History Main / WhosLaughingNow

** Which is also how Ash got his Charmander. Charmander's original owner hated how 'weak' he was and abandoned it to basically die. That Charmander grew into Charizard, Ash's strongest Pokemon.

** And then there's the Team Rocket trio, who were originally constantly kicked around by the heroes, but during the Best Wishes arc, they actually became like this.

--> '''Ash (while in the process of cutting off his own posessed hand with a chainsaw):''' "Who's laughing now? '''WHO'S LAUGHING NOW?!''' WAHAHAHAHA!"

*** Butters tends to play with this trope, while his attempts as Professor Chaos frequently have no effect whatsoever, he has on occasion got heavy justice ''completely by accident''. In "AWESOME-O" for example, Cartman manages to trick Butters into believing he is a robot buddy, only to be driven insane by [[AndCallHimGeorge Butter's constant affection and playtime ideas]]. Also in "The Tale Of Scrotie Mc Boogerballs" the boys trick him into taking credit for a vulgar novel they wrote, only to be labelled a literary genius, [[CassandraTruth with the others labelled liars when they try to take back credit for their work]]. It is worth noting throughout all of this Butters is genuinely convinced [[ItMakesSenseInContext he subconsciously wrote the novel]], leading to this outburst when the boys confront him about it:

** Cartman tries it again in the Coon vs Mysterion trilogy, after several [[HeroWithAnFInGood rather unheroic actions]] lead to him being evicted from the Coon and Friends club (who also keep the self aggrandizing name "[[ItAmusedMe because it pisses him off]]") he actually teams up with the ''Cthulhu'' and ''banishes them to an alternate dimention'', along with brutally killing millions of other people he finds to be "evil".

-->''Butters:''' *snaps* No! Let me tell you something, fellas!! You always take advantage of me. And after reading Catcher in the Rye, I've learned you're nothing but phonies! I'm not letting you trick me this time. So the four of you can just suck on my wiener.

*** Butters tends to play with this trope, while his attempts as Professor Chaos frequently have no effect whatsoever, he has on occasion got heavy justice ''completely by accident''. In "AWESOME-O" for example, Cartman manages to trick Butters into believing he is a robot buddy, only to be driven insane by [[AndCallHimGeorge Butter's constant affection and playtime ideas]]. Also in "The Tale Of Scrotie Mc Boogerballs" the boys trick him into taking credit for a vulgar novel they wrote, only to be labelled a literary genius, [[CassandraTruth with the others labelled liars when they try to take back credit for their work]].
** And by the time of the episode ''The Coon'', the town seems to regard him as superhuman.

*** Butters tends to play with this trope, while his attempts as Professor Chaos frequently have no effect whatsoever, he has on occasion got heavy justice ''completely by accident''. In "AWESOME-O" for example, Cartman manages to trick Butters into believing he is a robot buddy, only to be driven insane by [[AndCallHimGeorge Butter's constant affection and playtime ideas]]. Also in "The Tale Of Scrotie Mc Boogerballs" the boys trick him into taking credit for a vulgar novel they wrote, only to be labelled a literary genius, [[CassanderaTruth with the others labelled liars when they try to take back credit for their work]].

** Which is also how Ash got his Charmander. Charmander's original owner hated how 'weak' he was and abandoned it to basically die. That Charmander grew into Charizard, Ash's strongest Pokemon in the first two seasons.

** Which is also how Ash got his Charmander. Charmander's original owner hated how 'weak' he was and abandoned it to basically die. That Charmander grew into Charazard, one of Ash's strongest Pokemon in the first two seasons.

* In a first season episode of ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', a girl who was ignored by everyone in the school becomes invisible as a result, and decides to take revenge on [[TheLibby Cordelia]]. [[spoiler:Then she gets taken away by {{MIB}} and apparently becomes a government assassin.]]

* Lucy from ''ElfenLied''. [[spoiler: after suffering years of abuse the final straw is when the bullies [[KickTheDog beat her puppy to death]] [[MoralEventHorizon right in front of her]]--and they only found out about it because TheLibby BitchInSheepsClothing [[EtTuBrute pretended to be her friend]]. [[BreakTheCutie "You know who isn't human? You know who isn't human?! PEOPLE LIKE YOU!"]]...and the bullies explode in LudicrousGibs.]]

** Then there's Jonathan. Buffy believes he's going to [[IPulledAWeirdAl pull a]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Whitman Charles Whitman]] in the third season (but he actually intends to kill himself until she talks him out of it), he turns himself into a GodModeSue for a fourth season episode, and he finally does become a villain in the sixth season.

