Evil All Along: Difference between revisions
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The hero is searching for a very special treasure. Too bad he doesn't know his way around. He meets a very nice person who offers to help the hero find the treasure. But wait, wasn't the temple supposed to be toward the south? Then why are you walking north? And why won't his guide answer his questions? And oh drat, there's the [[Big Bad]]. That "guide" was his minion, and thus evil all along.
Variation: If the guide turns out not to be just a minion, but the bad guy himself, he was the [[Big Bad]] all along. However, it may be that the
Compare and contrast [[Good All Along]]. [[Heel Face Turn]] might be an effect of this trope. See [[Hidden Evil]] for subtypes. Compare [[Big Bad Friend]].
{{Unmarked Spoilers}}
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== Anime
* {{spoiler|Jack Vessalius}} of ''[[
* ''[[Pokémon (
** This trope is used all the times in the anime, with Team Rocket always disguising themselves.
** Other examples exist, like in the movie ''[[Pokémon
** And Domino from ''[[Pokémon
* In ''[[
* Kabuto from ''[[
* Blackbeard from ''[[
* The anime version of ''[[Blue Dragon]]'' has one of these in the form of {{spoiler|Zola}} near the end of the series. Though it appears at first that it's just a simple [[Face Heel Turn]], the characters try to fool themselves into thinking that. Evidence in the last episodes proves otherwise.
* In chapter 50 of ''[[
* In the last minutes of the final episode of ''[[Panty
* {{spoiler|Walter}} from ''[[
* ''[[
** Aizen.
{{quote|
** {{spoiler|And Ginjo}}.
* Rasati and Lillia's guardian in ''[[
* {{spoiler|Fuuma Kotarou}} from ''[[
* Hathcliff from ''[[Sword Art Online]]'' acted like a benefactor to the heroes for a long time, before being revealed to be the in-game avatar of the [[Big Bad]] himself. Ironically, most fans of the series find this rather obvious in hindsight, given how he seemed to be a [[Boring Invincible Hero]] before [[The Reveal]].
* Frost, from ''[[Dragon Ball| Dragon Ball Super]]''. Maybe fans - and Goku - were suspicious of him at first, seeing as he was, you know, an alternate dimension equivalent of Freiza, but at first the guy seemed to be a decent sort, acting polite, honorable, and courteous to the heroes. Turned out the initial suspicions were correct, and he was just as much a narcissistic fiend as the original, he just hid it better. (Seems [[Turtles Forever| one constant in the multiverse]] is that Freiza will ''always'' be a murderous weasel.) Still, this deception didn't help him much, as he not only got his ass soundly kicked by Goku, [[Other Me Annoys Me| but by the real Freiza too.]]
== Comic Books ==
* In ''[[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers]]'' Rita’s alchemist [[Mook Maker|Finster]] seemed the least evil among the bad guys. [[Affably Evil|He was polite, good natured, and friendly]] and seemed to hold no personal malice towards the heroes; fans often considered him a [[Punch Clock Villain]] who was [[Loyal to the Position]]. However… The comic book adaptation ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 2017 Annual'' included a story called “Perfect” that gave a dark and tragic background to Rita’s alchemist. Thousands of years ago (over 10,000 at leasrt, seeing as that was how long he was imprisoned with Rita) he was a native of a peaceful and idyllic world called [[Prophetic Names|Claydoious]], where he was a simple craftsman, who had a loving wife named Plepra. He took to sculpting monsters, and later using alchemy to bring them to life, out of boredom. He claimed he saw an odd majesty in such monstrosities, claiming [[True Art Is Incomprehensible|there could be beauty even in the ugliest of things]]. One day, however, one of his creations turned feral and went on a rampage through his village. Finster did nothing to react to this other than watch the destruction out the window of his workshop, seemingly proud of what he had created. When Plepra discovered this, and his macabre hobby in the process, she tried to restrain him hoping to get him help (likely their world's version of a psychiatrist or exorcist, as she believed her husband was insane or cursed) but Finster didn't want help, a fight broke out, ending in poor Plepra falling and breaking her neck; he had killed her. While it was an accident, Finster panicked, horrified at what he had done (and also horrified at what his people would ''do'' to him) - but that was when Rita launched an attack on the village. Finster was the only one speared, Rita telling him she saw potential in his work and offering to let him use far more powerful magic to create his "art". Finster agreed, and would be Rita's servant from then on, but it got ''much'' worse. Over the centuries, Finster tried to use this craft in an attempt to restore his wife, creating new bodies for her out of clay and using her hair clippings to infuse her soul into the sculpture. But each time, she rejected him and his work, and each time he struck out and and killed her (clearly not by accident now), only to repeat the process again and again, each time telling himself that what he created was a crude copy, ultimately striving to create his wife in a way where she would accept him and his work. Ultimately, it seems Finster's cheery attitude is a result of hardening himself and refusing to accept that his "art" is an abomination, his wife is gone forever, and her death was nobody's fault but his.
