History FromNobodyToNightmare / WesternAnimation

** Amon was [[spoiler: a young waterbender named Noatok, until his father, a former criminal, forced him and his brother Tarrlok to learn bloodbending. After years of such training, Noatok was fed up with it and ran away from home, convinced that all bending was evil, even implying that he contained self-loathing for being a bender]]. He would eventually form the Equalists, who sought to rid the world of benders and tore Republic City apart, socially and politically.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents''
** The episode "Father Time" where Timmy mucks around with a footrace from his Dad's childhood, revealing a BadFuture where he becomes an [[EvilOverlord evil dictator]]. Also, Mr. Crocker, and how he became evil (he originally had fairy godparents, but a semi-StableTimeLoop resulted in him losing them).
** That said, Mr. Crocker [[SubvertedTrope is still a nobody]], [[DoubleSubversion but he's also come closest, several times, to revealing Timmy's secret]], and in TheMovie, ''WesternAnimation/AbraCatastrophe'' got himself PoweredArmor from a wishing muffin, and it promptly allowed him to TakeOverTheWorld until he was defeated.
** A similar event happened with Vicky in ''WesternAnimation/ChannelChasers'' in another BadFuture after [[ItMakessenseincontext changing history with a magical TV remote]], and an older version of Timmy must travel back in time to stop her from doing so. She took over the world again in the episode "Vicky Gets Fired".
* In the ''WesternAnimation/FantasticFourWorldsGreatestHeroes'' episode "[[Recap/FantasticFourWorldsGreatestHeroesPuppetMaster Puppet Master]]" the titular villain goes from a [[GreenEyedMonster frustrated]] [[SmallNameBigEgo artist]] to being a legitimate threat to a superhero family.

* Wasp, of ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'', started as just another Autobot recruit, albeit a bit of an asshole. Then he got framed for espionage and went insane in the stockade, before breaking out years later with vengeance on his mind. And after ''that'', Blackarachnia gets her hands on him and mutates him into the techno-organic Waspinator, which leaves him with uncontrollable electrical powers and makes him even ''crazier''.
** This one's a bit of a meta example, too. There was another, very similar Waspinator in an earlier ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' series, ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars''... But ''that'' Waspinator was TheChewToy.
*** Until ''WesternAnimation/BeastMachines'', where it's revealed his [[OurSoulsAreDifferent spark]] was used to create the much more competent and dangerous Thrust, the longest-lasting and most dedicated of Megatron's Generals.
** The ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' version of Megatron was once just a simple Gladiator in the harsh pits of Kaon. That simple warrior would eventually plunge an entire planet into darkness and destruction.
*** And before that, like his IDW counterpart, he was a miner, this one a victim of Cybetron's corrupt caste system and a nobody who didn't even have the luxury of a ''name''.

