History Main / KarmicOverkill

** In "[[Recap/RegularShowS03Ep29MuscleMentor Muscle Mentor]]", Rigby chooses to ditch work once again while badmouthing Benson (who overheard it all); in turn, Benson has Muscle Man be Rigby's "mentor", putting the latter through a ''painful'' HumiliationConga. While Rigby did start it by being lazy and disrespectful, many still saw this as overboard, with Benson's ''joy'' in Rigby's suffering not doing any favors in particular.

** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureDiamondIsUnbreakable Diamond Is Unbreakable]]'' has Terunosuke Miyamoto, a one-off villain who ends up turned into a [[AndIMustScream living book]] by Josuke for [[RelativeButton harming the latter's mother]]. Many fans find his fate to be too harsh since he's not as heinous as villains who suffered similar fates (like Kars and the SerialRapist Anjuro), and is arguably less heinous than some of [[DefeatMeansFriendship Josuke's reformed friends]].
** ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureGoldenWind'' has Illuso, who while seen as one of the more ruthless and unpleasant members of La Squadra, has many fans believing that his [[CruelAndUnusualDeath gruesome and horrifying death]] at the hands of Purple Haze, which infected him with a flesh-eating virus that basically liquefied him as he felt the most excruciating pain possible, was worse than he deserved since despite planning to capture Trish and nearly killing Fugo and Abbachio, he's nowhere as nasty as other villains like Cioccolata or Diavolo. That said, readers of the spin-off ''Literature/PurpleHazeFeedback'' may disagree, as that story [[AdaptationalVillainy characterizes Illuso]] as [[spoiler:a SerialKiller responsible for the death of Sheila E's sister]].

* This is sometimes considered to be one of the biggest flaws of specific types of fanfiction such as Salt Fics, [[RevengeFic Revenge Fics]], [[FixFic Fix Fics]] and [[AccusationFic Accusation Fics]]. While the exact details tend to differ depending on which style is used, there is a consistent element of the writers creating these in order to deal with an element, character, or story point that they have grievances with, justifiably or not. That in itself isn't much of an issue, [[GoneHorriblyWrong but where things tend to go awry is that the fiction]] has the possibility of going straight past justifiable grievances into outright vicious overreaction. It also doesn't help that this can also depend very heavily on the fic writer's self-awareness, since KarmicOverkill can be the result of them making the exact same mistakes as the original story, just punishing the "right people" too excessively because they don't recognize what the actual issue was in the first place, or simply not being skilled enough to actually put their "better than the original" ideas into practice.

* The author of the ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'' fanfic ''The Longest Road'' was one of many viewers understandably irked by how Erika denied Ash the right to face her in a gym battle simply because he didn't like the perfume her shop sold. However, the story's original attempt at [[TakeThatScrappy punishing her]] involved Ash [[ForcedOutOfTheCloset outing her as a lesbian]], exploiting a law that made it ''illegal'' for LGBT people to train Pokémon at all, let alone gym trainers. Many readers found this too harsh, especially since all of her employees (being members of the LGBT community themselves) would lose their jobs as well. This led to the offending chapter being revamped.

* ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'':
** Marietta Edgecombe is often viewed [[UnintentionallySympathetic more sympathetically than intended]]. She betrays Dumbledore's Army to Umbridge and gets SNEAK written on her face in boils ''forever'', thanks to Hermione's spell that she put on all the Army's members beforehand. However, many readers found that she didn't deserve this punishment for several reasons. First, Marietta never wanted to join them in the first place and was actually peer-pressured to do so by her friend Cho Chang. Second, her mother works at the Ministry of Magic, so Marietta could've been afraid that her participation in LaResistance would bring harm to her mother (though she could have cut ties with them without betraying them, implying that she actually wanted to curry favor with the authorities and not just protect her mother's job). Third, Marietta (along with the rest of Dumbledore's Army) was never warned about the consequences of her betrayal: if she had known she'd be revealed at once and scarred permanently, she likely wouldn't have betrayed them. Fourth, she later had [[LaserGuidedAmnesia her memories of ratting out Dumbledore's Army and her involvement with them erased]], so she's permanently disfigured for [[AmnesiacsAreInnocent a crime she doesn't even remember committing]].

