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9[[quoteright:349:[[ComicBook/{{Superman}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lex_luthor_pre_and_post_explosion_png.png]]]]
10[[caption-width-right:349:"Explosion" is a funny way to describe "hair loss".]]
11
12->''"A child is born to innocence. A child is drawn towards good. Why then do so many among us go so horribly wrong? What makes some walk the path of darkness, while others choose the light? Is it will? Is it destiny? Can we ever hope to understand the force that shapes the soul?"''
13-->-- ''Series/{{Heroes}}''
14
15Because almost [[RousseauWasRight every character began their life as someone good]], the moment where that changes is a powerful beat in the story. Typically this moment happens early on, to establish why there's a conflict in the first place, but it can also be established via OriginsEpisode or {{Flashback}} later in the story. This is the moment when a character who could have been on the side of Good (or at least not taken any actions) decides that the only way that they can get what they want is to become a villain.
16
17This, naturally, is especially common with {{Fallen Hero}}es, who usually get a DownerEnding where they lose faith in themselves and/or humanity. This will be especially poignant if they UsedToBeASweetKid (see also: FreudianExcuse). The moment doesn't always mean that [[FaceHeelTurn a heroic character became a villain]], they just need to have had a moment in their lives, where they didn't ruin lives and haven't yet made choices that hurt others. If this is the subject of the main plot, you may be watching a ProtagonistJourneyToVillain or BigBadSlippage. Details of a usually (but not always) DarkAndTroubledPast may be revealed.
18
19Keep in mind that the [[DisproportionateRetribution reasons]] aren't always [[FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse good ones]], if there is such a thing as a good reason for turning evil.
20
21Contrast DiabolusExNihilo, when the villain's backstory is pointedly left absent. See AmbiguousStartOfDarkness for when it's unclear when the villain chose evil over anything else.
22
23The TropeNamer is ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' prequel ''Start of Darkness'' (overlapping with OriginsEpisode), whose title is itself referring to the 1899 Joseph Conrad novel ''Literature/HeartOfDarkness'', which tells the story of the protagonist's journey down the Congo river to rescue the mysterious Mr. Kurtz, an experience that changed his entire outlook on life for the worse.
24
25[[noreallife]]
26----
27!!Example Subpages:
28[[index]]
29* StartOfDarkness/AnimeAndManga
30* StartOfDarkness/ComicBooks
31* StartOfDarkness/FanWorks
32* StartOfDarkness/{{Literature}}
33* StartOfDarkness/LiveActionTV
34* StartOfDarkness/VideoGames
35* StartOfDarkness/WesternAnimation
36[[/index]]
37
38!!Other Examples:
39
40[[foldercontrol]]
41
42[[folder:Audio Plays]]
43* Yet another Start of Darkness for the Master in the ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'' audio drama ''Master''. Apparently, it all goes back to when he and the Doctor were at the Academy, and he killed an older boy who was tormenting them. [[spoiler: This isn't what happened. The Doctor killed the boy and then made a deal with Death for the guilt to be transferred to his friend.]]
44%% Please don't link the below with Big Finish Doctor Who. I, Davros is a Doctor Who spinoff.
45* The spinoff audio drama series ''I, Davros'' shows the early life of everyone's favorite [[Series/DoctorWho Dalek creating]] MadScientist. Interesting in that he isn't given any FreudianExcuse, and you don't gain any sympathy for him, just understanding.
46[[/folder]]
47
48[[folder:Film — Animation]]
49* Shown in a prologue in ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'' on how Mr. Incredible giving Buddy, his #1 fan, the cold shoulder eventually turned him into Syndrome.
50* In ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda1'', we get brief glimpses of Tai Lung's when Oogway refuses to give him the Dragon Scroll. Master Shifu was partly to blame for this as well, since he never properly disciplined Tai Lung, and instead continuously praised and encouraged him, which helped lead to his FaceHeelTurn.
51* ''WesternAnimation/TheLEGOMovie2TheSecondPart'': Rex Dangervest is revealed to be [[spoiler:Emmet from a future timeline in which he was accidentally thrown under the dryer and forgotten by Finn, causing him to become bitter and cynical.]]
