Even Evil Has Standards/Literature: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

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* Tom Walker in Washington Irving's story ''The Devil and Tom Walker'' is pretty much lacking in redeeming qualities, but when he first makes his [[Deal with the Devil]] and the Devil proposes that he serve him through the slave trade, Tom immediately refuses, saying he won't have anything to do with that. He then eagerly accepts the Devil's second proposal, which is that he become a ruthless [[Loan Shark]] who ruins the lives of those around him. It's been suggested that this might have been meant satirically toward the stereotypical Northern businessman, who like Tom, was a greedy, unscrupulous miser, but abhorred slavery.

* The ''[[Belgariad|Mallorean]]'' has a deeply chilling example in the fourth book. Belgarion finds a prophecy written by Torak, the villain of the first series. It reveals exactly what Zandramas, the current [[Big Bad]], is planning (in essence, creating a new god of darkness). At the end, Torak has added a personal message to Belgarion... which says, in part, "If you're reading this, you've already destroyed me. What is foretold in these pages is an abomination. ''Do not let it come to pass.''" As Belgarath notes, Torak was stunned out of his madness long enough to feel revulsion at what he foresaw.

*** Barratry, treason and [[But You Screw One Goat!|carnal knowledge of an animal]], actually.

* [[Terry Pratchett]] likes doing this in ''[[Discworld]]'', especially with his Assassins' Guild. Like Leon, they do not accept contracts to "inhume" [[Wouldn't Hit a Girl|women]] or [[Wouldn't Hurt a Child|children]], nor do they ''ever'' work for free, and they cannot accept contracts on someone who cannot defend himself (though "rich enough to hire bodyguards" qualifies as "capable of defending himself").

*** Fittingly for this trope, the scene that introduces Teatime notes that Lord Downey, leader of the Assassins Guild, does not have actual morals, but he ''does'' have standards. Teatime... doesn't.

*** That is to say that dragons ''did'' burn and torture and rip one another apart, they just [[At Least I Admit It|never called it a "good" thing]] or [[I Did What I Had to Do|try to excuse it.]]

*** Moist also abhors violence (not only the violence done to him, but doing any violence himself to try to prevent it being done to him, to the extent that he absolutely refuses to carry weapons of any kind) while Gilt has no qualms about having people brutally murdered right and left and employs a particularly terrifying killer to do it for him.

*** We also learn that Igors have a tradition (and rules about) making a break for it when The Marthter starts going off the deep end. You make sure the larder is full and everything is all tidy before you go, and it is, apparently, permissible (but not encouraged) to suggest that other, particularly likable servants might like to take a holiday in a different town right now. (Igors know that there's no percentage in being around when the pitchforks and torches come out.)

*** Further to that, Vimes finds out in a later book that he's been taken off the register. Aside from being slightly disappointed at that at wondering if he can appeal, he reflects that the Assassins only take someone off the books if killing them would cause too much political chaos (Vetinari being the only other person they will not accept a contract on).

*** They seem to have found another use for him though, {{spoiler|as a training exercise for over-confident students}}.

** There's also the Thieves' Guild, which takes a very hostile attitude towards unlicensed theft. The Guild also requires thieves to stamp a receipt for the "customer", so the same people aren't hit too often or for too much.

* In the [[James Bond]] book and movie ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'', Marc-Ange Draco, head of the Unione Corse, the biggest European crime syndicate, is an okay guy because he doesn't traffic in drugs. Murder, extortion, protection rackets, female slavery, those are fine; but drugs? No. [[wikipedia:Union Corse#Involvement in the heroin trade|The real Unione Corse does deal in drugs.]]

* It's stated in ''[[Good Omens]]'' that even demons find certain actions unthinkable, including using holy water on another demon. Ironically, [[Noble Demon]] Crowley is the one who crosses that line, though it's done to save his hide more than anything else. Later on, Crowley rejects the idea of tormenting Hastur by playing the tape he's trapped on in his Bentley until he becomes a Queen song ([[It Makes Sense in Context]]) because even a demon can only sink so far.

* In the [[Dale Brown]] novel ''Plan of Attack'', Russian Army General Nikolai Stepashin, who sees nothing wrong with sneak nuclear bombings on North America, is disgusted by president Gryzlov's nuking of a Russian airbase to take out American infiltrators and the man's refusal to check for Russian survivors. {{spoiler|This most likely contributes to his [[Redemption Equals Death]] later.}}

* In [[Andrew Vachss]]'s Burke book ''Strega'', both Mama Wong, implied to be with [[The Triads and the Tongs]], and some neo-Nazis express disapproval of child sex offenders. Burke himself, as well as his [[Badass Crew]], are Type V Antiheroes (IV if you try real hard) who all have no problems with [[Pay Evil Unto Evil]] and breaking any number of laws in the process. Sexual crimes are right out, though.

