History Main / ConditionedToBeWeak

* ''Film/TheTrumanShow'': Truman was raised by Christoff to be afraid of dogs and the ocean by making him believe that his father died in a boat accident. [[spoiler:However, Truman overcomes his fear of the ocean after Christoff unwittingly brings his father back from the dead, confirming Truman's belief that his life is artificial.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/SouthParkBiggerLongerAndUncut'', Satan and Saddam Hussein are a dysfunctional couple where Saddam is the abusive boyfriend who alternates between abusing/degrading Satan and emotionally manipulating him. Despite Satan being much more physically powerful, he's been so browbeaten and worn down that he lets Saddam walk all over him... until [[TheDogBitesBack at the end of the movie he finally snaps and kills Saddam]]. Afterwards, Satan muses about this trope.
-->'''Satan:''' He spent so much time convincing me I was weak and stupid that I? believed it myself.

!!Examples

* There’s some of this in the ''Franchise/MyHeroAcademia'' fic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/30598253/chapters/75482015 The Harvest]]'' . Overhaul does do some torturing and underfeeding Aizawa but also engages in mental tactics to convince Aizawa he can’t fight or escape. He makes the hero be a kind of personal servant at times and temporarily damages his eyes. He lets colleagues play a evil game of trying to subdue and gang rape the already injured and naked hero and there’s a scene where Overhaul has a meal but forces Aizawa to make do with what he’s feeding him from his chopsticks. The physical and mental weakening snaps though when Overhaul is raping him again shortly after and makes the mistake of calling him “my weapon”. Hizashi leading a rescue mission helps too but Aizawa realizes in his mental monologue that despite being physically weakened , he still hadn’t ever needed a physical weapon to defeat Overhaul.

* In ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' / ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' fanfic ''[[FanFic/TheDarkLordsOfNerima The Dark Lords Ascendant]]'', Unit Zero, the clone of Sailor Moon, is capable of wielding the all-powerful Silver Crystal much like the original. The villain who created Unit Zero, Tanizaki Kazuo, basically tormented and abused her to keep her under control and not use the power against him, given that the Silver Crystal is something he can't either control directly or win against in a straight-up fight.

-->'''Jordan:''' [[ArmorPiercingQuestion Why're you taking it from this guy?]]
-->'''Bupkis:''' Because he's bigger.
-->'''Pound:''' He's ''bigger?!''
-->'''Bang:''' Than we ''used''... to be...
-->'''Monstars:''' [[EurekaMoment ...wait...]]
-->'''Swackhammer:''' ''[[OhCrap What are you doing?!]]''
-->(''cue The Monstars shoving Swackhammer in a rocket and sending him away)''

-->'''Homelander:''' I don't make mistakes. I'm not "just like the rest of you." I'm stronger. I'm smarter. I'm better. I am better. I'm not some weak-kneed fucking crybaby that goes around fucking apologizing all the time. And why the fuck would you want me to be? All my life, people have tried to control me. My whole life. Rich people, powerful people have tried to muzzle me, cancel me, keep me impotent and obedient, like I'm a fucking puppet. You know what? It worked. Because I allowed it to work. And guess what? If they can control me, then you can bet your ass they can control you. They already do. You just don't realize it. I'm done. I am done apologizing. I am done being persecuted for my strength. You people should be thanking Christ that I am who and what I am because you need me. You need me to save you. You do. I am the only one who possibly can. You're not the real heroes. I'm the real hero. I'm the real hero."

* ''VideoGame/GodOfWarRagnarok''

* ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'': Implied with Vivian, as when the player first fights the Shadow Sirens, Vivian is easily the weakest member of the group and goes down quickly. Once she joins the party, if the player upgrades her stats, she can be as strong as her BigSisterBully Beldam by the end of the game, giving the implication that Beldam was doing her best to keep Vivian down and weak via bullying.

* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'': The Wookie Chieftain Chuundar admits to the amnesiac Revan that he took steps to make his people weak so Cezrka Corporation could take more of them as slaves. Revan helps the Wookies rise up against Chuundar and Czerka and free their world from the slavers.

* ''WesternAnimation/LambertTheSheepishLion'': An accidental case, Lambert is a lion who is adopted into a sheep family and acts like a sheep because he doesn't know any different. In the end, a wolf is about to eat his mother, who cries out for help, so Lambert finds it in himself to roar and scare the wolf away.

