History Main / AlasPoorScrappy

** Season 3, Ryan Chapelle. He shows up in 23 episodes across the first three seasons, and in 20 of them, he's a SmugSnake ''and'' an ObstructiveBureaucrat. He softens up in the 21st, just in time to find out he has to die (the 23rd is just his body being recovered by the villains). The BigBad made a deal that the heroes needed, and one of the conditions was that Chapelle be executed. Suddenly he becomes incredibly sympathetic and human. Chapelle is a particularly great case because Jack asks if there's anyone he wants to contact before he dies. Chapelle says no, his only friends are at ''work''. Considering that we've only seen him at work where he seems to be something of an in-universe Scrappy... ouch.
** Lynn [=McGill=] in Season 5. Starts out as a douche, but after his sister is killed, he has a change of heart, and you can't help but feel sad for his HeroicSacrifice (the fact that he's played by [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings Samwise Gamgee]] doesn't hurt).
** In Season 1, Janet York is killed by a man pretending to be her father. That episode is when ''24'', a show that had been somewhat motoring along to that point, became seriously good.
** The evil, vain, manipulative Sherry Palmer, who died in Season 3.
** George Mason in Season 2. If not to viewers, certainly to the characters on the show. After getting a lethal dose of radiation, he realizes that he's been a jerk who wasted much of his life by pursuing a job that paid more. He then performs a HeroicSacrifice to safely detonate the stolen nuke so Jack won't have to, and before he does, gives Jack a speech to snap him out of his DeathSeeker nature.
** Dina Araz. She wasn't that thrilling a villain and later a very reluctant ally to Jack Bauer, and most of her arc in the first half of Day 4 took up way too much time that took away from the more interesting characters in the season. But geez, the way she goes out is a downer. She refuses to shoot Jack [[IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten to prove her loyalty to Marwan]] and tries to shoot Marwan instead, only to find out the gun is unloaded, and ends up being executed by her fellow terrorists.
** Dana Walsh. When she was introduced fans weren't happy with her lackluster arc about her former boyfriend trying to blackmail her. Then it was revealed she was working with the villains and opinions about her character improved a bit, but with a BrokenBase at best. But then her final episode came in where she was executed in cold blood by Jack Bauer even with her begging for her life. Not only did just about everyone feel sympathy after that, it demonstrated just how far Jack had lost it on his quest for revenge in one of the very rare killings he's made where we ''weren't'' supposed to be rooting for him.

* Proto-Damian Wayne [[ComicBook/{{Titans}} Danny Chase]] had a HeroicSacrifice to save the world.

* ''VideoGame/NickelodeonAllStarBrawl'': In the first game, Lincoln Loud of ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'' was considered the game's least popular character, mainly because his home series isn't as popular among the game's core demographic and his moveset is rather lackluster in contrast to the rest of the cast, including his sister Lucy. Come the sequel, and he was omitted from its base roster and demoted to a cameo on the Castle Loud stage from ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouseMovie'' while Lucy got to stay. Even his worst detractors were questioning why he was cut, citing that he's the protagonist of ''The Loud House'' and his moveset needed an update the most.

* ''Anime/GoodnightPunpun'': Mama Punpun spends her dying moments regretting not being a warmer mother to Punpun. This moved a lot of readers who had previously hated her.

** And later? The murderer, Rolo, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vrhIyYrJ4k died too]]... and lots of fans mourned him instead of cheering because he [[HeroicSacrifice sacrificed his life for Lelouch]], even after Lelouch confessed his hatred toward Rolo, as the first and last thing he truly did of his own will. ''Lelouch himself'' ended up mourning him when all was said and done, [[LetThemDieHappy letting him believe he was lying about what he said about him]] (since he really did take back parts of it).

* ''Series/TheWalkingDead'':

* ''Series/{{Warehouse 13}}'': Agent Steve Jinks of the team fits this trope. While not a particularly disliked character, he did - before CharacterDevelopment - feel like an extremely token New Guy, not helped by being background-to-absent in many episodes of his introductory season. When it's finally revealed that he's been callously killed after being discovered as an Undercover Good Guy, it's an incredibly powerful and affecting scene. Truly, nothing in his screen life became him as much as how he left it. He got better, though.

* In ''Series/MadMen'', there was possibly no character more hated than Betty Francis. That said, the penultimate episode, in which she finds out that she has advanced lung cancer and decides to forego treatment, is definitely one of these.

* Not a death but a meta example; after it was announced that ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' would be getting a reboot, Creator/CreeSummer revealed that Elmyra Duff, whom she played on the original series, would not be part of it. While Elmyra is disliked for [[SpotlightStealingSquad a number]] [[WesternAnimation/PinkyElmyraAndTheBrain of reasons]] some fans were still upset over that news, feeling that she was at least tolerable in small doses and that it doesn't feel like ''Tiny Toons'' without her. It seems like the creators took notice of this upsetting situation as it was later [[https://mobile.twitter.com/Lentendo/status/1550655337824280576 confirm]] that she will be returning in the reboot.

** [[AmbiguouslyEvil Severus Snape]], for fans that didn't like him much. Made even worse by the revelations given in "[[UnrequitedLoveLastsForever The Prince's Tale]]."

* Jason Todd, of ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' fame, was so hated that in the original publishing of ''ComicBook/ADeathInTheFamily'' fans (by a slim margin) [[DeadSidekick voted to have him killed off by the Joker]]. ComicBook/TheJoker's murder of Jason was so brutal and cruel, not only did fans immediately stop hating him (with some [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor saying they regretted voting the way they did]]), but the Joker was seen by many as crossing the MoralEventHorizon. And when he came back, the circumstances of his death were so traumatic that they [[FaceHeelTurn drove him to become a supervillain]]. Then an AntiHero. Then an AntiVillain and now back to an AntiHero.

