History Main / BigBadSlippage

* ''Literature/AFrozenHeart'', a BroadStrokes retelling of ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'', goes into the backstory and perspective of [[spoiler:[[TragicVillain Prince Hans]]]]. Back home, he's the abused 13th and youngest son of an evil tyrant, and is frequently belittled for not living up to his family's expectations. He starts out wanting to marry into Arendelle's royal family as a way to escape his home and start a new life, but his obsession with [[WellDoneSonGuy earning his father's respect]] causes him to become much more ruthless, turning into the character we see in the film.

* [[ComicBook/InjusticeGodsAmongUs The tie-in comics]] to ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'' show Regime Superman's road to villainy, his [[ItGetsEasier growing acceptance]] of harsh methods to solve crime, and the resultant SanitySlippage. The comics take place during a 5-year gap, showcasing how ComicBook/TheJoker tricked him into killing his wife Lois Lane and nuking Metropolis. While he had [[WellIntentionedExtremist good intentions]], the constant stream of bad events slowly transform Superman into a ruthless dictator bent on holding his grip on power. By the end of the game, Regime Superman is NotSoDifferent from [[HeWhoFightsMonsters the villains he once hated]].

A SubTrope of FaceHeelTurn. Can also coincide with SlowlySlippingIntoEvil. When a rebel leader undergoes this, it's also a case of TheParagonAlwaysRebels. Can coincide with ThenLetMeBeEvil, when a character who has been treated as evil, regardless of their actions, says "screw it" and decides to meet everyone's expectations by being evil. Compare StartOfDarkness, which shows how the character became evil via a {{prequel}} story or {{flashback}}s. Compare ProtagonistJourneyToVillain, when the main protagonist crosses over to the dark side (but does not necessarily become a BigBad) over the course of the story. Contrast EvilAllAlong, where the character is always evil rather than just slipping into evil. Inverted by ExBigBad, in which a permanently defeated Big Bad continues to be a non-Big Bad character in the story instead of being killed, imprisoned, or otherwise written out.

* Light Yagami from ''Manga/DeathNote''. His entire character arc in the storyline is this, especially after his Kira persona takes complete control of him.

* For about half of ''Anime/CControl'', Souichirou Mikuni is the BigGood who mentors [[TheHero Kimimaro Yoga]] and runs an organization that protects people from the RealityWarper powers of [[LoanShark Midas]] [[GreaterScopeVillain Bank]]. Then he [[DealWithTheDevil strikes a deal with them]] and floods Japan with their [[RealityWarper reality-warping]] Midas Money, which alleviates Japan's economic problems for the present but allows Midas Bank to cause even more trouble, brings inflation, puts people out of jobs, and causes mass {{Ret Gone}}s. Kimimaro is then forced to oppose Mikuni to restore Japan's future.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'' starts off as a VillainProtagonist BigBad. When he gets bored after seemingly ([[spoiler:but not really]]) killing his arch-nemesis Metro Man and taking over Metro City, he decides he needs a new nemesis and creates one out of Hal Stewart, attempting to shape him into a superhero known as Titan. However, WrongGenreSavvy Hal believes that getting superpowers will automatically cause Roxanne to fall in love with him, and when she still rejects him, he decides to be a super villain instead. This is what leads to Megamind's HeelFaceTurn partway through the movie.

* In ''Literature/ATaleOfTwoCities'', Madame De'farge becomes this. Where in the beginning of the novel the first conversations with her present her as an ordinary woman, albeit with some relatively extremist views, when the revolution takes hold and France is thrown into chaos, she eventually becomes a strong leader in the revolution and is among the front runners in the category of "sending everyone with a shiny hat to their deaths."

* Claude Frollo from ''Literature/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'' qualifies. Beginning the story as a caring person who adopts the baby Quasimodo out of compassion, he is later driven mad by his forbidden lust for Esmerelda, and becomes the story's main villain as a result. (This trope does not apply to the Disney version of the character, who is evil right from the beginning.)

