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{{trope}}
No,
A popular variation of this is for protagonists to have this thrust on them as an [[Emergency Transformation]], and/or use (or attempt to use) [[Heroic Willpower]] to avoid the [[Face Heel Turn]] frequently associated with this trope and use the powers [[Cursed with Awesome|for the cause of good]]. Results may vary. Of course, it is also possible for this to happen to villainous characters, [[Humanity Ensues|particularly]] [[What Measure Is a Non-Human?|Non-human]] villains, though it is certainly possible for this to happen to human villains, especially in stories where [[The Virus]] has strong presence, but is not the sole villainous force. Depending on the villain and the type of transformation in question, results can and often will vary even more than heroic characters suffering this.
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'''Examples will contain spoilers!'''
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* In ''[[Gensoumaden Saiyuki]]'', Hakkai slays a thousand demons and his thousandth turns him into a demon, pointy ears and all.
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* In ''[[Shiki]]'', {{spoiler|almost every character ends up as a vampire, including the protagonist}}.
* In ''[[Kakurenbo]]'', the main character wins the game of hide-and-seek by being the last child to be found... and then is given the honor of being the new "it", that is, he becomes a demon himself.
* One of the truly [[Awful Truth
* In ''[[Shikabane Hime]]'', {{spoiler|Ouri turns out to be part Shikabane}}.
* In "Umineko no Naku Koro Ni"
* ''[[Kannazuki no Miko]]'': And then Souma was a [[Taken for Granite|petrified]] Orochi. He saw it coming, though, and try to use the Orochi powers contaminating his body to make a [[Heroic Sacrifice]]. He recovers later.
* The [[Claymore
* Some Yu-Gi-Oh cards have images that tell stories. One is the Gagagigo series; it starts as the Gigobyte, who wants to fight monsters... and ends with Gogiga Gagagigo, whose soul has ceased to exist and his body only moves on a drive for power. Then there's Warrior Dai Grepher; the first card of his story shows him and other warriors and spellcasters fighting demonic creatures. Then the series goes on and he becomes Dark Lucius. In Sakuretsu Armor, Dark Lucius [[LV 6]] can be seen striking down some of the people he fought alongside in that first card.▼
** Gigobyte starts down the road to [[Start of Darkness|evil soulessness]] by modifying himself to get more power to defeat the [[Big Bad|Invader of Darkness]]. Since the story is spread over the flavor texts of many cards over a few different expansions, it doesn't come as too much of a surprise. The compiled story is [http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Card_Trivia:Gagagigo here] if you're interested.▼
* ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'' gives us Karn, a golem created to fight the Phyrexians. But his heart was a Phyrexian stone, normally used for insta-[[You Have Failed Me]]. This stone contained, like all artifacts of Phyrexian origin, [[From a Single Cell|the oil]], which took hold on Mirrodin. Karn [[Subverted Trope|almost gave in]] to the Praetors' whispers.▼
** The Innistrad Block has a fetish for these, and with good reason, as the story line has nearly all monstruousities coming from mankind. In particular, "church warrior becomes zombie" seems to be very popular.▼
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* [[Arby 'n' the Chief]]: And then, JOHN WAS THE ALIENS!
* In the ''[[How to Train Your Dragon (animation)|How to Train Your Dragon]]'' fic ''[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6095775/1/ Cursed]'', Hiccup {{spoiler|turns into a Night Fury}}.
* In the ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist (manga)|Fullmetal Alchemist]]'' fangame ''Bluebird's Illusion'', Ed becomes a homunculus in one of the endings.
== Film ==
* ''[[Halloween (film)|Halloween]] 4: The Return of Michael Myers'' had this at the end with the little girl holding Michael's butcher knife, implying that she has become the new killer.
* The [[
* At the end of the ''
* In the ''[[Doom]]'' movie, Reaper is dying and his sister subjects him to the chromosome which had turned everyone else into monsters. [[Deus Ex Machina|Luckily]] (and perhaps subverting this trope) he is among the small percent of humans who ''don't'' turn into monsters when exposed to it and instead become 'angels'.
