History Main / TheParagonAlwaysRebels

* This seems to be a running theme in the ''VideoGame/MegaMan'' meta-series:

** Commander Elpizo in ''VideoGame/MegaManZero 2'' goes from being the champion of the free Reploids to opposing them when he becomes a WellIntentionedExtremist out to utterly destroy Neo Arcadia and everyone in it.

** Played straight when revealed, but subverted later with flash backs. He was evil before hand. He cultivated the paragon persona and reputation to throw people off his trail, and [[spoiler: one of his co-defectors only did so to stay close enough to eventually kill him]].

** [[spoiler:Summer Rose was once the pinnacle of what it meant to be a Huntress, being the inspiration for Ruby's desire to be one, Team STRQ's emotional anchor that made Qrow decide to throw away the life of banditry to become a true Huntsman, and the one Ozpin believed would be TheChosenOne to defeat Salem before her apparent death.]] However, [[spoiler:Summer]] survived whatever happened to her and joined Salem's cause [[WellIntentionedExtremist believing it to be the only path forward for Remnant]]. Now she stands as Salem's "Black Queen" and major strategist in her war with Ozpin, working tirelessly to bring the rest of the world in line [[spoiler:up to and including becoming the [[VillainWithGoodPublicity virtually-unopposed]] [[JustTheFirstCitizen monarch-in-all-but-name]] of Atlas and Mantle with the intent of converting them all to Salem's side.]]

* The plot of ''Manga/TigerMask'' centers around the illegal Tiger Cave that specializes in training wrestlers who are brutal even by {{heel}} standards, with the titular Tiger Mask being called as such for being their most promising student ever. And when he pulls a HeelFaceTurn, the Tiger Cave executives try to have him killed but ultimately can't stop many of the later Tiger Cave trainees from becoming baby {{face}}s too.
* ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'': Sensui is regarded as a prodigy among Spirit Detectives; he was killing spirits before he got the job. When he shows up as a villain he recruits other spiritually powerful people by his powerful personality. He's an EvilCounterpart to Yusuke himself.
* Sailor Galaxia in ''Franchise/SailorMoon'', though in the [[Anime/SailorMoon anime]] it's explained because she simultaneously [[AnatomyOfTheSoul extracted her own star seed]] and absorbed elemental chaos. She just got corrupted in the [[Manga/SailorMoon manga]]. And she cast it out to protect it from Chaos.

* Yomi from ''Anime/GaReiZero'', thanks to TraumaCongaLine. The OP song is even titled "Paradise Lost".
** [[Manga/GaRei Kagura]] on the other hand doesn't rebel as much as she ''cracks'' under pressure, taking the world with her.

* Sosuke Aizen from ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' was once one of the greatest and the most beloved of the Gotei 13 Captains. When he betrayed Soul Society he took two other captains with him and drove a lieutenant into a HeroicBSOD.
** Played straight when revealed, but subverted later with flash backs. He was evil before hand. He cultivated the paragon persona and reputation to throw people off his trail, and [[spoiler: one of his co-defectors only did so to stay close enough to eventually kill him]].
* Gunzou Chihaya from ''Manga/ArpeggioOfBlueSteel''. He was the second in his year of JMSDF cadets, but later rebelled and took a few of his fellow best students.

* In ''Film/FirstKnight'', Malagant was one of the greatest of the Knights of the Round Table, but he grew dissatisfied when he found they didn't share his beliefs that [[TheSocialDarwinist the strong can do whatever they feel like and terrorize anyone weaker than them]]. He gathered followers and rebelled against King Arthur's rule.
* In ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness'', a series of terrorist attacks are carried out by Commander John Harrison, one of the best agents of Starfleet Intelligence, who has rebelled for reasons unknown. [[spoiler:{{Subverted}}, however, when it turns out that "Commander John Harrison" is an alias; his ''real'' identity is ''[[AVillainNamedKhan Khan Noonien Singh]]'', who was shanghaied by [[NoSuchAgency Section 31]], and is most definitely ''not'' a good guy.]]
* ''Film/{{Interstellar}}'': [[spoiler:Mann was considered the greatest astronaut around, a hero, but he's the one who betrays humanity and activates his beacon so that he doesn't have to die alone on in inhospitable planet]].

