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You Could Have Used Your Powers for Good: Difference between revisions
You Could Have Used Your Powers for Good (view source)
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[[Title Drop|"You Could Have Used Your Powers For Good / Evil"]] is a sentiment often expressed to the [[Worthy Opponent]]. Hero Bob wonders why Villain Alice, with her immense power, chose to do evil rather than good. If the evildoer is a [[Arch Enemy|recurring character]], rather than a one-shot, this usually comes followed by a conversation about how they're [[Not So Different]] and a [[Heel Face Turn]] would [[Good Feels Good|make her feel much better]] about her life.<ref>(Mind the [[Redemption Equals Death]])</ref>
Of course, the reverse can also occur, with Alice [[Evil Cannot Comprehend Good|questioning why]] Bob bothers to protect these [[All the Other Reindeer|ungrateful]] [[Muggles|weaklings]] when he could just [[Screw the Rules, I Have Supernatural Powers|use his powers to take whatever he wants]]. If Alice succeeds in convincing him that [[Evil Feels Good]], Bob may become a [[Fallen Hero]].
As the page quote illustrates, this is more appropriate for some villains than others. Usually they need to have [[Good Powers, Bad People|"good" powers yet use them for evil]]. Of course it's not impossible for a Bob to try to convince Alice that even with [[Bad Powers, Good People|"bad" powers]] she [[Comes Great Responsibility|has a great responsibility]] and she can be a good person. If Alice is a [[Mad Scientist]], [[Cut Lex Luthor a Check|cutting her a check]] while commenting how [[Reed Richards Is Useless|all her evil inventions are useless]] can have this effect.
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Contrast: [[Then Let Me Be Evil]], where villains ''attempt'' to use their powers for good, only for their treatment by others to cause them to turn to evil. [[Comes Great Responsibility]], [[Comes Great Insanity]] and [[Comes Great Perks]], where power changes a character's disposition all by itself.
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{{examples}}
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== Film ==
* In ''[[Star Wars]] [[Revenge of the Sith]]'', Obi-Wan laments Anakin's turn to [[The Dark Side]] with ''"You were the [[Chosen One]]!"''
* [[Megamind]] is outraged when he finds out that Titan has turned to petty crime after being granted the power of a superhero. The [[Irony]] is lost on [[Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain|him]].
{{quote|'''Megamind''': I can't believe you. All your gifts, all your powers and you squander them for your own personal gain!}}
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== Videogames ==
* Often found in Light Side vs. Dark Side fights in ''[[Star Wars]]'', such as in ''[[Knights of the Old Republic (video game)|Knights of the Old Republic]]'', when Light Side Revan apologizes to Darth Malak for leading him down the Dark Side path, but reminds that it was Malak who chose to follow that path to the end.
** And Kreia delivers a somewhat twisted version of this trope to {{spoiler|a Dark Side Exile during the climax}}, in a combination with [[You Have Failed Me...]], [[What the Hell, Hero?]] and [["The Reason You Suck" Speech]]. Notably, it's not so much because {{spoiler|you could have followed the Light Side instead of the dark side so much as the whole part that you have severed yourself from the Force, made a comeback,}} and still not realized any of the implications behind it. If {{spoiler|the Exile is Light Side}} the speech gets delivered to {{spoiler|the Jedi Council instead -- just before she kills them all for sticking to their outdated dogmas even in the face of evidence that life without the Force is possible and they are wrong.}}
* In ''[[
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* In ''[[The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes|Avengers Earths Mightiest Heroes]]'', Henry Pym says this to Graviton upon his defeat. Made ironic because Graviton is a possible case of [[Then Let Me Be Evil]].
* In ''[[The Spectacular Spider-Man]]'', Spidey asks {{spoiler|The Sandman}} why he chooses to do evil when he could just as easily be a superhero. At the end of the episode, {{spoiler|Sandman}} ends up changing sides and making a [[Heroic Sacrifice]].
* ''[[He Man]]'': When He-Man and Skeletor are forced to work together, He-Man asks Skeletor if he's ever considered using his great power for good. Skeletor retaliates by asking him if he's ever considered using his great power for evil.
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[[Category:Goodness Tropes]]
[[Category:Evil Tropes]]
[[Category:
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