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'':
** Willie Watt was a nobody who was picked on by the [[JerkJock jocks]] and shunned by all the girls until he was given a visor that allowed him to control a mini-{{Kaiju}}-sized, remote-controlled robot by his [[WellDoneSonGuy overly-aggressive and never satisfied father]], to fight back with against the bullies. Willie then donned the visor and essentially [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity went mad-crazy with power]], successfully getting back at the people who wronged him until Terry/Batman intervened, destroyed the visor and short-circuited Willie's brain. Then at the end of the episode with Willie in juvenile detention, he found out he had gained psychic powers. THEN in one episode in the following season, Willie was released from juvie with a noticeable change in appearance (i.e. buff) and started getting his respect and trying to take [[AlphaBitch Blade]], the girl who had rejected him before. Now he was a jacked-up, psychotic psychic ''Somebody''.
** Then there's Shriek. He was once Walter Shreeve, a phonologist, sound studier, and engineer. But when he was told his funding would be cut, Derek Powers offered to let him continue if he would kill Bruce Wayne. After his initial battle against Batman, Shriek lost his hearing and began using his powers like any supervillain. And he was one of the more dangerous ones that Terry had to face; at one point, he put a CurseOfBabel on the whole city in an effort to get them to hand over Batman to him.
** Ira Billings would come to be known as Spellbinder. He was at first a bitter and underpaid psychologist at Terry's school. To gain some cash, he used his self-made VR technology to get students to steal for him. After being arrested and escaping, he began making even stronger VR simulators giving runaways and unwanted kids a perfect life for a short time in exchange for stealing, knowing they would overdose in time and didn't care. He also got a city-wide manhunt going against Batman by making people think he killed one of his Rogues Gallery in cold blood.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'':
** Killer Moth started out as some pathetic schmo in a badly designed costume who was TheLoad. That was until he accidentally gets mutated into an actual giant killer moth.
** Judging from [[https://youtu.be/09FOx0pyuqw this brief scene in the episode "Strange Minds"]], it's heavily implied that unlike his [[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries previous]] [[Film/Batman1989 incarnations]], ''The Joker'' of all people was this; a plain office drone who dreamed of making people laugh, until that "one rotten day" transformed him into the crazy crime clown we know now.
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'': [[UnluckyEverydude Bullies used to pick on him because he sang in choir,]] [[CompellingVoice but something very strange occurred when he kept singing higher!]] The ruffians around him quickly fell into a trance, [[WhosLaughingNow and it was then, with wicked glee, he made those puppets dance!]] He's the '''Music Meister!'''
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': [[TheDragon Azula]] figured [[EvilChancellor Long Feng]] out from the get-go. The latter started out as the son of a middle-class merchant. With hard work and careful [[TheChessmaster manipulations,]] he took over the [[SecretPolice Dai Li,]] turned the Earth King into a political figurehead, and became the Big Brother-like ruler of the entire Earth Kingdom. [[spoiler: Unfortunately for him, this came back to bite him when Azula convinced his minions that [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech a ruler that works for power is inferior]] to a ruler who's ''born'' with it. He lost at his own game. Or, in Azula's words, he was never even a player.]]
** Hama started out as a normal waterbender from the Southern Tribe, but after being imprisoned by the Fire Nation, she developed a truly ''terrifying'' new skill -- bloodbending (manipulating another beings bodily fluids) -- that she used to exact revenge on her enemies. Her last act was to pass on her abilities to Katara (much to the latter's horror).

