History RootingForTheEmpire / WesternAnimation

* Many fans and detractors of ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan'' find themselves cheering on the villains. Drake Bell's Spider-Man is a real BaseBreakingCharacter and his teammates are MASSIVE Jerkasses who bully and mistreat him constantly, all of which make the protagonists look UnintentionallyUnsympathetic. The villains on the other hand are CreepyAwesome characters channeling EvilIsCool and tend to be the part many people think is [[JustHereForGodzilla worth watching]]. There's also the fact that some major villains on the show are portrayed in a very sympathetic light. Particularly [[spoiler:Venom, who is actually Harry Osborn, who is genuinely a good person, who cannot control the symbiote and is easily the most sympathetic character on the show.]] It really doesn't help that these villains are voice by beloved veterans like Creator/MauriceLaMarche, Creator/ClancyBrown, and Creator/TomKenny.

* Fans of The Light in ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' tend to be drawn to the group because unlike most anti-Justice League villain teams they're driven by altruistic motives on their face. [[JerkassHasAPoint Their primary goal is the uniting and strengthening of Earth so that it can protect itself from alien threats]]. While their methods are monstrous, the series does not back away from the premise that Earth is in constant peril and that the galaxy is filled to brim with evil conquerors and tyrants that the beleaguered cosmic forces of good (Green Lanterns, New Genesis, etc.) are simply unable to deal with.

** One-shot character Hank Scorpio is a Bond-style super villain, but he's such an AffablyEvil BenevolentBoss that he's genuinely likeable, to the point that him taking over the east coast in the end is considered a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome. For the record, this guy was [[WhatCouldHaveBeen/TheSimpsons almost]] the BigBad of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsonsMovie''.

** Some fans of the spinoff series ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' support [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized the Equalists]] stripping all [[ElementalPowers benders]] of their abilities as the only way to put [[TallPoppySyndrome all people on a level playing field]] and end the oppression of non-benders, even if the benders themselves don't consent to the procedure. Debates on whether or not bending is an intrinsic part of a person and the show's civilization/culture, and if what the Equalists are attempting is a fantastical form of mutilation or not, can get quite heated. The show itself is [[ALighterShadeOfGrey a bit grey on the issue]], showing that some benders ''can'' be oppressive but also portraying the process of benders being unwillingly stripped of their powers as analogous to rape. It gets much easier to call them bad guys after episode 6, where [[spoiler:they bomb the pro-bending arena]] and in episode 7 where [[spoiler:they attack innocent civilians and kidnap the metal bending police]]. Complicating matters is that some corrupt benders [[spoiler:namely representative Tarrlok]] feel that rounding up all non-bending individuals, Equalist or not, and imprisoning them, is a perfect way to neutralize the threat.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'':
** Some fans support [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized the Equalists]] stripping all [[ElementalPowers benders]] of their abilities as the only way to put [[TallPoppySyndrome all people on a level playing field]] and end the oppression of non-benders, even if the benders themselves don't consent to the procedure. Debates on whether or not bending is an intrinsic part of a person and the show's civilization/culture, and if what the Equalists are attempting is a fantastical form of mutilation or not, can get quite heated. The show itself is [[ALighterShadeOfGrey a bit grey on the issue]], showing that some benders ''can'' be oppressive but also portraying the process of benders being unwillingly stripped of their powers as analogous to rape. It gets much easier to call them bad guys after episode 6, where [[spoiler:they bomb the pro-bending arena]] and in episode 7 where [[spoiler:they attack innocent civilians and kidnap the metal bending police]]. Complicating matters is that some corrupt benders [[spoiler:namely representative Tarrlok]] feel that rounding up all non-bending individuals, Equalist or not, and imprisoning them, is a perfect way to neutralize the threat.

* The Urpneys in ''WesternAnimation/TheDreamstone'', due to the extremely overwhelming SympatheticPOV, and that so few of them are [[MinionWithAnFInEvil genuinely malicious outside serving Zordrak out of fear]]. They are usually [[EnsembleDarkhorse more complex and amusing characters]] than the [[TastesLikeDiabetes sickly sweet]] [[HeroAntagonist Land Of Dreams]], and the relentless slapstick abuse they suffer from both the heroes and their BadBoss leads them to come off more as deeply pitiful punching bags than proper villains. Later episodes at least made some plot alterations to make the heroes look more sympathetic, but it was still hard not to want the Urpneys to come out on top for once.

