History Main / PsychoPrototype

* A double whammy happens in the ''ZoneOfTheEnders'' {{Prequel}} ''Idolo''. The Metatron used to power the [[HumongousMecha Orbital Frame]] 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. The sequel anime ''Dolores i'' had him grow even stronger and evil-er with Metatron derived ArtificialLimbs and a new, more powerful frame.
** Of course, the Hero also has a giant mech with parts made of Metatron and never loses it. It's arguably the events of ''Idolo'' that result in Radium's... issues. Granted, the Metatron's semi-sentience certainly aggravates the situation...

* The Prototype and Test Type models 00 and 01 of ''NeonGenesisEvangelion''.
** Depends. While 01 is a bloodthirsty MamaBear when it comes to her pilot, 00 ''actively attempted (and [[BandageBabe failed]]) to kill hers''.

** But ''inverted'' in UltimateSpiderMan. Peter's spider-powers were the result of a lucky accident due to [[GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke genetically-altered spiders injected with Oz]]. Ozborn attempted to duplicate the accident using [[MagicGenetics his own DNA as the base instead of a spider's]], and we end up with Green Goblin.

* Played around with ''{{Robocop}}''. ED-209, the first model, was highly flawed and except for Murphy, the latter models were suicidal and/or homicidal. The movies [[LampshadeHanging lampshade]] the reasons for failures, ranging from the corporate leadership being more interested in bilking the military with a high-maintenance product than law enforcement to picking a drug-addicted psychopath as the test subject.
** Deleted scenes imply that the company initially tried copies of Murphy; upstanding police officers killed in the line of duty (these were the ones who kept committing suicide). Apparently the process requires someone with a strong moral standing for 'good' and who can handle the mental trauma of becoming a cyborg.

** Well Knight Rider sequels does follow the KARR formula. In Team Knight Rider the TKR AI car prototype KRO went crazy because his driver was crazy. In Knight Rider 2008 the second KITT had to face his own KARR predecessor which can transform to 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.
*** How in the ''hell'' does that last acronym work?
*** The episode of the 2008 series where KARR is finally shown reveals that KITT was built specifically to work out the bugs in KARR's AI, at which point KITT would be scrapped, and his AI core installed in KARR for further use by the military. It doesn't work. He stays AxeCrazy.

[[AC:Tabletop Games]]
* {{Warhammer 40000}} has one of these. Or several hundred, depending on your perspective: Fabius Bile started his career as a far-too-curious medic for a chapter of [[SuperSoldier Space Marines]] who insisted he could "improve" on the Emperor's great work; the Space Marine. At first it was just (carefully) grafting alien and mutant organs onto his companions, and experimenting with new and exciting psychotropic stimulants, but then he gained access to the raw power of [[NegativeSpaceWedgie Chaos]] and [[ItGotWorse got better at it]]; each next patient/victim is "his greatest creation" and he considers himself to be largely a work-in-progress test-bed of his own best ideas.
** Then there are the Necrontyr and their "gods" - created using experimental technologies from parasites that fed off ''stars'', the new star-gods promptly literally devoured the entire Necrontyr civilisation, leaving behind only the [[OmnicidalManiac soulless robots]] known today as the Necrons, before/while turning on and devouring each other. There are now only four left and one of them is considered so insane by the standards of civilisation-devouring star parasites that even they don't want him to wake up from his hibernation.
** Hello!!!! The Primarchs definitely qualify. I mean each one of them is a superprototype for his respective legion, half(half plus one if you conside that Alpharion had a twin) of them went batshit crazy and turned to Chaos. The other half left their legions whit several flaws: werewolves (Space Wolves), vampires (Blood Angels), conspiracy theorists (Dark Angels), masochistic (Imperial Fists), God-Emperor knows what their Primach did to them (Raven Guard), self-mutilating (Iron Hands) and just plain boring (Ultramarines). The only ones that don't seem to be flawed are Salamanders and White Scars, but just probably just because they haven't been mentioned in a while.
*** Possibly recklessness for the White Scars and pyromania for the Salamanders?

* The ''FinalFantasy'' LOVES villains with this backstory.

