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{{trope}}
Much like how [[Anti
Type I, Type II, and Type III usually can be evil, although they average out at a darker shade of grey. Type IV characters are a [[A Lighter Shade of Grey|light grey]] at their worst, and [[Good Versus Good|good characters aimed at greater goods]] at their best.
:Although he chooses to be evil and may in fact [[Card
:The defining Trope for this type of Anti-Villain would be the '''[[Noble Demon]]'''.
:Related Tropes: [[Hitman
;'''<big>Type II: Woobie [[Anti-Villain]]</big>'''
:It's obvious that these types of villains don't ''want'' to be evil; circumstances just make them out to be. They may act out of [[Undying Loyalty]] or [[Love Martyr|love for someone]] or maybe they're simply fighting for their own survival. Others are [[Break the Cutie|broken cuties]] who have snapped and want to end their suffering by destroying everything. Usually they are suffering from their alignment. The characters garners our sympathy not because their goal is good but because we can see how the [[Crapsack World]] made them the way they are. Often suffer from a damaged psyche. [[Anti-Villain]]s in this category may become true villains, but they're also just as likely to turn into an Anti-Hero.
:The defining trope for this type of Anti-Villain would be a '''[[Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds]]'''.
:Related Tropes: [[Sympathetic Murderer]], [[Jerkass Woobie]], [[Tragic Villain]], [[My Master, Right or Wrong]], and a typical [[Dark Magical Girl]].
;'''<big>Type III: Well-Intentioned [[Anti-Villain]]</big>'''
:The [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]]. They may believe in a good goal, but use whatever means there are to achieve it. The sympathy the audience can garner for this character comes from the fact that they basically share the same goal as the hero, but are pragmatically, expediently, or pessimistically, ruthless about it. They can very much be conscious about their morally questionable actions, but feel that there is no other way. Common antagonist in [[White and Grey Morality]] scenarios and relatively likely to be redeemed if shown the error of their ways depending on ''how'' "extremist" they are. These [[Anti-Villain|Anti Villains]] may become more malicious true villains, but they are more likely to either stay in this category or possibly morph into a Type II [[Anti-Villain]]. The Type III can also be a revolutionary of some sort, fighting against the main character only due to their affiliation to some government or organization, and usually fighting for a noble cause. Alternatively, [[Obliviously Evil|they may not even realize what they're doing is wrong or making things worse in the first place]].
:The defining Trope for this type of Anti-Villain would be the '''[[Well-Intentioned Extremist]]''', of course. Might overlap with [[Sliding Scale of Anti-Heroes|Type III Anti-Hero]].
:Related Tropes: [[Necessarily Evil]], [[Obliviously Evil]].
;'''<big>Type IV: [[Anti-Villain|"Villain"]] In Name Only</big>'''
:These characters either lack any villainous traits whatsoever or have so much concern over others that any signs of villainy are nearly completely drowned out. Frequently, these characters are called villains only because they fight against the hero. Basically, these guys are ''never'' actively malevolent. They usually have some other reason for opposing the hero besides evil schemes. Ironically, these characters can be extremely dangerous to the hero as their high skill at arms/competence more than makes up for their lack of vileness. Fighting them also poses a moral dilemma which can also sap the hero's morale. It is at this point where an [[Anti-Villain]] starts to blur with the [[Hero Antagonist]]. Having to kill a particularly well liked type 4 in a boss fight can be a [[Player Punch]]. Their deaths are extremely likely to be a [[Tear Jerker]]. These [[Anti-Villain]]s have virtually no chance of becoming a true villain - in fact, if they did, it would probably mess up the flow of the story.
:A defining trope for this type of Anti-Villain is the '''[[Designated Villain]]'''.
:Related Tropes: more benign [[My Country, Right or Wrong]] or [[My Master, Right or Wrong]], [[Non-Malicious Monster]], [[Punch Clock Villain]], [[Noble Top Enforcer]] (when not a Type I), mild examples of [[Necessarily Evil]], those who are [[Forced Into Evil]], and occasionally a [[Token Good Teammate]] (when among a bunch of scumbags).
{{examples}}
== Noble Anti-Villains ==
=== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ===
* Evangeline from ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]''
* Tia Harribel and Gin Ichimaru of ''[[Bleach]]''. {{spoiler|At least, Gin claims to be this at best and acts the part, but it turns out he's actually Type III, a well-intentioned extremist whose actions have put him well beyond any level of hero territory and far into anti-villain territory.}}
* Raoh from ''[[Fist of the North Star]]''.
* Pluto from ''[[Astro Boy]]''.
* Younger Toguro and Yomi of ''[[
* Most of the characters of ''[[Baccano
* Greed of ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]''. He may be a selfish bastard, but he cares deeply for his followers.
