History Main / EvenMooksHaveLovedOnes

* In ''Anime/OnePiece'' during the paramount war, [[spoiler:Coby]] trips over the body of a fallen marine. He finds a locket and opens it to find a picture of the marine's family, something that naturally distresses him a great deal.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', ComicBook/HarleyQuinn turns against ComicBook/TheJoker when she realizes that his plan to nuke the city will also kill all their "friends" at Arkham, as well as her pet hyenas.

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' has a Kobra operative accidentally warn Batman about an upcoming heist when he warns his brother that his bank is going to be targeted by Kobra.
* In ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'', the Enforcers each have a nephew whom they love and care dearly for and haven't told them the truth about their "import-export business"[[note]]criminal activity over the years[[/note]]. At the end of "Dragon Scouts", when the Enforcers "leave for the Far East for a big business deal"[[note]]getting arrested for stealing the Golden Squid and going to prison[[/note]], you can faintly see the tears sitting in the corners of their eyes as they wave their nephews goodbye.
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTVSpecials'': In "Rescue at Midnight Castle", Tirac threatens to [[OffWithHisHead behead]] Spike in order to cow his chief minion Scorpan into obeying him. This ultimately backfires on Tirac, as it causes Scorpan to turn on him instead.
* One of the New Gods (Beautiful Dreamer) poses as a mook's mother in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice''. When the rest of the New Gods (plus Superboy) appear, he actually moves to protect her and tells her to get to safety, until Dreamer drops the disguise.
* PlayedForLaughs in the first episode of ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty''. Rick informs Morty that the bug-people security guards chasing them are robots and thus Morty can kill them guilt-free. Morty reluctantly tests this by shooting the leg off one.

* A [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnCuwpnwscE&list=RDAg_AFraxj-4&index=3 few]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=RDAg_AFraxj-4&v=hD3w_VdTG30 scenes]] from ''Film/AustinPowersInternationalManOfMystery'' (which were cut from the American release, [[RegionalBonus but included in most international ones]]) are cutaways about the friends and loved ones of guards Austin kills being informed: one with friends at his bachelor party wondering why he's late, and the other his girlfriend and her son (who considers the guard a substitute father figure). The reason the scenes were cut was that test audiences reacted very negatively to them, since it's sound-enough for a humorous concept, but hard to make very funny in practice.

* A [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnCuwpnwscE&list=RDAg_AFraxj-4&index=3 few]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=RDAg_AFraxj-4&v=hD3w_VdTG30 scenes]] from ''Film/AustinPowersInternationalManOfMystery'' (which were cut from the American release, [[RegionalBonus but included in most international ones]]) are cutaways about the friends and loved ones of guards Austin kills being informed: one with friends at his bachelor party wondering why he's late, and the other his girlfriend and her son (who considers the guard a substitute father figure).

* In ''Tea with Mussolini'' one of the Italian guards is very upset to hear Italy had declared war on the United States, since his sister and her children are living in New York City.

* ''Series/LukeCage2016'': By the start of season 2, Mariah's chauffeur, Sugar, has become a father. His wife also loans Mariah clothes after Bushmaster burns down the Stokes' brownstone.

* In ''Series/{{Elementary}}'', the trope comes up in a coded text message to one of Moriarty's mooks that Sherlock decodes too late: [[spoiler:"Moran you never told me you had a sister. She dies or you do. Your choice." He chooses the latter]].

* Tirac threatening to [[OffWithHisHead behead]] Spike ultimately caused Scorpan to turn on Tirac in the original ''MyLittlePony'' pilot.

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[[folder:Fan Works]]
* ''FanFic/ABrighterDark'': Somewhere near the the beginning, [[VideoGame/FireEmblemFates Corrin and company]] are tasked with capturing a fort, an attack that results in the death of almost everyone in the building. Nothing is really made of it, and only the commander is given any kind of characterization before his untimely demise. Then later one [[spoiler: we get to meet the father of one of the people stationed there, without even having any idea of ''which'' mook he's the father of, who says that the death of his son motivated him to go on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge against Nohr. [[WhatTheHellHero Ouch.]]]]
[[/folder]]

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', ComicBook/HarleyQuinn turns against TheJoker when she realizes that his plan to nuke the city will also kill all their "friends" at Arkham, as well as her pet hyenas.

