Cruel Mercy: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

Heroes rarely kill their enemies: they either practice [[Thou Shalt Not Kill]] or have a [[The Heart|moral friend]] remind them "[[If You Kill Him You Will Be Just Like Him]]" if they ever get too tempted. Ho hum. However, some heroes are creative. Much like a torturer using a [[Cool and Unusual Punishment]], the hero does [[Forgiveness|forgive]] the villain, or at least spare his life, but does so in a poetic yet cruel way.

Thus is [[Karma]] served. May or may not coincide with [[Disproportionate Retribution]]. And [[Fate Worse Than Death]], of course.

 

 

* In ''[[One Piece]]'', [[Word of God]] describes this as Monkey D. Luffy's M.O. Luffy never makes a point of killing his opponents, and regards it as more cruel for them to live with their dreams and ambitions utterly dashed and destroyed.

** Most of these villains go on to live somewhat-successful, less villainous lives and redeem themselves.

* Veronica of ''[[Franken Fran]]'' makes one friend (Yura) in her month long stay at a girl's school. [[Teens Are Monsters|Every other student performs multiple acts of bullying from dumping water on her to writing on her clothes.]] {{spoiler|In the end none of the bullies (except one) are harmed and her friend turned out to be the one who was behind all the bullying and [[Complete Monster|sold the bullied girls to pedophiles]]. Veronica brutally kills the men in Yura's room, along with the bully, and leaves Yura there to explain the situation to the authorities.}}

** The real irony is that it was true mercy: while even [[The Ingenue]] [[Humanoid Abomination]] Adorea managed to make some friends in that school, Veronica has [[No Social Skills]] nor the slightest idea how to make a friend. {{spoiler|She knew from the very beginning that Yura was a [[False Friend]]. Even so, Veronica really felt that a false friendship is better than nothing, so Veronica lead Yura into her own plan trying to enjoy the most of their false relationship. That simulation really [[It Meant Something to Me|mean something to Veronica]] and for that [[You Will Be Spared|Yura was spared]]. [[Monster Sob Story|The last panel shows her denying her tears to Adorea.]] }}

 

== Comic Books ==

** Similarly, in ''[[Kingdom Come]]'', the evil members of the [[The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized|Mankind Liberation Front]] are ultimately forced into helping care for the survivors of an attack they helped launch; Lex Luthor is especially galled at having to empty bedpans.

** Or the time he tracked down the black ops agent who helped frame him (Bruce Wayne) for murder. Since there was no evidence of the man's existence, he couldn't be tried, so Batman put him [[Go Among Mad People|in Arkham.]] The spy tells the doctors that he's not crazy, he's a secret agent who framed Bruce Wayne for murder and there's no record of the mission because he was tasked directly to the president. None of the doctors believe him.

* In the comics, Bullseye's hatred of [[Daredevil]] was actually exacerbated after the hero saved him from an oncoming subway train, which Bullseye considered a humiliation. He gets a nice little speech about it in the issue where he breaks jail and kills Elektra.

* The ''[[Flash]]'', rather than killing Inertia for killing Bart Allen, leaves him [[And I Must Scream|trapped immobile to stare at a statue of Bart for an eternity]]. Wally has gone on record in support of killing villains under desperate enough circumstances; he intentionally took a much more sadistic keel in this case.

** And also qualifies as an [[Incredibly Lame Pun]] on the villain's name, when you think about it ...

** What? He kills plenty of people. Killed {{spoiler|Si}} just by [[Compelling Voice|ordering him to die]], commanded a bunch of racist rednecks {{spoiler|and Jody, though it didn't take}} to '''[[Kill It with Fire|BURN]]''', and forced a machine-gunner at Masada to massacre his entire unit. His mercies do tend to be cruel, such as ordering {{spoiler|Hoover}} to '''count three million grains of sand'''.