* Dark Schneider of ''[[Bastard
* In ''[[
* Androids 16, 17 and 18 <ref>in the normal timeline of course.</ref> of ''[[
** Goku's father Bardock starts out as this before becoming a [[Sliding Scale of Anti
* En of ''[[
* Eruka of ''[[
* Agaard-Jim-Sai and Akira Hongo of ''[[Kenichi:
* Bankotsu and Sesshomaru of ''[[
* Juvia, Kageyama And Lyon and before their [[Heel Face Turn]] in ''[[
** Azuma as well
* Kintolesky from ''[[
* Viral from ''[[
** Just after the [[Hot Springs Episode]], he not-so-politely asks the heroes to [[Please Put Some Clothes On]] and allows them to arm themselves before fighting him.
** When he confronts Simon and Yoko over {{spoiler|Kamina's whereabouts, and eventually accepts Simon as his new rival}}, he agrees to a fair one-on-one duel.
** When said duel is interrupted by Cytomander, who takes Yoko hostage and orders Viral to perform a [[No
===
* Captain Cold of ''[[The Flash]]'' and most of the Rogues' Gallery are an example of this.
* [[The Darkness]]
* [[Deadpool]] depending of the day of the week (In his worst moments, he's [[Faux Affably Evil]]). With his [[Blue and Orange Morality]] and all.
* The [[Secret Six]].
* [[Depending
* The Eddie Brock version of Venom from ''[[Spider-Man]]'' became this (originally, he was an [[Ax Crazy]] psychopath who only ''thought'' he was the good guy.)
* Julius Caesar in the ''[[Asterix]]'' comics.
* Envy Adams of [[
=== Film ===
* From the ''[[Pitch Black]]'' series, we have [[Noble Demon]] Riddick. He's a villain in almost every way; a savage murderer and psychopath with a ''really'' sick sense of humour, but [[Even Evil Has Standards]], and it seems he [[Wouldn't Hurt a Child]] (he seems to like children, and in return he often fascinates them).
* [[Megamind]] is somewhere between this and a Type II.
* Similarly with Megamind's case, we have Gru from ''[[Despicable Me]]''.
* Leon, the protagonist of ''[[Léon: The Professional]]''.
* Mr. White of [[Reservoir Dogs]].
* Bill the Butcher from ''[[Gangs of New York]]''. He's a vicious, racist nutjob, but he has a sense of honor and a few [[Pet the Dog]] moments.
=== [[Literature]] ===
* The titular character of ''[[Dexter]]''.
* Lord Vetinari of ''[[
* "Gentleman" Johnny Marcone & Lara Raith of ''[[
* ''[[
* [[Badass Preacher|Hrathen]] in ''[[Elantris]]''.
* Napoleon in the ''[[Temeraire]]'' series. Indeed he often comes off as better than the people running Britain.
=== [[Live
* Garak in ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'', he does have standards. He is also quite utterly unapologetic about the rather horrifying things he has done (and does).
=== [[Video Games]] ===
* Default position of most demons in ''[[Disgaea]]''
* Elvis from ''[[God Hand]]''.
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* The Belfrond (Carlo and Regina) siblings from ''[[Psychic Force]]''
* Dr. Eggman from ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' is generally this, having certain codes of conduct adhering to respect for his foes' abilities, and a flair for the dramatic, combined with a degree of often hilarious incompetence.
* [[Planet Eater]] Pyron from ''[[
* Heihachi Mishima from ''[[Tekken]]''. While a dickhead, he's got some soft spots to prevent him to be equal or even worse than Kazuya.
** Bruce Irvin even moreso. He's working with Kazuya efficiently but pretty much is a [[Punch Clock Villain]] when outside his job, [[Friend to All Children|befriending, helping and inspiring children to become a better person]].
* Wolfgang Krauser of ''[[Fatal Fury]]''.
* For a short time, Anji Mito from ''[[Guilty Gear]]'', crossing with Type IV. Unlike [[
* The Bonne Family from ''[[
* Pre-[[Heel Face Turn]] Axel Almer in ''[[Super Robot Wars Original Generation]]''. He's still dedicated in kicking the good guys' ass, but he's more of a [[Noble Demon]] and his true enemy is actually [[Complete Monster|Beowulf]] and is actually preventing him to 're-materialize' in that world after seeing the brutality Beowulf caused in his world.
* [[Street Fighter|Sagat]] before ''Street Fighter Alpha 3'', he willingly became a subordinate of Bison in order to get stronger and embraced his status as one of Shadoloo's Four Devas. But over time, he developed into a [[Noble Demon]] who is disgusted by Bison's more underhanded methods of granting strength and eventually ditches him for good to resume a more healthy rivalry with Ryu.
