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| 6 | %% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks! |
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| 13 | ->''"Who roots for the cops in a heist movie, anyway?"'' |
| 14 | -->-- ''TabletopGame/FengShui: Friends of the Dragon'' |
| 15 | %% Quote changed per thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1327331003042025100 |
| 16 | |
| 17 | Where the audience root for the villains of a series over the good guys. The heroes start to rub the fans the wrong way, and a notable proportion of the fandom now dislikes and actively bashes the main characters. For these fans they can almost become a {{Hatedom}}, yet they call themselves fans and continue to read/watch/play the source material because they like the bad guys. Rooting for the Empire is fairly common in a story with a VillainProtagonist, due to the natural tendency for audiences to bond with the viewpoint character of any story; but there are many other reasons for this attitude to take hold. Having their [[EvilVersusEvil conflict be against other]] ([[EvilerThanThou sometimes even worse]]) bad guys rather than heroic antagonists tends to cause either this or [[TooBleakStoppedCaring being too apathetically grim]]. It also often happens in works with a DesignatedHero and/or DesignatedVillain where the supposed empire isn't so imperialistic after all. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | There's usually a turning point in {{canon}} that leads to this, sometimes irrational and sometimes rational: |
| 20 | |
| 21 | Irrational reasons for this include: |
| 22 | * Fans becoming too willing to CryForTheDevil. |
| 23 | * The villain getting a subplot that's more interesting than what the main cast is doing. |
| 24 | * Frustration with the [[VillainsActHeroesReact lack of initiative of the heroes]]. |
| 25 | * The villains being considered [[EvilIsCool cooler]] than the heroes. |
| 26 | * The villain being so [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain incompetent]] that the fans think they should win [[ThrowTheDogABone just for once]]. |
| 27 | * The villains attacking TheScrappy and/or CreatorsPet. |
| 28 | * The fans wanting to be on [[IFightForTheStrongestSide the strongest side]] for once. |
| 29 | * The series running on WhiteAndGreyMorality due to the fact that viewers may tire of having a hero [[IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim who's never able to make a tough decision]] and revel in rooting for someone [[TheUnfettered who does]] and has the integrity to follow through with such a decision and the consequences it entails. |
| 30 | * The villain being AffablyEvil. |
| 31 | * The heroes being extremely attractive and fetishists wanting to see them chained up, etc. |
| 32 | * Fans familiar with genre conventions see the [[Main/TheGoodGuysAlwaysWin defeat of the villains]] coming and picture them in the [[Main/VillainousUnderdog underdog role]], even and especially when they have more strength and ressources. |
| 33 | |
| 34 | Rational reasons include: |
| 35 | * The [[DesignatedVillain evilness of the villains being]] an InformedAttribute, while the [[DesignatedHero supposed heroes]] perform [[WhatTheHellHero morally dubious deeds]]. |
| 36 | * [[VillainHasAPoint The villain constantly making good points]]. |
| 37 | * The series using GreyAndGrayMorality or BlackAndGrayMorality, so Rooting For The Empire is an IntendedAudienceReaction. |
| 38 | * When the "heroes" are selfish brats who get under everyone's skin. |
| 39 | * The [[FalseDichotomy choice]] is between a DesignatedHero (or one who is just factually wrong) and a StrawMan of the heroes’ (and writers’) real-world opposition. |
| 40 | * If treated as a DesignatedVillain, a character designated as HateSink or TheChewToy can go through this, especially if the ‘heroes’ are making the antagonist’s life difficult for very poorly-defined reasons, or even for no real reason at all. |
| 41 | * The heroes being so unintelligent, boring, or unlikable that you almost want them to lose. |
| 42 | |
| 43 | Tends to occur when the source material has [[JumpingTheShark jumped the shark]] and started to lose its focus, but sometimes JustForFun or for reasons of the fans' own. It can also be a response to WriterRevolt or a perceived slight to the fans. JerkassDissonance often plays a part. Unlike the MisaimedFandom, the character roles are working out as they're supposed to, but the audience willingly cheers on the enemy. [[XPacHeat Hate toward the actor]] can also be involved in this, when the hated actor is playing a good guy. |
| 44 | |
| 45 | Some sociologists have pointed out that, as irrational as it sounds, many people, both when it comes to fiction and real life, will root for [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality whichever side reminds them the most of themselves]], even when that side is thoroughly immoral, totally unlikable or both. As simple as it is to always want to see people of your own ethnic group, religion, or social or political class -- or who simply have the same goals or aspirations as yourself -- triumph, it is understandable, because it's easy to convince yourself that if ''they'' lose, [[WeAreStrugglingTogether you will lose too]]. |
| 46 | |
| 47 | Common manifestations of the trope include: |
| 48 | * Franchises in which the villain has been subjected to much better CharacterDevelopment than the comparatively lackluster heroes, especially if the villain happens to be the only character with believable motivation or emotional responses. |
| 49 | * If the designated hero is also TheScrappy. |
| 50 | * Whenever a writer has failed to think through the moral and practical implications of the heroes' behaviour. |
| 51 | * The villains just happen to be [[EvilisCool cooler]], [[SexyVillainsChasteHeroes sexier]], or [[EvilPaysBetter better funded/paid]] than the heroes. |
| 52 | * The villain has a plan which is far more [[TheChessmaster thought out]] or on a much [[MagnificentBastard grander scale]] than that of the heroes. |
| 53 | * The [[DesignatedHero so-called hero]] is such an unrepentant {{Jerkass}} the villain [[JerksAreWorseThanVillains actually comes off as more bearable to watch]]. |
| 54 | * Any time the villain is the victim of a bully, as bullies tend to make such good [[AssholeVictim Asshole Victims]]. |
| 55 | * If the writer went DarkerAndEdgier and made their CrapsackWorld completely irredeemable, [[TooBleakStoppedCaring grimdark apathy]] can set in and it makes the OmnicidalManiac look like he might be onto the right idea. |
| 56 | * The evil organization [[EqualOpportunityEvil doesn't discriminate based on race, gender, or creed]], whereas the heroic organization consists of {{Noble Bigot}}s and/or {{Politically Incorrect Hero}}es at best, or [[FantasticRacism open racists]] at worst. |
| 57 | * Any time the writer has tried to demonize a specific group of people and included the villain from among this group. Acceptable and unacceptable targets both work, because these characters become symbolic of lack of proper media representation. |
| 58 | * Franchises where the audience disagrees strongly with the writer's moral, political, or religious values. |
| 59 | * In HistoricalFiction, some in-universe villains are people that many real-world viewers would argue were the historical "good guys" (or at least less bad). See also HistoricalVillainUpgrade and HistoricalHeroUpgrade. |
| 60 | ** In a combination of this trope and ValuesDissonance, many older Westerns lead to modern audiences siding with the Native Americans who serve as the {{Designated Villain}}s. Conversely, newer Westerns might put non-Indians on the moral defensive, especially if the Indians are {{Noble Savage}}s. |
| 61 | ** Likewise, a story about the Christianization of medieval Europe is going to get this regardless of how it is framed. If the narrative portrays it as a good thing, then that often goes hand in hand with casting the pagans as superstitious at best and guilty of HumanSacrifice at worst, making the audience likely to resent this demonization and consider the work to be propaganda. Contrariwise, works that side with the pagans make the Christians outright genocidal, meaning the Christians in the audience will ''also'' consider the work propaganda, and may defend their religion by [[LampshadeHanging pointing out that]] [[ArtisticLicenseHistory the pagans were rarely more tolerant than the Christians and that the Christians' acts were exaggerated]]. |
| 62 | ** British people watching films about the American War of Independence tend to have a reaction slightly like this -- the films often try to [[HistoricalVillainUpgrade paint the British in the worst possible light]], which American audiences might not have a problem with, but the British might. |
| 63 | * TheCaper. Like the ''TabletopGame/FengShui'' quote on the quotes page said, who roots for the cops? The writers often try to avoid this through a CaperRationalization. |
| 64 | * DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster. Massive audience sympathy for "villains" such as Rico Bandello in ''Film/LittleCaesar'', Tony Camonte in ''Film/{{Scarface 1932}}'', and Tom Powers in ''Film/ThePublicEnemy1931'' was one of the main reasons for UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode and nearly forty years of film censorship. This didn't stop Cody Jarrett from being the sympathetic one in ''Film/WhiteHeat'' in 1949. |
| 65 | * Almost every SlasherMovie [[InvokedTrope invokes this]] by making the victims as [[{{Jerkass}} horribly]] [[AssholeVictim unlikable]] as possible, to the point where it has its own trope: DevelopingDoomedCharacters. |
| 66 | * The heroes have exaggerated ProtagonistCenteredMorality. Even if the bad guy [[CardCarryingVillain eats babies]], readers tend to root for them out of sheer spite, on the off-chance that Moonbeam Potter Swan might get her stupid face punched in. And if they [[DesignatedVillain don't eat babies]], then hoo boy... |
| 67 | * The fans are ''themselves'' villains -- or at least see themselves as such due to rejection by society and/or a guilt complex. More likely to happen in fictional examples. |
| 68 | * The rooter is, quite frankly, [[{{Troll}} nothing more than a malcontent who just wants to gain notoriety and/or piss everyone off, in order to make everyone as miserable as them]]. |
| 69 | |
| 70 | Compare DracoInLeatherPants (where the negative traits of a character or faction are outright ignored in {{Fanon}}) and its inverse RonTheDeathEater (where positive traits are ignored). Contrast LoveToHate (where the villain is just popular, but not always rooted for) and HateSink (characters made uncool, unsympathetic, and deliberately lacking any traits to root for). For cases where people rooting for the empire get their wish, see TheBadGuyWins. For a sort of InUniverse version (though pretty much exclusive to TheEmpire), see WhatTheRomansHaveDoneForUs. |
| 71 | |
| 72 | Not to be confused with UnintentionallySympathetic (where a simple JerkAss, but not necessarily a villain, accidentally comes off as sympathetic) but the two can overlap. |
| 73 | [[noreallife]] |
| 74 | ---- |
| 75 | !Examples: |
| 76 | [[index]] |
| 77 | * RootingForTheEmpire/AnimeAndManga |
| 78 | * [[RootingForTheEmpire/LiveActionFilms Film – Live-Action]] |
| 79 | * RootingForTheEmpire/{{Literature}} |
| 80 | * RootingForTheEmpire/LiveActionTV |
| 81 | * RootingForTheEmpire/ProfessionalWrestling |
| 82 | * RootingForTheEmpire/VideoGames |
| 83 | * RootingForTheEmpire/WesternAnimation |
| 84 | [[/index]] |
| 85 | |
| 86 | !!RealLife Examples: |
| 87 | |
| 88 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 89 | |
| 90 | [[folder:Advertising]] |
| 91 | * In the Apple-produced "[[Advertising/GetAMac I'm a Mac/I'm a PC]]" commercials, many viewers tended to side with the PC, which came across as more of a likable everyman, while the Mac seemed like a smug tosser. They also tried to dismiss the PC advantages as boring stuff and push how great Macs are for artistic types, but the way they presented it came off as "the PC is better ''unless'' you're a professional artist". Over the following years, the fact that Macs were often unable to meet the demanding spec requirements of a lot of video games even as they became exponentially more widespread meant (while any computers that could were almost invariably [=PCs=]) meant that the PC ''also'' became the computer for "fun people" as well as for boring people, and the Mac ended up being good for little beyond art and [[BecameTheirOwnAntithesis non-memory-intensive business]]. |
| 92 | * Who ''doesn't'' root for the Lucky Charms leprechaun? He's only trying to protect what's his. Thankfully, later commercials have him steal it back by the end. |
| 93 | * There are hundreds of thousands of people around the world who want the Advertising/TrixRabbit to put a hurting on some smart-assed kids and take their cereal. General Mills has actually played this to their advantage by holding voting contests asking kids if the Trix rabbit should get to have some cereal; the results in three of the contests in 1976, 1980, and 1991, were an overwhelming victory for the "Yes" side. |
