History HeelFaceTurn / TheDCU

* Parodied in one episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'' whem Joker decides to become a crime-fighter. Although he does target some actual criminals like Penguin, his "crime-fighting" mostly consists of things like poisoning jaywalkers and [[WouldHurtAChild little girls playing hopscotch ("graffiti")]].

** Most notable example is probably Leonard Snart/Captain Cold. Although [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold he does retain his somewhat villainous mannerism, he turns out to be a legitimately good person.]] He even becomes a member of a team consisting of time-travelling scientists and superheroes, the Legends.
** Killer Frost, Caitlin Snow's second personality. In Season 3, she starts out as a manifestation of Caitlin's repressed pain and anger, she gradually learns to see value in giving others a hand and being a nice person. She even learns to love Caitlin as a sister she shares a body with (and vice versa). In Season 6, Frost starts living her own life and express herself on a level previously unseen.

** Terra in Season 2 (her [[ComicBook/TeenTitans comics counterpart]] had no such turn), but this is after a time as TheMole and then a FaceHeelTurn, helping Slade achieve near victory. She's the one who ends up killing Slade, but ends up performing a HeroicSacrifice proving that RedemptionEqualsDeath (or Redemption Equals [[TakenForGranite Turning To Stone]]... it is a children/family show, after all).

** [[DarkActionGirl Tess Mercer]] is also attempts one of these in Season 10. Despite her HeelFaceRevolvingDoor track record, she sticks with it -- even [[spoiler:shooting down Earth-2 Lionel's offer to become the father she never had]] -- right to the end of the series, [[spoiler:when in the GrandFinale, she uses her last breaths to give a last-minute verbal TakeThat to Lex and wipe his mind with a neurotoxin, ensuring that he cannot use any of the knowledge he accumulated since the beginning of the series against the newly dubbed Superman]].

* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'':

** The Catwoman of alternate universe Earth-Two, also turned over a new leaf when she recovered from amnesia. [[AmnesiacDissonance Horrified]], she was willing to go to jail for the crimes she had committed. When Batman sprung her from jail to help her, she [[{{Retcon}} revealed]] that she had lied; she had actually chosen to be a villain and then chosen to reform because she realized that it was her only chance for a normal life (whereupon they fell in love, got married, and had a daughter, ComicBook/{{Huntress}}).
** ComicBook/TheRiddler also performed a Heel Face Turn, but this too was prompted by amnesia (in Riddler's case, induced by a blow to the head). Additional trauma (from a bomb blast) later returns Riddler to the rogues' gallery.
** ComicBook/TheJoker of all people tried going straight in UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|of Comic Books}} story ''Joker's Millions'', not out of a desire to do good but simply because he'd been led to believe he'd inherited enough money to never need to commit crime again. This made more sense for the character back then when he was a villain with a gimmick rather than the elemental force of chaos he has become.

** ComicBook/TwoFace in multiple incarnations has reformed and returned to his legitimate life as Harvey Dent (usually temporarily) following psychotherapy and reconstructive surgery. As Two-Face, he's almost by his nature a walking HeelFaceRevolvingDoor.
** ComicBook/ThePenguin, briefly when DC attempted to retire the character as too campy an adversary for modern era Batman post-ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths. The 1987 story ''Love Bird'' had him find his soul mate in the form of a lady as plump and bird-like as himself called Dovina, and leave his criminal ways for good, much to Batman's incredulity. However, not long after that The Penguin was reintroduced, more evil than ever, by writer Alan Grant, and both this story and the character of Dovina have been pretty much swept under the rug.

** The pre-ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}} Emil Hamilton was last seen under arrest for his actions as MadScientist Ruin. Here, he is working on S.T.A.R. Labs project to help pierce the dome surrounding Gotham City. Keep in mind Hamilton has gone through the HeelFaceRevolvingDoor quite a few times.

* ''Franchise/TheFlash'' villains the Pied Piper and the Trickster both reformed. The Pied Piper had always been the sort of villain who had stolen money for orphanages. The Trickster had pulled off a DealWithTheDevil and escaped, and reformed because he couldn't do anything to top that, and didn't want to go to Hell when he died, after his trick. A recent apparent FaceHeelTurn was actually an attempt to pull off a FakeDefector trick -- which turned tragic when they appeared to be in on the death of Bart Allen, the Flash. The Trickster is now dead, but the Pied Piper is facing ReformedButRejected.

