History Main / TheExtremistWasRight

* Lelouch Lamperouge of ''Anime/CodeGeass'' starts off on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge armed with [[CompellingVoice the Geass of Command]]; by the end, he's not only saved the world from his father's mad scheme to force [[AssimilationPlot a "World Without Lies"]] upon all humankind, but he's executed an insane gambit to unite the world in peace by becoming the cruelest dictator of all time, [[ZeroApprovalGambit and at the moment of his ultimate triumph, being publicly assassinated by his best friend in the guise of the very hero he himself created]]. With all the world's hatred directed at a dead man, world peace is finally achieved; even when a new conflict flares up after a year in [[Anime/CodeGeassLelouchOfTheResurrection Lelouch of the Resurrection]], it's a small scale regional conflict which a resurrected and completely unexpecting Lelouch is able to resolve in only a few days.

* In the manga version of ''Manga/DeathNote'', Near acknowledges that Light did in fact reduce the world crime rate by 70% and bring an end to all wars, despite his [[ArtifactOfDeath unorthodox methods]] of doing so. Subverted as it's also noted that, unsurprisingly, most people were by this point living in terror of Kira's wrath, which arguably outweighs the good result. [[spoiler:The epilogue hammers the point home that several years after Kira died, everything was more or less back to normal.]]

* The final DLC of ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' has Shepard being forced to [[spoiler:detonate a mass relay and sacrifice a solar system of ''three-hundred-thousand people'']] in order to slow down the arrival of the Reapers. While this works, the rest of the galaxy considers the Reapers to be a myth, with the upper echelons of power discredit [[TheCassandra Shepard]] as delusional or [[FallenHero worse]] leading straight to...
** ...''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', which picks up several months later. Shepard is now discharged from the Alliance and going to trial for his/her actions, which gets interrupted when the Reapers finally descend upon Earth. Unfortunately, by the time we get to see the Council, the invasion is well underway, so we miss their initial shocked/horrified reactions to the fact that Shepard was right all along. [[spoiler:Amusingly, it's the resident air-quoting Turian Councillor Sparatus who ends up being [[TookALevelInKindness the first of the Councilors to offer Shepard aid]] in the form of vital intel.]]
** Interestingly, though, [[spoiler:the same upper echelons of power who are busy trying to discredit Shepard never actually revoked Shepard's SPECTRE status in the interim between ''Mass Effect 2'' and ''Mass Effect 3'']]...
** It's somewhat telling that even after being proven ''right'', Shepard still remains a HeroWithBadPublicity due to their actions;
--->''"The enemy are referred to as "Reapers", a term once used by the [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished disgraced]] Commander Shepard."''
** As a corollary to that, [[spoiler:the Illusive Man. Indoctrinated though he may have been, his belief in controlling the Reapers is one of the three ways Shepard can choose to save the galaxy (even though the Illusive Man himself could never have taken control as the Reapers already controlled him). Additionally, the "Control Reapers" Ending is the only one wherein the Citadel isn't severely damaged, possibly saving many lives. In contrast, the "Destroy Reapers" ending as advocated by Shepard's mentor Admiral Anderson results in the death of [=EDI=] and the Geth]]
** In ''Mass Effect 2'', Maelon, a former student of Mordin's, is revealed to be conducting brutal experiments on live test subjects in an attempt to develop a cure to the Genophage. After dealing with him, Shepard is given the choice of whether to either preserve the data or to destroy it. However, [[spoiler:the data becomes vitally important in the third game to ensuring the survival of the last female krogan immune to the genophage]].

