History Main / RetiredMonster

* In the altered 1985 at the end of ''Film/BackToTheFuture1'', Biff is shown to be a nicer person, but it's heavily implied his kindness is just obsequiousness toward a wealthier and more assertive George than a genuine attempt at self-improvement. In the sequel, set in 2015, he behaves like a nasty grouch who acts the way he did when he was a teenager.

* In ''Literature/LonelyWerewolfGirl'', [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Fire-Queen]] Malveria is presented as a fashion-obsessed, [[ShipperOnDeck matchmaking]] {{ditz}}, but this is because she's already killed all her serious enemies long ago and (currently) finds her title of "Persecutor of Mankind" to be boring. In Book two, someone from her evil days turns up as the BigBad of the story to tell her NiceJobBreakingItHerod.

* Xu Wenwu, the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse's version of the Mandarins, is shown in ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings'' spending thousands of years conquering every country coming in his way and being the head of the terrorist group the ''Ten Rings'' before meeting Ying Li, [[HappilyMarried marrying her]] and starting a family. [[spoiler: However, as soon as [[MoralityPet Ying Li]] is killed by former rivals, Wenwu takes up his role as terrorist and warlord once again.]]

** Stewie Griffin is one, best seen from his future self from ''WesternAnimation/StewieGriffinTheUntoldStory'' (or "Stu and Stewie's Excellent Adventure" when re-edited to air in three parts). In his self-future, he is not violent, and all his plans for world domination were scrapped by himself. Lampshaded by Brian in "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS6E4And5StewieKillsLoisAndLoisKillsStewie Stewie Kills Lois]]" when he points how, despite all his boasts and blusters, [[VillainDecay it's been ages since actually attempted to kill Lois and/or take over the world]]. This ends up incensing Stewie, prompting him to prove he's still got an edge. [[spoiler:Subverted when it turns out to be a simulation Stewie ran to see how it would play out. Given that it ended with Lois surviving and killing Stewie in revenge, it presumably convinced him to give up on that line of thought.]]

** Aku during season 5. After destroying the last time portal, Aku was content to [[OrcusOnHisThrone hide out in his lair]] until Jack inevitably died of old age. Unfortunately, he discovered that, as a side effect of time travel, Jack was turned into TheAgeless, leaving Aku to wallow in despair. He quickly jumps back into action the minute he hears of a chance to kill Jack once and for all.

* ''VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4'': Kratos has long since cast aside his anger and need for vengeance to live a life of quiet and isolation. He doesn't try to pretend that he has become a better person or that he can escape his past as the monster who almost single-handedly brought the entirety of Greece to ruin, but he does try to at least raise his son Atreus to be better than he was. And if you try to harm a hair on Atreus's head, he [[PapaWolf will show you exactly why everyone fears him.]] [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] in that he holds virtually nothing BUT remorse for his past actions, and his shame of and reluctance to discuss them is a major factor in his strained relationship with his son.

* ''VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4'': Kratos has long since cast aside his anger and need for vengeance to live a life of quiet and isolation. He doesn't try to pretend that he has become a better person or that he can escape his past as the monster who almost single-handedly brought the entirety of Greece to ruin, but he does try to at least raise his son Atreus to be better than he was. And if you try to harm a hair on Atreus's head, he [[PapaWolf will show you exactly why everyone fears him.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': Yon Rha, retired Fire Nation soldier who killed Katara's and Sokka's mother. By the time that Katara confronts him he is long since past his GloryDays and now spends his days being hassled by his overbearing mother. He's still a very bad person though, not only attempting to burn anyone who attempts to ambush him, but also offering up his own mother to Katara in an attempt to make them even. Seeing how pathetic he is causes Katara to [[CruelMercy leave him to his fate in disgust]].

* Gunther Lutze from ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' episode "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS3E74DeathsHeadRevisited Deaths-Head Revisited]]": He shows sick enjoyment of his crimes even years later, and feels no guilt.

* Franchise/SpiderMan:

** Stewie Griffin is one, best seen in the episode "Stu and Stewie's Excellent Adventure" (from ''Recap/StewieGriffinTheUntoldStory''). In his self-future, he is not violent, and all his plans for world domination were scrapped by himself. Lampshaded by Brian in "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS6E4And5StewieKillsLoisAndLoisKillsStewie Stewie Kills Lois]]" when he points how, despite all his boasts and blusters, [[VillainDecay it's been ages since actually attempted to kill Lois and/or take over the world]]. This ends up incensing Stewie, prompting him to prove he's still got an edge. [[spoiler:Subverted when it turns out to be a simulation Stewie ran to see how it would play out. Given that it ended with Lois surviving and killing Stewie in revenge, it presumably convinced him to give up on that line of thought.]]

* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E13TheConscienceOfTheKing The Conscience of the King]]". There was Kodos the Executioner, a notorious tyrant who had murdered thousands in a massacre decades before the date of the episode. (The true villain of the episode, however, is his daughter, who tries to kill every remaining witness of the crime -- this includes Kirk -- to prevent her father from being arrested for it; Kodos dies when she tries to kill Kirk, taking a laser blast meant for him, making him a somewhat tragic figure as his past crimes not only catch up to haunt him but to destroy the one thing in his life he had hoped to keep pure and untainted.)
* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''
** In "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS01E19Duet Duet]]", the protagonists meet a Cardassian with a similar background, being the brutal camp commandant of a forced labour camp, brazenly flaunting his guilt... or was he? [[spoiler:Turns out he was merely a filing clerk who had assumed his identity, having been driven mad with guilt for all the atrocities committed there. His goal was to be executed as penance for never speaking out against the brutality, and to shine a light unwanted by the Cardassian government on the atrocities committed.]]
** Garak is a complicated subversion. He was caught and exiled for an unspecified crime (hinted to be some kind of treason or betrayal of the Obsidian Order) and he has a reputation for being a very dangerous man who shouldn't be trusted. However, as the show progresses, it becomes less clear that this reputation is as cut-and-dried as it first seemed. Eventually, it becomes clear that he's not so much heartless about the past, and he may not easily admit it or apologise for it, but he's carrying at least ''some'' guilt about it. His motivation for everything he did in the Order was a bitter and cynical IDidWhatIHadToDo, and he wasn't above sacrificing his own sense of morality for his job or [[ShootTheDog Shooting the Dog]] if he had to.
*** He became a part of the Obsidian Order in the first place because [[spoiler:his father,]] Enabran Tain, was trying to mould him into the perfect operative... and he succeeded. However, although Garak has done many morally ambiguous things in his life and was even brought up to enjoy performing ColdBloodedTorture, he doesn't feel that good about it in retrospect, and it's clear that the main reason he did what he did was his acute loyalty to Cardassia and the belief that he was doing what he had to do for his people. His observation of some of the worst that sentient creatures — Cardassian and otherwise — are capable of in the murky underworld of covert operations has made him incredibly cynical but also fascinated with the Federation, particularly Julian Bashir, whose compassion and desire to help people is completely alien to him. Although he is ''incredibly'' dangerous if you get on his wrong side, his enforced "retirement" and consequent exposure to the Federation has allowed him to learn compassion and to lose his taste for the more unsavoury aspects of his job description. His moral compass has definitely been pulled a certain way since he was exiled, leading him to act more like a SociopathicHero than a Retired Monster.
*** The show hints that he's been hiding [[LaResistance dissident]] sympathies. When trapped between obeying the state (killing them) or letting them go free, he acknowledges it's against his better judgement to oppose them and eventually lets them go free. It's not the last time he helps dissidents either, [[spoiler:much to the consternation of an old Obsidian Order colleague of his]].
*** To Enabran Tain (who exiled him) he is clearly very upset over how things turned out between them (but then, we don't know the circumstances to know why).
*** When he is ordered to torture a captured prisoner [[spoiler:(Odo)]] in "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS03E21TheDieIsCast The Die is Cast]]", he's uncomfortable with the idea but carries it through. [[spoiler:He succeeds in torturing himself almost as much as he tortures Odo, ''begging'' Odo to give him even the smallest bit of information so he can have an excuse to stop the torture.]] Afterwards, he apologizes [[spoiler:to Odo]] and from it, an OddFriendship is born.
*** When he's commissioned by the Federation as a code-breaker in the fight against the Dominion (and therefore Cardassia), he suffers a claustrophobic breakdown which turns out to be as a result of him bottling an immense guilt over the role he's playing in the fight against Cardassians.
*** In "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS07E25E26WhatYouLeaveBehind What You Leave Behind]]", he gives a speech observing how the decimation of Cardassia could be considered payback for the awful actions they've committed against other species during their military expansionist phase.
** Enabran Tain, Garak's superior [[spoiler:and father]] and the man who ran the Obsidian Order for twenty years, is completely unrepentant of his crimes and killing whomever ''might'' be a threat (while Garak seemed to be always looking for excuses to ''not'' kill someone, Tain seemed to be looking for excuses ''to'' kill). It's his missing the old days which prompts him to actually come out of retirement and forge an alliance with the Tal Shiar to strike at the Dominion preemptively. This doesn't end well.
* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': The Maquis crewmembers could also be considered a variant of this, as they were all former resistance fighters and terrorists who had done some unsavoury things to the Cardassians in the past. The most egregious example would be Lon Suder, who only joined up with the Maquis to satiate his need to kill.
* ''Series/BabylonFive'': [[Recap/BabylonFiveS01E09Deathwalker Deathwalker]]. She just wanted to get everyone else to do her dirty work.
* Samson Gray, Sylar's father, on ''Series/{{Heroes}}''. A sadistic murderer who retired to live a quiet life as a taxidermist because he just got bored of killing. [[spoiler:Until Sylar showed up with the power of healing, and thus immortality.]]
** Sylar himself retook the identity of Gabriel Gray in the alternate future of "I Am Become Death", having gotten bored with acquiring power and all the pointless killing. Due to a NoodleIncident, he now lives in the former Bennet house dotingly raising his young son "Noah" and once again working as a watchmaker.
* Gunther Lutze from ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' episode "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS3E74DeathsHeadRevisited Deaths-Head Revisited]]": He shows sick enjoyment of his crimes even years later, and feels no guilt.

