Exclusively Evil: Difference between revisions

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** Also, they are pretty much demons, whose stated goal is to [[Omnicidal Maniac|end existence]]. It's just how they were created. Oddly enough, the Dragons, servants of the gods, are oftentimes [[Black and Gray Morality|morally ambiguous]]. {{spoiler|This moral ambiguity is a major point of the entire 3rd season.}} Throw in that [[Lovable Traitor|Xellos]], a Mazoku, can sometimes be [[Affably Evil|friendly and helpful]] when not actively trying to end existence, you get a fair amount of moral ambiguity. At one point Xellos {{spoiler|helps save the world, because he [[The Only One Allowed to Defeat You|and the Mazoku of the ''Slayers'' dimension want to end it themselves]]}}.
*** Played utterly straight with trolls and other monsters (it is based on ''[[Dungeons and Dragons|D&D]]'', after all).
* It is [[Justified Trope|justified]] in ''[[Mazinger Z]]'': The [[Mook|Mooks]] are zombies revived thanks to cybernetic implants by the [[Big Bad]] Dr. Hell. Since he mechanized his brains, wiped his minds out to erase any memory of their former lives and any shred of independant thought and programmed them to be absolutely and unquestionably loyal and obedient, then you have they pretty much have no choice other than being [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]].
** ''[[Great Mazinger]]:'' The Mykene play with this trope. The [[Robeast|Warrior Monsters]] are [[Humongous Mecha]] with the head of a Mykene soldier implanted in the giant mechanical body. Since the soldiers are indoctrinated to attack and wipe out anything non-related to the Mykene civilization, the trope is [[Justified Trope|justified]]. On the other hand, the commanders of the army display different personalities and even honorable qualities (specially Ankoku Daishogun), and even though they are not portrayed like ''good'', they are not portrayed like proud of being ''evil'', but like a proud race of warriors want to return to the surface world after being forced to [[Beneath the Earth|living underground for millennia]].
** ''[[UFO Robo Grendizer]]'': At the beginning it looks the trope is being played straight, but finaly it is averted. Several of the Vegans are decent people and many of them are given redeeming qualities.
* ''[[Combattler V]]'': For a while it seemed the trope was being played straight, but it was ultimately averted. The Campbellians were attacking Earth were not representative of the entire race, but a rebel fraction led by leaders constantly indoctrinated their troops into believing it is HUMANS who are [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]]. The most part of the Campbellians were not presented as evil or harbouring ill will towards humans, and actually at the end {{spoiler|Deus, Campbellians' true leader, came to Earth to stop [[Big Bad]] Empress Janera personally, and vowed he would help to rebuild Earth what Janera destroyed.}}
* Ditto for the mazoku from ''[[Violinist of Hameln]]''. There actually are {{spoiler|two exceptions}}, but the rest pretty much feel that their calling is to torment humanity [[For the Evulz]]. (Sure, their whole race exists through magical power gained by {{spoiler|consuming human blood and souls, but regular mazoku cannot extract it}}, so [[For the Evulz|evulz]] still is the driving reason for their atrocities.)
* Subverted in ''[[Chrono Crusade]]'' (although differently, depending on which version you're watching). In the manga, this seems to be the case at first (with Chrono being the only exception), but it turns out that the Sinners are more complex than that, and even among other demons {{spoiler|most of them are simply following orders in a corrupt culture that can't even remember how they got that way in the first place, making them practically victims of a bureaucracy who simply refused to question WHY things were the way they were}}. In the anime, the Sinners are portrayed as more blatantly evil, while the rest of the demons seem contractually obligated to {{spoiler|play "villains" for God in order to keep humanity in line}}, making them a bit more like [[Punch Clock Villain|Punch Clock Villains]].
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== Comic Books ==
* The Wolrog Empire in ''[[Strontium Dog]]'' is composed entirely of [[Neutral Evil]] baddies.
* [[Big Bad|Torquemada]] in ''[[Nemesis the Warlock]]'' claims that all aliens are [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]], although even he privately acknowledges that this is a lie given to justify the extreme [[Fantastic Racism]] of his regime. The series, in fact, spent much of it's early run subverting the common application of this trope to the more grotesque aliens.
* Subverted in [[DC Comics]] of the early-to-mid [[Silver Age]]. That era almost invariably depicted alien cultures as having made a ''choice'' between [[Good Republic, Evil Empire|Good Republic and Evil Empire]]. Every alien race was assumed capable of both "good" and "evil", and "evil" regimes could always be overthrown, while "good" ones could always be subverted.
