Line #26 Main/TheDogBitesBack


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3	%%This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks!
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7	%%Image moved here from KarmicDeath per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1488642469010459300
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10	[[quoteright:349:[[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/scar_death.png]]]]
11	[[caption-width-right:349:In which TheHunterBecomesTheHunted.]]
12
13	->''"I will treat any beast which I control through magic or technology with respect and kindness. Thus if the control is ever broken, it will not immediately come after me for revenge."''
14	-->-- EvilOverlordList, Rule #48
15
16	When the {{villain}} is dispatched by an abused member of "their" side once an opportunity for revenge presents itself.
17
18	It's all gone to hell. [[CollapsingLair The base is collapsing about your ears]], your EvilPlan is [[OutGambitted unraveling]], the heroes are lining up for the HumiliationConga -- what else could go wrong?
19
20	Enter Bob. He's the {{mook}} you humiliated, the hostage you locked up, the politician you blackmailed, the scientist whose invention you stole. [[ButForMeItWasTuesday You may even have forgotten]] just [[KickTheDog what you did]] to Bob, but ''he'' hasn't forgotten, and he'll be more than happy to remind you...
21
22	Unlike the BastardUnderstudy and TheStarscream, Bob attacks the BigBad as a crime of opportunity. There is no danger that he will take over the villain's place in the grand scheme of things, though he might give the heroes [[TrueFinalBoss one last fight]]. Nor will Bob [[MookFaceTurn come over to the side of good]], even if he [[RedemptionEqualsDeath dies in the process of killing the villain]], because his motive is not noble: if Bob is an innocent victim, he's only out for {{revenge}}; if Bob is evil, he was fine with all of the BigBad's crimes except the one committed against ''him''.
23
24	[[IControlMyMinionsThrough In short, when a villain has underlings who aren't willing or loyal]], there's no reason for them ''not'' to pile on when his doom is certain.
25
26	Bob can also [[MurderByInaction betray the Big Bad passively]] by [[GiveMeASword deliberately NOT helping]] when his wounded and powerless master calls for aid. This can sometimes feature an IronicEcho if Bob uses the Big Bad's own VillainousDemotivator lines as the reason he can't step in.
27
28	Especially likely for the villain who [[ItsAllAboutMe doesn't give a damn about anyone but themselves]].
29
30	TheMole and/or FakeDefector may launch similar attacks, for similar motives, but in their case, the attack was planned, or else the plan was to look for such openings. Losing control of a {{Tykebomb}} or a PsychoForHire may result in this as well. Can result from a backfired attempt at BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil.
31
32	One use of this trope is to spare the hero from the burden of personally dispatching the villain, similar to a DisneyVillainDeath or BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork. The hero may have tipped the balance, but ultimately the villain was brought down by the toxic work environment [[SelfDisposingVillain that he himself created]].
33
34	Often occurs in the form of BodyguardBetrayal. Can lead to someone refusing an order they normally would obey and saying ItsNotAboutTheRequest. For situations where the abused character defects to the hero's side, see MistreatmentInducedBetrayal. Subtrope of HoistByHisOwnPetard and KarmicDeath. See also NiceToTheWaiter. If the dog biting back does some puppy-kicking of its own, it's HeWhoFightsMonsters. If it's a pack biting back it's LaResistance, and TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized if they fall into evil themselves. If the hero deliberately leaves the villain at the mercy of his former henchmen, it's DoWithHimAsYouWill. If the villain's original motivation is that the ones he served mistreated ''him'', it's ThenLetMeBeEvil or even WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds.
35
36	'''As a {{Death Trope\|s}}, more than one {{Spoiler}} will be unmarked ahead. Beware.'''
