History Woobie / LiveActionFilms

* ''Film/TheWolfMan1941'': Lawrence Talbot. Poor guy gets bitten by a monster, catches TheVirus, involuntarily kills a bunch of people, and gets beaten to death by his own father. And in the sequels, he escapes from the grave, learns he ''can't'' stay dead, kills his own LoveInterest in a moon-mad rage, and spends most of the rest of the series as a fugitive from the law and/or the insane asylum, vainly seeking the means to commit suicide and/or destroy the wolf within. ''Definitely'' a guy in need of a hug.

* ''Film/TheDeep'': It's hard to deny that Gail (who doesn't want anything to do with the treasure hunt in the first place) goes through a lot. She nearly drowns in a moray eel attack in the opening scene. She's subjected to a PervyPatDown and a ShamefulStrip after being kidnapped by Cloche and is clearly uncomfortable about both. Then, she is attacked in her hotel room, her clothes are cut off with a knife and she's painted with animal blood for a HollywoodVoodoo ritual. David arrives to find a sobbing Gail in a TroubledFetalPosition afterward.

* ''Film/TheColorPurple'': Celie. Let's see... she was raped by her father '''twice,''' had children both times and had both promptly taken away, her mother died yelling at her, she was forced to marry a man she didn't even know, let alone like, who abused, raped, and forced her to do all the work around the house, including taking care of his bratty kids, who literally ''made her bleed'' the ''very first day'' she came. When her sister, who was the '''only''' person who actually cared about her came to stay, Celie's husband made his move on ''her,'' and when she refused, made her leave and kept her letters from Celie, making her think she was dead! And this is the first half hour, people...

* ''Film/MinorityReport'': Agatha. She was born to a heroin addict, and had the gift of precognition- specifically, she had visions of murders before they happened. Pretty bad, right? Well, ''then'' the government get wind of this, do all sorts of unmentioned -but implied to be nasty- experiments to her, and the precrime system is set up- meaning that she is [[AndIMustScream forced to stay in a drugged stupor, wired to a machine having endless visions of murders]] so that the cops can [[PoweredByAForsakenChild use her premonitions to prevent crime]]. And when her mother tries to save Agatha from this? The head of precrime has her murdered to ensure Agatha stays a Forsaken Child, which thanks to her gift, means that she has to witness her mother's death and watch as everyone ignores it. When she's kidnapped/rescued from the facility, she's been left so unstable that she can barely tell the difference between the present and her precognitions.

* In the first Creator/ChristopherReeve ''Film/{{Superman}}'' film, Creator/ChristopherReeve manages to create a moving Woobie moment. It's when Clark Kent is at the Daily Planet elevators, having just been brushed off by Lois Lane, ignored by nearly everyone and treated rudely by the one person who does notice him. At that moment, Clark is a lonely nerd who can't seem to get a break. All the more powerful when you know that Lois' helicopter is about to crash and Clark's awesome moment as the Man of Steel is about to begin.

* [[HurtingHero Bruce Wayne/Batman]]. Imagine seeing your parents murdered in front of you at what is clearly a single-digit age.

* ''Franchise/JamesBond'': The eponymous character himself, in the Daniel Craig era, is pretty much a Woobie. He has several emotional issues, [[ParentalAbandonment is orphaned at an early age]], [[ByronicHero has a penchant for revenge]], [[PerpetualFrowner generally looks unhappy even when he smiles]], [[KnightInSourArmor has a grim outlook on his job]] [[HurtingHero and still regrets over losing his loved ones]], especially [[TheLostLenore Vesper Lynd]] in ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'', [[CoolOldGuy René Mathis]] in ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'' and [[ParentalSubstitute M]] in ''Film/{{Skyfall}}''. In ''Film/{{Spectre}}'', it's even revealed that [[BigBrotherBully Franz Oberhauser]][[spoiler:/Ernst Stavro Blofeld's]] [[ParentalSubstitute father]] adopted him after Bond loses his own parents, but [[DrivenByEnvy Franz kills him]] [[TheResenter out]] [[DaddyIssues of jealousy.]] Franz even [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech gleefully belittles him,]] [[TheChessmaster telling how he was behind]] [[GreaterScopeVillain all of Bond's miseries throughout the years]], and [[DisproportionateRetribution even manages to put Bond and MI6 briefly out of business.]] Near the end of ''Spectre'', Bond's frantic efforts to rescue [[DamselInDistress Madeline Swann]], especially the way he cries out her name, as he races through the old [=MI6=] building while searching for her, is very touching. It also shows that he's ''really, really fed up'' with losing people that he cares about and is [[{{Determinator}} determined]] that it will not happen this time. Given [[DarkAndTroubledPast what he has been]] [[TraumaCongaLine through over the years]], and [[MarriedToTheJob with little of a life he has outside of MI6,]] it's quite sad to say that the man does really need a big hug.

