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* ''ComicBook/TalesOfTheJedi:'' When Exar Kun joins forces with the fallen Ulic Qel-Droma, Exar is clearly the more evil of the pair. Even before Exar's fall, he was a bigoted JerkJock who denigrated his fellow students and disdained his master, and he becomes a BadBoss who treats his subordinates like cannon fodder--even his old "friend" Crado, who was utterly loyal to him. Ulic, on the other hand, had been attempting a FakeDetector gambit in hopes of avoiding an even bloodier war and got twisted up by grief over his master and being manipulated. He treats worthy subordinates with respect and retains enough feeling for his brother and his LoveInterest that he tries to warn them away instead of physically harming them in their repeated attempts to bring him back. [[spoiler:Their reactions to murdering someone close to them also contrast. Exar Kun kills his old master without hesitation or remorse. Ulic kills his brother and is so horrified that he turns back and helps the Jedi defeat Exar.]]
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* ''ComicBook/TalesOfTheJedi:'' When Exar Kun joins forces with the fallen Ulic Qel-Droma, Exar is clearly the more evil of the pair. Even before Exar's fall, he was a bigoted JerkJock who denigrated his fellow students and disdained his master, and he becomes a BadBoss who treats his subordinates like cannon fodder--even his old "friend" Crado, who was utterly loyal to him. Ulic, on the other hand, had been attempting a FakeDetector LieDetector gambit in hopes of avoiding an even bloodier war and got twisted up by grief over his master and being manipulated. He treats worthy subordinates with respect and retains enough feeling for his brother and his LoveInterest that he tries to warn them away instead of physically harming them in their repeated attempts to bring him back. [[spoiler:Their reactions to murdering someone close to them also contrast. Exar Kun kills his old master without hesitation or remorse. Ulic kills his brother and is so horrified that he turns back and helps the Jedi defeat Exar.]]
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* ''ComicBook/TalesOfTheJedi:'' When Exar Kun joins forces with the fallen Ulic Qel-Droma, Exar is clearly the more evil of the pair. Even before Exar's fall, he was a bigoted JerkJock who denigrated his fellow students and disdained his master, and he becomes a BadBoss who treats his subordinates like cannon fodder--even his old "friend" Crado, who was utterly loyal to him. Ulic, on the other hand, had been attempting a FakeDetector gambit in hopes of avoiding an even bloodier war and got twisted up by grief over his master and being manipulated. He treats worthy subordinates with respect and retains enough feeling for his brother and his LoveInterest that he tries to warn them away instead of physically harming them in their repeated attempts to bring him back. [[spoiler:Their reactions to murdering someone close to them also contrast. Exar Kun kills his old master without hesitation or remorse. Ulic kills his brother and is so horrified that he turns back and helps the Jedi defeat Exar.]]
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*This has often been used to define the relationship between [[Characters/MarvelComicsHydra Viper/Ophelia Sarkissian]] and various villains that have served as her enemies, like the Constrictor, the Serpent Society, or the Red Skull. The other villains have a mercenary mentality, they seek profit for their actions, and may go out of their way to avoid collateral damage for their missions. Viper has at times tried to annihilate or cripple the population of entire cities or countries, and is often only motivated by her sadism. Nearly everyone else counts as a lighter shade of black.
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* After Jason's SanitySlippage during ''Franchise/{{Batman}}: Battle for the Cowl'' anytime he's targeting an actual villain instead of trying to off members of his family he counts as ALighterShadeOfGrey, unless the villain in question wasn't much of a monster since someone who hacks off people's heads and tries to murder his little brothers is a fairly dark shade to begin with.
* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' villain Poison Ivy is often this to the Joker, to whom she is often presented as a {{Foil}}. Specifically, she really does love Harley whereas the Joker just sees her as a convenient pawn/[[DomesticAbuse punching bag]], and while she's still a bad person, she has an [[GaiasVengeance actual reason for her villainy]], whereas the Joker is basically just [[ForTheEvulz "I love being evil! HAHAHA!"]].
* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' villain Poison Ivy is often this to the Joker, to whom she is often presented as a {{Foil}}. Specifically, she really does love Harley whereas the Joker just sees her as a convenient pawn/[[DomesticAbuse punching bag]], and while she's still a bad person, she has an [[GaiasVengeance actual reason for her villainy]], whereas the Joker is basically just [[ForTheEvulz "I love being evil! HAHAHA!"]].
