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** Sideshow Bob in all of his appearences tried to kill Bart, but he finally crossed the line when he {{spoiler|decides to get people to hate Bart while he's on trial, fake his death, and, with the help of his whole family, burn Bart alive in a coffin being pushed into a furnace. Fortunately, he is caught and, along with the rest of his family, is sentenced to [[Laser-Guided Karma|87 years in prison]]}}.
** The Preschool Teacher's treatment of Bart, as seen in "Lisa's Sax". THIS IS THE REASON why Bart is Bart today. What makes it worse is that Bart was just ''five years old'' and her actions made Bart actually consider [[Driven to Suicide|suicide]]. Until the "Boys of the Bummer" this was probably the worst line crossing moment in the series.
* ''[[South Park]]:'' Cartman went over it in "the chili incident" from ''Scott Tenorman Must Die'',
▲* ''[[South Park]]:'' Cartman went over in the chili incident, with his [[Evil Plan]] against Scott Tenorman. He's done lots of evil things since, varying in their badness, but this was pretty much where most viewers decided that it was no longer in-character for him to perform an act of selflessness, and many others decided that he is and always will be a complete and utter sociopath.
** An example of crossing the horizon ''without'' being a [[Complete Monster]] is [[Abusive Parents|Butters' parents]] in "Jared Has Aides". After they both beat their son ''at the same time'' (and from the sounds of it, the event was pretty savage), it was generally agreed that they are, while not certifiably evil, ''not'' good parents. This opinion didn't change even after the episode "My Future Self And Me" when they promised never to beat him again.
* ''[[Danny Phantom]]'' played it oddly straight with Danny's alternate future. The whole "Dark Danny creation" scene was horrific and it horrified even Vlad, which really says something. Also see Dark Danny's first appearance where he apparently kills multiple people ''on screen''. [[Ax Crazy]], indeed.
* ''[[Batman Beyond|Return of the Joker]]'' gives the Clown Prince of Crime a rather infamous line-crossing moment:
▲* ''[[Batman Beyond|Return of the Joker]]'' gives the Clown Prince of Crime a rather infamous line-crossing moment: {{spoiler|1=basically, he kidnapped Robin, [[Cold-Blooded Torture|tortured]] and [[Mind Rape|mind raped]] him for six weeks, mutilated him, "fixed" him up as Joker Jr., and invited Batman over to see his work in detail (which included home video of the boy's torture labeled as "Our Family Memories"). He then reveals that he's learned Batman's secret identity, ''mocks him'' for it (and for not having the balls to kill him after all this), and knifes him before he tosses "J.J." a spear gun to finish him off with. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fuqb2MU5PCA Watch and feel the chills.]}}
** ''[[The Batman]]'' has their version of the Joker cross the line {{spoiler|when he tries to fling his newly acquired sidekick into a vat of acid in an attempt to turn him into Joker's mini-me, and admitting that it'll probably just kill him}}.▼
▲*** Even for the Joker, the events of ''Return of the Joker'' was extreme. He was already dangerous and psychopathic, but the very nature of how he did it turned him into [[Complete Monster|someone]] [[Just Eat Gilligan|that had to be destroyed]] as far as DCAU is concerned. Not even Harley Quinn gets a get out free card after even helping with that. {{spoiler|Although she survives somehow anyways.}}
▲**** Even [[Mark Hamill]] who had been voicing the Joker for years at this point, felt uncomfortable with the role this time.
**** Long before that, there was his serial murder spree (complete with victim photos) using laughing gas in one of the earlier ''[[Batman: The Animated Series|Gotham Knights]]'' episodes.
▲** ''[[The Batman]]'' has their version of the Joker cross the line
* In Season 4 of ''[[Winx Club]]'', Ogron, the leader of the
** The Trix also cross the line several times. Darcy crosses it when she attempts to murder Musa for liking the same guy (who incidentally, Darcy didn't really love but at best viewed him as a boy toy), Icy crosses it when she tries to murder Bloom's parents in a twisted [[Batman Gambit]] designed to weaken her (which works) before cruelly revealing her true origins and joining her sisters in a needless [[No-Holds-Barred Beatdown]] on Bloom before taking her powers, and Stormy crosses it when she tries to murder Musa's father just because Musa beat her with a raindance.
* While the Shredder has always been the closest thing ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2003|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' (2003) has to a [[Complete Monster]], his personal [[Moral Event Horizon]] comes in the episode "Mission of Gravity", when he orders his lieutenants to steal the Triceraton engine holding the city of Beijing aloft miles above the earth, despite the fact that doing so would naturally doom the millions trapped within it. It was possible to remove the engine without killing anyone, but he didn't care.