* Wrath-Amon from ''WesternAnimation/ConanTheAdventurer'' used to be an ordinary Gila monster. After Ram-Amon used the Black Ring to turn him into a lizard man, Wrath-Amon stole the Black Ring from him and took control of the cult of Set.
* Thanks to the Nanite event in ''WesternAnimation/GeneratorRex'', ''every living thing on Earth'' (except White Knight thanks to a near-lethal accident) has the potential to become a horrible monster.
** The first EVO threat seen in the series was an ordinary guy who spontaneously transformed into a several stories-tall {{Kaiju}} that only TheHero Rex (a more advanced EVO) can defeat without nuking the area.
** Special mention to Van Kleiss, who was a minor lab technician at the facility that invented the nanites before the event, and is now a ComicBook/{{Magneto}} / [[Manga/{{Naruto}} Orochimaru]] hybrid leading the largest organized group of malevolent [=EVO=]s.
** Alpha from the ''Heroes United'' {{Crossover}} was a freaking ''Nanite'' that eventually became a menace capable of destroying the entire world.
* [[spoiler:Mayor Jones]] of ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated''; [[spoiler:he started out as a smart kid who got into a good college...then he discovered the treasure hidden in Crystal Cove, setting him down the path that would lead to him being one of the most evil characters in Scooby-Doo history. From there, he [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder screws over the original Mystery Incorporated]] and [[BastardUnderstudy Professor Pericles]] by becoming [[ScoobyDooHoax The Freak of Crystal Cove]], and then he kidnapped Brad and Judy's son to keep them from getting revenge on him. When [[YoureNotMyFather Fred Jones Junior]] found out, he was the angriest people have ever seen the character in any incarnation of the series.]]
** Also, ''many'' villains the gang encounters turn out to be relatively unremarkable or humble folk:
*** The Ghost Clown: [[spoiler:A circus hypnotist seeking revenge for his imprisonment.]]
*** Captain Cutler: [[spoiler:A fisherman posing as his own ghost to steal expensive yachts.]]
*** Space Kook: [[spoiler:A farmer trying to take control of his neighbors' land.]]
*** Que Horrifico: [[spoiler:An arrogant schoolgirl who thinks she's more fit to run town than adults.]]
*** The Fright Hound: [[spoiler:A stay-at-home mom who's pissed off that her son is an outcast.]]
*** Char Gar Gothakon: [[spoiler:A nerdy college student with an unhealthy CosmicHorror obsession.]]
*** Night Fright: A rejected stage assistant turned into a demonic movie monster.
*** Professor Pericles: An ordinary parrot and TeamPet to [[spoiler:the original mystery Inc before he was betrayed by the aforementioned Mayor Jones, he turned into a [[EvilGenius criminal supergenius]] and later becoming the vessel for a world-devouring EldritchAbomination]].
* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' has [[spoiler:the Ice King]], who was just an ordinary antiquarian before [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt The Great Mushroom War]] but is now one of the series recurring villains.
** [[spoiler:The Lich]] is heavily implied to have once been an ordinary person before [[spoiler:the Mushroom Bomb's fallout mutated him into an undead monster.]]
* The alternate universe of ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' if you think about it. The title character was an average unpopular kid who suddenly gained superpowers and became the local superhero, only to lose his humanity in an attempt to dull the pain of losing his friends and family, and willfully caused TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt.
* ''WesternAnimation/AllegroNonTroppo'': The "Bolero" segment has an evil black-eyed monkey who starts off as a shadowy figure before eventually [[spoiler: becoming a towering man who kills off all the animals, thus halting evolution]].
* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'':
** This show has always showed us that whenever Mr. Garrison has been given a position of high power, this simple 3rd/4th grade teacher is going to abuse it to his heart's content.
** An example of such is when Eric Cartman ends up in the BadFuture, he finds out that one of the original founders of worldwide atheism was ''[[GenderBender Mrs.]]'' Garrison, his school teacher.
** Though, that's not ''nearly'' as bad as [[spoiler:''President'']] Garrison. He went from fourth grade teacher to [[spoiler:[[TheCaligula insane president]] of the United States.]]
--->'''[[spoiler:President]] Garrison:''' [[spoiler:Do you remember the day you fired me, PC Principal? ''[...]'' I was upset because a bunch of immigrants were changing my class and I believe your response was that I needed to go and "learn their language", "be more open-minded". ''[...]'' Are you really? Are you really sorry? Because you see PC Principal, ''[[CreateYourOwnVillain you helped create me]]''. You insisted that I was a bigot, that I was an intolerant relic left over from another time. But now, I'm your ''president.'']]
