History Main / CreateYourOwnVillain

* In ''Fanfic/HoldingTheWorldOnTheirShoulders'', a ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' RoleSwapAU, Ironwood's own authoritarian actions, culminating in [[spoiler:throwing May Marigold in a secret prison after she glimpses the skeletons in Atlas' closet]], are what ultimately led her to [[VillainProtagonist falling into Salem's arms and becoming a powerful sorceress hellbent on seing Atlas torn from the sky]].

* ''Manga/TalentlessNana'': In the first chapter, [[spoiler: [[ChildSoldiers Nana]] pushes [[DecoyProtagonist Nanao]] off a cliff who coldly calls him "the Enemy of Humanity" before watching him fall to his doom. Several chapters later, it's revealed that he surived. Combined by the shock of Nana betraying him and being called "Humanity's Enemy", [[TraumaCongaLine some serious crap happens to him]] that leads him to become the very villain Nana sought to exterminate. Ironically, by the time this all happens, Nana has had a HeelFaceTurn and became TheAtoner.]]

* ''Manga/TalentlessNana'': In the first chapter, [[spoiler: [[ChildSoldiers Nana]] pushes [[DecoyProtagonist Nanao]] off a cliff who coldly calls him "the Enemy of Humanity" before watching him fall to his doom. Several chapters later, it's revealed that he surived. Combined by the shock of Nana betraying him and being called "Humanity's Enemy" [[TraumaCongaLine some serious crap happens to him]] that leads him to become the very villain Nana sought to exterminate. Ironically, by the time this all happens, Nana has had a HeelFaceTurn and became TheAtoner.]]

* Zig-zagged in ''ComicBook/LesLegendaires'', where the protagonist Razzia, who was initially an innocent pacifist kid, became a vengeful barbarian villain as well as TheDragon to [[EvilSorcerer Darkhell]] after his village was seemingly destroyed by the heroic 1000 Wolves Army for no reason. Later however, [[spoiler:his dying sister Sheyla reveals him it was Darkhell who destroyed the village and blame the 1000 Wolves for it. Enraged by the betrayal, Razzia turned against Darkhell and joined the Legendaries, becoming part of the sorcerer's worst enemies]].
* In ''ComicBook/PaperGirls'' it turns out that [[spoiler: Leader of forces chasing the girls through time is actually a grown-up baby they saved from death in prehistoric times]].

*** An escaped prisoner named Richard Deacon overheard Jameson asking Harlan Stillwell, the younger brother of the aforementioned Harley Stillwell to make a new superhero. Deacon ordered Harlan to transform him into the Human Fly at gunpoint and [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness then killed the doctor after he was done.]] The Human Fly then kidnapped Jameson requiring Spider-Man to once again save Jameson from a mess he'd made.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS17E8TheItalianBob The Italian Bob]]" featured the heroes not so much creating a villain as ''re''creating one. While in Italy the Simpsons run into an apparently reformed Sideshow Bob living happily and honestly as the mayor of a small town. Bob isn't exactly delighted to have the Simpsons around but he treats them well enough... until Lisa gets drunk and 'outs' Bob as a former criminal. His new life destroyed he promptly swears revenge.

** In fact, a common [[FandomSpecificPlot/MyHeroAcademia My Hero Acadamia fanfic plot]] is Izuku becoming a villain due to [[FantasticRacism his ostracization and bullying]] (if he remains quirkless) with All Might crushing his dreams being the final straw.

Opposite of CreateYourOwnHero. One of the causes of the SuperheroParadox. May be caused by a PacifismBackfire. See also AvengingTheVillain, DisproportionateRetribution, NiceJobBreakingItHero, and UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom. Contrast with WeirdnessMagnet, where the Hero doesn't ''create'' the villains, but seems to ''attract'' them all the same.

Opposite of CreateYourOwnHero. One of the causes of the SuperheroParadox. May be caused by a PacifismBackfire. See also AvengingTheVillain, DisproportionateRetribution, NiceJobBreakingItHero and UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom. Contrast with WeirdnessMagnet, where the Hero doesn't ''create'' the villains, but seems to ''attract'' them all the same.

** And though they didn't ''create'' the Wraith and the Replicators, they ''woke up'' the Wraith, who'd been dormant, and turned the Replicators into a scourge against humanity. The heroes programmed them to take out the Wraith; they decided the best way was to eliminate their food source -- ''humanity.'' BrainwashingForTheGreaterGood ''never'' works in SGA. The Atlantis crew has a ''very'' bad habit of both MoralDissonance and NiceJobBreakingItHero.