** [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation Alternatively]], it's an unnecessarily dramatic way of saying that he hates [[spoiler: Konoha]] for living and growing thanks to [[spoiler: Itachi's sacrifice]] and yet being completely unaware of it. So what better way to [[spoiler: make Itachi's sacrifice meaningful than to [[CompletelyMissingThePoint destroy the village he sacrificed everything for]]?]]

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->'''Mr. Incredible:''' I was wrong to treat you that way. I'm sorry.
->'''Syndrome:''' See?! ''Now'' you respect me! Because I'm a ''threat!''
-->--''{{The Incredibles}}''

So you have a character who is the [[ButtMonkey butt of every joke]]. They are regularly [[ChewToy put through hell]], purely for the audience's amusement. And they have [[UnstoppableRage had enough]].

What did the heroes do wrong? Maybe the [[TheGuardsMustBeCrazy harmless mook]] [[NotSoHarmless wasn't so harmless after all]]. Maybe that last jibe went [[RantInducingSlight too far]]. Whatever the reason, this character is through with being the [[PluckyComicRelief comedy sidekick]] and determined to show the heroes precisely ''why'' you should BewareTheNiceOnes.

And what better way to go about it than to [[StartOfDarkness become a villain]]?

Who's laughing now, hero? Who's laughing NOW?!

This can occur with victims of a world full of {{Jerk Jock}}s, where the KidsAreCruel and TeensAreMonsters. By this point, they don't realize the irony: that by taking revenge, they have [[IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim become as bad as those who victimized them]], or even worse become criminals and monsters in the eyes of [[AdultsAreUseless society that did nothing to protect them]] but [[CantGetAwayWithNuthin won't let them get away with it]]. (Although they might just not care) this could also result in the ButtMonkey being pushed back down into the former position, or the character could become relatively harmless but still extremely annoying. May result in the character becoming [[ArchEnemy Arch Enemies]] with the most abusive.

A [[DeconstructedTrope deconstruction]] of tropes such as ButtMonkey and ChewToy, a specific variant of FaceHeelTurn, and a form of FreudianExcuse. Compare StartOfDarkness, BewareTheNiceOnes, BreakTheCutie, WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds, KickTheDog, and NotSoHarmless.

Not to be confused with ''[[{{Journey}} Who's Crying Now]]''.
----
!!Examples

[[AC:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]
* ''NeonGenesisEvangelion'': ButtMonkey + AGodAmI [[ThereAreNoTherapists - Therapists]] = TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. The mind-bending CosmicHorror ''wasn't exactly helping''.
** To be fair, [[spoiler:everyone who gave a flying shit about Shinji was brutally killed, with a few in front of him, and one ''by'' him]]. Anyone would be AxCrazy after going through what he went through.
* Minoru in the ShowWithinAShow in ''LuckyStar''.
* Teru Mikami in ''DeathNote''.
** And, in a way, Touta Matsuda.
** All the Death Note users in the pilot chapter (see the [[{{Anvilicious}} anvils?]])
** Kiyomi Takada in the live-action movie.
** [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation Arguably Light Yagami]]- he was seriously considering the [[JerkJock school bully]] for his second kill despite how it might implicate him to kill someone he knows.
* The sequence in ''UminekoNoNakuKoroNi'' where [[spoiler:Maria tortures Rosa over and over as revenge for all the abuse she has suffered at her hands over the years. It doesn't help that most of the torture is graphic and that Beatrice resurrects Rosa over and over for Maria to torture.]]
* Lelouch from ''CodeGeass'' got a lot of mockery from various nobles. He got his laugh.
* [[spoiler: Sasuke]] from {{Naruto}} ''thinks'' he's acting out this trope when he tries to remember Konoha, and remembers everybody laughing, concluding that they must have ''really'' been laughing at ''him'', and now he'll start getting his revenge! They actually weren't laughing at him but rather at some joke or something, he's just ''completely insane''.
** [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation Alternatively]], it's an unnecessarily dramatic way of saying that he hates [[spoiler: Konoha]] for living and growing thanks to [[spoiler: Itachi's sacrifice]] and yet being completely unaware of it. So what better way to [[spoiler: make Itachi's sacrifice meaningful than to [[CompletelyMissingThePoint destroy the village he sacrificed everything for]]?]]
* In Pokemon, Ash's newest rival Paul was a JerkAss who treated Chimchar, a fire monkey, like a literal ButtMonkey, insulting him and yelling at him every time he lost a battle. Paul finally got so fed up that he pulled a non-lethal YouHaveFailedMe and released Chimchar. Luckily, Chimchar was quickly brought on to Ash's team, who promised to take better care of him. Thanks to Ash, Chimchar began becoming successful and confident. It soon evolved to its final stage. What's more, both evolutions were right in front of Paul, who was shocked to see the power that his old Pokemon has gained. In your face, Paul! [[spoiler: Later he gets HoistByHisOwnPetard in the Sinnoh League, as he ends up losing to that [[TheDogBitesBack same Infernape that he abused as a Chimchar]].]]
* A variation happens in ''GurrenLagann,'' when Rossiu, who's had more than a few digs sent his way by [[IdiotHero Kamina]], [[spoiler: [[SheIsAllGrownUp grows up]] to be an EvilChancellor and nearly has Simon (TheHero and Kamina's main protege) executed- albeit for [[ShootTheDog an unrelated reason]].]]

