Being Evil Sucks: Difference between revisions

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It's good to be bad? Think again.

Despite what [[Man of Wealth and Taste|certain morally ambiguous personages]] would have you believe, being Evil isn't necessarily [[Evil Feels Good|all it's cracked up to be]]. It can destroy you, your [[Soul]], and [[Pyrrhic Villainy|everyone you love and care about.]] Sure, evil may be temporarily satisfying, and man, it sure [[Evil Tastes Good|bakes good cookies]], but cookies are unhealthy and fattening, and once those cookies are gone, what do you have left once you've [[My God What Have I Done|given up everything]] just for that tasty, tasty [[Metaphorgotten|murder]], uh, I mean ''treat''...

Despite what [[Man of Wealth and Taste|certain morally ambiguous personages]] would have you believe, being Evil isn't necessarily [[Evil Feels Good|all it's cracked up to be]]. It can destroy you, your [[Soul]], and [[Pyrrhic Villainy|everyone you love and care about.]] Sure, evil may be temporarily satisfying, and man, it sure [[Evil Tastes Good|bakes good cookies]], but cookies are unhealthy and fattening, and once those cookies are gone, what do you have left once you've [[My God, What Have I Done?|given up everything]] just for that tasty, tasty [[Metaphorgotten|murder]], uh, I mean ''treat''...

The thing is, you may enjoy yourself for a little while, but eventually [[Laser Guided Karma|it will come back to haunt you]] in unpleasant ways. [[Kick the Morality Pet|Kicking the morality pet]] has the unfortunate side effect of making you [[Bad Dreams|lose sleep at night]] or [[Out Damned Spot|consuming you with guilt]] over the horrible things you've done. Letting your [[The Dark Side|anger rule you]] is fun and easy... but you'll probably [[Kick the Wrong Dog]] in your bloodlust. Oh yeah, and there's also the likely chance that you will [[Comes Great Insanity|go mad]], which really isn't as cool as it sounds when [[Sanity Has Advantages|you're in a straitjacket.]]

The thing is, you may enjoy yourself for a little while, but eventually [[Laser-Guided Karma|it will come back to haunt you]] in unpleasant ways. [[Kick the Morality Pet|Kicking the morality pet]] has the unfortunate side effect of making you [[Bad Dreams|lose sleep at night]] or [[Out, Damned Spot!|consuming you with guilt]] over the horrible things you've done. Letting your [[The Dark Side|anger rule you]] is fun and easy... but you'll probably [[Kick the Wrong Dog]] in your bloodlust. Oh yeah, and there's also the likely chance that you will [[Comes Great Insanity|go mad]], which really isn't as cool as it sounds when [[Sanity Has Advantages|you're in a straitjacket.]]

Because, you see, [[Good Feels Good|true happiness]] can only be achieved through [[The Power of Love]] or the [[Power of Friendship]]. ''[[Evil Is Easy|Anybody]]'' can cross the [[Moral Event Horizon]], but once you're there it [[Lonely At the Top|looks pretty bleak]]. Nobody wants to be your friend because they're all terrified that you'll kill them in their sleep (or you already have), you've done nothing to better your position except cause more suffering and generally made the world a worse place to live in. And through it all you've nourished so many bad feelings that not even [[Evil Feels Good]] anymore, you don't even ''remember'' what it's like to feel good for a change.

Of course, such a change of heart can be made much harder if it turns out [[Being Good Sucks]], too.

This is the likely reason behind many a [[Heel Face Turn]], and may result in [[The Atoner]] or an [[Anti Villain]]; it is a staple of almost every [[Tragic Villain]]. Even if the villain doesn't turn from his evil ways, having him realize this can make him much more sympathetic, and it can be rather tragic when the [[Well Intentioned Extremist]] reaches the point where he realizes that he's [[Heel Realization|not the good guy after all]].

