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* FromNobodyToNightmare/TheDCU
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* FromNobodyToNightmare/ComicBooks
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[[folder:Multiple Media]]
In most versions of ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'', Baxter Stockman tends to start out as an ordinary scientist who is mistreated or [[InsufferableGenius wants to flaunt his genius-level intellect]] by using dubious methods. After being foiled by the Turtles, he gradually loses his humanity until he becomes completely ruthless. Several instances of this also involve him turning into a mutant flyman or a cyborg in the process of it all. Bonus points if he [[MadScientist goes insane]] on top of that.
In most versions of ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'', Baxter Stockman tends to start out as an ordinary scientist who is mistreated or [[InsufferableGenius wants to flaunt his genius-level intellect]] by using dubious methods. After being foiled by the Turtles, he gradually loses his humanity until he becomes completely ruthless. Several instances of this also involve him turning into a mutant flyman or a cyborg in the process of it all. Bonus points if he [[MadScientist goes insane]] on top of that.
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* FromNobodyToNightmare/TheDCU
* FromNobodyToNightmare/MarvelUniverse
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* ''ComicBook/AstroCity'': "The Eagle and the Mountain" gives us the story of a lowly slave named Kiyu, and how he eventually becomes Infidel, the reality-shattering EvilSorcerer ArchEnemy of Samaritan.
* ''ComicBook/BlackMoonChronicles'': Wismerhill starts out as a ThisLoserIsYou type who fights rabbits with a joust. During his journey he gains more power and followers, eventually becoming the commander-in-chief of the Army of the [[ReligionOfEvil Black Moon]] [[spoiler:and emperor of the new world after the death of the old one]].
* ''ComicBook/CerebusTheAardvark'': The Cirinist were originally a group of mothers who worked together to help their community. Over the course of the first 1/3 of the series they go from a creepy MonsterOfTheWeek to a major political party to an oppressive matriarchy and eventually the closest thing to a BigBad the series has.
** New Joanne was originally a writer for a religious magazine [[spoiler:but by the end of the series she runs the oppressive matriarchy that rules the world and is arguably worst than the Cirinists.]]
* In ''ComicBook/{{Chronin}}'', the BigBad Azai turns out to be a younger son from a minor and impoverished samurai family who thanks to cunning, fighting ability and [[spoiler:knowledge of the future]] managed to scheme his way into power and then grow that power until he occupied a position of great power in the shogunate. As Magistrate of Kyoto, he is exceedingly effective in his efforts to both counter and quash the revolutionaries and to play the delicate and dangerous game of politics in the shogunate. Fortunately, as capable and ruthless as Azai is, [[spoiler:he's also reasonable, and Mirai manages to convince him that he has no chance of accomplishing his goals for reforming Japan by working with the shogunate, and in the end he crosses over to the side of the heroes.]]
* The ultimate BigBad of the ''Creator/CrossGen'' multiverse, Charon of the Negation Universe, was an ordinary archaeologist who had the good(bad?) luck of discovering Atlantis and its Ascension technology. When his comrade [[MadScientist Apollyon]] activated it, they were both flung into the Negation Universe as partially ascended near omnipotent godlike beings. Charon became so powerful that the mere fragments of his madness which he expelled from himself became twisted {{Eldritch Abomination}}s called the Lawbringers that are powerful enough to fight and ''kill'' [[PhysicalGod The First]] and Sigil-Bearers.
* One memorable twist in Creator/LarryHama's run on the ''[[ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel G.I. Joe]]'' comic book was revealing that the Cobra Commander was... a used car salesman driven to madness by personal loss and misfortune, who built his terrorist army through propaganda and the proceeds from Amway-style pyramid schemes.
* ''ComicBook/KhaalTheChroniclesOfAGalacticEmperor'' tells the story of a street urchin living in a harsh and brutal [[PlanetSpaceship planetship]] who is discovered to have superhuman powers, and uses them to become a [[VillainProtagonist fearsome warlord whose aim is to gather as many resource, slaves and females]]. When super-advanced aliens attack their ship and try to invade it, he manages to kill their leader and take their place, becoming a GalacticConqueror in the process who leaves [[OmnicidalManiac barren and ruined planets in his wake]]. At the end of the comic [[spoiler:he invades Earth and successfully conquers it, being revered as a GodEmperor in the process]].
* [[spoiler: Haazen]] from the ''ComicBook/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' comic series. [[spoiler: He goes from failed Jedi padawan loser to a powerful ManipulativeBastard and would-be Sith Lord.]]
* ComicBook/LadyDeath's villain Purgatori was a mere slave girl in Ancient Egypt whose job was to grind corn under the desert sun. One day she caught the eye of the Queen Ostraca, who was well known for her love of women and enchanted by her beauty, made Sakkara her newest concubine. However, after being pressured by her generals to slaughter her harem, Ostraca betrayed the girl who sought a vampire to turn her and give her revenge. The vampire's blood and her own were mixed and she was turned into a unique creature half-vampire, half-demonic who would eventually pay back against the Queen and unleash a vicious bloodbath upon the world.
* Tokuga in ''ComicBook/TheLegendOfKorraTurfWars'' is a hyper-competent villain who uses hookswords, chi-blocking and fearful tactics (think a mix of Ty Lee, Jet, and Azula) to attempt to overtake the city. Tokuga is unique in his entire past and character are a mystery. Nobody knows where the hell he came from. According to two-toed Ping, he showed up, bumped off Viper and took control of the Triple Triads. Up until him, gangs were a bit of a joke in the Avatar universe, but Tokuga reminds the audience that gangs are indeed a serious threat who should not be taken lightly.
* While not a villain in the proper sense, ComicBook/LenoreTheCuteLittleDeadGirl from the eponymous comic series is pretty horrifying at times. She was apparently a mostly normal child before catching pneumonia, dying, and rising from the dead as an adorable little abomination.
* [[TheBigGuy Razzia (aka Korbo the Red Shadow)]] in ''[[ComicBook/LesLegendaires Les Légendaires]]''. As a child, he was a [[{{Geek}} far bookworm fascinated with adventures novels]] who didn't like fighting and required assistance from his ''younger'' CoolBigSis Sheyla when bullied. Then [[StartOfDarkness his village got slaughtered]], and the wrath caused him [[TookALevelInBadass to grow up]] as a [[BarbarianHero Conan-like warrior]] who [[OneManArmy slaughtered a one-thousand army of his own]] and eventually joined the EvilSorcerer [[BigBad Darkhell]] as TheDragon, becoming famous as one of Darkhell's two deadliest henchmen (the other being his DarkActionGirl [[DaddySLittleVillain daughter Tenebris]], who became [[UnholyMatrimony Korbo's girlfriend]]). Fortunately, Razzia eventually had a HeelFaceTurn and became a hero.