* Augus from ''[[
* Magus from ''[[
* Carl "C.J." Johnson from [[Grand Theft Auto
=== [[Western Animation]] ===
* Ty Lee and Mai from ''[[
* Brain and his Dragon Pinky from ''[[
* [[Affably Evil|David Xanatos]] from ''[[Gargoyles]]'' becomes this through [[Character Development]]. Yes, he's a [[Magnificent Bastard]] and [[Trope Namer]] for [[Xanatos Gambit|a certain trope]], but [[Even Evil Has Standards|has]] [[Even Evil Has Loved Ones|quite]] [[Happily Married|enough]] [[Friendly Enemy|positive]] [[Papa Wolf|qualities]] that keep him sympathetic despite his villainy. {{spoiler|And while he never stops being evil, he no longer antagonizes the Gargoyles out of gratitude for saving his beloved son}}.
** [[Death Seeker|Macbeth]] combines this with Type II.
* Doctor Doofenshmirtz from ''[[
* Avalanche of ''[[X
* Red X of ''[[Teen Titans (
* Gaz of ''[[Invader Zim]]'', in addition to being a [[Sliding Scale of Anti
* Duncan of ''[[
* Ultra-Humanite in ''[[Justice League]]'' is quite morally ambiguous for a villain. While he does a series of serious crimes, like blowing up a modern art museum because he despises Modernism, he also tends to help the heroes in certain occasions. A particular example is in the [[Christmas Episode]] where he helps the Flash giving a desired toy to a group of orphans.
* Despite considering himself an official villain, Puma Loco from ''[[El Tigre]]'' puts his family in first place than his criminal schemes (at least most of the time), and is often seen helping his grandson Manny and his son White Pantera in beating up the other criminals of Miracle City.
* Jack Spicer from ''[[
* Charmcaster from the ''[[Ben 10]]'' franchise is between this and Type II.
* Tom of ''[[Tom and Jerry]]'', [[Depending on the Writer]]. Although he does get sadistic pleasure out of tormenting Jerry and at the beginning of some shorts is shown doing so, in other shorts he's really only forced to go after Jerry by his owner. Jerry does his share of provoking their battles as well, sometimes to the point of [[Disproportionate Retribution]], and sometimes even just because he feels like it.
== Woobie Anti-Villains ==
===
* Fate Testarossa in the first season of ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]''.
* Suzaku from ''[[
** [[Alternative Character Interpretation|According to some interpretations]], [[Base Breaker|Mao]] may also count.
** Jeremiah Gottwald also falls into this early on, when you consider his real motives. Thankfully, he undergoes a [[Heel Face Turn]] in the second season.
* Crona from ''[[
* Four Murasame and Rosamia Badam in ''[[Zeta Gundam]]''.
* Stella Loussier in ''[[Gundam Seed Destiny]]''.
* Louise Halevy in ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 00]]'s'' second season.
* Lucy from ''[[
* Fried (before his [[Heel Face Turn]]) and
** {{spoiler|
* Pegasus J. Crawford from ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh (
* Darcia the Third from ''[[
*
* Alyssa from the [[
* {{spoiler|Sheila}} in ''[[Hekikai no
** After the [[Time Skip]], she evolve to Type 4, since she, though not doing evil herself, still hates the main heroine.
=== [[Comic Books]] ===
* Mr. Freeze in ''[[Batman]]'' [[Ret Canon|post-influence from]] [[Batman:
** Also, Two-Face from the very start.
* Harry Osborn as the second Green Goblin in ''[[Spider-Man]]''.
* ''[[Ultimate Spider
=== [[Film]] ===
* Big Daddy from [[Kick
* Magua from ''[[The Last of the Mohicans
* [[Tragic Hero|Anakin Skywalker]] / [[Dragon
** Though by the time of the Original Trilogy, he had become a [[Card
* Doctor Octopus, The Sandman, and (of course) Harry Osborn in ''[[Spider-Man (
* [[Tragic Villain|Loki]] from ''[[Thor]]'' was doing the wrong things for the right reasons. {{spoiler|He lets the Jotun's into Asgard to prevent Thor from becoming king because he is not ready, he brings them back to Asgard so as to appear to save his father from an assassination attempt, and then attempts to destroy Jotunheim so as to rid Asgard of that threat. At it's heart, it was all an attempt to prove to his father that he was just as worthy of his pride and affection as Thor.}}
* Carrie White from [[Carrie]].
* Sweeney Todd from ''[[Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (
=== Literature ===
* {{spoiler|Simone and her sisters}} in ''[[Rivers of London|Moon Over Soho]]''. Never asked or set out to be what they became (and weren't even truly aware of it until the end), and whose origin was entirely accidental.
* Murtagh and Thorn from ''[[Inheritance Cycle]].''
