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{{trope}}
Fathers can be a terribly bothersome bunch. If you're the hero of an epic tale, [[Luke, I Am Your Father|half the time they turn out to be your worst enemy]]. If you're not such a hero, then maybe your father found his own way of pissing you off. Maybe he's [[Arranged Marriage|set you up to marry the guy you hate]], or [[Gladiator (
'''Patricide''', the act of killing one's father, is one of the most serious crimes [[The Oldest Ones in
On the other hand, if you're not so very heroic, offing your dad may simply be the next big step in your long and promising political career. It could get you the woman of your dreams. And, lets face it, when you are the hero and your father is still alive, unless he's about to get kidnapped or murdered by the bad guy, then he probably is a horrible villain who deserves to die.
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The killing of a parent is certainly very affecting and tells us a great deal about any character who would do it (And equally as much about characters who refuse to do it). When you're looking for some way of characterizing a hero as dark or causing him grieve heavily, this is always a good trope. What could be considered odd, however, is how often patricide is portrayed in fiction as opposed to matricide. As a matter of fact, try searching for a Matricide trope. You won't find it. This is probably a combination of [[Oedipus Complex]] and [[Most Writers Are Male]].
Compare with [[Self
{{deathtrope}}
{{examples|Examples:}}▼
== Anime and Manga ==
* ''[[Berserk]]'': The Kushan Emperor Ganishka is revealed to have killed his father (after having killed his little brother, favored by their mother). He ends up poisoned by his own son years later, and would have died had he not triggered his Behelit, transforming him into an Apostle.
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* Tsubasa from ''[[Kannazuki no Miko]]'' Killed his [[Abusive Parents|Abusive Father]] in order to protect himself and and his brother Souma.
* Suzaku Kururugi from ''[[Code Geass]]'' fell into despair and killed his father, who happened to be Japan's First Minister, in order to make the Japanese troops surrender and stop the bloodbath caused with their (losing) war against Britannia.
** Lelouch has "kill Father" at the top of his to-do list for much of the series, partly out of revenge for some pretty severe [[Parental Abandonment]], partly because he's the head of [[The Empire|the evil empire]] that Lelouch despises. He eventually succeeds near the end of the series, [[Self
* In [[Fullmetal Alchemist (
* In the original ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam]]'' [[Evil Prince]] Gihren Zabi murders his father, Sovereign Degwin Sodo Zabi in order to graduate from [[Dragon
== Comic Books ==
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== Film ==
* Emperor Commodus from [[Gladiator (
== Literature ==
* In one [[Judge Dee]] story, the murderer was the victim's son, who had been having an affair with one of his father's wives. The judge verbally destroys the guy (Chinese society at the time placing a very great deal of importance on ancestor worship), who ends up [[Driven to Suicide]].
* At the end of the first book of ''[[
* ''[[The Brothers Karamazov]]'', in which the sons are accused/believe themselves guilty of their father's murder.
* In ''The Worst Crime In The World'' [[Father Brown]] solves one of these.
* According to legend, [[King Arthur]] was mortally wounded by his illegitimate son.
* In the ''[[Harry Potter (
* In ''[[Warrior Cats]]'', Brokenstar killed his father in order to become leader - as deputy, he was Raggedstar's successor.
* ''[[In Death]]'': ''Immortal In Death'' reveals that Eve Dallas killed her own father when she was 8 years old. She had been suppressing memories of that time for years. As the series goes on, it is revealed piece by piece that her father Richard Troy was a [[Complete Monster]] who raped her and abused her for years, and that he intended to make her into a prostitute and sell her to child molesters. He caught her trying to feed herself and forced himself on her to punish her. Her arm got broken, she went crazy, and she managed to grab the knife she was using on the food. She killed him with the knife. If you do not feel sympathy for her over this, then you have no soul!
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* ''[[Midsomer Murders]]'': Though it's not shown onscreen, the episode in which {{spoiler|the psychologist's middle-school kids}} are the murderers, they reveal at the end that the fall that killed their father wasn't accidental in the least.
* A Luthor family tradition on ''[[Smallville]]''. Lionel Luthor killed his parents (which would include his father), and Lex killed Lionel.
* Morgana, on ''[[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]'' indirectly. She doesn't actually do the deed, but she enchants the amulet that does the deed and gives it to Agravaine to use.
* Regina, on ''[[Once Upon a Time (TV series)|Once Upon a Time]]''. Sadly, she really did love him, which was ''why'' she killed him. She needed the heart of the one she loved most for the curse she wanted in order to fulfill her quest for vengeance.
== Real Life ==▼
* [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] considered patricide to be the ultimate [[Moral Event Horizon]]. From [[The Other Wiki]]: "[[Ancient Rome]] had a unique punishment for patricide. The felon was severely scourged then sewn into a stout leather bag [[What Measure Is a Non Human|with a dog, a snake, a rooster, and a monkey]], and the bag was thrown into the river Tiber. Plutarch records that the old laws of Romulus had no penalty for patricide because it was considered [[Hilarious in Hindsight|a crime too evil ever to be committed.]]"▼
* According to [[Herodotus (Creator)|Herodotus]], the Persians believed that no man since the beginning of time had ever killed his own father, and that whenever this appeared to happen, it was evidence that the patricidal child was actually an impostor or changeling.▼
== Religion and Mythology ==
* According to Buddhism, intentional murder of one's father is one of the [[Moral Event Horizon|Five Grave Offenses]] that will get you reborn into the lowest hell, [
* [[Greek Mythology]] has Oedipus. He killed his father on the road outside Thebes, although some authors also make it an accident. In any case, he didn't know it was his father at the time, and had no hesitation about killing a stranger who got in his way.
== Tabletop Games ==
* One of the major elements in the cosmogony of ''[[Warhammer 40
== Theatre ==
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== Video Games ==
* Under the Lich King's influence, Arthas Menethil kills his father for the crown of Lordaeron after being turned into a Death Knight in ''[[
* ''[[God of War]]'': Like in several Greek myths examples, Zeus hears a prophecy that his son Kratos would try to kill him and usurp his throne. This prompts Zeus to kill Kratos and send him to Hades, in turn prompting Kratos to escape [[Self
* ''[[Soul Series|Soul Edge/Soul Blade]]'': A young Siegfried Schtauffen and his band of rogues attack a group of knights that they believe to be deserting the army. Unbeknownst to them, the group in question was simply returning home after their victory. Siegfried engages in battle with the leader of this group and beheads him; holding up the head in the moonlight reveals the identity of his prey: ''his own father Frederick''. The realization [[Go Mad
* Near the end of ''[[
* In Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, the titular character kills his father Big Boss when he goes rogue. Snake is later called out on this in Metal Gear Solid by his support-worker Naiomi
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== Western Animation ==
* Averted in ''[[The Lion King]]'': Simba ''thinks'' he (accidentally) killed his father, until it's revealed (to him) that his uncle Scar did it.
▲== Real Life ==
▲* [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] considered patricide to be the ultimate [[Moral Event Horizon]]. From [[The Other Wiki]]: "[[Ancient Rome]] had a unique punishment for patricide. The felon was severely scourged then sewn into a stout leather bag [[What Measure Is a Non
▲* According to [[
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Murder Tropes]]
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