* ''ComicBook/TheSecretService'' shows Gary's transition from a random street punk to a world class spy.
* Scourge The Hedgehog from ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'' is most definitely this. In his own words, he was an evil alternate dimension counterpart of Sonic, who was nothing but a minor annoyance. It was only when he became [[spoiler:super-charged with energy from the Master Emerald]] that he became a monster -- to the point where he actually [[spoiler:took over his home planet]] just because he could. It's also implied that he's a [[spoiler:SelfMadeOrphan]].
** Doctor Finitevus. Ordinarily a brilliant mind from the Echidna city of Albion, an incident involving Chaos Knuckles, Saffron and Charmy Bee, and an invention of his own creation led to his transformation into one of the worst villains Mobius had ever seen. Dangerous and manipulative, he nearly brought about TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt by using Knuckles, and was directly responsible for Albion's destruction and the deaths of hundreds of Echidnas.
* ''ComicBook/SonicTheComic'': Chaos started out as a [[{{Mook}} Drakon Prosecutor]] from ancient times, during the war between the echidnas and the Drakon Empire capture by echidnas not long after its imprisonment, a squad of Drakons attacked the camp in order to take back the Chaos Emeralds that the echidnas had stolen from them. During the fight, a discharge from a Prosecutor's battle-staff struck the Chaos Emeralds, causing the Emeralds to 'leak' pure Chaos radiation. The energy mingled with the water in the tank containing the captive Prosecutor, which absorbed the energy and was mutated in a terrifying monstrosity, the creature Sonic would come to know in the future as Chaos.
* Coach Boss from ''ComicBook/SouthernBastards'' was a skinny kid who repeatedly failed to get in the football team. He goes on to become the crime boss of the entire town.
* ''ComicBook/StarWarsLegacy'' features two that go from the same start to the same position, but on opposite sides of the moral spectrum; Darth Krayt started out as [[spoiler:A'sharad Hett]], a survivor of Order 66, and ended up as the ruler of the galaxy. K'Kruhk also survived Order 66, and ended up as one of the three Triumvirs who ruled the galaxy.
* In most versions of ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'', Baxter Stockman tends to start out as an ordinary scientist who is mistreated or [[InsufferableGenius wants to flaunt his genius-level intellect]] by using dubious methods. After being foiled by the Turtles, he gradually loses his humanity until he becomes completely ruthless. Several instances of this also involve him turning into a mutant flyman or a cyborg in the process of it all. Bonus points if he [[MadScientist goes insane]] on top of
* IDW's ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMegatronOrigins'', details the origins of... [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Megatron]]. [[spoiler:The evil warlord who has terrorized the Galaxy for countless eons... was once a miner earning dirt pay who got laid off, didn't take it lying down, and was arrested for killing a security officer in self-defense. Later issues reveal that he was also a staunch opposer of Cybertron's current government regime but was never able to get his message across because of his peaceful, nobody nature.]] Then he got pissed, built and attached a fusion cannon to his arm, and the rest was history.
** The comics further show that the Decepticons had to come from somewhere, and the corrupt government had many of the Cons coming out of the Lower-classes. Of the Big Three: Soundwave was a vagrant with no memory of his past, Starscream was a test pilot, though it's downplayed with Shockwave who [[spoiler: was actually a prominent senator who was PunishedForSympathy and had his emotions stripped from him, becoming the un-empathetic MadScientist he is today]]. All the other cons had mid to low level jobs, Blitzwing was a security officer, Needlenose was a salesman, Rumble and Frenzy were miners, though this is inverted with Drag-strip who went from a famous racer to a fairly low-level Decepticon.
** [[ComicBook/TheTransformersMegaseries Thunderwing]] started out as a small Decepticon scientist, trying to get both sides to understand that Cybertron was on its last legs thanks to the war. When his proposed method of surviving was rejected, he decided to put it into practice... and became an utterly unstoppable monstrosity that took the combined power of both armies, include such 'bots as Trypticon and Omega Supreme, to stop. And that still didn't actually kill him.
** It applies to some of the less pleasant Autobots, too. Whirl, one of the Autobots' craziest {{Blood Knight}}s, was a clockmaker [[note]]Whirl plays with this trope a bit. While a clockmaker is a fairly humble profession, his claim to fame would be his defying the Functionist Council and changing professions from something his alt-mode seemed built for, making him defying what was tantamount to religious dogma at the time. It's why he was on the Senate's hit list to begin with[[/note]]. Then the Senate took his dexterous hands away with the punishment known as empurata, giving him claws and a [[CyberCyclops single eye]]. His life went...downhill after that, but hey, he gets a lot of opportunities to hurt people and some funny one-liners, so...there's that.
** Nova Prime started off as another soldier in Prima's army. Then Alpha Trion decided that with the Thirteen gone, he'd make a good Prime. And then it turned out Nova was a far bigger bastard than he'd let on, allowing for the rise of Functionism and the corrupt Senate that gave birth to the Decepticons. Whoops.
** Arcee and Galvatron, who [[DecompositeCharacter is not a reformatted Megatron in IDW 2005]], started out as siblings in the gladiatorial slave pits. After Megatronus, AKA the Fallen, overthrew their leader and recruited them into his military, Galvatron would become a genocidal warlord who became the first person to kill a Prime without being one. Following a stay in the Dead Universe, he would nearly destroy Cybertron, then become the leader of the post-Megatron Decepticons and prove to be so dangerous that even Optimus Prime opted to ShootTheDog rather than accept his surrender. Arcee, meanwhile, had her gender affirmation surgery go badly thanks to consulting a MadScientist over it and would spend the period after her release from spark containment as a rampaging killer who viewed repeatedly dismembering said mad scientist as a form of therapy prior to eventually calming down and moving on with her life.
** ''ComicBook/TransformersWingsOfHonor'': Inverted: Before the war, Strika was a security guard assigned to a scientific outpost, at the end of the Autobot-Decepticon war she's one of the Autobot's top Generals and Co-leads the Autobot[=/=]Decepticon alliance against the Cybertronian empire.
* ''ComicBook/TheUmbrellaAcademy'': Vanya went from a mousy, shy, withdrawn, ''ordinary'' woman to [[spoiler: The White Violin, ApocalypseMaiden, who nearly ended the world]], only failing because of Klaus' telekinesis.
