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Sympathy for the Hero

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"You are an honest and honorable man, Lord Eddard. Sometimes I forget that; I have met so few of them in my life. When I see what honor and honesty have won you, I understand why."

After a little time spent thinking about it, it's not too surprising that heroes can often sympathize with certain villains. When you have heroes like the All-Loving Hero around, they're always looking to redeem and relate to anyone, and heroes that have a Dark and Troubled Past can surely understand how sometimes those experiences can put someone down a path to villainy.

What's more surprising is when villains, morally grey characters, or an ordinary Innocent Bystander who are not famous or admired look at the hero, and say "Man, it sucks to be him." Sometimes these people see how Being Good Sucks and No Good Deed Goes Unpunished, and it causes them to feel genuine sympathy and pity for what the hero goes through in being heroic. For the first two, it tends to serve as a Pet the Dog moment.

This can easily serve as a lead in to a villain making a "Not So Different" Remark, seeing the hero as a Worthy Opponent, offering to rule together, or, more darkly, trying to Break Them by Talking. It can even lead the villain to a Heel–Face Turn, if their sympathy for the hero overpowers their motivations for villainy.

Compare It Sucks to Be the Chosen One and Antagonist in Mourning. See Mirror Character for a frequent cause of this. When the villain sees the hero going through so much shit and cannot understand how they can still be heroic after that, it's often because Evil Cannot Comprehend Good. Compare and contrast Baddie Flattery. Sympathy for the Devil is the inverse, when the heroes are sympathizing with the villain.

Remember, please keep all examples In-Universe only. This is not a YMMV or Audience Reaction trope like The Woobie or Unintentionally Sympathetic. For fan examples, see Unpopular Popular Character.


In-Universe Examples Only:

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    Anime & Manga 
  • In Attack on Titan, Reiner Braun, despite what he says to his relatives, apologises directly for being responsible for what's happened to Eren Yeager and his friends and family. In the same scene, Eren shows some of the opposite of this trope, along with a "Not So Different" Remark. He still transforms into a Titan and kills Willy Tybur and a number of innocent bystanders, however.
  • In Dragon Ball Z, in spite of being enslaved by Babidi's magic, Yamu was genuinely repulsed by his partner Spopovich's Cold-Blooded Torture of Videl and even urged him to stop.
  • In Naruto, toward the end of Hinata's fight against Neji, Neji's teacher, Might Guy appears slightly sad when noting that Hinata is no longer able to fight against Neji and gives Neji a What the Hell, Hero? when he tries to kill her. Fridge Brilliance kicks in when you remember that he's also Lee's teacher, and he strongly identifies with those who are trying to take down a more talented opponent through hard work and determination.
  • A surprising number of villains feel bad for all the crap the Straw Hats go through in One Piece. It usually helps show the Morality Kitchen Sink going on all over the place. Most notably, Franky, leader of a vicious bounty hunter gang, breaks into tears when he hears how Usopp left the Straw Hats to keep the Going Merry. Keep in mind, he had savagely beaten up Usopp about a dozen chapters ago, and is now holding him prisoner. This eventually leads up to his Heel–Face Turn.
  • Since the Tag Battle Tournament at the end of the first season of Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl, Team Rocket grew a fondness for Ash's Chimchar due to his tragic backstory, even rooting for Ash every time it battled.
  • Rebuild World: Played with. A black ops operative, Erde, who Akira ends up fighting is a Noble Demon who out of a misunderstanding, pities Akira for being a Tyke Bomb. He isn’t one (it’s part of a Mistaken for Spies Running Gag), and Akira gives him Silent Treatment instead of correcting.
  • Saki Achiga-hen, Toki has a moment like this with Kuro, who is beginning to despair when facing the champion, Teru, and is not able to fight back effectively. Toki notes that Kuro, by attracting all the dora tiles, is hindering Teru's ability to make progressively larger hands, and is quite pleased with Kuro when she finally discards a dora tile, enabling her to win off Teru.

