Line #26 VillainousBreakdown/ComicBooks


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7	[[quoteright:234:[[ComicBook/TheInfinityGauntlet https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thanos_5540.png]]]]
8	[[caption-width-right:234:''[[Film/AvengersInfinityWar "I ignored my destiny once...I cannot do that again."]]'']]
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12	* Riddler has a rather nice one in ''[[ComicBook/TheBatmanAdventures Batman: Gotham Adventures]]'' #11. After escaping Arkham, he decides that the best way to beat his urge to commit crimes and leave riddles (thus guaranteeing that Batman will eventually catch up to him) is to solve crimes himself and leave Batman riddles pertaining to ''them''. After catching several wanted criminals thanks to the Riddler's hints (which you'd think would be convenient enough that he wouldn't be in such a hurry to end it), Batman figures out that all the clues contain part of a hidden riddle which leads him right to Riddler. Upon learning that his psychosis is so deep that he left Batman a clue without even realizing it, Riddler freaks out, screaming about how impossible it is. Then he comes to his senses:
13	-->''"You don't understand... I really didn't want to leave you any clues. I really planned never to go back to Arkham Asylum. But I left you a clue anyway. So I... I have to go back there. Because I [[TheWoobie might need help]]. I... ''I might actually be crazy''."''
14	* ''ComicBook/BlackMoonChronicles'': At the final confrontation with Wismerhill in the imperial castle, Haazheel finally goes apeshit when his soldiers start to lose, going OneWingedAngel and destroying anything he sees.
15	* Kingdok in ''{{ComicBook/Bone}}'' starts the comic as a well put together and clever fellow. But as the comic goes he suffers an increasingly long series of humiliations, beatings, and failures; he loses his arm in a fight, gets mauled by Rock Jaw, is repeatedly humiliated in front of his men by the Hooded One, gets trapped alone underground for nearly ''a month'', and more. Alongside this, his mental state degrades more and more, reducing him from a well-spoken tactician to a half-crippled mess. [[spoiler: By the time the heroes face him for the last time, he's crossed the DespairEventHorizon and only attacks them [[SuicideByCop to make Thorn kill him]].]]
16	** One of the creepiest things about this breakdown is how the art symbolizes it. At the comic's start Kingdok is drawn to look rather slim and friendly. As his breakdown worsens, he's drawn progressively more ugly and monstrous, as if his very body is being warped by the abuses he's suffering.
17	* ''ComicBook/TheBoys'':
18	** The Homelander starts the comic seemingly one push away of going on a murderous rampage, ever so close to the edge but never going over it, with the Vought American executive James Stillwell being the only one capable of keeping the Homelander on check. [[spoiler:He completely loses it once it's revealed that he was basically gaslighted into insanity by one of his teammates and like Butcher puts it, he "became a fuckin' psychopath by mistake"]].
19	** About the spoiler above [[spoiler: Black Noir is revealed to be a clone of Homelander, created with the mission of killing him and the rest of the Seven should they ever went rogue. The fact he had to live with his intended targets for years without being able to fulfill his mission drove him utterly insane. Black Noir was the one who committed the ghastly atrocities attributed to Homelander, including the rape of Butcher's wife Becky, with the intention of convincing Vought American that the Homelander had become a liability and force them to authorize to carry out his mission. When that failed, Black Noir orchestrated the Super Hero coup d'etat as last resort and finally accomplished his goal.]]
20	** Jessica Bradley suffers one upon realizing that her boss, Stillwell, spent the last year or so partnering up with her, grooming her, and ultimately promoted her to the head of the superhero division just so it would be believable [[PromotedToScapegoat when he set her up to serve as the scapegoat]] for the supers going rogue. She's last seen screaming nonstop and literally tearing handfuls of her hair out in her hotel room.
21	** Stillwell himself suffered a subtle and nuanced one at the very end of the comic. While witnessing the presentation of the newest (and last remaining) superhero team, he begins to notice that something is off abou them. (Specifically, he notes the unexplained erection of one member of the new team, and the telltale signs of drug withdrawal in another.) He realizes this batch of supers will most likely be worse than the last one and that Compound V is just a bad and, and worst of all, 'unmarketable' product. He appears to start the early stages of a nervous breakdown in the final issue, finally cracking as he realizes that his years of scheming have been AllForNothing, and that there is no way to turn Vought's situation around. In the epilogue miniseries ''Dear Becky'', he's shown to have fully [[DrivenToMadness gone insane]] and lives on a pineapple farm constantly rambling about economics and Milton Friedman with a BeardOfSorrow.
22	** [[DaChief CIA Director]] Susan Rayner was a TokenEvilTeammate to the Boys, and a {{narcissist}} with delusions of grandeur planning to run for office. Hughie then sabotages her campaign by playing a recording of her cheating on her husband with Butcher, leading to her having a very public FreakOut as she's ConvictedByPublicOpinion. In ''Dear Becky'', she mails Hughie Butcher's diary in an attempt to get back at him by messing with his head. When he confronts her, she goes on a NeverMyFault tirade and expresses a desire to become a PresidentEvil. Hughie then nonchalantly blackmails her with a recording of her ordering an airstrike on civilians, before [[ArmorPiercingQuestion asking if anyone ever loved her]], leading to her having another FreakOut and throwing her drink at him while screaming.