* Basically ''everyone'' in the ''ComicBook/TheWalkingDead'' is like this, as all the survivors were more or less just normal people [[ZombieApocalypse until the world ended]]. [[TheHero Rick]] was just a smalltown cop, Michonne was apparently a lawyer, Maggie was a farmer, Glenn was a ''pizza delivery boy'', and even infamous BigBad Negan was a simple used car salesman. Now, several years after the end of civilization as we know it, all of them have become some of the most capable, dangerous, and canny individuals around. Special mention though goes to The Governor, Philip Blake, who was [[spoiler: a meek, ineffectual, divorced failed businessman cum music geek named '''Brian''' before becoming the sadistic, raping, power-crazed, insane, mass-murdering tyrant who would cripple Rick, rape and torture Michonne, and kill off fully half the cast during his notorious assault on the prison in ''Made To Suffer''.]]
* In ''ComicBook/{{Wanted}}'', Wesley Gibson started out as a weak-willed and pacifistic individual and eventually becoming a monster with his father's ImprobableAimingSkills. [[spoiler:This was all masterminded by his father, who hated how Wesley's mother raised him and wanted him to "man up" by embracing his supervillain heritage.]] Arguably the [[Film/{{Wanted}} film version]] is a less evil variation, where Wesley just becomes a badass instead.
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[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'': Gaston is [[VillainWithGoodPublicity by no means considered a nobody in his village]], but he hardly appears to be a threat in the grand scheme of things. He's just a smug {{Jerkass}} and a sexist, controlling egomaniac... but his obsession with Belle and his refusal to accept she doesn't love him eventually drives him first to blackmail and then to form an [[TorchesAndPitchforks angry mob]] to attempt to kill the Beast. One of the animators sums it up best:
--> "He goes from a buffoon and a jerk to a murderer."
* ''WesternAnimation/HeavyMetal''. In the "Captain Sternn" segment, Hanover Fiste starts off as a milksop weakling and is mutated by the Loc-Nar into a gigantic, vicious muscle-bound brute. Interestingly, in the comic he can [[HulkingOut Hulk Out]] at will.
* Tyler from ''WesternAnimation/HeavyMetal2000'' was a simple miner before he had the misfortune of discovering the Loc-Nar. All he did was touch it, and it immediately drove him insane, turning him into a bloodthirsty psychopath who seeks the sealed off [[FountainOfYouth source of immortality-granting water]] and rule over the universe.
* Buddy Pine from ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'' was just an annoying little {{Fanboy}} who refused to leave Mr. Incredible alone, then he had one little misunderstanding with the hero. When Mr. Incredible sees him again years later, he's become the supervillain Syndrome and has already murdered a large number of Supers. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'':
** Megamind himself is an alien who is sent to live on Earth by his parents. But he was raised in prison, unlike Metro Man, who lived in a mansion with a happy family. This jealousy eventually leads to him becoming a supervillain after all attempts to be good goes wrong for him.
** Hal Stewart started off as a clingy, socially-awkward cameraman with a crush on Roxanne Ritchi, but [[spoiler: obtained superpowers via Megamind and became the supervillain Titan, a brutish PsychopathicManchild who is willing to obliterate an entire city just because Roxanne won't give into his [[EntitledToHaveYou even more disturbing advances]].]]
* Constance from ''WesternAnimation/MonsterHouse'' was a large obese woman who was part of a circus group and was always ridiculed for her appearance. Once she met Mr. Nebbercracker, the two got married and were prepared to live happily together, until she accidentally fell to her death to the basement of her own home when trying to scare some teenagers away. Her spirit takes over the entirety of her house, becoming a monster who attacks anyone who or anything that comes near her.
* Randall Boggs started out as a nerdy college student before he fell in with a bad crowd. His StartOfDarkness is only hinted at in the prequel ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'', but by the time ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc1'' rolls around, he's become bitter and violent.
* Tempest Shadow, from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie2017''. She began her life as an ordinary unicorn filly with dreams of attending Princess Celestia's school. Then she was attacked by an [[BearsAreBadNews Ursa Minor]], breaking her horn and scarring her face. Her unstable magic caused her to be abandoned by her friends, leading to her losing her faith in friendship and abandoning Equestria. By the time she returns as an adult, she's a cold, hardened army commander under the employ of the [[BigBad Storm King]], having razed the lands beyond Equestria and now seeking to steal the Princesses' magic.
* ''WesternAnimation/Nimona2023'':
** In-universe, this is how [[spoiler:The Director]] paints Ballister after the Queen is killed: he was a commoner, and now has become the greatest villain in the kingdom.
** [[spoiler:In the past, Nimona was this: she only wanted a place to belong, and once she thought she'd found it, was persecuted and driven out by the people she thought had accepted her, leading her to adopt a mindset of ThenLetMeBeEvil.]]
* Agatha, from ''WesternAnimation/ParaNorman'', had some powers during her lifetime [[spoiler: but these didn't appear to extend beyond speaking to the dead before she was executed as a witch]].
* Douche from ''WesternAnimation/SausageParty'' was originally an ordinary feminine hygiene product who fell out of a shopping cart and got his nozzle broken. Furious at losing his chance to get bought and used (and aware that, unlike the food characters, he wouldn't be eaten when he was bought) he took out his anger on the foods, eventually [[AGodAmI declaring himself a "god"]] as he began eating them.
* ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooOnZombieIsland'': [[spoiler: Simone and Lena were simple Louisiana colonists until their village was destroyed and their friends murdered by Morgan Moonscar. This drove them to become cat demons to get their revenge, only to be permanently cursed and required to drain the life force of visitors every harvest moon to preserve their immortality]].
* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManAcrossTheSpiderVerse'': The true identity of the Spot ends up being [[spoiler: Jonathan Ohnn, the Alchemax scientist at whom Miles threw a bagel whilst escaping from the company's facility in the first film. The [[FreakLabAccident explosion from the collider]] at the end of the original movie [[CreateYourOwnVillain permanently transformed Ohnn's body into a vessel for interdimensional portals]].]] Miles [[ButForMeItWasTuesday has no idea who the guy is]], while Spot credits Spider-Man for ruining his life. To make matters worse he started off as an IneffectualSympatheticVillain, but after Miles calls him a "VillainOfTheWeek", he snaps and, with a little bit of figuring out the full potential of his powers, becomes a truly terrifying threat who could threaten to destroy the entire multiverse.
* ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'': Lotso was once a [[UsedToBeASweetKid soft-spoken, gentle, lovable teddy bear]] who first started out as a Christmas present for Daisy, a young kind-hearted girl who immediately became overjoyed the moment she unwrapped him. Along with her other two toys, Big Baby and Chuckles the Clown, she had so much fun playing with them, as she loved all three of them equally. But, according to Chuckles, Lotso was unique to her most of all. Things suddenly take a dramatic turn when on a family trip, as Daisy happily played with her toys, including her very special Lotso, she fell asleep after lunch, accidentally leaving her toys behind. Lotso and his friends decided to go back home afterwards, but by the time they got there, it turned out Daisy bought another Lotso to [[ReplacementGoldfish compensate for the original one]] she lost during the trip. Right when Lotso saw this, ''something snapped inside him that day...'' which cumulated in him turning the daycare into his own prison. [[spoiler: It should be noted, that Daisy only bought another Lotso because he symbolized how much she truly loved her original. As pointed out by Woody, it was ''Lotso'' who abandoned Daisy to begin with.]]
[[/folder]]
* ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'': Gaston is [[VillainWithGoodPublicity by no means considered a nobody in his village]], but he hardly appears to be a threat in the grand scheme of things. He's just a smug {{Jerkass}} and a sexist, controlling egomaniac... but his obsession with Belle and his refusal to accept she doesn't love him eventually drives him first to blackmail and then to form an [[TorchesAndPitchforks angry mob]] to attempt to kill the Beast. One of the animators sums it up best:
--> "He goes from a buffoon and a jerk to a murderer."
* ''WesternAnimation/HeavyMetal''. In the "Captain Sternn" segment, Hanover Fiste starts off as a milksop weakling and is mutated by the Loc-Nar into a gigantic, vicious muscle-bound brute. Interestingly, in the comic he can [[HulkingOut Hulk Out]] at will.
* Tyler from ''WesternAnimation/HeavyMetal2000'' was a simple miner before he had the misfortune of discovering the Loc-Nar. All he did was touch it, and it immediately drove him insane, turning him into a bloodthirsty psychopath who seeks the sealed off [[FountainOfYouth source of immortality-granting water]] and rule over the universe.
* Buddy Pine from ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'' was just an annoying little {{Fanboy}} who refused to leave Mr. Incredible alone, then he had one little misunderstanding with the hero. When Mr. Incredible sees him again years later, he's become the supervillain Syndrome and has already murdered a large number of Supers. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'':
** Megamind himself is an alien who is sent to live on Earth by his parents. But he was raised in prison, unlike Metro Man, who lived in a mansion with a happy family. This jealousy eventually leads to him becoming a supervillain after all attempts to be good goes wrong for him.
** Hal Stewart started off as a clingy, socially-awkward cameraman with a crush on Roxanne Ritchi, but [[spoiler: obtained superpowers via Megamind and became the supervillain Titan, a brutish PsychopathicManchild who is willing to obliterate an entire city just because Roxanne won't give into his [[EntitledToHaveYou even more disturbing advances]].]]
* Constance from ''WesternAnimation/MonsterHouse'' was a large obese woman who was part of a circus group and was always ridiculed for her appearance. Once she met Mr. Nebbercracker, the two got married and were prepared to live happily together, until she accidentally fell to her death to the basement of her own home when trying to scare some teenagers away. Her spirit takes over the entirety of her house, becoming a monster who attacks anyone who or anything that comes near her.
* Randall Boggs started out as a nerdy college student before he fell in with a bad crowd. His StartOfDarkness is only hinted at in the prequel ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'', but by the time ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc1'' rolls around, he's become bitter and violent.
* Tempest Shadow, from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie2017''. She began her life as an ordinary unicorn filly with dreams of attending Princess Celestia's school. Then she was attacked by an [[BearsAreBadNews Ursa Minor]], breaking her horn and scarring her face. Her unstable magic caused her to be abandoned by her friends, leading to her losing her faith in friendship and abandoning Equestria. By the time she returns as an adult, she's a cold, hardened army commander under the employ of the [[BigBad Storm King]], having razed the lands beyond Equestria and now seeking to steal the Princesses' magic.
* ''WesternAnimation/Nimona2023'':
** In-universe, this is how [[spoiler:The Director]] paints Ballister after the Queen is killed: he was a commoner, and now has become the greatest villain in the kingdom.
** [[spoiler:In the past, Nimona was this: she only wanted a place to belong, and once she thought she'd found it, was persecuted and driven out by the people she thought had accepted her, leading her to adopt a mindset of ThenLetMeBeEvil.]]
* Agatha, from ''WesternAnimation/ParaNorman'', had some powers during her lifetime [[spoiler: but these didn't appear to extend beyond speaking to the dead before she was executed as a witch]].
* Douche from ''WesternAnimation/SausageParty'' was originally an ordinary feminine hygiene product who fell out of a shopping cart and got his nozzle broken. Furious at losing his chance to get bought and used (and aware that, unlike the food characters, he wouldn't be eaten when he was bought) he took out his anger on the foods, eventually [[AGodAmI declaring himself a "god"]] as he began eating them.
* ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooOnZombieIsland'': [[spoiler: Simone and Lena were simple Louisiana colonists until their village was destroyed and their friends murdered by Morgan Moonscar. This drove them to become cat demons to get their revenge, only to be permanently cursed and required to drain the life force of visitors every harvest moon to preserve their immortality]].
* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManAcrossTheSpiderVerse'': The true identity of the Spot ends up being [[spoiler: Jonathan Ohnn, the Alchemax scientist at whom Miles threw a bagel whilst escaping from the company's facility in the first film. The [[FreakLabAccident explosion from the collider]] at the end of the original movie [[CreateYourOwnVillain permanently transformed Ohnn's body into a vessel for interdimensional portals]].]] Miles [[ButForMeItWasTuesday has no idea who the guy is]], while Spot credits Spider-Man for ruining his life. To make matters worse he started off as an IneffectualSympatheticVillain, but after Miles calls him a "VillainOfTheWeek", he snaps and, with a little bit of figuring out the full potential of his powers, becomes a truly terrifying threat who could threaten to destroy the entire multiverse.
* ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'': Lotso was once a [[UsedToBeASweetKid soft-spoken, gentle, lovable teddy bear]] who first started out as a Christmas present for Daisy, a young kind-hearted girl who immediately became overjoyed the moment she unwrapped him. Along with her other two toys, Big Baby and Chuckles the Clown, she had so much fun playing with them, as she loved all three of them equally. But, according to Chuckles, Lotso was unique to her most of all. Things suddenly take a dramatic turn when on a family trip, as Daisy happily played with her toys, including her very special Lotso, she fell asleep after lunch, accidentally leaving her toys behind. Lotso and his friends decided to go back home afterwards, but by the time they got there, it turned out Daisy bought another Lotso to [[ReplacementGoldfish compensate for the original one]] she lost during the trip. Right when Lotso saw this, ''something snapped inside him that day...'' which cumulated in him turning the daycare into his own prison. [[spoiler: It should be noted, that Daisy only bought another Lotso because he symbolized how much she truly loved her original. As pointed out by Woody, it was ''Lotso'' who abandoned Daisy to begin with.]]
