Line #42 Main/TookALevelInKindness


1	%% Image revised per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1637092159034725300
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4	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/anstasiagood.png]] [[caption-width-right:350:[-[[WesternAnimation/{{Cinderella}} Before]] and [[WesternAnimation/CinderellaIIIATwistInTime after]] Anastasia's CharacterDevelopment \
5	from Cinderella's evil stepsister to a kind sister.-]]]
6
7	->''"It's already happening. You've reverted back to what you were. You've gotten soft. You're like one of those police dogs who's released into the wild and gets eaten by a deer or something."''
8	-->-- ''Series/NewsRadio'', "Airport"
9
10	A sweet trope in which a {{Jerkass}} develops a nicer attitude over time and becomes a genuinely pleasant person (or, at worst, a JerkWithAHeartOfGold). Usually this can be due to CharacterDevelopment. A HeelFaceTurn may be involved as well. In some cases this may be a case of CharacterizationMarchesOn; as the series progresses, the writers realized that a nicer character fit the changing tone better than the original idea. This trope also covers situations where a character with a HiddenHeartOfGold feels safe enough to show his gentler side (in the presence of the main characters, anyway).
11
12	If done over the course of one episode or short story, this may have been to set up an Aesop.
13
14	Contrast TookALevelInJerkass. Compare to DefrostingIceQueen, which focuses on a specific Love Interest bringing an unfriendly character out of her shell. When a character becomes nicer in an adaptation, that's AdaptationalNiceGuy. If this trope applies to the whole cast or the tone, it's KinderAndCleaner.
15	----
16	!!Example subpages:
17
18	[[index]]
19	* TookALevelInKindness/AnimeAndManga
20	** ''TookALevelInKindness/DragonBall''
21	** ''TookALevelInKindness/{{Naruto}}''
22	* TookALevelInKindness/{{Literature}}
23	* TookALevelInKindness/LiveActionTV
24	* TookALevelInKindness/VideoGames
25	* TookALevelInKindness/WesternAnimation
26	[[/index]]
27
28	!!Other examples
29	[[foldercontrol]]
30
31	[[folder:Comic Books]]
32	* Attempted with ''The Irredeemable ComicBook/AntMan'', who started as a guy that did such things as petty theft and (on the series' advertisement) shrink in order to get on girls' bosoms, and eventually would become a more conventional hero. Unfortunately, Marvel's mishandled advertisement and the blatant, not-really-played-for-laughs-that-well {{Jerkass}}ery of this opening part of the character's arc (he uses his shrinking powers to sneak into the Avengers' bathroom and peek at Carol Danvers taking a shower ''in the very first issue'') meant that the series fell straight into AudienceAlienatingPremise territory (Evangeline Lilly, who played Hope Pym in the ''Film/AntMan1'' movie, even went as far as saying on interviews that she had read the series for research and considered it "garbage") and the series got a pretty quick death.
33	* It has been noted by many that, in the New 52, ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' of all people has taken a major level in kindness, while others have become bigger jerks. Bruce is actively rebuilding Gotham, trying to move on from his parents' death and even seems to be one of the nicer members of the Justice League. While some of this can be seen as the result of ''The Return of Bruce Wayne'', where he came full circle from his previous epic Jerkass characterization, even stories set before that happened have him as one of the nicer guys.
34	* After mostly being an antagonist or even borderline villain in the ''[[ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse Donald Duck]]'' comics he originated in, Scrooge [=McDuck=] had to be turned into a more heroic and sympathetic character when he began starring in his own spinoff title (though even in his own comics he always remained something of an antihero).
35	* ComicBook/CaptainAmerica much like Superman got a hefty amount of this when he was re-introduced into the comics in Avengers. In the Golden Age WWII comics Steve was less of TheParagon and more of ruthless VigilanteMan full of PatrioticFervor who pranked and bullied his commanding officer like an asshole ''as a RunningGag'', insulted people and was (unsurprisingly for the era the comic was written) horribly racist to the Chinese and Japanese people. When Cap made his return in Avengers 4# he’s the IdealHero being wise and compassionate and his jackass behaviour from his classic comics is either retconned to be act to keep protect his SecretIdentity or just ignored entirely. Many fans were upset at Cap getting AdaptationalJerkass in ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'' when it’s really a case of RevisitingTheRoots.
36	* ''Franchise/TheFlash'': Wally West's run is one twenty-year-long example. As Kid Flash, Wally was a self-centered {{Jerkass}} with a nasty attitude. While becoming the Flash made him mature a bit, he was still arrogant, greedy, and lecherous. It didn't help that he won the lottery soon after gaining the title, and the money kind of went to his head. However, when he lost it all and ended up temporarily homeless, he gained a new sense of perspective, ending up befriending some of Barry Allen's old villains, becoming more of a WorkingClassHero, and generally mellowing out, though he was still a bit brash and rude. He further matured when Barry seemingly returned, only for it to be revealed that it was Eobard Thawne in disguise, forcing him to realize that he needed to live up to the name of the Flash and do it justice. Over the next decade, he grew even more and by the time Barry returned for real, he was a complete NiceGuy and a loving father of two children.
37	* In ''ComicBook/TheIncredibles'' Organa becomes a much better mother after being turned into a monkey.
38	* ComicBook/IronMan goes back and forth between this and TookALevelInJerkass. It’s safe to say Tony definitely became a nicer human being after becoming a hero and it’s only thanks to some obscene CharacterDerailment in ''ComicBook/CivilWar2006'' (followed up by ''Secret Invasion'' and ''Superior Iron Man'', though the latter wasn’t his fault) that he became a douche NominalHero again rather than JerkWithAHeartOfGold. In the 2010s Tony has become much nicer again and his WhatTheHellHero moments are at an all time minimum. Of course Tony’s popularity in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse greatly helped in making him magnitudes nicer and less antagonistic.
39	* In ''ComicBook/MsMarvel2014'', Zoe Zimmer starts off as a mean and condescending bitch towards Kamala and Nakia, but over the course of the series, she slowly gets on better terms with them, culminating in [[spoiler:her realizing that she has feelings for Nakia]].
40	* King Max Acorn in ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'', post-''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogMegaManWorldsCollide''. Once a fairly amiable guy, one trauma after another left him a crusty curmudgeon. When the CosmicRetcon Button is hit by accident, he becomes completely mellowed out to the point where Sonic sees this change in attitude as a reason ''not'' to set things back to normal.
41	* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'':
42	** Done to Peter Parker himself in ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15. After a childhood of bullying, Peter had a massive chip on his shoulder and little inclination to use his powers for something else than his family's benefit. Then he let a thief walk past him because it wasn't his problem, said thief murdered his beloved uncle, and Peter became one of the most selfless and humblest heroes in the Franchise/MarvelUniverse.
43	** Flash Thompson. Originally nothing more than TheBully, Flash took the slow and steady path from jerkass to (more or less) nice guy, ultimately befriending his former victim Peter Parker and becoming a hero in his own right, first as a war veteran and then as an actual superhero, Agent ComicBook/{{Venom}}. He hasn't had the smoothest of character arcs -- lazy writers have often succumbed to the lure of StatusQuoIsGod and reverted Flash to his original JerkJock characterization -- but as Marvel redemption stories go, his is among the most enduring. He even tried to SaveTheVillain when Eric O'Grady, the Irredeemable Ant-Man above, inevitably went bad.
44	** {{Downplayed}} with Mary Jane Watson, who was always fun and friendly, but the significant event that changed her from a flighty, self-absorbed party girl into a mature and compassionate woman, is ''ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied''. With the death of her friend, she realizes that Peter, having just lost one of the loves of his life, needs her to be a better person. After Peter unloads on her in the cruelest way possible, to the point that she is sobbing, and he angrily demands she leave him, Mary Jane slowly walks towards the door, but instead of exiting through it, she shuts it and returns to comfort her grieving friend. From then on, MJ is portrayed as a supportive and kind-hearted friend to Peter, and of course, eventually a loving [[HappilyMarried wife]]. Made even more clear in the ComicBook/SpiderGwen alternate universe, where without the death of Gwen (or any association with Peter), while still a good person, MJ is a much more selfish and irritable girl, with a slight bitchy streak every once in a while.
45	* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':
46	** The Man of Steel himself is probably one of the biggest examples of this as the universal perception of Supes being a nigh-flawless NiceGuy is NewerThanTheyThink. Golden Age Superman was a violent SmugSuper whose “heroics” include: deliberately trapping a party of rich people in a mine to demonstrate the mine's safety problems, and drugging a football player and taking his place on the team, so that an opposing coach, who is guilty of cheating, won't win. He also once tackled teenage delinquency by demolishing their slummy neighborhood, making sure that the residents had evacuated with their possessions, upon learning that the government would be obligated to rebuild the neighborhood. Not to mention the time he started to smash up cars to force the government to put in more stricter traffic laws. It wasn’t until later comics that Supes was written to be a PurityPersonified hero that always does the right thing.
