History Main / TautologicalTemplar

* ''[[Characters/SupermanSuperboyPrime Superboy Prime]]'' from ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'' jumped pretty quickly from "[[UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks Dark Age]] heroes are too violent and amoral" to "Time for me to start killing them." After getting dragged into another dimension, he couldn't even manage that, and just goes around killing anything in reach.

** Light Yagami is firmly convinced that everything he does in pursuit of [[WellIntentionedExtremist his goals]] is [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans justified]] and [[NecessarilyEvil necessary]], he himself is justice, and anyone who goes against him or his plans is evil. This contrasts him with L, who freely admits when he engages in DirtyBusiness.

'''Fergie:''' Really? Then how do you explain what happened to you? \\

* This is Kore's modus operandi in ''Webcomic/{{Goblins}}''. He murders innocent and villain alike if he perceives them as evil, abiding evil, or having been in the same room as evil. Why no higher power has intervened and took away his paladin powers is [[EpilepticTrees one of the comic's biggest mysteries]], one which [[LampshadeHanging several characters have acknowledged]]. Eventually the answer comes: [[spoiler:he is cheating the alignment requirements [[PoweredByAForsakenChild via captured souls]].]]

* ''Literature/RhythmOfWar'': Adolin is warned that the honorspren have started to slip into this. As honorspren, they must by definition behave honorably... but with Tanavast dead and Honor splintered, there is no longer anyone to provide a single objective definition of what honor ''is'', and so some among the honorspren have started to simply define "acting honorably" as "acting like an honorspren".

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* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': ComicBook/{{Venom}} believes that he's the good guy and anything he does to Spider-Man is justified because he "ruined his life." The fact that Spider-Man [[UnknownRival hadn't even met the man before he got his powers]] does nothing to dissuade this view.

* In ''WesternAnimation/HazbinHotel'' the angels suffer from a bad case of LightIsNotGood as the more extreme among them think that the sinners in {{Hell}} [[HolierThanThou are all depraved and irreversibly broken]], and thus are deserving of death at their hands. OriginalMan Adam gleefully partakes in slaughtering his fellow former humans, [[StrawHypocrite despite having been a sinner himself]]. [[spoiler:In Episode 6 it's revealed that [[EasyRoadToHell none of the angels actually know the criteria for entering Heaven]] and just assume that everyone in Hell deserves it.]]

* ''Website/GoAnimate'': Pick ''any'' adult character. Nine times out of ten, they fit squarely in this trope (particularly [[WesternAnimation/{{Caillou}} Boris]]). They have no qualms about grounding/assaulting/killing their own children for any perceived slight ([[DisproportionateRetribution regardless of how minor]]), and always see themselves as in the right (whether the viewers are supposed to root [[DesignatedHero for]] or against them, which depends on the video).

* In ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', Jolee Bindo argues that the Jedi believe that since they follow the Light Side of the Force, that they can do no wrong. In [[VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords the sequel]], [[spoiler:Atris unknowingly falls to the Dark Side because of the extreme methods she used to lure out the Sith]].

* ''Manga/AkameGaKill'' has Seryu Ubiquitous, who works for the [[DeadlyDecadentCourt highly corrupt]] [[TheEmpire empire]] at the heart of the story's conflict and champions [[ForGreatJustice justice]] above all else. Completely blind to her own nation's faults, the way Seryu metes out this "justice" defines DisproportionateRetribution: on one occasion, she has two petty thieves [[FedToTheBeast eaten]] by her RightHandAttackDog Koro and personally dispatches the woman who was forced to help them steal when she begs Seryu for a fair trial. According to her [[BlackAndWhiteInsanity insane worldview]], ''[[AllCrimesAreEqual any crime]]'' is considered [[MurderIsTheBestSolution punishable by death]].

* In ''FanFic/ThreeSlytherinMarauders'', Neville gains this twisted worldview as a result of both nature ([[LamarckWasRight his mother]], Alice was a KnightTemplar) and nurture (he grew up [[TheResenter resenting]] Harry Potter and living in constant fear of his life from his EvilUncle Algie.) No matter what he does, he is justified in his own mind, and no matter what anyone says or does, he believes that Harry is evil.

