History Main / VisionaryVillain

** His true ultimate goal [[spoiler: is "saving" the Magical World (which will soon suffer complete magical depletion) through an AssimilationPlot, and he progresses towards it: 1-Without informing anyone but select coconspirators about the true plan, playing the rest as {{Unwitting Pawn}}s, 2-By engineering wars, unrest and disasters that cause untold suffering on a massive scale, and 3-Stopping at nothing to neutralize anyone who might pose even the slightest threat to his plans, even if that "threat" is the possibility to find out how to TakeAThirdOption where nobody dies. He's a prepubescent [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Gendo Ikari]]]].

* [[WhiteHairBlackHeart Aion]] from ''Manga/ChronoCrusade'' is a textbook example in both the anime and manga, even if his goals change depending on the version. The manga version presents him as a WellIntentionedExtremist who plans to [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans change the corrupt systems of the world]]. The anime version is much more of a CardCarryingVillain, but he still has a very clear goal in mind (switching Heaven and Hell) and carefully plans his actions to reach it.

* Jinsuke Kurogame from ''Manga/{{Gamaran}}''. He's one of the greatest swordsmen in the world and created his own martial art school (the Muhou Ryu), composed of strong warriors from many different styles. His plans involve take over Kyushu and turn it into an independent nation, and then use it to challenge the Bakufu, conquer the rest of Japan and turn it into a country of warriors where strength and power are the most important things.

* Aizen from ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''. Although his initial motivation seems to be primarily DespotismJustifiesTheMeans with a dash of ForTheEvulz, [[spoiler:the end of his fight with Ichigo suggests a deeper motivation concerning a disgust with how the Soul Society is run, especially in regards to the role (or seemingly lack of one) played by the Soul King. Claiming that just accepting the world as it is like Urahara told him to be the mentality of the weak while the strong force the world to conform to their ideals]].

* Shishio Tsukasa from ''Manga/DrStone''. After being embittered by the greed and corruption of the 21st century, he decided upon waking into a primitive world thousands of years in the future that he would seize the opportunity to give humanity a fresh start and build a stone-age society in harmony with the natural world. To that end, he immediately set himself to destroying anyone who might return the world to the way it was, particularly ScienceHero protagonist Senku, as well as carefully selecting others with the skills to help him achieve his vision.
* Medusa Gorgon (no relation to the Greek Mythology character) from ''Manga/SoulEater'' is a particularly dark and twisted example, as her ultimate goal turns out to be to reawaken a centuries-old EldritchAbomination that will eventually cause TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt ([[OmnicidalManiac likely killing off the vast majority of people on Earth]]), and her motivation for this is that she despises the monotonous and law-abiding ways of all human civilizations and desires to "evolve society via fear" into her ideal of a lawless, post-apocalyptic wasteland.

* [[Characters/SupermanLexLuthor Lex Luthor]] ''embodies'' this trope. He is thoroughly convinced that he has humanity's best interests in mind in everything he does and that humanity's [[HoldingOutForAHero reliance]] on Characters/{{Superman|TheCharacter}} shackles them. He pretty much IS the most formidable human alive, with his incredible intellect, business savvy, and analytical genius. On the other hand, he devotes his time instead to trying to destroy Superman and as the Man of Steel himself notes, if Lex wanted to, he could've saved the world ''years'' ago. Some versions of him are more visionary than others.
** ''ComicBook/JusticeLeague2018'' has him go this in a different way regarding Justice vs Doom; [[spoiler: he believes that "Doom" is the nature of the Multiverse when he meets its creator, Perpetua, and wishes to promote the vision of embracing the base instincts and worst aspects of themselves in service of her]].
* [[Characters/BatmanRasAlGhul Ra's Al-Ghul]] is both Characters/{{Batman|TheCharacter}}'s most formidable enemy and the most visionary one. He sees humanity as a blight on Earth, and that the population needs to be culled for the good of the planet. Imagine someone taking Creator/DavidAttenborough's "controlling the population to allow the survival of the environment" quote and taking it to its extreme conclusion. He sees no one else but Batman as worthy enough to continue his legacy though at the same time, he refuses to die and will do anything to avoid it.

