The Corruption: Difference between revisions

[[File:spidermandoeswhateverasimbiotecorrupts_6033spidermandoeswhateverasimbiotecorrupts 6033.jpg|link=Spider-Man (film)|frame|The itsy bitsy symbiote crawled up the spider's arm...]]

This often works by an interesting rule: [[Mooks]] and [[Red Shirt|Red Shirts]]s tend to be turned into raving, mindless beasts/monsters. If the hero or the villain catches it, they get [[Cursed with Awesome]] superpowers. [[Heroic Willpower]] is probably the reason for this [[Stages of Monster Grief|temporary(?) emotional stabilization]]. Named villains and extras will usually [[Jumping Off the Slippery Slope|give in to it]] much more quickly for the powers, and quickly [[Transhuman Treachery|betray humanity]] because of it. Expect them to get [[Drunk on the Dark Side]] and suffer a [[Superpower Meltdown]] because of it. Remember, [[Evil Is Not a Toy]].

== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==

* The plot of ''[[Princess Mononoke]]'' begins when Ashitaka is attacked and infected by a corrupted boar-god. While [[Walking the Earth]], he discovers that his infected arm has supernatural strength and a will of its own.

*** Running into one of the above manifestations, namely the Clown, is one of the possible explanations for the Face Heel Turn of {{spoiler|Justin Law}}. If so, and if it sticks, it'd be the first proper example of Stein's claim that "insanity is contagious" and that Asura's wavelength can corrupt previously normal people.

* In ''[[Naruto]]'', the cursed seals, Sasuke's being a prominent example.

** Its no longer an issue. {{spoiler|Naruto has taken, then ''purified'' Kyubi's power for his own, leaving him with the [[Super Mode|Nine-Tailed Chakra Mode]]. Occassionaly, Kyubi tries to [[Hannibal Lecture]] him into their old arrangement. Naruto however [[Shut UP, Hannibal|just slams Torii down on his neck to shut him up]]. Only when confronted by Madara Uchiha, the Kyubi ''willingly'' gave Naruto its power to kick Madara's attack's ass.}}

* In ''[[Claymore]]'', being turned into a Claymore is much like this. In fact one of the requirements for being a Claymore is heroic will power, without it you lose control of the power and Awaken into an extremely powerful monster.

* In ''[[Freezing]]'', the Stigma that grants the [[Super Soldier|Pandoras]] the amazing powers they use to fight against the [[Eldritch Abomination|Novas]] {{spoiler|is essentially ''Nova tissue''}}. The risk of [[The Corruption]] taking over a Pandora is actually pretty low since Pandoras only have a few Stigmas attached to them. {{spoiler|The people in charge of Pandora development came up with this policy after one Pandora with about ''twenty'' Stigmas fell victim to [[The Corruption]] and ''became a Nova''. This Pandora was the protagonist's ''older sister'', Kazuha. Since Kazuya has a similar "Stigma body" (the reason he can use "Freezing" without first forming a bond to a Pandora), Yumi Kim is concerned that he might suffer the same fate}}. {{spoiler|The Novas can also force [[The Corruption]] to take over the Pandoras by ''eating them''}}.

* An odd case in ''[[Rosario to+ Vampire]]'': vampire blood injected into a wounded person will at first heal them and temporarily grant them vampiric powers, but repeated doses will begin to eat away at their [[Body Horror|body]] and [[With Great Power Comes Great Insanity|mind]]. The result [[Our Ghouls Are Creepier|isn't]] [[Humanoid Abomination|pretty]].

* ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha|Nanoha Force]]'' has the Eclipse virus (which is not [[The Virus]], despite its name), which grants the infected [[Anti-Magic]] and insane [[Healing Factor|regenerative]] powers, [[With Great Power Comes Great Insanity|at the price of slowly losing their sanity unless they regularly kill people]]. And that's only if you're lucky. Most people that are exposed to it just die.