** In an example of crossing the [[Moral Event Horizon]] without becoming a [[Complete Monster]], when Leonardo saves Karai from falling her to her death, she stabs him from behind with his own katana when he would have let her go in the spaceship anyway. This is one of the things that leads him to tell her she is just as bad as the Shredder. It can be argued that every decent thing she did after that was just self-preservation.
** Doof's [[Alternate Dimension]] counterpart in ''[[Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension|the movie]]'' did this as well. It was bad enough he [[Unwilling Roboticisation|transformed his version of Perry into a cyborg soldier]], but when he took over his version of the tri-state area, he transformed it into a dystopia controlled by robots, then he really got there when he tried to feed Phineas, Ferb, Perry, Candace, and his own dimensional counterpart to a monster called a Goozim. Thankfully, the fact that he was just as quirky and ultimately redeemable as the other Doofensmirtz kept him from entering [[Complete Monster]] territory. ▼
* While very rare on ''[[Kim Possible]]'', it could be said that Drakken
▲** Oh wait, I forgot the [[Take That]] given to the [[Moral Guardians]] in Phineas And Ferb's Quantum Boogaloo: In "Phineas and Ferb's Quantum Boogaloo", the [[Knight Templar]] [[Moral Guardians]] outlaw all fun and creativity. While that could be fairly easily chalked up to being [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]], stuffing their own children into tiny capsules until adulthood is just plain sickening, no matter what the intent. [[This Is Wrong on So Many Levels|That just ain't right, man.]]
▲** Doof's [[Alternate Dimension]] counterpart in [[Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension|the movie]] did this as well. It was bad enough he [[Unwilling Roboticisation|transformed his version of Perry into a cyborg soldier]], but when he took over his version of the tri-state area, he transformed it into a dystopia controlled by robots, then he really got there when he tried to feed Phineas, Ferb, Perry, Candace, and his own dimensional counterpart to a monster called a Goozim. Thankfully, the fact that he was just as quirky and ultimately redeemable as the other Doofensmirtz kept him from entering [[Complete Monster]] territory.
▲* While very rare on ''[[Kim Possible]]'', it could be said that Drakken crossed a minimal one when he created a synthodrone to mess with Kim's feelings.
** Monkey Fist played it even straighter in the fourth season. Attempting to murder and/or kidnap a child is bad enough, but he made a [[Deal with the Devil]], or rather, a demonic monkey being in order to command it. Some could say that his [[Taken for Granite]] death was well deserved.
* In the first season finale of ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'', Admiral Zhao crosses this when he
** It's made worse by the fact that {{spoiler|Zhao hesitates when Iroh tells him to let the spirit go, and then he ''does'' let it go. And THEN he decides to kill it anyway!}}
** Azula
** [[Evil Overlord|Fire Lord Ozai]] started at this and just kept running. After his son disrespected one of his generals in the war room, he ''burned his face'' and sent him on a [[Snipe Hunt]]. When Zuko [[Calling the Old Man Out|mouthed off]] [[Heel Face Turn|to him]] years later, he tried to kill him with lightning. Still, villains have been redeemed from worse. What truly defines him as a [[Complete Monster]] is his utter ''excitement'' at carrying out his plan in the finale, which is to {{spoiler|quell rebellion in the Earth Kingdom by ''burning the entire continent to nothing''.}}
*** He gets one of these moments earlier in the finale, too. Azula had been completely loyal to him, and even helped him think up his current plan by suggesting burning the Earth Kingdom land to end a revolt (which he {{spoiler|naturally expaned into a [[Kill'Em All]] deal.}}) He then rewards her by [[Kicked Upstairs|promoting her to Fire Lord]]... right before promoting ''himself'' to ''[[God-Emperor|Phoenix King]]'', rendering the position of Fire Lord entirely powerless. It's entirely clear that he intended this to be an as-cruel-as-possible [[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness]]. She gets the position she's always wanted... and is rendered completely impotent for it.
** [[Moral Event Horizon]] crossing seems to have been a family trait since Sozin's day: Sozin {{spoiler|stabbed his best friend Roku in the back (though at least he seems to slightly regret it in the end) and ordered the annihilation of the Air Nomads}}, and Azulon would only allow Ozai to become the heir if {{spoiler|Ozai killed his only son Zuko, as "punishment" for Ozai mocking the death of Iroh's son}}. Zuko could have easily become just like that if it weren't for the guidance of Iroh.
