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{{trope}}
{{quote|'''Carnahan:''' [[Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil|What about the guys that were convicted of rape?]] Can we rape them?
'''Stan:''' Rape the rapists; seems appropriate, punishment fitting the crime and all; go ahead.
|'''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v{{=}}vXVbC5dyG3o Big Stan]'''}}
So the character descends upon the settlement, burns their buildings, kills the inhabitants, takes their money and resources, and leaves, pleased that now he'll be able to buy that shiny new whatever he was wanting.
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Welcome to a special kind of morality where [[Moral Myopia|otherwise evil actions are considered okay]] because [[Asshole Victim|the victims deserved it]]. Of course, this can be [[Family-Unfriendly Aesop|played straight]], [[What the Hell, Hero?|subverted]], [[He Who Fights Monsters|deconstructed]], or [[Black and Gray Morality|left disquietingly gray]] depending on the author. Occasionally shares space with [[Evil Versus Evil]]... it's the Evil who ''only'' does this one that's supposed to be rooted for as opposed to the Evil that does this to innocents. This one's very common with [[Revenge]] stories in general, since revenge at its core is essentially Paying Evil Unto Evil.
Expect an extra heavy [[Villain Ball]] complete with [[Kick the Dog|kicking
Sometimes this is done ''retroactively.'' If the hero does something incredibly horrible to someone, it will ''then'' be revealed that this person was really evil all along.
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It is also a common and effective way to give a [[Sympathetic POV]] to a [[Villain Protagonist]] in works with [[Grey and Black Morality]].
Contrast with [[If You Kill Him You Will Be Just Like Him]] and [[The Farmer and the Viper]]. May overlap with [[Disproportionate Retribution]]. When a character takes this Trope too far, it becomes [[Knight Templar]].
See also [[Vigilante Man]], [[Exclusively Evil]], [[Just Like Robin Hood]], [[He Who Fights Monsters]], [[Serial Killer Killer]]
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* Kenshiro prefers to let the villains that he punishes feel the agony of the victims they butchered as he sends them to the afterlife in ''[[Fist of the North Star]]'', letting the punishment fit the crime. Since they are rapists and child-killers, you don't need to feel any guilt laughing at them as they beg like dogs for their worthless lives.
** It was pointed out in the very beginning that Hokuto Shinken was never really designed to be used on so many people, precisely because it is so cruel.
* Lina Inverse of ''[[Slayers]]'' uses this trope to justify blowing up bandits and taking their cash. Many in her world consider her ''worse'' than the bandits because of the resulting of property damage, to the point her friends are never too surprised when she actually does get in trouble with the authorities.
** At the very beginning
** To illustrate the last sentence above, that series ''also'' begins with her being arrested for the crime of "being Lina Inverse," and no one sticks up for her. (It isn't as if they can deny the charge, though.)
* ''[[Lupin III]]'' lives and breathes this.
* Alucard in ''[[Hellsing]]'' is a perfect example (especially in the manga/OVA). He's a complete monster, and he acknowledges it, even reveling in it; sometimes he actively prolongs someone's death, just for the fun of it. However, Integra frequently tells him to destroy anything in his way, even though she knows his methods. Admittedly, fewer people would have qualms about doing horrible things to Nazis. {{spoiler|Or Enrico Maxwell and his Iscariot agents.}}
* ''[[Ranma ½]]'' is full of [[Jerkass]] characters, so there's rarely a shortage of [[Asshole Victim|asshole victims]]. One particular instance occurs after Ranma has mastered the Hiryuu Shoten-Ha, which he's trying to use against Happousai. Mousse, Kuno, Principal Kuno and Gosunkugi all charge into the battle to take on Ranma as well; nice guy that he is, Ranma hesitates to use his new attack out of concern they'll all be caught in the massive blast. ''Then'' Ranma remembers how the same four characters had earlier viciously ganged up on him when he was too weak to defend himself. He promptly launches the attack.
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* [[Pokémon (anime)|Ash]] and friends are normally perfectly content to allow the [[Big Bad]] to be quietly arrested, but in dealing with Grings Kodai, the [[Big Bad]] of ''[[Pokémon: Zoroark: Master of Illusions|Pokémon Zoroark Master of Illusions]]'', they, and even the cops, arranged for him to watch as his [[Evil Gloating]] is broadcast live on his own TV station, pretty much forcing him to watch his public humiliation. While harsh for them, Kodai was an absolute [[Complete Monster]] who {{spoiler|committed the anime's first true murder of a Pokémon}} and ''electrocuted a '''BABY''''' right in front of its mother with no remorse.