*** Actually, he wasn't the only prototype, {{Crisis Core}} has [[spoiler: Genesis Raphsodos]] who also qualifies as a FlawedPrototype. Unlike Sephiroth, he was nuts to begin with, and only gets worse when he discovers [[spoiler: that he was not only a failure from the project ''before'' the one that spawned Sephiroth, but also [[PowerDegeneration deteorating at a high rate.]]]]
* ''[[FirstEncounterAssaultRecon F.E.A.R.]]'' With all the mention of super soldiers and the opening picture, I was worried for a moment that this was the trope namer.

*** What do you mean, [[spoiler: the pointman]] was a failure? [[spoiler: [[TheStinger He was a complete success.]] ]]]

* Doctor Light was terrified at ''MegaManX'' becoming this, which is why X was sealed for at least 30 years testing his morality. Zero on the other hand, having been built by Wily, was kind of designed to be.
** Considering Zero turned into the co-starring hero of X series, he likely ''inverts'' this trope. [[spoiler:Flashbacks however have him go crazy right after activation, though the suspiciously bloodlike liquid dripping from his hands is never identified as robot oil or blood.]]
*** Wait, Zero was built as Dr. Wily's last creation. If anything, Bass is Zero's prototype, both are based on the same power source, and would be a closer fit.

* KillingFloor the clot is basically a prototype clone of Kevin's dead son. It had all the natural traits of a zombie, aggressive, bloodthirsty and practically cannibalistic
* Played straight in ''[[{{Bioshock}} Bioshock 2]]'' with the Alpha series of [[GiantMook Big Daddies]]; if seperated from their Little Sisters, the Alphas either [[HeroicBSOD go catatonic]] or [[UnstoppableRage psychotic]]. Averted in that the PlayerCharacter Delta is the first and the only one that didn't go insane or fall into a coma [[spoiler: because he died before he could and was cloned]].

** To elaborate, in "Future Shock", he apparently doesn't want Wily to fully conquer the world (or at least instate his draconian policies on it afterwards) because it would mean less nasty uprisings to squash. In the regular timeline, he seems to be perpetually trigger-happy.
* Alpha in ''MenInBlack The Animated Series'', who while still a normal human went rogue, got a case of TranshumanTreachery and started grafting alien organs into himself.

* Played strait in ''[[{{Bioshock}} Bioshock 2]]'' with the Alpha series of [[GiantMook Big Daddies]]. Averted in that the PlayerCharacter is the first and the only one that didn't go insane or fall into a coma [[spoiler: because he died before he could and was cloned]].

* Inverted with Axl: Axl was a prototype to the transforming next-generation Reploids, yet he himself is actually quite sane (even if he has a slight BloodKnight nature to him), it's the mass produced versions that were insane.

* In ''FinalFantasyVI'', it's implied throughout the game that Kefka was the first MagiTek knight created by TheEmpire, and he was driven insane by the process. (Luckily, they got it right with Celes.)
*** Not merely implied. In the SNES version at least, an NPC on your first trip to the Empire's capital city will flat out tell you this exact story. Kefka, psycho-prototype, "something broke" in his brain.
** Kuja from ''FinalFantasyIX'' is this in addition to a FlawedPrototype.
*** Intentionally flawed. Of course, the doomsday weapon they were trying to produce was [[spoiler: ZIDANE]] of all people, so they CLEARLY didn't learn anything from the prototype phase.
** ''DissidiaFinalFantasy'' reveals that [[spoiler:''[[FinalFantasyI Garland]]'']], of all villains, was one. He was a SuperPrototype, too; his powers were once strong enough to defeat [[ThatOneBoss Omega]] and all the summoned beasts in his world.

*** Actually, he wasn't the prototype, SOLDIER was founded after they had seen what Sephiroth was capable of. Yet we find a very straight example in {{Crisis Core}}: [[spoiler: Genesis Raphsodos]] who also qualifies as a FlawedPrototype. Unlike Sephiroth, he was nuts to begin with, but when he found out [[spoiler: That he was not only a failure from the project before the one that spawned Sephiroth, but also [[PowerDegeneration deteorating at a high rate]], he proceeded to [[SelfMadeOrphan kill his adoptive Parents]],[[WhereIWasBornAndRazed destroy his hometown]],[[TranshumanTreachery start a war]], turn hundreds of innocent people into clones of himself, and of course, to make the life of the 'perfect monster' Sephiroth a living hell. Not to mention that he [[KarmaHoudini got away with it.]]]]
*** However, it has to be noted that the same Trope was outright averted in the Case of [[spoiler: [[TheObiWan Angeal.]] who never turned outright evil. However, he still doesn't take TheReveal very well and sets things up so that poor Zack has to [[ICannotSelfTerminate kill him.]]]]