| 94 | * Completing the cereal-ad trifecta, many ads for Cocoa and Fruity Pebbles feature ostensible-protagonist Barney stealing ostensible-antagonist [[WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones Fred]]'s cereal to shouts of "BARNEY! My PEBBLES!" Fred may be overreacting, but once you realize why the thieving little [[Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire Tyrion Lannister]] wannabe doesn't [[JustEatGilligan just buy his own damn cereal]], it's hard not to sympathize with Fred. |
| 95 | * [[https://www.mysymbicort.com/ Symbicort]], a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_obstructive_pulmonary_disease Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease]] medication, have a grandfather with the condition and his grandchildren rooting for TheBigBadWolf to eat Literature/TheThreeLittlePigs, with every commercial ending with "Watch out piggies!" |
| 96 | [[/folder]] |
| 97 | |
| 98 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 99 | * It's easy to root for the Dark Egg Legion in ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics''. They do take orders from Eggman, but they aren't completely evil, and most of their members seem to be regular Mobians, bar the cybernetics. Given that the heroes are headed by Sonic, who can be a bit of a {{jerkass}}, and the Kingdom of Acorn, an incredibly ineffectual monarchy that can barely function and made worse with the addition of the [[ObstructiveBureaucrat obstructive]],[[NotSoOmniscientCouncilOfBickering bickering]], and [[HeadInTheSandManagement flat-out useless]] Council of Acorn, as well as their allies like The Brotherhood of Guardians who have their heads either in the sand, the clouds, or up their own asses with the addition of the rest of echindakind being hypocrites about technology, it's no wonder. And they're the only group in the ''world'' who don't actively despise technology. A great example is the Great Desert DEL. They were turned into mindless Robian mooks thanks to UnwillingRoboticisation and forced to fight the Sand Blasters, an extremist group of Freedom Fighters. After being turned back into Mobians, they tried to make peace with the Sand Blasters but were instead hit with FantasticRacism for being former Robians. In order to survive, they went to Eggman for help, who legionized them. When The Baron, leader of the Great Desert DEL, was confronted about this by his niece, hero Bunnie Rabbot D'Coolette, he responded that being in the DEL isn't so bad. Being legionized means cybernetic upgrades, which in turn make for an awesome health plan, as The Baron pointed out, when he thanked legionization for fixing his "bum knee". He also mentioned something about D'Coolette's being oppressors, which insinuates FantasticRacism within the Kingdom, making them look even worse. Due to the [[CosmicRetcon Super Genesis Wave]], the original Desert DEL will be missed while the Sand Blasters...[[ExiledFromContinuity oh wait]], [[RetGone what Sand Blasters]]? |
| 100 | * ComicBook/DoctorDoom has gotten this in a big way, and partly due to his MemeticBadass status in the fandom, and neither one is all that unjustified; Doom usually is that badass, and [[ComicBook/MisterFantastic Reed Richards]] has a notorious history of being a total prick rather frequently. Creator/WarrenEllis gave ''ComicBook/Marvel2099'' a grand send-off by ''[[EasilyConqueredWorld letting Doom take over the USA]]''. [[TheExtremistWasRight It worked]]... right up until the politicians broke out the [=WMDs=] they had previously been too scared to use. Ellis points out that the basis of Doom's megalomania is that he truly believes that the world would be better off under his rule so he could protect and provide for it with the fruits of his genius without interference. And in canon Marvel, Doom has turned Latveria into a [[{{Uberwald}} Gothic]] Dubai while ReedRichardsIsUseless. |
| 101 | ** The 2014 Fantastic Four annual gave an odd case where roles were reversed when [[ComicBook/InvisibleWoman Susan]] came to get her and Reed's daughter Valeria when she chose to live with Doom. Susan tried asking Valeria, only to find her daughter played with her mother's emotions by [[ActuallyADoombot sending a remote-controlled robot to speak with her]]. Sue got mad and tried to take Valeria back, while Doom tried to stop her. The whole ensuing fight shows Susan as being in the wrong and her actions being the result of her SuperpoweredEvilside, which caused her to terrify Valeria and damage the surrounding town while Doom actually tried to reason with her as Susan almost kills him. But given Doctor Doom's past villainy, [[JerkassHasAPoint something Susan even calls him out for during the fight]], how cruel Valeria just acted towards her own mother, Doom's PopularityPower leading to him rarely losing, means even though he's in the right it can be easy to cheer for Susan just for the sake of seeing Doom lose. |
| 102 | * ''ComicBook/{{Fables}}'' does a pretty decent job of openly asking whether those in Fabletown should have been rooting for the empire; [[spoiler:Gepetto]] committed horrifying atrocities but ruled an empire where most inhabitants lived in peace and also [[spoiler:imprisoned a lot of frightfully powerful evil beings that as of the fall of his reign have begun to escape]]. On the other hand, it seems pretty clear that us mundies would definitely be getting the short end of the genocidal stick if [[spoiler:Gepetto]] had taken over our world. |
| 103 | * Cobra from ''Franchise/GIJoe'' and to a lesser extent ComicBook/{{Hydra}} from Marvel Comics. Both present modern society as corrupt and self-serving and should be fought against. [[VillainHasAPoint They do make good points]] except both organizations are much, much worse. Join or die was Cobra SOP at one point. |
| 104 | * ''Comicbook/GreenLantern'': Sinestro is a charismatic villain whose arguments about the Guardians being too involved with their mysteries and prophecies to do an effective job policing the cosmos aren't entirely incorrect so of course people find themselves rooting for him. |
| 105 | * Creator/GrantMorrison once discussed how it's easy to do this for ComicBook/LexLuthor in an interview: |
| 106 | -->"It's essential to find yourself rooting for Lex, at least a little bit, when [[BrainsEvilBrawnGood he goes up against a man-god armed only with his bloody-minded arrogance and cleverness.]]" |
| 107 | * The anti-mutant human villains in ComicBook/XMen can also look sympathetic at times to some readers. The ''mutants'' often cause terrible mayhem as well, ranging from the often lethal PowerIncontinence of sympathetic ones to all-out attempts by one would-be EvilOverlord or another to conquer America (or the world) and either enslave or exterminate [[MugglePower the "flatscan" humans]], with democratic and civil-rights-abiding governments time and again shown [[MilitariesAreUseless largely powerless]] to stop them. All of which makes at least some fans think that just maybe the anti-mutant StrawmanHasAPoint, mutants ''are'' dangerous, and after ComicBook/{{Magneto}} tries to destroy civilization for the Xth or Yth time and [[JokerImmunity gets away with a slap on the wrist]], they'll be quite happy to vote for [[KnightTemplar Senator Kelly]] if only he'll sic some sufficiently big Sentinels on the Master of Magnetism and his cronies. |
| 108 | ** The [[PuttingOnTheReich Genoshans]] are an especially sympathetic example, in large part because they ''lose'', and we get to see the human cost to the "normals" when mutants are free to dominate a country. Basically, the Genoshans forcibly conscripted their mutants and forced them to work for the betterment of their country under close supervision, giving Genosha's non-powered population (the huge majority) a supremely high standard of living. [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil While this is unquestionably evil]], it's not done in the style of cackling, CardCarryingVillain evil, and they justify themselves to the X-Men in the first story they appear in by pointing out that if they ''don't'' keep the mutants under strict control, these few but very powerful individuals will quickly take over their country, smashing the freedom and democracy the vast majority of the Genoshan people are presently enjoying. The X-Men, of course, liberated the mutants anyway at the end of ''X-Tinction Event''--And the freed mutants [[CassandraTruth promptly did exactly that]], first destroying Genosha in a devastating civil war in ''Bloodties'' and then turning what remained of it into a [[BewareTheSuperman mutant-supremacist]] PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny in ''Magneto Rex''. Genoshan expatriates are understandably extremely bitter about all this, and at least for some readers it's hard not to admit that they sort of have a point. Also, their [[CapeBusters special police force]] that kept the mutants in check was a BadassArmy with [[DoomTroops majorly cool uniforms]], which probably added to their appeal. |
| 109 | ** ComicBook/{{Magneto}} and other mutant supremacists like him are often hard not to root for. Regardless of how Magneto unintentionally helps the case of anti-mutant villains, no matter how many times the X-Men stop him or save the world from other threats, [[StatusQuoIsGod mutants are still as hated and feared as ever]]. This happens even though the Marvel universe is loaded with superhumans who do '''not''' face the same prejudice mutants do despite many of them actually being more powerful than most known mutants, making the prejudice for mutants seem irrational in comparison. This causes many readers to see normal humans as undeserving of the X-Men's aid and feel they deserve to be oppressed by mutants. One of the worst examples is in ''ComicBook/SecretEmpire'' where [[NebulousEvilOrganisation HYDRA]], which is comprised of actual Nazis, takes over the United States of America and begins a purge of mutants, along with Inhumans, and the normal civilians don't bat an eye to it. |
| 110 | * ''Franchise/StarWars: ComicBook/{{Legacy}}'' plays with this, due to its BlackAndGrayMorality. For the most part, the two main {{Big Bad}}s, the Sith and TheEmpire have made major reforms. The Sith, while still quite evil, have abandoned many of their old ways in favor of working together as one (one even saves another's life after spending the whole issue arguing, because "We are Sith"), plus they are [[TheseTropesAreEvilAndSexy very sexy]]. While TheEmpire is now a force of good in the Galaxy and most of its [[FantasticRacism anti-nonhuman ways]] are behind them. The Republic has been reduced to a handful of planets and ships whose only act in the comics have been a stealing a Sith SuperPrototype [[NiceJobBreakingItHero which the Empire had already rigged with bombs so it would look like a malfunction]] causing the Sith to blame the Mon Calamari (who aided the Republic) and declare war (meaning genocide). The Jedi, while still good, are back to being a HiddenElfVillage to the point where they refused to aid the Mon Calamari. The main character, last of the Skywalkers, is a total {{Jerkass}} just looking out for himself (and abusing his powers) as a result of being sick of all the ButThouMust his family (as Force ghosts) and fellow Jedi have been ramming down his throat. |
| 111 | * ''ComicBook/DarthVader'': Canon says Vader and Palpatine will defeat any threat against them, but each arc features antagonists who the readers can really hope will win and find far more sympathetic than Vader, who gets some of his worst [[KickTheDog dog-kicking]] moments in these comics. Three comics feature {{Villain Protagonist}}s who want to either stop or break away from the Empire and its atrocities, while the industrialist from ''The Ninth Assassin'' is not a good man but still has some impressive guts and understandable grief over the death of his son. |
| 112 | * The Exile of ''ComicBook/SuperDinosaur'' has a sympathetic backstory, and though he does intend to conquer the world, it is to save his people from his brothers tyranny and forced isolation, rather than a lust for power. Then you get the obnoxious KidHero not only rubbing out his shot at liberating his people, but smugly taunting him about it. |
| 113 | * In ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan2013'', quite a lot of fans are starting to root for any supervillain who's against Spider-Man ([[spoiler:aka. ComicBook/DoctorOctopus in Spider-Man's body, which he has stolen]]) due to [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope his increasingly]] [[ItGetsEasier amoral behavior]]. At first this was just the fans, but as the comic continues it seems to be ''intentional''. Helped by the fact that most of said supervillains are of the IneffectualSympatheticVillain variety or are [[EvilIsCool really cool]]. This has ultimately boiled down to watching the Goblin King and his army tearing down ''everything'' [[spoiler:Otto]] had built up. |
| 114 | * The Marvel event ''ComicBook/WorldWarHulk'' had most readers rooting for [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk the Hulk]], mainly because of all the crap ComicBook/TheIlluminati put him through. It even happened in the story with many bystanders siding with the Hulk. Another major factor was the events of ''ComicBook/CivilWar2006''. It's hard to root for the heroes when they've forced all superhumans to work solely for the government, enslaving, imprisoning, and killing everyone who disobeys. It even leaked into ''ComicBook/SecretInvasion2008'', with some readers hoping that the Skrulls would manage to conquer Earth and enslave the {{muggle|s}} population to teach them a thing or two about freedom. While the Skrulls didn't win, ''this'' led to ''ComicBook/DarkReign'' with ComicBook/NormanOsborn as head cop, with some fans rooting for Osborn and his ComicBook/DarkAvengers, which was even Marvel's top-selling book month after month during its run. |
| 115 | ** Later flipped around in ''ComicBook/IncredibleHercules'' when Hulk went up against Zeus and [[CurbStompBattle got his ass kicked]] '''hard'''. Zeus, while not exactly ''evil'', was the more unsympathetic party by far, but lots of fans cheered him on simply because they felt Hulk was starting to get into GodModeSue territory and they were happy to have a hard limit on his power established. |
| 116 | * ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' may as well be TropeCodifier. |
| 117 | ** Batman's RoguesGallery is the most famous of any superhero's, and each one of said rogues has their own dedicated fanbase who love and root for them, knowing full well what scoundrels they are. We wouldn't have 'em any other way. |
| 118 | ** Due to Batman and the Gotham Law Enforcement only giving a SuperficialSolution to dangerous serial killers by giving them to courts that sentence these murders to prisons or asylums [[CardboardPrison they can easily escape]], when a KnightTemplar appears in Gotham City to offer a more lethal solution, some readers can't help wish they can spill the blood of Batman's more vile foes before Batman himself can stop them. |
| 119 | * ComicBook/{{Foolkiller}} being a VillainProtagonist generally gets this treatment. But one can hardly help it since he does WhatItSaysOnTheTin. In TheNineties limited series, his body count ranged from muggers, dope dealers, and even drug-addicted mothers and their violent, out-of-control children. The public turned against him only after he publicly killed a narcissistic billionaire real estate mogul who planned to bulldoze low-income housing projects (making thousands of poor homeless) to build gentrified condominiums. As an encore, he went on set to kill a volatile, hate-spewing right-wing TV talk show host right in front of the eyes of his cultish audience. It should be noted that the said billionaire was the head of the city's major drug operations and also had business interests that threatened the Amazon rain forests. The reader can't help but identify with the Foolkiller's mission to some extent. They may not approve of his wanton mass murder, but one can't help but be tempted to feel that he's a necessity in the world we now live in. |
| 120 | [[/folder]] |
| 121 | |
| 122 | [[folder:Eastern Animation]] |
| 123 | * Certain older fans of ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf'' tend to root for the villain Wolffy instead of the heroic goats. The fact that he's LaughablyEvil and can come off as an IronWoobie due to the amount of [[DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale abuse]] he gets from his wife Wolnie probably has something to do with it. |
| 124 | * In the North Korean propaganda-fest that is ''Animation/SquirrelAndHedgehog'' (although the animation was done by a foreign company, probably Chinese), the creators went a little too far in making the Americans (as SavageWolves no less) badass. Just... [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNR4kR1uC-w take a look]]. A Platform/YouTube commenter summed it up pretty well: |
| 125 | -->''Protip: When attempting to make effective propaganda, having your arch enemy appear as a [[SavageWolves badass wolf]] with {{glowing eyes|OfDoom}}, sinister voice and his own [[CoolPlane laser techno-plane]] while having your troops look like effeminate squirrels and ducks that constantly cry is not a good idea. Hey, did those wolves just fire [[EnergyWeapon laser machineguns]]?! [[RuleOfCool AWESOME]].'' |
| 126 | ** It's worth noting that unlike most fascist propaganda, which generally extolls the strength of its people, North Korean propaganda tends to sell how weak and helpless the North Korean people are -- and thus how they need the Kim dynasty to protect them. Not that this makes the American wolves any less cool. |
| 127 | [[/folder]] |
| 128 | |
| 129 | [[folder:Fanfics]] |
| 130 | * ''Fanfic/TheConversionBureau'': Even though the Human Liberation Front are often depicted as terrorists, the deck being so stacked against them and the blatant MoralMyopia of the ponies makes the HLF easy to sympathise with. They're xenocidal racists, but so are their enemies. |
| 131 | ** ''[[FanFic/TheConversionBureauTheChatoverse The 800 Year Promise]]'': Despite the HLF consistently being portrayed as terrorists and thugs, fans have come to like the high-level HLF operative named Ralph. He [[AffablyEvil introduces himself cheerfully]], completely outwits the heroes, [[ShutUpKirk trumps them in a moral debate]], isn't afraid to get his hands dirty, and [[WhatTheHellHero calls Celestia out]] on her more questionable acts. |
| 132 | * ''Fanfic/CodePrime'': Many fans enjoy how often the Decepticons humiliate Britannia on a regular basis, despite both factions working together to fight the Black Knights and the Autobots. The Empire's more haughty individuals, particularly the ones that value social standing and pedigree over strength and merit in combat, end up being humiliated a lot more often than others. Many fans are actually hoping that Megatron overthrows Charles by the end of R1. [[spoiler:Come Chapter 34, Megatron manages to succeed in destroying the Britannian Empire and killing Charles, to the joy of the fans.]] |
| 133 | * In ''Fanfic/DungeonKeeperAmi'', Keeper Mukrezar, Ami's foil, plays this trope very straight: he's hammy, he's funny, he's as inventive and fast-thinking as Mercury and it's tons of fun watching him [[EvilVersusEvil backstab and manipulate]] his own 'allies'. |
| 134 | * In ''Fanfic/EventHorizonStormOfMagic'', [[MegaCorp The Company™]] is a powerful, ruthless, opportunistic, and manipulative organization, but most readers still support them or at least consider them a VillainProtagonist at worst. They do, after all, bring positive social change and technological progress to worlds locked in MedievalStasis like Westeros, as well as [[EvilVersusOblivion fighting on humanity's side against the more omnicidal factions]] like Mordor and the Forces Of Chaos. |
| 135 | * A major part of the [[Fanfic/FirebirdsSon Firebird Trilogy of Harry Potter stories]]. This heavy AU world features two antagonists; Voldemort and the Sabbat. Voldemort, who is worse than he is in canon (Prone to messing with Harry's head with images of possible, happy homes he could have had, turning Cedric into a human bomb, being an immense HeManWomanHater) has a ton of fans who want Harry to join him. This is less because he is a nice guy, far from it, and more because the other bad guys, the Sabbat, are far, far worse, and actually ended up creating Voldemort. While fans would probably still want Harry to kill him, many would have preferred he let Voldemort torture and kill the Sabbat first. |
| 136 | * The author of ''Fanfic/TheHouseOfElendil'' seems to have succeeded a little too well in making the Empire of Umbar seem impressive. The majority of readers are more excited to see Umbar in all its glory and many say they would be perfectly happy seeing it conquer Westeros, or even the whole world. |
| 137 | * ''Fanfic/MyBravePonyStarfleetMagic'': The story is meant as a RevengeFic against ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', centering around ponies in another dimension and[=/=]or in space, fighting off an evil sorcerer [[AvertedTrope without]] ThePowerOfFriendship and therefore being superior to the cast of the original show. Many readers actually wished to see the bad guy win, just so that the [[FlatCharacter one dimensional]] main characters get their asses kicked. |
| 138 | * In ''Fanfic/PagesOfHarmony'' Twilight Sparkle, like Light Yagami, becomes a KnightTemplar who believes that UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans. Despite her crossing the MoralEventHorizon in order to try to attain her goal of complete Harmony, it reached a point where there were almost more people wanting to see Twilight win, despite her [[spoiler:killing her friends and [[ANaziByAnyOtherName wanting to eliminate anyone without the right traits]]]]. |
| 139 | * The writer for Fanfic/TheStormDragons series is definitely rooting for the Empire in the Literature/InheritanceCycle, as the two separate story arcs describe in detail the backgrounds of two of the main villains, one which is an elder black dragon and the other is Galbatorix, plus multiple [[AntiVillain Anti-Villains]] on the side. |
| 140 | * In VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition fanfic ''FanFic/WalkingInCircles'', by the time the story reaches the Conclave, quite a number of readers have expressed their support for Solas's plan of taking down the Veil. This's because while Solas, [[spoiler: and Evelyn by extension]], do want to destroy the current world, they have good intention behind it and takes no pleasure in their actions. Not to mention if their plan does succeed, it'll bring long-term benefits for not just the elves but also mages of all races. Meanwhiles, the Templars who act like tyrants oppressing the mages and the Chantry that either encourage such actions or turn a blind eye to it certainly don't endear themselves to the readers at all, even if it did show that there are some good Templars. |
| 141 | * ''Fanfic/SuperSmashBrosTheAnimatedSeries'': Our heroes are all UnintentionallyUnsympathetic jerkasses who bully the nicer cast members, rob houses for no reason, are perfectly willing to ''kill'' innocent civilians, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and still manage to be annoyingly bland]]. You'll be ''begging'' the antagonists to kill them. |
| 142 | * In Fanfic/WeAllNeedAHero; a AU Where Sayu Yagami is Kira. With Sayu as Kira who unlike her brother Light Yagami, she is a far more well intentioned, merciful Kira that doesn’t have a God-complex and avoids killing innocents even if they are against her. As a result, a vast chunk of readers have expressed being Pro Sayu even if they weren’t Pro Light in Death Note proper. |
| 143 | * ''Fanfic/ApotheosisMHA'': Izuku became a ruthless VisionaryVillain (armed with a created ''Infinity Gauntlet''), with his goal being the complete restructuring of hero society. The thing is, he's entirely correct that society judges based on powerful quirks rather than one's personality and merits, (citing the abusive Endeavor and Bakugo as examples), most heroes aren't for the sake of helping others, but rather for the fame and glory, the quirkless and impractical quirk users are heavily discriminated against, and nothing has been done to improve things. Also helping is that his actions as the story progresses, Izuku never harms innocents, empathizes with those with similar backgrounds, extols genuine heroes, and is willing to reinstate "false heroes" if they atone. |
| 144 | [[/folder]] |
| 145 | |
| 146 | [[folder:Film -- Animated]] |
| 147 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheAristocats'' has Edgar, a butler who has loyally served Madame Adelaide Bonfamille and is angered to discover [[PetHeir her inheritance is going to her cats]] instead of him. His actions merely portray him as an AntiVillain and fans who sympathize with him claim he has justifiable reasons for abducting the cats. (And anyway, [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman they're just cats]].) |
| 148 | * Nobody inspires "Rooting for the Empire" like Gaston! While it wasn't always this way, he has gotten quite popular over the years, arguably more so than either of the protagonists in ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast''. This is probably due to viewers finding his ego oddly charming than obnoxious (as intended), his ridiculously exaggerated but still catchy and lively song, and for being a straight-up LargeHam. |
| 149 | * ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife'': The ant colony sans Dot were such obnoxious bullies to Flik throughout the film, when the grasshoppers come for "reparations" from the colony (just after the colony has hypocritically banished Flik for lying to them after the colony themselves ''sent him out implicitly to die based on a lie''), plenty of viewers were cheering ''the grasshoppers'' on more than they were empathizing with the ants now under their heel. |
| 150 | * From ''WesternAnimation/ChickenLittle'', plenty of viewers were cheering on the titular aliens who were vaporizing the citizens of Oakey Oats. It helps that the townspeople were such assholes who mercilessly bullied Chicken Little for no good reason. |
