Line #14 Main/AssholeVictim


1	%% Trope was declared Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease via crowner by the Real Life Maintenance thread.
2
3	->''You know, this case reminds me of something a wise old country lawyer once said. He said, "You know the first question you ask in any murder case? 'Did the victim deserve to die?'"''
4	-->-- '''Arthur Branch''', ''Series/LawAndOrder''
5
6	Normally when something bad happens to an individual you feel some degree of pity for them. But then when that person is a {{Jerkass}} or an outright monstrous villain, when horrible things happen to them it's less sympathy and more satisfaction (or, at best, just plain apathy). They may or may not be [[HoistByHisOwnPetard directly responsible for their misfortunes]] (and ideally, there should be at least the initial appearance that they weren't), but their behavior means something like this was going to happen eventually. This can range from the victim merely being a dick to them being a far worse criminal than the person they are a victim to. If there is a correlation, the response may or may not be {{disproportionate\|retribution}}.
7
8	In other words, when a victim-shaped hole in the plot is filled with a character who is sufficiently repugnant, the audience feeling bad about what happened to them is unlikely. The character doesn't have to die or be brutalized, just that they suffer in some way. In some cases, "victim-shaped hole" can mean "victim of non-violent theft". What matters here is that they be victimized in some way, with (at least the appearance of) no fault on their part besides perhaps poor judgement of the danger they were walking into or otherwise innocently (this time, at least) misjudging the situation. If able to confront their attacker, there is a high likelihood [[ButForMeItWasTuesday they have no idea what earned their ire]].
9
10	This {{trope}} can show up for a variety of reasons, but a common one is to make the criminal (or NonMaliciousMonster) into a SympatheticMurderer. This is especially likely if the Asshole Victim's dickery [[TheDogBitesBack is what motivated the criminal to commit the crime in the first place]]. This often occurs in works that feature an AntiHero or VillainProtagonist; their victims are such horrible people that [[BlackAndGrayMorality the protagonist looks heroic by comparison]], and/or StartOfDarkness stories will have the protagonist's first victims be terrible people so they do not lose audience sympathy at the beginning of the tale.
11
12	Further, there are structural reasons for engaging in this {{trope}}: Given that, in many of these situations, the story requires either a VictimOfTheWeek or an early death to make clear the stakes, putting an asshole of some variety in the corpse-shaped hole in your plot brings up less of the "Tonight, someone will be killed for your entertainment" FridgeLogic.
13
14	Sometimes, the Asshole Victim is a {{Jerkass}} for the entire time they were alive, or in the cases of a PosthumousCharacter, in all of the accounts other people share about them. In other cases, though, it may not be apparent that the dead character is not a good person, with the character's transgressions coming to light as their death is investigated.
15
16	Contrast AlasPoorVillain, when a bad guy's death is portrayed in a sympathetic light. Though in recent years, clever writers have found ways to overlap the two.
17
18	See also JustifiedCriminal for the flipside.
19
20	Remember that Administrivia/TropesAreFlexible: whether the character is responsible for their misfortune or not, the important thing is that the narrative spells it out that they aren't meant to be mourned for.
21
22	[[folder:Sub-tropes under Asshole Victim include:]]
23	* AndThereWasMuchRejoicing: Characters InUniverse are very happy that a particular character died or experienced some other misfortune.
24	* CaperRationalization: Stealing from bad guys is okay.
25	* DeathByRacism: A racist dies because of their xenophobia.
26	* TheDogBitesBack: A villain harms a person, and therefore the very same person causes their death.
27	* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: [[KarmaHoudini People who avoid consequences all their life]] don't realize that there will come a day they never get away with their misdeeds and eventually get their much-deserved punishment.
28	* KarmicButtMonkey: Someone who ''regularly'' receives deserved misfortunes.
29	* KarmicDeath: A villain dies in a way that serves as a fitting punishment for their misdeeds and is their own fault..
30	* KarmicInjury: Somebody is (often non-fatally) injured in a way that fits their misdeeds.
31	* KarmicRape: A bad guy is raped in a way that fits their misdeeds (often because they themselves were rapists).
32	* KarmicThief: Stealing is okay if you have a good reason.
33	* KarmicTransformation: When a villain (or just someone who is ''really'' [[JerkAss unpleasant]]) gets transformed against their will, usually into something they greatly despise.
34	* LaserGuidedKarma: Misfortune that matches someone's misdeeds.
35	* MuggingTheMonster: A criminal or bully targets someone who turns out to be more than capable of defending themselves.
36	* PayEvilUntoEvil: Evil actions are portrayed as OK as long as the victim deserves it.
37	* RewardedAsATraitorDeserves: A traitor is executed because of their treachery.
38	* StealingFromThieves: Stealing is okay if it's from someone who stole the thing in the first place.
39	* ATasteOfTheirOwnMedicine: Someone receives the same mistreatment they showed (or tried showing) others.
40	* WhoMurderedTheAsshole: An [[{{Jerkass}} asshat]] has died and it is up to the heroes to find out who the murderer is. Because of the victim's unlikable personality, the list of suspects is often quite long.
41	[[/folder]]
42
43	'''This can be a {{Death Trope\|s}}, so ''beware of unmarked {{spoiler}}s!'''''
44	[[noreallife]]
45	----
46	!!Example subpages:
47	[[index]]
48	* AssholeVictim/AnimeAndManga
49	* AssholeVictim/ComicBooks
50	* AssholeVictim/FanWorks
51	** ''AssholeVictim/AllForLuz''
52	** ''AssholeVictim/CodePrime''
53	** ''AssholeVictim/KingExplosionMurdertheShieldHero''
54	* [[AssholeVictim/{{Film}} Films — Live-Action]]
55	** ''AssholeVictim/{{Saw}}''
56	* AssholeVictim/{{Literature}}
57	** ''AssholeVictim/ASongOfIceAndFire''
58	* AssholeVictim/LiveActionTV
59	** ''AssholeVictim/GameOfThrones''
60	* AssholeVictim/VideoGames
61	* AssholeVictim/VisualNovels
62	** ''AssholeVictim/AceAttorney''
63	* AssholeVictim/{{Webcomics}}
64	* AssholeVictim/WesternAnimation
65	[[/index]]
66
67	!!Other examples:
68	[[foldercontrol]]
69
70	[[folder:Advertising]]
71	* One of the early Got Milk? commercials ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnIjgw5A-iI this one]]) starts with a business executive sadistically firing someone over his cell phone as he crosses the street. He's promptly hit by a truck and goes to "heaven" with all the cookies he could want, [[ThisIsntHeaven but all the milk cartons are empty]]. [[{{Hell}} Guess where he is...]]