37	----
38	!!Example Subpages:
39
40	[[index]]
41	* TheDogBitesBack/AnimeAndManga
42	* TheDogBitesBack/ComicBooks
43	* TheDogBitesBack/FanWorks
44	* [[TheDogBitesBack/AnimatedFilms Films — Animation]]
45	* [[TheDogBitesBack/LiveActionFilms Films — Live-Action]]
46	* TheDogBitesBack/{{Literature}}
47	* TheDogBitesBack/LiveActionTV
48	* TheDogBitesBack/VideoGames
49	* TheDogBitesBack/WebComics
50	* TheDogBitesBack/WebOriginal
51	* TheDogBitesBack/WesternAnimation
52	[[/index]]
53
54	!!Other Examples:
55	[[foldercontrol]]
56	[[folder:Asian Animation]]
57	* Happens quite literally in the ''Animation/{{Lamput}}'' episode "Doc Dog", where Fat Doc and Slim Doc train a big dog to go after Lamput, which gets distracted when Lamput disguises himself as a female dog. Then the docs try to get his attention by grabbing his love interest, causing Lamput the "dog" to [[CrocodileTears pretend to cry]]. The big dog gets angry at the docs for messing with his crush and chases after them for it.
58	[[/folder]]
59
60	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
61	* Most of the humor from ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'' comes from the titular fat cat playing pranks on, or downright abusing, Jon and Odie. To break the monotony, Creator/JimDavis [[WordOfGod has admitted]] that from time to time he'll include a strip where Jon, Odie, or both, will pull a fast one on Garfield.
62	* ''ComicStrip/ModestyBlaise'': Kang, the BigBad in "Death Symbol", is killed when he stumbles unarmed into the quarters of the {{Sex Slave}}s he has been keeping and abusing. A dozen girls dog pile on top of him and smother him to death.
63	* One ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' story arc had Charlie Brown finally having enough of the Kite-Eating Tree eating his kites and taking a big bite out of the tree. This ended up getting him in trouble with the EPA.
64	[[/folder]]
65
66	[[folder:Fairy Tales]]
67	* In "Literature/GraciosaAndPercinet," Princess Graciosa's WickedStepmother Grognon calls on a fairy to give Graciosa impossible tasks. With help from Prince Percinet, Graciosa completes them all, and Grognon gets so angry at the fairy that she would have killed her if it was possible. At the end, the fairy realizes she has been punishing Graciosa and [[NeckSnap snaps]] [[KarmicDeath Grognon's neck]] for her trouble.
68	[[/folder]]
69
70	[[folder:Folklore]]
71	* One {{urban legend\|s}} is about an interior decorator doing work for a wealthy couple. Unfortunately, the couple's [[MisterMuffykins yappy little dog]] is constantly pestering him. One day, he trips and spills some paint on an expensive rug. To get out of having to pay for it and get some revenge on the dog, [[{{frameup}} he rolls it in the spilled paint to make it seem like the dog was responsible]].
72	[[/folder]]
73
74	[[folder:Jokes]]
75	* So this little guy goes into a bar. There's one seat left at the end, and he takes it. Enter this big, body-building guy who looks like he could bench-press a truck. He walks up to the little guy, and says, "Hey! You're in my seat!" "Sorry, sir," says the little guy, "but I was here first. So unless you have a very good reason--" The big guy goes into a martial arts stance. "Tae Kwon Do from Korea!" the big guy interrupts. And WHAM! He knocks the little guy to the floor and takes the seat. The next day, the little guy comes into a bar, with his head bandaged. There's one seat left at the end of the bar; he takes it. Enter the big guy, who goes up to the little guy. "Didn't I tell you that's my seat? Kung fu from China!" WHAM! The little guy gets knocked to the floor again. The next day, the little guy doesn't show up. The big guy comes in. There's one seat left at the end of the bar. He takes it; he's happy. Enter the little guy, with his head bandaged and one arm in a sling. He walks up to the big guy, and with his good arm... "[[CrowbarCombatant Crowbar]] from Sears!" WHAM!