[[AC:ComicBooks]]
* Ephialtes from ''[[ThreeHundred 300]]''--who, as far as WhosLaughingNow people go, was treated rather reasonably by Leonidas, particularly in the comic (as what happened later in the movie seemed to put the lie to the idea of the Spartans' strength being the phalanx formation).
** Leonidas got him back though, wishing him, apparently rather charitably, to live a long life. But since a Spartan's greatest honor is to die in battle, [[FateWorseThanDeath this is a rather awesome backhand to the traitor]].
** It's worse in the comic. He tries to commit suicide after his rejection by jumping off a cliff but survives, in agony. He blames the gods for forcing him to live his torturous existence. That's what makes him renounce his Spartan heritage and the Greek gods in favour of one who actually appears to give a shit about him.
* SpiderMan, in the crossover novel series ''Time's Arrow'', muses on the phenomenon of CutLexLuthorACheck (and, indeed, the tendency of good people with powers to become vigilantes rather than making millions), and realizes it's not about the money--it's about showing up everyone who ever laughed at them.
** In another issue, Peter Parker is at his old high school, trying to secure a teaching job when suddenly, someone comes in and starts shooting up the place. Peter changes into Spider-Man and takes the shooter out only to realise that he's just a kid who was sick and tired of being bullied by the other kids at the school. As he's hauled off to jail, Peter grimly reflects that he could have easily turned out the same way.
** In ''Skin Deep'' storyarc Peter's former classmate, who was mercilessly bullied at school, gets superpowers and after he sees two of his former tormentors mocking at him on TV he goes and kills them. In the end Spider-Man got him frozen, probably for the rest of his life. [[FateWorseThanDeath And he is conscious]]. Although after ''One More Day'' it's probably not in continuity anymore.
** In the Ultimate books, Peter often mocks the even-more-pathetic-than-he-is-in-main-continuity Ultimate Shocker before beating him up with almost no effort. When Shocker gets lucky and knocks Peter out, he ties him up in a warehouse and tortures him slowly, as payback for all the times he was mocked. Interestingly, even though the guy is trying to kill him, Peter genuinely apologizes for being such a jerk after hearing Shocker's surprisingly sad HannibalLecture.
* In ''TheSavageDragon'', there was a boy routinely bullied and even abused by his parents until he woke up one day with superpowers that actually made him the most powerful being on Earth. One RoaringRampageOfRevenge later, and after sweeping aside most of the other heroes, The Dragon manages to talk him down and convince him not to make himself a thing to be feared by the world. Ironically, one of many instances when the character realistically acts like a cop first, and a super-powered bruiser second.
* The early 1990s Marvel series ''{{Sleepwalker}}'' featured a nerdy psychology student who was regularly made fun of by his {{Jerk Jock}} enemy, who teased him about being a "dateless bookworm." When he gains superhuman powers after an accident involving Sleepwalker, he immediately gets revenge on the Jerk Jock by conjuring a gang of murderous warriors from his book on GreekMythology to kill him. Ticking time bomb, anyone?
* One story in ''TheAuthority'' story involved a monster that turned out to be an abused kid that woke up with unlimited shapeshifting powers.
* One [[Comicbook/{{Batman}} Joker's Asylum]] comic highlights this as the Penguin's MO. At one point, it shows how the Penguin subtly uses his influence to drive a man to suicide, simply because the ''man was laughing, and happened to look in the Penguin's direction.''
* Dr Light is a nightmare inducing one. First hes the butt-monkey of the villain world, then he...[[spoiler: rapes elongated mans wife.]]

