History WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds / Literature

* ''Literature/MartinBeck'': WideEyedIdealist hippie Rebeka Lind in ''The Terrorists''. The father of her baby (an American draft dodger) is tricked into returning home and sentenced to four years in prison. She is mistaken for a bank robber, roughly manhandled, and arrested after trying to borrow money to pay the travel fare to go see him. She gets repeatedly propositioned by [[DirtyOldMan dirty old men]] in an exploitative way.She learns that her boyfriend committed suicide in jail due to a cruel letter from his mother, her mental breakdown and desire for someone in power to blame causes her to assassinate the Swedish Prime Minster, and she later kills herself in a mental institution.

* Urfin Jus is a child-friendly example of this in ''Literature/TalesOfTheMagicLand''. He didn't get along with others and isolated himself from society for years, becoming Gingema's petty and sadistic {{Dragon}}. After her demise he gets a chance to enslave the Munchkins in her stead, which quickly escalates to a plan to conquer all of Magic Land. He briefly succeeds, but gets no satisfaction from his time as a usurper and is quickly sent back into a humiliating exile. Ten years later he tries again, this time posing as a false god for a primitive tribe, who are furious when they discover just how shameless his lies were. In his new exile he suddenly finds himself treated with consistent unconditional kindness -- at which point he realizes that this was what he wanted and needed all along. This finally pushes him into a HeelFaceTurn.

* ''Literature/JediAcademyTriology'': Kyp Durron is literal example: as a child his parents were killed for speaking out against the Empire and he was thrown into [[HellholePrison Kessel]] for life. After he escapes, he manages to steal the Sun Crusher (a starship that can cause stars to go supernova) and uses it to blow up the sun of the Carida system and destroy all the planets there.

* In Richard Tierney's Franchise/CthulhuMythos novel ''The Drums of Chaos'', ''Jesus'' is a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds. His sacrificial death on the cross is intended to open a gateway for the Great Old Ones to come to destroy the world and end everyone's suffering. One of the two heroes of the novel, John Taggart, also used to be a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds, but changed his mind. Since the world of the Cthulhu Mythos is a CrapsackWorld, especially in Tierney's version, where it crosses over with George Orwell's Literature/NineteenEightyFour, it is not clear who is in the right, so it is very much an example of GreyAndGrayMorality.

* Ari from the ''Literature/MaximumRide'' series. He was born a sweet, innocent child, but he grew up in the shadow of [[spoiler:[[LukeIAmYourFather his half-sister]]]], Max. He was turned into a WolfMan by scientists, and was subject to constant genetic enhancements afterward, eventually becoming a hideous freak. [[spoiler:In the end, though, he gets a HeelFaceTurn--but [[RedemptionEqualsDeath too late]]]].

* In ''Literature/AKissInTime'', it turns out that the evil witch who cursed Talia and wants to kill her [[spoiler:actually used to be a kindly fairy who helped the royal family. She'd been in charge of watching Talia's older brother (then an infant) while he slept, and noticed too late that he suddenly stopped breathing. She tried unsuccessfully to revive the baby using her magic, only for the child's nanny to walk in and declare that she cursed the boy to die. She was then exiled and reviled as an evil witch.]]
* Creator/IsaacAsimov's ''Literature/FoundationSeries'': In "Literature/TheMule", The Mule, [[spoiler:[[TwoAliasesOneCharacter alias Magnifico Giganticus]]]], is initially introduced to the protagonists as a large man of immense strength and power. In truth, he's an ugly, miserable, scrawny little man, who has been emotionally abused by everyone around him for two decades. Once he realized that he had PsychicPowers that other people didn't, he decided to take revenge on the cruel uncaring galaxy by [[GalacticConqueror conquering it]].
-->''"I decided that the Galaxy and I could take turns. Come, they had had their innings, and I had been patient about it - for twenty-two years. My turn! It would be up to the rest of you to take it! And the odds would be fair enough for the Galaxy. One of me! Quadrillions of them!"'' -- '''The Mule'''

* The Lazar from ''Literature/TheDeathGateCycle'' have this as their [[PlanetOfHats hat]] - they are undead beings caught forever in a state of hellish agony between life and death, and the only way they can have any release at all is by delivering others into the same torment. The only real exceptions are Jonathon (who's a straight {{Woobie}} mixed with MessianicArchetype) and, ironically, Kleitus, leader of most of the Lazar. He was enough of a MagnificentBastard in life to keep his head following reanimation (though, admittedly, he's a bit more AxCrazy now), and plans to use the other Lazar as his tools to purge the universe of sentient life, so he'll be left ruling an empire of the dead.

