Was Once a Man: Difference between revisions

Related to [[Body Horror]] and [[Face Monster Turn]], but distinct in that while [[Body Horror]] deals with the fact of the monstrosity itself and usually follows it from beginning to end, '''Was Once a Man''' is where a creature is monstrous when first introduced, but is either implied heavily or later revealed to have once been human. If the transformation involves turning the character into the servant of an enemy, it is also a case of [[Reforged Into a Minion]].

== Anime and Manga ==

* Every demon in the ''[[Berserk]]'' universe was once a human. Humans become demons when a creepy little egg-like item called a Behelit comes into their possession and they hit an [[Despair Event Horizon|emotional nadir]] where they will do anything to get out of their current situation. At this point, the Behelit rearranges the features scattered upon its surface into a human face and screams, which summons the demonic gods of the Godhand, who proceed to [[Deal with the Devil|offer him the chance to become a demon in exchange for the sacrifice of those closest to them]]. It also turns out that {{spoiler|every member of the Godhand was also human, and they are created with the use of Behelits as well}}. While demons do sometimes retain the personalities they had when they were human, all too often they commit [[Transhuman Treachery]], becoming [[Complete Monster]]s of the worst order, with many of them preferring to [[I'm a Humanitarian|dine on their former species]].

* ''[[World Embryo]]'' -: The enemy virus, Kanshu, were once humans who lost their memories and transformed into hideous beings upon listening to the infected radio signals in their cell phones.

* ''[[Bleach]]''.: Every Hollow started out as a lost human soul. Eventually, it lost its heart, whether through time or the attacks of another hollow, and became a monster, feeling nothing but the desire to murder and a hunger for souls.

* Some of the monsters in ''[[Sailor Moon]]'', were (for the most part) originally human, e.g. Somesome of the Youma in the first season and the Pharge of the last season. Sailor Moon's power to restore the Pharge to normal actually shocks the Starlights, as they had to simply destroy them because they lacked the ablity to do so. (Though they implied their Princess could, as they stated they had to destroy them without her around).) A single human-based Daimon also appeared in a flashback, which was closer to theirthe manga version of the Daimons.

* In both the animes of ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'', {{spoiler|Shou Tucker, the Sewing Life alchemist, fuses his adorable daughter Nina with her dog, Alexander. He also fused his wife with another beast a few years back, in order to gain his certification. Both chimeras are able to talk, and they both made it known they were ''not'' happy with their new existence. The one made of his wife asked to be killed, and when it wasn't obliged it starved itself. The one made of Nina and Alexander is killed by Scar.}}

* In ''[[Camelot 3000]]'', Morgan la Fay keeps an ape-like animal on a leash as a [[Right-Hand Attack Dog]]. At one point, she informs an underling that it was once a man, until [[You Have Failed Me...|he got on her nerves]].

* Galactus of the [[Marvel Universe]] was once a man of the previous universe named Galan. As his universe died to pave way for the new, current one, Galan journeyed into the center of the Big Crunch [[Dying Moment of Awesome|hoping to die in the most awesome [[Dyingway Moment of Awesomeever]] ever. The powers that be were impressed and transformed him into Galactus, but whether that was a blessing or curse for him is debatable.

* Tigra (of ''[[The Avengers]]'') was once able to switch from her [[Cat Girl]] form to human again, but not anymore. Exactly how much this has affected her psychologically seems [[Depending on the Writer]]; in some stories she acts and talks completely human (aside from sticking to a carnivorous diet and possibly rolling her Rs when she talks) and in others she's chasing mice and doesn't talk at all.

* [[M.O.D.O.K.]] was once a rank-and-file mook for A.I.M., until they turned him into the horrific and super-intelligent [[Fun Withwith Acronyms| Mental Organism Designed Only for Computation]]. Unfortunately for them, he didn't like being treated like an object, [[The Starscream| and took over]], changing the "C" in his name to "K", for "Killing".

== Fan Works ==

* ''[[Imperfect Metamorphosis]]'': While never a man per se (on [[Fundamentally Female Cast|two]] [[Youkai|counts]]), the blob monster (iei.e. {{spoiler|Rin Satsuki}}) definitely fits.