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* After Jason's SanitySlippage during ''Franchise/{{Batman}}: Battle for the Cowl'' Cowl'', anytime he's targeting an actual villain instead of trying to off members of his family family, he counts as ALighterShadeOfGrey, unless the villain in question wasn't much of a monster monster, since someone who hacks off people's heads and tries to murder his little brothers is a fairly dark shade to begin with.
* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' villain Poison Ivy is often this to the Joker, to whom she is often presented as a {{Foil}}. Specifically, she really does loveHarley Harley, whereas the Joker just sees her as a convenient pawn/[[DomesticAbuse punching bag]], and while she's still a bad person, she has an [[GaiasVengeance actual reason for her villainy]], whereas the Joker is basically just [[ForTheEvulz "I love being evil! HAHAHA!"]].
* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' villain Poison Ivy is often this to the Joker, to whom she is often presented as a {{Foil}}. Specifically, she really does love
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* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': During ComicBook/{{Venom}}'s transformation into an an anti-hero in the nineties, readers were introduced to ComicBook/{{Carnage}}, Venom's [[EvilCounterpart eviler counterpart]]. When push came to shove, Spider-Man would even [[EnemyMine team up with Venom against Carnage]], who couldn't have Carnage deny him the "honor" of killing Spidey himself.
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* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': During ComicBook/{{Venom}}'s transformation into an an anti-hero AntiHero in the nineties, readers were introduced to ComicBook/{{Carnage}}, Venom's [[EvilCounterpart eviler counterpart]]. When push came to shove, Spider-Man would even [[EnemyMine team up with Venom against Carnage]], who couldn't have Carnage deny him the "honor" of killing Spidey himself. The most famous example would be the ''ComicBook/MaximumCarnage'' event where IdealHero Spidey needs the help of more morally grey anti-heroes like Venom to take Carnage, Doppelganger and Shriek down.
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* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'': During ComicBook/{{Venom}}'s transformation into an an anti-hero in the nineties, readers were introduced to ComicBook/{{Carnage}}, Venom's [[EvilCounterpart eviler counterpart]]. When push came to shove, Spider-Man would even [[EnemyMine team up with Venom against Carnage]], who couldn't have Carnage deny him the "honor" of killing Spidey himself.
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* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'': ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': During ComicBook/{{Venom}}'s transformation into an an anti-hero in the nineties, readers were introduced to ComicBook/{{Carnage}}, Venom's [[EvilCounterpart eviler counterpart]]. When push came to shove, Spider-Man would even [[EnemyMine team up with Venom against Carnage]], who couldn't have Carnage deny him the "honor" of killing Spidey himself.
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* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'': During ComicBook/{{Venom}}'s transformation into an an anti-hero in the nineties, readers were introduced to ComicBook/{{Carnage}}, Venom's [[EvilCounterpart eviler counterpart]]. When push came to shove, Spider-Man would even [[EnemyMine team up with Venom against Carnage]], who couldn't have Carnage deny him the "honor" of killing Spidy himself.
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* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'': During ComicBook/{{Venom}}'s transformation into an an anti-hero in the nineties, readers were introduced to ComicBook/{{Carnage}}, Venom's [[EvilCounterpart eviler counterpart]]. When push came to shove, Spider-Man would even [[EnemyMine team up with Venom against Carnage]], who couldn't have Carnage deny him the "honor" of killing Spidy Spidey himself.
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* After Jason's SanitySlippage during ''Franchise/{{Batman}}: Battle for the Cowl'' anytime he's targeting an actual villain instead of trying to off members of his family he counts as a LighterShadeOfGrey, unless the villain in question wasn't much of a monster since someone who hacks off people's heads and tries to murder his little brothers is a fairly dark shade to begin with.
* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' villain Poison Ivy is often this to the Joker, to whom she is often presented as a {{Foil}}. Specifically, she really does love Harley whereas the Joker just sees her as a convienent pawn/[[DomesticAbuse punching bag]], and while she's still a bad person, she has an [[GaiasVengeance actual reason for her villainy]], whereas the Joker is basically just [[ForTheEvulz "I love being evil! HAHAHA!"]].
* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' villain Poison Ivy is often this to the Joker, to whom she is often presented as a {{Foil}}. Specifically, she really does love Harley whereas the Joker just sees her as a convienent pawn/[[DomesticAbuse punching bag]], and while she's still a bad person, she has an [[GaiasVengeance actual reason for her villainy]], whereas the Joker is basically just [[ForTheEvulz "I love being evil! HAHAHA!"]].
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* After Jason's SanitySlippage during ''Franchise/{{Batman}}: Battle for the Cowl'' anytime he's targeting an actual villain instead of trying to off members of his family he counts as a LighterShadeOfGrey, ALighterShadeOfGrey, unless the villain in question wasn't much of a monster since someone who hacks off people's heads and tries to murder his little brothers is a fairly dark shade to begin with.
* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' villain Poison Ivy is often this to the Joker, to whom she is often presented as a {{Foil}}. Specifically, she really does love Harley whereas the Joker just sees her as aconvienent convenient pawn/[[DomesticAbuse punching bag]], and while she's still a bad person, she has an [[GaiasVengeance actual reason for her villainy]], whereas the Joker is basically just [[ForTheEvulz "I love being evil! HAHAHA!"]].
* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' villain Poison Ivy is often this to the Joker, to whom she is often presented as a {{Foil}}. Specifically, she really does love Harley whereas the Joker just sees her as a
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* ComicBook/PoisonIvy is often this to ComicBook/TheJoker, to whom she is often presented as a {{Foil}}. Specifically, she really does love Harley, whereas the Joker just sees her as a convienent pawn/[[DomesticAbuse punching bag]], and while she's still a bad person, she has an [[GaiasVengeance actual reason for her villainy]], whereas the Joker is basically just [[ForTheEvulz "I love being evil! HAHAHA!"]].
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* ComicBook/PoisonIvy ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' villain Poison Ivy is often this to ComicBook/TheJoker, the Joker, to whom she is often presented as a {{Foil}}. Specifically, she really does love Harley, Harley whereas the Joker just sees her as a convienent pawn/[[DomesticAbuse punching bag]], and while she's still a bad person, she has an [[GaiasVengeance actual reason for her villainy]], whereas the Joker is basically just [[ForTheEvulz "I love being evil! HAHAHA!"]].
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* ''ComicBook/ThePunisher'': Some continuities show Frank to be a SerialKillerKiller little better than the criminals he hunts down. In some cases Frank actively agrees, but holds that ThouShaltNotKill gets in the way of reducing crime (despite there being just as much crime as when he started) and tells the heroes that until they kill him, he'll just go right back to killing criminals (putting him in jail only puts him closer to his targets, and Frank actually gets himself arrested several times in order to do just that).
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* ComicBook/DoctorDoom has some very similar traits. Certainly, he is an AGodAmI [[InsufferableGenius massive egomaniac]] and rules the nation of Latveria as a despot with armed Doombots on each corner and an enforced CultOfPersonality. At the same time, he keeps his word, provides an excellent quality of life for his citizens (Latveria's health and education infrastructure makes the United States look like a podunk backwater), and seeks to TakeOverTheWorld in order to make life better for everyone (admittedly at the cost of armed Doombots on each corner and an enforced CultOfPersonality). At least once, he's been replaced as Latveria's ruler by someone who turned out to be lacking those positive traits. The Fantastic Four have to deal semi-regularly with people who want to destroy the world for reasons that range from understandable but still kind of harsh (Galactus) to plain dickish and weird (Annihilus). And Doom ''also'' usually refuses to have anything to do with the Red Skull[[note]]mostly because Doom's mother was Romani[[/note]]. In the {{Cyberpunk}} Marvel 2099 universe, a re-awoken Doom was actually one of the heroes -- his takeover of the United States was actually a positive development, with the corporations brought back under control, and he even made a HeroicSacrifice to deal with the Phalanx.
