Basic Trope: A character is in the wrong for taking revenge against another.
- Straight: Bob kills Charlie for killing his family. He is called out by Alice for doing so and is eventually arrested.
- Exaggerated: Bob is shamed and ostracized for killing Charlie, a serial murderer who had murdered dozens of people, including his family.
- Downplayed:
- Bob beats up Charlie, the school's resident bully. He is scolded by others and is suspended from school.
- Bob wanted to humiliate Charlie for their years of bullying but he takes it too far. He could have killed someone through his revenge quest and he should have just reported them instead.
- Justified:
- Killing a murderer still counts as murder and Bob must be held accountable.
- Taking revenge means that Bob will perpetuate the Cycle of Revenge.
- Taking revenge will turn Bob into a cold-hearted murderer like Charlie.
- There was no confirmed evidence that Charlie was guilty, Bob only suspected him of murder and chose to kill him because the police wouldn't act on his suspicions. Since there was no evidence of Charlie's crime or any credible witnesses, Bob is arrested for murder.
- Charlie killed Bob's brother by accident during a robbery gone wrong. Bob takes revenge in a completely disproportionate manner by killing Charlie's entire family in extremely brutal ways in front of Charlie before finally killing him. Everyone is understandably sickened and horrified by Bob's actions and lose all sympathy for him.
- Inverted:
- Bob forgives Charlie for killing his family, but others call him out on it, stating that just because Charlie is forgiven doesn't mean he gets to escape his punishment.
- Bob chooses to forgive Charlie but the crowd kills Charlie instead since Bob won't do it himself.
- Bob questions whether he should kill Charlie or not after he murders his family before seeing the ghost of his wife urging to avenge her death. This makes Bob decide he needs to kill Charlie for his family to rest in peace.
- Bob laments killing Charlie because it didn't make him feel better or bring his family back. Everyone else, however, tells him that Charlie deserved it and he's got nothing to feel bad about.
- Charlie accepts that he deserved what he got but Bob blames himself for going too far to punish Charlie.
- Subverted:
- Bob spares Charlie but before Charlie gets the chance to go to prison or redeem himself, he's suddenly killed by Alice.
- Bob spares Charlie but Charlie kills himself so he doesn't face the consequences of his actions.
- Bob points out the definition of Justice means "what is fair" and argues that by that definition, it is only fair that the one who led to the deaths of his family suffer the same fate.
- Bob accepts that getting revenge won't change anything or bring justice but shoots Charlie anyway.
- Double Subverted:
- Alice only fakes Charlie's death to ensure his safety in case Bob changes his mind.
- Charlie's suicide attempt fails, ensuring he will face the consequences of his actions.
- Alice points out to Bob that his logic of justice will not hold up in a court of law.
- While nobody called Bob out for killing Charlie, Bob is remorseful and comes to his own conclusion that he deserves to be punished.
- Charlie's family is the one who punishes Bob, not the police or the public.
- Bob only injures Charlie by shooting him, he may have just crippled him at worst.
- Parodied: "It was wrong to murder Charlie, even if they made sure your family was Forced to Watch them be killed one by one and selfishly asked for mercy after the act, wait..."
- Zig-Zagged: There are some who are angry with Bob for taking revenge while others applaud him for giving Charlie what he deserves.
- Averted:
- There are no moral objections against Bob killing Charlie for revenge.
- Revenge is Sweet
- Enforced: The author wants to deconstruct the Pay Evil unto Evil trope.
- Lampshaded: "Oh, look, it's the lame 'two wrongs don't make a right' spiel to shame others for revenge."
- Invoked: ???
- Exploited:
- Alice encourages Bob to murder Charlie so she can eliminate both of them. She can manipulate Bob into killing Charlie so she can get Bob arrested for murder.
- Charlie wanted to die and wanted to screw Bob over one more time by orchestrating his own murder. Charlie gets Bob to murder him and he gets Bob arrested afterwards by leaving incriminating evidence or by calling the police before Bob's arrival.
- Defied: Bob to Alice: "Don't you dare lecture me. Had it been your family who was killed, had it been their case the police handled just as efficiently... then you'd understand those are the words of either a hypocrite, or a nimrod."
- Discussed: "You could kill Charlie but that means going on the run since the police won't see it as justice."
- Conversed: ???
- Deconstructed:
- Bob points out that the police had done nothing about Charlie's crime and not taking action would make Charlie a Karma Houdini. Revenge may not be justice, but it was the closest thing Bob could get to justice.
- Bob skewers the people lecturing him about Revenge not being justice, by pointing out how they're all privileged self-righteous assholes who have never had to risk losing anything in their lives, who've taken the concept of justice and perversely twisted it into a means of proving their moral superiority even as their actual actions consistently allows evil people to walk free, and their victims to pay the price of never receiving either revenge or justice.
- Reconstructed:
- Alice then reveals that there was an investigation ongoing, one that pointed Charlie as the prime suspect for the murder of Bob's family. In the end, Bob's hasty decision prevented justice from being carried out.
- While killing Charlie was indeed justified, Bob becomes addicted to murder and starts killing other murderers out of a perverse sense of justice. When the police finally arrest Bob, they tell him that he's no better than Charlie and he is a monster.
- Played For Laughs: Bob retaliates for Charlie's murder of his family by having him freeze to death. When Alice says there was no justice in Bob's act, he responds that Charlie is now "Just Ice".
- Played For Drama: Alice tells Bob that he's no better than Charlie after killing him. Bob admits that she's right, but decides that he doesn't care anymore because he enjoyed every moment of giving Charlie what he deserves for killing his family, making Alice shocked.
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