History Main / GoodFeelsGood

* In ''Manga/NanatsuNoTaizai'', [[spoiler:Meliodas]] murdered alongside the other Commandments, and he enjoyed it, but he didn't have any deeper reason to fight. For this reason, he was confused by Zeldris, whose devotion to [[LoveInterest Gelda]] gave meaning to his life and growth. [[spoiler:When Meliodas met Elizabeth he finally understood that feeling]], and switched sides not long after.

May lead to a RedemptionDemotion because GoodIsDumb, and while good feels good, its selling point is not predicated on giving out power. No less often, the bad guy will [[IgnoredEpiphany "resist" the temptation of good]], or find [[ChronicVillainy they can't quit]] the PsychoSerum, much to their own dismay.

May also lead to a RedemptionPromotion because GoodIsNotDumb; PowerOfTrust facilitates teamwork and ThePowerOfFriendship aids motivation. Turning good may also allow them to use {{Holy Hand Grenade}}s or some other such 'good' abilities that were inaccessible when they were evil.

* Occurs in ''Tabletopgame/{{Warhammer}}'' [[CrapsackWorld of all places]]. A particularly detested Elector Count was challenged to a duel by a wandering Champion of Chaos. The Count was defeated, to which the womenfolk started cheering wildly. Feeling obscurely pleased, the Champion left the town unscathed. Considering the fact that a Chaos Champion worships either a bloodthirsty warmonger, a plague making harbinger of decay, a master of mutations and manipulations, a sense freak who teaches that you should do anything to make yourself feel better and perfect or all four at the same time and trying to bring about the apocalypse due to this should tell you how unusual this was.
* The big point of ''[[TabletopGame/ProseDescriptiveQualities Dead Inside]]''. The game was designed to, in the creator's words, invert the "kill people and take their stuff" behavior of other [=RPGs=] to "heal people and give them stuff." The feeling of gaining a new soul point is like a rush of warmth and energy, one that can make a person dizzy and excited from the experience. Good ''literally'' feels good.
* The ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' Splat book ''The Book of Exalted Deeds'' includes an Exalted Spell (as in, a spell only usable by Exalted characters, the purest followers of Good) called Vision of Heaven, which shows someone a brief glance of Mount Celestia, the afterlife of virtuous soul. If shown to an evil person on a regular basis (along with other forms of therapy) these visions can aid in attempts to redeem the character (there's a whole chapter dedicated to this in the book). The idea is, basically, to show him what sinners ultimately are denied; it can work wonders.
* Happens to the character Absolute Zero in ''TabletopGame/SentinelsOfTheMultiverse''. While he was always on the heroes' ''side'', he started out as a cynical, depressed PunchClockHero whose sole motivation was to pay off the containment suit that allowed him to survive outside a tiny, boring refrigerated room. However, the rush of helping people and finding genuine friendships with the Freedom Five - a team he was so unwilling to join it took him ''two years'' in a box to accept the offer - led to him continuing to fight with them after Wraith paid off the suit for him, and even became a teacher in the RPG timeline.

* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' allows a Light Side player several opportunities to reform Dark Jedi he/she encounters back to the Light Side via a healthy mixture of kind words and some gentle slaps with his lightsaber. This earns you allies as well as a chance to give a huge TakeThat to all the Sith gibberish of a philosophy. Arguably the best instance of the trope is when you and one particularly asshole Sith-wannabe [[spoiler: are both captured by an insane old Sith and are subjected to a torture/quiz in "Better you than me" style (you answer wrong - you suffer, you answer right - HE suffers). If you are persistent enough in wrong answers, he is eventually released and is free to go, essentially leaving you to your doom. He instead uses Force to release and revitalize you, and together you proceed to slash the shit out of the old crook. BUT WAIT, It gets better! Although you cannot talk the BigBad out of the fight, still after you defeat him, he repents. Kind of.]]

* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' allows a Light Side player several opportunities to reform Dark Jedi he encounters back to the Light Side via a healthy mixture of kind words and some gentle slaps with his lightsaber. This earns you allies as well as a chance to give a huge TakeThat to all the Sith gibberish of a philosophy. Arguably the best instance of the trope is when you and one particularly asshole Sith-wannabe [[spoiler: are both captured by an insane old Sith and are subjected to a torture/quiz in "Better you than me" style (you answer wrong - you suffer, you answer right - HE suffers). If you are persistent enough in wrong answers, he is eventually released and is free to go, essentially leaving you to your doom. He instead uses Force to release and revitalize you, and together you proceed to slash the shit out of the old crook. BUT WAIT, It gets better! Although you cannot talk the BigBad out of the fight, still after you defeat him, he repents. Kind of.]]

