Line #42 RootingForTheEmpire/WesternAnimation


1	!!RealLife Examples:
2	* The villains from ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'' were popular even before YouTubePoop caught on. In a similar vein, Eggman from ''WesternAnimation/SonicBoom'' is also popular among the fanbase.
3	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}}'': The Piltover council is run by politicians that are either corrupt or outright stupid (with the exception of Heimerdinger, who instead is oblivious to all of this and out of touch with real human problems), the Piltover police routinely harass the residents of the {{Undercity}}, and the city dumps all their garbage there. It's not hard for fans to think Silco's ruthlessness is justified in the cause of turning the Undercity into an independent nation of Zaun, especially when taking his tragic backstory into account. [[spoiler:[[TheExtremistWasRight His methods end up working]], and Jayce also tries to push for Zaun independence and Silco's other demands]].
4	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'':
5	** Some fans support [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized the Equalists]] stripping all [[ElementalPowers benders]] of their abilities as the only way to put [[TallPoppySyndrome all people on a level playing field]] and end the oppression of non-benders, even if the benders themselves don't consent to the procedure. Debates on whether or not bending is an intrinsic part of a person and the show's civilization/culture, and if what the Equalists are attempting is a fantastical form of mutilation or not, can get quite heated. The show itself is [[ALighterShadeOfGrey a bit grey on the issue]], showing that some benders ''can'' be oppressive but also portraying the process of benders being unwillingly stripped of their powers as analogous to rape. It gets much easier to call them bad guys after episode 6, where [[spoiler:they bomb the pro-bending arena]] and in episode 7 where [[spoiler:they attack innocent civilians and kidnap the metal bending police]]. Complicating matters is that some corrupt benders [[spoiler:namely representative Tarrlok]] feel that rounding up all non-bending individuals, Equalist or not, and imprisoning them, is a perfect way to neutralize the threat.
6	** In Season 3 many fans root for the [[BigBadDuumvirate Big Bad Quadrumvirate]] of [[Characters/TheLegendOfKorraZaheer Zaheer]], P'Li, Ming Hua, and Ghazan, who prove themselves endearing because of their [[VillainousFriendship obvious rapport with one another]] and [[AmbiguouslyEvil arguably sympathetic motives]], as well as being [[EvilIsCool just plain cool]].
7	** Many fans consider [[Characters/TheLegendOfKorraKuvira Kuvira]] doing what's best for the Earth Kingdom or being a better leader than the other options.
8	*** More specifically, many fans felt that her handling of the Governor in episode 1 was completely in line with a good ruler (i.e. I give your people food and protection if you agree to become a part of my Empire). Also, considering Republic City wanted to insert an [[PuppetKing incompetent pushover as ultimate ruler]] of a deeply fractured kingdom, it is hard not to agree with her during the takeover. In fact, it took the entire latter half of the show's SanitySlippage for many to consider that perhaps, she was not that great of a choice anyway.
9	* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' has The DCAU depicted Batsy's RoguesGallery in general as a big, fun-loving dysfunctional family, making it easy for fans to root for them against [[TheComicallySerious the endlessly grim Dark Knight]] despite their evil deeds.
10	** More than a few fans wanted [[AntiVillain Mr. Freeze]] to save his wife, even when his plans to do so involved killing other people. It doesn't hurt that each appearance made him more sympathetic, with his canonically final appearance in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' being one of the biggest {{Tear Jerker}}s in the entire Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse.
11	** [[Characters/DCAUHarleyQuinn Harley Quinn]] is the poster-girl for MadLove and an in-universe proponent of DracoInLeatherPants, who honestly believes that "[[ComicBook/TheJoker Mr. J]]" is a sweet guy and the innocent victim of that [[Franchise/{{Batman}} mean old bat]], and frequently helps in his schemes of murder and mayhem. Many fans claim that if given the opportunity, they would do the exact same thing in her position.
12	** The Penguin. The short, fat, fish-slurping guy everyone in Gotham laughs at. It just gives you such a good feeling on those rare occasions when he gets away with his crimes or kicks some serious ass. Or that occasion in that one episode where ''[[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome he told Batman to his face to get lost]]'', because for once it was the Penguin saving the DamselInDistress.
13	* There is a subset of ''{{WesternAnimation/Captain Planet\|AndThePlaneteers}}'' fans that cheers for the Ecovillains, just because the show itself makes them {{Anvilicious}}ly [[StrawCharacter nasty]] to support its GreenAesop. The writers must have been listening because "Whoo Gives a Hoot?" was an episode where Looten Plunder did win, and man it was a DownerEnding. In hindsight the fans [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor should have been careful with what they wished for]].
