History Main / TheParanoiac

* In ''LightNovel/RebuildWorld'', Akira has severe trust issues due to fighting tooth and nail against everyone he knows in the slums of Kugamayama City and being abandoned by multiple people offering him a better life. He's quick to pull a gun on others, won't hesitate to shoot unless it's a waste of ammo, and refuses to make lasting relationships with others unless they also benefit him. He also sleeps with one eye open and never has a gun far away from him. This gradually softens as he becomes accustomed to having more luxuries like a safe bed to sleep in, but he's still largely cynical unless he speaking to someone who has truly earned his trust.

** Batman himself is frequently accused of being a paranoiac; how much this is true is a case of DependingOnTheWriter, but he has certainly demonstrated many paranoid traits (though it certainly doesn't help that he lives in a world where crazy is commonplace and [[ProperlyParanoid a lot of people really are out to get him]]), including a grim attitude, ControlFreak tendencies, {{Jerkass}} tendencies, and a habit of resorting to violence to solve his problems, with some stories going so far as to imply that being the Batman is simply an excuse for Bruce to take revenge for the murder of his parents by beating the crap out of criminals every night. He also has a grim and bleak view of the society he lives in -- mostly because that society [[WretchedHive is Gotham City]], and his explicit reason for choosing a bat as his gimmick is to [[TerrorHero scare the hell out of his enemies]]. [[SubvertedTrope However]], most stories portray him as someone who, despite being a major cynic and pessimist, actually ''does'' somewhat trust his allies (just acutely aware that he lives in a world where MindControl, DemonicPossession, and exposed {{secret identit|y}}ies are all very real dangers) and who is actually a humble man who has decided to sacrifice his life to the cause of saving others from the evil that took his family away from him. [[DoubleSubversion But then again]], [[ComicBook/Robin1993 considering some]] [[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmericaTowerOfBabel of the morally]] [[ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis questionable lengths that]] [[ComicBook/DarkNightsMetal he's gone to]] to spy on his allies without their consent and come up with plans to take them down behind their backs, one has to wonder.
** [[Characters/BatmanTheRiddler The Riddler]], for much the same reasons as [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Doctor Doom]] -- he assumes that Batman and everyone else is jealous of his [[InsufferableGenius "obvious" intellectual superiority]] and dismisses every defeat he's had as Batman somehow cheating.

* Azula from ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' becomes this at the second to last episode. [[spoiler: With Mai and Ty Lee's betrayal at Boiling Rock fresh on her mind, combined with new authority as Fire Lord, her deteriorating mind starts imagining the worst out of everybody combined with feeling like she might fail at her duties. This leads her to banish her servants, the imperial fire army, the Dai Li and even her servants, out of fear that they'll betray her like Mai and Ty Lee did. Ultimately brings about her downfall, as not only does she get defeated, her mind realizes that nobody is going to come for her now at this point, and she goes insane.]]

** Batman himself is frequently accused of being a paranoiac; how much this is true is a case of DependingOnTheWriter, but he has certainly demonstrated many paranoid traits, including a grim attitude, ControlFreak tendencies, {{Jerkass}} tendencies, and a habit of resorting to violence to solve his problems, with some stories going so far as to imply that being the Batman is simply an excuse for Bruce to take revenge for the murder of his parents by beating the crap out of criminals every night. He also has a grim and bleak view of the society he lives in -- mostly because that society [[WretchedHive is Gotham City]], and his explicit reason for choosing a bat as his gimmick is to [[TerrorHero scare the hell out of his enemies]]. [[SubvertedTrope However]], most stories portray him as someone who, despite being a major cynic and pessimist, actually ''does'' somewhat trust his allies (just acutely aware that he lives in a world where MindControl, DemonicPossession, and exposed {{secret identit|y}}ies are all very real dangers) and who is actually a humble man who has decided to sacrifice his life to the cause of saving others from the evil that took his family away from him. [[DoubleSubversion But then again]], [[ComicBook/Robin1993 considering some]] [[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmericaTowerOfBabel of the morally]] [[ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis questionable lengths that]] [[ComicBook/DarkNightsMetal he's gone to]] to spy on his allies without their consent and come up with plans to take them down behind their backs, one has to wonder.

