Noble Demon

""A demon can get into real trouble, doing the right thing.""

- Crowley, Good Omens

A villainous character who does good in spite of himself. The Noble Demon doesn't care that he has a bad image—he actively cultivates and embraces it. He'll practice his evil laugh and iron his cape so that it billows just right when he makes his entrance. However, every so often a situation presents itself and he's just not willing to go the extra mile necessary to be completely evil. He'll topple your castle, but he'll do it right after everyone has cleared out first. He'll also be obsessed with explaining this behavior so people won't think that he's gone soft. Killing enemies or servants who have failed but are loyal is "a waste of resources" and his inevitable newfound friends are "tactically advantageous allies." Their goals are evil but their means, not so much.

A lot of this behavior is sometimes explained as the result of a complex they acquired when they felt weak and helpless, and all they really need is to be loved. A villainous Noble Demon isn't nice, but being noble and powerful seems to imply they are above petty and malicious acts, or at least uninterested in them.

A Noble Demon who's a Proud Warrior Race Guy often comments that his enemies are (or have become) petty and cowardly and stain the name of their species.

Sometimes a fanciful version of the Delinquent Hero. Commonly experiences Sympathy for the Devil from the heroes. If Eviler Than Thou comes up, the Noble Demon will likely be on the less evil end. May be the "grayer" character in A Lighter Shade of Grey.

Compare the more mundane versions: Jerk with a Heart of Gold and Jerkass Facade.

If a Noble Demon is an Anti-Hero then they are a "Type IV" or a "Type V" on the Sliding Scale of Anti-Heroes, and if they are an Anti-Villain then they are a "Type I" or a "Type IV" in the Sliding Scale of Anti-Villains.

Whether Anti-Villain or Anti-Hero beneath the facade, expect a Noble Demon's motives to include getting plenty of Villain Cred.

See also Ambiguously Evil. Contrast Faux Affably Evil, whose kind acts only serve to benefit him as well as Card-Carrying Villain who does not deny he's evil and is willing to do all things evil. Villains lacking this trait with be either Exclusively Evil, Combat Pragmatist at best or Complete Monster at their worst. Compare and contrast Nominal Hero, a character who does heroic deeds for all the wrong reasons.

Anime and Manga
"Krillen: Wh-what's that look on your face? Do you have a plan?! C'mon, tell us! We're your friends! Piccolo: Friends?! Don't press your luck. When do you think I became your friend? I'm a demon! Don't you ever forget that!! I'm merely using you-- to take over the world!! *flies away*"
 * The title character of Inuyasha is this way when he is first introduced. He becomes a Jerk with a Heart of Gold approximately one chapter later.
 * Inuyasha's Aloof Big Brother Sesshoumaru and rival Kouga both display traits of Noble Demon (even though both have their moments of extreme ruthlessness). Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru's father is hinted to have been like this. Same goes for Sesshoumaru's mother, a yokai noblewoman.
 * Kyouya from Ouran High School Host Club insists that he is an egotist with nothing in common with White Prince Tamaki. Despite this, his long-suffering of Tamaki's antics, which includes wearing ridiculous costumes on a daily basis (as a female more than once), is noblity in itself. He says that it's all to keep Tamaki looking like a golden child, to the point where it costs Kyouya favor with his own father. That's a bit too self-sacrificing for the so-called Evil Lord, isn't it?
 * His father was a dick to begin with. Had his dad thought about the situation, he'd have praised Kyouya. Kyouya keeping the Host's financially sound despite the numerous things they do that expend money (Honey's candy costs, the costume costs, taking most (if not all) of the female school population to the BEACH) is nothing short of financial wizardary. His dad just couldn't see past the "managing a Host Club" part. It basically benefited him to work with financial morons like Tamaki.
 * Evangeline A.K. McDowell, the vampire mage from Mahou Sensei Negima, constantly tells the rest of the cast how hideously and irredeemably evil she is, explicitly comparing herself to a video game Big Bad. So they'd better not be getting the wrong idea when she's saving their lives, making sure they're okay, giving them proper training, helping the resident ghost girl not be feared, etc.
 * Though, given that she officially wants Asuna and Negi to be her video-game sub-bosses...Also, it might be that she simply took the "evil" name from the "good" mages, who don't necessarily seem all that good, compared to her. She just only cares about herself and the people she has chosen to care about. The rest, including the world, may go to scrapper.
 * Wilhelm is a literal Noble Demon, despite the fact that he petrified Negi's hometown (because he's forced to do it by the person who summoned him), he drops all sorts of hints that the petrification isn't permanent, and goes out of his way to not hurt any of the girls when he fights Negi, and even gives him some useful advice.
 * as well. He's a rather pleasant guy to be around, civilized, and willing to talk things out. Granted, he does have  However, he justifies this when it is revealed that   When one asks
 * Lelouch from Code Geass nearly defines this trope. He kills unimaginable amounts of enemy soldiers and a number of civilians, many of whom were killed in incredibly underhanded and dishonorable manners, and yet he does this all for the sake of his crippled sister, Nunally.
 * Of course, what prevents Lelouch from being the Trope Codifier is the fact that he's one of the heroes, a very dark Anti-Hero and a textbook Byronic Hero, but one of the good guys all the same.
 * Most of the civilian deaths came from a landslide that caused a LOT more damage than Lelouch anticipated. The rest happened after he jumped off the slippery slope.
 * Seto Kaiba from Yu-Gi-Oh!. The "noble" half is mostly due to his little brother, and the "demon" half is mostly due to his competition with his adopted father growing up.
 * Likewise, it took Edo Phoenix, Kaiba's third Expy in GX, quite a while to reluctantly admit he had become more "hero" and less "anti."
 * Vegeta from Dragonball Z initially sides with Goku out of necessity, simply because Frieza, the Big Bad, also stands between Vegeta, the Namek Dragon Balls, and immortality; later, he does a Heel Face Turn and marries Bulma, though he's still The Rival, and offers little resistance to being possessed by Babidi, since he knows that he didn't kick nearly as much ass as he did when he was still evil.
 * This created something of an Adaptation-Induced Plothole with the anime, which decided to give Vegeta, in one of his earliest appearances, a big Moral Event Horizon crossing while his full redemption in the manga was still two years off. In the episode, Vegeta deposes the cruel dictator of an alien planet... purely to torture the planet's residents by giving them a Hope Spot before killing them all. Many fans who had only seen the anime found his later redemption wholly unbelievable because of this.
 * Piccolo tried to invoke this when he was defeated by the androids, right before going off to fuse with Kami. No-one really fell for it, though...it was kind of half-assed.


