The Corrupter: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:VampiricTutor.jpg|link=Magic: The Gathering|frame|
{{quote|Their morals, their code; it's a bad joke. Dropped at the first sign of trouble. They're only as good as the world allows them to be. I'll show you. When the chips are down these, uh, these civilized people? They'll eat each other.
|Joker|[[The Dark Knight]]}}
Not to be confused with [[The Corruption]], which is more of an impersonal force, this character's primary role in the story is to bring out the worst in everyone around them. Often, their ultimate goal is getting the hero to do a [[Face Heel Turn]].
They fulfill this role willingly and
In any case, do not expect these guys to get a whole lot of development
This character will almost always be a serious villain, though they can be parodied by being made particularly inept. If they're ''not'' the [[Big Bad]], expect them to still be an important villain with a lot of screen
Do not expect these guys to pull a [[Heel Face Turn]]; they are more likely to go into a [[Villainous Breakdown]] if they are definitively rejected. If they fail, it will probably be because they [[Evil Cannot Comprehend Good|cannot comprehend good]]. Perhaps they want to [[We Can Rule Together|rule with the hero]], though this is by no means a universal trait, and not everyone who makes that offer is an example of this trope. May offer a [[Deal with the Devil]] at some point, but is just as likely to use mental and emotional manipulation to force their victim's hand without any sort of formal
Sometimes the Corrupter cares more about turning the hero than his own life, and invites them to [[Strike Me Down with All of Your Hatred]].
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Closely related tropes are [[Manipulative Bastard]] and [[The Chessmaster]]. See [[The Vamp]] or [[Lady Macbeth]] if female and, if successful enough, [[Magnificent Bastard]]. Will often overlap with an evil [[Warrior Therapist]], an [[Evil Mentor]] or [[Treacherous Advisor]]. See [[The Corruptible]] for the typical victim of this kind of villain.
Not to be confused with the character <s>class</s> archetype of the same name from ''[[City of Heroes]]''/''[[City of Villains]]''.
{{examples}}
== General ==
* The [[Good Angel, Bad Angel|Shoulder Devil]] is a literal version of this trope, though these days is one more likely to be played for comedy.
▲== Anime & Manga ==
* Johan Liebert, [[Complete Monster|the eponymous]] ''[[Monster (manga)|Monster]]''.
* In ''[[Tower of God]]'', Grace Luslec Mircea is this to 25th Baam, to the point he adopts his name and become Jyu Viole Grace (Jyu Viole, adopted by Grace
* ''[[Naruto]]''
** Tobi.
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** It is implied that Zabuza had a similar effect on Haku, though Haku never saw him as anything other than a loving master.
* In [[Fullmetal Alchemist (anime)|the 2003 anime version]] of ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist (manga)|Fullmetal Alchemist]]'', Lust's job is to be The Corrupter who tempts desperate alchemists into seeking the forbidden knowledge of how to make Philosopher's Stones. Envy also ends up creating Wrath by tempting the nascent homunculus with incomplete Philosopher's Stones.
* Pasder and the Zonderians in ''[[GaoGaiGar]]'', {{spoiler|and the Primevals later on}}.
* Naraku from ''[[Inuyasha]]'' frequently tries to corrupt the hearts of the heroes; sometimes this is for a practical purpose (usually corrupting the Shikon Jewel), while sometimes it's [[For the Evulz|just for the sake of evil.]] At one point, {{spoiler|he tries to force Kagome to choose between killing the priestess he has mind-controlled (which would allegedly both condemn the priestess to hell and corrupt Kagome's heart for killing her knowing that) or being killed by her;}} at another, {{spoiler|he tries to get Sango to kill an innocent little girl in order to kill him, which is also the only way to save her love interest's life ([[Magnificent Bastard|only Naraku wouldn't have died anyway because she was only talking to an illusion of himself]]).}}
* The Beast from ''[[Berserk]]''. The Berserkerverse's resident [[Super-Powered Evil Side|super-powered evil]] [[Hell Hound]] entity that [[Enemy Within|dwells within]] [[Byronic Hero|our main character,]] this mean puppy constantly tries to egg Guts into killing his friends - [[Murder the Hypotenuse|especially Casca]], who is [[Morality Chain|the only person who stops Guts from becoming a sociopathic killing machine.]] However, the Beasts wants this to happen in order to take over Guts' soul, so whenever he gets the chance, whether Guts is emotionally fragile from longing for intimate affection from [[Star-Crossed Lovers|his lost love]] or mentally vulnerable from wearing the [[Adaptive Armor|berserker armor,]]the Beasts tells Guts a range of hideous things: that he doesn't really love Casca anymore and only uses her experience as way to fuel his hate for Griffith, or that he enjoys being a heartless killing machine because it gives him power. The Beast comes in and out of the picture, but always reminds Guts that [[We Will Meet Again|it'll be back...]]