* The [[ComicBook/TheTransformersIDW IDW incarnation]] of Megatron started out as a working-class revolutionary seeking to end the unjust segregation of Cybertronian society and topple the tyrannical government. Ironically for someone who kicked off a civil war that would last millions of years, he actually got his start writing seditious papers and advocating peaceful reform. Then [[SociopathicHero Whirl]] gave him a [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown hands-on demonstration]] on the effective use of violence.
* ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'': Most of Dredd's foes are motivated by either lust for power or mere sadism, but Judge Death believes that the supremacy of law can only be achieved by cutting off all crime at the root source: the genesis of life itself. With three equally insane followers, he laid waste to his world and now seeks to achieve the same goal across the entire multiverse. He's basically a religious zealot crossed with a zombified mass murderer.

* In ''[[Fanfic/EquestriaAHistoryRevealed Equestria: A History Revealed]]'', the rebellious General Thunderhide chooses to ally himself with the clearly questionable Nightmare Moon out of his desire [[NecessarilyEvil to shape Equestria into a better place]], seeing this goal to be impossible under the continued rule of Celestia.

* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'':
** Sauron started out this way, determined to create peace and order on Middle-earth at any cost. Over time, though, he suffered MotiveDecay and became a straight-up tyrant (TheDarkSideWillMakeYouForget is a recurring theme with Tolkien villains). Sauron's path to villainy is later repeated on a smaller scale with [[EvilSorcerer Saruman]].
** GreaterScopeVillain Morgoth, as well. Back at the very beginning, he just wanted to create a world of his own imagination, and when he found that impossible, settled for wrecking up the world that was actually created.
* Tigerstar, the main villain of ''Literature/WarriorCats'' is one. He dreams of ending the constant war and uniting the four Clans as one, entering a new age of prosperity as a result. Of course, his ego makes him believe that he is the one suitable ruler of this combined Clan, and it leads him down a dark path in his struggles to create it. Hawkfrost, Tigerstar's son from the SequelSeries ''Literature/WarriorCatsTheNewProphecy'' follows his father's vision, but is just as egotistical as Tigerstar.

* Conquest-932 of ''Literature/TheCrewOfTheCopperColoredCupids'' is primarily motivated by a belief that the Crew have the capacity to reform into a [[GlorySeeker glorious]] interdimensional empire, and that they should. It is unclear if he believes that this would make it more efficient at achieving its ultimate goal in the long run, or if he simply thinks [[ForTheEvulz it would be cool]], but it is a vision he has come very far in pursuing, although he is [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain not really a big threat]] in the grand scheme of things despite his big talk.

* ''Literature/{{Victoria}}'' presents the leaders of several of its "evil" states as political visionaries desirous of inaugurating their brands of utopia. [[ThoseWackyNazis Neo-Nazi]] commander von Braun wishes to create a perfect Aryan community freed of [[ConspiracyTheorist Jewish capitalism]], based on a synthesis of fascist political theory and Nietzschean philosophy, and he is actually one of the ''tamer'' examples. Among the wilder are the rulers of the transhumanist LadyLand Azania, seeking to free women of their perceived slavery under biology by effectively remolding themselves into a species of post-human androgynous Amazons.
* ''Literature/TheExpanse'':
** Winston Duarte is a standard OneWorldOrder villain. He emphasizes to Singh that the people of [[spoiler:Medina]] are not the enemy, but new subjects of the Laconian Empire. He is also aware that even if he succeeds, his plan will likely collapse after his death... so he uses the [[AppliedPhlebotinum protomolecule]] to make himself into an immortal god-king.
** ...and that's peanuts compared to his [[HiveMind revised vision for humanity]] in the finale, ''Leviathan Falls''.

