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Author: hszmv1

Jun 8th 2017 at 12:14:20 PM

I think a better name for this would be NobelWeaponsmithing as the crux of the trope is that the person inventing a device with good intentions that others have corrupted.  Compare with GoneHorriblyRight where the inventor has noble purposes but doesn't see the full implications of his new device.  Compare and Contrast with NotTheIntendedUse where the devices most famous function is not the problem it was supposed to fix.

Trope Namer would be Alfred Nobel who invented dynamite to make handling explosives safer.  His intended use was for mining and blasting rock for construction and was horrified when his brother's obiturary turned out to be a case of MistakenForDead and gave Nobel the rather harsh moniker of the Merchant of Death considering the invention allowed for better deployment of bombs.

To count for this trope, the person needs to make an invention that he honestly did not know would make a better gun AND is genuinely remorseful for his part in making the world a safer place.  I would say you could get away with a situation like Tony Stark where he is arms dealer as a military contractor BUT is not aware of the fact that his company does not play by the rules (Tony honestly thought that his company wasn't selling to enemies until he literally and figuratively saw a bomb with his name on it).

The scientists working on the Manhatten Project are definately not this trope, because they knew from the get go they were making a bomb.   Nuclear Power and Nuclear arms were largely developed at the same time by the same organization.