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->''"[[AC:I am your ser-vant!]]"''
-->-- '''Various Daleks''', ''Series/DoctorWho'', [[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E3ThePowerOfTheDaleks "The Power of the Daleks"]]
Once again, the villain has gotten out of the CardboardPrison. But this time, they've just served their sentence, with possible time off for good behavior, and guess what? They're no longer interested in crime, they just want to be an upstanding citizen. The system works!
And if you believe that, I've got a [[LandmarkSale slightly used]] DeathRay [[LandmarkSale to sell you]]. This is usually just a ruse on the part of the villain, who's plotting his crimes in secret. It may even be part of an elaborate scheme to get the heroes to drop their guard and insinuate the villain as a HeelFaceMole.
An important part of this plot is that everyone else will usually believe the villain right away, it's the heroes who are made to look like fools by their paranoid suspicions. This can veer into ThroughTheEyesOfMadness territory. The villain may [[RedHerring set up a situation]] that looks like he's up to his old tricks, so that the heroes will come barging in to stop his... perfectly lawful activities. This makes the villain look like [[WoundedGazelleGambit an innocent victim]] of [[WhatTheHellHero petty harassment]] and discredits any heroes who continue to suspect that he's still up to no good. Matters may escalate to the point where the duped heroes end up with [[HeroWithBadPublicity tarnished reputations]] or [[ArrestedForHeroism trouble with the law]].
Sometimes the villain is so proficient at leading a normal life that you have to wonder why they even bother with being a villain. Couldn't they just get someone to CutLexLuthorACheck? This is more plausible if the villain is [[YoureInsane just insane]] or motivated by [[ItsPersonal animosity toward the heroes]].
In particularly tragic instances of this, the villain really does reform, but the [[ReformedButRejected mistrust from their environment]] (and possibly the hero in particular) convinces them it's not worth it, and they go back to villainy.
Compare HeelFaceTurn (where the villain actually becomes an out-and-out hero), RetiredMonster (where the villain gives up villainy simply because he's tired of it), VillainWithGoodPublicity (where the villain cultivates a long-term respectable reputation while continuing his evil deeds out of the public eye), ChronicVillainy (the villain sincerely attempts to reform but cannot get over his old obsessions), and ReformedButRejected (the villain really does give up his evil ways -- but the hero still doesn't believe it). See also ThenLetMeBeEvil, where a character (re)turns to evil because everyone treats them with suspicion.
----
!!Examples
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Comic Books]]
* Franchise/{{Batman}} gets this one a lot, since his theme is "justice, not vengeance" and he's contractually obligated to give people a chance, even if he doesn't believe it himself.
** In the "Going Sane" story in ''Legends of the Dark Knight'', after ComicBook/TheJoker thinks Batman has died, he gets plastic surgery and goes on a regime of prescription drugs to make himself look normal. In a short while, he [[LaserGuidedAmnesia forgets all about his life as the Joker]] and turns into a shy, kindly eccentric. (Amnesia of this kind can [very rarely] happen in the RealLife. Psychologists call this "fugue".) This all falls apart when the Batman re-appears.
** ''Comicbook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'' has ''two'' instances of this:
*** Harvey Dent (AKA ComicBook/TwoFace) gets plastic surgery to fix his mutilated face, but it doesn't actually cure his insanity, despite a promising start. Batman really hoped it would work (especially since Bruce and Harvey were friends).
*** The Joker claims to have changed after decades in Arkham, and is released after his evaluation by a [[StrawmanPolitical strawman liberal]] psychiatrist. He goes on a talkshow to prove he just wants to make people smile... and then kills everybody. And somehow, some people are surprised.
** The Harvey Dent example later showed up in current DCU continuity when he received plastic surgery as part of the "Hush" conspiracy, but in an example of petard-hoisting, the surgery put Two-Face out of control, giving Dent his sanity back. Temporarily, anyway.
** One [[UsefulNotes/TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks Bronze Age]] ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' story opened with him trying to convince the parole board that Penguin was playing them. [[BookEnds It ends]] with Batman [[PerspectiveReversal trying to convince the same board not to revoke Penguin's parole on a technicality]] (associating with ex-cons, even for the purpose of [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished employing them at legitimate jobs]], was a parole violation).
** Much like the animated version, The Riddler has gone straight as both a ploy and legitimately several times, including (for a while) being a private detective who ''might'' actually exceed Batman in ability except he stays (mostly) by the book. He tends to relapse, though, and often. He's also one of the few members of Batman's rogue gallery that [[HeelRealization realized he has a serious compulsion]], [[{{Idiosyncrazy}} and "might actually be crazy".]]
* ComicBook/LexLuthor and the Joker team up with this gambit in ''World's Finest Comics'' #88, building nigh-indestructible industrial robots as a front for their actual plan.
* A pre-ComicBook/{{Crisis|on Infinite Earths}} Superman story had Luthor reforming after falling in love and deciding to marry. He even allowed Superman to scan his mind with a device to confirm it. Except it turned out to be a convoluted scheme even Luthor himself wasn't aware of ''[[MemoryGambit since erasing his own memories was part of the plan]]''-- so he really DID go straight, only to return to evil when the plan failed and ended up banishing his new wife to another universe instead of Superman.
* The Threat from the [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] ''Flash'' story "Challenge of the Threat" (from ''All Flash Quarterly'' #2). Back when he was a small-time burglar named Joe Connor, he pretended to go straight when he went to jail, using his time to study and sophisticate himself as a secret revenge plot against the D.A. who sent him to jail. Upon being released, he makes peace with the D.A. and has his goons kidnap his only son. Connor moves to Valley Hill to bring up the child against his real father, but upon meeting Annie Crowley, he falls in love with her and goes straight for real, even having a daughter together with her. However, after Annie died, Connor went back to his revenge plot and told his adopted son that the D.A. killed his mother.
** Another Flash story, this one from the Silver Age, involved Heat Wave pretending to go straight in order to get parole and thus get back to committing crimes quicker. This enraged his partner-in-crime/friend Captain Cold, as Cold is a big believer in HonorAmongThieves and was disgusted/disappointed that Heat Wave would stoop to such a dishonorable trick (as he commented "If there's one thing I hate more than a straight man, it's a crook that pretends to go straight!")
* At one point, [[{{Superman}} the Cyborg Superman]] attempted this, creating a new identity as a schoolteacher and befriending a high school student who, coincidentally, was involved in a few of Superman's adventures, mostly those in the original post-Crisis Kandar. When his identity was revealed, he snapped and attacked, only to escape once more.
* The plot of ''{{ComicBook/Justice}}'' involves the Legion of Doom pretending to quit supervillainy and use their abilities to help others. Naturally this turns out to simply be part of their latest evil scheme and so the Justice League not only have to stop the Legion, but also prove that the HeelFaceTurn is a hoax.
* One story arc of [[ComicStrip/SpiderMan Spider-Man comic strip]] had Mysterio apparently quitting being a supervillain and becoming a special effects supervisor like he used to be before he became a bad guy. Spider-Man investigates under the ruse of helping the do the film Mysterio is working on as a publicity stunt. Sure enough it turns out that Mysterio was just using the film as a cover to pull off a big heist. In the climax, Spidey calls out Mysterio, pointing out that he could've just reformed for real and reforged his career as a special effects wizard, [[CutLexLuthorACheck which would've been way more profitable and successful in the long-run]]. Mysterio admits that Spider-Man is correct but than reveals that he doesn't care; Mysterio's found that he enjoys being a card-carrying supercrook far more than he ever liked his old job.
* The Tinkerer from the canon ComicBook/SpiderMan comics plays it straight. After numerous failures that nearly killed him and destroyed his android assistant Toy, he gave up personally fighting good guys. However, he's still in the business of selling black market weaponry to villains (and [[EveryManHasHisPrice anyone else with money]], such as the Black Cat).
* A recurring plot in [[ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse Paperinik]] stories:
** On one occasion, the Beagle Boys opened a job school for ex-convicts, the trick being that ''all'' students were pulling this alongside the [=BBs=]... And the Beagle Boys actually ''using Paperinik to create an alibi for some of their students''. It ends when the Beagle Boys lead everyone in an assault to Scrooge's money bin... Only to find out that Paperinik had seen through their use of the security cameras to have him provide alibis and used it on them to make them believe he was at the school, and was waiting them with the entire police force.
** Another occasion is the apparent reform of Spectrus, who [[BroughtDownToNormal had apparently lost his]] [[HypnoticEyes hypnotic powers]] in an incident and reformed, even hypnotizing some dogs into attacking him so that everyone would believe he couldn't hypnotize anymore. After being released on parole, he took a honest job... And started committing heists with his hypnotic powers, with only Paperinik believing he hadn't lost his hypnotic powers. In the end, Spectrus is arrested when Paperinik catches him on camera as he hypnotizes some coworkers to provide him an alibi.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Films]]
* Exploited in ''Film/MysteryMen''. Captain Amazing is running out of villains to fight and is financially reliant on superheroics to attract sponsors, and he's smart enough to know Casanova Frankenstein will commence with an EvilPlan once he is let out of the asylum, so he has him freed.
* ''Dee Snider's Strangeland''.
* Frank White in ''Film/KingOfNewYork'' wants everyone to believe that he was reformed by prison, and is now just a philanthropist with an interest in helping the poor. In reality, not so much.
* In ''Film/OneHundredAndTwoDalmatians'', Cruella is seemingly reformed via HeelFaceBrainwashing. After the effects get undone, she continues to act reformed as part of her plan.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* Count Olaf pulls this trope multiple times over the course of ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents''.
* Duke Roger is one of these for the last two books of the ''Literature/SongOfTheLioness'' quartet. Before he [[spoiler:died the first time]], he ''tried to kill the crown prince as well as the queen'', among others. After [[spoiler:he came BackFromTheDead]], people just kind of [[TooDumbToLive accepted his word]] and Thom's that Roger wasn't dangerous anymore, having "changed." (He did. Instead of wanting the throne, he became an OmnicidalManiac.)
* ''Literature/HarryPotter'': After Voldemort was defeated trying to murder baby Harry, some Death Eaters claimed to have been bewitched or unwilling participants and tried to go back to living a normal life. This was most successful in conjunction with ministry connections and large bribes. In most cases it was only a lie to keep them out of Azkaban. It is further implied that at least some of those who ''were'' sent to Azkaban really had been coerced or mind-slaved, and simply didn't have the money to bribe people. Not many people ''really'' cared about the truth as long as they got paid.
