History KnightOfCerebus / WebComics

* ''Webcomic/StandStillStaySilent'': Fighting PlagueZombie monsters was given considering the crew's mission, but their early opponents were whatever happened to be living in the location they were visiting, and obeying to their violent instinct. Then a ghost with murderous intent assembles a mixed herd of trolls and other ghosts whose sole purpose is to follow the crew and kill them off. The first battle between that herd and the crew resulted in major damage on their transportation, left the most powerful mage able to help them in a PowerStrainBlackout-induced DeepSleep that lasts for several days and, [[spoiler: after some delay, the death of one of the non-immune members of the crew]]. The humor doesn't completely disappear after the events, but has become more prone to being BlackComedy.

* ''Webcomic/StandStillStaySilent'': Fighting PlagueZombie monsters was given considering the crew's mission, but their early opponents were whatever happened to be living in the location they were visiting, and obeying to their violent instinct. Then a ghost with murderous intent assembles a mixed herd of trolls and other ghosts whose sole purpose is to follow the crew and kill them off. The first battle between that herd and the crew resulted in major damage on their transportation, left the most powerful mage able to help them in a PowerStrainBlackout-induced DeepSleep that lasts for several days and,[[spoiler: after some delay, the death of one of the non-immune members of the crew]]. The humor doesn't completely disappear after the events, but has become more prone to being BlackComedy.

* ''Webcomic/StandStillStaySilent'': Fighting PlagueZombie monsters was given considering the crew's mission, but their early opponents were whatever happened to be living in the location they were visiting, and obeying to their violent instinct. Then a ghost with murderous intent assembles a mixed herd of trolls and other ghosts whose sole purpose is to follow the crew and kill them off. The first battle between that herd and the crew resulted in major damage on their transportation, left the most powerful mage able to help them in a PowerStrainBlackout-induced DeepSleep that lasts for several days and[[spoiler:, after some delay, the death of one of the non-immune members of the crew]]. The humor doesn't completely disappear after the events, but has become more prone to being BlackComedy.

* ''Webcomic/JaydenAndCrusader'':

%%* ''Webcomic/{{Cloudscratcher}}'': Borzax, though having the courtesy to make his mark relatively early in the story.

%%* ''Webcomic/ExterminatusNow'': Silas Morth was thought to be one of these... but [[CardCarryingVillain he]] [[LargeHam really]] [[GroinAttack wasn't]].

%%* ''Webcomic/TheLifeOfNobTMouse'': Although King Nastie came first, the true Knight of Cerebus is arguably the EldritchAbomination known as "Grandfather Time".

%%* ''Webcomic/SandraAndWoo'': A vicious lynx attempts to eat the raccoon children. In its attempt at eating them, it leads to [[spoiler:Arcturus]] getting gravely injured by being impaled on a pitchfork.%%Does this signal a permanent change?

%%* ''Webcomic/SlightlyDamned'': Despite only appearing once so far, the hooded archer counts. Devenol even more so.%%ZCEs.

* ''Webcomic/{{Spinnerette}}'': Colonel Glass. Before his appearance, all the series had for major antagonists were Dr. Universe, Alexis Woodrow, and Captain Alberta -- a noble WellIntentionedExtremist, a selfish AttentionWhore, and an incompetent PoliticallyIncorrectVillain respectively. Glass is an out-and-out AxCrazy sadist who kills and skins animals to send messages -- a [[FlayingAlive modus operandi]] disturbingly similar to that of the notorious [[Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire House Bolton]]. Glass is also notable for being far more powerful than most supers in the Spinnyverse. In a setting in which most characters have abilities like moderate super-strength, a weaker and more realistic version of the Franchise/SpiderMan power set, or sonic punches, Glass is essentially Magneto with Wolverine's HealingFactor: he can control glass with enough power to chop up people and vehicles in seconds and create near-impenetrable shields, and enough finesse to grab hostile drones in midair and send them crashing into their controllers, not to mention regrowing lost limbs and shrugging off whole-body third degree burns. His appearance pushed the comic permanently to the DarkerAndEdgier side of spectrum: the WideEyedIdealist Spinnerette has to resort to [[KillItWithFire killing him with thermite]], and Mecha Maid is traumatized.

