History Main / NotEvilJustMisunderstood

** Big tree's children wanted to find someone to save their father, but their attempts to get noticed only caused people pain, making them seem as a malvolent spirits.

* This is Comicbook/TheIncredibleHulk's relationship with most average citizens of the Franchise/MarvelUniverse. Especially Thunderbolt Ross.

** How evil he/they actually are depends heavily on the incarnation, story, and writer, but even at the most benevolent Loki is ''dangerous'' (for example he can and will just [[Comicbook/LokiAgentOfAsgard turn people into magical jewellery]] for their own good).

* In ''FanFic/ItsNotTheRaptorDNA'', the ''Indominus rex'' that wreaked havoc on Isla Nublar (as seen in ''Film/JurassicWorld'') is revealed to be a frustrated, lonely, and unexpectedly sapient, hybrid dinosaur that's hurting (emotionally) as a result of over half-a-decade of isolation within her paddock [[spoiler:and the loss of her cherished sister to terminal illness]]. Upon her social and mental needs being met courtesy of Owen Grady and co., she gradually proves capable of being much more amiable and empathetic.

* Jessica Rabbit from ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'' is at first glance appears to be morally ambiguous and devious as one might expect from a FemmeFatale, but she's not like that in any way. She's a good girl who just also happens to be incredibly sultry and loves her husband more than anything.

* ''VideoGame/{{Pokemon}}'':

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''WebComic/PrincessPrincess'': The ogre just wanted to dance, and destroyed a village through this accidentally.

* Most of Literature/{{Worm}}'s extensive cast of villains would claim this to some degree. However, several among the [[VillainProtagonist protagonist]] and [[TrueCompanions her friends]] are straight examples, Taylor herself isn't even originally trying to be a villain. Unfortunately, [[spoiler:circumstances make it unlikely that many will ever realise how heroic Taylor is, despite her repeatedly saving innocents [[HeroicSacrifice no matter the risk]].]]

* [[Characters/TeenTitans2003Starfire Starfire]] in the OriginsEpisode of ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' was going on a rampage on the city, destroying buildings and seemingly attacking everyone in sight. As it turns out, she was just scared and confused, as she'd just escaped from the Gordanians who had enslaved her. The damage she was doing was her trying to break her handcuffs, but she couldn't tell that to anybody due to the LanguageBarrier. Raven figures out that fighting her may not be the answer, and then Robin finally releases her from the handcuffs, and after they join forces to defeat the Gordanians, they quickly become friends with her.

* ''[[WebVideo/LifeSMP Double Life SMP]]'': Pearl just wants to have friends and is never actively malicious, but she keeps being blamed for deaths that are only indirectly caused by her. It doesn't help that she gradually undergoes SanitySlippage from loneliness and [[AbandonmentInducedAnimosity abandonment issues]] to the point of becoming TheDreaded.

* Chaos from ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' is described as the "God of Destruction" and certainly has the power to back that up. Sonic comes to find out in flashbacks that Chaos is actually driven by extreme grief and rage and was actually a rather nice individual until his precious Chao were hurt. Once Super Sonic defeats Chaos at its strongest, it goes back to being a nice guy.

* ''Manga/OnePiece'': Roronoa Zoro is introduced as TheDreaded being held prisoner by the Navy at a branch base. After meeting him, we see that he's more like a JerkWithAHeartOfGold who defended a little girl from the branch captain's son's dogs. Koby admits that while Zoro does have a fearsome reputation, he's actually a bounty hunter who only targets wanted criminals.

* Starfire in the OriginsEpisode of ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' was going on a rampage on the city, destroying buildings and seemingly attacking everyone in sight. As it turns out, she was just scared and confused, as she'd just escaped from the Gordanians who had enslaved her. The damage she was doing was her trying to break her handcuffs, but she couldn't tell that to anybody due to the LanguageBarrier. Raven figures out that fighting her may not be the answer, and then Robin finally releases her from the handcuffs, and after they join forces to defeat the Gordanians, they quickly become friends with her.

* ''WesternAnimation/BackToTheOutback'': The main characters are a taipan (poisonous snake), funnel web spider, scorpion, thorny devil (lizard), [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and a koala]]. The main conflict of the film comes from people’s beliefs that the cast are murderous monsters, just because they look a little scary and have the ''potential'' to seriously harm people.

* The supposed {{Villain Protagonist}}s in the ''Villians!'' SharedWorld anthology vary on a scale from "actually evil" to "on the side that has been aribitrarily designated the Bad Guys by [[GrayAndGrayMorality people who aren't much different, really]]", but the one who best fits the trope is the narrator wizard of "The Arts of the Enemy" by Creator/DavidLangford, who tells his story to a righteous hero who attacked him for hoarding evil magic According to the wizard, however, his theory of magic (he believes that all theories of magic are accurate, [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve for the wizard who came up with them]]) is that it's based on a BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil, and while he might collect BlackMagic for his own use, he does so by sending a constant stream of WhiteMagic artefacts into the world, and most recently has been ensconced under a monastary, where his work keeps their Holy Healing Stone topped up. (He does, however, acknowledge that collecting so much black magic has unforseen effects on his environment, and that in the past these effects have been very sadly fatal for people nearby. But he's pretty sure he's fixed that now.) Asked why he didn't collect white magic, he's absolutely aghast; based on his theory, what would he have to do to achieve ''that''?