* Lex Luthor from ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' begins the show as Clark's friend, gradually becomes increasingly paranoid and controlling, ends up as a villain sometime around Seasons 4/5, and is the BigBad of 6 and 7 (and a DiscOneFinalBoss in 8).
* Slade Wilson in ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' starts off being stuck on the island with Oliver. He helps train Oliver to make him into a skilled fighter. After being badly burned, Oliver, Shado, and Sara use the drug Mirakuru to save him. It works, but there are nasty side-effects that cause Slade to be mentally unstable. Soon after giving him the drug, Oliver, Shado, and Sara are captured and Oliver is forced to choose to save one of them; [[spoiler:he chose Sara]]. When Slade finds out, he is dead-set on destroying Oliver in every way possible.
* [[spoiler:Jiaying]] from ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' is in charge of Afterlife and the head figure of the Inhumans there. While she is rather nice at first (especially to [[spoiler:her daughter, Skye]]), her nasty side begins creating a lot of conflict concerning the Inhumans, to the point where [[spoiler:Jiaying kills Agent Gonzales and starts a war between the Inhumans and S.H.I.E.L.D.]]. [[spoiler:And in a subversion, she's actually behind the actions of Cal, making her the BigBad the whole time.]] It turns out that she actually was a nice person to begin with, but was [[spoiler:vivisected by Dr. Whitehall and CameBackWrong thanks to Cal's efforts to save her]].
* On ''Series/{{Grimm}}'', Adalind removes Nick's powers through a magic ritual. Juliette agrees to restore them through another ritual, but it has the side-effect of turning her into a Hexenbiest. Then she starts to have a complete morality breakdown, leading to her starting fights in bars using her new powers, setting fire to the trailer where Nick keeps his journals, and conspiring with the villains to kidnap Adalind's daughter. That last act also leads to [[spoiler:the death of Nick's mother. And leads to her being KilledOffForReal... apparently.]]
** [[spoiler: "Apparently" being the operative word." She is eventually saved and her sanity restored (though not by the main heroes.) However, it's clear that even now, "Eve" is not the Juliette of old. What she ''is'' is an awesome and terrifying HorrifyingHero. She has a ThatManIsDead reaction to her past as Juliette, but does still care about Nick enough to give Adalind an IfYouEverDoAnythingToHurtHer type warning.]]

* Jax from ''Series/SonsOfAnarchy'' starts out as a light idealistic character who is always looking for the least violent way to achieve club goals. However, as more and more impossible demands are placed on the club, he more and more turns to the violent methods he once disagreed with, in order to keep his family and friends safe. Following the [[spoiler:the murder of Opie, his best friend]], Jax takes a very dark turn, fixated on revenge. When [[spoiler:Tara, his wife, is murdered]], Jax completely spins out, to the point of [[RevengeBeforeReason tunnel vision,]] becoming the villain he never wanted to be.
* Technically, nearly all the villains from ''Series/OnceUponATime'' are examples of this, starting out as fairly nice people and then getting slowly [[BreakTheCutie broken]] [[CorruptTheCutie until]] [[AntiVillain they]] [[TragicVillain become]] [[ProtagonistJourneyToVillain monstrous.]] The main antagonist for most of Season 5A is the one we see go through this during the course of the show. She's Emma Swan, the main protagonist after she became the Dark One. After spending weeks trying to resist, she starts to do some morally ambiguous things, and when [[spoiler:Hook is fatally injured]], she completely snaps and lets the darkness overwhelm her and [[spoiler:almost lets Hook join her]].

* The last three episodes of Series 9 of ''Series/DoctorWho'' are essentially about doing this to the Doctor. Twelve is not the most friendly Doctor at the best of times, but there is a heart of gold deep down that will protect his companion no matter what. So when the relationship between him and Clara starts to turn unhealthily co-dependent and an action leaves him unable to save her when she is about to be killed, he very nearly snaps, but is stopped by Clara's last wish. [[BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil A couple of billion years]] [[SanitySlippage in a torture chamber]] [[ProtagonistJourneyToVillain immediately after changes that]], and he essentially becomes the FinalBoss of the series.

* ''VideoGame/BeyondTwoSouls'': [[spoiler:Nathan]]. We get to witness signs of his gradual slippage during the course of the story, even though the most notable stages of it are revealed in the last stages (partly due to the game's disjointed narrative).

