History Main / ALighterShadeOfBlack

** The Tau were basically created to be this trope, despite FanDumb forcing them to get darker since their introduction. It says a lot about the state of the universe where the race with a "communist manifest destiny" motif, who openly seek to conquer the universe and make all other races part of their empire, who resort to violence if their efforts to subsume other races diplomatically fail, and who are implied (in a comment of dubious canonicity) to set up concentration camps and forced sterilization programs for races who resist, are still relatively good guys.

* ''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]]", "ComicBook/{{Carnage}} vs. [[Manga/ElfenLied Lucy]]", "ComicBook/LexLuthor vs. ComicBook/DoctorDoom", "[[ComicBook/TheBoys Homelander]] vs. [[ComicBook/{{Invincible}} Omni-Man]]", and "ComicBook/{{Apocalypse}} vs. ComicBook/BlackAdam" all six of which have the former being the more evil of the two.

* ''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]]", "ComicBook/{{Carnage}} vs. [[Manga/ElfenLied Lucy]]", "ComicBook/LexLuthor vs. ComicBook/DoctorDoom", and "[[ComicBook/TheBoys Homelander]] vs. [[ComicBook/{{Invincible}} Omni-Man]]", all five of which have the former being the more evil of the two.

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': Raven Branwen is the leader of a BanditClan, a ruthless believer in the idea that the strong survive and the weak die, and is someone who doesn't care about the lives of the people she hurts; she will even kidnap people for ransom purposes if the price is right. Volume 5 pits her against Cinder Fall, a sadist whose hunger for power cannot be sated and who enjoys pain and killing; she thrills at the destruction and suffering she causes to the city of Vale, picks off people to die just to torment their friends, and is willing to work for someone who wants to destroy humanity if she can obtain great power out of it. [[spoiler:Cinder's lust for power is so great, she's even willing to attach Grimm body parts to herself to aid her search for power, an act that [[EvenEvilHasStandards disgusts Raven]].]]

* ''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]]", "ComicBook/{{Carnage}} vs. [[Manga/ElfenLied Lucy]]", and "ComicBook/LexLuthor vs. ComicBook/DoctorDoom", all four of which have the former being the more evil of the two.