 * Zelgadis of The Slayers is self-serving but ultimately keeps coming back to the protagonists...no matter how much they tarnish his vaunted "cool and mysterious sorcerer-swordsman" image.
 * There is also one true demon Mazoku. "The power of the Monster race flows from... terror, anger, sorrow, despair." And he's still the most friendly and nice character in the series most of the time, despite his penchant for painful and infuriating pranks.
 * The novels make this clearer. He definitely appears to be one, though.
 * This trope is reversed and extensively played with in the Hentai OVA Viper GTS; the demons would all be fine upstanding citizens if their job didn't involve taking people's souls (one of them is even initially embarrassed by the idea of doing something dirty in public), while the angels are all ruthless, brutal Knight Templar types who wind up looking more demonic than the demons.
 * It is even mentioned at one point that the souls are only borrowed, to be returned later.
 * In Ushio and Tora, Tora is a tiger-like demon who seems like he'd be eager to eat Ushio if it wasn't for the magic spear he wields. However, the demon needs so little persuasion to help the boy fight various supernatural threats to humanity, you'd almost think Tora secretly enjoys being a defender of the innocent.
 * The protagonist, and some say titular character, of the anime Bastard!! follows this trope somewhat.
 * Black Jack is a milder example, deliberately cultivating a Dr. Jerk reputation but still managing to be a pretty decent guy in the long run.
 * Saiyuki's Kougaiji fits this very well, occasionally subverting the big bad or helping the heroes, despite fighting them throughout the entire manga and being willing to risk anything to steal the scriptures in question.
 * Indeed, Kougaiji (a literal Noble Demon, being a prince) is such a decent guy that he frequently makes the Sanzo-ikkou, nominally Our Heroes, look pretty bad by comparison. In his very first appearance, he not only rescues and forgives a subordinate who's failed her mission, but also refuses to initiate a brawl that Son Goku is spoiling for, because there are too many innocent mortal bystanders around.
 * Adding to his nobility are the facts that his primary motivation is the resurrection of his mother, and that he'll do damn near anything for his half-sister, Lirin, whose mother is the Big Bad, or his subordinates, Yaone and Dokugakuji. He's a very popular leader because he cares about his subordinates. (His kindness to them, in fact, is so diametrically opposite to Sanzo's caustic attitude toward the Sanzo-ikkou that they themselves sometimes rub the monk's nose in it, with predictable results.) In one Filler episode, at least a hundred men are willing to sacrifice their lives to let him summon a monster, cheering for him the whole time, and he even has fangirls. He's actually much more likely to voluntarily invoke The Power of Friendship than the heroes.
 * Part of the point of Sanzo's party is that they're so incredibly NOT the cliched heroes, as they attempt to hammer home a couple times when they meet villagers so utterly happy to meet the heroes purging the evil Youkai menace from the lands, so it's little surprise that Kougaiji often looks less evil than them.
 * Seikon no Qwaser has Katja and, to a lesser extent, Miyuri, who acts as a mean-spirited Ojou, but does not hesitate to step in front of a villainess when Mafuyu is threatened.
 * Yu Yu Hakusho's Hiei fits this trope to a T. Not only is he a demon, but he keeps insisting that he's bad to the bone and cares about nobody, but his actions keep on betraying him. By the end of the series, he's loosened up enough that he actually admits to having friends and.
 * Anything and everything involving Satan and his cronies as written by Go Nagai, including the infamous Devilman series. On the flip side, God is written as being anywhere from a Magnificent Bastard who enjoys toying with humanity to an unabashedly hate-filled cosmic entity who is offended by any life form that fails to prostrate itself before him, and alternates between mind-wiping the planetary populace or ejecting "sin-waves" over the surface, turning anyone with the slightest amount of impure thoughts into homicidal maniacs (the latter example comes from the latest reworking, Demon Lord Dante). The various Devilmen normally wind up fighting Satan's forces initially because he possesses humans in order to manifest on earth, and they can't get over the teachings they've learned prior. (Amon and Dante must be pretty weak mentally to keep getting overpowered by young boys like that.)
 * In Bamboo Blade's Show Within a Show, Blade Braver, Shinaider fits the classic noble demon archetype. Much as Tama considers Red Braver her favorite, her Rival, Rin, is a fan of Shinaider.
 * Saitou Hajime from Rurouni Kenshin is lawfully just and resolutely incorruptible, despite being a generally brutal character.
 * Darker than Black has the Contractor November 11 who frequently references his utter amorality but is unfailingly charming and friendly and protecting towards his co-workers. At the end of the series,, his fellow Contractors ironically (or perhaps accurately) attribute his extremely altruistic actions to this same amorality/rationality.
 * Come to think of it, the protagonist, Hei, could also count as one of these, given the emphasis in the final episode of the first season on how he pretends to be the amoral, badass Black Reaper, but is actually a sensitive guy who is haunted by all of the killing and dubious acts he has to do.
 * Greed from Fullmetal Alchemist is a definite example of this, being, by far, the least violent of the homunculi and a Benevolent Boss in contrast to his "siblings'" egregious use of You Have Outlived Your Usefulness. This quality of his is probably more pronounced in the manga, especially with the second incarnation of Greed. Toward the end of the manga, he fights alongside the heroes and even rescues people, which he justifies with having nothing better to do/his desire to take power for himself.
 * Scar definitely counts as well.
 * A big part of the plot of the manga Devil and Devil involves the main character Sword desperately trying to avoid falling into this trope...and failing spectacularly. Notably, he was a powerful and vicious Blood Knight of a devil before being forced to occupy a human vessel to survive.
 * Raoh of Fist of the North Star demonstrates the traits of a Noble Demon throughout the series: sure, he'll subjugate the people of the wasteland to his will, but if his men are ruthlessly torturing villagers, then he won't hesitate to trample them to death atop his horse Koko-goh. Additionally, Raoh sheds a river of Tender Tears when his weaker, radiation-addled brother, Toki, cannot fulfill his childhood promise to stop Raoh's ambitions. Raoh openly shows respect for the bravery of the heroes who fall in battle, and notably orders his men to give Juza a Hero's Funeral for putting up an exceptionally valiant fight against him. He sheds further Tender Tears when compelled to kill Yuria, the final step in his transformation to godhood, yet could not because even a tyrant like him was deeply moved with respect for her kindness and nobility. The fact that he doesn't even kill Yuria but prolongs her life in spite of her radiation sickness so she can live on with Kenshiro shows his Vader-like redemption from Noble Demon to affectionate older brother.
 * Kenshiro's uncle, Kasumi Kenshiro, in the prequel Fist of the Blue Sky, is also this, only that he is a kind-hearted version as he is a loyal dragon to the drug gang Qing Bang.
 * Mugen of Samurai Champloo is a Heroic Sociopath who is open about not caring about anyone but himself and liking violence for its own sake. However, those same qualities make him unwilling to join with villains, scorning their self-importance and the idea of him following anyone. Moreover, despite his frequent complaints about her, he will always come to the rescue of Fuu when she is danger.
 * Viral of Gurren Lagann shows Noble Demon qualities, particularly in his battle against Simon and Yoko. He is appalled by the fact that he's being beaten by Simon rather than Kamina, but when, he allows Simon to let the injured Yoko stray to the sidelines before grappling with Simon's Gurren Lagann.
 * Because she's just SOOOO much safer on the floor in a room where giant robots are fighting instead of inside one of them.
 * "Stupid...but noble."
 * Madara from Natsume Yuujinchou is a powerful man-eating ayakashi who is next in line to inherit the main character's MacGuffin, and has repeatedly stated that he wants nothing more than for said main character to hurry up and die so he can claim it. Nonetheless, he follows Natsume around as a bodyguard and saves his life on numerous occasions. He usually gets very defensive when other ayakashi point out that he's essentially Natsume's servant, usually deflecting the accusations by claiming that the main character is his pet or his prey (hence why he'll beat the crap out of anyone else who tries to hurt him).
 * Most of the mafiosos and camorristas in Baccano!! are Neighbourhood Friendly Gangsters at most. Luck Gandor, in particular, lives this trope, with both Firo and Claire separately remarking that, deep down, he's too nice to really be cut out for a life at the top of a Mafia family. He pushes himself to act cold and ruthless in order to be able to properly fill the role.
 * Papillion from Busou Renkin is ruthless in his quest to become a homunculus, but this is just because he's sickly and dying, and wants immortality. Once he's become a homunculus, he's content to just observe, provide covert aid for the heroes, wear a disturbingly flamboyant costume, and, in the end, become an urban legend to schoolgirls. It helps that, due to his imperfect metamorphosis, he doesn't need to eat humans like other homunculi do.
 * In actuality, while the incomplete transformation is a factor, it is actually because he is a human-type homunculus, combined with a lack of the innate desire to become human, that he has no need nor reason to eat humans.
 * Of course, he did kill and eat some of his family members upon first transforming, and provided a disturbingly sensual description of how delicious it was. And then, since the transformation had blown all his clothes off, Watsuki had him pull his butterfly mask out of his briefs. Since he didn't know his clothes were going to blow off, he had to have been keeping it there...just because.
 * Ashuraman in Kinnikuman is this both literally (he is the prince of the Demon World) and figuratively (the reason for his loss and concurrent Heel Face Turn in the Tag Tournament arc is because he's touched by the Power of Friendship). For that matter, his trainer, Samson Teacher, qualifies as this as well, planting the seed of friendship into Ashuraman through saving his life.
 * Haruo Nijima from Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple is a very complex character. A "close" friend (of sorts) of the titular character, Kenichi Shirahama, he is commonly referred to by various characters as an alien due to his likewise features: long pointed ears, sharp hooking nose, glaring eyes, and fanged teeth. He has even been known to be able to protude two arrow-headed antennas from the top of his head. As if that's not bad enough, he openly proclaims himself to be evil, and does nothing to discourage this belief amongst other parties. Worse, he dreams to one day rule the world (albeit not in a conquery sort of way); and to this end, he (somehow) formed a fighter group that he hopes would garner enough media attention to make his dream world conquest a reality. Basically, he is an ambitious power-grabber who relishes in bossing everyone around (mostly Kenichi). Despite this, as the key founder of the Shinpaku Alliance (which Kenichi and several other principal characters are part of), he seems to prioritize the well-being of his comrades more than anything else, and is not above resorting to being a living bait to lure danger away.
 * Mujuro from Ninja Scroll saves the two protagonists from precariously dangling over a cliff, just so that he can challenge Jubei, the male protagonist, to an honorable duel. He notably.
 * Hyper Metal Sonic from Sonic The Hedgehog: The Movie.
 * Anubis from Ronin Warriors.
 * JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
 * Part 2 has Whammu, who is extremely honorable and respectful of his foe Joseph Joestar.
 * Several members of Passione in Part 5, mainly the unnamed gangster Giorno saved when he was a child, Team Buccielatti and Giorno himself. They have a fearsome reputation from their criminal activities (that include murders) and don't want to be considered good guys (Buccielatti's initial opposition to Narancia joining the gang and refusal to be seen as a role model by him despite everything he does for him are quite telling) and yet are still in good terms with the rest of the population and seem to help them out more than they do harm. They have in common their disgust of drug dealing for the harm it causes to the community (and teenagers above all) and are on a crusade to end it.
 * Beezle from The Fantastic Adventures of Unico is an obnoxious little hellion and a Card-Carrying Villain, but he was raised by his father to keep his promises, to the point of swimming out into a stormy ocean (which is doubly dangerous for Beezle, as sea water is poison to devils) to save Unico from drowning.
 * Hild from Ah! My Goddess qualifies to a point. She is still evil, as proven by her efforts to make Belldandy into a demon or to break up Belldandy and Keichii just to see if she could piss the former off enough to do something evil, but Hild enforces an entire existence of somewhat-noble demons, demons that live by making pacts and are bound in an agreement to never kill goddesses (though they can still fight them). She genuinely loves her daughter, Urd (though that won't stop her from beating the crap out of Urd if Urd stands in her way), and is distinctly less evil than many in Niflheim, evidenced when those more evil revolted against her.
 * In A Certain Magical Index, early villain becomes this after his character development and Heel Face Turn to Type IV Anti-Hero near the end of the first season. Although he secretly wants to be a hero, he still thinks of himself as a villain no better than the ones he now kills (and proclaims this loudly even to those he has rescued) since he doesn't believe he can be forgiven after . Much later in the novels
 * Impmon / Beelzemon is a weird example. He's prideful in his abilities, but as such, he's known for not attacking weak Digimon. The likely reason is that he feels it would be a waste of power, making this a subversion. Post-Heel Face Turn he becomes a literal noble demon. Still, when compared to the other Demon Lords...
 * Chrono from Chrono Crusade may count as a literal example of this.

