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9%% * Most of the characters who play in "Literature/BattleRoyale", particularly [[spoiler: Yuko]].
10* Literature/{{Carrie}} from the book of the same name by Stephen King. She was the ButtMonkey for her entire school life, and at home, her mother beat her, verbally abused her, and locked her in a small closet for up to a day at a time. And she weathered all of it. When she found out that she had telekinetic powers, she exercised them to make them stronger, but not to get revenge. She never even contemplates revenge. But finally, one last, cruel prank goes too far, and the poor girl snaps, taking out of all of her pain and misery on the town around her.
11* Finneus from ''Literature/ChameleonMoon'' is one of these. [[spoiler: If he feels any negative emotion whatsoever, he creates explosions. Forcing himself to be happy all the time has put him in a permanent state of shell shock.]]
12* The title character from the Balzac classic ''Literature/CousinBette'' could easily been seen as a female analogue to Heathcliff: childhood abuse, poverty and abandonment by the one man she ever loved (who probably [[AllLoveIsUnrequited never returned her feelings to begin with]]) drove her to a monomaniacal obsession with revenge, from which no-one in her path is safe.
13* In Richard Tierney's ''Franchise/CthulhuMythos'' novel ''The Drums of Chaos'', ''Jesus'' is a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds. His sacrificial death on the cross is intended to open a gateway for the Great Old Ones to come to destroy the world and end everyone's suffering. One of the two heroes of the novel, John Taggart, also used to be a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds, but changed his mind. Since the world of the Cthulhu Mythos is a CrapsackWorld, especially in Tierney's version, where it crosses over with George Orwell's Literature/NineteenEightyFour, it is not clear who is in the right, so it is very much an example of GreyAndGrayMorality.
14* Literature/{{Cujo}}, again from the book of the same name by Creator/StephenKing, reaches far into the stratosphere of Woobieness. King himself lays it out better than anyone else could:
15--> It would perhaps not be amiss to point out that he had always tried to be a good dog. He had tried to do all the things his MAN and his WOMAN, and most of all his BOY, had asked or expected of him. He would have died for them, if that had been required. He had never wanted to kill anybody. He had been struck by something, possibly destiny, or fate, or only a degenerative nerve disease called rabies. Free will was not a factor.
16* The Lazar from ''Literature/TheDeathGateCycle'' have this as their [[PlanetOfHats hat]] -- they are undead beings caught forever in a state of hellish agony between life and death, and the only way they can have any release at all is by delivering others into the same torment. The only real exceptions are Jonathon (who's a straight {{Woobie}} mixed with MessianicArchetype) and, ironically, Kleitus, leader of most of the Lazar. He was enough of a MagnificentBastard in life to keep his head following reanimation (though, admittedly, he's a bit more AxCrazy now), and plans to use the other Lazar as his tools to purge the universe of sentient life, so he'll be left ruling an empire of the dead.
17* Inverted (and literal) in ''Literature/DeathStar'' with Tenn Graneet, the station's chief gunner. Rather than someone who commits evil acts because of his painful past, he is a somewhat naive JustFollowingOrders commander who believed that the Empire would never fire the Death Star at full power at an inhabited planet. When he realizes that [[Film/StarWarsANewHope they would]] and he carried out that order, he becomes so full of self-loathing that you start to really pity him. Eventually, during the Rebel attack at Yavin, he stalls for a few critical seconds, allowing Luke to blow up the Death Star before the Death Star could blow up Yavin IV.
18** Qwi Xux, one of the chief engineers for the Death Star's superlasers, and the creator of the Sun Crusher: she was taken from her village as a little girl and placed in a high-risks and genuinely horrific mathematics/science course with other students, where their lives depended on whether they got the answers right or wrong, and those of their village (if one of the students gets even one answer wrong, the student in question will be forced to watch as their home village is blown away via aerial bombardment and executed shortly thereafter). She was the sole graduate, and the sole survivor of that course, which was also headed by Imperial Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, and it was because of this that she felt driven, to the extent of borderline psychotic obsession, to solve any problem whenever the Empire declares that it wants a solution, often feeling not responsible if it turned out to be a failure in faux-naivete.