* In [[Marvel Comics|Marvel UK's]] ''Captain Britain'', the superhero-killing machine the Fury repairs itself with [[Human Resources|organic material]]-- and—and anyone unlucky to have contact with it in its fix-up mode gets infected with its [[Nanomachines]] (though the term wasn't used back then) and turned into a monstrosity. Unusually for this trope, it didn't [[Super-Powered Evil Side|make you evil]], just insane, hideously deformed, and easily mistaken for the Fury in a world where superheroes were trying to destroy said machine on sight.

* In the IDW ''[[Transformers]]'' series, one of the earliest Primes, "Nova Prime" became infected with a parasitic energy known as "The Darkness" that dwelt in the ominously named [[Mordor|Dead Universe]]. It was unclear exactly how much of what he did was down to his own expansionist philosophies and how much was the result of the Darkness controlling him, but it was clearly sentient on some level.

* The [[So Bad It's Good]] ''[[Doom]]'' movie has mutants as enemies. Turns out humanity originated on a once verdant Mars before fleeing to Earth via the Arc (Gate?). What were they fleeing from? Well, having used [[Genetic Engineering Is the New Nuke|Genetic Engineering]] to make a new chromosome that made them superhuman, it turns out it also unleashed the evil in the "unmapped 10% of the Human Genome", making a few people into mutant monster that could infect others with same monstrosity. Of course the hero turns into a [[The Hero|Hero]] with extra [[Super Strength|strength]] and [[Made of Iron|stamina]], but the baddie slowly mutates into a much more [[Badass]] villain while normal civilians and soldiers turn to slobbering monsters. Turns out [[Rousseau Was Right|Rousseau]] was wrong, evil really ''is'' [[In the Blood]].

* Seth Brundle brings [[The Corruption]] down on himself in ''[[The Fly]]''.

* [[Michael Moorcock]]'s final story in his ''Elric of Melniboné'' series basically IS this trope....poor {{spoiler|Zarozinia}}. Blood and souls for <ref><s>Lord Jagged</s></ref> Arioch! {{spoiler|Zarozinia}} was almost a [[Heroic Sacrifice]], under the circumstances. {{spoiler|Rackhir the Red}}, on the other hand...

* In William King's ''[[Warhammer 4000040,000]]'' novel ''[[Space Wolf]]'', the aspirants are warned they can become [[Big Badass Wolf|"wulfen", wolf-like creatures]]. One does. {{spoiler|Ragnar has to kill it. It [[Dying as Yourself|speaks his name]] and dies. Only then does he learn it had been his best friend Kjel.}}

** In [[James Swallow]]'s ''[[Warhammer 4000040,000]]'' ''[[Blood Angels|Deus Encarmine]]'', many of the Blood Angels succumb to their "flaw" and begin to hallucinate that they are fighting the final battle between their primarch, Sanguinius, and Horus, and so become [[The Berserker]]; all of them are tempted by it, every fight, though Rafen notices that this time, it struck with uncommon quickness, among veterans.

* The ''[[Parrish Plessis]]'' series has the Eskaalim parasite. It grants a bounty of powers to the infected: [[Healing Factor]], [[Feel No Pain]], [[Voluntary Shapeshifting]], and more. Of course, by the time you've allowed it to advance that far, [[Demonic Possession|you're no longer in the driver's seat]], and it's too late to do anything about it...

* ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]'' and ''[[Warhammer 4000040,000]]'' bring us [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil|Chaos]], possibly the most developed and frightening example to date. It's ruled by the [[Four Is Death|four]] gods of mutation, plague, debauchery, and bloodshed.

* [[Crapsack World|Nearly every single gameline]] in the ''[[New World of Darkness]]'' has Corruption in one form or another.

** In ''[[Geist: The Sin Eaters]]'', Sin Eaters turn into [[Meat Puppet|Meat Puppets]]s if they come [[Back Fromfrom the Dead]] one time too many,.

** The [[Demonic Possession|Possessed]] (from ''Inferno'') turns into the embodiment of their Demon's Vice, and so on.

** To a degree, losing Morality is like this in all ''[[New World of Darkness]]'' games; you're less and less constrained by Morality as it falls, but if you hit zero, your character becomes [[Nonstandard Game Over|unplayable.]] In fact, [[The Corruption]] is ''the'' gimmick of [[Corrupt Corporate Executive|Cheiron Corporation]]'s [[Hunter: The Vigil|Hunters]]: they graft monster parts into their body. [[Squick]].

