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* ''ComicBook/{{Aquaman}}'': In-universe in ''ComicBook/Aquaman2011'', Aquaman was a laughing stock among the general populace, who saw him as a weakling with the very unflattering power of "talking to fish". This changes after [[ComicBook/ThroneOfAtlantis the Atlantean invasion]], which exposes the world to his people's technology and cunning, turning him into one of the world's most feared meta-humans.
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*** The ComicBook/{{New 52}} version of Mr Freeze was changed into always being a monster. He was sickly fascinated with cold since a child, killed his own mother, and the Nora he obsesses about is not related to him in any way. Exceedingly unpopular, the change was dropped like a rock with ComicBook/DCRebirth.
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*** The ComicBook/{{New 52}} ComicBook/New52 version of Mr Freeze was changed into always being a monster. He was sickly fascinated with cold since a child, killed his own mother, and the Nora he obsesses about is not related to him in any way. Exceedingly unpopular, the change was dropped like a rock with ComicBook/DCRebirth.
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* What was [[ComicBook/SuicideSquad Amanda Waller]] before she became one of the most dangerous and manipulative people in the DC Universe, a person whom even Batman fears? A normal housewife in Chicago with a family--and then her family died (her son was killed in a mugging; her daughter died fighting off someone who wanted to rape her, the neighbors ignored her pleas for help, and Waller's family had to have a closed-casket funeral for her due to the extent of the injuries that killed her; and her husband was killed after avenging their daughter) and she decided to claw out of the pit without any help whatsoever.
* ''ComicBook/AmericanVampire'' features a lot of examples:
* ''ComicBook/AmericanVampire'' features a lot of examples:
to:
* What was [[ComicBook/SuicideSquad Amanda Waller]] before she became one of the most dangerous and manipulative people in the DC Universe, a person whom even Batman fears? A normal housewife in Chicago with a family--and then her family died (her son was killed in a mugging; her daughter died fighting off someone who wanted to rape her, the neighbors ignored her pleas for help, and Waller's family had to have a closed-casket funeral for her due to the extent of the injuries that killed her; and her husband was killed after avenging their daughter) and she decided to claw out of the pit without any help whatsoever.
* ''ComicBook/AmericanVampire'' features a lot of examples:''ComicBook/AmericanVampire'':
* ''ComicBook/AmericanVampire'' features a lot of examples:
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* Franchise/{{Batman}}:
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* Franchise/{{Batman}}:''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'':
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* This entire trope is essentially the synopsis of ComicBook/BatmanEternal, where a group of low tier, forgettable villains bring Gotham to its knees with the entire plan hinging on the theory that they're [[ButForMeItWasTuesday so low on Batman's food chain]] he wouldn't even be able to figure out who could commit a plan of its sheer scale without mistakenly targeting his A-class villains such as Ra's al Ghul or Riddler...and they were right.
* ''ComicBook/BlackestNight'' reveals that the [[EldritchAbomination Entities]], the embodiments of Hope, Compassion, Greed, Fear, Willpower, Love, and Rage, were originally the first lifeforms to feel those particular emotions. Parallax, the one responsible for Hal Jordan's FaceHeelTurn which nearly wiped out the universe in ''Zero Hour''... used to be an ordinary little ''bug''.
** Which also counts as FridgeBrilliance, as Parallax is the embodiment of Fear; what creature would be more likely to be afraid than an insignificant little bug?
* Black Hand was a C-list villain (based on Batman co-creator Bill Finger) who stole energy from the ComicBook/{{Green Lantern}}s and based his persona and crimes off of in-jokes and folk sayings. At one point he gave up supervillainy to ''run a porno theater''. He then led [[ZombieApocalypse the Black Lanterns]], and was a primary antagonist in the DC CrisisCrossover, ''Blackest Night''.
* Rift, who was a postal worker who lived simultaneously in the DC Universe and the Dakotaverse. When he became Rift, he treated both universes as ''playthings''.
* Mister Mordan was a near-invisible member of ComicBook/DoomPatrol foes the Brotherhood of Evil. After undergoing experimentation he became a sanity-draining nihilist (ironically calling himself Mr. Nobody) who, along with his new-formed Brotherhood of Dada, trapped Paris inside a painting and almost unleashed the Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse. In a later adventure he used MindRape and almost became President of the United States.
* ''Comicbook/TheFlash'' villain Chunk suffered an accident that turned him into a walking [[ApocalypseHow Class X apocalypse]] waiting to happen. Thankfully, he pulled a HeelFaceTurn when he realized he could use his "black hole" powers [[CutLexLuthorACheck to make millions of dollars in waste disposal management]] and became one of the Flash's more stalwart friends.
* [[ComicBook/NewGods Granny Goodness]]. From lowly peasant to ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}'s personal TortureTechnician and leader of the Female Furies.
* Abraham Pointe was a creepy nobody photographer stalking a waitress in a Las Vegas casino. Then he got possessed by [[ComicBook/GreenLantern the Predator, the Entity of Love,]] and became a ''superpowered'' stalker.
* The Human Flame from Franchise/TheDCU is a subversion. True, he started out a pathetic D-list villain that gained incredible power during his mini. The subversion is that, even ''with'' a huge power boost, he's ''still'' pathetic.
* Johnny Sorrow was a silent movie star whose career was ruined by the coming of talkies. Turning to crime, he used a device to become intangible until a battle with the ComicBook/{{JSA}} caused it to malfunction and suck him into another dimension. There, he was transformed into a twisted being whose face literally kills anyone who gazes upon it and determined to make Earth pay for his condition.
* Maxwell Lord was your typical yuppie, ruthless in the field, even wiling to let his boss die to get ahead but trying to save him. He seemed to be a good guy working with the ComicBook/JusticeLeagueInternational and gaining the power to push his will on others. But when Cyborg Superman destroyed Coast City (where his mother lived), Max became convinced that metahumans caused more problems than they solved. Driven by his new crusade Max would become more obsessed with "saving" humanity... which ended up turning him into a mass murdering menace.
* John Dee, aka Doctor Destiny, was a minor [[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica JLA]] villain who washed up and got locked away for years... until gaining control of the Materioptikon and becoming a global threat overnight, leading to a showdown with the [[ComicBook/TheSandman Lord of Dreams]] himself.
** Dee directly lead to the creation of another threat to reality when his Materioptikon ruby ended up in the hands of a frustrated nobody named Darrin Profitt. After using it to create billions of alternate realities where he explored the outcomes of any decision possible in his quest for power, he comes out the other end as the Red King; a man with contingencies for every Justice Leaguer and all their resources, advanced transforming power armor and over ''63'' different metahuman powers.
* Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica's enemy Dr. Light. Turns out his harmless joke status was caused by an accidental magic lobotomy, and that his original personality was a lot [[PsychoForHire more]] [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil threatening]] and now that he's beaten the effects he's a ''lot'' more dangerous. Creepiest bit, as brought on by way of {{retcon}}, is that for the years in between the League's been letting ''[[ComicBook/TeenTitans teenagers]]'' fight him without letting on how depraved he really is. His preference for rape has been so Flanderized to the point that many readers have begun to refer to him as 'Dr. Rape'.
* ComicBook/{{Sinestro}} was just another inhabitant of his home planet when he was chosen to join the Green Lantern Corps. Rising as one of their greatest members, his obsession with order made him become absolute dictator of his home world. When he was exposed, he was cast out, forging a yellow ring to fight the other Lanterns, setting up Hal Jordan to destroy the Corps and eventually forging his own Yellow Lanterns to spread fear across the universe. And he ''still'' insists he's in the right for it all.
