History Main / CriminalFoundFamily

Many queer-coded villains can be found in one of these since the FamilyOfChoice is often associated with queerness and criminals with villainy. The popularity of the found family trope, however, is likely to cast them [[LikableVillain sympathetically or at least in a way that appeals to the audience]].

In the FurryWebcomic ''Webcomic/NonPack'', the {{Villain Protagonist}}s are Los Satos, a gang of thieves and drug dealers. However, ALighterShadeOfBlack is in full effect for them; they treat each other like family (and two of them are literally brother and sister), and the other crooks they deal with are much worse than they are.

* ''Series/{{Leverage}}'' follows a group of criminals trying to bring justice to society by [[PayEvilUntoEvil using their kills]] [[JustLikeRobinHood to bring down]] {{Corrupt Corporate Executive}}s and other powerful {{Asshole Victim}}s. Over the course of the series, they grow to be incredibly tight-knit and almost emulate a "normal" nuclear family. The SequelSeries ''Series/LeverageRedemption'' continues this dynamic, despite adding two new characters and sidelining or dropping two of the original cast.

* ''Series/{{Leverage}}'' follows a group of criminals trying to bring justice to society. Over the course of the series, they grow to be incredibly tight-knit and almost emulate a "normal" nuclear family.
* ''Series/{{Hustle}}'' follows a group of con artists who rely on each other and other thieves to know when they're not being screwed over. They squabble like any family, but they're always there to support each other even beyond the necessities for their work.

[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]

* ''Literature/TheRiseOfKyoshi'': The various ''daofei'' (organized outlaw gangs) serve as a form of this, with the Flying Opera Company (founded by Avatar Kyoshi's parents) being the most prominent example. Their code binds them together as a family, and violations of its tenets are dealt with very harshly.
--->''"I shall swear these oaths. I swear to defend my brothers and sisters, and obey the commands of my elders. Their kin will be my kin, their blood my blood. Should I fail to uphold this vow, may I be hacked to death by many knives."''

* Most of the gangs (especially Ash's) in ''Manga/BananaFish'' fit into found family dynamics of young teenage boys finding comfort and companionship in each other despite their violent, criminal lifestyles (some TruthInTelevision), which is a homey contrast to the high-class but emotionally cold higher-ups in the Corsican mafia and Yut-Lung's organization.
* When Chuuya in ''Manga/BungoStrayDogs'' finally gets information on his biological family in order to seek them out and meet them, he elects not to and decides the Port Mafia is where his true family is. He loathes anyone who hurts his subordinates.

* The Phantom Troupe of ''Manga/HunterXHunter'' was founded in Meteor City, a place where everyone abandons things they don't want--including people. They chose to join up and work together as one piece of a greater group of thieves that is more important than any of the individual members, but that doesn't mean they didn't slip into prioritizing each other fiercely, especially the founding members.
* The Hückebein and the Grendel "families" in ''Manga/MagicalRecordLyricalNanohaForce'' are tightly-knit groups of otherwise unrelated [[HumanWeapon Eclipse Drivers]] who banded around a parental figure (Curren Hückebein and Kurt Grendel, respectively) to escape prosecution for their crimes (mostly armed robbery and terrorism).
* The title characters of ''Anime/MichikoAndHatchin'' find family in each other after Michiko breaks out of prison and technically kidnaps Hatchin from her abusive foster family and they end up on the run trying to find Hatchin's biological father, before finding each other again in an epilogue and coming together as family does.

* While the Straw Hats of ''Manga/OnePiece'' tend not to commit many of the crimes associated with pirates, they ''are'' still criminals with a massive collective bounty on their heads. One of the recurring themes of the series is how much they all love each other, how well they work together, and the lengths they would go to to support each other.

* ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'': Dominic Toretto's group slowly turn into this as the films go and they get into escalating adventures and crimes. By the latter films he straight-up starts calling them all his family and proves that they all will go through great pains and lengths to protect each other.

* ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'', Dominic Toretto's group slowly turn into this as the films go and they get into escalating adventures and crimes. By the latter films he straight-up starts calling them all his family and proves that they all will go through great pains and lengths to protect each other.

* ''[[Franchise/AvatarTheLastAirbender Avatar:]]''''Literature/TheRiseOfKyoshi'': The various ''daofei'' (organized outlaw gangs) serve as a form of this, with the Flying Opera Company (founded by Avatar Kyoshi's parents) being the most prominent example. Their code binds them together as a family, and violations of its tenets are dealt with very harshly.

