History Main / ReformedButNotTamed

* Wrestling/MercedesMartinez had been wronged or let down by so many allies in her professional wrestling career that she became a vocal loner in Wrestling/{{SHIMMER}} until Wrestling/CheerleaderMelissa got her to chill out a little...[[VillainousFriendship not]] that that [[VillainTeamUp was a good thing]]. Melissa wasn't in SHIMMER's spinoff Shine Wrestling and it soon lost continuity with SHIMMER, [[CharacterExaggeration exaggerating]] Martinez's antisocial streak. She basically ruined as many gatherings of baby {{face}}s as possible because getting together disgusted her while doing nothing about the rampaging heel stables because they weren't her problem. Her face turn came after an unsuccessful title match with Shine Champion Ivelisse Velez, whom Martinez had criticized for getting the belt through Valkyrie. Velez gained enough of Martinez's respect that when Valkyrie came to put another beating on Velez Martinez helped fight them off. Still, Martinez remained a vocal loner as a face and insisted on fighting the Valkyrie stable alone, to [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption predictable results]]. Martinez continued to mock Velez's social behavior when she formed Las Sicarias PowerTrio with Amanda Rodriguez and [[Wrestling/BlackRose La Rosa Nega]], to the point she shooed Velez out of the arena while Velez was watching the two in TagTeam match. Mercedes took pity on Amanda and La Rosa when members of the expanded [[LegionOfDoom VALkyrie]] ganged up on them to steal the match, so she hit the ring to try and stop the post-match beatdown, to [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption predictable results]]. Finally Martinez realized she couldn't beat an entire stable on her own and officially joined Las Sicarias. While proving vital in Las Sicaria's ultimate victory over [=VALkyrie=], Martinez remained overly combative with a very patient Velez, contributing to Las Sicaria's ultimate defeat at the hands of [=C4=]. And even after realizing her mistake there, Wrestling/AllysinKay was still able to take advantage of Martinez's abrasiveness to turn her against Velez. Then set up an ambush with Better Than You while [[HereWeGoAgain Martinez was alone]].[[/folder]]

** Piccolo is the same way. Even though [[MoralityPet Gohan]] was the reason he softened up and became a part of the good guys, he still remains aloof and distant toward the other fighters. Even after it's clear to everyone that Piccolo is a genuine hero now, he still claims to be "the Devil", for example.

* In ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'', Kaguya lets go of her ambition to be President, and is proud to support people not like [[TheSocialDarwinist her father]]… but she still takes glee in intimidating political threats and is often inconsiderate of her personal servant. Her CharacterDevelopment manifests as increased willingness to apologize and recognize her mistakes when people call her out for them, rather than never making similar mistakes again.

* ''Prima Doll'' features a non-villainous example in episode 2. After Gekka reveals her traumatic past to Haizakura, the latter suggests that she should focus on the future, and not the past. While she shows signs of trying (notably after Haizakura has left the conversation), she jumps right back into her old self as she immediately attacks an incoming enemy. She briefly remembers the words Haizakura told her, but disregards it and kills them.

** In his short stint as a reformed detective, the Riddler, while for the most part working on the right side of the law, still retained his ego and need for attention, and at times cheated to get his leads. For example, one comic showed he would frequent chat rooms that gave theories on current crimes (one of which involved lilies that were left at the scene and random victims, with suggestions being things like a ritual killing, or a serial killer, or a cult, etc.), and if he felt a theory/lead was good enough, he would pursue it, and if it checked out, the Riddler would simply take the credit for himself. Of course, being as Batman often frequented those same chat rooms and shared some of those leads, it could have just as easily [[BatmanGambit been a way to let the Riddler show off his "genius" to the media and feed his ego and need for attention while simultaneously keeping him on the straight and narrow]].
* ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} debuted as a mercenary villain in ''ComicBook/NewMutants'' and in ''ComicBook/XForce''. After those events, he's still a mercenary, but evolves into a HeroicComedicSociopath who only does good deeds not because it was the right thing to do, but because either [[ItAmusedMe he felt like it]] or for selfish motives. However, he has made honest attempts at being a hero at times, like in ''ComicBook/CableAndDeadpool''.

* ''ComicBook/TransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'': In Season 2, Megatron is this. He's renounced the Decepticons and violence, but he's still a jerk who's not interested in being friendly or exerting himself to save strangers. It takes a ReasonYouSuckSpeech from Ratchet asking if he actually wanted to reform or it was just an act and saying that the Autobot symbol he'd stuck on his chest was supposed to actually mean something *all* the time and not just when it was convenient to Megatron to get him to actually make an effort to be heroic.