72	* This Stand Up To Cancer [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZ0aksbiiXw&lc=UgzUJ6kRi26tOUTfDuN4AaABAg.9ZbpJy8f0rM9nZrBE74sD3 ad]] depicts a city full of strange creatures living in a [[CrapsackWorld crowded and dirty city]]. [[ApocalypseWow A construction worker discovers a strange blue substance that causes the destruction of his world]]. Thankfully, these creatures are in fact the AnthropomorphicPersonification of Cancer, so nobody really bats an eye.
73	[[/folder]]
74
75	[[folder:Alternate Reality Games]]
76	* ''ARG/OmegaMart'': To an extent, the Omega Mart Lemons. The one in the commercial looks flat-out terrified when it learns it'll be [[DeadlyEuphemism disposed of]], but both the video description and the canned message at the provided phone number indicate they're hostile to humans and possibly radioactive.
77	[[/folder]]
78
79	[[folder:Fairy Tales]]
80	* Creator/AndrewLang's "Literature/EsbenAndTheWitch'' ([[https://www.surlalunefairytales.com/book.php?id=12&tale=138 link]]) has Sir Red, who tries repeatedly to get Esben's brothers executed by lying that they told him they could fetch a wonderful or magical item (a dove with feathers of gold, a boar with bristles of silver and gold, a lamp that shines brightly enough to light seven kingdoms, a coverlet that is the most beautiful in the world, and if touched, sounds loudly enough to be heard in eight kingdoms). Sir Red is Hanged in the end, "for his wickedness... and so he got the end he deserved." The brothers are assholes, but not victims, while the witch's daughters are guilty of nothing more than being her daughters.
81	[[/folder]]
82
83	[[folder:Films — Animated]]
84	* More than a few ''Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon'' villains fall into this trope. To name but a few:
85	** Rourke in ''WesternAnimation/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'' is turned into a crystal statue and cut to pieces by his airship's blades; given that he was planning to doom Atlantis to extinction by stealing its crystals, he won't be missed in a hurry.
86	** [[Characters/TheHunchbackOfNotreDameDisneyJudgeClaudeFrollo Judge Claude Frollo]] in ''WesternAnimation/{{The Hunchback of Notre Dame\|Disney}}'' is sent [[DraggedOffToHell plummeting]] off of Notre Dame cathedral into a lake of molten lead; all in all, a fitting fate for a holier-than-thou bigot and religious hypocrite like him.
87	** [[Characters/TheLionKingScar Scar]] from ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'' is torn apart by his hyena minions; after killing his brother Mufasa, almost bringing the Pride Lands to ruin, and betraying the hyenas, he more than deserves it.
88	** Sykes in ''WesternAnimation/OliverAndCompany'' is run over by a train; however, seeing as he plagued Fagin, and also had no qualms about harming children or animals, no one will be missing him.
89	** Kron from ''WesternAnimation/{{Dinosaur}}'' gets mauled to death by the ''Carnotaurus''. After being a tyrant to his herd, leaving an injured Bruton to die, and nearly killing Aladar for trying to convince him to take a safer path, this is rightfully deserved.
90	** [[Characters/FrozenHans Hans]] in ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen\|2013}}'' is arrested by the Arendelle guards and sent back to the Southern Isles to face punishment. Seeing as just moments before he tried to kill Anna and Elsa, he more than deserves it; in the short ''WesternAnimation/FrozenFever'', he is punished by [[FallenOnHardTimesJob being forced to shovel horse shit]].
91	* Examples in ''{{Creator/Pixar}}'' movies include:
92	** ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'': Syndrome dies a very gruesome death as his cape causes him to be sucked into a [[TurbineBlender jet turbine]], but it's hard to feel bad for him considering he was responsible for the senseless murder of countless superheroes, nearly killed the main characters, and had just attempted to kidnap their baby.
93	** ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife'': Hopper is eaten alive by birds. Given that he and his pack of grasshoppers terrorized the ant colony by extorting their food supply, it's hard too feel sorry for him.
94	** ''WesternAnimation/Cars2'': Grem and Acer is last seen getting themselves beaten up by the bar patrons. Given the dirty job they'll have done they deserve it.
95	** ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'': Ernesto de La Cruz gets trapped beneath a giant bell and left to be forgotten about in the Land of the Living. Given that he [[EtTuBrute murdered his best friend, Hector]] and stole his songs, leeching off his talent to become famous, as well as trying to [[WouldHurtAChild murder Hector's descendant, Miguel]], let's just say few tears will be shed for him.
96	** In ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'', Lotso-Huggin-Bear is tied to the grill of a truck to deteriorate; given that just moments before he abandoned Woody and his friends to burn in a furnace, it's nothing more than a deserved fate for him.
97	** In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', Tyler is attacked by Mei after insulting her mother and family temple having repeatedly bullied her previously.
98	* ''WesternAnimation/DotAndTheKangaroo'': Papa Drop, the bubble-shaped dictator of the planet Pie-Arr-Squared and main antagonist of the eighth and final sequel titled ''Dot in Space'', gets overinflated by his own servant Inflato after his son Roley and Dot expose him as a fraud, enough to cause him to float up into space. Given the (supposed) years of suffering and oppression that [[InnocentAliens the Squaries]] had to endure under his regime, [[WouldHurtAChild his willingness to drag Dot, an innocent little girl,]] into his FantasticRacism fueled conflict by [[MadeASlave having her imprisoned in a slave labor camp]] and his desire to use her rocket to conquer the universe and subject numerous planets to the same tyranny he subjects on his home planet and the fact that he was willing to imprison his own son and his army to get his way (and tries to do so in the climax), it's safe to say he won't be missed.