* Some leaders in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' are fighting for a strengthened humanity able to endure the grim darkness of the far future...united under the eight-pointed star of Chaos. Others, however, just want something, and the difference is often academic if they're offering you up to the Dark Gods or raining siege shells on your city.
** Even the Emperor would have been the visionary villain in almost any other setting, as he waged a galactic and xenocidal war while stamping out freedom of religion in hopes of bringing about a peaceful era afterwards (most pronounced in the story, "The Last Church", where he kills an innocent priest to remove the last remnant of religion on Earth because he believes religion is incompatible with his vision for humanity's greater future). He's the designated {{Big Good}} in this setting because the visionary villains he opposed literally sacrifice babies to summon demons and craft temples out of (sometimes still living) human flesh, etc.

** His true ultimate goal [[spoiler: is "saving" the Magical World (which will soon suffer complete magical depletion) through an AssimilationPlot, and he progresses towards it: 1-without informing anyone but select coconspirators about the true plan, playing the rest as {{Unwitting Pawn}}s, 2-by engineering wars, unrest and disasters that cause untold suffering on a massive scale, 3-Stopping at nothing to neutralise anyone who might pose even the slightest threat to his plans, even if that "threat" is the possibility to find out how to TakeAThirdOption where nobody dies. He's a prepubescent [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Gendo Ikari]]]].

* ''LightNovel/CookingWithWildGame'' has Zattsu Suun, who cared enough about the future of Forest's Edge to murder its oppressors over a decades-long EvilPlan, yet ''not'' enough to stop his subordinates from raping its people. (He is explicitly said to be insane.)

'''Judge Doom:''' Of course not, you lack vision. But I see a place where people get on and off the freeway. On and off, off and on, all day, all night! Soon, where Toon Town once stood will be a string of gas stations, inexpensive motels, restaurants that serve rapidly prepared food, tire salons, automobile dealerships, and wonderful, ''wonderful'' billboards reaching as far as the eye can see! My God, it'll be beautiful.

* Aizen from ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''. Although his initial motivation seems to be primarily DespotismJustifiesTheMeans with a dash of ForTheEvulz, [[spoiler:the end of his fight with Ichigo suggests a deeper motivation concerning a disgust with how the Soul Society is run, especially in regards to the role (or seemingly lack of one) played by the Soul King. Claiming that just accepting the world as it is like Urahara told him to be the mentality of the weak while the strong force the world to conform to their ideals.]]

* ComicBook/LexLuthor ''embodies'' this trope. He is thoroughly convinced that he has humanity's best interests in mind in everything he does and that humanity's [[HoldingOutForAHero reliance]] on Franchise/{{Superman}} shackles them. He pretty much IS the most formidable human alive, with his incredible intellect, business savvy, and analytical genius. On the other hand, he devotes his time instead to trying to destroy Superman and as the Man of Steel himself notes, if Lex wanted to, he could've saved the world ''years'' ago. Some versions of him are more visionary than others.
** ''ComicBook/JusticeLeague2018'' has him go this in a different way regarding Justice vs Doom; [[spoiler: he believes that "Doom" is the nature of the Multiverse when he meets its creator, Perpetua, and wishes to promote the vision of embracing the base instincts and worst aspects of themselves in service of her.]]
* [[ComicBook/RasAlGhul Ra's al-Ghul]] is both Franchise/{{Batman}}'s most formidable enemy and the most visionary one. He sees humanity as a blight on Earth, and that the population needs to be culled for the good of the planet. Imagine someone taking Creator/DavidAttenborough's "controlling the population to allow the survival of the environment" quote and taking it to its extreme conclusion. He sees no one else but Batman as worthy enough to continue his legacy though at the same time, he refuses to die and will do anything to avoid it.
* ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'': [[spoiler:Ozymandias slaughtered half of New York, killing millions, in an attempt to save the rest of the world from a nuclear apocalypse]]. Though as [[spoiler: ComicBook/DoomsdayClock shows, he ends up failing when the plan is revealed and now he has a new plan involving killing ''both'' Dr. Manhatten and Superman.]]
* ComicBook/{{Magneto}}, at his most AntiVillain, wants only to prevent mutantkind from undergoing the same persecution he did in WWII. Sometimes this means creating a private island / satellite for mutants, other times it means actively subjugating the human race to ensure they will never be a threat.
* ComicBook/DoctorDoom believes to the very core of his being that what he's doing [[KnightTemplar is right]]. He's looked in the future (His words) and only saw one potential future where everything ends up well, and that's under his reign, as per Doomwar. Likewise his UltimateUniverse counterpart [[spoiler: is ''not'' this trope, but in fact Ultimate Reed Richards is]]!

** In ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', everyone thinks that ComicBook/TheJoker is "garbage who kills for money", or just a homicidal maniac who kills for kicks. However, he is adamant he has grander ambitions- he is out to give the city "a better class of criminal" and sees himself as heralding a new age of supervillainy, as well as working to expose the citizens of Gotham as [[HumansAreBastards just as bad as he is]]. He wants to tear away the veneer of civilization and watch everyone abandon the moral order they claim to value so highly.

** Both ComicBook/RasAlGhul and ComicBook/{{Bane}} [[spoiler:and ComicBook/TaliaAlGhul]] from [[Film/BatmanBegins the first]] and [[Film/TheDarkKnightRises third movies]] qualify, as well. Ra's sees the human race as inherently decadent and corrupt, with the League of Shadows acting to destroy the most significant sources of these sins at their zenith, the current target being Gotham. Considering what we see of the [[CorruptCop police force]] and general apathy of the citizens [[CrapsackWorld he's not entirely wrong]]. Bane wishes to complete his vision though more dramatically, including literally showing Gotham how awful it is as even its strides towards peace and order [[TimeSkip between movies]] seem to be built primarily on lies and cover-ups. [[spoiler:When it shows later that he's merely TheDragon for Talia, and both actually want revenge for what happened to Ra's in the first film, how strong their visions remain, and how much they're just used as an excuse to blow up Gotham is called into question.]]

** In ''Film/XMenApocalypse'', ComicBook/{{Apocalypse}} wants to destroy modern civilization in a global cataclysm which only [[TheSocialDarwinist the strongest will survive]], after which he, as the [[PhysicalGod strongest]] of all, will rule as a GodEmperor. {{Deconstructed|Trope}}, [[PsychopathicManchild as his supposed over-idealistic ambition stems from a lack of maturity that comes with always getting what he wanted through power alone]], and two of his followers (out of a mere total of ''four'') turn on him for being needlessly cruel and ungrateful.

* ComicBook/LexLuthor in the ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' films counts as this to some extent. Even if the ''goals'' of his plans (to make himself very rich and/or powerful) are fairly generic, the sheer ''scale'' of what he attempts ([[Film/SupermanTheMovie causing the west coast of America to fall into the sea]] and [[Film/SupermanReturns building new continents based on Kryptonian technology]]) is undeniably impressive.

** By the final episode, [[spoiler:Daenerys performs a FaceHeelTurn and has leveled King's Landing out of spite for being rejected by the commonfolk. However, she's not content with merely ruling the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, as she boasts that she will TakeOverTheWorld for the Targaryen dynasty.]]

* Khan Noonien Singh of ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' once was "the best of tyrants", ruling a quarter of the human population, and in the AU story "Seeds of Dissent" (part of the ''Literature/StarTrekMyriadUniverses'') presides over the genetic transformation of humanity into a SuperiorSpecies after his successful conquest of Earth. In the episode "Space Seed," upon his defeat, he [[spoiler: gladly accepts the offer to tame a new world.]] Subverted when he comes back in ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan'', as he is preoccupied only with revenge against Kirk, as his wife died there, even though his henchman tries to convince him that this trope would be much more worthwhile.