* ''[[Franchise/AvatarTheLastAirbender Avatar:]]''Literature/TheRiseOfKyoshi'': The various ''daofei'' (organized outlaw gangs) serve as a form of this, with the Flying Opera Company (founded by Avatar Kyoshi's parents) being the most prominent example. Their code binds them together as a family, and violations of its tenets are dealt with very harshly.

* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'': StreetUrchin Ezra Bridger crosses paths with the rebellious ''Ghost'' crew when he stumbles into one of their heists on Imperial cargo. The crew is composed of two survivors of genocides carried out by the Empire, the daughter of a rebel politician, an ex-Imperial cadet, [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers and]] a bloodthirsty droid. It also turns out that Ezra's parents were rebel broadcasters who were arrested and never seen again, which is part of why he finds himself gravitating towards the crew.

* ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'' takes this to meme-worthy levels as the main characters- especially the leader, Dom Toretto- routinely refer to each other as "Family" and justify all of their crimes and actions as being for the betterment of that family. While one or two of them are actually related, most are either childhood friends or outcasts that they basically "adopted" into said family. They use the phrase "Family" so often it is practically their catchphrase and a ''staggering'' number of joke sites and videos poke fun at the franchise for their overuse of the word.

Many queer-coded villains can be found in one of these, since the FamilyOfChoice is often associated with queerness and criminals with villainy. The popularity of the found family trope, however, is likely to cast them [[LikableVillain sympathetically or at least in a way that appeals to the audience]].

* Most of the gangs (especially Ash's) in ''Manga/BananaFish'' fit into found family dynamics of young teenage boys finding comfort and companionship in each other despite their violent, criminal lifestyles (some TruthInTelevision), which is a homey contrast to the high-class but emotionally cold higher ups in the Corsican mafia and Yut-Lung's organization.

** Downplayed with La Brava and Gentle. They were both misfits shunned by society who joined forces to commit crimes, but these crimes are often insanely petty and mostly done for the sake of notoriety. They also love each-other more than anything, to the point where it allows the activation of La Brava's quirk...which is quite literally ThePowerOfLove. When Izuku takes down Gentle, La Brava even starts hitting him, crying and begging him to leave Gentle alone.

* ''Series/{{Leverage}}'' follows a group of criminal trying to bring justice to society. Over the course of the series, they grow to be incredibly tight-knit and almost emulate a "normal" nuclear family.

* ''VideoGame/SlyCooper'': The core members of the Cooper Gang, Sly, Bentley and Murray, all grew up together and consider each other brothers, all while being the world's finest thieves.

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': In Season 10, Castiel tracks down the daughter of his vessel, Claire, and discovers she's a teen delinquent who has been living with an older man who expects her and other delinquent teens to steal for him. Claire is initially loyal to this until he [[spoiler: sells her to pay off his gambling debts.]]

-> ''Accomplices, associates, and family. From now on, that is what we will be.''

[[folder:Film -- Live Action]]

* ''Film/{{Shoplifters}}'': A very poor family shoplifts to make ends meet. Osamu and Nobuyo are the father and mother figures, however "their" kids, Shota and Yuri, were actually abducted, because their biological families were abusive to them. The grandmother figure Hatsue has no relation to any of them and stays with them because she has no one else to turn to. Aki is the daughter of Hatsue's husband and his second wife, and stays with the found family because she can't cope with the high expectations her parents have for her. In the end, the family's crimes catch up to them and they're separated, with Hatsue dying, Nobuyo going to jail and the kids going back to their abusive families, which the film implies is a worse fate than if they stayed with their criminal found family.

Compare and contrast BetterOffWithTheBadGuys, EvilIsOneBigHappyFamily, and BandOfBrothers. Contrast SiblingsInCrime and TheFamilyThatSlaysTogether.

* ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'' takes this to meme-worthy levels as the main characters- especially the leader, Dom Toretto- routinely refer to each other as "Family" and justify all of their crimes and actions as being for the betterment of that family. While one or two of them are actually related, most are either childhood friends or outcasts that they basically "adopted" into said family. They use the phrase "Family" so often it is practically their catchphrase and a ''staggering'' number of joke sites and videos poke fun at the franchise for their overuse of the word.