23	* In the Garth Ennis ''ComicStrip/DanDare'' mini-series, the Mekon uses his grand finale battle with Dare to vent some long pent-up grievances:
24	--->'''Mekon''': Dare!! Before you came, my rule was ALL! My word was law! My realm was a place of [[StrawVulcan cold and perfect logic]]! But my time has come again! I'll burn your world and take your race as chattel! [[DisproportionateRetribution I'll make a goblet from your skull! I'll fill it with your blood!]] And every day! Every day! I'll drink a toast! ''To the Earthman who taught the Mekon how to hate''!
25	* The second Sabbac over in DC Comics is constantly just on the edge of this. Most of the time he's calm, cocky and sarcastic. But when he doesn't get what he wants, when things don't go his way, he loses it entirely, screaming and ranting as he kills friend and foe alike. Imagine a greedy 10-year-old with the power to destroy a small nation and you've got Sabbac.
26	* ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} outcrazies ComicBook/{{Carnage}} by convincing him that he's just a character in a story written by someone else with no real control over his life. Carnage falls into a depression so severe that he lets himself be incarcerated and refuses to leave until he can be sure he has free will again. One police officer notes that the door to his cell isn't even locked.
27	* ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'': Doctor Doom suffered a pretty huge one in one story. At one point he had Reed Richards imprisoned in a torture room full of mirrors placed in such a way that the warped reflections would drive anyone crazy. At the start, he's classic arrogant gloating Doom. By the end of the story a few issues later, he's beating the crap out of Reed while screaming and ranting about how much he hates Reed. The fight takes them to the torture room, and Reed removes Doom's mask. Seeing thousands of warped reflections of his own scarred face drives Doom insane.
28	* Monocle in ''ComicBook/ForeverEvil2013'' out of paranoia. More notably, though, is Lex Luthor whose fears about super-humans come to life with the Crime Syndicate, and finally calls out for Superman's help.
29	* ''[[Franchise/MonsterVerse Godzilla x Kong: The Hunted]]'': [[Characters/MonsterVerseHumans Raymond Martin]], the BigBad who's spent the comic going on a {{Vsn Helsing Hate Crime\|s}} spree inside Kong's monster kingdom, raves angrily at the "injustice" when Kong defeats his [[HumongousMecha Titan Hunter]] in their [[MechVsBeast fight]] at the climax and leaves it dangling over a cliff.
30	* This happens to Sinestro in ComicBook/GreenLantern throughout ComicBook/BlackestNight, more than once. Sinestro, by his [[KnightTemplar nature]], is big on Authority being competent in their actions. So every time he learns new evidence that the Guardians Of The Universe are [[NeglectfulPrecursors very, very, very, very incompetent]], he gets... a little upset. It's even worse for him because reminds him how the Guardians painted [[OnlySaneMan Abin Sur]] as a CloudCuckooLander for daring to expose said incompetence.
31	* ''ComicBook/HackSlash'':
32	** In [[BeachEpisode "Girls Gone Dead"]], [[HotWitch Laura Lochs]] panics when Cassie shoots through her SpellBook, not having learned all of the spells within it and essentially powerless without it.
33	** In the [[SeriesFauxnale "Final"]] arc, [[spoiler:after losing his HealingFactor and all of his [[ZombieApocalypse Stab Happy "paladins"]] to Cat and Gertrude respectively, [[BigBad Akakios]] panics, pleading that Cassie is the only one of their kind left. Given everything he had done, she is in no mood to be merciful.]]
34	* At the end of ''ComicBook/{{Hellboy}}'': ''Conqueror Worm'', even though all his plans have failed and he is now nothing but a ghost, Rasputin still believes that he will be the one to release the Ogdru Jahad and bring about Ragnarok. However, he is confronted by the godess Hecate, who bluntly [[BreakThemByTalking tells him that he is completely insignificant in the grand scheme of things,]] that Hellboy is the only one with the power that he seeks and that, even after summoning him to Earth, he has no control over him. Rasputin flies into such a rage that he appears to be on the verge of attacking Hecate before she obliterates him with a wave of her hand.
35	** In ''Darkness Calls'' the Literature/BabaYaga sends [[TheDragon her minion Koschei the Deathless]] to exact her revenge on Hellboy. However, when Hellboy gains the upper hand and looks set to escape, Baba Yaga begins desperately breathing more and more of her power into Koschei, so much so that the fires burn out in her house, [[HeroicRROD leaving her with nothing to relight them.]] When her servant Koku denies her last-ditch attempt to use Rasputin's soul to revive Koschei, she crumples speechlessly to the ground, utterly defeated, while Koku pityingly [[ComfortingComforter covers her with a cloak.]]
36	* Like all villains created by Goscinny, ComicBook/{{Iznogoud}} is particularly susceptible to it; generally, if a story doesn't end with him suffering a FateWorseThanDeath, it will end with him sobbing or gibbering with insanity. The fact he lives in a Palace where he (a megalomaniac aggressive EvilChancellor) seems to be the [[OnlySaneMan only one with some degree of sanity]] doesn't really help.
37	** In "Tried and Tse-tsed", after the tsetse fly Iznogoud plans to use to get the Caliph to go to sleep permanently is sedated by the Caliph's cup of herbal tea and adopted as a pet by the genial ruler, the vizier is reduced to a babbling wreck whom Wa'at Alahf is forced to have committed.
38	** At the end of "The Lookalike", the Caliph and his doppelganger, Aristides Kingsizos, have met and bonded over a game of cards, and the formerly grouchy lookalike now talks and acts like the Caliph. On the palace steps, Iznogoud sobs to Wa'at Alahf that he tried to get rid of one Caliph and now he's stuck with ''two''. Then Aristides' business partner comes looking for him... and he turns out to be a dead ringer for Iznogoud, who goes catatonic with shock.