** Fëanor. The most gifted, talented and intelligent of all ''Noldor'', who rebelled after the theft of the Silmarils, and drew the Noldor - the High Elves - with him from the Undying Lands to Beleriand, Middle-Earth, to wage war against Morgoth.

* Inverted in Caro King's ''Seven Sorcerers''. The Bogeyman Skerridge is the paragon of '''evil''', the best bogeyman in employ of Strood, and one of the most ruthless. Then he develops second thoughts, and rebels against Strood, causing many of Strood's servants to defect as well.

* ''Literature/ParadiseLost'' helped codify the tradition that Satan was God's greatest angel, but rebelled against God's authority. Milton uses common tropes of classical epics to portray Satan in the same style as an epic hero.
* In ''Literature/ShadowOfTheConqueror,'' Daylen Namaran was originally a war hero, BadassNormal, and TheAce, but after his StartOfDarkness, he used his HundredPercentAdorationRating to start a [[CommieLand communist revolution]] and became an outright EvilOverlord, taking the new name [[DarkIsEvil Dayless]] [[AppropriatedAppellation the]] [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Conqueror]].
* In the ''Literature/{{Deathstalker}}'' series, Finn Durandal is a literal Paragon, an elite peacekeeper granted authority by the King himself. Among the Paragons he is viewed as the best of the best and everyone expects he will be named King's Champion when his close friend Douglas ascends the throne. However, Douglas once saw something ugly and cruel lurking lurking behind Finn's eyes one time and decides to choose his other friend, Lewis, instead. In response to not getting this one ceremonial role, [[EvilIsPetty Finn proceeds to usurp the throne, tear about the Empire's golden age, and commit numerous atrocities both personally and by proxy]].

* Inverted with ''Series/DoctorWho'': It may be surprising, but the eponymous hero of of the series was originally a member of the ruling chapter house of the Time Lords of Gallifrey, raised and trained for leadership. Great things were expected of him, and then one day he [[DefectorFromDecadence stole a Tardis and ran away]].

* [[BiblicalBadGuy Lucifer]] in ''TabletopGame/DemonTheFallen'' was canonically the most powerful and wise of the Elohim, second only to {{God}} Herself. However, in this case, his "FaceHeelTurn" was not caused by suddenly growing evil but by him shifting priorities from loving God to loving humans, ''just as God ordered him in the first place''. Of course, this being the [[TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness World of Darkness]], things get worse and Lucifer remains a HeroWithBadPublicity.
* In the ''TabletopGame/NentirVale'' setting for ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', Asmodeus was the greatest angel leading the strongest army in the war between the gods and the [[EldritchAbomination primordials]]. However, after a while he [[HeWhoFightsMonsters stopped caring about the innocents that got between him and the enemy]], and after arguing with his boss about it, was cast down. He then took a [[ArtifactOfDoom rod crafted of pure evil]] and struck down his master with it, but in doing so was imprisoned within his master's domain for all time, transforming it into [[{{Hell}} the Nine Hells.]]
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'', in a rare moment this was actually ''a good thing'' from the perspectives of most mortals. The Unconquered Sun was created by the [[GodOfEvil the Ebon Dragon]] to be TheParagon of virtue, since the Ebon Dragon can only exist in contrast to someone else. Since he's the AnthropomorphicPersonification of dickery, he needed someone utterly pure and good to exist to define himself against. Somehow, he didn't foresee the god he created to personify (among other things) valor and conviction deciding that he couldn't allow Creation to be ruled by the Ebon Dragon and his fellow [[OurTitansAreDifferent Primordials]]. Since most of those Primordials at best considered mortals useful power sources and at worst free will a mistake to be rectified, its easy to see how the Unconquered Sun convinced most of humanity to join the rebellion.
* ''Tabletopgame/TheGatesOfHell'' and other material by Dicefreaks feature at least three examples. [[http://www-personal.umich.edu/~dnross/Dicefreaks/Dicefreaks_d20_Community_•_View_forum_-_Horrors_of_The_Abyss/viewtopic_034.html Apollyon]], who either fell with the main group of {{Fallen Angel}}s or long before, was displeased at the Heaven's half measures, and so came to view all of creation as flawed and [[OmnicidalManiac unworthy of existence]]; Eblis, the strongest of angels, became too proud and now seeks the [[RageAgainstTheHeavens destruction of Heaven]], and Beelzebub, who was always viewed as the most perfect of angels, came to believe he needs [[ThePerfectionist to correct all else to match his own perfection]].