== Films -- Animation ==
* In Disney's ''[[Aladdin (Disney film)|Aladdin]]'', Jafar was the bad guy all along. This is fairly obvious to the audience; the characters themselves find out the hard way when Jafar tries to have Aladdin murdered, then steals the lamp and takes over.
* In Disney's ''[[Tarzan (Disney film)|Tarzan]]'', in turns out Clayton was planning all along to capture and sell Tarzan's gorilla family.
* Obviously, Ursula was it in Disney's version of ''[[
* Scar in ''[[
* In the movie ''[[
* In the ''[[
** And a [[Robotic Reveal|robot.]]
* In ''[[Atlantis:
* {{spoiler|Mr. Sykes, Ernie & Bernie}} from ''[[Shark Tale]]''.
* {{spoiler|The Mayor of Dirt}} from ''[[Rango]]''.
* ''[[Toy Story (
** {{spoiler|Stinky Pete}} from ''Toy Story 2''.
** And {{spoiler|Lotso}} from ''Toy Story 3''.
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== Films -- Live-Action ==
* ''[[
** Used in ''[[
** Neither Professor Jones Sr. or Jr. smelled the [[Honey Trap]] in ''[[
** Also in ''[[Indiana Jones and
* In ''[[Star Wars]] [[Revenge of the Sith
* In ''[[Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon]]'', Jen Yu / Yu Jiaolong had pretty much everyone fooled and feeling sympathetic. After all, in this day and age, who doesn't feel sorry for an aristocrat's daughter who dreams of a warrior's life, being forced into an [[Arranged Marriage]]? Then the movie gets deeper, and reveals the lengths she is going to in order to pursue her dream, learning martial arts from the [[Evil Mentor| notorious thief Jade Fox]] using a [[Artifact of Doom| cursed sword]] and becoming a cold-blooded killer. Still [[Tragic Villain| somewhat sympathetic]], but not as much.
* This is done as a [[Wham! Line]] in ''[[Evil Dead]]''. (The 2013 remake, not the original.) In the first scene of the movie, a man is shown grabbing a teenage girl, then ties her up and douses her with gasoline, as she pleads for mercy through tears. Since this is a horror movie, it seems obvious who the villain is here... Until the girl's eyes gain [[Hellish Pupils]], her voice turns inhuman, and the pleas turn to profanity-laced threats. Who's the monster here? ''Not'' the guy with the gasoline...
* In ''[[The Ring]]'', Samara is set up as a [[Tragic Villain]], and when Rachel recovers her body, it seems she might have a chance at redemption. No such luck; there is ''nothing'' redeemable about Samara, and she has no regrets whatsoever for her crimes. Rachel is only spared because she copied the tape, enabling Samara to widen the scope of her evil, and the only way her son can stay safe is for him to do so too. Of course, in retrospect, there were quite a few signs of this that Samara was darker than she appeared, but few could predict just how ''much'' of a monster she was.
* ''[[A Nightmare On Elm Street 2010]]''; this movie starts with a bold insinuation that maybe, just maybe, Freddy Kruger himself had been unjustly accused, the true monster being society as a whole. Indeed, the scene where he's burned alive by an angry lynch mob does a good job of portraying him as more victim than villain, and that it was a miscarriage of justice brought about by mass-hysteria in the era of "Satanic panic". It was a chilling possibility that seemed somewhat convincing - until halfway through the film where it is clarified in grossly exploitative terms that no, he's the same sadistic pedophile and child-killer he always was. And given overall reaction to the film, it's obvious [[They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot]].