** Following ''ComicBook/ForeverEvil2013'', both Captain Cold and ComicBook/LexLuthor were inducted into the Franchise/{{Justice League|OfAmerica}} thanks to their high profile role in defeating the [[MirrorUniverse Crime Syndicate]].
* In ''ComicBook/GothamCityGarage'', Harley Quinn helped ComicBook/LexLuthor perfect his mind-controlling devices. When she realized they were turning people into drones unable to love someone other than Lex, she got horrified and defected.
* ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' storyline ''ComicBook/TheGreatDarknessSaga'': After spending the whole conflict pontificating about the foolishness of opposing to his Master, the Servant of Darkness [[spoiler:who happened to be a clone of Orion]] is eager to attempt to wringe [[spoiler:ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}]]'s neck after [[spoiler:the original Orion]]'s memories are restored by Izaya.

* Mojo Jojo attempted a Heel-Face Turn in ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' story "Monkey Business." He opens a restaurant which is a hit with the patrons. The girls however are still quite suspicious and uncover what they think is criminal activity. They are proven wrong each time, but it's the last act that makes Mojo give up his restaurant business and return to a life of crime.
* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':

** In ''Superman: Villains'', Winslow Schott, the Toyman, turns himself in when Superman reveals his identity to the world. Apparently, suddenly seeing Superman as a person made him realise that all the times Supes had told him he could be better, he'd actually ''meant'' it.
** In ''ComicBook/SupermanVsShazam'' the Quarmerr, who had been forced to serve Karmang but never wanted any part in his plans, gives up and reveals Karmang's true scheme as soon as he is found by ComicBook/MaryMarvel.

* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'':
** Paula von Gunther started out as Diana's first recurring villain that wasn't Mars, but after it was revealed she was only working for the Nazis because her daughter was being held hostage by them and her desperation, hopelessness and grief and turned her cruel and Di saved her daughter she switched sides and was henceforth one of Diana's most stalwart allies throughout the Golden, Silver and Bronze Ages of comics.

* ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy''
** An example of a Heel Face Turn already accomplished by the time of the story is that of the convict in ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' who [[spoiler:threw the detonator out the porthole after rebuking the guards for not having already done it.]]

* Lionel Luthor, in ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', who starts out as a ruthless businessman, bad father, and the TropeCodifier for MagnificentBastard, undergoes an abrupt about-turn while in prison. His devotion to a life of poverty and charity work is short-lived, however, as a fight with Lex motivates him to return to ruthless tactics, ostensibly to actually protect Lex... And then he finds himself serving as a conduit for Clark's dead father, Jor-El, repenting for his past acts, devoting his life to protecting Clark, and suffering from really bad migraines. Unfortunately, all of this is so confusing that no one actually believes that he's a good guy when he begs them for help. [[spoiler: He is eventually killed by his own son, Lex, after which Clark finally learns, once and for all, that Lionel had been on his side in the end, dying to protect Clark's identity as The Traveller from Lex. Clark acknowledges that Lionel was the third 'father' who had died for him, and honours him the same way he honoured Jonathan Kent - by pouring a handful of dirt on his coffin]].

** More recently, [[RoboticPsychopath Brainiac]] appears to have turned to the side of the angels. [[spoiler: He now calls himself Brainiac 5 and is a member of the ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes, claiming that they and Clark "cured" him of his evil. He returned to the present to aid Clark by 1) preventing Smallville High's student councilor from trying to kill Clark at his high school reunion and 2) [[YetAnotherChristmasCarol showing him his past, present and future,]] to help Clark get over his misplaced guilt over Pa Kent's death and his fear of the future, and move toward his destiny. Since this is due to reprogramming however, it may not count as genuine. Made even more muddled by the fact that this version of the character was reprogrammed into performing a FaceHeelTurn in the first place before the destruction of Krypton.]]
** [[DarkActionGirl Tess Mercer]] is also attempting one of these as of Season 10. Given her HeelFaceRevolvingDoor track record, it's hard to see where she'll end up. So far though, she's stayed loyal, even [[spoiler:shooting down Earth-2 Lionel's offer to become the father she never had]].
*** She stuck with it right to the end of the series, [[spoiler: when in the GrandFinale, she uses her last breaths to give a last-minute verbal TakeThat to Lex and wipe his mind with a neurotoxin, ensuring that he cannot use any of the knowledge he accumulated since the beginning of the series against the newly dubbed Superman.]]
* ''Series/WonderWoman'': In "Fausta the Nazi Wonder Woman", Fausta turns on her Nazi masters and helps Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor escape.

