Not Evil, Just Misunderstood: Difference between revisions

 

{{examples}}

* Poor Gaara of ''[[Naruto]]'' started as this. All he wanted was to have a friend, but the entire village was convinced that he was a monster, and this upset him, which caused the ''real'' monster sealed in him to act up. Even after he finally [[Despair Event Horizon|lost all hope and gave in to Shukaku]], deep down, he was just a lonely child who lashed out at the world to protect himself.

* In the same vein as Gaara, Lucy from ''[[Elfen Lied]]'' only wanted love and acceptance. However, she only received [[Fantastic Racism|bitter]] [[Orphanage of Fear|contempt]], which culminated in some kids beating a stray puppy she took care of, the only creature in the world she cherised, to death in front of her while mocking her misery. This, plus the [[Not What It Looks Like|apparent betrayal]] of [[Woman Scorned|the boy she fell in love with]], plus the murder of her best friend at the hand of the man who imprisoned her for years [[The Alcatraz|in a research facility]] that could be better described as [[Nightmare Fuel|a new Auschwitz]], lead young [[Only Known by Their Nickname|Kaede]] to become Lucy, a full-blown [[Omnicidal Maniac]] hell bent on [[Kill All Humans|the extinction of Homo sapiens]], so that nobody could hurt, betray, or abandon her again.

 

 

* Lex Luthor, [[Depending on the Writer]], believes what he is doing is right and honorable. From his perspective,<ref>and the [[8-Bit Theater|Black Mage's]]</ref> he is the hero and [[Superman]] is the villain. He views Superman and most of the other heroes of the DC universe as the greatest threat to mankind, and is determined to "save humanity" at any cost.

* {{spoiler|Ozymandias}} from ''[[Watchmen]]''. Now ''there's'' a misunderstood villain. He single-handedly kills off half of New York City in order to avert a nuclear war between the US and the Soviet Union that would destroy the world. I'm still not sure whether Alan Moore was trying to portray him as the villain or the tragic hero of the story. If he's the hero, then that'd make Rorschach the villain, and he's definitely misunderstood as well.

 

 

* Jessica Rabbit from ''[[Who Framed Roger Rabbit?]]'':

{{quote|"I'm not bad...I'm just drawn that way"}}

* The Rancor in ''[[Return of the Jedi]]'' seems to be a horrifying and monstrous predator, at very least, but [[Expanded Universe]] sources show that they are actually docile and friendly creatures, easily domesticated by he Witches of Dathomir. Clearly, Jabba was both starving and abusing the poor beast to purposely drive it into bloodlust.

 

* Arthur "Boo" Radley, ''[[To Kill a Mockingbird]]''. A mysterious recluse, the townsfolk believe he's a lunatic due to the rumors spread about him and a trial he underwent as a teenager. During the course of the story, however, it is implied that he is actually a lonely man, and tries to reach out to Jem and Scout by leaving them gifts in the hollow tree in front of his house. At the climax of the story he rescues them from Bob Ewell, who tries to kill them in an attempt at revenge against their father for humiliating him.

* ''[[Harry Potter]]'':

 

 

* ''[[LazyTown]]'s'' Robbie Rotten:

{{quote|"They want me to be nice, they want me to be good

 

 

* [[P!nk]]'s song "M!ssundaztood":

{{quote|"I was taken for granted, but it's all good

 

 

* If anyone knows anything about the musical ''[[Wicked (theatre)|Wicked]]'', you know that the Wicked Witch of the West was pretty damn misunderstood.

** The same could be said for the Wicked Witch of the West in ''[[The Wizard of Oz (film)|The Wizard of Oz]]'', too. All she wanted was her dead sister's ruby slippers back. Sure, she ended up being pretty nasty towards Dorothy near the end, but could you blame her?

 

 

* The Charr of ''[[Guild Wars]]'' have been revealed to be this in ''[[Guild Wars 2]]'', now that their side of the story has been presented. Yes, they are ruthless and militaristic, but their war against humans in the first game was a struggle to reclaim their occupied homeland, and the human propaganda painting them as [[Complete Monster]]s who love to enslave and eat humans was precisely that - propaganda.

* [[Star Fox Adventures]] has General Scales, when meeting Krystal, claiming that he's not evil.

 

 

* Roan in ''[[Impure Blood]]''. The general view of him is summed up in his nickname: the Abomination. Caspian, who's the leader, agrees with it, but needs him. Fortunately, [https://web.archive.org/web/20131024215923/http://www.impurebloodwebcomic.com/Pages/Issue3/ib056.html Dara sympathesizes], [https://web.archive.org/web/20140101214718/http://www.impurebloodwebcomic.com/Pages/Chapter007/ib041.html Elnor gives him some] [[Tough Love]], and [https://web.archive.org/web/20140117091633/http://www.impurebloodwebcomic.com/Pages/Issue3/ib061.html Mac is cheerfully oblivious].

* In ''[[The Order of the Stick]]'', the [[I Love the Dead|necrophiliac]] Tsukiko seems to believe this about the undead. In her mind, the living are bastards for being "prejudiced" against her; therefore, since the undead are [[False Dichotomy|the opposite of the living in every way]], they must actually be good. She is completely wrong on both parts, {{spoiler|as Redcloak eventually shows her}}.