** Emma Frost started as a villainess who is cold, aloof, arrogant, sociopathic, and likes to [[{{Stripperiffic}} underdress]]. Even after she joins the team, nothing has changed about her attitude and behavior, although she seems to [[DefrostingIceQueen let her coldness melt a little]] and becomes ''slightly'' less sociopathic... sometimes.

* [[EnfantTerrible Cozy Glow]] is more or less this by the end of ''Fanfic/CastlingCozyGlow''; She has a [[MoralityPet handful of ponies she genuinely cares about]], has agreed to [[spoiler: be Twilight's apprentice]], and resisted a golden opportunity to seize power and go back to her villainous ways… but only barley. And only because one of the aforementioned ponies she cares about put themselves in the line of fire. She still has her lust for power, though she's at least open to earning it legitimately if no better opportunity arises, still has a hostile attitude with most ponies, and while she does agree to be [[spoiler: Twilight's apprentice]], she still stubbornly refuses to let go of her resentment towards Twilight, who has to dangle the possibility that she might [[spoiler: make Cozy an alicorn princess like Celestia did her]] someday to get her to agree. The sequel, ''The Once and the Future Princess'', picks up with Cozy's attitude only marginally approved from where ''Castling'' left off and she still (half jokingly) talks about evil schemes. But she is making progress.

* ''Fanfic/EquestriaGirlsAFairlyOddFriendship'': Sunset may be a better person, but bits of old Sunset still pop up. [[spoiler: When Timmy enrages her by calling her an evil witch, she comes very close to slugging him]]. Later, Rainbow notes that Sunset showed a bit of her old self when beating Doombringer; afterward, Twilight assures Sunset that she's just learned to channel her old instincts towards a good cause instead of trying to suppress them.

* ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe2'' shows that while Gru stopped to be a villain thanks to the events of the [[WesternAnimation/DespicableMe1 first movie]], [[DeadpanSnarker his snarking and sarcastic personality]] stays the same. When he joins a secret agency to fight supervillains, he more or less relies the same methods, tactics and instruments he used as a supervillain, now simply on the side of good.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'': The movie is about the titular VillainProtagonist pulling of a HeelFaceTurn and experience the good in him. When he's nominated the new protector of Metro City in the end, it shows he didn't lose any of his showman attitude and theatralics he was known at as a supervillain. However, him being more like an AffablyEvil IneffectualSympatheticVillain from the beginning, it makes it easier to see him become a genuine hero who now fully embraces the redeeming qualities he already had in his "evil" days.

* ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'': Biff Tannen in the new timeline where he has his own auto detailing business. In [[Film/BackToTheFuture1 the first film]], it's implied Biff is willing to stiff George on a waxing job (until George pushes the issue), and in [[Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII the third film]], he gets aggressive and yells "Butthead" at Marty when he thinks he's some stranger stealing his cleaning supplies. If Biff has genuinely reformed, than it shows he still hasn't fully lost his edge.

* Wrestlers who previously had a FaceHeelTurn, but then turned back into a face also qualify. [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]] started as the clear-cut face "Rocky Maivia", but [[XPacHeat wasn't well received]]. Then along came his heel turn and repackaging under his now-iconic gimmick as The Rock (which he's described as basically being himself with the volume turned up), and [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap a lot of fans were behind him]]. He turned face after being kicked out of Wrestling/TheCorporation, but still continues his backstage bullying and remains as one of the biggest [[TrashTalk trash-talkers]] in pro wrestling.

* ''VideoGame/BaldursGateIIThroneOfBhaal'': [[spoiler:Sarevok]], if you allow him to join your party and you're not following an evil path. He will help you, with his former ambition now long gone, even while still being evil but willingful to support you. Then, you have the possibility to turn him into a good character. At that point he will be some kind of KnightInSourArmor, still keeping his lethal skills (including the [[spoiler:deathbringer assault]]), and with a gloom attitude that is reflected in the game epilogue (which describes him as restless and tormented). The change of alignment depends on previous dialogue choices.

* ''VideoGame/{{Deltarune}}'' has Susie, a [[TheBerserker berserker]] monster party member who prefers to solve everything through violence instead of using the morally rewarding [[PacifistRun mercy system]]. She mellows out and becomes friendlier by the end of the first chapter, but she's still rather rude and her [=ACTs=] will usually involve a harmless form of aggression.