76	[[/folder]]
77
78	[[folder:Music]]
79	* [[Music/BadHairDay "I Remember Larry"]], by Music/WeirdAlYankovic, is about a cruel prankster who torments the narrator incessantly. The narrator eventually snaps and takes his revenge by breaking into Larry's house at night, dragging him BoundAndGagged into the middle of the woods, stuffing him into a plastic bag, and leaving him for dead.
80	-->If the cops ever find him, who knows what they'll say?\
81	But I'm sure if old Lar were still with us today\
82	He would have to agree with me\
83	[[{{Pun}} It was a pretty good gag!]]
84	* On "The Opheliac Companion", Music/EmilieAutumn says that the song "Liar" could also be called "What The Fucking Dog Did." See the quotes page for her explanation of this trope.
85	* "Goodbye Earl" by the Music/DixieChicks is about a woman who gets together with her best friend to kill her abusive husband.
86	* "Janie's Got a Gun" by Music/{{Aerosmith}} is about a girl who kills her father after years of abuse.
87	* "Lily, Rosemary And The Jack Of Hearts" by Music/BobDylan.
88	* Music/BruceSpringsteen's anti-corporate song "Death to my Hometown" describes the plight of a town left economically ruined by {{Corrupt Corporate Executive}}s and {{Morally Bankrupt Banker}}s. At one point Springsteen exhorts the townspeople to "Blow the robber barons straight to Hell," and at the very end of the song, we hear what sounds like guns cocking, then firing, implying they may have taken his advice.
89	* Literally in MasonWilliams' "The Prince's Panties", in that the "panties" are the prince's dogs, that he mistreats.
90	* "No More Pushing Joe Around" by Music/DanielJohnston seems to be about a man who's fed up with the world and decides to fight back.
91	-->''No more pushing Joe around\
92	No more pushing Joe around\
93	There'll be no more pushing Joe around\
94	He's up and punching now''
95	* "16 Miles" by Music/EgoLikeness is about a woman fleeing across a wilderness after killing her [[DomesticAbuse abusive husband]].
96	* The music video for "Radioactive" by Music/ImagineDragons shows a girl entering an underground living plush doll fighting ring in order to rescue the band from a dungeon (where the owner of the ring frequently throws the dolls into via a trapdoor). After the girl's pink teddy bear knocks out the undefeated champion and vaporizes a couple of the workers, most of the people flee the ring, the girl takes the key from the owner and throws him into his own trap door. The end of the video has the owner waking up in the middle of a cell, surrounded by plush dolls approaching him. We hear a BigNo as the screen fades to black...
97	* "Jenni's Song" by [[Music/MatthewGood Matthew Good Band]] tells the story of a girl who "killed her dad with her car." Readers of Good's manifesto "The Night Opus" will recognize Jenni as his real-life ex-girlfriend, who did indeed pin her alcoholic father to his garage wall after years of physical and sexual abuse.
98	* Music/{{Nickelback}}: The last portion of "Never Again":
99	-->He's [[TheAlcoholic drunk again]], it's time to fight\
100	Same old shit, just on a different night\
101	She grabs the gun, she's had enough\
102	Tonight she'll find out how fuckin' tough is this man\
103	Pulls the trigger fast as she can\
104	NEVER AGAIN!
105	* "Coward of the County", sung by Music/KennyRogers, tells of a young man named Tommy who refuses all fights on the deathbed advice of his father (who wanted his son to stay out of the kind of trouble he'd gotten himself into) and is considered "yellow" by everyone as a result. That is, until his wife is raped by a trio of brothers, who Tommy takes violent revenge on.
106	* Music/PinkFloyd's [[Music/{{Animals1977}} "Sheep"]] has its Psalm 23 parody opening with how the sheep are led to slaughter, but the final lines are them grouping up to gang up on the pigs and dogs instead:
107	-->When cometh the day we lowly ones\
108	Through quiet reflection and great dedication\
109	Master the art of karate\
110	Lo, we shall rise up\
111	And then we'll make the bugger's eyes water
112	* Music/BulletForMyValentine's "Waking the Demon" is about someone biding their time before getting revenge on those who mistreated them. The music video goes into greater detail, as the bullying victim is shown counting down the days on his calendar in-between getting tormented by a JerkJock and his friends. It turns out that he's a werewolf, and he was waiting for a full moon to lure the bully into the woods so he can take his revenge.