Comic Books

 * This is the common characterization for Thanos of the Marvel Universe, post-The Infinity Gauntlet, although it can be argued that he already exhibited signs of this trope even at his most villainous points.
 * Hellblazer's succubus Chantinelle (Ellie) is less noble than extraordinarily unlucky. Having tried to seduce an angel and succeeded, she fell in love with him and bore his child, leading to his demise at the hands of other angels and her exile from Hell. John Constantine notes that she's not a bad sort considering what she actually is, to which she replies, "I don't think so, John...I think I'm just polite."
 * Subverted in Marvel's Doctor Doom, who acts like he has a sense of honor, but will do anything to achieve his goals, up to and including sacrificing a woman who loved him to a demon.
 * Or played straight, Depending on the Writer.
 * A very pissed-off Sue Richards once gave Doom a "The Reason You Suck" Speech in which she called him out on his so-called nobility, basically saying that despite all the trappings, Doom is still just a spoiled brat who's wasted his entire life making a hyperbole out of his juvenile grudge against her husband.
 * Neil Gaiman often writes to this trope. Denizens from Hell can often be bargained with (after all, being a demon is all about lying, backstabbing, betrayal, and personal gain) or reasoned with, and frequently have a code of honor by which they will abide, to the extent of helping out a protagonist. Lucifer in the earlier Sandman arcs is particularly representative of this trope. Representatives of Heaven, on the other hand, absolutely cannot be reasoned with. They are to do what they are to do, no matter the consequences, because He has commanded it be done, and most of the time, they are arrogant, self-righteous, condescending bastards.
 * We don't know that all Heavenly entities are bastards. The only angels we see who haven't yet fallen are Remiel and Duma. While Remiel is indeed a total Lawful Stupid jackass, Duma simply goes along with him and seems to have a clear sense of right and wrong, and the flexibility to go with it. Even Remiel, in Lucifer, realizes that it's not enough to enforce the word of God, and rules Hell with Duma, rehabilitating its inhabitants. So, really, it might just have been Remiel personally and nothing to do with angels as a whole being bastards.
 * Lex Nova, a one off character from the 30 Days of Night comic, Bloodsucker Tales, fits this trope to a T. A completely batshit insane vampire who thinks he's a private eye and narrates his life out loud, Nova saves the town of Juarez from the various villains and only feeds on goats.
 * Princess Lucinda from the reboot of Witch Girls Tales, so much. She has quite a sadistic side and a reputation as an evil princess...but for all her loudly-proclaimed villainy, she almost always seems to end up on the side of good, despite her rather Nightmare Fuel-rific methods—even by the standards of the setting, which is loaded with Body Horror transformations and remarkably casual murder. It's actually Lampshaded in one side comic, where it's noticed that unicorns will approach her, despite supposedly being amazing judges of character that never approach anyone evil. When someone suggests that this means she's just acting evil, she turns them into a frog for it.
 * In IDW's Transformers Generation 1 comics, Thundercracker has some elements of this, expressing his distaste for the way his fellow Decepticons murder helpless humans because "the Decepticons are forged through combat, not slaughter".
 * The Secret Six sometimes fall into this, though it's usually more a case of punishing the evil (with torture) than saving the good. One of the best examples is Deadshot's revenge mission to a North Korean political prison.
 * The Sandman, a member of Spider-Man's rogue gallery, is often portrayed as rather heroic despite being a villain. He has a moral code and is not above teaming up with Spider-Man if the situation requires it.
 * This could be said of The Flash's rogues' gallery because they have a code of "ethics" that they live by and consider themselves above killing women and children.

Film
"Wade: Kid, I wouldn't last five minutes leading an outfit like that if I wasn't as rotten as hell."
 * 3:10 to Yuma. Ben Wade.


 * Marion Bishop, in Assault on Precinct 13. The show starts with him brutally killing an undercover policeman in a church. He later fights alongside cops who have him under arrest in the interest of "self-preservation". But at the end of the show, he walks away from the downed Good Guy, Sgt. Joe Roenick, despite the Good Guy now being his Sworn Rival.
 * Pinhead and the Cenobites from the Hellraiser franchise, as they were originally depicted as targeting only those who solved the Lament Configuration, along with those who had solved it and tried to elude them. Even so, solving the box in itself isn't sufficient cause for retrieval, as there has to be some sense of desire behind the act for the Cenobites to take an interest (which was why  from Hellbound was spared). They are also not averse to occasionally bargaining with their targets, with mixed results.
 * Mr. Smith Goes to Washington has Senator Paine, complete with a Heel Face Turn.
 * Well, that's arguably more of a Deal with the Devil than Noble Demon, as the "demon", in this case, is Jim Taylor, who bought Sen. Paine.
 * Quentin Tarantino's films usually have at least one character of this nature in them, seeing as they usually require us to empathize with and support vicious, murderous criminals. Examples include:
 * Seth Gecko in From Dusk till Dawn is a ruthless, violent professional criminal who nevertheless has an inner core of decency and, in fact, comes across as downright heroic compared to his psychotic rapist-murderer brother, Richie (who he vocally expresses disgust against).
 * Mr. White in Reservoir Dogs, who coolly and emotionlessly kills police officers and is willing to kill innocent civilians if it will help him, but expresses disgust at the psychopathic excesses of Mr. Blonde and treats the terminally wounded Mr. Orange with almost paternal care.
 * Jules in Pulp Fiction is a ruthless hitman who experienced a spiritual awakening as a result of a miraculous avoidance of death.
 * General Miura from Ip Man, who is brutal and vicious out of a sense of patriotism, as a contrast with the sadism of Smug Snake Colonel Sato, and is, in his own albeit Combat-Pragmatic way, an honorable, traditional Japanese Warrior.
 * Harry from In Bruges is a violent crime boss, but with principles and a clear moral code. He is a caring father and does not tolerate anyone who harms a child, even by accident.
 * Although Ray and Ken could both also be seen as examples. Nobody in the film ever comes across as clearly evil.
 * Neil McCauley from Heat may be a professional criminal, but he has a sense of decency that clearly outstrips all other criminals and even many cops. He doesn't want to kill the security personnel he robs from and is angered when his accomplices do so. And he holds much more anger and malice toward other criminals who engage in duplicitous and inhumane behavior against him and his friends than against the police. He cares for those close to him as much as any hero, and it's impossible to not sympathize with him most of the time when he's shooting someone, as they usually deserve it.
 * Bill "The Butcher" Cutting from Gangs of New York. He's a ruthless murderous gang leader and a 19th century equivalent of a mafia boss, but he cares for the children and elderly who live in the five points in old New York. He despises lying and deception in all its forms and even has a man killed for betraying the film's protagonist who planned to murder Bill: meaning, he killed a man for saving his life because he regarded any form of betrayal to be worse.
 * Even before that point, when referring to Amsterdam's father, he says, "I killed the last honorable man 15 years ago." Keep in mind that Bill is a nativist who would like nothing more than to see all Irish-Catholics thrown out of America.
 * Ben Affleck's Villain Protagonist in The Town is a pretty good example. Despite being a career criminal and ruthlessly efficient bank robber, he is personally a very nice and sensitive guy, is disgusted by his colleagues beating people or taking hostages, and cares a lot about his community to the point of donating his stolen money to local charities. It's not hard to see how a woman could fall for him even after finding out that he was involved in robbing her bank and taking her hostage, leaving her with PTSD.
 * Megamind is a perfect example of this, with more than enough affable evil thrown in for good measure. When he manages to, he is honestly shocked and really quite horrified at first. After a brief villainous spree,
 * This trope is also implied earlier on with how Roxanne responds to each of his death traps with little more than an eye roll and a snarky quip. Regardless of how many times she's seen them before, there's no way on she would react so calmly to them unless she was absolutely positive that he wouldn't actually use them.
 * Matsu in the Female Prisoner Scorpion series is a multiple murderess, desperate Combat Pragmatist, serial prison escapist, and veteran manipulator of those around her. However, she only kills those who wrong her; she can't bring herself to, and while some prisoners hate her, she looks out for those who help her, help others, or hold no malice. Really, she's forced by circumstances into becoming a demon and retains her basic nobility. In a way, this is played literally - there's a visual theme of Yuurei symbolism implying a supernatural driving force behind Matsu.
 * In Rango, is considered one in the end and tips his hat to the main character, even calling him a Worthy Opponent.
 * Riddick.
 * Jef Costello in Le Samourai. Even if he is a hitman, he has a clear set of morals.
 * The Yautja of the Predator franchise are a race full of these, though it largely depends on whether the individual chooses to hunt humans or not. If they don't, they're simply Egomaniac Hunters at worst. There are a select few individuals who aren't noble, however.