* [[TheDragon Galadan Wolflord]] from ''Literature/TheFionavarTapestry'' turned rather genocidal towards mortals after one stole his girlfriend - but when said mortal wound up getting her killed, he went crazy and decided that the only way to end his pain was to destroy the universe. The only time in the trilogy he shows genuine emotion is when he finds some of the heroes apparently "desecrating" his shrine to her, [[spoiler:and at the very end, when the heroes spare him and he realizes that there is some good in the world - and in himself.]]

* In one Creator/DinoBuzatti short story, ''The Poor Little Boy'', we are told the typical day of Dolfi, a sickly small dark-haired 5 years old boy who always get bullied around by his healthier, blonde classmates. This day, he shows up at the park with a brand new pop gun and -for once- they let him play war with them... Only to play a cruel prank on him, beat him, and break his toy. And to make things worst, he gets yelled at by his mother because he got his clothes dirty. As a friend of his mother concludes : ''Oh! These children! They make a big deal out of everything! Said the other lady annoyed to seem them leave. Well, goodbye then, [[spoiler:Mrs. Hitler!]]''

** Doesn't seem like it at first, but [[MagnificentBastard Petyr Baelish]]. He was born as one of the poorest of the petty, landed nobles in the realm (if not ''the'' poorest noble in the Seven Kingdoms, even including the hedge knights with minimal titles), then is separated from his family at a young age to live with another family with a much, much better social and material standing--throwing in his face all that he will never naturally have. He's small, weak and looked down upon by just about everybody because martial prowess will never be his strong suit, only brains. Nobody even calls him by his real name. Then, [[FromBadToWorse just to make things worse]], he falls in love with one of the daughters, who he isn't allowed to marry because of his birth. He nearly gets himself killed trying to fight for her hand and, after he loses, she completely ignores him, never having thought of him as more than a younger foster brother. Worse, during all this, the younger daughter had been crushing on him so hard, she decides to rape him by deceit twice, then promptly got herself pregnant... which then made her father lose it, so Petyr gets sent back home in disgrace while he's still healing from the mauling he got trying for the hand of the elder daughter. It's really hard not to feel sorry for him... until he goes all [[MoralEventHorizon gonzo]] with it and becomes a puppeteer in the royal court, [[spoiler:ruins his first love's family ''and'' [[ReplacementGoldfish kidnaps her teenage daughter]], kills people off at his own convenience, sparks a nationwide credit crisis ''and'' starts a frickin' ''brutal'' civil war all so he can rise to the top on his own terms and screw everybody else over.]]

* ''Literature/WarriorCats'', has Mapleshade. Once a kind-hearted, albeit rather naive [=ThunderClan=] warrior, Mapleshade had a forbidden love affair with a [=RiverClan=] tom named Appledusk, and bore him three adorable kits. She planned to raise them in [=ThunderClan=], but the medicine cat, Ravenwing, discovered her secret and told their Clanmates what she had done. Her entire Clan turned against her and threw her out along with her kits. In desperation, Mapleshade tried to take her kits to their father by crossing the river, but a flood swept them away and they drowned. Blaming her for the kits' deaths, Appledusk and [=RiverClan=] cast her out too, and Appledusk took a new mate. Now completely alone without a Clan to go to, or her kits to care for, her heart broken and her mind crawling with hallucinations of her drowned kits, the only thing left for Mapleshade was [[StartOfDarkness a desire for revenge on the cats who had wronged her]]. She successfully killed Ravenwing and blinded Frecklewish (another of her Clanmates who turned against her), but died in a MutualKill with Appledusk (after finding out about his new mate), with her last words being that her desire for vengeance would never sleep. Even in death, she would never know peace or see her kits again—she was banished to the Dark Forest for her crimes, and spent her afterlife continuing to plot her revenge. She could have been a great hero and loyal warrior like Bluestar or Sandstorm, but she was twisted into this by horrific tragedy and chose to bring death and destruction upon countless innocent cats.

* Brittney Donegal from the ''Literature/{{GONE}}'' series plays a prominent role in the attempts to wipe out the entire population of Perdido Beach with giant man-eating bugs (PLAGUE). But even though she's persists in helping the ongoing genocide attempts by her master, even Sam the hero and big good is reluctant to try and stop her, actually ''apoligising'' for ruining her evil plans.

