History Main / StopTheHeroTwist

In this trope, a greater or more sinister problem is compounded when one of the characters realizes that something is amiss: namely, that either what the hero has done is wrong all along, or he's about to unwittingly do something wrong. This trope is a PlotTwist that comes in an arc/conflict and reveals that someone on the "right" side is [[NotQuiteTheRightThing doing something wrong]]. It isn't that they reveal themselves to be EvilAllAlong, there's just some major piece they're missing or ignoring, or they've become momentarily blinded by their impending victory, or maybe they've been an UnwittingPawn in a greater scheme. If someone doesn't stop the Hero, or [[DontTouchItYouIdiot warn them]], or [[BadassInDistress save them]], then things are about to go FromBadToWorse.

* ''VideoGame/{{OFF}}: The Batter is determined to purify the Zones of all hostile entities and undead. The only way for him to do that is to destroy the world, since otherwise the spectres and other enemies will just keep coming. At the last minute, a former ally, the Judge, realizes that the Batter is destroying the world by purifying it and tries to stop him. In the Official ending, the Batter defeats the Judge and finally purifies and destroys the world. In the Special Ending, the Judge defeats the Batter and shown left wandering the ruins of the former Zones alone.

* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/VideoGame/OFF OFF]]: The Batter is determined to purify the Zones of all hostile entities and undead. The only way for him to do that is to destroy the world, since otherwise the spectres and other enemies will just keep coming. At the last minute, a former ally, the Judge, realizes that the Batter is destroying the world by purifying it and tries to stop him. In the Official ending, the Batter defeats the Judge and finally purifies and destroys the world. In the Special Ending, the Judge defeats the Batter and shown left wandering the ruins of the former Zones alone.

* "VideoGame/OFF": The Batter is determined to purify the world of all hostile entities and undead. The only way for him to do that is to destroy the world, since otherwise the spectres and other enemies will just keep coming. At the last minute, a former ally, the Judge, realizes that the Batter is destroying the world by purifying it and tries to stop him. In the Official ending, the Batter defeats the Judge and finally purifies and destroys the world. In the Special Ending, the Judge defeats the Batter and shown left wandering the ruins of the former zones alone.

* ''ComicBook/CivilWar'': The miniseries ends with a group of [[BadassBystander ordinary people]] restraining ComicBook/CaptainAmerica during his fight with ComicBook/IronMan, because their fight was smack in the middle of New York City, and causing untold damage. At the time, Iron Man was the figurehead of a movement to make superheroes accountable for actions like this, so those civilians attacked Cap because they saw him as being part of the problem. Cap himself is remorseful for his actions and surrenders.

* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'': The final arc is [[spoiler:[[ProtagonistJourneyToVillain Eren]]'s former allies and friends along with the {{anti villain}}s teaming up to stop him and Zeke from using the Wall Titans to [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt kill all of humanity outside of the Walled City]], as he believes that it's TheOnlyWayToBeSure that no one will ever go after his people again. Ever since the {{time skip}}, Eren had been planning for this very moment, and this comes at the cost of characters like Sasha and Hange, as well as permanently straining his relationships with his friends... though the final chapter reveals that this was actually a SecretTestOfCharacter -- if they're able to stop him (which they are), then it proves that maybe there's a chance for peace after all (...even if that meant first excising ''80% of the population'' first).]]

May involve TreacherousQuestGiver; CycleOfRevenge; NotQuiteTheRightThing; IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim; MyDeathIsOnlyTheBeginning; NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished, and YouKillItYouBoughtIt. This trope is usually the secret motive of the PoisonousFriend.

* ''Series/KamenRiderZeroOne'': The [[spoiler: death of Izu at the hands of Horobi after his IgnoredEpiphany]] sends [[spoiler: TheHero Aruto]] over the RageBreakingPoint and convinces him to [[spoiler: accept a Driver from [[MouthOfSauron Azu]] and go on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge as the enigmatic Ark-One]]. The events of the last five episodes center around the rest of the cast trying ([[PoorCommunicationKills in rather counter-intuitive ways]]) to prevent the two from clashing and kick-starting a RobotWar between Humans and Humagears. Thankfully, [[spoiler: Aruto follows the advice of his father's hologram and tempers his hatred for Horobi with mercy - sparking a HeelRealization in the latter when they meet in combat. The two then destroy each other's Ark-Drivers, stopping the Ark's scheme in its tracks]].

