History Main / BadIsGoodAndGoodIsBad

* Boris and Natasha in ''WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle'' take acknowledgment of their dishonesty and general evilness by others as [[InsultBackfire flattery]], as will Fearless Leader, whereas words like "purity", "innocence", and "honor" are considered on par with [[UnusualEuphemism harsh swearing]]. In principle, Pottsylvania remains the only nation where the Cold War never ended and is a CityOfSpies. The locals are AlwaysChaoticEvil, meaning they are CardCarryingVillains who relish in evil deeds. They are also hostile to outsiders, going so far to jail them just for doing good deeds. The government is a corrupt dictatorship that relies on trickery and theft to keep its barely functioning economy afloat, having nothing to offer in trade with the outside world.

* Boris and Natasha in ''WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle'' take acknowledgment of their dishonesty and general evilness by others as [[InsultBackfire flattery]], as will Fearless Leader, whereas words like "purity", "innocence", and "honor" are considered on par with [[UnusualEuphemism harsh swearing]].

* In the Literature/BookOfIsaiah, the prophet has some pretty harsh condemnation for those who do this sort of thing:

* ''Literature/TheBible'': Isaiah 5:20 has "woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter", making this OlderThanFeudalism.

* Prince Phobos in ''WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}}'' despises bright, happy things, and so naturally commissions artists to make the bleakest, dreariest pictures they can. It is mentioned, however, that the ''reason'' he hates bright, happy things is because he thinks it will inspire his followers to have hope, and consequently rebel against him- so he has a ''reason'' for going in for dreariness and misery, albeit a despicable one.

* Characters in ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'' will react according only to their alignment and your reputation in a quite straightforward and dichotomic way. No matter the methods you use, a low reputation is always seen with favor by evil characters even at the cost of being hunted by guards around every corner, while a good reputation is despised even if it brings wealth and prestige. So, if you murder innocents, slay children, summon demons in the middle of a city and become the most hated public enemy no. 1, thus causing your reputation to drop, evil characters will comment with satisfaction about how the party is going and will always stay loyal (even those whose background stories don't portrait them as children-murdering psychopaths but only as self-centered individualists, as the label "evil" covers a broad spectrum of different personalities in a D&D-based system). But if you do too much honorable things and your reputation gets too high, they will first start to complain about the lack of progress and then leave never to return. In [[VideoGame/BaldursGateII the sequel]], the city of Ust Natha is based upon this very trope. Its society encourages selfishness, opportunism, racism, brutal slavery, murdering political rivals in order to get a promotion in the social ladder, sacrificing "friends" for a gain or even discarding children who disappoint their parents because "I have other children that can do better than you". Kindness and altruism are not only seen as despicable signs of weakness, but also considered a threat to the order and norms of the community itself, and a good reason to kill you if you don't adhere its strict rules.

* On ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', when Keiko and Jake were possessed by Pah-Wraiths they described them as beings of pure hate. After [[BigBad Gul Dukat]] was possessed by a Pah-Wraith, he said he could feel its love for him and the Bajoran people.

* Music/{{Eminem}}'s "Bad Guy" says the first part of the trope word-for-word in the chorus:

* ''Series/TheAddamsFamily'' are a lesser version of this. Specifically, they find disgusting things lovely, and torture as good family fun. But they are very polite and try not to comment on those weirdos with the sickening love of flowers. This had the side effect of [[ValuesResonance making them very progressive for the time, since they didn't judge anybody for anything]]. The plot of one episode of the original series revolves around Pugsley suddenly becoming a 'problem child' in the eyes of his parents, by joining the Boy Scouts, playing baseball and adopting a stray puppy.

* In ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' there's Seija Kijin, an [[{{Youkai}} amanojaku]]. She likes what others hate and hates what others like. [[HatedByAll Nobody likes her]], [[WantsToBeHated and she likes it that way]].

* ''Series/TheAddamsFamily'' are a lesser version of this. Specifically, they find disgusting things lovely, and torture as good family fun. But they are very polite and try not to comment on those weirdos with the sickening love of flowers. This had the side effect of making them very progressive for the time, since they didn't judge anybody for anything. The plot of one episode of the original series revolves around Pugsley suddenly becoming a 'problem child' in the eyes of his parents, by joining the Boy Scouts, playing baseball and adopting a stray puppy.

--->'''Kathy Nightingale''': What did you come here for anyway?\\
'''Sally Sparrow''': I love old things. They make me feel sad.\\
'''Kathy Nightingale''': What's good about sad?\\
'''Sally Sparrow''': It's happy for deep people.