** Arguably played straight by the "[[Decoy Protagonist|protagonist]]" Sarge turning into a demon.
* In the end of [[Roman Polanski]]'s 1967 film ''[[The Fearless Vampire Killers]]'' (and the subsequent 1997 musical adaptation, ''[[Tanz der Vampire]]''), {{spoiler|the protagonists rescue the heroine from a pack of blood thirsty vampires, only to have her tun into one and attack the "hero" of the film at the very end.}}
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* A similar ending occurs in the 1983 film ''[[Halloween III: Season of the Witch]]''.
* [[Ken Russell]]'s 1988 film ''[[The Lair of the White Worm]]'' also concludes in a similar fashion.
* Occurs in ''[[
* In ''[[Pumpkinhead]]'', a man summons a spirit of vengeance (the titular Pumpkinhead) after his son is accidentally killed by reckless teenagers. Realizing how screwed up things have become, he tries to stop Pumpkinhead, to do so, he himself must die. At the end of the film the man has to become the next Pumpkinhead.
* In ''[[Van Helsing]]'', the Live Action movie, Van Helsing becomes a werewolf to battle Dracula because apparently vampires are weak against werewolves.
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* Near the end of ''[[Undead or Alive]]'' Elmer makes the mistake of punching an infectious zombie in the mouth, and almost immediately realizes that he is beginning to turn. While he uses the last few moments before the hunger overwhelms him to attempt to make a Heroic Sacrifice, he succumbs in the end, infecting one companion and convincing him to help devour another.
* ''[[Skyline]]'' has {{spoiler|Jarrod's brain installed into an alien, only for his [[Heroic Willpower]] to grant him control over that alien instead of just becoming its CPU}}.
*
* {{spoiler|Needy}} becomes part-demon after surviving Jennifer's attack in ''[[Jennifer's Body]]''.
* In the final scene of the movie ''[[Deadgirl]]'' we find out that the main character has become a {{spoiler|[[Double Standard Rape (Sci Fi)|zombie]] [[Dude, She's Like, in a Coma|rapist]]}} despite spending the entire movie trying to dissuade his friends from doing the exact same thing.
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== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* The end of ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'' season three seems to apply to Dean {{spoiler|once he finds out that demons are ex-humans. He also gets tortured enough in hell so that he finally breaks and starts torturing others and enjoying it because it isn't him.}}.
** By the end of season four, {{spoiler|this trope applies to Sam. No, Sam,}} you are the demons.
** Used again with {{spoiler|Gordon, who started out as a vampire hunter and is eventually captured and turned by a group of them.}}
* ''[[Dollhouse]]'' Season 2. {{spoiler|Paul Ballard spends season one and most of season two trying to break down the dollhouse and free the dolls. But he is then sent into a brain-scarred coma by Alpha and is only saved when Topher rewires his brain with the active protocol and rewrites some part of his brain to work in place of the scarred tissue, effectively turning him into a doll.}}
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* In ''[[Kamen Rider Decade]]'', this happens to {{spoiler|AU![[Kamen Rider Hibiki|Hibiki]].}} In fact, this trope is a common theme throughout the ''[[Kamen Rider]]'' franchise, although the difference is that they ''were'' the "zombies" in the first place or take the source of their power from the very monsters they fight.
** For a straight example, the earlier titular ''[[Kamen Rider Blade]]'', {{spoiler|by virtue of overtaxing his use of his [[Dangerous Forbidden Technique|King Form]] (which uses the powers of all the [[Monster of the Week|Undead]] he has captured), is already slowly becoming a Joker-type Undead himself.}} In order to prevent [[The End of the World as We Know It|the impending apocalypse a single remaining Joker Undead would cause]], {{spoiler|he chose to [[Heroic Sacrifice|go through it and transform into an Undead himself]], putting the apocalypse on deadlock.}}
* The ''[[Doctor Who]]'' episode "Survival" has this as the major plotpoint.