* ''VideoGame/StarCraft'''s Terran campaign has Arcturus Mengsk start out as a RebelLeader and the closest thing the campaign has to a BigGood, only to gradually use more questionable methods to overthrow the corrupt Confederacy, culminating in him unleashing a [[HordeOfAlienLocusts Zerg]] [[AlienInvasion invasion]] [[MoralEventHorizon on their home planet and leaving his most faithful lieutnant to die with them]]. Cue [[TheHero Raynor]] quitting out of disgust and Mengsk proclaiming himself TheEmperor, setting him up as the main human villain of the franchise.
* The ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' series generally starts with their major antagonists already pretty rotten, but there is one notable exception: Zayin of ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII''. Initially a simple elite Temple Knight following the Center who happens to have a strict moral code, Zayin turns on the Center upon realizing how corrupt their leaders are. After trying to stop the Archangels in charge and being saved by Aleph, he takes over the Center as a more benevolent figure. Things go downhill when he tries to force Aleph to join him and, if refused, kicks him out of Eden. One of the game's main twists is soon revealed: Zayin, not Aleph, is God's Chosen One, and God isn't that good himself. Zayin eventually fuses with Seth to become Satan and leads the Law faction in God's name. On Neutral and Chaos, he doesn't recover, but if Law is picked, [[HeelRealization he realizes how far he went in YHVH's name]], and decides to ''judge his own god'' by fighting YHVH alongside Aleph, and then turns to dust.
* ''VideoGame/RandalsMonday'': [[spoiler:Sally eventually becomes the BigBad after she gets [[ArtifactOfDoom the ring]]. She's with it so long that she gains its powers in full.]]
* In ''VideoGame/LiveALive'', the WhamEpisode Medieval chapter focuses on this. [[spoiler:Your PlayerCharacter Oersted starts off as a generic HeroicMime KnightInShiningArmor. However, repeatedly being betrayed and abandoned by his friends begins to do a number on his sanity. When his LoveInterest Alicia professes her love for the man responsible for orchestrating Oersted's downfall and commits suicide, Oersted finally snaps and transforms into the game's OverarchingVillain Odio.]]
* The FinalBoss of ''VideoGame/Portal2'' and Big Bad of the second half is Wheatley, your RobotBuddy from the start of the game. He spends the first half genuinely trying to help you escape the facility (so you can take him with you): unfortunately, the last step of that escape plan is [[spoiler:having him replace [=GLaDOS=] by jamming him in her mainframe.]] At first, he still talks about escaping, but the sudden influx of power, Wheatley's own inferiority complex and paranoia and [[spoiler:the fact the mainframe is ''designed'' to make AIs obsessed with testing]] means that goes south very, very quickly.
* Played with in ''VideoGame/CrisisCore''. Sephiroth's main character arc is him slowly slipping from Shinra's greatest SOLDIER to the BigBad of the ''Compilation of VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''. However, he never becomes more than a peripheral antagonist to Zack, whose plotline focuses on and climaxes with his conflict with Genesis.
* [[JerkAss Eric]] [[EvilFormerFriend Sparrow]] in ''VideoGame/TonyHawksUnderground'' starts off as the PlayerCharacter’s best friend, and while Eric is a dumbass, he’s not malevolent yet. Gradually over the course of the game he gets worse and worse, screwing over the PlayerCharacter in increasingly worse ways until he finally just becomes the BigBad and FinalBoss.
* [[ComicBook/InjusticeGodsAmongUs The tie-in comics]] to ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'' show Regime Superman's road to villainy, his [[ItGetsEasier growing acceptance]] of harsh methods to solve crime, and the resultant SanitySlippage. The comics take place during a 5-year gap, showcasing how ComicBook/TheJoker tricked him into killing his wife Lois Lane and nuking Metropolis. While he had [[WellIntentionedExtremist good intentions]], the constant stream of bad events slowly transform Superman into a ruthless dictator bent on holding his grip on power. By the end of the game, Regime Superman is NotSoDifferent from [[HeWhoFightsMonsters the villains he once hated]].