* Invoked by Yuu from ''[[Holyland]]'' before he {{spoiler|fights Taka in Masaki's stead.}} "All I know is that I will answer malice... with violence."
* After he {{spoiler|stops killing clones en masse in a "level up" experiment}} Accelerator from ''[[
* As [[Code Breaker|Ogami Rei's]] motto states "Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, evil for evil".
* In [[Toriko]], Zebra of the Four Emperors was imprisoned fro life for single-handedly hunting 26 different species to extinction. However, we later find out that they all messed up the ecosystems they were in, and quite possibly they were vicious, mindless living weapons sent there by an enemy.
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** In Anette XXX two girls harassed and bullied her little brothers for all their lives. The two guys conspire to rape each other's sister.
* In ''[[Saint Beast]]'', purging angels is about the worst thing you can do to them and [[Physical God|Zeus]] does it to make heaven pure.
== Comic Books ==
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==
* ''[[Nobody Dies]]'' has Rei (yes, ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion|that]]'' Rei) executing very cruel tricks on people who mess with her friends. Other than her love of blackmail, her most cruel thing was to film Kyoko Zeppelin getting it on with her ex-husband in a storage closet during the school dance then put the footage on Youtube. And [[Magnificent Bastard|Yui]] [[Authority Equals Asskicking|forbid taking it down]]. Why? The bitch [[Complete Monster|ruined her daughter's happiest moment in life out of sadism]]. Rei had to be specifically ordered to leave Kyoko alone when it looked like as if she was regularly beating Asuka (even though no one liked this order one bit, Misato had to be physically restrained from issuing a [[No-Holds-Barred Beatdown]]). It helps that everyone is apeshit afraid of Rei and she knows it very well.
{{quote|'''Rei''': Asuka is my friend and if you touch her... ''(psychotic grin)'' I touch you. 'Kay?}}
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* In ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon]]'' the Wreckers tore a Decepticon pilot limb from limb, said Con was vaporizing civilians for several seconds before.
* In ''[[Let the Right One In]]'', the bullies who have tormented Oskar throughout the movie are joined by the older brother of one of them who plans to force Oskar to stay underwater for three whole minutes in the school swimming pool -if he can't, they'll cut Oskar's eye out with a knife. After a minute of this, Eli crashes into the swimming pool through the skylight and literally rips them apart. The audience never considers Eli to be evil for doing this. She was saving Oskar's life and the bullies had previously shown themselves to be [[Complete Monster|sadistic bullies]] who enjoyed hurting Owen simply because they could.
* Teaser posters for the American film version of ''[[The Millennium Trilogy|The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo]]'' feature the tagline [https://web.archive.org/web/20130423074808/http://www-movieline-com.vimg.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/girlwithdragontattoouk.jpg "Evil Shall With Evil Be Expelled"].
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* In [[Tom Clancy]]'s ''Without Remorse'', John Kelly is an ex-Navy SEAL who falls for an ex-prostitute/drug mule and rehabilitates her, only to see her raped and murdered by her former pimp. He spends the next year hunting down and brutally executing the entire drug ring, working his way up the chain one pusher/pimp at a time. This comes to the attention of the CIA, who are simultaneously recruiting him for a Vietnam rescue mission; when they find out what he did, they arrange for his "Kelly" identity to die in an apparent suicide, and they give him a new identity as "John Clark". Much later in the series, the President of the United States pardons him.
* The later ''[[Sword of Truth]]'' books feature, among other things, the hero leading a charge ''through'' peace protesters with, essentially, this justification (said protesters, it should be noted, were guarding an army of [[Complete Monster|complete monsters]], but Richard could have made an ''effort'' to [[Take a Third Option]]), and sending his army to attack cities and other settlements that are supporting the Imperial Order, basically a strategy of total war. The justification given is that it would be impossible to beat the Order in a straight up fight, since they're outnumbered 100 to 1. Richard notably orders his troops '''''not''''' to kill civilians if it can be avoided, but that they should still make them afraid of the D'Haran troops.