* [[Marvel Comics]] has several examples:
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== Films -- Animation ==
* In ''[[The Tale of Despereaux]]'', even the narrator states that rats are always greedy, dirty, unheroic, and terrified of the light, with the exception of Rascuro {{spoiler|who falls to the dark side for a while after he tries ''not'' to be [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]].}}
* The vikings of the film ''[[How to Train Your Dragon (animation)|How to Train Your Dragon]]'' initially believe that all dragons are horrible monsters who will ALWAYS go for the kill. {{spoiler|If the subversion is a spoiler to you, stop reading TV Tropes. Your ability to anticipate narrative is beyond saving.}}
* Disney applied this trope to [[Mulan|Huns]] and [[The Lion King|hyenas]].
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== Gamebooks ==
* Both used and subverted in the ''[[Lone Wolf]]'' franchise. Those beings created directly by [[Big Bad|Naar]], the [[God of Evil|God of Darkness]], such as Agarash and the Darklords, have his essence in place of the souls that living creatures possess, accounting for their [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]] nature. Their servants, such as the orc-like Giaks, are evil only because they have never had any other choice, having been bred and used as warrior-slaves for generations. They do not know love, kindness, or compassion because they have never seen it, and readers are swiftly led to feel pity for them even as they kill and torture their way across the heroes' homelands.
** Also, anyone described as "swarthy" is ''not to be trusted''.
* Orcs and goblins in the ''[[Fighting Fantasy]]'' books are always evil. Dark elves are an interesting case - in most books, they are portrayed as powerful and very, very evil, but in ''Night Dragon'', they become allies against the [[Eviler Than Thou|eviler]] [[Big Bad|Night Dragon]]. The first one the player meets explains that he doesn't want to see his entire race destroyed, just as the PC, a human, would not want to see all human wiped out.
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** Not to mention the various extradimensional creatures, such as the demons and the Dread, neither of which have ever been shown doing anything ''besides'' trying to destroy the world and devour all life.
*** They're justified by being too alien to life on our plane to coexist peacefully with it.
** The Dasati in the ''Darkwar'' subseries are introduced as [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]], to the point that their society hunts down and kills their own pregnant women and children to ensure that only the strongest will survive their attacks, and there are no doctors or healers. However, we quickly learn that there is a secret society known as the White that is working to reform their culture, and they are not irredeemably evil.
** The one race in the Riftwar-verse that is utterly and irredeemably evil is the Valheru, a.k.a. The Dragon Lords. Beings of nigh-godlike power, who ride dragons throughout the multiverse, looting whatever worlds capture their fancy, and killing and eating all manner of other creatures, including each other. While not sadistic, the Valheru are power-hungry, completely immoral, and so powerful that they cannot be allowed to be free...well, anywhere.
*** Though the novels themselves point out that the Valheru aren't so much ''evil'' as they are ''other'' - they come from a time when [[Blue and Orange Morality|good and evil were meaningless concepts]], unlike the modern world after new gods arose, and as such, can't really be allowed free reign anywhere in it because they upset the balance of the universe just by doing what Valheru do (which is to say, whatever they please).
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** It doesn't help that Lovecraft treats actual races in a very similar manner (read the descriptions of the cultists in ''The Call of Cthulhu'' for a fine example), besides creating several inbred communities in rural America and the infamous fishmen of Innsmouth, who stand out as an ugly, racist metaphor concerning immigrants. The entire basis of Lovecraft's horror is set firmly upon the idea that anything alien or different is terrifyingly evil and he was apparently rather open about his xenophobia, even going so far as to tell his Jewish wife that he thought mixed marriages were a bad idea.
*** To be fair, Lovecraft also had no trouble in writing about degenerate, barbaric white people, and did it with far greater frequency than lauding against the blacks.
** His racism aside, the [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]] nature of the beings in the Lovecraft mythos was due to the fact that their psychology and morality were normal to them, but [[Blue and Orange Morality|completely alien to humans]].
** To answer the question: yes, in ''[[The Laundry Series|The Jennifer Morgue]]'' by [[Charles Stross]].
*** Heck, in ''The Fuller Memorandum'', it turns out that one of them is working for The Laundy itself and does a phenomenal job there.
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* The Others from ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'', from what little we've seen of them. Some fans find this disappointing, considering the otherwise heavily gray morality of the rest of the series's cast.
** The gray-ish morality is still somewhat present here, since the [[Arch Enemy]] of the [[God of Evil]] that the Others' serve is an extreme example of [[Good Is Not Nice]], and to a ''lot'' of characters it even looks more a case of [[Evil Versus Evil]]. That said, there are plenty of characters in ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' who are and always have been [[Complete Monster|blacker than black]], such as [[The Caligula|Joffrey]], [[The Brute|Gregor Clegane]], and [[Torture Technician|Roose]] and [[Serial Killer|Ramsay Bolton]], amongst others, are arguably even ''worse'' than the Others, in terms of the evil they have actually commited on-screen.