* The supposed {{Villain Protagonist}}s in the ''Villians!'' SharedWorld anthology vary on a scale from "actually evil" to "on the side that has been aribitrarily designated the Bad Guys by [[GrayAndGrayMorality people who aren't much different, really]]", but the one who best fits the trope is the narrator wizard of "The Arts of the Enemy" by Creator/DavidLangford, who tells his story to a righteous hero who attacked him for hoarding evil magic According to the wizard, however, his theory of magic (he believes that all theories of magic are accurate, [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve for the wizard who came up with them]]) is that it's based on TheBalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil, and while he might collect BlackMagic for his own use, he does so by sending a constant stream of WhiteMagic artefacts into the world, and most recently has been ensconced under a monastary, where his work keeps their Holy Healing Stone topped up. (He does, however, acknowledge that collecting so much black magic has unforseen effects on his environment, and that in the past these effects have been very sadly fatal for people nearby. But he's pretty sure he's fixed that now.) Asked why he didn't collect white magic, he's absolutely aghast; based on his theory, what would he have to do to achieve ''that''?

* ''[[WebVideo/LifeSMP Double Life SMP]]'': Pearl just wants to have friends and is never actively malicious, but she keeps being blamed for deaths that are only indirectly caused by her. It doesn't help that she gradually undergoes SanitySlippage from loneliness and [[AbandonmentInducedAminosity abandonment issues]] to the point of becoming TheDreaded.

* ''[[WebVideo/LifeSMP Double Life SMP]]'': Pearl just wants to have friends and is never actively malicious, but she keeps being blamed for deaths that are only indirectly caused by her. It doesn't help that she gradually undergoes SanitySlippage from loneliness and abandonment issues to the point of becoming TheDreaded.
-->'''Rendog:''' You came here and you caused death, whether you tried to or not. There's something wicked within you.
* In ''WebVideo/FiveNightsAtFreddysTheMusical'', all the animatronics [[spoiler:with the exception of Springtrap]] are shown to be this. They're really friendly but are mistaken for evil by the employees. Phone Guy even tries to warn the new security guard not to be afraid of them, but the guard doesn't listen, kicking off the plot.

%% * This trope IS Kitano from ''Manga/AngelDensetsu''.
* [[SheIsTheKing The Demon King]] in ''Literature/{{Maoyu}}'' has all the [[RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver visual characteristics]] of ObviouslyEvil and [[HisNameReallyIsBarkeep the Hero]] thought she was the BigBad. But instead of fighting the Hero, she joins forces with him in an elaborate attempt to end the war between their races peacefully. If anything, she's the kindest and least evil character in the story. Most of the other "demons" seem to be victims of FantasticRacism rather than actually being evil.
* ''Manga/TheMoroseMononokean'': The human/youkai relationship is complicated one due to BlueAndOrangeMorality and being unable to communicate their intentions. Youkai are also invisible to nearly all humans. Neither side is entirely inherently malvolent.

* Roronoa Zoro in ''Manga/OnePiece'' is introduced as TheDreaded being held prisoner by the Navy at a branch base. After meeting him, we see that he's more like a JerkWithAHeartOfGold who defended a little girl from the branch captain's son's dogs. Koby admits that while Zoro does have a fearsome reputation, he's actually a bounty hunter who only targets wanted criminals.
* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'' '''loves''' this trope in regards to movie antagonists that are Pokémon themselves:

* Ditto for Marvel's version of Franchise/{{Godzilla}}. He was just too darn big for the world he was born into.

* In ''ComicBook/PocketGod'', [[EvilTwin Newbie]] says the trope name word-for-word when he smashes the girl tribe's Jewel of Life. He was a clone of Nooby who originally wanted to kill his predecessor, but a brush with death caused him to focus on finding immortality, [[WellIntentionedExtremist regardless of what he must do to achieve it]].
* ''ComicBook/{{Robin|1993}}'': Darla Aquista makes a few impassioned speeches about how she's not actually evil and her immoral actions following her resurrection are driven by the forces which now power her body. Trouble is, that while ''she'' certainly believes what she's saying, all evidence is to the contrary seeing as she wanted to have a more active role in her father's murderous mob work prior to being killed and it's clear the only thing she regrets about committing homicide is that it seems to be a barrier to getting into Tim's pants (she refuses to acknowledge that Tim had already made it clear he has no interest in her).
* ''ComicBook/{{Transmetropolitan}}'': Spider imagines [[PresidentEvil President Gary Callahan]]'s predecessor to be just a corrupt fiend, hence why he gave him the nickname "The Beast". But instead of finding a soulless monster, he discovers a man who, while still venal and corrupt, is mostly just as cynical about society and the role of the individual in it as Spider, but who, unlike Spider, sees no way for a single man (even the President of the US) to change it.