** Lucifer, the first FallenAngel, seeks to destroy humanity with a ZombieApocalypse, defeat his brother Michael, and turn the Earth into a new Eden, as he considered it "God's last great work". It's hinted that he also promised his followers something along the lines of HellInvadesHeaven, [[spoiler:but it's just smoke and mirrors. Lucifer despises demons as well for essentially being corrupted human ghosts.]]
** Crowley, after becoming the new King of Hell, forms an alliance with [[spoiler:Castiel]] to find Purgatory and gain access to all the souls therein. As he put it, it's "hell-adjacent" and prime real estate for expansion. [[spoiler:However, Castiel eventually cuts him out of the deal, so Crowley teams up with Castiel's rival Raphael instead before both of them are OutGambitted by the former]].

** Shepherd, the GreaterScopeVillain of the first season and BigBad of the second, believes that America has become hopelessly corrupt, and has a plan save it by burning everything down and starting over. The end of Season 2 reveals that the plan to do this is to [[spoiler: nuke DC via KillSat, wiping out the federal government and allowing the people she's handpicked and guided into position as emergency successors to take over, building a purer government.]]

** Jeremiah Valeska as well, who claims in the season 4 finale that his previous plans "lacked vision" and that Ra's opened his eyes to a greater purpose; namely, turning Bruce into the Dark Knight and preparing the city for his arrival. Which involves [[spoiler: shooting Selina Kyle and then blowing the bridges to the mainland and turning Gotham into a lawless hellhole.]]

** ZedΩ of ATEMS in ''3'' wants to build a brighter future for the whole world, humans ''and'' Adepts, and rule over it as a benevolent dictator while also stopping a world-destroying threat that [[MegaCorp Sumeragi]] has been hiding all knowledge of and sealed away in the naive hope it doesn't turn out to be a ticking time bomb. His methods involved armed aggression and terrorism [[spoiler:plus hijacking that very world-destroying threat (the [[GooGooGodlike baby Primal Dragon Moebius]]) and sublimally influencing its WindsOfDestinyChange powers to nudge the world towards his ideal.]] Unlike the previous villains, [[spoiler:he has a HeelFaceTurn after being beaten and chooses to return to his country peacefully to help fight the surge of [[BrainwashedAndCrazy Adepts turned Primal Dragons]] world-wide caused by Moebius's awakening.]]

* In ''Franchise/DragonAge'', the Architect in ''Awakening'' is explicitly referred to as being this by Velanna after the reveal that his "EvilPlan" was to use Grey Warden blood to sever the Darkspawn's connection to the Archdemon, with the sole intention of granting his brethren intelligence and self-awareness, rather than trying to rule over them. [[spoiler: The Warden can admit his plan ''[[TheExtremistWasRight could]]'' lead to peace and can choose to [[EnemyMine ally with him]]]].

** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'': [[BigBad Dagoth]] [[PhysicalGod Ur]][='s=] vision is warped (he... doesn't seem entirely aware what his [[MysticalPlague Divine Disease]] ''does'' to the minds of those he infects) and cracked (he seems to maintain several visions that aren't entirely compatible), but that is only logical given he ''is'' a MadGod, and he is still able to present overthrowing the [[DeityOfHumanOrigin Tribunal]], [[OccupiersOutOfOurCountry throwing out Outlanders from Morrowind]], and building a paradisaical new Resdayn before spreading divinity across Tamriel lead by the New God Anumidium in a pleasant, charming, and reasonably coherent manner.

* ''Webcomic/{{Drowtales}}'' Zig-zagged with Snadhya'rune Vel'Sharen, [[TheUnfavorite who was deeply resentful of her mother for treating her like a mutant]] [[TheSociopath and became a psychopath bent on getting revenge through one-upping her mother]], but also dreamed of doing so through the creation of an [[TheEmpire all-consuming empire]], [[MultiversalConqueror where demon-drow hybrid immortals would create an eternally expanding dystopia dedicated to fulfilling her every whim]].

