History Main / ALighterShadeOfBlack

** The German movie it was based on, ''Film/DieWannseekonferenz'',gives this role to Stuckart, except much more downplayed. He's proud of the fact that his office has produced five pounds of legislation restricting Jews in everything. His only beef is with [[DeadlyEuphemism evacuating]] German Half-Jews with the rest. They number seventy-two thousand out of eleven million, just under two-thirds of one-percent.

* Throughout ''Fanfic/TheHeartTrilogy'', Smaug is acknowledged to be a murderous, greedy and self-serving dragon. However, Gandalf trusts that [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes his love]] towards Kathryn will keep him from becoming a threat as serious as Sauron and Fankil who'd use the {{Seer}} and the dragon for their own desires (taking over Middle-Earth and freeing [[GreaterScopeVillain Morgoth]], respectively). Smaug [[NeutralNoLonger eventually]] sides with the Free Peoples in the War of the Ring, even if [[NotInThisForYourRevolution only for revenge and personal gain]].

* Throughout ''Fanfic/TheHeartTrilogy'', Smaug is acknowledged to be a murderous, greedy and self-serving dragon. However, Gandalf trusts that [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes his love]] toward Kathryn will keep him from becoming a threat as serious as Sauron and Fankil who'd use the {{Seer}} and the dragon for their own desires (taking over Middle-Earth and freeing [[GreaterScopeVillain Morgoth]], respectively). Smaug [[NeutralNoLonger eventually]] sides with the Free Peoples in the War of the Ring, even if [[NotInThisForYourRevolution only for personal gains and vendettas]].

* The villains of ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' are typically {{Card Carrying Villain}}s with no qualms about causing harm and destruction wherever they go, and few redeeming qualities. The main outliers are the {{Arc Villain}}s of the [[BreatherEpisode Culture Festival Arc]], Gentle Criminal and his sidekick La Brava. Gentle makes it clear that he has no desire to cause harm and simply desires one thing: to make his mark on history. He originally wanted to be a hero to accomplish this goal, but when that dream crashed and burned, [[ThenLetMeBeEvil resorted to villainy]], his brand of which being very petty in comparison to others like the League of Villains or the Shie Hassaikai: holding up stores and committing B&E's. His sidekick, La Brava, was ostracized for her awkward and stalkerish behavior and would've been DrivenToSuicide had she not discovered Gentle's videotaped exploits online, leading her to seek him out and become his partner in crime. While some of the other villains in the series have camaraderie and friendship with each other, Gentle and La Brava are dedicated to each other on a whole different level, such that when Midoriya defeats them and they are taken into custody, Gentle goes the extra mile to protect La Brava by claiming he forced her into villainy so that she could receive leniency.

* The villains of ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' are typically {{Card Carrying Villain}}s with no qualms about causing harm and destruction wherever hey go, and few redeeming qualities. The main outliers are the {{Arc Villain}}s of the [[BreatherEpisode School Festival Arc]], Gentle Criminal and his sidekick La Brava. Gentle makes it clear that he has no desire to cause harm and simply desires one thing: to make his mark on history. He originally wanted to be a hero to accomplish this goal, but when that dream crashed and burned, [[ThenLetMeBeEvil resorted to villainy]], his brand of which being very petty in comparison to others like the League of Villains or the Shie Hassaikai: holding up stores and committing B&E's. His sidekick, La Brava, was ostracized for her awkward and stalkerish behavior and would've been DrivenToSuicide had she not discovered Gentle's videotaped exploits online, leading her to seek him out and become his partner in crime. While some of the other villains in the series have camaraderie and friendship with each other, Gentle and La Brava are dedicated to each other on a whole different level, such that when Midoriya defeats them and they are taken into custody, Gentle goes the extra mile to protect La Brava by claiming he forced her into villainy so that she could receive leniency.

* The villains of ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' are typically CardCarryingVillain[=s=] with no qualms about causing harm and destruction wherever hey go, and few redeeming qualities. The main outliers are the {{Arc Villain}}s of the [[BreatherEpisode School Festival Arc]], Gentle Criminal and his sidekick La Brava. Gentle makes it clear that he has no desire to cause harm and simply desires one thing: to make his mark on history. He originally wanted to be a hero to accomplish this goal, but when that dream crashed and burned, [[ThenLetMeBeEvil resorted to villainy]], his brand of which being very petty in comparison to others like the League of Villains or the Shie Hassaikai: holding up stores and committing B&E's. His sidekick, La Brava, was ostracized for her awkward and stalkerish behavior and would've been DrivenToSuicide had she not discovered Gentle's videotaped exploits online, leading her to seek him out and become his partner in crime. While some of the other villains in the series have camaraderie and friendship with each other, Gentle and La Brava are dedicated to each other on a whole different level, such that when Midoriya defeats them and they are taken into custody, Gentle goes the extra mile to protect La Brava by claiming he forced her into villainy so that she could receive leniency.