52* A tie-in storybook based on Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{The Lion King|1994}}'' was actually about Scar's backstory which explains not only how and why he became the series' BigBad, but also how and why he got his scar in the first place, as well as his real name.
53* ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'' narrates his own start of darkness being the villain to Metro Man back when they were school kids. Metro Man was adored by their classmates, but no matter what he tried, no one liked Megamind. So, he decided, since being bad seemed to be the ONE thing he was good at, [[ThenLetMeBeEvil he would BE as bad as he could be]]!
54* Randall in ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'' starts to despise Sulley after [[spoiler: Sulley accidentally humiliates Randall in the last round of the Scare Games.]]
55* ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'' gives us a {{flashback}} of [[spoiler:Lotso-Huggin' Bear being accidentally abandoned in a field on a picnic, then [[ReplacementGoldfish replaced with an identical model]]. The flashback's narrator tells us "Something changed that day inside Lotso. Something snapped." That's when Lotso lost all trust in humans and started his path on the dark side, eventually becoming the evil ruler of the Sunnyside Daycare Center]].
56* In ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'', there was once a character named Turbo, protagonist of the racing game ''[=TurboTime=]'', who '''loved''' the attention he got from gamers when they played his game. When a newer racing game, ''[=RoadBlasters=]'', came to the arcade and took the gamers' attention away from him, he [[BerserkButton didn't]] [[GreenEyedMonster take it well]]. He took it '''so''' poorly, in fact, that he left his own game and entered ''[=RoadBlasters=]'' in an attempt to sabotage it. He succeeded, at a price: both ''[=TurboTime=]'' and ''[=RoadBlasters=]'' were deemed permanently out-of-order, unplugged and removed from the arcade. Turbo's reckless actions were so shocking that a phrase was created to describe them: "going Turbo". It's actually through an explanation of the meaning of the phrase that the aforementioned events are shown in a {{flashback}}. It turns out that [[spoiler:Turbo actually survived and went on to invade an even newer racing game by the name of ''Sugar Rush'', forcing himself into the game with a disguise and a new name: "King Candy". Unfortunately, the game already had a playable royal by the name of Vanellope von Schweetz, but he soon [[DummiedOut fixed that little issue]]. ...So, yeah, he's definitely the BigBad.]]
57[[/folder]]
58
59[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]
60* Film/DisneyLiveActionRemakes:
61** ''Film/{{Maleficent}}'' has this happen to both the titular character and Stefan. Maleficent's is Stefan betraying her trust and cutting off her wings while Stefan's is more subtle: initially it was his ambition to become king that led him to betray Maleficent in the first place, but Maleficent vengefully cursing Aurora drove him into even further villainy and madness whilst trying to defy it.
62** ''Film/{{Cruella}}'' follow the eponymous character from a young grifter WaitingForABreak in the ruthless world of fashion to a fur-obsessed criminal.
63* ''Film/DraculaUntold'' explores the origin story of the man who became the legendary vampire, Count Dracula.
64* ''Film/FreddysDeadTheFinalNightmare'' has shades of this in the flashbacks of Freddy's memories when Maggie goes inside his head.
65* ''Film/Ghosted2023'': Leveque, a former French secret agent, relates to Cole that nearly dying near Kabul made him realize how he'd given all he had to his country without gaining anything for himself. The realization convinced him to become a criminal, selling weapons of mass destruction on the black market for profit. Cole, pretending he's a CIA agent, claims later that Leveque's story inspired his own turn to crime and selling Aztec (a WMD).
66* The flashbacks in ''Film/TheGodfatherPartII'' show how Vito Corleone got to where we saw him in [[Film/TheGodfather the first movie]]. When he's a little boy in Sicily, his family is killed by the mafia, and he has to be smuggled to America to avoid the same fate. He grows up to get married and work in a grocery store, apparently not planning on a criminal career, until he loses his job to the nephew of the local mafia boss and, around the same time, is lured into his first robbery by a friend. Later, when the aforementioned boss demands a cut of the proceeds from the friends' now brisk trade in stolen goods, Vito decides to kill him instead and [[KlingonPromotion effectively replaces him]] in the neighborhood. His evolution is complete when we see him travel to Sicily to [[BestServedCold avenge his family's murder]]. All of this is a parallel to his son's ProtagonistJourneyToVillain in the present-day parts of the film.