* The ''[[Dungeons and& Dragons]]'' 3rd edition sourcebook ''Oriental Adventures'' featured "Taint" as an effect of spending time in the [[Mordor|Shadowlands]] or interacting with its natives. It came back as a setting-generic version in the 3.5 supplement ''Heroes of Horror'': Taint slowly corrupts anyone who stays in a tainted area, performs evil actions, or is unlucky enough to fight a monster with the ''bestow taint'' ability. As your Taint score climbs, you [[This Is Your Brain on Evil|go mad]], endure [[Body Horror|horrific transformations]], shift alignment to evil, and eventually turn into either a psychotic killer or a psychotic killer ''monster'', at which point you roll up a new character.

** Note that the ''Dawn of Defiance'' campaign has this as a rule. You cannot be dark side, period.

* [[Call of Cthulhu (tabletop game)]] may have been the original game to use this concept, with the Sanity score. The more you learn about the Cthulhu Mythos, the more effective a monster-hunter and magician you become . . . and the lower your Sanity drops until you eventually go mad and join the forces of cosmic horror.

* ''[[Blue Rose]]'' has an actual mechanic named Corruption. How does it work? If you get corrupted, the more corruption you have and the more deliberating effects your character suffers. Get too much and it will kill you. But you can embrace corruption, in which cause you instead get buffed. The more corrupted you are, the more POWER you have!

** [[Metroid Prime|Metroid Prime 3: Corruption]] opens with attacks on three planets by Leviathans. Bryyo and Elysia are impacted by the meteorites, while Norion is saved in the last moment by Samus and the other hunters. In the process, all four hunters become infected with Phazon, and their bodies develop a tumor-like Phazon-producing gland that slowly corrupts them. The Galactic Federation decides to take advantage of the hunters' corruption by adapting their body suits with a phazon powered 'P.E.D.' weapons system. [[MP 3MP3]] partially averts the mook-rule, as GF troopers can safely use phazon via tanks,<ref>For the most part, anyway. While on the Valhalla, you can scan a dead P.E.D. Trooper whose suit malfunctioned. The results are quite disturbing.</ref>, while Samus is under serious threat of ''Terminal Corruption'' whenever she uses her P.E.D for extended periods. Her fellow hunters all fall victim to it. Samus is later sent to investigate the other attacked planets as well as {{spoiler|the corrupted Space Pirate Homeworld and Phaaze, a seemingly sentinent planet entirely made of Phazon.}} With each main boss Samus beats, the resulting blast of Phazon energy further infects her, visualized by the tumor growing in her stomach. {{spoiler|On Phaaze, her corruption grows so great ''her ship stops recognizing her'', and she's forced to continually vent energy however she can to prevent the corruption from consuming her.}}

* The [[Roguelike]] ''[[Ancient Domains of Mystery|ADOM]]'' has several sources of corruption, including background chaos radiation which grows stronger as you approach the source ({{spoiler|The Chaos Gate}}). Corrupted monsters may turn into writhing masses of primal chaos. A corrupted player will gain additional powers and be a writhing mass of [[Body Horror]]. Corruption-removal methods are the most sought-after thing in the whole game, because getting the full set of corruptions means you're close to an unavoidable [[Nonstandard Game Over]].

* The black "mud", a literal manifestation of "all the world's evil", that flows from the corrupted Grail in ''[[Fate/stay night]]'' and ''[[Fate/Zero]]'' will maim, torture, and kill anything that touches it, and those who resist it from sheer willpower are either corrupted or disabled in some way. {{spoiler|In the ''Heaven's Feel'' route of ''[[Fate/stay night|stay night]]'', Sakura uses this power to overwhelm the majority of the Masters and Servants, taking Saber and Berserker back out to assist her genocidal rampage.}} This corruption was also the reason why Gilgamesh and Kirei managed to [[Back Fromfrom the Dead|survive their "deaths"]] in ''[[Fate/Zero|Zero]]''.

