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| 7 | %% Image selected via crowner in the Image Suggestion thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1452266899092104700 |
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| 10 | [[quoteright:350:[[Webcomic/{{Belzebubs}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/f1ac0aa3_8b96_468b_9c59_f8e69b007f9b.jpeg]]]] |
| 11 | [[caption-width-right:350:[[WhereDidWeGoWrong Where did they go right?]]]] |
| 12 | |
| 13 | ->''"I assure you, I am the black sheep of the family. And while that would normally make me a criminal or a lunatic, in my ''evil'' family it makes me noble and decent!"'' |
| 14 | -->-- '''General George S. Sternbeater''', ''Radio/BleakExpectations'' |
| 15 | |
| 16 | Everyone is familiar with the teenager "going through a phase" or being an out-and-out rebel. Little can equal the shame to a family with a [[LegacyCharacter legacy]] of heroism of a [[ProdigalHero prodigal son or daughter]] who turns to villainy. Except, there are just as many families with a legacy of ''evil'', so what exactly is a teen rebel supposed to do to rebel against people who are already rebelling? |
| 17 | |
| 18 | Why, rebel against evil and make a HeelFaceTurn! |
| 19 | |
| 20 | Much like a PhlebotinumRebel, DefectorFromDecadence, and not-strictly-political CulturalRebel, the White Sheep rebels against their family's values by taking on "traditional" rebellious attitudes. Sometimes, one of two variations are seen: first, is when the character actually struggles to fit in with the evil family and [[MinionWithAnFInEvil feels bad that they don't]]. Alternatively, the "Sheep" is still fairly evil, but they rebel by [[VillainsOutShopping acting]] like a [[FalselyReformedVillain normal person]]. |
| 21 | |
| 22 | Naturally, some White Sheep may "grow out of the phase" and fully embrace their evil roots. Other times, they might discover that GoodFeelsGood (or that BeingEvilSucks) and make the change permanent. The parents of such a rebellious child may try to "correct" the problem by enrolling them in an AcademyOfEvil. |
| 23 | |
| 24 | Contrast supertrope BlackSheep, for all other reasons a family member may be isolated from the family. |
| 25 | |
| 26 | See also AntiAntiChrist, and OnlySaneMan; depending on how idealistic the work is, a White Sheep can be the latter. Compare EvilParentsWantGoodKids and RebelliousRebel. If the evil family show up after the White Sheep has built healthy relationships with good people, they're dealing with the fact that FriendsAreChosenFamilyArent. If your rebellion is against your entire ''species'', see MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch. For good-natured characters that are part of villainous groups in general, see TokenGoodTeammate. |
| 27 | |
| 28 | [[noreallife]] |
| 29 | ---- |
| 30 | !!Examples: |
| 31 | |
| 32 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 33 | |
| 34 | [[folder:Advertising]] |
| 35 | * A parodic example. There was a chocolate bar commercial in the 1990s with a father encouraging his adult son to pursue rock stardom, and sharing the chocolate bar allowed the son to confess his true feelings: |
| 36 | -->'''SON:''' I don't want to be a rock star like you wanted, Dad. I want to go to law school. |
| 37 | -->'''DAD:''' (PuppyDogEyes) |
| 38 | -->'''SON:''' I really want to wear a suit, Dad! |
| 39 | [[/folder]] |
| 40 | |
| 41 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 42 | * ''Anime/CodeGeass'': |
| 43 | ** Nunally and Euphemia are this to the Britannian royal family. Lelouch is more of a [[AntiHero gray sheep]] who wants to [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge annihilate the rest of the flock]]. |
| 44 | ** Prince Odysseus is this to a lesser extent due to lacking the ambition of his more aggressive siblings and being more KindheartedSimpleton than [[TheChessmaster ruthless chessmaster]]. |
| 45 | * In ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'', Tengen Uzui's family background is explored further in the second Databook, the manga briefly touched upon the fact Tengen and his wives came from a hardcore cold blooded Shinobi group, where all of them valued their mission and creed above anything else, considering valuing life and feelings in general to be worthless, Tengen rose above that, wanting a better path for himself and his wives, where they could actually experience a loving life; the Databook stated [[spoiler:after 3 of his siblings died in a mission, Tengen's father instigated his remaining 6 children to kill each other in a deadly selection in order to provide the clan with only the best shinobi; they were all masked, unknowingly set to kill each other, rather than unaffiliated shinobi, Tengen ended up killing two of his siblings before he realized what was truly going on, and a certain younger sibling who fully embraced the clan's coldness killed even more siblings; that was the final straw for Tengen, he left his uncaring family with his wives in tow. Ironicallly, the main Uzui family more or less died out while Tengen's descendant became an athletic star]]. |
| 46 | * ''Manga/DGrayMan'' has an odd example with Nea. [[spoiler: Though he rebelled against his family and is hated by number of them he shares their evilness and hatred for regular humans. Road once stated "he is different from us". So he is indeed an outcast in his evil family but he is still very much evil. Purple sheep maybe?]] |
| 47 | * In ''Literature/TheExecutionerAndHerWayOfLife'', Ashuna's parents are executed as criminals for performing an illegal summoning ritual, and Ashuna suspects her older sister was secretly involved as well. However, she herself has no involvement with her family's dark dealings, instead fighting for justice as a knight. |
| 48 | * In ''Literature/FateZero'', we are introduced to Kariya Matou, Shinji's uncle, who seems to be the only decent human being in the Matou family. Naturally, his family threw him out and considers him a worthless traitor. He joins the Holy Grail War to try to save Sakura from Zouken's plans... but, well, anyone who's played ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' knows how that [[DoomedByCanon must inevitably turn out.]] |
| 49 | * ''Franchise/FullmetalAlchemist'': |
| 50 | ** Greed is an AntiVillain who can't stand the thought of someone other than him ruling everything, so [[spoiler: he joins up with the heroes against [[BigBad Father]].]] |
| 51 | ** Wrath in [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003 the 2003 adaptation]] starts out as this. When introduced he's an innocent WildChild. After Envy gets a hold of him and brings back his memories, he warps into a cruel CreepyChild villain [[spoiler:before becoming sullen and depressed by ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemistTheConquerorOfShamballa'' due to a TraumaCongaLine]]. |
| 52 | * In ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer'', Miho Nishizumi is this to her family, given that their style of tankery stresses ruthless determination to winning at tankery regardless of the cost, and she cares more about those she fights alongside. It turns out that [[spoiler:Miho's older sister Maho is something of a [[AntiVillain gray sheep]]; living up to Shiho's expectations mainly so that Miho will not have to]]. |
| 53 | * Killua from ''Manga/HunterXHunter'' comes from a family of very scary assassins and rebels by taking the Hunter's Exam and eventually promising to stop killing people. Bonus point for having white hair in contrast to his black-haired brothers. |
| 54 | * ''Manga/InuYasha'' has Tsukuyomaru. He is one of the [[BatOutOfHell bat]] [[{{Youkai}} youkai]], and is the only one in his clan who is not evil. Although his half-human daughter Shiori later also qualifies for it. |
| 55 | ** The anime also shows Soten, a young youkai girl who is much less vicious than her two brothers Hiten and Manten. |
| 56 | * Downplayed with Giorno Giovanna from ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'': He's the only known good guy among [[VillainousLineage the evil Brando family lines]] that he never meets (He, in fact, looks up to DIO, not realizing his father's deeds). With a help of the NeighbourhoodFriendlyGangsters, Giorno escapes AbusiveParents, grows out of a hate cycle, and joins the mafia ironically to become an idealistic hero. Conversely, he's the BlackSheep of the Joestar family (which he's a part of [[TangledFamilyTree thanks to]] DIO hijacking his adoptive brother's body), being much more ruthless than any of them. |
| 57 | * ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'': With the exception of her unseen sister-in-law, Kaguya is the only member of the Shinomiya family who has demonstrated basic empathy. The number of good Shinomiyas used to be a lot higher, but they were all exiled several decades back and went on to form the Shijo family. |
| 58 | * Manga/{{Karin}} is like this (she's from a vampire family), though the fact that she ''can't'' suck blood and walks around in the sunlight may have something to do with it. Her relationships with her family get better when it is revealed [[spoiler: that she is a special type of vampire who can induce fertility in the normal members of her nearly sterile race. One that comes about whenever the Vampire is in danger of extinction.]] It's also revealed that they ''do'' care about her, so much so that [[spoiler:they erase her memories of them so they can GiveHerANormalLife.]] |
| 59 | * Dio from ''Anime/LastExile'' is well on his way to being this when [[spoiler:his sister catches up to him]]. |
| 60 | * ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': |
| 61 | ** [[spoiler: Itachi Uchiha]] is the White Sheep of [[spoiler:the Uchiha Clan]]. At first he was the BlackSheep until it turned out that [[spoiler: the Uchiha Clan was harboring generations of hate -- a phenomenon later coined as their "Curse of Hatred"]]. |
| 62 | ** It turns out he wasn't the only one. [[spoiler:Shisui Uchiha]] actually shared the same views as [[spoiler:Itachi]] and aided him with gaining the [[spoiler:Mangekyou Sharingan]], meaning he actually ''did'' commit suicide. |
| 63 | ** Then there's [[spoiler:Sasuke]], who was the White Sheep because not only was he a child, when it came to everything that happened to the [[spoiler:Uchiha Clan]] before the massacre, he knew nothing about the coup d'etat and was the only one ''innocent'' in all of this. He had a lot of missteps as a teenager after learning the truth, but after getting some sense knocked back into him, embodies this as an adult. [[spoiler:His daughter Sarada is also poised to follow in his footsteps -- her dream is to become Hokage]]. |
| 64 | ** [[spoiler:Shisui's]] White Sheep status was inherited - his father, [[spoiler:Kagami Uchiha]], was one of the few Uchiha who could have ever been called a friend of the Second Hokage, and was as fiercely loyal to the village as [[spoiler:Shisui]] himself was. |
| 65 | ** [[spoiler:Obito Uchiha]], who would one day become [[spoiler:the BigBad Tobi, was this growing up. While he seemingly succumbed to the Uchiha Clan's Curse of Hatred for most of his adult life, by the end of his life he made a HeelFaceTurn and died believing in the Will of Fire]]. |
| 66 | * In ''Manga/NuraRiseOfTheYokaiClan'', Nura Rikuo is a decendant of youkai, who are considered to be evil or scary spirits. However Rikuo doesn't want to be like his family and protests by being a White Sheep. That is until he realizes this is a surefire of hurting more people than helping. So he becomes a Gray Sheep by accepting the youkai mantle and uses that power to protect his human friends. |
| 67 | * ''Manga/OnePiece'': |
| 68 | ** Saint Homing and his wife are the nicest World Nobles depicted in the series so far -- they went as far as abandoning their status as World Nobles to live a simple life, away from the decadence of Mariejois. [[spoiler:Which is why it's downright incomprehensible that they were the ones who spawned '''''[[TheSociopath Donquixote]] [[{{Jerkass}} Doflamingo]]'''''. Not even Doflamingo's own brother Rocinante (who inherited his parents' kindness) can believe it, as Doflamingo is a monster even by World Noble standards]] It shows how influentially toxic Marejois is to most of the populace that live there. |
| 69 | ** Sabo comes from a family of the ruling class who look down on anyone lower on the social ladder than they are. Frustrated at his family's condescending attitude, he goes to live in the forest and learn to fight alongside Luffy and Ace. [[spoiler:Sabo then joins [[LaResistance the Revolutionary Army]] and rises to its second-in-command, making him a direct moral opposite to]] [[spoiler:his brother Stelly, who's become a king allied with [[OneWorldOrder the World Government]].]] |
| 70 | ** Sanji comes from a family of [[spoiler:assassins who have gained such clout that their organization is given the status of its own country. Sanji considers his family's practices absolutely abhorrent and ran away from home. On top of that, his siblings and father dismissed his love of cooking. He would eventually become a sous chef at an acclaimed restaurant, then join the Straw Hat Pirates in protecting the innocent.]] |
| 71 | ** "Marriage Proposal" Lola is considered the BlackSheep by her family [[spoiler:a.k.a Big Mom and most of her (Lola's) siblings.]] However, from the audience's perspective, Lola is the White Sheep. |
| 72 | ** Saint Mjosgard, [[spoiler:Donquixote Homing's distant cousin]], used to be a typical World Noble. But after his experiences on Fish-Man Island (having his life saved by the kindly Queen Otohime), he freed all of his slaves and recognized that World Nobles are no better than everyone else. But since he never renounced his status like Homing, Mjosgard exploits the fact that he's still considered above the law to ''beat the shit out of other World Nobles'' when they're trying to do particularly vile things. The rest of the World Nobles consider Mjosgard a freak for rejecting their bigotry and arrogance. [[spoiler:Unfortunately after pulling this off one too many times, he ends up getting executed by [[InternalDeathSquad the Holy Knights]] for protecting Shirahoshi and letting Leo and Sai severely damage Charloss. His death was even cheered by fellow Celestial Dragons, and the leader of the Holy Knights who executed him said that those who protect the lower class are ''lower than scum''. Overall, Mjosgard's death serves as proof that [[StatusQuoIsGod any attempt to redeem or reform the World Nobles is doomed to failure]].]] |