19** There's also the Grand Admiral Osvald Teshik. Because of a failure in regards to rescuing Coh Veshiv from the Rebel privateer ''Far Orbit'', or any reason to begin with, as he implies that Palpatine did this to him for absolutely no reason whatsoever, he ends up being nearly killed in a battle that Palpatine ensured that he would not win, and that he turned into a cyborg with 3/4s of his body removed, and the near-death experience, and the abuse by various Imperial personnel for his cyborg status, left him extremely cold and nihilistic up until he was saved by a construction worker, and he ends up explaining the battle to the Rebels and the impact it had when he is to be executed for war crimes, having been resigned to his fate, before emitting a mechanical, almost pitiful laugh upon his death.
20* ''Literature/{{Dragonlance}}'': Raistlin Majere has a life that progressively increases in Suck, until he decides that he's going to take vengeance by becoming a '''[[AGodAmI GOD]]'''. And he does it, too. [[spoiler:After he finds out that his godhood will destroy all of creation, leaving only himself in an empty universe, he...does exactly the same thing.]]
21** More specifically, that was an alternate-future Raistlin who was insane at that point. When main-timeline Raistlin realizes the consequences of his actions, he ''does'' repent and sacrifices himself to save both the world and (to him, more importantly) his own soul.
22** Raistlin is an ambiguous case, however, because his loneliness and isolation are sometimes (or entirely, DependingOnTheWriter) his own fault. Throughout his life, he was offered love and friendship by several people, but [[JerkassWoobie he drove them away with his own pride and bitterness]].
23* Ghwerig the troll from ''Literature/TheElenium''. In reality, he is maddened by the loss of Bhelliom and devotes most of the rest of his life to searching for it, and though he eventually finds it, he is killed by [[TheHero Sparhawk]] and Kurik.
24* Literature/TheElricSaga: Elric of Melniboné just can't get a break. Every time he kills it makes him stronger and it also makes him hate himself more. On top of that every girl he loves (each of whom wants to wrap him in the proverbial blanket and feed him the proverbial soup) dies, which usually leads to him needing to wreak revenge on someone. And kill them with his sword and take their soul, and then hate himself. It's a vicious woobie cycle.
25* ''Literature/TheEmpiriumTrilogy'': Rielle accidentally killed her mother, has had to endure verbal abuse thanks to her father because of it, and was forced to hide who she is from everybody. When her powers are revealed, everybody imposes their own views as to how she should act and behave. The public slowly turns against her, believing her to be the dreaded Blood Queen when her attempts to use her powers constructively prove fatal (at least at first). Corien showing everyone that she was behind the King of Celdaria's death and Audric's father ends up being the final nail in the coffin. Audric, in the heat of moment, accuses her of being the very monster they've feared, leading Rielle to join Corien. By the Third Age, most if not all of humanity loathe Rielle for siding with the angels and closing off the empirium to human use, for doing so allowed the Undying Empire to rise up and take over the world.
26* Ender in ''Literature/EndersGame''.
27* [[TheDragon Galadan Wolflord]] from ''Literature/TheFionavarTapestry'' turned rather genocidal towards mortals after one stole his girlfriend -- but when said mortal wound up getting her killed, he went crazy and decided that the only way to end his pain was to destroy the universe. The only time in the trilogy he shows genuine emotion is when he finds some of the heroes apparently "desecrating" his shrine to her, [[spoiler:and at the very end, when the heroes spare him and he realizes that there is some good in the world -- and in himself.]]
28* Creator/IsaacAsimov's ''Literature/FoundationSeries'': In "Literature/TheMule", The Mule, [[spoiler:[[TwoAliasesOneCharacter alias Magnifico Giganticus]]]], is initially introduced to the protagonists as a large man of immense strength and power. In truth, he's an ugly, miserable, scrawny little man, who has been emotionally abused by everyone around him for two decades. Once he realized that he had PsychicPowers that other people didn't, he decided to take revenge on the cruel uncaring galaxy by [[GalacticConqueror conquering it]].
29-->''"I decided that the Galaxy and I could take turns. Come, they had had their innings, and I had been patient about it -- for twenty-two years. My turn! It would be up to the rest of you to take it! And the odds would be fair enough for the Galaxy. One of me! Quadrillions of them!"'' -- '''The Mule'''
30* FrankensteinsMonster (in [[Literature/{{Frankenstein}} the original novel]], that is). All of his rage against man, and against Victor Frankenstein in particular, would be gone if just ''one'' person bothered to look past his macabre appearance and associate with him. But HumansAreBastards, [[DownerEnding so]]... [[Film/MaryShelleysFrankenstein The 1994 movie]] based on the novel ''did'' manage to get that part right, with the motivations of the monster laid bare.
