History Main / PsychoPrototype

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'': It's revealed that [[Characters/SupermanConnerKent Superboy]] was only the second attempt by Cadmus and the Light to create a clone of ComicBook/{{Superman}}. Thier first attempt, Project: Match, was less successful due to Match being mentally unstable and uncontrollable. The reason is due to the difficulties of human science and technology in being able to read and replicate Kryptonian DNA, which caused there to be gaps in the DNA sequences. Despite this, Cadmus went ahead and created a clone with this incomplete DNA, resulting in a clone that had of all [[FlyingBrick Superman's powers]] but was also a mentally insane berserker that attacks everyone and everything in sight. After putting Match on ice, Cadmus tried again with Project: Kr, this time using human DNA to fill in the missing sequences. The end result was the creation of Superboy, a clone that was mentally sound but lacked the standard Kryptonian powerset. [[AdaptationalWimp Superboy doesn't have a large number of powers such as flight and heat vision, and the powers that he does have such as super strength, are only about half as strong as Superman.]]

* Obviously, ComicBook/NormanOsborn, ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' foe. He was already not a good person (being a CorruptCorporateExecutive), but the Goblin Serum created a completely AxeCrazy SplitPersonality, the Green Goblin.

* In the ''Literature/MyNameIsLegion'' story "Home Is the Hangman", the Hangman is a unique sentient explorer robot who went rogue and wants to kill his former operators. The reason is a crime his operators made him commit by accident. [[spoiler:Despite being out of control, Hangman turns out to have no desire to harm any humans -- those were accidents too. He wants to do the job he was created for, but to be able to speak.]]

* ''Franchise/{{Alien}}''

** ''Film/AlienCovenant'' introduces us to the Neomorphs and Prateomorphs, ancestors [[spoiler:(or imitations, based on the novelisation)]] of the classic Xenomorphs David created using Chemical A0-3959x.91 – 15. Both monsters are savage killing machines with wild temperaments even fiercer than their descendants/[[spoiler: /inspirations]].
* Johann Schmidt[=/=]ComicBook/RedSkull in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' was this compared to Captain America, receiving the same serum. It made him physically stronger, but also drove him insane and deformed him as a result. Dr. Erskine, the serum's designer, explained it by saying Schmidt was ''already'' evil and the serum only made him more so.
** This is also the case in ''Film/CaptainAmerica1990'', the first theatrical film adaptation: in that version, he's a former child prodigy upon whom the doctor who developed the SuperSerum was forced to experiment...before she'd finished fixing the grotesque physical side-effects. (How much of his insanity is due to the prototype serum, which supposedly "increases aggression," and how much is due to being abducted from his family and [[RaisedByOrcs raised by Nazis]], is left up in the air.)

** The ''[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Indominus rex]]'' from ''Film/JurassicWorld''--created to be the strongest dinosaur ever, she escapes from her cage and goes on a killing spree just because she can. [[spoiler:She was created as part of a plan to turn dinosaurs into living weapons for the military.]]

* The protomolecule hybrids from ''Literature/TheExpanse'' were created to be the ultimate shock troopers, but in practice [[ImportedAlienPhlebotinum protomolecule technology]] proved to be little more than an advanced vector for [[TheCorruption spreading the protomolecule infection]].
* The ''Literature/FactionParadox'' novel ''Of the City of the Saved'' features Antipathy, the AxCrazy firstborn son of the humanoid TARDIS Compassion. A psychotic TARDIS is a scary, scary thing.
* In ''Literature/HomeIsTheHangman'' by Creator/RogerZelazny the Hangman is a unique sentient explorer robot that went rogue and wants to kill his former operators. The reason is a crime his operators made him commit by accident. [[spoiler:Despite being out of control, Hangman turns out to have no desire to harm any humans -- those were accidents too. He wants to do the job he was created for, but to be able to speak.]]
* ''Literature/{{Idlewild}}'' series by Nick Sagan:
** This is the case with [[spoiler: Mercutio]] aka Adam in the first book. He is the firstborn of the Ten who are all experiments in genetic engineering and therefore a prototype. AI Malachi's bitterness and jealousy bled into Adam and he went insane. Eventually he kills several of his supposed friends as his grip on reality (such as it is in this MindScrew of a book) slackens.
** In the third book ''Everfree'' it's revealed that [[spoiler:a Gedaechtnis employee tampered with Mercutio's DNA to make him more dominant, because he was the only pure white-ancestry subject.]]