[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* Heroic example: If [[EvilDead Ash Williams]]' hand is [[EvilHand possessed]], do not laugh at him, or he will bellow the name of this trope at you while going on a [[ChainsawGood chainsaw rampage]].
* In ''A Room For Romeo Brass'', after Gavin plays a prank on Morrell (tricking him into making an idiot of himself in front of Romeo's sister, who he is in love with), Morrell responds by threatening him with a knife, telling him he'll kill his family, and turning Gavin's best friend, the titular Romeo, against him. Later, after Romeo's sister rejects him, he not only turns on Romeo too, but [[spoiler:unsuccessfully attempts to make good of his threats earlier in the film]].
** Subverted, however with Romeo's dad, who instantly sees the kind of guy that Morrell really is and immediately takes the piss out of him in their first meeting. Morell threatens to go 'dark' on him. [[spoiler: Morell doesn't get the chance; later, when he's about to make good on his earlier threats against Gavin's family, Romeo's dad charges straight in, gives Morell a hiding he won't soon forget, and then sends Morrell (who is by this point crying like a toddler) away with his tail between his legs and the promise that if he ever shows his face around there again, then Romeo's dad really ''will'' kill him.]]
* KungFuHustle plays with this using the main character Sing. When he was a child, he tried to save a girl from bullies, only to be badly beaten up. As an adult, he intentionally becomes a thief and "tough guy" in an attempt to ''invoke'' this trope. Problem is, he's a horrible thief and everyone around him are Kung-Fu Masters, so he ends up as the ButtMonkey. [[spoiler: When Sing manifests super-mega-Kung-Fu might however, the film subverts this. Rather then take revenge on everyone who laughed at him, as he claimed he was going to do throughout the film, he decides to be the good person he wanted to be as a child and becomes a gentle and forgiving man.]]
* [[{{Bound}} "I'm a dead man, Johnnie? I'm a fucking dead man? Guess again, Johnnie. Who's the dead man? Who? Who's dead, fuckface? Who? Who? I can't hear you, Johnnie. Guess again. Take another guess, Johnnie. Take another fucking guess!"]]
* ''TheRunningMan'': This trope is invoked when the electricity-themed 'stalker' Dynamo, having been humiliated by Ben Richards and Amber in the game zone, has decided to get even by raping Amber when he comes upon her later. It's rather beautifully thrown back in his face:
-->'''Dynamo''': Thought it was pretty funny back in the Zone, didn't you? What's the matter, bitch? Why aren't you laughing?
-->'''Amber''': [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Because there's nothing funny about a dickless moron with a battery up his ass.]]

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* The eponymous central character of StephenKing's ''{{Carrie}}'' was a nice girl who endured all of the abuse from her [[KidsAreCruel classmates]] and her [[EvilMatriarch mother]] until that incident with the pig's blood at her senior prom, at which point she promptly snapped and went on a telekinetic rampage that left the town of Chamberlain devastated.
* Arguably, Peter Pettigrew from ''HarryPotter and the Prisoner of Azkaban''. The chubby boy, the weakest of the Maurader's four, underestimated by all... Turns out to be a close henchman of Voldemort and effectively betrays his best friend...
* Another heroic example occurs in ''Flora's Dare''. After having been through a series of harrowing misadventures, Flora learns that [[spoiler: she had been played as an UnwittingPawn by Lord Axacaya the whole time]]. What really sets her off though is when she gets bushwhacked by Springheel Jack, who intends to do [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty all sorts of "fabulous things"]] to her.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* ''LawAndOrderSVU'': [[spoiler: Obnoxious, [[TheScrappy Scrappy]] lab rat Stuckey has been catching hell all season by Stabler and his senior lab partner]] [[hottip:* :(yelling "we've got a dead body here!!", in public, ''where a child is buried, '''in Stabler's presence''''' is edging into TooDumbToLive territory)]], [[spoiler:but it comes to a head after a small error allows a serial killer to go free and he gets mocked and yelled at by a bunch of people, including ''the killer himself''. Stuckey then kills an innocent to plant evidence and get a second chance at the killer, then kills the lawyer, almost kills the judge, kills his lab partner and tortures Stabler for a bit. Were it not for the arrival of Olivia and Stuckey's feelings for her....]]
* Heroic example: the ''{{NCIS}}'' episode "Deception," [=McGee=] chats with a teenaged JerkJock suspect about how much fun it is to taunt the geeks and nerds, giving them wedgies, shoving them into lockers, and basically making their lives a living hell. As the jock loosens up and starts laughing and agreeing, [=McGee=] [[TheReveal reveals]] that he had been one of those geeks all through high school, and had always been tormented by the jocks, but guess what? [[BewareTheNiceOnes [=McGee=] has the upper hand now.]]
* In a first season episode of ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', a girl who was ignored by everyone in the school becomes invisible as a result, and decides to take revenge on [[TheLibby Cordelia]]. [[spoiler:Then she gets taken away by {{MIB}} and apparently becomes a government assassin.]]
** Then there's Jonathan. Buffy believes he's going to [[IPulledAWeirdAl pull a]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Whitman Charles Whitman]] in the third season (but he actually intends to kill himself until she talks him out of it), he turns himself into a GodModeSue for a fourth season episode, and he finally does become a villain in the sixth season.
** Unanswered question from the show: How do you shoot yourself with a sniper rifle, anyway? This isn't even a hunting rifle being used in that way, it's a real sniper rifle in a break-down case.
*** Raymond Shaw managed it
* In one episode of ''Flashpoint'', Billy, a high school boy, is bullied viciously by his best friend's JerkAss boyfriend. Guess who shows up the next day with a loaded gun? [[spoiler:However, Billy reveals that [[IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim he doesn't want to hurt them]], and simply wants to scare the shit out of them until they apologize. The aforementioned best friend manages to talk him out of continuing his rampage in a CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming that may never be equaled, [[HopeSpot right before the JerkAss boyfriend stumbles into things, and an overenthusiastic cop comes in and mucks everything up.]] It ends well, though.]]
* The unsub in the ''CriminalMinds'' episode "Elephant's Memory" is a badly bullied kid who snaps and goes on a killing spree of everyone who's ever wronged him.
* Just about every other MonsterOfTheWeek in the first season of {{Smallville}} was some stressed/abused kid who suddenly obtained superpowers from GreenRocks.