**** {{spoiler|He later felt bad about that and mind wiped him of the experience}}.

* Similar to Cap, [[Superman]] seems to do this to Lex Luthor on an almost daily basis without even trying. Apparently, Lexi's ego is so enormous that having a man more powerful than him, who uses his might out of genuine altruism and refuses to work for him is so [[Evil Cannot Comprehend Good|incomprehensible]] that it galls him like nothing else ever could.

* [[Ghost Rider]] actually has this trope as one of his powers. His [[Mind Rape|Penance Stare]] does no physical damage, but forces his opponent to feel every single bit of pain or evil they infliced on others. Most recover, but have something to think about for the rest of their lives.

* This is what Cyclops decides to do to Kaga, the [[Evil Cripple|crippled]] [[Genius Cripple|evil genius]] [[Big Bad]] of [[X-Men (Comic Book)|Astonishing X-Men]] #31-35, who hates the X-Men because they're a bunch of incredibly attractive people with superpowers, whereas he is a realistic mutant, sickly and deformed as a result of being born to a Hiroshima survivor. After Kaga's [[Motive Rant]], Cyclops decides to arrange for Mutants Sans Frontières<ref>Warren Worthington's X-Men-affiliated charity organization</ref> medical funding to be used to take the best possible care of him until he dies of natural causes.

* New Republic commander [[Action Girl|Mirith Sinn]] is captured and tortured to learn the location of an enemy of the Empire. She holds out until the [[Big Bad]] orders an orbital bombardment on her men's secret fallback position. She dejectedly gives him the information he wants...and he orders that the bombardment continue until every last rebel is dead. But he keeps one part of his deal...he lets her go.

 

{{quote|''"I'm glad he will spend the rest of his life in a prison, eating meager food, surrounded by cold walls, performing the same kind of labor many Unjoined spend their entire working lives doing. I don't want him to get out. I want him to spend the rest of his life remembering what he did to our world, and when he dies, I hope that even the wind forsakes him. I say that as a father, in the name of every other parent who will, or * has* faced the same truth."''}}

* In ''[[Frigid Winds and Burning Hearts]]'', Princess Luna realizes that killing [[Smug Snake|Captain Braveheart]] will just confirm in everyone else's eyes that she's a [[Complete Monster]]. So instead, she spares his life, and {{spoiler|teleports him to his commander, telling him to have fun explaining his actions to his superior}}. Braveheart [[Precision F-Strike|is not too happy]] upon hearing her plans. {{spoiler|Unfortunately, this backfires, as he just tracks them down ''again'' and ambushes Twilight.}}

{{quote|'''Winnie''': His punishment will not be to die...but to live forever with his guilt.}}

* In the end of ''[[Ever After (film)|Ever After]]'', Danielle saves her stepmother and stepsister from transportation to America, and almost certain death. When the queen asks her what shall be done with them instead, she simply asks "That you show them the same kindness that she showed me." That kindness would be de facto slavery.

 

 

== Literature ==

* In the end of Thomas Sniegoski's ''Fallen'' series, the [[The Chosen One|hero]], Aaron [[What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?|forgives]] [[Our Angels Are Different|Verchiel]], causing him to go back to heaven. Since [[Knight Templar|Verchiel]] has spent the last few millenia [[Nice Job Breaking It, Herod|systematically wiping out various angelic offspring]], allowing eldritch abominations to thrive on Earth by ignoring his job, and [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|generally being a douche]], the welcoming reception is NOT pretty.

** In Trooper Caffran's [[Day in The Limelight]] in ''[[Gaunt's Ghosts|Ghostmaker]]'', his squad encounters and defeats a Khornate Chaos cult, which worships death. As a reward, he gets to execute the cult leader personally - but refuses, saying that since the cultist longs for death, keeping him alive is the real way to punish him. Gaunt agrees.

