History Main / GoodColorsEvilColors

** For the most part, it seems that [[RedIsHeroic red is good]] and green is bad. Gryffindor House is represented by scarlet red and gold, the non-fatal combat spells normally used by the heroes (''Stupefy'' and ''Expelliarmus'') create red light, and the Weasleys all have flaming red hair. Conversely, Slytherin House is represented by emerald green and silver, the Killing Curse used pretty much only by the bad guys (''Avada Kedavra'') create green light, and two snakes employed by Voldemort (the basilisk and Nagini) are both described as being green[[note]]Neither were green in [[Film/HarryPotter the film versions]].[[/note]]. However, there is one huge dent in this pattern -- it is constantly mentioned that Harry has green eyes while Voldemort has [[RedEyesTakeWarning red eyes.]] Inverted in one of the most evil persons in the books: Dolores Umbridge - she loooves pink (and cute little kittens).

** In the original trilogy, clothing followed a fairly simple white = good/innocent, black = evil metric: Luke as a farm boy: pure white clothing. See also Leia as rebel princess. Han Solo: black vest over a white shirt (his lawless exterior conceals a good interior. Darth Vader: Pure black, evil all the way down. Stormtroopers: White armor over black under-clothing (ostensibly the space cops/good guys but actually evil underneath). This coloring is even more notable with the Clone Army. Though the initially appear good, they are eventually revealed to be evil and kill the Jedi. Luke in danger of falling to the Dark side: black clothing, ripped in ROTJ to reveal it's actually white underneath. "Neutral" characters that help the heroes, but aren't heroes, dress in brown (Chewbacca, Obi-Wan). And note that Obi-Wan wears brown over white. He's been in self-imposed exile for many years, staying clear of the Empire and the Rebellion, but at his core he's a good guy who is quick to help when he learns he is needed. On the remastered collector's edition of ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', Creator/GeorgeLucas comments about the costume choices for the Empire and Rebels. Empire uniforms typically were colorless (black or white) or otherwise subdued to make them less friendly. Rebel uniforms however used natural colors to emphasize warmth and friendliness.

* In ''Franchise/GreenLantern'' each color of the rainbow is associated with a different emotion (some good, some bad) They are: red (anger), orange (greed) ,yellow (fear), green, (willpower, courage), blue (hope) indigo (compassion), and violet (love).

* All over the place in ''Franchise/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'': Nanoha has a white outfit based on her schoolgirl clothes, including a bright red bow. Fate Testarossa goes with a black uniform with dark red accents, though it remains like that even after her HeelFaceTurn (although, from ''[=StrikerS=]'' onward she switches over to deep blue with a white BadassCape). She's also [[HairOfGoldHeartOfGold blonde]].[[AbusiveParents Precia]] [[EvilMatriarch Testarossa]] wears purple and black. The Wolkenritter all wear heroic colors (pink, red, mint green, and blue respectively) despite being introduced as antagonists, foreshadowing the fact that they were [[AntiVillain Anti-Villains]].

** In the original trilogy, clothing followed a fairly simple white = good/innocent, black = evil metric: Luke as a farm boy: pure white clothing. See also Leia as rebel princess. Han Solo: black vest over a white shirt (his lawless exterior conceals a good interior. Darth Vader: Pure black, evil all the way down. Stormtroopers: White armor over black under-clothing (ostensibly the space cops/good guys but actually evil underneath). This coloring is even more notable with the Clone Army. Though the initially appear good, they are eventually revealed to be evil and kill the Jedi. Luke in danger of falling to the Dark side: black clothing, ripped in ROTJ to reveal it's actually white underneath. "Neutral" characters that help the heroes, but aren't heroes, dress in brown (Chewbacca, Obi-wan). And note that Obi-wan wears brown over white. He's been in self-imposed exile for many years, staying clear of the Empire and the Rebellion, but at his core he's a good guy who is quick to help when he learns he is needed. On the remastered collector's edition of ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', Creator/GeorgeLucas comments about the costume choices for the Empire and Rebels. Empire uniforms typically were colorless (black or white) or otherwise subdued to make them less friendly. Rebel uniforms however used natural colors to emphasize warmth and friendliness.

-->-- ''ComicBook/TransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye''

* SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' is usually just as blatant about this, with a few aversions and subversions:

* RedIsViolent

* In ''VideoGame/MitsumeteKnight'', the country you're fighting for as a mercenary, Dolphan Kingdom, has a blue and white crest and its soldiers' armor is light blue, while the enemy country, the Dukedom of Procchia, has a red and black crest and its soldiers' armor is jet-red. [[GreyAndGrayMorality Subversion]] in that the enemy side has sympathetic characters and reasons to fight, while Dolphan is ruled by a DeadlyDecadentCourt [[spoiler:who will discard you like an old rag by voting a law explusing all foreigners from the country, [[DudeWheresMyRespect after you win the war for them]]]].