* ''WebAnimation/TheresAManInTheWoods'': This short animated film tells a story of a NiceGuy teacher who gets fired when one of his students -- Sid, a BrattyHalfPint who wanted the honeysuckle bush next to the woods all to himself -- lies about seeing a SerialKiller in the woods in order to make the other kids too scared to go near the woods (and thus the honeysuckle bush). The teacher tries his best to convince the other kids that it was just a lie, but eventually the parents hear about it and all of them believe the lie at face value, with Sid's mother being mortally offended that the teacher would dare accuse her perfect little angel of telling lies. The parents complain that the teacher isn't doing enough to protect the kids, he gets fired and blacklisted from ever getting another teaching job due to the accusations of neglect, [[DrowningMySorrows turns to drugs and alcohol as a result]], and eventually ''becomes'' the Man in the Woods, killing Sid as revenge for ruining his life, [[LaserGuidedKarma who is all alone at the honeysuckle bush far away from any witnesses since his lie scared them all away]].

* ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'': Catra starts out as Adora's friend and general AntiVillain, but her severe InferioritySuperiorityComplex drives her mad as she gets constantly one-upped by She-Ra and abused by their step-mother Shadow Weaver. Eventually, Shadow Weaver ''defects'', convincing Catra that the forces of evil would rather redeem themselves than admit Catra was worth something, which causes her to ''snap'' and try to use a superweapon that goes out of control and kills some very important people, leaving Adora devastated and utterly vengeful against Catra.[[note]]Ironically, this put her in the ''best'' position to protect her people, as she had enough street cred from her super-villainy to convince Horde Prime to not destroy the giant superweapon (which happened to be the planet itself), or worse, accidentally activate it.[[/note]]

* ''Franchise/TheFlash'' has ComicBook/HunterZolomon, the second Reverse-Flash/Zoom who was initially introduced as a simple supporting character in the Keystone police department far into then Flash Wally West's superhero career and developed throughout years in friendship role, until his shocking FaceHeelTurn. And even that said Heel turn happens almost [[SlowlySlippingIntoEvil a year after]] when his StartOfDarkness begins upon being paralyzed by Grodd.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'' starts off as a VillainProtagonist BigBad. When he gets bored after seemingly (but not really) killing his arch-nemesis Metro Man and taking over Metro City, he decides he needs a new nemesis and creates one out of Hal Stewart, attempting to shape him into a superhero known as Titan. However, WrongGenreSavvy Hal believes that getting superpowers will automatically cause Roxanne to fall in love with him, and when she still rejects him, he decides to be a super villain instead. This is what leads to Megamind's HeelFaceTurn partway through the movie.

Subtrope of FaceHeelTurn. Can also coincide with SlowlySlippingIntoEvil. When a rebel leader undergoes this, it's also a case of TheParagonAlwaysRebels. Can coincide with ThenLetMeBeEvil, when a character who has been treated as evil, regardless of their actions, says "screw it" and decides to meet everyone's expectations by being evil. Compare StartOfDarkness, which shows how the character became evil via a {{prequel}} story or {{flashback}}s. Compare ProtagonistJourneyToVillain, when the main protagonist crosses over to the dark side (but does not necessarily become a BigBad) over the course of the story. Contrast EvilAllAlong, where the character is always evil rather than just slipping into evil. Inverted by ExBigBad, in which a permanently defeated Big Bad continues to be a non-Big Bad character in the story instead of being killed, imprisoned, or otherwise written out.

Not all {{Big Bad}}s [[StartOfDarkness start their lives evil]]. Sometimes, that shift occurs while the story is happening. Big Bad Slippage happens when a good or not evil character becomes more antagonistic/villainous over the course of the story, and their actions throughout the story ultimately make them a BigBad. These characters may not be obvious at first glance. Note that they do not have to be evil. This character may just become an AntiVillain or a WellIntentionedExtremist.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:Film - Animated]]
* Disney's ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'' gives us Gaston, the village hero whose worst deeds at first involve forcing a wedding proposal onto Belle, but doesn't seem like anything more than a pompous buffoon. When Belle's father begins ranting about a beast that kidnapped his daughter, Gaston shows how low he can sink by threatening to declare him legally insane unless Belle accepts his proposal. His transformation becomes complete when he learns of Belle's affections for the Beast, causing him to rally an angry mob to kill the now sympathetic "monster" for even daring to take Belle away from him.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'' starts off as a VillainProtagonist BigBad. When he gets bored after seemingly (but not really) killing his arch-nemesis Metro Man and taking over Metro City, he decides he needs a new nemesis and creates one out of Hal Stewert, attempting to shape him into a superhero known as Titan. However, WrongGenreSavvy Hal believes that getting superpowers will automatically cause Roxanne to fall in love with him, and when she still rejects him, he decides to be a super villain instead. This is what leads to Megamind's HeelFaceTurn partway through the movie.

