History Main / ReluctantMadScientist

* ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'': In [[Recap/TheVentureBrosPilotTheTerribleSecretOfTurtleBay the pilot]], Dr. Venture doesn't seem to realize how much of an evil scientist he's being until someone points it out. He figures there's plenty of peaceful uses for a ray that melts buildings.

* The Mechanist from ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' creates weapons of war for the Fire Nation, because his work gives protection for his family and colony.

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS1E14ThirdFromTheSun Third from the Sun]]", Sturka and Riden make destructive weapons for an oppressive government but hate it and feel trapped by how what they are doing is only a small part of a big chain (making it beyond their ability to stop or control) and their government comes down hard on dissent.

-->-- '''Wernher von Braun''', inventor of the V2 ballistic missile and the [[UsefulNotes/TheSpaceRace Saturn V rocket]] (and a notable non-example of this trope as per the USA's ''Operation Paperclip'').

* [[PsychoLesbian Nina Einstein]] in ''Anime/CodeGeass'' ends up as this. She makes a weapon of mass destruction for [[TheEmpire Britannia]] with help from [[EvilPrince Schneizel]] (her first few tries are spectacular failures), then after [[FreakOut seeing]] [[SphereofDestruction what happens]], [[HeelFaceTurn turns right around]] and makes the counter-weapon.
* Dr. Onishi, the scientist, in Manga/{{Akira}}. He ignores an order to kill Tetsuo if Tetsuo's vital signs get out of hand. You have two guesses why, and the first guess (deeply cares about saving Tetsuo's life?) doesn't count. Tellingly, nobody ever blames him for the [[PersonOfMassDestruction outcome]].
* Subverted with [[spoiler: Dr. Isaac Gilmore]] in ''Manga/{{Cyborg 009}}''. He knew ''damn'' well what he was getting into when joining Black Ghost and it took him ''years'' to develop enough conscience to drop out. His subconscious [[WhatTheHellHero doesn't let him forget that detail]], either.

* Dr. Hedo in ''Anime/DragonBallSuperSuperHero'' was the grandson of Dr. Gero and had no love for the [[NebulousEvilOrganization Red Ribbon Army]] but went along with their plan to TakeOverTheWorld anyway because they were the only ones who would hire him. He desired to create the UltimateLifeForm to protect humanity and made the {{sentai}}-styled Gamma twins for that purpose, but also agreed to [[ResurrectTheVillain make a new Cell]] at his boss' request while being GenreSavvy enough to know what a ''terrible'' idea it is and makes sure everyone knows it.
* ''Kishin Corps'' (a.k.a. ''Alien Defender Geo Armor'') has an alternate Eva Braun as a BrokenBird of a Reluctant Mecha scientist who worked on making ImportedAlienPhlebotinum into HumongousMecha for the Axis before being captured by the good guys and working for them with little to no moral difficulty.
* ''Seiketsu no Hagurama'' has a [[AlienBlood literally blue-blooded]] prince construct SteamPunk looking machines called Kirin for his father who, unbeknownst to him, uses them to [[FinalSolution eradicate the remaining red-blooded refugees]] in a war between the red-blood and blue-blood groups.
* In ''Animation/GuardianFairyMichel'', Dr. White's greatest fear was that his inventions would be used for evil. Sadly, he was right.

* Will Magnus, creator of the ComicBook/MetalMen, was conscripted to be one in ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo''. Most of the others in the program were more than happy to go along with it. It's then combined with BewareTheNiceOnes when he rebuilds the Metal Men secretly and takes on the evil conspiracy keeping him as prisoner from the inside.
** It's also revealed that he has bipolar disorder which makes him a MadScientist. The only reason he worked for the Science Squad is because its members took away his meds.
* ''ComicBook/XWingRogueSquadron:'' Prior to ''The Phantom Affair'' storyline, physicist Rorax Falken was consulted by the Empire about constructing artificial moons to benefit underdeveloped planets. He suffered a mental breakdown upon discovering that Emperor Palpatine used his work to help build the Death Star.
* Professor Cuthbert Calculus in ''ComicBook/{{Tintin}}'', who is also an AbsentMindedProfessor; most notably in ''Recap/TintinTheCalculusAffair'' where he's [[LivingMacguffin abducted by]] [[HammerAndSickleRemovedForYourProtection Taschists]] after he invents a Tesla-style sonic superweapon. Calculus is extremely opposed to any government using his invention, goes to meet a fellow scientist because his discovery frightens him, and burns the plans on his own volition. Subversion: he'd become much less of a cloudcuckoolander at this point in the series and more TheProfessor, even as his inventions became more dangerous and sought-after.
%%* Dr. Manhattan of ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'', especially in the film version.
%%* Dr. [[ComicBook/Gen13 Caitlin]] [[ComicBook/{{Superboy}} Fair]][[ComicBook/TeenTitans child]] in The ComicBook/New52.

