History Main / VillainousParentalInstinct

* Film/FridayThe13th: Pemula Voorhees was motivated to commit a string of serial murders due to the apparent death of her son Jason. Her son was born deformed and she had to work at Camp Crystal Lake to support them both. Unfortunately, the kids picked on Jason for his deformities, and none of the camp counselors intervened because they were too busy making love. Eventually, Jason nearly drowned at the lake, and when his body wasn't found, Pemula rightfully blamed the counselors for their negligence and killed them to avenge her son and close the camp. Years later, Camp Crystal Lake tries to reopen, so Pemula resumed the killing spree until the [[FinalGirl Alice Hardy]] beheaded her in self-defense. [[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas Jason]] would continue where his mother left off [[WellDoneSonGuy to do her proud]].

The purest form of this is, however bad a bad guy might be, some people can't conceive of even the worst villains hurting their children. However, the child doesn't function as a pure MoralityPet because they are an exception. They aren't safe because the villain WouldntHurtAChild. They are safe because they are the villain's child, and that's as far as the [[EvenEvilHasStandards standards]] go. It also doesn't always elicit sympathy for the bad guys, but rather demonstrates how hypocritical they can be, and a way of demonstrating that ItsAllAboutMe. Expect some GenreSavvy protagonists to call them out on their {{hypocrisy}}.

* ''Series/OnlyMurdersInTheBuilding'': Teddy Dimas is not a particularly good parent and a grave robber. However, he does immediately snap into protecting his son Theo (and threatening Tim about it) when he learns that Theo killed Zoe.

* The darker version shows up in ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010''. After Artemis is killed while fighting Black Manta, her villainous father, Sportsmaster, and sister, Cheshire, set out to get revenge. Cheshire is genuinely heartbroken and wants to avenge her sister. Sportsmaster just considers associates' children off-limits as part of a villainous code of conduct. He mainly views his daughter’s murder as a blow to his reputation and mentions that he wouldn’t be doing anything if Black Manta had just run it by him first. [[spoiler:Even when he learns Artemis is alive and undercover, Sportsmaster is only glad because it means his child is pulling one over on the man who was willing to kill her; he shows no genuine relief or concern when she reveals herself.]]

* [[PlayingWithTropes Played with]] in ''Manga/TheSevenDeadlySins''. Fraudrin, an ancient Demon and member of the Demon King's elite group, possesses Holy Knight Grandmaster Dreyfus. To keep up his act, Fraudrin raises Dreyfus' son Griamore. However, Fraudrin eventually develops a legitimate care for the boy, seeing him as truly his own son. When he finally leaves Dreyfus' body to try and destroy Brittania, he sees Griamore and, knowing that Griamore would be a victim if he goes through with his plans, decides instead to allow himself to be killed rather than hurt his "son".

* ''Film/{{Tar}}'': Though she's a completely self-interested sexual predator with a severe LackOfEmpathy, Lydia genuinely adores her daughter Petra who is the one person she cares about more than herself and is devastated when Sharon takes her away from her at the end.

** In [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnitS4E1Chameleon&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwjRwZ33tOf0AhVRUMAKHclOAmQQFnoECAQQAQ&usg=AOvVaw38rSzXI3utDlyJfn4VHcNg Chameleon]], Maggie was a SerialKiller who thought nothing of killing anybody for money or because she wanted to. However, she seems to have loved her son - even though he wasn't her son and she actually stole him from a random woman. The episode ends with Maggie having killed herself so that she can save the money she would spend on her defence to give to him. However, discussed by Olivia, who is suspicious of Maggie's motives and speculates that Maggie was actually such a ControlFreak that she couldn't bear to lose.
** In [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnitS14E8LessonsLearned "Lessons Learned"]], the principal didn't care that multiple teachers in the fancy private school molested their students, defending the school at every opportunity and covering up the crimes. Until he found out that one of them was his own son.

* ''Film/PansLabyrinth'': Vidal may be a cold-blooded torturer and mass murderer, but he is totally committed to his baby son. It's implied that he only married Carmen because she got pregnant, and he instructs the doctor to let her die if it saves the baby. When he's finally cornered by Mercedes and the rebels at the end, despite being the {{Determinator}} up until that point, he [[KnowWhenToFoldEm gives up relatively easily]] and calmly hands over the baby to Mercedes, asking her to give him his watch and tell him his LastWords when he grows up. [[spoiler:Mercedes refuses.]]