[[AC:Music]]
* A song written by Parry Gripp is entitled Who's Laughing Now?
* "Waking the Demon" by Bullet For My Valentine is about a bullying victim who takes revenge.

[[AC:{{Mythology}}]]
* This troper interprets Loki's FaceHeelTurn towards the end of the Norse cycle this way.

[[AC:ProfessionalWrestling]]
* Eric Young's recent FaceHeelTurn in {{TNA}} is a textbook WhosLaughingNow. Young was a comedy character for much of his run in TNA, and eventually began to perceive himself as the ButtMonkey of the company, especially when he joined the Front Line and dumped many of the comedy aspects of the character. Eric's inability to get title shots and opportunities for whatever reason resulted in him forming the World Elite faction, a group of [[{{Eagleland}} Anti-American]] [[EvilForeigner foreigners]] who believe their perceived lack of success and popularity is due to the fact that they were not born in the United States.

[[AC:TabletopGames]]
* After the new Codex came, [[{{Warhammer 40000}} Imperial Guard]] players went into this mode. After years of being the ButtMonkey in both fluff and game rules (weak or useless units, kill points, etc.) the guard are now insanely powerful (guard units have better leadship are cheaper, and tank squads).
** In DawnOfWar, the [[TankGoodness Baneblade]] (the Imperial Guard's ultimate unit) says a slight variation on this: "Who's dying ''now''?!" Considering how well Guardsmen [[CurbstompBattle usually fare]] in close combat with the other factions, it's very appropriate.
** Also fits with this trope because IG is consistently bottom tier in the series (they're even the ButtMonkey of Relic in terms of game play).

[[AC:{{Theater}}]]
* Bernard in ''DeathOfASalesman'' is too classy to say it, but it's clear he's thinking it.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* Pac Man. Full stop. The game is founded upon the ability to change the game from fleeing indestructible enemies to ''eating them.''
-->'''[[TheSimpsons Mr. Burns]]:''' Ha ha! The hunter has become the hunted!
* Heroic ([[NinetiesAntiHero kinda]]) example: Tombstone from ''FreedomForce'' uses this sentence when he's returned from the dead and confronts his wife's killer, who had framed him for the murder and sent him to the electric chair.
-->'''Tombstone:''' '' '''You.''' The innocent die while the guilty laugh. '''Who's laughing now?''' ''
* [[MagikarpPower Magikarp]] is PAINFULLY waiting to evolve to invoke this trope.
** As stated in the series' NightmareFuel page, it's also explicitly stated in a Pokedex entry that, upon evolving, Cascoon seeks revenge on those who attacked it while it was a coccoon.
* One of the {{Quirky Miniboss Squad}}s in ''ExitFate'' says pretty much exactly this when they come after Daniel when [[spoiler:Brunhild summons demons into them]]. A HopelessBossFight is involved.
* [[spoiler: Adachi]] of {{Persona 4}}. While his motive is SmallTownBoredom, this is his FreudianExcuse. Considering the [[CompleteMonster crap]] he gets up to, this doesn't make him even remotely sympathetic.
* In ''DeadRising'', heavily implied to be an aspect of Paul's [[AxeCrazy Psychopath]] [[PyroManiac status]], or rather half-stated.
* [[DragonAge Enchantment? Enchantment!]]
* In HenryHatsworthInThePuzzlingAdventure, [[spoiler:Cole]] is revealed as the BigBad, stating that [[spoiler:he's finally sick of being Henry's HypercompetentSidekick that does the actual work of locating the treasure while Henry goes off and gets all the glory]].
* To some extent, in WorldOfWarcraft, paladins after the infamous Sunwell Patch. Previously regarded as useless (a.k.a. "lol-adin") except as less-squishy healers (a.k.a., "priests in plate"), the patch suddenly buffed paladins so massively that other tanking or melee-DPS classes currently have a hard time finding work.

