"
The road to hell is paved with good intentions."
— Bernard of Clairvaux
which the heroes
can appreciate in principle, but whose methods of pursuing said goal (such as mass murder) are
problematic; despite any sympathy they may have with his cause, the heroes have no choice but to stop him. Taken to extremes, he may fully believe that
Utopia Justifies the Means. Such an idealistic extremist is likely to be either a
Totalitarian Utilitarian or a
Principles Zealot, depending on whether he's aiming
For Happiness or
For Great Justice. The most well-written examples of this trope are the kind that the reader/viewer stops just short of agreeing with.
Other times, the villain may be out for simple
revenge against a person or corporation or other entity that has undeniably wronged him. Again, the heroes may sympathize with his plight, but are obliged to stop him because he cares not who gets in the way of his planned revenge. However, the heroes will often investigate the villain's grievance themselves and will complement stopping the villain with taking down the offending party as well.
Either way, it's a common end result of
Jumping Off the Slippery Slope. Their favorite phrase is
I Did What I Had to Do — unless they are also the
Tautological Templar and believe that what they do is good because a good person like them does only good things. They are not afraid to
sacrifice themselves for the cause.
Often a
Tragic Hero that became an
Anti-Villain, and sometimes a
Worthy Opponent or even
Reluctant Warrior. The extreme of this is the
Knight Templar who
fully believes that they are in the right and the best way to save the world is to
remove free will.
Vigilante Man is a case where the Well-Intentioned Extremist
hasn't (yet) descended to the point of not caring who gets hurt. Often ends up in rivalries with the
Knight in Sour Armor. Some of those seeking to bring about a
One World Order to end international strife may count as this.
Contrast with
Necessarily Evil, where the villain in question has a
Heel Realization and recognizes that he deserves punishment (of course, he may always choose to just
Ignore That Epiphany). Often
The Unfettered. See also
A Lighter Shade of Grey. A staple trope of the
Master Computer gone mad. If the positive intention is overthrowing an evil government, the Well Intentioned Extremists will be an example of
The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized. If his extremism actually
succeeds in making the world a better place, it's
The Extremist Was Right. This trope is what the
Small Steps Hero desperately doesn't want to become.
As this trope often goes hand-in-hand with the
Face Heel Turn, expect spoilers.
Examples:
