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15[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/DespicableMe1 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_8453.jpeg]]]]
16[[caption-width-right:350:[[Music/PharrellWilliams Watch, this is so fun to see, huh,]] [[TitleDrop despicable me]].]]
17%%
18->''"In the old days villains had moustaches and kicked the dog. Audiences are smarter today. They don't want their villain to be thrown at them with green limelight on his face. They want an ordinary human being with failings."''
19-->-- '''Creator/AlfredHitchcock'''
20
21When a character does something evil, cruel or very mean for no apparent gain, because the author wants to demonstrate that they are not a nice person and shift audience sympathy away from them.
22
23Why this trope works could be expressed in the words of William Cowper: “I would not enter on my list of friends (though graced with polished manners and fine sense, yet wanting sensibility) the man who needlessly sets foot upon a worm.” In other words, a cruel act, no matter how trivial, establishes someone as a cruel person. Conversely, the creator may show a character [[PetTheDog being kind for no apparent gain]], to demonstrate that the character is a nice person and someone the audience is meant to cheer for. Both devices are used to help the audience become emotionally invested in the story.
24
25What separates this trope from a character's other evil or cruel acts is that this bit of evil is gratuitous. It doesn't get the character anything or even advance the plot. The sole reason for this [[NarrativeBeats story beat]] existing is to place one or more characters squarely on the wrong side of the RuleOfEmpathy.
26
27Dog-kickings can be verbal as well, when a line of dialogue is used to shock the audience with its sheer repugnance. If it's uttered in the presence of the hero in an action series, they'll echo the audience's thoughts and tell the villain "YoureInsane"
28
29Needless to say, this trope can be enacted without harming any dogs. Any act or statement that shows the character's [[{{Jerkass}} meanness]] or outright evil will do, such as a boss demanding an employee come in to work during Christmas when the employee's kid is [[LittlestCancerPatient in the hospital]], or a passer-by stealing from a blind beggar's coin dish, or TheDragon inflicting a vicious NoHoldsBarredBeatdown on the hero or one of their TrueCompanions or {{Protectorate}}. A PoliticallyIncorrectVillain can kick the dog by showing gratuitous racism, sexism, homophobia, or some combination of such non-PC traits. If the event happened off screen in the past, just have Bob [[ReminiscingAboutYourVictims fondly recall the incident]] and make it clear that he has no remorse whatsoever. Bingo, mission accomplished.
30
31If the evil act ''is'' directed [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals toward an animal]], however, a dog is usually the victim of choice, partly out of connotations of blind loyalty, partly from tradition. Arguably, however, substituting a cat can be even ''more'' shocking. After all, [[RightHandCat even bad guys like cats]]. So, the argument goes, if Bob goes out of his way to harm one, he must ''really'' be a bastard.
32
33This trope is common in horror-based MonsterOfTheWeek shows, often to set up the AssholeVictim for the KarmicTwistEnding. Anthologies are especially prone to this, as they have to set up their villains really quickly, since they have only one episode to tell their story. This can be played up by having the very same kick of cruelty be [[LaserGuidedKarma the cause of their downfall.]] At the very least, it is designed to let you know who is going to lose at the end. The opposite of KarmaHoudini.
34
35In cartoons, [[AssholeVictim someone who does this]] can be [[KarmicProtection legally]] [[ThisMeansWar harassed]] by WesternAnimation/BugsBunny, Daffy Duck, or [[WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}} the Warner Brothers and their sister Dot]]. A {{troll}} like WesternAnimation/ScrewySquirrel, however, won't wait that long.
36
37One possible origin of the trope name comes from Westerns, where three bandits would ride into the town, one would shoot the Sheriff, one would shoot the Deputy, and one, just to prove he was also a bad guy, would Kick The Dog.
38
39If what is supposed to be a character's Kick The Dog moment is excessively horrible, cruel, or otherwise despicable enough to make an audience lose all sympathy for them, then they've crossed the MoralEventHorizon, if they're not on the other side of it already. If the Dog in question is someone the character cares about and discovers BeingEvilSucks, then they've [[KickTheMoralityPet Kicked the Morality Pet]] and ''might'' be in time to avoid a FaceHeelTurn. If the dog belonged to a minion, expect it to help cause a MookFaceTurn because EvenMooksHaveLovedOnes. On occasions, if karma works in the dog's favor, [[TheDogBitesBack they'll manage to get a last laugh]]. On even rarer occasions, after being pushed around too many times, the dog may decide to [[TheStarscream plan against the Big Bad for his own ambitions]], because BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil. When the dog-kicking is done in a way that (usually inadvertently) increases sympathy for the villain, it becomes UnintentionallySympathetic. If the character ''appears'' to be likable or sympathetic when introduced and the dog-kicking proves that they is actually evil, that is BaitTheDog. If the villain shoots for this trope but fails to actually do anything seriously evil, it's PokeThePoodle.
40
41Of course, the crux of this trope isn't just the cruel act; it's also about the innocence of the victim, i.e. they have done nothing to warrant their abuse. If the target is an AssholeVictim instead, the cruel act can become a sympathetic one for the villain/anti-hero instead. If going after the {{Acceptable Target|s}} is a coincidence, it becomes LaserGuidedKarma; if the victim was [[EvenEvilHasStandards specifically targeted]] for their assholery, it becomes PayEvilUntoEvil.
42
43Kicking the Dog is also done for no practical reason apart from the meta-reason of demonstrating the dark side of the kicker. If the perpetrator does it because they care about their victim and want to help them somehow, they're being CruelToBeKind; if their actions have a broader purpose à la [[IDidWhatIHadToDo doing what had to be done]], they're trying to ShootTheDog ([[MercyKill that's what you do when Old Yeller has rabies, after all]]).
44
45This trope is often used to counter or prevent a character from being seen by the audience as a DesignatedVillain or StrawmanHasAPoint. These tropes tend to occur when poor writing or characterization causes a character to become more [[UnintentionallySympathetic sympathetic to the viewers than intended.]] Since the writers can't just give these villains their just desserts if the audience likes them too much or [[RootingForTheEmpire prefers to take their side on an issue]], an effective Kick the Dog moment can make them lose their sympathy and make them punishable again. This can [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools backfire, though,]] as the audience may decide that the [[VillainHasAPoint villain still has a point]] and that the writers are [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope forcibly making them look bad through gratuitous dog-kicking rather than seriously addressing their points]].
46
47A sign that EvilIsPetty. Compare with CantGetAwayWithNuthin, AndYourLittleDogToo, KickThemWhileTheyAreDown, TheDogBitesBack,ThrewMyBikeOnTheRoof, IWillPunishYourFriendForYourFailure. See "IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten" for when bad guys do a Kick The Dog test to make sure undercover heroes are really evil, and DogKickingExcuse for when the would-be dog-kicker has to psych themselves up to doing it.
48
49Contrast PetTheDog (proving you're good) and AdoptTheDog (going from [[CharacterAlignment Neutral to Good]]).
50
51For bad people who ''literally'' kick dogs, see BadPeopleAbuseAnimals. For the RealLife phenomenon called [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kick_the_cat "Kick the Cat"]] or "Kick the Dog", you'll be wanting TheChainOfHarm. For examples that ''literally'' involve kicking or stomping, see CrueltyByFeet.
52
53[[noreallife]]
54----
55!!Example subpages:
56
57[[index]]
58* KickTheDog/AnimeAndManga
59* KickTheDog/ComicBooks
60* KickTheDog/FanWorks
61* [[KickTheDog/AnimatedFilms Films — Animation]]
62* [[KickTheDog/LiveActionFilms Films — Live-Action]]
63* KickTheDog/{{Literature}}
64* KickTheDog/LiveActionTV
65* KickTheDog/ProWrestling
66* KickTheDog/VideoGames
67* KickTheDog/{{Webcomics}}
68* KickTheDog/WesternAnimation
69[[/index]]
70
71!!Other examples:
72[[foldercontrol]]
73
74[[folder:Advertising]]
75* Obviously, [=PSAs=] against abandoning or abusing pets are going to invoke this. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVrkDGQGKFA One example]] involves an owner throwing a ball into the forest, and then [[spoiler:driving off while the dog is looking for the ball]].
76** This nasty little stunt is PlayedForLaughs in the WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes ''Often An Orphan'' (1949).
77* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM-s5C0dnZs North American commercial]] for ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'' has the leader of a group of warriors poison one of his own men, just to drive the point home that no one should be trusted.
78* ''Advertising/BigBillHells'': It's heavily implied that, if they get a check that bounces, they will ''get the cops involved''.
79-->'''Voice A:''' This event ends the minute after you write us a check!\
80'''Voice B:''' (over footage of a cop pulling someone over) ''And it better not bounce, or you're a dead mother fucker!''\
81'''Voice A:''' Go to Hell!
82* Two of the trailers for ''VideoGame/{{Fable}}'' games have this.
83** The Fable 3 trailer ends with [[spoiler:a chicken getting shot after trying to escape from a slaughterhouse.]]
84** The trailer for Fable on X-Box begins with a [[FairySexy beautiful fairy]] exploring a forest and ends with [[spoiler:her getting eaten by a frog]].
85[[/folder]]
86
87[[folder:Comic Strips]]
88* ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'': The titular cat occasionally kicks Odie. And by "occasionally" we mean [[CatsAreMean "constantly"]].
89* ''ComicStrip/LittleOrphanAnnie'': While it wasn't the first sign that she was no good, the fact that [[spoiler:Trixie Tinkle]] kicked Annie's dog Sandy established that she didn't actually like Annie.
90* The would-be-governor villain of the season from [[http://joshreads.com/?p=8363 this]] ''ComicStrip/MarkTrail'' storyline decides to cement his evilness by kicking the proverbial pet deer.
91* At one point in ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'', Charlie Brown is desperately trying to find a baseball card of his favorite player, Joe Shlabotnik, to no avail. Lucy ends up getting one randomly and Charlie Brown tries to trade with her. She refuses because she thinks he's kinda cute. Charlie Brown gives up and walks away dejected. Lucy then takes another look at the card and throws it in the trash, stating he's not as cute as she initially thought.
92* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': A comic strip has [=SpongeBob=] and Patrick arrive in a land populated by ice cream people. The inhabitants welcome the two with open arms. The two proceed to devour all the living beings out of gluttony. [[BlackComedy This is played for humor]].
93[[/folder]]
94
95[[folder:Fairy Tales]]
96* In Creator/AsbjornsenAndMoe's "Literature/TheOldDameAndHerHen": When a harmless billy-goat falls into the trap door leading to the troll's lair, the troll gets mad at the unfortunate animal for accidentally dropping into his home; so he whips up the goat, wrings his head off and throws him down into the cellar.
97[[/folder]]
98
99[[folder:Game Shows]]
100* ''Series/{{Taskmaster}}'', by virtue of being a comedy game show where audacious moves are typically rewarded, can veer into this territory. Typically it's PlayedForLaughs:
101** After seeing how overly positive Mel Giedroyc was, no matter what they threw at her, Greg and Alex conspired to give her the [[ImpossibleMission impossible task]] of hiding a ''gigantic'' beach ball from Alex in only 5 minutes. Also she had to inflate it, which took over a half-hour, and then deflate it to get it outside, which took almost a half-hour. She got no points for this, they purely did it to try and BreakTheCutie because [[ItAmusedMe it amused them]], but hilariously they failed: the most they got out of Mel was "aw heck!"
102---> '''Greg:''' [[IncorruptiblePurePureness I'll cop to it! Mel is officially nice!]]
103** Rhod Gilbert edged close to this a few times, but he actually got ''called out for it'' once. He had the rather genius solution to a task, which involved tying yourself up for Alex to untie (whoever Alex took the longest to untie was the winner), where he ''tied up Alex'' first and then tied himself up. This netted him the victory as Alex couldn't even try to untie him, which everyone else admitted was actually pretty clever... but they were unanimously in agreement that also putting a bucket on Alex's head, and then a hat on the bucket, was just needlessly mean.
104---> '''Greg:''' The thing I noticed is how cold you were! Just a psychopath!
105---> '''Kerry:''' There was no need to put a bucket on his head, was there?!
106---> '''Alex:''' Or a hat on the bucket.
107---> (Everyone else agrees)
108[[/folder]]
109
110[[folder:Manhua]]
111* One of the first things Ping Yang Hou does in ''Manhua/GoddessCreationSystem'' [[spoiler:after becoming king]] is to order [[spoiler:his sister to commit suicide. And... she does.]] It turns out a bit later that he had his reasons, [[spoiler:but it's still the first hint that he's become TheCaligula.]]
112[[/folder]]
113
114[[folder:Music]]
115* Music/NeilYoung lets you know just how evil the FBI agents are in ''{{Greendale}}''. When they break into the Greens' home looking for "evidence" after Sun's arrest, Sun's ''kitten'' scratches one of the men, who promptly shoots it dead and leaves it at the foot of Sun's bed.
116* Music/{{Devo}} has a song called "Jimmy" which depicts the titular character as a corrupt CEO and domestic abuser (who is responsible for, among other things, a literal Kick the Dog). His ultimate fate is ending up in a wheelchair which, according to the song, was an instance of "justice strikes every once in a while."
117* In Bruce Hornsby's "The Way It Is" the first stanza involves a bunch of people standing in line for welfare. A RichBastard walks by, looks at one of them and "Just for fun he says "get a job""
118* ''Music/KidsPraise'': In the sixth album, Harmony told a poor boy that he wasn't allowed to come to a potluck because his family couldn't afford to send him in with any food. She was promptly [[WhatTheHellHero called out on this behavior]] by her father, Psalty, and he sent Rhythm and another boy to go bring him over.
119[[/folder]]
120
121[[folder:Podcasts]]
122* ''Podcast/WelcomeToNightVale'' gets this with [[MegaCorp Strex]] giving Cecil a birthday present. [[spoiler:It attacks [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter Khoshekh]] and leaves him hospitalized.]] Strex didn't understand why it didn't work out.
123[[/folder]]
124
125[[folder:Print Media]]
126* The famous ''Magazine/NationalLampoon'' cover with the headline "If You Don't Buy This Magazine, We'll Kill This Dog" and a photo of a dog with a gun held to its head. There's a reason that cover was chosen as the page image for AndYourLittleDogToo.
127[[/folder]]
128
129[[folder:Roleplay]]
130* What got [[spoiler: Discord]] killed on ''RolePlay/CerberusDailyNews'' -- the idiot thought it'd be a *really* good idea to advertise a slave auction on the public-access Extranet just to rile up people. Unfortunately for [[spoiler: Discord]], [[BullyingADragon most of the people he was taunting]] happened to be [[PrivateMilitaryContractors mercenaries]] who happen to [[BerserkButton look down]] on the slave trade. [[spoiler: The resulting Extranet Counterattack led to forum members hiring a squad of mercenaries to murder Discord and free the slaves in his possession.]]
131* Rotor had a quite a few of these for a good guy in ''Roleplay/DinoAttackRPG''. Among such moments are arresting an ''entire T-1 crew'' because the pilot disobeyed orders and then trying to have them all shot, ordering Kate (an innocent and inexperienced teenager) to enter a fortress filled with toxins on her own and berating her for crying, and [[ColdBloodedTorture beating a pair of prisoners (including a young girl) during what was supposed to be an interrogation]]. Rather noticeably, once he started cleaning up his act, he stopped Kicking The Dog.
132* ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest''
133** '''Cody Jenson''': Raped Madeline Shiohara and bit out her neck. How did he feel? He didn't.
134** '''[[BigBad Danya]]''': EstablishingCharacterMoment in the first version was when he was briefing the v1 students with a very... smug tone. Then towards the end mentioned he hated punks, and ordered his minions to kill a student for wearing his hat sideways.
135** '''[[HonestJohnsDealership Jeremy Franco]]''' kicking Kimberly Nguyen in her bullet wound for refusing to give him her fedora, then taking it anyway.
136* Gretel's bullying of Jacques during the first Tournament in ''RolePlay/YuGiOhEastAcademy''. This act is so cruel it actually [[BerserkButton prompts]] [[TheStoic Marcus]] to try and ''MindRape'' her.
137** David firting with Crystal. Seems harmless enough, untill you consider that [[spoiler: Crystal had just lost her only remaining family member]] and that David was only doing it to amuse himself, rather than being genuinely interested in her... dick move, mate. ''Dick. Move.''
138** Haine's [[spoiler: ColdBloodedTorture of Marcus and Sylvestre (which included outright ''murdering'' the latter.)]] Easily twisted enough to catapult Haine over the MoralEventHorizon.
139[[/folder]]
140
141[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
142* Villains in ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'' seem to be prone to this. Kathrine Steiner-Davion, for example, once had a planet send her a birthday gift that she decided wasn't expensive enough. So she ordered that medical shipments for a viral outbreak the planet was currently suffering from be cut off.
143* This scene in the continuing examples in ''TableTopGame/BlissStage'':
144-->'''[[JerkAss Keenan]] [[HandsomeLech Caine]]:''' Man, [[{{Moe}} Sara]] is getting all girly and clingy and shit...lousy lay, too.\
145'''Josh Preston:''' [[MurderTheHypotenuse Fuck. That. Noise.]]
146* The example for MindControl in ''TableTopGame/HeroSystem'' 5th edition is a hypnotist ordering a FlyingBrick to kick a puppy. Fortunately, it doesn't work.
147-->Mighty Man then uses his Phase to dispose of two of Hypnos’s henchmen who are bent on causing the puppy harm.
148* The goblins of the TableTopGame/{{Pathfinder}} [=RPG=] often come off as insanely clownish, what with their singing and antics and pyromania. Some players might forget that they're hateful and sadistic as well, until they demonstrate their absolute glee in killing horses and domestic dogs, which goblins consider to be mortal enemies.
149** In the gamemaster's guide, a section on determining the game's tone suggests taking care with potentially sensitive topics like sexual slavery, drug pushing, or violence against children and animals - some players might find their inclusion in a game to be tasteless, but they can be used to make a villain truly worthy of a righteous beatdown. The illustration on the page is a goblin standing triumphantly over the bloody body of a small dog.
150*** Invoked in that a goblin's go-to weapon has a special name: the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Dogslicer.]]
151** Of special note in ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' is the Hell's Vengeance adventure path. It is intended for evil player characters, and provides no shortage of metaphorical dogs to kick, but also a literal example: one of the very first creatures the characters encounter in the first adventure is a guard dog, just ripe for the kicking.
152* ''TabletopGame/{{Space 1889}}'' has an almost literal example in Canal Priest of Mars. That also doubles as EstablishingCharacterMoment “She is accompanied by a maid and by three poodles housed in the kennels. Her character may be indicated by the fact that she won’t visit the dogs once during the voyage.” The trip in question is expected to take ten weeks.
153* It happens all the time ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}''. KickTheDog barely ''begins'' to describe the treatment of choice for civilians, cute fluffy critters, and ''planets'' in this [[CrapsackWorld supremely fucked-up universe]]. Even MoralEventHorizon barely begins to cover it. Meta-example: every time a faction is viewed more sympathetically by the fans, the writers have a nasty trick of making said faction do this. [[SpaceElves Eldar]] looking too much like a WoobieSpecies? Make them destroy an entire world and kill millions to save a handful of their own kind, and ''do not'' gloss over this. [[TheGreys Tau]] looking too much like the [[ALighterShadeOfGrey good guys]] of the setting? Make them brutal fascists and hint at hidden sterilization of non-Tau, brainwashing and genocide. [[TheEmpire Imperium]] looking too much like a LawfulGood empire? Play up their [[KnightTemplar religious dogma]], [[AbsoluteXenophobe virulent xenophobia]] and/or [[WeHaveReserves lack of respect for the lives of innocent people]] to remind the players that HumansAreTheRealMonsters. [[OurOrcsAreDifferent Orks]] looking too much like a comic relief ([[BloodyHilarious for a given value of]] "[[GallowsHumor comic]]") faction? Show them gleefully slaughtering unarmed [[MenAreTheExpendableGender women]] and children to remind you that they're violent, amoral monsters. ''Warhammer 40000'' is EvilVersusEvil, and the creators want to keep it that way.
154** This extends to individuals as well. For a long time, the prevailing (and mistaken) idea that the Imperium was monstrously evil but the Emperor was a decent and reasonable ruler when he was alive. Cue the Literature/HorusHeresy novels showing the Emperor ruling like a savage Bronze Age warlord, crushing all his opposition (whether they were evil or not) under an iron boot and insisting on having everything ''his'' way until it eventually led to the end of him; he was also a {{Hypocrite}} and a pretty terrible father to boot, [[{{Jerkass}} often slighting his sons in nasty and petty ways]] without even really thinking about it. He humiliated Lorgar by razing Monarchia, [[LackOfEmpathy had no pity for]] poor Angron who had no interest in the Great Crusade and [[DeathSeeker just wanted to die with his friends and comrades]] on Nuceria, and treated Perturabo as a workhorse. Is it any wonder half of his sons turned on him?
155[[/folder]]
156
157[[folder:Theatre]]
158* In ''Theatre/{{Assassins}}'', Sarah Jane Moore shoots her dog for barking, then stuffs the dead dog in her purse -- but it's PlayedForLaughs. As far as marking her as a credible threat goes, Sarah Jane's real KickTheDog moment is when she turns her gun on ''her infant son'', because he wanted an ice-cream. Thankfully, she doesn't pull the trigger.
159* In ''Theatre/DreamGirl'', Clark is in the middle of torturing a cat when Georgina shoots him in her revenge fantasy DreamSequence.
160* Again in ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'': one of the witches [[RippedFromTheHeadlines has a ship tempest-tossed "sennights nine times nine"]] simply because the captain's wife told her to fuck off.
161* In ''Theatre/MarginForError'', Sophie accuses the Consul of having poisoned her pet parrot, Winston Churchill, for annoying him.
162* Creator/{{Team Starkid}} examples:
163** In ''Theatre/AVeryPotterSequel'', Umbridge is telling Harry that [[spoiler: Sirius]] is going to be sentenced to the Dementor's Kiss, which kills the victim in Starkid's interpretation. She then happily says "and maybe he can say hi to your parents!"
164** Lucius doesn't even have to be present to do this. In a letter to his father, Draco says that Lucius can feel free to write back at any time, even though he hasn't written a single letter all year.
165** Lucius also takes the drawing Draco made (that includes a picture of him in the background proudly saying "That's my son!") and crumples it up, before throwing it in Draco's face.
166** In Theatre/MeAndMyDick, instead of comforting Joey after his failed proposal, Joey's Heart calls him fat and ugly.
167** {{Theatre/Twisted}}: Ja'far's pregnant wife is taken away from him by the Sultan. Before he can do anything to get her back, she dies. Ja'far is also hated by everybody in the kingdom and everything that goes wrong is promptly blamed on him.
168* ''Theatre/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet'':
169** Judge Turpin and Beadle Bamford are dog-kicking machines, mainly so you won't feel bad about Sweeney seeking to kill them.
170*** Judge Turpin sentences an eight-year-old boy to death for petty theft, and in his conversation with the Beadle, he asks if the kid was even guilty. His entire WifeHusbandry plan toward his ward Johanna can also be seen as this, but the biggest kick in this regard comes when he has her thrown into a madhouse when he finds out that she wants to run away with Anthony. And that's not even mentioning his two biggest dick moves in the backstory--falsely sentencing Benjamin Barker to Australia and then raping his wife.
171*** The Beadle gets a nasty move of his own early on when he snaps the neck of the poor little bird that Anthony bought for Johanna, then threatens him with the same if he ever steps foot on their street again.
172** Pirelli is very much abusive toward his own ward Tobias Ragg, such that poor Toby is afraid of disobeying him for any reason.
173** Mrs. Lovett, though she possesses a certain charm, is just ''nasty'' to the Beggar Woman whenever the two of them are in the same scene, which gets even worse when you find out that [[spoiler:she knows full well just ''who'' the Beggar Woman is]], and is an early indicator that she is a lot darker than she normally appears, even before she starts baking Sweeney's victims into pies.
174* In ''{{Theatre/Trifles}}'', this is the reason as to why John Wright was murdered. Being the abusive spouse that he was, he took that up a notch when he killed his wife, Minnie's, canary, taking away her last bit of joy in her life while married to him.
175* In ''Theatre/TwiceCharmed'', Anastasia and Drizella torment Cinderella as Franco prepares to shrink her.
176* In ''{{Theatre/Urinetown}}'' Mister Cladwell's second VillainSong, ''Don't Be the Bunny'' is about this, with a healthy dose of RefugeInAudacity.
177[[/folder]]
178
179[[folder:Toys]]
180* The Piraka in ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' would occasionally kill animals [[ForTheEvulz for fun]]. Chiara, supposedly one of the good guys, had a scene where she casually killed a lizard with her electricity powers just to make a point. Because of this trope, many fans assumed it was foreshadowing [[PsychoElectro a darker side to her personality]], but WordOfGod states that this is not the case.
181[[/folder]]
182
183[[folder:Visual Novels]]
184* ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}'': This is pretty much what Monokuma [[spoiler:and his controller and series BigBad Junko]] likes to do to spread despair: constantly making people miserable by any means necessary ForTheEvulz. This includes things like, in ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'', when he forcibly adopts Monomi as his younger sister, and takes every opportunity to bully her, whether beating her up or insulting her, or [[spoiler:causing the apocalypse and sending much of the world into despair as they watch their sources of hope burn out, and mocking murder victims long after they're dead, or even ''immediately'' after death.]]
185** ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'': Celestia "Celes[=/=][[DubNameChange Celeste]]" Ludenberg, [[FauxAffablyEvil a rather unpleasant person behind her thin veneer of politeness]], claims that [[spoiler:the second victim invited their own demise by going out during nighttime.]]
186** ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair''
187*** Hiyoko Saionji's EstablishingCharacterMoment is [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals crushing ants for fun]], a hobby she claims to indulge in on a regular basis.
188*** Nagito Komaeda, [[spoiler:who TookALevelInJerkass during the Chapter 4 murder investigation,]] casually insults that chapter's killer (who turned out to be one of the more sympathetic culprits) in his first scene in [[spoiler:Chapter 5]], which is ''the day after the killer was executed''.
189*** Near the end of the game, Monokuma [[spoiler:decides to have Monomi executed alongside the final culprit]] in large part because he's bored with picking on her.
190** ''VideoGame/DanganronpaAnotherEpisodeUltraDespairGirls''
191*** Monaca has a tendency to push her "friends'" {{Trauma Button}}s with very little provocation. Perhaps the cruelest instance of this is [[spoiler:in Chapter 3, when she does this to Kotoko, reducing Kotoko to a tearful wreck.]]
192*** During the boss fight with Monaca's robot, [[spoiler:she dedicates some of her attacks to her friends, whom Komaru and Toko have defeated to get to this point, but her tone of voice and words makes it clear that she doesn't care about them at all.]]
193** ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'': In the fourth trial, [[spoiler:Kokichi Oma]] manipulates [[spoiler:Gonta Gokuhara]] into killing [[spoiler:Miu Iruma(who, admittedly was planning on killing Kokichi)]], resulting in the latter being executed and the former [[KarmaHoudini getting off scot-free]] for the moment. The manipulator then mocks the executed killer after the latter's demise.
194[[/folder]]
195
196[[folder:Web Animation]]
197* ''WebAnimation/{{Bunnykill}}'':
198** Flint, BigBad of ''Bunnykill 4'', does this big time when he [[spoiler:kills Ruby, Snowball's potential love interest.]] Oddly enough, this makes him the only BigBad of the series to do something truly villainous onscreen.
199** As of ''Bunnykill 5'', Smoke has joined the dog-kicking party. He [[spoiler:has Snowball's friend Dust injected with PsychoSerum, turning him BrainwashedAndCrazy and ultimately leading to Snowball's death]]. For added dick points, he also [[spoiler:betrays his partner Professor Sludge, the designer of the serum, leaving him to become Dust's first victim]]. The second half also has him [[spoiler:throwing his own mooks into Dust's way to save his own hide. Not that it helps him in the end]].
200* While the titular ''WebAnimation/DrCrafty'' can be quite an ass to anyone, his ex, Sasha, sometimes brings out the worst in him. When Sasha's brought to her lowest point and appears before him in "The Foreshadow Game," Crafty starts ranting about their unresolved personal issues unprompted, which makes Sasha feel far worse. During their shared dream in "Crafty Hearts Re:Grouped," he tauntingly asks Sasha if he should throw himself off a cliff again to get her to return for good. Both times, Crafty is rightfully called out, and after having some sense talked into him, he backs off and recognizes his poor choices. Thankfully, their interaction in "Questions and Answers" demonstrates some growth on his part. [[spoiler: He's at first frustrated with Sasha coming to him as she did before, but he quickly calms down to listen to what Sasha has to say.]]
201* ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'':
202** Appears in ''WebAnimation/TeenGirlSquad'' Issue 11. So-and-So is getting chewed out by her obnoxious manager at Shirt Folding Store when the manager is suddenly punched out by an astronaut ("MEET A FIST!"). The explanation for this behavior?
203--->'''Astronaut:''' *ckhk* She killed my dog.\
204'''So-and-So:''' Um... 'kay.
205** Also referenced in the Strong Bad Email [[http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail193.html rated]], where Strong Bad claims that some of his favorite movies have been banned in Transylvania, "where you're required by law to eat puppies for breakfast."
206** Strong Bad is also known to kick The Cheat, even though he's not really a bad guy.
207** In another Strong Bad Email, [[http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail110.html for kids]], on his kids' show, Strong Bad invites children to play "Where's The Cheat?" with him:
208--->'''Strong Bad:''' All right, dumb children. Find The Cheat!\
209''[the Cheat peeks out from behind a box]''\
210'''Kids:''' ''[half-coherent]'' He's over there. Right there.\
211'''Strong Bad:''' Um, no, he's behind the box. No, he's not even ''behind'' the box, he's ''barely obscured'' by the box. ''(getting upset)'' Look, The Cheat is behind the freakin' ''BOX''! ''(screaming)'' HE'S BEHIND THE BOX!! I'LL KILL YA!! I'LL KILL ALL YOUR DOGS!!!
