History Main / ResistTheBeast

!! Examples:

[[folder:Comicbooks]]

* Several times in ''Franchise/{{Bionicle}}''. Most of the 2005 storyline revolves around The Toa Hordika wrestling with their BeastMan nature. Also, Lewa had to do this during the time he was possessed by a [[FaceHugger Krana]].

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They will stubbornly resist the monster that they are turning into, trying in vain to stay in control of their mind and body lest they go on a terrible rampage. After an appropriately dramatic fight, they fail, and the monster is released (often going after the person they were with at the time who, of course, failed to follow the order to get away), though not before we get a full scene showing them fighting tooth and nail against their darker side. That is, at least until it wears off (until the next time) or someone, generally another person they care about, is forced to stop them.

See also IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight, TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody, and EnemyWithin. Generally characters who go through this a lot are full of self loathing and may be {{Death Seeker}}s, or make moves to keep themselves under lock and key, so that they can't hurt anyone anymore. Often accompanies a FaceMonsterTurn.

* A chapter of ''Manga/VenusVersusVirus'' has a girl who has been attacked by a Virus coming to Lucia to ask for help with her sibling. She doesn't consciously remember the attack and just thinks a monster is stalking her brother. Subconsciously she knew she was becoming a Virus though and later she's shown trying to resist it. Lucia kills her before she can and [[DyingAsYourself she dies as her normal self]].

* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'': In Mockingjay [[spoiler:a hijacked Peeta]] spends a large section of the book fighting the urge to kill [[spoiler:Katniss]], asking the others to kill [[spoiler:him]], refusing to have [[spoiler:his]] handcuffs removed and using the pain of the too tightly wound cuffs to keep [[spoiler:himself]] sane.

* ''Manga/GakkouGurashi'': In truly horrific fashion. [[spoiler:Megu-nee]] gets turned into a zombie protecting the kids. While she's clawing at that their door she shows a brief lapse of sentience and becomes horrified of what she's becoming. She locks herself away in the basement of the school so she wouldn't hurt the girls, though she later bites a character when they go down there and is KilledOffForReal by Miki.

* The Red Court vampires in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' don't turn into full-blood vamps after being infected until they give in to hunger and lethally feed on a human being. Some half-bloods are known to have resisted the temptation for centuries.

* ''Manga/GakkouGurashi'':In truly horrific fashion. [[spoiler:Megu-nee]] gets turned into a zombie protecting the kids. While she's clawing at that their door she shows a brief lapse of sentience and becomes horrified of what she's becoming. She locks herself away in the basement of the school so she wouldn't hurt the girls, though she later bites a character when they go down there and is KilledOffForReal by Miki.

* ''Manga/GakkouGurashi'':In truly horrific fashion:
-->[[spoiler:'''Megu-nee''':Yuki, Kurumi, Yuuri, I'm so hungry. Open the door... I love you all so Why WHY WHY WON'T YOU OPEN THE DOOR]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Yuki''':Megu-nee!]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Megu-nee''':NO No NO! THIS ISN'T WHAT I SHOULD BE DOING! I'M HUNGRY BUT.. I'M HUNGRY BUT...! (Going towards the shelter were the medicine is stored)THANK GOODNESS IT'S OPEN... JUST A LITTLE FURTHER- YUKI, KURUMI, YUURI... I'M SORRY EVERY-ONE THIS IS AS FAR AS I GO... I WONDER IF I'LL EVER SEE THEM AGAIN...(flash forward, a now fully zombie-fied Megu-nee, meets one of the girls with tragic results.)]]

* Some {{Serial Killer}}s have tried to get themselves arrested or institutionalized as a way of stopping themselves from murdering people. Sometimes it works. Other times...

A necessary part of the TragicMonster is the part where the ordinary person ''becomes'' [[EnemyWithin the monster]], despite all their resistance to the change.

* ''AngelSanctuary'': Rosiel presumably went through this, though he's [[AxCrazy long gone]] by the time the story starts.
* In the manga ''{{Claymore}}'', the warriors can gain immense power by tapping into their SuperPoweredEvilSide, but need to resist its temptations or go too deep in and become a monster themselves. [[spoiler: Those who manage to pull themselves back from the very brink of going to the dark side and "Awakening" gain a boost in power and can tap their power more freely than the others.]]
* ''GakkouGurashi'':In truly horrific fashion:

* Doctor Curt Connors of ''[[ComicBook/SpiderMan Spider-Man]]'', being another character influenced by [[TragicMonster Tragic Movie Monsters]], has lots of scenes like this as he's turning into the Lizard. He failed in the worst way possible [[spoiler:when he ''devoured his own son''. Curt effectively died after that, leaving only the Lizard.]]
* ComicBook/{{Morbius}} the Living Vampire, though always visibly a monster, faces this trope psychologically when his bloodlust hits him in an inconvenient time.
* Pulled off quite nicely by Doctor Doom in ''MarvelZombies''. Doctor Doom, out of literally everyone in the MarvelUniverse, is the only one who can remain himself permanently while infected through ''[[HeroicWillpower sheer willpower alone]]''.