47	** A fairly recurring plot in ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} stories. Peter David's series was a lenghty myth arc about Matrix bonding with a downright vile teenager and influencing her into becoming a hero. [[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 Sterling Gates' run]] had Kara, who had been depicted as an immature brat by preceeding writers, evolve into a kind-hearted young woman. In ''ComicBook/RedDaughterOfKrypton'', [[ComicBook/Supergirl2011 Post-Flashpoint Kara Zor-El]] learns how to move past her angry, rotten attitude and goes back to be the kind, nice girl she was before losing her world and most of her family.
48	** In the ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}''/''Franchise/GreenLantern'' crossover ''ComicBook/RedDaughterOfKrypton'', Red Lantern [[BrokenBird Bleez]] became somewhat kinder and nicer after joining Guy Gardner's group. Supergirl also matured in this storyline, getting over her anger and brattiness and becoming a better person.
49	* In ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'', Megatron undergoes a HeelFaceTurn, but starts out as really only a "face" in that he works for the Autobots now and has given up on waging intergalactic war - he's still [[FantasticRacism dismissive of organic life]] and generally kind of a knob. Then comes the "Dying of the Light" arc, in which he's subjected to a psychic attack based on the dying screams of everyone whose life he's responsible for ending. He gets a lot nicer, and even proves willing to lay down his life to protect a handful of the organics he once tried to exterminate. [[spoiler:When he's marooned in the Functionist universe, he attempts to start a peaceful revolution against the corrupt senate based on empathy instead of oppression, and is shown receiving a call from that universe's version of ''Optimus Prime''.]]
50	* ''ComicBook/{{Thunderstrike}}'': In Marcy's first few appearances in ''ComicBook/TheMightyThor'', she's outright vindictive to Eric. Yet whatever feelings made her so bitter over their marriage ending, they are largely gone when this series starts, so she and Eric at least become friends [[spoiler: before his HeroicSacrifice]].
51	* ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'': Ultimate Captain America, sort of. Starting with Peter's death, his old-fashioned approach started to wither away. When he eventually returned and met Miles Morales, he was more accepting of the kid and eventually became his greatest supporter (he even had Miles fight alongside the Ultimates, which was something he deliberately banned Peter from doing). He reserves his initial gruff persona for those who waste his time (the representative of the then-defected California) or people who he knows can do better (the lawyers arguing for and against the incarceration of Bruce Banner). By the end of the Ultimate Comics run, Captain America is just a less tolerant but still heroic version of his 616 counterpart instead of a straight-up hero.
52	* ''ComicBook/{{WITCH}}'': In the original comic book continuity (which is different from the animated series' continuity), Vathek, one of the main villains of the first arc, is a cruel, aggressive and arrogant bastard. After half the arc, [[TheMole he's sent to spy on the good guys]] [[BecomingTheMask but ends up genuinely sympathizing with them]] and pulls a HeelFaceTurn. CharacterDevelopment and HiddenDepths show their faces, and at the end of the arc, he's a real GentleGiant.
53	* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'': While previous iterations of the Barbara Minerva ComicBook/{{Cheetah}} may have had moments of EvenEvilHasStandards and feelings of a kind of kinship with Wondy in [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1987 Vol 2]] she was always an unrepentant serial killer who reveled in the human sacrifice required for her powers. The ''ComicBook/WonderWomanRebirth'' version of Barbara is far more sympathetic, genuinely befriends Diana and was tricked into the horrific need for human flesh and BodyHorror which came along with becoming Cheetah.
54	[[/folder]]
55
56	[[folder:Fan Works]]
57	* ''Fanfic/AddressUnknownRemedy'': Rainbow Dash grudgingly agrees to take care of a temporarily blinded Derpy, who has recently started a relationship with Twilight. While trying to sleep on Derpy's couch, she is forced to confront her responsibility for contributing to Derpy's lifelong misery, and makes a tearful apology the following morning. Derpy forgives her and the two agree to start over.
58	* ''Fanfic/AdviceAndTrust'': After she and Shinji get together, Asuka starts being nicer and kinder to Shinji and Rei because she knows she is not alone anymore and she does not need to push people away. Unfortunately she can not display it openly out of fear to be separated from Shinji in the event that someone finds out that they have become a couple.
59	* ''Fanfic/TheAmazingSpiderLuzInAcrossTheOwlVerse'': Boscha becomes much less abrasive and tones down her bullying behavior of others after Luz saves her life from the fire trap on the Grudgeby field. Even Willow notes how much her attitude has improved since that event.
60	* ''Fanfic/AsukaAndShinjisInfinitePlaylist'': Having forgotten her past life's traumatic memories, Asuka is friendlier and has a better mastery of her temper.
61	* ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'': In "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5201240/1/The-Defector The Defector]]", Major Sarah Inviere, a Number Six Cylon working as an aide to Roslin and attached to the fleet while supervising ''Galactica'' being converted to a museum, falls in love with Commander Adama and reveals the Cylon plan before the Fall of the Colonies. With Major Inviere as proof that the Cylons aren't all evil, the fleet as a whole are more lenient towards other Cylon prisoners, such as helping Boomer overcome her sleeper programming and only locking up the future Athena because she always knew she was a Cylon. When the ''Pegasus'' joins the fleet, the precedent set by Major Inviere leads to them immediately concluding that Cain and the crew have committed war crimes based on their treatment of Gina Inviere, as the legal precedent to classify Sarah as human explicitly grandfathers in the entire Cylon race.
62	* ''Fanfic/TheBestNightEver'': A core focus of the story is Prince Blueblood [[CharacterDevelopment taking several levels in kindness]].
63	* ''Fanfic/CalvinAndHobbesTheSeries''’ iteration of Calvin is much more likely to do the right thing than [[ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes his comic counterpart.]]
64	* ''Fanfic/TheCatacombsOfZalgo'': As Jack helps Fluttershy venture deeper into the catacombs and rescue her friends, he gradually learns more about the Elements of Friendship and becomes a nicer guy.
65	* ''Fanfic/TheChildOfLove'': Due to the changes she undergoes through her pregnancy, Asuka's behaviour becomes softer. After hooking up with Shinji she is way nicer to him, at the beginning privately but later openly. When Touji muses Asuka is nicer than she used to, Shinji replies that is the real Asuka and the mean girl was a façade.
66	* ''Fanfic/ChildrenOfAnElderGod'': After losing her mother and being ditched by her father Asuka's temper got real bad. Fortunately she got a decent foster mother raised her properly, and her behavior softened after a while.
67	* ''Fanfic/TheChosenSix'': After her earlier JerkassRealization, Moaning Myrtle (no longer moaning as much) receives an updated version of the school uniform and basically becomes a greeter for the first-year students, answering some of their immediate questions before the sorting.
68	* ''Fanfic/CommonSense'': After she loses to Ash in the Cerulean Gym, [[SoreLoser Misty starts becoming increasingly dismissive towards his progress as a trainer, refusing to accept that he's grown stronger than her in such a short amount of time]]. She later has a JerkassRealization when [[spoiler: she sees Ash trying to hide his pain over not being able to save the Pink Butterfree from Team Rocket]], admitting to herself that she's been hating him for little more than her own wounded pride. While they're nowhere near as close as they came to be in canon, she makes a genuine effort to be nicer to him.
69	* ''Fanfic/ACrownOfStars'': After arriving on Avalon, getting therapy and counseling, Asuka -who had previously been a mass of rage, cynicism and bitterness due to be psychologically broken- starts being nicer as she gradually gets over her worst issues and learns she can trust other people (specially Shinji).
70	* ''Fanfic/DannyPhantomStranded'':
71	** Star Strong goes from a selfish, shallow, spoiled brat who looks down and bullies those that are below her, to a kind, caring, and courageous girl willing to defend those she once looked down on.
72	** Star's mother, Stella, also goes through a more gradual one throughout the stories. She starts out as a vain and spoiled woman until finally being made aware of how damaging her actions are to her daughter. Following that, she starts working to improve on her behavior and be a better mother to Star. She still makes several well-meaning mistakes but is far more personable and considerate.
73	* ''Fanfic/DarthVaderShatteredGalaxy'': Anakin, due to his tutelage under Qui-Gon and experiences with Vader in the [[Fanfic/DarthVaderHeroOfNaboo previous fic]], is a lot less temperamental than he was in canon. That does not stop him from being a snarky Skywalker, however.