* In ''Literature/TheArmoredSaint'', a novel by [[http://mykecole.com/ Myke Cole]], author of ''Literature/{{ShadowOps}}'', the local theocracy believes that MagicIsEvil and discourages the peasantry from practicing it by telling them that the use of magic on anything physical causes it to become [[TheCorruption rotted and physically tainted]] and that anyone who uses magic will develop a visible portal in their left eye [[MagicIsAMonsterMagnet which will shortly thereafter open]] to let a [[TheDreaded demon]] into the world (for reference, no one in this world has ''ever'' fought a demon and lived, even [[TakingYouWithMe those who have actually killed them]]). However, the main character soon meets a wizard whose existence seemingly proves the theocracy wrong, as he uses magic on plants and animals without them being corrupted, has no visible portal in his eye, and has been using magic for years without any demons being summoned into the world through his body. Thus, the wizard helps the main character rebel against the theocracy by [[ExplosiveOverclocking pushing his magic to its absolute limit]] in order to drive off a band of inquisitors. This leaves him feeling unnaturally weakened... [[spoiler:and then the animals he's enchanted suddenly transform into corrupted, mutant versions of themselves, and a glowing vertical slit appears in the wizard's eye and starts to widen, [[OhCrap almost like a portal gradually opening up...]]]]

* The Lord Ruler of ''Literature/{{Mistborn}}'' is a dictatorial EvilOverlord ruling as [[GodEmperor King and God]] over TheEmpire, but is also the one force for stability holding humanity together AfterTheEnd, and the only thing standing between the local OmnicidalManiac and his goals. The heroes' perspective of him changes throughout the story: During his life, he's viewed as a monster who needs to go down [[spoiler:but after his death, this opinion is gradually revised to that of an AntiVillain without whom the ultimate victory would not have been possible. Vin even offers him quiet thanks once she comes to understand how much he did to keep them all alive]].

* In ''Literature/{{Reamde}}'', the isolated community of survivalists turns out to be perfectly suited to fight the terrorist assault that really does happen.

* In the ''Literature/RedRoom'' books by Creator/CTPhipps, Nathaniel Hawthorne proves to be this. [[spoiler:The House is utterly corrupt and ruining society so he enacts a plan to create a BrokenMasquerade and kill its leadership. It results in ''millions'' of deaths. It also destroys the House and creates a society where humans and supernaturals can live (mostly) in peace as shown in the other ''Literature/TheUnitedStatesOfMonsters'' books.]]

* In ''Literature/TheQueensThief'', the Queen of Attolia is known outside her borders as a ruthless tyrant who will brutally execute anyone who attempts to subvert her in anyway, probably after having tortured them almost to death first. When we see inside Attolia in the book titled after her, it becomes clear that Attolia Irene had very little choice: she could become a PuppetKing to a husband who would bleed the country dry and leave it ripe for invasion by the Mede... or she could be so terrifying that none of her barons would dare defy her. It turns out most Attolians who ''aren't'' scheming barons adore her as much as they fear her because she actually cares about the welfare of her citizens. She later gives the new king of Sounis some advice: summarily execute a traitor, or dig in for a long civil war. He picks the former.

[[caption-width-right:350: [[ComicBook/WhatIf In Earth 9871,]] [[Characters/MarvelComicsDoctorDoom DOOM]] [[ComicBook/WhatIf was right all along]].[[note]]Just remember [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSJeHDlhYls All Caps]] when you say [[Music/MFDoom the man']] name.[[/note]]]]

* ''VideoGame/Warcraft'': In ''Warcraft III'', Prince Arthas Menethil discovers that Stratholme, one of the largest cities in his kingdom of Lordaeron, has received grain infected with [[ZombieApocalypse the Plague of Undeath]] and is now a ticking time bomb. There's no time to try and evacuate or even screen the citizenry for infection, and as revealed in later entries such as the ''Wrath of the Lich King'' expansion in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' there is no cure for undeath. Arthas, to the shock and horror of his teacher Uther and his lover Jaina, decides the only option left is to completely purge the city, both of zombies and uninfected, in order to stall the plague and prevent the Scourge from ravaging Lordaeron any worse than it already has. Being that he's supposed to be ThePaladin, this is treated by many even InUniverse as a MoralEventHorizon to the point Uther and Jaina effectively abandon him, and the guilt of carrying out the Culling and the desire to avenge these deaths is a big part of what [[StartOfDarkness sends him flying down the slope to villainy himself]], but ultimately Arthas' actions did save many more in the long run by temporarily halting the undead and bought time for other kingdoms to shore up their defenses against the Scourge. Even years later, Jaina remains conflicted on if leaving him behind that day was right or not because of how terrible the situation was.

