History Main / PaintItBlack

* In Season 5 of ''Animation/HappyHeroes'', Doctor H. is brainwashed into helping antagonists Big M. and Little M. with their schemes to take over Planet Xing. Whenever Doctor H. is in his evil form, his typical yellow and purple suit and helmet change to black and gray, with the suit in particular having one feature - a vest - that Doctor H.'s normal clothing doesn't have.

[[quoteright:289:[[Webcomic/OurLittleAdventure https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cloakevil.png]]]]

* In ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo 7'', [[spoiler:while Arle is possessed by Ecolo,]] her outfit has a dark color scheme. When Ringo and her gang [[spoiler:drives Ecolo out of her body, her clothes turn back to normal. Though some fans were shocked when she was not wearing her usual blue.]]

** [=ShineGreymon=] Ruin Mode (a berserk, corrupt power-up), in ''Anime/DigimonSavers'', is a darker, duller palette swap of [=ShineGreymon=] Burst Mode (the true power-up), though, in this case, the dark version occurs first.

This trope is [[TropeNamer named]] for Music/TheRollingStones song "Paint It Black", although the song itself is completely unrelated to the trope. For the Creator/NancyACollins novel (also named after the song), see ''Literature/SonjaBlue''. It is also unrelated to RonTheDeathEater, formerly known as the ''other'' thing named after the same song ("Paint the Hero Black"), which involves more than a costume change.

* In ''Anime/MaiOtome'', [[spoiler:Nina's]] Robe, school uniform and transformation silhouette all change to darker colors following her FaceHeelTurn.

* Evil Sonic (a.k.a. Scourge) from ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'' eventually goes green and vile-looking when he absorbs enough energy from the Master Emerald, which also helps drive him a bit mad and he becomes even more evil when Sonic points out their similarities. In the end, this leads to his using his super form, a bizarre inverse of his usual color scheme with purple hair, black eyes with red pupils and even a slight outfit change, with the red and green parts becoming purple and blue. It's a surprisingly creepy looking form, fitting for how crazy he's become.

* Smurfette in ''Franchise/TheSmurfs'' originally had black hair, as she was a creation of Gargamel, but when Papa Smurf changed her into a real Smurf, her hair became blonde. In [[WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs the cartoon show]] episode "Smurfette Unmade", the spell that Gargamel casts unto her to undo the spell that made her into a real Smurf causes her hair to turn black as she reverts to her "un-Smurfy self". In ''Film/TheSmurfs2'', Smurfette's skin also changes to pale grey as she turns back into a Naughty, although this only occurs in a dream sequence.

[[quoteright:350:[[Webcomic/OurLittleAdventure https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cloakevil.png]]]]

%% Image removed per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1589625973000313500
%% Please start a new thread if you'd like to suggest an image.

* Oliander the {{Unicorn}} in ''VideoGame/ThemsFightinHerds'' once had a pure white coat, just like other unicorns. But after reading a certain number of pages from [[TomeOfEldritchLore the Book of Undying Misery]], a "mark" was left on her by the book's BlackMagic, turning her coat and mane black.

* In Wii's ''PunchOut'', both Don Flamenco and Mr. Sandman change from rather vibrant colors to predominantly black outfits in Title Defense mode. Both lost their titles to Little Mac and were ''furious'' about it.

[[quoteright:314:[[Manga/MermaidMelodyPichiPichiPitch https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tvt_paintitblack.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:314:Tonight on IdolSinger Makeovers...]]

* Sara in ''Manga/MermaidMelodyPichiPichiPitch'' flashes back to [[spoiler:her FreakOut that [[ThrowawayCountry destroyed the Indian Ocean]] and killed Kaito's parents]]; she used to have bright red hair, but once she embraces her hatred and fear, her hair and [[TransformationTrinket pearl]] (and, in the manga, costume) turn black.
* [[spoiler:Messenger Nia]] in ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' gets this with TronLines.
* ''Anime/SailorMoon'':
** Brainwashed Tuxedo Mask fights by throwing black roses. In some IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight scenes in the anime, the rose in his hand is flickering between red and black.
** The normally black-clad antagonist [[CatGirl Sailor Tin Nyanko]] only gets partially purified by Sailor Moon, resulting in a half-black and half-white costume.
* The Devil Suit in ''Anime/CorrectorYui'' is an insta-corrupted Angel Suit.