14	* ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' has a huge number of fans for the villains who are more liked than the main hero. You can't put someone like Vlad Masters in a series and ''not'' expect his suave ways, huge bank account, and (usually) clever schemes to not attract admirers.
15	* [[Characters/TheDragonPrinceViren Lord Viren]] from ''WesternAnimation/TheDragonPrince'' has gotten a few viewers rooting for him to take the throne of Katolis and conquer the lands of Xadia due to [[StrawmanHasAPoint having a better point than the writers intended about the current threat Xadia is to humanity]] and some of his opponents coming off as foolish and/or [[UnintentionallyUnsympathetic unsympathetic]]. [[spoiler:Viren actually succeeds in the former goal in ''[[Recap/TheDragonPrinceS3E4TheMidnightDesert The Midnight Desert]]'' after forcing Ezran to surrender his throne to prevent Prince Kasef's siege though he is only able to ravage the Sunfire Elves queendom before his conquest is ultimately stopped in ''[[Recap/TheDragonPrinceS3E9TheFinalBattle The Final Battle]]''.]]
16	* The Urpneys in ''WesternAnimation/TheDreamstone'', due to the extremely overwhelming SympatheticPOV, and that so few of them are [[MinionWithAnFInEvil genuinely malicious outside serving Zordrak out of fear]]. They are usually [[EnsembleDarkhorse more complex and amusing characters]] than the sickly sweet [[HeroAntagonist Land Of Dreams]], and the relentless slapstick abuse they suffer from both the heroes and their BadBoss leads them to come off more as deeply pitiful punching bags than proper villains. Later episodes at least made some plot alterations to make the heroes look more sympathetic, but it was still hard not to want the Urpneys to come out on top for once.
17	* ''[[WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy Ed Edd N' Eddy's]]'' titular mainstays. Granted, their schemes are out for making a short change buck and are shoddy and shabbily-built, but considering how the rest of the kids are hinted to at times been stuck up {{jerkass}}es who thrive on excluding the Eds for simply getting in their way gets you rooting for them.
18	* Many fans of ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' want either [[SadistTeacher Crocker]] or [[JackassGenie Norm]] to win, especially as with each season Timmy becomes more and more of a {{Jerkass}}. Crocker being a JerkassWoobie and Norm being a magnificent DeadpanSnarker probably helps.
19	* In the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS9E9AndImJoyceKinney And I'm Joyce Kinney]]," many viewers were rooting for Joyce to get back at Lois due to a humiliating prank Lois pulled on Joyce when the two were teenagers. This is due to the fact that Lois became an unlikable character in post-cancellation seasons, as well as an abusive mother towards her kids.
20	* According to [[http://www.cracked.com/article_20554_5-ways-g.i.-joe-taught-us-to-be-evil.html this Cracked article]], Cobra, the main villain in ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeARealAmericanHero'', was much more popular with the target audience (boys) than the actual Joes, both in the cartoon and in the toyline.
21	* ''WesternAnimation/HazbinHotel'': Quite a substantial number of fans want Vox to defeat or at least humiliate Alastor as the latter has shown time and time again to be the far more sadistic, terrifying, and dangerous of the two. Despite Vox also aiming to take over Hell, these fans would much rather see a greedy businessman ruling over hell than an unpredictable mass torturer.
22	* A great deal of ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'' fans sympathize with the VillainProtagonist's [[Characters/InvaderZimZim Zim]] goal of conquering the Earth. It helps that humans (except for Dib and Gaz) are thoroughly TooDumbToLive and probably wouldn't even ''notice''.
23	* An overwhelming amount of ''WesternAnimation/{{Jem}} And The Holograms'' fans root for The Misfits. As the theme song says, their songs ''are'' better and their antics are very amusing. They tend to be deeper characters than The Holograms and without any of the baggage such as Jem's and Kimber's notoriously difficult love lives. It helps that compared to other examples, The Misfits aren't really doing anything too wrong. Their misbehavior is rude, sometimes illegal, and they have almost gotten people killed on a few occasions but on default they just want to be the most popular band out there, even if their methods of doing so mean bringing their rivals to their knees.
24	* A surprising number of ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'' fans want Mr. Cat to win for various reasons, such as the fact that he is [[TheChewToy constantly suffering from some form of abuse]], or that in some episodes (like Episode 58) the people he's up against can be jerks at times.