[[/folder]]
Added DiffLines:
[[folder:Web Comics]]
* ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids'' takes this a step up from [[Franchise/StarWars the source material]]: the planet Tatooine and Anakin himself were made up on the fly by the [[GameMaster GM]], with Anakin not even having had a name until Sally (playing Jar-Jar) asks what his name is. Then he gets a blood transfusion from Obi-Wan, and [[TheRoleplayer Annie]] starts playing him... Long story short, he gains incredibly powerful Force abilities, becomes unstable frighteningly quickly, [[spoiler:manipulates Senator Palpatine (who was originally [[AdaptionalHeroism a genuinely good person in this continuity]]) into wiping out the Jedi and becoming a dictator, later driving him insane by haunting him as a Force ghost - sorry, ''midichlorian cloud,'' pushes Padme over the slippery slope into becoming Darth Vader, and ''is still out there somewhere'' as a midichlorian cloud, just as evil as ever.]]
* Karnak from ''Webcomic/DominicDeegan'' was a human orphan raised by orcs. Through a HeroicSacrifice to save Miranda Deegan, he was transformed into a semi-demon and gradually slaughtered his way up the ranks to become the only Demon Lord in Hell.
** Most Infernomancers in the series fit this trope as well. And Necromancers. And maybe Siegfried. Yeah, Mookie sort of loves this trope.
* In ''Webcomic/{{Drowtales}}'', Quain'tana would be this from the perspective of the BlueBlood Sharen clan. She started out as a lowly orphaned StreetUrchin, forced to steal food in order to survive and nearly dying at the hands of a Sharen dragon knight over it. But in time, she was able to build up enough power to become their bitterest foe for authority and survived all of their attempts to crush her. By the end of the TimeSkip, she [[spoiler:overthrows their reign over the city-state of Chel and completely topples their sense of reality]].
* In ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'', as it turns out [[spoiler:[[ButtMonkey The Onion Kid]] becomes [[AWizardDidIt Sarda]], RealityWarper extraordinaire.]]
* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', [[http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=1692 this]] is why the government puts so much effort into maintaining TheMasquerade that keeps regular people from realizing magic exists (and, more importantly, how ''easy'' it is). Ordinary jerks with just a taste of magic can turn into [[http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=1663 psychotic monsters]].
* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' has Baron Wulfenbach. While not quite nobody, Baron ''is'' one of the lowest ranks possible in Europe, and his family historically ruled a single town without much invasion of anyone else. His greatest personal claim to fame was essentially as a recurring sidekick for the two legendary heroes of the era. He disappeared for a few years, during which time the heroes disappeared (maybe killed), attacks from their arch-enemy [[BigBad the Other]] had left Europa in ruins. By the time he came back, all the good he accomplished with his heroic friends was in shambles and every MadScientist on the continent was running around trying to kill or conquer each other again. He dealt with this by rolling up his sleeves and conquering ''the entire continent'' in a matter of years. Then he held it all together for well over a decade with a delicate balance of soft-touch and iron-fist policies summed up as "Don't make me come over there".
* ''WebComic/GuildedAge'' has [[spoiler:Penk]], who starts out as a [[spoiler:drummer and herald]] with strong ideals but not much else, and then becomes an avatar of his god, gaining increased strength, resilience, and senses, and takes on leadership of the World's Rebellion's response to the Gastonian Peacemakers.
* Coyote of ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'' believes that etheric beings like himself only exist because of human belief. Assuming his theory is true, he was once an ordinary coyote until a [[http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=1069 delirious dying human]] saw him as a [[http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=1070 deity]].
* Jack Noir of ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' starts out as just an unwilling ObstructiveBureaucrat in the kingdom of Derse, but ends up becoming the comic's DiscOneFinalBoss after [[TheStarscream killing the Black Queen]] and takes the prototyping rings for his own use.[[spoiler:Takes a whole another level when he successfully kills an entire universe]]
** [[spoiler:Eridan Ampora]] is a competitor for fastest jump from IneffectualSympatheticVillain to a serious threat with [[spoiler:[[FaceHeelTurn his plan to join Jack]], [[MoralEventHorizon the murders of his love interest and best friend, and causing the extinction of his species]]. Right after pathetically thanking said best friend for being the only person to show faith in him.]]
** For straight-up old-school shiver-inducing terror try [[spoiler:''Gamzee's'' [[http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=005258 about face]].]] He starts the comic as an unimportant FlatCharacter based on a parodic {{Deconstruction}} of a Music/InsaneClownPosse video - an attempt to imagine what a character holding the beliefs implied in the video would actually be like (a MonsterClown with a tough upbringing, but also a sweet-natured, totally chill, [[TheStoner Stoner]] LoveFreak who is probably the nicest person in the comic). The fanbase [[EnsembleDarkHorse loved him]] and produced gag fanworks based on him, which made it all the more [[{{Troll}} hilarious]] when he was described as "the most important character in ''Homestuck''", and then [[spoiler:[[FreakOut flipped out and started murdering all the other trolls due to a religious crisis]]]].
** ...and now we have [[spoiler:Aranea Serket]], whose whiplash-inducing FaceHeelTurn is enough to break one's neck. Making it worse? The action that put her over the MoralEventHorizon was [[spoiler:"healing" Jake's emotional trauma, allowing him to use his powers against everyone else in the session on her behalf]]--against his will. The fallout? Considering he's [[spoiler:a Page of Hope, explicitly stated on several occasions to be one of the most powerful classes]], not exactly pretty. [[spoiler:Her actions end up causing the failure of the entire original timeline, needing a large scale multiversal retcon to fix.]]
** And finally, in an exceptionally spectacular example: [[spoiler:Caliborn. He]] was little more than a brat on trapped on a room, but ended up turning into the [[spoiler: ultimate omniversal terror, ruler of paradox space, and unquestionable master of time; the all-mighty [[BigBad Lord English]].]]
