The Corruption: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
{{quote|Don't you feel the power? Soon EVERYTHING will be corrupted. Including YOU.|''' {{spoiler|Ghor}}''', ''[[Metroid Prime|Metroid Prime 3]]''}}
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In the standard plotline, it will usually infect [[The Hero]] at some point. While [[Vampire Refugee|seeking to cure himself]], the infected hero must [[Fighting From the Inside|struggle with]] [[This Is Your Brain on Evil|malign influence]] and limit use of the [[Super-Powered Evil Side|evil powers]] granted by the Corruption, since using them tends to corrupt him further.
This often works by an interesting rule: [[Mooks]] and [[Red Shirt
Nastier versions require a [[Mercy Kill]]. They may, in [[Dying as Yourself]], recover just a few moments, but only if mortally wounded. Contrast with [[Power Degeneration]], where the cause of eventual death is overuse of superpowers, or simply having them.
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* Happens to Yomi in ''[[Ga-Rei]]'' {{spoiler|at least a couple of times,}} because a [[Mineral MacGuffin|Sesshouseki]] possessed her.
* In ''[[King of Thorn]]'', Medusa usually causes the victim to be [[Taken for Granite]]. However, in certain people it brings on other types of [[Body Horror]]: a [[Lovecraftian Superpower]] at best, a [[One-Winged Angel]] at worst.
* 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
** {{spoiler|And now the people in charge want to see if the Corruption can be controlled and weaponized after the main character forced herself into Nova Mode and managed to bring herself back. Two Pandora veterans are horrified at this idea as they saw what happened to the aforementioned Pandora with the twenty Stigmas.}}
* When a [[Magical Girl]] uses her magic in [[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]], her Soul Gem darkens. She must take a Grief Seed and use it to cleanse the gem, because if she doesn't, the Soul Gem will keep getting darker...{{spoiler|until it eventually darkens completely and becomes a Grief Seed itself, [[And Then John Was a Zombie|resulting in the magical girl becoming a]] [[Eldritch Abomination|Witch]] [[And Then John Was a Zombie|herself]]. The worst part? No matter how long they do it, all magical girls will eventually fall to the corruption, becoming witches}}. The only way to stop it? Either {{spoiler|die before this can happen}}, or {{spoiler|use your wish to destroy the Corruption and ensure that no one has to become a Witch}}.
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* Arguably [[Iron Man]] and the Extremis Dose.
* Venom and other symbiotes from ''[[Spider-Man (Comic Book)|Spider-Man]]''.
* In [[Marvel Comics|Marvel UK's]] ''Captain Britain'', the superhero-killing machine the Fury repairs itself with [[Human Resources|organic material]]
* Every time ''[[Spawn]]'' uses the powers being a Hellspawn grants him, he gets a little bit closer to completely losing his humanity and becoming the commander of [[The Legions of Hell]].
* 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.
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* John Carpenter's ''Prince of Darkness'' is all about this trope.
* 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
== [[Literature]] ==
* The Shadow Plague from the ''[[Fablehaven]]'' series.
* [[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 40000]]'' 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 Lee Lightner's ''Wolf's Honour'', {{spoiler|all the Space Wolves}} are threatened by its taking over.
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** In ''[[Changeling: The Lost]]'', changelings turn into {{spoiler|[[The Fair Folk|True Fae]] as they reach the zenith of their power (which is inevitably followed by the nadir of their [[Karma Meter|Clarity]]).}}
** Flux works a little like this in ''[[Promethean: The Created]]''. It is the antithesis of the creative power Azoth, waiting for a Promethean who has become disenchanted with the Pilgrimage to stumble upon it. Its trademark "gift" is mutation, slowly turning the user into an inhuman form, though it also grants control over Pandorans, its "children". Prometheans refer to the slow dive into irretrievable Centimani as being "seduced by Flux".
** In ''[[Geist: The Sin Eaters]]'', Sin Eaters turn into [[Meat Puppet
** 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 protagonists of the ''[[Old World of Darkness]]'' game ''[[Demon: The Fallen]]'' have Torment, the spiritual residue of millennia in Hell. It afflicts all Fallen to some degree and can be used to supercharge a demon's powers, but doing so involves letting more Torment into your soul. It also acts as the game's [[Karma Meter]]: too much Torment turns you into a monster like the [[Eldritch Abomination|Earthbound]].
* 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.
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** [[Metroid Prime|Metroid Prime 2: Echoes]], Samus visits a second Leviathan-struck planet. Planet Aether became unstable due to the interaction between its own physical properties and those of Phazon, resulting in a permanent state of trans-dimensional flux that connected it with another version of itself, dubbed Dark Aether. Dark Aether is a barren wasteland full of Phazon, albeit not inhospitable, being inhabited by the Ing, which also have parasitic and corrupting abilities. Due to Space pirates being present in the planet, as well as the native Luminoth, the entire planet broke into a war of three opposing sides for survival. Several Aether creatures and those brought from Tallon IV by the pirates become victims of both phazon and ing corruption as well.