39	* ''ComicBook/TheJoker'':
40	** A ''ComicBook/LegendsOfTheDarkKnight'' story titled "Going Sane" recounted how an epic fight between the Joker and Batman ended in the Dark Knight's (apparent) death. ''Victory'' freaked out the Joker so badly that his then-current personality...dissolved. Melted away, leaving a sweet, gentle man who loved old-time radio comedy and who pondered "finally getting something done about this skin condition..." By the end of the story, one actually felt ''sorry'' for the Joker!
41	** He also suffers from this in Brian Azzarello's ''ComicBook/{{Joker}}''. You can see it briefly when he trashes the bar after Harvey Dent doesn't take his phone call, but he finally reaches breaking point at the end when [[spoiler: Batman turn his BreakingSpeech back on him, causing him to fly into a blind rage and shoot his own loyal henchman.]]
42	** ''ComicBook/ADeathInTheFamily'': When Superman shows up to stop Joker from gassing the United Nations building, Joker completely freaks out and complains that it's "unfair" that Superman would interfere. He forgot that while normally, SupermanStaysOutOfGotham, the United Nations is not in Gotham and is a world target in Superman's territory.
43	** ''ComicBook/DeathOfTheFamily'': Joker spends the whole comic trying to prove to Batman his loved ones are [[TheyWereHoldingYouBack only holding him back]] and after saving his Bat family has a brutal fight with him in the underground, Batman sets the Joker off by revealing his family makes him stronger
44	---> '''LIAR!!! YOU KNOW THEY DO ANYTHING BUT'''.
45	* Long-time ''ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica'' foe Vandal Savage had a rather pitiful breakdown during One Year Later when faced with the possibility of imminent death for the first time in his millennia long lifetime.
46	* Both Bane and Az-Bats suffer this during the ''ComicBook/{{Knightfall}}'' storyline. For Bane, the appearance of the Jean-Paul Valley Batman hadn't concerned him much, but after he was badly wounded, Bane decided to put this pretender to the throne out of his misery. Once JP is able to deliver a strike that severed his Venom feed, Bane panics and finds himself being kicked around and ultimately defeated. For Az-Bats, he was already suffering from SanitySlippage thanks to the hallucinations of his father and Saint Dumas, but once he ends up letting Abbitoir die, he's finally lost it, ranting and raving how he's the one true Batman and that he hadn't failed in his "sacred mission".
47	* In ''ComicBook/LockeAndKey'', Dodge is genuinely panic-stricken for the first time when [[spoiler: Tyler reveals his newly-created Alpha Key, that can unlock demons from souls.]]
48	* Joe Dalton tends to go through one of these whenever someone mentions the name ComicBook/LuckyLuke in his presence. Usually inverted, as it tends to happen at the beginning of an episode, and as soon as he regains his calm, he devices a plan to break out of the CardboardPrison, starting the plot.
49	* The tenth and final issue of the ''ComicBook/{{Madballs}}'' comic book published by defunct Creator/MarvelComics subsidiary Star Comics had a rare example of the villain having his breakdown at the very start of the story. When the Madballs Bash Brain, Touchdown Terror, and Fist Face walk in on Dr. Frankenbeans before he has a chance to act out his latest scheme in defeating them, Frankenbeans responds by throwing a tantrum over how it isn't fair that the Madballs always win. The doctor's outburst causes him to fall ill, afterwards Snivelitch begs the Madballs to save Frankenbeans' life.
50	* Dirk Anger of ''ComicBook/{{Nextwave}}'' spends the entire series going through a nervous breakdown. He thinks nobody noticed.
51	* Allfather Starr towards the end of ''ComicBook/{{Preacher}}''. The abuses and mutilations he suffers over the series in pursuit of Genesis take a heavy toll, to the point where the final story arc has him pointing a gun at the mirror and saying "Doom cock" over and over again [[spoiler: and gassing his advisors when they say they're abandoning the pursuit of Jesse Custer]].
52	* ''ComicBook/RedRobin'': When the Daughter of Acheron's plans gain more mystic power by raping Tim Drake to conceive a child with him while killing him are ruined by Tim having called ComicBook/{{Batgirl}} prior to being kidnapped she has an epic meltdown, which is lucky because it means she's too busy with that to put up a decent fight.
53	-->''"'''You have disrupted a ceremony years in the waiting!''' I must have the seed of the son—and with his passing the birth of '''life''' over '''death''' will be '''mine'''!"''
54	* Dark Annisia begins ''ComicBook/RedSonja'': ''Queen of Plagues'' as a WellIntentionedExtremist combating a plague by slaughtering the infected. She escalates to besieging a healthy city after it finds a cure and executing those who violate her open-ended quarantine. After the plague's true cause and her part in it are revealed she snaps into full-on bloodthirsty madness.
55	* In ''ComicBook/{{Revival}}'', [[spoiler:losing [[MoralityChain her wife and son]] to Des and her militia's DisguisedHostageGambit prompts Cale to begin outright extermination to take control of Silver Creek's mystical properties and resurrect them both]].