* In ''Manga/MajinTanteiNougamiNeuro'', in the latest chapters, [[spoiler:Sasazuka]] gets this along with his (partial) FaceHeelTurn. [[MrFanservice Cue fangirl drooling.]]
* In ''Anime/MaiOtome'', [[spoiler:Nina's]] Robe, school uniform and transformation silhouette all change to darker colors following her FaceHeelTurn.

* In ''{{Manga/Hellsing}}'', after Seras finally drains a human to death and unlocks her full power as a vampire of Alucard's line, her yellow Hellsing uniform turns red. Or maybe that had to do with the scenes both before and after her transformation, where it liberally soaked in blood.
* In ''VisualNovel/ElevenEyes'', [[spoiler:when Lisette becomes Liselotte, her ElegantGothicLolita outfit changes from white to black.]]
* In ''Transformers: Kiss Players'', when [[Franchise/TransformersGeneration1 Starscream]] possesses Atari Hitotonari, her uniform turns black.
* In ''LightNovel/FateZero'', an unwilling [[spoiler: Irisviel]] has this, [[spoiler: when her mind gets absorbed by all the Evils in the World - Angra Mainyu.]]
* ''Manga/SaintSeiya'':
** Pretty much a staple of any Gemini Saint who has a case of SplitPersonality: Saga, Aspros, Paradox...
** In ''Anime/SaintSeiyaOmega'', [[SplitPersonality Gemini Paradox]]'s light blue hair turns black when her more violent personality takes over. Her lipstick also goes from coral to dark purple.
** In ''Manga/SaintSeiyaTheLostCanvas'', Alone, TheProtagonist Tenma's best friend, normally has blond hair, but when Hades' corruption on him starts showing up, his hair turns black. [[spoiler:After Hades' soul is expunged from him, his hair turns back to blond.]]

* In ''LightNovel/FateApocrypha'', [[spoiler:[[ArcherArchetype Atalanta's]]]] clothes turn black (and {{Stripperific}}) and her hair turns grey after activating her second Noble Phantasm, [[spoiler:[[OneWingedAngel Agrius Metamorphosis]]]]. She normally hates using this, since it [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity drives her insane]], but the events of the War [[SanitySlippage take a toll on her psyche]]...

* Inverted for ComicBook/{{Raven}} of the ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'', who usually switches from her dark-blue to a white outfit when her demon father Trigon's influence becomes too great.

** ComicBook/JeanGrey[=/=]Phoenix. When she first becomes Phoenix, the new suit is just there, and when she becomes Dark Phoenix, it turns red. Later in the original Phoenix arc, she can tell how close she is to losing control by what she sees her costume is doing. In the ''Endsong'' storyline, she frequently changes from green to red as her personality shifts between "Jean with Phoenix powers" and "cosmic destroyer". When her issues are finally resolved, it becomes ''white''. (The white suit has its own meaning, which, like all things Phoenix, is needlessly complicated.) [[note]]When Jean reassembles all of the lost pieces of the Phoenix Force, her costume is white and gold and she becomes the White Phoenix of the Crown, the most complete Force/Host combination. However, we'd seen the outfit once before - in a flashback sequence to her after her HeroicSacrifice at the end of the original Phoenix story. DependingOnTheWriter, she was, at the time, either Phoenix with a bit of Jean's soul, Phoenix impersonating Jean but ''absolutely completely not her,'' or Jean with some of the Phoenix Force in her. So...enjoy the pretty new suit and don't think too hard on it. [[MST3KMantra Trust us on this one.]][[/note]]

** Every Phoenix host seems to get a new Phoenix-ified version of their outfit. Even Spider-Man, [[spoiler: though he wasn't ''actually'' a Phoenix host at the time, [[FridgeLogic so where'd the outfit come from?]]]]
* Evil Sonic (a.k.a. Scourge) from [[ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog Archie comics]] eventually goes green and vile-looking when he absorbs enough energy from the Master Emerald, which also helps drive him a bit mad and he becomes even more evil when Sonic points out their similarities. In the end, this leads to his using his super form, a bizarre inverse of his usual color scheme with purple hair, black eyes with red pupils and even a slight outfit change, with the red and green parts becoming purple and blue. It's a surprisingly creepy looking form, fitting for how crazy he's become.
* Smurfette in ''Franchise/TheSmurfs'' originally had black hair, as she was a creation of Gargamel, but when Papa Smurf changed her into a real Smurf, her hair became blonde. In [[WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs the cartoon show]] episode "Smurfette Unmade", the spell that Gargamel casts unto her to undo the spell that made her into a real Smurf causes her hair to turn black as she reverts to her "un-Smurfy self". In ''Film/TheSmurfs2'', Smurfette's skin also changes to pale grey as she turns back into a Naughty, although this only occurs in a dream sequence.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': At the end of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E6TheKeeperOfTraken "The Keeper of Traken"]], kind, generous, good Counsel Tremas, with his white beard, hair, and robes, sees an odd-looking grandfather clock in the middle of the room. He goes over to touch it. OhCrap. Bad plan. It's TheMaster's TARDIS, and out comes the Master, cackling "[[GrandTheftMe A new body, at last!]]" Tremas de-ages, his hair and beard shortening and turning black, and gets a spiffy new black outfit. Why hello there, new Master.
* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Sansa abruptly dyes her hair black and slips into a new black dress to match her new attempt to play the game of thrones at the end of Season 4.