* Dr. Horrible from ''WebVideo/DoctorHorriblesSingAlongBlog'' had a vague plan to improve the world by taking it over. He even claimed "[[TechnicalPacifist Murder]] is beneath me."

*** In Book 3, [[EnlightenedAntagonist Zaheer]] is revealed to be the leader of [[spoiler:the Red Lotus, a White Lotus splinter group seeking to bring balance and freedom to the world by toppling all governments and permanently ending the Avatar Cycle. While he raises several points about espousing his freedom, his unrealistic idealism leads him to be narrow-minded of the consequences after achieving his goals, like removing the tyrannical Earth Queen from power. Instead of celebrating its liberation, Earth Kingdom escalated into chaos and caused a new set of problems because of the sudden development; when Korra told him about the NiceJobBreakingItHero consequences of that particular action that gives rise to three years of chaos and the rise of the Book 4's villain, he realized that his judgment was lapsed. And destroying the Avatar Cycle? Despite their preparations, they grossly underestimated that the Avatar Spirit is not to be trifled with.]]

* WordOfGod explicitly describes ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'''s version of ComicBook/VandalSavage as this. As he outlines his own motives in the first season finale, he (and [[LegionOfDoom the Light,]] the organization he founded) intends to make Earth the dominant power in the galaxy by means of implementing an extreme [[TheSocialDarwinist survival of the fittest philosophy]] and opposes the Justice League because he feels they promote stagnation. In contrast to the rest of the Light, Klarion is in it ForTheEvulz.
* We see a particularly impressive example in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueCrisisOnTwoEarths'': [[spoiler:While the Crime Syndicate of the parallel dimension mostly consists of superpowered thugs, Owlman is another creature entirely. Upon finding out about the existence of the multiverse, he comes to the conclusion that free will is an illusion as every choice we make is countered in another dimension. [[StrawNihilist He decides that this makes his and everyone else's existence pointless,]] and in a matter of days, puts together a plan that will let him annihilate all life in all parallel dimensions that exist. He considers this act the only meaningful one he can make as it is truly unique and can only be done once by one being in all the multiverse.]]

[[caption-width-right:350: Kars' ideas got the other Pillar Men [[RousingSpeech revved up]].]]

** Caesar from ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas''. He thinks that the [[AfterTheEnd post-apocalyptic earth]] is proof that democracy has failed, and sets out to unite what's left as a monotheistic dictatorship, replete with slavery, crucifixion, and institutionalized sexism (including legally-sanctioned ''rape''). At the game's beginning, he's conquered Arizona, New Mexico, much of Utah and Colorado, and is poised to begin taking Nevada.

** House as well, [[GreyAndGrayMorality although his status as a true villain is rather questionable]]. House is an enlightened dictator... [[BlackmailIsSuchAnUglyWord Sorry, "autocrat"]] who wants to guide humanity back to the glory of the Pre-War days, and be the economic superpower and financier behind it all. He has no intent to abuse or oppress people, and is more than happy to provide them comfortable lives so long as he's able to strictly control people through his BreadAndCircuses and make a profit from them. He also engages in morally dubious acts to gain power, and is ruthless in crushing and eliminating anyone who stands in his way, but operates via a mindset of PragmaticVillainy. His ultimate goal, however, is to use the combined NCR and Vegas economy to restart a spaceflight program that will allow humanity to begin anew on another planet.

[[caption-width-right:350: Kars' ideas got the other Pillar Men [[IncrediblyLamePun revved up.]]]]