74	* ''Fanfic/DoingItRightThisTime'':
75	** Ritsuko, upon discovering [[spoiler:Rei is actually a clone of her mother instead of one of Yui,]] starts being kinder to her, even going so far as to treat Rei like a little sister.
76	** Asuka, after returning to the past with full knowledge of how disastrous and self-defeating was her "drive everybody away in order to avoid pain" strategy, allows herself to be nicer.
77	* ''Fanfic/DuelingTriggerFinger'': After watching Sonia get savaged by the Winged Dragon of Ra and administering some failed tests on Obelisk, Kaiba decides to lock the god cards away forever, rather than want them for his deck. This is especially noteworthy, because it's something his anime counterpart would never even ''think'' of doing. Inherently though, on top of that, Kaiba is also highly respectful of Chiaki and even seems to have a soft spot for Chihiro Fujisaki. Chiaki states that she believes it's because Yugi and his friends piss Kaiba off so he's [[PerpetualFrowner always in a sour mood when it comes to them]].
78	* ''Fanfic/EscapeFromTheHokagesHat'': Played with in that while Sakura wasn't a complete {{Jerkass}}, she still wasn't a nice person either. Suffice to say after a few BreakTheHaughty moments and several reality checks, she reevaluates herself and [[CharacterDevelopment tries to be both a better person and ninja]] even going as far as asking [[AbhorrentAdmirer Lee]] out on a date and having a much needed SorkinRelationshipMoment with Naruto where she practically begs him to find someone who'll reciprocate his feelings rather than be her HopelessSuitor.
79	* ''Manga/Evangelion303'': Getting together with Shinji worked wonders on Asuka's brittle temper. She calmed down -a bit- and started being nicer to people she previously declared she could not stand like Rei or Kaworu. Several characters note that she has changed and is kinder: after finding out Shinji and Asuka are living together Misato mutters "Oh. So that is because she is nicer now". Shortly after Asuka praises Rei's performance during a volleybal match and Rei gets flustered and shocked.
80	* ''Fanfic/FadedBlue'': Blue Diamond learned to empathize with others because of her relationship with [[MoralityPet Greg]].
81	* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2052846/1/Faith-The-Series Faith: The Series]]'': Faith and Cordelia accomplish this much faster than in [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer canon]]. The former due to being HappilyAdopted by Giles. The latter due to being saved by Jesse, [[RescueRomance who she then started dating]].
82	* ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/17890/fallout-equestria-starlight Fallout: Equestria: Starlight]]'': Not that she was a jerk before, but Homage comes off as much nicer then she is in FanFic/FalloutEquestria, often ending [[spoiler: her broadcasts]] with saying how one can best help others.
83	* ''Fanfic/AFantasticUpheavalOfPreviouslyHeldNotions'': In the case of Strickler and Angor Rot. When Barbara learns the full story behind Angor Rot and the Inferna Copula, she has Strickler begrudgingly return the ring to Angor in exchange for him leaving the Trollhunter, his friends and his family alone. While confused at first, Angor agrees, offering Barbra the option to sever the magical link between her and Strickler should she ever need it and the Kill Stone as a sign of solidarity to Jim.
84	* ''Fanfic/FateZeroSanity'': Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi starts off very similar to canon, but ultimately develops into a sympathetic character, culminating in feeling genuine sorrow when his Servant dies. His last act is to give Waver Velvet his Mystic Code and make some amends towards him. [[spoiler: This makes his death all the more impactful.]]
85	* ''Fanfic/GameTheoryLyricalNanoha'': Precia. At the very least, she makes an effort to act pleasant instead of abusing Fate, so she's already miles ahead of her canon counterpart, and she does seem to get somewhat genuinely nicer as the story progresses.
86	* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12321109/1/Gap-Year-Adventures Gap Year Adventures]]'', by Creator/AAPessimal, a sub-theme involves a classic {{Jerkass}} who has spent the previous seven years being utterly despised and derided by his peers at the Assassins' School, with good reason. When his path crosses that of two far better former Guild students than he was, he realises he is pretty much dependent on the goodwill of two people who have no particular reason to love him. The day is saved for him by his former student peers, in fact; his role is minimal, but earns him a little grudging approval. He inevitably grows up - a near-[[TheGrimReaper Death]] experience or two help - and a newer, better, version emerges at the end. The fact he is not-so-secretly in love with one of his rescuers adds a bit more bite - he realises he has to grow up and shape up, or lose her. Or [[FieryRedhead she'll lose what wasn't a great amount of patience to begin with]], and ''she'll'' definitively lose ''him''.
87	* ''Fanfic/GhostsOfEvangelion'': Asuka becomes a bit nicer after undergoing therapy and being in a healthy relationship. This is made clear when she refers Rei as “Miss Ayanami”.
88	* ''Fanfic/HellsisterTrilogy'': Dev-Em goes from smug bully to who puts others down to selfless hero who cares for and protects the innocent.
89	* ''Fanfic/{{HERZ}}'': Downplayed. Due to a being older, married and a mother, Asuka is nicer, less harsh and less mean that she used to when she was thirteen... although she is still pretty hot-tempered.
90	* ''Fanfic/HigherLearning'': When Kaoru starts working in the pilots' school his lessons teach Asuka to be less angry and less confrontational, and help her to open up. Her temper gets nicer and less pushy progressively, to the point she is capable of confessing her feelings to Shinji (after a bottle of sake). From that point she becomes kinder.
91	* ''Fanfic/IAmNotGoingThroughPubertyAgain'': Motherhood really mellowed [[{{Tsundere}} Karin]] out. By the time the group went back in time, she had become a "dumpy mothering housewife".
92	* ''Fanfic/KaraOfRokyn'': Jara starts off as a mean-spirited jerkass driven by jealousy and bitterness but later evolves to a calmer, friendlier person who is able to be friends with [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} the main character]] instead of hating her for turning her down.
93	* ''Fanfic/LastChildOfKrypton'': At the beginning Asuka was very angry and confrontational. However, exposure to Shinji -the nicest, kindest, less judgmental person that you will meet- helps her to improve her temper and let her nicer side out.
94	* ''Fanfic/LimpetAU'': Vader's subordinates agree that the man has gone much softer after the Emperor's death, and even more so after reuniting with his family. Vader refuses to admit this of course, claiming that he's merely forced to be more diplomatic in his dealings with others since he no longer has the Empire's backing against the New Republic. One gets the impression that even he doesn't really believe it.
95	* "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5429021/1/Luminescence Luminescence]]": While Victoria still feeds on humans, she accepts Bella’s request not to go after children or anyone Bella knows, and later finds herself unable to feed on an old man she spots on a street because she starts thinking of him as a grandfather who has family who’ll miss him.
96	* ''Fanfic/MonsterChronicles'' is one for Duncan, as Voodoo's Disciple Duncan is a jerkass bully who cheats on his girlfriend. Then, when a supernatural serial killer has appears and [[spoiler:forces Duncan to work for him]], despite the danger he and the other contestants are in, Duncan is more concerned with his bad boy rep and avoiding being seen as good than using his knowledge to expose Cedric to the others. In the third act, he realizes how dumb that is and [[spoiler:decides that stopping Cedric is more important then being seen as a bad boy, even performing a HeelFaceTurn]]. In the sequel ''Malevolence'', Duncan has become nicer, become friends with Cody, broken up with Gwen but stayed friends with her, gotten a new girlfriend and it looks like he has turned his life around, unlike his canon counterpart.
97	* ''Fanfic/TheNaekawaProject'': Toko starts fairly acerbic and standoffish, but her relationship with Makoto mellows her out, making her much calmer, gentler, and kinder as the fic goes on, and also improving her self-confidence.
98	* ''Fanfic/NeonGenesisEvangelionGenocide'': After hooking up with Shinji, Asuka stops pushing everyone away. She even tries to be nicer to Rei for Shinji's sake.
99	* ''Fanfic/OnceMoreWithFeeling'': After returning to the past, Shinji knows exactly why Asuka is rude and and confrontational and what ticks her off. So that he makes sure showing her that he is there for her and not behaving as a wimp who apologizes for everything, never stands up and always backs off, to avoid pressing her berserk buttons. The result is she becomes more sympathetic and nicer. This is specially obvious in several scenes where she admits to Rei she screwed up during a battle or where she says it would be unfair going to Okinawa alone while Shinji and Rei stay in Tokyo-3.
100	* ''Fanfic/TheOneILoveIs'': Rei and Asuka start fighting over Shinji, forcing the latter girl to acknowledge and display her feelings openly. Since she has to stop pushing him away, Asuka starts being nicer and less harsh. In chapter 6 Shinji notes she is really kinder now.
101	* ''Fanfic/APrizeForThreeEmpires'': After being called out by her mother on excusing her jerkass behavior on her past trauma, Carol stops pushing everybody away and apologizes to her friends for her earlier rudeness.