* ''Webcomic/ButImACatPerson'': It'as around the time that we learn more about Ann Walker's goals that the mood of the comic takes a sharp turn from a fairly light-hearted fantasy comedy to a dark urban fantasy adventure.

* ''Webcomic/KiwiBlitz'' features the villainess Gear,whose presense is currently the only source of grimness and darkness in an otherwise fun and whimsical webcomic.

* ''Webcomic/StandStillStaySilent'': Fighting PlagueZombie monsters was given considering the crew's mission, but their early opponents were whatever happened to be living in the location they were visiting, and obeying to their violent instinct. Then a ghost with murderous intent assembles a mixed herd of trolls and other ghosts whose sole purpose is to follow the crew and kill them off. The first battle between that herd and the crew resulted in major damage on their transportation, left the most powerful mage able to help them in PowerStrainBlackout-induced DeepSleep that lasts for several days and[[spoiler:, after some delay, the death of one of the non-immune members of the crew]]. The humor doesn't completely disappear after the events, but has become more prone to being BlackComedy.

** ''Webcomic/{{Shortpacked}}'': Robin inadvertently becomes one of these when she pulls the Drama Tag and introduces drama to a hitherto SliceOfLife comedy. She's absolutely horrified by that and tries to put it back, though comes to realize the CerebusSyndrome also brings CharacterDevelopment.
* ''Webcomic/ZebraGirl'' has always kept a somewhat uneasy balance between funny and dramatic, but it tilted firmly into dramatic territory (and ditched some of its sillier, Fourth Wall-breaking gags) with the appearance of Harold [=DuVase=]. This is kind of odd, since [=DuVase=] appears at first to be a Harry Potter parody. In the end, he turns out to be something much, much worse...

** [[KnightTemplar Abraham]] was supposed to be even worse, but the whole thing turned out to be one ''huge'' misunderstanding on his part, and after everything was explained to him, he surrendered without further fight. He even got to be funny in places, something that did ''not'' apply to Damien. Pandora seems primed to do this in-universe, as she seeks to [[TheUnmasquedWorld give her son a world where he can make a difference.]]

* ''Webcomic/{{Spinnerette}}'': Colonel Glass. Before his appearance, all the series had for major antagonists were Dr. Universe, Alexis Woodrow, and Captain Alberta -- a noble WellIntentionedExtremist, a selfish AttentionWhore, and an incompetent PoliticallyIncorrectVillain respectively. Glass is an out-and-out AxCrazy sadist who kills and skins animals to send messages - a [[FlayingAlive modus operandi]] disturbingly similar to that of the notorious [[Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire House Bolton]]. Glass is also notable for being far more powerful than most supers in the Spinnyverse. In a setting in which most characters have abilities like moderate super-strength, a weaker and more realistic version of the Franchise/SpiderMan power set, or sonic punches, Glass is essentially Magneto with Wolverine's HealingFactor: he can control glass with enough power to chop up people and vehicles in seconds and create near-impenetrable shields, and enough finesse to grab hostile drones in midair and send them crashing into their controllers, not to mention regrowing lost limbs and shrugging off whole-body third degree burns. His appearance pushed the comic permanently to the DarkerAndEdgier side of spectrum: the WideEyedIdealist Spinnerette has to resort to [[KillItWithFire killing him with thermite]], and Mecha Maid is traumatized.

* Downplayed in ''Webcomic/{{Adventurers}}'': Eternion only managed to take the webcomic from GagSeries to AffectionateParody of overblown RPG SavingTheWorld.