67* ''Film/IronMan3'' shows Killian's start of darkness after Tony doesn't meet him on the roof to talk about A.I.M. He looks over the edge and considers suicide, until he realises that no one even knows he's there.
68* ''Film/JamesBond'':
69** Francisco Scaramanga of ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'' tells his to Bond while watching a kickboxing match.
70--->'''Scaramanga:''' When I was a boy, I was brought up in a circus. My only real friend was a huge, magnificent, African bull elephant. One day, his handler mistreated him and he went berserk. Bleeding, dying, he came and found me, stood on one leg, his best trick, picked me up and put me on his back. The drunken handler came along and emptied his gun into his eye. I emptied my stage pistol into his! You see, Mr. Bond, I always thought I loved animals. Then I discovered that I enjoyed killing people even more.
71** Janus (aka [[spoiler: Alec Trevelyan]]) from ''Film/{{Goldeneye}}'' tells his to Bond in the statue park scene.
72--->'''Janus:''' We're both orphans, James. But where your parents had the luxury of dying in a climbing accident, mine survived the British betrayal and Stalin's execution squads... but my father couldn't let himself or my mother live with the shame of it. [=MI6=] figured I was too young to remember... and in one of life's little ironies, the son went to work for the government whose betrayal caused the father to kill himself and his wife.
73* ''Film/Joker2019'' details, as the title suggests, the origins of it version of the Joker, a man named Arthur Fleck who suffers from mental illness who's picked on by society and snaps after [[spoiler:getting his stand-up mocked on National TV and learning his mother lied about him being Thomas Wayne's son, learned he was really adopted, and that his adopted mother let him be abused]].
74* ''Film/AMurderOfCrows'': Corvus' had occurred when the hit and run driver who killed his family got OffOnATechnicality. He saw that the man himself was remorseful, but his lawyer simply delighted in winning (and in his pay of course). So he became Corvus' first victim, and other {{amoral attorney}}s followed.
75* ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'' has Jigsaw's origin story in ''Film/SawII'' before it's expanded on in ''Film/SawIV''. ''Saw II'' is less of a sympathy play as while it gives a perfectly logical reason for Jigsaw's actions, it's still not rational enough to be sympathetic. ''Saw IV'' is a more conventional bid for sympathy, but it could also be viewed as simply setting up his state of mind for ''Saw II''.
76* The 1951 ''Film/{{Scrooge|1951}}'' explores this during the Christmas Past sequence, more so than other adaptations of ''Literature/AChristmasCarol''.
77* ''Film/{{Split}}'' actually counts as one, when you take into account [[spoiler:the film is set within the same universe as ''Film/{{Unbreakable}}'', thereby making the film a Super ''Villain'' Origin Story instead of a Super Hero one]].
78* The ''Franchise/StarWars'' Prequel Trilogy is essentially a Start of Darkness for the whole franchise, showing how the Empire came to be and how Anakin transformed from an idealistic young Jedi and the prophesied Chosen One into the Emperor's brutal, mutilated enforcer Darth Vader. The films (and later ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'') show that his FatalFlaw is ultimately that he cares too much about those close to him and is willing to get very violent very fast to protect them, even if it means destroying the Republic and the Jedi Order if it can earn him a chance to save his wife from potentially dying in childbirth, which makes him all the more vulnerable to [[BigBad Palpatine's]] [[TheCorruptor corruption]]. His journey to the Dark Side truly begins in ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'' when he starts having visions of his mother Shmi in pain and goes to Tatooine to find her. He did... mere moments before she dies in his arms after who knows what kind of abuse at the hands of the Tusken Raiders who had captured her. Anakin then murdered every last living thing in that village--men, women, children, and animals--and burned it to the ground. He doesn't get his iconic black life support suit until the end of the next movie, but it's safe to say that ''this'' is when Darth Vader was born.
79* ''Film/TheTexasChainsawMassacreTheBeginning'' is this for Leatherface.
80* ''Film/XMenFirstClass'':
81** The film depicts Mystique as an insecure young woman looking for a purpose... [[WellIntentionedExtremist and she finds it.]] Taken even further in ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'', where she effectively becomes a DarkActionGirl. Xavier even states that her first deliberate murder [[spoiler: of Bolivar Trask in the original timeline]] "is when Raven became Mystique."
