History Main / RedemptionFailure

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'' featured Jack Spicer going through such an event, with hints of ReformedByRejected from almost everyone except Omi.

* Since he's something of an {{Expy}} of Creator/ClintEastwood's characters, Saint of Killers in ''ComicBook/{{Preacher}}'' gets a backstory about his life as a retired outlaw and gunslinger. Things rapidly go awry in fashion very similar to what befalls Eastwood's character in ''Unforgiven''. See the Film section for more details.

* This is the CentralTheme for the Annual # 1 of the ComicBook/TheBatmanAdventures, with four stories:
** ''Going Straight:'' FramingDevice where Batman investigates Roxy Rocket, a criminal escape artist that Batman was sure was reformed, but who seems to have come back to crime. Roxy claims to be framed and insists to ClearMyName.
** ''Puppet Show:'' The Ventriloquist founds work as a puppeteer in a kid’s show and even has Croaky, a frog puppet who supports and encourages him to get straight, but a WhiteDwarfStarlet DepravedKidsShowHost knows about his past, she will [[TheCorrupter try to tempt him…]]
** ''24 hours:'' A DayInTheLife of Harley Quinn, the day she is released from Arkham and wants to go straight right until she meets the Joker again... only two pages long, maybe a PoorlyDisguisedPilot for [[Recap/TheAdventuresOfBatmanAndRobinE16HarleysHoliday "Harley's Holiday"]].
** ''Study Hall:'' After subjecting himself an AndThenWhat, Scarecrow escapes Arkham to become a SaveOurStudents teacher in a university, but when a JerkJock has a DateRape with his favorite student, Crane will become the ultimate SadistTeacher…
* ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} enemy The Gladiator ([[NamesTheSame no relation to the]] Franchise/XMen [[NamesTheSame character]]) had redeemed himself for a time, but between the manipulations of Alexander Bont and Mr. Fear, his original HeelFaceTurn was undone after Melvin is forced back into a life of crime by the former threatening his family and the latter driving him insane with his fear chemicals.

** Harley Quinn in "Harley's Holiday", though because it is PlayedForLaughs, this is a borderline HeelFaceDoorSlam example, too.
** Another episode, "Birds of a Feather", had the Penguin be released from prison turning over a new leaf. A gold digger dates him for the publicity, but [[spoiler:soon starts to grow fond of him]]. It crashes down when her motives are revealed.

* William Munny in ''Film/{{Unforgiven}}'' is a former badman, who tried to make a go at being a farmer. When his farm fails he decideds to take just one more job and for a time goes back to his old ways. (Although it's hinted at at the end that he eventually returned to a mundane life once more.)

* Since he's something of an {{Expy}} of Creator/ClintEastwood's characters, Saint of Killers in ''{{Preacher}}'' gets a backstory about his life as a retired outlaw and gunslinger. Things rapidly go awry in fashion very similar to what befalls Eastwood's character in ''Unforgiven''. See the Film section for more details.

* In ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'', the ''very'' {{Anti Hero}}ic, if not outright villainous, BlackAdam decides to start flying straight under the influence of his two new {{Morality Pet}}s and turns his dominion Kahndaq into a rather utopian place. Then, [[spoiler:both Morality Pets are killed by the Intergang. And one of them suffers a HeroicBSOD on top of that, instructing Adam to go on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge.]] Which he does, becoming the most wanted mass-murderer on the planet for a while.

* ''VideoGame/{{Hitman}}'' contains an AntiHero (or possibly AntiVillain) example. In the second game, 47 abandons the life of crime to become a gardener for a priest, yet he's forced back into it when his employer is kidnapped. [[spoiler:In the end, he realizes that, being essentially a SuperSoldier, he can't turn his back on the business of death and goes back to being an assassin]].

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'' featured Jack Spicer going through such an event, with hints of HeelFaceDoorSlam from almost everyone except Omi.

