Basic Trope: A formerly evil character decides to spend the remainder of their life making up for their evil deeds.
- Straight: Emmett Everson, formerly known as Emperor Evulz, decides to live out the rest of his life atoning for the atrocities he committed during his evil days.
- Exaggerated:
- Emmett once accidentally hurt a puppy. He's spending the rest of his life making up for that.
- Or Emmett was once the evil incarnate in all but in the literal meaning of the word, kicking dogs left and right with a steel enforced jackboot...and in a single night he turns into a such a paragon of goodness that even Jesus would envy, becomes a patron of orphanage, earns the "Do-Gooder of the Year" award and donates cash like it would be candy and still feels he hasn't come clean and needs to do more work to attain atonement.
- Downplayed:
- Emmett has always been a hero, but used morally questionable tactics for a while. He still believes that he needs to make up for it.
- Although he's begrudging about it, Emmett wants to make up for his mistakes.
- Emmett was never fully evil, just a jerk or a bully. He works on becoming a Nice Guy, including apologizing to anyone he was mean to.
- Justified:
- Emmett wants to show that he's truly reformed, and he feels there's no better way than to become an atoner.
- Emmett genuinely feels bad about what he's done and wants to say sorry in the best way he can.
- Emmett fell in love and had a child. This helped him realize the severity of his actions now that he is a father. He is now devoted to righting those wrongs.
- Inverted:
- He spent his life doing good and found it boring, so he did a turn of the face heel variety.
- Fallen Hero.
- He becomes regretful of doing good deeds, so he spends his entire life to make up for them.
- Retired Monster
- The Redeemer
- Subverted:
- Emmett is pretending to atone for past misdeeds. In truth, he doesn't regret what he's done and his atoner act is simply step one in another Evil Plan.
- Emmett is a Complete Monster. His atonement is just an act to make him more heinous than ever before.
- Double Subverted: Emmett Becomes the Mask, abandons his Evil Plan, and genuinely atones.
- Parodied:
- Emmett keeps changing or stacks the reasons for his atonement, proclaiming that he must atone for every evil deed that he does...even if they would be ridiculously small deeds, like accidentally stepping on a cat's tail or littering.
- Emmett, an Ax-Crazy Serial Killer, declares he will become "good" by not swearing anymore when he kills people.
- Zig Zagged: Emmett atones but it's just an act. Then he Becomes the Mask but then he's forced to committ Dirty Business and becomes a Hero with Bad Publicity. This causes him to say Then Let Me Be Evil, until a Kick the Morality Pet starts him up on atoning again.
- Averted:
- Emmett doesn't become an atoner.
- Emmett pulls a Heel–Face Turn, but isn't especially interested in making up for his past.
- Enforced: "We need this bad guy to show that he's repentant!"
- Lampshaded: "I'm sorry...and what better way to show that than to undo my deeds?"
- Invoked:
- "I'm renouncing my life of evil! I'm going to atone now!"
- Emmett is brought Back from the Dead for the sole purpose of atoning for the mistakes in his life. Bonus points if he's unable to die at all until he redeems himself.
- Exploited: When Emmett realizes the full gravity of his wrongdoings, Father Peter engineers a Heel–Face Turn in the villain by pointing out that this is an option that will both save his soul and at least partially assuage his guilty conscience.
- Defied: Emmett decides not to actively atone for his crimes, instead serving out a sentence in jail.
- Discussed: "If every evil-doer atoned for their deeds, why do they even need a jail?"
- Conversed: ???
- Implied: Emmett has a Dark and Troubled Past and is a little more insistent than most that people Think Nothing of It when he helps them.
- Deconstructed:
- Emmett is consumed by guilt and thus repeatedly puts himself in danger by way of Chronic Hero Syndrome, revealing himself to be deeply unstable.
- Emmett never really feels like he ultimately atones for his crimes and thus has bouts of depression.
- People simply can't forgive Emmett for his atrocities no matter how hard he tries. His legacy largely glosses over his attempted redemption and he's only ever remembered for his misdeeds.
- Reconstructed:
- Emmett joins a team of heroes so he can have plenty of opportunities for atoning and his new friends (and team therapist) help keep him steady.
- "If I spend the rest of my life attempting to make up for all the things I did, and only come a hundredth of the way there when all is said and done... It will have been worth it."
- Emmett cares less about his legacy and what the public eye sees him as than the fact that he's doing the right thing. Because of this perseverance and moral integrity, he will become Vindicated by History no matter how long it takes if it even takes any time at all.
- Played For Drama:
- Heel–Face Door-Slam
- Reformed, but Rejected
- Emmett's newfound sense of morality makes him incredibly guilty, and he becomes a very depressed hero with PTSD.
In order to make up for my failures, I will guide you back to The Atoner.