* Mutt Williams from ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull'' has been a controversial character among the fans, namely for being the son of Indiana Jones and Marion Ravenwood and yet being played by Creator/ShiaLaBeouf, whom many felt didn't felt like a worthy successor to Creator/HarrisonFord himself.[[note]]Not helped by the fact that Shia had a nasty fallout with Spielberg and Lucasfilm, and his later controversies in the 2020s would make him unmarketable to reprise the role again.[[/note]] But when the next film, ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheDialOfDestiny'', reveals that Mutt William [[BusCrash died]] in UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar offscreen, fans felt horrible about his fate thanks to Harrison's powerful performance as Indy telling his goddaughter, Helena Shaw, of how Mutt's death devastated him and Marion, leading them to separate again, with a divorce being filed, because they cannot get over their child's death.

* Mutt Williams from ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull'' has been a controversial character among the fans, namely for being the son of Indiana Jones and Marion Ravenwood and yet being played by Creator/ShiaLaBeouf, whom many felt didn't felt like a worthy successor to Creator/HarrisonFord himself.[[note]]Not helped by the fact that Shia would have a nasty fallout with Spielberg and Lucasfilm, and his later controversies in the 2020s would make him unmarketable to reprise the role again.[[/note]] But when the next film, ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheDialOfDestiny'', reveals that Mutt William [[BusCrash died]] in UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar offscreen, fans felt horrible about his fate thanks to Harrison's powerful performance as Indy telling his goddaughter, Helena Shaw, of how Mutt's death devastated him and Marion, leading them to separate again, with a divorce being filed, because they cannot get over their child's death.

* Mutt Williams from ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull'' has been a controversial character among the fans, namely for being the son of Indiana Jones and Marion Ravenwood and yet being played by Creator/ShiaLaBeouf, whom many felt didn't felt like a worthy successor to Creator/HarrisonFord himself.[[note]]Not helped by the fact that Shia would have a nasty fallout with Spielberg and Lucasfilm, and his later controversies in the 2020s would make him unmarketable to reprise the role again.[[/note]] But when the next film, ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheDialOfDestiny'', reveals that Mutt William [[BusCrash died]] in ''UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar'' offscreen, fans felt horrible about his fate thanks to Harrison's powerful performance as Indy telling his goddaughter, Helena Shaw, of how Mutt's death devastated him and Marion, leading them to separate again, with a divorce being filed, because they cannot get over their child's death.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': Tousen earned a great deal of dislike during his fight with Kenpachi; he removes Kenpachi's senses then lectures a deaf, defenseless Kenpachi toying with him instead of ending it. It gives Kenpachi a chance to adapt and turn the tables. Once his motives for siding with Aizen against Soul Society came out, the dislike worsened. He is motivated by a desire for peace and a decision to find the path of least bloodshed[[note]]Although later on, he reveals that he wanted {{revenge}} for his friend's murder, since her husband, the man who'd killed her, had never been punished.[[/note]] towards achieving that peace... by supporting a man that incites civil war within Soul Society and who follows up that civil war with a war between Shinigami and Hollows. His reasoning was therefore viewed as stupid and hypocritical by fans and was cemented further when the first thing he did upon regaining his sight was insult his oldest and most noble friend, Komamura. However, when he's thoroughly defeated, barely able to talk, and finally confronted by his former lieutenant Hisagi and Komamura, he admits that he was in the wrong. The trio start to have a surprisingly tender reconciliation...and Tousen blows up in the middle of it, leaving Komamura screaming at Aizen for revenge and the fans feeling sorrier for Tousen than they had expected to.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

[[folder:ProfessionalWrestling]]

* Played with in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/ProjectGeeker''. When [[CloudCuckoolander Geeker]] [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifices himself]] to avert the [[EarthShatteringKaboom destruction of a sizable chunk of the planet]], his ever-begrudging caretaker Lady Macbeth (who had treated him more as stolen goods than a... er, [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman sort-of-humanoid companion]]) actually breaks down and cries at his [[NoOneCouldSurviveThat obvious and horrible destruction]]... only to have Geeker pop up behind her and ask why she's crying.

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* Teruteru Hanamura, the first murderer in ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'', is often hated by new players due to being a crazed sex pervert who makes smutty comments all the time and is always hitting on everyone, male or female... then you learn his motive for killing: he wanted to escape the island to see his sick mother. He then gets [[CruelAndUnusualDeath one of the most brutal executions in the game]] while he begs to at least know if his mom is OK, a request that is completely ignored by Monokuma. Even some of his biggest haters were moved to tears by this. It doesn't help that he was actually trying to kill Nagito Komaeda once he realized he was out of his gourd and a huge danger to everyone else but accidentally wound up killing the Ultimate Imposter, who was also trying to stop Komaeda.
* Also from ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'' is Hiyoko Saionji, Hiyoko is a base-breaking character as she's the resident bitch of the group who spends most of her time picking on others in particular [[NiceGirl Mikan]] [[ShrinkingViolet Tsumiki]], eventually she walks in on a brainwashed Mikan killing Ibuki which results in Mikan slicing the poor girl's throat to silence her forever. Her death is very tragic because she was beginning to improve her behaviour, and was only at the music venue because she wanted to tie her kimono in order to honour Mahiru, her best friend who was beaten to death in the prior chapter leaving her. Unlike a lot of AssholeVictims Hiyoko's death was a result of her HiddenHeartOfGold, for all of her flaws, it's genuinely haunting that Hiyoko died alone and scared without anyone to save her all because she tried to do the right thing. [[MisaimedFandom While some in the fanbase consider her death to be karma because she was killed by her main target despite Hiyoko never doing anything remotely as cruel as what Mikan did to her]], most consider her death to be undeserved and unnecessary because she died before her arc was completed and physically couldn't fight back.