== Literature ==
* ''[[Harry Potter (
** Subverted: it appears that {{spoiler|Snape}} was evil all along after {{spoiler|he kills Dumbledore}}. But then it turns out that {{spoiler|it was all part of Dumbledore's [[Gambit Roulette]] and Snape really was good}}.
** A more straight example: Peter Pettigrew, a.k.a. Ron's pet rat Scabbers, who turns out to be the one who betrayed Harry's parents to Voldemort and concealed himself as a rat for 12 years, leaving his friend Sirus Black to receive the blame.
** There's also the matter of Mad-Eye Moody in ''[[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (
* Nicolae Carpathia in the ''[[Left Behind]]'' books, though nobody but the Tribulation Force and those who have once been in Nicolae's close circle of friends really know just how evil Nicolae is under the public persona he projected up to the midpoint of the Tribulation. After he is indwelt by Satan, Nicolae's façade slowly cracks and the public gets to see the true person underneath. Strangely, though, Jesus berated Nicolae in his [["The Reason You Suck" Speech]], saying to him that [[You Could Have Used Your Powers for Good]], which became a point of contention for some readers.
* In [[
* Played with, though not exactly subverted, in [[Brandon Sanderson]]'s ''[[Warbreaker]]'', as {{spoiler|Denth the mercenary, who has been leading princess Vivenna in her quest to overthrow the government of T'Telir (under the pretense of following her orders), betrays her, murders her best friend, and tries to steal her [[Life Energy|Breath]].}} She is surprised, but {{spoiler|since he had ''quite literally'' been warning her the entire time that [[Exactly What It Says
* ''[[
* In ''[[Treasure Island]]'', Long John Silver at first seems like a friendly and helpful fellow, hired to be the cook for the expedition. It isn't found out until later that he is one of Captain Flint's original pirate crew, and possibly the only man Flint himself ever feared. The same goes for his men, and some are even more evil than he is, such as Israel Hands; Jim tries to help the injured Hands (who was hurt after he and the other pirates foolishly fought amongst each other), only for the pirate to turn on Jim and try to kill him.
== Live-Action TV ==
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* {{spoiler|Boyd Langdon}} in ''[[Dollhouse]]''. Turns out he was secretly the [[Big Bad]] all along and running a ridiculously complex [[Evil Plan]] with Echo and co. at the center. And he seemed like such a nice guy. Although he wasn't completely evil. He was more of a [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]] in the end.
* Cassidy in [[Veronica Mars]]: He starts by raping Veronica lying about it but he becomes truly evil in Season 2. He kills a bus full of his classmates, a witness could turn him in, and 3 people on a plane. This wasn't revealed until the finale but yes he was evil.
* On ''[[Game of Thrones]]'', it's difficult to find anyone ''truly'' wearing a white hat, but many characters believed to be [[A Lighter Shade of Grey]] turned out to be blacker than most:
** Petyr Baelish, aka "Littlefinger". For a while, most assumed he was on the side of Good, being an owner of brothels a forgivable crime among the sadistic murderers and rapists among the main cast. Eventually, however, he proved a [[Chessmaster]] and [[Manipulative Bastard]] on nobody's side but his own, using whatever means necessary - no matter how immoral or cruel - to gain the information needed to influence ''anyone'', be them friends, rivals, allies, or enemies. The concept of loyalty was unknown to him, which makes his final defeat (which was possible due to loyalty between siblings) ironic and karmic.
** [[Sinister Minister| The High Sparrow]] seemed at first to be somewhat benevolent; after all, Cersi was clearly the greater evil, and could a clergyman who opposes - and punishes her with public humiliation - be ''that'' bad? Well, yes, as his extremism clearly ended up going too far. An unforgiving perfectionist to a fault, he quickly became [[Well-Intentioned Extremist| the embodiment of "taking it to far"]], his form of justice only begetting more injustice.
** Walder Frey. Sure, guy was a pervert and a [[Dirty Old Man]], but he seemed harmless, most famous for not joining Robert's rebellion until he was certain of its success. He was at least loyal to his allies and liege. Then came [[Nasty Party| the Red Wedding...]] In hindsight, the revelation that he was a double-crossing fiend was actually easy to predict.
* This Trope is very, very common in ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''. To illustrate, in the first scene of the first episode a jock-type student is bringing his shy, reluctant girlfriend into the school at night, his words suggesting he's trying to reach first base, so to speak. Seeing as this series is about vampires, the first thought might be that this guy is, in fact, a vampire and is going to attack her. Nope. Other way around.