* ''WebComic/KillSixBillionDemons'': Six of [[BigBadEnsemble the Seven Black Emperors]] come from humble origins and obtained [[DeityOfHumanOrigin their god-like powers]] [[KillTheGod through Regicide]][[note]]Mammon bought his first key, but presumably murdered his way to several others[[/note]]. [[spoiler:Mottom and Jagganoth]] were born peasants in backwater worlds, [[spoiler:Solomon David]] was a farmer and citizen-soldier, [[spoiler:Incubus]] was an orphaned [[WarRefugees War Refugee]], [[spoiler:Mammon]] was a beast of burden and [[spoiler:Gog-Agog]] wasn't even sentient. Jadis is the only one of them to avert this, as she came from a noble family of [[ThePhilosopherKing Philosopher Kings]], but even so it's a long way from 'noble' to 'TheOmniscient' and 'PhysicalGod'.
** [[OurDemonsAreDifferent All Devils]], save Himself, begin their lifecycle as Pale Devils and work their way up the hierarchy of devilry by making deals, obtaining new names and discarding old and unusable ones until they find their one true name and become Ebon Devils. This means every Ebon Devil has at one point been a mute servitor, TheImp, TheBrute, and so on. It's believed Himself was a Pale Devil as well once, but went from absolute Nobody to [[EldritchAbomination absolute Nightmare]] in one fell swoop: He broke the fundamental rules of the setting, named Himself with just that ''single'' name, and ''that was that''.
** Maya was the daughter of a noodle vendor. Rather than remain one, she became apprenticed to Meti-ten-Ryo, the greatest MasterSwordsman ever to live, and became a master of Sword Law. [[spoiler:She was the original holder of much of Incubus' Key of Kings, and conquered 20,000 worlds during the Universal War, though [[RetiredMonster she's since retired]].]]
* Nearly all of the [[TranshumanTreachery Demans]] in ''Webcomic/{{Lessa}}'' are this. Most of them started as nobodies, and now they're the ones terrorizing Hexagon Island.
** Ares was a child slave in Ancient Egypt. By present-day, he's the leader of a race of genocidal monsters.
** Among the Second Generation -- Demans who Ares personally converted -- Bach was also a former slave, while Belle was an ordinary villager who crossed the DespairEventHorizon after her daughter was murdered under suspicion of being a witch. There's also Ryan, who was a sickly author before Ares rescued him.
** To a lesser extent, the Third Generation -- White and Mindy-Mindy -- are mostly composed of abandoned children who thrive as Demans through survival of the fittest.
* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick''
** On the prequel book ''[[Recap/TheOrderOfTheStickStartOfDarkness Start of Darkness]]'', Redcloak goes from a cleric initiate to vessel of his god's will and earthly power simply by donning his mentor's [[UpgradeArtifact Crimson Mantle]].
** His master, the Dark One, started off as a regular purple-skin goblin before becoming a powerful warlord, and eventually a god.
** Xykon goes from being an unfocused thug with no real long-term goal other than just wanton murder and destruction to an undead monstrosity that threatens the entire world.
** Tarquin was once a small-time adventurer who tried to set up his own nation on the Western Continent. However, he joined together with his old friends and [[spoiler:engineered a conspiracy which controls most of the Western Continent]]. He is now the de facto ruler of the Empire of Blood, [[spoiler:as well as the other two Western Continent superpowers]]
** The Snarl started out as a tiny piece of creation that embodied the pantheons' disagreements over how the universe should work. It was so insignificant that the gods either didn't notice or didn't care about its existence. Then it got bigger and meaner to the point that it could curbstomp entire pantheons. It is now supposedly the greatest threat to all existence, with the entire series revolving around efforts to control or seal it.
* (Mostly) heroic example in ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary:''
** Petey, near the beginning of the comic, was merely the AI of one of many of the Ob'enn warships, and thus just an assistant to a race of OmnicidalManiac koala-like bears. But he proved to have both unparalleled tactical genius, a fondness for baryonic life as a whole ''and'' a bit of a god complex. All of this together led to some complex trickery on his part to take over his own ship, and later employing our protagonists in a variety of missions to spread his influence further, along with making some tactical advancements of his own. By the latter chapters, he's become the closest thing to a god the setting has, the commander of the greatest known fleet in existence, and the Milky Way's self-appointed protector.
** A similar example, including the (mostly) heroic part, is LOTA. LOTA was initially built as a ''longshoreman'', albeit an overengineered one, built with off-the-shelf tank parts and LOTA's AI built by one of the greater experts in the matter. But still, a longshoreman. Some skillful maneuvering, journalist call-outs, and colony-saving later, LOTA ended up in charge of the entirety of the Credomar station, with millions of (now happy) humans to rule over and one of the galaxy's most dangerous weapons at LOTA's disposal.
** ''Ennesby'', by the end of the series. He started out as an AI controlling a holographic boys' band, moved down to ship's mascot, up to pilot of a small mercenary ship, and has been bouncing up and down since. Until the end of the series (BIG SPOILER) [[spoiler:when he ''gains control of the Andromeda galactic power core'']].
* In ''Webcomic/TheresSomethingAboutTails'', [[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog Tails]] gets possessed by a soldier from another universe and turns into a badass.
* ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'':
** Several centuries before the start of ''Tower of God'', Hoaqin was originally just an ordinary Regular from the [[TheClan 10 Great Families]]. After [[FusionDance fusing with his siblings to become more powerful]] and taking on the guise of [[spoiler:White]], he climbed up the Tower, became a Ranker, and eventually became one of the most infamous and feared [[spoiler:[[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized FUG]] [[AGodAmI Slayer]]]] in the history of the Tower. His crimes and actions were so severe it took the efforts of the [[PraetorianGuard Jahad]] [[AmazonBrigade Princesses]] to put him down for good. [[NotQuiteDead Or so they thought...]]
** Hell Joe was a sort of magical sewer repairman before he gained the power of the Red Thryssa -- the spawn of the dead [[PhysicalGod Administrator]] of his floor -- and, after progressing from frustrated idealist to villain, became the undefeatable EvilOverlord of half the floor.
* ''Webcomic/UnholyBlood'': The StarterVillain Byeongsu starts off as a lazy and dickish bully but nothing worse than that, but upon becoming a vampire he's become one of their most psychotic, with even his sires finding him extreme.
* ''Webcomic/{{Unordinary}}'': As Isen finds out, [[spoiler: John]] used to be classified as a measly 1.2, until at some point in middle school his power level skyrocketed mysteriously and he became violent and uncontrollable.
* Pretty much the main story arch of ''Webcomic/ZebraGirl''. the series began when a random magical accident transformed an ordinary tech support specialist into a [[spoiler:demon with a soul]]. From those humble beginnings, she has gradually [[spoiler:lost her humanity by inches]], and has spent the past several months of the comic [[spoiler:gleefully and unrepentantly terrorizing the inhabitants of her hometown as the living embodiment of fear]]. Basically, she has become [[spoiler:a better-looking version of Freddy Krueger]] with longer claws.