So, [[TheScrappy that character that nobody likes]] is finally going to be killed off! This is the moment you thought you'd be rejoicing. Yet... the death scene is so well done that you actually find yourself feeling [[TearJerker sad]] or so brutal that you find yourself [[NightmareFuel horrified]]! Expect to read a lot of messageboard posts saying "I never thought I'd cry at X's death, but I was bawling so loud I woke the neighbors up." May even lead to the character who died being RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap if the fans feel bad enough for them.

** In ''End of Evangelion'', she's still in a coma and [[ThisIndexTouchesItself Shinji comes to her hospital room and masturbates to completion over her in that state]]. Then she comes back into action after realizing her mother's soul is in her Eva, protecting her. She defeats nine Mass Produced Evas, each with the best weapon of the series and unlimited power, only to have her Eva stabbed in the eye, utterly mangled, eaten alive, and its organs ripped out. She somehow survives and makes [[DyingMomentOfAwesome one last attempt]] to fight back. She fails and dies by being impaled about 12 times. This tended to make the fans more sympathetic. She felt all of this happened because of the neural link. At the very least, she somehow comes back to life in the epilogue mostly unharmed. But considering the fact that the first thing [[BrokenBird Shinji]] does after waking up with her the only other human currently left is making an attempt to choke her to death, followed by her exclaiming sickness (which, according to Creator/TiffanyGrant was morning sickness, has... interesting implications) and the reason she's bandaged at the end is due to the injuries her Evangelion suffered (again, which she felt through the neural link) - in particular, her eye is covered up -- and the last thing anyone saw of her (and, for the record, the thing that finished setting Shinji off) was her Evangelion being eaten by the MP Evas...

** Ellaria Sand and her daughters, colloquially called the Sand Snakes, were some of the least well-received characters in the show - largely for displacing a masterful scheming plotline from the books and mass-murdering their relatives for not being upset enough about the deaths of their ''other'' relatives. Oh and some truly awful fight scenes. Come season 7 two of the three Sand Snakes are brutally killed in a surprise attack, Ellaria and Tyenne get dragged through the streets of King's Landing before being chained in the darkest dungeons of the Red Keep, Tyenne poisoned (in the same way as their victim Myrcella) and Ellaria ForcedToWatch as she [[FateWorseThanDeath slowly dies and decomposes in front of her, unable to speak, touch or comfort her in any way.]] Fans are somewhat split on the matter if [[KickTheSonOfABitch they truly deserved it]] or if the punishment was too excessive and a MercyKill was preferable.

** Crystal, the dumb-as-rocks, sadistic and one-dimensional assassin who served as Haley's rival, clearly [[HateSink had everything to be hated]]. Most readers probably felt good about [[KickTheSonOfABitch Haley unceremoniously killing her]] in Greysky City, but being brought back from the dead as [[TorturedMonster an abomination that feels nothing but excruciating pain]] - above all when some cheaper and less painful options are available to revive people - is [[FateWorseThanDeath a fate no one would wish even on one's worst enemy]]. Dumping her into a lava pool was more of a MercyKilling on Haley's part. Haley has no regrets about it but doesn't take any pleasure in it, either.

** In ''End of Evangelion'', she's still in a coma and Shinji comes to her hospital room and wanks over her in that state. Then she comes back into action after realizing her mother's soul is in her Eva, protecting her. She defeats nine Mass Produced Evas, each with the best weapon of the series and unlimited power, only to have her Eva stabbed in the eye, utterly mangled, eaten alive, and its organs ripped out. She somehow survives and makes [[DyingMomentOfAwesome one last attempt]] to fight back. She fails and dies by being impaled about 12 times. This tended to make the fans more sympathetic. She felt all of this happened because of the neural link. At the very least, she somehow comes back to life in the epilogue mostly unharmed. But considering the fact that the first thing [[BrokenBird Shinji]] does after waking up with her the only other human currently left is making an attempt to choke her to death, followed by her exclaiming sickness (which, according to Creator/TiffanyGrant was morning sickness, has... interesting implications) and the reason she's bandaged at the end is due to the injuries her Evangelion suffered (again, which she felt through the neural link) - in particular, her eye is covered up -- and the last thing anyone saw of her (and, for the record, the thing that finished setting Shinji off) was her Evangelion being eaten by the MP Evas...

** In ''End of Evangelion'', she's still in a coma and Shinji comes to her hospital room and [[ADateWithRosiePalms wanks]] over her in that state. Then she comes back into action after realizing her mother's soul is in her Eva, protecting her. She defeats nine Mass Produced Evas, each with the best weapon of the series and unlimited power, only to have her Eva stabbed in the eye, utterly mangled, eaten alive, and its organs ripped out. She somehow survives and makes [[DyingMomentOfAwesome one last attempt]] to fight back. She fails and dies by being impaled about 12 times. This tended to make the fans more sympathetic. She felt all of this happened because of the neural link. At the very least, she somehow comes back to life in the epilogue mostly unharmed. But considering the fact that the first thing [[BrokenBird Shinji]] does after waking up with her the only other human currently left is making an attempt to choke her to death, followed by her exclaiming sickness (which, according to Creator/TiffanyGrant was morning sickness, has... interesting implications) and the reason she's bandaged at the end is due to the injuries her Evangelion suffered (again, which she felt through the neural link) - in particular, her eye is covered up -- and the last thing anyone saw of her (and, for the record, the thing that finished setting Shinji off) was her Evangelion being eaten by the MP Evas...