[[folder:Literature]]
* In ''Literature/BloodMeridian'', all members of Glanton's gang are brutal killers. However, the kid, Tobin the ex-priest, and Toadvine are bounty hunters by vocation, they're willing to kill and they're good at it, but they take no particular pleasure in doing so and usually only kill in self-defense or legitimate bounty targets. This is in sharp contrast to Glanton himself, Brown, and especially the Judge, who love killing for killing's sake and are just as happy killing non-combatants (including Indians, Mexicans, and even Americans who show them hospitality).
* The ''Literature/{{Parker}}'' novels by Richard Stark sometimes uses this. Parker, a VillainProtagonist, is an amoral thief. However, he is pragmatic. He would kill to get what he wants, but he would not do it if it was unnecessary because he knows that the police put more effort in hunting murderers than thieves. Some books like ''The Sour Lemon Score'' or ''Deadly Edge'', put him against complete psychos who rape and kill on a whim.
* In the ''[[Franchise/BattleTechExpandedUniverse [=BattleTech=]]]'' novel ''Bred for War'', [[spoiler:the assassin responsible for the death of Melissa Steiner-Davion in an earlier book]] gets this treatment. When a new "revolutionary" government takes over the planet he'd been thinking about going into retirement on, it turns out to be sufficiently nasty that even his disregard for collateral damage in leading LaResistance and his [[spoiler:leaving his local girlfriend to be captured and killed]] as a distraction can't quite quench the admiration for his magnificent bastardry. (It helps that he only reveals his real identity at the end of the subplot -- even to the reader.)
* In-Universe in ''Literature/VampireAcademy'', the Alchemists consider Strigoi, Moroi, and Dhampirs to be all "evil creatures of the night". But they are willing to concede that the latter two are a lighter shade of black. Allowing them to covertly co-operate.
* PlayedWith in ''Literature/TheFirstLaw''. The wizard Bayaz is a grumpy {{Jerkass}} who assembles a team of hardened killers ([[AndZoidberg and Jezal]], who is still a soldier and TheFightingNarcissist, just a bit green) to find a secret weapon to help him defeat the cannibalistic slaver armies of the EvilSorcerer Khalul, and near the end they thwart a separate plot by another renegade wizard to bring TheLegionsOfHell into the world as well. [[spoiler:It turns out that Bayaz might be the ''greater'' evil of the three, as he turns out to be a massive ManipulativeBastard who played every character in the book like a fiddle, and the other evil wizards are driven in part to avenge crimes he commit in the past against them and their mutual master, whom it's implied Bayaz murdered for power. He is a megalomaniac bent on WorldDomination, and the armies of Khalul even offer to spare the capital city the protagonists are defending if they just hand over Bayaz to them. His vision might be a bit less dystopian than the other two evil wizards, but Bayaz is the most unprincipled of the three and is largely responsible for the other twos' descent into villainy in the first place, and is actively exploiting their greater threat to further his own ends anyway.]]
* ''Literature/EzrasGamble'' is about BountyHunter Bossk and StreetUrchin Ezra Bridger fighting a criminal and a corrupt and murderous Imperial officer in cahoots with him. Bossk himself only comes across as evil in other ''Franchise/StarWars'' stories, not in this one. [[spoiler:Until the reward he promised Ezra turns out to be significantly smaller than implied.]]
* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'': While both Coin and Snow are power-hungry villains, what makes Snow a slightly better person than Coin is that if he makes a threat or promises to do something, [[IGaveMyWord he keeps his word on it]]. Coin, on the other hand, is willing to manipulate others and lie to order gain power. [[spoiler:This led Katniss to realize that it was Coin, rather than Snow who was responsible for the bombing of the Capitol's children and the death of her sister, Prim.]]
* Given that ''Literature/TheManInTheHighCastle'' takes place in an AlternateHistory in which [[CrapsackWorld the Nazis and Imperial Japan won]] UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, the novel is rife with this. To name one example, Reinhard Heydrich is the ruthless leader of the SS and it's pretty heavily implied that he's been responsible for several genocidal actions. And yet he's still a lesser evil compared to other factions jockeying for power in the Reich... [[spoiler:[[NukeEm who want to nuke Japan]]]].
* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' has plenty of it, given it's set in a CrapsackWorld where [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished good people suffer]], [[BlackAndGrayMorality seemingly good people are questionable, and bad people are total bastards]].
** [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Cersei Lannister]] is cruel, manipulative, and self-absorbed to the point of narcissism, her [[{{Twincest}} brother/lover]] Jaime starts out equally ruthless, but after [[TraumaCongaLine suffering a lot]] [[TookALevelInIdealism turns out to be a better person than he seemed]], and younger brother Tyrion is a LovableRogue who serves as the TokenGoodTeammate among the siblings.
** The Clegane brothers are both brutal {{Blood Knight}}s, but while Gregor ("The Mountain") is an AxCrazy {{Sociopath|icSoldier}} who rapes and slaughters for pleasure, Sandor ("The Hound") is a ProfessionalKiller [[NobleDemon with some standards]] and a tragic backstory.
** None of the Greyjoy brothers can be described as good people: Balon is bitter, vindictive, and an AbusiveParent; Victarion is a [[TheBrute dumb brute]] who cares little about politics as long as he gets to RapePillageAndBurn; and Aeron is a [[TheFundamentalist religious zealot]] serving a cruel, unforgiving god. However, all three look like saints compared to their brother [[TheDreaded Euron]], a psychopath with a [[AGodAmI god complex]] who commits acts that are considered cruel even by Ironborn standards, practices BlackMagic, and [[spoiler:raped and murdered several of his younger brothers in his youth]].
* The Imperial States of America in ''Literature/{{Caliphate}}'' are an brutal Christian empire that has abolished its Constitution, freedom of speech and the right to bear arms don't exist and it has expanded its influence over other foreign territories. Yet for all its faults, women have rights, are taught how to read and are allowed to join the military in a stark contrast the [[NoWomansLand Caliphate]] where women are forbidden from reading, going out in public without veil or a male companion, their testimony are only count for half a male one and if they are raped they are regarded DefiledForever.
* ''Literature/ForestKingdom'': In book 2 (''Blood and Honor''), all of the three princes fighting for Redheart's throne are evil and murderous in their own way. Yet Prince Viktor, the middle of the trio, is regarded as the best option to take the throne due to supposedly being the ''least'' evil, despite being just as bad as his brothers.
** Prince Lewis has a violent temper and makes a habit of forcing himself on young ladies from the lesser nobility, or any others who catch his interest (and he also has the habit of murdering them afterward if he feels like it).
** Prince Viktor, who is also a headstrong and hotblooded lady's man who attempted to murder his own younger brother (which got him exiled from the castle) when the woman they were competing over chose Dominic, and doesn't care if everyone else in the kingdom dies if that's what it takes to achieve his own goals.
** Prince Dominic is regarded as "barking mad" and having an unhealthy interest in sorcery.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films]]
* In the two ''Franchise/AlienVsPredator'' movies, the Predators are this to the Aliens. In the [[Film/AVPAlienVsPredator first movie]], not only does this lead to an EnemyMine situation where the last surviving human character teams up with the last surviving Predator, but it's made abundantly clear that the Predators are ''by far'' the lesser threat, as the Aliens will cause global extinction if they reach civilization (which, as many of noted, [[TrailersAlwaysLie invalidates the famous tagline]] [[EvilVersusEvil "Whoever wins... we lose"]]). The [[Film/AliensVsPredatorRequiem second film]] is a bit better about this trope, with the Predator gruesomely killing a fair number of people without an EnemyMine in sight, but to the humans, it remains a significantly smaller problem than the Alien swarm in addition to the many EvilVirtues of [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy its species]].
** A lot of the victims the Predators kill in many of the films and video games are {{Asshole Victim}}s: either gang leaders, thugs, criminals, rapists, or child-abusers (this is evident in ''Film/{{Predator 2}}'' where the Predator was killing a bunch of gang leaders and their henchmen). The Predators follow a strict code of honor and even helped develop some of the greatest civilizations in history (i.e. the Aztec Empire, Ancient Egyptians, and the Khmer Empire). The reason the Predators are considered antagonists is because many of the protagonists in such works are law enforcement officers or military personnel (which the Predators consider to be {{Worthy Opponent}}s since many of them are capable of fighting back).
* In ''Film/Beast2017'', [[spoiler:Moll is seriously unstable, and it's revealed that she lied in claiming she stabbed the girl in self-defence, which makes it ambiguous how much of a bully she was, and she fantasizes about killing the victims. However, she still gets revenge on Pascal and ensures he can't hurt anybody else by killing him after he confesses to being the killer.]]
* In ''Film/FreddyVsJason,'' Jason is often read this way, since at least he's not a children-killing scumbag with pedophilic undertones who stretches out his victims' deaths out of sheer sadism. That and Freddy can go just about anywhere whereas Jason only sticks to his home place. Jason's motive for becoming a killer is to avenge his mother whom he [[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas truly cares about]], while Freddy is pretty much unable to love anyone. On the flip side, Jason racks up a ''way'' bigger body count than Freddy does (which is actually Freddy's motive for fighting him -- he is killing kids Freddy has targeted), is clearly out of control, and is slaughtering teenagers by the dozen seemingly ForTheEvulz, so... Also, on a metaphysical level, there's the fact Freddy explicitly steals the souls of his victims, whereas Jason just kills people.
