To add to that, please see Square Peg Round Trope:
Even Evil Has Standards: Tropers have a tendency to shoehorn this. For the record, the trope only applies when an otherwise-remorseless villain refuses to do something especially evil because they think it's too evil. EEHS has been misused for characters who aren't really evil (try Everyone Has Standards), a standard that they only have for pragmatic reasons (Pragmatic Villainy), or a standard that opposes weaksauce villainy (Eviler than Thou, which is the complete inverse of the trope).
I really don't think Hela counts. Even Evil Has Standards is when a villain gets genuinely disgusted, horrified, or hesitant because there's something that's too evil for them. As I remember, that has never applied to Hela. Wanting fame and glory has got nothing to do with morality, that's all about pride.
Odin hiding her soldiers isn't about standards either. She's just annoyed Odin inconvenienced her, but she would have no qualms about doing so herself. While Skurge is a Pet the Dog moment but has nothing to do with standards.
Thank you Asherinka for bringing this over to discussion, the only reason I reinstated the trope was because Reyn Time 250 didn't give a valid reason for it's deletion which is bad TV Tropes etiquette. Having now read the reasoning behind it, I agree to the removal of Even Evil Has Standards. If any other troper has any strong feelings and a valid reason why it should be reinstated, they can bring their argument here.
Troper Reyn Time 250 removed the following entry, troper PF_Fan restored it:
Even Evil Has Standards: She's genuinely sad that the Asgardians don't even know who she is, and is also pissed at what Odin did to Fenris and her soldiers, hiding their corpses beneath the grounds of the royal palace. She also, bizarrely, takes a shine to Skurge and seems to genuinely want to help him achieve his ambitions.
In my opinion the trope is misused. It it is not about being sad or pissed, or wanting to help someone (i.e. about being sympathetic). According to the trope page, it's laconic and playing with, it is about refusing to cross some line. "Some things are too vile even for a villain to do." "Basic Trope: Evil character crosses a line that another evil character considers to be too evil, even for them." "Straight: Somebody suggests killing a relative of the witness to a murder. Bob, The Mob Boss is horrified, and refuses to allow it." Hela was comfortable crossing every line possible. By the way, she is one of the few characters in the MCU that was deemed a Complete Monster, and if you know how that page works, it is not easy :) [=https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Monster/MarvelCinematicUniverse
]=
Hide / Show Replies