Sympathetic Murder Backstory: Difference between revisions

 

{{examples}}

* Guts, from [[Berserk]], had to kill two major people in his pre-Hawks backstory apart from those he killed in battle as a child mercenary. {{spoiler|The first was Donovan, a pederast soldier in his adoptive father Gambino's band, who Guts killed in revenge for having raped him. The other was Gambino himself, who Guts had to kill in self-defense after Gambino lost his leg, got drunk one night and tried to murder him because he blamed the poor kid for the death of his lover from the plague. The latter killing affected him quite more strongly than the former, though he still has the aversion to being touched which came from Donovan's attack on him.}}

* [[Gravitation]]: {{spoiler|Yuki killed someone but it was in self-defense, as they were trying to rape him.}} It ruined their life, so you will probably feel pretty sorry for them.

* In ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'', several characters were deeply affected by their part in the Ishvalan massacre, but particularly {{spoiler|Colonel Roy Mustang}}.

 

== Comic Books ==

** There are a few other mutants whose power manifestation moments in their backstory resulted in someone dying.

* Also among the [[X-Men]], Gambit was once [[Blackmail Is Such an Ugly Word|"hired"]] by [[Evilutionary Biologist|Mr. Sinister]] to assemble a hit squad and lead them into the home of the Morlocks, a society of underground mutant refugees. Though he didn't personally kill anyone (in fact, he saved a few of the Marauders' intended victims!), the reactions of the X-Men when learning about this was virtually identical. His good name still hasn't fully recovered, in part because he can't seem to stop [[Heel Face Revolving Door|switching sides.]]

 

== Film ==

* In the [[Jodie Foster]] film ''The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane'', protagonist Rynn hides the secret that {{spoiler|she poisoned her abusive mother.}} The details on just how she did this turn out to be significant for what happens in the rest of the movie, too.

 

== Literature ==

* In ''[[Twilight (novel)|Twilight]]'', Edward Cullen confesses to murdering a whole bunch of people shortly after he was turned, and Bella narrates that it is perfectly reasonable.

** Not just Edward. In the ''Twilight Illustrated Guide'', it's revealed that every single one of the Cullens except for Carlisle had killed at least one person before the events of the first book. Bella, in her narration, praises them for sticking to the difficult lives they lead.

* Both Eve and Roarke in the ''[[In Death]]'' series turn out to have murder in their backstories. As a child, Eve {{spoiler|stabbed her father to death in self-defense when he raped and beat her}}. Roarke, meanwhile, turns out in ''Vengeance In Death'' to have {{spoiler|gone on a [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]] and killed several men involved in the rape, torture, and death of Summerset's daughter Marlena}}.

 

* In the ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' episode "Collateral Damage", Cameron Mitchell recalls a mission during which he bombed what he believed to be enemy targets only to learn that they were innocent refugees.

* In ''[[Terra Nova]]'', Commander Taylor {{spoiler|killed his commanding officer when he arrived in alternate past earth to relieve him of command of the Terra Nova colony shortly after he learned the truth about the project. That those behind Terra Nova we tryng to find out how to make the portal go both ways so they can exploit the resources on the Terra Nova side.}}

* ''[[Once Upon a Time (TV series)|Once Upon a Time]]'' tries to portray the Evil Queen this way when she has to sacrifice that which she loves most for her Curse. She tried her beloved and prized stallion; that didn't work. It turned out to be {{spoiler|her father, after whom she named the boy she adopted.}}

* Lord John Roxton's past in ''[[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World]]''. He and his brother William joined an expedition to Kenya because Roxton and his father thought it would make more of a man out of William. The older Roxton brother was attacked by an ape and John tried to save him. It went wrong... and left him a broken man. Especially when it all comes back to haunt him in form of the expedition leader also appearing on the Plateau at one point.

 

== Radio ==

** His backstory was changed for the TV version.

 

* In [[South Pacific]], "the Frenchman," Emile de Becque, had to flee his homeland because he killed a man. But it's okay because the victim was a bully!

** Actually that was manslaughter. It was in a [[Bar Brawl]] and he didn't intend to murder him.

*** Which was [[Aesop|one of the points of the movie]]. Though that kind of turned out to be a [[Broken Aesop]] when another of the characters cheated on his Girl Back Home, and claimed it was OK because at least he wasn't being prejudiced.

* In ''Show Boat'', Parthy tries (and fails) to stop Gaylord Ravenal from marrying her daughter because he once killed a man.

 

== Video Games ==

* In ''[[Mass Effect 3]]'' you can meet a [[Shell-Shocked Veteran]] Asari named Aeian T'Goni, who after killing a large group of indoctrinated to reach a radio to call for help, had to kill the girl she was hiding with to avoid discovery, because she had broken her leg and couldn't stop whimpering.

 

* In [[Drowtales]], this happens to Ariel Val'Sarghress. She is {{spoiler|ordered to kill Mir'kin Vel'Vloz'ress, and then kills Yafein Val'Sullisin'rune's slave Maya in a fit of rage after he pushed her [[Berserk Button]].}} It's clearly hinted that the resulting [[My God, What Have I Done?]] moment resulted in PTSD. It's particularly disturbing when you remember that due to her species' slow aging process, she was physically still a small child at the time.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Character Derailment Tropes]]

[[Category:Backstory Tropes]]