    Comic Books 
  • In Captain Atom: Armageddon, Captain Atom gets a lot of this, especially from Mr. Majestic and the Authority, who both recognize that Cap is a good man and a hero, and that it's not his fault that he's going to blow up and destroy the universe. They do their best to help him, and Angie Spica, the Engineer, a member of the Authority, even gets romantically involved with him. That doesn't stop her, and the rest of the Authority, from trying to kill him, in the mistaken belief that that will stop him from destroying the universe.
  • In Knightfall, Bane engineers a massive prison break at Arkham Asylum just when Batman is already sick and rough around the edges, knowing Batman's own worst instincts will compel him to bring them all in personally. Watching him afar, he concludes that if he didn't want Batman's blood so badly, he'd pity him.
  • During the Kindly Ones volume of The Sandman (1989), Lucifer notes that while he once swore to destroy Dream (over a fairly trivial matter), he now feels almost sorry for him when he sees the mess that Dream has gotten into.
  • Spider-Man:
    • In one story, Spidey confronted by the Argentinian crimelord (and very powerful superhuman), the Black Tarantula, who seeks to kill the hero in order to seal a bargain with another crimelord. Black Tarantula proceeds to curb-stomp Spidey, wondering aloud why he refuses to quit when everyone is after his head. Then he finds out that the reason is that he's looking for the kidnapped Normie Osborn:
      Black Tarantula: I applaud your dedication, Spider-Man, as well as your sense of honor. Considering the current bounty on your head, only a man of exceptional virtue would risk himself to save the heir of an enemy!
      (short pause as he really hits Spidey hard)
      Black Tarantula: ...which makes my own task all the more difficult. (hits him again) While the local authorities may mistake you for a criminal, those who lurk in the shadows see your true heroism! (stops fighting, as Spidey clearly can no longer fight back) Ironic, isn't it? Your enemies know you better than your allies. note 
    • In another story, Hammerhead hires the Hobgoblin to assassinate Joe Robertson; the villain has Joe cornered, and gives him a chance to beg, saying "I always love hearing a good grovel." Joe refuses, having learned a thing or two about pride in the previous story. The Hobgoblin grins a little and says, "I respect that, Robertson." (Palms a grenade.) "Not that it's gonna save you. I just respect it." note 