** Heidi Turner starts out as an intelligent, occasionally mean-spirited but overall sweet kid who rarely does anything wrong beyond typical spiteful school-age girl things. Then she begins dating Cartman and, despite at first changing him for the better, is ultimately corrupted by him and becomes effectively a female Cartman: fat, belligerent, bigoted, obnoxious, cruel, and outright violent and abusive. Listening to one of her rants and then hearing her described by Mr. Mackey as "[[NotSoHarmlessVillain being like Cartman except able to follow through]]" is enough to outright ''terrify'' P.C. Principal. [[spoiler:She eventually has a HeelRealization and gets better.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'':
** Amon was [[spoiler: a young waterbender named Noatok, until his father, a former criminal, forced him and his brother Tarrlok to learn bloodbending. After years of such training, Noatok was fed up with it and ran away from home, convinced that all bending was evil, even implying that he contained self-loathing for being a bender]]. He would eventually form the Equalists, who sought to rid the world of benders and tore Republic City apart, socially and politically.
** For an heroic variant, [[spoiler: here's Wan, a petty thief who will eventually become the progenitor of the Avatar Cycle, essentially making him a god by fusing himself to the spirit of light and peace.]]
** In Season 3, Kuvira was a MauveShirt and Suyin's NumberTwo. In Season 4, she's the BigBad, a KnightTemplar at the head of a massive, well-organized army bent on forcing the fractured Earth Kingdom back together [[spoiler: and that includes the United Republic]].
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': Trixie was a loud egotist whose boasts way exceeded her actual power level, a foil to the immensely powerful but humble Twilight Sparkle. After her home got destroyed and she got laughed at by the whole of Equestria, she acquired a [[AmplifierArtifact powerful]] [[ArtifactOfDoom and corrupting artifact]], which let her trounce Twilight and enslave Ponyville. [[HeelFaceTurn She gets better by the end of the episode]], once the heroes manage to remove it from Trixie's possession.
* Zoltan and the Gang of Five from ''WesternAnimation/AttackOfTheKillerTomatoes'' were comic relief sidekicks in season one until they mutated into serious threats in the second season and succeeded in taking over the world.
* The toads in ''ComicBook/BuckyOHareAndTheToadWars'' where initially a race of decadent hedonists, who decided that even running their own society was too much work, so they created an A.I. to run it for them. [[AIIsACrapshoot The A.I. decided it wanted to rule the universe, turned toad culture into a militaristic nightmare, and went on to try to conquer everything]].
* Henchman 21 from ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' starts out as an overweight MauveShirt who's ''only'' valuable asset is his JokerImmunity and a little bit of [[GenreSavvy Genre Savvy-ness]]. Then his only friend 24 is killed right before his eyes and he undergoes TrainingFromHell to become [[TheDreaded Two-Ton 21]]: a huge, muscle-bound man who can put up a decent fight against (and even earn the respect of) ''Brock Samson''.
--> '''Brock Samson:''' Well, I'll hand it to you, you really can deliver a pretty decent beating.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' has [[spoiler: Rob who, after coming back from the void but not remembering who he is, literally calls himself "nobody". Darwin and Gumball suggest he strive for a new place in the world as "the worst person the world ever made". Rob then remembers who he is and how they left him behind in the void, and swears to take revenge by destroying everything they care about and taking away everyone they love.]]
-->[[spoiler: '''Rob:''' I will be your worst '''nightmare'''. I will destroy everything you care about! I will take away everyone you love! I will be your own nemesis!]]
** [[spoiler: Somewhat subverted in the episode "The Nemesis", where he is shown to be a HarmlessVillain, even needing assistance by Gumball and Darwin, who were his enemies. He became more of a threat by the end of that episode though. DoubleSubverted later in "The Bus" and "The Disaster"/"The Rerun", where he's a genuine threat.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/ActionMan2000'': Quake was just an overweight sleazeball before he stole a PoweredArmor suit that can create earthquakes to become a supervillain.
* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': While it's not dwelt on much in the show, [[EldritchAbomination Bill Cipher]] was apparently once an ordinary inhabitant of a TwoDSpace AlternateDimension, which he [[WhereIWasBornAndRazed then destroyed]] after having "too many bad days."
* ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'': Ivan Evans was a thug who was desperate to break into major crime and join the big leagues. Then the Big Bang happened, and he became Ebon, Static's ArchEnemy. [[spoiler:That's why, when a cure is found, he tries to get his powers back -- he doesn't want to be a nobody again]].
* ''WesternAnimation/TangledTheSeries'': The first season BigBad is Varian, a somewhat [[DitzyGenius ditzy]] GadgeteerGenius humorously placed in a fantasy setting. He was an ally of Rapunzel and helped her try to solve the mystery of the black rocks...but in the process of his experiments, accidentally trapped [[WellDoneSonGuy his father]] in a giant block of unbreakable amber. The royal family kept putting him off, and he became more and more unhinged as his own attempts failed.
* Jimmy from ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' is a downplayed example. In early seasons, he's more of a meek, sensitive NervousWreck who was prone to bullying and slapstick. As a result, he becomes more of a clever BitchInSheepsClothing in later seasons. Due to being trained by Eddy, he retains this knowledge and uses it against the Eds many times.
* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManAndHisAmazingFriends'':
** In "The Fantastic Mr. Frump!" Mr. Frump goes from being a nobody to a RealityWarper.
** In "Swarm" a harmless bee hive becomes the menace of Swarm.
** In "Attack of the Arachnoid" chemist Zoltan Amadeus mutates into the monstrous Arachnoid.

