutz who is banished on pain of death for being obnoxious. Despite getting into trouble, his bumbling inadvertently causes every ''positive'' story turn in ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'', proving that [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower even the seemingly useless have value]]. Unfortunately, said obnoxiousness created a venomous {{Hatedom}} and he became a punchline in mainstream media. Then some people started to recognize some of his influences and backstory, but came to the opposite and erroneous conclusion that Jar Jar was an evil Sith Lord manipulating even [[TheChessmaster Palpatine]]... and therefore somehow a more worthwhile character than his canon arguably inspirational self.
75	* ''Film/SkyHigh2005'':
76	** Will is rarely turned outright ''evil'' in Warren/Layla fics, but he's often portrayed as a dull or neglectful boyfriend, and such stories often begin with something to the effect of "[[AntiClimax Will and Layla dated for three weeks after the movie before Layla broke it off because he's boring.]]" Will is usually thereafter DemotedToExtra or at most paired with a background character. When he ''is'' made a villain, he's usually turned into a {{jerkass}} who let the fame he got from defeating Royal Pain go to his head and ditched his "sidekick" friends as soon as possible, a sharp contrast from his AccompliceByInaction characterization when something similar happened in the movie proper.
77	** Steve is also a semi-common victim of this, with his canonical preoccupation with the family name twisted into outright obsession. If it's a Will/Warren fic, he usually gets the obligatory [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain designated homophobe]] role, too.
78	[[/folder]]
79
80	[[folder:Literature]]
81	* ''Literature/HarryPotter'', given its extreme popularity and massive fandom, has a lot of these:
82	** The trope namer is Ron Weasley, in canon a loyal friend to Harry and Hermoine, but one who sometimes butts heads with them. Fanfics often attribute a number of awful traits to him, ranging from being a raging misogynist who's abusive to Hermoine to being a backstabbing FalseFriend to Harry, to being fanatically anti-Slytherin in stories that redeem Draco Malfoy, to, well, joining the Death Eaters.
83	** Dumbledore is often portrayed as manipulative towards Harry, deliberately plotting to get him killed. Dumbledore's also often shown as being ruthlessly power-hungry, despite shunning any position of power greater than headmaster of a school. And that's not even getting into stories that show him teaming up with Voldemort.
84	** Ginny Weasley is a BaseBreakingCharacter, with her being especially reviled by [[DieForOurShip people who think Harry should have ended up with someone else]]. In anti-Ginny fanfics, she tends to be characterized as a shallow GoldDigger who only wants Harry for his wealth and fame. A particularly common trope is to portray her secretly drugging Harry with love potion, an idea that originated in Harry/Hermione circles as a half-serious explanation for Harry's sudden attraction to Ginny in the sixth book.
85	** In fanfics that are villainizing both Ron and Ginny, you can expect this to be extended to their mother, Molly Weasley. She will be portrayed as a manipulative SocialClimber who instigated all of Ron and Ginny's wrongdoing, arranging for Harry to befriend Ron and teaching Ginny how to brew love potions so that she can use them on Harry. Sometimes, it will be revealed that Molly herself used love potions to get Arthur and still uses them to keep him in her thrall, turning her into a character vile as [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil Merope Gaunt]]. Almost inevitably, Molly will be doing all this in cahoots with an evil Dumbledore (see above), and he will be the real mastermind behind it all.
86	* This trope is OlderThanFeudalism:
87	** Greek heroes from ''Literature/TheIliad'' and ''Literature/TheOdyssey'' often become outright villainous in Roman works ([[SoreLoser the Romans imagined themselves to be of Trojan origin]]).
88	** Virgil and Ovid both portray the Greek heroes at Troy mostly in terms of their post-victory atrocities.
89	** Medieval European writers usually knew Latin but not Greek; as a result, they tended to inherit the Romans' bias. Dante places Odysseus [[Literature/TheDivineComedy in the eighth circle of Hell]], and both Chaucer and Shakespeare are merciless to the Greeks in their versions of ''Theatre/TroilusAndCressida''.