* ''FanFic/{{Fade}}'': L. His logic for using the Death Note and becoming as bad as Kira in the story that came with it amounts to this. In his mind, he is Justice, and thus, if he were to die, there would be no more Justice in the world. Hence, every life he takes to subvert fate and save his own, be it that of a criminal or an innocent, is for Justice.
* Dumbledore is this in ''{{Fanfic/Heir}}''. As far as Dumbledore is concerned, he's good and therefore all his actions are good by default (actions such as leaving an innocent child with his abusive relatives). [[BlackAndWhiteInsanity In his world-view, all the "light families" are inherently good and all "dark families" are the cause of all problems]], and if a member of a "dark family" happens to be a victim well [[UsefulNotes/VictimBlaming they must have deserved it]].
* Until he is defeated at the end, Titan, the BigBad of the ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Friendship Is Magic]]'' fanfic ''FanFic/TheImmortalGame'', never stops to think that maybe, '''JUST MAYBE''', he's the one being an overall self-righteous bastard. [[spoiler:All he really seems to care about is (A) what he claims to be the "natural order" and (B) all of ponykind acknowledging that he is their '''''GOD''''' simply because he says he is]].
** In fact, [[spoiler:he is defeated '''by''' getting called out on this. When [[BreakThemByTalking Twilight makes him realize that he runs on circular logic]] by automatically associating himself with order, while in reality, he doesn't have a place in the world that he created, [[VillainousBreakdown his sword goes out and he proceeds to have a massive BSOD]].]]
--> '''Twilight Sparkle''': [[spoiler:''You're a god because you're a god because you're a god. You let your mind fall into the same grooves you've carved for yourself over millennia of thought. It's a circular argument, and one you've used to justify the slaughter of numberless innocents, all of them no less endowed with a mind and soul than you.'']]
* ''FanFic/KingdomHearts3FinalStand'': The Insurgos, hands down. As far as they're concerned, everyone in the royal family of Radiant Garden is evil purely because they're [[VillainousLineage related to Hanako, a tyrant queen]], anything and everything they do to get at them is justified, and anyone who sides with the royals for ''any'' reason is their enemy. It's actually revealed in ''Moons of Fate'' that [[spoiler:Yamato Kazekiri's father approached them, offering to negotiate with the royal family for them and make things easier; rather than take his offer, the Insurgos openly accused him of "kissing up to the royals" and murdered him on the spot before [[MoralEventHorizon killing his pregnant wife]].]]

* Adam Taurus gives off shades of this in ''FanFic/{{Resurgence}}'', calling out Blake for attacking her fellow Faunus and accusing her of [[CategoryTraitor turning her back on her own kind completely]], when not only has he himself has been trying to kill Blake all along, but he personally killed [[spoiler:Sun]], both of whom are ''his'' fellow Faunus. When Blake rightfully calls him out on this, Adam simply brushes Blake and [[spoiler:Sun]] off as obstacles.
* In ''FanFic/SexNote'', Souichiro Yagami believes that it's impossible that any of his men are raping people because they are the police, the good guys, so of course they'd never abuse their authority like that. [[ShootTheMessenger So he decides]] it all must somehow be [[HeroWithBadPublicity Kougoukan's fault]], [[IRejectYourReality that no rapes actually happened, and it's all a plot to embarrass the police]].

A form of ItsAllAboutMe mixed with NeverMyFault and ObliviouslyEvil. Such characters are also prone to BelievingTheirOwnLies, and for their followers to do so with BlindObedience. If the DesignatedHero is called out for acting this way, it's WhatTheHellHero See also SuperDickery, ForGreatJustice, LawfulStupid, HolierThanThou. If the hero really IS a hero, but fans see him like one of these, you may have a case of RonTheDeathEater on your hands.

* ''VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird'' has STAG, a government agency that tracks down and destroys gangs which pose a danger to the public. Senator Monica Hughes calls them in to Steelport when the MobWar between the [[NeighborhoodFriendlyGangsters Saints]] and TheSyndicate has got out of hand. STAG's commander, Cyrus Temple, openly states that they're willing to do anything to get rid of the Saints, but somewhat jarringly, despite the countless people they've killed, he only cites the murder of [[MissingWhiteWomanSyndrome Jessica Parish]] from ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'' as an example- never mind the fact that Jessica was a RichBitch who [[spoiler:was complicit in the brutal torture and murder of the Boss' friend Carlos]]. Additionally, despite his claims, Temple's soldiers end up causing more damage to Steelport than the gangs they're supposed to be fighting, placing the city under martial law, dropping a bio-weapon into one section of the city that turns its occupants into zombies[[note]]though to be fair, that one was the [[PlayerCharacter Boss]]'s fault[[/note]], and [[spoiler:bringing out a gigantic aircraft carrier called the ''Daedalus'' and strafing the streets with it to get at the Saints]]. Additionally, Temple's second-in-command Kia goes behind his back in [[spoiler:kidnapping Shaundi, Viola and Mayor Burt Reynolds without trial, and tying them up on a national monument loaded with explosive weaponry, so she can [[FalseFlagOperation blow it up and frame the Saints for it, giving STAG a reason to destroy Steelport]].]] If the Boss decides to [[spoiler:foil Kia's plans]], the public [[VillainWithGoodPublicity hails them as heroes]], and STAG is publicly shamed for their actions. [[NeverMyFault Refusing to believe that he did anything wrong]], Temple defects from the US military, and by the time of [[VideoGame/SaintsRowIV the next game]], he's [[spoiler:joined a bunch of MiddleEasternTerrorists and fired a nuke towards Washington DC, to spite the government for treating the Saints like heroes when they "ruined America" in his eyes. [[MoralMyopia Temple doesn't seem to get that nuking Washington DC will end up ruining America more than anything the Saints have ever done]]. Because of that, [[KarmicDeath no tears will be shed when the Boss kills him]] and leaves to defuse his nuke, foiling his plans.]]