* ''VideoGame/StarCraftIIHeartOfTheSwarm'': To a certain extent, Kerrigan might be this. Despite being morphed back to a human form at the end of ''Wings of Liberty'', she still bears a lot of grudge and resentment against Mengsk, while still being capable of controlling the Zerg, and refuses Raynor's pledges of leaving with him because "until Mengsk lives, there can be no ''us''". After she is deceived into thinking that Raynor is dead, she pursues a full-scale quest for revenge against him. While definitely not being anymore the murderous Queen of Blades, and showing crescent mercy and care for the innocent, she kills Warfield in a burst of rage, and goes to the point of dooming to death a Protoss colony that threatened her (stating that both parties killed members of the other faction and so, from her point of view, everybody was guilty of killing). She then returns to Zerg form, although in the Primal Zerg form, which is free from the evil influence of Amon, and eventually sieges Mengsk's fortress. Here she is ultimately willing to spare innocent victims, allowing Valerian and Raynor to evacuate the city before her final assault.

* Sagat from ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' aligns himself with [[BigBad Shadaloo]] after suffering a loss to Ryu in the first ''SF'' tournament. He [[HeelRealization realizes]] that his revenge-driven desire in defeating Ryu isn't the right path, so in ''VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha 3'', he reforms from his ways, but still retains a heated yet [[WorthyOpponent healthy]] rivalry with Ryu.
* Wario of the ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' started as a villain in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioLand2SixGoldenCoins'' and as a VillainProtagonist in the ''VideoGame/WarioLand'' series. After that, while he isn't all that villainous anymore, he still retains his lust for money and is still a jerk because of it. The enemies he's pitted against in his own outings [[BlackAndGrayMorality are usually far worse than he is]], which, when coupled with Wario's own shortcomings and slapstick nature of his games, makes it hilariously easy to root for him as the "hero" in those situations. This also comes into play in the ''VideoGame/WarioWare'' series; for the most part, he's a legit video game developer, but has a nasty habit of stiffing his friends/employees out of their well-earned compensation.

* In ''[[WebAnimation/Supermarioglitchy4sSuperMario64Bloopers SMG4]]'',[=SMG3=], the evil counterpart of [[AuthorAvatar SMG4]], long time villain and main antagonist of the [=YouTube=] arc gave up on trying to usurp [=SMG4=] and ruin his life after finding his true purpose as Guardian of the Internet Graveyard and slowly develops mutual respect for [=SMG4=] over the Genesis and Revelations Arcs but his villainous tendencies never left him. He'll still make a grab for ultimate power if the chance presents itself and ruin Christmas just to be a dick.

* Lila is this in ''Webcomic/ScarletLady''. Even after becoming a better person, she still maintains a rather nasty streak, though she now reserves it for those who deserve it. For example, when she and her classmates get an invitation to a party from Chloé, she suggests, "Let's eat her food, trash her hotel, and leave her with the bill. It'll be fuuuun."

* Iago becomes good in ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheReturnOfJafar'', which continues through ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheSeries'', and while he no longer serves an evil vizier, there are still numerous times where his temper and insatiable greed gets the better of him. [[spoiler:He rides into the sunset with Aladdin's father Cassim at the end of ''WesternAnimation/AladdinAndTheKingOfThieves'', partially because said thief was "good, but not too good".]]

* Buford van Stomm from ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' started out as a stereotypical BarbaricBully. He later became a much more sympathetic character and befriended Phineas and Ferb, but he still considers himself a bully and frequently bullies his [[VitriolicBestBuds vitriolic best bud]] Baljeet.

* ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan'': After taking over Peter Parker's body and getting infused with a few of his core memories, Otto Octavius promises a dying Spider-Man to continue his legacy. While he does follow the promise, his main motivation is to prove he's a [[ExactlyWhatItSaysInTheTin Superior Spider-Man]] than Peter, so he uses the same methods as he did as [[Characters/MarvelComicsOttoOctavius Doctor Octopus]], making him just a NominalHero who is as arrogant and pathetic as he was back in his villain days.

* ''ComicBook/{{Venom}}'', who was a ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' villain, became Anti-Venom, who tries to become TheAtoner as well as graduating into a full-fledged AntiHero. Then there's the Venom symbiote itself after bonding to Flash Thompson.

* ''LetsPlay/AfterlifeSMP'': After going from the Vampire origin to the Angel origin, Scott officially quits being a [[CardCarryingVillain villain]], but states he has no intention of going fully good either, instead becoming a "vengeful" angel who ''chooses'' to be spiteful rather than a do-gooder, IncorruptiblePurePureness type.

* ''Film/{{Megamind}}'': The movie is about the titular VillainProtagonist pulling of a HeelFaceTurn and experience the good in him. When he's nominated the new protector of Metro City in the end, it shows he didn't lose any of his showman attitude and theatralics he was known at as a supervillain. However, him being more like an AffablyEvil IneffectualSympatheticVillain from the beginning, it makes it easier to see him become a genuine hero who now fully embraces the redeeming qualities he already had in his "evil" days.