* ''Literature/WarriorCats'', has Mapleshade. Once a kind-hearted, albeit rather naive [=ThunderClan=] warrior, Mapleshade had a forbidden love affair with a [=RiverClan=] tom named Appledusk, and bore him three adorable kits. She planned to raise them in [=ThunderClan=], but the medicine cat, Ravenwing, discovered her secret and told their Clanmates what she had done. Her entire Clan turned against her and threw her out along with her kits. In desperation, Mapleshade tried to take her kits to their father by crossing the river, but a flood swept them away and they drowned. Blaming her for the kits' deaths, Appledusk and [=RiverClan=] cast her out too, and Appledusk took a new mate. Now completely alone without a Clan to go to, or her kits to care for, her heart broken and her mind crawling with hallucinations of her drowned kits, the only thing left for Mapleshade was [[StarOfDarkness a desire for revenge on the cats who had wronged her]]. She successfully killed Ravenwing and blinded Frecklewish (another of her Clanmates who turned against her), but died in a MutualKill with Appledusk (after finding out about his new mate), with her last words being that her desire for vengeance would never sleep. Even in death, she would never know peace or see her kits again—she was banished to the Dark Forest for her crimes, and spent her afterlife continuing to plot her revenge. She could have been a great hero and loyal warrior like Bluestar or Sandstorm, but she was twisted into this by horrific tragedy and chose to bring death and destruction upon countless innocent cats.

* The Once-ler from ''Literature/TheLorax'', whose drive to build his company has destroyed all of the Truffula trees, leaving a dark wasteland.

* In one DinoBuzatti short story, ''The Poor Little Boy'', we are told the typical day of Dolfi, a sickly small dark-haired 5 years old boy who always get bullied around by his healthier, blonde classmates. This day, he shows up at the park with a brand new pop gun and -for once- they let him play war with them... Only to play a cruel prank on him, beat him, and break his toy. And to make things worst, he gets yelled at by his mother because he got his clothes dirty. As a friend of his mother concludes : ''Oh! These children! They make a big deal out of everything! Said the other lady annoyed to seem them leave. Well, goodbye then, [[spoiler:Mrs. Hitler!]]''

* Most of the characters who play in "Literature/BattleRoyale", particularly [[spoiler: Yuko]].

* The novelization for Disney's ''Disney/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs'' paints Queen Grimhilde as an extremely dark WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds. For starters, the novel gives her the FreudianExcuse that she was emotionally abused by her [[AbusiveParents father]], a mirror maker, who refused to acknowledge that she was beautiful since she was a child, leading her to be insecure in regards to her beauty. When she did marry Snow White's father, the king, she actually did genuinely care for Snow White as if she were her own daughter. Unfortunately, her father's witch cousins ended up giving her a gift (the magic mirror) that also housed her father's spirit, and it is heavily implied that it was thanks to her father's haunting influence that she started to go insane by the movie.

* In ''A Kiss in Time'', it turns out that the evil witch who cursed Talia and wants to kill her [[spoiler:actually used to be a kindly fairy who helped the royal family. She'd been in charge of watching Talia's older brother (then an infant) while he slept, and noticed too late that he suddenly stopped breathing. She tried unsuccessfully to revive the baby using her magic, only for the child's nanny to walk in and declare that she cursed the boy to die. She was then exiled and reviled as an evil witch.]]
* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'':
** Doesn't seem like it at first, but [[MagnificentBastard Petyr Baelish]]. He was born as one of the poorest of the petty, landed nobles in the realm (if not ''the'' poorest noble in the Seven Kingdoms, even including the hedge knights with minimal titles), then is separated from his family at a young age to live with another family with a much, much better social and material standing--throwing in his face all that he will never naturally have. He's small, weak and looked down upon by just about everybody because martial prowess will never be his strong suit, only brains. Nobody even calls him by his real name. Then, [[FromBadToWorse just to make things worse]], he falls in love with one of the daughters, who he isn't allowed to marry because of his birth. He nearly gets himself killed trying to fight for her hand and, after he loses, she completely ignores him, never having thought of him as more than a younger foster brother. Worse, during all this, the younger daughter had been crushing on him so hard, she decides to rape him by deceit twice, then promptly got herself pregnant... which then made her father lose it, so Petyr gets sent back home in disgrace while he's still healing from the mauling he got trying for the hand of the elder daughter. It's really hard not to feel sorry for him... until he goes all [[MoralEventHorizon gonzo]] with it and becomes a puppeteer in the royal court, [[spoiler:ruins his first love's family ''and'' [[ReplacementGoldfish kidnaps her teenage daughter]], kills people off at his own convenience, sparks a nationwide credit crisis ''and'' starts a frickin' ''brutal'' civil war all so he can rise to the top on his own terms and screw everybody else over.]]
** Catelyn Tully, who [[spoiler:turns into a homicidal, undead, noose-happy outlaw leader after witnessing the brutal massacre of her son, herself and companions at a wedding feast, having already lost her husband and her other four children]].