56	* The Riddler has a grand one when he decides to deal with [[Franchise/TheFlash Impulse]]. After a bad encounter with Franchise/TheFlash and ComicBook/{{Robin}}[[note]]Riddler had bailed from Gotham following the events of ''ComicBook/BatmanNoMansLand'' and Tim was temporarily out of town[[/note]], Edward heads for Manchester to deal with Impulse, thinking he can easily outwit the protege of the Scarlet Speedster and one of the Boy Wonder's closest allies. Instead, poor Eddie is left a blabbering mess with Bart utterly ignores every sign that the Riddler wants him (too busy playing video games), Bart's inability to recognize who he was (he mistakes him for ComicBook/TheQuestion, Mr. Freeze and Abra Kadabra), outwitting his traps without thinking (before he's done reading off his first clue, Bart comes back with the bombs by looking under every porch in town. And finds his other bombs while he was at it!) and ultimately saves his captives by retaping his last clue that he tore up. His comment after revealing the second set of bombs sells it, though:
57	-->'''The Riddler:''' "'''DO YOU THINK ''MERE'' SPEED CAN UNDO MY GLORIOUS INTELLECT? YOU'RE ''WRONG'', I TELL YOU! WRONG, WRONG, ''WRONG!'''''"
58	* ''ComicBook/RomSpaceKnight'': Issue #30 had Rom face minor Hulk villain the Metal Master, who believes Rom to be fully robotic and plans to take control of him for his next attempt at conquering Earth. Upon being defeated and learning that Rom is actually a cyborg and therefore not fully metallic, the Metal Master can only look on in shock while stammering about his mistake at thinking he could control Rom.
59	* Dr. Pretorious suffers one when the monsters rebel against him in ''ComicBook/SherlockHolmesAndTheHorrorOfFrankenstein''. He slips into 'AGodAmI' mode before blowing up his own castle in [[TakingYouWithMe an attempt to kill Holmes, Watson and the monsters]].
60	* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'':
61	** ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'':
62	*** In Issue #175, Dr. Eggman had managed to finally destroy the once hidden Knothole Kingdom, defeated Sonic, and prepared to execute every one of his friends and family, only to suffer an epic defeat during the two issues after. [[SanitySlippage He began to suffer mentally]] as a result of the constant ongoing defeat from the Freedom Fighters since. This finally comes forward during Issue #200 thanks to Sonic himself, which causes him to [[SkywardScream flip out]], tear out his own mustache, take wild swings at a worried Sonic and regress into a drooling, babbling madman that [[AlasPoorVillain even Sally and Sonic himself show pity for]]. In Snively's words, because he suffered one too many of these defeats, Eggman wasn't [[IThinkYouBrokeHim just beaten, but broken]]. He spent the next few issues in a padded cell, wearing a straitjacket [[http://images.wikia.com/archiesonic/images/8/87/Warlord-Doctor_Julian_Ivo_Eggman_Mach_Two.JPG before breaking free]] and eventually ''reasoning himself'' into recovery.
63	*** [[EvilTwin Scourge]] also qualifies. After being betrayed by The Supression Squad and ganged up on by everybody, he retreats to his throne and [[SuperMode goes super]] from the Anarchy Beryls he's stashed there. Then as he blasted everyone off of him and hunts down Sonic, he declares that he's going to spin dash both Mobius and [[MirrorUniverse Moebius]] in half, simply because he can.
64	** During the "Sonic Adventure" storyline of ''ComicBook/SonicTheComic'', Dr. Robotnik cracks and goes from wanting to conquer the world to just flat-out destroying it because he sees it as the only way to rid himself of Sonic.
65	** ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogIDW'':
66	*** Neo Metal Sonic has one as [[OneWingedAngel Master Overlord]] in Issue #11, which kicks into overdrive after Sonic presses his BerserkButton.
67	*** Zeena has a short, but significant one in Issue #27, near the end of her fight with Cream and Gemerl [[spoiler: when he throws her to the Zombots]].
68	*** Zavok spends the whole climax of the [[ZombieApocalypse Metal Virus Saga]] berserk with rage after Rouge crashes the Faceship in Issue #28. After going OneWingedAngel, he throws the infected heroes onto Angel Island to face the surviving ones while blasting Angel Island with fireballs. [[spoiler: Even after Super Sonic [[CurbStompBattle whallops]] him and Super Silver cures all the Zombots, [[LastVillainStand Zavok continues his rampage]] until he's finally subdued and captured in Issue #30.]]
69	*** Sonic's return from the Sol Dimension in Issue #32 evokes a brief one from Eggman. He freezes in horror at the sight of Sonic and then flips out as Sonic frees Omega from Eggman's mech, allowing Omega to blast it into oblivion. Eggman's initial fury quickly [[OhCrap turns to fear when he realizes Sonic's still pissed off about the Metal Virus plague]], and he wisely retreats before the irate heroes can do any worse to him.
70	*** Issue #3 of the ''Imposter Syndrome'' miniseries retroactively gives one to Starline, revealing that after Eggman fired him in Issue #25 he was driven mad with rage. Surge and Kit find a vlog from this time period on his computer, in which he's glaring maniacally at the camera while ranting about his outrage.
71	*** Issue #50 has [[spoiler:Dr. Eggman pushing Dr. Starline into this after the platypus has victory yanked from him when it turns out that Eggman had OutGambitted him the entire time, even learning from his mistakes and taking certain notes about Starline's gimmicks, all of which Starline didn't think he was capable of. Starline is so rattled by all of this that he breaks down and doesn't notice when the damage from his fight with Eggman causes the room they're in to start collapsing, leaving him to be crushed by debris, [[NoOneCouldSurviveThat seemingly to death]].]]
72	* In the crossover ''ComicBook/SpiderMan / ComicBook/{{Batman}}'', Carnage has a spectacular one. Near the end of the story, he has Batman at his mercy and Spidey unable to act. Then, ComicBook/TheJoker reappears holding a Jack-In-The-Box and ready to pop it open and unleash a deadly virus, ''[[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou all because he won't let anyone else kill the Batman]]''. Carnage, a mass murderer himself, flies into a magnificent panic and giving Batman the opening to free himself and take him down and allowing Spidey to stop the Joker.