* [[http://www.comicvine.com/starro/29-23345/ Starro the Conqueror]] was just a normal little boy named Cobi. Then his planet was invaded by the Star Conquerors. The death of his older brother (which led to [[MindRape Cobi being possessed by the collective pain and rage of his people]]) granted Cobi PowerBornOfMadness, which he used to ''enslave the Star Conquerors''. Cobi went from an innocent little boy to an insane HumanoidAbomination MindHive carrying the pain and hate of an entire race with complete mastery over a parasitic HiveMind of {{Eldritch Abomination}}s.
* Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}'s enemy Blackstarr in ''[[Comicbook/{{Supergirl 1982}} Supergirl Volume 2]]'' was a poor, unlucky child who was taken from her parents when her family arrived at a concentration camp. She survives, though, and after being indoctrinated by Nazis and gaining powers she becomes a villain able to rip apart the space-time continuum.
* Franchise/{{Superman}}:
** Dr. Hank Henshaw was basically a gag {{Expy}} of Dr. Reed Richards in a forgettable ''Superman'' comic in which a group of scientists become ''Comicbook/FantasticFour'' Expies - but don't survive the radiation. Well, Henshaw survives, and becomes the Cyborg Superman, one of Franchise/{{Superman}}'s most powerful enemies.
* ''ComicBook/BlackestNight'' reveals that the [[EldritchAbomination Entities]], the embodiments of Hope, Compassion, Greed, Fear, Willpower, Love, and Rage, were originally the first lifeforms to feel those particular emotions. Parallax, the one responsible for Hal Jordan's FaceHeelTurn which nearly wiped out the universe in ''Zero Hour''... used to be an ordinary little ''bug''.
** Which also counts as FridgeBrilliance, as Parallax is the embodiment of Fear; what creature would be more likely to be afraid than an insignificant little bug?
* Black Hand was a C-list villain (based on Batman co-creator Bill Finger) who stole energy from the ComicBook/{{Green Lantern}}s and based his persona and crimes off of in-jokes and folk sayings. At one point he gave up supervillainy to ''run a porno theater''. He then led [[ZombieApocalypse the Black Lanterns]], and was a primary antagonist in the DC CrisisCrossover, ''Blackest Night''.
* Rift, who was a postal worker who lived simultaneously in the DC Universe and the Dakotaverse. When he became Rift, he treated both universes as ''playthings''.
* Mister Mordan was a near-invisible member of ComicBook/DoomPatrol foes the Brotherhood of Evil. After undergoing experimentation he became a sanity-draining nihilist (ironically calling himself Mr. Nobody) who, along with his new-formed Brotherhood of Dada, trapped Paris inside a painting and almost unleashed the Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse. In a later adventure he used MindRape and almost became President of the United States.
* ''Comicbook/TheFlash'' villain Chunk suffered an accident that turned him into a walking [[ApocalypseHow Class X apocalypse]] waiting to happen. Thankfully, he pulled a HeelFaceTurn when he realized he could use his "black hole" powers [[CutLexLuthorACheck to make millions of dollars in waste disposal management]] and became one of the Flash's more stalwart friends.
* [[ComicBook/NewGods Granny Goodness]]. From lowly peasant to ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}'s personal TortureTechnician and leader of the Female Furies.
* Abraham Pointe was a creepy nobody photographer stalking a waitress in a Las Vegas casino. Then he got possessed by [[ComicBook/GreenLantern the Predator, the Entity of Love,]] and became a ''superpowered'' stalker.
* The Human Flame from Franchise/TheDCU is a subversion. True, he started out a pathetic D-list villain that gained incredible power during his mini. The subversion is that, even ''with'' a huge power boost, he's ''still'' pathetic.
* Johnny Sorrow was a silent movie star whose career was ruined by the coming of talkies. Turning to crime, he used a device to become intangible until a battle with the ComicBook/{{JSA}} caused it to malfunction and suck him into another dimension. There, he was transformed into a twisted being whose face literally kills anyone who gazes upon it and determined to make Earth pay for his condition.
* Maxwell Lord was your typical yuppie, ruthless in the field, even wiling to let his boss die to get ahead but trying to save him. He seemed to be a good guy working with the ComicBook/JusticeLeagueInternational and gaining the power to push his will on others. But when Cyborg Superman destroyed Coast City (where his mother lived), Max became convinced that metahumans caused more problems than they solved. Driven by his new crusade Max would become more obsessed with "saving" humanity... which ended up turning him into a mass murdering menace.
* John Dee, aka Doctor Destiny, was a minor [[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica JLA]] villain who washed up and got locked away for years... until gaining control of the Materioptikon and becoming a global threat overnight, leading to a showdown with the [[ComicBook/TheSandman Lord of Dreams]] himself.
** Dee directly lead to the creation of another threat to reality when his Materioptikon ruby ended up in the hands of a frustrated nobody named Darrin Profitt. After using it to create billions of alternate realities where he explored the outcomes of any decision possible in his quest for power, he comes out the other end as the Red King; a man with contingencies for every Justice Leaguer and all their resources, advanced transforming power armor and over ''63'' different metahuman powers.
* Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica's enemy Dr. Light. Turns out his harmless joke status was caused by an accidental magic lobotomy, and that his original personality was a lot [[PsychoForHire more]] [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil threatening]] and now that he's beaten the effects he's a ''lot'' more dangerous. Creepiest bit, as brought on by way of {{retcon}}, is that for the years in between the League's been letting ''[[ComicBook/TeenTitans teenagers]]'' fight him without letting on how depraved he really is. His preference for rape has been so Flanderized to the point that many readers have begun to refer to him as 'Dr. Rape'.
* ComicBook/{{Sinestro}} was just another inhabitant of his home planet when he was chosen to join the Green Lantern Corps. Rising as one of their greatest members, his obsession with order made him become absolute dictator of his home world. When he was exposed, he was cast out, forging a yellow ring to fight the other Lanterns, setting up Hal Jordan to destroy the Corps and eventually forging his own Yellow Lanterns to spread fear across the universe. And he ''still'' insists he's in the right for it all.
* [[http://www.comicvine.com/starro/29-23345/ Starro the Conqueror]] was just a normal little boy named Cobi. Then his planet was invaded by the Star Conquerors. The death of his older brother (which led to [[MindRape Cobi being possessed by the collective pain and rage of his people]]) granted Cobi PowerBornOfMadness, which he used to ''enslave the Star Conquerors''. Cobi went from an innocent little boy to an insane HumanoidAbomination MindHive carrying the pain and hate of an entire race with complete mastery over a parasitic HiveMind of {{Eldritch Abomination}}s.
* Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}'s enemy Blackstarr in ''[[Comicbook/{{Supergirl 1982}} Supergirl Volume 2]]'' was a poor, unlucky child who was taken from her parents when her family arrived at a concentration camp. She survives, though, and after being indoctrinated by Nazis and gaining powers she becomes a villain able to rip apart the space-time continuum.
* Franchise/{{Superman}}:
** Dr. Hank Henshaw was basically a gag {{Expy}} of Dr. Reed Richards in a forgettable ''Superman'' comic in which a group of scientists become ''Comicbook/FantasticFour'' Expies - but don't survive the radiation. Well, Henshaw survives, and becomes the Cyborg Superman, one of Franchise/{{Superman}}'s most powerful enemies.
to:
*
** Which also counts as FridgeBrilliance, as Parallax is the embodiment of Fear; what creature would be more likely to be afraid than an insignificant little bug?
* Black Hand was a C-list villain (based on Batman co-creator Bill Finger) who stole energy from the ComicBook/{{Green Lantern}}s and based his persona and crimes off of in-jokes and folk sayings. At one point he gave up supervillainy to ''run a porno theater''. He then led [[ZombieApocalypse the Black Lanterns]], and was a primary antagonist in the DC CrisisCrossover, ''Blackest Night''.