25	* There were a few ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' fans that at least want Shego to actually beat Kim whenever they have a confrontation, as they find it a bit [[WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief too much to swallow]] that Shego keeps being defeated by a teenage spy who shouldn't have been able to take on a superpowered foe hand to hand. Which explains why you have fanfics that say Shego purposely held back in each confrontation they had. For [[LesYay various reasons]].
26	* It isn't uncommon for ''WesternAnimation/TheLionGuard'' fans to root for Janja, Cheezi, Chungu or any of the one shot villains. All the "villains" want to do is eat a decent meal, only to be stopped by the titular Lion Guard whenever they go hunting, because PredatorsAreMean. And the guard is hypocritical if you think about it, because [[YouAreWhatYouHate Kion is a lion, and thus is a predator.]]
27	* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'':
28	** In Creator/ChuckJones' autobiography ''Chuck Amuck'', he lists ten rules that every [[WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadrunner Road Runner cartoon]] had to adhere to, the last of which was "The audience's sympathy must remain with the Coyote." See [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wile_E._Coyote_and_Road_Runner#Laws_and_rules The Other Wiki]] for the full list. Unfortunately, too many people prefer the Roadrunner or at least react to Wile E.’s many misfortunes by laughing at him.
29	** Tom, Donald, Sylvester, and Wile E. Coyote from the ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'', Disney Shorts, ''Sylvester and Tweety'', and ''Road Runner'' cartoons respectively, amass a lot of sympathy given their opponents are jerks or {{Invincible Hero}}es and reality seems to bend to their will. Tom seems to get the most of it, which is understandable because he's taking abuse from both the mouse who is breaking into his home and often his owners for failing to catch the trespassing mouse, and many episodes make it IMPOSSIBLE to root for Jerry. Jerry sabotaging Tom's attempts to woo a girl cat and ruining his concerto performances, for example, make him downright unlikeable. To compensate in a lot more shorts in the 50s and 60s Tom actually DID win (usually when Jerry acted without provocation).
30	** Yosemite Sam was created by Friz Freleng because he feared Elmer Fudd's haplessly and AffablyEvil demeanor would provoke this trope and make Bugs look like a bully. A lot of the later shorts went to extreme lengths to present foes who were so utterly unlikable that their losses could be seen as extreme LaserGuidedKarma that they brought on themselves (e.g. De Patie Freleng shorts such as ''Moby Duck'' and ''Well Worn Daffy'', which [[TookALevelInJerkass evolved Daffy Duck into a needlessly ruthless villain]] ([[ButtMonkey if still hapless and bumbling]]) against [[ExtremeDoormat an excessively empathetic and forgiving Speedy Gonzales]]).
31	** The retooling of WesternAnimation/BugsBunny. His initial appearances had him as more of a {{Jerkass}} [[ThePrankster prankster]] who messed with people because it was fun. The "canon" version only brings the hurt after having been provoked ("Of course you realize, dis' means war!") or deliberately targeted by a predator (The Tasmanian Devil, Wile E. Coyote).
32	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
33	** An incredibly popular version of this is the New Lunar Republic - fans who resent the reign of supposed [[RonTheDeathEater "tyrant"]] [[BigGood Celestia]] and would rather [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicPrincessLuna Princess Luna]] take the throne. Whether or not this counts as Rooting For The Empire depends on whether they're rooting for Luna or Nightmare Moon. Luna is not an example because she's [[HeelFaceTurn ultimately good]] (if only a little impulsive), and the legitimate arguments against her right to the throne are purely [[FishOutOfTemporalWater political]]. Those who flat out rooted for [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Nightmare Moon]]... [[OmnicidalManiac play this]] [[MadGod trope straight]]. The show itself actually acknowledged this fan interpretation (without the "Celestia is a tyrant" part, of course) in ''The Cutie Remark'' where the BadFuture ruled by Nightmare Moon was simply more gloomy and oppressive than Celestia's rule, unlike the other such bad futures that were war-torn at best or apocalyptic at worst. Also Nightmare Moon had ponies who followed her willingly, hinting that while life under her rule is arguably worse than under Celestia, it's not necessarily bad and there may even be those who ''prefer'' her rule.