* In ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'' Garfield tries to tell the story of Literature/HanselAndGretel to Nermal, but Nermal ended up feeling bad for the witch at the end of the story, forcing Garfield to try and come up with an ending that gives the witch a much happier ending. It should be noted that Nermal's horrified reaction to the story didn't really stem from him being evil by any stretch of the means, but rather his [[TastesLikeDiabetes innocent persona]] prevented him from really seeing the witch as evil.

* There were a few ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' fans that at least want Shego to actually beat Kim whenever they have a confrontation, as they find it a bit [[WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief too much to swallow]] that Shego keeps being defeated by a teenage spy who shouldn't have been able to take on a superpowered foe hand to hand. Which explains why you have fanfics that say Shego purposely held back in each confrontation they had. For [[LesYay various]] [[FoeYay reasons]].

** An incredibly popular version of this is the New Lunar Republic - fans who resent the reign of supposed [[RonTheDeathEater "tyrant"]] [[BigGood Celestia]] and would rather [[DarkIsNotEvil Luna]] take the throne. Whether or not this counts as Rooting For The Empire depends on whether they're rooting for Luna or Nightmare Moon. Luna is not an example because she's [[HeelFaceTurn ultimately good]] (if only a little impulsive), and the legitimate arguments against her right to the throne are purely [[FishOutOfTemporalWater political]]. Those who flat out rooted for [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Nightmare Moon]]... [[OmnicidalManiac play this]] [[MadGod trope straight]].

** In the final season, a sizable number of fans were rooting for [[BigBadEnsemble The Legion of Doom]] due to the fact that Equestria had [[WouldHurtAChild had no qualm with imprisoning a child villain in tartarus]] in the previous season and didn't make even the slightest effort to try and reform her.

* Who '''hasn't''' wanted Dick Dastardly and Muttley to succeed? Whether it's at [[WesternAnimation/WackyRaces winning a race]], [[WesternAnimation/DastardlyAndMuttleyInTheirFlyingMachines stopping that pigeon]], or [[WesternAnimation/YogisTreasureHunt finding treasure]]. It helps the two bad guys always got much more screen time then the ''heroes'' in their shows, and Dastardly's alleged cheating is [[MoralDissonance often considered legitimate when performed by other supposedly "fair-playing" racers]]. His one victory was discounted due to him extending his vehicle, something that has been done countless times before by others in the show's run. Then there was that one time he got a ticket for speeding, which makes it look like the universe is deliberately trying to keep him from winning. Of course, this ''is'' the TropeNamer for DickDastardlyStopsToCheat; his defeats are largely self-inflicted.

* Lord Viren from ''WesternAnimation/TheDragonPrince'' has gotten a few viewers rooting for him to take the throne of Katolis and conquer the lands of Xadia due to [[StrawmanHasAPoint having a better point than the writers intended about the current threat Xadia is to humanity]] and some of his opponents coming off as [[WhatAnIdiot foolish]] and/or [[UnintentionallyUnsympathetic unsympathetic]]. [[spoiler:Viren actually succeeds in the former goal in ''[[Recap/TheDragonPrinceS3E4TheMidnightDesert The Midnight Desert]]'' after forcing Ezran to surrender his throne to prevent Prince Kasef's siege though he is only able to ravage the Sunfire Elves queendom before his conquest is ultimately stopped in ''[[Recap/TheDragonPrinceS3E9TheFinalBattle The Final Battle]]''.]]

** In Creator/ChuckJones' autobiography ''Chuck Amuck'', he lists ten rules that every [[WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadrunner Road Runner cartoon]] had to adhere to, the last of which was "The audience's sympathy must remain with the Coyote." See [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wile_E._Coyote_and_Road_Runner#Laws_and_rules The Other Wiki]] for the full list.

* An overwhelming amount of ''WesternAnimation/{{Jem}} And The Holograms'' fans root for The Misfits. As the theme song says, their songs ''are'' better and their antics are very amusing. They tend to deeper characters than The Holograms and without any of the baggage such as Jem's and Kimber's notoriously difficult love lives. It helps that compared to other examples The Misfits aren't really doing anything too wrong. Their misbehavior is rude, sometimes illegal, and they have almost gotten people killed on a few occasions but on default they just want to be the most popular band out there, even if their methods of doing so mean bringing their rivals to their knees.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "Herpe the Love Sore", Peter and his friends get beaten up by a group of bullies, who are [[KarmaHoudini allowed to get away with it]] because they're American soldiers. Afterwards, an exasperated Peter says "I can't believe I have to root for Afghanistan now."