* Dillon Cole wrestles with his destructive urges in ''Literature/ScorpionShards'', gradually succumbing to them and unwittingly [[spoiler:feeding and strengthening the otherworldly parasite corrupting him]].

* This trope plays out a number of times with Oz, a werewolf, in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. Before his status is out in the open he tries to get Willow to leave without telling her ''why'' (fearing he's going to be killed after having overheard Buffy say she's going to off the werewolf when she finds it). Later, in "Beauty and the Beasts", he even tells her to get away from him ''after'' he's been locked up in a cage.
** Similarly, [[DefectorFromDecadence Angel]] is shown having to [[ColdTurkeysEverywhere resist feeding on humans]] in the episode "Angel" where his vampiric nature is first revealed. [[FemmeFatale Darla]] attempts to tempt him into feeding on a wounded Joyce.

* ''ForeverKnight'' used this a lot, with Nick trying to resist losing control of himself and killing someone.

* The vampires in ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'' literally have to resist the Beast, where "Beast" is a lore term for their compulsion to just let loose and feed upon any human within reach (usually breaking TheMasquerade in process). To resist it, you have to pass Willpower checks every time the character experiences a particularly traumatic event, such as being exposed to fire or even sunlight. Having high [[KarmaMeter Humanity]] score also helps. Fail one too many checks and your character turns into a mindless bloodsucker, though.
** In the spiritual successor, ''TabletopGame/VampireTheRequiem'', the Beast is still present and at war with the Man. However, various vampire groups have developed ways to ease the struggle. The Ordo Dracul have a Coil of the Beast that makes the struggle simpler (at its final level, you can give in for an hour to defeat it for the rest of the night), and the bloodline known as the Kukufuuji have developed a discipline based on restraining it.

* The second ''{{Ouendan}}'' game has the teenage werewolf Ooyama Garou try to avoid staring at round objects while on a date, as that is what triggers his transformation. Unlike most examples, this is played for comedy and his trigger are things like balloons, baseballs, and even the shiny bald head of his boss. Assuming the player wins the level, his girlfriend is totally unfazed by his werewolf form because she's a dog lover. And what sets him off at the end? ''Her eyes.''
* In the worgen starting zone in ''WorldOfWarcraft'', you're sent to talk to this one guy and he growls at you to stay away, then loses control and attacks you, at which point a teammate of yours comes in and shoots him. You shrug off the resulting wound as [[ZombieInfectee 'probably nothing']], and say nothing about it even when it starts festering and you're feeling quite ill.

* In ''VideoGame/MeltyBlood'', Vampire Sion/Sion TATARI (Sion who had given in to her vampiric impulses) is a playable character. In contrast to regular Sion's collected and stoic composure, V. Sion/TATARI is more noticably emotional in her speech - several of her pre-fight quotes are either screams of pain or halting pleas for whoever she's fighting to run away.

* In the same vein, vampires in the webcomic ''TheKingfisher'' risk mindless blood frenzy if they don't drink blood regularly. This isn't the focus of the story so it doesn't come up much.

* Several times in ''{{Bionicle}}''. Most of the 2005 storyline revolves around The Toa Hordika wrestling with their BeastMan nature. Also, Lewa had to do this during the time he was possessed by a [[FaceHugger Krana]].

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* Inverted in ''Film/XMenFirstClass'', when Professor X tells Henry [=McCoy=] to "set the beast free." Here, the "Beast" is portrayed as natural instinct, rather than evil.

* In the worgen starting zone in ''WorldOfWarcraft'', you're sent to talk to this one guy and he growls at you to stay away, then loses control and attacks you, at which point a teammate of your comes in and shoots him. You shrug off the resulting wound as [[ZombieInfectee 'probably nothing']], and say nothing about it even when it starts festering and you're feeling quite ill.

* ComicBook/{{Morbius}} The Living Vampire, though always visibly a monster, faces this trope psychologically when his bloodlust hits him in an inconvenient time.

* {{Morbius}} The Living Vampire, though always visibly a monster, faces this trope psychologically when his bloodlust hits him in an inconvenient time.

* The plot of the Flash game ''I Can't Escape''. The hero is a werewolf who realizes he's only got a few hours before the moon rises, and must try to restrain himself as best he can.