* [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Nefarian Serpine]] from ''Literature/SkulduggeryPleasant''.
* The ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'' gives us a few of these. Most of the time, the system actually does work. However, when it doesn't, it fails egregiously. Such is the case of Admiral Daala, an Imperial admiral who oversaw the construction of the Death Star, and the orbital bombardment of several planets. Her current job? [[PresidentEvil Head of the Galactic Alliance!]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* Very common for recurring SpecialGuest Villains on ''Series/{{Batman}}''. For instance, the Penguin runs for mayor in "Hizzoner the Penguin," and in "Catwoman Goes To College," [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin well....]] In one episode, this trope actually works against the Penguin. After opening a high class restaurant to get the signatures of its rich clientele, he purposely ''tries'' to get put in prison so he can hook up with an expert forger. The Penguin actually [[CantGetInTroubleForNuthin proved somewhat inept]] at getting himself arrested.
* In season three of ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' it seems that [[spoiler: four-years-later Sylar]] fits this trope. However it might be a subversion, as he seems to have actually changed his ways.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** In the exceptionally dark story [[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E6RevelationOfTheDaleks "Revelation of the Daleks"]], Davros takes to calling himself the Great Healer [[spoiler:and offering a solution to galactic famine. Thanks to this, Davros can truly call himself [[ImAHumanitarian humanitarian]].]] (Somewhat subverted in that Davros somehow thinks that he can remain anonymous, despite his unique appearance. The story itself does not address this.)
** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS9E2TheCurseOfPeladon "The Curse of Peladon"]], where ProudWarriorRace the Ice Warriors claim to want to have given up their militaristic ways, which the Doctor does not believe. In fact, they have. Though as the next story ([[Recap/DoctorWhoS11E4TheMonsterOfPeladon "The Monster of Peladon"]]) show, as with humans and Time Lords, you can trust some Ice Warriors but not others.
** The first Second Doctor episode, [[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E3ThePowerOfTheDaleks "The Power of the Daleks"]]. "[[AC:I am your ser-vant!]]"
** They do it again in the new series episode [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E3VictoryOfTheDaleks "Victory of the Daleks"]], including "[[AC:[[CrowningMomentOfFunny Would you care for some teeeea?]]]]" and a straight-up shout out to the previous story with "[[AC:I am your sol-dier!]]"
* Averted in ''Series/TheWire''. When Cutty is released from prison, drug lord Avon Barksdale offers him work as an enforcer; after trying it briefly, however, Cutty decides he can't stomach it anymore, and settles down for a quieter life as a boxing coach.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Videogames]]
* Eggman of ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' does this from time to time. (And in lots of incarnations, whether he's Eggman or Robotnik, not just the games.)
** In ''VideoGame/SonicChronicles: The Dark Brotherhood'', he claims to have "completely reformed". ''Nobody'' believes him, but ''they [[EnemyMine work with him]] anyway'' for a good stretch of the game since they legitimately need his tech. No prizes for guessing how ''that'' turned out.
** Also, in ''VideoGame/SonicColors'':
--->'''Dr. Eggman:''' "This amusement park was constructed entirely out of a sense of remorse for my past transgressions, and [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial is in no way associated with any sort of evil plot or premeditated misdeeds]]."
--->'''Sonic:''' "[[SarcasmMode Well, that's a relief.]]"
* The plot to ''VideoGame/MegaMan3''. Dr. Wily claims to have reformed, and works with Dr. Light to build a giant "peacekeeping robot" which Mega Man has to go out and get the components for. The components, oddly enough, are guarded by 8 robot masters... and once they've gathered them all, Dr. Wily steals the new robot and plots to use it to take over the world.
** Wily does it again in ''9'', when he gets out of jail, having apparently reformed. He then frames ''Dr. Light'' as plotting to take over the world, and asks all the people of the world to send donations to his {{Swiss bank account}} so that he can build a new fighting robot to stop Light and his eight robot masters.
** All of this when [[HijackedByGanon everything is Wily's fault]].
* In ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork 3'', Mr. Match convinces Lan he's reformed, only to [[spoiler: trick Lan himself into firebombing Sci Lab]].
* Ultros in ''Videogame/FinalFantasyVI'' eventually becomes the receptionist at the Coliseum. Subverted in that he never attacks the party again. On the other hand, his pet Chupon also sticks around as the "bouncer" to kick you out if you try to wager something stupid (and let the arena keep your wager).
* Dr. Cortex in ''Videogame/CrashBandicoot2CortexStrikesBack'' pretends to be reformed, so that Crash will collect crystals for him so that he can "save the Earth".
* [=LeChuck=] seems to turn over a new leaf in ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland'' when he is transformed into a human. Logically, Guybrush doesn't trust him for a minute, despite Elaine's pleas to let bygones be bygones.
* In VideoGame/SpiderMan, at the beginning, Doc Ock is shown to have supposedly reformed. Later on, he turns out to be the BigBad.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Webcomics]]
* In the comic ''Webcomic/BobAndGeorge'', Dr. Wily does this by faking amnesia to become Dr. Light's assistant again.
** Bob and George is (just loosely enough) based on the actual plot of the games. Thus, this happens only because of association with them.
* In ''Webcomic/SonicTheComicOnline'' villains Max Gamble and Nack the Weasel both have allegedly gone straight becoming zone leaders and helping groups of people out of the goodness of their hearts, Nack helping the weasels and Gamble helping insect refugees from the Special Zone (who are certainly not Family members), the truth is that Gamble is work for [[TheDon Don Long-Legs]] head of [[TheMafia The Family]], and Nack is trying to take over the Ocean Falls Zone.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Web Originals]]
* Parodied by Legendary Frog's "[[http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/105053 The Return of Ganondorf]]", in which Ganondorf from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' comes back after his defeat claiming to have stopped being evil. Link doesn't believe him and keeps trying to spy on him to catch him being evil. In the end, [[spoiler:it turns out he isn't evil after all, Link's just nuts]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' had the Penguin reform, genuinely, only to go back to his villainous ways when the woman he loved betrayed him.
** To twist the knife here, after the Penguin is done with his epic snap and Batman has rescued her, she admits, a bit sadly, "You know, I was really starting to grow fond of you."
** Poison Ivy blurs the lines a bit in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' "House and Garden." She's out of prison, marries a law professor (who was also her lawyer) and takes care of his two sons, Chris and Kelly. Batman spends half the episode tailing her and yeah, she seems OK. The catch? She wants to have a family ''on her terms,'' so she's [[spoiler: locked up her husband and replaced him with a long series of plant/human hybrids using the professor's DNA]]. Robin realizes something's amiss when [[spoiler:he points out [[GenderBlenderName the real Chris and Kelly are supposed to be girls]], who the professor doesn't have custody of.]]
** The Ventriloquist also genuinely reforms after getting some psychiatric help.
** The Riddler also reforms in the episode "Riddler's Reform." He does seem to be genuinely trying to reform, and his legitimate business is quite lucrative, but his obsession with outsmarting Batman won't leave him alone, so he decides that the only solution is to kill him. When he thinks Batman is dead, he does burn his mask and swear to quit being the Riddler, but it doesn't work out that way.
*** The Riddler is seriously unbalanced in this episode, demonstrated by how [[spoiler:he can't for the life of him even figure out how Batman survived being sealed in a room with a time bomb... and a giant safe.]]
** In "Joker's Millions", the Joker becomes legitimately insanely rich by inheriting the wealth of an old enemy. He gives up crime and takes up things like golf. Unfortunately, the money turns out to be mostly counterfeit, and he goes back to his old ways when he tries to hijack an armored truck filled with cash when faced with the massive inheritance taxes and being the laughingstock of the underworld by being so thoroughly cheated. Considering it's the Joker we're talking about it's sort of justified. If word got out that he had been duped by an old rival who was on his death bed every wannabe super villain would be coming after his head either to make a name for themselves or seek revenge for something he'd done to them in the past.
** Harley Quinn was once declared fit to re-enter society, and while she was still [[GenkiGirl bubbly]] and kept giving other people the willies with her pet hyenas, she was well-behaved and did nothing illegal. Then she took off with a dress she'd ''paid for'' before the store clerk could remove the anti-theft widget, causing a store alarm to go off. [[FromBadToWorse Things then spiral out of control, as she drops back into her criminal habits.]] [[OhCrap To mention nothing about the crazy general pursuing her on a tank.]] Batman recognizes that Harley is one of his few villains who isn't irredeemable, just sort of misguided and broken. WordOfGod is that after the [[spoiler: Joker's timely and well deserved death]], Harley went straight and started a family.
*** Indeed, ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyondReturnOfTheJoker'' shows her as a stereotypical Jewish grandmother, and an extremely pissed one due to her granddaughters' fall to delinquency - in a gang called the Jokerz, no less!
** In a short spinoff comic, the Scarecrow starts giving thought to his retirement plans, escapes Arkham, and goes back to teaching under a new identity -- this time as an English professor, which has much less opportunity in the line of unethical experimentation. While he is disdainful of most of his students, he seems to be satisfied with his work otherwise, much to Batman's surprise -- until he opens a can of fear gas on the JerkJock who abused (and [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar possibly did]] [[DateRape worse to]]) his favorite pupil. At the end, though Batman chides him about "reverting to type," ''both'' Scarecrow and the JerkJock are arrested.
* Lex Luthor in the Cadmus story arc of ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Unlimited'' does [[BatmanGambit to discredit Superman]]. He knows that Superman will never believe he's going legit so he can make the Man of Steel look like a bully when he pretends he does.
* About half of Sideshow Bob's appearances in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''.
** Subversion: In one episode, he really had reformed despite Bart's suspicions, and actually saves his life. In a double subversion, he ends up in jail again anyway because the police didn't believe he wasn't involved in his brother's scheme.
*** Also, when they're in the police car:
----> '''Sideshow Bob:''' You can't do this! I saved the children!
----> '''Cecil:''' Tell them they'll live to regret this.
----> '''Sideshow Bob:''' You'll live to regret this! Oh, thanks a lot, now I look crazy.
** This is Subverted ''again'' when the the Simpsons find Bob as the Mayor of a small town in Italy who has once again reformed and started a family. It doesn't stick as Lisa accidentally ruins it, and [[TheFamilyThatSlaysTogether Bob's new family want in on revenge]].
