History Main / GainingTheWillToKill

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''. Throughout the final season, [[Characters/AvatarTheLastAirbenderAvatarAang Avatar Aang]] grapples with potentially having to kill Fire Lord Ozai. This ultimately resolves with [[spoiler:a {{Subver|TedTrope}}sion, as he discovers an alternative at the last possible moment, opting to permanently depower his foe instead]].

* ''IfWeFallDown'': When Frisk finally reaches Asgore, they find themselves stuck: the king kills them over and over again, while all of Frisk's efforts to spare him or fight back end in vain. Frisk briefly contemplates Resetting in order to kill monsters from the start and build up the strength necessary to beat Asgore, as they can't see any other alternatives.

* ''Fanfic/AllForLuz'': Luz is initially ''highly'' reluctant to use her newfound powers to steal anyone else's Quirks, much less to kill anyone. Being subjected to one ''hell'' of a TraumaCongaLine at Reality Check Summer Camp changes her mind, especially after [[spoiler:all of the friends she'd made there are slaughtered

** ComicBook/{{Raven}} in ''Fanfic/CoincidenceAndMisunderstandings'', who accepts her [[spoiler:demonic heritage]] as a part of herself and subsequently becomes darker in mind and body - this is marked by her decision to mentally kill [[spoiler:Dr. Light]] via GoMadFromTheRevelation at the story's end to prevent him from harming anyone else, though she regrets this when she realizes that the Titans wanted to interrogate him.
* In ''Fanfic/MastermindStrategistForHire'', Izuku stabs [[spoiler: Glimmer, one of Uwabami's Sidekicks,]] to death to prove to himself that he has the will to carry out his villainous plans himself, rather than rely on other villains to carry them out.
* ''Fanfic/MegamiNoHanabira'': PlayedWith: while the girls have no issue killing [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman demons]], they find themselves forced to take more and more violent action against their ever-mounting number of human foes. It culminates when [[spoiler:[[NiceGirl Sara]] kills [[TheSociopath Brother Chick]]: even though she had no conscious intention of doing so, her [[OlympusMons Fiend]] picked up on her murderous feelings and did what she wanted to do to Chick deep down. By the time they confront [[BigBad Father Phillips]], the one who ruined their lives and destroyed their city, they're fighting to kill, only sparing him when they realize that [[CruelMercy imprisonment]] would hurt him far more due to his [[AGodAmI god complex]]]].

%%%* Franchise/FullmetalAlchemist: Happens to Edward Elric over the course of the 2003 anime. (As opposed to the manga and Brotherhood verses, in which he remains a TechnicalPacifist throughout).

* ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'': This was a major sign of Rorschach having transformed into his current persona - up until that point, he had only beaten criminals up and tied them up for the police. However, after [[spoiler: finding that a kidnapped child had been chopped up and fed to the kidnapper's two Alsatians]], [[RageBreakingPoint he begins to kill]] [[TranquilFury villains as necessary.]]

* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11729865/9/Desperation-Attracts-Vultures Desperation Attracts Vultures]]'' a big part of the Chuunin Exam arc is Naruto's unwillingness to kill someone, especially if he's already beaten them. This comes back to bite him when [[spoiler:Ino]] dies against an enemy Naruto thought he'd beat. Later, when facing Gaara, Naruto still hesitates until Gaara tries to kill Hanabi; at which point Naruto kills him.

* ''FanFic/HarryPotterAndTheMethodsOfRationality'': [[spoiler: Harry Evens-Verres]] crosses this line during a battle with [[spoiler:a mountain troll]], and a close friend is mortally wounded. This causes [[spoiler: Quirrel]] to note that they had "just discarded [their] foolish little reluctances". They kill the thing that was attacking, and later [[spoiler:coolly plans the murder of Lucius Malfoy if he refuses his offer to form an alliance, as he will otherwise remain an enemy]].
* [[http://www.fanfiction.net/u/4036441/Silently-Watches Silently Watches']] fanfictions typically involve a hero who (among other things) does not kill in canon deciding to do so.

