->''"Even the worst mobsters want their children to grow up respectable."''
-->-- '''Arlyne Brickman'''

Raising children is one of the most daunting challenges a parent can face. You have to supply material needs like food and shelter, as well as providing a moral education by teaching through example. You can see where this would be problematic when a parent supplies the latter by breaking kneecaps or [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt threatening global annihilation.]]

Some parents make ends meet through frowned-upon trades like prostitution, others turn to crime, some ''master'' crime and become TheDon, and there's more than a few {{Super Villain}}s who start families... ''[[SurprisePregnancy unintentionally]].'' The thing is, not every villain turned parent is a sociopath who chastises OverlordJr for [[InadequateInheritor not being evil enough]]. Quite a few realize the choices they have made, that the life they lead is a [[BeingEvilSucks fundamentally destructive one]], and don't want their child to [[LegacyCharacter mimic them]] as a [[GenerationXerox family legacy.]] Sometimes the parents were [[JustifiedCriminal forced into their way of life due to circumstances beyond their control,]] and want to ensure that their children never have to make the same choice. Sometimes they're [[WellIntentionedExtremist Well-Intentioned Extremists]] who view their actions as NecessarilyEvil in service of creating a world where their children won't have to act like them.

What ends up happening is that the dad (and it's usually the dad who's the villain) hides his villainy one way or another. The easiest and hardest is to give the child up for adoption or abandon the mother. Non-deadbeats create a SecretIdentity where they have a mundane, even boring job. If he doesn't bother hiding his nasty day job, he will either whitewash it to not seem villainous (replace "mob hit" with "rat infestation", for example) or say "do what daddy says, not what daddy does" without a trace of shame. If he's possessive and/or overprotective and has the means to, his children may become a LonelyRichKid MafiaPrincess who is trapped in a GildedCage.

Of course, their kid is going to find out the truth and either be [[CallingTheOldManOut horrified]] at the DoubleStandard, or naively eager to become their dad's {{sidekick}}. Sometimes, to Dad's dismay, they will prove that villainy is part of their VillainousLineage despite his best intentions. The realization (and some heroic coercion over revealing the truth to his kids) may lead to pulling a HeelFaceTurn.

Sub-trope of ParentalHypocrisy.

Compare WhiteSheep, MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter, TurnOutLikeHisFather, GiveHimANormalLife, and LittleBrotherIsWatching.

Contrast DaddysLittleVillain, UpbringingMakesTheHero, and TheFamilyThatSlaysTogether.

For related generational dynamics going the other way, see EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas and DontTellMama.

[[noreallife]]
----
!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'': The Slug Count, a DemonOfHumanOrigin, keeps his daughter Teresa imprisoned in a GildedCage specifically to avoid exposing her to the evils of the CrapsackWorld they live in, desperately wanting at least ''one'' part of his life not tainted by evil. [[spoiler:In the end, when given a choice between offering her as a HumanSacrifice or dying and being DraggedOffToHell, the Count refuses to kill his daughter to save himself.]]
* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'': Even though he's the head of a militaristic dictatorship, Degwin Zabi wants his kids to be good people. [[TokenGoodTeammate Garma]] and [[NobleDemon Dozle]] turned out alright, [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Gihren]] and [[TheBaroness Kycilia]] not so much.
* ''Manga/VinlandSaga'': Thors was once both a hardened Jomsviking captain and [[WorldsStrongestMan one of the strongest warriors of his time]] until the birth of his children led him to abandon that life and become a pacifist instead. Thus he tries to dissuade his son Thorfinn from joining him on his subsequent [[AnOfferYouCantRefuse voyage]], fearing that Thorfinn would become the same kind of man he once was. Unfortunately Thors was ambushed and killed by Askeladd and Thorfinn vows vengeance, eventually becoming the very opposite of what Thors wanted him to be.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''ComicBook/AstroCity'':
** The original Quarrel was a small-time crook with a gimmicky bolt-blaster. When his first child was born, he cheerfully hands out cigars to his villainous colleagues and declares that she won't be a criminal like himself. In his later years, he's thrilled that she's become a world-renowned superhero.
** Thatcher Jerome may be a racketeer in the Deacon's mob, but he frets over his adult children and almost loses his cool when his college son's grades start to dip.
** The original Goldenglove was a criminal who'd always tell his kids to go to school and don't follow in his shoes.
* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'': ''ComicBook/TheLongHalloween'', Mafia don Carmine Falcone takes great pride in his son Alberto graduating from Harvard but doesn't want him to be a part of the family business. [[spoiler:[[DeconstructedTrope Unfortunately, Alberto takes this as an insult]] and decides to make a name for himself as a serial killer instead.]]
* Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}'s father "Battling Jack" Murdock was clearly not evil, but he ''was'' adamant that his son not be thought of as a muscle-bound moron like him. So he insisted that young Matt forego athletics entirely and spend all his time studying. (As a result, Matt became quite a bookworm, and other kids called him "daredevil" as a sarcastic insult, a name which would later inspire his ''nom de guerre''.) Neither his father nor anyone else knew that Matt was actually trying to train himself in secret, although it wouldn't actually be until he met his mentor Stick that he became good enough to become the Man Without Fear.
* Onomatopoeia from Franchise/TheDCU leads a double life as a loving family man with a wife and two kids while spending his time away from home as a masked SerialKiller who hunts BadassNormal vigilantes.
* Similar to Wolverine, ''{{Comicbook/Deadpool}}'' is the same. He's no longer evil like in his earliest comics in 1991-1994 and has struggled in trying to be a hero for ages. But he's still violent and has no problem beating up people who annoy him. Nor does he have a problem with taking his anger out on hapless people who have the misfortune of being near him at the time. Not to mention falling in love with Shiklah, an evil Succubus, whose brutality he admits to finding dreamy. However, when it comes to Ellie, he wants her to be good. A recent chapter shows her staying with him in Washington, and going to a new school that he tried very hard to get her into. We hear from him that Ellie has beaten up many other kids. As he drops her off, he tells her not to fight, and to tell a teacher if other kids try to pick fights with her. He thinks to himself that he doesn't want her to do what he does.