* In Creator/TadWilliams' ''Literature/{{Otherland}}'' series, Mr. Sellars' backstory involves a secret military program to develop PoweredArmor - one of the soldiers being trained for the program was mentally unstable and went on a psychotic rampage in a prototype suit, destroying billions of dollars of equipment and killing nearly all of his fellow personnel. Sellars himself barely survived, with horribly disfiguring injuries. The project was supposedly scrapped as a result of this incident, though Sellars notes that modern combat gear incorporates similar technology, albeit in a less OneManArmy form.

* [[spoiler: Number One, "Cavil"]] from ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}''. [[spoiler: As the first of the new humanoid Cylons made by the Final Five, he exhibited bitterness at not being 100% machine, envy of his brothers and sisters (even entirely destroying the Sevens) and a deep desire for his creators to come around to his genocidal viewpoint to the point where he reprograms them to think they're humans and launches a genocidal attack on humanity.]] And those are just ''some'' of their sins. Chiefly, this Cylon's actions resulted in the near-extinction of the human race.

* Alpha on ''{{Series/Dollhouse}}''. Carl Craft accepted an offer to reduce his sentence in exchange for being a prototype doll. His first personality upload went badly and increased his psychotic behavior. They tried to erase his imprint but he kicked his handler into the machine and got 48 personalities uploaded at once. He was already psychopathic and knife happy and this cranked it up dramatically. He was manipulative, smart, able to access many different skills from his personas and had an AGodAmI complex going on. He also had combat skills, though Echo usually [[CurbStompBattle handed him his ass]] when they fought.

* KARR (prototype for KITT) from ''Series/KnightRider''.
** ''Knight Rider'' sequels follow the KARR formula. In ''Series/TeamKnightRider'', the TKR AI car prototype KRO went crazy because his driver was crazy. In the 2008 reboot, the second KITT had to face his own KARR predecessor which could transform into a robot. KARR (Knight Automated Roving Robot), KRO (Knight Reformulation One) and KARR 2008 (Knight Auto-Cybernetic Roving Robotic-Exoskeleton) are all prototypes that went rogue.
* In ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' it was revealed that [[spoiler:the Port-to-Port Killer was the first and last product of an experimental [=CIA=] training program, intended to transform servicemen into assassins. After his only sanctioned kill, he promptly went serial-killer using his spook/military training and a handy folder of fake passports]].

* In ''VideoGame/KillingFloor'', the Clot is a prototype clone of Kevin's dead son. It had all the natural traits of a zombie, aggressive, bloodthirsty and cannibalistic.

* Downplayed with Jack, aka Subject Zero, in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'': she's not so much psycho as just really, ''really'', '''really''', '''''[[HairTriggerTemper REALLY]]''''' angry.
** ... and [[BrokenBird emotionally unstable]]. Grunt also comes across as a Pscyho Prototype at first, but is actually "just" a [[DesignerBabies vat-bred]] SuperSoldier who's psychologically normal for a member of a [[PlanetOfHats race]] of {{Blood Knight}}s. His extra aggression is merely a result of puberty.

* In ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'', Spectres were a brief program run by Mengsk to create a new breed of more powerful psychic assassins, replacing the original Ghost units seen throughout ''VideoGame/{{Starcraft|I}}''. Nova, a Dominion-loyalist Ghost, claims the project was shut down and the Spectres imprisoned because they were psychotic killing machines.
** [[spoiler: However, if the player takes the "Breakout" mission, which has been stated to be the canonical mission, then they learn that Nova was basically lying and Spectres are no more prone to going mad than Ghosts are, if less. The real reason the project was abandoned was because the power-boost that made a Ghost into a Spectre let them blow out their {{Restraining Bolt}}s.]]
*** Then again their [[StopPokingMe unit quotes]] seem to suggest that they are indeed a bit flaky.
---->[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKEe0jPdHi8 "I can taste your mind... Mmm, salty!"]]

* Prototype Jack in ''VideoGame/Tekken1'' is designed to be a super powerful robot that's gone haywire and its owner has lost control of it. The one in 2 and Tag Tournament is more of an army drone and so isn't as evil as it's just following orders.

** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', Sephiroth was the prototype of the [[MegaCorp Shinra]] program that would eventually develop [[SuperSoldier SOLDIER]]; while he was extremely well-behaved for a time, discovering the secrets behind his creation [[GoMadFromTheRevelation drove him mad]] and turned him into the greatest threat to life the Planet had ever seen.