* ''Series/TheBoys2019'': Homelander is the central antagonist of the series and the driving force behind Butcher's hatred of superhumans. Homelander was raised to be a living product of Vought through isolation and scientific experiments. As a result, he craves external validation and cannot afford to look weak, something Vought exploits because they know how dangerous Homelander is and his utter disregard for human life. [[spoiler:As the series progresses, Homelander is blackmailed by Starlight with video footage of him abandoning a passenger plane and threatening to kill everyone onboard. However, Homelander calls her bluff and says that if she uploads it, they've lost their leash on him and he can go on a rampage without anyone to stop him. He even takes over Vought and finds comfort in his demographic of white males, who unconditionally support him despite killing a Starlight protestor in front of them.]]

-->'''Homelander:''' [[spoiler:Go ahead. Release it. Let's light this candle, huh? I mean, sure, I'll lose everything, but then, I'll have nothing to lose. First, I'll take out the nerve centers -- the White House, the Pentagon - then any domestic defense capabilities, and then critical infrastructure -- like cellular, internet, that kind of thing. And then, well, I think then I'll just wipe New York off the fucking map -- for fun. I'll even throw in Des Moines and that little cousin-fucker hick town that Maeve's from -- 'cause why not? See Starlight, I'd prefer to be loved. I would. But if you take that away from me... Well, being feared is a one okie doke by me. So, go ahead, partner. Do it!]]

* VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic: The Wookie Chieftain Chuundar admits to the amnesiac Revan that he took steps to make his people weak so Cezrka Corporation could take more of them as slaves. Revan helps the Wookies rise up against Chuundar and Czerka and free their world from the slavers.

* ''Film/CaptainMarvel'': On top of her RestrainingBolt and initial AmnesiacHero status, "Vers" is constantly told by Yon-Rogg that she's too emotionally driven and that using her powers against him in sparring indicates she's too weak to beat him without them. After "Vers" remembers her prior life as Carol Danvers and discovers the depths of Kree's gaslighting, Yon-Rogg attempts to HonorBeforeReason her in their final confrontation, challenging her to fight him without powers again to prove she can. This time, she promptly blasts him, saying, "I have nothing to prove to you."

* ''Manga/HunterXHunter'': Killua's KnightTemplarBigBrother Illumi has a needle in his brain to make sure he avoids fighting stronger enemies at all costs to keep him safe.

-->--'''Hopper''', ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife''

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* ''Film/TheTrumanShow'': Truman was raised by Christoff to be afraid of dogs and the ocean by making him believe that his father died in a boat accident. [[spoiler: However, Truman overcomes his fear of the ocean after Christoff unwittingly brings his father back from the dead, confirming Truman's belief that his life is artificial.]]

* ''Literature/FromTheNewWorld'': The story takes place in a village in the distant future where all humans have developed incredibly strong PsychicPowers, but are conditioned by the government since birth via a combination of hypnosis and brainwashing into being incurious, obedient to authority, and passive, with the protagonists [[spoiler:being exceptions due to their brainwashing having been deliberately lessened so that one of them might develop the traits required to be the successor of the village leader]]. Additionally, all humans are conditioned to associate harming another human with their powers with intense pain- killing another human triggers such intense feedback that it is guaranteed to cause a lethal stroke, with a character experiencing extreme dizziness and pain from destroying even a ''hologram'' of a human being.

-->'''Homelander''': [[spoiler: Go ahead. Release it. Let's light this candle, huh? I mean, sure, I'll lose everything, but then, I'll have nothing to lose. First, I'll take out the nerve centers - the White House, the Pentagon - then any domestic defense capabilities, and then critical infrastructure - like cellular, internet, that kind of thing. And then, well, I think then I'll just wipe New York off the fucking map - for fun. I'll even throw in Des Moines and that little cousin-fucker hick town that Maeve's from - 'cause why not? See Starlight, I'd prefer to be loved. I would. But if you take that away from me... Well, being feared is a one okie doke by me. So, go ahead, partner. Do it!]]