| 151 | * The villain of the ''WesternAnimation/TheEmojiMovie''; [[StepfordSmiler Smiler]] is one of the most popular characters in the movie and what makes her even easier to root for is that everything she says is ''[[DesignatedVillain right]]''! Many people were really hoping she did kill Gene and the others. [[http://uproxx.com/movies/the-emoji-movie-running-diary/ One critic was "openly rooting for Gene to be executed."]] |
| 152 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewGroove'': It isn't that Kuzco and Pacha ''aren't'' entertaining or good characters, so much as [[EvilIsCool Kronk and Yzma]] [[EnsembleDarkHorse flat-out steal the show]], to the point that some viewers even wish that Kuzco ''doesn't'' get better just because they want to see the villains succeed. |
| 153 | * Many ''WesternAnimation/{{FernGully|TheLastRainforest}}'' watchers sympathize with [[BigBad Hexxus]], who for the record is the incarnation of pollution in a heavily {{Anvilicious}} cartoon about how life is precious and pollution evil. Yet viewers seem to forget he's an abomination whose end game is to spread pollution across the world, which would threaten all life -- in the film it's more open as to how severe of a threat he'd be, but his book version was stated as constantly trying to ''[[OmnicidalManiac kill all life]]'' including humans. But, that's what you get for casting Creator/TimCurry as your main villain against main characters that have been forgotten more easily (save for comic relief [[Creator/RobinWilliams Batty]]) -- an antagonist who has fans and people who cheer for him and want him to win. |
| 154 | * The titular character of ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'', is simply your standard hero. Hades, by contrast, is still considered one of the best Disney villains of all time and the most entertaining character in the movie, and [[EverybodyHatesHades even fans of the original mythology]] would likely root for him even harder. |
| 155 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{The Hunchback of Notre Dame|Disney}}'': The reason Frollo was made a CompleteMonster was that Disney was trying to ''avoid'' this trope (it had happened so many times before). Didn't work. Some even have a disturbing habit of justifying his, a massive hypocrite's, actions. |
| 156 | * A few viewers of Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{The Little Mermaid|1989}}'' found the sly, manipulative [[WickedWitch Ursula]] a lot more likable than the naive, impulsive protagonist Ariel, or her overprotective, [[FantasticRacism human-hating]] father King Triton, and were rooting for her to actually win the deal and conquer Atlantica. It helps that she's been shown as a BenevolentBoss to her minions Flotsam and Jetsam ([[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1992 in the movie, at least]]), [[spoiler: and was none too happy when they were eradicated]]. |
| 157 | * If some fanfics are anything to go by, some people prefer Joe to the protagonist Jack from WesternAnimation/JackAndTheCuckooClockHeart, not only beacuse of EvilIsCool in both his design and voice, but also because some see him as a much better partner for Miss Acacia both due to them having known each other as friends and having probably dated in the past, and he has a bit more life experience than Jack, who has been sheltered his entire life until age 10 and being forced to leave his home to avoid being arrested for [[spoiler:accidentally [[EyeScream pecking one of Joe's eyes with his cuckko-clock heart]] ]] , and having met Miss Acacia only once on his birthday and instantly becoming smitten with her, which can unsurprisingly rub some viewers the wrong way, and not helping is that he can come out as a DesignatedHero at best; even [[WordOfGod Matthias Malzieau, co-director of the film the original author of the novel it is adapted from]], admitted that Joe is not really that bad of a guy as he is only motivated by his love for Miss Acacia, and that if the story were told [[PerspectiveFlip from his point of view]], Jack would be the bad guy. |
| 158 | * A good number of people prefer Captain Hook over the main protagonist in ''WesternAnimation/PeterPan''. This is probably because, unlike other Disney villains, Captain Hook has an understandable reason to want and destroy his nemesis. That and the abuses he continually suffers from seems more undeserved than anything, putting him straight into IneffectualSympatheticVillain territory. Where he crosses the line, of course, is by [[KickTheDog lashing out at perfectly innocent people]] in his quest to get at Peter, even if he thinks that's the only way he can succeed. It should also be noted that ''his own crew'' hates him because [[ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything they never get to do fun pirate stuff]], but have to constantly aid and abet a revenge quest they don't give a rat's ass about. |
| 159 | * While this is combined with MisaimedFandom and DracoInLeatherPants, a few fans of the Disney movie ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'' were rooting for [[BigBad Facilier]] and [[AntiVillain Lawrence]] to succeed in their goal, considering how Naveen was really unlikable in the beginning due to him being spoiled, lazy, and being [[InnocentlyInsensitive (unknowingly)]] inconsiderate towards Lawrence. Anyone who has been in Lawrence’s position would have been understandably fed up with putting up with that abuse, whether it was intentional or not. |
| 160 | * Bowser has always had some players rooting for him in ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'', and ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'' is no exception. His being both LaughablyEvil and [[EvilIsCool cool]], along with his voice from Creator/JackBlack, have won him over many fans who would have loved to watch him get away with his crimes and succeed with his goals. |
| 161 | * Many viewers of ''WesternAnimation/ATrollInCentralPark'' find the antagonists, Queen Gnorga and Llort, far more likable than the largely cloying protagonists Stanley, Gus, and Rosie, thanks in part to how hammy and over the top their acting is. |
| 162 | * ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'': There are fans that feel that Mei's ultimate philosophies can come across as misguided or selfish. Many of these fans tend to side more with Ming as a result, feeling that for all her flaws, she is the more reasonable one in the conflict and the more sympathetic character overall, [[spoiler:especially after her backstory is revealed]]. |
| 163 | * ''WesternAnimation/Wish2023'': There is no shortage of viewers who, [[DracoInLeatherPants whether they admit to his faults or not]], believe Magnifico's rule is what is best for the kingdom of Rosas and that Asha should have left well enough alone. It's established at the beginning that people are safe from the dangers of the outside world under his watch, they are largely happy with the state of things given how prosperous the kingdom is - poverty and prejudice are nonexistent even with myriad races and faiths living alongside each other - and despite his selfish reasons for picking some of them Magnifico grants the heart's desire of as many as fourteen people per year! Moreover, the people '''willingly''' gave up their wishes to him with full knowledge they would forget the wish, and that the odds of "winning" were always going to be low given the city's large population. With things going so well and the possibility that it could go all downhill without him, many root for Magnifico to maintain the status quo he worked hard to build in the first place. This is ''really'' not helped by the fact that his JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope into becoming a would-be SorcerousOverlord only happens ''after'' Asha's actions cause Star to materialize, making him desperate to protect his power, ''and'' it's only then that any character aside from Simon, [[InformedAttribute whom the audience]] is told became "dull and boring" after giving his wish up (which is muddled by [[CompanyCrossReferences his being an analogue]] to ''Sleepy'' of the Seven Dwarfs) is shown as having any problem with the system, which makes it look all the more like Asha created problems where there initially weren't any. |
| 164 | * Deliberately invoked in ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'' as a central theme to the film. The antagonists of various video games are presented as [[PunchClockVillain Punch Clock Villains]] who participate in an [[TropaholicsAnonymous AA-style support group]] to help one another with the daily realities of being reviled as evil. The titular character is a 30-year industry veteran who is treated as a pariah in his own game and has gotten sick of being relegated to living in a dump and ignored while the other characters of the game celebrate with one another. Incidentally, and less deliberately, this also applies to the [[ShowWithinAShow game's universe]], since Ralph's motivation for wrecking the apartment in the first place was that it was built over his forest home. The film showing the residents as pompous, stuck-up jerks makes many fans feel that Ralph was justified in wrecking their building. Played straight with the movie's actual villain, [[spoiler:Turbo]], thanks mainly to his being LaughablyEvil. |
| 165 | [[/folder]] |
| 166 | |
| 167 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 168 | * {{Music/EltonJohn}} and {{Music/BernieTaupin}} wrote a song about the comic hero ''ComicStrip/DanDare'' and his archenemy, which includes [[https://www.lyricsondemand.com/e/eltonjohnlyrics/dandarelyrics.html these lines]]: |
| 169 | --->''Dan dare doesn't know it, He doesn't know it, He doesn't know it, But I liked the Mekon'' |
| 170 | * Nas "One Time 4 Your Mind" |
| 171 | --> When I'm chillin', I grab the buddha, get my crew to buy beers\ |
| 172 | And watch a flick, illin' and rootin' for the villain, huh |
| 173 | [[/folder]] |
| 174 | |
| 175 | [[folder:Mythology & Religion]] |
| 176 | * Myth/ClassicalMythology: |
| 177 | ** The Amazons were villains whose intended purpose was to demonstrate [[ValuesDissonance the dangers in allowing]] [[StrawFeminist women any power whatsoever]], and were conquered by Heracles to show a belief that women are always weaker than men. In later times, especially with the rise of feminism, they have been portrayed with increasing sympathy, most prominently with [[Franchise/WonderWoman a certain very popular heroine]]. |
| 178 | ** A number of people support the Titans over the Olympians. A case of GreyAndGrayMorality, Cronus ate his kids but is recorded as ruling over a GoldenAge for mankind where humans lived without the need for toil, disease, or war. Then Zeus and a bunch of other JerkAssGods came along, ended the GoldenAge, and introduced every cruelty they could think of. Many modern adaptions have to villainize the Titans (including often designing them as monsters) so you sympathize with the Olympians. The story of Prometheus is pretty much the prime example of this. Even most modern adaptions of Greek Mythology can't get around making him sympathetic and portraying him as human looking. |
| 179 | ** This arguably even applied to Prometheus in ''ancient Greece itself'', since some stories have Heracles freeing him from the torment that Zeus put him through, and his punishment becomes merely symbolic by having to wear a metal ring on his finger to represent his chains. |
| 180 | ** Actually, most of the Olympians invoke latent, guilty-pleasure hatred for [[DisproportionateRetribution their extreme injustice toward mortals]], especially for offenses that are minor or accidental, or that ''are not even directed at the gods themselves''. And if you ''dare'' to think yourself the equal of a god, you are going to die, or at least end up ''[[FateWorseThanDeath wishing]]'' [[FateWorseThanDeath you would die]]. (Of course, since quite a few mortals did succeed in making monkeys of the Olympians, or even ''becoming gods themselves'', you can't really blame the Olympians for feeling insecure and paranoid.) |
| 181 | ** The ancient Greeks despised Hades, the god of the dead and the underworld since they didn't like dying. He has a somewhat better reputation today, in that he regularly kept his bargains with gods and mortals alike, and would only inflict a FateWorseThanDeath on someone who crossed him first. His kidnapping of Persephone is still rightly seen as vile, but even then Hades is ''faithful'' to her, which is more than his philandering brother Zeus can say. In most versions of the original myth, Hades didn't kidnap Persephone at all but asked for her hand in marriage from her father first, meaning even this can be discounted. DependingOnTheWriter is in full effect with these myths and their retellings. |
| 182 | ** Show of hands -- how many people wanted Troy to win the war? Notable for being an in-universe example as well, with the gods taking sides, Zeus himself supporting the Trojans. This goes back centuries, multiple medieval European royal dynasties would claim descent from Trojan refugees, and famous Frankish hero Roland claimed his sword had belonged to Achilles' ArchEnemy Hector. |