* ''Manga/SevenSeeds'': Yanagi is not well liked and his misogynistic ways and even trying to ''rape'' one of the girls makes it very easy to hate him. But not only does he redeem himself by dying a HeroicSacrifice, giving him the dignity that he actually possesses, but one cannot help but feel terrible for him because an insect stung him and laid its egg within him, making him a breeding ground for its young... and their hatching is [[BodyHorror unpleasant]].
* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': Tousen earned a great deal of dislike during his fight with Kenpachi; he removes Kenpachi's senses then lectures a deaf, defenseless Kenpachi toying with him instead of ending it. It gives Kenpachi a chance to adapt and turn the tables. Once his motives for siding with Aizen against Soul Society came out, the dislike worsened. He is motivated by a desire for peace and a decision to find the path of least bloodshed[[note]]Although later on, he reveals that he wanted {{revenge}} for his friend's murder, since her husband, the man who'd killed her, had never been punished.[[/note]] towards achieving that peace... by supporting a man that incites civil war within Soul Society and who follows up that civil war with a war between Shinigami and Hollows. His reasoning was therefore viewed as stupid and hypocritical by fans and was cemented further when the first thing he did upon regaining his sight was insult his oldest and most noble friend, Komamura. However, when he's thoroughly defeated, barely able to talk and finally confronted by his former lieutenant Hisagi and Komamura, he admits that he was in the wrong. The trio start to have a surprisingly tender reconciliation... and Tousen blows up in the middle of it, leaving Komamura screaming at Aizen for revenge and the fans feeling sorrier for Tousen than they had expected to.

** Misa's Scrappyhood, and her ending, which got past many people. In the close credits, she mirrors [[ElegantGothicLolita in dress]] and demeanor an earlier scene when she sings about her trust and devotion to Light. She follows the same route, ending at a veranda where she sadly and wistfully looks off into the sky, only this time she's standing ''outside'' the railing...

** Hathaway Noah's situation got worse as time went on after Quess bit it in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamCharsCounterattack''. In the novel ''[[Literature/MobileSuitGundamHathawaysFlash Hathaway's Flash]]'', he joins a terror organization called Mafty, becomes their leader, and smashes stuff up in his badass Xi Gundam. In the end he was captured and executed on orders ''[[OffingTheOffspring from his own father]]'', Bright Noah ([[DiabolusExMachina who apparently didn't know his son was the terrorist until after he had signed the death warrant]]) which had... let's just say, [[HeroicBSOD a devastating effect on him]].

*** On that subject of Chan, she had some unpopularity for taking the place of Beltorchika, but Hathaway's aforementioned murder of her after she was forced to kill Quess in self-defense was something even her most ardent haters were horrified at.

* ''Anime/MartianSuccessorNadesico'': For all his annoying tendencies, ineptness in reading his crew, responsibility in killing one of the more popular characters from the show, and overall nature, Admiral Munetake gets a pretty emotional send off. It doesn't hurt that much of the episode was spent humanizing him again.

** In ''End of Evangelion'', she's still in a coma and Shinji comes to her hospital room and [[ADateWithRosiePalms wanks]] over her in that state. Then she comes back into action after realizing her mother's soul is in her Eva, protecting her. She defeats nine Mass Produced Evas, each with the best weapon of the series and unlimited power, only to have her Eva stabbed in the eye, utterly mangled, eaten alive, and its organs ripped out. She somehow survives and makes [[DyingMomentOfAwesome one last attempt]] to fight back. She fails, and dies by being impaled about 12 times. This tended to make the fans more sympathetic. She felt all of this happen because of the neural link. At the very least, she somehow comes back to life in the epilogue mostly unharmed. But considering the fact that the first thing [[BrokenBird Shinji]] does after waking up with her the only other human currently left is making an attempt to choke her to death, followed by her exclaiming sickness (which, according to Creator/TiffanyGrant was morning sickness, has... interesting implications) and the reason she's bandaged at the end is due to the injuries her Evangelion suffered (again, which she felt through the neural link) - in particular, her eye is covered up -- and the last thing anyone saw of her (and, for the record, the thing that finished setting Shinji off) was her Evangelion being eaten by the MP Evas...

* ''Anime/RahXephon'': Makoto Isshki is an unlikeable {{jerkass}} when first introduced and [[ManipulativeBastard sinks to new lows]] [[SmugSnake as the series progresses]]. Only until the mid point of the series do we see his [[StartOfDarkness upbringing]]. During the last episode, his [[VillainousBreakdown undignified mental breakdown]] and [[DroppedABridgeOnHim unceremonious death]] come like a slap in the face when his best friend tearfully runs to his side, to hear his last words.

* From ''Anime/SailorMoon'', Chibiusa near the end of the Nehellenia Arc in Stars dies/becomes RetGone while Usagi holds her. It's also sad when realizing that because Mamoru dies by Galaxia's hands, the last piece of Chibi-Usa we see is the remains of Usagi's memory/dream before everyone around her in the dream near the episode is gone.

** Made worse by the fact that he never could bring him self to actually drink blood from a person.

* In ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'', occasional character Tommy Turtle was finally put out of his misery and killed off (for the second [[WordOfGod and final time]]) in issue #169, when he was blasted to dust by Dr. Eggman's latest weapon. They ended up erecting a tombstone (even though there was nothing left to bury; his ashes got lost in the wind), and naming a hospital after him. This is also a HeroicSacrifice: he was infected by nanites which carried the evil AI A.D.A.M. He was able to resist the mind control just enough to fly to his death.

* The teenaged ComicBook/JeanGrey was not very liked by fans because she TookALevelInJerkass since arriving in our time/universe. Then, in the lead up to ''ComicBook/PhoenixResurrection'', she prepares herself to fight the Phoenix to stop it from bonding with her, only to learn too late it wanted to ''kill her'' and does so by bonding with her and effectively blowing her up. This sudden action caught people off-guard and made those who didn't like her feel sorry for her.

* Osiris, the counterpart to Captain Marvel Jr. in [[Characters/ShazamBlackMarvelFamily the Black Marvel Family]], was generally scorned by fans [[CreatorsPest and writers]] alike as an annoying, unlikable brat that cramped Black Adam's style. Then in ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'', [[spoiler:he gets betrayed and murdered by [[FalseFriend his best and only friend Sobek]] (really [[FourHorsemenOfTheApocolypse Famine]]) in a manner so shocking and brutal]] that even the his biggest haters felt sorry for him and mourned his tragic fate. It helped that he died just as he was starting to show some real CharacterDevelopment and become a better person.