* Henry "Hotspur" in ''Theatre/HenryIV part 1''. Probably the greatest fighter in England, Hotspur and his father were on Henry IV's side in ''Theatre/RichardII'', but become disillusioned sometime between the events of the two plays and rebel against the king. Notably, King Henry thought of Hotspur as the son he should have had (his own son, Hal, is a listless drunkard-- although this turns out to be a massive case of ObfuscatingStupidity).

* This seems to be a running theme in the ''VideoGame/MegaMan'' meta-series:
** [[VideoGame/MegaManClassic The original series]] has Dr. Albert Wily, a genius roboticist. Appropriately enough, his own greatest creation in this series, Bass, rebels against ''him''. Quite a bit, in fact.
** ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' has Sigma, once the greatest Maverick Hunter and protector of humanity. However, despite the atrocities he commits, his inclusion here is debatable; he's as much a victim of TheVirus as a willful rebel.
*** His ''[[VideoGame/MegaManMaverickHunterX Maverick Hunter X]]'' version plays this trope straight.
** Commander Elpizo in ''VideoGame/MegaManZero 2'' goes from being the champion of the free Reploids to opposing them when he becomes a WellIntentionedExtremist out to utterly destroy Neo Arcadia and everyone in it.
* In ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'' apparently Franchise/{{Superman}} turning evil is the only thing it takes to make most significant DC heroes follow him; Franchise/{{Batman}} being the only exception.
%%* [[VideoGame/MetalGear Big Boss]] is the DeconstructorFleet version of this and numerous other tropes. A few of the games' other antagonists probably count as well, at least the ones who weren't always acting as TheMole.
* In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'', this is one of the reasons CIA wants to snuff out [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater The Boss.]] Actually subverted or even averted with herself, since [[spoiler:[[FakeDefector her defection is means as duty for her homeland,]] and in the end, [[HeroicSacrifice she died]] [[SilentScapegoat for her homeland.]]]]
* Garland from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI'' is the top knight in Cornelia, but turns evil and kidnaps their princess.
* ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'' has Angeal, Genesis and Sephiroth, the top-ranking [=SOLDIERs=] of Shinra who are famed and idolized worldwide. By the time the game is over all three of them have gone insane and betrayed the company, though Angeal's turn to darkness is a bit more complicated then Genesis or Sephiroth's.
* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', Seymour is a high-ranking Maester in the Church of Yevon, proposes to the main heroine and is polite and helpful. He's also totally insane, wants to kill everyone in Spira, and made his entire race AlwaysChaoticEvil. [[spoiler:However, turns out all of Yevon's leaders except for Kelk Ronso are corrupt, as the Church of Yevon is a PathOfInspiration.]]
** [[spoiler:Kelk Ronso was also corrupt, just to a lesser extent. After all, he did knowingly allow dead people to rule.]]
* In ''[[VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy]]'', Lightning gets back to Order's Sanctuary to report that Kain is going around killing his allies off, only to find out that [[spoiler:the Warrior of Light not only is in on Kain's plan, he tries to finish Lightning off himself. Doubly effective since his fighting style actually is "Paragon". Subverted though in that he and Kain are {{Well Intentioned Extremist}}s who believe they're doing the right thing, and after a WhatTheHellHero speech for the two of them they come to their senses.]]