31* Maud in Creator/CatherynneMValente's ''[[Literature/TheGirlWhoCircumnavigatedFairylandInAShipOfHerOwnMaking The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making]]'', whose life as a hero and a great queen in Fairyland was cut short when she was sent back to the real world and her abusive family, so she sought revenge after being pulled back to Fairyland by her friend.
32* Dear god, Aeglyss, the halfbreed from ''Literature/TheGodlessWorldTrilogy''. After a lifetime of ostracisation and failed attempts at social interaction, he's so damaged that his very presence is contaminating the planet and poisoning the [[TheLifestream Shared]]. By the end, he's diseased, physically ruined, and ready to die, and tries to take the world that's rejected him along for the ride. It's not even deliberate: after failing to enslave the world, he just doesn't care enough about it to try and stop the destruction he's begun.
33* Brittney Donegal from the ''Literature/{{GONE}}'' series plays a prominent role in the attempts to wipe out the entire population of Perdido Beach with giant man-eating bugs (PLAGUE). But even though she's persists in helping the ongoing genocide attempts by her master, even Sam the hero and big good is reluctant to try and stop her, actually ''apologizing'' for ruining her evil plans.
34** Brittney has been enslaved, tortured numerous times in horrific ways, disfigured, has her only family killed and spends three months in a grave in the duration of the series. She's only in four books and Isn't even a significant character in two of them. Can you really hate her in spite of the genocide attempts and destruction she caused?
35* [[spoiler: Amy Dunne]] in ''Literature/GoneGirl''. Though we don't see it firsthand, there is heavy implication that [[spoiler: she's been psychologically abused all her life by her parents, who created the fictional character of 'Amazing Amy' who always did everything right and who the real Amy never had a hope of living up to.]]
36* Literature/HarryPotter: Merope. What she did to Tom Riddle Sr. was absolutely disgusting, but she was abused through most of her life by her father and brother, who were the wizard equivalent of white trash.
37* In Creator/AlanDeanFoster[='=]s ''Literature/HumanxCommonwealth'' series, Flinx's "sister" Mahnahmi is given this treatment in a big way. Considering how messed up she is and what she's suffered in her life, it's hardly surprising that she's become nihilistic, but for some reason, she insists on taking Flinx and everything he loves with her, even while he's busy saving the galaxy.
38* Dark magic caused [[spoiler:Shruikan]] from the ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'' to go batshit insane and become a tortured OmnicidalManiac. Also, arguably, Galbatorix, who was driven insane by the death of his first dragon.
39* ''Literature/IntoTheHeartlessWood'': The Gwydden was once a forest nymph named Enaid who fell in love with a human prince until he carved out her soul, the betrayal twisting her into a monstrous witch out for vengeance against both the one who stole her soul, and all of humanity.
40* ''Literature/JediAcademyTrilogy'': Kyp Durron is literal example: as a child his parents were killed for speaking out against the Empire and he was thrown into [[HellholePrison Kessel]] for life. After he escapes, he manages to steal the Sun Crusher (a starship that can cause stars to go supernova) and uses it to blow up the sun of the Carida system and destroy all the planets there.
41* In ''A Kiss In Time'', it turns out that the evil witch who cursed Talia and wants to kill her [[spoiler:actually used to be a kindly fairy who helped the royal family. She'd been in charge of watching Talia's older brother (then an infant) while he slept, and noticed too late that he suddenly stopped breathing. She tried unsuccessfully to revive the baby using her magic, only for the child's nanny to walk in and declare that she cursed the boy to die. She was then exiled and reviled as an evil witch.]]
42* A central theme in ''Literature/TheLeftHandOfGod'' trilogy is Redeemer Bosco trying to invoke this trope in Thomas Cale -- taking him in to be raised in the harsh, abusive environment of the Sanctuary of the Redeemers while giving him TrainingFromHell to prepare him, then, when he's escaped and captured again, ensuring he sees himself betrayed by the one he loves and has his view of humanity crushed -- because he believes Cale to be the Angel of Death, sent by {{God}} to wipe out humanity for its sins.