* ''[[Are You Afraid of the Dark?]]'': In "The Tale of the Chameleons", Janice gets turned into a chameleon and drowned in a well, and her [[Evil Twin]] plans to do the same to her friend and the rest of her family.
* ''[[The Vampire Daries]]'' does this multiple times. First with Caroline's {{spoiler|dad who choses not to complete the transformations}} and later with {{spoiler|Alaric who is turned into an Original Vampire just to become the world's greatest vampire hunter.}}
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* The end result in ''[[Changeling: The Lost]]'' for changelings whose [[Sanity Meter|Clarity]] gets too low and their [[Power Levels|Wyrd]] too high. They leave for Arcadia and become exactly the same as the monster who kidnapped and abused them in the first place.
** [[White Wolf]] in general is in love with this trope, as it is likely to come into play in both versions [[Vampire: The Masquerade|of]] [[Vampire: The Requiem|Vampire]] [[Hunter: The Reckoning|and]] [[Hunter: The Vigil|Hunter]], old [[Wraith: The Oblivion|Wraith]], [[Kindred of the East]], and ''[[Demon: The Fallen]]''. It is also possible in [[Mage: The Ascension|both]] [[Mage: The Awakening|Mages]], [[Werewolf: The Apocalypse]], [[Changeling: The Dreaming]], and [[Orpheus]]. The list just goes on....
* [[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]] and [[Warhammer
** ''[[Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay]]'' series feature extensive rules on corruption by the Ruinious Powers to reflect the setting's spirit.
* This is a quite common fate for any investigator in ''[[Call of Cthulhu (tabletop game)|Call of Cthulhu]]'', ranking perhaps just below "killed by horrible monster existing in fourteen dimensions at once," "lab rat or soul-in-a-jar for horrible monster," "spends remainder of his or her life eating cockroaches in a padded cell," and "gets brain stolen by horrible monster."
* Subverted in [[The Whispering Vault]]: People who investigate the [[Eldritch Abomination|Unbidden]] and survive tend to be turned into [[Humanoid Abomination|Stalkers]]...but given how a Stalker's entire purpose is to [[Dark Is Not Evil|protect reality from Unbidden and retain most of their human personality]], this comes off more as a transhumanist reward.
* In ''[[Birthright]]'' killing one of the Blooded, especially those who didn't proclaim a heir, [[You Kill It, You Bought It|spills their power to be "inherited" by anyone in the vicinity]], and specifically to the killer if killed with a special weapon or by stabbing through the heart. A bloodline acquired in any way may dominate equal or weaker one, and bloodline of Azrai that tend to twist people into Awnsheghlien ("blood abominations") is more "sticky" than the rest. An Awnsheghlien usually collects reputation as a serious threat pretty quickly, but - three guesses as to why they are so hard to eradicate.
▲* Some ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! (Tabletop Game)|Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'' cards have images that tell stories. One is the Gagagigo series; it starts as the Gigobyte, who wants to fight monsters... and ends with Gogiga Gagagigo, whose soul has ceased to exist and his body only moves on a drive for power. Then there's Warrior Dai Grepher; the first card of his story shows him and other warriors and spellcasters fighting demonic creatures. Then the series goes on and he becomes Dark Lucius. In Sakuretsu Armor, Dark Lucius
▲** Gigobyte starts down the road to [[Start of Darkness|evil soulessness]] by modifying himself to get more power to defeat the [[Big Bad|Invader of Darkness]]. Since the story is spread over the flavor texts of many cards over a few different expansions, it doesn't come as too much of a surprise. The compiled story is [http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Card_Trivia:Gagagigo here] if you're interested.
▲* ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'' gives us Karn, a golem created to fight the Phyrexians. But his heart was a Phyrexian stone, normally used for insta-[[You Have Failed Me...]]. This stone contained, like all artifacts of Phyrexian origin, [[From a Single Cell|the oil]], which took hold on Mirrodin. Karn [[Subverted Trope|almost gave in]] to the Praetors' whispers.