This is the likely reason behind many a [[Heel Face Turn]], and may result in [[The Atoner]] or an [[Anti-Villain]]; it is a staple of almost every [[Tragic Villain]]. Even if the villain doesn't turn from his evil ways, having him realize this can make him much more sympathetic, and it can be rather tragic when the [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]] reaches the point where he realizes that he's [[Heel Realization|not the good guy after all]].

Compare [[Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain]] and [[This Is Your Brain On Evil]]. Being evil can be even worse when you're ''bad'' at it.

== Anime and Manga ==

* General Regius Gaiz of ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]] StrikerS''. After years as a corrupt official, guilt came knocking at his door in the form of Zest{{spoiler|'s clone}}, his best friend who shared his [[Well Intentioned Extremist|dreams of justice]] {{spoiler|and was killed because of his secret connections to [[Big Bad|Scaglietti]]}}. Once he learned about his return, the formerly pompous general spent his time sitting in his desk in a defeated state, waiting for Zest to come.

* General Regius Gaiz of ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]] StrikerS''. After years as a corrupt official, guilt came knocking at his door in the form of Zest{{spoiler|'s clone}}, his best friend who shared his [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|dreams of justice]] {{spoiler|and was killed because of his secret connections to [[Big Bad|Scaglietti]]}}. Once he learned about his return, the formerly pompous general spent his time sitting in his desk in a defeated state, waiting for Zest to come.

* Gaara of from the series ''[[Naruto]]'' doesn't ''quite'' realize this until he [[Defeat Means Friendship|gets the snot kicked out of him]] by Naruto in full "I fight for my friends" mode.

* In ''[[Code Geass]]'', Lelouch finds out that being evil tends to get karma screwing you over, and {{spoiler|people stabbing you in the back, whereas Suzaku learns that being evil and conquering relatively innocent people and threatening ex-friends with highly addictive psychotropics... well, sucks. So they try to do good by killing himself and condemning himself to a long, harsh life of non-existence, respectively.}}

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* [[Super Villain|Lucy Diamond]] in ''[[DEBS|D.E.B.S.]]''. After she falls in love with Amy and realizes that she'll have to give up her life of crime to be with her, she says "Being bad doesn't feel good anymore."

* ''[[Star Wars]]'': Anakin's turn to the dark side costs him everything and everyone that he loves as well as leaves him locked in a robotic life-support system.

* Michael Corleone in ''[[The Godfather (Film)|The Godfather]]'' is one of the best examples. He was a likable young man who could have done a lot of good in the world. But somehow he made the wrong choice, partly through [[In the Blood|upbringing]]. And partly through focusing [[Well Intentioned Extremist|too much]] on [[Thicker Than Water|loyalty]]. And partly because while he always wants to do a [[Heel Face Turn]] and comes close on a couple of occasions (as with his talk with the future Pope), he can't bring himself to give up wealth and power. He was very good at being evil but something inside him always seemed to consider that the worst fate of all.

* Michael Corleone in ''[[The Godfather (Film)|The Godfather]]'' is one of the best examples. He was a likable young man who could have done a lot of good in the world. But somehow he made the wrong choice, partly through [[In the Blood|upbringing]]. And partly through focusing [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|too much]] on [[Thicker Than Water|loyalty]]. And partly because while he always wants to do a [[Heel Face Turn]] and comes close on a couple of occasions (as with his talk with the future Pope), he can't bring himself to give up wealth and power. He was very good at being evil but something inside him always seemed to consider that the worst fate of all.

** He always justifies his actions as being done for the wellbeing of his family but by the end of the second movie he starts to realize that they have actually destroyed his family. By the end of the third movie almost all the people he cared for are dead as a result of his choices.

* This is the point of any Mafia stories that we can bring up, although they tend to be very cynical in nature. ''[[Scarface]]'', for example.