* Every character in ''Film/Conspiracy2001'' is a Nazi and have enthusiastically engaged in war crimes, so they're all evil. Yet [[AntiVillain Dr. Wilhelm Kritzinger]], while still a proud servant of the Fuehrer who's glad to oppress the Jewish people, is the only one appalled by the concept of complete extermination. This is a HistoricalHeroUpgrade for him -- the movie is about the Wannsee Conference which discussed details of the Holocaust, but the records (admittedly compiled by those in charge of the proposed measures) show that nobody objected to the genocide at the time, not least because it was already well underway -- the point of the conference was not to start the Holocaust, but to make sure it happened efficiently. Kritzinger ''did'' try to resign soon after, but whether and how it was related to the conference is anyone's guess. He was ashamed about the whole thing after the war though.
* The German movie that ''Conspiracy'' 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.
* ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly'': Blondie, the "good," is hardly good by normal standards -- he's a bounty hunter who is nearly as ruthless as the people he hunts -- but unlike Angel Eyes (who is a complete sociopath) and Tuco (basically an amoral thug, albeit with a few humanizing moments), Blondie has moral standards. He is disgusted by the carnage of the Civil War and in the end decides to spare Tuco's life.
* ''Film/{{Goodfellas}}'': Henry Hill is a proud gangster who never directly kills anyone and is relatively sympathetic through most of the film even though both his associates and enemies are very nasty customers.
* Hayley Stark in ''Film/HardCandy'' is a sociopathic ManipulativeBitch whose modus operandi is [[DrivenToSuicide driving her victims to kill themselves]]...but she only targets [[PaedoHunt child predators]], such as the male protagonist. It seems to be up to the viewer to decide who to root for, [[spoiler:until it turns out that Jeff did it]].
* Creator/QuentinTarantino's films (both directed and produced) at their darkest descent into this type of conflict.
** ''Film/FromDuskTillDawn'': The Gecko brothers are a bunch of scoundrels worthy of being hanged, drawn, and quartered, but when compared to diabolical bloodsucking monsters, they're definitely the guys you'll want to root for.
** ''Film/KillBill'': The villains are ruthless assassins (though in the present, half of them have retired) and attacked The Bride at her wedding rehearsal, slaughtered everyone present, before mercilessly beating her. The Bride herself used to be one of them, an assassin, merciless, and with a sadistic streak. This trope is best summed up by Bud, who is the one of the only ones to admit that what they did was wrong, "That woman deserves her revenge. And we deserve to die. But then again, so does she."
* In ''[[Film/SuicideSquad2016 Suicide Squad]]'', while the titular team consists primarily of criminals and psychopaths that have basically been co-opted by the US Government as a black ops unit, faced with the threat posed by the Enchantress, who seeks to completely destroy civilisation, the Squad eventually make a choice to stand against the Enchantress even when they don't have to, with WordOfGod affirming that the film is, at its core, drawing a line between the Squad being bad guys while the Enchantress is just ''evil''.
* ''Film/TheWayOfTheGun'':
** Our protagonists Parker and Longbaugh are simple thugs who kidnap a pregnant woman to collect a ransom from a mob accountant. They're evil, but not without a sense of honor, and never plan to harm the pregnant woman, which contrasts with other characters in the film.
** Jeffers and Obecks are both ruthless mob bodyguards who plan to betray their employer. However, Obecks is subtly shown to be less awful than Jeffers. When the pair point their guns at a woman's pregnant belly as a threat to her would-be kidnappers, Obecks surreptitiously calls her attention to the fact that his finger isn't on the trigger, showing her that it's a bluff, at least on his part. When he pulls her behind cover during the ensuing firefight, he whispers "You're okay" to her. Jeffers never shows any humanity contrasting with the pair's ruthless actions.
* Caine in ''Film/MenaceIISociety'' is just as much of a criminal living the thug life as his friends, but he is portrayed more sympathetic, with a backstory of him being born into a bad disfunctional family and surrounded by negative peers and influences all of his life. He acts as the OnlySaneMan of the group, and just when he's about to do a full HeelFaceTurn [[spoiler:he is gunned down in a driveby shooting.]]
* All the main characters in ''Film/TheDeathOfStalin'' are morally questionable at best, being high-ranking members of Stalin's inner circle, and a bunch of brutal authoritarians. However, in the EvilPowerVacuum left after Stalin's death, some definitely come off better than others.
** Between Nikita Khrushchev and Lavrentiy Beria, Khrushchev comes across as the much better option and the much more sympathetic character, having a few scruples and a reformist agenda, while Beria, leader of the sadistic SecretPolice, is a SerialRapist driven solely by self-interest. Most of the other characters whose support they are vying for, particularly [[PointyHairedBoss Georgy Malenkov]], come across as petty, cruel, and/or stupid.
** The character who comes across as the most genuinely decent is probably Stalin's daughter Svetlana, [[GoodIsImpotent who has no real power]] and is constantly being manipulated by the men around her for her OneHundredPercentAdorationRating with the Soviet people.
** [[EleventhHourRanger Finally]], there's Marshal Georgy Zhukov, who comes across as fairly likable, being a down to earth soldier who, in his own words, "fucked Germany" and also (refreshingly) has no time for the political double-talk and scheming of the men around him.
* In the ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' continuities where Godzilla is more of an AntiVillain, his opponents tend to be much worse in comparison, allowing the audience to root for him despite being a destructive, rage-filled monster who's killed countless thousands of innocent people, because at least Godzilla takes rests between his rampages. Films that fit this description include ''Film/GodzillaVsSpaceGodzilla'', ''Film/GodzillaVsMegaguirus'', ''Film/Godzilla2000'', and ''Film/GodzillaVsDestoroyah''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* In ''ComicBook/{{Wanted}}'', Wesley and his allies are ever so slightly better than their opponents, which makes it possible to root for them. [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality Invoked by the author]], as the story's structure (a corruption of TheHerosJourney) is specifically modelled to make you root for the VillainProtagonist even though he murders, rapes and tortures his way through the issues and is a petty, smug sadist who obviously gets off on the evil acts he commits. In the end the only thing differentiating Wesley from [[BigBad Mr. Rictus]] is that Wesley is evil 6 days a week, whereas Rictus strives to fill all 7 of them with bonafide supervillainy. By the end Wesley has to BreakTheFourthWall to remind the reader that, yes, [[CardCarryingVillain he's still a villain and proud of it]].
* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'': During ComicBook/{{Venom}}'s transformation into an an anti-hero in the nineties, readers were introduced to ComicBook/{{Carnage}}, Venom's [[EvilCounterpart eviler counterpart]]. When push came to shove, Spider-Man would even [[EnemyMine team up with Venom against Carnage]], who couldn't have Carnage deny him the "honor" of killing Spidy himself.
* In ''ComicBook/XMen'' while ComicBook/{{Magneto}} is often portrayed as a ruthless villain, he wants to [[WellIntentionedExtremist create a better world for mutantkind free from]] [[FantasticRacism human discrimination and persecution]]. This is a stark contrast to many other X-Men villains such as Sebastian Shaw, William Stryker, and Apocalypse; who have more selfish purposes (and in the case of Stryker, genocide against mutants). And of course there is Magneto's [[EvenEvilHasStandards disgust towards the]] ComicBook/RedSkull [[note]]The fact that the Red Skull is a Nazi who participated in the Holocaust while Magneto is a Jewish Holocaust survivor makes Magneto even more sympathetic[[/note]].
* ComicBook/DoctorDoom has some very similar traits. Certainly, he is an AGodAmI [[InsufferableGenius massive egomaniac]] and rules the nation of Latveria as a despot with armed Doombots on each corner and an enforced CultOfPersonality. At the same time, he keeps his word, provides an excellent quality of life for his citizens (Latveria's health and education infrastructure makes the United States look like a podunk backwater), and seeks to TakeOverTheWorld in order to make life better for everyone (admittedly at the cost of armed Doombots on each corner and an enforced CultOfPersonality). At least once, he's been replaced as Latveria's ruler by someone who turned out to be lacking those positive traits. The Fantastic Four have to deal semi-regularly with people who want to destroy the world for reasons that range from understandable but still kind of harsh (Galactus) to plain dickish and weird (Annihilus). And Doom ''also'' usually refuses to have anything to do with the Red Skull[[note]]mostly because Doom's mother was Romani[[/note]]. In the {{Cyberpunk}} Marvel 2099 universe, a re-awoken Doom was actually one of the heroes -- his takeover of the United States was actually a positive development, with the corporations brought back under control, and he even made a HeroicSacrifice to deal with the Phalanx.
* In ''ComicBook/JohnnyTheHomicidalManiac'', the titular VillainProtagonist has next to no redeeming qualities, but he does have a MoralityPet (that he seldom actually [[PetTheDog pets]], try as he might) and seems to recognize that he's gone horrifically wrong... and when he's up against a [[CosmicHorrorStory universe-consuming]] EldritchAbomination, it's relatively easy to root for him.
** It helps, too, that Johnny is somewhat goofy and likable, mostly due to his CrossesTheLineTwice mannerisms and general [[PsychopathicManChild childish tendencies]], while the Monster Behind the Wall is never fun or wacky at all. Even though Johnny is clearly not forgivable, most of the readers would much rather have him running around.
* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye:'' Mentioned in-universe. Sentinel Prime was, during his life, a violent, murderous, arrogant fascist who killed the guy before him to get the job. But, as Brainstorm notes, the last thing he did in life was fight the newly emergent [[BigBad Megatron]], so he gets to be remembered as a hero. Not so much with the readers, who're more likely to side with Megs, who at the time was trying to overthrow an oppressive regime with a fondness for [[KickTheDog kicking every dog they could find]].
