Unwitting Pawn: Difference between revisions

The [[Wide-Eyed Idealist]] often becomes this, but sometimes the [[Knight Templar]] and [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]] can fall into this too. When the main character does this, and then has to ''fix'' it, it's [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero]].

 

 

Compare [[Out-Gambitted]], [[Unwitting Instigator of Doom]], [[My God, What Have I Done?]]. Contrast the [[Spanner in the Works]], who just as ignorantly harms these schemes.

** {{spoiler|The upper echelon of Central's military}} were suckered into following the same scheme with similar promises.

** In the [[Fullmetal Alchemist (anime)|2003 anime version]], the homunculi manipulate alchemists into trying to create the Philosopher's Stone so that their leader Dante can use it for her own immortality. Dante also falsely promises to make the homunculi human if they succeed.

* Makoto Isshiki in ''[[RahXephon]]''. He takes down Tokyo Jupiter, but all he achieves by doing so is enabling the Mulians to invade the outside world en masse. [[It's Personal]]...

* Lavinia Reberth of ''[[Soukou no Strain]]'' is a [[Fan Girl]] of epic proportions, who'd do anything to get some of Sara's attention. Dress up as a [[Playboy Bunny]]? Failed. Ambush her in the shower? Got the wrong girl. Steal her most precious possession? Dropped it in a garbage dump, which ended up with Sara's [[Luke, I Am Your Father|true identity]] revealed to the whole crew, the Libertad kicked out of port before it could complete repairs, and one of their teammates dead. [[It's All My Fault|Oops.]]

* In the anime of ''[[Chrono Crusade]]'', nearly everything that the main characters do seem to play right into Aion's hands. {{spoiler|In the end, even though [[Downer Ending|almost all of the main cast die]], they only seem to stop him temporarily.}}

** Same for the Order of the Black Knights, which was first manipulated by Lelouch before {{spoiler|becoming Schneizel's pawns}}. Lelouch actually ''is'' the hero who is trying to save the world. He has a lot of bad luck and some questionable methods, but the Black Knights generally benefited from his actions, manipulation aside. {{spoiler|Schneizel, not so much. He has decent luck, if not good, and his methods are not questionable - they're definitely not good for the human race as a whole.}}

** [[Double Subverted]] by Rem, who {{spoiler|kills L for Light in order to save Misa from being arrested}}. She figures out ''exactly'' what Light is trying to get her to do, how he's getting her to do it, and what will happen if she doesn't {{spoiler|(she dies)}}... And she does it anyway.

* In ''[[One Piece]]'', Whitebeard was a target for this. The World Government wanted to kill him and his whole crew with a barricade killzone trap and execute Ace, {{spoiler|the son of the Pirate King}} once they are stuck as a warning to all Pirates and cement their power. However, Whitebeard, {{spoiler|while he still dies, manages to re-ignite the Golden Age of Pirates, and most of his crew and allies survive. Also, technically Ace was saved, but still dies anyways.}} However, in the end, he, and technically the WG, is still fooled by the true mastermind and main cause of the war, {{spoiler|Blackbeard}}. His plan was that he knew Whitebeard would risk anything to save a single of his crew, and the WG would do anything to take him down. {{spoiler|While everyone is focusing on Marine HQ, Blackbeard slips into Impel Down, recruits the strongest prisoners of Level Six, which contains some of the worst criminals in the history of the world, sails back, kills Whitebeard, steals Whitebeard's destructive powers for his own means, and then makes a clean escape.}} Even worse, the WG's pride makes it that they will not acknowledge his success, and cover it up, meaning he can plan even more things unharrased.

* Poor Shinji Ikari from ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]''. From being manipulated and forced by [[Manipulative Bastard|Gendo Ikari]] against his will to being forced to bring about [[The End of the World as We Know It]].

* In ''[[Berserk]]'' Skull Knight attempts to kill [[Big Bad]] Griffith with a mystical attack. Next Volume Griffith uses the attack to unleash hell on earth.

* Who in ''[[Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle]]'' '''isn't''' playing into [[Big Bad|Fei Wong Reed]]'s plans, again? {{spoiler|Kurogane}} might be the least manipulated of the group, but he's not exactly immune, either.

