History Main / ChildishVillainMatureHero

* ''WesternAnimation/RobinHood1973'': Robin is a highly intelligent, compassionate and capable individual, and a leader among men, going out of his way to help the oppressed people of Nottingham. Prince John, on the other hand, is a childish tyrant who doesn't care about his subjects except as his personal piggy bank, as well as [[GreenEyedMonster feeling jealous of his older brother Richard]], the legitimate king of England. His immaturity goes to the point that he [[StillSucksThumb sucks his thumb]] while [[IWantMyMommy crying for his mommy]], and even throws a literal tantrum when Robin gets the people to chant for Richard.

* ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'': Primrose Azelhart is decidedly an [[AntiHero Anti-Heroine]] on a quest for revenge against three assassins who murdered her father when she was a child. However, she is still a [[NiceGirl kind and gentle person]] to those who aren't her targets. By contrast, her employer at the beginning of her tale, [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Helgenish]], is a [[{{Narcissist}} narcissistic]] [[{{Jerkass}} jerk]] who [[ItsAllAboutMe believes that the entire world should revolve around him]], [[BadBoss treats his impoverished employees like slaves]], and [[PsychopathicManchild throws temper tantrums the moment things don't go his way]].

** The episode "One More Pallbearer" features Paul Radin, a PsychopathicManchild who, despite being extremely rich and powerful, harbors grudges against three people who he claims ruined his life: Mrs. Langsford, a high school teacher who caught him cheating, flunked him, and called him out in front of his classmates; Colonel Hawthorne, his military commanding officer who had Radin court-martialed for cowardice after he abandoned his men to save himself; and Reverend Hughes, a kindly preacher who learned that Radin drove a young woman to suicide and started a public scandal over the deed. Radin creates an elaborate underground bunker, rigs up a fake nuclear war (complete with official-sounding announcements and footage), and summons Langsford, Hawthorne, and Hughes to him, hoping that they'll [[KneelBeforeZod kneel before him]] and apologize profusely in exchange for getting to survive the supposed explosions. To his shock, the trio refuse to break and, with maturity and grace, take him to task for his pettiness and mutually agree to FaceDeathWithDignity rather than sacrifice their honor and dignity. Radin is so shocked at his failures that he [[VillainousBSOD breaks down completely]] and thinks that there really ''was'' a nuclear war, because he can't fathom the idea that anyone could be stronger or wiser than him.
** "A Piano in the House" features {{Jerkass}} Fitzgerald Fortune, a CausticCritic who treats everyone from shopkeepers to his butler to his wife Esther with contempt and cruel jokes. When he purchases the titular player piano for Esther as a birthday present, he discovers that it has [[MagicMusic magical powers]]: when a roll of music is placed inside it, someone in the vicinity will [[CannotTellALie share their deepest feelings and secrets]] without prompting. Fortune spends the whole day agonizing people with the piano, but ends up getting a [[LaserGuidedKarma taste of his own medicine]] when Esther secretly switches one roll with another that makes ''him'' start revealing his true nature as a spoiled, scared, frightened little boy who lashes out at the world because he can't understand things like love and kindness. Rather than get well-deserved revenge, everyone he's tormented instead handles the situation with tact and maturity, choosing to walk away from Fortune and his misery rather than stoop to his level.

** By extension, Midoriya and Shigaraki's predecessors, All Might and All for One are the symbols of peace and evil and the most powerful hero and villain of their time respectively. Most of Midoriya's personality traits are inspired by All Might, who is just as wise, compassionate, and level-headed. All for One initially appears to be a subversion, looking to be more mentally sound and calculative than his apprentice was [[DoubleSubversion until the end where it's revealed that All for One is even more immature, insane, and childish than Shigaraki could ever be shown to be]], being a petulant PsychopathicManchild whose ultimate motivation for being a supervillain stems from reading comic books when he was a child and was an extreme fanboy of its villains (especially the MaouTheDemonKing ones), so all he wants is to become one to show how this kind of villain would go in reality to the point where he outright rejects the fact that the villains lost, making him a delusional {{chuunibyou}}, of all things, and [[VillainousBreakdown throws destructive temper tantrums]] when things don't go his way, which also makes him a massive SoreLoser. All of this comes to a head when Shigaraki [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech calls him out]] for using him and the League of Villains he's founded as disposable tools for accomplishing his childish goals before ripping his metaphysical vestige apart from the inside out, which causes All For One (alongside Lady Nagant turning on him) to throw a ''massive'' tantrum like the pathetic child he really is.

