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Your father was seduced by the dark side of the Force. He ceased to be Anakin Skywalker and became Darth Vader. When that happened, the good man who was your father was destroyed.
~ Obi-Wan Kenobi telling how Luke Skywalker's father turned to the dark side of the Force.
I did love being a hero... but if this is where it leads, I'm done with it.
~ Superman to Lex Luthor before killing him.

Heroes walk a thin line between good and evil and many once-proud heroes have fallen into negativity or descended further into darkness fighting against people they once protected and/or fought alongside. Some end up becoming even worse than those they opposed.

Originally protagonists or forces of good, these villains turned evil due to events in their lives such as being corrupted by other villains, relationships, or any in which they question whether or not the good side is worth fighting for. Sometimes, they betray their friends, family, or even country out of cowardice.

Fallen Heroes or Heroes Turned to the Dark Side are usually the end result of being Betrayed, Vengeful, Tragic, In Love, exposed to Corrupting Influences, Deal Makers, Brainwashers, Extortionists, Blackmailers, and/or Bond Destroyers. However, some heroes can turn for the sake of greed (i.e. "From Sugar to Excrement"). They are the exact inverted opposite of Redeemed Villains who became heroes.

Some can still redeem themselves, especially if they were Minions who turned on their masters or themselves after realizing how evil they were or in order to save a loved one (i.e. Darth Vader, Kylo Ren, Luke Castellan, Harry Osborn, Cassandra, and Alberto Alburquerque). Villains who were mind-controlled can count as this if they were good before being controlled or in rare cases, fake being mind-controlled to get away with their crimes.

There are various scenarios for why these individuals turned to the dark side, though said individuals often fall into multiple scenarios:

