History Main / RootingForTheEmpire

* The villains just happen to be [[EvilisCool cooler]], [[SensibleHeroesSkimpyVillains sexier]], or [[EvilPaysBetter better funded/paid]] than the heroes.

Where the villains of a series become more popular than the good guys. The heroes start to rub the fans the wrong way, and a notable proportion of the fandom now dislikes and actively bashes the main characters. For these fans they can almost become a {{Hatedom}}, yet they call themselves fans and continue to read/watch/play the source material because they like the bad guys. Rooting for the Empire is fairly common in a story with a VillainProtagonist, due to the natural tendency for audiences to bond with the viewpoint character of any story; but there are many other reasons for this attitude to take hold. Having their [[EvilVersusEvil conflict be against other]] ([[EvilerThanThou sometimes even worse]]) bad guys rather than heroic antagonists tends to cause either this or [[TooBleakStoppedCaring being too apathetically grim]]. It also often happens in works with a DesignatedHero and/or DesignatedVillain where the supposed empire isn't so imperialistic after all.

* The evilness of the villains being an InformedAttribute, while the [[DesignatedHero supposed heroes]] perform [[WhatTheHellHero morally dubious deeds]].

* The villains just happen to be [[EvilisCool cooler]], [[SkimpyVillainsChasteHeroes sexier]], or [[EvilPaysBetter better funded/paid]] than the heroes.

* The villains just happen to be [[EvilisCool cooler]], [[EvilisSexy sexier]], or [[EvilPaysBetter better funded/paid]] than the heroes.

* Sinestro in ''Franchise/GreenLantern'' has been getting some attention in this manner recently, mainly due to him being a very charismatic villain and his arguments against the Guardians being too involved with their mysteries and prophecies to do an effective job policing the cosmos.

* The anti-mutant human villains in ComicBook/XMen can also look sympathetic at times to some readers. The ''mutants'' often cause terrible mayhem as well, ranging from the often lethal PowerIncontinence of sympathetic ones to all-out attempts by one would-be EvilOverlord or another to conquer America (or the world) and either enslave or exterminate [[MugglePower the "flatscan" humans]], with democratic and civil-rights-abiding governments time and again shown [[MilitariesAreUseless largely powerless]] to stop them. All of which makes at least some fans think that just maybe the anti-mutant StrawmanHasAPoint, mutants ''are'' dangerous, and after ComicBook/{{Magneto}} tries to destroy civilization for the Xth or Yth time and [[JokerImmunity gets away with a slap on the wrist]], they'll be quite happy to vote for [[KnightTemplar Senator Kelly]] if only he'll sic some sufficiently big Sentinels on the Master of Magnetism and his cronies.\\
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The [[PuttingOnTheReich Genoshans]] are an especially sympathetic example, in large part because they ''lose'', and we get to see the human cost to the "normals" when mutants are free to dominate a country. Basically, the Genoshans forcibly conscripted their mutants and forced them to work for the betterment of their country under close supervision, giving Genosha's non-powered population (the huge majority) a supremely high standard of living. [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil While this is unquestionably evil]], it's not done in the style of cackling, CardCarryingVillain evil, and they justify themselves to the X-Men in the first story they appear in by pointing out that if they ''don't'' keep the mutants under strict control, these few but very powerful individuals will quickly take over their country, smashing the freedom and democracy the vast majority of the Genoshan people are presently enjoying. The X-Men, of course, liberated the mutants anyway at the end of ''X-Tinction Event''--And the freed mutants [[CassandraTruth promptly did exactly that]], first destroying Genosha in a devastating civil war in ''Bloodties'' and then turning what remained of it into a [[BewareTheSuperman mutant-supremacist]] PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny in ''Magneto Rex''. Genoshan expatriates are understandably extremely bitter about all this, and at least for some readers it's hard not to admit that they sort of have a point. Also, their [[CapeBusters special police force]] that kept the mutants in check was a BadassArmy with [[DoomTroops majorly cool uniforms]], which probably added to their appeal.

* ''Franchise/StarWars: ComicBook/{{Legacy}}'' plays with this, due to its BlackAndGrayMorality. For the most part, the two main {{Big Bad}}s, the Sith and TheEmpire have made major reforms. The Sith, while still quite evil, have abandoned many of their old ways in favor of working together as one (one even saves another's life after spending the whole issue arguing, because "We are Sith"), plus they have EvilIsSexy on their side. While TheEmpire is now a force of good in the Galaxy and most of its [[FantasticRacism anti-nonhuman ways]] are behind them. The Republic has been reduced to a handful of planets and ships whose only act in the comics have been a stealing a Sith SuperPrototype [[NiceJobBreakingItHero which the Empire had already rigged with bombs so it would look like a malfunction]] causing the Sith to blame the Mon Calamari (who aided the Republic) and declare war (meaning genocide). The Jedi, while still good, are back to being a HiddenElfVillage to the point where they refused to aid the Mon Calamari. The main character, last of the Skywalkers, is a total {{Jerkass}} just looking out for himself (and abusing his powers) as a result of being sick of all the ButThouMust his family (as Force ghosts) and fellow Jedi have been ramming down his throat.