* ''VideoGame/DeathRoadToCanada'' has the Paranoid personality, wherein the survivor has excellent wits but atrocious attitude, leading to a distrust of anything and everything. Sometimes this results in them [[ImproperlyParanoid refusing to eat or sleep in places that are perfectly safe]], and if they get ahold of a functioning radio they'll spout a whole conspiracy diatribe about government involvement in the zombie apocalypse to [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext push for the illegality of jorts]], but most of the time, when something bad happens out of nowhere (bandit ambushes, fires, etc.), the Paranoid person almost always [[ProperlyParanoid has a plan already cooked up to deal with it, with invariably positive results]]; on top of that, they're excellent judges of character and can pinpoint the entire skillset and personality of potential recruits[[note]]as long as they are randomly generated and not "familiar faces", A.K.A. player-generated characters stored in the character pool[[/note]].

* '''{{Revenge}}''': Paranoiacs are the most likely of all the personality types to hold grudges and [[BestServedCold hold them long]]. Once again, this is primarily a defensive act, taking the view that if people know they will take vengeance for any wrongdoing done to them, real or imagined (often imagined), they will be less likely to mess with the paranoiac. This also compensates for their typically low self-esteem — since they constantly feel embattled, revenge is a way of asserting control over their lives, and taking out their stress on those who they feel deserve it (often, anyone and everyone). DisproportionateRetribution is to be expected as well. [[note]]In practice, most RealLife paranoiacs are more likely to [[PowerFantasy fantasise about revenge]] than to actually do anything about it, since as said, they are primarily defensive, often stressed, and prone to low self-esteem. Actually taking revenge exposes them and invites retaliation, so usually a paranoiac taking revenge is a sign that they either have reached their RageBreakingPoint or they have found themselves in a position of strength or confidence; many extremists are paranoiacs who have gained that confidence from interacting with like-minded people, sometimes leading to terrorism. As such, many paranoiacs [[TheChainOfHarm take out their stresses on]] [[DomesticAbuse their friends and family]] since they can't or won't act against their "enemies".[[/note]]

* ''VideoGame/DeathRoadToCanada'' has the Paranoid personality, wherein the survivor has excellent wits but atrocious attitude, leading to a distrust of anything and everything. Sometimes this results in them [[ImproperlyParanoid refusing to eat or sleep in places that are perfectly safe]], but most of the time, when something bad happens out of nowhere (bandit ambushes, fires, etc.), the Paranoid person almost always [[ProperlyParanoid has a plan already cooked up to deal with it, with invariably positive results]]; on top of that, they're excellent judges of character and can pinpoint the entire skillset and personality of potential recruits[[note]]as long as they are randomly generated and not "familiar faces", A.K.A. player-generated characters stored in the character pool[[/note]].

* ''Fanfic/{{Cain}}'' features Bakugou Katsuki discovering Izuku's status as All Might's chosen successor the same day as the Sludge Villain attack. Katsuki's subsequent jealousy drives him to further and further extremes against Izuku--extremes which his ego won't let him acknowledge are unjustified, so to protect that fragile yet extremely large ego he has a running narrative in his head that continuously attempts to justify his own behavior by building Izuku up as a worse and worse person. As his failures to convince All Might of Izuku's worthlessness mount, Katsuki appears to convince himself that not only is Izuku so powerless he could never succeed in heroism, but that Izuku is a villain, a serial killer, and his stalker who is not only plotting against him, but "probably watching [Katsuki] from somewhere. Laughing at [Katsuki] for falling for [his plots]." Eventually Katsuki gets to the point that every time he fails or is inconvenienced by something, it's the result of Izuku's plot against him, no matter how far away, ''unconscious,'' or completely unrelated to the circumstances Izuku is. By the time of the Entrance Exam, this paranoid hostility extends to almost everyone he meets, as he's too distracted by his Izuku-obsessed suspicions to listen to the test instructions and immediately assumes the fellow examinees who try to help him are attempting to sabotage him. Later he insists [[spoiler:after being disqualified for attempting to commit murder]] that the entirety of UA and possibly the rest of the Hero Industry is working against him under Izuku's nefarious influence.