** And it doesn't get easier. The Scoobies think Morgan’s [[Demonic Dummy]] is the killer? Nope, the dummy is the good guy, Morgan is the killer. ("Puppet Show") The Scoobies think Amy’s mother is a witch and poor Amy is under her thrall? Technically true, except the person they think is Amy is her mother, who has stolen her daughter’s body. (“The Witch”) They think the students who kill poor Principal Flutie are possessed by demonic hyenas? They are, but the true threat is the zookeeper trying to gain their power for himself. (“The Pack”) And all that is just the first half of season one. The trend continues throughout the whole series, with Buffy and the Scoobies assuming a classmate or a more [[Genre Savvy]] adult is the victim of an obvious-looking threat, or only to discover the classmate or savvy adult is the mastermind behind the threat.
* ''[[Power Rangers SPD]]'', {{spoiler| the A-Squad are an elite team that the B-Team (the protagonists), admire, respect, and strive to be like. This admiration is misplaced. The A-Squad not only betray SPD and join the villains, they are the first Rangers in the franchise to [[Not Brainwashed| do so of their own volition]].}}
== Radio ==
* Several times in [[Charles Dickens
== Video Games ==
* In ''[[Dead or Alive
* In the part in ''[[Mario
* ''[[
** In ''Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones'', this happens to Lyon. Of course, everyone knows he's being devoured by the demon king, but that doesn't stop the main characters from believing he's still good.
** Lyon is an [[Fighting From the Inside|interesting case]] where he actually [[Genre Savvy|invokes this trope]] to get [[The Hero|Ephraim]] motivated to [[Death Seeker|kill him]] so that he [[Cannot Self Terminate|could]] [[Dying
** Also, Orson appears to be evil all along too, but unlike Lyon, you can actually play him as a character. Later he appears as a boss.
* In ''[[Another Code]]'' for the DS, Ashley's father's old coworker was evil all along, having killed Ashley's mother and stuff.
* ''[[
* In the Nintendo DS version of ''[[
* In ''[[
* In ''[[
* In the first two ''[[Professor Layton]]'' games, the antagonist Don Paolo disguises himself as other people. He's disguised as Inspector Chelmey in ''The Curious Village'' and as Flora in ''Pandora's box''.
* The mysterious wizard who occasionally helps you out in ''[[
* In her ''[[
* [[Playing
* Maria in ''[[
* In ''[[
* ''[[Kingdom Hearts (
* In ''[[Bomberman
* We also have {{spoiler|Marx}} from ''[[
* The Soda Poppers from ''[[The Adventures of Sam
* In ''[[
* {{spoiler|1=LeChuck}} in ''[[
* In the alternate timeline of ''[[
* ''[[
** ''Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean'' does a very unusual form of this. {{spoiler|You know Kalas, ''the main character?'' He's actually been working for [[The Man Behind the Man]] this whole time.}}
** ''Origins'' does a more standard version: {{spoiler|Quaestor Verus is far worse than Lord Baelheit could ever be...}}
* The ''[[
* In ''[[
* Happens practically [[Once Per Episode]] in the ''[[Dead Space (
* ''[[
* In ''[[
* ''[[River City Girls]]'', from the ''[[Kunio-Kun]]'' series; {{spoiler|Misako and Kyoko seem to be, right from the start, on the Grey side of a [[Grey and Black Morality]] conflict, but at least they seem well-intentioned, tearing River City apart to save their boyfriends from some horrendous fate. As it turns out, however, Kunio and Riki barely even know them and were never kidnapped; the two girls are [[Stalkers With a Crush]] and at most, [[A Lighter Shade of Black]]. Although, if you manage to unlock the hidden ending, Kunio and Riki at least offer to take them to dinner.}}
** The sequel {{spoiler|upgrades them to [[Byronic Hero]] status at least, as the threat they oppose is genuine.}}
* ''[[Braid]]'' combines this with {{spoiler|[[Tomato in the Mirror]]. The game fools you into thinking the protagonist - Tim - is the hero trying to save a [[Damsel in Distress]]. In truth, he is a [[Villain Protagonist]] trying to capture her, something you do not learn until the final level. All the traps you have to evade were, in fact, set by her and the [[Hero Antagonist]].}}
* James from ''[[Silent Hill 2]]'', kinda sorta, although also [[The Atoner]]. He claims at first he is searching through this hellish place after receiving a letter from his wife, whom he believed was dead, having succumbed to some disease. In truth, James killed his wife (a [[Mercy Kill]], at least, the part about the disease being true) and all the dark monsters he must face are embodiments of his guilt, created to force him to come to terms with what he's done. Success earns him redemption as a reward; failure results in horrific death and damnation as a punishment.