102	* ''Fanfic/QuirkIncubus'': After discovering that Taya was molesting Izuku, Bakugo becomes significantly nicer to Izuku, even giving him a pep-talk when Izuku is having an emotional breakdown about what happened.
103	* ''Fanfic/PatternsOfThePast'': Oprah finds that Olesya's personality has changed from her 32 years in retirement from Odd Squad, going from a TinyTyrannicalGirl with a bad temper who alwayss seemed annoyed to a NiceGirl who is quick to smile and very benevolent.
104	* ''Fanfic/RazputinVodelloAU'': Originally, Norma and Lizzie's dad was a regressive man who had very specific ideas on how his daughters should behave. After suffering from a heart-attack, it gave him time to reflect and he changed for the better, coming to accept his daughters for who they were.
105	* ''Fanfic/ReadTheFinePrintEvangelion'': Shinji and Asuka become pen pals when they are kids. Having an actual friend as growing up works wonders for Asuka's character; and although she is still short-tempered, she is less belligerent and somewhat nicer.
106	* ''Fanfic/ResurrectedMemories'': After being saved by Danny and realizing that he and the others truly sees her as their friend, [[spoiler:Ember simultaneously undergoes this and TookALevelInCheerfulness as well]].
107	* ''Fanfic/SashaAndTheFrogs'': Thanks to the Plantars' influence on her, Sasha is showing some of her more likable traits earlier in the story.
108	* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/26361532/chapters/105916830#workskin Science: Saving Humanity without regard to Morals or Ethics]]'': Asuka, apparently as part of the retrovirus Ritsuko had administered to her, starts as an arrogant child who needs to flaunt her capabilities to everyone to prove to both them and herself how great she is. By the time Shinji and Misato meet her on the ''Over the Rainbow'', she's far friendlier and genuinely confident, not feeling remotely threatened by either despite the former being a more decorated pilot and the latter being the former lover of Asuka's former crush.
109	* ''Fanfic/TheSecondTry'': [[AfterTheEnd After Third Impact]], Asuka gradually gets over her issues, matures and [[spoiler:becomes a mother,]] and in the process she becomes nicer and less bratty.
110	* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8296097/6/Shinji-s-Nightmare Shinji's Nightmare]]'':
111	** Some time after Shinji returns from his month in Unit 01 as an Alicorn, Nightmare Moon develops from a former BigBad into a [[PromotionToParent surrogate mother]] for the boy. It helps that she created his new body, built in her image and gifted with her power, so functionally she ''is'' his mother.
112	** Ritsuko warms up to Shinji considerably after he extends an open invitation to talk to him about anything or just to have a shoulder to cry on, even knowing that she's sleeping with his father.
113	* ''WebAnimation/SodorTheEarlyYears'': This happens with a fair amount of characters, but Diesel is definitely the most notable. He's close to his ''Literature/TheRailwaySeries'' counterpart in the first few seasons, but as the seasons get more and more deep and complex, Diesel really becomes one of the family. He even apologizes to Henry, Gordon and James in 'Bad Apple', much to their shock. He also apologises to Duck the following day on a maintenance of way train (swapping duties with Bear just to do so), only to find Duck had forgiven him, much to ''his'' shock.
114	* ''Fanfic/SOE2LoneHeirOfKrypton'': This is in fact a plot point: When Asuka finds out about ''[[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} her powers]]'' and realizes what they entail, she strives to become a better, kinder person and be worthy of them.
115	* ''Fanfic/SoulChess'' has Soifon of all people take a few levels in kindness. The reason? [[spoiler: Yoruichi took Soifon with her when she left Soul Society.]]
116	* In later chapters of ''Fanfic/TheStoryOfApolloDaphneAndLucaAnItalianTragedy'', [[{{Tsundere}} Vincenzo]] genuinely repents for having bullied and blackmailed Luca and tries to make an effort in becoming a better person.
117	* ''Fanfic/SupernaturalSerialKillersWhyNot'': At the start of the story, Yasuhide actively avoids spending time with his family and, despite claiming he wants to make friends, frequently treats others in decidedly negative ways (i.e. punching Yosuke in the stomach, causing him to piss himself). After confronting his Shadow, however, he is much more sociable and a generally nice person.
118	* A main subplot in ''Fanfic/SOE2LoneHeirOfKrypton'' has Asuka gradually stop being rude and self-centered in an effort to become the courageous, selfless hero she believes her biological father would want her to be.
119	* ''WebVideo/SwordArtOnlineAbridged'': The abridged version of Kirito is an AdaptationalJerkass, bordering on being TheSociopath a lot of the time (not that he's the only one mind you), showing a lot less sympathy to others, and frequently threatening them with violence when they annoy him. This changes over the course of the first season, mostly due to his guilt over [[TheLostLenore Sachi's]] death, and aided by his interaction with his friends, especially Klien and Yui. By the end of the first season, he's become a genuinely heroic character, albeit still quite a {{Troll}}, and far more violent and insensitive than his canon self. It culminates in episode 11 when he [[spoiler: challenges Kayaba to a duel to get him to shut the Death Game down 25 floors early, despite admitting that he far prefers Aincrad to the real world]].
120	%%* ''Fanfic/SylviaTheSylveon'': Bolt and Moondancer, two of Sylvia's brothers.
121	* ''Fanfic/ThisBites'': Due to the conveniently timed [[spoiler:SBS broadcast]], Boa Hancock spares Marguerite after the latter reasons that she has Devil Fruit powers and that it was due to a DarkAndTroubledPast. Thinking about the whole thing more, [[HeelRealization she realizes just how many of the World Nobles' habits she and her sisters had adopted]], and decides she should listen to Elder Nyon and seek therapy.
122	* ''Fanfic/ThisIsAWildGameOfSurvival'': The premise of the series is that Lee Na-yeon realizes the errors of her ways and becomes a better person. Specifically, she realizes that she was wrong for believing that Gyeong-su was less than for being poor. She apologizes to him several times throughout the series and he is very accepting of each one. A few characters still hold her in a bad light because of her past classism, but her lack of friends, and the betrayal of her best friend, Ji-min, don't cause her to revert back to her more cruel self. In fact, she proves to be quite productive when fighting zombies and actually gets along well with the other members of her group. She even officially becomes friends with Gyeong-su and it's safe to say that him and her are verging on a RelationshipUpgrade.
123	* ''Fanfic/ThousandShinji'': Shinji goes from being a ManipulativeBastard and an unrepentant, selfish {{Jerkass}} to being a JerkWithAHeartOfGold and developing pity and empathy after getting a girlfriend, family and friends.
124	* ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama''
125	** ''Fanfic/CourtneysCrusadeForRedemption'': Courtney, due to learning from her past mistakes. Scott is also much less antagonistic, and even asks Sam for advice on how to ask Courtney out.
126	** ''Fanfic/LegacyTotalDrama'': Both Heather and Duncan have grown up, figuratively as well as literally, in the ten years since they were on the show. Duncan has even learned basic precepts of chivalry.
127	** ''Fanfic/TotalDramaBattleOfTheGenerations'': While still not exactly a saint, Scott genuinely tries to redeem himself in the eyes of his teammates, who have a hard time trusting him after the events of season 4.
128	** ''Fanfic/TotalDramaDoOver'': Duncan becomes more willing to join with the others to eliminate Mal, and calls the cops on him in Post-Plunker's Paradise. However, [[TookALevelInJerkass he reverts back]] to a HandsomeLech in Ridonculous Race Do Over.
129	** ''Fanfic/TotalDramaLegends'': {{Deconstruction}}. After the two form an alliance partway through the merge, Amy genuinely starts to warm up to Samey, even sacrificing herself to help Samey win a challenge. However, Samey gradually grows uncomfortable with Amy's underhanded ways, and didn't want the alliance to be the way that Amy and Samey's relationship gets repaired. Eventually, Samey uses her sole vote to eliminate Amy, causing the latter to go back to her mean behavior.
130	** ''Fanfic/UnbreakableRedSilkenThread'': Heather, often despite her own internal protests against it.
131	* ''Fanfic/VacationFromTheNorm'': Bonnie is much kinder than she was in the series, largely due to her marriage to Senor Senior Jr. and the father/daughter bond that developed between her and her father-in-law Senor Senior Sr., who happily indulged her passion for refurbishing motorcycles. Bonnie, in turn, convinced SSS to do a HeelFaceTurn, and the Senior family formed their own hero team called the Upperclassmen to help Kim Possible out.
132	* ''Fanfic/WantedItToBeAGame'': Adachi starts out as a nihilistic and self-centered jerk who doesn't care about the rest of the Investigation Team, with Saki having to strong-arm him into doing anything useful. After he faces his Shadow, however, he grows much more open, friendlier and optimistic.