* ''Franchise/MassEffect''
** Saren Arterius in ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'' was considered one of the best [[HeroesRUs Spectres]] before his FaceHeelTurn, and ends up dragging an asari Matriarch, her commando team, and a large collection of corporate assets and various mercenary bands with him to [[spoiler:help an {{abusive precursor|s}} destroy galactic society]]. It also makes the council and the other Spectres very reluctant to chase him down. At the same time, however, he was implied to have also been a terrible person (an ancillary book starring him and Captain Anderson supports this), as he was ruthless on the job, even fully willing to cause hundreds of deaths to get his target.
** In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', while Commander Shepard can still be the Paragon, during the two years they were dead, they were subject to a massive [[HeroWithBadPublicity smear campaign]] by the Council. Without being able to count on any official support to thwart the Collector's attacks, Shepard is forced to work with [[NebulousEvilOrganisation Cerberus]], which unfortunately only solidifies the growing belief that they've gone {{rogue|Agent}}.
** Further compounded in the ''Arrival DLC'', where Shepard is forced to [[spoiler: detonate a Mass Relay and wipe out an inhabited star system to prevent the Reapers from gaining a beachhead]]. This leads to Shepard starting ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' in custody and about to be put on trial for [[spoiler: war crimes against the batarians]], when the Reapers finally invade Earth. Suffice to say, Shepard is quickly [[TheExtremistWasRight exonerated of their crimes]] and pressed back into service.
* In the BackStory of ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', Revan was an immensely gifted and charismatic Jedi, who (along with his sidekick Alek who would face the same fate) inspired a number of others to join him in fighting the Mandalorians against the wishes of the Jedi Council. That was still rebellious action for a good cause, but the next thing you know, he had turned to the DarkSide, reforming the Sith order and trying to take over the Republic.
** In ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'', the Exile, a MagneticHero if ever there were one, can become a Sith Lord. Depending on the strength of her relationships, she will drag her companions' alignment down too.
** The canonical light-sided Exile plays even more heavily with this trope. Despite breaking away from the Jedi to join Revan in fighting the Mandalorians and being responsible for ending the war by detonating a superweapon over Malachor V, they remained on the light-side and were the ''only'' one to return to face punishment from the Jedi Council after the end of the war. Furthermore, while the Exile accepted responsibility for disobeying the Council and being sentenced to exile, they refused to accept that they were wrong to stop the Mandalorians from taking over the galaxy and when asked to turn over their lightsaber, defiantly buried it into the stone in the middle of the Council Chambers before storming out.
** This trope has been so common in the Republic's early history that the Disciple [[LampshadeHanging comments]] that the Jedi teachings must have some kind of fundamental flaw, because it ''keeps happening''. Remember that this is barely half a century after Exar Kun's war.

* Several sources cite Franchise/CarmenSandiego as one of these, having once been the best Acme agent in the world [[VictoryIsBoring before growing bored with it]] and [[ForTheEvulz deciding becoming the criminals she was assigned to catch would be more of a challenge.]]
* In ''Videogame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic,'' this happens with [[spoiler: Havoc Squad]]. It can also happen to Republic player characters who turn to the dark side.
** Republic players on Nar Shaddaa are sent into Shadow Town, an Imperial prison for war criminals, to free [[spoiler: a legendary Jedi by the name of Ako Domi]]. Guess what they find.
* Garret from ''VideoGame/{{Thief}}'' was seen as the most promising Keeper acolyte of his generation. Naturally, he decided he'd rather use those skills for his own sake rather than the [[BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil balance]]. Despite this he remains [[SarcasticDevotee a (very reluctant) ally of the Keepers]], which means they permit his freelance life because he keeps preserving the balance (unwillingly) at the cost of some nobles losing some gold every now and again. However, when [[spoiler:interpreter Caduca is murdered]] in ''Deadly Shadows'' and Garret is pinned with the blame, the Keeper organisation essentially tears itself into pieces because so many within the organisation refuse to believe he did it. [[spoiler:Ironically, he becomes the last true Keeper after he destroys Glyph magic.]]
* [[IgnoredExpert Bian Zoldark]] from ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsOriginalGeneration'', originally one of TheFederation best researchers and leaders, went rogue along with many of their best pilots to form the Divine Crusaders and attempted a take-over. As it turns out though, he was actually more of a WellIntentionedExtremist AntiVillain who wanted to make sure Humanity had capable protectors against the AlienInvaders, [[XanatosGambit whether it was his own team or anyone who managed to beat them]]. However, after he was killed by the Steel Dragon Battalion, most of his subordinates that don't [[HeelFaceTurn join the Heroes]] suffer severe MotiveDecay, forming the Neo-Divine Crusaders and later the Gaia Sabers and have remained a long-standing problem for the Heroes ever since.
* Garrosh Hellscream in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' was viewed as the epitome of what a true Orc warchief should be: Cunning, brutal, aggressive, but not needlessly cruel. He loved the Horde and hated their enemies, but over time he began to believe that the Horde's purpose had been corrupted by the other races and Thrall's peace-making. When he descended into villainy many Orcs followed because they believed he still embodied those traits they admired.