* ''Megamind'': The movie is about the titular VillainProtagonist pulling of a HeelFaceTurn and experience the good in him. When he's nominated the new protector of Metro City in the end, it shows he didn't lose any of his showman attitude and theatralics he was known at as a supervillain. However, him being more like an AffablyEvil IneffectualSympatheticVillain from the beginning, it makes it easier to see him become a genuine hero who now fully embraces the redeeming qualities he already had in his "evil" days.

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* The [[VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight Arkham Knight]] keeps his lethal ways after adapting the much more heroic [[spoiler:Red Hood]] identity.

* Various characters of the ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' series started off as enemies of Sonic, but even after they joined his side, they can still be found clashing against Sonic on occasion due to circumstances or contrasting lifestyles and personalities.

* ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'': Biff Tannen in the new timeline where he has his own auto detailing business. In [[Film/BackToTheFuture the first film]], it's implied Biff is willing to stiff George on a waxing job (until George pushes the issue), and in [[Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII the third film]], he gets aggressive and yells "Butthead" at Marty when he thinks he's some stranger stealing his cleaning supplies. If Biff has genuinely reformed, than it shows he still hasn't fully lost his edge.

* OrphanageOfFear → BoardingSchoolOfHorrors

* The film adaption of ''Film/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas'' has the main character learning the true meaning of Christmas. Even so, he still behaves like a jerk, but his heart is still a half-size too small, so that's good enough for everyone.

* Wario of the ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' started as a villain in ''[[VideoGame/SuperMarioLand2SixGoldenCoins Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins]]'' and as a VillainProtagonist in ''VideoGame/WarioLand''. After that, while he isn't all that villainous anymore, he still retains his lust for money and is still a jerk because of it. The enemies he's pitted against in his own outings [[BlackAndGrayMorality are usually far worse than he is]], which, when coupled with Wario's own shortcomings and slapstick nature of his games, makes it hilariously easy to root for him as the "hero" in those situations. This also comes into play in the ''VideoGame/WarioWare'' series; for the most part, he's a legit video game developer, but has a nasty habit of stiffing his friends/employees out of their well-earned compensation.

* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' villainess ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} develops into an anti-heroine who often at times teams up with Batman in his missions. Then there's that whole [[DatingCatwoman relationship status of theirs]].
* ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} debuted as a mercenary villain in ''ComicBook/NewMutants'' and in ''ComicBook/XForce''. After those events, he's still a mercenary, but evolves into a HeroicComedicSociopath who only does good deeds not because it was the right thing to do, but because either [[ItAmusedMe he felt like it]] or for selfish motives.
** Although he has made honest attempts at being a hero at times, like during ''ComicBook/CableAndDeadpool''.
* On a similar note, ''ComicBook/HarleyQuinn'' started as a VillainProtagonist in her first comic, and was mostly this in her 2014 series as well (albeit with some [[AntiVillain redeeming traits]]). As of Rebirth and beyond, she's become more of an AntiHero and has started mainly doing straight-up heroic deeds (often at the [[CopsNeedTheVigilante behest of the police chief]]). It's still pretty hard to say she's an outright good guy, however, given her [[AxCrazy general craziness and bloodthirstiness]].

* In his short stint as a reformed detective, ComicBook/TheRiddler, while for the most part working on the right side of the law, still retained his ego and need for attention, and at times cheated to get his leads. For example, one comic showed he would frequent chat rooms that gave theories on current crimes (one of which involved lilies that were left at the scene and random victims, with suggestions being things like a ritual killing, or a serial killer, or a cult, etc.), and if he felt a theory/lead was good enough, he would pursue it, and if it checked out, the Riddler would simply take the credit for himself. Of course, being as Batman often frequented those same chat rooms and shared some of those leads, it could have just as easily [[BatmanGambit been a way to let the Riddler show off his "genius" to the media and feed his ego and need for attention while simultaneously keeping him on the straight and narrow]].
* {{ComicBook/Sabretooth}} was inverted into a good guy during ''{{ComicBook/AXIS}}''. He genuinely wants to do good and atone for all his past sins — swearing to Logan that he will find the Spirit of a Wolverine. However, just because he's good & penitent doesn't mean he's a sweetheart. He still has the same gruff, temperamental, snarky attitude he has as a villain. And he's still violent, but now he's using it against bad guys to help, rather than for his own sadism.
** In Weapon X 25, Azazel says he's still a monster on his way to Hell because of this. While he may work with the good guys, all his past evil is still in his soul & hasn't been washed away.