| 183 | * UsefulNotes/{{Satanism}} is effectively rooting for the empire of UsefulNotes/{{Christianity}}. Ever since ''Literature/ParadiseLost'' (and sometimes [[UsefulNotes/{{Gnosticism}} before then]]), {{Satan}} has been interpreted as an individualist figure who sticks up to a controling monarchial God. As Western culture values individuality more and more, it's become more common to interpret [[SatanIsGood the devil as the hero]] (or at least a sympathetic figure). |
| 184 | [[/folder]] |
| 185 | |
| 186 | [[folder:Newspaper Comics]] |
| 187 | * 90% of the ''ComicStrip/ForBetterOrForWorse'' fandom was hoping that Elizabeth would end up with one of her WrongGuyFirst candidates, rather than the inevitable blandness that is [[CreatorsPet Anthony]]. Pretty much everyone thought his "shrewish" wife Thérèse was absolutely in the right as well. |
| 188 | [[/folder]] |
| 189 | |
| 190 | [[folder:Podcasts]] |
| 191 | * In the ''Podcast/CoolKidsTable'' game ''Homeward Bound 4'', the entire game is based on the common situation of audiences liking animals more than people. |
| 192 | [[/folder]] |
| 193 | |
| 194 | [[folder:Sports]] |
| 195 | * The people in the stands at sporting events are usually expected to cheer for the home team, but some of them might be cheering for the away team or other competition for various reasons: |
| 196 | ** The away team's fans are so devoted to them that they follow the team to the venues they're playing at. |
| 197 | ** The host city or country might be home to a lot of expatriates from the away team's community. People who move from one city to another for work or education might bring their team loyalties with them. In international competitions like the Olympics or the World Cup, immigrants living in the host country might cheer for their original homelands. |
| 198 | ** Other times they may be rooting for the visitant team to show spite for the home one - for example, when the latter is playing miserably and is being [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomped]] by the former. |
| 199 | * It's not uncommon for a team to benefit from having their rivals win a game. As a hypothetical, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL absolutely hate each other. But, it could turn out that the Steelers and New England Patriots are both in the running to be the #1 seed in the AFC, which would ensure home-field advantage in the playoffs until the Super Bowl.[[note]]The Super Bowl site is determined well in advance, and while it COULD potentially be a home game for one team, it would be sheer coincidence and hasn't happened yet.[[/note]] And then, through scheduling coincidence, the Bengals play the Patriots. Particularly if the Steelers are well ahead of the Bengals in the standings, Steeler fans would be pulling for the Bengals to win, giving the Steelers a leg up on the Patriots in the standings.[[note]]Though in that specific rivalry, many Steeler fans might be just [[RevengeBeforeReason fine with the second seed.]][[/note]] |
| 200 | ** This was actually the case at the end of the 2018 NFL season, as the Steelers needed the arch-rival Browns to beat the Ravens (admittedly another division rival, but not one as historically hated by Steelers fans as Cleveland) in order for the Steelers to slip into the playoffs. [[spoiler:It didn't happen.]] |
| 201 | * Due to ValuesDissonance, some people who are appalled by bullfighting might end up cheering for the bull and celebrating whenever the matador gets injured or even killed. |
| 202 | * Fans of historically successful NFL franchises typically get viewed this way by other fans. |
| 203 | * Right from the start, UsefulNotes/TonyaHarding had a ''huge'' fanbase, despite being viewed as a punching bag by pretty much everyone else -- which in itself fuels resentment and defiant sympathy on the part of the former group. It helps that [[TooBleakStoppedCaring even people who are sympathetic to Nancy Kerrigan have admitted that she isn't particularly likable either]]. |
| 204 | [[/folder]] |
| 205 | |
| 206 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 207 | * ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': |
| 208 | ** In the ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' settings, with the canon lore of [[OverusedCopycatCharacter Drizzt]] [[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch Do'Urden]], many fans hate him for his tendency to [[PlotArmor survive the most ridiculous situations]] and setting an odd perception to the [[AlwaysChaoticEvil Drow]]. While some fans do hate him, they still read the novels because of the detailing of the surrounding world, especially Drizzt's enemies, be it [[OurElvesAreDifferent drow]], [[TheMagocracy Thay]] or Jarlaxle and Artemis. The latter even got their own spinoff novel trilogy. |
| 209 | ** Plenty of evil figures can fall into this trope, [[EvilIsCool especially]] the {{Munchkin}}-friendly ones. Kobolds in particular tend to receive a very nuanced, sympathetic eye from most fans, who fell in love with the [[UglyCute little dog-dragon dudes]] in spite of their LawfulEvil alignment. Later books would detail this further, describing kobold culture as steeped in [[WeHaveReserves martyrdom for the warren]], worship of dragons regardless of [[ColourCodedForYourConvenience color]], and [[BadassBookworm valuing ingenuity over brute force]]. |
| 210 | * White Wolf's ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' ran into this in the first edition and then deliberately invoked it in the second edition. As every Exalt type's [[{{Splat}} splatbook]] is written from their perspective and to promote their agenda, each type has its partisans. The most literal case is with the Terrestrial and Sidereal Exalted, who run (openly and covertly, respectively) the Scarlet Empire, which is an oppressive dogmatic theocracy that yet is one of the only things standing between many people and numerous [[EldritchAbomination horrors from beyond the world]]. Even the Yozis, the demon lords who were once the ancient titans that treated the world as a plaything, have their apologists. |
| 211 | * ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'': |
| 212 | ** Quite a few fans are rather pro-Phyrexian, to the point where one rather prominent fansite is named "Phyrexia.com" (and themed around the plane). As Phyrexians are not so much AlwaysChaoticEvil as Always Completely Evil (they were created by a man who [[MoralEventHorizon lived as a nomad visiting various civilisations just so he could release plagues and wipe them all out -- in one case just to see what would happen]]), the level of support they've garnered is almost shocking. |
| 213 | ** The ''Scars of Mirrodin'' story arc brings the Phyrexians back into the limelight, and Wizards of the Coast being quite adamant about not revealing whether or not they'll win ([[http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/arcana/677 they did]]) just contributed to this -- just watch the promotional videos on Youtube, often depicting Phyrexians committing NightmareFuel atrocities against the Mirrans, then look at all the comments proudly shouting Phyrexian slogans. According to the statistics from when ''Mirrodin Besieged'' came out, 51% of players supported the Phyrexians. |
| 214 | ** Creator/WizardsOfTheCoast invoked this trope during the Mirrodin Besieged prerelease: those that supported Phyrexia were given several packs containing nothing but Phyrexian cards, while the Mirran side got only Mirran cards. |
| 215 | ** Back in the day, Phyrexia was confined to Black, the ([[DarkIsNotEvil usually]]) "evil" color. As per the ''New Phyrexia'' expansion, though, they've branched out into all five colors, and while this has mostly consisted of [[LightIsNotGood twisted Phyrexian takes on each color's philosophy]], some Phyrexians, most notably those aligned to Red (the color of freedom and passion), [[AffablyEvil are starting to show more sympathetic tendencies.]] |
| 216 | * For the ''TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness's TabletopGame/MageTheAscension'' setting, quite a few players think that the Technocracy's earth is a much safer, freer place than a world where you might be eaten by a troll the second your back is turned. This viewpoint steadily gained canon support through Mage's run. The first few Technocracy books were clearly written to help the [[GameMaster Storyteller]] write better villains, and the Technocrats in those books want to do things like destroy creativity. The later ones realized that, given their history (and the fact that they, you know, ''create'' all kinds of shiny new technology), the Technocracy makes more sense as {{Well Intentioned Extremist}}s on an organizational level. In the "canon" ''Mage'' ending, the Traditions and the Technocracy ultimately realize [[spoiler:that they aren't so different as they both wish the best possible future for humanity. They both [[EarnYourHappyEnding Earn The Happy Ending]] when the world comes to a close in the [[HappyEnding best way possible]] for everyone]]. In the other finale, where the Nephandi win, the Technocracy makes a heroic (if futile) last stand to protect mankind, same as the arguable BigGood, the Order of Hermes. |
| 217 | * Some ''TabletopGame/{{Rifts}}'' fans see The Coalition States in a heroic light, as defenders of humanity. This is a nation that's [[ANaziByAnyOtherName blatantly modeled after Nazi Germany]], including the institutionalized genocide, with one of the later books including a commentary reiterating the fact that the Coalition, or at least those in charge of it, really are bad guys. DracoInLeatherPants plays a large role here, as does WhatMeasureIsANonHuman; the Coalition's military aesthetic is heavy on black and "Death's Head" skull imagery, making even a common grunt soldier look incredibly badass. |
| 218 | ** Not helped by recent supplements giving the Coalition every lucky break it is possible to have until they start verging on Canon Sue territory. Much of the fanbase is starting to wonder if Kevin Siembeda himself is RootingForTheEmpire. |
| 219 | * The first published ''TabletopGame/{{Traveller}}'' adventures had the players breaking into Imperial research stations, breaking out of Imperial prisons, and helping the rebels. Then the rebels [[MoralEventHorizon nuke a city]], and the players had to [[EnemyMine help the Imperium]] in a war. In the last published adventure about the Imperium, the players are Imperial nobles and generals who try to stop it from collapsing. |
| 220 | * While [[EvilVersusEvil everyone is fairly evil]] to some extent in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'', even the most unambiguously evil factions have their fans, and not just for the strength of their army list. |
| 221 | ** Chaos are out to turn the material universe into an EldritchLocation by permanently merging it with [[HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace the Warp]], and they work for a set of gods who want to kill, rape, mutate and infect everything, things which they are more than willing to perform in their name. Yet they're just so... METAL! |
| 222 | *** [[{{Plaguemaster}} Nurgle]] and his followers get this even more than the other Chaos factions. While he ''is'' [[AffablyEvil genuinely nice]], and unlike the other Chaos gods (or the Emperor, for that matter) deeply cares for his subjects, he expresses his kindness by infecting his followers with ''every disease ever'', to the point that they're in so much pain ''they can't feel any other pain''. His followers generally don't mind, but it still isn't exactly a pleasant fate. |
| 223 | *** ''TabletopGame/BlackCrusade'' does a decent job at presenting the Chaos cultists' case. It admits that the Chaos Gods are cruel masters and that Chaos is anything but cuddly -- but embracing Chaos is nonetheless humanity's only hope of surviving in any form. Meanwhile, the Imperium's brutal tyranny and persecution might be justified if there was any chance that it might ''work'', but as it is, the Imperium is beyond saving and so the Adeptus Terra are committing atrocities for the sake of a lost cause. |
| 224 | ** The reason that the Imperium is TheEmpire in the first place is that it is surrounded by unspeakable horrors that Lovecraft would be proud of. Ergo, Rooting For The Empire is, in this case, the only sane choice in an utterly insane galaxy. In the Imperium, there is law and order -- even if it is draconian -- and not every Imperial world is entirely a hellhole. They also have the largest amount of characters that seem likable and possibly the closest somebody can get to heroes in the setting. [[CreatorsPet Note there is a reason for this.]] [[MostWritersAreHuman Two, in fact.]] |
| 225 | *** In the 8th edition of the rules, it is made clear that the Imperium is TheEmpire specifically due to the greed and corruption of the Lords of Terra. When one of the Primarchs long thought to be dead, Roboute Guilliman, is revived he is utterly disgusted and taken aback by the state of the Imperium, and among his first acts is retaking the title of Imperial Regent and seizing personal control from the oligarchy that had been infighting to further their own personal interests. 40k being the Grimdark setting that it is, this is likely a doomed crusade of its own. |