*** Interesting to note, only one Ing was willing to touch Phazon without a middleman. That should have warned people.
** [[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. [[MP3]] 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>
* [[Ryzom]] features a substance called the Goo, which is purple [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|goo]] that spouts from fissures in the ground; the Goohead tribe abuse it as a psychedelic drug, the local wildlife becomes stronger and more hostile around it, and too high of a concentration of the stuff will cause you continuous damage while you're in the area.
* The first villain faced in ''[[Tron 2.0]]'' is an ex-executive who was incorrectly digitized into the computer world and became a virus, his poisoning presence was even referred to as The Corruption. Infected programs who attack you have a chance of infecting one of your subroutines (weapons and equipment), making it have the opposite effect until you complete a virus scan on that subroutine. Oddly, you eventually get to use the special weapons of the Corrupted yourself without risk of self-infection.
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** Gilgamesh gets [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] from his [[Incorruptible Pure Pureness|"All the world's evil? Ha! You'll need at least triple that to corrupt ''me!''"]] line. Then again, [[Pure Is Not Good|he was already kind of a]] Jerkass.
** 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
* ''[[Prince of Persia]]'' 2008: Ahriman's essence - a black tar-like substance ''called'' corruption - is a bit of a subversion. While it drains the land of life around it, it also only afflicts people who [[Deal with the Devil|made a pact with Ahriman]]. So really, if you become a Corrupted, it's your own fault.
** Making a [[Deal with the Devil]] makes you into a more Badass corrupted and lets you keep some of your original personality. Just getting conquered by Ahriman or falling into the corruption turns you into a Mook version. Elika also mentions that some people who made deals just got turned into the mindless soldier version anyway.
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* The Dark Glass from ''[[Rise of Legends]]''. It made the Dark Alin, which terrorized the Alin kingdom. In-game Dark Glass units have an attack which gives a permanent HP debuff.
* Shadow Pokemon from ''Pokemon Colosseum'' have their hearts closed. They get access to Shadow Rush (and good Shadow moves in the sequel, ''Pokemon XD''). Also, in the sequel, all non-shadow Pokemon are weak to shadow attacks. They even get access to a super form, which can cause them to turn on their trainers and generally go insane.
* ''[[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
** {{spoiler|In the Warden's Keep DLC, an old human mage does the most ingenious thing: he ''weaponizes'' the taint, creating an elixir which can give the player tainted blood-based powers. It's not pretty, ethical (or ''sane'' for that matter), but they are incredibly useful.}}
** [[It Got Worse]] in the ''[[Dragon Age II]]'' [[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.}}
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* In ''[[Kingdom Hearts]] II'', utilizing your Drive Form repeatedly may result in Sora turning into hist Anti-Form that resembles a feral Heartless. Although the form can fight with near limitless combos the lack of a finishing move means it can never be used to defeat a boss and the inability to control its appearance make it, for the most part, [[Deadly Upgrade|a penalty]].
** Not to mention you take double damage and can't heal yourself while in this form.
* Seithr in ''[[Blaz Blue]]'', 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
* Done beautifully in ''[[Shadow of the Colossus]]''. After every time you defeat a colossus, some weird dark tendrils come out and latch into The Wanderer. {{spoiler|The effect is gradual enough, that you don't notice how bad its got until the final colossus, where, because of the wind and some camera close ups, you notice how ragged and bad he looks, unlike the young man you started the game as.}}
* The Taint of ''[[Lusternia]]'' is the effluence of an [[Eldritch Abomination]]. Those subjected to it lose their moral compunctions and become stronger, more intelligent, taller, and [[Evil Makeover|more demonic-looking]]; prolonged exposure exaggerates these characteristics further and can result in [[The Undead|lichdom]]; and overdosing results in ''serious'' [[Body Horror]]. [[Blob Monster|Gorgulu]] - the former ruler of Shallamar - is a good example of the latter.
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== Western Animation ==
* 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>
** Also makes an appearance in [[Transformers: War for Cybertron]], a videogame to which [[Transformers Prime]] is [[Broad Strokes|sorta]] a sequel. Its less corrupting there for living or formerly living things, but a lot more corrupting for nonliving things and feral creatures.
*** The novel Transformers: Exodus, which is sort of a prequel and adaptation of the game, is very explicit about the corruptive influence of Dark Energon. Start with euphoria, boosted power, and greatly increased violent tendencies... then add on instant addiction that will kill you real real slow if you try to kick the habit. Oh, and the stuff turns any normal Energon it comes in contact with into more Dark Energon.
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