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* ''[[Harry Potter (Literature)|Harry Potter]]'':

** Severus Snape: All of his years devoted to the dark side eventually gained him nothing but destroying the one thing he'd ever loved, although {{spoiler|his Heel Face Turn}} didn't really seem to do anything to improve his happiness. But he did spend the rest of his life trying to atone for {{spoiler|Lily's death}}. In other words, being [[Jerkass Woobie|Snape]] sucks.

** Draco Malfoy learns this the hard way near the end of the series. There's a big difference between idolizing a "cool" [[Evil Overlord]] from a safe distance and being ordered by said overlord to commit murder with the threat of having your entire family killed. Draco also finds out that he really doesn't have it in him to directly kill a defenseless person right in front of him. In Book 7 he learns that he doesn't enjoy inflicting [[Cold Blooded Torture]].

** Draco Malfoy learns this the hard way near the end of the series. There's a big difference between idolizing a "cool" [[Evil Overlord]] from a safe distance and being ordered by said overlord to commit murder with the threat of having your entire family killed. Draco also finds out that he really doesn't have it in him to directly kill a defenseless person right in front of him. In Book 7 he learns that he doesn't enjoy inflicting [[Cold-Blooded Torture]].

*** Also [[Big Bad|Voldemort]] himself who is completely uncapable of feeling love. he is driven solely on ambition and greed, and does everything he can to ensure that he'll live forever, {{spoiler|even going so far as to split his soul into horcruxes which take away more and more of his humanity and cause him to gradually develop a very pale, snake-like appearance, and he becomes very paranoid and frantic as Harry and his friends destroy more of them. By the end of the series he suffers [[A Fate Worse Than Death]].}} Its also shown that [[Being Evil Sucks]] for his followers as well who are under the constant threat of being murdered by him if they try his patience in any way. [[Resignations Not Accepted|And once they're in, they're in for life]].

* In ''[[Death Star]]'', the gunner who fired the superlaser that destroyed Alderaan, who had always wanted to fire the biggest gun, finds that [[Punch Clock Villain|following orders]] and actually getting what he'd wished for led to misery beyond his wildest dreams, a personal [[Moral Event Horizon]]. He can't justify it, can't either make it less of a crime or blame someone else, and is unable to sleep for guilt and horrible dreams. When the Death Star is in range of Yavin he stalls desperately, hoping that something would happen and he wouldn't have to pull that trigger again. [[Foregone Conclusion|He got that wish]].

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Nor would he blame them.

He couldn't stop thinking about it. He didn't believe he would ever be able to stop thinking about it. The dead would haunt him, forever.

[[My God What Have I Done|How could a man live with that]]? }}

[[My God, What Have I Done?|How could a man live with that]]? }}

* While the Dark Ones in ''[[Night Watch (Literature)|Night Watch]]'' use every opportunity to brag about all that freedom, independence and strength The Darkness had given them and to make some lenient remarks on the poor deluded Light Ones who are so very constricted by their rules and who fuss over humans so much... It turns out that vampires are haunted by persistent insatiable [[Horror Hunger]], werewolves have to deal with feats of feral uncontrollable rage once in a while and all the Dark Ones in general live in a world of constant paranoia and distrust towards their own brethren and superiors. ''Especially'' superiors who wouldn't even bother notifying that [[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness]] before they set up and sacrifice you as a part of their [[Evil Plan]].

** Considering that the Light Ones aren't much better (Light One attempts at "social engineering" caused both Hitler ''and'' Stalin), and that the Light One commander-in-chief Gezar basically only hasn't given in to suicide because he is so used to scheming all the time that he doesn't know how to do anything else, you could also consider this a very Russian commentary on the evils of bureaucracy and the Cold War. No veteran member of either of the Watches is ever portrayed as genuinely happy with their life, while the one non-Watch dark magician we see is shown enjoying himself in a restaurant with his lovely wife and happy children.

* After [[The Chronicles of Narnia|Edmund Pevensie]] gets captured by the White Witch, he realizes that satisfying his greed wasn't worth the consequences it entailed for Narnia and his siblings.