* The appearance of [[spoiler:the fortune teller]] on page 9 of 31 in ''[[Webcomic/FifteenMinds Blue Moon Blossom]]'' is when the plot suddenly kicks into gear, and shifts the story from episodic SceneryPorn to a straight-up adventure, albeit still a very beautiful, SceneryPorn-laden one.
* Bravomaster from the ''{{VideoGame/Bravoman}}'' webcomic is a heroic example, while his enemy, Zulu, still get's some funny moments from beating up the Bravo corps. they combine into Bravomaster and toss him into the sun, the lack of jokes on panel is later lampshaded. Later, Bravoman get's transported to an alternate universe where the world has been destroyed. Zulu had come to Earth and forced [[EnemyMine everyone]] to team up to stop it, having done so, Dr. Bomb unleashed his army on the heroes, shutting down the fourth wall and preventing any gag-based powers or easy victories. Earth has been reduced to a wasteland and Dr. Bomb [[spoiler: was deposed long ago, and it was really the version of Anti-Bravoman who had done all of this, from unleashing Zulu, to shutting down the fourth wall even to attacking Salaryman and imprisoning him. It was all in the quest to become stronger, and in the end the heroes have to return the meta-humor to the strip to stop him.]]
* Ann Walker from ''Webcomic/ButImACatPerson'': it was around the time we learned more about her goals that the mood of the comic took a sharp turn from a fairly light-hearted fantasy comedy to a dark urban fantasy adventure.
* Borzax from ''Webcomic/{{Cloudscratcher}}'', though having the courtesy to make his mark relatively early in the story.
* {{Satan}} in ''Webcomic/CollegeRoomiesFromHell''. He even punctuates his arrival by ripping out a [[SacrificialLion main character's]] soul, just in case we were wondering whether this was a joke.

* The only somewhat-serious ''Webcomic/TheDragonDoctors'' gets a lot more heavy once the Crax chapter begins. It's a horrible flesh-and-mind-devouring parasite, and it's followed up on with a serial killer who kills people with nightmarish death spirits, a [[DieHardOnAnX Die Hard scenario]] in a hospital, and tragic backstory after tragic backstory.

* Silas Morth in ''Webcomic/ExterminatusNow'' was thought to be one of these... but [[CardCarryingVillain he]] [[LargeHam really]] [[GroinAttack wasn't]].

* Kore from ''Webcomic/{{Goblins}}'', who is introduced by creating a room full of likable new characters, giving them likable personalities in record time, and then [[MoralEventHorizon sending in the new villain to brutally slaughter the entire bunch]], including an innocent dwarven child. Kore himself is a dwarf [[KnightTemplar and a paladin.]] How he has managed to keep his [[AlwaysLawfulGood paladin status]] is a mystery, though it's probably related to him [[spoiler:stealing the souls of those he's slain]].
* Given the ever-escalating nature of ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'', there are at least three "candidates" throughout the story so far: [[spoiler: the meteor]] at the end of Act 1 (not a character, but the moment where things start to shift from inventory shenanigans to plot), [[spoiler: Jack Noir]] in Act 4 and [[spoiler: Lord English, or alternatively his servant [[TheDragon Doc Scratch]]]] in Hivebent/Act 5.
** The Midnight Crew intermission also had one with Snowman. While the Felt were otherwise portrayed as hilariously incompetent gangsters existing only to mess up with their time powers before getting killed by the Midnight Crew, Snowman came in, and spent the rest of her screentime horribly maiming the fan-favourite main character.
** Lord English could count as this. Before his appearance, every major villain had some sort of comedy to them. Bec Noir wanting bones like a dog would, Doc Scratch as serious as he usually is has some humorous lines. Lord English has yet to do anything supposed to be perceived as comedic. In fact, the first thing he does after his introduction is to go and kill the author, who was absolutely terrified when he appeared. He then proceeded to presumably erased many dead characters' souls from existence with a single mouth laser. Although, his younger self is quite a humorous villain.
* The Wanderer, better known as The Cheese, from ''[[Webcomic/{{Walkyverse}} It's Walky!]]''. Anyone who can be ominous and badass even when people refer him as "The Cheese" is obviously not someone to trifle with.
** In spinoff ''Webcomic/{{Shortpacked}}'', Robin inadvertently becomes one of these when she pulls the Drama Tag and introduces drama to a hitherto SliceOfLife comedy. She's absolutely horrified by that and tries to put it back, though comes to realize the CerebusSyndrome also brings CharacterDevelopment.
* ''[[http://www.jaydenandcrusader.com Jayden and Crusader]]'':

