History Main / ReforgedIntoAMinion

* ''Film/SuperMarioBros'' has a scene of Koopa reforging the rebel musician Toad into a mindlessly obedient Goomba with the help of his De-evolution Machine.

* This is the SOP of ''all'' the Succubae in ''Fanfic/TheReturn'', both the protagonists and the antagonists. The worst offender in it is Alexia though. [[EvenEvilHasStandards Even the other demons]] thinks she's excessively evil about it. Sailor Dark [[spoiler:Mercury]] has a similar stance towards recruitment.

* In the ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'' fanfic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/16641969/chapters/39017388 The Things We Wish We Could Forget]]'' Alpha-Church is recovered by Malcolm Hargrove after he is thought dead from the EMP blast at the end of Season 6, and is reprogrammed so that his memories and moral code are erased so that he will aid in Hargrove's campaign to wipe out Chorus as the amnesiac and amoral mercenary Valdis. He eventually snaps out of his brainwashing thanks to his returning memories of the Reds and Blues.

* ''Series/GekisouSentaiCarranger'' and ''Series/PowerRangersTurbo'' both had an episode where the MonsterOfTheWeek turned out to be a hero who had the unfortunate fate of being captured by the villains and brainwashed into being their dishwasher.
* In ''Series/PowerRangersMysticForce'' and ''Series/MahouSentaiMagiranger'', Leanbow/Isamu was TheHero of the GreatOffscreenWar twenty years prior, who stayed behind to make sure that [[SealedEvilInACan the seal on the evil can worked]]. This naturally resulted in him being trapped in there with the evil badly wounded from fighting off an army alone, which then took his unconscious body and reforged him into Koragg/Wolzard, their new BlackKnight [[TheDragon dragon]]. Yes, becoming a BlackKnight qualifies as being reforged, it's a transformation rather than a suit of armor, and he stayed in that form the full twenty years until the spell was broken.
* In ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger'', Joe learns that Walz Gil's bodyguard Barizorg is actually his old friend Sid, whom he thought had sacrificed himself to help him escape, but was actually rebuilt into a cyborg and brainwashed.
* ''Franchise/KamenRider'': Several of the heroes in the early series of the franchise come out of failed attempts to do this, starting with the original one. Of course, there are also villains who are the result of successful attempts.

* In the ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' fanfic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/16641969/chapters/39017388 The Things We Wish We Could Forget]]'' Alpha-Church is recovered by Malcolm Hargrove after he is thought dead from the EMP blast at the end of Season 6, and is reprogrammed so that his memories and moral code are erased so that he will aid in Hargrove's campaign to wipe out Chorus as the amnesiac and amoral mercenary Valdis. He eventually snaps out of his brainwashing thanks to his returning memories of the Reds and Blues.

* In ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'', [[spoiler:all of the Faces are examples of this trope, most notably Mumkhar, Fiora, and Gadolt. They're cybernetically altered Homs who pilot giant robots, rather than autonomous Mechon. This renders them immune to the Monado, but susceptible to any and all BrainwashedAndCrazy-related tropes]].

** Defied, but eventually Subverted in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiV'', regarding [[MutuallyExclusivePartyMembers Michael and Belial]]. On the Law route, ArchangelMichael asks the protagonist to slay [[BigRedDevil Belial]] and promises to join in return, and vice versa on the Chaos route. Right before the protagonist can deal the final blow, an ally of the targeted demon intervenes, urging them to run so that their power does not fall into the protagonist's hands. Although, one can pursue the other route in a NewGamePlus.

** Defied in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiV'', regarding [[MutuallyExclusivePartyMembers Michael and Belial]]. On the Law route, ArchangelMichael asks the protagonist to slay [[BigRedDevil Belial]] and promises to join in return, and vice versa on the Chaos route. Right before the protagonist can deal the final blow, an ally of the targeted demon intervenes, urging them to run so that their power does not fall into the protagonist's hands.

[[folder:Roleplays]]

* [[spoiler:After the battle against an enhanced Redmask and [[Franchise/{{Godzilla}} Kiryu]] hitting him with his Absolute Zero Cannon,]] Grim was near death. [[spoiler:Once INSANITY stole Grim's soul, keystone fragment, and improbability drive,]] the skeleton was found. The skeleton was bought by [[spoiler:OSAKI]], which used it to create a robot that could bend reality and overpower most of the Heroes of Time.