* Mark Waid's {{ComicBook/Empire}}. Golgoth has conquered the entire world, he rules with an iron fist, he's killed or captured every superhero, he slaughters people at the drop of a hat... and he works very hard to keep all of this from his beloved daughter, whom he tries to raise normally in every way. Turns out, she knew a little bit more about his lifestyle than he wanted, and she wants in. Then she decides to show him how good of a supervillain she'd be. Then the horror really starts.
* Former villain ComicBook/EmmaFrost expresses her wish in ''X-Men: Phoenix – Warsong'' that her clones/daughter the Stepford Cuckoos would not take after her cold nature towards others and life in general. She encouraged them to not follow down the same path as her.
* During [[ComicBook/FantasticFour2018 Dan Slott's run on the Fantastic Four]], Alicia picks up a bad habit of using her father's mind-controlling clay to impose her will on unsuspecting people and [[BrainwashingForTheGreaterGood avert potential conflict]]. It gets shut down when her father, the first person she was shown doing this on, controls a neighbor to warn her away from going down the path she's going while she's in the middle of doing it again in desperation.
* In issue #44 of the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'' spinoff comic, Mirror Master has a young son whose room is full of superhero paraphernalia up to and including a [[ComicBook/TheFlash Flash]] action figure. He is shocked to discover that a fellow villain wears his costume in front of the baby.
* Subverted in ''Comicbook/KickAss'' by Damon [=MacCready=], a.k.a. Big Daddy, who despite looking like [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Ned Flanders]], raises his little girl to be a ruthlessly efficient vigilante in order to exact revenge on John Genovese [[spoiler: not really revenge, he was just bored with his life and wanted his daughter to have an interesting life]].
* In ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'', the Raider, a time-traveling criminal, is doing his best to raise his son Trip as a honest man. His only objection is that he doesn't want him to become a superhero, and that's because, as a supervillain, [[GoodParents he knows exactly the kind of trouble he'd get into]].
* ''ComicBook/Robin1993'': Mafia boss Henry Aquista wants his daughter Darla to be sheltered from the criminal elements of his life and untainted by them. Despite his attempts to keep her on the straight and narrow she shows an interest in his business and ends up a costumed super-villain.
* ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'':
** The Pride, made up of six couples who led double lives to conceal their supervillainy from their children while trying to raise them to be normal kids (at least until they destroyed the world for their kids as they planned to). The very fact that their kids ''happen'' to be good [[spoiler:[[TheMole (most of them, anyway)]]]] is what causes them to run away the moment they see the parents kill someone in a ritual blood sacrifice.
** Subverted in the cases of Victor and Xavin; Victor's father intended him to become a mass-murdering supervillain, while Xavin's parents intended them to become a Super-Skrull and warlord.
* In ''Comicbook/SpiderGirl,'' [[ShockAndAwe Electro]] asks for the title character's help to get his daughter, a supervillain called Aftershock, to reform. The issues between the two are clearly meant to parallel those going on between Mayday and [[Comicbook/SpiderMan her dad]], who initially disapproves of her becoming a superhero.
* Subverted in ''ComicBook/TheSuperiorFoesOfSpiderMan'', where Beetle's father [[spoiler:Tombstone]] objects to her dreams of becoming a supervillain since he thinks that as a Columbia Law School graduate, she's much too intelligent for such things and would be better off as a [[AmoralAttorney corrupt lawyer]], which he considers crime that you can't get arrested for.
* The toymaker in ''Comicbook/{{Wanted}}'' had his wife and daughters fooled he was a regular and even SickeninglySweet and fastidiously proper toymaker and not a supervillain. Interestingly, he enjoyed the services of hookers in other dimensions.
* While not evil, ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} is fine with killing when necessary but he really doesn't want ComicBook/{{X 23}} involved in that type of lifestyle and wants her to have a normal life. Her mother Sarah Kinney underwent a HeelFaceTurn to try and secure a normal life for her. It ended [[{{tearjerker}} tragically]].
** In "Schism", Logan feels this way about ''all'' of the younger mutants and rebuilds the Institute in Westchester to give young mutants a chance to be kids.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* In ''Fanfic/ADifferentLesson'', this turns out to be the reason for [[spoiler:Po's]] parents.
* In ''Fanfic/ADifferentMedius'', Buwaro is adopted by Azurai and Iratu. Granted, only the former is still evil, but Azurai genuinely loves "his" son, [[spoiler: despite being the same guy who murdered the kid's parents in the first place]], and is surprisingly nice to him.
* ''Fanfic/EdenObsessmuch'': [[spoiler:Upon learning he's impregnated Hermione with his second child, Lucius vows to learn from her how to be less bigoted and arrogant so that their son will not repeat the same mistakes he did. He dies before his son's birth, but Hermione manages to ensure he never ends up like his father, mostly due to never telling him who his birth father is.]]
* In ''FanFic/HarryRiddle'', Voldemort wants [[LukeIAmYourFather his son]] to stay safe and out of trouble.
* Similarly in ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/9119753/1/The-Indecipherable-Riddle The Indecipherable Riddle]]'', an [[AlternateUniverseFic AU]] where [[LukeIAmYourFather Harry is revealed to be Voldemort and Bellatrix's son]], Bellatrix may be psychotic but she's a pureblood witch and believes her son should be raised with proper manners and Voldemort scolds Harry about his less than stellar grades in school.
* ''Fanfic/ALoudAmongDemons'': Moxxie and Millie zigzag this. They became Lincoln's adopted parents, and while they would love him to join the assassin business, they don't want him [[HumanityIsInfectious to lose his kind and generous nature]].
