Good Feels Good: Difference between revisions
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[[Shaped Like Itself|As self-evident as it sounds]], '''Good Feels Good'''. Where the interesting part comes in is that bad guys are quick to find out not only that [[Evil Feels Good]] when using [[The Dark Side]], but doing good deeds in accordance with [[The Force]] can be just as if not more pleasurable, albeit in different ways.
[[The Mole]] may end up [[Becoming the Mask]] from [[100% Heroism Rating|the cheering crowds]], the feeling inside that [[Love Redeems|he is loved]], and have made one or more others safe (and not having to worry about jail time!). Good can be headier than any [[Evil Tastes Good|evil banquet]] or [[A Glass of Chianti|wine]], and won't leave [[Being Evil Sucks|a horrible aftertaste]]. The genuine love and admiration from the masses [[Machiavelli Was Wrong|can seem a far more potent rush]] than what he once felt from their screams of panic and pleas of mercy. [[The Power of Friendship]] itself can make a normally [[Villain|evil]] [[Character Alignment|aligned character]] [[Heel Realization|question]] (and [[Mook Face Turn|outright change)]] [[Heel Face Turn|his allegiances and alignment]] when [[The Reveal|he knows]] [[Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal|his boss cares less for him]] [[It's All About Me|than his black cape]], while [[Character-Magnetic Team|his new friends]] [[A Friend in Need|will risk life and limb for him]]. Usually results in a [[Heel Face Turn]], and if part of an evil team, a falling out/[[Enemy Civil War|civil war]].
May lead to a [[Redemption Demotion]] because [[Good Is Dumb]], and while good feels good, its selling point is not predicated on giving out power. No less often, the bad guy will [[Ignored Epiphany|"resist" the temptation of good]], or find [[Chronic Villainy|he can't quit]] the [[Psycho Serum]] that is capital E [[Evil Tropes|Evil]], much to his own dismay.
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Can be the litmus test for a video game's writing in particular. If the "good guys" inspire [[Video Game Cruelty Potential]], something has probably [[Gone Horribly Wrong]].
Compare [[For Happiness]] and [[Good People Have Good Sex]]. See also [[The Power of Trust]], [[Machiavelli Was Wrong]], and [[Rousseau Was Right]]. Contrast [[Being Good Sucks]]. See also [[You Could Have Used Your Powers for Good]].
{{examples}}
▲== Anime & Manga ==
* The Team Rocket trio from ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'' take pretty much every chance they can get to help save the world (mostly in the movies).
* ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' also employs this trope in just about every [[Defeat Means Friendship]] situation she runs into.
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* Generally one of the main themes of the series ''[[Trigun]]'', the only happy people are the good guys. This is best exemplified by Livio who is much happier protecting people than he was when he was a servant of the Eye of Micheal.
== [[Comic Books]] ==▼
▲== Comic Books ==
* The original run of the ''[[Thunderbolts]]!'', who were a team of villains masquerading as heroes in the hero-starved post-Onslaught [[Marvel Comics]]. Baron Zemo's leading the whole team into gaining the trust of the public before really breaking their will... but most of the Thunderbolts really ''like'' being treated like heroes.
** MACH-1 (the disguised [[Spider-Man (Comic Book)|Spider-Man]] villain The Beetle) is surprised to discover that, after he and Spider-Man have been [[Back-to-Back Badasses]], he can not take a gift-wrapped opportunity to frame him for murder—a hero like MACH-1 would never do that. As he tells Meteorite (Moonstone) at the end of the story:
{{quote|'''MACH-1:''' This hero thing... well, I'm starting to think it's ''contagious''.}}
* In an comics arc in the [[Star Wars Expanded Universe]], after ex-mercenary [http://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/2028448.html Darca] [http://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/2036037.html Nyl] takes a dead Jedi's lightsaber and goes in pursuit of the Dark Jedi who killed his son, he is repeatedly mistaken for a Jedi by the people of various worlds. He is drawn into helping them, [[Dudley Do-Right Stops to Help|even at the cost of time he could have spent in pursuit]], and in a textbook example, he finds that [[Becoming the Mask|he likes it]]. "Lycan said to me, ''Men are not driven by altruism.'' I'll prove him wrong."