* ''WesternAnimation/BackToTheOutback'': The main characters are a taipan (poisonous snake), funnel web spider, scorpion, thorny devil (lizard), [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and a koala]]. The main conflict of the film comes from people’s beliefs that the cast are murderous monsters, just because they look a little scary and have the ''potential'' to seriously harm people.

%%* ''Series/OnceUponATimeInWonderland'': Pretty much sums up [[spoiler:the Red Queen, who was initially set up as the BigBad, until the story reveals that to be Jafar, while the Red Queen's backstory reveals her to be more misunderstood than anything. Ultimately, in "Nothing to Fear," after giving signs in this direction over numerous episodes, she performs an official HeelFaceTurn and can no longer be considered evil after that.]]

** Depending on the version of ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' you played, Dhaos turns out to be pretty much this, combined with PoorCommunicationKills and WellIntentionedExtremist.

* Pretty much said word for word in the ChristmasEpisode of ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'', "[[Recap/DarkwingDuckS1E39ItsAWonderfulLeaf It's a Wonderful Leaf]]". Darkwing says out loud some sinister force is at work when [[GreenThumb Bushroot]] chimes in casually saying he's not really sinister, just misunderstood. Being one of the more sympathetic villains on the show, he might have a point.

* The phrase is used verbatim in "You Will Know My Name" by Music/ArchEnemy.

* ''[[LetsPlay/LifeSMP Double Life SMP]]'': Pearl just wants to have friends and is never actively malicious, but she keeps being blamed for deaths that are only indirectly caused by her. It doesn't help that she gradually undergoes SanitySlippage from loneliness and abandonment issues to the point of becoming TheDreaded.

* [[spoiler:Tenshi]] of ''Anime/AngelBeats'', so legendarily bad at communication that it starts a ''miniature war.''

* Poor, Poor No Face in ''Anime/SpiritedAway''. He's lonely, shy, and so desperate to make Chihiro happy. Sure, some of the things he did were a bit too far, but he had good intentions deep down. His desires may be reasonable, but his BlueAndOrangeMorality makes it ambiguous, as his [[http://www.animelyrics.com/anime/sentochihiro/samishiisamishii.htm image song]] makes clear. He really does want to stop being lonely, but it seems the only way he knows to do this at first is to eat people and [[YouAreWhoYouEat absorb their personalities]].

* In ''ComicBook/PocketGod'', [[EvilTwin Newbie]] says the trope name word-for-word when he smashes the girl tribe's Jewel of Life. He was a clone of Nooby who originally wanted to kill his predecessor, but a brush with death caused him to focus on finding immortality, [[WellIntentionedExtremist regardless of what he must do to achieve it]].
* Loki:
** In ''ComicBook/YoungAvengers'' Loki tried to use this early on, comparing himself to [[Series/GameOfThrones Tyrion Lannister]] at one point. Of the three people he was saying this to, Hulkling and Wiccan didn't buy it, and Miss American didn't know what he was talking about (and did not trust him). Justified since it's ''Loki'', even if he was in cute little kid form.
** Even before that in a 2004 team-up with Spider-Man Loki already claimed that "I'm not evil. ... I'm complicated.", so the jerk has been trying to sell this for a long time.
** How evil he/they actually are depends heavily on the incarnation, story, and writer, but even at the most benevolent Loki is ''dangerous'' (for example he can and will just [[Comicbook/LokiAgentOfAsgard turn people into magical jewellery]] for their own good).
* ''ComicBook/{{Transmetropolitan}}'': Spider imagines [[PresidentEvil President Gary Callahan]]'s predecessor to be just a corrupt fiend, hence why he gave him the nickname "The Beast". But instead of finding a soulless monster, he discovers a man who, while still venal and corrupt, is mostly just as cynical about society and the role of the individual in it as Spider, but who, unlike Spider, sees no way for a single man (even the President of the US) to change it.

* ''ComicBook/{{Robin|1993}}'': Darla Aquista makes a few impassioned speeches about how she's not actually evil and her immoral actions following her resurrection are driven by the forces which now power her body. Trouble is, that while ''she'' certainly believes what she's saying, all evidence is to the contrary seeing as she wanted to have a more active role in her father's murderous mob work prior to being killed and it's clear the only thing she regrets about committing homicide is that it seems to be a barrier to getting into Tim's pants (she refuses to acknowledge that Tim had already made it clear he has no interest in her).
* This is Comicbook/TheIncredibleHulk's relationship with most average citizens of the Franchise/MarvelUniverse. Especially Thunderbolt Ross.