Literature
"I am part of that force which wills forever evil and works forever good."
 * Gentleman Johnny Marcone of The Dresden Files. He runs a cut-throat criminal empire, but he will not tolerate rape, and he likes for his business to be done cleanly. He is renowned for "disappearing" any gangster who hurts/tries to sell drugs to a child. He is fine with Harry and works with him when their interests coincide, and, as of Ghost Story is funding La Résistance as a way of keeping the Fomor off of his territory.
 * Crowley of Good Omens is possibly the Trope Codifier: a demon situated on Earth whose assigned mission is to spread sin among humans and, in fact, was the original serpent who tempted Eve. However, six millennia of living with humans influences him to the point where he's become fond of humans and doesn't like the idea of them being wiped out in the Apocalypse - in fact, he actively tries to prevent it. There's also the fact that his best friend Aziraphale is an angel who's supposed to be his sworn enemy. Aziraphale could be considered a mild inversion of the Noble Demon, as while he sincerely believes in and commits himself to goodness, he displays decidedly un-angelic traits such as materialism, pettiness, and going on drinking binges with a demon.
 * Not to mention that Aziraphale actively works against Heaven's plan to bring about armageddon just as resolutely as Crowley works against Hell's. The story implies that the actual differences between the two afterlives aren't as big as advertised, and that God isn't actually actively on either side.
 * When you've spent 6,000 years on Earth with no other supernatural entities but each other for company, an Agreement is pretty much inevitable. Crowley is still Evil, but not too evil; and Aziraphale can be Good, but not too good. And they should probably thwart each others' plans once in a while for, you know, appearance's sake. And there's nothing wrong with the occasional cup of tea together. And Crowley's car is a much better means of getting around so it's surely OK to ride together once in a while, when necessary (although Aziraphale just cannot come to appreciate Crowley's taste in music).
 * Not even Crowley can appreciate Crowley's taste in music. Any cassette left in his car for more than two weeks, no matter how soothing or classical, metamorphoses into a Best of Queen album, which was bad enough before Freddie Mercury starts giving him messages from the demon commanders of Hell.
 * And living together in cottage somewhere in the South Downs just makes it easier to keep an eye on each other's misdeeds/good deeds; it's certainly not fraternizing, nothing friendly about that at all.
 * And when Crowley rushes into a burning building without a second thought because he thinks Aziraphale may be inside...
 * The demon featured in "The Friar's Tale" from The Canterbury Tales, while declaring himself motivated by purely evil intentions, expresses a willingness to act toward good ends by punishing members of the Corrupt Church of the day. He also avoids the Literal Genie behavior of other demons, only actually taking what people damn (e.g. saying "Damn you" to a person, animal, or object) when they truly mean it.
 * The "demon king" Asmodeus from Jewish folklore is an excellent illustration, being portrayed as a wise and sometimes morally superior Worthy Opponent to King Solomon, as well as observant of Jewish traditions down to attending synagogues.
 * This portrayal influenced the presentation of demons in Isaac Singer's short stories. A notable example would be the titular character and narrator of "The Last Demon", who ends up with this distinction and acts as an Antagonist in Mourning after the entire town he tempts is exterminated by the Nazis. He ends up trapped without future victims, as his evil depends upon luring people away from good, making completely evil people of no use to him.
 * Older Than Feudalism: Similarly, in the Ramayana, Ravana's brother Vibhishana is one, both figuratively and literally..
 * The A Song of Ice and Fire books by George R.R. Martin have quite a few theoretically villainous or antagonistic characters that act rather decently, at least to some people. These include Jaime Lannister, Sandor Clegane, Jaquen H'Gar, and Petyr Baelish, all of whom have acted decently towards protagonist characters when they didn't have to. Then again, the series tries to show all of its characters as three-dimensional and well-developed.
 * Your mileage may definitely vary on Petyr Baelish; the only character he's kind to is Sansa, and that's only when he's not sexually harrassing her. His nobler moments come off as squicky to some.
 * Jaime Lannister is probably the best example; his biggest evil act was the murder of King Aerys after swearing to protect him, but what most characters don't know (or conveniently forget) is that Aerys was a crazy son of a bitch, who, if he had lived just half an hour longer, would have ordered his capital city burned to the ground with wildfire, killing hundreds of thousands of civillians as well as the enemy. Jaime himself laments that he's loved by one for a kindness he never did, and reviled by thousands for his finest act—though, despite a sympathetic PoV and some heavy duty character development, he remained pretty unrepentantly demonic until A Storm of Swords.
 * He also threw the young son of his host out of one of the higher windows of a castle, permanently crippling him. He becomes much more sympathetic when (two books later) we realise that he did it for the great love of his life (not a nice lady herself), that he had intended the child to be killed instantly, and that he is deeply remorseful for it, considering it his own Moral Event Horizon. Of course, by the time his PoV comes up, he has other things to worry about, so it's not looked at in great depth.
 * Raistlin Majere of the Dragonlance books. An embittered, power-hungry Magnificent Bastard with a slew of Pet the Dog moments and a love/hate relationship with his twin Caramon.
 * Also, the Knights of Takhisis, who modeled themselves after the Knights of Solamnia. They are Card Carrying Villains who follow an evil goddess but stress chivalry, respect for their enemies, and loyalty to their comrades in arms. They frown upon the backstabbing, self-serving ways of their predecessors, the dragonlords.
 * The title character of The Bartimaeus Trilogy is a literal Noble Demon (he prefers to be called a "djinni," though; "demon" is rather rude).
 * In Mikhail Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita, the Devil himself appears in the guise of a man named Woland, with an entourage of mischievous and ruthless pranksters who wreak havoc upon 1930s Moscow. However, his actions often serve the purpose of exposing the greed and hypocrisy of his victims, and the ordeal he imposes upon Margarita Some interpretations of this novel describe Woland's actions as inspiring good through instigation, rather than through example, as Christ does.
 * Well, yeah, that's certainly one view, but don't forget that Woland's a very complex and deliberately ambiguous character so much so that almost every critic you read is going to have a different take on him. At the end of the day, his motives are always pretty opaque and pretty much everyone's a target, with some not-exactly-evil folks getting pretty traumatised by the end. Plus, it doesn't really seem that he's always doing what he wants to - It's both implicit and explicit that Woland has no real dominion over this world. He's more of a catalyst than a force in his own right - he sets up the situation, but ultimately can't force anyone towards anything they don't choose and which isn't in their character - and that he's ultimately answerable to a higher power and its bigger plan. He's pretty powerless and being as opaque and multidimensional as he is, we can't say that a souped up Woland who isn't held in check wouldn't just be a soulless jerk on a rampage. Basically, his whole behaviour could be explained as not being able to do anything -but and if he had more power and more free will, well...
 * Or he is generally fine with being whichever part of the greater picture he is and appreciates irony, but also enjoys doing nasty things to those "asking for it" (like throwing "free money" up for grabs, that turns into trash and angry wasps later). It's hard to tell, that's the point.