* In ''AmericanHistoryX'', some alternative endings have [[spoiler:Danny's murder]] cause Derek to revert back to his old, racist ways.

* ''Film/TheGodfather Part III'' has Michael's famous "Just when I thought I was out... they pull me back in."

After undergoing an genuine HeelFaceTurn (often after a "MyGodWhatHaveIDone" experience), the formerly-evil but now honestly good character is forced by the circumstances (usually a great injustice done to him or the death of his loved one) to revert to his evil and violent ways again, losing everything good that he earned during his benevolent phase. A form of TragicMonster.

* Roberta in ''Manga/BlackLagoon'' quits the ProfessionalKiller business to become an simple maid, only to resort to [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge massive violence]] again after her master is killed.
* In ''Manga/SoulEater'' this happens to [[spoiler:Crona]] in the manga. In both the manga and the anime [[spoiler:after their HeelFaceTurn, [[AbusiveParents Medusa]] suddenly shows up again and forces them to betray Shibusen.]] In the anime [[spoiler:Crona]] manages to stay on/return to the side of good permanently. In the manga they [[spoiler:end up killing a death scythe, his meister, and a whole town full of people ([[FateWorseThanDeath or worse]]) so Maka et al were ordered to kill them.]] Even in the end, [[spoiler:when Crona pulls a second HeelFaceTurn, Crona admits to having no sense of morality or care for the fate of the world, instead just deciding to save it because it's what {{M|oralityChain}}aka wants.]]

* ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} enemy The Gladiator ([[NamesTheSame no rleation to the]] Franchise/XMen [[NamesTheSame character]]) had redeemed himself for a time, but between the manipulations of Alexander Bont and Mr. Fear, his original HeelFaceTurn was undone after Melvin is forced back into a life of crime by the former threatening his family and the latter driving him insane with his fear chemicals.

* ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} enemy The Gladiator ([[NamesTheSame no rleation to the]] Franchise/XMen [[NamesTheSame character]]) had redeemed himself for a time, but between the manipulations of Alexander Bont and Mr. Fear manipulations, his original HeelFaceTurn was undone after Melvin is forced back into a life of crime by the former threatening his family and the latter driving him insane with his fear chemicals.

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

* In ''Manga/SoulEater'' this happens to [[spoiler: Crona]] in the manga. In both the manga and the anime [[spoiler: after their HeelFaceTurn, [[AbusiveParents Medusa]] suddenly shows up again and forces them to betray Shibusen.]] In the anime [[spoiler:Crona]] manages to stay on/return to the side of good permanently. In the manga they [[spoiler:end up killing a death scythe, his meister, and a whole town full of people ([[FateWorseThanDeath or worse]]) so Maka et al were ordered to kill them.]] Even in the end, [[spoiler:when Crona pulls a second HeelFaceTurn, Crona admits to having no sense of morality or care for the fate of the world, instead just deciding to save it because it's what [[MoralityChain Maka]] wants.]]

* Throughout the first half of ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'', we see reference to the original leader of the [[{{Delinquents}} Yellow Scarves]] abandoning the gang after a turf war went bad. Then, in part 2, [[spoiler: Masaomi Kida]] is revealed as that same original leader when he retakes control of the group to defend themselves from The Dollars and The Slasher. While he was never evil, per se, he treats it like an example of this.

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

[[folder: Film ]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

* [[spoiler:Thomas Raith]] in TheDresdenFiles becomes a VegetarianVampire after nearly killing his love interest but reverts to a full-on vamp after being tortured and forced to lethally feed on humans by a resident EldritchAbomination. Still, even as he announces his return to full vampirism he doesn't deny that he still cares for his loved ones, and he claims he won't fatally feed on people. The reasons he gives for this fall into the PragmaticVillainy category, but it's ambiguous whether he really means it or is simply trying to convince himself that he's going to be a Pragmatic Villain rather than a true good guy. [[spoiler: As of the end of ''Cold Days'', his personality doesn't seem to have changed all that much, and his refusal to willingly kill innocent people, his [[{{Tearjerker}} Tearjerking]] reaction to Harry's death and return and his absolute joy at being able to reunite with the woman he loves suggests that his self-proclaimed RedemptionFailure was more of a short-term reaction to his horrible trauma than a true shift in personality]]. He was never truly evil to begin with, and was at worst a NobleDemon with {{Morality Pet}}s, so it's difficult to tell how much of a change there really was.