99	* Both deaths shown in ''WesternAnimation/{{Igor}}'' (Not counting Scamper's many "deaths") come from those who had it coming big time: [[BadBoss Dr.]] [[BastardBoyfriend Glickenstine]] who is killed due to [[TooDumbToLive a malfunction in his own invention]] and [[GreaterScopeVillain King]] [[NightmareFuelStationAttendant Malbert]] [[spoiler: who is crushed by the very weather ray he created]].
100	* ''WesternAnimation/PussInBootsTheLastWish''
101	** The Serpent Sisters are a pair of criminals whom "Big" Jack Horner hired to steal the map to the Wishing Star. After Jo, who'd bragged about all the murdering the pair did to get the map, [[TooDumbToLive makes fun of Jack]], who's willing to kill people who works for him for practically no reason, he decides to [[ExactWords give her her weight in gold as promise]], and uses one of his magical relics to turn her to gold.
102	** At the end of the movie, Jack himself is about to sink into the imploding Wishing Star, as a result of the other characters ripping up the map after failing to stop him from making a wish. He asks "What did I do to deserve this?" and when the other characters present, all of whom he has tried to kill at various points, merely stare at him, he adds, "I mean what, specifically?" The rest of the cast wasn't trying to kill him as much as thwart his plans, but they aren't terribly sad about his demise.
103	* ''WesternAnimation/SupermanDoomsday'': Toyman's death at the hands of Superman [[spoiler:(or so Metropolis thought)]] is horrifying, but he recently killed an innocent 4-year-old girl in cold blood so it's safe to say that he deserved it.
104	* ''WesternAnimation/TitanAE''
105	** The JerkAss cockroach chef, [[FantasticRacism who insults Cale and calls humans "unsanitary"]] (Despite the fact that [[{{Hypocrite}} he serves]] [[FoulCafeteriaFood alien feces and living creatures]]). When the Drej attack the cafeteria, he seems to care more for the safety of himself and his food than Cale and Korso. Also, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking his voice is annoying.]] Therefore, it's hard to call it tragic when the Drej shoot and splatter him all over the wall, especially when he tried to [[DirtyCoward sell out the two humans just to save his own hide seconds before]].
106	** An early conversation between Cale and [[PromotedToParent Tek]] hints that this could be why humans aren't [[FantasticRacism held in very high regard]] and [[NoSympathy are treated with scorn and mockery rather than sympathy]] after the destruction of Earth. According to Tek, if Cale had bothered to read a history book like instructed, he would know that his people [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters weren't exactly the nicest race in the galaxy]] before their planet blew up. Now that it has, most of the other aliens [[WhosLaughingNow aren't inclined to pity or help them]].
107	** After the Drej destroy Earth, how does humanity end up building a new homeworld? [[spoiler:Why, harvesting the energy Drej are made of in an inversion of HumanResources to power the device to make a new, viable replacement world!]]
108	* ''WesternAnimation/WalkingWithDinosaurs'': After the way [[BigBrotherBully Scowler treated Patchi the entire film]], it feels deserving when he gets mauled to near-death by Gorgon while the herd leaves him to die.
109	[[/folder]]
110
111	[[folder:Manhua]]
112	* In ''Manhua/GoddessCreationSystem'' [[spoiler:the queen]] is forced to commit suicide after [[spoiler:Ping Yang Hou's coup]] and it's kind of sad, especially since [[spoiler:she was his actual sister]] and seemed to have grudgingly accepted Xiaxi tutoring the prince. However, afterward it's revealed that she had [[spoiler:her brother's wife assassinated as well as Mingluan's mother]] because she didn't like them getting above their station.
113	* Practically ''every'' single antagonist in ''Manhua/IronLadies'' classifies as this, being scumbags, war criminals, wannabe rapists and mass murders. Of all antagonists only ''two'' have had redeeming qualities, and they suffered from RedemptionEqualsDeath, all others are complete assholes who got what they deserved.
114	[[/folder]]
115
116	[[folder:Music]]
117	* "Two Black Cadillacs" by Music/CarrieUnderwood is a RevengeBallad where a cheating man is murdered by his wife and mistress.
118	* "Goodbye Earl" by Music/TheChicks is about two best-friends, Mary-Anne and Wanda, teaming up to [[SisterhoodEliminatesCreep to murder Wanda's abusive ex-husband]] after he puts her in intensive care.
119	* "Janie's Got A Gun" by Music/{{Aerosmith}} is about [[RapeAndRevenge a teenage girl who shoots her father after being molested and raped by him.]]
120	-->They said when Janie was arrested\
121	They found him underneath a train\
122	But, man, he had it comin'\
123	Now that Janie's got a gun\
124	She ain't never gonna be the same
125	* The rake in "The Mariner's Revenge Song" by Music/{{The Decemberists}}, big time. He wastes all his money on gambling, booze, and prostitutes, and then saddles an innocent mother and child with his debts, causing them to lose their home. And then, he goes on to become a sadistic whaling captain. Over time, the mother falls ill and dies, but not before telling the son to find the bastard, [[{{Fingore}} shatter his fingers]], and [[{{BuriedAlive}} bury him alive]]. The wordless, but increasingly frantic tone of the final minute heavily implies that he does just that.
126	* "[[Music/BadHairDay I Remember Larry]]" by ''Music/WeirdAlYankovic'' has the eponymous Larry pull all sorts of increasingly-horrible pranks on his neighbor, who eventually snaps, ties Larry up in a plastic bag, and leaves him for dead, in the middle of the forest.