* As a parody/homage to/of Batman, WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck faced something similar in one episode, with one twist: Darkwing, under his secret identity Drake, ended up hosting the criminal Tuskernini after (accidentally) enrolling in the city's 'Adopt-A-Con' program. His trick in getting Tuskernini to reveal his con? Convincing him that [[spoiler:he, his daughter, and his sidekick were undercover criminals, that they believed Tuskernini all along, and that Tuskernini caught ''them'' in the act of plotting a robbery.]]
* On ''WesternAnimation/SuperFriends'', the Legion of Doom pulled this once. Since they proceeded to travel into the future because they thought the Superfriends wouldn't find them there, the viewer is left to question why.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{SpongebobSquarepants}}'': Plankton pretends he changed in a convoluted charade to get Mr. Krabs's secret formula.
** In an earlier episode, Man-Ray pretends to have changed in order to get revenge on Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. But, thanks to Spongebob's TickleTorture, when he goes to rob a bank, he decides to just open a checking account instead. Later, however, he forms the villain group, E.V.I.L.
** Spongebob also encounters the Atomic Flounder, another nemesis of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. He appears to be a regular old man, but when he's taunted by Spongebob, uses a BreathWeapon on him.
* There was Gil from ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible''--Everybody bought it except for Ron, which ended up being the key to his defeat.
* In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'', Mister Freeze was subjected to this after he was given an honest shot at redemption and a normal life. Few people believed he was willing to change, with the exception of Terry, as a twist (elderly Bruce seems to have witnessed this trope being averted a few too many times to believe in Freeze's reform). Couldn't make good on it though, as the technology used to heal his body...wasn't that good. He was doing fine until [[spoiler:the doctors treating him wanted to [[TheyWouldCutYouUp vivisect him]] to see why the treatment wasn't permanent.]]
* After being defeated the first time in ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderman'', Doctor Octopus pretends to have returned to his original meek personality and asserts that criminal actions were the result of his tentacles forcing him into it. By doing this, it allows him to be kept at an institution under relatively low security and mastermind a break-out for his fellow villains, who, being sane, are kept in maximum security prison.
* There was one of these in WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls. Perhaps dealing with Mojo Jo Jo?
* One ''WesternAnimation/TuffPuppy'' episode has Snaptrap claim to have reformed, and everyone buys it except Kitty. He even does some good deeds for the city, but Kitty thinks he's up to his old tricks and ruins them, [[WhatTheHellHero turning everyone against her]]. Then Snaptrap reveals he's still evil as he captures everyone in a death trap.
* Scorpion in the "Love Stings" episode of Kung Fu Panda.
* The episode "Bro Bots" from the ''WesternAnimation/MegaMan'' cartoon revolved around Proto Man pretending to have defected from Dr. Wily as part of a ploy to get in close during an election and replace the mayor and the city officials with Wily's robotic duplicates. Wily also fakes several attacks for Proto Man to defeat in order to further make him credible. There's even a notable, touching moment where he and Mega Man have a friendly moment of fun with Rush in the park and Mega Man admits that he really has always wanted to have a true brotherly relationship with Proto Man.
* Done twice in ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'':
** "Eggpire Strikes Back" has King Goobot and the other Yokians coming to Earth and pretending to have reformed. Everyone falls for it except Jimmy.
** "My Big Fat Spy Wedding" has Beautiful Gorgeous pretending to have changed and fallen in love with Jet Fusion. The two are getting married and Jimmy will be the best man. Beautiful hypnotizes Jet just before the wedding so he will kill Jimmy after he says "I have the ring".
[[/folder]]
----
-->-- '''Various Daleks''', ''Series/DoctorWho'', [[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E3ThePowerOfTheDaleks "The Power of the Daleks"]]
Once again, the villain has gotten out of the CardboardPrison. But this time, they've just served their sentence, with possible time off for good behavior, and guess what? They're no longer interested in crime, they just want to be an upstanding citizen. The system works!
And if you believe that, I've got a [[LandmarkSale slightly used]] DeathRay [[LandmarkSale to sell you]]. This is usually just a ruse on the part of the villain, who's plotting his crimes in secret. It may even be part of an elaborate scheme to get the heroes to drop their guard and insinuate the villain as a HeelFaceMole.
An important part of this plot is that everyone else will usually believe the villain right away, it's the heroes who are made to look like fools by their paranoid suspicions. This can veer into ThroughTheEyesOfMadness territory. The villain may [[RedHerring set up a situation]] that looks like he's up to his old tricks, so that the heroes will come barging in to stop his... perfectly lawful activities. This makes the villain look like [[WoundedGazelleGambit an innocent victim]] of [[WhatTheHellHero petty harassment]] and discredits any heroes who continue to suspect that he's still up to no good. Matters may escalate to the point where the duped heroes end up with [[HeroWithBadPublicity tarnished reputations]] or [[ArrestedForHeroism trouble with the law]].
Sometimes the villain is so proficient at leading a normal life that you have to wonder why they even bother with being a villain. Couldn't they just get someone to CutLexLuthorACheck? This is more plausible if the villain is [[YoureInsane just insane]] or motivated by [[ItsPersonal animosity toward the heroes]].
In particularly tragic instances of this, the villain really does reform, but the [[ReformedButRejected mistrust from their environment]] (and possibly the hero in particular) convinces them it's not worth it, and they go back to villainy.
Compare HeelFaceTurn (where the villain actually becomes an out-and-out hero), RetiredMonster (where the villain gives up villainy simply because he's tired of it), VillainWithGoodPublicity (where the villain cultivates a long-term respectable reputation while continuing his evil deeds out of the public eye), ChronicVillainy (the villain sincerely attempts to reform but cannot get over his old obsessions), and ReformedButRejected (the villain really does give up his evil ways -- but the hero still doesn't believe it). See also ThenLetMeBeEvil, where a character (re)turns to evil because everyone treats them with suspicion.
----
!!Examples
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Comic Books]]
* Franchise/{{Batman}} gets this one a lot, since his theme is "justice, not vengeance" and he's contractually obligated to give people a chance, even if he doesn't believe it himself.
** In the "Going Sane" story in ''Legends of the Dark Knight'', after ComicBook/TheJoker thinks Batman has died, he gets plastic surgery and goes on a regime of prescription drugs to make himself look normal. In a short while, he [[LaserGuidedAmnesia forgets all about his life as the Joker]] and turns into a shy, kindly eccentric. (Amnesia of this kind can [very rarely] happen in the RealLife. Psychologists call this "fugue".) This all falls apart when the Batman re-appears.
** ''Comicbook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'' has ''two'' instances of this:
*** Harvey Dent (AKA ComicBook/TwoFace) gets plastic surgery to fix his mutilated face, but it doesn't actually cure his insanity, despite a promising start. Batman really hoped it would work (especially since Bruce and Harvey were friends).
*** The Joker claims to have changed after decades in Arkham, and is released after his evaluation by a [[StrawmanPolitical strawman liberal]] psychiatrist. He goes on a talkshow to prove he just wants to make people smile... and then kills everybody. And somehow, some people are surprised.
** The Harvey Dent example later showed up in current DCU continuity when he received plastic surgery as part of the "Hush" conspiracy, but in an example of petard-hoisting, the surgery put Two-Face out of control, giving Dent his sanity back. Temporarily, anyway.
** One [[UsefulNotes/TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks Bronze Age]] ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' story opened with him trying to convince the parole board that Penguin was playing them. [[BookEnds It ends]] with Batman [[PerspectiveReversal trying to convince the same board not to revoke Penguin's parole on a technicality]] (associating with ex-cons, even for the purpose of [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished employing them at legitimate jobs]], was a parole violation).
** Much like the animated version, The Riddler has gone straight as both a ploy and legitimately several times, including (for a while) being a private detective who ''might'' actually exceed Batman in ability except he stays (mostly) by the book. He tends to relapse, though, and often. He's also one of the few members of Batman's rogue gallery that [[HeelRealization realized he has a serious compulsion]], [[{{Idiosyncrazy}} and "might actually be crazy".]]
* ComicBook/LexLuthor and the Joker team up with this gambit in ''World's Finest Comics'' #88, building nigh-indestructible industrial robots as a front for their actual plan.
* A pre-ComicBook/{{Crisis|on Infinite Earths}} Superman story had Luthor reforming after falling in love and deciding to marry. He even allowed Superman to scan his mind with a device to confirm it. Except it turned out to be a convoluted scheme even Luthor himself wasn't aware of ''[[MemoryGambit since erasing his own memories was part of the plan]]''-- so he really DID go straight, only to return to evil when the plan failed and ended up banishing his new wife to another universe instead of Superman.
* The Threat from the [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] ''Flash'' story "Challenge of the Threat" (from ''All Flash Quarterly'' #2). Back when he was a small-time burglar named Joe Connor, he pretended to go straight when he went to jail, using his time to study and sophisticate himself as a secret revenge plot against the D.A. who sent him to jail. Upon being released, he makes peace with the D.A. and has his goons kidnap his only son. Connor moves to Valley Hill to bring up the child against his real father, but upon meeting Annie Crowley, he falls in love with her and goes straight for real, even having a daughter together with her. However, after Annie died, Connor went back to his revenge plot and told his adopted son that the D.A. killed his mother.
** Another Flash story, this one from the Silver Age, involved Heat Wave pretending to go straight in order to get parole and thus get back to committing crimes quicker. This enraged his partner-in-crime/friend Captain Cold, as Cold is a big believer in HonorAmongThieves and was disgusted/disappointed that Heat Wave would stoop to such a dishonorable trick (as he commented "If there's one thing I hate more than a straight man, it's a crook that pretends to go straight!")
* At one point, [[{{Superman}} the Cyborg Superman]] attempted this, creating a new identity as a schoolteacher and befriending a high school student who, coincidentally, was involved in a few of Superman's adventures, mostly those in the original post-Crisis Kandar. When his identity was revealed, he snapped and attacked, only to escape once more.
* The plot of ''{{ComicBook/Justice}}'' involves the Legion of Doom pretending to quit supervillainy and use their abilities to help others. Naturally this turns out to simply be part of their latest evil scheme and so the Justice League not only have to stop the Legion, but also prove that the HeelFaceTurn is a hoax.
* One story arc of [[ComicStrip/SpiderMan Spider-Man comic strip]] had Mysterio apparently quitting being a supervillain and becoming a special effects supervisor like he used to be before he became a bad guy. Spider-Man investigates under the ruse of helping the do the film Mysterio is working on as a publicity stunt. Sure enough it turns out that Mysterio was just using the film as a cover to pull off a big heist. In the climax, Spidey calls out Mysterio, pointing out that he could've just reformed for real and reforged his career as a special effects wizard, [[CutLexLuthorACheck which would've been way more profitable and successful in the long-run]]. Mysterio admits that Spider-Man is correct but than reveals that he doesn't care; Mysterio's found that he enjoys being a card-carrying supercrook far more than he ever liked his old job.
