Chronic Villainy: Difference between revisions

[[Rule of Drama|However, something eventually goes wrong]]. Maybe they start having blackouts, and can't remember what they've been doing. Maybe they get visited by an old comrade who forces them back into crime. The voices in their head may resume their chorus. Or maybe they see their old nemesis and just ''have'' to test them, for old times sake...Ultimately, their returning obsessions become too much, and they can't resist them any more. They give in, and they eventually fall back into their self-destructive, villainous lifestyle.

 

 

Compare [[Reformed but Rejected]], where the villain has repented and wants to go straight, but may find that the hero, or society in general, doesn't trust him enough to let him. Indeed, a particularly bad case of Reformed But Rejected can easily fuel a case of '''Chronic Villainy'''. A [[Self-Fulfilling Prophecy]], courtesy of [[What the Hell, Hero?]] or [[All of the Other Reindeer]]. Compare also [[Redemption Failure]], where the villain is pushed back to [[The Dark Side]] not by internal residue compulsions, but by external circumstances.

{{examples}}

 

* The Crown Prince of this is [[Batman]]'s the Riddler, who has reformed countless times, only to fall back into crime due to obsessing over beating the Bat. However, this trope still applies to a large portion of Batman's rogues gallery, most prominently, Two-Face (who is probably a [[Incredibly Lame Pun|close second]] to the Riddler), The Ventriloquist, Mr. Freeze, and Harley Quinn. The second version, of a character whose power makes them evil and slowly returns them to villainy, is present in Man Bat and certain incarnations of Clayface.

** One comic book for the recent "The Batman" animated series had The Riddler asking Batman for help, because the Joker had kidnapped his favorite staff member at Arkham. But The Riddler couldn't just ''ask'', he sent riddles, because it's his mental condition to do so, whether committing crimes or not.

** This compulsion goes all the way back to the 1960's [[Adam West]] ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]'' tv show. In one episode, Riddler's girlfriend asks him why he even bothers with riddles since Batman always figures them out. Riddler answers that the only reason he even ''became'' a criminal is so he could use riddles to stump Batman. Without riddles, he says, crime would be pointless.

** The Joker underwent a Riddler Reform in "Going Sane", a [[Story Arc]] from the comic ''Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight''. The only times where he's ever been indicated to reform are when he thinks Batman's dead. When Batman ends up alive, he returns.

** As such, ''[[Batman: The Animated Series|Batman the Animated Series]]'' had a couple of these. There was a noirish episode involving Two-Face in which this was the [[Twist Ending]], and, of course, one involving The Riddler (aptly named "Riddler's Reform", the original suggested title for this trope) in which he gave up a fortune because he couldn't get past his obsessions.

 

== Western Animation ==

{{quote|'''The Flash:''' James... You're off your meds, aren't you?

'''The Trickster:''' I ''am''? [Looking at his suit] Well, what do you know... }}

* In ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'', we have Jet, a character with [[Freudian Excuse|justified obsessions]] with taking down the Fire Nation, and [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|incredibly unjustified actions]] towards that aim. Eventually, he decides to stop and [[I Just Want to Be Normal|try to live a normal life]] as a refugee. However, {{spoiler|upon discovering that Zuko and Iroh are Fire Nation (they were technically lying about being escaped Earth Kingdom POW's, but were still harmless nonetheless), [[Cassandra Truth|his attempts to convince others of this fall on deaf ears]], and his obsessions get the better of him, eventually resulting in him openly attacking them in a crowded shop, getting arrested, Brainwashed, [[Brainwashed and Crazy|sent to kill the Avatar]], and eventually [[Killed Off for Real]].}} Ouch.

* A ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants]]'' episode had him befriending Plankton. Everything seemed fine until Plankton steals a krabby patty.

* [[The Movie]] of ''[[Codename: Kids Next Door]]'' portrayed this trope tragically with the Delightful Children. The brainwashing Father put them under is so incredibly powerful and rooted deep into them that any attempts to undo it would be temporary at best, and they'll morph back into their evil selves. They literally cannot be good because they are forever under Father's influence.

* Yuck, Yin and Yang's [[Evil Twin]] from ''[[Yin Yang Yo!|Yin Yang Yo]]'', ends up succumbing to this due to a particularly vicious case of [[Reformed but Rejected]] from the two, culminating in beating him senseless at his unveiling of a statue dedicated to their new friendship, destroying the statue in the process.

* In one ''[[Tuff Puppy]]'' episode, Snaptrap falls in love with Dudley's mom and quits D.O.O.M. and joins T.U.F.F. for her. However, he has trouble with the whole "good guys don't steal" thing, and he keeps letting all the bad guys get away.

[[Category:Arch Enemy]]

[[Category:Villains]]

[[Category:Corruption Tropes]]