* Averted or perhaps subverted with the [[Dark Is Edgy|dark]] [[The Fair Folk|court]] in ''Wicked Lovely''. They often seem to be [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]], but as we learn more about them, it is increasingly revealed that this is not the case.
** They aren't evil, just cruel. They have to be, they feed off the darker emotions (rage, lust, fear, pain, etc).
{{quote|"We are what we are, Niall. Neither as good nor as evil as others paint us." ~ Irial.}}
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*** In fact, it's the authorities (read Vetinari, Margolotta, Ridcully) that think once the truth gets out, both Nutt and the public will go insane from the knowledge, resulting in much violence from both sides. They end up ''really'' underestimating just how much weirdness the Ankh-Morpork public is used to (with most of the weirdness originating from the authorities themselves). The most interest Nutt gets is a fashion magazine article (everyone else is ''far'' more interested in the newest supermodel to hit town).
*** It also plays with {{spoiler|the notion that orcs are grotesquely tortured and mutated elves; in this case, yes, except replace "elves" with humans, because nasty as elves are, there's no one for inventive cruelty quite like a human}}.
* In ''[[The Guardians]]'', both the nosferatu and the demons are [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]]. Justified in that the demons are [[Fallen Angel|FallenAngels]] who followed Lucifer in his rebellion against God, and the nosferatu are the angels who did not choose a side and were cast down to Earth.
* The Garuns in the [[Great Alta Saga]].
* From ''[[The Dresden Files]]'':
** All three kinds of vampires are regarded as this by the White Council, and it's largely accurate. Black Court vampires are pretty much straight-up killing machines, Red Court are vicious predators who can at least put on a veneer of humanity to manipulate their victims, but are completely dominated by bloodlust. White Court are a subversion (or possibly deconstruction) - they are essentially composed of a human and demon in symbiosis, and while the demon is an [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]] predator, the human is capapble of good or evil (though resisting the demon when it's hungry is nigh impossible, so most White Court vampires never even bother - with rare exceptions like Thomas).
** Ghouls are vicious, predatory creatures who tend to be the supernatural community's go-to Psychos for Hire.
** Winter Court fairies aren't neccesarily ''evil'' ([[Blue and Orange Morality]] is in full swing with ''all'' fairies) but they're pretty uniformly harsh, unforgiving, and dangerous, even when they're legitimately trying to be helpful.
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* The orgs of [[Power Rangers Wild Force]]
* Cylons in the original ''[[Battlestar Galactica Classic|Battlestar Galactica]]''. The [[Battlestar Galactica Reimagined|2000s Battlestar]] is [[Grey and Gray Morality|considerably more nuanced]].
** Indeed, the logical impossibility of an [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]] race is Helo's argument against {{spoiler|the proposed genocide of the Cylons}} in the episode "A Measure of Salvation". He really hammers home the point when talking to his Cylon wife, after she says she "chose to be a person."
{{quote|"You were a person before you put on that uniform, okay? You were a person before I fell in love with you."}}
** The Cylons in the original series were not created by humans, but by an entirely different and now-extinct race. They were more like a weapon that got out of control than a species in their own right, as the newer series's Cylons were.
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** It's worth noting that their isolationist culture is the main obstacle for any chance of a peaceful resolution. Also, their revenge isn't aimed against all the people or races of the galaxy -- they actually tried to seek help from the Minbari when their homeworld was destroyed, but turned against them when they realized just how big a part they played in defeating the Shadows.
** Also, the Shadows' intent was to SOW chaos on other races but, themselves, are not inherently chaotic. They're methodical, patient, and organized.
* Subverted in ''[[Brimstone (TV series)|Brimstone]]''; the escaped souls are often evil, and [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil|one would expect them to be]], but at least a few were shown to have been genuinely good people who made horrific decisions, or. in at least one case, were doing what they believed to be the best, only to then be judged by another religion's values, after dying. One was even so genuinely contrite and seeking redemption {{spoiler|that he was taken to heaven instead of sent back to hell upon his recapture}}.
** The show ''[[Reaper]]'', which has a similar premise, has an episode introducing a soul who was fighting to control murderous impulses. He eventually acknowledged that the best thing was for him to go back to Hell until he sorted himself out.
* In ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' and ''[[Angel]]'', this applies to vampires, who lose their human souls (and thus, their sense of right and wrong) along with their humanity. Interestingly, this isn't true of other kinds of demons, especially in ''Angel'' and the later seasons of ''Buffy;'' some are always evil, but some may be neutral, and there are apparently even "good demons" dwelling on other planes of existence.
** This is an unusual case because, even though the show's vampires are explicitly [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]], ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' gives many of them engaging and unique personalities, undercutting the usual (narrative) reason for this trope, which is to provide a supply of faceless, evil [[Mooks]] who can be killed without [[Moral Dissonance]].