133	%%* ''Fanfic/TheWizardInTheShadows'' has Denethor take one after a HeelRealisation.
134	* ''Fanfic/WonderfulMazinja'': Sophia is a jerkass, but she becomes gradually kinder and more tolerable after meeting Taylor.
135	[[/folder]]
136
137	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
138	* Onewa in ''Toys/{{Bionicle}} 2'' starts out as an unsupportive jerk with a knack for rude jokes and belittling everyone around him, TheLancer to team leader Vakama. Thanks to Lhikan's training, he learns how to empathize and unlock his [[MaskOfPower Mask of Mind Control]] that can defuse harsh situations. In the 3rd film, his jerkass attitude is all but gone, mostly because that role was given to Matau. After giving up his power and becoming a Turaga elder, Onewa would be known as The Referee, famous for his just and thoughtful decisions informed by his no-nonsense demeanor.
139	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'': By the end of the film, Merida has learned to appreciate and respect her mother.
140	* The Beast's character arc in ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'' is this. In the beginning of the movie, he's a selfish, vain prince, who gets turned into a literal monster until he can change his ways. First he is really harsh with Belle, but gradually softens up to her and becomes a nice, selfless person, ultimately breaking the curse.
141	* ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife'': Atta's attitude changes quite significantly, particularly in regards to how she treats Flik. Thanks to his influence, she gradually goes from being a somewhat strict and withdrawn individual who is a tad disdainful towards him into a much more laid-back and warm-hearted character who starts to fall in love with him and likely chooses him as her mate at the end.
142	* The first ''WesternAnimation/Cars1'' movie has Lightning [=McQueen=] start out as an egotistical rookie race car who clearly dislikes his job advertising Rust-eze medicated bumper ointment and having to be around rusty cars, and longs to be the new spokesman of [[WesternAnimation/ToyStory1 the Dinoco gas station]]. He ends up lost in Radiator Springs and put on community service after accidentally destroying the main road, and over the course of the movie, he learns to be more humble, becomes friends with Mater, a rusty tow truck, and [[spoiler:turns down the Dinoco sponsorship when it is offered to him as a reward for helping Strip "The King" Weathers cross the finish line after a nasty accident]].
143	* Anastasia, one of Cinderella's mean stepsisters does this in the sequels ''WesternAnimation/CinderellaIIDreamsComeTrue'' and ''WesternAnimation/CinderellaIIIATwistInTime'', to the point where she eventually pulls a HeelFaceTurn, and manages to earn Cinderella's forgiveness by the end of ''Cinderella III''. This is also an example of AdaptationalNiceGuy, because in most versions of the classic fairy tale, neither stepsister gets nicer and are basically TheDividual.
144	* 'Baby' Brent in ''WesternAnimation/CloudyWithAChanceOfMeatballs'', who starts being TheBully towards Flint, having also a SmallNameBigEgo personality. [[BreakTheHaughty After his popularity fades away]] thanks to the FLDSMDFR, he decides to help the main characters in the most critical moment and eventually befriends them.
145	** And in the second film, the [[spoiler: FLDSMDFR itself has a HeelFaceTurn, starting to make life rather than trying to destroy it.]]
146	* ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe1'': Gru becomes a better person and a father after he adopts three orphan girls, intending to use them for his evil plan.
147	* Davey Stone from ''WesternAnimation/EightCrazyNights'', at the start of the film he is a rude, obnoxious, trouble making, alcoholic jerk who bullies people and vandalizes property, he eventually turns around after getting a vision of his deceased parents and realizes how mean he is and he was acting out because he never got over losing them to a car accident when he was a kid.
148	* ''WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewGroove'': Spoiled, vain Emperor Kuzco is turned into a llama, has to endure a difficult journey to return home and makes friends with a peasant named Pacha, and becomes a better ruler in the end.
149	* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'': Violet starts out as very distant to the rest of her family, and ''especially'' antagonistic to her brother Dash in the first movie, but really steps up to the plate as the story goes on. In the [[WesternAnimation/Incredibles2 sequel]], while she is still shown to get easily frustrated and even gives frequent snarky lines, she is shown to be much more caring and compassionate to those she loves.
150	* ''WesternAnimation/IsleOfDogs'': Chief starts out as a tough and proud stray dog who wants nothing to do with being owned by a human. But then he reveals that he doesn't want anything to do with humans because he's afraid that he'll bite them like he did with a child who wanted to pet him. After bonding with Atari, he eventually sheds his gruff personality and becomes a kinder dog, ultimately becoming Atari's new bodyguard dog. It even shows with his ImportantHaircut: he starts out with [[DarkIsNotEvil black fur]] while being gruff, but then he has a more kinder and innocent look when he's revealed to have [[LightIsGood white fur]].
151	* ''WesternAnimation/TheJungleKing'' is about Maximilien, a pompous lion that behaves as an asshole to everybody. After being kidnapped, escaping and saving his kingdom, he learns from his brother (who was impersonating him) thay he must be nice to his people.
152	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Klaus\|2019}}'': We're treated to the story of Jesper Johanssen, initially an entitled, smug jackass who was being pandered to all of his life, until a forced work experience causes him to rethink and change his behavior and makes him more compassionate as a result.
153	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime'': Cera started out as a stubborn, rude, egotistical and prejudiced brat. She even had the nerve to call Littlefoot's mother "stupid", [[UngratefulBastard despite the fact that she sacrificed her life to save her and Littlefoot]]. She spends most of the first film bragging about how she can take care of herself...until she nearly gets everyone killed following her way. In the sequels, while still egotistical and hot-headed, she has mellowed out greatly.
154	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLEGOBatmanMovie'', Franchise/{{Batman}} starts out as a selfish jerk who enjoys working alone, but he eventually learns to trust his friends and to bond with them properly, becoming a lot nicer by the end of the film.
155	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'': Megamind starts out as a jerk but through the events of the film discovers the power of good and realizes he is better as a hero. This is both a Jerk-to-Nice-Guy Plot and an actual HeelFaceTurn.
156	* ''WesternAnimation/MrPeabodyAndSherman'': Penny starts as an extremely abusive AlphaBitch who tries to humiliate Sherman into acting like a dog; through her experiences with Sherman in the WABAC, she grows to see him in a new light and becomes a softer and kinder person as a result.
157	* ''WesternAnimation/MissingLink'': Sir Lionel Frost starts out as a self-centered GloryHound who is willing to put others in danger for his own reputation, but during his journey with Mr. Link and Adelina, he learns to care about others and becomes Mr. Link's true friend.
158	* ''WesternAnimation/ParaNorman'': At the beginning of the movie, Courtney is a bratty teenage girl who is aloof and uncaring to her brother Norman, and is not above mocking him and trying to prove he's a liar. In the middle the film, when she notices his ability to see the dead, and realizes how much pain he is in for being a outcast, and sees his life in danger, she becomes kinder, more supporting and protective of him, willing to put herself between her little brother and the mob that wants to kill him.
159	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}}'': Anton Ego is introduced as a gaunt CausticCritic whose scathing review of Gusteau's indirectly led to the chef's death. But the first bite of Remy's ratatouille shatters him, leaving him openly smiling and writing a glowing review for the restaurant and meal.
160	* ''WesternAnimation/SongOfTheSea'' begins with Ben being a petty BigBrotherBully towards his sister Saoirse, mostly due to him [[MaternalDeathBlameTheChild blaming her for their mother's disappearance]]. However as Ben finds out what really happened to his mother, he ultimately realizes how wrong it was to bully Saoirse. By the film's end, Ben becomes a [[TookALevelInKindness nice and more responsible big brother]].
161	* ''Franchise/ToyStory''
162	** Woody starts off in [[WesternAnimation/ToyStory1 the first film]] being rather vain about his position as Andy's favourite toy, and shows an [[CrazyJealousGuy endless crippling jealousy]] towards Buzz when the latter becomes Andy's new favourite, but he does, of course, [[CharacterDevelopment get better]], and by the end, the two are each other's closest allies.
163	** In the [[WesternAnimation/ToyStory2 second film]], he loses his arrogant nature but can sometimes make selfish decisions, such as when he stubbornly refuses to return home to Andy, having been convinced by Stinky Pete that there will be a time when his owner won't love him anymore. [[spoiler: He does eventually [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone realize how selfish that was]] and convinces Jessie and Bullseye to come with him.]]
164	** By the start of the [[WesternAnimation/ToyStory3 third film]], he has grown out of his original JerkWithAHeartOfGold personality and frequently makes some of the most selfless decisions out of any of the characters, [[spoiler: going as far as to give up his dream of going to college with Andy to spare the others from being left in the attic.]]