* Basically applies to Toiréasa's developing dynamic with Heather in ''Fanfic/AThingOfVikings''; when Heather asks Toiréasa to act as part of her new developing spy network for Berk, Toiréasa immediately starts thinking that Heather will start her out with 'easy' assignments before she begins to threaten her daughter (who is also Heather's adopted sister) Mhairi to make Toiréasa commit more brutal acts, assuming that Heather is like their former master Alvin the Treacherous rather than recognising that there are lines Heather won't cross.

* Elsa from ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}''. Acts aloof and secretive, attempting to be an EmotionlessGirl, for thirteen years in order to keep her powers as a [[AnIcePerson literal ice queen]] controlled and hidden, both to avoid the reactions of others and to avoid hurting them, but it makes her look like a [[IceQueen metaphorical one]]. And ''then'' she opens up the castle for her coronation day, during which a stressed Elsa lashes out, shooting ice spikes and revealing her powers, during an argument with her [[FriendlessBackground neglected sister Anna]], who [[LaserGuidedAmnesia doesn't know why]] her family's been keeping [[FriendlessBackground her and the rest of them so isolated]] or why Elsa appears [[BreakHisHeartToSaveHim to not care about her]]. She flees, as unbeknownst to her, the kingdom plunges into an EndlessWinter - which doesn't help the accusations. [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen For all the other characters know, it looks as if Elsa cursed the land on purpose]]. [[UndyingLoyalty Despite the argument, Anna's the only one to believe]] that Elsa is not the [[WickedWitch stereotypical evil witch-queen]] she appears to be and to realize that she's just scared.
* Bruno from ''WesternAnimation/{{Encanto}}'' is a prime example. He has the ability to predict the future but 10 years before the film begins, he’s left the Madrigal family. When Mirabel begins asking about him, he’s initially portrayed as a scary man who predicts misfortune and caused Pepa to create a hurricane by saying that “it looks like rain” for fun. But when we actually meet him, he’s actually nice and really wants to help but people misunderstand him or he inadvertently makes matters worse.
* The sequels to Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Cinderella}}'', ''WesternAnimation/CinderellaIIDreamsComeTrue'' and ''WesternAnimation/CinderellaIIIATwistInTime'', paint Anastasia, the red-headed stepsister, this way; unlike her mother and sister, she's mostly a kind person who wants to love and be loved in turn. She's largely acting under her family's influence, and with Cinderella's help, she's able to shake that and earn a happily ever after of her own.

* While she isn't exactly a ''villain'', Miranda Priestly from ''Literature/TheDevilWearsPrada'' certainly isn't portrayed as a good or nice person. But considering her career, can you blame her?
* Jessica Rabbit from ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'' is at first glance appears to be morally ambiguous and devious as one might expect from a FemmeFatale, but she's not like that in any way. She's a good girl who just also happens to be incredibly sultry and loves her husband more than anything.
-->'''Jessica Rabbit''': I'm not bad... I'm just drawn that way.
* Death is generally thought of as the villain of life, but Death in ''Film/DeathTakesAHoliday'' disagrees; he's a friend who shouldn't be feared.

* ''Film/KingKong1933''. The big ape was kidnapped and then put on display and gawked at. Seriously, who was the real monster here?
** It's clearer in Peter Jackson's remake where Kong has more personality and furthermore acts more like a real gorilla rather than the man-eating monster of 1933.
* ''Film/Bedazzled1967'' - in the 1967 original, George Spiggot claims this of himself - but of course he's the Devil and freely admits being a compulsive liar.
* In ''Film/BigFish,'' Edward is "attacked" by [[spoiler: the circus ringleader, who has just been revealed to be a werewolf]], but manages to make friends with the beast through a game of fetch. His narration posits that some things seen as evil may simply be "lonely and lacking in social niceties." He also has no hard feelings towards the beast when [[spoiler: he turns back into a man the next morning]].

%%* At the end of ''[[Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory Charlie And The Chocolate Factory]] When Wonka tells Charlie to greet Mr. Wilkinson, Charlie rants "It's Slugworth!" and Wonka chuckles "No! No! No! Charlie, That's not really Slugworth! He works for me!"

* In ''[[Literature/IncarnationsOfImmortality For Love Of Evil]]'', we see an interesting side of how Satan is this. Although his job is to promote evil (and, according to Archangel Gabriel, he is one of the best at it), he himself is a good man. In essence, he is not his job.
* Literature/{{Frankenstein}}'s Monster ''started'' this way. He was rejected by his "father" and forced to run through the wilderness; his only friend was taken from him by relatives, and he couldn't even face himself in the mirror. He just wanted a friend. However, he crossed the line into darkness upon murdering Frankenstein's younger brother, [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge and it all went downhill from there]].
* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', Jaime Lannister is introduced as an incestuous jerk who killed the king he swore to protect. Later we learn that the real villain was actually the king, and in killing him, Jaime saved countless lives. In the middle of the battle, there was no time, and by the time things had calmed down his reputation as TheOathbreaker was well and truly set.
* Arthur "Boo" Radley in ''Literature/ToKillAMockingbird''. A mysterious recluse, the townsfolk believe he's a lunatic due to the rumors spread about him and a trial he underwent as a teenager. During the course of the story, however, it is implied that he is actually a lonely man, and tries to reach out to Jem and Scout by leaving them gifts in the hollow tree in front of his house. At the climax of the story, he rescues them from Bob Ewell, who tries to kill them in an attempt at revenge against their father for humiliating him.

