You Killed My Father: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

When one of the villains [[Deceased Parents Are the Best|kills the parent]] (usually father) of one of the heroes, it'll be that hero who kills that villain in question, even if this isn't an explicit act of vengeance. Occasionally, it's the mother, but this is rarer, and usually crops up in cases [[Disappeared Dad|where the father is unaccounted for]]. Sometimes the villain killed both parents, but the mother will barely get a mention. If even more [[Wangst]] is needed then expect a case of [[Luke, I Am Your Father]]. Mothers more frequently appear in [[Turn Out Like His Father]], because they are afraid if the child tries to get [[Revenge]], he will only die, too; the success rate in preventing this trope is ''very low''.

 

A form of [[It's Personal]]. See also [[Best Served Cold]], and [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]].

 

* ''[[Tower of God]]'': In a special case, it is Anak Zahard's mother that is killed (though her father is murdered alongside with her), because {{spoiler|she, as a Princess of Zahard, got into a relationship with another man.}} Years later, Anak meets her parents murderer on the testing grounds and goes ballistic.

* ''[[Mazinger Z]]'' gave us a You Killed My Grandfather in the first episode, when {{spoiler|Dr. Hell gets Kouji's grandfather assassinated}} and Kouji swears finding and punishing the responsible. It happened literally in ''[[Great Mazinger]]'' when {{spoiler|Kenzo Kabuto died because the Mykene}} and Kouji and Tetsuya {{spoiler|his biological son and adoptive son, respectively}} went in a [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]] to avenge him. Likewise, the parents of Duke Fleed {{spoiler|and his sister Maria}} from ''[[UFO Robo Grendizer]]'' were murdered by [[Alien Invasion|the Vegan army]], and he {{spoiler|and she}} want to avenge their deaths. And Maria also wants avenging {{spoiler|her adoptive grandfather.}}

* Edo Phoenix of ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! GX]]'' searches for his father's killer. [[Batman|By prowling dark alleys at night dressed in monster costumes looking for criminals]], no less.

* [[Badass]] [[Action Girl]] Sherry LeBlanc of ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's]]'' has also been hunting for her parents' killer. She doesn't follow Batman's m.o. quite as closely as her predecessor, but she ''does'' have a [[Battle Butler]] [[Parental Substitute]].

** In [[Mai-HiME (manga)|the manga]]'s storyline, Natsuki's reason for entering Fuuka is largely the same, with the exception that she believes another HiME was responsible for her murder. {{spoiler|The whole story is later revealed to be a lie, as Natsuki's mother shows up at the end of Vol. 3 as the leader of the faction that takes over Fuuka Academy, and serves as the primary antagonist of Vol. 4.}}

* In ''[[Koihime Musou]]'', when Chouhi stops Sousou to say hello, Bachou suddenly tries to kill Sousou on the spot because Sousou had Batou (Bachou's father) killed.

* In ''[[Code Geass]]'', Lelouch blames his father, Emperor Charles, for the death of his mother. It's one of his motivations for fighting the Britannian Empire -- {{spoiler|In the end, Lelouch is at least partially responsible for his death by causing the Collective Unconscious to absorb him... [[Mind Screw|Or something]]... he also ends up causing that same Collective Unconsciousness to absorb his mother, too, because she wasn't actually dead}}

* In ''[[Gundam Wing]]'', soon-to-become pacifist Relena tries to shoot Lady Une, the woman who killed her father (or, at least, the man who cared for her like a father). She fails. The next time the two meet, Lady Une actually ''offers'' Relena a gun to take her long-awaited revenge with, and Relena ''pushes it away'', because ending the vicious cycle of bloody retribution was more important to her, in the end.

* In [[Rose of Versailles]] Rosalie's main reason to go to Versailles is to avenge her adopted mother, who died when a noblewoman's carriage ran over her, and discover who is her real mother. {{spoiler|She finds the killer Mme De Polignac easily, but before she can kill her she discover that Mme De Polignac is her real mother}}.

 

* [[Spider-Man]] was raised by Uncle Ben and Aunt May. When Uncle Ben was killed, Peter wanted to get even, but when he realizes that the murderer was the same thug he let go earlier, he gives up on revenge because he realizes it was his own fault. In fact, the third movie is largely about his need to let go of his vengeful feelings.

** When he finds out that the second Red Skull killed his parents (who where SHIELD agents) he wanted revenge as well. The second Red Skull ends up escaping.... only to be killed later by the original Red Skull. However, Spider-Man ''does'' kill the Finisher (inadvertently and in self-defense, but without any tears), the Skull's agent who actually did the deed. The Finisher's dying confession proved that his parents weren't traitors after all, which was what he really wanted.

