Line #11 PlayingWith/Startofdarkness


1	'''Basic Trope''': A story of how the villain [[FaceHeelTurn became evil]] in the first place.
2	* '''Straight''': Alex sees his girlfriend, Betty, get killed and becomes a murderer to avenge her death.
3	* '''Exaggerated''':
4	** Alex is forced to kill Betty, the only person who cares about his existence, and as a result, goes on a rampage around the world.
5	** By just killing Betty, Alex has already crossed the MoralEventHorizon.
6	* '''Downplayed''': Alex's girlfriend Betty dies of an incurable disease. This made Alex not a murderer, but an unpleasant and callous {{Jerkass}}.
7	* '''Justified''':
8	** [[RousseauWasRight No one is born evil, after all]]. Something had to [[MoralEventHorizon change]] Alex into a villain.
9	** Alternately, Alex, who originally had [[WellIntentionedExtremist good]] or [[PunchClockVillain neutral]] intentions, has been working for the BigBad for so long that he lost all of his original morals and descended into a state of apathy toward his work, allowing him to do things which he once would never have considered without a twinge of guilt or remorse.
10	** Alex is portrayed as experiencing SanitySlippage as a result of losing Betty, leading him to commit ever more depraved acts.
11	* '''Inverted''':
12	** The story is about Alex, a CardCarryingVillain who spends his days [[PokeThePoodle poking poodles]] and [[KickTheDog kicking dogs]], and [[HeelFaceTurn discovers]] that he is GoodAllAlong.
13	** Alice saves Alex, a CardCarryingVillain, who from then on steadily acts more morally [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe thanks to Alice's kindness]]. Eventually [[HeelFaceTurn becoming one of the good guys]].
14	** We see a FlashBack or the BackStory of Alex that's meant to show why he became TheHero in the first place and his ascent into goodness.
15	* '''Subverted''':
16	** Alex is [[PerspectiveFlip telling the story himself]], and he [[UnreliableNarrator isn't exactly being honest]].
17	** Alex sees his girlfriend get killed and kills the murderer, witnessing how horrible it is to be evil and swears to [[ThouShaltNotKill never kill again]].
18	** Alex seems like he's going to be come the villain everyone knows -- but he's actually a DecoyProtagonist. The ''real'' villain is someone else altogether, he's just a guy with an uncanny resemblance.
19	* '''Double Subverted''':
20	** However, he is in fact [[VillainsNeverLie telling the truth]]... [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality as he sees it, of course]].
21	** Because he [[KnightTemplar despises evil]] so much, Alex decides that [[StartXToStopX killing may be a viable way to prevent more killing]], backtracks on his personal oath and gets used to committing atrocities.
22	* '''Parodied''':
23	** Alex, upon capturing TheHero, reveals [[ShaggyFrogStory a ridiculously nonsensical backstory]] [[TheUnreveal that doesn't really explain anything]] about Alex or [[FaceHeelTurn how he became evil]].
24	** It is revealed that Alex decided to become evil after learning [[FelonyMisdemeanor someone ate the last Tasty Snack in the fridge]].
25	* '''Zig Zagged''': Alex tells TheHero that the reason that he became a psychopath is to avenge the death of Betty, [[LoveMakesYouEvil who he loved]]. However, TheHero later learns that Alex [[ILied lied]] about his FreudianExcuse. He recaptures Alex and is told a completely different story altogether.
26	* '''Averted''':
27	** The reason why Alex is evil or amoral is never revealed.
28	** Alex had a normal background. He became evil for simple reasons, like [[{{Greed}} wanting money]].
29	** Alex becomes evil [[FortheEvulz just for the sake of evil itself]].
30	* '''Enforced''': "We really ought to explain why Alex does what he does. Otherwise he'll just look like just another CardCarryingVillain."
31	* '''Lampshaded''': "You don't know why I'm this way, do you? This looks like a good time for me to tell you my tragic and unhappy backstory."
32	* '''Invoked''': "All right, Alex, tell us what made you the slime you are!"
33	* '''Exploited''': AmoralAttorney Dewey uses Alex's backstory to create sympathy in the jury at the murder trial.
34	* '''Defied''': Alex outright refuses to explain his StartOfDarkness, with the rationalization that it doesn't change the fact that he's a villain now.
35	* '''Discussed''': "Why is Alex evil, anyway? [[FreudianExcuse Childhood trauma]]? [[LoveMakesYouEvil The tragic death of a loved one]]? ParentalAbandonment? [[RaisedByOrcs His upbringing]]? [[ForTheEvulz Just because he could]]?"
36	* '''Conversed''': "What made Alex so utterly heartless?" "[[FreudianExcuse Bad parenting]]."
37	* '''Deconstructed''': Alex's reasons for becoming evil, although true, are not the reason he became evil - he was a JerkAss long before Betty was killed.
38	* '''Reconstructed''': However, Betty was Alex's MoralityChain and, with her dead, Alex has crossed the MoralEventHorizon.
39	----
40	Return to StartOfDarkness... And be sure to watch the path...
41	----
42	%% Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion:
43	%%
44	%%* '''Implied''': ???
45	%%* '''Plotted A Good Waste''': ???
46	%%* '''Played For Laughs''': ???

Context PlayingWith / Startofdarkness