* Although King Nastie came first, the true Knight of Cerebus for ''Webcomic/TheLifeOfNobTMouse'' is arguably the EldritchAbomination known as "Grandfather Time".
* The [[ChainsawGood chainsaw unicorn]] from ''Webcomic/ModestMedusa.'' It starts a rather bloody fight in what had previously been a lighthearted comic with no action and heralds the start of the StoryArc.
* Nale and Miko Miyazaki in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick''. Nale marks the beginning of the comic's first plot, and while he's very much still a comedic character, he has the honour of causing the first wholly serious moment in the comic by literally stabbing Elan in the back. Miko, on the other hand, is responsible for introducing the cast to the overarching plot by arresting them for ''damaging the fabric of reality''. Quite what she means by this isn't immediately obvious, but when it becomes clear, the story kicks fully into action.
* Jeff from ''Webcomic/RPGWorld'' [[spoiler:kills Eikre's family and makes some pretty disturbing scenes, giving a whole lot of drama to a webcomic parodying classical RPG cliches]].

* In ''Webcomic/SandraAndWoo'', a vicious lynx attempts to eat the racoon children as of the latest story arc. In its attempt at eating them, it leads to [[spoiler:Arcturus]] getting gravely injured by getting impaled on a pitch fork.

* Xanthe from ''Webcomic/{{Sinfest}}'' brings in the Sisterhood arc after which much of the series' humor has vanished. An interesting example in that she doesn't seem to be a villain, though her extremist views tend to annoy the fans anyway.
* The EliteMook from the second chapter of ''Webcomic/SleeplessDomain''. At first glance it's just a creepy monster. Then it [[spoiler:kills three members of Team Alchemist and leaves a fourth, Undine, at death's door]]. Undine survives only because [[spoiler:the team's leader, Tessa, heals her at the cost of her own powers]].

* Despite only appearing once so far, the hooded archer from ''Webcomic/SlightlyDamned'' counts. Devenol even more so.
* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' kicks its CerebusSyndrome off with a {{Mook}} vampire named Kullan. He fits this trope because [[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=980829 his introduction]] is (a) pretty much the first strip in the series to end on an ominous note rather than a straight-up funny one, and (b) the start of the "Vampires" arc, Sluggy's first more or less serious storyline.
** As the strip progressed, the presence of Oasis, [=K'Z'K=] or [=HeretiCorp=] is a fairly good signal that a given arc is going to be darker than usual.

* Colonel Glass from ''Webcomic/{{Spinnerette}}''. Before, all the series had for major antagonists were Dr. Universe, Alexis Woodrow, and Captain Alberta - a noble WellIntentionedExtremist, selfish AttentionWhore, and incompetent PoliticallyIncorrectVillain respectively. Glass? An out-and-out AxCrazy sadist who kills and skins animals to send messages - a [[FlayingAlive modus operandi]] disturbingly similar to that of the notorious [[Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire House Bolton]]. Glass is also notable for being far more powerful than most supers in the Spinnyverse. In a setting in which most characters have abilities like moderate super-strength, a weaker and more realistic version of the Franchise/SpiderMan power set, or sonic punches, Glass is essentially Magneto with Wolverine's HealingFactor: he can control glass with enough power to chop up people and vehicles in seconds and create near-impenetrable shields, and enough finesse to grab hostile drones in midair and send them crashing into their controllers, not to mention regrowing lost limbs and shrugging off whole-body third degree burns.
** True to the trope, his appearance pushed the comic permanently to the DarkerAndEdgier side of spectrum: WideEyedIdealist Spinnerette had to resort to [[KillItWithFire Kill it With Thermite]], Mecha Maid is traumatized.

* In ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob'' Coney and Gosh serve this role. As Bob and Jean discuss at the end of the Cone arc, Bob comes close to getting killed all the time, but his experience inside the Cone Ship is the first time it's seriously, lastingly ''scared'' him. The story still ends on an upbeat note, but Bob seems much more aware of the precariousness of his situation than he's been up to this point.

** True to the trope, his appearance pushed the comic permanently to the DarkerAndEdgier side of spectrum: WideEyedIdealist Spinnerette had to resort to[[KillItWithFire Kill it With Thermite]], Mecha Maid is traumatized.

* The appearance of the fortune teller on page 9 of 31 in ''[[Webcomic/FifteenMinds Blue Moon Blossom]]'' is when the plot suddenly kicks into gear, and shifts the story from episodic SceneryPorn to a straight-up adventure, albeit still a very beautiful, SceneryPorn-laden one.