127	* Creator/MercedesLackey's filk "It Was a Dark and Stormy Night." The Countess, a talentless would-be musician, dies in a locked tower to which her husband has the only other key. But she was such an unpleasant person that:
128	-->And one fact most astounding to them quickly came to light--\
129	That ''every'' moment of the Count was vouched for on that night.\
130	The castle folk by ones and twos came forward on their own\
131	To swear the Count had never once that night been all alone.\
132	So though the Tower had been locked tight, with two keys to the door,\
133	One his, one hers; the Count of guilt was plain absolved for sure.
134	* In "Never Again" by Nickelback, a man is fatally shot by his wife when she snaps.
135	* "38 Years Old" by The Tragically Hip is about a man imprisoned for murdering his sister's rapist.
136	* "Terror Starts at Home" by Beneath the Sky is another example of this. A man rapes his own daughter and she responds by cutting his penis off. The music video shows it in graphic detail.
137	** "Testicular Manslaughter" by Cattle Decapitation and "Blunt Force Castration" by Music/CannibalCorpse are also about a rapist being castrated.
138	* Alt-Rapper Jesse Dangerously's song "Outfox'd (When Pacifists Attack)" is about one getting what's coming to him:
139	-->"[[TechnicalPacifist You just got your ass kicked trying to play-fight a pacifist]]
140	-->Plus [[{{Angrish}} got called a Faggot by a Gay-Rights Activist]]
141	-->In broad daylight, hey guys
142	-->[[PassiveAggressiveKombat My place for a lesson in aggression in passiveness]]
143	* The girlfriend's father in Music/ThePolice song "Once Upon A Daydream".
144	* Jimmy, from Music/{{Devo}}'s ''Smoothnoodlemaps'', is an animal abuser, a {{Domestic Abuse}}r, an {{Abusive Parent\|s}}, liar, cheater, thief, CorruptCorporateExecutive, and made a living by "trashing others' lives", but now he's in a wheelchair and Devo don't care.
145	* Music/InsaneClownPosse has the song "[[PaedoHunt To Catch a Predator]]", which has Violent J hunting and torturing pedophiles. In the last verse, he chases one onto the lawn and drags him back inside in full view of his neighbors and mailman. Nobody says anything because they know what the guy was.
146	* Music/{{Sublime}}'s song "DateRape", where a man who commits the titular crime feels the [[PrisonRape bad karma]].
147	* In the video to "Something To Talk About" by Badly Drawn Boy, the duck Marcus accidentally kills in ''Film/AboutABoy'' becomes this. Apparently, it's been harassing BDB ever since he was a child, eating his mum's pie (for which he was [[MisBlamed wrongly punished]]), knocking him over in the street[[note]] and, in the original version, ''killing his [[PuppyLove girlfriend]]'', although that bit is often cut from most releases[[/note]], crapping all over his car and leaving him with a vicious hatred of all ducks. BDB is present to witness its death, and [[AndThereWasMuchRejoicing is seen lying on his back cheering]] at the end.
148	* After Harley Poe's "Gordon" spends its first half telling about how the titular criminal would cannibalize and molest children, kill stray cats, and a few other sins, the second half tells how he is brutally murdered by the resurrected corpse of his would-be-next rape victim's mother, his demise being celebrated.
149	[[/folder]]
150
151	[[folder:Myths & Religion]]
152	* OlderThanFeudalism: In Myth/ClassicalMythology this is a reccurring theme.
153	** Ouranos and Kronos lose any sympathy points when they are brutally overthrown due to their treatment of their kids. The Olympians often punished mortals for being complete assholes, but were not limited to this.
154	** Heracles was known for his rages involving lots of death. What sets him apart from some other Greek heroes is the victim usually loses some sympathy by cheating Heracles or being a complete asshole. Heracles usually accepted punishment when he was in the wrong.
155	** Tantalus was the king of Lydia, who [[OffingTheOffspring murdered his son]] and fed him to the Olympians. Disgusted, Zeus sent him to the Underworld, and was punished by being forced to stand in waist-high water, with fruiting trees hanging above him; every time he tried to drink, the water receded and every time he wanted to eat, the branches withdrew (hence our English word "tantalize").
156	** Sisyphus was a nasty Greek king who violated SacredHospitality by having guests killed in order to confiscate their goods. He then took his assholery a step further when [[TheGrimReaper Thanatos]] came to usher him to the Underworld, [[DeathTakesAHoliday locking him in a chest for a year]]. Once Hermes is able to free the god of death from the chest and Sisyphus has to die, he ''cheats Death again'' by having his wife not give him [[DueToTheDead the coins for Charon]] and asking to go back up "just to confront her and get these coins, I promise" but, of course, remaining in the world of the living as long as he can. After ''that'' attempt fails, Sisyphus' punishment in the Underworld is to continually try to push a rock up a mountain, but it will always fall back down before it can reach the top, so he has to start all over again. This is usually considered to be a demonstration of [[YouCantFightFate the futility of trying to cheat the gods and Fate]].
157
158	* Myth/NorseMythology: The gods usually come off better than the giants, who were being massive assholes first.
159	* ''Literature/TheBible'': Amnon raped his half-brother Absalom's (half?) sister Tamar. Since his father David evidently felt his own philandering had undercut any authority he had to punish Amnon for this, Absalom eventually took matters into his own hands and had his men assassinate Amnon during a banquet. [[AmbitionIsEvil Drunk on his success]], Absalom later rebelled against David, whose TokenEvilTeammate Joab managed to catch Absalom at a vulnerable moment and kill him. As the final link in this chain of treachery and murder, David's heir Solomon, in accord with David's instructions on his deathbed, later put Joab to death at his earliest legal opportunity.
160	** Many later kings qualified, including (but by no means limited to): Nadab, Elah, Zechariah, Shallum, Pekahiah, and Pekah of Israel; Joash and Amon of Judah; Sennacherib of Assyria; and Co-Regent Belshazzar of Bablyon.
161	** Jehoram of Judah, whom God struck down with some kind of intestinal plague (possibly cholera). As noted in Chronicles, his death was [[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Chronicles+21&version=NIV "...to no one's regret..."]]