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* ComicBook/DoctorDoom has some very similar traits. Certainly, he is an AGodAmI [[InsufferableGenius massive egomaniac]] and rules the nation of Latveria as a despot with armed Doombots on each corner and an enforced CultOfPersonality. At the same time, he [[IGaveMyWord keeps his word, word]], provides an excellent quality of life for his citizens (Latveria's health and education infrastructure makes the United States look like a podunk backwater), and seeks to TakeOverTheWorld in order to make life better for everyone (admittedly at the cost of armed Doombots on each corner and an enforced CultOfPersonality). At least once, he's been replaced as Latveria's ruler by someone who turned out to be lacking those positive traits. The Fantastic Four have to deal semi-regularly with people who want to destroy the world for reasons that range from understandable but still kind of harsh (Galactus) to plain dickish and weird (Annihilus). And Doom ''also'' usually refuses to have anything to do with the Red Skull[[note]]mostly because Doom's mother was Romani[[/note]]. In the {{Cyberpunk}} Marvel 2099 universe, a re-awoken Doom was actually one of the heroes -- his takeover of the United States was actually a positive development, with the corporations brought back under control, and he even made a HeroicSacrifice to deal with the Phalanx.
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* In ''ComicBook/{{Wanted}}'', Wesley and his allies are ever so slightly better than their opponents, which makes it possible to root for them. [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality Invoked by the author]], as the story's structure (a corruption of TheHerosJourney) is specifically modelled to make you root for the VillainProtagonist even though he murders, rapes and tortures his way through the issues and is a petty, smug sadist who obviously gets off on the evil acts he commits. In the end the only thing differentiating Wesley from [[BigBad Mr. Rictus]] is that Wesley is evil 6 days a week, whereas Rictus strives to fill all 7 of them with bonafide supervillainy. By the end Wesley has to BreakTheFourthWall to remind the reader that, yes, [[CardCarryingVillain he's still a villain and proud of it]].
* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'': During ComicBook/{{Venom}}'s transformation into an an anti-hero in the nineties, readers were introduced to ComicBook/{{Carnage}}, Venom's [[EvilCounterpart eviler counterpart]]. When push came to shove, Spider-Man would even [[EnemyMine team up with Venom against Carnage]], who couldn't have Carnage deny him the "honor" of killing Spidy himself.
* In ''ComicBook/XMen'' while ComicBook/{{Magneto}} is often portrayed as a ruthless villain, he wants to [[WellIntentionedExtremist create a better world for mutantkind free from]] [[FantasticRacism human discrimination and persecution]]. This is a stark contrast to many other X-Men villains such as Sebastian Shaw, William Stryker, and Apocalypse; who have more selfish purposes (and in the case of Stryker, genocide against mutants). And of course there is Magneto's [[EvenEvilHasStandards disgust towards the]] ComicBook/RedSkull [[note]]The fact that the Red Skull is a Nazi who participated in the Holocaust while Magneto is a Jewish Holocaust survivor makes Magneto even more sympathetic[[/note]].
* ComicBook/DoctorDoom has some very similar traits. Certainly, he is an AGodAmI [[InsufferableGenius massive egomaniac]] and rules the nation of Latveria as a despot with armed Doombots on each corner and an enforced CultOfPersonality. At the same time, he keeps his word, provides an excellent quality of life for his citizens (Latveria's health and education infrastructure makes the United States look like a podunk backwater), and seeks to TakeOverTheWorld in order to make life better for everyone (admittedly at the cost of armed Doombots on each corner and an enforced CultOfPersonality). At least once, he's been replaced as Latveria's ruler by someone who turned out to be lacking those positive traits. The Fantastic Four have to deal semi-regularly with people who want to destroy the world for reasons that range from understandable but still kind of harsh (Galactus) to plain dickish and weird (Annihilus). And Doom ''also'' usually refuses to have anything to do with the Red Skull[[note]]mostly because Doom's mother was Romani[[/note]]. In the {{Cyberpunk}} Marvel 2099 universe, a re-awoken Doom was actually one of the heroes -- his takeover of the United States was actually a positive development, with the corporations brought back under control, and he even made a HeroicSacrifice to deal with the Phalanx.
* In ''ComicBook/JohnnyTheHomicidalManiac'', the titular VillainProtagonist has next to no redeeming qualities, but he does have a MoralityPet (that he seldom actually [[PetTheDog pets]], try as he might) and seems to recognize that he's gone horrifically wrong... and when he's up against a [[CosmicHorrorStory universe-consuming]] EldritchAbomination, it's relatively easy to root for him.