| 226 | ** The Tau Empire, while not exactly ''good'', they are much less "not exactly good" than the others and actually make alliances and work together with other species. In their initial release, they were considered too "good" and so were given some moral ambiguity to bring them in line with the rest of the universe, becoming more "join us or die" (which is still better than the "die xenos scum!" of everyone else), with the incorporation of implied MoreThanMindControl being used to subdue both vassal races and ''their own people'' into their lore. |
| 227 | ** Orks have a lot of support, not because they are less evil than other factions (though they are [[EqualOpportunityOffender about the most egalitarian race in the setting]]), but they are by far [[CrazyIsCool the most fun]], [[CrossesTheLineTwice crossing the line]] so many times they become ''endearing''. |
| 228 | ** The Eldar gain much sympathy for how their only interest is in trying to prevent their extinction, being the only faction not interested in conquering/enslaving anyone (except for the militaristic Biel-tan Craftworld), as well as for how Games Workshop have relegated them to ButtMonkey status. They're still [[PoorCommunicationKills entirely incapable of giving a straight answer]] even if it would benefit them, and while they're often called arrogant and willing to kill millions of non-Eldar to save handfuls of their own, every other faction in the setting thinks the same way. |
| 229 | ** The Tyranids are a HordeOfAlienLocusts intent on devouring all life in the galaxy. Nonetheless, they have supporters who at the very least aren't happy with the period where they were repeatedly subjected to TheWorfEffect and were demanding the Tyranids actually be allowed to win. |
| 230 | * ''TabletopGame/WarhammerTheEndTimes'' avoided this with the central villains, especially since the winning brought about the end of the world, something fans weren't happy with, especially since the villains were seen as being handed victories they didn't deserve. But it did occur in the civil war between Tyrion and Malekith. Tyrion was one of the main heroes in the setting and the greatest defender of the High Elves. Malekith was the EvilOverlord of the Dark Elves, the High Elves' ArchEnemy, and had a hand in many of the disasters in the setting in some shape or form. But [[AssPull out of nowhere]] it was revealed that despite his villainy, Malekith was in fact the rightful king of the High Elves and they were all expected to bow down to him. Tyrion opposing Malekith has him framed as being in the wrong, causing fans to see him as a DesignatedVillain and wanted to him defeat Malekith. Quite tellingly even with the plot bending over backwards to make Tyrion look bad, his atrocities still weren't anywhere close to those of Malekith. |
| 231 | * In ''TabletopGame/AnimaBeyondFantasy'', there's a significant number of fans who hate Elisabetta Barbados, the Child Empress, because of their CommonMarySueTraits -IronWoobie, [[TheChosenOne Chosen One]], described as very beautiful, WiseBeyondTheirYears in both how governs and fight abilities...-, and root for Matthew Gaul, who has a much more fleshed out background, even if he ''looks'' like an EvilOverlord and loves stabs in the back. |
| 232 | [[/folder]] |
| 233 | |
| 234 | [[folder:Theatre]] |
| 235 | * ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}'': |
| 236 | ** Overlapping with AlternativeCharacterInterpretation, those who supported the real Jefferson's political positions may root for him during the Cabinet battles. It helps that he's portrayed as a [[LaughablyEvil hilarious]] LargeHam and that most other stories featuring him tend to portray him as a hero, predisposing audiences to view him favourably. |
| 237 | ** Aaron Burr also gets quite a bit of this. While he's the closest thing the play has to a BigBad, he's shown in a very sympathetic light, and the two songs he gets to himself, "Wait For It" and "The Room Where It Happens", are generally considered two of the best in the play. Combine this with the fact that Hamilton is shown to be obnoxious, arrogant, and an adulterer, and a lot of viewers end up finding Burr to be the more likeable of the two. |
| 238 | * ''Theatre/LesMiserables'': |
| 239 | ** Some people side strongly with Javert, rejecting the LawfulStupid interpretation and instead insisting that Valjean, as a [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation thieving, robbing, murdering, treacherous parole-breaker who engages in armed rebellion against the government]], is perhaps not undeserving of the law's, and thus Javert's, dedicated attention. This isn't as extreme an example as the others on the page, Javert is ultimately an admirable figure for his commitment to justice, and no character in the play is meant to be outright hated (excluding the Thenardiers). |
| 240 | ** The Thenardiers themselves also get this treatment. As the above poster mentioned, they're the only truly bad people in the musical -- everyone else is fighting for ''some'' cause that is, to some degree, noble (freedom, justice, love, etc), but the Thenardiers are [[ItsAllAboutMe only concerned with their own standing]] and are willing to do anything, from ripping off customers to abusing their daughter to robbing corpses, to make a quick buck. They have no morals whatsoever, and are truly reprehensible... but they also get pretty much the only comic moments ("Master of the House" and "Beggar at the Feast," which are also insanely catchy) in an extremely dark show. Plus, they know how evil they are and revel in it, and nearly every production casts exceptionally [[LargeHam over-the-top]] actors in the roles (for proof, the film put Sacha Baron Cohen -- freaking ''Borat'' -- and Helena Bonham Carter in the parts), so it's easy to forget that they're disgusting, vile people. |
| 241 | * ''Theatre/MedievalTimesDinnerAndTournament'': Following [[spoiler:his [[TookALevelInJerkass descent into villainy]] starting with the 2006 show]], many fans have come to root for [[spoiler:the Green Knight]] to win, if only because he's deliberately designed to be a HateSink destined to lose every time, and they want to see him [[TeamRocketWins actually earn a victory]]. |
| 242 | * Shylock from ''Theatre/TheMerchantOfVenice'' is a Jewish money-lender who is derided, insulted, and generally discriminated against by pretty much everyone. He serves as the main antagonist of the story and is trying to collect on a debt owed by Bassanio, a friend of the protagonist Antonio. Antonio had signed onto the debt as a guarantor and Shylock, who hated Antonio, saw a path to revenge by demanding a pound of Antonio's flesh as a penalty for defaulting on the loan. Thanks to some {{Rules Lawyer}}ing on behalf of the protagonists, Shylock is not only denied his revenge, the debt is annulled, his wealth is taken from him, and he is forced to convert to Christianity. [[ValuesDissonance At the time]] Shylock was considered a highly effective, loathsome villain and his fate was [[LaserGuidedKarma just comeuppance for his greed]]. In today's world, the character is received much differently, to the point of being a highly sympathetic character. Modern productions often play Shylock as a tragic villain rather than his traditional "pure evil" role, and his famous "I am a Jew!" speech, with no modification whatsoever, today reads perfectly as the lamentations and frustrations of an oppressed people to discriminatory and dehumanizing treatment from the masses. That said, Shylock does provide the current page quote for FairForItsDay. |
| 243 | * Iago from ''Theatre/{{Othello}}'', since he's an extremely charismatic character who turns RefugeInAudacity into an art form. Convincing Othello that his wife is cheating on him ''in a single scene'' doesn't exactly portray the hero in the best light, as well as the rest of the cast having a bad case of HorribleJudgeOfCharacter to the point where if they ever just talked to each other, they'd have quickly realised who was pulling all the strings (to be fair, he comes close to winning, and most of the "idiots" who believe him end up dead). |
| 244 | * ''Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' fan base is often partial toward the sympathetic phantom's side, romanticizing his unhealthy obsession with Christine as "true love" and perceiving him as a tragic villain, sometimes even while demonizing bland rival suitor Raoul in fanfictions. |
| 245 | * ''Theatre/RichardIII'' is the smartest man in the room (any room), and much more charismatic and entertaining than any of the milquetoast good guys who surround him. Just try watching a production of the play without wanting him to win. Also the supposed hero of the play, Richmond, only appears at the end so comes across as a very FlatCharacter. It also helps that the play is practically the TropeMaker for the HistoricalVillainUpgrade, and the real UsefulNotes/RichardIII was actually a good king, even if he did some [[TheFateOfThePrincesInTheTower ruthless things]] to get there. |
| 246 | * ''Theatre/SweeneyTodd'': |
| 247 | ** The title character. At first glance, it's understandable -- after being arrested on a trumped-up charge and sent to a prison/labor camp in Australia for fifteen years, Todd (a.k.a. Benjamin Barker) finally escapes and only desires to get revenge on Judge Turpin and Beadle Bamford, the two men who organized his destruction so they could help themselves to his wife (who they raped and drove to suicide [[spoiler: or so Todd thinks]]) and are now keeping his daughter prisoner. The problem comes when, after the Judge manages to escape Todd's grip the first time, he [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope goes absolutely insane]] and decides that he's going to kill everyone in London, reasoning that death will either be justice for the wicked or relief for the downtrodden. Fans still love Todd even ''after'' he cracks and continue to root for his campaign of vengeance, even though he, by his own admission, loses sight of that goal and gradually becomes completely deadened to the fact that he's a mass-murdering serial killer. |
| 248 | ** There's also Mrs. Lovett, especially since [[WordOfGod Stephen Sondheim himself]] is on record as calling her the "true villain" of ''Sweeney''. Whereas Todd is at least at first motivated by revenge for his wife, and even Judge Turpin (as despicable and repulsive as he is) has some degree of conscience (in his typically CutSong, he's depicted as a deeply repressed individual whose belief that SexIsEvil is so strong that it's permanently warped his understanding of the world and ability to interact with others; Sondheim has expressed frustration that the song is often removed, as it removes Turpin's more complex motivations), Mrs. Lovett is an unabashed opportunist whose only goal is bettering her own situation. It's clearest when she [[spoiler: outright lies to Todd about Lucy, his wife, being alive just because she's in love with him herself -- she ''says'' she's doing it for Todd, but it's patently obvious that she's lying]], but it also manifests when she comes up with the idea of [[ImAHumanitarian turning Todd's victims into the meat for her pies]]. But she's so fun and funny that it's easy to forget what a horrible human being she is (the aforementioned plan is developed in a song that's pretty much a HurricaneOfPuns about how different professions will taste). |
| 249 | [[/folder]] |
| 250 | |
| 251 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 252 | * In ''Webcomic/CucumberQuest'', Rosemaster turned out to be such a compelling and interesting antagonist that numerous readers said they were rooting for her to beat the heroes (or, at least, to somehow not lose). |
| 253 | * ''Webcomic/DominicDeegan'': |
| 254 | ** A lot of readers root for the bad guys due to [[DesignatedHero Dominic and Luna]] doing some very questionable things. Besides, [[EvilIsCool Celesto Morgan is cooler.]] |
| 255 | ** Some find Warlord Mustache to be completely awesome for trying to exterminate the Orcs, due to a [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation widely-held disbelief]] of the official line that the Orcs are really {{Noble Savage}}s who only live in murderous barbarism because of Mustache. The Orcs also took a year for their storyline, [[UnpleasableFanbase when that time could've been spent introducing fresh things to disparage]]. |
| 256 | * ''Webcomic/FiveNightsAtFreddysLostSouls'': Even after [[spoiler: Golden Freddy]] snaps and grows violent toward the humans, specifically Kelly, readers still found themselves sympathizing with him more than the aforementioned Kelly. In fact, many a comment ''cheered'' for [[spoiler: Golden Freddy]] when he implied he would break Kelly's arm, mostly due to Kelly being TheScrappy and Unintentionally Unsympathetic, while he himself had shown understandable reasons for detesting her so much. |
| 257 | * A variation on ''Webcomic/GirlsWithSlingshots'': Many readers actually rooted for Zach to break up with the protagonist [[UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist Hazel]], considering how selfish and [[ManChild immature]] she had been with their relationship and throughout the entire webcomic run, the same thing for misfortune to hit back at her as [[LaserGuidedKarma comeuppance]] for her [[JerkSue jerkass]] behaviour, which is why they cheered when these things [[AuthorsSavingThrow started]] [[{{Deconstruction}} to happen]] near the webcomic's end. |