[[AC:WebAnimation]]
* Strong Sad from ''HomestarRunner'' is constantly abused by his brother Strong Bad. He has gotten back at him, however, by doing things such as throwing snowballs at him and showing [[NoFourthWall the audience]] a video of Strong Bad [[ISeeLondon embarrassing himself at the talent show.]]
** Parodied (like so many other things) in ''[[ShowWithinAShow Cheat Commandos]]'', where recurring ButtMonkey Reynold ends up sharing a cell with the freshly-imprisoned Blue Laser Commander, who convinces him to take his frustrations out on a picture of [[GIJoe Duke]] {{Expy}} [[DesignatedHero Gunhaver]]. By the end, he's working for Blue Laser as their latest member, "Scrawnjob" (though [[GoKartingWithBowser considering how unnaturally friendly the Cheat Commandos are with Blue Laser]], it's debatable whether this really counts as a FaceHeelTurn on any level).

[[AC:{{Webcomics}}]]
* In ''[[EightBitTheater 8-bit Theater]]'', White Mage (after having her world view totally invalidated) tries to be evil before a couple panels. She turns back because, it turns out, she doesn't like hurting people. And she's really bad at it, unless the inflicting of pain is directed upon Black Mage, usually in response to one of his questionable come-on lines. On the other hand, [[spoiler:Onion Kid]] manages to pull a WhosLaughingNow with [[AGodAmI a bit more success]].
* In ''AuthorSpace'', Cream the Rabbit was used as the ButtMonkey for a long time, until episode 100, where she went loose in a giant Ride Armor suit that seemed to be invulnerable to all damage. After they beat up Cream, she goes back to her prior status.
* In ''{{Vexxarr}}'', after the titular character manages to convince the vegetable-based AI that's been trying to kill him that he's their supreme leader, he gets some [[http://www.vexxarr.com/archive.php?seldate=050409 incredibly creative revenge]].

[[AC:WebOriginal]]
* Lee Phillips from ''{{KateModern}}'' is constantly bullied by Gavin and Tariq, which is played for laughs. However, Gavin goes too far in "Subservient Lee", and Lee runs off with the software Gavin and Tariq were developing in the following video, "The Leak". Note that Lee only becomes an enemy of Gavin and Tariq, on whom he wants revenge; he remains amiable enough towards the other characters, and is portrayed largely [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain sympathetically]] from then on.
* The character codenamed Aries at the SuperHeroSchool Whateley Academy, in the WhateleyUniverse. He was bullied as a chubby kid who wasn't one of the townies. Then he got superpowers and went to Whateley, where he was bullied there for being a farm kid. However, his superpowers made him tall and handsome, as well as super-strong and super-fast (for the Whateley Universe). After he stomped a group of bullies by himself, the BigBad drafted him as the new bully. He's really enjoying it, as far as we can tell.
** Recently, [[spoiler: He's been mistreated by the bullies, causing him to ponder taking another route...Plus, he keeps getting recruited to aid the heroes.]]
* ''[[DrHorriblesSingAlongBlog Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog]]'' uses this to awesome effect in [[VillainSong "Brand New Day."]]