** A big part of the reason it worked so well is that Klaus [[ChainsOfCommanding legitimately doesn’t like managing people]] and thus the demands he made of the nations he conquered basically amounted to "Don't Make Me Come Over There”. He lists only five demands for his vassals to remain in good standing: no waging war on their fellow client states, no laws that enshrine discrimination against people of different backgrounds or [[WhatMeasureIsANonhuman sapient creations of science]], allow free trade and movement of people across borders (states don’t need to allow people to live or do business in their land, just don’t prevent them from passing through), pay taxes (which are low enough that not even anti-imperial agitators complain about them) and they must turn over all discovered technology left behind by [[BigBad The Other]]. [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure He also heavily supports and sponsors the infrastructure of his empire with his technology]] (and solves ingratitude with [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040112 threats]] of press-ganging the town leadership to construct the new infrastructure).

** A big part of the reason it worked is that the only demand he makes of the nations he conquers is "Don't Make Me Come Over There". Which covers only two things: starting wars and possessing the technology left behind by [[BigBad The Other]]. [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure He also heavily supports and sponsors the infrastructure of his empire with his technology]] (and solves ingratitude with [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040112 threats]] of press-ganging the town leadership to construct the new infrastructure).

* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'', [[spoiler:Edelgard is correct that Fódlan needs to change, and removing the existing status quo allows for a new and better world. Unfortunately, the new and better world only comes after five years of bloodshed that she knowingly began.]]

** Graff and Rackham also have shades of this trope. Graff at least (possibly Rackham as well) is fully aware of how insane and extreme his methods look to outsiders (i.e. everyone but him). Graff doesn't bother sugar coating anything, he doesn't even guarantee his plan will work, and he's keenly aware that even if it does, he's probably going to be tried for war crimes. He just believes it's the only way to assure there's a leader ready for the next war against the Buggers.

* Illidan Stormrage in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' though this is only revealed in the expansion ''Legion''. Although the game still acknowledges he was a jerkass to a lot of people, it definitely portrays his choices as necessary for the common good. Since his plan actually works in the end, despite everyone thinking that it wouldn't, his actions are somewhat forgivable if not entirely justified. Also death kind of changed him for the better. However, because the players spent a good decade thinking that Illidan was an antihero who crossed the MoralEventHorizon, a lot of people really hated this storyline.

** At the end of the manga, after [[WellIntentionedExtremist Hao]] becomes Shaman King and resurrects the heroes, who live a few years in the world they were fighting to preserve, most of the heroes agree that he was right and there is nothing they can do about it. The worst part of it is that he sent them back just to show them they were wrong. Played with at the end, because while the heroes admit that the world is much harder to change than they suspected at the beginning, they are still alive and determined to find solutions and fix it for the better.
** This is averted in the TV adaption, which points out in-universe how wrong Hao's views are, and how it definitely would not work out for humanity (i.e all {{muggles}} die) or shamans in general, since [[TheSocialDarwinist only "strong" people can exist in his shaman-only kingdom]]. And even though he still gains the Great Spirit, Yoh [[AdaptationalKarma cuts him down anyway]].

Compare/contrast WellIntentionedExtremist, VillainWithGoodPublicity, VillainHasAPoint, JerkassHasAPoint, RepressiveButEfficient, UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans, BenevolentDictator, and NecessarilyEvil. Also see PsychoSupporter, when an ally of the hero does this so the hero never has to. The OmniscientMoralityLicense is a common result of this trope being mishandled; though if the one doing this is a god or God, then the issue gets even more contentious. The specifically religious version is the SoulsavingCrusader. Often a result of the ending, and thus has a tendency to overlap with TheBadGuyWins. Contrast FascistButInefficient when a government is both ruthless and incompetent, and PyrrhicVictory or MeaninglessVillainVictory when the (ruthless) means end up ruining the (well-intentioned) ends. For when some fans feel compelled to justify a villain's actions, even when they ''aren't'' actually right, see DracoInLeatherPants. When the ''author'' feels a character falls under this trope, but the audience disagrees, it's often a result of ValuesDissonance. When this isn't ''intentional'', it can fall under StrawmanHasAPoint.