** And let's not forget Long Feng, the Earth Kingdom's [[Evil Chancellor]], who
** Hama has every reason to be sympathetic: she was stolen from her tribe, kept locked up in a prison that took every precaution to prevent her from bending, and kept there for decades. In fact, she ''uses'' this information to garner Katara's sympathy, then reveals that she escaped by bending the blood in the bodies of the guards, and is now using this same power to herd innocent civilians to a mountain where she keeps ''them'' prisoner out of blind revenge. And ''then'' she tries to forcibly teach Katara the technique, and sends her into an [[Heroic BSOD]] by using her bloodbending power to manipulate Aang and Sokka into fighting a panicking Katara. She serves as a reminder that even the most innocent people in a war can become [[He Who Fights Monsters|no better than those who persecute them]] if pushed far enough.
** In [[Sequel Series]] ''[[The Legend of Korra]]''
** The first [[Big Bad]], Amon, crosses it when he threatens to take away the bending of Tenzin and his children, thus making airbenders extinct all over again.
** Yakone did it when he bloodbended an entire courtroom of people, and then afterwards attempted to use his bloodbending to snap Avatar Aang's neck, slowly and painfully, all with sadistic joy. If this didn't put him over the line, then the abuse of his two young sons (including ordering them to ''bloodbend each other'' and preparing to assault the younger son when he refuses) definitely did.
** Chief Unalaq, the second [[Big Bad]], crossed it a lightning speed when he threatened to destroy ''the soul'' of Jinora, who's just a pre-teen girl...''and then very nearly did it.'' And this is before we learn that his plan is to {{spoiler|merge with Vaatu to become a Dark Avatar who can destroy the entire world, cast it into darkness, and rule over it as the spiritual ruler of everything that exists!}}
*** Think that's not bad enough? How 'bout {{spoiler|killing the Avatar spirit itself, breaking all of Korra's connections to her past lives permanently? Followed by trying to completely decimate Republic City and kill everyone?}}
** Zaheer, the third [[Big Bad]], crosses it in the season finale by {{spoiler|giving Korra mercury poisoning so that she can go into the Avatar State and be killed by him and his cohorts, which would end the Avatar cycle forever.}}
* Dr. Rockso, hitherto one of the most popular characters in ''[[Metalocalypse]]'', crossed this when he stole the Christmas presents Toki got for everyone, hocked them for cocaine money, then received a handjob ''on live television'' while bragging about his drug addiction, ''and'' getting [[Karma Houdini|Karma Houdinied]] because Toki experienced [[Diabolus Ex Machina]] before he could beat up Dr. Rockso.
* At the end of the second season of [[Re Boot]], Megabyte and Hexidecimal team up with Bob to stop the Web Creature invasion. However, near the end of the episode, Megabyte launches Bob into the Web and soon after takes over Mainframe. There was no turning back for him after this.
* The ''[[Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy]]'' series, for the last few minutes of it,
▲* The ''[[Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy]]'' series for the last few minutes of it, {{spoiler|Eddy's brother}} crossed this when he began to mercilessly beat the shit out of {{spoiler|Eddy}}, and freely admit he's [[Domestic Abuse|always done this to him.]]
* Some - if not all - of the many things that the Justice Lords (counterparts of the [[Justice League]]) did in ''A Better World''. Lord Green Lantern when attacking League Lantern attempted ''to stab in League Lantern's neck'' for his first move. Not trying to disarm him or to knock him out. He chose to go immediately for the kill. From the [[Word of God|DVD commentary]], the writers did that on purpose so that it showed that the Justice Lords while having [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|good intentions]], they ultimately are truly [[Fallen Hero|villains]] who deserve to be defeated.
** In the same episode, Lord Superman had Flash by the neck with Flash trying to appeal to any remaining good in him. Also, keep in mind that {{spoiler|the Flash in their world had been killed and his death was one of the main reasons why they all became such cynical [[Knight Templar]].}} However, Lord Superman coolly told him that "one more won't hurt", that this universe's Flash's death was just another means to an end. This contrasts him with the more-redeemable Lord Batman, who is visibly horrified when he thinks Flash's heart has stopped.
** A minor villain named John Dee/Dr. Destiny in the episode "Only A Dream", where he [[Mind Rape|"operated"]] on his wife in her dreams, torturing her until she died of fright, shortly after he had found out that she was planning to leave him for another man.▼
▲** A minor villain John Dee in the episode "Only A Dream", where he [[Mind Rape|"operated"]] on his wife in her dreams, torturing her until she died of fright, shortly after he had found out that she was planning to leave him for another man.
** [[The Evil Prince|Orm]] tried to kill [[Aquaman|his brother's infant son]]. His brother did not take it well. [[Papa Wolf|At all]].