73	* In the ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' storyline ''ComicBook/EndsOfTheEarth'', it's revealed that the dying Doctor Octopus' grand scheme is to [[spoiler:wipe out most of humanity, leaving about 0.08% of humanity to live and rebuild, remembering him as the greatest monster that ever lived]]. However, Spidey points out a glaring flaw in that plan: [[spoiler:yes, 0.08% of humanity would live on -- but his super weapon would flash fry their brains, leaving them brain dead.]] Faced with that glaring flaw, Octopus flips out, trying to see where he went wrong, giving Spidey the opportunity to take him out.
74	* In ''Franchise/{{Star Wars\|Legends}}: ComicBook/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' Arkoh Adasca and Haazen suffer breakdowns right before meeting their deaths; Arkoh goes from Suave Businessman in complete control to a gibbering lunatic screaming at his men to murder the heroes and daring the man he abused into smiting him in an extremely nasty karmic death, and Haazen is reduced from Magnificent (if smug) bastard to a helpless wretch who can only stammer and beg Lucien not to use the McGuffin to thwart his plans and kill him in the process. Demagol also loses his coherence and stutters, and Raana completely loses her mind.
75	** And in ''ComicBook/StarWarsLegacy'', Darth Krayt suffers a protracted one across several issues after [[AntiHero Cade Skywalker]], the one man in the galaxy who can cure his chronic illness, escapes his grasp. [[spoiler: It gets so bad that his previously loyal [[TheDragon Dragon]], Wyyrlok, decides to kill him because he's now a liability to his own cause]].
76	* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'':
77	** "ComicBook/LuthorUnleashed":
78	*** At the very start of the story, Lex is crawling out of the burning wreckage of another war-machine, badly injured and bruised, barely conscious and, worst of all, knowing that he is still alive just because Superman saved him after stopping his latest scheme. Lex comes to the realization that he has been finally pushed too far, and he will never beat Superman, so he flees into exile to planet Lexor.
79	*** At the end, Lex starts another battle with Superman, during which Lexor gets destroyed and Luthor's family dies. Sobbing, Luthor vows to hate and hound Superman for as long as he lives.
80	** In ''ComicBook/TheFallOfMetropolis'', Lex Luthor's own breakdown since his infection by a clone degeneration virus by Dabney Donovan reaches its pinnacle when, confronted by Superman and Superboy, he begins ranting and raving, vowing to bring Metropolis down around everyone's ears. While Superman's attempt to talk Luthor down succeeds, Luthor's lackey Sydney Happerson ends up having his own breakdown and pushes the button to destroy Metropolis.
81	** In ''ComicBook/PublicEnemies'', when [[PresidentEvil President]] Lex Luthor's scheme to blame a Kryptonite asteroid smashing into the Earth on Superman fails, Luthor (who was the U.S. President at the time) uses a variant combination of the "super-steroid" Venom (a chemical associated with the Batman villain Bane), liquid synthetic Kryptonite, and an Apokoliptian battlesuit to go on a violent rampage. This, unsurprisingly, gets him impeached.
82	** ''ComicBook/TheBlackRing'': After traveling across the planet and in space in an attempt to regain something like the Orange Lantern Power Ring, Luthor gains the powers of a creature from the Phantom Zone and proceeds to use it to torture Superman. Once he finds out that Superman is Clark Kent, though, he ''loses it''. It gets worse as he manages to make the universe perfect for a few minutes. He swiftly learns, however, that in order to cement this power, he must not use this power for violence... including against Superman, who is right in front of him. Superman begs him to let go of their old grudges in the name of unending peace and even ''apologizes'' for ''whatever he did''. Lex's response? "'''YOU ''DARE'' TO LECTURE ME?'''" And thus was universal bliss ended. And tucked away in Arkham, ComicBook/TheJoker laughs away at what Luthor had done.
83	** ''ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman1961'' has Luthor finally managing to kill Superman and mobsters throw him a celebration party as he gloats on how he did it. When a red and blue caped figure bursts in, a terrified Luthor worries Superman has come back to haunt him. It turns out to be ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} (whose existence was unknown to the world at the time) who arrests Luthor and takes him to the bottle city of Kandor. Luthor spends his televised murder trial smug that he'll find a way out of this. When he's found guilty, Luthor offers to restore Kandor to its regular size in exchange for his freedom, confident they'll agree. Instead, the judge declares "we Kandorians do not make deals with murderers!" Unable to accept losing like this, Luthor begs for mercy but it's too late as he's sent to spend eternity in the Phantom Zone.
84	** In ''ComicBook/SupergirlCosmicAdventuresInThe8thGrade'', [[EvilCounterpart Belinda Zee]] steals ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'s communicator and turns it on. When Supergirl's mom fails to recognize her, Belinda breaks down into tears and starts to yell she's the "Number One."
85	** ''ComicBook/AllStarSuperman'': Lex Luthor creates a formula that gives him Superman's powers... but included in that power set is the ability to see the world as Superman sees it. That happens to be as a series of connections down to the subatomic level. Luthor starts ''crying'' as he realizes just why Superman is a hero - because he can see ''everything'', just how big and small ''everything'' actually ''is''.
86	** In ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton2004'', Darkseid flies into a brief rage when he realizes that Batman has set off his own bombs to detonate Apokolips. After spending several minutes pounding Batman in blind rage, Darkseid regains his self-control, accepts that his current plan has failed, and allows the heroes to take Supergirl back home.