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* Lindsey on ''Series/{{Angel}}'' becomes a HeelFaceRevolvingDoor as he abandons his evil employer but can't manage to not return, once it seems he finally has he comes back anyway plotting against Angel out of jealousy, after failing he agrees to team up with Angel again, but with the realization that he will turn on the team again when things go bad, [[spoiler: Angel has Lorne, a member of his team eliminate him.]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

** Another episode, "Birds of a Feather", had the Penguin be released from prison turning over a new leaf. A gold digger dates him for the publicity, but [[spoiler: soon starts to grow fond of him]]. It crashes down when her motives are revealed.

* Played with in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''; [[spoiler: Prince Zuko]] finally gives up on being bad, [[BeingEvilSucks understanding that it really hasn't worked out for him]], and seems content to live peacefully. However, in one of the series' most famous moments, when the opportunity to return to his old ways in such a way that he will likely be successful, he embraces it, [[spoiler: though he later does a complete and permanent HeelFaceTurn]]. The ambiguity here is that his personality during his temporary HeelFaceTurn is so radically different from his previous one that it seems likely that he's putting it on, (even if the falsehood is only subconscious and he genuinely did think he had changed). [[spoiler: This is supported by the fact that during his later permanent redemption he is still just as brooding and hot-tempered as before, he simply became an AntiHero rather than an AntiVillain]]. There is also the fact that, though his recidivism was brought on by outside events, they did not compel him in any way, and merely offered him the chance to fulfil his villainous goals.

** ''24 hours:'' A DayInTheLife of Harley Quinn, the day she is released from Arkham and wants to go straight right until she meets TheJoker again… only two pages long, maybe a PoorlyDisguisedPilot for [[Recap/TheAdventuresOfBatmanAndRobinHarleysHoliday Harley’s Holiday]].

* Since he's something of an {{Expy}} of ClintEastwood's characters, Saint of Killers in ''{{Preacher}}'' gets a backstory about his life as a retired outlaw and gunslinger. Things rapidly go awry in fashion very similar to what befalls Eastwood's character in ''Unforgiven''. See the Film section for more details.

* The plot of ''KillBill'' plot is driven by this trope. [[UmaThurman The Bride]] faces a major Redemption Failure at the very beginning of the film: in the little chapel of Two Pines (Texas), the rehearsal of her wedding is ruined by former friends from her former assassin's life. [[spoiler:They kill everybody in the chapel but miss The Bride, who, although very badly hurt, survives]]. The last three and half hours of film depict her vengeance. A vengeance that feeds on what she wanted most to forget about: her mind-blowing killing-machine skills.

* In ''Manga/SoulEater'' this happens to [[spoiler: Crona]] in the manga. In both the manga and the anime [[spoiler: after their HeelFaceTurn, [[AbusiveParents Medusa]] suddenly shows up again and forces them to betray Shibusen.]] In the anime [[spoiler:Crona]] gets better. In the manga they [[spoiler: appear to have crossed the MoralEventHorizon by killing a death scythe, murdering Medusa for being ''nice'' to them ([[MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning as she planned]]) and Maka et al have been ordered to kill them.]]

* Throughout the first half of ''{{Durarara}}'', we see reference to the original leader of the [[{{Delinquents}} Yellow Scarves]] abandoning the gang after a turf war went bad. Then, in part 2, [[spoiler: Masaomi Kida]] is revealed as that same original leader when he retakes control of the group to defend themselves from The Dollars and The Slasher. While he was never evil, per se, he treats it like an example of this.