| 73 | ** [[spoiler:Tama]] is secretly a member of Wano Country's Kurozumi Clan. Secretly as in "even she is not aware of her lineage". Having grown free of the prejudices faced by the rest of her family, [[spoiler:Tama]] never developed a thirst for revenge as her peers Orochi and [[spoiler:Kanjuro]] did, and ultimately [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower proved crucial]] in liberating Wano from [[TheCaligula Orochi's regime]] after she joined the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance during the Onigashima War. |
| 74 | * In ''Manga/SeraphOfTheEnd'' you can see Shinoa Hiragi. She belongs to the influential and respected Hiragi family. In contrast to the others, she is not greedy, arrogant, and evil. However, she tends to be a bit cheeky and provocative at times. |
| 75 | * [[spoiler:Kahaku]] in ''Manga/ToYourEternity'' ends up being this to the Guardians. Throughout the story, Fushi has unbridled animosity towards the Guardians as their founder [[{{Yandere}} Hayase]] was not only responsible for the deaths of several of his earliest friends, but also [[AttemptedRape attempted to violate him]] a few times. Even after her death, her descendants continued to attempt to succeed where she failed in trying to conceive children with him, a prospect of which disgusts him. As for [[spoiler:Kahaku, he is the sixth generation descendant of Hayase and [[WantedASonInstead as the only male descendant is not looked upon favorably by tradition as Hayase's successors have been all female]]. However Fushi reluctantly puts aside his animosity towards him and the Guardians as by the time Fushi meets him he faces a new enemy in the form of the [[CorruptChurch Church of Bennett]] on top of the existing threat of the Nokkers. In the end, Kahaku parts ways with Fushi without much bloodshed, and later ends up pulling a HeroicSacrifice to take out the Church of Bennett with him]]. |
| 76 | * ''Manga/MoriartyThePatriot'': Albert James Moriarty is this to both his own family and the aristocracy as a whole: every other noble in the series runs the spectrum from selfish {{Jerkass}} to outright evil serial killer, and none view the lower classes as anything more than slaves they can treat however they want. Albert is so disgusted by this, he adopts the openly-homicidal orphan William as his foster-brother to support said orphan's revolutionary goals... by helping him murder every aristocrat possible. Starting with Alberts's [[SelfMadeOrphan parents]] and [[CainAndAbel actual brother]]. Albert is undoubtedly a very kind, compassionate, and moral person, he just violently hates anyone who treats their fellow humans like garbage. |
| 77 | [[/folder]] |
| 78 | |
| 79 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 80 | * ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'': In a strange way [[ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} Dick]] and [[Characters/RobinTimDrake Tim]] are this for Bat-Family (specifically the men) as they both very much lack the brutality, ruthless, paranoia, arrogance, anger and self-destructive qualities that Bruce, Jason and Damian possess full force. Dick, although butting heads with his mentor (especially when he first got out of Batman’s shadow) is still largely cheerful and nice being full of levity, something which Tim echoed in his tenure as Robin. Granted Tim does start getting written to be more of a SociopathicHero in later DarkerAndEdgier continuities but it never really lasts (especially since two of his brothers already fulfil that requirement). |
| 81 | * ''ComicBook/ChickTracts'': "Four Angels?" focuses on four brothers who accept Jesus into their lives, each of whom is accompanied by a guardian angel. Three of them fall from grace, resulting in their angels abandoning them- Charles becomes a popular evangelist who refuses to preach against sin and secretly indulges his vices, Bobby gives up his religion because his boss insists, and Frank turns his back on Christianity ''the day after'' converting. Henry, however, becomes a preacher in the inner city, preaching Chick's brand of Christianity to criminals, homeless people and prostitutes. Henry loathes Charles for his sinful and hypocritical ways, but the other two brothers take Charles' side. This being a Chick tract, Henry goes to Heaven and the others go to Hell. |
| 82 | * The Beagle Boys of the ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse are such {{Card Carrying Villain}}s that they are outraged to learn that their cousin 0, who they initially idolized for never going to prison and getting a number, is actually the head chef in a diner, earning an honest living. |
| 83 | ** There are other one-shot Beagles peppered throughout the comics who also either turned their back on crime or never became criminals. Such as two brothers who worked as detectives or a trio who chose a career in music instead. |
| 84 | ** The Italian author Sergio Badino created a niece of the Beagle Boys named Penny he used in three stories who is a cute little girl with no understanding for the criminal path of her uncles. She even befriends Huey, Dewey and Louie and helps Scrooge in defeating her own uncles. |
| 85 | * The premise of the short-lived kid's comic ''The Cow Boy'' had the eponymous KidHero as the only good guy born to a family of criminals, and his mission to [[GottaCatchEmAll bring them all to justice.]] |
| 86 | * ''ComicBook/TheFlash'' has the young Eobard Thawne and then, more permanently, his descendant Meloni Thawne. Before becoming Professor Zoom, Eobard was an obsessive fanboy of Barry Allen and dreamed of both meeting him and being him (he was still willing to kill someone to make it possible), though the Thawnes held a centuries-long grudge against the Allens and Flashes in general. Some four or five centuries later, thanks to time travel, Meloni married Barry's son Don. |
| 87 | * ''ComicBook/LuckyLuke'': Marcel Dalton is a(n honest) banker in Switzerland. The Daltons never really mention him. This may be a ShoutOut to the RealLife Frank Dalton, who, unlike his bank-robbing brothers, was a Deputy Marshal for most of his life, and by all accounts conscientious and well-liked. |
| 88 | * In the ''Magazine/{{MAD}}'' parody of ''Film/TheGodfather'', Vito complains about Michael not doing the same gangster activities as his brothers, and Michael Responds "I'm sorry I turned out to be the white sheep of the family". |
| 89 | * The ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'' are a team of teen superheroes atoning for the crimes of their parents, who were all criminals and supervillains. [[spoiler:Minus Alex, of course.]] This becomes somewhat murkier in their later adventures, as Nico develops something of a ruthless streak and the issues Chase's [[AbusiveParents upbringing]] gave him become more apparent. |
| 90 | * Raven Princess Ashleigh in ''ComicBook/{{Scion}}'' rebels against her rather evil family by joining an underground movement devoted to freeing the kingdom's genetically-engineered slaves. |
| 91 | * ComicBook/{{Toxin}} from Creator/MarvelComics (particularly ComicBook/SpiderMan). He has the same [[SociopathicHero violent tendencies]] as his parent ComicBook/{{Carnage}} and grandparent Comicbook/{{Venom}}, but his host was actually sane and law-abiding and was thus forced into playing [[KidWithTheLeash Adult With The Leash]]. Toxin is also a bit [[ChildrenAreInnocent more childlike]] than the other symbiotes. |
| 92 | * In his time as host of the ComicBook/{{Venom}} symbiote, Flash Thompson tries to be better than the other hosts, and is part of the Secret Avengers, the ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}}, and the ComicBook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy. |
| 93 | * ''ComicBook/XMen'': |
| 94 | ** Among [[Characters/MarvelComicsMystique Mystique]]’s TangledFamilyTree [[Characters/MarvelComicsNightcrawler Nightcrawler]] and [[Characters/MarvelComicsRogue Rogue]] are most certainly this being good-hearted heroes, unlike Graydon, Raze, Azazel, Sabretooth, Destiny, and Mystique herself who all run the gamut of evil from AxCrazy {{Sadist}} to ManipulativeBastard to simple {{jerkass}}. |
| 95 | ** Among [[Characters/MarvelComicsMagneto Magneto]]’s family it comes down to either (DependingOnTheWriter) Characters/ScarletWitch or [[Characters/XMen60sMembers Polaris]] as they are both are generally nice and have worked effectively as heroes for the Avengers and X-Factor. They notably don’t have the massive “against the world” chip in their shoulders that Erik and Pietro have and certainly don’t share their dickery. Still both Wanda and Lorna have had their WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity moments like their father (especially Wanda see ''ComicBook/HouseOfM'') so they are only marginally better than the men of the family. |
| 96 | ** [[Characters/MarvelComicsProfessorX Charles Xavier aka Professor X]] despite his flaws is this for his family. For reference: Charles Graymalkin (his asshole racist Puritan ancestor), Kurt Marko (his abusive and drunken scientist stepfather), Cassandra Nova (his evil twin sister), [[Characters/JuggernautMarvelComics Cain Marko aka Juggernaut]] (his bullying meathead stepbrother turned supervillain) and David Haller aka Legion (his unstable PersonOfMassDestruction son). Although both Cain and David TookALevelInKindness in recent times and are ironically more traditionally heroic than Charles who’s become the AmbiguouslyEvil mutant leader of Krakoa. |
| 97 | [[/folder]] |
| 98 | |
| 99 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 100 | * ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon'': [[Characters/AbraxasHrodvitnonMonsterX San]] is originally one of the [[MultipleHeadCase three heads]] of [[BigBad King Ghidorah]], specifically the least malicious, least [[OmnicidalManiac omnicidal]] and most inquisitive of the trio. After being cut off from Ghidorah and merging with [[MoralityPet Vivienne Graham]], he eventually aligns himself with Godzilla and humanity against his former brothers [[spoiler:and against the horde of "[[UndeadAbomination children]]" they've made]], in defence of his new sister. |
| 101 | * ''Fanfic/CodeGeassPaladinsOfVoltron'': '''In three different ways!''' Despite his upbringing, Lelouch only inherited the absolute best traits of his family - his father’s strategic skill, his mother’s piloting and acting skills, [[spoiler: and the Galra belief in only killing if you are willing to put ''your'' life on the line.]] |
| 102 | * [[Fanfic/TheVictorsProject Fall Into the River]]'': Most of the Silvertree family are immensely loyalist to an evil regime, but Adonis works hard to overthrow the Capitol's tyranny and it's implied his child or children do as well. |
| 103 | * In the ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'' fanfiction series, ''Fanfic/NegaverseChronicles'', [[spoiler:Bushroot]] turns out to be this. His family turns out to be the ones in charge of one of the biggest gangs before Negaduck rose to power while he ends up being one of the Friendly Four. |
| 104 | * ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines'' has a group known as "the Seven Brothers of Orre", [[AlphabeticalThemeNaming whose initials go from A to G from the oldest to the youngest]], and are notorious criminals, except for the one whose initial is "E". A later chapter strongly hints this is because he was the only one who managed to escape their [[AbusiveParents abusive mother]], [[EvilMatriarch who by all accounts was even worse than all of them combined]]. |
| 105 | * While she does not properly embody this trope, it is dropped by name in ''Batman: Grudge Match'' by the leader of Red Claw. |
| 106 | -->'''[[spoiler:Nyssa al-Ghul]]:''' Cast out, I was, and for what? Because the piece of shit who should have been my father decided I wasn't worth his time. The forsaken child, the undesirable, the leper. But in a flock black as ours, does that make me a lone white sheep? |
| 107 | * ''Fanfic/WhiteSheepRWBY'': The fic is naturally about this. Jaune's mother is [[BigBad Salem]] and he wants to be a Huntsman, leading to him running away to Beacon. However [[spoiler: the plot has him turning to embrace the "darker" side of his family to save his friends]]. He also refuses to be his family's enemy and works to bring peace between the people of Remnant despite how much of an ImpossibleTask that is. [[spoiler: Against all odds, he succeeds in the end]]. |
| 108 | * In ''Fanfic/ReverseRWBY'', Whitley is the last remaining "good Schnee". He tries to follow in his grandfather's footsteps. |
| 109 | * In ''Fanfic/TheBridge'', the current Godzilla is revealed to be "Junior" from the Heisei era all grown up. The 1954 Godzilla? Turned Tokyo into a fireball and killed thousands in his rampage. The second Godzilla plagued Japan from 1984 to 1995 even if he was the lesser of two evils at times, still racking up a death count in the tens of thousands. Junior meanwhile goes out of his way to avoid harming humans and directly came to their defense dozens of time. Others comment that it's the result of how humanity treated them. The first two Godzillas were scarred by nuclear weapons and attacked, lashing out in revenge. Junior meanwhile was raised and cared for by a kindly biologist he saw as his mother. |
| 110 | * ''Fanfic/HereThereBeMonsters'': ComicBook/{{Shazam}}'s nemesis Doctor Sivana is a power-hungry mad scientist, his little children Georgia and Thaddeus are two psychotic murderers, and his older children Magnificus and Beautia are good, honest, decent persons. |
| 111 | * ''Fanfic/{{Underfell}}'', being a MirrorUniverse, has two potential examples: |
| 112 | ** Chara is usually portrayed as sweet, gentle and overall heroic. Which contrasts with their evil adoptive family; Asgore, Toriel and Asriel Dreemurr. This is an interesting example in itself since [[VideoGame/{{Undertale}} the canon]] Chara's personality is highly open to interpretation. The fanbase tends to lean towards Chara being evil though, so their opposite self becomes good here. |