* [[UncleTomFoolery "Gangsta" twins]] Skids and Mudflap from ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen'' were widely hated for being seen as [[SpaceJews derogatory stereotypes of African Americans]] and just plain annoying. They were [[WhatCouldHaveBeen initially going to be]] in ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon'', but were carefully edited out of the finished product. The comic book and novelization of the movie includes their scenes that involves their death. After Sentinel Prime kills Ironhide, Skids [[TakingTheBullet sacrifices himself to protect]] Bumblebee, while Mudflap futilely attacks Sentinel in revenge (buying time for others to escape), Sentinel describing the act as worthy of a hero's death. Many fans regard it respectfully and even express regret it wasn't realized in the film.

* In ''Film/TheEmperorAndTheAssassin'', Changxin (also called "The Marquis") spends most of the movie as a giggling buffoon and plotting rebellion against the king with the Queen Mother, such that the audience will likely feel a certain morbid glee when the king effortlessly defeats the rebellion. But then Changxin begs for the lives of his men (and the king kills them anyway), and is seen to deeply love the Queen Mother and their children, and gives the king a brutal TheReasonYouSuckSpeech. By that point many in the audience will be fully on his side.

** [[AmbiguouslyEvil Severus Snape]], for fans that didn't like him much. Made even worse with the revelations given in "[[UnrequitedLoveLastsForever The Prince's Tale]]."

* In ''Literature/TidesOfWar'', Archmage Rhonin, generally regarded as too perfect from one of the most hated licensed authors in the Franchise/WarcraftExpandedUniverse, was given a tragic and poignant HeroicSacrifice expending all of his magic to prevent the mana bomb's destruction from destroying most of the world, localizing it to just Theramore city.

* James Frey's ''Literature/EndgameTrilogy'' inverts this trope. Maccabee]] doesn't fell sorry at all after he kills his former teammate Baitsakhan.

** Season 3, Ryan Chapelle. He shows up in 23 episodes across the first three seasons, and in 20 of them he's a SmugSnake ''and'' an ObstructiveBureaucrat. He softens up in the 21st, just in time to find out he has to die (the 23rd is just his body being recovered by the villains). The BigBad made a deal that the heroes needed, and one of the conditions was that Chapelle be executed. Suddenly he becomes incredibly sympathetic and human. Chapelle is a particularly great case because Jack asks if there's anyone he wants to contact before he dies. Chapelle says no, his only friends are at ''work''. Considering that we've only seen him at work where he seems to be something of an in-universe Scrappy... ouch.

** Dina Araz. She wasn't that thrilling a villain and later very reluctant ally to Jack Bauer, and most of her arc in the first half of Day 4 took up way to much time that took away from the more interesting characters in the season. But geez, the way she goes out is a downer. She refuses to shoot Jack [[IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten to prove her loyalty to Marwan]], and tries to shoot Marwan instead, only to find out the gun is unloaded, and ends up being executed by her fellow terrorists.

* In ''Series/AgentCarter'' nobody liked misogynist jerk Roger Dooley... but when he jumped out of a window in an explosive vest due to "Ivchenko's" machinations, a lot of fans felt like jerk or not, he didn't deserve this.
* ''Series/{{Arrow}}'': After four seasons of criticism, Laurel Lance was killed off in a way so insulting (immobilized, stabbed with an arrow, spent her last words propping her ex-boyfriends new relationship while admitting she still loved him and then unceremoniously flatlining) that even her detractors contributed to the backlash. It helped that the back half of Season 4 hadn't given her any of her own storylines - which had been infamously melodramatic - and put her in the background with nothing to do but be a big sister/adviser for the rest of team, [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap which had made her a lot more popular]].

** Finally is Daniel Shaw: Introduced in Season 3 and meant to be an example of the spy Chuck could be, most fans found Routh's performance dry and unlikable, and failing to convey the fact that Shaw and Chuck were supposed to be very much alike. The fact that he was introduced ''specifically'' to act as another hurdle to the increasingly played-out WillTheyOrWontThey between Chuck and Sarah just angered fans even further. But then it's revealed that Sarah (unknowingly, she thought it was just a mission) killed his wife under circumstances that were never fully explained,[[note]]Was she a rogue agent Sarah was sent to terminate? Did the Ring recognize her as a double-agent and manipulate events to eliminate her?[[/note]] and Shaw begins to slide off the slippery slope, completing his FaceHeelTurn and establishing himself in one episode as perhaps the show's single most memorable villain, all combining making his death one of the series's most memorable moments. His death didn't stick, but at the time no one knew that.
* ''Series/CobraKai'': No-one liked Stingray, in any way, shape or form, but to see him at the end of season 4, beaten into the ICU by a madly cackling Terry Silver, but still so desperate for the slightest glimmer of acceptance or approval from anyone that he was willing to not just protect but work with Silver... the entire fanbase agreed that the guy deserved better.

** Throughout the series, Edie Britt was a BaseBreakingCharacter--you either thought she was witty and not used enough, or catty and hung around the show for way too long. Yet when she actually ''was'' killed off in season five, the people who despised her ended up mourning her death just as much as the people who loved her, especially after her tribute episode.

** Ros and Talisa Maegyr, each a CanonForeigner, were disliked by many book-reading fans for not being in the books (especially Talisa, who replaced the canon character of Jeyne Westerling) and for what was seen as unrealistic and poor writing. Then Ros became a (minor) player of her own, endearing her to the audience (who previously saw her as a waste of space) only be be cruelly murdered by Joffrey. Talisa also gained some fans by better writing and chemistry with her husband Robb Stark in the third season, and the reveal that she was pregnant and planning the name the baby [[DeadGuyJunior Eddard]]. Five minutes after this reveal she was violently stabbed to death in the ''womb'' by one of the Freys at the Red Wedding.