* In ''[[Rainbow Six (novel)|Rainbow Six]]'', [[The Dragon]] Dmitriy Popov is a [[Renegade Russian]] former KGB intelligence offer who abets three terrorist attacks, including {{spoiler|an attack on the wives of Clark and Ding}}, commits two murders of his own during the story's length and [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|has no qualms about stealing]]. Finding out the truth of the [[Big Bad]]'s plan horrifies him enough that {{spoiler|he tells on it to Clark and the FBI}}.

** To a lesser extent: Clark and Ding are hardened special forces badasses. Clark in particular once, in another book in the series, went on a [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]] where he carried out creatively vicious kills and [[Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique]]. Nevertheless, they consider the [[Curb Stomp Battle]] against the ecos so one-sided it's pure murder.

* [[Flashman]] is, and admits he is, evil in many ways...but even he has lines he will not willingly cross.

** "A scoundrel I may be, but I ain't an assassin, and you will comb my memoirs in vain for a mention of Flashy as First Murderer." (Flashman's response to a clear hint that, if all else fails to turn him aside, Flashman is to bump off {{spoiler|John Brown}}. Later, he says nearly the same thing about a proposal to have him do in {{spoiler|Emperor Theodore of Abyssinia.}})

* The narrator in ''The Tell-Tale Heart'' when he refuses to kill the old man until he is awake "for it was not the old man who vexed me but his Evil Eye." (though granted his standards are insane.)

* ''[[The Wheel of Time]]. Granted, it's not a ''[[Pragmatic Villainy|moral]]'' standard...''

* In the novelization of ''[[Demolition Man]]'' [[Ax Crazy|Simon Phoenix]] is shocked that Cocteau had Associate Bob ''castrated'' to curb Bob's ambition. Phoenix is a murderous bastard, but taking a guy's balls just isn't right!

* Taken [[Up to Eleven]] in ''[[Rumo and His Miraculous Adventures]]'': The [[Cyclops|Demonocles]] positively thrive on [[The Sound of Screaming]], prefer to eat prey alive, and will beat their friends to death [[For the Evulz|over nothing]] and then [[Why Did You Make Me Hit You?|blame them for it]]. {{spoiler|Break [[Bizarre Alien Biology|the intricate bony structure in a Demonocle's huge, complex tongue]]...and not only have you effectively crippled him, but you've demoralized any other Demonocles who witnessed the sight.}} [[Hypocritical Humor|How could any living creature do anything so cruel to another]]?

* In ''[[Garrett P.I.|Gilded Latten Bones]]'', Garrett ponders this trope when he asks Sarge and Puddle, two of assassin-for-hire Morley Dotes's criminal associates, about the doings of TunFaire's resurrection men, and both are repulsed by the notion of stealing dead bodies for necromantic research.

* In ''[[Warrior Cats]]'', there is one villain called Mapleshade who is so screwed up all the other villains are scared of her.

{{quote|Don't worry, I don't harm family.}}

** In ''Darke'', Linda decides to invoke [[You Said You Would Let Them Go]] on a pair of lovebirds after holding one hostage to make the other bring Jenna to her. The Witch Mother stops her because a witch must keep her Darke bargains, and Linda seems to be forgetting the Rules.

** Lord Roose Bolton of Dreadfort is the same - he is a horrific villain, but a [[Pragmatic Villainy|pragmatic one.]]

** The Guild of the Faceless Men will only kill their targets, not bystanders or even bodyguards.

** The Ironborn hate slavery, although they have a very flimsy definition of it. Indentured servitude and forced prostitution: totally okay for them, but ''buying and selling people''? NEVER!

* In [[Belisarius Series]] Narses practically lives this trope. He betrayed Empress Theodora who was practically his adopted daughter. But when told to assassinate the family of a Rajput chief, he refuses and almost becomes a hero.

**Ajutasutra, Narses' favorite assassin has an utter hatred of pimps. When told to buy the missing daughters of an Imperial councilor of an enemy nation as a scheme to ensure that Narses has eggs in more then one basket, Ajutasutra agrees. He buys them from the brothel-keeper who owned them previously, treats them kindly and settles them in a safehouse while sending a covert letter to the father through no mans land. After assuring the girls safety he turns back and does a job of his own. Thus in the letter there is not only a message that the daughters were safe but as a bonus favor the [[Pay Evil Unto Evil|hands]] of the previous owner.

{{quote|Troi : "You're not a rapist. A thief, yes. A killer as needed. But not a rapist."}}