* In an episode of ''Series/{{CSI}}'', a black janitor who befriended the murdered white supremacist student (who was trying to learn how to respect other races) turns out to be [[spoiler:a leader in the Rwandan genocide. The student had found a picture of him in a book and was going to turn him in when the janitor murdered him]]
* In ''Series/{{Kings}}'', Vesper Abbadon seems like a doddering old man, but there is a very good reason why he was called "the bloody King of Carmel." It's the same good reason why he's spent the last 30 years locked in a stone box with minimal human contact.
* In the live-action version of ''Series/TheTick2001,'' "The Terror" is an elderly old supervillain who was former buddies with Stalin. These days he's just a crazy old guy in a hospital whose antics amount to little more than throwing blood bags at Arthur. Considering Arthur's crappy level of fighting competence, that is actually a genuine challenge for him.
* In ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'', [[spoiler:Charles Fischer]] came back from a future in which he helped the machines to understand humans by torturing them to get inside their heads. He claims that he was sent back to the past as a reward for his services, and doesn't do anything particularly malicious. [[spoiler:Subverted at the end when it's revealed that he accessed a computer system at his younger self's place of work in order to aid [=SkyNet=].]]
** [[spoiler:Also to ensure his past self is in position to become him.]]
* Duncan from ''Series/{{Highlander}}: The Series'' is surprised that his friend [[spoiler:and [[CynicalMentor Cynical]] / BigBrotherMentor Methos is one of these. Back in [[TimeAbyss The Bronze Age]] Methos joined with 3 other immortals to form a marauding pack that killed and burned their way through the world. (Inspiring the idea of the HorsemenOfTheApocalypse along the way; Methos himself was ''Death'').]] Although [[spoiler:Methos]] never says that he's sorry, he is more guilty about his actions than most, calling those years his "angry adolescence" (this was after all 5000 years ago), and [[spoiler:when Kronos, another member of the Horsemen tries to get group together again, Methos plays them and helps Duncan bring them down from the inside]].
* On ''Series/RookieBlue'' Jamie Brennan was a feared gangland enforcer who was infamous for using power tools to torture his victims. After a small stint in jail on relatively petty charges, he got married and went straight. When his family is killed in a suspicious car accident [[spoiler:he kidnaps and tortures an undercover police officer to find out if the police were covering up what really happened.]]

* [[spoiler:Granny]] in ''Series/OnceUponATime'', who used to be TheBigBadWolf.
* Ex-cartel capo Hector "Tio" Salamanca on ''Series/BreakingBad'', who despite being crippled and mute after a stroke has not to lost a bit of the sharpness - or ruthlessness - that characterized his younger days. (Said younger days are occasionally shown in flashback.)
* How some of the older members of the mob end their careers in ''Series/TheSopranos'' - the lucky ones. Then again, [[spoiler:Uncle Junior's gradual descent into dementia, eventually rendering him a frail, senile husk of his former self condemned to spend the remainder of his life in a dank state-run facility unable to even recognize his family or recall his own accomplishments]] is one of the most depressing and haunting plotlines in the show.

* Played for BlackComedy in an episode of ''Series/{{Community}}'' where Troy and Abed befriend a fellow college student named Lukka, who teaches them how to succeed at a [[UltraSuperDeathGoreFestChainsawer3000 spectacularly violent war videogame]]. After a date with him, Britta finds out this is because he's an unrepentant SociopathicSoldier and Balkan war criminal who quite giddily participated in genocide. Needless to say, Troy and Abed are pretty horrified when they find out about their new friend's past.
* ''Series/{{Defiance}}'': During the [[GreatOffscreenWar Pale Wars]], Doc Yewll was a leading MadScientist among the Votan ranks, doing unthinkable things to human prisoners for the sake of furthering the war effort. Having a HeelRealization at some point along the way, she left it all behind after the war, retreating to the remoteness of Defiance to hide from her past. Later on in the series, however, we see her evolve into TheAtoner and try to make amends for all she's done.
* Season 12 of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' reveals the existence of the Princes of Hell, the first generation of demons created after [[MonsterProgenitor Lilith]], who were meant to act as Hell's generals. Azazel, the BigBad of the first two seasons, was one of them, but the other three (Ramiel, Asmodeus, and Dagon) view him as having been a fanatic, as they themselves have long since grown disillusioned with Lucifer's war with Heaven. Since then, they've all lived in comfortable retirement. That being said, Ramiel still takes the occasional VirginSacrifice, and he mentions that Asmodeus has "hobbies" and Dagon has "toys" (this is never elaborated on...which is probably for the best) so how retired they are is debatable. Asmodeus ultimately comes out of retirement in Season 13, to fill the EvilPowerVacuum in Hell caused by [[spoiler: Crowley's death and Lucifer being imprisoned in an AlternateUniverse]]. He's very much a fire and brimstone traditionalist who turns on his former boss after Lucifer has been temporarily depowered.

* ''Series/TheXFiles'': In "[[Recap/TheXFilesS02E12Aubrey Aubrey]]", evidence links a rape/murder and an assault to a man named Harry Cokely, who was released from prison a couple of years earlier after serving decades for rape, but who had also committed a number of other rapes and murders that the FBI was unable to link to him. He [[NotMeThisTime insists]] he's innocent of these new crimes, but only on the grounds that he's no longer physically capable of having committed them.