165	* Jim Hawkins of Disney's ''WesternAnimation/TreasurePlanet'' starts out as a cute urchin, then undergoes a fifteen year TimeSkip to be seen as a sailboarding ne'er-do-well poised for juvenile incarceration. His trip to Treasure Planet as the ward of astrophysicist Delbert Doppler, and the time Jim spends as the ship's galley boy slowly file down his {{jerkass}} tendencies. Jim proves his mettle in saving the ship and surviving crew from certain doom, earning a place in the republic's starfleet academy. His mother beams with pride.
166	* In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', after Mei helps Ming come to terms with accidentally scarring Wu's face, Ming becomes less overbearing and more willing to let Mei be her own person.
167	* ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph''
168	** The Sugar Rush characters who go through this ''twice''. In the first movie, they start out as a GangOfBullies who antagonize Vanellope over being a glitch, but once [[spoiler: the memories locked by King Candy/Turbo are restored and they remember Vanellope is a princess]] they apologize and treat her like a friend.
169	** Vanellope herself originally comes off as, to be it in Ralph's words, rude since she heckled Ralph. We later see that Vanellope was just being lonely, she doesn't have a friend to talk to and that she's capable of showing Ralph the amount of affection and care nobody has ever shown him before.
170	** In ''WesternAnimation/RalphBreaksTheInternet'', while they are friendly towards each other, they are still highly competitive and bratty. At the end of the movie, after being adopted by Fix-It Felix Jr. and Sergeant Calhoun for just around 24 hours [[spoiler:while their game had been temporarily unplugged]], they are shown to have become a lot kinder and taking both victory and defeat with grace.
171	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}'' has Gideon Gray, a fox bully who picked on Judy and other prey animals when they were kids. But when Judy sees him again when they're adults, Gideon now owns a bakery and is already working alongside Judy's parents. Much to her surprise, he even sincerely apologizes for bullying her.
172	[[/folder]]
173
174	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
175	* Over the course of ''Film/SevenYearsInTibet'', Heinrich Harrer goes from a self-centered opportunist to a decent man who genuinely cares about his friends, family, and the people of Tibet.
176	* ''Film/RuthlessPeople''. Barbara. Even granting the understandable stresses she's put under she's a pretty horrible person at the beginning of the movie, and it's heavily suggested that her unpleasant personality was a factor long before she was kidnapped. Spending time with the Kesslers, however, and losing weight has an improving effect on her personality and she gradually becomes a much nicer person.
177	* Onkel Sofus in most incarnations of the Father of Four movies, as his CharacterDevelopment.
178	* In ''Film/BadSanta'', the main character starts being a complete JerkAss, but eventually becomes a JerkWithAHeartOfGold.
179	* ''Film/GroundhogDay''. Phil Connors is contemptuous towards almost everyone and makes no attempt to hide it. Fate decides to put him in a GroundhogDayLoop (TropeNamer), causing him to re-live the same day over and over again. He decides to help other people avoid being hurt, betters himself by learning to play the piano and create ice sculpture, and falls in love. When he has improved his personality enough he's freed from the loop.
180	* The film ''Film/SonOfGodzilla'' is the start of showing the King Of The Monster's more loving fatherly side. Especially towards the end where he [[spoiler:embraces his new son to keep him from freezing to death.]]
181	* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:''
182	** ''Film/IronMan1'': After rich, egotistical genius Tony Stark is kidnapped and held prisoner by a ring of terrorists, he has a change of heart and becomes the superhero Iron Man, learning in the process how to be less of a jerk. On a greater scale, he also has one of these over the ''entire'' MCU, with a lot of ups and downs from film to film but a constant progression anyway. He's hardly a team player for most of ''Film/{{The Avengers\|2012}}'', and is an UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom due to his arrogance in ''[[Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron Age of Ultron]]'' and ''[[Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar Civil War]]'', but by the time of ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'' he's developed enough to be full-on TheMentor, continuing to demonstrate his massively-grown heart throughout ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar''. The comes full circle in ''Film/AvengersEndgame''.
183	** The whole point of the Film ''Film/{{Thor}}'', which is an ''inversion'' of ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger.'' Whereas Captain Rogers was granted power because of his kindness and decency, Thor had to ''learn'' kindness and decency first to be worthy of his power.
184	** ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'': Downplayed with Loki. He is still evil, but is less evil than in ''Film/{{The Avengers\|2012}}'' [[spoiler:and he risks his life to save Jane Foster.]]
185	** ''Film/{{Doctor Strange\|2016}}'': Having lost mobility in his hands due to a terrible car crash, formerly prestigious and arrogant surgeon Doctor Stephen Strange is humbled and placed back down to earth when he learns the Mystic Arts in Kamar Taj.
186	** Pretty much every character who becomes a member of the ''Film/{{Guardians of the Galaxy\|2014}}''. This is especially noticeable with Yondu and Nebula. Yondu moves from selfish space pirate to genuinely concerned about Quill's well-being. Nebula grows from single-minded obsession with Thanos and her sister to a genuine hero who works to save others.
187	* ''Film/MadMaxFuryRoad'': Max starts the film looking out only for #1. He only agrees to aid Furiosa in her quest to rescue [[BigBad Immortan Joe's]] [[SexSlave Wives]] out of a need for survival. Over the course of the story, he subtly becomes more protective of all of them, culminating in throwing everything has to keep them safe during the final chase and eventually giving some of his blood to save the life of a nearly mortally wounded Furiosa.
188	** Pretty much a recurring theme for the character, except in the original where he went in the opposite direction.
189	* ''Film/NoHardFeelings'': Maddie starts out as a rather selfish and lazy person, but she becomes nicer over the course of the film as she starts to develop feelings for Percy and patches things up with the people she's wronged.
190	* Compared to [[Series/KnowingMeKnowingYouWithAlanPartridge his]] [[Series/ImAlanPartridge other]] [[Literature/IPartridgeWeNeedToTalkAboutAlan appearances]], the Franchise/AlanPartridge who appears in ''Film/AlanPartridgeAlphaPapa'' is just a little bit nicer. While he's still a large {{Jerkass}}, he's not quite the ''enormous'' {{Jerkass}} of his other appearances and seems more capable of empathy and kindness. [[spoiler: The ending, where he shows clear pity for Pat on learning of the death of his wife, is one of the few times we ever see him show sympathy for someone else.]]
191	* ''Film/TradingPlaces'': Louis Winthorpe started out as a snobby blue blood commodities broker with incredibly prejudiced attitudes against poor people. But after he loses his wealth thanks to the machinations of his bosses, the Duke Brothers, [[spoiler:wagering a one dollar bet,]] he gets taken in by [[HookerWithAHeartOfGold the hooker Ophelia]], and he learns his presumptions about the poor were wrong, exemplified by [[NiceToTheWaiter Louis telling a cab driver to keep his change upon paying him]] while arriving at the World Trade Center to take down the Dukes.
192	* ''Film/ASimpleFavor'': Darren is a sarcastic tool, and mocks Stephanie behind her back every chance he gets, but after [[spoiler:Stephanie's friend Emily is believed to be dead, he backs off, and goes out of his way to be nicer to Stephanie, particularly at the funeral. In the end, he winds up saving Stephanie's life, and makes it clear, even if they don't get along, she's still a part of the community -- so he has her back.]]
193	* In ''Film/Little2019'', Jordan starts off as a {{jerkass}} BadBoss who is unnecessarily rude to everyone. After pissing off a magician girl who wishes that Jordan was her age, Jordan wakes up as her 13 year old self again. [[spoiler:After staying as a child for a few days and reliving her childhood, Jordan gets to discover who she truly is and lets her assistant April know why she was so nasty to everyone. When Jordan is turned back into an adult again, she become a lot nicer to everyone]].
194	* Rick Flag in ''Film/TheSuicideSquad'' compared to ''Film/SuicideSquad2016''. In the first film, he gruff and distant at best with the squad and raises no objections over Waller murdering her entire support staff. In the sequel, he's introduced giving a friendly greeting to Savant and asking if he prefers his codename or real name, and later on cracks jokes with some of the task force. He also disobeys orders in order to [[spoiler:let the world know what the US Government is responsible for in regards to Project Starfish]].
195	* ''Film/TheDark2018'': Mina becomes kinder in the film as she helps Alex, and thus becomes human again too, physically transforming back to her old self.
196	* ''Film/WildRose2018'': That Rose-Lynn has the talent and charisma to make it as a Nashville star is abundantly clear, but what holds her back is her own impatience and volatility. In the end she wises up as a mother and manages to go to Nashville but realizes that her future is in Glasgow with her family.
197	* ''Film/{{Clara}}'': At the start, Isaac has become a bitter, unfriendly man due to losing his son. By the end, through knowing Clara, he's gotten over it and sees the brighter side, becoming much kinder to other people.