[[folder:Roleplay]]
* ReforgedIntoAMinion: [[spoiler:After the battle against an enhanced Redmask and [[Franchise/{{Godzilla}} Kiryu]] hitting him with his Absolute Zero Cannon, Grim was near death. Once INSANITY stole Grim's soul, keystone fragment, and improbability drive, the skeleton was found. The skeleton was bought by OSAKI, which used it to create a robot.]]

* ''Series/GekisoSentaiCarranger'' and ''Series/PowerRangersTurbo'' both had an episode where the MonsterOfTheWeek turned out to be a hero who had the unfortunate fate of being captured by the villains and brainwashed into being their dishwasher.

* ComicBook/IncredibleHulk: Back in TheNineties the Leader used the dead body and mostly dead brain of Thunderbolt Ross to power the Redeemer armor.

** [[spoiler:If the player picks the "Absolute Power" ending, Superman not only kills ComicBook/{{Brainiac}} and bonds with his ship, he also condemns Batman to a FateWorseThanDeath by turning him into a brainwashed minion and threatens Supergirl with cyborgization if she refuses to become TheDragon to his new Regime. It's implied that he also turned Batman's allies and members of the Society into cybernetic minions in his arcade ending.]]
** [[spoiler:Gorilla Grodd does a similar thing in his Arcade ending, where he [[TheStarscream betrays Brainiac]] and uses his technology to not only enhance his telekinetic powers, but also turn Batman and his allies into brainwashed cyborgs just like Superman did in his ending.]]
** [[spoiler:In Darkseid's Arcade ending, not only does the tyrannical Lord of Apokolips kill Superman to avenge the death of his son Kalibak, he also turns Supergirl into a [[TheDragon brainwashed]] [[BrainwashedAndCrazy Female Fury]], complete with EvilCostumeSwitch that is very similar to the one she wore in ''WesternAnimation/SupermanBatmanApocalypse'' during her stint as Darkseid's minion.]]

* ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcomClashOfTheSuperheroes'': The SecretCharacter known as Shadow Lady is [[Franchise/StreetFighter Chun-Li]] from an AlternateUniverse who was [[UnwillingRoboticization forcibly turned into a brainwashed cyborg]] for Shadaloo. In retaliation for foiling their operations, Shadaloo kidnapped and robotized her for the sake of transforming her into M. Bison's [[TheDragon top assassin]]. Unlike Shadow--a brainwashed Charlie Nash, who escaped shortly after being transformed--Shadaloo added a RestrainingBolt to Shadow Lady's programming so she would remain fully loyal to them. As Shadow Lady, [[CyberneticsEatYourSoul her formerly cheerful personality was obliterated]], transforming her into a emotionless minion. [[spoiler:In her ending however, Shadow Lady [[HeroicWillpower overcomes Shadaloo's brainwashing]], regain her original memories as Chun-Li, and join forces with Shadow in taking down Shadaloo]].

** Series wide: Doubling as a LiteralMetaphor, the Cyber Initiative sought to create powerful army of highly efficient Lin Kuei ninja by turning them into deadly cyborgs. At first the original Grandmaster did so on a volunteer basis, but then Sektor killed him and started [[UnwillingRoboticisation forcing all Lin Kuei to convert]], while also [[BrainwashedAndCrazy making them loyal and kill-happy]]. In particular, Cyrax was quite unhappy with being forced to become a Cyber Lin Kuei assassin, thinking that being a machine meant he would lose his soul. [[spoiler:While Sub-Zero also got converted, a way to reverse the process was found. In ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'', Cyrax sacrificed his robot body to help Sub-Zero and Hanzo Hasashi escape, after which they grabbed his memory core and ran]].

** ''WesternAnimation/BeastMachines'': Megatron has turned tons of garden-variety transformers into mindless mooks, and two out of the three members of his QuirkyMinibossSquad are ex-heroes who have been reforged into new bodies with new personalities.

** ''WesternAnimation/BeastMachines'': Megatron has turned tons of garden-variety transformers into mindless mooks, and two out of the three members of his QuirkyMinibossSquad are ex-heroes who have been reforged into new bodies/personalities.

* In ''Manga/ChainsawMan'', [[spoiler:the [[HorsemenOfTheApocalypse Conquest Devil]], Makima]], is shown to have the power to reanimate the dead to serve as their minions, which they proceeds to use on to [[spoiler:all of the devil-human hybrids she and Denji killed up to that point]].

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral'' both contain the Dreadlords, 12 [[EliteMooks immortal warrior souls]] who posses the bodies of powerful fallen warriors. ''VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral'' will use allies who you either [[PlayerPunch failed to protect or were not recruited]], while ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' implies the BadFuture versions possessed [[EverybodysDeadDave the allies who were killed by the]] BigBad.

