Tragic Monster: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

Nothing can [[Tear Jerker|wrench the gut]] of any protagonist like being forced to fight a loved one or ally (except maybe if said loved one is [[Apologetic Attacker|weeping uncontrollably and begging for death as he/she tries to kill you]]). This isn't just [[Brainwashed and Crazy]], this is forcing the unlucky character to become a terrible beast or other nasty critter with ''[[Can't Stay Normal|no means of changing them back]]''. Not that it will tend to stop the heroes from trying. In many case the hero will do everything they can to avoid [[Staking the Loved One]]. Even if it means keeping them contained for their own safety while they hunt for a cure.

 

{{examples}}

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

* ''[[Akira]]'', when the main character Kaneda must battle his super-powered and tormented friend Tetsuo, who goes on a destructive rampage after his sanity is nearly split from the disturbing mental images that plague his mind after acquiring said super-powers. Eventually, Tetsuo loses control of his powers and [[Transformation Trauma|transforms]] into a truly [[Nightmare Fuel]]errific amoeba like blob of flesh and organs that consumes everything in its path. This is an unusual example in that while Kaneda and Tetsuo are best friends, they actually relish fighting each other (mainly ''because'' they're friends).

* Priscilla in ''[[Claymore]]''. She is affected by [[Horror Hunger]], and remembers her parents getting eaten every time she eats someone. More recently, {{spoiler|Cassandra}}.

* Hans, the last of the Flamethrower Troopers from ''[[Pumpkin Scissors]]''. He cannot remove his suit because it would kill him like it did his friends and he works for the Silver Wheel because he was promised a way to get it off. Being in that suit for so long, he has lost the ability to feel and has become a machine who only Oland could connect to.

** Sora Inoue, Orihime's older brother. Consumed by loneliness and regrets as years passed, he transformed into a Hollow that sought to destroy everything that caused those feelings of sorrow, namely Orihime and her friends. Even when he temporarily regained control and apologized, [[Staking the Loved One|he had to die]].

** Generally, a Hollow is this, as they lose control over themselves and become hopelessly violent. Driven mad by sorrow and loneliness, they destroy everything they valued in life and only through the purifying blade of a Shinigami can they find release from that cycle. The exception is Shrieker who is still in control of himself after becoming a Hollow but commits terrible actions anyway.

* In [[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]], {{spoiler|Sayaka Miki becomes a Witch}} in the main storyline, as does {{spoiler|Madoka Kaname herself during one of the alternate timelines}}. Given the nature of magic and magical girls in the Puella Magi universe, {{spoiler|every Witch counts as this}}.

 

* [[The Joker]] can qualify in some mediums, or at the very least an extremely dark [[Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds]].

 

== [[Film]] ==

* ''[[Shaun of the Dead]]'': When his best friend is turned into a zombie and can't be turned back, Shaun, instead of killing him, locks him up in the storage shed and plays [[PlayStation]] with him.

* The depiction of Two Face in ''[[The Dark Knight]]'' is particularly heartbreaking.

 

== [[Literature]] ==

* The novel for ''[[Coraline (novel)|Coraline]]'' has {{spoiler|The Other Father, who was created to love and care, and was mutated by the Other Mother to fight Coraline.}} This gets even worse in the movie, since it's implied that {{spoiler|all of the Other counterparts have been with the Other Mother since she started the eat-children's-souls thing, and have just been modified to fit their roles. They don't want to hurt anyone, just to fill their parts as people to care and love the children. Other Father gets mutated and forced to fight Coraline, Spink and Forcible are turned into taffy-like beasts, and it's implied that Other Old Man (Mr.Bobo/Bobinsky in the movie) was EATEN by his rats.}}

* ''Many'' in the ''[[Deltora Quest]]'' series, the most prominent of which was the fate given to Doran the Dragonlover. {{spoiler|He was forced to [[A Fate Worse Than Death|become the Guardian]] of a [[Sealed Evil in a Can|Sister]] - the very thing he set out to destroy many, many years ago.}}

* Erik from ''[[The Phantom of the Opera]]'' is this, even when he's not portrayed as [[Draco in Leather Pants]]

* Werewolf Remus Lupin in ''[[Harry Potter]]'', although he's only like this once a month. The rest of the time he's safe, good, and in his right mind.