    Fan Works 
  • All For Luz: Even someone with a black heart like All For One is compelled to make genuine effort to comfort Luz after her horrible experience at the Battle of Gravesfield that leads her to break down into tears after it's over, which is probably the first altruistic thing he's done in over a century.
    All For One: You’ve been through a lot. More than any child should have to go through.
  • Danny Phantom: Empowered: Misty is a Stalker with a Crush on Danny who hopes to use her magic to steal him away from Star. However, after learning just how terrible Star's stepsister Colette is, including how she's an Attempted Homewrecker who also wants to steal Danny away from Star just to prove she can, she feels geniunely sorry for her rival.
  • Mixed with Condescending Compassion in Dominoes. As a empath, Shinichi is able to sense that most of those around him are well aware of how their actions are hurting him, and honestly feel bad about it... but not enough to stop. This, paired with the fact that his abusive father is so callous that he doesn't feel even the slightest bit sorry for anything he's done, has left Shinichi deeply doubting his own worth.
  • Forum of Thrones:
    • Samuel Harrington empathizes greatly with Raenna's Dark and Troubled Past, which morphs into a Ship Tease between them over time.
    • Damon Greyjoy honestly respects Torvin for how he's willing to stand openly for his morals and ideals, even while also feeling sorry for him.
  • Foxfire: The Kuchisake-Onna shows sympathy for Li's situation, touching his burn scar while noting that "You will never find peace so long as the person who did this lives."
  • Gaz Dreams of Genie: Despite being somewhat of a Jackass Genie, Azie still shows several moments of sympathy for Dib having to deal with having a sibling like Gaz and after switching lives with her, swears to be a better sister to him.
  • In Introverted, Naruto manages to barter with Kakuzu, offering him knowledge of the Rasengan. Afterwards, Kakuzu expresses his sympathy for just how screwed up Naruto's circumstances are, especially since he knows they're going to get significantly worse since he just betrayed Konoha. Despite this, however, Kakuzu also makes clear that he intends to collect Naruto for the Akatsuki... eventually.
  • LMS: At one point, Tim and Bob sneak inside the LMS Explorer Mk. V with the intent of sabotaging the ship... but once they see What a Piece of Junk it is, Bob changes his mind, questioning what he could possibly do to the Rock Raiders that life hasn't already.
  • Necessary to Win: As an old friend of Hisa's, Yasuko has a lot of respect for her despite how circumstances have led to them attending different schools and pitted their respective tankery teams against each other. She also doesn't believe that Hisa's team has any chance of winning, but she sympathizes with her wanting to make the most of her singular shot at entering the high school tankery tournament.
  • Not this time, Fate: Fate itself appears to at least somewhat regret how Jaune has repeatedly died over and over again. After realizing that its plans can never be fulfilled, it decides to give the guy a break by granting him and Weiss a happy ending, seemingly due to feeling sorry for him.
  • In Pokémon Reset Bloodlines, during Ash's first encounter with Belladonna, she instantly tries to comfort him upon realizing he knows what it feels to see a loved one being hurt. The fact that she discovered they might be half-siblings is also a major factor in this.
  • In the fifth chapter of The Story of Apollo, Daphne and Luca: An Italian Tragedy, Vincenzo in spite of being a haughty jerk and a petty bully, feels genuinely concerned about Luca's emotional state after his fight with Giulia.
  • Tidal waves: In one chapter, Hawkmoth watches Nadja's live interview with Ladybug and Chat Noir, only to find himself wincing sympathetically when Nadja badgers the superheroine to "confirm" her nonexistent romantic relationship with her crimefighting partner, presenting "evidence" of their supposed relationship out of context, talking over her, and ultimately driving Ladybug to tears. (This also gets Chat Noir to apologize for joining in on the badgering, albeit with a "Just Joking" Justification.)
  • Ultimate Sonic Fighters has the Eggman from Sonic Boom admit that he sincerely feels sorry for Sonic whenever he has to deal with Ungrateful Townsfolk, finding it unfair how they consistently assume the worst about the hedgehog after everything he does for them.