* Sandor "The Hound" Clegane from ''[[
* The "monster" from ''[[Frankenstein (
* Gunnhild in another of Poul Anderson's Viking stories, ''Mother of Kings'' is a [[Villain Protagonist]]. She [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|is a witch, a murderer, a power-grasping and violent plotter, and a seducer]] and no one can mistake her for anything other then a villain. At the same time she has a [[Knight Templar Parent|love for her sons]], a hunger for truth that has nothing to do with her power; and she lives in a [[Crapsack World]] of violence in the secular world and confusion between religions in the spiritual. You cannot really like her or root for her but you can sympathize with her even though she would probably be to proud to [[Don't You Dare Pity Me!|accept your pity.]]
**As Anderson points out in the Afterword, [[Very Loosely Based on a True Story|the real Gunnhild]] is unlikely to have been as bad as all that though she was unlikely to have been a Scandinavian version of a [[Girl Next Door]] either. History may or may not be written by the winners but [[Captain Obvious|sagas are written by skalds.]]
=== [[Live
* Ben from ''[[
* The Master from ''[[
** Modern series ''only'', in the classic series he is a [[Card
* Nicci in ''[[Legend of the Seeker]],'' though in [[Sword of Truth|the books]] she's more of a Type III.
* Willow Rosenberg of ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' in the sixth season.
* Jefferson aka the Mad hatter from ''[[Once Upon a Time (TV series)|Once Upon a Time]]''. He's pushed into what he does by Regina's manipulation and betrayal plus love of his daughter. Also he's been driven more than a bit crazy by his time in Wonderland and being one of the few concious people in Storybrooke.
=== [[Tabletop Games]] ===
* Magnus the Red from ''[[Warhammer
=== [[Video Games]] ===
* Tsubaki Yayoi from ''[[
* Sniper Wolf in ''[[
* Shuyin from ''[[Final Fantasy X
* [[The Big Guy|Barry Burton]] in ''[[Resident Evil]]''. Wesker threatened his wife, so he went along with betraying the STARS unit.
* Brad Kilstein in ''[[Psychic Force]]''. He's actually pretty decent provided his [[Split Personality]] doesn't take over.
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* Reptile in ''[[Mortal Kombat]]''. It's nearly a [[Running Gag]] that if you don't off him, his superiors screw him.
* Walter Sullivan from ''[[Silent Hill 4]]'' may count. He's just a [[Psychopathic Manchild|little kid]] who wants his mom back. Plus he was raised by a cult of [[Manipulative Bastard|manipulative bastards]].
* [[The Dragon|Gaspard]] and, remarkably, {{spoiler|[[Big Bad|Emperor Griffin]]}} from ''[[
* [[Oswald the Lucky Rabbit]] in ''[[
* {{spoiler|The [[Omnicidal Maniac|real Overlord Zenon]]}} from ''[[Disgaea 2
* Jack Krauser is retroactively implied to be of this trope in ''[[Resident Evil 4]]'', as Darkside Chronicles explains that his reasons for turning to Wesker was because that was the only option left for him to do the thing he did well at, fighting, after his mission with Leon resulted in him being fired from SOCOM due to an arm injury that never recovered.
* Dr Stahngun/ {{spoiler|Dimitri Allen}} in ''[[Professor Layton and
* ''[[Neverwinter Nights 2]]: Mask of the Betrayer'' features the Founder, pretty much the definition of [[Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds]]. She inflicted the [[Player Character]] with a soul-eating curse and set into motion events that threaten the very fabric of the [[Forgotten Realms]], all to save her lover from [[And I Must Scream|the Wall of the Faithless]].
* Yasha from ''[[
=== [[Web Comics]] ===
* In ''151 Hidden Depths'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20130911072300/http://hiddendepths.smackjeeves.com/comics/1405524/050-diglett/ Diglett] becomes this after evolving into [https://web.archive.org/web/20131220182021/http://hiddendepths.smackjeeves.com/comics/1407376/051-dugtrio/ Dugtrio]. [[Pint
=== [[Web Original]] ===
* Dr. Horrible from ''[[Dr.
=== [[Western Animation]] ===
* Zuko from ''[[
* Most of the members of Batman's Rogue's Gallery become this in ''[[Batman:
** And in the movie, ''[[Batman: Mask of the Phantasm]]'', we have the Phantasm{{spoiler|/Andrea Beaumont}}.
* Ethan Bennett, the original Clayface, in ''[[
* Colossus in ''[[X
* Nox of ''[[
* Jack O'Lantern, Nergal and his son Nergal Jr. in ''[[The Grim Adventures of Billy
* Courtney in ''[[
* The Ice King of ''[[
* An interesting subversion/deconstruction of this character type can be found in [[Big Bad|Demona]] of ''[[Western Animation]]/Gargoyles''. She's certainly got enough nuance and tragedy in her backstory to qualify her as a [[Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds]], but at the same time she has both the motive and means to do probably the most large-scale damage of any villain in the [[Rogues Gallery]] and her obsession with getting revenge for her own pain has blinded her to the fact that she's spent the last milennium just digging herself in deeper.