** Even then, it's only if he doesn't have any Wolfsbane potion that the wolf takes over.

* Vrasta the "Wrong One" Fammin in [[Chronicles of the Emerged World]] has feelings, dreams and a conscience, but when his name is spelled he's compelled to obey orders and {{spoiler|eventually kills his new-found friend Laio}}.

* In ''[[The Dresden Files]]'' book {{spoiler|Changes, Harry Dresden must kill Susan, the mother of his child, when she starts turning into a red court vampire.}} A bit of a subversion, since {{spoiler|Martin intentionally enraged her to the point where she would turn, because it was their only way out. And to destroy every red court vampire in existence.}}

 

* Season 8 of ''[[Smallville]]'' introduces us to Davis Bloome a likeable paramedic, and possible [[Love Interest]] for Clark's best friend, Chloe Sullivan. Unfortunately, Davis has alien [[Serial Killer]] and [[Person of Mass Destruction]] Doomsday trapped inside of him. Davis shifts into Doomsday more and more frequently as the show progresses, all while trying to repress his [[Super-Powered Evil Side]] while committing murders (of [[Pay Evil Unto Evil|criminals]]) in his human form. Ultimately, it destroys his sanity and he has to be put down for his own good and everyone else's; Davis is killed and Doomsday is separated from him and buried alive.

* Mitchell from [[Being Human (UK)]] {{spoiler|post season 2 after killing the Box Tunnel 20 and slowly spirals out of control till his suicide at the end of season 3.}}

 

== [[Video Games]] ==

* A main plot point of ''[[Castlevania]] [[Portrait of Ruin]]''. {{spoiler|If you cannot obtain the healing spell, you have to kill Stella and Loretta to end the game}}.

* ''[[Cave Story]]'': Toroko, an innocent villager, becomes a raving monster after being force-fed a nasty red flower by Balrog under the wicked Doctor's orders. Before bitching about Balrog, keep in mind who's the thrall and who's the [[Complete Monster]].

* {{spoiler|Rundas, Gandrayda and Ghor}} in ''[[Metroid Prime]] 3: Corruption''. Also, if you're not careful, [[Nonstandard Game Over|Samus]]. To be more specific, in the beginning [[Evil Twin|Dark Samus]] infects all four bounty hunters with [[The Corruption|Phazon]].

** Then, on Elysia, you fight {{spoiler|Ghor}}. You return to your ship, only to find {{spoiler|Ghor}} trying to destroy it. {{spoiler|He}} spots you, and tells you you're just in time. {{spoiler|He}} throws the ship at you, and the boss battle begins soon after. {{spoiler|His battle suit explodes}}, and then Dark Samus absorbs him.

** Then, on the [[Space Pirate]] Homeworld, you fight {{spoiler|Gandrayda. She disguises herself as a federation trooper, then tries to shoot Samus [[In the Back]].}} After the boss battle, {{spoiler|she changes first into Rundas, then into Ghor, and finally into Samus.}} At this point, Samus can't bear to look as Dark Samus absorbs {{spoiler|Gandrayda}}.

{{quote|"Tommy? I can't feel my legs..."}}

* ''[[The Elder Scrolls]] IV: Shivering Isles'': Your old mentor, Sheogorath, turns out to have been an alter ego of {{spoiler|[[Big Bad]] Jyggalag all along and, due to a curse, he is forced to revert to Jyggalag at the end of every era and destroy his own world. In the final quest, you have to kill him before he carries out these plans, although as the guy on the [[Tear Jerker]] page commented, this means "you kill a ''god'', so it doubles as the player's [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]]"}}.

** Also, on the way to the Big Bad of the Mage's Guild quests, you are sent to rescue {{spoiler|an informant who is spying on the necromancers.}} You find him... a little too late, after he's been {{spoiler|turned into a zombie}}.

* In ''[[Final Fantasy IV]]'', Edge's parents are transformed into monsters controlled by one of Rubicante's minions. They eventually recover their minds and commit suicide. Rubicante does express sorrow for this, and apologizes to Edge. The minion did this ''against'' the orders of [[Noble Demon|Rubicante's]], who implies he would have killed the minion for this were he still alive.

* Annette in ''[[Castlevania|Dracula X: Rondo of Blood]]'', if you fail to get her out of her cell beforehand.

** And again in the remake ''[[Castlevania]]: The Dracula X Chronicles'', although the mood is kind of sidetracked since, instead of being turned into a skull sorceress as in the original, Annette is instead transformed into a [[Stripperiffic]] succubus in cleavage-barring black lingerie, because [[Evil Is Sexy]].