** In a later comic, though, he's bitter and isolationist again, because he tried to do good and be good and failed, because that's edgier.
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* [[Batman|Damien Wayne]] started out as a homicidal [[Jerkass]] thanks to being raised by the League of Assassins and spoiled rotten since birth. He later finds fighting the good fight as Robin to be far more fulfilling than being the heir of a new world order. When push comes to shove, he ultimately chooses the ideals of the Batman family over those of Ra's Al Ghul. He's still kind of a jerk though.
** Batman himself started his career because saving other people from having to go through what he went through as a child made him feel better about his personal tragedy.
* In the final act of ''[[Buck Godot]]: Zap-Gun For Hire'', the Beemahs - bio-engineered living weapons who are, essentially, energy-weapons with legs - are [https://web.archive.org/web/20150428205534/http://www.airshipentertainment.com/buckcomic.php?date=20090328 shown trust for the first time], by the titular Buck Godot. All of their past associates treated them like wild dogs, using them against enemies but always keeping them in check with some weapon or threat. They find that they LIKE being trusted and respected, and respond by being as good as their word - and then some.
* In ''The Thing'' series, Nighthawk and Constrictor are among many trapped in Arcadia's [[Amusement Park of Doom]]. Nighthawk suggests that he and Constrictor, instead of fighting each other, work together to free the rest of Arcadia's prisoners. Constrictor is less open to the idea, since he's, y'know, a villain, but Nighthawk points out that he himself [[Heel Face Turn|used to be a villain]] [[Not So Different|too.]]
{{quote|'''Constrictor:''' I don't get it, Richmond. Why'd you switch over? Why risk your neck being a good guy?
'''Nighthawk:''' Well, I could give you a son-and-dance about doing the right thing. But in all honesty...I do it because it's ''fun!'' }}
* [[Spider-Man]] always lives by the creed that "With Great Power [[Comes Great Responsibility]]". In one story someone asked him "What comes with great responsibility?" All Peter had to do was point to the rest of the city.
** A specific example occurs in he finale of ''The Assassin Nation Plot''. While Spidey's actions (which result in him stopping a terrorist plot aimed at destroying the National Archives, framing Symkaria for it, and possibly starting a war) do earn him a small compensation from the Symkarian embassy, his true reward is acknowledgement and gratitude from [[Silver Sable]], [[Captain America]], and a high ranking general; as the caption on the last panel of the story says, "sometimes... that's enough."
== [[Film]] ==▼
▲== Film ==
* In ''[[Schindler's List]]'', Schindler tries to pull this on Amon Goeth. Goeth gives it a shot and quickly decides that evil feels better.
== [[Literature]] ==▼
▲== Literature ==
* In one Russian children story the main hero fights a clique of bullies led by an evil sorceress (yep). After one of the "villains" fails an operation, his mistress condemns him to a terrible punishment: within a day he must commit...'''[[Cool and Unusual Punishment|THREE GOOD DEEDS]]'''. Naturally, his cronies are dumbfounded with such severity and the delinquent himself can barely brace himself to serve his term. But after the first deed he suddenly realises that doing good is not painful but pleasant, goes on a do-good spree and eventually defect from his gang.
* In one of the ''[[Dragonlance]]'' stories, Palin Majere, nephew of Raistlin, wonders why he should become one of the "white robes", the good wizards. And why he just shouldn't choose whatever order makes him feel good. After he does a good deed, the head of the White Order mentions that he found that doing good ''does'' help himself.
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** A few pages on Corran, who'd asked Streen about it, opens himself fully to the Force for the first time.