== Well-Intentioned Anti-Villains ==
=== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ===
* Pain, Konan and {{spoiler|Itachi}} of ''[[Naruto]]''
* Gil Graham from ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's]]''.
* Amber, Amigiri, and most of the rest of Evening Primrose from ''[[Darker than Black]]''.
* Trevor Goodchild from ''[[Aeon Flux]]''.
* Haman Karn from ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ|Gundam ZZ]]''.
* Master Asia of ''[[Mobile Fighter G Gundam|G Gundam]]''
* Zechs Merquise and Treize Khushrenada from ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam Wing|Gundam Wing]]''.
* Gilbert Durandal from ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny|Gundam SEED Destiny]]'', as well as his adopted son Rey Za Burrel
* Lordgenome from ''[[Gurren Lagann]]'', a brutal though world-weary dictator who was the only thing preventing his masters from wiping out his species.
* The Blue Knight from ''[[Astro Boy]]''.
* Father Alexander Anderson from ''[[
* Magellan, the Impel Down warden from ''[[
* Chouji Suitengu of ''[[
* Prince Schneizel of ''[[
* Gendo Ikari from [[Neon Genesis Evangelion]].
* Kuze from the second season of ''[[Ghost in
* Ultear, Jellal, Laxus and Knightwalker of ''[[
* Kaname Tosen & {{spoiler|Kugo Ginjo}} of ''[[
** It turns out that {{spoiler|Gin Ichimaru}} is this {{spoiler|or at least, this is how he started}} although he deliberately cultivates the image of a {{spoiler|Type I Anti-Villain}}. His motive is something the protagonists could sympathise with and even support but the methods he's willing to (and does) use put him well outside the hero scale and firmly in the anti-villain scale. For a Type III, his methods are very extreme and drag him towards the {{spoiler|Type I}} he claims to be.
=== [[Comic Books]] ===
* [[The Punisher]]. Also a Type V on the [[Sliding Scale of Anti
* Erik Magnus/Erik Lensherr AKA [[Magneto]] of ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]''
* The Adversary in ''[[Fables]]''.
* {{spoiler|Ozymandias}} and Rorschach from ''[[Watchmen (
* Adam Susan from ''[[V for Vendetta]]''.
* [[Batman]]'s foe Poison Ivy, who is also another case of [[Depending
=== [[Film]] ===
* Ramses II from ''[[The Prince of Egypt]]'', mixed with Type II.
* The Operative in ''[[
=== [[Literature]] ===
* Nicci of the ''[[Sword of Truth]]'' series, along with several minor villains who aren't [[Complete Monster
=== [[Live
* Lex Luthor in ''[[Smallville]]'' is often this.
* Walternate from ''[[Fringe]]'' seems to fall into this category. Yes, he wants to destroy our universe, but for all he knows there isn't any other way to save his. Not to mention that he thinks the two universes are at war. True, he is openly malevolent towards {{spoiler|Olivia while she is trapped on the other side, along with anyone that helps her}} and is quite ruthless, but he occasionally has ''higher moral standards'' than Walter. {{spoiler|Most obviously displayed when he flat-out rejects his top scientist's idea to text cortexiphan on children, an idea that Walter developed and executed far before the conflict between the universes began}}.
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* Thomas from ''[[The Event]]'', also {{spoiler|Sophia after Thomas's death and finding out the aliens homeworld is dying.}}
* The Cigarette Smoking Man, and the rest of the Syndicate, from ''[[The X-Files]]''.
* [[Star Trek:
=== [[Tabletop Games]] ===
* Lizardmen in ''[[Warhammer Fantasy]]'' if interpreted as villains.
* The Tau Empire in ''[[Warhammer
** Arguably a lot of the Empire from ''Warhammer 40,000'' could be considered this as well.
** [[Ambiguously Evil|Possibly Alpharius and/or Omegon.]]
=== [[Video Games]] ===
* Delita in ''[[
* {{spoiler|Namatame}} in ''[[
* Matriarch Benezia from ''[[
* Craft, [[The Dragon]] to [[Big Bad|Dr. Weil]] from ''[[Mega Man Zero]]'' 4.
* Duke and Pharaoh from ''[[
* Vayne in ''[[
* Jowy Atreides-Blight in ''[[Suikoden II]]''. Also his strategist Leon Silverberg.
* Most ''[[Tales
* Keith Evans in ''[[Psychic Force]]''. He truly wanted the good of his kinsmen, who was being oppressed by humanity and the only way to do it, he thinks, is being a [[Dark Messiah]].
* Lance from ''[[Epic Battle Fantasy]]''.
* Jedah Dohma from ''[[
* Archie and Maxie from the third generation of ''[[Pokémon]]'' could fit the bill, but Maxie more so.