*** Further subverted by characters like Spike and Harmony - despite being evil, both were capable of caring about human beings (the Summers girls and occasionally the witches for Spike; Cordelia and Fred for Harmony) and being volutarily helpful towards those they liked. Harmony even stopped killing people so that she could advance in a workplace run by the "good guys".
*** This also leads to [[Fridge Brilliance]], as vampires and demons were presented as [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]], but became more and more grey as the series went on. The clincher? They were presented to Buffy this way through the Watchers council, a conspiracy that was slowly revealed to be corrupt and full of [[Knight Templar]] tendencies at the same time that complexities began showing up in the initial "demons are [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]]" mantra.
* ''[[Doctor Who]]'' has a few of these, although they usually have a [[Justified Trope|reason]]. For example:
** The Daleks: mutated aliens in travel machines who are only capable of hate and negative emotions due to being bred that way by [[Mad Scientist]] Davros. They simply are made to believe Daleks are a supreme race and, [[Doctor Who/Recap/S31 /E12 The Pandorica Opens|unless events outside of their control are threatening reality with oblivion]], everyone else deserves to die. [[Scary Dogmatic Aliens|They're]] [[Recycled in Space|Space]] [[A Nazi by Any Other Name|Nazis]] (in the serial "[[Doctor Who/Recap/S12 E4/E04 Genesis of the Daleks|Genesis of the Daleks]]", we learn that Davros "removed the brain cells of the conscience" from the proto-Daleks -- a feat that would be, to put it mildly, challenging). In fact, the Daleks are so evil that [[Doctor Who/NS/Recap/NS/S1 E6/E06 Dalek|when one of them realizes he's developing a conscience, he decides to commit suicide]].
*** In "[[Doctor Who/Recap/S4 E9/E09 The Evil of the Daleks|The Evil of the Daleks]]", a sub-species of "Good Daleks" is created by the Doctor infecting them with the "Human Factor"; that is, human emotions and a sense of conscience. This results in a full-scale civil war between the two factions which allegedly destroyed the entire species. Terry Nation, the Daleks' creator, had planned to license them out to a US network for their own show, and expected that they would not be available for ''Doctor Who'' for the foreseeable future ([[wikipedia:The Evil of the Daleks|the idea went nowhere]]). When the Daleks eventually returned five years later, some dialogue was filmed explaining that the "Good Daleks" had been wiped out, but this was edited out, leaving their canon fate ambiguous.
*** A story in [[Doctor Who Magazine]]'s Eighth Doctor comics, "Children of the Revolution", was all about the Doctor and Izzy meeting the Human Factor Daleks, who survived and were hiding peacefully in the oceans of a planet about to be colonized by humans. {{spoiler|The story ends up with the entire Dalek colony sacrificing themselves to stop the Big Bad, though.}}
*** The Daleks' evil was hammered home '''really hard''' in "[[Doctor Who/NS/Recap/NS/S3 E5/E05 Evolution of the Daleks|Evolution of the Daleks]]".
{{quote|'''Solomon:''' Daleks, ain't we the same? Underneath, ain't we all kin? See, I've just discovered, this past day, that God's universe is a thousand times the size I thought it was. And that scares me. Oh, yeah, terrifies me right down to the bone. [[Hope Spot|*Hopeful music starts playing* ]] But surely it's got to give me hope, hope that maybe, together, we can make a better tomorrow. So, I beg you, now, if you have any compassion in your hearts, then you'll meet with us, and stop this fightin'. Well... what do you say?<br />
'''Dalek:''' Exterminate! [[Black Dude Dies First|*Shoots him* ]] }}
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* The Borg in the later ''[[Star Trek]]'' series.
** Except for individuals like Hugh, and some kind of subconscious [[The Resistance|resistance]] on Voyager.
** The [[Star Trek: The Original Series|original series]] played with this trope in regards to Klingons. Most Klingon captains tend to fall into this, but some episodes (notably "The Day of the Dove") make a point to show that this is more a perception/stereotype our heroes have of them than an actual truth. Klingons are "the enemy", but not necessarily [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]].
*** Though episodes like "Day of the Dove" were the exception rather than the rule. [[Star Trek V: The Final Frontier|The fifth movie based on the series]] was another exception. With [[Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country|the sixth original series film]] and ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation|Star Trek the Next Generation]]'', portraying Klingons this way was abandoned altogether. Likewise, Ferengi were portrayed this way on ''Next Generation'', but not ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine|Deep Space Nine]]''.
** Initially played straight with the Jem'Hadar, with an infant Jem'Hadar who quickly turns out exactly how everyone warned Odo he would. But eventually averted with a few individuals later, who show some traits of [[Proud Warrior Race]] (mostly these are [[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness|immediately killed]]).