In an age where every other hero is an AntiHero, how do you tell who to root for? Why, you look at what ''color'' the character wears, of course! In visual entertainment, [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience who's good and who's evil is usually distinguished by the colors]], and woe be to those who are [[GenreBlindness colorblind]].

** Played with by the colour scheme of Davros' new Daleks with their friendly gold and off-white cream-colored scheme. (But then he originally designed them while passing himself off as a good guy in "Revelation of the Daleks".)

* ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'' and ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'' use randomly-assigned but vibrantly contrasting color schemes for the two Inkling teams competing against one another in the main game. But the three AI-controlled factions have designated colors:
** [[EvilCounterpartRace Octarian]] ink is always a highly saturated purple.

* The characters in Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'' were specifically designed around this trope, on the notion that, in a desert, water is a life-giving force, sand is unavoidable, and heat kills people. Blue = good, yellow = neutral, and red = evil. Genie and Jasmine sport blue. The Sultan wears mostly yellow, with a splash of blue. Jafar and Iago sport red (though Iago had blue wingtips; perhaps a foreshadowing of his [[HeelFaceTurn side-switching]] in the sequel). Aladdin and Abu sport purple, because they're in transition from being thieves (red) to heroes (blue). After Jafar gains control of the Genie, Genie often goes purple. When Jafar puts Jasmine in GoGoEnslavement, she wears a reddish-orange. Though Carpet looks mostly blue from a distance, close-ups reveal an intricate weaving of colors, including blue, yellow, purple, and red. The lamp is yellow, suggesting that the power of the lamp is itself neutral and unbiased. The guards wear yellow and black fringed with purple: they themselves are neutral but controlled by both good and evil forces. The yellow scarab, harmless in itself, becomes red as the eyes of the Cave of Wonder; similarly Jafar's staff is an innocent yellow until he activates the glowing red eyes. The disguised Jafar's cloak is a foreshadowing purple. In the sequel, Abis Mal, despite insisting how evil he is, wears mostly yellow and blue with a purple hat and belt: he's really a harmless fool who tries, and fails, to "wear" the image of evil.

** Meanwhile [[TheHero Korra]] and [[GodOfGood Raava]] are both in cyan and white, and non-corrupted spirits are typically bright but natural shades. Korra's best friends Mako and Bolin wear earthy red and green, respectively, and even the [[HeelFaceTurn reformed]] Fire Nation's tones are more warm and subdued, though Fire Lord Izumi keeps the same color tones her grandfather (and his predecesors) had.

* In ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2'', the protagonist U.S. Army Rangers wear bright green-and-tan uniforms (the Army's real-world Universal Camoflage Pattern, soon to be discontinued), while the Russian Spetsnaz, the antagonists, wear red and black ones.

** The Jedi typically use blue or green lightsabers, while the Sith always use red. ''Star Wars'' spacecraft however, reverse the trope, with the heroes' ships usually firing red laser blasts and the bad guys' craft firing green. The only character to go against the scheme is Mace Windu with his unique purple lightsaber, showing how important he is. The [[Creator/SamuelLJackson actor playing him]] specifically asked for it so he would stand out more easily onscreen. In episodes IV through VI, hand-held blasters always fired red bolts regardless of affiliation. However, in ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'', the Trade Federation blasters fired red while the Republic blasters fired green. In ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'' and ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', Republic blasters fire blue bolts, while Separatist blasters continue with red.

** Gwen first wears a lot of orange (a timid neutral, she stops wearing it after ToBeLawfulOrGood moments), brown (CloserToEarth, fitting for the competent junior blacksmith's fighting suit), yellow (maybe KidAppealCharacter, as she's the {{Adorkable}} BadassNormal). Gradually, she gets nicer pinks and light purples (now the LoveInterest and heroes' TokenGirl and sort of TheMedic sometimes).

* In the newer ''VideoGame/{{Persona}}'' games, player characters always summon their Personae with a blue aura. Shadows and enemy Persona users have a red aura.

* In ''Franchise/GreenLantern'' each color of the rainbow is associated with a different emotion (some good, some bad) They are: red (anger), orange (greed) ,yellow (fear), green, (willpower, courage), blue (hope) indigo (compassion), and violent (love).

->'''Brainstorm''': Color-coded lasers. Red if you're an Autobot, purple if you're a Decepticon. And the best bit is this: the color would change depending on who's firing the gun.
->'''Nautica''': So the gun would-
->'''Brainstorm''': Know if you were bad or good! Yes! What do you think? Good idea? AMAZING idea? Be honest.

** In ''VideoGame/Persona5'', the Traitor, [[spoiler:Goro Akechi]], is a double subversion; they have the heroic blue aura as a GuestStarPartyMember, but after showing [[JustForPun their true colors]] at the start of the second phase of their boss battle, they switch to the usual villainous red.