* Tabaea in ''[[Series/TheLegendsOfEthshar The Spell of the Black Dagger]]'' really only wanted love and acceptance. If her stepfather had managed to sober up long enough to set her up with an apprenticeship, she would have had a perfectly happy life as an honest, law-abiding citizen. She never even thought about killing anyone until she had magically absorbed the predatory instincts of several predatory animals, and she only decided to lead an uprising and take over the city because it was the only way to avoid being arrested for murder. In the end, she died trying to save her city and the world, and her archenemies referred to her, wholly unironically, as "poor little Tabaea."

* Simony in ''Discworld/SmallGods'' has shades of this. He's HeWhoFightsMonsters until he [[WhatTheHellHero gets called out]], but when you find out about his past it's hard to blame him.

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** Much less so in [[Film/LordOfTheRings the films]], which rearrange Gollum's character arc significantly, making him more of a JerkassWoobie. They made him much more of a {{Woobie}} in the second film and much less in the third, in order to "provide an antagonist for Frodo and Sam". This caused confusion for some viewers, wondering why anyone [[LostAesop "feels sorry for"]] Gollum... [[WordOfGod According to Tolkien]], had Gollum remained loyal to Frodo in the book, he would have taken the Ring and thrown ''himself'' in the fire.

* The Bane (real name Pearlpelt) from ''Literature/TheUnderlandChronicles.'' His father killed his other children so Pearlpelt could have more milk and grow stronger. His parents killed each other in a fight, and he saw his mother lying dead with her innards spilled over the ground. To make matters worse, almost all the humans shun him because he's the Bane, and many of his fellow [[YouDirtyRat rats]] honor him and want him to be their king. Eventually, he goes completely off the deep end, becoming an EvilAlbino and a great [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Hitler allegory.]]

** Doesn't seem like it at first, but [[MagnificentBastard Petyr Baelish]]. He was born as one of the poorest nobles in the realm (if not ''the'' poorest noble in the Seven Kingdoms), then is separated from his family at a young age to live with another family with a much, much better social and material standing--throwing in his face all that he will never naturally have. He's small, weak and looked down upon by just about everybody. Nobody even calls him by his real name. Then, [[FromBadToWorse just to make things worse]], he falls in love with one of the daughters, who he isn't allowed to marry because of his birth. He nearly gets himself killed fighting for her and, after he loses, she completely ignores him. Worse, during all this, the younger daughter had been crushing on him so hard, she decides to rape him by deceit twice, then promptly got herself pregnant... which then made her father lose it, so Petyr gets sent back home in disgrace while he's still healing from the mauling he got trying for the hand of the elder daughter. It's really hard not to feel sorry for him... until he goes all gonzo with it and becomes a puppeteer in the royal court, [[spoiler:ruins his first love's family ''and'' [[ReplacementGoldfish kidnaps her teenage daughter]], kills people off at his own convenience, sparks a nationwide credit crisis ''and'' starts a frickin' ''brutal'' civil war all so he can rise to the top on his own terms and screw everybody else over.]]

** Doesn't seem like it at first, but [[MagnificentBastard Petyr Baelish]]. He was born as one of the poorest nobles, if not ''the'' poorest noble, in the realm, then separated from his family at a young age to live with another family in much, much better standing--throwing in his face what he will never have. He's small, weak, and looked down on by everybody. Nobody even calls him by his real name. Then, [[FromBadToWorse just to make things worse]], he falls in love with one of the daughters, who he isn't allowed to marry because of his birth. He nearly gets himself killed fighting for her and, after he loses, she completely ignores him. Hard not to feel sorry for him...until he becomes a puppeteer in the royal court, [[spoiler:ruins his first love's family and [[ReplacementGoldfish kidnaps her teenage daughter]], kills people off at his convenience, and starts a frickin' civil war]].