Villain by Default: Difference between revisions

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* Political "advisors" from other countries in a [[Banana Republic]] settings, who are more interested in creating their own little fiefdom than actually helping the people

If the protagonist of the story is an [[Anti Hero]], such as a vigilante or mob boss, or is [[Clear My Name|wrongly accused]], then any form of law enforcement will be the villains. Whether this is because they are ineffective, corrupt, [[Inspector Javert|well-meaning-but-misinformed]], or just in the protagonist's way depends on the specific story.

If the protagonist of the story is an [[Anti-Hero]], such as a vigilante or mob boss, or is [[Clear My Name|wrongly accused]], then any form of law enforcement will be the villains. Whether this is because they are ineffective, corrupt, [[Inspector Javert|well-meaning-but-misinformed]], or just in the protagonist's way depends on the specific story.

Naturally, whenever a group is cast as Villains By Default without additional justification there will be a part of the audience that's going to [[Alternative Character Interpretation|disagree with the assessment]]. This is particularly true of works that are [[Pandering to The Base|subtly or unsubtly pandering to one "fashionable" prejudice or another]], or that are aimed at very specific audiences. This is where [[Values Dissonance]] will kick in: a work created by a fundamentalist Christian might have a "sinful" person (stripper, alcoholic, what-have-you) as an irredeemable villain, whereas a work by someone who despises Christians will want his/her audience to assume that ''Christians'' are the evil ones.

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Contrast with [[Noble Profession]], where a character is stereotypically ''good'' because of their career path.

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

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* The Abh from ''[[Crest of the Stars]]'' [[Your Mileage May Vary|subvert this trope]] (though they seem to embrace it at first). They have an interstellar empire acquired through conquest and they ban space travel for everyone but the Abh, claiming it's all for good reason; i.e., trying to prevent a vast and destructive conflict.

** Subverted only to a degree as the world of CotS is bit [[Grey and Grey Morality|grey]].

* Subverted to hell and back again on ''[[Jo ~~Jos~~ Bizarre Adventure (Manga)|Jo Jos Bizarre Adventure]]'' (''Part II: Battle Tendency'') with '''[[Those Wacky Nazis]]'''! [[Beyond the Impossible|No, really!]] Have we already mentioned that this manga is bizarre? To elaborate: At first, the Nazis are seem trying to revive an [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|ancient race of fossilized Mesoamerican vampires]], most likely for the sake of harnessing their power. However, later on it's revealed {{spoiler|that they were investigating them, from the very beginning, for the sake of finding [[Immortality|a way to eliminate them]], as their resurrection would mean the end of the human race}}. In the end, they come up as heroic and badass. They even give the hero, [[Crazy Awesome|Joseph]] [[Trickster Archetype|Joestar]], a cool mechanical hand as a thanks gift after he lost it in the final battle.

* Subverted to hell and back again on ''[[Jo Jo's Bizarre Adventure (Manga)|Jo Jos Bizarre Adventure]]'' (''Part II: Battle Tendency'') with '''[[Those Wacky Nazis]]'''! [[Beyond the Impossible|No, really!]] Have we already mentioned that this manga is bizarre? To elaborate: At first, the Nazis are seem trying to revive an [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|ancient race of fossilized Mesoamerican vampires]], most likely for the sake of harnessing their power. However, later on it's revealed {{spoiler|that they were investigating them, from the very beginning, for the sake of finding [[Immortality|a way to eliminate them]], as their resurrection would mean the end of the human race}}. In the end, they come up as heroic and badass. They even give the hero, [[Crazy Awesome|Joseph]] [[Trickster Archetype|Joestar]], a cool mechanical hand as a thanks gift after he lost it in the final battle.

== [[Comic Books]] ==

* The [[Anti Hero|Anti Heroes]] of ''[[Sin City]]'' have taken on many a [[Villain By Default]] in their stories.

* The [[Anti-Hero|Anti Heroes]] of ''[[Sin City]]'' have taken on many a [[Villain By Default]] in their stories.

** Marv has fought hitmen, a police death squad, a corrupt cardinal and a silent and deadly cannibal whose proclivities the cardinal shared.

** Dwight took on a vicious abuser who {{spoiler|turned out to be a ''hero'' cop}}, a team of Irish "rented terrorists", and a syndicate bent on enslaving the girls of Old Town.

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== Literature ==

* [[Grand Vizier|GrandViziers]] on [[Discworld]]. Arguably, grand viziers ''everywhere'', but it's lampshaded every time one shows up in Discworld, sometimes by the Vizier himself. To the point where a new emperor chose a [[Wrong Genre Savvy]] [[Cloudcuckoolander]] tourist to be his Grand Vizier on the rationale that someone who didn't ''know'' anything about the job would be ''good''.

* The Stormwings in [[Tamora Pierce]]'s [[Tortall Universe|Tortall books.]] Their very nature is to desecrate bodies on the battlefield, and they feed on human fear, so they are universally hated by nearly all humans, and most other creatures. Only one of them, Rikash, gets enough [[Character Development]] to qualify as an [[Anti Hero]].

* The Stormwings in [[Tamora Pierce]]'s [[Tortall Universe|Tortall books.]] Their very nature is to desecrate bodies on the battlefield, and they feed on human fear, so they are universally hated by nearly all humans, and most other creatures. Only one of them, Rikash, gets enough [[Character Development]] to qualify as an [[Anti-Hero]].

** The tauroses count too. They're known for brutally raping women, but [[Friend to All Living Things|Daine]] is the only one who realizes they have no choice ''but'' to do this, because whoever created them didn't bother to give them females of their own species.

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** Although, the animal Reploids of Mega Man Zero were evil, they weren't considered Mavericks. You're playing on the side of the Mavericks, the bosses are fighting for humanity.

* In ''[[Mirrors Edge (Video Game)|Mirrors Edge]]'' you've got the police which you're more than welcome to beat up, steal their weapons and if the need arises push off the side of a 110 storey building. Fair enough you might think in an "evil" government setting but the main character's sister is also a cop.

* Templars in [[Deus Ex Invisible War (Video Game)|Deus Ex Invisible War]] are neo-luddites with some legitimate concerns (especially those involving the [[The Cuckoolander Was Right|technocratic conspiracies]]). Their modus operandi is [[Kill Em All|quite simplistic]] however.

* Templars in [[Deus Ex Invisible War (Video Game)|Deus Ex Invisible War]] are neo-luddites with some legitimate concerns (especially those involving the [[The Cuckoolander Was Right|technocratic conspiracies]]). Their modus operandi is [[Kill'Em All|quite simplistic]] however.

* Two of the bosses in ''[[The Suffering]]: Ties That Bind'' are the spirits of a slave hunter (Copperfield) and a misogynistic serial-murdering pimp (The Creeper).