34	** [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicDiscord Discord]] enjoys enormous popularity, many of his fans wanting the fun-loving, LaughablyEvil GodOfChaos to succeed in his goal of [[WorldOfChaos eternal chaos]]. It didn't hurt that in his introductory episode, one of the main characters (namely [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Pinkie Pie]]) seemed perfectly fine with a guy who makes chocolate milk rain from the sky. To some extent those fans got to have their cake and eat it too when [[spoiler:Discord was freed and [[HeelFaceTurn reformed]] without losing his wacky personality.]]
35	** The Changelings have their fans, arguing that despite the cruelty of their queen, most Changelings just [[BlueAndOrangeMorality want something]] [[EmotionEater to eat]]. The writers seem to have picked up on this, and the Changelings have had a HeelRaceTurn -- except for [[RedemptionRejection Queen Chrysalis]].
36	** [[TerribleTrio The Dazzlings]] from ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsRainbowRocks'' have an ample amount of fans rooting for them to win, with the main reason being that said fans believe their songs are just plain better than those of the Rainbooms, the protagonists. Some of these fans switched over to the Rainbooms' side when Sunset Shimmer, the previous film's Big Bad, stepped in to sing in the finale, since that moment would solidify her Heel-Face turn and make her the Breakout Character of the Equestria Girls series. The other big reason why some fans root for the Dazzlings is because they see their banishment to the human world by Starswirl the Bearded as really unfair, especially since most other shows would portray this act as an act of antagonism or villainy. Them not appearing again until nearly five years later only added to this sentiment for a ton of fans.
37	** In the final season, a sizable number of fans were rooting for [[BigBadEnsemble The Legion of Doom]] due to the fact that Equestria had [[WouldHurtAChild had no qualm with imprisoning a child villain in Tartarus]] in the previous season and didn't make even the slightest effort to try and reform her even after the revelation that the Legion of Doom had been blackmailed by Discord in a bid to [[FalseFlagOperation give Twilight Sparkle a threat to fight to boost her confidence]].
38	* Given his [[HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood HORRIBLE childhood]], it's not hard for ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' fans to want [[Characters/PhineasAndFerbHeinzDoofenshmirtz Heinz Doofenshmirtz]] to win just once. It helps that most of his plans are [[PokeThePoodle pretty harmless]]. This actually happened a few times, with Perry learning the plan and just letting him do it when he realized it was either harmless or something so petty that it might as well be.
39	* Dorkus, the BigBad of ''WesternAnimation/PlanetSheen'' is this big time. This is mainly due to Sheen, the "protagonist" himself, getting hit ''hard'' with {{Flanderization}} making him stupider and much more of a selfish jerk than he was in [[WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius his regular series]]. What started off Dorkus' hatred for Sheen is that Sheen crashed through his house with his rocket. The problem is that Sheen not only didn't apologize to Dorkus for doing this, but had the nerve to say it was [[NeverMyFault Dorkus' house that was in the way of his rocket]] even though Sheen came crashing in unannounced. There is also the fact that Dorkus' plans mainly involves trying to expose Sheen as a fraud (which is true) and get back his position as the king's right hand man which Dorkus enjoyed being (most antagonists in this role often are TheStarscream trying to usurp the throne for themselves at one point but Dorkus is indeed that loyal to the king). This has caused fans to view Dorkus as [[VillainHasAPoint in the right the majority of the time]] and it helps that he is one of ''few'' tolerable characters in this show (considering the majority of the other characters are as stupid and clueless as Sheen).
40	* Baron Draxum of ''WesternAnimation/RiseOfTheTeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' gets this treatment during the first season because he's generally [[SurroundedByIdiots smarter and more competent than everyone else on the cast]] and his end goal of turning humanity into mutants isn't really so bad within the confines of the setting. There is already a vast and thriving mutant culture that converts can join and magical items that can hide one's appearance and to allow them to blend in are commonplace. [[spoiler: It’s no longer an issue in season 2 as he reforms and becomes an ally to the turtles]].
41	* Played with X9 in ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack''. The episode he is in focuses on him, showing that he was hunting Jack because Aku was holding the robot's dog hostage. The episode was designed for you to root for the poor robot. [[spoiler:Jack cuts him down without a pause; he's just another robot mook to him.]]