* The villains of ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' are typically CardCarryingVillain[=s=] with no qualms about causing harm and destruction wherever hey go, and few redeeming qualities. The main outliers are the ArcVillain[=s=] of the [[BreatherEpisode School Festival Arc]], Gentle Criminal and his sidekick La Brava. Gentle makes it clear that he has no desire to cause harm and simply desires one thing: to make his mark on history. He originally wanted to be a hero to accomplish this goal, but when that dream crashed and burned, [[ThenLetMeBeEvil resorted to villainy]], his brand of which being very petty in comparison to others like the League of Villains or the Shie Hassaikai: holding up stores and committing B&E's. His sidekick, La Brava, was ostracized for her awkward and stalkerish behavior and would've been DrivenToSuicide had she not discovered Gentle's videotaped exploits online, leading her to seek him out and become his partner in crime. While some of the other villains in the series have camaraderie and friendship with each other, Gentle and La Brava are dedicated to each other on a whole different level, such that when Midoriya defeats them and they are taken into custody, Gentle goes the extra mile to protect La Brava by claiming he forced her into villainy so that she could receive leniency.

** Vegeta himself serves as the lesser evil to Frieza during the Namek Saga. Both are truly evil with plans on conquering the galaxy, with Dende even remarking Vegeta is NotSoDifferent than Frieza, but Vegeta nonetheless has [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy a warrior's sense of pride]], VillainousValor, and is willing to work with the Z-Fighters against a common threat, while Frieza at his best is far more sadistic and cutthroat than Vegeta at his worst, and a DirtyCoward to boot. In fact, this is the entire reason Krillin [[GodzillaThreshold agrees to make Vegeta immortal using the Dragon Balls]], because while Vegeta is undoubtedly a monster, Frieza is just that much worse.

See also ALighterShadeOfGrey, NominalHero, and ShadesOfConflict. An exaggerated form of this trope is EvilVersusOblivion. The polar opposite of VilerNewVillain, when a villain is shown to be worse than the more nobler villain. For a downplayed form, see BlackAndGrayMorality.

* After Jason's SanitySlippage during ''ComicBook/{{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 lighter shade of grey, 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!"]].

While EvilVersusEvil may be fun, it carries the risk of TooBleakStoppedCaring: people just ''do'' like having someone to cheer for, but if both sides are equally reprehensible, then there's really no point to it.

* ''Fanfic/DannyPhantomStranded'': Stella Bevier is this to her second husband, Jean-Luc, and step-daughter Colette Bevier. When Stella first appeared, she acted like a ditzy, materialistic, selfish, and thoughtless woman with no respect for the middle class and looked down on those she deemed beneath her. She was also guilty of neglecting her daughter, Star, and favoring her new family, who are just as selfish as her. She also dismissed Danny upon meeting him, believing that he is not good enough for Star, and made rude comments about him behind his back. Once Star reaches her breaking point (due to thinking that Danny left because of Stella's insults), and angrily called out her mother for her actions. Stella refused to take them back and ended up arguing with her and making Star storm away from her in anger and disgust. When Star disappeared, Stella looked sincerely worried for her. Still, she refused to take responsibility for her disappearance, going as far as to say she sacrificed her figure to give birth to Star, showing her selfishness and irresponsibility as a parent. However, when Jonathan calls her out for being a lousy parent to their daughter, he angrily tells Stella that he plans to terminate her visitation rights. Stella finally realizes the seriousness of the situation and the fact that her actions have consequences and begins to feel guilty and worried about her missing daughter. Also, when Johnathan pointed out how apathetic Jean-Luc and Colette were acting to Star's disappearance, Stella insists that they are handling Star's disappearance differently. However, her response was awkward and it implied that she was uncomfortable with how indifferent her husband and step-daughter were acting. Thankfully, by the end of her debut story, Stella sincerely apologized to both her daughter and Danny and even moved back to Amity Park to be closer to Star and repair their relationship, showing that she ''does'' genuinely cares for her daughter and feels remorse for her actions. This shows that Stella ''is'' capable of seeing the error of her ways and ''is'' capable of becoming a better person, unlike her husband and step-daughter who both refuse to admit their own faults. In future fic segments, it shows that her CharacterDevelopment is genuine as Stella is making a real effort to be a more thoughtful and better parent to her daughter.

* This get's juggled to hell and back between [[Anime/CodeGeass the Holy Britannian Empire]] and [[WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime the Decepticons]] in ''Fanfic/CodePrime''. The Britannian Empire is a group of {{Politically Incorrect Villain}}s that have subjugated a third of the Earth, but they also have moments where members prove to be honorable, loving, and willing to look past said racism to acknowledge those who have earned their keep. The Decepticons, meanwhile, are alien conquerors who destroyed their homeworld, but are [[EqualOpportunityEvil meritocratic]] and [[AtLeastIAdmitIt don't try to pretend that they are anything other than alien conquerors]]. One of the other points the Britannians have in their favor is that they have several {{Internal Reformist}}s that want to fix said empire, while the Decepticons don't have any objectors to the atrocities they carry out. [[spoiler:''R1'' ends with the Decepticons killing Emperor Charles, sacking Pendragon, and claiming Britannia as their new empire, cementing the Decepticons are the worse villains of the story.

* ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'' has a few episodes with two villains pitted against each other, but one of them is more morally-gray or has a good side as compared to the other who is flat-out villainous. Examples are "[[Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles The Shredder]] vs. [[ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} Silver Samurai]]", "[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Sephiroth]] vs. [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry Vergil]]", and "ComicBook/{{Carnage}} vs. [[Manga/ElfenLied Lucy]]", all three of which have the former being the more evil of the two.

While EvilVersusEvil may be fun, it carries the risk of DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: people just ''do'' like having someone to cheer for, but if both sides are equally reprehensible, then there's really no point to it.

* In ''WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien'', Sir George vs Diagon. George might be a [[FantasticRacism anti-alien]] KnightTemplar leading a whole faction of CapeBusters, but he is still better than the [[MindRape Mind-Raping]], MultiversalConqueror EldritchAbomination that is Diagon. However, later episodes show that he, unlike Driscoll and the rest of the knights, was not so bad after all. Once the Diagon arc kicks in he's pretty much a good guy who also protects the world, but he and Ben were at odds with their views on non-earthly beings until a bigger threat forced Sir George to get over it and work with the team.
** Also, Charmcaster vs. Adwaitya. [[spoiler: Charmcaster is hardly is a saint, but Adwaitya is way, ''way'' worse: she may have done more damage than he did temporarily (though one could argue that regardless of what Spellbinder claimed, wiping out all life in her realm in one go is still more benevolent than Adwaitya's systematic killing over the ages) but is called out on it and becomes a FriendlyEnemy afterward for the most part; by contrast, Adwaitya was power-mad and unrepentant to the end.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/SuicideSquadHellToPay'', more prominently in the tie-in sequel comics, have Amanda Waller as this. Amanda Waller is far from a heroic, pleasant, or likeable individual, but the comic points out quite clearly she had done good things. Meanwhile the two she's competing with for the [[spoiler: Get Out of Hell Free Card]], ''ComicBook/VandalSavage'' and [[Franchise/TheFlash Reverse-Flash]], are complete monsters with no redeeming features or good actions to their names.
* ''WesternAnimation/HarleyQuinn2019'' does this with Harley and her friends. They're ever so slightly nicer than their enemies, which makes it possible to root for them. Harley herself is still a CardCarryingVillain who wants nothing more than to be invited to join the Legion of Doom, but she at least gets the benefit of a sympathetic backstory and isn't as extreme in her evil acts as the Joker.

* As with the novel it's based on, this is all over the place in the live-action adaptation of ''Series/TheManInTheHighCastle'', due to [[CrapsackWorld the setting]]. ''[[spoiler:[[UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler Adolf frakking Hitler]]]]'' of all people comes across as this in comparison to [[spoiler:Reinhard Heydrich's faction, whose goals are by all accounts [[NukeEm a nuclear war with Japan]].]] Interestingly, the novel portrays [[spoiler:Heydrich's faction in the exact opposite manner; there Heydrich's faction is the only one that ''opposes'' nuking Japan. This may be a minor case of NotHisSled]].

* In ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' we have the BigBadDuumvirate, [[MadScientist Relius Clover]] and [[CardCarryingVillain Yuuki Terumi]]. Both of them are seemingly caught in a "How far beyond the MoralEventHorizon can you go" contest, but despite the fact that they're almost evenly matched as far as accomplishments go, Relius is still a lighter shade of black than Terumi is. First and foremost because most of his atrocities were committed in order to [[ForScience satiate his own scientific curiosity]], and secondly because he is [[PragmaticVillainy pretty pragmatic in his villainy]]. Compare to Terumi who [[AxCrazy doesn't even pretend]] [[ForTheEvulz to have a rationalization]] for all the shit he does and often goes out of his way to ruin people's lives just because... His behavior is sort of [[JustifiedTrope justified]], as Terumi avoids getting [[{{Retgone}} erased from reality]] by anchoring his own existence in the world [[GodNeedsPrayerBadly through people's hatred of him]], but any sympathy points this could've earned them are ultimately DoubleSubverted, because he really ''does'' get off on pushing people beyond the DespairEventHorizon. [[spoiler: The fact that the fourth game revealed that he's actually [[SatanicArchetype Susanoo no Mikoto]], the [=BlazBlue=] 'verse's own take on {{Satan}}, doesn't help his case, either.]]

* The [[FishPeople Kua-Toa]] of ''WebVideo/TalesFromMyDDCampaign'' are divided into two factions: The Illud and the Deluvians. Both are [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil slavers]] and believe themselves to be the MasterRace, but the Deluvians worship the AxCrazy goddess of slaughter and want to butcher all the civilized races, while the Illud worship a neutral god of storms, and may be content with just enslaving all the civilized races.