[[folder:Film - Live-Action]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* [[spoiler: Eren Yeager]] from ''Manga/AttackOnTitan''. [[spoiler: His entire character arc as of right now has culminated in an intention to massacre the entire world outside of the Eldians. He has already murdered thousands of innocent people, and this is a character who was previously a relatively standard, idealistic and morally upright ShonenHero. His TrueCompanions Armin and Mikasa have teamed up with their former enemies Reiner and Annie to take him down; all in all, he has slowly descended into becoming the BigBad of his own series.]]

* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersLostLight'' does this with the character of Getaway. At first Getaway seems to be just another member of the Lost Light's crew, engaging in all the wacky hijinks. Then he is disgruntled with the way the quest the ship is supposed to be on keeping getting interrupted and hates the idea that former Megalomaniacal Dictator Megatron is now a repentant member of the crew, then he starts plotting mutinies, wiping people's memories, putting people in a coma to trap them in memory loops so they keep repeating the same sequence of events over and over in their minds, making deals with serial killers, and tossing people into the robot piranha pit for the crime getting in his way or spoiling his plans. Not to forget, declaring himself as the next Future Prime of Cybertron and monologuing about his destiny.

* Douche from ''WesternAnimation/SausageParty'' starts off as, well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a douche]]. As he grows more consumed with revenge against Frank for ruining his chances of getting used, however, he starts outright murdering other drinks and draining their liquids to gain power, clearly (and [[BoozeBasedBuff literally]]) drunk with power.

* There's debate about whether Warren or Willow is the true Big Bad of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' Season Six, but both of them are examples of this. Willow is the hero's best friend who briefly slips into extreme evil at the end of the season due to a TraumaCongaLine exaggerating her personality flaws, while Warren starts off in the previous season as morally neutral but weak, and gradually becomes more and more evil over the course of the sixth.

** Ramsey Rosso/Bloodwork of season 6 is an interesting example of the usual BigBad. He doesn't start out a villain, just someone who is willing to do anything to cure ALS. However, this obsession leads him to become much more deranged. At first, he he used dark matter for his cure, but it turns him into a metahuman. As time progresses, he's convinced he has to do whatever it takes to cure death itself, becoming the villain.

* The last three episodes of Series 9 of ''Series/DoctorWho'' is essentially about doing this to the Doctor. Twelve is not the most friendly Doctor at the best of times, but there is a heart of gold deep down that will protect his companion no matter what. So when the relationship between him and Clara starts to turn unhealthily co-dependent and an action leaves him unable to save her when she is abut to be killed, he very nearly snaps, but is stopped by Clara's last wish. [[BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil A couple of billion years]] [[SanitySlippage in a torture chamber]] [[ProtagonistJourneyToVillain immediately after changes that]], and he essentially becomes the FinalBoss of the series.
* King Philip in ''Series/{{Knightfall}}''. His very first scene is having an friendly sparring match with the hero Landry which establishes his friendship with the Templar Order, followed by his refusal to pillage the Jews' money in order to answer the country's bankruptcy because he is not "that kind of king". But after learning that [[spoiler:Landry has been having an affair with his wife]], he grows more cruel and heartless, not to mention antagonistic against the order as a whole. By the end of the second season, [[spoiler:he had pushed away all his allies and turned into a monster who eventually carries out the purge against the Templars and has to be put down by Landry]].

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' has this happen on the Crimson Flower route. [[spoiler:After you side with Edelgard in the Holy Tomb, Rhea suffers a psychotic breakdown and becomes the BigBad of the Crimson Flower route. She becomes more and more obsessed with getting revenge on Byleth for betraying her and "stealing" the Sword of the Creator, and she ultimately degenerates into a sociopath willing to burn Fhirdiad to the ground with all of its civilians still inside in order to kill you.]]

