Put Them All Out of My Misery: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|''"[[~~Its~~ All About Me|Why should the world exist without me?]] [[Insane Troll Logic|That wouldn't be fair.]] [[Suicidal Cosmic Temper Tantrum|If I die]], [[Cessation of Existence|we all die!]]"''|'''Kuja''', ''[[Final Fantasy IX]]''}}

{{quote|''"[[It's All About Me|Why should the world exist without me?]] [[Insane Troll Logic|That wouldn't be fair.]] [[Suicidal Cosmic Temper Tantrum|If I die]], [[Cessation of Existence|we all die!]]"''|'''Kuja''', ''[[Final Fantasy IX]]''}}

Villains can have a wide range of motivations. Some villains get [[Complete Monster|sadistic pleasure]] from [[Kick the Dog|seeing others suffer]]. Others simply want the same things the heroes do: food, wealth, love, etc., but they lack the [[Card Carrying Villain|moral integrity]], [[Punch Clock Villain|courage]], or [[Obliviously Evil|knowledge]] to be a heroic character.

Villains can have a wide range of motivations. Some villains get [[Complete Monster|sadistic pleasure]] from [[Kick the Dog|seeing others suffer]]. Others simply want the same things the heroes do: food, wealth, love, etc., but they lack the [[Card-Carrying Villain|moral integrity]], [[Punch Clock Villain|courage]], or [[Obliviously Evil|knowledge]] to be a heroic character.

This is a villain who poses a [[Sliding Scale of Villain Effectiveness|credible threat]] to [[Sliding Scale of Villain Threat|an entire community]], is miserable, and blames it on everyone else. They rationally want to "[[Put Them All Out of Their Misery|Put them all out of their misery]]".

This character is not necessarily an [[Omnicidal Maniac]], a nihilist who wants to destroy everything for the sake of destruction, nor a [[Woobie Destroyer of Worlds]] who was mistreated, snaps, and lashes out on the world. This person is simply trying to cure an ailment, and are willing to go to any length to do it. While [[Put Them All Out of My Misery]] villains are usually at least slightly sympathetic in the sense that at least their motive is understandable, [[Sliding Scale of Antagonist Vileness|they come off as jerks]] for putting their own misery ahead of others' safety.

This character is not necessarily an [[Omnicidal Maniac]], a nihilist who wants to destroy everything for the sake of destruction, nor a [[Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds]] who was mistreated, snaps, and lashes out on the world. This person is simply trying to cure an ailment, and are willing to go to any length to do it. While [[Put Them All Out of My Misery]] villains are usually at least slightly sympathetic in the sense that at least their motive is understandable, [[Sliding Scale of Antagonist Vileness|they come off as jerks]] for putting their own misery ahead of others' safety.

There might be many reasons this villain believes he must cause trouble for others to heal himself:

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# The villain finds some aspect of the heroes' society so fundamentally incompatible with their own beliefs, etc., that [[Knight Templar|they declare war]] on all "normal" society.

# The villain experienced injustice, and plans to rid the world of the society that caused it. Almost like [[Utopia Justifies the Means]], but this time there's no Utopia to replace destroyed society.

# The villain [[I Cannot Self Terminate|is indestructible, but wants to commit suicide]]. He believes that he will succeed in suicide if he destroys the whole world or can force a [[Suicide By Cop]] by someone who can get the job done if he stays on the right side of the [[Moral Event Horizon]], and perhaps also that he is doing his murdered victims a favor by granting them the "gift" of death he is trying to get for himself. After all [[Who Wants to Live Forever]] See also [[Suicidal Cosmic Temper Tantrum]] which is the game plan for a villain exhibiting this type of the trope.

# The villain [[I Cannot Self-Terminate|is indestructible, but wants to commit suicide]]. He believes that he will succeed in suicide if he destroys the whole world or can force a [[Suicide By Cop]] by someone who can get the job done if he stays on the right side of the [[Moral Event Horizon]], and perhaps also that he is doing his murdered victims a favor by granting them the "gift" of death he is trying to get for himself. After all [[Who Wants to Live Forever?]] See also [[Suicidal Cosmic Temper Tantrum]] which is the game plan for a villain exhibiting this type of the trope.