  • From Nobody to Nightmare: A scenario where the said hero turned to the dark side in this way often became a shocking event for either viewer, heroes or other people that found out. Reason of this mainly because the said hero was always looked down upon, their existence was ignored, and/or worse, considered as an outcast or an individual that often being abused by other people that dislike/hate them (either the Big Bads or minor villains) no matter what kind of good/heroic efforts that he/she did for others' acknowledgement. Once this individual turned to the dark side, they (usually) became feared by many people, including heroes that faced them. Good examples of this include Savitar, Dave, Jo Seok-bong, Zurg, Lilly, and various incarnations of Frankenstein's Monster.
    • From Victim to Villain: In this sub-scenario, these characters were once people who tried to be friendly and do good, but in return suffered unjustly on the hands of certain groups of people or society itself either out of ingratitude, prejudice, ignorance, indifference, fear, hatred or simply genuine satisfaction on their misfortune. Often, they were victims of bullying or abuse and eventually, they were pushed so hard they finally snapped and now seek revenge on the very society or people who long made them suffer for nothing. Despite their tragic nature, very few of these characters actually are redeemable, mostly because they almost never forgive or forget and/or are now completely insane and cannot be reasoned with. Often, the fact they're beyond redemption, is one of the factors that makes them tragic. They enact the same, similar or even worse cruelties on tormentors and even innocents, thus making them as horrible as or worse than them (i.e. Andrew Detmer, Carrie White, Rex Dangervest, and Cassie Howard). Furthermore, they can also use their tragic upbringing to justify their crimes and current villainous ways, which can make them even LESS sympathetic if the overall extent of their villainy outweights any of the misfortunes that were wrought upon them (e.g. Fallen Angels).
  • Not Good with Rejection: The character may have once had acquaintances or love interests who befriended them prior. One day the individuals made an offer, confessed their love and/or presented a certain proposal to the hero(es) which the hero(es) rejected. The individual, unable to cope and thus turned to the dark side. Generally, the worse the hero(es) rejects the individual, the farther that individual turns to the dark side (i.e. Bill, Shane Walsh, and Reed Richards (Ultimate Marvel)).
  • Being an Extremist: A character has well-intentioned goals for the greater good, but their methods and ultimate ends are proven to be very extreme to the point that they become something that is greatly despised, whether by those whom they know, the heroes, or themselves. The said actions may even potentially drive them to the dark side as well even if they become Anti-Villains (i.e. Nathaniel Barnes, Magneto, Saw Gerrera, Kenny, Big Boss, Mustache Girl, John Doe, Joel Miller, and Damon Gant). However, some of them who were once extremists can go so far in their actions that their "well-intentions" end up being nothing more than just self-serving delusions (i.e. Light Yagami, Zamasu, Immortan Joe, James Ironwood, and Darth Vader).
  • From Sugar to Excrement: These characters were once revered but turned evil either by greed, lust or because they were "tired" of being good bringing shock and despair to those who knew them (i.e. Baron Kelvin, The Devil, Tankor, Straizo, and Yoshihito Kanamori).
  • Being Possessed/Brainwashed: Once heroic, these characters were either possessed or brainwashed by another villain or corruptive presence and consequently became villains. However, this is the rarest and most controversial form of a hero turning to the dark side since they did not turn evil by their own free will and essentially had to be programmed into being villainous. Examples may include most of the characters from the Possessed/Brainwashed category. Most of these characters redeem themselves after snapping out of their current state. Another example was Angor Rot from Trollhunters, who was a hero to troll-kind and tried to help people who are unsafe in Gunmar’s war, only to be brainwashed by Gunmar’s indirect creator, Morgana into being evil when he asked her power to protect his village. By the series finale, Angor redeems himself after he realizes whom he was and how evil and cruel he once was.
  • Desperation: These characters were people who, despite having followed the rules of life and following their principles, are still affected by the crisis their experiencing both socially and economically and puts them in danger of putting their daily lives or the things they have managed to maintain during years (a company, for example) to ruin; this causes these characters to fall into (irrational) despair, in order to prolong, or even to "eradicate" the inevitable, forcing them to break the rules and act immorally, whether stealing things (such as money obviously), kidnapping, or even killing the people who persecute them, either for economic reasons, or because they witness their crimes. Good examples include Henry J. Waternoose III, he was only driven to villainy out of desperation to keep Monsters, Inc. afloat in the midst of the energy crisis, as well as due to stressful financial problems and his responsibilities as CEO. Mr. Waternoose became more villainous and manipulative, as this drive and desperation stripped away his morals and was determined to not let anything stop what he believed would be the best way for the company to keep going, never bothering to look for alternative energy sources. He even turned on his most loyal employee to ensure that his plans work out. And Marlon from The Walking Dead Telltale series, he only became cowardly and obsessed due to the numerous deaths and losses of his people over the years that he was willing to sell out Tennessee's sisters Minerva and Sophie to raiders in exchange for his people's saftey. Going so far with his fear that he willfully leaves Clementine locked up in the School's basement to die, after he accidentlly killed Brody from uncontrolled rage, and even blaming the murder of Brody on Clem. Leaving him to be a broken mess after his friends tries to reason with him after his rage got the worst on everyone.
  • In some of the worst cases, former heroes can become Pure Evil villains if they manage to lose ALL of their redeeming qualities. In fact, becoming a pure evil villain is outright the WORST possible outcome for a former hero's corruption arc, as once the said hero turns evil they forever renounce their former heroism and will remain as the worst version of themselves till the end, always choosing to do evil knowingly and willingly with zero remorse, making no effort and/or refusing any given opportunity to redeem themselves, and even committing unspeakable, unacceptable and unjustifiable atrocities against their former loved ones, former allies and/or people who they once helped in the past while still heroes as they'll no longer have any genuine affection and/or care towards any of them. Often, the fact they used to serve good before becoming atrocious and irredeemable monsters who cannot be reasoned with might give a special impact on their villainy, since they'll never be able to become as good as they were before and will always choose to be evil no matter what. (e.g. Exar Kun, Pong Krell, Zamasu, The Batman Who Laughs, The Maker, Giant Man, Abomination (2010), Tengu Shredder, Griffith, Cobra Commander, God and Lucifer, The Entity, Light Yagami, Sōsuke Aizen and Immortan Joe).

Notes[]

Please note that a character has to have been established as a hero before turning evil.

Note that tragic villains do NOT automatically mean that they are heroes turned to the dark side. This category is meant for villains who used to actively work for the good side. Also, this kind of hero is the polar opposite of Pure Good heroes that are absolutely incorruptible.

  • Also, do not create pages based on this category, as long time heroes who were only briefly fallen or on and off "jerks" (such as Barnacle Boy, who only fell to the dark side over a Silly Meal and called himself Barnacle Man in the SpongeBob SquarePants episode, Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy V but then eventually redeemed himself, Luan Loud, who only turns evil in the April Fools episode and does eventually learn her lesson in the end or Mushu, who only was bad when he deliberately tried to put end Mulan and Shang's love to save his career in Mulan 2, but then eventually redeemed himself at the climax of the film) do not count.
    • On the other hand, heroes that are villains in more than several episodes/films can count if they turn evil as time goes on. (e.g. Mitsuzane Kureshima and Varian)
  • Finally, note that "fallen heroes" has two connotations: heroes who became villains, and heroes who are deceased. On this wiki, we use the "heroes who became villains" definition only.

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