87	--->'''Darkseid:''': "''You dare...! '''YOU DARE'''?!"''
88	** In ''ComicBook/TheDeathOfLuthor'': When Lex Luthor learns he has been defeated and revived by Supergirl, he completely loses his mind, to the point he picks a firearm and shoots at her madly, despite knowing bullets are useless. He then bursts into tears and declares he loathes her even more than Superman.
89	** In "ComicBook/SupermanVsMuhammadAli":
90	*** Rat'Lar has a minor one when he orders his champion Hun'Ya punch one hole into one wall to impress his rivals. Rather than feeling intimidated Superman and Ali just laugh it off, prompting Rat'Lar to scream and rant incoherently as Superman and Ali exchange "Is that guy serious?" stares.
91	---->'''Rat'Lar:''' ''"Insolence...INSOLENCE...'''INSOLENCE!!''' You will pay, I promise you! You will be humiliated-- in front of your whole galaxy!!"''
92	*** He has a bigger breakdown when Ali defeats his champion and Superman disables his fleet.
93	** "ComicBook/BrainiacRebirth": When he sees Superman's ship crashing into an asteroid, Brainiac feels relieved for one second...until he sees his enemy has survived the crash, his powers being restored. Brainiac feels overwhelmed by a chilling, numbing fear, and needs some instants to collect himself before becoming overcome by a sensation of defeating inevitability and the feeling that he is fated to being destroyed by Superman, no matter what.
94	** ''ComicBook/SupermansPalJimmyOlsen2019'': Upon being caught in their murder attempt and kept from escaping, [[spoiler: Julian Olsen]] begins ranting about his power, the stupidity of [[spoiler: his siblings]], and the uselessness of the underclass before pulling a gun to shoot Jimmy...and getting knocked down by Porcadillo.
95	** In ''ComicBook/EmperorJoker'', the Joker steals Mxyzptlk's powers, turns the ''entire universe'' into his playground, begins the end of Time, Space, and Existence, and he tears Superman's heart out and eats it. As he lies dying, Superman dares Joker to kill Batman. Joker does so, but right after he does, Batman reappears, good as new. Confused, Joker tries it again and again, growing increasingly frantic as Batman repeatedly comes back, going as far as to beg the writers and artists to let him finish Batman off. Superman taunts him, revealing that despite having all that power, Joker is still nothing but a clown, unable to do anything useful with his life and needing Batman to have any purpose at all. As Joker breaks down, Mxyzptlk uses the opening to take his powers back and fix everything. The last page shows Joker back in Arkham Asylum, incoherently babbling "[[SdrawkcabName Rorepme Rekoj]]". Before that, Joker loses his temper when he uses his RealityWarper powers to torture Superman, but Supes won't go crazy or slip past the DespairEventHorizon no matter what he does.
96	--->'''Joker:''' (''some torture, Superman kills himself on purpose to deny Joker's fun'') '''What!?''' That's not the way I wanted this to end! I don't want the big lummox ''dead'', I want him broken!\
97	(''brings Superman back to life, more torture'') Phooey! Phooey! '''Phooey!''' To hell with this stupid broadcast! No one is following the script! I want everyone back the way they were before! '''Phooey!''' Superman wasn't '''breaking!'''
98	** ''ComicBook/KingdomCome'': It happened to Magog when he was finally confronted by Superman in the ruins of Kansas. It's implied that the breakdown had been building (and was maybe already in progress) since he destroyed Kansas, it's just that Superman's arrival is what tipped it over. Also, a large part of the reason for the breakdown was that Magog wasn't a straight villain, but a NinetiesAntiHero who tried so hard to be TheCape, and felt guilty about all the death he caused.
99	--->'''Magog:''' Your fault... you bastard. The world changed... but you wouldn't. So they chose me. They chose the man who would kill over the man who wouldn't... and now they're dead. A million ghosts. Punish me. Lock me away. Kill me. Just make the ghosts go away.
100	** During ''ComicBook/LegionOfThreeWorlds'', Superboy-Prime was a relatively composed SmugSuper ''until'' he realized the Legion planned to bring ComicBook/TheFlash Bart Allen back to life. Bart is the one person in the universe who Prime actually fears, so he completely flips his lid when Bart returns.
101	** In the "ComicBook/FromEterniaWithDeath" crossover, Skeletor throws a screaming temper tantrum when he fails to smash the Castle Grayskull's doors down, despite his claims of being above of gods and devils.
102	* ComicBook/{{Thanos}} tends to go nuts whenever anything endangers his relationship with Death. In ''ComicBook/TheInfinityGauntlet'', he stammers in disbelief when he realizes that the power of the Infinity Gauntlet and Gems has made him ''too'' powerful to be with Death[[note]]he had to be ''equally'' powerful to Death, not ''more'' powerful[[/note]], giving the heroes the opportunity to stop him. He throws a fit of jealousy and curses Deadpool with immortality when it seems like Death likes Wade better than him. Finally, when he learns that his ThanatosGambit in ''ComicBook/TheThanosImperative'' has rendered him immortal, meaning he can never be with Death, he loses all of his sanity and becomes so dedicated to destroying everything that he has to be sealed in another universe to stop him.
103	* This was the premise of the ''ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}}'' "Caged Angels" arc by Creator/WarrenEllis. A group of incarcerated telepaths drive each member of the [[AntiHero already]] [[VillainProtagonist unstable]] team over the edge (Except for Bullseye, who can't get any crazier.) The best one is ComicBook/NormanOsborn, starts walking around naked ranting about what he'll do when he's president and how much fun killing people was.
