Villains by Proxy

Villains by Proxy, or Punch Clock Villains are a subset of Amorals (except for a few cases) who have absolutely NO wish to be evil but are pushed into it either by circumstance or as a result of the story's unique angle; in other words they are Villains despite themselves.

Villains by Proxy include several kind of characters:

• Pawns: Those who are tricked, blackmailed or forced into becoming regular threats to the forces of good against their better judgment. Often they don't even want to fight Heroes but Big Bads or Bigger Bads have forced them to cooperate. Itachi Uchiha and Nooroo are noteworthy examples.
• Antagonist Heroes: Contrasted to Protagonists whenever it is not a case of Evil Vs. Evil. More than a few stories feature Villainous Protagonists who fight Non-Evil Antagonists such as the Olympians.
• Incidental Villains: Villains who are only precisely as evil as they need to be to reach their goals, which are for the greater good. They commit evil acts for purely practical means to an end, similar to Extremists and often overlapping with Rivals except that it is never personal. Examples: V, Sandman and Lord Qin.
• Predators: Carnivorous Animals or Monsters that are only hostile out of hunger or survival instinct. They often have no true hatred or dislike for the protagonists; they simply want to eat them, like any real-life wild animal views its prey. See Anacondas.
• Unaware Villains: Characters who are simply completely unaware of circumstances surrounding what they are doing. They are often Misguided Heroes. These villains nearly always become Redeemed after realizing what they are doing. Excellent examples are Alister Azimuth, N from Pokemon and Sid Phillips.
• Possessed/Brainwashed: Individuals who became antagonists due to hypnotism, brainwashing or possession such as Cynder, Euphemia li Britannia and Boris the Wolf. Regardless of how cruel or unnecessary their acts are it is never their fault.
• Mentally Ill Scapegoats: Characters who lived absolutely horrific events and perpetual abuse through their lives which completely shattered their sanity with no hope of recovery such as Hansel & Gretel or Leatherface.

Whether blackmailed, tricked, amoral, unwell, enslaved or a Villain simply by merit of being in the protagonist's way, just about all Villains by Proxy are only 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 as Villains; Antagonists MUST either have at least some malicious intent or cause conflict in order to apply.
• Unless they were tricked into committing atrocities they didn't intend to do Mercenaries and Assassins are not Villains by Proxy since they willingly choose to work under a Villain's orders for some kind of profit or monetary gain.
• All Villains by Proxy are Amoral; unless in role-playing or similar games when players are randomly chosen to be villains because the player has an agency and could choose not to be evil yet are not responsible for being chosen as Antagonists. An excellent example of this is the Murderer.
• None of these characters are Pure Evil since it applies to intentional evildoing.

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