* Franchise/MonsterVerse fanfiction ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon'': [[Characters/AbraxasHrodvitnonHumans Ren Serizawa]] has shades of this when he's doing technical work on Project Talos. [[spoiler:He's been contributing significantly to the creation of [[HumongousMecha Kiryu]] as an ostensible Monarch-controlled ally for Godzilla, but [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Walter Simmons]] is exploiting Ren to further [[MegaCorp Apex Cybernetics]]' sinister agenda (which is implied to be just as bad here as in ''Godzilla vs. Kong''). Partly {{defied}}, as Ren uncovers the negative MoralityChip that was coded into Kiryu without his knowledge, and he makes some tweaks of his own to rectify it]].
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fanfiction ''Fanfic/{{Marionettes}}'': Dr. Bright Future was hired by [[MenInBlack the Stallions in Black]] to create the titular machines, which they intended to use to carry out [[BecauseDestinySaysSo what they believed]] was the Tree of Harmony’s plan.

%%* Dr. Jumba Jookiba from ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch''. (Although he doesn't like to ''[[EvilGenius think of himself]]'' as such...)
* The head scientist and [=CEO=] of Alchemax in ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse'' appears to simply be a brilliant scientist caught between her research into multiple universes and Wilson Fisk's maniacal designs, being made to build an inter-dimensional device in spite of her concerns of [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the damage it could cause]]. [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope But then]] we learn her name is Doctor Olivia ''Octavius'', and that she's [[MadScientist not nearly so "reluctant"]] once the four tentacle arms come out...]]

* The second ''Film/AmericanNinja'' movie featured the BigBad using a doctor/biologist's input to create a line of {{Super Soldier}}s trained in ninjutsu and meant to be assassins and enforcers for his enterprise. The doctor is horrified by this, claiming that his work was supposed to be for the improvement of humanity. In the end the doctor blows up his lab so the work will be destroyed and cannot be misused again, taking the BigBad with him in the process.
* Doc Brown, ''Film/BackToTheFuture''.
--> '''Marty [=McFly=]:''' Doc, you don't just walk into a store and-and buy plutonium. Did you rip that off?\\
'''Dr. Emmett Brown:''' Shhhhhh. Of course. From a group of Libyan nationalists. They wanted me to build them a bomb, so I took their plutonium and in return, gave them a shoddy bomb-casing full of used pinball machine parts! Come on! [[HazmatSuit Let's get you a radiation suit]].
* Dr. Regent is horrified when his DeathRay falls into the wrong hands in ''Film/ChanduTheMagician'' (1932). (What good use he could possibly have in mind for a DeathRay remains a mystery.)

* ''Film/DeepBlueSea:'' Susan [=McAllister=] and Jim Whitlock are only looking for a cure for dementia when they're forced to genetically enhance man-eating sharks to harvest viable brain tissue from them. Unfortunately, while their security protocols are enough to keep the sharks from easily escaping, they aren't enough to stop the [[ItCanThink smarter than normal]] sharks from flooding the research facility and eating people. Unusually for the trope, Susan and Jim aren't driven to genetically enhance the sharks because their employer is evil, but because he's impatient with their experiments and contemplating cutting their funding.
* ''Film/DiamondsAreForever'' has Dr. Metz, a "committed pacifist" who lends his expertise to Blofeld to create an orbiting death ray which will ensure world peace...right?
* Nahum Whitley from ''Film/DieMonsterDie'' was trying to use a radioactive MagicMeteor to grow larger vegetables but ended up turning plants, animals and people into monsters.

* The former members of Unit 11 in ''Film/SkyCaptainAndTheWorldOfTomorrow'' (2004) are classic examples, forced to conduct experiments to save the human race from extinction from a war that ultimately didn't escalate to the depths they'd thought, causing them to wash their hands of the project and try to leave.
* ''Film/SpyKids2IslandOfLostDreams:'' Romero spliced animal DNA and created a lot of monsters, but he was just making small ones for a zoo before they accidentally were made to grow big (and they aren't that dangerous in the end), with Romero being more afraid of them than eager to exploit them.
* Galen Erso in ''Franchise/StarWars: Film/RogueOne'' is a research scientist who gets forcibly recruited to construct a super-weapon for the Galactic Empire. That super-weapon turns out to be the original Death Star of ''Film/ANewHope''. Resenting the fact that he has been taken from his family, [[spoiler:he secretly plants a weak spot, a thermal exhaust port leading directly to the main reactor, which would easily be destroyed by even a small starfighter]].
* Professor Deemer in ''Film/{{Tarantula}}'' wants to use the nutrient he has invented to end world hunger. Unfortunately, its side effects include deformity and death in humans, and [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever gigantism in animals.]] Deemer is smart enough not to release the nutrient to the public until he has fixed these problems. It's not his fault that his assistants kill themselves by taking the nutrient before it's ready. Or that before one of them dies, he accidentally releases a giant tarantula that they had created while testing the nutrient. Really, the only thing Deemer is guilty of is not thinking to [[FridgeLogic only test the gigantism-causing nutrient on herbivorous animals.]]
* Dr. Manhattan in ''Film/{{Watchmen}}'', although he's more of a super-powered being whose research is largely unrelated to his ability to explore the universe and have his powers harvested for devastation. Of course it's a justified trope in his case, as he really has no reason to care about what happens.