* Lampshaded in the ''Magazine/{{Mad}}'' parody of Film/TradingPlaces, after the main characters ruin the Duke brothers.
-->"I know those two old guys were ruthless... but compared to these two sharks, they were damn-near lovable!!"
* ''ComicBook/{{Raptors}}'': Drago and Camilla are remorseless predators, but their love for each other and reason for wanting revenge against the other vampires for killing their parents makes them just slightly more sympathetic. Unlike their arch-enemy Don Miguel, they also don't make a habit out of hunting children or orchestrating the wholesale purge of humanity.
* After Jason's SanitySlippage during ''Franchise/{{Batman}}: Battle for the Cowl'' anytime he's targeting an actual villain instead of trying to off members of his family he counts as a LighterShadeOfGrey, unless the villain in question wasn't much of a monster since someone who hacks off people's heads and tries to murder his little brothers is a fairly dark shade to begin with.
* ComicBook/PoisonIvy is often this to ComicBook/TheJoker, to whom she is often presented as a {{Foil}}. Specifically, she really does love Harley, whereas the Joker just sees her as a convienent pawn/[[DomesticAbuse punching bag]], and while she's still a bad person, she has an [[GaiasVengeance actual reason for her villainy]], whereas the Joker is basically just [[ForTheEvulz "I love being evil! HAHAHA!"]].
* ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogMegaManWorldsCollide'': [[Franchise/MegaMan Dr. Wily]] turns out to be this to [[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog Dr. Eggman]]. Both team up to conquer their respective worlds together and initially share a VillainousFriendship, but Dr. Eggman is revealed to be highly unstable and violent, at one point jettisoning Dr. Light from their floating fortress. When Wily found out, he was appalled: he wanted his intellectual rival defeated and humbled, not ''killed''. [[spoiler:In the end, when Sonic and Mega Man defeat them, Wily accepts his defeat and allows their universe to revert to normal. Eggman, however, directly attacks Sonic in the midst of his attempt to restore their own universe [[SoreLoser out of]] [[EvilIsPetty spite]], ranting that if he can't have the universe [[InTheirOwnImage remade in his image]], then he'd rather doom all of reality than let Sonic restore it; this results in Sonic's world being [[CosmicRetcon irrevocably altered]].]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* In ''Fanfic/TheButcherBird'', the [[TheWildHunt Wild Hunt]] pirate alliance serves as this compared to most other pirates. While they're [[PrivateMilitaryContractors mercenary in nature]], [[PunchClockVillain entirely uncaring of what their contract actually entails]], and more than willing to conquer kingdoms or create bloody revolutions, the captains that form the Hunt can be trusted to keep their word, protect land that supplies them and supports them, and generally ''not'' participate in the RapePillageAndBurn typical of most pirates.
* The entity possessing Naruto (revealed to not be the Kyuubi) in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12330403/1/Conquering-Eostia Conquering Eostia]]'' wants to rule Eostia, but more so wants to claims the seven Princess-Knights along with Dark Elf Queen Olga and her guard Chloe. On the other hand, he's also fighting against Volt and his Kuroinu Mercenaries, who want to turn Eostia into a living hell where [[NoWomansLand all women are considered sex slaves and public property]]. In the end, the main differences are the unnamed entity takes care of his slaves, has no interest in anyone but the nine mentioned, and [[EvenEvilHasStandards actually has a few morals]].
* 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|s}} 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]].
* No one in ''Fanfic/MurderersRow'' can be considered 'good', given that most of the cast are convicted murderers. However, none of them have anything on O'Malley, a serial killer who spends his days sadistically torturing and raping whoever catches his eye, which inevitably puts him into conflict with comparatively more moral inmates like [[NobleDemon Church]] and [[PsychopathicManchild Caboose]].
* In ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines'', the Bloodline Prince is portrayed as this contrasting with his father, the Bloodline King. Both of them intend to TakeOverTheWorld by enslaving those they perceive as inferior, but while the King's goal is to rule over Pokémon and normal humans alike and have Bloodliners on top, the Prince extends this only to normal humans and not to Pokémon, and even shows some regret because he acknowledges that humanity has achieved some things he's come to appreciate (such as movies).
* Naruto and Xanna in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10917821/1/The-questionable-burdens-of-leadership-of-a-troll-Emperor The (Questionable) Burdens of Leadership of a Troll Emperor]]'' are sociopathic dictators out to conquer the universe, but their enemies are the Goa'uld Hegemony and the Wraith. Furthermore, their own pride demands that their empire be as successful as possible, such that even first world countries on Earth see a significant improvement in their quality of life.
* In ''Fanfic/PrincessOfTheBlacks'', Jen Black is a [[LadyOfBlackMagic Black Witch]] who runs a child brothel but she's not a terrorist like Voldemort and his followers nor does she keep a stable of potential sacrifices around in case she needs them like fellow Black Wizards Menagerie and Priest. Even the brothel is from her days as one of it's employees and she acts as a {{cool big sis}} for the children working there.
%%* ''Fanfic/TheManyDatesOfDannyFenton'': The [[WesternAnimation/MarvelsSpiderMan Black Cat]] may be a thief, but she does possess some values at her core. %%Elaborate, please (compared to whom?).
* ''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, and 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.
* The Rogue Faction In ''Fanfic/FateMagnusBellum'' is this to [[spoiler:Manaka's faction]]. While Shirou's group is composed of AffablyEvil {{well intentioned extremist}}s who want to use the Holy Grail to rid humanity of evil and have moral lines they won't cross, [[spoiler:Manaka's]] group is composed of BrainwashedAndCrazy Servants led by an AxCrazy {{yandere}} whose endgame is to bring forth the Beast of Revelation and the destruction of the current world.
* The ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' and ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' crossover fic ''Fanfic/TwentyYearsLate'' has the Ethereals invading Earth twenty years after the 7 Hour War. Despite the fact they seek to exploit humans in order to find the cure for their own decaying bodies, they are ''repulsed'' by what the Combine has done to humanity. The point is driven home when a Sectoid tries a psychic scan of a Combine Elite and [[HorrifyingTheHorror starts screaming in sheer horror at what it finds]].
* 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]].
* ''Fanfic/ThereWasOnceAnAvengerFromKrypton'':
** Played with regarding the Diamonds. Blue Diamond is considered to be the more diplomatic and overtly kind between her and Yellow, but at the same time, she suffers from a severe case of Mood Whiplash and is more shatter happy than Yellow even before Pink Diamond's death messed her up. While Yellow is more overtly stern and ruthless, she's easier to read so one can know where they stand with her. With Blue, she may act nicer, but it's harder to tell what will set her off, and her wrath always entailed death.
** Vilgax compared to Thanos when the Mad Titan is discussed in ''Changing of the Guard''. No matter how bad Vilgax is, Thanos' genocidal savior delusions make him far worse. Even Ben acknowledges that compared to Thanos, Vilgax is nowhere near as awful.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* ''Anime/GodzillaThePlanetEater'' has Godzilla, who is outright malevolent to humanity and seeks to wipe them out, going against Ghidorah, the titular PlanetEater who devours worlds at the behest of the cultist alien race, the Exif. As such, Godzilla ends up as the lesser of the two evils and ultimately saves the planet from Ghidorah, [[spoiler:though he does kill the main protagonist Haruo in the finale]].
* Most of the villains in ''Manga/BlackButler'' are worse than [[VillainProtagonist Ciel.]]
* ''Manga/DeathNote'': [[EvenEvilHasStandards Even Rem]] [[LampshadeHanging agrees]], while Light Yagami may be a bastard he isn't as bad as Kyosuke Higuchi. Not that that excuses any of Light's own depravity. This ends up getting subverted when Light eventually becomes far worse than Higuchi ever was.
* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'''s [[TheBaroness Kycilia Zabi]] is a fascist dictator who holds that WeHaveReserves and once left a group of her own men buried alive in a collapsing mine. That said, she's not quite as awful as her older brother, [[TheEvilPrince Gihren]], a [[TheSociopath psychopath]] who aims to reduce the population of Earth to less than a billion and who murders [[spoiler:[[{{Patricide}} their father]]]] with a WaveMotionGun. This makes it possible, if just, to root for her as the two of them manouvere for position in the Zeon hierarchy.
** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamZZ'' spoiler: [[spoiler:[[InvokedTrope Invoked]] by [[BigBad Haman Khan]] as she tries to [[EnemyMine convince Judau to ally with her]] against [[TheStarscream Glemmy Toto]]. Haman explains that she's just a conqueror who doesn't believe in the Zabi name she's using as a flag, but Glemmy does, and Glemmy will drown the Earth Sphere in blood because of it. Judau doesn't buy it; as far as he can tell, Haman and Glemmy are exactly the same, and he's not going to pick one above the other.]]
* In the ''Manga/{{Area 88}}'' manga and OVA, Asran's pro-monarchy forces are ''not'' the good guys. The Asran monarchy lives in luxury while Asran struggles with poverty and a poor educational system. Saki is willing to use nuclear weapons in the country's civil war. Many of the mercenaries at Area 88 are amoral or outright [[SociopathicSoldier sociopathic]]. However, members of Asran's monarchy have sympathetic moments, as do many of the mercenaries. To boot, the anti-government forces are depicted as much worse, committing [[ObligatoryWarCrimeScene atrocities against civilians]] and allying with Farina's mafia.
** In the manga, this shifts to {{black and gray morality}} when the pro- and anti-government forces [[EnemyMine both turn on Project 4]], a ruthless arms syndicate.
* ''Franchise/DragonBall'':