162	** The earlier books feature entire cities' worth of Asshole Victims, most notably Sodom, Gomorrah, and Amalek. In the case of the first two, the two messengers from God could only find six people among their populations who weren't complete scum.
163	** The Amalekites were a culture of bandits who followed behind the Israelites during the whole "forty years wandering the desert" thing and picked off the children and elderly [[ForTheEvulz for the heck of it]]. Later, their civilizations were reduced to skidmarks on the pavement (err, desert) by Israel.
164	** The Literature/BookOfEsther doesn't tell us much about Vashti, except that she refused to obey her husband, King Ahasuerus, and thus lost her crown; we don't even know what happened to her, though most people assume that he had her executed. While this has invited sympathy and even feminist interpretations in modern times, the actual Jewish legends about Vashti paint her as a petty tyrant who forced her Jewish slaves to strip naked and work on the Sabbath. In some versions she refused to obey Ahasuerus' summons out of vanity, having been stricken by some sort of disfigurement as a divine punishment.
165	** In the [[Literature/TheFourGospels gospel of Luke]], Jesus Himself challenges this thinking when there were present at that time some who told Him of the Galileans whose blood Pontius Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. To that, He said, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse offenders than all men living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:2-5)
166	** In the final judgment in the Literature/BookOfRevelation, those whose names are not found written in the Book of Life are pretty much considered this by God for their rebellion against Him, whether passively or actively, and will be cast into the Lake of Fire.
167	* In Guatuso mythology, people who live according to divine will are believed to achieve such a spiritual state that nothing or no one can hurt or kill them (apart from old age or disease), therefore, anyone who dies violently (killed by people or animals) or by accident (drowned, crushed by trees, etc...) [[BoltofDivineRetribution is automatically assumed to be this]]
168	[[/folder]]
169
170	[[folder:Podcasts]]
171	* Variant in ''Podcast/BlackJackJustice'': The Stopped Clock, where the wrongly accused ''killer'' is the asshole.
172	* ''Podcast/SickSadWorld'': Child rapist Roman Polanski is listed among Ted Bundy's would-be victims. It's also mentioned Polanski cheated on his pregnant wife.
173	* Ted Papakostas presents two RealLife examples in his [[Podcast/{{Archaeostoryteller}} podcast]] where the victims deserved their punishments:
174	** After Hipparchus' failed attempts to seduce Harmodius, he invites Harmodius' little sister to participate at the Panathenaea, only to reject her and disgrace her publicly by saying that she wasn't a virgin (which back then was a huge offense). Harmodius and Aristogeiton are so frustrated that they want to punish him and, during the Panathenaea, they kill him.
175	** One of Odysseus' comrade, Politis, raped a young girl from Temessis. The citizens of the town killed him by throwing rocks at him. Even Odysseus didn't approve of that action and left, without even burying him respectfully.
176	* Most recurring characters in ''Podcast/TheMagnusArchives'' are some variety of avatar, a being that directly serves one of the fourteen malevolent extradimensional entities that feed on human fear, and all have horrific track records (as well as most of the time being generally unlikable people), so when they're inevitably killed off, it's sometimes a bit of a cathartic moment. Despite this, however, some of their fates are...particularly merciless. Examples include being buried in concrete, being fully erased from existence and replaced, being suffocated by [=CO2=] fire extinguishers, and (in the case of Peter, Jude, Jared, and "Sasha") being literally '''known''' to death.
177	[[/folder]]
178
179	[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
180	* Wrestling/{{CHIKARA}}'s Season 14 (2014) was about the feud between CHIKARA and The Flood, the [[MatryoshkaObject amalgamation]] of {{Heel}} groups out to destroy CHIKARA, led by Wrestling/{{Deucalion}}. Over the course of the season, Deucalion destroyed several characters, including [[BadBoss some of his own followers]]. Nobody felt bad for him when [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/pa/e/chikara/chikara-g.html CHIKARA Grand Champion]] Wrestling/{{Icarus\|Wrestling}} destroyed him with Wrestling/{{The Estonian Thunderfrog}}'s (one of Deucalion's victims) Hammer of War after their cage match at the SeasonFinale [=iPPV=] ''Tomorrow Never Dies'' on December 6th.
181	* Valkyrie was formed in Shine Wrestling partially to make it harder for Shine officials to punish its members for assaulting baby {{face}}s. After Rain lost the SHINE title belt to Wrestling/IvelisseVelez and tasked the group with getting it back, Wrestling/AllysinKay actively started "destroying innocents" as a way to get another title shot. After Kay's {{Nominal\|Hero}} HeelFaceTurn, "innocents" became [[InNameOnly anything but]]. Especially when one of them was Wrestling/TessaBlanchard, who [[ContinuityNod futilely tried to remind Kay that she was a Valkyrie member too]].
182	[[/folder]]
183
184	[[folder:Roleplay]]
185	* While many characters in ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest'' [[KillTheCutie clearly don't deserve getting killed]], there are also many who are enough of a {{Jerkass}} to the point where it's hard to sympathize with them. Some of these border on KarmicDeath, such as Anthony Burbank (who was repeatedly stabbed [[GroinAttack in the groin]] by the same cousin who he had bullied) and Philip Ward (beaten to death by [[MilesGloriosus Jimmy Brennan]], a character he had previously beaten up in a hockey game in [[DevelopingDoomedCharacters pre-game]]). A notable aversion, though, would be Monty Pondsworth of v4 pre-game. Although he was the most prominent {{Jerkass}} in pre-game, he did not make an appearance on the island, much to the disappointment of many handlers.
186	[[/folder]]
187
188	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
189	* Subverted in ''TabletopGame/{{Nobilis}}'': one example of play in the second edition rulebook involved an attack on the concept of Treachery that relied on [[RealityWarper warping reality]] so that a nice person who had been murdered by her boyfriend [[RetCon retroactively]] ''became'' an Asshole Victim. This would, apparently, have undermined Treachery by mixing in justice where it wasn't supposed to be, undermining reality itself. ([[HumanoidAbomination Excrucians]] are frequently nice people, but one must never take that to mean they're ''[[AffablyEvil good]]'' [[OmnicidalManiac people]].)