** ''Fanfic/{{Cain}}'' features Bakugou Katsuki discovering Izuku's status as All Might's chosen successor the same day as the Sludge Villain attack. Katsuki's subsequent jealousy drives him to further and further extremes against Izuku--extremes which his ego won't let him acknowledge are unjustified, so to protect that fragile yet extremely large ego he has a running narrative in his head that continuously attempts to justify his own behavior by building Izuku up as a worse and worse person. As his failures to convince All Might of Izuku's worthlessness mount, Katsuki suffers SanitySlippage and appears to sincerely convince himself that not only is Izuku so powerless he could never succeed in heroism, but that Izuku is a villain, a serial killer, and his stalker who is not only plotting against him, but "probably watching [Katsuki] from somewhere. Laughing at [Katsuki] for falling for [his plots]." Eventually Katsuki gets to the point that every time he fails or is inconvenienced by something, it's the result of Izuku's plot against him, no matter how far away, ''unconscious,'' or completely unrelated to the circumstances Izuku is. Katsuki is certain Izuku is an imminent threat out to get him, and no one and nothing can convince him otherwise. By the time of the Entrance Exam, this paranoid hostility extends to almost everyone he meets, as he's too distracted by his paranoia to listen to the instructions and immediately assumes the fellow examinees who try to help him are trying to sabotage him, and later insists [[spoiler:after attempting to commit murder]] that the entirety of UA and possibly the rest of the Hero Industry is working against him under Izuku's nefarious influence.

* Grant [=McKay=] from ''ComicBook/BlackScience'' is a genius physicist whose brilliance is hampered by his extreme narcissistic paranoia. He sees oppression and greed everywhere, often without evidence, and rejects all authority figures, regardless of their merit. He also has a huge victim complex, seeing himself as a put-upon everyman who’s being held back by [[BlamingTheMan The Man]]. There’s a rather telling scene where he goes on a bitter, rambling diatribe about how history is WrittenByTheWinners and how [[SmallNameBigEgo great people like him who do the real work]] are always forgotten.

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Volume 1]]: Hypnota was always a secretive person due to being a stage magician who publicly identified as male most of the time and having been assigned female at birth. Then their twin sister, the one person they truly trusted, shot them in the head in a training accident. Nothing could convince them that this ''was'' an accident and they became a control freak of a terrifying magnitude using their hypnotic meta-abilities to turn people into essentially slaves and then selling many of them to Saturnian Empire slavers as they no longer trusted or cared for anyone but themselves. Their lack of empathy is implied to be mostly due to brain damage changing them, but they always held their secrets close.

->'''Natasha Romanoff''': Looking over your shoulder should be second nature.\\
'''Sam Wilson''': Anyone ever tell you you're a little paranoid?\\
'''Natasha''': Not to my face. Why, did you hear something?