* Big Boss in ''[[Metal Gear]]'' did the things he did, besides for his [[Blood Knight]] tendencies, out of a legitimate desire to free soldiers so they won't have to be expendable pawns of the government, due to his experience with The Boss's death (and his involvement in it). He also is shown to forgive and even save his enemies/defectors if they are threatened, as evidenced by his saving Kyle Schneider's resistance from NATO's nuclear bombing of Outer Heaven despite the latter group being against him.
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* Graf Michael Sepperin in ''[[Rosenkreuzstilette]]''.
* {{spoiler|Alister Azimuth}} in ''[[Ratchet and Clank Future A Crack In Time]]''.
** Ironically, he's a borderline [[Sliding Scale of Anti
* Look no further than Ammon Jerro from ''[[Neverwinter Nights 2]]''. The man has an army of powerful fiends at his beck and call, murders several people who get in the way of his recovering a [[MacGuffin]], and is canonically [[Neutral Evil]]. {{spoiler|He's not the [[Big Bad]], not even [[The Dragon]]. He's the former court mage of Neverwinter, trying to save Faerûn from the [[Big Bad]] by whatever means necessary. And you get to give him an absolutely ''epic'' [["The Reason You Suck" Speech]].}}
** {{spoiler|The [[Big Bad]] he's opposing, the King of Shadows, can come across as this when you meet the ghosts of people who knew him. He willingly underwent a transformation into a magical golem called The Guardian so he could protect the Illefarn empire, and everything he's done since then, from binding himself to the [[The Dark Side|Shadow Weave]] to waging war on Neverwinter, and all the carnage he's caused, is simply him fulfilling the orders programmed into him.}}
* In [[Arcanum]], {{spoiler|Kerghan is a powerful necromancer who seeks the destruction of all life... because, after centuries of using necromancy to study the place where souls go after death, he's wholeheartedly convinced that since all beings undergo suffering during life, the comparable peace associated with death is a desirable state of existence. This view is backed up by one of your party members, who is likely to have been killed and resurrected during the events of the game.}}
* ''[[
* {{spoiler|Deus}} from ''[[
=== [[Web Comics]] ===
* Baron Klaus Wulfenbach from ''[[Girl Genius]]''
* [[The Dragon|Redcloak]] from ''[[The Order of the Stick|Order of the Stick]]'', initially; he became more of a straight villain over time due to his association with [[Complete Monster]] [[Big Bad|Xykon]].
* Tangerine from ''[[Sinfest]]'' doesn't do the stuff she does out of malice, but as a result of not knowing any better.
=== [[Web Original]] ===
* {{spoiler|Jaffers}} and the obstacles {{spoiler|(except for [[That Dude in the Suede|Suede]] at the end of part 5)}} in ''[[Suburban Knights]]'' just want to protect the gauntlet from {{spoiler|[[Big Bad|Malecite]] so that he cannot pose a threat to our technology-dependent world}}. In the process, however, they're willing to fight and kill anyone also looking for the gauntlet in order to prevent that from happening.
* Dr. Horrible from ''[[Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog]]''
=== [[Western Animation]] ===
* Jet from ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]''. He has a good reason to be opposing the Fire Nation, he just takes his grudge way too far.
* Amon from ''[[The Legend of Korra]]''.
* Kang the Conqueror in ''[[The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes|Avengers Earths Mightiest Heroes]]'' becomes sort of this. The sole reason why he wants [[Captain America (comics)]] dead is because he blames Cap for disrupting the timeline (remember, Cap got preserved in a block of ice in the North Atlantic after an accident in his last mission in the 40's and then was revived to present times by the Avengers), which for an unexplained reason causes the destruction of the world within 10 years and almost erases Kang's wife Ravonna from existence.
* Valerie Gray from ''[[Danny Phantom]]'', if you don't view her as a [[Sliding Scale of Anti-Heroes|Type III and/or IV]] [[Anti-Hero]].
==
=== [[Anime]]
* Haku from ''[[
* Coyote Starrk from ''[[
* November and April of ''[[Darker
* The Wolkenritter from ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
* Guilford, Lloyd and Cecile of ''[[
* Athrun Zala, Nicol Amalfi, Dearka Elsmann, Yzak Joule and Andrew Waltfeld in ''[[Gundam Seed]]''.
* Several examples in ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 00]]'', most notably Colonel Sergi Smirnov, if one doesn't consider him an outright [[Hero Antagonist]].
* Ramba Ral in ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam]]''.
* Norris Packard in ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team]]''.