** Cersei Lannister could be this for some fans. She was evil to start off with, but just got worse as the seasons went on, making her one of the most hated characters in the show. In the penultimate episode of the last season she is left to watch her kingdom get destroyed by dragons knowing she can’t do anything to stop it. When she gets desperate and tries to escape she gets trapped in the debris and screams that she doesn’t want to die over and over. Her brother comes back, originally planning to save her, but ends up comforting her in her final moments instead while she cries that she wants her baby to live. The sad music and the shot of Cersei and Jamie hugging while the debris falls on top of them is the final part that may have made at least a few of her haters feel bad for her.

** Fat guy Malcom Ross. Buried his best friend's, nice-guy nerd Booth, body in the woods after he accidentally shot himself, taking the bag of money into his room and not telling anyone about it. His panicky nothings wrong attitude and sobbing when the truth comes out made him a hated character in many circles. But everyone cried when, with Roy Orbison's Running Scared playing in the background, he burns the money and is subsequently chopped, beaten and thrown in a furnace.
** From the same show, violent townie Shane was probably the least likable character on the entire series. So how does he go out? Mortally wounded, single-handedly taking on the serial killer to give the heroes enough time to escape.

** Moody rich girl Serena Bishop suffered through attempted-rape, finding out her boyfriend was really her half-brother and a plane crash. She was eventually lost at sea.

** Greg and Tamara were pretty nasty villains who attempted to kill extremely benevolent characters like the Dragon and August (that they eventually survived is sheer luck), torture Regina quite cruelly, try to blow up Storybrooke (and everyone innocent inside it) and kidnap Henry to Neverland. In the Season 3 premiere, they discover they had been tricked by Peter Pan, and Tamara quickly tries to get Henry to safety. Greg is given a cruel death when Pan's shadow attacks him, while Tamara gets her heart crushed by Rumpelstiltskin (while she's defenceless and apologising no less).

** Even the infamous Walter, though he didn't die, got a respectful and melancholy send off when he was PutOnABus. The fact that viewers were able to feel anything but joy at that moment is a testament to this trope.
** Daniel's love interest of the 3rd season, Molly, was generally considered pretty boring even when we knew she was terminally ill but the actual moment of her death ''was'' beautiful.

** When Merle, the [[EvilIsPetty petty]], [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain racist]], [[HeManWomanHater misogynistic]], JerkWithAHeartOfJerk [[DeathEqualsRedemption sacrificed himself as zombie bait to in an attempt to save the group]] ''after'' turning against the Governor and recieving a HeelFaceDoorSlam in return then reanimating as a zombie which needs to be put down by his own brother, Chris Hardwick said it best:

** Ron and Sam were hated for being TheLoad during the walker invasion of Alexandria, and the former for being an insane, murderous jackass out to kill Rick and Carl. Like Noah, many of Sam's haters were saddened to see him have a complete mental breakdown over the season which culminated when he froze up in the middle of the herd, and was reduced to shredded lunch meat while screaming for his mother. Soon afterward, his mother is eaten as well, and Ron is in tears as he prepares to shoot Rick and Carl. Fans were sympathetic to him and understood why he became what he was.

* Do stadiums count? If so, UsefulNotes/AustralianRulesFootball venue Waverley Park has a strong case. Built in the 70s in Melbourne's growing south-eastern suburbs, it was criticised for a lack of public transport to the venue and consequent traffic jams on match days (the government scrapping a planned train line didn't help), and nicknamed "Arctic Park" due to the cold temperatures. Yet, when it was gone, many fans regretted the loss.

* Khalid from ''VideoGame/BaldursGate''. Many players found him a rather whiny coward who got on his nerves, not to mention a less than stellar fighter. However, at the start of the sequel, he suffers a rather tragic fate when [[BigBad Irenicus]] captures the party. Irenicus kills Khalid offscreen, resulting in his wife Jaheira being utterly distraught when she finds his body mutilated (the mutilation happened postmortem, but that's still an awful fate), and many of his haters feeling bad for him.

** Ben Paul. His actions at the beginning of episode three led to the deaths of Carley/Doug, Katjaa and Duck, along with Lilly either being stranded and left to die or stealing the group's RV and supplies. And he does it again in episode four when he leaves Clementine surrounded by walkers and Chuck has to jump in and eventually sacrifice his life because Ben wouldn't help a nine year old girl. He's a walking IdiotBall and both TooDumbToLive and TheMillstone, so it's impossible for anyone to not hate him... until episode five, where we're reminded that he's just a scared kid who watched his friends and teachers die to rapists and walkers and doesn't even know if his own family's alive. By the time he dies, most players who hated him so much bawled so hard (unless they dropped him to his death in Episode 4).
** Duck. He never stopped talking, got someone killed just minutes after being introduced and was just pretty annoying, but during his death, you're reminded that he was just a 10 year old boy who acted like a 10 year old boy and now he was going to die (but not before he watches his mother kill herself in front of him). Most players find themselves choking back tears.

* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica'' fans are divided into two camps; those who found Steve Burnside obnoxious but sympathetic, and those who found Steve Burnside obnoxious and grating. Even so, the scene in which he painfully mutates into a Tyrant, attacks Claire, resists the virus to save her and then dies in her arms is ([[NarmCharm for this series]]) surprisingly moving. It helps that, while he remained an obnoxious pissant throughout the game, he did get some character development, had a sad backstory, and ''did'' manage to bond with Claire in a [[VitriolicBestBuds vitriolic but genuine way]].

* A huge portion of the ''VideoGame/SplinterCell'' fanbase has an extreme love-hate relationship with [[MissionControl Colonel Irving Lambert]], known for his banter and his frequent decisions on when to end the mission. So when Double Agent came along and included the dilemma of whether or not to shoot Lambert as one of its selling point, more than a few stating their over-the-top-desire to finally do him in. THEN Ubisoft made ''Essentials'', which makes shooting him necessary to complete the game, and the enthusiasm dropped like a rock. THEN ''Conviction'' came out which CONFIRMED it. [[TorchesAndPitchforks God help whoever decided THAT.]]