42	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
43	** While [[DracoInLeatherPants many tend to take it too far]] due to Lisa’s status as a BaseBreakingCharacter fans do find it easier to root for [[Characters/TheSimpsonsBartSimpson Bart Simpson]] over Lisa in their SiblingRivalry due to the fact that Lisa has an overwhelming advantage over Bart. Even if you ignore that Marge and Homer take ParentalFavoritism up to eleven to the point that they not only gave up on Bart at age five when his kindergarten teacher [[{{Jerkass}} crushed his spirits and told him he had no future whatsover]] [[SadistTeacher just because he wasn't as quick as the other kids to catch on to things]] (merely to make it more convenient to help Lisa) but Homer repeatedly tells him that he is an [[FutureLoser unloved accident that will never amount to anything]] (as well as laugh at him when he does try to better himself). It also doesn’t help that everyone in the family including Bart has given up what they love for her which she rarely if ever acknowledges.
44	*** Also while Bart is presented as a BigBrotherBully many episodes show Lisa giving just as good as she gets giving her even more of an advantage since when ever they have a physical altercation she will win and her retaliations are usually DisproportionateRetribution. In the end while Bart should still be held accountable for things like destroying Lisa’s centerpiece, her career as a babysitter, etc. It is still easier to root for him over Lisa.
45	** One-shot character Hank Scorpio is a Bond-style super villain, but he's such an AffablyEvil BenevolentBoss that he's genuinely likeable, to the point that him taking over the east coast in the end is considered a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome.
46	* Trent Boyett from the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "Pre-School". The then-preschool aged boys coax Trent into starting a fire with the assumption that they can put it out by urinating on it. The fire gets out of control and their teacher, Miss Claridge, becomes severely burned when she tries to extinguish the flames. The boys scapegoat Trent for the accident which gets him sent to juvenile hall for five years. Some fans feel Trent should have succeeded in giving the boys their just desserts since what happened was a freak accident.
47	* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'':
48	** In episodes made after [[WesternAnimation/TheSpongeBobSquarePantsMovie the movie]] (and some before), Mr. Krabs' schoolyard-bully gloating of [[Characters/SpongeBobSquarePantsSheldonPlankton Sheldon Plankton's]] failure makes Plankton the more sympathetic character to the audience. What doesn't help is that the mass {{flanderization}} of both characters has led Krabs to have fewer redeeming aspects than Plankton. In some cases, Krabs actually goes out of his way to ruin Plankton's rare legitimate efforts or make him miserable in the same ruthless manner as vice versa, and [[DesignatedHero due to their roles]], is more likely to succeed (eg. "Plankton's Regular").
49	** Can happen to [=SpongeBob=] himself, especially in episodes where he goes up against [[Characters/SpongeBobSquarePantsSquidwardTentacles Squidward Tentacles]]. He may be a JerkAss, but Squidward is also the show's OnlySaneMan, TheChewToy, ButtMonkey, ''and'' DeadpanSnarker, so he gets sympathy from a lot of fans compared to the well-meaning, but annoying, loud, and reckless title character. It's different in episodes where Squidward picks on or tricks [=SpongeBob=], but often his motivation is just to avoid him and be left alone. Imagine if ''you'' had a neighbor like [=SpongeBob=], and this becomes a rather understandable desire.
50	* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' in general already had this given the EvilIsCool nature of a number of the villains as the show improved, particularly the regular battle droid, who mostly come off as {{Punch Clock Villain}}s doing what they're ordered to, never appear especially malevolent, at times descend into IneffectualSympatheticVillain territory due to how hilarious they are. But in an interesting case of EvilVersusEvil in the episode "Massacre", this trope can still be applied with outnumbered Asaaj and the Nightsisters taking a much larger droid army led by General Grievous. Grievous, unlike Assaj, has no sympathetic qualities to him, but many viewers were rooting for him and the droids due to Asaaj and the Nightsisters earlier [[MoralEventHorizon actions]] during the Nightsister trilogy of episodes, and that he had the battle droids, who came off as more likable than the Nightsisters.
51	** Death Watch is presented as war seeking terrorists who don't care about anything other than getting back to mindless fighting. But considering that the heroic Mandalorians are seen as stubborn and blind peaceniks who take a superior attitude with everyone while Death Watch keeps the most interesting parts of Mandalorian Culture (the armor and the jet packs) and its hard NOT to root for them to overthrow Satine.
52	*** Thanks to TheMandalorian giving us more about the culture of Mandalore before Satine took power it is now common for people to view Satine as a moronic tyrant destroying her people's culture out of a deluded belief she can bring peace if she just glares at people hard enough.
