Playing With / Brainwashing for the Greater Good

Basic Trope: A character is Brainwashed for a good cause.

• Straight:
  • Card-Carrying Villain Duke Diaboloco is Brainwashed into a Nice Guy who willingly helps old ladies cross the street, freeing the world from his evil deeds.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist Max brainwashes the entire world to remove people's inclinations to be bastards.
• Exaggerated:
  • Duke Diaboloco is brainwashed into an All-Loving Incorruptible Pure Pureness invokedPurity Sue.
  • Max brainwashes the entire world into All-Loving Incorruptible Pure Pureness invokedPurity Sues.
• Downplayed:
  • The brainwashed Duke Diaboloco is still a Jerkass, but no longer Kicks The Dog nor Takes Over the World For the Evulz.
  • Max uses magical means to put the idea of empathy into Duke Diaboloco's head. What he does with it is up to him.
• Justified:
  • Duke Diaboloco is an immortal Complete Monster who cannot be contained in the Cardboard Prison, and the brainwashing means he will no longer do harm.
  • The heroes decide that brainwashing him is more merciful than killing him.
  • Deliberate Values Dissonance applies to the setting: it's believed that brainwashing criminals or enemies is better than punishment and the good of society trumps individual freedom of thought. Technology (which reduces any psychological harm that might be present in Real Life) might play into this in a sci-fi setting.
• Subverted:
  • Duke Diaboloco is obstensibly brainwashed for the greater good, but it is revealed that the brainwasher did so for his own Evil Plan.
    • Duke was faking it.
  • Max reveals that he brainwashed the entire world for his Evil Plan.
    • Everyone was faking it.
• Double Subverted:
  • It turns out that the brainwasher's Evil Plan was actually a Zero-Approval Gambit to expose and get the heroes to deal with the corruption within the hero organization.
  • It turns out Max did this only to demonstrate the dangers of mass-brainwashing.
• Averted:
  • The heroes just shoot him.
  • Diaboloco goes back to the Cardboard Prison from whence he'll return.
  • The heroes decide that brainwashing him is no different from killing him.
• Inverted:
  • Duke Diaboloco brainwashes the heroes For the Evulz.
  • The heroes break the brainwashing that made Duke Diaboloco evil, he makes a Heel–Face Turn naturally thereafter.
• Defied: The heroes try to brainwash Duke Diaboloco, but Diaboloco is unaffected.
• Discussed: "By the time we are done reforming you, Duke Diaboloco, you'll be helping old ladies across the street!"
• Played For Laughs: Max brainwashes the entire world into All-Loving Incorruptible Pure Pureness Purity Sues with his Puppy-Dog Eyes!
• Deconstructed: Max finds himself contemplating a dilemma between the ethical issues of brainwashing Diaboloco versus the problem he poses to society if he isn't brainwashed.
• Reconstructed:
  • Max decides that he should to double down on the brainwashing and hope the problem goes away on its own, he has gone too far to turn back now.
  • The brainwashing turns out to be the start of Diaboloco's Heel–Face Turn arc, as beforehand he had no concept of good, but having them programmed into him (albeit against his will) allowed him to contemplate his actions.