History Main / TheSmartOneTurnsTraitor

Due to the nature of the trope, there will be unmarked spoilers in abundance. You have been warned.

-->'''S-43:''' ''[smiling]''Idiots, princess. They are idiots from a bad clutch, but I guess that's where I got lucky. They were born without brains, I was born with enough free will to tell my queen to go get her horn stuck in a tree.

* In ''Film/GForce'', the AnimalEspionage team believes that Leonard Sabre is the mastermind behind dangerously sentient appliances sold by EvilInc. Sabre is merely the face of the operation; the real brains of EvilInc. is G-Force's own tech wiz, Speckles. As a mole, he has an ax to grind with humanity, and aims to expunge people with the same [[FantasticRacism merciless violence that humans show to moles.]]

** While "traitor" would be stretching it, Velma was also [[spoiler: one of the hoaxers in ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooInWheresMyMummy'' and worked against Mystery Inc there as well-- but that time the ScoobyDooHoax was a BenevolentConspiracy to defeat tomb robbers.]]

'''Michael:''' ''[shaking his head]'' It's the smart move. Tessio was always smarter.

-->'''Cypher:''' You know.. I know this steak doesn't exist. I know when I put it in my mouth; the Matrix is telling my brain that it is juicy and delicious. After nine years... you know what I realize? ''[eating the steak]'' {{Ignorance is bliss}}.

* [[DarkActionGirl Shego]] from ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' was the most competent member and planner of her superhero family Team Go and served with her brothers for years protecting Go City. The team fell apart when her brothers' [[SurroundedByIdiots constant foolish quirks and incompetence]] caused Shego to leave the team to become a dangerous supervillain and the fact she grew to [[EvilFeelsGood enjoy evil more than good the more she fought it over time.]]

* Ozymandias from ''ComicBook/WatchMen'' is known as the defacto WorldsSmartestMan in his world and was the go-to planner when serving as a member of the Crimebusters superhero team. After coming to the conclusion that superheroism was pointless and dreading the inevitable threat of nuclear war despite his attempts to fight crime, he amassed a fortune and concocted a murderous scheme with the ultimate goal of preventing World War 3 by massacring millions (including members of his former team) to make the world powers assume it was an alien attack.

* In ''Film/TheMatrix'', one of the members of the hovercraft Nebuchadnezzar is Cypher, one of the operators of the ship under the command of Morpheus and one of the smartest members. He offers Neo council when he's suffering doubt over his supposed role as The One, advice on fleeing from Agents when encountered, and sympathy in how ludicrous the situation all seems. However, he secretly regrets "swallowing the red pill" and being released from the Matrix to experience the harsh conditions of the real world, so he made a secret pact with Agent Smith without his crew's notice to betray his partners in exchange for being reintegrated into the Matrix and gaining a peaceful life of bliss within it.

* Harold Lauder in ''Literature/TheStand'' is largely the brains behind his post-apocalyptic party on their trip to Boulder and comes up with great ideas for improving life there, but he's also an immature teenager with an unrequited crush and a massive grudge over being a social outcast. Over the summer he drives himself homicidal with resentment and winds up bombing Boulder's civic committee in an attempt to defect to [[BigBad Randall Flagg]].

This trope is about when the brightest minds and brilliant thinkers of a group decide the forces of evil and malevolence are better options and uses their mind for wrongdoing in glaring contrast with the rest of their less brilliant comrades. They may have their reasons, such being a jerky InsufferableGenius drawn to selfish evil or delusions of grandeur, might be amoral and doing what he does out of a misguided sense of ForScience, or just might be an [[SteamrolledSmartGuy underappreciated workhorse]] and [[MistreatmentInducedBetrayal may have had enough of them]]. Sometimes they just come to the conclusion that GoodIsDumb/loyalty to the group is [[EvilPaysBetter foolish]] and is inherently a nonsensical option from a logical standpoint. Sometimes their status as the smart one has driven them [[GoMadFromTheRevelation insane because they uncovered or found some information that really should have been left unfound]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperHeroes'', [[TeenGenius Brainiac 5]] becomes the final antagonist of the series after succumbing to the corruption of his evil ancestor Brainiac 1.0, betrays the LOSH, nearly kills Superman, and eventually decides to try to turn the universe into collected data under his complete control.

* The GadgeteerGenius of ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe2'' is Doctor Nefario, who is TheDragon to Gru and the inventor of all his equipment. Or was, since he eventually becomes disenchanted with Gru's HeelFaceTurn and attention towards parenting his adopted daughters, and longs for his bad ol' villainy days. This leads Nefario to secretly siding with [[BigBad El Macho]], and developing the minion-mutating serum to feel like a villain again.

* In ''Manga/DeadmanWonderland'', Rokuro Bundo, the technical expert of the Scar Chain who created a flash drive to leak plans to get its members released and shut down the Deadman Wonderland prison and organized their escape plan, is an insane mole working for the Undertakers who tried to trap and kill his group using the flash drive, which is actually a small but powerful bomb.