->''"When my journey began, I wanted only bloodshed, but along the way, when people saw me, they assumed I was a Jedi. And they needed my help. And...I gave it. I gave myself. It was right. It felt good. It was the only good thing I'd felt in so long."''

* This may be the reason why, in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersGenerationOne'', Autobot recruits tended to outnumber those for Decepticons. Watch the old commercials if you want proof. One example is a commercial that introduced ''six'' new Autobots (Smokescreen, Tracks, Hoist, Inferno, Red Alert, and Grapple) only introduced two Decepticons by contrast (Dirge and Thrust.)

[[ShapedLikeItself As self-evident as it sounds]], Good Feels Good. TheHero says KeepTheReward because he has already received his reward; the knowledge that he has done good. [[WhatYouAreInTheDark Even if no one will know and no one will thank him, he will know and that's enough]]. This trait is common in the IdealHero, TheCape, and other archetypes.

TheMole may end up BecomingTheMask from [[HundredPercentHeroismRating the cheering crowds]], the feeling inside that [[LoveRedeems he is loved]], and have made one or more others safe (and not having to worry about jail time!). Good can be headier than any [[EvilTastesGood evil banquet]] or [[AGlassOfChianti wine]], and won't leave [[BeingEvilSucks a horrible aftertaste]]. The genuine love and admiration from the masses [[MachiavelliWasWrong can seem a far more potent rush]] than what he once felt from their screams of panic and pleas of mercy. ThePowerOfFriendship itself can make a normally evil [[CharacterAlignment aligned character]] [[HeelRealization question]] or [[MookFaceTurn outright change his allegiances and alignment]] when [[MistreatmentInducedBetrayal he knows his boss cares less for him than his black cape]], while [[CharacterMagneticTeam his new friends]] [[AFriendInNeed will risk life and limb for him]]. Usually results in a HeelFaceTurn, and if part of an evil team, a falling out / [[EnemyCivilWar civil war]].

May lead to a RedemptionDemotion because GoodIsDumb, and while good feels good, its selling point is not predicated on giving out power. No less often, the bad guy will [[IgnoredEpiphany "resist" the temptation of good]], or find [[ChronicVillainy he can't quit]] the PsychoSerum, much to his own dismay.

* MACH-1 (the disguised Franchise/SpiderMan villain The Beetle) is surprised to discover that, after he and Spider-Man have been BackToBackBadasses, he can not take a gift-wrapped opportunity to frame the web-slinger for murder -- a hero like MACH-1 would never do that.
-->'''MACH-1:''' This hero thing... well, I'm starting to think it's ''contagious''.

--> -- '''[[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Darca_Nyl Darca Nyl]]''', ''[[Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse Nomad]]''

** While Superman has a lot of the ComesGreatResponsibility mantra going on, his background as a hard-working, honest Kansas farm-boy means he also simply loves helping people out. In ''ComicBook/AllStarSuperman'' he says that his enhanced sense means he perceives the sheer beauty of ''everything'' and the value and importance of events of other people's lives to a degree that other people simply can't imagine, and as a result, he can't imagine using his powers do anything other than help. When Luthor is able to gain those powers himself, he's overwhelmed by it to where [[VillainousBreakdown he breaks down into tears]].

* Franchise/SpiderMan always lives by the creed that "With Great Power ComesGreatResponsibility". In one story someone asked him "What comes with great responsibility?" All Peter had to do was point to the rest of the city.

* Occurs in Tabletopgame/{{Warhammer}} [[CrapsackWorld of all places]]. A particularly detested Elector Count was challenged to a duel by a wandering Champion of Chaos. The Count was defeated, to which the womenfolk started cheering wildly. Feeling obscurely pleased, the Champion left the town unscathed. Considering the fact that a Chaos Champion worships either a bloodthirsty warmonger, a plague making harbinger of decay, a master of mutations and manipulations, a sense freak who teaches that you should do anything to make yourself feel better and perfect or all four at the same time and trying to bring about the apocalypse due to this should tell you how unusual this was.

