I opened doors for little old ladies. I helped the blind to see.
I got no friends 'cause they read the papers. They can't be seen
With me, and I'm gettin' real shot down and I'm feeling mean.
When a character grows into a Jerkass over time (sometimes rather quickly). Can be due to Flanderization, a Face–Heel Turn, a traumatic incident, or just another regular albeit unfortunate case of Character Development, which depends on who's writing said character(s). While a Jerkass growing into a Jerk with a Heart of Gold is a common phenomenon, especially in dramas, a reversal, resulting in this trope, is also common, especially in comedies.
This can also cause tropes like What the Hell, Hero?, though whether the character changes back to their kind-hearted ways, again, it usually depends on the writer. If the transition is shown as a flashback regarding a known jerk/villain, it may be a Start of Darkness.
See also Took a Level in Badass, Took a Level in Dumbass, Cynicism Catalyst, Compressed Vice, Jumping Off the Slippery Slope as well as Ruder and Cruder. When this happens to a character temporarily for the sake of the plot, the Jerkass Ball is present. The Counter Trope to Took a Level in Kindness. Contrast Bitch in Sheep's Clothing, who was always a jerk. A character taking their level in jerkassitude was genuinely nice. When a character takes this route in an adaptation, that's Adaptational Jerkass.
Example subpages:
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- Comic Books
- Fan Works
- Films
- Literature
- Live-Action TV
- Professional Wrestling
- Video Games
- Webcomics
- Web Original
- Western Animation