** In the same universe, Arthas Menethil, former Prince of Lordaeron, fits this for the Alliance races. A handsome, charismatic, and well-spoken ruler who was an excellent warrior and leader to boot, Arthas had great things expected of him. However, the corruption of both the Scourge and the Burning Legion wore on his sanity until, in order to "save" his kingdom from the undead plague, he became the Lich King, resulting in the near-extinction of at least one race and the downfall of his kingdom, all of which is chronicled in ''VideoGame/Warcraft3''.
** Sargeras was once the leader of the Pantheon before being corrupted by the Burning Legion and turning on all the worlds he once protected.
* In ''{{VideoGame/Starcraft}}'', Aldaris accuses Tassadar of being that. Of course, toward the end even he was forced to admit a mistake.

* Alpha in the ''WesternAnimation/MenInBlack'' AnimatedSeries was once TheMenInBlack's greatest agent, but went bad when he started adding alien parts to his body in a bid for power and immortality.

* [[DeconstructedTrope Deconstructed]] in ''[[WesternAnimation/{{Thundercats 2011}} [=ThunderCats (2011)=]]]'' with the character of Grune, who always wanted to rebel and become his kingdom's [[TheUsurper usurper]] due to his limitless [[AmbitionIsEvil ambition]], and realized that ''becoming'' a paragon by rapidly working his way up the military ladder to [[FourStarBadass General]] was the best way to succeed.
* [[ParodiedTrope Parodied]] in ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPandaLegendsOfAwesomeness'' where it turns out that, in each incarnation of the Furious Five, the strongest member has ALWAYS turned evil. This causes Po to worry that he's going to [[FaceHeelTurn turn evil]]; and leaving to prevent himself from hurting anyone. [[spoiler:Then he remembers he's not actually one of the Furious Five, and jokingly suggests that everyone should be more worried about Tigress instead.]]
* From ''WesternAnimation/TheLifeAndTimesOfJuniperLee'', there was Kai Yee. Kai Yee was said to be the greatest Te Xuan Ze who ever lived and was renowned for his unparalleled skill and sense of duty towards maintaining the balance of magic. As a result of a seemingly endless life of battle, he decided to attempt to become a [[PhysicalGod Magical Elder]] to control magic itself [[AmbitionIsEvil in order]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist to better combat its forces.]] For his insubordination, he was sealed away in stone until he was later released and sealed away again by one of his successors, [[TheHero Juniper Lee]].

* Sosuke Aizen from ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' was once the greatest and most beloved of the Gotei 13 Captains. When he betrayed Soul Society he took two other captains with him and drove a lieutenant into a HeroicBSOD.

*** His [[VideoGame/MegaManMaverickHunterX Maverick Hunter X]] version plays this trope straight.

* In ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'', Numbuh 274 was TheAce of the organization. Then he frames our heroes (because GrowingUpSucks for the KND, and he's trying to hide the news of his thirteenth birthday) and very quickly becomes a recurring villain once the RevealingCoverup blows up in his face. [[spoiler:Until it's revealed near the end that he was a ReverseMole. [[DoubleSubversion However,]] he still plays this trope straight to an extent in that he genuinely ''hated'' Numbuh 1 because he was the better fighter.]]