** There's no denying that Nappa is a ruthless villain, but he seems to care for his comrades, as shown in ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' when he suggested the Dragon Balls be used to wish their fallen fellow Saiyan, Raditz, back to life; a suggestion Vegeta shoots down in favor of his own desire for immortality.
** 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 [[NotSoDifferentRemark even remarking Vegeta isn't so different from 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.
** Beerus, the God of Destruction and the [[BigBad villain]] of ''Anime/DragonBallZBattleOfGods'' stands out amongst the Z-Fighters' RoguesGallery. Most other ''Dragon Ball'' villains, especially Frieza and Cell, are utterly sadistic, depraved monsters who kill and destroy whoever and whenever they want ForTheEvulz. Beerus, on the other hand, only destroys [[PunchClockVillain because it's his job]] (though he is prone to destroying planets for [[DisproportionateRetribution petty reasons]]) and is quite sociable and friendly when off the clock. He'll keep on delaying the clock, too, as long as you keep his stomach full of good food and keep him of the opinion that blowing up your planet will rob him of said food.
** To a certain extent, [[Anime/DragonBallZCoolersRevenge Cooler]] to Frieza. They're both ruthless [[GalacticConqueror galactic conquerors]] that like pummeling their opponent, but Cooler's less sadistic and more focused on just finishing off his opponent. Plus [[BenevolentBoss he respects his men]] as opposed to [[BadBoss ruling them through fear]] like Frieza.
** In ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', Frost from Universe 6 plays a similar role to Frieza. While Frost [[spoiler:may be a crime lord and con-artist who profiteers off war like Frieza used to do]], he isn't a sadist. He is motivated mostly by [[spoiler:money and respect]], which although hardly noble, is a very "human" desire and leads him [[spoiler:to cultivate a VillainWithGoodPublicity in order to get the most benefit out of his crimes and even when found out he keeps his head about himself]], unlike Frieza who gladly slaughters anyone he comes across [[ForTheEvulz for kicks]] and revels in being the most feared being in the universe. It's how Frost achieves it that makes him evil. To his credit, however, he could have easily strong-armed a city into giving him a new base of power once he lost everything and/or tried to wage an universal war using what was left of his empire, but he instead lives on the streets and tries not to harm anyone despite his great power, even hiding from patrolling police officers when he could easily obliterate them with a flick of a wrist. When caught by the assassin [[ConsummateProfessional Hit]] with no chance to escape [[spoiler:(though not realizing Hit came with a different purpose than killing him)]], he chooses to [[FaceDeathWithDignity silently accept his fate]] after a brief battle instead of [[RageQuit blowing up the planet]] like Frieza whenever ''he'' is forced against the ropes.
* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'': Greed is still an antagonist and kind of a jerk, but he's leagues better than his fellow homunculi/siblings/former allies. He treats his underlings well and has their genuine respect and is not especially malicious.
* ''Anime/BlackLagoon'': The protagonists are pirates and smugglers who are quite willing to do all manner of immoral acts if the pay is right. They're still ''much'' better than most of their opponents, who include neo-Nazis, bloodthirsty cartels, and the other inhabitants of [[WretchedHive Roanapor]].
* ''Manga/AkameGaKill'': The Jaegars can be very ruthless, but they are not barbarians. They don't indiscriminately kill the Empire's citizens unless they suspect them of working with LaResistance. Every member has their own share of PetTheDog moments. This is very stark contrast to Wild Hunt, who are willing to kill the Empire's citizens for any reason ([[ForTheEvulz even for fun]]). In fact, considering the state of [[CorruptPolitician the Empire's government]], the Jaegars come across as the [[NobleTopEnforcer the best possible hope of protection for the Empire's citizens]].
* ''LightNovel/TheGeniusPrincesGuideToRaisingANationOutOfDebtHeyHowAboutTreason'': The Earthworld Empire has its share of corrupt nobles and a glass ceiling for women, which is a continent-wide issue, but it's presented more positively than other countries due to being relatively better about racial equality.
* 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 he 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.
* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'': [[GoldfishPoopGang Team Rocket]] are a bunch of unscrupulous thieves that have spent the entire series trying (and failing) to steal Ash's Pikachu and[=/=]or the wide variety of other trainers' Pokémon or random wild ones they encounter. The trio always revel in their villainy -- but they're actually much nicer than other villains they face off against. Team Aqua, Team Magma, Team Galactic, Team Plasma, etc.; they're all a bunch of unsympathetic criminal scumbags who will not hesitate to cross every line possible -- including and up to TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt -- to achieve their goals, whereas Team Rocket consist of {{Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain}}s who are as incompetent as they come, get their asses handed to them almost every time they encounter Ash and co., and spend every waking moment barely managing to scrape by. Not only that, but they have [[EvenEvilHasStandards some standards]] compared to the aforementioned teams.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* By the third season of ''Series/BoardwalkEmpire'', VillainProtagonist Nucky Thompson had [[TookALevelInJerkass taken a level in jerkass]] and embraced his role as a gangster to a degree that he was no longer clearly the Gray in the BlackAndGrayMorality framework. So, he was given an opponent in Gyp Rosetti, a brutal sociopath with a HairTriggerTemper, against whom Nucky looks like a saint in comparison.
* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Sandor is brutal, but unlike Gregor has some sort of morals. This only becomes more pronounced over time as Sandor [[CharacterDevelopment begins to develop]] more of a conscience and [[TheAtoner feel more remorse for his crimes]], whereas Gregor remains as monstrous as ever.
* Casual racism pops up quite a bit in ''Series/SonsOfAnarchy'', which is probably why the gang ends up fighting ''actual'' white supremacists. The blue collar, decidedly Un-PC Sons seem like paragons of liberal virtue in comparison to the brutal, bloodthirsty skinheads they battle throughout Season 2.
* In ''Series/{{Justified}}'', Boyd Crowder transitions from {{antivillain}} to outright villain as the series progresses. For all his machinations and bloodshed, however, he has sympathetic moments, as is far less {{sadist}}ic than his adversaries, who include his father, Bo (drug lord, casual killer and eventual mass murderer), the Bennetts (a clan of marijuana dealers who kill anyone who so much as questions their control), Robert Quarles (an [[FunctionalAddict Oxycontin-addicted]] {{serial killer}} and [[SerialRapist sexual predator]]), Nicky Augustine (a [[TheSociopath sociopathic]] [[TheStarscream starscream]] with a {{jerkass}} streak), Daryl Crowe Jr. (a murderous smuggler who had his own brother killed for [[YouHaveFailedMe screwing up a job]]), and the Mexican cartel, who skin their enemies alive. This works to Boyd's advantage in-series as well, as series' protagonist Raylan Givens will typically focus on the more evil villain of the season and leave Boyd more or less alone.
* In ''Series/FromDuskTillDawn'' the Gecko brothers are thieves and murderers, [[spoiler:but the vampires run [[TheCartel an international drug cartel]] and drain innocent girls by the container-full.]]
* 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 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]].
* Rumpelstiltskin/Mr. Gold from ''Series/OnceUponATime'' fits this trope throughout the series. While most other villains in the series either die or become active heroes ([[AntiHero Anti-Heroes]] at worst), Rumpelstiltskin holds his Neutral position all the way through. He usually [[LackOfEmpathy keeps out of the affairs of the savior and her friends and family unless he benefits from them in some way]] (either through a deal or a common goal) or if the villain they face threaten him or [[spoiler:Belle]] directly, flip-flopping between AntiHero, AntiVillain and straight up menace throughout.
* In season 4 of ''Series/OrangeIsTheNewBlack'', three of the least-likable members of the prison staff in [[HeteronormativeCrusader Healy]], [[TheLoad Luschek]], and [[ObliviouslyEvil Coates]] turn out to be nothing compared to the majority of the new guards headed up by Capt. Piscatella. All three at various points of the season display at least a basic degree of concern for the inmates or remorse for their own misdeeds, in stark contrast to the likes of [[SociopathicSoldier Humphries]] and [[FatBastard Dixon]] who have absolutely no empathy whatsoever.
* ''Franchise/StarTrek'' has a multitude of villainous alien races throughout; the BlueAndOrangeMorality driven Klingons who value honor above all else, the unscrupulous Romulans who practice deceit amongst their Empire, the militaristic and duplicitous Cardassians, and many more. All of them are usually small potatoes for the Federation to deal with compared to bigger threats that have often forced many of them to their side because the situation is that bad. Case in point? [[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine The Dominion]], an empire of shapeshifters who decide to force the "chaotic" Alpha Quadrant into submission because they view the species as being too much of a threat. While many of the Federation's past foes are not without their own problems, at least they have a good number of people amongst them who recognize Starfleet and its allies as being honorable if nothing else (and some series have shown this kindness eventually translated into Federation membership for these species later down the line). The Dominion, and many others? They will commit total annihilation and enslavement of all their foes.
* In season 2 of ''Series/{{Stargirl|2020}}'', the Shade initially appears to be the new BigBad, except when he meets Courtney at a book store, he explains that he isn't after the black diamond to team up with Eclipso. He wants to throw that stone to the bottom of the ocean so no one finds it again. Sure, he has broken some laws and killed some people, but he claims that all those people deserved it. Meanwhile, Eclipso kills people, including children, because he wants to. Plus the Shade, having lived for centuries, is frankly bored. The Shade also has no patience for any WellIntentionedExtremist like Icicle, since they often leave lots of dead bodies in their wake. To top it off, [[spoiler:he didn't actually kill Dr. Mid-Nite all those years ago. He imprisoned him in a shadow dimension.]]
[[/folder]]