* In ''FanFic/TheLunarGuardsman'', a ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fanfiction, Raegdan, a human, has unofficially adopted Twilight Sparkle and is considered kind of a third parent by everyone involved, and is Spike's sole father figure. While he has committed atrocious acts in his past, he is astoundingly proud of how good and unlike him both of them have turned out and is not ashamed to admit it.
* ''Fanfic/TheNextBestThingToNormal'': Harley is a reformed supervillain raising her son alongside her not-quite-reformed girlfriend Poison Ivy. Both women want Jason to be a normal, civilian kid.
* In the ''Anime/BloodPlus'' fic ''FanFic/{{Nobility}}'', when Nathalie, [[CainAndAbel who is to Naomi]] [[EvilTwin what Diva is to Saya]], is revealed to be pregnant, she confesses to Anjou that, while she herself is a FullyEmbracedFiend, she wants to leave her daughters in his care so they don't become monsters like her.
* ''FanFic/RedButterfly'': Not exactly evil, but the basic principle is the same. Akane initially tried to follow in Kyoko's footsteps as the [[FormerTeenRebel Red Butterfly]], taking martial arts classes and getting into fights with bullies. Eventually, Kyoko ran damage control by getting Akane into drawing and artwork.
* ''Fanfic/RWBYScars'': Roman doesn't like his daughter Neo following in his footsteps and becoming a criminal. They act together as a team, but it's mostly because Cinder blackmails the two into working for her.
* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/18820978/chapters/44661235 There Is A Town]]'': Ghiaccio is the youngest member of La Squadra with Sorbet, Gelato, and Risotto as his ParentalSubstitute[=s=]. Despite [[ProfessionalKiller their line of work]], they take care of him as best they can, but having to train him to become another mafia hitman weighs heavily on their consciences. They still hope that someday he can have a future outside of Passione.
* ''Fanfic/TheTouchOfGreenFire'': Shego likes being a criminal and chose the lifestyle for herself, but she refuses to let her younger twin brothers be corrupted into villainy.
* ''Fanfic/WhiteSheepRWBY'': Subverted. [[EvilOverlord Salem]] is portrayed as a [[DotingParent genuinely loving mother]] to her [[RelatedInTheAdaptation son Jaune]]. However, when Jaune expresses his desire to travel to Beacon to become a huntsman, she very firmly overrules him. He's the exact kind of monster huntsmen are trained to fight, and she's planning to destroy Beacon in a few months anyway. Jaune running away despite her wishes is what causes the plot.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* Paul Newman's character in ''Film/AbsenceOfMalice'' had a father who was a bootlegger. After being caught by his father in doing something illegal his father locked him up in a cabin for a period of time. However, the purpose wasn't to necessarily prevent the son from being bad just showing what he should get used to if he goes into a life of crime.
* In ''Film/AmericanGangster'' Frank Lucas sets his nephew Steve up for a baseball career with the New York Yankees... only to have Steve refuse the offer and stick with Frank's gang. Frank seems genuinely upset by Steve's decision.
* In ''Film/AnalyzeThis'', Paul Vitti's therapy results in the realization that his father had never wanted a criminal life for him, any more than he wants it for his own children.
* In ''Film/FaceOff,'' Castor Troy's girlfriend Sasha's last words as she dies in Sean Archer's arms are "don't let [our son] grow up to be like us." She gets her wish as Archer adopts Sasha's six-year-old son Adam after he gets his face back.
** In the novelization, Castor reflects that the closest thing he has to a fond childhood memory is when his drug addict father gave him the worst beating of his life for poaching from the elder Troy's stash of cocaine - not for the poaching, but because he didn't want his son to turn out like him.
* In ''Film/TheGodfather'', Vito Corleone initially wants Michael, at least, to have a legitimate career and become a politician after he leaves the Marine Corps... however, it's reasonably ambiguous whether he really wants to save him from the family business, or just wants to manipulate Michael's youthful DefectorFromDecadence tendencies to give the family a front of respectability and a whole new level of power. Most tellingly though, Vito's expression when he learns that Michael killed Sollozzo and [=McCluskey=] is one of pure heartbreak.
** Everyone always talks about Michael, but this already happened before, with Sonny. When Sonny comes to his dad and asks to be part of the family business, and Vito asks why, he reveals he followed his dad and watched him murder a man and dispose of the evidence. The Don realizes the indelible effect this had on his eldest son and reluctantly brings him into the business.
** Vito at the meeting of the Dons: "None of us want our children to follow in our footsteps. It's too hard a life." He's probably right for at least some of them.
* A martial arts movie titled ''Film/TheInvincibleFist'' has its main villain being a ruthless, powerful bandit leader and killing machine. The bandit leader has a blind daughter waiting for him at home who is oblivious to her father's true nature, and despite being a villain, he genuinely loves his daughter and doesn't want her to know who he truly is or follow his evil lifestyle; as he's killed by the hero at the end, his last words are telling the hero to take care of his daughter and inform her he died of natural causes.
* Played with in ''Film/KickAss''. Chris D'Amico,[[spoiler: a.k.a. Red Mist]], is entirely aware of what his father Frank does for a living, and wants to be a part of the family business, but his dad won't allow it. Oddly, it seems like it's more because he has no faith in his son's abilities (telling Hit-Girl that he wishes he had a kid like her) than because he wants a better life for him.
* In ''Film/MatchstickMen'', lifelong ConMan Roy is appalled when he learns his newfound daughter Angela isn't an innocent little waif; he is repeatedly shocked at her poor study habits, juvenile delinquency, and eagerness for con jobs.
* In ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMansChest'', Will Turner's father Bootstrap Bill is rather upset to discover his son followed his footsteps into a life of piracy. Will didn't follow him into a life of piracy (he broke the law, but the law was [[AristocratsAreEvil Lord]] [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Cutler]] [[LawfulEvil Beckett]] so that just makes him ChaoticGood); it's still an example because he doesn't want that life for him, but he's only upset that Will found out and that he wasn't there for him when he needed him.