* Similar to the above is DC's own ''ComicBook/TheSpectre'', whose specialty is inflicting horrifying divine punishment on evildoers. Problem is, his targets tend to be small-time crooks who've only committed one murder, or even were just ''an accomplice'' to one, yet he executes them in ways that are far more sadistic than their own crimes. One example is him melting a bank robber alive as the man begs for mercy, even though all the man did was stand by while his boss murdered some guards. Especially jarring in a universe where people like the Joker, Deathstroke, and Black Manta have ''somehow'' escaped this guy's notice. Later stories do acknowledge that the Spectre is a monster with an extremely narrow worldview, but he's nonetheless treated as a force for good.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAntBully'': While Beals takes a disturbing amount of pride and joy out of his exterminator job and tricks Lucas into signing his contract instead of asking his parents, some viewers found his fate of being turned into a deformed freak for the rest of his life to be far worse than he deserved, with certain critics suggesting that a more harmless or humiliating defeat would be a more appropriate punishment for his smugness. It doesn't help that, unlike Lucas, he has no way of knowing that the insects he's trying to kill are sapient.

* General Zod in ''Film/SupermanII'' had Earth in the palm of his hand and Superman at his mercy, but then Superman used Kryptonian technology to [[DePower neutralize Zod and his allies' powers]], rendering him as weak as any Earthling. Instead of just dumping the three of them in the clink like he previously did with Lex Luthor, Superman [[CrushingHandshake crushes Zod's hand]] and throws him into an icy chasm, where his henchman soon follow.[[note]]An alternate cut sometimes shown on broadcast TV does, in fact, show them being arrested by the "Arctic Police" after their defeat.[[/note]]

* ''Literature/EmpressTheresa'': When investors in gold bullion file a class-action lawsuit against Theresa for her alteration of the economy, Theresa responds by putting what's effectively a {{curse}} on the lawyer who took the case, making it so that any motor vehicle with her inside will inexplicably stall and fail. This is treated as said lawyer getting what she deserves for "bullying" Theresa, even though it was the investors who were responsible for that (and even then, [[StrawmanHasAPoint they had stronger justification than the story claims]]), while the lawyer was just doing her job and has children to support. And since there's no indication that Theresa ever reverses what she did, the poor woman presumably something has to deal with this problem for the rest of her life.

* ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'': This trope is partly why many fans hated [[GrandFinale the series finale]], as it shows the protagonists getting convicted and sent to prison for being jerks after neglecting to help someone who was being carjacked, with various characters [[ContinuityCavalcade testifying about the protagonists' misdeeds throughout the series]]. While the finale suggested that [[KarmaHoudiniWarranty this was long-overdue retribution]], many pointed out that throughout the series, the protagonists, especially [[ButtMonkey George]], ''didn't'' always get away with their jerkassery, and therefore this was completely excessive.

** Chaz was a sleazy, narcissistic, perverted ConMan who was perfectly willing to break up a loving married couple just so he could join a prominent mob family. Even so, some fans felt that him being KilledOffscreen by [[TheDon Crimson]] at the end was a bit much, especially since A. his death was suggested to be pretty brutal, B. it was implied he still cared for Moxxie deep down and C. Crimson, who the episode showed to be ''infinitely'' worse, [[KarmaHoudini got what amounted to a slap on the wrist]].

* Similar to the above is DC's own ''ComicBook/TheSpectre'', whose specialty is inflicting horrifying divine punishment on evildoers. Problem is, his targets tend to be small-time crooks who've only committed one murder, or even were just ''an accomplice'' to one, yet he executes them in ways that are far more sadistic than their own crimes. One example is him melting a bank robber alive as the man begs for mercy, even though he just witnessed his boss murder some guards. Especially jarring in a universe where people like the Joker, Deathstroke, and Black Manta have ''somehow'' escaped this guy's notice. Later stories do acknowledge that the Spectre is a monster with an extremely narrow worldview, but he's nonetheless treated as a force for good.

* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'':
** Brian is one of the most divisive characters in the series, but [[spoiler:getting run over and killed by a car]] in "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS12E6LifeOfBrian Life of Brian]]" was seen by his detractors to be too much, even for the show's standards.
** A CutawayGag in "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS8E4BriansGotABrandNewBag Brian's Got a Brand New Bag]]" had [[ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}} Lucy Van Pelt]] receiving a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown by Peter for all the times she teased Charlie Brown with the football. While Lucy was [[{{Jerkass}} far from the most likable character]] in her own series, this was still seen as way overboard.

* Inverted with Steele from ''{{WesternAnimation/Balto}}'': Originally, instead of merely being branded as an outcast by everyone in Nome after his crimes are finally exposed the moment Balto safely arrives in Nome with the diphtheria medicine, [[spoiler: Steele was going to attack Balto one last time, enraged that the wolf-dog and his team are still alive, with the other dogs defending him as he does so. Balto and Steele's battle then ends with Steele leaping at Balto to deliver one final blow before killing him, but Balto gets out of the way and Steele is accidentally knocked into a lever used to activate a coal bin, getting his collar caught onto the lever. As Steele tries to attack Balto again, he accidentally pulls the lever forward, causing the door underneath to open and his collar to wrap tightly around his neck, before finally a massive pile of burning hot coal is dropped onto him, crushing him and sending him plummeting to his own death in the open shaft below, essentially resulting in Steele being basically strangled, buried, and perhaps even burned alive in the process.]] Obviously, the filmmakers found this scene too dark, so they had Steele survive the movie instead and be reduced to simply being an outcast before finally disappearing without any explanation, not even returning in any of the sequels nor do they ever mention him again. Because of this, many fans now consider Steele's ultimate fate in the actual movie as being too lenient compared to what could've become of him during development.

* Inverted with Steele from ''{{WesternAnimation/Balto}}'': Originally, instead of merely being branded as an outcast by everyone in Nome after his crimes are finally exposed the moment Balto safely arrives in Nome with the diphtheria medicine, [[spoiler: Steele was going to attack Balto one last time, enraged that the wolf-dog and his team are still alive, with the other dogs defending him as he does so. Balto and Steele's battle then ends with Steele leaping at Balto to deliver one final blow before killing him, but Balto gets out of the way and Steele is accidentally knocked into a lever used to activate a coal bin, getting his collar caught onto the lever. As Steele tries to attack Balto again, he accidentally pulls the lever forward, causing the door underneath to open and his collar to wrap tightly around his neck, before finally a massive pile of burning hot coal is dropped onto him, crushing him and sending him plummeting to his own death in the open shaft below, essentially resulting in Steele being basically strangled, buried, and burned alive in the process.]] Obviously, the filmmakers found this scene too dark, so they had Steele survive the movie instead and be reduced to simply being an outcast before finally disappearing without any explanation, not even returning in any of the sequels nor do they ever mention him again. Because of this, many fans now consider Steele's ultimate fate in the actual movie as being too lenient compared to what could've become of him during development.

* This might as well be a running theme in the ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainBlossomverse'' series. The author admits that they actively tried to invoke this reaction at times to help serve as a {{deconstruct}}ion of the usual AccusationFic tropes, as some characters in-universe even question whether some of these characters actually deserve the punishments they get. But perhaps they did this a bit ''too'' well:

** A second RecursiveFanfiction, ''Fanfic/KarmicBacklash'', explores it further by [[spoiler:having Adrien completely distraught at the living hell his existence has become and [[DrivenToSuicide trying to kill himself]].]] His former friends (except for Marinette and Luka, who TookALevelInJerkass in the year between ''Karma of Lies'' and this one) completely toss the idea of him being an AssholeVictim out the window by [[EveryoneHasStandards admitting they are still sore about his deeds, but they are horrified by what he did to himself]] and trying to help him. The plot also makes clear that Karma as presented in the prior story is most definitely a KnightTemplar and [[spoiler:comes to collect for Marinette deciding to leave Lila go with a proverbial [[ParanoiaGambit slap on the wrist]] and [[PrideBeforeAFall getting too prideful about her 'karmic windfall']] by [[HourglassPlot subjecting her to the same horrors Adrien suffered]].]] As for Lila, she got some LaserGuidedKarma after all [[spoiler:courtesy of the next girl she bullied stabbing her a hundred times.]]

* ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'' does this to Gabe, Percy's abusive stepfather. While he was no doubt an awful person who [[AbusiveParents verbally and possibly physically abused Percy]], [[DomesticAbuser definitely physically abused Sally]], and told the authorities that Percy murdered Sally after her disappearance to [[DisproportionateRetribution get back at him for wrecking his car]], some people felt that [[spoiler:Sally murdering him by [[TakenForGranite petrifying him with Medusa's head]] and then selling his stone form to an art collector after passing him off as a sculpture she made]] was too harsh of a fate for him. The movie adaptation softens it to the head being left in his fridge, with a note warning him not to open it, and him doing so anyway, meaning he brings it on himself.

** Hermione ultimately deals with Umbridge herself by getting her carried off by the local centaur herd, who are angry with the current Ministry of Magic's (whom Umbridge represents) harassment. It's not clear what happened next, but at some point she got away and is said to be recovering in the hospital wing. At the time, readers versed in Myth/ClassicalMythology noted that mythical centaurs had a tendency to carry off human women and rape them, and therefore inferred that [[KarmicRape Umbridge's unspecified "ordeal" at the hands of the centaur herd was a gang-rape]], and considered this [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil an excessive fate even for Umbridge]].

** A CutawayGag in "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS8E4BriansGotABrandNewBag Brian's Got a Brand New Bag]]" had [[ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}} Lucy Van Pelt]] receiving a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown by Peter for all the times she teased Charlie Brown with the football. While Lucy was far from the most likable character in her own series, this was still seen as way overboard.

** In "[[Recap/RegularShowS06E27LunchBreak Lunch Break]]", Mordecai and Rigby prank Benson by ordering an $83 sandwich, prompting the latter to force them to eat ''the entire sandwich'', or else they're fired. This was seen as too extreme a punishment for the both of them, especially considering the fact that Benson [[NeverMyFault outright ignores that he wasn't obligated to buy the sandwich for them in the first place]].

* ''Film/HotTubTimeMachine2'': At the end, [[spoiler:Lou gets rather unceremoniously [[YourHeadAsplode shot]] by a Lou variant, who says he did the group ''a favor'' by doing so as Lou was "bad", and the men immediately move on from Lou to befriend the variant. While Lou was indeed quite an unpleasant person, this was still seen as uncalled for, given that Lou himself has already owned up to his misdeeds and even considered making changes in his life]].

** The Dursleys are made out to be [[RonTheDeathEater far more abusive than they ever were in canon]], giving Harry grievous injuries and starving him for weeks on end. Even so, Harry's payback of having them be [[ColdBloodedTorture brutally tortured]] by Bellatrix Lestrange and then [[FateWorseThanDeath cursing them to eat and be eaten by one another forever]] received a lot of criticism as far beyond what they deserved, even if the story insists that it was justice.