* The gold parts of Takanuva's armour turn black when his light is partially drained in ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}''.

* In Wii's [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/VideoGame/PunchOut Punch-Out!!]], both Don Flamenco and Mr. Sandman change from rather vibrant colors to predominantly black outfits in Title Defense mode. Both lost their titles to Little Mac and were ''furious'' about it.
* ''{{VideoGame/Metroid}}'':

* Aya, the poster girl of the Japanese fan-made fighting game ''Hinokakera'', undergoes a radical transformation when the mental blocks on her massive psychic powers are shattered. In addition to a personality change from timidity to a berserk aggressiveness, she gains a new black outfit that is [[{{Stripperiffic}} much less conservative]] than her usual attire.
* In ''VideoGame/MegaManLegends'', committing enough cruel acts (which is difficult) turns your armour black.

* In the ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' games, characters' appearances change when falling to the DarkSide, include their underwear inexplicably darkening to black and switching from normal brown Jedi robes to grey-black Sith robes. Also, the Handmaiden in the second game switches from red lipstick to black lipstick while on the dark side.
* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' players expected the worst when, in the game's third act, Anders' robe turned black. They were right.
* In ''VideoGame/{{inFAMOUS}}'', Cole gets more scars on his body and red lightning the more evil deeds he does. Also, it's possible to get black lightning by going full evil and making a turn to good at the last moments of ''VideoGame/{{inFAMOUS 2}}''.
* [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds The Unbreakable Darkness]] of ''VideoGame/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAsPortable: The Gears of Destiny'', whose clothes go from white and pink to [[RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver red and black]] [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity whenever she loses control of her powers]].
* [[LadyOfWar Tsubaki]] of ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' changes into a black costume with {{red eyes|TakeWarning}} after her MindRape-induced FaceHeelTurn during the story of ''Continuum Shift''. To drive this home, in the third game ''Chrono Phantasma'' the black costume is her default one, and once she [[HeelFaceTurn recovers]] she goes back to her white costume in ''Central Fiction''.
** This happens to the [[spoiler:[[PowerArmor Susanooh Unit]]]] at the climax of ''Central Fiction'', when [[spoiler:[[BigBad Yuuki Terumi]] kills [[WorldsStrongestMan Hakumen]] (specifically his soul) and [[GrandTheftMe takes it over]], changing the normally-white Susanoo into a black form with a SicklyGreenGlow and [[MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily lots of teeth]]]]. Strangely though, [[spoiler:this form is actually what the Susanooh Unit ''really'' looks like since Terumi is the original host; in other words, this is what [[AllMythsAreTrue the god Susano'o himself]] [[GodOfEvil actually looks like]]]].
* In VideoGame/PuyoPuyo 7, [[spoiler:while Arle is possessed by Ecolo,]] her outfit has a dark color scheme. When Ringo and her gang [[spoiler:drives Ecolo out of her body, her clothes turn back to normal. Though some fans were shocked when she was not wearing her usual blue.]]
* In several ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' fighting games, if Vegeta is wearing one of his armored outfits when he is transformed into Majin Vegeta rather than the blue jumpsuit like he was in canon, the armor turns black.

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* Bael from ''Webcomic/{{Suppression}}'' does this when he finds his [[NiceHat hat]] [[spoiler:while possessing General Victus]]. He decides it doesn't match his current outfit and [[LovecraftianSuperpower sprouts tentacles that dye both red]].

%%* Omi in ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown''.