| 258 | * There is a small but vocal subset of the ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' fandom that believes that the Alternian Empire is a fully justified society and that the Condesce is an admirable leader. While a fair portion of them [[MisaimedFandom simply don't know any better]], there are some that believe that [[StrawmanHasAPoint the trolls have every right to do what they do given the situation]] and some that just flat-out hold neo-fascist beliefs. The fact that troll culture and civilization is easily one of the most richly detailed and interesting parts of the comic doesn't help either. |
| 259 | * A comic strip by artist Mallorie Jessica Udischas, author of ''Manic Pixie Nightmare Girls'', presents the artist's SelfInsert character laughing about a "millionaire gamer-bro douchebag" getting robbed (a reference to LetsPlay/PewDiePie, who was robbed in early December 2019). Her co-worker, [[StrawCharacter a white male character]] whose nametag reads "New Guy", asks her "Hey, how'd you like it if you were robbed?". Mallorie's self-insert sarcastically tells the guy they could be friends only to say "Hell no" when he asks for confirmation. Many people wound up sympathizing more with the New Guy's empathy than the ostensible protagonist's schadenfreude and sarcasm. Starting in 2020, "New Guy" was taken by Twitter users as a symbol of empathy, even trending on the site. The meme was almost immediately co-opted by far-right groups who used New Guy as a cover to attack Mallorie Jessica Udischas for being trans, before dying out in a couple of months. |
| 260 | * ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': |
| 261 | ** Miko, whom some believe was in the right with her actions that were supposed to be her MoralEventHorizon. |
| 262 | ** Redcloak does have [[WellIntentionedExtremist some valid reasons]] for what he's doing, but that doesn't mean he's not planning with his dark god to hold the world hostage with the threat of an apocalyptic living ContinuitySnarl-that-can-[[DeaderThanDead permakill]]-anything unless his demands are met. |
| 263 | * The Patriarchy arc in ''Webcomic/{{Sinfest}}'' seems to have provoked this reaction due to just how polarizing the Sisterhood (Xanthe in particular) is. |
| 264 | * ''Webcomic/VampireCheerleaders'': The larger part of the comic's fanbase (on Website/{{Facebook}}) actually favored Lori and her Coven of vampires, [[https://web.archive.org/web/20111121011648/http://www.vampirecheerleaders.net/strips-vc/meet_the_parents_4 despite their actions]], and hated the ''WebComic/ParanormalMysterySquad'', who they saw as a group of [[KnightTemplar knights templar]] that were guilty of committing VanHelsingHateCrimes[[note]]This part was true to an extent, Stephanie used to kill cryptids indiscriminately because of what'd happened to her parents. By the time of the crossover, however, she [[CharacterDevelopment had come to accept that]] [[https://web.archive.org/web/20121007202323/http://www.vampirecheerleaders.net/strips-vc/my_dark_passenger cryptids weren't inherently evil]] and had changed her M.O. from killing them, to capturing them instead. Which made the PMS a group of [[HeroAntagonist heroic antagonists]][[/note]]. So you can imagine how well they reacted to the cheerleaders being casts as the villains (which they ''[[VillainProtagonist always were]]'') during the ''"Vampire Cheerleaders Must Die!"'' arc, which ended with them being [[https://web.archive.org/web/20130510114218/http://www.vampirecheerleaders.net/strips-vc/prom_aftermath taken into custody by]] [[AnimalWrongsGroup PETM.]] |
| 265 | [[/folder]] |
| 266 | |
| 267 | [[folder:Web Originals]] |
| 268 | * A common phenomenon in [[TurnOfTheMillennium the 1999-2002 timeframe]] on UsefulNotes/WorldWarII themed forums: a large percent of forum posters rooted for [[UsefulNotes/NazisWithGnarlyWeapons the Wehrmacht]], as the side with the [[TankGoodness coolest tanks]], [[CoolPlane planes]], [[BlingOfWar uniforms]] and dashing war heroes like Wittmann or Hartmann. It died slowly after 2002, most people gained a more balanced and neutral attitude for those involved in the war. However, the "Wehraboo" community has swelled again what with a new generation of internet users coming into contact with a more diverse and unorthodox political sphere, and its beliefs now range from modern-day promotion of the "Clean Wehrmacht" myth and German-inspired aristocratic conservatism (often acting as a cover for [[ANaziByAnyOtherName straight Nazism]]) to practically doing its detractors' job for them by idolizing German military capabilities even more intensely, and blaming the collapse of the Eastern Front solely on Russian weather. |
| 269 | * This trope is present to an extent in the infamous "X Gets Grounded" videos made with Platform/GoAnimate. No one will really be surprised if you say that you wish that WesternAnimation/{{Caillou}}, [[WesternAnimation/DoraTheExplorer Dora]], or the other kids would actually ''win'' for once instead of being grounded so much. Helping their case is the fact that the [[DesignatedHero parent]] [[UnintentionallyUnsympathetic characters]] are ludicrously strict at best, AxCrazy [[AbusiveParents abusive]] sociopaths at worst who ground, torture, or even kill them [[DisproportionateRetribution for the slightest]] [[FelonyMisdemeanor of offenses]] [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished or even for doing something good or heroic]]. Even the non-ironic, [[PeripheryHatedom baby-show-hating]] fanbase [[EveryoneHasStandards often shows sympathy for them]] when the aforementioned parent characters go too far. |
| 270 | * ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': |
| 271 | ** Some fans honestly believe that the White Fang are actually good guys. The logic: they're a civil rights movement for an oppressed ethnic minority, who just want to be respected and sometimes resort to extreme measures. They wouldn't have so many recruits willing to lay down their lives if they didn't have some merit, right?[[note]]Some of the more intense defenders even equate the Fang to real-world minority rights groups and equate supporting the Fang to supporting real-world minority rights. They consistently fail to notice or acknowledge that the real-world groups they're mentioning ''aren't'' mass-murdering terrorists.[[/note]] In reality, the Fang ''started'' as a civil rights movement and became a faunus ''supremacy'' terrorist movement, one member of the eponymous team left it for precisely that reason, the Fang murdered the family members of another [[note]]which actually increased her prejudice against Faunus, in an obvious commentary on cycles of revenge and hate[[/note]], they have no problem attacking innocent non-combatants ''including Faunus'', and at the end of Season 3, [[spoiler:they willingly participated in a literal terror attack so bad it that makes [=9/11=] look like a house of cards fell over]]. So once the Fang were done JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope, what do their defenders do? Blame bad writing, even though the Fang are clearly modeled on the many real-life political movements that fell into the same pitfalls. |
| 272 | ** There is a good portion of fans who take Ironwood's side in volumes 7 and 8, ignoring, downplaying, or justifying his actions while demonizing Team RWBY for lying to him and hiding the truth about Ozpin and Salem, accusing them as hypocrites for being angry at Ozpin for keeping it a secret while doing the same thing to Ironwood. Even when he goes off the deep end such as [[spoiler: planning to abandon and eventually threaten to bomb the city of Mantle, declaring martial law and become a dictator, ordering everyone’s arrest, shooting Oscar who tried to reason with him, executing councilman Sleet, and forcing Dr. Watts to hack into Penny who refuses to cooperate]]. The fans that don’t try to justify his actions tend to blame bad writing as their defense for how Ironwood's character was treated in the show, conveniently glossing over his numerous failings in previous volumes and the fact that his actions are pretty much expansions of his prior behavior, just driven to their logical extreme under lost sanity and suppression of his fear. |
| 273 | * A lot of people thought Zod was the best part of WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic's ''Film/ManOfSteel'', and while they know he couldn't 'win' and torture Critic to death, him getting a lazer GroinAttack defeat was a little disappointing. |
| 274 | * Some entries in the [[http://the-toast.net/series/ayn-rand-rewrites/ Ayn Rand Rewrites]] series inspire this. In ''[[http://the-toast.net/2014/08/13/ayn-rands-devil-wears-prada/ Ayn Rand's The Devil Wears Prada]]'', for example, the commenters cheer on Objectivist Andy telling her "friends" where to stick their TallPoppySyndrome. |
| 275 | * WebVideo/EscapeTheNight: While everyone is always rooting for the main cast to escape, in some challenges, the show clearly wants us to root for one character while the other character is meant to be seen as [[RedShirt cannon fodder]]. This is especially the case in season four’s rematch between [[HateSink DeStorm]] and [[TheHero Alex]]. Destorm seems to have mellowed out considerably since the last time we saw him and has become an entertaining WildCard, while Alex has become more selfish and arrogant. When Alex wins purely because of [[HeelFaceTurn DeStorm’s]] HeroicSacrifice, many fans were disappointed as Destorm’s character arc was far more interesting than Alex. |
| 276 | * If any viewers are watching a ''VideoGame/MarioParty'' session uploaded by their least favorite member of the WebVideo/PartyCrashers, either because they're the only one to upload the video or to simply check out their edit of the game, expect them to not be rooting for the original uploader. |
| 277 | [[/folder]] |
| 278 | |
| 279 | !!InUniverse Examples: |
| 280 | |
| 281 | [[folder:Fanfiction]] |
| 282 | * In ''Fanfic/TheConversionBureau'' story "A Beacon of Hope" the nation of New Athens, to the surprise of both Celestia and its founder [[DarkMessiah Socrates the Wise]], has Equestrian immigrants despite being [[DeliberateValuesDissonance deliberately engineered]] to be CrapsackOnlyByComparison and inhabited by BoomerangBigot Newfoals. |
| 283 | * In ''Fanfic/{{Eleutherophobia}}: Lost World'', Tom thinks the dinosaurs are the real heroes of ''Film/JurassicPark'' for killing most of the annoying characters. %% InUniverse |
| 284 | [[/folder]] |
| 285 | |
| 286 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 287 | * Franchise/{{Discworld}}'s Tiffany Aching had always rooted for the WickedWitch when reading fairy tales because the witches were always more interesting than the PrincessClassic heroines. Also, the witches were ''always'' dark-haired and dark-eyed like Tiffany, not blonde and blue-eyed like the princesses. |
| 288 | [[/folder]] |
| 289 | |
| 290 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 291 | * ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'': Barney apparently applies this trope to the majority of movies he's seen. He gets called out on rooting for Johnny in ''Film/TheKarateKid'' (partly because he [[ProtagonistTitleFallacy mistakenly believes he's the titular character]]), and the rest of the group bring up a plethora of movies, all of which he roots for the villain in them, including Principal Vernon in ''Film/TheBreakfastClub'', Hans in ''Film/DieHard'', and the actual [[Franchise/StarWars Empire]]. Barney also refuses to accept that the characters he roots for are villains. |
| 292 | -->'''Barney''': "Hello? [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast It's called]] Film/TheTerminator." |
| 293 | ** Later, he off-handedly references Literature/HarryPotter as the villain of his titular books, and even later he comments that [[Series/GameOfThrones Joffrey]] was "a kind and wise ruler." |
| 294 | * ''Inverted'' in ''Series/KamenRiderRevice''. [[BigBad Aguilera]] roots for Sakura to win when she's fighting the [[MonsterOfTheWeek Planaria Deadman]], even though the Deadman is on her side, having [[VillainTakesAnInterest taken an interest in Sakura]] earlier. |
| 295 | * ''Series/PressYourLuck'': Contestant Scott Haven chanted "No little red men!" when it was his turn to spin. He was obviously referring to the {{Whammy}}, but he was also repeating [[InnocentlyInsensitive an ethnic slur against Native Americans]]. In-studio audience members got so sick of him doing it, that they started chanting "Whammy! Whammy!" during his second game. When he finally hit one, the audience applauded. |
| 296 | [[/folder]] |
| 297 | |
| 298 | [[folder:Newspaper Comics ]] |
| 299 | * In ''ComicStrip/TheBoondocks'', Huey says he hated the ''Film/ThePatriot2000'' so much that he found himself wishing the British would win so he could go home. |