198	* ''Film/DarbyAndTheDead'': Capri starts out as a shallow, self-absorbed girl who upon dying coerces medium Darby into helping with her big send off. She grows nicer over its course however, apologizing for her past behavior and befriending Darby again.
199	* ''Film/{{Sam}}'': In a variation, Sam is a HeManWomanHater who begins his journey to being a nicer person when he suffers a KarmicTransformation [[GenderBender into a woman]]. He slowly goes from a woman-hating HandsomeLech to being the sweet-natured, thoughtful young woman Samantha genuinely in love with someone. [[spoiler: She ends up choosing to stay as a woman, having both fallen in love with Doc and grown to like being a woman for its own sake.]]
200	* ''Film/TheBronze'': Hope goes from a spoiled, self-centered asshole to a mature, far nicer (but still prickly) adult over the course of the movie.
201	* ''Film/GhostTown2008'': Pincus is initially a jerk to everyone he knows. Over the course of the film, he grows into a nice man.
202	* In the [[WhenItAllBegan origin story]] of ''Film/TheGreenHornet'', Britt Reid is just a SpoiledBrat that makes whatever he wants, usually parties, being a shame for his father, who wants to manage the family business that is the newspaper. When his father dies mysteriously, Britt not just get the newspaper business, also he becomes the vigilante known as the "Green Hornet". Also, during the movie, he changed his ways to be a better person and a best hero in general.
203	* ''Film/GreenLantern2011'': [[JerkJock Hal Jordan]] learns a lesson about responsibility and being a better friend when he is chosen as the bearer of the Franchise/GreenLantern Ring.
204	* ''Film/HappyDeathDay'': Teresa "Tree" Gelbman is a snooty college AlphaBitch who finds herself trapped in a GroundhogDayLoop where a masked killer stalks her on her birthday. Over the course of relieving her own murder many times she becomes a nicer, more sensitive person, finds true love and eventually defeats her nemesis. Amusingly, when another character in the story explicitly points out the similarities of her story to ''Groundhog Day'' a confused Tree doesn't get the reference having never seen the film.
205	* ''Film/JesusBro'' is about famous internet celebrity (and {{Jerkass}} HollywoodAtheist) Rick "The Rickhead" Whitehead who meets Santa Christ after passing out drunk. He becomes a {{Jerkass}} [[TheFundamentalist fundamentalist]] Christian who is set to convert all of his followers and [[spoiler:accidentally causes [[CaughtUpInTheRapture the Rapture]]]] in the process. It is only then when he realizes the consequences of his selfish actions does he decide to be selfless and [[spoiler:risk being damned for eternity by God when Santa Christ promises to save his friends if he takes the blame for his involvement]]. God hits the ResetButton and Rick learns that [[AnAesop it does not matter what religion you follow or what God you worship, only that you are a good person in the end]].
206	* ''Film/TheMightyDucks'': Gordon Bombay (Creator/EmilioEstevez) starts off as a cocky, smug attorney who rarely loses a case until a DUI sentences him to community service to coach a misfit pee-wee hockey team who are perennial losers. At first, Bombay and the kids can't stand each other, but when he actually starts teaching them legitimate hockey, he begins to be kind, compassionate, and fatherly. By the end, Gordon and the team deeply love and respect one-another. {{Flashback}}s reveal Gordon was a talented hockey player as a child and he UsedToBeASweetKid until a traumatic game-losing shot coupled with the death of his father made him abandon his pro-hockey dreams and hardened him into a {{Jerkass}} as he grew up. Being with the kids brought out his long-lost sweet nature.
207	* ''Film/{{Scrooged}}''. In this update of ''Literature/AChristmasCarol'', Frank Cross is a selfish, sleazy and greedy television executive. He's put through a series of ghostly encounters that teach him the error of his ways and becomes generous, honest and loving.
208	* ''Film/TheSexTrip'': Eddie begins the movie as a selfish, rude womanizer. Due to his transformation, he gains a new perspective and becomes a lot nicer, gaining a newfound sense of empathy and romance that he'd previously lacked.
209	* Zach Siler in the movie ''Film/ShesAllThat'' is a popular jock who makes a bet that he can turn the ugliest girl in the school into prom queen. He pretends to befriend Laney Boggs, who is a dorky artist. Zach's intentions change, however, after he falls for Laney.
210	* ''Film/WhatWomenWant'': Suave womanizer Nick Marshall gains the power to hear women's thoughts, and after a series of wacky misadventures resulting from his newfound power, he learns to see women as people and finds true love.
211	* ''Film/DoctorInDistress1963'': After falling in love with Iris, Sir Lancelot becomes much more pleasant to be around and doesn't yell anymore, which makes his patients quite uncomfortable to be around. [[StatusQuoIsGod It doesn't last]].
212	* As ''Film/TwiceRoundTheDaffodils'' goes on, John becomes noticeably jollier and less of an angry misery. This is helped by the knowledge that his wife and son are still doing ok without him at home,
213	[[/folder]]
214
215	[[folder:Manhua]]
216	* The award-winning 2004 Manhua, ''Manhua/MyBelovedMother'', have RaisedByRobots the protagonist Sinbell repeatedly being a disrespectful dickwad to his robot mother due to being prejudiced towards robots. He had a JerkassRealization after finding out his robot mother ''still'' cares for him, and has been his MysteriousProtector for over two years after he ran away from home, and decides to return home to make amends.
217	[[/folder]]
218
219	[[folder:Music]]
220	* Music/{{Eminem}}'s discography follows his development as a person from a drug-addicted and immature LowerClassLout using his songs to humiliate his family and bully the world (''Music/TheSlimShadyLP'' & ''Music/TheMarshallMathersLP''), to a man trying to shoulder his responsibilities as a father and role model but overpowered by his HairTriggerTemper and insecurities (''Music/TheEminemShow'', the 2003 mixtapes), to a thoughtful adult able to walk away from his conflicts and apologise for his wrongdoing (''Encore''), a RecoveredAddict still terrified of relapsing and what he'd done to himself, (''Relapse'') and then to a mature adult proud of his successes, regretful of all the hurt he caused and [[TheParagon hoping to spread his strength to the listener, too]] (''Recovery'', ''The Marshall Mathers LP 2'', ''Revival''). GoodIsBoring has unfortunately become a main criticism of Eminem's later discography. ''Kamikaze'' halted the progression, with Eminem realising it was ALessonLearnedTooWell and that he's happier being the [[DramaQueen Drama Setter]] and [[InsultComic insulting people]].
221	* This happens to the protagonist in the Music/OzzyOsbourne song "No More Tears." In the first two verses, he happily murders a prostitute. However, during the bridge and third verse, he finds himself feeling very guilty about what he did. By the end of the song, he actually falls in love with her (even though she's already dead).
222	[[/folder]]
223
224	[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
225	* Wrestling/ShawnMichaels TookALevelInJerkass after kicking Wrestling/MartyJannetty through a window and became an even bigger jerkass after the screw job against Wrestling/BretHart. Then he retired. Then he came out of retirement to fight the seemingly never ending reign of Wrestling/TripleH, gradually becoming a nice guy who would try to help younger wrestlers.
226	** More or less a case of RealLifeWritesThePlot. He quit drugs, got married, had kids, and found religion. He doesn't deny his past, but has grown up and moved on. It's highlighted in him being one of the few wrestlers of his stature to actually stay retired.
227	* Excepting promotions like Wrestling/{{WCW}} and USWA, where Wrestling/{{Jacqueline}} had proper {{heel face turn}}s, this trope pretty accurately describes her career, as she rarely ever got them. Most promotions, be it Wrestling/{{FMW}}, Wrestling/{{TNA}} or what have you would start her {{heel}} or turn her into one and then gradually have her become more {{face}}y as she inevitably caught on with the crowd. In TNA she turned evil for no clear reason but nonetheless clearly transitioned from good referee to evil valet of Chris Harris and Wrestling/JamesStorm, but she proved an effective comical {{foil}} to Storm, who was something of a SpearCounterpart of her if not for the fact he took himself too seriously, then she started being nice to some of Storm's face opponents like Wrestling/EricYoung, then she ''tried'' and failed to redeem herself alongside [[Wrestling/JessicaKresa OBD]] in a distaff pairing to Storm and Harris but she and OBD got treated as faces anyway despite regressing to their cheating ways against Wrestling/VelvetSky, then just sort of defaulted to baby faces who enjoyed entertaining fans and rarely did anything malicious.