Contrast CutLexLuthorACheck and DisappointedByTheMotive. The opposite of PunchClockVillain and GenericDoomsdayVillain. Frequently sneer at minor or petty villains who yell "ScrewTheRulesIHaveSupernaturalPowers"

* [[MadScientist Grigori]] [[VillainProtagonist Vinci]], captain of the Nightmare Pirates, seeks to find as much knowledge as possible, with the end goal of CompleteImmortality for ''everyone''. To this end, he's delved into BioAugmentation and SympatheticMagic, as well as declaring war on [[TheEmpire the World Government and the Navy]] in the process.

** Ramattra, while not directly part of Talon, is an associate with his own vision in mind. He cares deeply for his omnic brethren, seeing them as truly having "souls" with a place among the universe along with every other living being, but sees the attempts at peaceful coexistence with humanity following the [[RobotWar Ommic Crisis]] as fruitless and only contributing to further suffering of his people. He leads Null Sector -- [[BombThrowingAnarchists an extremist group reinstating the war against mankind]] -- [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans to ensure a peaceful world for omnickind by whatever means necessary]].

%%* [[Manga/DeathNote Light Yagami]], an example of a Visionary VillainProtagonist.

[[caption-width-right:350: Kar's ideas got the other Pillar Men [[IncrediblyLamePun revved up.]]]]

* Both the {{Big Bad}}s of the first two ''VideoGame/AzureStrikerGunvolt'' games want the power of [[ShrinkingViolet Joule's]] Septima, [[MagicMusic the Muse]] in order to achieve what they believe is best for the world. [[AffablyEvil Nova]] wishes to use her power to police all the [[PsychicPowers Adepts]] in the world to prevent them from ever rising up against humanity and destroying the planet, which nearly happened [[AllThereInTheManual in the backstory]], and ensure permanent peace and justice. [[spoiler:[[SuperSupremacist Zonda]]]] wants to use her power [[spoiler:to [[AmplifierArtifact amplify the powers of Adepts worldwide]] so they can annihilate humanity for all the [[FantasticRacism crimes and oppression they've heaped on their kind]], creating an Adept-only utopia]].

** The current Justice League has him go this in a different way regarding Justice vs Doom; [[spoiler: he believes that "Doom" is the nature of the Multiverse when he meets its creator, Perpetua, and wishes to promote the vision of embracing the base instincts and worst aspects of themselves in service of her.]]

** After suffering a TraumaCongaLine that culminated in him attempting suicide, John Kramer developed a new outlook on life, feeling that most people are wasting their lives. He kidnaps criminals or assorted {{jerkass}}es and puts them through "games" where they must make a LifeOrLimbDecision or kill someone else and, if they survive, hopefully come away from it with a new appreciation for their lives. He's essentially a self-help guru whose idea of "self-help" involves a severed limb or two.

** Knowing that he doesn't have long to live, John had recruited apprentices and accomplices (mostly people who survived his traps and adopted his worldview) to help him build his traps and procure new people to "test", as well as spread his message far and wide and take up the Jigsaw mantle after his death. Of all the accomplices, however, only [[spoiler:Dr. Gordon]] (who presumably couldn't succeed him due to not being an actual apprentice) can truly be said to have internalized his philosophy. Amanda simply murdered people outright with inescapable traps, viewing most of her victims as irredeemable, Hoffman (John's first successor) never believed in his philosophy and simply followed it most of the time to cover himself, and [[spoiler:Logan]] (a former apprentice who wasn't active until years after John and the other accomplices either died or were left with their fates hanging) went with his own idea of Jigsaw to enact revenge against those who wronged him.
** [[spoiler:Schenk]], the copycat killer from ''[[Film/Spiral2021 Spiral]]'', uses the Jigsaw killers' traps but has his own agenda, seeking to purge the Metropolitan Police Department of all its corrupt officers.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:Fanfiction]]

[[folder:Film]]