*** Ultimately [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in the ''Literature/HorusHeresy'' and its surrounding body of works; despite repeated claims that the Imperium is ''necessary'' to survive, it's been shown that there were countless human civilizations that not only survived, but ''thrived'' in the Age of Strife, such as the Interex, Diasporex, and more recently the Leagues of Votann; many of these were able to co-exist peacefully with Xenos species in fully integrated societies, several were completely aware of the existence of Chaos and were more resistant to its corruption, and ''all of them'' were significantly more technologically advanced, progressive, and egalitarian than the Imperium could ever dream of. Each one was obliterated by the Great Crusade, all while the Emperor [[BlatantLies insisted his way was the only to save humanity]]. That being said, those peaceful societies are unlikely to have been able to muster up the force needed to prevent the Orks from hitting critical mass and bulldozing everyone. Also, the Interex were destroyed despite Horus trying to negotiate with them, which happened because they left a Chaotic artifact on a museum display and allowed [[SinisterMinister Erebus]] the opportunity to being corrupting Horus.

*** Ultimately [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in the ''Literature/HorusHeresy'' and its surrounding body of works; despite repeated claims that the Imperium is ''necessary'' to survive, it's been shown that there were countless human civilizations that not only survived, but ''thrived'' in the Age of Strife, such as the Interex, Diasporex, and more recently the Leagues of Votann; many of these were able to co-exist peacefully with Xenos species in fully integrated societies, several were completely aware of the existence of Chaos and were more resistant to its corruption, and ''all of them'' were significantly more technologically advanced, progressive, and egalitarian than the Imperium could ever dream of. Each one was obliterated by the Great Crusade, all while the Emperor [[BlatantLies insisted his way was the only to save humanity]].

* In ''Film/NightOfTheLivingDead1968'', there is a conflict between the survivors. [[OnlySaneMan Ben]] wants to leave the house they are holed up in. Meanwhile, [[{{Jerkass}} Cooper]] wants to barricade everyone in the basement. In the end, Ben's plan to escape fails ([[spoiler:largely through the incompetence of Tom and Judy]]), everyone else dies, and Ben is forced to take shelter in the basement. [[spoiler:[[DownerEnding He survives the night, but ends up getting shot by a posse organized by the local sheriff to kill the zombies]].]]

** And in ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'' the trope becomes [[PlayingWithATrope played with]] to where it could almost be inverted: facing Odin for his actions on Earth in the ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'', Loki claims he is merely following in the footsteps of Odin's father, Bor, and of Odin himself, and that he would have been more suited to the crown than Thor. Notably, Odin doesn't ''dispute'' this so much as point out that Loki is a war criminal for slaughtering civilians on Earth. And Odin's actions for the rest of the film, including his [[WeHaveReserves cold-blooded strategy]] for [[WouldBeRudeToSayGenocide dealing with the Dark Elves]], makes this clear to Thor. Thor realizes that he'd rather be a good and heroic person, protecting the innocent and doing what's right, instead of a king who'd have to be willing to sacrifice others and other pragmatic decisions. So once again Loki gets proven right about Thor bring unfit, but for opposite reasons: Thor wants to be ''better'' than a king.

** One of the Baron's more ghastly means of pacifying particularly unruly Sparks is "brain-coring", which amounts to ''lobotomizing'' the Sparks. He also does this as part of his scientific inquiries into the neurological nature of the [{TheSparkOfGenius Spark]]. This reduces them to simpletons who are unable to tap into the Spark. It's so awful that when Queen Albia saw the victim of one such coring -- a man she has every reason to hate, no less -- she was appalled. That said, the Baron had ''very good reason'' to do it in this case: [[spoiler:Said man is Dimitri Vapnoople, an extremely powerful Spark who is TheBeastmaster and specializes in creating monsters. He's also TheSocialDarwinist who thinks that humans need to be regularly "culled" by his monsters to make them stronger. Seconds after his brain-coring is undone, he nearly unleashes eldritch horrors from another dimension and makes plans to unleash monster hordes on humanity again. Agatha now understands why the Baron brain-cored Vapnoople]].