* ''VideoGame/CriminalCase'': SOMBRA, the main antagonist of [[VideoGame/CriminalCaseWorldEdition the third season]], owes its existence to [[spoiler:Chief Ripley, head of the Bureau. Ripley is an ex-CIA Agent who conspired with SOMBRA's founder Arsenio Castillo to invade a small but oil-rich nation called Grenadia so that the CIA could [[EngineeredHeroics pretend to drive them out]] and gain access to the country's oil.]] Unfortunately, thanks to [[spoiler:the funding they got]], SOMBRA became to powerful [[spoiler:for the CIA to eradicate]], and they grew to become an international terrorist organization with worldwide influence.

* ''Film/TheHunt2020'': A group of [[BourgeoisBohemian wealthy liberals]], frustrated by the state of politics in the US, joke around with each other about hunting conservatives for sport. The texts are leaked and become the subject of a [=QAnon=]-style conspiracy theory, which inspires them to actually do it for real... [[HoistByHisOwnPetard with their accusers]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'': As a boy, Syndrome's hero-worship led him to try to become Mr. Incredible's {{sidekick}}, but Mr Incredible brushed him off. Syndrome then decided to get his recognition by designing a robot to kill all supers, Mr. Incredible being the last. [[SelfServingMemory That's what Syndrome would want you to think]]. Actually, he was rejected for incompetence and his own safety ([[SpannerInTheWorks he interfered in a fight against Bomb Voyage]]; Bomb Voyage destroyed a building floor, successfully stole what he wanted, escaped, almost killed Syndrome and even Mr. Incredible barely made it through the whole thing without a scratch). [[NotGoodWithRejection Syndrome didn't take it well]].

* Gradually becomes a more and more prominent theme in ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia''. Several of the series' most important villains ([[BigBad Shigaraki]], [[AmbiguouslyHuman Spinner]], [[PersonOfMassDestruction Dabi]], [[HeroKiller Stain]], [[CuteButPsycho Himiko Toga]], etc.) are revealed to have become what they are due to hero society's [[FantasticRacism rampant prejudice]] and [[FantasticUnderclass structural discrimination]] against those who have "villain-like" Quirks. Even one of U.A.'s own hero students, [[CreepyGood Shinso]] [[MindManipulation Hitoshi]], points out that society doesn't even try to give children like him a chance to prove themselves, instead just assuming that they'll become villains from the moment their Quirks first manifest in early childhood.

** Subverted with Watts, who serves Salem because Ironwood wronged him in some fashion, leaving him with a personal grudge. He is so determined to destroy Ironwood that he's willing to have people murdered just to frame him. However, when they finally fight, and Watts accuses Ironwood of having used his genius for his own gain instead of appreciating him, Ironwood counters with the accusation that he gave Watts everything he could have wanted. That's when Watts reveals the real reason why he hates Ironwood so much: he's DrivenByEnvy because Ironwood chose Pietro's P.E.N.N.Y. project for development instead of Watts', and that's why his method of destroying Ironwood involved framing Penny.

** As revealed in Volume 7, [[GeneralFailure James Ironwood]] is responsible for [[MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate Dr. Watts']] fall to villainy, his rejection of Watts' project in favor of Pietro Polendina's being what led to a slighted Watts throwing in his lot with [[BigBad Salem]] to get revenge. During their confrontation, Watts furiously rants at Ironwood for taking his genius for granted and never giving him [[EntitledBastard his due credit and respect]].
-->'''Watts''': You never appreciated my genius, James. You just stood atop it and called yourself a giant!\\
'''Ironwood''': I gave you ''everything'' you could have wanted!\\
'''Watts''': [[DrivenByEnvy You chose that]] ''[[DrivenByEnvy fat imbecile]]'' [[DrivenByEnvy over]] '''''[[DrivenByEnvy ME!!]]'''''

* Sienna Khan of ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' isn't exactly a hero, being the leader of a group that exemplifies YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters, but she's a WellIntentionedExtremist who genuinely wants to pursue [[LittleBitBeastly Faunus]] equality and believed that peaceful methods just weren't working. But she encouraged Adam's violent tendencies and called him a hero when he killed a human to save Ghira, which had a snowball effect that led to Adam becoming a demagougic leader of an outright terrorist faction and ultimately [[TheStarscream killing Sienna]] when he thought she was being 'too soft' (read: actually focused on the White Fang's goal and not on killing everyone who annoyed her).

* ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'' gives us Julia, a RecurringCharacter from the ''WesternAnimation/Animaniacs2020'' revival who is another example of a VillainProtagonist creating their own villain. Julia starts as an ordinary mouse whom Brain makes as brilliant as himself so she can be his first lady in a Senatorial campaign, but the voters respond to her [[NiceMice compassionate]], [[NiceGirl idealistic]] nature by choosing her as the candidate instead! Not only that, Julia objects to Brain's tyrannical methods. This cause Brain to fit her with a MindControlDevice to keep her in line, but it malfunctions; as a result, Julia goes crazy, undergoes a FaceHeelTurn, and becomes Brain's vengeful ArchNemesis.

* {{Convers|ationalTroping}}ed in the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode [[Recap/SouthParkS23E01MexicanJoker Mexican Joker]]. Kyle tells the I.C.E. agents that holding Mexican children in detention camps could result in them holding a grudge against the American government once they grow up, using superhero movies where the hero is responsible for the villain's backstory as an analogy. The agents [[ComicallyMissingThePoint completely misunderstand what he's saying]], and start thinking that one of the children in the camp ''is'' "Mexican Joker", going to great lengths to find and stop him before he can grow up.

* ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'' gives us Julia, a RecurringCharacter from the ''WesternAnimation/Animaniacs2020'' revival who is another example of a VillainProtagonist creating their own villain. Julia starts as an ordinary mouse whom Brain makes as brilliant as himself so she can be his first lady in a Senatorial campaign, but the voters respond to her [[NiceMice compassionate]], [[NiceGirl idealistic]] nature by choosing her as the candidate instead! Not only that, Julia objects to Brain's tyrannical methods. This cause Brain to fit her with a MindControlDevice to keep her in line, but it malfunctions; as a result, Julia goes crazy, undergoes a FaceHeelTurn, and becomes Brain's new ArchNemesis.

** [[ComicBook/DoctorDoom Victor von Doom]] was [[ComicBook/MisterFantastic Reed Richards']] college roommate. Richards corrected one of Doom's experiments; Doom, furious, switched it back to the way it was, then it exploded, scarring Doom's handsome face. Naturally, [[NeverMyFault Doom blamed Richards]]. However, Doom is actually a subversion of this trope. Reed's actions actually didn't make him a villain, Doom just blames him for his own mistakes. In fact, Reed could have probably prevented Doom from becoming a villain if Reed's warnings hadn't been ignored. [[spoiler: It's later revealed, however, that due to Doom's poor treatment of Reed, Ben Grimm sabotaged his machine on purpose to teach him a lesson.]]

** ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'': An inverted example. Vulture exists because [[ComicBook/IronMan Tony Stark]] endangered his business, not because of anything Peter did, but this still fits with Tony's habit of accidentally creating villains (see below).

** Cyborg Superman. Superman believed that energy being Hank Henshaw could not master Kryptonian technology, so he trapped Henshaw in his birthing matrix. Result: Henshaw used the technology and traces of Superman's DNA to return as a kryptonian cyborg with a grudge.

** Shockwave was both on the receiving end of this, as Proteus stripped him of his emotions is led to Shockwave becoming the villain he is, and the delievering end, as [[spoiler:[[ComicBook/TheTransformersUnicron Unicron]], the FinalDiscBoss of the universe, is a DoomsdayWeapon created because of Shockwave's actions.]]

*** This is lampshaded in ''Film/IronMan3'': "We create our own demons." Killian's M.O. derives from Tony snubbing him at a party. It's also implied Tony's actions were the final straw for Killian to crack.Additionally, Killian attributes the creation of the Mandarin to the increase of super human activity.

** In Season 6, Cayden James was little more than a hacktivist, fighting against corporations and trying to have a relationship with his son. Then A.R.G.U.S. agents arrest him before he can attend his son's basketball game and treat him like a terrorist (even though all he did is make sure that a pharmaceutical company doesn't profit from illegal activities). Then he finds out that his son has been killed, and he snaps. It takes [[spoiler:Ricardo Diaz slipping him a doctored video of the Green Arrow accidentally killing his son]]. Nice job, A.R.G.U.S.!

** Buffy unknowingly created Angelus, Season 2's BigBad, and he never tired of reminding her about it.

** There are also a number of villainous metas, such as the Rival, who wouldn't have powers, if Barry hadn't created Flashpoint

** There's an episode that toy with this, as a [[RecurringExtra bystander]] who appeared in many prior episodes plots to get his revenge on the gargoyles and relates every previous encounter he had with them. Played for comic relief, as his revenge was merely a pie-shooting bazooka. For the record, the gargoyles inadvertently cost him every job he ever had since 1997. And the pie was banana creme. The gargoyle[[spoiler:s, including Goliath,]] who took the pie, has no idea who he is. Or why he did it.