* In ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan'', quite a lot of fans are starting to root for any supervillain who's against Spider-Man ([[spoiler:aka. ComicBook/DoctorOctopus in Spider-Man's body, which he has stolen]]) due to [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope his increasingly]] [[ItGetsEasier amoral behavior]]. At first this was just the fans, but as the comic continues it seems to be ''intentional''. Helped by the fact that most of said supervillains are of the IneffectualSympatheticVillain variety or are [[EvilIsCool really cool]]. This has ultimately boiled down to watching the Goblin King and his army tearing down ''everything'' [[spoiler:Otto]] had built up.
* The Marvel event ''ComicBook/WorldWarHulk'' had most readers rooting for [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk the Hulk]], mainly because of all the crap ComicBook/TheIlluminati put him through. It even happened in the story with many bystanders siding with the Hulk. Another major factor was the events of ''ComicBook/CivilWar2006''. It's hard to root for the heroes when they've forced all superhumans to work solely for the government, enslaving, imprisoning, and killing everyone who disobeys. It even leaked into ''ComicBook/SecretInvasion'', with some readers hoping that the Skrulls would manage to conquer Earth and enslave the {{muggle|s}} population to teach them a thing or two about freedom. While the Skrulls didn't win, ''this'' led to ''ComicBook/DarkReign'' with ComicBook/NormanOsborn as head cop, with some fans rooting for Osborn and his ComicBook/DarkAvengers, which was even Marvel's top-selling book month after month during its run.

* The Marvel event ''ComicBook/WorldWarHulk'' had most readers rooting for [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk the Hulk]], mainly because of all the crap ComicBook/TheIlluminati put him through. It even happened in the story with many bystanders siding with the Hulk. Another major factor was the events of ''ComicBook/CivilWar''. It's hard to root for the heroes when they've forced all superhumans to work solely for the government, enslaving, imprisoning, and killing everyone who disobeys. It even leaked into ''ComicBook/SecretInvasion'', with some readers hoping that the Skrulls would manage to conquer Earth and enslave the {{muggle|s}} population to teach them a thing or two about freedom. While the Skrulls didn't win, ''this'' led to ''ComicBook/DarkReign'' with ComicBook/NormanOsborn as head cop, with some fans rooting for Osborn and his ComicBook/DarkAvengers, which was even Marvel's top-selling book month after month during its run.

** Some fans honestly believe that the White Fang are actually good guys. The logic: they're a civil rights movement for an oppressed ethnic minority, who just want to be respected and sometimes resort to extreme measures. They wouldn't have so many recruits willing to lay down their lives if they didn't have some merit, right?[[note]]Some of the more intense defenders even equate the Fang to real-world minority rights groups and equate supporting the Fang to supporting real-world minority rights. They consistently fail to notice or acknowledge that the real-world groups they're mentioning ''aren't'' mass-murdering terrorists.[[/note]] In reality, the Fang ''started'' as a civil rights movement and became a faunus ''supremacy'' terrorist movement, one member of the eponymous team left it for precisely that reason, the Fang murdered the family members of another [[note]]which actually increased her prejudice against Faunus, in an obvious commentary on cycles of revenge and hate[[/note]], they have no problem attacking innocent non-combatants ''including Faunus'', and at the end of Season 3, [[spoiler:they willingly participated in a literal terror attack so bad it that makes [=9/11=] look like a house of cards fell over]]. So once the Fang were done JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope, what do their defenders do? Blame bad writing, even though the Fang are clearly modeled on the many real-life political movements that fell into the same pitfalls.
** Like the White Fang, there is a good portion of fans who take Ironwood's side in volumes 7 and 8, ignoring, downplaying, or justifying his actions while demonizing Team RWBY for lying to him and hiding the truth about Ozpin and Salem, accusing them as hypocrites for being angry at Ozpin for keeping it a secret while doing the same thing to Ironwood. Even when he goes off the deep end such as [[spoiler: planning to abandon and eventually threaten to bomb the city of Mantle, declaring martial law and become a dictator, ordering everyone’s arrest, shooting Oscar who tried to reason with him, executing councilman Sleet, and forcing Dr. Watts to hack into Penny who refuses to cooperate]]. The fans that don’t try to justify his actions tend to blame bad writing as their defense for how Ironwood's character was treated in the show, conveniently glossing over his numerous failings in previous volumes and the fact that his actions are pretty much expansions of his prior behavior, just driven to their logical extreme under lost sanity and suppression of his fear.

* Completing the cereal-ad trifecta, many ads for Cocoa and Fruity Pebbles feature ostensible-protagonist Barney stealing ostensible-antagonist [[WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones Fred]]'s cereal to shouts of [[CatchPhrase "BARNEY! My PEBBLES!"]] Fred may be overreacting, but once you realize why the thieving little [[Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire Tyrion Lannister]] wannabe doesn't [[JustEatGilligan just buy his own damn cereal]], it's hard not to sympathize with Fred.
* [[https://www.mysymbicort.com/ Symbicort]], a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_obstructive_pulmonary_disease Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease]] medication, have a grandfather with the condition and his grandchildren rooting for TheBigBadWolf to eat Literature/TheThreeLittlePigs, with every commercial ending with [[CatchPhrase "Watch out piggies!"]]

** Like the White Fang, there is a good portion of fans who take Ironwood's side in volumes 7 and 8, ignoring, downplaying, or justifying his actions while demonizing Team RWBY for lying to him and hiding the truth about Ozpin and Salem, accusing them as hypocrites for being angry at Ozpin for keeping it a secret while doing the same thing to Ironwood. Even when he goes off the deep end such as [[spoiler: planning to abandon and eventually threaten to bomb the city of Mantle, declaring martial law and become a dictator, ordering everyone’s arrest, shooting Oscar who tried to reason with him, executing councilman Sleet, and forcing Dr. Watts to hack into Penny who refuses to cooperate]]. The fans that don’t try to justify his actions tend to blame bad writing as their defense for how Ironwood's character was treated in the show.

* Right from the start, UsefulNotes/TonyaHarding had a ''huge'' fanbase, despite being viewed as an [[AcceptableTargets Acceptable Target]] by pretty much everyone else -- which in itself fuels resentment and defiant sympathy on the part of the former group. It helps that [[TooBleakStoppedCaring even people who are sympathetic to Nancy Kerrigan have admitted that she isn't particularly likable either]].