** The Riddler, for much the same reasons as Characters/DoctorDoom -- he assumes that Batman and everyone else is jealous of his "obvious" intellectual superiority and dismisses every defeat he's had as Batman somehow cheating.
** The Scarecrow, who was violently bullied in his youth and was left with a crippling inferiority complex that developed into an obsession with fear and a career in supervillainy, his "gimmick" being scaring people to death with hallucinogens and drugs. Like most Batman villains, he is prone to BadBoss behaviour and violent overreactions. He also believes that the entire world runs on fear; hard to get a bleaker worldview than that.
** [[Characters/BatmanTwoFace Two-Face]], though "officially" diagnosed as having a SplitPersonality, probably fits this better than anything. He has BlackAndWhiteInsanity and a [[JadeColoredGlasses bleak worldview]] down to a tee, as he literally makes nearly every decision based on a coin flip (and has a FreakOut if he ever loses said coin) because he thinks all laws and rules [[StrawNihilist are based on random chance]]; he has [[HairTriggerTemper an explosive temper]], and once killed a lackey over [[DisproportionateRetribution spilling a drink]]; he murdered his mistress, [[ComicBook/DarkVictory Janice Porter]], because "Harvey Dent is a married man" and later was livid to learn that [[ComicBook/GothamCentral Renee Montoya]], whom he had been stalking, was a lesbian and [[InsaneTrollLogic accused her of tricking him]]. Works such as ''ComicBook/TheLongHalloween'' suggest that much of this attitude was present even before he became Two-Face, as that story showed a grim and humourless Harvey Dent willing to break the law to defeat the mob, having zero time for human relationships (including his wife) and maybe-or-not being the SerialKiller who was murdering mobsters and served as the BigBad of the plot. A drunken and abusive father is also a consistent feature of his backstory, as is the implication that Harvey is mistrusting and pitiless as a result.
** Batman himself is also frequently accused of being a paranoiac; how much this is true is a case of DependingOnTheWriter, but he has certainly demonstrated many paranoid traits, including a grim attitude, ControlFreak tendencies, {{Jerkass}} tendencies, and a habit of resorting to violence to solve his problems, with some stories going so far as to imply that being the Batman is simply an excuse for Bruce to take revenge for the murder of his parents by beating the crap out of criminals every night. He also has a grim and bleak view of the society he lives in -- mostly because that society [[WretchedHive is Gotham City]], and his explicit reason for choosing a bat as his gimmick is to scare the hell out of his enemies. [[SubvertedTrope However]], most stories portray him as someone who, despite being a major cynic and pessimist, actually ''does'' somewhat trust his allies (just brutally aware that he lives in a world where MindControl, DemonicPossession, and exposed secret identities are all very real dangers) and who is actually a humble man who has decided to sacrifice his life to the cause of saving others from the evil that took his family away from him. [[DoubleSubversion But then again]], [[ComicBook/RobinSeries considering some]] [[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmericaTowerOfBabel of the morally]] [[ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis questionable lengths he's]] [[ComicBook/DarkNightsMetal gone to]] to spy on his allies without their consent and come up with plans to take them down behind their backs, one has to wonder.
** [[Characters/BatmanRasAlGhul Ra's al Ghul]] has all the hallmarks of a paranoiac {{Narcissist}}ic cult leader. Most notably, he is a ControlFreak whose League of Assassins has a policy of [[YouHaveFailedMe punishing failure with death]], something that rarely seems to produce results but ''would'' serve the purpose of [[DivideAndConquer making the world's deadliest assassins more eager to succeed than turn against him.]] In addition, he never once [[NeverMyFault accepts responsibility]] for messing up his family nor any blame for any of the murders and atrocities he has committed over the centuries or plans to commit in the future. He is also prone to {{Revenge}} on everyone who isn't Batman, whom he admires and perhaps secretly [[GreenEyedMonster envies]], although his gigantic ego is rebuffed by the Detective's refusal to [[WeCanRuleTogether marry his daughter and become his heir]]. He is [[MisanthropeSupreme utterly cynical]] about the rest of humanity and is a firm believer in MightMakesRight and ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption, punishing any follower -- or Dark Knight -- who disagrees with him with [[SadistTeacher object lessons]]. Essentially, he comes across as a man who secretly fears that he [[InferioritySuperiorityComplex isn't as special as he always thought he was]] and falls back on increasingly violent and extreme methods to both prove that wrong and [[TheManBehindTheCurtain stop anyone from questioning his superior image.]]
** An issue of ''ComicBook/TheBatmanAdventures'' shows Joe Chill living in paranoia-induced fear that the now grown-up Bruce Wayne could identify him as his parents' murderer, to the point where he begins to hallucinate random people as Bruce. Then when he learns that a detective who investigated the case kept a button he found at the murder scene, even though it's clear that the detective took it as a memento and not as evidence, Chill is utterly convinced that it could tie him to the crime and he resolves to kill the detective. [[spoiler:When he accidentally unmasks Batman during a struggle, he's so shocked at seeing Bruce Wayne under the mask that he mentally breaks and ends up falling off a balcony to his death. His last words to Bruce: ''"Why won't you go away?!"'' Bruce -- [[UnknownRival who has no idea who Chill is]] -- is left completely confused.]]
* Grant [=McKay=] from ''ComicBook/BlackScience'' is a genius physicist whose brilliance is hampered by his extreme narcissistic paranoia. He sees oppression and greed everywhere, often without evidence, and rejects all authority figures, regardless of their merit. He also has a huge victim complex, seeing himself as a put-upon everyman who’s being held back by [[BlamingTheMan The Man]]. There’s a rather telling scene where he goes on a bitter, rambling diatribe about how history is WrittenByTheWinners and [[SmallNameBigEgo great people like him who do the real work]] are always forgotten.

