Good Hurts Evil: Difference between revisions
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A [[Older Than Print|rather old]] and probably [[Discredited Trope]], with some exceptions.
When [[Light Is Good]] and [[Dark Is Evil]], it was held that just as darkness was the absence of light (which is accurate), so evil was the absence of good. Where there was good, therefore, evil could not stand.
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Often times, [[Good Is Impotent|the more proactive heroes were unable to have such an effect]] due to lesser purity, which left [[Incorruptible Pure Pureness|the local priest, nun or pure child]] to act as a [[Deus Ex Machina]] for when they get overwhelmed by the [[Legions of Hell|legions of darkness]]. Objects touched or blessed by objectively good characters could gain similar protective qualities, and religious sanctuaries were the mightiest of fortresses when evil was on your tail.
This injurious side of good is becoming rare as readers and viewers learn to take [[Grey and Gray Morality]] for granted, but expect very strong showings in religious literature. A [[Purity Sue]] (or any [[Mary Sue|Sue]] in general) may have this trait, but often without the [[Good Is Boring|
Note that [[Clap Your Hands If You Believe|differences of belief]] weren't ever an issue because it was taken for granted that the good thing or person really was good, and not just belonging to the majority faith, sometimes resulting in a [[Anvilicious|rather heavy handed]] [[An Aesop|Aesop]] for characters who ''were'' from the dominant church or [[Crystal Dragon Jesus|local equivalent]].
Now the only reason it's probably discredited is that it's largely been absorbed by the [[Holy Hand Grenade]] and [[Smite Evil]]
{{examples}}
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== [[Literature]] ==
* More than one powerful baddie in ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' had a vulnerability to Elvish invocations of the Valar.
** Gollum feels pain when he comes into physical contact with the enchanted rope the Elves gave to Sam. Also his aversion to the sun might qualify.
** So does the Nazgûls' fear of running water; the power of Vala Ulmo still runs strong in the Middle-Earth's waters.
** The Silmarils of ''[[The Silmarillion]]'' burn anyone of evil heart who comes into contact with them, as they contain the trapped holy light of the lost Two Trees. This is a plot point several
** The light in the vial that Galadriel gives to Frodo, which Sam uses against Shelob? That light is the concentrated essence of one star - but that's not really a star at all, it's a Silmaril in the sky. And the Silmarils are made from the light of the Two Trees, and therefore the light of Iluvatar itself. By the Transitive Property of Holiness, ''Sam fights Shelob with the light of God.''
** Then, it's brutally subverted at Mount Doom, where Sam pulls out the vial for some kind of help... only to watch in terror as it grows dim. Mount Doom, apparently, is an evil so absolute, even the (reflected) glory of God gives way.
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** Voldemort is still hit with this at the climax of book five, when he {{spoiler|succeeds in possessing Harry. He tries to goad Dumbledore into attacking Harry in hopes of killing them both at once. Harry is in so much pain that he finds himself wishing Dumbledore would do it, since it would mean he could see Sirius again - and Harry's thoughts of Sirius cause Voldemort so much agony that he never even tries the possession tactic again.}}
** The Dementors can be fought off by summoning a creature made of concentrated positive emotion (love or happiness). It's not clear whether dementors are evil (since they appear to have very minimal sentience), but it's implied that Patronuses are made of good (they are immune to Dark magic).
* In ''[[Good Omens]]'', the demon Ligur is rather nastily killed by holy water. Holy water's typical effect on demonic entities such as demons and vampires in fantasy fiction is a common type of this trope.
** Something of a subversion in that it wasn't sprinkled at him with a chant by a robed holy man; it was weaponized into booby traps and squirt guns by another demon who premeditated his defense.
** The good/evil lines on ''[[Good Omens]]'' are all blurred, which is sort of the point; Crowley isn't very evil, but he is still a demon and he still treats holy water with the caution a chemist gives to concentrated acid.
* All over the place in ''[[Left Behind]]'', of course, but most [[
* The protagonist in ''[[Sorcerer On the Rocks]]'', Shibas Scotch, is such a bad person that being in a nice place like a clear meadow on a sunny day makes him ill.
* In ''[[The Dresden Files]]'', the [[Emotion Eater|White Court]] of vampires is harmed if their victims express the positive emotion that is anathema to what they feed on: The lust-eating Raiths are harmed by true love, the despair-eating Skavis by true hope/optimism, and the fear-eating Malvola by true courage and bravery. Things get complicated when [[Friendly Neighborhood Vampires|Thomas]] falls in love with his favorite 'food'. Also, in a twist, if the offspring of a White Court vampire experiences their opposite emotion before they start learning how to truly 'feed', they never develop into vampires and turn human instead.
** The Knights of the Cross, wielders of swords into which the nails from the Crucifixion have been worked, are hell on wheels against supernatural evils for precisely this reason.
* Played relatively straight in ''[[The Stand]]''. Trashcan Man is positively frightened by his dreams of Mother Abagail (who pities him in hers, even when she can't remember him). Flagg loses all of his composure and power around the Free Zoners, even traitors like Harold and Nadine.