* ''Series/LukeCage2016'': It's implied that [[BigBad Black Mariah]]'s grandmother Mama Mabel Stokes became this in her final years. She's [[PosthumousCharacter long dead in the present-day]], but she was the ruthless queen of Harlem's underworld and only stepped down after having a stroke, and she died of old age without ever facing repercussions for her crimes.
* ''Series/{{Beforeigners}}'': Tore Hund was, back in the 10th century, a notoriously brutal Viking. However, after being dropped in the present with no memories of his past life, he found work as a bike courier, married an up-time woman and dotes on her daughter. Several characters speculate about how much of this is due to cognitive damage, and he shows no remorse for his past actions, but even after his memories return he is far happier as a HappilyMarried modern family man than he ever was as a raider.

* Alestorm's song ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Pirate Song]]'' seems to be about an old pirate regretting his evil days, which continues until the first chorus...

* Caster in ''VisualNovel/FateHollowAtaraxia''. Her only goal during the [[VisualNovel/FateStayNight Holy Grail War]] was to find a way to live a normal life with her Master and husband Souichirou. She did some horrible things during the War, has lost very little sleep over them, and would do it again without issue if the need arose. Now things have calmed down, she's perfectly peaceful, if a bit possessive. After all, she has everything she wanted anyway, so what need is there to keep causing problems?

* Mr Garrott (the eldest), from ''[[Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfWiglafAndMordred Wiglaf and Mordred]]''. The patriarch of a family that employs people who could be supervillains in their own right as household staff. Just how terrifying he can be is demonstrated when, while [[CurbStompBattle he expresses his displeasure with several members of the household staff]], it [[http://liliy.net/wam/archive/viewer-discretion-advised/ cuts]] to two characters who were watching him discipline members of the staff, One asking, "Is it over yet!? I'm not supposed to be seeing this stuff live! I read about it later! He's supposed to be retired!" Meanwhile, the other person watching comments on how, asides from the gray hair, Mr Garrot has not changed at all since retiring thirty years ago.
* ''Webcomic/DailyGrind'': Tharka, at first. He started out as an augmented demon mercenary (Devil Bunny) in employ of TheDevil. After conquering the setting's epic equivalent of World War II, being a mass-murdering demon soldier wasn't every entertaining or fulfilling anymore. After a while, he got bored, started dating, and switched over to the good guys. Mostly for the challenge. Subverted when he finds an even bigger challenge in defying the devil and making the world a better place; it feels good, and it's even more fun.
* In ''Webcomic/ManlyGuysDoingManlyThings'', [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Gannondorf]] is more or less like this: after countless cycles of reincarnating only to get sealed away by the latest incarnations of Link and Zelda, all he is at this point is tired, and he's content with having a simple office job. He's not above trolling Link (and Ghirahim) for funzies, though.

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
** [[spoiler:Madara]] went into hiding after his defeat by [[spoiler:Hashirama]]. When he took in [[spoiler:Obito]], he was a one-eyed, decrepit man kept alive only due to a life support system he had jury-rigged from an experiment. He seemed largely uninterested in the outside world and was even helpful. [[spoiler:In fact, he had spent the last few decades preparing his big comeback and Obito was just the final piece in his plan.]]
** Danzo is suitably monstrous and pretends to be retired from his duties outside of acting as an advisor. Most of the cast knows he's still running Root and tasking them with black-on-black ops. He comes fully out of retirement when [[spoiler:he becomes Candidate Hokage]], only to have all of the enemies he's made come out of the woodwork when he steps out of Konoha.
** Orochimaru becomes the KarmaHoudini version of this by the end of the manga. While the Leaf Village keeps tabs on him and make sure he doesn't do anything ''too'' evil, he is allowed to more or less live in peace and perform (hopefully) non-evil experiments; he even keeps some of his own subordinates and lives in his old lair. Creepily, given his BodySurf tendencies, his physical appearance has changed yet again, leaving it as unclear if he managed to possess yet another person before his enforced retirement or if he used some other method. For a character that [[WouldHurtAChild murdered numerous children, including BABIES]], killed his own master, tried to start a world war by annihilating his hometown, and operated for decades as a MadScientist EvilSorcerer SerialKiller, the fact that he is let off more or less scot-free is pretty amazing.

* [[spoiler:Aya's mother]] in ''Anime/MasterOfMartialHearts''. [[spoiler:A former DarkActionGirl, she used to partake in a girls-only Franchise/StreetFighter Expy, under the direction of her husband-to-be. Doesn't help the fact that the girls she beat up and defeated ended up tortured, maimed, and sold into {{sex slave}}ry (like it happened to Natsume's CuteMute mother). However, with the ''Platonic Heart'' closed for the time being, she settled as your average, [[MamaBear if slightly overprotective]] mom, raising her daughter. Under the mask, she's still as plucky and dangerous as she used to be]].