* This is pretty much the whole thing about [[Blessed With Suck|vampires]]. Sure, you'll [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old|remain young for all eternity]], but in due time [[Who Wants to Live Forever|life will lose its thrill]], and you've seen your last sunrise as well. Both [[The Undead|metaphorically]] AND literarily speaking. You'll have some really neat super powers, too, possibly including, but considering the fact that [[Our Vampires Are Different|all vampires are different]], most likely not limited to: [[Super Strength]], [[Super Speed]], [[Shapeshifting]], [[Nigh Invulnerability]] and [[Flight]]. But the primary thing that you will use these amazing abilities for is hunting down other humans in order to sustain your accursed life. Finally, the cruncher: while you may feel [[The Stoic|emotionally dead]], there is still a fairly good chance of you finding your one true love. But bear in mind that said person is also [[I'm a Humanitarian|your food.]] Thus, each time you see his/her exposed neck, you will feel the urge to bite him/her, an act that may curse him/her with the same disease that turned your life into a [[Fate Worse Than Death]] (well, unless you're a [[Succubus]] that is, in which case you have a rather different way of taking in nourishment. A process which will almost certainly outright kill your significant other. Consequently, you [[Can't Have Sex Ever]]). The alternative is either [[Love Hurts|leaving your beloved before anything bad can happen]], or, through [[The Power of Love]], resisting the urge... [[Mayfly December Romance|Only to see your loved one grow old and wither away in front of your very eyes.]] Conclusion: [[Incredibly Lame Pun|Being a vampire sucks.]] It should be noted that in recent years vampires in literature have gone from 'cursed' to 'you, only [[What Measure Is a Non Super|better than you will ever be]]', with no real downsides that come close to outweighing the benefits. They've also by and large swapped being villains or antiheroes for being [[Boring Invincible Hero|Boring Invincible Heroes]]. ''[[Twilight (Literature)|Twilight]]'' is, of course, the worst offender and most well known.

* This is pretty much the whole thing about [[Blessed With Suck|vampires]]. Sure, you'll [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old|remain young for all eternity]], but in due time [[Who Wants to Live Forever?|life will lose its thrill]], and you've seen your last sunrise as well. Both [[The Undead|metaphorically]] AND literarily speaking. You'll have some really neat super powers, too, possibly including, but considering the fact that [[Our Vampires Are Different|all vampires are different]], most likely not limited to: [[Super Strength]], [[Super Speed]], [[Shapeshifting]], [[Nigh Invulnerability]] and [[Flight]]. But the primary thing that you will use these amazing abilities for is hunting down other humans in order to sustain your accursed life. Finally, the cruncher: while you may feel [[The Stoic|emotionally dead]], there is still a fairly good chance of you finding your one true love. But bear in mind that said person is also [[I'm a Humanitarian|your food.]] Thus, each time you see his/her exposed neck, you will feel the urge to bite him/her, an act that may curse him/her with the same disease that turned your life into a [[Fate Worse Than Death]] (well, unless you're a [[Succubus]] that is, in which case you have a rather different way of taking in nourishment. A process which will almost certainly outright kill your significant other. Consequently, you [[Can't Have Sex Ever]]). The alternative is either [[Love Hurts|leaving your beloved before anything bad can happen]], or, through [[The Power of Love]], resisting the urge... [[Mayfly-December Romance|Only to see your loved one grow old and wither away in front of your very eyes.]] Conclusion: [[Incredibly Lame Pun|Being a vampire sucks.]] It should be noted that in recent years vampires in literature have gone from 'cursed' to 'you, only [[What Measure Is a Non Super|better than you will ever be]]', with no real downsides that come close to outweighing the benefits. They've also by and large swapped being villains or antiheroes for being [[Boring Invincible Hero|Boring Invincible Heroes]]. ''[[Twilight (Literature)|Twilight]]'' is, of course, the worst offender and most well known.