[[caption-width-right:751:If ComicBook/CaptainAmerica is the American dream, then thhis is the American nightmare]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* In the ''VideoGame/ZoneOfTheEnders'' {{prequel}} ''Idolo'', the Metatron used to power [[HumongousMecha Orbital Frames]] is a slow acting, [[ArtifactOfDoom sentient]] PsychoSerum. It turns the pilot, Radium Levans, into a hateful and destructive force, while enabling him to use Idolo's powers to their destructive apex.
* Hidan from ''Manga/{{Naruto}}''; his inability to die resulted from a religious experiment. Only problem is, the god of said religion praises the slaughter of one's neighbors, which didn't bode well for Hidan's village (or anyone else for that matter).

* The Prototype and Test Type models 00 and 01 of ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion''. 01 is a bloodthirsty MamaBear when it comes to her pilot, and 00 ''actively attempted to kill hers''.
* The ZERO System from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'' may qualify. A combat system created for the SuperPrototype Wing Zero, it feeds an incredible amount of battle data and suggested courses of action directly into the pilot's brain. The problem being that using it requires exceptional mental focus: if your mind drifts even a little, it causes a slippery slope chain reaction that leads to the pilot being driven insane (either temporarily or permanently based off their mental fortitude) and concluding that [[OmnicidalManiac killing everything]] is the best way to eliminate all threats. Throughout the series, all the main characters use it but only TheHero and TheRival are considered to have "mastered" it (though TheHeart comes close and the girl who was already a little unhinged might have been driven ''sane'' by it).
* The Extended of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny'' were pretty crazy, but when compared to their predecessors, the pre-Extended or biological [=CPU=]s, they're pillars of mental stability. The Extended can fake being normal. The pre-Extended were too AxeCrazy to so much as cooperate with one another, let alone be entrusted with spy missions.
** On the other hand, while the Biological [=CPU=]s were crazier than the Extended, [[SuperPrototype they were much stronger and more skilled]], giving SEED Mode users a run for their money.
* The [=EB-AX2=] Graze Ein of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans'' is the result of Gjallarhorn's secret advocation to bionic augmentation, equipped with triple Ālaya-Vijñāna Systems, [[DualWield dual]] axes, {{Pile Bunker}}s and [[ThisIsADrill drill feet]]; the price of such creation is the heavy toll on the [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity pilot's sanity]], [[spoiler: although the pilot, Ein Dalton, was [[RevengeBeforeReason already insane to begin with]].]]

** The first known example would be the EXAM system, which is noted to be extemely unstable and hard-to-control, with mobile suits equipped with it known to have gone berserk with extended usage, and that's all without mentioning that the primary component of the thing is a [[PoweredByAForsakenChild Newtype's [=SOUL=].]]

* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' has the old men who, as boys, were used in an attempt to create a host for Wrath. Not that Führer King Bradley (the final product) isn't a psycho himself, but these guys are more disturbing. They weren't strong enough to withstand the conversion process, which left them as mindless shells of men - ''who will still try to kill you''.

* ComicBook/CaptainAmerica originally inverted this trope, with a number of his villains created by attempts to duplicate his Super Soldier Serum. Eventually, Protocide was introduced via RetCon, thereby playing this trope straight.
* Obviously, ComicBook/NormanOsborn, ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' foe. He was already not a good person (being a CorruptCorporateExecutive), but the Goblin Serum created a completely AxeCrazy SplitPersonality, the Green Goblin.
** Inverted in [[ComicBook/UltimateMarvel Ultimate Spider-Man]] with [[ComicBook/SpiderMan Peter Parker]] being ''bitten'' by the accidental prototype, and Norman Osborn attempting to replicate the success by injecting himself with the OZ Serum.
* Everyone in the [[Franchise/MarvelUniverse Weapon Plus]] programme(s) except ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} and ComicBook/CaptainAmerica qualifies. The rest were supervillains and each was the first, and often only, in their generation of the program. Some of them, especially among Wolverine's fellow Weapon X products, would eventually make a HeelFaceTurn, but [[ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} that didn't necessarily involve becoming any less psycho]].
* Valentine Romanov, eldest brother of ''ComicBook/NikolaiDante'', was the first Romanov to be bonded with a weapons crest. Unfortunately, his was a prototype that caused [[BodyHorror massive scarring, making him resemble a metallic skeleton]] along with some ''major'' SanitySlippage.
* The process that gave ComicBook/LukeCage his steel skin was used earlier in the Vietnam on a soldier who called himself Warhawk.

* ''ComicBook/{{Hellboy}}'': Roger's "older brother" was a homunculus made by the same alchemist, obsessed with making himself a better body (by melting down humans into a giant) and achieve godhood. He almost succeeded before [[spoiler:Roger pulled a HeroicSacrifice by returning the fire he'd stolen from Liz Sherman, exploding the body]].