90	** Ovid also had a marked tendency to let his beef with various Roman authority figures color his writings, especially about the gods. While all the Graeco-Roman pantheon had their moments, Ovid's stories tend to portray humanity as the long-suffering victims of JerkassGods. For example, Medusa before Ovid was just another monster (daughter of Phorcys and Ceto, and also had two gorgon sisters) who needed killing, but Ovid couldn't resist the opportunity to write gods torturing a hapless mortal and made up a backstory for her where she was raped by Poseidon and then victim-blamed by Athena. Ovid is also the one ancient author who consistently wrote Zeus as an explicit rapist instead of just [[ReallyGetsAround really getting around]].
91	** In Literature/TheBible, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esau Esau]] was a rival to his brother Jacob, but nowhere near an outright villain (and remember, Jacob tricked ''him'' out of ''his'' birthright). He even forgives Jacob when they meet again as adults.[[note]]Jacob did give him a lot of livestock though.[[/note]] However, since he was considered to be the ancestor of the Edomites, enemies of the Israelites,[[note]]The Edomites didn't exist as a nation by the first century, but they were considered by the rabbis to be the ancestors of all the nations and people that have persecuted Jews throughout history, including [[Literature/BookOfEsther Haman]] and Rome[[/note]] he was given a HistoricalVillainUpgrade. According to Literature/TheTalmud, he was a [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking rapist, murderer, and he denied God]]. He also [[KickTheDog tried to prevent Jacob being buried]] with Abraham and Isaac in the Cave of the Patriarchs, claiming that as firstborn he had the right to be buried there.
92	* An in-universe example in the book ''Literature/{{Penance}}''. Dolly, one of the girls who committed the murder at the center of the book, is an obsessive "Creeker", a fan of two school shooters, Matty and Brian. The Creeker fandom portrays Matty and Brian's victims in as bad a light as possible, reality be damned--by all evidence these kids were perfectly nice and at worst a little insensitive sometimes, but if you only learned about the massacre through Creeker fanfic you would think they were vicious bullies who practically ''forced'' Matty and Brian to shoot them.
93	* [[https://old.reddit.com/r/FuckStuartLittle/ The]] [[https://old.reddit.com/r/IhateStuartLittle/ top]] [[https://old.reddit.com/r/stuartlittlefacts/ 3]] ''Literature/StuartLittle'' subreddits are all dedicated towards hating his character, and claiming that he has done a variety of crimes.
94	* ''Literature/WarriorCats'': Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw are frequently victims of this from rabid [[DracoInLeatherPants Ashfur]] fans who blame his increasing insanity in later books on them. Squirrelflight is made into a she-devil who frequently pretends to love Ashfur as petty vengeance on Brambleclaw. Brambleclaw is made a HeManWomanHater and DomesticAbuser who regularly beats Squirrelflight because he's the son of the original BigBad, and thus can't be a good cat.
95	[[/folder]]
96
97	[[folder:Music Videos]]
98	* Music/{{Lit}}, Music/{{Miserable}}: You'll find a lot of people who genuinely think the members of Lit ''deserved'' [[spoiler:to get EatenAlive at the end of the video]], with people calling them perverts who were objectifying and degrading Val/Pam by walking all over the more titillating parts of her body. This conveniently ignores the fact that the GiantWoman clearly seems to be ''letting'' the guys explore her body, and the fact that a closer examination of the video shows that she was in control the whole time. Conversely, they idolize Val/Pam, saying that she is rightfully punishing the guys and taking control back by [[spoiler:eating them.]]
99	[[/folder]]
100
101	[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
102	* Many, ''many'' images, videos, and audio recordings depict [[Series/BarneyAndFriends Barney the Dinosaur]] as a child murderer courtesy of the show's PeripheryHatedom.
103	* ''Series/TheMuppetShow'': Various internet communities have done this to Kermit the Frog for whatever reason that’s always PlayedForLaughs.