* In ''ComicStrip/TheBoondocks'', Huey says he hated the ''Film/ThePatriot'' so much that he found himself wishing the British would win so he could go home.

* The [[FalseDichotomy choice]] is between a DesignatedHero (or one who is just factually wrong) and a StrawMan of the heroes’ (and writers’) real world opposition.

* Franchises where the audience disagrees strongly with the writer's moral, political or religious values.
* In HistoricalFiction, some in-universe villains are people that many real world viewers would argue were the historical "good guys" (or at least less bad). See also HistoricalVillainUpgrade and HistoricalHeroUpgrade.

* There are hundreds of thousands of people around the world who want the Advertising/TrixRabbit to put a hurting on some smart-assed kids and take their cereal. General Mills has actually played this to their advantage by holding voting contests asking kids if the Trix rabbit should get to have some cereal; the results in three of the contests in 1976, 1980, and 1991, was an overwhelming victory for the "Yes" side.

* It's easy to root for the Dark Egg Legion in ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics''. They do take orders from Eggman, but they aren't completely evil, and most of their members seem to be regular Mobians, bar the cybernetics. Given that the heroes are headed by Sonic, who can be a bit of a {{jerkass}}, and the Kingdom of Acorn, an incredibly ineffectual monarchy that can barely function and made worse with the addition of the [[ObstructiveBureaucrat obstructive]],[[NotSoOmniscientCouncilOfBickering bickering]], and [[HeadInTheSandManagement flat-out useless]] Council of Acorn, as well as their allies like The Brotherhood of Guardians who have their heads either in the sand, the clouds, or up their own asses with the addition of the rest of echindakind being hypocrites about technology, it's no wonder. And they're the only group in the ''world'' who don't actively despise technology. A great example is the Great Desert DEL. They were turned into mindless Robian mooks thanks to UnwillingRoboticisation and forced to fight the Sand Blasters, an extremist group of Freedom Fighters. After being turned back into Mobians, they tried to make peace with the Sand Blasters, but where instead hit with FantasticRacism for being former Robians. In order to survive, they went to Eggman for help, who legionized them. When The Baron, leader of the Great Desert DEL, was confronted about this by his niece, hero Bunnie Rabbot D'Coolette, he responded that being in the DEL isn't so bad. Being legionized means cybernetic upgrades, which in turn make for an awesome health plan, as The Baron pointed out, when he thanked legionization for fixing his "bum knee". He also mentioned something about D'Coolette's being oppressors, which insinuates FantasticRacism within the Kingdom, making them look even worse. Due to the [[CosmicRetcon Super Genesis Wave]], the original Desert DEL will be missed while the Sand Blasters...[[ExiledFromContinuity oh wait]], [[RetGone what Sand Blasters]]?

** The 2014 Fantastic Four annual gave odd case where roles were reversed when [[ComicBook/InvisibleWoman Susan]] came to get her and Reed's daughter Valeria when she chose to live with Doom. Susan tried asking Valeria, only to find her daughter played with her mother's emotions by [[ActuallyADoombot sending a remote controlled robot to speak with her]]. Sue got mad and tried to take Valeria back, while Doom tried to stop her. The whole ensuing fight shows Susan as being in the wrong and her actions being the result of her SuperpoweredEvilside, which caused her to terrify Valeria and damage the surrounding town while Doom actually tried to reason with her as Susan almost kills him. But given Doctor Doom's past villainy, [[JerkassHasAPoint something Susan even calls him out for during the fight]], how cruel Valeria just acted towards her own mother, Doom's PopularityPower leading to him rarely losing, means even though he's in the right it can be easy to cheer for Susan just for the sake of seeing Doom lose.

* ''Franchise/StarWars: ComicBook/{{Legacy}}'' plays with this, due to its BlackAndGrayMorality. For the most part the two main {{Big Bad}}s, the Sith and TheEmpire have made major reforms. The Sith, while still quite evil, have abandoned many of their old ways in favor of working together as one (one even saves another's life after spending the whole issue arguing, because "We are Sith"), plus they have EvilIsSexy on their side. While TheEmpire is now a force of good in the Galaxy and most of its [[FantasticRacism anti-nonhuman ways]] are behind them. The Republic has been reduced to a handful of planets and ships whose only act in the comics have been a stealing a Sith SuperPrototype [[NiceJobBreakingItHero which the Empire had already rigged with bombs so it would look like a malfunction]] causing the Sith to blame the Mon Calamari (who aided the Republic) and declare war (meaning genocide). The Jedi, while still good, are back to being a HiddenElfVillage to a point where they refused to aid the Mon Calamari. The main character, last of the Skywalkers, is a total {{Jerkass}} just looking out for himself (and abusing his powers) as a result of being sick of all the ButThouMust his family (as Force ghosts) and fellow Jedi have been ramming down his throat.

* The Marvel event ''ComicBook/WorldWarHulk'' had most readers rooting for [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk the Hulk]], mainly because of all the crap ComicBook/TheIlluminati put him through. It even happened in the story with many bystanders siding with the Hulk. Another major factor was the events of ''ComicBook/CivilWar''. It's hard to root for the heroes when they've forced all superhumans to work solely for the government, enslaving, imprisoning, and killing everyone who disobeys. It even leaked into ''ComicBook/SecretInvasion'', with some readers hoping that the Skrulls would manage to conquer Earth and enslave the {{muggle|s}} population to teach them a thing or two about freedom. While the Skrulls didn't win, ''this'' led to ''ComicBook/DarkReign'' with ComicBook/NormanOsborn as head cop, with some fans rooting for Osborn and his ComicBook/DarkAvengers, which was even Marvel's top selling book month after month during its run.
** Later flipped around in ''ComicBook/IncredibleHercules'' when Hulk went up against Zeus and [[CurbStompBattle got his ass kicked]] '''hard'''. Zeus, while not exactly ''evil'', was the more unsympathetic party by far, but lots of fans cheered him on simply because they felt Hulk was starting to get into GodModeSue territory and they were happy to have a hard-limit on his power established.