104	** "Norman will do what it takes, he won't mind. Norman will make [[ILetGwenStacyDie the girl]] [[RetCon pregnant]] then [[NotTheFallThatKillsYou snap her neck in public]]".
105	** It gets even better when he finally gives in and becomes the Goblin again, and all it took was the mere mention of ''Spider''.
106	--->'''Swordsman''': ...mother.\
107	'''The Green Goblin''': YOU DIDN'T HAVE A MOTHER! A pig coughed, and you fell out!
108	** Later comics in ''Comicbook/DarkReign'' made it pretty clear that for all Norman's VillainWithGoodPublicity act, he was most of the time a hop, skip and jump away from a full psychotic breakdown. And having to maintain a good public reputation as the head of the Initiative only helped slowly push him closer to one. As was particularly cruelly lampshaded in a BreakingSpeech delivered to Norman by the Molecule Man, it was a default position amongst the main players of the Marvel Universe that it wasn't not so much a question of "Will Norman crack under the strain?" as "''When'' will Norman crack under the strain?" Several of them were waiting for his breakdown since he first took power.
109	** It finally happened in ComicBook/{{Siege}} #3. Though after all the buildup it was given, and the ''masterful'' snap he had in Thunderbolts, readers found this one ([[spoiler:a painted up face, jeans and a t-shirt under the armor, and nonsensical babbling about how his plans to save everything from the Void had been ruined]]) more than a little underwhelming. The part ''before'' that ([[spoiler:where he flat-out orders Sentry to bring down ''the entire floating city of Asgard'']]) was much better.
110	** Even before Dark Reign and Thunderbolts Norman was suffering from breakdowns much more often.
111	** Norman had a few smaller breakdowns when Loki gave him hallucinations, when [[Characters/MarvelComicsXMan Nate Grey]] possessed him and tricked the Dark X-Men into breaking down the mental walls that kept the Green Goblin contained, or when the [[{{ShapeShifting}} Skrulls]] turned into a bunch of Spider-Men [[http://cdn2us.denofgeek.com/sites/denofgeekus/files/styles/article_width/public/bolts14.jpg?itok=dTq_8KSh to screw with him]]
112	** For Osborn, the Goblin ''is'' a villainous breakdown. When the cool, collected VillainWithGoodPublicity and master of [[GambitIndex every gambit in the index]] has his plans go off the rails and he reaches the point that he starts screaming and ranting and cackling and throwing pumpkin bombs, you know it's all over. He wasn't always portrayed this way (once it was decent Osborn having the PsychoSerum take over, and he'd be defeated and forget he was the Green Goblin until next time.) Of course, the truth of the situation in Osborn's head is that Osborn on a good day is about as sane as the Joker on a ''bad'' day, and he can only act otherwise for so long. When the situation goes off the rails, this ability is strained, but putting Peter Parker aka ComicBook/SpiderMan anywhere in his close vicinity will set Norman off regardless of whatever reputation he has to hold.
113	* ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'':
114	** ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel'': In issue #75, when Optimus [[spoiler: opens the life-creating Matrix inside of Unicron, triggering the latter's destruction]], the supposedly unstoppable EldritchAbomination proceeds to completely ''lose his shit''. These are his last lines of dialogue before [[spoiler: he explodes]]:
115	--->'''Unicron:''' ''"NOOOO!! ''NOOOOOOOOOO''!!! '''IT BURNS!!!''' WHITEWHITEWHITE! I AM FILLED WITH LIFE- ''TERRIBLE, WONDERFUL'' '''LIFE'''! THOUGHTSFEARSDOUBTSPAINLOVEDEATH'''TOOMUCHTOO'''-"''
116	*** Most Decepticon leaders seem to be on the brink of these 24/7, but perhaps nothing tops the events of issue #25, when Shockwave deliberately triggers one of these in Megatron. He plays on his frustration at [[OnlyICanKillHim someone else]] killing Optimus Prime, confuses him by having the Predacons attack him in a FalseFlagOperation disguised as Autobots, and finally prompts him to realise that Optimus Prime's personality survived his body's destruction, prompting him to ([[DeathIsCheap apparently]]) blow himself up in a moment of panic:
117	---->"He lives! But he won't get Megatron, no...Megatron is too clever, yes...TOO CLEVER! MEGATRON WILL GO WHERE NO-ONE CAN EVER FOLLOW HIM! '''[[KilledMidSentence WHERE OPTIMUS PRIME CAN NEVER FOLLOW--]]'''"
118	** ''ComicBook/TheTransformersLastStandOfTheWreckers'':
119	*** Overlord is a nigh-unstoppable Decepticon [[DangerousDeserter deserter]], whose main motive for desertion (or anything) was to goad Megatron into a one-on-one fight. He takes everything the Wreckers throw at him, [[spoiler: even getting reduced to a burning endo-skeleton]] and keeps going... until [[spoiler: Verity tells him that Megatron is dead, and the fight he spent his entire life preparing for will ''never happen''. After that he just collapses and doesn't even put up a fight as they cart him off to prison.]] When we see him again in ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'', he's gotten even worse; [[spoiler: he no longer even moves or cares for himself, simply lying in his cell all day muttering "[[DeathSeeker kill me]]" over and over.]]
120	*** Later in the series, [[spoiler: Overlord instantly recovers from the above-mentioned breakdown when he learns that Verity lied about Megatron's death. However he's than defeated through a different breakdown; Chromedome and Rodimus trigger his pathological fear of defeat. The second it seems like he's going to lose, he freaks out and starts giving a RapidFireNo while cowering in fear, letting Fortress Maximus pound on him.]]