113	[[/folder]]
114
115	[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
116	* For years, Virgil has been the mostly silent bodyguard to the Million Dollar Man Wrestling/TedDiBiase. He did whatever his boss wanted and took scores of abuse both from opponents and [=DiBiase=] himself. At the 1991 Royal Rumble, after making a simple mistake hitting his boss by accident, Virgil gets beat down by [=DiBiase=] and tossed out of the ring. After the match, [=DiBiase=] gets on the mic to demand Virgil come in and wrap his Million Dollar Belt around his boss's waist. Virgil enters with the belt...and drops it at [=DiBiase's=] feet. [=DiBiase=] snaps at Virgil to do it, reminding him how the man's mother owes so much to this job. As Virgil leans down to get the belt, [=DiBiase=] turns to laugh at the crowd...and as he turns around, Virgil leaps up and nails him in the face with the title, causing the crowd to erupt.
117	* Decade's goal in Wrestling/RingOfHonor started out as making sure people who walked out on the company but came back were not "rewarded" for it, but this gradually degenerated into breaking "rookies" (basically anyone with less time in pro wrestling than BJ Whitmer, Wrestling/JimmyJacobs or Wrestling/RoderickStrong, especially ROH trainees or recent graduates), and in the process, they lost the respect of Cedric Alexander, who has been their most persistently encountered resistance.
118	* Wrestling/{{Cody\|Rhodes}} was initially a loyal member of Wrestling/BulletClub when he was first recruited and even when he was promoted to replace TheStarScream Wrestling/AdamCole as the ROH World Champion. Cody's own shift into being The Starscream to Wrestling/KennyOmega came when he caught Omega making unwanted advances towards Cody's wife. Despite his open power grabs in defiance of Omega from that point, Cody has made it clear he does not want to be the leader for its own sake but to get rid of Omega specifically. Despite this, the Tongans Wrestling/GuerrillasOfDestiny and Bad Luck Fale turned on both Kenny and Cody's Bullet Club splinters, being tired of disfunction the group had been in since Kenny ousted Wrestling/AJStyles, leading to an EnemyCivilWar.
119	* In an episode of Wrestling/WWESmackDown, Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin called The Alliance to the ring and assured them that he can still be trusted, despite Vince [=McMahon=] telling everybody that Austin would betray the Alliance. Reluctantly, the members of the group were obliged to believe him. Except for Tazz. Given how he has been a [[ButtMonkey target for Stone cold's beat downs,]] Tazz finally tells him that [[ZeroPercentApprovalRating the Alliance doesn't like him]], [[BadBoss that he's a poor leader]] and that the Alliance shouldn't trust Austin. He doesn't take the humiliation well and [[AllForNothing attacks Tazz as a result.]]
120	[[/folder]]
121
122	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
123	* ''TabletopGame/{{Chronopia}}'': The One King united humanity as the Firstborn, to ensure that they would never be enslaved by the other races again(this includes the elves, the dwarves, and the Blackbloods).
124	* In ''TabletopGame/GeniusTheTransgression'', a [[TheIgor Beholden]] who has been abused enough, or a moral Beholden told to do immoral things, gets to make a check to break free of their condition. A successful check means they're no longer dependent on their master and are free to take out their anger on him.
125	* In ''TabletopGame/MyLifeWithMaster'', the player characters are [[TheIgor the grotesque lackeys]] of a MadScientist, EvilOverlord, or other villains who are trying to work up the nerve to defy (and hopefully kill) their cruel Master.