* A species-wide example with ''Literature/TheHeartsWeSold''. [[spoiler:Demons aren't really evil, or even malevolent, and they're not making deals for any malicious purpose, as many humans suspected. They're not ''nice'', and they don't think much of humanity, but they're mostly content to leave well enough alone and let humans go about their lives with no intervention. The deals, as it turns out, are part of a plan to save the world from destruction.]]
* ''Literature/TheNeverendingStory'': Ygramul the Many is spoken of as a force of evil by the greenskins, who sing a song about the danger of falling into his clutches if they should venture into the dead mountains. Despite this, he is just a creature who needs food to survive like any other, although his meals tend to be rather large and some of them are sentient, like Falcor. He gives Atreyu some helpful advice; he must measure his quest in terms of her life and not his, which means he can't afford to take months or years to find her a cure. He even gives Atreyu the means to reach the Southern Oracle instantly, although the means are fatal; his poison bite allows the victim to teleport to anywhere their heart desires. Ygramul can't help this as it's simply his nature, and he suggests that it's still a better deal than sitting around waiting for the Childlike Empress to die and The Nothing to overtake all of Fantastica.

* In ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', when the fallen archangel Lucifer (better known as Satan to most humans) escapes to Earth, his first order of business is to [[GrandTheftMe locate and possess a human vessel]]. Since he is an angel rather than a demon, he must acquire the willing consent of the human who will be his vessel. He claims himself as the ultimate example of this trope as part of his argument to persuade his chosen human to agree to become his vessel. Subverted as he is really evil all along.

* ''Series/WizardsOfWaverlyPlace'': Superintendent Clanton was played as a bad guy (and was a little stern), but was probably better for the students than Mr. Laritate. He didn't fear Alex, didn't let Justin brown nose him, and even convinced Max to go to college.

* In an episode of ''Series/TheLibrarians2014'', trees periodically attack and abduct campers. Eventually, they take Stone. As it turns out, they were looking for an interpreter to talk to humans, but no one fit the bill until Stone. They wish to explain that killing the Grandfather Tree will doom all trees across the world, which wasn't a problem until the government removed the forest's protected status a few years before. The DOSA agents agree to reinstate the status, and the Tree gives the Librarians its acorn for storage. Then the trees release everyone they have abducted over the centuries.
* Many demons in the ''{{Franchise/Buffyverse}}'' are not evil, regardless of their appearance and demeanor.
** A running gag in ''{{Series/Angel}}'' is that demons at Lorne's karaoke bar are really just trying to get along, and in one episode Angel finds out that the demons he killed were protectors.
** In ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', Buffy's first college roommate is a demon who just wants to live as a human. It's not her fault that this happens to require sucking the soul of a human; unfortunately for her, that human just happens to be the Slayer.
* The first half of an episode in cop drama ''Cracked'' followed the agents hunting down a mentally unstable teenager who had kidnapped a baby. What was really going on was the teen was suffering from [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourette_syndrome Tourette's]], and he ''saved'' the baby, keeping her warm and safe after finding her abandoned.
%%* ''Series/OnceUponATimeInWonderland'': Pretty much sums up [[spoiler:the Red Queen, who was initially set up as the BigBad, until the story reveals that to be Jafar, while the Red Queen's backstory reveals her to be more misunderstood than anything. Ultimately, in "Nothing to Fear," after giving signs in this direction over numerous episodes, she performs an official HeelFaceTurn and can no longer be considered evil after that.]]

%%* Trevor from ''Theatre/LizardBoy'' is demonized for his lizard scales when in reality he was just the victim of a horrible accident.
* In the musical ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}'', the Wicked Witch of the West is pretty misunderstood -- maligned from childhood for her unusual skin color, cursed with unpredictable and hard-to-control magic, and the victim of a vigorous smear campaign by the Wizard, who wished to discredit her.

* In ''Franchise/MassEffect''.

* ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' has an {{Anti Villain}}ous example in Arietta. Despite working for him, she isn't involved in the BigBad's EvilPlan at all and is actually a pretty sweet kid at heart who just wants to protect the boy she loves. Unfortunately, [[spoiler:said boy passed away long ago and has been replaced by a clone without her knowledge]]. In a PetTheDog moment BigBad took her into his service because he knew that, were she to find out, she'd be DrivenToSuicide.
** Depending on the version of ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' you played, Dhaos turns out to be pretty much this, combined with PoorCommunicationKills and WellIntentionedExtremist.
* Subverted in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''. When Sephiroth kills [[spoiler:[[AssholeVictim President Shinra]]]], [[RebelLeader Barrett]]'s immediate response is to wonder if he's really such a bad guy after all. However, [[TheHero Cloud]] puts a stopper in that by cementing that Sephiroth is the evilest sonuvabitch one's likely to find in the ''VII''verse. The next dungeon is a flashback arc explaining why.
* Poor [[spoiler:Black Knight]]. He only wanted to save [[TheLostLenore Shield Knight]] just as much as VideoGame/ShovelKnight did...