!!Examples:

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines'': Jack tells you flatly there are no Kindred "good guys", but it helps to retain your humanity so you don't let out The Beast.
* ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'': Part of "Heaven's Feel" seems to be solely dedicated to making the players like Kirei Kotomine more, with several EnemyMine and PetTheDog situations, and most importantly, an utterly epic fight where he holds his own against the despicable Zouken Matou and his Servant quite well. In "Fate", Kotomine is portrayed as fairly simplistic with no motives beyond EvilFeelsGood, and in Unlimited Blade Works he takes a backseat to the conflict between Shirou and Archer. Only "Heaven's Feel" fleshes him out at all, but in doing so it makes him into [[ReluctantPsycho a much more complex character]] than when he was portrayed in simple black and white terms. In contrast, the aforementioned Zouken is an [[AbusiveParents abusive grandfather]] to [[TheWoobie Sakura]] and [[spoiler:outright [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil rapes her]] via worms]], and encourages his grandson Shinji to commit the same kind of immoral behavior, [[spoiler:including raping Sakura]]. When Kirei finally kills him, [[PayEvilUntoEvil it’s extremely satisfying]].
* ''VideoGame/MadFather'': In the true ending, [[spoiler:[[VillainProtagonist Aya]] [[CruelTwistEnding follows in her father’s footsteps turning people into dolls]]]], however [[spoiler:as a doctor she waits for people to come to her for medical treatment, and her victims are anesthetized before they are converted into dolls]].
** However possibly subverted in TheStinger added in the Steam version, [[spoiler:depending on how you interpret what Aya means about her not forgetting because of her promise]].
* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic II'': In the Dark Side Ending, Kreia will say that the PC is not really a Sith. Presumably, she considers them a Dark Jedi instead, i.e. someone who uses the Dark Side for their own advancement rather than submitting to the Sith Code and philosophies.
* This is the case in ''VideoGame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness'' (Laharl the wannabe EvilOverlord vs. an OmnicidalManiac). ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 2|CursedMemories}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 4|APromiseUnforgotten}}'' have more heroic protagonists while ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 3|AbsenceOfJustice}}'' is mixed (Mao wants to slay his father, the Overlord, for trivial reasons and the rest of the cast have more heroic goals [[spoiler:plus the real villain already made Mao do it and surpressed his memories)]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Blood}}'' has no good guys. On one hand you have a cult trying to summon a dark god, murdering anyone they want to and experimenting on the rest. On the other side you have one of their failed projects, a sadistic [[EverythingsDeaderwithZombies revenant]] named Caleb who was one of those cultists and has a penchant for murdering anyone he feels like. At least Caleb is fighting to avenge his wife [[spoiler:and best friend]] and has a [[DeadpanSnarker sense of humor]].
* [[KnightTemplar The Scarlet Crusade]] vs the [[NightOfTheLivingMooks Scourge]] in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''. [[spoiler:At least until Wrath of the Lich King]].
* ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' is an interesting example. On one side, the Gods of Olympus, famous for toying with or outright squashing humanity when they feel like it, but also the sources of wisdom, love, agriculture, and even the Sun itself. On the other, a completely sadistic killer who thinks nothing of slaughtering anybody in his way, but with basically sympathetic motives for bringing war against the gods, and who ultimately [[spoiler:grants his enormous power to humanity after bringing down Olympus]]. In the end, which side is Lighter comes down to the viewer.
* ''VideoGame/ScarfaceTheWorldIsYours'' follows the original film in this. Sure, Tony is wiping out the gangs and the enemy gangsters all the way up to Sosa, who watchers of the film would have known was not a nice person, but he is still putting drugs on the streets of Miami.
* Warchief Ull of the [[CannibalTribe Udam tribe]] in ''VideoGame/FarCryPrimal'' is the less evil villain compared to [[DarkActionGirl Batari the Sun Daughter]]. Both characters hate the Wenja tribe to which PlayerCharacter [[TheBeastmaster Takkar]] belongs and want to destroy them, but Ull is somewhat more sympathetic in that [[spoiler:he wants to cure his people of the plague known as "skull fire"]], and ultimately, when Takkar kills him, he makes the noble decision of [[spoiler:entrusting his two children to Takkar to make sure they don't die of "skull fire"]]. Batari, by contrast, is a murderous {{High Priest}}ess with [[AGodAmI a god complex]] who cares only about staying in power and conducting HumanSacrifice of those she views as beneath her, and [[OffingTheOffspring burned her own son Krati alive]] for rebelling against her.
* ''VideoGame/{{Drakengard}}''. Among your plucky group of heroes is an {{Ax Crazy}} mute soldier whose sister loves him more than is socially acceptable, a vicious red dragon, a batshit crazy elf who eats children, a religious patriarch who never passes up an opportunity to call for genocide against [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman all other intelligent species]], a blind pedophile, and a child cursed to never grow up. However, they're care bears compared to TheEmpire- a theocratic state that worships the Watchers/[[spoiler:Grotesqueries]] (who are [[spoiler:hideous {{Humanoid Abomination}}s who wish to unmake creation]]), and is led by the Cult of the Watchers’ high priestess [[BigBad Manah]], a [[EnfanteTerrible six year old girl]] who delights in ruining lives left and right because her mommy never loved her enough.
* 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 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.]]
** ''Chronophantasma'' reveals that Relius is capable of being portrayed as an extreme version of WellIntentionedExtremist. All three main bad guys (The Imperator, Terumi and Relius) aim for destroying the [[DeusEstMachina Master Unit: Amaterasu]], which can cause a genocidal damage to the current world and reset it, but it turns that Relius [[spoiler:does so because he's frustrated that the Master Unit's {{Groundhog Day Loop}}s prevents the world from making progresses and prevents advancement of his goal of creating the Perfect Doll. While he is still pretty selfish in that he only cares for his own project, his intention can be portrayed as being beneficial for the rest of humanity trapped in depressing loops. If he completes the project, he could either leave humanity alone, or try to inject the Perfect Doll for humanity, which in his twisted mind, may have a chance to be considered a beneficial improvement for overall humans (though probably other people will not agree). Compare to Terumi, who just wants to [[ToCreateAPlaygroundForEvil turn the world into his own playground of evil]], filled to the brink with endless despair for himself to drink in, and the Imperator, being [[TheSociopath Izanami]], who just wants everyone to die and reduce the world to inert seithr.]]
** Relius' case got even lighter by ''Central Fiction'', whereas [[spoiler:it was revealed that Master Unit Amaterasu has been abusing her world reset ability just to get her desired ending of her being plugged out of the unit and no longer having to do her duty of observing the world, which ignores not only his desire to progress on his project, but also towards the other suffering that the cast experiences, with or without Terumi's interference, an utter selfishness that drove former hero [[HotWitch Nine the Phantom]] utterly mad and devised a plan to destroy the Master Unit to free the world from its machinations, which Relius is totally on board for. It's still for his own selfish desires, but it somehow became a bit more relatable.]]
* ''Franchise/BaldursGate''
** In ''VideoGame/BaldursGateII'', you are given the choice between supporting the [[TheSyndicate Shadow Thieves]], a thieves' guild you've probably already done some sidequests for, and a rival guild led by a lady called Bodhi that contains vampires that attack people in the streets at night. If you visit their guildhalls neither of them seem terribly 'good', but at least the Shadow Thieves don't decorate with giant pools of human blood and fill their halls with mindless thralls they feed on.
** In all the three parts (BG 1, BG 2 and BG 2: ''Thone of Bhaal''), the protagonist can be evil but will still be potentially sympathetic due to being the PlayerCharacter, and will also be the lesser evil compared to the major villain of each story and their destructive plans. In ''Throne of Bhaal'', the prophecy behind much of the games' plot is revealed to contain the clause that, no matter what path the protagonist chooses if they should triumph over their antagonists in that storyline, the results of their losing would always be worse.
** [[TokenEvilTeammate Viconia]] is a drow and a [[DownplayedTrope downplayed]] case of MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch in that she's evil aligned, just not ''that'' evil. The typical drow, especially those you meet in the Underdark arc in ''Shadows of Amn'', are so evil that Viconia looks good aligned in comparison.
* Common in the ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' series. More often than not, as bad the VillainProtagonist {{Player Character}}s are, they're still usually better than their antagonists.
** ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'': CJ and every criminal organization he associates with (Grove Street Families, the Varrios Los Aztecas, and the Triads) are NeighborhoodFriendlyGangsters who oppose the drug trade and work to stop the sale of cocaine all across the state. [[BigBad Officer Frank]][[DirtyCop Tenpenny]], has not only been largely been giving the coke-dealers more power for his own benefit, but he's deeply corrupt and is set to kill everyone who could possibly expose his crimes. Including his own partners.
** ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'': Michael is a bank robber fresh out of retirement, Franklin is a former small-time {{Gangbanger|s}} turned big-time bank robber and assassin, and Trevor (who's by far [[TokenEvilTeammate the most evil of the three]]) is an AxCrazy drug dealing PsychopathicManChild. Despite this, all three of them have redeeming values, [[MoralityPet Morality Pets]], and PetTheDog moments that can instill some sympathy. That's more than can be said about their antagonists: Steven Haines, a corrupt FIB agent who engages in some incredibly irresponsible InterserviceRivalry with the IAA for the sake of his career, and Devin Weston, a CorruptCorporateExecutive with close ties to PrivateMilitaryContractors known for committing human rights violations all over the world.
* If you play as a rogue in ''Videogame/NetHack'', the Assassins' Guild becomes the lighter shade of black to the Thieves' Guild. You're on the eviler side.
* In the lore of {{VideoGame/Overwatch}}, Hanzo Shimada is the heir to a powerful yakuza clan, groomed to be such from the day he was born. He also killed his brother (or so he assumed), but it's heavily implied that Hanzo didn't want to go through with it and he spends the rest of his life trying to atone for it. Hanzo is definitely a rude asshole, a ruthless assassin, and a morally ''dark'' gray character, but he also despises his family for what they made him do.
** He also denies joining up with [[BigBad Talon]], though whether this is based more on his morals or his pride is still up for debate.
** Another example is Symmetra. She's a devout member of Vishkar Corporation, which is so far portraying itself as a MegaCorp that tramples on basic human rights just to ensure that they can rennovate the world and place their order in it, while she believed (or is tricked to believe by Vishkar) that it's for the greater good, though that IS starting to wane. When faced with a squarely moral opposer like Lucio, Symmetra would look like the villain, but she really had the best interests towards the people, and not to mention she also stands opposed to Talon, marking them as enemies of order.
* While ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire'' never explored the morality of Team Aqua and Team Magma when they weren't in the role of main antagonists, ''[[VideoGameRemake Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire]]'' make it clear that they're still ruthless in their endeavors. When the player character first meets the non-antagonistic team's leader, he thinks nothing of threatening the kid not to get in their way. Of course, it's not entirely clear just how much lighter they actually are; while they're clearly horrified by the power of the version mascot, so is the antagonistic team, and dialog at Mt. Chimney suggests that they'd have been planning something similar if their rivals hadn't beaten them to the punch.
* ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'': [[MotherNature Viridi]] hates humans and wants them [[KillAllHumans wiped out]], but she's a WellIntentionedExtremist who does it to save nature, making her this against [[BigBad Medusa]]'s [[{{Revenge}} vengeance-driven goals against humanity and Palutena]], [[spoiler:[[TheManBehindTheMan Hades]]']] gluttony for souls and power, the Chaos Kin's [[GenericDoomsdayVillain destruction for destruction's sake]], and the Aurum's [[HordeOfAlienLocusts desire to strip the entire planet of life]].
* Both ''{{VideoGame/Overlord}}'' games have this. While the character you play as is definitely evil (well, in the second game. The first game has you either be an AntiVillain or StupidEvil with no real in-between), you're exclusively pitted against opponents worse than you. Sure, you still get to do ''some'' evil things, but you don't get to indulge in it anywhere near as much as the people you're fighting.
* The ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' BigBad, Lord Recluse, is the lesser of about 200 different evils. He is a PragmaticVillain with several EvilVirtues he’s imposed upon his army/government and the reason there is even a national government and civilians have a decent life expectancy. That said, he is still a highly competent, CardCarryingVillain, meaning he has VetinariJobSecurity for his Big Bad status, despite this trope.
* In ''[[VideoGame/TheNewOrderLastDaysOfEurope The New Order: The Last Days of Europe]]'', the German Civil War that triggers early in the campaign is a conflict between the four rival Nazi pretenders Albert Speer, Hermann Göring, Martin Bormann and UsefulNotes/ReinhardHeydrich to the title of Führer after the death of UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler, making it inevitably a conflict between villains; however, more specifically:
** Albert Speer [[spoiler:is a {{Subverted}} example to this trope. Appearing at first to be an InternalReformist, [[EvilAllAlong Speer is actually uninterested in democratizing the Reich]], and actually just wants a more pragmatic application to Nazi ideology. If given the chance, he will coup the [[InternalReformist Gang of Four]] and maintain his iron grip on the regime.]]
** Compared to Heydrich, all three others are an example of this trope. Known as the Butcher of Prague in this timeline just like in real life, Heydrich is a brutal member of the SS, having been one of the men behind UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust. Furthermore, Heydrich is the right-hand man of [[BigBad Heinrich Himmler]], the leader of the SS and of the rogue nation of Burgundy, as well as the codifier of the Burgundian System, an ideology so terrible [[EvenEvilHasStandards it horrifies even the Reich]].
*** In turn [[spoiler:Heydrich becomes the lighter shade against Himmler [[EvilVersusOblivion when he realizes the projects of his boss]]: [[OmnicidialManiac to destroy the world]] by provoking WorldWarIII, cleansing it of all but the Aryans sheltered in the Burgundian underground bunkers. A second civil war starts soon after, during which Heydrich races for the control of German nukes with Heidrich to prevent him from ending the world, and, if successful, to kill him.]]
* ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'': The feud between Matt Engarde and Juan Corrida was an ugly affair that resulted in Celeste Inpax, a woman who'd been romantically involved with both of them, caught in the middle. Celeste ended up being DrivenToSuicide after Matt informed Juan that Celeste had been previously romantically invovled with Matt, resulting in Juan breaking off their engagement. Juan, however, is seen as the less vile of the two, given that he appears genuinely shocked and heartbroken in an image depicting him finding Celeste after her suicide and Matt [[spoiler:ended up hiring an assassin to have Juan killed]], crossing a line that Juan never did.
* In the ''VideoGame/SaintsRow'' series, the Third Street Saints are seen as the good guys, despite engaging in many of the same shady activities the enemy gangs do. This can potentially be invoked by the player on the [[GoldenEnding Save Shaundi]] ending. Yes, The Boss may still be a crime lord who isn't above drugs, robbery and sexual slavery, but this ending shows [[AFatherToHisMen their best qualities]] while [[AccidentalHero unintentionally saving a prized monument of Steelport.]] Meanwhile, the STAG Initiative destroyed half of the city, killed hundreds of civilians, and were part of a giant FalseFlagOperation / BatmanGambit to play on The Boss' selfishness in order to get permission to wipe them out. Monica Hughes sums it up really nicely:
-->[[spoiler:'''Monica Hughes:''' [[HeWhoFightsMonsters You]] declared martial law and knocked down half the city. The Saints just saved a treasured monument. Who the [[PrecisionFStrike fuck]] do you think the public will side with?]]
* In modern ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' games, while Dr. Eggman remains a threat, he ends up as the lighter shade of black against the [[GreaterScopeVillain Greater Scope Villains]] that appear. In ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'', he ultimately becomes this to Chaos during the Super Sonic campaign, when the ancient water monster rebels against him and Eggman tries to destroy them in retaliation. In ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', he becomes this again to his own grandfather Professor Gerald, who went insane following the death of his granddaughter Maria and sabotaged the Space Colony ARK so that it would destroy the Earth if someone tried to use the Eclipse Cannon, whereas Eggman only wanted to use the Eclipse Cannon to conquer the planet. In ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'', he becomes this to the Black Arms: the invading aliens want to destroy the Earth, and Eggman can't conquer the planet is there is ''no'' planet left to take over. In ''VideoGame/SonicLostWorld'', Eggman becomes this once more when he loses control of the Deadly Six, who seek to use his technology to destroy the world.
* {{VideoGame/Wizardry}} has the typical D&D alignments and the manuals use this reasoning to explain the presence of such people in the party: "''Evil characters are not really evil when compared to some of the things they fight in the Maze. They are self-centered, and always want to know "what's in it for them." Evil characters help old ladies cross the street for a small fee."''
* Jackie Estacado from ''VideoGame/TheDarkness'' is a ruthless hitman who won't hesitate to shoot anyone who opposes him paired with an EldritchAbomination that has been in his family for generations with the same mentality. That said, he's pretty much a saint when compared to [[VideoGame/TheDarknessII The Brotherhood]], a group who's motives went from protecting the world from the Darkness to wanting to control it themselves. [[NightmareFetishist Johnny]] [[GibberingGenius Powell]] best describes it in the Brotherhood trailer:
-->'''Johnny''': I'm not- I'm not gonna stand here and tell you that [[AntiHero Jackie Estacado's]] a good guy, he's far, ''far'' from it. That said, even though while Jackie may carry the Darkness, his soul's still a few shades lighter than these Brotherhood guys.
[[/folder]]