126	* This is one of the points of the Refinement of Stannum in ''TabletopGame/PrometheanTheCreated''. Stannum is the refinement of revenge, and those who take it up are frequently those Prometheans who have grown exhausted of being kicked around. Exemplifying this is that, unlike most refinements, which take a month to switch to without a tutor, a Promethean can take up Stannum just by ''saying'' "I take up Stannum" - although it takes twice as long to move away from it.
127	* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'':
128	** A crazed Cardinal named Bucharis was a ruthless tyrant who conquered entire systems from the Imperium. When his empire started to fall apart billions of people began to revolt against him, he was eventually cornered, and the rebels tore him to pieces with their bare hands.
129	** Commissars have the reputation of being trigger-happy bastards who keep guardsmen from fleeing by making them fear the Commissar behind them even more. These types of Commissars tend to be [[UnfriendlyFire shot by their own men, run over with a]] {{tank\|Goodness}} [[UnfriendlyFire pushed into a deathtrap, left to die or many other unpleasant fates.]] The only way a commissar can survive long enough to get their peaked cap is by learning to be either [[ProperlyParanoid properly paranoid]], [[FatherToHisMen gain their loyalty/respect]], or a mixture of both. It's even a rule on the tabletop. A unit that's been taken over by a Commissar after a failed Morale check gets a boost to its Leadership stat, but if it fails ''another'' Morale check despite the boost, the Commissar is removed from play. This is meant to represent the Commissar trying to shoot someone to maintain morale only for the rest of the squad to ''shoot back''.
130	** In Ork society, the pint-sized Gretchin are treated as little more than gum on the shoe of their bigger, Orky brethren. Unless they undergo a transformation into a [[MiniMecha Killa Kan]]. The first thing a good 99% of new Killa Kan pilots do is find their least favorite Ork, and exact some sweet revenge.
131	* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy'':
132	** Twice over in the case of Vilitch the Curseling. TheUnfavorite of his parent's children, he was beaten by his much stronger brother Thomin and abused by the rest of his village and prayed to Tzeentch that their fortunes be reversed. Tzeentch granted his prayer by fusing him with his brother as unnatural ConjoinedTwins and draining Thomin's mind to add to his intelligence, rendering him a BigDumbBody for Vilitch. Many years later after getting stuck in the Realm of Chaos he was confused to be suddenly transported to Tzeentch's realm as he had not requested help, only for the brother he'd thought a mindless shell to speak and reveal that he did before Tzeentch reverses their fates again, wiping out Vilitch's mind and giving control of their body back to Thomin.
133	[[/folder]]
134
135	[[folder:Theatre]]
136	* God bless Emilia of ''Theatre/{{Othello}}'' fame, exposing her husband Iago for the scum he is. True, it doesn't turn out well for her, but considering she knew how he would react, she's definitely badass. She even has a smaller one ''before'' that, when she tells Iago off for thinking that she'd cheat on him with Othello. Keep in mind that Iago is a paranoid bugger who spends most of the play suspecting everyone of sleeping with his wife. Emilia is the only person who actually realizes and confronts him about this.
137	[[/folder]]
138
139	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
140	* ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}'':
141	** ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'': [[TheBully Hiyoko Saionji]] spends most of her screentime bullying [[ShrinkingViolet Mikan Tsumiki]] (and to a lesser extend Kazuichi Souda). [[spoiler: Come the third chapter Hiyoko is found dead and guess who is the killer this time around? Granted this is all downplayed because Mikan kills Hiyoko because [[SheKnowsTooMuch she walked in on her murdering Ibuki Mioda]] and not as a revenge for the bullying, although the method she uses is somewhat karmic: silencing her forever by slashing her throat and then turning the knot of her obi around to the front of her kimono, as that's how prostitutes used to wear them as it made it easier to take them on and off, which is translated as [[DesecratingTheDead Mikan non-verbally calling Hiyoko a "trashy skank"]], which was one of Hiyoko's favorite insults for Mikan.]]