| 113 | ** If Chara is evil, Asriel/Flowey will usually fill the role instead after he meets Frisk and goes through CharacterDevelopment. Also Asriel is rarely as bad as his parents even pre-development too, making him a sort of Gray Sheep (Goat?) who eventually turns White. |
| 114 | [[/folder]] |
| 115 | |
| 116 | [[folder:Films -- Animated]] |
| 117 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'': Miguel is the first in his family in five generations to share [[spoiler:Héctor's]] instinctive passion for music, rejecting his family's attempts to stifle it. This drives a wedge between him and them, since they can't accept him for who he is despite loving him dearly. |
| 118 | * In ''WesternAnimation/MadMonsterParty,'' [[MadScientist Dr. Frankenstein]] intends to name his nephew, [[UnluckyEverydude Felix]], as his successor. Frankenstein specifically refers to Felix's mother as the "white sheep" in their family -- she gave up associations with horror and evil, and thus Felix neither knows about nor wants his uncle's inheritance. (Though note that this whole backstory is hard to connect with the ending, which implies that [[spoiler:Felix is actually a robot]].) |
| 119 | [[/folder]] |
| 120 | |
| 121 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 122 | * While details aren't given about their parents, the White Queen in ''Film/AliceInWonderland2010'' closely fits this idea. She knows she has crazy running through her genes, and her sister [[TheCaligula the Red Queen]] shows how she could act. Thus, she pretends to be IncorruptiblePurePureness, but you can see her true nature in the loopy PerkyGoth that shines through. |
| 123 | ** However, the sequel, ''Film/AliceThroughTheLookingGlass'', somewhat turns this on its head. It's eventually revealed that [[spoiler:it was the White Queen's lie in childhood which caused the Red Queen's StartOfDarkness]], and ''that'' is the real reason for her over-the-top goodness. |
| 124 | * ''Film/AustinPowers''[='=]s Scott Evil subverts this. While not as evil as his father, he's not good either. In the first movie, while Dr. Evil wines and dines Austin and Vanessa, Scott suggest they just kill them now. |
| 125 | -->''"What, you're feeding them? Why don't you just kill them?"'' |
| 126 | * Both of Cyril Carter's parents in ''Film/CarryOnMatron'' are career criminals, and he promised his mother, Gertie, on her deathbed that he would follow his father, Sid, into a life outside the law. However, he doesn't have the stomach for it, and he tells Sid that he has accepted a job in insurance. Sid plays on Cyril's affection for his late mother to persuade him to do OneLastJob, the contraceptive pill theft at Finisham Maternity Hospital. |
| 127 | * In ''Film/CorkyRomano'', the title character comes from a family of TheMafia. However, unlike his father and brothers, all he wants to do is be a vet. Of course, at the end, it's revealed that his brothers have their own issues ([[spoiler:one is in the closet and the other is illiterate]]). |
| 128 | * Svetlana Stalina in ''Film/TheDeathOfStalin''. Her brother Vasily is a drunken screw-up, and her father is ''UsefulNotes/JosephStalin''. Somehow, despite being the daughter of the Soviet Union's [[TheDreaded feared dictator]] Svetlana manages to be well-adjusted, even kind, which has made her immensely popular with the common people. Shame she's also a HorribleJudgeOfCharacter surrounded by her father's DecadentCourt, all of whom are trying to schmooze her into currying her blessing to be successor to Stalin. |
| 129 | * Billy Costigan in ''Film/TheDeparted'' seeks to become a cop, despite the fact that he comes from a family with a bunch of mob ties. When he refuses to give in to his handler's attempts at intimidating him, they decide to exploit those mob ties to give him credibility as TheMole. |
| 130 | * ''Film/{{Doomsday}}:'' Cally's father and brother are both brutal {{Wasteland Warlord}}s, but she's a NiceGirl who wants the best for the people trapped behind the wall. |
| 131 | * Michael Corleone of ''Film/TheGodfather'' was raised to be the white sheep; he was supposed to begin the family's shift into respectability. Vito expresses regret shortly before his death that he ended up being the one to succeed his father since he'd wanted him to be a US Senator or a state governor, and Michael reassures him that [[WrongGenreSavvy "we'll get there."]] |
| 132 | -->''"That's my family, Kay. It's not me."'' |
| 133 | * Sloth in ''Film/TheGoonies''. He's mentally disabled and physically deformed, [[MadwomanInTheAttic kept chained in the basement]], and not even a candidate to be his mama's [[TheUnfavorite Unfavorite]]. But more importantly, unlike the rest of his family, he's a good guy at heart, opposing them when given the chance. |
| 134 | * ''Film/{{Greedy}}'': Danny is a subversion. He ''starts'' out as being more principled than his greedy relatives who are competing for their old Uncle Joe's fortune. However, the idea of making a fortune gets to his head, and he starts competing as well, shamelessly doing a dance he did as a child, [[spoiler:and then staging an argument with his moralistic father to declare he likes Uncle Joe more. It is double-subverted when he realizes how far he has sunk, and when he learns that Uncle Joe is broke, he still takes him in anyway]]. |
| 135 | * ''Film/TheHeat'' plays with this. For some of her tendencies, she'd be the BlackSheep otherwise but Mullins is this to her family (besides her dad and brother, [[spoiler: whom she arrested]]), as she's the only one who cares about upholding the law, on top of being slightly less of an asshole than they (besides the dad and brother) are, while the rest of the family might be why [[spoiler: her brother is a criminal in the first place]]. From what's implied, they also weren't happy with her profession to be a police officer to start with. |
| 136 | * ''Film/InMyCountry'': Anna tries to be one. She's an Afrikaner who opposed Apartheid and still does vocally when the rest had either supported it or were largely apathetic (including her family). Anna covers the hearing exposing the atrocities which were committed in the name of Apartheid to show herself as different in part due to her guilt over not doing more, but grows increasingly horrified by what she finds. [[spoiler:In particular, her own brother had participated with the torture and murders the state police committed.]] |
| 137 | * ''Film/LittleNicky'': The whole joke with Nicky's character is that he's laughably incompetent at being evil despite being raised as part of a family of demons. It's because his mom is a literal angel. |
| 138 | * ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'', really loves this trope, as they do it three times. |
| 139 | ** The first is Gamora. She's this for her adoptive family, The Black Order, as seen in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014'' and ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar''; she was the only the truly compassionate child of Thanos (before Nebula TookALevelInKindness) and was the first to defect from him. Ironically, Gamora is still Thanos's favorite daughter despite betraying him outright. |
| 140 | ** The second is [[spoiler:Thor. ''Film/ThorRagnarok'' reveals that oldest son Thor is actually the middle child; compared to Hela and Loki, he's the most heroic and benevolent child of Odin and Frigga despite his arrogance in his first movie. Thor is also the only Asgardian ruler who didn't gain his throne through violence, only becoming king when his people ''needed'' him; contrast this with his father Odin, who conquered the Nine Realms through bloodshed.]] |
| 141 | ** The third is [[spoiler:T'Challa, the Film/{{Black Panther|2018}}, who -- much like Thor -- discovers that his father and ancestors aren't as good as he initially believed. T'Challa is disgusted upon learning his father killed his own brother and abandoned his young nephew, all to protect the isolationism of Wakanda; while [[CallingTheOldManOut chewing his father and successors all out]], T'Challa states he will be a better king for the betterment of his country. Black Panther makes good on his word and opens Wakandan outreach centers in America, making him the first king to be truly international.]] |
| 142 | * ''Film/{{Matilda}}'' is about the eponymous girl trying to overcome her family's values. They are rude and dishonest jerks (on top of being morons), while she just wants to be allowed to read and learn and go to school and not be forced to watch television.[[note]] Based on Creator/RoaldDahl's book and, judging by another "bad kid" character in ''Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'' whose only "badness" was watching television, Dahl really hated television. |
| 143 | * ''Film/TheNightOfTheGrizzly'': Tad Curry's CattleBaron father and brother aren't ''evil'', but he comes across as noticeably kinder than they are and is more likely to be apologetic about his {{Jerkass}} moments. His ShipTease with Cole's niece Meg may be part of this. |
| 144 | [[/note]] |
| 145 | [[/folder]] |
| 146 | |
| 147 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 148 | * Literature/AgentPendergast seems to be the only member of his entire family for generations back who didn't turn out criminally insane. |
| 149 | * ''Literature/TheBeginningAfterTheEnd'': |
| 150 | ** Jasmine Flamesworth. She was sent away by her father Trodius for only being able to control [[BlowYouAway wind]] magic and not [[PlayingWithFire fire]] magic as he viewed her as an embarrassment to their family, for as [[MeaningfulName their name]] indicates House Flamesworth has a reputation for producing some of the finest fire mages in Sapin. While the Flamesworths used to be a relatively normal noble house, they became much worse when Trodius became patriarch as his draconian personality led him to impose upon his family his MightMakesRight philosophy. Later on during the war, Trodius's corruption is further exposed as he not only planned to sequester his house and their closest associates in the Wall to avoid the war, but is also shown to be an irresponsible military leader who sends the troops under his command to their deaths. After [[spoiler:the Alacryans conquer Dicathen, the Flamesworths quickly become LesCollaborateurs to their new overlords, as Arthur and Jasmine find out during the retaking of Xyrus]]. |
| 151 | *** Jasmine is not the only sympathetic member of House Flamesworth. Her aunt Hester, despite being everything that the Flamesworths espoused, came to realize that her family values were skewed and corrupt thanks to her spending time away from them as one of the guards for the royal family of Sapin. She would become a mentor figure to Jasmine as she encouraged her to be herself and later on became one of Arthur's tutors during the war. To a lesser extent, Jasmine's older sister Senyir acts as a CoolBigSis to her in spite of the rest of their family looking down on her and covertly encourages her to find her own path, and later on joins up with her after [[spoiler:the liberation of Dicathen]]. |
| 152 | ** [[spoiler:Bairon Wykes]] ends up becoming this to House Wykes. Throughout the story, the Wykes are established to be a power-hungry and opportunistic house notorious their SuperBreedingProgram to create superior mages as well as abusing their power and influence to cover up their actions. As for [[spoiler:Bairon, while he is initially introduced as an antagonistic force to Arthur due to being the older brother of Arthur's boyhood nemesis Lucas Wykes and whose BigBrotherInstinct causes him and Arthur to be at odds (especially after Arthur kills Lucas for his role in the attack on Xyrus Academy), he is shown to have some genuinely sympathetic traits, such as wanting Lucas to stop hiding behind their family's influence and to become a better person on his own. However, it is after the loss of the war that he truly starts to become a better person than the rest of his family, in particular due to the TraumaCongaLine he suffers (in particular, him finding out that his family became LesCollaborateurs to the Alacryans and suffering a few NearDeathExperience[=s=] fighting much stronger opponents serving to give him a nasty case of BreakTheHaughty). Afterwards, he ends up making amends with Arthur after the latter returns from Alacrya to lead the Dicathian resistance back from the brink]]. |
| 153 | ** [[spoiler:Sylvie]] of all characters turns out to be one of these, on top of also being a TokenHeroicOrc. It is revealed that [[spoiler:she is the [[YinYangBomb hybrid offspring]] of both the [[DragonsAreDivine Indrath]] and [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Vritra]] Clans, [[GodAndSatanAreBothJerks neither of whom are better than the other when it comes to their treatment of lessers]]. Her father is Agrona, the Lord of the Vritra Clan. He and his clan are directly responsible for instigating the DivineConflict that has laid waste to Arthur's homeland of Dicathen and caused the deaths of many of Arthur's friends and loved ones. As for her mother's side of the family, while her mother Sylvia is another example of this trope (given how she not only cared for Arthur when he was young but also posthumously informed him of her family's crimes to begin with), her grandfather Kezess, the Lord of the Indrath Clan and the ruler of the asuras, is revealed to be a NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist with a penchant for killing off anyone for the sake of what he perceives as "the greater good". In the distant past, the Indrath orchestrated the genocide of the [[{{Precursors}} djinn]], an atrocity that led to Agrona and the Vritra's StartOfDarkness as they uncovered the truth and got exiled for threatening to expose it. In the present, Kezess and the Indrath are still willing to exterminate any and all who stand in the way of their goals or have [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness outlived their usefulness to them]], even the lessers they claim to protect. The only reason Sylvie does not turn out like either side of her family is because she has been [[RaisedByHumans raised by Arthur]] her whole life and thus [[NatureVersusNurture resonates more with him over her blood]]]]. |
