Line #14 PlayingWith/SociopathicHero


1	'''Basic Trope''': TheSociopath who fights for the good guys.
2	* '''Straight''': Sam Sadist is an AntiHero who is [[LackOfEmpathy incapable of empathising with others]], nor does he care about his actions towards humanity as a whole. He is [[TheSociopath smug, prideful, hedonistic, manipulative, and exploitative]]. Nevertheless, he's fighting for the greater good alongside the heroes.
3	* '''Exaggerated''': Sam Sadist is downright sociopathic to the point where he will kill anyone [[ForTheEvulz because he can]], but is [[DesignatedHero still considered a hero.]]
4	* '''Downplayed''':
5	** PayEvilUntoEvil
6	** Sam Sadist is a rough and outright psychopathic at times [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold but is truly friendly to his comrades]] [[FauxAffablyEvil unless you're his foe.....]]
7	** Sam Sadist is a {{Moral Sociopath\|y}}.
8	** GoodIsNotNice
9	** NominalHero
10	* '''Justified''':
11	** Sam only does good things because he [[ItAmusedMe needed some amusement.]]
12	** Sam is a MoralPragmatist avoiding landing himself in prison for the rest of his life.
13	** Sam is a WellIntentionedExtremist.
14	** Sam is out for some revenge against his enemies from the past. [[ItsPersonal It's just a matter of personal importance to him.]]
15	** GoodIsNotNice
16	** BlackAndGrayMorality is in effect.
17	** Sam's sociopathy IS his good trait.
18	** Most of Sam's victims were ''huge'' AssholeVictims.
19	* '''Inverted''':
20	** NobleDemon
21	** AllLovingHero
22	* '''Subverted''':
23	** Sam later drops the "hero" part and betrays his team to work for [[{{Supervillain}} Nicholas Nefarious]]' crime ring.
24	** Sam has a PetTheDog moment proving that he's actually does care, he's just a particularly cynical KnightInSourArmor with a very dark sense of humor.
25	** On closer inspection, Sam is not [[{{Pride}} prideful]], [[TheHedonist hedonistic]], or [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative]], which means he doesn't qualify for the "[[TheSociopath sociopathic]]" part of this trope.
26	* '''Double Subverted''':
27	** Ultimately, it turns out that Sam was a FakeDefector and a mole who infiltrated Nick's crime ring to bring it down from the inside.
28	** One moment of being nice from Sam is about as rare as every single "[[CueTheFlyingPigs extremely rare event]]" situation in pop culture happening at the exact same time. It’s not as reassuring as Sam thinks.
29	-->'''[[OnlySaneMan Bill Smith]]''': How is it that the dudes [[Series/DoctorWho of the BBC]] wrote it? Yeah, right: "You let one of them go, but that’s nothing new. Every now and then, a little victim’s spared because she smiled, because he’s got freckles, because they begged. And that’s how you live with yourself. That’s how you slaughter millions. Because once in a while, on a whim, if the wind’s in the right direction, you happen to be kind".
30	** The fact that Sam Sadist is only a "sociopath" in the hyperbolic sense of the word is not really that reassuring to the general audience, considering how monstrously insensitive he is when he is ''not'' trying to kill you.
31	* '''Parodied''': HeroicComedicSociopath.
32	* '''Zig Zagged''': Sam is a MoodSwinger. On a good day, he is an AllLovingHero who [[PetTheDog gives sweets to kids and caresses little kittens]]; on a bad day, well...
33	* '''Averted''':
34	** Sam is a hero with no sociopathic traits.
35	** Sam is a sociopathic villain ''and'' isn't going to have a HeelFaceTurn.
36	* '''Enforced''': "How do we make it clear to audience that [[GoodIsNotNice good guys ain't always the gentlest ones]]?"
37	* '''Lampshaded''':
38	** "[[TokenEvilTeammate Tell me why is this guy on our side?]]"
39	** Upon being called out for something questionable, Sam answers with "Being a hero and being a good guy are two separate things."
40	* '''Invoked''': When Bob is recruiting for his team, he intentionally recruits a sociopath because he needs someone to take care of the DirtyBusiness.
41	* '''Defied''':
42	** Sam makes a genuine effort to become a better person.
43	** The first thing [[BigGood Saint]] [[KnightTemplar Dinkleberry]] does right after hiring Sam is to MindRape some humanity into his brain. And for the inevitable "[[PygmalionSnapBack Sam gets 'fixed' and decides to seek revenge]]" situation, [[CrazyPrepared a little extra insurance]] in the form of [[WhyAmITicking a brain bomb]] wired to go off if/when it detects any sociopathic thoughts.
44	** The team refuses to hire Sam and make sure to blacklist him (from both hero ''and'' villain hiring agencies) until he gets a damn boost in his empathy rating.
45	* '''Exploited''': Sam's teammates threaten to hand enemies over to him if they don't cooperate.
46	* '''Discussed''': [[SarcasmMode "You look like you're acting VERY empathic, Sam."]]
47	* '''Conversed''': "This new guy on the team is so damn anti-social and proud of it. I bet he's the soon-to-be SixthRangerTraitor." "We'll have to wait for the next episode and see."
48	* '''Played For Laughs''': HeroicComedicSociopath.
49	* '''Played For Drama''': Sam's attitude and methods cause [[TheIdealist Bob]] to [[WhatTheHellHero eventually snap at Sam]] and tell him to ditch his sociopath tendencies or GetOut. This creates friction between the two as the team tries to deal with the BigBad.
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51	Back to SociopathicHero
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53	%% Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion:
54	%%
55	%%* '''Implied''': ???
56	%%* '''Deconstructed''': ???

Context PlayingWith / SociopathicHero