* ''Fanfic/TheLastWar'', a quintessential RonTheDeathEater fic, has it with both Ron and Ginny (assuming the reader isn't of the DieForOurShip variety).
** While Ron is an [[DomesticAbuse abusive]] drunkard, readers agree that it doesn't really justify Hermione brutally and calculatingly murdering him, especially since neither she nor Harry (his best friend) tried to get him to seek help for his [[TheAlcoholic alcoholism]]. It gets even worse: after she admitted to having never really loved Ron and only marrying him to "get closer to Harry", many readers have speculated that ''she'' was what drove him to drink - this doesn't excuse the ''abuse'' but it would certainly make Ron be less of a one-dimensional asshole than portrayed.
** Ginny has it even worse. She cheats on Harry, is (suddenly) a [[FantasticRacism pureblood supremacist]], and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking has put on weight since retiring from sports]]. This is supposed to justify Harry suddenly telling her that he wants to divorce her, and then telling her in the same breath to leave the house with nothing except her clothes, along with forbidding her from seeing or even saying goodbye to her children. Naturally, readers criticized this, stating that even if the spouse is cheating and/or has become some kind of bigot, throwing them out like that without any prior warning, especially if there are children involved, is inexcusably cruel, ''especially'' since Harry himself only married Ginny for her looks and has only ever loved Hermione.

* At the end of ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'', Dr. Facilier gets his blood medallion smashed by Tiana. His "Friends on The Other-Side" emerge to gleefully [[DraggedOffToHell drag him to his doom in their world]] while he [[AintTooProudToBeg desperately begs for another chance]], the implication being his soul will either be [[SoulEating devoured]] or [[AndIMustScream tortured for eternity]]. While Facilier is definitely a terrible man for plotting to sacrifice countless other souls to save his own, and attempting to murder Charlotte's father so his minion Lawrence would be in control of the man's money, he's ''far'' from the most evil Disney villain. It doesn't help that he's basically a henchman working for [[GreaterScopeVillain his more ominous and powerful friends]], and that he has a [[VillainHasAPoint legit grievance with the system]], considering he's a black man who has to deal with [[DeliberateValuesDissonance the racism of the 1920s]].

** In "[[Recap/RegularShowS03Ep29MuscleMentor Muscle Mentor]]", Rigby chooses to ditch work once again while badmouthing Benson (who overheard it all); in turn, Benson has Muscle Man be Rigby's "mentor", putting the latter through a ''lot'' of humiliations in the process. While Rigby did start it by being lazy and disrespectful, many still saw this as overboard, with Benson's ''joy'' in Rigby's suffering not doing any favors in particular.

* Meredith in ''Film/TheParentTrap1998'' embodies almost all the tropes of children's movie villains: she is a GoldDigger, a ChildHater, and a (potential) WickedStepmother. However, some viewers feel that Hallie and Annie crossed a line when they pushed her mattress to float in the lake while she was asleep, which could have caused her to have ''drowned''. Nick does say they're "punished until the end of the century", but once they're gone jokes that he should thank them.

* ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'': [[AlphaBitch Chloé's]] final fate near the end of season 5 involves her getting all but disowned by her father and taken away from Paris by her mother. A number of fans felt that this was too harsh of a punishment for her actions, as her mother was previously shown to be [[AbusiveParents heavily verbally abusive of Chloé]] (indeed, she's berating Chloé for tarnishing their family name on the plane ride out of Paris); as a result, it gives the implication that it's okay to punish someone by make them live with an abuser, which fans felt that not even Chloé deserved. It doesn't help that none of the people who'd enabled her selfish behavior up until now (including her father, who repeatedly spoiled her rotten by abusing his power as the mayor) [[KarmaHoudini get any form of punishment for doing so]].

* ''WesternAnimation/GrizzlyTalesForGruesomeKids'': The kids will often be killed or suffer a FateWorseThanDeath for very minor "crimes" that kids will often do, such as talk when they are told to be quiet, or eat nothing but sweets, or do nothing but watch TV... basically things that could be stopped by simply ''telling'' the kids about it and explaining why it's bad.