* Vilgax in ''[[Ben 10]]'', after getting a valuable crystal, murders the entire planet for no reason. They weren't doing any harm to him, he fired on the planet for no reason other than to test just ''how'' powerful the crystal is, and shows no regrets.▼
** Kevin 11 in his debut episode was getting there when he attempted to cause trains filled with innocent people to crash just so he could take their money, but the moment he made a [[Redemption Rejection]] to Ben by trying to forcibly rip the Omnitrix off his arm is when it was proven that there was no going back for him. Not in the original series anyway.
*** He only gets worse in the future. As Kevin 11,000, he attempts to have Ben, Ben's 10 year old son, and even ''his own son'' killed. For FUN.
** Ghostfreak crossed it when he possessed Gwen and threatened to make her jump off a building to her death if Ben and Grandpa Max didn't surrender to him. And he did it with a [[Slasher Smile]]!
** In ''Ultimate Alien'', Aggregor did this onscreen by
▲* Vilgax in [[Ben 10]], after getting a valuable crystal, murders the entire planet for no reason. They weren't doing any harm to him, he fired on the planet for no reason other than to test just ''how'' powerful the crystal is, and shows no regrets.
▲** In ''Ultimate Alien'', Aggregor did this onscreen by {{spoiler|murdering five innocent aliens in cold blood.}} However, he could be considered to have already crossed it when {{spoiler|he came up with a plan ending with him murdering a newborn.}}
** Defying [[Villain Decay]], Zombozo crosses this by {{spoiler|forcing Ben's mother to walk a tight rope and then lighting it on fire underneath her, intent on ether burning her alive or sending her falling to her death. This pushes Gwen so far that she assumes her [[One-Winged Angel]] form and scares the living crap out of him.}}
** [[Knight Templar|Colonel Rozum]] imprisoning 775 aliens in a horrible underground prison for over five decades, many of whom likely did ''nothing'' wrong. Prisoner 775 for example was exiled to Earth by an alien tyrant who he was trying to save his planet from. He ''told'' Rozum this, '''multiple times''' and they didn't listen. The only thing keeping this guy from being a [[Complete Monster]] is his love for his family.
*** Prisoner 775 himself has one. Once he escapes, he intends to exact his revenge against Rozum. A viewer might not condone it, but could certainly understand his reasoning for revenge against just Rozum. Problem is, 775's targets expand to Rozum's whole family. They had absolutely nothing to do with his captivity, and he knows it. He just wants to kill them to make Rozum suffer. This may have been an intentional crossing of this on his part, as in the end {{spoiler|he attempts [[Suicide by Cop]], so he may have just wanted to do something that would force Ben to kill him and end ''his'' suffering along with getting his vengeance.}}
**
*** [[Word of God]] comments made online actually seem to indicate that
** Captain Nemesis crosses the line in "To Catch a Falling Star" {{spoiler|by becoming the first successful hands-on murderer in the series. He kills several people, including a random motorist ''just to steal his car''. Even his [[Pet the Dog]] moment at the very end doesn't bring him back across the line.}}
*
* [[Gorillaz|Murdoc]] constantly teetered on the line between [[Jerkass]] and [[Complete Monster]], but he finally crossed it when he kidnapped and imprisoned 2D. It wouldn't be quite so bad if not for all the [[Fridge Horror|horrific undertones]] of the drugging, incarceration and physical abuse. Granted, 2D was never the bravest or keenest individual, but he was always pretty harmless. Murdoc's brutality and the constant isolation have all but [[Break the Cutie|broken]] the singer, and it's around that point that Murdoc bridged the [[Moral Event Horizon]].
* [[Moral Orel|Clay Puppington]] crossed the line in "Nature part 2" the moment he shot Orel, his own son, in the leg. How does he feel about it? No regret. Even if there are two episodes showing of how did he become the [[Abusive Parents|bad father]] to be, there is no sympathy for him now.