** Leonard of Quirm (loosely based on Creator/LeonardoDaVinci) is a subversion; he never envisions [[JustThinkOfThePotential violent uses for his ideas]], and immediately becomes horrified and angry if anyone else suggests such uses for them. When one of his inventions ''is'' used for ignoble means, he tries to have it -- and all of his plans and diagrams -- destroyed out of shame. [[spoiler:A later books suggests that he ''does'' realize the destructive potential, but tries to sell it as being used for peaceful purposes. When he designs an obvious weapon that he can't possibly spin into something else, he sighs and burns the plans.]]
** [[Franchise/JamesBond Q]], the gadgets and weaponry man for the History Monks, is another example of the type. Only he makes no evasions about his gadgetry being weaponised. it doesn't always work as intended, but that doesn't stop him.
** Ponder Stibbons, in his quiet methodical way, comes up with concepts for the Wizards of Unseen University which have many unintended consequences. His less careful and more bellicose colleagues tend to misuse them or exploit the consequences in a way that horrifies Ponder. These include a ''seriously'' [[Literature/TheScienceOfDiscworld Big Bang]].
* ''Literature/TheLastDaysOfKrypton:'' Jor-El is an interesting variant of the trope. He's a genuine ScienceHero whose inventions ''are'' being used to save Krypton from various cataclysmic disasters. It's just that Zod, the man granting him the resources to carry out those projects, also finds ways to use those same inventions for tyranny and destruction once they've served their original purpose (to Jor-El's distress).
* Dr. Kokintz, the inventor of the Q-Bomb in ''Literature/TheMouseThatRoared''. In the end he's happy to see his weapon unused
* In the Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse, Qwi Xux and the team of scientists that built the Death Star, which they believed was for blowing apart asteroids to get at the valuable minerals inside. Unusually, she does get called out on her naivete (for example, [[LampshadeHanging believing that anything called "Death Star" wouldn't be used for exactly that]]), and winds up siding with the New Republic.
** Of course, according to the Empire's propaganda department, the ''official'' name for the Death Star was Imperial Planetary Ore Extractor.
** It should also be noted that her part in this trope is taken to WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds levels, as the reason why she even felt as though she had to solve problems no matter the cost is because [[spoiler:Wilhuff Tarkin, after taking her from her family, had her go through an intense high-risks mathematics/science course taught by him and his underlings. And by "high-risks", we mean "if one of the students failed to answer a question correctly, Tarkin will force said student to watch as his/her home village is destroyed from orbit, and then executed shortly thereafter" kind of "high-risks". The fact that she, not to mention her home village, were the only ones that literally survived that harsh course makes matters a lot worse.]]
** Years before ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear'', [[spoiler: Mammon Hoole]] was one of these. He and his colleague were conducting experiments on the nature of life. His colleague knew the latest one would backfire horrifically and [[ApocalypseHow wipe out all life on the planet]], and after consulting with the Emperor decided not to tell him. [[spoiler: Hoole]] felt responsible, went into hiding for a few years, and came out as a different kind of scientist - [[spoiler: an anthropologist]]. Some of his old work still came up in the series.
* In ''Literature/EnginesOfCreation'', the Blue Seer Mika Sephalon is an example of this trope.
* Deconstructed with Dr. Robert Stadler of ''Literature/AtlasShrugged''. He sees himself as a noble pure scientist who seeks only to discover truths about the physical cosmos, and he is shown to have real tendencies to live up to his values of achievement and humanitarianism. However, his allowing himself to be co-opted by [[TheGovernment the evil government of looters]]--laying the groundwork for a weapon of mass destruction--is not portrayed as excusable, and he is often considered to be the most evil villain in the book (not least because [[AuthorTract John Galt's speech]] calls him out by name). He has a moment of IgnoredEpiphany when he gives a speech about how great it is that he's given the government an increase in firepower--though he's selling out his true belief, that he disapproves of how the weapon (best known as Project X) will obviously be used for repressive purposes. And his end is somewhat similar to the tropes of a character who's a just-plain MadScientist: He begins to believe that it's okay to force the masses into doing his will, he ends up fighting with another character who, like himself, is planning to [[TheStarscream defy the bosses in Washington]] to use the Project X weapon to take over a part of the country, and both are [[HoistByHisOwnPetard destroyed by the weapon that Stadler helped to invent.]]
* ''Literature/StarWarsCatalyst'': Galen Erso (along with several other more minor characters) was hired to design an energy source based on the Kyber crystals and wasn't told it would be used as a weapon: the Death Star.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* Yvonne Hartman, Director of Torchwood in the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "Army of Ghosts" widened an apparent power source leading to the void between realities, and let through an army of Cybermen.
* Adam Baylin of ''Series/KyleXY'' not only [[spoiler:created Kyle]], but designed the artificial womb that contained him and Jessi for 16 years.

** In "The Witness" A Russian Von Braun stand-in working for the Nazi rocketry program. He built the rocket just to test his theory [[spoiler: and then programmed it so it would turn right around and kill everyone at its launch point, including himself in order to keep his rocket design from being used for the war effort.]] Fortunately, his plan was thwarted.

** "The Scientist" features Henri Dubois a French chemist working for the Nazi's to develop a synthetic fuel who turns out to only be helping them because the Germans have his daughter hostage.