** In a CutawayGag in "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS8E4BriansGotABrandNewBag Brian's Got a Brand New Bag]]", [[ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}} Lucy Van Pelt]] receives a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown by Peter for all the times she teased Charlie Brown with the football. While Lucy was far from the most likable character in her own series, this was still seen as way overboard.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' episode "Arthur's Big Hit", Arthur hits D.W., then later Binky hits him. While it's meant to be a case of "what goes around, comes around", with Arthur's dad telling him that now he knows how D.W. felt, many viewers objected to this because Arthur didn't do anything to Binky, he'd ''already'' been punished by his parents, and the moral was [[BrokenAesop meant to be]] "don't hit people".
* Clayface from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' is an amoral {{jerkass}} who didn't appreciate the people trying to help his {{mutant|s}} condition, and eventually "murdered" a part of himself with agency by reabsorbing her, but he's still one of the less evil Bat-rogues, and even the aforementioned murder happened after he spent [[AndIMustScream god knows how long free-floating in the ocean]] before washing up with damaged memories. When he turns up in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'', he's also reluctant to join Grodd's Secret Society, only doing so out of gratitude and [[IJustWantToBeNormal a chance to look human again]]. And when he faces the Justice League, he gets an unceremonious and brutal [[UncertainDoom apparent death]] by being blown away with fireworks while his teammates were taken down non-lethally. What makes it worse is that [[ThouShaltNotKill Batman]] doesn't blink an eye at this, and how truly vile mass-murderers like Firefly and the Joker didn't get treatment this rough.

** ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'': The episode "Truth" has Max's two-faced [[WeUsedToBeFriends former partner]] Phil, who is using [[PhantomZone the Null Void]] to release dangerous alien beasts [[MonsterProtectionRacket and then recapture them for money]]. He winds up trapped in the Null Void himself, a hellish unending space populated by vicious monsters, and the Tennysons make no attempt to save him. Phil may have been a slimy asshole who had no problem trying to murder his old friend to keep his secret, but his implied fate is far too horrifying for such a small-time crook. Then it gets ''even worse'' in ''WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse'' where he was subject to cruel experiments by the new villains and eventually transformed into a purely inhuman spider-creature with no sense of his original self.
** In Season 3 of ''WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse'' [[TheRival Albedo]] finally achieves his mission of regaining his original Galvan form after he accidentally turned himself into a [[ShapeshifterModeLock genetic duplicate of Ben Tennyson]] back in ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce''. However, out of bitterness from the whole ordeal, Albedo attempts to get revenge by killing Ben and absorbing the brain of [[WorldsSmartestMan Azmuth]]. Once Albedo is foiled Azmuth hacks Albedo's Omnitrix duplicate to turn Albedo into a clone of Ben again, and then into a '''Pre-Teen''' clone of Ben after Albedo asks [[TemptingFate if it could get any worse for him]]. This punishment looks even crueler when you consider Ben only won because he sucker-punched Albedo, who, thanks to his increased intellect after absorbing Azmuth's brain was in the middle of [[HeelRealization realizing how pointless his lust for revenge and recognition was]]. Had Ben held off on attacking, Albedo would've likely pulled a HeelFaceTurn.
* The Urpneys of ''WesternAnimation/TheDreamstone'' spent nearly every episode suffering violent retributions from the heroes for helping their evil overlord try to steal their dream-making trinket so he can give them nightmares. The kicker is that most of the Urpneys don't even ''want'' to do that, but their BadBoss abuses or executes the ones that don't. Despite this, the heroes are explicitly clear that they get exactly what they deserve. The later episodes tried to downplay the ComedicSociopathy, but since they're still unwilling pathetic villains, some suspension of disbelief was still required.
* Occasionally, the cartoonish punishments the eponymous characters of ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' would experience as a result of their latest scheme blowing up in their faces would cause viewers to cry foul due to the punishment coming off as [[DisproportionateRetribution too harsh]]. One of the most infamous cases is the episode "[[Recap/EdEddNEddyS3E23IfItSmellsLikeAnEd If It Smells Like An Ed]]". Of course, there is no doubt that Eddy disrupting Jimmy's "Friendship Day" festivities by giving Jimmy an atomic wedgie was rude and uncalled for and warranted him getting taken down a peg, but the lengths Jimmy goes for payback (framing the Eds for ruining the Friendship Day festivities in different ways, turning the other kids against them and later leading the kids in ProducePelting the Eds, and then turning the Eds over to [[StalkerWithACrush the Kankers]] afterward for good measure) was seen by a number of viewers as going a bit overboard (especially since [[MisplacedRetribution Ed and Edd didn't do anything worse than laugh at Jimmy]] alongside the other kids after the wedgie) and even ended up both overshadowing the episode's interesting detective concept and [[NeverLiveItDown permanently tarnishing Jimmy as a character]] for much of the fanbase.

