Heroes walk a thin line between good and evil and many once-proud heroes have fallen into darkness, descending into villainy and fighting the people they once fought alongside of for a variety of reasons. Some end up becoming even worse than those they once opposed.

Originally protagonists or forces of good, these villains turned evil due to events in their lives such as being corrupted by force or otherwise by other villains, relationships with a villain, or due to being in a position where they end up questioning whether fighting for good is the best choice or not. Sometimes, they betray their friends, family, or even country.

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 though, 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, Shego, 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.

Examples include Andrew Detmer, Anakin Skywalker, Diane Simmons, Gil Yepes, Sy Parrish, Newton Geiszler, T-3000, Two-Face, Dark Danny, Big Boss, Michael Corleone and Yukio Oikawa.

There are various scenarios for why these individuals end up turning 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 a way that became a shocking event for either the viewer, heroes or other people that found out. This tends to be because the hero was always looked down upon, their existence was ignored, they were considered as an outcast or they were 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, 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 at the hands of certain groups of people or society itself either out of ingratitude, prejudice, ignorance, indifference, fear, hatred or simply genuine satisfaction at 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 are now completely beyond reason. 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 outweighs 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 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, Shinobu Sensui, Zamasu, Ares, Immortan Joe, James Ironwood, Koba 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, Pigma Dengar and Yoshihito Kanamori).
  • From Defender of Life to Power-Hungry: In this sub-scenario, these heroes wanted to use their powers to protect others but eventually realized that they can use their powers to gain more for their own self-serving ambitions (i.e. Sunset Shimmer, Penelope, Tengu Shredder, Ultraman Belial, Cobra Commander, Jindiao, Homelander, Fenghuang, Dr. Hatch and Retak’ka).
• 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. An 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 following all the rules of life, their principles and their beliefs, are still affected by all the problems and crisis their experiencing whether it would be physically, mentally, socially and/or economically and puts them in danger of putting their daily lives, the people they care for and/or the things they have managed to maintain during years (a company, for example) to ruin; this causes these characters to give in and fall into an incalculable and irrational amount of sadness and despair, in order to prolong, and/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 the absolute worst possible 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. Valak, Sauron, Exar Kun, Dr. James Sheridan, Pong Krell, Zamasu, Maestro, The Batman Who Laughs, Thomas Sinclair, Retak’ka, The Maker, Zombie Giant Man, The Plutonian, Napoleon, Scar, Tengu Shredder, Griffith, Cobra Commander, God, Ultraman Belial, The Entity, Megatronus, Light Yagami, and Immortan Joe).

Notes[]

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

• Pure Good heroes cannot become fallen heroes because they're completely immune to corruption. If some heroes were considered to be Pure Good but eventually turn evil, it means that they were never Purely Good in the first place since Pure Good heroes are incorruptible. Therefore, they can never count unless they became villains through mind-control (e.g. Jack-Aku). And even then it does NOT affect their Pure Good status due to the heroes not being in their normal senses and are thus not culpable for their actions.
  • However, some fallen heroes might become Pure Good if they manage to redeem themselves in the end, such as the case with Gentle Criminal.
• Morally neutral characters (a la "average joes") or characters initially uninvolved with any side of the conflict do not count (e.g. Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear, Vellian Crowler, Ryuga, Syndrome, Lord Shen, Kai the Collector, William Afton, Mr. Krabs, Plankton, Obadiah Stane, Tighten, Emperor Belos, CatNap, Tom Cooper, Doctor Doom, Turbo, Walter White, Carface Carruthers, Ellen Mira Mathers, The Toad, Hawk Moth (original) and Randall Boggs). They should go under Charismatic and/or Friend of a Hero instead. Some such as the former, however, can still become purely evil.
• False heroes, if they never were good, do not count (e.g. Emperor Palpatine, Albert Wesker, Mysterio, Prince Hans, Judge Claude Frollo, Dawn Bellwether, Daisuke Hiyama, Sir Miles Axlerod, Professor Marmalade, Gilderoy Lockhart, Zoom, Eddy's Brother, Bree Blackburn, Sloan Blackburn, and Piella Bakewell). They should go under Faux Affably Evil, Liars, Cheaters, Trickster, Hypocrites, Delusional, Traitor, Master Manipulator, Con Artists, Spies and/or Contradictory instead. However, some villains who are false heroes in the present story still can be considered fallen heroes if either they truly did something heroic and/or were actual heroes in the past (e.g. Creek, Luke Castellan, Rex Dangervest, Billy Russo, Yokai, Homelander, Princess Hilda, Commander Rourke, Peter Pettigrew, George McHale, Napoleon and Quirinus Quirrell).
• Normal public servants such as law enforcement, military, fire department, security, healthcare professionals, etc. who became evil do not count (e.g. Richard Detmer, Howard Payne, Byron Hadley, Agent Trout, Samuel Norton, Colonel Muska, William Afton, Agent Smith and Lord Cutler Beckett). They should go under Corrupt Officials, Military, Gaolers, and/or Jingoists‏‎ instead, unless they had heroic motivations for being public servants (e.g. Bad Cop, Harvey Dent, Gabriel T. Rorke, General Shepherd, Venom Snake, Slick, John Carver and Cobra Commander).
• Normal officials such as business people, CEOs, managers, doctors, scientists, politicians, school faculty, etc. who became evil do not count (e.g. Baldi, Stromboli, Phineas T. Ratchet, Tortoise John, Yong-suk, Gaku Yashiro and Dongsoo Seon). They should go under Corrupt Officials, Doctors and Scientists, Disciplinarians, and/or Businessmen instead, unless they did truly heroic deeds with their job in the past (e.g. Henry J. Waternoose III, Doctor Octopus, Jonathan Irons, The Once-Ler and Severus Snape).
• Ordinary young and naïve children who became evil do not count (e.g. Andy Evans, Buddy Revell, Alex, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, Vincent the Atheist, Eric, Peter Stegman, Satō Matsuzaka, Gary Smith, Kludd and Monika). They should go under Juvenile Delinquents instead, unless they are reported to have done something truly heroic (e.g. Carrie White, Andre Kriegman & Calvin Gabriel and Herman Howards).
• Villains who simply lose all of their redeeming qualities do not count (e.g. Dio Brando, Joker (DCAU), Syndrome, Ego, Peter Pan, King Zenoheld, Joker, Frank Underwood, King Boo, Vladimir Makarov, Gelorum, and Shiranami), unless they actually were heroes in the past (e.g. The Entity, Khan Maykr, Commander Rourke, The Batman Who Laughs, Retak’ka, Light Yagami, Griffith, The Fallen and Grand Moff Tarkin).
• Servants/Pawns: villains who have served on the hero's side but in said circumstances have never done anything heroic do not count either (e.g. Darth Maul, Jafar, Dick Hardly, DOR-15, Dimentio, Eli Mills, Eramis, Kell of Darkness, Captain Kuro, Odalia Blight and Micah Bell). They should go under Servant of a Hero and/or Pawns instead, unless they actually did genuine heroism (e.g. Darth Vader, AUTO, and David 8).
• Anti-Villains/Protective: villains who do have noble and/or caring qualities but were not heroes to begin with do not count (e.g. Benjamin Linus, Gus Grav, Volt Luster, Vulture (MCU), and The Puppet) They should go under Anti-Villain, Vigilantes, Protective, and/or Extremists instead, unless they actually were heroes who turned to the dark side and still contain their righteous qualities (e.g. Kenny, Henry J. Waternoose III, Kurumi Tokisaki, and Billy Butcher).
• Nice people: villains who were simply nice people before they became villains (e.g. Isaac Ray Peram Westcott, Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear, Soon, Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik, Nana Hiiragi, The Collector, The Ink Demon, Randall Boggs, Illyasviel von Einzbern, Walter White, El Macho, Arios Orlando and Herrscher of the Void) do not count, unless they also did heroic acts before they became villains (e.g. Dr. James Sheridan). As such, they should go under Affably Evil instead, unless they have lost their genuine affability.
• Brainwashed or Forced into it: if a villain was forced into it by circumstance or were brainwashed into becoming heroes (e.g. the Constructicons and Yuuki Terumi), they also do not qualify. They should go under Possessed/Brainwashed‏ instead, unless they were genuine heroes before becoming evil (e.g. Winter Soldier, Monster Steven, Messica Gorgon, Claylossus, Hangry Hypnosinger, Toiletroops, Big Headed Genius Sheen, Evil Carl, and Boris the Wolf).
• Famous people: villains who simply had a good reputation do not count (e.g. Balthazar Bratt, Mary Shaw, Dave, Chester V, Ernesto de la Cruz, Lionel Starkweather, and Charles F. Muntz). They should go under Charismatic‏ and/or Faux Affably Evil instead, unless their good reputation was earned from past heroic deeds (e.g. Harvey Dent, King Magnifico, Griffith).
• Protagonists: villains who are simply the main character in the story, and were never heroes to begin with, do not count either (e.g. Frank Underwood, Patrick Bateman, Wayne Cramp, Zim, Gus Turner, Madea, Felonious Gru, Mr. Krabs, Minions, Walter White and Megamind). They should go under Protagonists instead. The villain must be a real hero in order to qualify or were actual heroes before falling to the Dark Side (e.g. Darth Vader, Superior Ironman, Hajime Nagumo, Eren Yeager, The Once-Ler, Mikagami Kouji, Billy Butcher, David 8, Injustice Superman, Carrie White and Light Yagami).
• Adaptational villains who are heroes in their original work: villains are who are simply altered adaptations of heroes do not count (e.g. Darth Rey and Ellaria Sand). They should go under Adaptational Villainy instead, unless it is established that they used to be heroes in the continuity of said adaptations.
• Face-Heel Turn: Real life Wrestlers from the WWE Universe can count as such if hero wrestlers decide to turn heel by attacking another hero wrestler in order to surprise the audience. In contrast to actual, fictonal wrestlers, these wrestlers are NEVER Pure Evil. Furthermore, they ALWAYS fall under On & Off as they can turn face again at anytime, and vice-versa.

Note that tragic villains do NOT automatically mean that they are heroes turned to the dark side or vice-versa. 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. Crosshair, 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.