** Paranoia is what caused [[Characters/FantasticFourCentralRoguesGallery Annihilus]] to become an OmnicidalManiac. He's always been terrified of dying, and while his Cosmic Control Rod means he can't die of natural causes, he can still be killed by others. Thus, his ultimate goal in life is to kill every living being in the universe, just in case any of them might kill him. This has rather predictably proven self-fulfilling; becoming a mass murderer out of paranoia that others would kill him has greatly increased the number of people who ''want'' Annihilus dead.
** Characters/DoctorDoom is the archetypal paranoid narcissist, and his creator Creator/JackKirby has even occasionally referred to him as paranoid. The absolute monarch of the tiny nation of Latveria where he has fostered a cult of personality around himself, Doom frequently [[ThirdPersonPerson refers to himself in the third person]], accepts [[NeverMyFault zero responsibility]] for any of his mistakes and failures, and is completely convinced that the reason that the Fantastic Four are fighting him is because their leader Reed (and everyone else, but especially Reed) is and always had been insanely jealous of Doom's own "superior" brilliance.
* ''ComicBook/NewGods'': [[Characters/NewGodsDarkseid Darkseid]], the GalacticConqueror and EvilOverlord of the Franchise/DCUniverse, shows many signs of a paranoiac {{Sadist}}. Though always a total bastard, Darkseid became insanely mistrustful and paranoid after his mother Heggra, who had manipulated and controlled him his entire life, murdered the only woman he ever loved via Darkseid's own underling Desaad, with Darkseid responding by ordering Desaad to murder Heggra back, and then treating him and every other underling with even more cruelty and mistrust than before. Questioning Darkseid is an instant death sentence, and his ultimate ambition is to control all life everywhere and eradicate TheEvilsOfFreeWill including love, happiness, and hope, turning the universe into a bleak, miserable dystopia where everyone suffers and worships him as God.
* Red Alert in ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'', perhaps as a result of being {{Brainwashed}} a couple of times, perhaps not. At first, it looks like he's making progress, but then Rung gets shot (non-fatally) by accident and he goes quickly downhill until he attempts suicide, believing that whoever shot his therapist will come after him next. [[spoiler:There ''is'' [[ProperlyParanoid a conspiracy going on involving Rodimus]], and Red Alert had even stumbled on it. And in ''ComicBook/TheTransformersTitansReturn, it's revealed that the reason Red Alert is so paranoid was that millions of years ago, Sentinel Prime used shadowplay to turn him into a sleeper agent.]] Whirl also has a few traits of this, typically answering the door with a loaded gun even though he's on an Autobot ship and the war is over, but it's not as emphasised as Red Alert's.

* Grant [=McKay=] from ''ComicBook/BlackScience'' is a genius physicist whose brilliance is hampered by his extreme narcissistic paranoia. He sees oppression and greed everywhere, often without evidence, and rejects all authority figures, regardless of their merit. He also has a huge victim complex, seeing himself as a put-upon everyman who’s being held back by TheMan. There’s a rather telling scene where he goes on a bitter, rambling diatribe about how history is WrittenByTheWinners and [[SmallNameBigEgo great people like him who do the real work]] are always forgotten.

->''"What am I talking about? What am I talking about? I'm talking about your goldarned security, Hogarth! While you're snoozing in your widdle jammies, back in Washington we're wide awake and worried! Why? Because everyone wants what we have, Hogarth! Everyone! You think this metal man is fun, but who built it? The Russians? The Chinese? Martians? Canadians? I don't care! All I know is we didn't build it, and that's reason enough to assume the worst and blow it to kingdom come! Now, you are going to tell me about this thing, you are going to lead me to it, and we are going to destroy it before it destroys us!"''
-->-- '''Kent Mansley''', ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant''

-->--'''Kent Mansley''', ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant''

* John from ''WebComic/UnOrdinary'' becomes this at late Season 1 and the Season 2.
[[spoiler:With Claire and Arlo's ambushes and horrible treatment of the high-tiers fresh on his mind, combined with rampage as Joker and new authority as King, his deteriorating mind starts imagining the worst out of everybody combined with feeling like he is entirely flawed, incapable of growth and might fail at his duties. This leads him to assault any student at Wellston High for not meeting his expectations, out of fear that they'll decieve and betray him just like his former friend Claire did back in New Bostin. He also rationalizes that Seraphina's confrontation about his past and him being Joker and Arlo intervening when he began to assault her were planned to decieve and betray him and declares both of them are dead to him, swearing to never see them ever again. Ultimately brings about his downfall, as not only does he get overpowered, his mind realizes that nobody is going to come for his now at this point, and he goes insane, losing control of his ability. This however is then proven wrong when Sera refuses to give up on him and finally manages to some sense on him.]]