* ''VideoGame/Fallout3'': Charon is a potential companion of the Lone Wanderer and the ghoul bouncer of the Ninth Circle. According to Ahzrukhal, Charon was brainwashed into obeying whoever had his contract. Ahzrukhal insists that he is not a slave, and implies that Charon did something in the past to deserve his "employment" with Ahzrukhal. [[spoiler: If the Lone Wanderer acquires Charon's contract, Charon will approach Ahzrukhal and murder him in cold blood as revenge for all the dirty work he made him do because the contract was the only thing keeping him from killing Ahzrukhal on the spot.]]

** This interpretation of Thor was abused by Odin into doing whatever he commands under the belief that it would make Odin proud of him. Despite being Odin's best warrior, Thor is so terrified of his father that he lets Odin verbally and emotionally abuse him. [[spoiler: After fighting Kratos during Ragnarok, Thor is finally convinced to stand up to his father but is immediately killed by him.]]
** The Lyngbakr is a massive whale-like creature captured and chained by Mimir in Svartalfheim as a way to gain Odin's favor by harvesting its fat for oil. After being imprisoned himself, Mimir comes to fully regret it, and tries to free it as soon as he returns to Svartalfheim ages later with Kratos and Atreus. [[spoiler: After Kratos breaks the chains binding the creature, the creature still wouldn't leave its pen even after trying to encourage it. Kratos remarks that "it has become accustomed to its chains" and Atreus confirms this by saying the creature likes the feeling of wind on its face.]]
* ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'': When the player first meets Miraidon/Koraidon, they're rather weak and incapable of fighting. [[spoiler: Whilst the player gradually helps them get their abilities back, this doesn't include their ability to fight, suggesting that a mental block is a reason for this. The end of the game confirms this to be the case thanks to the result of an attack from a more vicious Miraidon/Koraidon, which severely traumatized them - once they overcome their trauma, they become able to fight again.]]

* ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadSeasonFour'': Deconstructed, Marlon and Brody are the 18-19-year-old co-leaders of Ericson's Boarding School for Troubled Youth. [[spoiler: Both of them were responsible for the abduction of Minerva and Sophie, who were taken by The Delta, a military-themed gang of raiders who abduct children to conscript them into their gang. Marlon and Brody are terrified of them because their group is mainly composed of children and teens, whereas The Delta is composed of stronger and more capable adults. However, it's eventually revealed that The Delta are not as competent as they let on. The Delta are easily outsmarted by the kids, they only have a small squad to abduct the kids, and they have to make sure they can capture as many children alive as they can by attacking undefended camps. As Abel would point out during an interrogation scene, they are throwing away adult lives for the sake of "a few beansprouts who can barely hold a gun."]]

* ''WebVideo/PopCrossStudios'': In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BauQ3kzKSJ4 Benny Sharp Saves Christmas From Lots and Lots of Demons]], one of the main characters, Cosmara "Mara" Noroi, is a member of the [[CreatureHunterOrganization Predator Coalition]] of [[DemonSlaying Demon Hunters]], who has a {{Curse}} that [[CursedWithAwesome gives her superhuman speed, strength, and reflexes]], in addition to making her TheNeedless, which makes her far stronger than even the magic-using members of the Coalition. However, seeing as that curse also slowly turns Mara into a DemonOfHumanOrigin every time she kills a demon, Clayton, the Coalition's leader (and Mara's former boyfriend), brutally forbids her from participating in active combat situations, purely because he's paranoid that once Mara kills enough demons, [[VanHelsingHateCrimes she'll automatically become an evil demon herself]]. Because of this, Mara is a cripplingly shy ShrinkingViolet whenever she goes on missions with the Coalition where she's not allowed to kill demons, [[UngratefulBastard even though it would save lives]], purely because she's afraid of the contempt her teammates will treat her with, ''especially'' Clayton. [[LovableRogue Benny]] [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Sharp]] is [[EveryoneHasStandards disgusted]] by the flat-out abusive way Clayton treats his former girlfriend, and encourages Mara to stop fearing what other people think of her and use her powers to save their lives. In contrast to most heroic examples on this list, however, Mara does ''not'' use her powers against her abuser- Benny does that instead, when Clayton tries to kill Mara out of fury for disobeying him, and Benny beats him into submission with his suit of PoweredArmour.

* ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'': When the Player first meets Miraidon/Kiraidon, they're rather weak and incapable of fighting. [[spoiler: Whilst the player gradually helps them get their abilities back, this doesn't include their ability to fight, suggesting that a mental block is a reason for this. The end of the game confirms this to be the case thanks to the result of an attack from a more vicious Miraidon/Kiraidon, which severely traumatized them - once they overcome their trauma, they become able to fight again.]]