* ''Claimed'' by Evangeline in ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi''. NobleDemon attitude aside, it's actually not entirely incorrect: She ''has'' killed people and shows no remorse for anything she's done in the past. Though it is highly doubtful that any of her victims were anything near innocent ([[AccidentalMurder barring her family]]); in fact, if you read between the lines of her backstory, you can make a guess as to [[HumansAreBastards what kind of people wanted to pick a fight]] [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer with an undying 10 years old looking girl]], and the fact that the first century (or more) of her life was spent in Medieval Europe controlled by religious zealots should make the story even clearer…
* Butch & Cassidy from ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'' were the [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter more successful rivals]] to the [[TerribleTrio Team Rocket trio]]. However in ''Anime/PokemonJourneysTheSeries'' it's revealed that sometime after their last appearance in ''Anime/PokemonTheSeriesDiamondAndPearl'', they decided to quit Team Rocket and went their separate ways with Cassidy opening a café and Butch a bakery.

* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'''s Giolio Comanche, a ColonelKilgore and SociopathicSoldier who thoroughly enjoyed the Ishvalan Civil War and the ensuing genocide. When we encounter him he's an old, retired man with a pegleg — who nevertheless cracks an enormous SlasherSmile when he gets the chance to fight Scar, an Ishvalan survivor.
* [[spoiler:Hohenheim]] in ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003'' spent hundreds of years [[GrandTheftMe body swapping]] and sacrificing people to [[spoiler:create Philosopher Stones]] in order to prolong his life. He eventually settled down and [[spoiler:had kids]], but ran off when his body started decaying.

* In ''Manga/BlackLagoon'', [[ScaryBlackMan Dutch]] discovers that their employer on the submarine job is actually [[spoiler:a retired SS officer who set them up on a collision course with the Neo-Nazis in order to test the Neo-Nazis. Since they all died, he considers them to have failed the test. Their conversation alternates between surprisingly polite and monstrous, with the SS Officer praising Dutch and the Black Lagoon company for their talent at killing, and then saying that Dutch and his entire race are inferior beings]].
* ''Anime/CodeGeass R2'' reveals two spoileriffic examples at the end:
** While [[spoiler:Cornelia li Britannia has faced repercussions is some ways (i.e. deceased younger sibling that she cared about), she's not sorry about the horrible acts that she did, such as when she massacred innocent civilians and doubtless many other reprehensible acts committed under the banner of Britannia (including contemplating a FinalSolution to the Area 11 problem). Even when she joined the Black Knights and CharacterDevelopment kicked in, she didn't really pull a HeelFaceTurn. Now, she's just a regular civilian, demoted from her royalty status.]]
** After spending her life manipulating and blackmailing her way to attain nobility, and screwing over Lelouch at every opportunity she has, [[spoiler:and that's before taking into account that she was part of the [[FantasticRacism Purist Faction]], by the end of the series, Viletta Nu's happily married to Kanahme Ohgi, in spite of no actual redemption or atonement.]]
* ''Manga/TheWayOfTheHousehusband'' centers around the life of "Immortal" Tatsu, who used to be an infamous yakuza legbreaker, but gave up his criminal career to support his wife Miku, an aspiring designer, as a HouseHusband. As you can expect, [[HilarityEnsues the transition is a little rough]]: he's an amazingly capable cook and housekeeper, and his love for Miku is beyond question, but he [[MundaneMadeAwesome approaches his chores as if he's still doing organized crime]] with his wife as his new boss.
* ''Anime/CowboyBebop'''s Spike Spiegel begins the show as a retired mafia hitman, who has become self-employed by becoming a BountyHunter instead. Although he's a slightly less morally dark character at present because bounty hunters have to take their target alive (and because Jet is rubbing off on him), Spike has mostly abandoned his past rather than face up to it and has no regrets for the things he used to do. [[spoiler:True to form, his realization that he does actually have some things left undone in his old life leads him to try and set things right, [[ShrugOfGod (possibly)]] dying in the process.]]

* The original premise of ''ComicBook/{{Nexus}}'' was that the title character was compelled by [[TouchedByVorlons alien forces]] to seek out and execute mass murderers. Some actually were repentant or just old and tired, but the alien forcing Nexus to kill them didn't care. Nexus was not at all happy about this.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Preacher}}'', Gunther Hahn, the Angel of Death and, at the end of the story, [[spoiler:the Saint of Killers]] all qualify.
* A future, senile version of Doctor Doom appearing in ''ComicBook/XFactor'' has faded away into a quiet life in his empty, decaying castle attended to by robot servants. But he still builds the occasional DeathRay in his more lucid moments.