** It helps, too, that Johnny is somewhat goofy and likable, mostly due to his CrossesTheLineTwice mannerisms and general [[PsychopathicManChild childish tendencies]], while the Monster Behind the Wall is never fun or wacky at all. Even though Johnny is clearly not forgivable, most of the readers would much rather have him running around.
* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye:'' Mentioned in-universe. Sentinel Prime was, during his life, a violent, murderous, arrogant fascist who killed the guy before him to get the job. But, as Brainstorm notes, the last thing he did in life was fight the newly emergent [[BigBad Megatron]], so he gets to be remembered as a hero. Not so much with the readers, who're more likely to side with Megs, who at the time was trying to overthrow an oppressive regime with a fondness for [[KickTheDog kicking every dog they could find]].
* Lampshaded in the ''Magazine/{{Mad}}'' parody of Film/TradingPlaces, after the main characters ruin the Duke brothers.
-->"I know those two old guys were ruthless... but compared to these two sharks, they were damn-near lovable!!"
* ''ComicBook/{{Raptors}}'': Drago and Camilla are remorseless predators, but their love for each other and reason for wanting revenge against the other vampires for killing their parents makes them just slightly more sympathetic. Unlike their arch-enemy Don Miguel, they also don't make a habit out of hunting children or orchestrating the wholesale purge of humanity.
* After Jason's SanitySlippage during ''Franchise/{{Batman}}: Battle for the Cowl'' anytime he's targeting an actual villain instead of trying to off members of his family he counts as a LighterShadeOfGrey, unless the villain in question wasn't much of a monster since someone who hacks off people's heads and tries to murder his little brothers is a fairly dark shade to begin with.
* ComicBook/PoisonIvy is often this to ComicBook/TheJoker, to whom she is often presented as a {{Foil}}. Specifically, she really does love Harley, whereas the Joker just sees her as a convienent pawn/[[DomesticAbuse punching bag]], and while she's still a bad person, she has an [[GaiasVengeance actual reason for her villainy]], whereas the Joker is basically just [[ForTheEvulz "I love being evil! HAHAHA!"]].
* ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogMegaManWorldsCollide'': [[Franchise/MegaMan Dr. Wily]] turns out to be this to [[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog Dr. Eggman]]. Both team up to conquer their respective worlds together and initially share a VillainousFriendship, but Dr. Eggman is revealed to be highly unstable and violent, at one point jettisoning Dr. Light from their floating fortress. When Wily found out, he was appalled: he wanted his intellectual rival defeated and humbled, not ''killed''. [[spoiler:In the end, when Sonic and Mega Man defeat them, Wily accepts his defeat and allows their universe to revert to normal. Eggman, however, directly attacks Sonic in the midst of his attempt to restore their own universe [[SoreLoser out of]] [[EvilIsPetty spite]], ranting that if he can't have the universe [[InTheirOwnImage remade in his image]], then he'd rather doom all of reality than let Sonic restore it; this results in Sonic's world being [[CosmicRetcon irrevocably altered]].]]
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* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'': During ComicBook/{{Venom}}'s transformation into an an anti-hero in the nineties, readers were introduced to ComicBook/{{Carnage}}, Venom's [[EvilCounterpart eviler counterpart]]. When push came to shove, Spider-Man would even [[EnemyMine team up with Venom against Carnage]], who couldn't have Carnage deny him the "honor" of killing Spidy himself.
* In ''ComicBook/XMen'' while ComicBook/{{Magneto}} is often portrayed as a ruthless villain, he wants to [[WellIntentionedExtremist create a better world for mutantkind free from]] [[FantasticRacism human discrimination and persecution]]. This is a stark contrast to many other X-Men villains such as Sebastian Shaw, William Stryker, and Apocalypse; who have more selfish purposes (and in the case of Stryker, genocide against mutants). And of course there is Magneto's [[EvenEvilHasStandards disgust towards the]] ComicBook/RedSkull [[note]]The fact that the Red Skull is a Nazi who participated in the Holocaust while Magneto is a Jewish Holocaust survivor makes Magneto even more sympathetic[[/note]].
