Tiger and Bunny/Nightmare Fuel
For a series that started off with some comparisons to The Incredibles, Tiger and Bunny ended up with several examples of this once it turns out how far the quirky, funny Corporate Superheroism...isn't so funny.
- The major one is the revelation that Maverick is the one who killed Barnaby's parents, and that he has memory-altering powers which he used repeatedly on Barnaby over the years to ensure that the boy never discovered the truth, among other things. The implications of that are just terrifying, because every 'flashback' of Barnaby's is now called into question, which naturally has him doubting his own sanity. A particularly horrific/tear-jerking scene has Barnaby recalling the moment he walked in on his parents' murder scene, only to see the killer's face (which he never could recall properly) change from one person to the other including his affectionate old housekeeper, his trusted partner...and himself.
- There's Lunatic, the creepy pyrokinetic who despises the Hero TV idea of 'justice' and so kills those criminals he thinks are deserving (and for the most part, they are). While he claims to avoid killing innocents, his hijacking of the police raid showed a total disregard for the amount of damage caused, simply to make a point to his 'fellow heroes'.
- Episode 16 has Lunatic's backstory as Yuri Petrov, who grows up to be a judge in Stern Bild. His father was an ex-hero who became an abusive alcoholic after losing his powers. One day, when he sees his father beating his mother, Yuri snaps and activates his Next power, setting his father's hand alight. Even worse, rather than screaming in pain his father laughs and puts his hand on Yuri's head, giving him the palm-shaped burn mark which is the same pattern used on his mask as 'Lunatic'. And then we get a little scene in the present day where we find that Yuri's elderly mother believes her husband is still alive, will somehow get better, and that her son is a demon
- Back to Tiger and Bunny