History Main / CryForTheDevil

* Thomas Harris' ''Literature/RedDragon'' provides a horrendous backstory for the "Tooth Fairy" Francis Dolarhyde, from his mother rejecting him at birth (illegitimate and with facial deformations), to a rough life in an orphanage, to adoption by his EvilMatriarch [[NeverMessWithGranny grandmother]], to eventual adoption by his reluctant mother, whose other children reject and abuse him. After that, the StartOfDarkness kicks in, and AxeCrazy as he ends up, he still, at one point, tries, albeit unsuccessfully, to fight his evil SplitPersonality, even in the middle of being played for an UnwittingPawn by [[Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs Hannibal Lecter]].

** The best example may be one of the main bosses, Simone. The first time you face her, she's just a terrifying machine who looks like an oversized opera-singer, bedecked with Android corpses. Even the other machine lifeforms consider her a monster, calling her a 'broken machine' and thanking you for putting her down - apparently, she cannibalized other machines in order to build her body. Facing her on a second playthrough, however [[spoiler: you realize that she was [[LoveMakesYouCrazy madly in love]] with Jean-Paul, the philosophical robot you probably met during a [[FunnyAneurysmMoment rather comical side-quest]] in your first run. Desperate to make him 'look her way', she sought to make herself 'beautiful' by any means necessary, gradually growing more and more monstrous as she went to greater and greater extremes in the hopes of catching his eye. In the end, she realized that he'd NEVER look her way, that his obsession with his own existentialistic musings prevented him from paying any attention to ANY of his many female fans... but by then, she'd already been ostracized from robot society for her actions. Her final thoughts were simply a cry for someone, ''anyone'', [[DesperatelyCravesAffection to look her way]]...]]

* ''Webcomic/BrunoTheBandit'': Carlin The Hermit is TheGoodShepherd and AntiAntiChrist mixed into one character, being the son of Xubu'x, the settings version of Satan and his high priestess, but grew up to devote himself to Ailix, the mortal incarnation of the Creator Of the Universe, and thus, their version of Jesus Christ. Despite his demonic origin, his faith is genuine to the point that he's easily the most pious character in the comic, and his greatest desire is to bring ''his father'' into the light of Ailix, having already converted his mother on her deathbed. It's stated in one strip that if it's at all possible, Carlin is the one who could do it.

** Wamuu the Pillar Man from ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency'' has had this reaction from fans, as while initially he was a sort of Aztec vampire demi-god in the service of the BigBad Kars, who [[HeroKiller is responsible for the death]] of Joseph's partner Caesar, ultimately in his final fight with Joseph Joestar he retains his sense of honor upon his defeat. In his dying moments, reduced to a severed head, he acknowledges Joseph as a WorthyOpponent, uses the last of his strength to save him from Kars' vampire minions, and thanks Joseph, saying that he's glad to have met him after having lived for thousands of years, before fading away into dust.

** Fans also despaired at the demise of [[{{Gayngster}} Squalo and Tiziano]] from ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureVentoAureo''. A pair of assassins serving as the PraetorianGuard of the BigBad, the two have complementary [[FightingSpirit Stand]] abilities that work with great synergy to take out their foes. But what really makes them stand out is their [[HoYay loving and affectionate devotion to one another]], and despite them trying to kill the series' main heroes, it's still tragic seeing Tiziano sacrifice himself to protect Squalo and dying in his partner's arms. As he lies bleeding to death, he continues to encourage Squalo, saying that "victory is still ours" as he succumbs to his wounds. Squalo [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge doesn't take this well:]] unfortunately for him, he ends up suffering Tiziano's fate as well.

** Fans also despaired at the demise of Squalo and Tiziano from ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureVentoAureo''. A pair of assassins serving as the elite guard of the BigBad, the two have complementary Stand abilities that work with great synergy to take out their foes. But what really makes them stand out is their [[HoYay loving and affectionate devotion to one another]], and despite them trying to kill the series' main heroes, it's still tragic seeing Tiziano sacrifice himself to protect Squalo and dying in his partner's arms. As he lies bleeding to death, he continues to encourage Squalo, saying that "victory is still ours" as he succumbs to his wounds. Squalo [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge doesn't take this well:]] unfortunately for him, he ends up suffering Tiziano's fate as well.