** This overlaps with RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap. Now that we know Ash's motives (the fact that this arc was one big BatmanGambit with the appearance of a jerk [[DeclarationOfProtection to protect Elisabeth]], the one person in the world that meant anything to him), not to the mention the fact that SNK ''[[CosmicRetcon erased a character from existence]]'' in a series where few people die outside of the villains, the PlayerPunch makes Ash (who [[GoOutWithASmile went out with a bittersweet smile on his face]] and apologising to Elisabeth) look like a frontrunner for one of the biggest [[TheWoobie Woobie]] in the series.
* Grobnar of ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2''. He is mostly the annoying comic relief, but ''Mask of The Betrayer'' reveals that he had a stupidly awesome death: Attempting to save a 7 foot tall construct of solid metal by putting his squishy gnome body between it and a falling pillar.

** Udina, of all people, in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3''. Sure, he was an obnoxious ass in the first two, but here he becomes quite a bit more sympathetic in his desperation to get aid for his homeworld. Even the attempted coup seems more sad than anything, since it's implied that he may have been motivated by a desperate attempt to save Earth, or might have eneded up being [[BrainwashedAndCrazy indoctrinated.]]

** Alternate Milla is a JerkassWoobie and overall not very likeable, because she repeatedly snaps at Ludger or whines about how her dimension, and whole world, was deleted from existence. But when Chapter 11 comes around and her death is practically foretold to happen any minute, it can still be very sad. She's about to be sacrificed to bring the prime dimension's Milla back from the abyss she's stuck in, but since Alternate Milla had begun a friendship with Elle - and is implied to have developed a crush on Ludger - it's still sad. And since the player can easily just drop Milla into the abyss, it comes off extra sad, as [[PlayerPunch she'll stare in absolute shock and hurt at the screen/player as she falls]].

* Garrosh Hellscream in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' was generally reviled by both Horde and Alliance fans alike. He was seen as a walking ConflictBall unable to keep his HotBlooded and StubbornMule tendencies in check, a view that was largely vindicated by Blizzard constantly making him the one person in the room who facilitated the faction conflict several times over. His final duel with Thrall brought him surprising sympathy when Garrosh finally vented all his anger at Thrall for abandoning the Horde in its time of need, leaving Garrosh to pick up the pieces when even his own allies were already against him. Garrosh's obvious hurt and angry feelings probably helped, not to mention that Garrosh saw Thrall as a surrogate father-figure of sorts; his rant thus combines a sense of BrokenPedestal with CallingTheOldManOut.

* In the ''Stormblood'' expansion to ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', there's Yotsuyu, a sadistic woman that joined the side of TheEmpire and takes pleasure in making her fellow countrymen suffer under her atrocities. Even after you confront her in Doma Castle, she goes on a long MotiveRant for why she turned into the miserable and loathing person everyone knew her for. While her backstory is sad (dead parents, sold off into a sex house, abusive stepparents, and more), the way she ranted made it sound more like {{Wangst}} and her actions in response made her look extremely petty. When the character returned later on with amnesia, a lot of players hated her even more and assumed she would be redeemed simply because Gosetsu was taking care of her and she was now a helpless girl with no memories. Later on, Yotsuyu's memories return and [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone she remembers all the horrible crimes she committed.]] She tries to [[DrivenToSuicide kill herself]], but she gets interrupted when her abusive step parents show up while mocking her weakness and aim to get her back into a whore house to make money. Realizing that people would never forgive her and would still remember her as a tyrant, Yotsuyu decides to [[ThenLetMeBeEvil become the monster everyone knew her for]] and she renews her evil acts by [[LaserGuidedKarma killing her step parents]]. She then turns into a primal to [[SuicideByCop fight a losing battle against the player character knowing that she cannot be redeemed]], During the fight, Yotsuyu's memory of Gosetsu materializes to protect her from her bad memories, showing that she still remembers his kindness towards her when she was amnesiac. With her dying breath once she's defeated, Yotsuyu uses the last remains of her strength to kill her step brother, who basically did nothing to help her when she was abused as a child and enabled such behavior to happen to her because he benefited from it. Many players who hated her suddenly found themselves feeling sorry for her.
* ''VideoGame/{{Pikmin}}'': In the second game, many players found the Hocotate ship beyond annoying with it's constant chiming in at the worst possible times (often getting Pikmin killed) and just being a {{Jerkass}} to Olimar. Come the third game, it is discovered destroyed by the Quaggled Mireclops and is abandoned on the planet, which many fans admitted to making them feel a little bad for the ship.

* Teruteru Hanamura, the first murderer in ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'', is often hated by new players due to being a crazed sex pervert who makes smutty comments all the time and is always hitting on everyone, male or female... then you learn his motive for killing: he wanted to escape the island to see his sick mother. He then gets [[CruelAndUnusualDeath one of the most brutal executions in the game]] while he begs to at least know if his mom is OK, a request that is completely ignored by Monokuma. Even some of his biggest haters were moved to tears by this. It doesn't help that he was actually trying to kill Nagito Komaeda once he realized he was out of his gourd and a huge danger to everyone else, but accidentally wound up killing the Ultimate Imposter, who was also trying to stop Komaeda.

*** It's all the more tragic when its spelled out that the only person (in comic) who is upset about her death is the TokenGoodTeammate, and even then he just feels bad for her because ''nobody'' is upset she's dead.

** Crystal, the dumb-as-rocks, sadistic and one-dimensional assassin who served as Haley's rival, clearly [[HateSink had everything to be hated]]. Most readers probably felt good about [[KickTheSonOfABitch Haley unceremoniously killing her]] in Greysky City, but being brought back from the dead as [[TorturedMonster an abomination that feels nothing but excruciating pain]] - above all when some cheaper and less painful options are available to revive people - is [[FateWorseThanDeath a fate no one would wish even on one's worst enemy]]. Dumping her into a lava pool was more of a MercyKilling on Haley's part. Haley has no regrets about it, but doesn't take any pleasure in it, either.