* In [[Lord Dunsany]]'s ''[[The
* {{spoiler|Rand al'Thor}} from ''[[The Wheel of Time]]'' seems to have gained this ability as of book 13. {{spoiler|Though it can't be perceived by the eyes of someone who is good, he apparently has a radiant aura that blinds Darkfriends.}} We have yet to see what this will do to more evil creatures.
* John Galt from [[Atlas Shrugged]] is supposed to be so awesome that merely talking with him and beholding his face makes any evil character very uncomfortable with all the self-deceptions that they live with. This effect is worst for the most self-deceived characters like Eugene Lawson and Jim
== Film ==
* Played with in ''[[The Mummy Trilogy|The Mummy 1999]]'', when Benny holds up a series of holy symbols hanging around his
* Chernobog in ''[[Fantasia]]'' is driven away by the forces of "the sacred".
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* Holy water is used to great effect in ''[[Supernatural]]'' (sanctified sprinkler system) and demons flinch when they hear the name "Christo".
* Both crosses and stars of David annoy vampires in ''[[Being Human (UK)]].''
* Gloriously revised in the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' story ''The Curse of Fenric'', set during World War II: In this story it's not the ''symbol'' that's important, it's the bearer's ''faith in the good that that symbol represents.'' As a result, the vampire/zombie haemovores are untroubled by a priest holding up a cross, because
== [[Mythology]] and [[Religion]] ==
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== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* Fairly standard abilities for good characters of various kinds in [[Dungeons
** However, there are plenty of inversions. For example, a Good-aligned character trying to touch an Evil artifact suffers penalties identical to an Evil-aligned character touching a Good artifact. The same holds true for other properties, such as Law and Chaos, Fire and Cold; indeed, D&D has the trope generalized to Extreme Hurts Extreme.
* The High Elf Everqueen in ''[[Warhammer Fantasy]]'' kills demons and undead just by her presence.
* The Merit: ''True Faith'' in [[White Wolf|White Wolf Game Studio's]] original [[The World of Darkness|World of Darkness]] allowed certain virtuous characters to harm evil entities by touch, deed or (at high levels) presence alone. The behavior required to match the Merit's greatest levels put them (theoretically) beyond the reach of most player characters, but - as with an game - exceptions were probably common.
* In ''[[Exalted]]'', the Unconquered Sun is the cosmic embodiment of virtue. As a result, it is within his power to deem which sorts of beings in Creation and beyond count as "creatures of darkness" (usually demons, the undead, and [[The Fair Folk|Raksha]]). His chosen, the Solar Exalted, thus have access to Holy Charms that allow them to do ''extremely'' grievous damage to said creatures of darkness. This is something of a subversion, however. The Sun has authority to declare whomever he so chooses to be Creatures of Darkness without any due process. If a Lawful Good Paladin style character pissed him off sufficiently, she could be declared a Creature of Darkness no matter how many kittens she saved or old people she helped across the street. It is only the Sun's commitment and restraint that prevents him from abusing this power.
** Other classes of Exalted also can deploy Holy magic, though the Solar versions tend to be the most directly potent of the bunch as usual.
** For more detail, see the game's entry in [[Detect Evil]].
== [[Video Games]] ==
* ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'' plays this very straight in the ending of the first game when the light of the titular power destroys the game's [[Big Bad]].
* Giygas is defeated by way of this trope in both ''[[MOTHER 1|Earthbound Zero]]'' and [[
* In ''[[Disgaea]]'', optimism and [[Allergic to Love|love]] physically weaken Laharl, resulting in reduced stats in one fight when his enemy takes advantage of this.
* ''[[The Legend of Zelda]]'', with the Master Sword, "The Blade of Evil's Bane", and the Light Arrows.
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== [[Web Original]] ==
* Worded a bit differently in [[Sailor Nothing]], {{spoiler|[[Magical Girl|magical girls]]' usual powers can't hurt the Shadow Queen because she is their source; only Good can do it}}.
* [[Played for Laughs]] in ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20130208162403/http://andersson.elfwood.com/No-Place-In-Hell.2524381.html No Place In Hell]'' by Fredrik K.T.Andersson
== Webcomics ==
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** And before K'Z'K, there was the famous instance of Torg hiding from a bunch of demons inside a literal circle of goodness. He'd taunt one of the stupider demons into trying to leap at him, and his arms would catch on fire, prompting the classic line, "I'M BURNING WITH GOODNESS AGAIN!"
** Holy symbols also harm/repel vampires and suchlike. We usually see Riff (he being Jewish) using a Star of David on vampires, but he also put a screen on one of his robots that shuffles through the mahor holy symbol of every religion in case K'Z'K had a vulnerability for one of them. (When we were shown this one in action, it stopped on Ricky Martin.)
* Black Mage in ''[[8-Bit Theater
** In later comics, it turns out Fighter is the ONLY member of the party this doesn't apply to, as the other three all have negative reactions to a set of celestial weapons (although Thief and Red Mage just report uncomfortable heat and scalding, while BM bursts into flames).
* In ''[[Sinfest]]'', [
** [
== [[Western Animation]] ==
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[[Category:Goodness Tropes]]
[[Category:Evil Tropes]]
[[Category:
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