43* ''Series/TheLegendsOfEthshar'': Tabaea in ''Literature/TheSpellOfTheBlackDagger'' really only wanted love and acceptance. If her stepfather had managed to sober up long enough to set her up with an apprenticeship, she would have had a perfectly happy life as an honest, law-abiding citizen. She never even thought about killing anyone until she had magically absorbed the predatory instincts of several predatory animals, and she only decided to lead an uprising and take over the city because it was the only way to avoid being arrested for murder. In the end, she died trying to save her city and the world, and her archenemies referred to her, wholly unironically, as "poor little Tabaea."
44* Gollum in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''. An unusual example because he crossed the MoralEventHorizon before becoming this completely broken and tragic creature, but the fact remains that it was not entirely his fault. After centuries of misery and torment, he nearly destroys the quest (dooming Middle Earth to tyranny) because of a HeelFaceDoorSlam. Ironically, [[BreakTheCutie Frodo]] [[spoiler:knowingly claims the ring after suffering months of psychological torment because of it]]. Fortunately, [[DramaticIrony the quest would have failed]] without his [[ProphecyTwist attempt to prevent it]]. Bilbo, Frodo, and Sam taking pity on Gollum was [[BecauseDestinySaysSo necessary]] for the Ring's destruction; and expressly choosing ''not'' to attack and kill him on four separate occasions, even on the slopes of Mount Doom...
45-->'''Frodo:''' But do you remember Gandalf's words: "Even Gollum may have something yet to do?" But for him, Sam, I could not have destroyed the Ring. The Quest would have been in vain, even at the bitter end. ''So let us forgive him!'' For the Quest is achieved and now all is over. I am glad you are here with me. Here at the end of all things, Sam.
46** Much less so in [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings the films]], which rearrange Gollum's character arc significantly, making him more of a JerkassWoobie. They made him much more of a {{Woobie}} in the second film and much less in the third, in order to "provide an antagonist for Frodo and Sam". This caused confusion for some viewers, wondering why anyone [[LostAesop "feels sorry for"]] Gollum... [[WordOfGod According to Tolkien]], had Gollum remained loyal to Frodo in the book, he would have taken the Ring and thrown ''himself'' in the fire.
47* ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'' by Creator/StevenErikson:
48** The Crippled God is in constant pain after being forcibly summoned and having subsequently crashed into the planet like a meteor. The Crippled God now tries to share his pain with everyone else. Several characters have speculated on whether or not his followers' twisted faith won't let him heal or is it that his pain twists the followers' minds [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity (even more)]]. He's also poisoning the goddess of the Earth, pushing him into full on OmnicidalManiac territory, as he spreads chaos and death across the known world.
49** Korabas, the Otataral Dragon. She never asked to be made what she is. Due to her nature, if she isn't chained up, she will destroy life wherever she flies, because life is magic and she is AntiMagic. Not that she ''wants'' to do this -- she actually wants to create something rather than destroying it for once in her existence. Unfortunately, she doesn't really have the ability, due to what she is. As a result, she has to be chained up for the survival of essentially ''everything else on the planet''. There's nothing malicious about this on the part of the people keeping her chained -- but there's also nothing malicious in her desire to be unchained. Being chained up is ''boring'', after all. It's simply a case of being BlessedWithSuck of an extreme level.
50** Emperor Rhulad Sengar. It's hard to not to sympathise with him, after his mind starts to slowly break apart because of his deaths and [[ImmortalityHurts resurrections]]... and the deaths of his loved ones, which he is largely too absorbed with his own misery to prevent. Also Udinaas, the only person he maybe could call a friend, betrays him -- or so he thinks. The fact that he has a powerful ArtifactOfDoom and rules an empire is little consolation.
51* ''Literature/MartinBeck'': WideEyedIdealist hippie Rebeka Lind in ''The Terrorists''. The father of her baby (an American draft dodger) is tricked into returning home and sentenced to four years in prison. She is mistaken for a bank robber, roughly manhandled, and arrested after trying to borrow money to pay the travel fare to go see him. She gets repeatedly propositioned by [[DirtyOldMan dirty old men]] in an exploitative way.She learns that her boyfriend committed suicide in jail due to a cruel letter from his mother; her mental breakdown and desire for someone in power to blame causes her to assassinate the Swedish Prime Minster, and she later kills herself in a mental institution.