* ''ComicBook/{{Venom}}'', who was a ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' villain, became Anti-Venom, who tries to become TheAtoner as well as graduating into a full-fledged AntiHero.
** Then there's the Venom symbiote itself, after bonding to Flash Thompson.
* ComicBook/EmmaFrost from ''ComicBook/XMen'' started as a villainess who is cold, aloof, arrogant, sociopathic, and likes to [[{{Stripperiffic}} underdress]]. Even after she joins the team, nothing has changed about her attitude and behavior, although she seems to [[DefrostingIceQueen let her coldness melt a little]] and becomes ''slightly'' less sociopathic. Sometimes.

* [[Characters/AbraxasHrodvitnonMonsterX San]], formerly one of the [[MultipleHeadCase three heads]] of King Ghidorah who has since been separated from Ghidorah's body and has merged with Dr. Graham to form a new two-headed creature in ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon''. Although [[MoralityPet Vivienne's positive influence]] and being cut off from the other Ghidorah heads' evil influence leads San to [[HeelFaceTurn switch his moral alignment]] to fighting for Godzilla and humanity, San still retains a cruel streak towards anyone who personally hurts him and the ones he cares about past his patience threshold, and he still finds the thought of fighting with other monsters [[BloodKnight alluring]].

* ''VideoGame/CelestialHearts'': Lissandra may have left the Drakon Cult, but the original party considered her a WildCard who is still amoral in pursuing her own goals. She tried to steal the Eye of Destruction behind their backs, so they took Hermes's staff from her and sealed it away. [[spoiler:When she resurfaces as Silnastra, she helps the party restore Helen's consciousness in exchange for them getting the staff back for her.]]

* ''VideoGame/KnightEternal'': Even long after Alduin's HeelFaceTurn in ''VideoGame/KnightBewitched'', he can be haughty and irritable, especially when he's bickering with Stray over how to best restore Halonia.

* KickTheDog → KickTheSonOfABitch or ShootTheDog

** Cancer Deathmask first appeared as a CardCarryingVillain, what with his inability to care about collateral damage or [[NightmareFuel decorating the Temple of the Giant Crab with wailing faces that are actually the manifestation of his victims' souls]]. In ''Anime/SaintSeiyaSoulOfGold'', he's profoundly ashamed of having become so evil that his Cloth abandoned him — and when he meets an enemy more evil than he ever was, he uses a variation of the same technique he used on those souls to [[KickTheSonOfABitch give him the worst torture he ever dished out]], one [[FateWorseThanDeath far worse than just killing him]] — [[AndIMustScream and will never end]].

* In the GrandFinale of ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'', Gideon Gleeful had a HeelFaceTurn and resolves to give up evil-doing... which doesn't stop him from siccing his prison buddies on [[KickTheSonOfABitch a kid who made fun of him]].

* Accelerator in ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'' killed ten thousand cloned girls who were part of a HiveMind as part of a monstrous experiment supported by the Academy City researchers [[spoiler:and only agreed to it in the first place in the hopes that the results would make him ''so'' powerful that people would stop constantly picking fights with him]], but transitions into TheAtoner and even gets shot in the head and suffers permanent brain damage in order to protect one of them, which results in the remaining ten thousand girls letting him use their neural network to augment his damaged brain functions. He will do good to others, but he'll still behave like an utter jerk in doing so. In fact, he at one point states his intention to troll the very idea of heroism by saving a life in the most violent, bloody manner possible.

* Sesshomaru started as a villain trying to kill his own half-brother ''Manga/InuYasha'', but turned into his protector due to taking a young orphan girl under his wing. This doesn't mean he really enjoys showing kindness to others, even Inuyasha.

* [[EnfantTerrible Cozy Glow]] is more or less this by the end of ''Fanfic/CastlingCozyGlow''; She has a [[MoralityPet handful of ponies she genuinely cares about]], has agreed to [[spoiler: be Twilight's apprentice]], and resisted a golden opportunity to seize power and go back to her villainous ways… but only barley. And only because one of the aforementioned ponies she cares about put themselves in the line of fire. She still has her lust for power, though she's at least open to earning it legitimately if no better opportunity arises, still has a hostile attitude with most ponies, and while she does agree to be [[spoiler: Twilight's apprentice]], she still stubbornly refuses to let go of her resentment towards Twilight, who has to dangle the possibility that she might [[spoiler: make Cozy an alicorn princess like Celestia did her]] someday to get her to agree. The sequel, ''The One and the Future Princess'', picks up with Cozy's attitude only marginally approved from where ''Castling'' left off and a long way to go.