* Rift, who was a postal worker who lived simultaneously in the DC Universe and the Dakotaverse. When he became Rift, he treated both universes as ''playthings''.
*
*
*
** ComicBook/{{Sinestro}} was just another inhabitant of his home planet when he was chosen to
* Abraham Pointe was a creepy nobody photographer stalking a waitress in a Las Vegas casino. Then
* The Human Flame from Franchise/TheDCU is a subversion. True, he started out a pathetic D-list villain that gained incredible power during his mini. The subversion is that, even ''with'' a huge power boost, he's
* Johnny Sorrow was a silent movie star whose career was ruined by
** ''ComicBook/BlackestNight'' reveals that the [[EldritchAbomination Entities]], the embodiments of Hope, Compassion, Greed, Fear, Willpower, Love, and Rage, were originally the first lifeforms to feel those particular emotions. Parallax, the one responsible for Hal Jordan's FaceHeelTurn which nearly wiped out the universe in ''Zero Hour''... used to be an ordinary little ''bug''.
*** Which also counts as FridgeBrilliance, as Parallax is the embodiment of Fear; what creature would be more likely to be afraid than an insignificant little bug?
** Black Hand was a C-list villain (based on Batman co-creator Bill Finger) who stole energy from the Green Lanterns and based his persona and crimes off of in-jokes and folk sayings. At one point he gave up supervillainy to ''run a porno theater''. He then led [[ZombieApocalypse the Black Lanterns]], and was a primary antagonist in the DC CrisisCrossover, ''ComicBook/BlackestNight''.
** Abraham Pointe was a creepy nobody photographer stalking a waitress in a Las Vegas casino. Then he got possessed by the Predator, the Entity of Love, and became a ''superpowered'' stalker.
* ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueInternational'': Maxwell Lord was your typical yuppie, ruthless in the field, even wiling to let his boss die to get ahead but trying to save him. He seemed to be a good guy working with the
* ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'':
** John Dee, aka Doctor Destiny, was a minor [[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica JLA]] villain who washed up and got locked away for years... until gaining control of the Materioptikon and becoming a global threat overnight, leading to a showdown with the
*
*
* ''ComicBook/MartianManhunter'': The Human Flame from Franchise/TheDCU is a subversion. True, he started out a pathetic D-list villain that gained incredible power during his mini. The subversion is that, even ''with'' a huge power boost, he's ''still'' pathetic.
* ''ComicBook/NewGods'': Granny Goodness went from a lowly peasant to ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}'s personal TortureTechnician and leader of the Female Furies.
* ''ComicBook/SuicideSquad'': What was Amanda Waller before she became one of the most dangerous and manipulative people in the DC Universe, a person whom even Batman fears? A normal housewife in Chicago with a family--and then her family died (her son was killed in a mugging; her daughter died fighting off someone who wanted to rape her, the neighbors ignored her pleas for help, and Waller's family had to have a closed-casket funeral for her due to the extent of the injuries that killed her; and her husband was killed after avenging their daughter) and she decided to claw out of the pit without any help whatsoever.
* ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'': In ''ComicBook/Supergirl1982'', Blackstarr
*
** Dr. Hank Henshaw was basically a gag {{Expy}} of Dr. Reed Richards in
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** Superboy's EvilCounterpart Superboy Prime used to be a simple fan of the Superman comics on [[RealLife the rather uneventful Earth-Prime.]] The only reason he even was an alternate version of Superman was because the writers wanted to use Superboy in [[ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths their major crisis.]] After [[FreudianExcuse everything he's gone through because of the Crisis]] and [[ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis another Crisis survivor's manipulation]], he's become [[AxCrazy a psychotic]] HeroKiller with the powers of [[PhysicalGod Silver Age Superman.]]
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** Superboy's EvilCounterpart Superboy Prime ComicBook/SuperboyPrime used to be a simple fan of the Superman comics on [[RealLife the rather uneventful Earth-Prime.]] The only reason he even was an alternate version of Superman was because the writers wanted to use Superboy in [[ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths their major crisis.]] After [[FreudianExcuse everything he's gone through because of the Crisis]] and [[ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis another Crisis survivor's manipulation]], he's become [[AxCrazy a psychotic]] HeroKiller with the powers of [[PhysicalGod Silver Age Superman.]]
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* In Creator/AlanMoore's ''ComicBook/SwampThing'' run, the Floronic Man realizes that with his control over the growth of plants, he can choke the world any time he wants.
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* ''ComicBook/SwampThing'': In Creator/AlanMoore's ''ComicBook/SwampThing'' run, the Floronic Man realizes that with his control over the growth of plants, he can choke the world any time he wants.
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* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'':
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* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'':''ComicBook/WonderWoman'':
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** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'': Veronica Cale started out life as the destitute daughter of a poor prostitute, and rose to become a world renowned scientist and CEO who makes deals with monsters from ancient myth, murders with abandon, and conspired to start a war that was only averted by the universe getting a retool.
to:
** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'': Veronica Cale started out life as the destitute daughter of a poor prostitute, and rose to become a world renowned scientist and CEO who makes deals with monsters from ancient myth, murders with abandon, and conspired to start a war that was only averted by the universe getting a retool.retool.
* ''ComicBook/WorldsCollide1994'': Rift, who was a postal worker who lived simultaneously in the DC Universe and the Dakotaverse. When he became Rift, he treated both universes as ''playthings''.
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* ''ComicBook/WorldsCollide1994'': Rift, who was a postal worker who lived simultaneously in the DC Universe and the Dakotaverse. When he became Rift, he treated both universes as ''playthings''.
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** Poor little Waylon Jones was a boy born in Louisiana with a rare skin condition that made him the target of bullying and abuse. Eventually he snapped and began viciously attacking his tormentors, then joined a carnival where he earned a reputation as sideshow performer. As he aged, his scales hardened, his teeth sharpened, and he became enamored with being feared. Jones soon moved to Gotham City and worked his way through the underworld to become Killer Croc, a living urban legend who has given Gotham's protectors many a reason to fear the dark.
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** In his Golden Age debut, Basil Karlo was a horror movie actor who suffered a mental breakdown and started murdering people disguised as the monster Clayface. While dangerous, he was basically your average ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo'' villain and a very small-scale threat.
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** In his Golden Age debut, Basil Karlo was a horror movie actor who suffered a mental breakdown and started murdering people disguised as the monster Clayface. While dangerous, he was basically your average ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo'' villain and a very small-scale threat. After several years of absence where the Clayface role was taken by three characters with actual powers, Karlo returned to the spotlight by using their DNA to mutate himself into a virtually unstoppable shape-shifting clay elemental, and became one of the most deadly beings in Gotham City.
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** In his Golden Age debut, Basil Karlo was a horror movie actor who suffered a mental breakdown and started murdering people disguised as the monster Clayface. While dangerous, he was basically your average ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo'' villain and a very small-scale threat.
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** ''ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow'' starts with a number of the [[HarmlessVillain Harmless Villains]] from Superman's RoguesGallery resurfacing for the first time in years, now much more lethal and dangerous in their methods. Even though he deals with them handily enough (though not before they rack up body counts) Clark begins to worry: "If the nuisances from my past are coming back as killers... [[ArmorPiercingQuestion what happens when the]] ''[[ComicBook/LexLuthor kil]][[ComicBook/{{Brainiac}} lers]]'' [[ArmorPiercingQuestion come back?]] [[spoiler: This turns out to have been the influence of Mr. Myxlptlk, who in a reverse, reveals that he was ''never'' as harmless as he looked, he was just playing the part of a harmless trickster imp; but he's ''[[LetsGetDangerous done playing]]'']].
to:
** ''ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow'' starts with a number of the [[HarmlessVillain Harmless Villains]] from Superman's RoguesGallery resurfacing for the first time in years, now much more lethal and dangerous in their methods. Even though he deals with them handily enough (though not before they rack up body counts) Clark begins to worry: "If the nuisances from my past are coming back as killers... [[ArmorPiercingQuestion what happens when the]] ''[[ComicBook/LexLuthor kil]][[ComicBook/{{Brainiac}} lers]]'' [[ArmorPiercingQuestion come back?]] [[spoiler: This turns out to have been the influence of Mr. Myxlptlk, who in a reverse, reveals that he was ''never'' as harmless as he looked, looked; he was just playing the part of a harmless trickster imp; imp, but he's ''[[LetsGetDangerous done playing]]'']].