53	* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'' was less prone to this its first two seasons beyond the same general RootingForTheEmpire from the movies, as being a kids' show the villains were often either less evil or cartoonishly flat. And then Season Three imports CanonImmigrant [[Characters/StarWarsThrawnCharacterSheet Grand Admiral Thrawn]] from the Legends timeline. This is strengthened by Zahn's Canon Timeline books which make it clear that Thrawn is the OnlySaneMan in the Empire, with everyone else being corrupt, sadistic, or just plain stupid.
54	** [[Characters/StarWarsDarthMaul Darth Maul]] gets this treatment too. Not just because of his cool design and unique weapon but also he at many times seems to be the only character using his head and also having a tragic backstory.
55	* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': There are some who believe [[Characters/StevenUniverseDiamondAuthority Great Diamond Authority]], while not perfect by any means, isn’t nearly as horrible as the Crystal Gems make them out to be. While they do enforce a FantasticCasteSystem upon their citizens, there seems to be no rule against Gems having and expressing unique personalities, so long as they remain professional in front of their superiors and follow the rules. The colonization of planets, while they often results in the complete destruction of all organic life on said planet, also create new Gems and resources for Gemkind and the casualties usually only amount to animals and plants, as WordOfGod states Earth was the first and only world the Gems have encountered with intelligent organic life. Also, while the prosecution of “Off-Colors”(Gems who don’t meet the authorities standards of perfection) is a common point of contention amongst the Crystal Gems and viewers, there has been evidence that the discrimination against them eventually lessened to the point that Gems like Peridot and the Famethyst, who on their own would be considered Off-Colors, are able to have places within Gem society. There are also those who see the Crystal Gems themselves as extremists who are perfectly okay with hurting and killing other Gems in order to further their admittedly subjective cause, most widely evidenced by the incredibly long war for Earth, which left both sides with devastating losses. Not to mention the leaders of the Diamond Authority, the Diamonds themselves, have frequently been depicted as sympathetic characters, especially when [[spoiler: they are shown dealing with the supposed loss of Pink Diamond]] later in the series.
56	* Many ''WesternAnimation/TitanMaximum'' fans want Gibbs to destroy the insufferable main characters. The show was left in limbo with a cliffhanger of Mercury being incinerated by the sun and the heroes have no ship to fly off... [[TheBadGuyWins so he already has.]]
57	* Many haters of ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'' have found themselves rooting for the series' villains, especially in episodes where the Titans are being excessively stupid and unsympathetic. Prominent examples include "Waffles", where Brother Blood is the StraightMan while Beast Boy and Cyborg are being childish [[{{Jerkass}} jerkasses]], and "Breakfast Cheese", where the Titans literally beat up the H.I.V.E. for [[FelonyMisdemeanor loitering]]. Exaggerated in "A Farce", where Brother Blood and the Brain [[CourtroomEpisode take the Titans to court]] for their [[DesignatedHero careless and reckless destruction of Jump City]]. The Titans are all found guilty at the end of the episode.
58	* Even as far back as the first season, many ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'' fans were rooting to the villains of the season to win. The writers seemingly picked up on this as the finale of the third season came down to [[spoiler: [[Characters/TotalDramaHeather Heather]] and [[Characters/TotalDramaAlejandro Alejandro]], two of the series' biggest villains.]]
59	** A large part of the ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaPresentsTheRidonculousRace'' fanbase started backing the [[BigBad Ice Dancers]] if only because they're so entertaining to watch and did display considerable skill even before they turned full on villain. Many fans wanted them to win and [[spoiler: were not pleased when they didn't even make it to the final two.]]
60	* A small contingent of ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' fans feel that the Decepticons are the real good guys, and that the Autobots are evil. Granted, a few continuities show that the Bots aren't perfect paragons of justice, and the Cons had good reasons to rebel, but stories where Decepticons [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/The_Interplanetary_Wrestling_Championship! take small children hostage]] (or [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Murdered_puppy kill]] [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Pis a puppy]]) show that they are ''NOT'' nice mechs. At least some of this was driven by the fact that the evil faction got some of what would become the franchise's most popular gimmicks (combining, Mini-cons, multichanging, etc.) first.
61	** Given a bit more weight in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' in which the ''Autobots'' are the ruling empire led by someone who's just a bit too willing to do bad things to achieve victory for comfort while the Decepticons are the scrappy rebels, albeit vicious and ruthless ones.
62	** In [[ComicBook/TheTransformersIDW the IDW comics]] the Autobot government ''was'' evil (well corrupt at least) and the Decepticons were laid off blue collar workers living in slums until this one miner showed up... (Most of the story is set millions of years later, by which point they're rather less sympathetic.)