[[/folder]]
* ''Webcomic/DarthsAndDroids'' takes this a step up from [[Franchise/StarWars the source material]]: the planet Tatooine and Anakin himself were made up on the fly by the [[GameMaster GM]], with Anakin not even having had a name until Sally (playing Jar-Jar) asks what his name is. Then he gets a blood transfusion from Obi-Wan, and [[TheRoleplayer Annie]] starts playing him... Long story short, he gains incredibly powerful Force abilities, becomes unstable frighteningly quickly, [[spoiler:manipulates Senator Palpatine (who was originally [[AdaptionalHeroism a genuinely good person in this continuity]]) into wiping out the Jedi and becoming a dictator, later driving him insane by haunting him as a Force ghost - sorry, ''midichlorian cloud,'' pushes Padme over the slippery slope into becoming Darth Vader, and ''is still out there somewhere'' as a midichlorian cloud, just as evil as ever.]]
* Karnak from ''Webcomic/DominicDeegan'' was a human orphan raised by orcs. Through a HeroicSacrifice to save Miranda Deegan, he was transformed into a semi-demon and gradually slaughtered his way up the ranks to become the only Demon Lord in Hell.
** Most Infernomancers in the series fit this trope as well. And Necromancers. And maybe Siegfried. Yeah, Mookie sort of loves this trope.
* In ''Webcomic/{{Drowtales}}'', Quain'tana would be this from the perspective of the BlueBlood Sharen clan. She started out as a lowly orphaned StreetUrchin, forced to steal food in order to survive and nearly dying at the hands of a Sharen dragon knight over it. But in time, she was able to build up enough power to become their bitterest foe for authority and survived all of their attempts to crush her. By the end of the TimeSkip, she [[spoiler:overthrows their reign over the city-state of Chel and completely topples their sense of reality]].
* In ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'', as it turns out [[spoiler:[[ButtMonkey The Onion Kid]] becomes [[AWizardDidIt Sarda]], RealityWarper extraordinaire.]]
* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', [[http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=1692 this]] is why the government puts so much effort into maintaining TheMasquerade that keeps regular people from realizing magic exists (and, more importantly, how ''easy'' it is). Ordinary jerks with just a taste of magic can turn into [[http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=1663 psychotic monsters]].
* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' has Baron Wulfenbach. While not quite nobody, Baron ''is'' one of the lowest ranks possible in Europe, and his family historically ruled a single town without much invasion of anyone else. His greatest personal claim to fame was essentially as a recurring sidekick for the two legendary heroes of the era. He disappeared for a few years, during which time the heroes disappeared (maybe killed), attacks from their arch-enemy [[BigBad the Other]] had left Europa in ruins. By the time he came back, all the good he accomplished with his heroic friends was in shambles and every MadScientist on the continent was running around trying to kill or conquer each other again. He dealt with this by rolling up his sleeves and conquering ''the entire continent'' in a matter of years. Then he held it all together for well over a decade with a delicate balance of soft-touch and iron-fist policies summed up as "Don't make me come over there".
* ''WebComic/GuildedAge'' has [[spoiler:Penk]], who starts out as a [[spoiler:drummer and herald]] with strong ideals but not much else, and then becomes an avatar of his god, gaining increased strength, resilience, and senses, and takes on leadership of the World's Rebellion's response to the Gastonian Peacemakers.
* Coyote of ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'' believes that etheric beings like himself only exist because of human belief. Assuming his theory is true, he was once an ordinary coyote until a [[http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=1069 delirious dying human]] saw him as a [[http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=1070 deity]].
* Jack Noir of ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' starts out as just an unwilling ObstructiveBureaucrat in the kingdom of Derse, but ends up becoming the comic's DiscOneFinalBoss after [[TheStarscream killing the Black Queen]] and takes the prototyping rings for his own use.[[spoiler:Takes a whole another level when he successfully kills an entire universe]]
** [[spoiler:Eridan Ampora]] is a competitor for fastest jump from IneffectualSympatheticVillain to a serious threat with [[spoiler:[[FaceHeelTurn his plan to join Jack]], [[MoralEventHorizon the murders of his love interest and best friend, and causing the extinction of his species]]. Right after pathetically thanking said best friend for being the only person to show faith in him.]]
** For straight-up old-school shiver-inducing terror try [[spoiler:''Gamzee's'' [[http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=005258 about face]].]] He starts the comic as an unimportant FlatCharacter based on a parodic {{Deconstruction}} of a Music/InsaneClownPosse video - an attempt to imagine what a character holding the beliefs implied in the video would actually be like (a MonsterClown with a tough upbringing, but also a sweet-natured, totally chill, [[TheStoner Stoner]] LoveFreak who is probably the nicest person in the comic). The fanbase [[EnsembleDarkHorse loved him]] and produced gag fanworks based on him, which made it all the more [[{{Troll}} hilarious]] when he was described as "the most important character in ''Homestuck''", and then [[spoiler:[[FreakOut flipped out and started murdering all the other trolls due to a religious crisis]]]].
** ...and now we have [[spoiler:Aranea Serket]], whose whiplash-inducing FaceHeelTurn is enough to break one's neck. Making it worse? The action that put her over the MoralEventHorizon was [[spoiler:"healing" Jake's emotional trauma, allowing him to use his powers against everyone else in the session on her behalf]]--against his will. The fallout? Considering he's [[spoiler:a Page of Hope, explicitly stated on several occasions to be one of the most powerful classes]], not exactly pretty. [[spoiler:Her actions end up causing the failure of the entire original timeline, needing a large scale multiversal retcon to fix.]]
** And finally, in an exceptionally spectacular example: [[spoiler:Caliborn. He]] was little more than a brat on trapped on a room, but ended up turning into the [[spoiler: ultimate omniversal terror, ruler of paradox space, and unquestionable master of time; the all-mighty [[BigBad Lord English]].]]
* ''WebComic/KillSixBillionDemons'': Six of [[BigBadEnsemble the Seven Black Emperors]] come from humble origins and obtained [[DeityOfHumanOrigin their god-like powers]] [[KillTheGod through Regicide]][[note]]Mammon bought his first key, but presumably murdered his way to several others[[/note]]. [[spoiler:Mottom and Jagganoth]] were born peasants in backwater worlds, [[spoiler:Solomon David]] was a farmer and citizen-soldier, [[spoiler:Incubus]] was an orphaned [[WarRefugees War Refugee]], [[spoiler:Mammon]] was a beast of burden and [[spoiler:Gog-Agog]] wasn't even sentient. Jadis is the only one of them to avert this, as she came from a noble family of [[ThePhilosopherKing Philosopher Kings]], but even so it's a long way from 'noble' to 'TheOmniscient' and 'PhysicalGod'.