▲** The Innistrad Block has a fetish for these, and with good reason, as the story line has nearly all
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== [[Video Games]] ==
* Blizzard seems to love the trope.
** At the end of ''[[Diablo]]'', the hero defeats the titular boss and jams its [[Sealed Evil in a Can|soulstone]] in his/her own forehead to contain it. This results in {{spoiler|the hero becoming the new [[Big Bad]] in ''Diablo 2''.}} This was later [[
** It's uncertain how long [[Hero of Another Story|Tal Rasha]] held out containing Baal this way, but considering the Diablo 2 expansion, it's probably safe to say that anyone who fights demons succumbs to this in some degree.
*** And again in Diablo 3. Leah, niece of Deckard Cain starts off as a genuinely [[Lawful Good]] character. Then she finds out that {{spoiler|her Mom is an evil witch, and her dad is the wanderer from Diablo 2. She becomes corrupted by the soulstone after capturing a few more demons in to it (thus becoming an even more powerful version of) Diablo herself.}}
** In ''[[
** Similarly, Arthas and Illidan in ''[[Warcraft]] III''. Note that in the cases of Kerrigan and Arthas, the trope is in that they become leaders of the factions that they opposed, not those that they first joined.
*** Sylvannas fights Arthas' undead right up to the point where she was killed and resurrected as a banshee.
** A playable example: No, warlock. [https://web.archive.org/web/20120809163632/http://www.wowhead.com/spell=59672 You ''are'' the demons.]
* This happens in ''[[Knights of the Old Republic]]'', after [[The Reveal]]; always for Bastila and optionally for the player.
* In the ''Possessed'' ending of ''[[Silent Hill 3]]'' {{spoiler|Heather becomes demon-possessed, and kills Douglas.}}
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** In the [[Multiple Endings|worst ending]] of ''[[Silent Hill Homecoming]]'', Alex becomes a Pyramid Head.
** In ''[[Silent Hill: Downpour]]'', {{spoiler|Murphy becomes the Bogeyman for the final fight. It's not permanent, though, assuming you choose to spare Anne.}}
* ''[[Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories]]'s'' [[Multiple Endings|worst ending]] features this. ''In spades''. To elaborate, if Adell has met the required conditions, {{spoiler|Rozalin, the ''real'' Overlord Zenon, will inform you that you too are her enemy. If you are victorious, Zenon's evil will consume Adell's soul. His first act as the new God Of All Overlords? To devour his younger brother and sister, bones and all.}} Cue crunching sounds.
* The ''good'' ending of ''[[Eversion]]'' turns your character into {{spoiler|an [[Eldritch Abomination]] just like the princess you're out to save.}} The bad ending has {{spoiler|you resisting this and getting eaten by the princess.}}
** Unless, of course, {{spoiler|[[Tomato Surprise|you already were an eldritch abomination all along.]]}}
* In ''[[La Pucelle]]'', if you defeat certain powerful enemies in the Dark World/Netherworld (which requires a lot of [[Level Grinding]]), a band of demons will appear and declare Prier their new ruler... which Prier [[Subverted Trope|rejects out of annoyance]] after being teased by her teammates, and [[Gameplay and Story Segregation|the game continues anyway, ignoring this interruption]]. However, if she continues on past that, becoming even stronger, she triggers a [[Nonstandard Game Over]] as the demons make her their new ruler for good and her friends abandon her. Prier being a demon queen is ''the [[Canon]] ending'', as she puts in several appearances in the [[Disgaea]] series as "Demon Overlord Prier," a powerful optional character, as a half-demon with wings and a horn.
** Curiously, the plot [[Gameplay and Story Segregation|still ignores this.]] Until the [[Updated Rerelease]] for the PSP, that is.