* Mohinder Suresh in the first two seasons of ''Series/{{Heroes}}'', particularly in the episode "Five Years Gone." In the third season he drops the reluctance and just goes full-on MadScientist.
* The town {{Series/Eureka}} exists in part to keep these people (scientists with legitimately reasonable and innovative goals and research projects which sometimes go haywire) from falling into the wrong hands.
* A ''Series/ThatMitchellAndWebbLook'' sketch featured the [[DeathbringerTheAdorable unfortunately named]] Professor Death, a textbook Reluctant Mad Scientist. His "Giant DeathRay" was only so called because he invented it; its intended purpose is scanning groceries... or with the power turned up, to perform delicate eye surgeries.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdhwTXwhA4c "No! I created the Laser-fitted Armoured Scorpion of Death to help mankind, not to destroy it!"]]
* Topher Brink of ''{{Series/Dollhouse}}'' is an interesting example. At first, he seems the perfect man for the job, a sociopath who sees human beings as toys. However, it soon becomes rather clear that much of this is merely scientific detachment, and although he's immature and his morals are shaky, his favorite parts of the Dollhouse are the assignments that make him feel like a good person [[spoiler: (like the Priya storyline...at first)]]. By the end of the series, his loyalties are clear.
* Phil and Lem from ''Series/BetterOffTed'' invent exactly the kinds of things mad scientists are supposed to but are shown following not only proper lab procedure (most of the time) but also keeping strictly to testing protocols. The dubious legal and ethical grounding of their work is mostly a matter of what [[MegaCorp Veridian Dynamics]] assigns them to develop than personal insanity.
* Milton in ''Series/TheWalkingDead2010''. He has a better insight into the Governor's true nature than most Woodbury residents -- even enabling several of them as resident TheSmartGuy -- and reluctantly turns a blind eye due to interest in the experiments on communicating with zombies to curb their aggressiveness he is able to perform under The Governor's patronage.
* ''Series/TheAvengers1960s'': The episode "Return of the Cybernauts" has a couple of these being hired/coerced (with varying levels of enthusiasm) into assisting with [[Creator/PeterCushing the villain's]] revenge scheme against Steed and Emma.
* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': In "Third from the Sun", Sturka and Riden make destructive weapons for an oppressive government but hate it and feel trapped by how what they are doing is only a small part of a big chain (making it beyond their ability to stop or control) and their government comes down hard on dissent.

[[folder:Music]]
* The Music/TomLehrer song, "Wernher von Braun", from ''Music/ThatWasTheYearThatWas'':
-->''"Once ze rockets are up, who cares vhere zey come down?''\\
''Zat's not my department," says Wernher von Braun.''\\

[[folder:New Media]]
* Dr. Ian Asmodeus, a sweeter, prettier MadScientist from the virtual pet site ''Website/{{Subeta}}'' will create potentially dangerous items for anyone who provides the materials, and stated in his Q&A thread that he'll work for anyone who funds his projects.
[[/folder]]

* Dr Krukenstein in ''Radio/JohnFinnemoresSouvenirProgramme'' is 95% sure her invention isn't evil. Or maybe 90%. She gets down to 51% and [[spoiler: then chucks it in the lake]].

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' provides an interesting variant in the form of Magnus the Red, Primarch of the Thousand Sons. He was the galaxy's most powerful and knowledgeable psychic after his father, [[GodEmperor the Emperor]]; and in this weird, gothic ScienceFantasy setting, this made him more akin to a mad wizard than a mad scientist. After some political maneuvering by Magnus's brothers and the covert influence by a malign deity, the Emperor called [[KangarooCourt the Council of Nikaea]], in which the use of psychic powers were publicly banned. (The Thousand Sons's hat was warrior-psychics, so they would have to radically change everything from the ground up, had they complied.) The Literature/HorusHeresy broke out, Magnus used his power to reach out to the Emperor across the galaxy. What Magnus didn't realize was that the psychic shock caused enormous damage across Earth, even destroying the Emperor's secret projects for the Imperium's long term survival. The Emperor dispatched the [[BloodKnight Space Wolves]] in response to subdue Magnus and his Legion, with Horus intercepting the order and altering it to destroy them. The following battle ended with Magnus sacrificing his physical body to transport the relative few survivors of his Legion to a new planet, and having to throw his lot in with the traitors for survival.
** What's notable here is that Magnus was one of the Emperor's most loyal sons, and his hubris in thinking he knew best allowed him to be manipulated by the God of schemes and sorcery (which Magnus was ironically ignorant of), destroying the Emperor's plans and exposing himself in flaunting the Emperor's decree, both in spectacular fashion. This caused the avoidable tragedy of two of the Emperor's most loyal forces to clash for survival. Magnus was crushed with guilt to the point of nearly allowing everything he loved and worked for to be destroyed right up to the point where he ''nearly'' did lose everything. At the last possible moment, he had to cut a deal with the God that had tricked him, his eternal service and what little he had left would be kept intact, especially his few surviving Sons. [[ForcedIntoEvil That included siding with Horus in treason]], and after the whole ordeal was finished, Magnus and his sons [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope fully cast off any old loyalties]] and decided to pursue revenge against the Emperor and the Wolves.