On the [[Sliding Scale of Antagonist Vileness]], this character is often a [[Card Carrying Villain]] who is aware of the possible negative consequences of their intended actions, but just does not care. Selfish and dispassionate, they may go about their plans for destruction with little more emotion than the heroes might making a shopping list. Occasionally, the character is closer to a [[Non Malicious Monster]] who doesn't really comprehend that their plans to alter the Earth's climate would cause not just inconvenience for others, but catastrophe.

On the [[Sliding Scale of Antagonist Vileness]], this character is often a [[Card-Carrying Villain]] who is aware of the possible negative consequences of their intended actions, but just does not care. Selfish and dispassionate, they may go about their plans for destruction with little more emotion than the heroes might making a shopping list. Occasionally, the character is closer to a [[Non-Malicious Monster]] who doesn't really comprehend that their plans to alter the Earth's climate would cause not just inconvenience for others, but catastrophe.

Contrast [[Woobie Destroyer of Worlds]], which is somewhat of the inverse of this trope. Note: both this trope and that one can fall anywhere on the [[Sliding Scale of Villain Threat|scale of villain threat]]. It's the scope of the story that defines the threat: They may be up against everyone in the town the story takes place in, or the entire world. Not the same as [[Well Intentioned Extremist]] or [[Utopia Justifies the Means]] -- while the villain may wish to destroy humanity for what they regard as noble or important ends, this fellow is ultimately driven by pure misanthropy and his own misery. The key to this trope is that they [[Motive Rant|rationalize]] their actions due to self-pity, or contempt for the setting that they view as harmful.

Contrast [[Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds]], which is somewhat of the inverse of this trope. Note: both this trope and that one can fall anywhere on the [[Sliding Scale of Villain Threat|scale of villain threat]]. It's the scope of the story that defines the threat: They may be up against everyone in the town the story takes place in, or the entire world. Not the same as [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]] or [[Utopia Justifies the Means]] -- while the villain may wish to destroy humanity for what they regard as noble or important ends, this fellow is ultimately driven by pure misanthropy and his own misery. The key to this trope is that they [[Motive Rant|rationalize]] their actions due to self-pity, or contempt for the setting that they view as harmful.

[[Alas Poor Villain]] may still apply, despite their [[Jerkass Woobie|jerkass tendencies]], but only because [[After Action Villain Analysis|Explaining The Villain Explains The Conflict]].

[[Alas, Poor Villain]] may still apply, despite their [[Jerkass Woobie|jerkass tendencies]], but only because [[After Action Villain Analysis|Explaining The Villain Explains The Conflict]].

[[Motive Rant]], [[Cry for The Devil]], and/or [[Straw Man Has a Point]] may apply. If [[An Ice Person]] wishes to freeze the entire planet simply to [[Heal Thyself|heal himself]], [[Fridge Logic]] [[Incredibly Lame Pun|may ensue]]. If hatred of an antagonist is their ''only'' motivation, see [[Best Served Cold]].

For putting an ''actual wounded character'' "Out Of Its Misery", see [[Mercy Kill]]. Which this character may think they're doing.

== Anime and Manga ==

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* {{spoiler|Superboy of Earth-Prime, Superman of Earth-2, and Alexander Luthor of Earth-3}} in ''[[Infinite Crisis]]'' - especially the first one.

* In ''[[Hero Squared]]'', Captain Victory hurt his girlfriend, so she became a supervillain and destroyed the ''entire universe''. He managed to escape to another universe and found his non-superpowered equivalent; she followed. Caliginous has decided that life is nothing but pain, misery, cruelty and death, and should be ended in preferably the most all-encompassing fashion possible.

** Her arch-nemesis [[The Cape|Captain Valor]] just sees her as an evil megalomaniac, but his alternative self Milo manages to recognize that beneath it all she's a broken, lonely, [[Woobie Destroyer of Worlds|psychologically tormented and suffering woman]].

** Her arch-nemesis [[The Cape|Captain Valor]] just sees her as an evil megalomaniac, but his alternative self Milo manages to recognize that beneath it all she's a broken, lonely, [[Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds|psychologically tormented and suffering woman]].

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* In ''[[Law Abiding Citizen]]'', Clyde Shelton seeks revenge not only on the man who destroyed his family, but on the entire system that failed to convict him.