** At the end of the game, [[spoiler: Jason Todd abandons the Arkham Knight mantle and picks up his comic book persona of the Red Hood, whose first act is to save Batman from Scarecrow.]]

* Parodied in one episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'', where Joker decides to become a crime fighter. Although he does target some actual criminals like Penguin, his "crime fighting" mostly consists of things like poisoning jaywalkers and [[WouldHurtAChild little girls playing hopscotch ("graffiti")]].
* Vandal Savage of all people has one in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'', though it takes destroying humanity and living alone on the obliterated Earth for 30,000 years to make it happen: in that time he reflects on the error of his ways, learns the futility of lusting for power, and ultimately becomes a kindhearted humble person who decides to live alone on the planet as punishment for his crime. [[spoiler:He gets the chance to SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong when Superman is thrust into his future by Toymaster, by helping to sent Superman back in time with information to prevent his past self from ever destroying the Earth in the first place]].
* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'' has Terra in Season 2 (her [[Comicbook/TeenTitans comics counterpart]] had no such turn), but this is after a time as TheMole and then a FaceHeelTurn, helping Slade achieve near victory. She's the one who ends up killing Slade, but ends up performing a HeroicSacrifice proving that RedemptionEqualsDeath (or Redemption Equals [[TakenForGranite Turning To Stone]]...it is a children/family show, after all).
** Jinx also performs a Heel Face Turn towards the end of Season 5, thanks to being thrown into a DatingCatwoman-ish scenario with Kid Flash (and the fact that [[BrokenPedestal her villainous idol treated her like crap]]; Madame Rouge [[NiceJobFixingItVillain lives to regret that decision]]). She even acts as a DoubleAgent for the heroes during the FinalBattle.

** Also ComicBook/{{Shade}} (still kinda a jerk).

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' has Terra in Season 2 (her [[Comicbook/TeenTitans comics counterpart]] had no such turn), but this is after a time as TheMole and then a FaceHeelTurn, helping Slade achieve near victory. She's the one who ends up killing Slade, but ends up performing a HeroicSacrifice proving that RedemptionEqualsDeath (or Redemption Equals [[TakenForGranite Turning To Stone]]...it is a children/family show, after all).

!!Franchise/TheDCU

** Following ''ComicBook/ForeverEvil'', both Captain Cold and ComicBook/LexLuthor were inducted into the Franchise/{{Justice League|OfAmerica}} thanks to their high profile role in defeating the [[MirrorUniverse Crime Syndicate]].

** The Catwoman of Earth-Two, an alternate universe in ''Franchise/TheDCU'', also turned over a new leaf when she recovered from amnesia. [[AmnesiacDissonance Horrified]], she was willing to go to jail for the crimes she had committed. When Franchise/{{Batman}} sprung her from jail to help him, she [[{{Retcon}} revealed]] that she had lied; she had actually chosen to be a villain and then chosen to reform because she realized that it was her only chance for a normal life (whereupon they fell in love, got married, and had a daughter, Huntress).

* In ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' storyline ''ComicBook/{{Bizarrogirl}}'', Kara's Bizarro counterpart, who was previously an adversary, develops a better understanding of good, evil, life, and death, and tries to become a hero (or as much of one as a Bizarro can be).
* In ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}: Villains'', Winslow Schott, the Toyman, turns himself in when Superman reveals his identity to the world. Apparently, suddenly seeing Superman as a person made him realise that all the times Supes had told him he could be better, he'd actually ''meant'' it.

** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': Sofia Constantinas started out as a criminal, before her interactions with Wonder Woman led her to turning over a new leaf and taking up the oath of an Amazon.