* In ''Manga/ChainsawMan'', [[spoiler:the [[HorsemenOfTheApocalypse Conquest Devil]], Makima, is shown to have the power to reanimate the dead to serve as her minions and proceeds to do this to all of the devil-human hybrids she & Denji killed up to that point]].

* Comicbook/{{Psylocke}} was long thought to be this after she returned from Japan transformed into a psychic ninja assassin. The truth turned out to be a bit more complicated.
* ''Comicbook/{{Galactus}}'': All of the heralds of Galactus are former mortals who made a DealWithTheDevil: spare my planet in exchange for my service. Galactus would then bestow them with a small portion of his own power, creating both a link between the two and transforming the new herald into one of the most powerful beings in the cosmos.

* ''Comicbook/{{Empowered}}'': This is the M.O. of supervillain Deathmonger, as she's a {{Necromancer}}.

** In Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}'s books, Comicbook/{{Brainiac}} came upon a dying Zor-El (Supergirl's father). Brainiac mindwiped Zor-El and rebuilt his body, turning him into the new Cyborg Superman.

* ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}'': [[spoiler:Porky uses the body of Claus, your brother who goes missing at the end of Chapter 1, for creating his cyborg [[TheDragon henchman]]]].
* In ''Videogame/NeverwinterNights2'' after [[TheStarscream Black Garius']] death, he and the priests who were helping him are resurrected by [[BigBad The King of Shadows]] as Shadow Reavers, immensely powerful undead beings who act as The King's main agents for the rest of the game.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* The "Angelo" demons in the ''Videogame/DevilMayCry'' series are (usually unwilling) victims bound to demonic suits of armor. One recurring boss in the [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry1 first game]], Nelo Angelo, is [[spoiler:Dante's brother Vergil after being defeated by Mundus at the end of the third game and bonded to his armor.]] The concept makes a return in the [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry5 fifth game]] with the Scudo and Proto Angelos, prototypes of Nelo Angelo, likely also created from helpless human victims. One of the bosses, Cavaliere Angelo, is a more advanced Angelo that uses [[spoiler:Trish as its host.]] The fifth game also has a non-Angelo example in the form of the boss Artemis [[spoiler:which is the result of Lady being bonded to the Demonic weapon Artemis seen in the third game.]]

* ''VideoGame/StarCraft'': This is fairly common practice for the Zerh.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTVSpecials'': In "Rescue at Midnight Castle", Tirac is evidently very proficient at and fond of doing this; all of his servants are other creatures he transformed into their present selves, with Spike as a sole exception. Scorpan was the human prince of a kingdom that Tirac conquered, he turns ponies into monstrous dragons with which to pull his chariot, and when he's defeated it's revealed that his guards are transformed butterflies and his stratadons transformed songbirds.

* In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyondReturnOfTheJoker'', The Joker turns out to have done this to [[spoiler:Tim Drake]], in a way that marks his definitive crossing of the MoralEventHorizon in the Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse. [[spoiler:After capturing him while he was on patrol, Joker proceeded to horribly torture and brainwash the poor kid over an extended period, eventually turning him into "Joker Junior." The brainwashing held out until Batman and Joker's final battle when Joker ordered Tim to finish Batman off, only for Tim to kill Joker instead, although it took a year of psychotherapy to bring Tim back to himself after this. Even ''that'' didn't completely rid Tim and the others of the Joker, [[GrandTheftMe unfortunately]].]]

* The "Angelo" demons in the ''Videogame/DevilMayCry'' series are (usually unwilling) victims bound to demonic suits of armor. One recurring boss in the first game, Nelo Angelo, is [[spoiler:Dante's brother Vergil after being defeated by Mundus at the end of the third game and bonded to his armor.]] The concept makes a return in the fifth game with the Scudo and Proto Angelos, prototypes of Nelo Angelo, likely also created from helpless human victims. One of the bosses, Cavaliere Angelo, is a more advanced Angelo that uses [[spoiler:Trish as its host.]] The fifth game also has a non-Angelo example in the form of the boss Artemis [[spoiler:which is the result of Lady being bonded to the Demonic weapon Artemis seen in the third game.]]

Compare TheCorrupter and MinionManipulatedIntoVillainy. If the subject has HeroicWillpower, may result in a PhlebotinumRebel. A type of FaceMonsterTurn. Can result in a MonsterFromBeyondTheVeil. A DarthVaderClone may have this as its origin. Not to be confused with DegradedBoss, where a boss enemy becomes a regular mook.