* Alice of [[Code Geass]] [[Nightmare of Nunnally]], desperate to save Nunnally, accepts help from Anya and proceeds to Kamine Island. {{spoiler|It turns out that Anya was possessed by Empress Marianne, who needed Nunnally to complete her and Charles' [[Assimilation Plot]]. Thankfully, Alice telling Nunnally that she values her as an individual [[Spanner in the Works|derails]] the plan}}.

* Poor [[Puella Magi Madoka Magica|Homura]], so you wanted to save your friend from certain death using your Faust powered wish? {{spoiler|Well you did technically save her by making it so as long she is not saved, the timeline repeat itself. Unfortunately, you also helped Kyuubey create what is the ultimate power source based on people suffering since Madoka is not only a juicy power source but since with every cycle Homura becomes more cynical, her suffering only gives even more power with each interval. And she can do nothing to get out of the loop.}}

* Near the end of the first season of ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! GX]]'', Sho assumes that {{spoiler|everybody in Duel Academy were the pawns of Kagemaru, the season's [[Big Bad]].}}

 

 

* In the ''[[Green Lantern]]'' story ''[[Sinestro Corps War]]'', the Guardians and the Green Lantern Corps turn out to be these after Sinestro reveals that {{spoiler|he (Sinestro) won the war by making the Guardians override their own principles and disable the "no killing" function on the Lantern rings}}.

* The ''[[Knights of the Old Republic]]'' comic writer love these. Usually one or more of the main characters, but often the villain.

 

 

** The entire Whitecloak movement.

* Although Ian Irvine has one in every single book, the conclusion to the ''Well of Echoes'' series deserves special mention for the sheer scale of it. The main character attempts to stop the [[Magnificent Bastard]] from using the most powerful magic in the world to take over said world by {{spoiler|destroying the power sources of all magic, thus preventing anybody from using it}}. Except it turns out that {{spoiler|the magic the [[Magnificent Bastard]] was using was the only one powered by something else}}, and what she had actually done was {{spoiler|destroyed any and every chance the heroes had of stopping him}}. Whoops.

* Most of the Blood Angels in [[James Swallow]]'s [[Warhammer 40000]] novels ''[[Blood Angels|Deus Encarmine'' and ''Deus Sanguinius]]''. Sachiel in particular; {{spoiler|Inquisitor Stele}} thinks how easy he is to manipulate, and when he realizes at last the corruption, {{spoiler|Stele}} kills him, declares the loyal Blood Angels did it, and starts a battle.

* In [[Tad Williams]]' ''[[Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn]]'' series, this role is amply filled by King Elias. From the start, [[Evil Sorcerer]] Pryrates tricks and manipulates him via promises: first, to {{spoiler|communicate with his dead wife}}, and later, to {{spoiler|grant him [[Immortality]]}}, all while turning him into {{spoiler|a [[Demonic Possession|vessel]] for the [[Sealed Evil in a Can|return]] of the [[Big Bad]] Storm King}}.

* [[The Pendragon Adventure|Poor Mark and Courtney.]] Every time they try to help out Bobby and his friends, they usually just end up playing into [[Big Bad|Saint Dane's]] hands.

* In ''Flora's Dare'', Flora is sent off by Lord Axacaya to Bilskinir House to recover Georgiana Segunda's Diario so as to determine how to free the Loliga. Little does she suspect {{spoiler|that the his primary reason for sending her was to confirm his suspicions that she's the last Hadraada, and thus have her killed}}.

* In [[Kurt Vonnegut]]'s novel ''[[Cat's Cradle]]'', Angela and Newt Hoenikker are suckered by agents of the American and Russian governments, respectively.

* At the end of Suzanne Collins's ''[[The Hunger Games|Catching Fire]]'', Katniss learns that she was central to an enormous plot that no one let her in on.

* In Hunger, the second book of the [[Gone (novel)]] series, the Gaiaphage does this to Caine and Lana. Caine thinks he's messing with the nuclear power plant for revenge and power, and Lana thinks she's actually trying to destroy the Gaiaphage. It may also be doing this to Brittney in book 3. Drake is corrupt enough that he actually works for it willingly.

* Kronos does this to ''everyone'' in [[Percy Jackson and The Olympians]]. Furthermore, especially in the second book of the new series, [[The Heroes of Olympus]], many characters, among which the [[Big Bad]] herself, state that Percy will be Gaia's pawn, and that he'll bring about the destruction of the gods.