* In ''FanFic/MastermindStrategistForHire'', Izuku stabs [[spoiler: Glimmer, one of Uwabami's Sidekicks,]] to death to prove to himself that he has the will to carry out his villainous plans himself, rather than rely on other villains to carry them out.
* ''FanFic/MegamiNoHanabira'': Played with: while the girls have no issue killing [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman demons]], they find themselves forced to take more and more violent action against their ever-mounting number of human foes. It culminates when [[spoiler: [[NiceGirl Sara]] kills [[TheSociopath Brother Chick]]: even though she had no conscious intention of doing so, her [[OlympusMons Fiend]] picked up on her murderous feelings and did what she wanted to do to Chick deep down. By the time they confront [[BigBad Father Phillips]], the one who ruined their lives and destroyed their city, they're fighting to kill, only sparing him when the realize that [[CruelMercy imprisonment would hurt a man with a]] [[AGodAmI god complex]] [[CruelMercy far more than simply killing him.]]]]

[[folder:Film]]
* In ''Film/AliceInWonderland2010'' Alice's biggest reason for not wanting to fight the Jabberwok is part doubting she can, and doubting she could, telling Absolem she doesn't know if she could if her life depended on it. He assures her it ''will'' depend on it, but also says she can, as all she really needs to do is hold [[LivingWeapon the Vorpal Blade]] so ''it'' can kill the villain.
* ''Film/BatmanBegins''. After he has trained with the [[WellIntentionedExtremist League of Shadows]], Bruce's mentor asks him to do this as a show of his commitment after his last test. Namely, executing a prisoner who killed a fellow farmer for his land. This, the mentor says, is justice and balance and will prove that Bruce will do what is necessary in the field. Needless to say, the future Batman refuses, causing said mentor to later remark on his lack of 'courage to do all that is necessary' in comparison to himself and his plan to [[spoiler:destroy Gotham to scare the rest of the cities in the nation into reforming]]. Towards the end,[[spoiler: Batman does get Ra's at his mercy, and is asked again whether he now had that courage. He doesn't kill Ra's, but instead leaves him to die in the derailing monorail [[KarmicDeath that he himself had set in motion.]] ]]

* In ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006,'' Bond's discussion with Dryden (with flashbacks to a brutal fight between Bond and Dryden's contact) has shades of this. To be promoted to double-0 status, an agent must kill two people. The contact was Bond's first; the second is easier; ''considerably'' easier.

* This was how Amadeus recruited Catherine in ''Literature/APracticalGuideToEvil'', as seen in the page quote - he catches her in the hands of rapist and murderer, and informs her that Imperial law would merely see them imprisoned for five years. He then tells her that there is another way, and offers her his knife as a test of her resolve. Afterwards, he tells her ItNeverGetsAnyEasier, which she later [[spoiler:regards as [[ItGetsEasier a very kind lie]]]].

* This makes up a significant part of Kyoshi's character arc in the ''[[Franchise/AvatarTheLastAirbender Avatar]]'' universe tie-in novel, ''Literature/TheRiseOfKyoshi''. After BigBad Jianzhu kills her ParentalSubstitute Kelsang and friend Yun, she sets out to learn enough bending to kill him in revenge. She's come to peace with killing a corrupt governor only to find out [[spoiler: he's just a kid who's not much younger than she is]]. She lets him go but makes it clear that if he doesn't get his act together, she will kill him. She kills a man by the name of Xu in a duel. When she and Jianzhu meet again, she's fully ready to kill him [[spoiler: until her friend Yun comes back from his presumed death]] and beats her to the punch.
* ''Literature/RogueAngel'': A number of times, Annja Creed ruminates about the killing she may need to do, preparing herself for the act.
* In ''Literature/{{Sharpe}}'s Waterloo'', Lord John Rossendale is an inexperienced braggart who's terrified when Sharpe first confronts him, but on the battlefield of Waterloo he learns how to become a killer. [[spoiler:Not that it helps him, since he doesn't survive the battle.]]

* In ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', "The Most Toys," Kivas Fajo kidnaps Data, keeping him in a cell that Data cannot hack or break his way out of, and wears a belt that emits a force field preventing Data from physically touching him. Eventually, Data escapes with the help of a henchwomen, who finally understands despite years of loyal service, she is very much expendable. Before they fully get away, Fajo catches them and uses a brutal disruptor to kill the woman. Fajo then turns to Data who is armed with a similar disruptor. Data demands that Fajo surrenders, but Fajo refuses and explains that he will kill as many people as necessary to make Data do what he wants, certain that Data's programming prevents him from killing him instead. Data, however, calmly considers his options for a moment. As Fajo has showed a willingness to kill and has threatened to do it again, he presents a clear and active threat to others, so for Data there is absolutely no question that he has a moral obligation to stop Fajo. But Fajo has showed a complete unwillingness to be reasoned with and has actively refused to surrender, and Data cannot physically subdue him due to the force field. With all this in mind, Data concludes that there is only one logical and moral way to resolve this dilemma:

--> ''"Why, what an ass am I! This is most brave,\\

And fall a-cursing..."''