* [[X-Men: Evolution]] had one for most of the villains:
** Avalanche tried to kill Kitty in their first episode after an episode of emotional manipulation, and possibly killed hundreds of students when he destroyed the school. It took a whole season, if not more, to have him portrayed in a somewhat more sympathetic way;
** Pietro had his when he had a train derailed for the purpose of pretending to save people, and upon finding out that if they fail hundreds will die, including himself, he runs away and leaves those trapped, and potentially the entire town, to die. And keep in mind that he knew his Brotherhood friends ''and'' his sister were there, ''and he left them there anyway'';
** Magneto
▲** Magneto had it when he had his own daughter Wanda mindraped, just so she'd stay away from him. Said mindrape took place via replacing her memories of him abandoning her in a mental insitution, which is what made her become a [[Dark Magical Girl]] in the first place, into loving memories that made her forget his abuse;
** Mystique when she tried to kill the New Recruits, for literally no reason other than them being unable to fight Magneto. And she did it again via kidnapping Scott, stealing his [[Power Limiter]] aka his ruby quartz glasses, ''and leaving him stranded in the middle of nowhere''
** Apocalypse's was the plot of the finale:
* In ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]''
** Discord ''nearly''' crossed this in "The Return of Harmony" by
** {{spoiler|Imposter}} Cadence{{spoiler|/Queen Chrysalis}} crossed this by {{spoiler|leaving Twilight trapped in the caves under Canterlot, caves that were ''long forgotten so nopony would ever find her''. Then ''taunting her with that fact!'' And then it's revealed she did the exact same thing with the ''real'' Cadence.}}
*** And this after letting an {{spoiler|already-broken and regretful}} Twilight think {{spoiler|[[Hope Spot|all is forgiven]].}}
** Lord Tirek crossed it in "Twilight's Kingdom" by sucking the magic out of everypony in Equestria, banishing the Alicorn princesses to Tartarus, and betraying Discord by sucking out ''his'' magic once he was sure he'd earned his complete trust. Which is after he'd made a false gesture of friendship by giving Discord a pendant that had previously belonged to Tirek's own brother Scorpan, whom he deems as worthless as the pendant and the concept of friendship itself.
* In ''[[WITCH (animation)|WITCH]]'', you have a number of villains, but one who could easily stand out as crossing the line is Nerissa. Where Prince Phobos was already a [[Smug Snake]], Nerissa started out as a normal woman, no, ''Guardian''. But, she got a little too attached to the Heart of Candracar and was forced to hand it over to her dear friend Cassidy. When Cassidy refused to return it, Nerissa struck her down in a fit of anger. She would spend the next generation plotting Phobos' downfall so ''she'' can take over, armed with as many Hearts as possible, going on a [[Kick the Dog|dog-kicking spree]] "for the good of the universe".
* In ''[[Transformers Prime]]'', Megatron {{spoiler|almost kills Raf}} and then gloats about it. He was only attacking Bumblebee at first and may not have known {{spoiler|Raf was there}}, but when he found out what he'd really done, his reaction takes away any fragment of good left in him.
** An earlier episode has Arcee avert this. She ends up having Starscream on the ground begging for mercy after a fight and then prepares to ''murder Starscream as an act of venegence''. However when she sees that Bumblebee is seeing this she realizes her mistake and lets Starscream go.
* In the third season of [[Jem]], Eric Raymond crossed it when he destroyed the master tapes to the music of Jacqui Benton, Jerrica's mother.<ref>Jacqui had died in a plane crash, and they were (at that moment) the only known copies</ref> Keep in mind that instead of meeting either Eric's demands (either one million dollars for the tapes or controlling interest in Starlight Music), Jerrica asked that Eric just return them, hoping that there was still some shred of humanity left in him...
** The Misfits crossed it in ''The Fan'', where they cause poor Jerrica to have [[Heroic BSOD|a *serious* mental breakdown]].
* In ''[[Star Wars: The Clone Wars]]'' a Zygeerian slaver wants makes sure Obi-Wan obeys his command,
* ''[[Futurama]]'': Zapp Brannigan is a grade-A [[Jerkass]], putting himself above others and commanding suicide missions. However, some may argue that he crossed the line in ''The Beast With a Billion Backs''. Kif dies as a result of trying to go against the Dimensional portal Yivo. After hiding in a shack with Amy and Leela, Zapp begins "reminiscing" about Kif. Zapp then SLEEPS WITH AMY. So, yeah, the jerk literally used a widow's husband's death.... to get laid.▼
▲* Futurama: Zapp Brannigan is a grade-A [[Jerkass]], putting himself above others and commanding suicide missions. However, some may argue that he crossed the line in ''The Beast With a Billion Backs''. Kif dies as a result of trying to go against the Dimensional portal Yivo. After hiding in a shack with Amy and Leela, Zapp begins "reminiscing" about Kif. Zapp then SLEEPS WITH AMY. So, yeah, the jerk literally used a widow's husband's death.... to get laid.
* In ''[[Thundercats 2011]]'', the act that cements Mumm-Ra's evil happened in the backstory {{spoiler|when, on the behest of the Ancient Spirits of Evil, he destroyed the Plundaar star system which was inhabited by ''billions''}} to create the metal needed to forge the Sword of Plundaar. It even acted as one in-universe. This heinous act convinced Leo that Mumm-Ra was not the visionary bringer of order to the universe that Leo thought he was but a monster that needed to be stopped.
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