It can overlap with EvilParentsWantGoodKids, but it doesn't need to. And it's mandatory in the cases of MonsterIsAMommy, PapaWolf, and MamaBear, although not all the cases who fall under this are those.

* ''Film/{{Parents}}'': Also crossing over with HighHeelFaceTurn, Lilly was involved in cannibalism, but she tries to stop Michael from killing Nick when he won't participate, and ultimately gets killed for it.

* In the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' series, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy are not nice people and devoted servants of Voldemort, but will go to any lengths to protect their son. Over the course of the books, this drives a wedge between them and the Dark Lord, and in the climax of the seventh book [[spoiler: Narcissa betrays Voldemort and helps protect Harry by falsely claiming he's dead after Harry brings her the news that her son is still alive.]]
* In ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials'', Marisa Coulter, who had children [[spoiler: brutally experimented on and mutilated]] in the name of the [[CorruptChurch Magisterium]], kidnapped her daughter [[spoiler:Lyra]] to save her from her employeers and later [[spoiler:throws herself [[TakingYouWithMe with an (evil) angel]] into the void to save her again. The angel never sees it coming because it had looked into her very soul and determined she wasn't capable of self-sacrifice, she managed to deliberately hide the single thread of virtue inside herself (this trope) in order to get to Him and protect her daughter]].

* In ''Literature/NOS4A2'', Charlie Manx is ([[OurVampiresAreDifferent more or less]]) an almost 120 year old vampire who has spent most of that time abducting children and taking them to his SmallSecludedWorld where they, like him, become vampires [[LackOfEmpathy completely lacking in anything like empathy and morality]]. He still instinctively jumps in the way of danger to protect his daughter from harm when [[MamaBear Vic]] is executing her RoaringRampageOfRevenge to get her son back from Manx. Vic notices it happening but it earns no sympathy from her, she just think to herself that all sorts of monsters can [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes have people they care about]] or can believe that their horribleness is somehow good.

* ''Series/{{Arrow}}''. Zigzagged with Malcolm Merlyn. Although he's officially dead he takes the risk of coming out of hiding after finding that Thea Queen is his illegitimate daughter, to protect her from Slade's Mirakuru-soldiers who are running amok. However he can't resist using her in the service of his schemes, causing them to become estranged again. In the fifth season climax however, [[LandMineGoesClick he steps on a land mine's pressure plate to take the place of Thea]], then blows himself up to take out the soldiers pursuing her.

** Dexter himself is a SerialKiller who, despite his code, admits to having a very little feelings for others in general. However, he loves his young son Harrison enough to leave him with Hannah rather than risk his life by taking him to Alaska with him. More significantly, by the time of ''Series/DexterNewBlood'' (over a decade later), when Harrison tracks him down and learns that he's not actually dead, and that he's the Bay Harbour Butcher, [[spoiler:Dexter allows Harrison to kill him rather than defend himself, try to escape, or kill Harrison (which he could've done with some ease) so that Harrison will be free from him.]]

* ''Series/LawAndOrderCriminalIntent'': Played with by SerialKiller Nicole Wallace. She murdered her own three-year-old daughter before the start of the show, but she then develops genuine feelings for her ex-fiance's young daughter Gwen, who has cancer, to the point where Nicole is moved to act unselfishly and leave Gwen with her sister for the first time in her life. She also is motivated to kill again by Gwen's advancing illness.

* Reinhardt Heydrich of ''VideoGame/TheNewOrderLastDaysOfEurope'' mod want to send his children outside the Reich, even in an OFN country, to protect them from the civil war.
* Played with in ''VideoGame/Borderlands2'' in that the villain in question, Handsome Jack, [[AbusiveParents abuses his daughter Angel]] by keeping her hooked up to a machine that controls the entire Hyperion computer network, utilizing her Siren power to control machines to watch over multiple star systems; keeping in line with his consistent view of himself as a WellIntentionedExtremist, he says he does this because back when she was first put in charge of the system as a young child, she couldn't control her powers, which led to the unintentional death of her mother. During the game, Angel asks you to kill her because she CannotSelfTerminate and wants to be free of the system that uses her as a battery to charge Jack's vault key, since she's physically dependent on the Eridium it contains; if Jack's plan comes to fruition, it'll awaken the Vault monster and allow him to become even more of a megalomaniacal despot. But when you start to actually fire on her, Jack begins genuinely panicking over his daughter's safety. He's horrified that you'd try to get to him by hurting her, and begs you not to hurt his "baby girl". He even throws his original goal of unlocking the vault completely out the window, angrily screaming, "Don't you know what you're DOING?! Who cares about the goddamn key--you're gonna end the life of an innocent girl!" After she dies, he spirals into a complete VillainousBreakdown and tells you that he will stop at nothing to kill you, because you've taken away his only loved one, and he now has nothing left to lose.
* Despite being a serial kinslayer, Jaethal from ''VideoGame/PathfinderKingmaker'' claims that her (still-living) daughter is the only being from her former life she still holds some regard for, if nothing else because she put so much time and effort into raising her. [[spoiler:Playing her personal quest to the end can lead to this being rather horribly subverted by making Jaethal [[GrandTheftMe steal her daughter's body]], but if you play your cards right Jaethal will take this trope to its logical conclusion and publically renounce her own patron deity rather than harm her own daughter over a test of faith -- [[BoltOfDivineRetribution at the immediate cost of her own life]]]].

