History DarkAndTroubledPast / Webcomics

* In ''Webcomic/BlueYonder'' this is brought up against a cape: [[http://www.blueyondercomic.net/comics/1404300/blue-yonder-chapter-1-page-47/ he used to be a cop, and was thrown off the force for stealing evidence.]]

* In ''Webcomic/{{TheBeastLegion}}'' Fyre constantly goes through this syndrome until she meets Xeus and unveils her [[http://www.thebeastlegion.com/issue-10-page-18-her-story-begins/ tragic past]].

* OneHundredAndEightyAngel:

* It eventually turns out that Zig Zag, the perky, [[AnythingThatMoves perpetually randy]] and playful Serbian tiger/skunk crossbreed from ''Webcomic/SabrinaOnline'' has one of these. She gets [[BerserkButton livid]] if anyone tries to suggest it's her FreudianExcuse for being a notorious pornography star and director, though.

* ''Webcomic/SweetHome'': Plenty of characters have this.

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* In ''Webcomic/TheGreenEyedSniper'', one of the main characters, Sekhmet, is a wanted war criminal who hides her past from everyone, until [[spoiler: she confesses it to another character, named Blitz and, later on, the other main characters, Shanti, finds out about it.]]

* In ''Webcomic/{{Rascals}}'', Chrissy reveals to Quick her trust issues stems from her relationship with Trevor, who lost his way when he became rich, cheated on Chrissy with Amanda, and eventually tried to sex her out to a buddy. It all starts right with a flashback [[https://rascals.kemono.cafe/comic/rascals-pg-157/ here]].
* It eventually turns out that Zig Zag, the perky, [[AnythingThatMoves perpetually randy]] and playful Serbian tiger/skunk crossbreed from ''Webcomic/SabrinaOnline'' has one of these. She gets [[BerserkButton livid]] if anyone tries to suggest it's her FreudianExcuse for being a notorious pornography star and director, though.
* In ''Webcomic/NoRestForTheWicked'', Claire. [[http://www.forthewicked.net/archive/03-15.html Introduced, she muses about how easily a woman could become a witch without realizing it and implies something about her own child.]] Later she [[http://www.forthewicked.net/archive/04-44.html refuses to explain]] why she no longer has her baby with her. And she comments that she had hated her parents -- and now she knows she's no better.
* Lexx's past in ''Webcomic/AlienDice'' takes this up to eleven. Lexx's [[ParentalAbandonment father died young of an illness and his mother, a fighter for the space station they lived on, was killed defending their home]]. He was then raised in an [[OrphanageOfFear orphanage from hell]] where he was forcibly turned into a {{mon}}-like thing (the titular Dice). He [[ICannotSelfTerminate attempted suicide several times, but failed]], and has faced numerous other tragedies, including rape, slavery (or, the threat of it, actually), and [[spoiler: being forced to kill his fellow Dice, Riane, who then decides [[OurSoulsAreDifferent to haunt his mind]].]] That's only hitting the highlights. Lexx is better at remembering happy moments than he is at remembering truly tragic ones, though [[PastExperienceNightmare nightmares say otherwise]].
* In ''Webcomic/{{TheBeastLegion}}'' Fyre constantly goes through this syndrome until she meets Xeus and unveils her [[http://www.thebeastlegion.com/issue-10-page-18-her-story-begins/ tragic past]].

* Parodied in ''Webcomic/TheNoob'' [[http://thenoobcomic.com/comic/248/ here]].
* Played straight in ''Webcomic/BittersweetCandyBowl''. Abbey has such a distressing past that the author actually felt unable to finish a [[http://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/art/graveyard/unfinishedabbeychapter.png planned chapter about it]].
** From the hints we've been given, we can assume: [[spoiler:Abbey's mother, Charlotte, was [[DomesticAbuse beaten on a regular basis by their father,]] [[AffablyEvil Abraham;]] [[AbusiveParents Abraham once tried to beat Abbey,]] [[HeroicSacrifice though Charlotte, already in an awful condition,]] intervened by begging Abraham not to touch him, and when Charlotte found out Abraham was cheating, he beat her near-to-death, and left with his mistress.]] Is it any wonder Abbey's turned into the WellIntentionedExtremist he is?

* Alexander Hamilton in ''Webcomic/TheDreamer'', man, oh man. Let's break it down: when he was a teenager, in the span of a few years, 1) his mother died, 2) his father vanished, 3) his aunt, uncle, and grandfather also died, 4) his cousin committed suicide, and 5) Alexander and his brother were disinherited and left penniless orphans. Let us not forget that his father, James Hamilton, may not even have been his father at all (the honor may go to a gentleman by the name of Thomas Stevens).