* Despite being the [[Big Bad]], Dakki of ''[[Houshin Engi]]'' counts as this. One of her Paope gives off a sent that eventually drives men to her side and makes them devoted slaves. Mix in her own skills at manipulation with just her looks and words and you have a nasty combo to deal with. Just look at the Emperor. He starts off normal {{spoiler|and many chapters in, gets turned into a human paope weapon that is barely aware of who he originally was.}} And she's been doing this for hundreds of years as well.
* ''[[Soul Eater]]'' has Asura and his Clowns as well as
== Comic Books ==
* [[Darkseid]], being the [[God of Evil]] of the DC Universe, has played this role from time to time. The one he bragged about to Eclipso? He once visited New Genesis long before he took on the mantle of Darkseid and saw a beautiful young boy, pure and innocent. With little more than words and the death of a pet bird, Darkseid twisted the youth and gave him a new name -- ''[[Torture Technician|Desaad]]''.
* In ''[[All Fall Down]]'', {{spoiler|Phylum}} becomes this to {{spoiler|Pronto}}, thanks to a booby-trapped voice-box that gives poisonous advice.
* In ''[[Hellblazer]]'', Nergal attempted to corrupt a young John Constantine by disguising himself as a boy and offering him a cigarette. John took the cigarette and Nergal privately gloated that he had started the boy down a path of corruption. Then he noticed that John had managed to steal the entire pack from him when he wasn't looking. The two eventually become archenemies.
== Films -- Animation ==
* The anthropormorphic fox J. Worthington Foulfellow in the Disney version of ''[[Pinocchio (Disney film)|Pinocchio]]''.
* Scar from ''[[The Lion King]]''.
== Films -- Live-Action ==
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{{quote|'''Joker:''' [[Magnificent Bastard|I took Gotham's White Knight and I brought him down to our level.]]}}
* [[Big Bad|Emperor Palpatine]] from ''[[Star Wars]]'' is a classic example, particularly in ''[[Revenge of the Sith]]'' (where he is ''very'' successful) and ''[[Return of the Jedi]]'' (not so much...).
** Most Sith Masters in the ''[[Star Wars Expanded Universe]]'' are like this too, particularly when recruiting apprentices.
* ''Grudge song'', the fourth of the ''[[Joshuu Sasori|Female Prisoner Scorpion]]'' films, features a desperate attempt by the protagonist to do this to a calm, earnest Buddhist inmate in order to cause enough havoc to escape from {{spoiler|Japan's equivalent of death row}}.
== Literature ==
* The Un-man from ''[[Space Trilogy|Perelandra]]'', which is fitting, since he's [[Satan]] possessing a human, in a sci-fi setting.
* Sang-drax from ''[[The Death Gate Cycle]]'', who is basically evil incarnate (or rather, a piece of it) and feeds off of hatred, fear, and
* Calesta from the ''[[Coldfire Trilogy]]''.
* ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'':
** Sauron
** "Evil cannot create"; so says the lore of the story. As a result, all of Sauron's evil creations are in fact corrupted versions of other beings, many of them first made by his master, Morgoth's blasphemous experiments on the native peoples and animals of Middle Earth. Orcs were made from elves, dragons from the great eagles, trolls from ents, and werewolves from ordinary wolves, the wargs being lesser versions of these corrupted beasts.
* Explored in detail in ''[[The Screwtape Letters]]'' by [[C. S. Lewis|CS Lewis]].
* The point of Agatha Christie's ''Curtain''. {{spoiler|The person displaying this trait is actually an extremely timid person on the surface, taking revenge on others for being physically weaker than them this way}}.
* The unnamed demon from Terry Brooks' ''[[Running With the Demon]]'' and the changeling from its sequel ''[[A Knight of the Word]]''. The demon in particular seeks to corrupt all of humanity as part of [[Ultimate Evil|The Void]]'s plan.
* Randall Flagg in ''[[The Stand]]'', who is very much a Devil-figure in the novel and <s>one</s> ''many'' of [[Stephen King]]'s most diabolical villains.
* ''[[I, Lucifer]]'', a novel written from the
* [[Omnicidal Maniac|Ruin]] from ''[[Mistborn]]'' isn't exactly encouraging people to be ''evil'' (he considers himself [[Above Good and Evil]]), but he ''does'' work to make them more destructive, which usually amounts to the same thing. {{spoiler|Even the heroine was one of his pawns, at least for a while and without knowing it}}.