** Brian is one of the most divisive characters in the series but [[spoiler:getting run over and killed by a car]] was seen by his detractors to be too much, even for the show's standards.
** One CutawayGag had [[ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}} Lucy Van Pelt]] receiving a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown by Peter for all the times she teased Charlie Brown with the football. While Lucy was far from the most likable character in her own series, this was still seen as way overboard.
* The kids in ''WesternAnimation/GrizzlyTalesForGruesomeKids'' will often be killed or suffer a FateWorseThanDeath for very minor "crimes" that kids will often do, such as talk when they are told to be quiet, or eat nothing but sweets, or do nothing but watch TV... basically things that could be stopped by simply ''telling'' the kids about it and explaining why it's bad.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'' episode "No Such Luck", when Lincoln's sister Lynn thinks that [[TheJinx he's bad luck]], Lincoln goes along with it and lies to get some free time. While he did deserve ''some'' punishment for this, his parents and sisters making him sleep outside was seen by many fans as too far.

* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'': In "Candace Gets Busted", Candace is asked by Linda and Lawrence to not throw a party while they're away on a trip. A party ends up happening anyway after Candace lets her circle of friends in when they come to visit, resulting in more and more people pouring in from off the street. The episode ends with Candace getting busted for the party due to Linda hearing the noise over the phone; Candace is subsequently grounded for a week. Many viewers found the ending rather unfair, as Candace never actually ''wanted'' to throw a party and wanted everyone to leave before they made a huge mess, only for the perfect storm of events to prevent everyone from leaving and result in her getting into trouble with Linda.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Pingu}}'' episode "Pingu Runs Away", Pingu's mother spanks him as a punishment for acting up at the dinner table. Many viewers consider this her worst moment as a parent, and the episode ended up being pulled from reruns due to this.

** In "Moral Decay", Buttercup [[TheToothHurts knocks out several villains' teeth unprovoked]] to give to the Tooth Fairy for money. At the end of the episode, Bubbles and Blossom have [[DoWithHimAsYouWill those same villains knock Buttercup's teeth out]], and the money she collected is taken from her and used to pay for her dental treatment. Some fans consider this too harsh of a punishment, especially since Bubbles sticks her tongue out at her and Blossom is outright ''grinning'' at Buttercup during the ending.
** The episode "Mime for a Change" involves a [[NonIronicClown friendly clown]] named Rainbow the Clown being turned into the [[EnemyMime evil mime]] Mr. Mime after a bleach accident and trying to drain all of the color from Townsville. Eventually, Rainbow is returned to normal and he thanks the Powerpuffs for helping him...whereupon the girls beat him senseless and throw him in jail anyway, with the Narrator treating Rainbow like he deserved it afterward. The episode's ending rubbed many viewers the wrong way since Rainbow was explicitly [[NotHimself not in control of his own actions]] and remorseful afterward. It's theorized that Rainbow being shown entertaining guests at the girls' birthday party in the later episode "Birthday Bash" was intended to amend for the unfairness of the former episode's ending by indicating that he had been forgiven for his actions and released from jail at some point between the two episodes.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheProudFamilyLouderAndProuder'' episode "Grandma's Hands" gained infamy for this. After Penny avoids doing school work and stays out past her curfew for weeks, her parents decide to lock her out of the house at night (which is both dangerous and illegal in real life, yet here it is PlayedForLaughs). Oscar ''does'' send her to Suga Mama's house...but it only gets worse from there. Penny is "disciplined" by being forced to sleep in a little dog bed, [[DeniedFoodAsPunishment denied eating breakfast]] and doing various chores. Thankfully, Penny gets better by the end and reconciles with her parents, but it still isn't hard to see why fans were turned off by this episode.