Other symptoms include a HairTriggerTemper; {{Dirty Coward}}ice as well as [[MilesGloriosus bravado and boastful behaviour]]; GreenEyedMonster behaviour and the assumption that others are envious or jealous of them ([[PsychologicalProjection rather than the other way around]]); BlackAndWhiteInsanity and a tendency to (a)moral absolutes; attempts at (or claims of) achieving self-reliance, independence, and self-sufficiency; and [[EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor a poor sense of humor]], one that is either [[NoSenseOfHumor utterly lacking]] or [[DudeNotFunny outright cruel]], reflecting the fact that paranoiacs are typically guarded and serious. They also have a tendency to believe MightMakesRight, at least in regard to themselves and their own actions, and are likely to believe ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption more than most. Many seek power, to secure their boundaries and feed their fragile egos, almost inevitably abusing it if and when they ever find it. Paranoia is also a root cause of ''all'' forms of prejudice and bigotry.

!!Examples

[[folder:Film]]

* ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'':
** Paranoia is what caused [[Characters/FantasticFourCentralRoguesGallery Annihilus]] to become an OmnicidalManiac. He's always been terrified of dying, and while his Cosmic Control Rod means he can't die of natural causes, he can still be killed by others. Thus, his ultimate goal in life is to kill every living being in the universe, just in case any of them might kill him. This has rather predictably proven self-fulfilling; becoming a mass murderer out of paranoia that others would kill him has greatly increased the number of people who ''want'' Annihilus dead.
** Characters/DoctorDoom is the archetypal paranoid narcissist, and his creator Creator/JackKirby has even occasionally referred to him as paranoid. The absolute monarch of the tiny nation of Latveria where he has fostered a cult of personality around himself, Doom frequently [[ThirdPersonPerson refers to himself in the third person]], accepts [[NeverMyFault zero responsibility]] for any of his mistakes and failures, and is completely convinced that the reason that the Fantastic Four are fighting him is because their leader Reed (and everyone else, but especially Reed) is and always had been insanely jealous of Doom's own "superior" brilliance.
* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'':

* Paranoia is what caused [[Characters/FantasticFourCentralRoguesGallery Annihilus]] to become an OmnicidalManiac. He's always been terrified of dying, and while his Cosmic Control Rod means he can't die of natural causes, he can still be killed by others. Thus, his ultimate goal in life is to kill every living being in the universe, just in case any of them might kill him. This has rather predictably proven self-fulfilling; becoming a mass murderer out of paranoia that others would kill him has greatly increased the number of people who ''want'' Annihilus dead.