63	** One of the movie prequel comics showed one part of the falling out between the Autobots and Decepticons was Prime wouldn't allow Megatron to attack a hostile force on their way to Cybertron, until they arrived and started attacking. Megatron was just trying to protect Cybertron.
64	** In the ''VideoGame/TransformersWarForCybertron'' continuity, Megatron was initially a gladiator who rebelled against an oppressive, caste-based society ruled by the Autobots, so initially it was the Autobots themselves who were the Empire and you should have rooted against. But Megatron became too prideful and ruthless, to the point his ideal of a caste-less society was buried by his desire to rule. Transformers seems to have been moving over the years from "Decepticons evil, Autobots good" to an almost ''Franchise/StarWars''-like setup, where Cybertronian society badly needed shaking up but the Cons went too far and the necessities of war turned the Autobots into the casteless society the Decepticons wanted, while the Decepticons [[TheDarkSideWillMakeYouForget became too obsessed to remember their original intentions]] and [[FullCircleRevolution became the exact kind of oppressors they originally stood against.]]
65	** The Megatron in ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' seems to imply that the Predacons are currently stuck as servants to the ruling Maximal class and its Council of Elders. Megatron himself is made into [[UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler a very nationalistic figure, fighting to improve the lot of his suffering people after their terrible losses in the last war, damn the consequences. And get power himself in the process]]. He still manages to maintain a following in ''WesternAnimation/BeastMachines'' despite [[TookALevelInJerkass being a lot more evil]] and wiping Cybertron clean of Maximals and Predacons alike.
66	** ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' depicts the Decepticons as having a colorful range of personalities. For some of the less evil ones like Dreadwing and Predaking, it can be hard to not root for them at times.
67	** Recent series and the movie franchise have picked up on some of this and have begun portraying Optimus less like a Christ-figure and more of a President Lincoln: He is still the big good and leader, but the war has taken the toll. He still believes in his convictions that Freedom is the Right of all Sentient Beings, but is weighted by the high cost, loss of life, corruption of allies, and weariness of the millions of years of war. Optimus is still the BigGood of any setting, but he's not blind to the fact that the Autobots are not all virtuous and the Decepticons aren't all villainous. In the same vein, there has been a greater focus on exploring Megatron's position and even having him take on heroic traits.
68	* Many fans and detractors of ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan2012'' find themselves cheering on the villains. Drake Bell's Spider-Man is a real BaseBreakingCharacter and his teammates are MASSIVE Jerkasses who bully and mistreat him constantly, all of which make the protagonists look UnintentionallyUnsympathetic. The villains on the other hand are CreepyAwesome characters channeling EvilIsCool and tend to be the part many people think is [[JustHereForGodzilla worth watching]]. There's also the fact that some major villains on the show are portrayed in a very sympathetic light. Particularly [[spoiler:Venom, who is actually Harry Osborn, who is genuinely a good person, who cannot control the symbiote and is easily the most sympathetic character on the show.]] It really doesn't help that these villains are voice by beloved veterans like Creator/MauriceLaMarche, Creator/ClancyBrown, and Creator/TomKenny.
69	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros'', Daddy Venture commonly forgets about everyone and everything important to him. Anything halfway decent he horribly abuses. The villain, the Monarch, cares about his named henchmen, cares about the emotional health of his prisoners and participates in the 'Scared Straight' program when he spent time in the slammer. If it wasn't for the Monarch's occasional efforts to outright rip apart the Ventures, it'd be hard to tell who the villain was. Many viewers will compensate by rooting for Brock, who's a friendly, cool guy that genuinely cares about the Venture boys as if they were his own sons, and yet over the course of the series racks up a higher body count than Dr. Venture and the Monarch combined. Lampshaded at one point when Dr. Venture is groomed to be a villain, and shown to be a better potential villain than heroic Super Scientist.
70	* Who '''hasn't''' wanted Dick Dastardly and Muttley to succeed? Whether it's at [[WesternAnimation/WackyRaces winning a race]], [[WesternAnimation/DastardlyAndMuttleyInTheirFlyingMachines stopping that pigeon]], or [[WesternAnimation/YogisTreasureHunt finding treasure]]. It helps the two bad guys always got much more screen time than the ''heroes'' in their shows, and Dastardly's alleged cheating is often considered legitimate when performed by other supposedly "fair-playing" racers. His one victory was discounted due to him extending his vehicle, something that has been done countless times before by others in the show's run. Then there was that one time he got a ticket for speeding, which makes it look like the universe is deliberately trying to keep him from winning. Of course, this ''is'' the TropeNamer for DickDastardlyStopsToCheat; his defeats are largely self-inflicted.