 * Rob S. Pierre in the Honor Harrington series is a ruthless Dolist manager who clawed his way up to become the head of the People's Republic of Haven. He did it mostly to fight off the other factions who would have done it anyways and been worse than him, and he actually has a plan to fix everything. It actually works, and when a democratic revolution after his death establishes a stable and free government, they owe his efforts at fixing the economy.
 * Pierre is more of a Tragic Villain, who continued the path the Legislaturalists laid out before him because the Havenite economy would collapse otherwise and he could see no way out. Stephen Westman is a more accurate example. He bombs are designed to affect and discredit the Star Kingdom of Manticore, and he sends warnings to evacuate before his bombs detonate. It surely couldn't be echoing the original IRA in a fantasy counterpart war, could it now?
 * Hrathen of Elantris. He's one of the top priests of the Corrupt Church, has a menacing (and largely accurate) reputation in his own right, and he's every inch the Magnificent Bastard, but unlike other leaders of his religion, he really does care about the spiritual wellbeing of his followers, derives no pleasure from unncessary destruction,.
 * Damodara, a Malwa noble from the Belisarius Series, starts off as being a Reasonable Authority Figure (especially in comparison to his gratuitously evil peers) and insists that not ruthlessly executing subordinates for failures is purely a pragmatic thing to do. Later, after having been in command of the highly honourable Rajput army, even he has trouble convincing himself that his actions are those of a purely pragmatic nature.
 * Sorceress Arachnia in Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms, before her Heel Face Turn. Justified in that she was very lonely and was committed to the path of an Evil Sorceress mainly because The Tradition was pushing her along.
 * Daemonhost Cheruabael from the Eisenhorn series demonstrates some shades of noble behavior, especially towards the end of the story.
 * Roger Zelazny's Lord Demon had retired for a time before the story opened. Before that, he was known for hacking down armies with his sword.
 * And in Zelazny's Lord of Light, the demon king not only helps the hero in his war, but develops (by posessing the Buddha) a sense of shame and remorse. By the end. he's only a demon in form and desire for power.
 * Baron Balaz from Vampire Hunter D novel Pale Fallen Angel. He's a vampire, but also a protagonist due to his extreme sense of Honor Before Reason.
 * Don Simon Ysidro from the Barbara Hambly novel Those Who Hunt the Night - despite being a vampire - has a distinctive sense of honor due to his nobility (noblesse oblige).
 * Zoltan the Magyar from the Young Bond novel Blood Fever.
 * General Ashal from Jingo.
 * For a Sith Lord, Darth Plagueis surprisingly fits this trope. For one thing, when Plagueis takes Palpatine under his wing, he makes it very clear that, although he is going to make Palpatine's training a living hell, he will not attempt to continue with Darth Bane's legacy of backstabbing, and intended to share everything he knew to Sidious expecting that he'd do so in return. Unfortunately, Sidious still managed to continue the legacy.

Live-Action TV
"Margaret: I promise you I've changed since we last met, Doctor. There was this girl, just today, a young thing, something of a danger. She was getting too close. I felt the bloodlust rising, just as the family had taught me, I was going to kill her without a thought...and then, I stopped. She's alive somewhere right now, she's walking around this city because I can change, I did change. I know I can't prove it-- The Doctor: I believe you. Margaret: Then you know I'm capable of better. The Doctor: It doesn't mean anything. Margaret: I spared her life! The Doctor: You let one of them go, but that's nothing new. Every now and then, a little victim is spared. Because she smiled. 'Cause he's got freckles. 'Cause they begged. And that's how you live with yourself. That's how you slaughter millions. Because once in a while, on a whim, if the wind's in the right direction, you happen to be kind."
 * Crowley in Supernatural doesn't want the world to end and helps the Winchesters to find Death (partially because Lucifer would wipe out demons as well, but also because the other demons ate his tailor...it makes sense in context) and gives Bobby back his ability to walk...Although there was a deal (well, pawning) involved in the latter.
 * Then
 * And THEN it turns out that
 * The Wolf Knight in Power Rangers Mystic Forceas well as his Mahou Sentai Magiranger counterpart Wolzard for that matter - constantly insisting on honor, and even refusing to fight the Rangers as it would be "dishonorable to defeat a weaker opponent" (as a result of which, by the time he does fight them, they're too powerful for him to beat). It eventually turns out that his honorable side was an artifact of his previous heroic personality, before he was turned evil by a magic spell.
 * Before him, there was Diabolico in Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue, a very literal example.
 * And before him, there was Villamax (Power Rangers Lost Galaxy). And before Villamax, there was Ecliptor (Power Rangers in Space), arguably the series' original Noble Demon.
 * The Master in Doctor Who is sometimes portrayed as a Noble Demon, often mentioning his friendship with the Doctor, or expressing regret at inconveniencing the companion, between stages of his plan to rule the universe and kill them both.
 * The trope is subverted in the Doctor Who episode "Boom Town", in which the villain claims that her sparing of a journalist is evidence that she isn't evil, and the Doctor completely dismisses the idea, pointing out that it's just a rationale she uses to live with herself.

"Margaret: Only a killer would know that. Isn't that right? From what I've seen, your funny little happy-go-lucky life leaves devastation in its wake. Always moving on, because you dare not look back. Playing with so many people's lives - you might as well be a god. And you're right, Doctor, you're absolutely right. Sometimes... you let one go. (Beat) Let me go."
 * Margaret then attempts to turn his own argument against him:


 * So apparently she's never heard of criminology?
 * In the transitory stages of his Badass Decay, this accurately describes the normal behaviour of Spike in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, an escalation from his previous instances of Petting the Dog.
 * Illyria in Angel, who is a literal demon king, has a tendency to give self-serving justifications for her helpfulness. Given the above Buffy example, this might be part of the reason why she gets along with Spike so well.
 * Of course, it could also be that he's fairly resilient even by vampiric standards, so he's the only remotely acceptable toy she has on hand in what is otherwise a World Of Cardboard.
 * The Imagin of Kamen Rider Den-O are time-traveling spirits whose goal is to ravage the past in order to change the future, typically pulling cruel Literal Genie tricks along the way. However, the series introduces several Imagin who don't know their original goal or simply don't care for it; all of these Imagin end up as good guys.
 * The singular best example is Kintaros, whose partner wished to become stronger. While most Imagin would beat up anybody stronger than their partner, Kintaros possessed the young man's body and underwent physical training using his extreme strength. Throughout the entire ordeal, Kintaros displays exceptional honor, courage, and compassion, and it's no surprise he ends up partnered with Den-O by the end of the two-parter.
 * Todd From Stargate Atlantis counts, he may be a Wraith, but he's helped the humans out a fair bit with their various crises,.
 * It should be noted that Todd is assumed to be killing and feeding from humans as usual when the Atlanteans aren't around. What makes him stand out is that he considers Atlantis too useful to destroy, given how often he's benefited from their temporary alliances.
 * System Lord Yu from the original series.
 * Grey from Choujin Sentai Jetman. As opposed to Radiguet, he believes in fair play and strangely has an extra devotion to Maria, because he likes her. He even gets pissed at Radiguet's plan to turn Maria into a vampire to become his queen, and pleads with the Jetmen to restore her humanity so she can die human, not as a monster. While he does fight Gai in his end, his reasoning for that boils down to just "I'm a warrior, this is all I can do". He died commending Gai for his victory and muttering Maria's name.
 * Mr. Cataliades from The Sookie Stackhouse Mysteries.
 * Jade from Victorious may act like a bitch most of the time, but she pets enough dogs (or, should we say, Cats) to show us that she's actually one of these.
 * Madan Senki Ryukendo had Jack Moon, who while living by an ideology of "The Strong Rule and The Weak Obey" belived in a fair fight, he even refused at one point to revive his boss todestroy everything because it would violate his ethics as a swordsman, although his demonic nature would rear its ugly head from time to time.
 * While Joe from The Walking Dead is yet another example how a zombie apocalypse can bring out the worst in people (previously, Rick Grimes's group had encountered the Governor, a sociopath), he does have some rules that he expects his group to follow. For example, when Len claims a rabbit, he breaks up a fight between him and Daryl, and eventually splits the rabbit between them. When Len attempts to frame Daryl for theft, Len ends up dying for attempting to frame Daryl for breaking their rules of conduct.

Music

 * For fans of Rhapsody (...of Fire), it's certainly hard to read this trope without a certain Shadowlord of the Black Mountain leaping to mind. This is his theme. Listen to the lyrics closely. Noble Demon? Dargor's his name!