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* Butters of ''SouthPark'' tries to do this with his Professor Chaos alter-ego, but it doesn't work too well as most of his schemes are just [[HarmlessVillain too inefficient, ineffective, and downright stupid]], and once causes him to lose his eye in an accident while he was having a mock battle with the main characters and they forgot they were using real weapons.
** But by himself, he does get Cartman back, in a big way.
** And by the time of the episode ''The Coon'', the town seems to regard him as superhuman.
* One of the villains in ''BatmanBeyond'' was a high school peer of Terry named Willie, who decided to take revenge on his tormentors at school by controlling a Humongous Mecha used in construction.
** And in another episode, it turns out that not only Willie spent time in the [[PrisonsAreGymnasiums prison yard working out]], the massive jolt that stopped his Golem control gave him strong psionic powers.
** And then in "Return of the Joker", after Joker has been demoralized and mocked by Terry and finally has him pinned down...
-->'''Joker:''' "Come on, [=McGinnis=], miserable little punk. LAUGH!"
-->* Terry shocks the Joker with a joy buzzer*
-->'''Terry:''' [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome "Ha. Ha."]]
* Stan, Xander Crew's assistant on ''FriskyDingo'', did this after calmly explaining to his employer that after Crews went missing, Stan had him declared dead and took over his multi-billion dollar corporation. After hanging up, he said "Who's laughing now, Crews? Ha ha... Me. I am laughing."
** Earlier, one of the X-Tacles punches an incapacitated Crews in the face and says "Who's laughing now, Crews?" Xander Crews responds "I wasn't laughing ''before!''"
* In ''TransformersAnimated'', Blackarachnia uses this trope to convince Wasp to become techno-organic. There's just [[SuperpowerMeltdown one small problem...]]
* Mary Dahl alias Baby Doll, from ''BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', feels that [[CousinOliver Cousin Spunky]] unfairly caused her popularity to end, and kidnaps him:
-->'''Baby Doll''': You all remembers what happened the last time I had a birthday. Poopy old Spunky pushed my head in the cake. Everybody laughed and laughed. (''smashes cake in his face'') Well, ''I'm'' laughing now!
** Note that this was an unusual example in it that actually illustrated just how delusional Baby Doll was. Not only was Cousin Spunky just a character on the TV show she starred in, but it wasn't even personal. The actor was just following the script that was written for that particular scene.
** And she admits it, not that it makes a difference:
--->'''Baby Doll''': [in adult voice] ''It was real to me!''
* ''DarkwingDuck'' subverted this one. In one episode, Darkwing is stranded on a planet where EVERYONE is a superhero...except for one man known as Ordinary Guy, who all the other inhabitants live to rescue from peril. Unfortunately for him, the "heroes" tend to PUT HIM in danger just so they can save him from it. Finally, he snaps, and becomes the planet's very first villain, with the dastardly moniker of "Not-So-Ordinary Guy." The heroes, having never actually fought a bad guy before, are clueless as to what to do about this.
* Tucker in ''DannyPhantom''. Usually the ignored ButtMonkey, Tucker becomes aware of it when he tries to [[DorkHorseCandidate run for school president]] in one episode. It basically chain reacts to him taking over the entire school via a magical scepter until Danny sets him straight. Unfortunately he still gets the ignored status for the reminder of the series.
* A ''{{Freakazoid}}'' episode had this part of it's array. The villain, the lovable TimCurry, was going at it with the ArsonMurderAndJayWalking bit, playing the part of a [[{{Expy}} surrogate Dr. Monreau]] character. He says: "[[HamAndCheese They called me MAD! ....Insane!]] ''[[HamAndCheese Wendell!]]'' [[HamAndCheese Well who's laughing NOW!?]]
* An episode of ''{{Fillmore}}'' dealt with a group of kids who teamed up to get back at their bullies in the most spirit-breaking fashion. AnAesop of this was that there are better ways to deal with bullies.
* ''{{El Tigre}}'' does this with Sergio. After being made the laughingstock of Miracle City, he declares revenge on [[KidHero Manny/El Tigre]] with his evil robot persona, Senor Sinestrio.
* MartinMystery finishes off its three season run with the two part episode It's Alive!, where all the frustration of being lesser than Martin in the Center, and his constantly annoying her to no end, is finally ignited when she's given a 'Needs Improvement' evaluation over Martin's 'Glowing Evaluation'. A bit more of Martin's prodding as a result of that sends her over, and when given the chance to join [[EvilMentor Octavia Paine's]] organization, she leaps at the chance. She then proceeds to humiliate Martin by stealing two monsters away from him, as a result of his over-confidence streak, and even laughs after the second capture. The seconds involves Octavia revealing her true intentions for the monsters, leaving her and Martin to stop her [[WeaponOfMassDestruction Super-creature]] from destroying the Center.
* The MusicalEpisode of ''BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' gives the villain's origin '''in song!'''
-->''Bullies used to pick on me because I sang in choir\\
But something very strange occurred when I kept singing higher\\
The ruffians around me quickly fell into a trance\\
And it was then, with wicked glee, I ''made those puppets dance!''\\
'''''[[LargeHam I'm the Music Meister!]]'''''
* Syndrome from ''TheIncredibles'' is a glaring example. In a twist, his actions as a BigBad result in him becoming the ButtMonkey again and again.
* Fumbles from the GI Joe ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW3dg9VURMU short]]'' on [[RobotChicken Robot Chicken]] is a great example. The incessant mocking by the rest of the GI Joe cast cause him to turn to Cobra and kill them all in the end.
-->''It's Fumbles. It was always Fumbles.''
* Quoted verbatim in an episode of TaleSpin by a now-gloating ButtMonkey after his rather amoral plan to be taken seriously appears to be succeeding.
* Barnacleboy in ''{{Spongebob Squarepants}}'' becomes a villain after various put downs by the people he saves. To be fair though, Spongebob promises to respect him even though it doesn't convince him.
* ''FamilyGuy'': In ''Dial Meg For Murder'', Meg goes to jail for housing an escaped convict. When she comes out, she's [[TookALevelInBadass tough as hell,]] and gets payback on the people who mocked and abused her the past few seasons.
** It didn't last after the episode however and she returned to ButtMonkey status.
* ''KaBlam!'' had Henry leave the show after June's been messing with him, showing her who's boss. He comes back, though, when he finds her in tears.
* In one episode of the 2002 HeMan series, Skeletor spends the episode being mocked by his minions, because he is wearing a belt that shocks him whenever he thinks an evil thought, and [[ClingyMacGuffin seemingly can't be removed]]. When he finally gets the belt off, he gets his revenge by suspending his minions over a tub of lava.