82** The film is also one to Magneto. In the prologue, we see his experiences living in a Nazi concentration camp, where he witnesses his mother's execution. At first, he and Xavier are FireForgedFriends, but Magneto slips more and more into villainy until he declares a new faction of the X-Men, whose objective is not to hide their mutation among humans. This would eventually descend into the supremacist faction of the original films.
83[[/folder]]
84
85[[folder:Music]]
86* Music/DoctorSteel's ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvOJHyDypf8 Lament for a Toy Factory]]''.
87* Music/{{Gloryhammer}}'s BigBad SorcerousOverlord Zargothrax finally gets on in "The Keeper of the Celestial Flame of Abernethy", although [[ParodiedTrope they keep it simple]]:
88--> Travel back 1000 years to a time before Dundee\
89There lived a simple peasant weaving baskets in a field\
90But when a prince destroyed his home to build a kingdom new\
91He forged a pact with chaos, swore to bring him to his doom.
92[[/folder]]
93
94[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
95* There have been several in-character ones over the years. It can be argued that Wrestling/RandyOrton's slow descent from the suave Legend Killer to the sadistic Viper was a result of his ousting from Wrestling/{{Evolution}}, something he never got over. Evolution played a major part in Randy's character and actions, being the reason for his hatred for Wrestling/TripleH, extending all the way to 2009, four years after the stable had fully dissolved, and yet at the same time a blueprint for Randy's own power stable Legacy. It's also pointed to as the main reason why Randy had gone kayfabe-insane in 2009. The event had such an effect on him that one could argue that it defines his ''entire'' career. Only recently has he managed to get over it.
96* Half-jokingly, fans said that Wrestling/UltimateWarrior's NoSell to Wrestling/TripleH's Pedigree at [=WrestleMania=] 12 was the moment that Triple H decided that he will use his [[MemeticMutation burial shovel]] to bury those that stand on his way to reach the top of the wrestling world.
97* Wrestling/MattHardy was never the same after his long-time girlfriend Wrestling/{{Lita}} cheated on him with his behind-the-scenes best friend Wrestling/{{Edge|Wrestler}}. There were a lot of moments beforehand that really pushed him close to the breaking point, but it was unquestionably this event that made sure there was no going back for him. What followed afterwards was a professional and personal breakdown that lasted several years, and even after getting his life back together, the emotional trauma had built up to levels that eventually culminated in the birth of "BROKEN" Matt Hardy.
98[[/folder]]
99
100[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
101* ''TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness'':
102** The games all have a mechanic that encourages this trope for players: as the players sin or make immoral or counterproductive choices, they "degenerate", making future choices of slightly greater depravity and further degeneration easier and more likely. Each degeneration can also give a character a minor derangement such as a phobia or narcissistic tendencies, which can force further sins even if the player doesn't want to do so. It fits this trope because at the bottom of the scale the player becomes so irrationally self-centered and evil that they cannot be played and become an NPC. What kind of monster depends on the game: for mortals, you become a SerialKiller, werewolves become a movie-style wolf-man that hunts humans for fun, changelings become completely unable to tell imagination from reality ([[spoiler: And become [[TheFairFolk True Fae]] if they're powerful enough]]), vampires become ravening blood-crazed beasts, and mages turn everything in their area of effect into a Franchise/CthulhuMythos story.
103** In the fan game ''TabletopGame/GeniusTheTransgression'', Genii have an alternate way of getting down to the bottom- failing Unmada checks. The first failure turns you into an Unmada, a Genius who has lost touch with ''real'' science and believes that his wonders are the true way the world works. Unmada aren't necessarily evil, but they ''are'' dangerous (One could, for example, [[BlueAndOrangeMorality see nothing wrong]] with [[Film/TheTerminator Skynet]]'s modus operandi), and if they fail a further Unmada check, they completely lose themselves to Inspiration and become Illuminated (completely alien and amoral intelligences), just the same as if they had fully bottomed out their Obligation. It's both easier and more common for a Genius to become Illuminated in this way.
104* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'': When [[TheChessmaster Nicol]] [[DragonsAreDemonic Bolas]] was very young, he witnessed his sister Merrevia Sal be murdered by primitive human hunters. This seems to be the root of his deep-seated fear of death and his need to be more powerful than the humans.
