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The Dark Side: Difference between revisions
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{{quote|[[With Great Power Comes Great Insanity|"If you only knew the power of the]] [[Dark Is Evil|Dark Side!"]]|'''[[The Dragon|Darth Vader,]]''' ''[[The Empire Strikes Back]]'' }}
The [[Evil Counterpart]], corruption or evil sides of the [[Sentient Cosmic Force]]...and a good number of non-sentient, non-cosmic forces as well. Evil is addictive; the more of its power you rely on, the more evil you become. [[The Dark Side]] is when the [[Face Heel Turn|temptation to fall]] has an added ''oomph.'' It's more than just the cumulative result of one's actions; there's [[The Corruption|a corrupting force that speeds things along]]. This is often the [[Applied Phlebotinum|Phlebotinum]]-powered justification of [[Jumping Off the Slippery Slope]], which results in the Fallen [[The Dark Side Will Make You Forget|forgetting why they fell in the first place]]. [[The Dark Side]] often promises [[Evil Feels Good|pleasure]] with [[Ambition Is Evil|power]] and [[Evil Is Cool|respect.]] Once it gets you, there's an odd tendency to [[Evil Costume Switch|accessorize accordingly.]]
Like [[More Than Mind Control]], it accelerates the more [[Emotions vs. Stoicism|suppressed urges]] and wrong choices it has to work with.
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It's a component of [[Psychoactive Powers]]; [[Papa Wolf|protective]] [[Mama Bear|instinct]] is harder to tap on demand than [[Unstoppable Rage|righteous fury]], but anger tends to feed on itself, resulting in [[Power Incontinence]].
Of course, there are often also [[This Is Your Brain on Evil|social, mental]], [[Being Evil Sucks|moral]], and sometimes [[The Corruption|physical costs]] that no amount of [[Glamour Failure|subterfuge can fully hide]] but by the time these aspects appear, it's too late.
Contrary to what the [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]] and [[Anti-Hero]] [[It's the Only Way|might say]], you ''cannot'' [[Evil Versus Evil|"fight the Dark Side]] with [[The Dark Side]]" -- [[Heroic Willpower]] notwithstanding, the consequences will inevitably lead to the user's [[Pyrrhic Villainy]].
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* Many characters in ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'' and ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! GX|GX]]'' fall into some Dark Side's trap, usually by trying to use an [[Artifact of Doom]] or something [[Powered by a Forsaken Child]] (i.e. Marik, Dartz, Akunadin, Saiou, Judai), sometimes with good intentions (Yami Yugi used the Seal of Orichalcos partly to save his Dark Magician Girl, Fubuki used his [[Super-Powered Evil Side]] to try to save Ryo). They start confident they'll be able to control what they unleash, but inevitably, the power's/object's inherent darkness is controlling them.
* Used straight and subverted in ''[[Bleach]]'': gaining Hollow powers raises people's upper power (it is stated that shinigami have a maximum power they can attain) and allows them great spiritual growth. But it also risks giving into your [[Super-Powered Evil Side]] for a world-class [[Freak-Out]]. The Vizard thoroughly beat their dark sides into submission in order to access the power safely, and teach others in their dilemma how to do the same; however, not all people who gain Hollow powers ''want'' to suppress [[The Dark Side]].
* [[Mahou Sensei Negima]] has Negi learning [[Black Magic]] so that he'll be able to protect his students, and it's implied that there's a real risk of the power taking control.
** It's also used more humorously, as Evangeline will attempt to "turn Negi to the dark side'' whenever the opportunity presents itself. It hasn't worked yet.
*** She touches this with almost everybody she comes into contact with, and has noticeably affected some of them (including Negi) -- the catch is that this setting weighs heavily on the side of [[Dark Is Not Evil]]. Her [[Noble Demon|version]] is more aesthetic choice and [[Loners Are Freaks|antisociality]] with [[The Dark Side|Dark Side]] corruptive qualities than what the (other?) villains in the series possess.
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** It's quite clear in the ''Silmarillion'' that Morgoth was not created evil. Melkor is cleary an [[Expy]] of Lucifer, and is described as the greatest of the Valar. Like Lucifer, [[A God Am I|his pride got the better of him]], and he attempted to remake the Song of Illuvatar in his own image. And, like Lucifer, [[Turned Against Their Masters|he rebelled against his creator]], and was cast out; losing his original name and [[Satan|being given a new, less complimentary one]].
*** Tolkien was a devout Catholic and it shows a lot in his mythos. Melkor really had no provocation to become evil, though, or to be overly proud; it just kind of happened ... actually the only reason he became prominent was because he interrupted and twisted the Song of Iluvatar. Which may be a way of saying that no creation of Iluvatar is perfect (the Valar, Morgoth's opponents, had [[Lawful Stupid|plenty of flaws]] themselves).
*** Melkor was explicitly the most powerful of the Ainur, which would probably explain the pride. Exactly how powerful he was Tolkien was never quite able to pin down (ranging from being only slightly stronger than his brother Manwë to being as strong as [[All Your Powers Combined|all the other Valar combined]], and usually somewhere in between), but he pretty clearly saw himself as the pinnacle of creation. In any event, he didn't actually rebel until the Music, when he decided he could do it better.