* This is the CentralTheme for the Annual # 1 of the [[ComicBook/TheBatmanAdventures]], with four stories:

* In the Simpsons, Marge tries to help an inmate rehabilitate by getting him a job. However, after Skinner allows him to take all the blame for a poorly recieved mural (which Skinner had suggested) the inmate snaps and burns both the mural and Skinner's car.

* An episode of ''XiaolinShowdown'' featured Jack Spicer going through such an event, with hints of HeelFaceDoorSlam from almost everyone except Omi.

Compare ChronicVillainy, where the ex-baddie has an inner compulsion to commit evil again (rather than being forced into it by external circumstances); ReformedButRejected, where everyone ''thinks'' that he will revert even though he does not; and HeelFaceDoorSlam, where an evil character ''wants'' to go clean but is not even allowed to start. Contrast HeelFaceRevolvingDoor, where the bad guy changes alignment so often, it's hard to speak of any redemption in his case.

The AnAesop being: BeingGoodSucks but BeingEvilSucks even more and circumstances ''will'' conspire to tempt you from one to the other.

The MoralOfTheStory being: BeingGoodSucks but BeingEvilSucks even more and circumstances ''will'' conspire to tempt you from one to the other.

* [[spoiler:Thomas Raith]] in TheDresdenFiles becomes a VegetarianVampire after nearly killing his love interest but reverts to a full-on vamp after being tortured and forced to lethally feed on humans by a resident EldritchAbomination. Still, even as he announces his return to full vampirism he doesn't deny that he still cares for his loved ones, and he claims he won't fatally feed on people. The reasons he gives for this fall into the PragmaticVillainy category, but it's ambiguous whether he really means it or is simply trying to convince himself that he's going to be a Pragmatic Villain rather than a true good guy. [[spoiler: As of the end of ''Cold Days'', his personality doesn't seem to have changed all that much, and his refusal to willingly kill innocent people, his [[{{Tearjerker}} Tearjerking]] reaction to Harry's death and return and his absolute joy at being able to reunite with the woman he loves suggests that his self-proclaimed RedemptionFailure was more of a short-term reaction to his horrible trauma than a true shift in personality]]. Of course, he was never truly evil to begin with, and was at worst a NobleDemon with {{Morality Pet}}s, so it's difficult to tell how much of a change there really was.

** SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker in "Joker's Millions", when he inherits $250 million from his late rival Edward "King" Barlow. He immediately goes on a spending spree, knowing that his freedom alone must be driving Batman crazy. Unfortunately for him, [[spoiler:Barlow had only left $10 million in real cash while everything else was counterfeit as part of an elaborate [[ThanatosGambit Thanatos]] / BatmanGambit to trap him into either going to jail for tax evasion or admitting he'd been had and becoming the laughing stock of the Gotham underworld]], thus forcing him back into a life of crime.
** Another episode, "Birds of a Feather", had the Penguin be released from Arkham turning over a new leaf. A gold digger dates him for the publicity, but [[spoiler: soon starts to grow fond of him]]. It crashes down when her motives are revealed.

After undergoing an genuine HeelFaceTurn (often after a "MyGodWhatHaveIDone" experience), the formerly-evil but now honestly good character is forced by the circumstances (usually a great injustice done to him or the death of his loved one) to revert to his evil and violent ways again, losing everything good that he earned during his benevolent phase. A form of TragicMonster.

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** SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker in "Joker's Millions", when he inherits $250 million from his late rival Edward "King" Barlow. Unfortunately for him, [[spoiler:Barlow had only left $10 million in real cash while everything else was counterfeit as part of an elaborate [[ThanatosGambit Thanatos]] / BatmanGambit to trap him into either going to jail for tax evasion or admitting he'd been had and becoming the laughing stock of the Gotham underworld]], thus forcing him back into a life of crime.