History Main / NurtureOverNature

[[AC:Film]]

** Another, more dramatic example, is Bart being adopted by Mr. Burns.
* The third ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'' film has Sid take a trio of ''T. rex'' eggs, which promptly hatch and think he's their mother. However, their REAL mother soon comes looking for them, and of course is infuriated to find Sid stole them. The hatchlings convince her to let Sid live, but the two of them begin competing for their affection of their children. Ultimately, the ''T. rex'' mother wins, as she's the only one who can provide her children with real meat to eat, while Sid is unable to get the hatchlings to prefer vegetables.

* The episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E21DragonQuest Dragon Quest]]" of [[{{WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic}} MLP:FIM]] could be an example -- Spike never meets his parents, but the theme of rejecting one "family" for the other occurs.

* ZigZagged in ''ComicBook/NewGods''. Orion, son of {{Darkseid}} but raised by Highfather, the ruler of New Genesis, follows his nurture and becomes a good guy. Scott Free, son of Highfather but raised by Darkseid, follows his nature and becomes a good guy. Subverted, since Scott wasn't so much raised by Darkseid as he was "locked up in a torture/training camp his entire life until he escaped". This was Darkseid's goal all along, since this gave him an excuse to break the treaty between New Genesis and Apokolips that was marked by the exchange of infant sons between Darkseid and Highfather.

* In MarvelComics, there is Evan Sabanur aka Genesis - teenage genetic clone of Comicbook/{{Apocalypse}} himself, who was deliberately grown in a positive Smalleville-ish (although fake) world to become [[{{FarmBoy}} kind and honest person]]. While he still remains unquestionably nice guy, people around him are constantly expecting him to become as evil as his original - and make note, in ALL of glimpses of the future comic provided, ''he actually did''. It seems like whole universe itself is devoted [[{{BreakTheCutie}} to turn him to the dark side]], but this only means you just can't stop rooting for the poor kid. Even Comicbook/{{Deadpool}}, of all people, befriended him and actually referenced the trope while talking the boy out of temporary (involuntary) HeelFaceTurn - claiming that while Evan remains good, this means ''anyone'' can be good, no matter who they are and where they come from.

* In MarvelComics, there is Evan Sabanur aka Genesis - teenage genetic clone of Comicbook/{{Apocalypse}} himself, who was deliberately grown in a positive Smalleville-ish (although fake) world to become kind and honest person. While he still remains unquestionably nice guy, people around him are constantly expecting him to become as evil as his original - and make note, in ALL of glimpses of the future comic provided, ''he actually did''. It seems like whole universe itself is devoted [[{{BreakTheCutie}} to turn him to the dark side]], but this only means you just can't stop rooting for the poor kid. Even Comicbook/{{Deadpool}}, of all people, befriended him and actually referenced the trope while talking the boy out of temporary (involuntary) HeelFaceTurn - claiming that while Evan remains good, this means ''anyone'' can be good, no matter who they are and where they come from.

* In MarvelComics, there is Evan Sabanur aka Genesis - teenage genetic clone of Comicbook/{{Apocalypse}} himself, who was deliberately grown in a positive Smalleville-ish (although fake) world to become kind and honest person. While he still remains unquestionably nice guy, people around him are constantly expecting him to become as evil as his original - and make note, in ALL of glimpses of the future comic provided, ''he actually did''. It seems like whole universe itself is devoted [[{{BreakTheCutie to turn him to the dark side]], but this only means you just can't stop rooting for the poor kid. Even Comicbook/{{Deadpool}}, of all people, befriended him and actually referenced the trope while talking the boy out of temporary (involuntary) HeelFaceTurn - claiming that while Evan remains good, this means ''anyone'' can be good, no matter who they are and where they come from.

[[AC:Franchise]]
* Son Goku in ''Franchise/DragonBall'' was originally sent to Earth to destroy it. He was a savage little baby up until the moment he took a blow to the head. He become sweeter after that, and the lessons taught by his adoptive grandfather and throughout his life made him into Earth's greatest defender instead.


[[AC:Film]]
* To some extent, Film/{{Hellboy}} does this. When Hellboy is being pressured to accept his demonic nature and open the gate, Myers yells out "Remember who you are" and throws Bruttenholm's crucifix to HB ... who remembers how Bruttenholm raised him and fights for Team Humanity.
* Loki in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse looks, talks, and dresses like an Asgardian, covets the Asgardian throne, and uses magic (which he learned from his Asgardian mother) as his primary power. He has no interest in his Jotun heritage and no desire to rule Jotunheim; in fact, he tries to impress Odin by destroying it. [[InTheBlood The only thing he seems to have gotten from his biological parents]] is his [[AlwaysChaoticEvil streak of sociopathic megalomania]] -- and for all we know Loki might have been a bad egg even among Jotuns! His [[YoureNotMyFather attempts to disown his adopted family]] notwithstanding, he consistently identifies himself as Asgardian and is taken as such by everyone he meets.