* ''Film/RepoTheGeneticOpera'' has [[spoiler:Nathan, who hides his job as the Repo Man from his daughter Shilo and protects her from the world and keeps her to himself by poisoning her.]]
* Mr. Smith/Shale in ''Film/TheSubstitute'' asks his class what they get out of being in a gang and gets the usual responses of drugs, money, and sex. So he asks them if they want their kids to be in a gang and it's a resounding no.
-->'''Lisa''': But it's different when you talk about your kids.
-->'''Smith/Shale''': Why?
-->'''Lisa''': You don't want to see your kids get in trouble, get hurt or busted.
* ''Film/TheSuicideSquad'': Bloodsport is upset to find that his daughter has started stealing things, as he's a terrible person by his own admission and wants her to be as different from him as she possibly can be.
* In ''Film/ThorRagnarok'', we find out that [[spoiler: Odin used to be a brutal world conqueror thousands of years ago, but [[HeelFaceTurn gave up his more violent ways before Thor and Loki were born.]] When [[DaddysLittleVillain his daughter, Hela]], refused to reform with him, he responded by imprisoning her. He also banished Thor and imprisoned Loki when they started acting too much like he did when he was younger, and he seems to want them to be good people, even though he sent them contradictory messages when they were children like telling them not to seek out war, but then not correcting Thor when he said he wanted to [[FantasticRacism kill all the members of an enemy race just like his dad]].]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/ArtemisFowl'' is a case of this. Artemis comes from a family of ''very'' successful criminals, but his father was moving their money into legitimate fields shortly before he went missing. Artemis spent the years they were apart maintaining the family fortune (through crime), funding the search for his father (ditto), and looking after his depressed, bedridden mother. After his father's rescue, there's some friction between what Artemis's parents want for him and the life he's used to.
* A Japanese light novel ''{{Literature/Durarara}}'' has a case of this. The Awakusu-kai are a rather known local yakuza family. Awakusu Akane is a really good kid who wasn't aware of her family's shady dealings and how much the parents of her classmates go out of their way to look out for her well-being, like teaching their kids to always obey her, in fear of the Awakusu name.
* ''Literature/TheGodfather'': Vito Corleone doesn't want his son Michael to be involved in the "olive oil business" and only relents once Sonny dies.
* Part of the reason Diana Ladris attempts a HeelFaceTurn during the ''Literature/{{GONE}}'' series is that she wants to be a better [[TeenPregnancy example to her unborn child]]. Doesn't work out as planned...
* ''Literature/HarryPotter'':
** Downplayed with Draco Malfoy. While his parents do raise him with their own racist and classist worldview, they do not want him to become a Death Eater like his father. Voldemort even uses this to punish them by making Draco a Death Eater and assigning him the impossible mission of [[spoiler:murdering Dumbledore.]]
** After the war, Draco himself decides to raise his own son, Scorpius, to be a better person than he was.
* In ''Literature/HonorHarrington'', Erewhon is the result of this on a planetary scale. The colony was founded by a successful organized crime consortium looking to launder their way into respectability. They succeeded quite well, with very few outsiders aware of their origins, though their past left some interesting marks on their culture and government, which despite looking like an ordinary democratic republic on the surface, is actually run more like a (usually) non-violent version of TheSyndicate.
* ''Literature/JudgeKnott'''s father is a bootlegger (retired) who is very proud of his law-enforcing daughter.
* In the Spanish novel ''The Last Caton'', main character Ottavia Salina, a nun with a doctorate in Paleography and History of Art, eventually discovers from a girl she knew in her infancy that her father was a ''capo'', that her mother is now the Don of the ''famiglia'' Salina, and that the reason her mother pushed her and two of her siblings to become part of the Church was because she wanted them to act as the white face of the family.
* In ''Literature/PleaseDontTellMyParentsImASupervillain'', Bull stays away from his daughter because he doesn't want her to grow up to be a supervillain like him. Claire's mother is a retired supervillain who wants Claire to be a hero, because it's easier to be happy as one than as a villain.
* In the ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil'' [[Literature/ResidentEvil novelizations by SD Perry]], it's revealed that Jill's father Dick Valentine used to be a professional thief (which is how she learned how to use lockpicks). After he ended up behind bars, he recommended that she should find a different, more honest line of work, which is how she became a member of the S.T.A.R.S.
* ''Literature/TheScarletPimpernel'' VillainEpisode sequel ''Sir Percy Hits Back'' reveals the extent Chauvelin went to in order to conceal his job from his daughter.
* In ''Shewing How an Old Woman Rode Double, and Who Rode Before Her'', the Old Woman of Berkeley is such a terrifying witch that she ends up being dragged off bodily to Hell, but she is very happy that her son and daughter have grown up kind and pious, both of them TakingTheVeil (and she implies that raising them right was the only good deed she has to her credit).
* Maglor from ''Literature/TheSilmarillion''. Despite all his misdeeds, and probably because of his father, Fëanor and his {{Woobie}} AntiVillain status, raises Elrond and Elros to be wise and compassionate. [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings And he did pretty well]].
* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
** In the ''[[Franchise/StarWarsLegends Legends]]'' novel ''Fate of the Jedi: Apocoplaypse'' Luke and Ben visit the afterlife where they meet the spirit of Jacen Solo. Jacen reveals that the whole reason he became Darth Caedus was to prevent his daughter Allana from becoming the servant of evil that she would have if he had remained on the light side.
* In the Robert Crais novel ''Literature/TheTwoMinuteRule'', bank robber Max Holman mentions how he used to pray every night that his son Richie wouldn't end up like him. Might be seen as a subversion: Aside from being a bank robber, Max is more or less a good guy. He even stopped robbing a bank to save a man who was having a heart attack, which resulted in his arrest.
* Sergeant Bothari in the Literature/VorkosiganSaga is an insane monster, knows that he's an insane monster, and is determined to raise his daughter Elena "right and proper."