**** "No provocation to become evil?" Let's have a look at that again: He was described to be aloof from the others, animcable enough just not a team player. When everyone was creating the world, any works he presented were nixed, even though they were described as beautiful and masterful. When it was done, none of his effort had been accepted into creation, for no reason given, but the implication was that the other Valar simply felt that [[Loners Are Freaks]]. A little bitterness just might take root there, and fester over the course of an immortal existence.
* Violation of the Seven Laws of Magic in [[The Dresden Files]] causes this, especially things that harm other people like mind control, Outsider summoning and murder-by-magic. It not only corrupts your soul but eventually drives you insane with power-hunger (assuming that {{spoiler|the Wardens don't kill you first)}}.
** More personally, Harry is constantly tempted to use Fallen power by Lasciel, who wants him to pick up her coin and become a Denarian. At one point he even quotes Gandalf at her to emphasize why he refuses.
** The Denarians are perfect living examples of falling to [[The Dark Side]]. They're evil through and through because of their greed for power, and they live symbiotically with demons from hell (in the literal Christian sense).
** The only member of the White Council that is allowed to violate the Seven Laws is the Blackstaff. This is because the Blackstaff (magical staff) wielded by the Blackstaff (the position) prevents [[The Dark Side]] from corrupting its wielder.
* In ''The Tennis Shoes Adventure Series'', there's a demonic sword, created by an evil king from The Book of Mormon. It would slowly work its way into someone's mind, convincing them they could use it to become powerful. Through the use of [[Time Travel]], Todd Finlay got a hold of it and turned to [[The Dark Side]]. Later on, Joshua Hawkins, son of [[The Hero]] gets seduced by it as well.
* The so-called True Power of [[The Wheel of Time]] is highly addictive. Only the very upper echelon of the Dark One's flunkies are allowed to use it, and only one of them does so on a more than completely desperate basis, as they're all afraid of the side effect: [[With Great Power Comes Great Insanity|going utterly around the bend]] (the one who ''does'' use it is already nuts and a major nihilist to boot- he doesn't care about the consequences]].
** ''Saidin'', the source of power for male magic users, is also considered to be this in-universe, but that's because the Dark One managed to layer corruption over it, causing anyone who uses it for long to go completely [[Ax Crazy]] and then die a horrible death that's never seen, but described as being essentially [[Body Horror|rotting while you're still alive]]. Late in the series, [[The Hero|Rand]] maanges to fix it.
* Oddly enough the phrase "dark side" is used a couple of times in ''[[Harry Potter]]'', but it doesn't really have any examples of the trope: Voldemort was [[
** Although they were not good to start with, Severus Snape, Regulus Black, and Draco Malfoy are all examples of characters who liked the ''idea'' of the Dark Side, joined the Death Eaters at the first chance, and had gotten too far in before they [[Heel Realization|realized what it was really like.]]
* The Dark Court from [[Wicked Lovely]].
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** Also, in season 3, Angel warns Faith "You don't know the price of evil". Her response: "I hope evil takes Mastercard".
** Angel's conversions to Angelus don't count as they are instant and involuntary. But he goes dark in season 2, in a tantrum over not being able to save Darla. For example, he lets a room full of lawyers get eaten by vampires. That's dark, isn't it? Isn't it?
*** Well, they are [[Acceptable Targets|Lawyers.]]
** Spoofed in Season 6 when Spike encourages Buffy to walk with him on the Dark Side -- which consists of Spike playing poker for kittens while Buffy gets drunk and makes snarky comments. Things become more serious later on in the season when Spike wrongly assumes (or convinces himself) that Buffy's depression and desire for rough sex means she wants to abandon her life and join him on the Dark Side. His failure to understand the complexity of her emotions has [[Attempted Rape|serious consequences for both of them]].
* Sam spends about three seasons of ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'' trying to avoid turning to the Dark Side, even making Dean promise to kill him [[Not Himself|if he ever goes evil]]. The fourth season, however, finds him drinking [[Psycho Serum|demon blood]] to fuel his demon-provided powers so he can kill Lilith and prevent the Apocalypse [[Despair Event Horizon|after she kills Dean]]. By the end of the season, thinking he's [[The Only One]] who can do it, Sam leaves his brother to go get even more power and kills Lilith, {{spoiler|[[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|inadvertently releasing Lucifer]] and starting the Apocalypse.}}
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* Gwynn from ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'' has this with the Book of E-Ville and (formerly) with the demon K'Z'K.
* Subverted with {{spoiler|Vaarsuvius}} in ''[[Order of the Stick]]'' and his/her soul splice with the spirits of three psychotic mages {{spoiler|in order to stop the black dragon threatening V's mate and children, but also out of [[Pride]].}} {{spoiler|Vaarsuvius}} was told the soul splice would have an effect on alignment, but after the [[Moral Event Horizon]] is crossed, {{spoiler|this is revealed to be a lie set up to give V an excuse to do something that the elf would have otherwise avoided.}}
* In [[Coming Up Violet]] high school popularity is treated a lot like this. This is made all too evident when {{spoiler|Abby}} tries to convince {{spoiler|Violet}} to usurp the [[Alpha Bitch]]'s power and ends up sounding very much like [[Star Wars|Chancellor Palpatine]].
* Played for laughs in ''[[El Goonish Shive]]'':
{{quote|"So you're saying you ''can't'' make me an army of goo-based hall monitors?"
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