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*** The ComicBook/{{New 52}} of Mr Freeze has been changed into always being a monster. He was sickly fascinated with cold since a child, killed his own mother, and the Nora he obsesses about is not related to him in any way.
to:
*** The ComicBook/{{New 52}} version of Mr Freeze has been was changed into always being a monster. He was sickly fascinated with cold since a child, killed his own mother, and the Nora he obsesses about is not related to him in any way. Exceedingly unpopular, the change was dropped like a rock with ComicBook/DCRebirth.
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* What was [[ComicBook/SuicideSquad Amanda Waller]] before she became one of the most dangerous and manipulative people in the DC Universe, a person whom even Batman fears? A normal housewife in Chicago with a family--and then her family died (her son was killed in a mugging; her daughter died fighting off someone who wanted to rape her, the neighbors ignored her pelas for help, and Waller's family had to have a closed-casket funeral for her due to the extent of the injuries that killed her; and her husband was killed after avenging their daughter) and she decided to claw out of the pit without any help whatsoever.
to:
* What was [[ComicBook/SuicideSquad Amanda Waller]] before she became one of the most dangerous and manipulative people in the DC Universe, a person whom even Batman fears? A normal housewife in Chicago with a family--and then her family died (her son was killed in a mugging; her daughter died fighting off someone who wanted to rape her, the neighbors ignored her pelas pleas for help, and Waller's family had to have a closed-casket funeral for her due to the extent of the injuries that killed her; and her husband was killed after avenging their daughter) and she decided to claw out of the pit without any help whatsoever.
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* What was [[ComicBook/SuicideSquad Amanda Waller]] before she became one of the most dangerous and manipulative people in the DC Universe, a person whom even Batman fears? A normal housewife in Chicago with a family--and then her family died (her son was killed in a mugging, her daughter died fighting off someone who wanted to rape her and had to have a closed-casket funeral due to the extent of the injuries that killed her, and her husband was killed after avenging their daughter) and she decided to claw out of the pit without any help whatsoever.
to:
* What was [[ComicBook/SuicideSquad Amanda Waller]] before she became one of the most dangerous and manipulative people in the DC Universe, a person whom even Batman fears? A normal housewife in Chicago with a family--and then her family died (her son was killed in a mugging, mugging; her daughter died fighting off someone who wanted to rape her, the neighbors ignored her pelas for help, and Waller's family had to have a closed-casket funeral for her due to the extent of the injuries that killed her, her; and her husband was killed after avenging their daughter) and she decided to claw out of the pit without any help whatsoever.
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* What was ComicBook/AmandaWaller before she became one of the most dangerous and manipulative people in the DC Universe, a person whom even Batman fears? A normal housewife in Chicago with a family--and then her family died (her son was killed in a mugging, her daughter died fighting off someone who wanted to rape her and had to have a closed-casket funeral due to the extent of the injuries that killed her, and her husband was killed after avenging their daughter) and she decided to claw out of the pit without any help whatsoever.
to:
* What was ComicBook/AmandaWaller [[ComicBook/SuicideSquad Amanda Waller]] before she became one of the most dangerous and manipulative people in the DC Universe, a person whom even Batman fears? A normal housewife in Chicago with a family--and then her family died (her son was killed in a mugging, her daughter died fighting off someone who wanted to rape her and had to have a closed-casket funeral due to the extent of the injuries that killed her, and her husband was killed after avenging their daughter) and she decided to claw out of the pit without any help whatsoever.
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* [[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica Dr. Light]]. Turns out his harmless joke status was caused by an accidental magic lobotomy, and that his original personality was a lot [[PsychoForHire more]] [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil threatening]] and now that he's beaten the effects he's a ''lot'' more dangerous. Creepiest bit, as brought on by way of {{retcon}}, is that for the years in between the League's been letting ''[[ComicBook/TeenTitans teenagers]]'' fight him without letting on how depraved he really is. His preference for rape has been so Flanderized to the point that many readers have begun to refer to him as 'Dr. Rape'.
to:
* [[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica's enemy Dr. Light]].Light. Turns out his harmless joke status was caused by an accidental magic lobotomy, and that his original personality was a lot [[PsychoForHire more]] [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil threatening]] and now that he's beaten the effects he's a ''lot'' more dangerous. Creepiest bit, as brought on by way of {{retcon}}, is that for the years in between the League's been letting ''[[ComicBook/TeenTitans teenagers]]'' fight him without letting on how depraved he really is. His preference for rape has been so Flanderized to the point that many readers have begun to refer to him as 'Dr. Rape'.
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* ...Which was [[WordOfGod inspired by]] what Creator/AlanMoore did in his ''Comicbook/SwampThing'' run with the Floronic Man, who realizes that with his control over the growth of plants, he can choke the world any time he wants.
to:
* In Creator/AlanMoore's ''ComicBook/SwampThing'' run, the Floronic
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** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'': Veronica Cale started out life as the destitute daughter of a poor prostitute, and rose to become a world renown scientist and CEO who makes deals with monsters from ancient myth, murders with abandon, and conspired to start a war that was only averted by the universe getting a retool.
to:
** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'': Veronica Cale started out life as the destitute daughter of a poor prostitute, and rose to become a world renown renowned scientist and CEO who makes deals with monsters from ancient myth, murders with abandon, and conspired to start a war that was only averted by the universe getting a retool.
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** Dee directly lead to the creation of another threat to reality when his Materioptikon ruby ended up in the hands of a frustrated nobody named Darren Proffitt. After using it to create billions of alternate realities where he explored the outcomes of any decision possible in his quest for power, he comes out the other end as the Red King; a man with contingencies for every Justice Leaguer and all their resources, advanced transforming power armor and over ''63'' different metahuman powers.
to:
** Dee directly lead to the creation of another threat to reality when his Materioptikon ruby ended up in the hands of a frustrated nobody named Darren Proffitt.Darrin Profitt. After using it to create billions of alternate realities where he explored the outcomes of any decision possible in his quest for power, he comes out the other end as the Red King; a man with contingencies for every Justice Leaguer and all their resources, advanced transforming power armor and over ''63'' different metahuman powers.
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!!Franchise/TheDCU
* What was ComicBook/AmandaWaller before she became one of the most dangerous and manipulative people in the DC Universe, a person whom even Batman fears? A normal housewife in Chicago with a family--and then her family died (her son was killed in a mugging, her daughter died fighting off someone who wanted to rape her and had to have a closed-casket funeral due to the extent of the injuries that killed her, and her husband was killed after avenging their daughter) and she decided to claw out of the pit without any help whatsoever.
* ''ComicBook/AmericanVampire'' features a lot of examples:
** Skinner Sweet was just the son of mint farmers who ended up orphaned at early age. He went on to become a notorious outlaw from TheWildWest who ended up messing with the wrong people, namely a coven of European Vampires. During a confrontation with them, some vampire blood splashed into his eye and he rose as the first American Vampire, stronger than common vampires, powered by sunlight and immune to all their weaknesses. [[spoiler: And one BadFuture shows him as an EvilOverlord ruling a [[AfterTheEnd a post-nuclear Earth]] as [[EldritchAbomination The Beast's host]].]]