[[folder:Web Video]]
* ''WebVideo/PopCrossStudios'': In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BauQ3kzKSJ4 Benny Sharp Saves Christmas From Lots and Lots of Demons]], one of the main characters, Cosmara "Mara" Noroi, is a member of the [[CreatureHunterOrganization Predator Coalition]] of [[DemonSlaying Demon Hunters]], who has a {{Curse}} that [[CursedWithAwesome gives her superhuman speed, strength, and reflexes]], in addition to making her TheNeedless, which makes her far stronger than even the magic-using members of the Coalition. However, seeing as that curse also slowly turns Mara into a DemonOfHumanOrigin every time she kills a demon, Clayton, the Coalition's leader (and Mara's former boyfriend), brutally forbids her from participating in active combat situations, purely because he's paranoid that once Mara kills enough demons, [[VanHelsingHateCrimes she'll automatically become an evil demon herself]]. Because of this, Mara is a cripplingly shy ShrinkingViolet whenever she goes on missions with the Coalition where she's not allowed to kill demons, [[UngratefulBastard even though it would save lives]], purely because she's afraid of the contempt her teammates will treat her with, ''especially'' Clayton. [[LovableRogue Benny]] [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Sharp]] is [[EveryoneHasStandards disgusted]] by the flat-out abusive way Clayton treats his former girlfriend, and encourages Mara to stop fearing what other people think of her and use her powers to save their lives. In contrast to most heroic examples on this list, however, Mara does ''not'' use her powers against her abuser- Benny does that instead, when Clayton tries to kill Mara out of fury for disobeying him, and Benny beats him into submission with his suit of PoweredArmour.
[[/folder]]

* ''Film/CaptainMarvel'': On top of her RestrainingBolt and initial AmnesiacHero status, "Vers" is constantly told by Yon-Ragg that she's too emotionally driven and that using her powers against him in sparring indicates she's too weak to beat him without them. After "Vers" remembers her prior life as Carol Danvers and discovers the depths of Kree's gaslighting, Yon-Ragg attempts to HonorBeforeReason her in their final confrontation, challenging her to fight him without powers again to prove she can. This time, she promptly blasts him, saying, "I have nothing to prove to you."

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* ''Webcomic/SlightlyDamned'': Earth dragons are tamed by [[https://www.sdamned.com/comic/955 encouraging them to struggle against their tether]] while young and weak so that they think it can still hold them when they are strong. This is [[https://www.sdamned.com/comic/1085 used as a metaphor]] for Kieri's feelings of inadequacy due to her abusive upbringing.
[[/folder]]

* ''Anime/DragonBallZBrolyTheLegendarySuperSaiyan'': The title character and main villain, Broly, who is the most powerful Saiyan in the galaxy. The only thing keeping him docile for most of the film is the [[RestrainingBolt brainwashing/control device]] his father placed on him. As soon as he breaks out of his condition upon transforming into the Legendary Super Saiyan, which overwhelms and destroys the device, he proceeds to go on a rampage, mopping the floor with the heroes and eventually killing his father.

* A heroic character is dominated by an [[AbusiveParents Abusive Parent]], a BigBrotherBully, or a [[ToxicFriendInfluence toxic friend]], and the story is about them [[GrewASpine finding the strength to stand up to their abuser]].

* ''Manga/HunterXHunter'': Killua's KnightTemplarBigBrother Illumi has a needle in his brain to make sure he would avoid fighting stronger enemies at all costs to keep him safe.

* ''ComicBook/TransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'': Overlord is a "Phase Sixer", a [[OneManArmy One Transformer Army]] built with a nearly-indestructible frame who can [[PersonOfMassDestruction wipe out entire planets by himself]]. Unsurprisingly, Megatron was quite wary of giving such power to a Decepticon without any sort of insurance, so he had Overlord's brain altered in a way that makes him unable to be able to think of how to beat Megatron in a fight. Unlike many versions of this trope, Overlord is aware that this has been done to him and he's spent centuries looking for a way to undo it because he really, ''really'' wants to fight Megatron.