* ComicBook/{{Foolkiller}} being a VillainProtagonist generally gets this treatment. But one can hardly help it since he does WhatItSaysOnTheTin. In TheNineties limited series, his bodycount ranged from muggers, dope dealers and even drug addicted mothers and their violent, out of control children. The public turned against him only after he publicly killed a narcissistic billionaire real estate mogul who planned to bulldoze low income housing projects (making thousands of poor homeless) to build gentrified condominiums. As an encore, he went on set to kill a volatile, hate spewing right-wing TV talk show host right in front of the eyes of his cultish audience. It should be noted that the said billionaire was the head of the city's major drug operations and also had business interests that threatened the Amazon rain forests. The reader can't help but identify with the Foolkiller's mission to some extent. They may not approve of his wanton mass murder, but one can't help but be tempted to feel that he's a necessity in the world we now live in.

* In VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition fanfic ''FanFic/WalkingInCircles'', by the time the story reaches the Conclave, quite a number of readers have expressed their support for Solas's plan of taking down the Veil. This's because while Solas, [[spoiler: and Evelyn by extension]], do want to destroy the current world, they have good intention behind it and takes no pleasure in their actions. Not to mention if their plan does succeed, it'll bring long-term benefits for not just the elves but also mages of all races. Meanwhiles, the Templars who act like tyrant oppressing the mages and the Chantry that either encourage such actions or turn a blind eye to it certainly don't endear themselves to the readers at all, even if it did show that there're some good Templars.

* ''Fanfic/ApotheosisMHA'': Izuku became a ruthless VisionaryVillain (armed with a created ''Infinity Gauntlet''), with his goal being the complete restructuring of hero society. The thing is, he's entirely correct that society judges based off powerful quirks rather than one's personality and merits, (citing the abusive Endeavor and Bakugo as examples), most heroes aren't for the sake of helping others, but rather for the fame and glory, the quirkless and impractical quirk users are heavily discriminated against, and nothing has been done to improve things. Also helping is that his actions as the story progresses, Izuku never harms innocents, empathizes for those with similar backgrounds, extols genuine heroes, and is willing to reinstate "false heroes" if they atone.

* Nobody inspires "Rooting for the Empire" like Gaston! While it wasn't always this way, he has gotten quite popular over the years, arguably more so than either of the protagonists in ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast''. This is probably due to viewers finding his ego oddly charming than obnoxious (as intended), his ridiculously exaggerated but still catchy and lively song and for being a straight up LargeHam.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{The Hunchback of Notre Dame|Disney}}'': The reason Frollo was made a CompleteMonster was because Disney was trying to ''avoid'' this trope (it had happened so many times before). Didn't work. Some even have a disturbing habit of justifying his, a massive hypocrite's, actions.

* If some fanfics are anything to go by, some people prefer Joe to the protagonist, Jack, from WesternAnimation/JackAndTheCuckooClockHeart, not only beacuse of EvilIsCool in both his design and voice, but also because some see him as a much better partner for Miss Acacia both due to them having known each other as friends and having probably dated in the past, and he has a bit more life experience than Jack, who has been sheltered his entire life until age 10 and being forced to leave his home to avoid being arrested for [[spoiler:accidentally [[EyeScream pecking one of Joe's eyes with his cuckko-clock heart]] ]] , and having met Miss Acacia only once on his birthday and instantly becoming smitten with her, which can unsurprisingly rub some viewers the wrong way, and not helping is that he can come out as a DesignatedHero at best; even [[WordOfGod Matthias Malzieau, co-director of the film the original author of the novel it is adapted from]], admitted that Joe is not really that bad of a guy as he is only motivated by his love for Miss Acacia, and that if the story were told [[PerspectiveFlip from his point of view]], Jack would be the bad guy.

* Many viewers of ''WesternAnimation/ATrollInCentralPark'' find the antagonists, Queen Gnorga and Llort, far more likable than the largely cloying protagonists Stanley, Gus and Rosie, thanks in part to how hammy and over the top their acting is.

* Deliberately invoked in ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'' as a central theme to the film. The antagonists of various video games are presented as [[PunchClockVillain Punch Clock Villains]] who participate in an [[TropaholicsAnonymous AA-style support group]] to help one another with the daily realities of being reviled as evil. The titular character is a 30 year industry veteran who is treated as a pariah in his own game and has gotten sick of being relegated to living in a dump and ignored while the other characters of the game celebrate with one another. Incidentally, and less deliberately, this also applies to the [[ShowWithinAShow game's universe]], since Ralph's motivation for wrecking the apartment in the first place was that it was built over his forest home. The film showing the residents as pompous, stuck-up jerks makes many fans feel that Ralph was justified in wrecking their building. Played straight with the movie's actual villain, [[spoiler:Turbo]], thanks mainly to his being LaughablyEvil.

--->''Dan dare doesnt know it, He doesnt know it, He doesnt know it, But I liked the Mekon''

** A number of people support the Titans over the Olympians. A case of GreyAndGrayMorality, Cronus ate his kids, but is recorded as ruling over a GoldenAge for mankind where humans lived without the need for toil, disease, or war. Then Zeus and a bunch of other JerkAssGods came along, ended the GoldenAge and introduced every cruelty they could think of. Many modern adaptions have to villainize the Titans (including often designing them as monsters) so you sympathize with the Olympians. The story of Prometheus is pretty much the prime example for this. Even most modern adaptions of Greek Mythology can't get around making him sympathetic and portraying him as human looking.