105[[/folder]]
106
107[[folder:Toys]]
108* The ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' web-serial ''Mutran Chronicles'' and a scene from the book ''Swamp of Secrets'' reveal just why the formerly benevolent [[BrotherhoodOfEvil Brotherhood of Makuta]] turned against the Matoran Universe--it was because the peoples of the universe all attributed their efforts to preserve the balance of things to Mata Nui, and shunned them for being affiliated with the element of shadow. They got fed up with this. The comic ''Rise and Fall of the Skrall'' also details why the titular race wanted to overrun the desert region of Bara Magna along with its locals--they were driven out of their home-realm by robot assassins, and needed the space to fight back. Although it's to be assumed that being mean has always been their way.
109* ''ComicBook/BeastWarsUprising:'' The story "Identity Politics" is one for Scorponok, and Megatron. The former starts off as a senior worker at a refinery, and the latter a good-natured, approachable administrator who's even willing to talk with ''Maximals'' (a rarity in the stratified Cybertron). Then Megatron's boss shafts him to further his own political career, Scorponok makes a casual comment about finding a stash of energon of their own, and it all snowballs from there...
110[[/folder]]
111
112[[folder:Visual Novels]]
113* ''Literature/FateZero'' is mostly a retelling of the Fourth Grail War, making it the prequel of ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight.'' In it, Kotomine is still more or less a good guy, though all his mental issues are still present. While the war is going on and Servants are going down, Gilgamesh is needling Kotomine towards realizing what he is and descending into villainy.
114* About one-third of the Matsuribayashi chapter of ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'' is spent giving [[spoiler:Nurse Takano]] one of these.
115** Shion gets one herself during the Meakashi chapter (takes about 2 episodes in the anime, culminating with the "distinguishment" incident). The events are implied to happen in multiple arcs (having taken place one year before the story begins, but whether the events "detonate" depends on the arc) with clear exceptions like Saikoroshi-hen where Shion stayed at St Lucia to support her sister as much as possible from far away.
116[[/folder]]
117
118[[folder:Web Animation]]
119* ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'':
120** ''The Project Freelancer Saga'' is essentially this for Maine, and a downplayed version for Carolina and Washington (who become [[AntiHero Anti-Heroes]], but not completely evil). Past Maine was ruthless in combat, but still a loyal teammate who saved Wash, Carolina and York from a collapsing building. As the flashbacks continue, he goes mute and gets Sigma to compensate. Sigma becomes interested in metastability and brainwashed Maine to help him, eventually turning him into the Meta, arc villain of ''The Recollection''. Carolina was Freelancer's top operative, but [[AlwaysSecondBest being constantly shown up by Tex]] wore on her and made her temper worse and worse. After finding out the full story behind Project Freelancer, she became bitter and driven to vengeance, uncaring of even her own team. Wash was the adorable ButtMonkey of his team, but then he had Epsilon implanted, which gave him all the memories of the Director's crimes and a second-hand mental breakdown, leading to the cold and vengeful character who debuted in season 6.
121** Season 15 has the ''Desert Gulch Chronicles'' flashbacks, which detail the time when the [[PsychoPrototype Blues and Reds]] were in the same situation as the Reds and Blues -- playing CaptureTheFlag in a box canyon in the middle of nowhere. One member of the Blue Team, Mark Temple, was childhood friends with Biff, a member of the Red Team. They were even about to try to get Biff medically discharged so he could return to his girlfriend, but before they could do that, Agents Carolina and Texas were sent down for a battle. In the battle, Tex accidentally killed Biff. She and Carolina left the gulch and [[ButForMeItWasTuesday never thought of it again...]] but Temple had just lost his best friend, and the revelation that Biff had died for nothing more than a training exercise (and the UNSC had voluntarily given them up for it) broke him. He eventually started tracking down and killing Freelancers ([[MisplacedRetribution even ones who had nothing to do with what happened]]) with the rest of the Blues and Reds, and plotted to destroy the UNSC.
122* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'':
123** The Character Trailer for Volume 6 shows the trajectory of [[Characters/RWBYAdamTaurus Adam Taurus]], from his earliest days as a violent pro-Faunus activist to his actions during the show, being a villainous anti-human that partakes in genocides.