52* Ari from the ''Literature/MaximumRide'' series. He was born a sweet, innocent child, but he grew up in the shadow of [[spoiler:[[LukeIAmYourFather his half-sister]]]], Max. He was turned into a WolfMan by scientists, and was subject to constant genetic enhancements afterward, eventually becoming a hideous freak. [[spoiler:In the end, though, he gets a HeelFaceTurn -- but [[RedemptionEqualsDeath too late]]]].
53* Ineluki the Storm King, the BigBad of Creator/TadWilliams' ''Literature/MemorySorrowAndThorn''. It is said that he was the brightest light the [[TheFairFolk Sithi]] had ever known and, had things been different, he might have led them out of their exile and into a new golden age. Instead, he went [[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow down dark paths]], sacrificing [[SelfMadeOrphan his family]], [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope his soul]], and ultimately, [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique his life]] to defend his people against the depredations of [[HumansAreBastards humanity]]. Even after death, his hatred sustained him, turning him into a [[TheUndead dark spirit]] that seeks now to return ''everything'' to Unbeing in revenge for his suffering. In the end, this turns out to be the key to his defeat.
54* The Chandrian, specifically [[FallenHero Lanre]], in ''Literature/TheNameOfTheWind''; Lanre went insane when his love died, and, in the unsuccessful attempt to bring her back, made himself immortal. With suicide now not an option, he decided to kill the rest of the world instead. He's definitely sympathetic in the BackStory, the only question is if he can maintain it as [[ShroudedInMyth Haliax]] in the modern era.
55* Literature/{{Nibelungenlied}}: By the beginning of the first part, Kriemhild is a tender and meek Princess Classic. By the end of the second part, she is a merciless angel of vengeance who has sacrificed thousands of lives, extirpated her own clan, ruined a kingdom and heavily decimated another in her quest for justice.
56* Isabella Sordeno from Mindy Mackay's ''Literature/{{Peacebreakers}}'' seems to fit the bill. After being manipulated, abused, and [[spoiler:operated on while conscious]], she snaps and loses her mind, developing into a strategic mastermind and almost singlehandedly [[spoiler:conquers a country]] while exploiting and manipulating everyone around her ForTheEvulz. Eventually, as her malevolence snowballs, her reckless strike against an old enemy ends up [[ZombieApocalypse breaking the world]].
57* Luke from ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'' to the point when even the victims of his nefarious acts (Silena, Thalia, Annabeth) show compassion for him and want to help him. Even Percy, who out right ''resents'' him feels bad for the guy in the end.
58** Bessie the Ophiotaurus, from the same series, is an unusual variant on this trope. Whoever kills Bessie and sacrifices her entrails to fire will gain the power to destroy the gods and annihilate human civilization.
59* In the Literature/PriscillaHutchins series by Creator/JackMcDevitt, the Omega Clouds are organized clouds of unknown nature which sweep through the galaxy in waves approximately every 8,000 years, destroying entire civilizations. In the final novel ''Cauldron'' [[spoiler:it's revealed that they are an EpicHail sent by a sentient [[SpaceClouds Space Cloud]] trapped alone at the centre of the galaxy for billions of years. It's ignorant of other forms of life and that the Omega Clouds are deadly to them. When Hutch tries to make FirstContact, it tries to seize her spacecraft to replicate its technology in order to escape. Hutch self-destructs the ship and flees in another vessel, with the alien pleading for them not to abandon it again.]]
60* In one Creator/DinoBuzatti short story, ''The Poor Little Boy'', we are told the typical day of Dolfi, a sickly, small, dark-haired 5-years-old boy who always gets bullied around by his healthier, blonde classmates. This day, he shows up at the park with a brand new pop gun and -- for once -- they let him play war with them... Only to play a cruel prank on him, beat him, and break his toy. And to make things worst, he gets yelled at by his mother because he got his clothes dirty. As a friend of his mother concludes : ''Oh! These children! They make a big deal out of everything! Said the other lady annoyed to seem them leave. Well, goodbye then, [[spoiler:Mrs. Hitler!]]''