* In ''[[
** Gryffindors also take the opportunity to pay evil unto the oft-deserving Slytherins, James and Sirius bully the racist and dark-magic-obsessed Snape, and Hagrid and Fred and George punish Harry's bullying cousin Dudley with jinxes, although Arthur Weasley doesn't find his sons' behavior funny. Also, Sirius treats Kreacher quite nastily, an odd case as Kreacher is one of the most unlikeable victims in the series, but also served as one of the examples where the good perpetrator was seriously criticized for his bad actions, because Sirius is in a position of authority over Kreacher (Kreacher, as a house elf, is magically impelled to obey him).
*** Sirius' behavior is explained, but not justified, as the fact that Kreacher isn't just a complete asshole of a servant; he's also a reminder of Sirius' unhappy upbringing (including having physically punished Sirius on his parents' orders), and the fact that he's also a supporter of the backwards, bigoted values that upbringing taught makes him doubly so.
** Hermione hexes the girl who sold out the DA, and in doing so left Hogwarts under the control of a sadistic teacher who tortured children, by raising pimples on her forehead which spell out that she's a traitor, and last for several months at the least. [[J. K. Rowling]] confirmed that Marietta's pimples faded but left a few scars. Hermione ''also'' lures said sadistic teacher into being attacked by centaurs, although admittedly that went further than Hermione had originally intended. She also blackmails Rita Skeeter for writing a false article that caused Hermione to be showered with hate mail. Don't mess with Hermione Granger - she's got a ruthless side.
** Arguably how Harry decides to deal with Dolores Umbridge in ''Deathly Hallows'', which also overlaps with [[Laser-Guided Karma]].
* The [[Sherlock Holmes]] story ''[[wikipedia:The Adventure of the Devil's Foot|The Adventure of the Devil's Foot]]''. Holmes lets the murderer go free when he realizes what a complete monster the victim was.
** Conan Doyle uses this trope several times, when his sympathies lie with the criminal rather than the victim. Other stories that use it include ''[[wikipedia:The Adventure of the Abbey Grange|The Adventure of the Abbey Grange]]'' (The murdered husband habitually battered his wife.) and ''[[wikipedia:The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton|The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton]]'' (because he knows who the killer is, why Milverton was murdered, and that he was a blackmailer of the vilest sort, he declines to even assist the police.)
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* Maybe not evil ''per se'', but Extirpon's means of dealing with the scumbags he battles is pretty extreme, being a [[Reality Warper]] and all. Probably the best example of him crossing a line is when he slits a child rapist's throat and then makes a large container appear out of nowhere in the apartment. He promptly locks his victim in the container, then floods it to drown him. Turns out, the victim was the same guy that had [[Stuffed Into the Fridge|drowned and later decapitated one of Extirpon's past lovers]]. This is ''after'' forcing the [[Mooks]] to cough up [[Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?|green mambas]], which bite and kill them.
* ''Sisterhood'' series by [[Fern Michaels]]: Overuse of this trope is a major cause in losing all sympathy for the Sisterhood. ''Vendetta'' has the Sisterhood capture the Chinese ambassador's son who drunkenly killed Barbara Rutledge and her unborn child in a hit and run, and was not punished due to [[Diplomatic Impunity]]. They punish him for this, by ''skinning him alive'', and then shrugging it off afterward! He was a creep and not a nice guy, but he simply did not deserve ''that'' level of punishment! The author actually tries to justify all this by saying that the law is unable to punish criminals, and seriously expect you to cheer on the Vigilantes when they inflict terrible punishments on their targets! It's too bad you find yourself feeling sorry for their targets instead of the protagonists themselves!
* In [[Robert A. Heinlein]]'s ''[[The Number of the Beast]]'', the Burroughs' discover an [[Alternate History]] United States
== Live
* ''[[Dexter]]'' is a serial murderer who only kills other murderers. He identifies himself as a monster though.
* Omar Little of ''[[The Wire]]'' is a renowned stick-up man who only robs from people involved in the drug trade. The police pretty much turn a blind eye to this.
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** Chapel often doesn't go out of his way to get people killed, it's a result of the show's formula. If people survived his scams it would quickly get around that he's not who he says he is. There are also times when he really is trying to make sure they die, though.