104	* ''Series/SesameStreet'': Elmo, who suffers a similar PeripheryHatedom as Barney, gets this treatment as well.
105	[[/folder]]
106
107	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
108	* In ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'' canon, Kender are treated as one of the better of the "good" races, with many of both the novels and the game sourcebooks [[ShillingTheWesley spending a great deal of effort talking up their]] [[IncorruptiblePurePureness pure hearts and innocence]]. Statements like [[ChildrenAreInnocent "Kender are the eternal children of Krynn"]] and how Krynn would be a darker place without them are common. However, years of experience at the tabletop of kender characters [[ChaoticStupid "borrowing" the wizard's spellbook and the cleric's holy symbol]], all justified by their actual canon lore and characterization, has led to them becoming, in fanon, a despicable blight of inconsiderate thieves who are either brain-damaged or playing dumb. On some boards, killing Kender is considered to be PokeThePoodle-level evil at worst, as opposed to canon, where it's treated with about the same weight as [[WouldHurtAChild murdering children]]. This is primarily because a Kender's more distasteful traits in canon are because they truly don't know any better and aren't actively interfering with the reader, whereas the player sitting across from you with a smug grin on his face most certainly ''does'' know what he's doing ''and'' is usually screwing the game up for you in the process. This has to lead to many a table throwing a campaign OffTheRails to start a [[FinalSolution genocidal campaign]] against the Kender.
109	* There's a theory among ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' fans that Pelor, the Greyhawk sun god who more or less embodies LightIsGood, is actually evil - depending on your version, he's either actually [[LightIsNotGood a god of fire, deserts, and burning]], or a cover identity of Zarus, [[ANaziByAnyOtherName an obscure god of human supremacy.]] The evidence for this consists of a few artifacts with destructive aspects designed for undead-hunting, a myth where he refused to assist one of his clerics in the CycleOfRevenge, and the fact that one of his clerics was once shown casting an Evil spell (which wasn't considered Evil when said cleric was casting it). Though this is often clearly a joke, [[PoesLaw just as many people have taken it seriously.]]
110	* More than a few people in the fandom of Brazilian tabletop RPG ''Ordem Paranormal'' consider the [[BigGood Ordo Realitas]], an order dedicated to protecting people from paranormal monsters and evil cultists, to be worse than [[BigBad Kian]], because they aren't willing to [[WellIntentionedExtremist go to the same extremes (such as worldwide genocide) as him]] to stop the paranormal for good. The fans' reasoning for this is that murdering billions at once would be better in the long run than losing a number of people to paranormal entities every year - keep in mind, these same fans are often the ones quick to criticize the members of Ordo Realitas who kill/imprison cultists who have been caught doing something seemingly evil; never mind the fact that in-universe characters who have had contact with both groups pretty much unanimously have a much better opinion of the Order than of Kian's cultists, or that the people in Ordo Realitas genuinely care about each other and about innocent people.
111	* The Craftworld Eldar and Tau from ''TableTopGame/Warhammer40000'' get this from fans of the Imperium sometimes. Both alien races are forces for good... [[BlackAndGrayMorality in a way]], but the way some fanon depictions of them go, you'd think they were even worse than the other horrors of the galaxy, like the [[OmnicidalManiac Necrons]], the [[HordeOfAlienLocusts Tyranids]], the [[AxCrazy Orks]], or even the [[AbusivePrecursors Dark Eldar]]. Also, a lot of the things they blame the Eldar for, such as their view of other species as animals and willingness to sacrifice countless humans for the sake of a handful of Eldar, are things that ''the Imperium does too'', and often in much worse ways. They just get a pass since [[MostWritersAreHuman they're humans]].
112	[[/folder]]
113
114	[[folder:Theatre]]
115	* Happens to Raoul of ''Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' a lot, mostly due to being the perceived block between Christine and Erik getting together. The sequel, ''Theatre/LoveNeverDies'', only added fuel to the fire, with Raoul suddenly becoming [[TookALevelInJerkass an alcoholic jerk who doesn't care about Christine]]. Because the writers said so.