--->'''Dalek''': It is offensive to us to extinguish such divine hatred.\\
'''The Doctor''': ''Offensive?''\\
'''Dalek''': Does it surprise you to know the Daleks have a concept of beauty?\\
'''The Doctor''': I thought you'd run out of ways to make me sick, but hello again! You think hatred is ''beautiful?''\\
'''Dalek''': Perhaps that is why [[InLoveWithYourCarnage we have never been able to kill YOU!]]

-->'''Mileena''': My sister is now Kahn?!
-->'''Jade''': And she rules Outworld justly and with grace.
-->'''Mileena''': How dare she destroy my empire!

-->'''Ren''': I do indeed. Including your decision to backchat just now.

--> '''Laughing Jack''': They walked in the door, happy as a couple of... things that are happy I don't fucking know!

-->'''The Cloak''': This place is dark, cold, in horrible disrepair, and it smells like a rotten egg sandwich made with moldy Limburger cheese rolled in used kitty litter. ''sniffs'' Ah, it doesn't get any better than this!

* In ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'', [[spoiler: Junko Enoshima, [[BigBad the Mastermind]], has this perspective towards hope and despair, and takes it to the point of BlueAndOrangeMorality. In fact, she is positively ecstatic to lose at the very end, relishing the chance to experience the despair of such an intricate plan failing at the very end, while Makoto's [[{{Determinator}} refusal to give in]] is met with fear and disgust]].
** [[spoiler:VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair: Thanks to her manipulating and brainwashing them, she's made Class 77-B to think just like her and transforms them into the terrorist organization The Ultimate Despair.]]
** Nagito Komaeda is a borderline example. He loves hope and hates despair, but because of his UnluckilyLucky nature, he tends to think that tragedies are ''good'', because his entire life has been a merry-go-round of catastrophe leading into good fortune (i.e. he gets kidnapped and finds a winning lottery ticket in the bag his kidnappers put him in), so he thinks that experiencing despair will just lead to more hope after the despair has been overcome.

* In ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'', the MirrorUniverse of the Crime Syndicate of Amerika works this way. People talk about "Moloch below" and swear by TheAntiChrist in casual conversation. It's more like "Bad is Good and Good is Weak," though.

* Mr. Hyde in ''ComicBook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'': '...sorrow is like fine wine....'
* X-51 attempts a TrueNeutral version of this in ''ComicBook/EarthX'' after Uatu the Watcher convinces him to [[spoiler: pretend to]] delete his human programming. [[spoiler: Surprisingly, Uatu doesn't see through him.]]

* In ''Judgement on Gotham'', [[Characters/BatmanTheScarecrow The Scarecrow]] is able to incapacitate [[ComicBook/JudgeDredd Judge Death]] by injecting him with a formula that causes him to hallucinate his greatest fears -- fluffy bunnies, [[Franchise/MyLittlePony pink ponies]], and [[GoodHurtsEvil other cute things]].
* Call one of the Spineless Ones a fat, lazy slob, and [[InsultBackfire he will take it as a compliment]], and their ruler, Mojo, is the worst, or to his species, best. A longtime foe of the ComicBook/XMen, he's an absurd parody of corporate greed, ruling a race that's proud of being couch potatoes.
* Characters/{{Superman|TheCharacter}}'s enemy [[Characters/SupermanBizarro Bizarro]] does this, but not on purpose. It's pathological for him.