{{quote|It filled me up in an instant and I imagined it leaking from my eyes, nose and mouth. I wanted to shout and dance with joy because it was everything Streen had described. It was what I felt when [[Happily Married|Mirax]] first said she loved me. It was the scent of the perfume my mother wore, and the warm laugh my father used to have when he was proud of me. It was the hearty slap on the back from Wedge after a mission and even a touch of Whistler's triumphant serenades. It was everything that was good and right and positive and alive; and it was waiting for me to bend it to my will.}}
* Moist von Lipwig in the [[Discworld]] books, specifically the end of ''[[
** Slightly subverted in the sequel, ''Making Money''. Moist's job has become boring and his mood has deteriorated to the point where he is breaking into his own building because he can, and even carrying around a blackjack despite the fact the he loathes weapons. Vetinari also implies that he has been embezzling. He starts acting heroically again after being tricked and coerced into a new job as the head of a bank. Seems that Moist would rather be a bad guy with an interesting life than a good guy with a boring one, but being a good guy with an interesting life is even better.
* In ''[[The Stand]]'', Harold is [[The Resenter]], and decides to help out the good citizens of Boulder just so that they won't suspect he's [[The Mole]]. While doing so, he discovers that the good guys genuinely appreciate his help, and wonders if maybe he should just try [[Becoming the Mask]]. The usual [[Heel Face Turn]], however, is subverted when the [[Dark Side]] offers him <s>really</s> mildly kinky sex.
* After his [[Heel Face Turn]], Skeeter Jackson of ''[[Time Scout]]'' enjoys trying to be good. He really enjoys it when he gets to use his old skills to do good deeds.
* ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'', despite being a [[Crapsack World]] extraordinaire, has an unexpected instance of this in {{spoiler|[[The Atoner|Jaime]] [[Noble Demon|Lannister]]}}. He discovers, much to his own surprise, that he quite likes the feeling he gets from enforcing justice, protecting the helpless, keeping his word and preventing massive bloodshed. Inevitably, he is forced to [[Kick the Dog]] again before long, but (assuming he survives much longer) things are actually looking very hopeful for his further moral development.
== [[Live-Action TV]] ==▼
▲== Live-Action TV ==
* In the prison drama ''[[Oz]]'', there's an episode where all of the inmates collect money to send inmate Bob Redabow's grandson to Disney Land before he dies of leukemia. Another inmate tries to talk Simon Adebisi, one of the most dangerous and vicious inmates in Oz, into robbing the old man of the money. He [[Even Evil Has Standards|refuses]], and says "'Cause sometimes it's good to be human."
* In ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', [[Heel Face Turn|Faith's Heel]] [[Incredibly Lame Pun|Faith]] [[Heel Face Turn|Turn]] immediately follows an event where she switches bodies with Buffy. And in doing so she ''becomes'' Buffy (or rather, her idea of what Buffy is like. She adopts what she thinks of as Buffy's [[Catch Phrase]]: "Because it's wrong"). Notice how Buffy is in no way affected by being in Faith's body.
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* Gaius Baltar of ''[[Battlestar Galactica]]'' is just about the most selfish and narcissistic person there has been, though he has improved considerably from how he used to be even, and after undertaking a series of charitable acts mostly out of a desire to regain standing, discovers that it actually made him feel good to do good.
* Possibly the entire point of ''[[My Name Is Earl]]'', Earl starts doing good things for fairly selfish reasons (he wants good stuff to just happen to him) but fairly quickly finds out that Good Feels Good and starts trying to do the right thing for its own sake.
* ''[[Xena: Warrior Princess
* As of the fifth volume finale of ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'', {{spoiler|a freshly-turned Sylar seems to have finally settled on this -- subduing Eric Doyle and tying him up for the police really did feel better than going the extra mile and killing him.}}
* In ''[[Kamen Rider Den-O]]'', Momotaros originally wanted to cause havok like all Imagin. Then he came found out that being good meant he got to fight...a lot. Clearly for a battle hungry Imagin like him, this makes being good really fun.
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{{quote|'''Paige''': We saved someone. It felt good. It felt... right.}}
* Former [[Jerk Jock]] Shun Daimonji decides to help out the Kamen Rider Club in ''[[Kamen Rider Fourze]]'' even though Gentaro notes that he's not going to get recognition for his efforts, but he'll know that he's doing something good. Shun's fine with that.