* Happens in reverse for ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans''' Raven: normally, she's under her father's influence but in control of herself, and her costume is dark blue, but when she's in a very good mood or completely free of her father's control, her outfit turns white.

* ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'':
** when Starscream possesses Waspinator, his Predacon emblem changes to the Deception emblem.
** When Rhinox is reprogrammed as a Predacon, his normally-brownish hide gains a purplish hue, and his gold accents become silver. Once he's restored as a Maximal, he returns to his original colors.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'', after being gaining the symbiote, Peter's costume is changed to how it looked in the [[Film/SpiderMan3 third movie]]--a black and silver version of its regular appearance. Then as the symbiote exerts more control over Peter's behavior, the suit gradually transforms into its design from the comics, with the webbing fading away and the spider insignia becoming larger.

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
* Inverted in ''{{Disney/Aladdin}}'' where Jafar's outfit turns white after he uses his first wish to become Sultan. Then again, he was already evil in the first place, and the white outfit seems like the traditional color for male Agrabah royalty.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Sansa abruptly dyes her hair black and slips into a new black dress to match her new attempt to play the game of thrones at the end of Season 4.
* Dark Mercury in ''Series/PrettyGuardianSailorMoon'', whose Dark TransformationSequence is [[EvilIsCool much cooler than her good one]].

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': "The Keeper of Traken": kind, generous, good Counsel Tremas, with his white beard, hair, and robes, sees an odd-looking grandfather clock in the middle of the room. He goes over to touch it. OhCrap. Bad plan. It's TheMaster's TARDIS, and out comes the Master, cackling "[[GrandTheftMe A new body, at last!]]" Tremas de-ages, his hair and beard shortening and turning black, and gets a spiffy new black outfit. Why hello there, new Master.
* In ''Series/KamenRiderDragonKnight'', it was first played straight in dreams: first, Kit is attacked by a black-clad version of himself, and in another one, Kit dreams of taking Xaviax's DealWithTheDevil and going through a ''second'' TransformationSequence, transforming into the black suit, before hunting down and taking out his teammates. He was, needless to say, not too enthusiastic when first presented with a real-life version of the black armor.
* In ''Series/KamenRiderKuuga'', Yuusuke Godai's black SuperMode originally comes from a serious mad-on and threatens to make him a DestructiveSavior. However, when powered by his sense of justice, "Ultimate Kuuga" is... still black, but the eyepieces go from black to their usual red. In ''Series/KamenRiderDecade,'' the black-and-gold but ''much'' more evil-looking Rising Ultimate Kuuga form, with SpikesOfVillainy, is bestowed upon Yuusuke ''Onodera'' by the LegionOfDoom when they brainwash him. You get the black eyes until he gets de-brainwashed, and again, they become their normal red.

[[folder:Real Life]]
* In the right conditions, some species of harmless grasshoppers can metamorphose into dangerous locusts. In addition to developing stronger wings and becoming much [[BigEater hungrier]], [[ExplosiveBreeder breedier]] and [[TheSwarm swarmier]], this also causes their normally-green bodies to turn black.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

-> I see a red door and I want it painted black... No colors anymore I want it to turn black...
-->-- ''Music/TheRollingStones: Paint it Black''

** Anya did this when she became a demon again.

* ''Comicbook/{{Shazam}}'': Mary Marvel's white costume switched to black when she received Black Adam's powers in ''ComicBook/CountdownToFinalCrisis'' -- which had the side effect of [[ThisIsYourBrainOnEvil turning her evil]].

-->-- ''TheRollingStones: Paint it Black''

** Another Phoenix example is when ComicBook/EmmaFrost briefly possesses the Phoenix Force during ''Endsong'', her normally white costume becomes black and gold [[{{Stripperiffic}} and ''more'' slutty. Yes, it's possible]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'', after being gaining the symbiote, Peter's costume is changed to how it looked in the [[Film/SpiderMan3 third movie]]--a black and silver version of it's regular appearance. Then as the symbiote exerts more control over Peter's behavior, the suit gradually transforms into it's design from the comics, with the webbing fading away and the spider insignia becoming larger.

* In ''LightNovel/FateApocrypha'', [[spoiler:[[ArcherArchetype Atalanta's]]]] clothes turn black (and {{Stripperific}}) and her hair turns grey after activating her second Noble Phantasm, [[spoiler:[[OneWingedAngel Agrius Metamorphosis]]]]. She normally hates using this, since it [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity drives her insane]], but the events of the War [[SanitySpillage take a toll on her psyche]]...