* Possible example: In ''[[Quake 4|Quake IV]]'', at a particular point that marks roughly the midpoint of the game, the protagonist is converted into a Strogg in all but allegiance. Were it not for a very well timed raid by the good guys, our hero would have crossed the point of no return, as he was almost the entire way through the [[Painful Transformation|conversion process]] by that point. He then became a [[Phlebotinum Rebel]]. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3clVvh5gbGE
* The Bydo ''love'' pulling this on humanity's heroes in the ''[[R-Type]]'' series.
** It first happens in ''R-Type Delta'', if the player is piloting the R-13
** Then there's ''R-Type FINAL'', in which one of the [[Multiple Endings]] leads to the player getting converted into a hybrid Bydo/human/R9-Series...[[Biological Mashup|thing]]...and is sent back to the ''first level of the game,'' fighting both the Bydo as well as its former comrades. (It's worth noting that at the start of the game, you can ''see'' your future Bydo self [[Stable Time Loop|fly by at the very start of the level]]!)
** ''R-Type Command'' also pulls this ''on an entire human fleet'' at the end of the Human
* In the end of ''[[Super Paper Mario]]'', Luigi ends up as part of Dimentio's plan and pilots a giant robot before being cured by Mario. It ''was'' implied something might happen to Luigi a few minutes before that, though.
* In ''[[Castlevania (Nintendo 64)|Castlevania 64]]'s'' [[Downer Ending]], you get this on two levels; a side character, Vincent the vampire killer, becomes a vampire. Also, Carrie agrees to marry Malus (Dracula), to which he ominously notes that they have "a binding contract".
** [[Castlevania: Lords of Shadow]]: {{spoiler|"EU SUNT DRACUL (I AM DRACUL)!"}}
** If you unlock the true ending path of ''[[Castlevania: Chronicles of Sorrow|Aria of Sorrow]]'', then upon defeating {{spoiler|Grahm Jones}}, who has declared himself Dracula's reincarnation, {{spoiler|Soma himself}} is revealed to ''actually'' be the reincarnation of Dracula. And if you get the bad ending, by losing to the [[True Final Boss]], then he quite literally becomes the "second coming" of Dracula, in mind as well as ability.
* In ''[[Gemcraft]]'' Chapter 0, the force you're trying to claim takes over, but it's a prequel and the truth was fairly obvious based on the events of the first game.
* The ending of ''[[Fable (video game series)|Fable]]: The Lost Chapters'' gives you the option of putting on Jack's mask, becoming his new host.
* Both ''[[Baten Kaitos]]'' games use this, albeit in very different ways.
* In the end of ''[[Resistance Fall of Man|Resistance 2]]'', {{spoiler|Nathan Hale fully mutates into a chimera.}}
* Happens in ''[[Prince of Persia]]: Warrior Within'', when the Prince puts on the mask and finds himself transformed into the Sand Wraith. This makes him not only a monster but a doomed monster, as he saw the Dahaka kill the Sand Wraith in the past. Fortunately, he is ultimately able to [[Screw Destiny]] and return to his normal self.
** And played straight in ''[[Prince of Persia]]: Two Thrones'', where the prince is partially turned into a sand monster, complete with [[Heroic Willpower]] and a light sprinkling with a [[Gollum Made Me Do It]]-voice, though that seems to be there more to be defied than blamed.
* ''[[Umineko no Naku Koro ni]]''. EP5. {{spoiler|Battler, you may have forgot, but you were supposed to deny witches, not become one.}}
* The worse endings of ''[[
** Also done to a degree earlier. In order to complete the game it's necessary to {{spoiler|be converted into a Big Daddy, the most dangerous and iconic enemies of Rapture}}.
* ''[[Shadow of the Colossus]]'' has Wander gradually [[The Corruption|becoming less human]], and ends with Wander becoming a new version of Dormin's body ({{spoiler|which is what the Colossi originally are}}) himself. It fails, and he reverts to human form, but [[Came Back Wrong|as a newborn with demon characteristics]]. It's heavily implied that he becomes the ancestor of the horned boys in ''[[Ico]]'' this way.