** This only happens if you use the Ascension mod, not in the bare game.

** It can seem like this is going to happen in the main ''[[Baldur's Gate]] II'' storyline, too: {{spoiler|if your character has a romantic interest, and you're far enough along the romance storyline, they will be kidnapped and vampirised by Bodhi. While you will have to kill them, there's a way to bring them back: take their corpse and Bodhi's heart to the ruined Temple of Amaunator, then stick them in a specific idol - instant cure. You don't find this out until after you've killed them, though}}.

* ''[[Doom]] 3'' tries to do this with [[Mission Control]] Sarge, who gets turned into a cybernetic tank demon about 3/4ths of the way through the game. It fails, since he was always a [[Drill Sergeant Nasty|hardass who constantly railed on your character]], and it's unclear as to whether or not most of your interactions with him were after he succumbed to [[The Virus]] anyway.

** It is heavily implied that the sarge nearly immediately succumbed to the virus, and was leading your character (and the rest of the military force) on the entire time. So this isn't really a case of that at all.

* Oh man, it's like the entire point of [[Mother 3]]. That cute little family of friendly dinosaur-dragons you play with in the prologue? {{spoiler|One of the parents is turned into an aggressive, fire-spewing cyborg who kills your own mother, only about half a day since you saw it last}}. How about your excitable, friendly twin brother? {{spoiler|Killed by aforementioned cyborg, is brought back to life as one himself with his emotions and memories wiped, and forced to fight against his own father and brother}}. Plenty of other animals get this chimerical treatment- look at some of the enemies' faces and tell me they're not screaming. The song's called Tragic Reconstruction for a reason, y'know.

* From [[Klonoa]] there's {{spoiler|Leorina, after she collects the four Elements, the power of sorrow engulfs her and mutates her into Cursed Leorina, a creature best described as a giant bird-like creature with small-fairy like wings and a and an extremely creepy roar. She turns normal after you defeat her, thought}}

* Definitely the entire point of [[.hack|.hack//G.U.]]. Let's start from the beginning: Haseo's best friend Shino is comatosed, his newly acquired allies start suffering left right and center. The protagonist also becomes entangled in a [[Batman Gambit]] (and is an [[Unwitting Pawn]] himself), and finally he gets a shot at killing the true culprit after chasing false ends. This is what the true culprit, {{spoiler|Ovan}} [[Anti-Villain|wanted from the beginning]], launching a convoluted plan to have Haseo kill him. Why? [[The Corruption]] has gotten to him and has resulted in a [[Dead Little Sister|comatose little sister]]. He has the required cure that will bring everyone back, but it requires a [[Heroic Sacrifice]], and he knows that [[I Cannot Self-Terminate]]. By the time Haseo (and by extension, you, the player) knows about this, you cannot help but feel sorry for the guy.

* [[The Undead]] in ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' usually come in three varieties: this, [[Jumping Off the Slippery Slope|Jumped Off The Slippery Slope]] and [[Complete Monster]]s. Of the first variety, notable examples include Thaddius ( {{spoiler|Those terrified screams in Naxxramas? That's ''her''}}), Sir Zeliek, Madrigosa/Felmyst and the resident [[Dark Action Girl]] Sylvanas Windrunner.

* Brink from ''[[Torchlight]]''. An NPC who joins as an ally near the start of the game, the [[Big Bad]] turns him into the first boss via [[The Corruption]], and the player is forced to kill him. Partially subverted as the player character doesn't know Brink for very long at all. However, the NPC ally whom Brink was fighting alongside with at the very start of the game definitely seems distraught after his death.

* In [[BioShock (series)]] 2, in a rather [[Tear Jerker|heart-wrenching series of events]] towards the end, {{spoiler|[[Big Bad|Sofia Lamb]] captures [[Mission Control|Augustus]] [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|Sinclair]] and [[Moral Event Horizon|turns him into an]] [[Super Prototype|Alpha-Series Big Daddy]], except she leaves his mind intact and aware. A chunk of the last level involves [[The Hero|Subject Delta]] working his way through the multiple defenses that Sinclair's body has set up... while Sinclair's voice is talking to you over the radio, [[Apologetic Attacker|apologizing for everything]], telling you that [[I Cannot Self-Terminate|you have to kill him]], and saying he enjoyed the time spent helping you. When you finally gun him down, [[Dying as Yourself|he thanks you as he dies]].}}