** In the Allied campaign he makes secret contact with Allied high command during the EnemyMine situation they have with the Soviets to combat the Empire to warn them that the Soviets are planning to backstab the Allies with a mustering of forces in Cuba, and later defects to them.
** In the Imperial campaign he also secretly contacts the Allies to warn them about the nature of their existence -- the Emperor and his son are able to listen in via their spy [[spoiler:US President Ackerman, who is a android controlled by them in this meeting,]] and learn that the Empire was never meant to be a power at all if it weren't for his actions; this sends the Emperor into a HeroicBSOD as the whole nature of Imperial destiny is called into question. Later, Dr. Zelinsky defects to the Allies after the Soviets are defeated and helps them make a LastStand in Brussels against the Empire in the campaign's final mission, considering it his duty to right the wrongs his work has done (namely, the Empire's existence).

** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'': Otacon is an OccidentalOtaku who created the Metal Gear Rex under the impression it would be a anti-missile platform. [[NotWhatISignedOnFor They didn't tell him]] they would slap on a railgun to launch undetectable nukes that aren't technically regulated by existing arms treaties.
--->''I just wanted to make robots!''
** Sokolov from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3'' has a slightly less incredulous tale: he was originally a rocket scientist, who just wanted to build rockets to go into space. However, due to the escalating arms race, he was forced by the Soviet government to build nuclear missiles, eventually culminating in the Shagohod, which he was literally forced at gunpoint to build. He requested that the American government give him asylum, because he knew the weapon, if completed, would plunge the world into chaos.

* [[spoiler:Dr. Andonuts]] in ''VideoGame/Mother3'', who created the [[MixAndMatchCritters chimeras]]. (And ultimately [[spoiler:tricked the BigBad into sealing himself in a capsule with no escape.]])