* In ''[[Smallville]]'', Davis Bloome was more or less forced into this; he has a choice between killing a couple criminals every so often and doing nothing (which allows his [[Super-Powered Evil Side]] to take over and massacre a bunch of innocents).
* Happens all the time on ''[[Game of Thrones]]'', where evildoers are punished in some of the most horrific - and often most ironic - ways possible. Some examples:
** Ramsey is torn apart by his own starving dogs, the camera not even panning away conceal the gory details of his well-deserved end.
** Viserys gains the "golden crown" he so longed for when he is executed by having molten gold poured on his head.
** After seeing 163 slaves executed by crucifixion in Meereen, Daenerys conquers the city and executes its rulers the same way.
* Happens a few times in ''[[Farscape]]'', though they're usually forced into it by the bad guys. One example: In order to save D'Argo's son (and 9,999 other slaves), our heroes plan to rob a bank, justifying their actions by saying it's a "shadow depository", ie, where bad guys hide the stuff they steal.
* ''[[Sledge Hammer!]]'' is a [[Cowboy Cop]] who doesn't hesitate to use the violent criminal scum's own violent criminal methods against them... to the consternation of Captain Trunk.
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* [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]: Few mourned, and many cheered, when [[Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds|Dark Willow]] flayed [[Complete Monster|Warren Mears]] alive. Those that refrained from cheering did so not out of sympathy for Warren, but concern for Willow.
* ''Buffy'' [[Spin-Off]] ''[[Angel]]'' had a terrific example in Season 2. After coming across his archenemies from Wolfram & Hart being held hostage by Darla and Dru, Angel stands contemplative for a moment. Wolfram & Hart is an evil organisation with absolutely no qualms about murdering innocent people. Rather than save them, Angel locks the door and lets the vamps go to work. The formerly unflappable Holland Manners is terrified and begs, "People are going to die," to which Angel responds, "[[Ironic Echo|And yet somehow I just can't seem to care]]." Whilst harrowing in a sense, it doesn't stop seeing them get their karma from being wholly satisfying.
* In [[Doctor Who]] continuity, the notorious [[Jack the Ripper]] met his end when his intended victim was Madame Vastra, a Silurian living in 1880s London. She introduced herself by describing the encounter:
{{quote|'''Vastra''': [[Jack the Ripper]] has killed his last victim.
'''Maid''': How did you find him?
'''Vastra''': [[Mathematician's Answer|Stringy, but tasty all the same]]. I won't be needing dinner. }}
:* The most disturbing aspect of this exchange is that it appears Jenny (the maid) may have asked the question expecting that type of answer.
== Music ==
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== Professional Wrestling ==
* Certain faces are able to get away with heel-like tactics because they're using them on heels.
* Used by [[Edge]] against [[
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* ''[[Lightning Warrior Raidy]]'' features an erotic version of this with the boss battles in both games. Raidy always encounters level bosses in the middle of sexually tormenting a kidnapped NPC in a variety of ways; if she loses the ensuing boss battle, the game over sequence features the boss subjecting Raidy to this treatment, but if Raidy wins, she gives them a taste of their own medicine.
* In ''[[Might and Magic]] 2'' characters who entered certain valleys could discover peaceful goblin villages. They could then choose to attack them and slaughter them all, likely leaving any surviving children who hid from your murderous rampage orphans who will vow vengeance upon humanity for your actions; but since they're monsters and you're heroes it's okay!
* Alec Mason in ''[[Red Faction]] Guerrilla'' spends most of the game causing property damage in the hundreds of millions, bombing industrial centers and troop barracks, and breaking many, many people in half through sledgehammer-induced blunt force trauma. There's no disguising the fact that he's functionally a terrorist...except that he's facing off the oppressive, thuggish, and violent EDF, who harass and abuse workers, shoot miners with little provocation, who finally pushed the [[
* Many sidequests in ''[[The Godfather (video game)|The Godfather]] 2'' involve you dealing injury to the person or property of those who have done injustice against the quest-givers.
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{{quote|'''Katara''': I don't know if I want that kind of power...