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** The ''[[Eberron]]'' campaign setting for ''D&D'' 3.5 has gone so far as to explicitly discourage the use of the alignment section of a monster's stats, even for those who are "tied" to a certain alignment. The core book also makes clear that "evil" does not equal "kill on sight" -- the tavern owner overcharges for draft and cheats on his wife; are you gonna put the sword to his neck like you would with Lord Dark Von Doompantsington XIII?
** On that last note, the supplements ''Book of Vile Darkness'' and ''Exalted Deeds'' make it clear that neither good nor evil can be defined as "nice and naughty", and those that don't devote their life to either actually qualify as neutral. Presumably, this is why a rogue isn't necessarily evil, even though theft is frowned upon.
** Players themselves seem to [[Special Snowflake Syndrome|like subverting]] [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]] tropes (or embracing them) simply because the "evil" races and cultures are [[Evil Is Cool|much more interesting]] than the generic "protagonist" races. As GM and ''Dungeons & Dragons'' translator Andrey Lensky wrote long ago:
{{quote|... my experience suggests: write in Monster Manual that among 100 cambions one is Good, and this one will get into adventure.}}
** The Drow of the ''Forgotten Realms'' setting and the Draconians of the ''[[Dragonlance]]'' setting are classic examples of "evil races". However, as the plot went on, [[My Species Doth Protest Too Much|individuals arose]] -- specifically, [[Rule of Cool]] scimitar-wielding (and heavily parodied in just about every single fantasy webcomic, due to his being heavily copied by virtually every fanboy at one point or another) Drizzt. Initially based on fanboyism, entire counter-cultures have arisen of differing alignment (as the page quote points out). In the Realms, most "good" Drow are the worshipers of Eilistraee, a goddess of the moon and hunt, whose (almost [[Always Female]]) clerics worship their goddess by [[Fan Service|performing a sword dance naked]]. Though the clerics of the [[Evil God|Evil Goddess]] were all female also.
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*** Illithids, along with several other non-Outsider (Outsiders who are always evil tend to be that because they literally are made from evil) creatures that fall under this trope, have a good justification for being 'Always' Evil: they have to be, to survive. Not only does their life-cycle demand the sacrifice of sapient humanoids for new illithid to come to be, but they gain nourishment from sentience. Eating the brains of non-sapient animals helps, but not all that much. End result: a species that, to survive as a species and to a lesser degree as individuals, have to consistently and repeatedly act in ways that the rules of the universe classify as evil.
* As of the most recent edition, ''[[Gamma World]]'' has actually turned several monster species that used to be relatively peaceful in earlier editions (like the Menarls, Grens, Sleeths, and Orlens) into this.
* ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]] Fantasy'' is rather dark for a fantasy setting, though not quite to the extent of ''[[Warhammer 40000]]''. There are actually a few good guys. Evil races include Demons, Beastmen, Orcs, Goblins, Undead, Skaven, Dark Elves, and Ogres. Also, one of the few times in which the "chaotic" part of [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]] plays a part, as pretty much every evil race can be traced back to mutations caused by Chaos, which is a powerful force in the Warhammer world.
** Ogres are on this list for a somewhat different reason than other races. They live in a society that is based only on one rule. Might makes right. Their god could easily be a weird mix of Slaanesh and Nugle, with gluttony and avarice being main virtues ogres value. Despite the fact that ogres seemingly follow many rules, one of their special characters had his hands chopped off for the crime of eating his leaders gnoblars, despite him being shaman for their god. What makes Warhammer ogres chaotic is the fact that while ogres can be negotiated with succesfully, unlike orcs and forces of chaos, ogres don't feel bad for eating you a second after the contract is done. One of their tribes actually value iron more than gold for the simple reason that with gold they can buy a weapon of iron, but with a weapon of iron they can have all of your gold.
* For reasons beyond, everyone in ''[[Warhammer 40000]]''. Tyranids want to eat everything organic, no exceptions. Necrons are also all committed to their goal of killing all organic life. [[Black and Grey Morality|On the other hand, everything that is sentient gets a chance to be good, misinformed, or at least a justification to how they got there.]] Still, however, [[Crapsack World|it's only a spark lit in deep space at most.]]
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** Then there are the Orks, who just have no fear of death, think killing is loads of fun, and aren't smart enough to realize that the other species disagree (though the [[Blood Knight|other]] [[Omnicidal Maniac|species]] themselves [[Manipulative Bastard|don't]] [[Complete Monster|help]]). In fact, in any ''non''-[[Crapsack World]], they'd probably be a pretty big subversion of this trope.
* Carrying on from the [[H.P. Lovecraft|HP Lovecraft]] example up in Literature, many, many creatures in ''[[Cthulhu Tech]]'' are invariably sociopathic mass-murderers. For example, the [[Shapeshifting Squick|Dhohanoids]] are almost invariably driven violently insane by the Rite of Transfiguration.