190	* A shroud's preferred victim in ''TabletopGame/{{Anathema\|2011}}'' is almost certainly this, at least from that individual shroud's perspective. Especially considering that killing a preferred victim actually increases your will to live.
191	* A background paragraph in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' concerns a duel between a Chaos Champion named Gharad the Ox and an Imperial Elector Count. As the Champion appeared to be winning, the townsfolk (mostly the women) started cheering ''him'' on rather than the Count. After his victory, Gharad left the town intact, feeling "[[GoodFeelsGood obscurely pleased]]".
192	** Sometimes, Beastmen are born to human parents. The parents sadly, are often horrified by their child's appearance, [[ParentalAbandonment leave them in the woods]]. There they are sometimes found and raised by Beastmen themselves, who often kill the parents. The downside? The kid usually grows up to be as cruel and violent as their fellow Beastmen.
193	* There's a bunch of these in the book for ''TabletopGame/PsionicsTheNextStageInHumanEvolution''.
194	** A racist bully is telekinetically slammed into a locker so hard he has to be hospitalized.
195	** An alpha bitch dies of an overdose.
196	** A manipulative bastard working for a shadowy government agency is pushed off the top of a stage.
197	** A child molester is burned to death.
198	** An entire building full of torture technicians is killed by the poor kid they were experimenting on.
199	** Someone who works for the same organization as said torture technicians is brutally maimed by an esper that they were trying to torture/brainwash into submission.
200	* In ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'', Slaanesh claims all unprotected Eldar souls upon death and subjects them to indescribable torments. It's a little hard to feel sorry for the Eldar Empire since it was their murderous depravity that spawned Slaanesh in the first place. The Craftworld and Exodite Eldar are sympathetic since they were the few Eldar who rejected the hedonism of the rest of the Empire. Indeed, their physical and metaphorical distance from that mess is the reason they survived the initial massacre when Slaanesh was born. The Dark Eldar on the other hand have sunk even further into depravity, placating Slaanesh with the souls and suffering of their victims just so they can have their cake and eat it too. If anyone truly deserved to become Slaanesh's plaything for eternity, it's the Dark Eldar.
201	** Pretty much anytime Chaos forces turn on each other is an example of this trope. The best example is the Battle of Skalathrax, where the World Eaters were fighting the Emperor's Children. The cold caused a lull in the fighting, until Kharn (later known as the Betrayer) of the World Eaters took a flamer and started setting ''both sides'' on fire. Before you start feeling bad about the Emperor's Children, they worship Slaanesh as well.
202	* Inverted in ''Kill Doctor Lucky''. Dr. Lucky is stated to be a great guy that you all hate for petty reasons.
203	* In ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'' one of the first worlds struck by the Clans were ruled by a pair of bandit kingdoms. The Barony of Strang who's leader is a descendant of a Rim Worlds Republic commander, and Santander's Killers who are a band of ruthless pirates who are a constant menace to the Inner Sphere. The Clans did everyone a favor in wiping them out.
204	* One of the cruelest canon fates in all roleplaying is accorded to [[SmugSnake Duke]] Rowan [[MoralSociopathy Darkwood]] in ''TabletopGame/{{Planescape}}''. Darkwood learns that he can use a specific soul [[AndIMustScream trapped in a crystal]] as a weapon against the Lady of Pain, allowing him to [[GodhoodSeeker take her place]]. It's a deception by the Lady herself; the spell actually traps the user's soul in a crystal and sends it back in time. Darkwood casts the spell, annihilating the soul in the crystal, and is catapulted back in time to endure centuries of torment... torment that will only end when his past self annihilates his soul [[TimeyWimeyBall in order to trap himself in the first place]]. Although the text doesn't point it out, this is the Lady's little joke; Duke Darkwood constantly proclaimed himself a self-made man, so she provided him [[IronicHell a self-made doom]].
205	* ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'': Invoked in the mechanics for cursing individuals across the various editions, where a curse is more likely to take hold if the person invoking the curse feels the victim genuinely deserves it. And yes, this is noted as purely subjective, so villains calling curses down on the heroes who defeated them can benefit from this "deserving target" bonus!
206	[[/folder]]
207
208	[[folder:Theatre]]
209	* ZigZagged: The title character of ''Theatre/{{Agamemnon}}'' (the first play in ''Theatre/TheOresteia'' trilogy) tried to sacrifice his daughter to the gods, and ends up murdered by his wife Clytemnestra and her paramour Aegisthus. Though, [[FridgeLogic if you stop to think about it]], it's rather difficult to pinpoint which of them really is the bigger asshole: they both have had their JerkassBall moments, but even Clytemnestra’s motivation for killing him rings rather hollow when you consider that she [[AbusiveParents abused]] her son Orestes and ''other'' daughter Electra and [[ParentalNeglect neglected]] her ''other'', other daughter Chrysothemis.
210	* Aegisthus himself qualifies as an Asshole Victim in ''Theatre/TheLibationBearers'', the second part of ''The Oresteia''. Oh, and by the way? Aegisthus also [[PayEvilUntoEvil murdered Agamemnon's father, Atreus]], for [[MoralEventHorizon feeding Aegisthus' half-brothers to their father]], Atreus' brother Thyestes (making Aegisthus a ''serial'' [[KinslayingIsASpecialKindOfEvil kinslayer]], if an understandably motivated one). This family is one Asshole Victim after another.
211	* Played with in "The Cell Block Tango" in ''Theatre/{{Chicago}}''; all the ladies but The Hunyak swear up and down that they didn't do it, but if they ''did'', their victims were such bastards that they utterly deserved it. Whether they are to be believed is open to question (of course their flip-flopping makes it clear that they are obviously lying through their teeth. All that Hunyak says is that she didn't do it, which makes her more believable.)
212	-->'''The Six Merry Murderesses:''' "[singing] He had it coming! He had it coming! He only had himself to blame! If you'd have been there, if you'd have seen it,..."