* Though she was fairly bad to begin with, Kai Winn in the final episode of ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' certainly seems to fulfill this role to Gul Dukat's [[Chessmaster]].

* A lot of Suckers have come and gone in ''[[Survivor]]'', but the biggest of them all would probably be Erik Reichenbach from Micronesia. In what many considered to be the dumbest move in the show's history, Erik gives away his Individual Immunity and is promptly voted off by the [[Femme Fatale|conniving female alliance]], after being conned in a transparent ploy for redemption.

** Russell pulls this off ''again'' in ''Heroes vs. Villains,'' this time using [[Jerk Jock|Tyson]] to break up what should have been a foolproof plan to get either himself or Parvati out of the game by tricking him into switching his vote to Parvati, which broke up the even distribution of votes that Boston Rob's alliance would have used to get either Russell or Parvati out depending on who Russell used his Hidden Immunity Idol on. Instead, Russell uses it on Parvati, who now has four votes to Russell's two... and Tyson's three. That's right, [[What an Idiot!|Tyson not only screwed up Rob's plan but ended up getting ''himself'' voted out of the game.]] Ouch.

* Bradford in season 2 of ''[[The Apprentice (TV series)|The Apprentice]]'' did the same, waiving his exemption, and was immediately fired by Donald Trump, SOLELY because he was an idiot. This is a rare example of someone becoming the victim of their ''own'' [[Batman Gambit]]. Bradford wanted rid of the terribly ineffective team leader, Ivana, but knew that he wouldn't be brought back into the boardroom since he had immunity; therefore he surrendered it, so that she'd bring him back. Unfortunately, he didn't consider what the other possible outcome of that decision might be...

* The ''entire cast'' of ''[[Angel]]'' in season four. {{spoiler|They spend a whole whack of time chasing down Jasmine, hoping to free the world from her version of lovey-dovey mind-control. At the end, their victory is entirely spoiled when evil law firm Wolfram and Hart contact them saying how happy they are that they've averted instant world peace.}} Nearly everything they had done in the past seasons had led to {{spoiler|Jasmine's}} rise to power to begin with. Ironically, in the next season, the entire Wolfram and Hart becomes a sucker when Angel fools its higher-ups into thinking he is corrupted. And for giving him the means to do it, as a reward.

* In ''[[Lexx]]'', captain Stanley Tweedle's backstory, in which he was supposed to deliver what amounted to blueprints for the emperor's superweapon to the rebel forces, and instead ended up providing the emperor with the codes to deactivate the rebel's planetary defenses.

* ''[[Lost]]''

** Poor John Locke is now the '''king''' of this trope. {{spoiler|In the course of the last seasons he has been a pawn used by a supernatural being who apparently planned Locke's whole ordeal, his reputation as someone "special" and then his final sacrifice so that he could take John's form and ultimately kill his own enemy, Jacob.}} The sheer number of episodes in which this [[Gambit Roulette]] at his expense has unfolded makes him something of a Unwitting Pawn Marathon Man. Also, {{spoiler|Ben manipulated him into blowing up the submarine.}}

** For a devilish [[Manipulative Bastard]] and a supposedly wise ageless man, Ben and Richard too came across as total dupes; Locke, Ben and Richard, the [[Three Stooges]]?

* Both Sam and Dean Winchester on ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'' have played right into the villains' hands, {{spoiler|making the [[The End of the World as We Know It|apocalypse]] possible.}} [[Driven to Suicide|Grief]]-[[Heroic BSOD|stricken]] Dean's [[Deal with the Devil]] leads to him {{spoiler|going to hell where he finally gives in to the offer to torture others to spare himself, breaking the first seal holding back [[Sealed Evil in a Can|Lucifer]]}}. Similarly screwed in the head, Sam {{spoiler|is seduced to the [[The Dark Side]] by [[The Mole|Ruby]] just enough to get him to kill Lilith, which they all expected to prevent the last seal from being shattered; in reality, she ''was'' the last seal.}} [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|What neat little bookends, guys]].

* Serge of ''[[Chrono Cross]]'' ''defines'' this trope. The guy can't go to the bathroom without furthering someone or [[AI Is a Crapshoot|some]][[Eldritch Abomination|thing]]'s plans. The fact that [[Gambit Pileup|everyone's plans revolve around him trying to get out of someone else's gambit does not help]].