116	[[/folder]]
117
118	[[folder:Toys]]
119	* ''Toys/EverAfterHigh'': Apple White has a tendency to get the short end of the stick in fanworks. She gets turned into an AlphaBitch, BrainlessBeauty, and DumbBlonde, despite being a ''subversion'' of those tropes. She's a FriendlyEnemy to Raven, a GracefulLoser, and is shown to be a straight A-student with plenty of book smarts. At most, she's a LovableAlphaBitch due to her obliviousness and self-centeredness.
120	[[/folder]]
121
122	[[folder:Video Games]]
123	* ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'' has an InUniverse example in ''Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon's Keep'' (a abridged retelling of the main story in the form of a ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''-esque game). Tiny Tina makes you fight an {{Expy}} of [[spoiler: Angel, who turns into a giant maniacal [[SpiderPeople spider-woman.]] That's because she's pinning Roland's death on her, when in reality, Handsome Jack shot Roland from behind after Angel died in the battle, due to having her Eridium supply destroyed at her own request. Lilith and the others waste no time in calling her on this.]]
124	* ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'':
125	** While he's already a bad guy ([[HeWhoFightsMonsters or at least]] [[TragicVillain as much as the animatronics]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist in general are]]), Balloon Boy's dickery gets bolstered quite a bit.
126	** A number of people believe [[WouldHurtAChild the murderer William Afton]] and the [[ExpositionFairy Phone]] [[NiceGuy Guy]] to be one and the same, citing how both were security guards and how one of the former's sprites has him holding an object interpreted to be an old-fashioned phone, among other things. This has largely died down following the release of [[VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys3 the third game]], as it shows [[ItWasHisSled Afton met his end after Freddy Fazbear's Pizza was closed and left to rot]], whereas Phone Guy died months or even years when it was still in operation, thus disproving the theory, but a number of people believed in it regardless. The theory was debunked by [[WordOfGod Scott himself]].
127	** Luis Cabrera, a secondary character from the ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddysARSpecialDelivery'' unintended emails, tends to receive a variant of this. He's a co-worker of "Ness" (aka Vanny/Vanessa) who repeatedly messages her about her bizarre online behavior and SanitySlippage, with the implication that he's also [[DoggedNiceGuy romantically interested in her]], judging by his frequently complimenting her and trying to ask her out for coffee. He later ends up manipulated by her, [[LoveMakesYouDumb in large part because of his feelings]]. Many fans understandably see his actions as "creepy" because he oversteps boundaries and keeps sending messages even when Vanessa isn't going to respond. However, a few fans exaggerate his actions as being an AbhorrentAdmirer who [[EntitledToHaveYou feels entitled to Vanessa's love and attention]]. Reading between the lines throughout his emails shows that, while his actions do have some [[StalkerWithACrush stalkerish implications]] that would make someone feel uncomfortable, it's less out of maliciousness and/or entitlement and more out of being anxiety-prone and having [[NoSocialSkills poor social skills]]. Luis is legitimately trying to reach out to a co-worker undergoing SanitySlippage he has feelings for, it's just not the best way of going about it. He also later admits he's "probably overstepping" in later emails. It's also easy to forget that Luis is checking her search history at least partly because of his job as someone on the IT team who gets notified of "red flag" search terms.
128	** Being a protagonist both known for having an implied DarkAndTroubledPast and prone to morally grey actions in an IP that where almost every situation is an AmbiguousSituation has made it almost inevitable that Gregory, the KidHero player character of ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddysSecurityBreach'', is sometimes interpreted in a harsher or more cynical light by some members of the fandom. While some of these are legitimate EpilepticTrees about Gregory's characterization or role in the story, there are others who exaggerate his more questionable moments as pure villainy rather than, at worst, pragmatic ruthlessness to survive. For example, [[spoiler: while Vanny getting 'disassembled' in one ending is [[CruelAndUnusualDeath obviously a horrible way to go out]], Gregory not only does it in self-defense but is urged by Freddy to do so.]] Other than his TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior, Gregory is portrayed in-story as a MouthyKid whose darker personality traits most likely come from [[spoiler: seemingly living on the streets and having to 'grow up' faster as a result]], with no major indication as to otherwise.