** His first progeny, [[FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire Pearl Jones]], also qualifies though she is a heroic example. Initially a young actress with dreams of stardom, she was offered as prey for a Carpathian coven of vampires. Like many previous victims, her body was dumped in the desert to be forgotten, but alas she clung to life long enough for Sweet to give her an EmergencyTransformation and save her life. For the following decade, she pursued the ones responsible, becoming the bane of the Euro-Vamps along with her creator.
** {{Dracula}} of all people, and also doubled as TheSpook. Although his true identity is a mystery, he was widely speculated of being merely a pig farmer in Romania before rising as a vampire instead of UsefulNotes/VladTheImpaler. In any event, his bloodline wasn't considered particularly virulent or powerful at the time of his creation and went by largely ignored by [[VampireHunter the Vassals of the Morning Star]] until the 1800s when he nearly exterminated every other vampire species in the world, making the Carpathian race the single most populous in the world.
* ''ComicBook/TheAuthority'': Seth Cowie was just some inbred, skinny redneck that one day got picked up by a secret cabal that turned him into a monstrous cybernetic SuperSoldier with literally ''thousands of superpowers'' and was deployed specifically to neutralize the titular superhero group. He also became a twisted psychopath with a penchant for hurting people, specially little girls.
* Franchise/{{Batman}}:
** ComicBook/TheJoker. Whether he was in fact a failing stand-up comedian or a two-bit criminal in the beginning, his One Bad Day turned him from Joe Blue Collar Average into a horrific monstrosity that frightens ''other villains''. Particularly interesting in that he ''never gained any actual superpowers'' (other than an incredible resistance or immunity to poisons and toxins), instead deciding it'd be really funny if he concentrated all his efforts to racking up a bodycount that'd make an EvilOverlord blush. In fact, when counting only single, personal acts (not city-destroying, etc.) it's without question the highest body count in the DCU.
*** In ''ComicBook/DeathOfTheFamily'', Batman sends Joker into a VillainousBreakdown [[spoiler:by claiming that he knows Joker's real name]], reminding Joker that he used to be Nobody before becoming a Nightmare.
*** In ''ComicBook/DarkseidWar'', Batman [[spoiler: briefly becomes a New God by sitting on Metron's chair of omniscience.]] He almost immediately tries to learn the Joker's true name, merely saying "That's impossible!" when given an un-shown answer. [[spoiler: This was that the Joker [[LegacyCharacter was, in fact, three different people]].]]
** Killer Moth was incompetent and weak. Then he made a DealWithTheDevil to become "feared," and Charaxes, a man-eating Human/Moth hybrid, was created.
** [[AnIcePerson Mr. Freeze]] was once a cryogenics scientist who just wanted to cure his wife's fatal disease. One nasty accident later and he becomes a vengeful, emotionless supervillain.
*** The ComicBook/{{New 52}} of Mr Freeze has been changed into always being a monster. He was sickly fascinated with cold since a child, killed his own mother, and the Nora he obsesses about is not related to him in any way.
** The Penguin was little more than an unpopular child who was teased by other kids because of his appearance. When his mother died, her long illness costing him so much that the bank foreclosed on the family business, he turned to crime, only to be mocked by criminals too. This caused him to find some backbone that he never realized he had, stand up for himself by taking over a criminal gang by force, and eventually become one of Batman's greatest enemies.
** The Scarecrow started out as a lanky, bullied bookworm. Wanting to turn the tables, he began a lifelong study of the psychology of fear. Later on, he began experimenting with the ''physiology'' of fear, becoming a maker of ''literal'' Nightmare Fuel.
*** For a while, people thought that Scarecrow wasn't much of a threat without his Fear Gas. Then he went out on a killing spree sending the city into the a state of panic causing some of the villains in Arkham to beg Batman not to bring Scarecrow back to the asylum.
** Warren White was your typical corrupt white collar criminal who made the foolish mistake of trying to avoid jail time by pleading insanity...in ''Gotham City''. A few months in Arkham and one horrific face-tearing attack later and Mears was the sadistic and wicked Great White Shark.
** ''Batman himself'' is a rare heroic version of this Trope. One night, a family out on the town takes a wrong turn down an alley. The parents are murdered by a mugger, leaving an eight-year-old boy orphaned and traumatized. It was the kind of random street crime that happens every day in Gotham City. It could have happened to anyone. Except that eight-year-old boy resolved to rise above his trauma, to avenge his parents, and to ensure that something like this never happened to anyone else ever again. After ten or fifteen years of training his mind and body to their peak performances, using his extensive family fortune to design and build custom crimefighting equipment, and using his family name and business contacts to develop a global network of assistants and allies, Bruce Wayne is the finest deductive mind, the most well-equipped vigilante, and the most terrifying nightmare of any criminal in the DCU. (It could be argued that the Waynes were not ''nobodies'' by any stretch of the imagination, and it's questionable Batman could exist without the family fortune.)
** Ghoul from the ''ComicBook/BatmanBeyond'' universe was just a regular {{mook}} when he started out. After [[spoiler: murdering Jake Chill]], he became one of Terry's most recurring foes, as well as TheManBehindTheMan for several other villains.
** One of those villains was Rewire, just a regular [[spoiler: teenager]] with minimal electricity manipulation abilities until Ghoul got a hold of him, gave him a suit of PoweredArmor, juiced up his bioelectricity powers and convinced him to kill the mayor of Gotham. [[spoiler: Which he succeeded in doing.]]
* This entire trope is essentially the synopsis of ComicBook/BatmanEternal, where a group of low tier, forgettable villains bring Gotham to its knees with the entire plan hinging on the theory that they're [[ButForMeItWasTuesday so low on Batman's food chain]] he wouldn't even be able to figure out who could commit a plan of its sheer scale without mistakenly targeting his A-class villains such as Ra's al Ghul or Riddler...and they were right.
* ''ComicBook/BlackestNight'' reveals that the [[EldritchAbomination Entities]], the embodiments of Hope, Compassion, Greed, Fear, Willpower, Love, and Rage, were originally the first lifeforms to feel those particular emotions. Parallax, the one responsible for Hal Jordan's FaceHeelTurn which nearly wiped out the universe in ''Zero Hour''... used to be an ordinary little ''bug''.
** Which also counts as FridgeBrilliance, as Parallax is the embodiment of Fear; what creature would be more likely to be afraid than an insignificant little bug?
* Black Hand was a C-list villain (based on Batman co-creator Bill Finger) who stole energy from the ComicBook/{{Green Lantern}}s and based his persona and crimes off of in-jokes and folk sayings. At one point he gave up supervillainy to ''run a porno theater''. He then led [[ZombieApocalypse the Black Lanterns]], and was a primary antagonist in the DC CrisisCrossover, ''Blackest Night''.
* Rift, who was a postal worker who lived simultaneously in the DC Universe and the Dakotaverse. When he became Rift, he treated both universes as ''playthings''.
* Mister Mordan was a near-invisible member of ComicBook/DoomPatrol foes the Brotherhood of Evil. After undergoing experimentation he became a sanity-draining nihilist (ironically calling himself Mr. Nobody) who, along with his new-formed Brotherhood of Dada, trapped Paris inside a painting and almost unleashed the Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse. In a later adventure he used MindRape and almost became President of the United States.
* ''Comicbook/TheFlash'' villain Chunk suffered an accident that turned him into a walking [[ApocalypseHow Class X apocalypse]] waiting to happen. Thankfully, he pulled a HeelFaceTurn when he realized he could use his "black hole" powers [[CutLexLuthorACheck to make millions of dollars in waste disposal management]] and became one of the Flash's more stalwart friends.