124** The Volume 6 episode "The Lost Fable" reveals how [[Characters/RWBYSalem Salem]] transformed from being an ordinary woman into Remnant's AncientEvil. [[spoiler:Imprisoned her entire life by her [[AbusiveParent abusive father]] she was unable to cope with the death of [[BigGood Ozma]], her saviour and lover. [[BarredFromTheAfterlife Punished]] with CompleteImmortality for trying to trick the gods into resurrecting him, her [[RageAgainstTheHeavens vengeance]] destroys humanity, and she ends up corrupted after trying to kill herself in the divine Pools of Annihilation. After the gods [[ResurrectiveImmortality resurrect Ozma]] to try and redeem the reborn humanity, the lovers clash over Salem's destructive urges, accidentally [[OffingTheOffspring killing their four daughters]] and locking them into a bitter ForeverWar for the fate of humanity.]]
125** The Volume 8 episode "Midnight" reveals how [[Characters/RWBYCinderFall Cinder Fall]] became a sadistic villain. [[spoiler:Adopted and raised by a cruel Atlesian hotelier and her daughters, Cinder is worked, starved and tortured as a child-slave. A local Huntsman sympathises with her, secretly training her to become a Huntress so she can escape when she comes of age. Unfortunately, the years of endless abuse eventually catch up to Cinder when she snaps and kills her adoptive family; once her mentor tries arresting her, she also kills him. Now she's obsessed with becoming strong, powerful and feared and treats others as her abusive step-mother once treated her.]]
126* ''WebAnimation/SuperMarioBrosZ'' features a prologue where Metal Sonic becomes the deadly Mecha Sonic... and proceeds to destroy all of Mobius and kill all of Sonic's friends.
127[[/folder]]
128
129[[folder:Webcomics]]
130* In ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob'', Fructose Riboflavin has been the greatest criminal in the Nemesite Empire for the better part of two thousand years. But he UsedToBeASweetKid. [[https://bobadventures.thecomicseries.com/comics/486 Then his dad died...]]
131* ''Webcomic/MagIsa'': [[http://mag-isa.thecomicseries.com/comics/pl/119656 The villains]] in this comic had miserable lives before they became villains.
132* The {{Trope Namer|s}} -- admittedly more recent than most of the other examples here, but it's still a pretty cool title -- is ''[[Recap/TheOrderOfTheStickStartOfDarkness Start of Darkness]]'', prequel to ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' detailing EvilOverlord Xykon and his [[TheDragon Dragon]] Redcloak's past. Xykon, unlike most, is astonishingly evil from the get-go. We get to see him become ''more'' evil... but more importantly, a lot more ''competent''. [[AntiVillain Redcloak is a whole other story]].\
133The comic's author and illustrator, Rich Burlew, said in the Introduction that the greatest challenge of ''Start of Darkness'' was to tell Xykon's backstory without making him even slightly sympathetic. He solves this problem by making Xykon's every appearance push him farther beyond the MoralEventHorizon.
134-->'''Burlew''': ... [Xykon]'s completely and wholly unapologetically evil, but more to the point, he's kind of a [[EvilIsPetty dick]].
135** The very first page of the book might have been teasing at it: Xykon is shown as someone who might come off as sympathetic for the first three or so panels, but revealed to be already evil before the page is over--at the age of ''four''. And yet, Burlew does give him one simple human, if not quite redeeming, quality that makes his final descent, if not sympathetic, at least understandable. After being turned into an undead creature, he loses his ability to enjoy simple pleasures such as the taste of coffee. [[spoiler:And then brutally murders the diner waitress because of it.]]
136** Burlew makes a point of not giving away Belkar's backstory in ''On the Origins of [=PCs=]'' (and the Belkar backstory comic for Kickstarter donors) for similar reasons, wanting the character to remain completely, unapologetically and unmistakably evil. Although, also to keep him funny. Evil isn't funny when it has a tragic backstory, just pitiable. Belkar ''does'' end up revealing a sob story in his childhood in the main comic... [[SubvertedTrope Entirely made up, it turns out, spun in order to gain roleplaying XP]][[note]]As the comic went on, it's revealed that Belkar is indeed quite small by halfling standards (at 3'2" according to himself) and is shown to be quite the sore spot for him, so at least that bit ''isn't'' completely made up[[/note]]. WordOfGod, as stated in ''On the Origins of [=PCs=]'', is that this is to represent how some players create elaborate backstories for their characters complete with family and previous obligations and some... don't.