* Pictured above is ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' in contrast to [[GreatGazoo Mr. Myxzptlk]], with the former being a hero who treats his duties seriously and with the utmost responsibility and, while not afraid to crack a joke every now and then, dedicates his life to ensure the well-being of everyone around him. The latter, meanwhile, while nowhere near as malicious as other members of the Man of Steel's RoguesGallery, being a mischievous prankster more than anything else, is nonetheless rather childish and immature, being a MadGod who uses his powers on a whim to treat everything in his environment like one big playground.

* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'': Used as one of the many aspects by which Guts and Griffith act as [[{{Foil}} foils]] to each other. Guts, for his faults, gradually begins to care about things beyond base survival, and even after the horror of the Eclipse, eventually the meaningless and destructiveness caused by his revenge quest as the Black Swordsman, moving past it to prioritize protecting those that he cares about and finding his own meaning in life. In contrast, Griffith, despite his WickedCultured exterior, is a PsychopathicManchild who refuses to ever move past his initial childish goal of achieving a kingdom even when it's flatly told to him this desire was deliberately inserted into him by the Godhand, is incapable of viewing people outside of their relation to him, and is willing to sacrifice anyone, even those he has grown to care about, in pursuit of it. Interestingly, as ArtEvolution progresses, Griffith is drawn to look increasingly child-like and cherubic despite the fact that he's at least 2 to 3 years older than Guts is.

** By extension, Midoriya and Shigaraki's predecessors, All Might and All for One are the symbols of peace and evil and the most powerful hero and villain of their time respectively. Most of Midoriya's personality traits are inspired by All Might, who is just as wise, compassionate, and level-headed. All for One initially appears to be a subversion, looking to be more mentally sound and calculative than his apprentice was [[DoubleSubversion until the end where it's revealed that All for One is even more immature, insane, and childish than Shigaraki could ever be shown to be]], being a petulant PsychopathicManchild whose ultimate motivation for being a supervillain stems from reading comic books when he was a child and was an extreme fanboy of its villains (especially the MaouTheDemonKing ones), so all he wants is to become one to show how this kind of villain would go in reality to the point where he outright rejects the fact that the villains lost, making him a delusional {{chuunibyou}}, of all things, and [[VillainousBreakdown throws destructive temper tantrums]] when things don't go his way, which also makes him a massive SoreLoser. All of this comes to a head when Shigaraki [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech calls him out]] for using him and the League of Villains he's founded as disposable tools for accomplishing his childish goals before ripping his metaphysical vestige apart from the inside out.

** [[AlphaBitch Chloé]] and [[TheHero Marinette]] are opposites in many ways, with maturity being one of them. Whereas Marinette is responsible, hard-working, and is willing to put others' wants and needs before her own, Chloé is [[NeverMyFault irresponsible]], expects things [[SpoiledBrat to be handed to her with no work on her part]], and thinks the world [[ItsAllAboutMe revolves around her.]] [[JustifiedTrope Given their upbringings]], it makes ''perfect'' sense that they turned out this way; [[GoodParents Marinette's parents]] are loving, yet willing to be stern with her, whereas [[PushoverParents Chloé's father]] simply gives her whatever she wants while her mother is [[AbusiveParents outright emotionally abusive]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TotallySpies'': The titular spies are this compared to almost every villain they face. While Alex, Sam, and Clover are teenage girls who often act just as immature as their age, they're otherwise decent people who are willing to mature and move on from any the misfortunes that they face. The villains, [[PsychopathicManchild despite mostly consisting of older adults]], often resort to their evil acts and plans (including kidnapping, large amounts of property damage and mass murder, to name a few) over extremely [[EvilIsPetty petty grudges and desires]] (such as getting dumped by their romantic partner, being fired from their job, being rejected on social media, etc.).