228	* Annie Social changed much in the four five years between her WEW debut and the rise of new all women's promotions Wrestling/{{SHIMMER}} and Wrestling/{{WSU}}. She started out as a petty criminal out to cause as much ruin as possible, to finding a like minded friend in pro wrestling, then another, then before you know it she's best known for managing hot prospects and her {{tag team}} runs.[[/folder]]
229
230	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
231	* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'':
232	** The Space Wolves: In the days before and during the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves were ruthless warriors who took a perverse pride in being the Emperor's [[TheUnfettered unfettered]] attack dogs, willing to destroy anybody and anything as he ordered. Fast forward ten thousand years and the Space Wolves are arguably the TokenGoodTeammate of the Adeptus Astartes, along with the [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Ultramarines]] and the [[GentleGiant Salamanders]], being dedicated to the lives and happiness of the people who live within the Imperium rather than the Imperium's twisted laws or ideals.
233	** Lion El'Jonson, Primarch of the Dark Angels; in the Great Crusade, he was characterized as among the most ruthless Primarchs, arguably the TokenEvilTeammate to the Loyalists. He was secretive, mistrustful, and merciless; unlike some of his brothers, he kept himself aloof and distant from humanity, and wouldn't hesitate to annihilate a world to see enemies of the Imperium destroyed. Upon the Lion's re-awakening in the 42nd millennium, however, he's switched his focus to saving and protecting the helpless, becoming more like the KnightInShiningArmor he had styled himself as but never quite acted like, inspiring and aiding humanity instead of just destroying threats. It's implied that his failure to save his father during the Heresy and the Breaking of Caliban immediately after was a major BreakTheHaughty for the Lion, and caused him to seriously re-evaluate his purpose and methods.
234	[[/folder]]
235
236	[[folder:Web Animation]]
237	* ''WebAnimation/AttackOnMika'': [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT2jxnBWT0Y Dollero]] started out as a BadBoss to his employees to the point that some of them quit, but when he saw a teenage girl named Sachi who plays the trumpet trying to end her life, he stops her and developed a bond with her. Sachi's friendship and teamwork with other band members during a concert inspire him to be a better boss to his employees.
238	* ''WebAnimation/HanazukiFullOfTreasures''
239	** Kiazuki was a Moonflower with a duty to protect (or in her case, restore) her moon, just like Hanazuki. Since she doesn't know how to tap into her EmotionalPowers, however, she resorts to manipulating Hanazuki in order to save her own moon. In Season 2, Kiazuki becomes considerably nicer and more caring after Hanazuki helps her express her emotions and grow Treasure Trees in the events of the Season 1 finale, though she still retains her rude and occasionally [[ItsAllAboutMe self-centered streak]].
240	* Weiss Schnee of ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' started out as a bratty RichBitch who looked down on all of her classmates. She begins to show a softer side after losing the Team RWBY leadership race to [[TheHero Ruby]]. By Volume 2, she loses the more abhorrent aspects of her personality and becomes friendlier and more supportive to her teammates, most notably showing concern for Blake's moping. By Volume 3, she offers to treat her teammates to noodles, [[TakingYouWithMe willingly risks herself to shove Flynt into a flame vent]] to stop him taking out Yang, and is the first of team RWBY to stick up for Yang against Ironwood after the villains frame Yang for assault. The only time she is shown getting angry in that volume is when another person's (a Faunus at that, the very people she ranted about in "The Stray") hurt by a robot, and she rushes at it armed with only her sword, to see her [[spoiler:summoning abilities awaken for the first time]].
241	* Knife from ''WebAnimation/InanimateInsanity'' got this treatment in the midst of season two.
242	* Agent Carolina from ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'' was originally a supportive leader for the other Freelancers, but constantly being overshadowed by Tex caused her to take a few levels in Jerkass, and almost getting killed by [[TheDreaded the Meta]] drove her straight towards AxCrazy. When she first encounters the Reds and Blues in the present, she is harsh, overbearing, and makes it perfectly clear she thinks they're expendable. Later, though, she gets a chance to open up to Church when he plays a few recordings of her old teammate Agent York, and is genuinely thankful to the Blood Gulch Crew when they help her with her encounter with the Director. By Season 12, she sees the teams as something of a second family, and while she is a bit blunt at times she is absolutely terrified of the possibility of losing them.
243	* Downplayed with Max in ''WebAnimation/CampCamp'', who starts out hating David and the camp, acting like a JerkAss to pretty much everyone, and showing little to no care about anyone. But by season two, while he still acts like a jerk a large amount of the time, he's shown to care about the other campers, at least somewhat and while he still hardly sees eye-to-eye with David, he doesn't seem to outright hate him anymore, and by the [[spoiler: second to last scene of season two, he begrudgingly gives David a hug.]]
244	* ''WebAnimation/DSBTInsaniT'': Lisa is a bit less antagonistic in 'The Camping Webisode', even going as far as to protect Koden's friends against Killer Monster, although she tries to justify it by saying she knows what he is going through. By 'Store Story', she has lost her violent tendencies and just sticks to being a {{Troll}}.
245	* ''WebAnimation/TheMostEpicStoryEverToldInAllOfHumanHistory'': Epic Fail, while always a heroic character overall, does have a specific instance of growing into a kinder person. He goes from being an EntitledToHaveYou DoggedNiceGuy in episode 6, to accepting that he can be JustFriends with his crush, growing to genuinely respect her, and making amends with her in episode 9. This is {{Lampshaded}} by Epically Avoids You, who comments [[BreakingTheFourthWall “character development? In this series?!”]]
246	[[/folder]]
247
248	[[folder:Webcomics]]
249	* ''Webcomic/BigEthelEnergy'': Cheryl Blossom in ComicBook/ArchieComics was a mean girl who often antagonized Betty and Veronica. By the time of the story, she and Betty are very close (in fact they were living together until shortly before the beginning). At the Homecoming game, Cheryl offers to set Betty up with her boss Seth, and there's no indication she's on bad terms with any of their other former classmates who turned up.
250	* William Winsbury in ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'' is introduced as an [[http://gunnerkrigg.com/?p=18 abrasive]], [[http://gunnerkrigg.com/?p=34 bullying]] [[KidsAreCruel twelve-year-old brat]]. As he gets older and [[http://gunnerkrigg.com/?p=447 spends]] [[http://gunnerkrigg.com/?p=610 more]] [[http://gunnerkrigg.com/?p=935 time]] with his classmates, he loses his antagonistic streak, and is on friendly terms with them by the [[http://gunnerkrigg.com/?p=1393 cruise]] at the end of Annie's third year.
251	* Karkat in ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' becomes less of a {{Troll}} and more interested in the success of his prior antagonists. And if he's not a JerkWithAHeartOfGold, at least he's a shrewd enough leader to know when to play TeamMom for the other trolls.
252	** Over the course of Act 6 Dave gradually drops his obsession with cool-guy irony and starts trying to focus on being a decent person instead.
253	** Similarly, after Dirk recognizes that he's been a real asshole (especially to Jake), and also hears about [[EvilMeScaresMe how awful his alt-universe self was]], he resolves not to turn into that person and becomes much nicer.
254	* Haley, Vaarsuvius and (of all people) [[TokenEvilTeammate Belkar]] in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick''. Haley lets go of her greed and paranoia and starts to open up to the group; V [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope did some very bad stuff]] and learned some much-needed humility from the resultant overconfidence-assisted drubbing, leading to a much friendlier relationship with the rest of the Order, Blackwing, and even Belkar; and Belkar started ''faking'' CharacterDevelopment [[BecomingTheMask and then it stuck]].
255	* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'':
256	** During the card game tournament, Larry takes all the pointers on his bad behavior to heart and not only apologizes directly to Sarah and Tedd for it, but promises to work on bettering himself so he doesn't do stuff like that again.
257	** Diane was already shown to be less of an AlphaBitch than she appeared, but "The Legend of Diane" has her ''realize'' how she comes across, and take steps to be better.
258	[[/folder]]
259
260	[[folder:Web Videos]]
261	* In ''Franchise/{{Noob}}'', [[TheAce Fantöm]] started out with an attitude about his high-level player status that bordered on InsufferableGenius. The franchise's WhamEpisode enventually led him to let go of the insufferable part in the webseries and novels, while the comic did an AdaptationExpansion of the arc that led to the change.
262	* ''WebVideo/{{Oxventure}}'': In the ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' campaign, Prudence the tiefling warlock has, while still being unapologetically evil, started to show a lot more care for her teammates. In one of the earlier stories, she bluntly tells Corazón to "shut [his] filthy mouth" when he's treading on her moment; in more recent ones, she tries to get Corazón to open up about his emotions, handles a difficult conversation with Merilwen as delicately as she can, and even seems to miss resident ButtMonkey Egbert when he's captured, even though the two are polar opposites on the CharacterAlignment chart.
263	[[/folder]]

Context Main / TookALevelInKindness