* [[ComicBook/NewGods Granny Goodness]]. From lowly peasant to ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}'s personal TortureTechnician and leader of the Female Furies.
* Abraham Pointe was a creepy nobody photographer stalking a waitress in a Las Vegas casino. Then he got possessed by [[ComicBook/GreenLantern the Predator, the Entity of Love,]] and became a ''superpowered'' stalker.
* The Human Flame from Franchise/TheDCU is a subversion. True, he started out a pathetic D-list villain that gained incredible power during his mini. The subversion is that, even ''with'' a huge power boost, he's ''still'' pathetic.
* Johnny Sorrow was a silent movie star whose career was ruined by the coming of talkies. Turning to crime, he used a device to become intangible until a battle with the ComicBook/{{JSA}} caused it to malfunction and suck him into another dimension. There, he was transformed into a twisted being whose face literally kills anyone who gazes upon it and determined to make Earth pay for his condition.
* Maxwell Lord was your typical yuppie, ruthless in the field, even wiling to let his boss die to get ahead but trying to save him. He seemed to be a good guy working with the ComicBook/JusticeLeagueInternational and gaining the power to push his will on others. But when Cyborg Superman destroyed Coast City (where his mother lived), Max became convinced that metahumans caused more problems than they solved. Driven by his new crusade Max would become more obsessed with "saving" humanity... which ended up turning him into a mass murdering menace.
* John Dee, aka Doctor Destiny, was a minor [[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica JLA]] villain who washed up and got locked away for years... until gaining control of the Materioptikon and becoming a global threat overnight, leading to a showdown with the [[ComicBook/TheSandman Lord of Dreams]] himself.
** Dee directly lead to the creation of another threat to reality when his Materioptikon ruby ended up in the hands of a frustrated nobody named Darren Proffitt. After using it to create billions of alternate realities where he explored the outcomes of any decision possible in his quest for power, he comes out the other end as the Red King; a man with contingencies for every Justice Leaguer and all their resources, advanced transforming power armor and over ''63'' different metahuman powers.
* [[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica Dr. Light]]. Turns out his harmless joke status was caused by an accidental magic lobotomy, and that his original personality was a lot [[PsychoForHire more]] [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil threatening]] and now that he's beaten the effects he's a ''lot'' more dangerous. Creepiest bit, as brought on by way of {{retcon}}, is that for the years in between the League's been letting ''[[ComicBook/TeenTitans teenagers]]'' fight him without letting on how depraved he really is. His preference for rape has been so Flanderized to the point that many readers have begun to refer to him as 'Dr. Rape'.
* ComicBook/{{Sinestro}} was just another inhabitant of his home planet when he was chosen to join the Green Lantern Corps. Rising as one of their greatest members, his obsession with order made him become absolute dictator of his home world. When he was exposed, he was cast out, forging a yellow ring to fight the other Lanterns, setting up Hal Jordan to destroy the Corps and eventually forging his own Yellow Lanterns to spread fear across the universe. And he ''still'' insists he's in the right for it all.
* [[http://www.comicvine.com/starro/29-23345/ Starro the Conqueror]] was just a normal little boy named Cobi. Then his planet was invaded by the Star Conquerors. The death of his older brother (which led to [[MindRape Cobi being possessed by the collective pain and rage of his people]]) granted Cobi PowerBornOfMadness, which he used to ''enslave the Star Conquerors''. Cobi went from an innocent little boy to an insane HumanoidAbomination MindHive carrying the pain and hate of an entire race with complete mastery over a parasitic HiveMind of {{Eldritch Abomination}}s.
* Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}'s enemy Blackstarr in ''[[Comicbook/{{Supergirl 1982}} Supergirl Volume 2]]'' was a poor, unlucky child who was taken from her parents when her family arrived at a concentration camp. She survives, though, and after being indoctrinated by Nazis and gaining powers she becomes a villain able to rip apart the space-time continuum.
* Franchise/{{Superman}}:
** Dr. Hank Henshaw was basically a gag {{Expy}} of Dr. Reed Richards in a forgettable ''Superman'' comic in which a group of scientists become ''Comicbook/FantasticFour'' Expies - but don't survive the radiation. Well, Henshaw survives, and becomes the Cyborg Superman, one of Franchise/{{Superman}}'s most powerful enemies.
** Doomsday, who [[TheHeroDies killed]] [[ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman Superman]]. It is eventually revealed that he was created through forced [[LamarckWasRight evolution]] on a random, harmless, adorable [[WouldHurtAChild baby]], turning it into a superstrong [[CompleteImmortality immortal]] killing machine.
** Superboy's EvilCounterpart Superboy Prime used to be a simple fan of the Superman comics on [[RealLife the rather uneventful Earth-Prime.]] The only reason he even was an alternate version of Superman was because the writers wanted to use Superboy in [[ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths their major crisis.]] After [[FreudianExcuse everything he's gone through because of the Crisis]] and [[ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis another Crisis survivor's manipulation]], he's become [[AxCrazy a psychotic]] HeroKiller with the powers of [[PhysicalGod Silver Age Superman.]]
** Then there's ComicBook/LexLuthor, who grew from a kid in Suicide Slum (or Smallville, depending on when you started reading Superman) to supergenius and probably the single richest, most powerful, and [[CorruptCorporateExecutive corrupt]] businessman in the entire DC Universe.
** ''ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow'' starts with a number of the [[HarmlessVillain Harmless Villains]] from Superman's RoguesGallery resurfacing for the first time in years, now much more lethal and dangerous in their methods. Even though he deals with them handily enough (though not before they rack up body counts) Clark begins to worry: "If the nuisances from my past are coming back as killers... [[ArmorPiercingQuestion what happens when the]] ''[[ComicBook/LexLuthor kil]][[ComicBook/{{Brainiac}} lers]]'' [[ArmorPiercingQuestion come back?]] [[spoiler: This turns out to have been the influence of Mr. Myxlptlk, who in a reverse, reveals that he was ''never'' as harmless as he looked, he was just playing the part of a harmless trickster imp; but he's ''[[LetsGetDangerous done playing]]'']].
* ...Which was [[WordOfGod inspired by]] what Creator/AlanMoore did in his ''Comicbook/SwampThing'' run with the Floronic Man, who realizes that with his control over the growth of plants, he can choke the world any time he wants.
* ComicBook/VandalSavage was just an ordinary caveman before he found the meteor that gave him his powers. Had he not, he would have certainly died with no one ever remembering him. Instead he became one of the vilest, cruelest villains in the DC Universe, a man responsible for untold murders and multiple wars. All because he was attracted to a bright light...
* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'':
** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'':
*** Eviless was not even ''named'' in her first two appearances, just blending in with generic low level Saturnian slavers. She later goes on to be a major player in the attempt to start a war between Saturn and Earth, invades Paradise Island and founds one of the earliest Villain groups in comics.
*** Hypnota was a simple stage magician with a small show, who gained powers after being shot in the head and choose to use them to twist the minds of others.
** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'': Veronica Cale started out life as the destitute daughter of a poor prostitute, and rose to become a world renown scientist and CEO who makes deals with monsters from ancient myth, murders with abandon, and conspired to start a war that was only averted by the universe getting a retool.
* What was ComicBook/AmandaWaller before she became one of the most dangerous and manipulative people in the DC Universe, a person whom even Batman fears? A normal housewife in Chicago with a family--and then her family died (her son was killed in a mugging, her daughter died fighting off someone who wanted to rape her and had to have a closed-casket funeral due to the extent of the injuries that killed her, and her husband was killed after avenging their daughter) and she decided to claw out of the pit without any help whatsoever.
