Villains by Proxy

Villains by Proxy are villains who DO NOT wish to be evil but are pushed into it by circumstance or a story's unique angle; in other words they are not villains by choice. They are the polar opposite of Heroes by Proxy.

Villains by Proxy include several kind of characters:

• Pawns: Those who are tricked, manipulated, blackmailed or forced into becoming regular threats to the forces of good against their better judgment (e.g Jesse Pinkman, Kieran Duffy, Itachi Uchiha, Saori Joumae, Nacho Varga, Shimo, Sara and Kenji Kon).
  • Enslaved Species: Minions, evil creations or even entire races who are under the command of a Monster Master, Mad Scientist/Doctor, Brainwasher or Creator. Their masters force them to perform evil acts and they comply because they are either non-sapient, the minions, evil creations or species are just following the master's orders and they don't know that they're actually doing wrong or have no choice in the matter, which usually makes their masters the true villains (e.g. the Animatronics, Cordyceps Zombies, Folded Soldiers, Shroobs, Titans, and most Pokémon species).
• Predators: Carnivorous Animals and/or Ferals are usually only hostile out of hunger and survival instincts. They usually have no true hatred or dislike for the protagonists, and like incidental villains, it's nothing personal. They simply view their targets either as competitors or as prey, hunting them for food or to protect their territory against them, like any real-life wild animal (e.g. Anacondas, Shark King, Ezekiel, the Indoraptor and Great White Sharks).
• Unaware Villains: Characters who are unaware of circumstances surrounding what they are doing. They are often Misguided Heroes and nearly always redeem themselves after realizing what they are doing (e.g. The Collector, Samuel Hayden, Alister Azimuth, Rio Tsukatsuki, Lee Byeong-chan, N, Jason Carver, and Freddy Fazbear).
• Possessed/Brainwashed: Individuals who became antagonists due to hypnotism, brainwashing or possession (e.g. Cynder, Vanny, all variants of the Winter Soldier, Alie Peters, Giygas, Kara Zor-El, the nine Nazgûl, Skull Kid, Sean Fifield and Boris the Wolf). Regardless of how cruel or unnecessary their acts are, it is never their fault unless they have someone brainwash them. Even so, their worst actions were out of their control and they were not in their normal senses.
• Mentally Ill Scapegoats: Characters who lived horrific events and perpetual abuse through their lives which completely shattered their sanity with some with almost no hope of recovery (e.g. Hansel & Gretel, Carrie White, Marta, Ginias Sahalin, Piggsy and Leatherface). These characters, while still dangerous, usually don't understand the difference between right and wrong. As such, the punishments they may get from the heroes are not warranted.

Whether blackmailed, tricked, amoral, unwell, enslaved or simply by merit of being in a protagonist's way, just about all villains by proxy are antagonists because they need to be and not by their own design.

Notes[]

• All characters must still function as antagonists. Please do not use this category to try to pass off Antagonist Heroes and/or Antiheroes (e.g. Anxiety, Shampoo, SpongeBob SquarePants, Cat Blanc, Homer Simpson, Baljeet Tjinder, Queen Elsa, and Oozaru Goku); Villains by Proxy MUST either have at least some malicious intent or cause serious conflict in order to qualify.
• Unless they were tricked into committing atrocities they didn't intend to do, Mercenaries and Assassins are usually not Villains by Proxy since they willingly choose to work under a villain's orders for some kind of profit or monetary gain.
• Villains that were forced into being evil by circumstance but ”wish” to be evil just as they were forced to (e.g. Ganondorf, Metal Sonic, The Batman Who Laughs, Gyutaro, Kid Buu, Lord Commander, Eveline, T-1000, Zombie Giant-Man, Angstrom Levy, CatNap, Tyler Galpin, Venom, Cell, Indominus Rex, Crosshair, Jeremiah Valeska, and Aku) do not count. A Villain by Proxy has to wish that they didn't have to be evil.
  • However, even though Villains by Proxy never meant to become villains, some of them can still be sadistic if they at least partly enjoy their villainous deeds (e.g. the Indoraptor, Rob, Alpha Diablosaurus, and the Collector)
  • It is still possible for Villains by Proxy to be hypocritical or self-serving to a degree that implies some intentional villainy, so long as it is bred out of coercive or reluctant enough circumstances, and in any other circumstance, they would not be villains (e.g. Cho Sang-woo, Skyler White)
  • Delusional or Extremist villains who have good intentions or hold impressions of themselves being good are not necessarily Villains by Proxy if they have the intelligence and emotional awareness to understand right vs. wrong, and choose to act immorally anyway.
• Due to their very nature, it is nearly impossible for Psychopaths to be Villains by Proxy because they have the willingness to choose to be evil and lack empathy, guilt and/or emotional connections towards their actions. If a proxy villain does have psychopathic traits, they should be listed under Mentally Ill, Dissociative, Paranoid or Psychotic instead. (e.g Zero (Katana Zero) and Laina The Killer)
• NONE of these characters are Pure Evil since, unlike Villains by Proxy, that category applies to intentional evildoing. The same applies to villains who commit reprehensible actions and their crimes were warranted, even if they are not Pure Evil. In the cases of the Mentally Ill and Delusional, they can count if they do understand the difference between right and wrong and meet all of the criteria.
  • However, they can still fall under Karma Houdinis if they managed to get away with their crimes, even if they never choose to be villains in the first place, while also receiving no punishment because they choose to not fully redeem themselves.