* Deconstructed in ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs''. After killing the Joker in revenge for nuking Metropolis and the death of his wife Lois, an alternate version of Superman snaps and takes a [[WellIntentionedExtremist hardline approach]] to solving crime. Part of the conflict between him and Batman is him breaking of the ThouShaltNotKill rule. As time passes, he accepts [[PayEvilUntoEvil killing for justice]], but he also JumpsOffTheSlipperySlope, transforming him into an AxCrazy, raging maniac who reacts with ''[[DisproportionateRetribution outright brute force]]'' when others call him out on his actions. The way he [[spoiler:kills Shazam and Lex Luthor in a cold-blooded manner, and unleashes his thugs to quash any dissent against his rule]] shows the ruthless monster he's now become, a far cry from the idealistic hero he once was.

* Subverted by ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''. [[spoiler: In the final season, [[Characters/AvatarTheLastAirbenderAvatarAang Avatar Aang]] grapples with potentially having to kill Fire Lord Ozai. Everything seems to lead to Aang making that choice until he discovers a different path at the last possible moment.]]

They may find that ItGetsEasier. Or [[ItNeverGetsAnyEasier not]]. [[MurderMakesYouCrazy Going crazy]] or [[BleedEmAndWeep sad]] is optional.

* The Justice Lords arc of ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' involves an Alternate Universe version of the League called the Justice Lords. At the beginning, we see a flashback showing that Earth's Superman make this decision and kill Lex Luthor at Luthor's goading because he killed ComicBook/TheFlash and caused another World War. After that the Lords has no problem killing (or lobotomising) criminals, justifying it as the greater good. They proceed to form a ruthless dictatorship across Earth, punishing even small crimes harshly. Interestingly, Lord-Superman lobotomizing every SuperVillain winds up biting League-Superman in the ass when he does it to Doomsday, the monster that becomes stronger every time you kill him. Doomsday later comes back with a grudge against Superman (albeit the wrong one), and he tries Lord-Superman's tactic only for him to find that his skull has become far more durable in the meantime.

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' involves an Alternate Universe version of the League called the Justice Lords. At the beginning, we see a flashback showing that Earth's Superman make this decision and kill Lex Luthor at Luthor's goading because he killed ComicBook/TheFlash and caused another World War. After that the Lords has no problem killing (or lobotomising) criminals, justifying it as the greater good. They proceed to form a ruthless dictatorship across Earth, punishing even small crimes harshly. Interestingly, Lord-Superman lobotomizing every SuperVillain winds up biting League-Superman in the ass when he does it to Doomsday, the monster that becomes stronger every time you kill him. Doomsday later comes back with a grudge against Superman (albeit the wrong one), and he tries Lord-Superman's tactic only for him to find that his skull has become far more durable in the meantime.

* ''Manga/DeathNote'': Light's first two kills serve as this. The first guy Light kills is a serious headcase who had taken a school full of kids hostage. Light writes the guy's name into the title notebook as a means of figuring out whether or not it was real or just a sick prank. When the criminal in question dies of a heart attack 40 seconds after Light wrote the name in, Light still isn't completely convinced that the Death Note is real, so after school, he decides to test out the notebook a second time, taking out the leader of a motorcycle gang and stopping his AttemptedRape of a young woman by sending him and his bike into the path of an oncoming semi. After wrestling with the implications of passing judgement upon people like this, Light makes the decision to become Kira and "change the world" by killing off its criminals and evil people, which sets him on the path to [[AGodAmI developing his infamous god-complex]] and becoming the VillainProtagonist of the series.

* ''Franchise/DragonBall'': Gohan, while being in several life or death fights throughout the series where he usually acted on instinct (and was never powerful enough to kill enemies on his own outside of filler arcs), was faced with the decision to consciously kill Cell during the Cell games. Despite being brutalized by Cell and watching him torment all the other Z fighters and threaten the planet, Gohan doesn't gain the will to kill until Android 16 reaches him. He explains that people like Cell will never listen to words, and that Gohan must kill Cell in order to protect everything he loves. Unfortunately in the process he also [[PayEvilUntoEvil gains the will to torture]] and decides to punish Cell for everything he's done, which leads to [[spoiler:Goku needing to commit a HeroicSacrifice after Cell decides to [[TakingYouWithMe self-destruct in order to take out the entire planet.]]]]