* ''[https://www.wattpad.com/story/173566505-final-stand-of-death [Final Stand of Death]]'': Fusion Gundam used to be a {{spoiler| [[Spice Girls|a certain girl group]]}} that fell victim to defeat on ''[[Celebrity Deathmatch]]''. They're a group of [[Badass Automaton|sentient]] [[Mini-Mecha]]s fused with their souls, mixed with [[Robot Dog| wolf-like]] [[Petting Zoo People| humanoids]], and their souls are still inside. Luckily, they're nonowhere wherenear interested in any [[Robot War]]s, as they still have their human personalities.

* In the horror film ''[[The Cave]]'', one of the monsters bears the same tattoo on its hand as one of the cavers previously seen entombed within the cave system at the beginning of the movie. {{spoiler|Which bodes poorly for parasite-infected expedition leader Jack.}}

* {{spoiler|The Reavers}} in ''[[Firefly|Serenity]]''. {{spoiler|Actually, it was BECAUSE their minds were warped that their bodies are so messed up (self mutilation).}}

* The Cenobites in ''[[Hellraiser]]'' films were all formerly human, the only exception being Angelique.

* In the 1973 thriller b-movie ''[[Sssssss]]'', mad scientist Dr. Carl Stoner (Strother Martin) turns his lab assistants {{spoiler|into king cobras.}}

* [[Star Wars|Darth Vader]] probably qualifies, certainly in spirit: ''As Obi-Wan describes him, "He's more machine than man now, twisted and evil.''"

** [[Cyborg| General Grievous]] certainly does... well, he was Once A Kaleesh, but you get the idea.

== Literature ==

* The quote formerly found at the top of the page (now on the quotes page) is from ''[[The Beast in the Cave]]'' by [[H.P. Lovecraft]], writtenhas atthe protagonist somediscovering this about {{spoiler|the pointtitular aroundcave 1908beast}}. Similar themes can be found in ''The Rats in the Walls'', ''Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and his Family'', and ''[[The Shadow Over Innsmouth]]''.

* [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s Middle-earth (''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', etc): As individuals, there are the Nazgul (once human leaders) and Gollum (once just an ordinary proto-hobbit). In Tolkien's concept, evil and the various [[Big Bad]]s cannot create, only pervert: therefore, almost every evil creature (e.g. those used as [[mooks]]) is a corrutioncorruption or mockery of a pre-existing being. The [[Our Orcs Are Different|orcs]] are descendants of elves twisted by Sauron's predecessor, Morgoth. If you really want a [[squick]]y thought,; it's rumoured that the Uruk-hai were partly Man in some fashion. Trolls(if you really want a [[squick]]y thought); and trolls are a mockery of Ents. Subverted in the case of the undead Barrowbarrow-wights, who only possessed the dead bodies of those buried.

* In ''[[The Relic]]'', {{spoiler|the museum beast is revealed to be a scientist mutated by an ancient retrovirus}}.

** In [[Lee Lightner]]'s ''Sons of Fenris'', when the Space Wolves and Dark Angels go up against Cadmus's elite forces, the tattered remnants of their uniforms is the only evidence they had once been human; some still wield weapons, but only those merged with their flesh.

* In [[Graham McNeill]]'s [[Warhammer 40,000]] [[Ultramarines (novel)|Ultramarines]] novel ''Dead Sky Black Sun'', Uriel realizes the Unfleshed—monstrousUnfleshed — monstrous, gigantic (next to him, a [[Space Marine]]), and flesh-eating—wereeating — were once not only human, but {{spoiler|[[Children Are Innocent|children]]. When they are willing to speak with him, having [[The Nose Knows|smellssmelled that he came from the same place they were made]], he finds that they are still good and will help him in his [[The Quest|his quest]]. One sadly confesses to him that they loathe themselves because of their forms. In ''The Killing Ground'', Uriel must [[Mercy Kill]] the last survivor, and is left deeply melancholy thereafter.}}

** In ''[[Power Rangers Time Force]]'', Frax, the robot who worked for Ransik but would eventually go solo, was once a human named Dr. Fericks who saved Ransik's life in the past, but was rewarded with the destruction of his lab and body. After using his own technology to rebuild himself, Frax vowed revenge on Ransik, and infiltrated his organization to bring him down from within.

* ''[[Bog LeechBogleech]]'': [https://web.archive.org/web/20130820073718/http://www.bogleech.com/comics/comic18-trees.htm I was two men!]

* The [[SCP Foundation]]'s * {{spoiler|[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-835 SCP-835]}} ([[squick]] warning), as revealed in the uncensored report.

**:* For those not in the know, ChickenFoot is actually {{spoiler|just some guy in a chicken suit, having problems with the zipper.}}