213	-->'''Velma:''' "...I BET YA YOU WOULD HAVE DONE THE SAME!
214	** Fred Caisley, the man Roxie Hart killed, is a straight example. While Roxie herself is a fully unrepentant VillainProtagonist, Fred constantly lied to her about having a contact at the cabaret who would get her a spot singing, and he did all of it behind the back of his wife and children.
215	* ''Theatre/FatHam'': Pap was killed in prison by another convict, but no one's particularly sad since he was an abusive {{Jerkass}} and murderer. That said, everyone is still horrified when [[spoiler:Rev confesses to having hired the man to murder him.]]
216	* ''Theatre/AGentlemansGuideToLoveAndMurder'': Almost all the D'Ysquiths are so [[Main/WhiteMansBurden racist]], [[UpperClassTwit classist]], and self-involved that when bastard relation Monty Navarro starts murdering all of them to claim the earldom, the funeral-goers can't help but badmouth the family.
217	* In ''Theatre/{{Heathers}}'', JD (and less directly, Veronica) kills Heather Chandler, Kurt, and Ram, but not until after the three spent years bullying and abusing their fellow students without any sign of remorse. DeconstructedTrope, as Kurt and Ram have lines in “Beautiful” suggesting they’re not quite as mean as they appear, while the overall story makes the point that they were only high school kids and might have changed given the time and opportunity.
218	* In ''Theatre/LittleShopOfHorrors'', Audrey II's first ''live'' victim is the emotionally abusive father figure Mr. Mushnik, who's not much less of a jerk. Orin Scrivello is another one, for Seymour. Audrey II even [[LampshadeHanging uses the line]] "A lot of folks ''deserve'' to die" during the "Feed Me" number when talking about him.
219	* In ''{{Theatre/Lizzie}}'', the title character murders her father and stepmother. While her stepmother is ambiguous enough that it's hard to say whether she qualifies as this trope or not, her father ''absolutely'' does. An abusive father that's been molesting his younger daughter since her childhood? Yeah, ain't ''no one'' crying over this guy.
220	* Consul Karl Baumer in ''Theatre/MarginForError'' is a Nazi of the least likable sort. When UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler is making a speech, he turns up the volume on the radio so loud that nobody hears the gunshot that kills him.
221	* In the song "I've Got A Little List" from ''Theatre/TheMikado'', Ko-ko announces that most of the people he would execute as Lord High Executioner would be people of this nature, people that won't be missed. Since the original lyrics can fall under ValuesDissonance or not make sense to modern audiences, the lyrics in modern productions tend to be changed to more topical or understandable examples.
222	* Pirelli in ''Theatre/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet'' is a SnakeOilSalesman who passes off "piss and ink" as a hair tonic, beats Toby, and [[MuggingTheMonster tries to blackmail Sweeney]].
223	** Beadle Bamford snaps the neck of a bird Anthony wanted to give to Johanna, sends her to Fogg's Asylum on Judge Turpin's orders, and was responsible for the arrest and transportation of Sweeney himself back when he was Benjamin Barker. And Judge Turpin, the main target of Sweeney's vengeance, is an even bigger bastard, with his creepy lust toward both Sweeney's wife and his daughter kicking off the plot in earnest, as well as doing things like sentencing an eight-year-old boy to death by hanging while not giving a blessed damn about his actual guilt or innocence.
224	** And in the end, Mrs. Lovett thoroughly deserves her end for [[spoiler:locking Toby in the evil basement so that she can have Sweeney kill him, and not letting Sweeney know that his wife was still alive -- even leading him to believe that she was dead -- because she wanted Sweeney for herself]]. And after [[spoiler:every murder he's committed aside from Judge Turpin, Beadle Bamford, Pirelli and Mrs. Lovett]], Sweeney Todd himself also qualifies.
225	[[/folder]]
226
227	[[folder:Toys]]
228	* ''ComicBook/BeastWarsUprising:'' The Builder Council, to a mech (save [[TokenGoodTeammate one who left early]]) get killed in the finale, by their own apocalyptic weapon. For extra LaserGuidedKarma, they were only in a position to be killed because they'd put themselves out in the open to ''gloat''. And given the whole CrapsackWorld nature of the setting is almost entirely their fault... yeah, they got it coming.
229	* ''Toys/PlushieDreadfuls'': the lore states that Scruffy Bumps the black cat can magically cause [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals animal abusers]] to die in natural disasters.
230	[[/folder]]
231
232	[[folder:Web Animation]]
233	* ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'': Whenever one of the combatants is a villain or at least have done some horrendous things in their rundown, expect this trope to apply to them when they lose. Specific examples include:
234	** Lex Luthor getting impaled right into his company's logo before being sliced into pieces by Doctor Doom. Considering Lex [[KinslayingIsASpecialKindOfEvil willingly cured his sick sister of her illness before reinfecting her with said illness]] just to prove he could cure her to prove a point, it's not that sad of a death.
235	** Goku Black being turned to roadkill at SuperSpeed before being [[HurlItIntoTheSun thrown into the Sun]] at the hands of the Reverse-Flash. This combatant is a self-centered genocidal bastard who presumably committed all the [[FinalSolution atrocities]] he did in [[Anime/DragonBallSuper his home series]] and in the battle, also killed those civilians. It's safe to say, he earned his death.
236	** Homelander suffering a long-drawn out death of [[AndShowItToYou watching his own heart get ripped out of his body by Omni-Man]], being forced to swallow his own heart before [[HeadCrushing having his head crushed in]]. Homelander is not only a racist asshole who hid his villainous nature and many murders behind a heroic facade, he also personally killed Omni-Man's wife just because she was married to him and Homelander was jealous about the alien getting more attention. Needlessly to say, his gruesome death was deserved.