* ''Manga/OnePiece'': The midpoint of the Whole Cake Island arc reveals that [[spoiler:Big Mom is this. Her dream is "world peace". Nominally a laudable goal, Big Mom has twisted it -- she believes that it is so infallibly righteous, that any actions she takes are above reproach and suggesting otherwise is "selfish". Said actions include outright ''genocide''. This mindset was the result of falling into the care of enablers like Mother Carmel and Streusen who ignored teaching her a conventional moral code in favor of encouraging her destructive habits. As a result, Big Mom developed an ItsAllAboutMe attitude that severely skewed her view of the world]].
** On a broader scale, the majority of the World Government, at least at the highest echelons, engages in this. They believe themselves to be enforcing "Justice", and so anything they do in support of that Justice - up to and including deliberate genocide - is also just.

** ''Videogame/BioShock2'': Sofia Lamb just wants [[EvilutionaryBiologist to push mankind into its next evolutionary stage]]. [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans It's for the Greater Good]], and [[FelonyMisdemeanor nothing could be more evil than trying to stop this noble goal]]. [[spoiler:[[CatchPhrase Ask yourself]]: are [[AfterTheEnd Rapture]], [[TheEvilsOfFreeWill human consciousness]], [[AssimilationPlot individuality itself]], and [[OffingTheOffspring Eleanor's mind]] ''really'' such high prices to pay for paradise?]]

* ComicBook/{{Batman}}, DependingOnTheWriter. The man has pulled off some truly serious ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour''-esque moves (i.e. Brother Eye) in his attempts at keeping crime under control, he is a complete ControlFreak that ''needs'' to have a plan to take care of any obstacles (even if the "obstacle" is a trusted friend that would get immensely hurt from finding out that he did this, [[EtTuBrute psychologically]] when not physically) and when it comes to ThouShaltNotKill he is completely unwilling to budge and has come to blows with people that he considers allies and even family because the mere ''thought'' of applying it (even if they make a point of deciding it will be applied if there is absolutely no other choice, i.e. any time ComicBook/TheJoker is involved) is completely inexcusable (beating criminals to the point that, realistically, some would be dead and causing massive collateral damage (that, again, may have killed people) with his antics seems perfectly okay, though). Booster Gold [[ComicBook/IdentityCrisis once]] put it best:

* ''Franchise/TheFlash'': Zoom (''[[Characters/TheFlashHunterZolomon Hunter Zolomon]]'') thinks he's performing a vital service by [[DespairEventHorizon putting heroes through utter hell]] under the belief that MiseryBuildsCharacter and will make them "stronger" heroes. Unfortunately, however, his beliefs absolutely do not match up with reality, he is [[AxCrazy profoundly]] [[TheMentallyDisturbed disturbed]], and his moral code is [[BlueAndOrangeMorality completely incomprehensible to others]]. Furthermore, he's probably up there with the Joker in terms of how dangerous he is to his own allies as he is to heroes, as he will ''brutally'' attack anyone who he thinks is impeding his progress with "improving" his current target.

* ComicBook/{{Venom}} believes that he's the good guy and anything he does to Franchise/SpiderMan is justified because he "ruined his life." The fact that Spider-Man [[UnknownRival hadn't even met the man before he got his powers]] does nothing to dissuade this view.

* For the most part, subverted by ''ComicBook/ThePunisher'' who's well aware that what he's doing is perfectly illegal (and when caught by heroes, his defense is usually along the lines of "[[ThouShaltNotKill kill me]] or I'll kill more criminals in prison". More than once he kills other vigilantes, although in this case it's (somewhat) justified in that they don't do the same obsessive prep work that he does to prevent civilian casualties.