** More recently, in other genres, vampires are often portrayed as [[Black Mage|Black Mages]].

* Raistlin Majere at the end of the ''[[Dragonlance]] Legends'' trilogy. {{spoiler|He gained so much power and was on the verge of becoming a God only to discover that continuing with his plan would result in the extinction of all life on the planet leaving him only God on a barren world. The alternative was only marginally better.}}

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** When Faith returns in Season Four it's clear that her hostility is accompanied by deep self-loathing of what she's become. She seemed to be happier with it prior to her awakening, but this is likely because her slide into darkness went in hand with her relationship with her [[Affably Evil|father figure]]. With him dead all she had left was the knowledge of how badly she'd fallen. Immediately after she leaves the season, she shows up in the first season of ''Angel'' attempting [[Suicide By Cop]], but thankfully ends up with a [[Heel Face Turn]] instead.

* The fact that ex-demon Cole in ''[[Charmed (TV)|Charmed]]'' managed to [[Power Copying|amass enough demonic power]] to become [[Nigh Invulnerable]] is the main reason that Phoebe divorced him (as he had become a threat to her and her sisters); particularly tragic as he'd only done all of that so he could [[Like a Badass Out of Hell|escape hell]] to return to her. [[I Cannot Self Terminate|He couldn't even kill himself]] from the resulting grief.

* The fact that ex-demon Cole in ''[[Charmed (TV)|Charmed]]'' managed to [[Power Copying|amass enough demonic power]] to become [[Nigh Invulnerable]] is the main reason that Phoebe divorced him (as he had become a threat to her and her sisters); particularly tragic as he'd only done all of that so he could [[Like a Badass Out of Hell|escape hell]] to return to her. [[I Cannot Self-Terminate|He couldn't even kill himself]] from the resulting grief.

* Mentioned by Mitchell in one episode of ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' after they've captured a Mook and promised him protection from the bad guys. Sam points out that "protection" will mean locking him up:

{{quote| '''Mitchell:''' Well, there are downsides to working for a super-villain.}}

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* In the ''[[New World of Darkness (Tabletop Game)|World of Darkness]]'', [[Failure Is the Only Option|you just can't win]]. Not only does [[Being Good Sucks|being good suck]], but if you decide to go the other way and embrace the dark side, you can look forward to a number of side effects - starting with batshit insanity. Each of the game lines comes with its own drawbacks, lovingly crafted to screw with that particular type of critter.

** [[Vampire: The Requiem (Tabletop Game)|Vampires]]: Stronger predatory instincts and a thinner veneer of humanity, meaning the human prey can sense you want to eat them. This tends to make them want to stay away. But wait, that's not all. You're literally going to devolve into a mindless animal if you do enough evil. And moreover your new society consists of assholes and psychopaths, most of whom are way older and more powerful than you and there is that mutual risk of flipping out and killing each other whenever you first meet another vampire. [[Vampire: The Masquerade (Tabletop Game)|The original Vampire]] doesn't let you off the hook lightly either. While meetings between two groups of vampires do not devolve into brawls every time, you're still stuck in the society of manipulative monsters, and the power difference between you and the [[Powers That Be]] is much greater.

*** ...Unless you happen to be a member of [[Card Carrying Villain|Belial's Brood]]. Their sacred rites literally make it impossible for them to betray each other, and they just don't care about being human, so that's also a non-issue. Also, if you're subtle enough with your Vice, there's a chance that the transformation into a dragur will not take your mind with it, [[The Sociopath|although you're still a massive dick]].

*** ...Unless you happen to be a member of [[Card-Carrying Villain|Belial's Brood]]. Their sacred rites literally make it impossible for them to betray each other, and they just don't care about being human, so that's also a non-issue. Also, if you're subtle enough with your Vice, there's a chance that the transformation into a dragur will not take your mind with it, [[The Sociopath|although you're still a massive dick]].