* The big reason why [[X Wing Series|Wedge Antilles]] hates Loka Hask is because Wedge's parents sacrificed themselves to save the refueling station after Hask took off without unhooking, letting his thrusters ignite the fuel, in order to stall the police. Hask makes it worse by rejoining [[The Empire]] and [http://img372.imageshack.us/img372/1069/blz05dt3.jpg telling Wedge] that he did him a favor and gave him what all boys secretly want - to be rid of their parents! If only ''he'd'' had someone to do that for him - but no, he had to [[Self-Made Orphan|do it himself!]]

* ''[[X-Men]]'s'' Apocalypse, of all people. After being abandoned as an infant due to his obvious mutations, En Sabah Nur was rescued and adopted by Baal, the leader of a tribe of nomad raiders named the Sandstormers. Then one day the forces of Rama Tut (a.k.a. Kang the Conqueror) attacked the Sandstormers. Baal and En Sabah Nur survived the initial attack by hiding in a cave that collapsed. Baal eventually starved to death, but not before telling En Sabah Nur of Rama Tut's arrival and subsequent conquest of the land, and that he believed Nur was destined to stop him. Nur's desire to avenge his foster father, one of the only people who ever really cared for him and vice versa, was the main reason Nur rejected Rama Tut's [[We Can Rule Together]] offer (Especially ironic, since Rama Tut's goal for traveling to [[Ancient Egypt]] in the first place was to recruit the future Apocalypse). That and [[I Can Rule Alone|Nur wanted to rule the world by himself]].

* ''[[The Sword]]'' runs on this. After three demigods kill Dara Brighton's parents and sister in search of the titular mystical sword, she finds it and sets out to use it to avenge the death of her family.

* Poor Jango. If you think Boba Fett had it bad, Jango lost ''two'' fathers. His biological father (and his mother and sister) was murdered by a group of mercenaries, and his adoptive father who trained him to be a Mandalorian (and whom he was possibly closer to) was gunned down before his eyes by the same man who killed his original family. Needless to say, Fett devotes a great deal of time to hunting down the murderer and finally enacts vengeance in a brutal fistfight.

* ''[[Usagi Yojimbo|Space Usagi]]'': "One cannot live under the same sky as their lord/father's murderer." {{spoiler|He gets both. Personally. Sadly Miyamoto Usagi "proper" has yet to fight [[The Dreaded]] Lord Hikiji, who killed both Miyamoto senior and Lord Mifune.}}

 

* ''[[The Princess Bride (film)|The Princess Bride]]'' gives us a truly iconic example: "[[Hello]]. [[My Name Is Inigo Montoya]]. [[Trope Namer|You Killed My Father]]. [[Prepare to Die]]."

* ''[[Star Wars]]''

** Subverted: {{spoiler|Peter helps (or [[Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy|tries to)]], but it's Charley who ultimately stakes Jerry.}}

* At the end of ''[[The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney film)|The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]'', after he mourns Esmeralda's [[Disney Death|"death"]], Quasimodo tells [[Complete Monster|Frollo]] that even though Frollo told him that he raised Quasi because his mother rejected him as a baby for his disfigurement, Frollo was actually lying, admitting that Quasimodo's mother was very kind to her son, and Frollo killed her (the fate of Quasi's father is unknown however, though it's implied that he was presumably arrested and hung like the other Gypsies his parents were travelling with).

 

* Taizu in [[C. J. Cherryh|C.J. Cherryh's]] ''[[The Paladin (novel)|The Paladin]]'' seeks revenge on Lord Gitu for the slaughter of her family, her village, and her Lord. {{spoiler|His actual death is an anticlimax; the hard part was getting there, not the quick work she makes of him.}}

* ''[[Harry Potter]]'' is the guy who gets Voldemort. Voldemort killed both of Harry's parents, who, astoundingly enough, are equally important.<ref>To Harry, that is. The plot, on the other hand, considers Lily to be far more important than James.</ref>

* Mordaunt, the villain (well, one of them) of ''[[The Three Musketeers (novel)|Twenty Years After]]'', apparently does everything he does just so he can avenge his mother, Milady.

** In [[X Wing Series|Wraith Squadron]], Kell Tainer hates and fears Wes Janson because Kell's father was a pilot in the Rebellion who chickened out on a covert mission, tried to flee and in so doing reveal that Rebels were there, and was shot by Wes to prevent that.