* ''ComicBook/SecretEmpire'': Captain America again. In a tie-in comic, he manages to [[OnlyTheChosenMayWield lift]] [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Mjolnir]] off the ground despite this being Hydra!Cap. This is the driving force behind why so many of the heroes ally with him against their better judgment, since you can't be worthy if you're not good. [[ContinuitySnarl Even though that's not what worthiness actually means in the Thor books]], and it's more about bravery than anything else. Why no one assumes Cap simply has VillainousValor is unknown. [[spoiler: It's revealed that this is not the actual Cap, but a version from an altered timeline where he'd always been a Hydra agent, but he's still presented as ''a'' real Captain America, so this trope ends up subverted and played straight at the same time.]]

* Makuta Teridax from ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' was once the assigned protector of the island city Metru Nui, one of the most important places in his universe, a universe which he and his army once saved from ancient evil warlords. But owing to the Makuta race's powers being associated with darkness, and for doing tasks that most citizens took for granted (for example creating wildlife to preserve biodiversity, as opposed to performing heroic deed in public), they mostly got ignored by society, though still remained respected and thought of as protectors. Teridax, being fed up with this role, then turned into the story's BigBad himself, taking all of his brethren with him -- and executing or imprisoning those Makuta that didn't choose to follow.

* Gunzou Chihaya from Manga/ArpeggioOfBlueSteel. He was the second in his year of JMSDF cadets, but later rebelled and took a few of his fellow best students.

* Gaston from ''Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast''. Lefou even calls him a "pure paragon" during his musical number. Yet despite this, he is brash, narcissistic, and cruel, and when he seeks to slay the Beast out of envy for Belle falling in love with him, he easily sways the townsfolk to join his cause (though he does use the thin guise of the Beast's repulsive appearance to convince them that he's a threat).

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** [[spoiler:Summer Rose was once the pinnacle of what it meant to be a Huntress, being the inspiration for Ruby's desire to be one, Team STRQ's emotional anchor that made Qrow decide to throw away the life of banditry to become a true Huntsman, and the one Ozpin believed would be TheChosenOne to defeat Salem before her apparent death. However, [[spoiler:Summer]] survived whatever happened to her and joined Salem's cause [[WellIntentionedExtremist believing it to be the only path forward for Remnant]]. Now she stands as Salem's "Black Queen" and major strategist in her war with Ozpin, working tirelessly to bring the rest of the world in line [[spoiler:up to and including becoming the [[VillainWithGoodPublicity virtually-unopposed]] [[JustTheFirstCitizen monarch-in-all-but-name]] of Atlas and Mantle with the intent of converting them all to Salem's side.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/GreenLanternFirstFlight'': Sinestro, who is seen by the Guardians of the Universe as the greatest Green Lantern they ever produced, rebels against them because they aren't doing a good enough job imposing order on the universe.

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** For a nation-wide example, both ''noldor'' and Númenor. Noldor were the most gifted and talented of all Elves, and they rebelled under Fëanor against the Valar. Númenor was the greatest of the nations of Men and specifically chosen by the Elves and Valar for nurturing (because the ancestors of the Númenóreans fought for them against Morgoth). [[AndManGrewProud Then the Númenóreans tried to take over Valinor]] under the mistaken belief it would make them immortal...

** In the same universe, Arthas Menethil, former Prince of Lordaeron, fits this for the Alliance races. A handsome, charismatic, and well-spoken ruler who was an excellent warrior and leader to boot, Arthas had great things expected of him. However, the corruption of both the Scourge and the Burning Legion wore on his sanity until, in order to "save" his kingdom from the undead plague, he became the Lich King, resulting in the near-extinction of at least one race and the downfall of his kingdom, all of which is chronicled in ''VideoGame/Warcraft3''

* Judeo-Christian mythology:
** Lucifer a.k.a. Satan is famous for this and one of the most commonly thought of figures when this trope is brought up.
** Averted with ArchangelMichael, who is the greatest angel and TheParagon, and he never rebels against God.

* In the same universe, Arthas Menethil, former Prince of Lordaeron, fits this for the Alliance races. A handsome, charismatic, and well-spoken ruler who was an excellent warrior and leader to boot, Arthas had great things expected of him. However, the corruption of both the Scourge and the Burning Legion wore on his sanity until, in order to "save" his kingdom from the undead plague, he became the Lich King, resulting in the near-extinction of at least one race and the downfall of his kingdom, all of which is chronicled in ''VideoGame/Warcraft3''