History Main / TragicVillain

* TragicVillain/AnimatedFilms

* [[TragicVillain/{{Film}} Films]]

A particular {{Deconstruction}} of the villain, a Tragic Villain is completely aware of their evil but takes little to no pleasure from it; in fact, they could very well resent the evil they are committing. Rather, they were [[DrivenToVillainy driven to villainy due to circumstances beyond their control]]. In many circumstances they are the TragicMonster, perhaps an innocent person transformed into a mindless monster, or simply created to be a monster; either way they have no choice in the evil acts they commit and are as sympathetic as their victims.

Or maybe a hero was [[NotEvilJustMisunderstood forced to commit a necessary evil]], and occasionally [[ForcedIntoEvil any kind of villainy against their will]], and never forgave themselves, deciding they were now a villain beyond hope/not deserving of salvation or redemption, possibly becoming a DeathSeeker in the process.

* PlayedWith regarding Cord Cai in ''[[Literature/{{Takotsubo}} Takotsubo: The story of a superhero]]''. Cord is a very troubled young man who was trying to get his life in order, before [[DeathByOriginStory his fiance Roland got shot in a carjacking.]] After the [[PoliceAreUseless Oakland police force majorly fucked up,]] he tracks the murderer down, shoots him in the head, and starts a gang as the vigilante Tin Man because [[HeroicSelfDeprecation he doesn't think he's good enough for anything else.]] However, while Cord ''thinks'' he's [[InternalizedCategorism another Asian failure who can't escape the gang life]], he doesn't even notice that he's gone through the classic SuperheroOrigin Story.

* WebOriginal/JeffTheKiller used to be a normal kid, before the TerribleTrio of Randy, Troy, and Keith tried to mug him and his brother. Jeff beat the bullies up, but they lied to the police and said Jeff attacked them first. Jeff's brother took the blame to protect him, and was sent to juvie. Already dealing with the guilt and the loss of his brother, Jeff was attacked by the bullies at a party, where they beat him close to death and set him on fire. The trauma from these events caused him to snap and become a SerialKiller. But poor writing brings this to YMMV.

Contrast CompleteMonster, a villain who is pure evil and devoid of humanizing qualities. (A Tragic Villain could become such if they [[TookALevelInJerkass lose their sympathetic traits]] or [[DisproportionateRetribution take actions that overwhelm said traits]].) Not to be confused with the FallenHero (although Fallen Heroes tend to make Tragic Villains, as discussed above) or the TragicHero, where the emphasis is on the character's tragedy rather than their good/evil alignment.

* In Episode 30 of ''WebAnimation/AnimatorVsAnimation'', [[spoiler:it is revealed that [[ArcVillain King]] was once a loving father to his only son, Dark Yellow, always playing with him, doting on him, and taking him places. One of those was a festival that hosted a [[BodyUploading walk-in]] simulation of ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'', which Dark Yellow was eager to try out. However, a severe HolodeckMalfunction trapped Dark Yellow inside, killing him as he tried to escape, which devastated King. Ever since then, King determined to forge a superweapon capable of [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds destroying the whole of the Minecraft universe as retaliation for his son's death]], [[SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum with no way out planned for himself]].]]

** One of the main antagonists of Volume 9 is ultimately revealed to be one. [[spoiler:[[EvilAllAlong The Curious Cat]] was originally a [[UsedToBeASweetKid sweet, inquisitive and kind being]] who was all too happy to perform their purpose helping lost and solemn fellow Afterans find their way again. However, the Cat was created with two critical design flaws: they have to constantly learn new things lest they go mad, and there's no way for their ''own'' heart to be mended when ''they'' are the one who's lost and weary. After the the Cat's makers abandoned them in the Ever After to create Remnant without the Cat ever knowing ''why'' they did so, the Cat's heart, idealism and sanity was slowly eroded by eons' worth of hardship and lack of answers, culminating in the Cat snapping when one of the first humans they met (Alyx) broke her promise to help the Cat travel to Remnant for answers. Now the Cat is a bitter, insane, selfish and {{sadist}}ic and wreck of a being , unable to think of anything except their obsessive need to reach Remnant at all costs and their [[FantasticRacism bitter hatred of humans]]. The real kicker is that the Cat heavily implies in their final moments -- before being horrifically killed by Jabberwalker clones -- that they ''know'' how broken they are, but they're helpless to do anything to fix theirself]].

** One of the main antagonists of Volume 9 is ultimately revealed to be one. [[spoiler:[[EvilAllAlong The Curious Cat]] was originally a [[UsedToBeASweetKid sweet, inquisitive and kind being]] who was all too happy to perform their purpose helping lost and solemn fellow Afterans find their way again. However, the Cat was created with two critical design flaws: their curiosity to learn new things can never be satiated, and there's no way for their ''own'' heart to be mended when ''they'' are the one who's lost and weary. After the Brothers abandoned the Cat in the Ever After to create Remnant without the Cat knowing why, the Cat's heart, idealism and sanity was slowly eroded over eons, culminating in them snapping when one of the first humans they met (Alyx) broke her promise to help the Cat travel to Remnant. Now, the Cat is a bitter, selfish, {{sadist}}ic and manic wreck of a being, who [[FantasticRacism has a very negative opinion of humans]], and can't think of anything except their obsessive need to reach Remnant for answers. The real kicker is that the Cat heavily implies in their final moments -- before being brutally killed by Jabberwalker clones -- that they ''know'' on some level that they're broken but they can't do anything about it]].