--> '''Bupkis:''' Because he's bigger.
--> '''Pound:''' He's ''bigger?!''
--> '''Bang:''' Than we ''used''... to be...
--> '''Monstars:''' [[EurekaMoment ...wait...]]
--> '''Swackhammer:''' ''[[OhCrap What are you doing?!]]''
--> (''cue The Monstars shoving Swackhammer in a rocket and sending him away)''

* ''Series/TheBoys2019'': Homelander is the central antagonist of the series and the driving force behind Butcher's hatred of superhumans. Homelander was raised to be a living product of Vought through isolation and scientific experiments. As a result, he craves external validation and cannot afford to look weak, something Vought exploits because they know how dangerous Homelander is and his utter disregard for human life. [[spoiler: As the series progresses, Homelander is blackmailed by Starlight with video footage of him abandoning a passenger plane and threatening to kill everyone onboard. However, Homelander calls her bluff and says that if she uploads it, they've lost their leash on him and he can go on a rampage without anyone to stop him. He even takes over Vought and finds comfort in his demographic of white males, who unconditionally support him despite killing a Starlight protestor in front of them.]]
--> '''Homelander''': [[spoiler: Go ahead. Release it. Let's light this candle, huh? I mean, sure, I'll lose everything, but then, I'll have nothing to lose. First, I'll take out the nerve centers - the White House, the Pentagon - then any domestic defense capabilities, and then critical infrastructure - like cellular, internet, that kind of thing. And then, well, I think then I'll just wipe New York off the fucking map - for fun. I'll even throw in Des Moines and that little cousin-fucker hick town that Maeve's from - 'cause why not? See Starlight, I'd prefer to be loved. I would. But if you take that away from me... Well, being feared is a one okie doke by me. So, go ahead, partner. Do it!]]
* ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'': This is revealed to have happened to the entire Kelpien race: originally, they were apex predators who nearly drove another race known as the Ba'ul to extinction only for the latter to turn the tide with their superior technology. Instead of wiping them out, they decided to make sure the Kelpiens could never challenge them again by instituting a belief system known as "The Great Balance" that decreed that the Kelpiens were a prey species for the Ba'ul. The same belief system claimed that the ''vahar'ai'', a painful biological process all Kelpiens undergo was a mark of being chosen to be culled and any Kelpien who refused would suffer horrible pain and madness. In reality, the ''vahar'ai'' causes the loss of the Kelpien's fear ganglia and gives them far greater offensive abilities, which was what allowed them to hunt the Ba'ul in the first place. After discovering the truth, Saru triggers ''vahar'ai'' in the entirety of the rest of his race, which allows them to fight back against the Ba'ul and in the distant future, the two races seem to have come to an understanding.

* ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadSeasonFour'': Deconstructed, Marlon and Brody are the 18-19 year old co-leaders of Ericson's Boarding School for Troubled Youth. [[spoiler: Both of them were responsible for the abduction of Minerva and Sophie, who were taken by The Delta, a military-themed gang of raiders who abduct children to conscript them into their gang. Marlon and Brody are terrified of them because their group is mainly composed of children and teens, whereas The Delta is composed of stronger and more capable adults. However, it's eventually revealed that The Delta are not as competent as they let on. The Delta are easily outsmarted by the kids, they only have a small squad to abduct the kids, and they have to make sure they can capture as many children alive as they can by attacking undefended camps. As Abel would point out during an interrogation scene, they are throwing away adult lives for the sake of "a few beansprouts who can barely hold a gun."]]

* ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'': Ed is the strongest of the trio but is also a docile simpleton because his mother raised him to believe that it is never acceptable to hit his sister, Sarah, no matter the situation. For this reason, Sarah regularly bullies him and only gets away with it because Ed turns a blind eye to it. When Ed is in a bad mood, he actually yells at her for the first time after she berates him. She's ''genuinely'' afraid of him after this and quickly relents and leaves him alone for the rest of the episode.

* ''Manga/HunterXHunter'': Killua's KnightTemplarBigBrother Illumi a needle in his brain to make sure he would avoid fighting stronger enemies at all costs to keep him safe.

* In ''WesternAnimation/SouthParkBiggerLongerAndUncut'', Satan and Saddam Hussein are a dysfunctional couple where Saddam is the abusive boyfriend who alternates between abusing/degrading Satan and emotionally manipulating him. Despite Satan being much more physically powerfully, he's been so browbeaten and worn down that he lets Saddam walk all over him... until [[TheDogBitesBack at the end of the movie he finally snaps and kills Saddam]]. Afterwards, Satan muses about this trope.

* ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'': When the Player first meets Miraidon/Kiraidon, they?re rather weak and incapable of fighting. [[spoiler: Whilst the player gradually helps them get their abilities back, this doesn't include their ability to fight, suggesting that a mental block is a reason for this. The end of the game confirms this to be the case thanks to the result of an attack from a more vicious Miraidon/Kiraidon, which severely traumatized them - once they overcome their trauma, they become able to fight again.]]

* '''Series/StarTrekDiscovery''': This is revealed to have happened to the entire Kelpien race: originally, they were apex predators who nearly drove another race known as the Ba'ul to extinction only for the latter to turn the tide with their superior technology. Instead of wiping them out, they decided to make sure the Kelpiens could never challenge them again by instituting a belief system known as "The Great Balance" that decreed that the Kelpiens were a prey species for the Ba'ul. The same belief system claimed that the ''vahar'ai'', a painful biological process all Kelpiens undergo was a mark of being chosen to be culled and any Kelpien who refused would suffer horrible pain and madness. In reality, the ''vahar'ai'' causes the loss of the Kelpien's fear ganglia and gives them far greater offensive abilities, which was what allowed them to hunt the Ba'ul in the first place. After discovering the truth, Saru triggers ''vahar'ai'' in the entirety of the rest of his race, which allows them to fight back against the Ba'ul and in the distant future, the two races seem to have come to an understanding.

* ''Film/SpaceJam'': The Nerdlucks are normally very small and easily controlled by Mr. Swackhammer, who is comparatively bigger and stronger than them. When they absorb the powers of baseball players and become The Monstars, they still let him boss them around and abuse them despite looking physically stronger than him. After losing the match, The Monstars are again abused by Swackhamer but finally stand up to him after realizing they are now stronger than him and can fight back.

* ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife'': [[spoiler: The only reason why the smaller but numerically superior ants don't rebel against the larger but numerically inferior grasshoppers is because [[BigBad Hopper]], the grasshoppers' leader, keeps the ants in fear ''precisely'' because he understands that the ants would inevitably win if they realized how great their numbers are. Sure enough, once the ants decide to [[TheDogBitesBack fight back]], they manage to overthrow the grasshoppers.]]

* ''Film/SpaceJam'': The Nerdlucks/The Monstars are normally very small and easily controlled by Mr. Swackhammer, who is comparatively bigger and stronger than them. When they absorb the powers of baseball players, they still let him boss them around and abuse them despite looking physically stronger than him. [[spoiler: After losing the match, The Monstars are again abused by Swackhamer but finally stand up to him after realizing they are now stronger than him and can fight back.]]

->''"You let one ant stand up to us, then they ''all'' might stand up! Those "puny, little ants" outnumber us ''a hundred to one''. And if they ever figure that out, there goes our way of life! It's not about food, it's about keeping those ants in line."

->''"You let one ant stand up to us, then they ''all'' might stand up! Those "puny, little ants" outnumber us ''a hundred to one''. And if they ever figure that out, ''there goes our way of life''! It's not about food, it's about ''keeping those ants in line''"''
-->--'''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife'''

# A heroic character is dominated by an AbusiveParents, a BigBrotherBully, or a toxic friend and the story is about them finding the strength to leave their abuser.
# A villainous character is only under control because they were conditioned by another villain who is undoubtedly worse than them. If and when they realize that they can do something about their situation, then that creates a problem because their conditioning was the only thing keeping them on a leash and stopping them from being complete monsters.

In psychology, this is called "Learned Helplessness." A person or animal subjected to constant, seemingly inescapable negative stimuli will come to believe that they cannot escape similar stimuli.

Contrast UpbringingMakesTheHero. Goes with WillfullyWeak, NoMoreHoldingBackSpeech, IAmWhatIAm, GodzillaThreshold, and BeYourself. Will often cross over with ExtremeDoormat. The doormat in question may often [[GrewASpine learn to put their foot down]]. Can be followed by a physical BreakingTheBonds. May overlap with NightmareOfNormality. See also RestrainingBolt. SubTrope of BehavioralConditioning