* ''ComicBook/AmericanVampire'' features a lot of examples:
** Skinner Sweet was just the son of mint farmers who ended up orphaned at early age. He went on to become a notorious outlaw from TheWildWest who ended up messing with the wrong people, namely a coven of European Vampires. During a confrontation with them, some vampire blood splashed into his eye and he rose as the first American Vampire, stronger than common vampires, powered by sunlight and immune to all their weaknesses. [[spoiler: And one BadFuture shows him as an EvilOverlord ruling a [[AfterTheEnd a post-nuclear Earth]] as [[EldritchAbomination The Beast's host]].]]
** His first progeny, [[FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire Pearl Jones]], also qualifies though she is a heroic example. Initially a young actress with dreams of stardom, she was offered as prey for a Carpathian coven of vampires. Like many previous victims, her body was dumped in the desert to be forgotten, but alas she clung to life long enough for Sweet to give her an EmergencyTransformation and save her life. For the following decade, she pursued the ones responsible, becoming the bane of the Euro-Vamps along with her creator.
** {{Dracula}} of all people, and also doubled as TheSpook. Although his true identity is a mystery, he was widely speculated of being merely a pig farmer in Romania before rising as a vampire instead of UsefulNotes/VladTheImpaler. In any event, his bloodline wasn't considered particularly virulent or powerful at the time of his creation and went by largely ignored by [[VampireHunter the Vassals of the Morning Star]] until the 1800s when he nearly exterminated every other vampire species in the world, making the Carpathian race the single most populous in the world.
* ''ComicBook/TheAuthority'': Seth Cowie was just some inbred, skinny redneck that one day got picked up by a secret cabal that turned him into a monstrous cybernetic SuperSoldier with literally ''thousands of superpowers'' and was deployed specifically to neutralize the titular superhero group. He also became a twisted psychopath with a penchant for hurting people, specially little girls.
* Franchise/{{Batman}}:
** ComicBook/TheJoker. Whether he was in fact a failing stand-up comedian or a two-bit criminal in the beginning, his One Bad Day turned him from Joe Blue Collar Average into a horrific monstrosity that frightens ''other villains''. Particularly interesting in that he ''never gained any actual superpowers'' (other than an incredible resistance or immunity to poisons and toxins), instead deciding it'd be really funny if he concentrated all his efforts to racking up a bodycount that'd make an EvilOverlord blush. In fact, when counting only single, personal acts (not city-destroying, etc.) it's without question the highest body count in the DCU.
*** In ''ComicBook/DeathOfTheFamily'', Batman sends Joker into a VillainousBreakdown [[spoiler:by claiming that he knows Joker's real name]], reminding Joker that he used to be Nobody before becoming a Nightmare.
*** In ''ComicBook/DarkseidWar'', Batman [[spoiler: briefly becomes a New God by sitting on Metron's chair of omniscience.]] He almost immediately tries to learn the Joker's true name, merely saying "That's impossible!" when given an un-shown answer. [[spoiler: This was that the Joker [[LegacyCharacter was, in fact, three different people]].]]
** Killer Moth was incompetent and weak. Then he made a DealWithTheDevil to become "feared," and Charaxes, a man-eating Human/Moth hybrid, was created.
** [[AnIcePerson Mr. Freeze]] was once a cryogenics scientist who just wanted to cure his wife's fatal disease. One nasty accident later and he becomes a vengeful, emotionless supervillain.
*** The ComicBook/{{New 52}} of Mr Freeze has been changed into always being a monster. He was sickly fascinated with cold since a child, killed his own mother, and the Nora he obsesses about is not related to him in any way.
** The Penguin was little more than an unpopular child who was teased by other kids because of his appearance. When his mother died, her long illness costing him so much that the bank foreclosed on the family business, he turned to crime, only to be mocked by criminals too. This caused him to find some backbone that he never realized he had, stand up for himself by taking over a criminal gang by force, and eventually become one of Batman's greatest enemies.
** The Scarecrow started out as a lanky, bullied bookworm. Wanting to turn the tables, he began a lifelong study of the psychology of fear. Later on, he began experimenting with the ''physiology'' of fear, becoming a maker of ''literal'' Nightmare Fuel.
*** For a while, people thought that Scarecrow wasn't much of a threat without his Fear Gas. Then he went out on a killing spree sending the city into the a state of panic causing some of the villains in Arkham to beg Batman not to bring Scarecrow back to the asylum.
** Warren White was your typical corrupt white collar criminal who made the foolish mistake of trying to avoid jail time by pleading insanity...in ''Gotham City''. A few months in Arkham and one horrific face-tearing attack later and Mears was the sadistic and wicked Great White Shark.
** ''Batman himself'' is a rare heroic version of this Trope. One night, a family out on the town takes a wrong turn down an alley. The parents are murdered by a mugger, leaving an eight-year-old boy orphaned and traumatized. It was the kind of random street crime that happens every day in Gotham City. It could have happened to anyone. Except that eight-year-old boy resolved to rise above his trauma, to avenge his parents, and to ensure that something like this never happened to anyone else ever again. After ten or fifteen years of training his mind and body to their peak performances, using his extensive family fortune to design and build custom crimefighting equipment, and using his family name and business contacts to develop a global network of assistants and allies, Bruce Wayne is the finest deductive mind, the most well-equipped vigilante, and the most terrifying nightmare of any criminal in the DCU. (It could be argued that the Waynes were not ''nobodies'' by any stretch of the imagination, and it's questionable Batman could exist without the family fortune.)
** Ghoul from the ''ComicBook/BatmanBeyond'' universe was just a regular {{mook}} when he started out. After [[spoiler: murdering Jake Chill]], he became one of Terry's most recurring foes, as well as TheManBehindTheMan for several other villains.
** One of those villains was Rewire, just a regular [[spoiler: teenager]] with minimal electricity manipulation abilities until Ghoul got a hold of him, gave him a suit of PoweredArmor, juiced up his bioelectricity powers and convinced him to kill the mayor of Gotham. [[spoiler: Which he succeeded in doing.]]
* This entire trope is essentially the synopsis of ComicBook/BatmanEternal, where a group of low tier, forgettable villains bring Gotham to its knees with the entire plan hinging on the theory that they're [[ButForMeItWasTuesday so low on Batman's food chain]] he wouldn't even be able to figure out who could commit a plan of its sheer scale without mistakenly targeting his A-class villains such as Ra's al Ghul or Riddler...and they were right.
* ''ComicBook/BlackestNight'' reveals that the [[EldritchAbomination Entities]], the embodiments of Hope, Compassion, Greed, Fear, Willpower, Love, and Rage, were originally the first lifeforms to feel those particular emotions. Parallax, the one responsible for Hal Jordan's FaceHeelTurn which nearly wiped out the universe in ''Zero Hour''... used to be an ordinary little ''bug''.
** Which also counts as FridgeBrilliance, as Parallax is the embodiment of Fear; what creature would be more likely to be afraid than an insignificant little bug?
* Black Hand was a C-list villain (based on Batman co-creator Bill Finger) who stole energy from the ComicBook/{{Green Lantern}}s and based his persona and crimes off of in-jokes and folk sayings. At one point he gave up supervillainy to ''run a porno theater''. He then led [[ZombieApocalypse the Black Lanterns]], and was a primary antagonist in the DC CrisisCrossover, ''Blackest Night''.
* Rift, who was a postal worker who lived simultaneously in the DC Universe and the Dakotaverse. When he became Rift, he treated both universes as ''playthings''.
* Mister Mordan was a near-invisible member of ComicBook/DoomPatrol foes the Brotherhood of Evil. After undergoing experimentation he became a sanity-draining nihilist (ironically calling himself Mr. Nobody) who, along with his new-formed Brotherhood of Dada, trapped Paris inside a painting and almost unleashed the Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse. In a later adventure he used MindRape and almost became President of the United States.