* {{Defied}} in ''[[Manga/DragonBall Dragon Ball Super]]'' where Frieza is stuck in an EnemyMine with Goku. During that time Goku attempts to convince Frieza to pull off this trope. However, Frieza just [[CardCarryingVillain loves being a bastard too much,]] and [[EvilFeelsGood mockingly declares going back to his evil ways at the end]].
** But played very straight in ''Manga/DragonBallZ'' with Majin Buu, or at least the form presented to the audience, Fat Buu. Fat Buu was [[AmbiguousInnocence innocent and childlike]], but having spent his life under Babidi's control meant that he didn't know ''how'' to be anything other than a feared monster. When he uses his HealingHands on a blind boy and later a puppy he expects them to run away as soon as they can, but when they are instead grateful to him, he's obviously happily surprised. It's seeing Buu's interaction with the dog (who is later named Bee) that convinces Mr. Satan that this trope applies and that Buu can be talked down.
* Generally one of the main themes of the series ''Manga/TriGun'', the only happy people are the good guys. This is best exemplified by Livio who is much happier protecting people than he was when he was a servant of the Eye of Micheal.

** MACH-1 (the disguised ComicBook/SpiderMan villain The Beetle) is surprised to discover that, after he and Spider-Man have been BackToBackBadasses, he can not take a gift-wrapped opportunity to frame the web-slinger for murder -- a hero like MACH-1 would never do that.
-->'''MACH-1''': This hero thing... well, I'm starting to think it's ''contagious''.
* In a comics arc in the Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse, after ex-mercenary [[http://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/2028448.html Darca]] [[http://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/2036037.html Nyl]] takes a dead Jedi's lightsaber and goes in pursuit of the Dark Jedi who killed his son, he is repeatedly mistaken for a Jedi by the people of various worlds. He is drawn into helping them, [[DudleyDoRightStopsToHelp even at the cost of time he could have spent in pursuit]], and is a textbook example, he finds that [[BecomingTheMask he likes it]]. "Lycan said to me, ''Men are not driven by altruism.'' I'll prove him wrong." In a later comic, though, he's bitter and isolationist again, because he tried to do good and be good and failed because that's edgier.

* In Creator/KurtBusiek's ''The Wizard's Tale'', the [[VillainousLineage hereditary]] but [[IneptMage inept]] evil wizard [[spoiler: chooses to cast a banish-evil spell from the TomeOfEldritchLore. With the evil gone, he finds himself casting good magic and liking it very much.]]
* In Pre-Crisis Franchise/{{Superman}} comics, ComicBook/LexLuthor uncharacteristically does a good deed that saves an alien civilization. The people are so grateful that they rename their planet Lexor and hail him as a hero. Lex is startled by how good it feels. In the following years, he marries a Lexorian woman and at one point even tries to go straight and settle down there. Unfortunately, it can't last. He just can't leave his evil past behind him, and a fight with Superman [[spoiler: accidentally leads to the destruction of the entire planet, for which Luthor blames Superman and comes to hate him far more than he ever had before.]]
* While Franchise/{{Superman}} has a lot of the ComesGreatResponsibility mantra going on, his background as a hard-working, honest Kansas farm-boy means he also simply loves helping people out. In ''ComicBook/AllStarSuperman'' he says that his enhanced sense means he perceives the sheer beauty of ''everything'' and the value and importance of events of other people's lives to a degree that other people simply can't imagine, and as a result, he can't imagine using his powers do anything other than help. When Luthor is able to gain those powers himself, he's overwhelmed by it to where [[VillainousBreakdown he breaks down into tears]].
* An unusual example comes in the form of PJ Maybe in ''Comicbook/JudgeDredd''. He started out as a gleeful serial killer and identity thief, and at the end of the story, [[KarmaHoudini managed to become the mayor of Mega-City One]]. In order to keep up the farce, he had to do quite a lot of good work -- and discovered he enjoyed it immensely, so much so that he now works to improve people's lives because he ''wants'' to. That said, he ''still'' loves to kill people, only now he tends to [[SerialKillerKiller focus on the worst criminals]].
* [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Damian Wayne]] started out as a homicidal {{Jerkass}} thanks to being raised by the League of Assassins and spoiled rotten since birth. He later finds fighting the good fight as Robin to be far more fulfilling than being the heir of a new world order. When push comes to shove, he ultimately chooses the ideals of the Batman family over those of Ra's Al Ghul. He's still kind of a jerk though.

* In the Franchise/{{Superman}} story ''Wrath of Gog,'' the previously mindless [[UltimateLifeForm engineered killing machine Doomsday]] has developed [[ItCanThink intelligence]] and emotions. He decides to experiment with these feelings by [[PetTheDog rescuing a kitten]] from a tree and returning said kitten to its owner, a young boy. Doomsday discovers that this act fills him with [[WhatIsThisFeeling positive feelings]]. He then decides to see if the reverse is true, and [[KickTheDog obliterates both the kid and his kitten]], only to discover that this ''doesn't'' [[BeingEvilSucks make him feel good]]... He [[HeelFaceTurn eventually goes on to be a great hero]] even wearing Superman's symbol after Superman is captured by Gog.