* The Cyclops Team in ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in
* Team Rocket from ''[[Pokémon (
* Excel and Hyatt from ''[[Excel Saga (
* Mifune in ''[[
* In ''[[
* Shin and Noi from ''[[
* Zagato from ''[[
* Joshua from ''[[
* {{spoiler|Sasaki}} in ''[[
** Also the Computer Research Society President, who only opposed the SOS Brigade because Haruhi [[Kick the Dog|extorted a computer from him]]. Lately, though, he and Haruhi seem to be on better terms with each other.
* Angel from ''[[Angel Beats
* Wizardmon from ''[[
** Ivan from ''[[
* Pantherlily, and Erza old comrades from ''[[
* The title character of ''[[
* Chao Lingshen from ''[[
* ''[[Ratman]]'' is a [[Villain Protagonist|protagonist]] version, and is actually a superhero [[Otaku]] who is only a "dark hero" because he was tricked into joining Jackal, an [[Oddly Small Organization]] of rather goofy and nonthreatening villains. Since his missions have him breaking the law and put him at odds with the Hero Association (especially the more [[Jerkass]] heroes), he's a criminal, but takes every opportunity he can to use his powers to help people.
* ''[[
* Alyssa from the [[Mai
=== [[
* [[Sub-Mariner|Namor the Sub-Mariner]] whenever he is antagonizing the other superheroes of the [[Marvel Universe]]. His actions are mostly due to his hot-headed and anti-social personality.
* Lucas Lee from [[
* Inspector Finch from ''[[V for Vendetta]]''.
=== [[Film]] ===
* [[King Kong]].
* Roy Batty ends up as this in ''[[Blade Runner]]''.
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* The Spaniard from the fourth ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean]]''.
=== [[Literature]] ===
* Several of the Havenite military personnel in the ''[[Honor Harrington]]'' series are only villains because they happen to be part of a nation that is at war with Manticore. This is especially the case after Eloise Pritchart takes over as President and transforms Haven from a [[
* In many of the original [[Sherlock Holmes]] stories, the perpetrator or the closest equivalent turns out to have merely been the victim of the circumstances, not known what they were doing, merely committing a lesser crime for understandable reasons, or at least to be a [[Sympathetic Murderer]] taking justice in their own hands against an [[Asshole Victim]] who really had it coming. Once they're exposed and explain themselves, Holmes tends to let these characters off the hook even when they actually did do something illegal.
=== [[Live
* Lt. Kavenaugh on [[The Shield]] at least until the premiere of season 6 when he crosses the [[Moral Event Horizon]].
* Enos from ''[[The Dukes of Hazzard]]''. He is never really portrayed as corrupt or evil, and despite his [[Designated Villain]] role (by default by being on the same side as Boss Hogg), becomes quite sympathetic and likable over the course of the show. Enos is plagued by a strong sense of duty. He's a deputy, and sworn to uphold the law. Unfortunately for him, Boss Hogg controls the law. At times, one has to wonder if his goofing up isn't at least somewhat intentional as a way of helping the Dukes. Especially considering that he was able to become the head of the Los Angeles SWAT team.
* [[Minion
===
* John Dickenson in ''[[
=== [[Video Games]] ===
* The Guardians from ''[[Mega Man Zero]]'', especially Harpuia. They're essentially good people (technically, [[Ridiculously
* Meta Knight from ''[[Kirby]]'' though he can sometimes be a Type III in his more extreme moments.
* Litchi Faye-Ling in ''[[
* Mid Boss in ''[[Disgaea]]''. The worst thing he does is loot the party's picnic basket.
** Death King Hugo in the 4th game, who like Meta Knight has elements of Type 3.
* Garl Vinland from ''[[
** For that matter, Maiden Astraea herself. {{spoiler|Literally the only reason she's even billed as a villain is because she has a demon's soul (she's the Valley of defilement's Archdemon), but it's outright stated that even in her bitter disillusionment after finding out about God's non-existence,, she still hasn't lost her kind heart, and her soul is the most impure one because she's taking all the sins and suffering of the Valley's inhabitants on herself, relieving them of some of their misery. The Valley's denizens adore her, and will do absolutely anything to protect her, including judiciously slaughtering pesky soul-hunters looking to snag her soul. Like say, the player character. And she commands such loyalty simply by being a good person at heart.}} Sixth Saint Astraea, indeed.
* The Boss in ''[[Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater]]''. {{spoiler|Her death}} [[Tear Jerker|is one of the saddest moments in gaming history.]]
* Miles Edgeworth in the ''[[Ace Attorney]]'' series is either this or a type III: he starts off as a more typical villain, trying his best to get all the defendants found guilty, but he has a [[Heel Face Turn]]. Now, he looks for the truth, and even helps Phoenix if need be.
** Gradually reshaped into a [[Sliding Scale of Anti
* Both Eltoshan or Ishtar from ''[[Fire Emblem Jugdral|Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu]]''. Eltoshan was too much of a [[Stupid Good]] when it comes to loyalty (and dies for it), and Ishtar was really decent for children or Tinny, but just can't say "no" for [[Big Bad|Julius]].