** ComicBook/TheRiddler, for much the same reasons as Doom — he assumes that Batman and everyone else is jealous of his "obvious" intellectual superiority, and dismisses every defeat he's had as Batman somehow cheating.
** ComicBook/TheScarecrow, who was violently bullied in his youth and was left with a crippling inferiority complex that developed into an obsession with fear and a career in supervillainy, his "gimmick" being scaring people to death with hallucinogens and drugs. Like most Batman villains, he is prone to BadBoss behaviour and violent overreactions. He also believes that the entire world runs on fear; hard to get a bleaker worldview than that.
** Comicbook/TwoFace, though "officially" diagnosed as having a Split Personality, probably fits this better than anything. He has BlackAndWhiteInsanity and a [[JadeColoredGlasses bleak worldview]] down to a tee, as he literally makes nearly every decision based on a coin flip (and has a FreakOut if he ever loses said coin) because he thinks all laws and rules [[StrawNihilist are based on random chance]]; he has [[HairTriggerTemper an explosive temper]], and once killed a lackey over [[DisproportionateRetribution spilling a drink]]; he murdered his mistress, [[ComicBook/DarkVictory Janice Porter]], because "Harvey Dent is a married man" and later was livid to learn that [[ComicBook/GothamCentral Renee Montoya]], whom he had been stalking, was a lesbian and [[InsaneTrollLogic accused her of tricking him]]. Works such as ''ComicBook/TheLongHalloween'' suggest that much of this attitude was present even before he became Two-Face, as that story showed a grim and humourless Harvey Dent willing to break the law to defeat the mob, having zero time for human relationships (including his wife) and maybe-or-not being the SerialKiller who was murdering mobsters and served as the BigBad of the plot. A drunken and abusive father is also a consistent feature of his backstory, as is the implication that Harvey is mistrusting and pitiless as a result.
** Batman himself is also frequently accused of being a paranoiac; how much this is true is a case of DependingOnTheWriter, but he has certainly demonstrated many paranoid traits, including a grim attitude, ControlFreak tendencies, JerkAss tendencies, and a habit of resorting to violence to solve his problems, with some stories going so far as to imply that being the Batman is simply an excuse for Bruce to take revenge for the murder of his parents by beating the crap out of criminals every night. He also has a grim and bleak view of the society he lives in — mostly because that society [[WretchedHive is Gotham City]], and his explicit reason for choosing a bat as his gimmick is to scare the hell out of his enemies. [[SubvertedTrope However]], most stories portray him as someone who, despite being a major cynic and pessimist, actually ''does'' somewhat trust his allies (just brutally aware that he lives in a world where MindControl, DemonicPossession, and exposed secret identities are all very real dangers) and who is actually a humble man who has decided to sacrifice his life to the cause of saving others from the evil that took his family away from him. [[DoubleSubversion But then again]], [[Comicbook/RobinSeries considering some]] [[Comicbook/JusticeLeagueOfAmericaTowerOfBabel of the morally]] [[Comicbook/InfiniteCrisis questionable lengths he’s]] [[Comicbook/DarkNightsMetal gone to]] to spy on his allies without their consent and come up with plans to take them down behind their backs, one has to wonder.
** ComicBook/RasAlGhul has all the hallmarks of a paranoiac {{Narcissist}}ic cult leader. Most notably, he is a ControlFreak whose League of Assassins has a policy of [[YouHaveFailedMe punishing failure with death]], something that rarely seems to produce results but ''would'' serve the purpose of [[DivideAndConquer making the world's deadliest assassins more eager to succeed than turn against him.]] In addition, he never once [[NeverMyFault accepts responsibility]] for messing up his family nor any blame for any of the murders and atrocities he has committed over the centuries or plans to commit in the future. He is also prone to {{Revenge}} on everyone who isn't Batman, whom he admires and perhaps secretly [[GreenEyedMonster envies]], although his gigantic ego is rebuffed by the Detective's refusal to [[WeCanRuleTogether marry his daughter and become his heir]]. He is [[MisanthropeSupreme utterly cynical]] about the rest of humanity and is a firm believer in MightMakesRight and ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption, punishing any follower — or Dark Knight — who disagrees with him with [[SadistTeacher object lessons]]. Essentially, he comes across as a man who secretly fears that he [[InferioritySuperiorityComplex isn't as special as he always thought he was]], and falls back on increasingly violent and extreme methods to both prove that wrong and [[TheManBehindTheCurtain stop anyone from questioning his superior image.]]
** An issue of ''ComicBook/TheBatmanAdventures'' shows Joe Chill living in paranoia-induced fear that the now grown-up Bruce Wayne could identify him as his parents' murderer, to the point where he begins to hallucinate random people as Bruce. Then when he learns that a detective who investigated the case kept a button he found at the murder scene, even though it's clear that the detective took it as a memento and not as evidence, Chill is utterly convinced that it could tie him to the crime and he resolves to kill the detective. [[spoiler:When he accidentally unmasks Batman during a struggle, he's so shocked at seeing Bruce Wayne under the mask that he mentally breaks and ends up falling off a balcony to his death. His last words to Bruce: ''"Why won't you go away?!"'' Bruce — [[UnknownRival who has no idea who Chill is]] — is left completely confused.]]

* ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}, the GalacticConqueror and EvilOverlord of the Franchise/DCUniverse, shows many signs of a paranoiac {{Sadist}}. Though always a total bastard, Darkseid became insanely mistrustful and paranoid after his mother Heggra, who had manipulated and controlled him his entire life, murdered the only woman he ever loved via Darkseid's own underling Desaad, with Darkseid responding by ordering Desaad to murder Heggra back, and then treating him and every other underling with even more cruelty and mistrust than before. Questioning Darkseid is an instant death sentence, and his ultimate ambition is to control all life everywhere and eradicate TheEvilsOfFreeWill including love, happiness, and hope, turning the universe into a bleak, miserable dystopia where everyone suffers and worships him as God.
* ComicBook/DoctorDoom is the archetypal paranoid narcissist, and his creator Creator/JackKirby has even occasionally referred to him as paranoid. The absolute monarch of the tiny nation of Latveria where he has fostered a cult of personality around himself, Doom frequently [[ThirdPersonPerson refers to himself in the third person]], accepts [[NeverMyFault zero responsibility]] for any of his mistakes and failures, and is completely convinced that the reason [[ComicBook/FantasticFour the Fantastic Four]] are fighting him is because their leader Reed (and everyone else, but especially Reed) is and always had been insanely jealous of Doom's own "superior" brilliance.

* Lydia Rodarte-Quayle, from ''Series/BreakingBad'', is a blue-collar criminal who worked with Gus through Madrigal Electromotive in his drug empire. She is constantly paranoid that someone is out to get her, fearful that she would be raped in prison and her daughter would be abused if placed into foster care. She is exceptionally nervous about meeting with other criminal associates in person, and she attempts to have several of Mike's associates killed to prevent them from ratting on her, even after he assures her that they would not talk. [[spoiler:In the series finale, she arranges to have Walt killed to prevent him from putting a spanner in the works after returning from being on the run. In the end, she turns out to be ProperlyParanoid, as Walt has her poisoned with ricin in their last face-to-face meeting.]]

* Diavolo from ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureGoldenWind'' is likely the most powerful man in Italy and is obsessed with ruling the world as a mafia boss to maintain a sense of control, assumes the worst of people (he doesn't understand why Bruno is genuinely concerned for Trish), and is vengeful enough against traitors to mail their body parts to their friends. Above all, he's obsessed with remaining anonymous, to the point of wanting to kill his own long-lost daughter in case she can be used to trace his identity. It probably doesn't help that his Stand, King Crimson, allows him to see several seconds into the future, a future that can only be changed by his own power. Meaning that while Diavolo can see his own pitfalls coming before it hits him, he must use this ability to avoid them. He has likely seen firsthand the possibility of his own demise many times, which explains the lengths he goes to seclude himself.

* Diavolo from ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureVentoAureo'' is likely the most powerful man in Italy and is obsessed with ruling the world as a mafia boss to maintain a sense of control, assumes the worst of people (he doesn't understand why Bruno is genuinely concerned for Trish), and is vengeful enough against traitors to mail their body parts to their friends. Above all, he's obsessed with remaining anonymous, to the point of wanting to kill his own long-lost daughter in case she can be used to trace his identity. It probably doesn't help that his Stand, King Crimson, allows him to see several seconds into the future, a future that can only be changed by his own power. Meaning that while Diavolo can see his own pitfalls coming before it hits him, he must use this ability to avoid them. He has likely seen firsthand the possibility of his own demise many times, which explains the lengths he goes to seclude himself.

* ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'': In an alternate version of the DC Universe, after being tricked into killing his wife ComicBook/LoisLane and nuking Metropolis by ComicBook/TheJoker, Franchise/{{Superman}} establishes a dictatorship on Earth. He becomes ''hypersensitive'' to any criticism levied on him, responding with outright DisproportionateRetribution at times. [[SanitySlippage As time progressed]], he becomes a rage-fueled madman ranting about how [[UngratefulBastard "ungrateful"]] people are towards his rule and ignoring his own faults by passing on the blame to others, [[spoiler:even killing two of his own allies when they realize how far he's fallen]]. He even [[{{Yandere}} develops]] an obsession on Multiverse Lois [[LovingAShadow when told]] about it, planning to forcefully [[AndNowYouMustMarryMe take her]] as his bride even if she won't like it and [[MurderingTheHypotenuse kill]] Multiverse Superman.