** The ancient Greeks despised Hades, the god of the dead and the underworld, since they didn't like dying. He has a somewhat better reputation today, in that he regularly kept his bargains with gods and mortals alike, and would only inflict a FateWorseThanDeath on someone who crossed him first. His kidnapping of Persephone is still rightly seen as vile, but even then Hades is ''faithful'' to her, which is more than his philandering brother Zeus can say. In most versions of the original myth, Hades didn't kidnap Persephone at all but asked for her hand in marriage from her father first, meaning even this can be discounted. DependingOnTheWriter is in full effect with these myths and their retellings.
** Show of hands -- how many people wanted Troy to win the war? Notable for being an in universe example as well, with the gods taking sides, Zeus himself supporting the Trojans. This goes back centuries, multiple medieval European royal dynasties would claim descent from Trojan refugees, and famous Frankish hero Roland claimed his sword had belonged to Achilles' ArchEnemy Hector.

** The host city or country might be home to a lot of expatriates from the away team's community. People who move from one city to another for work or education might bring their team loyalties with them. In international competition like the Olympics or the World Cup, immigrants living in the host country might cheer for their original homelands.
** Other times they may be rooting for the visitant team to show spite for the home one -for example, when the latter is playing miserably and is being [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomped]] by the former-.
* It's not uncommon for a team to benefit from having their rivals win a game. As a hypothetical, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL absolutely hate each other. But, it could turn out that the Steelers and New England Patriots are both in the running to be the #1 seed in the AFC, which would ensure home field advantage in the playoffs until the Super Bowl.[[note]]The Super Bowl site is determined well in advance, and while it COULD potentially be a home game for one team, it would be sheer coincidence and hasn't happened yet.[[/note]] And then, through scheduling coincidence, the Bengals play the Patriots. Particularly if the Steelers are well ahead of the Bengals in the standings, Steeler fans would be pulling for the Bengals to win, giving the Steelers a leg up on the Patriots in the standings.[[note]]Though in that specific rivalry, many Steeler fans might be just [[RevengeBeforeReason fine with the second seed.]][[/note]]

** The ''Scars of Mirrodin'' story arc brings the Phyrexians back into the limelight, and Wizards of the Coast being quite adamant on not revealing whether or not they'll win ([[http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/677 they did]]) just contributed to this -- just watch the promotional videos on Youtube, often depicting Phyrexians committing NightmareFuel atrocities against the Mirrans, then look at all the comments proudly shouting Phyrexian slogans. According to the statistics from when ''Mirrodin Besieged'' came out, 51% of players supported the Phyrexians.

** Not helped by recent supplements giving the Coalition every lucky break it is possible to have, until they start verging on Canon Sue territory. Much of the fanbase is starting to wonder if Kevin Siembeda himself is RootingForTheEmpire.

** The reason that the Imperium is TheEmpire in the first place is because it is surrounded by unspeakable horrors that Lovecraft would be proud of. Ergo, Rooting For The Empire is, in this case, the only sane choice in an utterly insane galaxy. In the Imperium, there is law and order -- even if it is draconian -- and not every Imperial world is entirely a hellhole. They also have the largest amount of characters that seem likable and possibly the closest somebody can get to heroes in the setting. [[CreatorsPet Note there is a reason for this.]] [[MostWritersAreHuman Two, in fact.]]

** The Tyranids are a HordeOfAlienLocusts intent on devouring all life in the galaxy. Nonetheless they have supporters who at the very least aren't happy with the period where they were repeatedly subjected to TheWorfEffect and were demanding the Tyranids actually be allowed to win.

** Overlapping with AlternativeCharacterInterpretation, those who supported the real Jefferson's political positions may root for him during the Cabinet battles. It helps that he's portrayed as a [[LaughablyEvil hilarious]] LargeHam, and that most other stories featuring him tend to portray him as a hero, predisposing audiences to view him favourably.
** Aaron Burr also gets quite a bit of this. While he's the closest thing the play has to a BigBad, he's shown in a very sympathetic light, and the two songs he gets to himself, "Wait For It" and "The Room Where It Happens", are generally considered two of the best in the play. Combine this with the fact that Hamilton is shown to be obnoxious, arrogant and an adulterer, and a lot of viewers end up finding Burr to be the more likeable of the two.

* Shylock from ''Theatre/TheMerchantOfVenice'' is a Jewish money-lender who is derided, insulted, and generally discriminated against by pretty much everyone. He serves as the main antagonist for the story and is trying to collect on a debt owed by Bassanio, a friend of the protagonist Antonio. Antonio had signed onto the debt as a guarantor and Shylock, who hated Antonio, saw a path to revenge by demanding a pound of Antonio's flesh as a penalty for defaulting on the loan. Thanks to some {{Rules Lawyer}}ing on behalf of the protagonists, Shylock is not only denied his revenge, the debt is annulled, his wealth is taken from him, and he is forced to convert to Christianity. [[ValuesDissonance At the time]] Shylock was considered a highly effective, loathsome villain, and his fate was [[LaserGuidedKarma just comeuppance for his greed]]. In today's world, the character is received much differently, to the point of being a highly sympathetic character. Modern productions often play Shylock as a tragic villain rather than his traditional "pure evil" role, and his famous "I am a Jew!" speech, with no modification whatsoever, today reads perfectly as the lamentations and frustrations of an oppressed people to discriminatory and dehumanizing treatment from the masses. That said, Shylock does provide the current page quote for FairForItsDay.