* In ''[[Beetleborgs]]'', the heroes eventually manage to steal the Astral Axe from the villains, and summon Boron in order to use him against the titanic monster Repgillian. While it eventually took more than Boron to defeat it, once they did defeat it, Boron decided that he liked fighting for the side of Good better than what he was doing before.
== [[Newspaper Comics]] ==▼
* ''[[Avenue Q]]'' has an entire ''song'' about this. (The Money Song)▼
** Somewhat [[Subverted]] in that the reason why the characters are doing good deeds is to get things for themselves. Princeton wants to start a Monster School (which he thinks is a stupid idea) so Kate will be so happy that she'll take him back; Nicky wants to find Rod a boyfriend so he'll let him live with him again. As the chorus goes, "When you help others/You can't help helping yourself/Every time you do good deeds/You're also serving your own needs/When you help others/You're really helping yourself."▼
▲== Newspaper Comics ==
* Parodied in one Sunday strip of ''[[Dilbert]]''. Dilbert offhandedly mentions that he donated a few hundred dollars to charity. Dogbert gets fired up and mocks Dilberts supposed altruism, claiming that he only did it to make himself feel better. Dilbert agrees, saying he feels pretty good. Dilbert then asks how much Dogbert donated, and Dogbert admits he donated a thousand dollars, which is why he's so torqued.
== [[Theatre]] ==
* In ''[[The Lion in Winter]]'' by James Goldman, King Henry II talks about the frequent wars between England and France during the Middle Ages:
{{quote|"Since Louis died, while Philip grew, I've had no France to fight. And in that time, I've discovered how good it is to write a law, or make a tax more fair, or sit in judgment to decide which peasant gets a cow. There is, I tell you, nothing more important in this world. And now the French boy's old enough, and I am sick of war."}}
▲* ''[[Avenue Q]]'' has an entire ''song'' about this. (The Money Song)
▲** Somewhat [[Subverted]] in that the reason why the characters are doing good deeds is to get things for themselves. Princeton wants to start a Monster School (which he thinks is a stupid idea) so Kate will be so happy that she'll take him back; Nicky wants to find Rod a boyfriend so he'll let him live with him again. As the chorus goes, "When you help others/You can't help helping yourself/Every time you do good deeds/You're also serving your own needs/When you help others/You're really helping yourself."
== [[Video Games]] ==
* ''[[Trauma Center]]'', you can't go wrong when a game let you play as a ''surgeon''!
* Rather interestingly done in ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'', after beating [[Puzzle Boss|Psycho Mantis]] - during his [[Final Speech]] he reveals a secret passage (and apparently implanted the locations of claymores in the next area in Meryl's head), and quietly admits it "feels nice to help someone else for once" before dying.
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* In the [[Complete Monster|Demon Path]] of ''[[Soul Nomad and The World Eaters]]'', {{spoiler|Raksha performs a full [[Heel Face Turn]] since he likes the attention of being a hero.}}
* If you earned Good Karma by the first Train Mission in ''[[Infamous (video game series)|In Famous]]'', the people who initially blamed Cole for the blast and referred to him as a terrorist cheer for saving all the people. Cole calls them hypocrites, but admits that that the good he did made him feel good.
* ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword]]'' features Gratitude Crystals. When you collect a group of 5, the text box lets you know that "helping people feels good!"
== [[Western Animation]] ==▼
▲== Western Animation ==
* [[Harmless Villain|Dr. Drakken]] and [[Dark Action Girl|Shego]] from ''[[Kim Possible]]'' really enjoyed being good during their [[Heel Face Turn]] episodes. Shego even went so far as to almost confess her friendship with Kim.
* Emma Frost undergoes this in ''[[Wolverine and the X-Men]]''.
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'''He-Man:''' Well, I think you're starting to feel the Christmas spirit, Skeletor. It makes you feel...good!