129	* ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'': There is a tendency to present Raiden Shogun's actions as much more harmful than they actually were and calling her an outright criminal, who Inazuma had to be saved from by the Traveler.
130	** The infamous Vision Hunt Decree is often seen as a crime she has never been held accountable for. Realistically speaking, however, it was simply a new law Raiden Shogun has passed and, being the ruler of Inazuma, she had full right of doing so. It can be seen as an equivalent of gun control laws which are completely common in RealLife (just like Sakoku Decree is just a regular border control). Nobody has ever died as a direct result of the Decree, even if they refused to hand over their Vision, nor was it a threat to Inazuma's sovereignty. The only people who have been killed were the ones who formed LaResistance and tried to use military force to overrule her, causing a civil war.
131	** The game made it clear that majority of Inazumans didn't care much about the Vision Hunt which is not surprising, since most people don't have Visions. This law didn't affect them, so it's hard to expect some huge social backlash against Raiden's rule. [[spoiler: Same goes for Ei locking herself up and supposedly leaving the country without care for 500 years, since the Shogun who was put in her place was a competent substitute leader (so much that citizens generally didn't notice a difference).]]
132	** Contrary to frequent accusations, there is no known person who has been actually "murdered" by Raiden. She is often resented for killing Kazuha's friend and (to a lesser extent) [[spoiler: La Signora]], but both these cases were fair duels and "[[DuelToTheDeath the loser dies]]" rule was clearly established and agreed upon. All participants were (or at least should be) ready to face the consequences of defeat and even Kazuha himself doesn't bear a grudge against Raiden Shogun or Sara (despite what his fan portrayals would suggest).
133	* ''VideoGame/{{OMORI}}'':
134	** In many fanfics where [[spoiler: The aftermath of Sunny's confession that he accidentally killed Mari]] is explored, you can bet that it will portray Hero as [[spoiler: losing it the most due to how he and Mari were in a (presumably) committed relationship at the time of her death.]] This makes this somewhat justified, but not to the extent that Hero would ''[[DisproportionateRetribution kill Sunny]]'' over it, especially since he's the MartialPacifist of the friend group.
135	** For some reason, fans depict [[spoiler: Basil as an AxCrazy SerialKiller who's willing to kill anyone to prevent Sunny's secret from getting out,]] when it's...[[FriendToAllLivingThings Basil we're talking about.]]
136	** Mari, in canon, is generally a CoolBigSis who, at her absolute worst, has a perfectionist streak that makes her InnocentlyInsensitive and [[spoiler: her death is clearly a tragic accident that everyone involved deeply regrets]]. A common FandomSpecificPlot, however, portrays her as an abusive BigSisterBully whose nicer traits are a facade, with such stories [[spoiler: implying -- if not outright stating -- that she ''[[KarmicDeath deserved]]'' to die]].
137	** Aubrey's mother in canon probably wouldn't be winning any awards for good parenting, but her issue are being negligent and there are hints that her neglect are the result of psychiatric issues. It's not hard to find fanfics that portray her as physically or verbally abusive towards her daughter.
138	* James Sunderland of ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'' gets this a lot from certain fans. Canonically, [[spoiler:he did perform a MercyKill on his wife that was in part motivated by the emotional abuse, neglect, and sexual frustration he suffered as a result of her terminal illness and mood swings]], but to hear some fans go on about it, he's a [[spoiler:murderer and monstrous sexual predator who views all women as nothing more than objects to sate his lust, as reflected by how the monsters he faces are all feminine and sexualized in appearance]]. What this overlooks is that James is haunted by these suggestive entities because [[spoiler:he's ''consumed with guilt and self-loathing'' over letting his selfish feelings drive him to take Mary's life, which the malevolent forces behind Silent Hill are exploiting to torment him]]. Although, interestingly, the nature of the game means his true characterization is partially up to the individual player; [[spoiler:if you obtain the "Maria" ending, then James ''does'' give in to his baser desires and effectively abandons his love for Mary by accepting Maria --what the town offers to James as an "idealized" version of his late wife-- as a substitute]].