* The Tinkerer from the canon ComicBook/SpiderMan comics plays it straight. After numerous failures that nearly killed him and destroyed his android assistant Toy, he gave up personally fighting good guys. However, he's still in the business of selling black market weaponry to villains (and [[EveryManHasHisPrice anyone else with money]], such as the Black Cat).
* A recurring plot in [[ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse Paperinik]] stories:
** On one occasion, the Beagle Boys opened a job school for ex-convicts, the trick being that ''all'' students were pulling this alongside the [=BBs=]... And the Beagle Boys actually ''using Paperinik to create an alibi for some of their students''. It ends when the Beagle Boys lead everyone in an assault to Scrooge's money bin... Only to find out that Paperinik had seen through their use of the security cameras to have him provide alibis and used it on them to make them believe he was at the school, and was waiting them with the entire police force.
** Another occasion is the apparent reform of Spectrus, who [[BroughtDownToNormal had apparently lost his]] [[HypnoticEyes hypnotic powers]] in an incident and reformed, even hypnotizing some dogs into attacking him so that everyone would believe he couldn't hypnotize anymore. After being released on parole, he took a honest job... And started committing heists with his hypnotic powers, with only Paperinik believing he hadn't lost his hypnotic powers. In the end, Spectrus is arrested when Paperinik catches him on camera as he hypnotizes some coworkers to provide him an alibi.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Films]]
* Exploited in ''Film/MysteryMen''. Captain Amazing is running out of villains to fight and is financially reliant on superheroics to attract sponsors, and he's smart enough to know Casanova Frankenstein will commence with an EvilPlan once he is let out of the asylum, so he has him freed.
* ''Dee Snider's Strangeland''.
* Frank White in ''Film/KingOfNewYork'' wants everyone to believe that he was reformed by prison, and is now just a philanthropist with an interest in helping the poor. In reality, not so much.
* In ''Film/OneHundredAndTwoDalmatians'', Cruella is seemingly reformed via HeelFaceBrainwashing. After the effects get undone, she continues to act reformed as part of her plan.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* Count Olaf pulls this trope multiple times over the course of ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents''.
* Duke Roger is one of these for the last two books of the ''Literature/SongOfTheLioness'' quartet. Before he [[spoiler:died the first time]], he ''tried to kill the crown prince as well as the queen'', among others. After [[spoiler:he came BackFromTheDead]], people just kind of [[TooDumbToLive accepted his word]] and Thom's that Roger wasn't dangerous anymore, having "changed." (He did. Instead of wanting the throne, he became an OmnicidalManiac.)
* ''Literature/HarryPotter'': After Voldemort was defeated trying to murder baby Harry, some Death Eaters claimed to have been bewitched or unwilling participants and tried to go back to living a normal life. This was most successful in conjunction with ministry connections and large bribes. In most cases it was only a lie to keep them out of Azkaban. It is further implied that at least some of those who ''were'' sent to Azkaban really had been coerced or mind-slaved, and simply didn't have the money to bribe people. Not many people ''really'' cared about the truth as long as they got paid.
* [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Nefarian Serpine]] from ''Literature/SkulduggeryPleasant''.
* The ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'' gives us a few of these. Most of the time, the system actually does work. However, when it doesn't, it fails egregiously. Such is the case of Admiral Daala, an Imperial admiral who oversaw the construction of the Death Star, and the orbital bombardment of several planets. Her current job? [[PresidentEvil Head of the Galactic Alliance!]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* Very common for recurring SpecialGuest Villains on ''Series/{{Batman}}''. For instance, the Penguin runs for mayor in "Hizzoner the Penguin," and in "Catwoman Goes To College," [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin well....]] In one episode, this trope actually works against the Penguin. After opening a high class restaurant to get the signatures of its rich clientele, he purposely ''tries'' to get put in prison so he can hook up with an expert forger. The Penguin actually [[CantGetInTroubleForNuthin proved somewhat inept]] at getting himself arrested.
* In season three of ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' it seems that [[spoiler: four-years-later Sylar]] fits this trope. However it might be a subversion, as he seems to have actually changed his ways.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** In the exceptionally dark story [[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E6RevelationOfTheDaleks "Revelation of the Daleks"]], Davros takes to calling himself the Great Healer [[spoiler:and offering a solution to galactic famine. Thanks to this, Davros can truly call himself [[ImAHumanitarian humanitarian]].]] (Somewhat subverted in that Davros somehow thinks that he can remain anonymous, despite his unique appearance. The story itself does not address this.)
** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS9E2TheCurseOfPeladon "The Curse of Peladon"]], where ProudWarriorRace the Ice Warriors claim to want to have given up their militaristic ways, which the Doctor does not believe. In fact, they have. Though as the next story ([[Recap/DoctorWhoS11E4TheMonsterOfPeladon "The Monster of Peladon"]]) show, as with humans and Time Lords, you can trust some Ice Warriors but not others.
** The first Second Doctor episode, [[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E3ThePowerOfTheDaleks "The Power of the Daleks"]]. "[[AC:I am your ser-vant!]]"
** They do it again in the new series episode [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E3VictoryOfTheDaleks "Victory of the Daleks"]], including "[[AC:[[CrowningMomentOfFunny Would you care for some teeeea?]]]]" and a straight-up shout out to the previous story with "[[AC:I am your sol-dier!]]"
* Averted in ''Series/TheWire''. When Cutty is released from prison, drug lord Avon Barksdale offers him work as an enforcer; after trying it briefly, however, Cutty decides he can't stomach it anymore, and settles down for a quieter life as a boxing coach.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Videogames]]
* Eggman of ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' does this from time to time. (And in lots of incarnations, whether he's Eggman or Robotnik, not just the games.)
** In ''VideoGame/SonicChronicles: The Dark Brotherhood'', he claims to have "completely reformed". ''Nobody'' believes him, but ''they [[EnemyMine work with him]] anyway'' for a good stretch of the game since they legitimately need his tech. No prizes for guessing how ''that'' turned out.
** Also, in ''VideoGame/SonicColors'':
--->'''Dr. Eggman:''' "This amusement park was constructed entirely out of a sense of remorse for my past transgressions, and [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial is in no way associated with any sort of evil plot or premeditated misdeeds]]."
--->'''Sonic:''' "[[SarcasmMode Well, that's a relief.]]"
* The plot to ''VideoGame/MegaMan3''. Dr. Wily claims to have reformed, and works with Dr. Light to build a giant "peacekeeping robot" which Mega Man has to go out and get the components for. The components, oddly enough, are guarded by 8 robot masters... and once they've gathered them all, Dr. Wily steals the new robot and plots to use it to take over the world.
** Wily does it again in ''9'', when he gets out of jail, having apparently reformed. He then frames ''Dr. Light'' as plotting to take over the world, and asks all the people of the world to send donations to his {{Swiss bank account}} so that he can build a new fighting robot to stop Light and his eight robot masters.
** All of this when [[HijackedByGanon everything is Wily's fault]].
* In ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork 3'', Mr. Match convinces Lan he's reformed, only to [[spoiler: trick Lan himself into firebombing Sci Lab]].
* Ultros in ''Videogame/FinalFantasyVI'' eventually becomes the receptionist at the Coliseum. Subverted in that he never attacks the party again. On the other hand, his pet Chupon also sticks around as the "bouncer" to kick you out if you try to wager something stupid (and let the arena keep your wager).
* Dr. Cortex in ''Videogame/CrashBandicoot2CortexStrikesBack'' pretends to be reformed, so that Crash will collect crystals for him so that he can "save the Earth".
* [=LeChuck=] seems to turn over a new leaf in ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland'' when he is transformed into a human. Logically, Guybrush doesn't trust him for a minute, despite Elaine's pleas to let bygones be bygones.
* In VideoGame/SpiderMan, at the beginning, Doc Ock is shown to have supposedly reformed. Later on, he turns out to be the BigBad.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Webcomics]]
* In the comic ''Webcomic/BobAndGeorge'', Dr. Wily does this by faking amnesia to become Dr. Light's assistant again.
** Bob and George is (just loosely enough) based on the actual plot of the games. Thus, this happens only because of association with them.
* In ''Webcomic/SonicTheComicOnline'' villains Max Gamble and Nack the Weasel both have allegedly gone straight becoming zone leaders and helping groups of people out of the goodness of their hearts, Nack helping the weasels and Gamble helping insect refugees from the Special Zone (who are certainly not Family members), the truth is that Gamble is work for [[TheDon Don Long-Legs]] head of [[TheMafia The Family]], and Nack is trying to take over the Ocean Falls Zone.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Web Originals]]
* Parodied by Legendary Frog's "[[http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/105053 The Return of Ganondorf]]", in which Ganondorf from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' comes back after his defeat claiming to have stopped being evil. Link doesn't believe him and keeps trying to spy on him to catch him being evil. In the end, [[spoiler:it turns out he isn't evil after all, Link's just nuts]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' had the Penguin reform, genuinely, only to go back to his villainous ways when the woman he loved betrayed him.
** To twist the knife here, after the Penguin is done with his epic snap and Batman has rescued her, she admits, a bit sadly, "You know, I was really starting to grow fond of you."
** Poison Ivy blurs the lines a bit in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' "House and Garden." She's out of prison, marries a law professor (who was also her lawyer) and takes care of his two sons, Chris and Kelly. Batman spends half the episode tailing her and yeah, she seems OK. The catch? She wants to have a family ''on her terms,'' so she's [[spoiler: locked up her husband and replaced him with a long series of plant/human hybrids using the professor's DNA]]. Robin realizes something's amiss when [[spoiler:he points out [[GenderBlenderName the real Chris and Kelly are supposed to be girls]], who the professor doesn't have custody of.]]
** The Ventriloquist also genuinely reforms after getting some psychiatric help.
** The Riddler also reforms in the episode "Riddler's Reform." He does seem to be genuinely trying to reform, and his legitimate business is quite lucrative, but his obsession with outsmarting Batman won't leave him alone, so he decides that the only solution is to kill him. When he thinks Batman is dead, he does burn his mask and swear to quit being the Riddler, but it doesn't work out that way.
*** The Riddler is seriously unbalanced in this episode, demonstrated by how [[spoiler:he can't for the life of him even figure out how Batman survived being sealed in a room with a time bomb... and a giant safe.]]