* At the end of the second act of ''[[Marathon Trilogy|Marathon]]: RED'' (a [[Game Mod]]), the hero is mutated by [[The Virus]], and his former allies turn against him for a stage, but he turns [[Phlebotinum Rebel]].
* In ''[[Chzo Mythos|6 Days a Sacrifice]]'', the main character, Theo DaCabe, {{spoiler|is turned into the mindless servant 'The New Prince' by Chzo after the old servant Cabadath tries to betray him, because Cabadath didn't want to be replaced.}}
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYNtx8E-vQE&fmt=18 The ending] of the incredibly obscure computer game ''THE SCREAMER''. (Yes, it really is in all caps like that.)
* The ending of the original ''[[Condemned]]'' seems to imply that main character Ethan Thomas has become one of the demonic freaks causing all the chaos in the game. The sequel josses this, as Ethans winds up as a burned out alcoholic bum, {{spoiler|and the demonic freaks [[Voodoo Shark|are really just an ancient mystical cult]].}}
* At the end of ''Apocalypse'', Bruce Willis's character is [[Demonic Possession|demonically possessed]].
* In the end of ''[[Alone in
* In ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'', Sora {{spoiler|[[Heroic Sacrifice|impales himself with Riku's Dark Keyblade in order to free Kairi's heart]], releasing her from her catatonic state. In the process, he becomes a Heartless ''and'' creates two Nobodies: Roxas (himself) and Naminé (Kairi). Of course, it doesn't stick, Kairi leads him back to the light, but in ''[[Kingdom Hearts II]]'', you will occasionally turn into Anti-Sora when activating a Drive Form.}}
** ''[[Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep|Birth by Sleep]]'': {{spoiler|By continuing to use the darkness, Terra's heart is weakened. The straw that broke the camel's back was [[Complete Monster|Master Xehanort]] orchestrating Terra's [[Rage Against the Mentor|emotionally-supercharged duel with Master Eraqus]] and then [[Shoot the Dog|killing a weary Eraqus just as he and Terra were calming down from and remorsing over their fight]]. When Terra gives into his [[Unstoppable Rage|rage]], unleashing the full extent of his inner darkness, Xehanort uses this as the perfect opportunity to [[Grand Theft Me|take over Terra's body]]. Thus, Terra has become the one thing he's hated the most: ''Xehanort himself''. [[Tragic Hero|Luckily for him]], [[The Woobie|and several others across the series' timeline, including his close friends Ventus and Aqua]], [[Messianic Archetype|Sora]] [[Earn Your Happy Ending|is going to earn a happy ending for them]].}}
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* A skit from Those Aren't Muskets featured on ''[[Cracked.com]]'', "Dealing with the Guy who's Clearly Hiding a Zombie Bite" ended as more and more members of the group revealed that they'd also been bitten by zombies, until the couple who hadn't been agreed to be bitten so as not to be left out. Of course as it turned out the original guy had also been bitten by a vampire and a werewolf. In the end, we had a group of three zombies, a werezompyre and a mummy werezompyre that also happens to be a criminally insane android with holographic legs and a webshow. Michael Swaim can officially give Cyborg Pirate Ninja Jesus a run for his money.
* The ''[[Red vs. Blue]]: The Recollection'' trilogy drops several hints that [[Big Bad|the Meta]], a shell of a man now playing host to a group of rogue [[A Is]], was once a Recovery Agent dispatched to collect stray AIs from the field. This made explicit when he is seen in "Past" time in season 9.
{{quote|
* Attempted by Chief in [[Arby 'n' the Chief]], when his Machinima character, also named Jon, becomes an alien after fighting in a war against them. The effect was [[Crowning Moment of Funny|not as he intended]].
* ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aQ3RqEOF44 Herobrine]'' ends with {{spoiler|George Smith becoming a new Herobrine.}}
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