** [[OurDemonsAreDifferent All Devils]], save Himself, begin their lifecycle as Pale Devils and work their way up the hierarchy of devilry by making deals, obtaining new names and discarding old and unusable ones until they find their one true name and become Ebon Devils. This means every Ebon Devil has at one point been a mute servitor, TheImp, TheBrute, and so on. It's believed Himself was a Pale Devil as well once, but went from absolute Nobody to [[EldritchAbomination absolute Nightmare]] in one fell swoop: He broke the fundamental rules of the setting, named Himself with just that ''single'' name, and ''that was that''.
** Maya was the daughter of a noodle vendor. Rather than remain one, she became apprenticed to Meti-ten-Ryo, the greatest MasterSwordsman ever to live, and became a master of Sword Law. [[spoiler:She was the original holder of much of Incubus' Key of Kings, and conquered 20,000 worlds during the Universal War, though [[RetiredMonster she's since retired]].]]
* Nearly all of the [[TranshumanTreachery Demans]] in ''Webcomic/{{Lessa}}'' are this. Most of them started as nobodies, and now they're the ones terrorizing Hexagon Island.
** Ares was a child slave in Ancient Egypt. By present-day, he's the leader of a race of genocidal monsters.
** Among the Second Generation -- Demans who Ares personally converted -- Bach was also a former slave, while Belle was an ordinary villager who crossed the DespairEventHorizon after her daughter was murdered under suspicion of being a witch. There's also Ryan, who was a sickly author before Ares rescued him.
** To a lesser extent, the Third Generation -- White and Mindy-Mindy -- are mostly composed of abandoned children who thrive as Demans through survival of the fittest.
* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick''
** On the prequel book ''[[Recap/TheOrderOfTheStickStartOfDarkness Start of Darkness]]'', Redcloak goes from a cleric initiate to vessel of his god's will and earthly power simply by donning his mentor's [[UpgradeArtifact Crimson Mantle]].
** His master, the Dark One, started off as a regular purple-skin goblin before becoming a powerful warlord, and eventually a god.
** Xykon goes from being an unfocused thug with no real long-term goal other than just wanton murder and destruction to an undead monstrosity that threatens the entire world.
** Tarquin was once a small-time adventurer who tried to set up his own nation on the Western Continent. However, he joined together with his old friends and [[spoiler:engineered a conspiracy which controls most of the Western Continent]]. He is now the de facto ruler of the Empire of Blood, [[spoiler:as well as the other two Western Continent superpowers]]
** The Snarl started out as a tiny piece of creation that embodied the pantheons' disagreements over how the universe should work. It was so insignificant that the gods either didn't notice or didn't care about its existence. Then it got bigger and meaner to the point that it could curbstomp entire pantheons. It is now supposedly the greatest threat to all existence, with the entire series revolving around efforts to control or seal it.
* (Mostly) heroic example in ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary:''
** Petey, near the beginning of the comic, was merely the AI of one of many of the Ob'enn warships, and thus just an assistant to a race of OmnicidalManiac koala-like bears. But he proved to have both unparalleled tactical genius, a fondness for baryonic life as a whole ''and'' a bit of a god complex. All of this together led to some complex trickery on his part to take over his own ship, and later employing our protagonists in a variety of missions to spread his influence further, along with making some tactical advancements of his own. By the latter chapters, he's become the closest thing to a god the setting has, the commander of the greatest known fleet in existence, and the Milky Way's self-appointed protector.
** A similar example, including the (mostly) heroic part, is LOTA. LOTA was initially built as a ''longshoreman'', albeit an overengineered one, built with off-the-shelf tank parts and LOTA's AI built by one of the greater experts in the matter. But still, a longshoreman. Some skillful maneuvering, journalist call-outs, and colony-saving later, LOTA ended up in charge of the entirety of the Credomar station, with millions of (now happy) humans to rule over and one of the galaxy's most dangerous weapons at LOTA's disposal.
** ''Ennesby'', by the end of the series. He started out as an AI controlling a holographic boys' band, moved down to ship's mascot, up to pilot of a small mercenary ship, and has been bouncing up and down since. Until the end of the series (BIG SPOILER) [[spoiler:when he ''gains control of the Andromeda galactic power core'']].
* In ''Webcomic/TheresSomethingAboutTails'', [[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog Tails]] gets possessed by a soldier from another universe and turns into a badass.
* ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'':
** Several centuries before the start of ''Tower of God'', Hoaqin was originally just an ordinary Regular from the [[TheClan 10 Great Families]]. After [[FusionDance fusing with his siblings to become more powerful]] and taking on the guise of [[spoiler:White]], he climbed up the Tower, became a Ranker, and eventually became one of the most infamous and feared [[spoiler:[[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized FUG]] [[AGodAmI Slayer]]]] in the history of the Tower. His crimes and actions were so severe it took the efforts of the [[PraetorianGuard Jahad]] [[AmazonBrigade Princesses]] to put him down for good. [[NotQuiteDead Or so they thought...]]
** Hell Joe was a sort of magical sewer repairman before he gained the power of the Red Thryssa -- the spawn of the dead [[PhysicalGod Administrator]] of his floor -- and, after progressing from frustrated idealist to villain, became the undefeatable EvilOverlord of half the floor.
* ''Webcomic/UnholyBlood'': The StarterVillain Byeongsu starts off as a lazy and dickish bully but nothing worse than that, but upon becoming a vampire he's become one of their most psychotic, with even his sires finding him extreme.
* ''Webcomic/{{Unordinary}}'': As Isen finds out, [[spoiler: John]] used to be classified as a measly 1.2, until at some point in middle school his power level skyrocketed mysteriously and he became violent and uncontrollable.
* Pretty much the main story arch of ''Webcomic/ZebraGirl''. the series began when a random magical accident transformed an ordinary tech support specialist into a [[spoiler:demon with a soul]]. From those humble beginnings, she has gradually [[spoiler:lost her humanity by inches]], and has spent the past several months of the comic [[spoiler:gleefully and unrepentantly terrorizing the inhabitants of her hometown as the living embodiment of fear]]. Basically, she has become [[spoiler:a better-looking version of Freddy Krueger]] with longer claws.
[[/folder]]