* John Kramer, the original Jigsaw killer in the ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'' films. After suffering a TraumaCongaLine that culminated in finding out he had brain cancer, he tried and failed to kill himself, but survived and developed a new outlook on life, feeling that most people are wasting their lives. He kidnaps junkies, adulterers, fraudsters, sleazes, and other assorted {{jerkass}}es and puts them through brutal tests where they must make a LifeOrLimbDecision and, if they survive, hopefully come away from it with a new appreciation for their lives. He's essentially a self-help guru whose idea of "self-help" involves a severed limb or two.
** Knowing that he doesn't have long to live, he also trains apprentices (mostly people who survived his traps and adopted his worldview) to help him build his traps and procure new people to "test", as well as spread his message far and wide and take up the Jigsaw mantle after his death. Of John Kramer's apprentices, however, only [[spoiler:Dr. Gordon]] can truly be said to have internalized his belief that the "tests" were meant to make the victims into better people. [[spoiler:Amanda and Hoffman]] simply murder people outright with inescapable death traps, viewing most of their victims as irredeemable.
** [[spoiler: Schenk]], the copycat killer from ''Film/Spiral2021'', uses Jigsaw's techniques but has his own agenda for them, wanting to purge the police force of all its corrupt members.

[[folder:Theater]]

*** In Book 1, [[WellIntentionedExtremist Amon envisions a completely equal world, without benders]], brought about by [[MindRape forcibly purging benders of their "impurity."]] Naturally, in order to ensure maximum fair-mindedness, this new world order will be governed by the Equalists, an organization led by Amon. [[spoiler: It turns out that [[TragicBigot Amon]] is himself a very powerful waterbender... and still genuinely believes that bending needs to be eliminated from the world. His issues stem from his self-hate of believing that bending caused him so much misfortune in his life at the hands of his AbusiveFather that his strong sense of justice becomes so twisted that it enables him to become a hypocritical KnightTemplar he presents himself as during his debut.]]

* [[spoiler:Aquarius]] from the ''Literature/ZodiacSeries'' is dedicated to a better future for humanity. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, his plans for doing so involve ''[[TooDumbToLive flying into the sun]]'', which will shut it off and cause TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt.]]

* Despite an abundance of [[KickTheDog dickish villains]] [[ForTheEvulz who do their devious acts on a whim]], ''Manga/OnePiece'' surprisingly has one in the form of Hody Jones. He wants to restore Fishman pride, with his crew, The New Fishman Pirates, by fostering hatred between the people of the sea and those of the land: humans, by [[spoiler:assassinating Queen Otohime, the greatest advocate for peace between fishmen & merfolk and humans, and using a human as a patsy]], planning to kill King Neptune for his perceived "weakness", which is allowing humans to protect the island (e.g. Whitebeard, Big Mam), have his crew terrorize people who help humans, and after he takes over the kingdom and purges Fishman Island of "human-loving trash", he planned to enslave humans across the oceans, before setting his sights on becoming Pirate King.

* Shishiou Tsukasa from ''Manga/DrStone''. After being embittered by the greed and corruption of the 21st century, he decided upon waking into a primitive world thousands of years in the future that he would seize the opportunity to give humanity a fresh start and build a stone-age society in harmony with the natural world. To that end, he immediately set himself to destroying anyone who might return the world to the way it was, particularly ScienceHero protagonist Senkuu, as well as carefully selecting others with the skills to help him achieve his vision.

* Both the {{Big Bad}}s in ''VideoGame/AzureStrikerGunvolt'' want the power of [[ShrinkingViolet Joule's]] Septima, [[MagicMusic the Muse]] in order to achieve what they believe is best for the world. [[AffablyEvil Nova]] wishes to use her power to police all the [[PsychicPowers Adepts]] in the world to prevent them from ever rising up against humanity and destroying the planet, which nearly happened [[AllThereInTheManual in the backstory]], and ensure permanent peace and justice. [[spoiler:[[SuperSupremacist Zonda]]]] wants to use her power [[spoiler:to [[AmplifierArtifact amplify the powers of Adepts worldwide]] so they can annihilate humanity for all the [[FantasticRacism crimes and oppression they've heaped on their kind]], creating an Adept-only utopia]].