[[folder: '' The X-Men Film Series'']]

* ''Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse'':
** Clark in ''Film/ManOfSteel''. As a child, he was frequently overwhelmed by his emerging powers and [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer regarded as a freak by his peers]], had to constantly hide his powers for fear of either hurting someone or putting himself at risk, learns that he's not just adopted but also that he's an [[HumanAliens alien]], and had a PartingWordsRegret argument with his adoptive father, all ''before'' he turns eighteen. As an adult, he discovers that he is [[LastOfHisKind the last survivor of his home planet]], only to soon learn that there are other survivors - and they're a bunch of bad guys who want to rebuild Krypton by wiping out humanity. He is able to stop their plan but only after [[spoiler:nearly half of Metropolis got destroyed and he was forced to kill Zod]]. He needs every hug he gets in this movie.
*** It's then taken to a whole new level in ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'', which takes place two years later. Clark has almost completely embraced his new career as Superman, is in a steady relationship with Lois, has a job, and everything is generally good. However, it's steadily revealed that Superman is either worshipped as a [[PhysicalGod a deity]] by his supporters (which causes him no small amount of [[StopWorshippingMe discomfort]]) or hated and feared by his detractors. Oh yeah, also [[spoiler:he dies [[HeroicSacrifice sacrificing himself]] to stop Doomsday]].
** Martha: She had to raise a child with unique needs and issues, watched her husband die minutes after said son, in a fit of anger, called them both out on 'not being his real parents', leading him to run away from home and travel around for several years. When he returns and happily tells her about how he found his birth culture, she looks like her heart broke but wants to keep a brave face since he's so happy. Of course, any doubts she might have of her adopted son's love for her are put to rest when she sees General Zod threatening her is Clark's BerserkButton.
** Barry Allen as revealed in ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague''. His mother was murdered and his father was falsely accused and convicted of killing her. Barry has since been working multiple jobs trying to become a forensic analyst so he can [[ClearMyName clear his father's name]]. He's also thrust into some pretty scary situations, including his first battle, up to and including nearly getting pummeled by a ResurrectionSickness-afflicted Superman and getting shot at. He also doesn't have many friends, which is why he JumpedAtTheCall for Bruce's offer.
** Victor Stone, aka ComicBook/{{Cyborg}}, grew up feeling like his {{Workaholic}} father Silas cared more for his work than for Victor himself. He also loses his mother in a terrible car crash, which leaves him horribly disfigured on on the verge of death. Silas, [[EmergencyTransformation in a desperate attempt to save him]], uses the Mother Box alien technology to give Victor a new cybernetic body... which isn't just painful for Victor, but also drastically changes his appearance, driving a further wedge into their relationship. It takes a long while before Victor is able to accept himself, make peace with his father, and embrace his abilities.

* Poor ''Film/{{Paddington}}'' loses his uncle and his home in a earthquake. Due to this, he's forced to go to a new country and hope for the charity of others to help the poor soul survive.

* ''Film/{{Adam}}'': Adam goes through a crapton because of his UsefulNotes/AspergersSyndrome. His father dies, he gets accosted by cops, he gets publically humiliated, he loses his job, and [[spoiler:his girlfriend Beth dumps him twice]]. TruthInTelevision, many real life people with the condition qualify.

* ''Film/NotOkay'': Rowan. God, her life sucks. She's left traumatized by the school shooting that killed her sister and is easily triggered by almost anything. Then she puts her trust on a liar and is called a liar herself. By the end she has severe trust issues and her life isn't any better than when the film began.

* ''Film/PhantomOfTheParadise'': Winslow Leach. Sweet and woefully naïve, not only is his precious cantata stolen, but he's also beaten up, framed and sent to life imprisonment, has his teeth extracted, his face mangled by a record press, [[spoiler: signs away his soul unwittingly, endures his cantata being mangled by a mediocre pop band, is rejected by his love and loses her to his nemesis, and unsuccessfully tries to kill himself. Then he dies, sacrificing himself for his love]].

* ''Film/EdwardScissorhands'': Edward loses his "father" and his only hope for a normal life all in one moment, his attempt to please Kim (who won't return his affection) turns the town against him, and although she comes to see how sweet he is, [[spoiler:her JerkJock ex-boyfriend Jim makes matters worse out of jealousy and spite. Edward's eventually forced to retreat to his castle, and while she follows him, so does Jim. Edward kills him in the ensuing fight, sealing his own fate -- only if the lovers part can he survive. And he accepts this ''without question''.]] Even worse, you want to hold poor afflicted Edward... but he ''can't''.

** Dianne is Liz's friend, she's a failed actress, she watches a lot of people die around her over the course of the movie, and she [[spoiler:is painfully aware that her BastardBoyfriend David is really in love with Liz and just using her as a ReplacementGoldfish so he can justify hanging around Liz all the time. The [=DVD=] commentary reveals that while she actually survived being enveloped by the horde outside the Winchester at the end, she moved to another city and became a recluse.]] Can you really blame her?

* ''Film/{{Elephant}}'': Michelle. It's hard to not draw parallels between her, Eric, and Alex, but for choosing to persevere through the bullying she endures, she's simply the first to die. Not that anyone expects Eric or Alex to survive the day.

*** It's then taken to [[UpToEleven a whole new level]] in ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'', which takes place two years later. Clark has almost completely embraced his new career as Superman, is in a steady relationship with Lois, has a job, and everything is generally good. However, it's steadily revealed that Superman is either worshipped as a [[PhysicalGod a deity]] by his supporters (which causes him no small amount of [[StopWorshippingMe discomfort]]) or hated and feared by his detractors. Oh yeah, also [[spoiler:he dies [[HeroicSacrifice sacrificing himself]] to stop Doomsday]].

* ''Film/DaddysLittleGirls'': Monty. His ex gets custody of the kids simply because they've never been able to prove her boyfriend is a drug dealer. Her boyfriend [[spoiler:beats the youngest one because she has AgeAppropriateAngst.]] Not only that, but [[spoiler:he was falsely imprisoned for rape when he was 18 because the girl lied about her age and cried "rape" her dad caught them.]] All he wants is to take care of his daughters and protect them from their mother and her boyfriend! Poor guy.