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': [[BigBad Salem]] was originally [[GirlInTheTower locked away]] by her cruel father until rescued by a hero named [[BigGood Ozma]]. They fall in love, but Ozma dies young from disease. For trying to manipulate the divine Brothers into bring him back, they [[BarredFromTheAfterlife curse Salem]] with CompleteImmortality until she learns "the value of life and death"; for [[RageAgainstTheHeavens retaliating]] by raising an army against the Brothers, the God of Darkness destroys humanity and spares her. Trapped on an empty planet, she throws herself into the Grimm-creating Pools of Annihilation hoping for death, but is instead transformed into a being of pure destruction. When the God of Light [[ResurrectiveImmortality reincarnates Ozma]] to redeem the returned humanity, the pair reunite until Salem's interpretation of "uniting humanity" becomes so dangerous that Ozma rejects her to protect humanity and their children. After their children die in the crossfire, they become trapped in a [[ForeverWar tragic, immortal cycle of pain]] that has put the fate of humanity on the line.

The KnightTemplar is quite frequently portrayed as this; given that many of them are [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed meant to mirror real-life figures]]. One who stops attacking [[InnocentBystander potential rebels]] may realize how his orders are doing more wrong than right, but the side of good will never take him... there's no turning back from where he is standing. Of course that wouldn't stop a Knight Templar from [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone coming to regret their actions]].

* ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' gives us the Meta/[[spoiler:Agent Maine]]. He starts out as a relatively ruthless solider, but he is still loyal and protective of his teammates. [[spoiler: After losing his voice defending one of his teammates, he is given the A.I. Sigma, who slowly corrupts Maine until his former personality is completely destroyed, leaving only the Meta.]] By the time season 6 comes, he has been reduced to little more than a feral beast. [[spoiler: Even without Sigma controlling him, he is still compelled to fulfill Sigma's ambitions simply because that is all he knows.]]
* ''Machinima/ArbyNTheChief'': Some see Eugene Black from Season 7 this way, due to his sister's condition and his father's abuse.

The KnightTemplar is quite frequently portrayed as this; given that many of them are meant to mirror real-life figures. One who stops attacking [[InnocentBystander potential rebels]] may realize how his orders are doing more wrong than right, but the side of good will never take him... there's no turning back from where he is standing. Of course that wouldn't stop a Knight Templar from [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone coming to regret their actions]].

* [[spoiler:[[AdaptationalVillainy Miles Prower]]]] in Sandbox/WhereWasMyHero [[MuggingTheMonster was bullied and tormented by everyone he knew]] and having never met Sonic in this timeline never had anyone showing him any kind of love. One day he finds an injured bird and taking pity upon it nurses it back to health, growing fond of it, and turning it into his LivingEmotionalCrutch. Just when it looked like his luck was turning around, his two main bullies show up to destroy yet another of his creations and accidentally kill his bird. The poor boy, having crossed both the DespairEventHorizon AND the RageBreakingPoint at practically the same time, reacts violently, ''[[BloodbathVillainOrigin very]]'' [[BewareTheNiceOnes violently]]. Even after that, he ''still'' tried to be a hero instead of a force of evil, but when Sonic disapproves of his [[MurderIsTheBestSolution "methods"]], he gives up on being the good guy. By the end, as he [[spoiler:lays dying, he starts reminiscing about FondMemoriesThatCouldHaveBeen, made all the more tragic by the fact that these memories do occur in the canon timeline.]]

* Kayaba Akihiko in ''WebVideo/SwordArtOnlineAbridged'' is a walking lesson about the dangers of crunch time in the video game industry -- [[ChristmasRushed after being strongarmed into rushing the titular game]] in order to meet the deadline placed by his publishers at Creator/Bethesda, [[spoiler:he accidentally creates a GameBreakingBug that kills players when their avatars die.]] By the time he discovers this, he was running on three weeks -- or about 500 hours straight -- of uninterrupted consciousness, leading to a [[ExhaustionInducedIdiocy stupor]] that had him believing the government was run by mole men, the night janitor was the face of God, and [[spoiler:the game would be better received on Metacritic if the player-killing bug was an intentional design choice of some sort of grand plot, as opposed to the programming oversight that it was in reality.]] By the time he actually caught up on his sleep and started thinking straight, he was trapped in a SnowballLie that had already killed thousands of people, and is left the most wanted man on the planet and the only reason he kept up with this is because he needed to think of a way to keep the authorities off his back long enough to figure a way to spin this in his favor; though after two years he never had that plan. [[StatingTheSimpleSolution Asuna just asks him why he didn't just pit the blame on an anonymous Hacker Group within the game who was pretending to be him]] since he had no actual motive for all this and would have made much more sense.