** In "Joker's Millions", the Joker becomes legitimately insanely rich by inheriting the wealth of an old enemy. He gives up crime and takes up things like golf. Unfortunately, the money turns out to be mostly counterfeit, and he goes back to his old ways when he tries to hijack an armored truck filled with cash when faced with the massive inheritance taxes and being the laughingstock of the underworld by being so thoroughly cheated. Considering it's the Joker we're talking about it's sort of justified. If word got out that he had been duped by an old rival who was on his death bed every wannabe super villain would be coming after his head either to make a name for themselves or seek revenge for something he'd done to them in the past.
** Harley Quinn was once declared fit to re-enter society, and while she was still [[GenkiGirl bubbly]] and kept giving other people the willies with her pet hyenas, she was well-behaved and did nothing illegal. Then she took off with a dress she'd ''paid for'' before the store clerk could remove the anti-theft widget, causing a store alarm to go off. [[FromBadToWorse Things then spiral out of control, as she drops back into her criminal habits.]] [[OhCrap To mention nothing about the crazy general pursuing her on a tank.]] Batman recognizes that Harley is one of his few villains who isn't irredeemable, just sort of misguided and broken. WordOfGod is that after the [[spoiler: Joker's timely and well deserved death]], Harley went straight and started a family.
*** Indeed, ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyondReturnOfTheJoker'' shows her as a stereotypical Jewish grandmother, and an extremely pissed one due to her granddaughters' fall to delinquency - in a gang called the Jokerz, no less!
** In a short spinoff comic, the Scarecrow starts giving thought to his retirement plans, escapes Arkham, and goes back to teaching under a new identity -- this time as an English professor, which has much less opportunity in the line of unethical experimentation. While he is disdainful of most of his students, he seems to be satisfied with his work otherwise, much to Batman's surprise -- until he opens a can of fear gas on the JerkJock who abused (and [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar possibly did]] [[DateRape worse to]]) his favorite pupil. At the end, though Batman chides him about "reverting to type," ''both'' Scarecrow and the JerkJock are arrested.
* Lex Luthor in the Cadmus story arc of ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Unlimited'' does [[BatmanGambit to discredit Superman]]. He knows that Superman will never believe he's going legit so he can make the Man of Steel look like a bully when he pretends he does.
* About half of Sideshow Bob's appearances in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''.
** Subversion: In one episode, he really had reformed despite Bart's suspicions, and actually saves his life. In a double subversion, he ends up in jail again anyway because the police didn't believe he wasn't involved in his brother's scheme.
*** Also, when they're in the police car:
----> '''Sideshow Bob:''' You can't do this! I saved the children!
----> '''Cecil:''' Tell them they'll live to regret this.
----> '''Sideshow Bob:''' You'll live to regret this! Oh, thanks a lot, now I look crazy.
** This is Subverted ''again'' when the the Simpsons find Bob as the Mayor of a small town in Italy who has once again reformed and started a family. It doesn't stick as Lisa accidentally ruins it, and [[TheFamilyThatSlaysTogether Bob's new family want in on revenge]].
* As a parody/homage to/of Batman, WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck faced something similar in one episode, with one twist: Darkwing, under his secret identity Drake, ended up hosting the criminal Tuskernini after (accidentally) enrolling in the city's 'Adopt-A-Con' program. His trick in getting Tuskernini to reveal his con? Convincing him that [[spoiler:he, his daughter, and his sidekick were undercover criminals, that they believed Tuskernini all along, and that Tuskernini caught ''them'' in the act of plotting a robbery.]]
* On ''WesternAnimation/SuperFriends'', the Legion of Doom pulled this once. Since they proceeded to travel into the future because they thought the Superfriends wouldn't find them there, the viewer is left to question why.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{SpongebobSquarepants}}'': Plankton pretends he changed in a convoluted charade to get Mr. Krabs's secret formula.
** In an earlier episode, Man-Ray pretends to have changed in order to get revenge on Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. But, thanks to Spongebob's TickleTorture, when he goes to rob a bank, he decides to just open a checking account instead. Later, however, he forms the villain group, E.V.I.L.
** Spongebob also encounters the Atomic Flounder, another nemesis of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. He appears to be a regular old man, but when he's taunted by Spongebob, uses a BreathWeapon on him.
* There was Gil from ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible''--Everybody bought it except for Ron, which ended up being the key to his defeat.
* In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'', Mister Freeze was subjected to this after he was given an honest shot at redemption and a normal life. Few people believed he was willing to change, with the exception of Terry, as a twist (elderly Bruce seems to have witnessed this trope being averted a few too many times to believe in Freeze's reform). Couldn't make good on it though, as the technology used to heal his body...wasn't that good. He was doing fine until [[spoiler:the doctors treating him wanted to [[TheyWouldCutYouUp vivisect him]] to see why the treatment wasn't permanent.]]
* After being defeated the first time in ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderman'', Doctor Octopus pretends to have returned to his original meek personality and asserts that criminal actions were the result of his tentacles forcing him into it. By doing this, it allows him to be kept at an institution under relatively low security and mastermind a break-out for his fellow villains, who, being sane, are kept in maximum security prison.
* There was one of these in WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls. Perhaps dealing with Mojo Jo Jo?
* One ''WesternAnimation/TuffPuppy'' episode has Snaptrap claim to have reformed, and everyone buys it except Kitty. He even does some good deeds for the city, but Kitty thinks he's up to his old tricks and ruins them, [[WhatTheHellHero turning everyone against her]]. Then Snaptrap reveals he's still evil as he captures everyone in a death trap.
* Scorpion in the "Love Stings" episode of Kung Fu Panda.
* The episode "Bro Bots" from the ''WesternAnimation/MegaMan'' cartoon revolved around Proto Man pretending to have defected from Dr. Wily as part of a ploy to get in close during an election and replace the mayor and the city officials with Wily's robotic duplicates. Wily also fakes several attacks for Proto Man to defeat in order to further make him credible. There's even a notable, touching moment where he and Mega Man have a friendly moment of fun with Rush in the park and Mega Man admits that he really has always wanted to have a true brotherly relationship with Proto Man.
* Done twice in ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'':
** "Eggpire Strikes Back" has King Goobot and the other Yokians coming to Earth and pretending to have reformed. Everyone falls for it except Jimmy.
** "My Big Fat Spy Wedding" has Beautiful Gorgeous pretending to have changed and fallen in love with Jet Fusion. The two are getting married and Jimmy will be the best man. Beautiful hypnotizes Jet just before the wedding so he will kill Jimmy after he says "I have the ring".
[[/folder]]
----
to:
-->-- '''Various Daleks''', ''Series/DoctorWho'', [[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E3ThePowerOfTheDaleks "The Power of the Daleks"]]
Once again, the villain has gotten out of the CardboardPrison. But this time, they've just served their sentence, with possible time off for good behavior, and guess what? They're no longer interested in crime, they just want to be an upstanding citizen. The system works!
And if you believe that, I've got a [[LandmarkSale slightly used]] DeathRay [[LandmarkSale to sell you]]. This is usually just a ruse on the part of the villain, who's plotting his crimes in secret. It may even be part of an elaborate scheme to get the heroes to drop their guard and insinuate the villain as a HeelFaceMole.
An important part of this plot is that everyone else will usually believe the villain right away, it's the heroes who are made to look like fools by their paranoid suspicions. This can veer into ThroughTheEyesOfMadness territory. The villain may [[RedHerring set up a situation]] that looks like he's up to his old tricks, so that the heroes will come barging in to stop his... perfectly lawful activities. This makes the villain look like [[WoundedGazelleGambit an innocent victim]] of [[WhatTheHellHero petty harassment]] and discredits any heroes who continue to suspect that he's still up to no good. Matters may escalate to the point where the duped heroes end up with [[HeroWithBadPublicity tarnished reputations]] or [[ArrestedForHeroism trouble with the law]].
Sometimes the villain is so proficient at leading a normal life that you have to wonder why they even bother with being a villain. Couldn't they just get someone to CutLexLuthorACheck? This is more plausible if the villain is [[YoureInsane just insane]] or motivated by [[ItsPersonal animosity toward the heroes]].
In particularly tragic instances of this, the villain really does reform, but the [[ReformedButRejected mistrust from their environment]] (and possibly the hero in particular) convinces them it's not worth it, and they go back to villainy.
Compare HeelFaceTurn (where the villain actually becomes an out-and-out hero), RetiredMonster (where the villain gives up villainy simply because he's tired of it), VillainWithGoodPublicity (where the villain cultivates a long-term respectable reputation while continuing his evil deeds out of the public eye), ChronicVillainy (the villain sincerely attempts to reform but cannot get over his old obsessions), and ReformedButRejected (the villain really does give up his evil ways -- but the hero still doesn't believe it). See also ThenLetMeBeEvil, where a character (re)turns to evil because everyone treats them with suspicion.
----
!!Examples
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Comic Books]]
* Franchise/{{Batman}} gets this one a lot, since his theme is "justice, not vengeance" and he's contractually obligated to give people a chance, even if he doesn't believe it himself.
** In the "Going Sane" story in ''Legends of the Dark Knight'', after ComicBook/TheJoker thinks Batman has died, he gets plastic surgery and goes on a regime of prescription drugs to make himself look normal. In a short while, he [[LaserGuidedAmnesia forgets all about his life as the Joker]] and turns into a shy, kindly eccentric. (Amnesia of this kind can [very rarely] happen in the RealLife. Psychologists call this "fugue".) This all falls apart when the Batman re-appears.
** ''Comicbook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'' has ''two'' instances of this:
*** Harvey Dent (AKA ComicBook/TwoFace) gets plastic surgery to fix his mutilated face, but it doesn't actually cure his insanity, despite a promising start. Batman really hoped it would work (especially since Bruce and Harvey were friends).
*** The Joker claims to have changed after decades in Arkham, and is released after his evaluation by a [[StrawmanPolitical strawman liberal]] psychiatrist. He goes on a talkshow to prove he just wants to make people smile... and then kills everybody. And somehow, some people are surprised.
** The Harvey Dent example later showed up in current DCU continuity when he received plastic surgery as part of the "Hush" conspiracy, but in an example of petard-hoisting, the surgery put Two-Face out of control, giving Dent his sanity back. Temporarily, anyway.
** One [[UsefulNotes/TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks Bronze Age]] ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' story opened with him trying to convince the parole board that Penguin was playing them. [[BookEnds It ends]] with Batman [[PerspectiveReversal trying to convince the same board not to revoke Penguin's parole on a technicality]] (associating with ex-cons, even for the purpose of [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished employing them at legitimate jobs]], was a parole violation).