* First Mate Cox in ''[[Nation]]''. He makes other people [[Complete Monster|like himself.]]
* The [[Big Bad]] himself, Kullervo, from ''[[Companions Quartet]]'' by Julia Golding, has this kind of effect on others having been able to convert the Seagullls, Cassandra Lang, and the Chimera amongst others.
* [[Harry Potter|Lord Voldemort]] recruited {{spoiler|Quirrell}} this way, and presumably some other followers as well.
* Cersei Lannister in ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' is this to her brother Jaime. He isn't the nicest person anyway, but where she is concerned his moral compass (such as it is) basically shuts down completely.
* [[Fallen Angel|Lashiel's shadow]] in the ''[[Dresden Files]]'' fills this role, although {{spoiler|Harry corrupts her, for lack of a better term, more than she does him, and in the end she pulls off a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] for him.}}
* In ''[[
* Berys in ''[[Tales of Kolmar
== Live-Action TV ==
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* Méléagant in ''[[Kaamelott]]'' (seasons 4, 5 and 6). Who or what he is stays unclear, but it is hinted he's incredibly ancient. With a mix of guile and carefully-used magic powers, he works at corrupting Lancelot even further than he already was, and {{spoiler|push a depressive [[King Arthur]] toward suicide}}.
* Mr. Morden on ''[[Babylon 5]]'', who is introduced by going around the station asking the ambassadors [[Armour Piercing Question|"What do you want?"]]. His job under the Shadows is to find pliable people that he can tempt into a [[Deal with the Devil]] by making them accept Shadow aid.
* [[Darkseid]] and his minions [[Propaganda Machine|Godfrey]], [[Straight Edge Evil|Granny Goodness]], and ''especially'' [[Nightmare Fetishist|Desaad]]
** Earth-2 Lionel did this to Lex, Tess, and Clark in his home universe, and tries it on Alexander when he makes his way to Earth-1.
* On ''[[Burn Notice]]'', Larry's goal in life is to get Michael to cross the [[Moral Event Horizon]] and then go into business with him.
* A number of demons in ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' and ''[[Angel]]'', including Moloch the Corrupter.
* Barney Stinson on ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]'' is a [[Played for Laughs]] version, especially towards Ted, and is constantly trying to get Ted to become [[The Casanova|more]] [[Manipulative Bastard|like]] [[Jerkass|him]]. However, when he's ''not'' doing this, Barney ''is'' a genuinely good friend.
* The aliens in ''[[The Twilight Zone|The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street]]'', {{spoiler|by way of suggestion}}.
== Myths & Religion ==
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* The Serpent from Genesis, often identified with Satan.
== New Media ==
* Unlike most of Corrupters, Ceraphim from ''[[The Lord of Darkwood]]'' actually doesn't get a lot of screen time. Ceraphim is the [[Dragon-in-Chief]] of the story (real Big Bad is a world destroying idiot god [[Sealed Evil in A Can]]). Acting through others is a point of pride for him. Normally when faced with a hero he tries to corrupt them, and if that proves impossible, tries to corrupt the hero's supporters into killing the hero. When neither of these worked against Lord Darkwood {{spoiler|as his last act before being banished, Ceraphim killed Darkwood's [[Parental Substitute|Father Figure]] to cause Darkwood pain. What a [[Sore Loser]]!}}
== Pro Wrestling ==
* This was the entire character of Sean O'Haire's last{{when}} [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWE]]
* This is the current{{when}} character for [[
== Tabletop Games ==
* Gargauth, a literal god of corruption from the ''[[Forgotten Realms]]'' world.
* The Followers of Set from ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade]]'' consider it their holy mission to tempt others into vice and sin.
** In ''[[Vampire: The Requiem]]'', they are replaced by the Mercy Seat (nicknamed [[Faust
* Shedim from ''[[In Nomine]]'' '''are''' this trope; an alternate name for this particular type of demon is "
== Theater ==
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* Also the Three Witches of ''[[Macbeth]]'', who are there just to start the title character's headlong rush down [[Jumped Off the Slippery Slope|the slippery slope]]
** [[Lady Macbeth]] has some elements of this. See the trope for details.
* Arguably Cassius in ''[[Julius Caesar]]'' who persuades Brutus to join the conspiracy to kill Caesar by poisoning his mind and telling him that Caesar wants to make himself a
== Video Games ==
* {{spoiler|Mephistopheles}}, the [[Big Bad]] of ''[[Neverwinter Nights
* While Chaos is the [[Big Bad]] of ''[[Dissidia Final Fantasy]]'', he is just as much a victim of the [[Groundhog Day Loop]] as everyone else. {{spoiler|His [[The Dragon|dragon]] Garland}}, on the other hand, remembers every iteration of the cycle and always pushes Chaos into waging war on Cosmos.