* ''ComicBook/{{Superboy|1994}}'': Kon-El was designated "S-13" at Cadmus, in relation to being the thirteenth (and only successful) clone of ComicBook/{{Superman}} and while he does have to fight "S-01" once that's mostly over a misunderstanding due to S-01's lack of knowledge and Bizarro traits. The trope is inverted with him having to fight off the prideful amoral attempt to recreate him with improvements and more obedience named Match on multiple occasions.

[[folder:Film]]

* Albert Wesker from the ''Film/ResidentEvilFilmSeries'' is implied to be this to Alice. Like Alice, he is injected with the T-Virus, and it is strongly implied that Wesker was injected long before Alice was. Likewise, after surviving a huge explosion, he regularly [[ImAHumanitarian commits cannibalism]] in order to keep an imbalance of the T-Virus at bay as a result of the stress of surviving the explosion.

* A textbook example of this trope occurs in the Creator/DeanKoontz novel ''[[Literature/MrMurder Mr. Murder]]'', even having the superhuman clone assassin named Alpha. It is explained that their attempts to make him asexual just resulted in him being extremely sexually frustrated, as well as homicidal.
* The Literature/FactionParadox novel ''Of the City of the Saved'' features Antipathy, the AxCrazy firstborn son of the humanoid TARDIS Compassion. A psychotic TARDIS is a scary, scary thing.
* ''Literature/LegacyOfTheDragokin'': Daniar and her siblings were not [[BigGood Dronor's first attempt]] at creating human/dragon hybrids. Those were the mara; a race of superhumans that lived only to torture men.
* In ''Literature/HomeIsTheHangman'' by Creator/RogerZelazny the Hangman is a unique sentient explorer robot that went rogue and wants to kill his former operators. The reason is a crime his operators made him commit by accident. [[spoiler:Despite being out of control, Hangman turns out to have no desire to harm any humans -- those were accidents too. He wants to do the job he was created for, but to be able to speak.]]
* The protomolecule hybrids from ''Literature/TheExpanse'' were created to be the ultimate shock troopers, but in practice [[ImportedAlienPhlebotinum protomolecule technology]] proved to be little more than an advanced vector for [[TheCorruption spreading the protomolecule infection]].

* The protomolecule hybrids from ''Series/TheExpanse'' were created to be the ultimate shock troopers and a potential evolutionary branch of humanity, but [[ImportedAlienPhlebotinum protomolecule technology]] proved to be too difficult to control, corrupting the mind of every subject and subverting all the failsafes the Project Caliban developers put in.

* The ''WesternAnimation/MegaManRubySpears'' cartoon [[AdaptationalVillainy revises]] Proto Man's character from a FlawedPrototype to one whose malfunctioning caused him to side with Dr. Wily.

* Downplayed in ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce''. There's a very unstable prototype of the Omnitrix that tends to go wild and has fewer time limitations (Transformations can last much, much longer), but is not sentient or evil itself, it is Albedo who is the one that uses it for evil purposes.
* Downplayed in ''WesternAnimation/MyLifeAsATeenageRobot'' with [=XJ8=], the last FlawedPrototype made before Jenny. She is not evil, but is [[NoSocialSkills so socially inept]] and gung-ho that [[HeroWithAnFInGood she's quite bad at being a good guy]].

** ''Series/KamenRiderFaiz'': The Delta Driver, the prototype for the other belts, is more powerful than its successors and doesn't come with the deliberate flaw of slowly killing the user. Instead, however, it comes with the unintended side effect of serving as an addictive and aggression-increasing drug.

* A textbook example of this trope occurs in the Creator/DeanKoontz novel Mr. Murder, even having the superhuman clone assassin named Alpha. It is explained that their attempts to make him asexual just resulted in him being extremely sexually frustrated, as well as homicidal.

* The ZERO System from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'' may qualify. A combat system created for the SuperPrototype Wing Zero, it feeds an incredible amount of battle data and suggested courses of action directly into the pilot's brain. The problem being that using it requires exceptional mental focus: if your mind drifts even a little, it causes a slippery slope chain reaction that leads to the pilot being driven insane (either temporarily or permanently based off their mental fortitude) and concluding that [[OmnicidalManiac killing everything]] is the best way to eliminate all threats. Throughout the series, all the main characters use it but only TheHero and TheRival are considered to have "mastered" it (though TheHeart comes close and the DarkChick who was already a little unhinged might have been driven ''sane'' by it).