While some works present childishness as an [[ChildrenAreInnocent endearing trait]], in this dynamic the hero's lack of childishness is what makes them better than the villain. This makes sense to an extent; many [[ImmaturityTropes immature qualities]] such as [[NeverMyFault pushing the blame]], [[EntitledBastard entitlement]], [[ItsAllAboutMe self-centeredness]], [[EvilIsPetty pettiness]], [[SpoiledBrat acting spoiled]], etc. are almost always associated with villains and [[TheJerkIndex jerks]]. In contrast, [[MaturityTropes mature traits]] such as {{forgiveness}}, [[ItsAllMyFault taking responsibility for one's faults]], [[GracefulLoser losing gracefully]], [[HumilityTropes humility]], [[ResponsibilityTropes a sense of responsibility]], etc. tend to be related to heroes.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'': Despite his love for theatrics, a belief that his only place in society is being a supervillain, and all his other quirks, the titular VillainProtagonist proves himself to be a lot more compassionate and self-aware than he lets on, as well as having a clear understanding of what it means to be a true hero. In contrast, Megamind's subject for creating a superhero who would fight him, Hal Stewart/Titan, is an immature idiot who thinks having superpowers entitles him to have anything or anyone he wants, as shown by his failed attempts to woo Roxanne and his fall to villainy shortly afterward because of Roxanne rejecting him for a disguised Megamind, who actually treats her as a person instead of an object.

** Black Zetsu, TheManInFrontOfTheMan to the Akatsuki, Obito, and even Madara, is revealed to have been seeking Kaguya's revival so he can be alongside her for all eternity, with everyone who suffers along the way being an afterthought as they're all just a part of his story to bring about the return of his mother. Naruto, despite having lost his family and friends along the way, is able to grow from that loss and never treated everyone as expendable in his goals. He even calls Black Zetsu a spoiled brat who still wants to cling to his mother's side and has no right to compare himself to the shinobi who left their marks on history.

** Season 8 introduces The Quiet One, aka [[spoiler:[[LoveInterestTraitor Harumi]]]]. Once Lloyd discovers her true nature, she reveals her demeanor to be that of a bratty child who throws tantrums when things don't go her way and gloats about her victories, real or presumed. [[spoiler:It's revealed that Harumi was originally a fan of the Ninja until the Great Devourer's attack on Ninjago robbed her of her parents and she blamed the Ninja for failing to save them, while idolizing Lord Garmadon for being the one to kill the Devourer. This led her to secretly become founder of the Sons of Garmadon so she can resurrect him as a being of evil and stand at his side taking over Ninjago.]] Despite calling the Ninja "kids playing dress-up" because Ninjago nearly fell under their watch, [[spoiler:Harumi]] fails to [[{{Hypocrite}} see her own immaturity and realize that her own actions will cause the same pain and trauma she suffered to befall onto other people]]. The Ninja, while not perfect, still do their best to protect Ninjago, and while they each suffered a painful experience, are able to learn from these experiences and keep moving forward rather than remain stuck in the past. Notably, while Lloyd matured and grew up loving his father for the good man he was, [[spoiler:Harumi]] grew up only valuing the evil Lord Garmadon [[{{Chuunibyou}} like a little kid indulging in a evil fantasy]].

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'': Despite his love for theatrics, a belief that his only place in society is being a supervillain, and all his other quirks, the titular VillainProtagonist proves himself to be a lot more compassionate and self-aware than he lets on, as well as having a clear understanding of what it means to be a true hero. In contrast, Megamind's subject for creating a superhero who would fight him, Hal Stewart/Titan, is an immature idiot who thinks having superpowers entitles him to have anything or anyone he wants, as shown by his failed attempts to woo Roxanne and his fall to villainy shortly afterward because of her rejecting him for a disguised Megamind, who actually treats her as a person instead of an object.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'': Despite his love for theatrics, a belief that his only place in society is being a supervillain, and all his other quirks, the titular VillainProtagonist proves himself to be a lot more compassionate and self-aware than he lets on, as well as having a clear understanding of what it means to be a true hero. In contrast, Hal/Titan/Tighten is an immature idiot who thinks having superpowers entitles him to have anything or anyone he wants, as shown by his failed attempts to woo Roxanne and his fall to villainy shortly afterward because of her rejecting him for a disguised Megamind, who actually treats her as a person instead of an object.

* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'': Samurai Jack is a humble, kind-hearted, honorable, and selfless man driven to help others out of a sense of responsibility. His patience, while not limitless, is also legendary. In contrast, Aku is petty, immature, callous, and selfish, only wanting to conquer the universe [[ForTheEvulz for the sheer fun of it]], has a [[BlackComedy dark]] [[LaughablyEvil sense of humor]], and tends to get bored and irritated easily. The episode, "Jack vs. Aku", examines Aku's immaturity further by showing that while Jack believes that fighting Aku is his life's mission and treats it with the utmost seriousness, Aku considers every battle with Jack to be [[ButForMeItWasTuesday some kind of game]] (one that is [[StatusQuoIsGod too long and repetitive]] for him). In Season 5, when Aku destroys every time portal only to discover that Jack can no longer age as a side-effect of his time travel spell, his inability to kill Jack has left him depressed, but he ultimately comes off acting like a teenager or young adult who's simply become bored and confused about what to do with his life. Jack's depression on the other hand is seen as more justified due to his life being full of tragic events.
* ''WesternAnimation/TotallySpies'': The spies are this compared to almost every villain they face. While Alex, Sam, and Clover are teenage girls who often act just as immature as their age, they are ultimately decent, mature people who are willing to mature and move on from any the misfortunes that they face. The villains, [[PsychopathicManchild despite mostly consisting of adults]], often resort to actions such as kidnapping, large amounts of property damage, and mass murder, over extremely [[EvilIsPetty petty grudges and desires]] such as getting dumped, being fired, being rejected on social media, etc.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'': Although the titular girls and Princess are both kindergarteners, [[KidHero the girls]], for all of their flaws and naivety, are ultimately good-natured and hardworking girls who view being Powerpuff Girls as an [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatResponsibility important responsibility]]; while they do try to exploit their powers in some episodes, they always regret their actions. Princess, by contrast, is a SpoiledBrat who whines to her father whenever she wants something, [[EvilCannotComprehendGood thinks being a Powerpuff Girl is all about the status and popularity]], abuses her wealth at every opportunity, and doesn't grows an inch in terms of her character.

* ''VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4'': Kratos, who has now grown OlderAndWiser after taking revenge on the Greek Gods, ends up becoming the mature hero to the childish Stranger, [[spoiler:aka Baldur]]. The latter [[ShadowArchetype represents Kratos' past self]] as he seeks [[spoiler:revenge on his mother Freya the same way Kratos wanted revenge on his father Zeus]], but it's also apparent that beneath his godly exterior is an angry child lashing out at [[spoiler:his mother for giving him immortality without his consent at the [[BlessedWithSuck cost of]] [[SenseLossSadness taking away his sense of feeling]]. Even when he finally loses the immortality just as he wanted and regains his ability to feel again, he still wants revenge on his mother and will no longer listen to reason, forcing Kratos to MercyKill him after he refuses his LastSecondChance]]. Kratos, having already learned that VengeanceFeelsEmpty and is [[TheAtoner working to become a better person]], actually tries to dissuade [[spoiler:Baldur]] from his path, only fighting him in self-defense and only killing him when it's clear he's beyond help at this point.

** Izuku Midoriya and Tomura Shigaraki are the series' most focal protagonist and antagonist respectively and are heavily contrasted by how they're mentored by the most powerful hero/villain of their time and are built up to be the symbol of peace and evil. Outside of their alignments, Midoriya is known for being a polite, humble, considerate, and mature boy for his age whereas Shigaraki is akin to a childish, petty brat, though this is because he suffered a tragic past that mentally damaged his perspective on the world and his mental psyche.
** By extension, Midoriya and Shigaraki's predecessors, All Might and All for One are the symbols of peace and evil and the most powerful hero and villain of their time respectively. Most of Midoriya's personality traits are inspired by All Might, who is just as wise, compassionate, and level-headed. All for One initially appears to be a subversion, looking to be more mentally sound and calculative than his apprentice was [[DoubleSubversion until the end where it's shown that All for One is just as, if not even more, immature, insane, and childish than Shigaraki]], not helped by the fact that All for One's main inspiration for being a supervillain was because he read comic books and was an extreme fanboy of its villains (especially the MaouTheDemonKing ones) and wants to become one to show how this kind of villain would go in reality to the point where he outright rejects the fact that the villains lost, making him a delusional {{chuunibyou}}, of all things.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'': Bowser is the Childish Villain to both Mario and Peach's Mature Heroes. Mario is a fairly grounded and humble guy who initially wasn't interested in becoming a hero, only agreeing to help Peach save the Mushroom Kingdom if it meant saving Luigi in the process. Peach, meanwhile, is a ReasonableAuthorityFigure, as she is presented as an ideal ruler who loves and protects her subjects at all costs. On the other hand, Bowser is a tyrannical conqueror with the mentality of a spoiled brat who usually responds to criticism or rejection with violence, with his whole antagonism with Mario only happening because Bowser mistakenly believes he's stealing Peach from him.