** Comes up twice in ''[[Shadows of the Empire]]''. Prince Xizor hates Vader for a variety of reasons, including the fact that there was an Imperial hazard lab on Xizor's homeworld; a flesh-eating bacteria escaped and Vader ordered that to save the planet's population - and potentially the populations of other worlds - from a horrible, rotting, always fatal infection for which there was no cure, the city and the two hundred thousand people there were "sterilized" from orbit. Including Xizor's mother, father, brother, two sisters, and three uncles.

* ''Fraternity of the Stone'' by David Morrell. The protagonist is the orphaned son of diplomats, killed by a bomb in Japan. Realising he's obsessed with revenge, a friend of his parents recruits him for a [[Heroes-R-Us]] group tasked with assassinating terrorists. After a [[Contract on the Hitman]] plot, the protagonist finally discovers his 'friend' is behind events, and confronts him with what he's always suspected—that his friend planted the bomb in order to discredit those protesting against US bases in Japan. The friend denies it, but the protagonist decides he's lying and kills him anyway.

* Brutally [[Deconstruction|deconstructed]] in ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' with {{spoiler|Oberyn Martell's epic duel with [[Complete Monster|Gregor Clegane]]. Clegane had [[Dead Little Sister|raped and murdered Martell's beloved older sister]] after killing her infant son in front of her. Martell constantly repeats this during their duel, as a [[Shout-Out]] to the famous [[Trope Namer]], and manages to spear and weaken Clegane, even delivering the final blow to his opponent's chest while shouting his sister's name. Then Clegane manages to grab Martell and unrepentantly admits to killing her before crushing Martell's head and killing him. Martell still got his revenge in the end, thanks to his poisoned spear.}}

* Defied in the [[Dale Brown]] novel ''Warrior Class'', where the [[Big Bad]] Pavel Kazakov says that the strike he orders against an Albanian town is definitely not because Albanian guerillas killed his father.

* In the brazilian book ''[[The Devil to Pay In The Backlands]]'', Diadorim is on a [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]] to kill his father's assassin and betrayer, Hermógenes.

* Inverted in ''[[Wayside School]]'': The kids trick their [[Sadistic Teacher]], Mrs. Gorf, into turning herself into an apple, which then gets eaten by Louis. Later, Mrs. Gorf's son tries to avenge her by becoming the kids' substitute teacher, stealing their voices, and attempting to frame them of making hateful phone calls to their own mothers.

 

{{quote|'''Clone Teal'c''': For our father.}}

* Another weird version appears in ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'', where Data does eventually get his "father"'s killer...who happens to be his "brother", Lore.

* Morgana discusses this with Uther in ''[[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]'', having heard the rumors that Uther arranged the death of Gorlois, the man she thought was her father-this was long before she found out Uther was her father.

 

* The Decemberists' ''Mariner's Revenge Song'' has lyrics that are all about why the person being sung to is responsible for the death of the singer's mother, and how he is now going to finally take his revenge.

* Inverted in [[They Might Be Giants]]' spoken-word piece "Lesson 16" (a parody of those language-learning tapes), in which John Linnell reveals that he killed your father in order to get with your mother.

{{quote|I wrung his neck. Like a duckling.}}

 

* [[Greek Mythology|In the original Greek myth,]] Elektra and her brother Orestes avenged the death of their father, Agamemnon, by killing his murderer, Clytemnestra. And she's their mother, who killed him for killing the other kid, Iphigenia. Now ''that'' is a [[Big Screwed-Up Family]].

** Well, actually Iphigenia didn't, technically, die. Her mom just ''thought'' she was dead.

**** The Greeks recorded the whole story relatively late, because the Egyptians didn't want to admit out loud or in writing that Osiris died. But it's clear from paintings and other stories that the myth was very old indeed.

 

* In ''[[Electra]]'', Orestes kills his mother and her lover, Aegisthus, for killing Agamemnon. Electra herself has spent years reminding them this is why she wants them dead.

* In ''[[Der Ring Des Nibelungen]]'', this is the most Siegfried ever learns as to the Wanderer's identity.

 

* ''[[Independence War]] 2: Edge of Chaos'' is set in motion mostly by [[Loan Shark|Caleb]] [[Corrupt Corporate Executive|Maas]] killing Felix Johnston over a supposedly-unpaid loan. A debt that apparently got inherited by young [[Player Character|Cal Johnston]], whom Maas decides to have imprisoned for life when he finds him again, recovering one of his father's items. (As if suddenly becoming orphaned AND inheriting a significant debt that was supposed to be paid off wasn't bad enough.) Cue Cal breaking out of prison with some other folks 15 years later to become a [[Space Pirate]] like his grandma, build up resources, and ultimately get cold, hard revenge on Maas.