* In the 2007 ''[[Beowulf (Film)|Beowulf]]'' film, Grendel was made somewhat more sympathetic with the inclusion of a justification for his attacks: somehow the acoustics of the mead hall meant that the revelry within was painfully loud for his sensitive exposed eardrum.

* Grace in ''[[Dogville]]'' can be interpreted like this (type 4). Or as a [[Woobie Destroyer of Worlds]]. Or a ''whole'' lot of other ways.

* Grace in ''[[Dogville]]'' can be interpreted like this (type 4). Or as a [[Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds]]. Or a ''whole'' lot of other ways.

* Kadaj from ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]: Advent Children'' wants to absorb all the people infected by geostigma into the Lifestream {{spoiler|to join his "mother", Jenova. While he is a Remnant of Sephiroth, his amnesia made it appear that he sees that the end of all life on the planet as a GOOD thing}}.

* While 'Dark Alessa' from the ''[[Silent Hill (Film)|Silent Hill]]'' movie qualifies as [[Woobie Destroyer of Worlds]], her original, 39-year-old, now soulless body ends the film by {{spoiler|finally getting her revenge on the cult who burned her alive by killing them all, with the exception of her mother, Dahlia.}}

* While 'Dark Alessa' from the ''[[Silent Hill (Film)|Silent Hill]]'' movie qualifies as [[Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds]], her original, 39-year-old, now soulless body ends the film by {{spoiler|finally getting her revenge on the cult who burned her alive by killing them all, with the exception of her mother, Dahlia.}}

* ''[[Batman Begins]]'': [[Knight Templar|Henri Ducard]] comes across as a case of either type 3 or type 4 (or maybe both) with the type 3 component being evident from his [[Knight Templar]] attitude, and the type 4 component being apparent from his earlier talk (if he means it) about how [[Freudian Excuse|his wife was taken from him and he "learned the hard way that there are those in the world without decency, who must be fought without pity."]] The sign of [[Put Them All Out of My Misery]] itself is in his conversation with Bruce Wayne about the prospect of destroying Gotham.

{{quote| '''Wanye''': You're gonna destroy millions of lives.<br />

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* The Delphi Organization from [[Trauma Center]]: Under the Knife, Under the Knife 2 for DS, and Second Opinion for Wii is an example of this. They believe that doctors are ruining the world by creating an inequality in society where the poor die and the rich get treatment. They believe the world would be better off without medicine and create a disease, GUILT, which will attack anyone without discrimination.

* Belkt, the [[Big Bad]] of ''[[Another Centurys Episode]] 3'', is this due to an immense quadruple-whammy. Not only was he born into a [[Crapsack World]] where everyone is trying to kill each other (as well as [[Aliens and Monsters]]) with [[Humongous Mecha]] [[After the End|after]] barely surviving [[The End of the World As We Know It]] as well as being considered nothing more than an expendable tool to his superiors in [[The Federation]], but he's also got a bad case of {{spoiler|[[Cloning Blues]] coupled with [[Freudian Excuse|the fact that he thought his "father" didn't care about him either]]}}. So not only does he decide to wipe out his ''own'' Earth, but also the Earth of an [[Alternate Universe]] {{spoiler|where his "father" was originally from and his "base" (i.e., the boy he was cloned from) is living a somewhat less screwed-up life as an [[Ordinary High School Student]]}} via [[Earthshattering Kaboom|smashing them into each other]].

* In ''[[Fable]] II'', Lord Lucien became obsessed with the power of [[Lost Technology|Old Kingdom technology]] after the death of his wife and daughter, which eventually drives him to reconstruct an Old Kingdom device known as The Spire, with ''slave labor'', and use it to ''[[A God Am I|reshape the world to his liking]].'' Oh, and along the way he [[Dead Little Sister|murders your sister]], along with countless others, including {{spoiler|your wife and kids, if you have a family, and even [[And Your Little Dog Too|your canine companion]].}}