212* In ''WebAnimation/IfTheEmperorHadATextToSpeechDevice'', the Emperor says that snatching Angron from his last stand and leaving him to watch his men die hopelessly was absolutely hilarious. Worth noting is that this is what made Angron -- already a ball of UnstoppableRage -- go off the deep end.
213* In the animation ''[[http://www.ninjai.com/ Ninjai]]'' the bad guy attacks the hero's little bird friend for no reason at all. The bird gets his own back later.
214* ''WebAnimation/ShareMyStory'': It's bad enough that Clara cheated on the protagonist with Brandon, but at school, everyone laughs at him over what happened and, to add insult to injury, Clara and Brandon kiss in front of him during class time.
215* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcbazH6aE2g Richard kicks a dog]].
216[[/folder]]
217
218[[folder:Website]]
219* While the ''Website/SCPFoundation'' often has to get down doing dirty business to save the planet, the broad range of powers their scientists have in the execution of their duties often leaves its members engaging in abuses of power well outside the scope of doing what's necessary to protect humanity. For instance, in the entry for SCP-1337, a scientist ordered the execution of an innocent family and burned down their home because he wanted to save the Foundation some gas money to stop transporting a ghost. All the Foundation did was demote him, though he did eventually suffer some LaserGuidedKarma as a result after the previously Safe and largely harmless SCP became murderous and hard to contain.
220* ''Website/SomethingAwful''[='s=] Awful Movie Database (which catalogues movies too ridiculous to actually exist) has [[https://www.somethingawful.com/awful-movie-database/terrible-truth-about/1/ "The Terrible Truth About Dolphins,"]] allegedly a "documentary" but mostly concerned with the director's overwhelming hatred for dolphins, who are violently abused throughout the movie by the characters and in the background by the director himself. The "behind-the-scenes facts" are as outlandish as the alleged film, including the director, in order to avoid receiving a NC-17 rating from the MPAA, reluctantly cutting a five-minute TrainingMontage consisting entirely of shots of Creator/JaneFonda (cast wildly against type here as "Gunthild Dolphinkiller") kicking a beached dolphin in the face, and the alleged comments and actions of Fonda and now-ex husband, Ted Turner (who are still a couple here despite the film being made in 2006[[note]]They divorced in 2001[[/note]]).
221* In the ''Website/{{Springhle}}'' article [[https://springhole.net/writing/write_better_villains.htm "Basic Tips To Write Better & More Despicable Villains"]], Syera advises to have one's villains do something awful to someone or something the viewers ''care'' about.
222[[/folder]]
223
224[[folder:Web Videos]]
225* ''WebVideo/AskThatGuyWithTheGlasses'':
226** He does this literally. He picks up his dog and hurls it across the room even after it dies.
227** Also literally in episode 57. He holds Scooby Doo prisoner under his bar and beats him to death.
228** He loves the image of puppy blood splattering on a nice suit.
229** Leaving the narrator to die in the explosion at the end of episode 52. He gets called out on it the next episode, although he gets another one by telling the narrator he doesn't love him (judging by what we've seen, this may be a lie) and just likes hurting him.
230** After having some resemblance of humanity for a few minutes of running time, he kills his GPS after they promised to just be friends.
231** In his cameo for ''WebVideo/{{Kickassia}}'', he makes Critic think he's going to save him from a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown death but then reveals he's just there for an obligatory appearance before leaving. Critic looks like he's about to cry.
232** He would ''pay'' one million dollars to kill a puppy with a sledge hammer.
233* ''WebVideo/TheAwkwardCompilation'' has a fight between Lester and Alex culminate in Alex telling Lester to give up on his relationship with Steph because "everybody knows you're just going to mess it up like last time". [[BewareTheNiceOnes Lester doesn't take it well.]] Later we find out that Ernie dumped Karen, calling her "worthless".
234* In the web video series ''WebVideo/EpicRapBattlesOfHistory'', everything that Adolf Hitler says falls into this trope.
235* In the webseries and novel versions of ''Franchise/{{Noob}}'', one of Roxana's earliest story-relevant moves was to [[spoiler:kill Sparadrap's entire pet collection]].
236* In the video ''[[http://www.bchealthcoalition.ca/content/view/228 The Unspeakable Deeds of Bill 42]]'', it's not enough for the character representing the bill to fine people for meeting to air their grievances. He has to up the evil quotient by deliberately knocking over a woman's crutches.
237[[/folder]]

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