* ''Webcomic/CollegeRoomiesFromHell'' had this coming from Dave. It failed spectacularly, because no one realized that Dave was meant to be TheScrappy. Quite the contrary, he became one of the most popular characters, so the author had no choice but to bring him back and actually make him a protagonist.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Exosquad}}'' series there are several notable examples, but the most prominent was the much hated Captian Matthew Marcus. Not only was he lacking of strategic skills, had sheer arrogance, sported a hair-trigger temper, and tyrannical in that he charged the first officer to question his dangerous orders as a mutineer, but he practically single-handedly crippled the Exo-Fleet. Not only was that humanity's greatest hope in winning the war and saving their species, but did so after going to mutiny, creating a coup, and sending the best combat squad on a dangerous and meaningless mission. Despite all this, he had an incredible send off in that he refused to give up the fight, attempting to redeem his failures and actions. When a protagonist was sent in to rescue him he refused to leave, forcing him to leave at gun point and going for a heroic sacrifice, taking out a number of enemy ships and buying some time for the survivors of the fleet he destroyed to escape. His last words were to be relayed to the Admiral he betrayed: "Tell him that Matthew Marcus knew how to die!"
** Somewhat subverted that despite the impact and incredibly well done death being very memorable. He was never really missed by fans, also, that last scene as he has the Exo-Carrier self destruct in enemy lines has his face showing a less heroic expression, but more of a crazed suicidal rump of joy!

* Not a death but a meta example; after it was announced that ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' would be getting a reboot, Creator/CreeSummer revealed that Elmyra Duff, whom she played on the original series, would not be part of it. While Elmyra is disliked for [[SpotlightStealingSquad a number]] [[WesternAnimation/PinkyElmyraAndTheBrain of reasons]] some fans were still upset over that news, feeling that she was at least tolerable in small doses and that it doesn't feel like ''Tiny Toons'' without her. It seems like the creators took notice at this upsetting situation as it was later [[https://mobile.twitter.com/Lentendo/status/1550655337824280576 confirm]] that she will be returning in the reboot.

** From the SpinOff ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaPresentsTheRidonculousRace'': Even the people who hated the Best Friends and their ArcFatigue thought that their treatment throughout "Last Tango in Buenos Aires" was too harsh and uncalled for. Especially when Devin is accidentally pushed off a cliff, which puts him in a full body cast and results in the team being removed from the competition.

** In the episode "Rock Bottom," Miko ''almost'' got this. Long reviled for her tendency to [[SnoopingLittleKid charge after the Autobots into the line of fire]], jeopardizing the mission and sometimes many lives, and worse, ''explicitly didn't care about endangering lives, only how much fun it is being InHarmsWay,'' in this episode she's simply allowed to accompany them into a mine they ''think'' is safe. Then [[BigBad Megatron]] and [[TheDragon Starscream]] happen upon the mine, causing large sections to cave in. Bulkhead saves Miko by holding up the portion of the cave ceiling just above her, but this means he can't move. Demonstrating impressive strength, Miko begins yanking up the large boulders blocking the tunnel and throwing them aside, in a nonetheless vain attempt to save Bulkhead that nearly kills her from asphyxiation. Even when Jack conveniently barges in with a boring machine and rescues Miko, now all-but dead, she's horrified to leave Bulkhead to his fate. He is later rescued, too, so everything ends up okay, but it's still probably the decisive moment when Miko begins to get RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap.

** Not a lot of people liked [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent Louise Halevy]] from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'' until her entire family was murdered in front of her and her arm was lost. And [[FromBadToWorse it only got worse from there.]]
*** Nena Trinity, the very person who committed the aforementioned murder, ''might'' also count upon her [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZdwkxjT6r4 death]], particularly for [[AmericansHateTingle Eastern audiences]], but [[BrokenBase this is eternally up to debate.]]
*** Andrei Smirnov drew ire for killing [[CoolOldGuy his father]]; TheMovie goes on to give him a HeroicSacrifice that mixed this with RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap for a good number of his detractors.
** Flay Allster in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED''. Oh, she went all {{Yandere}} for a while, but [[CharacterDevelopment she got better]], and her death was so utterly [[MoralEventHorizon mean spirited]] and [[DroppedABridgeOnHim pointless...]]
** Yuna Roma Seiran in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny''. Yeah, he suffered VillainDecay after a ''very'' promising start as a ManipulativeBastard, but [[DroppedABridgeOnHim getting a GOUF dropped on him?]]. That's just ''mean''.
*** Meer Campbell perishes by TakingTheBullet meant for Lacus Clyne, the woman she's impersonated for months, and a good part of the hate she got for [[DieForOurShip being a member of Athrun Zala's]] UnwantedHarem ''poofed''.

* ''Manga/{{Shiki}}'': Masao Murasako got a lot of ire for being an annoying {{Jerkass}}, but then got an incredibly-sad death scene: he's so desperate for shelter from the vampire-hunters trying to kill him that he goes up to the house of his sister-in-law (whom he previously hated) and ''[[AintTooProudToBeg begs]]'' [[AintTooProudToBeg her]] in a small child's voice to let him in and not kill him. Instead, she takes advantage of the opportunity to beat him over the head with a pole and stake him through the heart. Even people who didn't like him thought the scene was very sad.

[[/folder]{

[[folder:ProfessionalWrestling]]
* Years of fan resistance due to Wrestling/VinceMcMahon pushing him as [[TheAce the company's newest face]] at the expense of many other fan favorites made Wrestling/RomanReigns one of the most hated ''faces'' in the wrestling world. However, his announcement on an episode of ''[[Wrestling/WWERaw Raw]]'' that he would be relinquishing the Universal Championship due to his ongoing battle with leukemia cleared all that hate overnight and he was lauded.