* In ''Literature/WolfHall'', Thomas Cromwell (who is more Morally Ambiguous than straight evil) repeatedly thinks to himself that he doesn't want his son Gregory involved in the unsavory aspects of his work for Henry. He's also very happy to see that Gregory is growing up as a kind, scholarly sort who will make a fine gentleman, even if the differences in their personalities sometimes make it hard to connect. He also tries to keep Gregory out of London while busily organizing the fatal downfall of Anne Boleyn, but Gregory comes back anyway to support his father.[[note]]DeliberateValuesDissonance does apply to an extent, because while Cromwell's actions are never presented as ''just'', most people around him have the understanding that it's Anne's life or his own given Henry's proclivity for [[YouHaveFailedMe killing anyone who fails him even once]].[[/note]]
* In Creator/AndreNorton's ''Literature/TheZeroStone'', downplayed. Jern's father was not ashamed of his ThievesGuild past and has many illegal connections. He thinks Jern will go farther if he shakes off any illegality, and so apprenticed him to a world-hopping master gemnologist.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/BreakingBad'': Mike Ehrmantraut is a DirtyCop, but it's shown that he does love his granddaughter Kaylee and is trying to build a nest egg so she won't turn out like him, especially [[spoiler:after prequel series ''Series/BetterCallSaul'' showed he was proud her father and his son, Matty, turned out to be a ByTheBookCop and Mike is troubled by the fact he drove Matty to turn his back on his morals -- and the fact Matty died as a result.]]
* In an early episode of ''Series/CityHomicide'', a bank robber stayed out of his illegitimate son Brett's life to avoid "tainting" him. Then he disappeared and Brett got involved in his father's gang, quickly proving himself to be a violent sociopath anyway.
* In the episode "[[Recap/CriminalMindsS1E14RidingTheLightning Riding the Lightning]]" of ''Series/CriminalMinds'', a pair of serial killers on death row had a child. The official story is that the mother killed her baby, but Gideon doubts that. [[spoiler: Turns out he's right, and the mother has been hiding her son all these years to keep him away from his father's influence. He doesn't know who his biological parents are, and eventually the team decides to leave him be and not tell him (which, consequently, means his perfectly innocent mother got executed by the state -- her choice, but still a bit of a WhatTheHellHero moment).]]
* Series/{{Dexter}}: [[Characters/DexterDexterMorgan Dexter Morgan]] panicked when his girlfriend Rita got pregnant because of this trope. He's terrified that his kid will grow up to be a serial killer like him.
* ''Series/GeneralHospital'' shows this with ([[ButNotTooEvil not-so-evil]]) [[TheMafia mob boss]] Sonny Corinthos's HappilyAdopted son Michael. Though Michael Corinthos was raised in a mob environment and wants nothing more than to join his father's mob, both Sonny and Michael's [[CoolUncle uncle]] Jason Morgan (Sonny's enforcer) refuse to let him do so because they want him to choose a better path in life and not make the same mistakes they themselves did.
* Carmine Falcone in ''Series/{{Gotham}}'' tried to keep his children Mario and Sofia from mob life. Initially, it worked for [[spoiler:Mario, who [[NomDeMom took his mother's maiden name Calvi]] and became a successful doctor]], but not so much for [[spoiler:Sofia, who is a ''worse'' mob boss than her father if anything.]] Unfortunately, [[spoiler: [[GreenEyedMonster romantic jealousy]] and exposure to a HatePlague ultimately turn Mario evil too.]]
* In ''Series/{{Grimm}}'', Adalind, a [[MageSpecies hexenbiest]], does not want her daughter Diana to become an evil witch like she was and forbids her to use her powers for violence. [[spoiler:Luckily it works as we see in the future she became a monster hunter.]]
* ''Series/HomeAndAway''
** An older brother/younger brother variant of this, with Darryl Braxton trying to keep teenage brother Casey Braxton in school and out of their family's criminal activities. In a subversion, their mother [[EvilMatriarch Cheryl]] has no such desires, kicking Casey out after he decides to stay in school. Middle brother Heath is somewhere in the middle - though he willingly takes part in Cheryl's activities and is similarly scornful of Casey's decision, he has shown ''some'' morals, not least of which was when he refused to sell April stimulants for her studies. (Ironically, in the end, Casey gets killed after taking Brax's place in a confrontation with a rival, while Heath is the one who finds his own bath and gets a HappilyEverAfter with his wife and children.)
** Subverted by Johnny Cooper, who actively thwarted his brother Rocco's efforts to go straight after his release from juvenile detention, eventually having him murdered when Rocco betrayed him to the cops.
** Zig-zagged with Andy Barrett, who drags his brother Josh into two murder attempts and initially pours scorn on his attempts to stay in school, to the point of drugging Josh's girlfriend Maddy in order to turn him against her civilising influence. However, Andy later becomes supportive of Josh's desire to better himself and tries to keep him out of his criminal activities. However, Andy's incompetent enough that Josh usually ends up getting dragged into his business anyway, culminating in Josh accidentally killing someone while trying to cover up a murder Andy committed. Andy's ultimate solution is to have Josh beat up a prison guard and run out on a life sentence, with them going on the run together and probably condemned to a life of crime.
* A variant occurred in an episode of ''Series/{{Numb3rs}}''. In the episode "[[Recap/Numb3rsS03E17 One Hour]]", the VictimOfTheWeek's father fit this trope to a tee, except that his HeelFaceTurn predated his son's birth. As far as the son knew, his dad was just the owner of a record company. So when the son was kidnapped by one of dad's old associates who wanted a piece of the dad's company, the dad was understandably distraught, because he made a vow to himself that he'd never let the unsavory part of his past affect his son, because he wanted his son to have a chance to be "something better".
* The Wests from ''Series/OutrageousFortune'' try to turn away from their life of crime after the patriarch is arrested and sent to jail for four years. It doesn't go entirely as planned.