* One of the ComicBook/FantasticFour's oldest enemies (the first, in fact) was the Mole Man. After years of trying to gain revenge against civilization for neglecting him by leading the giant beasts of Monster Island against cities, he decided he was tired of it, and retired from villainy. (For the most part. While he's had enough of being in the limelight, things tend to happen that drag him back into it from time to time....)
* Sidewinder, a villain usually associated with ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, went into semi-retirement when he led the Serpent Society, being at most a [[NonActionGuy non-action villain.]] He moved to full retirement after the Society double-crossed him.
* While the "Golden Age" "Earth Two" Priscilla Rich remains the villaness Cheetah right up until TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt and CosmicRetcon that is ''Comicbook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', the "Silver Age" "Earth One" and Post Crisis Priscilla Rich both give up on tormenting Comicbook/WonderWoman, commiting any overt crimes or wearing the Cheetah suit. This isn't out of a desire to do good, but, in the case of the Earth One and Two Riches, The Cheetah being the result of a "split" personality that emerged from Rich's own insecurities. Both realize they can assert their self worth by applying their talents in legitimate business ventures, but on Earth Two the Cheetah defeats Priscilla, who while now interested has [[IdleRich never had a real job]], and establishes itself as the "true" Rich, while on Earth One, Priscilla Rich was a successful performer before crime, defeats the Cheetah and returns to her old ways. In the case of Post Crisis Rich, she's simply too old, and the Wonder Woman she REALLY hates has also retired from superhero duty, Hippolyta being Wonder Woman before Diana Prince as a result of the cosmic retcon. Silver Age Rich has to deal with new villain Cobra kidnapping and torturing her niece Debbie Domaine into his own personal Cheetah, with Debbie ending up in an insane asylum, with Post Crisis Rich is killed by a newer, completely unrelated Cheetah named Barbara Anne Minerva, who had been convinced Rich's continued existence was holding her back.
* Oswald Cobblepot — AKA "The Penguin" — became this in the ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' comics in the 1990s. Somewhere along the way, he decided he enjoyed being wealthy, having lots of famous friends, and being seen in the company of beautiful women more than he enjoyed being a crook — so he "officially" retired from crime and opened the Iceberg Lounge, one of Gotham City's most popular casino-nightclubs (and for that matter, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking he also stopped wearing his top hat]]). However, the Penguin didn't withdraw from crime entirely: while he never ''actively'' gets into mischief, he still runs a gang and has them do all his dirty work. Batman and other Gotham heroes tolerate this because Cobblepot sometimes "overhears" information they need in his nightclub that he's willing to share — off the record. So, VillainWithGoodPublicity meets this trope.
** During [[ComicBook/BatmanChipZdarsky Chip Zdarsky's run on Batman]], [[spoiler: Penguin takes this even further, [[FakingTheDead faking his death]], altering his appearance with cosmetic surgery and leaving Gotham, so that he can leave his self-destructive obsession with fighting Batman behind, instead settling for running a flower shop.]]
* ''Literature/ShadowsOfTheEmpire: Evolution'': Massad Thrumble is a former Imperial admiral who ran the regime's weapons division and helped build the assassin droid Guri (although beyond that, it's unclear if he did anything really heinous). Now, he hangs around a backwater cantina (which he owns) while having drinks with a much younger girlfriend and avoiding working for either major faction. When Guri asks him to erase her assassination programming and memories, he agrees to help for the intellectual challenge rather than out of any sympathy for her (at least initially).

* In ''Fanfic/SeventhHorcrux'', Harry Potter is possessed by a portion of Voldemort's soul when the killing curse rebounds off of him. Shortly afterwards, it is revealed that Tom Riddle's true love has always been teaching, something he lost all chances of doing when he declared himself the Dark Lord Voldemort. However, as Harry Potter, no such negative acts have been attached to his name, so instead of revealing himself and reclaiming control over his former minions, "Harry" decides to go through Hogwarts until he graduates so he can get a teaching position there. The problem is that the rest of Voldemort's soul ''isn't'' retired.

* Loki the God of Destruction (maybe... he is kinda crazy) in ''Fanfic/LokiAgentOfDoomgard'' invoked CrazyHomelessPeople, because he found it an easy way to go unrecognized and be left alone, as it's kind of hard to retire from being an evil god otherwise.

* Succubus matriarch Blacksky from ''Fanfic/TheReturn'' who believes world domination is just too boring these days.

* ''Blog/BetterBonesAU'':
** Scourge joins [=ThunderClan=], where he lives a peaceful life despite his past as the ruthless leader of [=BloodClan=] (though he was never as cruel as he was in [[Literature/WarriorCats canon]]).
** Runningnose lives on past the succession of Blackstar as leader, no longer doing any evil deeds for Brokenstar's sake anymore but knowing he's obsolete now that Blackstar has refused the help of the Dark Forest in favor of earning his [[CatsHaveNineLives lives]] the hard way from [=StarClan=].

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* In ''Literature/TheSilenceOfTheLambs'', Hannibal Lecter plays this role, but the cannibalistic serial killer isn't very committed to leaving his days as a villain behind. He just can’t do much while he’s inside a cell in a supermax prison.
* ''Film/ConAir'' features a rather shockingly congenial former serial killer. Played by Steve Buscemi who pulls off a ''very'' creepy performance.

* The porter from ''Film/TheSeventhSeal'' establishes himself as this with one scene. He rescues a woman from an attacker, then off-handedly mentions that he could rape her, but he isn't going to, because participating in the Crusades has made him bored with rape.
* Charlie Barrett in ''Film/SuicideKings'' is a former mob boss who used to have his enemies fed to their own dogs. Now, he's retired. Until he gets kidnapped by a group of rich kids looking to raise ransom money for one of their siblings.