* In ''[[Mortal Kombat 9]]'' and onward, Sindel was a hard character to like, given her part in the slaughter of the Earthrealm Warriors; not helped by her attitude in ''X'' where she tries to convince Cassie she is loving mother to Kitana (who is now a reverent due to what happened) and "offers" the same "upbringing" to Cassie. Despite this, fans still considered her more victim than villain, given her seemingly tragic backstory: forced to marry Shao Kahn after he invaded Edienia, murdered Sindel’s husband Jerrod, and eventually committing suicide from grief, then later resurrected as a [[Brainwashed and Crazy]] slave, forced to become a living weapon. How can you condemn a woman who has been through that? Well, in the DLC story mode Aftermath, all that is proven to be a lie. Shang Tsung convinces the good guys to resurrect her precisely because her heroic, non-brainwashed personality will help ensure their success against Kronika. What she does instead is join with Shao Kahn and, between them, help Shang Tsung basically wreck everything the good guys have been trying to accomplish for their own ambitions while proclaiming genuine love for one another. As this happens it's revealed that her death was ''not'' a suicide, but murder by sorcerer Quan Chi; she was not forced to marry Shao Kahn but did so of her own will, much preferring how he would flaunt his power and privilege in true [[Evil Overlord]] fashion to Jerrod's being a ruler for and of the people. Worst of all, Jerrod was killed not by Shao Kahn, but by Sindel herself. Having revealed her true self as a beast even darker than she was as a reverent, Sindel lost ''almost''<ref>Some fans blame the developers for a bad storyline, and still hope future installments in the series might change the continuity to a more benign Sindel</ref> all the support she had.
* Wesker, from ''[[Resident Evil (video game)|Resident Evil]]''. Even if you're going into the first game "blind" and know nothing about the franchise's overall lore, the leader of the STARS team (which the heroes are members of) is pretty suspicious. He [[Sunglasses at Night|looks evil]], [[Evil Sounds Deep| sounds evil]], tends to disappear just when he'd be useful and [[Bad Liar|never gives straight answers as to why]]; frankly, it comes as no surprise to most players when they find out he ''is'' evil, although he gets far ''more'' evil in subsequent games.
* In ''[[Shantae|Shantae and the Seven Sirens]]'', the heroine meets Armor Baron, a brother of her old foe Ammo Baron. Armor Baron insists he's more benevolent than his greedy industrialist brother, even offering to make "genie armor" for Shantae and Sky, so long as [[Fetch Quest|Shantae brings him the materials]]. However, it turns out Armor Baron is, if anything, even worse than his brother, as the "genie armor" turns out to be restraints that he uses to sell the pair to Squid Baron as "life-size" collectible action figures. He's also a [[Dirty Coward]], and if Shantae confronts him later, he pays her off to avoid getting his clock cleaned.
== Web Comics ==
* In ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'', {{spoiler|Sasha}} has always been working for HeretiCorp - not a literal guide, but subtly guiding the heroes to do what HeretiCorp wanted nonetheless. Do an archive binge and see the subtle clues that were there all along.
== Web Original ==
* In ''[[
== Western Animation ==
* In ''[[Totally Spies
* In one episode of ''[[
* In season two of ''[[
* ''[[
* Joe Tabootie from ''[[
* The Angry Cop from ''[[The Goode Family]]'' episode "Gerold's Way or The Highway".
* Gobsmack in ''[[
* Vlad, the Russian teacher from ''[[Shuriken School]]'' was the main antagonist in the episode "Class Photo".
* Peppermint Larry from ''[[The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack]]'.
* {{spoiler|Cheif}} and {{spoiler|Lok}} from ''[[Tak and
* In his first appearance on ''[[
* In season 2 of ''[[
{{reflist}}
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