| 154 | ** {{Downplayed|Trope}} with [[spoiler:Seth Milview. His sister Circe played a major role in the Alacryan conquest of Dicathen, being the one who spearheaded the invasion of Elenoir. For her actions -- which led to the enslavement of thousands of elves -- the Milviews were elevated to the status of highblood, only for it to end up being AllForNothing as Circe was one of the millions who died when Aldir destroyed Elenoir with the World Eater technique. Seth -- who managed to avoid his sister's fate as he was studying in Central Academy at the time -- came under the tutelage of Arthur who in spite of his animosity towards Circe came to realize Seth had nothing to do with her actions. In turn, Seth grew to respect Arthur, and later on accompanied him back to Dicathen amidst Seris's retreat from the Relictombs as he had nowhere else to go]]. |
| 155 | * In "Betvingade" by Creator/SimonaAhrnstedt, Illiana Henriksdotter seems to be the only nice person in her BigScrewedUpFamily. |
| 156 | * Deah Draconi of the ''Literature/BlackBlade'' series takes after her mother, which makes her the only person who is a Draconi by blood who isn't evil. |
| 157 | * ''[[Literature/DifferentSeasons The Body]]'': Chris Chambers is one of these. He comes from "shanty Irish." His dad is an abusive drunk, his oldest brother is in jail for a violent rape, his second oldest brother is a gang bully, and he... busts his ass to get through the college courses and become a lawyer. |
| 158 | * ''Literature/CarpeJugulum'': |
| 159 | ** The younger Magpyres of are quite evil, but they rebel by discarding all of the traditional vampire traits. They dress dowdily and pick the most mundane human names possible, as a pretty clear inversion of rebellious goth teenagers. |
| 160 | ** Angua comes from a family of man-eating werewolves. [[FriendsAreChosenFamilyArent Her friends in the Watch are understandably surprised]] when her lunatic brother shows up. |
| 161 | * In ''Franchise/{{Dune}}'', House Harkonnen are known for their [[DecadentCourt cruelty and decadence]], but one of them long ago is a good guy, Xavier Harkonnen who was good friends Vorian Atreides, he was considered a traitor when he killed an evil Patriarch Iblis Ginjo who was going to harvest organs on the people of Caladan, and crashed his ship killing them both. |
| 162 | ** In fact, the whole reason the Harkonnens are so bad in the time of the original book is because of how everyone else treated them after Xavier killed their [[VillainWithGoodPublicity beloved]] Patriarch and later after Xavier's grandson Abulard refused to risk the lives of millions of human slaves that the machines rigged explosives to at the Battle of Corrin. The latter of which got him exiled by Vorian Atreides and started the millennia-spanning feud between the houses of Atreides and Harkonnen. |
| 163 | ** The other prequel series has Abulard Rabban, the Baron's own half-brother. Who was good-hearted and kind and so ashamed of the rest of his family that he took his wife's surname. Unfortunately his sons Glossu and Feyd-rautha ended up more like their uncle, and he was killed by Glossu, earning himself the nickname "The Beast". |
| 164 | * [[Literature/TheElricSaga Elric of Melnibone]] is the first of both his family and his [[TheFairFolk civilisation]] to start wondering about things like morality, which is what leads him to give up his place as Emperor and start WalkingTheEarth. |
| 165 | * In George [=McDonald=] Fraser's ''{{Literature/Flashman}}'' chronicles, the anti-hero, bully, poltroon, liar, coward, cheat, and all-around selfish protagonist is utterly mortified in later life when his oldest son, also Harry Flashman, chooses to enter the priesthood and serve God. Flashman's only consolation is to reflect "well, if the boy's learnt anything at all from me, he'll certainly end up as Archbishop of Canterbury". |
| 166 | * In ''Literature/TheGirlWhoDrankTheMoon'' Antain is born into one of the Council families that rule the Protectorate. On seeing the horror that the Day of Sacrifice inflicts on parents separated from their children, he rejects their paternalism and goes into business for himself. |
| 167 | * In Creator/WilliamFaulkner's ''The Hamlet'', Eckrum Snopes is the only relatively honest, hard-working, and decent member of an otherwise depraved family of con-men, thieves, vandals, murderers, and perverts. Unfortunately, this doesn't stop his unscrupulous brothers Flem and I.O. from using Eck as an unwitting front in their cons. |
| 168 | * ''Literature/HarryPotter'': |
| 169 | ** The Black family are almost exclusively dark wizards, who are so racist against Muggleborns that they make the Malfoys look tame, but they still have members who prove that what you are doesn't define what you can be: |
| 170 | *** Sirius acts like your typical "bad boy rebel", but he explicitly disowns his family's supremacist attitude, resulting in them [[IHaveNoSon disowning him in turn]] (i.e. his own mother burned his name off of the family tapestry). His status as a White Sheep is further reinforced when it is revealed that he was sorted to Gryffindor, the only Black in history (everyone else went to Slytherin) |
| 171 | *** Ditto his favorite cousin, Andromeda Tonks (née Black). She was sorted to Slytherin, but she expressed none of her family's views as shown when she married the Muggle-born Ted Tonks and gave birth to Nymphadora, who [[SerialEscalation marries a werewolf in turn]]. Her name got burned from the tapestry, too. |
| 172 | *** Most of the Blacks who had their names burned off of the tapestry can similarly be assumed to be White Sheep as well, and since there is at least one per generation, it shows that the family isn't rotten to the core. Iola was disowned because she married a Muggle, Cedrella was disowned because she married "blood traitor"[[note]](a Pure-blood, i.e. someone with no Muggle ancestry, who is sympathetic to Muggles)[[/note]] Septimus Weasley (Arthur's father), and Phineas was disowned because he supported Muggle rights. Sirius' uncle Alphard is implied to have been one too, as he left his gold to Sirius when he died. |
| 173 | *** ''Deathly Hallows'' reveals that Sirius' brother, Regulus, despite being his parents' "perfect son", eventually became this. He did espouse supremacist beliefs early on and went to join the Death Eaters, but somewhere down the line, he decided to destroy one of Voldemort's horcruxes. That failed and he died, but at least he died a hero. Too bad Sirius never knows this, though. |
| 174 | ** ''The Cursed Child'' reveals that Scorpius is this among the Malfoys. While his father Draco has been disavowing wizard supremacist belief for quite a while, Scorpius was raised completely free from that view (it's stated that Draco and Astoria deliberately made him stay as far away as possible from Lucius, [[RacistGrandpa who is racist well into old age]]). He also notably lacks many of [[ArrogantKungFuGuy the repulsive]] [[SpoiledBrat traits]] that mark an average Slytherin, which is a plus. |
| 175 | ** Among the House of Gaunt, Merope and Rionach seem to be the only ones who were not dark wizards or blood supremacists. While Merope's later acts are deplorable, she was a woman who craved love, and the fact that her target of affection was a Muggle did not discourage her. Meanwhile, Rionach was a good witch who loved to help her Muggle neighbours. Her daughter, Isolt Sayre, established the Ilvermorny School with her No-Maj husband. |
| 176 | * ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'': |
| 177 | ** Frank Zhang. He is a son of Mars, but he is far nicer and more peaceful than the other children of Mars/Ares. His half-siblings are actually not really evil, [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy but rather just aggressive and battling]], and he is an exception among them. |
| 178 | ** Damasen is a Giant created to be the opposite of Ares, the god of war. As a result, he is peace-loving, and resents his siblings' penchant for violence. His mother, Gaea, banished him to Tartarus, where he is forced to hunt a drakon over and over until he meets and becomes Percy Jackson's ally. This makes him the only Giant to side with the Olympians. |
| 179 | * Michael Oversteegen of the ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' novels, whose loathing for his generally horrible relatives is truly amazing. He defies family tradition by being a brave, brilliant naval officer and fundamentally decent human being, while virtually all of his numerous cousins are greedy, incompetent, or both. |
| 180 | * Many people in ''Literature/HorusHeresy'', as within the Legions, the Astartes are closely related by genetics, to the point of considering themselves brothers. While most of them support their treacherous "fathers" and turn against the country and people they were supposed to protect, several, like Nathaniel Garro and Garviel Loken, decide to remain loyal to the Imperium instead. Then there's Barthusa Narek, who's more of a Somewhere-On-The-Greyscale Sheep for the Word Bearers. |
| 181 | * ''Literature/IntoTheHeartlessWood'': Seren, one of the Gwydden's daughters, strives to be more than the monster her mother created her to be and rejects her mother and sisters' efforts to turn her back to their way. |
| 182 | * The western novels of William Johnstone and his niece J.A. Johnstone often (but not always) do this with villainous families, particularly with female members. |
| 183 | ** In ''Blood Bond: Gunsmoke and Gold,'' one of the local ranchers oppressing the territory has three sons: a SerialKiller, a greedy idiot scheming to commit an InheritanceMurder, and a NiceGuy who is disowned for courting a FarmersDaughter. |
| 184 | ** In ''Blood Bond: Gunsight Crossing,'' feuding ranchers John Carlin and Bull Stratton have about ten kids between them. Two of those kids are StarCrossedLovers, while the others are all in bed with the local outlaws and plotting to kill their parents. |
| 185 | ** In "Journey of the Mountain Man," Fae Hanks is a NiceGirl who's maintained a longtime friendship with the daughter of her DrunkWithPower father's rival. Her three brothers are spoiled, TriggerHappy, and set up Fae to be raped to provoke their father into starting a bloody range war (not that he needs much of an excuse) before trying to kill him for his money (leading to a MutualKill between the four Hanks' men). |
| 186 | ** In ''The Last Gunfighter: Manhunt,'' three of the four sons of Silas Crowder are dumb, lazy, mean-spirited thugs who enjoy rape and assault. The fourth, Tom, is a soft-spoken young man who takes care of his sick mother, does manual labor at the ranch, and avoids getting involved in criminal activity. |
| 187 | ** In ''Thunder of Eagles,'' Ike Clinton is a greedy, murderous land-grabber, and his older sons Ray and Cletus are drunken, lecherous, bullies who eventually sink to murder. Ike's youngest son Billy is a kind, honest man (something credited to his late mother) who becomes StarCrossedLovers with the daughter of the BigGood. Billy sometimes warns the heroes about his family's plans even while reluctantly assisting with them out of familial loyalty. [[DownerEnding During the final battle, Billy accidentally shoots his girlfriend and then commits]] SuicideByCop. |
| 188 | ** Frank Childers in ''Destiny of Eagles'' is an outlaw, but he doesn't hurt anyone (at least onscreen) and risks his life trying to help two wounded relatives. Frank's two brothers and two cousins are TriggerHappy rapists who ultimately don't care that much about each other. |
| 189 | ** Kathleen in ''Pride of Eagles'' ''is'' acting as TheMole for her two half-brothers (who WouldHurtAChild) but is pretty unhappy about it and would rather be an honest singer. |
| 190 | ** In ''Sidewinders: Bleeding Texas,'' Ned Fontaine is a ruthless, temperamental, and ambitious (albeit honest) rancher. His sons are a HotBlooded wastrel and a murderous schemer out to destroy their neighbors, while his daughter is a level-headed NiceGirl. |
| 191 | ** In ''Savage Texas: A Good Day to Die,'' Vince Stafford and two of his three sons (Quent and Bliss) are entitled, AxCrazy StupidEvil {{jerkass}}es. The middle son, Clay, while conniving and ruthless at times, constantly tries to play the peacemaker and head off a bloody vendetta after Bliss gets himself killed (although this is partially because Clay is secretly in love with the woman Vince blames for Bliss's death). |
| 192 | * Drizzt Do'Urden, everybody's favorite DualWielding ChaoticGood drow DefectorFromDecadence from R.A. Salvatore's ''Literature/TheLegendOfDrizzt'' and the ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms''. |
| 193 | * Gabriel Syme in Creator/GKChesterton's ''Literature/TheManWhoWasThursday'' comes from a family that rebels against everything. By the time he grows up, the only thing left to rebel against is rebellion, so he joins the police to fight the anarchists. |
| 194 | * ''Literature/{{Midnighters}}'': Constanza and her parents are the only members of her family not involved in their DealWithTheDevil due to her dad rebelling against his father as a teenager and moving out of the house before being let in on their DarkSecret. |
| 195 | * ''Literature/MurderInCowetaCounty:'' Most of John Wallace's maternal relatives who appear in the story are members of his criminal empire, except one, who Wallace asks to visit while being driven to the state prison. The man is an honest farmer who views Wallace's actions as shameful, to Wallace's indignation. |
| 196 | * PlayedForLaughs in the Swedish YA novel ''Omin Hambe i Slättköping''; the narrator's best friend comes from a family where everyone is basically a petty criminal -- except his oldest brother, who does well in school and goes on to become a priest, which his family sees as a betrayal. However, it turns out he is also an embezzler, and he is welcomed back into the family by his parents, now very proud to have a son who is a ''white-collar'' criminal instead of a petty thief! |
| 197 | * In ''Literature/PrideAndPrejudice'', Elizabeth and Jane are the only proper and respectable members of the Bennet family. In fact, the main reason it is so hard for the girls to find husbands is not because of their lack of money but rather because their family is so embarrassing. Their mother's brother and his wife, the Gardiners, are the closest relations they have that actually behave well. |
| 198 | ** Anne Elliot in ''Literature/{{Persuasion}}'' is the only level-headed person in a family full of fools. |