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': In the Fullbringer Arc, Ishida is attacked by an unknown assailant and winds up in the hospital. Meanwhile, the rest of Ichigo's companions also find themselves under attack, and soon a new adversary named Tsukishima is revealed. Ichigo, BroughtDownToNormal after his previous battle over a year ago, is desperate to help his friends in some way and Sado introduces him to a group of humans with spiritual powers called "Fullbringers" led by a man named Ginjo. The Fullbringers train Ichigo and help him gain new powers, but in the meantime, Tsukishima attacks the rest of Ichigo's friends and family--revealing that his sword's powers are a form of MentalTimeTravel that alters someone's past--and he uses this to make the people he attacked think he was their friend and TheHero instead of Ichigo, turning them against him. Ginjo and Ichigo, the only two people left unaffected, battle Tsukishima until Ginjo finds himself cut by Tsukishima's sword and urges Ichigo to end the battle before the mental effect takes hold. Ichigo attacks Tsukishima once more, only to be interrupted by the arrival of Ishida, who pulls his weapon on Ichigo. Ichigo assumes that Ishida was brainwashed like everyone else, until Ishida yells that Ichigo has it all wrong--the person who attacked him wasn't Tsukishima...it was ''Ginjo''. It's then revealed that Ginjo is the mastermind, that being cut just ''undid'' the brainwashing he was already under, and that he had willingly let Tsukishima turn him into a ManchurianAgent to dupe Ichigo.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'''s [[Recap/TheBatmanS4E6StrangeNewWorld "Strange New World"]] sees zombified versions of the GCPD and Batgirl, later joined by Robin, try to stop Batman from curing Gotham after Hugo Strange claims to have just released a toxin into Gotham City and dose Batman and Robin with a vial of he was said was an antidote. It isn't until the climax, when Bruce pieces together various thing, including the Batcomputer detected no toxin in the air and the timing, that he realized the "cure" he and Dick were exposed to was really a hallucinogenic drug and Strange played him into almost releasing the real toxin, allowing the GCPD to administer the real cure.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'''s [[Recap/TheBatmanS4E6StrangeNewWorld "Strange New World"]] sees zombified versions of the GCPD and Batgirl, later joined by Robin, try to stop Batman from curing Gotham after Hugo Strange claims to have just released a toxin into Gotham City and dose Batman and Robin with a vial of he was said was an antidote. It isn't until the climax, when Bruce pieces together various thing, including the Batcomputer detected no toxin in the air and the timing, that he realized the "cure" he and Dick were really exposed to was a hallucinogenic drug and Strange played him into almost releasing the real toxin, allowing the GCPD to administer the real cure.

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* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': The short story ''Backup'', which is [[ADayInTheLimelight told from the perspective of Thomas Raith rather than series protagonist Harry Dresden]], involves Harry being used as an UnwittingPawn and Thomas having to stop him without letting him know what's going on, as the beings responsible become more powerful the more people know about them.
* ''Literature/FoundationAndEmpire'': The heroes spend the entire book trying to find and contact a secret organization which is their only hope against the Mule. Ebling Mis manages to figure out the location, is about to reveal it... and is shot by Bayta Darell, because she realized the Mule is one of their group, has been all along, and is about to hear the answer.
* ''Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy'': At the end of the second book, Vin realizes too late that she's been an UnwittingPawn of the [[PiecesOfGod Piece of God]] Ruin, who manipulates her into releasing it from [[SealedEvilInACan its prison]] despite [[spoiler:Preservation]]'s last-ditch attempts to stop her. The third book consists of Vin and her companions' desperate efforts to engineer a PyrrhicVictory over Ruin.
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* ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheColossus'': Wander follows the instructions of an unseen voice telling him to slay the sixteen Colossi roaming the lands. He's told that doing so would bring his loved one back to life. As the game progresses, we see there is a group of priests who are traveling to the land, and Wander eventually discovers that each Colossus was a living seal keeping the evil Dormin sealed away. Defeating the final Colossus results in Dormin breaking loose and possessing Wander's body just after the priests arrive to warn him of what he was doing. From there, Dormin eventually gets sealed back in, and the girl awakens to find a little baby with horns nearby.

* ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheColossus'': Wander follows the instructions of an unseen voice telling him to slay the thirteen Colossi roaming the lands. He's told that doing so would bring his loved one back to life. As the game progresses, we see there is a group of priests who are traveling to the land, and Wander eventually discovers that each Colossus was a living seal keeping the evil Dormin sealed away. Defeating the final Colossus results in Dormin breaking loose and possessing Wander's body just after the priests arrive to warn him of what he was doing. From there, Dormin eventually gets sealed back in, and the girl awakens to find a little baby with horns nearby.

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': Throughout season 4, the Winchesters, [[MissionFromGod under contract from Heaven itself]], have been fighting demons led by Lilith to stop them from breaking the seals to [[SealedEvilInACan Lucifer's cage]]. By the season finale, "Lazarus Rising", Dean discovers that [[spoiler:the angels have been lying to them and ''want'' the Apocalypse to happen. Sam, who is on his way to kill Lilith, will inadvertently be the cause of the Apocalypse because Lilith IS the finale seal. Despite last-minute help from the rebel angel Castiel, Dean is too late to stop Sam.]]

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': Throughout season 4, the Winchesters, [[MissionFromGod under contract from Heaven itself]], have been fighting demons led by Lilith to stop them from breaking the seals to Lucifer's cage. By the season finale, "Lazarus Rising", Dean discovers that [[spoiler:the angels have been lying to them and ''want'' the Apocalypse to happen. Sam, who is on his way to kill Lilith, will inadvertently be the cause of the Apocalypse because Lilith IS the finale seal. Despite last-minute help from the rebel angel Castiel, Dean is too late to stop Sam.]]

* ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'': At the start of the film's third act, Sarah Connor goes on a mission to assassinate Miles Dyson, the UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom that will cause the robot uprising and near-extinction of the human race. When her son John realizes that his is her goal, he immediately rushes off with the good Terminator to stop her. They don't actually make it in time, but Sarah realizes that [[BecomeTheirOwnAntithesis she's become exactly like the Terminators she despises]] and sparing Dyson allows the heroes to invade Cyberdyne to destroy Skynet once and for all.

* ''Videogame/StreetFighterII'': Guile's non-canon ending has him defeat M. Bison and prepare to kill him only to have Guile's wife and daughter appear to stop him. They urge him to not sink to Bison's level and instead return home with them, which he does.

* ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'': At the end of the film, Indiana Jones is dangling over a seemingly-bottomless pit and is close to getting the Holy Grail that he and his father have sought. However, only moments earlier, their LoveInterest Elsa had been in this same position and [[DisneyVillainDeath fell to her death]] because she refused to give up on the Grail. Indy's father [[YouCalledMeXItMustBeSerious calls him by his adopted name instead of "Junior"]] to get his attention and tells him to "Let it go". Indy then gives his father his free hand and survives as the temple collapses and seals the Grail under tons of rubble--possibly forever.

May involve TreacherousQuestGiver, CycleOfRevenge, NotQuiteTheRightThing, IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim, MyDeathIsOnlyTheBeginning, YouKillItYouBoughtIt, and NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished. This trope is usually the secret motive of the PoisonousFriend.

->'''Emmett''': "Guys, get out of my way!"
->'''Metal Beard:''' "If you wish to do harm to yon wedding, you'll have to get by we, first!"

!! Examples

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* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'': In ''[[Recap/FarscapeS01E10TheyveGotASecret They've Got a Secret]]'', Moya has seeming turned against the crew and they make the difficult decision to lobotomize her for their own survival. Then they discover that Moya is pregnant and just protecting her unborn child, and must call off the lobotomy over a poor-quality radio link.

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