    Films — Live-Action 
  • The Joker often tries to relate to Batman throughout the course of The Dark Knight, especially in expressing how they're both freaks on the margin of society. At the very end he even grudgingly praises the fact that Batman is incorruptible, and cannot be made to break his moral laws. Unfortunately he had a backup plan, and succeeded in breaking Harvey Dent.
  • At the very end of The German, The German silently offers a cigarette to Red Leader, after both pilots have been interned by the neutral Irish.
  • Parodied in Hot Shots! Part Deux when a victim of torture refuses to crack, leaving his captors genuinely impressed—"I see you're no stranger to pain". The guy informs him "I've been married". His captors nod in sincere sympathy and agreement, then wince in horror when he says "Twice".
  • Villain Protagonist Yuri Orlov shows a grudging respect and admiration for Hero Antagonist Agent Valentine several times in Lord of War. Specifically, Yuri goes out of his way to point out Valentine's honesty and integrity, and Yuri seems to be showing some sympathy when Valentine is about to be betrayed by the system he has risked his life defending.
  • Marvel Cinematic Universe:
    • Thor: Ragnarok: Loki expresses his sympathy to Thor, when he visits him in the dungeons on Sakaar, about Thor discovering that their father Odin lied to him about being his firstborn. Loki, who discovered in Thor that he is actually adopted, knows very well what it feels like being lied to for your entire life.
      Loki: Hurts, doesn't it? Being lied to. Being told you're one thing... and then learning it's all a fiction.
    • Avengers: Infinity War: Thanos, of all people, does this multiple times throughout the film. He holds no malice to the heroes for opposing him; he understands why they don't want him to kill half the universe.
      • He gives this lecture to Thor and Loki after decimating the Asgardian escape ship.
        Thanos: I know what it's like to lose. To feel so desperately that you're right, yet to fail nonetheless. Dread it, run from it, destiny still arrives.
      • He voices his respect for Tony Stark, just as Thanos is about to kill him.
        Thanos: I hope they remember you.
      • He comforts Wanda after she is forced to kill Vision to prevent Thanos from getting the Mind Stone, softly telling her that he understands exactly how she feels (because he has just sacrificed Gamora, his adoptive daughter and the one person he truly loved, earlier)... before using the Time Stone to reverse Vision's Heroic Suicide and taking the Mind Stone from him anyway.
        Thanos: I understand, my child. Better than anyone.
        Wanda: You could never.
        Thanos: Today, I lost more than you can know. But now is no time to mourn. Now is no time at all.
    • Avengers: Endgame reveals that Thanos has always felt this way about all the creatures he's killed and the planets he's destroyed, remarking that it's never been personal and that he considers it Necessarily Evil and For the Greater Good. However, with all the trouble Earth has been giving him, knowing they were well on their way to undoing his victory, and that they even managed to kill his future self, he admits he's going to sincerely enjoy obliterating the Earth:
      Thanos: In all my years of conquest... violence... slaughter... It was never personal. But I'll tell you now... what I'm about to do to your stubborn, annoying little planet... I'm gonna enjoy it. Very, very much.
  • In the 2003 film version of Peter Pan, Hook uses a Breaking Lecture on Peter to take away his flight and distract him. Throughout it, Hook talks about how Wendy will eventually grow up and move on, leaving Peter to die alone, forgotten, and unloved. At the end he suddenly looks tremendously sad and adds "Just like me."
  • This is the source of Riddick's redemption in Pitch Black. He's a borderline sociopathic murderer who has been killing people all his life to escape his past and will sacrifice anyone to save himself. Carolyn Fry starts out much the same way; while not being a criminal she's willing to jettison all the passengers in the opening and tries to cope with the guilt for the rest of the movie. Riddick initially admires Fry for her "strong survival instinct" and offers her at the end to leave the planet together by threatening to leave her behind to die if she doesn't. She eventually refuses and professes her willingness to die for the others. This declared intent of self-sacrifice intrigues Riddick enough to go back with her. He is eventually distraught when she sacrifices herself to save him and he angrily yells that she said she would die to save the passengers, but "not for me!"
  • There's a scene in The Prophecy where Satan briefly commiserates and shows sympathy to Detective Daggett (a cop who years earlier lost his faith just before he was set to become a Catholic priest) about how hard it is to believe and keep faith.
  • Spider-Man Trilogy:
    • After Spider-Man saves the train from falling off the tracks in Spider-Man 2, he's exhausted and almost falls off the train. The people in the train pull him back in and lay him on the floor. Peter's lost his mask in the fight, so everyone in the train can see how young he is. One man notes with sympathy, "He's... just a kid. No older than my son." One young bystander gives Peter back his mask, and they promise to keep his secret. Then when Doctor Octopus returns, they all vow to protect him. Unfortunately, Doc Ock doesn't have a problem with that.
    • The first movie also has Innocent Bystanders coming to Spidey's aid when he chooses to save both MJ and the children, enabling him to succeed and disproving, at least for the moment, the Green Goblin's claim that eventually the people will come to hate him.