** [[Werewolf: The Forsaken (Tabletop Game)|Werewolves]]: The spirits you're trying to police can tell you're out of balance, and they hate you that much more. You have a harder time performing rituals, and it's that much harder to keep from kill-everything-around-you berserker rage. On top of all that, you tend to develop disturbing obsessions - from breaking every third window you pass to taking a bite out of anyone who looks you in the eye. [[Werewolf: The Apocalypse (Tabletop Game)|In the original Werewolf]] you suffer nothing of the sort and can techically do anything you please. There is just that little problem with the Universe-devouring [[Big Bad]] who has a [[Fate Worse Than Death]] in store for your entire race and you personally, and whose local representatives are generally empowered by evil acts.

** [[Mage: The Awakening (Tabletop Game)|Mages]]: You know that Abyss that hates your magic? The more evil you become, the harder it can smack you around and the harder it is for you to resist it. [[Mage: The Ascension (Tabletop Game)|In the original]], you're pretty much free to do as you wish; thing is, there's a horde of [[Eldritch Abomination|Eldritch Abominations]] seeking to drag reality down into oblivion with them, and their goals are furthered by the spread of evil.

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* {{spoiler|Beat}} in ''[[The World Ends With You (Video Game)|The World Ends With You]]''. As a result of {{spoiler|his subsequent side-switching, Konishi gives him a few days to live, before he'll [[Everything Fades|fade away]]}}.

* [[Final Fantasy VII|Sephiroth]] has power beyond what anyone can imagine but at the expense of his sanity, memories, emotions and very humanity.

** While in the original [[Final Fantasy VI]], Kefka was painted as a [[Complete Monster|psychopath without remorse, restrains or regrets who actively, and successfully, tried to make every bad situation much, much worse]], [[For the Evulz|all of it because he found it]] [[Laughing Mad|entertaining beyond reason]], the developers for [[Dissidia Final Fantasy]] decided to run with an [[Alternative Character Interpretation]]. There he is instead depicted as a man who's nigh-godlike powers have ruined his ability to feel joy to the point where he can only feel it when destruction is involved. The reprise of his well-known, hateful, nihilistic rant about the futility of the world from the original game takes on the nature of a wistful lament, and even as Kefka dies, he laughs. [[Alas Poor Villain|A sad laugh.]]

** While in the original [[Final Fantasy VI]], Kefka was painted as a [[Complete Monster|psychopath without remorse, restrains or regrets who actively, and successfully, tried to make every bad situation much, much worse]], [[For the Evulz|all of it because he found it]] [[Laughing Mad|entertaining beyond reason]], the developers for [[Dissidia Final Fantasy]] decided to run with an [[Alternative Character Interpretation]]. There he is instead depicted as a man who's nigh-godlike powers have ruined his ability to feel joy to the point where he can only feel it when destruction is involved. The reprise of his well-known, hateful, nihilistic rant about the futility of the world from the original game takes on the nature of a wistful lament, and even as Kefka dies, he laughs. [[Alas, Poor Villain|A sad laugh.]]

== Visual Novels ==

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== Web Original ==

* The ''[[Order of the Stick (Webcomic)|Order of the Stick]]'' prequel book ''Start of Darkness'' details the origins of Xykon and Redcloak. Redcloak eventually learns how much being evil sucks after Xykon makes him {{spoiler|kill his brother (who had already tried to run away from Xykon's evil scheme twice)}}.

* ''[[Doctor ~~Horribles~~ Sing Along Blog (Web Video)|Doctor Horribles Sing Along Blog]]''.

* ''[[Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (Web Video)|Doctor Horribles Sing Along Blog]]''.

* ''[[A Very Potter Musical]]'' has this gem:

{{quote| '''Voldemort:''' Killing people doesn't make them like you, it just, it just makes them dead.}}