** Here's the short version: {{spoiler|First, Lynx manipulates him into coming to Fort Dragonia so he can steal Serge's body and release the lock on the computer system FATE (which Lynx is a [[Wetware Body]] for). The Dragon Gods and Harle get him to kill FATE to release the seal on their power, then merge into their original [[Eldritch Abomination]]-ish form and start work on annihilating all human life. Except that ''all of this'' was planned by Balthasar, because only by awakening the Dragon Gods would it be possible to create the Chrono Cross, which is the only thing that can save [[Chrono Trigger|Schala]] from [[Eldritch Abomination|Lavos]]'s hold over her.}} [[Mind Screw|Confused yet?]]

* There is sort of a subversion played on this in ''Spartan: Total Warrior'' The game, like the movie [[300]] which it shares many similarities to, consists of ridiculously epic [[Conservation of Ninjutsu|One Against Billions]] battles and sweeping, one-button-per-5-victims decapitations like a living lawnmower, all while listening to the god of war Ares's evil laughter and bloodlusty encouragement ("Hahaha, kill and kill again!"). It appears blatantly obvious to anyone familiar with button-mashing spells and swordplay epics that he will turn out to be some sort of enemy in the future, and that his plan all along was to get you to kill every Roman and his mother, but it turns out that it's only half true; {{spoiler|while Ares does indeed to turn out to be the [[Big Bad]], your genocide on the Romans was merely a distraction so that your homeland of Sparta could be destroyed while you were away. We are treated to multiple more tropes during Ares's [[Hannibal Lecture]], such as the fact that he is your [[Luke, I Am Your Father|father]] and Tiberias was merely a [[The Man Behind the Man|puppet]]. You technically did fulfill his plans for mass murder, but it was of both your enemies AND your friends.}}

* The Global Defense Initiative (okay, mostly Boyle) in ''[[Command & Conquer]] 3: Tiberium Wars'' walks ''right'' into Kane's [[Gambit Roulette]], and their only hint that they were even hit by it is when the [[Scary Dogmatic Aliens]] arrive. The expansion pack then explains that Kane specifically planned for Boyle to be the only surviving GDI leader after the nuclear strike on the Philadelphia ''specifically'' because Boyle is easily predictable. If you play the Scrin campaign, even the [[Scary Dogmatic Aliens]] are suckers in Kane's roulette.

** It gets worse in the lead-in to Ending Four, where, after the Gods die and he gets everything he wanted as a result... he decides, apropos of nothing, that it's up to Furiae and him to become the new gods and finish their plan to destroy and recreate the world. This entire route being something of a bizarre [[Mind Screw]]...It's not clear whether {{spoiler|the giant flying man-eating babies are related to this, or just a consequence of the Gods being dead, although the game more implies the latter. Yes, really. Giant killer babies.}}

* The ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' series. Multiple times.

** Cloud from ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]''. One of the main points of his character is that [[White-Haired Pretty Boy|Sephiroth]] can make Cloud do anything by manipulating him just the right way, and he makes sure Cloud knows it.

*** One can argue that, for a brief, shining moment, {{spoiler|Sephiroth himself could be considered one, depending on whether or not Aeris knew she needed to die to make Holy work.}}

* [[Radiata Stories]]. [[Idiot Hero|Jack]] does [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|Lucian's]] job for him. All he has to do is provide the tools and the directions.

* Non-FF Squaresoft example: Surlent from ''[[Treasure of the Rudra]]''. Being fooled by a thief is one thing, being fooled about ''once every thirty minutes'' by the very ''forces of Creation'' is another. Although it quickly becomes clear that Surlent helping the game's [[Gambit Pileup]] along (and {{spoiler|losing his body thrice in the process}}) is actually his destiny (by failing hard but consistently, he accidentally brings all of the [[Mac Guffins]] to the right people at the right time), it still occasionally starts looking like a case of [[Just Eat Gilligan]].