Theater
"Fagin: though I'd be the first one to say that I wasn't a saint, I'm finding it hard to be really as black as they paint. I'm reviewing the situation; can a fellow be a villain all his life? ... I'm a bad 'un and a bad 'un I shall stay. You'll be seeing no transformation, but it's wrong to be a rouge in every way. I don't want nobody hurt for me or made to do the dirt for me, this rotten life is not for me, it's getting far too hot for me, there is no in-between for me, but who will change the scene for me? I think I'd better think it out again!"
 * Fagin from the musical version of Oliver! certainly qualifies. He is a thief, who trains others to be thieves, and works with Bill Sykes, but deep down he doesn't like his life and wishes the things he does weren't necessary, and tries his best not to be too bad. This trope is exemplified in the song "Reviewing the Situation":

Professional Wrestling

 * Randy Orton's face run in 2010. The lyrics to his entrance music show that its no secret that he's extremly evil-minded. But the more his face gimmick goes on, the more he shows that he has standards regarding respect and earning your victories. Which was shown more than ever during the buildup to Survivor Series 2010, in which John Cena was the special guest referee in Orton's WWE title match with Wade Barrett. John Cena was a reluctant member of Wade Barrett's group, the Nexus, and Barret said that if Cena awarded Barrett the title, then Cena would be free from the Nexus, but if Randy Orton won, he would have Cena fired for violating Nexus orders. Orton was one of the first to point out that if Cena were to screw him over in the title match, while he would keep his job, it would make him the biggest phony in WWE and would be disrespecting everyone who ever won it by handing it over to a man who cheated to win it.
 * This is pretty much The Undertaker when he's a Face.
 * And his brother, Kane, as a Face.

Tabletop Games

 * In the Heroes Unlimited supplement Gramercy Island, there is the story of demon who is given a human body and sent to the mortal world to redeem himself. He is promptly arrested for shoplifting food (he didn't know the local customs). While sitting in the interrogation room at a police station, he is asked if he's committed any other crimes. He, not wanting to lie, says that yes, he was directly responsible for the deaths of over three thousand people, many of whom he had killed with his bare claws...ed hands. "In fact, sixty of them were here in this city. Why do you ask, officer?" Attempting to arrest him, he defends himself by resuming his demonic form right there in the interrogation room. After the frightened cops drop 30 bullets into him without much effect, he apologizes and resumes his human form. The demon is then sentenced to one thousand years in prison, a sentence set to commensurate with the demon's extraordinary life span.
 * Dungeons & Dragons has the Narzugons, or Hell Knights, which are Noble Devils. Unlike their scheming and manipulative brethren, Narzugons treat their foes with the utmost respect and courtesy, always allowing them the chance to surrender peacefully and always fighting fairly, which is far more than can be said for most other Devils. 4th Edition takes this even further by revealing that the Narzugons are actually the disgraced servants of the unnamed god Asmodeus slew in his ascension to godhood, and are now forced against their will to serve the Nine Hells. This may actually push them into full blown Anti-Villain territory.
 * Talos of the Night Lords has been a thief and a murderer since childhood. He joined his Legion in their treachery during the Horus Heresy and has spent centuries killing and surviving using every underhanded tactic in the book. Yet he treats his useful slaves well, even kindly, and strives to live up to the (admittedly warped) ideals of his Primarch, in contrast to the rest of the Night Lords.