* ComicBook/DoctorDoom has some very similar traits. Certainly, he is an AGodAmI [[InsufferableGenius massive egomaniac]] and rules the nation of Latveria as a despot with armed Doombots on each corner and an enforced CultOfPersonality. At the same time, he keeps his word, provides an excellent quality of life for his citizens (Latveria's health and education infrastructure makes the United States look like a podunk backwater), and seeks to TakeOverTheWorld in order to make life better for everyone (admittedly at the cost of armed Doombots on each corner and an enforced CultOfPersonality). At least once, he's been replaced as Latveria's ruler by someone who turned out to be lacking those positive traits. The Fantastic Four have to deal semi-regularly with people who want to destroy the world for reasons that range from understandable but still kind of harsh (Galactus) to plain dickish and weird (Annihilus). And Doom ''also'' usually refuses to have anything to do with the Red Skull[[note]]mostly because Doom's mother was Romani[[/note]]. In the {{Cyberpunk}} Marvel 2099 universe, a re-awoken Doom was actually one of the heroes -- his takeover of the United States was actually a positive development, with the corporations brought back under control, and he even made a HeroicSacrifice to deal with the Phalanx.
* In ''ComicBook/JohnnyTheHomicidalManiac'', the titular VillainProtagonist has next to no redeeming qualities, but he does have a MoralityPet (that he seldom actually [[PetTheDog pets]], try as he might) and seems to recognize that he's gone horrifically wrong... and when he's up against a [[CosmicHorrorStory universe-consuming]] EldritchAbomination, it's relatively easy to root for him.
** It helps, too, that Johnny is somewhat goofy and likable, mostly due to his CrossesTheLineTwice mannerisms and general [[PsychopathicManChild childish tendencies]], while the Monster Behind the Wall is never fun or wacky at all. Even though Johnny is clearly not forgivable, most of the readers would much rather have him running around.
* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye:'' Mentioned in-universe. Sentinel Prime was, during his life, a violent, murderous, arrogant fascist who killed the guy before him to get the job. But, as Brainstorm notes, the last thing he did in life was fight the newly emergent [[BigBad Megatron]], so he gets to be remembered as a hero. Not so much with the readers, who're more likely to side with Megs, who at the time was trying to overthrow an oppressive regime with a fondness for [[KickTheDog kicking every dog they could find]].
* Lampshaded in the ''Magazine/{{Mad}}'' parody of Film/TradingPlaces, after the main characters ruin the Duke brothers.
-->"I know those two old guys were ruthless... but compared to these two sharks, they were damn-near lovable!!"
* ''ComicBook/{{Raptors}}'': Drago and Camilla are remorseless predators, but their love for each other and reason for wanting revenge against the other vampires for killing their parents makes them just slightly more sympathetic. Unlike their arch-enemy Don Miguel, they also don't make a habit out of hunting children or orchestrating the wholesale purge of humanity.
* After Jason's SanitySlippage during ''Franchise/{{Batman}}: Battle for the Cowl'' anytime he's targeting an actual villain instead of trying to off members of his family he counts as a LighterShadeOfGrey, unless the villain in question wasn't much of a monster since someone who hacks off people's heads and tries to murder his little brothers is a fairly dark shade to begin with.
* ComicBook/PoisonIvy is often this to ComicBook/TheJoker, to whom she is often presented as a {{Foil}}. Specifically, she really does love Harley, whereas the Joker just sees her as a convienent pawn/[[DomesticAbuse punching bag]], and while she's still a bad person, she has an [[GaiasVengeance actual reason for her villainy]], whereas the Joker is basically just [[ForTheEvulz "I love being evil! HAHAHA!"]].
* ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogMegaManWorldsCollide'': [[Franchise/MegaMan Dr. Wily]] turns out to be this to [[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog Dr. Eggman]]. Both team up to conquer their respective worlds together and initially share a VillainousFriendship, but Dr. Eggman is revealed to be highly unstable and violent, at one point jettisoning Dr. Light from their floating fortress. When Wily found out, he was appalled: he wanted his intellectual rival defeated and humbled, not ''killed''. [[spoiler:In the end, when Sonic and Mega Man defeat them, Wily accepts his defeat and allows their universe to revert to normal. Eggman, however, directly attacks Sonic in the midst of his attempt to restore their own universe [[SoreLoser out of]] [[EvilIsPetty spite]], ranting that if he can't have the universe [[InTheirOwnImage remade in his image]], then he'd rather doom all of reality than let Sonic restore it; this results in Sonic's world being [[CosmicRetcon irrevocably altered]].]]
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