* Thanks to the Nanite event in ''WesternAnimation/GeneratorRex'', ''every living thing on Earth'' (except White Knight thanks to a near-lethal accident) has the potential to become a horrible monster. The first EVO threat seen in the series was an ordinary guy who spontaneously transformed into a several stories-tall {{Kaiju}} that only TheHero Rex (a more advanced EVO) can defeat without nuking the area.

** Willie Watt was a nobody who was picked on by the [[JerkJock jocks]] and shunned by all the girls until he was given a visor that allowed him to control a mini-{{Kaiju}}-sized, remote-controlled robot by his [[WellDoneSonGuy overly-aggressive and never satisfied father]] to fight back with. Willie then donned the visor and essentially [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity went mad-crazy with power]], successfully getting back at the people who wronged him until Terry/Batman intervened, destroyed the visor and short-circuited Willie's brain. Then at the end of the episode with Willie in juvenile detention, he found out he had gained psychic powers. THEN in one episode in the following season, Willie was released from juvie with a noticeable change in appearance (i.e. buff) and started getting his respect and trying to take [[AlphaBitch Blade]], the girl who had rejected him before. Now he was a jacked-up, psychotic psychic ''Somebody''.

-->'''Green Lantern:''' Whatever he (Dee) is, he's not in the same league as Grundy and the others. He's a nobody.
-->'''Batman:''' Ever read the Odyssey? After Odysseus was caught by the Cyclops, he told it that his name was 'Nobody', so when he poked its eye out and his friends asked who did it, all the Cyclops could say was "Nobody."

* John Dee, a prison inmate with delusions of grandeur in the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' episode "[[Recap/{{JusticeLeagueS2E5And6OnlyADream}} Only a Dream]]", follows this trope when he becomes Doctor Destiny. Batman, being GenreSavvy, investigates him precisely because he is a nobody.

* [[WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius Jimmy Neutron]] once had Carl unwittingly expose Libby to a dose of "Megelomanium" (created by Jimmy), resulting in a BadFuture where she became an EvilOverlord. A fashion-obsessed EvilOverlord.

** Optimus Prime in most continuities is a heroic example. His origins (back when he was known as Orion Pax) include being a dock worker, a washout cadet on a repair crew, or a ''data clerk''. The Decepticon uprising forced the humble Orion Pax to reluctantly become the hero Optimus Prime.

** [[JerkWithAHeartOfJerk Chip]] [[BigBad Whistler]] is a mild example. By the point we meet him, he's the manager of Wholesome Foods and the son of the CEO. But after getting his tooth chipped, he starts like a "joke" like Cricket would call him, he goes from an incompetent guy whose only intentions are making the Greens have a bad day to a monstrous businessman who threatens to destroy the legacy of the Greens. In season 1, he was more like a bully/nuisance for the Greens and Gloria, his plans included trying to steal a coffee bag from Cricket and Gloria out of pettiness and waging a food war with Cricket, which culminates in him pelting Cricket with produce even after he surrendered and when this fails he tries to eat the Green family produce so they can't sell anthing. Then in season 2, he manages to fake kindness to trick his dad and the Greens into believing he changed for the good and uses his newfound CEO power to rid the Greens out of Big City for good. Not only in latest appearance he leaves Gloria jobless and many innocent people homeless for his revenge (his plan is to build another "Wholesome Foods" supermarket in the street the Green family live and turn the family's home into a parking lot, out of spite to them), [[spoiler: but he also makes fake petitions so he can destroy their house and makes the Greens belive that Big City hates them, imprisons Nancy again when she tries to fight back and even after his plan is foiled and gets banned from Big City forever he attempts to murder the Green family with the blades of his helicopter]].

** [[JerkWithAHeartOfJerk Chip]] [[BigBad Whistler]] is a mild example. By the point we meet him, he's the manager of Wholesome Foods and the son of the CEO. But after getting his tooth chipped, he starts like a "joke" like Cricket would call him, he goes from an incompetent guy whose only intentions are making the Greens have a bad day to a monstrous businessman who threatens to destroy the legacy of the Greens. In season 1, he was more like a bully/nuisance for the Greens and Gloria, trying to steal a coffee bag from Cricket and Gloria out of pettiness and waging a food war with Cricket, which culminates in him pelting Cricket with produce even after he surrendered and when this fails he tries to eat the Green family produce so they can't sell anthing. Then in season 2, he manages to fake kindness to trick his dad and the Greens into believing he changed for the good and uses his newfound CEO power to rid the Greens out of Big City for good. Not only in latest appearance he leaves Gloria jobless and many innocent people homeless for his revenge (his plan is to build another "Wholesome Foods" supermarket in the street the Green family live and turn the family's home into a parking lot, out of spite to them), [[spoiler: but he also makes fake petitions so he can destroy their house and makes the Greens belive that Big City hates them, imprisons Nancy again when she tries to fight back and even after his plan is foiled and gets banned from Big City forever he attempts to murder the Green family with the blades of his helicopter]].

* [[WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius Jimmy Neutron]] once had Carl unwittingly expose [[BlackBestFriend Libby]] to a dose of "Megelomanium" (created by Jimmy), resulting in a BadFuture where she became an EvilOverlord. A fashion-obsessed EvilOverlord.

* ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'': Miss Bitters, Dib and Zim's supernatural monster SadistTeacher is implied in several episodes to have once been either a happy little girl caught in a freak accident or a fairy princess who was hit by a bug zapper. We're not sure which.

* [[WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius Jimmy Neutron]] once had Carl unwittinglly expose [[BlackBestFriend Libby]] to a dose of "Megelomanium" (created by Jimmy), resulting in a BadFuture where she became an EvilOverlord. A fashion-obsessed EvilOverlord.