* ''VideoGame/MegaManZero2''. This game introduces Elpizo, the new Resistance leader (while the old one, Ciel, goes on to work more on her energy source research). He's rather passive-aggressive towards Zero for [[TheResenter personal reasons]], but they do work together well enough to prepare for Operation Righteous Strike, which Elpizo believes will be the assault that finally brings down Neo Arcadia since Copy-X is still out of commission. After the operation goes horribly wrong when Harpuia, Fefnir, and Leviathan team up to massacre the assault force, Elpizo [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope goes off the deep end]] from guilt and goes on a quest with the Baby Elves to gain more power. Later, you'll meet him as the FinalBoss, having gone DrunkOnTheDarkSide in his mission to break into Neo Arcadia and release the Dark Elf, an incredibly powerful weapon that nearly destroyed the world a century before, and absorbing its power before declaring his intent to KillAllHumans for the sake of Reploids.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', there is Kuvira who starts out as a harmless background character in season 3 who helps save Korra's father in the finale. However come the final season, she is put in charge of stabilizing the Earth Kingdom after the assassination of the queen, and her fascist methods of unifying the country put her at odds with the main characters.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'' starts off as a VillainProtagonist BigBad. When he gets bored after seemingly (but not really) killing his arch-nemisis Metro Man and taking over Metro City, he decides he needs a new nemesis and creates one out of Hal Stewert, attempting to shape him into a superhero known as Titan. However, WrongGenreSavvy Hal believes that getting superpowers will automatically cause Roxanne to fall in love with him, and when she still rejects him, he decides to be a super villain instead. This is what leads to Megamind's HeelFaceTurn partway through the movie.

* ''WebAnimation/TheresAManInTheWoods'': This short animated film tells a story of a NiceGuy teacher who gets fired when one of his students lies about seeing a SerialKiller in the woods next to the school in order to scare the other kids, and the parents all decide that the teacher wasn't doing enough to protect the kids, with the lying kid's mother also being mortally offended that the teacher would dare accuse her perfect little angel of telling lies. He gets blacklisted from ever getting another teaching job due to the accusations of neglect, [[DrowningMySorrows turns to drugs and alcohol as a result]], and eventually ''becomes'' the Man in the Woods, killing the lying kid who ruined his life.

* ''WebAnimation/TheresAManInTheWoods'': This short animated film tells a story of a man who gets fired from a teaching job because one of his pupils lies about seeing a serial killer near the playground, and then gradually turns more and more stressed-out and mentally unstable until he becomes a serial killer himself.

* ''VideoGame/MegaManZero 2''. This game introduces Elpizo, the new Resistance leader (while the old one, Ciel, goes on to work more on her research). After Elpizo and Resistance's botched assault on the Neo Arcadian empire, he turns bad and goes on a quest to find the Baby Elves to grant him more power. Later, you'll meet him as the FinalBoss.

* ''Franchiss/TheFlash'' has ComicBook/HunterZolomon, the second Reverse-Flash/Zoom who was initially introduced as a simple supporting character in the Keystone police department far into then Flash Wally West's superhero career and developed throughout years in friendship role, until his shocking FaceHeelTurn. And even that said Heel turn happens almost [[SlowlySlippingIntoEvil a year after]] when his StartOfDarkness begins upon being paralyzed by Grodd.

* ''ComicBook/TheFlash'' has Hunter Zolomon, the second Reverse-Flash/Zoom who was initially introduced as a simple supporting character in the Keystone police department far into then Flash Wally West's superhero career and developed throughout years in friendship role, until his shocking FaceHeelTurn. And even that said Heel turn happens almost [[SlowlySlippingIntoEvil a year after]] when his StartOfDarkness begins upon being paralyzed by Grodd.

* King Philip in ''Series/{{Knightfall}}''. His very first scene is having an friendly sparring match with the hero Landry which establishes his friendship with the Templar Order, followed by his refusal to pillage the Jews' money in order to answer the country's bankruptacy because he is not "that kind of king". But after learning that [[spoiler:Landry has been having an affair with his wife]], he grows more cruel and heartless, not to mention antagonistic against the order as a whole. By the end of the second season, [[spoiler:he had pushed away all his allies and turned into an monster who eventually carries out the purge against the Templars and has to be put down by Landry]].