** Ishtar, however, ''did'' go directly against Julius's orders and had children that were due to be sacrificed smuggled into Freege castle, and made it clear that anyone who laid a finger on them would be dealt with by her ''personally''. While she does end up dying for Julius, she does show that she's willing to disobey the orders of '''the most powerful character in the game''' in order to do what she feels is right. Really, if she wasn't in love with Julius she'd probably have done a [[Heel Face Turn]].
** Pretty much any generic boss who isn't an utter [[Jerkass]] qualifies.
* General Teo McDohl from ''[[Suikoden I]]''. And you, being his son, offed him because he serves the Empire, you lead the rebels.
* ''[[
** Tamoko in the first game, based on what we see of her. She's only on the side of the [[Big Bad]], and willing to try to kill the [[Player Character]], because she loves him, and she even wants to stop his plans to save him. However, she ''is'' officially [[Neutral Evil]] according to game files, which doesn't actually contradict her behaviour if we assume she's otherwise willing to do evil but her True Love for the villain is stronger than those tendencies. But according to what we actually see her do, her being merely somewhat amoral rather than evil would be the most sensible explanation.
** In the sequel, {{spoiler|[[The Mole|Yoshimo]]}}, Tamoko's brother according to cut content. [[What a Senseless Waste of Human Life]] indeed. [[True Neutral|Even more clearly amoral rather than evil]], but forced to work for the villain through a [[Magically
* Leon Magnus from ''[[
* Sonia/{{spoiler|Chris Ryan}} from ''[[Psychic Force]]''. Her loyalty was actually programmed and {{spoiler|any events of her death proved to be soul-crushing for her little sister Wendy}}.
* [[Final Fantasy IV
** Take note that the latter character was pretty much a Type IV in his original game as well, seeing how the only reason he's on the villain's end is because he fused with Sin after becoming Brask's Final Aeon with the intention of eliminating Sin, and was perfectly willing to die at the hands of his son as long as it at least ensured Sin's permanent destruction.
** [[Final Fantasy VII
* From ''[[
* In the ''[[Batman: Arkham Asylum]]'' series, both Catwoman and Talia are exclusively used as Batman's allies, with only the greater continuity reminding players this isn't always the case.
* General Leo in ''[[Final Fantasy VI]]''.
* Lemon Browning in ''[[Super Robot Wars Advance]]'' and ''[[Super Robot Wars Original Generation]]''. Despite her [[Mad Scientist]] tendencies, she's generally without malice and kind enough with her creations, and you off her merely because she just have to fight for the side she's on. Oh, and her relationship with [[Noble Demon|Axel]] is genuine. {{spoiler|Add up that she's [[Manic Pixie Dream Girl|Excellen Browning]]'s [[Alternate Universe]] counterpart...}}
** Originally in ''Advance'', [[
* Sophitia Alexandra starting from ''[[Soul Series|SoulCalibur IV]]'' goes to this path. Despite starting out as the holiest and purest of all fighters, her motherly instincts decreed her to protect her children who was under Soul Edge's influence, by protecting said weapon that she swore to destroy. There's a reason why she's ''crying'' in her official art in IV.
** Her daughter Pyrrha gets the same treatment in Soulcalibur V. Being raised by Tira and manipulated into being a new host for Soul Edge, just about everything out of her mouth literally screams she doesn't want to do any of it.
* [[Donkey Kong]] himself when he's the antagonist, such as the classic arcade game or the ''[[Mario
* {{spoiler|Claus, AKA The Masked Man}} from ''[[
* {{spoiler|Aphelion, the silver dragon}} from ''[[
* Mr Freeze in [[Arkham City]] is this with a bit of Type II. As usual his main goal is to protect his wife and he only goes against Batman once in the entire game and that's just because Bruce's stubborness lead to a miscomunication between them.
* The Theives Guild in [[The Elder Scrolls]] IV: Oblivion. Despite being unrepentant theives they never kill, protect the poor and only target people who can easily afford the loss. Their leader the Grey Fox in particualr fits this as he only resorts to crime due to a curse which he seeks to break.
=== [[Web Comics]] ===
* Fuschia from ''[[
* [[Lawful Stupid|Miko]] [[Knight Templar|Miyazaki]] from ''[[The Order of the Stick
=== [[Western Animation]] ===
* Iroh from ''[[
* [[The Chew Toy|Waspinator]] in ''[[
* GIR, the hopelessly moronic robot minion of the titular ''[[Invader Zim]]''.
* King Julien from ''[[The Penguins of Madagascar]]'' is a complete [[Jerk
* Lindsay from ''[[
* Magneto in ''[[X
* Junior from ''[[Kim Possible]]''.
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[[Category:Sorting Algorithm of Tropes]]
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