* In ''Literature/{{Dune}}'' Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen was raised by his MagnificentBastard uncle Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, and it [[BastardUnderstudy shows]], the [[Literature/PreludeToDune prequels of questionable canonicity]] show that his father was the WhiteSheep of the family. Meanwhile, the Baron's natural daughter [[spoiler: Lady Jessica]], whom he didn't even know he sired, is one of the kindest and most humane characters (which is ironically even ''more'' bizarre when you consider that she's a known member of a shadowy society whose cornerstones are emotional control and political manipulation).

* In ''Manga/DragonBall'', Goku is a child of the Saiyans, an alien race of ruthless conquerors but, when sent to Earth to conquer it, was instead raised by a kind martial artist. Although Goku did hit his head before getting adopted that greatly quelled his destructive behavior, by the time more Saiyans appear in the series, Goku has already made up his mind and identifies himself more as an Earthling, acting against the galaxy-conquering organization he was born into.

* In OnePiece, WordOfGod confirmed that one of the themes of the story is "heredity doesn't matter and family is who you choose." The World Government, [[TheGovernment being evil]], is firmly on the "nature" side of the debate, along with most of the world in general -- yet to the audience, this reasoning is consistently proven to be wrong, most tragically in the cases of the protagonist Luffy and his [[spoiler:adoptive]] older brother Ace.

* In ''Literature/{{Dune}}'' Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen was raised by his MagnificentBastard uncle Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, and it [[BastardUnderstudy shows]], the prequels of questionable canonicity show that his father was the WhiteSheep of the family. Meanwhile, the Baron's natural daughter [[spoiler: Lady Jessica]], whom he didn't even know he sired, is one of the kindest and most humane characters (which is ironically even ''more'' bizarre when you consider that she's a known member of a shadowy society whose cornerstones are emotional control and political manipulation).

* The episode "Cardassians" from ''StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' might have an example. A Cardassian youth raised by Bajoran parents sees himself as Bajoran.

* ZigZagged in ''ComicBoook/NewGods''. Orion, son of {{Darkseid}} but raised by Highfather, the ruler of New Genesis, follows his nurture and becomes a good guy. Scot Free, son of Highfather but raised by Darkseid, follows his nature and becomes a good guy.

* In OnePiece, WordOfGod confirmed that one of the themes of the story is "heredity doesn't matter and family is who you choose."

* In ''Literature/{{Dune}}'' Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen was raised by his MagnificentBastard uncle Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, and it [[BastardUnderstudy shows]], the prequels of questionable canonicity show that his father was the WhiteSheep of the family. Meanwhile, the Baron's natural daughter [[spoiler: Lady Jessica]], whom he didn't even know he sired, is one of the kindest and most humane characters.

* In the 2013 version of ''WesternAnimation/{{TMNT}}'', Oroku Saki adopts Hamato Yoshi's daughter. Him going after her, can be seen as him trying to get back what he lost. While he is shown to be a loving father to the turtles, she doesn't know about her true parentage (mutagent aside), so she is currently (unknowingly) choosing to stay with the Shredder.
* The Episode [[{{Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E21DragonQuest}} Dragon Quest]] of [[{{WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic}} MLP:FIM]] could be an example -- Spike never meets his parents, but the theme of rejecting one "family" for the other occurs.
* A flashback from Mr. Burns in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' [[PlayedForLaughs plays it for laughs]]. He's shown as a child, living with a humble but caring family, when a fancy car stops in front of their house. He's then asked "Happy, would you like to continue living with us, your loving natural parents, or would you rather live with this twisted, loveless billionaire?". Burns got into the car without thinking twice about it.
** Another, more dramatic example, is Bart being adopted by Mr. Burns.

* In the novel ''Too Many Curses'', the self-aware castle's loyalties are divided between the evil wizard who built but neglects it, and the kobold servant who's been diligently and compassionately tending to the place and its occupants for years.

See also: BlankSlate, ConditionedToAcceptHorror, MoreThanMindControl, RousseauWasRight, StockholmSyndrome and ThenLetMeBeEvil,

* The title character of the ''Literature/UkiahOregon'' series has this one in spades. He was found amnesiac and [[RaisedByWolves running with a wolf pack]] and adopted by a white lesbian couple from Pittsburgh. He then discovers that much of his personality was shaped not by that upbringing but by his upbring by his biological mother, a Umatilla woman named Kicking Deer, and that all three of his upbringings have been working against the nature bequeathed him by his CompleteMonster alien father.

* ZigZagged in ''Comicboook/NewGods''. Orion, son of {{Darkseid}} but raised by Highfather, the ruler of New Genesis, follows his nurture and becomes a good guy. Scot Free, son of Highfather but raised by Darkseid, follows his nature and becomes a good guy.

* Son Goku in ''Franchise/DragonBall'' was originally sent to Earth to destroy it. He was a savage little baby up until the moment he took a blow to the head. He become sweeter after that, and the lessons taught by his grandfather and throughout his life made him into Earth's greatest defender instead.

* * The third ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'' film has Sid take a trio of ''T. rex'' eggs, which promptly hatch and think he's their mother. However, their REAL mother soon comes looking for them, and of course is infuriated to find Sid stole them. The hatchlings convince her to let Sid live, but the two of them begin competing for their affection of their children. Ultimately, the ''T. rex'' mother wins, as she's the only one who can provide her children with real meat to eat, while Sid is unable to get the hatchlings to prefer vegetables.