* The massive skeletal pirate ghost Cortez from ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'' might be a greedy undead pirate obsessed with defending his hoard of treasure, but he's not an unreasonable guy in the least. After your fight with him fails because, as an undead, he can't be killed, he raves that you'll never get his treasure and Mario points out all he wants is the [[MacGuffin Crystal Star]]. Cortez lets him keep it and leave in peace without much thought. He even takes the heroes to and from Rogueport and Keelhaul Key after they give him back the jewel that powers his ship.
--> '''Cortez''': You're not even interested in my treasure? Just this little rock over here? Are you serious? Well, that's no big deal. Here, take it. What do I need one or two extra gems for? I didn't really like that one anyway.
* This was the reason for the persecution and near extinction of the Umbra Witches from the ''{{VideoGame/Bayonetta}}'' series. Due to the fact they gain their powers from darkness and make contracts with demons, it was pretty easy for the angels to trick humankind into hunting them down and slaughtering their clan. In reality, the [[LightIsNotGood angels are actually the evil ones]], their scheme was to take the witches out of the picture so they could claim the Left Eye of Darkness from the Umbra, resurrect Jubileus (Mundus' "Holy" counterpart), who would then destroy everything and start over.
* The whole point of ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' is this. Every enemy encounter can be spared and all antagonists (well, [[WhiteAndGreyMorality the closest things that you get to antagonists, at least]]) can [[HeelFaceTurn be redeemed]]. One EnemyScan description even says: "It seems evil, but it's just with the wrong crowd..." [[spoiler:Should you finish the [[EarnYourBadEnding Genocide Run]], however, you will come face to face with an aversion: [[OmnicidalManiac the first Fallen Child]], who was ''already'' [[TheSociopath distinctly unhinged]] compared to the rest of the cast, but has been [[CameBackWrong irrevocably corrupted]] by your actions.]]
* The Dark Ones in ''VideoGame/Metro2033'' are the overall antagonists in the story. Having attacked the player's station, killing many and driving several others mad in their attacks in addition to malevolence throughout the game. It's not until the end though [[spoiler:that we find out that they are not evil nor intending to harm people. It is just that because of how their telepathy works it drives most adults mad and causes them to see hallucinations or outright kill them. A prime example of DarkIsNotEvil in a literal sense as well.]]
* As the deeper plot points of ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'' are revealed, it appears that [[spoiler: the Great Ones]] are the true evil behind the Scourge of the Beast that's ravaging Yharnam, but surprisingly, It isn't so. In fact, most of the horrible mutations, wicked experiments and otherworldly horror you encounter [[spoiler: was brought to the world by humans who foolishly tinkered with the Great Ones' blood and knowledge. In fact, it is stated that the Great Ones are actually sympathetic towards humanity, and quite a few of the Great Ones you meet and perhaps slay are trying to fix humanity's mess.]] HumansAreTheRealMonsters indeed.
* [[spoiler: Irisu]] from ''VideoGame/RabiRibi'', founder of the UPRPRC - a group of obsessive bunny-loving fanatics who hound Erina throughout the game. [[spoiler: It's revealed that she's actually another rabbit-girl like Erina, who founded the group out of loneliness, wanting to find another bunny like herself. Erina getting transformed into a bunny-girl was a dream come true for her, but she was so socially awkward that she couldn't bring herself to approach her, and her guilt over her organization getting out of control and causing problems for Erina, as well as past jealousy towards Rumi for being Erina's master, leads her to conclude that she's not worthy of Erina's love and try to isolate herself, turning the TrueFinalBoss fight against her into a SaveTheVillain moment.]]
* ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'': [[spoiler:The Iconians. "Midnight" depicts the Iconians of the past as aloof SpaceElves who were targeted for extinction by an alliance of lower-tech species who wanted their technology. You only learn this, however, because you originally went back in time to kill them in order to stop their invasion of the present, and when [[SpannerInTheWorks Sela]] kills one of them anyway, it sets up a StableTimeLoop that causes the whole conflict.]] However, considering that [[spoiler:the Iconians']] HistoricalRapSheet includes blowing up Romulus, fan reaction to this was... [[BrokenBase mixed]].

* Ellen in ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' actually misunderstood herself, initially. No one else really thought of her as evil, especially her "good twin", Elliot. Being his magically created opposite gender clone with all his memories, she was pretty terrible at being evil.
* ''Webcomic/{{Inhibit}}'': [[spoiler: Paulina]] is at first thought to be a villain due to her status as an arsonist, but it turns out [[spoiler: she’s trying to prove that dormancy isn’t real.]]