| 300 | * In ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'', one night when Calvin's dad is reading him a bedtime story; Calvin requested a retelling of ''Little Red Riding Hood'' where the Big Bad Wolf succeeds in eating her. When Calvin's dad suggests ''Hansel and Gretel'', Calvin says he wants the witch to eat them and then have the wolf eat the witch. Another strip had him rewrite ''Goldilocks and the Three Bears'' except [[AdaptationSpeciesChange the bears were tigers]] and they eat Goldilocks. His dad was disturbed by it. |
| 301 | * ''ComicStrip/{{Candorville}}''- Roxanne considers the villain of almost any movie to be the real hero. |
| 302 | * ''{{Drabble}}'' did an in-story version, with Norman commenting that he realized how '''very''' conservative his father was when they saw ''Franchise/StarWars'' (Episode IV, no less) and Dad was cheering for Darth Vader. |
| 303 | * Jason of ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'' also cheers for Darth Vader. [[SmallNameBigEgo He even tried to convince George Lucas to digitally insert him into the Special Edition]] as "Jason Skywalker", a new younger brother of Luke who is Force sensitive too and eventually turns to TheDarkSide. He also refers to Luke as "a fool" because ''he'' doesn't turn to the Dark Side. |
| 304 | * ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'': |
| 305 | ** Garfield roots for the monster that ate Tokyo in a movie, because "anything that eats everything can't be all bad". |
| 306 | ** When watching the movie "Franchise/{{Lassie}} Crosses the Freeway", Garfield mentions that he's rooting for the trucks. |
| 307 | ** As Jon and Garfield watch a film about a man-eating lion, we know who roots for whom. Even when the lion gets killed in the end, Garfield happily notes that he ended with a score of "Villagers: 1 Lion: 42". |
| 308 | ** In an EvilVersusEvil example, Garfield goes to the movie theater to see ''The Sludge Monster Meets Vermin Man'' [[SawStarWarsTwentySevenTimes no fewer than nine times]], always wearing Sludge Monster memorabilia and holding up a sign cheering on the Sludge Monster -- even though the Sludge Monster ''absolutely terrifies him'', to the point that he can't sleep at night for fear of being Sludged. |
| 309 | [[/folder]] |
| 310 | |
| 311 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 312 | * ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'': |
| 313 | ** Lil Hal considers [[BigBad Hal 9000]] the protagonist of ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey'', and even names himself after him. |
| 314 | * ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': |
| 315 | ** Invoked with Tarqin, who explains that he follows all of the EvilIsCool tropes to a T to provoke this sort of reaction from anyone who hears of the story, thus immortalizing him into a legend. |
| 316 | ** In a sequence referencing ''Literature/{{Dune}}'' Belkar is reading the original, and [[https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0690.html getting quite agitated]] when Baron Harkonnen's life is threatened. |
| 317 | * ''Webcomic/OnePunchMan'': |
| 318 | ** The primary reason why hero slayer Garou started his rampage. [[spoiler: When he was a kid, he always had to play the monster part in his classmates' heroes vs. monsters game which the other kids used to bully him. He therefore started to identify with the monsters rather than with the heroes which he saw as degenerated and arrogant. ]] |
| 319 | * ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'': |
| 320 | ** As seen [[https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2012/03/02 here]], Tycho roots for the zombies when watching the ''Series/TheWalkingDead''. |
| 321 | [[/folder]] |
| 322 | |
| 323 | [[folder:Web Originals]] |
| 324 | * WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick admits that she sort of wants [[EverybodyHatesHades Hades]] to win in ''{{WesternAnimation/Hercules}},'' because he (and [[DatingCatwoman Megara]], who starts as one of his {{Mooks}}) are the only characters she finds interesting. Also, being a ChildHater herself, she seems almost perplexed that ''Film/{{Matilda}}'' presents [[SadistTeacher the Trunchbull]] as an unsympathetic character. |
| 325 | * WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic: |
| 326 | ** He's prone to this when he thinks the hero of a movie needs to be killed quickly (which, given the calibre of the movies he watches, is surprisingly frequent). Best exemplified in ''Film/TheWiz'', when both the Critic ''and'' WebVideo/ToddInTheShadows think the few minutes of the Wicked Witch are fun enough that they hope she wins. |
| 327 | ** He's also had more than a few times when he's found the "hero" to be far less likable or otherwise worse than the "villain", like in ''Film/{{Flubber}}'' where he firmly believes the ''villain'' would be the better husband for the {{Love Interest|s}} because he would at least be there for her and actually seems to treat her quite well despite being a diabolical mastermind, unlike Professor Brainard who has stood her up at the altar ''four times'' now and is so careless and devoted to his work that he's not once shown any qualities that imply he's a good husband. |
| 328 | ** Similarly, he is ''firmly'' on the side of the "evil" establishment of old-school doctors in ''Film/PatchAdams''. While he admits they are humorless asswipes, he'd still rather have a humorless jerk who coldly treats his ailment and moves on rather than the overly emotional clown that Patch was being. Even after being informed by fans that bedside manner back then really was terrible and a hell of a lot worse than it is now (read: non-existent), he ''still'' feels that Patch went too far the other way and, if given the choice of one or the other, that he'd still take the asshole doctor. |
| 329 | --->'''Critic:''' But I'm sorry. If choosing my doctors comes between this... |
| 330 | --->'''Doctor:''' Stabilize the blood sugar. Consider antibiotics. Possibly amputation. |
| 331 | --->'''Critic:''' ...and this... |
| 332 | --->(A clip of Patch flailing around and slamming repeatedly into a window) |
| 333 | --->'''Critic:''' I'm choosing the amputate guy! I don't trust him with a saw! |
| 334 | * Creator/AllisonPregler: |
| 335 | ** She finds herself siding with the mutant frogs in the ''[[Film/HellComesToFrogtown Frogtown]]'' series. |
| 336 | ** For ''Vampire Assassin'', she played the "Lonely Man" music from ''Series/TheIncredibleHulk1977'' when "Vampire Hulk" gets staked. |
| 337 | ** She was actually pulling for Radu for all four films; even as he became less and less violent, and more like an Creator/AnneRice character. |
| 338 | ** Radu automatically does this with every film he reviews. |
| 339 | ** Gimli coming at Golddigger with a garden hose. (''Robot in the Family'') |
| 340 | --->"Yes, YES, kill it!! John Rhys-Davies, you're my hero!" |
| 341 | ** Radu interprets Tommy Wiseau as the true demon in ''The House That Drips Blood on Alex''. |
| 342 | ** The only person on ''Series/SesameStreet'' she can even tolerate is Oscar, who really ''speaks'' to her. |
| 343 | ** In her ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'' reviews, she considers the Charmed Ones (particularly Phoebe) to be {{Designated Hero}}es. It gets to the point where, in Season 4, she says, "It makes you root for the Source of All Evil because he seems nice in comparison." In season 6, during the high school reunion episode, the AlphaBitch calls Phoebe a selfish whore to her face in as catty a manner as possible, and Lupa can't actually argue against it. In the same season, they're put on trial for misuse of magic. A recurring antagonist, Barbas, prosecutes them ''so effectively'' that they're almost convicted... and he's basically ''just repeating everything Lupa has said through her review of the series.'' |
| 344 | * In his "[[http://duckyworth.deviantart.com/art/Top-15-Characters-I-Hate-In-Films-I-Like-EXTENDED-423373717 Top 15 Characters I Hate In Films I Like]]" list, Duckyworth admits that, for ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'', he couldn't stand his personal [[TheScrappy scrappy]], Vanellope Von Schweetz, due to her screeching voice. Hence, he rooted for [[spoiler:King Candy/Turbo to crash into the wall and kill her]], and when [[spoiler:he captured and forced Ralph to "watch [Vanellope] die together" by the [[ZergRush cybug swarm]], he thought 'Yes... devour that sickly sweet shrieking schmuck, you Cybugs...']]. |
| 345 | * WebVideo/{{Phelous}} is pretty sure in his reviews of ''Crocodile'' (2000) and ''Film/Crocodile2DeathSwamp'' that we're supposed to be rooting for the crocodiles. Or maybe Princess the dog, when he thinks she's constantly luring the humans to the croc on purpose. |
| 346 | * ''Website/SFDebris'': in Franchise/StarTrek series, Chuck Sonnenberg tends to believe that usually the StrawmanHasAPoint in bad episodes and/or seasons, and are thus the good guys and he is rooting for them (with double points if their plan succeeding would involve a sudden lack of Neelix). It gets to the point where he has to specify that for "The Measure Of A Man" he has ''no'' interest in defending Bruce Maddox as the hero against the early-season [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration TNG]] cast because Maddox is ''just that much of an asshole''. |
| 347 | * When [[WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall Linkara]], [[WebVideo/BadMovieBeatdown Film Brain]] and [[WebVideo/WhattheFuckisWrongWithYou Nash]] review the failed ''Series/WonderWoman2011Pilot'', they quickly find themselves agreeing with the [[DesignatedVillain story antagonists]] who come across as level-headed and reasonable while Wonder Woman herself is rash, impulsive, openly violent and flaunts her disdain for the law at every possible chance. Her callous murder of a security guard pretty much cements their opinion that the "villains" are merely acting out of self-defense at this point. |
| 348 | * Every single person that has reviewed ''WesternAnimation/TheGroovenians'', which includes [[WebVideo/HewysAnimatedMovieReviews Hewy Toonmore]], Rowdy C, [[WebVideo/TheMysteriousMrEnter Mr. Enter]] and WebVideo/TheCartoonHero, found themselves siding with Norman the Normal and his claim that the Groovenians and their friends can't expect to just party and create art all the time without having to pay for the resources they use. |
| 349 | * [[WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation Yahtzee]] has expressed this opinion when reviewing games with [[TheScrappy unlikable protagonists]] or in modern military shooters a.k.a. [[InsistentTerminology Spunkgargleweewee]] that feature overly militaristic [[DesignatedHero "good guys".]] |
| 350 | -->'''Yahtzee:''' Aww, bless. Is the mean old foreigner trying to take away your infinite supply of poor, innocent, [[KillerRobot remorseless kill-droids]]? ''Boo hoo, [[ComicBook/DoctorDoom Doctor fucking Doom]]!'' |
| 351 | * The point of view character in the ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'' machinima series, ''WebAnimation/FalloutLoreTheStoryteller'', is quite proud of the directions that the Brotherhood of Steel has taken, despite the fact that most fans consider the Brotherhood to have TookALevelInJerkass to the point of becoming ''villains'' since ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}''. |
| 352 | * ''[[WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment Spoony]]'' repeatedly finds himself rooting for the evil military in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', noting that while they ''are'' ultimately wrong they're portrayed surprisingly sympathetically in that they're genuinely trying to protect civilians, are opposed to wholesale slaughter and prefer non-violent tactics when possible, and are at worst ObliviouslyEvil who don't realize they've been misguided into evil. It's made worse by how, by comparison, he finds the protagonists to be [[DesignatedHero much worse]] despite their ultimate goal of saving the world, as they have no problem with collateral damage, terrifying and attacking civilians, and even go out of their way to kill as many soldiers as possible [[ItAmusedMe for fun]] even when just leaving would have been the more effective tactic. |
| 353 | [[/folder]] |
| 354 | |
| 355 | [[folder:WesternAnimation]] |
| 356 | * In ''WesternAnimation/{{Undergrads}}'' Rocko, ever obsessed with college stereotypes, decides he wants to spark a rivalry between Central State Junior Community College and State University by showing up to their games in a CSJCC hoodie and beating the crap out of the [[{{Mascot}} State U Manatee]]. However the State U students hate that [[TheScrappy stupid manatee]] and instead end up cheering on the "[[FanNickname Crazy Beatin' Guy]]" for showing up and beating him up at every game, much to Rocko's chagrin and frustration. |
| 357 | -->'''Rocko:''' Don't cheer me on, goddammit! ''HATE ME!'' I just beat up your crappy manatee! ''AGAIN!!!'' |
| 358 | * In the ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' episode "All the News", Jim and Tim are fans of the episode's villain (who previously had an extreme stunts show until it was revealed she'd been faking everything) and root for her when she televises her fight with Kim, earning a scolding from their dad. |
| 359 | -->''"Jim, Tim, there will be no rooting for your sister's foe."'' |
| 360 | [[/folder]] |
| 361 |
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