* In the fifth season of ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'', the titular samurai kills one of the Daughters of Aku by [[SlashedThroat slitting her throat]]. Up until that point, Jack assumed they were robots, until [[UnroboticReveal he saw the assassin's blood]]. The only reason he doesn’t kill is because he’s too traumatized by witnessing his father kill bandits. In the next episode, Jack debates his options, but ultimately decides "it's kill or be killed." He remembers that, as a Samurai, it’s his duty to kill if necessary. When Jack encounters the Daughters again, it's a fight to the death.

* Subverted by ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''. [[spoiler: In the final season, Avatar Aang grapples with potentially having to kill Fire Lord Ozai. Everything seems to lead to Aang making that choice until he discovers a different path at the last possible moment.]]

** Albert mentions vomiting after his first murder

* In the fifth season of ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'', the titular samurai kills one of the Daughters of Aku by [[SlashedThroat slitting her throat]]. Up until that point, Jack assumed they were robots, until [[UnroboticReveal he saw the assassin's blood]]. The only reason. He doesn’t kill is because he’s too traumatized by witnessing his father kill bandits. In the next episode, Jack debates his options, but ultimately decides "it's kill or be killed." He remembers that, as a Samurai, it’s his duty to kill if necessary. When Jack encounters the Daughters again, it's a fight to the death.

* In the fifth season of ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'', the titular samurai kills one of the Daughters of Aku by [[SlashedThroat slitting her throat]]. Up until that point, Jack assumed they were robots, until [[UnroboticReveal he saw the assassin's blood]]. In the next episode, Jack debates his options, but ultimately decides "it's kill or be killed." When Jack encounters the Daughters again, it's a fight to the death.

* In the ''Burial at Sea'' DLC of ''Videogame/BioshockInfinite'', [[spoiler:Daisy Fitzroy's apparent attempt to murder a child is revealed to have been act set up by both her and the Lutece twins in order to force Elizabeth to mature through spilling blood, and thus the will to oppose Comstock.]]

* ''Fanfic/AFrozenFlower'': Played with in the case of Oscar. Although he tries to kill Orchid because she's a monster and has killed someone before, it's not his first rodeo and it's all but stated that he has killed before. His reasons for his past victims' deaths are never clearly stated, but going by his attempted murder on Orchid, it's implied he only murders people who have murdered others before.

* ComicBook/CaptainBritain (aka Brian Braddock) was a fairly straightforward example of TheCape... until the day his nemesis, Slaymaster, fought Brian's sister [[ComicBook/{{Psylocke}} Betsy]] and beat her to within an inch of her life before ripping out her eyes. Slaymaster's last words -- spoken as Brian Braddock stood over him, holding a large rock -- were: "Fool! [[TemptingFate You have not the strength to kill...]]"
* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': When Mysterio started out as a supervillain, he never meant for anybody to get hurt or killed, and actually tended to go out of his way to avoid injuring people — especially civilians — too badly in his schemes. When he kills for the first time by [[AccidentalMurder inadvertently causing the death of a bystander]] in a bank robbery gone wrong, he's so horrified, upset, and traumatized by the experience that he considers leaving crime. [[HeelFaceDoorSlam A vicious beating from a symbiote-influenced Spider-Man puts the kibosh on his retirement plans]] and the ensuing decades of living the criminal lifestyle plus learning he's dying of cancer (and then ''[[BackFromTheDead coming back]]'' thanks to an ill-advised DealWithTheDevil) causes him to slowly lose his aversion to violence and become frighteningly willing to kill to get what he wants, even if he still doesn't actively seek it.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'', this was a major sign of Rorschach having transformed into his current persona - up until that point, he had only beaten criminals up and tied them up for the police. However, after [[spoiler: finding that a kidnapped child had been chopped up and fed to the kidnapper's two Alsatians]], [[RageBreakingPoint he begins to kill]] [[TranquilFury villains as necessary.]]

* In episode 8 of ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'', this happens to [[spoiler:Sayaka when she brutally attacks and possibly kills two sexists on a subway. She had come to the realization that if she is going to be a proper hero, unlike Kyoko and Akemi, and hunt witches for the sake of protecting humans, then why stop at the witches? It's around this point where she becomes Oktavia von Seckendorff and lets go of her humanity]].