*** {{spoiler|And in [[Golden Sun: Dark Dawn]] it's shown that he one-upped The Wise One, and is doing the same thing again. He's so good at this that in his very first appearence, he even says to the characters they're pawns, and they can't do anything about it. By the end of the game, it's clear that he's been using almost everyone of importance throughout the whole plot, including [[Those Two Bad Guys]]. And the player still doesn't have the slightest idea what his long-term goals are, as he remains [[The Unfought]].}}

** Gloriously subverted in Agatio's intro scene in ''The Lost Age'', in which he flat-out tells Alex [[Take That|to his face]] that [[Genre Savvy|he knows he's being used]], and ''just doesn't care'' as long as his goals get accomplished, too. Definitely Agatio's personal [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]], since he's otherwise one of the flattest major characters in a series known for [[Flat Character|FlatCharacters]].

* The ''[[Metal Gear]]'' series:

** ''[[Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater]]'' shows Naked Snake being used by the United States government into achieving their goal of gaining Russia's portion of the Philosopher's Legacy. ''Portable Ops'' has {{spoiler|Zero}} use Big Boss to defeat Gene and scare the Philosophers enough that Ocelot can gain control of their whereabouts and the American portion of the Philosophers' Legacy.

** ''[[Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots]]'' retcons many of the events previously established in the franchise. It is explained that the events of the first two ''[[Metal Gear]]'' games involved {{spoiler|Big Boss trying to create a place where individual liberty is guaranteed for everyone, instead of being a soldiers' haven. The Patriots have Solid Snake tear down both Outer Heaven and Zanzibar Land to destroy Big Boss' dream of freedom}}. The first two ''Metal Gear Solid'' games are changed to have Solid Snake again being used by the Patriots {{spoiler|and possibly Zero}} to defeat anyone who stood in their way. The Patriots by MGS4 (set in 2014) are now an {{spoiler|AI system which was supposed to continue Zero's legacy by gaining control of all of mankind using the Sons of the Patriots (SOP) system. Snake is sent in to stop Revolver Ocelot from destroying the Patriots AI system}}. At the same time, Snake and his allies are used {{spoiler|by Liquid Ocelot in his goal in destroying the Patriots AI systems, Liquid Ocelot pretending to plan to hijack the System using the AI named 'GW' and Snake and company countering it by using a virus to destroy the it, not knowing the virus as written by Naomi would destroy the remaining Patriot [[A Is]] as well}}; even if he didn't know about it or plan for it to happen, it certainly fit his goals. ''Somewhat'' averted in that his own post-Patriot vision was averted by {{spoiler|Sunny Gurlukovich, who wrote the virus to destroy the Patriot [[A Is]] but preserve key parts of modern civilization, and then, Drebin implies that Ocelot's vision of a war-torn world would still be an inevitable likely outcome despite this, that or the UN becoming a neo-Patriots/Philosophers III group}}.)

** Solid Snake was manipulated throughout the entire series. The most affecting part of the MGS4 ending {{spoiler|might be Big Boss promising Snake that there is no one left to manipulate him anymore}}.

** A little unfair to {{spoiler|Elsa}}? The villain tries to manipulate her, but she's far from stupid and stops cooperating pretty soon. IIRC, she's even the first to suspect the right person.

* In ''[[System Shock]] 2'', this happens often enough through the game's plot that it's practically the player's full-time occupation. However, those who had played the first game, and knew who they were dealing with, walked into the Gambit with open arms.

* Fei Fong Wong of ''[[Xenogears]]''. Not only was he a sucker for Solaris, the Wave Existence, his split personalities and his own prior incarnation, but even his friends manipulated him without reservations.

* Virtually every single named character in the ''[[Xenosaga]]'' trilogy is a Unwitting Pawn. This is not an exaggeration.

*** Alhough not made by [[BioWare]], the player character from the second game counts too.

** {{spoiler|''The protagonist''}} in ''[[Jade Empire]]''. [[Magnificent Bastard|"Magnificent"]] indeed.

** In [[Mass Effect]], so many of them. Notably {{spoiler|Saren Arterius and Matriarch Benezia for the Reapers}} and {{spoiler|Shepard for The Illusive Man, though you can give him a massive 'screw you' by taking the paragon ending.}}

* Happens to the player in several [[Runescape]] quests.