| 199 | ** Edward Ferrars in ''Literature/SenseAndSensibility'' is the only nice person in a family full of {{Jerk Ass}}es. (Possibly he takes after his father, who has been dead for some time when the novel begins.) |
| 200 | * ''Series/RumpoleOfTheBailey'': In "Rumpole and the Barrow Boy," one of the Timsons (a large family almost entirely made up of criminals) goes to school, studies, and becomes a financier... [[spoiler: and is the one set up to be blamed for financial irregularities at his place of employment by his father-in-law-to-be, who is ''not'' happy at finding out about young Timson's family, even though he's never done anything wrong himself.]] |
| 201 | * In ''Literature/{{Run}}'', Bo and Dickinson seem to be the only good people in the Dickinson family. Everyone else we see is either deadbeat, white trash, or involved with drugs. |
| 202 | * The Series/SesameStreet book "How to Be a Grouch" has a page with Oscar the Grouch's grouchy family including the cheerful cousin Smiling George. |
| 203 | * ''Literature/TheShadowhunterChronicles'': |
| 204 | ** Clary Fray from ''Literature/TheMortalInstruments''. Her father was a fanatical demon hunter, and the [[BigBad Big Bad]] of the first trilogy. He was also the founder of a whole group of [[VanHelsingHateCrimes fanatical demon hunters]], including Clary's mother (although she later joined the heroes). And her brother is partly a demon through various experiments, and therefore particularly malignant. |
| 205 | ** Cameron Ashdown from ''Literature/TheDarkArtifices'' is the only Ashdown who is not a member of the racist, Downworlder-hating Cohort. In the Thule universe, he is also the only Ashdown who is a member of the Bradbury Resistance, using his familial connections to become a double agent. |
| 206 | * ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': |
| 207 | ** The Freys are one of the most despised Houses in and out-of-universe for [[spoiler:the [[MoralEventHorizon Red]] [[NastyParty Wedding]].]] They are a BigScrewedUpFamily, with Lord Walder Frey having over a hundred descendants. However, Perwyn, Olyvar, and Alesander Frey are described as quite decent, [[spoiler:which is why they were sent away before the Red Wedding.]] Lord Walder's oldest son Ser Stevron Frey was apparently quite decent but died from a battle wound. Perwyn and Olyvar's full sister Roslin also seems a nice person, she and her husband Edmure Tully [[PerfectlyArrangedMarriage genuinely]] [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther love each other]], [[spoiler:even though at Edmure's wedding his sister Catelyn, much of their army, and Catelyn's son Robb was killed.]] |
| 208 | ** As with the Cleganes, it's not really a pure example since we don't know any other members of this family, but the first Payne we meet is Ser Ilyn Payne, and with a family name like that it's easy to assume that the grim and remorseless Ser Ilyn is a good representation of his House. It's pretty shocking to later find out that the kind, happy and naive Pod belongs to that same family. |
| 209 | ** Tyrion is this at first, being the only Lannister who is not a huge jackass or irredeemably evil. He is also the only Lannister POV in the first two books, so it's easy to sympathize with him. However, Jaime's tribulations eventually cause him to become a much kinder person, Joffrey's younger siblings are rather sweet children, and we are later introduced to extended family members like Kevan and Genna, both of whom are pretty amiable people. |
| 210 | * ''Literature/TheSuicideShop'' is about a CheerfulChild named Alan born into a family of clinical depressants. While the rest of the family run a shop that provides services to help suicidals end their lives, Alan thinks life is wonderful and wants to put a stop to the suicides. |
| 211 | * Similar to the ''Godfather'' example above, Richie Burke of the ''Literature/SunnyRandall'' series was deliberately kept away from the less legal parts of his family business, which contains several high ranking members of TheIrishMob. |
| 212 | * In Creator/JasperFforde's ''Literature/ThursdayNext'' books, Lethe Hades, or so we are told, since he hasn't made an appearance. Uses the exact phrase, too. |
| 213 | * The Arcadia family in ''Literature/UndefeatedBahamutChronicle'' used to be the tyrannical ruling family of the Old Arcadia Empire. Of the named members, only Lux (the main character) and his younger sister Airi are exceptions, with the former playing a key role in the downfall of the empire. [[spoiler:It turns out that the family is a branch of the ruling family of an even older civilisation, the Holy Arcadia Empire, which was even worse, literally slaughtering its citizens to use their lives in an attempt to become immortal. This also had its own White Sheep, the second princess Aeril, who eventually defects and joins the side of the heroes.]] |
| 214 | * In ''Literature/{{Worm}}'', Theo Anders is the son of white supremacist supervillains, but he does not share their views and wants to become a hero, [[spoiler:which he eventually does.]] |
| 215 | [[/folder]] |
| 216 | |
| 217 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 218 | * An episode of ''Series/TheAddamsFamily'' deals with Pugsley's interest in things like puppies, normal sports, and the Boy Scouts (things that any normal kid would like, at least for TheSixties mentality) much to his family's outrage as for them -- a CreepyFamily that likes everything dark and horrible -- this is extremely bizarre behavior. |
| 219 | * On ''[[Series/AgentsofSHIELD Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.]]'', Grant Ward's younger brother Thomas is this for the Ward family. Their older brother Christian forced Grant to throw him down a well and not help him until he'd almost drowned. Grant feels heavy guilt over this. [[spoiler:As it turns out, Grant himself turned out to be an associate of HYDRA, and additionally, their parents were also quoted as being "monsters". Thomas actually changed his name and went into hiding to get away from his family, especially Grant.]] |
| 220 | * Michael and his son George Michael are the sanest, nicest, and most ethical members of the Bluth family on ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'' though this being the Bluths, being those things is relative. The show kind of plays with this idea as the family itself considers him a White Sheep (that's why helping it regain its wealth and prestige is his job), and he can be pretty snarky and dickish to his family members whilst usually out for his own glory. His name was deliberately given as an allusion to Michael Corleone, who was similarly designated his family's White Sheep. Both families have a lecherous and impulsive brother (Sonny/GOB) and one who is nice but dim (Fredo/Buster). |
| 221 | ** Buster fits into the overall zaniness of the family better than Michael or George Michael but is overall a much nicer person than GOB, Lindsay, or his parents. Tobias too. |
| 222 | ** Maeby is probably not as much as a white sheep as her cousin George Michael, but compared to the adult Bluths on the show she’s usually one of the only voices of reason, and much of her main shtick is rebelling against her elders. |
| 223 | * Ebeneezer Series/{{Blackadder}} from the ''Blackadder's Christmas Carol''. At the beginning, anyway. |
| 224 | ** Captain Blackadder from the fourth series is far more benevolent than any of his ancestors save the aforementioned Ebeneezer. While his ancestors were driven by a desire for money, power, and status, Captain Blackadder's schemes are motivated by a desire to avoid a senseless death in [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI No-Man's Land]]. |
| 225 | * ''Franchise/{{Buffyverse}}'': |
| 226 | ** In a strange way, Spike can be seen in this light. He goes from being a badass, feared vampire who has killed two Slayers in the past to a lovestruck, 'neutered' vamp due to his being [[RestrainingBolt chipped]] and [[DatingCatwoman falling in love with the third Slayer he went after, Buffy]]. His love for Buffy leads him to actively seek out the return of his [[OurSoulsAreDifferent soul]] for a chance at redemption ([[AlternateCharacterInterpretation or just a chance at a relationship with her]] after his AttemptedRape failed to persuade her). Despite the nature of vampires being AlwaysChaoticEvil, Spike chooses to fight for good, act heroically, recover his soul, and attempt to [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifice]] [[RedemptionEqualsDeath himself]] on two occasions (he only dies once, and he [[BackFromTheDead doesn't stay dead]]). |
| 227 | ** The argument could be made that Angel also counts; but he was cursed with his soul, rather than seeking it out himself, and when he doesn't have that he's Angelus, one of the most vicious and sadistic vampires ever to live, who isn't likely to act against his nature any time soon, and the last thing Angelus wants is his soul back. Angel, when he has a soul, does fight off the vampire's base instincts for evil, but it's usually clear that the human soul is the part that's ultimately in control at these times. |
| 228 | ** Lorne to the rest of his clan, mostly by taking up singing, which is physically painful to the rest of his species. |
| 229 | * The Doctor of ''Series/DoctorWho''. He stole a TARDIS and took his granddaughter with him to escape the stuffy, boring old Time Lords and go and explore the universe. While later he would also go and use his powers and technology for good, directly against his species' laws of non-interference, it took a while; his first appearance had him rather bored by humans and perfectly willing to kidnap or kill them, if push came to shove. By the end of the Tenth Doctor's tenure, however, it is clear that he (along with two other nameless Time Lords) was ''definitely'' the white sheep of a truly terrible race. |
| 230 | ** This is noted in a Music/ChameleonCircuit song; "I was a teenage rebel, and that stayed the same!" |
| 231 | * ''Series/TheDukesOfHazzard'' has [[BigBad Boss Hogg's]] [[EvilTwin good twin]] brother [[MeaningfulName Abraham Lincoln Hogg]], whose name is just one of the things that make him an opposite of ''Jefferson Davis'' "Boss" Hogg, whose family has other villains. Abe's debut episode was named "Baa, Baa, White Sheep". (In a bit of a twist, however, it's Boss Hogg who wears white and A.L. Hogg who wears black). |
| 232 | * ''Series/GameOfThrones'': |
| 233 | ** All in all, being only a Bolton by marriage, Fat Walda is the most, if not the only, decent person carrying that name in the series so far. That said, she was also presumably one of the few decent Freys before marrying Roose. |
| 234 | ** Tyrion Lannister to the Lannister family. For his flaws, he is a decent man, and one of the terribly few adult Lannisters who is neither evil nor a moron. He's the only one non-Lannisters actually come to like on a personal level. |
| 235 | --->'''Peter Dinklage:''' The "Good Bad Guy" or the "Bad Good Guy." |
| 236 | * An episode of ''Series/GreysAnatomy'' depicted a couple of [[HippieParents old hippies]] (Jewish by ethnic roots), whose daughter rebelled against their easy-going permissiveness by embracing all the laws of Orthodox Judaism. |
| 237 | ** The problem in the episode was that the girl needed a valve replaced, and the most common one used (in lieu of a human transplant) comes from a pig. The girl freaked out about a "dirty animal" being inside her and wouldn't allow the procedure (even though she's not eating it, so it should still be okay, and Orthodox Jewish law prohibits refusing a life-saving surgery). While there was an alternative (a bovine valve), the surgeon didn't have any experience transplanting one. |
| 238 | * ''Series/{{Heroes}}'': Peter Petrelli. The Petrelli family are ruthlessly corrupt and ambitious with grand schemes. Peter is the sweet GenreBlind nurse who would rather help people out instead. He's also the family BlackSheep for the exact reason when the Petrelli family's plans are for good as Peter's {{Genre Blind}}ness will eventually bungle things up. |
| 239 | * Detective Sgt. Rick Hunter in ''Series/{{Hunter|1984}}'' comes from a mob family. His family tends to be an embarrassment to him -- as is he to them. |
| 240 | * Mary Shannon on ''Series/InPlainSight'' is a U.S. Marshal despite having a [[spoiler:bigamist]] father with a serious gambling problem who has been a fugitive for decades, a lifelong alcoholic mother (now recovering) and a sister who [[spoiler:trafficked drugs for her boyfriend, in Mary's house]]. Slightly subverted in that Mary is hardly a saint herself. |
| 241 | * The [[BlackSheep black sheep/white sheep]] trope alternates generations in the Givens family on "Series/{{Justified}}". Arlo's daddy (Raylan's grandaddy) was a preacher, so Arlo became a career petty criminal. Arlo was a criminal, so Raylan became a lawman. Makes one wonder what the future holds for baby Willa. |
| 242 | * ''Series/LostLoveInTimes'': Yuan Ling, Yuan Hao, and Yuan Che are among the ''very'' few good people in the royal family. Their father and brothers are either usurpers, schemers, {{Royal Brats}}, or all of the above. |
| 243 | * ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'': Malcolm, and to a lesser extent, Francis. Malcolm’s family routinely refers to him as "the good one," in contrast to his brothers. According to Hal, Malcolm's destructive streak is the only thing that keeps him from suspecting that he was switched at birth. As for Francis, he was originally a delinquent, but after being sent into military school, he matures into a rational person just like Malcolm himself. |
| 244 | * Although her family are [[FriendlyNeighborhoodVampires Friendly Neighborhood Monsters]], Marilyn on ''Series/TheMunsters'' feels bad about not fitting in and thinks of herself as the ugly one -- because she's a normal human and the family are Hollywood monsters who don't look scary to the audience but terrify people in-series. |
| 245 | * ''Series/{{Roseanne}}'' has an episode called "White Sheep of the Family." When Darlene returns from college with a $35K job offer, the rest of the family gets mad at her for acting like she's better than they are. |