* As hard as it is to believe, there are some that do feel sympathy for ''Anime/KillLaKill'''s Nui Harime. Yes, she [[spoiler: killed Ryuuko's father, Soichiro Kiryuuin (otherwise known as Isshin Matoi]], [[spoiler: helped brainwash and sew a kamui into the main character]] and is one of the the most hated people in the series, but, considering some of her backstory, the implications thereof, and how she's apparently wanted someone with whom to relate (the [[Fridge/KillLaKill fridge page]] has some more info on the horror that might entail), one cannot help but to wonder if how she would have turned out of she didn't have someone like Ragyou in her life. In the same hand, full-on DracoInLeatherPants treatment is rare, though, since even her fans know and love that Nui is [[SuccessThroughInsanity a gleefully psychopathic bitch]].

* The hyenas of ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'' get a lot of sympathy from viewers since their only real motivation is hunger and jealousy that they are forbidden from entering the Pride Lands to hunt where animal life is plentiful. Of course, they also gained a ''lot'' of fans thanks to [[Creator/WhoopiGoldberg their]] [[Creator/CheechAndChong voice]] [[Creator/JimCummings actors]].

* Invoked on Jason's behalf in ''Film/{{Freddy Vs Jason}}''. Though both titular characters are serial killers who murder a ton of innocent (if bland and slightly annoying) teenagers, Jason is clearly the more sympathetic of the two, and the one the audience is meant to root for. His traumatic childhood, fraught with relentless bullying and neglect, is emphasized, and Freddy uses the dark memories to cruelly torture him. On the other hand, Freddy is just a sadistic psychopath, child murderer (and it's all but outright stated, molester), and monster without a single redeeming quality to boast of. Unless you count his [[EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor infamously awful jokes]]. It's a case of [[EvilVersusEvil black and blacker than black morality, really]].

Compare SatanIsGood, SympatheticMurderer, WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds and JerkassWoobie. Not quite the same as SympathyForTheDevil--that's when ''characters'' in story sympathize with a villain, not just the audience. See also the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism. Can overlap with MyGodWhatHaveIDone. See also UnintentionallySympathetic, when a character wasn't ''intended'' to be sympathetic, but is, in the eyes of the audience, anyways. Not to be confused with ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'', though it provides an example of this trope.

* Wamuu the Pillar Man from ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency'' has had this reaction from fans, as while initially he was a sort of Aztec vampire demi-god in the service of the BigBad Kars, who [[HeroKiller is responsible for the death]] of Joseph's partner Caesar, ultimately in his final fight with Joseph Joestar he retains his sense of honor upon his defeat. In his dying moments, reduced to a severed head, he acknowledges Joseph as a WorthyOpponent, uses the last of his strength to save him from Kars' vampire minions, and thanks Joseph, saying that he's glad to have met him after having lived for thousands of years, before fading away into dust.

* ''Manga/DragonBall'':
** Vegeta's own backstory. It's not just the story, but the fact that he tells it with his dying breath and sheds tears over it.
** Paragus and Broly from the ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' movie: ''Broly - The Legendary Super Saiyan''. About 35 minutes in, when Paragus is explaining his motivations to the near-catatonic Vegeta. [[spoiler:Paragus begs for his new son's life to an unrelenting King Vegeta, then the shadows cast on the wall from baby Broly being ''lifted out of his cradle and stabbed'']]. It ends up being a subversion in [[spoiler: Broly's case...he ends up being such an irredeemably evil psychopath that makes the viewer wish he HAD been killed in his infancy.]]

In ''Anime/SevenMortalSins'', the Mark Twain quote at the top of this page is essentially the basis for Lucifer's latent obsession/interest in the human Maria, as Maria's AllLovingHero tendency had her praying to Lucifer purely out of kindness and sympathy since she was a little girl.

* All of Nick Cave's ''And the Ass Saw the Angel'' - if the viewpoint character was anyone else, it'd be a lurid psycho-killer story, and Cave has the skill to make that obvious without breaking first person. There's one utterly heartbreaking scene where [[spoiler: Euchrid, isolated and spiraling into paranoid schizophrenia, stumbles into a group of migrant workers and sidesteps a bottle of beer thrown to him with a cry of "catch it!", assuming from experience he's being called catshit and the men mean to beat and rape him.]]

** Temple, again, to a certain extent. [[spoiler: While he eagerly throws himself into villainy and kills ex-Freelancers in a [[AndIMustScream truly horrible fashion]], flashbacks reveal that Project Freelancer was equally horrible to him; he was once a normal Simulation Trooper whose best friend fell victim to Tex and Carolina's rivalry, with Carolina dismissing his grief and desperate attempts to call a medic, while Tex casually made the wound worse to retrieve the flag. It's honestly no wonder he thinks the Freelancers (and the army who basically sold them a to Project Freelancer) need to be wiped out.]]