* ''Comicbook/TheFlash'' villain Chunk suffered an accident that turned him into a walking [[ApocalypseHow Class X apocalypse]] waiting to happen. Thankfully, he pulled a HeelFaceTurn when he realized he could use his "black hole" powers [[CutLexLuthorACheck to make millions of dollars in waste disposal management]] and became one of the Flash's more stalwart friends.
* [[ComicBook/NewGods Granny Goodness]]. From lowly peasant to ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}'s personal TortureTechnician and leader of the Female Furies.
* Abraham Pointe was a creepy nobody photographer stalking a waitress in a Las Vegas casino. Then he got possessed by [[ComicBook/GreenLantern the Predator, the Entity of Love,]] and became a ''superpowered'' stalker.
* The Human Flame from Franchise/TheDCU is a subversion. True, he started out a pathetic D-list villain that gained incredible power during his mini. The subversion is that, even ''with'' a huge power boost, he's ''still'' pathetic.
* Johnny Sorrow was a silent movie star whose career was ruined by the coming of talkies. Turning to crime, he used a device to become intangible until a battle with the ComicBook/{{JSA}} caused it to malfunction and suck him into another dimension. There, he was transformed into a twisted being whose face literally kills anyone who gazes upon it and determined to make Earth pay for his condition.
* Maxwell Lord was your typical yuppie, ruthless in the field, even wiling to let his boss die to get ahead but trying to save him. He seemed to be a good guy working with the ComicBook/JusticeLeagueInternational and gaining the power to push his will on others. But when Cyborg Superman destroyed Coast City (where his mother lived), Max became convinced that metahumans caused more problems than they solved. Driven by his new crusade Max would become more obsessed with "saving" humanity... which ended up turning him into a mass murdering menace.
* John Dee, aka Doctor Destiny, was a minor [[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica JLA]] villain who washed up and got locked away for years... until gaining control of the Materioptikon and becoming a global threat overnight, leading to a showdown with the [[ComicBook/TheSandman Lord of Dreams]] himself.
** Dee directly lead to the creation of another threat to reality when his Materioptikon ruby ended up in the hands of a frustrated nobody named Darren Proffitt. After using it to create billions of alternate realities where he explored the outcomes of any decision possible in his quest for power, he comes out the other end as the Red King; a man with contingencies for every Justice Leaguer and all their resources, advanced transforming power armor and over ''63'' different metahuman powers.
* [[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica Dr. Light]]. Turns out his harmless joke status was caused by an accidental magic lobotomy, and that his original personality was a lot [[PsychoForHire more]] [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil threatening]] and now that he's beaten the effects he's a ''lot'' more dangerous. Creepiest bit, as brought on by way of {{retcon}}, is that for the years in between the League's been letting ''[[ComicBook/TeenTitans teenagers]]'' fight him without letting on how depraved he really is. His preference for rape has been so Flanderized to the point that many readers have begun to refer to him as 'Dr. Rape'.
* ComicBook/{{Sinestro}} was just another inhabitant of his home planet when he was chosen to join the Green Lantern Corps. Rising as one of their greatest members, his obsession with order made him become absolute dictator of his home world. When he was exposed, he was cast out, forging a yellow ring to fight the other Lanterns, setting up Hal Jordan to destroy the Corps and eventually forging his own Yellow Lanterns to spread fear across the universe. And he ''still'' insists he's in the right for it all.
* [[http://www.comicvine.com/starro/29-23345/ Starro the Conqueror]] was just a normal little boy named Cobi. Then his planet was invaded by the Star Conquerors. The death of his older brother (which led to [[MindRape Cobi being possessed by the collective pain and rage of his people]]) granted Cobi PowerBornOfMadness, which he used to ''enslave the Star Conquerors''. Cobi went from an innocent little boy to an insane HumanoidAbomination MindHive carrying the pain and hate of an entire race with complete mastery over a parasitic HiveMind of {{Eldritch Abomination}}s.
* Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}'s enemy Blackstarr in ''[[Comicbook/{{Supergirl 1982}} Supergirl Volume 2]]'' was a poor, unlucky child who was taken from her parents when her family arrived at a concentration camp. She survives, though, and after being indoctrinated by Nazis and gaining powers she becomes a villain able to rip apart the space-time continuum.
* Franchise/{{Superman}}:
** Dr. Hank Henshaw was basically a gag {{Expy}} of Dr. Reed Richards in a forgettable ''Superman'' comic in which a group of scientists become ''Comicbook/FantasticFour'' Expies - but don't survive the radiation. Well, Henshaw survives, and becomes the Cyborg Superman, one of Franchise/{{Superman}}'s most powerful enemies.
** Doomsday, who [[TheHeroDies killed]] [[ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman Superman]]. It is eventually revealed that he was created through forced [[LamarckWasRight evolution]] on a random, harmless, adorable [[WouldHurtAChild baby]], turning it into a superstrong [[CompleteImmortality immortal]] killing machine.
** Superboy's EvilCounterpart Superboy Prime used to be a simple fan of the Superman comics on [[RealLife the rather uneventful Earth-Prime.]] The only reason he even was an alternate version of Superman was because the writers wanted to use Superboy in [[ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths their major crisis.]] After [[FreudianExcuse everything he's gone through because of the Crisis]] and [[ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis another Crisis survivor's manipulation]], he's become [[AxCrazy a psychotic]] HeroKiller with the powers of [[PhysicalGod Silver Age Superman.]]
** Then there's ComicBook/LexLuthor, who grew from a kid in Suicide Slum (or Smallville, depending on when you started reading Superman) to supergenius and probably the single richest, most powerful, and [[CorruptCorporateExecutive corrupt]] businessman in the entire DC Universe.
** ''ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow'' starts with a number of the [[HarmlessVillain Harmless Villains]] from Superman's RoguesGallery resurfacing for the first time in years, now much more lethal and dangerous in their methods. Even though he deals with them handily enough (though not before they rack up body counts) Clark begins to worry: "If the nuisances from my past are coming back as killers... [[ArmorPiercingQuestion what happens when the]] ''[[ComicBook/LexLuthor kil]][[ComicBook/{{Brainiac}} lers]]'' [[ArmorPiercingQuestion come back?]] [[spoiler: This turns out to have been the influence of Mr. Myxlptlk, who in a reverse, reveals that he was ''never'' as harmless as he looked, he was just playing the part of a harmless trickster imp; but he's ''[[LetsGetDangerous done playing]]'']].
* ...Which was [[WordOfGod inspired by]] what Creator/AlanMoore did in his ''Comicbook/SwampThing'' run with the Floronic Man, who realizes that with his control over the growth of plants, he can choke the world any time he wants.
* ComicBook/VandalSavage was just an ordinary caveman before he found the meteor that gave him his powers. Had he not, he would have certainly died with no one ever remembering him. Instead he became one of the vilest, cruelest villains in the DC Universe, a man responsible for untold murders and multiple wars. All because he was attracted to a bright light...
* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'':
** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'':
*** Eviless was not even ''named'' in her first two appearances, just blending in with generic low level Saturnian slavers. She later goes on to be a major player in the attempt to start a war between Saturn and Earth, invades Paradise Island and founds one of the earliest Villain groups in comics.
*** Hypnota was a simple stage magician with a small show, who gained powers after being shot in the head and choose to use them to twist the minds of others.
** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'': Veronica Cale started out life as the destitute daughter of a poor prostitute, and rose to become a world renown scientist and CEO who makes deals with monsters from ancient myth, murders with abandon, and conspired to start a war that was only averted by the universe getting a retool.