* Reed Richards aka The Maker was the eponymous Mr. Fantastic in the ''ComicBook/UltimateFantasticFour'' who tried to use his inventions to combat crime with his team and make the world a better place. However, a TraumaCongaLine caused by the Ultimatum Event eventually made him snap, commit genocidal acts of terrorism, and forcibly attempt to make the world a better place at the cost of millions of lives.
* Robot from ''ComicBook/{{Invincible}}'' was once the brains behind the Teen Team before eventually becoming the coordinator of every superhero on Earth and mastermind behind many relief effort plans that saved Earth from destruction like constructing artificial moons to prevent planetary flooding. Eventually turns traitor and slaughters much of Earth's superhero and supervillain population and converts the rest in a bid to forcibly make the world better under his control. All because of too many mass collateral damage mishaps caused by Invincible's reckless incompetence, trauma from being trapped in and ruling a parallel dimension, and frustration at being ignored despite his efforts and success at saving millions of lives put in danger in part because of Invincible.

* The GadgeteerGenius of ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe2'' is Doctor Nefario, who is TheDragon to Gru and the inventor of all his equipment. Or was, since he eventually becomes disenchanted with Gru's HeelFaceTurn and attention towards parenting his adopted daughters, and longs for his bad ol' villainy days. This leads Nefario to secretly siding with [[BigBad El Macho]], and developing the minion-mutating serum to feel like a villain again.

* Saruman from ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' had a great reputation for intelligence and wisdom before he fell into evil and was overcome by a lust for power. The backstory of Sauron was very similar.
* Of the four {{Physical God}}s enslaved in human form in Creator/NKJemisin's ''Literature/InheritanceTrilogy'', the Goddess of Wisdom is exposed as TheMole for their hated masters. She weathered [[AndIMustScream thousands of years of torment]] at the hands of her masters, but finally cracked and chose to serve willingly when they threatened to ruin her mind.

* In ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'', Malthael, the former member and leader of the Angiris Council as their Archangel of Wisdom, chose to become the malevolent Angel of Death after he came to conclude that no matter what the Angels did, Hell would always find a way to control humanity and that the Angiris Council's quest to preserve order was doomed to fail. Thus he reasoned that humanity was the most powerful "demonic" force left now, and would strive to destroy them so that Heaven and its angels would reign supreme to end the Eternal Conflict between Heaven and Hell.

* [[EvilFormerFriend Mandarin]] from ''WesternAnimation/SuperRobotMonkeyTeamHyperforceGo'', according to the team's second-in-command and defacto leader [[ThePhilosopher Antauri]], was the smartest, strongest, and wisest of the Monkey Team and their leader before Chiro took his place. However, Mandarin believed he was above simply protecting Shuggazoom and decided he should rule it instead, which caused his team to overthrow him and seal him away in a space prison.
* The BigBad of ''WesternAnimation/TitanMaximum'' is Gibbs, the former team planner and pilot of the Titan Force Five who hated his former allies, notably the obnoxious glory hound leader Palmer, and went his separate way after the team was disbanded due to lack of funding. He eventually returned to conquer the Solar System and crush all who oppose him. Being that he's the smartest and most rational character in the series he's typically a very successful villain and the series ends with [[spoiler:him successfully obliterating Mercury]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperHeroes'', [[TeenGenius Brainiac 5]] becomes the final antagonist of the series after succumbing to the corruption of his evil ancestor Brainiac 1.0, betrays the LOSH, nearly kills Superman, and eventually decides to try to turn the universe into collected data under his complete control.

* In ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'', Rhinox is the Maximals' GeniusBruiser who winds up getting infected with a virus that makes him a Predacon, [[GoneHorriblyRight but he became so devious]] [[TheStarscream that he almost overthrown Megatron for control of the organization]]. He's back by on the side of the good guys by the end of the episode, though. In ''WesternAnimation/BeastMachines'', his spark gets put inside the villainous Tankor, and after Rhinox's original personality gets reawoken he decides to keep being evil.
* In ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'', Catra manages to recruit [[GadgeteerGenius Entrapta]] from the Princess Alliance into the Horde by first convincing her that her friends had abandoned her (they actually [[DisneyDeath thought she was dead]]) and then offering her a mix of [[VillainousFriendship friendship]] and [[ForScience access to Horde technology]]. In the end, even after Entrapta learns that her friends ''hadn't'' deliberately abandoned her, she's happy enough in the Horde that she stays with them and keeps on helping them against the Princess Alliance anyway.

->'''Tom Hagen''': Do you know how they're gonna come at you?\\
'''Michael Corleone''': They're arranging a meeting in Brooklyn. Tessio's ground. Where I'll be safe.\\
'''Tom''': I always thought it would have been Clemenza, not Tessio.\\
'''Michael''': It's the smart move. Tessio was always smarter.

They're not just a clever person, they are the defacto Brainiac everyone on the team looks to in order to know how to overcome the hard challenges. They may be TheStrategist or the Idea Guy/Girl who comes up with the plans for action for their team. They might be ThePhilosopher or OnlySaneMan who offers words of wisdom to calm their associates in times of duress.