* Dorkus, the BigBad of ''WesternAnimation/PlanetSheen'' is this big time. This is mainly due to Sheen, the "protagonist" himself, getting hit ''hard'' with {{Flanderization}} making him stupider and much more of a selfish jerk than he was in his regular series. What started off Dorkus' hatred for Sheen is that Sheen crashed through his house with his rocket. The problem is that Sheen not only didn't apologize to Dorkus for doing this, but had the nerve to say it was [[NeverMyFault Dorkus' house that was in the way of his rocket]] even though Sheen came crashing in unannounced. There is also the fact that Dorkus' plans mainly involves trying to expose Sheen as a fraud (which is true) and get back his position as the king's right hand man which Dorkus enjoyed being (most antagonists in this role often are TheStarscream trying to usop the throne for themselves at one point but Dorkus is indeed that loyal to the king). This has caused fans to view Dorkus as [[VillainHasAPoint in the right the majority of the time]] and it helps that he is one of ''few'' tolerate characters in this show (considering the majority of the other characters are as stupid and clueless as Sheen).

* Baron Draxum of ''WesternAnimation/RiseOfTheTeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' is starting to get this treatment because he's generally [[SurroundedByIdiots smarter and more competent than everyone else on the cast]] and his end goal: turning humanity into mutants isn't really so bad within the confines of the setting. There is already a vast and thriving mutant culture that converts can join and magical items that can hide one's appearance and blend in are commonplace.

* Baron Draxum of ''WesternAnimation/RiseOfTheTeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' gets this treatment during the first season because he's generally [[SurroundedByIdiots smarter and more competent than everyone else on the cast]] and his end goal: turning humanity into mutants isn't really so bad within the confines of the setting. There is already a vast and thriving mutant culture that converts can join and magical items that can hide one's appearance and blend in are commonplace. [[spoiler: It’s no longer an issue in season 2 as he reforms and becomes an ally to the turtles]].

* ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' has a huge number of fans for the villains who are more liked than the main hero.

* Lord Viren from ''WesternAnimation/TheDragonPrince'' has gotten a few viewers rooting for him to take the throne of Katolis and conquer the lands of Xadia due to [[StrawmanHasAPoint having a better point than the writers intended about the current threat Xadia is to humanity]] and some of his opponents coming off as [[WhatAnIdiot foolish]] and/or [[UnintentionallyUnsympathetic unsympathetic]]. [[spoiler:Viren actually succeeds in the former goal in ''[[TheDragonPrinceS3E4TheMidnightDesert The Midnight Desert]]'' after forcing Ezran to surrender his throne to prevent Prince Kasef's siege though he is only able to ravage the Sunfire Elves queendom before his conquest is ultimately stopped in ''[[Recap/TheDragonPrinceS3E9TheFinalBattle The Final Battle]]''.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': There are some who believe Great Diamond Authority, while not perfect by any means, isn’t nearly as horrible as the Crystal Gems make them out to be. While they do enforce a FantasticCasteSystem upon their citizens, there seems to be no rule against Gems having and expressing unique personalities, so long as they remain professional in front of their superiors and follow the rules. The colonization of planets, while they often results in the complete destruction of all organic life on said planet, also create new Gems and resources for Gemkind and the casualties usually only amount to animals and plants, as WordOfGod states Earth was the first and only world the Gems have encountered with intelligent organic life. Also, while the prosecution of “Off-Colors”(Gems who don’t meet the authorities standards of perfection) is a common point of contention amongst the Crystal Gems and viewers, there has been evidence that the discrimination against them eventually lessened to the point that Gems like Peridot and the Famethyst, who on their own would be considered Off-Colors, are able to have places within Gem society. There are also those who see the Crystal Gems themselves as extremists who are perfectly okay with hurting and killing other Gems in order to further their admittedly subjective cause, most widely evidenced by the incredibly long war for Earth, which left both sides with devastating losses. Not to mention the leaders of the Diamond Authority, the Diamonds themselves, have frequently been depicted as sympathetic characters, especially when [[spoiler: they are shown dealing with the supposed loss of Pink Diamond and BeingEvilSucks]] later in the series.