121	*** Tarn seems to be doing pretty good when he first appears in Season 1. However when he reappears midway through Season 2, we get a look inside his head and it's revealed that he's actually been having a worsening nervous breakdown, as his guilt and stress over his job and his addiction to transforming causes his mental state to worsen and his faith in his cause to falter. And than when he learns about Megatron's side-change and denouncement of the Decepticon movement, making everything he's done pointless, [[spoiler: he snaps and attempts to commit suicide by drug overdose]]. Even when he recovers (somewhat) and refocuses on his goals, he becomes noticeably more unhinged and his trademark calm speeches turn into lengthy rants, culminating in a spectacular breakdown where he murders one of his companions in cold blood.
122	*** [[spoiler:Getaway]] has his own breakdown over the course of the "Lost Light" arc. When everything was going his way, he was cool, calm, cunning and slick as snot on a doorknob. As time goes on, his control over both the ship and himself begins to implode, piece by piece, leading to him becoming increasingly cruel and making steadily more short-sighted attempts to retain his control over the ship (bringing in [[TheFundamentalist Star Saber]]? ''Really?''). By his end, he's ranting about how he's never going to get the things he actually wants and as such only has Rodimus's death to look forward to.
123	** The Omega Guardians, whose manipulations are responsible for a significant chunk of the crisis towards the end of ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'', take it ''really badly'' when the main characters stop going along with their commands, shooting out an energy blast from [[spoiler:the Magnificence]] that takes out three people[[note]]fortunately, no-one was exactly going to miss [[PsychoPsychologist Froid]] or [[SerialKiller Sunder]][[/note]] and throwing a tantrum in which they blurt out the last bits of their evil plan for everyone to hear. [[spoiler:So Nickel just smashes the Magnificence like an egg. Shuts them up nice and quickly.]]
124	* ComicBook/{{Venom}} (Eddie Brock), in an issue of ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'', suffers a villainous breakdown after he receives a touch of death from another villain. Eddie Brock is unharmed as his body is protected by the symbiote but the symbiote itself seemingly dies as it melts into a lifeless, motionless, puddle. Brock, who up to this point has lost everything and now the only friend he had is dead, breaks down and cries for his fallen partner. Even Spider-Man, who has been stalked and tormented relentlessly by Venom, can't help but to feel sorry for Brock.
125	* ''ComicBook/UltimateMarvel'': Magneto suffers a breakdown at the climax of ''ComicBook/{{Ultimatum}}'' when Jean Grey shares Nick Fury's memories with him and he learns that [[spoiler: the existence of mutants was just an accidental byproduct of a SuperSoldier experiment]]. This information shatters Magneto's delusions of grandeur and he completely loses the will to fight.
126	* ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'':
127	** After being completely in control through the entire series, manipulating everyone and getting away with murdering someone with his bare hands and taping it, Kingpin's schemes are thwarted by [[spoiler:Daredevil holding the only thing he cares about, his comatose wife, hostage]]. As he's on the way to a flight to leave the country, he has a breakdown during which he orders his henchmen to ''bomb a high school while it's in session''. The further bitter irony here is that the ordered bomb is intended to kill Spider-Man... [[spoiler:when it was Spider-Man who talked Daredevil down from killing Kingpin's wife out of sheer desperation, thus saving her life.]]
128	** Kingpin's first story arc also played this trope for laughs. After spending several issues as a smug, collected crime boss, he's reduced to a screaming, enraged fit when Spider-Man attacks him with a barrage of [[YouAreFat "You're so fat" jokes.]]
129	* When [[{{ComicBook/Venom}} Agent Venom]] foils the schemes of the previously suave and relaxed Crime Master and Crime Master's sister makes clear that she wants nothing to do with him, he loses his cool and attacks Flash while screaming about how he ruined everything. When it seems like he might be winning the ensuing fight, he devolves into arrogant ranting about how his plan will work so much better the second time.
130	* ''ComicBook/WonderWomanDeadEarth'': Hippolyta, when her own daughter denies her vengeance on humanity and kills what's become of the remaining Amazons in the process. She admits defeat, summing up her life as having everything taken away from her as she rejects Diana's attempts to reaching out to her, then disappears into the sea to destinations unknown.
131	* All of the Inner Circle by the end of ''ComicBook/XForce: Necrosha'', including the sympathetic members, have devolved into raving lunatics giving [[EvilIsHammy hammy speech after hammy speech]] about how they're going to kill everyone on Earth and remake it in their image.
132	* ''X-Men: Inferno'': Madelyne Pryor undergoes more than one thanks to her rather fragile mental health. The first one is towards the end when she tries to take Jean Grey down with her, and the second is after her accidental resurrection as a psionic entity by Nate Grey, whose psychic powers she's dependent upon to exist... specifically, when this is revealed to her by Threnody, who can sense/feeds off of death energy, and is a rival for Nate's affections.
133	* In ''ComicBook/YTheLastMan'', the opium smuggler Yorick befriends and falls for on the journey to Australia justifies her trade by reasoning that humanity is already doomed, and all she's doing is making people's lives easier by giving them an escape from this awful knowledge. Then, she [[HeelRealization realizes]] that Yorick's survival means that humanity has hope after all, and all she's done is make things worse by creating further misery and despair. [[DrivenToSuicide She doesn't]] [[RedemptionEqualsDeath take it well]].
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Context VillainousBreakdown / ComicBooks