* Professor [[ChineseGirl Mei Ling Hua]], [[RobotGirl Mei Fang's]] creator in ''VideoGame/ArcanaHeart'' who was kidnapped by the BigBad to help her cause a rift in the dimensional boundary that would lead to the [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKNowIt merging of this world and the Elemental world]]. She secretly placed a failsafe mechanism to prevent the merge from happening, but if you get the Bad Ending, you'll learn that [[FailsafeFailure it wasn't very effective]].
* ''VideoGame/SidMeiersAlphaCentauri'': Academician Prokhor Zakharkov has this as his starting morality as explained through his backstory, which involved building PoweredArmor for the Russian Republic to fight the USA before defecting to the UN to build space ships. Whether or not he actually stays reluctant is entirely up to the player. He's essentially a Russian Werner von Braun, ballancing between Mengle and Einstein in morality.
* Abrahim Zherkezhi of ''VideoGame/SplinterCellChaosTheory'', a chronically naive computer theorist who only wants to use his unblockable [[HollywoodHacking magic hacker-program]] to promote the course of 'world peace'. It's not his fault [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter he chose]] [[spoiler:[[WellIntentionedExtremist Douglas Shetland]]]] [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter as a partner]].
* ''VideoGame/JadeEmpire'' has Kang the Mad, who only really cares about building and improving his {{Steampunk}} SchizoTech, and literally couldn't care less about what it's used for. He betrays his boss Gao the Greater at the first opportunity, but that's only because Gao dared to make copies of his inventions, not because he was using those copies for slaving and [[SkyPirates piracy]]. This is mostly attributable to him being [[spoiler:Lord Lao, a member of the CelestialBureaucracy]], all of whom seem to have a noninterventionist AboveGoodAndEvil kind of worldview.
* Dr. Mikhail Cossack in ''VideoGame/MegaMan4'' was blackmailed by Dr. Wily into creating a series of killer robots and taking the blame for their rampage. When you face him in the final stage of his fortress, Proto Man comes in, having just saved his kidnapped daughter, at which point Cossack immediately leaves his mech and asks forgiveness from Mega Man. Come ''VideoGame/MegaMan5'', Cossack has both increased the power of Mega Man's Mega Buster, as well as creating [[BottomlessPitRescueService Beat]].
* Sheegor from ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'' is a twist on this trope, a Reluctant [[TheIgor Igor]] (and a girl one; note pun in name). She is completely opposed to her boss [[MadScientist Dr.]] [[BigBad Loboto's]] plans, but has a childlike mind and fears for her beloved pet turtle who Loboto has taken hostage. She instantly switches sides when Raz rescues him -- indeed, using Clairvoyance reveals that she sees him as a shining, angelic savior.
* Professor Minas and [[MrFixit Leo Folias]] from ''VideoGame/InfiniteSpace'', who are such big geeks to the point they don't seem to be bothered at all with who becomes their boss. Well, except when the former is under Desmond's watch...
* [[VideoGame/BlazBlue Litchi Faye-Ling]] used to be a scientist who made a device similar on how to make a [[EvilWeapon Nox Nyctores]]. Later on, she became a doctor after a freak accident that created Arakune and seemed really content with her life as a doctor while seeking to cure Arakune. Until the side effect of said freak accident started to affect her and the appearance of Hazama made her aware that NOL may have the answer to the cure of Arakune and herself, and her old mentor rejected her plea for help. As she didn't have much respect on NOL previously, after a lot of hesitations, she ends up retaking her old science way and becoming their Reluctant Mad Scientist (compared to the very much ''less reluctant'' [[MadScientist Relius Clover]]) only for the cure of Arakune (and herself)
* One of the missions in ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'' involves finding ECHO entries of Hyperion's slag experiments. The ones you find involve a scientist by the name of Dr. Samuels who isn't happy about performing cruel and decidedly pointless experiments but is forced to do so due to Handsome Jack threatening to kill her wife. In a sidequest of the Son of Crawmerax DLC, it's heavily implied that she was the one who [[spoiler:killed Krieg's assassin, out of deep regret for what she did to him.]]
* Dr Tenenbaum in ''VideoGame/BioShock'' technically fills this role by the end of the series (barring the exploding arena, as the final boss area does not explode, but she does provide the means of defeating the final boss). Going back over the audio diaries leaves it a bit ambiguous how reluctant or willing she was, how much of it was a desire for survival, how much was for science, and how much was just Rapture spiraling out of control. It doesn't help her boss is a murderous crime boss who probably would kill her if she protested too much.
* ''VideoGame/FatalFrame'' has Dr. Kunihiko Asou, whose inventions included various types of [[MagicalCamera Camera Obscura]]. While his inventions originated from his curiosity regarding the afterlife and were never meant to actively hurt anyone, the fact that those who become exposed to extended use of such items could become [[GoMadFromTheRevelation mad upon seeing spirits — especially if said users hadn't seen one before]] -- and possibly DrivenToSuicide caused many of his inventions to be considered dangerous or even cursed.
* In ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood'', Leonardo da Vinci is conscripted by the Borgia to put his GadgeteerGenius talents to use creating weapons for them. He tries to sabotage them by deliberately not giving them his best work. Unfortunately, even his half-assed inventions like the wheel-lock rifles are still considerable improvements over their older weapons.
* Dr. Schroeder in ''VideoGame/AceCombat7SkiesUnknown'' was brought in by the Eruseans to collect flight data from one of their top aces, Mihaly, to improve upon the drone army. At first he was willing to go through with it, [[spoiler: to avenge his homeland of Belka]], but he became increasingly disillusioned with the project as the war dragged on, and Mihaly’s granddaughters began to resent him for putting their grandfather through increasingly risky sorties. [[spoiler: Its not until the end of the war when his motivations are discovered does he finally relent, and tries to stop the project after it resulted in two [=UAVs=] [[AIIsACrapshoot that try to start]] a RobotWar.]]
* A group of scientists working for the dictatorial Empire in ''VideoGame/GadgetPastAsFuture'', according to the art book ''Inside Out With Gadget'', once developed a device called the Beam Machine that they intended as a therapeutic tool to help psychic disorders by accessing hidden memories and such, but knowing that the Empire's leader, Paulo Orlovsky, would want to use it as a brainwashing tool, they created a new version of the machine called the Sensorama which they secretly changed so that anyone subjected to it would instead have a hypnotic suggestion planted into them to nonviolently overthrow the Empire that would be activated once they saw the "key" to trigger it, a giant airship the scientists were planning to build, although the discovery of an incoming comet caused them to abandon those plans.

* ''VisualNovel/CodeRealize'' depicts [[spoiler: [[Literature/{{Frankenstein}} Victor Frankenstein]]]] as a brilliant, kind-hearted, and idealistic [[spoiler: young man]], eager to help people with [[spoiler: his]] research in medicine, chemistry, and alchemy. [[spoiler: He previously worked as Head Alchemist for Queen Victoria, and in this capacity he accidentally invented chemical warfare by developing Zicterium. When he realized the uses his research was being put to, he fled, and at the start of the game is wanted by the government since he's the only person who knows the process for making more Zicterium; on the run as an accused terrorist, he's searching for the remaining stockpile of Zicterium to destroy it before it can be used as a weapon.]]

* ''WebAnimation/GenLock'': [[FatherlyScientist Dr. Weller]] is called a MadScientist by [[PlayfulHacker Cammie]] when they first meet, but he intended the gen:Lock programme to be used for purely scientific reasons to help humanity unlock its potential. He wanted it to be a new way of communicating and understanding other human beings, so he's not happy that its first use is to militarise it before it's even ready for use. As a result, the technological inventions he's creating for the Polity military, including the technology he's using to keep [[TheLeader Julian]] alive despite Julian's [[BodyHorror extensive injuries]], and his [[BewareTheSillyOnes encouragement]] of a Union spy's use of the [[HumongousMecha Holon]] despite knowing [[CruelAndUnusualDeath what would happen]] to an [[PhlebotinumHandlingRequirements incompatible subject]] isn't entirely by choice.