* ''[[Rifts]]'' uses this trope about as much as everyone above, but also provides the interesting case of the Faustians in the ''[[Space Opera|Phase World]]'' setting: An [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]] race that got on the wrong side of a war against an [[The Empire|Evil Empire]] even worse than them, forcing them to run to [[The Federation|The Consortium of Civilized Worlds]] to survive. Being exceptionally [[Genre Savvy]] that day, the CCW put the Faustians on a rather strict probationary membership, leaving the Faustians to harshly police their own bad sides. If even one of them pulls off any large-scale villainy, they ''all'' get booted out and right back into the waiting fangs of the Empire.
** There is also a possible justification in an NPC's history in ''Rifts Mercenaries'': a "renegade" Tauton's story talks about how he was basically ''taught'' to hate and be almost mindlessly aggressive against other races. He didn't like it, and got out as soon as he could.
* The Steve Jackson Games' RPG ''[[In Nomine]]'' happily guts this trope alive: it probably has more non-evil "Bright Lilim" than real, evil ''demon'' Lilim.
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** Even in those games, there are subversions: ''[[Metroid]]'' featured the baby Metroid of the second and third games, ''[[Mega Man (video game)|Mega Man]]'' eventually had Proto Man, {{spoiler|and even the very first game in ''[[The Legend of Zelda (video game)|The Legend of Zelda]]'' series had a few Moblins go AWOL and ask Link to leave them alone in exchange for a few Rupees. IT'S A SECRET TO EVERYBODY}}.
** In the [[Mega Man X]] series, most/all of the enemies were originally good; it is the Zero Virus/Sigma Virus that rewrites their programming, causing them to go maverick (though, since the Reploids do -- at least those uninfected -- have free will, it's possible that some did choose to be evil). Ironically, one of the few good robots that actually gets screen time apart from X is Zero, and he was originally programmed to be evil.
** Also nicely subverted in ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess|The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess]]'', where the [[An Aesop|Aesop]] was that [[Dark Is Not Evil|not everything that looks evil necessarily is]]; the Bulblins certain seem to all be annoying little [[Our Goblins Are DifferentWickeder|goblins]] who kill you just for the heck of it, but you eventually find out that {{spoiler|King Bulblin, the [[Recurring Boss]], is actually quite intelligent. After you beat him at Hyrule Castle, he defers to you as a [[Worthy Opponent]].}}
{{quote|{{spoiler|'''King Bulblin:''' Enough. [[I Fight for the Strongest Side|I follow the strongest side!]]... That is all I have ever known.}}
{{spoiler|'''Midna:''' Link... He... he spoke.}} }}
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* The first two ''[[Warcraft]]'' games used to have the monster races be more malicious, the main example being [[Our Orcs Are Different|the Orcs]]. As the games progressed, the Orcs became likable protagonists with their own culture. The canceled game and resulting book, ''Lord of the Clans'', explain how the Orcs redeemed themselves and became a [[Proud Warrior Race]], while the ''Warcraft 3'' [[All There in the Manual|manual]] states that they had been corrupted by the [[Demonic Invaders|Burning Legion]]. [[The Undead|The Scourge]] (and the Burning Legion) became the bad guys for the game, while the Horde and the Alliance even banded together to defeat them. By this point, the only things that ''started off'' evil are the demons and possibly the [[Eldritch Abomination|Old Gods]]. Even some of the demonic races have had some friendly members.
** In another example, the Eredar were originally represented as an irredeemably evil race of demons who corrupted the mightiest warrior among the [[Precursors|Titans]] into the [[Big Bad]] and enslaved the Orcs. Inexplicably, they became a race of honorable beings who were corrupted ''by'' the [[Big Bad]]'s own festering corruption. This happened through a [[Retcon]] in the ''World of Warcraft'' [[Expansion Pack]] ''Burning Crusade'', after the third game and its expansion as well as four books and a trilogy presented them as ''completely'' evil. The creator of ''Warcraft'', Chris Metzen, has admitted this was something of a train wreck, but sticks by his decision.
** However, many enemy races, particularly the Gnolls, the Harpies, the Troggs, nearly all demons, the Naga, and the Murlocs ''are'' (almost) [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]]. Most of them have individual exceptions or motivations, though.
** The Black Dragonflight is this after Neltharion became corrupted and his name was changed to Deathwing, as they enjoy killing and only follow orders from dragons strong enough to kill them. The other dragonflights consider them beyond redemption. {{spoiler|The one possible exception being an uncorrupted black dragon egg.}}
** Some demons like the Nathrezim (aka. the [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Dread Lords]]), Ered'ruin (Doomguards), Sayaad (Incubi), and Mo'arg(felguards seem to have always been evil. The entire race is so evil that their ''mere existence'' convinced [[Big Bad|Sargeras]] that the Titans' mission to bring order to creation was futile.