Compare OlderHeroVsYoungerVillain, where the hero literally ''is'' older than the villain, which this can overlap with. Also compare InsecureProtagonistArrogantAntagonist, GoodIsNotDumb, StupidEvil, NotGrowingUpSucks.

** Scrooge and Glomgold's rivalry takes this form. Scrooge is a mature, frugal, honest duck who prefers to focus on running and expanding his business over satisfying petty grudges and rivalries. Glomgold on the other hand, is a [[HotBlooded hot-headed]], wasteful, and dishonest duck who [[ComplexityAddiction puts more energy into trying to kill, one-up, and annoy Scrooge than he does running his company]]. Their reactions to their life's setbacks push them further into this trope; whereas Scrooge used his misfortunes [[MiseryBuildsCharacter to shape himself into the great man he is]], Glomgold uses his misfortunes as an excuse to stay a bitter, miserable PsychopathicManchild.
** Mark Beaks is a ShadowArchetype to both Scrooge and the boys in his immaturity; unlike Scrooge who is hard working, prefers to let his actions speak for him, and cares little for fame, Beaks is a LazyBum who [[AttentionWhore chases fame]] and would rather focus on looking good than being good. Unlike Huey, who is orderly and selfless, Beaks is a selfish ControlFreak who becomes furious when things don't go his way. Unlike Dewey, who is HotBlooded and insecure, yet willing to overcome these flaws, Beaks allows his emotions and insecurities to consume him. Even Louie, who is similar to Beaks in his desire to become rich without work, eventually [[CharacterDevelopment grows out of this behavior]], unlike Beaks who keeps trying to take the easy way out.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'': Despite his love for theatrics, a belief that his only place in society is being a supervillain, and all his other quirks, the titular protagonist proves himself to be a lot more compassionate and self-aware than he lets on, as well as having a clear understanding of what it means to be a true hero. In contrast, Hal/Titan/Tighten is an immature idiot who thinks having superpowers entitles him to have anything or anyone he wants, as shown by his failed attempts to woo Roxanne and his fall to villainy shortly afterward because of her rejecting him for a disguised Megamind, who actually treats her as a person instead of an object.

* ''WesternAnimation/RobinHood1973'': Robin is a highly intelligent, compassionate, capable individual and a leader among men, going out of his way to help the oppressed people of Nottingham. Prince John, on the other hand, is a childish tyrant who doesn't care about his subjects except as his personal piggy bank, as well as feeling jealous of his older brother Richard, the legitimate king of England. His immaturity goes to the point that he [[StillSucksThumb sucks his thumb]] while [[IWantMyMommy crying for his mommy]], and even throws a literal tantrum when Robin gets the people to chant for Richard.

* ''Franchise/{{Naruto}}'': Obito, Madara, and Black Zetsu have different levels of immaturity, but they all serve as the childish villain to the mature heroes.

** Malty and Naofumi: When it comes to their duties, Malty is a SpoiledBrat who focuses more on [[TheHedonist hedonistic thrills]] and scheming her way into easy money and power while avoiding any responsibility; Naofumi is a hardworking underdog who is diligent in his duties as the Shield Hero. As a teammate, Malty is [[MsRedInk a useless]], [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder disloyal]] [[TheLoad parasite]] who simply looks for a new host to leech off of when she [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness has no further use for someone]] and is utterly incapable of doing anything for herself; Naofumi is a useful, loyal, man who will walk the ends of the earth for his loved ones, and while he is dependent on his team, he still does as much as he can to contribute.

Heroes and villains can be contrasted in many ways: [[BeautyEqualsGoodness beauty and ugliness]], [[SensibleHeroesSkimpyVillains modesty and skimpiness]], [[PoliteVillainsRudeHeroes politeness and rudeness]], among other things. In this dynamic, the hero is contrasted with the villain in terms of maturity levels.