* At the end of ''[[Robin Hobb|Fool's Fate]]'', the {{spoiler|Pale Woman's}} prophecies have all been thwarted and her power destroyed. She screams at Fitz to kill her, saying that her visions told her this would happen if she failed. Fitz responds that they are not in her vision of the future but his, and that she dies slowly, alone. {{spoiler|She does.}}

* This is advocated in [[The Bible]]. "If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."

{{quote|''[[Don't You Dare Pity Me!|I'll spit his pity right back in his face!]] There is nothing on earth that we share! It is either Valjean or Javert! How can I now allow this man to hold dominion over me?''}}

* Done in ''[[Animorphs]]'' to Visser One (formerly Visser Three): when he's finally captured, he's made to give up his prized Andalite host body, put on trial for his many, MANY crimes, and forced to live out the rest of his life in his natural Yeerk state (i.e. blind and helpless) imprisoned, in complete isolation, and with no chance at ever getting another host body.

** This was partly so they could prove that Sirius was innocent, though. Naturally, it backfired, but it wasn't all about vengeance, per se . . .

* Attempted by Lysa Arryn in ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]''. When her prisoner, Tyrion Lannister, wins his [[Combat by Champion|trial by combat]], Lysa is forced to release him... so she orders him to be escorted to the Kingsroad, where he will be at the mercy of bandits.

* In ''Day Watch'' (second book of the ''[[Night Watch]]'' series) a group of Dark Others is convicted of a serious crime and given the option between two fates: execution by hanging (as opposed to the more severe [[Fate Worse Than Death|dematerialisation]]) or being allowed to live in return for never using their powers again and living a normal human lifespan. When they choose the latter option, Gesar (head of the Light One delegation) is asked if he has any opinion, and he reluctantly recommends that their sentence be commuted to permission to perform extremely minor magic, which is granted. One of the Day Watch witnesses notes that, in the long term, this is even crueler than being killed or having no magic at all, as using incredibly weak spells will act as a constant reminder of the power they truly have but can never use.

* In ''[[The Wheel of Time]]'', Rand, who [[Wouldn't Hit a Girl|cannot bring himself to have a woman executed]], decides that {{spoiler|Lady Colavaere, who usurped the throne of Cairhien and murdered opposants}} is to be sent to the smallest farm she possesses, and to live off it. {{spoiler|She hangs herself}}.

*** The whole philosophy runs like this: if you kill your foe, your foe is dead and that's that. If you ''beat'' your foe, but let them live, then your foe is beat and knows they've been beat, and they'll know it for the rest of their life, and there's no point in beating a foe if they won't be around to know they've been beat afterward.

* In ''[[Dune]]: House Harkonnen'', Duke Leto invokes this trope on a man who was involved with the death of Leto's son (and is very remorseful about it, to the point that he is considering suicide):

* D'Hoffryn pulls one of these on Anya in an episode of [[Buffy]]. Overwhelmed with guilt over slaughtering a fraternity for a vengeance wish, Anya begs D'Hoffryn to undo it. He tells her the price is the life of a vengeance demon; to atone for her actions, she is all too happy to accept death. He then {{spoiler|summons Anya's friend Halfrek and kills her instead.}}

{{quote|'''D'Hoffryn''': Haven't I taught you anything, Anya? Never go for the kill when you can go for the pain.}}

** One could argue that forcing Cyrano Jones to pick up every single tribble on K-7 (a task estimated by Spock to take 17.9 ''years'') is a form of Cruel Mercy on Kirk's part. Especially when you consider there's nothing to stop the tribbles breeding...

** A [[Crowning Moment of Funny]] in one ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine|Deep Space Nine]]'' episode has a Cardassian defense lawyer win his case, in defiance of Cardassian tradition (which holds that criminals brought into court are automatically guilty). This isn't precisely Cruel Mercy, but the expression on the lawyer's face when Odo tells him that he has won the case is pretty horrified.

* In ''[[Iji]]'' you can bypass {{spoiler|the second battle with Asha}} [[Pacifist Run|instead of killing him in a duel to the death]]. You end up {{spoiler|[[Driven to Suicide|crushing his ego so deeply that he kills himself in despair]]}}.