* [[VillainProtagonist Hank J. Wimbleton]] in ''WebAnimation/MadnessCombat'' is a [[OneManArmy mass-murdering]] BloodKnight who kills people over a boombox in his first appearance, and graduates to a cop-killing sociopathic mercenary in his second. In later episodes though, Hank becomes at least [[NominalHero nominally heroic]], given how his opponents now include [[AxCrazy Tricky]] [[MonsterClown the Clown]] and [[HumanoidAbomination The]] [[GodOfEvil Auditor]], who are responsible for [[RealityWarper warping]] Nevada into a CrapsackWorld full of senseless violence.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]

[[folder:Film]]

* Creator/QuentinTarantino's films at their darkest descent into this type of conflict.

* [[VillainProtagonist Hank J. Wimbleton]] in ''WebAnimation/MadnessCombat'' is a [[OneManArmy mass-murdering]] BloodKnight who kills people over a boombox in his first appearance, and graduates to a cop-killing sociopathic mercenary in his second. In later episodes though, Hank becomes at least [[NominalHero nominally heroic]] given how his opponents now include [[AxCrazy Tricky]] [[MonsterClown the Clown]] and [[HumanoidAbomination The]] [[GodOfEvil Auditor]], who are responsible for [[RealityWarper warping]] Nevada into a CrapsackWorld full of senseless violence.

* The "heroes" of ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureGoldenWind'' are a group of mafiosi without any qualms against murdering and torturing who would normally be cast as villains in any other [=JoJo=] part. One and the only reason they are considered any better than the people they are killing is their aversion to selling children drugs.

* The "heroes" of ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureGoldenWind'' are a group of mafiosi without any qualms against murdering and torturing who would normally be cast as villains in any other JoJo part. One and the only reason they are considered any better than the people they are killing is their aversion to selling children drugs.

** In ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', Frost from Universe 6 plays a similar role to Frieza. While Frost [[spoiler: may be a crime lord and con-artist who profiteers off war like Frieza used to do]], he isn't a sadist. He is motivated mostly by [[spoiler:money and respect]], which although hardly noble, is a very "human" desire and leads him [[spoiler:to cultivate a VillainWithGoodPublicity in order to get the most benefit out of his crimes and even when found out he keeps his head about himself]], unlike Frieza who gladly slaughters anyone he comes across [[ForTheEvulz for kicks]] and revels in being the most feared being in the universe. It's how Frost achieves it that makes him evil. To his credit, however, he could have easily strong-armed a city into giving him a new base of power once he lost everything and/or tried to wage an universal war using what was left of his empire, but he instead lives on the streets and tries not to harm anyone despite his great power, even hiding from patrolling police officers when he could easily obliterate them with a flick of a wrist. When caught by the assassin [[ConsummateProfessional Hit]] with no chance to escape [[spoiler:(though not realizing Hit came with a different purpose than killing him)]], he chooses to [[FaceDeathWithDignity silently accept his fate]] after a brief battle instead of [[RageQuit blowing up the planet]] like Frieza whenever ''he'' is forced against the ropes.

* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'': [[GoldfishPoopGang Team Rocket]] are a bunch of unscrupulous thieves that have spent the entire series trying (and failing) to steal Ash's Pikachu and[=/=]or the wide variety of other trainers' Pokémon or random wild ones they encounter. The trio always revel in their villainy--but at least compared to other villains they face off against, they're actually much nicer by comparison. Team Aqua, Team Magma, Team Galactic, Team Plasma, etc.; they're all a bunch of unsympathetic criminal scumbags who will not hesitate to cross every line possible--including and up to TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt--to achieve their goals, whereas Team Rocket consist of {{Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain}}s who are as incompetent as they come, frequently get their asses handed to them every time they encounter Ash and co., and spend every waking moment barely managing to scrape by. Not only that, but at least they have [[EvenEvilHasStandards some standards]] compared to the aforementioned teams.

* ComicBook/DoctorDoom has some very similar traits. Certainly, he is an AGodAmI [[InsufferableGenius massive egomaniac]] and rules the nation of Latveria as a despot with armed Doombots on each corner and an enforced CultOfPersonality. At the same time, he keeps his word, provides an excellent quality of life for his citizens (Latveria's health and education infrastructure makes the United States look like a podunk backwater), and seeks to TakeOverTheWorld in order to make life better for everyone (admittedly at the cost of armed Doombots on each corner and an enforced CultOfPersonality). At least once, he's been replaced as Latveria's ruler by someone who turned out to be lacking those positive traits. The Fantastic Four have to deal semi-regularly with people who want to destroy the world for reasons that range from understandable but still kind of harsh (Galactus) to plain dickish and weird (Annihilus). And Doom ''also'' usually refuses to have anything to do with the Red Skull[[note]]mostly because Doom's mother was Romani[[/note]]. In the {{Cyberpunk}} Marvel 2099 universe, a re-awoken Doom was actually one of the heroes - his takeover of the United States was actually a positive development, with the corporations brought back under control, and he even made a HeroicSacrifice to deal with the Phalanx.

* In ''Film/FreddyVsJason,'' Jason is often read this way, since at least he's not a children-killing scumbag with pedophilic undertones who stretches out his victims' deaths out of sheer sadism. That and Freddy can go just about anywhere whereas Jason only sticks to his home place. Jason's motive for becoming a killer is to avenge his mother whom he [[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas truly cares about]], while Freddy is pretty much unable to love anyone. On the flip side, Jason racks up a ''way'' bigger body count than Freddy does (which is actually Freddy's motive for fighting him-- he is killing kids Freddy has targeted), is clearly out of control, and is slaughtering teenagers by the dozen seemingly ForTheEvulz, so... Also, on a metaphysical level, there's the fact Freddy explicitly steals the souls of his victims, whereas Jason just kills people.
* Every character in ''Film/Conspiracy2001'' is a Nazi and have enthusiastically engaged in war crimes, so they're all evil. Yet [[AntiVillain Dr. Wilhelm Kritzinger]], while still a proud servant of the Fuehrer who's glad to oppress the Jewish people, is the only one appalled by the concept of complete extermination. This is a HistoricalHeroUpgrade for him-- the movie is about the Wannsee Conference which discussed details of the Holocaust, but the records (admittedly compiled by those in charge of the proposed measures) show that nobody objected to the genocide at the time, not least because it was already well underway-- the point of the conference was not to start the Holocaust, but to make sure it happened efficiently. Kritzinger ''did'' try to resign soon after, but whether and how it was related to the conference is anyone's guess. He was ashamed about the whole thing after the war though.

* ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly'': Blondie is hardly "good" - he's a bounty hunter who is nearly as ruthless and as the people he hunts, but unlike Angel Eyes (who is a complete sociopath) and Tuco (basically an amoral thug, albeit with a few humanizing moments), Blondie has moral standards. He is disgusted by the carnage of the Civil War and in the end decides to spare Tuco's life.

* Hayley Stark in ''Film/HardCandy'' is a sociopathic ManipulativeBitch whose modus operandi is [[DrivenToSuicide driving her victims to kill themselves]]...but she only targets [[PaedoHunt child predators]], such as the male protagonist. It seems to be up to the viewer to decide who to root for, [[spoiler: until it turns out that Jeff did it]].

* Caine in ''Film/MenaceIISociety'' is just as much of a criminal living the thug life as his friends, but he is portrayed more sympathetic, with a backstory of him being born into a bad disfunctional family and surrounded by negative peers and influences all of his life. He acts as the OnlySaneMan of the group, and just when he's about to do a full HeelFaceTurn [[spoiler: he is gun down in a driveby shooting.]]