* Lionel Luthor in ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' raises [[ComicBook/LexLuthor his son]] as a bitter, resentful BastardUnderstudy and grooms him to take over his [[CorruptCorporateExecutive corrupt corporate empire]]....until he undergoes a HeelFaceTurn, at which point he plays this trope straight (albeit, with a few bumps along the road). These mixed messages, along with the fact that he starts treating local do-gooder [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Clark Kent]] like he should have treated his own son, just makes Lex even ''more'' of a bitter, resentful BastardUnderstudy [[spoiler:and culminates in Lex murdering him.]]
* An important plot point in ''Series/SonsOfAnarchy'' is that Jax (president of a violent outlaw biker club) does not want his children to have the same life of violence that he and his father had.
* ''Series/TheSopranos'':
** Tony Soprano is adamant that his son AJ doesn't go into the mob life like him, mainly because [[PragmaticVillainy he's simply not cut out for it]]. AJ is spoiled, sheltered, not particularly bright, and starts suffering from the same panic attacks that his father was diagnosed with as an adult. Tony himself also grew up in a mob family, but he was exposed to the realities of this lifestyle early on and as ''Film/TheManySaintsOfNewark'' shows, he was already profiled as a high-IQ individual with "leadership qualities" when he was in high school.
** Even more than AJ, Tony has big dreams for his daughter Meadow. In talks with Dr. Melfi, he often expresses his wish that she'd be a doctor, maybe even a pediatrician, something far removed from his own life of violence and crime. [[spoiler:It's ultimately all for naught as Meadow is implied at the end of the series to become a mob lawyer in the near future.]]
** Jackie Aprile Sr. also felt this way towards his own son and arranged with Tony to make sure this wouldn't happen before Jackie Sr. dies of cancer in the fourth episode. [[spoiler:Tony doesn't succeed and Jackie Jr. ends up dead later on, further strengthening Tony's decision to keep AJ out of the Mafia]].
* ''[[Series/Stargirl2020 Stargirl]]'': Apart from Dragon King, who is an abusive father to his daughter Cindy and experiments on her, all the members of the Injustice Society have kept the fact that they're supervillains secret from their children and tried to raise them as nice, normal kids.
* In the classic ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'', "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E13TheConscienceOfTheKing Conscience of the King]]" episode, the presumed dead mass murderer Kodos the Executioner (a colonial governor who sentenced many innocent people to die during a famine) has been hiding as the theatre actor Anton Karidian for years, raising a daughter who he hopes will never learn about his sordid past. To his horror at the end of the episode, he learns that not only does she know, but she's become an AxCrazy fanatic SerialKiller determined to eliminate all the witnesses to her father's true identity. Just as she's about to shoot Kirk, Kodos [[RedemptionEqualsDeath sacrifices himself]] by [[TakingTheBullet taking the shot]], which causes his daughter to break down and be sent to an insane asylum.
* Subverted in the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS6E10ChainOfCommand Chain of Command]]". Picard's torturer clearly [[FamilyValuesVillain dotes on his young daughter]], she even visits him in his torture chamber, with a badly wounded victim lying nearby. When Picard asks him if he's bothered that she sees what he does for a living, he's clearly confused: [[MoralMyopia what's wrong with seeing an enemy of the state being punished?]]
** This comes back to bite him in the ass in the ExpandedUniverse novel ''Literature/ShipOfTheLine'' when she ends up betraying him to Picard because of this.
* On ''Series/TeenWolf'', Allison Argent's parents are [[HunterOfMonsters werewolf hunters]], and though they aren't evil, they do practice ''extreme'' ruthlessness; for example, 3 out of 4 of her immediate relatives see no problem with protracted torture. That said, they try to keep her out of the hunting lifestyle, first by keeping her in the dark, and later, [[spoiler:after her mother dies, her father does this by retiring from the family business.]]
* When Trinity of ''Series/TrailerParkBoys'' starts acting out of control, the local Trailer Park Supervisor condemns her as a "shit apple that didn't fall far from the tree". While her criminal father Ricky brushes off the remark, he later reveals that he's actually deeply concerned that she'll grow up to be like him. Later seasons show that she grows up to be a fine, upstanding adult.
* Wee-Bey Brice, the [[ScaryBlackMan fearsome]] [[TheBrute Brute]] of the Barksdale Organization in ''Series/TheWire'' wants something better for his son Namond, to the point that when Wee-Bey is serving a life sentence without parole for multiple murders he is quickly convinced to allow retired policeman Bunny Colvin to become a guardian for his son. When his [[ItsAllAboutMe self-centered]] wife objects for her own selfish reasons, ([[EvilMatriarch she wants Namond to be a drug dealer so she can keep living in style]]) Wee-Bey angrily threatens to have her hunted down and killed if she even tries to interfere with Namond's chance at a better life.
-->Look at me up in here. Who the fuck would want to be that if they could be ''anything'' else?
