Line #8 Main/WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds


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19	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/woobie.png]]
20	[[caption-width-right:350:[[RussianReversal In Soviet Russia]], [[BreakTheCutie the cutie breaks YOU]].]]
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22	->''"You taught me that evil is just a word; under the skin, it's simple pain."''
23	-->-- '''Eleanor Lamb''', ''VideoGame/BioShock2''
24
25	As Creator/JamesBaldwin once said, society's deadliest creation is a person with nothing left to lose.
26
27	This is a character with {{omnicidal\|Maniac}} and/or AxCrazy tendencies, or a character who wants to destroy everyone in the story, and is suddenly in a position to do so (on a small or large scale); but in contrast to other characters, he/she has some plausible, outright [[TragicVillain tragic]] reason to do so. In some cases, the other characters outright [[SympathyForTheDevil sympathize with this one]] (whether or not the audience does too is out of the equation here), all the while accepting that they must be stopped. Sometimes, the character is even portrayed as ''likable'', just... not with the right mindset.
28
29	The essential element is that the destroyer has been pushed beyond all reason. This may or may not make them TheWoobie, but either way they are portrayed as having a crappy existence. This is a character who, by definition, [[CosmicPlaything is constantly beaten up, kicked around, and lives an all-around miserable life]]. Should [[DespairEventHorizon they lose everything and everyone they trust (be it through betrayal or in other cruel ways)]], and then ''just so happen'' upon the instrument of revenge against the [[CrapsackWorld cruel, heartless world]] that brought them so much pain, one need not be a genius to figure out whom the character will cast their hateful gaze upon. Think of this person as a JerkassWoobie, only with the {{jerkass}}ery replaced by insanity (though many characters do fulfill both tropes).
30
31	This trope is less about the SlidingScaleOfVillainThreat and more about how much a character has been broken -- physically, mentally, and emotionally -- before they finally snap and blame the whole world for all the crap they have been through. Of course, they must crack and pose a sudden threat of ''some'' sort, to the characters and/or the setting. And [[TheDogBitesBack some of them]] ''do'' [[SpannerInTheWorks get their]] finger [[WhosLaughingNow on the nuke trigger]]. In a few extreme cases, [[PersonOfMassDestruction they themselves are the nuke]].
32
33	A character who is a Woobie Destroyer of Worlds can be very high up on the SlidingScaleOfVillainThreat and/or SlidingScaleOfVillainEffectiveness while being very low on the SlidingScaleOfAntagonistVileness. Rather than hatred, the audience feels pity for this villain and wants to see them stopped nonviolently so they don't cause any more destruction or loss of life (or [[RootingForTheEmpire actively cheers them on]], especially if their victims [[AssholeVictim deserved it]] and [[TheDogBitesBack were responsible for their suffering]]). If the Woobie Destroyer of Worlds has to be killed to stop his destruction spree, it makes for prime AlasPoorVillain material especially if he [[DyingAsYourself regains his sanity as he's dying]].
34
35	[[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused with]] MikeNelsonDestroyerOfWorlds, where a bumbling but otherwise nice person accidentally [[EarthShatteringKaboom destroys actual worlds]], leading to WhatTheHellHero and NiceJobBreakingItHero moments.
36
37	This trope is more closely related to BreakTheCutie, FreudianExcuse, BullyingADragon, WhosLaughingNow, and ThenLetMeBeEvil. May have emerged as a deconstruction of the CosmicPlaything.
38
39	Not the same as PutThemAllOutOfMyMisery, which is the trope for characters who [[MotiveRant rationalize]] their destructive behavior by insisting that society, or the earth, must be somehow cleansed or punished for some past injustice, making it the inverse of this trope. MotiveRant, CryForTheDevil, and VillainHasAPoint are more typical of ''that'' trope. For characters, especially villains somewhere ''in between'' this trope and [[PutThemAllOutOfMyMisery that one]], see JerkassWoobie. Also note that overlaps between the two tropes are not impossible.
40
41	May overlap with DeathSeeker, if they want to die, but intend to [[TakingYouWithMe make sure]] that [[SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum everyone else goes first]]. Likely to be a DracoInLeatherPants for some of the audience. Compare SympatheticSentientWeapon when they're in employ of someone/some group rather than acting on their own. May also overlap with FallenHero, where a villain in question was once a hero until something bad and tragic happens.
42
43	And just to be clear, a character does not have to literally destroy worlds to fit this trope.
44
45	For actual world-destroying tropes, see JustForFun/WhyYouShouldDestroyThePlanetEarth.
46
47	'''There are several unmarked spoilers ahead! You have been warned.'''
48
49	This trope is no longer considered YMMV because not all examples here need to be sympathetic to the audience.
50
51	[[noreallife]]
52	----
53	!!Example subpages:
54	[[index]]
55	* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds/AnimeAndManga
56	* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds/ComicBooks
57	* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds/FanWorks
58	* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds/{{Literature}}
59	* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds/LiveActionTV
60	* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds/{{Music}}
61	* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds/{{Mythology}}
62	* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds/TabletopGames
63	* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds/VideoGames
64	* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds/VisualNovels
65	* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds/{{Webcomics}}
66	* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds/WebOriginal
67	* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds/WesternAnimation
68	* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds/OtherMedia
69	[[/index]]
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Context Main / WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds