Villain that turns good

[Pozz]

I don't like when a character goes from good to evil or evil to good, I also don't like anti heroes because their isn't a good reason for this, much like bringing dead characters back to life it's just lazy writing.

If I had to pick one I might say Callisto from Xena Warrior Princess. Callisto's story honestly makes sense, she is driven insane by Xena's acts of cruelty, but then and only then through her story arc do you realize what happened to her didn't make her the monster, but Xena no matter how much good she does she can't unfuck Callisto's life or past.

Callisto kind of goes from less Evil and more understood as to the reason to her madness. Say what you will about the everything else in Xena but these little details make things interesting. For sure one of my favorites.

I also think maybe in terms of videos Games Sub Zero and Scorpion kind of have gone from good to bad based on similar aspects.

I agree with the sentiment that 100% alignment changes are meh.

Evil to neutral or neutral to good are okay, when they do the whole 180, it just gets plain out silly.

A character I liked was Snape. People arguing that in the end he was "good" are ridiculous. Redeemed? Perhaps, no way he was ever "good" though. His character was selfish, cruel, arrogant and spiteful, he was a deeply flawed man, who at the last fourth of his life finally started to take some right decisions.

[Lorgar Aurelian]

Those magical beast are killed in self defense since they are mindless beasts. Magni's death was done in self defense and scolds Atreus for killing Modi and he mentions the consequences of killing gods and even the game makes fun of that with them "going to Valhalla" after they are a warrior culture that lives and dies for battle. Speaking about Baldur, the dude was literally nuts and was talked to turn back but the nutjob never did and just keep doing shit until he got his suicidal wish

Also where do you get the bearmen tribe? I haven't seen any reference in the game or even in forums




Literally the contrary, he becomes in a less selfish person that helped some people during his journey and bound more with his son. The game itself takes a lot of effort to demonize the Aesir and if the theories are true, this is the plan of Tyr to bring balance to the nine realms again

Not all magical beast are mindless and he kills a ton of them most of the time after busting into there homes.

Killing the gods even in self defense also doesn’t only effect them which kratos knows every god he kills has horrible effects on the mortals, Baldur also wants to let kratos go and deal with his own family business which kratos stops.

The bear man tribe is also in a comic that takes places shortly before the game, he kills one then the rest of the tribe try’s to get revenge and he wipes them out even though he could have just stripped them of there power.

Kratos starts the game trying to keep his anger in check to not fall back into his old ways while also trying to raise his son right. He ends the game after giving into said anger a ton of times and falling back into his old ways. Sure he bounds with his son but that doesn’t make him a good guy. And he even admits in game that he’s still a monster just his own monster.

[Shadowferal]

A character I liked was Snape. People arguing that in the end he was "good" are ridiculous. Redeemed? Perhaps, no way he was ever "good" though. His character was selfish, cruel, arrogant and spiteful, he was a deeply flawed man, who at the last fourth of his life finally started to take some right decisions.

I don't think you read the books.
He always loved Lily, and cared about her son. And he lived a life very differently for Harry's sake, in effect sacrificing years of his own life, while in the end dying to protect him.
He was never a villain.

[Merie]

[Pozz]

I don't think you read the books.
He always loved Lily, and cared about her son. And he lived a life very differently for Harry's sake, in effect sacrificing years of his own life, while in the end dying to protect him.
He was never a villain.

He dabbled in dark magic, attempted to get people thrown out, willingly served the dark lord and his objectives, only ever doubting because of his twisted love for Lily.

Him turning against the dark lord for selfish reasons is not a "good" quality. Remember when he was interested in Dumbledore saving Lily? He didn't give a fuck about Harry or James, and care for her son? You do realise he didn't care for Harry, right? He cared for Lily's blood. He did it all for Lily, he did it all for himself, his sense of duty to Lily, because his decisions had killed her.

Just to quote a bit:

"If she means so much to you, surely Lord Voldemort would spare her. Could you not ask for mercy for the mother, in exchange for the son?"
"I have, I have asked him"

Not to mention how he rips James AND Harry out of the picture, instead of just James. How he's infuriated when Dumbledore dares ask if he cares about Harry, before summoning Lily's doe, or how he spends the entire time in that conversation saying "her son" as opposed to Harry.

How is that not evil to you?
How does that in any way indicate he cares about Harry at all?

[Codah]

Batman is a billionaire (which is bad) but then he uses his money to piss off cops which makes him sort of an antihero I guess

This is brilliantly childish.

[Zandalariprelate]

Not all magical beast are mindless and he kills a ton of them most of the time after busting into there homes.

Killing the gods even in self defense also doesn’t only effect them which kratos knows every god he kills has horrible effects on the mortals, Baldur also wants to let kratos go and deal with his own family business which kratos stops.

The bear man tribe is also in a comic that takes places shortly before the game, he kills one then the rest of the tribe try’s to get revenge and he wipes them out even though he could have just stripped them of there power.

Draughts and the Gendrels creatures hardly count as they are in every where of Midgard with all the death of the people and with Hellheim being overrun with dead. About the comics I didn't know the new game got some, going to see them later.

Kratos starts the game trying to keep his anger in check to not fall back into his old ways while also trying to raise his son right. He ends the game after giving into said anger a ton of times and falling back into his old ways. Sure he bounds with his son but that doesn’t make him a good guy. And he even admits in game that he’s still a monster just his own monster.

Yes he admits he is no longer the monster of Athena but it's lead to interpretation, besides you act as if it was his own fault being persecuted by the goons of Odyn, heck most of the time he tells them to go away, not his fault they get their well deserved death that even then seek to enter to Valhalla.

[Powerogue]

Seconding Avatar: The Last Airbender. One of the best.

The Dragon Prince has had me hooked on general nuanced characters. Some villainous characters becoming good, some once good characters going bad, always with enough buildup that you understand why. Rayla's arc in particular really got to me. An assassin faced with a terrible choice walks the road of repentance.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power has really got to me in that I often find the villains' arcs more engaging than the main protagonist. I'm so invested yet unsure of how things will turn out for these characters. Still crossing my fingers for that sweet, sweet redemption.

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Kratos starts the game trying to keep his anger in check to not fall back into his old ways while also trying to raise his son right. He ends the game after giving into said anger a ton of times and falling back into his old ways. Sure he bounds with his son but that doesn’t make him a good guy. And he even admits in game that he’s still a monster just his own monster.

The guy was just living in a cabin in the woods until the norse gods came picking a fight, with him giving them every opportunity to stand down. Even after Baldur was freed of the curse he wasn't all "thanks, Kratos!" It was "I SHALL STILL KILL ALL OF YOU." He offered them mercy and they spat on it.

He is a good guy.

[Lorgar Aurelian]

The guy was just living in a cabin in the woods until the norse gods came picking a fight, with him giving them every opportunity to stand down. Even after Baldur was freed of the curse he wasn't all "thanks, Kratos!" It was "I SHALL STILL KILL ALL OF YOU." He offered them mercy and they spat on it.

He is a good guy.

He might be the better then those Norse gods but he still isn't a good guy, hes still the murdering angry man he was in 1-3 the only difference is that his anger is pointed to his own goals instead of being manipulated. this is something Kratos him self even acknowledges. Kratos Does some good stuff but he never actually changes he try's to change pre 4 but he never actually manages it.

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Draughts and the Gendrels creatures hardly count as they are in every where of Midgard with all the death of the people and with Hellheim being overrun with dead. About the comics I didn't know the new game got some, going to see them later.




Yes he admits he is no longer the monster of Athena but it's lead to interpretation, besides you act as if it was his own fault being persecuted by the goons of Odyn, heck most of the time he tells them to go away, not his fault they get their well deserved death that even then seek to enter to Valhalla.

It's not Krato's fault that he doesn't leave his old ways behind he try's damn hard to but in the end he is still very much so the monster the Olympic gods made him. Kratos is lot like the punisher he does good but not for noble reasons he does it selfishly and he normally accomplishes that good by doing evil.

[hynx]

Farscape is probably the best example of this that I can think of, though it doesn't deal with villains becoming good so much as the situation changing so that their goals are aligned with those of the protagonists.

It is all about Harvey's redemtion in the end. fuck Scorpius, that cunt. also what's his face from season 1, with the pony tail who was on board Talyn. and Talyn itself. (even though the ship was more so about being half warmachine, and half super passive ship, with its inner turmoil of what its place was in the universe.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Hi!

I like movies / TV Shows / Books where the antagonist/ villain in the story goes through character development and becomes a better person. Do recommend if you know of any

Rurouni Kenshin has a villain who later becomes one of the main characters. I won't spoil his name since it is a pleasant surprise.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

There are a few characters in the Legend of Heroes series of games (Trails in the Sky, Trails of Cold Steel, etc) who are villains who eventually come back as playable characters after having undergone character development. Again, not naming anyone specifically so as to not spoil.

obviously naruto. lmao

Eh, Gaara wasn't really a villain, just a rival. Orochimaru is only an ally of convenience, kept around because he's a scientist, just like how the Allies absorbed Nazi scientists rather than imprisoning or executing them. Most villains in Naruto are either killed by the heroes, or they turn good but are then immediately killed by another villain. There is only one notable Naruto villain I can think of who actually turns "good".

Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Avatar: The Last Airbender. It has one of the better "villain turns good" arcs.

My gosh yes. Watch this show first. Don’t spoil any of this masterpiece for the OP. Greatest animated show in history to date

Seconding Avatar: The Last Airbender. One of the best.

Zuko doesn't count as he was clearly established as a main character right from the get go. It was obvious he was eventually going to join up with the band. He hardly actually opposes the heroes and never commits anything villainous.

I don't like when a character goes from good to evil or evil to good

I do like it when handled well. It can be a pleasant surprise, seeing a person actually attempt to rethink their life and turn things around, rather than just clutching to their terrible philosophy and going down with the ship. The War Crimes novel made me genuinely think that there was hope for Garrosh. That said, it is aggravating when an unrepetently evil, wicked character who has killed people in cold blood is then suddenly forgiven for the sake of forgiveness.

Some cylons/humans in Battlestar Galactica (2003 mini-series and then following 2004 series/films) - my personal recommendation

NuBSG is fun for the first few hours, but after that it quickly becomes an absolute slog to watch. The show completely falls apart after season 2.

Vader, d'oh

Darth Vader?

Except he immediately dies after his heel-turn. It sounds like the OP wants a villain who has a decent amount of screentime post-villainy.

Raistlin Majere. Dude fought the gods...

... Except he immediately exits the story after ceasing to be straight up evil. He didn't really repent for his actions or try to make up for things.

I'm going to be honest here:

In my opinion the first few episodes that were about Zabuza and Haku were pretty amazing in that regard.


other than that..... lul!
Man... that stuff happened like.. 14 years ago. I can't believe it's been so long.

The Pain arc was the height of Naruto, easily one of the best stories ever told in anime. The rest is kinda eh, either filler material, botched pacing, botched presentation, etc.

[Theoris]

Zuko doesn't count as he was clearly established as a main character right from the get go. It was obvious he was eventually going to join up with the band. He hardly actually opposes the heroes and never commits anything villainous.

Zuko didn't start out as a villain in the same sense as Azula and Ozai, but he definitely crossed the line into outright villain territory later on when he betrayed Iroh and helped Azula 'kill' Aang at the end of the second season despite everything he had seen in the Earth Kingdom - entirely for his personal gain, at that.

[mvaliz]

He didn't really turned good, but in Dragon Ball Super i really loved Freeza's interaction with Goku in the last part of the tournament of power.

I've called it to my friends that "Freeza's the new Vegeta" for the Dragon Ball universe moving forward. He's going to be the jerk who, in the end, has to help Goku out in the end.

[Very Tired]

Seconding Naruto. There's basically not many true bad guys in the entire series. Just about every villain is eventually revealed to have some form of a true noble intention. They basically don't care who they run over to achieve it.

[Kokolums]

Face/Off literally had this.

[Polyxo]

President Business

[omeomorfismo]

nobody said hokuto no ken?
raoh was turned so hard that was basically a retcon.
but damn, that character

[n00n2003]

thank you all for this great recommendations

[Muajin76]

Book version of Jamie Lannister.

Even the movie version turned good. :P

[hulkgor]

Even the movie version turned good. :P

Yea, but the actual redemption is relevant, and the whole process in the tv show is shoddy at best. Hence the 'book' mention