* PlayedWith in ''Literature/TheFirstLaw''. The wizard Bayaz is a grumpy {{Jerkass}} who assembles a team of hardened killers ([[AndZoidberg and Jezal]], who is still a soldier and TheFightingNarcissist, just a bit green) to find a secret weapon to help him defeat the cannibalistic slaver armies of the EvilSorcerer Khalul, and near the end they thwart a separate plot by another renegade wizard to bring TheLegionsOfHell into the world as well. [[spoiler: It turns out that Bayaz might be the ''greater'' evil of the three, as he turns out to be a massive ManipulativeBastard who played every character in the book like a fiddle, and the other evil wizards are driven in part to avenge crimes he commit in the past against them and their mutual master, whom it's implied Bayaz murdered for power. He is a megalomaniac bent on WorldDomination, and the armies of Khalul even offer to spare the capital city the protagonists are defending if they just hand over Bayaz to them. His vision might be a bit less dystopian than the other two evil wizards, but Bayaz is the most unprincipled of the three and is largely responsible for the other twos' descent into villainy in the first place, and is actively exploiting their greater threat to further his own ends anyway.]]

* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'': While both Coin and Snow are power-hungry villains, what makes Snow a slightly better person than Coin is that if he makes a threat or promises to do something, [[IGaveMyWord he keeps his word on it]]. Coin, on the other hand, is willing to manipulate others and lie to order gain power. [[spoiler: This led Katniss to realize that it was Coin, rather than Snow who was responsible for the bombing of the Capitol's children and the death of her sister, Prim.]]

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'', the triple-A MegaCorp Horizon (which appeared in 4th edition onwards) is a world-dominating mega corp that has a completely flat and transparent corporate structure, an extremely cheerful and public CEO, and focus on 'benign' industries like Public Relations and pharmaceuticals. Rather than make them the 'good guys' of the setting, this has made them ParanoiaFuel; Shadowrunners are usually extremely smart (they don't live long if they aren't), and the concept of a Mega with no skeletons in the closet that actually ''cares'' is scarier than eight of the other open [[PragmaticVillainy Pragmatic Villains]] on the Corporate Court combined, because this only means they must be hiding something utterly depraved in there ''somewhere''... but nobody knows what it is. (They're still not as scary as [[TheDreaded Aztechnology]], though.) [[spoiler: Turns out it's metahuman experimentation on Technomancers.]]

** However possibly subverted in TheStinger added in the Steam version, [[spoiler: depending on how you interpret what Aya means about her not forgetting because of her promise]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Blood}}'' has no good guys. On one hand you have a cult trying to summon a dark god, murdering anyone they want to and experimenting on the rest. On the other side you have one of their failed projects, a sadistic [[EverythingsDeaderwithZombies revenant]] named Caleb who was one of those cultists and has a penchant for murdering anyone he feels like. At least Caleb is fighting to avenge his wife [[spoiler: and best friend]] and has a [[DeadpanSnarker sense of humor]].

* ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' is an interesting example. On one side, the Gods of Olympus, famous for toying with or outright squashing humanity when they feel like it, but also the sources of wisdom, love, agriculture, and even the Sun itself. On the other, a completely sadistic killer who thinks nothing of slaughtering anybody in his way, but with basically sympathetic motives for bringing war against the gods, and who ultimately [[spoiler: grants his enormous power to humanity after bringing down Olympus]]. In the end, which side is Lighter comes down to the viewer.

* 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 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.]]

** Albert Speer [[spoiler: is a {{Subverted}} example to this trope. Appearing at first to be an InternalReformist, [[EvilAllAlong Speer is actually uninterested in democratizing the Reich]], and actually just wants a more pragmatic application to Nazi ideology. If given the chance, he will coup the [[InternalReformist Gang of Four]] and maintain his iron grip on the regime.]]

*** In turn [[spoiler: Heydrich becomes the lighter shade against Himmler [[EvilVersusOblivion when he realizes the projects of his boss]]: [[OmnicidialManiac to destroy the world]] by provoking WorldWarIII, cleansing it of all but the Aryans sheltered in the Burgundian underground bunkers. A second civil war starts soon after, during which Heydrich races for the control of German nukes with Heidrich to prevent him from ending the world, and, if successful, to kill him.]]

* ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'' gets a fair bit of mileage out of this. Red Mage in particular tends to fill this role in the Light Warriors, compared to Fighter (the TokenGoodTeammate) and Black Mage and Thief (incredibly evil). Red Mage is amoral, borderline insane, and has a total disregard for life, but he tends to be less evil than the latter two because his actual motivation is simply to finish the adventure and win fame and power for himself. This causes him to frequently balk at their methods for being [[StupidEvil senselessly cruel]]--even though he's done some pretty horrible things himself, he did them because he thought they were the best way to accomplish his current objective (they rarely were, but Red Mage is not good at planning).

** 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.

** 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.

-->[[spoiler:'''Monica Hughes:''' "[[HeWhoFightsMonsters You]] declared martial law and knocked down half the city. The Saints just saved a treasured monument. Who the [[PrecisionFStrike fuck]] do you think the public will side with?"]]

* 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 LighterShadeOfGrey, unless the villain in question wasn't much of a monster since someone who hacks off people's heads and tries to murder his little brothers is a fairly dark shade to begin with.

* {{VideoGame/Wizardry}} has the typical D&D [[CharacterAlignment alignments]] and the manuals use this reasoning to explain the presence of such people in the party: "''Evil characters are not really evil when compared to some of the things they fight in the Maze. They are self-centered, and always want to know "what's in it for them." Evil characters help old ladies cross the street for a small fee."''

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'': [[GoldfishPoopGang Team Rocket]] are a bunch of unscrupulous thieves that have spent the entire series trying (and failing) to steal Ash's Pikachu and[=/=]or the wide variety of other trainers' Pokemon or random wild ones they encounter. The trio always revel in their villainy--but at least compared to other villains they face off against, they're actually much nicer by comparison. Team Aqua, Team Magma, Team Galactic, Team Plasma, etc.; they're all a bunch of unsympathetic criminal scumbags who will not hesitate to cross every line possible--including and up to TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt--to achieve their goals, whereas Team Rocket consist of {{Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain}}s who are as incompetent as they come, frequently get their asses handed to them every time they encounter Ash and co., and spend every waking moment barely managing to scrape by. Not only that, but at least they have [[EvenEvilHasStandards some standards]] compared to the aforementioned teams.

* ''Film/{{TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly}}'': Blondie is hardly "good" - he's a bounty hunter who is nearly as ruthless and seemingly amoral as the people he hunts, but unlike Angel Eyes (who is a complete sociopath) and Tuco (basically a mindless animal), Blondie has moral standards. He is disgusted by the carnage of the Civil War and in the end decides to spare Tuco's life.

* All the main characters in ''Film/TheDeathOfStalin'' are morally questionable at best, being high-ranking members of Stalin's inner circle, and a bunch of brutal authoritarians. However, in the [[EvilPowerVacuum central power struggle]] between Nikita Khrushchev and Lavrentiy Beria, Khrushchev comes across as the much better option and the much more sympathetic character, having a few scruples and a reformist agenda, while Beria, leader of the sadistic SecretPolice, is a SerialRapist driven solely by self-interest. Most of the other characters whose support they are vying for, particularly [[PointyHairedBoss Georgy Malenkov]], comes across as either petty, cruel, and stupid. The character who comes across as the most genuinely decent is probably Stalin's daughter Svetlana, who has no real power and is constantly being manipulated by the men around her for her OneHundredPercentAdorationRating with the Soviet people. [[EleventhHourRanger Finally]], there's Marshal Georgy Zhukov, who comes across as fairly likable, being the man who, in his own words, "fucked Germany" and who, refreshingly, has no time for the political double-talk of the men around him.

* ''Fanfic/TheManyDatesOfDannyFenton'' (''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' WesternAnimation, [[{{Series}} TV Series]], and ComicBooks.): The [[WesternAnimation/MarvelsSpiderMan Black Cat]] may be a thief, but she does possess some values at her core.

* {{VideoGame/Wizardry}} has the typical D&D [[CharacterAlignment alignments]] and the manuals use this reasoning to explain the presence of such people in the party: "''Evil characters are not really evil when compared to some of the things they fight in the Maze. They are self-centered, and always want to know "what's in it for them." Evil characters help old ladies cross the street for a small fee."''

* In modern ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' games, while Dr. Eggman remains a threat, he ends up as the lighter shade of black against the [[GreaterScopeVillain Greater Scope Villains]] that appear. In ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'', he ultimately becomes this to Chaos during the Super Sonic campaign, when the ancient water monster rebels against him and Eggman tries to destroy them in retaliation. In ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', he becomes this again to his own grandfather Professor Gerald, who went insane following the death of his granddaughter Maria and sabotaged the Space Colony ARK so that it would destroy the Earth if someone tried to use the Eclipse Cannon, whereas Eggman only wanted to use the Eclipse Cannon to conquer the planet. In ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'', he becomes this to the Black Arms: the invading aliens want to destroy the Earth, and Eggman can't conquer the planet is there is ''no'' planet left to take over. In ''VideoGame/SonicLostWorld'', Eggman becomes this once more when he loses control of the Deadly Six, who seek to use his technology to destroy the world.