Video Games
"Griff: I demand you sell this to me! ...Politely, of course."
 * Several Nippon Ichi protagonists, and storyline party members, are Noble Demons (especially those who are actual demons), which usually comes into full display if you play through the official endings of their respective games. Laharl from Disgaea and Zetta from Makai Kingdom are prime examples.
 * Valvatorez will have you know that he is very evil... by his own definition of evil. Which looks suspiciously not much like anyone else's definition evil and more like Lawful Neutral with a extra dose of Honor Before Reason. But still, totally evil.
 * Axel from Disgaea 2 fits this trope in it's literal sense. He loses all credibility and fame in the Netherworld because he actually cares for his family.
 * Heck, Mao from Disgaea 3 is probably the most genuinely "evil" of the protagonists, and even he limits most of his bad deeds to skipping class (vital for a demon honor student), and performing scientific experiments on skirt lifting. By the end, he has, and is this trope for sure.
 * Chai Ka from Jade Empire is a literal Noble Demon.
 * In Summon Night: Swordcraft Story 2, the player may choose the half-angel, half-devil Dinah as their Guardian Beast. Her devil half claims to be heartless and evil, and that she's forced by circumstance to work for the main character. Her Catch Phrase whenever Edgar or Aera announces his/her plans to do anything is, "I guess I don't have a choice."
 * Ryudo from Grandia II begins the game this way, a cynic who actively embraces the unsavory reputation attached to mercenaries like himself. Conversely, fellow party member Millenia is a subversion ? apparently a literal demon (a fragment, in fact, of the setting's local Satan figure) who gets offended or pouty when others label her as evil.
 * In Onimusha 2, the protagonist, Jubei, meets a literal Noble Demon -- GOGANDANTESS!!! THE GREATEST SWORDSMAN OF AAAAAALL THE DEMONS!! -- several times. While working for the demons pretty much by default, he refuses to finish off Jubei after he defeats him during their first encounter, and when you defeat him during your final encounter—having found a way to nullify his otherwise impenetrable forcefield—he expresses great respect for Jubei's abilities before he dies. At one point, he even he saves Oyu (Jubei's love interest) from certain death, by grabbing her as she is about to fall into a hole and whisking her to safety. He actually never claims or pretends to be evil in any way—he was simply born a demon, became an invincible swordsman, and thus got dragged into the Big Bad's plan for world domination and human extinction.
 * Magus from Chrono Trigger has the opportunity to kill the main party a number of times, but goes against it on occasion.
 * Also, you find out that.
 * from Tales of the Abyss.
 * To the contrary: Asch is not insisting that he's evil while acting good: he's insisting that he's the good while acting like the evil one. Asch has a large number of Kick the Dog moments, such as probably assisting with the slaughter of the crew of the Tartarus,  Asch even says at one point that his (debatable) Heel Face Turn is not motivated by disgust with  with replicas. If it weren't for Asch's backstory and Redemption Equals Death...It's not that Asch is insisting that he's evil, it's that he fails at being a good guy, as shown by
 * The character who best fits the trope is actually a protagonist, Jade Balfour. Despite being described by everyone, including himself, as a monster who experimented on harmless monsters, he's one of only two characters in the game who takes responsibility for his actions. While constantly hinting that he's poisoned the party's food and so on, on several occassions, he reveals real concern for Luke, and the culmination of his character development hinges around, demonstrating real concern for another human being.
 * In Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, we have Richter Abend. Although he's pretty obviously the Big Bad from the beginning of the game, he's also the mentor (and not an Evil Mentor, but a true guardian to Emil), and while he often yells at his student, he almost immidiately apologizes thereafter.
 * Bowser from Super Mario Bros., partially as the result of Villain Decay. He's done some pretty evil things before in order to win Peach's affection and take over the Mushroom World, including possibly unthinkable things like nearly bringing about the end of the universe and possibly himself with it unintentionally, the latter not part of his plan, but he's unaware of such a possible risk. On several occasions, however, he's forced to team up with the Plumbers (and sometimes even Peach herself) to defeat an even greater threat, often because said threat has interfered with his plans, but he nevertheless unwittingly counters the evil things with some good things to an extent. One notable example is in Super Paper Mario, where Bowser and Peach are both kidnapped, and forcibly married by a third party to bring about the end of the world. Bowser is a fully playable character in this game, and at one point, Peach even calls him "sweet". (The fact that he still believes his marriage to Peach is valid helps as well...)
 * This is especially apparent in his interactions with his minions. One would think that after all of his repeated failures, Bowser's subjects would stop listening to him, and the only reason they would still obey him is out of fear. This isn't true at all. Bowser's minions ADORE their ruler, and seeing him in scenarios like his conversation with an AWOL Goomba in Super Mario RPG makes it easy to see why.
 * Rubicante from Final Fantasy IV is one of the four elemental archfiends serving under Golbez. Nevertheless, he apologizes to a protagonist for his parents getting turned into monstrosities by a subordinate, heals the party before fighting them to ensure that the fight is a fair one, and when defeated for the second and last time, accepts his defeat with 'Farewell, valiants.'
 * Golbez himself gains this characterization in Dissidia Final Fantasy, giving advice to his brother and the other heroes even while fighting them.
 * In Super Robot Wars Original Generations, Axel Almer's personality is changed into this (from the sadistic Jerkass seen in OG); now he is a man devoted to stopping Beowulf (Kyosuke's alternate diminsinon Evil Twin) because he REALLY is dangerous, not out of a personal grudge. Some of his new Noble Demon acts includes:
 * When he tears off the Alt Eisen's arm, it's because he wants to check if this is the same Beowulf he fought or not (Beowulf's mech had the abilty to regenerate). Turns out, it's not, and he shows genuine surprise. So he ceases his relentless pursuit of Kyosuke, but still tries to defeat him because there is still the risk that he might become Beowulf. In OG, he did that out of sadistic fun, proving how much of a bastard he was. And even if it had been proven that Kyosuke was not Beowulf, he still delusionally thought they were the same.
 * When Lamia defects from the Shadow Mirror and escapes captivity, instead of cursing about how she could escape, Axel says, "W17, turn yourself back into custody. If you do, I'll forget that you ever tried to betray us." Still refused, but it shows more of his generosity despite being a villain, if you compare that to what he did in the previous incarnation (where he mocked her for being 'a true broken doll').
 * When he confronts Raul, the latter is furious because Axel interfered with him in the past, causing his sister Fiona to be caught in a time vortex and go missing. Instead of mocking him for his weakness (which is what he would do if he's still his previous self), Axel instead tells him that it's nothing personal. "It's war, casualties are expected, your sister just happens to be one. Mature up, boy."
 * Of course, with all those...his eventual fate becomes obvious.
 * In the Animated Adaptation of the second game:
 * Neverwinter Nights 2 has Mephasm, who is quite nice for a demon (though that may be a "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" situation more than any actual kindness on his part).
 * You can later gain the ability to summon Mephasm in the basement of your home base. Whilst he is courteous and polite, he thoroughly warns you against trying to make a deal with him, telling you that, ultimately, it will not be worth it. However, it should be noted that you can still go ahead and do it.
 * In Legacy of Kain, Kain and Raziel certainly qualify. They're a vampire and a soul sucking wraith, respectively, but are both trying, in their own way, to do what's good for the world, a few massacred townspeople notwithstanding. Kain gets some extra points for being an actual nobleman before his death.
 * Metal Gear Solid's Sniper Wolf, who—despite being a ruthlessly efficient killer—is a genuinely kind individual. Her good deeds include not needlessly slaughtering the bases dogs, letting Meryl live, and being the only member of Foxhound to display any actual kindness towards Otacon. Several other MGS villains probably also qualify.
 * The Sorrow from MGS3 probably falls under this category. He doesn't attack Snake, he just makes him confront all of the people that he's killed.
 * The battle music played when fighting the Devil Lords in Romancing SaGa 3 is called "4 Noble Devils".
 * Elvis from God Hand is actually a pretty nice guy, for a demon. At one point, he punishes a pair of mooks for disrespecting one of their dead victims - by uppercutting them into the stratosphere. After their third and final bout, Gene himself laments that they couldn't be friends.
 * Planescape: Torment features a *literal* Noble Demon (almost, since, in that setting, the difference between demons and devils is pretty significant), Fjhull Forked-Tongue. A Lawful Evil and unrepentant devil who (through an unwise contract) is forced to do good.
 * Also, the intentional inversion appears in the same arc of the game: Trias the Betrayer, a lying angel with a grudge against Heaven and a willingness to cross the Moral Event Horizon.
 * Star FOX's Wolf O'Donnell qualifies, what with also being The Rival and Fox's Enemy Mine.
 * Sword Man of Mega Man 8 apologizes before the fight, saying "I've got orders." He compliments you if you completely avoid his Fire Slash attack, and congratulates you when you defeat him.
 * Several of the demons in Graffiti Kingdom actually seem like decent people while still embracing their position as troublemakers, but the one who plays it the straightest is Tablet, who is sneaky, sarcastic, always creepily smirking, and, as the local rival, challenges the protagonists to path-interrupting duels from time to time, not to mention, before the ending, he, yet he helps Pixel out and encourages him from time to time, though it's pretty heavily implied it's out of loneliness rather than morals.
 * In Overlord, despite the fact that you are playing an Evil Overlord, you are given the option to choose the lesser of evils, usually involving giving the civilians what they need and saving the elves. Gnarl, who is Card-Carrying Villain incarnate, justifies this as Pragmatic Villainy, telling you that you will need living servants for your evil empire and that "Gratitude comes with it's own rewards." The sequel (which apparently does confirm that the previous Overlord was a Noble Demon) does away with this, the Overlad instead opts to just brainwash the populace into slavery.
 * Illidan in Warcraft III qualifies, as do some of his followers.
 * The Death Knight Thassarian from World of Warcraft. He is, by far, the most polite of the Death Knights, even showing genuine concern when one of his comrades is captured, causing the other Death Knights to look down on him. When he has the chance, he spares Koltira's brother's life, remembering his own mother's death. In fact, when the Knights of the Ebon Blade defect from the Scourge, he's the first Death Knight to rejoin the Alliance.
 * Koltira Deathweaver as well. In one breath, he curses Thassarian's foolishness for sending you to rescue him, in the next, he risks his life to help you escape safely by drawing the attention of all the Scarlet knights in the keep. This is fresh off the torture table, too, which is pretty impressive.
 * Thassarian and Koltira managed to become good friends during their time as Scourges, even though they were bound to the will of an Omnicidal Maniac who filled them with hatred to make them effective killing machines.
 * A variation occurs in Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier. Ezel Granada is extremely civil to his enemies, including both your party and the general whose forces his army decimated in a bloody war ten years ago. He seems like a perfect candidate for this trope, until you learn that
 * The main protagonists of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and GTA IV fit this trope. Both are willing to kill, steal, and do violent criminal acts, while they have their better sides as well.
 * Niko Bellic is definitely a good example, as in game states that Niko's mother, Milica, regretted that a decent person like Niko was forced to grow up in such a harsh environment (during the difficult times of the Yugoslav Wars).
 * Sabata, the, er, Dark Magical Boy in the Boktai series is like this after his Heel Face Turn. He really believes in Darwinism, really! The Dark is superior to Light, he's just helping out for the challenge. Helping little girls recover their cats is just the result of the heroes' bad influence.
 * Alastor from Viewtiful Joe is a rather transparent example.
 * More obvious in the anime than the games, as he comes off as the Noble Demon from the start. In the games, he seems more like a self-proclaimed rival to Joe, but in Double Trouble!!
 * Griff from Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale has this going on, especially after his Defeat Means Friendship incident. He plays it to the hilt, too, including such gems as:


 * Asmodeus from Painkiller is a friendly little demon that helps Daniel in his battle against Satan's generals.
 * This describes you in Star Wars: The Old Republic if you are a Sith Empire character who keeps on choosing Light Side options. More than a few NPCs on said side are either this or Affably Evil.
 * Of course, this depends on your specific class; Light sided Imperial characters can run the entire Sliding Scale of Anti-Villains; Inquisitors are pretty much type II by default due to their backstory and can go higher, Agents can easily hit type III or even Type IV, and while the Bounty Hunter is a Chaotic Neutral Hitman with a Heart at best and the Light Sided Sith Warrior is generally a type I, both can come across pretty heroic in certain situations.
 * As far as NPCs go, Keeper is the head of Imperial Intelligence while remaining pragmatic at worst. He works for the Sith though it's clear that he dislikes their wanton cruelty but is smart enough not to say anything to their face. His main problem with an idealistic Agent is that he's concerned that this line of work will leave them traumatized and generally remains a Reasonable Authority Figure. In the end, he even states that he's never lost sight of his goal of improving the Empire, a goal that he believes that he's failed at.
 * Lord Dearche, the King of Darkness in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's Portable: The Gears of Destiny becomes this by the end of the game. After being convinced by her retainers that the times has changed and a plan that revolves around destroying everyone and everything isn't as meaningful nowadays, she decides that her new plan will involve starting over in a new planet and making the people there accept her as their ruler. This evil, evil plan of hers begins with, and continues with an extensive terra-forming project to save a planet that was on its last legs. Of course, reminding her of what she's doing will make her break out in hives.
 * Aria T'Loak, from the Mass Effect series. She might be the main crime overlord on Omega, but she's willing to give intel to Shepard, help out people who are in a bad way, and in 3, she puts her plans on hold because she realizes attacking something that isn't a Reaper doesn't help the cause.
 * Banjo-Kazooie: Though she was assured by the makers of the board that she wouldn't have to worry about losing to Banjo and Kazooie on her game show, Gruntilda nonetheless allows Banjo and Kazooie to rescue Tooty as she promised after winning the game, though she does try to tempt them into taking two other prizes (Banjo and Kazooie probably wouldn't want a Gruntilda doll since she kidnapped Tooty in the first place though). Not so much in the second game where it's implied that she still attempted to crush Banjo and Kazooie underneath a one ton weight even when they won at her game show, which would theoretically have only happened to them if they lost.