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'': It's revealed that [[Characters/SupermanConnerKent Superboy]] was only the second attempt by Cadmus and the Light to create a clone of ComicBook/{{Superman}}. Thier first attempt, Project: Match, was less successful due to Match being mentally unstable and uncontrollable. The reason is due to the difficulties of human science and technology in being able to read and replicate Kryptonian DNA, which caused there to be gaps in the DNA sequences. Despite this, Cadmus went ahead and created a clone with this incomplete DNA, resulting in a clone that had of all [[FlyingBrick Superman's powers]] but was also a mentally insane berserker that attacks everyone and everything in sight. After putting Match on ice, Cadmus attempted again with Project: Kr, using human DNA to fill in the missing sequences. The end result was the creation of Superboy, a clone that was mentally sound but lacked the standard Kryptonian powerset. [[AdaptationalWimp Superboy doesn't have a large number of powers such as flight and heat vision, and the powers that he does have such as super strength, are only about half as strong as Superman.]]

** marks the debut of the Neomorphs and Prateomorphs, ancestors [[spoiler:(or knockoffs, according to the novelisation)]] of the classic Xenomorphs David created using Chemical A0-3959x.91 – 15. Both creatures are animalistic killing machines with hyper-aggressive temperaments that rival or even surpass those of their descendants[[spoiler:/inspirations]].
** ''Film/AlienCovenant'' introduces us to the Neomorphs and Prateomorphs, ancestors [[spoiler:(or imitations, based on the novelisation)]] of the classic Xenomorphs David invented using Chemical A0-3959x.91 – 15. Both monsters are savage killing machines with wild temperaments even fiercer than their descendants/[[inspirations]].

** ''Film/AlienCovenant'' marks the debut of the Neomorphs and Prateomorphs, ancestors [[spoiler:(or knockoffs, according to the novelisation)]] of the classic Xenomorphs David created using Chemical A0-3959x.91 – 15. Both creatures are animalistic killing machines with hyper-aggressive temperaments that rival or even surpass those of their descendants[[spoiler:/inspirations]].

[[folder:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]

* The Mad Pierrot from ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' killed everyone involved with the project and then killed everyone else that laid eyes on it. This is because the super empowering regressed his mind to that of a child.

* [[spoiler: Number One, "Cavil"]] from ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}''. [[spoiler: As the first of the new humanoid Cylons made by the Final Five, he exhibited bitterness at not being 100% machine, envy of his brothers and sisters (even entirely destroying the Sevens) and a deep desire for his creators to come around to his genocidal viewpoint to the point where he reprograms them to think they're humans and launches a genocidal attack on humanity.]] And those are just ''some'' their sins. Chiefly, this Cylon's actions resulted in the near-extinction of the human race.

** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', talking to an NPC in the Empire's capital city will reveal that Kefka was the first {{Magitek}} [[SuperSoldier knight]] created by TheEmpire, and he was driven insane by the process. (Luckily, they got it right with Celes.)

-->[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKEe0jPdHi8 "I can taste your mind... Mmm, salty!"]]

* The [=EB-AX2=] Graze Ein of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans'' is the result of Gjallarhorn's secret advocation to bionic augmentation, equipped with triple Ālaya-Vijñāna Systems, [[DualWield dual]] [[AnAxeToGrind axes]], {{Pile Bunker}}s and [[ThisIsADrill drill feet]]; the price of such creation is the heavy toll on the [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity pilot's sanity]], [[spoiler: although the pilot, Ein Dalton, was [[RevengeBeforeReason already insane to begin with]].]]

* The ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' sourcebook ''Book of Vile Darkness'' features the vasharans as an example of an utterly evil [[HumanSubspecies subrace of humans]]. The legend goes that when the gods created the first human, he immediately went looking for food, and chased down and killed an animal with his bare hands. The gods were disturbed, then morbidly fascinated as the man proceeded to eat the beast raw, then tear into the animal's carcass and fashion crude weapons from its bones and sinew. Then the first man turned and charged at the watching deities with his grisly weapons, screaming his first words, war cries and blasphemies. The gods effortlessly slew the human, but were so disgusted with their project that it was eons before they took another crack at humanity. However, some fiend spirited away the first man's remains and revived him - in some stories it was the work of a demon lord, in others a [[HornyDevils succubus]] who proceeded to bear the man's children. At any rate, the Psycho Human Prototype's descendants are the vasharans, [[AlwaysChaoticEvil Always Evil]] human sociopaths with no morals or taboos, united only by their goal of finishing their forebearer's attempt at [[KillTheGod deicide.]]