| 246 | * ''Series/RumpoleOfTheBailey'': The episode "Rumpole and the Barrow Boy" deals with a young man who, despite being a member of the Timson clan of South London petty criminals (or, as Rumpole, who handles nearly all their cases, affectionately puts it, "minor villains"), studies, gets into university, graduates, and gets a high-paying finance job in the City, complete with a banker's daughter for a girlfriend and an apartment on the newly-renewed Isle of Dogs. When there are financial irregularities at the firm, it is the young Timson who is accused. [[spoiler: Falsely -- turns out, it was his girlfriend's father, who framed him after having met the rest of the Timsons and deciding didn't care to have them for in-laws.]] |
| 247 | * ''Series/Scoundrels2010'': Cheryl's desire to reform her family is inspired by her son Logan, who has distanced himself from the family business of petty crimes and has recently become a lawyer. His father Wolf on the other hand, who believes that crime is InTheBlood for the Wests, views Logan as a BlackSheep and TheUnfavorite for not only spurning the family business but for becoming a "do-gooder" lawyer of all things. |
| 248 | * This is the premise of the 70's SidAndMartyKrofftProductions show ''Series/SigmundAndTheSeaMonsters''. The titular Sigmund was kicked out by his family for not wanting to scare people. He's taken in by two human boys and lives in their garage. |
| 249 | * ''Series/TheSopranos'': Tony Soprano's younger sister, Barbara (Soprano) Giglione. Her husband, Tom Giglione, is a civilian who seems to work in show business; they live in Putnam County, New York, and only visit the Jersey family occasionally. She is the only member of the Soprano family whose life is largely untouched by the mob, and she also seems to be the most well-adjusted of the three (with Tony having a litany of MommyIssues and Janice being an ex-hippie-turned-manipulative-mob-EvilMatriarch). |
| 250 | * Worf from ''[[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Star Trek:TNG]][=/=][[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]'' is a Klingon, who are normally enemies/anathema to the Federation; but because he's raised by humans, he becomes a valued Federation officer. However, at the time, Klingons were at the very least on and off allies of the Federation. |
| 251 | ** Same with [[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Odo]], who turns against his own people to help their enemies, the Federation. |
| 252 | ** TokenEvilTeammate Garak is probably the straightest example of this trope. He leaves behind his father's business, the Obsidian Order, to help the Federation defeat the Dominion. Although he is reluctant at first, he eventually admits to liking Federation thinking. |
| 253 | ** Weyoun's sixth clone falls under this trope as well. |
| 254 | ** Data, of the Soong family. As of ''[[Series/StarTrekEnterprise Enterprise]]'', it's clear that even generations back, its members were already extremely shady [[MadScientist mad scientists]]. Yes, Data isn't biologically related to them, being an artifically constructed android, but he's nevertheless considered a son by his creator, Noonien Soong. Incidentally, his [[EvilTwin twin]] 'brother', the android Lore, has the dubious distinction of possibly being the most malicious one in the family. |
| 255 | * Lena Luthor on ''Series/Supergirl2015''. Of all the families to be adopted into, she got stuck with ''ComicBook/LexLuthor'' for a sibling and [[spoiler: the head of an anti-alien terrorist group]] for a mother. Her mother later admits that [[spoiler:Lena actually ''is'' a Luthor by blood, being a product of Lionel Luthor's infidelity]]. |
| 256 | * ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' |
| 257 | ** Sam Winchester grew up in a family of con artists and violent [[HunterOfMonsters vigilantes]], living on the road. It was his dream to settle down as a normal person and not fight anymore. Considering that his family consisted of warriors fighting monsters (although they didn't always look into whether those monsters [[HeWhoFightsMonsters were actually evil or even dangerous]]), he rebelled to go to school so he could become a lawyer, and his entire life has involved [[CorruptTheCutie demonic influence]]; unsurprisingly, he's the BlackSheep as well. |
| 258 | ** Castiel counts in a similar fashion. He rebels against Heaven, which would traditionally be a bad thing, but he does it because almost the entire rest of the angels are [[ItsAllAboutMe selfish]], [[EvilIsPetty petty]], [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative]] [[{{Jerkass}} jerks]] who ''actively decide to bring on the Apocalypse'', whereas Castiel's rebellion is in order to stop the Apocalypse and aid humanity. This diminishes his Heaven-given powers and makes him a fugitive from the other angels. So from a human perspective, he's a White Sheep, and from an angelic perspective, he's a BlackSheep. |
| 259 | ** Zigzagged by Anna Milton, an initially benevolent FallenAngel who also wants to avoid the Apocalypse, but decides that wiping out the Winchester family line is the best way to do it, thus putting her at odds with Team Free Will. |
| 260 | ** Gabriel is the only one of the four Archangels who undergoes a HeelFaceTurn. His big brothers? Lucifer is... well, ''Lucifer'', while Michael and Raphael are both {{Knight Templar}}s. However, Gabriel ultimately becomes humanity's champion. |
| 261 | ** The Frankenstein/Styne family is a family of vicious wizards. However, Cyrus Styne is much less vicious than the rest of his family, making him a good guy. |
| 262 | * ''Series/{{Taken}}'': Sam Crawford is the only member of his family that isn't a ruthless murderer. He wants to reveal the alien cover-up and risks his own life to defend Lester, a deformed and harmless HalfHumanHybrid. Whereas his brother Eric and especially his niece Mary take after his father Owen, Sam takes after his mother Anne, a kind, gentle woman whose life was gradually destroyed by Owen's bullying and neglect. |
| 263 | * ''Series/WithoutATrace'''s Agent Danny Taylor, whose parents were abusive addicts and whose brother is also an addict as well as a criminal. Despite being a recovering alcoholic himself, Danny is the only member of his family to have his act together and is so determined to have no association with them that he had his last name legally changed (to something decidedly Anglican, no less (he's Hispanic)). |
| 264 | * Joxer from ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'' comes from a long line of successful warlords, including his two lookalike brothers. He tried, but he just can't get it to work. He called himself the "black sheep" of the family once, and not in a good way. He has a third brother who is a CampGay dancer, but he at least is successful at his chosen field. [[TheLoad Joxer]], on the other hand... |
| 265 | * Vlad on ''Series/YoungDracula'' is an example of trying to fit in the evil family. The issue is that vampire kids have a Dangerous16thBirthday or the like and after that, go through TranshumanTreachery. Vlad wants to avoid this. Interestingly, his FilleFatale sister Ingrid actually is evil and she's the more rebellious of the two. |
| 266 | [[/folder]] |
| 267 | |
| 268 | [[folder:Newspaper Comics]] |
| 269 | * ''Series/TheAddamsFamily'': One of Creator/CharlesAddams' cartoons had Morticia Addams showing a guest the family portraits; among the horrible, deformed people portrayed was one of a respectable-looking man. Morticia explained that "(This one) Daddy always called the lost sheep." |
| 270 | * One ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'' comic featured the sons of Barnum & Bailey, rebelling against their parents by running away to join corporate America. |
| 271 | [[/folder]] |
| 272 | |
| 273 | [[folder:Podcasts]] |
| 274 | * ''Podcast/TheAdventureZoneBalance'': Brad Bradson's father is "Brad the Bloodthirsty", and his grandfather is "Brad the Bonebreaker". Our Brad is "Brad the Motivator". |
| 275 | [[/folder]] |
| 276 | |
| 277 | [[folder:Professional Wrestling]] |
| 278 | * Wrestling/ErickRowan, being the literal "White Sheep" of the Wrestling/WyattFamily, actually ended up being the only Wyatt Family member to [[HeelFaceTurn turn face]] upon the Family's initial dissolution, joining Team Cena against Team Authority at Survivor Series 2014 (the latter of whom featured his still-heel brother Wrestling/LukeHarper as a member). He's since [[BeingGoodSucks returned]], but he remains the only Wyatt Family member to have been a face. |
| 279 | [[/folder]] |
| 280 | |
| 281 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 282 | * Candace Allard-Liao, formerly of the Capellan Confederation, later ruler of the St. Ives Compact in the ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'' Universe. Her father, Maximilian Liao, was rather AxeCrazy, her little sister Romano took up after her father, and her brother Tormano was more or less disinherited. She happened to fall in love with a Federated Commonwealth agent and defected to them along with her Duchy of St. Ives. |
| 283 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Champions}}'' adventure ''The Circle and M.E.T.E.''. Megan Pierce rebelled against her evil witch mother and became a superhero. |
| 284 | * Any player character [[Literature/TheDunwichHorror Whateley]] from ''TabletopGame/{{Deadlands}}.'' |
| 285 | * In the backstory of ''{{TabletopGame/Ravenloft}}'', Sergei von Zarovich was this among his family, especially compared to his older brother Strahd, who while still a respected ruler was undoubtedly brutal and vicious. Sergei would [[CainAndAbel ultimately be murdered by Strahd]] after he made a pretty much literal DealWithTheDevil out of jealousy that a woman named Tatyana [[SiblingTriangle had fallen in love with Sergei and not him]], and then Strahd tried to pursue Tatyana, only for her to flee from him and [[DrivenToSuicide throw herself from the walls of Castle Ravenloft]]. |
| 286 | [[/folder]] |
| 287 | |
| 288 | [[folder:Theater]] |
| 289 | * In ''Theatre/TheAddamsFamily'', Wednesday believes she's losing some of her dark impulses after falling in love with a normal boy, much to her family's dismay. |
| 290 | -->'''Wednesday:''' I’m being pulled in a new direction/But I think I like it./I think I like it./I'm being pulled in a new direction./Through my painful pursuit/Somehow birdies took root./All the things I detested impossibly cute. |
| 291 | ** Fortunately for die-hard Series/TheAddamsFamily fans, she realizes that [[CharacterDevelopment she can be in love and still be herself.]] |
| 292 | --->'''Wednesday (to her "normal" fiance):''' I'm crazier than you/That's just the overview/So get on board or simply move along. |
| 293 | * Mortimer Brewster of ''Theatre/ArsenicAndOldLace'' is considered something of a black sheep by his aunts because he's a DeadpanSnarker and irreligious, but the aunts are (good-hearted) murderers and everyone else in the family is crazy and/or evil. The reason for this is revealed at the end of the play: [[spoiler: he's adopted]]. |
| 294 | * ShowWithinAShow example from ''Theatre/{{Cabaret}}'': the Mama of DontTellMama seems to be the only family member not involved in something seedy, as her daughter is a dancer at a seedy nightclub, her husband is a ''customer'' of the nightclub, her brother or brother-in-law is her daughter's agent for the nightclub, her mother or mother-in-law is ''also'' a dancer at the nightclub, and her son is involved in something bad enough that her daughter 'will squeal on him' if he squeals on her. |
| 295 | * In ''Theatre/{{Electra}}'', Chrysothemis sometimes approaches being the OnlySaneMan in her [[SelfMadeOrphan murdering]] [[IncestSubtext incestuous]] family. |
| 296 | * Ocean O'Connell Rosenberg of ''Theatre/RideTheCyclone''. The O'Connell-Rosenbergs aren't evil per se, they're just [[HippieParents aged hippies]] trying their best to raise a nice kid in a podunk town in Saskatchewan. Ocean, by contrast, is a pushy, [[ItsAllAboutMe relentlessly self-centered]] [[AcademicAlphaBitch overachiever]] who thrives on structure, order, and "democracy" (read: meritocracy). She excels when given a framework where she can measure her self-worth via her achievements, so she ''loved'' going to an uptight, rule-filled Catholic school. The trope is Lampshaded when the DramatisPersonae are read aloud by the show's narrator: |
| 297 | --> '''The Amazing Karnak''': Ocean was born into a family of far-left-of-center Humanists, who moved to northern Saskatchewan to live a carbon-free lifestyle. The hemp needlepoint sign above the household's toilet read "If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown scoop it out with your hand and put it in the compost." Yet in between all the drum circles, Marxist parables, and cheese sandwiches made of human breast milk, Ocean could never shake the feeling she was the White Sheep of her family. |
| 298 | * The Polish play ''Theater/{{Tango}}''. The protagonist's parents, despite being in their forties or fifties, are still carrying on their teenage rebellion and breaking down "traditional values" in a caricature-type way. The son not only thinks it causes nothing but mess and anarchy, but also laments that there's nothing for ''him'' to rebel against (including his parents' rebellious lifestyle, which is too devoid of rules and characteristic qualities for that). |
| 299 | * The entire premise of the play ''The White Sheep of the Family'' by L. du Garde Peach and Ian Hay, in which a young man decides to quit his family business of white-collar crime. |
| 300 | [[/folder]] |
| 301 | |
| 302 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 303 | * Thalassa Gramarye from ''VisualNovel/AceAttorney'' was this in comparison to the other members of Troupe Gramarye, as she comes off far less scummy than them by a wide margin. |
| 304 | * Brentilda of ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'' is the only member of Gruntilda's family we ever see that isn't an evil witch with questionable hygiene, instead appearing as some kind of fairy godmother. |
| 305 | * ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'': [[BigBad Handsome Jack]] has a daughter who is clearly a nicer person than he is, but can't show it in public because she has been imprisoned and jacked into cyberspace by her own father. The rest of Jack's crew has... issues. |