* A comic strip by artist Mallorie Jessica Udischas, author of ''Manic Pixie Nightmare Girls'', presents the artist's SelfInsert character laughing about a "millionaire gamer-bro douchebag" getting robbed (a reference to LetsPlay/PewDiePie, who was robbed in early December, 2019). Her co-worker, [[StrawCharacter a white male character]] whose nametag reads "New Guy", asks her "Hey, how'd you like it if you were robbed?". Mallorie's self-insert sarcastically tells the guy they could be friends only to say "Hell no" when he asks for confirmation. Many people wound up sympathizing more with the New Guy's empathy than the ostensible protagonist's schadenfreude and sarcasm. Starting in 2020, "New Guy" was taken by Twitter users as a symbol of empathy, even trending on the site. The meme was almost immediately co-opted by far-right groups who used New Guy as a cover to attack Mallorie Jessica Udischas for being trans, before dying out in a couple of months.

** Miko, whom some believe was in the right with her actions that was supposed to be her MoralEventHorizon.

** Some fans honestly believe that the White Fang are actually good guys. The logic: they're a civil rights movement for an oppressed ethnic minority, who just want to be respected and sometimes resort to extreme measures. They wouldn't have so many recruits willing to lay down their lives if they didn't have some merit, right?[[note]]Some of the more intense defenders even equate the Fang to real world minority rights groups, and equate supporting the Fang to supporting real world minority rights. They consistently fail to notice or acknowledge that the real world groups they're mentioning ''aren't'' mass-murdering terrorists.[[/note]] In reality, the Fang ''started'' as a civil rights movement and became a faunus ''supremacy'' terrorist movement, one member of the eponymous team left it for precisely that reason, the Fang murdered the family members of another [[note]]which actually increased her prejudice against Faunus, in an obvious commentary on cycles of revenge and hate[[/note]], they have no problem attacking innocent non-combatants ''including Faunus'', and at the end of Season 3, [[spoiler:they willingly participated in a literal terror attack so bad it that makes [=9/11=] look like a house of cards fell over]]. So once the Fang were done JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope, what do their defenders do? Blame bad writing, even though the Fang are clearly modeled on the many real-life political movements that fell into the same pitfalls.
** Like the White Fang there are a good portion of fans who take Ironwoods side in volumes 7 and 8, ignoring, downplaying, or justifying his actions while demonizing Team RWBY for lying to him and hiding the truth about Ozpin and Salem, accusing them as hypocrites for being angry at Ozpin for keeping it a secret while doing the same thing to Ironwood. Even when he goes off the deep end such as [[spoiler: planning to abandon and eventually threaten to bomb the city of Mantle, declaring martial law and become a dictator, ordering everyone’s arrest, shooting Oscar who tried to reason with him, executing councilman Sleet, and forcing Dr. Watts to hack into Penny who refuses to cooperate]]. The fans that don’t try to justify his actions tend to blame bad writing as their defense for how Ironwoods character was treated in the show.

* WebVideo/EscapeTheNight: While everyone is always rooting for the main cast to escape, in some challenges, the show clearly wants us to root for one character while the other character is meant to be seen as [[RedShirt cannon fodder]]. This is especially the case in season four’s rematch between [[HateSink DeStorm]] and [[TheHero Alex]]. Destorm seems to have mellowed out considerably since the last time we saw him and has become an entertaining WildCard, while Alex has become more selfish and arrogant. When Alex wins purely because of [[HeelFaceTurn DeStorm’s]] HeroicSacrifice, many fans were disappointed as Destorm’s character arc was far more interesting then Alex.

* Franchise/{{Discworld}}'s Tiffany Aching had always rooted for the WickedWitch when reading fairy tales, because the witches were always more interesting than the PrincessClassic heroines. Also, the witches were ''always'' dark-haired and dark-eyed like Tiffany, not blonde and blue-eyed like the princesses.

---> '''Critic:''' But I'm sorry. If choosing my doctors comes between this...
---> '''Doctor:''' Stabilize the blood sugar. Consider antibiotics. Possibly amputation.
---> '''Critic:''' ...and this...
---> (A clip of Patch flailing around and slamming repeatedly into a window)
---> '''Critic:''' I'm choosing the amputate guy! I don't trust him with a saw!

* ''Website/SFDebris'': in Franchise/StarTrek series, Chuck Sonnenberg tends to believe that usually the StrawmanHasAPoint in bad episodes and/or seasons, and are thus the good guys and he is rooting for them (with double points if their plan succeeding would involve a sudden lack of Neelix). It gets to the point where he has to specify that for "The Measure Of A Man" he has ''no'' interest in defending Bruce Maddox as the hero against the early-season [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration TNG]] cast, because Maddox is ''just that much of an asshole''.

* ''[[WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment Spoony]]'' repeatedly finds himself rooting for the evil military in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', noting that while they ''are'' ultimately wrong they're portrayed surprisingly sympathetically in that they're genuinely trying to protect civilians, are opposed to wholesale slaughter and prefer non-violent tactics when possible, and are at worst ObliviouslyEvil who don't realize they've been misguided into evil. It's made worse by how, by comparisen, he finds the protagonists to be [[DesignatedHero much worse]] despite their ultimate goal of saving the world, as they have no problem with collateral damage, terrifying and attacking civilians, and even go out of their way to kill as many soldiers as possible [[ItAmusedMe for fun]] even when just leaving would have been the more effective tactic.

--> '''Rocko:''' Don't cheer me on, goddammit! ''HATE ME!'' I just beat up your crappy manatee! ''AGAIN!!!''