Webcomics

 * Mosp, of Sluggy Freelance, is an extremely literal example, what with being a demon and also very, very noble. Her nobility comes across slowly as a product of Torg's compassion for her, and leads to her epic Crowning Moment of Awesome.
 * Ito, the God of Trust and Betrayal from A Moment of Peace, steals dreams and crushes hopes for a living, and has prosthetic hands forged from moments of despair by crows that grew hands to strangle people. Despite all this, he seems to be a nice guy when you get to know him.
 * Fuschia becomes a literal example post character development.
 * Garland from 8-Bit Theater, although it's debatable whether he's noble or just stupid.
 * The Demon from Friendly Hostility not only works as a nurse, but is also the Only Sane Man and the Nice Guy. Despite this, he's pretty cool with his family devouring human beings.
 * 'Gav', the protagonist of Nukees, is an aspiring dictator-of-the-world, with a passion for gigantic weapons of destruction - and everything nuclear, of course. But he's also helped his friends out of any number of tight spots, while constantly trying to cover it up so as not to lose his villainous reputation. The most notable example is probably when he saves a Damsel in Distress, but makes it look like he was trying to rape her instead...
 * Errant Story's Jon Amraphel likes to think he's a cold-blooded assassin Anti-Hero ("I kill people for money. I'm officially a not-nice person"), but gets called on it several times for all the times he Wouldn't Shoot A Girl and helped them escape, even setting them up with foster families.
 * Dan and Mab's Furry Adventures has a fairly obvious example in Abel.
 * Spondulio Wealthmonger from Unwinder's Tall Comics is considered "the most charitable person alive" by everyone. But Spondulio would be the first (and only) one to remind you that he's thoroughly selfish to the core, and that his many acts of kindness are actually the side effects of elaborate plans to make himself fabulously wealthy.
 * Jerak, who is literally a demon, from Planescape Survival Guide is convinced that he remains evil, even after helping the good guys eats rather significantly into his profit margins. His (also demonic) compatriots, Grull and Winnie, don't seem to mind alignnment shifts as much as he does.
 * The entire cast of Something*Positive are a cynical, mean, and sometimes violent and even sadistic bunch of people who always look out for their friends.

Web Original

 * In the Whateley Universe, Carmilla is noble and a demon. She's one of the protagonists, and yet she is directly descended from both Cthulhu and Shub-Niggurath, and is supposed to take the mantle of The Kellith, to wipe humanity off the face of the earth and repopulate the planet with the seeds of The Great Old Ones. She's refusing to do so.
 * Doctor Horribles Sing Along Blog has a textbook example in the from of the titular Mad Scientist, a generally nice guy who wants to make the world a better place...but he's so cynical that he believes that this can only be accomplished by taking it over through classic supervillainy and rebuilding it according to his ideals.
 * Played with in Tales of MU with the Vice-Chancellor. He's a "noble" dragon, employed by MU as their ace in the hole against the campus being razed to the ground again. He does, however, have an unfortunate habit of eating his secretaries. As Professor Hall says, "Few people mistake a noble dragon for a nice one more than once."
 * Subverted in The Return - while demonic and of nobility, when Dark Star wants to "topple your castle", she'll use artillery, and then go in the ruins and personally kill anyone left.
 * Arguably, Agent Washington from Red vs. Blue qualifies, at least late in Revelations. His brand of villainy is less out of genuine malice, and more out of desperation to get out of prison. And even as the bad guy, he's quite nice to hapless Doc, at least as nice as his personality allows.
 * from Critical Hit: A Major Spoilers Dungeons and Dragons Podcast offers to provide the Torqeltones safe harbor on the moon in gratitude of his liberation so they can live in happiness as his plans destroy the World. He seems unphased when they talk of choosing to fight him instead, telling them to weight their options carefully and consider whether the glory of taking down a void god is worth the perils of facing one.

Western Animation
"Owen: You've never looked more heroic. Pause Xanatos: A momentary lapse, I assure you."
 * Cyclonus in Transformers Generation 1 occasionally had elements of this. Sixshot in Transformers Headmasters suddenly became one towards the end of the series so he could do a Heel Face Turn.
 * In Transformers Armada, Starscream falls into this category, leaving the usual betrayal duties to the likes of Thrust and Sideways.
 * Megatron also did this, although mostly towards Optimus Prime. On one occasion, he had a beaten, Heroic BSOD Hot Shot in his territory, who was the only one who knew that had turned to the Decepticons—and instead just shoved him back through the space bridge and sent him home.
 * Sky-Byte combines this with Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain; he becomes such a failure at being evil, that the good guys think he's pulled a Heel Face Turn.
 * Transformers Prime: Breakdown shows shades of this when Bulkhead saves him from the terrorist group MECH. Starscream and a load of mooks arrive, and Starscream orders Breakdown to turn on him. Breakdown does, but is hesistant and needs prompting from his leader to actually do it.
 * Dreadwing has joined him in this. Much like Dinobot, he has a code of honor you wouldn't expect from a Decepticon.
 * Alvin from the Sabrina the Animated Series episode "Planet of the Dogs".
 * David Xanatos of Gargoyles has had his moments where he tried to appear more callous than he really is, usually where his feelings for Fox are concerned:


 * Brain from Pinky and The Brain is a Well-Intentioned Extremist Evil Genius, but if the push comes to shove, he'll choose the Power of Friendship over taking over the world.
 * Specifically, he did take over the world in one of the Christmas episodes thanks to toy bears that hypnotized people. When he realized how badly he had alienated Pinky and crossed a line he shouldn't have, his only order was for everyone to just have a happy Christmas and be with people they cared about.
 * Another episode had Pinky sell his soul to Satan to give Brain world domination. Brain eventually decided that if he couldn't rule with Pinky by his side, he wouldn't rule at all.
 * Prince Zuko in the first two seasons of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Multiple times he has a clear opportunity to coerce Aang by threatening either bystanders or captured prisoners, but he never does. During their first fight, he clearly sees that Aang will surrender instantly to protect innocent bystanders, but never exploits this. When he has Katara prisoner, he tries to bargain with her and appeal to her better nature rather than threaten or coerce her, and he forces pirates to help him capture Aang rather than use Katara as bait. Likewise, when he has Katara and Sokka prisoner, he still insists on fighting Aang one on one rather than try to use them.
 * Duncan from Total Drama Island.
 * Captain Skyhook from The Space Kidettes is a pathological Noble Demon. His evil minion, Static, enthusiastically suggests all sorts of gruesome villainy to be done to the Kidettes, only to be chastised by Skyhook, who replies that "They're just itsy bitsy, teeny weeny little kids!", and promptly bashes Static's helmet in.
 * Gene from Iron Man: Armored Adventures. Despite technically being the Big Bad, he puts himself and his (cough) business at considerable risk to save a girl when The Hero could not (she's not a Love Interest, not a MacGuffin, not an Action Girl that could be useful to him, just a friend).
 * Carmen Sandiego from Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?. Sure, she'll steal priceless works of art, monuments, archeological digs, etc. but she won't harm anyone. In fact, if Zach and Ivy are in trouble, she'll rescue them. To her, its just a game to play and she only chose it because catching bad guys as an ACME agent was too easy for her.
 * The Monarch from The Venture Brothers has shown on several occasions that he does not hate Dr. Venture (and his family) as much as he claims to.
 * Red X from Teen Titans, so very, very much. He's a talented thief using powered suit that he stole from Robin to commit crimes, and he outright tells Robin that he likes being a criminal. On the other hand, whenever Red X shows up, he inevitably ends up doing something good in spite of himself, up to and including making enemies out of nine other supervillains to ensure Robin wins a race.
 * Slade had his moment too. Sure he was just getting his mortal form back from Trigon, but he did save the world from utter destruction. Which makes sense- Slade wants to rule the world, not destroy it.
 * Silver from Treasure Planet. He's a pirate, and he burns down the Benbow inn and commits unknown other crimes, including conspiracy and mutiny. He's afraid as being seen as going soft, but he honestly cares for Jim, and when it comes down to

Real Life

 * This is the way his antagonists saw Erwin Rommel. Particularly once he was safely dead.
 * He also consistently ignored orders to deport or kill Jewish soldiers and civilians, which made him practically unique among the German command of the time.
 * It is important to note that, under his command, the Afrika Korps were not accused of any war crimes. His unit treated prisoners of war relatively well and generally fought a clean war, in stark contrast to other units.
 * Another one from World War II was US Air Force General Curtis LeMay. He was infamous for deliberately bombing civilian targets during the Pacific war, but did it all in an attempt to prompt a quick surrender in order to spare as many American lives as possible. He remarked that once the war was over, he would accept being arrested for war crimes without a fuss if it came to that (it didn't). However, even Noble Demons have standards, and LeMay was known to be disgusted by the even more brutal General Thomas Power (who was the inspiration for the original General Ripper).
 * Christian tradition frequently portrayed Saladin as such, essentially transforming him into an Islamic knight. It's worth noting that when Dante wrote the Inferno he placed Saladin in the circle of Hell that's normally reserved for virtuous men who died before Christ. Coming from a devout Catholic, that's quite the compliment.