* The [[Characters/GLIndigoTribe Indigo Tribe]], from the ''Comicbook/GreenLantern'' titles, is entirely composed of really bad guys under HeelFaceBrainwashing. But one member, [[spoiler:their leader Iroque/Indigo 1]], developed true compassion when the brainwashing was temporarily undone, being very repentant of her past crimes.

[[folder:Fan Fic]]

* In ''FanFic/MegaManDefenderOfTheHumanRace'', [=ProtoMan=] discovers this when he cares for Nomad.

* In ''ComicBook/MegaMan'', Dr. Wily is supposedly rehabilitated after Ra Moon's attack, but is actually scheming behind Dr. Light's back, and is planning on stealing Light's new robot Gamma after they finish work on it. However, right before the plan is about to go into effect, he hesitates and reflects that the time spent working with his former partner to improve the world felt good. [[IgnoredEpiphany Unfortunately, his jealousy gets the better of him again]], and his Robot Masters set his plan into motion.

* Happens occasionally in the ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'' series; When Skif, a thief, decides he'll be a good guy rather than returning to his thieving ways after being [[CallToAdventure chosen]] as a Herald. Why? Because having a [[NonHumanSidekick companion]] is just that awesome.

** But played very straight in ''Manga/DragonBallZ'' with Majin Buu, or at least his original form, Fat Buu. Fat Buu was [[AmbiguousInnocence innocent and childlike]], but having spent his life under Babidi's control meant that he didn't know ''how'' to be anything other than a feared monster. When he uses his HealingHands on a blind boy and later a puppy he expects them to run away as soon as they can, but when they are instead grateful to him, he's obviously happily surprised. It's seeing Buu's interaction with the dog (who is later named Bee) that convinces Mr. Satan that this trope applies and that Buu can be talked down.

* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' plays with this in many ways. [[NiceGirl Krista]] reaps the benefits of being the kindest person around, loved by everyone, and selfless to the point it approaches a Deconstruction. Ymir criticizes her dangerous behavior for the sake of being loved by others, but [[spoiler: after [[SaveTheVillain saving Bertolt]]]] agrees that it isn't so bad to "play goddess" sometimes. [[TeamDad Reiner]] is a ''firm'' believer in this theory, and as a result is deeply admired by the others as a reliable and heroic "big brother". However, his childhood friend Bertolt implies he's actually a HeroicWannabe prone to putting himself in danger. [[spoiler: He, along with fellow [[TheMole moles]] Annie and Bertolt, end up becoming close to their human comrades and realize that BeingEvilSucks]].

* In ''The Thing'' series, Nighthawk and Constrictor are among many trapped in Arcadia's AmusementParkOfDoom. Nighthawk suggests that he and Constrictor, instead of fighting each other, work together to free the rest of Arcadia's prisoners. Constrictor is less open to the idea, since he's, y'know, a villain, but Nighthawk points out that he himself [[HeelFaceTurn used to be a villain]] [[NotSoDifferent too.]]

* Emma Frost undergoes this in ''WesternAnimation/WolverineAndTheXMen''.

* [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Damien Wayne]] started out as a homicidal {{Jerkass}} thanks to being raised by the League of Assassins and spoiled rotten since birth. He later finds fighting the good fight as Robin to be far more fulfilling than being the heir of a new world order. When push comes to shove, he ultimately chooses the ideals of the Batman family over those of Ra's Al Ghul. He's still kind of a jerk though.

* In ''Film/SchindlersList'', Schindler tries to pull this on Amon Goeth. Goeth gives it a shot and quickly decides that evil feels better.

* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels''[[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS1E08PathOfTheJedi "Path of the Jedi"]]: When Yoda questions Ezra, he admits that being with the ''Ghost'' crew and helping people makes him feel alive, as he hadn't for a long time as an orphan on the streets looking out for only himself.

-->'''Steven''': How do you feel?\\

** In The episode "Red Panda: Dead or Alive", the Red Panda explains to Kit that he started being a superhero as a lark; something he did mostly to see if he could. That changed as he started making a real difference to the people of Toronto, a difference he feels he could never have achieved if he liked his normal life a thousand times over. It's from that there he truly became a hero for the sake of being a hero.

* In Creator/KurtBusiek's ''The Wizard's Tale'', the [[InTheBlood hereditary]] but [[IneptMage inept]] evil wizard [[spoiler: chooses to cast a banish-evil spell from the TomeOfEldritchLore. With the evil gone, he finds himself casting good magic and liking it very much.]]