* ''[[Kingdom Hearts (video game)|Kingdom Hearts]]'' - Sora. {{spoiler|Organization XIII urged him to destroy heartless so they could collect the hearts released, in order to build Kingdom Hearts. Kinda justified here...once he figures it out, he still has no choice but to continue slaying them.}}

** ''[[Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories]]'': {{spoiler|Everything he does until the 13th floor is part of the Organization's plan to wipe his memory. It would have worked, too, if not for, well...}}

** {{spoiler|Most of the cast}} of ''[[Birth By Sleep]]'' are thoroughly manipulated by {{spoiler|Master Xehanort, Terra being the biggest sucker of them all}}, but {{spoiler|Vanitas}} is at the top of BBS trickery list {{spoiler|for playing ''Xehanort the Xanatos King'' just as he was being beaten over the head with Terra's Keyblade...[[Crowning Moment of Awesome|By Terra's AnimatedArmor, no less]].}} And all of this trickery was simply for the {{spoiler|[[Narm Charm|X-Blade]] }}. And during the game Terra gets suckered by Maleficent, Jumba, Hades, and Captain Hook. [[Genre Blindness]] doesn't begin to describe it.

* Onaga's manipulation of Shujinko in ''[[Mortal Kombat Deception]]'' is actually the namer of the game.

* [[The Starscream|Prometheus and Pandora]] in ''[[Mega Man ZX]] Advent''. At first, they backstabbed [[Big Bad|Albert]] and then fights Grey/Ashe. After s/he defeats them, suddenly their anguish, hatred, and despair are absorbed by [[Artifact of Doom|Model Ws]] in the background and then they collapse. The real Albert then appears, stating that the body that everyone think by "Albert" is actually a decoy, and that those negative emotions are necessary to revive and activate the Model Ws.

{{quote|'''[[Magnificent Bastard|Albert]]''': [[Death Note|Just]] [[Gambit Roulette|as]] [[Memetic Mutation|I]] [[Shout-Out|planned]]! Soon all of the Model Ws will begin to merge! I will become the ultimate Mega Man and the plan will be complete!}}

* General Morgahn during much of ''Guild Wars: Nightfall''. Once he learns the truth about Varesh, however, he helps defeat her and joins the player character's team as an NPC. The PC also spends a fair bit of time being this during various schemes in ''Guild Wars: Prophecies''.

* Harry spends most of ''[[Silent Hill 1]]'' being Dahlia's Sucker, but his unwavering love for his daughter is also what causes him to be the [[Spanner in the Works]]. Depending on which of the [[Multiple Endings]] you get, you can argue the same for the protagonists of the other games: passively taking directions from everyone [[Silent Hill 2|and their dog]] at every turn, but fully capable of [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|killing]] the local [[Eldritch Abomination]] when push comes to shove.

* Warhammer40000 : [[Dawn of War]] ends with Gabriel destroying [[Diabolus Ex Machina|Maledictum]], {{spoiler|which turns out to be prison of Daemon of Khorne.}} Forces of Chaos used unknowing Gabriel as an Unwitting Pawn in their scheme {{spoiler|to free the Daemon}}.

* In ''[[Prototype (video game)|Prototype]]'' [[Humanoid Abomination|Alex]] [[Person of Mass Destruction|Mercer]] spends most of the game unknowingly aiding the plans of people who want him dead. {{spoiler|First, he frees Elizabeth Greene, thinking she's just another victim. As it turns out, she's the [[Hive Queen]] behind the virus. Then, he tries to help his ex-girlfriend, Karen Parker, by providing her with biological materials from the infected. As it turns out [[Armies Are Evil|Blackwatch]] has coerced her into working for them, and that genetic material Alex collected gets turned into a parasite which almost kills him. Then, Blackwatch Captain Cross tricks him into going to a location where they hit him with both [[Deadly Gas|Bloodtox]] and [[Super Soldier|D-Codes]]. Finally, the Supreme Hunter consumes Cross, and uses that form to get Alex to kill off the Blackwatch leadership, and in an attempt to catch Alex off-guard so that the Hunter might eat him}}. Our [[Heroic Sociopath]] manages to overcome all this because he's a [[Badass]], but he does come across as a bit of a gullible idiot.

* Dear lord, Zelenin from [[Strange Journey]]. [[Manipulative Bastard]] [[Dragon with an Agenda|Mastema]] and [[Council of Angels|The Three Wise Men]] play her like a fiddle all the game, playing on her insecurities and fears in a terribly blatant manner, which she always blissfully ignores, until either their plans come to fruition or she's been reduced to holy dust.