| 306 | ** Sir Alistair Hammerlock's sister Aurelia is the epitome of a RichBitch and their parents' fortune is apparently blood money, but Alistair himself is quite heroic and helpful (for a poacher). |
| 307 | * ''VideoGame/CelestialHearts'': Sera Gravehart disagreed with her father and brother's plan to sacrifice people to resurrect their matriarch, resulting in her living in hiding in the Deadwood. Once she's discovered, she decides to help the party fight her family. |
| 308 | * In ''VideoGame/ChampionsOnline'', the character Witchcraft was raised in a family of dark-magic users, but rebelled as a teenager and became the premier 'light' sorceress on the planet. Her twin sister 'Talisman' [[EvilTwin stayed evil]], and is her primary nemesis. |
| 309 | * In ''VideoGame/TheCouncilOfHanwell'', the Doctor's clone, [[spoiler:you,]] is the only good anomaly. [[spoiler:It probably helps that you are more human than anomaly.]] |
| 310 | * Leopold Rochester from ''VideoGame/CriminalCaseMysteriesOfThePast'' is pretty much the only upstanding member of the otherwise corrupt family, [[spoiler:and he stands against his relatives' attempts to take over Concordia, and helped the Flying Squad discredit his nephew, Malcolm Rochester, who is the family's political spearhead in the city.]] |
| 311 | * The character Lanky Kong from ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'' is subtly implied to be a Manky Kong (a clan of evil orangutang Kongs, the BlackSheep of the Kong family tree) who has chosen to turn his back on his birth clan's wickedness and mend ties with his fellow Kongs. |
| 312 | * This is Varric's role in the Tethras family in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII.'' He has a couple of cousins who are implied to be (or have been) decent people; but in his immediate family, his father got the family exiled from Orzammar by rigging fighting contests, while his mother was a mean LadyDrunk with vicious hangovers who eventually died from it. His only sibling, Bartrand, is an extremely greedy and self-important {{Jerkass}} who ultimately [[spoiler:tries to kill Varric, Hawke, and the other party members present by sealing them in an underground room]]. By contrast, Varric is friendly, loyal, generous, and willing to do most anything for his closest friends and his beloved home city of Kirkwall. |
| 313 | * ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' has this as [[spoiler:TheHero, Michael Afton, is the OnlySaneMan of the Afton family considering [[ArchnemesisDad his dad]] is a SerialKiller and the BigBad, and his sister is DaddysLittleVillain in the final game.]] |
| 314 | ** ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddysSecurityBreach'' introduces Freddy himself, this time as Glamrock Freddy, as the only animatronic that does NOT try to harm, torture, or kill the protagonist. Which is definitely helpful, since your protagonist is only a twelve-year-old. |
| 315 | * ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'': Eula is a member of the infamous Lawrence family, whose tyrannical rule over Mondstadt has left a sour impression that lasted well after they were overthrown centuries prior. Eula, however, actively works to distance herself from them despite most people's [[SinsOfOurFathers distrust of her family name]], going so far as to join the Knights of Favonius and sever ties with her family. At one point, she even declares that should the Lawrence family start up their tyranny again, she will completely dismantle them and rebuild her clan from the bottom up. |
| 316 | * ''VideoGame/HogwartsLegacy'': |
| 317 | ** Ominus Gaunt was this, big-time. He was a descendant of EvilSorcerer Salazar Slytherin (the guy who was [[FantasticRacism so racist]] he [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets hid a giant snake in]] the WizardingSchool to kill {{Muggle}}born kids), a cousin to ''[[BigBad Voldemort himself]]'', and the entire Gaunt family was a bunch of [[VillainousIncest inbred lunatics]] who tortured people for fun with [[AbusiveParents his own parents and siblings doing the same to him when he disagreed]]. This led to him becoming an outspoken critic of BlackMagic, which only got worse for him after he discovered that his aunt who thought like he did ended up dying in one of Salazar Slytherin's traps [[GoodCannotComprehendEvil simply for wanting to prove he wasn't the monster everyone thought he was]]. |
| 318 | ** At the end of her questline, [[spoiler:AnimalLover Poppy Sweeting reveals that she came from a family of poachers, resulting in her becoming TheAtoner and running away to live with her kind grandmother]]. |
| 319 | ** Charles Rookwood was a member of TheOrder, but his descendants lacked his moral fiber as his family produced half of the game's BigBadDuumvirate Victor Rookwood as well as the infamous [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Death Eater]] Augustus Rookwood. |
| 320 | * ''VideoGame/OneFingerDeathPunch'' is this to its creator, Silver Dollar Games. The company is most notorious for one-dollar UsefulNotes/{{Shovelware}} on XBLA, but this game has gotten such a positive reaction (it's currently the highest-rated game on Steam, at 99% Positive) that some have theorized the shovelware was done to finance it. |
| 321 | * In ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'', one of the shadow sirens, [[CuteWitch Vivian]] makes a HeelFaceTurn after [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe Mario befriends her.]] Her two sisters are both evil (especially [[{{Jerkass}} Bel]][[BigSisterBully dam]]) and serve the game's BigBad. |
| 322 | * Emma from ''[[VideoGame/PurgatoryRPGMaker Purgatory 2]]'' becomes this in the endings of her routes, where she decides to become the head of the Grand Illustrious House White to try and fight [[EvilInc Lobelia]] and free the kingdom from their grasp. |
| 323 | * In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil6'', [[MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter Sherry]] [[HealingFactor Birkin]] and [[DeadpanSnarker Jake Muller]] are this. Sherry is the daughter of [[MadScientist William]] [[EldritchAbomination Birkin]] from ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'', and was infected with the G-Virus. She now works as a government agent trying to save the world. Jake Muller is the son of former BigBad [[GeniusBruiser Albert Wesker]], and he ends up helping Sherry. [[spoiler: He even goes on his own to fight Bioterrorism in one of the endings]]. |
| 324 | * Racter from ''VideoGame/ShadowrunReturns: Hong Kong'', terrifyingly enough. Racter is a sociopath who still doesn't understand why his mother sent him to a psychiatrist when he vivisected the neighbor's rooster at age eight, but has, with age, learned to mimic neurotypical behaviour to the level that he no longer hurts living beings without reason. However, he is still capable of truly horrifying violence if he has a reason, like being angry or getting paid. He is also determined to be a better person than his grandfather, who killed his brother with an ice auger over a card game, or his father, who regularly beat his wife and children to work up an appetite for dinner, and justifiably considers himself to have succeeded quite well in that regard. |
| 325 | * ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'': |
| 326 | ** [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure2 Maria Robotnik]] was the only known member of her family to not be an evil scientist. She wanted to protect the world. Naturally, [[TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth she was killed as a child]]. |
| 327 | ** From ''VideoGame/SonicFrontiers'', we have Sage. Despite trying to stop Sonic [[spoiler: from resurrecting The End]], she is still a child in heart and can be compassionate by protecting the Koco which separates her from most of her siblings. |
| 328 | * In ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' ''Knights of the Fallen Empire'', Senya is the only decent and sane member of the imperial family of the Eternal Empire. One of her sons became a tyrannical emperor, her daughter is a PsychopathicManchild who makes Darth Vader look reasonable, and her husband is a [[PlanetEater galaxy-conquering and soul-devouring monster]]. |
| 329 | * In ''Franchise/{{Tekken}}'': |
| 330 | ** Lars Alexandersson (Heihachi's [[HeroicBastard illegitimate son]]) is the White Sheep of the [[BigScrewedUpFamily Mishima Clan]] and thus the only wholly good member of his family. Jinpachi (Heihachi's father) wants to be good but DemonicPossession prevents it (instead turning him into a DeathSeeker) while Jin Kazama (the latest in the bloodline) [[WellIntentionedExtremist does bad things for good reasons]] ([[spoiler:he wants to eliminate the curse of the Devil Gene and destroy the [[DemonicPossession devil that was trying to possess him]] but to do so]] he incites a global war and mass amounts of suffering in order to accomplish that). Heihachi and his son Kazuya are unambiguously evil, although Kazuya [[StartOfDarkness did not start out that way]], [[spoiler: while Heihachi became evil after his evil wife Kazumi (who as it turns out is the progenitor of the Devil Gene that plagues both Kazuya and Jin) tried to murder him]]. |
| 331 | ** Lee Chaolan is adopted into the Mishima family by Heihachi to rile up Kazuya earlier. At first, Lee was a smug bastard that sucked up on whoever has more power, but after vanishing from the second game, he returned as a SelfMadeMan, having been disowned by Heihachi who didn't take his sucking up lightly. And since none of the cursed blood ran in his vein, Lee is free to be his own man to which he became a charismatic, flamboyant, stylish man with tendencies to go to the extremes to deal with the cursed family... but also generally helpful and kind. |
| 332 | [[/folder]] |
| 333 | |
| 334 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 335 | * ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'': Dr. [=McNinja=] is an interesting case. He comes from a family of ninjas who are not too happy about his decision to be a doctor instead of an assassin. When Doc convinces his family that being a doctor doesn't make him any less of a competent ninja, they come around to respecting him. |
| 336 | * ''Webcomic/DominicDeegan'': Luna is pretty much the only good person in her family. Her mother tried to drive her to suicide, one of her sisters seduced and enchanted men into getting killed in duels and leaving her their money, [[EvilLawyerJoke another sister was a lawyer]], and the third was an assassin-for-hire. Though the lawyer at least had enough ethics to stop short of killing people, and the assassin [[spoiler: later reforms after being jailed]]. |
| 337 | * ''Webcomic/EverydayHeroes'': Jane Mighty comes from a family of supervillains and various associated minions. She was a fairly successful henchwoman herself as "Iron Jane", up until the "Wrecking Paul" incident.[[note]]She and her best friend, Golden Jane (Collectively "The Jane Gang") were henchwomen for Wrecking Paul, who turned out to be a [[HeManWomanHater misogynist]] serial killer. Something they didn't know until he murdered Golden Jane in the middle of a fight with Mr. Mighty[[/note]] After time in jail and counseling (and [[DatingCatwoman eventually]] [[HappilyMarried more]]) from Mr. Mighty, she set aside her criminal ways and has lived as a normal, law-abiding housewife for the last two decades, and has largely avoided her criminal family. Her family thinks she wasted a golden opportunity to take advantage of her prison time to make contacts in the underworld. The fact that her family treated her like a useful minion while Mr. Mighty treated her like a human being tipped the balance toward her HeelFaceTurn. |
| 338 | * Essentially the premise of ''Webcomic/EvilDiva'' is a young demoness rebelling against her devil family by becoming a MagicalGirl for the forces of good! |
| 339 | * ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'', |
| 340 | ** The Heterodyne Boys, Bill and Barry, are the "white sheep" of a long line of megalomaniacal, vicious, and extremely competent [[MadScientist Sparky]] rulers. Their mother, Teodora Vodenicharoa, raised them outside of Castle Heterodyne and its insane idea of child care, so they grew up with a strong sense of right and wrong and heroic spirit and worked to redeem the family name across the world. This did have a darker side, however; in rejecting everything to do with the Old Heterodynes, they rejected their [[GeniusLoci sentient Castle]] and [[SuperSoldier army of Jaegers]]. The Castle couldn't understand why they hated it so much, while the Jaegers ''could'' understand, and were very depressed about it. (And at the same time intrigued, as the Boys were something ''new'', which is always welcome after living a few hundred years.) They also attempted to purge Mechanicsburg of all the earlier Heterodynes' monstrous creations, and only stopped their purge because it threatened to spark an outright rebellion. |
| 341 | ** Agatha Heterodyne, daughter of Bill, is both another white sheep of the Heterodynes and a white sheep of the Mongfishes, her mother's family. The Mongfishes (including her mother) were all insane megalomaniacs with a disturbing interest in biology, but Agatha has little to do with that side of her family. Furthermore, she's a little bit more gray than her father and uncle. Since she's not desperate to deny the Heterodyne heritage like they were, she is happy to use all the old Heterodyne monsters for good. She loves the Castle and the Jaegers, and even if they find her a little "boring," they're more than happy to fight for her. She also has the Heterodyne boys beat when it comes to not killing people. |
| 342 | --->'''Agatha:''' ...and here I was worried that I wouldn't be any good at this.\ |
| 343 | '''Vanamonde:''' Heh. You have fifty generations of lowered expectations working for you.\ |
| 344 | '''Town Elder #1:''' Two minutes, and she hasn't killed ''anyone!''\ |
| 345 | '''Town Elder #2:''' A ''new record!'' |