[[AC:RealLife]]
* Someday...
** Oh yes... As Fred Dagg said "If I ruled the world/Certain people would have to wake up their ideas"
* The {{Columbine}} High shooters are sometimes portrayed as this by people who DidNotDoTheResearch.
* Countries often get a taste of this after being humiliated one time too many in the last war. Germany after WWI for example, was a broken nation, with the economy in shambles, the military in ruins, a new government forced upon the public, and national moral at an all time low. The victorious Allies were responsible for many of these, deliberatly weakening Germany so that it could not rise up again like it did during the Great War. Unfortunately, the job was only half done, meaning enough to give cause for the German people to rally to gain vengence, but not enough to actually cripple their ability to recover, and even grow stronger then before. The results were, shall we say, [[WorldWarTwo unfortunate]].
** The same can be said from the other side of ''WorldWar1'', with the French savoring their revenge after their 1870 defeat (plus, the whole being pissed about the property damage).
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This can occur with victims of a world full of {{Jerk Jock}}s, where the KidsAreCruel and TeensAreMonsters. By this point, they don't realize the irony: that by taking revenge, they have [[strike: [[IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim become as bad as those who victimized them]], or even worse]] become criminals and monsters in the eyes of [[AdultsAreUseless society that did nothing to protect them]] but [[CantGetAwayWithNuthin won't let them get away with it]]. (Although they might just not care) this could also result in the ButtMonkey being pushed back down into the former position, or the character could become relatively harmless but still extremely annoying. May result in the character becoming [[ArchEnemy Arch Enemies]] with the most abusive.

-->'''Amber''': [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Because there's nothing funny about a dickless moron with a lightbulb up his ass.]]

* After the new Codex came, [[{{Warhammer40000}} Imperial Guard]] players went into this mode. After years of being the ButtMonkey in both fluff and game rules (weak or useless units, kill points, ect) the guard are now insanely powerful (guard units have better leadship are cheaper, and tank squads).

* ''[[DrHorriblesSingAlongBlog Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog]]'' uses this to awesome effect in "Brand New Day"

* In Pokemon, Ash's newest rival Paul was a JerkAss who treated Chimchar, a fire monkey, like a literal ButtMonkey, insulting him and yelling at him every time he lost a battle. Paul finally got so fed up that he pulled a non-lethal YouHaveFailedMeForTheLastTime and released Chimchar. Luckily, Chimchar was quickly brought on to Ash' team, who promised to take better care of him.
** [[spoiler: Thanks to Ash, Chimchar began becoming successful and confident. It soon evolved into Monferno, and even more recently, into Infernape. What's more, it was right in front of Paul, who was shocked to see the power that his old Pokemon has gained. In your face, Paul!]].

* Another heroic example occurs in ''Flora's Dare''. After having been through a series of harrowing misadventures, Flora learns that [[spoiler: she had been played as a XanatosSucker by Lord Axacaya the whole time]]. What really sets her off though is when she gets bushwhacked by Springheel Jack, who intends to do [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty all sorts of "fabulous things"]] to her.

->''"They're all going to laugh at you!"''
-->--'''Margaret White's''' warning to ''{{Carrie}}''.

** In ''Skin Deep'' storyarc Peter's former classmate, who was mercilessly bullied at school, gets superpowers and after he sees two of his former tormentors mocking at him on TV he goes and kills them. In the end Speder-Man got him frozen, probably for the rest of his life. [[FateWorseThanDeath And he is conscious]]. Although after ''One More Day'' it's probably not in continuity anymore.
** In the Ultimate books, Peter often mocks the even-more-pathetic-then-he-is-in-main-continuity Ultimate Shocker before beating him up with almost no effort. When Shocker gets lucky and knocks Peter out, he ties him up in a warehouse and tortures him slowly, as payback for all the times he was mocked. Interestingly, even though the guy is trying to kill him, Peter genuinely apologizes for being such a jerk after hearing Shocker's surprisingly sad HannibalLecture.

* The Columbine High shooters are sometimes portrayed as this by people who DidNotDoTheResearch.

* A variation happens in ''GurrenLagann,'' when Rossiu, who's had more than a few digs sent his way by [[OmiscientMoralityLicense Kamina]], [[spoiler: [[SheIsAllGrownUp grows up]] to be an EvilChancellor and nearly has Simon (TheHero and Kamina's main protege) executed- albeit for [[ShootTheDog an unrelated reason]].]]

-->--'''Margret White's''' warning to ''{{Carrie}}''.