142	** ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'':
143	*** One of the Monokubs, Monodam, is said to have closed off his heart to others thanks to Monokid bullying him so much. Guess who the first Monokub is to die and who causes it? More specifically [[spoiler: Monodam shoves Monokid into the iron maiden used to snuff out Kaede's lights]].
144	*** [[spoiler:Shuichi Saihara is one dog that bites back hard to Tsumugi, Monokuma, and the audience themselves in Chapter 6, by ending [[ImmoralRealityShow Danganronpa]] forever.]]
145	*** [[spoiler:In Chapter 4 Miu, having finally got tired of both Kokichi's constant abuse and her status as TheFriendNobodyLikes, decides to kill Kokichi and graduate at the cost of everyone else's lives [[NeedsOfTheMany (in addition to genuinely wanting to help the outside world with her inventions)]]. Sadly, Kokichi notices her murder plan and manipulates another student into killing her before she can get back at him.]]
146	* Sakura Matou in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight''. Her target is awesome, she's the love interest here and a good guy. But she seems to enjoy [[spoiler: beheading Shinji Matou with pure magic or ripping Zouken Matou out of her heart, gloating and then crushing him]] a ''little'' too much for it to be 'heroic'. Plus the whole [[spoiler:'[[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds stealing the show and becoming an apocalypse in the form of a teenage girl]]']] thing. By that point, she's clearly ''not'' heroic [[spoiler:(the 'killing Shinji' bit is where she ceases to be, even if he deserved it)]]. She's also clearly not herself, and the rest of the route consists of Shirou and (eventually) Rin trying to save her from the darkness that is consuming her.
147	* In [=ClockUp=]'s ''Fraternite'', [[spoiler: Shion finally turns the tables on her bullies, which takes place later in the True Ending route.]]
148	* ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'':
149	** The first victim in [[spoiler: Shion]]'s RoaringRampageOfRevenge in the Cotton Drifting and Eye Opening chapters is [[spoiler: Onryu]], her grandmother. Given the cruel treatment she suffered for much of her life, it's quite deserved.
150	** In the special ''Dice Killing Arc'', [[spoiler: Rika]] finds herself in a world where [[spoiler: Satoko]] isn't her best friend but rather a SpoiledBrat and a bully who likes to make her life miserable. [[spoiler: Rika]] puts up with it for a while, but finally reaches her breaking point and proceeds to beat [[spoiler: Satoko]] with a chair over and over again.
151	* ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'':
152	** Rosa Ushiromiya succeeds in the arduous task of being both the executive and the receiving part of this trope thanks to her status as TroubledAbuser; although for the most part she literally is the punching bag of both the Meta-World creatures and her family, in some moments of the various episodes she is given the fleeting chance to redeem herself against her older siblings, something that she doesn't think twice about making good use of it. Meanwhile, the verbal, physical and psychological abuse of her daughter Maria perpetrated by her as an outlet does not spare her from being horribly and sadistically punished for all of her sins as a mother in the Meta-World.
153	* ''Manga/TheUnforgivingFlowersBlossomInTheDeadOfNight'': In both the visual novel and the manga, Marie's first attempt at standing up to the sexually, physically, and emotionally abusive Kanamori [[spoiler: only gets her killed.]] However, after they are both[[spoiler: tested to see who will become the new Mesomeso-san and Kanamori fails, Marie as Mesomeso-san brutally pays him back in kind.]]
154	* ''VisualNovel/SuperDanganronpaAnother2'': [[spoiler: [[EvilTwin Kanade Otonokoji]] turns out to have been terrorizing her twin sister Hibiki ever since childhood, murdering everyone Hibiki held dear to have her all to herself, and eventually manipulating her into killing [[CoolBigSis Setsuka Chiebukuro]] along with her. During the two's joint execution, Hibiki wastes no time braining Kanade with a microphone and attempting to escape in exchange for killing her sister]].
155	[[/folder]]

Context Main / TheDogBitesBack