137* In Act 6 of ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' we learn [[BigBad Lord English's]] origin. [[spoiler: He was a boy called Caliborn who dropped himself in a "[[{{Unwinnable}} dead]]" session of Sburb (the AbsurdlyHighStakesGame the characters are playing) than slowly worked to become more and more powerful until he ultimately became a full-blown EldritchAbomination. Also subverted in that we learn he was a scumbag even before he became Lord English. If anything he simply transformed himself from a HarmlessVillain into TheJuggernaut.]]
138* The flashback chapters of ''[[Webcomic/EvilPlan Evil Plan]]'' show how Stanley turned from an idealistic inventor into Urbane City's first super villain. [[spoiler: He found out his accountants were selling his inventions to super villains, he gained telekenesis via a self-experiment and accidentally killed his best friend trying to recreate it. The final scraps of his spirit crushed by trying to earn an honest buck as a bank teller, from there on he turned his company into a legitimate front, started building super gadgets, hired some minions and an engineer, opening the doors to the main story.]]
139* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', [[http://www.egscomics.com/comic/2016-07-06 Part 1]] of the arc [[http://www.egscomics.com/comic/2016-06-04 Sister 3]] is Pandora's backstory showing how the premature death of her husband started her down the path toward WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity.
140[[/folder]]
141
142[[folder:Web Original]]
143* ''WebVideo/BelkinusNecrohunt'': During the journey, the party gains occasional clues that Kara Miharian parted ways with Chandrelle and devoted herself to dark magic after [[spoiler: their other sister, Abigail, was killed in the war eighty years ago]].
144* ''WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment'' spoofs this in its April Fools Day review of the original ''VideoGame/{{Final Fantasy|I}}''. The Spoony One was driven insane trying to comprehend the game's time travel plot and became determined to invent his own method of time travel to stop the series from being made, ultimately causing his own time paradox by his future self appearing and presenting him with the technology fully formed. Along with a rather neat bit of acting, with Noah making a seamless transition from Spoony to Insano before our eyes.
145* The version two finale of ''WebVideo/{{Mega64}}'' reveals how Dr. Poque became the MadScientist he is today.
146* ''WebVideo/DoctorHorriblesSingAlongBlog'' has several {{prequel}} comics which describe how and why Dr. Horrible decided to try to become a villain in the first place. The show itself is a ProtagonistJourneyToVillain.
147* [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/03/19/interlude-19/ Interlude 19]] of ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' follows [[spoiler:Emma Barnes]] transition from an ordinary high school student to [[spoiler:a ruthless bully determined to destroy Taylor's life]].
148** The first eight arcs of the story can be considered one for Taylor.
149* From Website/{{Killerbunnies}}, we have Genevieve, a sixty-nine-year-old bitter, manipulative, and foul tempered rabbit, who is a BlackWidow, however, according to her backstory, her start of darkness came when she found out her first husband, Malcolm, was having an affair and, in her fit of upset, she poisoned him, leading for her continuous kill up to six husbands afterwards.
150* Thanks to AscendedFanon, Creator/TeamFourStar's LetsPlay of ''VideoGame/DragonBallXenoverse'' is this - their character Dumplin, after [[spoiler:[[KlingonPromotion ascending to the position of Demon God by killing Demigra]] and honing his powers]], [[TimeTravelTenseTrouble becomes/became]] [[spoiler:[[ScaryBlackMan Mr. Popo]] as he is]] in ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged''.
151** Happens in-universe in ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'', when a reporter asks Cell where he came from. Cell proceeds to recount the ''entire story of Manga/DragonBall'' up to that point (offscreen, thankfully).
152-->'''Cell''': Let me weave you the tale of my origins. Though I must preface it by saying it does drag on in places, so I'll try to cut down on the {{Filler}}. It all begins, as many stories do, with a girl shooting a young boy in the face...
153[[/folder]]

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