* In one episode of ''Series/TheXFiles'', the agents investigate a con artist/serial murderer who marries women in different states, conceives a child with them, then somehow induces a miscarriage before leaving. Eventually they learn the "man" is actually [[OurDemonsAreDifferent a demon]] who wants to have a good, human child. He causes miscarriages because the children keep [[HalfHumanHybrid manifesting their demonic heritage in the womb]]. [[spoiler:It blows up in his face when his newest wife [[FlockOfWolves turns out to be another demon]], one who also wants a child, but isn’t nearly so picky about their morality...]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Podcasts]]
* Robert Montauk from ''Podcast/TheMagnusArchives'' is protective of his daughter Julia, and doesn't want her to get stuck in and/or hurt by The People's Chruch of the Divine Host, which killed his wife and forced him to sacrifice dozens of people, so he hides all of his cult activities from her until he is eventually discovered and sentenced to life in prison. This is [[TheFamilyThatSlaysTogether very different]] from Julia's relationship with her later father figure/friend/co-BloodKnight Trevor Herbert.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Radio]]
* Implied with Jessie's mother Miyamoto in ''Radio/PokemonTheBirthOfMewtwo''. She wanted the best for her daughter and being a member of Team Rocket was an easy way to achieve that. Unfortunately, Jessie ended up [[TurnOutLikeHisFather becoming a Team Rocket member]] just like her MissingMom.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop RPG]]
* ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' has Lazouril, Zulkir of Enchantment in [[TheMagocracy Thay]] and possibly the most charismatic of all villains in the setting. In ''Simbul's Gift'' it turns out that he realized that the position of a Zulkir marks him not only as being among the greatest masters of arcane magic on the planet but also as a monster. Accordingly, his daughter discovered this fact only by accident. He even kept her far away from any Thayan magic, starting from his own... not that it helped much, given that her father was a magical talent this bright ''and'' her mother was a daughter of his predecessor.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/BatmanTheTelltaleSeries'' has an example in [[spoiler:Thomas Wayne, who [[AdaptationalVillainy in this adaptation]] was a CorruptCorporateExecutive and best buds with [[TheMafia Carmine Falcone]]. Despite this, he loved his son and did his best to keep Bruce separate from his illegal dealings, and Alfred believes that Thomas would be proud of Bruce's actions as Batman]].
* ''VideoGame/DyztopiaPostHumanRPG'': Zazz programmed Detritus Eleven to be as close to the ideal human mentality and possible in order to improve Zeta's public image and to act as a moral compass to humanity. This backfires because Detritus gains a sense of justice that causes him to oppose Zazz's war crimes and plans for apartheid.
* While not exactly "[[AntiHero evil]]", Niles of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' is still a sadistic former thief who doesn't want his daughter Nina to follow in his footsteps, even if she's JustLikeRobinHood. When Nina protests [[ParentalHypocrisy that he was a thief as well]], he is quick to point out that he didn't have a choice. In their A-Support, he [[JustifiedTrope admits that]] he objects to her being a thief because he doesn't want there to be even the slightest chance of her going through [[DarkAndTroubledPast what he did]].
* ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'': Kratos was a brutal AxCrazy vengeful warrior who nearly destroyed the world in his quest to bring down the gods. By the time ''VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4'' takes place, he has calmed down considerably and is now trying to make sure his son Atreus does not turn out like him. Even back in the days of Ancient Greece, he still qualified towards [[DaddysGirl his daughter Calliope]], whom he had no intention to raise like him, despite her being weak by Spartan standards.
* ''VideoGame/JoJosBizarreAdventureAllStarBattle'': Dio does this for [[BigGood his own son.]] However, since this is ''[[BigBad Dio]]'', the [[OurVampiresAreDifferent man's]] ''methods'' are questionable...
* ''VideoGame/MadFather'': Dr. Drevis, a serial killer, wants his daughter Aya -- his most precious treasure -- to remain unsoiled forever. [[spoiler:So he comes to the logical conclusion of killing her and turning her into a doll]]. A NewGamePlus playthrough reveals that he had discovered [[spoiler:Aya was hiding dead animals in her room, just like he had when he started out]]. Other notes found in a second playthrough also reveal that [[spoiler:Aya's mother subverts this; she is actually [[NightmareFetishist thrilled at the prospect of Aya following in her father's footsteps]]]].
* Thane Krios from ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' may be a cold-blooded assassin who sees himself as nothing but a weapon doing the deeds of other people, but he definitely does not want his son Kolyat either finding out or following in his footsteps, something that becomes the entire basis of his Loyalty Mission.
** If said Loyalty Mission succeeds, Kolyat [[spoiler:becomes a priest]] in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3''. [[SoProudOfYou Thane couldn't be prouder.]]
* Former outlaw John Marston wants his son Jack to grow up without following the same path that he did in ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption''. [[spoiler: Needless to say, after John's murder by a corrupt government official and Jack murdering him in revenge, this doesn't work out.]]
* ''VideoGame/RiseOfTheThirdPower'': Deconstructed. Emperor Dimitri Noraskov is a brutal dictator who raises his sons to value justice and honesty, but this causes his sons to realize that he follows none of these values, causing them to turn against him. By the present, he has already executed one of his sons for dissent while the other one, Gage, [[spoiler:has enough of a conscience to join the Resistance.]]
* [[EvilOldFolks Heizo Iwami]] of ''VideoGame/Yakuza6'' wanted his son to follow an honest path in life, even making him owner of Iwami Shipbuilding so he could live a comfortable, non-criminal life. Unfortunately for him, Tsuneo is a complete [[TheSociopath sociopath]] who ''wants'' to live the Yakuza life. [[spoiler:Going so far as to have his own father offed late in the game.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* ''{{VisualNovel/Tsukihime}}'': Not exactly ''evil'', per se, but Kiri Nanaya was pretty dead set on his son Shiki following a different path than him. He actually ''panicked'' when Shiki expressed a wish to simply live isolated in the forest his entire life, as Kiri had wished to. Of course, it doesn't entirely work out.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick''
** Evil Overlord Tarquin is genuinely proud of his heroic son Elan. He spelled his name out on a hillside using burning prisoners! However, the reason seems to be that he wants to become a legend, and what's more legendary than being overthrown by your own son?
** Tarquin's teammate Laurin mentions that she has a daughter who has no part in her evil plans, and Laurin is perfectly happy with her being safe and normal as a plumber.
--->'''Tarquin''': Laurin, if it were your daughter--\\
'''Laurin''': Hannah is a plumber, thank you, and she thinks I'm just a well-connected interior designer. I do this thing we do so she can have a good life far '''away''' from all this.
* The Erlkönig in ''{{Webcomic/Roommates}}'' is an interesting example, he is an amoral ruthless villainous fae lord and was married to a CardCarryingVillain. He was booted out of the family for giving their son weird ideas about love, heroism, and such things when his wife wanted OverlordJr. And the kid turned out to be... an [[TurnOutLikeHisFather amoral ruthless fae lord]] with [[HeroWithAnFInGood delusions of heroism]]. (For his mother's great dismay and his father's general amusement.)