** One of the Baron's more ghastly means of pacifying unruly Sparks is "brain-coring", which amounts to ''lobotomizing'' the Sparks. This reduces them to simpletons who are unable to tap into the Spark. It's so awful that when Queen Albia saw the victim of one such coring -- a man she has every reason to hate, no less -- she was appalled. That said, the Baron had ''very good reason'' to do it in this case: [[spoiler:Said man is Dimitri Vapnoople, an extremely powerful Spark who is TheBeastmaster and specializes in creating monsters. He's also TheSocialDarwinist who thinks that humans need to be regularly "culled" by his monsters to make them stronger. Seconds after his brain-coring is undone, he nearly unleashes eldritch horrors from another dimension and makes plans to unleash monster hordes on humanity again. Agatha now understands why the Baron brain-cored Vapnoople]].

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}}'': Silco's ruthless ways are sharply contrasted with main characters' Vi and Powder's adoptive father Vander. Both men were once united in a vision for the oppressed people of Zaun to achieve independence from wealthy Piltover but Vander becoming a father causes him to prioritize peace to keep his kids safe. Silco's actions ultimately see's Vander dead and Vi and Powder separated, cementing him as the BigBad. Yet Silco's ruthless ways, especially the unethical creation and mass manufacture of [[PsychoSerum Shimmer]], successfully convince the Piltover Council that a violent crackdown would be too costly and negotiation is the best solution. Silco's absolute willingness to resort to violence ultimately convinces the Council to accept a deal that would see the people of the underground get their own nation of Zaun. If anything, he ultimately can't take the deal that would free the people of Zaun of Piltover's boot on their backs because he's not extreme enough to throw away his most normal, sympathetic trait: [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes love for his daughter]]. [[PlayingWithATrope Of course it's also not so clear cut]], since as Vander warned he sacrificed Zaun's soul by flooding the streets with Shimmer as a [[FantasticDrug recreational drug]] meaning Zaun would be independent but ruled by a [[TheDon ruthless drug king pin]] whose raising of the Chembarons to power also undermined the ethos of loyalty Silco himself harped on.

* In Book 4 of ''WesternAnimation/LegendOfKorra'', BigBad, Kuvira, started her road to world conquest after her mentor and leader Suyin refused to help stop the violent crime and all around chaos that was happening in the Earth Kingdom after the Queen was assassinated, despite having more than enough resources to do so. Given that the Avatar was in no position to help at the moment, and would end up disappearing completely for a few years, she felt the need to step up and restore order. Furthermore, she was right about the future Earth King not being fit for the job of leadership, which he would admit after she was defeated and gave up the throne. Granted, her point is undermined by feeling a need to "restore order" to the areas that ''weren't'' plunged into chaos in Korra's absence (including Republic City, which hadn't been part of the Earth Kingdom for decades). Also despite her claims that the Earth Kingdom having a monarch was an outdated notion, [[{{Hypocrite}} she still had no trouble]] replacing the (admittedly unfit) prince [[JustTheFirstCitizen with herself]].

* ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'': Toffee's stated goal was to destroy magic out of revenge for the Butterfly family using it to oppress the monsters. [[spoiler:By the end of the series Star ends up agreeing with him, coming to the conclusion that magic made more problems than it solved, and uses the Whispering Spell to destroy magic.]] She even noted the irony of her agreeing with Toffee.

[[caption-width-right:350: [[ComicBook/WhatIf In Earth 9871, DOOM was right all along]].[[note]]Just remember [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSJeHDlhYls All Caps]] when you say [[Music/MFDoom the man']] name.[[/note]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350: [[ComicBook/WhatIf In Earth 9871, DOOM was right all along]].[[note]]Just remember [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSJeHDlhYls all caps]] when you say [[Music/MFDoom the man']] name.[[/note]]]]