139	* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
140	** Mario gets this treatment in ''VideoGame/SuperTanookiSkin2D'' for wearing fur... despite said fur not coming from an animal at all.
141	** Mario is seen like this by a great part of the fanbase (particularly when those two ''WebVideo/GameTheory'' videos came out), mostly because of Luigi (Luigi doesn't get as much screen time as him, but many people make it look like Mario ''mistreats and abuses'' his brother, when even the most cynical observer can see it's standard sibling stuff), the endless enemies he stomps ([[DoubleStandard other playable characters aren't blamed]]), and his relationships with Daisy and Pauline (both relationships are ''long'' since dead, ''Odyssey'' even confirming Mario and Pauline as JustFriends) besides Peach. Some of these fans use a mildly OOC moment of Mario ''stepping on Luigi's foot'' in a ''VideoGame/MarioTennis'' game as an example of Mario abusing his brother, but the ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigi'' series where he is shown to love his brother and come to his rescue various times (to name an example) is usually ignored.
142	** Nintendo themselves poked fun at the concept during the ''[[HostileShowTakeover Bowser Takeover]]'' event to promote ''VideoGame/MarioParty10''. [[https://www.facebook.com/Nintendo/photos/a.802116729872782/802136189870836/?type=3&size=960%2C960&fbid=802136189870836 One of the facts Bowser presents about himself]] is a description of how ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'' "tells the tale of a WONDERFUL HERO named [[DracoInLeatherPants Bowser]] who hangs out with a princess and is MERCILESSLY ATTACKED by a guy in a red hat."
143	** [[BigBad Bowser]] and [[OverlordJr Bowser Jr.]], whilst normally antagonistic, may sometimes have their more sympathetic and [[AffablyEvil affable]] elements downplayed or even eliminated.
144	** A few Toadette fans who dislike the works of ''Creator/YoshizillaRhedosaurus'' will often portray Dry Bowser as this.
145	* Lara Croft's character in the Core Design era of the ''Franchise/TombRaider'' games gradually changed her into becoming more snarky and morally dubious (partly due to the developers [[ArtistDisillusionment getting tired of making ''Tomb Raider'' games constantly without a break]]). Fans critical of ''VideoGame/TombRaiderIII'' depict Lara as being a cold blooded selfish killer who will happily kill anyone that gets in her way and giving no shits about anyone or anything other than the artifacts she's hunting down. Most fans will use the finale cutscene that shows Lara killing a helicopter pilot to steal his helicopter to prove their point on Lara's viciousness. While Lara does kill, she's usually attacked first (mostly from wild animals and trigger happy guards). Lara is also seen showing concern towards two people who are in clear distress (Tony's hallucinations and an Aussie soldier whose leg got eaten) and even offers helping one of them escape their predicament. Most fans tend to ignore Lara's empathetic display in those scenes.
146	* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'':
147	** [[spoiler: Chara/The Fallen Child's]] portrayals in fanon [[RiddleForTheAges may or may not be this]]. The game isn't shy about being ambiguous in their personality, and leaves hints for both [[spoiler:Chara being rotten to the core]] or [[spoiler:[[NarratorAllAlong the game's narrator on all routes, who has a sense of humor and compassion]].]]
148	** Asgore sometimes suffers from this in some fanworks, being depicted as a CrazyJealousGuy or a StalkerWithACrush towards [[spoiler: Toriel]] and a far worse person than he is in general. While Asgore is not exactly morally pure (it's hard to excuse [[spoiler: killing six children and trying to commit genocide]]), the game goes out of its way to depict him as a fundamentally NiceGuy who felt he had no choice. And while he does wish to get back with them, he respects their choice and is shown in the ending working for them, which implies the two of them were able to mend their relationship somewhat.
