Basic Trope: The illegitimate child is evil with ambition, resentment and/or depravity.
- Straight: Bob's parents aren't married, which makes him an evil jerk.
- Exaggerated:
- Bob's parents aren't married, so he destroys the world.
- Bob's parents weren't married up until he was two. He's still an evil jerk.
- Every evil character in the series is illegitimate while all the good characters have married parents.
- Bob is both illegitimate and a Complete Monster.
- Downplayed: Bob is illegitimate, but is mostly a nice guy; he's just a bit jealous of his legitimate brother's status.
- Justified:
- Bob lives in a society that mistreats illegitimate children. This makes him bitter and angry, and he takes out his pain on the world around him.
- Bob's father abandoned him, leaving him resentful and angry.
- Inverted: The hero is the illegitimate one.
- Subverted:
- Bob is a Heroic Bastard, who seeks to overthrow the evil man who sired him.
- Bob is a poor bastard with every reason to hate the world, but he just puts up with it.
- Double Subverted: ...but he abandons the path of good for the sake of his father's approval!
- Parodied:
- The Bastard Bastard is a Harmless Villain.
- Bob is a law-abiding, exemplary member of society who helps little old ladies cross the street and volunteers at homeless shelters. The instant he learns his parents weren't married, he becomes a full-blown Card-Carrying Villain.
- Zig Zagged: ???
- Averted:
- Bob's parents are married.
- Or Bob lives in a society with no concept of bastardy.
- Enforced:
- The work was written under the patronage of a medieval ruler who wanted to make it very clear that only those with legitimate Royal Blood have either the right or the character to rule over others.
- "We want an Antagonistic Offspring of one of the good guys, and him being illegitimate would save on explanations."
- Lampshaded: ???
- Invoked: Maria has an affair with the king, hoping that his illegitimate son, Bob, will be his downfall.
- Exploited: Bob's adoptive parent fosters his resentment toward his father the king.
- Defied: ...But Bob refuses to be controlled by his past, and lives a normal life.
- Discussed: Two characters wonder whether newborn bastard Bob will be a problem later on.
- Conversed: Alice and Bob see a play about a Bastard Bastard, and critique it.
- Deconstructed: The Bastard Bastard is a Hero with Bad Publicity.
- Reconstructed: ...who ultimately turns to evil in frustration and despair, because his will was weaker than his inherited character flaws.
- Played For Drama: Bob—and the rest of his Big, Screwed-Up Family—feel the bonds of family warring with political ambition. These powerful, conflicting emotions tear them all apart.
Back to Bastard Bastard.