* Yoon Tae-goo "The Weird" of ''Film/TheGoodTheBadTheWeird'' turns out to be one of these. [[spoiler:Part of the reason Park Do-won, "The Good", is hunting Park Chang-yi, "The Bad" (no relation) is because he believes Chang-yi is this notorious bandit known as the "[[{{fingore}} Finger Chopper]]". While Chang-yi is a total psycho, it's ultimately revealed that Tae-goo was the Finger Chopper and Chang-yi lost a finger to him.]] This reveal probably has a lot to do with Tae-goo being an Expy of Tuco of ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly'', right down to the similar names, and in both cases, the seemingly comic relief character has a rap sheet of some seriously awful crimes. The main difference between these two is that in "Weird", Chang-yi is more than just a one-dimensional villain who makes Tae-goo look ''worse'' in comparison.
* William Munny of ''Film/{{Unforgiven}}'' is one of these, in a deconstruction treatment of Creator/ClintEastwood's Western anti-hero roles. While it doesn't seem like he necessarily ''enjoyed'' killing, in his youth as a bandit, Munny was a cold-blooded mass murderer — killer of women, children, and animals. The events of the movie bring him out of retirement. English Bob could also be considered one of these. While at present, he plays the role of RemittanceMan and is a sort of celebrity, it's indicated that he was previously employed killing Chinese laborers for the railroads, and the truth behind his gunfighter exploits is that he was a dishonorable CombatPragmatist.
* Helge Klingenfeldt-Hansen from ''[[Film/TheCelebration Festen]]'' (''The Celebration''), a retired businessman celebrating his 60th birthday, respected for his wealth and conviviality, and who [[ParentalIncest sexually abused]] two of his children for years, eventually [[DrivenToSuicide driving the elder to suicide]].

* In ''Film/AptPupil'', young Todd Bowden discovers his quiet German neighbor is actually Nazi war criminal Kurt Dussander and decides to blackmail him. [[EvilIsNotAToy This turns out to be a very, very bad move on Todd's part.]]
* The film ''Film/TheActOfKilling'' follows two gangsters in Indonesia who extorted and killed at least a thousand people — they've now become leaders of a paramilitary organization, but aren't the muscle.
* "Handsome" Freddie Mays in ''Film/GangsterNo1''. The protagonist of the film is chagrined and insulted to discover that Mays has been set free from gaol and ''not'' tried to kill him. He hands Mays a gun and demands that he shoot him, but Mays refuses. This causes the Gangster to lose what little remained of his sanity.
-->'''Mays''': I'm just an old man in a cheap coat, and I like it that way.

* Film/JohnWick was a hitman for the Russian mob but retired some time ago to live in peace with his wife, who died just before the movie begins. Unfortunately for him ([[RoaringRampageOfRevenge and the Russians]]), events conspire to bring him out of retirement.
* ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' features two spoileriffic examples:
** This is revealed to be the final fate of [[spoiler:Red Skull after his presumed death in ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger''; he became trapped in outer space and forced to guard the Soul Stone. By the time he is found by Thanos and the heroes, he is no longer the same megalomaniac as before, since he lost all ambition and [[AxCrazy ax-craziness]] after spending decades guarding it. In fact, he couldn't take the stone even if he wanted to]].
** By the end of the movie, [[spoiler:Thanos becomes one after having just committed the single largest mass-murder in existence when he kills half of the entire universe's population with [[BadassFingersnap a snap of his fingers]]. He then retreats to a farm on a remote planet, having fulfilled his life-long mission before (as revealed in ''Film/AvengersEndgame'') destroying the stones so that they can never be used to undo his own work. The enraged surviving Avengers eventually come for him, and even knowing what he's done...there's something strangely pitable about him]].
* ''Film/{{Incendies}}'': Abou Tarek, a former torturer and rapist in the Middle East, flees to Canada and works as a simple janitor under an alias.
* Reverend Early Pride in ''Film/TheLastRitesOfRansomPride''. Graves and Matthew also apply, having all three been members of the same Confederate bushwhacker outfit in the Civil War.
-->'''Early Pride:''' I thought you was dead.
-->'''Matthew:''' You ain't the only one Jesus saves.
* ''Film/{{Ran}}'' concerns a warlord with an extensive history of bloodshed and a long list of victims attempting to retire as head of his clan and hand off power to his sons. His retirement is [[TraumaCongaLine anything but cushy.]]
* Xu Wenwu, the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse's version of the Mandarins, is shown in ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings'' spending thousands of years conquering every country coming in his way and being the head of the terrorist group the ''Ten Rings'' before meeting Ying Li, [[HappilyMarried marrying her]] and starting a family. [[spoiler: However, as soon as [[MoralityPet Ying Li]] is killed by former rivals, Wenwu takes up his role as terrorist and warlord once again.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyondReturnOfTheJoker'' reveals that Harley Quinn, after the death of her puddin', went straight and ended up not only having kids but being the grandmother of the villainous duo Dee Dee. She even fiercely chastises them for their life of crime, much to their chagrin. Whether or not she had kids with Tte Joker or someone else is left up to your imagination.