--> '''Dee's wife:''' John? What are you doing here? Get out!
--> '''John Dee:''' Y'know, I never liked that name. It's so... ordinary. Especially for someone with such big things in store. You know, a destiny? Ooh, I like that. DR. Destiny. What do you think?
--> '''Dee's wife:''' I think you're crazy!
--> '''John Dee (transforming into Dr. Destiny):''' Maybe. Or maybe you're just seeing the real me. And now that I'm a doctor... (turns into a grinning skull) [[PreMortemOneLiner I think I'll]] [[NothingIsScarier perform some surgery]].

* Otto Octavius in ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'' starts out as brilliant scientist and inventor at [=OsCorp=] who spends his days bullied by his MeanBoss [[BigBad Norman Osborn]] in-between being forced to create supervillains for the mob. One experiment gone wrong later and he's got four mechanical tentacles welded to his spine and all his inhibitions removed, and spends the rest of the series trying his hardest to conquer the world as Dr. Octopus.

** Willie Watt was a nobody who was picked on by the [[JerkJock jocks]] and shunned by all the girls until he was given a visor that allowed him to control a mini-{{Kaiju}}-sized, remote-controlled robot by his [[WellDoneSonGuy overly-aggressive and never satisfied father]] to fight back with. Willie then donned the visor and essentially [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity went mad-crazy with power]], successfully getting back at the people who wronged him until Terry/Batman intervened, destroyed the visor and short circuited Willie's brain. Then at the end of the episode with Willie in juvenile detention, he found out he had gained psychic powers. THEN in one episode in the following season, Willie was released from juvie with a noticeable change in appearance (i.e. buff) and started getting his respect and trying to take [[AlphaBitch Blade]], the girl who had rejected him before. Now he was a jacked up, psychotic psychic ''Somebody''.

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': [[TheDragon Azula]] figured [[EvilChancellor Long Feng]] out from the get go. The latter started out as the son of a middle-class merchant. With hard work and careful [[TheChessmaster manipulations,]] he took over the [[SecretPolice Dai Li,]] turned the Earth King into a political figurehead, and became the Big Brother-like ruler of the entire Earth Kingdom. [[spoiler: Unfortunately for him, this came back to bite him when Azula convinced his minions that [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech a ruler that works for power is inferior]] to a ruler who's ''born'' with it. He lost at his own game. Or, in Azula's words, he was never even a player.]]

* Thanks to the Nanite event in ''WesternAnimation/GeneratorRex'', ''every living thing on Earth'' (except White Knight thanks to a near-lethal accident) has the potential to become a horrible monster. The first EVO threat seen in the series was an ordinary guy who spontaneously transformed into a several stories tall {{Kaiju}} that only TheHero Rex (a more advanced EVO) can defeat without nuking the area.

* [[spoiler:Mayor Jones]] of ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated''; [[spoiler:he started out as a smart kid who got into a good college...then he discovered the treasure hidden in Crystal Cove, setting him down the path that would lead to him being one of the most evil characters in Scooby Doo history. From there, he [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder screws over the original Mystery Incorporated]] and [[BastardUnderstudy Professor Pericles]] by becoming [[ScoobyDooHoax The Freak of Crystal Cove]], and then he kidnapped Brad and Judy's son to keep them from getting revenge on him. When [[YoureNotMyFather Fred Jones Junior]] found out, he was the angriest people have ever seen the character in any incarnation of the series.]]

*** The Fright Hound: [[spoiler:A stay at home mom whose pissed off that her son is an outcast.]]

*** Professor Pericles: An ordinary parrot and TeamPet to [[spoiler:the original mystery Inc before he was betrayed by the aforementioned Mayor Jones, he turned into a [[EvilGenius criminal supergenius]] and later becoming the vessel for a world devouring EldritchAbomination]].

* The alternate universe of ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' if you think about it. The title character was an average unpopular kid who suddenly gained super powers and became the local super hero, only to lose his humanity in an attempt to dull the pain of losing his friends and family, and willfully caused TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt.
* ''WesternAnimation/AllegroNonTroppo'': The "Bolero" segment has an evil, black eyed monkey who starts off as a shadowy figure before eventually [[spoiler: becoming a towering man who kills off all the animals, thus halting evolution]].