* While the whole point of ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' is that "[[MadScientist Mad Scientists rule the world. Badly]]," most of the main characters are ''Reluctant'' Mad Scientists. While they are still afflicted by "TheMadnessPlace", they work very hard to control it and are defined by their ability to actually use their Sparkiness to make the world a better place. [[IDidWhatIHadToDo Klaus]] [[AntiVillain Wulfenbach]] does this by being a MagnificentBastard; Othar Tryggvassen (GentlemanAdventurer!) tries to make the world better by ridding it of all Sparks (including, once his "job" is done, himself); the others are just trying to do their best in a world pounded into submission and littered with wandering monsters. (Ironically, this may involve pounding the world into submission and/or creating armies of monsters. Sometimes you have to [[InternalReformist work inside the system]].)

'''Marcie:''' [[LampshadeHanging How could they]] '''[[LampshadeHanging not?]]'''\\

-->'''Riff:''' How could my innocent inventions be used to harm people? ''(beat)'' OK, blowing stuff up can harm people if not done with proper precautions (...) Anywho my inventions weren't designed to be used to destroy the world. Well, except for that one device I built to destroy the world. I was just seeing if I could!
* Doctor Universe of ''Webcomic/{{Spinnerette}}'' used to be this trope, before [[spoiler: the government aborted his project to prevent China from using his studies to make SuperSoldiers.]]
* Walter from ''Webcomic/DubiousCompany''. He is one of very few MagiTek engineers in the world. All he wants to do, however, is fly around in his airship and play pirate. The urging and endangerment of his friends changes him from BoisterousWeakling into [[TheCaptain Captain]] ScienceHero.
* Kevyn, from ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'', is very nearly '''the''' dictionary definition of "mad scientist" (which gets pointed out both by his teammates, when discussing his reputation, and himself, when wishing to capitalize on that reputation). But he also knows how wrong things can go: not only does he believe in the value of following the instructions the first time, to see how things are supposed to work before being modified, he insists that anyone working under him does the same thing. When tasked to build a robotic Longshoreman to help with distributing food to a colony, Para tried to place a bet: "With the parts on ''your'' shelf, I bet we can make a Longshoreman of the Apocalypse." It ended up being made anyway due to being in a rush job (and an order by the captain); Kevyn still wanted to test it out first. Of course, if the tests happened, [[spoiler: LOTA wouldn't have saved the station's population after some holes were blown through its shell, and later become King LOTA]].

* Professor Farnsworth in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' ("This box contains ''our own universe''! We must cherish it as we would every moment of our lives.")
** Not to mention his collection of {{Doomsday Device}}s. Ironically, he's ''saved'' the world with them on a few occasions but otherwise doesn't seem motivated to use them.
-->"I suppose I could part with ''one'' and still be feared..."
** At one point he invented a teddy bear that shoots [[CareBearStare rainbow colored lasers]]. When boss [[MegaCorp Mom]] wants to use them as military weapons, he protests that this would defeat the purpose, because [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever enlarging them]] would eliminate the cuteness factor due to the [[EEqualsMCHammer square-cube law!]]
* In the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' episode "[[Recap/BatmanBeyondS2E22AprilMoon April Moon]]", a gang blackmails a scientist to make them super-strong with robotic body parts, claiming to have his wife taken hostage. Turns heart-wrenching when the scientist discovers that [[spoiler:his wife is apparently a willing participant in the scam while cheating with the gang leader]]. Turns ''scary'' when the gang leader, who doesn't know that the scientist knows this, [[spoiler:goes in for one last upgrade, with the implication that the doctor is going to get some ''revenge'' during the surgery]].

** In ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', while he's willingly working for Kuvira's Earth Empire, [[spoiler:Varrick]] accidentally creates a FantasticNuke while experimenting with spirit vines. His [[CuriousQualmsOfConscience first instinct]] is to shut down the project, deeming it too dangerous. Kuvira however forces him to continue or else be kicked off a moving train. It's worth noting that this is the ''first'' time he's ever had second thoughts about one of his inventions--most of the time he's just plain MadScientist.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'': Dr. Venture doesn't seem to realize how much of an evil scientist he's being until someone points it out. He figures there's plenty of peaceful uses for a ray that melts buildings.
* Dr. Sionver Boll from ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' was commissioned to engineer an indestructible armor for soldiers and spaceships from the Zillo Beasts scales. She was [[MotherlyScientist caring for the Zillo and didn't want to kill it]]. In a DVD bonus feature one of the people who made the episode even pointed out the fridge logic in well meaning scientists always being appointed to the construction of weapons instead of wanting to cure diseases.
* On ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' Dr. Frink draws up plans for a death ray that could destroy an area the size of New York City. When confronted on what it's for, he sheepishly admits, "Well, to be honest, the ray only has ''evil'' applications."
* The ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' episode "The Tale of X-9" shows that Aku gathered all of the world's top roboticists to build a robot military police force. Despite a few of the scientists resembling villains from other franchises, they are portrayed as simply following orders, though it's unclear if they're doing so because they just really want to make robots or if they're doing so at gunpoint.
* In ''WesternAnimation/ExoSquad'', Prof. Algernon starts off working for the Neo Sapiens (though he maquerades as a lab assistant while his Neo "boss" pretends he's the genius inventor), but when he gets captured by the good guys, he starts working for them without batting an eye.
* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' has the author of the journals, [[spoiler:Ford Pines]], whose journals catalog his many inventions and various creatures he's encountered and studied - both of which tend be incredibly dangerous or at least have the potential to be. His primary motives are ForScience and to avert TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt... due to one of said inventions.
* On ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim,'' the Vort(ian)s, which seem to be a [[PlanetOfHats species of scientists]], were once allies of the [[GalacticConqueror Irkens]] before they were betrayed and conquered, and are now forced to make them weapons like the Megadoomer and Minimoose. (Some fans have noted that these weapons don't work very well when compared to the stuff that they made Irkens before the conquest.) Special mention to Prisoner 777, whom [[VillainProtagonist Zim]] calls especially for this purpose; in the comic continuation, it's [[https://68.media.tumblr.com/9489258d0d59179caff902ae7600d952/tumblr_inline_o46ckr0Hit1qi1pi9_540.jpg revealed]] that Prisoner 777 goes along with this because [[IHaveYourWife Zim's kidnapped his children]] [[WouldHurtAChild and threatens to "erase" them]].