** Season 2 has Cassandra. In the mid-season special, she reflects on how she has always felt left out and treated as unimportant by everyone around her. After Rapunzel accidentally severely burns her hand by using the Hurt Incantation, it's a slow downhill climb for Cass as she continues to feel left out and even learns the truth about her birth mother abandoning her as a child. It all culminates in the season finale, with her grabbing the Moonstone.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', their is Kuvira who starts out as a harmless background character in season 3 who helps save Korra's father in the finale. However come the final season, she is put in charge of stabilizing the Earth Kingdom after the assassination of the queen, and her fascist methods of unifying the country put her at odds with the main characters.

* [[ComicBook/InjusticeGodsAmongUs The tie-in comics]] to ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'' show Regime Superman's road to villainy, his [[ItGetsEasier growing acceptance]] of harsh methods to solve crime, and the resultant SanitySlippage. The comics take place during a 5-year gap, showcasing how ComicBook/TheJoker tricked him into killing his wife Lois Lane and nuking Metropolis. While he had [[WellIntentionedExtremist good intentions]], the constant stream of bad events slowly transform Superman into a ruthless dictator bent on holding his grip on power. By the start of the game's first chapter, Regime Superman NotSoDifferent from [[HeWhoFightsMonsters the villains he once hated]].

* [[ComicBook/InjusticeGodsAmongUs The tie-in comics]] to ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'' show Regime Superman's ProtagonistJourneyToVillain, his [[ItGetsEasier growing acceptance]] of extremist methods to solve crime, the [[SanitySlippage toll]] it's taking on his mental health after becoming the Regime's High Councilor, and his estrangement with Batman. The comics take place during a 5-year gap, showcasing how being tricked by ComicBook/TheJoker into killing his wife Lois Lane and nuking Metropolis drove Regime Superman to to adopt [[KnightTemplar hardline policies on crime]]. While he had [[WellIntentionedExtremist good intentions]], the constant stream of bad events slowly transform Superman into a ruthless dictator bent on holding his grip on power. By the start of the game's first chapter, Regime Superman [[NotSoDifferent became very much like]] [[HeWhoFightsMonsters the villains he once hated]].

* ''Literature/AFrozenHeart'', a BroadStrokes retelling of ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'', goes into the backstory and perspective of [[spoiler:[[TragicVillain PrinceHans]]]]. Back home, he's the abused son of an evil tyrant, and is frequently belittled for not living up to his family's expectations. He starts out wanting to marry into Arendelle's royal family as a way to escape his home and start a new life, but his obsession with [[WellDoneSonGuy earning his father's respect]] causes him to become much more ruthless, turning into the character we see in the film.

* In the final season of ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', Kuvira starts out as a harmless background character who helps save Korra's father in the season 3 finale. However, she is later put in charge of stabilizing the Earth Kingdom after the assassination of the queen, and her fascist methods of unifying the country put her at odds with the main characters.

* [[ComicBook/InjusticeGodsAmongUs The tie-in comics]] to ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'' show Regime Superman's ProtagonistJourneyToVillain, his [[ItGetsEasier growing acceptance]] of extremist methods to solve crime, the [[SanitySlippage toll]] it's taking on his mental health after becoming the Regime's High Councilor, and his estrangement with Batman. The comics take place during a 5-year gap, showcasing how being tricked by ComicBook/TheJoker into killing his wife Lois Lane and nuking Metropolis drove Regime Superman to to adopt [[KnightTemplar hardline policies on crime]]. While he had [[WellIntentionedExtremist good intentions]], the constant stream of bad events slowly transform Superman into a ruthless dictator bent on holding his grip on power. By the start of the game's first chapter, Regime Superman [[NotSoDifferent became very much like]] [[NotSoDifferent the villains he once hated]].

* [[ComicBook/InjusticeGodsAmongUs The tie-in comics]] to ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'' show Regime Superman's ProtagonistJourneyToVillain, [[ItGetsEasier his acceptance of extremist methods to solve crime]], the [[SanitySlippage toll]] it's taking on his mental health after becoming the Regime's High Councilor, and his estrangement with Batman. The comics take place during a 5-year gap, showcasing how after Metropolis was nuked, an alternate version of Superman was forced to use [[KnightTemplar hardline policies]] to crack down on criminals. While his [[WellIntentionedExtremist intentions]] started out as good, the constant stream of bad events slowly transform Superman into a ruthless madman bent on suppressing dissent. By the end of ''Injustice: Gods Among Us'', Regime Superman is firmly in villain territory.