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*** Again, this one fits the "artificially created" part, as they've been twisted by the Reapers and are mind-controlled by them.
**** Furthering this point, in the From Ashes DLC for Mass Effect 3, Collectors are seen as nothing more than husks. It is possible that all communication is done by {{spoiler|the Eldritch Abomination Harbinger}}.
* Subverted in ''[[Disgaea]]''. Although the demons in this series openly claim that they're [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]], [[Dark Is Not Evil]] and [[Poke the Poodle]] come to mind. They're closer to [[Chaotic Neutral]] than anything else.
* ''[[Dragon Quest]]'' games often subvert this by having friendly NPCs of the same species of [[Random Encounter|randomly encountered]] monsters, such as [[Guest Star Party Member]] Healie in ''[[Dragon Quest IV]]'' and an entire town in ''[[Dragon Quest VIII]]''.
* ''[[The Elder Scrolls]]'' averts this for the most part, as none of the various races and creatures are inherently evil, not even the Vampires. Daedra are probably Always Chaotic Neutral, though.
** Played straight with the Dragons in ''[[Skyrim]]''. According to {{spoiler|Paarthunax, the one exception to this rule,}} all Dragons are inherently tyrannical and seek power. {{spoiler|And even he has to resist the urge to revert to form everyday.}}
** The Falmer weren't originally like this, but they have become twisted monsters after suffering for centuries under the rule of the Dwemer.
* ''[[Fable (video game series)|Fable]]'' has [[Our Goblins Are DifferentWickeder|Hobbes]], who are rather genial to people who join up with them...and happen to reproduce by {{spoiler|transmogrifying children. }}.
* The Super Mutants were portrayed as this in the first ''[[Fallout 1]]'', mainly because their creator was the [[Big Bad]]. In all subsequent games, however, they're just as capable of good or evil as any other race.
** On the other hand, the Master really and truly thought he was doing what was right.
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*** It's Lawful. [[Lawful Evil|The other part of the default hobgoblin alignment]].
*** The question then would be: "Would that same goblin push a Good aligned character under the falling boulder?"
** {{spoiler|Doubly}} subverted when the Order of the Stick first runs into the Linear Guild. Vaarsuvius's counterpart is a dark elf named Zz'dtri who {{spoiler|claims that he}} isn't evil, even though his race is [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]]. Nale explains that once Dark Elves became a player race, they became Chaotic Good and wanted to ward off their former evil reputations. {{spoiler|Ultimately, the Linear Guild (Zz'dtri included, since they needed the OOTS to touch the sigils) turns out to be evil.}}
** The Darth Vaarsuvius arc explores this as well. Vaarsuvius casually killed a black dragon in the Wooden Forest during the sidequest to get Roy's starmetal. No one had any moral qualms about it (not even [[Knight Templar|Miko]]), because black dragons are [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]], and it even named a [[Color Coded for Your Convenience|trope]]! {{spoiler|Much later, the dragon's much more powerful mother shows up when Vaarsuvius is alone, and she is}} ''{{spoiler|pissed.}}'' {{spoiler|She very nearly murders V's spouse and children, and V retaliates by using an uber-spell to wipe out 1/4 of the dragon's entire species.}} In the commentary, Burlew discusses the implications of this. The magnitude of this act was to show that if ''this'' was wrong, then it's no less wrong to invade a dragon's home and murder it for its treasure, regardless of its moral alignment.
** What's more, two later comics show the full unpleasant ramifications of V's actions. {{spoiler|By casting that Familicide spell, V not only killed off 1/4 of the black dragon population, but many [[Half Human Hybrids]] that were actually [[Chaotic Good]], as well as their (relatively) innocent full-human mothers. The comics are [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0842.html here] and [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0843.html here].}}
* Rats are Always Evil in ''Freaks N Squeeks''. It goes with [[What Measure Is a Non-Cute?]] -- most of the cast are mice, with the similarly small and cute shrews standing in for Jews.
* Demons in ''[[Dan and Mab's Furry Adventures]]'' are repeatedly stated to be [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]] by seemingly-reliable sources...but [[All There in the Manual|the Demonology 101 pages state that this is not actually the case, just the popular perception of them and most other Creatures.]]
** Cubi, on the other hand -- which [[Our Demons Are Different|are not actually demons in the setting]] -- are quite explicitly stated ''not'' to be this in the comic itself, despite reputation -- the evil ones just get all the press, because torturing or seducing people makes for a more exciting story than helping sick children.