61* ''Q Squared'', the Star Trek Novel by ''Creator/PeterDavid'', features Jack Crusher in an alternate reality, a good but unhappy man who is targeted by the godlike Trelane, who drives Jack [[spoiler:murderously...and suicidally...insane]].
62* In ''Literature/TheQueensFool'' by ''Creator/PhilippaGregory'', UsefulNotes/MaryTudor is portrayed as this. The TraumaCongaLine she goes through is the FreudianExcuse behind her burning lots of heretics.
63* Persephone in ''Literature/{{Ravirn}}'' releases the [[spoiler:Necessity virus]] that would have destroyed the entire multiverse without Ravirn's intervention in hopes of breaking Hades' hold on her. It's later implied that she would have done the same again when Hades [[spoiler:is one of the few candidates to replace Necessity and gain absolute power]], except that she trusted Ravirn to stop him instead.
64* Francis Dolarhyde from ''Literature/RedDragon''. Sure, he murders whole families and rapes their corpses, but good ''lord'', he had an awful childhood. It gets to the point where you want him to be caught, but you still kinda hope he gets out of the whole mess all right. It helps that Dolarhyde's character development throughout the novel is basically him FightingFromTheInside to prevent a SplitPersonalityTakeover, motivated by ThePowerOfLove. That's enough to make anyone sympathetic.
65** [[DepravedBisexual Jame]] [[PsychopathicManchild Gumb]] is implied to be one. Hannibal himself states "Buffalo Bill wasn't born a criminal; he was made one by years of systematic abuse."
66** [[MagnificentBastard Hannibal]] himself is definitely one. His idyllic life was shattered when his parents were murdered and he and his little sister were abducted by German deserters who ate his sister and fed him some of her in a broth. No wonder he's AxeCrazy.
67* The eponymous character of ''Literature/SkulduggeryPleasant'' was this after his family was killed. The books always implied that he went a bit off the rails, but in ''Death Bringer'', we find out that it went [[OmnicidalManiac a tad further]] than just UnstoppableRage. [[spoiler:He's Lord Vile.]]
68* Simony in ''Literature/SmallGods'' has shades of this. He's HeWhoFightsMonsters until he [[WhatTheHellHero gets called out]], but when you find out about his past it's hard to blame him.
69* The novelization for Disney's ''WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs'' paints Queen Grimhilde as an extremely dark WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds. For starters, the novel gives her the FreudianExcuse that she was emotionally abused by her [[AbusiveParents father]], a mirror maker, who refused to acknowledge that she was beautiful since she was a child, leading her to be insecure in regards to her beauty. When she did marry Snow White's father, the king, she actually did genuinely care for Snow White as if she were her own daughter. Unfortunately, her father's witch cousins ended up giving her a gift (the magic mirror) that also housed her father's spirit, and it is heavily implied that it was thanks to her father's haunting influence that she started to go insane by the movie.
70* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'':
71** Doesn't seem like it at first, but [[MagnificentBastard Petyr Baelish]]. He was born as one of the poorest of the petty, landed nobles in the realm (if not ''the'' poorest noble in the Seven Kingdoms, even including the hedge knights with minimal titles), then is separated from his family at a young age to live with another family with a much, much better social and material standing -- throwing in his face all that he will never naturally have. He's small, weak and looked down upon by just about everybody because martial prowess will never be his strong suit, only brains. Nobody even calls him by his real name. Then, [[FromBadToWorse just to make things worse]], he falls in love with one of the daughters, who he isn't allowed to marry because of his birth. He nearly gets himself killed trying to fight for her hand and, after he loses, she completely ignores him, never having thought of him as more than a younger foster brother. Worse, during all this, the younger daughter had been crushing on him so hard, she decides to rape him by deceit twice, then promptly got herself pregnant... which then made her father lose it, so Petyr gets sent back home in disgrace while he's still healing from the mauling he got trying for the hand of the elder daughter. It's really hard not to feel sorry for him... until he goes all [[MoralEventHorizon gonzo]] with it and becomes a puppeteer in the royal court, [[spoiler:ruins his first love's family ''and'' [[ReplacementGoldfish kidnaps her teenage daughter]], kills people off at his own convenience, sparks a nationwide credit crisis ''and'' starts a frickin' ''brutal'' civil war all so he can rise to the top on his own terms and screw everybody else over.]]