** Much like the animated version, The Riddler has gone straight as both a ploy and legitimately several times, including (for a while) being a private detective who ''might'' actually exceed Batman in ability except he stays (mostly) by the book. He tends to relapse, though, and often. He's also one of the few members of Batman's rogue gallery that [[HeelRealization realized he has a serious compulsion]], [[{{Idiosyncrazy}} and "might actually be crazy".]]
* ComicBook/LexLuthor and the Joker team up with this gambit in ''World's Finest Comics'' #88, building nigh-indestructible industrial robots as a front for their actual plan.
* A pre-ComicBook/{{Crisis|on Infinite Earths}} Superman story had Luthor reforming after falling in love and deciding to marry. He even allowed Superman to scan his mind with a device to confirm it. Except it turned out to be a convoluted scheme even Luthor himself wasn't aware of ''[[MemoryGambit since erasing his own memories was part of the plan]]''-- so he really DID go straight, only to return to evil when the plan failed and ended up banishing his new wife to another universe instead of Superman.
* The Threat from the [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] ''Flash'' story "Challenge of the Threat" (from ''All Flash Quarterly'' #2). Back when he was a small-time burglar named Joe Connor, he pretended to go straight when he went to jail, using his time to study and sophisticate himself as a secret revenge plot against the D.A. who sent him to jail. Upon being released, he makes peace with the D.A. and has his goons kidnap his only son. Connor moves to Valley Hill to bring up the child against his real father, but upon meeting Annie Crowley, he falls in love with her and goes straight for real, even having a daughter together with her. However, after Annie died, Connor went back to his revenge plot and told his adopted son that the D.A. killed his mother.
** Another Flash story, this one from the Silver Age, involved Heat Wave pretending to go straight in order to get parole and thus get back to committing crimes quicker. This enraged his partner-in-crime/friend Captain Cold, as Cold is a big believer in HonorAmongThieves and was disgusted/disappointed that Heat Wave would stoop to such a dishonorable trick (as he commented "If there's one thing I hate more than a straight man, it's a crook that pretends to go straight!")
* At one point, [[{{Superman}} the Cyborg Superman]] attempted this, creating a new identity as a schoolteacher and befriending a high school student who, coincidentally, was involved in a few of Superman's adventures, mostly those in the original post-Crisis Kandar. When his identity was revealed, he snapped and attacked, only to escape once more.
* The plot of ''{{ComicBook/Justice}}'' involves the Legion of Doom pretending to quit supervillainy and use their abilities to help others. Naturally this turns out to simply be part of their latest evil scheme and so the Justice League not only have to stop the Legion, but also prove that the HeelFaceTurn is a hoax.
* One story arc of [[ComicStrip/SpiderMan Spider-Man comic strip]] had Mysterio apparently quitting being a supervillain and becoming a special effects supervisor like he used to be before he became a bad guy. Spider-Man investigates under the ruse of helping the do the film Mysterio is working on as a publicity stunt. Sure enough it turns out that Mysterio was just using the film as a cover to pull off a big heist. In the climax, Spidey calls out Mysterio, pointing out that he could've just reformed for real and reforged his career as a special effects wizard, [[CutLexLuthorACheck which would've been way more profitable and successful in the long-run]]. Mysterio admits that Spider-Man is correct but than reveals that he doesn't care; Mysterio's found that he enjoys being a card-carrying supercrook far more than he ever liked his old job.
* The Tinkerer from the canon ComicBook/SpiderMan comics plays it straight. After numerous failures that nearly killed him and destroyed his android assistant Toy, he gave up personally fighting good guys. However, he's still in the business of selling black market weaponry to villains (and [[EveryManHasHisPrice anyone else with money]], such as the Black Cat).
* A recurring plot in [[ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse Paperinik]] stories:
** On one occasion, the Beagle Boys opened a job school for ex-convicts, the trick being that ''all'' students were pulling this alongside the [=BBs=]... And the Beagle Boys actually ''using Paperinik to create an alibi for some of their students''. It ends when the Beagle Boys lead everyone in an assault to Scrooge's money bin... Only to find out that Paperinik had seen through their use of the security cameras to have him provide alibis and used it on them to make them believe he was at the school, and was waiting them with the entire police force.
** Another occasion is the apparent reform of Spectrus, who [[BroughtDownToNormal had apparently lost his]] [[HypnoticEyes hypnotic powers]] in an incident and reformed, even hypnotizing some dogs into attacking him so that everyone would believe he couldn't hypnotize anymore. After being released on parole, he took a honest job... And started committing heists with his hypnotic powers, with only Paperinik believing he hadn't lost his hypnotic powers. In the end, Spectrus is arrested when Paperinik catches him on camera as he hypnotizes some coworkers to provide him an alibi.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Films]]
* Exploited in ''Film/MysteryMen''. Captain Amazing is running out of villains to fight and is financially reliant on superheroics to attract sponsors, and he's smart enough to know Casanova Frankenstein will commence with an EvilPlan once he is let out of the asylum, so he has him freed.
* ''Dee Snider's Strangeland''.
* Frank White in ''Film/KingOfNewYork'' wants everyone to believe that he was reformed by prison, and is now just a philanthropist with an interest in helping the poor. In reality, not so much.
* In ''Film/OneHundredAndTwoDalmatians'', Cruella is seemingly reformed via HeelFaceBrainwashing. After the effects get undone, she continues to act reformed as part of her plan.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* Count Olaf pulls this trope multiple times over the course of ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents''.
* Duke Roger is one of these for the last two books of the ''Literature/SongOfTheLioness'' quartet. Before he [[spoiler:died the first time]], he ''tried to kill the crown prince as well as the queen'', among others. After [[spoiler:he came BackFromTheDead]], people just kind of [[TooDumbToLive accepted his word]] and Thom's that Roger wasn't dangerous anymore, having "changed." (He did. Instead of wanting the throne, he became an OmnicidalManiac.)
* ''Literature/HarryPotter'': After Voldemort was defeated trying to murder baby Harry, some Death Eaters claimed to have been bewitched or unwilling participants and tried to go back to living a normal life. This was most successful in conjunction with ministry connections and large bribes. In most cases it was only a lie to keep them out of Azkaban. It is further implied that at least some of those who ''were'' sent to Azkaban really had been coerced or mind-slaved, and simply didn't have the money to bribe people. Not many people ''really'' cared about the truth as long as they got paid.
* [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Nefarian Serpine]] from ''Literature/SkulduggeryPleasant''.
* The ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'' gives us a few of these. Most of the time, the system actually does work. However, when it doesn't, it fails egregiously. Such is the case of Admiral Daala, an Imperial admiral who oversaw the construction of the Death Star, and the orbital bombardment of several planets. Her current job? [[PresidentEvil Head of the Galactic Alliance!]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* Very common for recurring SpecialGuest Villains on ''Series/{{Batman}}''. For instance, the Penguin runs for mayor in "Hizzoner the Penguin," and in "Catwoman Goes To College," [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin well....]] In one episode, this trope actually works against the Penguin. After opening a high class restaurant to get the signatures of its rich clientele, he purposely ''tries'' to get put in prison so he can hook up with an expert forger. The Penguin actually [[CantGetInTroubleForNuthin proved somewhat inept]] at getting himself arrested.
* In season three of ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' it seems that [[spoiler: four-years-later Sylar]] fits this trope. However it might be a subversion, as he seems to have actually changed his ways.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** In the exceptionally dark story [[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E6RevelationOfTheDaleks "Revelation of the Daleks"]], Davros takes to calling himself the Great Healer [[spoiler:and offering a solution to galactic famine. Thanks to this, Davros can truly call himself [[ImAHumanitarian humanitarian]].]] (Somewhat subverted in that Davros somehow thinks that he can remain anonymous, despite his unique appearance. The story itself does not address this.)
** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS9E2TheCurseOfPeladon "The Curse of Peladon"]], where ProudWarriorRace the Ice Warriors claim to want to have given up their militaristic ways, which the Doctor does not believe. In fact, they have. Though as the next story ([[Recap/DoctorWhoS11E4TheMonsterOfPeladon "The Monster of Peladon"]]) show, as with humans and Time Lords, you can trust some Ice Warriors but not others.
** The first Second Doctor episode, [[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E3ThePowerOfTheDaleks "The Power of the Daleks"]]. "[[AC:I am your ser-vant!]]"
** They do it again in the new series episode [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E3VictoryOfTheDaleks "Victory of the Daleks"]], including "[[AC:[[CrowningMomentOfFunny Would you care for some teeeea?]]]]" and a straight-up shout out to the previous story with "[[AC:I am your sol-dier!]]"
* Averted in ''Series/TheWire''. When Cutty is released from prison, drug lord Avon Barksdale offers him work as an enforcer; after trying it briefly, however, Cutty decides he can't stomach it anymore, and settles down for a quieter life as a boxing coach.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Videogames]]
* Eggman of ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' does this from time to time. (And in lots of incarnations, whether he's Eggman or Robotnik, not just the games.)
** In ''VideoGame/SonicChronicles: The Dark Brotherhood'', he claims to have "completely reformed". ''Nobody'' believes him, but ''they [[EnemyMine work with him]] anyway'' for a good stretch of the game since they legitimately need his tech. No prizes for guessing how ''that'' turned out.
** Also, in ''VideoGame/SonicColors'':
--->'''Dr. Eggman:''' "This amusement park was constructed entirely out of a sense of remorse for my past transgressions, and [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial is in no way associated with any sort of evil plot or premeditated misdeeds]]."
--->'''Sonic:''' "[[SarcasmMode Well, that's a relief.]]"
* The plot to ''VideoGame/MegaMan3''. Dr. Wily claims to have reformed, and works with Dr. Light to build a giant "peacekeeping robot" which Mega Man has to go out and get the components for. The components, oddly enough, are guarded by 8 robot masters... and once they've gathered them all, Dr. Wily steals the new robot and plots to use it to take over the world.
** Wily does it again in ''9'', when he gets out of jail, having apparently reformed. He then frames ''Dr. Light'' as plotting to take over the world, and asks all the people of the world to send donations to his {{Swiss bank account}} so that he can build a new fighting robot to stop Light and his eight robot masters.
** All of this when [[HijackedByGanon everything is Wily's fault]].
* In ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork 3'', Mr. Match convinces Lan he's reformed, only to [[spoiler: trick Lan himself into firebombing Sci Lab]].