--> '''[[spoiler:President]] Garrison:''' [[spoiler:Do you remember the day you fired me, PC Principal? ''[...]'' I was upset because a bunch of immigrants were changing my class and I believe your response was that I needed to go and "learn their language", "be more open-minded". ''[...]'' Are you really? Are you really sorry? Because you see PC Principal, ''[[CreateYourOwnVillain you helped create me]]''. You insisted that I was a bigot, that I was an intolerant relic left over from another time. But now, I'm your ''president.'']]
** Heidi Turner starts out as an intelligent, occasionally mean-spirited, but overall sweet kid who rarely does anything wrong beyond typical spiteful school-age girl things. Then she begins dating Cartman and, despite at first changing him for the better, is ultimately corrupted by him and becomes effectively a female Cartman: fat, belligerent, bigoted, obnoxious, cruel, and outright violent and abusive. Listening to one of her rants and then hearing her described by Mr. Mackey as "[[NotSoHarmlessVillain being like Cartman except able to follow through]]" is enough to outright ''terrify'' P.C. Principal. [[spoiler:She eventually has a HeelRealization and gets better.]]

** Amon was [[spoiler: a young waterbender named Noatok, until his father, a former criminal, forced him and his brother Tarrlok to learn bloodbending. After years of such training, Noatok was fed up with it and ran away from home, convinced that all bending was evil, even implying that he contained self-loathing for being a bender]]. He would eventually form the Equalists, who sought to rid the world of benders, and tore Republic City apart, socially and politically.
** In Season 3, Kuvira was a MauveShirt and Suyin's NumberTwo. In Season 4, she's the BigBad, a KnightTemplar at the head of a massive, well organized army bent on forcing the fractured Earth Kingdom back together [[spoiler: and that includes the United Republic]].

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': [[EvilChancellor Long Feng]] started out as the son of a middle-class merchant. With hard work and careful [[TheChessmaster manipulations,]] he took over the [[SecretPolice Dai Li,]] turned the Earth King into a political figurehead, and became the Big Brother-like ruler of the entire Earth Kingdom. [[spoiler: Unfortunately for him, this came back to bite him when [[TheDragon Azula]] convinced his minions that [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech a ruler that works for power is inferior]] to a ruler who's ''born'' with it.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' has [[spoiler: Rob who, after coming back from the void but not remembering who he is, he literally calls himself "nobody". Darwin and Gumball suggest he strive for a new place in the world as the worst person ever. Rob then remembers who he is and how they left him behind in the void, and swears to take revenge by destroying everything they care about and taking away everyone they love.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': while it's not dwelt on much in the show, [[EldritchAbomination Bill Cipher]] was apparently once an ordinary inhabitant of a TwoDSpace AlternateDimension, which he [[WhereIWasBornAndRazed then destroyed]] after having "too many bad days."

* ''WesternAnimation/TangledTheSeries'': The first season BigBad is Varian, a somewhat [[DitzyGenius ditzy]] GadgeteerGenius humorously placed in a fantasy setting. He was an ally of Rapunzel and helped her try to solve the mystery of the black rocks...but in the process of his experiments, accidentally trapped [[WellDoneSonGuy his father]] in a giant block of unbreakable amber. The royal family kept putting off him, and he became more and more unhinged as his own attempts failed.

-->'''Batman:''' Ever read the Odyssey? After Odysseus was caught by the Cyclops, he told it that his name was 'Nobody', so when he poked its eye out and his friends asked who did it all the Cyclops could say was "Nobody."

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
** Trixie was a loud egotist whose boasts way exceeded her actual power level, a foil to the immensely powerful but humble Twilight Sparkle. After her home got destroyed and she got laughed at by the whole of Equestria, she acquired a [[AmplifierArtifact powerful]] [[ArtifactOfDoom and corrupting artifact]], which let her trounce Twilight and enslave Ponyville. [[HeelFaceTurn She gets better by the end of the episode]], once the heroes manage to remove it from Trixie's possession.

* The toads in ''ComicBook/BuckyOHareAndTheToadWars'' where initially a race of decadent hedonists, who decided that even running their own society was too much work, so they created an A.I. to run it for them. [[AIIsACrapshoot The A.I. decided it wanted to rule the universe, turned Toad culture into a militaristic nightmare, and went on to try to conquer everything]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents''. The episode where Timmy mucks around with a footrace from his Dad's childhood, revealing a BadFuture where he becomes an [[EvilOverlord evil dictator]]. Also, Mr. Crocker, and how he became evil (he originally had fairy godparents, but a semi-StableTimeLoop resulted in him losing them).
** That said, Mr. Crocker [[SubvertedTrope is still a nobody]], [[DoubleSubversion but he's also come closest, several times, to revealing Timmy's secret]], and in TheMovie, got himself PoweredArmor from a wishing muffin, and it promptly allowed him to TakeOverTheWorld until he was defeated.