* Near the end of ''[[Dragon Quest VIII]]'', Angelo saves {{spoiler|Marcello}} from a [[Disney Villain Death]]. Given that he had just given a massive [["The Reason You Suck" Speech]] to a crowded amphitheater that veered into [[Evil Gloating]], then was possessed by [[Satan|Rhapthrone]] and resurrected the demon's body in front of said crowd, leaving his ambition, reputation and ''everything'' he'd spent his entire life working for in tatters... yeah, death would've been kinder. Getting saved by the {{spoiler|half-brother}} he despised was just another kick in the side at that point.

{{quote|'''Kerrigan''': "I said you are free to go. I've already taken your honor. I'll let you live because I know that from now on your every waking moment will be torture. You'll never be able to forgive yourself for what I've forced you to do. And that, Zeratul, is a better revenge than I could have ever dreamed of."}}

** She also showed cruel mercy to Mengsk:

{{quote|'''Kerrigan''': "I think I'll leave you here, Arcturus, among the ashes of your precious Dominion. I want you to live to see me rise to power. And I want you to remember, in your most private moments, that it was you who set me loose in the first place."}}

* Briefly mentioned in ''[[Titan Quest]]'' when the Yellow Emperor reveals that the Telkines are rampaging around to {{spoiler|free Typhon, strongest of the Titans}}. The gods banished {{spoiler|all other Titans after defeating them}}, but bound {{spoiler|Typhon}} in nigh-unbreakable chains beneath a mountain so for all eternity he would be chained to what he desired most but could never have.

* In ''[[Knights of the Old Republic|KOTOR 2]]'', you can do this to {{spoiler|Atris, leaving her to be driven insane by the hissing of Sith Holocrons}}, shortly after [[Heel Realization|she's learned that she's actually evil]] and has been beaten within an inch of her life.

** According to Mr. House, sparing General Oliver in an Independent Vegas ending either with House or you in charge counts as this. He will be forced to go back west humiliated and empty-handed as a scapegoat for leading thousands of soldiers to die in an unpopular war with his chance at a political career nonexistent. House even calculates a probability of him even committing suicide from it all.

* Near the end of ''[[Star Wars: Bounty Hunter]]'', Jango Fett faces down his arch-nemesis, Montross. Aside from doggedly attempting to kill Fett and steal bounties from him, Montross was personally responsible for the deaths of both Fett's foster figure and a later mother figure. After Fett beats Montross in their final duel, the defeated man gasps that he deserves a better death than this. So Fett leaves him alive, ignoring his pleas that Jango finish him, and Montross is subsequently given the extremely ignominious death of being torn apart by feral cultists.

** [[The Mole]] did not cause Archangel's scars - at least not directly - since Archangel was hit by a missile from an attack aircraft. Paragon Shepard, who is an extreme [[Magnetic Hero]] who inspires others to do what's right, convinces Archangel with a mix of this trope and reminding Archangel that, though a [[Cowboy Cop]] turned [[Vigilante Man]], he's still a good man. Alien. Whatever. Avoiding the Mole's death is always a Paragon act.

** Aside from this, there was an instance in the [[Mass Effect 1]] DLC ''Bring Down the Sky" that allowed something similar. If you opt to let some hostages die in order to capture batarian terrorist Balak, you can either kill him outright or spare him. Doing the latter means taking him to the planet he'd tried to destroy to stand trial...which, incidentally, was where the hostages came from.

* ''[[Dragon Age]]'' itself allows you to do this to several characters, to include Sten (though the option is less about outright killing him, and more about leaving him in his cage to die later), Jowan, Zevran (who enters into a "service contract" with you afterwards), and {{spoiler|Loghain, in exchange for him serving you and the Grey Wardens, no less}}. There are other potential instances, such as {{spoiler|Branka}}, though the cruelness of them comes down to YMMV.