* While the "Golden Age" "Earth Two" Priscilla Rich remains the villaness Cheetah right up until TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt and CosmicRetcon that is ''Comicbook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', the "Silver Age" "Earth One" and Post Crisis Priscilla Rich both give up on tormenting Comicbook/WonderWoman, commiting any overt crimes or wearing the Cheetah suit. This isn't out of a desire to do good, but, in the case of the Earth One and Two Riches, The Cheetah being the result of a "split" personality that emerged from Rich's own insecurities. Both realize they can assert their self worth by applying their talents in legitimate business ventures, but on Earth Two the Cheetah defeats Priscilla, who while now interested has [[RichIdiotWithNoDayJob never had a real job]], and establishes itself as the "true" Rich, while on Earth One, Priscilla Rich was a successful performer before crime, defeats the Cheetah and returns to her old ways. In the case of Post Crisis Rich, she's simply too old, and the Wonder Woman she REALLY hates has also retired from superhero duty, Hippolyta being Wonder Woman before Diana Prince as a result of the cosmic retcon. Silver Age Rich has to deal with new villain Cobra kidnapping and torturing her niece Debbie Domaine into his own personal Cheetah, with Debbie ending up in an insane asylum, with Post Crisis Rich is killed by a newer, completely unrelated Cheetah named Barbara Anne Minerva, who had been convinced Rich's continued existence was holding her back.

* While the "Golden Age" "Earth Two" Priscilla Rich remains the villaness Cheetah right up until TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt and CosmicRetcom that is ''Comicbook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', the "Silver Age" "Earth One" and Post Crisis Priscilla Rich both give up on tormenting Comicbook/WonderWoman, commiting any overt crimes or wearing the Cheetah suit. This isn't out of a desire to do good, but, in the case of the Earth One and Two Riches, The Cheetah being the result of a "split" personality that emerged from Rich's own insecurities. Both realize they can assert their self worth by applying their talents in legitimate business ventures, but on Earth Two the Cheetah defeats Priscilla, who while now interested has [[RichIdiotWithNoDayJob never had a real job]], and establishes itself as the "true" Rich, while on Earth One, Priscilla Rich was a successful performer before crime, defeats the Cheetah and returns to her old ways. In the case of Post Crisis Rich, she's simply too old, and the Wonder Woman she REALLY hates has also retired from superhero duty, Hippolyta being Wonder Woman before Diana Prince as a result of the cosmic retcon. Silver Age Rich has to deal with new villain Cobra kidnapping and torturing her niece Debbie Domaine into his own personal Cheetah, with Debbie ending up in an insane asylum, with Post Crisis Rich is killed by a newer, completely unrelated Cheetah named Barbara Anne Minerva, who had been convinced Rich's continued existence was holding her back.

* In the altered 1985 at the end of ''Film/BackToTheFuture'', Biff is shown to be a nicer person, but it's heavily implied his kindness is just obsequiousness toward a wealthier and more assertive George than a genuine attempt at self-improvement. In the sequel, set in 2015, he behaves like a nasty grouch who acts the way he did when he was a teenager.

* ''Film/XMenApocalypse'' sees Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto after trying to murder the president and start a civil war between humans and mutants in ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'' living a normal life in Poland under a fake identity, having started a family and working in a mine. [[spoiler:Sadly, it doesn't stay long: When the other villagers find out who he is, his wife and daughter get killed which motivate him to once again become Magneto and work togehter with Apocalpyse]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'', Slappy Squirrel is, herself, a RetiredBadass, and a lot of villains from her old cartoons are still around, the most prominent ones being Benny the Bison, Sid the Squid, and especially Walter Wolf. While technically retired, they still hatch an occasional plan to get even with her - often with disastrous and humiliating results (for them).

* Albert, [[TheGrimReaper Death's]] servant in the Literature/{{Discworld}} books, seems like little more than a crusty old {{Jerkass}}. The wizard Alberto Malich, however, was a tyrannical bastard who ran the Unseen University like a boot camp and happily cursed any Muggles who stood up to him into oblivion, before disappearing while trying to attain immortality by performing the rite to summon Death backwards. Having achieved his goal of immortality in a roundabout way, Albert is actually content just to serve Death and do nobody any harm, especially considering there's a ''very'' nasty fate waiting for him if he ever does die.

* [[spoiler:Zakalawe]] of ''Literature/UseOfWeapons''was once essentially an EvilOverlord, who committed acts of mass murder and was crazy enough to [[spoiler:[[MoralEventHorizon create a chair from his half-sister/lover's corpse and then darn the cushions with her skin]]]]. However, he ends up [[BeingEvilSucks hating what he did]], and going through a bunch of mental breakdowns before ultimately becoming BoredWithInsanity enough to present himself as a relatively decent (if amusingly sociopathic) person. He does lean in the direction of TheAtoner but is sort of in too much denial to make it.

* In ''Webcomic/ManlyGuysDoingManlyThings'' [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Gannondorf]] is more or less like this: after countless cycles of reincarnating only to get sealed away by the latest incarnations of Link and Zelda, all he is at this point is tired, and he's content with having a simple office job. He's not above trolling Link (and Ghirahim) for funzies, though.