** In "Muscle Mentor", Rigby chooses to ditch work once again while badmouthing Benson (who overheard it all); in turn, Benson has Muscle Man be Rigby's "mentor", putting the latter through a ''lot'' of humiliations in the process. While Rigby did start it by being lazy and disrespectful, many still saw this as overboard, with Benson's ''joy'' in Rigby's suffering not doing any favors in particular.
** In "Lunch Break", Mordecai and Rigby prank Benson by ordering an $83 sandwich, prompting the latter to force them to eat ''the entire sandwich'', or else they're fired. This was seen as too extreme a punishment for the both of them, especially considering the fact that Benson [[NeverMyFault outright ignores that he wasn't obligated to buy the sandwich for them in the first place]].

** "Silent Angelica" -- she wants a new toy, and Charlotte tells her she can have it if she remains quiet for a certain amount of time. Angelica does this obediently, even when Charlotte isn't around to hear her. The babies take advantage of this to make a mess, and Angelica gets blamed for it by both her parents. Her punishment is to get neither toy, [[NotMeThisTime even though she did nothing wrong for once]].
** "Chanukah" -- her antagonism in this episode amounts to wanting to watch a ChristmasSpecial that's happening at the same time as a play Grandpa Boris is in. She gets put into a daycare room during the play because of things the other babies did, meaning she was going to miss the special for nothing. She does trick the babies into helping her find a TV... that smashes just as she's about to watch the special, and she's even left crying at the hopelessness of it all.
** "Word of the Day" -- she overhears a DepravedKidsShowHost saying a curse word, and [[InnocentSwearing assumes it's okay to say]] and that it's the show's new catchphrase. Drew and Charlotte tell her not to say the word again, not explaining which one is the bad one even when she asks sincerely, and they punish her when she says it to ask if it's the bad one. She does get forgiven and brought to the audition she was up for...and then panics and says the word live on the air. It's presented as LaserGuidedKarma that she doesn't get to be on the show, even though no one around her would properly explain why the word was bad and why she shouldn't say it. Drew and Charlotte also don't seem too interested in finding out ''where'' she heard the word either.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' episode "Fusion Cuisine", the Crystal Gems make it no secret that they are very mad at Steven and Connie for running away. While they do have every right to be mad at him, denying the latter television for ''1000'' years seems a bit harsh.
* In the episode "Game Over" from ''WesternAnimation/TalesFromTheCryptKeeper'', two boys pay for skipping school to play video games by [[spoiler:being erased from existence]], the darkest ending the series ever got and an ''extremely'' cruel punishment for playing hooky.
* ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry''. Tom ends up the undisputed IronButtMonkey, even for committing a minor slight or when Jerry had actually started the feud. Allegedly, it was because of this that more shorts had Jerry hindered or outright lose to Tom altogether whenever he stooped to crueler levels of slapstick assault, in order to avoid the DoubleStandard karma.

* ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'': [[AlphaBitch Chloé's]] final fate near the end of season 5 involves her getting all but disowned by her father and taken away from Paris by her mother. A number of fans felt that this was too harsh of a punishment for her actions, as her mother was previously shown to be [[AbusiveParents heavily verbally abusive of Chloé]] (indeed, she's berating Chloé for tarnishing their family name on the plane ride out of Paris); as a result, it gives the implication that it's okay to punish someone by make them live with an abuser, which fans felt that not even Chloé deserved. It doesn't help that none of the people who'd enabled her selfish behavior up until now (including her father, who repeatedly spoiled her rotten by abusing his power as the mayor) [[KarmaHoudini get any form of punishment for doing so.]]