** [[MadGod Discord]] enjoys enormous popularity, many of his fans wanting the fun-loving, LaughablyEvil [[TheTrickster Trickster]] to succeed in his goal of [[WorldOfChaos eternal chaos]]. It didn't hurt that in his introductory episode, one of the main characters (namely [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Pinkie Pie]]) seemed perfectly fine with a guy who makes chocolate milk rain from the sky. To some extent those fans got to have their cake and eat it too when [[spoiler:Discord was freed and [[HeelFaceTurn reformed]] without losing his wacky personality.]]

* Fans of The Light in ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' tend to be drawn to the group because unlike most anti-Justice League villain teams they're driven by altruistic motives on their face. Their primary goal is the uniting and strengthening of Earth so that it can protect itself from alien threats. While their methods are monstrous, the series does not back away from the premise that Earth is in constant peril and that the galaxy is filled to brim with evil conquerors and tyrants that the beleaguered cosmic forces of good (Green Lanterns, New Genesis, etc.) are simply unable to deal with.

** While [[DracoInLeatherPants many tend to take it too far]] due to Lisa’s status as a BaseBreakingCharacter fans do find it easier to root for Bart over Lisa in their SiblingRivalry due to the fact that Lisa has an overwhelming advantage over Bart. Even if you ignore that Marge and Homer take ParentalFavoritism UpToEleven to the point that they not only gave up on Bart at age five (merely to make it more convenient to help Lisa) but repeatedly tell him that he is an [[FutureLoser unloved accident that will never amount to anything]] (as well as laugh at him when he does try to better himself). It also doesn’t help that everyone in the family including Bart has given up what they love for her which she rarely if ever acknowledges.

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': There are some who believe Great Diamond Authority, while not perfect by any means, isn’t nearly as horrible as the Crystal Gems make them out to be. While they do enforce a FantasticCasteSystem upon their citizens, there seems to be no rule against Gems having and expressing unique personalities, so long as they remain professional in front of their superiors and follow the rules. The colonization of planets, while they often results in the complete destruction of all organic life on said planet, also create new Gems and resources for Gemkind and the casualties usually only amount to animals and plants, as WordOfGod states Earth was the first and only world the Gems have encountered with intelligent organic life. Also, while the prosecution of “Off-Colors”(Gems who don’t meet the authorities standards of perfection) is a common point of contention amongst the Crystal Gems and viewers, there has been evidence that the discrimination against them eventually lessened to the point that Gems like Peridot and the Famethyst, who on their own would be considered Off-Colors, are able to have places within Gem society. There are also those who see the Crystal Gems themselves as extremists who are perfectly okay with hurting and killing other Gems in order to further their admittedly subjective cause, most widely evidenced by the incredibly long war for Earth, which left both sides with devastating losses. Not to mention the leaders of the Diamond Authority, the Diamonds themselves, have frequently been depicted as sympathetic characters, especially when [[spoiler: they are shown dealing with the supposed loss of Pink Diamond]] later in the series.

* Dorkus, the BigBad of ''WesternAnimation/PlanetSheen'' is this big time. This is mainly due to Sheen, the "protagonist" himself, getting hit ''hard'' with {{Flanderization}} making him stupider and much more of a selfish jerk than he was in his regular series. What started off Dorkus' hatred for Sheen is that Sheen crashed through his house with his rocket. The problem is that Sheen not only didn't apologize to Dorkus for doing this, but had the nerve to say it was [[NeverMyFault Dorkus' house that was in the way of his rocket]] even though Sheen came crashing in unannounced. This has caused fans to view Dorkus as [[VillainHasAPoint in the right the majority of the time]] and it helps that he is one of ''few'' tolerate characters in this show.

** Tom, Donald, Sylvester, and Wile E. Coyote from the ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'', ''Sylvester and Tweety'', Disney Shorts and ''Road Runner'' cartoons respectively, amass a lot of sympathy given their opponents are jerks or {{Invincible Hero}}es and reality seems to bend to their will. Tom seems to get the most of it, which is understandable because he's taking abuse from both the mouse who is breaking into his home and often his owners for failing to catch the trespassing mouse, and many episodes make it IMPOSSIBLE to root for Jerry. Jerry sabotaging Tom's attempts to woo a girl cat and ruining his concerto performances, for example, make him downright unlikeable. To compensate in a lot more shorts in the 50s and 60s Tom actually DID win (usually when Jerry acted without provocation).

* A large part of the ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaPresentsTheRidonculousRace'' fanbase started backing the [[BigBad Ice Dancers]] if only because they're so entertaining to watch and did display considerable skill even before they turned full on villain. Many fans [[spoiler: wanted them to win and were not pleased when they didn't even make it to the final two.]]