* In ''[[Fable]] II'', Lord Lucien became obsessed with the power of [[Lost Technology|Old Kingdom technology]] after the death of his wife and daughter, which eventually drives him to reconstruct an Old Kingdom device known as The Spire, with ''slave labor'', and use it to ''[[A God Am I|reshape the world to his liking]].'' Oh, and along the way he [[Dead Little Sister|murders your sister]], along with countless others, including {{spoiler|your wife and kids, if you have a family, and even [[And Your Little Dog, Too|your canine companion]].}}

* ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' has a few:

** Kuja in ''[[Final Fantasy IX]],'' after learning that his lifespan is limited and will soon run out, throws a [[Suicidal Cosmic Temper Tantrum]] and decides to destroying the Crystal, the source of all life (think the spring from which [[The Lifestream]] flows) to wipe out all life on the planet. And why? Because he thinks it's unfair that life will go on and people will continue to exist after he's dead.

** {{spoiler|Seymour}} in ''[[Final Fantasy X]]''. His backstory transforms him from an [[Omnicidal Maniac]] to a [[Well Intentioned Extremist]]. He was subject to [[Fantastic Racism]] due to being born a [[Half Human Hybrid]], then was [[Forced to Watch]] his mother perform a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] to save those people while his father nodded approvingly when he was twelve. Is it any wonder that he [[Go Mad From the Revelation|Went Mad From The Revelation]] that the church that encouraged all of this was in fact [[The Necrocracy]] dedicated to [[Medieval Stasis|keeping things this way forever]]? From that perspective, destroying Spira to put an end to its pain is simply the obvious conclusion of the state religion's position that ''death is peace!'' It's hard to [[Take a Third Option]] if your entire existence is based on denying such a thing is possible.

** {{spoiler|Seymour}} in ''[[Final Fantasy X]]''. His backstory transforms him from an [[Omnicidal Maniac]] to a [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]]. He was subject to [[Fantastic Racism]] due to being born a [[Half-Human Hybrid]], then was [[Forced to Watch]] his mother perform a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] to save those people while his father nodded approvingly when he was twelve. Is it any wonder that he [[Go Mad From the Revelation|Went Mad From The Revelation]] that the church that encouraged all of this was in fact [[The Necrocracy]] dedicated to [[Medieval Stasis|keeping things this way forever]]? From that perspective, destroying Spira to put an end to its pain is simply the obvious conclusion of the state religion's position that ''death is peace!'' It's hard to [[Take a Third Option]] if your entire existence is based on denying such a thing is possible.

* Played with in ''[[Sands of Destruction]]''. Morte ''wants'' [[The Hero|Kyrie]] to do this by showing how crappy the world is with the ferals' supremacy, hoping that he'll want to destroy it with his Destruct powers. {{spoiler|He doesn't.}}

* Ganondorf in ''[[The Legend of Zelda the Wind Waker (Video Game)|Wind Waker]]'' wants to use the Triforce to take control of all of Hyrule and is willing to beat up two kids to get it. Just before attacking, he gives a very heartfelt monologue about how his people, who lived in a desert, were constantly dying while the rest of Hyrule prospered and how this made him want to control the land in which everyone lived a better life.

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{{quote| '''Bender''': I've come to free you from your complicated lives! ...the "complicated" part, not the "lives" part.}}

* Demona of ''[[Gargoyles]]'' has suffered a great deal at the hands of humanity across her centuries-long life, and this ultimately leads her to an attitude of genocidal insanity towards that species. She's never ''entirely'' unsympathetic, though, due to her tragic (almost Shakespeareanly-so) backstory. True, a lot of it was indirectly her own fault, but that just winds up making her ''more'' pitiable. In any event, she thinks she can end her pain only by wiping out the human race, making her a definite example of this trope.

** Made all the worse by the fact that, since she's immortal, she's [[Cursed With Awesome]], since she'll [[Who Wants to Live Forever|outlive everyone and thing]] she's ever cared about at all. Besides which, five words: "The access code is... Alone."

** Made all the worse by the fact that, since she's immortal, she's [[Cursed With Awesome]], since she'll [[Who Wants to Live Forever?|outlive everyone and thing]] she's ever cared about at all. Besides which, five words: "The access code is... Alone."

** And that's not all. She repeatedly tries to kill any gargoyle who tries to stop her, even her ex-husband and her father.

* In [[Looney Tunes]], Marvin the Martian wants to destroy the Earth, because it is blocking his view of another planet.