This trope is about when the brightest minds and brilliant thinkers of a group decide the forces of evil and malevolence are better options and uses their mind for wrongdoing in glaring contrast with the rest of their less brilliant comrades. They may have their reasons, such being a jerky InsufferableGenius drawn to selfish evil or delusions of grandeur, might be amoral and doing what he does out of a misguided sense of ForScience, or just might be an [[SteamrolledSmartGuy underappreciated workhorse]] and [[MistreatmentInducedBetrayal may have had enough of them]]. Sometimes they just come to the conclusion that GoodIsDumb/loyalty to the group is [[EvilPaysBetter foolish]] and is inherently a nonsensical option from a logical standpoint. Sometimes their status as the smart one has driven them [[GoMadFromTheRevelation insane because they uncovered or found some information that really should have been left unfound.]]

* In ''LightNovel/{{Overlord|2012}}'', Princess Renner of the Re-Estize Kingdom would be a rather interesting example of the trope as a combination of BigBadSlippage and AllOfTheOtherReindeer. In the present day, she is widely beloved among her kingdom's populace for pushing a number of much-needed major reforms, including the ban on slavery, and her incredible intellect is held in high regard among her friends and the Re-Estize people. However, during her childhood, her intelligence made her a pariah of sorts and many regarded her as a monster because of it, an opinion that many of her peers still hold, though they are wisely wary of her and keep this opinion to themselves. This rejection, combined with growing up without anyone to truly empathize with or call friend, ultimately isolated her for years, and by the time she ''did'' make a friend in Climb, the damage was already done and turned her into a ruthless sociopath. As such, ''very few'' are actually aware of the monster she really is and even ''fewer'' know that she was the one who sold out the kingdom to [[VillainProtagonist Ainz Ooal Gown]] in the hopes of becoming an Area Guardian.

* The BigBad of ''WesternAnimation/TitanMaximum'' is Gibbs, the former team planner and pilot of the Titan Force Five who hated his former allies, notably the obnoxious glory hound leader Palmer, and went his separate way after the team was disbanded due to lack of funding. He eventually returned to conquer the Solar System and crush all who oppose him.

* In ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'', Rhinox is the Maximals' GeniusBruiser who winds up getting infected with a virus that makes him a Predacon. He's back by on the side of the good guys by the end of the episode, though. In ''WesternAnimation/BeastMachines'', his spark gets put inside the villainous Tankor, and after Rhinox's original personality gets reawoken he decides to keep being evil.

* In ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'', Rhinox is the Maximals' GeniusBruiser who winds up getting infected with a virus that makes him a Predicon. He's back by on the side of the good guys by the end of the episode, though. In ''WesternAnimation/BeastMachines'', his spark gets put inside the villainous Tankor, and after Rhinox's original personality gets reawoken he decides to keep being evil.

* In ''LightNovel/{{Overlord|2012}}'', Princess Renner of the Re-Estize Kingdom would be a rather interesting example of the trope as a combination of BigBadSlippage and AllOfTheOtherReindeer. In the present day, she is widely beloved among her kingdom's populace for pushing a number of much-needed major reforms, including the ban on slavery, and her incredible intellect is held in high regard among her friends and the Re-Estize people. However, during her childhood, her intelligence made her a pariah of sorts and many regarded her as a monster because of it, an opinion that many of her peers still hold, though they are wisely wary of her and keep this opinion to themselves. This rejection, combined with growing up without anyone to truly empathize with or call friend, ultimately isolated her for years, and by the time she ''did'' make a friend in Climb, the damage was already done and turned her into a ruthless sociopath. As such, ''very few'' are actually aware of the monster she really is and even ''fewer'' know that she was the one who sold out the kingdom to [[UndeadAbomination Ainz]] [[VillainProtagonist Ooal Gown]] in the hopes of becoming an Area Guardian.

** The trope is displayed once more by [[BitchInSheepsClothing Penelope]], the team's second brainiac next to Bentley and his [[FalseSoulmate love interest]], in ''VideoGame/SlyCooperThievesInTime'' where she betrays and attempts to murder the Cooper Gang out of anger at Sly for a perceived lack of appreciation for her and Bentley's intellectual talents and personal greed in using her skills to make weapons to sell for a fortune. Bentley dismisses Penelope as a [[TheSociopath sociopathic]] GoldDigger, and calls her an idiot.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TransformersBeastWars'', Rhinox is the Maximals' GeniusBruiser who winds up getting infected with a virus that makes him a Predicon. He's back by on the side of the good guys by the end of the episode, though. In ''WesternAnimation/TransformersBeastMachines'', his spark gets put inside the villainous Tankor, and after Rhinox's original personality gets reawoken he decides to keep being evil.

** Played with in ''ComicBook/RainbowRowellsRunaways'', where Klara "betrayed" the team by turning herself in to foster care after Nico and Victor left and Molly got taken away because she realized that the team was falling apart and foster care was probably her best option for life after the team.