72** Catelyn Tully, who [[spoiler:turns into a homicidal, undead, noose-happy outlaw leader after witnessing the brutal massacre of her son, herself and companions at a wedding feast, having already lost her husband and her other four children]].
73* Trashcan Man in ''Literature/TheStand'' plays a role quite similar to Gollum in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', which makes sense, seeing how the latter was a big inspiration for the former. He actually destroys [[spoiler:the entire [[{{Mordor}} Evil Realm of Las Vegas, turning nearby states into radiation zones]]]] to prove his loyalty to Flagg by bringing him [[spoiler:[[DeusExNukina the Big Fire]]]] to destroy the people of Boulder. This only occurs because Flagg promised him protection from the voices in his head of the people in his hometown who used to tease him for his insanity and {{pyromania|c}}. When one of Flagg's minions use the same language to insult Trash, he snaps and [[spoiler:blows up an airfield, and flees into the desert with a price on his head.]]
74** Funny thing, the other guy wasn't even insulting him, he was only making a rude joke of sorts and involuntarily triggered his BerserkButton.
75** Harold Lauder from the same book ''definitely'' qualifies.
76* While most of the villains in ''Literature/SwordOfTruth'' are {{Omnicidal Maniac}}s, Nicci is more of this trope. The sixth book, ''Faith of the Fallen'', is mostly devoted to showcasing her mindset and point of view.
77* Ronald Waldstein from ''Literature/TimeRiders''. His wife, Eleanor, and son, Gabriel, both died. [[spoiler:Literally wanting to see the world ruined is still nowhere near justified, but he implied to be acting on something else too.]]
78* The King in Red, from ''Literature/TwoSerpentsRise'', killed and enslaved a pantheon of gods and tore a hole in time and space after his beloved was sacrificed to feed the hungry gods.
79** Ironically, [[spoiler:the wrongs of his regime inspired a world-destroying woobie in turn. The anger that drives Mal's evil scheme arises from her parents being killed in a horrifying fashion for opposing Kopil's regime and her homeland being subjected, as she sees it, to occupation by corrupt outside powers]].
80* The Bane (real name Pearlpelt) from ''Literature/TheUnderlandChronicles.'' His father killed his other children so Pearlpelt could have more milk and grow stronger. His parents killed each other in a fight, and he saw his mother lying dead with her innards spilled over the ground. To make matters worse, almost all the humans shun him because he's the Bane, and many of his fellow [[YouDirtyRat rats]] honor him and want him to be their king. Eventually, he goes completely off the deep end, becoming a great [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Hitler allegory.]]
81* Literature/{{Wicked}}: Elphaba. Yes, she went completely mental towards the end. But oh God, [[TearJerker when you read about]] [[FantasticRacism her life...]]
82* ''Literature/WarriorCats'', has Mapleshade. Once a kind-hearted, albeit rather naive [=ThunderClan=] warrior, Mapleshade had a forbidden love affair with a [=RiverClan=] tom named Appledusk, and bore him three adorable kits. She planned to raise them in [=ThunderClan=], but the medicine cat, Ravenwing, discovered her secret and told their Clanmates what she had done. Her entire Clan turned against her and threw her out along with her kits. In desperation, Mapleshade tried to take her kits to their father by crossing the river, but a flood swept them away and they drowned. Blaming her for the kits' deaths, Appledusk and [=RiverClan=] cast her out too, and Appledusk took a new mate. Now completely alone without a Clan to go to, or her kits to care for, her heart broken and her mind crawling with hallucinations of her drowned kits, the only thing left for Mapleshade was [[StartOfDarkness a desire for revenge on the cats who had wronged her]]. She successfully killed Ravenwing and blinded Frecklewish (another of her Clanmates who turned against her), but died in a MutualKill with Appledusk (after finding out about his new mate), with her last words being that her desire for vengeance would never sleep. Even in death, she would never know peace or see her kits again -- she was banished to the Dark Forest for her crimes, and spent her afterlife continuing to plot her revenge. She could have been a great hero and loyal warrior like Bluestar or Sandstorm, but she was twisted into this by horrific tragedy and chose to bring death and destruction upon countless innocent cats.
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