* ''ComicBook/{{Joker}}'', a mini-series focusing on the Joker is told from the perspective of one of Joker's henchmen, a man named Frost. During the story he is revealed to have a whole normal family. This comes back to bite him later when the Joker rapes his wife and when questioned why states that it makes him and Frost even after Joker saved Frost's life during a heist.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', Harley Quinn turns against the Joker when she realizes that his plan to nuke the city will also kill all their "friends" at Arkham, as well as her pet hyenas.

* In Literature/GauntsGhosts, Hark had a conversation with another commissar who recommended killing the random hangers on who travel with the imperial guard (including family) to save money. Hark shuts him up by explaining the guard would desert en masse.

* [[VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight]] gives us mooks who are out town, generally throwing riots, going for joyrides in stolen cars and being trouble in general. Business in Gotham, [[ButForMeItWasTuesday as usual]]. But you listen in on the EnemyChatter enough and you get this:

* [[VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight gives us mooks who are out town, generally throwing riots, going for joyrides in stolen cars and being trouble in general. Business in Gotham, [[ButForMeItWasTuesday as usual]]. But you listen in on the EnemyChatter enough and you get this:

* Baron Greenback takes umbrage at WesternAnimation/DangerMouse inserting a photo of the Baron's mother in his people personality projector (which allows him to manipulate how they act) in the episode "'Cor! What A Picture." But once she goes on a nagging jag, [[SubvertedTrope the Baron tells her to shut up]].

* Baron Greenback takes umbrage at WesternAnimation/DangerMouse inserting a photo of the Baron's mother in his people personality projector (which allows him to manipulate how they act) in the episode "'Cor! What A Picture." But once she goes on a nagging jag, [[SubvertedTrope the Baron tells her to shut up]].

Henchie will ask if he can at least save this one person they love... and the boss will refuse. For extra sting the effort needed would be minimal ''and'' [[ItsAllAboutMe the boss will rail on the henchman for placing others above his goals]]. Worse is the variant where the boss [[ShootYourMate puts a gun in their hand]] and ''[[AndYourLittleDogToo tells them to shoot]]'' as a proof of their loyalty. Despite whatever horrible things they've done, the resulting [[ConflictingLoyalty conflicting loyalties]] nearly always come up on the side of the loved one. As you can guess, this {{egregious}} VillainousDemotivator will cause a MookFaceTurn pretty darn fast, or at least prompt the minion to release someone who ''can'' save the loved one... namely, the hero who is in the (actually) inescapable DeathTrap.

* Brutally defied in ''Literature/EmpireFromTheAshes''. [[spoiler: [[BigBad Achultani Central Computer]] makes sure that none of his soldiers will be loyal to his girlfriend more than to him, by killing every achultani female as soon as she's achultani equivalent of teenager]]

* If there's a positive Intimacy between an Abyssal {{Exalted}} and his or her Lunar mate, almost ''none'' of the usual Abyssal rules apply to that person. The Abyssal can ''fight their Deathlord'' to protect the Lunar. Usually "fighting your Deathlord" is synonymous with "putting your character sheet into a paper shredder."

* A few scenes from ''Film/AustinPowersInternationalManOfMystery'' (which were cut from the American release, [[RegionalBonus but included in most international ones]]) are cutaways about the friends and loved ones of guards Austin kills being informed: one with friends at his bachelor party wondering why he's late, and the other his girlfriend and her son (who considers the guard a substitute father figure).

* In ''Literature/{{Animorphs}},'' the heroes destroy the city's Earth-based Kandrona; [[BigBad Visser Three]] rations the Kandrona on the Pool ship, but without enough to go around, many Yeerks die. One Controller is furious that a loved one of his was deemed too unimportant to save, and plots with [[YouKilledMyFather Ax]] to arrange the Visser's assassination.

** Also used with the Malfoy family in ''Half-Blood Prince'' and ''Deathly Hallows'' - Voldemort punishes Lucius for his various screw-ups by letting Draco join the Death Eaters and putting him on what is essentially a suicide mission. Both Lucius and his wife Narcissa are obviously driven out of their minds with fear by this and Draco makes it pretty apparent by the end of the book that he is only going through with the mission to keep Voldemort from killing his parents. By the last book, it is clear that none of the Malfoys want to serve Voldemort anymore and simply want to all get each other out alive. [[spoiler:This clears the way for Narcissa to actually ''lie to Voldemort's face'' about whether or not Harry is dead, ''just so that she and Lucius could find Draco again''. Voldemort is a confirmed expert of Legilimency; lying to him and getting away with it is VERY difficult... [[MamaBear and she still did it]] and got away with it]].]].