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* ''Literature/{{Brennus}}'': When The Dark, the most fearsome supervillain on the planet, found out his daughter Gloom Glimmer was going to follow in her mother's footsteps as a superhero, he was mostly just disappointed because he was looking forward to spending more time with her. He still dotes on her at home, though. ''Might'' have something to do with her older sister becoming the PersonOfMassDestruction [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Desolation-In-Light]]. Or [[spoiler: his first son becoming estranged from him, after he tried to force him into villainy]].
* ''WebAnimation/DrHavocsDiary'': Dr. Havoc is this towards his 16-year-old daughter Ally. The trouble is, [[BrattyTeenageDaughter she's a rebellious bitch.]] And yes, she is ''fully'' aware of her father's job, to the point where she expects him to eventually become a "big, international supervillain" so that [[SpoiledBrat she can get the things she wants.]]
-->'''Ally:''' That's fucking bullshit, Dad.\\
'''Havoc:''' I'm sorry, Ally, but the car's being taken away until ''you'' start showing up for class!
* ''WebAnimation/LazyBumYakuza'':* [[https://youtu.be/xSb-OMn5iSo Iwaki]] wants his son Tsuyoshi to live legit unlike him. While it's understandable since he's a Yakuza, ''Iwaki renders it moot himself'' with his bragging about his time at the gangs and even having Tsuyoshi assist him in selling drugs.
* Devilmaster of the Literature/WhateleyUniverse is a fearsome supervillain who scares the spit out of most people. At home, he's a 'college professor' with a wife and kids. They didn't know he was a supervillain until the kids found some of his stuff and unleashed a devil in the house. His teenage daughter appears to be well-adjusted, sweet, and disgustingly cute. And she was eager to go home for Christmas, even knowing what her father really does for a living. Helps that in his case, he has a lot of OffStageVillainy.
* Played With in ''Literature/{{Worm}}''. Most every “Cape” Group with kids raises them to follow in their footsteps, be they Hero or Villain. Played with by the supervillain [[HardLight Purity]], who wanted her infant daughter Aster raised away from her former gang. However, Purity never quite gave up their neo-Nazi ideology and intended to raise her daughter with the same racist worldview, just not necessarily the supervillain aspect.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyondReturnOfTheJoker'', two female members of the Jokerz are introduced, twin sisters Delia and Deidre Dennis (who called themselves Dee-Dee as a team). We never see their parents, but we do know that "[[spoiler:Nana [[Characters/DCAUHarleyQuinn Harley]]]]" does not approve of their lifestyle.
* In ''WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien'', space criminal Pops Vreedle enrolls his sons Octagon and Rhomboid in the [[SpacePolice Plumbers Academy]], so they can have a better life than he did.
* In ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'', [[spoiler: Mr. Boss is one the worst enemies of the KND; his daughter, Fanny, is Numbuh 86, one the highest-ranking members of the KND. Strangely, this situation does not seem to have hurt the relationship between father and daughter at all; they get along just fine.]]
* The inversion of this trope was PlayedForLaughs in ''WesternAnimation/HarleyQuinn2019''. Doctor Psycho wanted his son Herman to succeed in the supervillain business because he saw a lot of evil potential in him, and since [[FreudianExcuse supervillains never come from happy homes]] went out of his way to be an AbusiveParent to him. [[spoiler:Psycho is incredibly proud to learn that Herman has become a big social media influencer in the supervillain community, even if it means he takes every opportunity to denigrate his father because he hates him]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'', it is revealed late in the show that the Enforcers have nephews around Jade's age, and they know nothing of what their uncles do, and their uncles don't want them to.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'': [[spoiler:Hiroshi Sato]] didn't want his daughter to know he supported the Equalists. However, it didn't keep him from trying to get her to join once she learned. Sadly, this is eventually subverted at the end of the first season; when he realizes that she will never turn against benders and join his cause, he makes a genuine attempt to kill her.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive Fisher Biskit in ''WesternAnimation/LittlestPetShop2012'' wants his twin daughters to be better than the spoiled, lazy bullies that they are, even acknowledging that he was just like that at their age and was "insufferable", which fuels his desire for them to be better.
* ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'': [[spoiler:While [[Characters/MiraculousLadybugHawkMoth Gabriel Agreste]] is [[ParentalNeglect far from parent of the year material]], it seems that he genuinely doesn't want his son Adrien to be caught up in his work as Hawk Moth. [[DramaticIrony Too bad that Chat Noir -- one of Hawk Moth's archnemeses -- IS Adrien]].]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Ninjago}}'', this is a major part of the relationship between [[BigBad Lord Garmadon]] and his son, [[MoralityPet Lloyd]] [[TheChosenOne Garmadon.]] Garmadon, despite knowing his son is destined to defeat him, often comments on how proud he is of Lloyd for not following his example.
* While he is not taking an active role in preventing it, [[Characters/RickAndMortyRickSanchez Rick Sanchez]] from ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'', in his weaker moments, acknowledges he is a deeply flawed person and wants his grandson Morty to be better. In one episode when he believes he is facing certain doom, he says what he believes to be last words: "Be good Morty, be better than me."
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Sidekick}}'', Trevor's father (who is either the SecretIdentity or SplitPersonality of Master XOX, it's unclear which) tries to raise Trevor with love and prevent him from turning out evil, to the point of enrolling him in the Sidekick Academy. It's not working very well, given that Trevor thinks his dad is lame and [[LovesMyAlterEgo idolizes XOX]], not knowing they're the same person.
* Felicia Hardy's father in ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'', as well as ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan''. However, in the animated series at least, he isn't so much evil as an unwitting dupe for evil people, and he does a HeelFaceTurn when he figures it out.
* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'', Cheshire leaves her daughter to be raised by her ex, Red Arrow, and her younger sister, Tigress, because she believes that they'll help her be a better person than she is.
[[/folder]]
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