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Some fans honestly believe that the White Fang are actually good guys. The logic: they're a civil rights movement for an oppressed ethnic minority, who just want to be respected and sometimes resort to extreme measures. They wouldn't have so many recruits willing to lay down their lives if they didn't have some merit, right?[[note]]Some of the more intense defenders even equate the Fang to real world minority rights groups, and equate supporting the Fang to supporting real world minority rights. They consistently fail to notice or acknowledge that the real world groups they're mentioning ''aren't'' mass-murdering terrorists.[[/note]] In reality, the Fang ''started'' as a civil rights movement and became a faunus ''supremacy'' terrorist movement, one member of the eponymous team left it for precisely that reason, the Fang murdered the family members of another [[note]]which actually increased her prejudice against Faunus, in an obvious commentary on cycles of revenge and hate[[/note]], they have no problem attacking innocent non-combatants ''including Faunus'', and at the end of Season 3, [[spoiler:they willingly participated in a literal terror attack so bad it that makes [=9/11=] look like a house of cards fell over]]. So once the Fang were done JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope, what do their defenders do? Blame bad writing, even though the Fang are clearly modeled on the many real-life political movements that fell into the same pitfalls.

* Theatre/RichardIII is the smartest man in the room (any room), and much more charismatic and entertaining than any of the milquetoast good guys who surround him. Just try watching a production of the play without wanting him to win. Also the supposed hero of the play, Richmond, only appears at the end so comes across as a very FlatCharacter.

* It's easy to root for the Dark Egg Legion in ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics''. They do take orders from Eggman, but they aren't completely evil, and most of their members seem to be regular Mobians, bar the cybernetics. Given that the heroes are headed by Sonic, who can be a bit of a {{jerkass}}, and the Kingdom of Acorn, an incredibly ineffectual monarchy that can barely function which was became worse with the addition of the [[ObstructiveBureaucrat obstructive]],[[NotSoOmniscientCouncilOfBickering bickering]], and [[HeadInTheSandManagement flat-out useless]] Council of Acorn, as well as their allies like The Brotherhood of Guardians who have their heads either in the sand, the clouds, or up their own asses with the addition of the rest of echindakind being hypocrites about technology, it's no wonder. And they're the only group in the ''world'' who don't actively despise technology. A great example is the Great Desert DEL. They were turned into mindless Robian mooks thanks to UnwillingRoboticisation and forced to fight the Sand Blasters, an extremist group of Freedom Fighters. After being turned back into Mobians, they tried to make peace with the Sand Blasters, but where instead hit with FantasticRacism for being former Robians. In order to survive, they went to Eggman for help, who legionized them. When The Baron, leader of the Great Desert DEL, was confronted about this by his niece, hero Bunnie Rabbot D'Coolette, he responded that being in the DEL isn't so bad. Being legionized means cybernetic upgrades, which in turn make for an awesome health plan, as The Baron pointed out, when he thanked legionization for fixing his "bum knee". He also mentioned something about D'Coolette's being oppressors, which insinuates FantasticRacism within the Kingdom, making them look even worse. Due to the [[CosmicRetcon Super Genesis Wave]], the original Desert DEL will be missed while the Sand Blasters...[[ExiledFromContinuity oh wait]], [[RetGone what Sand Blasters]]?

* If some fanfics are anything to go by, some people prefer Joe to the protagonist, Jack, from WesternAnimation/JackAndTheCuckooClockHeart, not only beacuse of EvilIsCool in both his design and voice, but also because some see him as a much better partner for Miss Acacia both due to them having known each other as friends and having probably dated in the past, and he has a bit more life experience than Jack, who has been sheltered his entire life until age 10 and being forced to leave his home to avoid being arrested for [[spoiler:accidentally [[EyeScream pecking one of Joe's eyes with his cuckko-clock heart]] ]] , and having met Miss Acacia only once on his birthday and instantly becoming smitten with her, which can unsurprisingly rub some viewers the wrong way; even [[WordOfGod Matthias Malzieau, co-director of the film the original author of the novel it is adapted from]], admitted that Joe is not really that bad of a guy as he is only motivated by his love for Miss Acacia, and that if the story were told [[PerspectiveFlip from his point of view]], Jack would be the bad guy.

** Chaos are out turn the material universe into an EldritchLocation by permanently merging it with [[HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace the Warp]], and they work for a set of gods who want to kill, rape, mutate and infect everything, things which they are more than willing to perform in their name. Yet they're just so... METAL!
*** [[{{Plaguemaster}} Nurgle]] and its followers get this even more than the other Chaos factions. While it ''is'' [[AffablyEvil genuinely nice]], and unlike the other Chaos gods (or the Emperor, for that matter) deeply cares for its subjects, it expresses its kindness by infecting its followers with ''every disease ever'', to the point that they're in so much pain ''they can't feel any other pain''. Its followers generally don't mind, but it still isn't exactly a pleasant fate.

*** In the 8th edition of the rules, it is made clear that the Imperium is TheEmpire specifically due to the greed and corrpution of the Lords of Terra. When one of the Primarchs long thought to be dead, Roboute Guilliman, is revived he is utterly disgusted and taken aback by the state of the Imperium, and among his first acts is retaking the title of Imperial Regent and seizing personal control from the oligarchy that had been infighting to further their own personal interests. 40k being the Grimdark setting that it is, this is likely a doomed crusade of its own.

** Orks have a lot support, not because they are less evil than other factions (though they are [[EqualOpportunityOffender about the most egalitarian race in the setting]]), but they are by far [[CrazyIsCool the most fun]], [[CrossesTheLineTwice crossing the line]] so many times they become ''endearing''.