    Literature 
  • In The Bible, Pontius Pilate only reluctantly allows Jesus' execution, acknowledging that he had done no wrong by Roman laws. This has carried over to numerous portrayals of Pilate.
  • The Dresden Files: Frequently, some the villains will comment on how Harry's life as a hero has given him little to no reward. It's usually a ploy just to get Harry to join them, so Harry learns to tune them out. Though Lara Raith seems to feel sincerely bad when she learns that Harry hasn't had sex in four years.
  • In Gor book Outlaw of Gor, when Tarl returns to Gor he finds that his city has been reduced to rubble by the Priest-Kings, and a mind-altered representative of the Priest-Kings shows up to inform him that it's all Tarl's fault. But Tarl sees that the man who is being used as a puppet by the Priest-Kings is crying for him - he feels pity for Tarl, the one emotion that's forbidden in Gorean custom.
  • In the novelization of Mortal Kombat: The Movie, Goro sadly tells Johnny Cage's friend Art that Art fought well just before killing him at Shang Tsung's command. Which makes what Shang Tsung does to Art all the more hateworthy.
  • A Song of Ice and Fire:
    • The Spymaster Varys berates Mr. Honor Before Reason himself, Ned Stark, for the various huge political mistakes that Ned made in attempting to be The Good Chancellor until Ned says that it was all in attempt to be merciful to innocent children. At that point Varys makes a statement that both admires Ned's integrity and weighs the cost of those mistakes, (Ned is injured and feverish while Locked in the Dungeon, his best friend was murdered, one of his daughters taken captive by his enemies, all of his men killed, etc.) where he basically concludes that no wonder other people don't try to be a hero like Ned.
    • Jaime Lannister expresses sympathy for how Ned's older brother and father were executed, believing it heinous. He muses over the fact it was the Starks' cruel treatment at the Mad King's hand that was one of the reasons why he killed Aerys and yet such an act brought him the contempt of Ned Stark.
  • Near the end of the Harry Turtledove series World War, Nazi commando Otto Skorzeny has a moment where he admires the bravery and skills of a couple of Polish sharpshooters sent after him. (He mentions even complimenting one on his marksmanship while handing the guy his trigger finger.) He also has a moment of pity for the city full of Jews and Poles that he is about to blow up.

    Live-Action TV 
  • 24: Corrupt Corporate Executive Jonas Hodges expresses sympathy for Jack Bauer.
    Hodges: I watched the Senate Hearing yesterday. And I was disgusted with how you were treated. You should be regarded as a hero, not a criminal.
    Jack: I broke the law.
    Hodges: You were following your instinct to protect your country. Just like me!
  • On Arrow, Slade expresses this towards Moira, who sacrifices her life during a Sadistic Choice directed towards Oliver so that both of her children get to live.
  • Game of Thrones:
    • Varys, like his book counterpart, expresses sympathy for Ned Stark. He notes he almost forgets that there are genuinely noble people like him in the world. However he then notes how the Crapsack World of Westeros treats them and why good people like him are so rare in the first place.
    • Jaime Lannister expresses a degree of sympathy and respect for Ned Stark (despite there being absolutely no love lost between them) when he sees Ned setting himself up for a fall. He also shows similar sympathy for Ned's father and brother when he speaks of how they were horrifically executed by The Mad King.
      Jaime: Poor Ned Stark. Brave man, terrible judgement.
    • Tyrion Lannister as well expresses sympathy towards the Starks, Sansa in particular since she's the captive of his family.
    • Varys is supportive of Tyrion in the gloomy aftermath of "Blackwater" and informs him about the attempt on his life and of his demotion.
      Varys: There are many who know that without you this city faced certain defeat. The king won't give you any honors, the histories won't mention you, but we will not forget.
  • In the Hornblower episode Duty, Wolfe states that he sincerely admires Commander Hornblower. It's just that he hates everything that he stands for.
  • Despite working for Yggdrasil corporation in their behind the scenes manipulation in Kamen Rider Gaim DJ Sagara seems to genuinely respect the determination and resolve of the Beat Riders in general and Kouta in particular.
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Unbeknownst to Galadriel, Sauron apologizes to her for the death of her brother, Feanor, while disguised as Halbrand. Her sob story seems to have struck a sensible spot, and inspired for some sympathy for Galadriel.
  • In the Supernatural episode "All Hell Breaks Loose, Part Two" (S02, Ep22), the crossroad demon says she will make a deal with Dean because she has a soft spot for him. He reminds her of a puppy.
  • In one The X-Files episode that takes place in a carnival, a member of the freak show wonders how Mulder can bear to be so perfectly normal in appearance.