* In ''[[Star Fox (series)|Star FOX]] 64'', Fox decides to go one-on-one with Andross because he killed his father. Or did he?

** In the Starfox comic in ''Nintendo Power'', a big part of the comic's backstory involves Andross and the [[Love Triangle]] that he had with Fox's father over Fox's mother. It turned out that Andross killed the mother with a car bomb that was meant for the father, and sabotaged the father's ship so that it would be lost in the Black Hole. Andross (or rather one of his ''clones'') reveals this to Fara Phoenix, [[The Chick]] of the Star Fox team, after mistaking her for Fox's long-dead mother (this came about due to Fara getting into one of Fox's mother's outfits, resulting in Fox remarking that she could be his mother's twin sister). Fox hears Andross's reveal as well and goes ''well'' beyond furious and into [[Unstoppable Rage]] mode. Sporting a pair of [[Glowing Eyes of Doom]], no less!

{{quote|'''Chun-Li:''' Monster! You killed my --

'''M. Bison:''' Yes, yes, I killed your father. What is it with you women anyway? [[Self-Made Orphan|I killed my father too,]] and you don't hear me whining about it! }}

{{quote|'''Bison:''' ''To you, the day Bison graced your village was the most important day of your life. [[But for Me It Was Tuesday|But for me, it was Tuesday]].''}}

{{quote|'''Bison''': ''Oh, c'mon guys, I killed your (Dhalsim) father and yours (Vega). And most of Zangief's extended family, it was a different time.''

'''Zangief''': They said that fire was an accident.'' }}

* In ''[[Baldur's Gate]]'' you have to avenge the death of your foster-father, Gorion. Along the way, you find out that your real father is {{spoiler|Bhaal, the now-dead god of murder, and that your foster-father's killer is one of your divine half-brothers}}. Exactly who kills him depends kind of which of your party members puts down the killing blow, but your party kills him so it counts.

* ''[[Fire Emblem]]'' loves applying this to the lords. As early as the fourth game (''Genealogy of the Holy War''), you had Celice avenging his father by fighting Alvis (Sigurd himself sought to avenge ''his'' father) AND Leaf avenging his father Cuan by fighting Trabant, but it was in the ninth game ''Path of Radiance'' where Ike's fight with the Black Knight for killing his father was a significant part of the story. No one seeks vengeance for their mothers (if they're mentioned at all), although in Ike's case it's rather justified.

** Well, ''technically'', Mars was responsible for Cless' parents' death -- [[Evil Is Not a Toy|and Dhaos beats Cless to the punch there]].

* Subverted by ''[[Tales of Symphonia]]'' where, after we learn that [[Quirky Miniboss Squad]] member Kvar was directly responsible for the death of Lloyd's mother by mutating her into a monster and [[Mercy Kill|forcing his father to kill her]], he is instead stabbed to death by Kratos. {{spoiler|Double subverted once we learn that Kratos is Lloyd's father, and thus had a higher rating on the hierarchy of 'giving this villain his [[Karmic Death]]' -- and no, Lloyd isn't very big on killing ''him'' once he finds out.}}

* ''[[Metroid]]'', and the unending battle between bounty hunter Samus Aran and Ridley, leader of the Space Pirates who killed not only her own parents, but everyone else on the space colony where she was born.

* Subverted in [[Metal Gear Solid]]. Liquid really hated his father, so he blames Solid Snake for "stealing [his] revenge!"

* In ''[[Baten Kaitos]]'', Kalas seeks to kill Giacomo for this reason.

* Inverted in ''[[Skies of Arcadia]] Legends'': [[Bonus Boss]] Piastol repeatedly attempts to duel Vyse to the death because she has identified him as part of a pirate band who invaded her father's ship, killed him and her little sister and set the ship on fire. Vyse's [[But for Me It Was Tuesday|seeming inability to remember this only aggravate her further]]. In reality, her father was killed by his second-in-command Ramirez ([[The Dragon]] to the current [[Big Bad]]) who also sat fire to the ship, her sister survived the ordeal, and Vyse was part of a Blue Rogue crew who just happened to be passing by and tried to rescue survivors off the ship—Vyse doesn't remember the event because he was almost killed by an unknown assailant who threw a knife at his face, scarring him for life, just as he was getting aboard (Piastol was trying to fend off the 'invaders').

* In ''[[The Godfather (video game)|The Godfather]]'' game, your killing of Don Emilio Barzini is partly on orders and partly because he ordered your father's death. It even gets a Lampshade hung on it when you finally catch up during the baptism assassinations, with Barzini saying that he knew it would be you.