** Believe it or not Hoggish Greedly invoked this, actually calling off his plan and begging the Planeteers for help when his teenaged son got poisoned due to said plan. Note that this does not inspire a HeelFaceTurn on Greedly's part.
** Gi wonders if this is what inspired Mal to sabotage Dr. Blight's plans for her daughter Betsi Blight at the end of the episode "Dirty Politics." Despite being a computer entity, he does dote on the young woman like a father would, and even declared that before her he never really had anything worth wanting to save the planet for.
* The darker version shows up in ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010''. After Artemis is killed while fighting Black Manta, her villainous father, Sportsmaster, and sister, Cheshire, set out to get revenge. Cheshire is genuinely heartbroken and wants to avenge her sister. Sportsmaster just considers associates' children off-limits as part of a villainous code of conduct. He mainly views his daughter’s murder as a blow to his reputation, and mentions that he wouldn’t be doing anything if Black Manta had just run it by him first. [[spoiler:Even when he learns Artemis is alive and undercover, Sportsmaster is only glad because it means his child is pulling one over on the man who was willing to kill her; he shows no genuine relief or concern when she reveals herself.]]

* The darker version shows up in ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice''. After Artemis is killed while fighting Black Manta, her villainous father, Sportsmaster, and sister, Cheshire, set out to get revenge. Cheshire is genuinely heartbroken and wants to avenge her sister. Sportsmaster just considers associates' children off-limits as part of a villainous code of conduct. He mainly views his daughter’s murder as a blow to his reputation, and mentions that he wouldn’t be doing anything if Black Manta had just run it by him first. [[spoiler:Even when he learns Artemis is alive and undercover, Sportsmaster is only glad because it means his child is pulling one over on the man who was willing to kill her; he shows no genuine relief or concern when she reveals herself.]]

* ''Series/TheHandmaidsTale'': * VillainousParentalInstinct: Serena Joy is involved in serial rape and was a big believer in Gilead, up to and including the armed insurrection. However, when June actually does get pregnant (though the child is not biologically Fred or Serena's, but Serena, under Gilead's regime, is encouraged to believe it's her baby), Serena actually goes so far as to subvert the regime, reading (even though it costs her a finger), breaking the rules on pain of death, and ultimately [[spoiler:giving June a chance to escape.]]

* ''Literature/IHuntKillers'': Despite being the most prolific serial killer in the world with over 100 victims, Billy Dent wouldn't let [[spoiler:his wife Janice]] kill [[spoiler:their]] son.

* ''Film/WonderWoman1984'': The villain, Maxwell Lord, has gained the power to grant wishes but at a great cost. He uses this power with very little discretion, granting them wishes in exchange for their wealth and power. However, he tries to prevent his own son from making a wish while touching him, knowing it could cost him greatly. At the end of the film, [[spoiler:he recants his powers, but only after he sees his own son in danger because of everything he has done, and immediately goes to rescue him]].

* The darker version shows up in ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice''. After Artemis is killed by Black Manta, her villain father, Sportsmaster, and sister, Cheshire, set out to get revenge. Cheshire is genuinely heartbroken and wants to avenge her sister. Sportsmaster just considers associates' children off-limits as part of a villainous code of conduct. [[spoiler:Even when he learns Artemis is alive, Sportsmaster is only glad because it means his child is pulling one over on the man who was willing to kill her; he shows no genuine relief or concern when she reveals herself.]]

* ''Series/{{Dexter}} and ''Series/DexterNewBlood'':

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