    Music 
  • This was the central idea for the song Superman by Five For Fighting. John Ondrasik said the inspiration was thinking about how Superman is missing out on living because of his Chronic Hero Syndrome.

    Pro Wrestling 
  • During James Storm and Eric Young's match during the 2007 TNA "Fight For The Right" tournament, Storm accidentally hit his manager, Jacqueline, while she was trying to interfere on his behalf. It still ended up working out though, because Eric Young decided to make sure she was alright, creating enough of a distraction to give Storm the advantage. To Storm's protests however, Jacqueline gave Young a beer in appreciation afterwards.
  • La Parka Jr. and Cibernético both wanted to take down La Sociedad in AAA but Cibernético and Los Bizarros, the tweeners in the angle, only slightly prioritized attacking La Sociedad over attacking Jr, to the point Jr formed his own group, El Inframundo, to defend himself from Los Bizarros. When that proved insufficient, La Parka Jr ended up joining La Sociedad itself. When Los Bizarros continued to defeat them though, La Sociedad turned on La Parka Jr as a scapegoat for their failure, causing Cibernético to finally work with him against their common enemy.
  • In spite of everything Juliette The Huntress had done to Black Rose, La Rosa Negra simply regarded her as a kid who had fallen in with a bad crowd and was friendly to Ivelisse Vélez when they reunited in the fifty states. Velez remained unfriendly until Negra was among the wrestlers trying to save her from vengeful Power Stable Valkyrie(and failed horribly). The first wrestler to successfully defend Velez from Valkyrie was Mercedes Martinez, who just before had derided Velez for joining in the first place. Velez went on to form a Power Trio with Amanda Rodriguez, a rookie who had been abandoned by all her associates in pro wrestling, and La Rosa Negra after witnessing former stablemate Taylor Made beat Rosa senseless with a pair of brass knuckles while former manager April Hunter tried to keep anyone from stopping her. Martinez criticized Velez for forming another group and shooed Velez out of the arena while she was watching Negra and Rodriguez wrestle a Tag Team match ringside. But after VALkyrie's team Better Than You cheated to win and then beat down of Negra and Rodriguez with the group's muscle, Martinez not only became protective of them herself but officially joined Velez's Sicarias, turning it into a stable in it's own right.

    Theatre 
  • In Antony and Cleopatra, Octavius Caesar spends most of the play bringing Antony down, but still seems to feel sorry for him; though the "Poor Antony" line can come across as either sincere or mocking depending on the direction, his open and indisputable grief when he hears of Antony's death suggests he was sincere.
  • In Cyrano de Bergerac, De Guiche, initially a villainous character, comes to feel great respect for Cyrano. He recognizes that Cyrano doesn't prosper because he never sacrifices his principles, and he (De Guiche) lives a life of prosperity because he does, and part of him wishes he had Cyrano's moral courage.
  • In Hamilton, the principal antagonists are Hamilton's political rivals, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Aaron Burr. In the second act an arc of songs about Hamilton's personal life culminates in the death of Alexander's son Philip. After "It's Quiet Uptown", a heartbreaking song about grief and loss, Jefferson and Madison come back on and Madison is sobbing. Jefferson makes a quip about getting back to politics, but then refers to Alexander as "poor Hamilton" making it clear he understands the man's grief.

    Video Games 
  • Mass Effect and Mass Effect 3 with Saren and The Illusive Man, both stating "It's too late for me." The latter more poignant, showing genuine sadness when Shepard won't join him, when he says, "Your idealism is... admirable."
  • Several of these show up in endings from the Samurai Shodown series. For example, in the second game Haohmaru's ending has his murderous rival Genjuro acknowledging the grueling fight Haohmaru had been through and being talked into sparing Haohmaru's life by Haohmaru's Love Interest, Oshizu. Later, after Haohmaru parts from Oshizu to continue Walking the Earth, Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain Gen-an, a goblin creature, says that the parting moves him to tears.
  • In Undertale, the King Asgore shows reluctance in killing the seventh child, asking them to do whatever they need to before fighting him. To begin the fight, he says "Human... It was nice to meet you. Goodbye."