* Looking for his father's killer is Siegfried's motivation in the first [[Soul Series|Soul Blade]] game. {{spoiler|Subverted - it was Siegfried himself.}}

{{quote|Subverted, however, as {{spoiler|Tachyon seems to use this as more motivation than Ratchet. Ratchet plans on defeating Tachyon to take back the Dimensionator and keep the galaxy safe either way, whereas Tachyon looks at killing Ratchet as a way to "finish the job." Perhaps more of a case of "I killed your father?"}}}}

* In [[Deus Ex]], {{spoiler|Bob Page}} is revealed to have been responsible for killing {{spoiler|you and Paul's}} father. He even {{spoiler|sends the man who did the job to kill you near the end of the game, allowing you to exact sweet, sweet revenge, in addition to getting revenge on Page himself in the ending.}}

* ''[[The Force Unleashed]]'', unlike the main ''[[Star Wars]]'' classic trilogy above, plays this straight with Starkiller's father murdered by Darth Vader right in front of his very eyes; he even says the line himself during his fight against Vader. It's also strongly implied that Palpatine was also involved in Vader murdering Starkiller's father.

* In ''[[Tomb Raider]]: Underworld'', Natla reveals that she killed Lara's father.

* This is the motive of several ''opponents'' in the sequel to ''[[Fantasy Quest]]'', set 20 years after your first "rampage."

* In a doujinshi of ''[[Rosenkreuzstilette]]'' called ''Rosenkreuzstilette Afterstory'', better known as ''Tearis'', Zorne Sepperin is extremely pissed off at {{spoiler|her adoptive sister, Iris for having killed her adoptive father, Graf Michael Sepperin, in the first game. Not willing to forgive her for making her suffer by doing just that, she vows to eliminate her. Cue Freu trying to stop her through a heated battle involving her rage-born power, and Iris, knowing of the battle between the two, desperately asking Tia to kill her in order to truly end the chaos}}.

 

* In ''[[The Order of the Stick]]'', Eugene Greenhilt (Roy's father) swore a blood oath of revenge on Xykon for killing his mentor (Eugene's own father was alive or had died of natural causes at that point, but in either case the two were estranged). However, it's utterly subverted as Eugene eventually ditches that ambition and dies of natural causes.

** Let's not forget that Roy's own motivation to take out Xykon is the Blood Oath passed down from his father.

* Olgaf plays with this in one strip where it ends where the father-killer is, himself, a father, starting the process over again with his son.

 

* [[Homestar Runner|"You MURDERER! You killed my brother!...I mean computer!"]]

** [[Teen Girl Squad|"Ckhk. She killed my dog." "Um... 'kay."]]

* In ''[[Street Fighter the Later Years]]'' Dhalsim worries that Chun-Li won't listen to M. Bison about the tournament because he killed her father. Bison's not worried about it:

{{quote|'''Bison''': ''Oh, c'mon guys, I killed your (Dhalsim) father and yours (Vega). And most of Zangief's extended family, it was a different time.''

 

* Played completely straight in ''[[Batman Beyond]]''. [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]] Derek Powers arranged to have Terry McGinnis's father killed, so Terry becomes the next [[Batman]], and not only gets the guy who actually did the job, but ends up nearly getting Powers killed, causing him to become his archenemy Blight. When Terry later finds out that Blight is Powers, he confronts him again in the season finale:

{{quote|'''Blight''': Who are you?!

'''Batman''': You killed my father.

[Slight pause]

'''Batman''': Too bad. It's all you get. }}

{{quote|'''Terry:''' "So...I made Blight?"

'''Bruce Wayne:''' "You may have, in part."

* In one episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]'', Frank Grimes' son tries to kill Homer since Homer's idiocy indirectly killed Frank in an earlier episode.

* A villain-on-villain example: ''[[Spider-Man: The New Animated Series]]'' featured a pair of psychic twins out for revenge on [[Egomaniac Hunter|Kraven the Hunter]] for the murder of their parents. Since they weren't powerful enough to take on Kraven directly, they used their powers to trick Spider-Man into believing that Kraven had murdered [[Love Interest|Mary Jane]]. Kraven was very nearly killed by Spider-Man's [[Unstoppable Rage]], and only survived when Spider-Man realized what was happening.

 

== [[Real Life]] ==

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Narrative Devices]]

[[Category:Revenge Tropes]]

[[Category:Stock Phrases]]

[[Category:Older Than Dirt]]