'''Skeletor:''' I don't ''want'' to feel good! I like to feel ''evil ''! }}
* Similar to Skeltor is Mr Burns in ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'':
{{quote|'''Smithers''': It feels good to be helping people, doesn't it, sir?
'''Mr Burns''': No. It feels weird. }}
* In one episode of ''[[The Snorks]]'' a two headed monster (one head was good, the other bad) was the antagonist. Then one of the cast nearly got trapped in a dangerous situation, and the two-headed monster saved her, though the bad head didn't seem to realize this. After receiving gratitude from everybody else the bad head realized that it liked the way helping other people made it feel and stopped being bad.
* After his [[Heel Face Turn]], it didn't take [[Jackie Chan Adventures|Tohru]] long to decide he liked helping people a lot more than being a Dark Hand thug.
* In the ''[[Harley Quinn (TV series)|Harley Quinn]]'' episode "Batman Begins Forever", Harley gets caught in a [[Battle in the Center of the Mind]] (Batman's mind, that is), where she takes the role of Robin, fighting the Joker and her past self:
{{quote|'''Harley:''' Hey! You never told me stopping bad guys was this much fun! Bein' a hero is supposed to be lame!
'''Batman:''' It has its moments.}}
* Downplayed in the ''[[Helluva Boss]]'' episode "Unhappy Campers"; demonic assassin Millie admits that having humans admire and cheer for her is "a welcome change" from having them flee from her in terror, but she doesn't seem interested in reforming as a result.
* This may be the reason why, in ''[[The Transformers]]'', Autobot recruits tended to outnumber those for Decepticons. Watch the old commercials if you want proof. One example is a commercial that introduced six new Autobots (Smokescreen, Tracks, Hoist, Inferno, Red Alert, and Grapple) only introduced two Decepticons by contrast (Dirge and Thrust.)
* Belkar in ''[[The Order of the Stick]]'' [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0687.html realized] that "I can do exactly what I always do-murder people horribly-but because I killed the people everybody else wanted me to kill, I get presents instead of prison time." The group is slightly worried about this.▼
▲* Belkar in ''[[Order of the Stick]]'' [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0687.html realized] that "I can do exactly what I always do-murder people horribly-but because I killed the people everybody else wanted me to kill, I get presents instead of prison time." The group is slightly worried about this.
* In ''[[Misfile]]'', Ash gets this feeling during the race where he was forced to [http://www.misfile.com/index.php?page=1525 win a race for every racer from his town].
* In ''[[Dominic Deegan]]'', after {{spoiler|Jacob}} saves {{spoiler|Luna}} from a possible [[Fate Worse Than Death]], he realizes that he has been wrong about...basically everything and decides that he should remake himself and his life.
* In ''[[Sinfest]]'', [
== [[Web Originals]] ==
▲== Web Originals ==
* In ''[[The Salvation War]]'' a demon herald Memnon, after his defection to humans, contemplates on how nice it feels to have superiors who care about him, appreciate his abilities and praise him for his achievements instead of constant cavils, threats and general neglect he received from his masters in Hell.
** Similarly, "Drippy" in the later books feels the same way—the camaraderie between him and his squadmates, especially once he realizes they've accepted him as one of their own, makes him feel better than anything he had back in hell.
== [[Real Life]] ==▼
▲== Real Life ==
* Simple question: Who tends to get more sympathy and support from the fans in most works of fiction, the heroes or the villains? Well, there you go.
* From a logical perspective, empathy is a large reason (though far from the only one) for the existence of this. Empathizing with the people you help allows you to imagine the relief, appreciation, comfort, etc. of the people that you help when they receive it. When empathy becomes an internalized mindset and behavior, helping people (or just doing good deeds) becomes so natural and desired that one won't even consciously think about ''why'' he/she does it, unless he/she has to explain it to others.
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]▼
[[Category:Idealism Tropes]]
[[Category:Goodness Tropes]]
[[Category:Morality Tropes]]
[[Category:Redemption Tropes]]
▲[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
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