* In'' WebVideo/FiveNightsAtFreddysTheMusical'', all the animatronics [[spoiler:with the exception of Springtrap]] are shown to be this. They're really friendly but are mistaken for evil by the employees. Phone Guy even tries to warn the new security guard not to be afraid of them, but the guard doesn't listen, kicking off the plot.
* PlayedForLaughs by ''LetsPlay/{{Mangs}}'' whenever discussing [[DaddysLittleVillain Tabitha]] from ''[[VideoGame/AdvanceWars Advance Wars: Days of Ruin]]''. He will insist she's not the cackling psychopath that canon would have you believe, but that she's just a misunderstood girl with daddy issues.
-->'''Mangs:''' She's not evil! She's just misunderstood! She just has some daddy issues. C'mon, she has freaking ''[[BigBad Caulder]]'' for a father, like her some slack! We can reform her!

%%* This is an unpopular, but [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation established]] theory concerning [[Franchise/SlenderManMythos Slenderman]]. Very unpopular.

%%* In ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong'', when Spud first saw a holographic image of a krylock, he thought this was the case. [[SubvertedTrope It wasn't.]]
%%-->'''Spud''': Aw, it's not evil, it's just misunder- ''(Hologram snaps at him)'' ''It's evil!!''
%%* Beastly in at least one instance on the CGI ''WesternAnimation/CareBearsWelcomeToCareALot'' series, though it's still early days.
* Elmyra from ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' is usually seen as Death incarnate to all known animals. The problem is, Elmyra genuinely doesn't mean any harm but is too stupid to understand her [[AndCallHimGeorge means of showing affection are often deathly hazardous to her pets]]. So they do have a good reason to chastise her given that she's LethallyStupid.

* The episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' "Bart After Dark" there was Belle, someone who the children all thought was some mean old witch. As it turned out, she was a lot nicer than they thought.
--->'''Bart''': Lady, I've apparently been severely misinformed about witches.
** This is also the case with many of the show's "villains" or antagonists. Ms. Krabappel and Principal Skinner seem mean, but they're actually rather nice people who started out as genuinely wanting to help children (something that still flashes through here and there), only to be beaten down by low budgets and bratty students like Bart. Others, like bully Nelson Muntz and Marge's irritating sisters Patty and Selma, have [[FreudianExcuse perfectly valid explanations]] for their unpleasant behavior, including a bad home life (Nelson) and a not-entirely misguided belief that Marge could do better than Homer (Patty and Selma). In short, the nasty characters we see on the show seem nasty because we're viewing them through the Simpsons' eyes -- and given that the family has nearly destroyed the town on numerous occasions, can you really blame them? On the other hand, there's [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Mr. Burns]], who regularly subverts this trope - while he has a few sincere PetTheDog moments, the writers make it quite clear that he's mostly just a JerkWithAHeartOfJerk, and trying to find his inner humanity generally ranges from pointless to outright dangerous.
* An episode of Polish animated Show ''WesternAnimation/HipHipAndHurra'' deals with the subject that the actions of some animals can't be considered evil. In the story, a Magpie commits a series of robberies, but when she gets captured by the main detective protagonists, she claims to be innocent. The animals put her on a trial, with Coco bird as the main witness. At the end of the trial, two birds appear as surprise witnesses, thinking it's a trial for the Coco and hoping she finally faces the justice. In the end, Hip-Hip (who plays the role of the judge) says both Magpie and Coco are innocent, since they can't control their actions which are a result of their natural instincts, so they can't be considered evil since there is no malice in their actions.
* Eddy from ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' is shown to be a selfish {{Jerkass}} who would do anything for money, revenge or popularity. It turns out that, in the [[WesternAnimation/EdEddnEddysBigPictureShow movie]], he [[spoiler:only committed these deeds to gain recognition after years of abuse from his brother. Once he admits this and apologizes for his scams, the kids forgive him]].

* DarkMagicalGirl Charmcaster is summed up as "not a bad person, just damaged" by Gwen Tennyson in ''WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse''.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}'' episode "Monolith of Evil", the Legion of Doom manages to trick the heroes into uncovering a super-weapon called, uh, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the Monolith of Evil]] (at least that's what they call it). At first, it seems to be an ArtifactOfDoom with near limitless powers of darkness, and the heroes are outmatched by the villains... Until they manage to shanghai control of it and use it against the villains themselves. How could the heroes possibly harness such dark power, after Sinestro muses after they beat the crud out of them? They figured out that the thing wasn't evil at all. It was TrueNeutral, and like any such weapon, it can only be used for evil "in the wrong hands", so to speak. (Of course, it's still ''dangerous'' and the episode ends with the heroes still in possession of it; much like any loose end in that series, we can only guess what they did with the thing.)