71	* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'' we have Nox. At first he just seems to be a [[EvilLaugh Giggling]] AxCrazy BigBad, we come to learn why he is doing this. Because of his obsession with the [[ArtifactOfDoom Eliacube]], his family left him and they get killed in a flood. So he is planning to [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds drain all of the wakfu]] he could get so he can go back in time and stop this accident, not to mention if he did pull it off [[ResetButton all of his actions would have been reversed anyway]]. You can't help but [[spoiler:[[TearJerker feel sorry for him when 200 years of his work only turns time back 20 minutes and seeing that he will never save his family simply goes to their grave and dies]]]]. The Prequel episode showing his StartOfDarkness only seems to reenforce this.
72	* ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'': The original Brotherhood members just don't come off as evil to many fans, despite all the horrendous things they did. That they are ''just'' the "Bad" in a TheGoodTheBadAndTheEvil situation lends a certain degree of sympathy, as does how they're constantly abandoned or generally treated horribly by everyone, including their supposed allies.
73	* Fans of The Light in ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'' tend to be drawn to the group because unlike most anti-Justice League villain teams they're driven by altruistic motives on their face. [[JerkassHasAPoint Their primary goal is the uniting and strengthening of Earth so that it can protect itself from alien threats]]. While their methods are monstrous, the series does not back away from the premise that Earth is in constant peril and that the galaxy is filled to brim with evil conquerors and tyrants that the beleaguered cosmic forces of good (Green Lanterns, New Genesis, etc.) are simply unable to deal with.
74
75	!!InUniverse Examples:
76	* ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'': In "[[Recap/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehogS01E44UntouchableSonic Untouchable Sonic]]", Scratch and Grounder watch a cartoon about criminal gangsters on the run from cops while in their break room. The two badniks root for the gangsters, and Grounder questions why the good guys always have to catch the bad guys.
77	* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': In "Ember Island Players", the eponymous theater troupe put on a play based on the Gaang's adventures in the series (wildly innacurate and badly [[{{Flanderization}} flanderized]]). But this being a Fire Nation troupe, performing for a Fire Nation audience, ends with [[BigBad Ozai]] using the powers of Sozin's Comet to kill Aang and TakeOverTheWorld. To the ''audience'' this is the HappyEnding. The Gaang are...less than thrilled.
78	* In ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'' Garfield tries to tell the story of Literature/HanselAndGretel to Nermal, but Nermal ends up feeling bad for the witch at the end of the story, forcing Garfield to try and come up with an ending that gives the witch a much happier ending. Nermal's horrified reaction to the story doesn't really stem from him being evil by any stretch of the means, but rather his innocent persona preventing him from really seeing the witch as evil.
79	* In the ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' episode "All The News", the villain is former extreme stuntswoman Adrena Lynn, who's going after Kim for exposing her as a fake. As they fight on live TV, Kim's brothers -- both fans of Adrena before her show's cancellation -- actively root for the villain, earning them a scolding from their father.
80	* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats\|1991}}'' "[[Recap/RugratsS3E23Passover Passover]]" episode, [[BrattyHalfPint Angelica]] immediately identifies with Pharaoh and feels sorry that [[GenderFlip she]] loses.
81	* In the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "Herpe the Love Sore", Peter and his friends get beaten up by a group [[KarmaHoudini allowed to get away with it]] because they're American soldiers. Afterwards, an exasperated Peter says "I can't believe I have to root for Afghanistan now."
82	* In a re-packed version of "Mickey and the Beanstalk" which was originally featured in ''WesternAnimation/FunAndFancyFree'' in which Ludwig Von Drake tells the story to a beetle named Herman, after Willie the giant falls to his death Herman starts crying, when Ludwig asks what was wrong pointing out that everything turned out alright for the heroes, Herman states that he liked Willie, Ludwig assures him that it never actually happened and it was a work of fiction, only for Willie himself to show up alive and well.
83	* In the Moosylvania arc of ''WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle'', Boris Badenov is trying to pick a plausible American hero the fictional holiday that is causing his phony government office to close could be honoring and comes up with Aaron Burr specifically because he shot Alexander Hamilton since for Pottsylvanians GoodIsBadAndBadIsGood.

Context RootingForTheEmpire / WesternAnimation