'''Hama''': It doesn't matter whether you want it. The power exists. They tried to WIPE US OUT, Katara. This is war and you have to use whatever weapons are available to you. }}
* Matrix, from the third and fourth seasons of ''[[
* In ''[[The Fairly OddParents]]'', Timmy eventually wishes Vicky was young enough for him to be her babysitter so he could get his revenge, doing the exact same kind of things she did to him to her. Now if Vicky had actually been the same person she was as an adult, it'd have been well deserved...but it feels awful because she's at an age where she wasn't evil and is just a poor five year old girl. This further backfires when Vicky gets Cosmo and Wanda due to how bad Timmy made her feel and uses them to take her own revenge on him. Ultimately, Timmy learns his [[Aesop]] and decides, before returning her to normal, [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|giving her a great day.]]
* ''[[The Simpsons]]'' seems considerably fond of this trope.
* Very much the subject of [[Batman: Under the Red Hood]]. The villain, Red Hood, {{spoiler|who is actually Jason Todd, the 2nd Robin}} is trying to prove to Batman that his [[Thou Shalt Not Kill|code against killing]] is inadequate and he can be a better crime-fighter by just murdering criminals.
* Terry does this often in ''[[Batman Beyond]]'', clearly not having the same moral code his mentor does. A good example of this is the episode "Final Cut". Mutro Botha (a notorious and unrepentant [[Professional Killer| assassin]]) is marked by fellow assassin Curare, and seeks help from Batman, the one man who was able to outfight her. Terry at first refuses to help and is unswayed by his claim she'll go after him next ("Thanks for the warning," says Terry before turning to leave) and only agrees to help once Botha reveals he has a bomb planted in Gotham. Ultimately, Botha is still taken down by Curare, who uses a poison that reduces him to a vegetative state. Max is upset about this, but Terry gives a brief argument on the justification of the Trope:
{{quote|'''Terry:''' Listen, Max, ever hear the expression 'live by the sword die by the sword'? Mutro was an assassin, he made his own bed.}}
* ''[[The Powerpuff Girls]]'' did this occasionally, notable times being "Beat Your Greens" (where they defeat the invading Broccoloids by ''eating'' them) and "Getting Twiggy With It" (when they initially want to punish [[The Bully|Mitch]] for abusing Twiggy by letting Twiggy eat him).
== Real Life ==
* As referenced in the page quote, [[Prison Rape]] is often considered more acceptable, in the eyes of guards, fellow prisoners, and the general public alike, when done to rapists,
* Typically evil things such as murder or theft can be instead lawful or, in rare cases, morally obligated. Lethal force in self-defense or the defense of others is the most obvious.
** The initiation of war is a crime against peace under a number of statutes, most notably the [[United Nations]] charter, and was used against the Axis powers at the end of [[World War II]]. Anyone carrying out an aggressive war of conquest is thus a criminal. Unfortunately, while such acts are crimes, and are in theory punishable by the ICC under the Rome Statute, the ICC can't actually prosecute such cases because [[Screw the Rules, I Make Them|none of the U.N. member states have as yet agreed upon a definition of crimes of aggression in legal terms]]. Thus, the only warfare technically legal in the present day are wars carried out to impede the commission of crimes.
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* There have been interviews with Mob hitmen in which they defend themselves by saying that they only killed other gangsters. This is, however, demonstrably false.
* The [[Real Life]] sport of "mugu baiting." The objective is to string along a 419 scammer, getting them to waste as much time and money as possible and utterly humiliate themselves in their attempts to complete the scam, before finally breaking off contact. Embarrassing photos and emails will often be posted on baiting websites as trophies.
** Don't forget
* While serving in Afghanistan, Prince Harry was reported to have worn a baseball cap with the slogan "[https://web.archive.org/web/20090204133201/http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article860997.ece We do bad things to bad people]" on it. The phrase is a common unofficial slogan for armed forces regiments.
* The motto of the [[Dirty Cop|CRASH anti-gang squad]] that was at the heart of the 1990's [[Los Angeles]] Police Department Rampart scandal: "We Intimidate Those Who Intimidate Others."
* The traditional punishment for child molesters in some Native American cultures is reputed to have been: stripping the offender naked, coating him in tar, seating him on a log, nailing his offending organ to the log, handing him a dull knife, and then ''setting the log on fire''. Either he [[To the Pain|castrated himself very slowly]], or else he was burned alive. Either way, the punishment was considered appropriate to the crime.
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Revenge Tropes]]
[[Category:Villain Ball]]
[[Category:Morality Tropes]]
▲[[Category:Pay Evil Unto Evil]]
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