* Lemongrab in ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime''; the show's creators all insist this Trope applies to him, despite his anti-social (and at times, sociopathic) behavior (Adam Muto claims he is "just completely unadjusted to living," while Patrick Seery, says he is under the delusion that he is always right). Lemongrab is shown to be capable of actual love for his family in "It's All Your Fault" and "Mystery Dungeon" portray as a sympathetic, lonely fellow who [[IJustWantToBeLoved just wants attention and affection]]. (Unfortunately, he doesn't know how to interact with anyone who tries to befriend him, making his attitude self-destructive.)
* The dog catcher in the Hallmark special WesternAnimation/JingleAllTheWay. In the climax, he's revealed to be truly just wanting to help give Jingle shelter and find him a good home. This after a PetTheDog moment.
* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' alternates between playing this trope straight and playing with it. The scary gem monsters turn out to be corrupted gems who are more confused and frightened victims of circumstance than villains. Peridot turns out to be less a malevolent villain and more of an awkward, lower-rank technician who switched sides once exposed to the earthling viewpoint. On the other hand, while knowing Jasper's issues with the Earth and Rose Quartz [[spoiler: (from the moment of her birth on Earth she had to fight in a vicious war for its future that Rose Quartz started)]] makes her more sympathetic, it doesn't change the fact that she defiantly remained a villain when given multiple chances to change. Yellow Diamond so far seems to be the only character to outright defy this trope when she makes it perfectly clear that she doesn't care what resources the Earth might have, she just wants it wiped off her starcharts already.
* On ''WesternAnimation/TheOctonauts'', Kwazii likes to speculate about a lot of the stuff the Octonauts encounter being caused by strange and scary monsters. Instead, when the Octonauts encounter strange phenomena or troublesome behavior, it's just sea creatures doing what they do normally, often as a natural defense mechanism. Examples include a snapping shrimp that knocks them all out with the loud sound he makes by snapping his claw, and slime eels protecting their territory by sliming.
* In "All Heated Up" from ''WesternAnimation/ElenaOfAvalor'', Charoca of the monfuego is neither actually a monster nor evil. He just has serious anger management issues that are set off both by being called a monster and by people always taking his stuff. He's working to control them, though, through both deep breathing and meditation, among other things.
* [[spoiler: Monsters]] in ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil''. "Mewnipendance Day" that they are actually peaceful and mostly harmless, just minding their own business. They only cause trouble because they believe that they can return everything back to how it was before if they can get the wand. [[spoiler: Ludo being a HarmlessVillain and his group of monsters having serious cases of MinionWithAnFInEvil are just one sign of this]]. But then again, [[spoiler: Toffee is also a monster and not only the BigBad of season 1 but also TheChessmaster]].
* ''WesternAnimation/MattsMonsters'': Not all monsters cause mayhem out of malice. More often than not, something is bothering them, and they stop their rampage the moment a solution is provided.

* Most of {{Literature/Worm}}'s extensive cast of villains would claim this to some degree. However several among the [[VillainProtagonist protagonist]] and [[TrueCompanions her friends]] are straight examples, Taylor herself isn't even originally trying to be a villain. Unfortunately [[spoiler:circumstances make it unlikely that many will ever realise how heroic Taylor is, despite her repeatedly saving innocents [[HeroicSacrifice no matter the risk]].]]

* [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2 Mr. X]] is depicted as such in WebVideo/ResidentEvilAbridged. He actually wants to befriend Leon and seems cheerful and affable enough, but his monstrous appearance spooks Leon so much that he shoots him on sight. Mr. X's [[MegatonPunch subsequent reactions]] are understandable from there.
* In WebVideo/FiveNightsAtFreddysTheMusical, all the animatronics [[spoiler:with the exception of Springtrap]] are shown to be this. They're really friendly but are mistaken for evil by the employees. Phone Guy even tries to warn the new security guard not to be afraid of them, but the guard doesn't listen, kicking off the plot.
* PlayedForLaughs by ''LetsPlay/{{Mangs}}'' whenever discussing [[DaddysLittleVillain Tabitha]] from ''[[VideoGame/AdvanceWars Advance Wars: Days of Ruin]]''. He will insist she's not the cackling psychopath that canon would have you believe, but that she's just a misunderstood girl with daddy issues.
--> '''Mangs:''' She's not evil! She's just misunderstood! She just has some daddy issues. C'mon, she has freaking ''[[BigBad Caulder]]'' for a father, like her some slack! We can reform her!

* ''ComicBook/RobinSeries'': Darla Aquista makes a few impassioned speeches about how she's not actually evil and her immoral actions following her resurrection are driven by the forces which now power her body. Trouble is, that while ''she'' certainly believes what she's saying, all evidence is to the contrary seeing as she wanted to have a more active role in her father's murderous mob work prior to being killed and it's clear the only thing she regrets about committing homicide is that it seems to be a barrier to getting into Tim's pants (she refuses to acknowledge that Tim had already made it clear he has no interest in her).