* Ultros in ''Videogame/FinalFantasyVI'' eventually becomes the receptionist at the Coliseum. Subverted in that he never attacks the party again. On the other hand, his pet Chupon also sticks around as the "bouncer" to kick you out if you try to wager something stupid (and let the arena keep your wager).
* Dr. Cortex in ''Videogame/CrashBandicoot2CortexStrikesBack'' pretends to be reformed, so that Crash will collect crystals for him so that he can "save the Earth".
* [=LeChuck=] seems to turn over a new leaf in ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland'' when he is transformed into a human. Logically, Guybrush doesn't trust him for a minute, despite Elaine's pleas to let bygones be bygones.
* In VideoGame/SpiderMan, at the beginning, Doc Ock is shown to have supposedly reformed. Later on, he turns out to be the BigBad.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Webcomics]]
* In the comic ''Webcomic/BobAndGeorge'', Dr. Wily does this by faking amnesia to become Dr. Light's assistant again.
** Bob and George is (just loosely enough) based on the actual plot of the games. Thus, this happens only because of association with them.
* In ''Webcomic/SonicTheComicOnline'' villains Max Gamble and Nack the Weasel both have allegedly gone straight becoming zone leaders and helping groups of people out of the goodness of their hearts, Nack helping the weasels and Gamble helping insect refugees from the Special Zone (who are certainly not Family members), the truth is that Gamble is work for [[TheDon Don Long-Legs]] head of [[TheMafia The Family]], and Nack is trying to take over the Ocean Falls Zone.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Web Originals]]
* Parodied by Legendary Frog's "[[http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/105053 The Return of Ganondorf]]", in which Ganondorf from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' comes back after his defeat claiming to have stopped being evil. Link doesn't believe him and keeps trying to spy on him to catch him being evil. In the end, [[spoiler:it turns out he isn't evil after all, Link's just nuts]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' had the Penguin reform, genuinely, only to go back to his villainous ways when the woman he loved betrayed him.
** To twist the knife here, after the Penguin is done with his epic snap and Batman has rescued her, she admits, a bit sadly, "You know, I was really starting to grow fond of you."
** Poison Ivy blurs the lines a bit in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' "House and Garden." She's out of prison, marries a law professor (who was also her lawyer) and takes care of his two sons, Chris and Kelly. Batman spends half the episode tailing her and yeah, she seems OK. The catch? She wants to have a family ''on her terms,'' so she's [[spoiler: locked up her husband and replaced him with a long series of plant/human hybrids using the professor's DNA]]. Robin realizes something's amiss when [[spoiler:he points out [[GenderBlenderName the real Chris and Kelly are supposed to be girls]], who the professor doesn't have custody of.]]
** The Ventriloquist also genuinely reforms after getting some psychiatric help.
** The Riddler also reforms in the episode "Riddler's Reform." He does seem to be genuinely trying to reform, and his legitimate business is quite lucrative, but his obsession with outsmarting Batman won't leave him alone, so he decides that the only solution is to kill him. When he thinks Batman is dead, he does burn his mask and swear to quit being the Riddler, but it doesn't work out that way.
*** The Riddler is seriously unbalanced in this episode, demonstrated by how [[spoiler:he can't for the life of him even figure out how Batman survived being sealed in a room with a time bomb... and a giant safe.]]
** In "Joker's Millions", the Joker becomes legitimately insanely rich by inheriting the wealth of an old enemy. He gives up crime and takes up things like golf. Unfortunately, the money turns out to be mostly counterfeit, and he goes back to his old ways when he tries to hijack an armored truck filled with cash when faced with the massive inheritance taxes and being the laughingstock of the underworld by being so thoroughly cheated. Considering it's the Joker we're talking about it's sort of justified. If word got out that he had been duped by an old rival who was on his death bed every wannabe super villain would be coming after his head either to make a name for themselves or seek revenge for something he'd done to them in the past.
** Harley Quinn was once declared fit to re-enter society, and while she was still [[GenkiGirl bubbly]] and kept giving other people the willies with her pet hyenas, she was well-behaved and did nothing illegal. Then she took off with a dress she'd ''paid for'' before the store clerk could remove the anti-theft widget, causing a store alarm to go off. [[FromBadToWorse Things then spiral out of control, as she drops back into her criminal habits.]] [[OhCrap To mention nothing about the crazy general pursuing her on a tank.]] Batman recognizes that Harley is one of his few villains who isn't irredeemable, just sort of misguided and broken. WordOfGod is that after the [[spoiler: Joker's timely and well deserved death]], Harley went straight and started a family.
*** Indeed, ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyondReturnOfTheJoker'' shows her as a stereotypical Jewish grandmother, and an extremely pissed one due to her granddaughters' fall to delinquency - in a gang called the Jokerz, no less!
** In a short spinoff comic, the Scarecrow starts giving thought to his retirement plans, escapes Arkham, and goes back to teaching under a new identity -- this time as an English professor, which has much less opportunity in the line of unethical experimentation. While he is disdainful of most of his students, he seems to be satisfied with his work otherwise, much to Batman's surprise -- until he opens a can of fear gas on the JerkJock who abused (and [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar possibly did]] [[DateRape worse to]]) his favorite pupil. At the end, though Batman chides him about "reverting to type," ''both'' Scarecrow and the JerkJock are arrested.
* Lex Luthor in the Cadmus story arc of ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Unlimited'' does [[BatmanGambit to discredit Superman]]. He knows that Superman will never believe he's going legit so he can make the Man of Steel look like a bully when he pretends he does.
* About half of Sideshow Bob's appearances in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''.
** Subversion: In one episode, he really had reformed despite Bart's suspicions, and actually saves his life. In a double subversion, he ends up in jail again anyway because the police didn't believe he wasn't involved in his brother's scheme.
*** Also, when they're in the police car:
----> '''Sideshow Bob:''' You can't do this! I saved the children!
----> '''Cecil:''' Tell them they'll live to regret this.
----> '''Sideshow Bob:''' You'll live to regret this! Oh, thanks a lot, now I look crazy.
** This is Subverted ''again'' when the the Simpsons find Bob as the Mayor of a small town in Italy who has once again reformed and started a family. It doesn't stick as Lisa accidentally ruins it, and [[TheFamilyThatSlaysTogether Bob's new family want in on revenge]].
* As a parody/homage to/of Batman, WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck faced something similar in one episode, with one twist: Darkwing, under his secret identity Drake, ended up hosting the criminal Tuskernini after (accidentally) enrolling in the city's 'Adopt-A-Con' program. His trick in getting Tuskernini to reveal his con? Convincing him that [[spoiler:he, his daughter, and his sidekick were undercover criminals, that they believed Tuskernini all along, and that Tuskernini caught ''them'' in the act of plotting a robbery.]]
* On ''WesternAnimation/SuperFriends'', the Legion of Doom pulled this once. Since they proceeded to travel into the future because they thought the Superfriends wouldn't find them there, the viewer is left to question why.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{SpongebobSquarepants}}'': Plankton pretends he changed in a convoluted charade to get Mr. Krabs's secret formula.
** In an earlier episode, Man-Ray pretends to have changed in order to get revenge on Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. But, thanks to Spongebob's TickleTorture, when he goes to rob a bank, he decides to just open a checking account instead. Later, however, he forms the villain group, E.V.I.L.
** Spongebob also encounters the Atomic Flounder, another nemesis of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. He appears to be a regular old man, but when he's taunted by Spongebob, uses a BreathWeapon on him.
* There was Gil from ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible''--Everybody bought it except for Ron, which ended up being the key to his defeat.
* In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'', Mister Freeze was subjected to this after he was given an honest shot at redemption and a normal life. Few people believed he was willing to change, with the exception of Terry, as a twist (elderly Bruce seems to have witnessed this trope being averted a few too many times to believe in Freeze's reform). Couldn't make good on it though, as the technology used to heal his body...wasn't that good. He was doing fine until [[spoiler:the doctors treating him wanted to [[TheyWouldCutYouUp vivisect him]] to see why the treatment wasn't permanent.]]
* After being defeated the first time in ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderman'', Doctor Octopus pretends to have returned to his original meek personality and asserts that criminal actions were the result of his tentacles forcing him into it. By doing this, it allows him to be kept at an institution under relatively low security and mastermind a break-out for his fellow villains, who, being sane, are kept in maximum security prison.
* There was one of these in WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls. Perhaps dealing with Mojo Jo Jo?
* One ''WesternAnimation/TuffPuppy'' episode has Snaptrap claim to have reformed, and everyone buys it except Kitty. He even does some good deeds for the city, but Kitty thinks he's up to his old tricks and ruins them, [[WhatTheHellHero turning everyone against her]]. Then Snaptrap reveals he's still evil as he captures everyone in a death trap.
* Scorpion in the "Love Stings" episode of Kung Fu Panda.
* The episode "Bro Bots" from the ''WesternAnimation/MegaMan'' cartoon revolved around Proto Man pretending to have defected from Dr. Wily as part of a ploy to get in close during an election and replace the mayor and the city officials with Wily's robotic duplicates. Wily also fakes several attacks for Proto Man to defeat in order to further make him credible. There's even a notable, touching moment where he and Mega Man have a friendly moment of fun with Rush in the park and Mega Man admits that he really has always wanted to have a true brotherly relationship with Proto Man.
* Done twice in ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'':
** "Eggpire Strikes Back" has King Goobot and the other Yokians coming to Earth and pretending to have reformed. Everyone falls for it except Jimmy.
** "My Big Fat Spy Wedding" has Beautiful Gorgeous pretending to have changed and fallen in love with Jet Fusion. The two are getting married and Jimmy will be the best man. Beautiful hypnotizes Jet just before the wedding so he will kill Jimmy after he says "I have the ring".
[[/folder]]
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** In the "Going Sane" story in ''Legends of the Dark Knight'', after SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker thinks Batman has died, he gets plastic surgery and goes on a regime of prescription drugs to make himself look normal. In a short while, he [[LaserGuidedAmnesia forgets all about his life as the Joker]] and turns into a shy, kindly eccentric. (Amnesia of this kind can [very rarely] happen in the RealLife. Psychologists call this "fugue".) This all falls apart when the Batman re-appears.
to:
** In the "Going Sane" story in ''Legends of the Dark Knight'', after SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker ComicBook/TheJoker thinks Batman has died, he gets plastic surgery and goes on a regime of prescription drugs to make himself look normal. In a short while, he [[LaserGuidedAmnesia forgets all about his life as the Joker]] and turns into a shy, kindly eccentric. (Amnesia of this kind can [very rarely] happen in the RealLife. Psychologists call this "fugue".) This all falls apart when the Batman re-appears.