149	** This of course works the other way around: [[spoiler:Toriel]] is often made a bad person so Asgore can be seen as [[DracoInLeatherPants better than he actually is.]]
150	[[/folder]]
151
152	[[folder:Web Animation]]
153	* ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'':
154	** Before ''The Circus'' confirmed that Stella did abuse Stolas and went out of her way to belittle and demean him every chance she got even before he cheated on her, she was often depicted as an abuser by Stolitz (Stolas/Blitzø) shippers instead because Stella happened to be married to Stolas. In a fit of rage, after learning that Stolas has cheated on her with a lowly imp, Stella hires Striker to assassinate Stolas. While Stella certainly was far from a saint, there was no indication at the time that Stella abused Stolas, much less was an abusive partner to him - or neglectful or abusive to their daughter, Octavia. Despite this, many "pre-Season 2" fanfictions, fan art pieces, and fan comics go out of their way to demonize Stella for "getting in the way of Stolas and Blitzø being together". One fanfiction even goes as far as to depict Stolas and Octavia teaming up to torture and murder Stella in a graphic way.
155	** Stolas gets this treatment time to time, some doing so out of dislike for Stolas' toxic behavior towards Blitzo and other imps and that fact that he is an adulterer, while others do so out of disdain for his characterization in season 2. The results usually have Stolas' negative qualities turned up to eleven, with some alternate universes going as far to make him as abusive as canon Stella.
156	** Blitzo also gets this treatment as much as Stolas as well, most of them doing it because of toxic behavior towards Moxxie and Millie in Season 1 and has become more of the main focus as of Season 2 that M&M fans had a problem with. An example of this put in effect is the Absolutions of Hell wrote by Rileyopal and Optimuz when they took Blitzo negative qualities being turned up to eleven, with Blitzo ending up going from respecting Millie to allowing Martha cook Millie during the Murder Family rewrite.
157	* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}''
158	** Many works where Team RWBY ''isn't'' part of the primary focus has them cast in a much more disparaging light, seeing them punished for civilian casualties that didn't exist in canon or giving them InUniverse ProtagonistCenteredMorality.
159	** Ozpin is subjected to this more often than not. His personality is often heavily changed to make him less benevolent and well-intentioned, though ''how'' it's done depends on the genre. In more comedic works Ozpin is often made an AdaptationalJerkass and AdaptationalDumbass, being made out as the butt of numerous jokes while his canon plans are mocked relentlessly. In more drama-focused works Ozpin is given AdaptationalVillainy, being made very duplicitous and monstrous in his own right, with a willingness to sacrifice ''anything'' if it means stopping Salem.
160	[[/folder]]
161
162	[[folder:Webcomics]]
163	* ''Webcomic/Rain2010'': While Gavin in the early chapters was certainly a bit of a rude, {{Jerkass}} who had trouble accepting that his childhood friend Rain is UsefulNotes/{{Transgender}}, he was still genuinely trying his best to understand Rain's situation and is struggling with his own crush on her as well. Despite this, some readers just found him to be nothing but an irredeemable JerkWithAHeartOfJerk, to the point that they even expected him to be the comic's BigBad. After he TookALevelInKindness, fans eventually warmed up to him.
164	* ''Webcomic/SpringtrapAndDeliah'': Predictably, Nick is this to a lot of fans. It's not uncommon for readers to claim he's being a helicopter parent and that his hostility towards Springtrap is just jealousy because a living animatronic is proving to be a better father than him. While the latter is partially true, this tends to overlook the very important fact that Nick is ''completely right'' to distrust Springtrap. Springtrap killed five children in life and he's obviously mentally unstable in the present. If anything, Nick should be ''more'' worried about him hanging around Deliah. Not to mention that, when all of his suspicions are proven correct, Springtrap threatens to murder Deliah and make Nick watch before killing ''him''.
165	[[/folder]]

Context Main / RonTheDeathEater