* Vriska Serket of ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}.'' Being raised by a giant spider who forced her to kill hundreds or even thousands of other children to feed left her pretty damaged.
** Also, WV. A simple farmer willing for peace has his home and crops destroyed by war. [[spoiler:He unites the Prospitian and Dersite pawns and leads a rebellion against the Black King. Then [[OmnicidalManiac Jackspers Noirlecrow]] shows up. Noir slaughters the King and all the rebellion, save for WV, dooming him to lead a life of SurvivorsGuilt.]]
* Tekno in ''ComicBook/SonicTheComic''. While we never see her past, it's implied that she's done some pretty bad things since she worked with [[EvilOverlord Dr.]] [[PsychoForHire Robotnik]]. Her [[spoiler:murdering someone in the fan continuation seems to better support this, though that's related to her going through a mental breakdown]]
* In ''Webcomic/ImpureBlood'', Roan has been subjected to FantasticRacism, was MadeASlave as a child, and has had to fight for years in GladiatorGames (as "The Abomination", to put the icing on the cake).

* ''Webcomic/ElfBlood'': For such a cheery, optimistic, and caring person, the fact that TKO was designed, born, and raised to be a long-range assassin is quite surprising, if not downright shocking.
** It's implied that, as children, when assassination became too emotional for TKO, SKO ''voluntarily'' did the killing for her.
* ''Webcomic/{{Dissonance}}'': both of the main characters have one.
** When James' mother died, his father kept telling him that god had a plan for those he allowed to pass. But then his father developed Alzheimer's Disease. He was mostly normal at first, and when he eventually needed to go to a nursing home, James would visit him and take him to the church there every Sunday. But in the end, he was just a shadow of the man James once admired.
-->'''James''': When my mother died, my father always told me that god had a plan for those he allowed to pass. But god took my father years before he finally allowed him to pass.
** Sarah has wanted to be a mother for years, and one day got herself inseminated. But in a 1/20,000 chance, she developed ovarian cancer. It's implied she nearly didn't recover, and now she isn't sure fate wants her to be a mother.
-->'''Sarah''': I think if I were meant to mother, there would be at least one positive sign.
* In ''Webcomic/BlueYonder'' this is brought up against a cape: [[http://www.blueyondercomic.net/comics/1404300/blue-yonder-chapter-1-page-47/ he used to be a cop, and was thrown off the force for stealing evidence.]]
* In ''Webcomic/OurLittleAdventure'', [[http://danielscreations.com/ola/comics/ep0255.html Angelika warns Norbert not to go there when he asks if something bad happened in her past.]]
* In ''Webcomic/MonsieurCharlatan'', [[http://monsieur-charlatan.com/archive/page-2/ Charlatan's first appearance has him musing over a photograph, ready to commit suicide.]]
* In ''Webcomic/{{Glorianna}}'', the title character sometimes alludes to unspecified traumas from her childhood, and also carries heavy guilt for [[spoiler:abandoning her daughter]].
* In ''Webcomic/{{Harbourmaster}}'', Nephos freaks out during a conversation about names when [[http://www.waywardmartian.com/harbourmaster3/018-005.html asked what "Caliga", his last name, means]] -- because it's not actually a last name, it's the name of his tribe, and [[spoiler:[[http://www.waywardmartian.com/harbourmaster3/018-006.html the planet his tribe lived on was wiped out during the war]] by OrbitalBombardment]]. (Javin goes to talk to him, in part because [[spoiler:[[http://www.waywardmartian.com/harbourmaster3/018-013.html he's had to deal with similar trauma in his own life]]]].)
* Commander Badass's superiors tried to invoke (yes, ''invoke'') this in ''Webcomic/ManlyGuysDoingManlyThings'', telling the Commander that his entire family was dead for ''two years''. The Commander being the OnlySaneMan though, his response (instead of becoming dark and broody like they wanted) was to ask for a therapist, then a lawyer.
* In ''Webcomic/KnightRun'', Anne and Pray are orphans who have been together forever, with Pray making no attempt to hide that Anne is the only person she cares about. Their extremely unhealthy devotion to each other is one of the many hints that there is something extremely dark in their past, especially as Pray is slowly revealed to be TheAgeless and at least one generation older than Anne (though note this isn't particularly rare in this universe). Fans had several theories about who they are and where they came from. The idea that one or both of them [[SelfMadeOrphan killed their parents]] was suggested, as well as the possibility that Pray might be a [[RidiculouslyHumanRobot doll]], or Anne might be someone she kidnapped, so on and so forth. In chapter 74, [[TheReveal we finally get a flashback to the truth]], and it's far worse than anyone imagined. [[spoiler:Pray is one of the monsters who has been fighting humanity for centuries--and Anne is her '''daughter''']].
* Asia Ellis from ''[[{{Webcomic/Morphe}} morphE]]''. The details are not apparent yet, but it seems she was raised in some form of cult where she was forced to wear a mask at all times. [[http://asia-ellis-understoods.tumblr.com/post/46632393343/full-view-here After she was rescued her guardian tried to bring her into public schooling with failed results.]] The situation she is in now feels familiar, though as of Chapter 3 she is convinced it is not the same group that kidnapped her this time.

* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'':
** TheDragon Redcloak, a WellIntentionedExtremist [[OurGoblinsAreDifferent goblin]] [[BadassPreacher cleric]], has his tale of loss and regret shown in his TropeNamer prequel: ''StartOfDarkness''. WordOfGod is that he might be one of those who are "driven to [evil] by what life has forced them to endure", unlike his unmitigated {{Jerkass}} boss.
** {{Parodied|Trope}} when the HeroicComedicSociopath Belkar makes one up to score bonus ExperiencePoints from the RPGMechanicsVerse.
---> '''Vaarsuvius:''' Hmmm. Do you think I could pay for my scroll scribing [[CastFromExperiencePoints XP costs]] with a well-told tale of a [[AddledAddict drug-addled past]] of some sort?
* In ''Webcomic/TheLessThanEpicAdventuresOfTJAndAmal'', hints of this slip past TJ's jovial facade. Even the day after he and Amal meet, he makes light of having given sexual favours in exchange for food at a young age. Some of the stuff he ''really'' didn't want to share later gets dragged into the light, like why [[spoiler:he's carrying a backpack full of cocaine]].
* Detective Bolivia Enzon from ''Webcomic/{{Lovesyck}}'' is the daughter of her mother's rapist, and consequently was never truly loved as a child while also being overshadowed by her genius sister who later turned serial killer. She then joined Hubble Police Force where her warnings of threats were ignored due to her reputation for paranoia, resulting in innocent deaths. At some point she also lost her unborn child while it was still in the womb.
* ''Webcomic/ProjectBlackfire'': The main character Dark Flame had an abusive father and suffers from post-traumatic episodes which he utilizes a tranquilizing serum to keep at bay.
* ''Webcomic/PixieAndBrutus'': Downplayed, but Brutus was a military service dog before coming to live with Pixie and her family, and he has clearly seen some ''shit''. (Whatever happened to him, it [[EyeScream cost him an eye]].) In one strip, Pixie innocently asks what war is, and Brutus can't bring himself to tell her.
* ''Webcomic/IDontWantThisKindOfHero'': Despite being a comedy, there's quite a few characters who have one. Degrees of coping range anywhere from the likes of Guineung, who functions well in spite of it, to No. 2 who's fine as long as certain elements don't come up, to Dune's who's a ShellShockedVeteran, to Baekmorae's who's... [[CuteAndPsycho Baekmorae]].

* ''Webcomic/TheGuideToAHealthyRelationship'': Julian was found as a child in a bag by a creek, with no information about where they came from or where his parents were, has been ostracized by most kids their age for being "weird" and eventually even by their only friend, and has some pretty gruesome memories of being mistreated in a psychiatric clinic by people who were trying to "fix [them]". Apollo doesn't reach quite the same levels of tragic, but thinking his best friend had died and then his parents disowning him after he outed himself as gay might have factored into him becoming TheAlcoholic.

** From the hints we've been given, we can assume: [[spoiler:Abbey's mother, Charlotte, was [[DomesticAbuse beaten on a regular basis by their father,]] [[AffablyEvil Abraham;]] [[AbusiveParents Abraham once tried to beat Abbey,]] [[HeroicSacrifice though Charlotte, already in an awful condition,]] intervened by begging Abraham not to touch him, and when Charlotte [[YourCheatingHeart found out Abraham was cheating,]] he beat her near-to-death, and left with his mistress.]] Is it any wonder Abbey's turned into the WellIntentionedExtremist he is?

* Lexx's past in ''Webcomic/AlienDice'' takes this up to eleven. Lexx's [[ParentalAbandonment father died young of an illness and his mother, a fighter for the space station they lived on, was killed defending their home]]. He was then raised in an [[OrphanageOfFear orphanage from hell]] where he was forcibly turned into a {{mon}}-like thing (the titular Dice). He [[ICannotSelfTerminate attempted suicide several times, but failed]], and has faced numerous other tragedies, including rape, slavery (or, the threat of it, actually), and [[spoiler: being forced to kill his fellow Dice, Riane, who then decides [[OurSoulsAreDifferent to haunt his mind]].]] That's only hitting the highlights. Lexx is better at remembering happy moments than he is at remembering truly tragic ones, though [[BadDreams nightmares say otherwise]].

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2012_07_19_rascals_pg_157.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The beginning of Chrissy's trust issues. From ''Webcomic/{{Rascals}}''.]]

* ''Webcomic/PixieAndBrutus'': Downplayed, but Brutus was a military service dog before coming to live with Pixie and her family, and he has clearly seen some ''shit''. (Whatever happened to him, it [[EyeScream cost him an eye]].) In one strip, Pixie innocently asks what war is, and Brutus can't bring himself to tell her.