* Wing Zero, Epyon, and the Zero System of GundamWing may count: a SuperPrototype mobile suit, it's EvilTwin, and empathic AI system so ungodly powerful that if the MS's didn't outright kill the pilots from physical stress, the AI would drive them insane and cause them to kill anyone they found even mildly annoying in the immediate vicinity. All five of the other Gundams (Wing, Deathscythe, Shenlong, Heavyarms, and Sandrock) were developed as weaker versions of Wing Zero, since the creators figured no human could ever pilot it (only Miliardo and Heero proved physically capable of withstanding Zero's and Epyon's power, and only those two AND Quatre learned to handle the Zero System).

** Wow, you ''don't'' count Wolverine as psycho?
*** Compared to the rest of the Weapon Plus subjects he's a freaking saint. Wolverine has a berserker side to him (one that he actively represses) and doesn't really subscribe to ThouShaltNotKill but he's a decent enough guy otherwise. To put things in perspective, out of all of the rest, the next most sympathetic and likable ones are the GentlemanThief Weapon 13 (who isn't seen much) and {{Deadpool}}. That said, all three have, whether by accident or not, killed innocent people in the past.
*** Also, Wolverine was an HeroicSociopath looong before the Weapon Plus programme. Given the incidents of {{Origin}}, it's really kind of understandable that he'd snap and have a see the life as a CrapSackWorld.

** Hello!!!! The Primarchs definitely qualify. I mean each one of them is a superprototype for his respective legion, half(half plus one if you conside that Alpharion had a twin) of them went batshit crazy and turned to Chaos. The other half left their legions whit several flaws: werewolves (Space Wolves), vampires (Blood Angels), conspiracy theorists (Dark Angels), masochistic (Imperial Fists), God-Emperor knows what their Primach did to them (Raven Guard), self-mutilating (Iron Hands) and just plain boring (Ultramarines). The only ones that don't seem to be flawed are Salamanders and White Scars, but just probably just because they haven't been mentioned in a while.

* In ''FinalFantasyVI'', it's implied throughout the game that Kefka was the first MagiTek knight created by TheEmpire, and he was driven insane by the process. (Luckily, they got it right with Celes.)

* There's a game where the player ''is'' the Psycho Prototype. The name? ''{{Prototype}}''.

* Dr. Octopus' tentacles from ''Film/SpiderMan 2'' should qualify.

* In ''{{Avengers}}: The Initiative'', the early casualty Michael Van Patrick (MVP) has many clones. One of them is the AxeCrazy KIA (Killed In Action), who somehow has MVP's memories and ''remembers'' his own death. Even worse, he remembers the people who were around when he died, and he considers them all responsible. Mayhem ensues.
** KIA wasn't the first clone though. He also only went psycho when the Initiative tried to bond him with the Tactigon -- the alien empathic living weapon that ''killed the original MVP''. The Tactigon showed the clone the original MVP's death which drove him completely insane.

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* The Prototype and Test Type models 00 and 01 of ''NeonGenesisEvangelion''

* Doctor Light of the ''MegamanX'' was terrified at X becoming this, which is why X was sealed for at least 30 years testing his morality. Zero on the other hand, having been built by Wily, was kind of designed to be.

* Proto Man, but only in the ''MegaMan'' animated series. In the games he's more of an AloofBigBrother; he also has some kind of design flaw in his power plant or buster that can prove fatal, and means he has less health.

So, you've got a SuperSoldier program, perhaps an [[AIIsACrapshoot AI research]] initiative, an organization that has access to all sorts of {{Phlebotinum}} goodness for it's operatives, or some other [[ForScience cutting edge experiment]] designed to [[ScaleOfScientificSins alter]] or CreateLife.

* In TadWilliams' ''{{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.

Contrast EvilKnockoff, NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup. Parent Trope of BetaBaddie. See also FlawedPrototype.