| 346 | ** Violetta is the white sheep of the extended Valois clan. She doesn't want to be a Smoke Knight (spy/bodyguard/assassin), despite the fact that it's been the job of her branch of the family for at least two hundred years, and she jumps at the chance to switch allegiance and serve Agatha instead. Despite Tarvek also being an ally of the protagonist, it doesn't change the fact that Violetta is the only one in the family who isn't manipulative and treacherous with plans to conquer the continent. [[note]]By way of explanation: Tarvek is a manipulative backstabber only out for himself. It's just that the rest of his family doesn't seem to recognize that The Other is an actual threat worth allying with the hated Wulfenbachs over.[[/note]] |
| 347 | ** Subverted with one of Agatha's ancestors, who was known as the "Good Heterodyne". He didn't get that name because he was a good person, but because he was very good at ''being a Heterodyne''. |
| 348 | ** Theo [=DuMedd=], one of the students/hostages on [[CoolAirship Castle Wulfenbach]], is one for the Mongfish family, along with his cousin Agatha. His mother was Serpentina Mongfish, sister of [[BigBad Lucrezia Mongfish]], and while she is no longer around according to the first print novel, she was also a WhiteSheep, helping Klaus Wulfenbach with his Pax Transylvania. |
| 349 | * In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', the party is helped at one point by teenage goblins. Since goblins are AlwaysChaoticEvil, it puzzles them until Haley, thinking about her past as a gloomy {{goth}} teenager, deduces that being NeutralGood is their way of rebelling against their parents. |
| 350 | * In ''Webcomic/SomethingPositive'', [[TokenWholesome Vanessa]] is the only member of her large family who has never had any trouble with the law. [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Davan]] consoles her by noting all the church-burners and Klansmen in his ancestry, along with the one law-abiding judge who wouldn't bend for family loyalty. Really, despite the many stories about dysfunctional [=MacIntyre=]s, Davan's branch of the family is mostly just full of [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold occasionally jerkish]] {{Deadpan Snarker}}s. |
| 351 | [[/folder]] |
| 352 | |
| 353 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 354 | * In ''WebVideo/DeathNoteTheAbridgedSeriesKpts4tv'', ''Light'' [[ALighterShadeOfBlack is this when compared]] to [[RonTheDeathEater Souichiro]] [[spoiler: and the other Shinigami who intend to invade the earth and enslave humanity and have set [[TragicVillain Kira]] [[UnwittingPawn up to take the fall.]]]] |
| 355 | * ''Film/NoobLaQueteLegendaire'' reveals this to be the case for [[spoiler:Sparadrap and Ystos, two of the nicest characters that turn out to be the sons of a mafia big wig. Ystos is explicitly this by choice, stating he prefers reading video game magazines to following his family's problems with justice on the news. Sparadrap, being a Man Child and not that smart, may be either locked out of the loop or oblivious.]] |
| 356 | [[/folder]] |
| 357 | |
| 358 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 359 | * ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGalaxyRangers'': Shane Gooseman is the youngest of the [[ArtificialHuman Supertroopers]], and the others gave him the derisive nickname of "Runt" as a result. He was unwilling to accept needless casualties, questioned his purpose as a living weapon, and developed compassion. The rest of his Supertrooper "family" (with the sole exception of Darkstar) [[GoneHorriblyRight turned out to be everything you'd expect a living weapon to be]] - amoral, cruel, and bloodthirsty. |
| 360 | * ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGummiBears'': Sir Victor (actually Sir Victor Igthorn, Duke Igthorn's brother) realized as early as age six that his family was rotten, and has spent his entire life doing good to try to atone for their evil actions. |
| 361 | * When [[Characters/AvatarTheLastAirbenderZuko Prince Zuko]] from ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' tries to stop a bunch of Fire Nation troops from being used as cannon fodder, he gets burned and exiled by his [[BigBad father]] for his trouble. Meeting his [[TheDragon sister]], [[EvilOldFolks grandfather]] and [[PredecessorVillain great-grandfather]] only makes his virtues stand out even more, in spite of his antagonism. [[spoiler:Later, he makes a HeelFaceTurn and decides to join the Gaang to teach the Avatar firebending, in order to see his father overthrown.]] |
| 362 | * In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'', Melanie Walker is the current Ten of the Royal Flush Gang, but she hates her life of crime and just wants a normal life. Unfortunately, her parents treated her [[DatingCatwoman relationship with Terry]] as teenage rebellion. But after one too many manipulations from her parents, Melanie not only makes a HeelFaceTurn but after her brother Jack is arrested and she pays his bail, he joins her in going straight! |
| 363 | * In ''WesternAnimation/BoJackHorseman'', Diane's family are all lazy assholes who utterly resent her for trying to make something of herself. There's also Bradley Hitler-Smith, who is a double example because besides avoiding the destiny implied by his surname, he's also the most well-adjusted former cast member from ''Horsin' Around''. |
| 364 | -->'''[=BoJack=]''': So, what, you're like the BlackSheep?\ |
| 365 | '''Diane''': No, Gary's the black sheep. [[InterspeciesAdoption He's adopted]]. I'm just the member of the family nobody likes. And my dad was the worst of them all. |
| 366 | * Zigzagged in ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor''; [[spoiler: Number 86 is one of the good guys - well, technically -- and a high ranking member at that. Her father is the villainous Mr. Boss, one of the organization's worst enemies. Oddly enough, she and her dad seem to get along perfectly fine at home.]] |
| 367 | ** Also, [[spoiler:Numbah One's dad is actually the founder of the Kids Next Door, which he started to combat his own dad. He's also brother of the series BigBad, Father.]] |
| 368 | * WesternAnimation/CountDuckula is a literal VegetarianVampire and not at all ashamed of breaking with the bloody example of his ancestors/previous incarnations. In his case, it's explicitly stated that there was a screwup during the ritual that brought him to unlife (someone used tomato juice instead of blood). |
| 369 | * In the ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'' episode "Life, the Negaverse, and Everything", the Gosalyn of Negaduck's alternative universe is a sweet little girl (in contrast to her criminal mastermind guardian), and, more to the point, Tank Muddlefoot, a BigBrotherBully in the original universe, is in moral rebellion against the evil Muddlefoots of the Negaverse. |
| 370 | * Pacifica Northwest of ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' develops into one in the second season. After spending the first season as a [[FlatCharacter one-dimensional]] [[SnobsVersusSlobs snobby]] [[TheRival rival]] to Mabel, the episode "Northwest Mansion Mystery" make it apparent that she's been conditioned to behave this way by her parents to an outright Pavlovian degree (her father even rings a bell to make her obey). After discovering that her entire family line is full of utterly horrible people and that she's been groomed her whole life to be just like them, she decides to make an effort to be a better person. |
| 371 | * Loopy [=DeLoop=], an obscure Creator/HannaBarbera character from their early days, was a wolf who bucked the trend of wolves being evil. He sought to do good deeds, but since the universal belief is that all wolves are evil, nobody took him seriously. |
| 372 | * Beezy J. Heinous from ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'', who is much more interested in hanging out with his friends and eating than in spreading misery like the rest of the Heinouses. |
| 373 | * From ''[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Justice League Unlimited]]'', we have Brainiac 5 from the 31st century, dedicated to undoing all his ancestors' work. He even describes himself as a black sheep. [[spoiler: Ironically enough, Supergirl ends up dating him, which makes it ''very'' awkward when Green Arrow and Green Lantern have to tell Superman who his cousin is dating.]] |
| 374 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': Kaeloo comes from a family where being a violent {{jerkass}} is encouraged, and most of her family members are like this. However, Kaeloo herself, and her cousin Kevin, are polite and well-spoken individuals who are kind and caring. |
| 375 | * Señor Senior Junior in ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible''. He is fine with being evil but doesn't understand, for instance, [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim what's with the complex death traps]]. |
| 376 | ** Although notably, this is a much shorter lineage -- Junior's father only took evil up as a hobby, so [[JustifiedTrope he can]] [[ContractualGenreBlindness afford to act]] [[RichInDollarsPoorInSense poor in sense]] [[ForTheLulz because that's what makes it fun]]. |
| 377 | ** What makes him fit the trope is that he'd rather be [[TeenIdol a pop star]] or [[IdleRich just a wealthy layabout]] than a villain. He goes along with his father's plans because that's the path of least resistance. |
| 378 | * ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'': |
| 379 | ** [[Characters/MiraculousLadybugAdrienAgreste Adrien Agreste/Cat Noir]] is, as of season three, the only member of the Agreste family shown to ''not'' be actively malicious -- his father Gabriel is a ControlFreak {{Abusive Parent|s}} and secretly [[BigBad Hawk]] [[TheCorrupter Moth]], his aunt Amélie and cousin Félix are {{jerkass}} thieves, and even his MissingMom Emilie is AmbiguouslyEvil (at least before [[spoiler:going into a [[ToxicPhlebotinum Peacock Miraculous]]-induced coma]]). |
| 380 | ** Though André Bourgeois is at least somewhat sympathetic from time to time, his wife Audrey and daughter Chloé are [[AlphaBitch Alpha Bitches]] to the worst degree, and even André is extremely reluctant to stand against them for any reason. The family White Sheep would be Audrey's illegitimate daughter Zoé, who starts out imitating Chloé but quickly grows sick of doing so, ultimately standing up to her and carving out her own life, while befriending Marinette. |
| 381 | * Cedric Sneer in ''WesternAnimation/TheRaccoons'' is a noble good-hearted character and the son of the (for the most part) main villain Cyril Sneer (albeit he later became more of an AntiVillain) and best friend of the show’s heroes and his father’s foes. It is also implied that the Sneer family is made of cruel misers (to the point that Cyril is ashamed of his philanthropist uncle), although this might be Cyril's version, as it's never actually shown in-universe. |
| 382 | * In ''WesternAnimation/{{Squidbillies}}'' is Cousin Durwood. He went against the family values by... getting an education and living a wholesome life. |
| 383 | * PlayedWith in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' when Moe [[InvokedTrope declares himself this trope by name]] when discussing his family being in a "very evil business"... [[SeriousBusiness selling mattresses]]. Although to his credit, he had an even more DysfunctionalFamily than the Simpsons. |
| 384 | * ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'': The "Piefolk" are a clan of bakers, con artists, and thieves. Everyone we see, even the children, are willing to take part in long-term cons in order to steal from everyone who is not Piefolk. The exception is Foolduke, the jester of Butterfly castle, who finds the whole affair annoying at best. Even her own parents shamelessly fleece her husband for everything he's got. [[spoiler:Star herself is technically a white sheep as well since she's a distant descendant and [[InTheBlood apparently baking pies and stealing are genetic]]. She definitely wasn't raised in the culture, though]]. |
| 385 | * The Creator/AdultSwim pilot ''That Crook'd 'Sipp'' focuses on one intelligent little girl in a family otherwise comprised of dumb rednecks. |
| 386 | * ''[[WesternAnimation/{{Thundercats 2011}} [=ThunderCats (2011)=]]]'' has Thundera's {{Catfolk}} RebelPrince Lion-O, introduced as a conventional BlackSheep, a duty-shirking {{Cloudcuckoolander}} believer in LostTechnology in a ProudWarriorRace royal family, who inhabits a magical kingdom stuck in MedievalStasis. Yet as his world is revealed, social stratification, {{Animal Jingo|ism}}ist FantasticRacism and CulturalPosturing become more apparent until it's obvious that Thundera is not TheGoodKingdom, but an expansionist EvilEmpire. When Lion-O decides to hear out some particularly vitriolic [[StockPunishment stockaded]] and enslaved LizardFolk prisoners-of-war, he's forced to confront the idea that MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch, and ends up further alienating his father and his subjects as he [[ZombieAdvocate defends]] the Lizards from a VigilanteExecution by AngryMob. |
| 387 | * In the short, "Concord the Kindly Condor" from the ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' episode, "[[Recap/TinyToonAdventuresS3E8ToonsFromTheCrypt Toons From the Crypt]]", Concord Condor becomes a veterinarian, spending all his time [[FriendToAllLivingThings helping sick and defenseless forest animals]], and protecting them from [[TerribleTrio his three mean (and much bigger) older brothers]], who want to hunt and eat them and want him to do the same. |
| 388 | * Several characters in ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'' fit this trope: |
| 389 | ** The first, Artemis Crock, is actually the daughter of [[spoiler:Sportsmaster]] and her mother was a former villain who reformed after getting out of prison. Artemis' sister, [[spoiler:Jade, also known as Cheshire]] works for the League of Shadows. |
| 390 | ** [[spoiler:Aqualad]] ''was'' an unknowing version of this, since while he didn't know it, his father is [[spoiler:Black Manta.]] He later exploits this fact in order to infiltrate [[BigBad the Light]]. |
| 391 | ** The Scarab zigzags this trope. [[spoiler:He starts out fighting against the Reach that created him, then gets put on mode and forced to fight for the Reach, and then gets crashed and goes back to good. He makes it pretty clear in "Intervention" that he was GoodAllAlong, just controlled.]] |
| 392 | [[/folder]] |
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