237	** Bill Cipher uses his {{Reality Warp\|er}}ing powers to torture others and destroy worlds [[ForTheEvulz for his own amusement]] and submits all of Equestria to Weirdmaggedon, so as such him being given what is possibly [[MeaninglessVillainVictory the most]] [[PyrrhicVictory hollow victory]] in the show's history via Discord [[SealedEvilInACan trapping him in the Nightmare Realm]] at the [[AsLongAsThereIsEvil (temporary)]] cost of his life, with Bill's attempts at freeing himself by offering a {{deal with\|TheDevil}} [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou the viewing audience]] [[SubvertedTrope having fallen flat]] as he is last shown fruitlessly threatening Wiz and Boomstick to release him, implying the audience collectively turned him down, is well-deserved.
238	** Eustace Bagge is abusive towards his dog Courage and in the fight he dresses up as the monster with the intent to ''kill both Courage and Scooby'', which also happens to trigger the fight between the dogs. In the end, not only do [[WinWinEnding Courage and Scooby survive and make up with each other]], but Eustace is dragged into the Chest of Demons, imprisoned inside, and gets considered both the casualty and loser of the fight.
239	* ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'': The targets of I.M.P. usually turn out to be pretty nasty pieces of work, so you don't feel bad when they meet brutal ends courtesy of the demonic assassins.
240	* ''WebAnimation/TheLazerCollection'' has a few in part 5:
241	** A customer at a restaurant berates the waiter because he ordered his steak cooked "medium rare" and what he got was "medium sort-of-rare" until Dr. Octagonapus--who is apparently the chef--shows up in a GiantMecha, tells him that his steak was cooked to perfection, and lazers him.
242	** In the next sketch, it transpires that the owner of the briefcase is cheating on his wife. He coolly dismisses her obvious distress, causing her to run out of the room crying... cue the lazer in the briefcase going off.
243	* [=JP=] of ''WebAnimation/TerribleWritingAdvice'' has been scammed out of his money multiple times, tied up by [[TinTyrant DL]], [[EvilOverlord The Evil Emperor]] and [[AristocratsAreEvil The Baron]] as they attempted to take over his channel, had his script stolen by [[AnthropomorphicPersonification Inner Critic]] and died twice. This all pales in comparison to his many, many transgressions; starting flame wars, hiding behind his religious and political views, attempting to scam the audiences of his movies, murdering people for criticising his books, ect.
244	* ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'': Captain Flowers not only sacrificed both an entire squad of potential sergeant candidates and his own assistant to Sarge, but ''also'' used Pvt. Jimmy as a host to implant the Alpha in, resulting in his demise. However, the reason he dies is because he's given aspirin by someone who doesn't realize he has an allergy to the medicine.
245	[[/folder]]
246
247	[[folder:Website]]
248	* Parodied in [[https://www.theonion.com/no-leads-sought-in-assholes-murder-1819568597 this article]] by Website/TheOnion, where upon discovering that the victim of a New York brutal murder, Don Hewson, was a well-known local asshole, the local police have announced that they will not be doing any investigation into who the murderer was for as long as possible and would fine people if they contacted them for evidence over Hewson's death.
249	[[/folder]]
250
251	[[folder:Web Videos]]
252	* ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'': Trent Ikithon is Caleb's EvilMentor, who spent years torturing and conditioning Caleb and two others into becoming [[TykeBomb Vollstruckers]], culminating with him [[spoiler:implanting false memories in Caleb's mind to trick him into murdering his own parents]]. All encounters the Mighty Nein have with him showcase his sadism, from inviting them over for dinner just to read their minds and poke at their insecurities, to trying to capture their loved ones (Jester's mother and [[spoiler:Veth's husband and young son]]), to [[spoiler:setting fire to the Blooming Grove for seemingly no reason other than that Caduceus pissed him off during the aforementioned dinner]]. [[spoiler:When the Nein finally subdue him, Veth and Beau use Sovereign Glue (a magical glue that only comes undone with a Wish-spell) to lock a silencing collar around his neck, and Jester uses that same glue to stick his hands together. Trent is then dragged to the Cobalt Soul Archive and tried, and is locked in the darkest cell in Rexxentrum, unable to talk, unable to move his hands, force-fed, and left with nothing to do but ''think.'']]
253	* ''WebVideo/EscapeTheNight'': It's hard to feel much sympathy for Jesse and [=DeStorm=] when they die. Jesse decided to abandon his friends and only has his own stupidity to blame for his death, while [[TokenEvilTeammate DeStorm]] is a full-blown {{Jerkass}} who happily gloats about having killed Alex' girlfriend Lauren.
254	* Alex Kralie from ''WebVideo/MarbleHornets'' definitely qualifies as one. He murdered Jay, Seth, Sarah, Amy, and a man in Rosswood park, indirectly causing Brian's death, and attempting to murder Tim, Jessica, and Brian, yet he still was just another of The Operator's victims when you get down to it.
255	* [[PlayedForLaughs Discussed for laughs]] in an ''WebVideo/OutsideXbox''[='s=] LetsPlay of ''VideoGame/Hitman2016''. At one point, Mike kills a security guard and is penalized, since the game deducts points when you kill anyone but the assigned target(s). Mike lamely protests this:
256	-->"Yes, non-target kill, but he was a bad man, I'm...fairly sure..."
257	* ''WebVideo/SgtDucky'': Discussed, when Tony returned from the hospital and explained why he had to walk home, Ducky tells the audience that neither he nor his friends felt too bad for him because of what happened during the party since he nearly got them all arrested. The incident where he got vomited on during a house party is famous among the boys because they saw it as divine punishment from the god of brotherhood for betraying his oath to get their friend laid.
258	* Parodied in WebVideo/TheWarpZone's "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6breBHLGus8 PC Gaming in the 90's]]" video. A boy's MoralGuardian mother walks in on him playing ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'', but he explains that he's slaying demons and doing The Lord's Work. She accepts this and leaves him to it. Later, she walks in on him playing ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D'' but he says he's killing Nazis "just like Grandpa." She accepts this as well. But then she catches him playing ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' and...he's got nothing.
259	[[/folder]]
260	----
261	->And a good riddance, too!

Context Main / AssholeVictim