* Appears in ''[[Dragon Age]]'' - the taint can ''really'' mess you up. {{spoiler|The Dalish Grey Warden's game starts with them exploring with childhood friend Tamlen. Said childhood friend gets a little too close to an [[Artifact of Doom]] and the Warden wakes up three days later apparently found alone and with the taint and a high fever and is taken off by Duncan to be put through the Joining, which will suppress it (for a few decades, anyhow) if they survive - Tamlen gets [[Never Found the Body|left for dead]] not only by Duncan but his and the Warden's whole tribe. [[Chekhov MIA|Guess who pays the Warden a surprise visit halfway through the game as a ghoul]] going insane from progressive taint and begging his old bestie for a [[Mercy Kill]].}} And don't get started on Broodmothers. Quite similar to the Dalish Elf's case is Danyla in the Brecilian Forest, a missing member the Dalish clan from the Nature Of The Beast quest whose husband asks the Warden to search for her as a side mission. She's succumbed to the werewolf curse and is still barely there when she's found, begging the Warden to put her out of her misery and take her scarf back to her husband before losing it and attacking.

** Arguably {{spoiler|the Archdemon}} himself. There are no reliable sources in the game describing what {{spoiler|the Tevintran Old Gods}} were really like (the Chantry is hardly unbiased on the subject), but to reiterate the point above: the taint ''really'' messes you up.

* Dissidia hints that Sephiroth is one, as Cecil, in a pre-battle quote against Sephiroth, mentions that there's "sorrow in [Sephiroth's] wintery eyes."

* [[Physical God|Mithala]] in ''[[Aquaria (video game)|Aquaria]]'' was revered as the forefather of the Mithalan civilization. Then the local [[Path of Inspiration]] took over and the rites took a darker turn. {{spoiler|Instead of food, they brought [[Human Resources|worshippers]]. Eventually, he was driven insane by hunger and accepted the "offering". The cult fed him the ''entire'' civilization, turning him into a [[Womb Level]].}}

** {{spoiler|Several of the Shades fought as bosses}} also turn out to be a lot more sympathetic in [[New Game+]], when you can {{spoiler|understand what they're saying.}}

* ''Vindictus'': {{spoiler|Ingkells. When he and all the soldiers of Ortel Castle become so overcome with despair that they drink a potion laced with Bloody Shade, Ingkells turns into a furious monster.}} Learning of this act is one of the most poignant moments in Vindictus' story. {{spoiler|Ingkells, however, is unique in that he actually chose to become a monster. However, the fact that he felt enough despair and fury to be driven to such an action makes it all the more tragic.}}.

* ''[[Asura's Wrath]]'': {{spoiler|Wrath Asura, the result of seeing a little girl that looked just like his daughter die after being slaughtered by Olga of the Seven Deities.}} Made much more obvious with his battle theme, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3n8At25Br8U Bonds].

 

* ''[[Fate/stay night]]''. Heaven Feel's {{spoiler|Saber Alter}}. Made much worse after [[Jeanne D'Archetype|knowing her past]] and having played the [[Multiple Endings|Fate route]], {{spoiler|in which she is the [[Love Interest]]}}.

** Also {{spoiler|Dark Sakura}} and her case is [[Rape as Backstory|much,]] [[Abusive Parents|much]] [[Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds|worse]].

* ''[[Tsukihime]]'': {{spoiler|[[The Woobie|the real Tohno SHIKI.]]}} Go on, think about his past for a moment, then try telling me I'm wrong.

** {{spoiler|Satsuki}} definitely counts as a tragic monster after she's converted into a vampire by Roa/SHIKI.

 

== [[Web Comics]] ==

* Trace Legacy of ''[[Twokinds]]'' was a pretty nice guy with incredible power. And then he lost the wife he spent so long getting. [[Complete Monster|And then things got worse]].

 

* Most of the villains in ''[[Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated]]'' are this. For example, there's Professor Pericles. He was once an innocent parrot who was friends with Mr. E. But unfortunately, the Nibiru Entity corrupted him to the point that he became a sociopath. He also manipulated Professor Pericles into helping him escape from his prison under the pretense that he'll lend him his power. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, and Professor Pericles dies.

 

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Boss Battle]]

[[Category:Face Monster Turn]]