** The fae, on the other hand, seem to be Always [[Chaotic Neutral]].
* Some of the early humor of ''[[Yet Another Fantasy Gamer Comic]]'' depended upon this concept, as the comic has its roots entirely in older editions of ''D&D''. For example, when the beholder Bob cheats on [[Improbable Species Compatibility|his goblin girlfriend Gren]], he tries to justify it by pointing out that he's evil. Gren points out that they're both [[Lawful Evil]], and goes on to cheat on Bob extensively, as is her right as the wronged party under goblin law. Most of the monster characters are so [[Affably Evil]], though, that it sometimes feels jarring when they get around to doing some ''really'' bad stuff.
* ''[[Tech Infantry]]'' has the Bugs, created as a living biological weapon by a race of [[Sufficiently Advanced Aliens]] to use as a [[Redshirt Army]] against a race of alien [[Body Snatcher|Body Snatchers]] who are themselves very much [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]]. And any organization in this universe with "Security" as part of its name is pretty much guaranteed to be evil.
* ''[[The Challenges of Zona]]'' has the [[Our Orcs Are Different|Orc stand-ins]], the Urtts, who [[Word of God]] assures us are all just plain evil, and we shouldn't give any pity to the ones maimed, charred, and dissected by the Heroes. Yes, even their [[Half-Human Hybrid|half-human bastards]].
* Elves in ''[[8-Bit Theater|Eight Bit Theater]]'' are all racist, genocidal narcissists whose history has been described as a lovesong to bloodshed and themselves. Their arrogance is also unjustified, as they prove to be no better than other races (for example, having technology on par with other races despite a 9,000 year head start), something that Black Mage and Red Mage tell Thief, the Elven Prince. Their national anthem begins "We're a race of total bastards." An anthem they ''stole''.
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* Parodied by way of [[Not So Different]] in [http://badgods.com/orc.html this] comic by Lore Sjöberg.
* In ''[http://www.harkovast.com/?id=17 Harkovast]'', the Nameless Race cannot speak or think but are described as constantly marching to war. They have yet to do anything other than attack people, and are generally killed without mercy by the story's heroes.
* Due to misconception and propaganda, everyone in ''[[Two KindsTwokinds]]'' thinks everyone else is Chaotic Evil. The [[Petting Zoo People]] only deal with Human slavers and death-squads, human propaganda says the beastmen want to commit genocide (and therefore, the two speces generally treat the other as Orcs), and the other guys - a group of [[Overlord|Brown Minion]] expies - think that everyone else is this.
* Much like the above, werewolves in ''[[Cry Havoc]]'' are inaccurately portrayed by the church as [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]], although it is questionable to what degree this is inaccurate given that the werewolves' first actions were to shred and eat a large quantity of people...
* In ''[[Looking for Group]]'', elves are supposedly this, but almost every elf we meet is actually pretty decent or has a [[Freudian Excuse]] to justify the alignment. The main character is actively trying to go against his race's reputation, and is ''the'' character most concerned with the morality of the group's actions. The undead may be this, but we only meet one group of them, and they are controled by the [[Token Evil Teammate]].
* ''[[Slightly Damned]]'': [[Averted Trope|Averted]] with Demons, although it is indicated that Buwaro is the only exception.
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* Deconstructed in ''[[The Salvation War]]''. The society in hell actively encouraged [[Chronic Backstabbing Disorder]], [[You Have Failed Me]], [[We Have Reserves]], and [[Shoot the Messenger]]. The result was an inefficient and unstable society that collapsed once it came under external pressure. Lampshaded on several occasions by baldrick defectors.
* ''Heavily'' subverted in [http://bogleech.com/mortasheen.htm Mortasheen], where no creatures are inherently evil (well, except for the Dolfury), and they're all as loyal to their trainers as any Pokemon would be. Yes, that includes the [[Our Demons Are Different|scary mind-raping Devilbirds]] and the [[Eldritch Abomination|horrible, maddening Unknowns]].
* This trope is comprehensively picked to pieces in ''[[The Return (fanfic)|The Return]]'' where it's revealed that Succubus (Succubi? Succubae? Help me out here people) culture is possibly more complex and multidimensional than human culture, and, from their point of view, it is humanity that borders on [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]].
* ''[[Orion's Arm]]:'' worried that the descendants of Earth (humans, artificial intelligences, cyborgs, the genetically engineered, [[Loads and Loads of Races|etc]]) think too much alike due to their creators' inherent bias, a group of AIs created the [http://www.orionsarm.com/xcms.php?r=oaeg-view-article&egart_uid=47e9add0e5e11 Bitenic Squids], a highly diverse species with every newborn member being a blank slate. Those that can function in the wider world are all completely selfish and without empathy, and go insane easily.
* Largely averted in ''[[Adylheim]]'' where none of the playable races are defined by their race. Granted, this is partially a virtue of it being a [[Grey and Gray Morality]] world. Some of the non-playable races, such as trolls, have a tendency to fall into this category though.