* Mephiles in [[Sonic the Hedgehog (2006 video game)|the 2006 ''Sonic
* If you're playing Light-Sided, Kreia can ''definitely'' be this in ''[[Knights of the Old Republic]]'', viciously berating selfless actions, inflicting [[Mind Rape]] on your companions, and encouraging you to "use" and "discard" everyone like tools to advance yourself.
* "Master User" J. D. Thorne in ''[[Tron 2.0]]'' was a User sent into [[Cyberspace]] without the necessary protocols to keep him stable, turning him into a living computer virus that seeks out Programs and twists them into Z-lots.
* Molag Bal the Daedric Prince of Domination in ''[[The Elder Scrolls]]'' games. He's even called The Corrupter in-universe.
** Most of the overtly evil Daedric Princes dabble in this role in one way or another, relishing every chance to turn a mortal (particularly a [[Player Character|Hero]]) to their way of thinking.
* Xana from ''[[Dark Messiah of Might and Magic
* Skelter Helter and Pizza Batt Jr. try to be this towards Travis in ''[[No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle]]'', making him feel the pain he made them feel and become a monster just like them. {{spoiler|They fail at killing the remaining friends he has, however}}, and also sort of forgot that Travis was already pretty corrupt to begin with.
* When {{spoiler|Adachi}} tried this in ''[[Persona 4]]'', the main cast {{spoiler|pointed out how childish and pathetic his view points were.}} {{spoiler|He}} [[Not Good with Rejection|does not take it well.]]
== Web Comics ==
* The IFCC from ''[[The
* Doc Scratch from ''[[Homestuck]]'' is this for an entire species, turning the Trolls of Alternia from [[Perfect Pacifist People]] into the ultimate [[Proud Warrior Race Guy|Warrior Race]].
* Anakin is this in ''[[Darths and Droids]]'', particularly focusing on Palpatine in a reversal of their roles from [[Star Wars|the source material]]. {{spoiler|Unfortunately for him, he succeeds a little too well with Palpatine...}}
* In ''[[Sinfest]]'', [
== Web Original ==
* ''[[The Gungan Council]]'' has many Sith, like Darth Apparatus, tempting Jedi to the dark side.
* [[The Nostalgia Critic]] has been established in-universe and out as a horrible influence on people. Problem is, he doesn't know he's doing it and he's the one who usually ends up getting killed, raped or otherwise hurt in some way.
== Western Animation ==
* Slade from ''[[Teen Titans (animation)|Teen Titans]]'', especially in Seasons One and Two.
* Darkseid from ''[[Superman: The Animated Series]]'' has elements of this, though he has bigger plans than ''just'' turning Superman to his side.
* Nerissa from ''[[
* In ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'', [[Magnificent Bitch|Azula]] fits this. While she doesn't bring down someone who was good, {{spoiler|she did corrupt her brother Zuko right before he could complete his [[Heel Face Turn]] at the end of Season 2. Despite their uncle's protests he joined her. Though he did eventually make up for it with a real [[Heel Face Turn]] in Season 3.}}
** Azula also manages to turn the [[Secret Police|Dai-Li]] against the Earth Kingdom.
* From the 2010 French [[Animated Adaptation]] of ''[[The Little Prince]]'', the [[Big Bad|Serpent]] is this trope in its purest form. His modus operandi is to compel the most important person on every planet to indulge into their whims, with always disastrous results for their world. Naturally, he attempts it with the title hero too, trying to convince him to return to Asteroid B612 and leave the Serpent free to corrupt people.
* Cartman from ''[[South Park]]'' is exceptionally adept at pulling along otherwise decent, if not
** "Crack Baby Athletic Association" has Cartman corrupt the normally morally uptight Kyle to the point that Stan calls Kyle on sounding just like Cartman.
* Chase Young from ''[[Xiaolin Showdown]]'' spends almost the entire second season working to corrupt Omi and convince him to join the forces of evil.
** Third season introduces Hannibal Roy Bean, the one who successfully corrupted Chase.
** Wuya successfully turned Raimundo against his friends by offering him power and respect after he felt snubbed by Master Fung near the end of the first season. Hannibal tried to corrupt Raimundo again but failed miserably.
* Discord from ''[[My Little Pony:
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