* In the old FPS/RPG ''[[Strife]]'' you get hit with this in the bad ending, {{spoiler|Blackbird, your [[Voice with an Internet Connection]], is revealed to be the Entity and has been using you to free her}}.

* ''[[Last Scenario]]'', in its grand quest to [[Playing with a Trope|break]] RPG plots, couldn't possibly leave this one alone. However, unlike most of the tropes it targets, it's not [[Subverted]]- it's {{spoiler|exaggerated. Not only is Hilbert doing exactly what the Kingdom wants him to do for the first half of the game, he was set up as a hero ''purely'' for this purpose. The entire [[Heroic Lineage]] spiel was [[Unreliable Expositor|lies]], and in falling for it hook, line, and sinker, Hilbert was doing exactly what they wanted.}}

* In ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]'' ''Daggerdale'' it's revealed at the very end that {{spoiler|your questgiver was [[The Starscream]] to the [[Big Bad]] Rezlus, and she had you kill Rezlus so she could take over the tower for herself.}}

** Vaarsuvius has now turned into one, when {{spoiler|s/he attacked Xykon with his newfound power, knocking him [[Orcus on His Throne|off his throne]], exactly as the fiends who granted hir that power planned.}}

** As it turns out, {{spoiler|''Xykon himself'' is this to Redcloak, who's been playing humble servant all these years in order to get Xykon to aid in completing the Plan (which, it seems, doesn't aid Xykon's own goals ''at all''.}}

* Sillice of ''[[Drowtales]]'' when {{spoiler|Kalki tells her that the Nidraa'chal she's just fighting are just a diversion for the enemies that are currently most probably killing the Val'Sharess. Sillice then barges into the ravaged tower, confronts one of her sisters ([[Guilt by Association Gag|the only one NOT included in this plot]]) and then gets accused of having killed all the guards in an attempt to overthrow her mother, and has to run away to exile with their mortal enemies. No one suspects the ones that are truly pulling the strings: Snadhya'rune, Sarv'swati and Zala'ess, who get off scot free and take control of the clan while pretending their mother is still alive.}}

* Terezi of ''[[Homestuck]]'' is usually [[Awesome By Analysis]], but she's recently fallen into this at the hands of {{spoiler|Gamzee, who she has no idea turned evil}}.

* In ''[[Transformers Armada]]'', almost every major non-human character takes a turn being one of these, as would be expected when [[The Mole]] happens to be a [[Manipulative Bastard]].

* In season 4 of the 2003 ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2003|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'', both the turtles and the [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]] Agent Bishop are suckered ''royally'' by the Foot Mystics/Shredder's Heralds, resulting in the ''entire plot'' to season 5.

* Timmy from ''[[The Fairly Odd Parents]]'' is this sometimes, most noticably in "[[Musical Episode|School's Out! The Musical]]", where he, along with Flappy Bob, are pawns in the pixie's [[Gambit Roulette]]. He also plays into [[Jackass Genie|Norm's]] hands in "Fairy Idol".

* In ''[[Xiaolin Showdown]]'', Omi ends up playing right into Chase Young's hands in the second season, {{spoiler|temporarly becoming his apprentice}}.

* Napoleon III, who got played by every second-rate power in Europe, and some overseas. He certainly WAS one to Bismarck, but that was because [[Magnificent Bastard|Bismarck was Bismarck]] rather than because Napoleon III was gullible. Indeed, he actually came out on top of most of his battles (Mexico and the war of 1870 were the exception, not the rule), and most of the time he was being "played" by said second-rate powers, it was largely because he grasped more or less what they were doing and sympathized enough to go through with it anyway (Italy 1859 is the most obvious example, but the Belgian revolution and the Crimean War came in close seconds). If anything, he fell victim to trying to be someone he wasn't and had the misfortune to run up against the most ruthless and skilled ruler in Europe in charge of the largest and best military on the continent.

* Supposedly, the only relatively foolproof reason for letting yourself be recruited as a spy is to do it for the money. Any other motives (Freedom, Nationalism, the Workers' Revolution, whatever) expose you to being played as an unwitting double agent, mole, or agent provocateur by the people you oppose.

* ...''You''.

** [[Giggling Villain|Mwihiwhih]]....[[Evil Laughter|MWAHAHAHAHA!]]