** Fate!Shirou shows his [[Incorruptible Pure Pureness|strength of will]] by mentally resisting this curse at point blank range {{spoiler|once, then blocking the second shot with Avalon}}.

* The Spirit Eater affliction in ''[[Neverwinter Nights 2]]: Mask of the Betrayer''. The game's storyline branches depending on how you resist it/use it leading to multiple endings. In the best {{spoiler|you're cured}}, in the worst {{spoiler|you become a god-killing abomination}} and [[Bittersweet Ending|Bittersweet Endings]]s are also available.

* Dark Eco in the world of ''[[Jak and Daxter]]''.

{{quote| '''Oracle''': I sense there is a dark rage burning within you, and in time, it will destroy you with its madness. Only the last power of the Precursors can save you.}}

* ''[[Dragon Age]]'' - The Taint, a disease/curse spread by Darkspawn blood. There's also the Blight, a physical manifestation of the taint upon the land, which spreads whenever they come up to the surface. It twists and corrupts all living organisms, mutating creatures into abominations such as blight wolves and ghouls (assuming the creatures manage to survive the initial phase of the infection in the first place). With each passing day, a blight grows, the earth itself withers and dies; the land is leeched of moisture, turning everything dry and brown. The sky fills with rolling, black clouds that block out the sun, making it easier for the darkspawn to surface. As this wasteland spreads, the corruption of the blight spreads with it, diseasing all in its path. And by "all" we mean "all"; as in, the corpses won't rot properly because ''even the bacteria responsible for decomposition are killed off''. What makes it [[The Corruption]] is that {{spoiler|Grey Wardens give in to it by drinking Darkspawn blood. This lets them sense Darkspawn, kill Archdemons permanently and avoid Ghoul-dom, at the cost of killing them a few decades later.}}

** [[It Got Worse]] in the ''[[Dragon Age II]]'' [[Downloadable Content|DLC]] "Legacy" with [[The Reveal]] that {{spoiler|Wardens don't die, but turn into ghouls when they hear the Calling. There is no avoiding ghoul-dom once the Taint enters a person's body -- the Warden's version of the Taint just delays it by a few decades. Seen all too clearly in Larius, a former Commander of the Grey who was unlucky enough survive his Calling and became a Ghoul.}}

* In ''[[Bloodnet]]'', your hero is a vampire who has an instant-kill bite attack, but each use of it decreases his humanity a little and brings him closer to the [[Nonstandard Game Over]] (in addition to the [[In -Universe Game Clock|normal decrease of his humanity with time]]).

* Seithr in ''[[Blaz BlueBlazBlue]]'', a toxic substance spread over the world by the [[Eldritch Abomination|Black Beast]] when it attacked the world 100 years ago, renders most of the surface inimical to most life. Humans were forced to live in cities built at high altitudes to avoid succumbing to seithr poisoning. It's [[The Corruption]] since seithr is also the source of the setting's magic. The [[Functional Magic|Ars Magus]] and [[Artifact of Doom|Nox Nyctores]] used by most of the characters absorb seithr from their surroundings in order to use their abilities. The Kaka clan, including [[Catgirl|Taokaka]], are able to tap into the seithr naturally with no apparent ill effects.

* Imulsion in ''[[Gears of War]]'' infects anything organic that it touches, and gradually mutates it into a "lambent" form.

* [[Corruption Of Champions]] fetish game features the corruption in the form of a demonic magic that spreads through sexual actions with other corrupt individuals and imbibing substances that contain corruption. Mentally, corruption slowly strips away your sexual and moral inhibitions. Physically it warps your body into a variety of different forms, most often with big endowments. Eventually, it will cause you to literally orgasm out your soul as a [[Power Crystal]], turning you into a full fledged Horny Devil.

* Dark Energon in [[Transformers Prime]] is more or less the Transformer equivalent of Satan's blood. Anything it touches becomes motile and malevolent, including dead bodies. Living 'bots that take it in tend to get powerups, but also go insane as they bend slowly to Unicron's will.<ref> Megatron, the primary infected so far, seems to be doing pretty well as far as independence goes so far, but he also seems to act like the dark energon is telling him what to do at times</ref>.