* Jimmy from ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' is a downplayed example. In early seasons, he's more of a meek, sensitive NervousWreck who was prone to bullying and slapstick. As a result , he becomes more of a clever BitchInSheepsClothing in later seasons. Due to being trained by Eddy, he retains this knowledge and uses it against the Eds many times.

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' has [[EldritchAbomination Bill Cipher]], [[spoiler: who claims he was once an ordinary inhabitant in the second dimension, until he got sick of [[FreudianExcuse having too many bad days.]] ]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TangledTheSeries'': The first season has Varian. He was introduced in the first episode as an awkward, geeky, but friendly alchemist who showed utmost respect for Rapunzel's title as Princess, calling her, "Your Highness." He also giddily giggled in excitement when he met Eugene, as Varian is Flynn Rider's self-proclaimed, "biggest fan," having tons of Flynn Rider memorabilia. He even becomes close to Cassandra, Rapunzel's lady-in-waiting, during a science exposition, even referring to her as her friend. [[spoiler:By the end of the first season, Varian has become a borderline psychopath and hard-headed extremist after his father was encased in amber from black rocks that have been plaguing Corona. His cries of help for his father fall on deaf ears, and after begging Rapunzel and the kingdom to help him, he finally snaps. The season finale sees him launching two assaults on Corona as diversions to kidnap Queen Arianna, whom he will use to lure Rapunzel to Old Corona to free his father. When his plan fails to free his father, he simply uses a giant automaton in an attempt to kill everyone in sight, people he considered good friends.]]

** Willie Watt was a nobody who was picked on by the [[JerkJock jocks]] and shunned by all the girls until he was given a visor that allowed him to control a mini-{{Kaiju}}-sized, remote-controlled robot by his [[WellDoneSonGuy overly-aggressive and never satisfied father]] to fight back with. Willie then donned the visor and essentially [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity went mad-crazy with power]], successfully getting back at the people who wronged him until Terry/Batman intervened, destroyed the visor and short circuited Willie's brain. Then at the end of the episode with Willie in juvenile, he found out he had gained psychic powers. THEN on a episode in the next season, Willie was released from juvie with a noticeable change in appearance (i.e. buff) and started getting his respect and trying to take [[AlphaBitch Blade]], the girl who had rejected him before. Now he was a jacked up, psychotic psychic ''Somebody''.

** Willie Watt was a nobody who was picked on by the [[JerkJock jocks]] and shunned by all the girls until he was given a visor to control a mini-{{Kaiju}}-sized, remote-controlled robot by his [[WellDoneSonGuy overly-aggressive and never satisfied father]] to fight back with. Willie then donned the visor and essentially [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity went crazy because he was drunk with power]] and succeeded at getting back at the people who bullied him until Terry/Batman intervened, destroyed the visor and short circuited Willie's brain. Then at the end of the episode with Willie in juvenile, he found out he had gained psychic powers. THEN on a episode in the next season, Willie was released from juvie with a noticeable change in appearance (i.e. buff) and started getting his respect and trying to take [[AlphaBitch Blade]], the girl who had rejected him before. Now he was a jacked up, psychotic psychic ''Somebody''.

*** The Kingpin. When Smythe asked about his past, he explained he was the son of a mobster named Willie. Because of his weight, he had no friends and his father considered him weak and useless. During adulthood, Willie tried to help his father in various crimes, with little success. On one robbery, he was forced to take the fall for his father, who then abandoned him. Willie realized he was all alone and he's going take of care himself if he's going to survive. Once out of jail, he learned everything one needs to learn to become a criminal. Over the years, he created the greatest criminal empire on the East Coast with thousand of criminals working for him and now calls himself the Kingpin. As a payback, he had his father executed.

** Hydro-Man in ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries''. According to him, he was a "nobody" and was expelled from school for causing a lot of trouble. His parents sent him to the navy where he'll straight up. During a voyage, he accidentally fell into ocean where some strange mist from a fissure which "turned [him] from a nothing... into a something!"