* [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker The Joker]] occasionally has this mentality. He values enemies more than friends, and by his twisted logic he and Batman are bordering on being secret lovers. He also thinks that laughter is the appropriate reaction to all the misery and suffering in the world. Sure, that's insane, and he's happy to admit that. After all, in a world like this, insanity is the only rational recourse open to us.
* An issue of ''Creator/HarveyComics'' had a DoubleSubversion. Wendy the Good Witch sees a stream below her and decides to go for a swim. She uses her wand to turn her underwear into a bikini swimsuit and then strips off her red witch's robe, [[GoneSwimmingClothesStolen which she leaves unattended on the bank of the stream]]. A young ogre happens along and decides to get Wendy into trouble by [[CostumeCopycat disguising himself in her red robe and wreaking black magic in her name]]. He later brings back the robe just before Wendy notices it is missing, then hangs around to watch the consequences. Wendy is confused when her wicked aunts come up to her and congratulate her on "her" evil spells, but then the aunts become confused when Wendy's animal friends appear and tell her how grateful they are that the natural disasters "she" created have greatly improved the environment. The little ogre is disgusted that all his mischief has come to nothing and heads home, hoping that his mother will at least appreciate his efforts. But then he discovers that the mother was badly injured by a hurricane he had brewed up, and the story ends with the ogre getting a spanking.
* The early ''ComicBook/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch'' comics had witches operating on this principle and performing mean tricks on mortals. Sabrina's the exception and often got in trouble for doing good deeds. She's also considered [[HumansAreUgly homely]] due to an "ugly curse" thanks to the witches' backwards thinking.
* In an issue of an old ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' magazine, a journal entry by Kimberly has her mention Zedd and Rita's recent wedding. She states that she hopes they'll be happy. Because "bad guys hate being happy".
* Issue #68 of ''ComicBook/ThePowerpuffGirls'': "Micro Managing" has Blossom enlisting help from Mojo Jojo in defeating the Micro-Puffs ([[ThePsychoRangers three mischievous sprite versions of the girls]] from another dimension) who have been brainwashing Bubbles and Buttercup into thinking they're the leader of the team.
-->'''Mojo:''' If you needed help, why do you not go to your hotshot Professor, hmmm? Why come to me?
-->'''Blossom:''' (''coyly, embracing Mojo'') Because, Mojo, I needed not only a brilliant mind but a ''diabolical'' one to help me beat the Micro-Puffs!
* In the over-the-top CrapsackWorld that is the dark world of Résurrecion in ''ComicBook/RequiemVampireKnight'', the more cruel a person was in life, the better rewarded they are in the death, while the innocents or those who committed minor sins suffer the worst. The protagonist used to be a [[NaziProtagonist Nazi soldier]] who was cruel enough to become a vampire - the ruling elite of Résurrecion composed of people like {{Dracula}}, Attila the Hun, Caligula and Nero to name a few. Yet, because he still retained a sense of honor and chivalry, he is regarded as ''a degenerate freak by his fellows''.
* In the ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' series, little Normie Osborn, Harry Osborn's son and grandson of [[Characters/MarvelComicsNormanOsborn Norman Osborn]], had always thought Spider-Man was evil and sided with the Goblins in their attack against the web-slinger. [[spoiler:This came to an end in ''ComicBook/GoDownSwinging'' after Normie witnesses Norman attempting to murder his mom, Liz Allan, and Spidey saved her. [[BrokenPedestal Horrified at his grandfather's actions]] and realizing he was becoming a monster, too, he began to attack his grandfather until Harry slammed a Goblin Glider into Norman's chest.]]
* ''ComicBook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2020:'' Rapskullion, evil villain of the planet Muscular and sworn enemy of the heroic prince Noblor, declares that to him, bad is good and good is bad. Which is therefore, ironically, good in his eyes.

Compare AboveGoodAndEvil and WhatIsEvil Villains whose strong point is not logic will sometimes use both tropes to justify this. See also BizarroUniverse, MirrorUniverse, BlueAndOrangeMorality, and NaughtyIsGood. Not to be confused with SoBadItsGood.

* You can attempt to logic-bomb the AlwaysChaoticEvil Ilwrath in ''VideoGame/StarControlII'' by invoking this trope. [[spoiler: It doesn't work. It does make them very angry, though.]]
-->"But `evil' is that which is morally bad or wrong. And if your actions are judged by your society as correct, aren't you, in fact, good?"

* ''TabletopGame/ChezGeek'' has a Goth expansion, where the victory points are renamed from "Slack" to the thematic "Gloom." Hence, increasing your Gloom is good, and decreasing it is bad.

* Almost every ''Franchise/CareBears'' villain. (Which is why the CareBearStare is so effective.) Beastly even quotes the trope name as a {{Catchphrase}}, albeit because he needs to remind himself of it since [[MinionWithAnFInEvil he's not very good at his job.]]

* The Royals of ''Toys/EverAfterHigh'' try to hammer this into Raven Queen, as it is the right (wrong?) way for a future Evil Queen to act. It doesn't stick, but they're very enthusiastic and determined.
** Generally, it is also how all students born from antagonist parents are expected to think and act.
* ''WebAnimation/TerribleWritingAdvice'' discusses tropes and cliches to provide [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin terrible writing advice]] as good advice in a sarcastic fashion. The narrator frequently says that any deep and meaningful discussions should be avoided at all costs, especially if it gets in the way of the RomanticPlotTumor.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/SuperMarioWorld'', King Koopa tells his kids that they shouldn't go to school, because they might learn good citizenship, and he wants them to grow up to be 'sneaky, two-faced, cheating illiterates'. The kids then exploit this by telling him that he forgot lying, which he agrees is an excellent trait. Then they go to school despite promising not to, as they were just told that lying is good.

* In ''LightNovel/TheCreationAlchemistEnjoysFreedom'', the main character's birthplace is a country that deifies combat prowess and looks upon non-combat gods given jobs like his [alchemist] with contempt and ridicule, to the point that noble houses routinely disown their non-combat progeny. This is bad enough, but his father takes it one step further and finds Thor's attempts to use his job to better the world as absolutely shameful, does everything humanly possible to hide the boys' merits and drive the boy to suicide, and sees it as supremely honorable when he gets the idea to banish the boy to what he sees as certain death by sending him off against his will to the Demon King Territory, and repeatedly brags about it, expecting praise.