** The Tyranids are a HordeOfAlienLocusts intent devouring all life in the galaxy. Nonetheless they have supporters who at the very least aren't happy with the period where they were repeatedly subjected to TheWorfEffect and were demanding the Tyranids actually be allowed to win.
* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerTheEndTimes'' avoided this with the central villains, especially since the winning brought about the end of the world, something fans weren't happy with, especially since the villains were seen as being handed victories they didn't deserve. But it did occur in the civil war between Tyrion and Malekith. Tyrion was one of the main heroes in the setting and the greatest defender of the High Elves. Malekith was the EvilOverlord of the Dark Elves, the High Elves' ArchEnemy, and had a hand in many of the disasters in the setting in some shape or form. But [[AssPull out of nowhere]] it was revealed that despite his villainy, Malekith was in fact the rightful king of the High Elves and they were all expected to bow down to him. Tyrion opposing Malekith has him framed as being in the wrong, causing fans to see him as a DesignatedVillain and wanted to him defeat Malekith. Quite tellingly even with the plot bending over backwords to make Tyrion look bad, his atrocities still weren't anywhere close to those of Malekith.

* It's easy to root for the Dark Egg Legion in ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics''. They do take orders from Eggman, but they aren't completely evil, and most of their members seem to be regular Mobians, bar the cybernetics. Given that the heroes are headed by Sonic, who can be a bit of a {{jerkass}}, and the Kingdom of Acorn, an incredibly ineffectual monarchy that can barely function as well as their allies like The Brotherhood of Guardians who have their heads either in the sand, the clouds, or up their own asses with the addition of the rest of echindakind being hypocrites about technology, it's no wonder. And they're the only group in the ''world'' who don't actively despise technology. A great example is the Great Desert DEL. They were turned into mindless Robian mooks thanks to UnwillingRoboticisation and forced to fight the Sand Blasters, an extremist group of Freedom Fighters. After being turned back into Mobians, they tried to make peace with the Sand Blasters, but where instead hit with FantasticRacism for being former Robians. In order to survive, they went to Eggman for help, who legionized them. When The Baron, leader of the Great Desert DEL, was confronted about this by his niece, hero Bunnie Rabbot D'Coolette, he responded that being in the DEL isn't so bad. Being legionized means cybernetic upgrades, which in turn make for an awesome health plan, as The Baron pointed out, when he thanked legionization for fixing his "bum knee". He also mentioned something about D'Coolette's being oppressors, which insinuates FantasticRacism within the Kingdom, making them look even worse. Due to the [[CosmicRetcon Super Genesis Wave]], the original Desert DEL will be missed while the Sand Blasters...[[ExiledFromContinuity oh wait]], [[RetGone what Sand Blasters]]?

** Due to Batman and the Gotham Law Enforcement only giving a SuperficialSolution to dangerous serial killers by giving them to courts that sentence these murders to prisons or asylums [[[CardboardPrison they can easily escape]], when a KnightTemplar appears in Gotham City to offer a more lethal solution, some readers can't help wish they can spill the blood of Batman's more vile foes before Batman himself can stop them.

* A few viewers of Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{The Little Mermaid|1989}}'' found the sly, manipulative [[WickedWitch Ursula]] a lot more likable than the naive, impulsive protagonist Ariel, or her [[OverprotectiveDad overprotective]], [[FantasticRacism human-hating]] father King Triton, and were rooting for her to actually win the deal and conquer Atlantica. It helps that she's been shown as a BenevolentBoss to her minions Flotsam and Jetsam ([[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1992 in the movie, at least]]), [[spoiler: and was none too happy when they were eradicated]].

* ''Fanfic/DungeonKeeperAmi'':
** An interesting, and averted case for Mercury. Nearly all the forces of good fear and hate the Dark Empress, who is actually an outside context hero with phenomenally poor public relations.
** Keeper Mukrezar, Ami's foil, plays this trope very straight: he's hammy, he's funny, he's as inventive and fast-thinking as Mercury and it's tons of fun watching him [[EvilVersusEvil backstab and manipulate]] his own 'allies'.

* It's easy to root for the Dark Egg Legion in ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics''. They do take orders from Eggman, but they aren't completely evil, and most of their members seem to be regular Mobians, bar the cybernetics. Given that the heroes are headed by Sonic, who can be a bit of a {{jerkass}}, and the Kingdom of Acorn, an incredibly ineffectual monarchy that can barely function as well as their allies like The Brotherhood of Guardians who have their heads either in the sand, the clouds, or up their own asses, it's no wonder. And they're the only group in the ''world'' who don't actively despise technology. A great example is the Great Desert DEL. They were turned into mindless Robian mooks thanks to UnwillingRoboticisation and forced to fight the Sand Blasters, an extremist group of Freedom Fighters. After being turned back into Mobians, they tried to make peace with the Sand Blasters, but where instead hit with FantasticRacism for being former Robians. In order to survive, they went to Eggman for help, who legionized them. When The Baron, leader of the Great Desert DEL, was confronted about this by his niece, hero Bunnie Rabbot D'Coolette, he responded that being in the DEL isn't so bad. Being legionized means cybernetic upgrades, which in turn make for an awesome health plan, as The Baron pointed out, when he thanked legionization for fixing his "bum knee". He also mentioned something about D'Coolette's being oppressors, which insinuates FantasticRacism within the Kingdom, making them look even worse. Due to the [[CosmicRetcon Super Genesis Wave]], the original Desert DEL will be missed while the Sand Blasters...[[ExiledFromContinuity oh wait]], [[RetGone what Sand Blasters]]?

* ''Webcomic/{{Sonichu}}'': The [[DesignatedHero supposed]] good guys are a bunch of [[HolierThanThou self-righteous]], [[{{Jerkass}} morally repugnant]], [[GodModeSue demigod]] tools with zero likeability. Not helping is that the "villains" are explicitly fictionalized versions of real people.