** ''Film/{{Gojira}}'' (1954): Dr. Serizawa. He invents a weapon called the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Oxygen Destroyer]], but refuses to make his findings public and fears what'll happen if it gets into the wrong hands. It's only after [[GodzillaThreshold he sees the destruction Godzilla has caused]] that he decides to use it... [[HeroicSacrifice but only once.]]
** ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'': Dr. [[Characters/MonsterVerseEmmaRussell Emma Russell]] has invented a bio-acoustic device called the ORCA, with which she can communicate with the {{Kaiju}}, manipulate their behavior to a limit, and potentially bring humanity closer to achieving cohabitation with the creatures. Mercenaries led by Creator/CharlesDance kidnap her and force her to use the device to forcibly awaken the dormant Kaiju around the world, including [[Characters/MonsterVerseKingGhidorah King Ghidorah]]. [[spoiler:Subverted, as Emma was actually in cahoots with the mercenaries to set the Kaiju loose all along]].
* In ''Film/IronMan'', Tony Stark is perfectly fine with developing cutting-edge weapons systems... until he finds out they're being covertly sold to Middle Eastern terrorists, at which point he ''instantly'' shuts down the company's weapons manufacturing division and uses the titular PoweredArmor to annihilate the terrorists' cache of Stark weapons. Tony then refuses to share the technology behind either the suit, or the miniature arc reactor that powers it and keeps him alive, for fear of what they might be used for. At the climax of the film, [[spoiler:Obadiah Stane steals the arc reactor to power his own Iron Monger suit, and to copy its technology for use in weapons of mass destruction]].

* Dr. Bright Future in ''Fanfic/{{Marionettes}}'' was hired by [[MenInBlack the Stallions in Black]] to create the titular machines, which they intended to use to carry out [[BecauseDestinySaysSo what they believed]] was the Tree of Harmony’s plan.

** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'': Otcan's father Huey Emmerich agreed to work on Hot Coldman's Peace Walker project only so he could apply deterrence in such a way that wouldn't result in launching a nuke even once (as well as having to put up with it as, because he was born incapable of walking presumably due to his father's involvement in the Manhattan Project, he can't work in any other place than nuclear deterrence-related developments). As soon as he learned that Coldman was planning on launching a nuke as part of his test (something that Huey never agreed to), he immediately quit and defected to the Militaires Sans Frontieres, and also deeply considered quitting the field of science due to his unintended role in nearly causing a nuclear holocaust.

** ''VideoGame/MetalGearPeaceWalker'': Otcan's father Huey Emmerich agreed to work on Hot Coldman's Peace Walker project only so he could apply deterrence in such a way that wouldn't result in launching a nuke even once (as well as having to put up with it as, because he was born incapable of walking presumably due to his father's involvement in the Manhattan Project, he can't work in any other place than nuclear deterrence-related developments). As soon as he learned that Coldman was planning on launching a nuke as part of his test (something that Huey never agreed to), he immediately quit and defected to the Militaires Sans Frontieres, and also deeply considered quitting the field of science due to his unintended role in nearly causing a nuclear holocaust.

** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'': Otacon is an OccidentalOtaku who created the Metal Gear Rex under the impression it would be a anti-missile platform. They didn't tell him they would slap on a railgun to launch undetectable nukes that aren't technically regulated by existing arms treaties.

-->''I just wanted to make robots!''

* Otacon in the ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' series, an {{otaku}} who created the Metal Gear Rex under the impression that it wouldn't be used offensively. "I just wanted to make robots!"

** Similar to both Sokolov and Otacon (the latter of whom [[spoiler:turns out to be his son]]), Huey Emmerich agreed to work on Hot Coldman's Peace Walker project only so he could apply deterrence in such a way that wouldn't result in launching a nuke even once (as well as having to put up with it as, because he was born incapable of walking presumably due to his father's involvement in the Manhattan Project, he can't work in any other place than nuclear deterrence-related developments). As soon as he learned that Coldman was planning on launching a nuke as part of his test (something that Huey never agreed to), he immediately quit and defected to the Militaires Sans Frontieres, and also deeply considered quitting the field of science due to his unintended role in nearly causing a nuclear holocaust.