* In ''[[Alpha Protocol]]'' Mike has the option to spare whoever the final boss turns out to be, knowing they'll be dragged through courtroom after courtroom for the rest of their lives, watching while their empire crumbles.

 

* Horribly/Hilariously [[Subverted Trope]] in ''[[Schlock Mercenary]]'' after Kevyn captures an alien warlord who had just executed one of his squad members simply to test a theory and was about to do the same to his [[Love Interest]] before he intervened. Rather than take his revenge on the warlord ("I know he murdered our friend, but [revenge] will take you into a very dark place, Nick"), he opts to turn him in to the proper authorities... who will then kill him and [[I'm a Humanitarian|eat him]] ''[http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20070502.html a little bit at a time!]''

{{quote|'''Nick:''' Your place sounds darker, sir.

* Done in ''[[Girl Genius]]''. After Dr. Beetle dies, Baron Wulfenbach tells Dr. Merlot that for his part in the incident, he'll be put in charge of the city of Beetleburg...after Dr. Beetle has been given a hero's funeral with full honors, and the full details of Dr. Beetle's death, including the fact that Dr. Merlot's theatrics were the direct cause of it, have been released to a public that loved and respected Dr. Beetle.

* Done in a social way for humor in ''[[Eerie Cuties]]'', to set up for its spin-off, ''[[Magick Chicks]]''. After the Hellrune Coven have tried to use a gender-bending magical orb for a small plan that turned into a fiasco that left one boy stuck as a girl, they're called in front of the headmistress. Since they're also the [[Alpha Bitch|"Queen Bees"]] of their school, they're told protocol would demand they be expelled. However, the headmistress believes that would let them off TOO easily. So she talked with the head of Artemis Academy to get them transfered over there as part of an exchange program, forcing them to start all over without any socal benefits from their soon-to-be-former school. To a young girl who fought a lot of her high-school life to be popular, losing your status and being "socially dead" is worth than a physical death.

 

== Web Original ==

'''Azula''': But what choice do I have?! Trust is for fools! Fear is the only reliable way! Even you fear me.

'''Ursa''': No. {{spoiler|I love you, Azula. I do.}} }}

* In ''[[King of the Hill]]'', Peggy confronts Cotton on his deathbed to [[Calling the Old Man Out|Call The Old Man Out]] after years of verbal abuse from him. She takes a hint from one of the page quotes above by saying she hopes he will never die, so that he may live forever in the hell that he has created for himself. Cotton, ever the spiteful one, puts on his [[Troll|cool face]] and dies immediately afterwards.

* In "The Dragons' Graveyard," the darkest episode of ''[[Dungeons and Dragons (animation)|Dungeons and Dragons]]'', the kids have finally had it with Venger constantly attacking them and preventing them from getting home. Against Dungeon Master's wishes, they attack Venger, and finally have him at their mercy. Hank could easily kill him, but finally spares him, saying verbatim that [[If You Kill Him You Will Be Just Like Him|"If I did, we'd be no better than you are."]] But Hank makes it very plain to Venger as they leave, "We've beaten you, and you know it."

** While he doesn't see it as such, {{spoiler|Zemerik, under the control of the [[Cult|Alpha-Code]], forgiving Krytus is seen at this by Krytus. Krytus had just finally got his revenge on Zemerik for betraying him, but forgiving him, Zemerik also rendered Krytus' revenge meaningless.}}

* Discord from ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'' {{spoiler|[[Break the Cutie|breaks]] and [[Mind Rape]]s five of the mane cast, breaks appart their friendship, and plunges Equestria into a [[World Gone Mad]], driving ''everyone'' insane...but never touchs Twilight Sparkle. No, he merely lets the fact she's lost everything she cares about drive her over the [[Despair Event Horizon]] and lose all hope. Thankfully, she finds a way to turn this around though.}}

 

== Real Life ==

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Villain Ball]]