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* Done twice in TheAdventuresofJimmyNeutron:
** Eggpire Strikes Back has King Goobot and the other Yokians coming to Earth and pretending to have reformed. Everyone falls for it except Jimmy.
** My Big Fat Spy Wedding has Beautiful Gorgeous pretending to have changed and fallen in love with Jet Fusion. The two are getting married and Jimmy will be the best man. Beautiful hypnotizes Jet just before the wedding so he will kill Jimmy after he says "I have the ring".
** Eggpire Strikes Back has King Goobot and the other Yokians coming to Earth and pretending to have reformed. Everyone falls for it except Jimmy.
** My Big Fat Spy Wedding has Beautiful Gorgeous pretending to have changed and fallen in love with Jet Fusion. The two are getting married and Jimmy will be the best man. Beautiful hypnotizes Jet just before the wedding so he will kill Jimmy after he says "I have the ring".
to:
* Done twice in TheAdventuresofJimmyNeutron:
''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'':
**Eggpire "Eggpire Strikes Back Back" has King Goobot and the other Yokians coming to Earth and pretending to have reformed. Everyone falls for it except Jimmy.
**My "My Big Fat Spy Wedding Wedding" has Beautiful Gorgeous pretending to have changed and fallen in love with Jet Fusion. The two are getting married and Jimmy will be the best man. Beautiful hypnotizes Jet just before the wedding so he will kill Jimmy after he says "I have the ring".
**
**
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** They do it again in the new series episode [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E3VictoryOfTheDaleks "Victory of the Daleks"]], including "[[AC:[[CrowningMomentOfFunny Would you care for some teeeea?]]]]"
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** They do it again in the new series episode [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E3VictoryOfTheDaleks "Victory of the Daleks"]], including "[[AC:[[CrowningMomentOfFunny Would you care for some teeeea?]]]]"teeeea?]]]]" and a straight-up shout out to the previous story with "[[AC:I am your sol-dier!]]"
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* The Tinkerer from the canon ComicBook/SpiderMan comics plays it straight. After numerous failures that nearly killed him and destroyed his android assistant Toy, he gave up personally fighting good guys. However, he's still in the business of selling black market weaponry to villains (and [[EveryManHasHisPrice anyone else with money]], such as the Black Cat).
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* In SonicTheComicOnline villains Max Gamble and Nack the Weasel both have allegedly gone straight becoming zone leaders and helping groups of people out of the goodness of their hearts, Nack helping the weasels and Gamble helping insect refugees from the Special Zone (who are certainly not Family members), the truth is that Gamble is work for [[TheDon Don Long-Legs]] head of [[TheMafia The Family]], and Nack is trying to take over the Ocean Falls Zone.
to:
* In SonicTheComicOnline ''Webcomic/SonicTheComicOnline'' villains Max Gamble and Nack the Weasel both have allegedly gone straight becoming zone leaders and helping groups of people out of the goodness of their hearts, Nack helping the weasels and Gamble helping insect refugees from the Special Zone (who are certainly not Family members), the truth is that Gamble is work for [[TheDon Don Long-Legs]] head of [[TheMafia The Family]], and Nack is trying to take over the Ocean Falls Zone.
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* Count Olaf pulls this trope multiple times over the course of ''ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents''.
to:
* Count Olaf pulls this trope multiple times over the course of ''ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents''.''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents''.
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** In an earlier episode, Man-Ray pretends to have changed in order to get revenge on Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. But, thanks to Spongebob's TickleTorture, when he goes to rob a bank, he decides to just open a checking account instead. Later, however, he forms the villain group, E.V.I.L.
** Spongebob also encounters the Atomic Flounder, another nemesis of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. He appears to be a regular old man, but when he's taunted by Spongebob, uses a BreathWeapon on him.
** Spongebob also encounters the Atomic Flounder, another nemesis of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. He appears to be a regular old man, but when he's taunted by Spongebob, uses a BreathWeapon on him.
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cleaned up wrong uses of Genre Savvy tropes as per http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14517129060A14005800&page=1#1
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* Exploited in ''Film/MysteryMen''. Captain Amazing is running out of villains to fight and is financially reliant on superheroics to attract sponsors, and he's GenreSavvy enough to know Casanova Frankenstein will commence with an EvilPlan once he is let out of the asylum, so he has him freed.
to:
* Exploited in ''Film/MysteryMen''. Captain Amazing is running out of villains to fight and is financially reliant on superheroics to attract sponsors, and he's GenreSavvy smart enough to know Casanova Frankenstein will commence with an EvilPlan once he is let out of the asylum, so he has him freed.
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Compare HeelFaceTurn (where the villain actually becomes an out-and-out hero), VillainWithGoodPublicity (where the villain cultivates a long-term respectable reputation while continuing his evil deeds out of the public eye), ChronicVillainy (the villain sincerely attempts to reform but cannot get over his old obsessions), and ReformedButRejected (the villain really does give up his evil ways -- but the hero still doesn't believe it). See also ThenLetMeBeEvil, where a character (re)turns to evil because everyone treats them with suspicion.
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Compare HeelFaceTurn (where the villain actually becomes an out-and-out hero), RetiredMonster (where the villain gives up villainy simply because he's tired of it), VillainWithGoodPublicity (where the villain cultivates a long-term respectable reputation while continuing his evil deeds out of the public eye), ChronicVillainy (the villain sincerely attempts to reform but cannot get over his old obsessions), and ReformedButRejected (the villain really does give up his evil ways -- but the hero still doesn't believe it). See also ThenLetMeBeEvil, where a character (re)turns to evil because everyone treats them with suspicion.
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An important part of this plot is that everyone else will usually believe the villain right away, it's the heroes who are made to look like fools by their paranoid suspicions. This can veer into ThroughTheEyesOfMadness territory. The villain may [[RedHerring set up a situation]] that looks like he's up to his old tricks, so that the heroes will come barging in to stop his... perfectly lawful activities. This makes the villain look like [[WoundedGazelleGambit an innocent victim]] of [[WhatTheHellHero petty harassment]] and discredits any heroes who continue to suspect that he's still up to no good.
to:
An important part of this plot is that everyone else will usually believe the villain right away, it's the heroes who are made to look like fools by their paranoid suspicions. This can veer into ThroughTheEyesOfMadness territory. The villain may [[RedHerring set up a situation]] that looks like he's up to his old tricks, so that the heroes will come barging in to stop his... perfectly lawful activities. This makes the villain look like [[WoundedGazelleGambit an innocent victim]] of [[WhatTheHellHero petty harassment]] and discredits any heroes who continue to suspect that he's still up to no good.
good. Matters may escalate to the point where the duped heroes end up with [[HeroWithBadPublicity tarnished reputations]] or [[ArrestedForHeroism trouble with the law]].
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* A recurring plot in [[ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse Paperinik]] stories:
** On one occasion, the Beagle Boys opened a job school for ex-convicts, the trick being that ''all'' students were pulling this alongside the [=BBs=]... And the Beagle Boys actually ''using Paperinik to create an alibi for some of their students''. It ends when the Beagle Boys lead everyone in an assault to Scrooge's money bin... Only to find out that Paperinik had seen through their use of the security cameras to have him provide alibis and used it on them to make them believe he was at the school, and was waiting them with the entire police force.
** Another occasion is the apparent reform of Spectrus, who [[BroughtDownToNormal had apparently lost his]] [[HypnoticEyes hypnotic powers]] in an incident and reformed, even hypnotizing some dogs into attacking him so that everyone would believe he couldn't hypnotize anymore. After being released on parole, he took a honest job... And started committing heists with his hypnotic powers, with only Paperinik believing he hadn't lost his hypnotic powers. In the end, Spectrus is arrested when Paperinik catches him on camera as he hypnotizes some coworkers to provide him an alibi.
** On one occasion, the Beagle Boys opened a job school for ex-convicts, the trick being that ''all'' students were pulling this alongside the [=BBs=]... And the Beagle Boys actually ''using Paperinik to create an alibi for some of their students''. It ends when the Beagle Boys lead everyone in an assault to Scrooge's money bin... Only to find out that Paperinik had seen through their use of the security cameras to have him provide alibis and used it on them to make them believe he was at the school, and was waiting them with the entire police force.
** Another occasion is the apparent reform of Spectrus, who [[BroughtDownToNormal had apparently lost his]] [[HypnoticEyes hypnotic powers]] in an incident and reformed, even hypnotizing some dogs into attacking him so that everyone would believe he couldn't hypnotize anymore. After being released on parole, he took a honest job... And started committing heists with his hypnotic powers, with only Paperinik believing he hadn't lost his hypnotic powers. In the end, Spectrus is arrested when Paperinik catches him on camera as he hypnotizes some coworkers to provide him an alibi.
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** This Subverted ''again'' when the the Simpsons find Bob as the Mayor of a small town in Italy who has once again reformed and started a family. It doesn't stick as Lisa accidentally ruins it, and [[TheFamilyThatSlaysTogether Bob's new family want in on revenge]].
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** This is Subverted ''again'' when the the Simpsons find Bob as the Mayor of a small town in Italy who has once again reformed and started a family. It doesn't stick as Lisa accidentally ruins it, and [[TheFamilyThatSlaysTogether Bob's new family want in on revenge]].
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* in VideoGame/SpiderMan, at the beginning, Doc Ock is shown to have supposedly reformed. Later on, e turns out to be the BigBad.
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* in In VideoGame/SpiderMan, at the beginning, Doc Ock is shown to have supposedly reformed. Later on, e he turns out to be the BigBad.
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** Much like the animated version, ComicBook/TheRiddler has gone straight as both a ploy and legitimately several times, including (for a while) being a private detective who ''might'' actually exceed Batman in ability except he stays (mostly) by the book. He tends to relapse, though, and often. He's also one of the few members of Batman's rogue gallery that [[HeelRealization realized he has a serious compulsion]], [[{{Idiosyncrazy}} and "might actually be crazy".]]
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** Much like the animated version, ComicBook/TheRiddler The Riddler has gone straight as both a ploy and legitimately several times, including (for a while) being a private detective who ''might'' actually exceed Batman in ability except he stays (mostly) by the book. He tends to relapse, though, and often. He's also one of the few members of Batman's rogue gallery that [[HeelRealization realized he has a serious compulsion]], [[{{Idiosyncrazy}} and "might actually be crazy".]]