    Webcomics 
  • Kill Six Billion Demons:
    • Mottom is able to muster a surprising amount of kinship with Allison in Wielder of Names, pointing out that Allison reminds Mottom of herself, several thousand years ago. Both started out as innocent young girls granted power and responsibilities they never asked for and never wanted, and now have little choice but to play their roles. Allison ends up throwing Mottom's sympathies in her face, by pointing out that despite the horrors that was done to her Mottom has never bothered trying to use that power to improve herself and just makes life worse for everyone else. Mottom even tries to give her own responsibilities to Allison.
    • In Breaker of Infinities, Jadis, who knows Allison's future and knows the future cannot be changed, still tries to 'save' her from it by giving her a "Leave Your Quest" Test. Allison points out that while Jadis' attempts at compassion is incredibly condescending, she is genuine and Allison in some ways appreciated the effort. After Allison leaves, Jadis can be seen beseeching the long-dead corpses of the gods to pray for Allison on her behalf.
  • Lich sorcerer Xykon thoroughly outclasses hero Roy Greenhilt during the Battle of Azure City in The Order of the Stick and takes a certain degree of pity on him, offering to let him go off and train for awhile so they can have a decent fight later on. Roy refuses, of course, and things end... poorly.

    Web Animation 

    Western Animation 
She promptly gives him a chaste peck on the cheek as thanks... then stops, thinks about it, and gives him The Big Damn Kiss that has Robin and Poison Ivy looking on stunned, before suggesting that Batman call her later, which makes him gently chide her not to push her luck.
  • Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker: Set up and then defied for the sake of Kick the Dog when the Joker finally finds out Batman's secret identity and the reason he became such:
    The Joker: It's true, Batsy. I know everything. And, kind of like the kid who peeks at his Christmas presents, I must admit, it's sadly anti-climactic. Behind all the "sturm und batarangs", you're just a little boy in a playsuit, crying for mommy and daddy. It'd be funny if it weren't so pathetic... Oh, what the heck, I'll laugh anyway! (maniacal, mocking laughter)
  • Sir George in Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, the founder of the persistent enemy faction the Forever Knights is sympathetic to the pressures that Ben has to deal with from everyone around him, as he has dealt with the same (even from the same person in Azmuth). As George is more of an anti villain than a full on antagonist and both are aiming to stop the same enemy (Dagon), this leads to the two being able to understand each other and strike up something approaching an arrangement to deal with said mutual problem even as they disagree on methods.
  • Discord toys with this in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic:
    • In "The Return of Harmony — Part Two", Twilight Sparkle is thoroughly broken, alone, and defeated, and Discord appears to gloat. When she ignores him he appears to show her sympathy and asks her to cheer up. When she doesn't he gleefully yells "YES!!!" and cackles maniacally, happy that he's broken her once and for all.
    • When Discord once again causes trouble in "Keep Calm and Flutter On", he asks the duped Fluttershy to come join him in his chaos like he had with Twilight above. When she angrily refuses his friendship, he scoffs at the idea he should feel bad just because she's the one friend he ever had.... His Heel–Face Turn is cemented when realising he actually feels bad for how his plan affected Fluttershy.
  • In The Venture Brothers, The Monarch tries to break Dr. Venture with a device designed to generate mental trauma, but finds that he's already so broken that it doesn't have any effect. Another time, he and Dr. Girlfriend manage to break into Dr. Venture's lab, but quickly lose the will to do anything once there after seeing an entire history of Dr. Venture's failures there.
    The Monarch: What can I do to this guy that life hasn't already? I almost feel sorry for him.


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