* Rika's DLC of ''VisualNovel/MysticMessenger'' serves as this, showing us just how atrociously she was abused by [[AbusiveParents her family]] [[CorruptChurch and their church]] growing up, the roots of her mental illness, and her [[ChronicHeroSyndrome burgeoning compulsion to help people she felt were "forsaken" like her,]] which tied into her crippling self-loathing and [[spoiler: would eventually lead to her SanitySlippage shown during the main routes.]]

* In ''Manga/FairyTail'' Zeref is pretty much this trope incarnate whenever he isn't living up to his [[TheDreaded reputation]]. To the world he's known as the most powerful and evil mage in history, and is responsible for creating demons and dark magics that still continue to wreak havoc today. Yet when one looks at his history, and at how miserable he is in the present, it's ''very'' easy to feel for his suffering. [[spoiler: For starters he UsedToBeASweetKid who spent his childhood trying to bring his little brother back to life (who died as an infant by the way), while constantly being chided by his teachers for what they perceived as blasphemy. When he didn't take a hint and got a little too close to figuring out how to resurrect the dead, he ended up being cursed by a JerkassGod which killed everyone around him, and also gave him a horrifying case of CompleteImmortality, leading to the guilt complex he would have to live with for ''centuries''. During this time he started creating said demons in a desperate bid to kill himself because of the sheer amount of pain he's feeling and causing the rest of the world, culminating in his magnum opus, E.N.D., a.k.a. his dead little brother Natsu. A while later, he meets Mavis, the first and only person to ever show him genuine kindness, causing him to teach her magic that inadvertently makes her immortal. He eventually falls in love with her, and just when it looks like he's got a chance at EternalLove and a tiny glimmer of hope at being happy, his curse kills her body causing her to be placed in suspended animation. Now, his only hope at ending his suffering is to die, and it has to be E.N.D., the same brother he dedicated his entire childhood to resurrecting, to be the one to do it.]]

* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' plays with this, without actually revealing more than a few precious glimpses of their history. Instead, the focus shifts to our villains so the audience can see that they really aren't so [[NotSoDifferent different]] from the heroes. Turns out that [[spoiler: The Colossal Titan, Armored Titan, and the Female Titan]] aren't at all what was expected. [[spoiler: All three are simply ChildSoldiers, serving on the opposite side of a conflict linked to an AncientConspiracy]].

*** In the manga he, [[spoiler:minutes after pointing out that he managed to reduce global crime by 70% and bring an end to warfare, begs for his life in terror, and rather pathetically screams for someone, ''anyone'', to help him, before begging Ryuk to save him. When Ryuk fulfills his promise from the beginning of the series and writes down Light's name, the former MagnificentBastard says the not-very-classy FamousLastWords of: "I don't want to die! I DON'T WANT TO DIE! Oh, shit!", and dies with a demented look on his face.]]

** Temple, again, to a certain extent. [[spoiler: While he eagerly throws himself into villainy and kills ex-Freelancers in a [[AndIMustScream truly horrible fashion]], in flashbacks it's revealed that during a game of Capture The Flag, Carolina and Tex's brawl escalated to the point where Temple's best friend, Bif (who had just stated that his girlfriend Georgina was expecting), got ''impaled with the flag''. As if that wasn't bad enough, Carolina growls [[KickTheDog "This isn't about you"]] the minute Temple called for a medic and Tex rips the flag out of Bif's chest, leaving him to bleed out and die right before the eyes of his friend and teammates.]]

** Azula. With her VillainousBreakdown in the series finale exposing her repressed inner problems, particularly regarding her mother, many expressed pity for the princess, including Zuko and Katara (who had just defeated her), much of the fanbase, and [[WordOfGod Mike and Bryan]] themselves.

* ANYTHING by Music/{{Mothy}}. [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer No]] [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds really]], [[AmbiguousDisorder we]] [[TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive mean]] [[AbusiveParents anything]]! Particularly prominent in the Franchise/EvilliousChronicles.

* Webber's ''The Phantom of the Opera'' was made to play to this trope. The Phantom spends the entire play killing, manipulating, extorting, and terrorizing people in pursuit of his goals, but the audience is repeatedly reminded that it is the severe isolation brought on by his physical deformity that drives him to behave this way. He even pauses in the middle of his {{Scarpia Ultimatum}} to confess to Christine that even his own mother 'loathed' him because of his face. There's rarely a dry eye in the house at this point in the show.

* ''Film/ABugsLife'': Even though Hopper was a cruel villain who had it coming, it’s hard not to feel bad for him during his death scene considering how [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath utterly horrifying]] it is. [[spoiler:Not helped by him begging for his life while in complete panic]].

* Lots of this in ''Webcomic/{{Sinfest}}'', including, but not limited to, [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2011-10-16 this comic]].